ã€ŠUnrivaled Tang Sectã€‹


 Chapter Prologue

    Prologue: The God Realm! Tang San¡¯s Family

    The gentle halos of light were akin to a mother¡¯s pair of hands when they gently touched the delicate skin of the clouds, creating an exceptionally beautiful feeling that seemed tangible within the illusory space. There also seemed to be an indistinct yet majestic pce not far away, but nearly seemed like an illusion as the gentle halo of light touched it.

    A figure quietly stood within the clouds for a long time, gazing into the endless distance at something.

    He had long blue hair that draped to the floor like a waterfall. If not for his imposing stature and his wide shoulders, he might¡¯ve been confused with a girl¡ªif you only looked at him from behind.

    His luxurious blue robes seemed to contain rippling water. If one were to carefully look at it, their gaze would instantly be drawn to his deep-azure coloured robes; their entire soul might even be absorbed into the deep and boundless blue colour that seemed to resemble an ocean.

    However, from the pair of equally deep eyes on his handsome face, it didn¡¯t look like he was over twenty. His eyes were like ck holes, yet at the same time, they seemed all-embracing. asionally, a purple sh would flicker through his eyes, which would astonish one¡¯s soul. This would instantly create a beautiful feeling, one that could determine one¡¯s life or death.

    ¡°Ai¡­¡± The man lightly sighed, a faintly distressed look appearing upon his face. He slightly furrowed his brow, as if he was currentlyprehending the secrets of heaven and earth.

    ¡°Third Brother.¡± A soft voice echoed out. A figure stepped out from the illusory space, arriving beside the blue-clothed young man. She habitually held the man¡¯s arm in a gentle manner. The smoothness of her action made it seem as though she¡¯d done it countless times in the past.

    She was wearing a pink-coloured long dress and she had long hair that had been braided, which was gently draped behind her back. You could see her exquisitely slender and beautiful white neck from behind, while her long dress tightly wrapped around her waist, further enting her perfect figure.

    A faint smile appeared on her beautiful face as she pulled the on the blue-shirted man¡¯s arm. She gentlyid her head on his shoulder, causing her braids to fall next the the man¡¯s long blue hair. They quietly curled around his hair, twisting the man¡¯s long hair.

    A loving smile that contained a trace of helplessness appeared on the blue-shirted man¡¯s handsome face, ¡°Even though you¡¯re a mother already, you¡¯re still so naughty.¡±

    The woman wearing the pink dress was somewhat discontent as she pouted, ¡°So what if I¡¯m a mother now? Does that mean that I can¡¯t throw a tantrum? Aren¡¯t you still called Tang San, even though you¡¯re now the Enforcer of the God Realm, and the God of the Sea? You¡¯re still my Third Brother.¡±

    Once Xiao Wu heard Tang San bring up their daughter, a gentle look instantly filled her eyes, ¡°Xiao Qi is simply too clingy. We only have time together when she¡¯s sleeping. Third Brother, I saw that you were displeased earlier¡­ is it because of issues within the Douluo Continent?¡±

    Tang San nodded his head as he lightly sighed and said, ¡°A single day in the God Realm is equivalent to a year in the mortal world. This is true for every single ne. I had originally wanted to stay in the Douluo Continent for a period of time, but I was forced to return to the God Realm in order to take care of the general situation here, due to a bet between the Godkings, Kindness, and Evil. However, I didn¡¯t think that the Tang Sect would¡¯ve decayed after only twenty or so years within the God Realm, which is equivalent to ten thousand years in the Douluo Continent.¡±

    Xiao Wu unhappily said, ¡°Kindness and Evil are simply too crafty. They¡¯re too irresponsible, using their bet as an excuse to descend to the mortal world. They previously found a married couple to rece their Godly Position. However, the couple¡¯s previous experience was simply too pitiful. If not for that, you could¡¯ve let them take care of the general situation here, and could¡¯ve rxed a bit more.¡±

    Tang San said, ¡°From the outside, the Enforcer and Godking positions appear to be quite lofty positions, but they aren¡¯t responsibilities that everyone is willing to undertake! The Douluo Continent has clearly be somewhat chaotic due to the changes that have urred within the past ten thousand years¡ªespecially the continental collision that happened due to the shifting of the earth¡¯s crust, four thousand years ago. Not only did it cause the Douluo Continent to more than double in size, it also caused many changes to happen to the Douluo Continent.¡±

    Xiao Wu said, ¡°The Tang Sect also began declining at that time! Third Brother, you shouldn¡¯t think too much about it. In a way, the Tang Sect¡¯s decline can also be attributed to the progress of both time, and the ne itself.¡±

    Tang San nodded his head, ¡°You¡¯re right, but after all, the Tang Sect was created by me. I really would hate for it to be destroyed because of this, but sadly I can¡¯t interfere in the changes of a ne, since I¡¯m the Enforcer of the God Realm. However, it seems that a new star will soon rise within the Douluo Continent, and he will be extremely closely linked to my Tang Sect. I¡¯ll try to get a clearer look at his destiny, but so far it¡¯s heavily clouded. I hope that everything will develop in a good direction.¡±

    Xiao Wu¡¯s eyes brightened as she replied, ¡°He¡¯ll definitely be a good candidate, since even you say that he¡¯s a new star. If he could even take over your Godly Position in the future, wouldn¡¯t we then have time to go y around?¡±

    Tang San raised his hand and lovingly pinched her nose, ¡°You! You only know how to y.¡±

    While they were talking, a small head popped out from some nearby clouds. She looked about eleven or twelve, and her beautiful round eyes blinked. Her appearance was extremely simr to Tang San¡¯s, but her body was much softer, and her eyes were closer to Xiao Wu¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always heard dad and mom talking about the Douluo Continent! It seems really fun! Hee hee.¡± Her petite body quietly disappeared into the clouds as she spoke.

 Chapter 1.1: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    <strong>Chapter 1.1: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes</strong>

    The golden, zed roof tiles atop the huge, pce-like building shone with a dazzling light due to the sunlight. The ancient workmanship that had been used to create the pce¡¯s golden roof and red doors caused people to involuntarily feel a sense of seriousness when they saw it.

    When gazed at from afar, a fog seemed to linger around the pce. The buildings that surrounded the pce were lined up neatly, just like the pattern a brick wall had. The area that they upied seemed limitless to the naked eye. The two words ¡®Duke¡¯s Mansion¡¯ were carved into the fifty-foot tall archway that stood in front of the entrance.

    This enormous mansion that upied an area of over 2 kilometres didn¡¯t belong to a city. Instead, it was a singr building located fifty meters northwest of the capital of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City. From this you could see that the owner of this mansion held an honored position within the Star Luo Empire.

    During the current time of day, the bright and beautiful sunlight would shine on the sparkling zed roof tiles, causing ayer of dazzling gold to cover the entirety of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. You could even vaguely see this scene atop Star Luo City¡¯s city walls.

    The back door of the Duke¡¯s Mansion¡¯s northern area noiselessly opened, and a skinny figure quietly snuck out.

    The figure was a youth that appeared to be around eleven or twelve. His stature was reasonably proportioned, and he was wearing a grey cloth shirt that was simple but clean. He also had a small bundle of cloth on his back. His short ck hair appeared neat and tidy. A determined look, which was filled with an intensity that surpassed all of his peers at the same age, was present on his handsome face.

    After softly closing the back door of the Duke¡¯s Mansion behind him, the youth rapidly ran a few steps forward. However, he suddenly stopped to look back at the Duke¡¯s mansion, his deep blue eyes brimming with hatred.

    ¡°Mother, watch me from thend of the deceased. No matter how hard I have to work, there will be a day when I return, and trample everything here underneath my foot. Therefore, I¡¯ll honour you by changing my surname to yours¡ªHuo. From now on, my name will be Huo Yuhao.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, he turned to face the Duke¡¯s Mansion, and gazed at it deeply. Then, he turned around and walked away without any second thoughts.

    He didn¡¯t head towards Star Luo City, which was located to the southwest of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Instead, he went north. His tiny figure gradually disappeared into the distance as the strong midday sunlight shone on him. Although his body was skinny, the way in which he¡¯d left didn¡¯t give off a helpless feeling at all.

    There were wide roads on all sides of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Huo Yuhao continued to run forward, his eyes gradually turning redder and redder.

    ¡°Mother¡­¡± The unwilling and unresigned look that his mother had had as she passed away unconsciously appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, causing him to tightly clench his teeth.

    <em>I have to be stronger! Mother taught me that a person can only rely on themselves. One can only live a better life if they are strong.</em>

    Scenes from Huo Yuhao¡¯s memory unceasingly shed through his mind.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had been one of the Duke¡¯s personal maids, and had grown up together with the Duke. A personal maid only existed for the simple sake of serving her master, but Huo Yuhao had quietly appeared within his mother¡¯s belly one night, twelve years ago.

    She was pregnant for ten months, before she finally gave birth one day.

    Despite what identity Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother previously had, he was still the son of the Duke. Therefore, although his treatment within the pce couldn¡¯t be described as good, it still wasn¡¯t too bad. His mother no longer remained a maid, and relied on her child¡¯s nobility to obtain a courtyard for herself.

    As such, everything should¡¯ve continued without any trouble, but who could¡¯ve known that disaster would arrive so soon?

    The Duke went to war as a representative of the Star Luo Empire, leaving all of the Mansion¡¯s internal affairs to the Duke¡¯s wife. The Duke¡¯s wife already had two sons and a daughter, and she treated anything that could affect her children as things that needed to be suppressed. Things were quite good for Huo Yuhao and his mother while the Duke was in the Mansion, but when he left, the Mansion became the world of the Duke¡¯s wife. Furthermore, she was the favourite daughter of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s current emperor.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had grown up beside the Duke, resulting in her being heavily doted upon by him. Thus, she was always envied by the Duke¡¯s wife. Once the Duke left, she immediately became the main target for the Duke¡¯s wife. Using the excuse that Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had contracted an infectious disease, she chased them to the servant¡¯s wooden sheds, which were located at the back of the mansion. Furthermore, she cut away all their current sources of ie. Huo Yuhao was only two when this happened.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother didn¡¯t have a healthy body from the start, thus the arduous lifestyle that they had to live in caused her body to gradually copse. What¡¯s more, the servants under the control of the Duke¡¯s wife would frequently suppress her, causing her to suddenly die from her illness when Huo Yuhao was ten.

    Four thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent collided with the Sun Moon Continent, which had drifted over due to the Western Ocean. This resulted in the Douluo Continent¡¯sndmass being greatly expanded, but also caused the frequency of wars on the Douluo Continent to increase.

    The Douluo Continent had originally been divided into two countries ten thousand years ago¡ªthe Heaven Dou Country, and the Star Luo Country. However, the Douluo Continent had now been split into three countries. Of the two, the Star Luo Empire still existed, but the royal family had changed. They had fortunately pacified all of their kingdoms at that time, allowing the entire Star Luo Empire to remain united, and thus resulting in them bing the strongest force of the three.

    However, the Heaven Dou Empire was split due to the discord amongst its strong kingdoms. In the end, it was split up into the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Spirit Dou Empire.

    The Sun Moon Continent that had drifted over from the west had both a vast surface area and plentiful resources. It was slightly smaller than the Douluo Continent, but it only had a single country, which was the Sun Moon Empire.

    War broke out between the two continents almost as soon as they collided. The three countries of the Douluo Continent all dispatched allied armies to fight against theirmon enemy. After nearly twenty years of war, they finally managed to defeat the Sun Moon Empire. From that point on, they unified the two continents under the Douluo name. The Sun Moon Continent no longer existed, only the Sun Moon Empire within the Douluo Continent was left.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t fully invaded even though it was defeated. They relied on their natural advantages, as well as the conflicting views of the three empires of the Douluo Continent, to gradually form a stable, deadlocked situation between the four parties. However, wars still urred every year.

    Due to the frequent amount of wars that the Duke had to participate in, he spent very little time within the mansion. Due to the Duke¡¯s wife deliberately concealing the matter, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother was gradually forgotten by the Duke. When the Duke asked about her, his wife merely said that Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had fallen ill.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had suffered many bitter hardships as she brought him up. When he was six, he carried out the awakening of his martial soul within the Mansion.

    Martial souls were an something that everybody on the Douluo Continent possessed. Although the Sun Moon Empire had developed in a different waypared to the other three empires, martial souls were still one of their fundamental concepts.

    Everyone would naturally have a martial soul that could be awakened at the age of six. A martial soul could be anything, from a tool to an animal. Beast-type martial souls were referred to as ¡®Beast Souls¡¯, while all other martial souls that weren¡¯t Beast Souls were collectively known as ¡®Tool Souls¡¯. However, there were naturally some martial souls that possessed mutations. Thus, they were exceptions to this rule.

    After the awakening of one¡¯s martial soul, a small amount of people would have a special power along with their martial soul. This power was called ¡®soul force¡¯. Only people who possessed soul force had the ability to cultivate, and to be the noblest profession on the Douluo Continent¡ªa soul master.

    Soul masters were separated into nine different ranks. From lowest to highest, they were: Soul Schr, Soul Master, Soul Grandmaster, Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Sage, Soul Douluo, and Titled Douluo.

    Soul masters would increase in power as their soul rank increased. If one managed to reach the highest level of the Titled Douluo rank, one would have the terrifying ability to both move the mountains and seas, as well as even shift the stars.

 Chapter 1.2: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 1.2: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    People who were between the first and tenth rank of soulforce fell underneath the category of Soul Schr. When someone¡¯s martial soul was awakened, their innate soulforce would signify their talent towards bing a soul master. As such, a person with greater talent would have a greater cultivation speed. If one had tenth-ranked soulforce after their martial soul had awakened, they would be a gifted person with ¡®innate full soulforce¡¯. That person would thus be referred to as a genius soul master. A genius soul master would have great aplishments in his life as long as his martial soul wasn¡¯t too bad.

    Although Huo Yuhao was the son of the Duke, he hadn¡¯t inherited a powerful martial soul from the Duke. If he had, the Duke¡¯s wife would¡¯ve had to report his martial soul to the Duke, regardless of whether or not she liked him. From then on, Huo Yuhao and his mother¡¯s destiny would¡¯ve also changed.

    Unfortunately, an extremely rare mutation appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul.

    He possessed the ¡®Spirit Eyes¡¯.

    Outside of the two main categories of martial souls, there was an extremely tiny subcategory that were known as ¡®Body Souls¡¯. The martial soul that they awakened would be a part of their body, such as an arm, or a leg.

    Almost all Body Souls were extremely strong, but the probability of them appearing was extremely small. It could be said that they were existences above both Beast Souls and Tool Souls, and because of this, they were greatly valued whenever they appeared.

    Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was an exception to this.

    His Spirit Eyes martial soul had naturally appeared in his eyes. Furthermore, it was also an extremely rare spiritual-type martial soul. Under normal circumstances, Huo Yuhao should¡¯ve be greatly valued. Unfortunately, there were two points that had restricted his development. When he¡¯d awakened his martial soul, his innate soulforce had only been at the first rank. Thus, it could be said that his talent was quite poor, which meant that his cultivation speed would definitely be extremely slow. The second point that had restricted his development was even more fatal; not only were spiritual-type martial souls rarely seen, spiritual-type soul beasts were also extremely rare.

    Whenever a soul master¡¯s cultivation reached the tenth soul rank¡¯s bottleneck, they would need to kill a soul beast that waspatible with their martial soul, and then would need to use its soul ring to break through it.

    Not only were soul rings required to breakthrough a bottleneck, but they would also give soul masters a skill. This was also one of the origins of a soul masters strength.

    Combined, these two factors practically doomed Huo Yuhao to have no achievements during his lifetime.

    However, he was still the Duke¡¯s son in the end. Thus, he still managed to obtain a simple soulforce cultivation method.

    Even the children of some servants within the Duke¡¯s Mansion were capable of reaching the tenth soul rank, and could be soul masters within three years of awakening their martial soul.

    However, Huo Yuhao had reached the age of eleven this year. He¡¯d already cultivated for five years, yet his soulforce had only barely reached the tenth soul rank. Furthermore, he¡¯d worked three times harder than his peers!

    After his mother passed away, Huo Yuhao stayed in the Duke¡¯s Mansion for another year. He was still young, so he didn¡¯t have any source of ie whatsoever after rashly leaving the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Thus, he could only suppress all of his grievances and hate with his heart. And, due to the oppression that he¡¯d had to suffer through, his mind had matured much more than his peers.

    His mother had told him that the only way for him to be outstanding was to be a soul master. Even if he only became an ordinary soul master, his status would still be much higher than that of other ordinary people on the Douluo continent.

    Yesterday, Huo Yuhao had finally managed to raise his soulforce to the tenth rank; this was with his extremely poor talent, and after five years of bitterly hard work. This was also the day that he¡¯d nned to leave the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    He needed a soul ring. Even a low-tier ten year soul ring would be fine! That way, he¡¯d have the chance to be a true soul master that possessed his own personal skill.

    On the Douluo Continent, soul beasts were ranked ording to the number of years that they¡¯d lived for. The strength of their soul rings was closely rted to this, as well as their overall power.

    Generally speaking, soul beasts were separated into ten year soul beasts, hundred year soul beasts, thousand year soul beasts, ten thousand year soul beasts, and hundred thousand year soul beasts.

    Soul masters would have to personally kill a soul beast in order to obtain a soul ring from it when it died.

    Huo Yuhao knew that, if he continued to stay in the Duke¡¯s Mansion, he simply wouldn¡¯t have a chance to obtain a soul ring. Practically no one there was willing to help him. Due to this, he rashly decided to leave the Duke¡¯s Mansion, even though he knew that it was an extremely dangerous thing for him to look for a spiritual-type soul beast by himself. After all, a newborn calf wouldn¡¯t be afraid of a tiger.

    Huo Yuhao quickly arrived at the main road as he walked towards the north. Although he was young, he¡¯d already made preparations for the sake of obtaining a soul ring. Besides a set of clean clothes, he¡¯d also brought some dry rations in his bag, as well as some money that his mother had obtained via hard work. He also had a dagger in his bag. But most importantly, he had a simple map of the continent.

    Both the Duke¡¯s Mansion and Star Luo City were located in the north-central region of the Star Luo Empire, and the area that Huo Yuhao chose to hunt for a soul beast in was the Great Star Dou Forest that bordered the northern area of the Star Luo Empire and the Tian Hun Empire. Various types of soul beasts lived within the forest, which was almost as big as a province. Furthermore, there were nock of supreme existences inside of the forest.

    If anyone else knew that the eleven year old Huo Yuhao had dared to enter the Star Dou Forest by himself, without a teacher apanying him, they would definitely be stunned speechless. He was overestimating his own capabilities! Since he didn¡¯t have any skills at all, he might not even be able to win a fight against a ten year soul beast!

    The main road was perfectly straight, thus Huo Yuhao quickly walked along it, following the roadside. Although he was young, he was still a tenth ranked Soul Schr. His physical strength was much greater than a normal adult¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao gazed far into the distance as he walked forward. If one were to carefully look at him, they would see that his deep blue eyes had instantly be much clearer, and that there faintly seemed to be light shing inside of them.

    Ever since he¡¯d awakened his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao had discovered that his vision exceeded that of an ordinary person¡¯s. At a rtively close distance, he could see many minute details that ordinary people were unable to clearly see; at a longer distance, the range of his vision was over twice the distance of an ordinary person¡¯s.

    The strength of his vision had also unceasingly increased inbination with his soulforce level. The changes that had appeared as his cultivation increased made his trust in his mother¡¯s words increase. A soul master, I must be a soul master.

    ¡°Mother once said that I would be a control system battle soul master if I was able to obtain a soul ring. It¡¯s not that my martial soul is bad, but that my talent is poor. Thus, I¡¯ll just work harder and cultivate longer than other people do.¡±

    Huo Yuhao cultivated as he advanced forward, supported by this resolute conviction. When he was thirsty, he¡¯d look for some spring water; when he was hungry, he¡¯d eat some of the rough biscuits that he¡¯d brought along with him. Other than hurrying forward on his journey, he would sit down and meditate. The fact that he could actually advance three hundred miles in a single day¡ªat his age¡ªwas nothing short of a miracle.

    However, he only had seven silver soul coins and five copper soul coins him, which caused him to be extremely frugal with his money.

    Ever since the war between the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent had ended, the continent had undergone thousands of years of changes. The currency used was nowpletely unified: one gold soul coin was equal to ten silver soul coins, which was equal to one hundred copper soul coins.

    When he was young, his mother had sometimes quietly taken him outside of the Duke¡¯s Mansion to look for some fruits and wild herbs in the forest to eat, simply for the sake of giving him a better meal than normal. Thus, the amount of nts that Little Yuhao recognised was fairly high. Many times, he couldn¡¯t even bear to buy some cheap biscuits, so he had to resort to looking for some food in the woods beside the road as he travelled along.

 Chapter 1.3: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 1.3: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    Although Huo Yuhao had the guidance of a map, this was still the first time that he¡¯d left vicinity of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Due to this, he couldn¡¯t avoid losing his way a few times, and he had to continuously ask for the help of other people to find the correct route to his destination.

    This was the so-called ¡®reading ten thousand books is not as good as travelling ten thousand miles¡¯. He felt like he¡¯d learned a lot of things after only a few days. His mood had also improved a lot without the oppression and restrictions that were usually imposed within the Duke¡¯s Mansion. The interesting things that he¡¯d seen so far during his journey caused him to be endlessly excited. He was still young after all. After his body had recovered, he didn¡¯t feel tired while travelling. On the contrary, it could be said that he was a bird who¡¯d left its cage. This was the first time that he¡¯d had fun after his mother¡¯s passing.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been walking for six days, I should get there soon.¡± Huo Yuhao carefully inspected the paper map in his hands, and then looked in the direction where the trees by the roadside pointed to. He determined that he was already very close to the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Huo Yuhao wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he walked into the woods by the roadside. As soon as he sat down in the shade of a tree, intending to meditate and recover his spirit power, the sound of flowing water suddenly began to reverberate through the air. This sound immediately caused Huo Yuhao to jump up in excitement.

    The presence of water signified that he could improve his lifestyle!

    Huo Yuhao quickly shut his eyes, and quietly listened for the source of the water. As someone who possessed a spiritual-type martial spirit, his six senses were much stronger than an ordinary person¡¯s. This was especially true when he shut his eyes. When he shut his eyes, his other five senses would increase in strength by a margin.

    He quickly identified where the sound of water wasing from, and carefully advanced through the forest. The reason why he was being so careful wasn¡¯t because the forest¡¯s ground was uneven, but because he was scared that his clothes would be torn by the brambles in the forest. These were clothes that his mother had personally made for him.

    He found his target without walking more than two hundred metres, which turned out to be a small brook approximately three metres wide. The cold water within was so clear that you could see straight to the bottom, and it created both a rxing and a refreshing feeling.

    Huo Yuhao let out a happy cheer, rapidly took his clothes off, and then instantly jumped into the stream, which wasn¡¯t even two feet deep. Thest time he¡¯d had a bath was two days ago. The past two days of travelling had covered his body in sweat, and taking a bath in this cold and clear water was simply a pleasure that couldn¡¯t be any more rxing.

    After thoroughly bathing, a brilliant feeling was suffused throughout his whole body when he walked out of the stream. He inwardly thought, Since I¡¯ve already arrived at the Great Star Dou Forest, I¡¯ll simply have a good rest here.

    He changed into a clean set of clothes, proceeded to washed his dirty clothes in the stream as well, and then hung them on a nearby tree branch. He then snapped off a tree branch that was approximately three feet long.

    He used his right hand to pull a dagger from its sheath at his waist. The dagger was roughly forty centimetres long, and its scabbard was dark green in colour. The scabbard was made of tough leather, though he didn¡¯t know whether it was leather from an animal, or from a spirit beast. He only knew that it was a present that his father had given to his mother. It had always been treasured by his mother, so much so that his mother had only given it to him the moment before she passed away.

    The handle of the dagger was about seventeen centimetres long, and didn¡¯t have any gorgeous decorations on it at all¡ªit gave people a simple and unadorned feeling. Not only did it feel natural to hold, it also felt exceptionallyfortable.

    It also didn¡¯t make any noise when it was unsheathed. The twenty-three centimetre long de was just like limpid autumn water, and seemed to be transparent. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shiver because of the dense, cold air around the knife, even though he seemed to be somewhat used to it.

    The ¡®White Tiger Dagger¡¯. This was the dagger¡¯s name, which his mother had told him.

    As Huo Yuhao looked at the White Tiger Dagger, the excitement in his eyes instantly turned into a deep look of sadness. He seemed to see his mother¡¯s figure in the de¡¯s reflection.

    Holding the branch that he¡¯d just snapped off in one hand, Huo Yuhao used the White Tiger Dagger to shave the front of it. When the de, which was releasing a faint blue light, cut into the tree branch, it felt like cutting through tofu. After two or three cuts, the front of the tree branch had been sharpened.

    He sheathed the White Tiger Dagger at his waist, and walked back towards the stream with the sharpened branch in hand.

    After taking a deep breath, his eyes immediately lit up. All of the minute details in the clear water were magnified within his eyes. He was now able to see the minute changes in the water¡¯s ripples¡ªeven the small shrimps thaty in-between the cracks in the ground at the bottom of the river couldn¡¯t escape the notice of his Spirit Eyes. Furthermore, everything seemed to slow down as he looked at it.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao made a lightning fast move, and stabbed the sharpened branch he was holding into the stream.

    ¡°Pu¡ª¡± When he raised his hand back up, and turned the tree branch upwards, a half-feet long mackerel had appeared on the tip of it.

    To ordinary people, stabbing a fish was definitely something that required technique. However, this was something extremely easy for Huo Yuhao, who had the aid of the Spirit Eyes to help him urately determine the position of the fish.

    A single small fish was naturally not enough for him. After a few moments of casualbour, he¡¯d stabbed ten mackerels that varied from seventeen centimetres in length, to thirty-three centimetres in length.

    ¡°This is good, it canst me for two days at the least. It won¡¯t rot very easily if I roast it too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao happily squatted down next to the stream, and used the White Tiger Dagger to gut the mackerels. The sharp White Tiger Dagger easily managed to cut through the fish, no matter if it was its scales, chest, or belly. This was no problem at all to Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d been doing manualbor with his mother since he was young. The ten fish were all gutted after fifteen minutes.

    He looked for some big leaves in the forest, and rinsed them off in the river. Then, he ced the gutted fishes on the wet leaves. After that, he found some dry twigs to use as firewood, and started a fire next to the stream after a moment of work.

    Huo Yuhao only had salt avable as a seasoning, but that was enough for something like roasted fish. He stuck the clean mackerels onto a thin branch, and rubbed some salt into their bellies. Then he took some leaves known as Purple Basil out of his bag, which he¡¯d gotten in the forest a few days ago. He washed and separated the Purple Basil before pushing it into the bellies of the fish. Only after this did he start to roast the fish on the grill that he¡¯d created using some thick branches.

    It didn¡¯t take long for an unusual smell to spread from the fire that he¡¯d created. The smell was very heavy, and it contained a certain attraction that belonged solely to it. As Huo Yuhao slowly rotated the mackerels, they gradually turned golden. This, apanied with that heavy aroma, was exceptionally enticing.

    At first, he only roasted two of the fish, and set aside the others. If he had roasted too many of the fish in one go, it would¡¯ve been quite easy for problems to ur while he was controlling the fire.

    ¡°How fragrant!¡±

    A happy and delicate cry echoed out at that moment. The cry sounded both clear and pure, but it still startled Huo Yuhao.

    He looked towards the source of the sound, and saw two people walking along the side of the stream. The person walking in front was a girl who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, and had long ck hair that was tied into a ponytail behind her. She wore a set of light blue, form-fitting warrior¡¯s robes, which seemed to outline her budding and delicate body that was filled with youth.

    She had phoenix-like eyes, which were both big and bright. She also had a raised nose, an almost perfect oval face, and a pretty and delicate face that was slightly happy as she fixed her gaze on Huo Yuhao¡¯s roasted fish.

    The person following behind her was a youth that seemed to be of the same age as her. His slender body was tall and straight, whilst his short, deep blue hair shone with a jade-like luster under the sunlight. Although he wasn¡¯t old, he gave people a sort of schrly feeling. His handsome face had azy yet warm smile on it, and his hands were rested on the back of his head. He also gazed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction with an interested look. However, he wasn¡¯t looking at the roasted fish, but at Huo Yuhao himself.

 Chapter 1.4: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 1.4: The Youth with the Spirit Eyes

    The girl ran towards Huo Yuhao in high spirits. A greedy, hungry look appeared on her face as she said, ¡°Little brother, are you selling this roasted fish? It smells so good! How did you make it?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t ever seen beautiful girls before. While he was in the Duke¡¯s Mansion, many of the servant girls had been very pretty, however none of them had evere as close as the girl in front of him before. Furthermore, none of the girls in the Duke¡¯s Mansion wereparable to the girl in front of him either. She wasn¡¯t an absolute beauty that was perfectly wless, but she had a sort of outstanding temperament.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned somewhat red as he replied, ¡°I-I¡¯ll treat you both to a meal.¡±

    The girl giggled in response. ¡°Little brother, you¡¯ve even be embarrassed. Then, I won¡¯t be polite.¡± As she talked, she stretched her hand out to take the roasted fish that Huo Yuhao had passed over. She didn¡¯t seem to care about what she looked like as she carefully ate the roasted fish, then let out a loud cry of ¡°Hot!¡±.

    At that moment, the youth that had been following the girl walked over. He had a helpless look on his face as he raised his hand and greeted Huo Yuhao. Then he said to the girl, ¡°Xiao Ya, this little brother hasn¡¯t even eaten yet, yet you¡¯ve already started eating.¡±

    Xiao Ya¡¯s beautiful eyes widened as she angrily retorted, ¡°What did you just call me?¡±

    The youth immediately raised his hands in surrender, ¡°Fine, Teacher Xiao Ya, that should be fine, right?¡±

    Xiao Ya stared at him coldly and said, ¡°That¡¯s the way that it should be. You should pay attention to your status.¡± Although she wasn¡¯t that old, her gaze was filled with a charming look. The onlooking youth couldn¡¯t help but have his expression turned nk. Huo Yuhao, who was to the side, didn¡¯t dare to continue looking. He passed the other fish that he¡¯d roasted to the youth and said, ¡°Big brother, this is for you.¡±

    The youth smiled and said, ¡°Gentlemen shouldn¡¯t take good things that belong to others. Little brother, you still haven¡¯t eaten. Did you catch these fish in the river?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, I can still roast more.¡± While he spoke, he handed the roasted fish to the youth. Then, he skillfully took two of the fish that he¡¯d set aside, so that he could roast them on the wooden rack.

    The youth gently smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m Bei Bei and she¡¯s Tang Ya. Little brother, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao.¡± He replied whilst carefully roasting the fish. During his journey, he¡¯d met many travellers while sleeping outdoors, and had also received a lot of help from them. Thus, he hadn¡¯t hesitated to give Tang Ya one of the fish he¡¯d roasted when she asked. The past few days had taught him the fact that people had to mutually help each other while they were outdoors.

    Bei Bei sat next to Tang Ya. The way he ate the roasted fish was much more graceful than Tang Ya¡¯s. At the very least, his hands weren¡¯t fully stained with oil.

    By the time Huo Yuhao had finished roasting the second batch of fish, Tang Ya was already impatiently waiting. Under Bei Bei¡¯s helpless gaze, she snatched another roasted fish.

    However, Bei Bei was unwilling to eat another fish, thus he motioned for Huo Yuhao to eat first. Huo Yuhao was already hungry, so he ate the other fish while continuing to roast more.

    Although the seasonings used on the roasted fish were only salt and purple basil, the roasted fish¡¯s taste was extremely delicious. And although the ten fish weren¡¯t that big, their size together was still quiterge. All of the fish were eaten by the three.

    ¡°This is simply too tasty. I¡¯ve never eaten such a delicious roasted fish before. Little brother Huo Yuhao, how about I hire you as a chef, okay?¡± Tang Yaid down on the grass, and stretched in satisfaction. Her curves werepletely exposed, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. Bei Bei scratched his head whilst looking at her, but didn¡¯t do anything about it.

    ¡°Do you have any money? Teacher Xiao Ya?¡± Bei Bei asked, sshing cold water on her idea.

    ¡°Eh¡­ I¡¯ll have money in the future.¡± Tang Ya was slightly embarrassed as she sat up. She red at Bei Bei, seemingly unhappy at him for ruining her ns.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and said, ¡°Brother Bei, Sister Tang, I¡¯ll have to leave first.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Little brother Huo, this is the deste countryside, and isn¡¯t that far away from the Great Star Dou Forest where soul beasts wander. Just where do you intend to go?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head, then grabbed his clothes that had already dried from the tree branch. He smiled and waved goodbye to the two after he¡¯d packed his clothes into his bag. Afterwards, he turned around and left under Tang Ya¡¯s slightly astonished gaze.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t really want to go into the Great Star Dou Forest, could he?¡± Tang Ya gazed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s shrinking back as she pondered.

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t be sure. I can vaguely sense that he possesses soulforce, but it¡¯s very weak. It also seems that he¡¯s alone. This is truly somewhat strange.¡±

    Tang Ya stuck her tongue out and said, ¡°Since he has soulforce, why don¡¯t we recruit him into our Tang Sect?¡±

    Bei Bei unhappily replied, ¡°You can¡¯t be wanting to recruit someone into the sect, simply because they cooked you some delicious fish?¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s face reddened when her intentions were found out, and she stuck her tongue out at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°This Little brother Huo has definitely experienced something in his life. I can see that his maturity exceeds his peers from his gaze alone. However, I don¡¯t know what his talent is like.¡±

    A happy expression suffused on Tang Ya¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°Since you¡¯re putting it like this, does that mean that you¡¯ve agreed?¡±

    Bei Bei bitterly smiled, ¡°Sect leader of the great Tang Sect, Miss Tang. Before you took me in as a disciple, the Tang Sect only had you, and you alone, as its leader. Therefore, since your ambition is to strengthen the Tang Sect, it¡¯s only natural that we recruit suitable people. This Little brother Huo looks like a rather steady and calm person. If his talent is passable, he¡¯s a suitable choice. And from the clothes that he¡¯s wearing, his family circumstances shouldn¡¯t be too good. Thus, our Tang Sect can recruit this kind of disciple now.¡±

    Tang Ya looked at Bei Bei with a slightly curious gaze as she said, ¡°You¡¯re actually quite crafty. I couldn¡¯t tell that at all.¡±

    Bei Bei stood up and brushed the dust off of his clothes as he replied, ¡°This is simply called being astute, but calling me wise is fine too. Let¡¯s go. Since we¡¯ve eaten so many of his roasted fish, we should at least protect him for a segment of his journey, just in case he gets in danger when he encounters some soul beasts, no matter whether we recruit him into the Tang Sect or not.

    Tang Ya also stood up and giggled. ¡°You¡¯re indeed quite smart this time, because your thoughts are actually identical to mine. Let¡¯s go after I clean up a bit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was naturally unaware of the conversion between Bei Bei and Tang Ya. He¡¯d originally nned to bring some roasted fish with him, but that n couldn¡¯t be realised, as he hadn¡¯t wanted to expose his identity as a Soul Schr, which was why he hadn¡¯t caught any more fish. His mother had taught him to talk with reservation when dealing with strangers. Although he had a good impression of Bei Bei and Tang Ya, he still decided to separate from them after he finished eating.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was young, he still thought a lot about things. He could tell that Tang Ya and Bei Bei weren¡¯t ordinary people. Bei Bei had said that this was the deste countryside, yet they both didn¡¯t even have any bags on them. Thus, he believed that it would be better for him to separate from the two.

    After eating the meal, he¡¯d already recovered from his prior exhaustion. He marked the position of the small stream on his map. Who knew, he might have a use for it when he returned.

    After walking forward for a short time, a wooden signboard on the roadside caught his attention.

    ¡°You will enter the territory of the Great Star Dou Forest in 50 metres. There are soul beasts roaming around, so please be careful.¡±

    Sure enough, he hadn¡¯t gotten lost. He was finally about to reach his destination. In addition to his current feeling of excitement, Huo Yuhao also felt a trace of nervousness. He touched the White Tiger Dagger on his lower back and suppressed the uneasiness in his heart. Then, he took determined strides as he advanced forward.

    Bing a soul master was the only way out for him. This was the conviction that he held in his heart, and he¡¯d never regretted his decision.

    The air gradually turned cool and refreshing, and an extraordinarily serious feeling seemed to exist within it. The Great Star Dou Forest was like a soul beast that had its mouth wide open for young creatures. He would either have an opportunity¡­or be swallowed!

 Chapter 2.1: Skydream Iceworm

    Chapter 2.1: Skydream Iceworm

    Huo Yuhao was still young, after all. After only a brief moment of astonishment and nervousness, his mood changed into that of excitement. He¡¯d finally arrived at his destination after so many days of travel. When he thought about obtaining a soul ring for himself, so that he could truly be a soul master, he felt his blood boil. Although he was only eleven, he¡¯d already bitterly cultivated for over five years, just for the sake of today.

    In his excited state, he unconsciously increased the speed of his steps. The speed of his advance towards the Great Star Dou Forest was also slightly fastened.

    A slightly strange feeling suddenly appeared in his mind as he advanced forward. Huo Yuhao then felt a slight stabbing pain in his eyes, causing him to unconsciously move soulforce to his Spirit Eyes.

    A weak stream of air spiralled around Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and he seemed to see a shadow sh across the left side of the road in front of him.

    As an extremely rare spiritual-type mutated martial soul, his Spirit Eyes had a very strong ability to sense danger. The feeling of immediate crisis Huo Yuhao felt caused his senses to immediately sharpen. He rapidly lowered his body to the left, and used his right hand to quickly unsheathe the White Tiger Dagger from his waist.

    A ck figure shed past the area he¡¯d previously been at. The area where it had pounced was almost within Huo Yuhao¡¯s reach, which immediately allowed him to clearly see what it was.

    It was a baboon that was roughly one metre tall. Its body was covered in light brown fur, and its eyes were brown in colour. It had two arms that were oddly long, and sharp fingernails on its ws. Its canine teeth were exposed from its lips, and a savage light was present in its eyes. It immediately let out a low roar towards Huo Yuhao since it had failed to hit him. It then powerfully stamped its hind legs, once again pouncing towards Huo Yuhao.

    Although his Spirit Eyes didn¡¯t have an amodating soul ring, its fundamental ability was still fairly good. After he¡¯d poured his soulforce into his eyes, the pouncing baboon¡¯s movements became much slower in his eyes. Huo Yuhao, who had previously dropped to the ground, rapidly rolled to the right. He then sprung up and tumbled a few steps backwards, whilst simultaneously raising the White Tiger Dagger before him.

    The clear sounds of his nervous heartbeat echoed out, and his breathing had clearly be rushed. This was the first time in his life that he¡¯d encountered a soul beast¡¯s attacks. The palm he was using to hold the White Tiger Dagger had already been covered in sweat, and his expression had also turned somewhat nk, because he didn¡¯t know how to react.

    After the baboon missed two attacks in a row, it seemed to be enraged. Its upper body rose up, and it used its fists to vigorously beat on its chest, letting out a roar. At the same time, it suddenly opened its mouth towards Huo Yuhao. It immediately spat out a ball of white light, which went directly towards Huo Yuhao.

    Even though Huo Yuhao had no experience, he was still able to see that his opponent was a soul beast now. There was still a certain distance between where he was and the Great Star Dou Forest, which was the reason why he hadn¡¯t been prepared at all. With his current level of cultivation, it was very possible that he would suffer a cmitous fate if he were to be struck by that white ball of light.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had already be nk. The ball of white light didn¡¯t seem very fast when he looked at it through his Spirit Eyes, but in reality, it would arrive in the blink of an eye.

    Whilst spitting out the white light, the baboon had also pounced towards Huo Yuhao at an extremely quick speed, a savage light in its eyes.

    Huo Yuhao had already lost the ability to think due to his nervousness. When the white light reached him, he subconsciously followed his instincts and brought the White Tiger Dagger in his right hand up, striking the white light head-on.

    A strange scene appeared at this moment. By the time the white light had collided with the White Tiger Dagger, the baboon had already arrived, and had extended its long arms in front of it, shing towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders with its sharp ws.

    Since the battle had reached this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fate seemed to already be sealed. Was he really going to perish under this soul beast¡¯s ws?

    The baboon wed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders, and made use of its sturdy body and the momentum from its charge to flip around midair, in an attempt to fiercely throw Huo Yuhao downwards.

    In the same moment that it reached Huo Yuhao and attempted to throw him down, a white light shed past its body. Its body seemed to stiffen for a moment, and Huo Yuhao was flung outwards instead of being smashed into the ground. On the other hand, the baboon rolled on the ground for a little while, before ceasing any further movements.

    ¡°Peng¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body collided with a nearby tree trunk, then slid down. Everything in front of his eyes turned dark, and the violent spike of pain instantly caused him to lose his ability to breathe.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance truly looked quite miserable. There were long wounds on his shoulders, and his jacket had nearly been torn apart.

    However, he still managed to awaken from his empty-minded state amidst the violent pain. His gaze subconsciously shifted towards the baboon thaty unmoving on the ground.

    A faint white light had appeared over the baboon. It slowly and gradually began to condense into a white halo above its body. The halo wasn¡¯t clear, and the light was also only faintly discernible. However, this still made Huo Yuhao gape at it.

    Soul ring? This is a soul ring? Huo Yuhao was so excited that his body trembled slightly, and the wounds on his body didn¡¯t seem to hurt that much anymore.

    He¡¯d only learnt the most basic meditation technique within the Duke¡¯s Mansion, yet he¡¯d heard far, far too much about soul beasts and soul rings. Almost every single guard within the Duke¡¯s Mansion would bring up the topic frequently, but this was the first time that he¡¯d personally seen one.

    Could it be that it¡¯s already dead? Huo Yuhao thought nkly to himself. A soul ring would only appear when a soul beast had died! But, how had it died?

    His Spirit Eyes¡¯ ability appeared at this moment, causing his memories to surge through his mind like a tide.

    The white light that the baboon had released had struck the White Tiger Dagger, however as soon as that happened, the White Tiger Dagger had suddenly emitted a light, unexpectedly absorbing all of the white light. This was also the factor that altered the most crucial moment of the battle.

    ording to the baboon¡¯s instincts, a weak human like Huo Yuhao would definitely lose all of hisbat power after being struck by its soul skill. Then, he would lose at least half his life from being fiercely smashed to the ground. However, it never thought that its soul skill would be subconsciously neutralised by Huo Yuhao¡¯s White Tiger Dagger. When it flipped its body in order to throw Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao had instinctively swung his hands upwards, causing the White Tiger Dagger in his right hand to naturally sh upwards as well.

    Originally, the White Tiger Dagger¡¯s length hadn¡¯t been long enough to reach the baboon that had already soared into the sky. However, the White Tiger Dagger suddenly released a foot-long de of light in that instant, which swept across the baboon¡¯s body. It seemed to have turned the white light it had previously absorbed into a sharp de. Although Huo Yuhao was unable to clearly remember where the dagger had struck due to his nk mind, something had definitely happened. That de of light must have definitely shed the body of the baboon.

    I actually won? Huo Yuhao gazed at the white soul ring, but the excitement in his heart gradually faded. Soul rings were necessary items for soul masters to advance in rank. However, not all soul rings were suitable for soul masters to absorb. Only a soul ring that had a highpatibility with the soul master¡¯s martial soul could be absorbed, for the best results.

 Chapter 2.2: Skydream Iceworm

    Chapter 2.2: Skydream Iceworm

    The strength of a soul ring was based off of how many years the soul beast had cultivated for; the better a soul ring was, the stronger the skill it would grant to a soul master.

    White soul rings were those formed by a ten year soul beast. All soul beasts that had cultivated between ten and a hundred years would produce a white coloured soul ring when they were killed. The baboon that Huo Yuhao had luckily managed to kill was undoubtedly a ten year soul beast, and a ten year soul ring had also clearly appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. Unfortunately, the soul ring wasn¡¯t one he could absorb.

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any experience at killing soul beasts, and couldn¡¯t see what type of existence the baboon was, he was certain that the baboon wasn¡¯t a spiritual-type soul beast. Therefore, its soul ring was thus even more unsuited for him.

    He wanted to check the baboon¡¯s condition, but a wave of both pain and soreness flooded his body when he was about to stand up. His excessive nervousness from earlier caused him to be unable to use any strength at all now. Combined with the pain from his shoulders, the exertion of force caused him to let out a muffled groan, and almost caused him to faint.

    He was only eleven after all! The determination in his heart had even wavered slightly, after the battle that he¡¯d just experienced. The amount of spiritual-type soul beasts that existed was extremely little, yet he¡¯d almost been killed by the first soul beast he¡¯d encountered. Furthermore, this had only been a ten year soul beast. What if he¡¯d encountered a hundred year soul beast? He would¡¯ve had absolutely no chance of even narrowly escaping, simply because it was impossible for luck to be with him at all times. The miraculous power that had momentarily been released from the White Tiger Dagger obviously couldn¡¯t make up for his weak strength.

    What should I do? Huo Yuhao struggled to barely sit up. He leaned against the tree that he¡¯d previously flown into, and gasped for breath.

    I can¡¯t die, I¡¯ll definitely seed. I still have to seek justice for my mother, I can¡¯t give up like this! Huo Yuhao tightly clenched his teeth, and unceasingly hardened his conviction. However, the scenes from his previous battle with the baboon continuously let him know that he had been overestimating his capabilities.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was filled with an empty feeling, and he didn¡¯t know what to do. Suddenly, a voice echoed out inside of his mind, without any prior warning.

    ¡°Finally, I¡¯ve met a spiritual-type human! What a pity that this brother can¡¯t cry! If I could, my face would definitely be covered with tears!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled. He didn¡¯t understand why a voice had suddenly appeared inside of his mind. However, at this moment, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled without any prior warning. Cracks began to appear on the ground two metres in front of him, and then gradually expanded until they turned into a crevice; a dim golden-white light faintly shone from within the crevice.

    This, what is this? Another soul beast?

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously gripped the White Tiger Dagger tightly, and nervously gazed at the crevice that was gradually expanding. If it wasn¡¯t for his aching body, he might¡¯ve already run away.

    An icy chill was released from the crevice, which caused the surrounding temperature to drop. The area of the crevice gradually increased, and after a moment, its diameter had reached five metres wide, causing the true appearance of the golden-white light to finally be revealed.

    It was a plump and fat-looking head with a diameter of over one metre. After it slowly wiggled its body and managed to climb up, its entire body was revealed. Its body was over seven metres long.

    Following its appearance, the surrounding temperature became so cold that Huo Yuhao was able to see his own breath, and it caused him to be unable to help but shiver a few times.

    This was definitely a soul beast, yet it unexpectedly resembled a silkworm. However, it was god-knows how many timesrger than a normal silkworm.

    Its body was the same colour as white jade, sparkled, and was translucent. Although it had dug itself out from the earth, there wasn¡¯t any dirt on its brilliant skin at all. Halos of light moved about underneath its epidermis, and it unexpectedly had a small pair of eyes on its head that flickered with a golden light. Strangest of all, golden patterns were engraved on its body at certain intervals, starting half a metre from its head. From head to tail, it had a total of ten golden patterns.

    A look of despair appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s already nervous face as he gazed at its enormous body. It has such an enormous body, and it has the power to change the temperature¡­ it¡¯s at least a hundred year soul beast. It¡¯s over, everything¡¯s over.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, don¡¯t be scared. This brother won¡¯t harm you!¡± The voice from before echoed out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind once again, and the enormous silkworm nodded its head. Its huge head then drooped downwards, before stopping a metre away from Huo Yuhao. It even emitted a faintly fragrant odor from its body.

    Huo Yuhao said in a startled tone, ¡°Are you the one that¡¯s talking to me?¡±

    The enormous silkworm nodded its head in response, and its voice continued to echo out inside of his mind, ¡°It¡¯s obviously this brother that¡¯s speaking. Did you get captivated by my beautiful body?¡±

    After realizing that the enormous silkworm didn¡¯t have any evil intentions, Huo Yuhao¡¯s taut heartstrings rxed a bit.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±

    The silkworm replied, ¡°First off, let me introduce myself. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry! A king of kings amongst soul beasts, who is both equally smart and good-looking! I¡¯m an absolute expert, one who has cultivated for a million years! I¡¯m the Skydream Iceworm who¡¯s set the record for the longest lifespan in the Douluo Continent! Yup, you can call me Brother Skydream!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes instantly turned lifeless, ¡°Mil-Million year soul beast?¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s age differed from his prediction by a factor of ten thousand times. Furthermore, were there really such existences as million year soul beasts in the world? The strongest soul beast on the Douluo Continent should only be a hundred thousand years old!

    The Skydream Iceworm, who was clearly pleased with himself, said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you in awe? Aren¡¯t you really excited? You¡¯re the first human who¡¯s seen my almighty figure.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nkly said, ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice suddenly became serious, ¡°This brother wants to be your soul ring¡ªthe Douluo Continent¡¯s first ever intelligent soul ring.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at the Skydream Iceworm in front of him with a dumbstruck expression. He¡¯d momentarily lost his ability to think.

    Everything that had urred so far had simply been too sudden. Admittedly, he did thirst for a soul ring. However, in the past, the soul ring that he¡¯d wanted to obtain was simply a ten year soul ring. He¡¯d never had any extravagant hopes. Yet, at this moment, a massive silkworm that could talk had suddenly dug itself out from beneath the ground, had told him that it was an almighty million year soul beast, and that it wanted to be his soul ring. This made Huo Yuhaopletely unable to understand what was going on at all. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t know whether the Skydream Iceworm was telling the truth or not.

    However, the enormous silkworm in front of him wasn¡¯t something that he could hope to fight, regardless of whether it was telling the truth or not.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s enormous head turned in the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest, and carefully scanned it. Then, it turned back towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to start, okay? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be gentle. I won¡¯t cause too much pain.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Before Huo Yuhao could even voice any sort of opposition, an extremely cold aura caused him to immediately lose consciousness. He could only faintly see a white object charging towards him. In the next moment, all of his thoughts faded away.

    The ten golden patterns on the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body moved rhythmically, almost as if they were alive. The white object that Huo Yuhao had seen was actually the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s head, which had reached forward to press against his head.

    The ten golden patterns rapidly enveloped Huo Yuhao¡¯s skinny body, and the Skydream Iceworm slowly turned itself halos of white light that unceasingly surged into his body.

 Chapter 2.3: Skydream Iceworm

    Chapter 2.3: Skydream Iceworm

    ¡°Too weak, too weak. This is simply too tragic. I¡¯m so pitiful, ah! Just how many more seals will I have to put on my body before his weak body can support me? It¡¯s so hard to be an intelligent soul ring.¡±

    When the Skydream Iceworm had surged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, ayer of incorporeal spiritual undtions had spread out from its body. These terrifying spiritual energy undtions almost instantly covered everything within a hundred miles.

    When the spiritual energy undtions covered Bei Bei and Tang Ya, who had sped up to chase after Huo Yuhao, they immediately fell into a momentarily sluggish state. Although the spiritual attack hadn¡¯t been too damaging, it still caused all living beings to lose their ability to think for a short period of time.

    At this moment, arge portion of the southern area of the Great Star Dou Forest had be frighteningly quiet.

    Previously, the sky had been extremely clear and sunny. However, it had suddenly darkened, and a thunder-like boom resounded out in the air. In that instant, the sun¡¯s brilliant rays of light were unexpectedly covered up by the darkness. Then, an enormous pressure that caused one to be unable to even breathe descended from the sky.

    When the thunder-like boom resounded in the air, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s enormous body, who was currently trying to merge with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, violently shook for a moment. Its small, golden eyes looked upwards into the sky, and a terrified look immediately appeared inside of them. Inside of that terrified expression was also a hint of shock. The pressure in the sky clearly hadn¡¯t affected it, but it exceeded its knowledge.

    A grey stream of air descended from the sky, as if an enormous attractive force had sucked it downwards. After only an instant, itnded on the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and quietly entered it.

    ¡°Who dares to fight with this brother over a person?¡± The Skydream Iceworm flew into a rage. Its huge spiritual undtions instantly surged forth in an attempt to expel the grey stream of air from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    An extremely blurry figure appeared behind Huo Yuhao, and an aged voice with a hard-to-describe imposingness echoed out, ¡°The hand grasps the sun and moon, and also plucks the stars; This world has no one like me. I didn¡¯t think that this old man would have a trace of a remnant spirit left that still existed here.¡±

    The vague and illusory figure didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s powerful spiritual attack at all. With a whoosh, it disappeared into the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t dare to strengthen his spiritual attack again, as traces of blood had already begun to seep out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven apertures. He discovered that, after the grey stream of air had entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, it had immediately turned into a soybean-sized grey pearl. Then, it had turned silent. It didn¡¯t conflict with his spiritual energy, nor could he affect it with his power.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be this unlucky. It was so hard to find a spiritual-type human, but a bastard wants to snatch him from me. Are the heavens jealous of a genius like myself? This brother is so pitiful!¡± Although he was currently voicing hisints, his movements didn¡¯t slow down at all. Dense white light gradually condensed and poured into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, while the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body both gradually turned more transparent during the process, and rapidly decreased in volume. There had already been no turning back for him, from the instant he¡¯d started to pour his energy into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had turnedpletely jade-white, and resembled the previous appearance of the Skydream Iceworm. His shoulders¡¯ wounds were recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    ¡°Wahaha, no matter what way you put it, this brother is finally free! You bastards who took me as food no longer have any chance, wahaha!¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice, who was clearly pleased with himself, gradually turned softer and softer. The huge spiritual energy that had previously covered a hundred miles proceeded to shrink at a frightening speed, then gradually disappeared.

    Several terrifying auras from within the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest simultaneously let out violent undtions, as if they¡¯d sensed something. However, they were fated to to not have any sess in their endeavors.

    When the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice hadpletely disappeared, a jade-white halo soundlessly appeared beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. After circling around his body three times, its light dimmed, and the entire halo merged into his body, disappearing without a trace.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that, while he was unconscious, he¡¯d managed to obtain his first soul ring. Furthermore, this was a soul ring that was truly unrivalled and unique on the Douluo Continent.

    The jade-white colour gradually faded from Huo Yuhao, and an ice-blueyer started to appear below his skin. Thissted roughly ten seconds, before it gradually dimmed and restored the original colour of his skin. Then, his body tilted, causing him to fall against the tree he¡¯d previously leaned against.

    A thin white membrane that had a faint golden sheen to it soundlessly rose into the air, before it rapidly shrunk and formed a ball that disappeared inside of Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. There were no more traces of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s aura after that.

    The big hole in the road had already closed at an earlier time, and except for the copsed Huo Yuhao, the baboon that¡¯d been killed by him had had its corpse left on the ground. Everything else also seemed to have recovered to its normal state.

    Not long afterwards, two figures ran over extremely quickly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A figure let out a cry, and instantly sped up. She sped over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and stopped beside him.

    ¡°We¡¯rete. It seems little brother Yuhao was attacked. These soul beasts have really be more and more rampant! They¡¯ve actuallye out of the Great Star Dou Forest!¡± Tang Ya carefully helped Huo Yuhao up off the ground, a gloomy and worried expression on her face.

    Bei Bei walked over to the baboon and turned it over. He saw that a nted, foot-long wound had been inflicted on the baboon¡¯s chest, and that even its heart had been cut part. This was clearly a fatal wound.

    ¡°That was a Wind Baboon. From its size, and the strength of its muscles, it should be a ten year soul beast. It¡¯s already dead.¡± Bei Bei walked over to Tang Ya and squatted down to check on Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition.

    The thing that amazed them was that, although Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothing had been seriously damaged, they couldn¡¯t find any sign of injury on his body.

    Bei Bei tapped Huo Yuhao¡¯s wrist with his right forefinger, which caused the White Tiger Dagger to drop into his palm. A faint blue light shed in Bei Bei¡¯s hand for an instant, and then a hazy blue luster immediately appeared on the White Tiger Dagger.

    ¡°This is a soul tool. Yuhao must¡¯ve used it to kill that Wind Baboon. Although the Wind Baboon was only a ten year soul beast, both its speed and power are rtively decent, and it can also use an innate soul skill to attack its opponents. Since he can kill a Wind Baboon at his age, Little Yuhao is already quite good. It seems that our earlier judgement of Yuhao wasn¡¯t urate enough¡ªhe should already be a first ring soul master.¡±

    Tang Ya anxiously examined Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, then said, ¡°Talking about this is useless right now. We wasted time all because you insisted that I wash my hands and my face. If something happens to Little Yuhao because of that, I¡¯ll never forgive myself. No matter what level of talent he has, I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯ll definitely convince him to join our Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s gaze softened as he looked at Tang Ya¡¯s anxious expression. The kindness that came from Tang Ya¡¯s heart was something he loved very much. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine. Can¡¯t you see that his breathing is normal? There aren¡¯t any wounds on his body either. Judging from his the way he fainted, he must¡¯ve lost consciousness after being mmed into that tree by the Wind Baboon during their battle.¡±

    Tang Ya stared nkly for a moment, then raised her head up and red at Bei Bei. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? You made me worried.¡±

    Bei Bei helplessly replied, ¡°Who could¡¯ve known that you¡¯d be unable to see something so simple?¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± Tang Ya helped Huo Yuhao up, and allowed him to lean on her body. After confirming that he truly had no problems, she rxed.

 Chapter 2.4: Skydream Iceworm

    Chapter 2.4: Skydream Iceworm

    Bei Bei stood up and carefully checked their surroundings as he quietly guarded Tang Ya.

    After Huo Yuhao fainted, he entered a dream. He dreamt that he¡¯d entered a pure white space. There were many motes of light within the space, and he couldn¡¯t see the end of it. However, his gaze still seemed to somehow be able to reach every single corner of the space.

    Whilst in the midst of understanding the mysteries of the space, it had suddenly turned turbulent. After that, golden lights had interweaved and entered the space.

    The golden lights converged into enormous golden rings of light which floated in midair, and the many motes of light within the room started to increase in size due to their appearance.

    The ten golden rings of light slowly started to rotate, and a milky white halo appeared within every single one of them. As the halo¡¯s strength increased, they gradually gathered together and formed ten enormous balls of light that floated within the space. The height and the volume of the space increased many folds in size in turn.

    At that moment, an unremarkable grey ball of light appeared near one of the golden balls of light. The grey ball¡¯s size was much smaller than the other ten balls of light. Furthermore, the golden balls of light began releasing a strong golden light, as if they wanted to chase it away. However, the grey ball remained tranquil, and continued to float in midair. No matter how much the golden lights attacked the grey ball, it didn¡¯t seem to be affected at all.

    In the end, the ten golden lights could only give up on the meaningless task. They turned stable, and flickered with a dim luster.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness gradually cleared, the smaller motes of light that were floating in the space gradually sank downwards, forming a faint golden ocean that supported the ten enormous balls of light. Only the extremely tiny grey light remained midair, unwilling to join therge balls of light.

    ¡°So you¡¯re called Huo Yuhao.¡± A voice suddenly echoed out. Following that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision instantly retracted, and he unconsciously lowered his gaze. He could only see his naked self-standing above the golden ocean, right in the middle of the ten now-golden-white balls of light.

    ¡°Where is this? Why am I here?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in amazement.

    ¡°This is your mind¡¯s sea of consciousness, or spiritual sea. In the future, this will be Brother¡¯s home. This ce was too small, so Brother simply helped you expand it. However, your body is just too weak, so I¡¯ll have to make do for now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the Skydream Iceworm? I¡¯m not dreaming?¡± Huo Yuhao became even more stunned when he heard the voice and tone of the person who¡¯d spoken. Everything that he saw in front of him had already surpassed his knowledge. Not to speak of Huo Yuhao, who was only eleven; even adults would be shocked to the point of them trembling in fear if they were presented with such a miraculous scene.

    ¡°Dreaming? If you were able to have such a nice dream, wouldn¡¯t you have died from happiness? This is obviously not a dream. As I said, this is the world within your mind.¡± The Skydream Iceworm unhappily replied.

    Huo Yuhao nkly said, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°You really are foolish. How do I exin this to you? Well¡­ let¡¯s put it this way. You know about your eyes¡ªthey¡¯re the martial soul that your consciousness calls the ¡®Spirit Eyes¡¯. I¡¯ve just gone through your memories, so I know about your previous experiences. The Spirit Eyes are your martial soul, but at the same time also your eyes. Thus, the spiritual sea is where your spiritual energy is stored. If you want to disy the might of your Spirit Eyes, you¡¯ll need to convert your soulforce into spiritual energy, then release it using your Spirit Eyes. The specific location of your spiritual sea is your brain, behind your Spirit Eyes. As of right now, your consciousness is immersed within your spiritual sea. The body that you¡¯re seeing isn¡¯t actually your real body, but a body that I¡¯ve created using spiritual energy for the sake ofmunicating with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally understood a few things after hearing this detailed exnation. The fear in his heart also weakened by a lot. Young kids were much more sensitive than adults at certain times, and he felt that the Skydream Iceworm truly didn¡¯t have any malicious intentions towards him.

    ¡°Then, howe you appeared in my spiritual sea?¡± Huo Yuhao asked again.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just tell you? I want to be your soul ring, an intelligent soul ring! As of now, I¡¯ve already be one. However, for the sake of bing your soul ring, I¡¯ve suppressed and sealed arge amount of my power. From now on, you¡¯ll have a soul ring, and can be one of the human¡¯s so-called soul masters. However, your innate talent is much worse than what I thought. You can practically use the term ¡®extremely poor¡¯ to describe it. I really don¡¯t know whether my choice was correct or not.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly ashamed as he said, ¡°I admit that my talent isn¡¯t that good. But, I¡¯ll work hard. My innate spirit power was only rank one.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm gloomily said, ¡°I¡¯ll think of a method to help you improve yourselfter on.¡±

    As the length of the conversation increased, Huo Yuhao¡¯s guts did too. ¡°Skydream Iceworm.¡±

    ¡°Call me Brother Skydream.¡±

    ¡°Fine, Brother Skydream. You said that you were a million year soul beast, is that true? Also, why did you pick me? I¡¯ve heard that Soul Schrs can only withstand soul rings that are below four hundred years old. However, since you¡¯re a million year soul beast, how were you able to be my soul ring?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm suddenly let out a long sigh, ¡°Do you think that I wanted to pick you? I had no other choice! If I¡¯d continued to refrain from making a choice, my life would¡¯vee to an end. And once I died, my body would¡¯ve most likely be food for those guys in the Great Star Dou Forest! Under my state of helplessness, I could only use this n to attach myself to you humans. This is also my only way out. Would you like to listen to my story? In the future, we¡¯ll be with each other for a very, very long time. I don¡¯t want to hide anything from you either, so I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°Brother Skydream, please speak.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°At first, I was just an ordinary Iceworm soul beast. I wasn¡¯t born in the Great Star Dou Forest, but in an extremely cold ce located in the northern areas of the continent. We Iceworms are soul beasts that have two innate attributes, spiritual and ice attributes. However, ourbat strength is seriously limited by our speed. Thus, we can only be considered very ordinary soul beasts. What¡¯s more, we¡¯re also affected by the presence of natural predators. Very few of us can cultivate longer than ten thousand years. I¡¯m the sole exception to that.¡±

    ¡°When I was thirteen years old, I carelessly fell into a crack in the ice whilst running away from a predator. At that time, I thought I was done for. However, who could¡¯ve known that I¡¯d drop into a ball of ten thousand year Ice Pith? I sank into a deep sleep after that. I was still very weak and small back then, and my body wasn¡¯t even three inches long. That sleepsted for an entire ten thousand years. When I woke up, I found myself in an icy cave. That ten thousand year Ice Pith had disappeared¡ªit had all been absorbed by me. However, as a result of my slumber, I had thus turned into a ten thousand year soul beast. I was indescribably pleased and surprised back then! However, I discovered that I couldn¡¯t find any way to exit the icy cave at all.¡±

    ¡°I was surrounded by extremely hard ice in that icy cave. Although I had already be a ten thousand year soul beast, our Iceworm n has always been weak inbat, resulting in me being unable to forcefully break through the ice. Fortunately, there were many holes in the icy cave that I was able to climb through. Thus, I crawled around in search of an exit. In the end, I still couldn¡¯t find an exit, but I found an evenrger ball of Ice Pith. The appearance of this new ball of Ice Pith signified that I had food to eat. Hence, I entered another deep sleep. However, this sleepsted several tens of thousands of years¡­¡±

 Chapter 3.1: The Million Year Soul Ring

    Chapter 3.1: The Million Year Soul Ring

    As Huo Yuhao listened to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s exnation, he suddenly felt a strange feeling. Could it be that the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s name was because it had dreamt everyday?

    ¡°Although I wasn¡¯t able to leave the icy cave, eating the ten thousand year Ice Pith simply felt too good. Thus, I was lucky to not be able to find a way out, because I found anotherrge lump of ten thousand year Ice Pith whilst crawling around to look for one. I slept again, but I didn¡¯t even know how long I¡¯d slept for this time¡ªyet the first set of golden patterns had appeared on my body by the time I woke up.¡±

    ¡°A golden pattern has an extremely important meaning to us Iceworms. It signifies that our cultivation has reached a hundred thousand years. From what I remember, our Iceworm n has never had an existence possess a cultivation of a hundred thousand years. I was the first to do this! This was unprecedented in history! At that time, I evolved into a Gold-patterned Iceworm. I also had sufficient power to break through the ice and leave. However, at that time, I didn¡¯t know that hundred thousand year soul beasts would suffer enormous restrictions, which would make it harder for them to increase their cultivation. Perhaps it was because I was lucky, or perhaps it was because our Iceworm n has a deficiency ofbat strength, but I miraculously didn¡¯t attract any Heavenly Tribtion.¡± The Skydream Iceworm sighed. ¡°I decided to continue sleeping, since I was toozy to leave anyway. Thus, I continued to sleep in the icy caves. Because my cultivation had reached a certain level, I was able to break the ice and enter areas which I previously couldn¡¯t. This allowed me to find even more top quality Ice Piths, all of which became my food.

    ¡°Just like that, I repeated the cycle of sleeping after eating, and eating after waking up. I didn¡¯t even know how much time had passed. Only the golden patterns on my body were able to tell me how long I¡¯d lived for.¡±

    ¡°In the end, I finished eating all of the Ice Pith within the icy caves one day. I then dug myself out from the bottom of the icy caves, arriving at the ocean. I floated in the ocean, and moved with the tide; I floated along the edge of the continent, eventually moving towards the south. I also encountered my first enemy during this journey.¡±

    ¡°At that time, I already had nine golden patterns, which meant that I was a powerful nine hundred thousand year soul beast. I originally thought that I was an unequalled existence within this world. However¡­¡±

    As he continued to speak, the Skydream Iceworm clearly became somewhat embarrassed, ¡°However, I¡¯d never done anything nor fought with anyone when I was awake. In the end, I had to rely on my enormous spiritual energy to scare that enemy away. This finally roused my caution, which made me attempt to cultivate the ability to attack. However, I discovered that my cultivation lifespan didn¡¯t mean that I was strong. I was indeed a million year soul beast, but mybat power was in fact inferior to some ten thousand year soul beasts. Those ten thousand year soul beasts that were good at fighting were simply opponents I couldn¡¯t hope to achieve victory over. The outside world was truly too dangerous. However, I didn¡¯t know the way back.¡±

    ¡°I thought that since the ocean was dangerous, perhaps the continent would be safer. Thus, I went ashore. However, I discovered that the continent wasn¡¯t very peaceful either. Maybe it was an effect of absorbing too much Ice Pith, but my body had a special smell that could attract the attention of any and all soul beasts. It caused them to see me as food.¡±

    ¡°In the end, I was captured by a strong hundred thousand year soul beast from the Great Star Dou Forest. However, it didn¡¯t immediately kill me; Instead, it brought me to the Great Star Dou Forest. Only after listening to him did I understand what was going on. As it turned out, I possessed too much Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. As long as they were able to absorb and transform my energy, any soul beast could be a hundred thousand year soul beast, and any hundred thousand year soul beasts could break free from the limit of their cultivation lifespan. But, it took a long time to absorb my energy, since the energy I¡¯d cultivated for a million years was too enormous. Thus, it brought me back to its nest.¡±

    ¡°However, that fellow underestimated how awesome this Brother is. Although I wasn¡¯t too good at fighting, I was able to increase the strength of my aura. Thus, I was able to attract all of the hundred thousand year soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. Hehe.¡±

    ¡°The huge battle royale that ensued included nearly every single soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest whose age exceeded ten thousand. They fought so desperately! I originally thought that I now had a chance to escape. However, who could¡¯ve known that they¡¯d be so crafty? Once the battle had almost ended, they actually stopped and negotiated with each other. In the end, a tragedy urred to this Brother. They finally came to an agreement, deciding to absorb my power together, since the soulforce in my body wasrge enough. After that, they trapped me in the centre of the Great Star Dou Forest and forced me to release the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi from my body for them to absorb. The stronger soul beasts would be closer to me, and the benefits they obtained would thus be greater. These bastards practically took this Brother as food.¡±

    ¡°Ai, since I had no way to resist them, I could only let them order me around. I tried to think of a n to break free from their control whilst having my energy drained by them. My Yuan Qi was very pure, thus there was enough for them to absorb it for over ten thousand years. After a few thousand years of pondering and observing, I discovered that I¡¯d not only need to escape from them, but would also need to conceal my aura to sessfully break free from their control. You humans then appeared in my line of sight. There were a few times when some especially strong humans entered the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt those hundred thousand year soul beasts. Unfortunately, they were struck by a tragedy. Under the nourishment of this Brother, the high ranking soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest had definitely be the strongest soul beasts on the Douluo Continent. Although those humans had extremely strong weapons, they could only suffer a big defeat. However, this allowed me to understand the advantages you humans had.¡±

    ¡°Brother is a spiritual and ice dual-attribute soul beast. After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to think of a way to be a human¡¯s soul ring. If this happened, that human would definitely be extraordinarily strong, and I could rely on my spiritual-type attribute to preserve my own consciousness. Thus, I would be an unprecedented intelligent soul ring. Humph, once that happened, Brother would definitely get revenge, and would help that human kill all of the bastards who persecuted this Brother. Hence, I started carrying out my n. However, who could¡¯ve known that I¡¯d fail on my first attempt? The guy that I chose was what you humans call a Titled Douluo, and he was rather strong. However, he was truly rubbish. He actually exploded immediately, before even seeing my real body. He couldn¡¯t even withstand the shock of my spiritual energy. Only then did I discover that bing my host wasn¡¯t something so simple. They would first need to have a spiritual-type attribute as well, and be able to sustain the energy of my soul power. This was something that was even harder. Hence, I had no results, even after searching for a few thousand years. At that point, my soulforce had almost been fully drained by those hundred thousand year soul beasts. This Brother would¡¯ve soon be akin to a candle that had no wax left.¡±

    ¡°However, the Heavens still took care of Brother. When Brother had already despaired, the tenth golden pattern appeared on my body. I¡¯d finally be an unprecedented million year soul beast. After the tenth golden pattern appeared, I finally possessed the power to resist thosebat-oriented hundred thousand year soul beasts, and I could also conceal my own aura. Thus, I renamed myself as the Skydream Iceworm; I was no longer a Gold-patterned Iceworm. However, I was definitely unable to beat so many hundred thousand year soul beasts. Furthermore, my Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi had almost been fully absorbed by them. The only energy that I still had was my origin soulforce, which was what would provide the greatest aid to them. These were my two great attributes, which had yet to be absorbed. Revenge was something currently unattainable for me. Hence, I found an opportunity, and used the energy that I had obtained after breaking through to conceal my aura. Then, I escaped by burrowing through the earth.¡±

 Chapter 3.2: The Million Year Soul Ring

    Chapter 3.2: The Million Year Soul Ring

    ¡°Aih¡ª¡ª¡± The Skydream Iceworm sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, Brother still suffered a tragedy. Breaking through to a million year soul beast was actually a double edged sword. Although I managed to barely break free from their control, my lifespan suddenly reached its end due to the Heavenly Tribtion that abruptly arrived. If I wasn¡¯t able to preserve my life with other methods, I would¡¯ve died soon from exhaustion; it was also at this moment when Brother met you, a young fellow. Although you were pitifully weak, Brother had no other choice! Yet, you also had a spiritual-type attribute. Hence, Brother could only work hard to merge with your body. No matter which way you look at it, those bastards can¡¯t obtain this Brother¡¯s most precious thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already forgotten his fear from earlier as he listened to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s story. He felt righteously indignant as he said, ¡°They¡¯re too despicable. How could they be like this? They actually trapped you for almost ten thousand years!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm felt that his anger gave themmon ground as he said, ¡°Exactly! Although Brother is quite cute, quite handsome, and quite strong, they simply can¡¯t treat Brother as food! Things are good now though. On the whole, I¡¯ve managed to escape and not allow them to obtain Brother¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao, although you¡¯re young and your abilities are stillcking, it¡¯s fortunate that you¡¯re still pure. Brother will treat this as a n to raise you up. When you¡¯re strong in the future, you must help Brother get revenge! Didn¡¯t they rely on my soulforce to evolve? In the future, turn them into your soul rings and soul bones! Humph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao had no hesitation at all as he answered, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely help you get revenge after I grow up.¡± This rtionship between man and beast had rapidly deepened due to this slightly odd yet miraculous story.

    In reality, although the Skydream Iceworm had lived for a million years, it had only met with a few soul beasts after all. Even though its intelligence wasn¡¯t inferior to that of a human¡¯s, how could it know that humans had sinister hearts? If a human had encountered fortunate events like the Skydream Iceworm had, he would absolutely not reveal his story so easily. Choosing a kid like Huo Yuhao, who was practically as white as a sheet of paper, was actually quite lucky for it.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, I still don¡¯t understand a few things. Since you¡¯re so strong, you had to seal your own power to be my soul ring. Just what¡¯s the matter with this? Can you still bestow a soul skill to me?¡± After losing his fear, an even greater sense of curiosity filled Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    The Skydream Icewormughed cunningly as he said, ¡°Brother naturally has a way. Since I¡¯ve been nning this for so long, I¡¯ve already prepared the proper arrangements. After obtaining some experience from blowing those humans up, I realised that all of my help will have to focus on your safety. I already have no way of retreat now; if you die, I die too. My original soulforce was almost fully drained by those soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest. Otherwise, your body wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand my power, even if I¡¯d sealed it. When I merged with your body, most of the energy that entered you was my origin energy and my spiritual energy. Can you see those ten balls of light? They¡¯re the ten seals that I¡¯ve set up. If you look at it from another angle, it can be said that I¡¯ve already bestowed you the power of your first soul ring. However, you¡¯re temporarily unable to use it.¡±

    ¡°This also means that, although your first soul ring is a million year soul ring, it currently doesn¡¯t have the might of a million year soul ring. However, the energy that I¡¯ve sealed within your body will gradually disperse as your cultivation improves, which in turn will increase the might of your soul ring. It might even increase the might of your future soul rings. After all, the energy that I¡¯ve umted over a million years is simply too enormous for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao blinked his eyes and said, ¡°I still don¡¯t fully understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm unhappily said, ¡°Idiot. I¡¯ll repeat the simple points again. Your body, which has currently obtained its first soul ring, can only withstand the soul ring of a four hundred year old soul beast at most. Thus, the realistic might of your first soul ring is a four hundred year soul ring. After you make a breakthrough you¡¯ll be able to withstand the might of a thousand year soul ring, so your first soul ring will be a thousand year soul ring. Your first soul ring will follow the amount of energy that your body can withstand, and will increase ordingly. In other words, your first soul ring can evolve at any time, and your future soul rings will also have this benefit. Of course, this evolutionary energy that I can bestow upon you is limited. The stronger the soul ring you obtain in the future, the more energy you save for me. Using the energy that I sealed within your body, it can at most help increase ten of your soul rings reach the hundred thousand year soul ring rank.

    ¡°Ah? So many? We soul masters can only possess nine soul rings at most, no?¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with a startled tone.

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted coldly and loftily said, ¡°That¡¯s only true for ordinary people. You¡¯re already no longer an ordinary person¡ªever since Brother merged with you. A single martial soul can naturally only absorb only nine soul rings. However, you currently don¡¯t just have a single martial soul. After killing a hundred thousand year soul beast, you will both obtain a soul bone and a hundred thousand year soul ring that contains two soul skills within it. You should know this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

    The Skydream Iceworm said. ¡°As a million year soul ring, and an unprecedented intelligent soul ring, I¡¯m obviously stronger than them. Not only can my incarnation, which is your first soul ring, undergo unlimited evolution ording to the condition of your body, it can also bestow four soul skills to you. However, I have no soul bones that I can give to you¡ªinstead, I can give you another martial soul.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already predicted that a million year soul ring would benefit him greatly, but he¡¯d never thought that it would be to this extent. A soul ring that could undergo unlimited evolution had already caused him to be ineffably happy. Yet, the greater surprise was actually in its other benefits. Four soul skills and an extra martial soul, just what kind of concept was this?

    Since the four soul skills belonged to the first soul ring, their might would inevitably evolve as his first soul ring evolved. They were abilities that could be used forever! And, an extra martial soul could simply be described as a miracle. It was equivalent to turning him, who only had the Spirit Eyes martial soul, into a genius who had twin martial souls. Adding another martial soul would mean that he would have at least nine additional soul rings, which would give him nine more soul skills. How could a hundred thousand year soul ring evenpare to the strength amplification of this million year soul ring? Although his own strength was still weak even after obtaining these amplifications, and required him to slowly increase it, this million year soul ring undoubtedly opened a great door to the heavens for Huo Yuhao, allowing him, who¡¯d originally had mediocre talent, to have a future of unlimited possibilities.

    ¡°The martial soul that I¡¯ve bestowed you with is Ice, but it¡¯s Ice that currently doesn¡¯t have a soul.¡± The words that the Skydream Iceworm said next pulled Huo Yuhao back from his happiness.

    ¡°Ice that doesn¡¯t have a soul? What¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao had a look of doubt on his face.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°This means that the martial soul I¡¯ve bestowed you currently only has an attribute, but not a form. When you absorb your first ice-type soul ring, the form of your second martial soul will be finalized. The soul beast of the soul ring you absorb then will thus be your second martial soul. This also means that your second martial soul will definitely be a beast soul. You don¡¯t have to worry about this, I¡¯ve already thought about it for you. However, your current cultivation isn¡¯t sufficient. Once your strength is higher, I¡¯ll take you toplete your first ice-type soul ring. Now you should understand why I said that I wouldn¡¯t have enough energy to amplify your soul rings. Because of this, you must be extremely careful when choosing your soul rings, and you should listen to my suggestions.¡±

 Chapter 3.3: The Million Year Soul Ring

    Chapter 3.3: The Million Year Soul Ring

    ¡°Fine.¡± Huo Yuhao excitedly agreed, ¡°What are my four soul skills?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°You¡¯ll have to rely on yourself toprehend them. Something that youprehend on your own will always be clearer than something I tell you directly. However, don¡¯t be happy so early. You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve given you four soul skills, and they¡¯re all spiritual-type soul skills; however the energy that I¡¯ve sealed within your body is also very enormous. Thus, you must remember a few things. Firstly, the energy that I¡¯ve sealed inside of your body can only help you increase the age of your soul rings¡ªwhich is also their might¡ªwhen your cultivation has reached a sufficient stage. However, it can¡¯t increase the strength of the soulforce that you cultivate. Secondly, the four soul skills that I¡¯ve bestowed you with are, due to the fact that they¡¯re from me, auxiliary soul skills that don¡¯t have much attack power. Because of this, you¡¯re still quite weak right now. You still have a long way to go if you want to be strong, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand. My mother taught me that nobody could reach the heavens in a single step, that one step could only leave a single footprint. The only way for one to be a man above all other men is to rely on one¡¯s own hard work and diligence. Brother Skydream, you can rest assured; I¡¯ll definitely work hard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. However, your natural aptitude is truly poor. Ai¡­ if there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯ll find some heavenly treasures for you to eat. Your Spirit Eyes martial soul was caused by a mutation, but your potential isn¡¯t bad. However, the mutation process has greatly affected your bodily functions since you were young. Your passageways are now narrow and rough, causing your cultivation to be slightly challenging. Let¡¯s take it slowly, we can¡¯t rush this. Oh right, there¡¯s something I have tell you.

    ¡°Can you see that grey ball up there?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I can see it. Is that also your power?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know either. It happened when I fused with your body. I think your soulforce may have caused this. That grey ball of light seems to be a spirit, and also seems to not belong to our world. I don¡¯t even know where it came from. However, although this spirit was weak, it¡¯s a very high ranked spirit, so I don¡¯t have any methods of dealing with it. However, I can sense that it doesn¡¯t have any evil intentions. Right now, it¡¯s currently in a deep sleep. It might not wake up during your entire lifetime, but if it does, it could be slightly troublesome. Don¡¯t worry, if it doesn¡¯t move, then that¡¯s that; If it truly does do anything harmful to you, I¡¯ll protect you¡ªit won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you should go back to your body now. The two humans outside have been waiting for you this whole time, and they don¡¯t have any evil intentions towards you.¡±

    ¡°Two humans?¡± While Huo Yuhao was astonished, the scenery in front of him suddenly turned blurry. He felt like he¡¯d instantly been sucked into an enormous whirlpool, and everything turned dark.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you woken up yet!¡± Tang Ya patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s face and shot an inquisitive nce towards Bei Bei, who was next to her.

    Bei Bei gently smiled and said, ¡°Both his qi and blood arepletely smooth, and his body¡¯s soulforce is very normal. Furthermore, it¡¯s very vigorous. If I¡¯m not wrong, he must¡¯ve just broken through the soul Schr realm, and this is the sign of him entering the Soul Master realm. His body needs to harmonize with this power right now, thus he naturally needs a certain amount of time to get used to the soulforce that he¡¯s obtained after breaking through. Unfortunately, it was only a ten year Wind Baboon.¡±

    Tang Ya humphed and said, ¡°How is that very unfortunate? It¡¯s normal for someone¡¯s first soul ring to be a bit weaker than the rest. The fact that he was able to kill a Wind Baboon by himself is already quite good.¡±

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°The way to capture a woman¡¯s heart is through her stomach, much less for a person like you, whose heart and stomach are conjoined.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s charming face turned slightly red, ¡°Pah, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s heart and stomach are conjoined. You¡¯re impudent; don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m your teacher!¡±

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t retort. He only looked at her and warmly smile.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao let out a light groan, and slowly opened his eyes.

    ¡°Little Yuhao, you¡¯ve finally woken up! You worried me to death.¡± Tang Ya was immediately exhrated when she saw Huo Yuhao open his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao felt some confusion in his mind, and only became clear-headed afterposing himself. He clearly recalled the conversation that he¡¯d previously had with the Skydream Iceworm, causing him to be unable to help but subconsciously mutter to himself, ¡°Was I really not dreaming?¡±

    Tang Ya giggled and pinched Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm for a moment, causing him to immediately cry out in pain. ¡°Sister Xiao Ya, what¡¯re you doing?¡±

    Tang Ya smiled. ¡°I¡¯m helping you check whether or not you were dreaming! How are you? Are you more awake now? You really have some guts, actually daring to travel into the Great Star Dou Forest by yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was slightly embarrassed as he scratched his head. Held only just learned how weak he was, and how much he¡¯d overestimated his capabilities, after meeting the Wind Baboon. However, an eager feeling quickly rose up from his embarrassment. He jumped up from the ground, and roused the soulforce in his body.

    A scene that made Huo Yuhao indescribably happy immediately appeared.

    His soulforce, which had originally reached a bottleneck, had undergone a qualitative change¡ªeven the strength of his body seemed to have slightly increased. Gentle soul power surged out, and everything that he saw with his Spirit Eyes became clearer. Furthermore, many instinctive marks had appeared in his mind, and each and every one of them were skills. Four, there are actually four soul skills! Brother Skydream truly exists! I wasn¡¯t dreaming! Everything¡¯s real, I actually possess a million year soul ring!

    Only now did Huo Yuhao believe that everything he¡¯d experienced earlier was real. The ecstasy in his heart surged out unceasingly, and he couldn¡¯t help but let out a loud shout, ¡°I¡¯ve seeded!¡±

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya saw a jade-white soul ring rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet. It slowly moved upwards, all the way until it reached his head. Then, it slowly moved downwards with a rhythmic pace. It was his first soul ring.

    Bei Bei subconsciously thought to himself, ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s a ten year soul ring.¡± Only, he had a slight feeling of doubt in his heart. Why did the colour of Huo Yuhao¡¯s ten year soul ring seem to have a sort of sparkling, translucent feeling¡ªas if it were slightly different from an ordinary ten year soul ring? Could it be that the Wind Baboon had had a higher cultivation? However, how could he have known that a million year soul ring was also jade-white?

    The change that had urred to Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t limited to just his soul ring; a faint gold sheen had also appeared inside of his deep blue eyes. Bei Bei and Tang Ya could both sense undtions of soulforce from his eyes, as well as a spiritual undtion, which caused them to be distracted for an instant.

    Previously, the powerful spiritual energy that had been released by the Skydream Iceworm had caused them to temporarily lose the ability to think. However, they had been unable to sense it due to the enormous difference between it and them. However, Huo Yuhao was currently very close to them. He¡¯d changed, and the spiritual undtions that were being released from his eyes caused them to be shocked.

    ¡°A spiritual-type martial soul? A spiritual-type martial soul that¡¯s merged with a Wind Baboon as its first soul ring?¡± Bei Bei, who¡¯d been calm until now, couldn¡¯t help but have his expression slightly change. ording to the theory of soul masters that he understood, this seemed to be something impossible! However, the facts were right in front of him.

    The faint golden sheen quickly vanished from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He¡¯d also recovered from his surprise. He excitedly jumped up, ¡°Seeded, I¡¯ve truly seeded! I¡¯m a Soul Master now!¡±

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya both looked at each other and saw the shock in the other¡¯s eyes. Tang Ya couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Little Yuhao, is your martial soul a spiritual-type? I sensed a strong spiritual undtion earlier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally recovered from his excitement, and he was slightly embarrassed as he said, ¡°Yeah! My martial soul is the Spirit Eyes. It¡¯s a mutated martial soul that has the spiritual attribute.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Spirit Eyes? A body soul? Good.¡±

 Chapter 3.4: The Million Year Soul Ring

    Chapter 3.4: The Million Year Soul Ring

    Bei Bei had clearly realised something too, causing him to nod his head and say, ¡°I really didn¡¯t know about it. What a pity that we arrivedte. If we hadn¡¯t, we would¡¯ve found little brother Huo a better soul beast to merge with.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had already cleared up from his earlier surprise. Although he was young, the experiences that he¡¯d had in his youth had caused him to be somewhat vignt. He immediately guessed that Bei Bei and Tang Ya must¡¯ve thought that the soul ring he¡¯d just absorbed had been from the baboon. Even though he didn¡¯t understand why a million year soul ring was white, this was undoubtedly his current best way of concealing it. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t go and exin anything.

    ¡°Big brother Bei, sister Xiao Ya, did you guys chase after me? Are there any problems?¡± Huo Yuhao asked probingly.

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°We only guessed that you were here to enter the Great Star Dou Forest, but I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d really do it. Your guts are too big. Don¡¯t you know that the Great Star Dou Forest is called a forbidden area for mankind? Even some Soul Masters with extremely high cultivations don¡¯t dare to enter the inner parts of the forest. And if it¡¯s a little guy like you, a teacher must apany you for you to even be able to move around the surrounding areas of the Great Star Dou Forest. The reason why we chased after you was to protect you, since Bei Bei and I are Soul Masters. However, your luck is quite good. Although the first soul ring you¡¯ve obtained isn¡¯t too strong, you¡¯ve suffered no injuries on the whole.¡±

    After hearing her words, a thick warm feeling immediately surged through Huo Yuhao¡¯s young heart. He was young, but he¡¯d experienced far, far too much of the hypocrisy of the world. When Tang Ya was talking, he could tell that there were no traces of falsehood within the sincere look her eyes held.

    ¡°Sister Xiao Ya, I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao almost brought up the issue of the Skydream Iceworm, due to impulse. However, at this moment, a cough echoed out in his mind. Under the attack of a certain refreshing aura, he immediately swallowed his words.

    Tang Ya giggled and said, ¡°Look at your dim-witted appearance. Fine, I won¡¯t talk about that anymore. Little Yuhao, since you¡¯ve already obtained a soul ring, what do you n to do next?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned by her question. Yeah! What ns did he have for himself? Beforeing to the Great Star Dou Forest, his aim all along had been to be a Soul Master, and obtain a soul ring that belonged to him. The difference between Soul Masters and Soul Schrs was indeed as vast as the heavens and the earth! Bing a Soul Master also signified that he¡¯d stepped through a door, one which would allow to him travel through the wide seas and skies from now on. However, he¡¯d truly never thought of what to do in the future. After all, he was only eleven, and this was the first time that he¡¯d left home.

    Tang Ya was secretly happy when she saw the nk look in his eyes. She sent a nce towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei nodded towards her and said, ¡°Little brother Huo, what kind of people does your house have?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze instantly froze for a moment. Following that, he shook his head decisively. ¡°There¡¯s no one else, I¡¯m the only one that¡¯s left.¡±

    Tang Ya was exulted. She blurted out, ¡°Then that¡¯s really too good.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was immediately stunned, while Bei Bei had a speechless expression on his face. He knocked her head, ¡°What¡¯re you saying?¡±

    Tang Ya had also realised her slip of the tongue. She red at Bei Bei and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! Little Yuhao, since you don¡¯t have any ideas right now, why not join our sect?¡±

    ¡°A sect?¡± Huo Yuhao had heard of sects when he was in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. On the Douluo Continent, the strengths of sects were extremely high, especially some Soul Master sects that had long histories. From the meaning of the word ¡®sect¡¯, the Duke¡¯s Mansion in itself could be considered arge sect.

    Tang Ya nodded her head and said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s a sect, and was previously the number one sect in the continent. If you join, you definitely won¡¯t be at a disadvantage. Furthermore, our sect¡¯s secret techniques are very suitable for you to cultivate. Since you¡¯re all alone and you¡¯re so young, it¡¯d be better for you to join our sect, since everyone will take care of each other, rather than you being so bold by yourself. After all, luck can¡¯t always be with you. What if something happens when you¡¯re moving by yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously asked, ¡°Sister Xiao Ya then, what is your sect called?¡±

    Tang Ya resolutely said, ¡°The Tang Sect. It was previously the number one sect in the continent.¡±

    After hearing the two words ¡®Tang Sect¡¯, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Even though the Tang Sect had started to decline, the Tang Sect still had an important ce within the Douluo Continent¡¯s history. It could even be said that there had never been a sect that couldpare with it.

    When he was very young, his mother had told him the many legends of the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect had been founded ten thousand years ago, and it could be said to be one of the oldest sects in history. Supposedly, the first sect master of the Tang Sect, Tang San, had changed the entire structure of the continent, establishing the future development of the continent¡¯s Soul Masters. The Tang Sect, at that time, had truly been the number one sect under the heavens, and not just in name. Furthermore, the legends said that Tang San had broken through the highest realm of Soul Masters, Titled Douluo, to be an existence that was on another level, one that wouldn¡¯t die from then on. However, in the end, no one knew how he¡¯d done it.

    After ten thousand years, the legends of the Tang Sect still remained, but the sect itself had already left the stage of history. Very few people knew that the Tang Sect still hadter generations of disciples; even the details of some of the Tang Sect¡¯s legends had already be vague. However, there was someone who had once said that, if it weren¡¯t for Tang San establishing the future development of the Soul Masters within the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent might not have been able to achieve victory over the experts of the Sun Moon Continent, and thus unify the two continents when the Sun Moon Continent had collided with the Douluo Continent four thousand years ago.

    ¡°Little brother Huo, you¡¯ve heard of the Tang Sect?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard some of the legends about the Tang Sect. Only, I don¡¯t know where the Tang Sect is.¡±

    The rims of Tang Ya¡¯s eyes suddenly turned red. ¡°The Tang Sect doesn¡¯t have its mansion anymore, and our foundations were snatched away. Currently, the only people of the Tang Sect remaining are Bei Bei and I. I¡¯m the current sect master of the Tang Sect, and Bei Bei is my founding disciple.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at them with an astonished expression. If you just looked at their ages, Tang Ya wasn¡¯t that much older that Bei Bei, and from their conversations, you couldn¡¯t tell that they were master and disciple at all.

    Bei Bei coughed twice and said, ¡°You¡¯ve also seen our situation now, little brother Huo. The Tang Sect only has the two of us right now, but we¡¯ll definitely work hard to let the Tang Sect rise again. If you¡¯re willing, you¡¯re wee to join. There¡¯s one point that Xiao Ya was right about: The Tang Sect has a secret technique that should bepletely suitable for you to cultivate, and will have many benefits towards your future development.¡±

    After hesitating for a while, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Then, what do I have to do after I join the Tang Sect?¡±

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°You need to unceasingly raise your cultivation, and be even stronger. When the sect needs you, you need to exert yourself for the sect. I won¡¯t boast or lie to you, our Tang Sect has truly declined as of now. However, we still have our secret techniques. Also, another thing. Our Tang Sect was once the number one sect in the continent, so we still have a few privileges. You should¡¯ve heard of the number one academy on the continent, Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy is extremely strict when it recruits students, but they¡¯re willing to give our Tang Sect an exempted spot every year. Bei Bei and I have already joined Shrek Academy, and it just so happens that there¡¯s a space avable this year. If you¡¯re willing to join our Tang Sect, this space will belong to you. As for whether or not you can stay in Shrek Academy, that will rely on your hard work. I can give you this much. However, little Yuhao, I have a request. Once you¡¯ve joined the Tang Sect, you¡¯re a man of our Tang Sect for your entire life. If you decide to leave one day, you¡¯ll have to return all of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques.¡±

    Tang Sect¡­Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes gradually brightened, and he looked seriously at Tang Ya. ¡°Sister Xiao Ya, I agree; I¡¯m willing to join the Tang Sect.¡±

 Chapter 4.1: â€˜Thunderboltâ€™ Bei Bei

    Chapter 4.1: ¡®Thunderbolt¡¯ Bei Bei

    Bei Bei spoke with slight astonishment, ¡°Little brother Huo, you definitely need to think about this carefully. Joining a sect is not a small matter. Even though our Tang Sect is already on the decline, when all is said and done, we were still once the number one sect under the heavens. If you regret your decision in the future, and wish to betray the sect, no matter whether it is Tang Ya or myself, neither of us will forgive you. ¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Big brother Bei, I¡¯ve already thought this matter through carefully. I no longer have any rtives, and am of a young age as well. I only learned how dangerous the outside world was aftering to the Great Star Dou Forest this time around. I want to be an outstanding individual and a powerful Soul Master. Joining the Tang Sect is no doubt a shortcut for me to achieve that. Not only does joining the Tang Sect let me enter Shrek Academy, I can furthermore receive guidance from the both of you. Moreover, I believe in the both of you. The two of you were willing to tell me of the predicaments the Tang Sect is currently facing. I can thus feel the sincerity that the both of you hold towards me. I¡¯m willing to help the Tang Sect regain its glory together with the both of you.¡±

    ¡°Good, you couldn¡¯t have said it any better.¡± Tang Ya took hold of Huo Yuhao, and embraced him in excitement.

    Bei Bei also nodded slightly as he looked at Huo Yuhao, as if he felt the same way too. Huo Yuhao was much more mature than his peers of the same age. Although he¡¯d only obtained his first soul ring after he was over ten years old, and even though talent was important, hard work was absolutely necessary, let alone the fact that he was a rarely-seen owner of a spiritual-type body soul. It could be said that the Tang Sect had gotten him for a cheap price.

    The faint fragrance on Tang Ya¡¯s body caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s face to immediately turn red. He didn¡¯t dare to move at all, he just stood there innocently.

    It was Bei Bei who again helped him out of this embarrassing situation, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Only now did Tang Ya loosen her embrace on Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. She smiled at him, and looking at her appearance, she was extremely pleased. Obviously, though she absolutely wouldn¡¯t admit it, the very first reason that she¡¯d wanted Huo Yuhao to join the Tang Sect was because of the excessively delicious roasted fish that he made¡­

    ¡°Little Yuhao, you should formally be my apprentice now. Our Tang Sect only has three people as of now, and we don¡¯t have that many rules. Once you be my apprentice and call me your teacher, you¡¯ll be a member of our Tang Sect in the future.¡± Tang Ya said firmly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and kneeled down in front of Tang Ya with a ¡®putong¡¯ sound. He then paid his respects to her, ¡°Disciple Huo Yuhao greets teacher.¡±

    Tang Ya stood there, unmoving. After letting him pay his respects three times, she helped him up.

    Note: Paying his respects, for those that don¡¯t know, means knocking his head to the ground.

    ¡°Very good, Yuhao. In the future, you¡¯re teacher¡¯s second disciple. Acknowledge your eldest senior brother.¡± As she spoke, she pointed towards Bei Bei.

    ¡°I acknowledge eldest senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed again, this time towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei smiled slightly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite, junior brother. We¡¯ll be family in the future.¡±

    Tang Ya seemed to rx as she said, ¡°Yuhao, you should be like Bei Bei, and refer to me as Teacher Xiao Ya in the future. However, don¡¯t learn to be as cheeky as him, understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± After paying his respects, Huo Yuhao had clearly be slightly reserved. However, the nkness in his heart had stabilised a lot. Joining the Tang Sect had caused a sense of security to imperceptibly appear in his heart. This feeling hadn¡¯t appeared in his heart in a very long time.

    Xiao Ya flipped her wrist over, and pulled out a book from somewhere. She then passed it to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Little Yuhao, this is a copy of our Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record; our Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques are recorded inside. Out of them, the Mysterious Heaven Technique is the foundation to all of the other techniques contained within. If you use it to meditate, it will definitely increase your cultivation speed. Your cultivation is still shallow, so changing your cultivation technique to the Mysterious Heaven Technique won¡¯t have any side effects. Later on, Bei Bei and I will guide you in cultivation. Besides the Mysterious Heaven Technique, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record also has five more secret techniques. They are, respectively: Mysterious Jade Hands, which is for training one¡¯s hands; Purple Demon Eyes, which is for train one¡¯s eyes; Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, which is a capturing technique; Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, which is a speed-type technique, and Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation, which is a method to use hidden weapons. The most famous techniques of our Tang Sect involve our hidden weapons, but you need to establish a good foundation before you can cultivate in them. What you need to do now is begin cultivating in the first five secret techniques. In the future, I¡¯ll teach you how to use hidden weapons.¡±

    ¡°Earlier, when I said that our Tang Sect had a secret technique that¡¯d be especially suitable for you, I was referring to the Purple Demon Eyes. The Purple Demon Eyes is a technique to train one¡¯s eyes, and you¡¯ll be able to release an extremely strong spiritual attack after cultivating it to a certain degree. Since your martial soul is the Spirit Eyes, there shouldn¡¯t be a more suitable technique for you than this. You should train in this technique as much as possible.¡±

    After receiving the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record that Tang Ya had handed him, Huo Yuhao carefully ced it into the folds of his shirt, ¡°Thanks, teacher. I¡¯ll definitely put in a lot of effort to cultivate these techniques.¡±

    Bei Bei tapped his belt, causing a belt that was ck, and embedded with round white jades, to appear in his hands.

    ¡°Junior brother, I¡¯ll give you this imitation of the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges that our Ancestor Tang San once had. Just take it as a meeting present from your eldest senior brother. With it, carrying a few items on you will be much more convenient.¡±

    Whilst speaking, Bei Bei fastened the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges belt onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist, and told him how to use it. As it turned out, the twenty four embedded jades on the belt each had a half-metre wide space that could be used to store various objects. Huo Yuhao only needed to guide his soulforce into the belt to be able to use it. It was a rtively precious soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s poor talent was reflected by the state of his body, but he was extremely smart. After a few tries, he managed to easily control the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. However, a lot of his soulforce had been drained while he was learning to control it.

    Tang Ya said, ¡°Little Yuhao, the reason why I followed your eldest senior brother out here was the same as yours; it was to kill a soul beast for its soul ring. Follow us, I¡¯ll take you back to Shrek Academy once I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly gave a respectful reply.

    Tang Ya giggled and said, ¡°Although you¡¯ve already taken me as your master, you don¡¯t have to be so reserved. Since the Tang Sect only has us three, what¡¯s the point of us being so old-fashioned?¡±

    Bei Bei unhappily said, ¡°With a teacher like you, it¡¯d be a wonder if your disciples were able to be reserved. It¡¯s gettingte, let¡¯s hurry up. Hopefully our luck will be better, and we¡¯ll be able to find and kill a suitable soul beast on the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tang Ya nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Tang Ya walked in front, while Bei Bei remained behind, pulling Huo Yuhao along by the hand. The three of them sped up simultaneously, and rushed towards the Great Star Dou Forest.

    After obtaining his first soul ring, Huo Yuhao clearly felt that his own cultivation had risen greatly. This was especially so for his body, allowing him to be much more rxed during the journey. However, his speed was still greatly differentpared to Tang Ya and Bei Bei¡¯s. A gentle flow of soulforce flowed out from Bei Bei¡¯s hand into his, practically carrying him along on their journey. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao himself didn¡¯t need to expend much strength.

    While they ran, Bei Bei spoke to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Junior brother, our Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique is presently one of the continent¡¯s best cultivation techniques. As long as you cultivate it diligently, you¡¯ll definitely reap some benefits. I¡¯ll tell you the tricks needed to circte the Mysterious Heaven Technique. You must remember them.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head, and listened to Bei Bei¡¯s exnation seriously.

    Not only was Bei Bei¡¯s outward appearance schrly, he also had an extremely gentle and meticulous temperament. When he exined the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s cultivation technique to Huo Yuhao, he patiently exined all of the particrs of the technique in detail. When they came across an area that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t understand, he would give an exnation that was both easy and simple to understand, which caused Huo Yuhao to quickly be immersed in the fantastic technique.

    Tang Ya, who was walking in front, couldn¡¯t help but stick her tongue out, because she waspletely certain that she¡¯d be unable to exin things as orderly as Bei Bei was, if she were the one to teach Huo Yuhao. As the sect master of the Tang Sect, she herself was truly unqualified as a teacher.

 Chapter 4.2: â€˜Thunderboltâ€™ Bei Bei

    Chapter 4.2: ¡®Thunderbolt¡¯ Bei Bei

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao continued onwards, with one person talking and one person listening. Almost two hours unknowingly passed.

    Therge road had already disappeared, and their surroundings were now filled with dense forest. The air had turned fresher and cleaner, but there seemed to be a faint serious aura emitted from the depths of the forest.

    ¡°This is the general method used to cultivate this technique. As for the specifics, you¡¯ll have to slowly get a feel for them after trying it out for yourself. If you have anything that you don¡¯t understand, you can ask me.¡± Bei Bei said to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Thanks, eldest senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s admiration towards Bei Bei had continuously risen while Bei Bei had been exining everything to him; naturally, his respect for Bei Bei had grown as well.

    At this moment, Tang Ya, who¡¯d been walking in front, suddenly let out a cold snort. Her footsteps suddenly turned illusory, and her body instantly turned into consecutive afterimages as she pounced towards arge tree on the group¡¯s right. The only thing that Huo Yuhao could faintly see was a few cold lights that flickered outwards. A Wind Baboon, simr to the one that had almost killed him previously, fell from a treetop.

    Xiao Ya unhappily said, ¡°These Wind Baboons are simply the most detestable creatures. Not only do they take the initiative to attack, they evenunch sneak attacks.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used his Spirit Eyes earlier, so he was entirely unable to see how Xiao Ya had moved, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, did you use a soul skill just now?¡±

    Xiao Ya was slightly proud of herself as she replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a soul skill, but the synergy of our Tang Sect¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks and hidden weapons. Wasn¡¯t it awesome? If you cultivate properly, you¡¯ll also be able to use them together in the future.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Ya, careful.¡± Bei Bei¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He suddenly raised his right hand and made an illusory grabbing movement towards Tang Ya. Clearly, they¡¯d worked together frequently, as Tang Ya¡¯s toes tapped the ground lightly, and her body flew up. She seemed to be weightless as she was pulled over by the absorption force exerted on her by Bei Bei¡¯s hand.

    A pitch ck shadow instantly fell to the ground and let out a light noise. Following that, a strong sweet smell assaulted the senses of everyone present.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind felt dizzy, but a wave of icy air instantly surged through his body, sealing his mouth and nose. An icy mist flew slightly outwards from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth and nose, causing the sweet-smelling poison gas that he¡¯d previously inhaled to be dispersed into the air.

    An ice attribute? My second martial soul? Huo Yuhao immediately questioned the stream of icy air¡¯s origins. However, he clearly hadn¡¯t controlled it.

    Just as he was beginning to feel pleased because of his second martial soul¡¯s effects, Tang Ya had been pulled closer by the absorption force of Bei Bei¡¯s hand. She used her right hand to press against Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder, causing her delicate body to curl up and then flip around in midair tond behind Bei Bei.

    Two light rings simultaneously rose up from Tang Ya¡¯s legs, the bright yellow colours moving up and down in a rhythmical manner. Her two soul rings were unexpectedly of the hundred-year rank.

    In that instant, long blue vines were rapidly released from Tang Ya¡¯s body. One of them just so happened to wrap around Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist, while even more dispersed into the distance.

    However,pared to Tang Ya, Bei Bei, who was standing in front, shocked Huo Yuhao even more.

    Up to this point, in his mind, this eldest senior brother of his was a gentle, schrly person. He always wore a gentle smile when he was beside Tang Ya, and had an extremely approachable feel. However, at this moment, he¡¯d changed into apletely different person.

    When Xiao Ya had jumped over his head, a dazzling blue light had shone from in-between Bei Bei¡¯s eyebrows. Following that, the blue light instantly expanded outwards from his eyebrows, and spread to his entire body. The fierce blue light resembled several small snakes as they exploded out, surrounding and moving all over his body. Except for the blue lightning symbol that had appeared on his forehead, only a single change had appeared on his body due to his martial spirit.

    However, just this one, simple change caused Huo Yuhao to have apletely new understanding towards Soul Masters.

    The part of his body that had changed was his right arm. His right sleeve had turnedpletely into ash due to the expansion of his right arm, which had suddenly increased in length by more than half a foot. His entire arm had be extremely thick, and was now covered in violet-blue scales. His hand had turned into a w that was also covered with the same scales, while every joint in his hand had be extremely thick. The violet-blue lightning that circled his body gathered and separated unceasingly. However, his soul rings, two of which were yellow and one of which was purple, weren¡¯t like those of an Soul Masters; they didn¡¯t circled around his his right arm instead of his entire body, the ce where the unusual changes had appeared.

    These three rings signified that he was a Soul Elder. His eldest senior brother, who was only four to five years older than him, was unexpectedly already a Soul Elder-level expert, who was already above the rank of thirty! Furthermore, his soul rings were two hundred-year ones and a thousand-year one, which was the best possiblebination.

    For soul rings, white represented a ten-year soul ring, yellow represented a hundred years soul ring, purple represented a thousand year soul ring, and ck represented something even higher, a ten thousand year soul ring. Besides these, if the mighty hundred thousand year soul beasts, such as the ones who¡¯d persecuted the Skydream Iceworm, were turned into soul rings, they¡¯d be red in colour.

    Huo Yuhao had already asked them their ages. Bei Bei and Tang Ya were both the same age¡ªfifteen. However, Bei Bei was slightly older, if you looked at the month that they were born in. Considering the fact that he¡¯d reached the Soul Elder realm at such an age, and that he had three soul rings of this level, using the words ¡®heaven¡¯s chosen¡¯ to describe Bei Bei couldn¡¯t be any more suitable. If you looked at their cultivations, he¡¯d clearly surpassed Tang Ya, who was only a Soul Grandmaster that was above rank twenty, despite being his master.

    ¡°Gua, gua¡­¡± After letting out this strange cry, the shadow that hadnded on the ground instantly shot out, pouncing towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei snorted coldly, and ayer of purple light appeared in his eyes. He ced his thick right arm in front of him horizontally, causing a web of lightning to immediately cover the space in front of him, which prevented the shadow from passing.

    ¡°Ka¡ª¡± Under the rumbling sound of lightning, the shadow rebounded backwards, while Bei Bei staggered three or four steps back at the same time. The expression on his face changed slightly; Clearly, his opponent¡¯s strength had surpassed his prediction.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Mand Snake! Wah, it¡¯s a thousand-year one too, this is too good! Bei Bei, I want this one.¡± Tang Ya wasn¡¯t astonished, but instead happy as her lovable voice let out a loud cry.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had also clearly seen the shadow that had ambushed them. It was a three-metre-long snake, whose entire body was pink. There was also a small protrusion on its forehead that faintly resembled a flower.

    Bei Bei clearly didn¡¯t share Tang Ya¡¯s excitement, and instead had a serious expression on his face. Although he was already a Soul Elder-level expert, it was still hard for him to easily achieve victory over a thousand-year soul beast. However, the reason that it was possible for him to do so in the first ce was because of his sufficiently strong martial spirit. If an ordinary Soul Elder were to see a thousand-year soul beast, the only thing that they could do was turn around and run.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, take care of Yuhao.¡± Bei Bei let out a low roar, causing the first soul rings on his right arm to flicker. Under the strong undtions of his soulforce, a foot-long violet-blue dragon w condensed and shot out towards the Mand Snake.

    This was Thunderous Dragon w, Bei Bei¡¯s first soul skill.

    However, the Mand Snake was extremely crafty. It had previously been entrenched in the ground, but it suddenly shot into midair the moment that Bei Bei¡¯s attack activated. Its long tail suddenly whipped about in midair, immediately resembling a pink-coloured shadow as it pounced towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t retreat, but instead advanced. He instantly leaned his body downwards, while using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks to sh forward. The lightning dragon w that had already flown out unexpectedly turned around in midair to pursue the Mand Snake from behind. At the same time, his second soul ring lit up. Countless snakes of lightning suddenly expanded simultaneously, turning into lightning arrows that shed through the air, forming a dense, thunderous web that tried to envelop the Mand Snake.

 Chapter 4.3: â€˜Thunderboltâ€™ Bei Bei

    Chapter 4.3: ¡®Thunderbolt¡¯ Bei Bei

    The previous Thunderous Dragon w had only been used to make the Mand Snake move, while the formed from Bei Bei¡¯s second soul skill, Vigorous Thunderbolt, was the true trap. As long as the Mand Snake was trapped by the of lightning, the Thunderous Dragon w could catch up to it from behind. Even if the Mand Snake wasn¡¯t severely wounded, it would at least give Bei Bei a decisive opportunity.

    However, a thousand-year soul beast¡¯s strength was absolutely not that simple. As the lightning web closed in on the Mand Snake, it spat out a pink mist from its mouth, which caused a smell ten times sweeter than earlier to spread out.

    Tang Ya took Huo Yuhao with her as she rapidly retreated, for fear that they would both would be affected by the mist. This was also the first time that worry had appeared on her charming face.

    When the lightning arrows formed from the Vigorous Thunderbolt skill were sprayed by that pink mist, it was as if they¡¯d been submerged; their might was still present, but it had instantly be fragmented.

    The Mand Snake disyed its valiant side at this moment. Its body suddenly straightened out in midair, and it proceeded to powerfully smash through the lightning web. It had unexpectedly managed to open a gap in the web made by Vigorous Thunderbolt. When it flew out from the web, it swung its tail, causing the pink light at the tip of its tail to brighten. It then whipped the Thunderous Dragon w behind it, loudly shattering Bei Bei¡¯s first soul skill.

    However, Bei Bei¡¯s attacks weren¡¯tpletely useless. As someone who had one of the strongest beast souls, his attack power was at the peak of soul masters at the same rank as him. Although the Mand Snake was valiant, a fineyer of lightning had appeared on its body after it had consecutively broken through two of Bei Bei¡¯s soul skills. When itnded on the ground, it was unable to continue releasing attacks.

    At the same time, Bei Bei didn¡¯t proceed tounch anymore attacks. He didn¡¯t dare to inhale the toxic pink mist that had spread out into the air either. As he rapidly retreated, a porcin bottle appeared in his hand. After dumping a pill out for himself, he threw the bottle towards Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya grabbed the porcin bottle and immediately dumped out two pills. She ate one pill, and shoved the other into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Bei Bei, I¡¯ll help you.¡± While chewing the pill, Tang Ya said.

    Bei Bei shook his head and replied, ¡°This fellow is very troublesome, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll have to n on a battle of attrition. There¡¯s a very high possibility of soul beasts appearing in the surroundings, so you should be careful. I¡¯ll take him on alone. Also, take care of Yuhao.¡±

    This was the second time that Bei Bei had reminded Tang Ya to take care of Huo Yuhao, which caused a warm feeling to surge through his heart. Throughout his entire life, Bei Bei was the first person other than his mother to treat him this well. Due to this, he couldn¡¯t help but be moved.

    I want to help eldest senior brother; I¡¯m not trash.

    Huo Yuhao rapidly poured his soulforce into his Spirit Eyes, and the soul skills that he¡¯d just obtained immediately shed through his mind.

    A faint golden light appeared in his deep blue eyes once again, and his jade-white soul ring started to rise up from his feet.

    If you looked at them just from the surface, you couldn¡¯t see any signs of anything happening. However, the next moment, both Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s bodies simultaneously shook, an astonished look appearing in their eyes.

    From their point of view, time seemed to have slowed down. Everything around them had be exceptionally clear, and arge amount of information instantly appeared inside of their minds wherever they looked. When Bei Bei looked attentively at the Mand Snake, the distance between him and the snake appeared in his mind; even the minute changes in strength from every one of its muscle appeared in his mind. All of the subtleties and minute details had appeared clearly in the depths of his mind.

    Not only that, but they didn¡¯t even need to use their eyes to see anything in a thirty metre radius around them. All of their surroundings had appeared inside of their minds as three-dimensional shapes. Furthermore, any subtle changes that urred would immediately be reflected in their minds.

    This was¡­

    No matter whether it was Bei Bei or Tang Ya, they both immediately thought of Huo Yuhao. Was this Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul skill? Why could it be so mystical? With the assistance of a detection ability like this, facing any opponent would be far, far, too effortless¡ªespecially with an opponent like the Mand Snake, which was a soul beast specialised in speed. For a person like Bei Bei who had sufficient attack power, there wasn¡¯t anything else that could be as helpful as an ability to predict his opponent¡¯s movements and seize a key opportunity.

    This ten-year soul ring¡¯s skill was actually so strong? Its auxiliary ability was this outstanding? Sure enough, it deserved its name as a rarely seen mutated spiritual-attribute martial soul!

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know that both Bei Bei and Tang Ya had credited the mysticality of the skill that he was currently using on his mutated martial soul. However, in reality, he wasn¡¯t using one soul skill, but two.

    The two skills that he was using were the first skill that the million-year soul ring had given him, Spiritual Detection,bined with the second skill, Spiritual Sharing.

    These two skills were auxiliary-type skills, and this was the first time that Huo Yuhao had used them. Although he hadn¡¯t been able topletelyprehend the subtleties behind the two skills, he was still able to exhibit most of their enormous effects.

    With the current strength of his body, the might of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s soul rings were roughly equivalent to that of a four hundred year soul beast¡¯s. Because of this, the range of his Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing was roughly thirty metres. However, with his current power, the maximum number of people that he could simultaneously share his Spiritual Detection ability with was three. His strength wouldn¡¯t be enough if there were more people.

    His soulforce consumption while using these two skills wasn¡¯t great, but Huo Yuhao had to use a certain amount of spiritual power too. It could be said that he was using both spiritual power and soulforce to jointly support these two skills. With his current level of cultivation,sting at least an hour wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all. The exact amount of time that he couldst could only be discoveredter on, through testing.

    A low rumble suddenly reverberated from Bei Bei¡¯s body. His whole body emitted strong, violet-blue lightning, and the scales on his right arm rapidly spread outwards towards his body, encasing the right part of his chest within them. This caused the aura released from his body to instantly rise abruptly. His third soul ring, the purple one, also released a dazzling radiance at this moment.

    This was the skill from his thousand-year soul ring, ¡®Thunderous Fury¡¯.

    As a person who possessed a beast soul with the strongest attack power, his third soul skill, ¡®Thunderous Fury¡¯, was capable of instantly raising the effects of Bei Bei¡¯s soulforce attacks by more than fifty percent. Furthermore, the strength of his lightning attribute had also doubled. Although this wasn¡¯t a direct attack skill, it still managed to increase Bei Bei¡¯s condition to an extraordinarily strong realm. Even some four-ringed Soul Ancestor experts wouldn¡¯t be his match if they had weaker martial spirits.

    Although Bei Bei wasn¡¯t that old, his amount ofbat experience was extremely plentiful. After obtaining the support of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing, he knew that his chance hade. Since he couldn¡¯t be sure of how long Huo Yuhao could maintain this state, he immediately decided to use all of his strength at once by releasing his strongest ability.

    A violet-blue lightning bolt curled around the dragon w that his right hand had turned into, and a Thunderous Dragon w about twice the size of the previous one appeared around his hand. However, Bei Bei didn¡¯t directly release it this time. Instead, his body shed as he pounced towards the thousand-year Mand Snake.

    The Mand Snake was also crafty. Its thousand years of cultivation had caused it to possess a certain amount of intelligence. The aura released from Bei Bei¡¯s body had already caused it to feel a considerably high level of danger. Since itself unable to harm its opponent anymore, it suddenly spat out a mouthful of toxic mist towards Bei Bei, before turning around to run away.

    ¡°Humph!¡± Bei Bei snorted coldly, and the light in his eyes suddenly turned slightly profound. Ayer of fragmented lightning suddenly burst outwards from his body, forcibly dispersing the toxic mist. At the same time, the Thunderous Dragon w in his right hand shot out towards the space diagonally to the left of him.

 Chapter 4.4: â€˜Thunderboltâ€™ Bei Bei

    Chapter 4.4: ¡®Thunderbolt¡¯ Bei Bei

    At this moment, the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection fully appeared. The reason that Bei Bei could predict his opponent¡¯s movements and strike first was because of the Spiritual Detection that Huo Yuhao had shared with him. When the Mand Snake sprung forwards, it fled diagonally to the left in front of Bei Bei. However, at this moment, an enormous absorption force appeared in the path that it had taken in order to escape, and it was almost as if it had simply delivered itself right into Bei Bei¡¯s hands. Once the enormous absorption force caught the Mand Snake, its forward momentum was immediately dissolved, and it was sucked towards Bei Bei.

    With the threat of life and death looming over its head, the Mand Snake immediately exploded out with power. A fierce pink light immediately shone from the top of its head, and it let out several sharp hisses. The flower-like protrusion on the top of its head suddenly exploded, and an arrow made of pink blood flew straight at Bei Bei.

    However, Bei Bei had already responded to this in advance. The instant before the flower-like protrusion exploded, the Thunderous Dragon w on his right arm had alreadyunched a fierce attack. Itnded on the body of the Mand Snake in the same instant that the protrusion exploded.

    The arrow made of pink blood had only flown several inches before it was swept away by the explosion. However, Bei Bei felt cold sweat form. The Thunderous Dragon w that he¡¯d released had actually turned pink when it touched the pink blood. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was able to predict his opponent¡¯s movements, and seize a decisive opportunity, it might¡¯ve been very troublesome for him if he¡¯d been infected by that blood arrow.

    Bei Bei¡¯s figure shed as he instantly charged forward. This time, the thousand-year Mand Snake had no countermeasures left. It was urately grabbed by Bei Bei¡¯s right w when it was only seven inches away from him. It still attempted to use its body to wrap around Bei Bei¡¯s, but directly lost consciousness after being struck by the terrifying lightning from Bei Bei¡¯s Vigorous Thunderbolt.

    The thousand-year Mand Snake was widely known for its tyrannical body and its lightning-like speed. However, once it fell into the hands of Bei Bei, who possessed an extraordinarily powerful martial spirit, its defensive power wasn¡¯t worth mentioning at all. Under the state of Thunderous Fury, Bei Bei¡¯s dragon w let out a fierce blow, partially crushing its head. Its bones seemed as if they could be crushed at any time.

    ¡°Xiao Ya.¡± Bei Bei let out a low roar.

    Tang Ya naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of such a good opportunity. Carrying Huo Yuhao, she rapidly approached the Mand Snake. A half-foot long throwing knife appeared in her hand, which she then flung directly into the Mand Snake¡¯s mouth that Bei Bei had pinched open, ending the life of the thousand-year Mand Snake.

    The violet-blue light from his lightning vanished as Bei Bei finally rxed, while a purple soul ring slowly condensed and formed above the Mand Snake¡¯s head.

    Tang Ya looked towards Bei Bei with an excited expression, and Bei Bei nodded back at her, ¡°Quickly start. I didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d meet a thousand-year soul beast at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest. The quality of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest has really increased.¡±

    Tang Ya giggled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯d go this smoothly. Protect me.¡± Whilst speaking, she rapidly sat down in a cross-legged position beside the Mand Snake. A blue, gem-like luster shone in her right hand, and she slowly raised her empty hands. After gently tapping the purple soul ring above the Mand Snake, it was immediately sucked into the blue light in her hand. Then, it merged with her body.

    The smile on Tang Ya¡¯s face suddenly vanished as she began to concentrate on absorbing the soul ring. Only now did Huo Yuhao realize that Tang Ya had already reached the bottleneck of the thirtieth rank. The reason why she and Bei Bei hade to the Great Star Dou Forest must¡¯ve been to look for a suitable third soul ring for her. Only, what was Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s martial soul? A blue vine?

    ¡°Xiao Ya¡¯s martial soul is Bluesilver Grass.¡± Bei Bei said gently, as if he¡¯d seen through the doubt in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished as he replied, ¡°The Bluesilver Grass? The same martial soul as the person in the Tang Sect¡¯s legends?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded his head and said, ¡°Ten thousand years ago, the first generation sect master of the Tang Sect relied on his Bluesilver Grass martial soul to forge the Tang Sect¡¯s glory. Afterwards, he became a God and left. However, he didn¡¯t leave any descendants in the Tang Sect. For the sake of remembering him, theter generations of the Tang Sect stubbornly glorified Bluesilver Grass when choosing the next sect master. In addition to that, the Tang Sect would put much more effort into nurturing Soul Masters who possessed Bluesilver Grass. Unfortunately, the facts have proven themselves. Bluesilver Grass isn¡¯t something that just anyone can unleash great power with. Ever since the almighty legend of the Tang Sect left, the Tang Sect hasn¡¯t had any more experts with Bluesilver Grass that were able to stand at the pinnacle of the continent. However, this tradition has continued to be passed down, and nobody can change it. Xiao Ya¡¯s innate talent to use her Bluesilver Grass is already rather good, so I hope that she can make some sort of a breakthrough.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly curious as he asked, ¡°Eldest senior brother, if that year¡¯s Tang Sect was truly as strong as the legends say, why did it head down the road of decline?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled slightly and replied, ¡°You¡¯ll gradually understand the answer to this question once you arrive at Shrek Academy. There were many internal and external problems. Currently, the only people left in the Tang Sect are the few of us, but in fact, this isn¡¯t a bad thing at all. At the very least, it¡¯ll be very hard to use certain restrictions on us. On the contrary, junior brother, you¡¯ve truly given me a great surprise!¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood that Bei Bei was referring to the soul skills that he¡¯d just used. He couldn¡¯t help but scratch his head in embarrassment. ¡°I was just trying to use it, it¡¯s good that it was a bit helpful.¡±

    Bei Bei firmly said, ¡°How could that only be considered ¡®a bit¡¯ helpful? I don¡¯t normally have the assurance to face a thousand-year soul beast. If it weren¡¯t for that fantastic assistance from your spiritual power, it would¡¯ve been very hard for me to escape in one piece.¡±

    Previously, when his confrontation with the Mand Snake had reached itsst crucial point, he¡¯d relied on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection skill to help him urately predict the Mand Snake¡¯s every movement. Not only that, but the most important moment was when the Mand Snake had detonated its crown.

    The moment before it happened, Bei Bei had clearly felt a kind of bright feeling surround the Mand Snake¡¯s crown within the Spiritual Detection world. He hadn¡¯t been able to see it with his eyes at all. This all came from the feeling that he¡¯d felt from the three-dimensional world of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Because of this, he¡¯d been able to near-instantly react subconsciously. If not, he might not have been able to retreat in one piece if the toxic blood had polluted him.

    This also made Bei Bei aware of how enormous of a role Huo Yuhao¡¯s skill had had during the battle. He made a conservative estimation; if he had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s skill during a fight with an opponent, his overall strength would be increased by twenty to thirty percent minimum. This was a phenomenal increase! Furthermore, this was only Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao still had some lingering fear in his heart as he said, ¡°That snake was truly too fierce. Eldest senior brother, what soul beast was it¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°It¡¯s called a Mand Snake, and its toxicity is extremely strong. Not only does it have a numbing effect, it also has a strong destructive effect towards one¡¯s mental state. It was one of the most terrifying existences amongst poison-type soul beasts. Its body was extremely tough, and ordinary des will have difficulty wounding it. Its only weaknesses are its mouth and eyes. However, the Mand Snake will always protect these two exrtemely well. Furthermore, its speed is iparably quick. However, the most terrifying part of this snake is its attack. Once it clearly identifies its opponent, it rarely gives up.¡±

 Chapter 5.1: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    Chapter 5.1: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    ¡°Because of its innate strength and toxicity, the Mand Snake doesn¡¯t have many natural predators. Before they reach a thousand years of age, their bodies will have a dark green colour, and they¡¯ll grow a metre longer for every hundred years they live. By the time they¡¯re approaching the thousand-year level, their bodies can be as long as ten metres in length. Once they break through, the energy inside of their bodies will condense, and they¡¯ll continuously molt. Not only will the colour of their bodies change from dark green to pink, their bodies will also simultaneously shrink back down to one metre. Afterwards, they¡¯ll grow another metre every hundred years. After reaching two thousand years of age, they¡¯ll once again shrink back down to one metre. However, the pink colour of their skin will be deeper. If we look at the colour and length of this Mand Snake, we can see that it should¡¯ve been over one thousand three hundred years old. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯d¡¯ve had to suffer a bit to kill it.¡±

    Naturally, Bei Bei didn¡¯t say that it actually wouldn¡¯t have been too hard for him and Tang Ya to team up and kill the Mand Snake¡ªif Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been there.

    After listening to Bei Bei¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao¡¯s knowledge grew. ¡°This Mand Snake is actually that mysterious. Then, would it perhaps shed again, once it¡¯s reached ten thousand years in age?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and replied, ¡°A ten thousand year Mand Snake will turn yellow. That would be a truly terrifying existence. Even Soul King experts won¡¯t dare to rashly provoke a ten thousand year Mand Snake if they encounter one. You¡¯d need a Soul Emperor, at the very least, to be able to beat it easily.

    ¡°Junior brother, since Xiao Ya is currently absorbing her soul ring, tell me about your soul skill. What¡¯s the name of the soul skill that you just used, and how long can you maintain it for? This is very important information.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had previously heard the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s reminder, and knew that he couldn¡¯t let him be revealed. After pondering about it for a little while, he said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, the skill that I just used is called ¡®Spiritual Detection Sharing¡¯. You should have been able to sense its range: it can only currently be of help within a roughly thirty metre radius. When my soulforce increases, its radius should also increase. I don¡¯t know how long I can maintain it, but I feel that its soulforce consumption doesn¡¯t seem to be toorge.¡±

    ¡°No way.¡± Bei Bei looked at him, bbergasted. ¡°The soulforce consumption of a skill that has such an enormous effect like yours ¡®doesn¡¯t seem to be toorge¡¯? Your Spirit Eyes seem to be too strong. Furthermore, your soul ring was only obtained from a ten year Wind Baboon! This is almost too impossible to believe. The soul masters of the Douluo Continent have researched martial souls for over ten thousand years, but there¡¯s never been a situation like yours recorded within any of the books I¡¯ve read. This is truly hard to imagine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either.¡±

    After Bei Bei pondered the matter himself for a while, he revealed a smile and said, ¡°Junior brother, you don¡¯t need to think too deeply about it; a strong soul skill is always a good thing. With the support of this soul skill, I¡¯m afraid that any soul master will be willing to work with you in the future. However, junior brother, you¡¯re a spiritual-type soul master. In the future, do you n to walk the path of an auxiliary system soul master, or a control system soul master?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Choosing the path your cultivation will take is very important. This directly rtes to the the soul skills that you¡¯ll choose for your future soul rings, as well as the direction of your cultivation. Although you, a spiritual-type soul master, have only just obtained your first soul ring, you¡¯ve already revealed your martial soul¡¯s strong potential. If you be a simple auxiliary system soul master, I feel that it would be a bit of a waste. Although I don¡¯t know what kind of spiritual soul skills you¡¯ll manage obtain in the future, I¡¯m inclined towards making you be a control system soul master. You¡¯ll have to put in a lot of time and energy into your spiritual control, but if everything goes smoothly, you might be the core of your team in the future.¡±

    ¡°A team? Do soul masters have to join a team?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously. Since his youth, he¡¯d always relied on himself for cultivation, and had had to experience everything for himself. No one but his mother had ever taught him anything. Now that he¡¯d joined the Tang Sect, in his opinion, his eldest senior brother had be more important than a teacher. It had only been a short period of time, but Bei Bei had taught him many things.

    Bei Bei patiently exined, ¡°Our profession as soul masters has developed quite a bit after so many years, but the idea of forming a team was entirely created by the almighty founder of our Tang Sect, ten thousand years ago. At that time, he and hispanions were called ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯. The seven of them all had formidable abilities, and could release an even stronger fighting strength when they worked together. From then on, cooperation between soul masters became the only path for their development. After all, the strength of an individual is miniscule. For example, your cooperation with me just now. It allowed me to be much more rxed during the battle. Xiao Ya and I also have somebination tactics. Conversely, the number of soul masters within a team normally shouldn¡¯t surpass ten. Out of that team, there would be a battle-type soul master who¡¯s responsible for defense, an assault system soul master who¡¯s responsible for attacks, and a control system soul master who bothmands and controls the battlefield. There are also auxiliary system tool-type soul masters, auxiliary system food-type soul masters, agility system soul masters, along with many other types of soul masters. They all have different uses in a team.¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have suddenly understood something as he said, ¡°Then, is eldest senior brother an assault system soul master?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled as he nodded and said, ¡°My martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon; It¡¯s considered a rather strong martial soul amongst beast souls. It specialises in attacks. On the other hand, Xiao Ya¡¯s martial soul is Bluesilver Grass, which will allow her to be a control system soul master like the almighty ancestor of the Tang Sect from the legends. However, her controlling abilities mostly appear within the Bluesilver Grass. If you can also be a control system soul master, we can rely on thebination of your spiritual controlling abilities and Xiao Ya¡¯s Bluesilver Grass. With two control system soul masters, we won¡¯t even need an auxiliary system tool-type soul master to be able to form a strong team.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded seriously, ¡°Eldest senior brother, I¡¯ll listen to your advice. Then, I¡¯ll work hard to be a control system soul master. Only, my natural talent isn¡¯t too good¡­ My cultivation speed is very slow¡­¡± After speaking to this point, he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head. When hepared himself, who was already eleven but only had one ring, to Bei Bei or Tang Ya, his talent was quite disappointing.

    Bei Bei rubbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s head and smiled. ¡°Talent is only one part of sess. In the past, there weren¡¯t always people who could guide you on your cultivation path. Add on to that the fact that you didn¡¯t have a suitable cultivation technique, and it¡¯s already verymendable that you have been able to reach your current situation with hard work alone. Furthermore, your martial soul in and of itself is pretty good, which means that your potential in the future will be very great. Thus, you don¡¯t have to be so remorseful. Since you have the time right now, it¡¯d be better for you to cultivate more. As long as you¡¯re able to break through to the thirtieth rank before the age of twenty, you¡¯ll have hopes of bing a strong soul master. No matter whether it¡¯s me or Xiao Ya, we¡¯ll both do our best to help you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, eldest senior brother.¡± Only a touched expression remained on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Bei Bei gently pat his shoulder. ¡°Meeting you might also be Xiao Ya and I¡¯s good fortune, since we were able to resolve the issue of her advancement in rank so quickly. After she finishes absorbing her soul ring, we can return to the academy. This ce isn¡¯t particrly suitable for cultivation. You can recall the Mysterious Heaven Technique that I told you about earlier right now, and can start cultivating it once we¡¯ve reached a safe area.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao replied respectfully. In his heart, Bei Bei had already be slightly more of a teacher to him than Tang Ya.

 Chapter 5.2: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    Chapter 5.2: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    ¡°Oh, right, junior brother. Didn¡¯t you say that you were unclear about how long you could maintain your Spiritual Detection Sharing for? Why don¡¯t we experiment to see? This will rte to our future cooperation during battles, as well as let you understand your own ability, and familiarize you with your new skill.¡±

    Under Bei Bei¡¯s suggestion, Huo Yuhao released his Spiritual Detection Sharing once again. A faint golden light flickered out from his eyes, and a three-dimensional image that was thirty-metres in radius appeared inside of his and Bei Bei¡¯s minds.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing was wless, and was able to clearly differentiate any subtle changes within that thirty-metre radius.

    The more Bei Bei experienced it, the more astonished he became. This Spiritual Detection Sharing wasn¡¯t just an auxiliary detection skill, but was like another brain for him to make decisions with. Every minute detail within a radius of thirty metres had essentially been revealed, and there were absolutely no dead angles. While he was under this skill¡¯s effect, it was as if he had countless eyes that were observing the situation from various angles with the highest level of carefulness!

    The thing that made him even more astonished was that Huo Yuhao seemed to be extremely rxed while he had this soul skill activated; he hadn¡¯t even shown any traces of exhaustion. While they shared the effects of his Spiritual Detection Sharing, they could even feel some of the changes urring inside of Tang Ya¡¯s body as she merged with her soul ring.

    Tang Ya¡¯s figure seemed to have be even more slender, yet her aura was bing richer and more powerful at an astonishing speed. There was also a luster that had appeared on her skin, while her qi and blood had be more exuberant.

    In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes had passed, yet Huo Yuhao¡¯s face had only turned slightly pale.

    Bei Bei inwardly gasped with praise. A spiritual skill thatsted so long¡ªit was already enough to be used in battle. Furthermore, not only could Little Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing be used on the battlefield, it also had many other uses. For example, while they were on a dangerous adventure or hunting soul beasts, this was a rarely seen and extremely practical ability!

    Finally, after Huo Yuhao had maintained his skill for almost an hour, he was unable to persevere any longer. His body shed as he ended his Spiritual Detection Sharing. He felt stabs of pain in his mind, and the strong sense of dizziness nearly caused him to fall down. He hurriedly sat down in a cross-legged position, and immediately started meditating to recover his lost soulforce and spiritual power.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that Huo Yuhao had experienced bitter pain due to an overdraft of his spiritual power. The feeling of his mind bing nk was definitely not afortable feeling.

    Bei Bei had been quietly observing him the entire time. When he saw that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t copse after his exhaustion of power, but rather tiredly sat down in a cross-legged position to meditate instead, a smile couldn¡¯t help but appear on his face. He silently nodded his head. Compared to seeing someone¡¯s talent, Bei Bei preferred to look at someone¡¯s temperament. In his mind, this junior brother of his had undoubtedly passed this test.

    The time needed for someone to absorb a thousand year soul ring was considerably long, so Bei Bei walked around their surroundings in order to spread out some medicine that could chase away soul beasts. Their luck was actually quite good; only a few ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts appeared as Tang Ya cultivated, but they were all chased away by Bei Bei. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t encounter any other existences at the level of a thousand year soul beast, so the process was more frightening than truly dangerous.

    ¡°Phew¡­¡± After exhaling deeply, Tang Ya slowly opened her eyes, causing a radiant light to appear inside of her bright pupils. The energies in her body had all risen by an extremelyrge amount.

    Along the path of a soul master¡¯s cultivation, the thirtieth rank was an important threshold. Being able to cross this threshold allowed one to step into the Soul Elder realm. Reaching the Soul Elder realm signified that one was a true expert that had an immeasurable future. Many Soul Masters who had rather poor talent were unable to break through the bottleneck of the thirtieth rank, even after using up all of their life¡¯s energy.

    ¡°I seeded.¡± Tang Ya jumped up excitedly. Following the stimtion of her soulforce, two yellow soul rings and one purple soul ring rapidly rose up from her feet. The most eye-catching sight was naturally the thousand-year soul ring. The bright purple colour released an aura filled with grandeur; Tang Ya¡¯s strength had already entered apletely different level from this moment on.

    Bei Bei smiled as he said, ¡°Xiao Ya, congrattions.¡±

    Tang Ya let out a cheerful cry as she suddenly pounced on Bei Bei, giving him a big hug. ¡°Bei Bei, thank you.¡±

    Bei Bei hugged her delicate body, and a slightly doting look appeared within the smile on his face. ¡°Since I¡¯ve promised to help you achieve your dreams, I¡¯ll naturally do just that.¡±

    As Tang Ya rested in Bei Bei¡¯s embrace, she inadvertently saw a pair ofrge, astonished eyes looking at her, causing her to suddenly remember that there was another person present. She instantly broke free from Bei Bei¡¯s embrace, and looked at Huo Yuhao, whose Spirit Eyes were flickering, with a slightly embarrassed look as she said, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at? Haven¡¯t you seen love between a teacher and a student before?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered with an extremely honest tone, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before!¡± When he saw Bei Bei and Tang Ya hugging each other, a indescribable sense of envy suddenly appeared in his heart. However, he wasn¡¯t jealous of them at all. His eldest senior brother and his teacher Xiao Ya were truly well matched with each other.

    Bei Bei coughed and said, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve already finished absorbing your soul ring, we should quickly leave this ce. During the past few years, the number of idents that have urred to soul masters entering the Great Star Dou Forest have increased. Even the areas around the forest have existences such as thousand-year soul beasts, so it would be better for us to leave sooner rather thanter.

    Tang Ya nodded her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    At this moment, the sky had already dimmed. However, spending the night in the Great Star Dou Forest clearly wasn¡¯t a good n, so the three of them ignored their exhaustion as they rapidly ran towards the outside of the forest.

    Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d recovered his spiritual power, even activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing again, creating another level of safety for their journey towards the exit of the Great Star Dou Forest, so much so that they even managed to evade a thousand-year soul beast that wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to attack.

    After rapidly hurrying along for two hours, they managed to finally return to the brook where they¡¯d eaten the roasted fish. This was already several tens of miles from the Great Star Dou Forest, which meant that they were, fundamentally, far away from any danger.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally dragged over and made a chef one again, under Tang Ya¡¯s fierce request for him to roast more fish. However, he didn¡¯t need to catch the fish this time around.

    Bei Bei simply stretched his right hand into the water, then violet-blue lightning shed in the water, causing ten unconscious mackerels to rise to the surface belly-up. After that, he used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique to quickly get them to the brookside, allowing them to nearly instantly be able to eat.

    Tang Ya also took out some food that was stored within her storage soul tool. The three people sat together and ate a sumptuous dinner.

    Tang Ya was in extremely high spirits, which made her eat even more. After finishing her meal, she directly slept on therge tree beside the bonfire. On the other hand, the person who¡¯d actually obtained the most benefits, Huo Yuhao, hadn¡¯t gone to sleep yet. He resisted the doubled exhaustion caused by his tired body and mind, and asked for Bei Bei to give him some pointers so that he could begin to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique for the first time.

    Bei Bei very much admired Huo Yuhao¡¯s diligence. After taking off his outerwear to cover Tang Ya with, he exined some of the main aspects of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s cultivation to Huo Yuhao. In addition to that, he helped Huo Yuhao start meditating.

    The paths that the Mysterious Heaven Technique passed through during cultivation were much moreplicated than Huo Yuhao¡¯s original meditation technique. The number of passageways used by the technique were at least ten times greater than that of his original technique, so much so that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce had never even passed through many of the channels.

    For the sake of ensuring Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety while cultivating, Bei Bei sat behind him in a cross-legged position. Bei Bei¡¯s hands were pressed against the centre of Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, allowing his soulforce to seep into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he guided Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce along the first cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

 Chapter 5.3: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    Chapter 5.3: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    By the time that Huo Yuhao had just started to guide his soulforce around his body, Bei Bei¡¯s expression had turned serious. Huo Yuhao¡¯sprehension skills were very high, and he was also very smart. However, his body¡¯s talents were indeed somewhatcking. After Bei Bei¡¯s soulforce had entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he discovered that his meridians were extremely narrow, and that there were some very delicate meridians in his body that wouldn¡¯t be able to handle any strong force flowing through.

    At this moment, Bei Bei realised that the fact that Huo Yuhao had been able to cultivate to his current rank, and that he had been able possess his first soul ring, had been somewhat difficult for him. After obtaining his first soul ring, his body would¡¯ve improved to a certain extent, but his passageways were still this frail. It could be seen just how poor his talent was, so much so that he truly wasn¡¯t much better off than some ordinary folks who hadn¡¯t even awakened their soulforce. Just how much willpower did he have to have to have cultivated his soulforce to the tenth rank and have be a Soul Master!

    Bei Bei had a calm temperament; discovering this didn¡¯t make him feel despair towards Huo Yuhao. Instead, his respect for him slightly increased. Being able to have such unwavering determination at Huo Yuhao¡¯s age meant that, even if Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent was somewhat poor, he¡¯d still be able to achieve something in life.

    After investigating the condition of Huo Yuhao body, Bei Bei guessed that the reason that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were so strong was definitely linked to the mutation of his martial soul. Furthermore, although his mutated martial soul was very strong, the harm it had caused to Huo Yuhao when he was young was also very great. Because he hadn¡¯t been properly cared for, it caused his talent to be like this. If he¡¯d been immediately treated with medicine after he was born, perhaps his junior brother would¡¯ve been a genius.

    In reality, Bei Bei¡¯s guess was only half-urate. The reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was so frail was indeed because of the deficiency caused by the mutation of his martial soul, and because of theck of care towards him after awakening his martial spirit. However, the main reason why his Spirit Eyes¡¯ skills were so strong, was because of the million-year intelligent soul ring, the Skydream Iceworm.

    As the dark sky gradually turned dark blue, a patch of white slowly began to appear from the east. Bei Bei slowly withdrew his palms, and let out a long breath. It was hard to conceal the exhaustion on his slightly pale face.

    He¡¯d used an entire night to help unblock Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways, helping himplete the first cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. This process had been quite arduous, but it had had enormous benefits for Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Peh¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao spat out a mouthful of clotted blood before he opened his eyes.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt that all 36,000 pores on his body had been opened up, causing an unprecedented feeling of rxation to spread throughout his body. The mouthful of clotted blood he¡¯d spat out were impurities within his blood that had caused the stagnation of his passageways. After Bei Bei had helped him unblock his passageways, it finally unclogged his passageways. Even if his passageways were still thin and weak, he could at least let soulforce flow through them. This would allow Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce to flow smoothly when he cultivated in the future. To a certain extent, this had changed his physique.

    Even though Bei Bei was an excellent cultivator amongst his peers, and was a Soul Elder level expert, he was exhausted after unblocking Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways.

    ¡°Junior brother, stand up and look towards the east. Follow my movements, and focus your eyes.¡± Bei Bei resisted his exhaustion, and let out a low shout towards Huo Yuhao while grasping his shoulders with his hands.

    At this moment, Tang Ya, who had originally been sleeping soundly, actually woke up. She jumped up and arrived beside Bei Bei.

    The three of them opened their eyes and looked towards the eastern sky. A faint purple cloud seemed to sh through the marble-white sky that was gradually turning bright. If you didn¡¯t have astonishing visual acuity, as well as sufficient concentration, it would be impossible for one to discover its existence.

    The appearance of the purple cloud caused the three people¡¯s attention to be focused on it. They even stopped exhaling. Instead, they lightly and slowly inhaled, simultaneously fixing their gazes on the hint of purple that had suddenly, faintly appeared.

    The purple cloud wasn¡¯t present for very long. By the time the morning sun had slowly risen from the east, it had already disappeared.

    Only then did the three people slowly close their eyes, and simultaneously exhale the impurities from their bodies.

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya each spat out a misty white stream of air. After inhaling and exhaling several times, it finally dispersed.

    Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t even close to that of his Teacher Xiao Ya, or his eldest senior brother, he felt an intense shock.

    When he had looked at the purple cloud in the distant east, a strong warm feeling had seemed to flow into his brain via his Spirit Eyes, causing his eyes to obtain an unprecedented nourishment; so much so that he was able to look at anything with an extremely clear level of vision without using any soulforce. Even his peripheral vision instantly expanded.

    And when he had shut his eyes to contain that purple cloud, it had slowly immersed itself into his eyes. His Spirit Eyes had even started to naturally activate the soulforce within his body, causing it to merge with the purple cloud. The originally warm feeling gradually became a faint refreshing feeling that gave him an unspeakable sense of rxation.

    The Purple Demon Eyes, this was the skill that Teacher Xiao Ya had spoken about. This was the skill that was said to be the most suitable for him to cultivate! This was only the first time that he¡¯d cultivated it, yet it unexpectedly had had such an effect. Huo Yuhao felt that even the soulforce that he¡¯d previously cultivated and upgraded for the past several months hadn¡¯t had as good an effect as this eastern purple cloud.

    After a full 15 minutes, that feeling of rxation gradually disappeared. When Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes, a faintly discernible purple light had already appeared in the depths of his clear, deep blue eyes.

    ¡°It seems that you truly had good results!¡± Tang Ya looked at Huo Yuhao with a pleased expression on her face.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly stood up and respectfully said, ¡°Thank you, teacher. Thank you, eldest senior brother.¡±

    The purple glint in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed, but a look of extreme exhaustion still remained on his face. He patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°We¡¯re a family. In the future, you don¡¯t need to thank us. However, I¡¯m going to rest for a while, so I¡¯m afraid that we can only leaveter. Teacher Xiao Ya, please prepare some food. Junior brother, go cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique again to consolidate your memories fromst night.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The respect that Huo Yuhao had towards this eldest senior brother of his had deepened even more. After hearing his words, he immediately sat down and began to follow the Mysterious Heaven Technique to circte his soulforce.

    With the profound memories ofst night, along with Bei Bei unclogging his meridians, activating his soulforce was now much easier. The soulforce that he¡¯d originally obtained via meditation gradually turned a faint white colour after being refined by the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    After two hours, Bei Bei took the initiative to awaken from his cultivation. His cultivation level was already extremely strong, so he could easily sweep away his exhaustion.

    Tang Ya gave Bei Bei some rations and quietly asked, ¡°How is he?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled slightly and said, ¡°You were actually right this time. My junior brother is a promising talent. His body¡¯s condition isn¡¯t great, but he has strongprehensive abilities. Furthermore, he can bear hardship, and his heart is steady. He¡¯s a good sprout. In addition to that, the Mysterious Heaven Technique in and of itself has benefits towards his growth. If he cultivates it for a long time, it¡¯ll help repair the passageways in his body. This is a technique that¡¯s also quite suitable for him. As for his future growth, it¡¯ll depend on his own hard work, as well as what opportunities he obtains. All we can do is open a door for him, but how far he can travel will be up to him.¡±

 Chapter 5.4: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    Chapter 5.4: First Glimpse Through The Gate

    Tang Ya softly said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help butugh as he said, ¡°Just what¡¯s gotten into you? Normally, you¡¯d never say thanks to me. Could it be because of my junior brother? I won¡¯t stand for a rival in love.¡±

    Tang Ya punched him unhappily and said, ¡°You know what I¡¯m thanking you for, stop acting stupid.¡±

    Bei Bei gently moved his arm, leisurely pulling Tang Ya into his embrace. ¡°Xiao Ya, I¡¯ll admit it. The reason that I agreed to join the Tang Sect in the first ce was because I¡¯d fallen for you, because I fell in love at first sight. But as I cultivated the Tang Sect¡¯s techniques, I realised more and more just how deep our Tang Sect is. Although the Tang Sect has declined, wouldn¡¯t it be interesting if we were able to redevelop it, and bring it to great heights? Therefore, I¡¯m already not just doing things for the Tang Sect solely because of you, but also because of the Tang Sect in and of itself.¡±

    Tang Ya blinked herrge eyes and said, ¡°Does that mean that you¡¯ll still work hard for the future of the Tang Sect, even if I don¡¯t like you?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression immediately changed as he spoke with a slightly exasperated tone, ¡°Be a bit more normal please.¡±

    ¡°Heehee.¡± Tang Ya smiled. ¡°I just love seeing you reveal your true colours. You normally have such a dignified look, aren¡¯t you tired of it?¡±

    Bei Bei flicked her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s called being civilised. Don¡¯t think that everyone¡¯s like you! You¡¯re always revealing your thoughts on your face.¡±

    Tang Ya grabbed his wrist and spoke with a wronged expression, ¡°I¡¯m not allowing you to flick my forehead anymore, this is offending your teacher. Right, do you think that little Yuhao will be able tost at the academy?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say; it¡¯ll depend on his will. All I can say is that, if he can really manage tost there, and stay for the full twelve years, then his future aplishments might be even higher than mine.¡±

    Tang Ya was startled. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d have such a high evaluation of him.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled slightly and replied, ¡°My junior brother¡¯s mutated martial soul is extraordinary. You¡¯ll understand when I give you an example. There¡¯s already been a slight difference between the first and second time that he used his Spiritual Detection Sharing. This means that his mastery of the skill isn¡¯t that high, yet it¡¯s already amplified our powers by an enormous amount. Furthermore, if what he¡¯s said is true, it seems that this skill can still evolve. If his future soul skills are all like this, he¡¯ll definitely reach the pinnacle of spiritual control system soul masters.¡±

    Tang Ya said. ¡°It¡¯s just that, his self-defense skills arecking. It¡¯ll remain like until he reaches a certain level of cultivation, too.¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. He won¡¯t need to protect himself, because, even if he merely has the skill that he just used, he¡¯s destined to have nock ofpanions beside him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation periodsted even longer than Tang Ya and Bei Bei expected. His cultivation unexpectedlysted all the way until noon. During this period of time, Bei Bei went over to him a few times to check on the cirction paths of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, which he found to have no deviations at all. It could be said that Huo Yuhao had truly entered the Tang Sect after his cultivation this time.

    After Huo Yuhao awakened from his cultivation, he ate some food. Then, the three of them headed towards the east.

    The majority of the Great Star Dou Foresty within the territory of the Star Luo Empire, only a small portion of ity within the Tian Hun Empire. On the other hand, Shrek Academy was located to the northeast of the Great Star Dou Forest, so the distance between the two wasn¡¯t considered too far.

    The reason that Tang Ya and Bei Bei had entered the Great Star Dou Forest from the south was because the surrounding area had a rtively low number of strong soul beasts.

    Because Shrek Academy frequently had students who¡¯d enter the Great Star Dou Forest to kill soul beasts, they were utterly hated by the expert soul beasts within. So much so, that arge number of soul beasts had charged out of the forest, creating a major event known as a ¡®beast wave¡¯, which had gone towards Shrek Academy.

    Because of this, every single person within the academy below the Soul King rank was prohibited from entering the Great Star Dou Forest from the entrance closest to the academy. Even if one were a Soul King expert, he¡¯d still need a teacher guiding him to be able to enter.

    The three of them hurried towards Shrek Academy, but the speed of their advance wasn¡¯t considered quick, since they had to circle around the Great Star Dou Forest. Thus, they had to travel nearly a thousand miles.

    During their journey, Tang Ya and Bei Bei imparted the absolute techniques of the Tang Sect to him. Of them, the techniques that Huo Yuhaoprehended the most where the Mysterious Heaven Technique and the Purple Demon Eyes. As for the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, and Mysterious Jade Hands techniques, he¡¯d only just taken his first glimpse through the gate.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s diligence had deeply stunned Tang Ya and Bei Bei. He, who was only eleven, didn¡¯t forget to cultivate even as they travelled. When Bei Bei told him that he could slightly increase his soulforce by continuously using his soul skills, Huo Yuhao unceasingly used his Spiritual Detection Sharing as long as he could. And the second that he started to rest, he¡¯d immediately start cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique. As they continued on with their journey, he even split his attention, releasing his soul skills while simultaneously pondering the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Mysterious Jade Hands.

    Because Huo Yuhao took a long time to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique, their speed towards Shrek Academy was slowed down. However, Bei Bei and Tang Ya didn¡¯t rush him; they even increased their cultivation time under his impetus.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, with your talent, if you had even half of my junior brother¡¯s diligence, I predict that you would¡¯ve long surpassed me.¡± Bei Bei said as he looked towards Huo Yuhao, who was currently sitting cross-legged under arge tree, his attention focused on cultivating.

    Tang Ya curled her lips and said, ¡°Are even you that diligent? It¡¯s not like even you canpare with little Yuhao. However, he seems to be hiding something within his heart. It¡¯s this secret that pushes him to be so hard working. However, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or thing, a bad thing.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled slightly as he stated, ¡°Having a target is never a bad thing. Furthermore, he¡¯s still young, so his heart will eventually open up as we secretly influence him. Currently, the most important thing for him is breaking through to rank thirty before the age of twenty.¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had awakened from his meditation. A faint white stream of air swirled around his mouth and nose, and a golden light flickered through his clear eyes the instant he opened them. His Spirit Eyes seemed to have be even more prating.

    Admittedly, the reason that Huo Yuhao diligently cultivated was to be an outstanding person. However, the most important thing for him right now was toprehend the new experiences he¡¯d acquired from switching to the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    With Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s help, his physique had improved by a certain amount. The Mysterious Heaven Technique was truly a considerably outstanding technique; they¡¯d already been travelling for four days straight, thus the total amount of time that he¡¯d cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Technique was also four days long. During the past four days, the soulforce in his body had already transformed into the soulforce cultivated by the Mysterious Heaven Technique. The impure and chaotic soulforce in his body was gradually purified during the transformation process. Every time he finished cultivating, his entire body would experience a warm feeling that led to an unspeakable amount offort; its recovery effects were even better than that of sleeping.

    Although his total amount of soulforce hadn¡¯t increased by much, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the changes that had urred in his body, as well as the qualitative change his soulforce had gone through after transforming into the pure soulforce of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    This was the first time in his life of cultivation that such a clear improvement had urred, so how could he not be assiduous and diligent?

    ¡°Little Yuhao, you can¡¯t always be working so hard. You should take a rest when you need to. If not, won¡¯t you be a blockhead after a while?¡± Tang Ya said seriously.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Tang Ya giggled as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so honest and obedient, okay? It¡¯s really boring. Alright, let¡¯s go, we¡¯ve almost reached the academy. You¡¯ve been immersed in cultivation the past few days, so I didn¡¯t get the chance to tell you about some things that you need to pay attention to inside of the academy. You¡¯ve taken a break at just the right time, so rx your mind for a bit and listen.¡±

 Chapter 6.1: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    Chapter 6.1: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao had originally nned to ponder the few capturing techniques that Bei Bei had taught him yesterday, but he immediately turned nk after hearing what Tang Ya had said.

    The three continued their journey. While they were walking, Tang Ya exined the situation within Shrek Academy to Huo Yuhao.

    Shrek Academy had been established ten thousand years ago, and the word ¡®Shrek¡¯ meant ¡®monster¡¯ in the ancientnguage. This also meant that, the people who¡¯d founded Shrek Academy at the start had wanted to establish an academy of monsters.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s oldest motto was ¡°To breed only monsters, not ordinary people.¡±, but the word ¡®monster¡¯ actually referred to geniuses.

    Even the person who¡¯d founded the Douluo Continent¡¯s number one Tang Sect had graduated from Shrek Academy, and it was also that student who brought about the first glorious moment for Shrek Academy. At that time, Shrek Academy had only had their founding students, who were referred to as the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters within the Shrek Academy¡¯s history.

    The story of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had already spread for a long time, and the most famous of them was still the husband and wife couple that included the sect master of the Tang Sect. Afterwards, although the Tang Sect declined, Shrek Academy still stood high. Furthermore, following the developments that came with the passage of time, it gradually became the number one academy on the Douluo Continent.

    Nowadays, Shrek Academy held a position of power within the continent, the root of the cause of being the continental war that had urred during the collision of the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent four thousand years ago.

    When the war had only just started, the three empires of the Douluo Continent had been divided in their opinions, causing the Douluo Continent to be at a disadvantageous position during the start of the war, so much so that the army of the Sun Moon Continent had been able to make their way to the inner parts of the Douluo Continent.

    At this crucial moment, Shrek Academy¡¯s dean from that year had made a rallying cry. This had an unexpectedlyrge response, causing nearly sixty Titled Douluo super-experts to temporarily be themanders of the three armies. After takingmand of their armies, they swiftly destroyed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, obtaining the final victory in the war, and unifying the continents into one called the Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Empire only managed to continue existing afterwards by giving up itsnds, and by paying war reparations. However, their military strength had been weakened by an extremelyrge amount, which led to them being unable to contend with the threebined armies of the Douluo Continent anymore. Its military strength was equivalent to that of a single empire, at most.

    The war also caused the reputation of Shrek¡¯s Academy to soar. It wasn¡¯t just because Shrek Academy had gathered sixty Titled Douluos, but was also because that year¡¯s dean had be themander of the three empires¡¯ unified army. Under his rallying cry, the royal families from the three great empires discovered, to their great surprise, that practically all of the generals of the unified army hade from Shrek Academy. Under the unified allocation of resources by Shrek Academy¡¯s dean, thebined army of the three great empires no longer had any discord between them. It was also because of this unification that they were able to achieve victory.

    From then on, Shrek Academy no longer belonged to any single country; it had be a standalone existence.

    Shrek Academy had sessively raised extremely wise deans. Although the academy held a majestic position on the continent, they weren¡¯t arrogant in the least. The academy¡¯s attitude towards all countries was the same. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t possess any private armies, and the number of teachers that they kept was even kept at a certain limit. Because of this, Shrek Academy didn¡¯t cause any of the countries to feel a sense of danger. After all, Shrek Academy was an academy. Thus, not only did it continue to exist, but its lofty position within the continent was also one that couldn¡¯t be easily shaken by any country.

    Shrek Academy was located within the southeastern portion of the Tian Hun Empire, with the Great Star Dou Forest located directly southwest from it. The Dou Ling Empire was east of it, and the Star Luo Empire was located northwards. It could be said that Shrek Academy was located at the intersection point of the three empires.

    Tang Ya told Huo Yuhao that Shrek Academy was currently divided into two parts: the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard. Every year, the number of new students they¡¯d recruit was around a thousand or so, yet the total number of students within the academy had never surpassed five thousand. It would take twelve years for one toplete their studies and graduate after entering Shrek Academy. This also meant that Shrek Academy¡¯s elimination rate was extremely high every year. If one wasn¡¯t able to pass the academy¡¯s assessments, he¡¯d be mercilessly kicked out of the academy.

    However, every single person that managed to sessfully graduate from Shrek Academy was a once-in-a-generation genius.

    It could be said that Shrek Academy was truly a cradle filled with experts, so much so that even political issues would ur between the Tian Hun Empire, Dou Ling Empire, and Star Luo Empire due to the number of students that Shrek Academy would admit each year. The fame of the number one academy in the world could clearly be seen from this.

    The Sun Moon Empire, on the other hand¡ªpossibly due to their enmity with Shrek Academy¡ªhad never asked to send people to study at Shrek Academy. There were also a few high-level academies within the Sun Moon Empire that had already reached a fairly high standard after experiencing a few thousand years of development. Only, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military strength had always been limited due to the pact they¡¯d made after the war, which prevented them from expanding too much. Thus, the Sun Moon Empire was still keeping a low profile, at least on the surface.

    ¡°Yuhao, once you enter the academy, you¡¯ll cultivate in the outer courtyard. The outer courtyard is split into many faculties, so you should temporarily cultivate inside the control faculty. At the same time, you should simultaneously study inside of the Soul Engineering Institution. How about it?¡± Tang Ya asked Huo Yuhao after giving him a simple introduction to the Shrek Academy¡¯s internal situation.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, what¡¯s this ¡®Soul Engineering Institution¡¯?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°The so-called Soul Engineering Institution is a ce created for the sake of studying soul weapons.¡± She unexpectedly clenched her teeth in anger as she said the words ¡®soul weapons¡¯.

    ¡°Soul weapons?¡± Huo Yuhao was still slightly puzzled. However, you couldn¡¯t me him. Shrek Academy was currently the number one academy on the continent, yet he¡¯d grown up in a closed environment since he was young. Thus, he naturally had little knowledge and experience of such matters.

    Seeing Tang Ya¡¯s slightly unhappy expression, Bei Bei took her ce exining things to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Soul tools actually have a veryrge rtionship with our Tang Sect. In a sense, soul tools are weapons that we use soulforce to activate. Higher quality soul tools will possess greater might. This also means that, even if you¡¯re only a tool soul master, you¡¯d still be able to possess considerably high attack power if you had a strong soul tool. However, the development of soul tools was one of the main reasons for our Tang Sect¡¯s decline.¡±

    ¡°Our Tang Sect was still flourishing four thousand years ago. However, the collision with the Sun Moon Continent was the root cause for our Tang Sect¡¯s decline.¡± Tang Ya spoke with a hateful tone, ¡°Our Tang Sect was famous for hidden weapons, and our main source of ie was obtained by selling hidden weapons. In the past, almost every single country would purchase a certain amount of hidden weapons from us¡ªeven some sects would do the same.¡±

    ¡°Over four thousand years ago, war quickly broke out when the Sun Moon Continent collided with our Douluo Continent. The three empires¡¯ armies, supported by the hidden weapons of our Tang Sect, collided with the army of the Sun Moon Empire. In the end, although the Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t strong in the aspect of soul masters, they possessed unique insights in the aspects of soul tools. These soul tools were activated with soulforce, and surpassed our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons in strength as a whole, as well as in attack range. In the end, it caused the three empires of our Douluo Continent to suffer disastrous losses during the initial phase of the war.¡±

 Chapter 6.2: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    Chapter 6.2: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    ¡°Although we won the war in the end, the effectiveness of our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons was called into question. From then on, various countries started arge-scale reduction in purchasing our hidden weapons. Even though our ie was still high, arge portion of it was donated out, as per the will of the first sect master. The donated money was used to improve the lifestyle of the ordinary folk who lived in impoverished areas, as well as to build schools and other public facilities. Thus, we didn¡¯t have a lot of extra cash.¡±

    ¡°At that time, the Tang Sect had several thousand people in it. However, the speed of our decline was simply too quick. After only a mere two hundred years, our Tang Sect had rapidly declined. The former number one sect in the continent never saw its former glory again. When the Tang Sect reached my generation, the only three people left were my father, my mother, and me. And when we were hunting some soul beasts, my mother and father died. Thus, the Tang Sect only had a lone child like me left.¡±

    When she got to this point, tears flowed down Tang Ya¡¯s smooth and exquisite face, and she couldn¡¯t help but clench her fists tightly.

    Huo Yuhao murmured, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, are our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons truly iparable to these soul tools?¡±

    Tang Ya sighed and said, ¡°In certain aspects, what you say is indeed true. What the Sun Moon Continent brought to us wasn¡¯t just soul tools, but also a plentiful amount of minerals. These rare minerals are all extremely good conductors for soulforce, which makes them especially suitable for manufacturing soul tools. This caused the high-speed development of soul tools to happen during the few thousand years after the war had ended, which resulted in an even smaller market for our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons. However, in the field of degree of meticulousness, as well as design ingenuity, our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons absolutely surpass soul tools; this is especially true of a few sharp hidden weapons, which are even superior to soul weapons. However, the manufacturing requirements for those hidden weapons are also extremelyplicated.¡±

    Bei Bei rubbed Tang Ya¡¯s head and said, ¡° The development of soul tools has truly dealt a harsh blow to our Tang Sect and its hidden weapons. When I¡¯d just met Tang Ya, she stubbornly believed that hidden weapons were stronger than soul tools. However, the facts have proven that soul tools are capable of recing our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons in bing weapons that are epted by all parties, which indeed makes sense. Firstly, it¡¯s because they¡¯ve simply been easily epted by the masses, especially those tool soul masters who don¡¯t actually have any attacking capabilities. After possessing a soul tool, they turned into battle soul masters in practically an instant, with the only cost they had to pay being soulforce. Thus, after Xiao Ya and I discussed it, we decided that out Tang Sect absolutely could not continue following our old ways, locking ourselves in our own world, if we wanted the sect to flourish once again. If we want to make the glory of the Tang Sect reappear, then not only do we have to understand soul tools, but we also need to merge them with the manufacturing techniques of our current hidden weapons to create even stronger soul tools. This is the only way our Tang Sect will have the opportunity to grow. Because of this, each and every one of our Tang Sect¡¯s disciples must simultaneously study soul tools while cultivating their martial souls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, eldest senior brother, since soul weapons are so strong, why did the Sun Moon Empire lose to the allied army of our three empires during the war?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled calmly and said, ¡°That¡¯s because, although the soul weapons they possessed back then were strong, even the strongest soul tool wasn¡¯t able topare to the fighting power of a Titled Douluo. However, after a few thousand years of development, a few especially strong soul tools have begun to appear, whose strength can even threaten Titled Douluos. However, soul tools have a major issue, which is the fact that stronger soul tools require stronger soul masters to use them to their fullest extent. If you don¡¯t have enough soulforce to support their usage, their power will be extremely limited. Thus, an interesting phenomena has urred after our two continents merged together. The people over here are doing their utmost to study the methods needed to manufacture soul tools, while the people over at the Sun Moon Empire are doing their best to cultivate strong soul masters. After these past few thousand years, our two continents seem to actually be somewhat bnced.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally had an initial understanding of Shrek Academy with Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s introductions.

    After Tang Ya rubbed the tears off of her face, she grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Little Yuhao, the most important thing for you to do right now is to stay within Shrek Academy. Bei Bei and I are already third year students, and it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for us to rise to the rank of fourth year students since I¡¯ve obtained my thousand-year soul ring. After bing fourth year students, the elimination rate isn¡¯t that high. After a few more years, we¡¯ll have the chance to enter the inner courtyard and study there. However, you¡¯re different. After entering the academy as a first year student, thepetition you¡¯ll face will be the most intense. The academy will have an assessment for new students every three months, and only students who are able to pass the assessment can stay. Although our Tang Sect has the privilege of admitting a single student into Shrek Academy, whether you can continue to stay will all depend on you. This is something that no one can help you with, do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head seriously as he said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I will definitely do my best. However, with your and eldest senior brother¡¯s power, have you actually not be students of the inner courtyard?¡±

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°Wanting to enter the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy is easier said than done. The rules for Shrek Academy have never been changed. The outer courtyard was only createdter on, due to the three empires requests so that they could cultivate even more talented people. However, only students who have entered the inner courtyard are considered true students of Shrek Academy. Every single student in the inner courtyard is a genius or a monstrous genius, and some of them can only be described as monsters. Students in the outer courtyard will have a test after staying there for six years, and can graduate after passing that test. Only the most outstanding people that take the test, which number extremely few, will have the chance to take the entrance exam for the inner courtyard. Only after passing that test will they have permission to enter the inner courtyard. The time taken toplete their studies within the inner courtyard is also six years. Supposedly, every single person that has graduated from the inner courtyard is at least an expert of the Soul Emperor rank! Furthermore, they¡¯ll receive the best treatment from all countries, including the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that amazing!¡± When Huo Yuhao heard this, he couldn¡¯t help a feeling of infatuation rising in his heart. He secretly thought to himself that, if he could one day be a graduating student from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, he could return to the Duke¡¯s Mansion to ask for his mother¡¯s remains. Then, his mother could be at peace. After he thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists tightly.

    Bei Bei was serious as he said, ¡°It¡¯s far more amazing. I once saw an upperssman from the inner courtyard. He entered the Great Star Dou Forest by himself, and defeated three ten-thousand-year soul beasts with his bare hands, without killing them! He then took them back to the academy. Supposedly, that was the mission he¡¯d received for his tenth year assessment.¡±

    Tang Ya said, ¡°I¡¯ve even heard that there was once a twelfth-year upperssmen who¡¯d already reached the Soul Sage level by the time he graduated. Furthermore, he even possessed a hundred thousand year soul ring! That upperssmanter stayed in the academy to be raised as the next dean of the academy.¡±

    After hearing their exnations, Huo Yuhao had begun to have an impatient feeling. His interactions with Bei Bei and Tang Ya these past few days had made him deeply understand the enormous benefits he received towards his cultivation when he had a good teacher. Shrek Academy was undoubtedly the best choice! He secretly made a vow to himself that, no matter how hard he had to work, he¡¯d ensure that he remained in the outer courtyard, and that he would strive to enter the inner courtyard in the future.

 Chapter 6.3: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    Chapter 6.3: The Number One Academy on the Douluo Continent

    With this feeling in his heart, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but begin to ponder the secret techniques of the Tang Sect while they walked. Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s introduction to Shrek Academy had already ignited a me in his heart.

    Tang Ya and Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help but smile at each other when they saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance. When they¡¯d entered Shrek Academy in the beginning, weren¡¯t they just like Huo Yuhao?

    After a few hours, Huo Yuhao finally saw Shrek Academy.

    Rather than calling it an academy, it¡¯d be more suitable to call it a city. As they walked out of the forest near the main road, they were able to see the tall walls of the city beginning to extend upwards from the distant fields.

    Shrek Academy had been established on a wide field, thus the area that it covered was extremely vast. It was a city in and of itself, and the city¡¯s name was ¡®Shrek City¡¯. Shrek City was one of the biggest cities on the Douluo Continent, and the number of people who lived in it surpassed two million. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was the sole governor of the city, and didn¡¯t need to pay any taxes to any country. This single point just by itself was something that every single other academy, including those in the Sun Moon Continent, were unable to say.

    Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t located in the middle of Shrek City, but the eastern part. This was because the distant Great Star Dou Forest was located towards the east.

    Shrek Academy was surrounded bynd in all directions, and could also be said to be essible from all directions. It wasn¡¯t only the location of Shrek Academy, but was also the most important trade city for the Douluo Continent¡¯s original three empires. Because of Shrek Academy, the peacekeeping within Shrek City was extremely good. Transactions made within the city weren¡¯t just fair, but also made people feel at ease. Because of this, most of the merchants from the three empires would choose to do their business within Shrek City when conducting transnational trade.

    The southern, western, and northern city gates of Shrek City could be entered and exited through at will. Only the eastern gate was exclusive to Shrek Academy.

    Under Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s lead, Huo Yuhao arrived outside the eastern city gate.

    This city gate was only usable by Shrek Academy, but it was currently extremely busy. There were at least five thousand people gathered outside the eastern gate, and it was unusually lively. Arge number of traders had already moved here due to the rumours, as this gate was even livelier than the other gates by arge margin.

    ¡°Junior brother, you¡¯re just in time for the academy¡¯s recruitment of new students. You should be able join this year¡¯s batch of new students without any problems, which¡¯ll make you our junior by three years. These ordinary new students don¡¯t just have to pass the assessment, but also have to have a rmendation letter from one of the three empires¡¯ capital cities at the very minimum. This time of year is always the busiest period of time for Shrek City.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quietly asked, ¡°Eldest senior brother, is the assessment very difficult?¡±

    Bei Bei hesitated, and subconsciously looked towards Huo Yuhao.

    Tang Ya, on the other hand, was straightforward as she said, ¡°He¡¯ll find out sooner orter. This will also be the driving force behind his future hard work, so it¡¯s better to tell him now. Little Yuhao, the entrance exam for Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard has two requirements: One, you cannot be older than twenty, and two, your soulforce cannot be lower than the fifteenth rank. If you look at it purely from the standpoint of the examination¡¯s standards, you don¡¯t meet the qualifications to enter.¡±

    She didn¡¯t say anything that would make Huo Yuhao work harder, because she knew that he already worked hard enough.

    Huo Yuhao asked seriously, ¡°Then, will the first assessment after three months also test my soulforce?¡± With his physique, wanting to increase his soulforce from the eleventh rank to the fifteenth rank within three months was an entirely impossible task.

    Bei Bei shook his head and replied, ¡°No. The assessments of our Shrek Academy always consist of livebat. As a teacher once said, ¡®any amount of numerical data pales in the face of livebat¡¯.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forcefully nodded his head. ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, eldest senior brother, perhaps I currently can¡¯tpare to the overwhelming majority of the new students, but I will definitely exceed them in the future.¡± His words had a calmness that surpassed his peers, and an a firmness that did the same was also present within his Spirit Eyes.

    Bei Bei, who was a head taller than Huo Yuhao, extended his arms out to grab his shoulders as he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. If you can get through the following three months, eldest senior brother will be optimistic about your chances to get to the end.¡±

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya took Huo Yuhao with them as they skirted the crowd, and arrived at the eastern city gate.

    There were ten male and female youths standing outside the eastern city gate, protecting it. They were roughly the same age as Tang Ya and Bei Bei, and all of them were wearing yellow warrior robes with a green pattern inscribed on the chests. This was the uniform for second and third year students of Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard.

    When they saw Bei Bei, they immediately became respectful. ¡°Eldest senior brother Bei, you¡¯ve returned.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and greeted every one of his junior and senior brothers. Afterwards, he spoke a few words to the leader of the group. That student nced at Huo Yuhao, then immediately nodded his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to doubt about our senior brother¡¯s words. Go take this junior brother inside to register.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled as he gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll treat you junior brothers to a meal next time.¡±

    The other person wasn¡¯t polite either as heughed. ¡°Then that¡¯s that. We won¡¯t give up the chance to have a feast.¡±

    Bei Bei raised his hand and gave him a high five. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint everyone.¡± When he¡¯d finished speaking, he and Tang Ya took Huo Yuhao into the eastern city gate, which was also the symbol for Shrek Academy¡¯s door.

    Not far away, a new student, who¡¯d just finished enrolling for his assessment, asked the older student who was in charge of his assessment, ¡°Senior ssmate, who was that senior ssmate?¡±

    ¡°That was senior brother Bei. His name is Bei Bei, but everyone calls him Thunderbolt Bei Bei. He possesses the number one beast soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Furthermore, he¡¯s exceptionally talented. At the age of thirteen, he broke through to the thirtieth rank, and his cultivation has supposedly approached the fortieth rank, which means that he could breakthrough and be a Soul Ancestor in one or two years. He¡¯s one of the outstanding experts of our outer courtyard. With senior brother Bei¡¯s strength, and if it weren¡¯t for that junior ssmate called Tang Ya who¡¯s apanying him, he could¡¯ve already started the fifth-year assessment for the outer courtyard. If he breaks through to the fortieth rank, I predict that even the sixth-year assessments won¡¯t stop him. Eldest senior brother Bei isn¡¯t just strong, he¡¯s always been kind to people. If you were to ask who the most popr person in the outer courtyard was, it would definitely be him. Senior brother Bei is the Prince Charming of many female students in the outer courtyard, but he¡¯s single-mindedly focused on who he loves. For the sake of junior ssmate Tang Ya, he¡¯s rejected the confessions of an uncountable number of junior and senior female ssmates. Reportedly, even some of the female senior ssmates from the inner courtyard have fallen for him. Everyone says that senior brother Bei will definitely enter the inner courtyard in two years at most.¡±

    When Bei Bei and Tang Ya took Huo Yuhao into Shrek Academy, it was different from the vast and solemn scene that he¡¯d imagined. Shrek Academy had an elegant environment, and there were various types of abundant and lush flora within. As he walked along the wide main path, he was able to see at least ten nts in every direction he looked. These nts had clearly been meticulously pruned.

    After he¡¯d walked for two hundred or so metres, several enormous sculptures appeared in front of him, covering his line of sight. There were a total of ten sculptures, and they were all ten metres tall. They had all been carved from extremely tough granite.

 Chapter 6.4: Number One Academy in the Douluo Continent

    Chapter 6.4: Number One Academy in the Douluo Continent

    There were three sculptures in the front, with the middle sculpture resembling an old man. He had a set of spectacles and a beaming look on his face. His figure was average, but he was slightly plump, and he looked like a yes-man.

    Bei Bei said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°The person in the middle is the founder of Shrek Academy, and also the first dean of the academy, Flender. The person to his left is an ancestor of my n. He created the teaching foundations that are currently used by various martial soul systems within Shrek Academy. He¡¯s also one of the martial soul world¡¯s ten core role models, and has the title of Grandmaster. His name is Yu Xiaogang. My mother was a direct descendant of his bloodline. The woman to the right is also another ancestor of mine, Liu Erlong. She¡¯s Grandmaster¡¯s wife. The three of them were able to merge together and form the Golden Iron Triangle. If Dean Flender could be said to have founded Shrek Academy, then Grandmaster would be the true spirit behind it. He was also the person who single-handedly raised Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, whose sculptures are behind them.

    The sculpture of Grandmaster looked like a middle-aged man who¡¯d wasted away a bit, while Liu Erlong was a charming middle-aged woman.

    There were seven sculptures lined up horizontally behind them. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze fell upon the sculpture in the middle, who stood at the forefront of the others, his body couldn¡¯t help but tremble.

    It was a statue of a tall man who had a handsome appearance, but the most peculiar thing about him, were his eyes. There was a pattern on his forehead with the word ¡°King¡±, and although it was only a sculpture, it had a sort of imposing and strong pressure.

    ¡°The seven sculptures that stand behind the Golden Iron Triangle are Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, who previously created their own glory. The person who¡¯s standing in front is the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Mubai, while the second person is the Sausage Douluo, Oscar. The third person is our Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, the Asura Douluo, Tang San.

    Tang San was the most handsome amongst the seven. His blue hair was draped across his shoulders, and he wore a simple set of warriors robes. Blue vines that were clearly his Bluesilver Grass martial soul had coiled around the sculpture. There was also a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, but his lifelike gaze was fixed on a woman who was fifth in the row, who had braided hair.

    ¡°The fourth person is the Evil Phoenix Douluo, Ma Hongjun, while the fifth person is Tang San¡¯s wife, the Soft Bone Douluo, Xiao Wu. ording to the stories, she was a hundred thousand year soul beast who chose to cultivate as a human. The person even further back is the Nine Treasure Douluo, Ning Rongrong, who holds the title of the world¡¯s strongest auxiliary soul master; she was also the Sausage Douluo¡¯s wife. Thest person is the Netherworld Douluo, Zhu Zhuqing. She was the wife of the White Tiger Douluo.¡±

    The first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters sculptures all had different shapes, but the fact that they were all Titled Douluos attested to how strong they¡¯d been in the past.

    Tang Ya¡¯s gaze was fixed on the sculpture of the Asura Douluo, Tang San. The Golden Iron Triangle and the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters hadid the foundation for Shrek Academy. Even though ten thousand years had gone by, and even though Shrek Academy had raised an uncountable number of outstanding geniuses and experts, the number of sculptures had never increased, and had remained at ten.

    Bei Bei exined to Huo Yuhao, ¡°We¡¯ll have to separate here. If you walk to the left, you¡¯ll arrive at the Martial Soul Institution. If you walk to the right, you¡¯ll arrive at the Soul Engineering Institution. These are the tworgest branches of Shrek Academy, and they both belong to the outer courtyard. If you were topare them, the Martial Soul Institution isrger, while the Soul Engineering Institution is smaller. Furthermore, the Martial Soul Institution is also divided into many departments. We¡¯ll go to the Martial Soul Institution to get you registered first. The basic requirement for you to enroll in the Soul Engineering Institution is for you to pass the first assessment for new students.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was still stuck on the ten sculptures. When he thought about the legends that his mother had told him about, he asionally felt a shocked feeling rise in his heart.

    The road to the left of the sculptures was still very wide, and could fit four or five carriages side-by-side. There was a signboard next to the road with the words ¡®Lakeside Path¡¯ written on it.

    You could faintly see arge body of water hidden within the shady green trees to the right. This also meant that there was an enormouske behind the ten sculptures of the Golden Iron Triangle and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Tang Ya noticed Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze, and couldn¡¯t help but speak with a slightly proud voice, ¡°That¡¯s an artificialke made for the sake ofmemorating our Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, Tang San. It¡¯s called Sea God¡¯s Lake, because ording to the legends, our ancestor Tang San inherited the Sea God¡¯s legacy. The Sea God¡¯s Lake has an extremelyrge surface area, and is filled entirely with groundwater. Our Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard is located on an ind in the middle of the Sea God¡¯s Lake. Every single disciple from the outer courtyard feels honored if they¡¯re able to reach the centre ind of Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    Bei Bei looked toward the Sea God¡¯s Lake with a deep gaze, and a determined and stubborn light shed through his eyes.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake was indeed veryrge. As they followed thekeside path to head southward, they only needed to turn westwards after a full fifteen minutes had passed. Only after they¡¯d walked another fifteen minutes or so did the path finally begin to recede, causing a vast, rectangr za to appear in their line of sight. A signboard with the words ¡®Shrek za¡¯ also stood beside the za.

    There were many tall teaching areas behind Shrek za. The colours of these teaching areas were all different, and were separated into four main colours¡ªwhite, yellow, purple, and ck. If one gazed into the far south of Shrek za, they¡¯d even be able to see a grey teaching area.

    Bei Bei pointed towards the teaching areas next to the za as he said, ¡°The different coloured teaching areas represent the different years of students, which are differentiated ording to the colours of soul rings. The white teaching areas are for new students, just like the lowest level ten year soul rings. ordingly, the yellow teaching areas are for the outer courtyard¡¯s second and third year students, and the purple teaching areas are for the fourth and fifth year students. The ck teaching areas are for the sixth year students. If you¡¯re able to leave the ck teaching areas, you¡¯ll be able to obtain a graduation certificate from the academy¡¯s outer courtyard.

    ¡°Those grey teaching areas in the distance belong to the Soul Engineering Institution. If youpare were topare their size here, the Soul Engineering Institution takes up roughly a third of the teaching area, while the Martial Soul Department takes up a full two-thirds. Besides these teaching areas at the front, there are also many special teaching grounds located in the back, such as the Soul Dueling Arena, the assessment areas, the dormitories, the teacher¡¯s offices, and so on.¡±

    The new students¡¯ white teaching areas were located to the far south, and were also the closest to thekeside path. The three of them walked southwards from Shrek za, arriving at the teaching area.

    Because it was currently the period that new students were admitted in, the new student¡¯s teaching area was especially lively. A few new students who¡¯d already passed their assessments were currently there to enroll.

    With Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s guidance, Huo Yuhao was able to report for his registration extremely smoothly. The school¡¯s fees were paid by Bei Bei, with the fee for a new student unexpectedly being ten gold soul coins. Furthermore, this didn¡¯t include his food expenses. If one had to quit school due to failing an assessment, their school fees wouldn¡¯t be refunded.

    After collecting his dorm key and two sets of school uniforms, as well as a white freshman badge, Huo Yuhao followed Tang Ya and Bei Bei towards the new student¡¯s teaching area.

    Tang Ya said, ¡°Little Yuhao, the dormitory¡¯s behind the teaching areas; it¡¯s thergest building in the entire academy. You can go there by yourselfter. New students will formally start their sses in three days, so you can familiarize yourself with the environment during the next few days. We¡¯ve paid for your first year¡¯s school fees, but you¡¯ll have to rely on yourself for next year. The academy has various types ofpetitions, all of which have prize money for winning them. Also, you¡¯re already a soul master, so once you finish registering, you can collect a sry that the three empires give out once a month. You should save some of it, but it should be enough for food.¡±

    Huo Yuhao made sure he remembered everything that Tang Ya said. When he was about to bid his farewells to Teacher Xiao Ya and Bei Bei, Bei Bei looked at the nearby bulletin board and furrowed his brows slightly when he saw the announcement pasted on it.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need to walk up to it; He merely circted his soulforce a bit, and the strong visual abilities of his Spirit Eyes exhibited their use, allowing him to see the words on the announcement clearly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had taught him how to read since he was young, so although he¡¯d never formally attended school, his education level wasn¡¯t bad at all.

    He saw the words that were written on the announcement: ¡°Teacher in charge of the ss one: Zhou Yi. Teacher in charge of ss two¡­¡±

    Zhou Yi? I think that I¡¯m in ss one! Because he¡¯d registered early, Huo Yuhao had been directly assigned to the first ss of new students, ss one.

    Tang Ya had also noticed. She let out a low cry of surprise. ¡°Ah? Why is it that perverted old grandma, Zhou Yi? Doesn¡¯t she teach year three? Why would she be assigned to teach new students?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled bitterly, ¡°I heard that Teacher Zhou was overly strict when she taught the third year students, which resulted in only ten percent of her students being promoted to fourth year students. Furthermore, she was reported by the students to the academy many times, which led to her being demoted to teaching new students. Junior brother, you must be careful. There aren¡¯t many monstrous students within the outer courtyard of our Shrek Academy, but there are many monstrous teachers. Of them, the worst is this Teacher Zhou.

 Chapter 7.1: Freshmen Entering the Academy

    Chapter 7.1: Freshmen Entering the Academy

    After hearing Bei Bei¡¯s introduction to Teacher Zhou, Huo Yuhao was also astonished. ¡°Eldest senior brother, if this teacher does these sort of things, why doesn¡¯t the school seem to care?¡±

    Bei Bei spoke in a low voice, ¡°Although Teacher Zhou Yi is a strict teacher, she¡¯s honestly a very good one. Of all the students promoted from her ss, none of them have actually said that she was a bad teacher. Teacher Zhou¡¯s strictness is mainly reflected in the high requirements that she sets for her students, as well as in her harsh teaching methods. However, almost a fourth of the students who¡¯ve been taught by Teacher Zhou, and passed, have entered the inner courtyard. This statistic is one of the best within the entire academy. Teacher Zhou was only demoted to teaching freshmen because themotion was too big this time. However, as long as you work hard enough, and are outstanding enough, Teacher Zhou¡¯s teaching will only have benefits for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rxed and replied, ¡°So it¡¯s like that. Teacher Xiao Ya, eldest senior brother, you guys must have plenty of other things to do. I¡¯ll return to my room first.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, Teacher Xiao Ya and I want to go and take our promotion test. If we can pass this test, we¡¯ll be promoted to fourth-years. I live in Room 316, so you can go there if you need anything.¡±

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya were truly busy. The reason why Tang Ya had been in such a rush to obtain her third soul ring was so that she could smoothly pass the fourth-year promotion test. Furthermore, there would be even more issues waiting for them after they were promoted. Huo Yuhao had gone to the Great Star Dou Forest alone, and had obtained his soul ring there, so his self-protection abilities were quite strong. Thus, they didn¡¯t worry much about him.

    After passing through the white school building for first-years, and the yellow school building for second and third-year students, Huo Yuhao saw the dormitory. The dormitory upied an extremelyrge area, and although it was only a single building, the same four colours¡ªwhite, yellow, purple, and ck¡ªwere still present on it. The building¡¯s colours clearly represented the different living areas of the students from their respective years, and had a total of six floors.

    Huo Yuhao arrived at the entrance to the white building, and was met with the sight of a man who looked quite old. The old man had a set of grey clothes on, and the the number of flies that his wrinkles could crush to death had reached the double digits. His eyes were yellow and muddle-headed, while his eyelids were droopy. His appearance was as if he had one foot in the grave. The sunlight between the buildings spilled perfectly over his body. His body, which was half-lying in a chair, actually gave off a veryfortable feeling.

    Huo Yuhao walked forward and spoke respectfully, ¡°Hello, Grandpa. I¡¯m a new student who¡¯se to live in the dormitory. Would you like to check my freshman badge?¡±

    The old man didn¡¯t even raise his head as he stretched his trembling right hand out. Then, a slightly deep yet hoarse voice echoed out, ¡°Take your badge and dormitory key out for me to see.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly passed the two items over.

    The old man waved them in front of his eyes before returning them to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Go on. Room 108 is the third room from my left on the first floor. The women¡¯s dorms start from the fourth floor, so you can¡¯t go upstairs at all. If we discover you up there, you¡¯ll be expelled.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± After bowing and greeting the old man again, Huo Yuhao walked into the dormitory building.

    The old man didn¡¯t move from his original position as he muttered nostalgically to himself, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see a kid with manners.¡±

    As he muttered to himself, a few new students walked past the area. However, they clearly hadn¡¯t taken note of the old man beside the building, and directly went inside. The old man didn¡¯t stop them either. He simply sat there drowsily.

    After following the old man¡¯s instructions, Huo Yuhao quickly found his dorm room. The dormitory had a standard hallwayyout, with both sides of the long hallway having dorm rooms with numbers etched into their doors. The passage of time was clearly visible in the dorm rooms, and it could be seen that they had been in use for an extremely long amount time. The two ends of the corridor had shared bathrooms.

    After using his key to open the door, a gust of slightly musty air surged out of the room. Huo Yuhao hurriedly turned to the side, waited a while, then held his breath as he charging into the room and opened the window. The room had been uninhabited for over a month, at the very minimum. Ayer of dust covered the entire room.

    By relying on the window¡¯s venttion, Huo Yuhao was able to clearly see the dorm room¡¯syout. The dorm room was very small, its area only about ten square metres or so. The two beds took up arge portion of the room¡¯s floor space, but there was also a table, two metal wardrobes, as well as amp on the ceiling. There were also a few metal protrusions on one of the walls. Bei Bei had told him thatmps were basic soul tools that needed soulforce in order to light up. The metal protrusions were ces that one could pour soulforce into.

    After some venttion, the musty air within the dorm room had finally cleared up. As Huo Yuhao looked around the small room, a hard-to-describe excitement appeared in his heart. From today onwards, this would be the dorm room that he¡¯d live in for a year. From the looks of it, he¡¯d even have a dorm-mate. I¡¯ll clean up a bit first.

    The saying ¡®poor children can manage a house earlier on in life¡¯ was true. Although he¡¯d been born in the Duke¡¯s Mansion, Huo Yuhao¡¯s life hadn¡¯t even been as good as amoner¡¯s. He used a little bit of his saved money to buy a basin from the student convenience store located outside the dorms, and after requesting a used cleaning rag from the shop, he immediately started to clean the dorm room.

    After only an hour had passed, not even a speck of dust was left under the meticulous scrutiny of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. Although everything in the dorm room was still in-ce, there was now a sort of fresh smell to it. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t n on buying any sort of bedding for himself, since the wooden bed was already enough for someone like him, who devoted all of his hard work to cultivating.

    He felt a bit hungry, so he enquired about the dining hall¡¯s location. After buying the cheapest lunchbox from the student convenience store, he went to the dining hall.

    Each year-group had a dining hall that belonged to them, which were located behind the dormitory. When Huo Yuhao walked into the freshman dining hall, he was astonished. At that moment, there weren¡¯t many people in the dining hall, making it appear extremely spacious. There wasn¡¯t even a single table; it was an entirely empty ce. There was only a washbasin used to wash one¡¯s hands and tableware. The inner parts of the dining hall had windows that one could buy food from, with price tags outside them. There were a total of eight windows that increased in price from right to left, and all served different dishes.

    There were actually no seating areas in the dining hall? The dining hall¡¯s entrance even had the words ¡®No food is allowed to be taken from the dining hall. No exceptions.¡¯ written on it.

    After a brief moment of astonishment, Huo Yuhao walked towards the right-most window to buy the cheapest avable food, which was stir-fried vegetables and white rice. However, he still devoured the food despite its quality. For him, having something to eat was already extremely good. Furthermore, the food¡¯s price was extremely cheap; it was only two copper coins. With his monthly ie of one gold coin, he could eat for the entire month as long as he was frugal with his money.

    Whilst eating, Huo Yuhao observed the dining hall. He discovered that the most expensive window¡¯s food was actually priced in gold spirit coins. That was something that he didn¡¯t even dare to imagine.

    After quickly finishing his mealy, Huo Yuhao returned directly to his dorm. Like the saying goes, the clumsy bird needs to fly into the forest earlier. He understood the difference between himself and the other students, so he naturally couldn¡¯t waste any time.

    After sitting in a cross-legged position on the sturdy wooden bed, Huo Yuhao quickly entered a meditative state, and started cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    Although his cultivation speed was far slower than Bei Bei¡¯s or Tang Ya¡¯s, he¡¯d already improved quite a bitpared to the past. After changing his cultivation technique to the Mysterious Heaven Technique, he could now at least feel a slight improvement in his cultivation as he cultivated, which was much better than his previous state. Furthermore, after the few days of cultivation that he¡¯d done during their journey back, his originally chaotic and impure soulforce had alreadypletely turned into that of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. There was one effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soulforce that was extremely useful for him¡ªthe Mysterious Heaven Technique would nourish his passageways when he circted it. Although he couldn¡¯t see much improvement currently, Bei Bei had told him that it would definitely improve his physique in the long run.

 Chapter 7.2: Freshmen Entering the Academy

    Chapter 7.2: Freshmen Entering the Academy

    Huo Yuhao had already nned his time out well. Every day, he¡¯d cultivate the Purple Demon Eyes in the morning, then spend two hours practicing the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, and the Mysterious Jade Hands, as well as some grappling techniques. As for the rest of his time, other than the time he spent eating, he¡¯d use all of it to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    Soulforce was the foundation of a soul master. Currently, he had to use as much of his as he could to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    ¡°Oh, this technique isn¡¯t bad at all. It¡¯s indeed quite suitable for your current state. You humans are really skilled!¡± When Huo Yuhao had just entered his cultivation state, everything he saw suddenly turned white. The voice of the Skydream Iceworm also echoed out; he¡¯d been brought back to his spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly surprised as he called out, ¡°Brother Skydream?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯szy voice echoed out, ¡°Your body¡¯s condition has changed a lot during the past few days. You¡¯ve finally gotten a good start. Your body¡¯s endurance has also been gradually increasing. Not bad, not bad. The abilities that you¡¯re cultivating are suitable for you, especially this meditation technique, and that eye training technique. The four soul skills I¡¯ve given you have indeed received benefits from them. You must practice using these soul skills constantly, especially thest one. It should be very effective whenbined with your eye training technique. You¡¯ve obtained a basic soul-attack skill. All in all, your condition, as of now, is slightly better than I had predicted.¡±

    ¡°Brother Skydream, I¡¯ll definitely put a lot of effort into cultivating.¡± After hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice, Huo Yuhao reaffirmed that he¡¯d truly merged with a million-year soul beast, and that he hadn¡¯t been dreaming.

    The Skydream Iceworm then said, ¡°I¡¯m tired, thus I need to rest for a period of time. You should just follow your current cultivation method. When you break through, and you need a second soul ring, I¡¯ll naturally wake up. At that time, the ice-type martial soul that I bestowed you with should be able to be a full-fledged martial soul. It¡¯ll cause your strength to have a qualitative leap.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°How can I find you if I need to?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°If you encounter any danger that you¡¯re unable to escape, I¡¯ll naturally help you out. Don¡¯t worry, I can only live while you¡¯re still alive! Alright, I¡¯m going to sleep¡­¡±

    The white light vanished, and Huo Yuhao woke up from his meditation. To his astonishment, he found that the sky outside had already turnedpletely dark. He¡¯d actually cultivated for six hours¡­ at the very least. The Mysterious Heaven Technique in his body also seemed to have had a slight improvement.

    It¡¯s already be night time, but I¡¯m a bit hungry. However, looking at the time, the dining halls should¡¯ve already closed. Fortunately, there were still a few more dry rations within his cloth sack. Thus, after drinking some water and aying his hunger, Huo Yuhao continued to cultivate.

    After absorbing some of the mystical energy from the eastern purple qi at dawn, Huo Yuhao returned to his room to start cultivating a few of the Tang Sect¡¯s techniques. His attainments in these techniques could be said to only be superficial. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t dedicate most of his energy to this; he was just doing some light cultivation.

    By the time he¡¯d finished his training session, the sky outside had already turned bright. After cleaning himself up, Huo Yuhao walked over to the dining hall for some food. Once he reached the dining hall, he was somewhat concerned. Ever since he¡¯d started cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, his appetite had been rising constantly. Strengthening one¡¯s physique required sufficient nutrients, yet he had no money. His school fees had already been paid for by his eldest senior brother, how could he ask Bei Bei for more?

    Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many varieties of food avable for breakfast. Furthermore, breakfast was also cheap. Huo Yuhao bought a few eggs and a bowl of porridge, causing him to reluctantly spend three copper coins. He¡¯d finally replenished his body¡¯s nutrients. Yesterday, he¡¯d even had the thought that the food here was cheap. However, he suddenly discovered that the price of food within Shrek Academy was actually more expensive than the food outside.

    ¡°Junior brother, you can¡¯t be stingy while eating; you can¡¯tck nutrients. The school has some jobs that are within your abilities to do. You can do these jobs for your livelihood ie.¡± Unbeknownst to him, Bei Bei had arrived at Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother!¡± Huo Yuhao let out a cry of surprise. Up till now, the only people that he was able to recognise within Shrek Academy were Tang Ya and Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei was slightly apologetic as he said, ¡°The reason why I haven¡¯t given you any money directly is because I hope that you can learn to rely on yourself. Combat strength is only a part of one¡¯s strength; a person¡¯sposite strength is determined by many different abilities. Of them, the most important ability is their ability to live under any circumstances. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, you¡¯ve already given me a lot of help. I understand. I still have a few silver coins as of right now, so I¡¯ll go take up some jobs after school opens.¡±

    Bei Bei rubbed his head. ¡°I¡¯ll go first. You must remember this: money can be earned, but you can¡¯t be stingy with your food. You must have your nutrition.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed Bei Bei as they walked out of the dining hall together. He decided to listen to his eldest senior brother¡¯s advice; he¡¯d treat himself to a meal today.

    When he returned to his dorm room, Huo Yuhao was surprised to discover that the door to his room was open. He felt astonished at first, before realizing the fact that his roommate might have arrived.

    At that moment, a youth walked out of the room. After seeing Huo Yuhao, he was also stunned.

    The youth had a delicate appearance, as well as fair skin. Hisrge eyes were very unusual; they were actually a faint pinkish-blue. His settled short hair was also the same colour. His appearance seemed to be even more handsome than Bei Bei¡¯s. This was truly the most handsome person that Huo Yuhao had ever seen. His height and age didn¡¯t seem to be that different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s either.

    ¡°You are?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously.

    The youth was somewhat haughty as he stared at him. ¡°Step aside.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly stepped to the side. The youth walked past him, then stopped after taking a few steps out of the room. He turned around to look at Huo Yuhao as he said, ¡°You also live in this dorm room, I assume. Since you¡¯ve cleaned this room up so well, I¡¯ll allow you to live with me for now. I have a few rules that you must remember: One, you¡¯re not allowed to randomly bring other people back to this room. Two, you¡¯re not allowed to bare your disgusting naked body in this room. Three, you¡¯re not allowed to snore at night. Four, you¡¯re not allowed to bother me. Five, you¡¯re in charge of the cleanliness of this room in the future, but you can¡¯t touch my bed. Do you understand clearly?¡±

    When he saw the youth¡¯s arrogant appearance, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but let his anger hit the roof. ¡°Why must I listen to you?¡±

    The youth snorted coldly. ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to me, I¡¯ll simply throw you out. If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re wee to try.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had been bullied by people from the Duke¡¯s Mansion since he was young, so the people that he hated the most were these types of arrogant people. He coldly said, ¡°If you want fight, then let¡¯s fight. Let¡¯s go outside.¡±

    As he looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s unsubmissive appearance, the youth actuallyughed. His smile was very good-looking, but the disdain and contempt in it ignited the anger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart even more.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know your name.¡± The youth said with disdain.

    Huo Yuhao spoke in a low tone, ¡°Before asking someone elses name, shouldn¡¯t you tell me your name first?¡±

    The youth indifferently said, ¡°I¡¯m Wang Dong.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled as he suddenly approached Huo Yuhao. ¡°Very good. I think that your name shall quickly disappear from Shrek Academy. Let¡¯s go, idiot.¡± As he said this, he took the initiative to turn around and walk out of the room.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fists were tightly clenched as he followed Wang Dong withrge strides. Even though he knew that hisbat strength wasn¡¯t that high, he would never allow anyone to bully him again. Furthermore, this person would even be his roommate for at least a year.

 Chapter 8.1: Monstrous Teacher

    Chapter 8.1: Monstrous Teacher

    Shrek Academy upied an extremelyrge area. Large areas of vacantnd separated the buildings from one another. After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had exited the dormitory, Wang Dong continued until he stood firmly within one of the empty spaces outside the dormitory, then turned around and beckoned Huo Yuhao towards him by curling his finger.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was still burning with fury, but he didn¡¯t immediately rush towards Wang Dong in anger. After undergoing a life-and-death experience in the Great Star Dou Forest, he¡¯d learned one thing at the very least, which was to stay calm no matter what.

    That old man who¡¯d been leaning on the chair at the dormitory¡¯s entrance raised his head slightly. A gleam of curiosity shed through his faint yellow eyes as he gazed at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with interest.

    A faint golden light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and a white soul ring subsequently rose from his feet, activating his Spirit Eyes.

    Seeing his ¡°ten year soul ring¡± Wang Dong let out a softugh. ¡°I¡¯m very curious as to how you managed to enter this school. You dare to challenge me with just this bit of skill? I won¡¯t even have to use my martial soul to deal with you.¡±

    As he spoke, the tip of Wang Dong¡¯s left foot tapped the ground. His body was like an arrow as he charged towards Huo Yuhao. Not only was he fast, but appeared as if there was also an abnormal agility hidden inside his movement. He arrived before Huo Yuhao in the blink of an eye, and raised his right leg to kick him in the chest.

    With this raise of Wang Dong¡¯s leg, only Huo Yuhao was able to make out that Wang Dong had a pair of legs that exceeded the proportion of a normal person¡¯s. Before he realized it, the leg had already arrived in front of him.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao moved. He rapidly took one step to the right whilst simultaneously using his left hand to push Wang Dong¡¯s foot away.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Dong clearly hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to be able to dodge his swift kick. He drew back the right leg he¡¯d used to step out with in a sh, and dodged Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand. At the same time, he shot out another kick lightning-like speed, this time aimed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck.

    It was as if Huo Yuhao could foresee Wang Dong¡¯s actions. When Wang Dong shot his leg out, Huo Yuhao simultaneously lowered his body and crouched down. In the next instant, his body bounced back up, and his right shoulder just happened to collide with the lower portion of Wang Dong¡¯s thigh.

    Both of their movements were very quick. From an outsider¡¯s point of view, it looked like Wang Dong had purposely sent his leg upwards such that Huo Yuhao could use his shoulder to push it up further.

    It had to be said that Wang Dong¡¯s body was extremely strong. A normal person would¡¯ve had their center of bnce destabilized after having their thigh pushed up like that. However, Wang Dong¡¯s right leg was instead actually raised up over him, as he did a split. His left leg was still firmly nted on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao felt a burst of both softness and sticity from the shoulder he¡¯d used to bump into Wang Dong¡¯s thigh with. He didn¡¯t let Wang Dong regain the upper hand as he rapidly charged forwards, immediately ramming into Wang Dong in an attempt to take advantage of him while he was still standing on one leg.

    Facing Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d been dogging his heels till this point, Wang Dong made an astonishing movement. His right leg was still raised up in the air as he shockingly continued to move it upwards behind him, along with the upper half of his body. At the same time, his left leg shot out towards Huo Yuhao. In that moment, the width at which his legs were spread out had alreadypletely exceeded the limits that normal people were capable of imagining.

    Although Huo Yuhao had relied on his Spirit Eyes¡¯ spiritual detection skill to urately ascertain Wang Dong¡¯s previous attacks, he¡¯d already moved. Thus, he wasn¡¯t able to withdraw even though he¡¯d sensed Wang Dong¡¯s movements.

    One was bound to have a certain amount of advantage over their opponent when they could anticipate their opponent¡¯s movements. When Huo Yuhao saw that Wang Dong¡¯s left leg had sprung up towards his chin, both of Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands simultaneously made a downwards pressing motion, colliding with his left leg.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Dong¡¯s strength was exceptional. His leg carried a powerful vibration that was difficult to describe. Huo Yuhao felt a burst of numbness from both of his palms, causing him to subconsciously activate the Mysterious Jade Hands technique. Despite him doing so, he still ended up staggering back in retreat.

    Wang Dong¡¯s right leg that had fallen backwards only touched the ground lightly before his left leg that had been lifted upnded on the ground again, causing his whole body to flip over once again. Wang Dong¡¯s right leg resembled a whip as it went straight down towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder with a whooshing sound. He was evidently infuriated that Huo Yuhao had previously pushed his thigh up.

    Huo Yuhao, who was in the process of retreating, reacted the instant Wang Dong¡¯s right leg touched the ground, bouncing backwards. Huo Yuhao¡¯s footsteps suddenly became quick, and with a sway of his figure, he rapidly headed towards Wang Dong¡¯s left side, getting out of the way of her strike.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Dong¡¯s right leg that had whipped downwards hit the ground ferociously. He actually left a shallow footprint on the hard stone ground. Following closely after that, his whole body became like a windmill as he charged towards Huo Yuhao. Both of his legs were like two maces as he unleashed an attack akin to like howling winds and torrential rains in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    Despite the surprise he¡¯d received after going through their previous confrontation, Huo Yuhao had calmed down at this moment. He activated his Spiritual Detection ability in an area around him, and calmly determined every single one of Wang Dong¡¯s attacks in advance. Under Wang Dong¡¯s fierce attacks, the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks that he knew very little about was like a small boat that was battered on the left and right, yet refused to capsize.

    Wang Dong was also bing more and more apprehensive as he fought with Huo Yuhao. He could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength was far worse than his own. Regardless of whether it was his speed or strength, all of them werepletely inferior to his own. However, his attacks still weren¡¯t able tond on Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t quick, yet he was always able to clearly discern his movements beforehand, and was thereby able to effectively evade his attacks. Wang Dong had already attempted to make a feint, but had still been unable to deceive his opponent.

    Not only was Wang Dong arrogant, he was extremely stubborn too. Since they¡¯d agreed to not use their martial soul, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use his. He could only continue to intensify his attacks, not believing that Huo Yuhao could continue to persevere.

    Indeed, Huo Yuhao had already reached the point of being unable to persevere for much longer. Not only were the attacks from Wang Dong¡¯s legs powerful to the point that he almost couldn¡¯t withstand them, but the speed at which he attacked was also unusually fast. He could only barely contend against Wang Dong while relying on his Spiritual Detection, under the condition that he was fully concentrated on the fight. However, as time passed, the disparity between the basic structures of their bodies gradually appeared.

    Huo Yuhao had lived an arduous life since his childhood, and was malnourished. As such, the nourishment that the Mysterious Heaven Technique had provided to his body with had also just begun. Compared to Wang Dong, who had deep-rooted fundamentals, he was far worse in terms of his body¡¯s development. Even though he¡¯d utilised his martial soul, and even though Wang Dong still hadn¡¯t, the nourishment that his soulforce provided was solely in regards to his internals. After they¡¯d fought for a long time, it was inevitable that minute mistakes would emerge on Huo Yuhao¡¯s end. Both of Wang Dong¡¯s legs had only urately swept at his side a few times, but his body was already experiencing a scorching pain. The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks that he knew very little about had also started to be messy, and he became more and more passive.

    This won¡¯t do. If things continue on in this manner, I¡¯ll definitely lose. Huo Yuhao retreated as fast as he could, as soon, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep avoiding Wang Dong¡¯s attacks.

    Suddenly, he raised his head without notice. Since this movement was quiterge, Wang Dong also subconsciously looked at his face. He clearly saw a hint of purple shed through both of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. Immediately following this, Wang Dong felt like his brain had been pricked by a needle and, with a sharp pain, his mind momentarily became nk.

    How could Huo Yuhao let this kind of opportunity slip by? He suddenly pounced forwards with arge stride forwards. He leapt up, and both of his arms wrapped tightly around both of Wang Dong¡¯s arms. Both of his legs then wound themselves around Wang Dong¡¯s waist, forcibly knocking him to the ground.

    Wang Dong had always used his legs whenmencing his attacks. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was quite anxious. With his legs wrapped around Wang Dong¡¯s waist, how could he exert any force? As long as he continued to subdue Wang Dong, everything would be fine. Huo Yuhao could only subdue him and hope that everything would be fine.

    The stabbing pain in his brain caused Wang Dong to tightly furrow his eyebrows. However, that onlysted for a couple seconds before he became clear-headed once again. Nevertheless, Huo Yuhao had already knocked his body to the ground. His waist was tightly locked between Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs, and his arms were also bound by Huo Yuhao. The distance that separated their faces was no more than an inch, and they could hear each other¡¯s breathing.

 Chapter 8.2: Monstrous Teacher

    Chapter 8.2: Monstrous Teacher

    Huo Yuhao panted fiercely as he let out a low growl, ¡°Are you going to surrender or not?¡±

    ¡°Surrender my ass! Let me go!¡± Wang Dong flew into a rage and forcefully struggled against Huo Yuhao¡¯s grip. However, Huo Yuhao was using all of his strength to restrain him, and had even incorporated his soulforce. Under the circumstances, and considering that he couldn¡¯t use his martial soul, escaping wasn¡¯t easy for him at all.

    ¡°Are you still not admitting your loss? If I¡¯d used a de earlier, you¡¯d already be dead.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show any weaknesses at all as he let out a low roar. At that moment, while his body was in close contact to Wang Dong¡¯s, he found out that Wang Dong¡¯s body wasn¡¯t only extremely soft, but was also quite stic. Furthermore, it even had a sort of gentle feeling to it. His body was also unexpectedly releasing a faintly fresh aroma that smelled extremely nice.

    After hearing his words, Wang Dong was stunned. His resistance against Huo Yuhao¡¯s grip instantly decreased. He was right! the stabbing pain in his head and his previous dizziness hadn¡¯tsted long earlier, but since the two of them had been so close, Huo Yuhao would have definitely had enough time to hurt him if he¡¯d wanted to.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost. Quickly get off me.¡± Wang Dong said angrily. His eyes were filled with a look of hate and denial.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t release him. Instead, he coldly replied, ¡°The five conditions that you previously set aren¡¯t something that I¡¯m unwilling to do, however, I¡¯m not doing it because of your threats, but because of the respect I have for a roommate. I know that you¡¯re stronger than me, and that I definitely wouldn¡¯t be your match if we were both to use our martial souls. However, remember this: If you dare to humiliate me again, then even if I¡¯m beaten to death by you, I¡¯ll definitely make sure you pay the price.¡±

    When he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s increasing viciousness, which got to the point that felt like he was looking into the eyes of a blood-thirsty soul beast, the hate in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes dissipated. What reced it was a slightly dismayed look. In the field of strength, Huo Yuhao was clearly a lot weaker than him, but in the field of imposingness, he¡¯dpletely lost.

    Huo Yuhao slowly released Wang Dong and stood up. While facing Wang Dong, he retreated a few steps. Then, he turned around, and headed back towards their dorm room.

    Wang Dong sat dazedly on the ground for a while, before finally standing up again. Then, he slowly walked towards their dorm room as well. When he arrived at the dorm¡¯s main entrance, the voice of an old man echoed out, ¡°You have indeed lost. Not just in battle, but even your heart has lost.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Wang Dong suddenly turned around to gaze at the old man. With an unresigned look on his face, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m clearly stronger than him. If I were to really fight against him, he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to touch me. In which way did he achieve victory over me?¡±

    The old man pointed towards his own heart, ¡°On the basis of this. He has a fearless heart, while youck one. Not being afraid of death isn¡¯t something that just anyone can do.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned. After a while, he bowed deeply towards the old man. ¡°Grandpa, thank you for your advice.¡± After speaking, he walked towards the dorm room withrge strides.

    Upon his return to the dorm room, Wang Dong saw Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d already begun to meditate on his wooden bed. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he held it in. After letting out a snort, he made his bed.

    Compared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s poverty-stricken conditions, Wang Dong¡¯s bed was set up with a thick fur mattress that had been made from the fur of some unknown soul beast. It looked thick and soft. Furthermore, he even had a soft quilt. His luggage had already filled the wardrobe beside him, but there were still many things left out on his table. Wang Dong seemed to be toozy to finish unpacking, instead pulling the quilt over his head to sleep with feeling of injustice.

    Over the following two days, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong minded their own business, and did their own things without bothering one another. The thing that astonished Wang Dong the most was that Huo Yuhao seemed to be in a cultivation state at all times, except for when he was eating. He could faintly sense the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce, but the more he sensed it, the more incredulous he felt. Just by relying on his strength, how was able to beat me?

    The admission period for new students finally ended, and the freshmen dormitory also became lively. Although the rooms weren¡¯t big, they could still fit two people in them. It was very noisy outside, but the sound-proofing abilities of the dorm rooms were very good.

    Huo Yuhao had been cultivating incessantly during these past few days. His previous fight with Wang Dong had inspired him quite a bit. The reason that he¡¯d previously been able to ovee his opponent, and was able to achieve victory, was because he¡¯d relied on the skill that the Skydream Iceworm had given him after awakening.

    Iceworms truly weren¡¯t very strong soul beasts; the four soul skills that the million-year Skydream Iceworm had bestowed on Huo Yuhao weren¡¯t very strong either. They were, respectively: Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing, Spiritual Interference, and Spirit Shock.

    Huo Yuhao was rtively more skilled with the first two skills, and had already verified their impressiveness with Bei Bei. On the other hand, Spiritual Interference was a domain-type skill that could interfere with all living creatures inside a fifteen metre radius of Huo Yuhao, who would produce spiritual undtions. However, the strength of its interference wasn¡¯t high. With his current level of cultivation, the most he could do was make people turn absent-minded for a moment. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t even able to maintain the skill for a full three seconds; the soulforce consumption was much higher than his previous two skills.

    Spirit Shock was the only skill among the four that had even a tiny bit of attack power. Since it was a single-target skill, the strength of its attack was slightly stronger than the domain-type Spiritual Interference. However, it wasn¡¯t much stronger than it either. The reason that Huo Yuhao had been able to ovee Wang Dong and achieve victory in that fight was because he¡¯dbined Spirit Shock with his Purple Demon Eyes. Thebined effect of the two was even better than he¡¯d imagined. Naturally, this was also because Wang Dong hadn¡¯t been able to put up any defenses due to the sudden nature of the attack. If he¡¯d made any preparations, the strength of his Spirit Shock would¡¯ve been heavily reduced.

    However, no matter what way you put it, Huo Yuhao finally had the basic requirements to be a control-type soul master by relying with these four spiritual-type skills. However, his eldest senior brother had previously told him that new students wouldn¡¯t be separated into departments during their first year. Everything could be done after he¡¯d survived their first year.

    ¡°Oi, ss starts today. Are you still going to sit there like a fool?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice roused Huo Yuhao from his pondering state. He¡¯d just returned from his breakfast, and was nning to cultivate for a while.

    ¡°ss is starting?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously. This was their first conversation after their fight.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t even look at him as he indifferently replied, ¡°There¡¯s still an hour left.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± After Huo Yuhao responded, he shut his eyes and began to meditate. After his hard work during these few days, his familiarity with the Mysterious Heaven Technique had increased a bit. An hour was enough for him to circte the Mysterious Heaven Technique through an entire cycle, which would allow his soulforce to improve by a small step.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t even listen to his reply. When he turned back to look at Huo Yuhao, he discovered that he¡¯d actually started to meditate again, causing him to involuntarily murmur to himself, ¡°Truly a lunatic.¡± When he finished speaking, he left the dorm room without even looking back. During these past two days, he¡¯d never seen Huo Yuhao lie down to sleep.

    Therge gates of the white teaching area were opened wide, and the new students who were now wearing white-coloured school uniforms walked inside in single file. Everyone¡¯s clothing had the symbol of a small green monster on their left breast pocket, which was the symbol of Shrek Academy.

    Students from different year groups had uniforms of different colours; they had uniforms that were the same colour as their teaching areas.

    As Huo Yuhao rushed towards the new student¡¯s teaching area, he was just in time to hear the ringing of the bell. He rapidly rushed inside and saw the sign for ss 1 on the first room to the left on the first floor, causing him to immediately dash inside without any hesitation.

 Chapter 8.3: Monstrous Teacher

    Chapter 8.3: Monstrous Teacher

    At that moment, the spacious ssroom had already been filled with people. Because Huo Yuhao arrived at thest moment, the number of seats left for him to choose from were very little. He barely managed to find a seat with great difficulty. His deskmate was a rtively pretty youngdy. However, this youngdy¡¯s appearance was somewhat simr to Wang Dong¡¯s when he¡¯d first met him. She had a haughty look on her face when she raised her head, and didn¡¯t even spare him a nce.

    Huo Yuhao only managed to observe the surrounding situation after he¡¯d sat down. The ssroom was veryrge¡ªthere were a full hundred people who were in the same ss as him. Following the idea that there were roughly a thousand freshman students, there should be roughly ten freshman sses or so.

    He quickly found Wang Dong, simply because Wang Dong¡¯s looks were too outstanding. The people sitting around him were actually all girls, and none of them were weaker than the female student that sat beside Huo Yuhao in terms of appearance.

    At that moment, a person walked in the ssroom¡¯s door. It was an olddy with wrinkled skin and shriveled hair. Her grizzled hair had been rolled into a bun, and she wore set of white robes. Furthermore, her body¡¯s figure was average in size. The most unusual thing about her were her extremely bright eyes, which seemed to radiate light from her ck pupils.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was his Spirit Eyes. As a result of this, he was especially sensitive to the eyes of others. He could sense a strong level of spiritual suppression from this old woman¡¯s eyes.

    Even though the old woman was very old, her back was ramrod straight as she walked towards the speaking tform. There was no doubt about it; she was definitely the teacher of this freshman ss.

    When they saw the teacher enter, the previously disorderly ss immediately quieted down, and their gazes all gathered on the speaking tform.

    The old woman¡¯s gaze calmly swept across the crowd from left to right, immediately causing everyone to feel her gaze raking over them, which in turn caused a formless pressure to appear in their hearts.

    ¡°I am Zhou Yi, and am the teacher in charge of your ss. I¡¯m not sure how many of you will be able to keep up with me for the following year, but I have to tell you something: in my ss, trash can¡¯t pass my assessments. I want to cultivate monsters, not idiots.¡±

    Teacher Zhou¡¯s voice had a kind of extremely unpleasant rasp to it; it resembled a broken gong.

    When they heard her words, an extremely angry look appeared on the faces of many students. They had passed the entrance assessment that enabled them to be students of Shrek Academy, and had been carefully selected from various countries on the continent. Amongst their peers, the word ¡®elite¡¯ could absolutely be used to describe them. However, they had turned into ¡®trash¡¯ and ¡®idiots¡¯ under the words of this Teacher Zhou.

    However, Huo Yuhao was extremely calm. When he saw this Teacher Zhou, he recalled the words of his eldest senior brother and Teacher Xiao Ya. This Teacher Zhou was very strict, and had a bad temper, but she truly had ability.

    ¡°Those who¡¯ve gotten into a fight during these past few days of enrollment, stand up.¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s following sentence stunned the entire ss once again.

    They¡¯d just been enrolled, who would have the free time to start a fight in the academy? Even if they had fought, who¡¯d admit to it?

    As the entire ss remained silent, only a single person stood up. It was Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t stand up because he was honest, but because he faintly sensed that this Teacher Zhou wasn¡¯t a person who¡¯d y her cards ording tomon sense.

    Seeing Huo Yuhao stand up, Wang Dong let out a ¡®humph¡¯. Not willing to be outdone, he also stood up.

    Of the entire ss of a hundred students, only two had stood up. They immediately became ¡®cranes in a flock of chickens¡¯ as they became the focus of the entire ss¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Only two?¡± Zhou Yi raised her eyebrows. ¡°Truly a group of trash. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know that not daring to provoke others is a sign of mediocrity? Other than these two, everyone else go outside and run a hundredps around Shrek za. Anyone who can¡¯t finish these one hundredps will be directly expelled.¡±

    Once she spoke, the whole ss flew into an uproar. This was only their first day of school, and ss hadn¡¯t even begun yet. Who could ept the fact that they were actually being punished for not fighting?

    One of the students immediately stood up. ¡°Teacher, I refuse to ept this. Why do we have to be punished for not fighting?¡±

    Zhou Yi indifferently replied, ¡°Because I said so. If you¡¯re not willing to ept this, you can screw off. As a teacher, I have the authority to expel any student I want. I¡¯ll give you one minute. If I don¡¯t see all of you running around Shrek za within that minute, all of you will be expelled.¡±

    As she spoke, a terrifying aura was suddenly released from her body. The powerful soulforce undtions caused every single student to be choked by the pressure. Following that, soul rings started to rise from Zhou Yi¡¯s feet.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings burst forth with a strong aura that was hard to describe. This Teacher Zhou was actually a Soul Emperor-level expert, and furthermore, she had two ten thousand year soul rings. If she wanted to take care of the hundred students in front of her, it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that it would be as easy as turning her palm over.

    These students were only freshmen, after all. Under the strong pressure, just who would dare to resist? All of them dejectedly walked out the door. Zhou Yi withdrew her soul rings after releasing them, and her eyes followed the students out of the ssroom as she gazed at them expressionlessly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a reminder: you only have two hours. After two hours, the people who haven¡¯t finished the hundredps will be considered to be unqualified. This is your first test after entering the academy, and those unqualified will be expelled.¡±

    When they heard her words, the students¡¯ movements immediately sped up. They quickly ran to the field after leaving the ssroom.

    Wang Dong was slightly astonished as he nced at Huo Yuhao. At that moment, only the two of them were left in the ss. Zhou Yi¡¯s expression seemed to have be much warmer as she beckoned towards them.

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao walked towards her together.

    Looking at the two of them, Zhou Yi nodded her head in a satisfied manner. Then, she said, ¡°Not bad, at least two of you have some guts. Tell me, who did you fight with, and why did you fight with them?¡±

    Wang Dong was just about to speak, but Huo Yuhao interjected, ¡°Reporting to the teacher, we are roommates. We had a small conflict due to our opposing views.¡±

    Zhou Yi seemed to be very interested as she said, ¡°Oh? You¡¯re even roommates. Fighting is good, but fighting between roommates is the best kind of fighting. You¡¯ll havepetition this way, and you¡¯ll also be able to improve together.¡±

    As they stood in front of Zhou Yi, both Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong felt their backs be cool as their backs be covered in cold sweat. Just now, this Teacher Zhou had simply been too domineering. Furthermore, she really didn¡¯t y her cards ording tomon sense! Her way of thinking was entirely different from an ordinary person¡¯s. She was truly deserving of the title that Bei Bei had called her by, the ¡®Monstrous Teacher¡¯.

    A trace of a smile that was even uglier than one¡¯s crying face appeared on Zhou Yi¡¯s face. Her aged face even seemed to twitch. ¡°Fighting is a good thing, but I don¡¯t really like fighting amongst my own students. Remember, you should fight with students from other sses if you want to start a fight. Our Shrek Academy¡¯s rules have always been rxed, and this is for the sake of developing individuality within our students. Thus, we¡¯ve always turned a blind eye towards the issue of fighting. However, there are certain limits to this, which I¡¯ll tell you about. Students from higher year groups aren¡¯t allowed to provoke or attack students from lower year groups. If we find out that someone has done this, the punishment is immediate expulsion. However, students from lower year groups can challenge older students, but this requires the presence of a teacher, to ensure the fact that older students aren¡¯t simply bullying the younger students. As for students of the same year group, you can fight as you wish. As long as you don¡¯t cause any fatal wounds, the school won¡¯t interfere at all. Honestly, fighting is an exceptionally good way of increasing your strength.¡±

    ¡°If you can reach your second year, you can go to the Soul Duelling Arena to fight. If you win a lot, the school will even reward you. However for now, you two can go run outside with the others.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned. ¡°Teacher, didn¡¯t you say that we had guts?¡±

 Chapter 8.4: Monstrous Teacher

    Chapter 8.4: Monstrous Teacher

    Zhou Yi still had a smile on her face. ¡°But I never said that you wouldn¡¯t need to run! School has only just started, yet you¡¯ve already fought with your roommate. You two really have future prospects. Thus, since you two have so many future prospects, the difficulty of your test should be harder than that of the other¡¯s. Moreover, you two of you should share both delight and hardship with your fellow students. The amount of time you two have to finish those one hundredps will be the same as the others. Look, a moment has already passed while you two weren¡¯t being careful!¡±

    Wang Dong still wanted to say something, but he was pulled away by Huo Yuhao, who didn¡¯t hesitate to turn around and run outside.

    Although Wang Dong felt somewhat depressed, he still followed Huo Yuhao out to run. ¡°What¡¯d you pull me away for? This ¡®Teacher Zhou¡¯ is truly a lunatic.¡±

    Huo Yuhao unhappily replied, ¡°Can you beat her in a verbal battle? Can you beat her in a fight? If you can¡¯t do either of these things, and you still want to stay in Shrek Academy, then you¡¯ll have to follow her orders. Quickly run, I believe that her earlier words about expelling anyone who¡¯s unable to finish a hundredps aren¡¯t false at all.¡±

    Shrek za was right outside the freshman school building. It wasn¡¯t considered too big; a singlep was roughly three hundred metres or so. To normal people, running a hundredps around the za was definitely not a simple task. However, to these young students who had the foundation of a soul master, it wasn¡¯t actually that hard. As long as they ran seriously, they¡¯d manage to finish running their hundredps within two hours.

    After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had joined the ¡®great army¡¯ of running, many sounds of schadenfreude immediately echoed out. However, the two people didn¡¯t even bother to care about them. They were already behind by fifteen minutes, so they had to make the most of every minute that they had.

    Whilst running, Wang Dong suddenly asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°What skill did you use to beat me that day? I still haven¡¯t been able to figure it out. Could it be that your martial soul is a spiritual-type martial soul?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Wang Dong was stunned, ¡°It¡¯s really a spiritual-type martial soul! No wonder I couldn¡¯t see what your martial soul was after you¡¯d used your soul ring. At least my loss can¡¯t be considered too much of an injustice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt slightly helpless as he replied, ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant. If you¡¯d also used your martial soul, I would¡¯ve definitely had no chance at all. I can sense that your soulforce is much stronger than mine.¡±

    Wang Dong was slightly pleased as he said, ¡°That¡¯s obvious. Amongst this year¡¯s freshmen, the number of students who canpare with me in terms of strength are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. You merely have a single ten year soul ring, thus you¡¯re naturally not my opponent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao disliked Wang Dong¡¯s arrogant appearance. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you just lost to that ¡®ten year soul ring¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Wang Dong unhappily replied, ¡°I get it, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Seeing that you protected me in front of that perverted teacher, I¡¯ll consider the previous matter settled. In the future, I¡¯ll take care of you. If anyone wants to bully you, I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was left speechless. ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection.¡± After saying this, he sped up his pace and ran forward.

    Wang Dong followed Huo Yuhao as he sped up. The physical fitness of his body was much better than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, so keeping up with his increase in speed was effortless to him.

    Wang Dong was slightly dissatisfied as he said, ¡°You¡¯re too unreasonable!¡±

    Huo Yuhao red at him and replied, ¡°If you¡¯d treat me as a student on equal terms, you wouldn¡¯t have to have this kind of feeling.¡±

    Wang Dong curled his lip. ¡°Since I was young, there¡¯s never been someone the same age as me who was able to make me treat them as an equal.¡±

    Huo Yuhao humphed, and stopped looking at him. ¡°When words get sour, adding extra words is meaningless.¡±

    Wang Dong also stopped talking. He suddenly sped up, overtaking Huo Yuhao as he used an astonishing speed to run around Shrek za.

    It had to be said that even though Wang Dong was arrogant, his cultivation truly stood out from the masses. Furthermore, his physical fitness was extremely strong. Once he¡¯d sped up, there was no one from ss 1 who could actually catch up to him.

    At that moment, Zhou Yi had already arrived beside Shrek za. She simply stood there as she calmly watched the students run. Her gaze was quickly attracted to Wang Dong, and her gaze changed slightly before returning to normal.

    Time quickly passed. As the number ofpletedps increased, the breathing of the running students gradually became rougher. The physical fitness and cultivation level of the students was revealed at this moment. Zhou Yi had never said that they were prohibited from using the assistance of soulforce, so everyone had started using soulforce to recover their physical strength in order to continue their long-distance running.

    There were more than ten people running at the very front of the group; their speed wasn¡¯t slow at all. Of the group, the leader was Wang Dong. Although he¡¯de outte, he¡¯d managed to catch up to the people who had the mostpspleted within an hour. He¡¯d even overtaken them. Just looking at his appearance, he didn¡¯t seem to have used up much energy; his speed hadn¡¯t decreased at all the entire time.

    After the people at the front of the ss, there was arge group of students. There were at least seventy students within this group, and they all ran at a rtively even speed. Running didn¡¯t seem to be too exhausting for them. Looking at their speed, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for them toplete a hundredps within their two allotted hours.

    Behind them were still more than ten students who¡¯d been left behind in the back. Huo Yuhao was amongst this group. For the sake of catching up to the students in front, Huo Yuhao had used a very quick speed to start running as soon as he¡¯d started. However, the drain on his physical strength had started increasing as soon as he finished running twenty or sops. Not only was he thest person in the ss, the number ofps that he¡¯d run was even fewer than the others, due to him having started fifteen minutester.

    More than half of the total time had already passed when Zhou Yi¡¯s voice suddenly echoed out in everyone¡¯s ears, ¡°Speed up and use my location as the finishing point.¡±

    In the middle of her speaking, Wang Dong had swept past her with a ¡°swoosh¡±, bing the first person toplete the hundredps.

    After using an extremely fast speed to finish the hundredps, Wang Dong¡¯s handsome face had also turned rosy. He panted slightly as he slowed his pace, and he finally stopped after he¡¯d walked anotherp around the za.

    Gradually, more and more students began toplete their hundredps after Wang Dong. At this moment, there were still fifteen minutes left until the two hours were up.

    After Wang Dong stopped, his gaze quicklynded on Huo Yuhao, who was running at the back. He couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brow as he muttered to himself, ¡°How did I lose to him¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed had already be much slower than his starting speed. His school uniform was soaked with sweat, and since his martial soul was a spiritual-type martial soul, the help that his soulforce provided to his body was smaller than normal. If it weren¡¯t for him cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, he would¡¯ve been in an even worse state.

    If Huo Yuhao had had the full two hours toplete the hundredps, he could¡¯ve still persevered andpleted them, albeit with much difficulty. However, after Zhou Yi dying him earlier, it was just too difficult for him. Deliberately increasing his speed had substantially drained his physical strength. At this moment, he was threeps behind the students next to him, and was still twentyps away from the hundredps. Running twentyps within fifteen minutes was something that was nearly impossible for him.

 Chapter 9.1: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    Chapter 9.1: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    ¡°No, I must persevere. I can¡¯t get disqualified.¡± Huo Yuhao clenched his teeth tightly and sped up his footsteps again. For the sake of clearing up his tired mind, he even activated his soulforce and released a Spirit Shock that was aimed towards himself. The intense pain in his mind also stimted his bodily functions, and sure enough, his speed increased by a bit once again, allowing him to overtake the few people at the very back of the group.

    Zhou Yi quietly stood there. She didn¡¯t pay attention to the students who¡¯d already finished theirps. Instead, her gaze fell upon the students who hadn¡¯tpleted theirps.

    Out of these students, the one who had the most tired expression was Huo Yuhao. His uniform, which had already been soaked with sweat, wasn¡¯t something that could be faked! However, he clenched his teeth tightly as he strenuously persevered.

    Time rapidly passed, and Huo Yuhao persevered for another eightps. At this moment, there was only five minutes left until the end of the two hours. Along with Huo Yuhao, there were seven other people who hadn¡¯t finished running. However, they seemed to only have three to fiveps left. Furthermore, they¡¯d already started to use all of their strength to increase their speed. There was still a chance that they¡¯d finish on time. However, Huo Yuhao still needed to twelve moreps!

    At that moment, a figure suddenly rushed out from the middle of Shrek za. Itnded behind Huo Yuhao, and caught up to him in just a few steps. Following that, a scene which stunned everyone present appeared.

    A pair of blue butterfly wings suddenly spread out from the back of the person that was chasing after Huo Yuhao. The tips of each wing unceasingly changed between deep blue, azure, and light blue, while the surface of each wing was simr to a bright, V-shaped halo that had been embedded within the blue sky that in turn brought light to the human realm. Its shape and colour were iparably and wlessly beautiful.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± When such a gorgeous pair of wings suddenly appeared, the shock that it brought to everyone was simply too great. Practically all of the students, regardless of whether they were boys or girls, let out a cry.

    That pair of wings was simply too beautiful. Its surface resembled white spouts surging from the azure ocean. The patterns on it, as well as its colour, were extremely magnificent. When it was azure, the entire surface of the wing resembled a bright halo embedded within the blue sky. It asionally turned deep blue, azure, and then light blue. The white patterns of light on both wings were like pearls that had been embedded within them; they had a bright luster that was extremely enchanting.

    Although the wings were only an illusory shadow, it caused everyone present to have a stunned and dazzled feeling under their illumination. Even Zhou Yi, who was a teacher, felt the same.

    After the figure had released its butterfly wings, it stuck to Huo Yuhao from behind. It hugged Huo Yuhao underneath his armpits, and the wings on its back suddenly began to p. Just like that, it actually brought them both into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao was also shocked. He unconsciously turned around to see who it was, allowing him to see Wang Dong¡¯s handsome face.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°You what? Why haven¡¯t you circted your soulforce to make your body lighter?¡± Wang Dong pped his pair of beautiful wings as he spoke, causing them to suddenly speed up. He then took Huo Yuhao with him as he flew around Shrek za at high speed.

    Huo Yuhao was also stunned by the pair of wings on Wang Dong¡¯s back. Too beautiful, they were really too beautiful! Was this his martial soul? Huo Yuhao could even sense the V-shaped patterns on Wang Dong¡¯s wings absorbing the warmth of the sunlight. Without mentioning this, just a martial soul that had the ability to fly was already a considerably strong existence. Furthermore, there was a saying in the natural world: beautiful martial souls were always stronger!

    A trace of satisfaction was apparent inside of Zhou Yi¡¯s astonishment as she spoke to herself, ¡°Radiant Butterfly Goddess? The continent¡¯s most beautiful butterfly martial soul? Good, very good. At least not all of them have disappointed me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s flying speed was very fast. With his speed,pleting twelveps within five minutes wasn¡¯t an impossible task anymore. When the two simultaneouslynded after finishing Huo Yuhao¡¯sstp, they couldn¡¯t help but stumble. Huo Yuhao hurriedly turned around and supported Wang Dong. However, he also fell backwards, causing Wang Dong to fall on top of him.

    Although Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation couldn¡¯t be considered weak amongst his peers, he was still a child! After over three thousand metres whilst carrying Huo Yuhao, his soulforce had been slightly overdrafted. Once hended, the pair of dazzling wings on his back were withdrawn into his body. His expression had also be pale.

    Huo Yuhao was crushed under Wang Dong¡¯s body, but the trace of a smile still appeared on his face. ¡°Thanks. I crushed youst time, and you crushed me back this time.¡±

    Wang Dong crawled back up with a look of revulsion on his face. ¡°You stinking brat, do you think I want to be on top of you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t angered by what Wang Dong said as he crawled up along with him. Whilst panting heavily, he gave Wang Dong a thumbs-up.

    Wang Dong was stunned for a moment. Then, he nodded his head and gave him a thumbs-up in reply. Following that, the two people couldn¡¯t help but smile. Their previous grudges had alsopletely disappeared at this moment.

    All of the students hadpleted a hundredps within the stipted time. They were now standing in the middle of Shrek za, resting.

    Zhou Yi expressionlessly turned towards the students as she indifferently said, ¡°The people whose names I call, step forward. Cheng Cheng, Qiu Jianrao, Tang Dao, Shangguan Chentian, Lin Zeyu, Zhuge Yun, Tai Long, Tang Ling, and Yun Xiaopiao.¡±

    A total of nine students were called out by her. The students had clearly never expected Zhou Yi to be able to actually call out the names of nine students, even though they hadn¡¯t given any self-introductions.

    The students who were called out slowly stepped forward.

    Zhou Yi indifferently said, ¡°You nine can go pack your luggage and leave the academy. From this moment forth, you¡¯re no longer students of Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The nine students who were still tired from running were immediately astonished, while the other students erupted into an uproar.

    ¡°Teacher, why?¡± The tall youth named Tai Long stepped forward with an angry look on his face. Out of the students who¡¯dpleted their hundredps, he¡¯d been in the first group of people; he was one of the first people that had finished.

    Zhou Yi coldly replied, ¡°Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t need students who¡¯re full of tricks. If we cultivate a person like you, who has strength but not a good and upright attitude, the only thing you¡¯ll bring to any country is catastrophe, not help. Tai Long, say it yourself, did you run the full hundredps just now?¡±

    ¡°I naturally ran enough.¡± Tai Long protested.

    Zhou Yiughed. ¡°You ran enough? If my memory serves me right, when everyone started running, you unhurriedly walked twops due to the fact that I hadn¡¯t arrived at Shrek za yet. You only started to catch up when the leading group were on their fifthps. Because of this, you didn¡¯t run a full one hundredps, but ny-seven. I believe that I¡¯m not the only person who saw yourziness in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Tai Long¡¯s face immediately turned bright red. He never thought that Zhou Yi, who hadn¡¯te out to the field at the beginning, would be able to reveal his crafty tricks as if she¡¯d seen them personally. ¡°But, just because I ran a fewps less¡­ you can¡¯t expel me because of this!¡±

    Zhou Yi snorted disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯ve already exined the reason why I¡¯m expelling you. You¡¯re not suitable to be called a student of Shrek Academy. Pack your bags and screw off.¡±

 Chapter 9.2: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    Chapter 9.2: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    ¡°You¡­¡± Tai Lang waspletely bbergasted. In reality, running a hundredps or so wasn¡¯t a problem at all for him, with his strength. His cultivation was even ranked amongst the best of all the students in ss 1. However, he¡¯d never expected that he¡¯d be eliminated like this.

    Zhou Yi looked towards the other students and spoke indifferently, ¡°Although I have a bad temper, I definitely keep my promises. The nine people who I called out all cheated whilst running, and did notplete their hundredps. If you¡¯re unhappy with it, you can go and report me to the education administration. But for now, you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, I refuse to ept this. He didn¡¯t run a hundredps just now; he only managed to finish with someone else¡¯s help. Why isn¡¯t he being eliminated?¡± Another eliminated student named Lin Zeyu spoke furiously whilst pointing towards Huo Yuhao.

    Zhou Yiughed, ¡°You refuse to ept it? ¡®He¡¯ is named Huo Yuhao. And if ¡®he¡¯ hadn¡¯t finished running a hundredps, he¡¯d be amongst you right now. I will not change what I¡¯ve said. He finished a hundredps. I never said that helping others was forbidden. Wang Dong helped him, something that he did voluntarily. If someone willingly helped you whilst you were running, that would¡¯ve been fine too. But did anyone help you? I don¡¯t look at the process, only at the results. And the results were: Huo Yuhaopleted a hundredps, while you did not. Quickly screw off. If you make me any angrier, I¡¯ll waste your martial souls.¡±

    Under Zhou Yi¡¯s powerful might, the nine students who¡¯d been called out could do nothing but dejectedly walk away. They obviously weren¡¯t going to pack their luggage, but were instead going straight towards the educational administration to lodge aint. This was only the first day of school! How could they ept this?

    The sweat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body increased as he personally watched Zhou Yi impartially expel the nine students. It would¡¯ve been weird if he didn¡¯t feel nervous. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Dong¡¯s help, he would¡¯ve been with those people! When he thought about this, he couldn¡¯t help but shoot a grateful nce towards Wang Dong.

    The remaining students¡¯ expressions hadpletely changed; they didn¡¯t even dare to breathe heavily whilst looking at Zhou Yi. It had only been two hours, yet Zhou Yi had already established her absolute authority over ss 1.

    ¡°Go back to the dorms and change your clothes. After that,e back to the ssroom for ss. I¡¯ll give you fifteen minutes.¡± As soon as she¡¯d finished speaking, Zhou Yi turned around and headed back towards the ssroom.

    No one dared to waste any time this time around. They loudly dispersed, as practically all of them sprinted back to their dorm rooms.

    ¡°That old woman is too fierce.¡± Wang Dong spoke as as hurriedly ran back towards the dorms with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao turned and said, ¡°Thanks. If it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯m afraid that¡­¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. If it weren¡¯t for our fight, you could¡¯ve done it on your own. You can go in and change first, I¡¯m not really that sweaty.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°You don¡¯t want to change together to save time?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Did you forget about the five rules I told you the other day? I don¡¯t like seeing the bodies of other people, it gives me goosebumps. Hurry up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother responding. He hurriedly returned to their room and took off his sweat-soaked shirt. He then used a clean cloth to wipe his body down, before changing into another set of the school uniform. He¡¯d have to wait until after ss before he could clean his dirty body.

    When he left the room, it was Wang Dong¡¯s turn to change his clothes. At that moment, Huo Yuhao was still somewhat out of breath. The pair of wings that had appeared on Wang Dong¡¯s back subconsciously appeared in his mind again.

    Too beautiful, they had truly been too beautiful! Just what was that martial soul? Perhaps the others might not have noticed anything, but Huo Yuhao had. When Wang Dong had released his martial soul, his soul rings had also appeared. He¡¯d unexpectedly had two of them. The thing that astonished him even more than that however, was that Wang Dong actually had both a yellow and a purple soul ring. In other words, his second soul ring was a thousand year one. This had already surpassed themon sense of normal soul masters.

    No wonder he was so arrogant, he truly had the means to do so! When hepared his strength to Wang Dong¡¯s, he truly was far too weak.

    As he pondered about this, Wang Dong came out of their room after changing into a new set of clothes. The two of them didn¡¯t dare to waste any time; they returned to the ssroom as fast as they could.

    Zhou Yi had given them fifteen minutes to change, but in reality, even the slowest person didn¡¯t take ten minutes. All of the students had already seated themselves in an orderly fashion inside of the ssroom. Their eyes were still filled with fear when they looked at the nine empty seats.

    Everyone present had heard the phrase ¡®Shrek Academy is hard to enter, but easy to leave.¡¯ However, they only felt a strong sense of danger after it happened right in front of them. No one dared to even think of cheating anymore.

    When the fifteenth minute arrived, Zhou Yi walked into the ssroom just on time. When she saw that the ny-one students were all present, she nodded her head. She then said, ¡°We¡¯ll start ss now. On the whole, your test earlier has made me satisfied. A majority of you were able toplete the simple running test. Huo Yuhao, stand up.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡± Huo Yuhao rapidly stood up; his back was ramrod straight.

    Zhou Yi coldly said, ¡°Announce your soul rank.¡±

    ¡°Yes. My soulforce is at the eleventh rank.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke respectfully. Ever since Zhou Yi had called out their names earlier, he knew that in reality, this Teacher Zhoupletely understood them, even though she seemed unreasonable. Perhaps he wouldn¡¯t even be able to conceal his cultivation from her.

    After hearing the words ¡®eleventh rank¡¯, a suspicious expression appeared on all of the students in the ss. Wang Dong even directly covered his eyes with his hands.

    Embarrassing, this was too embarrassing to him. With his level of cultivation, he¡¯d actually lost to a person at the eleventh rank. Wait, how could he only be at the eleventh rank of soulforce? Didn¡¯t enrolling at Shrek Academy have a basic requirement that students had to be at the fifteenth rank? When he thought about this, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but raise his head to look at Huo Yuhao with a bbergasted expression.

    ¡°Correct, his soul power is only at the eleventh rank. I know, you all are very curious as to why he could pass the school¡¯s assessment and was able to be a freshman. I¡¯ll only answer this question once, no one can ask him about it in the future unless he¡¯s eliminated. He¡¯s a student who was specially invited by the academy. When he entered the academy, he didn¡¯t need to pass any tests. However, this is the only exception we make for specially invited students. If he¡¯s unable toplete the studying assignments that the academy sets, he¡¯ll also be eliminated. Okay Huo Yuhao, sit down.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± As Huo Yuhao sat back down, he couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished. Teacher Zhou¡¯s words were clearly meant to protect him! By clearly exining the situation of his enrollment, even with his insufficient soul rank, no one would ask about it in the future.

    Zhou Yi didn¡¯t seem to care about the students¡¯ reactions to this. She turned around and wrote two big words on the ckboard: ¡®ATTACK¡¯ and ¡®DEFENSE¡¯.

    After writing the two words out on the ckboard, she turned back to face the students once again. ¡°I know that a majority of you are very unhappy because of the punishment I gave to you earlier, as well as the expulsion of those nine people. Only, you don¡¯t dare to show it because of my pressure. I have no need to give you any exnations. People who are perceptive will naturally understand my reasoning in the future. As for the idiots who can¡¯t understand, it¡¯s fine for them to not understand. We will now start ss.¡±

    ¡°You should all recognise the two words that I¡¯ve just written on the ckboard. ¡®Attack¡¯, and ¡®Defense¡¯. For our first ss today, I¡¯ll talk to you about the attacking and defending techniques that soul masters use. Since ancient times, we soul masters have been split into many different systems based off of our innate martial souls, such as the Power Attack System, the Agility Attack System, the Auxiliary System, the Food System, the Control System, the Defense System, and so on. Some soul masters develop their abilities towards an extreme of one system, while others develop their abilities equally in multiple. The various number of methods to cultivate is by no means an isted path. Wang Dong, answer this question: Of the various systems that soul masters fall into, which is the best at attacking, and which should lean towards defense and auxiliary, or support?¡±

 Chapter 9.3: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    Chapter 9.3: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    This question couldn¡¯t be any easier for him. Wang Dong stood up and unhesitantly replied, ¡°Naturally, assault, agility, and control system soul masters are inclined towards attacking, while auxiliary, food, and defense system soul masters are inclined towards defense.¡±

    Zhou Yi spoke with no trace of politeness, ¡°That was a stupid answer.¡±

    Wang Dong was left nk. ¡°Teacher Zhou, my answer-¡±

    ¡°Sit down.¡± Zhou Yi interrupted him, as she waved her hand in his direction, causing a strong burst of soulforce to hold back the words he was about to say. Then, it forced him to sit back down.

    ¡°If this were four thousand years ago¡ªbefore the Sun Moon Continent had collided with our Douluo Continent¡ªWang Dong¡¯s answer would¡¯ve been correct. However, as of now, his answer couldn¡¯t be any more incorrect. Huo Yuhao, tell me, why is this so?¡±

    Huo Yuhao instantly thought to himself that Teacher Zhou really had a grudge against him and Wang Dong today. Fortunately, they hadn¡¯t been expelled despite this. After some lightning-quick thinking, he came to an answer. He stood up and said, ¡°Because of soul tools.¡±

    The strictness present on Zhou Yi¡¯s face finally became a bit gentler. ¡°You aren¡¯t considered that stupid; it¡¯s no wonder that you were able to be a specially invited student. Correct. It¡¯s exactly because of soul tools that the line between attack and defense has be blurred. This is also the topic that I want to talk about today. Sit down.¡±

    ¡°I believe that everyone very clear knows that the development of soul tools has been quite rapid during these recent few thousand years. That year, the Sun Moon Continent brought many precious materials with them, as well as the basic manufacturing techniques for soul tools. After a few thousand years of development, the quality of our manufactured soul tools has steadily be better, while their strength has in turn be steadily stronger. This has created a situation where even food system soul masters can have an attack power that¡¯s equal to, or even surpasses, the attack of assault system soul masters¡ªif they possess a sufficiently strong soul tool. Contrastingly, if agility system soul masters have a soul tool with a strong defensive capability, they can temporarily y the role of a defense system soul masters.¡±

    ¡°It could be said that the appearance of soul tools has enormously changed both the direction and current situation of soul masters¡¯ cultivation. In reality, the usage of soul rings have been weakened. As long as you have sufficient soulforce, you can rely on soul tools to make up for the deficiency in your soul rings. This has caused many people to neglect the usage of soul rings, thereby creating the current situation in which the soul masters of the four great empires are cultivating with the sole aim of achieving a high amount of soulforce.¡±

    ¡°This sort of cultivation method is undoubtedly effective in the short-term; especially for soul masters below the fiftieth rank, where the effects of soul tools are extremely obvious. However, what I want to make clear to you is that our Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t cultivate this kind of soul master. And that¡¯s because, after surpassing the fiftieth rank, they¡¯re all trash.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, right? Let me give an example. You¡¯re a tool soul master that¡¯s cultivated to the fiftieth rank, while I¡¯m an agility system soul master who¡¯s also cultivated to the fiftieth rank. However, you have a soul tool that¡¯s strong enough to threaten my life, while I don¡¯t have one at all. Who wins the fight?¡±

    ¡°The answer is very simple. I¡¯ll definitely win. Why? Because with my speed, you basically won¡¯t have the slightest chance of hitting me with your soul tool. Even if you have a peak-level soul tool, I can still rely on my speed to grind down your soulforce. The stronger the soul tool, the higher the drain on your soulforce. Because of this, although soul masters of the defense, auxiliary, and food systems can rely on soul tools to possess the attack power of a assault system soul masters, they still won¡¯t have thebat strength of a real assault system soul master. You must remember this very clearly. Because of this, although soul tools can enormously strengthen defense, auxiliary, and food system soul masters, you¡¯ll always be killed first on the battlefield if your body isn¡¯t strong enough. Your opponents won¡¯t let you off just based on the fact that you¡¯re not an offensive soul master. On the contrary, people bully the weak. Your attack power might be very strong by relying on a soul tool, but your other aspects will be very weak in turn. What would your enemies choose to do in that case?¡±

    ¡°Likewise, if I¡¯m extremely fit, mybat strength will be very strong in and of itself. Thus, having possession of a strong soul tool at the same time would be like adding wings to a tiger. This is a true expert.¡±

    ¡°The line separating attack and defense has been blurred; nowadays, anybody within a team of soul masters can fill the role of an attacker. However, only by raising your physical fitness can you increase your chance of surviving on the battlefield by arge degree. Unless soul tools develop to the point where they canpletely rece your body, the level of both your physical fitness and your soul rings will still be the most important thing in your futures.¡±

    Zhou Yi didn¡¯t know this, but ten thousand years from now, soul tools would actually develop to the degree where they could actually rece one¡¯s entire body, like she¡¯d just said.

    ¡°During the next three months, most of my training for you will be focused on training your physical fitness. No matter who you are, what origins you have or how talented you are, if you can¡¯t pass my test three months from now, you¡¯ll end up just like those nine people. You can screw off.¡±

    ¡°Today¡¯s morning ss will end here. I rmend that you eat a proper lunch. Your training will start this afternoon. Huo Yuhao, follow me to the office for a bit.¡±

    After speaking, Zhou Yi turned around and walked away without pausing. The lunch bell hadn¡¯t even rung yet.

    The ss remained silent until Zhou Yi had walked out of the ssroom. A majority of the people there were immersed in what Zhou Yi had said. Although this Teacher Zhou didn¡¯t follow the rules ofmon sense, they had no choice but to agree that her words made a lot of sense.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and followed Zhou Yi out. Besides the office buildings that were located behind the purple and ck teaching buildings, there was also a simplistic office located within every school building.

    Huo Yuhao followed Zhou Yi to the office, which was close to the ssroom. Zhou Yi motioned for him to shut the door, while she proceeded to sit behind an office desk. Although she looked old, her movements didn¡¯t appear elderly at all.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I don¡¯t like to beat around the bush. Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul astonished me a lot, but your martial soul has caused me to be very curious. Even with my experience, I was unable to sense what your martial soul was. Now, I want to know what exactly it is.¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s power was undoubtedly manifested in her words.

    There was naturally no need for him to conceal his martial soul from his teacher. Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My martial soul is the Spirit Eyes, a spiritual-type martial soul.¡±

    When she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Zhou Yi was visibly astonished. A trace of delight shed through her bright eyes, which were inconsistent with her extremely aged face. ¡°A body soul that has a spiritual attribute? Eyes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes furrowed slightly, as if she were deep in thought. After a short period of time, she asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Can you tell me what your first soul skill is?¡±

    Teachers inquiring about their student¡¯s martial souls was verymon, but a soul skill was the most important ability of a soul master, as well as their most important secret. Even with Zhou Yi¡¯s might, she¡¯d still used an inquiring tone.

    Someone else might¡¯ve hesitated for a moment, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have this problem. His first soul ring had four skills, so only exposing two of them was still quite easy for him.

 Chapter 9.4: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    Chapter 9.4: Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    Without directly answering Zhou Yi, Huo Yuhao¡¯s first pure white soul ring slowly rose from his feet. Following that, his pupils were covered in a faintly goldenyer. Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yi felt a spiritual undtion emerge before her eyes.

    Zhou Yi was naturally different from Bei Bei and Tang Ya; she was a Soul Emperor expert. Although she wasn¡¯t a spiritual-type soul master, she still naturally had a strong level of spiritual power due to her cultivation. If she wanted to reject Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual skill, from someone who was only at the eleventh rank, it couldn¡¯t be any easier for her. However, she clearly wouldn¡¯t reject it right now; she immediately chose to ept it.

    Once she epted it, Zhou Yi¡¯s pupils instantly expanded.

    Spiritual Detection Sharing immediately appeared within Zhou Yi¡¯s sense of vision, causing everything around her to be much clearer. This clear sense of reality made it seem as if one was walking out from a dense fog. Everything became clear and orderly, so much so that she was able topletely describe everything using numbers. The precise predictions, almost as if they wereing from a second, separate brain, unceasingly changed along with her line of sight.

    After roughly a minute, Huo Yuhao deactivated his skill, and stood conscientiously in front of Zhou Yi.

    Zhou Yi stood still in a daze for a while, before murmuring to herself, ¡°What a miraculous skill. No wonder the Tang Sect chose you as their specially invited student. With this skill alone, that girl Tang Ya has definitely chosen the right person. I was wondering why that girl, who was extremely smart even though she had ordinary talent, would choose a person who only had a cultivation level of the eleventh rank, and an ordinary level physical fitness. To think that he actually had this secret¡­¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, follow me.¡± Whilst speaking, Zhou Yi quickly stood up and took Huo Yuhao with her. She then led him out of the office with quick steps.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was confused. He could sense that Zhou Yi¡¯s frame of mind had had a huge change after learning about his martial soul and soul skill, but he wasn¡¯t clear about whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t know where Zhou Yi was taking him, nor what she wanted him to do there.

    After leaving the freshman school building, Zhou Yi led Huo Yuhao straight towards the back of the academy, which was to the west. After walking a short distance, Zhou Yi furrowed her brows slightly and said, ¡°This is too slow. I¡¯ll take you with me.¡± Mid-sentence, she shed towards Huo Yuhao and grabbed his shoulder with her right hand. The next moment, Huo Yuhao felt like he was soaring through the clouds.

    The scenery around him rapidly changed, while a formless barrier seemed to have appeared around him¡ªseemingly to protect him. Only, his surroundings had be blurry.

    Zhou Yi was undoubtedly the strongest soul master that Huo Yuhao had ever seen. Just what sort of speed was this!? He hurriedly released his Spiritual Detection. Only after he¡¯d done this was he able to faintly distinguish the direction they were headed in.

    After heading westward for quite a while, Zhou Yi changed directions and headed to the north. Huo Yuhao began to feel that they¡¯d left the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Institute, and that they¡¯d entered the outer courtyard¡¯s Soul Engineering Institute.

    Even with her level of speed, Zhou Yi only halted after a few minutes had passed. They¡¯d arrived before an enormous building.

    The school buildings that Huo Yuhao had previously seen had already been quite big, but they were still outshone by the grey, rectangr building in front of them. The total surface area of this building might even be able topare with the Martial Soul Institution¡¯s dorms.

    The grey building looked extremely massive. It wasn¡¯t just made of bricks either; its surface had many metallic glints on it. A low, rumbling sound echoed unceasingly from the building, and the ground beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet was even vibrating slightly.

    A signboard to the side of the building told him what this ce was: ¡°Soul Tool Testing Area¡±.

    Huo Yuhao was filled with doubt. Why would Teacher Zhou bring him to the Soul Tool Testing Area? What did she want to do?

    Zhou Yi naturally didn¡¯t exin anything to him. After loosening her grip on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, she walked towards the entrance of the Soul Tool Testing Area.

    Once they¡¯d entered, Huo Yuhao discovered that everything inside the Soul Tool Testing Area was made of metal. Furthermore, he¡¯d never seen the type of metal that had apparently been used to construct everything; it was a somewhat dark brown colour.

    After entering, they were greeted by a long horizontal corridor. It looked simr to the corridors from the Martial Soul Institute¡¯s dorms, but there were only doors located on one side of the corridor, and they were all thirty metres apart from one another. The signs on the doors had words like ¡®Testing Area One, Testing Area Two¡­¡¯ along with other words to the same effect.

    Zhou Yi seemed to havee here often, as she was already familiar with everything. She took Huo Yuhao with her as she headed northward through a corridor, before stopping at the end of it, in front of a door that had the sign ¡®Testing Area 20¡¯ on it.

    Zhou Yi turned her wrist over, and a hexagonal silvermand medallion appeared in her hand. She then pressed it to the door that said ¡®Testing Area 20¡¯.

    A magical scene appeared before Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes; The door split open, revealing a gap that was perfectly fitted to hermand medallion. Huo Yuhao thought he sensed a temporary fluctuation of soulforce before themand medallion was released from the gap. Following that, the door to Testing Area 20 opened horizontally, a grating sound echoing out.

    When the door had opened a bit, Huo Yuhao discovered, to his astonishment, that the door was made entirely of metal, and was actually two feet thick. There were smooth rails at the bottom and top of the door, which allowed it to slowly open.

    After the door opened had fully, Zhou Yi waved her hand towards Huo Yuhao, and walked in before him.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± Once Huo Yuhao entered, he was startled by a loud sound. A strong vibration, mixed together with a stream of air, smashed directly into his face, causing his school uniform to flutter.

    Zhou Yi seemed to see this as amon urrence, and continued to walk inside.

    After entering Testing Area 20, Huo Yuhao discovered that this ce was apletely different world. There were massive metal tes that divided the world into separate areas that were akin to metal boxes. Under Zhou Yi¡¯s guidance, they quickly arrived at thergest area within the world. It was an empty field that was roughly two thousand square metres in size, while its height was around ten metres tall. There were currently a few people that stood along the edges of the field, who seemed to be fiddling with strange things in their hands.

    ¡°Fan Yu.¡± Zhou Yi shouted loudly, causing the group of people beside the field to immediately look towards her, in which there was a tall, middle-aged man, who furrowed his brows slightly, then walked towards Zhou Yi and Huo Yuhao withrge strides.

    The middle-aged man was roughly 1.8 metres tall, and his shoulders were extremely wide. He wore a simple cloth shirt that exposed his thick and sturdy shoulders, in turn revealing his granite-like muscles. There were distinct lines on his face, and he had a deep gaze. As he stood there, he gave off the feeling of a mountain that had stood there for time immemorial.

    ¡°Zhou Yi, why have youe?¡± Clearly, this middle-aged man was the Fan Yu that Zhou Yi had called out to.

    ¡°Do you still remember the words that you said to mest time?¡± Zhou Yi seemed to be slightly excited as she spoke.

    A helpless smile appeared on Fan Yu¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°I¡¯ve talked to you about a lot of things. How am I to know what thing you¡¯re referring to? If it¡¯s not important, head back first. I still have to conduct a few tests here.¡±

 Chapter 10.1: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Chapter 10.1: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Teacher Zhou Yi was iparably domineering when she was in front of her students, but she seemed to havepletely lost that tyranny when she was in front of this middle-aged man named Fan Yu. She amiably said, ¡°I¡¯m referring to what you brought upst time; the matter regarding spiritual-type soul masters using soul tools.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Fan Yu¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but light up. His gaze subconsciously fell on Huo Yuhao, who was standing to the side. ¡°He has a spiritual-type martial soul?¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded her head and said, ¡°Correct. His name is Huo Yuhao, and he¡¯s a new student. He has a spiritual-type body soul.¡±

    After seriously looking over Huo Yuhao, Fan Yu shook his head and said, ¡°This won¡¯t do. His body and soul force are both too weak. I¡¯m afraid that he won¡¯t even be able to control one of the weakest soul tools. Furthermore, his talent is simr to the current state of his body; it¡¯s too far away from what I need.¡±

    Zhou Yi humphed and replied, ¡°Are you looking down on my foresight? True, Huo Yuhao is still weak right now, but his soul skill is extraordinary. It¡¯s the most practical spiritual-type skill that I¡¯ve ever seen. Huo Yuhao, let him experience it for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± As a student, Huo Yuhao could only participate as a spectator right now. He immediately activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing and used it on the middle-aged man.

    Following that, Huo Yuhao was so startled that he almost lost focus. When his Spiritual Detection Sharing came into contact with the middle-aged man, thetter slightly furrowed his brow. In that instant, Huo Yuhao felt as if there was a terrifying beast in front of him that had suddenly opened its maw¡ªas if it wanted to swallow him in one gulp.

    This feeling even caused the sleeping Skydream Iceworm to wake up. A refreshing feeling appeared in his spiritual sea, causing Huo Yuhao¡¯s astonishment and horror to disappear.

    The terrifying aura that was emanating from Fan Yu¡¯s body disappeared after only appearing for an instant. As soon as it did, he allowed Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing to link with him.

    ¡°Eeeh!¡± After a short moment, Fan Yu discovered the subtleties contained within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing. Great waves immediately rose inside of his originally peaceful eyes.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a spiritual-type skill like this? How could a skill like thise from a ten year soul beast?¡± Fan Yu looked at the white soul ring floating below Huo Yuhao¡¯s body with a puzzled look. In addition to the puzzled look on his face, he also had a surprised look.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t mention the Skydream Iceworm, so the Wind Baboon became his excuse once again.

    ¡°A ten year Wind Baboon?¡± Fan Yu and Zhou Yi were both speechless.

    Zhou Yi gazed at Fan Yu and said, ¡°Could this be a mutated soul skill?¡±

    Fan Yu nodded his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s a chance. This little guy¡¯s martial soul is a body soul, and a spiritual-type one at that. His existence in and of itself is a mutation. Furthermore, the soul beast that he chose for a soul ring is an existence that¡¯spletely ipatible with him. This must¡¯ve triggered an extremely rare soul skill mutation. The fact that a spiritual-type martial soul didn¡¯t suffer a bacsh from absorbing a wind-type soul ring is already a miracle, but I didn¡¯t think that a mutation like this would appear. I¡¯m afraid that this is a miracle that would bepletely impossible to reproduce.¡±

    ¡°Caitou,e here.¡± Fan Yu beckoned towards the group of people standing next to the wall. A youth immediately rushed over.

    When he saw the youth, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but be startled. From his face, he didn¡¯t look to be much look older than Bei Bei. However, he was extremely tall¡ªover two metres tall. His shoulders were even wider than Fan Yu¡¯s, while his naked upper body exposed his tanned muscles. There wasn¡¯t any hair on his head, and he was much more tanned than an ordinary person. He had a simple and honest appearance.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± The youth bowed respectfully towards Fan Yu.

    Fan Yu pointed at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Go and fire a round of the stationary soul cannon. Let this kid support you, and try to hit a moving target.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The tanned youth didn¡¯t ask any questions. He smiled simple-mindedly at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Little brother, follow me.¡±

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, just use that skill of yours to support him.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao now somewhat understood why Zhou Yi had brought him here. He hurriedly chased after the tanned youth.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, little brother. My name¡¯s He Caitou, but everyone simply calls me Caitou. Thus, you can just call me Caitou.¡± The tanned youth gave Huo Yuhao another simple-minded smile.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Nice to meet you, big brother He. I¡¯m Huo Yuhao.¡±

    When he said the three words ¡®Big brother He¡¯, He Caitou became stunned for a moment. After he¡¯d recovered, he gave Huo Yuhao a big thumbs up and said, ¡°Little brother, you¡¯re not bad.¡±

    Even future historians wouldn¡¯t know that the friendship between ¡®Eyes of the Asura¡¯ Huo Yuhao and ¡®Origin of Destruction¡¯ He Caitou had actually started from a simple sentence like this.

    When the two had arrived at the edge of the testing field. He Caitou tapped the ck belt on his waist, causing a light to sh, and an item that was extremely strange-looking¡ªin Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion¡ªappeared in his hand.

    It was a roughly 1.5 metre-long tube made of ck metal. Its cross-sectional diameter was around 15 centimetres, while its ¡®tail¡¯ was slightly thicker. It had many mysterious patterns carved on it.

    He Caitou held it in an extremely proficient manner. After pressing the back of the metal tube with his right hand twice, a cover immediately came off, revealing a hole that was approximately twenty centimetres long and ten centimetres wide.

    He quickly tapped his waist with his left hand once again, causing a shuttle-shaped piece of metal to appear in his hand. He carefully ced it into the exposed hole in the metal tube, before carefully putting the cover back on. When he raised his right hand, the metal tubended on his right shoulder.

    He Caitou, who¡¯d previously given off an extremely simple feeling, suddenly had arge change in temperament when he raised the metal tube to his shoulder. Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was a spiritual-type one, thus his keen level of awareness caused him to feel a strong sense of danger from He Caitou all of a sudden.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, let¡¯s start.¡± He Caitou¡¯s voice echoed out.

    A golden light flickered through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and his Spiritual Detection Sharing uratelynded on He Caitou¡¯s body. He Caitou¡¯s eyes exuded a trace of astonishment, and he excitedly shouted into the distance, ¡°Moving target, fire.¡±

    There seemed to be someone controlling the targets from the other side. With a ¡®swoosh¡¯, a disk-shaped object shot out from a corner in the distance, and was headed directly towards Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    At that moment, a strong undtion of soulforce instantly exploded from He Caitou¡¯s body. Three soul rings¡ªtwo yellow and one purple¡ªall simultaneously shed, and the metal tube on his shoulder seemed to tremble slightly. A strong halo of ck light began to revolve around the surface of the metal tube, and He Caitou¡¯s body gently moved. The metal tube was now aimed at the round disk flying towards them at high speed.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± A violent explosion echoed out, and the metal tube instantly released a dazzling ck light. The huge amount of turbulence that suddenly appeared caused Huo Yuhao to stumble and almost fall down.

    However, the ck light didn¡¯t hit the flying round disk. Instead, it brushed past it, and flew into the distance. After it had traversed a hundred or so metres, it collided fiercely with a metal te in the distance, causing a violent explosion to erupt. An enormous stream of air rebounded straight towards them, causing He Caitou to quickly move to protect Huo Yuhao behind him.

    The air currentsted a few seconds before it gradually calmed down. On the other hand, the round disk didn¡¯t fly out of the testing area, but rathernded near them.

 Chapter 10.2: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Chapter 10.2: First Experience with Soul Tools

    He Caitou had a gloomy expression as he said, ¡°It still isn¡¯t working.¡±

    Fan Yu and Zhou Yi had already walked over. Zhou Yi¡¯s expression was slightly ugly, while Fan Yu looked as if he¡¯d thought of something. He quickly asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Huo Yuhao, howrge is the range of your Spiritual Detection?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°It has a diameter of thirty metres or so.¡±

    Fan Yu suddenly understood what had happened as he said, ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­. No wonder this happened. After all, this is still only a soul skill from a ten year soul ring. For it to have such profound detection capabilities within a fixed range is already rtively amazing. We can¡¯t ask for too much either. Only, this is rather unfortunate.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly said, ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, the range of my Spiritual Detection will increase as my soul rank increases.¡±

    Fan Yu was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. How could a soul skill evolve?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said with a serious countenance, ¡°It¡¯s really true. This skill¡¯s range has already increased by one metre since I obtained it. Furthermore, I don¡¯t haveplete control over it right now. Perhaps in the future I¡¯ll be able to reduce its omnipresent range and instead increase its range in only a single direction.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was already acutely aware as to why Zhou Yi had brought him here, as well as what she¡¯d said during the following conversation. This could be an opportunity for him, although he wasn¡¯t clear on what this opportunity was. However, assuming that it was an opportunity he couldn¡¯t give up on, he decided to tell the truth.

    Fan Yu nced at Zhou Yi, who nodded slightly back at him.

    Fan Yu replied, ¡°Fine. If the range of your Spiritual Detection Sharing is able to reach a hundred metres in one direction,e find me. When that happens, I¡¯ll teach you how to make soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly bowed in respect.

    Fan Yu waved his hand and said, ¡°Caitou, go over and exin to him what a stationary soul tool is.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± He Caitou had an extremely good impression of Huo Yuhao. He beckoned to him as he walked over to the side.

    As he watched their figures gradually fade into the distance, Fan Yu quietly asked Zhou Yi, ¡°What do you think of this kid? His mutated soul skill is honestly incredibly strong; there¡¯s no doubt about his abilities in a team. Am I asking too much from him? If we want him to be able to support a stationary soul tool, we¡¯ll need it to be able to reach at least distance of a hundred metres¡ªand that¡¯s at the very least. However¡­ I dare to say that, if the range of his Spiritual Detection Sharing is able to reach a thousand metres in a single direction, he¡¯ll be the most terrifying support-type soul master on the continent.¡±

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°I¡¯ve just met this kid, so I can¡¯t say much about him. However, you should¡¯ve seen it. Although his cultivation isn¡¯t strong, and even though his physique is rather weak, his temperament is much more mature than that of his peers. If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have said what he just said. I¡¯ll help you watch over him. However, if he can¡¯t pass the tests I give him, I¡¯ll still expel him. Rules can¡¯t be broken.¡±

    Fan Yu thought to himself for a second, then said, ¡°Help me observe him a bit more. Even if he can¡¯t pass the Martial Soul Institute¡¯s tests, I can still specially invite him to the Soul Engineering Institution as long as his Spiritual Detection Sharing is able to continue improving. I¡¯ve already devoted ten years of my life to researching stationary soul tools. Afterbining that with the experiences of my predecessors, I finally managed to develop the most terrifying kind of soul tool. Currently, all Ick are users for it.¡±

    Zhou Yi sighed lightly and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be too stubborn either. In addition to theck of users for it, there¡¯s also another fatal w; its manufacturing cost is extremely high. You of all people should know that. It¡¯s destined not to be used in arge-scale manner.¡±

    Fan Yu unyieldingly replied, ¡°Soul tools are powerful weapons meant for a small number of especially outstanding soul masters in the first ce. When I conducted my research on stationary soul tools, I never even thought of spreading them out into themunity ofmon soul masters. As long as an extremely small number of soul masters are able to use them, stationary soul tools will be our academy¡¯s true ace in the hole!¡±

    ¡ª-

    ¡°Big brother He, what exactly are stationary soul tools?¡± Huo Yuhao had a curious look on his face as he asked He Caitou.

    He Caitou chuckled and replied, ¡°There are many different types of soul tools. However, I can¡¯t tell you about all of them in the short period of time we have. For starters, there are two main types of soul tools: short range soul tools and long range soul tools.Of these, short range soul tools are simr to the weapons that we normally use; they¡¯re weapons that will explode with even more power when you pour soulforce into them. When youpare them to long range soul tools, they¡¯re slightly stronger. On the other hand, long range soul tools are a type of soul tool that unleash long range attacks by pouring soulforce into them. The stronger the soul tool, the more soulforce required. This means that soul masters with stronger levels of cultivation can use higher quality soul tools.

    ¡°On the other hand, a stationary soul tool is a special type of soul tool that my teacher created based off of the umted wisdom of our predecessors. It can fire long range attacks, but doesn¡¯t require too much soulforce to use. You saw how I used it earlier. Simply put, it splits the soul tool into two parts, where the soul toolponent is only used to fire and detonate a projectile. Earlier, I used the stationary soul cannon to fire a cannon shell. The biggest advantage of a stationary soul tool lies in the fact that it uses very little soulforce, and that it doesn¡¯t require an excessively high level of cultivation to use. Its w lies in the fact that it¡¯s very hard to aim it¡ªespecially when you¡¯re aiming at a moving targetm which is even harder to hit. But when it¡¯s used against a fixed target, it¡¯s very powerful. However, the manufacturing process of the cannon shells is very troublesome, and requires many precious materials. Normally, teacher never lets me fire it without reason. Teacher said that a stationary soul tool can strengthen a soul master¡¯s attack power by tenfold¡­ in theory. However, the strength of a stationary soul tool also has its limits. After all, it¡¯s affected by the materials used to make it. The number of users for these stationary soul tools is fated to be an extremely small number of soul masters who are suited to use them.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s exnation couldn¡¯t be said to be wonderful; it was even a bit unclear at some points. However, this was the first time that Huo Yuhao had opened the great door of soul tools. This finally allowed him to have a preliminary amount of knowledge regarding soul tools. He faintly understood that Teacher Fan Yu definitely had a great deal of aplishments within the field of soul tools. Teacher Xiao Ya had told him that he¡¯d have to study soul tools in the future. If he could be Teacher Fan Yu¡¯s disciple, that would clearly be the best option avable to him.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, let¡¯s go.¡± At that moment, Zhou Yi¡¯s voice echoed out.

    Huo Yuhao said to He Caitou. ¡°Big brother He, I¡¯ll be going first. It was a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    He Caitou chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re a new student, work hard. It¡¯ll be good if you¡¯re able to be my junior brother in the future. Teacher doesn¡¯t normally let me leave this ce. It¡¯s too boring.¡±

    After leaving the Soul Tool Testing Area, Zhou Yi took Huo Yuhao straight back to the dorms. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you heard what Teacher Fan Yu said earlier. I can only tell you that he¡¯s the number one master at creating soul tools in the academy. If you¡¯re able to be his disciple, you¡¯ll have an endless future. However, you¡¯ll first need to be able to stay within the academy. Go on, go eat lunch.¡±

    After watching Zhou Yi leave, Huo Yuhao went straight to the canteen. The students from the other sses had already finished their sses, so the entrance to the canteen was filled with several people both entering and leaving the canteen.

 Chapter 10.3: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Chapter 10.3: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Suddenly, a figure appeared blocked his way, scaring Huo Yuhao. When he raised his head to see who the figure was, he realised that it was actually Tang Ya.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya?¡±

    Tang Ya had a somewhat mysterious smile on her face as she pulled Huo Yuhao over to the side and whispered to him, ¡°Little Yuhao, you don¡¯t have any money, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! Eldest senior brother told me that there were some jobs that I could take for the academy if I needed some though. I was nning to see what was avable after ss.¡±

    His yearly tuition was ten gold coins. At the same time, there were daily expenses that he¡¯d need to spend money on. Although he was willing to spend all of his energy cultivating, he still needed to stay alive.

    Tang Ya giggled and said, ¡°You¡¯re a disciple of my Tang Sect, so as your teacher, it¡¯s only right that I take care of you. I¡¯ve thought of a way for you to make money. I know the auntie who¡¯s responsible for buying food for the canteen; I¡¯ll help you ask her to buy twenty fish everyday. Afterwards, I¡¯ll help you set up a grill outside, along with help you obtain some charcoal. I¡¯ve also prepared some other ingredients. It should be fine if you just sell roasted fish by the academy¡¯s entrance after school. With your cooking skill, you¡¯ll definitely be able to sell them off. These fishes normally cost around one copper coin, but after you¡¯ve finished roasting them, selling them for five copper coins won¡¯t be a problem at all! If we do it this way, won¡¯t you be able to make some money?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, that¡¯s a pretty good n. I have my Spirit Eyes, thus I¡¯m able to very urately control the fire. Why don¡¯t we try this out tonight?¡±

    Tang Ya nodded her head repeatedly. Afterwards, she revealed her true intentions. ¡°About that¡­ since I¡¯ll have helped you buy all of these things, you¡¯ll have to give me priority when you¡¯re selling the roasted fish. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still buy them from you. As for your future ingredients, you¡¯ll have to buy them yourself.¡±

    Ever since she¡¯d eaten Huo Yuhao¡¯s roasted fish that day, she¡¯d constantly thought about it. After finishing her exams yesterday, she¡¯d finally thought of this method that would benefit them both. Naturally, she¡¯d hid this from Bei Bei.

    When he saw Tang Ya¡¯s greedy expression, Huo Yuhao finally understood her motive behind doing this. He gave her a knowing smile and said, ¡°Fine. Teacher Xiao Ya, why don¡¯t we meet here tonight?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ll go back first. Right, I have to tell you a piece of good news! Bei Bei and I have both been promoted to Year 4!¡± Tang Ya waved to him goodbye, and excitedly ran away.

    After grabbing a simple lunch, Huo Yuhao returned to the dorms. Wang Dong wasn¡¯t there, and no one seemed to know where he¡¯d gone. Zhou Yi still wanted to drill them in the afternoon, so Huo Yuhao took advantage of their afternoon break to enter a meditative state. As he cultivated, he simultaneously recovered his physical strength.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s was surprised when he cultivated. After the extremely taxing run that morning, he discovered that the growth was slightly greater than normal. Although it was only a strand more, he was still quite satisfied. He inwardly thought to himself, it seems like tempering my body to the limit boosts the growth of my soulforce. On the other hand, the physical fitness level of his body was originally very normal, so he should¡¯ve tempered his body anyway. This was killing two birds with one stone!

    When Huo Yuhao woke up from his meditation, he was stunned in that the instant that he opened his eyes, he discovered Wang Dong¡ªwho was sitting on the opposite bed¡ªlooking at him with a brilliant gaze.

    ¡°You¡¯ve returned? We should go to ss now.¡± Whilst speaking, Huo Yuhao jumped off the bed and began to put his shoes on. After what had happened that morning, their rtionship had already warmed up.

    Wang Dong spoke in a low voice, ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯ve always found your martial soul strange. You¡¯ve seen my martial soul now, so can you tell me what your martial soul is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao finished putting on his shoes, then stood up and said, ¡°My eyes are my martial soul. I call them Spirit Eyes. They¡¯re a spiritual-type martial soul. I know why you¡¯re baffled. My first soul skill is called Spiritual Detection. The reason why you were unable to hit me that day was because I used Spiritual Detection to predict your every move.¡±

    Wang Dong suddenly understood what had happened. ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­ I didn¡¯t think that you actually had a body spirit. Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t bete. Earlier, I went and asked around. I discovered that Teacher Zhou has the nickname ¡®Perverted Grandma¡¯. The number of students expelled by her every year is supposedly equivalent to that of ten other teachers. We really have bad luck, having a teacher like her in charge of our ss.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t think about it that way. Teacher Zhou is indeed strict, but as long as we demand the same level of strictness from ourselves, meeting her demands won¡¯t be that hard. Right, I¡¯ve seen your martial soul, but I don¡¯t know its name. I also saw that you had a yellow and a purple soul rings; how did you manage to get a thousand year soul ring for your second soul ring?¡±

    Wang Dongughed mischievously and said, ¡°Being able to use a thousand year soul ring as my second soul ring is a secret; I can¡¯t tell you how. On the other hand, my martial soul is the Radiant Butterfly Goddess. It¡¯s the most beautiful butterfly on the continent, but it¡¯s already on the verge of being extinct. Having it as my martial soul is even rarer than your body soul. You¡¯ll see its power in the future. Right, what did Teacher Zhou take you to do earlier?¡±

    The two had already left their dorm and were headed towards the teaching buildings as they spoke to each other. It wasn¡¯t just them; none of the students in ss 1 dared to bete.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conceal the fact that Teacher Zhou had brought him to see Teacher Fan Yu; there was no need to hide something like this from him. Thus, he told Wang Dong everything that had happened.

    ¡°What? You can even share your Spiritual Detection? Quickly, let me see.¡± After all, everyone here was only eleven or twelve years old. Due to his curiosity, Wang Dong excitedly asked for Huo Yuhao to share his Spiritual Detection with him.

    Huo Yuhao felt helpless, and had no choice but to activate his Spiritual Detection Sharing and let Wang Dong experience it for a moment.

    Due to everything within the surrounding thirty metres suddenly bing clear, as well as the data-like feedback, Wang Dong immediately turned slightly nk. It was akin to the feeling a blind man would get when he was suddenly able to see the world clearly. This feeling of shock would appear in every soul master who shared Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection for the first time.

    Furthermore, as Huo Yuhao continuously used his Spiritual Detection Sharing, his proficiency in it would gradually increased. As he allowed Wang Dong to experience it, he couldn¡¯t help but think of Fan Yu¡¯s words. He subconsciously attempted to extend his Spiritual Detection in one direction, then did his best to cover a slightlyrger area with his Spiritual Detection.

    Under the current situation where he was focusing his energy in one direction, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that the faint golden colour in his eyes had clearly be stronger, and that the spiritual undtions he was releasing had gotten much stronger as well. The originally omni-directional Spiritual Detection slowly contracted, and began to extend towards the front.

    Wang Dong also felt the changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. He discovered that the three-dimensional scenes to his left and right had disappeared, and that only the three-dimensional image in front of him remained. Furthermore, the range of this image was slowly increasing.

    To Huo Yuhao, just a few seconds of doing this felt like it took longer than when he¡¯d released his Spiritual Detection for a quarter of an hour in the past. He felt his soulforce being converted into spiritual energy at an astonishing pace as it flowed out of his body. It was only a moment, but waves of exhaustion had already invaded him.

    His body swayed, and he only managed to stand upright by grabbing onto Wang Dong¡¯s arm. His Spiritual Detection Sharing had also ordingly ended.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, what happened?¡± Wang Dong hurriedly supported him.

 Chapter 10.4: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Chapter 10.4: First Experience with Soul Tools

    Huo Yuhaoplexion had turned pale, and an overflowing amount of cold sweat had covered his forehead. He seemed to have an extremely weak expression.

    Huo Yuhao waved towards Wang Dong to indicate that he was fine. ¡°It was just that it became quite arge drain on my spiritual energy. Wang Dong, when you were looking straight ahead earlier, how far did my Spiritual Detection reach?¡±

    After Wang Dong took a moment to recall what had happened, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t paying too much attention, but it seemed to be about fifty to sixty metres. However, I noticed that I wasn¡¯t able to see anything with Spiritual Detection in the other directions. The distance nearly doubled in the front, but that was it.¡±

    When he heard what Wang Dong had said, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirits immediately rose, so much so that even his exhaustion decreased by arge amount. ¡°That¡¯s great! It actually works if I do it like this. However, the drain on my spiritual energy is a bit too much.¡±

    When he tried to focus the range of his Spiritual Detection in one direction and extend it, the drain on his spiritual energy was almost ten times the normal cost. This was why his spiritual energy had be overdrawn in such a short period of time. However, Huo Yuhao believed that the reason behind therge drain of spiritual energy was because this was the first time that he¡¯d tried doing this. He believed that he¡¯d get better at it if he practiced more in the future.

    Teacher Fan Yu had said that he could be his disciple once the range of his Spiritual Detection was able to reach a hundred metres in any single direction.

    After seeing the terrifying might of soul tools, as well as hearing Caitou¡¯s introduction to them, he was filled with interest towards these mysterious existences.

    First-year ss 1. All ny-one students were already seated in-ss ten minutes before the afternoon bell had rung. Furthermore, there was an unusual silence amongst the ssroom. None of the students dared to cause any noise. This is probably why it was said: ¡®It¡¯s not a bad thing for a teacher to be strict sometimes, since making students study seriously has many advantages.¡¯

    Since they didn¡¯t have assigned seats, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao sat together. The two who were only eleven years old were unexpectedly deep in thought. Huo Yuhao was naturally pondering both his sesses and failures when he¡¯d changed the direction of his Spiritual Detection. No one knew what Wang Dong was thinking about.

    As Zhou Yi slowly walked into the ssroom, the atmosphere within ss 1 turned solemn. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong also awakened from their pondering. Although not much time had passed, Huo Yuhao had already recovered a great deal of his spiritual energy and soulforce, mostly because he didn¡¯t have that much soulforce to begin with. At the very least, he didn¡¯t feel weak anymore.

    ¡°Everyone, stand up and gather in the za.¡± Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi said this immediately after entering the ssroom, before instantly turning around to leave.

    No one dared to waste any time. A crowd of students rapidly left the ssroom and followed Zhou Yi in an orderly, quiet manner to Shrek za.

    They didn¡¯t notice that Zhou Yi unexpectedly had a smile hidden within her eyes. This teacher, who was strict to the point of being somewhat perverted, was currently thinking that there were definitely some advantages to teaching new students. At least these new students were less unruly, which made them easier to control. They weren¡¯t like those students from the third year or higher, who were more arrogant and rebellious since they already had certain aplishments.

    A pile of iron chains had been piled up on Shrek za at some unknown time. Under Zhou Yi¡¯smand, the students arranged them neatly.

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡± Zhou Yi called out.

    ¡°Present.¡± Wang Dong took a step forward.

    Zhou Yi spoke to the students, ¡°I¡¯ve flipped through your entrance test results, and I¡¯ve added them to the test that we performed this morning. Currently, out of all of you, Wang Dong has the highest level of cultivation. Because of this, I hereby dere that he¡¯ll be the ss monitor of ss 1 from now on. The ss monitor position is a vtile one, and whoever has the strength to beat him may do so and rece him as the new ss monitor. Do you all understand?¡±

    ¡°We understand.¡± The gazes from a few male students who had a high amount of self-confidence in their strength immediately turned sharp, while the gazes from the female students seemed to be much warmer as they looked at Wang Dong.

    Zhou Yi pointed towards the iron chains in front of her. ¡°These are suits of chainmail specialised in strengthening your physical fitness. Every single one of you will take one. After you¡¯ve put them on, start running around around the za. You¡¯ll keep running from now until the bell signalling the end of ss rings. You can use your soulforce, but you can¡¯t use any soul skills. Your rank will be based on the number ofps that you¡¯vepleted at the end of ss, and the person inst ce will be expelled from ss 1.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to emphasise. In my ss, eliminations won¡¯t just happen during exam periods; they can happen at any time. Today, ny-one people will be ny people. Start running.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she flicked her toe, and a full set of chainmail made out of thick iron chains flew towards Wang Dong. Wang Dong hurriedly caught it and put it on.

    As soon as he got the chainmail on, he couldn¡¯t help but slightly change his expression. This chainmail weighed at least 15 kilograms!

    When the students heard that the person inst ce would be eliminated, how could they dare to waste any time? They all ran up and grabbed a set of chainmail. The male students were slightly better off, while a majority of the female students turned pale after putting the heavy chainmail on.

    Zhou Yi coldly said, ¡°I know that a lot of you want to say that this is unfair because there¡¯s an innate gap between the bodies of men and women. That the physical fitness levels of tool, beast, and battle soul masters are different. However, I want to tell you that I treat everyone equally in my ss. Think about it! If you were on the battlefield, would your enemy spare you simply because you¡¯re a girl or a tool master? Start now. Run.¡±

    No matter how much they wanted to curse at Zhou Yi, none of the students dared to speak a word of protest. With Wang Dong leading, they collectively ran towards the edge of the field, and started running with heavy chainmail on their bodies.

    Nobody wanted to be eliminated. Once they started running, the vigor with which they ran waspletely differentpared to that morning.

    Wang Dong took the lead and ran in front. No matter whether it was his martial soul or his soulforce, he was figure that excelled within the group of students. Although he was wearing a suit of chainmail, his speed didn¡¯t decrease in the slightest.

    The few male students who wanted topete with him also charged forward, closely following him.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speed up. He was very clear about his body¡¯s situation. Zhou Yi had said that they had to run until the bell rung, yet the afternoon ss was nearly four hours long. It had just started! The most reasonable target that he¡¯d formted for himself was to persevere and to simply run until the the bell rang; not topete with the others.

    Thus, his speed was clearly much slower than the others when he started. Huo Yuhao looked on as everyone overtook him one by one, but he didn¡¯t be impatient. His steps were slightly slower, but they were stable and uniform as he ran forward.

    After only twops, Huo Yuhao was deadst. Even the female students had overtaken him. However, he didn¡¯t take it to heart.

    When he reached his fourthp, the person in first ce¡ªWang Dong¡ªhad alreadypped him once. When Wang Dong passed him, he even gave him a bbergasted look.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t take it to heart, and smiled at him in reply.

    Zhou Yi expressionlessly stood in the middle of the za as she watched the students run. No one knew what she was thinking.

 Chapter 11.1: The Weakest Class Monitor

    Chapter 11.1: The Weakest ss Monitor

    By the time the sweat-drenched Huo Yuhao had finished his tenthp, the person in first ce¡ªWang Dong¡ªhad alreadypped him three times. The other students had alreadypped him at least one time. Many people had even cast disdainful gazes at him. After all, they all knew that Huo Yuhao definitely had the weakest cultivation amongst them.

    However, the running speed of the students in front had already started to slow down. As time passed, the effects of the chainmail started to be more obvious. Even Wang Dong had a face full of sweat.

    The few male students who¡¯d followed Wang Dong from the start had started to fall behind. Some had even been overtaken by the students behind them.

    Drops of sweat seeped into the running track. After around an hour had passed, a female student who had a weaker body copsed to the ground. She struggled to get up, but she couldn¡¯t do anything.

    Wang Dong happened to be running next to her when this happened. He helped her up and sent her an inquiring gaze. However, that female student shook her head and sat down on the za, unwilling to get back up. She didn¡¯t even have the energy to speak.

    With the first, the second was bound to happen. Perhaps it was because they had the cushion of Huo Yuhao, who was deadst. Although the students persevered, in the end, their willpower didn¡¯t seem to be too strong.

    The burden of carrying the heavy chainmail whilst running was truly enormous. This was especially true since everyone had started running at full speed, which had quickly depleted their soulforce. On the other hand, withstanding the weight of the chainmail with their bodies alone was truly something strenuous at their age.

    When two hours had passed, half of the students had copsed to the ground. From the beginning to the end, Zhou Yi had stood there with an expressionless face. She hadn¡¯t urged them to continue either.

    Huo Yuhao was also reaching his limit. Although he¡¯d decided to run with a constant speed, which meant that the drain on his physical strength was the lowest, his soulforce was still the weakest amongst the people present, and his physical strength wasn¡¯t that much different either. Being able to persevere until now was already quite difficult for him. If you looked at it from the viewpoint of the number ofps that he¡¯dpleted, he was no longer thest, due to the fact that he¡¯d managed to persevere for a longer time than some.

    When everything in front of him started to turn ck, he suddenly felt that there seemed to be a lump of fire within his stomach that was burning. He was extremely parched, and the stickiness he felt from the sweat all over his body was hard to bear. As the heavy chainmail ground against his skin through his school uniform, bursts of scorching pain passed unceasingly through his body.

    Not good, I can¡¯t hold on any longer. A voice continuously echoed out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He activated his soulforce and poured it into his Spirit Eyes with much difficulty.

    A refreshing feeling spread out from his Spirit Eyes, causing him to sober up a little.

    This won¡¯t do, I can¡¯t copse like this. I will definitely persevere. As he looked at the many students running in front of him, he thought about the increase in cultivation speed that he¡¯d experienced that afternoon after the extremelyrge drain to his soulforce. Huo Yuhao suddenly bit his tongue, rousing himself to continue running.

    At this moment, he suddenly felt afortable, warm feeling spread out from his lower abdomen. Although his soulforce had already almost been exhausted, the warm feeling flowed slowly through his limbs and bones, causing his aching muscles to feel slightly alleviated.

    This is¡­

    The power of the Mysterious Heaven Technique?

    Huo Yuhao quickly recognised the source of the warm current. After cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, it would gather in his lower abdomen at the very end. Although the time he¡¯d spent cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique so far was still short, he still had a foundation of soulforce, after all. After converting his previous soulforce into the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s, he could be considered to havepleted the firstyer of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    Both his eldest senior brother and the Skydream Iceworm had said that the Mysterious Heaven Technique was very suitable for him, since it could nourish his passageways. Was it finally disying its effects?

    As he pondered the matter, Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness very naturally followed the passageways of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, and felt it out for a moment. He didn¡¯t sense any obstructions, and the warm feeling within his lower abdomen wandered around his passageways, following his consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao saw that it was a weak trace of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soulforce. Only, it would slowly spread into his passageways as it travelled, which was also the reason behind the warm feeling.

    The thing that astonished him even more was that his passageways were actually absorbing these strands of soulforce at an extremely rapid pace. This was also the source of thefortable feeling he¡¯d felt earlier, which had in turn relieved his weariness.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s natural physique wasn¡¯t that good, but he was still quite smart. The fact that the Mysterious Heaven Technique could be absorbed by him when his body reached its limit signified that he could also circte it while moving, not just when he was meditating. The cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique under these circumstances was slightly different than when he was normally cultivating. The speed at which his soulforce increased in strength wasn¡¯t high, but its integration with his body was much more intimate.

    With this discovery, Huo Yuhao hurriedly concentrated whilst simultaneously slowing his steps. He quietly started to circte the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique had been brought over from another world by the first generation Tang sect master, Tang San. From a certain standpoint, it wasn¡¯t a technique that belonged to the Douluo Continent, but was definitely a top notch technique. It had extremelyrge benefits towards the nourishment of one¡¯s body.

    Due to an ident, Huo Yuhao had actually created a method of circting the Mysterious Heaven Technique without entering a state of meditation. When it was circted like this, the main effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique would be to nourish one¡¯s body by using soulforce to nourish the passageways.

    Due to the progressive recovery that resulted from the cirction process of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, a miraculous cyclical state had formed within his body. This could be considered cultivation while moving.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know it, but even the first generation sect master of the Tang Sect, Tang San, hadn¡¯t managed to achieve this. The reason behind this was simply because he¡¯d had richly endowed advantages. Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation, on the other hand, was still weak, which was the reason why his body was able to reach such a state, where it was at its limit. Furthermore, both his spiritual energy being very strong,bined with his possession of a spiritual-type martial soul, made it so that he could sense and manipte the miraculous energy.

    The Tang Sect had birthed many experts, but none of them had possessed the conditions that the current Huo Yuhao had. After they became strong, they wouldn¡¯t easily reach their limits, and they wouldn¡¯t carefully sense the warm feeling that appeared in their dantians. It could be said that an evolution of the Mysterious Heaven Technique had appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    With the harmonization of this warm feeling, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, which had originally reached its limit, was relieved of its exhaustion by a certain amount. Not only did this strengthen his willpower, it also made him pour more of his spiritual energy into guiding this warm feeling.

    The warm feeling circted around his body, following the cirction path of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. When itpleted an entire cycle, the strand would be almost fully drained. However, it was also at the moment that the cycle waspleted that the warm feeling would be slightly strengthened once again, and would continue to move forward.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was getting more and more exhausted, but he was getting more and more excited. The Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s nourishment of his passageways under his current state was exactly what he needed the most right now! His thin passageways, which he¡¯d previously needed extreme care to handle, became more stic under the nourishment of the warm feeling, and even widened slightly. The unprecedentedck of obstruction within the areas that the warm feeling passed through told Huo Yuhao that he was doing the right thing.

    The number of students who¡¯d copsed within Shrek za was gradually increasing. Even the students who¡¯d been running at the very front were starting to gradually be unable to persevere. The sounds of chainmail smashing into the ground asionally echoed out from time to time.

 Chapter 11.2: The Weakest Class Monitor

    Chapter 11.2: The Weakest ss Monitor

    When Wang Dongpped Huo Yuhao once again, every step he took was taken with great difficulty. However, to his astonishment, he saw that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were lightly shut; they were only open enough to expose a small crack that faintly exuded a golden light. His steps were taken very slowlypared to Wang Dong¡¯s, but he was still advancing steadily. Many of the students who had higher cultivation levels than him had already copsed, but he was still bitterly persevering. He even left a trail of sweat with every step he took.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, don¡¯t force yourself.¡± Wang Dong spoke in a low voice before continuing onwards. The number ofps that he¡¯d run so far exceeded everyone else by arge margin. However, the his body was reaching its limit.

    Another hour passed, with the time left until the bell rang getting closer and closer. There were only nine students left that were still running around Shrek za. However, the person who¡¯d been considered the ¡®bottom cushion¡¯ from the start, Huo Yuhao, was one of them.

    Zhou Yi had been paying attention to Huo Yuhao the entire time. She¡¯d already been astonished when only two hours had passed. Based on Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical strength and soulforce, he should¡¯ve reached his limit at two hours, no matter what the circumstances. However, he¡¯d still managed to persevere. Although running at a constant speed did give some small benefits, his cultivation and physical condition were both right there!

    Could a person¡¯s willpower really be strong to this extent? Furthermore, he was still so young.

    ¡°Putong, putong¡­¡± Two more students copsed, and when they did, they created a domino effect. A few students copsed in session following the duo, one of them just happening to bump into Wang Dong, who was next to him.

    Wang Dong stumbled, his already aching legs unable to persist any longer. As he fell down, his thoughts about persevering also copsed. However, he¡¯d run the greatest number ofps within the ss; there was no one left who could exceed the number ofps that he¡¯d run.

    There were still three people that were still running, one of which was Huo Yuhao.

    After five minutes, the other two students also copsed. Thest person still running was actually Huo Yuhao, the weakest person of ss 1. Although his steps were weak, and his running speed wasn¡¯t that quick, he¡¯d still managed to persevere, even when everyone else had copsed. This caused astonishment to appear on many students faces when they looked at him.

    It was true that Huo Yuhao had already reached his limit, and it was also true that the warm feeling caused by the Mysterious Heaven Technique could nourish his body and relieve his weariness to a certain extent. However, in the end, it didn¡¯t make him stronger!

    He¡¯d reached his limit again and again, but had clenched his teeth and endured it every single time. Huo Yuhao understood that he was the weakest amongst the students of 1, so he had tomit 200%, or even 300% of their hard work if he wanted to remain at Shrek Academy. And at this moment, tempering his body by reaching his limits could both help widen his passageways, and increase his soulforce. No matter what, he did his best to persist for every single moment.

    Persevere¡­persevere! Huo Yuhao inwardly shouted to himself nonstop. At that moment, he didn¡¯t even any soulforce left that he could pour into his Spirit Eyes to stimte himself and sober up his mind.

    Gradually, he himself began to sound out the ¡®chant¡¯ that he was using to support himself.

    ¡°Mother, mother¡­.¡± This was all for the sake of his mother¡¯sst wishes; for the sake of being able to retrieve his mother¡¯s remains from that ce one day¡­ for the sake of washing away his mother¡¯s humiliation and avenging her¡­ no matter what, he had to persevere.

    ¡°Thud, thud¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s footsteps were extremely heavy. His legs and body were trembling uncontrobly. However, he didn¡¯t fall down. Under such difficult conditions, he still repeated the machine-like motions of raising his leg, putting it down, raising it back up, and putting it back down once again.

    The disdainful look that the students, who¡¯d now fallen, had been looking at him with gradually disappeared. The power that a role model provided was mighty. They started to pull themselves back up, one by one, before nkly staring at Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure as he persevered.

    After being stunned for a brief moment, Wang Dong was the first to continue running after Huo Yuhao. However, he didn¡¯t overtake him this time around.

    With Wang Dong leading, a second, and then a third person gradually began to start following him. Gradually, all of the students from ss 1 clenched their teeth and raised their legs¡ªwhich were already stiff to the point that they felt dead¡ªto continue running.

    Zhou Yi was moved. Of all the time she¡¯d been teaching, it was extremely rare that she¡¯d be moved by the performances of her students. However this time, she¡¯d truly been moved. This was because of Huo Yuhao, and in turn was also because of the ny students who¡¯d climbed back up to follow him. This was no longer a simple exercise that could temper their bodies¡ªthis was a tempering of their minds! Zhou Yi could visibly see their determination within their exhausted facial expressions.

    The results of this ss were far, far greater than what she¡¯d imagined.

    ¡°Ding ring ring¡ª¡±

    The bell that signalled the end of the ss finally rang.

    Hua, hua. It was truly the copse of a row of dominoes this time. The ear-piercing bell instantly caused arge number of people to copse.

    The sounds of collision caused by their chainmail and the ground caused a series of sounds to echo out, and knocked a cloud of dust into the air.

    Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d been at the very front, finally copsed. The bell caused him to finally let go of all of the stubborness and perseverance within his heart. However, he didn¡¯t fall directly to the ground. As he fell, Wang Dong, who was right behind him, caught him by his chainmail. As soon as he did, the two of them rolled to the ground together. The two simultaneously gasped for air together.

    As he looked towards the sky, Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision turned dark for a period of time. However, the passageways within his body had befortably warm, and felt indescribablyfortable. The soulforce within his body had been exhausted, and his physical strength had already been overdrawn way before that. And yet, his passageways still made him feel veryfortable. He had the premonition that, in all aspects, his cultivation would have arge improvement after this.

    Wang Dongy beside Huo Yuhao. Both his cultivation and the condition of his body were much stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, so even though he was extremely exhausted, he wasn¡¯t like Huo Yuhao, who couldn¡¯t budge at all.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what power made it so that you could endure all the way until now. You¡¯re a Soul Master with only a ten year soul ring, but you were able to persevere longer than a Soul Grandmaster like me. You¡¯re truly a freak.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled twice. He didn¡¯t even have the energy to speak anymore.

    Zhou Yi slowly took a deep breath, then beckoned towards the distance. A white-clothed male arrived as if he was floating on air. He arrived by Zhou Yi¡¯s side with what seemed to be a few light steps. After nodding towards her, he turned towards the students.

    His dazzling soul rings rose up from his feet one by one. There were two yellow ones, two purple ones, and three ck ones. He actually had seven soul rings.

    Soul Sage! This was actually a Soul Sage-ranked expert, who was above the seventieth rank! He was already approaching the peak of soul masters! Furthermore, he only looked to be around thirty years old. Only, the vicissitudes visible within his eyes didn¡¯t match his youthful outer appearance.

    He raised his hands, and a gentle shade of green¡ªa leaf¡ªsuddenly began to grow from his palms. His seventh soul ring shed brightly as it revolved around him, but the students were only able to see his body sh once before it unexpectedly disappeared. The green leaf grew wildly, and in the blink of an eye, the leaf unexpectedly turned into an enormous tree that was extremely tall.

    A cool breeze seemed to blow past them. Then, dark green leaves began to fly out from the enormous canopy of the enormous tree. Exactly ny-one leavesnded lightly on the bodies of the students from ss 1; not one more, and not one less.

 Chapter 11.3: The Weakest Class Monitor

    Chapter 11.3: The Weakest ss Monitor

    Every single present felt an iparably refreshing feeling. The refreshing feeling instantly spread throughout their bodies, and no matter whether it was their aching muscles or the wounds that had been incurred by the chainmail grating against their skin, they were all recovering at an astonishing speed. Furthermore, their physical strength was gradually recovering a drop at a time. Only their soulforce waspletely empty; it wasn¡¯t leftpletely unaffected by the dark green leaf.

    Wang Dong had the highest cultivation amongst everyone present, and was also the first person to recover. He flipped over and sat up before looking at the extremely tall tree with a burning gaze. He took a deep breath of the cool air. ¡°This¡­ this is one of the pinnacle existences amongst nt-type martial souls: The Tree of Life! It¡¯s a seventieth ranked martial soul with a Soul Avatar! Teacher Zhou actually found a nt-type soul master above the seventieth rank to heal us and help us recover.¡±

    The dark green light shrouded the area. After releasing ny-one tree leaves, the enormous tree rapidly shrunk and transformed back into the white-clothed male in the blink of an eye. Afterwards, he nodded at Zhou Yi, who bowed respectfully towards him. That male left in the same way he¡¯d arrived¡ªlike a gust of wind. From the start to end, he hadn¡¯t said a word to Zhou Yi at all.

    The students crawled up one after another. Although they were still exhausted, they felt an indescribable pleasure from their bodies breaking through their limits.

    Huo Yuhao had also recovered from his half-dazed state. After receiving nourishment from that godly soul skill, a refreshing feeling washed over his muscles and caused their exhaustion to disappear without a trace. Furthermore, the passageways within his body were still immersed in thefortably warm feeling that the Mysterious Heaven Technique had created. It was almost as if he was feeling thefortableness provided by both cold and hot at the same time. He¡¯d never felt such afortable feeling in his life before.

    He supported himself as he crawled back up. His entire body was covered in sweat, but his Spirit Eyes became increasingly bright. He subconsciously activated his soulforce and circted it ording to the Mysterious Heaven Technique. He found that he could actually still do it, and that the intangible changes within his body had nourished his passageways. Furthermore, since it wasn¡¯t being consumed anymore, there was still that little bit of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s internal energy left over that was able to return back to his dantian andplete a full cycle before it circted again.

    Zhou Yi gazed at all the students who were slowly crawling up and indifferently said, ¡°I have to say, you all have given me an answer that astonished me quite a bit. Today, nobody will be eliminated.¡±

    Once she said this, the students couldn¡¯t help but immediately let out a cheer, especially the few who¡¯d run the least number ofps, who felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from their minds.

    Zhou Yi then proceeded to say ¡°You all need to thank Huo Yuhao. Originally, I was prepared to give you all a punishment. The task that I gave you all was for you to run until the bell rang, and then we¡¯d count the number ofps each of you ran. However, other than Huo Yuhao, none of you managed to run from the start to the end. However, since you were able to actually develop a sense ofpetition because of him, you don¡¯t have to have a punishment. Wang Dong, step forward.¡±

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Wang Dong took a step forward.

    Zhou Yi indifferently said, ¡°As the ss monitor of ss 1, you only cared about yourself¡ªyou didn¡¯t set a good example for the others. From now on, you¡¯re stripped of your position of ss monitor, which will be taken over by Huo Yuhao. Until the next physical ss, Huo Yuhao will be the ss monitor of ss 1. If anyone wants to challenge him, you¡¯re in charge of epting them.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Wang Dong was slightly stunned.

    Zhou Yi continued in a cold voice, ¡°What? Do you have any problems with this?¡±

    Only then did Wang Dong sober up. He shook his head and said, ¡°I have none. Teacher Zhou, I¡¯m willing to concede.¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded and said, ¡°Disperse. Take your set of chainmail with you. Tomorrow, another teacher will be having a ss on theory with you all. I suggest that you meditate well as you digest the improvements and the significance of today¡¯s physical ss. My next ss will be in the afternoon, the day after next. At that time, I hope that I won¡¯t see any trash.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The students all simultaneously agreed. However, they didn¡¯t randomly disperse afterwards. Instead, they collectively charged towards Huo Yuhao and suddenly threw him into the sky.

    To these youths, excitement and happiness was something extremely straightforward. Because of Huo Yuhao, nobody was eliminated, and they had even been able to avoid their punishment. Thus, at least during this moment, Huo Yuhao was their hero.

    Furthermore, after the difficult and painful ss, Teacher Zhou had found that miraculous nt-type Soul Sage to heal all of them and help them recover, which made them understand the strength of a high-ranked soul master. After the pain in their bodies had disappeared, their ill will towards Teacher Zhou had, imperceptibly, decreased by arge amount.

    The students continued to be rowdy for another ten minutes or so, all the way until the students from other sses had finished their sses too. Only then did they stop and start heading back to their individual dorms to clean themselves up. Their current appearances were truly too haggard.

    The ny-one students didn¡¯t know this, but it was precisely because of this lesson that a collective pride had begun to gradually appear within the ny-one of them. It had only been a single day since the ss had been established, and most of them still didn¡¯t know each other¡¯s names, but a collective sense of pride had already appeared. This was undoubtedly because of Teacher Zhou¡¯s teaching methods. Combined with a certain amount of luck that Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance at the end had brought, First-year ss 1 had managed to get a step ahead of the other sses.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong directly returned to their dorm whilst wearing their chainmail. They had to use the bathrooms at the two ends of the corridors, so Wang Dong let Huo Yuhao clean up first, while he instead took a basin of water and cleaned himself up in the dorm room.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was still immersed in a special state of understanding towards the Mysterious Heaven Technique. He didn¡¯t think much of it, and went to shower instead. However, the cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique within his body hadn¡¯t stopped since he¡¯d started circting it in the new manner that he discovered. He discovered that the warm stream that had been unceasingly generated had already started to be weaker and weaker.

    Why? Is it because my physical strength has recovered? Huo Yuhao was greatly puzzled. After he finished cleaning himself up, he faintly guessed the reason as to why it had happened. That warm feeling seemed to only appear when both his soulforce and his body were nearly exhausted. And right now, since his body had already recovered by arge amount, and his soulforce was also slowly recovering, that warm flow wouldn¡¯t be produced anymore.

    If I¡¯d known earlier, it would¡¯ve been better for me to not recover. Huo Yuhao was somewhat helpless as he thought to himself. If that was the case, perhaps his passageways might¡¯ve been able to obtain even more benefits.

    However, Teacher left the chainmail for us. I can try it out by myselfter. Once he thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± At this moment, a shout that woke him up from his excitement echoed out.

    Huo Yuhao inwardly chastised himself. How could he have forgotten about her? He hurriedly shouted from the corridor, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I¡¯ll be right out.¡± Then, he rapidly ran back to his dorm room, nning to put on his other school uniform before going out.

    Because he was in a rush, he didn¡¯t bother knocking on the door when he got there. He pushed the door open and entered, but when he entered, he was bbergasted¡­

    What he saw was a white¡­ rear view.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze traced his round, narrow shoulders, the contours of a soft arc appeared by his waist. He had a pair of straight and thin legs which were more delicate than an ordinary person¡¯s. Due to his age, none of his features were exaggerated. However, his fair skin, which still had droplets of water dripping from it, appeared crystal clear. The assault to Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision was simply too strong.

 Chapter 11.4: The Weakest Class Monitor

    Chapter 11.4: The Weakest ss Monitor

    ¡°AHH¡ª¡± A slightly scream echoed out. Following that, the patch of white in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a patch of dazzling blue.

    A pair of enormous wings suddenly spread out, and what immediately followed that was a V-shape made of golden haloes that suddenly brightened. The sapphire blue wings subsequently turned a blueish-violet. A strong undtion of soulforce immediately rushed out, as if it wanted to devour him.

    Fortunately, the wave-like soulforce still stopped in the end.

    ¡°What are you doing? Why didn¡¯t you knock?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s anger-filled voice echoed out. The blue light vanished, and when Huo Yuhao looked again, he¡¯d already put on a set of school clothes. He¡¯d suddenly charged over, but hadn¡¯t made a move against Huo Yuhao in the end. This was because Huo Yuhao, who had just cleaned himself up, was only wearing his boxers now; his entire body was clean. However, when onepared the colour of his skin to Wang Dong¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t just a difference of colour. Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin flickered with a healthy copper colour, but it was far inferior to Wang Dong¡¯s enchanting white skin¡­

    ¡°I¡­ someone outside called for me. I was in a hurry, sorry!¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know why, but his heartbeat had turned especially quick. He hurriedly ran to his bed and grabbed his clean school uniform before turning around and quickly running outside.

    Wang Dong stood there nkly, not stopping Huo Yuhao. Only when Huo Yuhao had shut the door and run off did hee back to his senses. shes of both red and white appeared on his face, but he didn¡¯t know what to do about it.

    After hurriedly running out of the dorm room, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind calmed down a bit. However, that white patch still lingered in his mind. Especially those buttocks, which already stuck out a bit¡­

    What am I thinking about! Huo Yuhao felt some self-disdain towards himself. He hurriedly shifted his thoughts towards the Mysterious Heaven Technique,

    His ear suddenly hurt, and he let out a pained cry.

    Tang Ya¡¯s yful voice sounded out, ¡°You still know how to cry out? I¡¯ve been waiting here for a long time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao miserably said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, please let go. We just had a physical ss that made me sweat a lot, so wouldn¡¯t I first return to my dorm to clean up before I came?¡±

    Only then did Tang Ya let go of him. As she looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s slightly pale face, her eyebrows furrowed. She said, ¡°Is that perverted grandma Zhou Yi making things hard for you guys? You have to be a bit more careful, as she¡¯s always been widely known as an iron mask. You¡¯ll lose ayer of skin, if not die, if you offend her. How is it? Is your body still fine? If you¡¯re not fine, then so be it. We can talk tomorrow.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly shook his head and said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s go.¡± Today¡¯s physical training had brought him take one step closer to realising that he needed nutrients, and arge amount of nutrients at that. That warm feeling created by the Mysterious Heaven Technique had disappeared, but it caused an intense surge of hunger to rise up from his body. If he had no money, what could he buy to eat?

    Tang Ya giggled and said, ¡°Then you can roast twenty fish. I¡¯ve prepared them for you. It won¡¯t take too much of your time, but it¡¯ll definitely take less than you working for the academy.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, then where are we going to sell them?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Clearly. Tang Ya had already thought about it thoroughly. ¡°At the academy¡¯s entrance! Our Shrek Academy¡¯s entrance is the eastern gate of Shrek City, and there has always been many peddlers outside. Furthermore, there¡¯s nock of academy students who do business there. With your skill in roasting fish, we won¡¯t need to be afraid of not selling any if we go there. Even if we¡¯re unable to sell them, we can just eat them for ourselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed Tang Ya all the way until they reached the gate. When they stepped outside, Huo Yuhao was astonished. As of now, there were no longer any students here to enroll. Instead, both sides of the eastern gate¡¯s main road were swarming with peddlers. The peddlers were selling everything that could possibly be imagined, and their goods looked like glittering jewels. Out of the goods that were on disy, therge variety of food was the greatest. Moreover, the sounds of hawkers doing their job never stopped. Clearly, the reason that they¡¯d gathered here was for the sake of doing business with the students of Shrek Academy.

    Tang Ya was clearly slightly impatient. In an area that wasn¡¯t too far from the city gates, she took out the stuff that she¡¯d prepared. She even took up a bit of the main road.

    She was clearlypletely prepared. She had a metal grill that had been specially made by a smith, metal stands, various seasonings, as well as mackerels that had already been cleaned. She¡¯d even brought a small table for the sake of setting all of her stuff down.

    As Huo Yuhao helped her set up the grill, he couldn¡¯t help but find it funny. Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s resistance towards delicious food was really low!

    Tang Ya also took out the charcoal and put it on the floor before saying, ¡°Okay, my job is done. Everything else is up to you. I¡¯m gonna go buy some other stuff to eat, just remember that two of these fish are mine. Just sell them for five copper coins. In the future, if you want to buy ingredients, just find your canteen¡¯s Aunty Lin.¡±

    After saying this, she excitedly ran off.

    Huo Yuhao checked the amount ingredients that he had before he prepared the mackerels. The number of ingredients that he had was trulyrge, and Tang Ya was quite considerate. She¡¯d even brought him some purple basil. Huo Yuhao tore up the purple basil, then stirred it together with some of the other ingredients. After the ingredients were ready, he stuffed them into the belly of the mackerels, then used a bamboo stick to skewer them one-by-one.

    Today¡¯s physical ss had made him understand many things, so he was anxious to go back and cultivate. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want to waste too much time here.

    Simply lighting a fire was as easy as a walk in the park for him, so after a moment¡¯s work, the oven already had a few bright red pieces of burning coal inside of it. The oven was quite big, and was able to hold four fish at once. Thus, he roasted the fish directly.

    It had to be said that Huo Yuhao¡¯s level of skill with roasting fish was truly unrivalled. Not long after he¡¯d started, a strong fragrance had already diffused outwards from his makeshift stall. This was better than any other form of advertisement. Not even mentioning the students from the academy, even the surrounding peddlers couldn¡¯t help but cast a few curious gazes at him.

    A male student who was wearing a yellow school uniform walked over and asked, ¡°Little brother, how much are you selling these roasted fish for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered with a very polite tone, ¡°Senior, the roasted fishes are five copper coins each.¡±

    That student was very straightforward. ¡°It smells quite good. Let me try one.¡± While he spoke, he handed five copper soul coins to Huo Yuhao.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first sessful transaction, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel excited. After receiving the copper coins, he became even more serious while roasting the fish, so much so that he even roused some of the soulforce he¡¯d just recovered in order to use his Spiritual Detection to better control the heat.

    With the first customer, there would naturally be more people who¡¯de over. Only, this was the first time that Huo Yuhao had appeared here. His fish smelled quite good, and nobody knew how they tasted. Practically all of the people who came over were students from Shrek Academy who¡¯d just been dismissed for the day.

    When Huo Yuhao passed the roasted mackerel over to the yellow-shirted student, everyone else couldn¡¯t help but look at him in expectation.

 Chapter 12.1: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    Chapter 12.1: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    The mackerel, which had turned a golden brown, still had oil dripping off it, and a strong aroma gushed unceasingly from its belly. When the man¡¯s bit into the roasted fish, a light crackling sound came from it. The roasted fish¡¯s skin had actually been roasted until it was crispy, but it wasn¡¯t burnt at all. However, whaty underneath the crispyyer of the skin was the fresh, tender, sulent meat of the fish, which was packed with vour.

    It was only a single bite, but that yellow-shirted student¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He didn¡¯t even stop to praise it. Instead, he ate the entire fish almost as fast as he could.

    The other nearby students, who¡¯d been observing Huo Yuhao from the sidelines, immediately understood what had happened. The other three mackerels that Huo Yuhao had roasted so far were instantly bought, and his total sales revenue directly increased to twenty copper soul coins, which was equivalent to two silver soul coins.

    These four roasted fish caused Huo Yuhao to gain an ¡®exceptional¡¯ reputation in a very short period of time. This was the academy¡¯s entrance, so the number of people that passed him was extremely great. His small booth quickly became surrounded by a nearly-imprable crowd.

    ¡°Too tasty, that was really too tasty.¡± The yellow-shirted student who¡¯d bought the first roasted fish managed to squeeze back in, albeit with much difficulty. ¡°Junior brother, give me three more roasted fish. I¡¯ll have my dinner here tonight.¡±

    A purple-clothed student who was one year older than him coldly responded, ¡°Go to the back of the line.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think that his roasted fish would sell so well. He spoke apologetically to the students surrounding the oven, ¡°Fellow ssmates and seniors, it¡¯s my first day doing business, thus I can only sell eighteen roasted fish. I sold four fish earlier, but I still have fourteen left. Following the principle of ¡®firste, first serve¡¯, those who aren¡¯t lined up shoulde back tomorrow.¡±

    As he spoke, he put away the money that he¡¯d so far into the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. After selling eighteen fish, he¡¯d made nine silver soul coins. If he deducted the costs of production, what was left was enough for him to both eat his fill and save some. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t greedy; he understand that the most important for him right now was to cultivate. Having enough money to survive was good enough.

    Skewers of roasted fish came out of the grill one after another as Huo Yuhao continued to roast the fish with extreme seriousness. He didn¡¯t decrease their quality due to the number of people. Every single person who chose to buy one of his roasted fish was iparably satisfied, with some people even choosing to order fish for tomorrow in advance. After some consideration, Huo Yuhao still decided to stick with a queue model. After all, the taste of hot food was the greatest when it had just finished cooking. If someone were to eat it anyter, its vour would¡¯ve diminished.

    At this moment, a few female students wearing purple school uniforms walked out of the gate to Shrek Academy. Her appearance immediately attracted countless gazes.

    She only looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, and her figure was slender and well proportioned. Her golden hair was draped behind her shoulders like a waterfall, and her skin was snow-white. Her eyes were akin to clear water, and when she looked around, she had an elegant temperament. Her face resembled jade, a crescent halo, as well as snow around a flowering tree. She had a gentle beauty, a charming voice, a lovable appearance, and an extraordinary beauty that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else. Her beauty, that seemed as if it could cause the downfall of a country, seemed to dull the colours of everything else around her.

    ¡°Sister Nan, something smells good. What¡¯s that smell?¡± A student beside the exceedingly beautiful youngdy asked curiously. Her looks were also extraordinary, but unfortunately, how could fireflies next to the moon emit any radiance?

    The exceedingly beautiful youngdy had clearly also smelled the aroma. All of the girls couldn¡¯t help but cast their gazes towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s booth.

    Perhaps the beauty of that youngdy was too imposing, but the students who¡¯d originally been in line in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s booth actually opened up a path for her. She, and the other female students she was with, walked towards the oven. Only, when the exceedingly beautiful youngdy saw everyone taking the initiative to open a path for her, she wasn¡¯t arrogant at all. Instead, she carried an extremely warm smile and nodded her head towards them in thanks. All of the students who saw her smile had flushed faces filled with excitement.

    When Huo Yuhao saw the exceedingly beautiful youngdy, he nked out. Previously, the most beautiful girl he¡¯d ever seen had been was Tang Ya, but not only was the purple-clothed female student in front of him not inferior to Tang Ya, she even had both a gentle and warm temperament. When you added that to her somewhat mncholic expression, she had a beautiful and moving appearance. Compared to her, Tang Ya was a lively and cheerful, easy-go-lucky girl. As for their appearances, it simply depended on one¡¯s preference.

    ¡°Junior brother, how much are you selling these roasted fish for?¡± The exceedingly beautiful youngdy asked quietly.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had just sold thest of the eighteen roasted fish he¡¯d had. Thest two remaining fish on the grill were for Tang Ya.

    ¡°Senior sister, they¡¯re five copper soul coins each.¡±

    The exceedingly beautiful youngdy furrowed her brow, then said, ¡°This is a bit expensive. If we consider how much it costs for the ingredients, plus the work you¡¯ve put in, three copper soul coins¡ªat most¡ªshould be fine. You¡¯ll still make a profit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He hadn¡¯t thought that a youngdy as beautiful as her would actually haggle with him. None of his previous customers had done this.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my roasted fish are sold at a fixed priced. Furthermore, I¡¯ve already sold all of my fish for the day.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with a t tone. Tang Ya was the one who¡¯d set the price, so he wouldn¡¯t change it easily. Moreover, this ie was very important to him, and was just enough for him as-is.

    The exceedingly beautiful youngdy was stunned for a moment, then apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just making a casual calction. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯ll try your roasted fish.¡± As she said this, she turned around and walked away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s temporary booth.

    Huo Yuhao clearly sensed that the surrounding atmosphere had be somewhat abnormal. Many of the students that had previously been looking fervently at him were now ring at him.

    ¡°Brat, you dare not to sell it?¡± A deep voice full of anger suddenly rang out, immediately followed by a golden light that shot towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s booth.

    ¡°Ding¡ª¡± The golden light urately struck his grill. In fact, it actually embedded itself in it. Impressively, it was a golden soul coin. Following that, a figure walked towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s booth withrge strides, until he quickly arrived in front of it. As soon as he arrived, he stretched his hand out to grab the two roasted fish.

    Because roasting fish required precise control over the heat, Huo Yuhao had kept his Spirit Eyes activated this whole time. When that deep voice rang out, he¡¯d sensed an enormous pressure arrive. Thus, he¡¯d subconsciously released his Spiritual Detection.

    Although the hand that reached towards the roasted fish was very quick, Huo Yuhao managed to predict the movements of the other party via his Spiritual Detection, allowing him to grab the two skewers of roasted fish before retreating backwards a few steps. He¡¯d set these fish aside especially for Tang Ya. How could he let other people take them?

    The person who¡¯d tried to grab the roasted fish actually grabbed a few pieces of charcoal from the oven instead of the fish in his hurry.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao was able to clearly see the appearance of the neer.

    He was wearing a ck school uniform; he was actually a sixth-year student. He looked to be around Bei Bei¡¯s age, and had a tall figure that wasparable to He Caitou¡¯s. He had bushy eyebrows, as well as eyes that resembled that of a tiger¡¯s. He also had a straight nose, a square-shaped mouth, along with a grand appearance. His fair skin had already been suffused with a few shades of red due to his anger, while his face, which still seemed to contain some baby fat, was quite imposing.

 Chapter 12.2: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    Chapter 12.2: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    ¡°Brat, are you courting death?¡± The ck-shirted youth roared angrily. He actually crushed the coals he¡¯d grabbed within his hands, causing sparks to fly everywhere. However, he didn¡¯t seem to have been burnt by them at all. He swept his right leg out, kicking Huo Yuhao¡¯s grill to one side. At the same time, he stepped forward and used hisrge hands to grab Huo Yuhao by the shirt.

    Using his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao realised that this ck-shirted youth wasn¡¯t just being overbearing. His ¡®simple¡¯ grab actually contained countless variations in it, and although Huo Yuhao was able to make out some weaknesses in it, his cultivation was too weak to make use of them. Thus, he wasn¡¯t able to dodge, and was thus grabbed by the shirt by the ck-shirted youth.

    ¡°Hey.¡± The ck-shirted youth raised his right hand, lifting Huo Yuhao into the air. At the same time, he forcefully snatched the two skewers of roasted fish from Huo Yuhao.

    The entire process, from the time that the ck-shirted youth had appeared to him making his move, happened iparably quickly¡ªto the extent that the surrounding people were only just realising what had just happened.

    Two voices echoed out at practically the same time.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Stay your hand.¡±

    The former was the exceedingly beautiful youngdy, who currently had a startled and angry expression. Thetter had already charged over with as fast as lightning and had used his palm in an attempt to directly knock the ck-shirted youth away.

    Clearly, the ck-shirted youth hadn¡¯t thought that someone would make a move against him. Thus, he wasn¡¯t able to protect himself in time. He was using one hand to hold Huo Yuhao, while using another to hold onto the roasted fish. If he wanted to defend himself from his opponent¡¯s attack, he would had to forfeit one of the two.

    He chose to let go of Huo Yuhao. With a flick of his wrist, Huo Yuhao was sent flying horizontally. He then lowered his right hand to collide with the iing hand.

    ¡°Pa¡ª¡± The two people simultaneously trembled, then both took a step back. In this sh, neither of them had managed to take the upper hand.

    The neer wasn¡¯t some random person; it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s eldest senior brother, Bei Bei.

    Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d been flung into the air, spun around in the air twice. However, an attractive figure appeared below him and used her hands to catch and lower him steadily to the ground.

    The person who helped Huo Yuhao was naturally Tang Ya. At this moment, her originally small and charming face was filled with rage.

    ¡°Xu Sanshi, you dare to bully one of my men? I¡¯m gonna beat the shit out of you.¡± As she said that, Tang Ya raised her hand, causing a golden light to fly directly towards Xu Sanshi.

    The ck-shirted youth waved his right hand, causing a sharp ck light to sh as he attempted to sweep away the golden light. However, an astonishing scene urred: The golden light suddenly brightened, unexpectedly burrowing its way through that strong ck soulforce, before burying itself and disappearing inside of the ck-shirted youth.

    The ck-shirted youth¡¯s body trembled violently, and his gaze suddenly froze. Afterwards, his tiger-like eyes red with anger, and his three soul rings instantly rose up from his legs¡ªthere were two yellow rings and one purple ring. His originally pale skin immediately darkened as his muscles expanded, and his entire body seemed to swell up. The most peculiar thing was that a tortoiseshell shield¡ªwhich had a diameter of around one metre¡ªhad appeared in his right hand.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection, allowing him to sense that the martial soul released by the ck-shirted youth had a level of grandeur that wasn¡¯t any weaker than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon that Bei Bei possessed.

    ¡°Tang Ya, don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t do anything to you just because you have Bei Bei protecting you.¡± As the ck-shirted youth let out a low roar, his eyes lit up with anger.

    Tang Yaughed coldly. ¡°Come! Did you think that I¡¯d be afraid of trash like you?¡±

    Bei Bei indifferently said, ¡°Xu Sanshi, you¡¯ve bullied my junior brother. You¡¯ll have to give me an exnation for today¡¯s matter. If not, we¡¯ll go to the Soul Dueling Arena and settle it with an official fight.¡±

    Xu Sanshi trembled slightly as he pointed at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°He¡¯s your junior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei expressionlessly nodded his head.

    Xu Sanshi coldly said, ¡°So what? He didn¡¯t give Jiang Nannan any face, nor did he didn¡¯t give me any face either. It was just two skewers of roasted fish, and I already paid for them.¡±

    Tang Ya angrily said, ¡°Those were the fish that Huo Yuhao had saved for me. Bei Bei, why are you still listening to his bullshit? Beat him up! Beat him up until he can¡¯t move anymore. I¡¯ll give you a kisster.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s face, which he¡¯d originally been carefully controlling, finally twitched when he heard Tang Ya¡¯s impish words, who seemed to want to see the world burn right now.

    Xu Sanshi curled his lip and said to Bei Bei, ¡°Your Tang Ya¡¯s still so berserk, I see. I haven¡¯tpared notes with you in a long time; why don¡¯t we immediately go to the Soul Dueling Arena? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As he was speaking, he turned around and walked away without pausing at all. With a few steps he arrived in front of the exceedingly beautifuldy named Jiang Nannang. His previously angry expression actually turned tender the instant he arrived, and he passed the two skewers of roasted fish to her. He then spoke in a gentle voice. ¡°Nannan, you can eat first. I¡¯ll be backter.¡±

    However, Jiang Nannan wasn¡¯t grateful at all. She was always very kind towards everyone else, but she was as cold as ice towards Xu Sanshi. She proceeded to speak in a cold voice, ¡°Xu Sanshi, I¡¯ve told you before. There¡¯s no possibility of anything happening between us. Please stop bothering me in the future.¡± Once she¡¯d finished saying this, she turned around and walked away.

    A burst of embarrassment appeared on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face. He suddenly straightened his body and stared angrily at the crowd, who¡¯d in-turn been watching the show. ¡°What¡¯re you looking at? Go away. Bei Bei, let¡¯s go.¡± After saying this, he walked towards the academy. The roasted fish in his hand were thrown towards Huo Yuhao.

    Tang Ya stood in front of Huo Yuhao and raised her hand to catch the fish. Her movements were very smooth and gentle, yet she seemed to have caught the fish in a very natural manner. She bluntly took a bite out of one, while she used her hand to pull Huo Yuhao with her as she ate. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch something fun.¡±

    The Soul Dueling Arena was an extremely important location within Shrek Academy. It was located on the northwestern corner of the Martial Soul Institution, and was close to Shrek Academy. In fact, it wasn¡¯t that far from the Soul Tool Testing Area that Huo Yuhao had visited before. This was a ce that many students from all years would frequent. You could carry out various types ofpetitions within this building, with specialised teachers to act as referees. The referees were responsible for determining the victor of eachpetition, and were also responsible for protecting the students, providing assistance students who needed it, healing injured students, and such. Naturally, all of this needed to be paid for.

    When carrying out a duel in the Soul Dueling Arena, each party would need to pay a minimum of ten gold soul coins for arena expenses. However, many students never grew bored of thesepetitions, due to the fact that there were no restrictions whilstpeting here. Furthermore, you didn¡¯t need to be afraid of any dangerous situations if you were too heavy-handed, since the teachers who were acting as referees would keep everything under control. At the same time, students who won a match within the Soul Dueling Arena would obtain a certain amount of credits, which would, in turn, increase one¡¯s marks by a certain amount during their annual advancement test.

    Past their fourth year, students who wanted to continue on to be fifth-years and sixth-years would need Soul Duelling Credits. A fourth-year student who wanted to be a fifth-year student would need at least ten victories within the Soul Dueling Arena over students from his same year group, while advancing from a fifth-year to a sixth-year required even more credits. Soul Duelling Credits were supposedly even more important when one wanted to enter the inner courtyard after bing a sixth-year.

    Allpetitions within the Soul Dueling Arena were open to all students, but the entrance fee was one silver soul coin.

    What astonished Huo Yuhao the most was the fact that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s duel actually attracted the attention of so many students. An overwhelming majority of the students who¡®d been watching the liveliness outside actually chose to go watch the duel, with no care for what year they were.

 Chapter 12.3: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    Chapter 12.3: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, the school must make a lot of money!¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but speak after he heard Tang Ya¡¯s simple introduction of the Soul Dueling Arena.

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°It¡¯s something the academy logically deserves. Since the academy is asrge as it is, its expenses are naturally just asrge. If they hadn¡¯t thought of a way to make money, how would they be able to maintain the academy? However, the taxes the academy levels in Shrek City aren¡¯t little either. In any case, our academy is the continent¡¯s number one academy in terms of prosperity. Right, little Yuhao, the standard of your roasted fish has improved even more. It¡¯s either that, or the ingredients that I got you are better, since it tastes so good.¡±

    Tang Ya finished her two skewers of roasted fish long before they reached the Soul Dueling Arena. Huo Yuhao was already hungry, so he went ahead and bought some dinner when they walked by the canteen. When he and Tang Ya arrived at the Soul Dueling Arena, there were many people flooding into it. As the news of Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei¡¯s duel began to spread like wildfire, more and more students streamed towards the Soul Dueling Arena.

    Tang Ya paid two silver soul coins and brought Huo Yuhao into the Soul Dueling Arena. The Soul Dueling Arena was hexagonal, and was roughly as big as Shrek za. The centre of the Soul Dueling Arena was arge open area, which was clearly the ce where students would duel against one another. Furthermore, it was surrounded by around three thousand chairs that rose progressively upwards.

    When they entered, there were already two to three hundred students sitting around the battlefield. Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao had arrived rtively early on, so they managed to obtain seats in the row that was closest to the battlefield. On the other hand, the battlefield in front of them was empty; it was unknown where Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were.

    Tang Ya knew that Huo Yuhao was unfamiliar with the rules for the Soul Dueling Arena. Thus, she decided to exin them to him. ¡°The Soul Dueling Arena is open everyday, from dismissal to midnight. Students who wish to carry out a duel have to first pay the fee and register. If both parties are fairly famous students in the academy, the academy will use a soul tool called a ¡®megaphone¡¯ to broadcast the event in order to attract more viewers. The academy will then keep half of the ticketing fees, while the winner will keep the other half. Your eldest senior brother¡¯s already made quite a bit of money from dueling. Furthermore, that Xu Sanshi is a fifth-year student, whereas he¡¯s just be a fourth-year. Since they¡¯re separated by an entire year, it¡¯s considered a challenge that bypasses what year they¡¯re in. Thus, that Xu Sanshi will have to give Bei Bei an additional ten gold soul coins if he loses. Your eldest senior brother and that Xu Sanshi are both extremely famous students in the outer courtyard¡ªthey¡¯re both acimed as geniuses. I¡¯m guessing that the number of people who¡¯ll show up to watch will exceed five hundred.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Then who was that Jiang Nannan?¡±

    Tang Ya raised her hand and hit Huo Yuhao on the head. ¡°You¡¯ve already learnt bad things at such a young age? You¡¯re already looking at pretty girls? Hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his head throb, and didn¡¯t dare to ask again. Instead, he chose to take out his lunchbox and start eating dinner.

    When she saw his naive appearance, Tang Ya couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you. Jiang Nannan is known as the outer courtyard¡¯s number one beauty. Shees from an ordinary family, and treats everybody kindly. She has countless fans within the academy. Do you think that she¡¯s prettier than me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly shook his head a few times.

    Tang Ya was somewhat pleased as she said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I don¡¯t think that she¡¯s stronger than me in any other area either, hmph! That guy, Xu Sanshi, has a very strong mutated martial soul known as the Mysterious Underworld Turtle. It¡¯s a dual-attribute martial soul that possesses both the water and the earth element, and has an extremely strong defense. It¡¯s been called an imprable fortress by some. His cultivation is around the same level as Bei Bei¡¯s, and they both have first-rate martial souls. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already vented some anger for you. I threw a Dragon Beard Needle at him, which should be unbearable for him. If he wants to pursue Jiang Nannan, so be it, but it won¡¯t do if he hurts any of my people in the process. Speaking of strange, I¡¯m beginning to think that Jiang Nannan has a problem with her gender orientation. There are an endless number of outstanding male students pursuing her, but she¡¯s never taken a liking to any of them. When she rejects other people, she does it with a gentle tone. However, when she rejects Xu Sanshi, it¡¯s with a rarely-seen coldness. I don¡¯t know if this is because Xu Sanshi took advantage of her in some way. On the other hand, these people who areing to watch Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi are really innocent! They only know that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi are respectively known to possess the outer courtyard¡¯s strongest attack-type martial soul and the outer courtyard¡¯s strongest defense-type martial soul. However, they don¡¯t know that these two know each other. I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯ve colluded to both earn some money¡ªthat¡¯s why so many of them ran over to the Soul Dueling Arena.¡±

    Huo Yuhao spoke with astonishment, ¡°Eldest senior brother and that Xu Sanshi know each other?¡±

    Tang Ya nodded. ¡°Little Yuhao, don¡¯t worry. Even though they know each other, your eldest senior brother will stillpete against him fiercely. He won¡¯t let Xu Sanshi bully you for no reason.¡±

    Soul Dueling Arena, lobby.

    ¡°Bei Bei, your Tang Ya is too vicious. Look at this, just look at this¡­¡± Xu Sanshi had a dissatisfied expression as he lifted his jacket to show Bei Bei something. A bulge the size of an infant¡¯s fist had already swelled up on the right side of his waist. Only, he continued to release his martial soul, causing the skin surrounding that bulge to seemingly be as hard as metal.

    Bei Bei snorted and replied, ¡°Serves you right. Who asked you to bully our junior brother? Less bullshit, give me a Mysterious Water Pill and I¡¯ll remove the Dragon Beard Needle for you. If not, then you can wait till it digs out a piece of your flesh. This Dragon Beard Needle was left behind by the first-generation ancestor of the Tang Sect, and was only passed down to the sessive sect masters. Xiao Ya was really angry this time.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°That brat was actually someone who belonged to your Tang Sect? He doesn¡¯t look like he has any ability at all! Forget about the Mysterious Water Pill, quickly help me! This Dragon Beard Needle is too toxic, it hurts like hell. It¡¯s also specialised in breaking through soulforce. I can¡¯t believe I actually fell into Tang Ya¡¯s trap because of my carelessness. This is really depressing.¡±

    Bei Bei looked towards the sky and replied, ¡°Whatever. If you don¡¯t want to give it to me, don¡¯t give it to me. You hit my junior brother, plus you even wrecked his booth. You can slowly endure this Dragon Beard Needle then. The duel¡¯s going to start soon anyway. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll be able topete against me with that Dragon Beard Needle in you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi snorted angrily. ¡°Fine, Bei Bei, just wait. You just watch how I take care of you in the Soul Duelling Arenater. I won¡¯t be lenient towards you at all.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Do I need you to be lenient towards me?¡± As he spoke, he extended his right hand towards Xu Sanshi and made a gesture.

    Xu Sanshi unwillingly took out a delicate bottle made out of white jade and threw it towards Bei Bei. Bei Bei caught it and said, ¡°Many thanks. Now, withdraw your martial soul, I¡¯ll help you remove the Dragon Beard Needle.¡±

    Only then did Xu Sanshi slowly withdraw his martial soul. Without the restrictive effect of his martial soul, waves of unbearable pain immediately spread from the Dragon Beard Needle into his body. Even with his cultivation level and willpower, Xu Sanshi actually couldn¡¯t stop his body from trembling.

    Bei Bei used his right hand to rapidly tap a few points surrounding Xu Sanshi¡¯s wound. Afterwards, he simultaneously moved both of his hands, causing waves of gentle soulforce to unceasingly pour into Xu Sanshi¡¯s cramped muscles. After a moment¡¯s work, a hair-like golden strand slowly came out from Xu Sanshi¡¯s waist muscles.

    Bei Bei pulled it out softly, causing the golden strand to pop out of Xu Sanshi¡¯s body, before quickly shrinking into a golden grain-sized pea. With a flip of his wrist, Bei Bei quickly put it away.

    Xu Sanshi let out a long sigh, as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. However, he still had an angry expression. ¡°Bei Bei, you¡¯re taking advantage of me. You know how valuable this Mysterious Water Pill is. How about this? Let¡¯s make a bet. If I win our matchter on, you¡¯ll return that Mysterious Water Pill to me.¡±

 Chapter 12.4: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    Chapter 12.4: Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan

    Bei Bei simply smiled. ¡°What if you lose?¡±

    Xu Sanshi snorted and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you one thousand gold soul coins.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head before saying, ¡°That won¡¯t do. I know that the Mysterious Water Pill isn¡¯t worth only a thousand gold soul coins. I won¡¯t make an unfair bet with you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi angrily retorted, ¡°I only have that much money. If you don¡¯t agree, I¡¯m going to get very angry.¡±

    Bei Bei sighed softly and said, ¡°Do I look like Ick money? Fine, I¡¯ll give you a chance. I know you still have more Mysterious Water Pills. Take another one out and use it as the wager.¡±

    A trace of suspicion appeared in Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯ve fallen into your trap? It seems like you¡¯re sure that you can beat me.¡±

    Bei Bei still kept a warm smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯re the person who wanted to make a bet, not me. You can still choose not to bet. Also, don¡¯t moan and groan when you lose to meter on.¡±

    Xu Sanshi snorted and said, ¡°Me, lose? Although I can¡¯t guarantee that I can beat you, it won¡¯t be easy for you to beat me either. If we were to tie, how would our bet work?¡±

    However, Bei Bei wasn¡¯t fooled by him. ¡°Then we¡¯ll each keep what we already have. Hurry up, stop acting like a sissy.¡±

    Xu Sanshi clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll bet with you. You bastard. You might not be stronger than me, but you¡¯re extremely crafty. I reckon that I¡¯ve been tricked by you again. If worstes to worst, I¡¯ll just go suck up to my dad when I get back.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s still had a smile on his face. Although Xu Sanshi was trying his best to look for a change in his expression, he wasn¡¯t able to notice anything.

    ¡°You! You¡¯re not really stupid, but you¡¯ll immediately turn foolish towards any matter that Jiang Nannan¡¯s involved in. I really don¡¯t know whether you two were some sort of enemies in your previous life. Even though Jiang Nannan is pretty, there are many excellent female students in Shrek Academy. Why do you insist on giving your unrequited love to a flower?¡±

    Xu Sanshi unhappily said, ¡°Don¡¯t be an armchair expert. If you¡¯re so against with it, why don¡¯t you give Tang Ya to me?¡±

    Bei Bei stood up and retorted, ¡°You¡¯d better quickly adjust your body¡¯s condition so that you won¡¯t be unconvinced when you loseter. I¡¯ll go first.¡± He¡¯d already started to walk out as he spoke.

    Tang Ya¡¯s predictions were spot on. The number of students that had gathered in the Soul Dueling Area had gradually increased, and currently it exceeded four hundred. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all to gather five hundred students by the time the duel started.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± A voice that was fuming with anger caused Huo Yuhao to be startled. When he turned around to see who it was, he saw the tidily dressed Wang Dong aggressively walking towards him.

    ¡°Why did youe?¡± Huo Yuhao asked with a somewhat guilty tone. When he saw Wang Dong, he immediately recalled that white scene¡­

    Wang Dong¡¯s face had both shades of red and white on it. He sat down next to Huo Yuhao and spoke with a low voice, ¡°Tell me, what did you see?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. Then he replied, ¡°Ah? I didn¡¯t see anything!¡±

    Wang Dong snorted angrily. ¡°If you don¡¯t knock next time, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that he was in the wrong, but he still muttered to himself, ¡°We¡¯re all men¡­it¡¯s not like you¡¯d suffer a loss if I saw anything.¡±

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Wang Dong flew into a rage and raised his hand to grab Huo Yuhao.

    A slender palm stretched over and pped Wang Dong¡¯s hand away. Afterwards, Tang Ya¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Little Yuhao, you haven¡¯t introduced him to me.¡±

    Only then did Wang Dong notice Tang Ya¡¯s existence. When he saw Tang Ya¡¯s exceedingly beautiful face, he was slightly stunned. However, he quickly regained hisposure and snorted, before choosing to ignore Huo Yuhao. At first, after Huo Yuhao had run off, Wang Dong had quickly put his clothes on. However, he hadn¡¯t been able to find any traces of Huo Yuhao¡¯s existence. He¡¯d wanted to meditate, but wasn¡¯t able to calm himself down at all. At that exact moment, he heard the announcement that was broadcast to the dorms. Thus, he decided to go out and relieve some of his boredom. However, he didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d bump into Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya here.

    Huo Yuhao quickly said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, this is my roommate Wang Dong. Wang Dong, this is Tang Ya, one of our senior ssmates.¡± He was only able to give a simple introduction such as this.

    Wang Dong nodded towards Tang Ya, who smiled and said, ¡°What a pretty young boy! I like him! Little Yuhao, how about you persuade him to join our Tang Sect?¡±

    When Wang Dong heard the two words ¡®Tang Sect¡¯, his body trembled slightly. Astonished, he said, ¡°Both of you are from the Tang Sect?¡±

    Tang Ya nodded her head a few times and said, ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s only three of us left in the Tang Sect. I¡¯m the current sect master of the Tang Sect. How about it, are you astonished? Come,e, the Tang Sect wees you.¡±

    Even though Tang Ya was usually a very carefree person, and although she was just casually saying this without thinking the matter through, anyone who thought she was dim-witted would eventually suffer a huge loss under her hand. She¡¯d already seen how unordinary Wang Dong was. His essence was hidden, and his soul force had been condensed. With just a nce you could tell that his cultivation far surpassed Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    However, Tang Ya was surprised when Wang Dong actually nodded at her proposal after a short period of nkness. He quickly said, ¡°Sure! I¡¯ve already heard about the miraculousness of the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons. Sect master Tang, I wish to join the Tang Sect. Please ept me.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You really want to join the Tang Sect? But our Tang Sect only has three people left.¡± Tang Ya was extremely shocked. She looked at Wang Dong with a puzzled look.

    Wang Dong nodded seriously and said, ¡°I wish to join the Tang Sect and learn how to use hidden weapons.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s expression also turned solemn as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to think this matter over. I¡¯ll let Huo Yuhao give you my answerter.¡±

    During the short moment of time that they¡¯d been talking, Bei Bei had walked into the arena from the lounge. Some of the students sitting near the arena had already started to shout out his name as he appeared.

    ¡°Thunderbolt Bei Bei, Thunderbolt Bei Bei¡­¡±

    Bei Bei smiled towards the spectating students and waved at them, but his gaze was searching through the viewing tform.

    Only when Tang Ya stood up and waved at him did Bei Bei see where they were. Because they were separated by a great distance, the trio probably wouldn¡¯t hear anything if he spoke. Thus, he just gestured a few times at Tang Ya.

    The two had been together for quite a while already, so Tang Ya immediately returned a few gestures to show that she understood what he meant, before sitting back down.

    ¡°Little Yuhao, what¡¯s the maximum range of your Spiritual Detection Sharing?¡± Tang Ya whispered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°If it¡¯s only in one direction, about fifty metres or so.¡±

    Earlier, he¡¯d tested the limit of his Spiritual Detection when it was used in a single direction with Wang Dong. If he released it normally, it had a diameter of thirty metres. This meant that it only a fifteen metre radius. On the other hand, fifty metres was already more than twice his limit. However, it consumed arge amount of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul force when he directed it like that.

    Tang Ya immediately raised her right hand and made a few hand gestures towards Bei Bei, who nodded back at her.

    At this moment, Xu Sanshi also walked into the Soul Dueling Arena. There was a forty-or-so year-old teacher who followed him out.

    When they reached the Soul Dueling Arena, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei both had a cold look of concentration on their faces. This wasn¡¯t their first timepeting against each other in the Soul Dueling Arena. In the past, they¡¯d both achieved victories over one another, but most of their duels had ended in ties. They¡¯d truly managed to earn a lot of money from this Soul Dueling Competition, thus they naturally couldn¡¯t reveal the fact that they were close friends.

    The teacher that was acting as the referee walked to the centre of the arena, then said in a low voice, ¡°Fourth year student ¡®Bei Bei¡¯ is challenging fifth year student ¡®Xu Sanshi¡¯. If Xu Sanshi loses this match, he will have to pay an additional ten gold soul coins to Bei Bei. You¡¯ve already made your bets in private. Are you two ready?¡±

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi both simultaneously nodded.

 Chapter 13.1: Mysterious Water Pill

    Chapter 13.1: Mysterious Water Pill

    ¡°Match, start.¡± After announcing the start of the match, the referee rapidly retreated. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi then released their martial souls almost simultaneously.

    The Soul Dueling Arena that had previously been mouring instantly became silent, everyone¡¯s attention now focused on the two people in the arena. As influential figures within Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard, every single duel between Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi would shake one to the core. The other students loved it when they fought against each other. Furthermore, there were even many students who privately made bets against one another.

    Blue lightning gathered around Bei Bei¡¯s body, and his right arm expanded rapidly. As the blue lightning wreathed his body, his martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, was released.

    On the other side, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t show any weaknesses at all. His body expanded once again, causing his uniform to stretch outwards. Following that, the massive tortoiseshell shield appeared in his right hand again as well.

    The two began to slowly walk around the outside of the arena as they stared at one another with piercing gazes. The strong soulforce that was being emitted from the two of them¡ªone blue and one ck¡ªincreased in strength unceasingly. The differences between the two different types of soulforce could clearly be seen.

    On the surface, they looked like they looked like they were evenly matched. Both of them were Soul Elder experts that possessed three soul rings, and both of them were battle-type Soul Elders. From their martial souls, Bei Bei was clearly an assault system Soul Elder, while Xu Sanshi¡ªwho possessed a shield¡ªwas highly likely to be a defense system Soul Elder.

    One of them had the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon that was known as the martial soul with the highest amount of attack power, while the other had a mutated martial soul that had an enormous level of defense, the Mysterious Underworld Turtle. It was hard to say who would win.

    Wang Dong seemed to have forgotten about his issue with Huo Yuhao as he silently began to concentrate on the two people in the arena. Huo Yuhao was the same. Their moods had involuntarily fluctuated towards following the twopeting Soul Elders.

    After releasing his martial soul, Bei Bei¡¯s gentle temperament instantly turned sharp. On the other hand, Xu Sanshi¡¯s hot temper seemed to have cooled down, and a mountain-like stability had appeared.

    When Xu Sanshi reached the area that was closest to Huo Yuhao and the others, Bei Bei suddenly roared, and charged towards Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.

    Xu Sanshi was slightly startled. He hadn¡¯t exposed any weaknesses, and this wasn¡¯t a great opportunity for Bei Bei either! When did Bei Bei be so impulsive?

    Although Xu Sanshi thought this in his heart, he didn¡¯t dare to be slow at all. He was extremely clear on the explosive power that Bei Bei could release when he attacked.

    When Bei Bei was only five or so metres away from Xu Sanshi, he suddenly leapt upwards and sent his right arm, which was covered with thick scales, towards Xu Sanshi¡¯s head. Blue lightning wrapped itself around Bei Bei¡¯s draconic w, signifying that he could release his soul skill at any time.

    However, Xu Sanshi remained calm and unhurried. He slightly shifted his right foot back half a step, and slightly crouched down. He ced his shield in front of his body, allowing it topletely protect his body. Meanwhile, pitch-ck soulforce surged out from his tortoiseshell shield, faintly forming a ck halo of light that both shrouded and protected him.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± Bei Bei¡¯s draconic w collided ferociously against the thick ck tortoiseshell shield, causing the two of their bodies to simultaneously shake. Bei Bei rapidly halted his attack and fell back, while Xu Sanshi slid backwards.

    Of Xu Sanshi¡¯s three soul rings, his hundred year soul ring suddenly lit up, causing the ck light emitted by his tortoiseshell shield to immediately be doubled. A strong ck halo spread out from his shield, covering a full ten or so square metres. It was like an enormous hood that pushed outwards. It even emitted rumbling sounds as it was released.

    This was Mysterious Underworld Quake, Xu Sanshi¡¯s first soul skill.

    This was a wide range knockback skill that also had a dizzying effect. If his opponent¡¯s cultivation was inferior to his, they would feel dizzy and be knocked backwards. At the very least, this skill could allow Xu Sanshi to pull some distance from his enemies.

    However, Xu Sanshi never expected Bei Bei to be so determined.

    When Xu Sanshi released his first soul skill, both Bei Bei¡¯s second and third soul rings unexpectedly lit up at the same time.

    The first to activate was his third ring, which was his thousand year one. As its light expanded outwards, a low rumbling sound suddenly exploded from Bei Bei¡¯s body, causing his entire body to emit strong bluish purple lightning. The scales on his right hand spread rapidly towards his body, encapsting the right side of his chest within them. Following that, the aura surrounding his body instantly rose.

    This was Thunderous Fury.

    Following that, his second soul ring shed, causing many thick electric snakes to instantly burst outwards from Bei Bei¡¯s body.

    When Bei Beibined his second and third soul skills, they managed to negate Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Quake. Even if Xu Sanshi was widely recognised for his defense, his Mysterious Underworld Quake wasn¡¯t able to knock Bei Bei away.

    A hole was forcibly torn into the ck hood formed by Xu Sanshi¡¯s skill. Bei Bei ignored the assaults of the ck streams of air and stubbornly forced his way in.

    Xu Sanshi was startled, but his movements didn¡¯t slow down in the least. His second and third soul rings also lit up in session. He was all too familiar with Bei Bei¡¯s power, and was extremely confident in his own defense. Although he didn¡¯t feel 100% certain that he could defeat Bei Bei, Bei Bei absolutely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him if he concentrated firmly on his defense.

    However, in the instant that he released his second and third soul skills, he suddenly felt as if his brain had been pierced by a needle. A trace of fuzziness instantly appeared in his consciousness, causing his two soul skills to suddenly turn sluggish for a moment. He¡¯d actually been unable to immediately release them.

    Bei Bei¡¯s pouncing body suddenly turned illusory. This was the Tang Sect¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks. His body crouched slightly downwards, and his entire body seemed to slide along the ground. He used his right w to hook onto the bottom of the tortoiseshell shield, whilst simultaneously sliding behind it.

    Even if Xu Sanshi wanted to release his soul skills, it was toote. Letting Bei Bei get around his shield like this had already doomed him to tragedy.

    Bei Bei used his right foot to stamp directly on Xu Sanshi¡¯s calf, and underneath the strengthening effects of Thunderous Fury, the lightning of Vigorous Thunderbolt instantly surged forth. In the next moment, Xu Sanshi¡¯s body was only able to tremble in its original location. On the other hand, Bei Bei¡¯s enormous draconic arm dug directly into his shoulder. The oue of the battle had been settled, just like that.

    The match had ended even faster than most people had expected, so much so that there were many people who simply hadn¡¯t seen what happened. Bei Bei had gone around Xu Sanshi¡¯s tortoiseshell armor¡¯s defense and then subdued his opponent in order to obtain victory.

    ¡°Bei Bei wins.¡± The referee¡¯s voice rang out, announcing the victor. He didn¡¯t stop Bei Bei from throwing Xu Sanshi to the ground either.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s bodily resistance was indeed extremely strong, which was shown by how his trembling immediately stopped when Bei Bei withdrew his lightning. However, his words were still somewhat scattered. ¡°You, you were cheating.¡± Although he didn¡¯t know how Bei Bei had cheated, he knew that he definitely wasn¡¯t the reason for his soul skills being slowed down by half a beat earlier. Furthermore, he¡¯d been fully concentrated on his defense. The fact that Bei Bei had actually been able find the weakest spot in his defense in only a single moment waspletely outrageous.

 Chapter 13.2: Mysterious Water Pill

    Chapter 13.2: Mysterious Water Pill

    ¡°Cheating my ass. If you want to bet with me, you have to ept your loss. Give me the Mysterious Water Pill you owe me.¡± Bei Bei smiled as he used his draconic w to pour a bit of his lighting-type soulforce back into Xu Sanshi¡¯s body, causing Xu Sanshi¡¯s tall body to tremble all over once again.

    How could Xu Sanshi know that a person in the stands had already fainted solely for the sake of helping Bei Bei beat him?

    That¡¯s right; the piercing pain that Xu Sanshi had felt in his brain when he¡¯d wanted to activate his second and third soul skills hade from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Purple Demon Eyes and Spirit Shock. Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t that high, the instantaneous attack power generated by thebination of the two skills still made Xu Sanshi, whose body had beenpletely protected by soulforce, suffer a loss.

    Huo Yuhao had been roughly thirty metres away from Xu Sanshi, which was perfectly within the range of his Spirit Shock.

    Not only that, before releasing these two skills, Huo Yuhao had even used his Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing in order to help Bei Bei find a weak point in Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense.

    It could be said that this short instant was Huo Yuhao¡¯s best performance since bing a soul master. He¡¯d consecutively used three soul skills, as well as the Purple Demon Eyes, to forcefully direct the oue of a match between two evenly matched adversaries.

    The scenes before the match¡ª

    The few gestures that Bei Bei had made towards Tang Ya had been meant to tell her to ask Huo Yuhao to help out, and the reason that Bei Bei had unleashed his attacks on Xu Sanshi when he hadn¡¯t received any opportunities was because Tang Ya had told him the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    This victory actually belonged to to thebined efforts of both Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao.

    Other than Tang Ya and Bei Bei, who was in the arena, Wang Dong was the only who¡¯d sensed it. When Huo Yuhao had used his soul skill, although he¡¯d deliberately controlled the soul ring that had appeared below his feet so that it didn¡¯t rise upwards, how could he hide the undtions of soulforce released by it from Wang Dong, who was sitting right next to him?

    Wang Dong clearly saw a faint-gold colour appear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, which had almost instantaneously turned much more vibrant in the next moment. Finally, a purple light had shed through them. Right after that, he¡¯d directly tilted towards him, unconscious.

    As Wang Dong subconsciously held onto Huo Yuhao, the match in the arena had already finished.

    ¡°He, what happened to him?¡± Wang Dong asked with an astonished tone.

    Tang Ya was also startled when she saw Huo Yuhao copse. She hurriedly examined Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition, before letting out a sigh of relief. ¡°He¡¯s simply overdrawn his soulforce, there¡¯s nothing wrong with him. Let¡¯s go.¡± It was better to leave the crime scene after doing something bad. Furthermore, Tang Ya was inwardly puzzled. How had the effectiveness of Little Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing been so great? Bei Bei¡¯s original intention had just been to use it to let him take the initiative in the fight!

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s cultivation level were about the same, so the person who was able to seize a decisive opportunity would have the best chance at victory. However, she never thought that he¡¯d actually win the match in one blow.

    Huo Yuhao was truly too exhausted. After a full day of physical training,bined with the many times that he¡¯d used his soul skills, the over-exhaustion caused him to fall into a very thorough unconscious state, where he wouldn¡¯t be able to wake up for quite a while. This was also one of his body¡¯s self-defense mechanisms.

    Tang Ya and Wang Dong carried Huo Yuhao back to his dorm room together. By the time they reached the dorm, Bei Bei had caught up. After using his soulforce to help Huo Yuhao¡¯s body recover, he took out a porcin bottle and tumped out a medical pill, which he shoved into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Little brother, please take care of him.¡± Upperssmen weren¡¯t allowed to enter the dormitories of lowerssmen; this was a rule set by Shrek Academy. Thus, Bei Bei could only ask Wang Dong to help him out.

    Wang Dong¡¯s gaze was slightly nk. He came from a prestigious family, so he was knowledgeable about many things. Earlier, he had clearly seen the pill that Bei Bei had taken out.

    It had been a dark blue pill about the size of a cherry, with many veins of various shades of white on its surface. When he¡¯d taken it out of the porcin bottle, the pill had even been surrounded by a faintyer of mist. Furthermore, its fresh smell that had lingered in the air was something deeply refreshing to the mind.

    Was that a Mysterious Water Pill? No way. Wang Dong was gobsmacked.

    It wasn¡¯t only him. Even the old man who waszily reclining next to the entrance widened his eyes slightly for a moment before he returned to his original state.

    Tang Ya asked Wang Dong, ¡°Little cutie, when little Yuhao wakes up, please remind him to go buy some fish tomorrow. When I get back, I¡¯ll prepare another set of what I gave him earlier today.¡±

    Bei Bei unhappily retorted, ¡°You only know how to eat. You almost harmed my little junior brother today.¡±

    Tang Ya humphed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. I know that you already had bad intentions towards Xu Sanshi behind his back. That guy¡¯s as dumb as a rock, so sure enough, he was duped by you. You just happened to grab the opportunity.¡±

    Bei Bei innocently said, ¡°If someone wants to give me a present, what else can I do but receive it? All I can say is that our little junior brother¡¯s luck is quite good. Let¡¯s go back and cultivate. I remember a certain someone who said that she¡¯d give me a kiss if I were to beat Xu Sanshi. You should keep your promises.¡±

    Tang Ya stuck her tongue out at him. ¡°I asked you to beat him until he wasn¡¯t even able to take care of himself. Did you do that? If not, go cultivate!¡±

    Wang Dong suddenly said, ¡°Senior Tang Ya, please consider my question for a while. I really want to join the Tang Sect.¡±

    Tang Ya nodded her head and waved at him, while Bei Bei revealed a pondering look on his face. Afterwards, he smiled at Wang Dong before pulling Tang Ya away.

    Wang Dong carried Huo Yuhao back to their dorm room and ced him onto his bed. The image of the pill that Bei Bei had fed to Huo Yuhao was still present in his mind. After softly shaking his head and ring fiercely at Huo Yuhao, he muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯m not scared of getting an eye infection after seeing what I wasn¡¯t supposed to see. Sleeping on a hard bed serves you right.¡± Whilst speaking, he jumped back onto his own bed and started meditating in a cross-legged position. The physical training that he¡¯d undergone today had also been extremely effective.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleep this time around was especially sound. Ever since he¡¯d entered the Tang Sect, he¡¯d been bitterly cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique. This was the first time since then that he¡¯d been able to sleep peacefully.

    In his dream, he felt as if he was immersed within a rxing pool. The ensuing feeling of rxation caused him to let out a moan.

    Not long after starting his meditation, Wang Dong opened his eyes once again and looked¡ªastonished¡ªtowards Huo Yuhao, who was still lying on his bed. He¡¯d been roused after sensing the strong fluctuations of soulforce in the air.

    Sure enough, the strong fluctuations of soulforce he¡¯d felt were being emitted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was already nighttime, so the faint blue light that wasing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was especially noticeable in the dark.

    Wang Dong jumped down from his bed and squatted quietly beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed to carefully observe him. He discovered that Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin seemed to be rising and falling slightly. Furthermore, as it rose and fell, a few tiny streams of air were being continuously emitted from his pores. These were the fluctuations of soulforce that he¡¯d sensed. Furthermore, the faint blue mist surged unceasingly into his pores before surging back out and, following the passing of time, the colour of the mist gradually turned slightly darker. At the same time, the refreshing smell in the air gradually weakened.

 Chapter 13.3: Mysterious Water Pill

    Chapter 13.3: Mysterious Water Pill

    ¡°It¡¯s the Mysterious Water Pill¡­ it¡¯s actually the Mysterious Water Pill that¡¯s worth ten thousand gold. Why would senior Bei Bei casually give him such a precious pill?! Don¡¯t tell me that he gave Huo Yuhao the wrong pill?¡± Wang Dong spoke to himself with a shocked tone.

    After a brief moment of shock, Wang Dong nned to return to his bed and sleep. However, he suddenly thought of something, and somewhat helplessly walked towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed. He then waved his fist around and humphed. ¡°Thanks to you, I can¡¯t sleep even when I have a bed. Hmph, just wait.¡± As he spoke, he rolled up his bedding and put it away in his storage-type soul tool. Afterwards, he quietly left the dorm room. No one knew where he went.

    Not long after Wang Dong left, the smell emitted by the mist surrounding Huo Yuhao¡¯s body gradually turned from a sweet smell to a fishy smell, and its colour also darkened even more. Following that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing became increasingly calm.

    This time around, Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleep was truly rxing and peaceful. The thing that finally woke him up was because of how sticky he felt. Once his consciousness had returned, he couldn¡¯t help but sneeze loudly.

    ¡°Holy shit, this smell! What¡¯s this smelling from!?¡± Huo Yuhao rolled over and sat up. He subconsciously thought that this was Wang Dong doing something crazy to him.

    However, when he opened his eyes to look at the bed opposite him, he discovered that it was barren. Wang Dong wasn¡¯t in the room.

    It was still dark outside when he woke up, but Huo Yuhao quickly discovered that something seemed to be off. He could see every single bit of detail within the room¡ªalmost as if his eyes weren¡¯t affected by the darkness at all.

    In the past, although he could¡¯ve achieved this level of vision, it would¡¯ve required the him to both circte his soulforce and release his Spirit Eyes. But now, he didn¡¯t even need to use his martial soul to reach the same level of vision!

    When he looked downwards, he discovered that his uniform had actually turned pitch-ck; the stinky smell that he¡¯dined about wasing from his uniform. Moreover, ayer of pitch-ck filth had also appeared on his skin where the uniform didn¡¯t cover it. He felt as if he¡¯d been dropped into a pile of sludge before being thrown back onto his bed.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that Wang Dong doesn¡¯t hate me this much¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was left somewhat speechless as he looked himself over. When he stood up, he noticed that his wooden bed was covered with a denseyer of ck filth.

    Just what was this?

    The smell that was present on both his body and the bed were truly too unpleasant, so he didn¡¯t bother to carefully ponder what exactly had happened. He jumped off his bed and rushed to open the dorm room¡¯s windows. Immediately afterwards he ran out of his dorm room, and went directly towards the bathroom located at the end of the corridor.

    The filth that was covering his body felt greasy. The time that it took for him to clean his bed and wash his clothes,bined with cleaning himself, all-in-all, took about an hour of his time.

    When he finally sat back down on his bed, Huo Yuhao had a perplexed expression. Whatever, I won¡¯t overthink it. I¡¯ll find out what happened when I ask Wang Dong tomorrow. I¡¯ve slept for most of the night already, which wasted a lot of time I could¡¯ve spent doing other things. I need to hurry up and cultivate.

    After thinking this to himself, Huo Yuhao sat down in a cross-legged position and began circting his soulforce throughout his body, following the cirction paths of the Mysterious Heaven Technique as he cultivated.

    Huo Yuhao had only spent three seconds meditating when he suddenly opened his eyes wide in shock. His Spirit Eyes were wide open, but were filled with an inconceivable look.

    ¡°Am¡­ am I dreaming?¡± Huo Yuhao was somewhat in a daze. After he recovered, he hurriedly shut his eyes once again.

    When another three seconds had passed, he opened his eyes again, only this time his face was full of excitement.

    Yes, something that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to believe had happened. When he¡¯d entered into a meditative state to circte his soulforce, he felt as if his body was in an unprecedented state. If he was topare his previous cirction of soulforce to the crawling speed of a snail, then his current speed of cirction was at least as fast as the climbing speed of a spider. His soulforce cirction speed was three to five times faster and, in addition to that, his soulforce had been strengthened by arge amount. When he circted it now, it felt much less obstructed.

    As he continued to circte his soulforce, he felt an unprecedented sense of power spread throughout his body¡ªas if all his meridians had been opened. This sort of feeling was simply too wondrous. He also felt the itchy feeling that normally signified growth in all of his limbs and bones.

    Huo Yuhao somewhat impatiently shut his eyes and roused his soulforce so that he could circte it around his passageways. The facts had proven that he wasn¡¯t dreaming; everything was real. Originally, when he was following the cirction paths of the Mysterious Heaven Technique to cultivate, he¡¯d need at least an hour toplete a full revolution. Now however, he didn¡¯t even need to use a quarter of that time to finish a full cirction. Furthermore, the rate at which his soulforce grew was several times greater than before. It was no longer the sort of increase that could be counted with traces; it had evolved into something that could be counted in wisps.

    At the same time, as he was cultivating, Huo Yuhao discovered that all of his passageways had be unprecedentedly unobstructed. The areas that had been previously been obstructed, along with the areas which had been extremely thin and fragile, had all been widened and thickened by arge amount. Furthermore, his passageways had a faint kind of sticity to them; even if they were hit with several soulforce attacks, they still wouldn¡¯t be in any danger.

    Could it be that I¡¯ve shed my mortal body and bones in a single night?

    He wasn¡¯t even willing to think about what had caused it. He¡¯d never felt such an increase in power in his entire life. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to grasp this sort of feeling, so he wasn¡¯t willing to give it up no matter what. He unceasingly circted his soulforce throughout his body. As he did so, the cirction speed of the Mysterious Heaven Technique seemed to faintly increase. Furthermore, as the Mysterious Heaven Technique nourished the passageways in his body, that warm andfortable feeling started to appear again.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even know how many times he ended up circting his soulforce, but it was at least until the sky outside gradually brightened. Only when the distant horizon exposed daylight did he wake up from his meditative state.

    Even after sitting in a cross-legged position for half the night, his legs didn¡¯t feel numb or stiff at all. He moved slightly until he was by the window. As he gazed towards the purple qi that gradually appeared in the east, his soulforce easily went towards his Spirit Eyes in a very natural manner as he started cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes.

    The change that had urred in his body, as well as the strengthening of his soulforce, made everything seem different for Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao used his Spirit Eyes to look attentively towards theyer of purple qi that had risen from the east to start cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes, he clearly felt as if something in his brain had been cut apart. His Spirit Eyes faintly generated an invisible attractive force that absorbed the purple qi in the same manner a whale would drink water.

    The outside of his eyes became warm, while their interior remained cool. Huo Yuhao only felt his spiritual energy spread out in all four directions, quickly exceeding his original limit, reaching a total diameter of forty metres before stopping. Theyer of purple within his eyes had also deepened, and even his skin had a bright and smooth luster to it. His three energies¡ªessence, qi, and spiritual energy¡ªwerepletely different from yesterday.

    As he let out a long sigh to exhale a mouthful of impurities from his body, Huo Yuhaopleted his cultivation of the Purple Demon Eyes. Everything around him became increasingly clear. With a thought, Huo Yuhao withdrew his soulforce, and his Spirit Eyes also returned back to their normal state. Only, his pair of deep blue eyes had be even brighter.

 Chapter 13.4: Mysterious Water Pill

    Chapter 13.4: Mysterious Water Pill

    He knew that something must¡¯ve happened to his body. If not, he might not have had such a huge increase in his cultivation from a full half a year of cultivation.

    Just as Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was filling with doubt, the room to the dormitory opened.

    Wang Dong stuck his head through the door and sniffed the room a few times. After confirming that the room didn¡¯t smell, he slowly walked in whilst hugging his bedding to his body. He threw the bedding onto his bed and spoke unhappily to Huo Yuhao, who was standing there. ¡°You¡¯re really a good one. You¡¯ve ¡®shed your mortal body and bones¡¯, but you made me unable to return home. Hmph. You¡¯re treating me to breakfast today.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong with a puzzled expression. ¡°Wang Dong, just what happened to me? Why was I covered with filth when I woke up? My cultivation has even risen by arge amount. It even feels like I¡¯ve done what you just said; I have a sort of ¡®shedding my mortal body and bones¡¯ feeling.¡±

    A simple-looking golden bracelet on Wang Dong¡¯s wrist shed, causing a round metallic ball to appear in his hand, which he then threw towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how much your soulforce has increased by. This soul tool of mine can test the soulforce of people from the tenth to the thirtieth rank. Just pour your soulforce into it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao replied. Gripping the metal ball, he slowly poured his soulforce

    into it.

    The golden ball started to emit a faintyer of yellow light that gradually began to extend outwards. Next, a number appeared on the surface of the metal ball. At first, it was fixed at eleven, but it rapidly jumped up to twelve. As the yellow light continued to extend outwards, the ¡®twelve¡¯ also started to gradually tremble. However, Huo Yuhao was already using all of his strength at the moment; he wasn¡¯t able to stimte the number anymore.

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression had changed into one of astonishment. ¡°It really is worthy of being called the Mysterious Water Pill! It¡¯s actually increased your soulforce by almost two ranks in a single night. You¡¯re at the peak of the twelfth rank now, only a step away from the thirteenth rank.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Are you telling the truth? What is this ¡®Mysterious Water Pill¡¯?¡±

    Wang Dong snatched the testing soul tool back from Huo Yuhao and humphed. Then, he said, ¡°My soul tool is extremely urate when testing people¡¯s soul ranks. Besides, I don¡¯t benefit from lying to you. Speaking of which, you should thank senior Bei Bei. What sort of rtionship do you have with him? He actually just casually slipped you a Mysterious Water Pill that¡¯s worth ten thousand gold when you were unconscious. I¡¯m very skeptical as whether or not he gave you the right pill.¡±

    When he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s puzzled face, Wang Dong went ahead and exined, ¡°The Mysterious Water Pill is an extremely mystical pill. Supposedly, it¡¯s a pill that¡¯s specific to a certain water-type sect. However, I don¡¯t know which exact sect that is. When the Mysterious Water Pill is being refined, you need to use the blood essence of ten or so water-type soul beasts, as well as several tens of water-type nts. Afterwards, you¡¯ll also need to mix them in a specific manner before being able to sessfully refine it. Water has a cleansing property, so not only can the Mysterious Water Pill greatly heal you, it can also increase your soulforce by a margin. Furthermore, its medicinal properties are extremely gentle, so a soul master of any rank is capable of absorbing its medicinal efficacy extremely well. As for soul masters below the twentieth rank, it can increase their soulforce by a rank at least. However, its most valuable aspect isn¡¯t this; it¡¯s the fact that it can cleanse your muscles as well as your bone marrow.¡±

    ¡°When we shower normally, we cleanse the filth off the surface of our bodies. On the other hand, the Mysterious Water Pill cleanses the impurities hidden within our bodies. This Mysterious Water Pill is effective for anyone who takes it. To an extremely talented soul master, it might only be akin to adding flowers to a brocade. However, to a soul master with ordinary talent, it¡¯s basically sending them coal during a blizzard. It can expel the impurities within their bodies, as well as nourish their meridians. The increase in potential for an ordinary soul master caused by the Mysterious Water Pill is equivalent to an increase in his innate soulforce by an entire rank. In other words, if your innate soulforce when your martial soul was awakened was only at the first rank, it¡¯ll turn into the second rank after you¡¯ve taken a single Mysterious Water Pill. This is nothing short of a qualitative growth in one¡¯s talent and physique.¡±

    What Wang Dong didn¡¯t know was that his analogy had actually struck the truth. Huo Yuhao¡¯s innate soulforce was actually the first rank!

    However, Huo Yuhao clearly sensed that the feeling of ¡®shedding one¡¯s bones¡¯ he¡¯d felt after taking the Mysterious Water Pill definitely wasn¡¯t just as simple as a mere one rank increase in his innate soulforce. In fact, his cultivation speed had almost quadrupled! Although he wasn¡¯tparable to the likes of Wang Dong and Bei Bei, who were genius soul masters, he¡¯d be equivalent to an ordinary soul master at least. Cultivation wouldn¡¯t be as difficult as it had been in the past for him anymore.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but want to shed a few tears. It was his eldest senior brother who¡¯d given him the Mysterious Water Pill, something that was worth ten thousand gold! This friendship given to him by Bei Bei was deeply engraved into his heart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s luck was truly good. Wang Dong¡¯s exnation of the Mysterious Water Pill wasn¡¯t incorrect at all. Under normal circumstances, the increase provided by the Mysterious Water Pill would be just as he¡¯d described.

    However, Huo Yuhao had taken the Mysterious Water Pill at the perfect moment. After yesterday¡¯s bitter training, his body had received enough tempering that it broke through its limits. He¡¯d essentiallypleted a thorough ¡®warm up¡¯ before he consumed the Mysterious Water Pill. Furthermore, hisprehension towards the Mysterious Heaven Technique had caused the technique to permeate throughout his passageways, allowing it to reside in a sort of warm, nourishing state.

    The overuse of Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness had caused him to sink into aatose state. Due to this, when he absorbed the Mysterious Water Pill, he hadn¡¯t been able to deliberately control the efficacy of the Mysterious Water Pill, allowing it to evenly spread throughout his body. The nourishing effect brought about by the Mysterious Water Pill waspletely received by his body.

    There was another important point. The Mysterious Water Pill was a water-type medicinal pill, while his second martial soul that had been bestowed to him by the Skydream Iceworm was an ice-type one. Ice was, in and of itself, another state of water, which caused his absorption of the Mysterious Water Pill to be even more fruitful.

    In addition, following the Mysterious Water Pill¡¯s reconstruction of his body, one of the ten balls of Origin Energy that the Skydream Iceworm had sealed within his body had finally been cracked open by a small amount. A portion of the energy that had spilled out from it had thus fused with his body. Because of this, the increase in his spiritual energy was actually evenrger than the increase in his soulforce. This was also the reason why his spiritual awareness had expanded from thirty metres to forty metres.

    The Mysterious Water Pill could be said to have caused an all-around upgrade to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, which was the reason why he¡¯d experienced such a huge change. This would have enormous benefits towards his future cultivation, and even his Purple Demon Eyes had evolved.

    The Purple Demon Eyes had four major realms¡ªSurveyance, Totality, Mustard Seed, and Boundlessness. When Huo Yuhao used his Spirit Eyes to cultivate the Purple Demon Eyes, he basically achieved twice the effects while putting in half the work. As the Mysterious Water Pill had increased his soulforce, it had also simultaneously spurred on the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s Origin Energy. Thus, when he¡¯d previously cultivated the Purple Demon Eyes, the Origin Energy had created a siphoning effect towards the purple qi on the horizon, thereby allowing Huo Yuhao¡¯s Purple Demon Eyes to directly leap into the Totality realm from the Perlustration realm. In terms of cultivation speed for the Purple Demon Eyes, he could even be said to be the fastest person in all of history. He¡¯d even exceeded the founder of the Tang Sect, Tang San.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know this yet, but the advancement of his Purple Demon Eyes had caused arge increase in his ability to control spiritual-type skills. When he activated soul skills in the future, his soulforce consumption would be substantially lessened.

    As he looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s red eyes and slightly nk appearance, Wang Dong patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and get some breakfast. I want to eat double today!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Sure. You can even eat quadruple if you want today.¡±

    Wang Dong eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re the pig here.¡± Once he spoke, the two couldn¡¯t help but break intoughter. Their embarrassment fromst night had disappeared. At such a simple age, the two still had pure hearts.

 Chapter 14.1: Skydream Points

    Chapter 14.1: Skydream Points

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t forget to dig out the golden spirit coin from the grill that he¡¯d earned from yesterday¡¯s roasted fish before following Tang Ya to see Bei Bei and Xu Sanshipete. When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived at the dining hall, they secretly felt a little rich and imposing.

    The breakfast that they had was especially sumptuous, and greatly replenished their bodies¡¯ needs. They were the earliest to arrive at the dining hall, and even by the time they¡¯d finished eating, not many students had arrived.

    ¡°There¡¯s still a while till we have to be in ss. Let¡¯s return to the dorm room.¡± Huo Yuhao patted his satisfied belly and stretched his body for a while with a content look on his face.

    Ever since he arrived at Shrek Academy, he¡¯d gradually be cheerful. He finally had friends here, but even more so, he had Teacher Xiao Ya and his Eldest Senior Brother Bei Bei who both cared about him. This was worlds betterpared to the previous kind of atmosphere he¡¯d experienced when he was in the Duke¡¯s mansion, where everything was ice-cold.

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Save it. You¡¯re just gonna go back and cultivate again anyway. Bowstrings that have been stretched too tightly will break, you know. If you need to rx, then you should just rx. Let¡¯s take a walk by Sea God Lake and rx for a while. The Mysterious Water Pill just helped you increase your cultivation by quite a bit; you shouldn¡¯t care about this short moment of rxation.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Huo Yuhao happily agreed. Every since entering the academy a few days ago, he still had yet to visit Sea God Lake. Moreover, it really was almost time for them to head to ss. It would be a good idea if he took the chance to take a walk too.

    The two left the dining hall and cut through the school building for new students as they headed to the east along the south side of Shrek za. Soon afterwards, they arrived at the alley to thekeside.

    As they passed through the forest next to the alley, Sea God Lake, with its gleaming waves that were reflected in the sunlight, and its water that was both clear and crystalline, was presented before their eyes.

    A gust of wind that contained a gentle mist mixed with fresh air buffeted them. Even though Sea God Lake was a man-madeke, the water that it held was extremely clear. The azureke was blue to the point that its surface was both pure and deep, yet so blue that it was also tender, calm, and graceful. A slight ripple that looked like the luminous eyes of a youngdy was also full of life that undted on the surface of theke and looked like a blue brocade.

    Theke reflected an inverted image of the blue sky and white clouds, as well as the trees that lined thekeside.

    ¡°So beautiful!¡± Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but inhale deeply, physically exerting himself as he stretched his body.

    When he stretched his body, his shirt was inevitably pulled up, revealing his perfectly rounded and perky butt. Huo Yuhao absolutely didn¡¯t deliberately focus his attention on it, but an unintentional look was enough to remind him of the shining patch of white that he¡¯d seen yesterday¡­

    He turned his head away, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and looked far out into the distance across Sea God Lake. Sea God Lake upied an extremely wide area; perhaps it was evenrger than the main Shrek Academy campus that was to the west of Shrek za. There was even ayer of fog atop the water¡¯s surface in the distance.

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s Purple Demon Eyes had evolved, the sight of his Spirit Eyes had substantially increased once again. Even though he hadn¡¯t poured soul power into his Spirit Eyes to activate them, Huo Yuhao could still see far into the distance. He faintly saw what seemed to be houses amidst the mist that rested upon the surface of theke in the distance. He couldn¡¯t help but think that the inner courtyard was probably at that end of theke, as he¡¯d associated those houses with Xiao Ya and Bei Bei¡¯s description.

    If such an outstanding Soul Master like his eldest senior brother was only able to study in the outer courtyard, then how strong would the upperssmen from the inner courtyard be!?

    ¡°Eh?¡± At the exact moment that Huo Yuhao was preupied with his thoughts, he suddenly saw what appeared to be a red dot appear in the mist above theke.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Wang Dong asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao pointed in the direction that he was looking. ¡°Look, there seems to be some sort of red dot over there.¡±

    Wang Dong followed where Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger was pointing, and looked in the direction that he was pointing. However, all he saw was a sea of mist. ¡°Where?¡± He was questioning Huo Yuhao¡¯s words one moment, when in the next moment, he opened his eyes wide and stared. He¡¯d also seen the so-called red dot that Huo Yuhao had mentioned. However, it wasn¡¯t some red dot. It was clearly a red-coloured figure that was currently running on the surface of the water at an astonishing speed. In addition to that, looking closely at the figure, it actually seemed to be rushing in their direction!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both exchanged a nce before simultaneously crying out in surprise, ¡°An upperssman from the inner courtyard?!¡±

    The red figure¡¯s speed was extremely shocking. In just a short period of time, it had already reached the center of theke. Every time the tips of his toes briefly touched the surface of theke, he¡¯d create a ripple that spread out across theke. However, he was also continuously speeding up with the help of that slight buoyancy from theke, rapidly flying forwards like a red cloud.

    As the figure got closer, Huo Yuhao was also able to see it even better. The red colour wasn¡¯t only due to the fact that the clothes on its body were red in colour, but even its hair was a blood-red colour. The figure was slender, yet was emitting a sort of biting fierceness from its whole body, just like a frightening soul beast. The figure was wearing a mask that was also simrly red in colour; even its eyes were blood-red.

    The air surrounding its body seemed to be distorting slightly. The mist would even somewhat dissipate beneath his feet wherever he passed.

    ¡°This senior seems to be very strong! Look, he can even run on the surface of the water without releasing his Martial Soul.¡± Wang Dong said to Huo Yuhao with an excited look on his face, as per his analysis of the situation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t as good as his, but his perception was far more acute. ¡°Wang Dong, why do I feel that something isn¡¯t right!?¡±

    The red figure was truly too fast. In the period that they¡¯d been conversing with each other, the figure had already approached the hundred-metre radius of the shore. A frightening surge of heat engulfed them in that instant. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had astonished looks enter their eyes at the same time, because they simultaneously felt that an indescribably wild aura had exploded from that senior¡¯s body. It definitely wasn¡¯t an aura that should appear from a normal person.

    With a swish, azure wings had spread out from Wang Dong¡¯s back. He grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao in an attempt to take flight. However, that red figure had already gotten close to them in the short span of Wang Dong¡¯s movements.

    The terrifying heat burst forth in an instant, causing both Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao to feel as though they¡¯d been enveloped by a sea of fire. The wings on Wang Dong¡¯s back crumpled in an instant, making it so that he could no longer fly. The duo fell to the ground at the same time. All of the vegetation in an area ten metres around the figure had turned burnt-yellow in an instant.

    The difference in their cultivations was really too great. Wang Dong still wanted to try to release his soul skill, but just as he activated his soulforce, he immediately sustained an attack from that terrifying heat. With a dull groan, he immediately lost consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was inferior to Wang Dong¡¯s, but one mustn¡¯t forget that he still had an ice-type martial soul that had yet to take form.

    Once Huo Yuhao was subjected to the intense stimtion from the external heat, his ice-attribute martial soul was immediately awakened. However, his soulforce that was only at the peak of the twelfth rank was thoroughly consumed by the external heat in just a single second. Moreover, that red figure had already swatted arge hand in his direction.

    The temperature of his surroundings was already so frightening. If he really was hit, wouldn¡¯t he die very tragically?

    Thest thing that Huo Yuhao could do wasunch a Spirit Shock. However, the disparity between him and his opponent was too great. His Spirit Shock dissipated in the heat before it could even charge through thatyer of strong fire-attribute aura. At this rate, he was going to vanish in a puff of smoke and ashes under that huge, scorching-hot palm.

    It was at this exact moment that the sight before Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a field of white, and everything in his surroundings became a blur.

 Chapter 14.2: Skydream Points

    Chapter 14.2: Skydream Points

    Am I dead? Am I going to die like this? In this moment, when death was approaching, the feeling that he had in his heart wasn¡¯t unwillingness. Everything that had happened had really been too sudden. Hence, he was only at a loss at the moment.

    The scene before his eyes suddenly became clear. Huo Yuhao saw a strange scene: He saw himself¡­

    If Wang Dong were still awake now right, he¡¯d have seen an iparably shocking scene.

    In the moment that Huo Yuhao was about to be engulfed by that ming hand, the colour of his eyes suddenly changed. His dark blue eyes¡ªwhich had been twinkling with a faint golden light¡ªsuddenly became as white as twinkling frost in an instant.

    A gust of extraordinarily cold air suddenly spread outwards from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He actually managed to forcibly disperse all of the heating from the figure in front of him. The fiery figure only let out a dull groan before curling up as they copsed to the ground.

    When Huo Yuhao was utilising his Spirit Eyes, the soul ring that rose up from beneath his feet was white. However, at this moment, his normally white soul ring had actually turned an iparably brilliant golden colour. A ring golden light sparkled off of it, just like the morning sun was rising up from beneath his feet.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as the core, the area around him¡ªand a hundred metre diameter of him¡ªinstantly turned into a world of ice and snow. Even his opponent¡¯s spiritual sea was frozen.

    The red figure seemed to be shivering violently, as the terrifying intimidating aura it let off was continuously condensed by the cold. Huo Yuhao slowly raised his right arm. It wasn¡¯t known when his right hand¡¯s index finger had turned ice-blue, nor when his eyes had begun to shine with a white light. A gloomy voice immediately rang out.

    ¡°You dare to touch the person that this Brother has chosen, and dare to disturb this Brother¡¯s sleep! Go and die!¡±

    Huo Yuhao pointed forwards with his index finger, causing an icy-blue ray of light to suddenly sh in the sky, headed straight for the red figure.

    The temperature surrounding the red figure plummeted as a result of the extremely chilling feeling Huo Yuhao was emitting. Perhaps because it felt danger approaching it, the red figure struggled violently. Closely following that, the loud and clear cry of a phoenix abruptly rang out.

    An enormous phoenix floated up from beneath the figure, along with six soul rings¡ªtwo yellow, two purple and two ck. Soul Emperor rank!

    Among the six soul rings, the second, third, and sixth soul rings all shone at the same time. The me behind the figure turned dark red almost instantly. A thread of fire that was as thin as a finger was spouted from the phoenix¡¯s mouth, colliding with the ice-blue light that had been shot out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s index finger.

    ¡°Chi chi¡ª¡ª¡± A series of strange sounds rang out. The thread of fire copsed almost instantly. The enormous phoenix abruptly pounced forwards, using its huge body to shield the red figure from the front.

    The fiery red figure rolled back along with the violent cry of the fire phoenix and, with an icy-blueyer covering them from head to toe, they immediately dropped straight into Sea God Lake in the distance.

    Huo Yuhao was just about to pursue and attack them, but halted his steps for a moment. The sound that had previously rung out rang once more. ¡°How annoying, someone else came. Huh, this small guy¡¯s physical fitness has improved very quickly! It seems that I can give him a bit more power already. Alright, I¡¯m fleeing.¡±

    The golden soul ring rapidly dulled back to a white soul ring and disappeared. All of the coldness in Huo Yuhao¡¯s surroundings also disappeared seemingly instantly. The water in theke rapidly reverted back to its original state. Huo Yuhao¡¯s white eyes that had been emitting a strong chill reverted back to normal. Finally, his body went limp, causing him to fall to the ground in exhaustion.

    Sea God Lake had just had frightening soulforce fluctuations a moment ago, but tranquility had already beenpletely restored. Only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were left, copsed and unconscious by the shore.

    In the distance, more than ten silhouettes were headed straight for them from the depths of Sea God Lake at an astonishing speed. It only took a couple seconds for them to arrive at the shore.

    ¡°This is bad. Students from the outer courtyard were injured.¡± A white-clothed old man was the one leading the group. He suddenly strode over in mid-air and, as if he¡¯d just teleported through space, arrived at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s side. He extended both his hands, and both of their bodies immediately floated upwards.

    ¡°Fortunately, it seems that they¡¯ve only fainted. They haven¡¯t sustained any injuries. Teacher Li, please provide them with some medical treatment.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Another white-clothed middle-aged person hastily stepped forwards, taking charge of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. If Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still conscious, they would¡¯ve immediately recognised this Teacher Li aas the Soul Sage-ranked master who¡¯d utilised his martial soul¡ªThe Tree of Life¡ªon them yesterday, and had conducted a full-scale recovery on the entire ss.

    His soul rings quickly rose up, and hoops of green light revolved around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies, quietly infiltrating their bodies. A miraculous scene appeared: The wilted nts in their surroundings had actually started to rapidly recover at an astonishing speed. One could also faintly see that therge-scale vegetation that surrounded the Sea God Lake was emitting faint green rays of light. These faint green rays of light were surging towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies, slowly soaking into them.

    ¡°Xiao Tao is over here.¡±

    The crashing sound of water rang out, and a white-clothed person fished out the figure d in red who¡¯d previously fallen into Sea God Lake.

    The person d in red was already drenched from head to toe, revealing a lithe and graceful figure. Looking at the figure¡¯s appearance, the person actually seemed to be a woman.

    The white-clothed old man went around to her side. He pressed her right hand to his shoulder and could see that rich white soulforce was surging into the woman¡¯s body at an astonishing speed.

    ¡°Strange!¡± The white-clothed old man furrowed his brow, as if there was something that he couldn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Teacher Li, what¡¯s the situation with these two students from the outer courtyard?¡± He turned his head and asked the teacher who was currently treating Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The person known as Teacher Li said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. They¡¯ll be waking up very soon.¡±

    The white-clothed old man heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Thank goodness we didn¡¯t make a serious mistake. It seems that Xiao Tao still managed to retain some of her consciousness. Teacher Li, send these two students back and repeatedly warn them to forget what they saw. If they divulge this matter to others, they¡¯ll be expelled. Give them a high grade aspensation. We¡¯re heading back.¡±

    Thest three words were directed towards the others. He carried the woman d in red, and as his silhouette flickered, he turned into a ray of white light as he headed towards the depths of Sea God Lake.

    In the moment that Huo Yuhao fainted and fell to the ground, he was no longer able to see anything on the outside with his consciousness. Naturally, he also didn¡¯t know what happened after he fainted either.

    ¡°You managed to disturb Elder Brother¡¯s sleep so quickly! How annoying!¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice resounded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao dazedly asked, ¡°Brother Skydream, you were the one who made that move just now?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Of course it was this brother who did it! If not, you would¡¯ve already be a dried up, baked person! That person¡¯s fire attribute is truly very strong; she actually possesses the blood of a Phoenix Godbeast! If not, this Brother¡¯s finger would¡¯ve annihted her. But, no matter. She should¡¯ve lost consciousness already. That me of hers seems to be slightly demonic. However, this Brother didn¡¯t eat all that ten thousand year Ice Pith for nothing. Her powers are still far fromparable to mine. Little Yuhao, your cultivation has been very sessful. Your physical fitness has increased significantly. The first seal of the ten seals that I left in your body has already been cracked open.¡±

 Chapter 14.3: Skydream Points

    Chapter 14.3: Skydream Points

    ¡°Really?¡± Huo Yuhao was overjoyed. Ever since he¡¯de to Shrek Academy, he¡¯d started to understand how insignificant he was. After meeting so many experts, his thirst for strength had grown even greater. However, due to his poor talent, he could only secretly work even harder. Now, even the Skydream Iceworm had praised him, so how could he not be happy?

    The Skydream Iceworm spoke with a very depressed tone. ¡°However, this Brother has used some of his Origin Energy. This is my Origin Consciousness, which can also be considered the intelligence that¡¯s been added onto your soul ring. It¡¯s because of this that I was able to protect your body before using my power. Furthermore, after that attack, your body won¡¯t be able to be possessed by me for at least a year. You¡¯ll have to be extremely careful. If you meet another undefeatable enemy like this one, we¡¯re both finished. Okay, I won¡¯t tarry on any longer. I¡¯m going to keep sleeping. You have to quickly work harder. Once you¡¯ve gotten a second soul ring, you won¡¯t have to constantly bother this Brother anymore.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was always rushed whenever he appeared. Huo Yuhao had originally nned to ask him a few questions regarding the control of his soul skills, but the Skydream Iceworm already fallen back into a deep sleep, and everything surrounding him had turned dark.

    ¡­¡­

    Wang Dong was the first one to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white-clothed middle-aged man in front of him. However, before he could speak, Huo Yuhao, who was to his side, let out a muffled groan and slowly opened his eyes.

    Because he wasn¡¯t as clear as Huo Yuhao regarding the general situation, Wang Dong¡¯s mind was nk. He angrily said, ¡°Just what¡¯s going on? What was that monster earlier?¡±

    The white-clothed middle-aged man indifferently replied, ¡°You¡¯re both fine now. About the thing that you guys just saw, please forget about it. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be expelled from the academy. I¡¯ll give you two these aspensation. I believe that you¡¯re both smart people.¡± As he spoke, he threw two green objects towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The two subconsciously raised their hands to catch them. At the same time, the white-clothed middle-aged man had already risen up into the sky, and was flying towards Sea God Lake. ¡°Go to ss. Remember, it¡¯s best that you forget everything you just saw.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other. They were left in a daze for quite a while.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, what do you think¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Dong asked him in a low voice.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It seems like we¡¯vee across a madman.¡±

    Wang Dong lowered his head to see what the green object in his hand was, and immediately became stunned. Following that, his face became filled with a happy expression. ¡°Wah, we¡¯ve struck gold! It¡¯s a Soul Advancement Pill! It¡¯s actually a Soul Advancement Pill.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked towards the green lump in his hand with puzzlement. It was a green pill that was about the size of a walnut, and it was releasing a faint fragrant odor. Its surface was dark-green in colour, and there seemed to be a faint halo of light circting within it. It was sparkling and translucent, and was also filled with an aura of life.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Soul Advancement Pill? Is it a type of pill, like the Mysterious Water Pill?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Yeah! Furthermore, it¡¯s a pill that¡¯s of the same rank as the Mysterious Water Pill! However, the Mysterious Water Pill is a bit more precious than the Soul Advancement Pill because it has a cleansing effect on one¡¯s muscles and marrow. But, to soul masters above the thirtieth rank, whose muscles and marrow have already been thoroughly cleansed, the Soul Advancement Pill is better than the Mysterious Water Pill. Due to this, the price of the two pills are about the same. You have to take care of it. It¡¯s supposedly extremely hard to refine this sort of pill. I didn¡¯t expect that teacher to give us something so extraordinary as hush money. I¡¯ve decided to forget everything that I saw earlier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked impatiently, ¡°Can you speak more clearly? Just what use does this Soul Advancement Pill have?¡±

    Wang Dong let out a cunningugh and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not telling! Beg me!¡± After he finished his sentence, he turned around and ran towards the freshmen¡¯s school building.

    Huo Yuhao was left speechless. After carefully putting the Soul Advancement Pill into his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, he chased after Wang Dong. While running, he shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll just ask my eldest senior brother. He definitely knows what it does. If you tell me now, I¡¯ll treat you to lunch.¡±

    Wang Dong slowed down and waited for him to catch up. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be eating something tasty.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took out all of his savings and said, ¡°I¡¯m a homeless orphan anyway. These are all of my savings, do whatever you want with them.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned for a moment. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re an orphan?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

    Wang Dong spoke again, ¡°The reason that you don¡¯t even have any bedding on your bed, isn¡¯t it because you just want to assiduously cultivate? Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re simply not willing to spend money on some bedding?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It¡¯s because I feel that having some money left to eat with is more important than buying bedding. The food in the canteen is rather expensive after all.¡±

    Wang Dong unwittingly stopped, causing Huo Yuhao to naturally stop along with him. ¡°What¡¯re you doing? It¡¯s almost time for ss. We need to hurry up.¡±

    Wang Dong pursed his lips tightly and stared at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao, who was currently being stared at, felt goosebumps rise on his back. ¡°What¡¯s happened to you? Was your brain fried by that guy earlier?¡±

    Wang Dong inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that you were an orphan. I shouldn¡¯t have bullied you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Your bullying didn¡¯t work, did it?¡±

    Wang Dong somewhat resentfully pped his shoulder. ¡°Can you not interrupt me when I¡¯m in the middle of feeling moved? Let¡¯s hurry to ss. I¡¯ll pay for your meals from now on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to. Teacher Xiao Ya found a way for me to make some money. From now on, I¡¯ll be selling roasted fish everyday after school. That¡¯ll be enough for me to get my living expenses. I¡¯ll treat you to some roasted fishter tonight.¡±

    As he spoke, the two walked towards the freshmen¡¯s school building. As they walked, Wang Dong exined the use of the Soul Advancement Pill to him.

    The main use of the Soul Advancement Pill was to increase one¡¯s soulforce; it was refined from a few heavenly treasures. Soul master could only use a single Soul Advancement Pill during their entire lifetime, and the increase in soulforce one would receive from the pill was roughly equivalent to the soulforce that a soul master at the thirtieth rank needed to advance to the thirty-first rank. This was a pill that could raise one¡¯s soulforce by an entire rank! This was truly something that was hard toe by. However, one¡¯s future cultivation potential would be affected if more than one were taken.

    Furthermore, the Soul Advancement Pill and the Mysterious Water Pill were somewhat simr, as their main function was to stimte a person¡¯s potential to provide more nourishment to the body. Because of this, their medicinal properties were rtively gentle; soul masters that were only above the tenth rank could consume them.

    ¡°Then, howrge would the increase in my soulforce be if I were to eat it now?¡± Huo Yuhao asked probingly.

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never heard of anyone willing to eat it at the twelfth rank. No matter how highly ranked an auction is, this pill is always considered a good thing. Moreover, very few people will choose to sell it. Supposedly, only an extremely small number of nt-type soul masters can refine it, and a year¡¯s supply won¡¯t exceed twenty. This time, we really had some crappy luck. It seems that the school is fair, as even though that fellow threatened our lives, we still got something this good.¡±

    Unlike Wang Dong, who was praising the school for giving them the pill, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t too happy. This was because he clearly knew how he and Wang Dong would¡¯ve been charcoal right now, were it not for the existence of the Skydream Iceworm. Even if they were to receive a pill then, it wouldn¡¯t be of any use to them.

 Chapter 14.4: Skydream Points

    Chapter 14.4: Skydream Points

    ¡°Then, when is the best time to eat it, in your opinion?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Obviously, when we get back to our dorm tonight. You can¡¯t just put a good thing like this away. Furthermore, it¡¯s best to increase your cultivation earlier, so that you can reach rank thirty earlier. If I¡¯d had a third soul ring today, I wouldn¡¯t have been so passive, at the very least. There wouldn¡¯t have been any problems with me flying into the air with you either.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought about it for a while, before deciding to eat the Soul Advancement Pill once he got back home tonight. The stronger the soulforce he supplied his Mysterious Heaven Skill with, the stronger its nourishing effect would be on his passageways. Hence, increasing his soulforce was naturally a good thing for him. However, he didn¡¯t know how great an increase in soulforce the Soul Advancement Pill would provide. The soulforce needed for one to advance to the thirty-first rank from the thirtieth rank could increase his soulforce by two, or even three ranks at the very minimum. If that was the case, his cultivation would end up around the the fifteenth rank, which meant that it¡¯d be in ordance with the minimum cultivation level normally needed to enter Shrek Academy.

    When his train of thought reached this point, Huo Yuhao immediately felt a wave of passion surge through his heart. Even though he didn¡¯t feel inferior his ssmates, he was still filled with a sense of danger. With his original level of talent, the first round of assessments for freshmen would¡¯ve been extremely hard for him to pass. However, hisrge increase in cultivation during the past two days had given him some hope. No matter what, he had to stay in Shrek Academy.

    Compared to Zhou Yi¡¯s ss yesterday, today¡¯s sses were¡ªat least to the students¡ªsimply too rxed. Both their morning and afternoon sses were on theory. The morning ss was about the ssification of martial souls, while the afternoon ss was about distinguishing a soul beast¡¯s age.

    Since most of the students were familiar with what was being covered in the two sses already, they didn¡¯t pay them much attention. However, Huo Yuhao was different; he listened to the teacher with rapt attention. What hecked wasn¡¯t just talent and cultivation, but knowledge too.

    Sure enough, Wang Dong treated him to a good meal for lunch. Once he¡¯d finished his afternoon ss, Tang Ya came over to him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Little Yuhao. I¡¯ve prepared everything for you once again. Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Xiao Ya will stay by your side and protect you today. Let¡¯s see what idiot dares to bully you with me around. Right, your eldest senior brother asked me to give this to you when I saw you. Eat it when you get back to your dorm room tonight.¡±

    Whilst speaking, Tang Ya handed a porcin bottle to Huo Yuhao.

    The onlooking Wang Dong¡¯s eyes immediately widened when he saw this. He¡¯d seen this same porcin bottle yesterday! It was the same one that Bei Bei had taken a Mysterious Water Pill out of to feed Huo Yuhao before. It was the exact same one!

    This¡­ was this a second Mysterious Water Pill?! The Mysterious Water Pill was different from the Soul Advancement Pill; it didn¡¯t have any restrictions on how many times it could be used. However, the first pill¡¯s effects would be the best, while those of any pills taken afterwards would progressively decline. After all, there was still a limit to the impurities each person had within their bodies. The increase in soulforce wouldn¡¯t be as great as a Soul Advancement Pill either.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, have you thought about my issue?¡± Wang Dong asked Tang Ya, a fervent expression on his face.

    Tang Ya giggled and replied, ¡°I talked to Bei Bei about it. Bei Bei said that, if you¡¯re able to obtain first ce in the first freshmen assessment, you¡¯ll be qualified to join our Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s a deal.¡± Wang Dong replied without any hesitation at all. The benefits for joining the Tang Sect were simply too good! Huo Yuhao had just received two Mysterious Water Pills in front of him! Although he knew that his talent was exceptional, and that he didn¡¯t have any use for the Mysterious Water Pill, who knew whether or not the Tang Sect had better things? However, the reason that he wanted to join the Tang Sect wasn¡¯t due to its benefits.

    Huo Yuhao epted the porcin bottle and put it into his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges without asking any questions. Afterwards, he followed Tang Ya out of the academy.

    Wang Dong hurriedly caught up to them and said, ¡°I¡¯m going too! Huo Yuhao, no matter how you look at it, we¡¯re roommates. I¡¯ll buy two of your roasted fish to help your business out a bit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you.¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°How can I do that? Friends are friends, business is business. I don¡¯t need you to treat me, I can afford to buy them.¡± As he spoke, he fished out a silver soul coin and forcefully shoved it into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    He originally thought that he was helping Huo Yuhao, but when the three of them walked through the academy¡¯s gates, Wang Dong realised that he¡¯d actually taken advantage of Huo Yuhao.

    There were more than thirty people waiting outside for Huo Yuhao to roast fish, of the most eye-catching person of them being Xu Sanshi, who¡¯d lost to Bei Bei yesterday in the Soul Duelling Competition.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment when he saw Xu Sanshi. However, Tang Ya immediately stepped forward bravely. ¡°What, you¡¯re not able to ept your loss? How about I follow you to the Soul Duelling Area today?¡±

    Xu Sanshi unhappily replied, ¡°You? Save it. I don¡¯t hit women. Stop trying to stir up trouble with me. I¡¯m here today to buy some roasted fish, not to cause trouble. Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m first in the queue?¡±

    When she heard what he had to say, Tang Ya¡¯s expression finally rxed. She asked, ¡°You¡¯re buying it for Jiang Nannan?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Xu Sanshi nodded his head.

    Tang Ya teasingly said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you were still so infatuated with her. What a pity that that she doesn¡¯t even like you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi angrily said, ¡°Tang Ya, don¡¯t provoke me! Your Bei Bei swindled me yesterday, yet I haven¡¯t even tried to settle my debts with you guys.¡±

    Tang Ya stuck her tongue out, then turned around and said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Little Yuhao, you should start now. Since someone gave you something good yesterday, you should sell him two roasted fish today.¡±

    After setting his grill up, Huo Yuhao began to sell his roasted fish at the entrance to Shrek Academy for the second time. However, he didn¡¯t sell the first two roasted fish to Xu Sanshi, as he didn¡¯t have a favourable opinion of this fellow who¡¯d made a move against him yesterday. Furthermore, Wang Dong had paid him first. Hence, the first two fish he roasted went to Wang Dong.

    The third and fourth went to Tang Ya.

    Only when Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression had turned increasingly dark, did he receive the fifth and sixth roasted fish. He threw his money towards Huo Yuhao and left.

    ¡°Delicious, this is really too delicious! Fish can actually be so fragrant?!¡± As Wang Dong ate, his eyes glowed. Whilst eating the roasted fish, his appearance becamepletely identical to Tang Ya¡¯s. By the time he¡¯d finished his fish, both his face and hands were dripping with oil.

    As Huo Yuhao continued to sell roasted fish by the entrance to Shrek Academy, a certain person in a secret room located on the central ind of the Sea God Lake gradually woke up from theiratose state.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The red-shirted woman¡¯s body moved a bit. She subconsciously covered her chest with her right hand and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m too hot, it¡¯s too unbearable¡­ I feel terrible¡­ huh?¡±

    She gradually opened her eyes, however her pupils were now faintly pink in colour; the bloody colour within her eyes had receded. There was also a trace of doubt in her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s strange, why isn¡¯t it hot anymore?¡±

    She suddenly sat up, subconsciously looking down at herself. Her originally sweat-drenched clothes had already dried. She jumped off the bed she¡¯d beenying on and took off the mask covering her face, revealing a somewhat pale, oval-shaped face. She looked to be about twenty or so, with her facial expression being slightly cold. However, it was still unable to conceal her beauty, which was peerless enough that it could move one¡¯s heart. As she stood there, she exposed her exciting figure which resembled a ripened peach.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± An aged voice rang out, before letting out a long sigh. ¡°Xiaotao, you almost made a huge mistake this time! I don¡¯t know whether or not it was destiny, but an otherworldly ice-type energy surged into your body, jolting the evil fire within your body. Can you remember anything you saw after you charged out from Sea God Lake?¡±

 Chapter 15.1: Three Months

    Chapter 15.1: Three Months

    The red-shirted woman was precisely the fire-type Soul Emperor that had nearly brought a cmity upon Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. If she really was as old as she looked, her talent had already reached a level that couldn¡¯t be described with the words ¡®extremely startling¡¯ anymore.

    Throughout the entire history of the Douluo Continent, even when the first soul masters had appeared, a twenty-year-old Soul Emperor could rank amongst the top in terms of talent; so much so that they could even bepared to Shrek Academy¡¯s first generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    The aged voice belonged to the white-clothed elder who¡¯d brought her back. When she heard his question, the red-shirted girl, who was named Xiaotao, nkly shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything except for a patch of red appearing in front of me. After that, I felt something life-threatening. I tried to resist, but after that, I woke up here¡­.¡±

    The white-clothed elder furrowed his brow and walked up to her. He spoke in a low voice, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you couldn¡¯t suppress the evil fire within your body? Aren¡¯t you aware that you almost caused a cmity? Two students from the outer courtyard almost died to your evil fire.¡±

    Xiaotao was dazed. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that it would be this serious. I thought that I could control it. But¡­.¡±

    The white-clothed elder let out a long sigh before saying, ¡°The longer you suppress it, the stronger it¡¯ll be when it erupts. Xiaotao, from now on, postpone your cultivation. Even if you¡¯re the most outstanding genius Shrek Academy has had in the past several hundred years, you can¡¯t destroy yourself for the sake of the school. If the evil fire destroys your consciousness in the future, your teacher will regret it for the rest of his life.¡±

    Xiaotao stubbornly replied, ¡°No, teacher. I want to cultivate. I guarantee that it won¡¯t happen again in the future. I can even feel that the evilness and heat from the evil fire have been suppressed. There definitely won¡¯t be any problems in the near future. It¡¯s just¡­ what kind of power was actually able to suppress my Evil Phoenix Fire?¡±

    The white-clothed elder spoke with a thoughtful tone, ¡°It¡¯s an extreme, peak-level ice-type energy. Its purity far exceeds that of your Evil Phoenix Fire, and somewhat resembles the Absolute Frost Breath of the Ancient Ice Dragons. It¡¯spletely suppressed the Evil Phoenix Fire¡¯s effects on your body¡ªfar more than any of the methods we¡¯ve used.¡±

    Xiaotao asked with a doubtful tone, ¡°However, it¡¯s simply impossible for it to be an Ancient Ice Dragon! Much less in our academy! Could it be someone who¡¯s infiltrated the academy?¡±

    The white-clothed elder shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent some people to investigate. I originally thought that it might have been some people from their families who¡¯d been sent to protect them, but after I investigated them, I discovered that that was impossible. They¡¯re called Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao is a special student from the Tang Sect, so I asked Bei Bei about him. He and Tang Ya met him in the Great Star Dou Forest, then brought him back with them. His talent is ordinary; he¡¯s even an orphan. There¡¯s no way that an expert would follow him around and protect him. On the other hand, Wang Dong has quite arge background. However, his background isn¡¯t specialised in ice-type martial souls. As for the academy itself, I¡¯ve asked around several times. There are many students and teachers with ice-type martial souls, but a peak-level ice-type martial soul like this has never been spotted amongst any of them before. It¡¯s truly strange.¡±

    Xiao Tao replied, ¡°Teacher, forget about it. You don¡¯t need to continue investigating it.¡±

    The white-clothed elder spoke, ¡°This matter concerns your future, how could I not be worried? If I can at least find the person who possesses this ice-type martial soul, and if he turns out to be male, I¡¯ll let you be a couple with him. That way, you¡¯ll be able to neutralise the negative effects brought about by the Evil Phoenix Fire within your body. That¡¯s the only way that you can truly soar into the heavens in the future. However right now, you¡¯repletely restricted. Not only has your cultivation speed decreased, even your life¡¯s at risk.¡±

    Xiaotao¡¯s charming face went red. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get married, much less to a person I don¡¯t like for the sake of his martial soul!¡±

    The white-clothed elder sighed. ¡°The problem is, your evil fire can¡¯t be restrained!¡±

    Xiaotao humphed and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll restrain it. I don¡¯t want to marry anyone!¡±

    The white-clothed elder said angrily, ¡°Ma Xiaotao, if you continue to be this unruly, I won¡¯t recognise you as a disciple anymore.¡±

    When Ma Xiaotao saw that the white-clothed elder was angry, she immediately began to behave. She proceeded to speak in an aggrieved tone, ¡°But, teacher I¡­.¡±

    The white-clothed elder rubbed her head. ¡°Foolish girl. Your emotions can be cultivated, but you only have one life to live, let alone how much talent you have. No matter what, teacher will make sure that you find a good partner.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Nannan, I brought some roasted fish from that kid from yesterday. Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t use any violent methods to obtain it. I queued up and bought it.¡± Xu Sanshi spoke with a polite tone as he stood in front of Jiang Nannan, who¡¯d nned to walk to the canteen.

    Jiang Nannan shook her head, ¡°No need, thank you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi probingly asked, ¡°Do you think I was too violent yesterday? Actually, I¡¯m not normally like that. It¡¯s just that, because of you, I¡­ Nannan, I know that you still hold a grudge against me because of what happened that time. But, couldn¡¯t our reunion at Shrek Academy be considered a sort of destiny? I really like you! I promise to be faithful to you until I die.¡±

    Jiang Nannan coldly replied, ¡°I remember telling you that we¡¯d take what we needed, then walk our separate ways after meeting that time. There¡¯s no chance that anything will happen between the two of us. Xu Sanshi, you¡¯re a high and lofty noble, why do you have to bother a little woman like me? I can¡¯t even give you anything. Please don¡¯t interfere with my life in the future. If you continue, I¡¯ll report it to the school. Also, please don¡¯t bully other students because of me.¡±

    When she finished speaking, she turned around to walk away. However, she was blocked by Xu Sanshi, who angrily said, ¡°Me, bully other students? Don¡¯t you know how badly that Bei Bei bullied me? The person roasting fish yesterday was his junior brother, which he then used as an excuse to swindle me out of two Mysterious Water Pills! Tang Ya even shot a Dragon Beard Needle into my waist, thus I have a huge bruise there now! Just what¡¯s wrong with me? You¡¯re not even willing to give me a chance.¡±

    Jiang Nannan coldly replied, ¡°You went to a ce like that at such a young age, so what¡¯s can be so ¡®good¡¯ about you?¡± When she finished speaking, she turned around and left. This time, she directly jumped up, her three yellow soul rings immediately lighting up. Her ears seemed to faintly elongate and prick up, while her body appeared to be even more slender. She pushed off the ground with her legs, and appeared ten metres away, before rapidly running away without turning back.

    As he gazed at her shrinking back, Xu Sanshi fell into a daze for a while. Afterwards, he fiercely bit off some of the roasted fish that he was holding. ¡°Xu Sanshi, you¡¯re such a loser. What¡¯s so amazing about this? I¡¯ll eat it myself. Eh? This roasted fish tastes quite delicious.¡±

 Chapter 15.2: Three Months

    Chapter 15.2: Three Months

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I didn¡¯t think that the quality of your roasted fish would be so high. How about this. After I treat you to dinner, you can treat me to some roasted fish. How does that sound?¡± Wang Dong spoke with an excited expression as he recalled the delicious fragrance of the roasted fish he¡¯d just eaten.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°You couldn¡¯t possibly want to eat roasted fish every night, could you? Even if it¡¯s as tasty as you say it is, you¡¯ll still get tired of it if you eat it too much.¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°No worries, I don¡¯t care. Let¡¯s talk about that when I¡¯ve managed to satisfy my cravings. It¡¯s settled; I want to eat four roasted fish tomorrow night! Two fishes just weren¡¯t enough to satisfy me! Besides, did you see how many people were in line today? I think that you should sell a few more fish, it doesn¡¯t waste too much time anyway. If you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll finish eating them before you¡¯ve even started selling them!¡±

    By this time, the two had already packed up and returned to their dormitory. Before returning to their rooms, they decided to head to the canteen to get some dinner.

    ¡°Wang Dong, since my eldest senior brother gave me another Mysterious Water Pill, do you think that I should eat it or the Soul Advancement Pill first?¡± Huo Yuhao took out the two pills and asked Wang Dong. Wang Dong was clearly more knowledgeable than him in the field of medicinal pills. After receiving the two pills, Huo Yuhao was truly feeling somewhat impatient. If he added the medicinal properties of the two pills to his own cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t be behind the other students in their ss anymore.

    Wang Dong thought for a while, before replying, ¡°I¡¯d rmend that you not be so eager to take these two pills; at least, for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Huo Yuhao asked with a puzzled expression.

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Think about it. You just used a Mysterious Water Pill yesterday. A lot of your body¡¯s impurities have already been flushed out. The medicinal efficacy of the Mysterious Water Pill will stay in your body for a period of time, but will be dissolved as you continue to meditate. If you take any other medicine right now, even though it¡¯ll still have some partial effects, you¡¯ll waste some of its medicinal power. The Mysterious Water Pill and the Soul Advancement Pill can both be described with the words ¡®Heavenly Treasure¡¯. Since you have such precious pills, you should naturally make full use of them. I suggest that you cultivate for around ten days or so; wait until your body has managed to fully absorb the effects of the first Mysterious Water Pill before you use the second one. You¡¯ll be able to improve your physique by a step, while increasing your soulforce at the same time. Once you¡¯ve finished absorbing the medicinal effects of the Mysterious Water Pills, both your physique and passageways will have had a ratherrge improvement. If you then use the Soul Advancement Pill¡ªsince your body will be free of obstructions¡ªyou¡¯ll naturally be able to obtain the greatest amount of benefits possible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt that Wang Dong¡¯s analysis was extremely reasonable. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m lucky that you told me about all of this now. If you hadn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have known how to use them effectively. What about you? Are you going to eat your¡¯s today?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m already at rank twenty one; my physique and passageways are in extremely good condition. It¡¯s naturally perfect for me to absorb the Soul Advancement Pill as soon as possible. When I eat it, I¡¯ll be able to dissolve its medicinal power in a single night. Hehe, I¡¯ll be at rank twenty two tomorrow, or possibly even rank twenty three! Didn¡¯t senior Xiao Ya say that she¡¯d let me enter the Tang Sect if I rank first in the freshmen¡¯s assessment? After eating this Soul Advancement Pill, I¡¯m even more certain that I¡¯ll be able to achieve first ce. Alright, I¡¯m going to start now. You should go and cultivate by yourself.¡±

    After he¡¯d finished speaking, he took out the walnut-sized Soul Advancement Pill and popped it into his mouth. He bit into it softly, causing an extremely strong fragrance to immediately gush out of the pill. Wang Dong inhaled softly, then immediately began to suck a green liquid out from the pill. He didn¡¯t even waste the pill¡¯s outer shell; he popped it into his mouth and chewed it a few times before swallowing it.

    At that moment, the dorm became suffused with a natural fragrance that resembled a cluster of ten thousand flowers. Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind felt refreshed, while all thirty-six thousand of his pores seemed to open up ordingly, causing a hard-to-describe stimtion to spread through his entire body. He didn¡¯t dare to waste any time, hurriedly sitting on the ground in a cross-legged position to take advantage of the fact that his soulforce had been adjusted to an optimum state for cultivation.

    After the baptism of the Mysterious Water Pill, cultivation was simply a form of pleasure for Huo Yuhao. He quickly entered a meditative state, then began to circte the Mysterious Heaven Technique without any obstructions. It permeated throughout his body while simultaneously increasing his soulforce slowly, albeit at a very stable rate.

    A faint jade light gradually started to emerge from Wang Dong¡¯s body, followed by the strong refreshing aura that was circting throughout the room. Some of it was absorbed by Huo Yuhao, but even more of it was inhaled by Wang Dong as he practiced his breathing exercises. Under the stimtion of the Soul Advancement Pill, his soulforce had begun to increase at a startling rate.

    ¡­¡­

    After the twists and turns that had urred to him two days ago, Huo Yuhao¡¯s school life started to calm down. Not only that, but he¡¯d gradually begun to gain some fame. Practically all of the students and teachers who¡¯d tried his roasted fish had unceasingly praised it.

    Huo Yuhao increased the number of fish he sold from twenty to thirty, but he was still far from satisfying the desires of the students and teachers. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to make any more, as he still needed most of his time for cultivation.

    For the sake of a single roasted fish, many students would rush out of the school once ss ended. Moreover, because of the high demand for his roasted fish, he had no choice but to impose a limit of one fish per person. However, although the demand for his roasted fish was as high as it was, Huo Yuhao never increased his price, causing him to receive unanimous positive reviews from the students. Furthermore, he even made several new friends.

    The number one beauty of the outer courtyard, Jiang Nannan, still ended up eating one of his roasted fish in the end, though she queued up by herself in order to buy it. However, the more interesting thing was that, even though Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t able to please Jiang Nannan with the roasted fish, he also liked its taste. Hence, he became one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s most faithful customers.

    In the blink of an eye, the first three months of school had passed. Under Zhou Yi¡¯s teaching, which was strict to the point of being perverted, ss 1 could be said to havepletely transformed. However, the upper echelon of the academy was slightly astonished by the fact that there were actually between sixty and seventy students left from the three month baptism of ss 1, which Zhou Yi had been in charge of. This was leagues apart from the school¡¯s one-third estimate.

    If one were to ask who¡¯d changed the most in all of ss 1 during these three months, the answer would undoubtedly be Huo Yuhao.

    When he entered the academy, his soulforce had merely been rank eleven. In addition to that, he¡¯d just obtained his soul ring. His strength had been absolutely deadst when ranked in the academy, without any suspense at all.

    However, after these three months, Huo Yuhao hadpletely changed. Furthermore, not one person had challenged him for his position as ss monitor since he¡¯d taken up the role.

    It wasn¡¯t because Huo Yuhao had used his strength to astonish everyone, or that no one could beat him. Instead, it was because his vigor had sparked the admiration of the students in ss 1. This was the main reason that two-thirds of the ss was able to persevere in ss 1, even under Zhou Yi¡¯s strict teaching.

    Huo Yuhao was truly too hard working. Practically all of the teachers who taught ss 1 knew of his existence. No matter when the ss was, nor what lesson was going on, there would always be a pair of eyes focused on the teacher for the duration of the entire lesson; the owner entirely focused on listening to the teacher¡¯s exnation.

 Chapter 15.3: Three Months

    Chapter 15.3: Three Months

    Neither talent nor his strength were that great. However, he was always the most attentive person in the ss.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s level of strictness was second to none in the academy, but not even she was able to find any faults with Huo Yuhao. Her long and cruel physical training was considered torment to students of the same age as him, yet not only had he persisted till the very end of every single training session, he even trained more at night.

    This was something that Zhou Yi had discovered one night, purely by chance. It just so happened that she needed to go and do something that day. By the time she returned to the academy, it was alreadyte at night. When she¡¯d walked past Shrek za, she¡¯d discovered¡ªto her astonishment¡ªa figure slowly running around the running track. Moreover, the soft nging of metal had even been ringing out.

    When she focused, she was able to see the figure of a shirtless, sweat-drenched person. The chainmail on his body had already been soaked with sweat, and every step he took was extremely heavy. Zhou Yi was even able to see the line of sweat that the figure had left behind on the ground.

    The figure, which wasn¡¯t very tall,yet had both steady and persistent footsteps, was precisely Huo Yuhao. Zhou Yi had been deeply stunned by his actions; he was actually giving himself extra training in the middle of the night!

    Zhou Yi had called out to Huo Yuhao in order to ask him what he was doing, to which Huo Yuhao had simply replied, ¡°Teacher, I have poor talent; I have to work slightly harder than the others. And, if I meditate after going through physical training, it seems to speed up a bit.¡±

    Zhou Yi somewhat suspected that Huo Yuhao had known that she was going out that day, which was why he¡¯d purposefully put on a show for her. However, she dismissed this thought not long after she¡¯d thought of it as, no matter if it was windy or rainy, a stealthy figure would always appear in Shrek za. His running sessions wouldst over four hours and, in addition to that, his chainmail had gradually split in two.

    When everything was said and done, this was still a school. Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t tell anyone, his actions were still found out by his ssmates. There were even a few students who tried to train with Huo Yuhao, but none of them were able tost longer than three days. They already had high-intensity sses during the daytime; if they continued to trainte at night, it would no longer be simple physical training. This was practically torturing one¡¯s own body!

    However, Huo Yuhao still managed to persevere with this torture to his own body. He made the impossible possible. His level of vigor received both the acknowledgement and admiration of every the students in their ss. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao managed to forcefully persevere for an entire three months despite Zhou Yi¡¯s harsh requirements, allowing him to be one of the sixty-seven freshmen left in ss 1 .

    ¡®Hard work can make up for one¡¯s deficiencies.¡¯ These are very simple words, but how many people can truly make them a reality?

    And yet, Huo Yuhao had done it. Thus, he¡¯d reaped the benefits of his hard work. Make no mistake, the main reason for his cultivation increasing by such arge amount within such a short period was still because of the two Mysterious Water Pills and the Soul Advancement Pill. However, he hadn¡¯t just increased his soulforce. He¡¯d had aprehensive improvement. It didn¡¯t matter if it was his knowledge, or his various skills; he¡¯d ¡®shed his mortal body and bones¡¯ during the past three months.

    He¡¯d originally been slightly shorter than Wang Dong, but his height was now roughly the same as Wang Dong¡¯s. His body had also be much more rugged. He didn¡¯t have any exaggerated muscles, but if he were to expose his upper body, you would clearly be able to see that it had be well-proportioned. Every single one of his muscles seemed to be filled with an abundant amount of power.

    Most importantly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s physique had undergone a heaven-defying change during the past three months. This sort of change was due to both internal and external factors; it absolutely wasn¡¯t just caused by the two Mysterious Water Pills.

    Since he¡¯d obtained a special understanding of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, Huo Yuhao made sure to report it to Tang Ya and Bei Bei. However, the two of them weren¡¯t able to replicate the passageway-nourishing energy that he¡¯d found.

    The reason that Huo Yuhao had trained his bodyte into the night was because the nourishing effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique would appear whenever his stamina and soulforce werepletely exhausted. The intangible changes that were caused by the nourishing effect he felt every time it urred caused his passageways to expand slightly, but the feeling gradually grew weaker as time passed. However, his cultivation speed was increased by an enormous amount as a result.

    When Huo Yuhao took the second Mysterious Water Pill, his cultivation speed became seven times faster than it¡¯d been at the start. At the same time, the impurities within his body were one step closer to being entirely expelled. After the past three months of cultivation, his body¡¯s passageways been broadened unceasingly, and had be much more durable. As of now, his cultivation speed was ten times faster than at the start! This was an astonishing increase in cultivation speed!

    When Huo Yuhao has used the second Mysterious Water Pill, his soulforce had increased by a full rank, bringing him to straight to the peak of the thirteenth rank from the peak of the twelfth rank. After he¡¯d used a period of time to adjust his body¡¯s condition, he¡¯d taken the Soul Advancement Pill. Sure enough, the resulting increase in soulforce brought about by it was even more impressive: Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce rose three consecutive ranks, before finally smashing through the fourth¡¯s bottleneck, resulting in his soulforce reaching the seventeenth rank.

    Now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had reached the average level of the other students in his ss. The most praise-worthy thing about this, was that he¡¯d relied on his own cultivation to do so. During these past three months, his soulforce had continued to increase; he¡¯d reached the peak of the seventeenth rank, and was close to breaking through to the eighteenth tank. This was still due to the fact that he¡¯d had to stabilise his foundation after using medicine for his previous breakthroughs. It could definitely be said that his current degree of talent was no longer that of the trash-like degree he¡¯d had when he¡¯d just entered Shrek Academy.

    ¡°We¡¯ll stop today¡¯s physical training here.¡± As Zhou Yi stood behind the teaching tform, her aged face remained indifferent. However, as long as her ss was still going on, practically every single student would sit perfectly straight; no one would dare to make any sort of strange movements.

    ¡°As of today, three months have passed since you started school. You¡¯re all about to face your first assessment since entering Shrek Academy. If you pass this examination, you¡¯ll formally be first-year students, and will truly be students of Shrek Academy. If nothing unexpected happens, you¡¯ll be able to continue cultivating within the academy until your first year graduation exam at the very least. The assessment will begin tomorrow, so I¡¯d first like to discuss the main points of the assessment.¡±

    It was rare for Zhou Yi¡¯s voice to be as soft as it was. As she swept her gaze across the sixty-seven students beneath her, she was actually extremely pleased with them. Perhaps the quality of this batch of students might not be stronger than the previous batch of students, but after three months of teaching, their willpower absolutely surpassed any previous year¡¯s group that Zhou Yi had taught. To Zhou Yi, this was definitely an unexpected surprise. As the ss monitor, Huo Yuhao had yed the role of an extremely important role model.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Present.¡± Huo Yuhao instantly stood up and respectfully replied.

    After three months, Huo Yuhao¡¯s respect for Zhou Yi absolutely came from his heart, and it wasn¡¯t because of her strength. Although Zhou Yi frequently came up with some strange ways to teach, and had even tormented them to the point of them wanting to die, it had to be said that her teaching abilities were extraordinarily strong. Furthermore, these strange things that she¡¯d done had had a much greater effect on them than they could¡¯ve imagined. Because of this, not only had the students of ss 1 had a great change in their psychological state, but the ones who were left after thest three months had an aura as firm as a boulder around them.

 Chapter 15.4: Three Months

    Chapter 15.4: Three Months

    Huo Yuhao had observed the students from the other sses, but he hadn¡¯t been able to sense the same sort of temperament from them. It was just as Bei Bei had said: Even though Zhou Yi was a very strict teacher, one would definitely be an outstanding student, or even a true expert in the future, so long as that person could persevere through her sses.

    Zhou Yi beckoned towards Huo Yuhao, causing him to hurriedly walk towards the teaching tform and take a stack of papers from her. He didn¡¯t need Zhou Yi to tell him what to do, as he quickly handed them out to every single student in the ss.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°After the freshmen assessment ends, your sses will be in line with your abilities. Write down the direction you wish for your future cultivation to go, and give it back to meter.¡±

    The direction she was referring to was organized as such: Assault, Defense, Control, and Auxiliary. These were the four types of soul masters. During the first three months of teaching, everyone would be together in the same ss. However, once the true freshman sses had started, everyone had to be separated. After all, the difference in cultivation paths between soul masters from different categories was extremelyrge.

    After Huo Yuhao had returned to his seat, he was the first one to write down which direction he was going to follow. He naturally wrote down the words ¡®Control System Soul Master¡¯, before signing the bottom of the page with his own name. However, he didn¡¯t notice that Wang Dong, who was sitting next to him, had nced at the contents of his page before writing down his own.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°You¡¯re all students that I¡¯ve taught. Even though you¡¯ll be split into different sses after this assessment, I hope you brats won¡¯t forget the things that I¡¯ve taught you. Hand your papers back to me after ss. Now then, I¡¯ll go over the main points of the freshman assessment.¡±

    As she was speaking, Zhou Yi turned around and walked back to the ckboard. She then drew a few lines, and proceeded to write the word ¡®Battle¡¯ in the middle of the ckboard.

    ¡°Battle. That¡¯s right, you¡¯ll have to fight in the freshmen assessment. Furthermore, it¡¯s a battle that everyone has to participate in. I know, the tool soul masters amongst you lot, and especially the auxiliary and food system ones, will find this very strange. ¡®Why do you have to participate in the fight as well?¡¯ Well, you didn¡¯t hear me wrongly. You all have to appear on the battlefield too, just like the battle soul masters. Even though Shrek Academy educates all types of talented soul masters, your ability on the battlefield is still the most important thing. I told you all this once before, on the day that school started. Ever since the appearance of soul tools, the line dividing the types of soul masters has begun to blur. Even if you¡¯re an auxiliary or food system tool soul master, you¡¯ll still be able to explode with an extremely strongbat power by relying on soul tools. However, where will yourbat instinctse from? Don¡¯t tell me that a soul master can just be given a soul tool, and will then be magically able to survive by dim-wittedly standing around on the battlefield? Obviously not. Yourbat instincts have honed from real battles. Because of this, all of you will have to undergo thisbat assessment.¡±

    ¡°Of course, the academy naturally won¡¯t allow auxiliary system tool soul masters to fight with assault system battle soul masters, that¡¯s just too unfair to you lot. As such, the freshmen assessment will be conducted using a form of team battles. However, there won¡¯t be too many people in a team. Ultimately, the academy has decided that this year, there will be three people per team. This is a rather high number for people at your age to attempt to synergize well with. When you¡¯re making your groups, you can only have one assault system soul master at most, while your other two team members can be chosen as you wish. We¡¯ll first put students who are in the same dorm room together into teams, and let you make the rest of your teams as you wish. As for people who aren¡¯t able to join a team, we¡¯ll draw lots to decide your teams. If you wait a moment, I¡¯ll give you a rather rational n to create your own teams.¡±

    ¡°The freshmen assessment will be conducted with every single student from the entire year participating, as the number of students who¡¯ve joined Shrek Academy year is quiterge. This time, there¡¯ll be a total of almost three hundred teams of students participating in the freshman assessment, but only half of them will be able to remain in the academy, which also means that only the top one hundred and fifty teams will pass. This ranking will be based off of how many points you umte in your battles.¡±

    ¡°Your matches will be organized via lot drawing, with every team having to fight in at least ten matches. Finally, a ranking will be created based off of the number of matches you¡¯ve won. Of them, the top sixty-four will have a knockout round, with the top four teams in each getting a different prize. The prize for the champion will be extremely precious.¡±

    Every student in the room was listening with rapt attention. To them, the freshman assessment was the key that decided whether or not they could stay in the academy. If they were eliminated, they could only return and choose another sub-first ranked college. If they did, they might not be able to ever be a pinnacle expert on the Douluo Continent. They¡¯d already worked hard for three months; nobody wished to get eliminated at this point in their studies.

    Zhou Yi indifferently said, ¡°Our ss currently has sixty-seven people, thus we can make twenty-two teams, with one person remaining. I¡¯ll divide all of you up ording to your martial souls, and after doing some careful analysis, I¡¯ll help you make your teams. If anyone isn¡¯t satisfied, you can change your teammates after returning to your dorm. However, if no one disagrees when we register tomorrow morning, then you¡¯ll have to strictly follow my arrangements. If you do, I think you¡¯re all pretty clear on what¡¯ll happen.¡±

    ¡°Song Qinghan.¡± Zhou Yi said in a low voice.

    ¡°Present.¡± A somewhat small student quickly stood up. He¡¯d never been too conspicuous within the ss, so he clearly hadn¡¯t thought that Zhou Yi would call him out first.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Every teacher in charge of a freshman ss can propose that a student directly pass the assessment. The person that I¡¯m choosing is you. After observing you for a while, I believe that you¡¯re the most suitable to join the Soul Engineering Institution and continue cultivating. Do you have any problems with that? Right now, you have two choices. You can either join to the Soul Engineering Institution, or you can pack your bags.¡±

    Overbearing, she was truly too overbearing. Every single student within the ss simultaneously looked over at Song Qinghan.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to go to the Soul Engineering Institution. Thank you, Teacher Zhou.¡± Song Qinghan didn¡¯t resist Zhou Yi¡¯s overbearingness at all, excitedly jumping up and down. The reason that he¡¯d came to Shrek Academy had been to enter the Soul Engineering Institution in the first ce!

    Zhou Yi gestured for him to sit back down. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll be splitting you into teams. The first team is Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong practically stood up at the same time. They¡¯d originally been willing to form a team anyway, but when they heard Zhou Yi personally group them together, they looked at each other and were able to see the happiness reflected in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The other person who stood up with them was a female student who sat in the front row. She wasn¡¯t tall. In fact she was quite small, just like Song Qinghan. She didn¡¯t particrly stand out in the ss, either. Her various abilities seemed to rank amongst the middle of the ss.

    The little girl wasn¡¯t especially beautiful, but she had a delicate and pretty look, and could at least be appreciated. Her face had a hint of bashfulness when she turned around. However, her gaze directly went right past Huo Yuhao andnded on Wang Dong¡¯s increasingly handsome face. Her face reddened, before she turned back around and lowered her head.

    ¡°For the second team, we¡¯ll have Zi Hao, Ma Qingshuang, and Leng Leng.¡±

    ¡°For the third team, ¡­.¡±

    Zhou Yi looked and sounded very overbearing, but after she¡¯d finished announcing the division of the teams, every student in the ss seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden.

    As Huo Yuhao coolly observed the ss, he couldn¡¯t help but let out an inward sigh of admiration. Even if Teacher Zhou normally had a cold expression on her face, and was very strict, in reality, she thoroughly understood every single one of her students. These groups had clearly been thoroughly thought out by her.

 Chapter 16.1: Freshman Examination

    Chapter 16.1: Freshman Examination

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s that. If you have any suggestions, you¡¯d best bring them up quickly. I¡¯ll give you a day to think about it. The other sses are also splitting up into teams, but they definitely won¡¯t be as quick as you lot. Let them dawdle around and waste more of their time. When you return that piece of paper to me, you can be dismissed. When you get back, make sure to have a good rest. Nobody¡¯s allowed to go around and start a mess. The freshman assessment will start tomorrow, and my goal is for all twenty-two of your teams to pass. If anyone gets eliminated, they won¡¯t just have to pack their bags and leave. I¡¯ll make sure to give you some memories that you¡¯ll never forget.¡±

    When the students of ss 1 saw Zhou Yi¡¯s gaze, which had suddenly be heavy, they couldn¡¯t help but fiercely shiver. There was no question about what sort of memories Zhou Yi would leave behind; they would probably be a nightmare for them.

    The entirety of ss 1 suddenly filled with a murderous look for a moment. Even if it was just for the sake of not being abused by Teacher Zhou, they wanted to do their best to pass the assessment!

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, you three stay behind for a bit.¡±

    When the other students handed over the white pieces of paper that had their future direction of cultivation written on it, they left the ssroom to walk back to their dorms. The only people left behind in the ssroom was Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of three. At this time, the other sses were still enthusiastically exining the division of teams for the freshman assessment.

    ¡°Alright, give it to me. What¡¯re you hiding Wang Dong?¡± Zhou Yi took the three pieces of paper from Huo Yuhao¡¯s group. Wang Dong immediately lowered his head and quietly took a few steps back, hiding behind Huo Yuhao.

    As Zhou Yi looked at the three pieces of paper in front of her, the corners of her eyes twitched. Afterwards, she raised her head and looked towards Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.

    When Zhou Yi looked at them with that sharp gaze of hers, the three of them felt as if their bodies had been impaled.

    ¡°Alright! You three, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got.¡± She picked up one of the sheets of paper, then mmed it down onto the table.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three simultaneously shivered.

    ¡°Control System.¡± Zhou Yi said coldly.

    Afterwards, she took the second piece of paper and pped it heavily onto the table.

    ¡°Control System!¡± Her voice had clearly gotten louder by quite a bit. Huo Yuhao was somewhat astonished as he looked at Wang Dong beside him. There was no doubt about it, this second piece of paper belonged to him!

    ¡°Bang¡ª!¡± Zhou Yi¡¯sst p nearly crushed the teaching tform. ¡°And Control System.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± This time, it was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s turn to be astonished. The two cast their gaze towards Xiao Xiao, who currently had her head lowered and was fiddling with the corner of her shirt. From their first impression of her, Xiao Xiao should¡¯ve been an auxiliary system tool soul master! How had she turned into a control system soul master?

    The corner of Zhou Yi¡¯s mouth twitched following the twitching of her eye. ¡°Are you three brats doing this on purpose? Although the freshman assessment limits each team to having a single assault system soul master, it also states that you can¡¯t all have the same cultivation direction. You three are really good, eh? You¡¯ve all decided to be control system soul masters. Are you doing this on purpose? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that thepetition was starting tomorrow, I would¡¯ve made you run ten hours in a row to clear your minds. Huo Yuhao, you can be the first to tell me what¡¯s going on. What¡¯s gotten into you? That spiritual-type martial soul of yours is extremely suitable as an auxiliary-type! What¡¯s the meaning behind you bing a control system soul master?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hastily replied, ¡°Teacher Zhou, I¡¯ve always hoped that I could be a control system soul master. My Spiritual Detection can survey the entire state of the battlefield, and in addition to that, some of the future soul rings that my Spirit Eyes absorb will definitely have a few attack-type soul skills. Because of that, I don¡¯t want to be a simple auxiliary-type soul master. Being a control-type soul master should be more suitable for my future growth.¡±

    Zhou Yi slowly nodded her head and said, ¡°You have a point; control system soul masters have better future prospects than auxiliary-type ones. The choice that you¡¯ve made isn¡¯t exactly wrong. I¡¯ll consider you to have passed. Wang Dong, why are you hiding? Come on out. Even though Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao wrote down the words ¡®control system¡¯, they¡¯re still a bit reasonable. But what about you? You, an assault system soul master, writing down the words ¡®control system¡¯¡­ are you deliberately looking for trouble?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­.¡± Wang Dong carefully took a step back from behind Huo Yuhao and spoke with a self-mocking smile on his face, ¡°Teacher Zhou, please don¡¯t be angry. Honestly, I don¡¯t think that it¡¯spletely impossible for me to be a control system soul master with my strength. Right, I want to rely on my attack power to control the entire battlefield. Isn¡¯t that a type of ¡®control¡¯? Furthermore, I can fly andunch long-range attacks. It¡¯s shouldn¡¯t be impossible for me to control the battlefield this way, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhou Yi was almost angered to the point ofughing. Her eyes contained profundities as she stared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know your real reasoning. You just don¡¯t want to be split up with Huo Yuhao. I¡¯ll just call you foolish for that. You clearly have the highest cultivation in the entire ss, yet you¡¯re barely enough to be called a genius. You¡¯re smart, yet how you can be stupid to be point of being a drooling idiot? Just when have you ever seen an assault system and control system soul master split up? You¡¯re right, they¡¯ll be in different sses. However, assault system and control system soul masters are always together! You idiot! Change it for me right now!¡±

    As soon as she finished speaking, she threw the piece of paper in her hand back towards Wang Dong.

    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Although he¡¯d been scolded and called an idiot, Wang Dong still seemed excited. He quickly changed the words ¡®control system¡¯ to ¡®assault system¡¯, before respectfully handing the paper back to Zhou Yi.

    ¡°Humph!¡± Zhou Yi snorted angrily. She directed her gaze towards Xiao Xiaost. ¡°What about you, Xiao Xiao? If I¡¯m not mistaken, your martial soul is the extremely rare Soulcrush Cauldron, which can be considered a top-ranked martial soul. The main effect of the Soulcrush Cauldron is to assist someone else; why did you put down the words ¡®control system¡¯?¡±

    Xiao Xiao nced at Wang Dong and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Teacher Zhou, my Soulcrush Cauldron is a bit different from an ordinary Soulcrush Cauldron. It can both attack and assist others. I¡¯m even barely able to use it for defense. It can be considered a mutated Soulcrush Cauldron. It¡¯s known as a Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.¡±

    Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment. ¡°Xiao Xiao, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that if your cultivation direction is too messy, it¡¯ll be disadvantageous towards your future development? I suggest that you lean towards one direction, and develop from there. Even if it¡¯s a mutated martial soul, you¡¯ll still have to have an direction when you¡¯re adding soul rings.¡±

    Xiao Xiao nodded her head and said, ¡°I know, that¡¯s why the main abilities I¡¯ve chosen for my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron are attacking and defensive ones.¡±

    Zhou Yi furrowed her brow and said, ¡°That¡¯s also unrted to control!¡± It could be seen that she was being extremely patient towards Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao said in a meek voice, ¡°But, I have another martial soul. It can manage both support and control.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± At this moment, it wasn¡¯t just Zhou Yi who was astonished; even Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had widened their eyes. Wang Dong¡¯s shock was especially great. He¡¯d always thought that he was an absolutely unrivalled figure within ss 1. He never thought that there¡¯d actually be someone like her hidden within the ss.

    ¡°Twin martial souls?¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong said at practically the same time.

    Xiao Xiao lowered her head shyly.

 Chapter 16.2: Freshman Examination

    Chapter 16.2: Freshman Examination

    The look in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes flickered a few times. This was the first time that a situation like this had urred in ss 1, which exceeded her control. After thinking to herself for a moment, she said, ¡°Fine, be a control system soul master if that¡¯s your wish. It¡¯ll also be easier for the three of you to work together in the future. Even though the freshman assessment is only your first examination within Shrek Academy, it¡¯s very important for your future cultivation path. The only way for you to have a chance to appear in the academy¡¯s cultivation honor roll is for you to obtain a good ranking in the freshman assessment. Being in this ss, I¡¯m optimistic about the chances that you three have. I don¡¯t even need to mention Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao; you two alone have talents and strengths that far exceed those of the other students. As for you, Huo Yuhao, even though you have an ordinary amount of strength and talent, you have a level of willpower that ordinary people aren¡¯t able to even strive for, as well as an extraordinary spiritual-type martial soul. Without even taking Xiao Xiao¡¯s second martial soul into ount, you three alreadyplement each other to a certain extent. I¡¯ll give you a mission. In the freshman assessment, you only have one target: Be the champions! If you don¡¯t return as the champions, then so be it for Xiao Xiao. However you two, on the other hand, will have to continue following me as you cultivate.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, even if we be the champions, I¡¯ll still be willing to follow you.¡±

    Zhou Yi was stunned. ¡°You foolish brat, don¡¯t you also think that I¡¯m extremely strict? I know what they call me in private. You don¡¯t have to lie to me to make me happy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head before saying seriously, ¡°No, Teacher Zhou. I truly am willing to follow you and continue learning from you. Even though you¡¯re a bit fierce, I can still learn many more useful things from you if I do. I¡¯ve asionally observed the students from other sses; their growth hasn¡¯t been nearly asrge as our ss¡¯s¡ªat least during these past three months.¡±

    Zhou Yi¡¯s face finally revealed the trace of a smile. Although her aged face didn¡¯t look even remotely pretty when she smiled, this was the first time that Huo Yuhao had felt a sense of warmth from her body.

    ¡°Alright, you three can go back and rest. Remember, you three definitely have to be the champions of the freshman assessment. Also, I can at least tell you three this: Shrek Academy has an enormous amount of wealth. Out of all the assessments the academy holds, the champions of the freshman assessment and the champions of the outer courtyard¡¯s graduation assessment receive the most generous rewards. As for what those rewards actually are¡­well, you¡¯ll naturally find out when you be the champions of the freshman assessment. Head back and make sure that you¡¯re in top condition. I believe in your strength.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± They all answered her simultaneously, before proceeding to leave the ssroom together.

    Once they¡¯d left, Xiao Xiao looked as if she¡¯d finally drummed up enough courage to ask something. ¡°Wang Dong, can I talk to you for a bit?¡±

    However, Wang Dong waved his hand and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Right now, I have to go back and prepare for tomorrow¡¯spetition. You can show us how amazing your twin martial souls are when the assessment starts, Xiao Xiao.¡± After he finished speaking, he grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and left.

    When he saw the disappointment in Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes, Huo Yuhao smiled at her, causing Xiao Xiao to forcefully return the smile. They were still young, so the somewhat hazy feeling that they had towards the opposite sex often was solely based on the other party¡¯s appearance. Although Wang Dong¡¯s rejection had caused her to be slightly disappointed, she didn¡¯t think much more about it. She only thought inwardly to herself, ¡°What¡¯s so amazing about you? Just wait till the assessment starts. When it starts you¡¯ll see just how amazing my abilities are, humph!¡± Her arrogance had always been hidden within the deep recesses of her heart.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be so obvious when you rejected her, did you?¡± Huo Yuhao teased Wang Dong.

    During the past three months, the two had be very familiar with each other. To Huo Yuhao, their intense life of cultivating had only been another way to temper his body. However, his mind had experienced an unprecedented amount of rxation. At least here, every single student within the academy was equal; he didn¡¯t feel anything that resembled the ss division that he¡¯d previously felt when he was in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. As his mind had rxed, his personality had begun to turn much more cheerful. He was no longer that reticent and shy youth that he¡¯d been when he¡¯d just arrived.

    Wang Dong curled his lip and boastfully stated, ¡°There are several girls who¡¯ve liked me. Don¡¯t tell me that I should ept all of them?¡± After he said this, he switched to a sagely tone of voice. ¡°We¡¯re still young, thus we should be focusing everything on our studies. How can we have other thoughts like this? Huo Yuhao, your mentality truly is unhealthy.¡±

    ¡°I¡­.¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t beat him in an argument. ¡°You win!¡±

    Wang Dongughed cunningly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Since we¡¯ve been let out early today, you roast some fish for me to eat. We¡¯ll be formally registering for the assessment tomorrow, so I¡¯m guessing that the assessment will only start the day after. It seems that our time to show off has finallye.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped back, ¡°You eat roasted fish everyday! Will you ever get tired of it? Not only that, but the exam is the day after tomorrow! Shouldn¡¯t you polish your skills before the battle?¡±

    Wang Dong humphed. ¡°You brain-dead idiot. You only know how to cultivate. Aren¡¯t you scared of bing an idiot that only knows how to cultivate?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°As they say, the clumsy bird leaves early to reach the forest first. Since I¡¯m untalented, the only thing that I can do topensate for my weaknesses is work hard. I¡¯m sure you know that the main reason my soulforce was able to reach the seventeenth rank was because of the pills we took. I honestly think that I wouldn¡¯t have a very high chance of passing the assessment with another group. Teacher Zhou¡¯s clearly taking care of me by putting me in the same group as you and Xiao Xiao. If I don¡¯t work even harder, wouldn¡¯t I simply be letting her kindness go to waste?¡±

    Wang Dong curled his lips and said, ¡°Your talent might be nothing much, but your martial soul is still quite good. Don¡¯t worry, with myself¡ªa genius¡ªhere, don¡¯t talk about a few freshmen, even some second year students might not be able to beat me. When the timees, you only need to activate your Spiritual Detection Sharing and watch me do my job from the back. With me leading our group, bing champions will be as simple as just stretching our hands out and grabbing it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao reminded him, ¡°Our Shrek Academy is till the number one academy in the world. It¡¯s always been filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers; you can¡¯t be too careless. However, I think that Xiao Xiao¡¯s quite strong as well. When the timees, you two absolutely have to work together.¡±

    He had four amazing spiritual-type soul skills, but Wang Dong only knew of hisbined Spiritual Detection Sharing. As for his hand-to-handbat skills, although he had a slight foundation in the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques, simply relying on them and the strength of his martial soul wouldn¡¯t be enough for a fair fight. It just just as Wang Dong had said¡ªduring the uing assessment, his greatest use would truly be his Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Even though Wang Dong could beat Huo Yuhao in a war of words, he couldn¡¯t change how stubborn he was. When the two of them returned to their dorm room, they ended up meditating and cultivating. However, Huo Yuhao promised Wang Dong that he¡¯d roast a few extra fish for him after the assessment.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s seventeenth ranked soulforce could already condense into a white stream inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. As it travelled throughout his body, following the cirction path of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, it seemed to pierce through his entire body, warming up his passageways. Not only was itfortable, it also brought about an obvious improvement in Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation.

    After three months of bitter cultivation, Huo Yuhao was able to faintly sense that his passageways had expanded by arge amount. This was due, in part, to the subtle effects of the Mysterious Water Pill, as well as to the nourishing effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique that he¡¯d discovered by chance. Furthermore, his passageways were extremely stic and durable now. In terms of physiques, Huo Yuhao was no longer inferior to anyone of the same age as him. However, the fact that he¡¯d stepped onto the right path ratherte was undeniable. It wasn¡¯t very likely that he¡¯d catch up to Wang Dong. Hence, he could only choose to improve alongsideh Wang Dong.

 Chapter 16.3: Freshman Examination

    Chapter 16.3: Freshman Examination

    With his current cultivation speed, Huo Yuhao was confident that he could break into the twentieth rank by the time he graduated as a first-year student, thereby obtaining a second soul ring. ording to his brother Skydream, his strength would rapidly soar when he obtained his second soul ring, especially when his ice-type martial soul truly had its own abilities.

    Huo Yuhao looked forward to that moment very much. When that happened, he¡¯d definitely be able to help Wang Dong a lot more when they fought side-by-side.

    Time always passed extremely the fastest during meditation; evening soon arrived. Like yesterday, Huo Yuhao walked over to the canteen to clean his fish before he headed towards the academy¡¯s entrance.

    The flow of people at the academy¡¯s entrance had clearly been reduced. Perhaps it was due to the uing freshman assessment, but a majority of the freshmen felt a sense of urgency, causing them to bitterly cultivate inside of their dorm rooms.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s business wasn¡¯t affected by this at all. When he arrived, a queue had already formed, with the person in front being, amazingly, Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Ding¡ª¡± Xu Sanshi handed Huo Yuhao a silver soul coin and said, ¡°No need to hand me any change; just make sure to give me a big fish.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Big brother Xu, nothing can stop you, can it?¡±

    The previous rift between the two had already closed. After beginning to see each other every day, they¡¯d long be familiar with each other. After he became familiar with Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao discovered that, even though he wasn¡¯t as gentle as Bei Bei, and even though he had a bit of a violent temper and a fiery disposition, he was still extremely sincere with his friendships.

    Xu Sanshiughed mischievously. ¡°Who was the one that made me like what you roast? If I don¡¯t at least get a bite of this every night, my dinner won¡¯t taste delicious at all. I¡¯ve eaten many roasted fish in the past, but not a single person was able to control the fire as well as you do. Even Jiang Nannan has praised your roasting technique. Right, I¡¯ve heard that the freshman assessment¡¯s about to start?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head a few times and replied, ¡°Yeah!¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Then you have to work hard. You can¡¯t get eliminated! If you do, I won¡¯t be able to eat anymore roasted fish.¡± Even now, he still didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had been behind Bei Bei¡¯s victory during their match. He only knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent was ordinary, but that he could roast fish extremely well. Actually, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fame in Shrek Academy for his roasted fish was definitely greater than fame for his strength.

    ¡°Little Xu.¡± At this moment, a crisp voice suddenly rang out. When Xu Sanshi heard this voice, he immediately began to shiver. Huo Yuhao even saw a few hints of fear, but even more than that, helplessness, appear within his eyes.

    The other diners that had queued up behind Xu Sanshi instantly quieted down.

    A girl walked out from the academy¡¯s entrance with slow steps, causing the crowd to open up a path for her in a very natural manner, so much so that they didn¡¯t even dane to look at her; they all lowered their heads as she passed. Her appearance clearly exceeded that of Jiang Nannan¡¯s appearancest time.

    When Huo Yuhao raised his head to see who the girl was, he discovered that the neer was a red-clothed woman. Her body was slender and well-proportioned, with the first thing that most people would notice when looking at her being her slightly exaggerated peaks that were firm, towering, and lustful¡­

    Her waist was extremely slim, with that slimness continuing all the way down to her thighs, where it suddenly arced out. Her legs were perfectly straight and round, while at the same time a strong aura of youthfulness that was emanated by her assaulted one¡¯s senses.

    However, her facial features couldn¡¯t clearly be seen; she wore a red veil over her face. However, one could tell that she was definitely a beauty from just her eyes alone. Her faintly-pink eyes could easily make one feel as if his soul had been swept away. Fortunately, her gaze was extremely cold, which slightly suppressed the glow of rapture in her eyes that was capable of prating into one¡¯s bones.

    Xu Sanshi clearly seemed to recognise her. After summoning up some courage, he turned around. However, he didn¡¯t look directly into her eyes; he lowered his head slightly instead, and replied, ¡°Sister Xiaotao.¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was even more astonished. Xu Sanshi was an untameable person with quite a fiery disposition, who had an even higher status than Bei Bei in the outer courtyard due to him being a fifth year student. Because of his great talent, many sixth year students were somewhat reverent of him; even teachers wouldn¡¯t cause him to act like this! Just who was this red-clothed girl? After looking at the girl closely, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt as if she looked slightly familiar for some reason.

    The red-clothed girl looked over at Huo Yuhao¡¯s oven, then slowly walked up to Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°Little Xu, you¡¯vee to eat roasted fish?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded his head and said, ¡°Yeah! Huo Yuhao¡¯s roasted fish tastes extraordinary. It¡¯s really tasty.¡±

    A slight trace of curiosity appeared on the red-clothed girl¡¯s eyes, and she said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Let me try one.¡± She wasn¡¯t the type of fairy that wouldn¡¯t eat the food of mon mortals¡¯. Practically all of her days were spent cultivating, so she was naturally excited when she found something new.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I only sell thirty fish a day. Thirty people have already queued up today, so pleasee earlier on tomorrow.¡±

    These exact words had been uttered by him countless times before. However, when his voice rang out this time, practically everyone standing in the queue simultaneously raised their heads to look at him with terrified expressions; even Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t an exception.

    Following that, the people who¡¯d been queued behind Xu Sanshi loudly dispersed and walked away as fast as they could, causing Huo Yuhao to be even more astonished.

    The red-clothed girl smiled and said, ¡°Okay, there¡¯s no one left in the queue now. I think that I should be able to eat one now, right?¡±

    Xu Sanshi continuously made a few gestures to Huo Yuhao with his eyes. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t someone who didn¡¯t understand how things worked. After nodding his head, he continued to roast his fish seriously.

    However, Wang Dong who was at his side was somewhat indignant. ¡°Who are you? Why did you disturb our business?¡±

    The red-clothed girl raised her right hand, exposing her tender hand. On it, there was arge blood-like crimson ruby that was absolutely beautiful. The ruby shed, causing a single gold soul coin to appear in her hand. She then passed it to Wang Dong and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take all of today¡¯s roasted fish.¡±

    Wang Dong wasn¡¯t polite at all as he took the gold soul coin. Afterwards, he didn¡¯t utter another word. Although this red-clothed girl was threatening to the point of scaring so many people away, she didn¡¯t look unreasonable. Furthermore, he felt that something was wrong; a few traces of fear towards this red-clothed girl had actually appeared in his heart.

    However, Huo Yuhao honestly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need this much money. My roasted fish only cost five copper soul coins apiece.¡±

    The red-clothed girl seemed as if she wasn¡¯t willing to talk with him anymore. She indifferently said, ¡°Just take it as a deposit. Just don¡¯t ask me for money if I want to eat here in the future.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded and replied whilst simultaneously continuing to carefully roast fish.

    The red-clothed girl originally looked as if she¡¯de to find Xu Sanshi, but she didn¡¯t even seem to care about Xu Sanshi now. Instead, she was now focusing on Huo Yuhao as he roasted fish.

    After a short period of time, she let out a soft cry of surprise. ¡°Your fire-controlling technique is this perfect?! Do you have a fire-type martial soul?¡± She herself was an expert in the field of fire, so she was naturally able to see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s fire-control while he was roasting the fish had reached the apex of precision.

    Huo Yuhao simply shook his head.

    After a short period of time, he finished roasting the first four fish. Since nobody else wasing today, Huo Yuhao simply passed two to the red-clothed girl and two to Xu Sanshi. In reality, he didn¡¯t just buy thirty mackerels everyday; any extra fish were naturally left to Tang Ya and Wang Dong.

 Chapter 16.4: Freshman Examination

    Chapter 16.4: Freshman Examination

    When Xu Sanshi had first seen the red-clothed girl, he had clearly been somewhat distressed. He wasn¡¯t even as passionate as he normally was whilst eating his roasted fish. On the other hand, the red-clothed girl slowly raised her veil, revealing her absolutely beautiful face, as she slowly began to eat the roasted fish.

    Her movements were extremely graceful as she carefully ate the fish. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were stunned by the mysterious disappearance of the fish bones from her hand after she¡¯d finished eating the fish. She¡¯d clearly used her hands to eat the fish, yet there weren¡¯t any oil stains on her hand at all.

    Just what power was this? Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other, both seeing the shock reflected in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The two pieces of roasted fish were quickly finished by her. When she finished, the red-clothed girl nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Your roasted fish are very tasty. They seem to have been seriously made. Now then, let me see your martial soul.¡±

    Her words had an irrefusable tone to them. Ever since the evil fire in her body had been suppressed by that mysterious ice element, she hadn¡¯t disturbed by her martial soul¡¯s overbearing demonism for a full three months. However, that icy aura had gradually been refined by her martial soul¡¯s phoenix mes as time passed, causing a bacsh to gradually appear. The reason that she was looking for Xu Sanshi was because of his Mysterious Underworld Turtle, which was currently the best water-type martial soul in the academy. If she borrowed a certain amount of his strength, she could suppress the evil fire in her body. To Xu Sanshi, this process was just like tempering iron into steel¡ªit only brought benefits. However, it was extremely painful. That was why Xu Sanshi had immediately had a bitter expression when he saw her. Furthermore, this wasn¡¯t the first time that she¡¯d tormented him like this.

    Huo Yuhao eyebrows furrowed slightly, while Wang Dong had an indignant look on his face. However, he was stopped by Huo Yuhao¡¯s raised hand. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the red-clothed girl. After that, a faint golden light emerged in his eyes. As that happened, a sheen of purple rippled through his deep blue eyes.

    Of all the secret techniques he¡¯d learned from the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest improvementy in the Purple Demon Eyes. Whenever he absorbed the purple qi that rose from the east every morning, his Spirit Eyes would naturally generate a siphoning effect. For him, a single day¡¯s worth of cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes was better than ten days worth of cultivation for Bei Bei and Tang Ya. Because of this, his Purple Demon Eyes had improved extremely quick.

    The red-clothed girl raised her long eyebrows slightly when she sensed Huo Yuhao¡¯s mysterious Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Following the increase in his cultivation, the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul ring had gradually begun to increase, as per the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words. The strength of his tolerance would determine how much strength his first soul ring could manifest.

    In the beginning, although his first soul ring contained four soul skills within it, their effects had only been equivalent to that of a four hundred year soul ring. However, his first soul ring now possessed the power of a soul ring that was around six hundred years, with the maximum range of his Spiritual Detection and his Spiritual Interference now reaching a diameter of fifty metres. Furthermore, the effects of these skills were even more detailed than they had previously been.

    Part of the first seal that the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s had made within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had already been unlocked. As long as Huo Yuhao continued to make breakthroughs in his cultivation, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s powerful origin energy would automatically increase the strength of his first soul ring. This was something that other soul masters couldn¡¯t even dare to dream about. His first soul ring would only continue to grow more terrifying as his cultivation level rose.

    The Skydream Iceworm couldn¡¯t give Huo Yuhao an instant power boost, but it had given him an astonishingly bright future.

    Huo Yuhao kept his Spiritual Detection Sharing active for about ten seconds, before withdrawing it. After a few moments of what seemed to be shock, the red-clothed girl nodded towards Huo Yuhao. She then gazed deeply at the single white soul ring that rose up from his feet and said, ¡°That¡¯s the strongest ten year soul ring I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied in a very natural manner, ¡°It¡¯s still only a ten year soul ring.¡±

    The red-clothed girlughed softly and said, ¡°I¡¯m Ma Xiaotao, nice to meet you. If I have the chance, I¡¯lle back again to eat your roasted fish. Little Xu, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had a pained expression as he said, ¡°Sister Xiaotao, can you please be a bit more gentle today?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao gave him an indifferent nce, causing him to immediately correct himself, ¡°I don¡¯t have any problems, none at all.¡± As he spoke, he hurriedly walked in front of Ma Xiaotao and gestured for her to continue.

    Only after the two had entered the academy did Wang Dong mutter, ¡°Her name¡¯s really tacky¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said in response, ¡°Can a name prove anything? Don¡¯t you think that she seemed a bit familiar?¡±

    Wang Dong was suddenly startled. ¡°She couldn¡¯t be that person we met at thekest time, could she? She was also wearing red clothes¡­ could she be a disciple of the inner courtyard?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders in response, expressing his doubt.

    A group of people came rushing back and queued at his stall as soon as Ma Xiaotao and Xu Sanshi had left. The person in front, who happened to be a fourth year student, overheard the conversation between the two. He immediately whispered, ¡°Junior ssmen, you need to quiet down a bit. You can¡¯t just talk about disciples from the inner courtyard like that, especially senior Xiaotao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked in astonishment, ¡°She¡¯s really from the inner courtyard?¡±

    The upperssman replied, ¡°Obviously. Within Shrek Academy, red-clothed students are all seniors from the inner courtyard. I don¡¯t know how many people there are in the inner courtyard, but seniors from the inner courtyard rarelye out. There¡¯s also a ranking system in the inner courtyard, causing thepetition there to be extremely intense. Despite how intense it is, senior Xiaotao is one of the top ten ranked students inside of the inner courtyard. Her strength is definitely not something that we canpare to. Senior Xu Sanshi seems to have a very good rtionship with senior Xiaotao, thus he might get a rmendation from senior Xiaotao to the inner courtyard in the future, if he¡¯s lucky.¡±

    Wang Dong asked with curiousity, ¡°You need a rmendation to enter the inner courtyard?¡±

    The upperssman replied, ¡°That¡¯s obvious! Well, I¡¯m not entirely clear about the specific procedures one must follow to enter the inner courtyard. Supposedly, every single student from the outer courtyard that wants to enter the inner courtyard must obtain a rmendation from a student from the inner courtyard.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was able to finish selling the rest of his fish without a hitch. By the time he was about to sell thest of them, Bei Bei and Tang Ya arrived side-by-side. Huo Yuhao took out the fish that he¡¯d saved for them beforehand to treat them to a few roasted fish.

    ¡°Junior brother, the freshman assessment is about to start. I¡¯ve just got obtained urate info: You¡¯ll be registering in the morning, while the assessment will start in the afternoon. You have to prepare well.¡± Bei Bei¡¯s demeanor was still as gentle as before.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely work hard to pass the assessment.¡±

    Bei Beiughed, while Tang Ya said, ¡°Little Yuhao, even if I¡¯m your teacher, I can¡¯t just eat this many of your roasted fish for free. I¡¯ll give you something nice. You can use it when the time arises.¡± As she spoke, she handed something that resembled a pouch to Huo Yuhao. ¡°When you get back back to your dorm room, store what¡¯s inside in your Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. Make sure to be careful when you¡¯re using it. Don¡¯t hit any vital points. Also, you¡¯ll need to start learning how to refine soul tools after the assessment. At that time, I¡¯ll teach you a few more secret techniques.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Teacher Xiao Ya.¡± Huo Yuhao received the pouch, roughly able to guess what was inside.

    Wang Dong had a curious look on his face. He proceeded to ask, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I don¡¯t think that you can use soul tools during the freshman assessment, right?¡±

    Tang Ya unhappily replied, ¡°What soul tools? Don¡¯t you know what the Tang Sect is famous for?¡±

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to their dorm room and opened the pouch, they were shocked. It was filled with hidden weapons. There were throwing knives, throwing needles, Bone Piercing Needles, as well as a dozen plus other types of hidden weapons. Furthermore, there were over a hundred of each of them. It was basically a warehouse for hidden weapons.

    It was extremely obvious that Tang Ya had prepared these hidden weapons for Huo Yuhao since his martial soul had no way to attack. During these past three months, Huo Yuhao had slightly improved in his understanding of the secret techniques of the Tang Sect, and had even started to skim through the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separations. He was extremely bright and studious, which resulted in him mastering a few techniques. He didn¡¯t have any problems using hidden weapons in a basic fashion. To these new students with only one or two soul rings, these hidden weapons were still arge threat.

    As Wang Dong gazed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s hidden weapons, he couldn¡¯t help but curl his lips and say, ¡°Your Teacher Xiao Ya is clearly looking down on me. With me there, there won¡¯t even be a need for you to make a move.¡±

 Chapter 17.1: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Chapter 17.1: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat speechless as he said, ¡°Arrogance causes setbacks; at least be a bit more low-profile.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted. ¡°Do you think that I can actually have a low-profile with my martial soul?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Right! Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess was an existence that would always stun everyone whenever it appeared. For him to have a low-profile wouldn¡¯t be easy.

    A wordless night passed as the two cultivated in silence. The next morning, the two walked over to their school building after eating breakfast. When they entered ss, they felt a fervent atmosphere envelop them.

    Everyone had gathered in their respective groups of three, and were whispering to one another.

    Xiao Xiao had arrived before the two of them, and thus was already waiting for them. When she saw them enter the ssroom, she hurriedly waved towards them.

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had reacher her, Xiao Xiao said, ¡°The assessment is going to formally begin this afternoon. Let¡¯s discuss some tactics.¡±

    Wang Dong unperturbedly said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to discuss. Let¡¯s just go and fight.¡±

    Xiao Xiao softly shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. I¡¯ve heard that every single ss has a few especially outstanding students who¡¯ve in turn formed elite teams that are gunning for the champion spot. They won¡¯t be easy to deal with. We have to be well-coordinated to have a chance against them.¡±

    Wang Dong still wanted to retort, but was cut off by Huo Yuhao. ¡°Wang Dong, act properly. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to ask Teacher Zhou to change our teams.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t clear whether or not Xiao Xiao still held a grudge against Wang Dong rejecting her yesterday, but she immediately echoed Huo Yuhao, ¡°That¡¯s right! Too much over-confidence is simply arrogance.¡±

    Wang Dong humphed, but no longer spoke.

    Huo Yuhao put his hand on Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be angry. If we work together, won¡¯t it be even easier for us to defeat our enemies during the assessment? Let¡¯s discuss the abilities that we specialise in.¡±

    Even though they¡¯d been ssmates for three months, they¡¯d still only studied together. Cultivation was something that they¡¯d done individually, thus nobody really knew much about anyone else¡¯s martial souls.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I¡¯ll start first. I have a spiritual-type martial soul. I can use a skill known as Spiritual Detection Sharing, which can let you detect any movements within a fifty metre diameter in a fairly detailed manner. At the same time, it can also predict an opponent¡¯s movements to a certain extent.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°I¡¯m an assault system soul master. Short-range and long-range attacks are both okay for me. I¡¯m also able to fly.¡± Although he was somewhat arrogant, he truly had the qualifications to act as such. Regardless of whether it was his cultivation, his martial soul, or his soul skills, he was an outstanding existence among his peers. The simple fact that his second soul ring was a thousand year one was something that perhaps no one else in the academy could outshine.

    Xiao Xiao nodded and said, ¡°My main martial soul is the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It can both attack and defend, and can control the battlefield to a certain extent. It can also intimidate my enemies by ramming into them, which will cause them to feel dizzy, while getting hurt at the same time. My second martial soul is a flute¡ªthe Nine Phoenix Flute. It focuses on auxiliary and control-type abilities. Currently, my second martial soul only has a hundred year soul ring. It can slow down the speed of our enemies duringbat.¡±

    Wang Dong was slightly amazed as he asked, ¡°Your auxiliary-type martial soul doesn¡¯t boost yourself?¡±

    Xiao Xiao had a proud smile on her face as she replied, ¡°Nope. Sometimes, weakening an enemy is better than boosting one¡¯s self. When the timees, you¡¯ll see what I mean. However, it isn¡¯t that easy for me to use my second martial soul, so it¡¯s better if we hide a bit of our strength and take it slow.¡±

    Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong suddenly realized something¡ªXiao Xiao might be even stronger than they thought.

    What they didn¡¯t know was that, when Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao worked together to control the battlefield, they would explode out with a frightening amount of control.

    ¡°Thump, thump, thump.¡± Three rapping sounds rang out. When the ss heard that, it immediately became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

    Zhou Yi stood at the entrance to the ssroom, her right hand justing back down to her side. The rapping sound had been from her rapping on the door to the ssroom.

    Zhou Yi still maintained her ice-coldposure as she slowly walked up to the tform. ¡°I¡¯ve already reported the list of teams that are partaking in thepetitionter. Thepetition will formally start this afternoon. It will use a round-robin system, and you won¡¯t meet each other during the ten matches that you¡¯ll bepeting in, only teams from other sses. I only have one line of advice for you: If anyone tries to stop you from passing the assessment, beat the shit out of them. That¡¯s it, you can all disperse. We¡¯ll gather at the assessment area this afternoon.¡± When Zhou Yi had finished speaking, she hard-headedly turned around and walked away.

    Wang Dong spoke in a low voice to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that olddy Zhou is bing cooler and cooler?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at him and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t being cool; she¡¯s beingpletely domineering.¡±

    Xiao Xiao walked over and giggled. ¡°Teacher Zhou¡¯s just giving off a strong presence. Let¡¯s go and find a ce to train together for a while. If we don¡¯t, how will we coordinateter?¡¯

    Without waiting for Wang Dong to speak, Huo Yuhao immediately nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Student Wang Dong, if you ever want to eat roasted fish next time, I have to request that you to listen to everymand of the current ss monitor during the freshman assessment. Do you agree to these terms?¡±

    ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s resolute gaze, then said with an indignant expression on his face, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re really taking advantage of my fear.¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°You can choose not to eat them.¡±

    Wang Dong hesitated for a moment, but still relented in the end. ¡°I surrender. I¡¯ll listen to you. However, you¡¯re in charge of the hygiene in the dorm room from now on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a look of disdain on his face as he said, ¡°Have you cleaned the room at all during these past three months?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Wang Dong felt speechless as he said, ¡°You¡¯re a fierce one, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Xiao Xiao seemed to be standingpletely on Huo Yuhao¡¯s side as she giggled. ¡°Laziness is a type of sin.¡±

    Wang Dong suddenly blurted out a few words, causing the young Xiao Xiao to immediately blush. ¡°Xiao Xiao, the target of your affection really changes fast!¡±

    ¡°You¡ª!¡± Xiao Xiao pointed her finger at Wang Dong with a look of anger on her face. She even looked as if she had been wronged.

    ¡°Okay, okay. Didn¡¯t we say that we were going to train? Let¡¯s hurry up and do so. I think that we should head outside the academy. There are tons of trees outside the academy, thus we won¡¯t be easily disturbed by the others.¡±

    Wang Dong stuck his tongue out at Xiao Xiao, then turned around to leave. Only after Huo Yuhao had given Xiao Xiao a few words of constion, did she be happy. Afterwards, the two chased after Wang Dong, following thekeside path as they left the academy.

    Looking for a quiet ce outside Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t be any easier for them. Although there were several roads, there was arge amount of vegetation that covered both sides of the main road. Some of it was naturally grown, while some of it had been nted by hand.

    After the three had found a rtively t area in the forest, Wang Dong asked, ¡°How¡¯re we going to train? Are we just going to use our soul skills once?¡±

    Xiao Xiao immediately refuted him, ¡°How would that be useful? You naturally need to have a fight for training to be the most effective. You¡¯re an assault system soul master, so you can be on one side, while the ss monitor and I will be on the other side. Let¡¯s have a match.¡±

    ¡°You two against me?¡± Wang Dong raised his right hand, wagging his forefinger as he said, ¡°That won¡¯t do. With just the two of you, you won¡¯t have a chance against me!¡±

 Chapter 17.2: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Chapter 17.2: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Xiao Xiao gave an opposingly cold smile. ¡°How will we know if we don¡¯t try? However, you¡¯re an assault system soul master, so you can¡¯t be right next to us when the battle starts. Let¡¯s spread out a bit. Let¡¯s say¡­ thirty metres.¡±

    As Huo Yuhao listened to the two¡¯s argument, he gradually discovered how clever Xiao Xiao was. His Spiritual Detection Sharing had a fifty metre diameter, thus for Xiao Xiao to ask for Wang Dong to start off thirty metres away was equivalent to having him enter the range of his Spiritual Detection the instant he made a move.

    Wang Dong agreed without any hesitation at all.

    Xiao Xiao then said, ¡°You can fly, but we can¡¯t. This is a training session, so you¡¯d better not fly away once you start losing.¡±

    Wang Dong replied in a very casual manner. ¡°I won¡¯t leave the ground by more than five metres. Then, I¡¯ll be heading over. You can shout ¡®start¡¯ when you guys are ready.¡± When he¡¯d finished speaking, he began to walk away.

    Xiao Xiao immediately turned towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°ss monitor, let¡¯s kite this fool. It¡¯ll be fine if you just use your Spiritual Detection Sharing to support me. Let¡¯s make that arrogant guy eat a loss.¡±

    If this had been before Huo Yuhao hade to Shrek Academy, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have known what ¡®kiting¡¯ was. However, he was extremely clear about what it was now¡ªit was a tactic that relied on retreating as one fought.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you.¡± He also wanted to see just how strong Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong were. During the past three months, he hadn¡¯t ever been able to see exactly how strong Wang Dong truly was when he used his martial soul to fight. However, he understood that even though Wang Dong was slightly more arrogant than others, he was just being self-confident, not arrogant. This was because self-confidence came from strength.

    The distance between the two sides quickly grewrger. Wang Dongzily leaned against arge tree and gazed at the two that were thirty metres away from him¡ªhe¡¯d even increased the distance between them a bit. He raised his arm and waved at Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, indicating that he was ready.

    Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao stood next to each other. Xiao Xiao had a petite body, and was rather shortpared to the rest of the ss. She even had the title of ¡®pocket-sized beauty¡¯. She nced at Huo Yuhao and nodded. ¡°ss monitor, please assist me.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Only then did Xiao Xiao turn around and shout towards Wang Dong, ¡°Start!¡± As soon as she spoke, she released her martial soul.

    Two yellow lights simultaneously lit up as soon as they rose from Xiao Xiao¡¯s feet; she was actually a Soul Grandmaster! When Huo Yuhao saw this, he inwardly blushed from shame.

    The two shining soul rings rose from Xiao Xiao¡¯s feet, but nothing seemed to happen to her body. However, a ck shadow rapidly condensed above her head, clearly forming a three-legged cauldron that had two handles and a diameter of around one metre. This was Xiao Xiao¡¯s main martial soul, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing at the same time, causing a white soul ring to rise up from his feet. The onlooking Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but find it somewhat weak. She thought to herself, ¡°No wonder the ss monitor cultivates as hard as he does; his talent¡¯s reallycking!¡±

    However, Xiao Xiao was quickly shocked by the mysterious scene that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing showed her.

    Everything within a twenty-five metre diameter of them instantly became three-dimensional figures within her mind. She basically didn¡¯t even have to think about them either¡ªinformation about them rapidly appeared inside of her mind. She could even clearly sense the existence of every single strand of grass and bit of vegetation within the area that was surrounding them. Furthermore, besides the three-dimensional panoramic view that she¡¯d suddenly received, she felt as if she suddenly had an extra brain that could help her process the new information that she was receiving.

    As Xiao Xiao nced at Huo Yuhao, astonished, Wang Dong had already begun to make his move.

    Although Wang Dong seemed to be looking down on Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao on the surface, he wasn¡¯t being careless at all. He¡¯d personally experienced Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, so he was fully aware of the fact that it could predict an opponent¡¯s movements.

    A dazzling pair of blue wings instantly spread out from his back, causing Wang Dong¡¯s body to also be covered in an exotic colour that seemed to constantly change between blue and purple. Furthermore, a few golden balls of light appeared on his enormous pair of wings and lit up, forming a ¡®V¡¯. As his two soul rings rose up from his feet, one yellow and one purple, his Radiant Butterfly Goddess was fully released.

    With a sh, Wang Dong rushed out at high speed. The balls of light on his wings began to emit soulforce, which caused his speed to instantly reach an extreme level.

    This wasn¡¯t a soul skill, but an innate skill that belonged to his Radiant Butterfly Goddess. From this alone, it could be seen how strong his martial soul was.

    Wang Dong¡¯s sudden increase in speed caused him to instantly cross a distance of ten or so metres; he had already nearly arrived in front of Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao. The result of an assault system soul master approaching two control system soul masters who had no means of engaging him in closebat could be imagined. Their defeat seemed to be inevitable.

    When Wang Dong was only twenty-five metres away from Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, a digital representation of his movements instantly appeared in Xiao Xiao¡¯s brain. This included the trajectory of his movements, the minute changes in his body, the smallest changes in his martial soul¡­ even the rotation of Wang Dong¡¯s soulforce within his meridians could be faintly examined by Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t look flustered at all. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul ring, which was only a ten year soul ring, had already surprised her immensely. As she watched Wang Dong approach them, she decided to make a move too.

    She pointed her right hand towards Wang Dong, causing the one-metre wide cauldron above her to charge forwards. It didn¡¯t head straight towards Wang Dong, but towards the only path that he could take. Furthermore, she simrly used an innate skill that belonged to her martial soul: she dyed the use of her soul skill.

    Wang Dong was put into an extremely difficult position due to the position of the enormous ck cauldron, as it was currently flying directly towards the only path that he could take. This was definitely a clever application of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, no doubt. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s help, Xiao Xiao would have had to rely on her eyesight and the fluctuations in Wang Dong¡¯s soulforce to make a judgement, which definitely wouldn¡¯t have been as urate as right now.

    In this moment of helplessness, Wang Dong suddenly contracted his left wing. This allowed his body to twist slightly in midair, slightly changing his trajectory. However, he became even more depressed when the ck cauldron instantly shifted, allowing it to continue blocking him.

    Foresight.

    Xiao Xiao subconsciously turned to nce at the golden-eyed Huo Yuhao. With his Spiritual Detection Sharing, she didn¡¯t even need to look at Wang Dong. She only needed to follow the instructions of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing to continue her attacks. This couldn¡¯t be any easier for her.

    However, Wang Dong wouldn¡¯t simply admit defeat; he continued to p his wings as he soared through the air, increasing his speed by several times. Despite this, Huo Yuhao was still able to sense the rotation of his soulforce via his Spiritual Detection, thus he was able to consistently predict his movements. For him to attempt to avoid Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron while it was under her control clearly wasn¡¯t realistic.

    Wang Dong felt depressed. He couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re inhumane! Fine, I won¡¯t dodge¡ªI¡¯ll force my way in!¡±

    His first soul ring suddenly lit up as he spoke, while the golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as well. With his Spiritual Detection, he could clearly sense that the soulforce within Wang Dong¡¯s body was rotating in an explosive manner, surging madly into his front pair of wings. On the other hand, his rear wings had been spread out for the sole sake of maintaining his bnce.

 Chapter 17.3: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Chapter 17.3: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    His front pair of wings turnedpletely azure, the golden patterns on them releasing a golden light that spread outward, instantly forming a three-inch wide sharp golden edge on his front wings.

    The look on Xiao Xiao¡¯s face changed slightly. Via Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, she could clearly sense the astonishing destructive power that was currently contained within Wang Dong¡¯s wings after he used this soul skill.

    Wang Dong simultaneously raised his hands, grabbing the inner part of his front wings. With a sudden pull, his front pair of wings immediately unfurled, resembling two guillotines with golden edges. He then twisted his body, causing his right wing to sh towards the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It was just as he¡¯d said: If a soft method wouldn¡¯t work, he¡¯d have to use a hard one!

    However, he¡¯d still underestimated the level of coordination that Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao shared, who were both working together to control the battlefield. Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t have her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron forcefully take the hit that Wang Dong has sent at it, instead choosing to have it two metres. This allowed it to perfectly dodge the sh made by Wang Dong¡¯s right wing, before suddenly ramming into his wing.

    A loud ¡®bang¡¯ rang out from their collision, and Wang Dong¡¯s body was sent flying several tens of metres away. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron remained hovering in midair.

    Wang Dong truly felt depressed by this. His strength absolutely exceeded Xiao Xiao¡¯s, but he hadn¡¯t been able to disy any of it whilst facing thebined forces of Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. This time, he decided to retreat instead of advancing. With a sh, he moved more than twenty-five metres away from Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, naturally meaning that he¡¯d escaped the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    ¡°Hehe, Huo Yuhao, I want see how you¡¯ll detect the my body¡¯s condition now. This brother has long-range attacks too.¡± As he spoke, his second soul ring lit up.

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°Have you forgotten? I can also manipte the direction of my Spiritual Detection. As of right now, I can send it out around a hundred metres. If your attack can lock onto us from over a hundred metres away, you can try using it. And even if it can, there¡¯ll still be enough time for me to help Xiao Xiao take it on when your attack enters the range of my Spiritual Detection, unless the strength of your attack can shatter Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. And besides that, you shouldn¡¯t forget that Xiao Xiao still has her second martial soul.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned. Right! Even though his second soul skill was a thousand year one, and was rtively strongpared, its might would still be greatly reduced after it had crossed a hundred metres. Besides, Huo Yuhao truly would have enough time to help Xiao Xiao take it on. However, he still wasn¡¯t willing to concede to them. ¡°My long-range attack is an AoE attack. Even if you can detect it, it won¡¯t be of any use.¡±

    Xiao Xiao smiled. ¡°Wang Dong, don¡¯t be so proud of yourself. Don¡¯t forget, I still have multiple soul skills that I haven¡¯t used. Would you like to know what soul skills my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron has? To be honest, you might not be my match, even if this were a one-on-one fight. As for your long-range attack, it might have an extraordinary amount of strength, but all the ss monitor and I need is enough time to dodge it. Just wait and see.¡±

    Whilst speaking, she pointed at the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with her right hand, causing it to suddenly tremble slightly. Immediately after that, it unexpectedly split into three smaller cauldrons that surrounded her and Huo Yuhao, forming a tripartite formation. At the same time, Xiao Xiao¡¯s first soul ring lit up.

    A loud rumbling echoed out as the ten square metres of air above the two of them twisted due to a violent vibration.

    The three cauldrons then merged back into one and quietlynded in front of Xiao Xiao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯s expressions changed. What a strong martial soul! When the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had split into three parts, that was an innate skill that belonged to it. However, that tremor was definitely its attack. Huo Yuhao had clearly been able to sense the terrifying might of that tremor via his Spiritual Sense.

    Wang Dong quickly regained hisposure. ¡°I get it, I won¡¯t fight anymore. If the two of you team up, it¡¯s true that I can¡¯t beat you. But Xiao Xiao, in the future, you¡¯ll definitely learn that you¡¯re not my match in a one-on-one fight. On the other hand, if two people around the same level of cultivation fight against one another, the side that has Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection will definitely win. That skill of his doesn¡¯t give anyone a way out at all. You¡¯ll be left in a passive state throughout the entire battle, unless someone with an exceedingly high cultivation uses absolute power to crush him.¡±

    Although Xiao Xiao wasn¡¯t willing to ept Wang Dong saying that he could beat her in a one-on-one fight, she had to acknowledge what else he¡¯d said. She nodded and said, ¡°Yeah! With the ss monitor¡¯s Spiritual Detection, fighting is as simple as just using my soul skills. ss monitor, your soul skill is super strong. It feels great teaming up with you! I even underestimated your ten year soul ring, sorry!¡± Xiao Xiao was a girl who had a very straightforward attitude; she said whatever she was thinking about without beating around the bush. Due to this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately had a favourable opinion of her.

    Huo Yuhao extended his right hand horizontally towards Xiao Xiao, who responded with a sweet smile, before cing her right hand on top of his. Finally, Wang Dong walked over and ced his right hand on the very top.

    Huo Yuhao then said, ¡°From now on, we¡¯rerades on the same team. As for the freshmen examination, we want to be champions.¡±

    ¡°We want to be champions!¡± The three simultaneously shouted. At this moment, the rtionship between them had deepened further. The happiest person of the three was naturally Xiao Xiao; she finally felt as if Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had sincerely epted her as one of their friends. Because of this, it was always said that, between soul masters, speaking with one¡¯s fists was always the simplest, most direct, and most effective way to do things.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s assessment area was located at the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department, and was adjacent to the Soul Duelling Area. However, the Examination Area was muchrger than the Soul Duelling Area. To the outer courtyard students, this was a paradise for outstanding students, where they could disy their abilities, but was a nightmare for weaker students. There would always be arge number of students expelled after failing their assessment every year. Arge majority of the assessments would be held in this Examination Area.

    The Examination Area was oval-shaped. Unlike the Soul Duelling Area, which was enclosed, the Examination Area was basically an open field. It was only encircled by short walls, while inside it was separated into many small areas by partitions. These partitions could be moved at any time to alter the size of the Examination Area.

    The Examination Area would always be divided the most whenever the freshman assessment happened. It wasn¡¯t just because of therge number of new students, but also because there was still a limit to the destructive power and attack range that new students had. Because of this, they didn¡¯t need toorge of an area to allow them to fully disy their abilities.

    The Examination Area was roughly twenty-thousand square metresrge, but was currently separated into fifty areas. Every single partitioned area was around four hundred square metres in size, and was a twenty by twenty metre square. This was already sufficient for new students, who generally only had one or two soul rings.

    After the intense division of groups in the morning, the assessment formally started in the afternoon. Because this was the first day of the assessment, all of the teams could leave after finishing only one match. This was done for the sake of letting the new students adapt, at least somewhat, to the schedule. The academy had stationed a teacher in each of the fifty areas in order toplete the registration process for the assessment. The lot drawing for today¡¯s matches had already been done that afternoon, and the academy did all they could to ensure that no teams from the same ss would meet each other during the ten-match round robin tournament.

 Chapter 17.4: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Chapter 17.4: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield

    Other than ss 1, which only had twenty-two teams, the other sses generally had at least thirty teams. Unless there were students that had performed extremely poorly during their first three months at Shrek Academy, teachers in charge of the freshmen sses would generally always give them a chance to take the freshman assessment.

    There were a total of three hundred and ten teams participating in the freshmen assessment, which meant a total of nine hundred and thirty people. Out of these three hundred and ten teams of students, only a hundred and fifty of them would be able to remain and formally be first-year students to continue studying. The rest of the teams would be eliminated.

    Whilst studying in Shrek Academy, thepetition was undoubtedly fierce and cruel. However, this also resulted in students working even harder under this intense atmosphere, allowing them to stimte even more of their potential. This had, in turn, allowed Shrek Academy to survive ten thousand years without bing weak at all.

    There were a total of fifty arenas for the freshmen assessment, which meant that every single arena would have six or seven teams within it. It wasn¡¯t just today; they would alsopete with other teams from the same arena tomorrow, up until they¡¯d finishedpeting with all the teams in the same arena as them. Afterwards, the winners would be redistributed into new groups, allowing them to finish their ten-roundpetition.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three was assigned to the 33rd arena. After the three ate lunch, they returned to their respective dorm rooms in order to meditate for a while, then met back up when it was time to. The arenas with the Examination Area were extremely easy to look for, since each arena was quite obviouslybeled. They managed to find which arena they were supposed to be in quite quickly.

    The students from the other sses who were also meant to be in the area had already arrived. Some of them looked nervous, while some of them seemed eager to begin. All of them were only kids, around eleven or twelve years old, so they couldn¡¯t really conceal their thoughts. When they looked at each other, their eyes clearly exposed the hostility they had for one another. After all, only half of them would continue to remain within Shrek Academy. Even though the freshmen assessment only had a total of ten rounds, every single round would affect their future.

    ¡°New students, please pay attention. New students, please pay attention. Please immediately enter the Examination Area to participate in the freshmen assessment. There are still ten minutes left for you to enter. Any students that arete will automatically forfeit their assessment.¡±

    The booming voice from the loudspeaker rang throughout the entire academy; it was loud enough to travel through every nook and corner of the academy. At this moment, most students¡¯ expressions became quite serious. Everyone¡¯s first match was about to begin; they¡¯d be lying if they said that they weren¡¯t nervous.

    Huo Yuhao unconsciously clenched his fists, then felt the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges on his waist for reassurance. The freshman assessment prohibited the usage of soul tools, but hidden weapons were still ssified as ordinary weapons, which weren¡¯t prohibited. Soul masters would rarely use any weapons, unless they were soul tools. However, as a disciple of the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao was clearly an exception to this rule.

    Wang Dong ced his left hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and leaned towards him. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, this will be trivial to us.¡±

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t call Wang Dong out for being arrogant this time. Instead, she nodded towards Huo Yuhao. Although Wang Dong hadn¡¯t been able to show off his full power when the three of them had fought earlier, she had still been able to see that his cultivation wasn¡¯t any lower than that hers, based on the resolute words he spoke at the very end. Combined with the ss monitor¡¯s mystical Spiritual Detection Sharing, there were an extremely small number of students within their age group who could be their opponents.

    Huo Yuhao whispered, ¡°We¡¯ll be the champions.¡±

    Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong simultaneously nodded. The three then ced their palms above each other¡¯s once again. Although they were young, they knew one thing: Although simply passing the assessment might not be that hard for them, if they wanted to be champions of the assessment, teamwork would be key. Because of that, even Wang Dong restrained his pride.

    The freshmen assessment was extremely important, so the academy¡¯s announcement wasn¡¯t really that useful. All of the freshmen had already arrived at their designated arenas in order to make preparations for the uing assessment.

    A teacher that looked to be around forty walked into the 33rd Area. He looked like an extremely average person; he didn¡¯t give off any sort of threatening aura. He had a smile on his face, as well as an extremely friendly appearance. As such, he was as different as heaven and earth whenpared to Zhou Yi. After counting the number of people present, he smiled slightly. ¡°Very good. We have a total of six teams participating in the freshmen assessment today, and it seems that you¡¯re all present. Allow me to introduce myself first. I¡¯m Wang Yan, and I¡¯ll be your proctor for the next two days.

    ¡°Greetings, Teacher Wang.¡± The students hurriedly bowed in respect.

    Wang Yan chuckled. ¡°No need to be so polite. I¡¯ve always treated everyone as a friend while I¡¯m teaching, and from now until the end of our time together, you¡¯ll all be my little friends. As such, I don¡¯t wish to see anyone get hurt. Although this assessment determines whether or not you can continue to study in Shrek Academy, I have to remind you that this is still only an assessment. You absolutely mustn¡¯t hurt your opponents too badly. If that happens, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to ask him to leave and report the incident to the Academy.¡±

    He spoke with a very gentle tone and downyed the entire matter. Although he didn¡¯t mention the consequences for crippling one¡¯s opponent, every single student that was able to enter Shrek Academy was a child prodigy. They naturally understood the implications behind his words, and nodded to express their understanding.

    Wang Yan smiled. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we can start now. If we end earlier, you can go back early to train for tomorrow. A slight sense of urgency is definitely a good thing for you youngsters.¡±

    As he spoke, he took out a sheet of paper and nced over it. Afterwards, he raised his head and said, ¡°For the first match of the first round of the freshmen assessment¡ªss 1: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao. ss 3: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen. The six of you can enter the battlefield and take your sides. When I announce the start of the battle, you can release your martial souls. Enter.¡±

    There were six teams of students, thus three matches would be held within the 33rd arena today. However, Huo Yuhao never thought that they would be the first team to go out. The three of them nced at each other, then quickly walked towards the northwestern corner of the arena.

    The three of them positioned themselves quite carefully. Wang Dong stood in front, while Xiao Xiao stood behind him. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, stood behind both of them, in the the corner of the arena. As for the the other team of three, they naturally chose to stand at the southeastern corner of the arena.

    The three students from ss 3 were all boys¡ªthey even looked quite handsome. The tallest person of the three was Ouyang Junyi, who was also the most handsome of the three. Although there was still a gap between him and Wang Dong, his body looked much sturdier than Wang Dong¡¯s. The person next to him, Chen Junfeng, was extremely slender, even though he wasn¡¯t that tall. Finally, Zhao Haochen was a little fatty who had a plump stomach, as well as a straightforward smile on his face.

    Seeing that both parties were in position, Wang Yan nodded. ¡°Start the assessment.¡±

    The two parties instantly released their martial souls. Although Huo Yuhao was standing in the corner, with his meticulous control, he was able to prevent his Spiritual Detection Sharing from covering what was behind him. Instead, he merely covered the arena in front of him with his Spiritual Detection Sharing. Xiao Xiao also released her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, causing an enormous ck cauldron to rapidly form in midair.

    Wang Dong¡¯s movements were even more direct. With a sh, he charged straight into the air, his pair of dazzling blue and purple wings already unfurled. A brilliant golden pattern traced them. No matter whether it was his opponents, or their proctor Wang Yan, they were all astonished by his beautiful pair of wings. His wings were simply too beautiful! It was even to the extent that Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao¡¯s limelight waspletely overshadowed.

    Their three opponents had already made their preparations; they had released their martial souls the instant the battle had started.

 Chapter 18.1: The 33rd Arenaâ€”3v3

    Chapter 18.1: The 33rd Arena¡ª3v3

    Zhao Haochen, who was standing at the very back of his team, shouted, ¡°Come quickly, my drumsticks!¡± The ripples of a yellow soul ring appeared from beneath his feet and rose up, causing two sparkling yellow lights to appear in his hands. Two braised chicken drumsticks suddenly appeared in his hands, which he quickly passed to the two people in front of him.

    While releasing their martial souls, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng rapidly grabbed the drumsticks from Zhao Haochen and forcefully tookrge bites from them.

    A food system martial soul? This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing a food system martial soul; he didn¡¯t have any idea what the drumsticks that Zhao Haochen had summoned could do. Even though Zhao Haochen only had a single soul ring, it was still a hundred year one, so it¡¯s strengthening effects were presumably good. However, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng¡¯s respective appearances whilst eating the drumsticks that had been summoned were somewhat odd, to the extent that Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help butugh. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron still remained hovering above her head without any intention of making a move at all.

    Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng made their moves at the same time. Of the two, one of them had a beast martial soul, while the other had a tool martial soul. However they were both agility system soul masters.

    Ouyang Junyi¡¯s martial soul was the Sword-beak Hummingbird. When he released his martial soul, a sharp stinger rapidly appeared on his right forearm. His martial soul was a bird-type one, but he didn¡¯t have wings due to his current cultivation level. This alone demonstrated the gap between his and Wang Dong¡¯s martial souls. Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess innately had wings, which was the sign of a peak-level beast martial soul.

    Chen Junfeng¡¯s martial soul was a flexible sword, making all three of them one-ringed soul masters. However, they all possessed hundred year soul rings. Ouyang Junyi was the strongest of the three¡ªhis cultivation had already reached the neenth rank. Chen Junfeng, on the other hand, had reached the eighteenth rank. As for Zhao Haochen, considering the fact that he was a food system soul master, his cultivation speed was rtively slower. Hence, his cultivation had only reached the seventeenth rank.

    As soon as the two agility system soul masters of the opposing team finished their drumsticks, they proceeded to pounce towards Wang Dong like arrows released from a bowstring; their speed was so quick that even Wang Dong was astonished. However, he instantly understood that the drumsticks they¡¯d just finished were the cause for their increase their speed!

    Zhou Yi wasn¡¯t the only teacher who¡¯d divided her students into teams; other teachers had also done it. With Zhao Haochen supporting Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng, their advantage in terms of speed was undoubtedly unleashed to its fullest potential, allowing them to use speed alone to achieve victory.

    Unfortunately for them, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three feared speed-type opponents the least, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing could subdue thempletely.

    A faint golden light appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, causing a three-dimensional image of the entire battlefield to appear in Wang Dong¡¯s mind. Although Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng were extremely quick, the trajectory of their movements, the rotation of their soulforce, the direction of their attacks, and even their ws appeared simultaneously in Wang Dong¡¯s mind.

    Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng were very well-versed towards focusing on a single target, so when Wang Dong charged towards them by himself, it was exactly what they wanted. With a sudden explosion in speed, they were extremely confident that neither Huo Yuhao nor Xiao Xiao would be able to rescue him in time. Taking care of Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao after defeating Wang Dong could also be considered a form of dividing and conquering.

    Besides the sharp stinger on his forearm, Ouyang Junyi¡¯s entire right arm had also been covered in ayer of feathers. His body became extremely lithe, and even though he and Chen Junfeng were both agility system soul masters, he was quicker than Chen Junfeng. The yellow soul ring below his body shed, causing the stinger on his forearm to instantly turn into several tens of shadows that immediately rushed towards Wang Dong.

    Although Chen Junfeng was a bit slower than Ouyang Junyi, this clearly wasn¡¯t the first time that they¡¯d teamed up. Before he even arrived, he swung the short-sword he was holding, causing his first soul ring to light up. A sword-beam shot out from his sword towards Wang Dong.

    However, before the two even made their moves, the golden pattern imprinted on Wang Dong¡¯s wings had already started to spread as he activated his first soul ring as well. His arms merged with his frontal wings, causing his Wing Guillotine skill that Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao had seen before to appear again.

    Since he was in midair, Wang Dong was in a much better position than Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng. A hint of arrogance appeared on his face¡ªas if he were loftily looking down on the two of them. As he faced their attacks, Wang Dong swept his left wing out, directly meeting Ouyang Junyi¡¯s Sword-beak Hummingbird. Whilst he was did this, his right wing directly shed outwards, hitting Chen Junfeng¡¯s sword light first, even though it was released second. Wang Dong¡¯s positioning as he unleashed his attacks wasn¡¯tcking in the least.

    ¡°Chi chi chi chi chi¡­¡± A series of sounds rang out. To his astonishment, Ouyang Junyi discovered that his Sword-beak Hummingbird¡¯s first soul skill¡ªHummingbird sh-sting¡ªhad only been able to cause a few halos of light to appear on Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ front wings. Even with the level of sharpness that his Sword-beak Hummingbird possessed, it had actually been unable to break through the strength of Wang Dong¡¯s wings. Following that, Wang Dong¡¯s enormous wings swept straight towards his face.

    Ouyang Junyi could be considered to have at least a little bit ofbat experience. He instantly crouched downwards in an attempt to dodge Wang Dong¡¯s hit from below. However, who could¡¯ve guessed that Wang Dong would suddenly swing his wings directly downwards and make it seem as if Ouyang Junyi had specifically kneeled down in order to be pped by Wang Dong. With a thump, Ouyang Junyi was pped face-first into the ground. Furthermore, the enormous force that mmed into his back nearly caused him to vomit up some blood.

    Chen Junfeng was inferior to Ouyang Junyi in strength as well. When the sword light he¡¯d released collided with the sharp edge of Wang Dong¡¯s Wing Guillotine, Chen Junfeng only saw a sh of gold before his sword light was crushed. Following that, a violent buzz echoed out from his short-sword as it shattered. He only saw a golden blue light sh in front of his eyes before he was sent flying with a speed even greater than the speed he¡¯d had whilst running towards Wang Dong. Afterwards, he collided with Zhao Haochen, who was still nibbling on a drumstick, causing the two of them to instantly roll head-over-heels over the ground.

    Wang Dong spread his wings out in midair, causing blue and violet lights to glitter back and forth across his wings. The golden pattern on his wings slowly vanished as he casuallynded, and he maintained the arrogant look on his face that hadn¡¯t disappeared since the battle started.

    The onlooking teacher, Wang Yan, had a brilliant look in his eyes, while the faces of the other terms sank after watching the match. The entire 33rd Area was dead silent.

    He was too strong; he was a terrifying assault system soul master!

    Assault system soul masters could naturally suppress agility system soul masters to a certain extent, but everyone present was a new student! Howrge could the difference between them be? Wang Dong had actually been able to defeat two agility system soul masters by himself¡ªand this was a food system soul master supporting them!

    Although a two-ringed soul master had an enormous advantage over a one-ringed soul master, he had still been able to beat three opponents within mere seconds. From this alone, one could imagine how tyrannical this soul master¡ªwho possessed the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡ªwas.

    Furthermore, there was still another person who also possessed two soul rings just like Wang Dong in their team. This team had two soul masters that were above the twentieth rank! As for Huo Yuhao, he waspletely overlooked by everyone present; only Teacher Wang Yan had faintly noticed the golden light that had flickered in his eyes.

 Chapter 18.2: The 33rd Arenaâ€”3v3

    Chapter 18.2: The 33rd Arena¡ª3v3

    In reality, even though there was a significant gap between Ouyang Junyi and Huo Yuhao¡¯s team in terms of strength, Wang Dong shouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve victory as quickly as he did just by himself. However, don¡¯t forget that he had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, which was equivalent to a six hundred year soul ring!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing wasn¡¯t a single skill after all; it provided assistance equivalent to two six hundred year soul rings. The help that Wang Dong had received from Huo Yuhao vastly exceeded the support that his opponents had received from their food system soul master.

    Furthermore, Wang Dong also had a hundred year soul ring as his first soul ring, while his soulforce had already reached the twenty-fourth rank; his cultivation tremendously outstripped that of his opponent¡¯s.

    After withdrawing his wings, Wang Dong walked back to Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao and high-fived them in celebration. Xiao Xiao smiled. ¡°Our ss monitor is awesome. Wang Dong, how about you let me enjoy myself next time?¡± She was confident that, if she was the one who¡¯d gone out, she would¡¯ve also been able to defeat her opponents. The more she felt that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was magical, the more she found herself entranced by it. Thus, the person she praised wasn¡¯t Wang Dong, but Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Dong chortled. ¡°Don¡¯t! Keep your strength hidden. These ten matches are merely appetisers to the three of us. It¡¯s enough for just me to show off. We can¡¯t let the other teams get a feel for our strength.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Wang Dong makes a good point. Xiao Xiao, you¡¯ll be our trump card.¡±

    Xiao Xiao alsoughed when she heard their words and nodded in agreement.

    ¡°ss 1¡¯s ¡®Team Huo Yuhao¡¯ wins their first match.¡± After Wang Yan had announced the results of the match, he noted it down on the previous sheet of paper he¡¯d pulled out.

    On the other side, Ouyang Junyi¡¯s team of three had already managed to crawl back to their feet. Wang Dong had been lenient on them, so they hadn¡¯t suffered any real injuries. However, they had a look of embarrassment on their faces. They didn¡¯t want to remain for even one more second after letting everyone see how easily they¡¯d been defeated. Hence, they quickly ran away.

    After Wang Yan had recorded the results of the match, he nced back towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three. He inwardly thought, I reckon that this is ss 1¡¯s trump card. The students that Teacher Zhou Yi has taught are extraordinary, as expected!

    However, he still couldn¡¯t figure out Huo Yuhao. Unlike the students, he was clearly able to understand the subtleties behind each team when they registered.

    The name of this team from ss 1 was ¡®Team Huo Yuhao¡¯. In other words, Huo Yuhao was the leader of this team. However, if you looked at it from the perspective of their cultivation levels, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both outstripped him. To put it bluntly, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul ring that was only of the ten year rank, as well as his cultivation that hadn¡¯t yet broken through to the twentieth rank, he shouldn¡¯t even have the qualifications to enter Shrek Academy.

    Despite all of this, he was the leader of their team. That is to say, this student¡ªwho had a ten year soul ring¡ªwas the core of this team. Just why was this the case?

    Wang Yan was a representative from the moderate faction of Shrek Academy¡¯s theoretical school of thought. He had arge amount of knowledge on theory, while his ability to teach was extremely strong. Even though he was only forty or so years old, he was a highly ranked teacher that was second to none in the outer courtyard.

    Obtaining a promotion as a teacher within Shrek Academy was even more difficult than obtaining one as a student. This was extremely obvious, as shown by Zhou Yi only being a middle-ranked teacher. This was naturally rted to her terrifying teaching methods. On the other hand, Wang Yan was someone who could be a high-ranked teacher, and was someone who had the qualifications to teach inner courtyard students. From this, it could clearly be seen how strong he was in the field of theoretical knowledge. However, even he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on with Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, so much so that he couldn¡¯t even tell what kind of soul master Huo Yuhao was.

    Although they¡¯d finished their assessment for the day, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three didn¡¯t leave. Instead, they stayed behind to observe the other two matches. They waited until the other matches had finished before bidding farewell to Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t ask Huo Yuhao anything in the end. He believed that he¡¯d definitely see Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities in the following matches.

    The first round of the freshmen assessment quickly finished. The purpose of today¡¯s assessment was more or less to allow the participating students to adapt to the assessment. However, tomorrow¡¯s assessment would be much more challenging. The students would have to undergo two rounds of assessments in both the morning and the afternoon, totalling four rounds for the day. The third day, on the other hand, would be even more terrifying: All of the teams that were left would have to undergo five rounds that day, as the duration of the freshmen assessment was only three days long.

    This assessment didn¡¯t just train students inbat, but also in their ability to fight a prolonged battle.

    When the second day of the assessment started, the students from ss 1 began to feel grateful for Teacher Zhou Yi. Fighting four matches in a single day wasn¡¯t just a problem of soulforce consumption; the drain on their physical strength was extremely serious as well. After undergoing Zhou Yi¡¯s hell-like training, the students from ss 1 clearly had a better ability to endure the physical drain from the constant battling than the students from the other sses.

    After the match they¡¯d fought on the first day, as well as the observations they¡¯d made afterwards, Huo Yuhao was one-hundred percent certain that there were no opponents in their group capable of threatening them. Other than them, there was only a single student above the twentieth rank of soulforce.

    The students from the other teams weren¡¯t idiots either. Being under such intense conditions, they directly forfeited when they faced Huo Yuhao¡¯s team in order to achieve better resultster on.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was in much better conditionpared to the exhausted students of the other teams. Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three easily managed to achieve victory in all four of their matches, thereby obtaining a perfect result of five victories in five matches. With these results as a ¡®safety¡¯, they¡¯d basically passed the freshmen assessment already. Furthermore, these five victories caused them to be filled with confidence.

    On the other hand, Wang Yan felt somewhat depressed as the proctor of the 33rd arena. Five matches had passed, yet Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had fought in the exact same way in every match¡ªWang Dong would make move on his own, while Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao would simply sit back and watch. The match would end in a short period of time, causing him to remain mystified as to what abilities Huo Yuhao possessed. As a theory-based teacher, how could he not feel depressed?

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you threee over here for a moment.¡± When the second day¡¯s matches had concluded, Wang Yan called Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three over.

    ¡°Teacher Wang.¡± Huo Yuhao walked in front, with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao nking him.

    As I thought. Wang Yan inwardly thought to himself. This Huo Yuhao truly is the core of their team!

    ¡°You three have obtained an excellent result of five victories in five matches. You must continue to work hard in your future matches, so that you can participate in the ranking tournament for the top sixty-four teams. However, tomorrow¡¯s five matches won¡¯t be nearly as easy as today¡¯s were. After today¡¯s matches have concluded, we¡¯ll be drawing lots again, while teams who¡¯ve lost all of their matches will be eliminated. When we draw lots, we¡¯ll make sure that students from the same ss won¡¯t meet each other, but your previous results will also be brought into consideration. Tomorrow, you¡¯ll definitely remain in the 33rd arena, but there¡¯s a very high chance that you¡¯ll meet a strong team, or even two, that are capable of challenging you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Thank you, Teacher Wang. We¡¯ll definitely work hard.¡±

 Chapter 18.3: The 33rd Arenaâ€”3v3

    Chapter 18.3: The 33rd Arena¡ª3v3

    Wang Yan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good. Go back and get some rest.¡± He still held himself back from asking Huo Yuhao about his martial soul, as he still had some pride in himself. He believed that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to hide his martial soul from him once they met a strong opponent.

    ¡°How rxing! Winning against them was as easy as chopping vegetables.¡± Wang Dong said with excited look on their way back. He was extremely satisfied with how they¡¯d done today.

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°It should be my turn to go out tomorrow. Wang Dong, you¡¯ve only used your first soul skill so far. If the opponents we meet tomorrow are even stronger than today¡¯s, I¡¯m afraid that you might have to use your second soul skill. However, your second soul skill was created from a thousand year soul ring, so it¡¯s the strongest attack technique we have on our team. We shouldn¡¯t let other people see it easily; we should only use it during the ranking tournament. If we meet any strong opponents tomorrow, I¡¯ll help you out. We should try our best to only use our first soul skills. Even if we do meet an extremely strong opponent, I¡¯ll be the one to use their second soul skill, so that we can keep yours hidden. This way, we¡¯ll have two trump cards. How about it?¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Xiao Xiao, you¡¯ve said all this, but it¡¯s really just because your hands are itchy, isn¡¯t it? Fine, we¡¯ll do it your way. I¡¯ve already been satisfied, so I¡¯ll let you pleasure yourself for a bit.¡±

    Fortunately, there weren¡¯t any adults walking near them while they were speaking. If there had been, Wang Dong¡¯s words could have been interpreted very differently.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll treat you two to some roasted fish. I ordered some extra yesterday.¡±

    As the three of them left the Examination Area, they bumped into two people. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but be stunned when they saw who the people they¡¯d bumped into were.

    The people they¡¯d bumped into weren¡¯t random people; it was the red-clothed disciple from the inner courtyard, Ma Xiaotao, and the person she¡¯d dragged away a few days ago, Xu Sanshi.

    Compared to his usual high-spirited self, the current Xu Sanshi had an ashen look on his face, as if all the energy had been drained from his body. He looked listless, and his clothes were crumpled. His current appearance was extremely dispirited.

    Ma Xiaotao was still as beautiful as ever, although there was an abnormal flush on her charming face, and the pinkness of her eyes had darkened a bit.

    ¡°We¡¯ve found them, right? Sister Xiaotao, can I go now?¡± Xu Sanshi had a bitter smile on his face as he spoke. After being tormented by an intense amount of pain for a few days, he¡¯d finally managed to endure thest of it. However, the drain on his energy, physical strength, and soulforce was too severe. Right now, all he wanted to do was return to his room and sleep.

    Ma Xiaotao nodded. ¡°Okay, you can go.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nced at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with a look that said ¡®you can fend for yourselves¡¯ before he left. His disloyal appearance caused the two to feel nervous. Just why had Ma Xiaotao been looking for them?

    Ma Xiaotao indifferently said, ¡°You two, follow me. Junior ssmate, you can return by yourself.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was just about to say something, but Huo Yuhao immediately shook his head, indicating that she should leave, and that nothing would happen to them.

    Seeing that Ma Xiaotao probably hadn¡¯te with good intentions, he didn¡¯t want to drag Xiao Xiao into this. Furthermore, this was still the academy; Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both believed that she wouldn¡¯t do anything to bad to them.

    Xiao Xiao felt somewhat unresigned, but she left unwillingly in the end. Following Ma Xiaotao¡¯s lead, the two walked towards thekeside path. After walking for a little while, they arrived at thekeside where they¡¯d first been attacked by her.

    Ma Xiaotao only stopped when she was right in front of the Sea God¡¯s Lake. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both kept their distance from her. Wang Dong had a vignt look on his face, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was thumping.

    ¡°Senior sister Ma, why did you call us over?¡± Huo Yuhao asked probingly.

    With her back to them, Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°You should¡¯ve guessed it by now. You¡¯re right; I was the student who burst out from the inner courtyard¡ªthe student who almost harmed you two that time. At the time, I truly had no choice. Now then, I¡¯d first like to apologize to you two.¡±

    Wang Dong curled his lips, inwardly thinking, This is apologizing? There¡¯s no sincerity in your actions at all!

    The two nced at each other, then Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Senior sister Ma, let¡¯s let bygones be bygones. The school¡¯s alreadypensated us anyway.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao suddenly turned around, the shades of pink in her eyes suddenly darkening further. An ineffable pressure suddenly appeared on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies.

    ¡°In my opinion, this matter isn¡¯t over yet.¡± Ma Xiaotao growled.

    ¡°That day, there should¡¯ve been an ice-type soul master that stopped me. That was what stopped me from harming you two. That person is extremely important to me. Tell me everything you know. Perhaps it was one of your protectors. Either way, I must find them.¡±

    Wang Dong had a nk look on his face. ¡°Senior sister Ma, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. When you attacked us that day, we both fainted from the high temperatures your body was emitting! We don¡¯t know anything about what happened after that! As for this ice-type soul master you¡¯re talking about, we don¡¯t have any way of knowing who he is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed Wang Dong¡¯s lead and nodded his head. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t divulge his secrets regarding the Skydream Iceworm.

    Seeing that they didn¡¯t seem to be lying, a trace of hesitation appeared in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes.

    The reason that she¡¯d gone looking for the two of them was because, after returning that day, she¡¯d suddenly thought about why they¡¯d felt familiar to her: It was because she¡¯d seen some information regarding Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the inner courtyard.

    Three months ago, she¡¯d relied on the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s cold energy to suppress the demonic fire within her body, which had let her cultivation speed greatly increase while it was suppressed. When the cold energy vanished, she was only able to rely on Xu Sanshi. However, she discovered that although his Mysterious Underworld Turtle was a peak-ranked martial soul, it was still just a water-type martial soul, not an ice-type martial soul. Hence, the help that it brought her had gradually decreased.

    If she wasn¡¯t able to suppress the demonic fire in her body, she¡¯d have to stop cultivating. Moreover, that demonic fire in her body could explode at any time, causing her to lose her consciousness.

    After thinking it over for a while, she¡¯d decided to look for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. If she was able to find the person that had previously used that ice-type martial soul to stop her, her problems could easily be solved.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked in a low voice.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously shook their heads.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s expression suddenly changed as she spoke in a chilly voice, ¡°Then don¡¯t me me for being impolite. If you really don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll have to force him out.¡± As she spoke, a strong wave of heat was erupted outwards as a volcano-like scarlet me shot out from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body.

    When the two had been called over by Ma Xiaotao, they¡¯d already felt that something wasn¡¯t right. Hence, they¡¯d maintained their vignce at all times. After the loss that they¡¯d sufferedst time, the two immediately reacted the instant that Ma Xiaotao made her move! They couldn¡¯t just sit and wait for their deaths!

    The wings of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess instantly shot out from Wang Dong¡¯s back. As they unfurled, they were already filled with golden patterns; Wang Dong¡¯s Wing Guillotine had instantly been activated.

 Chapter 18.4: The 33rd Arenaâ€”3v3

    Chapter 18.4: The 33rd Arena¡ª3v3

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao released both his Spiritual Detection Sharing and his Spirit Shock.

    Although only three months had passed, their cultivations had increased by arge amount. In addition to that, they had a tacit understanding of each other. Hence, when they suddenly released their skills, Wang Dong grabbed Huo Yuhao from behind and quickly flew backwards.

    Ma Xiaotao was clearly careless. There was no way that she¡¯d even pay attention to a one and two-ringed soul master! As she released her martial soul, dazzling fire-red feathers covered her entire body. However, Wang Dong had already begun to rapidly fly away with Huo Yuhao in tow.

    Following that, Ma Xiaotao saw a purple light flicker in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. In that instant, she felt as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze had be akin to two sharp needles piercing towards her, which made her subconsciously shut her eyes. Furthermore, her brain felt dizzy for a moment.

    The strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Shock had increased in power when his Purple Demon Eyes had broken through. Even with her six-ringed level of cultivation, Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t been able to take it on directly.

    Although it only stopped Ma Xiaotao for a moment, Wang Dong had already managed to charge out of the forest with Huo Yuhao in tow, returning to thekeside path.

    ¡°Head back towards the school buildings!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. At the same time, he swung his hand in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s direction, causing a few icy lights to fly directly towards her. They were the hidden weapons that Tang Ya had given him. He¡¯d used the most basic, albeit fastest, throwing technique when he threw them.

    An intense stream of air simultaneously erupted from the golden patterns on Wang Dong¡¯s wings, rapidly pushing him into the distance.

    But how could Ma Xiaotao be willing to let the two of them escape? She simply ignored Huo Yuhao¡¯s hidden weapons and rushed towards them with a sh. An enormous pair of fiery wings unfurled, causing all of the metallic hidden weapons in front of her to instantly melt into a liquid that fell to the ground. The terrifying heat that was emanated from her was akin to a huge hand trying to smother Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong from behind.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was an extremely strong skill that could reverse the oue of a battle, but that was only when both parties were at around the same rank. When they were facing an opponent like Ma Xiaotao, it was simply too flimsy a skill. Even if they could urately predict her movements, what could they do? Even if they knew everything about her, they still couldn¡¯t stop her!

    Wang Dong was already doing his utmost to fly as best as he could, but the heatwave swallowed the two of them in what was practically an instant. If one was to look at it with a bird¡¯s-eye view, they would¡¯ve discovered that Ma Xiaotao¡¯s figure had caught up to the two in basically an instant. Afterwards, her enormous pair of fiery wings had expanded, before suddenly folding inward, trapping Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong within them.

    Ma Xiaotao grabbed the two of them by their cors. Her terrifying soulforce undtions caused the two of them to immediately lose their ability to resist. Fire surrounded them, causing them to be entirely unable to see the outside world at all. Even speaking was an impossible task.

    Ma Xiaotao silently waited there with a serious look on her face. After half an hour passed, she her brow furrowed. ¡°Was it really a coincidencest time?¡±

    She only had one objective from making a move against the two¡ªto force out the ice-type soul master that had previously suppressed her. However, things weren¡¯t going as she wished. If you looked at the situation from the outside, she¡¯d already swallowed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong within her mes. However, that soul master still hadn¡¯t appeared.

    The fiery light withdrew, causing the surrounding mes to fade away. Ma Xiaotao had also regained herposure. She rxed her grip on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, causing them to stumble and fall to the ground.

    Ma Xiaotao indifferently said, ¡°Since this is unrted to you two, so be it. I know that you two won¡¯t ept this, so work hard and cultivate. If you can enter the inner courtyard one day, I¡¯ll give you the chance to challenge me.¡± When she finished speaking, she turned around and left. Shepletely ignored the two of them, who were filled with indignation.

    ¡°This madwoman!¡± Wang Dong shouted angrily.

    Huo Yuhao climbed to his feet, then pulled Wang Dong up. ¡°Let it go. If you still have the strength to curse at her, use it to cultivate when you get back. She¡¯s not wrong; whose fault is it that we¡¯re not stronger than her? Let¡¯s head back.¡± Previously, when Ma Xiaotao had been forced back by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s finger, Huo Yuhao had seen everything. Because of this, he¡¯d faintly guessed what Ma Xiaotao was talking about.

    There was practically no chance of a clear-headed Ma Xiaotao killing them; she just wanted to force the Skydream Iceworm out. However, Huo Yuhao had already deduced her objective, but even if he hadn¡¯t, the Skydream Iceworm still couldn¡¯t evene out! The old man was sleeping soundly; he¡¯d already said that he wouldn¡¯t be able to help Huo Yuhao for another year.

    When Xiao Xiao saw the two the day after, she couldn¡¯t help a hint of astonishment from appearing on her charming face. ¡°What happened to you two? Why do the two of you have such ugly looks on your faces? Did that senior sister from the inner courtyard do something to you?¡±

    Wang Dong answered first, ¡°Obviously not. She just wanted to ask us a few question. Don¡¯t worry about it, let¡¯s hurry up and head to the assessment.¡± He was obviously unwilling to speak about such an embarrassing matter.

    Since they were the team that had achieved the best results during the previous five-round tournament, they were able to remain in the 33rd arena. After lots were redrawn, they were paired with another five teams in order to continue their assessment.

    These students definitely weren¡¯t first-rankers from the other arenas, as such they certainly wouldn¡¯t meet any amazingly strong opponents during their next five rounds. However, it still wouldn¡¯t be as easy for them as their previous matches.

    Teacher Wang Yan nced at Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three with a deep look in his eyes, then proceeded to make an announcement, ¡°Alright, everyone¡¯s present. Since ss 1¡¯s ¡®Team Huo Yuhao¡¯ was able to obtain the best results in this arena during their previous five matches, they¡¯re the seeded team of this arena. As for the order of the matches, the first match of the 33rd arena¡¯s sixth round will be: ss 1¡¯s Team Huo Yuhao versus ss 7¡¯s Team Huang Chutian. Begin the assessment.¡±

    When the two sides entered the arena, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three was immediately astonished by the fact that there was an identical pair of female students on the opposing team.

    The two female students had blue hair, and their small, delicate faces were rosy. They looked extremely cute, and even seemed to be slightly younger than them.

    A pair of twins?

    A tall and sturdy male student stood in front of the two girls; he was clearly Huang Chutian, their team leader.

    ¡°I¡¯m Huang Chutian. The girl on my left is Lan Susu, while the girl on my right is Lan Luoluo. Please advise us.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Please advise us.¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Both parties took their positions. Huo Yuhao¡¯s side followed their original formation, with Wang Dong in front, Xiao Xiao in the middle, and Huo Yuhao in the corner of the arena.

    On the other side, Huang Chutian stood in front, while Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo stood behind him. Teams could only have one assault system soul master, and it was extremely obvious that one of the twins couldn¡¯t possibly be their team¡¯s assault system soul master. Hence, it was extremely possible that they were both auxiliary system soul masters, or even both control system soul masters like Huo Yuhao¡¯s team.

    Teacher Wang Yan let out a low shout, ¡°Let the assessment begin!¡±

    Both sides quickly released their martial souls. Huang Chutian let out a roar and used both hands to forcefully beat on his chest. He hadn¡¯t even reached the age of twelve, yet he was already 1.5 metres tall. After releasing his martial soul, his stature instantly shot up to 1.8 metres or so, whilst his bulging muscles directly ripped the school uniform that he was wearing apart, exposing his muscles, which had turned metallic ck.

    His originally ck eyes had turned yellow, and two canine teeth were now protruding from his thickened lips. His four limbs were be thick and solid, while his muscles looked as tough as steel.

    Two yellow soul rings simultaneously rose up from his feet. Impressively, he was an assault system Soul Grandmaster.

    The pair of twins behind Huang Chutian also released their martial souls, which, unexpectedly, turned out to be their hair¡­

    Two soul rings unexpectedly also appeared below Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu¡¯s feet, all four yellow. With a swing of their heads, their long, blue hair immediately rose into the air, rapidly spreading out in midair. It quickly reached ten or so metres in length as it floated in midair.

 Chapter 19.1: Soul Fusion Skillâ€”Empyreal Net

    Chapter 19.1: Soul Fusion Skill¡ªEmpyreal Net

    This was an entire teamposed of three students above the twentieth rank! Just how had they not obtained first in their original area? This was also the first team formed by three Soul Grandmasters that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had met.

    Huang Chutian¡¯s team of three were indeed strong, but they¡¯d just so happened to meet an enemy in their original area that had perfectly restrained them. Hence, they¡¯d ended up with four wins and one loss, relegating them to the 33rd Area.

    Wang Dong flew out at as soon as the match started. As his beautiful Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings unfurled, the twin girls in front of him were starstruck; the way they looked at Wang Dong immediately changed.

    Huang Chutian let out a low roar and he suddenly tookrge strides to meet Wang Dong head-on. As his feetnded on the ground, they unexpectedly caused deep ¡®boom¡¯s to ring out. When he was only three metres away from Wang Dong, he suddenly leapt towards Wang Dong and smashed his fists straight towards him.

    Wang Dong folded his wings together, forcefully receiving the blow.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± Huang Chutian was unexpectedly the one forced back towards the ground. When hended, he took a few steps back to steady his body.

    After steadying himself, he immediately leapt back into the air and headed straight towards Wang Dong again.

    At that moment, arge, pitch-ck cauldron soundlessly appeared at the summit of Huang Chutian¡¯s leap. He basically looked like he was purposefully trying to smash himself into it.

    Huang Chutian was somewhat stunned. He couldn¡¯t borrow any force to change direction midair, thus he couldn¡¯t change the direction of his jump once he was in the air. In a moment of helplessness, he had no choice but to smash therge cauldron away instead.

    Strangely, therge cauldron moved 30cm backwards just as his movements changed, allowing it to ¡®sidestep¡¯ his fist, before it instantly charged forwards.

    However, Huang Chutian was still rtively strong. By angling his body forwards, he unexpectedly managed to shake the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± Huang Chutian was sent flying backwards, while the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron descended from the sky andnded beside Wang Dong. This was the first time that Xiao Xiao had made a move during the freshman assessment.

    As the proctor of the match, Wang Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. He¡¯d naturally been able to see just how extraordinary Xiao Xiao¡¯s martial soul was, which made him seriously evaluate Xiao Xiao¡¯s ability to grasp key moments in a battle.

    Wang Dong turned to Xiao Xiao and smiled. ¡°I was just testing his strength. This guy¡¯s martial soul should be the extremely tough Herculean Ape, no wonder he¡¯s so strong.¡± After saying this, he leapt back into the air. He toes tapped the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with his toes on his way back up, and his first soul ring lit up.

    ¡°Huang Chutian, let¡¯s see whether or not your toughness can withstand my Wing Guillotine.¡± Extending his wings, he charged towards his opponent.

    As Wang Dong flew towards his opponent, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo stopped looking towards him. Instead, the pair looked at each other, and sped their hands. An even stronger soulforce undtion immediately erupted from them. Their ten or so metres of blue hair instantly flew into the air, forming arge in midair that flew towards Wang Dong.

    Using a to confront a butterfly was clearly the best method avable to them.

    Hai¡ªthis was a soul skill that both of the twins possessed as their first soul skill. When the two identical soul skills were used together via the connection between their spirits to form arge blue that enshrouded Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection unexpectedly couldn¡¯t sense any gaps in it.

    Huang Chutian¡¯s figure rapidly retreated into the of hair, which seemed to possess a pair of eyes, as it let him pass through without even touching him,

    The situation that Huo Yuhao had been most worried about had urred¡ªtheir opponents consisted of a team of one assault system soul master and two control system soul masters. Furthermore, the two control system soul masters had even turned out to be twins, which naturally meant that the connection between the two of them was deeper.

    At this moment, the overbearing might of Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing showed itself. The Hai was originally meant to suppress his butterfly-type martial soul, but when he waved his Guillotine Wing, its sharp edge emitted a terrifyingly destructive power. Two enormous bluish-golden des danced about, unexpectedly tearing a hole in therge. He used the opportunity he¡¯d made to instantly dive down towards Huang Chutian with the aid of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Huang Chutian and the two sisters were astonished; they hadn¡¯t expected the destructive strength of Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess to be this great. Moreover, they didn¡¯t understand how Wang Dong could¡¯ve known exactly where Huang Chutian was, despite his vision being blocked by the Hai.

    Huang Chutian let out a loud roar, his first soul ring instantly lighting up. The size of his fists suddenly doubled, and they shone with a strong metallic luster. After he did this, he met Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing head-on. While this was happening, the Lan sisters released their Hais in an attempt to trap him from behind.

    ¡°Dong¡ª¡± When Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing mmed into his metallic fists, a hard sound unexpectedly rang out. Huang Chutian was forced back once again; he stumbled backwards five or six steps before he steadied himself. Fresh blood dripped off his fists, which had been cut open.

    Huang Chutian¡¯s expression changed. His Herculean Ape was a rtively tyrannical martial soul; it was widely known as one that possessed both extremely tough skin as well as extraordinary strength. However, it had actually been unable to block Wang Dong¡¯s wings. It wasn¡¯t because he was weaker than Wang Dong, but because of how terrifyingly sharp Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing was. If he hadn¡¯t retreated, his fists might¡¯ve been seriously injured.

    After using a single sh to force Huang Chutian back, Wang Dong¡¯s might had flourished even more. He pped his rear wings, allowing him to adjust his posture, then proceeded to rapidly whirl his wings, causing his Guillotine Wing to resemble a spinning top as it tore apart the Hai that was approaching him from behind.

    Xiao Xiao could naturally sense Wang Dong¡¯s current condition via Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing. Because of this, she didn¡¯t make any other moves with her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Huang Chutian let out another angry roar. He sped his hands and raised them above his head, causing his second soul ring o finally light up. A denseyer of yellow light filled his body. This time his arms expanded, causing his strong muscles to be filled with a terrifying strength. The yellow light continued to circte until it reached his fists, where it finally stopped.

    ¡°Power Cannon!¡± Huang Chutian shouted, suddenly sending his fists smashing towards Wang Dong. A condensed yellow ball of light instantly shot out from his fists towards Wang Dong. This ball of light unexpectedly had a lock-on ability, as Wang Dong was unable to shake it off after dodging it three times.

    As he prepared to use the Guillotine Wing to block the ball of light, the hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Wang Dong¡¯s face. He surprisingly chose to give up on blocking it, instead choosing to ignore the Power Cannon entirely. He turned over and flew downwards, straight towards the Lan sisters, as he continued to tear their Hai apart.

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron soundlessly appeared behind Wang Dong when he did this, fiercely smashing into the Power Cannon. The instant that the two collided, a ck halo was diffused from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, causing a deafening rumble to echo out in midair.

 Chapter 19.2: Soul Fusion Skillâ€”Empyreal Net

    Chapter 19.2: Soul Fusion Skill¡ªEmpyreal Net

    When the Power Cannon collided with the ck halo of light, arge part of it was immediately crippled. Although its explosive force was enough to send the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron flying when it smashed into the cauldron, Huang Chutian¡¯s attack was finally neutralised. Furthermore, the Lan sisters were currently facing Wang Dong¡¯s all-out attack.

    The Lan sisters had clearly underestimated their opponents. Although Huang Chutian was at a disadvantage when fighting Wang Dong, he hadn¡¯t been defeated. However, they¡¯d forgotten that Wang Dong wasn¡¯t by himself! As Wang Dong flew straight towards them whilst tearing apart their Hais, they realised that they didn¡¯t have enough time to use their second soul skills anymore, as there needed to be a certain amount of distance between the two parties for its greatest might to be unleashed.

    The sisters nced at each other, a determined look appearing in their eyes. The soul rings on the two girl¡¯s bodies simultaneously disappeared, and they suddenly unsped their hands. Next, they unexpectedly opened their arms and hugged each other.

    Wang Dong was stunned for a moment¡ªwhat were they trying to do?

    The Lan sisters answered his question a momentter. They instantly released an undtion of soulforce that greatly exceeded that of the previous one. The instant that they embraced each other, a blue halo of light was released from their bodies, which encapsted them and made it impossible to see them clearly. At the same time, their long hair flew into the air and turned a shade of sparkling blue. Their Hais were still as thin as before, but the feeling that they gave Wang Dong as they tried to cover him this time was entirely different.

    His Guillotine Wing cut into it again, but it wasn¡¯t cut through instantly like it had been before. Wang Dong felt as if he¡¯d smashed into an extremely flexible and durable; no matter how much he struggled, the got smaller and smaller around him. The instant that thergepletely covered him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing unexpectedly disappeared.

    Could Huo Yuhao have stopped the skill? The answer to that was obviously ¡®no¡¯. The reason behind Wang Dong¡¯s current predicament was due to the fact that this soul skill was simply too strong; so much so that its enormous soulforce undtions had allowed it to forcefully block out Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. No matter how you looked at it, Huo Yuhao was still only a one-ringed soul master after all.

    In what seemed to be an instant, Wang Dong had be a dumpling trapped within the of hair; the sparkling strands of blue hair had surrounded himpletely. However, the ¡®omnipresent¡¯ strands of hair didn¡¯t simply stop here. Instead, they rapidly flew towards Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao to entrap them as well.

    ¡°A soul fusion skill?¡± Xiao Xiao let out a surprised cry. She quickly unleashed an all-out attack with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. Therge cauldron split into three smaller cauldrons in midair, before smashing into therge web.

    This so-called ¡®soul fusion skill¡¯ was abined skill that could be unleashed by two soul masters who had extremely congenial martial souls. Hence, the power of a soul fusion skill far exceeded that of any soul skill of the same rank. It was an existence that was no longer on the same level as other soul skills. On the other hand, a soul fusion skill could only be unleashed by an extremely small number of soul masters; finding twopatible soul masters was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

    Huang Chutian was naturally the strongest individual on his team, but their team¡¯s true trump card was the soul fusion skill that the Lan sisters could use!

    During their previous matches, they¡¯d made sure to patiently restrain themselves. They went so far as to not use their soul fusion skill, even if it meant losing a match. However, this was the first match of the fifth round; they couldn¡¯t afford to lose anymore. Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was ss 1¡¯s seeded team. Likewise, Huang Chutian and the Lan sisters were ss 7¡¯s seeded team; their duty was to gun for the top three spots.

    Because of this, the Lan sisters had decided to embrace each other and activate the Empyreal Net only after considering it for a brief moment.

    Don¡¯t even mention a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster; even a three-ringed Soul Elder wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from the Empyreal Net if he was all by himself.

    When the Empyreal Net swallowed up the three ck cauldrons, Xiao Xiao let out a frail cry, causing three simultaneous rumbling sounds to ring out from within the Empyreal Net.

    The Empyreal Net unexpectedly shook a little bit. This was the skill that had previously blocked Huang Chutian¡¯s soul skill¡ªthe Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s first soul skill: Cauldron Quake.

    Its activation this time around differed from its previous usage. This time, Cauldron Quake was simultaneously used by all three cauldrons, causing its strength to be fully released.

    The secret behind Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrony here: when the three cauldrons were fused together, their defensive capabilities were at their greatest. When the three cauldrons were separated, their attacking capabilities and soul skills power were at their greatest.

    However, the Empyreal Net was still a soul fusion skill! Although Xiao Xiao¡¯s all-out Cauldron Quake was extremely strong, it paled in significance to the Empyreal Net. After a slight tremble, the Empyreal Net continued to fly towards Xiao Xiao, appearing before her in an instant.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted, ¡°Wang Dong!¡±

    The Empyreal Net which had already neared Xiao Xiao suddenly stopped, as if it had been intimidated by Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice. A strong bluish-golden light suddenly lit up from within the depths of the Empyreal Net.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mental Detection Sharing had been activated the whole time. Although it was currently being blocked by the Empyreal Net, Xiao Xiao still felt the strengthening effect of his Mental Detection Sharing. Suddenly, to her astonishment, the originally wide-range Mental Detection Sharing suddenly narrowed down and pierced straight into the heart of the Emypreal Net in the instant that Huo Yuhao shouted.

    Not only that, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s soulforce undtions seemed to be rapidly rising, along with an iprehensible force that seemed to be mixed in with it. Afterwards, Xiao Xiao felt as if something had swept over her mind, causing a wave of dizziness to ovee her.

    Following that, the omnipresent Empyreal Net copsed, like it had been washed away by the tide.

    ¡°Putong¡ª¡ª¡±

    As Wang Dongnded, he took a few deep breaths. Evidently he¡¯d been severely drained. On the other hand, the Lan sisters had been left in an even worse condition; they¡¯d already fainted and were lying on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was now extremely pale; he was so tired that he couldn¡¯t even maintain his Mental Detection Sharing. Although he wasn¡¯t as out of breath as Wang Dong, his chest was unceasingly moving up and down.

    Wang Yan, who was still overlooking the arena, looked on with an inconceivable look in his eyes.

    When the Lan sisters had activated their Empyreal Net, his eyes had already been filled with astonishment. He¡¯d originally thought that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was destined to lose, but he never expected the dramatic change that had just urred. Just as the Empyreal Net was about to defeat its opponents and obtain victory for Huang Chutian¡¯s team, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had unexpectedly managed to flip heaven and earth around in an instant.

    Wang Yan was depressed by the fact that he¡¯d been unable to see how Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had made their move. This was especially true for Huo Yuhao himself; from his pale expression and his previous yell, it was evident that he¡¯d made a move. Furthermore, it was highly likely that breaking the Empyreal Net was something that he¡¯d achieved by going all-out. However, in what way had he made a move? And, how had he broken a soul fusion skill? Wang Yan just couldn¡¯t see how he¡¯d managed to do it.

 Chapter 19.3: Soul Fusion Skillâ€”Empyreal Net

    Chapter 19.3: Soul Fusion Skill¡ªEmpyreal Net

    However, the battle hadn¡¯t ended yet. Although Huang Chutian had been greatly astonished by the fact that they weren¡¯t able to defeat their opponents, he quickly returned to his senses. He pounced towards Wang Dong, who was the closest to him, and let out a low roar. From his point of view, it must¡¯ve been Wang Dong who¡¯d broken their soul fusion skill. Huo Yuhao merely had a ten year soul ring, so he wouldn¡¯t attract any attention under normal circumstances.

    At this moment, Wang Dong was nearly exhausted. As he looked at the approaching Huang Chutian, he forcefully pped his wings backwards in retreat. He shouted, ¡°Xiao Xiao, I¡¯m counting on you!¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Xiao Xiao humphed, causing the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron that he¡¯d separated to attack the Empyreal Net to re-merge. Although she didn¡¯t have the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mental Detection, Huang Chutian¡¯s objective was obvious. Therge cauldron shifted horizontally, cing itself in front of Wang Dong¡¯s body in order to block Huang Chutian¡¯s way.

    On the other hand, Huo Yuhao immediately sat down in a cross-legged position behind Xiao Xiao, attempting to recover his mental energy via meditation. His earlier move had drained him by a considerable amount. Fortunately, he was no longer the rookie that he¡¯d previously been at the eleventh or twelfth rank; his Purple Demon Eyes had also experienced a qualitative leap, which was why his energy hadn¡¯t beenpletely depleted. However, that move of his had caused waves of dizziness to fill his mind. Thus, he was no longer able to simultaneously maintain both his Mental Detection and his Mental Sharing; he needed to rest for a while.

    For someone to break a soul fusion skill with Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength? That was obviously impossible. He was still only a one-ringed soul master. Although his million year soul ring was strong, he was still far away from being able to use the true might of the Skydream Iceworm.

    The reason that he¡¯d been able to destroy the Empyreal Net was a culmination of many factors. Of them, Huo Yuhao had yed the most crucial role.

    When he¡¯d shouted Wang Dong¡¯s name, thetter had immediately understood him, and had released his second soul skill while the Empyreal Net was unceasingly contracting. Wang Dong¡¯s second soul skill was naturally unable to destroy a soul fusion skill by itself, but don¡¯t forget that Wang Dong¡¯s second soul skill was from a thousand year soul ring, which meant that its strength was considerably higher than normal. Although it couldn¡¯t destroy the Empyreal Net, it was still able to rapidly increase the Lan sisters¡¯ soulforce consumption.

    Following that, it was time for Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. Since the Empyreal Net blocked his Mental Detection, he¡¯d focused it in one direction. This allowed his strong mental undtions to ovee the Empyreal Net and for it to prate through it. However, this was in one direction only.

    When he found the Lan sisters, he immediately released his Spirit Shock skill that was also amplified by his Purple Demon Eyes at full power; the dizziness that Xiao Xiao had felt had been caused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out attack.

    The facts showed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out effort had seeded. The Lan sisters¡¯ soul fusion skill was sufficiently strong, but it wasn¡¯t wless. Its greatest wy in the fact that their cultivation levels were just barely sufficient to utilize it. Hence, they weren¡¯t able to maintain it for a long time. After Wang Dong had drained them with his soul skill, Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden Spirit Shock had struck their minds. The strong mental undtions had instantly copsed their skill, while therge bacsh from their soul fusion skill had immediately knocked them out.

    Despite this, the Lan sisters had been able to almostpletely rid Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong of theirbat capabilities. From this, it could be seen just how strong a soul fusion skill was. Huo Yuhao seemed very weak, but he had a million year soul ring!

    Huang Chutian¡¯s hands viciously mmed into the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron; this was his first soul skill, the Vigorous King Kong fist.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± His metallic fists mmed into a ck halo, instantly sending the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron three metres away. However, Huang Chutian stood unmoving in his original spot, his body violently shaking for a moment.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Quake had a strong stunning effect. It wasn¡¯t only capable of hurting her opponents; all enemies within a one metre radius of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron would be stunned on impact.

    Once Huang Chutian was stunned, Xiao Xiao coldly snorted and sped her hands together, causing the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron to instantly split into three, trapping Huang Chutian in the middle.

    The stun effect onlysted a short while. As such, Huang Chutian quickly regained his senses after a short while. This time, he didn¡¯t immediately make a move; he decided to pause for a moment in order to observe the situation in front of him.

    The Lan sisters had already fainted, resulting in them losing all of theirbat capabilities. On the other hand, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao seemed to have lost their fighting capabilities as well, but they were still conscious. As a result of this, it wasn¡¯t certain when they¡¯d be able to rejoin the battle. Only a blitzkrieg strategy would give Huang Chutian¡¯s team a chance of obtaining victory in this assessment.

    Once he¡¯d finished thinking about this, Huang Chutian let out a loud roar. He suddenly stamped his feet, causing his body to quickly ascend. Meanwhile, he sped his hands above his head, his second soul ring lighting up. Power Cannon was activated once again.

    Xiao Xiao gestured inwards with her hands, immediately causing the three cauldrons to simultaneously rise upwards and strike inwards. The strength of Huang Chutian¡¯s Power Cannon was extraordinary; as a result, she absolutely couldn¡¯t let him release it.

    However, Huang Chutian let out a cunning smile. His body suddenly flipped around in midair, turning his body upside-down before the three cauldrons could converge. He swung his sped fists with all his strength, causing a ball of yellow light to immediately shoot towards Xiao Xiao.

    When fighting an enemy, one has to consider their own safety. Huang Chutian didn¡¯t believe that Xiao Xiao was willing to go through mutual destruction. As long as she returned her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron to protect herself, he¡¯d have a chance to approach her. Then, the opportunity to win would present itself to him.

    Indeed, Huang Chutian¡¯s n was extremely clever. If Xiao Xiao wanted to defend herself against his Power Cannon, she¡¯d have to merge her three cauldrons. And if that happened, Huang Chutian would have enough time to approach the trio. No matter who he decided to attack, they¡¯d definitely have a hard time resisting him.

    However, he suddenly felt as if his eyesight had gone bad the instant before he made his move. His Power Cannon had been released, but it had actually been sent out in the wrong direction¡­

    The yellow ball of light was apanied by an explosive sound as it flew outwards at a tilted angle and sting the Examination Area¡¯s partitioning walls to smithereens. The students from the neighbouring area, who were currently undergoing their assessment, couldn¡¯t help but look towards their direction with an astonished expression.

    And at this moment, the victor of the match between Huo Yuhao¡¯s team and Huang Chutian¡¯s team was decided.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s three cauldrons merged back into one in preparation to protect her. However, after therge, re-merged cauldron had flown back several metres, it swept back and viciously struck Huang Chutian¡¯s body. After Xiao Xiao¡¯s second soul ring lit up, Huang Chutian was enshrouded by a ck halo, and was sent flying out of the arena. Wang Yan stretched his arm out to catch him, thus he wasn¡¯t sent flying even further.

    That ck light unceasingly lingered on his body; it took a full three seconds for Huang Chutian to regain the ability to move.

    This was the second soul skill of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron: Cauldron Sweep.

 Chapter 19.4: Soul Fusion Skillâ€”Empyreal Net

    Chapter 19.4: Soul Fusion Skill¡ªEmpyreal Net

    When Cauldron Sweep was used against a single opponent, it wouldn¡¯t only hurt them via the collision, it would also sweep them away while simultaneously stunning him. Hence, it could be considered a control-type skill. Relying on these two skills, Xiao Xiao was definitely worthy of calling herself a control system soul master.

    Xiao Xiao naturally hadn¡¯t been able to predict that her opponent¡¯s attack would deviate from its original target. The reason why she changed from a defensive state to an offensive one was because she once more received Huo Yuhao¡¯s assistance.

    Only, she didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had simultaneously released three soul skills in that instant, and that these three soul skills had finally consumed thest of his soulforce.

    Of these three skills, the one he¡¯d never before used in a battle was Spiritual Interference, which was an area of effect skill.

    Compared to Spirit Shock, Spiritual Interference seemed much weaker. However, don¡¯t forget that it was an area of effect skill. Furthermore, its effects were very subtle when it was activated. As a result of this, enemies would often be unaware that it had affected them. Otherwise, how could Huang Chutian¡¯s locked-on Power Cannon deviate from its target?

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Huo Yuhao¡¯s team wins.¡± While he spoke, he ced Huang Chutian¡ªwho was at a loss¡ªback on the ground. Afterwards, he followed him to the Lan sisters and used his soulforce to awaken them.

    After the Lan sisters had awakened, they felt a splitting headache; it was as if ten thousand needles were pricking their brains.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Shock had be much stronger than before; even the six-ringed Ma Xiaotao had been slightly affected, let alone the two of them. Combined with the bacsh from their soul fusion skill, Huang Chutian¡¯s team could be said to have suffered a great loss from this match. Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to recover theirbat strength today. However, they still had four more matches today!

    On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was in a much better situationpared to their opponents. Fortunately, they¡¯d obtained a victory. Furthermore, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had only been drained of their soulforce; they hadn¡¯t been injured. They could recuperate for two matches¡¯ worth of time, at the very least. However, Xiao Xiao would have to be the main strength of the team during the following matches.

    While Wang Dong supported the weak Huo Yuhao as he walked to the side of the arena, Xiao Xiao followed them and suspiciously asked, ¡°ss monitor, why did his attack miss?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this right now. We should hurry and meditate to restore our soulforce. Our first match has drained us by this much, yet we still have four more matches today. We can only pray that everyone else was drained this much as well.¡±

    After speaking, he immediately sat in a cross-legged position to begin meditating.

    It wasn¡¯t just Xiao Xiao who was puzzled; Wang Dong was slightly puzzled as well, but unlike Xiao Xiao, he found it strange that the Lan sisters¡¯ fusion skill had been broken so easily. If they were only able to maintain their fusion skill for such a short time, was there any point in them using it? The answer was definitely no. However, they¡¯d still used it, and it had in-turn quickly been shattered by his thousand-year soul skill. Furthermore, they¡¯d even been knocked unconscious. Just what was going on? When he thought about Huo Yuhao¡¯s shout, he felt something wrong in his heart. However, he couldn¡¯t ce what was wrong.

    There were a total of six teams participating in the assessment, so the second match began immediately after Huo Yuhao¡¯s match had ended.

    Theter stages of the Freshman Examination had started from the point that the student redistribution happened; this was also the most important period of time for teams to fight for points. Every extra victory represented an extra possibility of staying. As a result, every team present had already begun to give each match their all.

    The previous match between Huo Yuhao¡¯s team and Huang Chutian¡¯s team had greatly astonished the other four teams. After asking themselves whether they had that kind of strength, they came to the conclusion that naturally had to do their utmost whilepeting with the other teams. The first match had basically ended up with both sides receiving damage, so this group¡¯s examination became increasinglyplicated.

    All three matches in the examination¡¯s first round quickly ended, with the results being just as Huo Yuhao had wished for it to be; the other four teams had wasted a considerable amount of energy. After all, they weren¡¯t just drained from today¡¯s matches; they¡¯d used arge amount of energy during the previous day¡¯s four matches as well! They hadn¡¯t recovered enough energy to be in their optimum state to begin with.

    As this arena¡¯s seeded team, Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio was the first to enter the stage when the second round began. This time, their opponents were three students from ss 4.

    After their opponents introduced themselves, they took their ces. On Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, their positioning had clearly changed. Xiao Xiao was standing in the front, while Huo Yuhao stood behind her. On the other hand, the assault system Wang Dong stood at the very back. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had already sat down on the ground before Wang Yan had even announced the start of the battle; they were actually meditating in the arena.

    This was the task that Huo Yuhao had entrusted to them; they had to do their best to recover all of their depleted soulforce. The possibility of them winning every match in the round-robin tournament only existed if Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation was restored to its optimum state.

    ¡°Good luck Xiao Xiao.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, ss monitor. We can definitely do this.¡±

    Following Wang Yan¡¯s announcement, the assessment began with both parties simultaneously releasing their martial souls. After observing their previous matches, Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio knew that their opponents consisted of three agility system soul masters; they all walked down the path of speed.

    When Wang Yan announced the start of the match, the three opposing soul masters simultaneously charged out while releasing their martial souls. They three of them went different directions, all of them charging towards Xiao Xiao at the same time.

    They¡¯d already noticed that Wang Dong was meditating on the ground. When their enemies strongest assault system soul master seemed to have nobat strength at all, how could they give up the opportunity presented to them? Although they¡¯d expended arge amount of energy earlier, they still decided to go all-out.

    Wang Yan stood to the side of the arena, not rxing even a little bit as he kept his eyes carefully trained on Huo Yuhao. He believed that Xiao Xiao alone wouldn¡¯t be able to beat three opponents without Wang Dong¡¯s help. After all, their opponents were three agility-type soul masters! He definitely had to see how Huo Yuhao would make a move, as well as how he would release his soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. Although the faintly golden light in his eyes wasn¡¯t especially clear, Wang Yan managed to see it clearly. However, a change in one¡¯s eye color when they released their martial soul was extremelymon for soul masters. Wang Yan also noticed the presence of the seemingly-weak white soul ring below his feet, yet he still wasn¡¯t able to tell what Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was.

    At that moment, the three agility system soul masters had already made their move. The three moved in three different directions, and their speeds were varied. Two of them pounced towards Xiao Xiao, while the third circled around her in an attempt tounch a sneak attack on Huo Yuhao. They were rtively well-coordinated.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s gaze was fixed on the area in front of her from the beginning¡ªas if she waspletely ignoring them. She then raised her hands above her head, making it look as if she were supporting the heavens. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron instantly rose up and separated into three, which simultaneously flew out to meet her three opponents.

    A mind-blowing scene urred. Without even using her eyes to see what was going on, Xiao Xiao blocked the paths of the three agility system soul masters, using her cauldron that had separated into three. The three agility system soul masters were all at the pinnacle of one-ringed soul masters; they were all around Rank 19. They¡¯d gone all-out, so their movement speed was extremely quick. As a result of this, they simply weren¡¯t able to change their movements fast enough. Thus, all three collided with the three cauldrons.

    They naturally weren¡¯t as strong as Huang Chutian, who possessed the Herculean Ape beast soul. After colliding with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons, they were immediately sent into a confused state. Furthermore, an even more shocking scene urred in the back of the arena.

 Chapter 20.1: The Body Soulâ€™s Secret

    Chapter 20.1: The Body Soul¡¯s Secret

    Not only was the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron quick, but its arrival was also rtively sudden. Thus, the three Agility System Soul Masters weren¡¯t able to unleash their soul skills in time. It was apparent to everyone watching that Xiao Xiao was already extraordinary solely for being able to multitask to this degree. It was impossible for her to still have energy leftover to use a soul skill at the appropriate time while also controlling her martial soul, which had already been divided in three. After all, her opponents would arrive at different times since they were approaching her at different speeds.

    As a result, Xiao Xiao showed the audience a shocking scene. Three bangs rang out from the cauldrons, unleashing three tremors in their respective ces.

    It all happened the moment they collided with the Agility System Soul Masters; the three Agility System Soul Masters were knocked back from the impact, and directly fainted from the shock. They didn¡¯t have the physique of assault system battle soul masters, thus this period of dizziness was naturally even longer for them than what Huang Chutian had previously experienced. The cauldrons overtook her opponents and struck them once more.

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang.¡± The three cauldrons approached their respective opponents and struck them once again with precision, causing the three figures to fly out of the arena at the same time.

    The three ck cauldrons rose up and merged back into a single entity above Xiao Xiao¡¯s head, then quietly disappeared into thin air following the retraction of her martial soul.

    Everyone present fell absolutely silent. This match was even more shocking than the previous match, with Xiao Xiao emerging victorious as the lead figure. The entire fight had taken less than half a minute. By relying on her own strength alone, she¡¯d forcefully stunned her opponents; she hadn¡¯t even let them dash across half the battlefield. She¡¯d faced a three-directional battle and obtained total victory in all three directions.

    Wang Yan had seen all of the previous assessments that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had passed with his own eyes. In his heart, the strongest person in this three-man team was naturally Wang Dong, whereas the most mysterious one¡ªwho was also the steadiest one¡ªwas Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao¡¯s tool soul seemed to be pretty good, but rtively speaking, its function leaned more towards that of a part-auxiliary, part-control system tool soul. From his point of view, her tool soul fell behind the other two¡¯s.

    However, Xiao Xiao had used her own strength to prove to Wang Yan that she also yed a decisively important role in this three-man team. A youngdy that was merely around eleven years old had actually been able to discern all of her opponents¡¯ attacking routes with such calmness and precision, and then from there had been able to unleash a barrage of attacks. Even a four-ringed control system Soul Ancestor might not necessarily have been able to achieve such a natural and smooth manner of defense, control, and retreat against their opponents. How was it that such a small youngdy such as her was able to aplish such a feat?

    The other groups had originally thought that they could take take advantage of the fact that Huo Yuhao and his team had exhausted their energy in their first match, but now, that thoughtpletely vanished from their hearts. Their team had two people with the strength to fight a whole team on their own! They were really too valiant.

    However, Huang Chutian¡¯s team¡ªwhose strength had beenckingpared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s team¡ªwasn¡¯t nearly as fortunate. Even though the Lan sisters had awoken from their unconscious state, they had a headache that was so bad it felt as though their heads were going to split apart. They¡¯d also consumed an excessive amount of soul power; to the point that they couldn¡¯t partake in the following matches and had to rely on Huang Chutian alone to continue participating in thepetition.

    Huang Chutian had previously consumed arge amount of his soul power, and had also been injured by Wang Dong¡¯s Wing Guillotine. Moreover, all three of his opponents would bepletely focused on him if he were to face them alone. Even though Xiao Xiao had also faced three opponents alone just now, the other party had been distracted, cowering in fear when Huo Yuhao stood behind her.

    As a result of this, Huang Chutian suffered a tragedy. Although he persevered for a while during the second match of thepetition, he was defeated by his opponents in the end. Thus, his team was utterly defeated during the second round.

    From Huo Yuhao¡¯s three-man team¡¯s point of view, the rest of thepetition had entered a virtuous cycle. No one was willing to to forcibly confront them head-to-head in battle, and were all doing their utmost to preserve their strength when contending against them so that they could deal with the others. One could say that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team won the next three rounds with an abnormal level ease. This was especially the case during the fourth match, when Wang Dong had managed topletely recover his soul power. With both him and Xiao Xiao standing in front of Huo Yuhao, their opponents had only symbolically confronted them for awhile before conceding.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team¡ªrepresenting Freshman ss 1¡ªemerged victorious from all ten matches of the round-robin tournament, obtaining the best score in their group.

    Huang Chutian¡¯s team had a strong foundation as well. After losing two matches consecutively, the Lan sisters had recovered a little. They managed to reappear on the scene once more, while Huang Chutian disyed his valiant strength again. They were able to win theirst three matches consecutively by directly confronting their opponents, who¡¯d already exhausted a lot of their energy from their previous matches. As a result of that, they won seven out of their ten matches in the end. As such, entering the top sixty-four teams shouldn¡¯t be that great of a problem for them.

    When the round-robin tournament ended, Wang Yan finally couldn¡¯t suppress his curiosity anymore.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you three stay behind for a bit.¡± The other teams headed back to rest, but Wang Yan held Huo Yuhao¡¯s three-man team back.

    ¡°Teacher Wang.¡± Huo Yuhao arrived in front of Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan nodded in his direction, smiled, then said, ¡°Congrattions to all of you for winning all of your matches in the freshman assessment¡¯s round-robin tournament. I¡¯m afraid that less than ten teams were able to obtain such results during this freshman assessment. You guys are truly very strong. However, I¡¯ve always been very curious about you, Huo Yuhao. Being your team¡¯s leader, what exactly is your martial soul? Even though I wasn¡¯t able to see you do much during your battles, I believe that you¡¯re the core of this team. I¡¯m right about this, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Huo Yuhao went nk for a moment, and then, feeling slightly bashful, said, ¡° Teacher Wang, you tter me. We were able to obtain such good results all thanks to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s powerfulness. I¡¯m only a supporting characterpared to them because, as you can see, I only have a single ten year soul ring.¡±

    Wang Yanughed faintly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be modest. If you weren¡¯t that powerful, I don¡¯t believe that such talented individuals as Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao would be willing to let you be the team leader. Moreover, I also investigated your performance at the Academy during these past three months. Do you know what students call you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao went nk for a moment, then shook his head.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°All of them call you ¡®Iron-willed Yuhao¡¯ because you have a willpower akin to that of steel. Your innate talent is the weakest, but you are the most hardworking. That¡¯s what makes you the role model of Freshman ss 1. However, I didn¡¯t ask around about your martial soul because I wanted to personally see what your martial soul and soul skill was for myself, to prove my own abilities. However, I¡¯ve no choice but to admit that I¡¯ve lost; I couldn¡¯t tell what your martial soul was from the beginning of thepetition to the end, and I also wasn¡¯t able to find out what soul skill you were using. I saw that white ten year soul ring of yours light up every single match, but I just couldn¡¯t seem to make out what the effect of your soul skill were. Can you clear up my confusion for me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Teacher Wang, my martial soul is the Spirit Eyes, and it¡¯s ssified as a mental-type martial soul. As for my soul skill, please let me keep it a secret. After all, we still need to continue participating in the assessment.¡± His martial soul wasn¡¯t that big of a secret within the Academy, as there were many people who knew about it. If this Teacher Wang sincerely wanted to find out, then he could definitely do so, yet why should he be so petty? As for his soul skill, he wasn¡¯t willing to reveal it.

 Chapter 20.2: The Body Soulâ€™s Secret

    Chapter 20.2: The Body Soul¡¯s Secret

    ¡°Spirit Eyes? Your martial soul is your eyes?¡± Wang Yan¡¯s response was even greater than Huo Yuhao could¡¯ve imagined. After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, he was so excited that he almost jumped up. He looked at Huo Yuhao with a face full of excitement.

    Huo Yuhao stared nkly and asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, what¡¯se over you?¡±

    Wang Yan grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders with both of his hands and said, ¡°Answer me first. Is your martial soul your eyes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes!¡±

    Wang Yan inhaled deeply, then interrogated him further with a nervous expression on his face. ¡°Then, do you belong to the Body Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head, feeling lost, ¡°The Body Sect? Teacher Wang, I haven¡¯t heard of them before.¡±

    A hint of ecstasy blossomed in Wang Yan¡¯s eyes. He released his grip on Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Wonderful! This is truly wonderful! Haha, I never would¡¯ve thought that our Shrek Academy would obtain such a great bargain. No wonder¡­ No wonder your role is enormous, even though you only have a ten year soul ring. As it turns out, you actually have a body soul. It really is a pity. If you¡¯d entered the Academy earlier, I would¡¯ve helped you obtain a soul ring at the limit of what you could absorb for your first soul ring, no matter what!¡±

    Looking at the slightly mysterious Wang Yan who was chattering away, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but turn around and look at Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had already encountered the unreasonable Evil Fire Phoenix named Ma Xiaotao before. Teacher Wang had been pretty normal when they met him two days ago! Howe he¡¯d suddenly changed? Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but recall the words that Teacher Xiao Ya and his eldest senior brother had said after witnessing the present scene. There weren¡¯t many monster students in Shrek Academy, but there were definitely many monster teachers.

    Wang Yan inhaled deeply, calming the astonishment and joy in his heart. He then said, ¡°Alright. Huo Yuhao, you guys head back and rest first. I¡¯lle and look for you againter on.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and hastily left.

    Looking at his leaving figure, Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but ask in a low voice, ¡°It can¡¯t be that Teacher Wang is mental, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about Teacher Wang like that.¡±

    Wang Dong went up to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and said, ¡°He must¡¯ve lost hisposure due to your body soul. I think I¡¯ve also heard that people who possess body souls are extremely rare, but I¡¯ve never heard of something called the ¡®Body Sect¡¯ before.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°Forget it. I reckon that Teacher Wang will stille and find me again in the future. Shouldn¡¯t we celebrate our total victory? I¡¯ll treat you guys to something good at the dining hall.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was eager to eat, as she immediately revealed her desire to eat something. ¡°Forget about the dining hall. ss monitor, I still haven¡¯t tried your roasted fish. No matter what you say, you have to satisfy this small wish of mine today.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°No problem. It¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s return to our dormitories and rest for awhile first; we¡¯ll meet at the dormitory¡¯s gateter tonight. There shouldn¡¯t be anything important tomorrow. In any case, let¡¯s rest and reorganise ourselves before before the start of the elimination matches.¡±

    The three of them returned to the dormitory together. Xiao Xiao went upstairs to the girls¡¯ dormitory¡ªthe area that was absolutely restricted to the male students.

    Huo Yuhao followed Wang Dong back to the dormitory. However, he didn¡¯t expect Wang Dong to look as though he had a lot on his mind.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? Wang Dong, what¡¯re you thinking about?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Wang Dong, who was currently sitting on his bed.

    Wang Dong muttered irresolutely to himself, saying, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m thinking about what happened during our first match today. No matter what way I think about it, I still feel that something isn¡¯t right. Even though the power of my thousand year soul ring skill is extremely strong, the other party was using a martial soul fusion skill! I could feel that you focused your Spiritual Detection Sharing and detected the inner part of their soul skill, but it wasn¡¯t to share it with me. Immediately after you did that, their soul skill was defeated. What exactly did you do?¡±

    He raised his head as he spoke and looked at Huo Yuhao with a burning gaze.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart leapt. He knew that it would be slightly difficult if he wanted to keep things from Wang Dong. Wang Dong was different from Teacher Wang Yan; they both shared a dormitory, and had also cultivated together for such a long time. Wang Dong understood him very well. If he fabricated a lie, perhaps he might be able to bluff his way out of it, but Wang Dong would definitely hold a grudge against him for doing so.

    As a result of this, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t reply at first, instead sinking into hesitation and deep thought.

    It was definitely impossible for him to tell the truth. The existence of the million year soul beast, the Skydream Iceworm, was too mind-blowing. It would affect one in unimaginable ways regardless of who that person was. If he told Wang Dong the truth, he might only be harming him. However, what was he to do if he couldn¡¯t tell him the truth?

    Suddenly, the words ¡®body soul¡¯ shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. His eyes shone, revealing that the fact that he¡¯de up with an idea.

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his head once more. There was a somewhat serious gaze in his eyespared to normal.

    Wang Dong had never seen Huo Yuhao look this way before, and immediately stared at him while saying, ¡°Could it be that you really have some kind of trump card?¡±

    Having Wang Dong look him straight in the eye, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but have his mind go nk for a moment, as Wang Dong¡¯s eyes were really just too beautiful. His long eyshes curled upwards, and the whites of his eyes peeked out from the edges of his jet-ck eyes. That curious look in his eyes made thoserge pair of eyes seem as though they could speak.

    Huo Yuhao secretly let out a sigh in his heart. No wonder those girls were captivated by him. He really was extremely good-looking!

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that it¡¯s a trump card. You could say that this is a secret of body souls. I discovered it not too long ago.¡±

    Wang Dong was astonished. He immediately asked, ¡°The body soul¡¯s secret?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°You mentioned yourself that body souls are extremely rare when we returned just now. The reality of the matter is exactly that. Moreover, our body souls really do have a few unique areas. Since cultivating the Tang Sect¡¯s Purple Demon Eyes, I realised that my Spirit Eyes had definitely started to mutate again. When I focus my first soul skill¡ªSpiritual Detection Sharing¡ªin a particr direction, I can generate a spiritual attack if I focus my spiritual force into a single point and strike out with it. I tried it out against a few small animals in the Academy, and it was really effective. I decided to test it out in battle today because I¡¯d been backed into a really tight corner, but I didn¡¯t know that it would actually be so effective. Maybe¡­ Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were actually finding it extremely difficult to use their martial soul fusion skill, and at the same time, they were also being restricted by your thousand year soul skill. Perhaps they only copsed after the sudden spiritual force attack from my Purple Demon Eyesbined with the umtion of all of these factors. However, I shouldn¡¯t have had anything to do with them losing consciousness. Have you forgotten what the teacher said before in ss? Not only does a martial soul fusion skill consume a lot of energy, but its users will normally be subjected to a rebound. The more powerful the fusion skill is, the greater the rebound. I¡¯m afraid that even the lightest rebound would cause its users to be extremely weak. Since they used their fusion skill today, I reckon that they can¡¯t use it again for a period of time, too.

    Wang Dong widened his eyes. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that your martial soul was influenced by the Purple Demon Eyes, and that you were actually able to unleash a spiritual attack simr to that from a soul skill?¡±

 Chapter 20.3: The Body Soulâ€™s Secret

    Chapter 20.3: The Body Soul¡¯s Secret

    Huo Yuhao ced a finger to his lips. ¡°Keep your voice down, lest other people find out about this. I¡¯ve just told you my biggest secret.¡±

    From a certain standpoint, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t lying. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the entire truth, because in all honesty, a matter like the Skydream Iceworm would be too shocking. Now that he¡¯d found a suitable exnation for his Spirit Shock, Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. He knew that he¡¯d still have to face many different examinations along with his studies in Shrek Academy, and in order to face these examinations, he absolutely couldn¡¯t afford to conceal his Spirit Shock. Even so, he¡¯d have to find an exnation for it sooner orter, and the theory that he¡¯d just given to Wang Dong seemed to be rather suitable.

    Wang Dong had a look of shock on his face as he looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°A body soul is actually so awesome? It can even spontaneously evolve and create a skill.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t anything special. Your Radiant Butterfly Goddess naturally possesses the ability to fly, right? The altitude of your flight will also increase as your cultivation increases. This kind of innate ability ought to be considered as your martial soul¡¯s natural characteristic.¡±

    After pondering what Huo Yuhao had said for a moment, Wang Dong replied, ¡°Nope, it¡¯s not the same. You¡¯re right, the innate ability of my Radiant Butterfly Goddess is flying. But that spiritual attack of yours isn¡¯t an innate ability, since it appeared through the evolution of the Purple Demon Eyes. Meaning, your Spirit Eyes has the natural ability to evolve as a mutating body soul. This is something that my Radiant Butterfly Goddess can neverpare to. Maybe some other kind of skill will emerge in the future when the Purple Demon Eyes evolve again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled sheepishly and said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not any kind of skill either. A more urate interpretation should be that the Spirit Eyes is continuously increasing my spiritual force. On the other hand, I found a use for it after releasing my spiritual force through my Spirit Eyes with the assistance of the Purple Demon Eyes.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°I understand what you mean when you put it this way. It¡¯s just like how I purify orpress my soul power to attack and defend. The only difference between mine and yours is that your spiritual force is formless, so it¡¯s even more difficult to detect it when you use it. I never thought that there would be such a clever way to use soul power.¡±

    When the doubts in his heart had been answered, there was a somewhat relieved expression in Wang Dong¡¯s beautifully big eyes. However, he quickly became extremely excited again. ¡°Yuhao, the martial soul fusion skill that those twins used was really powerful. I¡¯m afraid that we would¡¯ve lost today even if we¡¯d had three soul rings! Even though a fusion skill can¡¯tst long, it¡¯s still immensely powerful, and has an extremely powerful explosive force. It can be said to be the top-ranked skill for us Soul Masters. Their soul power is going to get even stronger in the future, right? If they can sustain their fusion skill for an even longer period of time, then it will definitely be extremely difficult for anyone of the same rank to contend against them. It¡¯d be good if we could also have this kind of skill.¡±

    Huo Yuhao burst intoughter and said, ¡°Stop dreaming, how could such a good thing happen to us? I still recall that teacher said that thepatibility of one¡¯s martial souls needs to be extremely high before it will be possible for a martial soul fusion skill to appear. The possibility of it happening is so slim that not even a single one will appear among thousands. If and when two people¡¯s martial souls are highlypatible, there will be a reaction between both parties. We¡¯ve lived together for three months already, yet have you had any feelings ofpatibility with me before? In any case, I haven¡¯t felt anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Wang Dong to lower his head as he spoke, as though he was mulling over something. Moreover, his face had be slightly flushed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.

    Wang Dong seemed to have made up his mind when he raised his head. There was a somewhat strange look in his eyes as he looked attentively at Huo Yuhao, and began to speak in a serious tone. ¡°Since you¡¯ve told me the secret of your body soul, then it¡¯s not right if I conceal the truth any longer. The truth is, I¡¯ve always been concealing my ability, as well as my aura, to some extent.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to be surprised. Wang Dong¡¯s strength spoke for itself. He¡¯d already amply disyed the strength of his martial soul¡ªthe Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡ªduring the freshman examination. Wang Dong had only used his second soul skill once during the ten matches, but even then, no one had been able to see what exactly it had looked like. Yet, he was now saying that he actually still had a concealed ability. How could Huo Yuhao not be shocked at this?

    Wang Dong continued, ¡°Although you cannot sense the aura on me, when I received that Spiritual Detection Sharing of yours for the first time, I could already feel that your aura was extremely close to mine. The reason that my aura doesn¡¯t extend outwards beyond the scope of my body is because it¡¯s restricted by another power of mine. You¡¯ll only be able to sense the existence of my aura with close bodily contact. Do you want to try it out?¡±

    ¡°Close bodily contact? How do you want to get close?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in a dim-witted manner.

    Wang Dong suddenly became exasperated. ¡°Stupid, isn¡¯t it fine to just hug each other for awhile?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Is that so! You should¡¯ve just said so. Do I need to undress?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Dong gave Huo Yuhao a shock.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Thene on.¡± He willingly spread his arms out wide as he spoke, walking towards Wang Dong for a hug.

    Wang Dong, on the other hand, was slightly dazed when he saw Huo Yuhao getting closer and closer to him. He didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s willingness, which in turn caused his body to unconsciously tense up. His whole being seemed to have entered an especially rigid state.

    Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong in a very natural manner. From his point of view, it was a hug between friends. Wasn¡¯t this very normal? But, when he really hugged Wang Dong, the feeling changed slightly.

    He suddenly remembered that this was the first time that they¡¯d been so intimately in contact with one another, making him suddenly recall the time when he¡¯d seen Wang Dong¡¯s figure from behind once more.

    He¡¯d originally thought that Wang Dong¡¯s body would be as muscr and sturdy as his. After all, they were both Soul Masters who painstakingly trained their bodies and cultivated their soul power everyday.

    However, when he hugged Wang Dong, it waspletely different from what he¡¯d imagined. Even though Wang Dong¡¯s body was stic to the touch, it was also extremely soft; the kind of softness that made him feel as though he had no bones. Moreover, he also had a faint fragrant smell on him. They were about the same height, so when Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong, his face was to the side of Wang Dong¡¯s neck. When his chin rubbed against Wang Dong¡¯s slender neck, the smooth and sleek feeling made his mind tremble slightly.

    Huo Yuhao really wanted to let out a sigh, but he felt that something was wrong. However, at his age, his knowledge in certain areas was still insubstantial, and thus he didn¡¯t think too much of it. He only felt that hugging Wang Dong was much morefortable than he¡¯d imagined it would be.

    ¡°How does it feel?¡± Wang Dong practically mumbled. He didn¡¯t put his hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back and hug him the same way; rather, he only let Huo Yuhao hug him. The feeling that he had was also different from what Huo Yuhao felt. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was very sturdy, and he also had a heavily masculine scent that was apanied by the faint scent of sweat that youngsters had. Such an experience made Wang Dong blush deeply.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good. Veryfortable.¡± Huo Yuhao subconsciously answered, based on what he felt.

    Wang Dong went nk for a moment, but his expression immediately became one of anger after a moment. ¡°Stupid, did I let you hug me so that you could feelfortable? I was letting you feel the aura of my martial soul!¡±

 Chapter 20.4: The Body Soulâ€™s Secret

    Chapter 20.4: The Body Soul¡¯s Secret

    ¡°Uh¡­ I forgot. I¡¯ll try hugging you again.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed, but he immediately hugged Wang Dong even tighter.

    When Wang Dong was hugged with even more strength, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a light groan. He wanted to push him away, but he still decided to endure it. With his hands reluctantly grabbing Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes and his lips tightly shut, he really looked as if he¡¯d suffered arge grievance.

    Huo Yuhao slowly gathered his soul power while conscientiously perceiving Wang Dong¡¯s aura, but the first thing he smelled after hugging Wang Dong was the strong fragrance that came off his body. Wang Dong¡¯s body felt somewhat firm, but it was still extremely soft.

    Gradually, Huo Yuhao felt the undtions of Wang Dong¡¯s aura; it was a strong, radiant aura that feltfortably warm. As it stimted his soul power to slowly circte around Wang Dong¡¯s body, it caused an indescribablyfortable feeling. What made him even more astonished was the fact that an even stronger aura of life had gradually appeared in the midst of the radiant aura.

    Wang Dong¡¯s aura unexpectedly transformed three times in a row, but every change made him feel even more intimate with Wang Dong. When he felt the final transformation in Wang Dong¡¯s aura, his soul power surprisingly started to circte along the cirction paths of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    This, this was¡­

    Huo Yuhao gradually widened his eyes; Wang Dong was simrly astonished. After Huo Yuhao hugged him, a golden stream slowly appeared on the surface of his skin. Then, it slowly turned a bluish-gold colour before turning dark-gold.

    The colour of the light changed three times; this was also a strange undtion that Huo Yuhao felt after his aura transformed.

    In the end, Wang Dong was still more experienced than Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao silently sensed the aura on Wang Dong¡¯s body, while Wang Dong observed everything on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He discovered that a light had started to appear on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. First, it was a dim, white stream that was soft and profound, and even had a diverse feeling to it. When his aura came into contact with this white aura, an indescribable sense of coziness unexpectedly appeared. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura seemed to be virtuous, and harmonized perfectly with his own aura.

    Following that, the aura on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body began to transform. His soft and profound aura gradually turned chilly, and a faint chilliness appeared on his body. However, that chilliness also felt as if it were filled with an endless amount of life; it merged perfectly with the aura of life on Wang Dong¡¯s body. Although one was an aura of life was one that belonged to the natural world, while the other was an inexhaustible amount of life that came from the deste cold of ancient times, the endless undtions of life that they shared allowed the two auras tobine with each other, further harmonizing them.

    When the stream surrounding Wang Dong¡¯s body finally turned dark-gold, the aura on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body changed from an icy-blue colour to an insipid grey one.

    This grey was very, very dull. However, to Wang Dong¡¯s astonishment, the profundity and stability that came from the stream of grey surpassed even the dark-gold on his body.

    Yes, the aura on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had expectedly transformed three times in a row as well. Furthermore, it fused perfectly with Wang Dong¡¯s aura each time it transformed.

    Gradually, Wang Dong¡¯s hands, which were holding onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes, started to rise upwards, hugging him as well. At this moment, there were no distracting thoughts in their minds; they werepletely immersed in the wonderful feeling caused by the changes in their respective auras.

    The three different auras varied unceasingly, while the soul power in their bodies started to circte. Furthermore, the cirction speed of their soul power became increasingly faster as time passed, while the speed at which the three auras alternated continuously increased.

    The differently-coloured streams that unceasingly surrounded the two were faintly discernible; in reality, they were very light in colour, so only the two of them could clearly sense their auras.

    At this moment, the two didn¡¯t understand what this state truly meant to them, but they took advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself and calmly hugged each other, silently perceiving this wonderful and increasingly rxing feeling.

    Regardless of whether it was Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong, the two of them felt as if the other party had merged into their body; this feeling was simply too wonderful. Subsequently, their souls felt as if they had ascended to a higher ne.

    At this moment, a refreshing feeling appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. An extremely familiar voice then echoed out.

    ¡°How can your luck be this good? This can¡¯t be true.¡±

    This sudden voice startled Huo Yuhao, slightly awakening him from that strange feeling. He subconsciously wanted to release his hands.

    That voice hurriedly said, ¡°Quickly hug him, you idiot.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately tightened his arms. He had an absolute trust towards this voice, because he had already recognised that this voice belonged to no one else but the Skydream Iceworm.

    Yes, the Skydream Iceworm, who had been in a deep slumber for several months, had actually awakened due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯s hug.

    However, it quickly turned taciturn. After a brief moment, its voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind again, ¡°From now on, follow my instructions. I¡¯d never have thought that you¡¯d actually be able to find someone who¡¯spletelypatible with your aura. This Brother really can¡¯t understand it. No, this is practically impossible! However, you¡¯ve done it. This, to you, is something extremely fortunate. You have to grab this chance; it¡¯ll give you two endless prospects in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously thought in his mind; ¡°Brother Skydream, just what do you mean? Wang Dong¡¯s aura is perfectlypatible with mine?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm responded; ¡°Simply put, the current rtionship between you two is just like that of a married couple between mortals. On the one hand, we have Yin; On the other hand, we have Yang. We have twopletely identical auras, but they respectively represent Yin and Yang. After they fusepletely, apletely harmonized body of Yin and Yang will form. As a result of this, you¡¯ll inevitably release an extremelyrge amount of power. It seems like you humans call this situation a ¡®Martial Soul Fusion¡¯. In other words, your martial soul and the martial soul of this fellow you¡¯re hugging are perfectlypatible. Furthermore, there are different levels of martial soul fusions. Generally, the possibility of a fusion only exists if yourpatibility exceeds fifty percent. However, thepatibility between you two is a hundred percent. Not only that, but this Brother was even astonished by the fact that you two actually have three martial souls that are fusing with each other. This practically isn¡¯t a miracle, it¡¯s perverted!¡±

    ¡°Three martial soul fusions?¡± Huo Yuhao asked nkly. ¡°How can that be possible? Wang Dong only has one martial soul, and that¡¯s the Radiant Butterfly Goddess! I only have two martial souls, and my second martial soul isn¡¯t even decided yet.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm unhappily said; ¡°Do you think he¡¯s just going to tell you that he has a few martial souls? If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t even talk about it! As for you, not bad. You originally had one martial soul, but I gave you an Ice martial soul. That¡¯s two. But do you still remember that small grey ball? That unfathomable fellow. Even if he looks very weak, don¡¯t look down on him. I¡¯ve thought about him for a long time, but I still can¡¯t swallow him up. He¡¯s unexpectedly be a strange sort of martial soul. Even with this Brother¡¯s million years of experience, I still can¡¯t fathom what he¡¯s doing. It doesn¡¯t seem to be able to obtain any soul rings, but the innate strength of its soul terrifies even me. Even I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯ll be. But, this martial soul that can¡¯t even be called a martial soul actually managed to fuse with this fellow you¡¯re hugging. Otherwise, why would this Brother be so stunned?¡±

    Huo Yuhao astonishedly said, ¡°If you put it this way, then doesn¡¯t it mean that Wang Dong has triple martial souls as well?¡±

 Chapter 21.1: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 21.1: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    The Skydream Iceworm indifferently said, ¡°Idiot. That¡¯s obvious. Haven¡¯t you ever thought to yourself about this? Even someone possessing twin martial souls wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the suppressive strength of a thousand-year soul ring when he is at the level you humans call ¡®Rank 20¡¯. The reason why he can do it is exactly because he has three martial souls. Each and every one of his martial souls has improved his physique, so that¡¯s how he¡¯s able to possess a thousand-year soul ring when he¡¯s only at Rank 20. Using the descriptions you humans use, this fellow you¡¯re hugging is a super-genius that¡¯s hard to see even in ten thousand years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao would absolutely never have thought that Wang Dong would actually possess three martial souls. No wonder, no wonder he told Xiao Xiao that she¡¯d absolutely never be his match in a 1v1 situation. No wonder he possessed such strong self-confidence. He was only a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster, but he had never disyed any feelings of admiration towards anyone. Huo Yuhao had never thought that Wang Dong¡¯s talent was THIS high.

    ¡°Foolish kid, what do you have to be stunned about? In a sense, you¡¯re someone who has triple martial souls as well! Furthermore, don¡¯t forget this: your first soul ring is an unprecedented million-year soul ring. I can guarantee that you absolutely won¡¯t find a second million-year soul beast on the Douluo Continent. Therefore, even though he¡¯s an exceptional genius, you¡¯re unique and unmatched. Have some confidence in yourself. For example, now. With your Brother as an unprecedented intelligent soul ring, I¡¯ll let you take the initiative when you two undergo martial soul fusion. Rx your body and allow me to do everything.¡±

    As he spoke, a refreshing feeling instantly spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain to his entire body, causing his awareness towards his surroundings to dramatically increase.

    It was as if he¡¯d used his Mental Detection; everything in the room appeared as a three-dimensional figure. Not only that, but there seemed to be various colors interchanging in the room. Huo Yuhao finally saw the colour changes on Wang Dong¡¯s body. Gold, bluish-gold, dark gold¡ªthe three colors flickered alternately. On the other hand, the three colors on his body were white, ice-blue, and grey; the three colors transformed unceasingly.

    It was just as the Skydream Iceworm had said, thepatibility between their martial souls was simply too high. Whenever the color on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became white, the color on Wang Dong¡¯s body would turn gold. Then, the ice-blue on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body would be matched with Wang Dong¡¯s bluish-gold; grey was matched with dark-gold.

    The three pairs of colours were extremely harmonized.

    However, after the Skydream Iceworm started to move, the colour of Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupil quietly turned a faintly ice-blue color, which was different from the time when it had helped Huo Yuhao fight against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s terrifying Phoenix me. This time, the Skydream Iceworm only poured a trace of its strength into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea; it didn¡¯t control his body. He only guided Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura, causing it to start producing various transformations.

    Gradually, it could be seen that the aura on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had quietly strengthened by quite a bit. During this kind of process whereby martial soul fusion was urring involuntarily, a transformation in the aura of one party would inevitably cause a subsequent transformation in the aura of the other party.

    Consequently, Wang Dong¡¯s aura immediately strengthened by quite a bit as well, and at this moment, a strong spiritual undtion was released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, simultaneously jolting the two. The two then fainted in what was practically the same instant, causing their bodies to fall onto Wang Dong¡¯s fur-covered bed.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s cunning voice then rang out, ¡°Next, just watch this Brother. There¡¯s also a distinction between the main user and the secondary user during a martial soul fusion, so let¡¯s take the dominant position and take a few advantages. Eeh, this fe called Wang Dong is actually¡­ since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take a few less advantages from him.¡±

    Strands of icy-blue thread started to slowly appear on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertips, rapidly enveloping his and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies. If you examined them closely, you would realise that these threads were actuallypletely made from soul power; this was absolutely not Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. With his current cultivation, he was simply too far from wanting to materialise his soul power.

    Gradually, the two who were embracing each other had already turned into an enormous cocoon.

    After all, the Skydream Iceworm was a silkworm, and forming cocoons was a natural abilities that belonged to silkworms. Currently, their respective auras werepletely concentrated within that blue cocoon, unceasingly wandering about their bodies while transforming.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s pleased voice rang out, ¡°Done. I¡¯ll just let them continue for now. It was a perfect fusion, theirpatibility rate was 100%. With the fusion between three martial souls, I don¡¯t believe that grey tortoise won¡¯t be forced out. If you have the ability,e out from your shell and fight three hundred rounds with this Bro. Hmph.¡±

    The dormitory quieted back down after that. Only therge icy-blue cocoon remained, flickering with a mysterious light. There were no soul power undtions outside the cocoon, and the two people within the cocoon were in a deep, deep sleep.

    Time slowly passed. Today was the only day Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sell his roasted fish.

    Xiao Xiao waited for the two for a long while, but she didn¡¯t see them exit the dorms. Just like how male students couldn¡¯t casually enter the girls dorms, female students couldn¡¯t enter the male dorms as they wished! After a moment of helplessness, she could only return to her room to rest.

    On the other hand, Tang Ya had dragged Bei Bei to the entrance of Shrek Academy in order to wait for Huo Yuhao¡¯s roasted fish. However, they didn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao¡¯s absence strange. After all, they had heard of the freshmen assessment¡¯s system. The assessment system changed every year, and this year¡¯s system was especially fierce! The two even asked around about the trio¡¯s situation within the assessment. Since Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t set up his stall, they naturally assumed that he was too tired from the assessment. Thus, they didn¡¯t think much of it, and decided to go back to their rooms after waiting for a while.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones who were disappointed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s absence. Today, Jiang Nannan had also queued up early. Unfortunately, she could only return disappointed today.

    However, nobody knew how important this was for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. After being schoolmates for three months, the rtionship between the two started to have a qualitative change from today onwards.

    ¡­¡­

    Sea God¡¯s Lake, centre ind,keside.

    Teacher Wang Yan, who had just carried out the freshmen assessment not long ago, was standing here. Only, he had an exceptionally respectful expression on his face.

    An old man with disheveled hair was sitting not far away from him, his figure somewhat messy. His originally-white changpao had already been changed into a greyish-brown one which had many holes on it. His naked feet were currently immersed in the cool water of the Sea God¡¯s Lake while his right hand held a massive bottle gourd.

    The bottle gourd was red-purple in color, and nobody knew what it was made out of. He asionally took a gulp from it, immediately causing a strong smell of alcohol to spread. His other hand held a fried chicken, ignoring the grease on it. The way he was eating and drinking made one feel that it was extremely joyful.

    ¡°Xuan Lao, this is what happened. These students are still young; they¡¯re freshmen. Even though that¡¯s the case, they¡¯re truly deserving of our attention.¡±

 Chapter 21.2: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 21.2: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The sloppy elder who was called Xuan Lao swallowed a mouthful of chicken before ncing back at Wang Yan. In all other aspects, he looked like a very old man. However, his unexpectedly scarlet eyes were extraordinarily bright; they seemed as if they could steal one¡¯s soul away. But his gaze was slightly disorderly, so much so that he even appeared vacant; it was as if he wasn¡¯t seriously paying attention to Wang Yan¡¯s words.

    ¡°A Body Soul, interesting.¡± Xuan Lao mumbled to himself, his voice somewhat rough and aged.

    Wang Yan asked, ¡°Xuan Lao, can a hair martial soul be considered a Body Soul?¡±

    Xuan Lao spoke as he ate, ¡°It could be connected to it.¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo should deserve your attention; they can even release a fusion skill. If they can even be connected to a Body Soul, their future potential should be quiterge.¡±

    Xuan Lao shook his head and said, ¡°Hair? Impossible. You¡¯re known as a person whose research and theoretical skills are very strong, so how could your knowledge of Body Souls be so weak?¡±

    Wang Yan smiled bitterly. ¡°There¡¯s simply no one I can perform research on! Also, the information rted to Body Souls is simply too limited. The Body Sect hasn¡¯t entered the world for a long time.¡±

    Xuan Lao chuckled and stood up, his wet feet stepping on the grassy floor. He appeared very casual and rxed as he said, ¡°Then let me teach you something. To tell how strong a Body Soul is, you have to see how important it is to the body. If the body part used in a Body Soul is more important to the human body, the better it¡¯ll be. Because of that, I¡¯m quite interested in that youth who has the Spirit Eyes. If your hair falls off, it can still be grown back. But what if you lose your eyes? Furthermore, he even possesses a spiritual-type martial soul. In other words, his martial soul actually consists of his eyes and his brain. To be able to see a Body Soul that stands at the peak of all Body Souls within your lifetime, you¡¯re quite lucky. However, I believe that his Body Soul hasn¡¯t beenpletely stimted yet. Otherwise, why would he be reduced to using a ten-year soul ring? Go tell Little Ning I¡¯ll be watching the freshmen assessment¡¯s ranking tournament. Ask him to leave a space for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Night gradually descended. However, the ice-blue halo in Wang Dong¡¯s and Huo Yuhao¡¯s room continued to quietly flicker.

    Time gradually passed as evening became night. The aura surrounding Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯s body had secretly undergone mysterious changes; the colors of their respective auras had further coiled around each other, fusing. Furthermore, their respective soul power had even travelled in a strange cycle after entering each other¡¯s bodies. In addition to that, each differently colored aura was followed by a different cirction path.

    If it were anyone else who had entered a martial fusion, they would need at least three days toplete their fusion. However, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s help managed to help them directlyplete the soul power cirction paths during their fusion by utilising the interactions between their auras, allowing them to save an extremelyrge amount of time.

    After a wordless night, day gradually arrived.

    The ice-blue cocoon gradually melted, revealing the situation within. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still tightly hugging each other, but the differently colored auras surrounding them had already disappeared. Their faces were right next to each other, and they could even smell each other¡¯s breath. They were sleeping very, very soundly.

    Aftering to Shrek Academy, this was the first time that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t woken up early to cultivate, as well as the first time he hadn¡¯t eaten breakfast.

    The outside of the dormitory quickly became lively. The other students living in the dorms had already woken up, and they were rushing about to clean themselves.

    The noisy sounds gradually affected the two who were sleeping soundly, causing Wang Dong to wake first.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s soft groan sounded somewhat lethargic, yet also seemed slightly delicate. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw Huo Yuhao right next to him.

    He was left stunned for a moment. After moving his body for a moment, he realised that he¡¯d been tightly hugged by Huo Yuhao; their chests were stuck to one another¡¯s tightly. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body even seemed to be giving off a warm feeling.

    Wang Dong only knew that he had slept for a very, very long time. He had never felt something like this before, so at this moment, besides a slight sense of peculiarity in his heart, he actually felt panicked.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, wake up.¡± He struggled lightly against Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, wanting to free himself from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands. However, staying in that position for too long a time had caused the two¡¯s bodies to slightly stiffen up. Without even talking about Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand, even his own hand felt slightly numb as he tried to pull them back to himself.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao finally woke up from his sleep, discovering Wang Dong, who was in front of him, with a nce. The two were simply too close to each other; the only reason why their noses weren¡¯t stuck together was because Wang Dong had deliberately raised his head. But, Huo Yuhao felt the sensation of a long pair of eyshes as Wang Dong blinked.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you so close to me?¡± Huo Yuhao spoke subconsciously. As he spoke, his warm breath covered Wang Dong¡¯s face.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong flew into a rage. He suddenly started struggling, finally withdrawing his arms. Then, he used his hands to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders, pulling himself backwards while raising his soft legs and shoving them between him and Huo Yuhao, creating a gap between the two of them.

    When Huo Yuhao woke up, he subconsciously loosened his grip on Wang Dong¡¯s hands. But after being separated from Wang Dong by his legs, he finally woke up from his sleep. However, Wang Dong woke him up even more in the next moment¡­

    Within the dorm room, the two each had a single bed to themselves. The sudden strength released by Wang Dong¡¯s long legs immediately kicked Huo Yuhao away, causing him tond on the ground with a ¡°putong¡±.

    ¡°Aiya, Wang Dong, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao was in agony due to being fiercely kicked to the ground by Wang Dong while he¡¯d beenpletely defenceless. This immediately caused an indignant expression to appear on his face.

    Wang Dong was slightly breathless as he sat up. After straightening his messy clothes, he angrily said, ¡°You¡¯re asking me what I was doing? Why were you sleeping on my bedst night?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Only then did Huo Yuhao discover that he¡¯d been kicked off Wang Dong¡¯s bed. He remained silent for a brief moment, thinking to himself, ¡°Bro, oh Bro, you¡¯ve doomed me. Don¡¯t you know how mysophobic that guy is? Why would you make me sleep together with him?¡±

    Although he thought this in his heart, he still argued, ¡°You can¡¯t me me for this. Look, didn¡¯t you sleep with me as well?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted angrily. Just as he was about to reply to Huo Yuhao, a piercing ring suddenly rang out, jolting both of them.

    ¡°I forgot, it¡¯s time for ss. Crap, we¡¯rete. Quick.¡± Huo Yuhao instantly jumped up, directly running outside with Wang Dong in tow.

 Chapter 21.3: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 21.3: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t have the time to be angry with Huo Yuhao, as he was also aware of the trouble they had gotten themselves into. Thus, he ran alongside Huo Yuhao.

    The two didn¡¯t have time to eat breakfast, nor did they have the time to shower. Instead, they quickly ran towards the teaching blocks. They were extremely clear about Zhou Yi¡¯s temper; was there any difference between beingte for ss andmitting suicide?

    Their appearances were truly somewhat wretched. Wang Dong was still fine. At the very least, he had still managed to straighten his clothes when he¡¯d kicked Huo Yuhao earlier. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was in an even more sorry situation. His school shirt was half tucked into his pants. Not only that, his hair was also messy, and two of his shirt buttons were unbuttoned, exposing his bronze chest. As he ran, the wind blew his clothes around.

    However, they didn¡¯t have the time to worry about that. Right now, all they wanted to do was to rush to the ssroom with the utmost haste and extinguish the mes of Zhou Yi¡¯s anger; they were alreadyte!

    After a minute, they arrived at ss One¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°Reporting in.¡± Huo Yuhao shouted out, full of energy.

    ¡°Reporting in.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice was softer than his, so much so that it seemed like he didn¡¯t have any energy at all. He stole a nce at Huo Yuhao, a somewhatplicated expression in his eyes. Then, he ruthlessly raised his hand and pinched Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately changed, but seeing that Zhou Yi had already walked over to them, he forcefully held in the scream that almost left his mouth.

    The other students were already present. Seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s sloppy appearance, a smile unexpectedly shed through Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes. However, the always meticulous Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t manage to notice it as a result of the severe pain from his back.

    ¡°You two, what happened? Come in first.¡± Zhou Yi waved over to the two.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hurriedly walked into the ss, and Wang Dong even shut the door considerately.

    Xiao Xiao, who had already arrived earlier, couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes as she saw their wretched appearances. Her mouth moved, but she didn¡¯t say anything. It looked as if she was asking, ¡°Heavens! What were the two of you doingst night?¡±

    The gazes of the entire ss were focused on the two, especially on the monitor whose clothes were untidy.

    Zhou Yi used her ever-cold voice to ask, ¡°My dear ss monitor, tell me. What were you two doing?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ sorry, Teacher Zhou. We overslept.¡± Huo Yuhao replied with an embarrassed look on his face. Now, all they could do was to take the initiative to apologize for their mistakes. Furthermore, they could only receive whatever punishment Zhou Yi gave them withoutining.

    ¡°Who slept with who? You actually managed to oversleep?¡± Zhou Yi made a rare joke.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, while Wang Dong¡¯s face instantly reddened. This was because she¡¯d hit upon the truth.

    The whole ss continued to remain silent, but this silence onlysted for three seconds. Right after that, the ss burst intoughter.

    Wang Dong lowered his head, wishing he could find a whole to jump into. This was embarrassing, simply too embarrassing! Having just noticed Huo Yuhao¡¯s untidy clothes, he just wanted to p him to death! This bastard, he made me lose all my face.

    Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi smiled as well. Although the smile on her face looked even uglier than someone crying, Huo Yuhao was certain, certain that she was smiling.

    Zhou Yi raised her hand, and her authority as a super-teacher undoubtedly manifested itself, causing the entire ss to quieten immediately. However, Zhou Yi ignored the smiling expressions in their eyes.

    ¡°Enough. Return to your seats.¡± Zhou Yi waved her hands, forgiving the two in apletely unprecedented manner.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong subconsciously raised their heads, thinking they had heard wrongly.

    Zhou Yi red at them, ¡°What? You¡¯ve overslept to the point where you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Only then did Huo Yuhao understand what she had said. Pulling Wang Dong¡¯s sleeve, the two gloomily walked over to their usual seats. However, they didn¡¯t feel like raising their heads after feeling the surrounding looks of ridicule.

    However, it was fortunate that they were still freshmen, where everyone was only eleven or twelve-year-old students. They only treated the issue of two people sleeping together as a joke; they didn¡¯t think too much of it. But if this reached the ears of the outer courtyard¡¯s upperssmen, and was distorted by the words of a few fujoshis, it could be an even bigger scandal.

    After walking back to the teaching podium, Zhou Yi indifferently said, ¡°After three days, the freshmen assessment has finally ended. The final results were already talliedst night.¡±

    After hearing her words, the students of ss 1 were filled with energy; not every group was as absolutely confident they had passed the assessment like Huo Yuhao¡¯s group.

    A smile that nobody dared topliment unexpectedly appeared on Zhou Yi¡¯s face for the second time today. ¡°I have no choice but to admit that you¡¯ve worked very hard. You¡¯ve given me face. Out of our twenty-two teams from ss 1, all of you have passed the freshmen assessment. I¡¯m very happy about this.¡±

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± The entire ss was filled with boiling excitement; cheering sounds filled every corner of the ssroom. This time, Zhou Yi didn¡¯t stop them. She smiled as she watched the excited cheering of the kids in front of her.

    They truly had the qualifications to start cheering! Last night, all of the proctors as well as the teachers in charge of the ten sses had worked together to tally the results of the assessment.

    Practically all the proctors stated that the students from ss 1 were much more resilient than the students from the other sses. During the intensive assessmentpetition, they had all disyed a frightening amount of willpower andbat strength; out of all the sses, they were the ss that had turned the tides the most times during the assessment. Most outstandingly, the students from ss 1 practically won all the matches that involved opponents who were evenly matched with them.

    Ever since she had be a teacher at Shrek Academy, this was the first time Zhou Yi had received public praise. Originally, the students in ss 1 had been the fewest in number among the ten sses. But after the round-robin tournament, over half of the students who had participated in the assessment had been eliminated. As a result of this, ss 1 was now the ss who had the greatest number of students in Year 1.

    No matter how strict Zhou Yi was, everyone was feeling very happy today. This was also the main reason why Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had been forgiven even though they had turned upte to ss.

    ¡°Okay, quiet down.¡± After letting the ss cheer for a long time, Zhou Yi motioned for them to quiet down.

    ¡°The only way for you to guarantee that you¡¯ll stay in the academy is to pass the assessment. At the very least, you won¡¯t be easily eliminated for another year. However, it¡¯s only one more year. If you bezy in the future, I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to continue seeing you after your second year here. Furthermore, it¡¯s not such a big deal to be able to pass the freshmen assessment. Out of the twenty-two teams here, fourteen teams haven¡¯t finished their freshman assessment yet, because you¡¯ve entered the top 64. You¡¯ll still have to go through the knock-outpetition, which is where you can truly prove how outstanding you are.¡±

 Chapter 21.4: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 21.4: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    After hearing Zhou Yi¡¯s words, the two raised their heads, exposing a trace of amazement in their eyes. There was no need to mention the fact that all twenty-two teams from their ss had passed the assessment, but there were actually fourteen teams that had entered the top 64. In other words, their ss alone upied over 20% of the top 64 spots; the percentage of students from ss 1 who managed to enter the knockout round was double that of the other sses. With a result like this, they truly deserved to be arrogant!

    Zhou Yi continued speaking. ¡°During the round-robin tournament, a total of six teams managed to win every single match they participated in. Our ss only has one such team. Originally, I was nning to give them a reward, but unfortunately, they turned upte to ss. Hence, their merits are equal to their demerits, so I won¡¯t reward them or punish them.¡±

    Once again, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong became the center of attention of the entire ss. The two of them truly felt depressed! They then looked each other in the eye. Their gazes looked normal, but both of them were stunned.

    When they looked at each other, they clearly sensed the soul power in their bodies undte for a moment. This caused a sense of intimacy that was hard to describe to involuntarily arise, so much so that they felt like hugging each other again.

    At this moment, the two simultaneously thought of the reason why they had ended up on Wang Dong¡¯s bed after hugging each other.

    Wang Dong muttered, ¡°Could we have seeded?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was more certain of the answer than Wang Dong. After all, he had talked to the Skydream Iceworm! He naturally couldn¡¯t appear too certain, but he couldn¡¯t help but expose a fervent look in his eyes.

    ¡°It could be. Shall we try it out after ss?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    The two nodded at each other at what seemed to be the same instant. A hard-to-describe sense of understanding involuntarily arose between the two, and although Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mental Detection hadn¡¯t been activated, the two of them seemed to be able to predict their counterpart¡¯s next move. This feeling made them feel as if they were twins; it felt wonderful, yet extraordinarily peculiar.

    ¡°Thump¡ª¡ª¡± A loud sound jolted the two from that peculiar feeling. The two simultaneously raised their heads, just in time for them to see Zhou Yi¡¯s angry face.

    Oops¡­ their absent-mindedness during ss had been caught.

    ¡°You two, go outside and start running with chainmail on you. You¡¯re not allowed to stop until the bell rings. You two just achieved something, but you¡¯re already so satisfied with yourselves!¡±

    This isn¡¯t fair! The two simultaneously cried out in their hearts. However, they knew that as long as Teacher Zhou decided on something, there was no way she would change her mind. Helplessly, they could only leave the ssroom with a bitter look on their faces and return to their dorms to get their chainmail.

    As she saw the two leave dejectedly, Zhou Yi snorted, ¡°All of you, remember this. No matter how sessful you are, you must always have a humble and cautious heart. Not only can arrogance cause you to deteriorate, it can also take your life. The knockout round will start tomorrow, so I¡¯ll give you a simple exnation regarding its main parts.¡±

    The two of them were doomed to not listen to Zhou Yi¡¯s exnation, but it was fortunate that Xiao Xiao was still there. Although she didn¡¯t explicitly state it, Zhou Yi intended Xiao Xiao to pass the information on to them.

    ¡°I¡¯m ming you for this.¡± Once they left the teaching block, Wang Dong exploded, speaking angrily to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had a wronged expression on his face as he said, ¡°How can you me me for this? You were the one who insisted on me hugging you yesterday.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± A cold light appeared in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes as he looked at Huo Yuhao with clenched teeth.

    ¡°Uh¡­ we¡¯re a team, we should be united.¡± Huo Yuhao solemnly looked towards Wang Dong, who already had his fists clenched.

    ¡°Unity my ass. You¡¯re the reason why I got punished, so you tell me what you¡¯re going to do about it.¡± Wang Dong said angrily, ¡°Also, you slept on my bedst night. What¡¯re you going to do about that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao patted Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder while putting his hand around his neck, ¡°Okay, okay. We¡¯re all brothers, so we shouldn¡¯t bicker over a small matter like this. Okay? We should just quickly finish Teacher Zhou¡¯s task, just in case she flips out on us.¡±

    In the instant Huo Yuhao ced his hand around Wang Dong¡¯s neck, Wang Dong was immediately stunned. Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice had also be softer. After speaking, the twopletely stopped moving. Huo Yuhao subconsciously looked towards his hands; Wang Dong did as well.

    ¡°Why would this happen?¡± The two spoke in unison.

    Correct, a strange thing had happened to the two. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand touched Wang Dong¡¯s neck, it seemed like the two had been connected. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had flowed into Wang Dong¡¯s body in a very natural manner, while Wang Dong¡¯s soul power had slowly flowed back. It was as if the two had formed aplete whole. Although the connection was only formed from Wang Dong¡¯s neck and Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand, that feeling was very clear.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right, let¡¯s try it again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao first pulled back the hand he was holding Wang Dong with, before gripping Wang Dong¡¯s two hands with his own hands.

    Wang Dong¡¯s hands were unusually soft, and they were extremely smooth; it was veryfortable to hold them. However, the present Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have the time to fully experience this feeling.

    In the instant the two held hands, the soul power from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique started moving. It flowed rapidly from his right hand into Wang Dong¡¯s left hand. Then, his left hand generated what seemed to be an absorption force that absorbed Wang Dong¡¯s soul power into his body. The soul power of the two rapidly circted, and the speed of this cirction was at least double the speed of Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous cirction speed.

    Wang Dong was a genius among geniuses in the first ce, so he immediately realised what had happened. ¡°Try controlling it for a bit. Try and pour it into your body.¡± As he spoke, he pulled back his left hand. This way, only his soul power was being transferred to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Immediately, Huo Yuhao felt that his soul power was explosively increasing at a astonishing rate; an unprecedented feeling of power filled his entire body.

    As a result of being remoulded by the Mysterious Water Pill and nourished by the Mysterious Heaven Technique, the endurance of his passageways had already reached the apex of what could be achieved by his peers. Although arge amount of soul power had entered his body, he didn¡¯t feel bloated at all.

    An imperceptible sense of understanding had already appeared between the two of them. Huo Yuhao immediately activated his Mental Detection, enveloping Wang Dong within it.

    For the sake of immersing himself in this bizarre feeling, Wang Dong shut his eyes. Immediately, he discovered that the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mental Detection was increasing at an astonishing rate.

    Originally, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mental Detection could exceed a range of sixty metres when it was activated in a spherical manner; it could reach a hundred metres or so when it was focused in one direction. However, his Mental Detection quickly reached a radius of a hundred metres as a result of Wang Dong¡¯s additional soul power.

    As the two stared stupefied at each other, Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice trembled slightly, ¡°Wang Dong, have you heard of soul masters who can share their soul power with another person who they fused their martial soul with?¡±

    Wang Dong nkly shook his head and muttered, ¡°Why would this happen? Don¡¯t tell me that our attempt yesterday actually seeded?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had an excited expression as he said, ¡°Shall we find a ce to try it out?¡±

    Right at this moment, an angry voice rang out from the window of the nearby teaching block: ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two wearing your chainmail and running? Why¡¯re you holding hands and courting each other?¡±

 Chapter 22.1: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 22.1: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two wearing your chainmail and running? Why¡¯re you two holding hands and romancing one another?¡±

    Startled, the two hurriedly let go of each other, then ran back towards their dorm rooms. Their hearts were currently beating extremely quickly, and it naturally wasn¡¯t because of Zhou Yi¡¯s shout, but because of the strange change that had urred to their martial souls!

    The two rushed back to their dorms. As they looked at each other, they could see the trace of astonishment that was present in their eyes. Right, the matter that had just urred was simply too unusual. Regardless of whether it was Huo Yuhao, who had studied arge amount of info with regards to soul masters after entering Shrek Academy, or Wang Dong, whose knowledge was expansive, this was the first time they had learnt of anything like this; this clearly exceeded the territory of ordinary soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°It seems like our napst night wasn¡¯t for nothing!¡±

    ¡°Pah.¡± Wang Dong red at him. But then, he quickly raised his soft, slender hands and said, ¡°Let¡¯s try again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also anxious to verify the matter that had just urred to them. Hence, he hurriedly held hands with Wang Dong.

    As the four hands joined together, the flow of soul power immediately restarted. Their soul power werepletely different; The soul power that came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique was honest, moderate, gentle, and unconstrained, while Wang Dong¡¯s soul power was much more overbearing; it had a threatening and noble aura to it.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power could bepared to a gentle and honest youth, Wang Dong¡¯s soul power was a noble, aloof, and overbearing young mistress.

    However, these two soul power withpletely different temperaments had currently formed a cycle, flowing perfectly through their bodies. Furthermore, these two soul power were actually fusing quietly throughout this process, intimately sharing everything with each other. During this process, there were no conflicts during this process; it was just as if they had originally belonged to a single body.

    Huo Yuhao was left in a slightly better state; after all, the soul power that came from his Mysterious Heaven Technique was extremely gentle in the first ce. On the other hand, Wang Dong was filled with astonishment. He was fully aware of how domineering and fierce his soul power was, as well as how strongly it excluded other things from itself. But, his current situation had vastly exceeded his scope of knowledge.

    During the brief moment where the cirction urred, the two felt extremely rxed and refreshed. Clearly, it would be much faster for them to cultivate in this state rather than cultivating individually. Furthermore, they clearly knew that this was just the beginning. Their soul power had fused so perfectly, so how could the benefits that arose from this be as simple as allowing them to cultivate together?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we should go run first. We can study this further after we get back tonight.¡± Huo Yuhao took the initiative to let go of Wang Dong¡¯s hands. Then, he put his chainmail on and ran outside.

    After listening to his words, Wang Dong was slightly startled, and his mouth slightly twitched for a moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, in addition to how he had mysteriously hugged him for an entire night, caused a few traces of ambiguity to reluctantly appear in his heart. After making a fist behind his back, he put his chainmail on and caught up to him

    They had already been running with chainmail for three months, so doing it now was a walk in the park for them. The two diligently ran till the bell rang, and only when Xiao Xiao came to the field to find them did they stop. When she arrived, Xiao Xiao informed them that Teacher Zhou had already left.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was covered with sweat, while Wang Dong, who had a higher cultivation, deliberately made it so that he wasn¡¯t sweating at all.

    ¡°How was it? Did Teacher Zhou say anything?¡± Huo Yuhao asked as he panted.

    Xiao Xiao shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Nothing much, really. She just cheered everyone up and gave us some encouragement. After that, she analysed the situation of our opponents. It¡¯s going to be extremely difficult for us to be champions. It seems like the round-robin tournament was only a rehearsal. On the other hand, our Shrek Academy¡¯s nevercked geniuses!¡±

    As he looked at her somewhat worried expression, Wang Dong said, ¡°What? Even our twin martial soul genius doesn¡¯t have any confidence in herself?¡±

    Xiao Xiao curled her lips and said, ¡°Confidence is something I naturally have, but I have to say that there are some people who¡¯re more talented than us. Teacher Zhou told us that out of the five teams which achievedplete victories, three had three-ringed Soul Elders. How confident are you againsts three-ringed soul masters?¡±

    ¡°Soul Elders?¡± The two simultaneously cried out with a look of inconceivability on their faces.

    Xiao Xiao smiled bitterly. ¡°Exactly. Why else would I be so unconfident?¡±

    ¡°What did Teacher Zhou say?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°When she was talking about those three teams, Teacher Zhou didn¡¯t seem to be too happy about them. It looked like she had just obtained that piece of information. Previously, those three sses had never told anyone that they had students who were Soul Elders. Also, those three students are just like you; they¡¯re specially invited students.¡± Xiao Xiao replied.

    Hearing this, Wang Dongughed and looked towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°See, you¡¯re all specially invited students, so why is there such arge gap between you and them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless for a moment before saying, ¡°There¡¯s no use talking about this now, the key thing we need to do now is to think of how we can beat them.¡±

    ¡°Right now, all we can do is to do our best and let destiny settle everything for us. Those three are the respective team leaders of their own teams, so it¡¯s obvious that they won¡¯t be easy to deal with. Think about it: they were able to break into the three-ringed realm before the age of twelve. Just how strong are their martial souls? Also, there¡¯s definitely a n that¡¯s fully supporting them from behind, so their soul rings are definitely at their limit. Even if they aren¡¯t as perverted as Wang Dong, who got a thousand-year soul ring as his second soul ring, they shouldn¡¯t be too far off. In my opinion, even Teacher Zhou doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s looking too good for us. I think that we can only aim for fourth ce,¡± Xiao Xiao said.

    Wang Dong snorted. ¡°What if they have three rings? Are Soul Elders unbeatable? We have our advantages as well; You have your twin martial souls, and I haven¡¯t used all of my strength yet. In addition to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual martial soul, the three of us might not lose to anyone else if we team up together.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Do you think that I don¡¯t want us to be champions! Only the top three get a substantial reward; fourth ce doesn¡¯t get any good rewards. However, ourbined strength truly isn¡¯t as good as theirs. Think about it, the teammates of a Soul Elder-level student will at least be at the Soul Grandmaster level, just like us. We do have our own strong points, but the only way for us to have a chance is for the ss monitor to break into Rank 20 and get another strong spiritual-type soul skill.¡±

 Chapter 22.2: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 22.2: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Xiao, nced at Wang Dong, then said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t be too worried for now. True, we might be weaker than our opponents, but if we lose all confidence now, we won¡¯t have any chance at all. Xiao Xiao, think about it. When we were facing the Lan sisters¡¯ fusion skill, weren¡¯t we put in a very difficult situation? But we still managed to achieve victory in the end. The fusion skill they used might not be weaker than a Soul Elder¡¯s soul skill; it could even exceed it in power. However, we still managed to ovee it. Different people have their own specialties, and likewise, we have our own. Our advantage lies in the fact that we haven¡¯t used all our strength, and we only have one objective. That is, to be champions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words seemed to have rekindled Xiao Xiao¡¯s confidence. She nodded her head lightly. ¡°Fight! No matter where we get to, that¡¯ll be whatever we get. Let¡¯s do this!¡±

    Huo Yuhao extended his right hand, and Wang Dong quickly ced it above his before Xiao Xiao could. Lastly, Xiao Xiao ced her hand on Wang Dong¡¯s hand.

    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely be champions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Xiao Xiao, it seems like I¡¯ll have to owe you roasted fish for a few more days. Theing knock-out round is simply too important to us, so no matter what, we have to do our best and use these few days to increase our cultivations. Even if we can only increase it by a strand, it¡¯ll increase our chances of victory by arge amount. Once the knock-out tournament is over, I¡¯ll take care of the roasted fish. I won¡¯t be setting up my store for these few days, so let¡¯s first concentrate on cultivating before talking about it.¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pay interest for an owed debt. ss monitor, I¡¯m ming this on you anyway, so I won¡¯t pay you when I eat your roasted fish in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll treat you to some fish.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Teacher Zhou said that we¡¯ll have to gather at the Assessment Area before the bell rings tomorrow. Also, she told me to tell you that you¡¯re not allowed to bete. The first thing we need to do is to pray for luck. However, Teacher Zhou said that teams who achieved a clean sweep during the round-robin tournament will have some preferential treatment during the first two rounds of the knock-out tournament; we won¡¯t meet each other. This is the only good thing we got from the round-robin tournament. As long as we do what we usually do, there should be no problem for us to enter the top sixteen. After that, it¡¯ll just depend on us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is actually some good news. Right, before we do anything else, I¡¯m sweaty, so I¡¯m going back to shower before grabbing a meal.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Then, I won¡¯t wait for you two. I¡¯ll go to the canteen first, see you tomorrow.¡± After speaking, she waved towards the two of them and left.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards Wang Dong, slightly furrowing his brows. ¡°Seems like it won¡¯t be easy to get a good result in the knock-out tournament. Let¡¯s go back to the dorms, and after I shower and change, we can go eat. Then, we can go think about this issue regarding our martial soul fusion.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Wang Dong nodded. However, he clearly seemed somewhat taciturn, to the point where he looked nk and lifeless; nobody knew what he was thinking. After returning to their dorm room, Huo Yuhao took a clean set of clothes as well as a towel and went to shower, while Wang Dong sat by himself on his bed.

    ¡°Thump.¡± The door shut. Wang Dong subconsciously looked towards the door, gradually exposing a slightlyplicated look in his nk eyes.

    Earlier, he hadn¡¯t had any time to settle his debts with Huo Yuhao regarding the issue of sleeping together with him due to them turning upte for ss. Now, Huo Yuhao had already seemed to have disregarded it as an unimportant issue, but Wang Dong was feelingpletely differently.

    I, I actually slept with him for an entire night. Moreover, it even seems like we¡¯vepleted a martial soul fusion, and not a normal one at that.

    Wang Dong himself didn¡¯t know how he was currently feeling; he felt that he was slightly confused, confused to the point where he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Time always flies by when one is distracted. Not long after he left, Huo Yuhao returned after a refreshing shower. As he entered, he brought a faintly fragrant smell with him that came after his shower. As he raised his head, Wang Dong saw his unusually bright pupils.

    Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t noticed the change in Wang Dong¡¯s psyche. He beckoned, ¡°Let¡¯s quickly go for a meal and study our martial soul fusion aftering back. Perhaps we¡¯ll have to rely on it if we want to get a good result in the end.¡± The current him waspletely focused on the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament.

    Wang Dong¡¯s somewhat perplexed emotions seemed to have found an objective. Nodding his head, he said, ¡°Okay.¡± Since the matter had already urred, there was no use in thinking too deeply about it. He would first work hard during this assessment and get a good ranking before talking about it. When Xiao Xiao spoke about the appearances of the few Soul Elders, Wang Dong¡¯s fighting spirit had also been aroused.

    He firmly believed that his talent wasn¡¯tckingpared to those Soul Elder-levelled students. Only, he had been extremelyzy during his youth, and had beenpletely unwilling to cultivate, which was the reason why he was only at his current level. In his opinion, ranks didn¡¯t mean everything; by beating them, he could prove that he was the most outstanding student in Shrek Academy.

    After thinking about this, his heart untangled itself. Following Huo Yuhao to the canteen, he immediately ate a gargantuan meal. Because they went to the canteen rtivelyte, there was practically no one left when they finished eating.

    After returning to their room, Huo Yuhao locked the door, preventing anyone from disturbing them while they were cultivating. At the same time, he ced a ¡®Do Not Disturb¡¯ sign on the outside of the door. Every dorm room had this sign; and as long as a student hung it up, even teachers wouldn¡¯t easily disturb them, as this sign signified that the students inside were cultivating.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s formerly normal behaviour seemed to make the current Wang Dong somewhat embarrassed. But he quickly adjusted himself, and by the time Huo Yuhao turned around, he had already regained hisposure.

    ¡°How¡¯re we going to start?¡± Wang Dong asked him.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°We¡¯ll try to cultivate while holding our hands for a while first. This way, we can increase the effects and be more familiar with the fusion between our soul power. Then, we¡¯ll try to use the fused soul power to strengthen each and every one of our soul skills. Later at night, we¡¯ll leave the academy and test out our fusion skill there.¡±

    Wang Dong curled his lips. ¡°You¡¯re actually quite orderly with your ns.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Naturally. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the ss monitor. Isn¡¯t being orderly something that should be extremely normal for me? Come.¡± As he spoke, he walked over to Wang Dong¡¯s bed, intending to sit on it.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Wang Dong pushed his body away.

    Huo Yuhao suspiciously asked, ¡°I¡¯m trying to cultivate! How are we going to cultivate if we don¡¯t sit cross-legged?¡±

    However, Wang Dong stood up and pointed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed. ¡°We¡¯ll cultivate on your bed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless. ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid of a sore butt, I have nothing to say.¡±

    Wang Dong clearly saw that Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression had turned somewhat unsightly. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was truly somewhat unhappy. In his opinion, the two of them had already been friends for a long time, but Wang Dong still continued to bicker and bicker on; this was very petty-minded to him.

 Chapter 22.3: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 22.3: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    However, Wang Dong insisted on doing it his way, so the two sat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed. The instant he sat down, Wang Dong felt somewhat gloomy; whenpared to his fur mattress, thispletely hard wooden board couldn¡¯t be consideredfortable in the least! However, he could only endure it. They had identally slept on his bedst night, and Wang Dong didn¡¯t want to let Huo Yuhao on his bed again.

    Huo Yuhao was still a very magnanimous person. After feeling dissatisfied for a

    short period of time, he had already regained hisposure. In his heart, he thought, ¡°Whatever. Different people have their own habits, but I should nevertheless respect everyone.¡± Thinking this, the small trace of resentment in his heart disappeared.

    As Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao, he noticed that Huo Yuhao was also looking at him, and his heart unknowingly felt somewhat hurried and apologetic. He hurriedly raised his palms. ¡°Let¡¯s start. We¡¯ll follow your n. We¡¯ll cultivate until dinnertime and see what happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had raised his palms as well, cing them opposite Wang Dong¡¯s. Once the two touched each other, their soul power were immediately attracted, causing them to fuse together. After a mere single cirction in their bodies, the two soul powerpleted the fusion process. Following that, a fused dual-attribute soul power was now flowing through their bodies.

    Since discovering this odd matter in the morning, they hadn¡¯t had enough time to study it carefully. As they cultivated calmly now, a different feeling gradually appeared.

    Just as they had previously felt, the increase in their soul power when the two cultivated with their hands held together was extremely quick. Simply put, their individual soul power were increasing at a rate that was equivalent to that of two people put together.

    In other words, if the amount of soul power Huo Yuhao gained after cultivating for two hours was represented by one unit, and the amount of soul power Wang Dong gained after cultivating for the same time was represented by 1.2 units, when the two cultivated together, the mixture of their two soul power would be strengthened together, and not only would it increase the cirction speed of their soul power, but the amount of soul power they would each gain within two hours would be represented by 2.2 units.

    This way, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation speed would more than double, while Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation speed would nearly double. The person who benefitted more from this was undoubtedly Huo Yuhao, as Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation was higher than his. However, as their cultivation levels started getting closer to each other, the individual benefits they gained would be much more simr as well.

    A doubling in cultivating speed to soul masters waspletely astonishing! Huo Yuhao¡¯s original n had been to try and get to Rank 20 before graduating his first year, but following his current rate of cultivation, there was a possibility of him getting to Rank 20 within three or four months. On the other hand, if Wang Dong cultivated with this speed all the way until the end of the year, getting to Rank 30 wasn¡¯t an impossibility.

    After nearly six hours of cultivating, when the sky outside had gradually begun to darken, the two woke up from their meditative state. Their soul power returned to their own bodies, and the originally entwined soul power immediately separated. The two could clearly feel that their cultivations had increased at a much faster pace than they usually did.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously opened their eyes, immediately noticing the surprise in the other¡¯s eyes. Regardless of where this martial soul fusion hade from, it was an extremely good thing for them! This was especially so for Huo Yuhao, as the increase in his cultivation speed was much greater than the increase to Wang Dong¡¯s; it could be said that he¡¯d taken a small advantage from Wang Dong.

    The two couldn¡¯t wait to start trying out their strengthened soul skills, and this time, they discovered a mystery within their martial soul fusion.

    Every single one of their soul skills would be strengthened by an extremelyrge amount following the fusion, and it wasn¡¯t just as simple as ¡®1+1=2¡¯. Whenever they worked together to unleash a soul skill, not only would its might double, but the consumption of soul power it required would decrease by a half. In other words, the drain in soul power after the two types of soul power fused was extremely small. This was equivalent to an all-new type of high-level soul power after they fused.

    Because of this, their current state couldn¡¯t be considered a martial soul fusion. It would be more urate to call it a soul power fusion. However, Wang Dong made was speechless by the fact that it wasn¡¯t him, who had a stronger cultivation, who took the initiative after they fused.

    When their bodies touched and their soul power fused, Huo Yuhao was unexpectedly left in the dominant position. As long as he willed it, the fusion would go ahead once he touched Wang Dong¡¯s body, regardless of whether Wang Dong cooperated or not. Also, the person who could use the fused soul power to activate the strengthened soul skills was Huo Yuhao. But if Wang Dong wanted to use this fused soul power, he would need Huo Yuhao¡¯s approval before doing so. The difference in who was dominant in this fusion was clear.

    ¡°Why would this happen? It¡¯s too unfair.¡± Wang Dong said indignantly.

    Huo Yuhao, speechless, said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely try my best to help you out when you need to use it.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t say anything, Huo Yuhao was faintly aware that this had something to do with the Skydream Iceworm. Otherwise, why would he, who had a weaker cultivation, take the dominant position after the fusion urred?

    ¡°Wang Dong, don¡¯t feel so upset. This new soul power of ours should also have a name, so let¡¯s just use your name to name it.¡±

    Wang Dong giggled. ¡°Whatever. You wanna call it the Winterking Power? That sounds really bad. Why don¡¯t we use a word from each of our names? Let¡¯s call it the Haodong Power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. ¡°It does kinda sound better.¡±

    Wang Dong stood up, rubbing his buttocks as he unhappily said, ¡°This broken mattress of yours is too hard, let¡¯s cultivate on my bedter tonight. Since you¡¯ve taken such arge advantage from me, you¡¯re treating me to dinner tonight.¡± He raised his head slightly as he spoke. Then, he rested his head against his hands and walked out.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but smile as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯s seemingly indifferent expression. This fe never admits his mistakes and always acts arrogant, but in reality, he has a good heart.

    ¡°So be it. In any case, I earned all my money from selling roasted fishes, so I¡¯ll eat your food if I run out of money.¡± He started to chase after Wang Dong while talking.

    Regardless of whether it was Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong, they both clearly felt a change in their rtionship after the creation of the Haodong Power. Wang Dong was no longer a simple friend or ssmate to him, he was a brother. He believed that Wang Dong thought so as well. As for whether that was true or not, only Wang Dong knew the answer to that¡­

    While eating dinner, a trace of suspicion arose in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. This suspicion came from his understanding of the Skydream Iceworm; it previously said that it would give more of its Origin Energy to him once his body was able to endure it, which would allow his soul skills to reach their maximum levels as his soul rings increased in rank.

 Chapter 22.4: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    Chapter 22.4: Fusion of the Three Innate Martial Souls

    However, the strength of all his soul skills had increased after working together with Wang Dong to generate the Haodong Power, and although he could sense that he was near his body¡¯s limit, he was still able to endure. Since this was the case, why didn¡¯t the Skydream Iceworm strengthen his soul skills to this point?

    ¡°You idiot.¡± Just as suspicion arose in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out in his mind.

    ¡°Bro, you weren¡¯t sleeping?¡± Surprised, Huo Yuhao immediately asked in his mind.

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted. ¡°I¡¯m obviously awake. Do you think I like to sleep that much?¡±

    Huo Yuhao secretly cursed to himself. If you don¡¯t like sleeping, how did you sleep for a million years?

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°The answer to your worries is extremely simple. It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t raise the rank of your soul ring to its limit, but that¡¯s because I can¡¯t allow you to be an inted balloon. Let me give you an example. There¡¯s a type of fish called the Tiger Blowfish. Its body is filled with spines, and whenever it¡¯s in danger, it¡¯ll instantly inte itself, expanding its body and releasing all of its spines. This makes it so that its predators are unable to eat it. It could be said that it allows its body to expand to its limit in a situation like that.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the attack power of the blowfish¡¯s spines is raised to its limits in a situation like this, but what if a needle stabs it? What would happen then? Likewise, you¡¯re the same. If I raised the strength of your soul rings to the maximum amount that you can endure, you¡¯d be just like that balloon once you encounter a mishap during a battle or cultivation; you¡¯d explode with a bang. Because of that, the ¡®maximum limit you can endure¡¯ I¡¯m referring to is the limit at which you canpletely endure it without any side effects. When your soul power fused with Wang Dong¡¯s earlier, the fused energy instantly improved your physiques. This is another great benefit that I helped you obtain when you two achieved a 100% fusion and thoroughly fused your two types of soul powersst night.¡±

    ¡°In other words, whenever you soul powers fuse, the endurance of your bodies will also increase as a result of this fused soul power. And when you can sustain a stronger soul power, the strength of your soul skills will increase ordingly. This in itself is the secret behind a martial soul fusion. However, your martial soul fusion differs from that of ordinary cultivators, and you¡¯ll receive different benefits. During your fusion, your bodies will be constantly improving as a result of your fused soul power, so as long as you continue to cultivate together, there¡¯ll be a day when your physiques and cultivation speeds are the best in the human world.¡±

    ¡°Naturally, this process in improvement is rather agonizingly slow. If you two can achieve a True Fusion in the future, then it¡¯s effects will be even better.?

    Puzzled, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What¡¯s a ¡®True Fusion¡¯?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm seemed to turn nk for a moment before uttering, ¡°Aih, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never tried it either. Okay, just continue trying things out with him. You¡¯ll receive enormous benefits from both your soul power fusion and your martial soul fusion. In the future, you¡¯ll slowly understand what I mean.¡±

    As he finished his sentence, the Skydream Iceworm stopped bothering to talk and disappeared.

    ¡°Oi, has your food gotten into your nose?¡± After looking at Huo Yuhao¡¯s daydreaming face for a long time, Wang Dong waved his hand in front of his face.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly rubbed his nose, but he then noticed that Wang Dong was smiling naughtily.

    ¡°What¡¯re thinking about? You looked like you were in a trance.¡± Wang Dong saidughingly. He noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s nk expression was very funny to look at.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m obviously thinking about our Haodong Power. I¡¯m thinking about why our soul powers would fuse, and after some thought, there¡¯s only one possibility. That is, when our martial souls fusedst night, ourpatibility rate was extremely high; that¡¯s why something like this happened.

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Right! You make some sense. If that wasn¡¯t the case, why would something unique like this happen? Quickly eat, and we can go see whether we can release a fusion skill once we¡¯re done. But do you know how a fusion skill is activated?¡±

    Speechless, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°How would I know? Doesn¡¯t it just naturallye to you?¡±

    Their two small eyes couldn¡¯t help but expose a trace of speechlessness and a bitter smile. Right, although the teachers did talk about fusion skills in their lectures, it was an ability that belonged to only an extremely small number of the poption, so their teachers had just nced over it, and never exined how it could be activated. After all, the number of people who could truly release a fusion skill was truly too small.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Whatever, we¡¯ll go try it out tonight. If that doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll go find Teacher Zhou and see whether she knows of any ways we can go about this.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± While answering, Huo Yuhao kept crying out to the Skydream Iceworm in his mind. He believed that the Skydream Iceworm, with his million years of experience, would definitely know the answer to this question.

    ¡°Idiot, why are you disturbing me over a small matter like this? Just do whatever you didst night! You idiot.¡± The Skydream Iceworm seemed to be just on the verge of sleeping, so it was very unhappy when Huo Yuhao woke it up. After mumbling for a bit, it disappeared again.

    Just do whatever we didst night? After thinking nkly for a moment, he quickly understood what the Skydream Iceworm meant. Hugging?

    After speeding through dinner, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong quickly left the college with an excited and curious feeling in their hearts. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t sold any roasted fishes today, so as the two left through the academy¡¯s entrance, they bumped into many regrs who started toin. Apologizing profusely was the only thing he could do, and he used the excuse of preparing for the ranking tournament to make his way through the crowd.

    ¡°We should speed up.¡± Wang Dong softly shouted out, and once his feet touched the ground, he suddenly sped up, causing his body to fly out like an arrow that had left a bow.

    If this had been three months ago, Huo Yuhao might not even have been able to see his shadow, but his three months of bitter training wasn¡¯t wasted on Huo Yuhao. After exerting strength in his legs, Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed simrly soared, and although he didn¡¯t look as graceful as Wang Dong, he absolutely wasn¡¯t slow. He rushed towards Wang Dong, and whenever hended, he would leave a footprint in the ground

    The explosiveness from his muscles flowed endlessly to his legs, and the flow of his internal soul power unceasingly replenished his lost physical strength.

    The evening air was very rxing and refreshing, and the two of them currently felt like they were travelling in the wind. Without the constraints of the chainmail, the refreshing feeling all over their bodies allowed their speeds to reach their maximum levels.

    In the end, Wang Dong¡¯s foundation was still much better than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and thus he quickly widened the distance between them. When this distance exceeded 300 meters, he slowed down and waited for Huo Yuhao to catch up.

    ¡°Okay. As a control system soul master who doesn¡¯t specialise in front linebat, your speed is still passable.¡± Wang Dong spoke with a haughty air as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Let¡¯s go into the forest.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong nodded. After the two made sure there was no one around them, they simultaneously ran into the forest by the roadside. They only stopped after they were several hundred metres into the forest.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it here. How are we gonna try it out?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Let¡¯s first test the recovery speed of our Haodong Power.¡± He raised his hands as he spoke.

    Wang Dong then joined his hands with Huo Yuhao¡¯s. After their practice in the afternoon, they were extremely familiar with the cirction of the Haodong Power. Just as they predicted, the Haodong Power they generated after fusing their soul powers increased the recovery speed of their physical strength, as well as their soul power, by a certain amount. However, this increase wasn¡¯t as significant whenpared to the increase in their cultivation speeds.

    ¡°It¡¯s ordinary! However, it has its uses.¡± After a brief moment, Wang Dong fully replenished his lost physical strength.

    Huo Yuhao nodded before spreading his arms wide. ¡°Come.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned. His gaze towards Huo Yuhao immediately turned vignt. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied in a very natural manner, ¡°Let¡¯s hug!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯s expression immediately changed. His face turned green before paling. ¡°Huo Yuhao, I never thought you¡¯d be someone like this. Do you actually think that I won¡¯t beat you to the point where you can¡¯t even take care of yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry. ¡°What¡¯re you even thinking about? You idiot, have you forgotten how we caused the martial soul fusion in the first ce? Since we can already fuse our soul powers now, the simplest way for us to activate our fusion is to repeat what happened yesterday!¡±

    Only then did Wang Dong understand what he had meant. He was immediately embarrassed to the point where his face turned bright red. Although it was already quite dark, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were able to clearly see things even if it was midnight; naturally, he saw Wang Dong¡¯s reaction clearly.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even exin anything before you asked me to hug you. Are you purposely trying to embarrass me?¡± Wang Dong used his anger to disguise his embarrassment and awkwardness.

    Speechless, Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that your thoughts were this unhealthy. We¡¯re both guys, so what can we even do? Hurry up. Let¡¯s get this done early so we can continue cultivatingter.¡±

    Wang Dong hesitated for a moment. ¡°We¡¯re outside the city now, are you sure that we won¡¯t just fall asleep like yesterday?¡±

    Huo Yuhao speechlessly replied, ¡°It won¡¯t. Today¡¯s situation is different from yesterday¡¯s. Why are you acting so overly careful like a woman? I¡¯m going to start now.¡± As he spoke, he quickly took a step forward and hugged Wang Dong in a single movement.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body stiffened. In the instant he was hugged by Huo Yuhao, he felt his mind go somewhat nk. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was slightly sweaty due to his previous sprint, causing the faint smell of sweat to assault Wang Dong¡¯s nose.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body was very soft, so hugging him was still asfortable asst night. However, the current Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any thoughts of enjoying this feeling. In the instant he hugged Wang Dong, he immediately circted his own soul power, activating his Spirit Eyes; in that same instant, Wang Dong came to his senses as well.

    Therge area of contact between the two of them caused the soul powers within their bodies to be quickly converted into Haodong Power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were especially bright due to the dim evening, and a faint golden light flickered within them.

    After a brief moment of sluggishness, Wang Dong hurriedly activated his martial soul.

    In that instant, a strange feeling came over the two of them. As they hugged each other, their released martial souls feltpletely different to the soul skills they¡¯d activated with the previous assistance of the Haodong Power.

    Right as Wang Dong¡¯s ice-blue wings unfurled, both of their minds nked out briefly.

 Chapter 23.1: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Chapter 23.1: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    On the one hand, you had the golden-eyed Huo Yuhao;

    On the other hand, you had the dazzling winged Wang Dong, who¡¯d released his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    In the instant that they released their martial souls, everything within ten meters of them lit up. An extraordinary light suddenly blossomed outwards from their bodies.

    That light was very peculiar; it was a bizarre light that alternated between the colors blue, purple, and gold. Its core consisted of a dense aura of light, and it was even fused together with a few different mysterious soul power undtions.

    An enormous shadow appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯s back. It was aplete and magnificent Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    On the other hand, an enormous eye with a vertical pupil appeared behind Huo Yuhao. This eye was light-gold in color, but its pupil was faintly purple.

    After nking out for a brief moment, the two of them came back to their senses. However, they immediately noticed that everything around them was filled with an intense light.

    The two enormous shadows slowly approached each other in midair; as they approached each other, they began to transform. The color of the eye that represented Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye gradually turned deeper, and its entire body turned bluish-purple. However, its goldenponent had vanishedpletely.

    The shadow that represented Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess started to violentlybust as it neared Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye; it burned with a bluish-golden me.

    In the end, after crossing what seemed to be an entire world, the two martial soul shadows finally touched each other above Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯s heads.

    In that instant, their bodies simultaneously shook violently. The Haodong Power that had formed as a result of their fusion erupted like a geyser, draining all of their energy in what seemed to be an instant.

    The ming Radiant Butterfly Goddess spread its dazzling wings, slowly hugging the shadow of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye. In that instant, the shadow of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess disappeared, but the bluish-purple Spirit Eye continued to release a stream of light.

    The dazzling bluish-golden me erupted from the shadow of the Spirit Eye, which slowly descended to protect the two of them.

    The enormous Spirit Eye seemed extremely arcane. If one were to look carefully, it would seem as though there was a boundless world contained within it. In an instant, a tri-colored beam of blue, purple, and gold shot out.

    This illusion-like ray of light shot forth in a straight line, and everything in its path turned into nothingness. The resplendence contained within that single instant seemed tost forever. The halos of light created wherever the tri-colored beam of light passed didn¡¯t disperse; instead, it left a blurry and distorted brilliance in its wake.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t able to witness this scene. In the instant that ray of light was released, the Haodong Power within their bodies was instantly drained. The intense feeling of weakness that resulted from this instantly caused them to copse and faint¡­

    Martial soul fusion skills were always skills that released an extremelyrge amount of power. This was also their first time trying it out, so they had to undergo the process of two martial souls fusing. Thus, the drain on their soul power and mental energies was extremelyrge. Furthermore, they had never adapted to a situation like this in the past, so it was no wonder they fainted.

    They directly copsed onto the ground, even though they were still hugging each other¡­

    A speechless night passed¡­

    Daytime gradually arrived¡­

    He didn¡¯t know whether he¡¯d fainted or fallen asleep, but when Wang Dong woke up, he truly felt like dying.

    It was fortunate that they had been on Wang Dong¡¯s bedst night. But today, the two of them were still tightly hugging each other, but they were covered in dust, dirt, and dew. They had directly fallen asleep in the forest. Was this the fabled one night stand?

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, get up right now!¡± As Wang Dong struggled to climb out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, his expression turned somewhat hysterical.

    Huo Yuhao drowsily opened his eyes. After discovering that the sun was already up, he was startled and quickly got up. However, the next thing he saw was Wang Dong, who was standing over him and looked as if he were about to beat him up violently.

    Clenching his teeth, Wang Dong red at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we wouldn¡¯t fall asleep while hugging each other?¡±

    ¡°Did, did I say that?¡± Huo Yuhao replied nkly.

    ¡°You¡­ I¡¯m gonna beat you up.¡± Wang Dong suddenly pounced, straddling Huo Yuhao. He then started to rain blows down on him.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly caught his hands and looked to the side with a nk look in his eyes, ¡°L-look¡­¡±

    ¡°What am I supposed to look at¡­¡± Once he spoke, Wang Dong subconsciously nced toward the direction where Huo Yuhao was looking; he couldn¡¯t remain calm after seeing what Huo Yuhao saw.

    To their astonishment, a mysterious trench had appeared in a direction forty-five degrees away from them.

    This trench was roughly 1.5 metres wide, 30 centimetres deep, and stretched 50 or so meters in a straight line into the distance before quietly disappearing.

    If it were just an ordinary trench, the two of them absolutely wouldn¡¯t be this surprised. After all, the fusion skill they had unleashed hadpletely drained them of their soul power and knocked them out for an entire night. Thus, it was normal for it to be this strong.

    However, the most terrifying thing about it was the fact that ayer of light-gold had covered the soil in the trench; this light-gold was actually identical to the light-gold that appeared whenever Huo Yuhao activated his Spirit Eyes.

    It wasn¡¯t just the soil. Because there were a few trees in the path of the trench, a semicircr hole had appeared on a tree which was at the edge of the trench. Furthermore, the inside of that hole was covered in ayer of light-gold as well. In addition to that, every nt near both sides of the trench was covered in ayer of light-gold as well.

    At this very moment under the sun¡¯s radiance, that dazzlingyer of light-gold looked like a golden road that had appeared in front of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. How could they not be astonished?

    ¡°This, was this created by your Radiant Butterfly Goddess?¡± Huo Yuhao asked nkly.

    Wang Dong was currently still atop Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He subconsciously shook his head. ¡°No, absolutely not. Although my martial soul¡¯s gold, it¡¯s either bright gold or bluish-golden. It¡¯d never be a light-gold color like this. This, this looks identical to the color of your Spirit Eyes!¡±

    Huo Yuhao pped his thigh and said, ¡°Quickly, get up. Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± At this moment, Wang Dong was fascinated by the golden road; he didn¡¯t notice that the area Huo Yuhao had pped was near his buttocks. After getting up, Huo Yuhao hurriedly got up as well, and the two of them quickly walked over to the golden road before squatting down to take a look.

    Wang Dong was just about to touch the golden road, but Huo Yuhao grabbed his hand. ¡°You said that this is just like the color of my Spirit Eyes, so I should do this.¡± As he spoke, he stretched his hand into the trench and touched its golden surface.

 Chapter 23.2: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Chapter 23.2: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Touching the ground didn¡¯t seem like a very dangerous action, but Huo Yuhao instantly retracted his hand after doing so. Furthermore, an astonished expression appeared on his face. In the instant he touched the golden soil, he felt as if his mind had been thrown into disarray. His Spiritual Sea shook violently; it felt as if he¡¯d been struck by his Spirit Shock.

    ¡°This, this is only the aftereffects of our fusion skill? Try it out.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly looked towards Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong was extremely curious. As a result of this, he quickly stretched his hand out to touch the golden trench.

    His reaction to it was much greater than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. His entire body turned sluggish, and it took a long time for him toe back to his senses.

    The two looked at each other and saw the astonishment in one another¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°This, isn¡¯t this too awesome? This is just the aftereffects of our fusion skill, but it felt like I had been struck by your all-out Spirit Shock. Can you imagine what¡¯d happen if we were hit its full power?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice was trembling slightly due to his excitement. There were no soul masters who didn¡¯t wish to possess a strong soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Look, the range of this soul skill should be around fifty meters or so in a straight line, but I¡¯m not sure about whether or not it can single someone out or not. It¡¯s extremely strong¡ªI believe that it might even have both mental and destruction attributes, making it a double-attribute attack. Only, I¡¯m not sure how many times it increases our attack power by. If someone were to be struck by it at full power, its power would¡­¡±

    Wang Dong nodded excitedly. ¡°Moreover, the strength of this fusion skill will increase as our cultivation increases! This fusion skill of ours is truly tyrannical. If we were to meet the Lan Sister¡¯s Empyreal Net again, we¡¯d definitely be able to destroy it in an instant!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was simrly excited, but he was slightly calmer than Wang Dong, ¡°Wang Dong, do you think we can use this fusion skill in the assessment? I doubt that a Soul Elder can withstand the amount of power it contains!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face stiffened. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. An extremely strong skill like this is actually quite problematic. Furthermore, we can only use it once, so we can¡¯t even use it to intimidate the others. We¡¯d faint after using it once.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°This is the first time we used it, so we were too inexperienced. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be this draining when we try using it next time, but we should only be able to use it once. However, having a strong skill is always a good thing. Once we practice it a few more times and get used to it, it¡¯ll be much better.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°If that Ma Xiaotao wants to bully us again, we¡¯ll let her taste this. It shouldn¡¯t kill her with her cultivation, so we can use it to show how awesome we are.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°A strong fusion skill like this should always have a name. Since I was wrong earlier, I¡¯ll let you name it.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t decline this responsibility. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll consider you tactful. What would sound nice? Gaze of Death, how about that?¡±

    Without even waiting for Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion, he immediately rejected that name himself. ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. It¡¯s a fusion skill that¡¯s activated by the both of us, so how can it not contain anything that¡¯s rted to my martial soul? Let¡¯s call it the ¡®Gaze of the Radiant Goddess¡¯. That sounds cool.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a speechless look on his face as he stared at him, ¡°How the heck is your Radiant Butterfly Goddess a Radiant Goddess? The ¡®Radiant Goddess¡¯ in your martial soul¡¯s name clearly refers to how it illuminates light, as well as the fact that it¡¯s a butterfly that¡¯s as beautiful as a goddess. Let¡¯s not even bother discussing the existence of a Radiant Goddess; even if it did exist, it wouldn¡¯t be rted to us at all.¡±

    Wang Dong frowned. ¡°Can¡¯t you admit that it sounds quite nice? Don¡¯t tell me you want to call it ¡®Gaze of the Butterfly¡¯? Wouldn¡¯t that sound even worse?¡±

    Suddenly, his eyes lit up. ¡°I¡¯ve got it. Why do we even need to add the names of our martial souls to it? That doesn¡¯t sound special at all. Considering the fact that it¡¯s such a magnificent golden color, and that it releases such a resplendent light for an instant, why don¡¯t we call it: A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence. How about that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened slightly, ¡°This name sounds cool, but isn¡¯t it too long?¡±

    Pleased with himself, Wang Dong said, ¡°A long name shows off how awesome we are, right? Let¡¯s just abbreviate it to ¡®A Golden Road¡¯. In any case, nobody else will even know what it is. Once we get back, let¡¯s ask Teacher Zhou to evaluate the effects and strength of our ¡®A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence¡¯. Then, we can find out what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Once he heard the words ¡®Teacher Zhou¡¯, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a chill up his back. He then turned around and noticed the sun, which was already rising gradually.

    Wang Dong was instantly reminded by his actions, and started to think of something. The two then looked each other in the eye and simultaneously let out a cry, immediately running.

    We¡¯re gonna bete again¡­ and it¡¯s even when the knock-out tournament¡¯s about to start. We¡¯re gonna bete again¡­

    For the sake of getting back to Shrek Academy in the shortest time possible, the two had no choice but to hold hands and run at full speed, activating the Vastwinter Power. Under this situation, not only was the consumption of energy even smaller, it even allowed them to reach their maximum speed.

    Fortunately, they weren¡¯t too far away from the Academy. Thus, they didn¡¯t need too much time to return, but they were stillte.

    Roughly thirty or so academy teachers, including the olddy Zhou Yi, were standing in a line outside the Assessment Area.

    Zhou Yi currently had an unhappy look in her eyes. She scanned through the nearly two hundred students beneath her, but she still couldn¡¯t find the people she was looking for.

    Xiao Xiao was already there, and she was currently waiting with a panicked expression on her face. This was because registration had already started, and in addition to that, it had started with their ss 1. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t there yet. If they didn¡¯t manage to make it there before registration ended, they¡¯d be disqualified from the tournament. Without even mentioning what a pity it¡¯d be for them to miss this opportunity, Old Lady Zhou¡¯s rage was something they wouldn¡¯t be able to endure! And she, who was part of the same team as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, would have to suffer this stroke of bad luck with them.

    Just what¡¯re those two guys doing? They werete yesterday, don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re going to bete today as well?

    The number of participating students from ss 1 was greatest among the ten sses, and as such, the time needed to register them was also the longest among the ten sses. When it was time for Xiao Xiao¡¯s team to be registered, Xiao Xiao was the only person who responded. Unexpectedly, nobody responded to the names ¡®Huo Yuhao¡¯ and ¡®Wang Dong¡¯. Once this urred, not only was the entire student body stunned, even the teachers were astonished.

    Although this wasn¡¯t the first time that a situation like this had urred in the history of Shrek Academy, it was an extremely rare urrence. Even if they had already passed the freshmen assessment, it would seem as if they were looking down on the academy if they didn¡¯t turn up for the knock-out tournament. As such, they would give an unfavourable impression to all the teachers.

    The teacher in charge of the registration paused slightly for a moment before continuing to register the students from the other sses. This went on all the way until ss 6, when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong finally arrived.

    The two of them had rushed all the way to the academy, and they¡¯d even slept in the forest overnight. In addition to that, they hadn¡¯t even had time to clean themselves up. As a result of this, their figures looked extremely sorry. Without even talking about how dirty their clothes were, there were even traces of mud and dew on their clothes.

    However, the deed was already done. Thus, they could only thicken their faces ande up. After all, they couldn¡¯t actually forfeit their ces!

 Chapter 23.3: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Chapter 23.3: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both ran towards the area between the teachers and students, loudly shouting ¡°Reporting in.¡± as they did so.

    The teacher in charge of the registration immediately paused. This teacher looked fifty-or-so-years old, and had a tall frame. He was dark-skinned and beardless, and had a stern expression on his face.

    ¡°What ss are you two from? What happened?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both recognised him. This teacher was called Du Weilun, and he was the director of the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Department. He possessed the greatest authority in the outer courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao shouted, ¡°Reporting in, Teacher Du. We¡¯re ss 1¡¯s Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. We werete due to excessive cultivation.¡±

    Du Weilun¡¯s face darkened. ¡°You¡¯re evente to the assessment? Have you no concept of time? As a punishment, you¡¯ll be sweeping all the corridors of the freshmen teaching blocks two days after the tournament ends. Return to your team.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hurriedly replied. They inwardly let out a sigh of relief. As long as they didn¡¯t lose their qualification to participate in the tournament, everything else was fine. The two hurriedly walked to the area where ss 1¡¯s teams were and stood together with Xiao Xiao.

    Du Weilun nced at the nearby Zhou Yi before continuing to register the other students. With his temper, if any other students werete, it¡¯d be very likely for him to directly strip them of their qualifications to participate in the ranking tournament. In any case, they¡¯d have passed the freshmen assessment anyway. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were unique in the sense that they had performed exceptionally well during the round-robin tournament; they¡¯d obtained a perfect score. This was the reason why the iron-faced director let them off leniently.

    Although results weren¡¯t everything in Shrek Academy, students who were strong and obtained good results would have preferential treatment. This was the case in any academy.

    ¡°Where¡¯d you two go to? Just wait till Old Lady Zhou takes care of you guys once today¡¯s matches are over. Look at her eyes; they look like des. If looks could kill, you two would¡¯ve died by a thousand cuts.¡± Xiao Xiao spoke unhappily.

    Wang Dong spoke with a depressed look on his face. ¡°Stop grumbling. This is all Huo Yuhao¡¯s fault. If he didn¡¯t drag me out topare notes with him, making me lose track of time, how could we bete?¡±

    During the journey back, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had agreed to keep their martial soul fusion skill a secret for the time being. After all, they weren¡¯t nning on using it during the freshmen assessment. They agreed to only tell this piece of good news to Teacher Zhou, in order to appease her thunderous fury while letting her give them some advice regarding their cultivations. They¡¯d then show it off in future assessments once they were adept at using it.

    The director of the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun, quickly finished taking attendance, and what followed that was the drawing of lots. This was only a freshmen assessment, so there weren¡¯t too manyplicated procedures involved. Huo Yuhao represented his team to draw lots. The sixty-four teams involved in the knock-out tournament were divided into thirty-two areas where they would fight each other.

    Yesterday, the students had had an entire day¡¯s worth of rest, and theyout of the Assessment Area had been changed during that day as well. They merely changed the positioning of the partitioning walls, re-dividing the Assessment Area into sixteen areas. This time, the area of every single sub-area was increased several-fold, allowing the participating students to have even more space to utilise.

    The rules of the knock-out tournament were very simple; there would be one match in the morning and one match in the afternoon every day, and eliminated teams would have to return to ss, while victorious teams would continue topete. After three days, the top three teams would be decided.

    After the lots were drawn, the round of sixty-four immediately started, and thirty-two matches were simultaneously held. This way, they could shorten the time used for the tournament and give victorious students ample time to rest for their afternoon match.

    This time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was sent to the 15th area; their proctor had been changed as well. This time, the proctor in charge of them was a thirty-or-so-year-old female teacher who looked extremely good-natured.

    When they drew lots earlier, they only obtained a number. Hence, they didn¡¯t even know who they¡¯d be facing. Once they arrived, they were somewhat speechless. Their opponents in the first match was actually a few of their ssmates, resulting in this knock-out tournament bing a civil war.

    Their three opponents were people who Huo Yuhao¡¯s team recognised. One of them had even attempted to challenge Wang Dong. ording to Wang Dong, that fellow had been immediately humbled after Wang Dong privately beat him up.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s judgement was extremely precise. Since she had chosen Huo Yuhao¡¯s team as ss 1¡¯s seeded team, their strength was naturally something that the other teams couldn¡¯tpete against. The match didn¡¯tst for long. Although their opponents were extremely resilient, the match was finished within ten minutes due to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao working together, along with the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Thus, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team sessfully entered the top 32.

    However, just as they walked out of the Assessment Area, their originally joyful expressions instantly vanished. This was because the gloomy-faced Old Lady Zhou was waiting for them by the exit to the Assessment Area.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, you can go back and rest first. You two, follow me.¡± With that, she coldly humphed and turned away.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously felt a chill up their spines. Fortunately, they had already made their preparations. After ncing at each other, they followed Zhou Yi. Xiao Xiao could only gaze at them with an expression that said ¡®you can fend go for yourselves¡¯.

    This time, Zhou Yi unexpectedly brought them straight to her office. As the teacher in charge of ss 1, her office was located in the Administration Area that was located behind the ck and purple buildings of the outer courtyard¡¯s teaching blocks, as well as the northern area of the Dormitory Area. Her office was situated on the first floor, and she was the only person who was currently working there.

    After following Zhou Yi into the Office, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished.

    Unexpectedly, the cold and extremely strict Teacher Zhou had decorated her office in an extremely elegant manner. The walls of her office were painted a light pink color, and her table was made with a special type of wood that was light red. Furthermore, there was arge red sofa that was meant for guests along with a few other decorations. There was also a small door that seemed to lead to a lounge. One had to admit that Shrek Academy treated its teachers rtively well; even teachers in charge of freshmen sses had their own private offices.

    Huo Yuhao was thest person to walk into the room, and he carefully shut the door upon entering. Zhou Yi was already seated on therge red sofa, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She spoke coldly. ¡°Tell me, just what in the world were you two doing? You¡¯re really good! You two werete for two consecutive days. Since you¡¯ve passed the freshmen assessment, your wings have hardened, and I can¡¯t control you anymore. Is that what you think? Let me tell you this. As long as I will it, I can expel you two from the academy with a single word. This world doesn¡¯tck any geniuses, and I¡¯ve expelled many of them myself. There¡¯s only one reason why I would expel a genius¡ªand that¡¯s because they weren¡¯t suited to be an expert with their personality. Give me a good reason why I shouldn¡¯t expel the two of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other, and Wang Dong bumped him, indicating that he should exin.

    Huo Yuhao could only brace himself and say, ¡°Teacher Zhou, sorry. We were in the wrong.¡± During these three months, he could be considered to have be familiar with Zhou Yi¡¯s temper. Arguing with her had no benefits; it¡¯d just enrage this Old Lady Zhou further. If you had a good attitude, you could receive a smaller punishment.

 Chapter 23.4: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    Chapter 23.4: The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence

    ¡°Do you think sorry will cut it? Do you think that beingte is just a small matter? Let me tell you this. Beingte representsziness, andziness at your age is something extremely serious. If you only have this reason to defend yourself, you can screw off. Tell me, I need a logical exnation.¡±

    Only then did Huo Yuhao respectfully reply, ¡°Teacher Zhou, please don¡¯t be angry. This is what happened. Do you still remember what happened? When we met Huang Chutian¡¯s team, they had a pair of twins who were called Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhou Yi replied.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°During that match, we almost lost because the Lan sisters were able to activate a fusion skill. We were only able to forcefully block that powerful skill of theirs after working hard together. After that, we finally won that match and ended the round-robin tournament with a perfect score.¡±

    ¡°After we got back, we both envied the strength of their fusion skill. Thus, we decided to try it out and see whether our martial souls could fuse. The school doesn¡¯t have a ss that specialises in fusion skills, so we could only try it out by ourselves. However, who knew that our martial souls would fuse together on our first try? During the fusion process, we fell asleep on Wang Dong¡¯s bed, and ss had already started by the time we woke up. That¡¯s why we werete yesterday.¡±

    As Huo Yuhao continued his exnation, he clearly felt Wang Dong softly pinch the skin on his waist and twist it a hundred and eighty degrees.

    He felt an intense sensation of pain, but he didn¡¯t dare to show it. However, his expression immediately stiffened by a bit.

    ¡°A martial soul fusion?¡± Zhou Yi was stunned. She didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao would actually give a reason like this. She subconsciously asked,: ¡°Did you seed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°We weren¡¯t sure about it yesterday. Thus, we tried it out for a moment when you asked us to run around yesterday, and it seemed to work. Later that night, we went outside the academy to try out our fusion skill. We never thought that it¡¯d actually seed in one try. Furthermore, its strength seemed quite strong. However, this was the first time we¡¯d activated a fusion skill, so our soul power was overdrafted. After releasing it, we directly copsed in the forest, and we were alreadyte when we woke up. Teacher Zhou, we were trulyte because we were diligently cultivating. This was just an ident; I promise you that it won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    With that, Huo Yuhao quietly raised his head and stole a nce at Zhou Yi. However, he only saw Zhou Yi¡¯s dumbstruck expression.

    ¡°You, you¡¯re telling me that you actually seeded when you tried to use a fusion skill?¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s voice clearly rose in pitch. At the same time, she stood up with an astonished and excited look on her face.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nodded simultaneously.

    Zhou Yi excitedly said, ¡°Quick, let me see. What¡¯s your fusion skill?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Teacher Zhou, we still have a match in the afternoon, and we¡¯llpletely drain our soul power after using this skill.¡±

    Zhou Yi unhappily said, ¡°Your energy will be drained the most when you use it for the first time. It won¡¯t be that draining when you use it in the future. If soul masters were to faint whenever they released a fusion skill, wouldn¡¯t it be a suicidal move? Hurry up. I¡¯ll be responsible for helping you recover your soul power, so it won¡¯t interfere with your afternoon match. Come, just use it on me.¡±

    Since Zhou Yi had already said so, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse. The two faced each other, and Huo Yuhao spread his arms and hugged Wang Dong in a very natural manner. Although Wang Dong¡¯s movements were still somewhat stiff, he didn¡¯t push Huo Yuhao away. He shut his eyes and spread his arms as well, hugging Huo Yuhao.

    In the instant their bodies touched, they each released their martial souls.

    Their soul powers instantly fused, causing the Haodong Power to flow through their bodies. The two of them felt as if their bodies were fused together.

    One second, two seconds, three seconds passed¡­

    Teacher Zhou¡¯s office was so quiet that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard, but there were no other movements in the room besides the soul power undtions caused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯s martial souls.

    Zhou Yi widened her eyes as she stared at them. She was already prepared to defend against their attack, but the two of them were just standing there hugging each other without doing anything else. The corner of her eyelid was beginning to twitch.

    The two of them could feel that something was wrong. In ordance with what had happened yesterday, their soul power should¡¯ve quickly been drained! Then, a Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence should¡¯ve been released in a single direction. However, nothing was happening at all.

    ¡°Just what the hell do you two think you¡¯re doing?¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s cold voice sounded as if it was spoken through clenched teeth. The two couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill up their spines, and they subconsciously stopped hugging each other. An expression of shock instantly filled their faces.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s body was currently releasing killing intent; it was the second time Zhou Yi had given off this feeling towards the two of them. Old Lady Zhou was clearly about to blow up.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly spoke, ¡°Teacher Zhou, this was how we released our fusion skill yesterday! We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Zhou Yi spoke with a chilly voice, ¡°Are you trying to show off your gay love by hugging each other in my office? If I don¡¯t TAKE CARE of you two today, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    Without even waiting for Zhou Yi to finish her sentence, Huo Yuhao immediately sprung into action. He grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hand and instantly used his Spiritual Detection Sharing on Zhou Yi.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Zhou Yi was just about to blow up from her anger, but everything around her suddenly became clear to her. Her perception rapidly expanded, and within the blink of an eye, everything within a hundred meters of her became a clear three-dimensional image in her mind.

    Why did his range increase by this much? Zhou Yi clearly remembered that the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was only thirty meters or so thest time he had used it. However, it had turned into a hundred meters this time around. The magnitude of this increase was simply toorge.

    As he looked at Zhou Yi¡¯s slight confusion, Huo Yuhao hurriedly exined, ¡°Teacher Zhou, do you remember what I saidst time? I told you that my Spiritual Detection would evolve as my cultivation increases, and after your caring guidance during these three months, its range increased to around fifty meters or so. In addition to that, I¡¯ve found a way of concentrating its effects in one direction only, allowing its range to increase even more. On the other hand, the hundred meters that you¡¯re currently sensing wasn¡¯t done by me alone. After Wang Dong and I fused our martial souls, our soul powers fused as well. The reason why my Spiritual Detection¡¯s range increased by so much, to the point where it¡¯s even doubled in range, was due to Wang Dong¡¯s help. Doesn¡¯t this prove that we can fuse our martial souls? We really managed to use a fusion skillst night. If you don¡¯t believe us, we can bring you to the area we tested it out on. There are a still a few traces left there.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Zhou Yi gradually calmed down; she knew that she had been slightly impetuous.

    During these three months, she had seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance in the academy. Even as she looked through her memories, there had never been a student who¡¯d been more diligent than him. Furthermore, he was calmer than his peers, and had a few hints of maturity. Even if he wanted to lie to her, he¡¯d never tell a lie that could be exposed as easily as this one.

    This was a perfect example of the saying ¡®everyone specialised in their own fields¡¯. Although Zhou Yi was a teacher from Shrek Academy, she wasn¡¯t too familiar with martial soul fusion skills. After all, these skills were truly too niche. After listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, she had already believed them. As such, the anger in her heart quickly dissipated.

    Waving her hand, Zhou Yi said, ¡°Fine. You can stop using your skill, I believe you two. Only, there¡¯s definitely something that went wrong when you were trying to use your fusion skill. Wait in my office for a while, I¡¯ll go bring a teacher who¡¯s familiar with fusion skills. I¡¯ll get him to dispel your doubts.¡±

    Old Lady Zhou was always a person who made swift and decisive decisions. By the time she had finished speaking, she was already outside, and was walking with quick steps

    Once she left, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. The two of them copsed onto the sofa, and Huo Yuhao used his left hand to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. Wang Dong wanted to use his left hand as well, but he noticed that Huo Yuhao was still holding it.

    ¡°Release your hand.¡± Wang Dong unhappily freed his hand from Huo Yuhao¡¯s grip. He then red at him, ¡°I¡¯m ming you for this. If it weren¡¯t for you insisting on trying our fusion skill out, why else would we be caught by that Old Lady Zhou? We don¡¯t really have any secrets now, do we?¡±

    As Huo Yuhao leaned into the sofa, he chuckled, ¡°me me if you want to, but this isn¡¯t really a bad thing. We¡¯ll be able to avoid doing things incorrectly if we have a teacher guiding our cultivation. Just when can you change this grumbling attitude of yours? I¡¯m the only one who can tolerate you.¡±

    Wang Dong humphed. ¡°I only do it when I¡¯m with you. If it were anyone else, I¡¯d be toozy to evenin. However, it¡¯s worth it, since we saw Old Lady Zhou¡¯s stunned expression. Hey, do you think Old Lady Zhou will continue to teach us after we finish the knock-out tournament?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. Teacher Zhou¡¯s teaching seems to be quiteprehensive, but she seems to ce emphasis on a few different things. Only, we¡¯re too young, and our cultivation levels are quite low, so we haven¡¯t seen her specialties yet. In any case, we¡¯ll find out after we get reassigned sses once the knock-out tournament ends. I¡¯m hoping that we¡¯ll follow Teacher Zhou. Although she¡¯s somewhat strict, it isn¡¯t really a bad thing for us. At the very least, she¡¯ll continue to encourage us to diligently cultivate and learn.¡±

 Chapter 24.1: The Bet

    Chapter 24.1: The Bet

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Are you a masochist? Right, let¡¯s cultivate for a while here. Once Old Lady Zhoues back and sees that we were cultivating while she was gone, she¡¯ll definitely think that we¡¯re very hardworking. I¡¯m sure that her mood will improve as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao knocked him on the head and said, ¡°You¡¯re an expert at doing these crafty things.¡±

    ¡°Rubbish, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s doing crafty things. We¡¯ve got a match in the afternoon, and we were somewhat drained from the match earlier, so what¡¯s wrong with recovering as soon as possible? Are you gonna do it or not? Hurry up.¡± As he spoke, he took off his shoes and sat on the sofa in a cross-legged position. After that, he extended his hands out towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had always cultivated whenever he had free time, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t refuse. He mirrored Wang Dong¡¯s position and ced his palms against Wang Dong¡¯s palms. Then, they simultaneously circted their soul powers.

    As their soul powers circted and fused with one another, it felt somewhat different from yesterday¡¯s cultivation. Their soul powers seemed to have be more intimate, and their cultivation speeds during the initial stages of the fusion were clearly much faster than they were yesterday; the Haodong Power had already appeared in the instant they touched. As they willed it, the Haodong Power circted along their cultivation paths at a speed that was at least 10% faster than yesterday.

    When they started cultivating, they shut their eyes. As such, they didn¡¯t notice that three blue, purple, and gold lights had slowly emerged from their palms. These three lights revolved around their arms and started to hover around their bodies, and gradually, ayer of color appeared on their bodies.

    Originally, they were merely nning on recovering some of their soul power. However, they quickly entered a meditative state once their cultivation started, resulting in them losing all awareness of the world.

    Not long after they began cultivating, Zhou Yi returned with another person in tow. If the two of them had been awake, they would¡¯ve definitely been astonished. This was because the person that Zhou Yi had brought back was their proctor during the round-robin tournament, Teacher Wang Yan.

    Zhou Yi was startled by the appearances of the two as they cultivated, while Wang Yan waspletely astonished. Afterwards, the two of them unexpectedly gave each other a signal to remain silent.

    An inquiring look appeared in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes, but Wang Yan merely shook his head. After that, he quietly walked towards their bodies and squatted down, observing their conditions. In addition to that, he started to carefully pay attention to the soul power undtions they were generating as they cultivated.

    As he continued to pay attention to them, the astonishment on Wang Yan¡¯s face increased. He subconsciously started to rub his hands.

    Zhou Yi and Wang Yan had known each other for a while; she knew that this action of his signified his nervousness and excitement. Moreover, she was a teacher herself. As such, she could also sense how unusual Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s current state was. At the very least, she had never seen something like this before. Two soul masters were unexpectedly cultivating together, and not only did their soul powers not interfere with each other, they even fused together. They could see how quickly they were cultivating from the cirction of the three lights, and knew that even a three-ringed Soul Elder wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate as fast as them!

    Afterpleting thirty-six cycles of cultivation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stopped. The two managed topletely recover the soul power they had lost during their earlier match, and they even managed to increase their cultivation levels by a step.

    The two of them simultaneously let out a sigh, slowly retracting their respective soul powers. This then caused the three lights revolving around their bodies to slowly dissipate.

    As they opened their eyes, the two felt somewhat refreshed. Their current cultivation speed was simply too satisfying. However, they were quickly startled by the scene in front of them.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, Teacher Wang?¡± To his astonishment, Huo Yuhao saw Zhou Yi and Wang Yan seated on chairs not far away from the sofa, fully concentrated on them.

    Wang Dong was also astonished. Only then did the two remember that they were still in Zhou Yi¡¯s office.

    Huo Yuhao spoke with a slightly embarrassed voice. ¡°Teacher Zhou, we wanted to recover some of our soul power and prepare for the afternoon match. That¡¯s why we¡­¡±

    Zhou Yi waved her hand and said, ¡°No need for any exnations. Being hardworking is always a good thing. This person is Teacher Wang Yan, an excellent teacher from the Academy¡¯s theoretical faction. He¡¯s even one rank higher than me as a teacher. He¡¯s very well-learned with regards to martial soul fusion skills.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled slightly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that I need to introduce myself. We¡¯ve met before. I was their proctor during the round-robin tournament.¡± The current him had already regained his usual calm look, but as for whether he was truly calm on the inside, only he himself knew the answer to that.

    ¡°Teacher Wang.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously bowed to him respectfully.

    Wang Yan nodded his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve carefully observed your cultivations. In the beginning, I didn¡¯t believe what Zhou Yi told me, but now, I¡¯ve realised that I was inexperienced. Now, I can testify to Zhou Yi with a 100% certainty that you two havepleted a martial soul fusion, and that you possess a fusion skill.¡±

    Zhou Yi looked at him with a somewhat astonished expression on her face, but she didn¡¯t interrupt him.

    Wang Yan continued. ¡°Your soul powers are actually sopatible that they didn¡¯t even conflict with each other at all when they fused together. Moreover, the fusion even assisted your cultivation. This has never been seen in the ten-thousand-year records of Shrek Academy. There¡¯s only one exnation for this¡ªthat is, your martial souls are perfectlypatible, achieving a perfect 100%patibility rate. Only this legendary urrence could allow your soul powers to perfectly fuse without any distinctions whatsoever, and allow you to share your cultivation speeds. Congrattions. I can even foresee that you two will definitely be Chosen of our Shrek Academy in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but secretly admire Wang Yan as he listened to his words. He¡¯d heard of the words ¡®Perfect Compatibility¡¯ from the Skydream Iceworm, but Wang Yan was able to deduce this by merely observing their cultivations, even though he didn¡¯t fully understand them. It was no wonder he was a representative of the Academy¡¯s theoretical faction.

    Puzzled, Wang Dong asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, since that¡¯s the case, why did our fusion skill fail today? Huo Yuhao and I tried it out earlier, but nothing happened!¡±

    Wang Yan chuckled. ¡°Do you think that fusion skills are ordinary soul skills? How could the activation of a fusion skill be so simple? Your martial souls and energies have to be at their peak conditions for a fusion skill to be activated. This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen two people with perfectpatibility rates, but ording to my experience, there¡¯s a fixed resting period for the activation of a martial soul fusion skill. Moreover, you won¡¯t be able to activate it during this time period. This period normallysts seven days, but that will gradually lessen as your cultivations increase. This will happen all the way until you canpletely master your fusion skill.¡±

 Chapter 24.2: The Bet

    Chapter 24.2: The Bet

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, when will we be able to freely use our fusion skill?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°It¡¯s still too early to tell. You¡¯d have to reach Rank 70 at the very least to be able to use it freely, as you¡¯d have obtained a Martial Soul True Body by then. This is normally the case for any soul master. However, it¡¯s very likely that you two have a perfectpatibility rate. Thus, I suggest that you try using your fusion skill every day from now, all the way until it works again. We can then confirm the resting period of your fusion skill. Once you¡¯ve confirmed the length of this resting period,e find me and let me see what your fusion skill is. I¡¯m very curious as to what it is!¡±

    With Wang Yan¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were now much more knowledgeable about fusion skills.

    Zhou Yi asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, since they¡¯ve achieved a perfectpatibility rate for their martial soul fusion, what other benefits does it give besides aiding them in their cultivation?¡±

    Wang Yan chuckled. ¡°Teacher Zhou, a man who¡¯s never content is like a snake that¡¯s trying to swallow an elephant! You¡¯ve already picked up two treasures. Simply allowing them to assist each other during cultivating can double their cultivation speed. You might not be able to see anything now, but give it a few years. I can guarantee that within three years, absolutely none of their peers will be able topete with their cultivation levels. However, you¡¯re right to ask this question. There¡¯s another difference between perfectlypatible fusion skills and ordinary fusion skills, and that is their strengths. I¡¯m pretty sure you know what I mean. ording to the normal rules of a martial soul fusion, the higher thepatibility rate, the stronger the fusion skill will be. However, we¡¯ve never seen a perfect fusion before. Hence, I wish to personally see how strong their fusion skill is, and what effects it has.¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded and said, ¡°Thanks for your help. Teacher Wang, shall we report this matter together?¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. ¡°No need. You can report it by yourself. You should¡¯ve been promoted to a high-ranked teacher already. Furthermore, you were the one who discovered these two fellows. I can¡¯t steal your glory.¡±

    Zhou Yi smiled and nodded at him.

    Wang Yan stood up and said, ¡°You little fes have to work hard. Go enter the top 32 in the knock-out tournament. You¡¯ll have to work even harder once you¡¯ve entered the top 8. The academy will have a few higher-ups watching you fight. Furthermore, even we teachers think that the champion prize is quite good, so you can¡¯t miss out on it. If you have any problems, you cane find me. My office is on the fourth floor. Teacher Zhou, I¡¯ll be taking my leave then.¡±

    Zhou Yi walked Wang Yan all the way to the door to the office. Before leaving, Wang Yan looked deeply at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Zhou Yi didn¡¯t enter the room again. Instead, she beckoned towards the two who were still in the office. ¡°Let¡¯s go, you should eat lunch. I¡¯ll treat you to lunch today.¡±

    Although she didn¡¯t explicitly state it, taking the initiative to treat them to lunch signified that she was apologizing to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong for ming them.

    The two felt that it was somewhat inconceivable, but they quickly came to their senses and excitedly charged to the canteen with Zhou Yi in tow.

    Zhou Yi was actually quite a generous person; she unexpectedly treated them to all of the canteen¡¯s top-ranked dishes.

    The canteen¡¯s top-ranked dishes were extraordinarily pricey, and there were new dishes that were priced differently every day. However, their prices were always in gold soul coins. There were two top-ranked dishes today, and Zhou Yi ordered two of each, causing the total bill to exceed sixty gold soul coins.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, you¡¯re spending too much on us.¡± Huo Yuhao felt a bit bad. Even after all the time he¡¯d spent selling roasted fish, he hadn¡¯t even earned a total of sixty gold soul coins yet¡­

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Quickly, eat it while it¡¯s hot. Don¡¯t think that the Academy¡¯s selling these top-ranked dishes for the sake of making a profit. In reality, the top-ranked dishes are the only dishes in the canteen that cause the Academy to suffer a loss.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong asked at practically the same time.

    Zhou Yi smiled indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s naturally for the sake of the bodies of the students. Do you two recognise these dishes?¡± She pointed at the tes in front of her.

    These two dishes had strong fragrances. One looked like a stew, while the other was some soup.

    That stew was made out of lean meat and tendons. The stew itself was strong and thick, while the meat was fresh and soft to the touch. Even the tendons had been cooked in such a way that they had a soft and gtinous texture. Merely looking at the dish would make one¡¯s appetite increase.

    On the other hand, the soup had a light-gold color, and there was nothing inside it; there was only soup. However, its fragrance assaulted one¡¯s nose, so much so that it even smelled richer than the stew. There was even the faint smell of medicinal herbs hidden within the soup.

    Undoubtedly, Huo Yuhao was unable to tell the names of these dishes. However, Wang Dong hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, this stew seems to be made out of the meat of the Devilscale Alligator? I can¡¯t tell what the soup is made out of, though.¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded and said, ¡°You deserve to be called a child from an aristocratic family. You¡¯re right. This meat of this stewes from the Devilscale Alligator, which is an extraordinarily strong amphibian soul beast. Eating its meat is arge help to us soul masters, as it can improve our physique and increase the toughness of our meridians. It¡¯s a good thing that¡¯s quite rare. Only, the meat of the Devilscale Alligator is as hard as steel. Thus, it takes an extremely great chef to be able to refine it into something this soft. So let me tell you this: our Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t just have the best teachers on the continent, we have the best chefs as well. An adult Devilscale Alligator is at the thousand-year soul beast rank at the very least, so do you still think that this dish is expensive?¡±

    ¡°As for this soup, it was made by boiling an avian soul beast for a long time, and it has the effect of nourishing one¡¯s internal organs. This can make our internal organs more stable, which can benefit our cultivation.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said this in the past, but we have three students this year who¡¯ve reached the Soul Elder rank. It¡¯s true that they¡¯re talented and hardworking, but they¡¯re also children whoe from therge ns. Since their youth, they¡¯ve received the assistance of the best food, drink, and medicine, which is why they are able to attain a cultivation like theirs at such a young age. Wang Dong could¡¯ve also received treatment like this beforeing to the Academy, but as for why you haven¡¯t obtained your third ring, in my opinion, it¡¯s very likely due to yourziness or a special condition in your body. Furthermore, if I haven¡¯t remembered it incorrectly, you just turned eleven.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded, ¡°Teacher Zhou, I¡¯ll definitely obtain my third ring before I turn twelve.¡±

 Chapter 24.3: The Bet

    Chapter 24.3: The Bet

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Okay, you two should quickly start eating. Once you¡¯re done, go back and take a small rest. The afternoon match is going to start soon. I¡¯ll be reporting this matter to the higher-ups. If you¡¯re selected as a core disciple of the outer courtyard, the Academy will provide you these top-ranked dishes free of charge. I¡¯m pretty sure you can imagine how much this¡¯ll benefit your cultivation. However, possessing a martial soul fusion skill doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll definitely be selected as a core disciple. Remember, our Shrek Academy has nock of geniuses. Your final ranking in the knock-out tournament will greatly affect your chances at entering the circle of core disciples. Truth is, I managed to graduate from the outer courtyard during my time, but I wasn¡¯t able to be a core disciple, much less obtain the qualifications to enter the inner courtyard. But for you two, bing a core disciple is an important step that¡¯ll help you to enter the inner courtyard. Out of all the core disciples that¡¯ve been in Shrek Academy, over half of them managed to pass the inner courtyard¡¯s assessment. Also, bing a core disciple signifies that you¡¯ll receive even more help from Academy teachers. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The two replied together. Then, they immediately gorged themselves silly.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately acknowledged Zhou Yi¡¯s praise of the Academy¡¯s chefs. Huo Yuhao was still somewhat better; he¡¯d never tried these types of high-ranked foodstuffs before. However, Wang Dong differed from him. He¡¯d eaten these delicacies in the past, but the vours created by his family¡¯s chefs couldn¡¯tpare to the dishes cooked by the Academy¡¯s canteen.

    Once they finished eating, the two instantly felt their bodies heat up. This was especially true for their stomachs; waves of warmth spread through their entire bodies, causing an indescribable rxing feeling to arise. Sure enough, you really got what you paid for!

    Zhou Yi followed them all the way to the dorm entrance. Before leaving, she ced her hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and whispered, ¡°Since you weren¡¯t born as a noble, use your own strength to be one.¡±

    With that, she turned and left. Ever since the meal had started, her icy expression seemed to have disappeared.

    The old man who seemed to be the dormitory manager, yet never cared about anything, continued to lean on his recliner. He seemed to have heard Zhou Yi¡¯s words, and mumbled something in response, but nobody heard him.

    After Huo Yuhao greeted the old man as he usually did, he returned to his dorm room along with Wang Dong. They¡¯d just finished eating, but they had to cultivate for a while. After all, wasting time was disgraceful! Furthermore, the afternoon match clearly wouldn¡¯t be as effortless as the morning match.

    When the afternoon bell rang, the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament¡¯s round of sixteen officially began.

    Whenpared to the morning, the number ofpeting students had decreased by a half. Once they drew their lots again, the students immediately headed toward their designated areas to start their respective matches.

    Theyout of the area hadn¡¯t changed, as this match was being held on the same day as the previous match. However, only the first 16 battlefields were used for the matches.

    There was a tall stage erected by the northern part of the Assessment Area. This stage was 20 meters above the ground, and was supported by six metallic pirs. From the ground, it was impossible to see the number of people the stage contained. However, there were vague figures up there, as if there were people who were watching their matches. On the other hand, a distance of 20 meters from the ground was enough to overlook the entire Assessment Area, allowing the people up there to clearly see the state of every match.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯tte this time around. Instead, they came to the Assessment Area very early to draw their lots, causing Xiao Xiao to sigh in relief.

    This time, they were assigned to the eighth arena. By the time they arrived at the arena, the other team who¡¯d been assigned to the eighth arena as well had already arrived.

    To Huo Yuhao¡¯s astonishment, their opponents were all girls. Furthermore, they were youngdies who were very pretty.

    The Spectator¡¯s Stage.

    Zhou Yi quietly stood on the stage, surveying the matches that were about to start. ss 1 had been the biggest winner among the ten sses during the round-robin tournament, but a few strong students had begun to reveal their true potential and strength when the knock-out tournament started. After the round of 32, only five teams from ss 1 remained. Although their numbers were greater than those from the other sses, their dominance was no longer that obvious.

    The round of 32 was extremely crucial.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, are you looking for your seeded team? I¡¯ve just looked at the lots, and coincidentally, the seeded team you¡¯ve chosen just so happened to meet up with the seeded team from my ss. They¡¯re over there at the eighth arena. Say, who do you think will win?¡±

    A thirty-or-so-year-old female teacher had walked up to Zhou Yi, and spoken with an amused tone.

    Zhou Yi immediately squinted, ¡°Mu Jin, do you think that your students will win for sure?¡±

    Although Mu Jin wasn¡¯t young, her appearance could definitely be described using the words ¡®young and pretty¡¯. She smiled, shaking her head. ¡°That¡¯s not true. There are no absolutes in this world. However, I¡¯ve heard that there aren¡¯t any particrly outstanding talents from your ss this time around. At the very least, I¡¯ve heard that you don¡¯t have any students who¡¯re above Rank 30. What a pity.¡±

    Zhou Yi¡¯s gaze turned chilly. ¡°Are you trying to provoke me?¡±

    Mu Jin¡¯s smiling expression instantly vanished, ¡°So what if I am? Doesn¡¯t your ss 1 have good results? I want to see how many of the students who you¡¯ve taught can get into the top 8. When I saw that my seeded team was paired up against your seeded team, I felt very happy. Ever since you expelled my disciples even when I bitterly begged you not to, this is the first time that I¡¯ve felt this happy. I¡¯ve heard that you want to be promoted to a senior teacher, but aih, you might be out of luck again.¡±

    However, Zhou Yi didn¡¯t pay attention to Mu Jin¡¯s provoking look. She cast her gaze down to the arenas below her, and fixed her eyes onto the eighth arena that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was on. Then, she indifferently said, ¡°Would you like to make a bet with me?¡±

    Mu Jin¡¯s objective had been to enrage and humiliate Zhou Yi. Thus, she didn¡¯t hesitate to reply after hearing Zhou Yi¡¯s words. ¡°A bet? What¡¯re you betting with me?¡±

    Zhou Yi finally stopped ignoring her. Turning around, she spoke with a serious tone. ¡°One soul bone. Do you dare to bet with me?¡±

    After hearing the words ¡®soul bone¡¯, Mu Jin¡¯s eyes suddenly shrank.

    A soul ring was already an extremely precious item to a soul masters, as a soul master needed a soul ring to be able to breakthrough the existence known as a bottleneck.

    However, soul bones were a hundred times more precious than soul rings. Every soul master could fuse with six soul bones, which were the skull bone, the torso bone, and the four limb bones.

    Every soul ring could give a soul master one skill, while a hundred thousand year ring could give two skills. In other words, an ordinary soul master who managed to cultivate his way to the nine-ringed Titled Douluo stage should possess nine skills. On the other hand, soul bones were apletely different story altogether. Every soul bone would give a soul master another skill, and would drastically increase the strength of the body part it was added to.

    Soul rings were items that soul beasts would definitely produce, but that wasn¡¯t the case for soul bones; only hundred thousand year soul beasts would definitely produce soul bones. On the other hand, soul beasts below the hundred thousand year rank would only have a one percent chance of producing a soul bone! The appearance of any soul bone would definitely cause a scramble among soul masters.

 Chapter 24.4: The Bet

    Chapter 24.4: The Bet

    There was a saying in the world of soul masters: ¡°If one wanted to be an outstanding soul master, he would definitely have to work hard and increase his soul power, while obtaining an optimal soul ring.¡±

    However, if one wanted to be a peak-level soul master and be a true expert in the Douluo Continent, he would definitely need to possess a soul bone. Furthermore, a person would be even stronger if he possessed even more soul bones. From another standpoint, a soul bone could even have the same effect as a medicinal pill, as fusing with a soul bone would increase the soul power of a soul master to some extent.

    At this moment, Zhou Yi¡¯s suggestion of a soul bone was practically her bringing out a fortune to fight with Mu Jin. Hence, how could Mu Jin not be astonished? She didn¡¯t understand where Zhou Yi¡¯s confidence wasing from.

    A trace of disdain appeared at the corner of Zhou Yi¡¯s mouth, ¡°Get away from me if you¡¯re scared. I don¡¯t want to smell that nauseating perfume of yours.¡±

    A fierce light flickered through Mu Jin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll bet with you. Were you trying to scare me away using empty words? If I lose, I¡¯ll give you a soul bone. But if you lose, I want Fan Yu to make me a closebat soul tool.¡±

    Zhou Yi coldly replied, ¡°I¡¯m the person who¡¯s betting with you, not him. If I lose, I¡¯ll give you a soul bone.¡±

    Mu Jin humphed, ¡°I don¡¯t want your soul bone. I want Fan Yu to make me a closebat soul tool.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll reply on her behalf.¡± A deep voice rang out. A tall figure had already arrived at Zhou Yi¡¯s side; this was the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Fan Yu, who Zhou Yi had taken Huo Yuhao to meet in the past.

    Once she saw Fan Yu appear, Mu Jin¡¯s expression immediately changed. Her previously arrogant and provocative temper hadpletely disappeared, and her face was somewhat pale. She took a slight step backward, and looked at Fan Yu with slightly red eyes. ¡°You¡¯re teaming up with her to bully me.¡±

    Fan Yu¡¯s expression remained calm, but he furrowed his brows slightly. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s pointlessly causing trouble for other people. If you want to make a bet,e; if you don¡¯t want to, don¡¯t bother Zhou Yi. As for our rtionship, we¡¯re merely co-workers, nothing else.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet. Why wouldn¡¯t I bet with her? Even though I lost to her, it doesn¡¯t mean that my students will lose to hers.¡± Mu Jin suddenly turned around, tightly holding onto the railings with her hands. Meanwhile, her already-tearing eyes turned towards the arenas within the Assessment Area.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s team weren¡¯t aware that a scene like this had urred on the Spectator¡¯s Stage; they were currentlypletely focused on their opponents.

    The three youngdies in front of them were very pretty. They wore freshmen uniforms, just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. The girl standing foremost was rather tall; she was even slightly taller than Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. She had short golden hair, and seemed extremely nimble. Herrge blue eyes had long eyshes above them, and there were a few cute freckles on her cheeks.

    The girl behind and to her left had short fiery-red hair, while her eyes were a rarely-seen shade of red. At a nce, she seemed somewhat scary, but if you observed her carefully, you¡¯d notice that her facial features were extremely exquisite. Her skin was jade-white, but the gaze in her eyes was extremely cold; she was evenparable to Old Lady Zhou.

    On the other hand, the girl on the right contrasted sharply with the girl on the left. A long head of light-green hair was draped over her shoulders, while her dark-green eyes were filled with warmth. The delicate feeling she emanated caused one to unconsciously feel the need to be tender towards her.

    The proctor announced: ¡°Both parties, enter the arena and introduce yourselves.¡±

    The six people from both teams simultaneously entered the wide arena, and stood by their respective sides. Huo Yuhao¡¯s team of three maintained their original formation, with Wang Dong standing in front, Xiao Xiao in the middle, and Huo Yuhao right at the back.

    However, the three girls changed their formation a bit. The golden-haired girl who had originally been standing at the front now moved to the back, while the other two girls simultaneously advanced to protect her.

    The red-haired girl arrogantly announced: ¡°ss 9, Wu Feng. I¡¯m a Rank 25 Assault System Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    The green-haired girl nced at her with a rebuking look in her eyes, as if she were ming her for being too arrogant. She had even announced her own Soul Rank. However, she didn¡¯t change the format of her introduction. The contrast between her soft voice and Wu Feng¡¯s arrogant voice was as great as the contrast between their outer appearances. ¡°ss 9, Nanmen Yun¡¯er. I¡¯m a Rank 24 Agility System Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    A monotone voice then rang out from the back, ¡°ss 9, Ning Tian. I¡¯m a Rank 31 Auxiliary System Tool Soul Elder.¡±

    Once her words left her mouth, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was instantly stunned. A Rank 31 Soul Elder? They had truly never expected to meet one of the three Soul Elder-ranked freshmen just when they had gotten into the round of 16. Furthermore, she was even an auxiliary-type tool soul master.

    It had to be known that the cultivation speed of a tool soul master was generally slower than that of a battle soul master. However, their opponent had been able to reach Rank 31 and obtain three soul rings at the mere age of twelve. This was no longer just a matter of talent.

    Although they were astonished, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team didn¡¯t forget to introduce themselves. Since their opponents had started their introductions with their assault-type soul masters, they did so as well.

    ¡°ss 1, Wang Dong. I¡¯m a Rank 24 Assault System Battle Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°ss 1, Xiao Xiao. I¡¯m a Rank 22 Control System Battle Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was thest to introduce himself, ¡°ss 1, Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m a Rank 17 Control System Battle Soul Master.¡±

    After hearing the number ¡®17¡¯, Wu Feng curled her lips in a very obvious manner, exposing a look of contempt on her face.

    Wang Dong slightly squinted his eyes, and fixed his gaze on Wu Feng¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt as if a fire had been ignited in his heart when he looked at Wu Feng¡¯s disdainful gaze.

    Wu Feng also sensed his gaze. Their gazes met, and Wu Feng snorted coldly. The smell of gunpowder had already appeared between both parties, even though the match hadn¡¯t even started yet.

    Huo Yuhao patted Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder, causing him to look back. Their gazes met, and although nothing was said, they both knew what the other person was thinking.

    Right at this moment, the proctor loudly shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s feet tapped the ground, causing him to shoot off. His dazzling pair of golden wings suddenly unfurled as he charged forward.

    Regardless of how confident they were, they couldn¡¯t help but blink and secretly admire the beauty of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ brilliant pair of wings the moment they set their eyes onto them.

    Likewise, Wu Feng let out a soft cry, causing her delicate body to suddenly spring up, A strong wave of heat then surged out from her body, even causing the soft cry of a dragon to ring out. Wu Feng¡¯s delicate body then suddenly became slender. As she jumped into the air, her appearance unexpectedly turned into that of a matured sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Her slender body directly tore her uniform, exposing the skintight clothes underneath.

    Clearly, she had already made her preparations. She wore an extremely stic leather suit inside, exposing herrge and delicate thighs. Furthermore, her leather suit was like a jumpsuit that got smaller as it went higher, enveloping her soft chest that had be plump after she released her martial soul.

    A light-red luster rippled through her skin. An exquisite set of dragon scales started appearing on her face and spreading downwards, following her arms until they reached her left arm.

    When Wu Feng¡¯s martial soul, which was also draconic in nature, waspared to Bei Bei¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon¡¯s martial soul possession, it was much softer. However, that was only rtive. The powerful aura of a top-ranked martial soul surged outward, causing two yellow soul rings to instantly rise from her feet.

    Wu Feng¡¯s figure seemed slender and pretty, but she gave off a feeling that made it seem as if she was filled with explosiveness. Her body flickered, and she instantly appeared before Wang Dong. Then, her left arm swept sideways in an attempt to whip at Wang Dong¡¯s body.

    Facing her tyrannical attack, Wang Dong didn¡¯t counterattack with a soul skill. Instead, his body half-turned in midair while his right leg shot out like lightning, colliding with Wu Feng¡¯s left arm.

    A muffled ¡°Bang¡± rang out, and Wang Dong¡¯s body was sent flying five meters backwards. On the other hand, Wu Feng was forced to the ground. Evidently, Wang Dong was the one who¡¯d suffered a loss during their initial confrontation. Although they were both assault-type soul masters, they had different strong points. In terms of physical strength, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess clearly wouldn¡¯t be able to take any advantages from the Red Dragon.

    At this exact moment, Nanmen Yun¡¯er made a move. In the instant she moved, her body was as light as a feather, as if she wasn¡¯t affected by gravity. However, her speed vastly exceeded Wang Dong and Wu Feng, who were fighting. With a sh, she crossed several tens of meters and arrived in front of Xiao Xiao.

    A pair of dark-green wings had appeared on Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s back, but were only visible after she¡¯d approached them. Her wings weren¡¯trge, and they definitely weren¡¯t as dazzling as Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess. However, they caused Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s speed to be iparably quick. At the same time, her hands turned dark-green in color, making them resemble those of a jade statue as she swatted at Xiao Xiao.

    Meanwhile, the distant Ning Tian extended her right hand, shouting with a clear voice, ¡°The Seven Treasures revolve to produce a zed Pagoda¡±. Then, she quickly spun around, causing a dazzling seven-colored light to immediately emanate from her body. This then caused a seven-colored pagoda that was a foot tall to appear in the middle of her right palm, where the seven-colored light had gathered.

    This pagoda flickered with an overflowing amount of color, making it seem as though there were an innumerable number of gems that had been embedded in it. Once it appeared, it drew the attention of everyone standing on the tall stage.

    Ning Tian¡¯s three soul rings, which consisted of two yellow rings and one purple ring, rose from her palm, circling the sevenyered pagoda in a rhythmical manner.

    Up on the Spectator¡¯s Stage, Mu Jin turned towards Zhou Yi and Fan Yu, right in time for her to see the astonishment in their eyes. Zhou Yi couldn¡¯t help but cry out, ¡°The Seven Treasures zed Pagoda of the Nine Treasures zed Pagoda n!¡±

 Chapter 25.1: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 25.1: Seven Treasures zed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    If Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess was the pinnacle of beauty for Beast Souls, the Pagoda that had appeared within Ning Tian¡¯s palm could be considered the pinnacle of elegance for Tool Souls.

    Ning Tian¡¯s clear voice rang out the instant that the pagoda appeared.

    ¡°I call upon the first of the Seven Treasures: Speed.¡± Her first soul ring lit up when she finished saying this, the rich yellow light causing the pagoda to be even more beautiful. Immediately afterwards, two dazzling rays of light shot out from the pagoda andnded on the bodies of Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao had activated his Spiritual Detection at the start of the match, but he discovered¡ªto his astonishment¡ªthat he was unexpectedly unable to perceive the cirction of Ning Tian¡¯s soul power, nor the soul skill that she was releasing. Ning Tian¡¯s dazzling pagoda seemed to be emitting a mysterious soul power undtion, which was protecting her aura from leaking out. Furthermore, it was actually able to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Just what was this Tool Soul? It was actually this strong?

    The scene that followed caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s team to be even more startled. Wang Dong¡¯s and Xiao Xiao¡¯s situation suddenly changed when the two rays of lightnded on Wu Feng¡¯s and Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s bodies.

    The speed of Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s palms suddenly increased as they swung towards Xiao Xiao, so much so that even a string of consecutive afterimages were formed in midair.

    If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t had his Spiritual Detection active, Xiao Xiao might¡¯ve suffered a great loss from this exchange. The instant that the ray of light hadnded on Nanmen Yun¡¯er, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had warned her. At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡ªwho was currently standing behind her¡ªhad suddenly grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her out of harm¡¯s way. However, she¡¯d only managed to dodge Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s palms despite this.

    Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao had activated her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, causing it to descend from the sky with a sh of ck light. Once itnded, it caused a violent bang to ring out; Xiao Xiao¡¯s first soul ring lit up as her Cauldron Quake activated.

    From the start of the round-robin tournament till now, Nanmen Yun¡¯er could be considered the fastest opponent they¡¯d met. This was even more true since she¡¯d received the boost from Ning Tian¡¯s pagoda. Currently, her speed hadpletely exceeded the level of Soul Grandmasters; even agility system soul elders might not be able to best her in speed.

    On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was even more important during directbat situations such as this.

    After missing her attack, Nanmen Yun¡¯er immediately charged forward. From her viewpoint, she was confident that she could end the battle within the shortest possible amount of time by utilising herplete dominance in speed.

    However, a sense of crisis appeared in her heart the instant she charged forward. She suddenly forced her body to a screeching stop, and her first soul ring lit up, causing her hands to shine with a green light. One could faintly see that it had also spread to her arms, causing a thinyer of green light to appear around them. It felt somewhat simr to Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing, but was clearly much weaker.

    The instant that she, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron suddenlynded, separating her from Xiao Xiao.

    Nanmen Yun¡¯er had originally nned to dodge it and continue attacking, but the effect of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Quake activated, stunning her.

    As a violent boom rang out, violent seismic waves covered Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s body, immediately sending her into a daze for a brief moment.

    Thebination of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Quake and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could definitely be considered a n extremely powerful weapon. Even with her swift speed, Nanmen Yun¡¯er had suffered a loss.

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron then charged forward, mming her body away.

    When the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldronnded on the ground with a bang and stunned Nanmen Yun¡¯er, the distant Ning Tian opened her mouth again. ¡°I call upon the second of the Seven Treasures: Dispel.¡±

    Another ray of lightnded on Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s body after she finished speaking; even though her dazed state should¡¯ve continued for a few more moments, it was forcefully dispelled. She immediately moved backwards as fast as she could, while dodging the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    As Huo Yuhao looked at the distant Ning Tian, he was inwardly astonished. What a strong auxiliary system martial soul, and what formidable judgement! She didn¡¯t have his Spiritual Detection, yet she¡¯d instantly been able to judge the changes in the condition of the battle, and had supported her teammates without any hesitation.

    From the soul skills she¡¯d released so far, Huo Yuhao could tell that her first soul skill greatly increased the speed of herpanions, while her second skill could dispel any negative effects or sealing abilities her teammates were afflicted with, thereby returning her teammates to their peak battle states. Regardless of whether it was battle experience or the strength of her martial soul, shepletely deserved to be known as a Soul Elder-ranked expert!

    Huo Yuhao was astonished, but Nanmen Yun¡¯er and Ning Tian were even more astonished than he was. Their astonishment naturally had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. From their viewpoint, the powerful person was Xiao Xiao, who¡¯d rapidly retreated and released her soul skill. Furthermore, the positioning and timing of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had simply been perfect. Furthermore, she¡¯d perfectly controlled Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s soul skill while simultaneously blocking her sure-kill attack, and had even narrowly counterattacked, forcing Ning Tian to use her second soul skill. The two girls couldn¡¯t help but view Xiao Xiao in a new light.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Wang Dong and Wu Feng were still stuck in a fierce battle.

    Both parties had top-ranked Beast Souls, but Wu Feng had Ning Tian¡¯s buff, causing her agility and attack speed to increase. At the same time, she¡¯d released her first soul skill¡ªDragonfire.

    A denseyer of mes had shot out from her body, covering everything within 30cm of her. This made it so that all of her attacks possessed the high temperatures of Dragonfire, and made things extremely inconvenient for Wang Dong.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯sbat strength wasn¡¯t at all inferior to his opponent¡¯s. His second soul ring was at the thousand year rank, so the increase in power provided by both his soul rings was greater than Wu Feng¡¯s. The rarity of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess also surpassed that of her Red Dragon. Although his opponent¡¯s speed was raised, don¡¯t forget that he had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection! Whenever he spread his Guillotine Wings wide, he wasn¡¯t put at a disadvantage. Contrarily, he was even able to ce himself in an advantageous position by relying on the predictive ability of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Ever since he¡¯d fused his martial souls with Huo Yuhao¡¯s, a sense of mutual understanding had faintly appeared between the two of them. The effectiveness of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had be greater when used used on Wang Dong,pared to Xiao Xiao. Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing would often sh straight at Wu Feng when even miniscule opening appeared in his head. Wu Feng¡ªwho was currently being attacked¡ªfelt as if her hands were tied. In her current state, she definitely felt that she was stronger than her opponent. However, she was unable to put herself in an advantageous position. She didn¡¯t dare to let herself be hit by Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing. On the other hand, Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing seemed like a parasite; before she could even make a move, her opponent¡¯s attacks would already be waiting for her. This insufferable feeling¡ªone that made her want to vomit blood¡ªcaused her to let out a few screeches.

    Fortunately, her current speed exceeded Wang Dong¡¯s, and she was able to change her movements much quicker. Although Wang Dong could predict her movements, he still had to focus on defense. Even if he could predict where and when his opponent would attack, he¡¯d suffer a loss if he couldn¡¯t keep up with his opponent¡¯s speed.

 Chapter 25.2: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 25.2: Seven Treasures zed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Everyone expected the match to end quickly as soon as they saw both parties released their martial souls. Even Zhou Yi was no longer confident. However, nobody expected that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao would actually be able stand their ground while facing two strong opponents.

    Mu Jin muttered to herself with an inconceivable tone in her voice, ¡°This¡­ how is this possible? What¡¯re they doing? With a three-ringed Seven Treasures zed Pagoda increasing their speed, their speeds should¡¯ve increased by 40%! At the very least, they should be as strong as Soul Elders; why can¡¯t they beat their opponents?¡±

    Zhou Yi turned around and nced towards Fan Yu, who had an inquisitive look in his eyes. Zhou Yi nodded her head, causing Fan Yu to immediately understand what was going on. His eyes lit up, and he unconsciously nced towards Huo Yuhao, who only had a ten year soul ring flickering behind him. He was currently the most inconspicuous person amongst the six people in the arena.

    ¡°Is it him?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Yes, it was Huo Yuhao.

    Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasure zed Pagoda was absolutely at the pinnacle amongst auxiliary system Soul Elders, but wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes the pinnacle amongst control system martial souls? Although he was currently only relying on a single martial soul, don¡¯t forget that he was fighting against two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Elder! Despite this, he was able to rely on his Spiritual Detection to counteract the advantages of the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda.

    This was the strength of a million year soul ring. With the assistance brought about by his Spiritual Detection Sharing, he¡¯d managed to take control of the entire battlefield. However, Ning Tian¡¯s strengthening abilities only helped two people.

    Both parties were currently stuck in a deadlock. Although Xiao Xiao was able to block Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s attacks, she didn¡¯t dare to rashly make a move. This was because her opponent was simply too quick. At this moment, she¡¯d already released all three of her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons; only after doing so had she been able to protect the two of them under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. In reality, she was still stuck in a passive state.

    Wang Dong was in a simr situation on the other side of the arena. If he didn¡¯t explode out with his power, he¡¯d only be able to maintain his current situation. However, for him to counterattack would be extremely difficult. After all, his opponent was too quick; one bad move would give his opponent a chance.

    A trace of doubt shed through Ning Tian¡¯s eyes, thus she subconsciously looked towards Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao had a petite body, so she wasn¡¯t able topletely block Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure from view. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao was also looking right at her.

    Their gazes met, and Ning Tian narrowed her eyes in a somewhat chilly manner. However, Huo Yuhao nodded towards her with a smile on his face.

    Is it him? Ning Tian¡¯s heart shook. She looked at his soul ring, and saw that it was was flickering with a gem-white light.

    When the battle had started, their team of three hadpletely overlooked Huo Yuhao¡¯s existence; one couldn¡¯t me them for doing so either. After all, how could a Rank 17 Soul Master, someone who only had a ten year soul ring, attract the attention of these Chosen?

    However, seeing that the battle had reached its current stage, Ning Tian realised that something wasn¡¯t right. She was also the first person in the entire freshmen assessment to suspect Huo Yuhao.

    How could a fellow who only possessed a single ten year soul ring manage to join Shrek Academy? Furthermore, his soul ring had been lit since the start of the match. This signified that he¡¯d been using a soul skill the entire time. After realising this, Ning Tian couldn¡¯t help but recall what had happened at the start of the match. At that time, Huo Yuhao had imed to be a control system soul master when he¡¯d introduced himself.

    What was his martial soul? What sort of soul skill was he releasing?

    The instant she realized this, Ning Tian shouted, ¡°Yun¡¯er, attack that one-ringed fe in the back.¡±

    Ning Tian yed the same role in her team as Huo Yuhao did; she was the brain of her team.

    After hearing Ning Tian¡¯smand, Nanmen Yun¡¯er suddenly sped up. However, she didn¡¯t attack Huo Yuhao straightaway, nor did she attack Xiao Xiao. Instead, she turned around and instantly charged towards Wang Dong, who wasn¡¯t far from her.

    Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s current speed was simply too quick. Although Wang Dong was aware of her sneak attack due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, his reaction to it was extremely rushed. Furthermore, Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t make it in time to help him out.

    At this moment, their opponents fully utilised their advantage in speed in order to unleash a pincer attack on Wang Dong.

    Nanmen Yun¡¯er and Wu Feng were extremely coordinated with each other. In the instant that she made her move, a red light suddenly spilled out from her body. Her second soul ring lit up, and the Dragonfire around her body suddenly turned dark red. The dragon scales that were currently covering half of her body suddenly became thicker, and a her eyes shone with a red light. At the same time, her left handpletely transformed into the shape of a dragon w.

    This was Wu Feng¡¯s second soul skill, Dragonfury.

    Both Wu Feng¡¯s attack and defense increased due to Dragonfury. At the same time, it also amplified the strength of her other soul skills, causing the intensity of Dragonfire¡¯s heat to practically double in an instant. This caused the air around her to violently distort.

    Nanmen Yun¡¯er also activated her own second soul skill; as she pounced towards Wang Dong, her yellow hundred year soul ring shed. She sped her hands above her head, causing a jade light to condense above them in the form of a crescent moon, which then shot directly towards Wang Dong.

    Her martial soul was the Jade Bluebird, while the soul skill she¡¯d used earlier was called ¡®Jade de¡¯, which turned her arms into des. On the other hand, when her second soul skill merged with her first soul skill, it was known as ¡®Jade sh¡¯.

    Agility system soul masters were always known for their speed and attack power, so the strength of this attack could be imagined. The jade-colored de of light cut through the air in a beautiful arc as it swung towards Wang Dong. More importantly, this attack of hers had a lock-on effect, which made it impossible to dodge.

    Two Soul Grandmasters had simultaneously activated their second soul skills, and in addition to that, wereunching a pincer attack on Wang Dong under the speed boost of the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. They clearly wanted to end everything in one move, and take care of Wang Dong then and there, as he was the only assault system soul master on their team. After that, Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t be a match for them. This was a method of utilising speed; even if their opponent knew what they were nning, they¡¯d still be suppressed.

    However, how could Huo Yuhao¡¯s team simply sit and wait for death? If it were anyone else, they would¡¯ve been caught unprepared. However, their advantagey in the fact that they¡¯d already predicted Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s attack the instant sheunched it via her movement, as well as the cirction of Wu Feng¡¯s soulforce.

    They weren¡¯t able to do anything due to their inferior speeds. However, the three of them still reacted in three different ways.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s gaze became focused. She raised her hands into the air, and her temperament suddenly changed. A gentle and beautiful look appeared on her face, and following that, the two yellow soul rings surrounding her were suddenly reced by a single yellow soul ring. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron simply floated above her head, while a jade-colored flute had appeared in her hands.

    This jade flute was extremely long, and there were lifelike carving of phoenixes on it. Whenpared to the steady feeling given off by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, Xiao Xiao now seemed as beautiful as a fairy as she held the flute in her hands.

    Her soul ring quietly lit up, causing a peaceful melody to ring out. The melody didn¡¯t seem very moving, but it made everyone who heard it feel a tangible viscosity. Following that, a jade-colored halo spread outwards from Xiao Xiao¡¯s body.

 Chapter 25.3: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 25.3: Seven Treasures zed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Regardless of how quick Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er were, they weren¡¯t capable of being faster than sound. Their movements suddenly became sluggish just as they were releasing their soul skills in preparation tounch a pincer attack on Wang Dong.

    ¡°Twin martial souls!¡± Almost everyone in the audience gasped in surprise.

    That¡¯s right, Xiao Xiao was currently using her second martial soul¡ªthe Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. Although it only had a single soul ring, Xiao Xiao was still disying the might of a control system Tool Soul Master.

    In terms of quality, there was still arge gap between her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. Her first soul skill could only decrease the speed of her opponents by 20%. However, even though that was the case, it was still enough to considerably affect Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er, who¡¯d already adapted to their buffed movement speed. This, in turn, inhibited their pincer attack on Wang Dong.

    Of course, Wang Dong wouldn¡¯t just sit still and his opponents attack him. The instant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection warned him that something was off, his second, thousand year soul ring lit up.

    His dazzling purple soul ring instantly overshadowed the light of Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s soul rings. Following that, the brightness of Wang Dong¡¯s wings increased even more.

    The golden patterns atop his azure wings seemed to have been lit by countless tiny suns, causing it to burst forth with a strong radiance.

    These golden patterns gathered on the front side of his wings. He suddenly turned his left wing towards Nanmen Yun¡¯er, who was behind him. At the same time, he turned his right wing towards Wu Feng. Afterwards, the golden patterns atop his wings simultaneously erupted with a brilliant sh of color.

    Wang Dong¡¯s entire body was instantly dyed gold, causing him to be the most dazzling person amongst the sixteen arenas.

    Even the teachers within the Spectator¡¯s Stand who hadn¡¯t initially been paying attention to Huo Yuhao¡¯s match turned to look. When they did, they saw Wang Dong¡¯s dazzling pair of wings release a powerful attack in two directions at once.

    This was Wang Dong¡¯s second soul skill¡ªLight of the Butterfly Goddess.

    This was the first time that even Huo Yuhao had seen the true might of this soul skill.

    Wu Feng¡ªwho¡¯d released her Dragonfury¡ªwas swallowed by the golden light in an instant. On the other hand, Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s Jade sh was only able to cut through half of the golden light before it was worn away. After that, the golden light simrly struck her body.

    Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er only felt something warm, before they were violently flung away. On the other hand, Wang Dong spun around in midair, before nimblynding in an iparably dashing manner.

    This was the strength of a thousand year soul ring!

    However, nobody managed to witness the hidden exchange that urred between Huo Yuhao and Ning Tian.

    In the instant that Wang Dong had released his soul skill, Ning Tian had begun to chant once again, ¡°I call upon the third of the Seven Treasures-¡± However, she¡¯d paused in the middle of her chant. Not only that, but her previous buffs on Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er had simultaneously disappeared.

    Because of this, the speed-reducing effect of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡ªwhich had been mitigated by her second soul skill¡ªwas activated. This was also the reason that Nanmen Yun¡¯er, whose forte was speed, had been unable to dodge the ray of light from Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess. After being struck by that seemingly warm ray of golden light, she¡¯d directly fainted.

    Ning Tian clearly wouldn¡¯t have made a mistake such as this. The factor that lead to all of this came precisely from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, which were currently glowing with a purplish-golden light. It had been his Spiritual Shock!

    His Spiritual Shock was precisely what had interrupted Ning Tian¡¯s buffs. Furthermore, it had even interrupted the thousand year soul skill that she¡¯d been preparing to unleash.

    There was arge gap between Huo Yuhao and Ning Tian¡¯s cultivation levels, yet his Spiritual Shock, fused together with his Purple Demon Eyes, had still been able to briefly stun even Ma Xiaotao, despite the gap between them.

    After receiving his attack, Ning Tian felt as if her brain had been stabbed by a needle, causing her to nk out for an instant. By the time she was able to resist the acute pain in her brain ande back to her senses, Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er had already been sted away by Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    Wu Feng was a slightly better situation than Nanmen Yun¡¯er, as she¡¯d simultaneously activated her Dragonfire and Dragonfury skills, which had raised her attack and defense by a good margin right before she was hit. After taking Wang Dong¡¯s attack, she hadn¡¯t been injured that much. She rolled across the ground a few times, but she was able to stand back up. However, Nanmen Yun¡¯er had directly fainted afternding on the ground, in turn losing all of herbat power.

    ¡°Ning Tian, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Wu Feng looked towards Ning Tian with an angry look on her face.

    Despite this, Ning Tian merely supported her forehead with her hand. After recovering from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, a nk look shed through her eyes. However, in the end, she was the core of their team, which was why she managed to immediately react.

    ¡°Wu Feng, go all-out.¡±

    As she spoke, Ning Tian began chanting as quickly as possible, ¡°I call upon the first of the Seven Treasures: Speed. I call upon the second of the Seven Treasures: Dispel. I call upon the third of the Seven Treasures: Power.¡±

    The three soul rings surrounding her pagoda simultaneously lit up. As she simultaneously activated her three soul skills, the pagoda in her hand became extraordinarily resplendent, so much so that it even seemed to increase in size. Three rays of light shot out from it andnded on Wu Feng¡¯s body. At the same time, three beams shot out, turned around, andnded on her own body.

    Her second soul skill could dispel all negative effects that were used by auxiliary system soul masters. She didn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao would have another way to interrupt her skills now that she¡¯d used it on herself.

    After Ning Tian¡¯s thousand year soul ring took effect, not only did Wu Feng¡¯s speed increase by 40%, her strength also increased by 40% as well. When all of this wasbined with her resistance to negative effects, she¡¯d be able to contend with assault system Soul Elders. Although they¡¯d lost Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯sbat strength, they still had a high chance of winning the match.

    ¡°Wang Dong,e back.¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    Unlike Ning Tian, he didn¡¯t put up a false show of strength. pping his wings, Wang Dong quickly retreated to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron floated in front of her, and her two soul rings intersected with her other singr soul ring, allowing her to simultaneously release her two martial souls.

    Huo Yuhao ced a hand on Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder. After that, Wang Dong folded his wings slightly, perfectly covering Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Other than Wang Dong, nobody else was able to clearly see what he was doing, regardless of which angle they were looking at him from.

    After Huo Yuhao ced his hand on Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder, they fused their soul power to form Haodong Power. This match had already be too challenging for them, and they could meet other strong opponents tomorrow. As a result of that, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to continue wasting more time; he wanted to thoroughly decide the oue of the match.

    Wang Dong could clearly see a purplish-golden light appear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. That mysterious light in his eyes instantly shot out a three-inch long ray of light. Although it disappeared with a sh, Wang Dong was still able to sense a terrifying undtion of spiritual power suddenly explode outwards via his Spiritual Detection.

 Chapter 25.4: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    Chapter 25.4: Seven Treasures zed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

    When two people fused their martial souls with one another, they¡¯d be almost entirely immune to each other¡¯s martial souls and their abilities. If it were anyone else but Wang Dong, even if they weren¡¯t struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, they¡¯d still have been dazed for a while due to being in such close proximity of his enhanced soul skill.

    If Ning Tian felt as if her brain had been stabbed by a needle earlier, then this attack from Huo Yuhao was akin to arge hammer hitting her brain. Everything in front of her became white, and her body turned weak. She copsed onto the ground, blood flowing out of her nose and mouth like tiny snakes.

    Her second soul skill could only dispel auxiliary system skills, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock was a spiritual-type attack in the truest sense of the word. How could her second soul skill cancel it? Furthermore, this attack had beenunched by Huo Yuhao with the assistance of Wang Dong. Even if the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda was stronger than it currently was, it wouldn¡¯t have the ability to block spiritual-type attacks. From another standpoint, Ning Tian¡¯s buffing abilities had actually been perfectly restrained by Huo Yuhao.

    Wu Feng, who¡¯d already charged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, instantly slowed down; the speed and strength buffs she¡¯d just receivedpletely disappeared. Astonished, she turned towards Ning Tian just in time to see her falling body. Shepletely gave up on attacking Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. Instead, she turned around and ran to Ning Tian¡¯s side, picking her up and holding her in her arms.

    ¡°Ning Tian, Ning Tian what¡¯s happened to you?¡± Wu Feng immediately panicked when she saw the injured Ning Tian.

    Xiao Xiao suddenly turned towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, then whispered in an astonished tone, ¡°Did you two do this?¡±

    Wang Dong had a pleased smile on his lips, while Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like your use of the word ¡®do¡¯.¡±

    The proctor was slightly astonished as well. Only after Huo Yuhao reminded him did he announce that they¡¯d won the match. Even though Wu Feng still had an indignant look on her face, she simply wasn¡¯t able to fight against thebined attacks of Wang Dong and the twin-souled Xiao Xiao without Ning Tian¡¯s assistance and Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s speed. Furthermore, she was anxious to treat Ning Tian; she didn¡¯t have the time to care about thepetition.

    Mu Jin waspletely astonished as she stood in the Spectator¡¯s Stand; so much so that she didn¡¯t even dare to trust her own eyes. Her team had had two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Elder! Thetter even had the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, which was known as the ¡®Number One Tool Soul Under Heaven¡¯. Despite all of this, they¡¯d actually lost to two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Master, who only had a ten year soul ring.

    Not to mention her, nobody would¡¯ve believed the results of the match after hearing the difference in power between both teams.

    However, the facts were right in front of her: Ning Tian¡¯s team had lost.

    The trace of a smile appeared in Fan Yu¡¯s eyes as he said to Zhou Yi, ¡°This was truly a marvelous match. Your students have astonished me greatly; especially that Huo Yuhao. I didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d actually have an ability like this.¡±

    There was only a gratified look in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As she spoke, she took the initiative to walk towards the stairs. When she walked past Mu Jin, she nced coldly at her. However, she didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she jumped forwards and leapt off the twenty-meter-tall stage.

    Fan Yu didn¡¯t even seem to see Mu Jin as he followed Zhou Yi.

    ¡°What did you guys do just now? Why¡¯d that Ning Tian suddenly faint?¡± After leaving the Assessment Area, Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t forget to ask about the doubts in her heart.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s because I used an attack fuelled by my spiritual power. She couldn¡¯t defend in time, thus she was knocked unconscious by it.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You can even do that? No wonder her soul skills were interrupted earlier. Was that you as well?¡± Xiao Xiao¡¯s face was filled with astonishment.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Perhaps this is an advantage of having a Body Soul. Furthermore, this was also due to my Purple Demon Eyes, which is a secret technique cultivated by my Tang Sect. I used the Purple Demon Eyes to stimte my spiritual power, which made my earlier attack as effective as it was. As for why my Spiritual Shock became even stronger after I asked Wang Dong to return, it¡¯s because we¡¯ve sessfully created a fusion skill.¡±

    They were all friends, and Xiao Xiao had done her best during their previous matches. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would definitely need to use their Haodong Power during their matches in the future, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to hide it either way. It was fortunate that they¡¯d decided to tell her the truth, so as to avoid making Xiao Xiao feel alienated.

    Xiao Xiao stared nkly at them. She pointed at Huo Yuhao, then pointed at Wang Dong. After that, she blurted out a few words that made the two not know whether tough or to cry. ¡°I was getting more and more suspicious that the two of you were gay¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°What do you mean by ¡®gay¡¯?¡±

    Xiao Xiao took Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and ced it in Wang Dong¡¯s hand. Afterwards, she nced disdainfully at Huo Yuhao. ¡°How could you not know what such a mainstream thing is? Being gay refers to the love between two boys.¡±

    ¡°You¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously let go of one another¡¯s hands. With a bell-likeugh, Xiao Xiao immediately turned around and ran; she even remembered to release her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and y it so as to reduce the speed of the two guys that were chasing after her.

    Contrary to their high-spirited excitement, Ning Tian slowly awakened after being treated by a high ranking healing system soul master in the infirmary.

    After awakening, she immediately clutched her head in a fetal position. The intense waves of pain stemming from her brain filled her forehead with a cold sweat.

    ¡°Ning Tian, Ning Tian¡­¡±

    Wu Feng hugged her concernedly, while Nanmen Yun¡¯er stood to the side with a perplexed look on her face.

    Teacher Mu Jin had an extremely grave expression on her face as she asked the teacher who¡¯d just healed Ning Tian, ¡°Just what happened to her? What knocked her out?¡±

    The teacher muttered in response. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. It seems like her head was struck by a heavy object, thus causing her to have a cerebral concussion. As you know, the brain is the mostplicated organ in our bodies¡ªnobody has managed to truly grasp everything about it. As such, I can only make a few minor deductions about what happened here. However, despite her injuries, her soul power seems to have a very strong ability to adjust itself, so the problem isn¡¯t that serious anymore. She¡¯ll be able to fully recover after a short time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± After thanking the teacher, Mu Jin walked over to the bed.

    After a brief moment of ufortableness, Ning Tian¡¯s headache gradually subsided, and her breathing became much more stable.

    Nanmen Yun¡¯er asked Mu Jin in a quiet voice, ¡°Teacher Mu, what happened? How did we lose the match?¡± Up till now, she still didn¡¯t understand how her team had lost.

    Mu Jin had a grave expression on her face as she remained silent. Wasn¡¯t Nanmen Yun¡¯er¡¯s question the exact question that she had in her heart? She didn¡¯t even know how they¡¯d lost the match. Although she¡¯d been able to clearly see the entire match from the tall stage, she hadn¡¯t been able to concentrate on the minute details. This was especially so when Wang Dong had used his wings to cover Huo Yuhao, and in turn when Huo Yuhao had used their Haodong Power to activate his Spirit Shock. She hadn¡¯t been able to see anything then. Only Ning Tian would be able to quell their doubts, but that would be after she woke up.

    After a full fifteen minutes, Ning Tian slowly came to from hera. When she opened her eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but furrow her brows. Her headache had already subsided by arge amount, and her train of thought had gradually returned.

    After Wu Feng helped her up and gave her some water to drink, Ning Tian¡¯s pale expression improved slightly. After seeing Mu Jin¡ªwho was standing next to the window¡ªan ashamed look appeared on her cute face. ¡°Teacher Mu, we lost.¡±

    Mu Jin nodded and warmly said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t be too upset over losing this match. It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re safe.¡±

    Mu Jin¡¯s words caused a warm feeling to appear in Ning Tian¡¯s heart. ¡°Teacher Mu, were you able to see why we lost from the Spectator¡¯s Stand?¡±

    Mu Jin was stunned. ¡°You don¡¯t know either?¡±

    Ning Tian ced her hand on her forehead and started to concentrate. ¡°Once I finished buffing Wu Feng, I used all three of my buffs on myself in order to protect myself. However, I saw a purplish-golden light appear in front of me right after I finished. After that, it seemed as if an enormous hammer struck my head. I can¡¯t remember anything else after that.¡±

    Wu Feng angrily said, ¡°Those bastards dared to be so vicious. Teacher Mu, we can¡¯t just let it go like this.¡±

    Mu Jin coldly swept her eyes over her. ¡°Then what do you n on doing? This was just an assessment. Do you think that this is a sect war?¡±

    Wu Feng lowered her head and stopped talking. However, she clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were burning with both anger and rancor.

    Mu Jin asked Ning Tian, ¡°Think a bit more carefully. Just before you fainted, did anything strange happen?¡±

    After thinking for awhile, Ning Tian replied, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know how they did it, the problem most likely stemmed from that one-ringed Soul Master. His soul ring was lit up from the start of the match till the end, which meant that he was constantly activating a soul skill that we couldn¡¯t sense, yet was still affecting the situation of the battle. I faintly saw a golden light flickering in his eyes. Their team had a very strong assault system soul master, as well as a twin-souled control system soul master. What qualifications does that one-ringed freshman have to form a team with those two? He must have some sort of special ability. During the most critical moment of the battle, he interrupted my soul skills, preventing me from buffing Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er. At that time, my head felt as if it had been stabbed by a needle. However, his attack was much stronger the second time around.

    Mu Jin¡¯s heart shook. Right! That one-ringed freshman didn¡¯t seem to make any moves the entire length of the match. That soul master who had the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the twin-souled soul master were the only ones who fought. Then, what role did he y in their team? No wonder Zhou Yi was that confident; that freshmen with that ten year soul ring must have some sort of secret.

    After calming the indignation she had in her heart, Mu Jin said, ¡°If you lost, you lost. However, you should summarize your experiences and use them as a lesson when you do. In any case, you¡¯ve already passed the freshmen assessment. There¡¯ll definitely bepetitions between you and them in the future. So, for right now Ning Tian, have a good rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Teacher Mu.¡±

 Chapter 26.1: National Treasure, Cauldronâ€™s Trembling Shake

    Chapter 26.1: National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Shake

    After Mu Jin left, Nanmen Yun¡¯er took her leave as well. Only Wu Feng stayed behind to apany Ning Tian. Although the three of them were a team, in truth, only Ning Tian and Wu Feng were closely rted; Nanmen Yun¡¯er was only a ssmate of theirs.

    ¡°Young mistress, we can¡¯t just leave this as it is. That bastard dared to hurt you! Shall we use the strength of the n?¡± Wu Feng said hatefully.

    An unresigned look shed through Ning Tian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sister Feng, don¡¯t let anger cloud your reasoning. This is Shrek Academy. How can we rashly use the strength of our n? Furthermore, we lost in terms of personal strength; we can¡¯t randomly use others for our loss. If we want to wash this humiliation away, we¡¯ll have to work hard by ourselves. Also, haven¡¯t I said this before? Don¡¯t call me ¡®young mistress¡¯ in the Academy. We¡¯re sisters here.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Feng obediently replied, softly nodding her head as she did so.

    After pondering for a moment, Ning Tian said, ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can find a way to watch their match tomorrow. As long as we watch them carefully, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to find a clue as to why we lost. They didn¡¯t rely on luck to beat us, they relied on strength. That student with the ten year soul ring seems to be known as Huo Yuhao; he¡¯s the one we should pay the most attention to. He could end up being our greatest opponent during our time in the outer courtyard.¡±

    Fortunately, the tournament¡¯s matches were held individually, which meant that there wasn¡¯t arge audience for each match. As a result, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team wasn¡¯t followed too closely.

    Aside from proving themselves, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had had their confidence levels increased after both sessfully entering the top 16 and beating one of the three strongest teams. Soul Elders weren¡¯t that scary; after all, hadn¡¯t they just beat a team led by a Soul Elder-ranked expert? Even an extremely synergistic team like Ning Tian¡¯s had lost to theirs, so the excitement in Huo Yuhao¡¯s team could be imagined.

    Huo Yuhao finally fulfilled his promise with Xiao Xiao. He first sold his regr amount of twenty fish, then brought the remaining fish he¡¯d bought to the forest and had a pic with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. This went on all the way until the sky had be dark, when the three quietly returned to their dorms.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong first went to clean themselves up. Huo Yuhao knew that Wang Dong was somewhat of a mysophobic, so he changed into a set of clean clothes. ¡°Are we going to do it on your bed, or on mine?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face stiffened and he replied with a slightly angry voice, ¡°Would it kill you to add the word ¡®cultivate¡¯? Can you not make it sound so ambiguous?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Xiao Xiao¡¯s nonsense, I don¡¯t like you. I definitely still prefer pretty girls.¡±

    Wang Dong humphed. ¡°Let¡¯s do it on our own beds, your¡¯s is too hard.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. ¡°Stop arguing, let¡¯s do it quickly. If we cultivate together, our cultivation speed practically doubles. Don¡¯t you want to quickly catch up to that Ning Tian in terms of soul rank?¡±

    Wang Dong smiled craftily. ¡°Who would want to argue with you? Who said that we can¡¯t cultivate together while we¡¯re sitting on our own beds? Drag your bed over and make a 50cm gap between them. That way, we¡¯ll be able to hold hands if we stretch our hands out. Furthermore, we¡¯ll be able to use the remaining space as the dividing line between our sides of the room.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of all of this? Aren¡¯t you just lying to yourself?¡±

    Wang Dong red at him with hisrge, beautiful eyes. ¡°Are youing over or not? If you aren¡¯t, I¡¯m going to sleep. I wasn¡¯t even a hardworking person in the first ce. If it weren¡¯t for you, why would I even think of cultivating at night?¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m scared of you then.¡± Helpless, Huo Yuhao could only drag his bed over next to Wang Dong¡¯s and sit in a cross-legged position with his palms outstretched.

    Wang Dong raised his hands to meet Wang Dong¡¯s, causing their Haodong Power to rapidly circte throughout their bodies.

    Defeating Ning Tian today had been the first time that they¡¯d tried using their Haodong Power to activate a soul skill together. When they¡¯d seeded, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had faintly felt that there was a chance for them to covertly turn all of their soul skills into fusion skills via their Haodong Power. When the two of them had gathered their soul power to activate the soul skill, it hadn¡¯t been as strong as a true fusion skill, but it had still distantly exceeded the strength of their usual skills. They¡¯d been able to smoothly defeat their opponents because of this.

    On the other hand, their match today had given Huo Yuhao a feeling of power for the first time ever. However, their cultivation levels were simply too low. It had taken the two of them working together to activate the soul skill for it to barely reach the level of a Soul Elder. After all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s own soul power was still too weak. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that his Spiritual Shock was a unique spiritual-type attack, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to win their earlier match as efficiently as they had.

    Only a single day had passed, yet arge number of freshmen had already been eliminated from the freshmen assessment. After the second day finished, only the top 16 teams¡ªor a total of 48 students¡ªwould remain from this year¡¯s freshmen assessment. Everyone that had reached this point could be considered an excellent figure from this year¡¯s freshmen; so much so that they could even be considered as one of the most outstanding figures amongst their peers in the entire continent.

    During the lot-drawing for the top 16, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team saw a few familiar faces. Huang Chutian¡¯s team¡ªwho they¡¯d beaten during the round-robin tournament¡ªhad entered the top 16 as well.

    Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong, ¡°How long do you think the Lan sisters will have to rest in order for them to use their fusion skill again?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that long. Even though they¡¯re twins, their fusion skill wasn¡¯t that strong. I reckon that it¡¯s because theirpatibility rate isn¡¯t that high¡ªtheir fusion skill wasn¡¯t explosive enough. Its ability to restrict opponents isn¡¯t too bad though. However, they aren¡¯t able to maintain the drain on their soul power for a long time. If we meet them again, you won¡¯t even need to make a move. As long as you help me activate my Light of the Butterfly Goddess, I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll be able to break their fusion skill.¡±

    While they talked, they continued to observe the rest of their opponents. At this point in the tournament, Huo Yuhao was probably the only one-ringed Soul Master left.

    There were even more people in the Spectator¡¯s Stand today. The stands had already been filled up, despite the matches not yet being started. Strangely, there was an empty space in the middle of the stands that was about three or so square meters wide. An old man with disheveled hair and holes all over his clothes was sitting there with his legs dangling off the edge of the stand. He was drinking alcohol from a reddish-purple gourd that he was holding in his hands. In addition to that, there were a few pieces of fried chicken that had been ced on oiled paper in front of him. He was also holding a fried chicken leg in his off hand. As he drank and ate, he appeared to be extremely joyful.

    Every single person who was watching the tournament from the Spectator¡¯s Stand was a teacher at Shrek Academy, yet nobody had even dared to approach this old man, much less question him.

    Wang Yan respectfully walked over to the sloppily dressed old man and whispered, ¡°Xuan Lao, you¡¯vee.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± The old man simply snorted before he continued eating and drinking.

    Wang Yan pointed towards the stage below and said, ¡°The three youngsters that I talked about are over there. Yesterday¡­.¡±

    When he got to this point, Xuan Lao impatiently waved his fried chicken leg around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a look for myself.¡±

 Chapter 26.2: National Treasure, Cauldronâ€™s Trembling Shake

    Chapter 26.2: National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Shake

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Yan stepped to the side, as he didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    After the lot-drawing ended, the round of 16 formally began.

    The area used for each individual match was widened once again, and eight massive arenas all simultaneously began their matches. This time around, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team was facing a rather strange team. In contrast to yesterday¡¯s match¡ªwhen they¡¯d fought against three girls¡ªthey were now fighting against three boys.

    Once their opponents entered the arena, they stood in a horizontal line. The person who stood in the center was a fat boy. ording to the enrollment rules of Shrek Academy, he was twelve at most. However, his body really didn¡¯t seem like that of a twelve-year-old¡¯s!

    He was at least 1.7 meters tall, which meant that he was at least a head taller than anyone on Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. More importantly, the length of his waist seemed to approach 1.7 meters as well¡­

    As he stood there, he looked like a miniature mountain of meat.

    On the other hand, the two people standing next to him seemed like sprouts inparison to him. Not only were they shorter than him by a head, they were even slightly emaciated. The two of them seemed somewhat simr, as if they were brothers. However, they weren¡¯t twins. Something that was notable was that their arms were particrly slender.

    If one were to look at these three students from a distance, the two skinny students would probably be overlooked.

    ¡°Both sides, introduce yourselves. Prepare for the match to begin.¡± The proctor said in a deep voice.

    The mountain-sized boy pped his chest fiercely, causing the fat on his body to jiggle. ¡°I¡¯m Xie Huanyue from ss 2.¡±

    ¡°ss 2, Luo Tianlong.¡±1

    ¡°ss 2, Luo Tianba.¡±2

    The two skinny students had names that sounded extremely domineering.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s team then introduced themselves one by one. When the proctor announced the start of the match, the round of 16 formally started.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team were already twitching their faces before the two sides had even shed¡­.

    The reason behind this was very simple; they¡¯d met another three-ringed expert¡­.

    Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°Are we just this unlucky, or is the school deliberately ying with us?¡±

    Three soul rings rose up from the student known as Xie Huanyue. Furthermore, his three soul rings were all optimal ones. As they moved rhythmically around his fat body, they became increasingly clear. In the instant that he¡¯d released his soul rings, his body had unexpectedly expanded once again, causing his height to jump from 1.7 meters to 1.9 meters. Moreover, the color of his skin had instantly darkened. He forcefully thumped his chest using his fists, causing muffled thumps to ring out. Immediately afterwards, he charged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s team withrge strides.

    Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba didn¡¯t release their martial souls straightaway. Instead, their bodies shed as they began to run behind Xie Huanyue; they were using his enormous body to hide themselves.

    This was their usual style of fighting, and it had allowed them the advantage of making the first move on many asions in the past. Unfortunately, this was the first time they¡¯d met a prodigy like Huo Yuhao.

    Hiding? What was the use of that!? Could they hide from his Spiritual Detection? Following the appearance of a faint golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, a three-dimensional image instantly appeared in both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s minds.

    This time, Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t even bother to bring out her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. Instead, she instantly released her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. At this point, the fact that she was a twin-souled soul master had already been revealed. Thus, she naturally chose the best option for the situation.

    As her speed-inhibiting song rang out, Xie Huanyue and the two students who were hiding behind him were instantly slowed down.

    However, Wang Dong didn¡¯t impatiently charge forwards. Instead, after releasing his Radiant Butterfly Goddess, his dazzlingly massive pair of wings unfurled, hiding Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao from his opponents view. At this moment, he and Xie Huanyue could only see each other.

    Xie Huanyue didn¡¯t seem to care about the fact that he¡¯d slowed down; he heavily stamped his left leg into the ground, but this time around, there were no more thumping sounds. At that moment, his first soul ring immediately lit up.

    The three of them were able to predicted that he was about to jump due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection. However, how high could that enormous body of his jump?

    In the instant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team felt puzzled, they quickly realised their mistake.

    Unexpectedly, Xie Huanyue¡¯s body shot straight into the air; it was almost as if he¡¯d been shot from a Soul Cannon. He actually managed to jump ten meters into the air. Immediately afterwards, he curled his body up, making him look like an enormous meatball that smashed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s team.

    Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba¡ªwho were clearly siblings¡ªsimultaneously made their moves. Although their speed had been reduced as a result of Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul skill, they were still rtively quick. There were two hundred year soul rings surrounding them; in addition to that, their forearms were silver, and an enormous Mantis de had sprouted from both of their arms. Not only were they quick, but their bodies seemed extremely dexterous as well.

    At that moment, Wang Dong charged forwards. He didn¡¯t rely on his powers of flight to meet the midair Xie Huanyue, but charged toward the Luo brothers instead, simultaneously releasing his Guillotine Wing in an attempt to defeat their agility with his power. The Luo brothers were slowed down by Xiao Xiao, so they weren¡¯t able topletely dominate him in terms of speed. As a result of this, he had the confidence to block them even though it was a 1v2.

    As for Xie Huanyue, who was currently falling from the sky, the only thing that awaited him was naturally Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    As her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had already split into three, Xiao Xiao activated her second soul skill, Cauldron Sweep. She didn¡¯t have any hope ofpletely stopping him, she simply didn¡¯t want topletely fail.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t dare to look down on her opponent in the least, as he was a genuine Soul Elder-ranked expert. Thus, she used her most powerful soul skill in the instant she made a move.

    Unexpectedly, Xie Huanyue didn¡¯t dodge or use a soul skill as he faced Xiao Xiao¡¯s attack. Instead, she allowed the threerge cauldrons to strike him.

    In the instant that he collided with the three cauldrons, Xie Huanyue¡¯s body whirled around in midair, his first soul ring finally lit up, allowing him to activate his first soul skill.

    His originally humongous body once again expanded, and this time around, he looked like a balloon that was being filled with air, causing his body to be perfectly round.

    Just as Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Sweep was about to activate its special effect for striking his body, the enormous ¡®balloon¡¯ suddenly shrunk, neutralising arge chunk of its power. After that, it immediately shot straight towards Xiao Xiao.

    How strong! In that instant, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to block his charge. This Xie Huanyue had an extremely mysterious martial soul, one which seemed unique amongst Beast Souls. However, they didn¡¯t know what it was.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Wang Dong hadn¡¯t been put at a disadvantage; even though his opponents were strong, he¡¯d still been able to rely on his Spiritual Detectionbined with the durability and sharpness of his Guillotine Wing to fight on an even footing against the two people. However, the Luo brothers weren¡¯t just quick; they were crafty as well. They avoided directly shing with Wang Dong entirely, putting them in a stalemate for the time being.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± Xie Huanyue¡¯s enormous body was akin to a huge ball as he descended, but he was still sent flying by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron in the end. This was more or less because he¡¯d been simultaneously struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock and Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Sweep.

    1. Means ¡®Gathering the Heavenly Dragon/Allheaven Dragon¡¯.

    2. Gathering the Heavenly Tyrant/Allheaven Tyrant.

 Chapter 26.3: National Treasure, Cauldronâ€™s Trembling Shake

    Chapter 26.3: National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Shake

    Because he wasn¡¯t able to use his force-neutralising soul skill due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, he was sent flying.

    Unfortunately, Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron clearly didn¡¯t have enough power to threaten him. After his enormous bodynded on the ground, he instantly bounced back up into the air.

    Huo Yuhao had a stunned look on his face. When he¡¯d used his Spiritual Shock on Xie Huanyue, he¡¯d clearly been able to feel it slow down upon touching his fleshy skin. Furthermore, his spiritual power had also been filtered before it entered Xie Huanyue¡¯s brain. In the end, he¡¯d only been dazed for an instant, which was about as effective as when he¡¯d used it on Ma Xiaotao. Just what kind of martial soul is that!? How can it be this troublesome?!

    The pressure surrounding Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao suddenly increased, which Wang Dong was naturally able to sense via Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. A cold light flickered through his eyes as his wings suddenly shed, forcefully shoving the Luo brothers backwards. Immediately afterwards, his second soul ring lit up.

    The dazzling Light of the Butterfly Goddess once again appeared on the battlefield. Even though it didn¡¯t have a lock-on effect, Wang Dong definitely wouldn¡¯t miss his target, due to the foresight that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection gave him.

    The Luo brothers naturally wouldn¡¯t just stand there and wait to be defeated, but didn¡¯t have a support skill like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. As such, their reaction speed was much slower than Wang Dong¡¯s. By the time they¡¯d readied their second soul skill, Wang Dong had already released his.

    The Luo brothers sent out several tens of de lights from their Mantis des in an attempt to stop Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess, but it was all for naught. They werepletely inferior to Wang Dong in all aspects, regardless of whether it was their soul rank, the quality of their martial souls, or even the age of their soul rings. A golden light flickered outwards as Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess released its full power, forcefully sting them away. However, the instant that their soul skills were broken, the proctor in charge of the match rushed into the arena like a ghost, retrieved them from the golden light, then left like a bolt of lightning. Evidently, he¡¯d determined that the Luo brothers would¡¯ve suffered heavy injuries from Wang Dong¡¯s attack. Thus, he¡¯d interfered in the match. However, his interference signified that they¡¯d be unable to continue any further.

    Wang Dong¡¯s urate judgement, high attack power, and prompt decision making skills were all acknowledged by the teachers watching their match. However, in the instant that Wang Dong had triumphed over his opponents, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao were in the middle of taking on Xie Huanyue¡¯s all-out attack.

    In reality, the total strength of Xie Huanyue¡¯s team was weaker than that of Ning Tian¡¯s team; there was an insurmountable distance between the Luo brothers and Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun¡¯er due to the massive gap in quality between their martial souls. However, the teachers had privately evaluated all of the Soul Elders within the freshmen sses, and Xie Huanyue¡¯s had ended up ranked higher than Ning Tian. It could be seen how tyrannical he was from this.

    After falling from the sky again, Xie Huanyue¡¯s second soul ring lit up. Huo Yuhao repeated his old tactic and sent another Spiritual Shock towards him. At the same time, Xiao Xiao made a move with her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. Their current objective was to drag the fight out between the three of them for as long as they could, so that they could wait for Wang Dong to return. When he did, they¡¯d use thebined strength of all three of them to take on Xie Huanyue.

    However, although Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was able to detect where his opponents would move, he wasn¡¯t able to find out the specific soul skill they were nning to use.

    Xia Huanyue¡¯s second soul ring suddenly lit up while he was still in midair, and he waved his originally stocky right arm. Just as Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Shock, Xie Huanyue¡¯s arm grew longer, and suddenly smacked all three of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons that were flying towards him away with surprising uracy.

    Even though Xiao Xiao immediately activated her Cauldron Shock skill, Xie Huanyue¡¯s arm simply smashed through it. His monstrous strength had actually sent all three of her cauldrons flying. Immediately afterwards, his ball-like body descended from the sky. He extended the hand that he¡¯d used to sweep the cauldrons away once again, and sent it towards Xiao Xiao.

    He was affected by the Spiritual Shock for too short a time, and his control over his soul skills had reached the pinnacle; this was true foresight. After predicting the instant that Huo Yuhao would activated his Spiritual Shock, he¡¯d used his own soul skill to escape danger by a hair¡¯s breadth. He¡¯d ced himself in a winning position in but an instant.

    Even though Xiao Xiao possessed two martial souls, her closebat skills were extremelycking. She¡¯d always considered herself to be a control system Soul Master, not an assault or agility system Soul Master. As such, she wasn¡¯t too experienced inbat. When Xie Huanyue¡¯s enormous body fell towards her, she was left somewhat nk.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly rushed towards her from behind and grabbed her waist. With a sh, his body swayed like a demon, allowing the two of them to evade Xie Huanyue¡¯s decisive blow. Afterwards, he immediately rolled on the ground with Xiao Xiao in tow, allowing them to escape the weight of Xie Huanyue¡¯s body.

    ¡°Pu¡ª¡± Even though Xie Huanyue¡¯s enormous body hadnded, the sound of a heavy collision didn¡¯t ring out. This time around, he didn¡¯t bounce back into the air; he rolled on the ground, following Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao.

    This urred just as Wang Dong defeated the Luo brothers by releasing his god-like powers, in turn causing Xie Huanyue to feel pressured. If he wasn¡¯t able to defeat Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao before Wang Dong returned¡­ he didn¡¯t have any confidence that he¡¯d be able to beat them in a 1v3.

    The third soul ring on his fat body finally lit up, which caused his body to instantly be illuminated purple. This caused Xie Huanyue to look like an enormous purple ball. Following a low growl, a strong purple halo erupted from his body, allowing him to immediately catch up to Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao.

    In that crucial moment, Huo Yuhao disyed the true quality of a man; he instantly stood up from his rolling position and exerted force through his arms, thrusting Xiao Xiao into the air¡ªXie Huanyue wouldn¡¯t be able to attack her while she was up there.

    ¡°Yuhao¡ª¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao¡ª¡±

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao simultaneously cried out, but the tyranical purple halo around Xie Huanyue¡¯s body had already collided with Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body shook, and a purple halo rose from his feet. He stood there unmoving, while his Spiritual Detection Sharing instantly disappeared.

    A figure shed as the proctor pulled Huo Yuhao out of the arena just before Xie Huanyue¡¯s enormous body could crush him. This prevented him from bing a meat patty beneath the meatball¡­

    Xie Huanyue silently cursed his bad luck. However, he was stillpletely confident in himself. Defeating a Soul Master who only has a ten year soul ring isn¡¯t useful at all. That twin-souled Soul Grandmaster managed to escape. However, it seems like I still have a chance to win this battle! The Luo brothers were just his subordinates; he was the true source ofbat power on his team. He was confident that he could use his three rings¡¯ strength to face two Soul Grandmasters, and felt that his chance of victory was still above 70%.

 Chapter 26.4: National Treasure, Cauldronâ€™s Trembling Shake

    Chapter 26.4: National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Shake

    However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel stunned when he looked up into the air. Xiao Xiao, who¡¯d been flung into the air, had been caught by Wang Dong just in time. Wang Dong unfurled his wings while he held onto Xiao Xiao, allowing the two of them to remain floating in the air. At that moment, both of their eyes had turned slightly red, which caused even Xie Huanyue, with his strength, to unexpectedly feel somewhat pressured by them.

    ¡°Wang Dong, let me down.¡± Xiao Xiao¡¯s voice sounded somewhat chilly. At this moment, the girl who¡¯d always been gentle in the past was truly enraged; Huo Yuhao had taken that blow for her! Furthermore, they hadn¡¯t been sure that the proctor would be able to make it in time to save Huo Yuhao. If he hadn¡¯t been able to make it, Huo Yuhao would¡¯ve been severely injured, if not killed! How could Xiao Xiao not be moved by his actions?

    Furthermore, she felt that it was her mistake that had allowed Xie Huanyue to get close to them. Currently, her will to fight had been entirely aroused.

    Wang Dong retracted his wings and carried Xiao Xiao back down to the ground. He was just as angry as Xiao Xiao. As he fiercely red at Xie Huanyue, he only had one thought in his mind. This bastard dared to injure Yuhao¡ªI want to kill him.

    Xie Huanyue didn¡¯t make any impatient moves. As his enormous body moved slowly towards Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, his first soul ring remained lit, allowing his body to remain as fat as it previously was. This was a special characteristic that belonged to his martial soul. As someone who owned a top-ranked defensive Beast Soul, he didn¡¯t only cultivate his defense¡ªhis goals weren¡¯t that simple. He wanted to be an all-rounded defense and control system soul master. Moreover, his cultivation up to this point had been extremely sessful; so much so, that he, as well as another freshman who¡¯d reached the Soul Elder Rank, had already be core disciples of the outer courtyard before the freshmen assessment had even started.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, I need fifteen seconds.¡± Wang Dong growled. With that, he closed his eyes, simultaneously causing both of his soul rings to light up. Golden halos immediately started to appear from his dazzling blue wings. While this urred, he raised his arms and folded his front wings.

    Xiao Xiao nodded heavily, but didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she walked straight towards Xie Huanyue withrge strides. The soundsing from the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute became extraordinarily passionate, and jade-coloured halos spread rapidly from her jade flute.

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron suddenly returned to her, and its three cauldrons surrounded her in a three-pronged formation.

    With a snort, Xie Huanyue suddenly squatted down, then bounced himself back up into the air. This time around, he shot himself directly towards Xiao Xiao. His body was the most powerful weapon he had at his disposal, and even though his speed had been reduced, he was still extremely confident in himself.

    At the same time, his second soul ring lit up as he looked for an opportunity to use his extensible arm to attack Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    However, just before he reached five metres away from Xiao Xiao, the threerge cauldrons surrounding her simultaneously released a ck light and shot towards him. However, instead of colliding with Xie Huanyue, they collided with one another above her head. At the same time, Xiao Xiao¡¯s other two soul rings simultaneously lit up.

    Practically all soul skills that belonged to a soul master could be used together with their other soul skills, but their level of synergy depended on both the strength of the soul master¡¯s martial soul, as well as thepatibility between the soul skills that were being used together.

    Xiao Xiao finally revealed her strongest move as she faced such a powerful enemy.

    National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Quake.

    When the three cauldrons fused together, a violent bang rang out. An enormous cauldron that was double the size of her previous cauldron appeared, covering the sky as it did so. Mysterious runes emerged from the enormous cauldron, causing an indescribable sense of awe to burst forth.

    Xie Huanyue¡¯s arm was forcefully deflected off the cauldron when he struck it, and when his fat body collided with it, he was actually glued to it, causing him to remain motionless in the air. Halos of ck light that were being released from the enormous cauldron unceasingly invaded his body, causing Xie Huanyue to discover that the soul power in his body was unexpectedly rapidly evaporating.

    Shocked, he hurriedly roused his soul power, wanting to utilize his powerful thousand year soul skill. However, to his astonishment, he discovered that he wasn¡¯t able to. His body seemed to be in a fixed state; he wasn¡¯t able to cancel any soul skills that he¡¯d already activated, while at the same time he was also unable to release any more soul skills than the ones he had active. The only thing that urred was the rapid evaporation of his soul power. On the other hand, the towering cauldron that was akin to a mountain continued to stand upright, as if it wasn¡¯t fazed by his attacks in the slightest.

    The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute instantly disappeared from Xiao Xiao¡¯s hand when the enormous cauldron appeared. Furthermore, one could clearly see ck halos of light rising from her body as well. However, her expression was turning paler by the second.

    The soul power consumed when fusing two soul skills using a special method like this neared the consumption of a fusion skill! When this was added onto the soul power she¡¯d used up during the battle itself, Xiao Xiao definitely wouldn¡¯tst for a long period of time. However, Wang Dong¡¯s words were the only thing that was in her mind now. Fifteen seconds. No matter how I achieve it, I have tost fifteen seconds.

    In the instant that Huo Yuhao had fearlessly thrown her into the air, her simple heart had beenpletely moved. In that instant, she¡¯d beenpletely assimted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. Although she was a girl, hot blood still surged through her heart. For our team¡¯s honor, and for mypanions, I can sacrifice something as well.

    Normally, fifteen seconds was a rtively brief period of time. However, it felt agonizingly slow now.

    At that moment, a feeling of panic began to appear in the heart of the Rank 32 Xie Huanyue. When he looked into Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes, he saw that they were filled with a resolute stubbornness; they clearly showed that she was willing to sacrifice herself to take him down with her! Is she crazy? This is only a match in the freshmen assessment! Although he wasn¡¯t sure what Xiao Xiao was doing to keep him from moving, he clearly understood that even twin-souled soul masters couldn¡¯t break one of thews that governed all martial souls; the stronger its ability, the greater its drain.

    One second passed. Another second passed. Yet another second passed.

    The proctor began to get worried; he didn¡¯t know whether he should stop a match like this or not. Furthermore, even if he did stop the match, how would he decide the victor of the match? Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d awakened from the intense feeling of dizziness the purple light had caused, clenched his fists tightly. Due to his Spirit Eyes, he was able to clearly see what was going on; Xiao Xiao was clearly overdrawing her soul power!

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, give up!¡± Huo Yuhao yelled. He wasn¡¯t willing to let his teammates get hurt, even if it meant losing the match!

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s reply to Huo Yuhao was in the form of her tightly pursed lips. However, the ck halo around her body seemed to intensify even further.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao was deeply touched by the stubborn look in Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t just him; even the chicken wing-eating Xuan Lao stopped chewing his food and slowly nodded at Xiao Xiao.

    Five, four, three, two, one¡­

    When thest second finally arrived, a golden pir suddenly appeared behind Xiao Xiao. Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess hadpletely turned a brilliant gold, and following the appearance of the golden pir of light, he rose into the air like a butterfly bathed in fire. As his body rose into the air, the golden pir unexpectedly curved, transforming into a terrifying, enormous, crescent-shaped de of light.

    In that instant, the air itself seemed to have been rent apart as the entire arena was filled with a domineering undtion of soul power that was hard to describe.

    As he looked at the enormous de of lighting towards, Xie Huanyue was scared to the point that his soul nearly left his body. Even if he was extremely confident in his defense, he didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d be able to block Wang Dong¡¯s attack.

    The proctor didn¡¯t dare to hesitate any longer; he charged into the arena with a sh. However, he discovered, to his astonishment, that he wasn¡¯t able to separate Xie Huanyue from Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Quake. As the enormous golden de of light whistled over, the strong pressure emanated from it made the proctor feel as if he was suffocating¡ªeven with his Soul Emperor level of cultivation.

    No way, is this something a Soul Grandmaster student can even use? Even though the proctor wanted to release his martial soul, it was already toote. Helpless, he could only use his body to forcefully block Wang Dong¡¯s attack.

    At that exact moment, an enormous absorption force suddenly descended from the sky, causing the golden de of light to turn towards the sky just before it hit the proctor.

    A huge, fiery hand had suddenly appeared in the sky. It grabbed the golden de of light and seemed to crush it within its grip. After that, the golden de of light directly shattered with a ¡°pu¡±.

    As he chewed on his chicken leg, Xuan Lao muttered, ¡°This Orleanian chicken leg is a bit too salty today.¡± With that, he stood up and slowly walked off the tall stage.

    After the National Treasure cauldron quietly vanished, Xiao Xiao copsed and fainted.

    The brilliance of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess vanished as well, but Wang Dong forced himself to remain standing. He looked at the somewhat nk proctor with an unyielding gaze. ¡°We¡¯ve¡­ won¡­¡± After forcing out these two words, he was unable to continue persevering, and copsed.

    ¡°Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao.¡± Huo Yuhao wildly rushed into the arena with all of his strength and hugged his twopanions.

    At that moment, Xie Huanyue¡¯s body had already returned to its original size, but his school uniform was soaked with cold sweat. In that instant, he truly felt that Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong had wanted to kill him, but there was nothing he¡¯d been able to do about it. As the fat on his body trembled, he discovered that Xiao Xiao¡¯s gaze had been deeply carved into his heart.

    The teachers in the Spectator¡¯s Stand were allpletely silent. At this point in time, they¡¯d werepletely ignoring the other matches that were urring or had already ended.

    The individual strength of each student that made up the two teams weren¡¯t much to them. After all, one would have to be a six-ringed, Soul Emperor-ranked expert at the very least to be a teacher at Shrek Academy. However, they were astonished by Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s stubborn conviction. Wang Dong¡¯s situation was still eptable to them, as it seemed like he¡¯d only used up all of his strength. However, Xiao Xiao had clearly overdrawn her soul power; this wasn¡¯t something that she could recover from in a short period of time.

 Chapter 27.1: Revenge? Brother?

    Chapter 27.1: Revenge? Brother?

    The teachers of Shrek Academy had seen many geniuses, but freshmen like Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, who were this fixated on victory and this resolute in their beliefs¡­ they were simply too rare.

    The Director of the Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun, walked over to the stunned Zhou Yi. ¡°Teacher Zhou, congrattions on teaching these two excellent students. Report them to the higher-ups. I believe that they both have the qualifications to be core disciples of the outer courtyard.¡±

    Only then did Zhou Yi react. She hurriedly replied, ¡°Director Du, there¡¯s still Huo Yuhao. He¡¯s the core of their team, as well as their team leader.¡±

    Du Weilun was stunned, but he shook his head. ¡°He only has a single soul ring. He¡¯s too weak. Also, he should be one of those rarely-seen spiritual-type soul masters. Don¡¯t you know how few spiritual-type soul beasts there are?¡± With that, he walked off the tall stage.

    As the Director of the Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun wasn¡¯t just strong, he was calctive as well. He naturally saw the role that Huo Yuhao had yed during the match. He was the one that had stimted the nearly-insane fighting spirits of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. However, he had important responsibilities as a Director; he naturally wouldn¡¯t choose a core disciple just for his personality and leadership skills.

    After listening to Du Weilun¡¯s words, Zhou Yi¡¯s entire body shook. Right! She¡¯d always overlooked this simple problem. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul ring had a strong soul skill attached to it, he was still a spiritual-type soul master. Spiritual-type soul beasts were simply too rare, and strong ones were even rarer. Under these circumstances, the chances of Huo Yuhao bing an expert was naturally much smaller than normal.

    ¡°No problem. If the Martial Soul Department doesn¡¯t want him, our Soul Tool Department will take him.¡± A bright light flickered through Fan Yu¡¯s eyes as he patted Zhou Yi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s hard to find strong spiritual-type soul beasts, but it¡¯s still possible to find ordinary ones. As long as he has enough soul power, he¡¯ll still be able to be an outstanding student of the Soul Tool Department¡ªeven if he only has his first soul ring. I want this core disciple.¡±

    In front of Fan Yu, Zhou Yi didn¡¯t seem to have any of her usual iciness, ¡°No, it¡¯s not time yet. You need to give him three years. Yuhao is a specially-invited student who was rmended by the Tang Sect; he should¡¯ve been a rogue soul master who grew up in a poverty-stricken family. That¡¯s why he only has a ten year soul ring. He¡¯s always been the most attentive student during ss time, and although he¡¯s had a somewhatte start, he¡¯s the most hardworking and serious student I¡¯ve ever met. His foundation is too weak, thus I need to stay by his side and continue teaching him. Three years will be enough for him to obtain a basic knowledge of how things are, and with his current level of diligence, he should be able to obtain three rings at the very least by that point. Once he obtains his third ring, he¡¯ll naturally have brighter prospects. At that time, he can be the core disciple of your Soul Tool Department.

    Fan Yu smiled. ¡°I can see that you like this child a lot. Since you¡¯ve already nned things out for him, I¡¯ll listen to you. Once the freshmen assessment has ended, take him over to see me, and I¡¯ll let him participate in the Soul Tool Department in addition to his regr studies. I¡¯ll see whether or not he has any talent in that field.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zhou Yi nodded her head, ¡°I¡¯ll go check on Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong. Fan Yu, believe me, the Martial Soul Department will definitely regret not taking Huo Yuhao in as a core disciple.¡±

    Fan Yu replied, ¡°Then, let¡¯s wait and see.¡±

    Wang Dong was left in a slightly better condition than Xiao Xiao, as he¡¯d only used up all of his energy. More importantly, he had his fusion partner, Huo Yuhao. Once Huo Yuhao hugged him, his soul power naturally flowed into Wang Dong¡¯s body, allowing him to quickly recover a strand of his soul power. After using their Haodong Power, Wang Dong was able to wake up from his unconscious state in less than ten minutes.

    However, Xiao Xiao¡¯s condition was much worse than Wang Dong¡¯s. She needed both soul power to active her Cauldron¡¯s Trembling Quake, as well as an extremely strong amount of control over it to maintain it. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Xiao would only use her National Treasure to deal a single attack, sending her opponent flying while applying a forced stun effect. The strength of this single blow far exceeded that of using both of her soul skills one after another. However, she didn¡¯t do this against Xie Huanyue. Instead, she¡¯d used it to trap him. She¡¯d done so for the sake of buying even more time for Wang Dong. Xie Huanyue¡¯s defense was simply too strong, and Xiao Xiao had been scared that he¡¯d charge straight back towards them if he was sent flying away. Furthermore, there was a high chance of that happening due to his body¡¯s bouncing speed.

    Because of that, Xiao Xiao hadn¡¯t just overdrawn her soul power alone; she¡¯d overdrawn her spiritual power as well. As soon as the match had ended, she¡¯d instantly sunk into a deepa.

    Fortunately, they were in Shrek Academy, which had no shortages of healing medicines. After consuming a few medicinal pills, Xiao Xiao sank into a deep sleep. However, the teacher that treated her said that she¡¯d have to rest for a full day, at the very minimum. Furthermore, she couldn¡¯t be disturbed in any way at all, so that the medicinal pills that had been used on her wouldn¡¯t leave any aftereffects. In other words, Xiao Xiao wouldn¡¯t be able to participate in the following two matches¡­ and that was a conservative estimate.

    Zhou Yi personally carried Xiao Xiao back to her room for her to rest, while Huo Yuhao carried the weakened Wang Dong back to their dorm room.

    ¡°Wang Dong, should we give up on the next match?¡± As he looked at Wang Dong¡¯s pale face, Huo Yuhao sighed gently.

    ¡°No way.¡± Wang Dong knew that Huo Yuhao was concerned about the state of his body, but his current will to fight was still as strong as it previously was. He¡¯d never been as serious as this towards anything else as he was now.

    ¡°Yuhao, I know that you¡¯re worried about me. But we have to continue on with this tournament. If we just gave up like this, how could we face Xiao Xiao? She may have fainted, but there¡¯s still the two of us. And, don¡¯t we have our Haodong Power? We¡¯ll definitely be able to recover before the afternoon match. We have to fight for Xiao Xiao, and wait for her toe back.¡±

    As he looked at Wang Dong¡¯s determined eyes, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart waspletely moved. True feelings had blossomed between them as a result of their hardships. The matches that had urred yesterday and today had rapidly narrowed the gap between him, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. The feelings between the three of them were no longer those of fellow schoolmates, but those ofrades-in-arms who were willing to live and die together. Although this wasn¡¯t a true battlefield, they already treated the tournament as one.

    ¡°What¡¯re you waiting for? Hurry up.¡± As he spoke, Wang Dong raised his hands.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then ced his palms on Wang Dong¡¯s palms. He spoke with a resolute tone in his voice, ¡°Let¡¯s fight for Xiao Xiao.¡±

    Sea God¡¯s Ind, the Lakeside.

    ¡°Xuan Lao, what do you think?¡± Wang Yan stood beside Xuan Lao and asked in a quiet voice.

    Xuan Lao had already finished his chicken legs, and there were now chicken wings around him. It seemed as though he¡¯d never be full.

    ¡°Those two fes aren¡¯t bad. As for that fe with the Body Soul you were talking about, he¡¯scking by quite a bit. He should have a skill that¡¯s simr to a spiritual detection-type skill, however it¡¯s unfortunate that his first soul ring is only ten years old. This is a w that can¡¯t be made up for.¡± As he spoke, Xuan Lao swallowed a mouthful of wine.

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°But, Xuan Lao, he still has a Body Soul!¡±

 Chapter 27.2: Revenge? Brother?

    Chapter 27.2: Revenge? Brother?

    Xuan Lao shook his head. ¡°You should know what the most important part of a Body Soul is; it¡¯s the potential that it has, as well as the variations that the martial soul can undergo duringbat. It¡¯s very clear from today¡¯s match; even under that sort of pressure, his martial soul didn¡¯t undergo any variations. In other words, he doesn¡¯t possess the essence of a Body Soul. He¡¯s too old, and he doesn¡¯t have enough soul power. At the same time, his first soul ring is only ten years old. Even if he has decent potential, he isn¡¯t something that I want. Do you understand?¡±

    Wang Yan was still somewhat unresigned. ¡°Xuan Lao, I just found out yesterday that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong have fused their martial souls, and can even release a fusion skill. Although I don¡¯t know what exactly their fusion skill is, isn¡¯t that enough to prove his talent?¡±

    Xuan Lao objected. ¡°A fusion skill doesn¡¯t mean everything. Alright, I¡¯ve already made my decision. Those two little fes can be chosen. As for Huo Yuhao, just leave it.¡±

    With that, he stood up and walked unsteadily away, a chicken wing in one hand and a huge bottle gourd in the other. His unsteady gait made it seem as if he could fall down at any time.

    As he stared at Xuan Lao¡¯s back, Wang Yan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. He naturally knew of Huo Yuhao¡¯s problems, but he still felt that he had an unordinary temperament. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were much, much more outstanding than him on the surface, but he was still able to lead them into their matches, and had be the true core of their team. Why was this?

    ¡°Was my judgement truly wrong? No, I won¡¯t give up. No matter what, I¡¯ll do all I can to nurture Huo Yuhao. It won¡¯t be toote to find Xuan Lao after he¡¯s obtained a few achievements.¡±

    The freshmen assessment had already entered its final stages, and the top 8 had already been decided from the morning matches. There was no doubt that these 8 teams were the most outstanding teams amongst the freshmen students. However, two of the teams that were led by Soul Elder-ranked students had actually been eliminated, to everybody¡¯s surprise. More importantly, they had actually been eliminated by the same team.

    There were only eight teams left in the knock-out round. The moment Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived at the Assessment Area, they immediately attracted the attention of the other seven teams. It was clear that none of the other teams were willing to fight against the two of them in the quarterfinals¡ªeven if they only had two people left in their team.

    Their Haodong Power was truly miraculous. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s assistance, Wang Dong had already recovered all of his soul power after cultivating for merely four hours. Furthermore, using all of his strength during the morning match,bined with the diligent cultivation he¡¯d recently done, had allowed his soul power to increase to Rank 25.

    While drawing the lots, Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong, ¡°Right, what was that skill you used at the very end of the morning match?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°It was a fusion skill that I created bybining my Guillotine Wing and my Light of the Butterfly Goddess. It¡¯s the strongest move I have at my disposal. If I¡¯m not mistaken, that Xie Huanyue possesses a very rarely seen Beast Soul that¡¯s known as the Rubberdon. That martial soul innately possesses an extremely strong defense. His first soul skill should¡¯ve been ¡®Elephant Transformation¡¯, while that arm-elongating skill should be ¡®Elephant¡¯s Nose¡¯. Thatst skill that had a powerful crowd-controlling effect should be something like ¡®Elephant¡¯s Fury¡¯. If you want to break that rubber ball-like defense of his, normal attacks definitely won¡¯t work. There are only two ways that I know of: A peak-level elemental attack, such as an extremely hot fire-type skill or an extremely cold ice-type skill, or an extremely sharp skill. I used my Light of the Butterfly Goddess to activate my Guillotine Wing so that I could use its sharpness to pierce through his defenses. While that guy was trapped by Xiao Xiao, I had just enough time to charge up enough energy to use it. I was confident that a single attack of mine could destroy his martial soul.¡±

    After listening to Wang Dong¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but inwardly praise him. Although he¡¯d studied the various aspects of soul master-rted knowledge during these three months, there was still arge gap between him and Wang Dong! This further solidified Huo Yuhao¡¯s conviction to diligently cultivate.

    ¡°Team Huo Yuhao,e forward and draw your lots.¡± Director Du Weilun¡¯s voice jolted Huo Yuhao awake. He then hurriedly walked forward, drawing a stick from the ballot cylinder Du Weilun held.

    Du Weilun carefully looked at Huo Yuhao, thinking to himself, This kid truly has his own outstanding points, and his spiritual-type martial soul is extremely rare. Unfortunately, he hasn¡¯t reached Rank 20 yet, and the chances of him obtaining a strong soul ring in the future are too small. If he can continue to pass all of the Academy¡¯s assessments and remain as a student, we¡¯ll be able to see whether or not he has the qualifications to be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department by the time he gets to his fourth or fifth year.

    ¡°Number 3.¡± After taking Huo Yuhao¡¯s lot, Du Weilun loudly announced his number.

    One of the teams who¡¯d already drawn their lots suddenly had a change in expression; they were going to fight against Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao walked back towards Wang Dong. ¡°There¡¯s a one in seven chance that we¡¯re going to fight against thest team that has a Soul Elder in it. If that team¡¯s our next opponent, I think that we should consider praying to a god.¡±

    Wang Dong had a speechless look on his face. ¡°What god should we pray to?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°The Sea God, of course. Isn¡¯t that ancestor the true symbol of our Shrek Academy?¡±

    Wang Dong ced his right hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not funny. When there was a 3 in 32 chance in the beginning, the chances of us fighting against a team with a Soul Elder in it wasn¡¯t even ten percent, but we still got them. When it was two in sixteen, it wasn¡¯t even eight percent, but we still got them. Now that it¡¯s a one in seven chance, the odds of us fighting against thest team with a Soul Elder in it are even greater than our previous odds. What do you think our odds are now?¡±

    After hearing his analysis, Huo Yuhao immediately smiled bitterly. ¡°We can¡¯t be that unlucky, right¡­.¡±

    Although the concept of luck did exist, one wouldn¡¯t be lucky or unlucky all the time; the facts proved it. This time around, there weren¡¯t any Soul Elders in the team they¡¯d picked.

    After entering the Assessment Area, both teams stood facing each other and introduced themselves. This time, their opponents were from ss 9, and all three of them were Soul Grandmasters. Rtively speaking, they were an extremely strong team. However, there was arge gap between their team, and the teams that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had defeated in their two previous matches.

    ¡°Two agility-types and an assault-type. It¡¯s thisbination again, how boring. How should we go about this?¡± Wang Dong whispered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    A light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s just brute force our way through them.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    The level of synergy between the two had be much higher. After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the match started.

    Both sides simultaneously released their martial souls. However, the assault system Wang Dong didn¡¯t immediately charge out. Instead, he pped his blue wings, flying into the air while immediately activating his second, purple soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Wang Dong¡¯s ankle from below, the faintly golden light in his eyespletely concealed by the light that Wang Dong was currently releasing.

    The golden patterns on Wang Dong¡¯s wings all lit up, while a smidge of orange appeared on them as a result of the Haodong Power that was being poured into them.

    This time around, Huo Yuhao was able to closely observe Wang Dong from a short distance with nobody disturbing him. As a result of that, he was able to clearly see that Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess wasn¡¯t spurting out a pir of light, but many light orbs. Each and every golden pattern on Wang Dong¡¯s wings would spurt out a single orb of light, causing a total of several tens of them to appear. In the next instant, an orange light illuminated the entire arena.

 Chapter 27.3: Revenge? Brother?

    Chapter 27.3: Revenge? Brother?

    Their opponents never expected Wang Dong to go all out the instant he made a move. More importantly, they¡¯d never expected the strength of his Light of the Butterfly Goddess to be this terrifying.

    With the support of their Haodong Power, Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess was equivalent to a three-ringed Soul Elder using their thousand year soul skill at the very least. All that their opponents could do was release their soul skills at full power and defend against it.

    When the dazzling ray of light appeared, the two agility system soul masters were almost immediately sted out of the arena. Although the assault system soul master was able to remain standing inside of the arena, his soul power had been almost entirely drained, and he¡¯d suffered some minor injuries.

    Because of that, Wang Dong uttered an extremely domineering sentence after he¡¯d unfurled his dazzling wings andnded, ¡°Are you going to leave the arena by yourself, or do I need to assist you?¡±

    After that¡­ there was no ¡®after that¡¯. This was the quickest match that had urred since the tournament had begun. It was also this match that had caused Wang Dong¡¯s poprity to soar, and made many people refer to him as the number one assault system soul master.

    After the match had ended, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both rushed back to their dorms. In reality, even though Wang Dong had recovered his soul power, his overdrawing of it during the previous battle had caused him to suffer a few injuries, resulting in him being at a disadvantage in a drawn-out fight. However, only Huo Yuhao and him knew about this. That was why they¡¯d chosen to end the match in such an explosive manner. If they¡¯d met an opponent specialised in defense like Xie Huanyue was, the difficulty of the match would¡¯ve increased exponentially¡ªeven if their opponent only had two rings.

    The second their match ended, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao had already entered the top 4 of the tournament. In other words, they would definitely receive a prize if they won another match. If they managed to win two more matches, they¡¯d be the champions of the tournament.

    Zhou Yi had told them that this year¡¯s batch of new students¡¯ quality far exceeded that of the previous years. If they were able to be champions despite these circumstances, they¡¯d undoubtedly have proven their potential.

    After they returned to their dorm room, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t set up his stall. Instead, he immediately began cultivating with Wang Dong. Without Xiao Xiao¡¯s help, their following matches would only get tougher. Furthermore, they couldn¡¯t use the same tactic a second time. Their explosive method of obtaining victory during their previous match had had an enormous element of surprise to it; now that their opponents were prepared for it, it¡¯d be extremely difficult to pull off again. However, this was their best strategy to achieve victory with before Xiao Xiao returned.

    When morning arrived, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously opened their eyes and separated their palms from one another. As the sun had just risen, Huo Yuhao stood up from his bed and opened the window in their room that faced east.

    A smidge of purple quietly appeared within the marble-white sky, causing Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes to instantly turn purple.

    After tidying his clothes up, Wang Dong went to clean himself up.

    Everything urred in a natural manner. After breathing in some fresh air that had been let in by the window, a faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Mom, can you see me? Your son has already be a true soul master. I¡¯ve even be a member of one of the top 4 teams in the freshmen assessment of the continent¡¯s number one soul master academy. Don¡¯t worry about me; I¡¯ll definitely return to see you. Since you¡¯ve suffered so many grievances, I¡¯ll definitely let you have a grand funeral someday. I¡¯ll make those who held you in contempt and bullied you pay.

    With that, a trace of hostility shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, causing ayer of red to re within his eyes before disappearing.

    He didn¡¯t cultivate so diligently and devotedly just to be a peak-level expert or to be an expert amongst experts. He just wanted revenge¡ªrevenge for his mother. He¡¯d never forgotten the humiliation he¡¯d suffered during his youth. Although he¡¯d received warmth from others, and had felt fraternal love between friends after entering Shrek Academy, he hadn¡¯t forgotten the eleven years of pain he¡¯d suffered. The memories from his childhood were already deeply ingrained in his mind.

    Yes, there would be a day when he returned to the ce that had left a ck mark on his childhood memories, as well as where his mother¡¯s remains were.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s ambition was one that nobody would¡¯ve ever thought of. However, the seeds of revenge had already sprouted in his heart.

    After the time needed to brew a cup of tea had passed, Wang Dong pushed the door open and re-entered their room. When he saw Huo Yuhao, who was still standing by the window, he couldn¡¯t help but puzzledly ask, ¡°Yuhao, are you okay?¡± In the past, Huo Yuhao would always be ready to go shower once he¡¯d returned. However, he was still standing in front of the window today.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly wiped the tears from the rims of his eyes and turned around, forcefully putting on a smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I was just thinking of my mother.¡±

    Regardless of it had been Tang Ya, Bei Bei, or Wang Dong, the only thing that Huo Yuhao had said about his parents was that they¡¯d died, leaving him an orphan.

    Wang Dong¡¯s gaze immediately turned soft. He walked towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Don¡¯t feel sad. What¡¯s happened has already happened. I¡¯m sure that Aunty would want you to be happy, no? You¡¯ve already had apletely new beginning in Shrek Academy, so leave those unhappy things in your past. Go take your shower quickly. We¡¯ll cultivate a bit more once we¡¯re done with breakfast. This is truly a perfect example of the phrase ,¡®when ites time to apply your knowledge, you find that you don¡¯t have enough of it¡¯! If I¡¯d worked harder in the past, we wouldn¡¯t be this worried now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, then grabbed his toiletries and left the room. Could one simply just forget their revenge? If one could just ¡®forget¡¯ revenge, what other force could prompt a mere eleven-year-old kid to travel across thends and head towards the Great Star Dou Forest? What else could motivate a kid¡ªwhose talent was extremely bad¡ªto the point that he was at now? However, even though revenge could be a driving force at times, there were times where it could also cloud one¡¯s eyes.

    After showering, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hurriedly ate their breakfasts, then cultivated until the sun had risen. After the sun had risen, they left their rooms and headed towards the Assessment Area. The champions of this year¡¯s knock-out tournament would be decided today, and after getting all the way to the top 4, none of the teams would cower from the others.

    The number of spectators today was even greater than yesterday. All of the spectators were teachers, of course, as the students still had to continue their sses. The only difference was that the sloppy old man who¡¯d appeared on the tall stage yesterday hadn¡¯t turned up today.

    The top 4 teams stood together, waiting to draw lots. However, the person in charge of the lot-drawing today was no longer the Director of the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun.

    A white-clothed old man had taken his position. When he saw this old man, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but inwardly feel astonished; he¡¯d previously seen this old man before, when he and Wang Dong had met the berserk Ma Xiaotao for the first time!

    At that time, this old man had been the person in charge of the teachers who¡¯d rushed over from the Sea God¡¯s Lake. As the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament had progressed to its final stage today, he¡¯d finally shown up. This clearly showed his lofty position in the Academy. Even Director Du Weilun¡ªwho possessed an extremely high amount of authority in the Academy¡ªrespectfully stood beside him.

    ¡°Greetings, youths. I¡¯m Yan Shaozhe, the 261st Dean of Shrek Academy.¡± The white-clothed old man carried a smile on his face as he spoke. He had an extremely warm temperament, and made it seem as if he was only an ordinary old man.

 Chapter 27.4: Revenge? Brother?

    Chapter 27.4: Revenge? Brother?

    Although Huo Yuhao had already guessed the man¡¯s identity¡ªat least to some extent¡ªhe still unconsciously straightened his back when it was personally announced by the man, just like the other students.

    Just what status did the Dean of Shrek Academy have? As the Dean of the continent¡¯s number one academy, he had the qualification to be on equal footing with the emperor of any country in the world. Furthermore, as the Dean of Shrek Academy, he was definitely a Titled Douluo super expert! He was a true, peak-level existence on the Douluo Continent.

    The Dean personally appearing was something that none of the freshmen could¡¯ve predicted.

    ¡°I know that all of you are very curious as to why I¡¯vee here, and you¡¯re not wrong to be so. Normally, when the freshmen assessment enters itsst stage, a Vice-Dean would be sufficient to show how much the academy values you. However, I have to admit that your performances during this freshmen assessment have left me extremely pleased. I¡¯vee because you all are the best batch of freshmen that I¡¯ve seen during the past hundred years, so I¡¯m very interested in you all. In addition to that, I¡¯ll be watching all of the matches today, so I hope that I¡¯ll continue to be pleasantly surprised by you all. Alright, let the lot-drawing begin.¡±

    Naturally, the Dean himself couldn¡¯t draw the lots. Thus, Du Weilun hurriedly took over the responsibility of drawing lots. However, Dean Yan himself was personally holding the ballot cylinder, which immediately caused all of the freshmen present to feel their blood boil.

    This was a superpower that was only spoken of in the legends! The Dean of Shrek Academy is actually holding the ballot cylinder for us! Not to mention these freshmen, even if a group of eight-ringed Soul Douluo were here, they¡¯d still feel deeply honoured. In an instant, the freshmen felt uncontrobly ted; Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t exceptions either.

    ¡°Team Huo Yuhao from ss 1, pleasee forward to draw your lot.¡± This time around, the first team to draw their lot was unexpectedly Huo Yuhao¡¯s team.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other. ¡°You go.¡± Huo Yuhao nudged his friend.

    Wang Dong shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re the team leader. Quickly go and draw.¡± While speaking, he pushed Huo Yuhao out, making him the first student to draw a lot from the Dean.

    Huo Yuhao felt somewhat nervous as he walked forward. When he stretched his hand out to draw his lot, he almost couldn¡¯t control his emotions¡ªhis arm was even trembling.

    Dean Yan smiled. ¡°Little fe, there¡¯s no need to be nervous. I hope that your team can obtain good results.¡±

    After drawing his lot, Huo Yuhao took a step back and respectfully bowed deeply towards Yan Shaozhe. Afterwards, he handed his lot over to Du Weilun before walking back towards Wang Dong. By the time he reached Wang Dong, he discovered that the speed of his heartbeat had doubled.

    ¡°ss 1, Team Huo Yuhao. Lot Number: 2.¡±

    The number ¡®two¡¯ signified that they¡¯d bepeting in the second arena during the semifinals. There were four numbers in the cylinder; two ¡®ones¡¯, and two ¡®twos¡¯.

    ¡°ss 5, Team Dai Huabin. Pleasee forward and draw your lot.¡±

    A tall youth walked forwards withrge steps. Huo Yuhao had always had a good memory, but as he looked towards the back of this youth, he discovered that he¡¯d never seen this youth during the lot-drawings of the previous matches. Clearly, the team from ss 5 had changed the person they were sending out to pick their lot due to Dean Yan Shaozhe¡¯s appearance.

    The youth walked up to the stage and, after saluting Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun, drew a lot. Following Huo Yuhao, he bowed deeply before handing his lot to Du Weilun. Afterwards, he turned away.

    His face was handsome, yet ice-cold. His long, golden hair was split in two atop his head, and was draped over his shoulders. If one were to carefully inspect him, they¡¯d notice that there were unexpectedly two pupils in his deep blue eyes. In addition to that, he was also slightly taller than his peers.

    When Huo Yuhao saw him, his entire body suddenly shook violently. An inconceivable look filled his eyes, and his body suddenly began trembling uncontrobly as he grabbed the arm of Wang Dong, who was next to him.

    Wang Dong was startled by his sudden movement. He turned around to look at Huo Yuhao, only to discover that his face was extremely pale. An unconceble amount of hatred had appeared in his eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s grip was extremely strong, so much so that even Wang Dong felt that it was slightly painful.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­.

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll help you dry the clothes.¡± A delicate seven or eight-year-old child strenuously hugged arge wooden bucket and unsteadily walked out of the courtyard to dry the clothes outside.

    A beautiful, middle-aged woman stood in the courtyard as she looked at the figure of the youth, a gratified look in her eyes. She muttered to herself, ¡°My Yuhao has truly grown up. He¡¯s be more and more thoughtful.¡±

    The little Yuhao carried the wooden bucket and left the courtyard with much difficulty. When he passed through the passage in front of him, he¡¯d be about ten steps form the clothes-drying area.

    Right at that moment, arge force suddenly mmed into his body from the side, viciously pushing his body, along with the bucket, to the ground, causing the clothes which had just been cleaned to immediately scatter on the ground.

    ¡°You bastard, do you not have any eyes? Didn¡¯t you see that the young master has returned? Screw off.¡± An overbearing voice rang out. The little Yuhao endured the pain he was feeling, only to see eight strong-looking guards standing by either side of the pathway. The person who¡¯d just knocked him down was a guard, and a youth¡ªwho was wearing a white robe embroidered with the pattern of a white python¡ªwalked towards him.

    The youth looked extremely handsome, and he had two pupils in his eyes. In addition to that, he gave off a noble and aloof feeling. There was a stern look in his eyes, however he didn¡¯t even spare a nce towards Huo Yuhao until he stepped on a piece of clothing that had been dirtied by the mud.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The white robed youth stopped and nced coldly towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°Beat him up.¡± With that, he quickly walked away, as if he was scared of dirtying his eyes.

    Two of the eight guards immediately ran towards the little Yuhao, then began to viciously beat him up.

    Huo Yuhao had only been eight years old at the time, so how could he even have the energy to resist? Hearing themotion going on outside, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother had rushed out from the courtyard and used her own body to shield her son while bitterly begging the guards to stop. However, the mother and son duo were beaten to within an inch of their lives before the two guards finally stopped.

    Huo Yuhao was still young at the time, so his recovery ability was a bit stronger than his mother¡¯s. However, his mother¡¯s body was already weak from an illness that had umted over her many years of hard work. Furthermore, the beating she¡¯d received this time had left her with extremely severe injuries. After two years, she fell gravely ill, and then eternally left the world.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­.

    Three years had passed, and he¡¯d grown much older. However, even though this was the case, Huo Yuhao would never forget his pair of indifferent eyes, nor his cold voice from that time.

    It was him; he was the main culprit who¡¯d caused his mother¡¯s death. Redness gradually filled Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He clearly saw those striking twin pupils that signified the direct descendants of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. And that person was the youngest son of the Duchess. In other words, he was his half-brother; he was the person who¡¯d caused the death of his mother. He was Dai Huabin.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s face was as cold as ever. Even as he stood before Dean Yan Shaoze, he didn¡¯t lower his proud head. Unlike the other students who¡¯d stood before the Dean, he was much calmer. Only his tightly clenched fists revealed the restlessness in his heart.

    He¡¯d clearly forgotten who Huo Yuhao was. That¡¯s right! Even though he¡¯d brought a cmity down upon Huo Yuhao and his mother at that time, he¡¯d never recognised him as his half-brother.

    ¡°Team Dai Huabin, Lot Number 1.¡± After Du Weilun made his announcement, Dai Huabin returned to his team. Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions calmed down by quite a bit when he was no longer able to see Dai Huabin¡¯s face. The current him needed Wang Dong¡¯s support to even stand firmly on the ground.

    Wang Dong was filled with shock. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had ever been so emotional, and he waspletely unsure as to what had happened to him. However, it was certain that this had something to do with that Dai Huabin.

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao, calm down. What happened to you?¡± Wang Dong softly consoled him.

    As the lot-drawing continued, nobody noticed the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression. Only when the lot-drawing had ended did Huo Yuhao manage to regain hisposure. However, Wang Dong could still feel his body trembling. Furthermore, this was the sort of trembling that only urred when one¡¯s emotional state had reached its limit!

    ¡°Can you still fight?¡± Wang Dong asked, concerned. There was no time left to ask ¡®why¡¯, as the semifinals were just about to start.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then forcefully restrained the pain he had in his heart as he softly nodded. ¡°I can. Just now, what number did Dai Huabin get?¡±

    Wang Dong furrowed his brows. He didn¡¯t even hear such a loud announcement? The change in his emotions was that great?

    ¡°He drew a one. If we fight against them, it¡¯ll be during the finals. Earlier, I heard someone say that he was thest three-ringed Soul Elder left in the freshmen assessment.¡±

    ¡°A three-ringed Soul Elder?¡± A cold light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Right! A three-ringed Soul Elder? He¡¯s had so much support and so many resources; why wouldn¡¯t he be this outstanding? Come, let¡¯s go finish our match.¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao seemed to have regained hisposure. The trembling on his body and the violent emotional fluctuations he¡¯d been experiencingpletely vanished. Wang Dong felt as if everything that had just happened were just figments of his imagination. However, he knew that they definitely weren¡¯t hallucinations!

 Chapter 28.1: Synergic Cooperation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Achieve Victory

    Chapter 28.1: Synergic Cooperation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Achieve Victory

    Huo Yuhao had buried his hatred for Dai Huabin in the very depths of his heart. It had already turned into a driving force for him, and as such he was willing to go to any lengths to get revenge for his mother. However, this was Shrek Academy, and he wanted to stay here in order to be even stronger. The revenge he wanted wasn¡¯t just a simple massacre either¡ªhe wanted to console his mother¡¯s soul in heaven. He knew what his mother¡¯s greatest wish was; it was something that she hadn¡¯t even dared to hope to aplish while she¡¯d been alive. However, Huo Yuhao still aimed toplete it. Because of that, he couldn¡¯t just throw everything away just for revenge. Regardless of whether or not he could defeat Dai Huabin, he couldn¡¯t throw away his life¡¯s greatest wish for a single person. If the truth were to be exposed, he might not be able to continue studying at Shrek Academy. Therefore, he could only endure; he could only bury his hatred and use his own method to obtain revenge.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s opponents during the semifinals were three Soul Grandmasters from ss 10. Moreover, they possessed somewhat strange martial souls.

    Even though their opponents didn¡¯t have any three-ringed Soul Elders on their team, they definitely still weren¡¯t weak. After all, they¡¯d been able to stand out from the masses and reach their current positions.

    The three freshmen from ss 10 were all boys that had heroic and exuberant appearances.

    ¡°ss 10, Zhou Sichen. I¡¯m an assault system Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°ss 10, Long Xiangyue. I¡¯m an agility system Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°ss 10, Cao Jinxuan. I¡¯m a control system Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    Their resounding and forceful voices were a manifestation of their confidence. They didn¡¯t have any traces of fear in their eyes as they faced Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    ¡°ss 1, Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m a control system Soul Master.¡±

    ¡°ss 1, Wang Dong. I¡¯m an assault system Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    Due to Wang Dong¡¯s breathtaking performance during their previous match, the proctor¡ªwho could be considered the judge of the semifinal round¡ªhad been switched to a roughly sixty-year-old elder. He gave off an extremely strong aura simply by standing there, showing that he was an extremely strong existence. He was clearly an especially strong teacher that¡¯d been sent out to prevent any idents from urring during the match.

    ¡°Match, start!¡± As soon as the proctor announced it, the semifinals officially began. At the same time, an intense sh had also begun in Arena 1, where Dai Huabin was.

    Since it was only the two of them left, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t move far away from each other; they clearly understood that they didn¡¯t have any chance of victory in a 2v3 situation without using their Haodong Power.

    This time around, Huo Yuhao stood in front, while Wang Dong stood behind him. Afterwards, the two of them simultaneously released their martial souls. Wang Dong then folded his wings around Huo Yuhao, enveloping him within them like a mat awning.

    Their opponents had clearly done some research on their battle styles. Considering Wang Dong¡¯s sudden explosiveness in yesterday¡¯s match, they¡¯d paid arge amount of attention to him. As such, their opponents instantly released all of their strength the moment the match started.

    However, the agility system Long Xiangyue didn¡¯t charge forwards straightaway. Instead, he quickly hid behind Zhou Sichen¡¯s back. Surprisingly, Cao Jinxuan did the same as well, causing the three of them to stand in a straight line.

    In that instant, their strange martial souls appeared.

    A white light shone as as a book appeared within Zhou Sichen¡¯s hands. At the same time, both of his hundred year soul rings lit up, causing the book¡¯s pages to flutter open and release two rays of light in session. These rays of light then congealed in front of him.

    This was Zhou Sichen¡¯s special Tool Soul, the Treasure Bible.

    Normally speaking, book-type martial souls were trash souls that very few people had been able to sessfully cultivate. However, Zhou Sichen had a variant martial soul; his Treasure Bible had even given him Rank 7 innate soul power. Furthermore, he could directly absorb the energy of any soul beast he killed for its soul ring, whenever his soul power reached a bottleneck. Most importantly, he had no attribute restrictions for his soul rings, so he could absorb and utilise the abilities of any soul rings he absorbed. In other words, he could use an ice-type soul skill one moment, before using a fire-type soul skill the next. It was an extremely unusual Tool Soul.

    At that moment, he¡¯d released two soul skills, which had in-turn formed two beasts. One of the beasts he¡¯d summoned was a bear covered in yellow light, while the other was a fierce tiger covered in mes.

    Ever since he¡¯d obtained his Treasure Bible, Zhou Sichen¡¯s goal had been to be an assault system soul master. Because of that, even though he could choose any soul beast to be his soul ring, he¡¯d only chosen ones that had assault system soul skills. This was all for the sake of his dream of bing an assault system soul master.

    The bear and tiger duo hurriedly rushed in front of the three, then roared towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    However, the person standing behind him wasn¡¯t the agility system Long Xiangyue, but the control system Cao Jinxuan. Cao Jinxuan had a look of concentration in his eyes, and was emitting a distorted halo of light. Even people standing next to him would think that he looked somewhat blurry. However, despite that, an exquisite clock had quietly appeared above his head.

    The clock itself was horseshoe-shaped, and its white body was roughly half a meter tall. Its watch face was round, and a rotor engraved with golden patterns lightly swayed beneath it. After the clock appeared, both of Cao Jinxuan¡¯s hundred year soul rings seemed to have be a part of his body, causing them to rhythmically sway in-sync with the clock.

    Zhou Sichen¡¯s Treasure Bible was already something rare, but Cao Jinxuan¡¯s clock was a rarity amongst rarities; his martial soul was known as the ¡®Time psing Clock¡¯, and its rarity amongst Tool Souls wasn¡¯t inferior to Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    The three were simultaneously moving together, so naturally, Long Xiangyue couldn¡¯t beckingpared to the other two. He¡¯d maintained a rtivelyrge distance from Cao Jinxuan, but they were still in a straight line. Despite being an agility system soul master, he unexpectedly possessed a Tool Soul as well. After releasing his martial soul, an enormous boomerang appeared in his hand. One ¡®side¡¯ of the boomerang was more than a foot long, so it looked somewhat imbnced in the hands of Long Xiangyue, who hadn¡¯t even turned twelve.

    After the boomerang appeared in his hand, Long Xiangyue paused slightly for a moment. Immediately afterwards, he bent his body backwards, then abruptly swung his body back towards the front as he sent the boomerang flying out. In the instant that he made his move, both of his soul rings lit up.

    However, his expression suddenly changed the instant he made his move, as his originally clear judgement had suddenly turned vague.

    Their three-man formation was undoubtedly specialised to fight against Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong; how could the two of them simply sit there and watch without doing anything?

    Of the five people in the arena, the first person to have released their soul skill had actually been Huo Yuhao.

    The instant he¡¯d seen their opponents line themselves up, he¡¯d known that they wouldn¡¯t be able to pull off the same trick against them. Regardless of who he was fighting against, Huo Yuhao would always release his Spiritual Detection Sharing in the first possible instant that he could. It was practically undetectable, yet it was able to give them an extremelyrge advantage.

 Chapter 28.2: Synergic Cooperation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Achieve Victory

    Chapter 28.2: Synergic Cooperation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Achieve Victory

    Because of that, the agility system Long Xiangyue was struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill the instant he threw out his boomerang. The skill he was struck by was one of the four soul skills that came from his first soul ring¡ªSpiritual Interference.

    His Spiritual Interference¡¯s strength was much weaker than his Spiritual Shock¡¯s, so much so that it could practically be disregarded. Even Wang Dong hadn¡¯t sensed that Huo Yuhao had released it. In order to conceal the fact that he¡¯d released an all-new soul skill, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t allowed Wang Dong to touch him, so that he didn¡¯t use it with their Haodong Power. Instead, he¡¯d made sure to release his Spiritual Interference with his strength alone.

    The interference that urred for a split second caused a his consciousness be somewhat blurry for a moment, however at that moment, Wang Dong had enveloped him within his wings, thus protecting Huo Yuhao.

    The boomerang shot through the air, carving a beautiful arc through the air as it flew towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. From the intense light released from the boomerang, as well as the two soul skills that had been added to it, it was obvious that it couldn¡¯t be blocked easily. However, it was still disregarded by the two of them.

    Wang Dong had revealed his strength in the previous match, but the main character in this match was now Huo Yuhao.

    The instant Long Xiangyue threw out his boomerang, an intense purplish-golden light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, who was mostly concealed within Wang Dong¡¯s wings.

    Zhou Sichen only heard a muffled groan from behind him. Immediately afterwards, the Time psing Clock that had just been released instantly disappeared; Cao Jinxue hadn¡¯t even had the chance to release a soul skill. Under Long Xiangyue¡¯s astonished gaze, Cao Jinxue copsed to the ground unconscious.

    However, Huo Yuhao was able to control the strength of his Haodong Power-boosted Spiritual Shock after his experience with itst time. Thus, Cao Jinxuan only fainted¡ªhe wasn¡¯t injured like Ning Tian had been.

    Cao Jinxuan¡¯s martial soul had seemed rather unusual, and he was even a control system soul master. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion, he was the most dangerous of the three. Thus, he hadn¡¯t hesitated to use Haodong Power to instantly take care of him. After all, not every soul master would possess a defensive martial soul as perverted as the Rubberdon. Cao Jinxuan wasn¡¯t an exception to this. Defenseless, he instantly fainted.

    ¡°Pu¡ª¡ª¡± The boomerang struck the ground a foot away from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The sharp aura it emanated startled even Wang Dong, and even though he didn¡¯t know what Long Xiangyue¡¯s soul skills were, he was stupified to discover that it¡¯d be extremely difficult to block it without taking any damage if he were to sh with it head-on.

    Zhou Sichen nced backwards and opened his mouth, astonished. He¡¯d clearly been standing in front of Cao Jinxuan, but he¡¯d still been knocked unconscious. Just how had their opponents done it? Naturally, he didn¡¯t know of the existence of something like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. As long as one was in his detection radius, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from him; not even if they flew into the air or hid underground.

    However, as a team leader, Zhou Sichen was able to remain extremely cool-headed. After being startled for a brief moment, he instantly knew that he couldn¡¯t keep guarding himself. Both the Earthen Bear and Devilme Tiger he¡¯d summoned roared simultaneously before they charged towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The boomerang that hadnded beside the two of them disappeared, then reappeared in Long Xiangyue¡¯s hand.

    This time around, Long Xiangyue became more vignt and concentrated as he prepared to throw the boomerang again. After covering himself with dense soul power, he threw it.

    Huo Yuhao only had a single soul ring, and wasn¡¯t willing to expose the fact that he possessed his Spiritual Interference soul skill. However, for him to disrupt a prepared soul master without the assistance of the Haodong Power would be an extremely difficult task. This time around, the boomerang hadpletely locked onto him.

    This was Zhou Sichen¡¯s original n. From the understanding they had towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, they were able to faintly guess towards the importance of this one-ringed soul master. Thus, he¡¯d wanted Long Xiangyue to go all-out and take care of Huo Yuhao before they did anything else. As long as the referee sensed that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to take his blow, he¡¯d directly remove Huo Yuhao from the match. After that, they could join forces to fight against Wang Dong, which would practically be a definite win for them.

    However, Huo Yuhaopletely ignored his boomerang. Under the strength-amplifying abilities of the Haodong Power, the purplish-golden light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes again, this time towards Zhou Sichen.

    After Cao Jinxuan¡¯s sudden fainting, how could Zhou Sichen not be careful? He¡¯d done the same thing as Long Xiangyue; he circted his soul power around his entire body, especially his brain. He did all of this just to protect himself from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type soul skill.

    Unfortunately, he was fighting against a skill powered by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯sbined efforts. How could his Spiritual Shock¡ªequivalent to an attack from a Soul Elder¡ªbe so easily defended against?

    The instant that purplish-golden light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, Zhou Sichen¡¯s head suddenly rocked backwards, as if he¡¯d suffered a heavy blow. Immediately afterwards, his body followed suit.

    From his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao was able to tell that he¡¯d guarded himself against spiritual-type attacks. Because of that, his Spiritual Shock this time was at full power.

    Zhou Sichen knew what his opponent was intending to do, yet he¡¯d still been unable to do anything about it. However, the defense of an assault system soul master was rtively strong, and although the attack was able to knock him down, he hadn¡¯t yet fainted. He had, however, lost control of the two soul skills his Treasure Bible had released, resulting in the two beasts suddenly stopping in the middle of their charge towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The instant he released his second Spiritual Shock, Huo Yuhao shouted, ¡°Teacher, save me!¡±

    The boomerang had already crossed half the distance between Long Xiangyue and Huo Yuhao, and it was just about to reach Huo Yuhao. However, Wang Dong didn¡¯t protect him; he unfurled his wings instead. An intense, golden light began to appear on his dazzling blue wings. This was his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess. At that exact moment, the Haodong Power that had originally been in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, rushed into Wang Dong¡¯s body, rapidly filling it up.

    When he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s cry of help, the proctor naturally couldn¡¯t simply ignore him. When a student cried out for help during the freshmen assessment, it signified that he¡¯d given up and would no longer attack.

    A ck figure shed, and the boomerang appeared in the hands of the proctor. Nobody saw the proctor release his soul power or a soul skill, yet the light from the boomerang had already vanished.

    At that exact moment, Wang Dong released his Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    Right. After crying out for help, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t even attempted to defend himself, so much so that he¡¯d even withdrawn his martial soul, causing the single white ring around his body to disappear. Nobody could im that he was breaking the rules, but in reality, he¡¯d transferred all of the Haodong Power they¡¯d created to Wang Dong.

    Immediately afterwards, the orange tinted golden light devastated the entire arena.

    The referee, who¡¯d just caught the boomerang, had no choice but to make a move yet again. He released an enormous umbre, which instantly expanded outwards. Only then was he able to block Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess, which was a bombarding attack thatsted for three seconds. He knew that both the copsed Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxue, along with Long Xiangyue¡ªwho¡¯d just released his boomerang¡ªwere simply unable to block Wang Dong¡¯s attack.

    Team Huo Yuhao had won yet again, allowing them to advance to the finals.

 Chapter 29.1: The Two Deans

    Chapter 29.1: The Two Deans

    As the match going on in the other arena magnificently continued, the semifinal match in Arena 1 had already ended. The time it had taken for Team Huo Yuhao¡¯s match to end was much shorter than anyone had expected.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had won again. Even though they werecking a team member, they¡¯d still been able to win the two matches afterwards, allowing them to progress directly from the top 8 to the top 2.

    Although this match had ended very quickly, they were stillcking a person, which had made it a very narrow victory. If it weren¡¯t for their Haodong Power ying an extremely crucial role in their matches, they wouldn¡¯t have even had a chance at winning. If this were a life and death match, it would be very hard to tell who would¡¯ve won.

    Huo Yuhao had used the rules to his advantage, which had allowed him to escape unscathed from the boomerang due to the proctor¡¯s protection. However, what if there there hadn¡¯t been a proctor? Wang Dong would¡¯ve had to block Long Xiangyue¡¯s attack for him. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to activate his Spiritual Shock on Zhou Sichen in a situation like that. Once his two summoned beasts joined the battle, it would¡¯ve be hard to predict the oue.

    Their change in tactics, in addition to the appearance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s four soul skills, had allowed them to barely eke out a victory. However, nearly all of their skills had been exposed. Huo Yuhao had already used his Spiritual Shock multiple times during the knock-out tournament, thus their future opponents would definitely be vignt towards it.

    The freshmen assessment was only designed to test the cultivation of a student¡¯s martial soul. However, modern soul masters were always equipped with soul tools duringbat, and there was nock of extremely defensive soul tools. At many times, the advantages a martial soul had would actually be disadvantages because of this.

    Despite this, a victory was still a victory. After defeating Zhou Sichen¡¯s team of three, Team Huo Yuhao had formally entered the top 2. They were guaranteed to at least obtain second ce, which also guaranteed them a prize.

    As soon as the match ended, they immediately left the Assessment Area and went back to their dorm room. It was highly probable that theirst opponent would be the team from ss 5 that Dai Huabin led. As to whether or not Xiao Xiao would recover in time for the match, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t clear. However, a spark had already been lit in his heart; he had to win this next match.

    Once they got back to their dorms, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, what happened to you before the match? Did you recognise that Dai Huabin?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction when saw Dai Huabin had been extremely strange. The normally-calm Huo Yuhao had almost lost control of himself; how could Wang Dong not be baffled?

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. After hearing the words ¡®Dai Huabin¡¯, his body shook uncontrobly. He lowered his head and madly ruffled his hair before sitting down heavily on his bed. Afterwards, he slowly spoke in a hoarse voice, ¡°Dai Huabin is the son of the White Tiger Duke. You should know who the White Tiger Duke is.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°Naturally. The White Tiger Duke is the hereditary and perpetual Grand Duke of the Star Luo Empire. He has an extremely venerated position. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s n was originally the royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, the Star Luo Empire was nearly destroyed during a massive war that urred a few thousand years ago. The empire was only saved due to the cooperation of a fewrge sects in the empire. When that happened, those sects guarded the entire country. At that time, the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke had withered to the point that they were extremely weak, and their subjects were unwilling to continue serving them. Thus, that generation¡¯s White Tiger Duke stepped down and gave the throne of the emperor to the general who¡¯d quelled the rebellion that had urred. That general¡¯s family is the current royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, royal blood still flows through the veins of the White Tiger Dukedom, so the new emperor bestowed him with the hereditary position of Grand Duke so that his family could enjoy riches and honor in perpetuity.¡±

    ¡°The blood flowing through the veins of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s n is still the blood of a former royal family, so the White Tiger martial soul that they pass on is an extremely strong Beast Soul. The head of our Shrek Academy¡¯s first generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was the Evil Eyed White Tiger Dai Mubai, who came from the White Tiger Dukedom. I didn¡¯t think that this Dai Huabin would actually be a descendant of the White Tiger Dukedom.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s voice paused. He looked Huo Yuhao straight in the eye. ¡°Then, then you and Dai Huabin¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My mother was a servant of their n, while I was born without a father. My mother worked in the White Tiger Dukedom in order to provide for me¡­.¡± He didn¡¯t say that he was actually one of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s sons, as he¡¯d never thought of him as his father. Furthermore, he hated the man who¡¯d ruined his mother¡¯s life. He¡¯d rather say that he didn¡¯t have a father, and wasn¡¯t willing to admit the truth of his real identity. As he told the story of his life to Wang Dong, about how his mother had been beaten up for the sake of protecting him, and how she¡¯d finally died of her illnesses, Huo Yuhao was reduced to tears.

    ¡°That bastard.¡± Wang Dong suddenly smacked the wooden bed and stood up with a ¡®whoosh¡¯.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed ahold of him.

    Wang Dong angrily said, ¡°I¡¯m naturally going to help you seek revenge! Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go right now!¡± He¡¯d originally thought that Huo Yuhao was just an ordinary kid who¡¯d been born poor. Only now had he be aware of what Huo Yuhao had gone through. It was no wonder that he¡¯d already be as silent as he was by the mere age of twelve. Furthermore, he was much calmer than his peers, and he cultivated like his life depended on it.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and pushed Wang Dong back onto the bed. A light shed through his eyes. ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s not time to confront him yet. This is Shrek Academy. Let¡¯s not even mention whether or not we have the strength to do anything to him within the confines of the Academy; the Academy definitely won¡¯t tolerate our malicious actions. He¡¯s only one of the main culprits behind my mother¡¯s death. I want revenge from all of them, not just from him alone. As such, the target of my revenge is the entire White Tiger Dukedom. Therefore, I want to be stronger¡ªstrong enough to take on the entire White Tiger Dukedom and obtain the revenge I seek.¡±

    Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao, astonished. He didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao¡¯s unwillingness to seek revenge was a cowardly act at all anymore. On the contrary, he sensed an extremely chilly aura from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The heaven-turning hatred that had instantly burst forth from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was so great that even the three rivers and fivekes weren¡¯t able to wash it away; the hatred in his eyes was simply that deep. The current him was like a lion that was about to devour its prey; he waspletely different from the normally-warm and diligent Huo Yuhao.

    An eleven-year-old child had actually been able to conceal his hatred this much, while remembering everything. From this, it could be seen what he¡¯d experienced during his eleven years of life. This definitely wasn¡¯t something that could¡¯ve umted in a single day!

    The anger in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes gradually dissipated. After wiping some of the tears from his eyes, he asked in a quiet voice, ¡°Then, how do you intend to seek your revenge?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°The current me is just a mere ant that the White Tiger Dukedom can stomp on at any time. What I need to do right now is be stronger, much stronger. The White Tiger Dukedom will continue on, but after ten, twenty, thirty, or even fifty years from now, there wille a day when I¡¯ll find them. When that happens, I¡¯ll sever the bloodline of the White Tiger Dukedom.¡±

    In that instant, a savage light appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. His pupils had even turned blood-red due to the deep hatred that had been carved into his heart. In that instant, the grey pearl in his spiritual sea shook lightly, causing Huo Yuhao to feel dizzy for a brief moment. His body swayed for a moment, but he was barely able to stand firmly on the ground with Wang Dong¡¯s support.

    Wang Dong assumed that he¡¯d been stirred up due to his emotions. However, he¡¯d never thought that there was such a deep hatred hidden within Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 29.2: The Two Deans

    Chapter 29.2: The Two Deans

    Huo Yuhao held Wang Dong¡¯s shoulders with his hands and fiercely stared at him. The red in his eyes seemed to have deepened as he said, ¡°Wang Dong, I think of you as a brother. Please help me keep my secret.¡±

    Wang Dong clearly had a higher cultivation than Huo Yuhao, but he suddenly felt fear in that instant. Right after that feeling of fear appeared, he felt even more sympathy and pity for Huo Yuhao. They were both only eleven, yet how had he lived during his eleven years of life? On the other hand, how had Huo Yuhao lived!?

    Huo Yuhao slowly closed his eyes and forcefully took a deep breath, calming his raging emotions. He¡¯d hidden this hatred for far, far too long already. After entering Shrek Academy and passing the freshmen assessment, he¡¯d finally felt hope, hope that he could seek revenge for his mother. However, when he saw Dai Huabin today, the mes of hatred in his heart had finally erupted. And yet, he couldn¡¯t explode now, nor did he dare to. He had to continue to endure, until that strand of hope sprouted into his future.

    ¡°Ai¡ª¡± A deep sigh suddenly rang out, causing Huo Yuhao to instinctively shiver. His rxed mind instantly became vignt as he released his Spirit Eyes, sweeping the area around him with his Spiritual Detection. He let out a low shout, ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡±

    The dorm was extremely quiet, and nothing abnormal appeared when Huo Yuhao scanned it with his Spiritual Detection. Wang Dong was astonished as he looked at Huo Yuhao; he didn¡¯t know why he¡¯d suddenly be so nervous.

    Puzzled, Wang Dong asked, ¡°Yuhao, what happened to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear it?¡±

    ¡°Hear what?¡± Wang Dong had a surprised look on his face.

    Huo Yuhao was startled by Wang Dong¡¯s reply. ¡°Someone just sighed. I heard it clearly, why didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head, a nk expression on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything. Were you hallucinating?¡±

    Huo Yuhao expanded the range of his Spiritual Detection to its maximum, but nothing strange appeared. After that sigh, no other strange sounds had rung out in the dorm room.

    Could I really have hallucinated?Doubt appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. However, he quickly removed that thought from his mind. He was a spiritual-type soul master, which meant that his senses were much sharper than those of an ordinary person. Besides his vision¡ªwhich was his strongest sense¡ªhis other six senses were rtively strong as well. Even if his emotions were raging, he wouldn¡¯t have hallucinated. Furthermore, that sigh had been extremely clear; it had sounded like it was right next to his ear.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao called out inwardly.

    ¡°Whaddaya want?¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯szy voice rang out. An overwhelming majority of its time was spent sleeping. The only reason it had remained awake during the past few days was due to its interest in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul fusion.

    ¡°I just heard a sigh¡ªdid you hear it as well?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°A sigh? You brat, did your emotions get to your head!? What sigh? If it¡¯s not something important, don¡¯t interrupt my sleep. Also, you should calm down a bit. If you can¡¯t even control your emotions with the little strength you have now, you won¡¯t be able to tell how you died in the future. It doesn¡¯t matter if you die, but what if this Brother is involved?¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was truly shocked. Unexpectedly, even the Skydream Iceworm hadn¡¯t heard that sigh. Was it truly non-existent?

    No, he couldn¡¯t believe it. He waspletely confident in his judgement. However, where did that sighe from? With the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s power, how could someone have evaded its senses? That¡¯s impossible; the Skydream Iceworm is a million year soul beast! Even if itsbat strength iscking, it¡¯s still practically an unparalleled existence in terms of spiritual power.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was thinking about this to himself, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out again, ¡°Right, Huo Yuhao, I have to remind you of something. You need to use your Spiritual Shock as little as possible. If it¡¯s exposed, your opponents will be prepared for it next time. Although it¡¯s been strengthened by your what-cha-ma-call-it ¡®Purple Demon Eyes¡¯, it¡¯s highly probable that you¡¯ll receive a bacsh if someone with a higher cultivation than you is guarding themselves against it. That¡¯s very dangerous for you.¡±

    Astonished, Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, ¡°Brother Skydream, under normal circumstances, how much stronger would someone have to be to make me suffer a bacsh from my Spiritual Shock?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°If they¡¯re careful, and they know how to properly use their soul power, someone that¡¯s just a single rank higher than you can make you suffer a bacsh. Otherwise, why would I have been left in such a wretched state within the Great Star Dou Forest? If the Spiritual Shock was unparalleled, why was I left in such a miserable state for so many years? The main reason why your Spiritual Shock performed so stunningly during your previous matches was because you had the element of surprise. In addition to that, it¡¯s also been strengthened by your Purple Demon Eyes. Lastly, it¡¯s because of your soul power fusion with Wang Dong. All of these factors caught your opponents unprepared. However, you¡¯ll have to be careful if everyone starts prepared against your Spiritual Shock. On the contrary, you can simply use your Spiritual Interference. Although it¡¯s much weaker than the Spiritual Shock, one of its benefits is that you won¡¯t receive a bacsh from it. Remember, you won¡¯t be able to always defeat a three-ringed opponent just by releasing a Spiritual Shock¡ªeven with Wang Dong helping you. In the future, you should use it sparingly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to use it a lot. Rather, Brother Skydream, of the four soul skills you gave me, I don¡¯t have any other ways to attack besides the Spiritual Shock!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ that¡¯s another problem. However, just be patient for a while. How old are you? Why¡¯re you so impatient! Quickly get to Rank 20; I have my own ways of letting you have enoughbat strength. At the very least, you won¡¯t be at a disadvantage against anyone of the same rank as you. Anyway, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words were a timely reminder to Huo Yuhao, while simultaneously decreasing his urge to pursue the source of that sigh. The Skydream Iceworm had already mentioned ¡®Rank 20¡¯ many times, and Huo Yuhao had just been reminded of this fact again. Clearly, Rank 20 would be an important rank for him. If he could break into Rank 20, his strength would probably experience a flying leap, allowing him to possess at least a certain amount of fighting power. At that point, he wouldn¡¯t need to keep relying on hispanions.

    After thinking this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions gradually calmed down, afterwhich he began cultivating with Wang Dong while recovering his soul power.

    The afternoon fight would definitely be a hard one, not only because it was the fight that would determine the champion of the freshmen assessment, but also because it was an ordeal to his heart! However, he couldn¡¯t run away from this fight; either way, he¡¯d have to face Dai Huabin one day. Since that was the case, he¡¯d use this fight as a form of training for his heart.

    The dorm room had turned quiet. Due to their martial soul fusion, Wang Dong could sense the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions. After discovering that he¡¯d actually been able to calm down this quickly, not only was Wang Dong astonished, he even somewhat admired Huo Yuhao. From looks alone, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just a single rank below Wang Dong. However, in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes, the eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao already had the resoluteness of a man.

    The two cultivated all the way until it was time for lunch, which allowed them to fully replenish their soul power. When they reached the canteen, they were met with a big surprise.

    ¡°Hey you two fes, I heard that you managed to enter the finals. Good, because this youngdy has returned. How could you go to the finals without me?¡± Xiao Xiao happily leaned against the door to the canteen as she stared at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were about to enter.

 Chapter 29.3: The Two Deans

    Chapter 29.3: The Two Deans

    The two of them were immediately overjoyed. They quickly walked over to her, and Huo Yuhao hastily asked, ¡°Xiao Xiao, have you recovered?¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled. ¡°Naturally! I have twin martial souls, so I¡¯m obviously very talented. How long did you guys think I¡¯d have to rest after a little scene like that? As a matter of fact, there¡¯s nothing wrong with me anymore. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll treat the two of you to lunch. Let¡¯s eat something nice for lunch today so that we can make sure we¡¯re well fed when we beat those fes in the afternoon till they can¡¯t even take care of themselves. Hehe.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, then moved his right hand forward. Once again, Wang Dong immediately ced his hand on top of Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand as fast as he could, while Xiao Xiao¡¯s ended up at the very top. The three of them looked at each other, and confident smiles appeared on their faces.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be the champions.¡±

    Lunchtime had just started, so not many students had arrived. The instant they said that they¡¯d be champions, the slightly sharp voice of a girl rang out, ¡°How shameless. You¡¯re not even scared of bragging. The champions will definitely be our ss 5.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of three simultaneously turned around to see three freshman students walking towards them. The person in the middle was Huo Yuhao¡¯s personal enemy, Dai Huabin. The person who¡¯d spoken, on the other hand, was a ck-haired girl who was standing to his left.

    This girl had very special eyes; the color of her left and right eye were unexpectedly different. Her left eye was pale blue, while her right eye was pale yellow. As she focused her gaze on the trio, her pupils unexpectedly turned into vertical slits, making her look extremely peculiar.

    Dai Huabin had a stern look on his face, but he remained silent. After sweeping his gaze over the trio, he walked proudly into the canteen. On the other hand, the ck-haired girl snorted disdainfully towards them. However, the other girl in their group¡ªwho had long pink hair¡ªsmiled sweetly at them. Her smile was extremely charming; so much so that it seemed to seep into one¡¯s bones. Clearly, these two girls were Dai Huabin¡¯s teammates.

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were about to explode, but they were stopped by Huo Yuhao. Dai Huabin clearly hadn¡¯t recognised him, and after Huo Yuhao¡¯s internal struggle earlier, he¡¯d been able to remain calm on the surface when he¡¯d met him again.

    ¡°A war of words has no meaning. Let¡¯s settle it in the Assessment Arena after lunch.¡± After speaking indifferently, Huo Yuhao walked into the canteen with hispanions in tow.

    If this were a normal day, Huo Yuhao would never eat the Academy¡¯s most expensive, top-ranked dishes¡ªeven if someone were to treat him to them; they were simply that expensive. However, today was a different story. Xiao Xiao had overdrawn herself yesterday, and her body needed nourishment. In the end, Xiao Xiao wasn¡¯t able to treat them to the meal, as Wang Dong took the initiative to pay the bill. It wasn¡¯t that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to pay it, but he gave up after seeing the numbers on the bill. The money he¡¯d umted after selling roasted fish for a few months he¡¯d been in the academy still weren¡¯t even enough to pay for his school fees next term. Furthermore, the school fees required for second year students was supposedly even more expensive.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s group of three naturally ate the best food in the canteen as well. The two parties weren¡¯t far away from each other, and the faint smell of gunpowder had already started to permeate through the air. Only, none of them dared to start a fight. After all, their match in the afternoon was more important.

    After eating lunch, Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio found a quiet ce by the Sea God¡¯s Lake to study some battle tactics for their match in the afternoon. They were about to face an extremely strong opponent, and it was impossible for them to not be nervous. Even though they were only freshmen, and though their strength couldn¡¯t be considered anything within Shrek Academy, this championship match was of the utmost importance to them; any minor detail could decide the final victor of the match.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time, let¡¯s head to the Assessment Arena.¡± Xiao Xiao said.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    At that moment, Wang Dong suddenly said, ¡°Yuhao, hug me for a second.¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes immediately widened. However, she quickly returned to normal when she saw a chilly killing intent appear in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had a somewhat tacit understanding between themselves. His body shook, and he immediately understood what Wang Dong meant.

    ¡°Wang Dong¡­¡±

    Wang Dong smiled indifferently, and a cold light flickered through his eyes. However, his voice was extremely gentle, ¡°If we don¡¯t try, how will we know?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and stopped speaking. Afterwards, he spread his arms and hugged Wang Dong.

    ¡ª-

    The Assessment Arena seemed eerily quiet. Even though they¡¯d already reached the finals of the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament, there were no spectating students.

    Shrek Academy did its best to keep an element of privacy regarding a student¡¯s abilities. Thus, students definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to spectate other¡¯s assessments.

    Any students who weren¡¯t participating in the assessment had to continue their sses. Thus, today was the day where there was the fewest number of students in the Assessment Arena.

    However, ack of students didn¡¯t mean that there was a small amount of people present. Almost all of the teachers who didn¡¯t have any sses were gathered at the Assessment Arena to watch the finals. Even the Dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe, had personallye to watch this match match. Apanied by Du Weilun and the other teachers, he walked up to the tall stage.

    Even though this was only a freshmen assessment that was held three months after school had started, nearly all of the students from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard had revealed their talents during this freshmen assessment. As a result of this, they were regarded highly by the college and nurtured. The reason that Dean Yan Shaozhe hade was due to the extraordinary strength of this year¡¯s batch of new students. Normally, even students of Shrek Academy would need around three years or so to reach the three-ringed rank. At the same time, a cultivation of three rings was required for third year students to be promoted to fourth year students.

    However, there had actually been three new students who were already at the three-ringed rank. With this level of strength, they were practically guaranteed to enter the inner courtyard in the future. Even Yan Shaozhe himself wished to see which of the two teams would be the champions of this year¡¯s batch of freshmen.

    However, the team he was paying the most attention to was Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, due to Du Weilun¡¯s report. By relying on the strength of two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Master, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had actually managed to beat both Ning Tian and Xie Huanyue¡¯s teams, who were both Soul Elders. Furthermore, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s performances could definitely be described with the word ¡®breathtaking¡¯.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess was an unrivalled martial soul that was second to none, even in Shrek Academy. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao¡¯s potential as a twin-souled soul master was evenrger. Soul masters who possessed twin martial souls had been rarities during the early days of the Douluo Continent, and that still held true to this day. Even as the number one academy in the world, Shrek Academy currently only had three students, including Xiao Xiao, with twin martial souls. However, the other two students were already disciples of the inner courtyard, and they were all ranked among the top 10 overall students of the Academy.

    As for Huo Yuhao, Du Weilun had also exined his situation to Dean Yan Shaozhe. Huo Yuhao had a rare Body Soul, which was a spiritual-type martial soul as well. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t had a good upbringing, which had resulted in him only being at Rank 17. Furthermore, he only had a ten year soul ring. Although he had a rtively decent amount of talent, the ws in the starting steps of his cultivation couldn¡¯t be fixed. At the same time, there was also the question as to whether or not he¡¯d be able to obtain a sufficiently strong soul ring as the holder of a spiritual-type martial soul. Due to the culmination of these factors, Du Weilun had put quotation marks around Huo Yuhao¡¯s name, and had also expressed his unwillingness for Huo Yuhao to be a core disciple of the Academy.

    Yan Shaozhe was still reassured by the way Du Weilun was handling things. As the Director of Studies, Du Weilun had a very insightful gaze, while both being fair and impartial at the same time. He¡¯d made extremely important contributions to Shrek Academy as a whole by nurturing arge quantity of outstanding students.

    However, Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯t the only Dean of Shrek Academy. He was the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, but Shrek Academy also had a Dean of the Soul Tool Department. Together, these two Deans managed everything in the Academy.

 Chapter 29.4: The Two Deans

    Chapter 29.4: The Two Deans

    Naturally, Yan Shaozhe¡ªwho overlooked the Martial Soul Department¡ªhad a slightlyrger amount authority amongst the two Deans. However, the Soul Tool Department was an independent body which had a certain amount ofpetitiveness with the Martial Soul Department. Due to this, he didn¡¯t really have that much jurisdiction over the Soul Tool Department.

    Other than the two Deans, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department each had their own Vice-Deans who were in charge of taking care of the outer courtyard. After all, Yan Shaozhe and his counterpart in the Soul Tool Department focused more of their energy on the inner courtyard, as the inner courtyard was the true nucleus of Shrek Academy. Due to this, they wouldn¡¯t normally bother with matters in the outer courtyard.

    The Dean of the Martial Soul Department¡¯s outer courtyard was also the Vice-Dean of the Academy. He was a schr who spent most of his time on the studies of the fifth and sixth year students. He picked excellent students from the outer courtyard to be disciples of the inner courtyard, while sending these disciples through many types of strict assessments. However, he didn¡¯t manage many matters other than that. Other than the Dean from the outer courtyard, the person who had the greatest authority in the Martial Soul Department was Du Weilun.

    As the Director of Studies for the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun had an extremelyrge amount of authority. However, there were nopetitors for his position. During his twenty years of teaching, he¡¯d conscientiously given an outstandinglyrge number of contributions to the Martial Soul Department. As a result of this, Yan Shaozhe was extremely reassured when he took charge of things, andpletely trusted his judgement when it came to the students.

    ¡°Weilun, who do you favour in today¡¯s match?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked with a smile.

    Du Weilun chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m slightly more confident in Dai Huabin¡¯s team. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s team managed to defeat two other teams that were led by Soul Elder-ranked freshmen, the overall strength of Dai Huabin¡¯s team is definitely somewhat stronger than that of Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. This is especially so for his two teammates; they¡¯re both quite strong. All three of them have a decent chance at entering the inner courtyard in the future.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and nodded. At that exact moment, a vigorous voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Since Director Du thinks that Dai Huabin will win, I¡¯ll say that the other party will win.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t even turn around, but the trace of a smile had already appeared on his face, ¡°Qian Duoduo, why¡¯d a fe like youe running over here? As soon as I smelled the scent of copper from your body, I knew it was you.¡±

    The neer was a sturdy fifty-or-so year-old man. He didn¡¯t have any wrinkles on his face, but he had a head full of white hair that resembled steel needles, making him look someone who¡¯d experienced a lot in life. His tall, stalwart body looked as if it had been carved from granite itself, and he was at least 2.2 meters tall. His wide shoulders and rugged muscles didn¡¯t seem to have gone limp due to his age, while his bronze skin glowed with a metallic luster due to the rays of the sun, and a strong smell of metal wafted off his body. However, the person next to him was the person that Zhou Yi had taken Huo Yuhao to see in the past; Fan Yu.

    Yan Shaoze didn¡¯t even look back, but Du Weilun had already turned around, a trace of astonishment shing through his eyes. He hurriedly bowed in respect. ¡°Vice-Dean Qian, how do you do? What brings you here?¡±

    The good-natured Qian Duoduo who always had a smile on his face was the Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department, who took care of the daily activities within it. He had a lofty position in the Soul Tool Department, and he only had one person above him. His position in Shrek Academy was slightly higher than even Du Weilun¡¯s.

    In Shrek Academy, promotions couldn¡¯t be randomly given out. There were two main ways to obtain a promotion: The first method was based on a teacher¡¯s ability to teach, as well as the contributions he¡¯d made to the Academy, while the other method was by relying on one¡¯s own strength. Throughout the enormous Shrek Academy, there were only a total of four Vice-Deans, and they could be considered the true backbones of Shrek Academy. However, a person who¡¯d obtained such a high position clearly hadn¡¯t done it by doing something as simple as contributing to the Academy. Their individual strengths were all at the peak.

    Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo chuckled. ¡°I was just passing by, when I heard you and Old Yan guessing who would win. I personally like betting, so Old Yan, would you like to bet with me?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe finally turned around,ughing as he did so. ¡°A fellow who smells of copper like you would nevere here without a reason. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯vee here with such a simple purpose in mind. If you¡¯re coveting the people from our Martial Soul Department, you¡¯d better take a look before doing anything.¡±

    Qian Duoduo casually walked over to Yan Shaozhe and sat down. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®the people from our Martial Soul Department¡¯? They¡¯re only freshmen. They haven¡¯t chosen their Departments yet. You can say that again when they¡¯ve made their final choices in their third year. Your Martial Soul Department just provides a foundational level of education to these freshmen. Soe on, do you wanna bet or not?¡±

    Du Weilun had already moved to one side, greeting Fan Yu as he did so. Fan Yu smiled in return, and the two found a ce to sit behind the two Vice-Deans.

    Fan Yu had an extremely high position within the Soul Tool Department. Although his current position was lower than Du Weilun¡¯s, Du Weilun clearly understood that Fan Yu was definitely going to be the future Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department, and that he could even be the sessor to the Dean. Contrarily a Director like him was highly likely to have reached the end of his career.

    Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯t fooled by Qian Duoduo¡¯s provocation. He smiled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not going to bet with you. Old Qian, you¡¯re even trying to make a quick buck from me. When I get back, just watch me tell on you to Lin¡¯er.¡±

    Qian Duoduo¡¯s facial muscles twitched as he indignantly said, ¡°Give me a break, you were an expert at acting shamelessly even when you were young. I¡¯m more moral than you. You use Lin¡¯er as a shield every time, do you have any face at all?¡±

    As Du Weilun listened on, his heart twitched. These two major figures¡ªwho could change the entire bnce of the Douluo Continent¡ªare actually arguing over here. If the students were to hear them¡­

    Yan Shaozhe chuckled as he looked at Qian Duoduo¡¯s indignant expression. ¡°Fine, what do you want to bet?¡±

    Only then did a smile reappear on Qian Duoduo¡¯s face. ¡°If my team wins, you¡¯ll have to let me pick a freshman from your Martial Soul Department to enter the Soul Tool Department within three years, and you can¡¯t stop me from using any tricks.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe snorted coldly and curled his lips. ¡°I knew that you were up to no good. I¡¯m not betting.¡±

    Qian Duoduo replied with an easy-going voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient, let me finish talking first. Firstly, I won¡¯t choose any of the students you¡¯ve selected to be core disciples. Next, I won¡¯t choose any students who are able to cultivate above Rank 30 before finishing their second year. Is that fine with you?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was stunned. ¡°Old Qian, do you even need to make a bet with me? Don¡¯t you take these kinds of students every year?¡±

    Qian Duoduo had a gloomy expression on his face as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t bring it up. These new fes keep aiming so high that they don¡¯t even understand our Soul Tool Department. They¡¯ve basically entirely ignored us. We¡¯ve had nock of students over these past few years, but students who¡¯re truly suitable for our Soul Tool Department are rarities among rarities. You know about that n of ours, and if we want to nurture a talent like that ording to our n, we can¡¯t do it using ordinary Soul Engineers. It¡¯s true that Soul Engineers are extremely important, but the people who can properly use them are just as important as the people who make them! Therefore, I want to choose a few students who have better martial souls. However, the fes from your side are all following you like a chicken following a hen. You¡¯ve hidden them so well that I haven¡¯t even had a chance to pick any students. If I don¡¯t get any suitable students, our n is basically screwed. Don¡¯t forget, you also agreed to that n during the Dean¡¯s Meeting. If you won¡¯t support our work, then I¡¯ll just bring Lin¡¯er to the Martial Soul Department¡¯s inner courtyard next time. Let¡¯s see if you dare to stop her.¡±

    When he saw Qian Duoduo¡¯s sincere look, Yan Shaozhe pondered to himself for a while. Afterwards, he said, ¡°You won¡¯t choose any of my core disciples? And you won¡¯t choose any of our students who¡¯re able to reach Rank 30 by their second year?¡±

    Qian Duoduo immediately assumed the appearance of a righteous person, ¡°When have I, Qian Duoduo, not kept my word?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take that bet. In addition to that, I¡¯ll still let you choose a student even if you lose, so you can¡¯t say that I¡¯m not supporting your work. However, if you do lose, you¡¯ll have to give me a hundred Stationary Soul Cannon Shells for me to y with if you lose. Also, they have to be high-explosive ones. Those toys are really fun to y with.¡±

    Qian Duoduo¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°Old Yan, you¡¯re being too ck-hearted. Do you know how much it costs to make a hundred shells? I need a hundred gold soul coins to make just one of those ¡®toys¡¯.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t dare, let¡¯s call the deal off. I wasn¡¯t willing to make a bet with you in the first ce.¡±

    Qian Duoduo had a pained look on his face as he replied, ¡°Fifty of them.¡±

    As if he was scared that Qian Duoduo would regret his decision, Yan Shaozhe immediately said, ¡°Deal.¡± How could he casually use a high-explosive shell specially made for a Stationary Soul Cannon just to satisfy himself? Even having the chance to y with one was already quite decent. Although he was the Dean of Shrek Academy, he couldn¡¯t damage his own house!

    Qian Duoduo stared nkly at Yan Shaozhe. Afterwards, he looked at Yan Shaozhe with a startled look on his face. ¡°You old thing, I¡¯ve been tricked by you again!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe immediately burst intoughter. However, he didn¡¯t notice the crafty look that had shed through Qian Duoduo¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 30.1: The Finals

    Chapter 30.1: The Finals

    Yan Shaozheughed, while Qian Duoduo had a look of righteous indignation on his face. In reality, however, Qian Duoduo had also burst intoughter inwardly. ncing at Yan Shaozhe, he inwardly thought, Old Yan, Old Yan. No matter how sly you are, you¡¯ll have to drink the water this daddy uses to wash his feet with. Hehe, I hope that you don¡¯t regret this in the future. Of course, it¡¯ll be toote to regret it then. Wahahaha!

    Naturally, the two teams that were participating in the finals of the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament weren¡¯t aware that their match had gotten to the point that even the two Deans were betting against each other.

    Both sides had arrived in the arena early. One side was making their preparations, while the other observed their opponents.

    Even though Dai Huabin didn¡¯t recognise Huo Yuhao, he was naturally able to sense the threat that Huo Yuhao¡¯s team posed to him. If he based their chances on cultivation rank alone, their team should win. However, there were several things that ¡®should¡¯ have happened yet hadn¡¯t. As such, nothing was set in stone. Was Ning Tian¡¯s team weak? Both Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, and Wu Feng, who possessed the Fire Dragon, were outstanding first-rate students from this year¡¯s batch of new students, and the overall strength of Ning Tian¡¯s team hadn¡¯t been far off from their team¡¯s strength. Had Xie Huanyue¡¯s team been weak? Xie Huanyue had an extraordinarily strong defense, but their match had still ended with the proctor being forced to interfere and protect him. If the proctor hadn¡¯t, he might not have been able to leave in one piece.

    There was the powerful Wang Dong, the twin-souled Xiao Xiao, and finally Huo Yuhao, who was somewhat mysterious despite only being a Soul Master. The three of them made Dai Huabin feel threatened. Because of this, they¡¯d made sufficient preparations before the match started; they¡¯d even found the teams that had previously fought against Huo Yuhao¡¯s team and asked them about their fights in order to carefully understand Huo Yuhao and his teammate¡¯s abilities.

    Compared to Dai Huabin¡¯s cautious and concentrated state of mind, Huo Yuhao was currently feeling a few different emotions. He¡¯d done everything he could to hide his hatred deep within his heart, but his heartbeat still sped up violently when they entered the arena to begin the final match of the knock-out tournament. He truly wanted to simply get his revenge now! However, he knew that that wasn¡¯t a realistic option. With so many teachers present, as well as the referee who¡¯d be monitoring and controlling the match, it would practically be impossible for him to kill Dai Huabin with his current strength.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Wang Dong whispered.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Huo Yuhao turned to Wang Dong and saw the cold look in his eyes. ¡°Rx, don¡¯t expose any ws.¡± He urged Huo Yuhao, his voice so low that even Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t hear him.

    At that moment, the referee entered the vast Assessment Arena. All of the partitions had been removed during the afternoon, exposing the enormous Assessment Arena.

    The referee waved towards both sides, motioning for them to enter the arena.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio proudly entered the arena. As per usual, Huo Yuhao stood in the middle, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood on either side of him. On the other side of the arena, Dai Huabin also stood in the middle as he walked into the arena, while the two girls on his team stood beside him.

    The referee called the two parties to him and said in a deep voice, ¡°The finals are about to begin, thus there will be a change in the rules. Listen well. As of now, you can move as you wish in the arena, but students with flying-type martial souls are no longer allowed to fly more than ten meters into the air. For the sake of allowing you to disy the entirety of your strength, you can go all-out with your attacks; don¡¯t hold anything back anything during the match. I¡¯ll take care of the situation if any problems arise. However, any participants I have to rescue will be disqualified from the match. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Both parties simultaneously replied. A peculiar light shed through both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s eyes. At the same time, a trace of chilliness appeared in Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes as an incorporeal killing intent seemed to erupt from his body.

    Although Dai Huabin wasn¡¯t the eldest son, he was still one of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s sons. He¡¯d received the best education a child could since he was young. He hadn¡¯t just learned how to cultivate his martial soul; he¡¯d also learned about how to participate in a war, as well as ways to kill others. The White Tiger Duke was amander of one of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s three armies. As such, his sons would definitely obtain military experience in the future.

    As a result of this, Dai Huabin had a much colder temperament than his peers; he already had the basic mannerisms of a soldier. Of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s many sons, he had the best amount of talent, which in turn made the White Tiger Duke value him highly. On the other hand, any of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s sons could inherit the position of Grand Duke. This had formed Dai Huabin¡¯s firm and ruthless personality. When he was only five years old, he¡¯d personally killed his first young soul beast.

    ¡°Both sides, introduce yourselves.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xiao.¡±

    On the other side, Dai Huabin¡¯s team of three exuded an obvious sense of hostility.

    ¡°Dai Huabin.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Lu.¡± The ck-haired girl said.

    ¡°Cui Yajie.¡± The pink-haired girl said.

    The referee spread his arms wide and said, ¡°Both teams, return to your sides of the arena. When I give the signal, you may begin attacking.¡±

    Both parties slowly moved backwards, but Huo Yuhao continued to keep his eyes trained on Dai Huabin. A savage light flickered through Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes as they revealed a faint killing intent. However, he was astonished by the fact that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t yield at all. Strength-wise, there was a world of difference between the two of them. However, the aura that Huo Yuhao was letting out at this instant didn¡¯t lose to Dai Huabin¡¯s at all.

    At that moment, the onlooking teachers werepletely silent. Even Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo had be fully concentrated on the arena below them.

    As Fan Yu looked towards the retreating form of Huo Yuhao, he inwardly thought to himself, Brat, I hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me. This match isn¡¯t just rted to your freshmen assessment; it¡¯s also the most important assessment that the Soul Tool Department has for you.

    Both parties quickly reached their respective sides of the arena. The Assessment Arena was extremelyrge, thus, due to the distance between them, both parties had already be miniscule dots in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The referee raised his right hand, then brought it down swiftly. Immediately afterwards, a clear ¡®Begin!¡¯ rang out in the ears of the participants.

    The instant after the announcement was made, both parties moved identically; they both charged towards each other.

    At that moment, they were separated by too great a distance; even Huo Yuhao was unable to scout their opponents with his Spiritual Detection.

    Wang Dong let out a shout as he ran, causing the wings of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess to unfurl. He flew directly into the air, but didn¡¯t overtake Huo Yuhao. Instead, he flew right above him.

    They understood that there was little chance of them winning if they were topete in pure strength; Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger was even better than Wu Feng¡¯s Red Dragon in terms of quality, albeit only slightly. Furthermore, Wu Feng had only had two soul rings. Even though Ning Tian was a three-ringed Soul Elder, her strength-boosting boost had beenpletely halted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. However, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn¡¯t allow himself to lose to the same trick; he¡¯d definitely guard himself against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. With his cultivation rank as a Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team were fated to be dragged into a bitter fight in which their only chance of winning wouldy with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Haodong Power.

    Xiao Xiao ran in front of Huo Yuhao, using her body to shield his. Simultaneously, she took out her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    On the other hand, Dai Huabin¡¯s trio kept their previous formation as they wildly dashed forward. Dai Huabin was in the very front, and he shouted loudly as he ran, ¡°White Tiger, Possession!¡±

 Chapter 30.2: The Finals

    Chapter 30.2: The Finals

    An intense, white light suddenly exploded from his body, causing his arms to simultaneously expand as he charged forward. His chest stuck out, and bone-cracking sounds rang out from every corner of his body. His muscles suddenly swelled up, causing his clothes to be stretched taut. All of his muscles were now extremely prominent, and even the air surrounding him seemed to have turned wild.

    His golden hair instantly turned ck and white, with the white hair taking up a majority. However, the few strands of ck hair on his head were especially obvious. Four faint lines appeared on his head, forming the ¡®King¡¯ character. (Íõ)

    Of the transformations that urred to his body, his hands had been transformed the most. They doubled in size, and white fur covered the backs of his hands. Short, dagger-like ws began to unceasingly extend and retract from his ten fingers as he moved them, and each w¡ªeight inches in length¡ªwas just like the edge of a knife, and flickered with a cold, ghostly light.

    Dai Huabin slowly crouched forward, and his four pupils became a deep, ghostly blue, making it seem as if he were a machine specifically designed for ughter.

    Three halos of light began to slowly rise above his feet; two of them were yellow, while the other was purple. As his soul rings revolved, his surging soul power formed a wave of pressure that exploded outwards.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips as he saw the White Tiger martial soul. If his martial soul hadn¡¯t undergone a variation, he would¡¯ve possessed a martial soul that was just like Dai Huabin¡¯s! If he also possessed the strong White Tiger martial soul, even the wife of the White Tiger Duke wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress him if she wanted to. Any child of the main bloodline who possessed the White Tiger would be an extremely important person who would be groomed by the n. Furthermore, he was even the son of the White Tiger Duke, albeit a bastard child.

    Various transformations had also urred to the two girls beside Dai Huabin. The heterochromatic eyes of the ck-haired girl on his left¡ªZhu Lu¡ªbecame even deeper in colour, and her ears pricked up. Furthermore, her charming figure became even more slender and powerful. Sharp ws appeared on all ten of her fingers, and even though they weren¡¯t as sturdy as Dai Huabin¡¯s, they gave off an illusory sense of swiftness. Although her current speed hadn¡¯t exceeded Dai Huabin¡¯s, her body unexpectedly gave rise to a series of consecutive afterimages as it flickered.

    The pink-haired girl, on the other hand, was even stranger. After releasing her martial soul, she seemed to have aged by three or four years, causing her originally twelve-year-old self to turn into a youngdy that was filled with youthfulness. Her pink hair grew even longer, and even formedrge curls at the bottom, making it look like a pink waterfall that rose into the air. Her eyes became clear and gem-like, causing her whole body to be filled with the vigor of youth. Her ears had be pointed as well, even more so than Zhu Lu¡¯s. Furthermore, one couldn¡¯t help but stare nkly at her perfect features. Most importantly, two long tails had appeared from her back. Each tail was around one meter long, and their thick, pink fur was illuminated by the rays of the afternoon sun, making it so that one couldn¡¯t help but want to rub them.

    Cui Yajie¡¯s pink eyes immediately found Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and she smiled charmingly at him. Her first soul ring quietly lit up, but the lighting from it wasn¡¯t very obvious. If one wasn¡¯t paying careful attention to it, it would be overlooked.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale gold eyes shed, but he remained unmoving.

    Cui Yajie¡¯s body shook, and her peerless face turned slightly pale. Her martial soul¡ªthe Nails Fox¡ªwas a rtively high-levelled existence among Beast Souls, and it had a few unique characteristics. It would grow a single tail for every extra soul ring she obtained, and her strength would increase ordingly. Her first soul skill was called ¡®Charm¡¯, and she¡¯d used it on Huo Yuhao, albeit to no effect.

    The Nails Fox was part spiritual-type and part assault-type, and she¡¯d chosen the same path for her cultivation. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were a martial soul that focusedpletely on the spiritual-type. Due to that, it would be hard for Cui Yajie¡¯s Charm, which was a spiritual-type skill, to affect him.

    After this brief period of time passed, both teams were now within fifty meters of each other. Thus, the speed-reducing effect of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute started to show itself, causing the speed of Dai Huabin¡¯s trio to decrease clearly. However, Zhu Lu was affected most by it; the number of afterimages she¡¯d created decreased by two, and she didn¡¯t seem so illusory anymore.

    As the distance between them shrank, Dai Huabin¡¯s team entered the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, causing their every move to appear as a three-dimensional image in the minds of Huo Yuhao¡¯s team.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s team made the first move. Zhu Lu¡¯s body shed, causing her speed to suddenly increase. This created a series of consecutive afterimages that appeared behind her as she pounced towards Huo Yuhao. Although she was affected by the speed-reducing effect of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, her speed was still as shocking as ever.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio were all inwardly astonished. Before their match started, they¡¯d heard that Zhu Lu¡¯s martial soul was the Netherworld Civet, and that she was an Agility System Battle Soul Master. However, she was undoubtedly the quickest Agility System Soul Master they¡¯d ever met. Were it not for the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s speed-reducing effect, it would¡¯ve been hard to even catch her shadow.

    The instant Zhu Lu made her move, Dai Huabin started to go on the offensive. He roared, and in a sh, an intense white light gathered around his head as his second soul ring lit up. Right after that, a ball of white light shot towards Wang Dong. Clearly, he didn¡¯t want to give Wang Dong any chance to save Huo Yuhao.

    Cui Yajie was originally using her Charm on Huo Yuhao, but she suddenly shifted the target of her skill to Xiao Xiao.

    The three of them coordinated extremely well. They each targeted a member of Huo Yuhao¡¯s team that they had an advantage against. Cui Yajie wanted to disrupt Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, giving Zhu Lu the chance to attack Huo Yuhao. Zhu Lu wanted to rely on her speed to take care of the enemymander. On the other hand, Dai Huabin shed against Wang Dong¡¯s strength with his own strength.

    Were it not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, their team would¡¯ve immediately suffered a loss. After all, there was a distinct gap between the two team¡¯s cultivations. However, the foundational gap between their predictive skills changed the entire situation.

    The moment Cui Yajie changed the target of her skill, Huo Yuhao made his move. However, he chose not to work together with Wang Dong. They were currently in a 3v3 match, and if he and Wang Dong joined forces against a single opponent, the remaining person would definitely cause a huge inconvenience to them.

    Huo Yuhao released his Spiritual Shock. Target: Cui Yajie.

    The timing of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack was simply too ingenious. The Skydream Iceworm had warned him of the bacsh that could ur as a result of his Spiritual Shock, but Huo Yuhao had the help of his Spiritual Detection. Why would heunch an attack on an opponent who was guarding against his attacks? The instant he chose to activate his Spiritual Shock was the exact instant when Cui Yajie changed who she was targeting¡ªthe instant she used her Charm on Xiao Xiao.

    Cui Yajie¡¯s Charm and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock were both spiritual-type skills, but the difference between the two skills was shown now. Cui Yajie needed visual contact for her Charm to be activated, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need anything of the sort. Furthermore, his Spiritual Shock had no activation signals.

    Cui Yajie let out a muffled groan. An intense, stabbing pain suddenly filled her brain, causing her to stagger forward and nearly fall. However, her spiritual power was much greater than an ordinary Soul Grandmaster¡¯s, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation rank was below hers. Without the assistance of the Haodong Power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock wasn¡¯t able to pose an enormous threat to her. However, it was still able to stop her from interrupting Xiao Xiao.

 Chapter 30.3: The Finals

    Chapter 30.3: The Finals

    The instant that Huo Yuhao made his move, Xiao Xiao activated her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. The ck cauldron flew towards Huo Yuhao, suddenly dropping to the ground just as Zhu Lu was about to reach him.

    Zhu Lu was extremely quick, thus she was able to quickly evade. However, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron suddenly split in three to form a straight line in front of her. Xiao Xiao then activated her first soul skill, Cauldron Quake.

    Amidst the thunderous booms, the quaking ripples emanated from Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons formed a protective barrier in front of Huo Yuhao. Although Zhu Lu was quick, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge all three cauldrons in such a brief moment. When Xiao Xiao had released her soul skill, she knew that she was screwed. Thus, she¡¯d instantly stopped the soul skill she¡¯d just activated and had turned to the side, narrowly dodging the quaking ripples from Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Quake.

    At the same time, another intense boom rang out. With a muffled groan, Wang Dongnded beside Huo Yuhao.

    He¡¯d suffered a loss after trying to block Dai Huabin¡¯s second soul skill¡ªthe White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave¡ªwith his Guillotine Wing, causing an unstable light to flicker around his wings as they shook. In addition, a trace of blood began leaked out of his mouth and nose.

    The gap in their soul power¡¯s strength had immediately been revealed.

    Once Dai Huabin had obtained an advantage, he wouldn¡¯t give it up easily. He quickly shot forwards, a savage glint in his eyes. On the other hand, the crafty Cui Yajie rapidly hid behind him, so as to dodge Huo Yuhao¡¯s attacks.

    Dai Huabin was a bold person, but he had a plentiful amount ofbat experience; he was much more experienced than Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio at least. The instant his body shot forward, his first soul ring lit up, causing ayer of white light to surround his entire body, especially his head. He was clearly guarding against Huo Yuhao. This was his first soul skill¡ªWhite Tiger¡¯s Shield. Not only did it have an extremely powerful defense, it also increased hisbat strength,

    Both parties had already been close to one another, and this sh only brought them even closer. Dai Huabin pounced towards Wang Dong,nded in front of him, and swatted at him with his w.

    On the other side, Zhu Lu¡¯s body shed as she fought against the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. She was simply too fast however, as Xiao Xiao needed 120% of her focus to block her with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡ªeven with the speed-inhibiting effect of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. If Zhu Lu hadn¡¯t been suppressed by abination of so many factors, she would¡¯ve been able to approach Huo Yuhao and attack him.

    Wang Dong had already suffered a loss during his first sh with Dai Huabin, who had now approached him again. It was clear who held the upper hand.

    They were both Assault System Battle Soul Masters, but they specialised in different areas. Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess had extremely strong energy-type attacks like the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, but the White Tiger had always been good at closebat attacks. As a result of this, Dai Huabin would have the upper hand in a close-range fight like this.

    Dai Huabin was astonished by the fact that Wang Dong hadn¡¯t activated his second soul skill yet. Afternding on the ground stably, Wang Dong still continued to meet Dai Huabin¡¯s w with his Guillotine Wing.

    Dai Huabin snorted coldly and forcefully grabbed ahold of Wang Dong¡¯s wings with his ws,pletely ignoring their sharp edges. He wanted to rely on his own strength to crush Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul. From this, his amount of self-confidence could be seen.

    The moment before his w touched Wang Dong¡¯s wing, Dai Huabin suddenly felt a sense of crisis in his heart. He suddenly discovered something different about Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing. Previously, Wang Dong¡¯s blue wings had been outlined with a golden edge. Now, however, a faintyer of orange had on top of that golden edge.

    That¡¯s not right. As a result of Dai Huabin¡¯s vastbat experience, he was able to react the instant he sensed that something was wrong. He forcefully stopped his w, then stamped on the ground with his right foot. This forcefully changed the trajectory of his charge, allowing him to dodge to the side. At the same time, he activated his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave again,unching it towards Wang Dong as he dodged to the side.

    However, the situation this time hadpletely changed. The instant that Dai Huabin had changed directions, Wang Dong hadn¡¯t chased after him. Instead, he¡¯d unfurled his wings and flown up into the air. He thennded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders, allowing him to dodge Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave¡¯s bombardment.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, Wang Dong¡¯s grasp of the battlefield was extremely urate. As a result of his rushed attack, Dai Huabin hadn¡¯t been able to lock onto Wang Dong. Thus, Wang Dong had been able to dodge his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave. On the other hand, the change in Dai Huabin¡¯s movements had exposed Cui Yajie, who had been hiding behind him.

    Cui Yajie waspletely stupefied when she saw the golden streaks appear on Wang Dong¡¯s wings. Only after the battle had reached its current stage, had Wang Dong finally revealed his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    This was the art of war. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both knew that it was an impossible task to defeat Dai Huabin within such a short period of time. As a result of this, Cui Yajie had been their target since the very beginning. They hadn¡¯t even hesitated to expose a weak point in their formation by allowing Wang Dong to take on Dai Huabin without the assistance of their Haodong Power. All of this had been done to temporarily distract Dai Huabin.

    Although Dai Huabin had a vast amount ofbat experience, he was still a twelve-year-old child. How many calctions could he perform in an instant? On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s way of fighting entirely relied on the predictive nature of his Spiritual Detection. He didn¡¯t even need to tell Wang Dong anything; he could basically direct Wang Dong just by continuously changing the focal points of his Spiritual Detection. This was a type of mutual understanding that the two had gradually formed after the many matches they¡¯d fought together.

    Cui Yajie was only a Soul Grandmaster, and as such, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to block the Light of the Butterfly Goddess that had been activated by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Haodong Power. However, at that moment, she revealed her vicious side.

    As the Light of the Butterfly Goddess shot towards her, it was basically impossible for her to dodge it. On the other hand, Dai Huabin had pounced to the side and wasn¡¯t able to rescue her. However, she didn¡¯t retreat, sidestep, or reveal a flustered expression. In that instant, her second soul ring lit up. She swiftly swung her body, causing both of her pink tails to fly outwards. However, she didn¡¯t target Wang Dong, but instead Huo Yuhao, who was beneath him. Her tails flew straight towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    One shouldn¡¯t assume that she had arge, soft tail. This wasn¡¯t fur, but an attack filled with the might of Cui Yajie¡¯s second soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao was able to clearly sense the terrifying amount of soul power contained within Cui Yajie¡¯s two tails from his Spiritual Detection. Her soul power hadn¡¯t simply been condensed; it had been focused into the very tip of her tail, just like a needle. If he were struck by it, he¡¯d definitely die.

    This was Cui Yajie¡¯s second soul skill, Foxtail Needle.

    One who knows both his and their enemy¡¯s strength is sure to be invincible in battle. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio didn¡¯tpletely understand theprehensive strength of their opponents, they were definitely able to predict their every move with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. However, the understanding Dai Huabin¡¯s trio had of their team was limited by their previous performances.

 Chapter 30.4: The Finals

    Chapter 30.4: The Finals

    As far as they were aware, Huo Yuhao had merely stood to the side and released his spiritual-type soul skill during his team¡¯s previous matches. Other than that, he¡¯d never made a move.

    As a result of this, Cui Yajie never expected to miss. She naturally couldn¡¯t dodge Wang Dong¡¯s attack, but it would¡¯ve been worth it if she could¡¯ve dragged Huo Yuhao down with her. After all, her teammates could be targeted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock at any time.

    When they¡¯d begun fighting at close range, the referee had immediately moved closer to them. The instant that Wang Dong unfurled his wings, he moved.

    For the sake of allowing the six freshmen to use all of their strength, this match had no restrictions on the amount of power they were allowed to use. The spectating teachers would only be able to clearly observe their potential if they went all-out. Due to that, the referee wasn¡¯t just an experienced teacher, but was an agility system soul master. Furthermore, his cultivation had reached the seven-ringed Soul Sage rank. The moment he made his move, his speed far surpassed that of what Huo Yuhao and the rest could¡¯ve imagined.

    When Cui Yajie had viciouslyunched her attack towards Huo Yuhao, the referee had already arrived next to him. Even the referee thought that the two of them would ring-out simultaneously.

    Just as the referee was about to make a move, Huo Yuhao had moved.

    His figure suddenly turned illusory, and his figure swiftly moved backwards with a gentle sway, unexpectedly forming an afterimage.

    His speed definitely couldn¡¯tpare to the agility system Zhu Lu¡¯s, but the movement he¡¯d made was definitely not something an agility system soul master could perform. More importantly, his footsteps had been extremely mysterious, which had resulted in Cui Yajie¡¯s Foxtail Needle not being able to locate its target. As such, its condensed power hadn¡¯t been able to be released.

    In that exact moment, Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess surged downwards; not just towards Cui Yajie, but also towards Dai Huabin.

    Wang Dong was standing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders, and moved backwards along with him as a result. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection made it so that his soul skill definitely wouldn¡¯t miss. Furthermore, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess was an extremely strong soul skill that could be used as both an AoE attack and a single-target attack.

    The referee threw Cui Yajie out of the arena with his right hand. His judgement was extremely good; Cui Yajie was no longer able to strike Huo Yuhao, but she would definitely be seriously injured, if not killed, if she were bathed in the Light of the Butterfly Goddess. As for Dai Huabin, he didn¡¯t bother helping him.

    When the Light of the Butterfly Goddessnded on Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Shield, a series of explosions rang out. In order to minimize the area of contact with Wang Dong¡¯s attack, he crouched down in a half-kneeling position while using his palms to protect his head.

    However, the strength of Wang Dong¡¯s attack exceeded his imagination. Although it was only a two-ringed soul skill, Dai Huabin was nearly unable to withstand its might. His White Tiger¡¯s Shield actually almost shattered from defending against it.

    The air surrounding Dai Huabin¡¯s body suddenly twisted as his demonic eyes turned blood-red. His third soul ring flickered with a noble purple color as it slowly rose into the air. His body¡ªwhich had be muscr due to the White Tiger¡¯s Possession¡ªexpanded yet again, causing his muscles to bulge even more. Moreover, his clothespletely burst apart, revealing the distinct silhouette of his muscles. Strangely, ck patterns had appeared on his skin, and were it not for the hair on his skin, they¡¯d be identical to that of a tiger¡¯s.

    His palms became evenrger, while his ws turned bright silver. However, his body was covered by ayer of intense golden light, making it seem as if his skin had be gold-ted. In addition to that, a bloodthirsty light filled his blood-red eyes, in-turn causing the hegemonic aura of a Beast King erupt from his body.

    The instant he released his third soul skill, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both felt an intense sense of crisis fill their hearts.

    A strong, golden light erupted from Dai Huabin¡¯s body, causing his speed and strength to increase explosively. He repeatedly mmed his palms outwards, forcefully destroying the balls of light created by Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    Although the target of Wang Dong¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t him specifically, it was still a powerful soul skill that had been activated by their Haodong Power, and its strength had definitely reached the level of a Soul Elder¡¯s thousand year soul skill! Dai Huabin was the first person who¡¯d been able to block the Haodong Power-fuelled Light of the Butterfly Goddess since the start of the tournament!

    This was the strength of a top-ranked Beast Soul. In the end, Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation rank was still inferior to Dai Huabin¡¯s. After all, he wasn¡¯t a Soul Elder, even after he¡¯d fused his soul power with Huo Yuhao¡¯s. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation rank had reached Rank 20, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to react in such a manner. However, their current situation was due to the gap in their strength.

    In an instant, Wang Dong¡¯s attackpletely dissipated. After ¡®sacrificing¡¯ Cui Yajie, Dai Huabin¡ªwho was now at his peak condition¡ªhad finally arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Although it was a 1v2, he¡¯d already taken the upper hand in terms of pressure alone.

    The instant Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly disappeared, Dai Huabin stamped the ground with his left foot, causing a muffled bang to ring out. Immediately afterwards, he shot forward like a bow, not towards Wang Dong, but towards Huo Yuhao.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time being so close to Dai Huabin. With his hated enemy so close to him, Huo Yuhao was unable to remain calm no matter how hard he tried to forced himself.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly moved backwards with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but how could his speedpare to that of the Soul Elder-ranked Dai Huabin? The distance between them instantly shrank, and Dai Huabin sent his palm straight towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    At that exact moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped moving. He stared at Dai Huabin with a brilliant light in his eyes, causing the air within a five-meter diameter of him to slightly distort. Even the major powers observing from the Spectator¡¯s Stand weren¡¯t able to notice this slight change.

    This wasn¡¯t his Spiritual Shock, but his Spiritual Interference. Huo Yuhao clearly understood that the only person who¡¯d suffer a loss if he used his Spiritual Shock on Dai Huabin in his current state would be himself. Furthermore, he¡¯d definitely suffer a bacsh. Thus, he chose to use Spiritual Interference, which would never have a bacsh. Furthermore, he used his ever-growing amount of control over his spiritual power to limit the range of his skill to a diameter of five meters.

    The instant Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Interference, Wang Dong suddenly fell forward in a strange manner, as if he¡¯d slipped. However, his Guillotine Wings flickered with a pale orange light, and still shed towards Dai Huabin. He¡¯d aimed his attack at both sides of Dai Huabin¡¯s neck.

    No matter how tough the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation made him, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to forcefully take on Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wings with just his neck. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference had distracted him for a second. It was just a second, but he¡¯d still been slowed down half a beat!

    Because of that, Dai Huabin¡¯s movements had be slightly sluggish when he felt the sharpness of Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wings. Thus, he could only use his palms to forcefully block Wang Dong¡¯s attack.

    How could a hastily-released attack bepared to an attack that had been charged up? Although Dai Huabin was using his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, he still wasn¡¯t able to st Wang Dong away. On the other hand, a golden light suddenly appeared on Wang Dong¡¯s folded wings. Once again, he activated the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    With the support of Huo Yuhao and the Haodong Power, the strength and activation speed of Wang Dong¡¯s soul skills far surpassed his usual level. His current strength had already reached the Soul Elder level. Compared to a Soul Elder, the only thing hecked was a third soul skill.

    Dai Huabin was inwardly astonished. Wang Dong¡¯s grasp of tempo was simply too amazing, to the extent that he simply couldn¡¯t react. Helpless, he could only go all-out with his defense. He activated his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave at close range, causing it to collide with Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    One was a concentrated all-out attack, while the other was a defensive counterattack that had been hastily released. One was a thousand year soul skill, while the other was a hundred year soul skill. At this moment, both parties had simr levels of soul power. Thus, the winner of the sh was immediately decided.

    A violent boom rang out from the area between Wang Dong and Dai Huabin. Wang Dong hadunched his attack from above, while Dai Huabin hadunched his while facing upwards from down below.

    After the terrifying boom rang out, Wang Dong flew into the air with his wings unfurled, easily dispersing the force of their collision. However, Dai Huabin was left in a sorrier state; he¡¯d sunk knee-deep into the ground, while his upper body was bared and facing the sky. A golden light exploded from his body, showing that his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation had sustained an incredible blow.

 Chapter 31.1: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Chapter 31.1: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    However, Dai Huabin¡¯s third soul skill was still extremely powerful. Even though he¡¯d been attacked in a situation like this, he still hadn¡¯t suffered any serious injuries.

    Wang Dong had flown into the air, but Huo Yuhao was still on the ground! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t retreat like Wang Dong had. Instead, he immediately charged forwards. As he moved forwards with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, his hands turned jade-white. This was the Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Jade Hands. He took advantage of Dai Huabin¡¯s half-kneeling position to rush forwards, then brought his palms backwards. Just as Dai Huabin was about to stand up, Huo Yuhao mmed his palms into Dai Huabin¡¯s chest.

    Huo Yuhao had put everything he had into this attack. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Dai Huabin with it, but this attack could be said to contain all the grievances he¡¯d experienced during the eleven years he¡¯d spent within the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion. As he struck Dai Huabin¡¯s chest, his eyes even turned somewhat red.

    His three months of bitter training hadn¡¯t been for naught. Not only had Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and various skills grown in strength, the quality of his physique had improved as well. This attack, boosted by the Mysterious Jade Hands and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, was the most powerful physical attack he could release at his current level. Furthermore, Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation was in a slightly weakened state due to Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess. Huo Yuhao had gone all-out in this attack, and despite there being an enormous gap between their soul power rank, he was still able to depress Dai Huabin¡¯s stomach and shove his body into the ground a little, while nearly causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions were surging, he was still a spiritual-type soul master. His spiritual power¡ªwhich was much stronger than that of an ordinary soul master¡¯s¡ªallowed him to remain clear-headed at all times. He swiftly retreated as soon as his attacknded. The instant after he had, Dai Huabin shot right back up, his ws cutting through the air where Huo Yuhao had just been. With his attack power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s muscles and bones both would¡¯ve been broken if Dai Huabin¡¯s attack hadnded

    Wang Dong slowly descended,nding back on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders. Although Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to truly injure Dai Huabin, he still felt a sense of catharsis in his heart.

    Mom, did you see that? Your Little Yuhao has already begun to obtain his revenge for you. This palm strike is only the beginning; there will be a day when I have enough strength to get revenge for you, and cleanse the pain and humiliation that we¡¯ve suffered these past ten years.

    An angry light filled Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes when he missed Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d actually be unable to obtain an advantage against him, even at such a close range. There was a distinct gap between their strengths, yet Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were able to rely on their astonishing synergy and timing to suppress his strength. Although the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation was a powerful skill, its soul power consumption was extremelyrge. If it was used for a prolonged period of time, he¡¯d be fully exhausted.

    Without any hesitation or pause at all, Dai Huabin rushed straight towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong again.

    The battle had reached its most climactic stage.

    ¡ª-

    On the other side of the arena, Xiao Xiao hadpletely entered the zone. Her cultivation rank wasn¡¯t any weaker than Zhu Lu¡¯s, and even though Zhu Lu¡¯s Netherworld Civet was a peak-level existence amongst agility system martial souls, Xiao Xiao had twin martial souls! In terms of attributes, she even had a slight edge over Zhu Lu, as the speed-reducing effect of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute was able to reduce her opponent¡¯s speed.

    In a situation like this, where Xiao Xiao also had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, she might as well screw off if she wasn¡¯t able to block Zhu Lu.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s threerge ck cauldrons rotated around in midair, interrupting Zhu Lu¡¯s every move by utilising Huo Yuhao¡¯s foresight. Even though Zhu Lu was extremely quick, it was as if she¡¯d fallen into a cage created by Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons. No matter how hard she tried to escape from it, she wasn¡¯t able to.

    She¡¯d tried to use brute force to break out of the prison, but even though she wasn¡¯t weak, breaking a top-ranked Tool Soul like the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron wasn¡¯t something that she could achieve.

    Contrarily, Xiao Xiao wasn¡¯t good at attacking, which meant that defeating Zhu Lu would be a difficult task to pull off. As such, their battle had turned into a closely-fought one.

    In the eyes of the spectating teachers, this was already Xiao Xiao¡¯s win. In the world of soul masters, the agility system would normally be able to subdue the control system. However, Xiao Xiao had been able to rely on her twin martial souls to control Zhu Lu, allowing her to gain the upper hand. At the very least, Zhu Lu wasn¡¯t able to help Dai Huabin. On the other hand, Cui Yajie had been dispatched early, due to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s clever machinations. Because of this, theprehensive strength of both teams were now much closer to each other¡¯s.

    ¡°How about it? Old Yan, it seems that my foresight was better than yours. Haha.¡± Qian Duoduo spoke with a pleased voice.

    Yan Shaozhe merely smiled. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t speak so early. Those three fes haven¡¯t won yet.¡±

    Qian Duoduoughed. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, even though there¡¯s a gap between them in terms of strength, they¡¯re still not at a disadvantage as long as they rely on their synergy. Once this match has been drawn out, which side do you think will win?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe indifferently said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re about to say. That flute-ying girl who also uses cauldrons has been minimizing the consumption of her soul power since the beginning of the match; she¡¯s only been using her flute¡¯s soul skill. If this continues, the match will tilt in their favour once that little ck cat runs out of soul power.¡±

    Qian Duoduo smiled cunningly. ¡°I knew that you¡¯d realise it. If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you quickly surrender?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nced at him. ¡°Old Qian, you¡¯ve been ying with your metals for too long. You¡¯ve already forgotten one of the traditions of the world of soul masters. What rtionship does the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion have with the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Zhu Family?¡±

    Once he heard Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words, the smile on Qian Duoduo¡¯s face instantly stiffened. ¡°No way. The Zhu and Dai Family only have a single pair in each generation, two at most. How old is that kid? Don¡¯t tell me that the White Tiger Dukedom ns to let him inherit the position of Grand Duke?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled. ¡°Why would that be impossible? He¡¯s already managed to gather three soul rings before the age of twelve. With this, he¡¯s already exceeded the ancestor of the Dai Family¡ªthe leader of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters whose statue currently sits at the Academy¡¯s entrance. The Dai Family has always allowed the strong to inherit the position of Grand Duke. Didn¡¯t the White Tiger Duke send his kid to Shrek Academy for him to pursue his studies, and to see how much potential we can unlock within him? The Zhu Family has many internal factions, and this girl should be an investment that a certain faction from the Zhu Family has made in Dai Huabin. If they were winning this match, my spection might have remained simply a spection. However, they¡¯re losing now. We¡¯ll soon be able to see whether or not my guess was correct.¡±

    As the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t just have an extremely high cultivation rank; he also had control over the various secrets and resources that Shrek Academy had umted over the past ten thousand years. It wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to call him the encyclopedia of the Douluo Continent.

    After hearing Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words, the smile on Qian Duoduo¡¯s face vanishedpletely. A pained look appeared on his face. ¡°I just knew that a crafty old fox like you wouldn¡¯t let me take even a small advantage from you. You were just waiting for this to happen. Is it fine if we reduce our bet? Look, I know the match hasn¡¯t ended yet, but can I just give you 30 shells if I give up right now? We¡¯ve been brothers for so many years, and you also know about the bad habit I have. You¡¯re just torturing me now!¡±

 Chapter 31.2: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Chapter 31.2: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Du Weilun¡¯s facial muscles twitched as he resistedughing out loud. Fan Yu, on the other hand, had covered his face with his hands and buried his head in hisp, acting as if he didn¡¯t recognise Qian Duoduo.

    Dean Qian was an extremely outstanding person in many aspects, but he had a single shoring¡ªhis stinginess. Because of that, he was given the extremely long nickname of ¡®lots of money, small hands, cheapskate, porcin quail, ss rat, zed cat¡¯ in the Academy. The meaning of this nickname was that, even though he had a lot of money and resources, it¡¯d be an extremely difficult task to take anything from him. He was the very definition of the word stingy!

    It was true that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had a slight edge in the match. Strength-wise, they were inferior to Dai Huabin, even if they worked together. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection yed a decisive role in their current situation. By relying on its powerful prediction abilities, they were able to fight with Dai Huabin without meeting him head on; all of their attacks were strategic in that they forced Dai Huabin to act defensively. Wang Dong¡¯s wings were fully unfurled under the strengthening effect of the Haodong Power, while Huo Yuhao moved around using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, making it seem as if the two were acting as one. As Wang Dong¡¯s dazzling blue wings soared about the sky, Dai Huabin could only cry out to no avail, no matter how fiercely he attacked.

    It wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t taken any risks; the problem was that his opponents seemed to be able to see through all of his ns. In the end, the only things he had to show for it were the wounds on his body. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still able to ingeniously evade all of his attacks.

    Dai Huabin had also been paying attention to Zhu Lu¡¯s situation. At the beginning of the battle, Zhu Lu had already gone all-out, bringing her speed to the limit in an attempt to break through Xiao Xiao¡¯s wall. Because of that, her soul power consumption had been extremelyrge. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao, who¡¯d already formed a strategy to counter her, had consumed much less soul power than Zhu Lu. Even though she¡¯d released both of her martial souls, she was only using the first soul skill of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    Zhu Lu¡¯s speed had clearly decreased, and due to the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s speed-inhibiting soul skill, her exhaustion was now beginning to show.

    Dai Huabin had continuously used his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation for the sake of maintaining his absolute advantage in attack power, but he was starting to find it difficult to manage its enormous consumption of soul power. From his point of view, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong should¡¯ve consumed a simrly enormous amount of soul power. However, they were both seemingly still filled with energy. If the battle continued like this, he could actually lose the match.

    ¡°If you have any ability, meet me head on!¡± Dai Huabin roared angrily. He wasn¡¯t able to hold back his rage any longer.

    A trace of disdain appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what strategy is? You¡¯re the son of the White Tiger Duke, yet you don¡¯t even know what strategy is. What a piece of rubbish.¡±

    A savage light shed through Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s astonishment, he cancelled his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation.

    Although they had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the two of them had always avoided a direct confrontation with Dai Huabin; they¡¯d always maintained a fixed distance between them. Even though Huo Yuhao was aware of Dai Huabin¡¯s actions, their movements had slowed due to their bewilderment.

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t advance, but instead wildly retreated. The sudden change in his movements sent Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio into a daze. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was able to tell from the cirction of Dai Huabin¡¯s soul power that his actions weren¡¯t a trap, but a genuine retreat.

    The instant Dai Huabin turned back, Zhu Lu made a move as well. After using a Netherworld Stab on Xiao Xiao, she instantly retreated towards Dai Huabin.

    What are they doing? Are they trying to recover their soul power?

    Wang Dong jumped off Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, while Xiao Xiao hurriedly rushed back to their side. The three of them all had puzzled looks in their eyes.

    Suddenly, inexplicably, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart began to palpitate intensely. This feeling wasn¡¯t new to him; when he¡¯d entered the Great Star Dou Forest before entering Shrek Academy, he¡¯d felt this exact feeling when he met his first soul beast. It was a mysterious premonition that came from his Spirit Eyes.

    They were in a match right now, and their strange actions along with the palpitations in his heart shook Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. He cried out involuntarily, ¡°Are they trying to release a fusion skill?¡±

    At that exact moment, Dai Huabin let out a tiger-like roar. This was followed by his body immediately expanding once again, along with white fur and ck stripes frantically surging out.

    Zhu Lu softly bit her teeth together, followed by her body being covered in a faint ck light. Her body then floated into the air, and even seemed to have be transparent. Afterwards, she spread her arms towards Dai Huabin.

    The current Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu could only see each other. Dai Huabin¡¯s twin pupils had fused into a single pupil, but the grimness in his eyes still remained. Contrarily, Zhu Lu¡¯s gaze had be as tranquil as water, making it seem as if she were going to melt into him.

    In that instant, the auras of the White Tiger and the Netherworld Civet had fusedpletely, giving off an extremely mysterious feeling. The white tiger seemed to have devoured the ck cat, and an intense undtion of soul power erupted from their fused body like a geyser. The two lights fused into a single entity within the golden halo, giving off a transcendent feeling.

    A martial soul fusion wasn¡¯t as simple as ¡®1+1=2¡¯. Even two identical martial souls might not possess a fusion skill, because the act of the fusion itself required the two souls to bothplement each other and have perfectpatibility. When a fusion skill was released, its incarnation was definitely not just at the level of two soul masters; it was a transcendent existence.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s bodies vanished in the instant that the fusion urred, leaving only an enormous White Tiger in the Assessment Area. The White Tiger¡¯s body was transparent, while its fur was lined with ck stripes. Its purple eyes gazed coldly at Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio.

    Yes, this was the secret that belonged to the bloodline of the White Tiger Dukedom and the Zhu Family, which was also a top-ranked noble family within the Star Luo Empire; the secret of a martial soul fusion.

    Almost all White Tiger Duke¡¯s were wed to a woman from the Zhu Family. This was also the case for the Duke¡¯s wife who¡¯d persecuted Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother. The reason that she was able to cover the heavens within the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion wasn¡¯t just due to her own authority. It was also due to the strength of her family, as well as therge amount of strength she herself possessed!

    The martial soul that belonged to the White Tiger Dukedom had a more urate name¡ªthe Evil Eyed White Tiger. Moreover, the most distinct trait of a person who possessed the Evil Eyed White Tiger would be the two pupils in his eyes. On the other hand, there was an extremely high chance that the Evil Eyed White Tiger would have a high enoughpatibility rate to perform a martial soul fusion with the Zhu Family¡¯s Netherworld Civet.

    The bloodline of the White Tiger Duke had maintained a close rtionship with the Zhu Family since ancient times. In the past, when the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke was still the royal family of the Star Luo Empire, the Zhu Family had inherited the position of prime ministers. Although the two families no longer held their past glory, these enormous, deeply-rooted powers still held important positions within the Star Luo Empire. Furthermore, the best tie and bridge between the Duke¡¯s Mansion and the Zhu Family were the marriages that had urred in the past.

 Chapter 31.3: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Chapter 31.3: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Naturally, not all Evil Eyed White Tigers could fuse with a Netherworld Civet. However, since ancient times, there would always be a pair, or even two, appear within each generation. Furthermore, one of the most important prerequisites for a descendant to assume the position of the White Tiger Duke was for said descendant to sessfully marry a woman from the Zhu Family. Currently, Dai Huabin was the only son of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s first wife within his generation that could perform a martial soul fusion with a daughter of the Zhu Family.

    The fusion of the Evil Eyed White Tiger and Netherworld Civet would create the enormous, eight-meter long, two meter tall figure that had just appeared in the Assessment Arena. It was Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s fusion skill¡ªthe Netherworld White Tiger!

    The enormous white tiger appeared somewhat transparent, and gave off the impression that it was apletely illusory existence. However, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s figures had already disappeared. The White Tiger¡¯s huge body squatted slightly, then immediately used its terrifying speed to pounce towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio, transparent ripples trailing behind it.

    As it leapt into the air, it raised its head haughtily. Its gaze that overlooked the entire world was filled with arrogance as it revealed its bearing as both the tyrant of the world, and the king among beasts.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, let¡¯s begin!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted, turning around and spreading his arms towards Wang Dong.

    They hadn¡¯t originally nned to go this far, as Huo Yuhao had been determined to wait patiently for the sake of his future. However, when their opponents had activated their fusion skill, they¡¯d been left with no other choice. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to lose this match; he wanted to let his mother¡¯s spirit in heaven see his diligence and strength, and let her see that he had a chance at avenging her.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had theirst resort, so why couldn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio have one as well?

    Wang Dong had already spread his arms wide, and a strange light appeared in his eyes as he looked at Huo Yuhao. There was a gentle look in his eyes, yet it also seemed both encouraging and consoling. This strange light caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart to beat fiercely, and his gaze to be even more determined. However, a faint smile also appeared on his face; a smile that only Wang Dong could see.

    Right. Just before the match started, they had tried activating their fusion skill, and had seeded in doing so; they¡¯d actually regained the ability to unleash their mysterious fusion skill after only three days.

    Up on the tall stage, the teachers were all holding their breaths. However, the most nervous person on-site was the referee; he was already prepared to intervene at any time.

    Aside from an extremely small number of teachers, an overwhelming majority of them had never expected a spectacr scene like this in a match between freshmen. A fusion skill¡ªthat was a martial soul fusion skill!

    The referee was already preparing to stop the Netherworld White Tiger. Although a fusion skill was extremely strong, the users were still far off from his cultivation rank. He was confident that he could save Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio in the instant that the Netherworld White Tigerunched an attack. However, he hadn¡¯t made a move due to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s movements, as well as Xiao Xiao¡¯s actions.

    A dark light simultaneously erupted from the threerge cauldrons beside Xiao Xiao as they instantly shot towards the middle of the Assessment Arena. At the same time, both of her soul rings for her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron simultaneously lit up.

    Halos of ck light emerged from Xiao Xiao¡¯s body, but they didn¡¯t simply stop like they hadst time. Instead, they poured into the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons.

    The three cauldrons then fused into one, causing a violent boom to ring out. Following that, an enormous cauldron that was double the size of her normal fused cauldron filled the sky. There were strange runes faintly discernible on the surface of the enormous cauldron, which caused an indescribable pressure to surge forward from it.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s face instantly paled, but she closed her eyes and pointed forward with her right hand. The enormous cauldron flickered, then immediately appeared in front of the Netherworld White Tiger, letting out an ear-deafening boom.

    ¡°National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble.¡± This was Xiao Xiao¡¯s most powerful control technique.

    This time, she didn¡¯t attempt to use its suction ability. Xiao Xiao knew that her strongest skill¡ªwhich was borne from the fusion between two of her soul skills¡ªwouldn¡¯t be able to stop the Netherworld White Tiger. She activated it as a single-use skill, allowing its power to explode outwards. Although its cost was high, to the point where her soul power was almost entirely drained in an instant, she wouldn¡¯t suffer a bacsh like she had previously.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble violently distorted the air surrounding her to the point where even the naked eye could see it, and its tyrannical vibrations filled the ten-meter area surrounding it. Due to the urate guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, it had been able to perfectly block the advance of the Netherworld White Tiger.

    After taking on the distorting ripples from Xiao Xiao¡¯s skill, the enormous Netherworld White Tiger lit up with white light. After that, it turned sluggish for a brief moment. It had taken on the violent vibrations from Xiao Xiao¡¯s skill, but its enormous body had barely been affected at all.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s face was filled with shock. She¡¯d never expected the enormous White Tiger to only pause for a brief moment after taking on her Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble.

    However, an even more astonishing scene urred in the next instant, as a strange golden column of light shot up from beside her. The only thing left in her eyes after seeing that enormous golden pir was an image of resplendence¡ªa resplendence that came from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong!

    On one side was Huo Yuhao, whose eyes were releasing a pale golden light.

    On the other side was Wang Dong, whose dazzling wings were unfurled as he released his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    The instant they released their martial souls after hugging each other, the surrounding ten meter area instantly lit up. An unusual light then surged from their bodies.

    That light was very peculiar. It was a peculiar radiance that alternated between blue, purple, and gold. A dense, radiant aura served as the trunk of the light, but there were mysterious soul power undtions mixed within it as well.

    An enormous figure had appeared behind Wang Dong. It was aplete, magnificent figure of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    On the other hand, an enormous yet illusory eye with a vertical pupil had appeared behind Huo Yuhao. This eye was pale gold, but there was a faint hint of purple within its pupil.

    The two enormous figures slowly approached each other in midair, and transformations began to ur as they got closer and closer to one another. The figure of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye gradually became even more arcane, and its entire body turned purplish-blue; the gold colour in it hadpletely vanishedw.

    As Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess approached Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye, it violentlybusted into a bluish-golden me.

    The instant the Netherworld White Tiger neared them, the two enormous figures had already merged into a single entity above their heads.

    The instant that Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble unleashed its powerful restrictive abilities on the Netherworld White Tiger was also the instant that thebusting Radiant Butterfly Goddess spread its dazzling wings, slowly hugging the figure of the Spirit Eye.

    In the blink of an eye, the figure of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess had vanished, leaving only the bluish-purple Spirit Eye, which released a brilliant ray of light.

    A dazzling bluish-golden me instantly erupted from the figure of the Spirit Eye, then slowly descended towards the hugging figures of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, shielding them.

    The enormous Spirit Eye seemed extremely arcane, and it seemed as if there were a boundless world within it if one were to look at it carefully. Immediately afterwards, a terrifying tri-coloredser shot out from it.

 Chapter 31.4: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    Chapter 31.4: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger

    The illusory ray of light shot straight out, and a resplendence that seemed tost forever covered anything the light touched. The only thing left behind was a blurry, distorted brilliance.

    The previously fully-confident Dean Yan Shaozhe had suddenly stood up the instant that he saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hug each other, his eyes filled with an inconceivable look. At the same time, the miserly Dean Qian had stood up alongside him.

    The shock in Qian Duoduo¡¯s eyes was no less than that of Yan Shaozhe¡¯s. Neither he nor Yan Shaozhe had known that the two of them had a trump card like this! Furthermore, they¡¯d never expected the urrence of such an astonishing scene within the freshmen tournament¡¯s final round. This was a fusion skill pitted against another fusion skill! This was an extremely rare sight, even amongst the upperssmen of the outer courtyard, or even the inner courtyard! However, they were currently watching the tri-coloredser from the enormous vertical eye head towards the enormous Netherworld White Tiger.

    Even the extremely experienced referee had been left bbergasted at this moment. He didn¡¯t know if he should stop the collision between the two attacks, as both parties were using fusion skills. However, how could the victor be decided if they weren¡¯t allowed to forcefully sh against each other?

    Although the referee didn¡¯t know what to do, that didn¡¯t mean that nobody knew what to do. The instant the two attacks were about to collide, a white figure appeared out of nowhere in the Assessment Arena. The figure appeared right in-between the two fusion skills, and used its back to take on the Netherworld White Tiger¡¯s palm, while it blocked the resplendent tri-colored beam of light head-on.

    A dense white light soared straight into the heavens, forming an illusory yet iparably sturdy barrier that simultaneously blocked the two fusion skills.

    The extremely-strong looking Netherworld White Tiger instantly copsed as soon as it hit the white barrier, causing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s bodies to reappear on the ground with pale expressions on their faces. They didn¡¯t even have the energy to stand up.

    On the other side, the enormous Spirit Eye had appeared yet again after the resplendent tri-colored beam of light dissipated. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still hugging each other, but they hadn¡¯t copsed this time around. Instead, they looked towards the figure who¡¯d blocked their Golden Path with an expressionless look in their eyes.

    The person who¡¯d appeared out of thin air and used his body to block the two fusion skills without suffering any negative repercussions was none other than the Director of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun.

    The white lighting from his body was formed purely of soul power. In that instant, eight soul rings had emerged from his body.

    There were two yellow, two purple, and four ck soul rings, the most optimumbination of soul rings. This was the domineering strength of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    How could one neutralise such an intense collision? Du Weilun had answered that question¡ªby using his body to simultaneously block both attacks! By using his body, Du Weilun could also tell which attack was stronger, and thereby determine the victor of the match.

    The two attacks were fusion skills, and they were both each team¡¯sst resort. By taking on both attacks, Du Weilun could undoubtedly tell which attack was stronger with a single nce.

    The other teachers on the tall stage had ordinary reactions to this, but a look of shock shed through the eyes of Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo. Du Weilun¡¯s body had turned golden, which made the current him look like an upright-standing statue that had been carved from gold. However, the back of his clothes had been torn apart by the Netherworld White Tiger¡¯s palm, exposing his sturdy back. In addition to that, there were even five bloody streaks on his back.

    An eight-ringed Soul Douluo had actually been injured? Injured by a bunch of students led by someone merely at the three-ringed rank?

    This was simply inconceivable. Gradually, the other teachers started to realise the gravity of the situation, and each and every one of them was bbergasted.

    Naturally, Zhou Yi was one of the many spectators to the battle. Her eyes instantly darkened as she watched this scene unfold. Although she couldn¡¯t believe that something like this had urred, the Netherworld White Tiger had truly wounded Du Weilun! She was aware of Du Weilun¡¯s cultivation, and she was entirely confident that Du Weilun wouldn¡¯t want to lose face in a situation like this. Therefore, the wounds on his back must be real.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s current expression was extremely ugly. He turned towards Qian Duoduo, but was met by an innocent-looking Qian Duoduo staring back at him.

    ¡°Did you know about this?¡± Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice, yet spoke with a fierce tone.

    Qian Duoduo smiled bitterly. ¡°Do I look like I knew about it? These are students from your Martial Soul Department; how the hell would I know about them!? Old Yan, you¡¯re not trying to renege on your promise, are you?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe snorted and left the tall stage with a sh. His body shed yet again, and he vanished as everyone looked on.

    As he watched Yan Shaozhe leave, Qian Duoduo smiled. He didn¡¯t let out augh, but the pleased look on his face revealed how happy he currently felt.

    ¡°Dean Qian, Dean Yan¡­?¡± Fan Yu had a doubtful look on his face as he walked towards Qian Duoduo, puzzled. From what had happened in the arena, Dean Qian should¡¯ve lost! But it seemed as if¡­

    Qian Duoduo smiled cunningly. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m a man of high moral standards, so we can¡¯t neglect our appearances even when we¡¯re proud of ourselves. However, I have to say, Fan Yu! You¡¯ve really found a good seedling this time. We¡¯ll have to rely on this brat for our n. I don¡¯t care what you do, you can¡¯t let that brat be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. You heard the bet that I had with Old Yan, right?¡±

    Fan Yu whispered, ¡°Dean Qian, you¡¯re saying that we won?¡±

    Qian Duoduo smiled mischievously, ¡°Obviously. Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, he left the tall stage in a sh, rapidly vanishing from sight.

    Within the Assessment Arena, Du Weilun¡¯s golden body had already returned to normal. However, the current him had a look of astonishment and disbelief on his face. A light flickered through his eyes as he turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were struggling to escape from each other¡¯s embrace. Even he didn¡¯t dare to believe that this was real! However, the scorching pain from his back reminded him that everything in front of him was real.

    Struggling, Dai Huabin rose to his feet and helped Zhu Lu up. Cui Yajie had already run excitedly to their side, cheering exuberantly.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong currently had downcast expressions on their faces. They hadn¡¯t seen Du Weilun¡¯s wounds, but they could tell that they¡¯d lost from their opponent¡¯s happy faces. They were unable to tell what their ¡®Golden Path Amidst Withering Resplendence¡¯ had done, but this loss was truly somewhat baffling to them. Huo Yuhao was disappointed, as he hadn¡¯t been able to forcefully sh against Dai Huabin¡¯s attack in the end. He truly wished to see whether his and Wang Dong¡¯s all-out attack could defeat their opponents!

    Du Weilun was still the Director of Studies for Shrek Academy; after nking out for a brief moment, he quickly came back to his senses. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he inwardly thought, This is truly embarrassing!

    ¡°Very good. You all have done extremely well.¡± Du Weilun¡¯s voice rang out, causing both teams to calm down and turn their gazes towards him.

    Du Weilun spoke dully, ¡°I¡¯m very surprised your cultivation ranks were able to reach this level as freshmen. Moreover, both of your teams were able to unleash fusion skills. I¡¯ve personally felt the strength of your fusion skills.¡±

    While he spoke, he nced coldly at the not-too-distant referee. Were it not for his malfeasance, would he have had to have his back exposed for the crowd to see? The referee had already lowered his head ashamedly, not daring to meet Du Weilun¡¯s gaze.

    Du Weilun spoke with a deep voice. ¡°Now then, I will announce the final champions of the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament. They are¡­¡± With that, he paused. Afterwards, he suddenly raised his right hand and pointed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio, speaking loudly, ¡°Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao!¡±

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The entire crowd went into an uproar.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s team weren¡¯t the only ones who didn¡¯t dare to believe their own ears; even the teachers on the tall stage had shocked expressions on their faces. From what they¡¯d seen, the winning team definitely should¡¯ve been Dai Huabin¡¯s team, as they¡¯d managed to injure Du Weilun! There were immediately people who thought, Was Director Du using his position to take revenge for the embarrassment he¡¯d suffered?No, that wasn¡¯t possible! The two other Deans had also been watching the match earlier, so how could Director Du abuse his position for his own private benefits? Furthermore, Du Weilun was always known for how just he was. After serving as the Director of Studies for the outer courtyard for so many years, he¡¯d never made a mistake.

    Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio were somewhat uncertain. The three of them nced at each other, and Xiao Xiao looked towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as she whispered, ¡°We won?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, unconvinced, ¡°Did Director Du announce the champions or the runner-ups?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and gave the final word, ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve actually won!¡±

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio gradually epted the fact that they¡¯d won, Dai Huabin¡¯s trio were still unwilling to ept it. Ignoring how weak her body was, Zhu Lu didn¡¯t want to give in. ¡°Director Du, why did they win? We¡¯re the ones who should¡¯ve won.¡±

    Du Weilun turned around and swept his nce over them, saying indifferently, ¡°Are you questioning my judgement?¡±

    Zhu Lu immediately paused as she faced his powerful aura. However, the unconvinced look in her eyes was obvious to any onlooker. Although Dai Huabin didn¡¯t utter any words, he pursed his lips tightly and stared straight at Du Weilun without any intention of giving up.

    Du Weilun forcefully suppressed the indignation in his heart as he inwardly thought to himself, I¡¯ve already embarrassed myself; do I also have to exin the process of how I was embarrassed!? These brats!

 Chapter 32.1: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Chapter 32.1: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    However, Du Weilun naturally had enormous mental fortitude as the Director of Studies for the outer courtyard. After feeling depressed for a brief moment, he quickly regained hisposure and exposed a somewhat helpless smile on his face.

    ¡°I have to say, you were all extremely outstanding. I¡¯ve lost face because I underestimated the strength of your fusion skills. I can¡¯t me anyone else for this fault of mine. I won¡¯t even charge a fee for allowing all of you to see my back today.¡±

    Once he spoke,ughter immediately rang out from the tall stage. One definitely had to admit that Du Weilun was extremely charismatic. With just a simple sentence, he¡¯d already gotten rid of his embarrassment. In addition to his self-derision, the teachers above were even praising him inwardly. If it were them in this sort of situation, could they be as calm and collected as Du Weilun was?

    Du Weilun continued, ¡°I know, there will be doubts in everyone¡¯s hearts if I don¡¯t exin everything clearly. First of all, I need to reaffirm my previous words. I made no mistake; the final champions are Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao. They¡¯ve performed spectacrly to obtain the final victory in this year¡¯s freshmen assessment, and they are entirely worthy of their positions as champions.¡±

    He repeated his previous announcement, causing the expressions of Dai Huabin¡¯s trio to be even uglier.

    Du Weilun continued, ¡°Everyone saw what just happened. As a teacher, I must do all I can to prevent the death of outstanding freshmen. Both sides were using fusion skills, so it was impossible for even the two Deans to determine the victor of this match via eyesight alone. Thus, I had no choice but to receive both attacks with my body. I know, I was injured by Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s Netherworld White Tiger, so they should¡¯ve obtained the win. However, I ask all of you: As a Soul Douluo, is my defense really that weak? They were using a fusion skill, but it was still a fusion between a Soul Elder and Soul Grandmaster. If they were actually able to directly wound me, even when I¡¯d used my soul power to protect myself, then I might as well resign from my position of Director.¡±

    The anger and discontent in Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes gradually vanished as he listened to Du Weilun¡¯s words. Right! As an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, how could their fusion skill actually injure him? That was truly somewhat inconceivable.

    Du Weilun continued, ¡°With this, everyone should¡¯ve guessed the answer to this question. The reason why the Netherworld White Tiger was able to injure me was because I¡¯d taken on another fusion skill. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, I still don¡¯t know the name of your fusion skill. As a person who personally took on your fusion skill, don¡¯t I have the qualifications to know what it¡¯s name is?¡±

    Wang Dongughed softly. ¡°Teacher Du, you¡¯re the first person to receive our fusion skill. This is also the first time we¡¯ve used it in an actual battle after testing it out.¡±

    Du Weilun was somewhat astonished as he looked at him. ¡°I¡¯m extremely honoured to have been the first to receive it. Then, can I know its name?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°Of course. Yuhao, you tell him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gazed towards the distant Dai Huabin, then spoke slowly with a calm voice, ¡°Our fusion skill is called ¡®The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.¡¯¡±

    Du Weilun cast his gaze downwards, and a trace of shock shed through his eyes. A 30-meter long, half-meter deep gorge had appeared in the ground of the Assessment Arena, which flickered with a dazzling golden luster that couldn¡¯t be concealed beneath the sun¡¯s rays.

    Previously, the teachers atop the tall stage had only been paying attention to the oue of the battle. Thus, they only noticed the dazzling golden road after Huo Yuhao mentioned it. The golden trail stretched all the way to where Du Weilun was standing.

    Du Weilun nodded slightly. ¡°I have to admit, your fusion skill is one of the most peculiar ones I¡¯ve ever seen. The fact that you two were able to release this much power with your current cultivation ranks has already exceeded the range of my research towards fusion skills. I believe that yourpatibility rate is definitely extremely high.¡±

    With that, he turned back towards Dai Huabin¡¯s trio. ¡°There¡¯s only one reason why your Netherworld White Tiger was able to injure me. Before your attack reached me, I was struck by their Golden Road. Only after that did your attack arrive. The effect of a fusion skill is a soul master¡¯s secret, so that¡¯s all I can say about their attack. The other two Deans were also there just now, and I believe that they were able to tell whose skill was superior from the fluctuations in my soul power the instant I was struck.¡±

    ¡°Your Netherworld White Tiger is extremely strong. In a situation like that, you undoubtedly would¡¯ve won if you were able to dodge their Golden Road. However, you were stunned after being hit by Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul skill. In other words, you would¡¯ve been unable to dodge it. Under those circumstances, you would¡¯ve definitely lost after taking their Golden Road head-on. Alright, that¡¯s all I can say. The freshmen assessment has ended. The freshmen meeting will ur tomorrow afternoon, and the top three teams will receive their prizes while we divide you all into your sses for your first year.¡±

    ¡°If you win, don¡¯t be arrogant; if you lose, don¡¯t be discouraged. This is a necessity if you want to improve. You¡¯re all a part of the most outstanding students I¡¯ve seen in this year¡¯s freshmen; I don¡¯t wish for this match to affect your future growth. Alright, let¡¯s end it here.¡±

    With that, Du Weilun turned away and hurriedly left the Assessment Area.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s body swayed slightly. He was only able to avoid falling down with Zhu Lu¡¯s help. The obstinance and arrogance that had once filled his face had been swept away, with disbelief and an intense unwillingness taking its ce.

    I lost, I actually lost. I lost to two opponents who had cultivations far below mine. How is this possible? How could this be possible?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyesight was exceedingly good, which allowed him to clearly see the changes in Dai Huabin¡¯s expression. A hard-to-describe feeling of tion rose in his heart, and he suddenly discovered that beating Dai Huabin at his most conceited state seemed to be a very good way of obtaining revenge.

    ¡°We won!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re the champions!¡±

    Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong¡¯s exuberant cheers rang out, and the two of them grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao and flung him into the air.

    Three people, one team. They had finally be the champions of the freshmen assessment. But, who was the true nucleus of their team? Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong were fully aware of who it was.

    Without a doubt, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s powerful strength had beenpletely disyed during their many matches, attracting the attention of all of the teachers. However, were it not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Shock, as well as his grasp of the battlefield and his movements at the vital points of their battles, and were it not for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s fusion skill, how could they have reached their current position?

 Chapter 32.2: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Chapter 32.2: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Huo Yuhao was extremely weak by himself, but even a Soul Grandmaster wouldn¡¯t have been able to do better than he had! Disregarding their friendship, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both truly admired him. Huo Yuhao had an astonishing amount of both talent and diligence, but only the two of them knew of that fact.

    Zhou Yi had already left the tall stage and was running towards them. The always-strict teacher currently looked as excited as a child as she hugged Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio and cheered exuberantly.

    The teacher in charge of Dai Huabin¡¯s ss had also walked over to their team to console the trio. However, the expression on Dai Huabin¡¯s face hadn¡¯t changed at all. From time to time, he¡¯d nce viciously towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio with his fists tightly clenched. Next time, I won¡¯t lose!

    The results for the freshmen assessment¡¯s final round spread throughout the entire school extremely fast. However, Huo Yuhao once again decided to skip selling roasted fish. Instead, he went into the wilderness alongside Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, and Tang Ya, and roasted some fish for them.

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio to be the champions; they¡¯d given up the concept when they heard that there¡¯d be three Soul Elders participating in the knock-out tournament. And yet, despite the odds, Huo Yuhao had managed to give them an enormous surprise.

    ¡°Wang Dong, do you still want to join our Tang Sect?¡± Tang Ya only recalled Wang Dong¡¯s wish to join the Tang Sect after she¡¯d finished gorging herself on roasted fish.

    Wang Dong hurriedly nodded. ¡°Of course I¡¯d still like to join!¡±

    Tang Ya giggled. ¡°Alright, seeing as you guys were able to be the champions, this Sect Master can¡¯t renege on her words. I¡¯ll let you join the Tang Sect like I promised. Xiao Xiao, what about you? Are you interested as well?¡±

    Xiao Xiao blinked and mumbled, ¡°The Tang Sect?¡±

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°Right! The Tang Sect. Our Tang Sect doesn¡¯t have many benefits to offer you if you do join, but we value all of our disciples. Our Tang Sect will definitely impart all of its secret techniques to its disciples for them to cultivate.¡±

    Xiao Xiao smiled. ¡°That sounds good. I¡¯ll join as well. In any case, I don¡¯t have a sect I¡¯m tied to. Sister Tang Ya, I want to learn that footwork technique that Yuhao used.¡±

    Xiao Xiao nodded graciously. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll teach it to both of you when we get back.¡± Despite how carefree she appeared to be, she was actually extremely happy right now. There was no need to doubt Wang Dong¡¯s strength; arge part of why Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had been able to be champions had been due to his strength. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao¡¯s talent didn¡¯t lose out to Wang Dong¡¯s in the slightest; she had twin martial souls! Tang Ya had never expected her to agree to join the Tang Sect so easily.

    In reality, the reason that Xiao Xiao had been willing to join the Tang Sect was due to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, but Tang Ya didn¡¯t know that. The fusion skill that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had unleashed had simply been too breathtaking to her; the more she stayed with them, the more favourable her impression of them became. Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength and looks were much inferior to Wang Dong¡¯s, but his calmness and unswerving determination were things that Wang Dong didn¡¯t have. Xiao Xiao believed that the future Huo Yuhao would definitely wouldn¡¯t lose out to Wang Dong in the slightest, and being in a team with them would definitely be a good thing, regardless of whether it was for her cultivation or for her future.

    Goodpanions were a must in the world of soul masters, and Xiao Xiao had already gotten used to the carefree and uninhibited way of fighting that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection allowed. Furthermore, the three of them were getting more and more coordinated with each other; if they were able to enter Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, they¡¯d have to stay together for ten years at the very least. If they continued to work together like this, their team would be iparably steadfast once they left Shrek Academy.

    However, in the end, Xiao Xiao was still just a little girl who¡¯d only thought about her future and havingpanions that she could trust. She hadn¡¯t thought too deeply about the seriousness of her decision to join the Tang Sect. On the other side of the equation, Tang Ya had been able to conveniently get another member at a huge bargain.

    As of now, the Tang Sect had be a five-person sect, which was more than twice the size of its original two. Although they weren¡¯t very old, the Tang Sect had finally increased in size.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve all passed the freshmen assessment, you¡¯ll be split into your respective sses. The assault and control systems are all part of the same family, and you three are on the same team, so you¡¯ll probably be ced in the same ss. I don¡¯t need to repeat this to Yuhao, but you two should¡¯ve heard that our Tang Sect is famous for our hidden weapons. However, the appearance of soul tools has gradually caused hidden weapons to disappear from the stage of history. That¡¯s the main reason that our Tang Sect has fallen into decline. As such, we need to redefine our hidden weapons in order for the Tang Sect to reemerge, but they can¡¯t be as simple as our previous hidden weapons. The only way that we can reforge our glory is bybining hidden weapons with soul tools. What do you two think about soul tools? After you formally bing first year students, you should choose to study them.¡±

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao nced at each other, furrowing their brows slightly. Xiao Xiao replied in a soft voice, ¡°Since I have two martial souls, I won¡¯t have enough time to cultivate if I have to research and create soul tools. I feel that soul masters should focus on cultivating as their main priority. Research soul tools is something that only soul masters with subpar talent or martial souls are willing to do, no?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°I agree with Xiao Xiao. I don¡¯t really feel like learning how to forge a soul tool either.¡±

    After speaking their mind, the two of them originally thought that Bei Bei and Tang Ya would be unhappy. However, they unexpectedly began tough. Helpless, Tang Ya replied, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you two are outstanding students of the Martial Soul Department! That¡¯s the typical way of thinking for a student from the Martial Soul Department. In fact, you¡¯re not the only ones who think that way. Even Bei Bei and I think that you wouldn¡¯t have enough time to cultivate if you were to study soul tools as well. There won¡¯t be a lot of time for you two to carefully study soul tools, thus, just do as you wish. The Tang Sect won¡¯t force everyone on to a specific path of cultivation. I was just wondering whether any of you were interested in it. You all have exceptional talent, so it won¡¯t be too good if you¡¯re distracted. We¡¯ll just have to recruit a few disciples that are specialised in cultivating soul tools in the future.¡±

    However, at that moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly opened his mouth, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I wish to study soul tools.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re willing to?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Soul tools have their own unique fascinating aspects. Since they were able to rece our Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons and be the most valued weapons in the world, they definitely can¡¯t be weak. I want to try them out. If I don¡¯t have the talent for them, then nevermind. But if I do have the talent for them, I want to learn as much as I can about them.¡±

    ¡°Good! Good!¡± Tang Ya was overjoyed. ¡°Soul tools truly do fit you. You have a mental-type martial soul, which makes it so that you¡¯recking a way to attack your opponents at the moment. If you had a soul tool with you, yourbat power would increase exponentially. Furthermore, the strength of your soul tools will increase as yourprehension of them increases as well.¡±

    Bei Bei reminded him, ¡°Junior brother, you have to manage your time well. Your martial soul has a lot of potential, thus you can¡¯t spend too much time on your soul tools. After all, both soul power and soul rings are the foundation of a soul master. Some stronger soul tools even require soul power to activate.¡±

 Chapter 32.3: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Chapter 32.3: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    ¡°Yes, Senior Brother.¡± Huo Yuhao answered hurriedly. He already had his own ns in mind. After witnessing the domineering might of a stationary soul tool, his interest in soul tools had been piqued. He knew that the target of his revenge was extremely strong, so he needed to use every bit of strength he could. How could he know how strong soul tools were without studying them beforehand?

    He didn¡¯t know this at the moment, but his way of thinking would be verified in the not too distant future. The study of soul tools would eventually open a huge door for him.

    Tang Ya mused, ¡°Now that I think about it, you might not be able to cultivate in the Soul Tool Department even if you wanted to. Aih, there are many prizes thate along with winning the freshmen assessment, but there are nock of problems either! Yuhao, you should continue to cultivate properly if you can¡¯t get into the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was briefly stunned, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, why wouldn¡¯t I be able to enter the Soul Tool Department?¡±

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°Do you know what the rewards for the freshmen assessment are?¡±

    When they heard the word ¡®rewards¡¯, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes lit up. They weren¡¯t able to conceal their desire much because of how young they were. Shrek Academy was the number one soul master academy in the world, and they had managed to be the champions of the freshmen assessment. How could their rewards becking in any way?

    Wang Dong impatiently asked, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, what will our rewards be?¡± He¡¯d already started to call Tang Ya ¡®teacher¡¯, just like Huo Yuhao, despite having just joined the Tang Sect.

    Tang Ya replied, ¡°There¡¯s a slight difference between each year¡¯s rewards, but they¡¯ll generally be the same. Generally speaking, the rewards are determined based off the quality of the entire batch of freshmen. I don¡¯t know about past years, but I¡¯ve never seen a Soul Elder in a batch of freshmen during the few years that I¡¯ve been in Shrek Academy; you¡¯re the first batch of freshmen I¡¯ve ever seen that has had Soul Elders among them. Because of that, I reckon that you¡¯ll get extremely good rewards. I don¡¯t know about the other rewards you¡¯ll receive, but there¡¯s always a specific reward given to the champions of the freshmen assessment, and that is¡ªthe opportunity to be a core disciple.¡±

    ¡°A core disciple?¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d heard of the term. Teacher Zhou had mentioned it in the past.

    Tang Ya nodded. ¡°You¡¯re the champions of the freshmen assessment, so there wouldn¡¯t be any problems for you to be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. However, once you be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, the Academy will give you even more resources in order to ensure that you diligently pursue your studies and be an even stronger soul master. Because of this, the Martial Soul Department will naturally not allow you to enter the Soul Tool Department. After all, the Martial Soul Department has always held a leading role in our academy.¡±

    Only then did Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio understand what Bei Bei had meant. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel happy when he recalled the nutritious meals core disciples ate everyday.

    When Bei Bei nced towards Huo Yuhao, a trace of worry shed through his eyes. Still, he didn¡¯t say it out loud. Instead, he thought to himself, I hope that I¡¯m just worrying for nothing.

    ¡ª-

    It was another bright and beautiful morning, while the air within Shrek Academy was both clean and extremely moist due to the presence of the Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    All of the students who¡¯d passed the freshmen assessment were gathered in Shrek za, waiting for to be assigned to their sses.

    The Director of the Martial Soul Department¡ªDu Weilun¡ªquickly walked to the front of Shrek za, alongside ten or so other teachers. Huo Yuhao only recognised two of the teachers who were following him. One of which was naturally their previous ss¡¯s teacher, Zhou Yi, while the other was Teacher Wang Yan. He only had a vague impression of the other teachers.

    Du Weilun held a folder in his hands and swept his gaze over the small group of students with a smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sure that everyone already knows this, but the freshmen assessment¡¯s knock-out tournament has now ended. The top three ces have also been decided. As such, I will now formally announce the the top three teams and hand out their prizes. Third ce in the freshmen assessment goes to Team Huang Chutian. Team members: Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo. Please step forward.¡±

    Right, Team Huang Chutian, who Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had previously defeated, had obtained third ce in the freshmen assessment. They¡¯d lost to Dai Huabin¡¯s team during the semifinals, but they¡¯d been able to obtain third ce by beating Zhou Sichen¡¯s team. In actual fact, they¡¯d been extremely lucky. During their match with Team Zhou Sichen, the Lan sisters had recovered the ability to use their fusion skill, allowing them to defeat their opponents. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to win based on their individual strength alone.

    The three walked up to Du Weilun with Huang Chutian standing in front. Their young faces were slightly flushed due to their excitement. Obtaining third ce in the freshmen assessment had far surpassed their expectations!

    The first year students immediately let out a thunderous apuse. After the knock-out tournament, there were only around three hundred students left in Year 1. This was a third of the number of students who¡¯d been present at the beginning of the year.

    ¡°Second ce goes to Team Dai Huabin. Team members: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie. Step forward.¡±

    Apuse rang out yet again, but Dai Huabin¡¯s team had no traces of excitement on their faces as they stepped forward. This was especially so for Dai Huabin; his expression was clouded, and his head was lowered slightly, as if he had something else on his mind. His eyes were even somewhat bloodshot.

    After pausing for a brief moment, Du Weilun used a slightly louder voice to continue speaking, ¡°Next, can everyone enthusiastically cheer for the first ce champions of the freshmen assessment! They are¡ªTeam Wang Dong! Team members: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao.¡±

    The crowd immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio were somewhat stunned when they heard Du Weilun¡¯s announcement.

    ording to the name that ss 1 had handed in to the academy, their team should¡¯ve been called Team Huo Yuhao, as Huo Yuhao was the leader of their team! However, the trio didn¡¯t dare to slow down under the cheers and apuse from the many Year 1 students. They hurriedly stepped forward, but Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao deliberately slowed down as they walked, allowing Huo Yuhao to remain in front.

    A smile appeared in Du Weilun¡¯s eyes as he watched the three of them walk forward, indicating for them to stand in the middle. Huo Yuhao towards Dai Huabin, but Dai Huabin himself was actually looking at Wang Dong. He clearly didn¡¯t think that his loss had anything to do with Huo Yuhao.

    Du Weilun said, ¡°Alright, I will now announce the prizes for the top three teams of the freshmen assessment. First, each of the members of the top three teams will receive a prize from the Academy itself. All of them will be able to request assistance from the Academy in order to obtain a soul ring that he or she can withstand when the time arises. Furthermore, it will be a soul ring that is most suitable for them.¡±

    Once he finished speaking, the students of Year 1 immediately let out astonished gasps. This prize was equivalent to the Academy promising them that their next soul ring would definitely be an optimum one. For example, if Huo Yuhao could withstand a seven hundred year soul ring for his second one, the Academy would find a suitable seven hundred year soul ring for him. This would be the case for every single member of the top three teams. This prize was extremely valuable.

 Chapter 32.4: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Chapter 32.4: Rewards and the Core Disciples

    Du Weilun continued, ¡°In light of both Team Wang Dong¡¯s exceptional performance, and their lossless win-streak throughout the entire tournament, the Academy has also decided to award them something special. However, this reward will be kept secret by the Academy. When the ss-division has been finished, the three of you can follow me to collect it.¡±

    A special reward on top of what they¡¯d already received? This really showcased the difference between the champion team and the second and third ce teams. Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio immediately became excited; even the awkwardness that they felt from Du Weilun calling them ¡®Team Wang Dong¡¯ had diminished greatly.

    Nobody had any objections to Huo Yuhao¡¯s team obtaining an additional reward, as they¡¯d managed to defeat teams led by the Soul Elder-ranked Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, and Dai Huabin throughout the course of the tournament. The three great Soul Elders among the freshmen had all lost to their team; it wasn¡¯t simply luck that they¡¯d be champions. For them to receive even more rewards would definitely be within reason.

    Du Weilun said, ¡°Alright, you all can return.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and the other eight students returned to their original positions.

    Du Weilun then said, ¡°The quality of this year¡¯s students exceeds that of previous years, thus I hope that you all can continue to work hard. The Heavens reward the diligent, so I hope that all of you will be able to smoothly graduate while obtaining excellent results. Now then, seeing that a few outstanding students have appeared in this year¡¯s freshmen assessment, the Academy has decided to promote a few students to core disciples. I will now announce the names of the students that¡¯ve been promoted.¡±

    Shrek za immediately becamepletely silent. After all, core disciples didn¡¯t onlye from the top three teams! Du Weilun hadn¡¯t said it outright, but who didn¡¯t know that core disciples would receive arge amount of resources from the Academy? This issue concerned every single student present, thus, they all listened attentively, in fear that they¡¯d miss their own name being called.

    Du Weilun opened the file he¡¯d been carrying, then began to read through the names of the students who¡¯d been promoted to core disciples, ¡°In ordance with the performance of the students during the freshmen assessment, the Academy has decided to choose these following students as core disciples: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng.¡±

    The instant that Du Weilun had mentioned core disciples, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao simultaneously thought inwardly, Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s information was actually correct.

    When Du Weilun called out Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s names at the very start, the two of them clearly became excited. However, this was followed by astonishment when they realized that Du Weilun hadn¡¯t called out Huo Yuhao¡¯s name. Instead, he¡¯d directly skipped to Dai Huabin. How was this possible? Huo Yuhao was their leader!

    They still held a trace of hope in their hearts as Du Weilun continued down his list, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s name still wasn¡¯t announced.

    Huo Yuhao was also astonished. In that instant, he felt as if something had been wrenched out from his heart, and his face immediately turned pale white.

    Ever since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy, he¡¯d cultivated with all his might, and had worked tirelessly to improve himself. When the others were resting, he¡¯d been cultivating; when the others had been cking off, he¡¯d still been cultivating. When the freshmen assessment had begun, he¡¯d put his all into working together with his teammates, which had allowed him to obtain the highest form of glory a freshmen could receive. But why? Why wasn¡¯t I chosen as a core disciple? Why?

    On the surface, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed. However, his heart had a dark side that ordinary children wouldn¡¯t have. The darkness that had gradually umted during his childhood had nearly exploded out when he saw Dai Huabin, but he¡¯d forcefully suppressed it. However, right now, he once again felt like he was going to lose control of himself. Why, why did they have to do this to me? He finally realised why Du Weilun had referred to their team as ¡®Team Wang Dong¡¯ instead of ¡®Team Huo Yuhao¡¯ during his speech. This had all been nned from the start!

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were naturally able to sense how strangely Huo Yuhao was acting. Wang Dong hurriedly grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm, fearing that he¡¯d act rashly. However, he didn¡¯t know what to say at the moment. Both he and Xiao Xiao had be core disciples, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t. How would he be feeling right now?

    At this point, Du Weilun continued, ¡°However, although a few students are currently somewhatcking in terms of their talent and ability, they still performed exceptionally well during the freshmen assessment. As such, the Academy has decided to temporarily let them enjoy the benefits of a core disciple until the school year finishes. If they¡¯re able to make a breakthrough by next year¡¯s promotion assessment, the Academy will consider making them formal core disciples. These students are as follows: Huo Yuhao, Cui Yajie, Huang Chutian, Long Xiangyue, and Nanmen Yun¡¯er. The announcement is now finished.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was somewhat vacant, but the anger in his heart gradually receded. That¡¯s right! My abilities are still somewhatcking. Of all the people that were chosen as core disciples, I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s yet to reach Rank 20. A pained look shed through his eyes. Lowering his head, Huo Yuhao buried his sadness deep in his heart.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I¡¯m able to release a fusion skill with Wang Dong, maybe I might not have even received the temporary treatment of a core disciple. But, who can I me? I can only me the fact that I¡¯m not strong enough yet, and the fact that my first soul ring is only a ten year soul ring in their eyes. A self-depreciating smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips, but when he raised his head back up, his smile had disappeared, and a trace of coldness had appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you okay?¡± Wang Dong whispered.

    Huo Yuhao softly shook his head, then forced himself to smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just don¡¯t have the qualifications to be a core disciple. After all, I¡¯m only a Rank 17 Soul Master.¡±

    Wang Dong hurriedly replied, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it! They don¡¯t know how important you are¡­¡±

    Xiao Xiao nodded her head in agreement.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s smile became slightly more natural. ¡°I¡¯m really fine. Didn¡¯t Director Du say that I¡¯d still be able to enjoy the treatment of a core disciple? That¡¯s already an extremely good reward. I¡¯ll continue to work hard. Who knows? I might be able to formally be a core disciple by the time the promotion assessmentes around.¡±

    Wang Dong sighed softly as he released Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. He¡¯d been together with Huo Yuhao for a long time, and they werepanions who shared a fusion skill. He understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s personality to some extent by now: Huo Yuhao had a calm appearance and a gentle temperament on the surface, but he was actually a very strong-minded person. When he¡¯d heard of Huo Yuhao¡¯s background, Wang Dong had gradually begun to understand the obstinance and unbending will that Huo Yuhao had buried deep within his heart. However, no one else would be able to help him. If he wanted to cross this threshold in his heart, he¡¯d have to rely on himself.

    Following that, the division of sses began. Year 1 was split into four sses: ss 1, which had assault-type and control-type soul masters, ss 2, which had defense-type and agility-type soul masters, ss 3, which had auxiliary-type soul masters, and ss 4, which had food-type, healing-type, and other unique types of both Battle and Tool Soul Masters.

    Without a doubt, the strongest ss was naturally ss 1. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were all ced in this ss. In ss 2, the strongest student in it was undoubtedly the defense specialist, Xie Huanyue. His Rubberdon truly stood out as a uniquely defensive martial soul. ss 3 was an auxiliary-type ss, but it didn¡¯t consist of only auxiliary-type soul masters. Instead, it was meant for both Battle and Tool Soul Masters who could directly aid their teammates during a battle. An example would be Ning Tian, who had the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. As for ss 4, it consisted of a diverse range of soul masters. Comparatively speaking, they had nobat power whatsoever. Instead they had unique abilities that fit within certain special fields. Of them, the most important soul masters in ss 4 were food-type and healing-type ones.

    Almost all year groups were split this way, with the sses from higher years having fewer students in each ss. Shrek Academy¡¯s expulsion rate had always been extremely high; the number of students who were able to sessfully graduate from the outer courtyard each year didn¡¯t exceed fifty. In other words, if 20% of the current three hundred or so students were able to graduate, that would be an extremely good result.

    When everyone had been ced in their sses, the teachers in charge of each ss introduced themselves. The only piece of good news for Huo Yuhao was that Zhou Yi was one of the teachers in charge of ss 1. Every ss had two teachers, and the other teacher in charge of Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss was Wang Yan, who¡¯d viewed him highly.

    Wang Yan, who¡¯d originally intended to teach the higher years, had actually chosen toe to Year 1¡¯s ss 1 and teach alongside Zhou Yi for the sake of Huo Yuhao, but not even Zhou Yi knew that.

    ¡°Alright, follow your new teachers and return to the school buildings. Wang Dong, you three follow me and im your prize.¡± Director Du Weilun announced.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have returned to normal. At the very least, one wouldn¡¯t be able to see that his emotions had been affected based on his external appearance alone. The three proceeded to follow Du Weilun to the teacher¡¯s offices, which were located behind the higher year¡¯s school buildings.

    Du Weilun¡¯s office was situated on the top floor, and his office was much bigger than Zhou Yi¡¯s. Although it didn¡¯t have any fanciful decorations, there were four bookcases inside, which were filled with an abundant number of books.

    Du Weilun smiled and pointed towards the sofa. ¡°Come, sit. Huo Yuhao, don¡¯t let this burden you. You¡¯ve seen it as well. It wasn¡¯t just you; there were also a few students from the top three teams who weren¡¯t able to be core disciples. You performed extremely well, especially considering the fact that you were able to help Wang Dong release a fusion skill. However, your individual ability still needs to be improved. When you need your second soul ring, you can request assistance from the Academy in order to ensure that you obtain an optimal soul ring. If you also manage to perform exceptionally well during your Year 2 promotion assessment, the Academy will consider formally epting you as a core disciple.¡±

    Wang Dong began, ¡°Director Du, it¡¯s not like that! Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t helping me, it was¡­¡± At that point, he was suddenly stopped by Du Weilun, who¡¯d raised his hand. In Du Weilun¡¯s opinion, this was merely a show of friendship between two young kids.

    Huo Yuhao also tugged on Wang Dong¡¯s sleeve, then replied respectfully to Du Weilun, ¡°Director Du, I¡¯ll definitely work hard. Thank you for your concern.¡±

 Chapter 33.1: Two Soul Bones

    Chapter 33.1: Two Soul Bones

    Du Weilun was extremely pleased with Huo Yuhao¡¯s attitude. Nodding his head, therge red gem on his right hand shed, causing a leather bag to appear in his hands.

    The leather bag seemed to be a soul tool, as there were a few dark-colored patterns inscribed on the brown bag, and Huo Yuhao was able to sense minute undtions of soul power from it.

    Du Weilun said, ¡°Children, seeing as how you were able to defeat three Soul Elders, and have be the champions of the freshmen assessment, I¡¯ve requested that the Academy make an exception and give you another prize. However, there¡¯s only a single prize¡ªwhich means that you¡¯ll have to choose who to give it to. At the same time, this is the most valuable prize that the Academy has given out in the past three hundred years. Take a look.¡± After he¡¯d finished speaking, he handed the leather bag to Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong reached out his hand and received the leather bag. At that moment, he was still feeling somewhat downcast due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s inability to be a core disciple. As a result of this, his excitement towards the reward had dulled greatly. When he¡¯d received the leather bag, he subconsciously untied the string holding it closed.

    A ball of yellow light was instantly released from the leather bag without any warning. Under the astonished gazes of Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio, it slowly rose into the air.

    It was a small yet exquisite bone that seemed to be about the size of one¡¯s palm. It radiated a pale yellow light, which caused the heartbeats of Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio to palpate the instant they saw it. The strong undtions of soul power it emanated caused the air within the office to seemingly be viscous. This was the first time that they¡¯d experienced a strange feeling like this.

    ¡°This, this is¡­ a soul bone?¡± Wang Dong asked, an astonished look on his face. Even though Du Weilun had hinted that their prize was extremely valuable, they¡¯d never even thought that it¡¯d be a soul bone. This was a soul bone! This was something that was a hundred times more valuable than a soul ring to a soul master!

    A soul ring was an energy-based object that would always appear when a soul beast died, but the chances of a soul bone appearing were less than one in ten thousand. Even though higher ranked soul beasts had a higher chance to drop soul bones, only hundred thousand year soul beasts were guaranteed to drop soul bones.

    If a soul master managed to obtain a soul bone, their strength would immediately go up a level, which would allow them to have an enormous advantage against other soul masters of the same rank. However, a soul master could only have six soul bones at most: The head bone, the torso bone, and the four limb bones. Of the six possible soul bones one could have, the most valuable one was the torso bone. However, it was also the rarest among the six. The head bone was the second most valuable, while the four limb bones were slightly less precious.

    Even though that was the case, a soul bone would always be the most precious item at a country¡¯s auction when it was present, regardless of which country the auction was held in. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t a market where one could simply buy a soul bone. One would need a hundred thousand gold soul coins, at the very minimum, in order to stand a chance at buying one in an auction. More often than not, one would need to barter to obtain a soul bone.

    Regardless of how rich Shrek Academy was, they still didn¡¯t have that many soul bones stored away. Only the most outstanding students, or students who¡¯d performed extraordinarily meritorious deeds, would have a chance at obtaining a soul bone as a reward. When the Academy handed out a reward such as this, it signified that they thought that the benefits and influence they¡¯d gain in the future outweighed the cost of the soul bone.

    Huo Yuhao still had some resentment buried deep in his heart from not being made a core disciple. However, the instant he saw the soul bone, both it and the threshold in his heart gradually disappeared. It wasn¡¯t because it was something that he desired, but rather because it allowed him to realise how fair the Academy was.

    He hadn¡¯t been able to be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, yet could the Academy be med for being unfair? After all, he only had a single soul ring! Freshmen with higher cultivations than him weremonce, and even though he was a member of the champion team, he had only been a bystander in the eyes of those watching. His first soul ring was also only a white one. If he¡¯d been ced in Du Weilun¡¯s position, would he have been willing to let himself be a core disciple?

    The knot in his heart had already begun to undo itself, thus Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression began to rx more and more. Following that, his original stiffly respectful attitude became much more natural.

    Du Weilun smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect that, eh? Correct, your prize is a soul bone. However, you all should know just how valuable soul bones are. Because of this, there¡¯s only a single one despite there being three of you. As such, you¡¯ll have to decide who to give it to after you get back. However, don¡¯t let this soul bone affect your friendship. Even though soul bones are hard to find, goodpanions are even rarer than soul bones. Now then, I¡¯ll give you guys a quick rundown of this soul bone.¡±

    ¡°This soul bone is something that I chose especially for you guys, as both assault-type and control-type soul masters can use it. It¡¯s a left leg bone known as the ¡®Emptybright Devil Leopard¡¯s Left Leg Bone¡¯. After fusing with it, a soul master will experience an increase in speed, as well as obtain an offensive skill that can be activated using their left leg. However, the greatest benefit of this soul bone lies in the fact that it will produce different skills when fused with different martial souls. However, it¡¯ll definitely be suitable for all three of you. I¡¯ll give it to you now, along with this leather bag. The leather bag can conceal the soul power undtions generated by the soul bone. You should fuse with it as quickly as possible as, even though the Academy grounds are extremely safe, a precious treasure can doom an innocent man. Also, you¡¯ll have to keep this a secret for the Academy. Now then, I trust that you¡¯ll know what to do.¡±

    After putting the soul bone away, Du Weilun sent them off. The trio respectfully bid him farewell as they left the school building.

    The instant they stepped out of the building, they all simultaneously stopped walking. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao all nced towards one other, afterwich Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Let¡¯s give it to Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°I agree.¡±

    After saying this, the two looked towards Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong had already ced the leather bag in front of him. In terms of individual strength, there was no doubt that Huo Yuhao was currently the weakest of the three. If he obtained this left leg soul bone, he¡¯d finally possess an attacking skill. Combined with the increase in speed he¡¯d receive from fusing with the soul bone, Huo Yuhao would immediately have the strength to contend against the other core disciples.

    However, Huo Yuhao resolutely shook his head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t have this soul bone. Wang Dong, have you forgotten the concept of dies first¡¯? We have to give this soul bone to Xiao Xiao. This is only our first assessment in the Academy. So long as we work even harder and obtain even better results, we¡¯ll definitely receive another soul bone as a reward. Of the three of us, Xiao Xiao is the only girl. You both recognise me as your team leader, so how could I take something as good as this away from the both of you?¡±

    Although he was quite young, he could tell that Du Weilun hadn¡¯t nned to give this soul bone to him. Furthermore, it was as he¡¯d said. As a leader, how could he reap all the benefits for himself?

    Xiao Xiao was stunned. ¡°Yuhao, you can¡¯t be like this. You yed the most important role in our matches. At the same time, you¡¯re the person who needs this soul bone the most!¡±

    Huo Yuhao simply smiled. ¡°Xiao Xiao, you don¡¯t need to say anything else. I¡¯ve already decided. No matter what, I don¡¯t want this soul bone. Haven¡¯t you at least thought about it? It¡¯s true that I might be able to obtain an attacking-type skill when I fuse with this soul bone, but I¡¯m a mental-type soul master; having a skill like that might not be a good thing for me! I need to work even harder, and use my own ability to be even stronger. Giving me a soul bone right now might unwittingly make me overly reliant on the attack power it gives me, but you¡¯re a different story. Even though you have twin martial souls, an increase in speed is definitely the best benefit you could receive right now, as an increase in speed would make it much safer for you to activate your two Tool Souls on the battlefield. I¡¯ve already thought it through; this soul bone is most suited for you, there¡¯s no doubt about it. Ladies first, you don¡¯t have to be polite.¡±

    Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao, then nced at Xiao Xiao. Helpless, he said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re valuing a lover over your friend!¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled. ¡°Save it, you. To him, you¡¯re the lover and I¡¯m the friend. It¡¯s fine if a girl and a guy hug each other during a fusion skill, but you two guys hug each other for yours, hehe.¡±

    Wang Dong immediately flew into a rage and threw the leather bag that contained the soul bone towards Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao caught it and continued tough. ¡°I won¡¯t be polite then. If we get another soul bone as a team, one of you two can have it.¡±

    After she¡¯d finished speaking, she put the soul bone away in her storage-type soul tool. An inconceble smile of excitement had appeared on her face.

    Wang Dong turned to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, you weren¡¯t able to be a core disciple. This¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve already thought it through. Even though I might have the qualifications to be a core disciple when I¡¯m together with you, what about when I¡¯m alone? Would I still be able to defeat my enemies? If my opponent had an area of effect ability and was wary of my Spiritual Shock, I definitely wouldn¡¯t even have a chance at beating him without your help. The Academy not choosing me as a core disciple was a fair decision. Thus, I need to work even harder to prove myself.¡±

    ¡°Well said.¡± A voice that was familiar, yet made them shudder, suddenly rang out. They turned to see Zhou Yi slowly approaching them.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished. Wasn¡¯t Teacher Zhou supposed to have taken the students of ss 1 back to the school buildings with Teacher Wang? Why had she suddenly appeared here?

    Zhou Yi looked deeply towards Huo Yuhao, then revealed a rarely-seen look of gratification and satisfaction. ¡°Yuhao, I came to see you. I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d be able to figure it out by yourself. However, I¡¯m very happy; you¡¯re worthy to be called a disciple of mine. Oh, right. Since you guys were able to be the champions of the freshman tournament, I have a present for you as well.¡± After she finished speaking, the storage-type soul tool on her hand, which was in the form of a silver bracelet, shed. A leather bag appeared in her hands, and she passed it to Huo Yuhao.

    The leather bag was virtually identical to the one that Director Du Weilun had given them, which instantly bbergasted Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be?¡± The three said in unison.

    Zhou Yi was stunned as well. ¡°What can¡¯t be?¡±

    Xiao Xiao speechlessly took out the leather bag containing the Emptybright Devil Leopard¡¯s Left Leg Bone that she¡¯d just put away. They needed to keep it a secret from other students, but why would they hide it from the teacher in charge of their ss?

 Chapter 33.2: Two Soul Bones

    Chapter 33.2: Two Soul Bones

    Zhou Yi was instantly astonished. ¡°This is¡­? Is this the prize the school gave you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio simultaneously nodded.

    A trace of excitement appeared in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that Director Du was being so secretive. He¡¯d actually nned to give you something as valuable as this. What soul bone is this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave her a brief exnation of its abilities, and told her that they nned to give it to Xiao Xiao.

    Zhou Yi nodded. ¡°You¡¯re all good kids! You have to know, even Soul Emperor¡ªor even Soul Douluo-ranked experts¡ªwould find it hard to remain calm when they were facing a soul bone! I¡¯m only giving you another soul bone because you deserve it. Do you still remember that match you guys had with Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun¡¯er? During that match, I made a bet with their teacher; that¡¯s how I won this soul bone. It¡¯s a rtively poor quality soul bone, but it has the ability to fuse with other soul bones. If you can find two more soul bones that have simr attributes to this one, you can fuse them together with this one. It¡¯s a priceless treasure to someone who needs it, but the chances of you being able able to obtain two other soul bones with simr attributes to this one are simply too small. Thus, I¡¯d suggest you fuse with it right away. It¡¯s a left arm bone, and it¡¯s known as the Secret Law Soul¡¯s Left Arm Bone. Actually¡­ this can¡¯t really be considered a true soul bone, as it wasn¡¯t produced by a single soul beast.¡±

    ¡°This Secret Law Soul Bone was obtained through a special, yet brutal method. To obtain a single Secret Law Soul Bone, one has to kill a hundred soul beasts of the same type within an hour, then use a secret technique to activate all of their soul rings at the same time. Even then, there¡¯s only a 10% chance that it will produce this soul bone. It¡¯s a rtively simple method of obtaining a soul bone, but due to its low sess rate and brutality, very few soul masters do it. If you directly fuse with it, it¡¯ll increase your soul power by 5%. It doesn¡¯t sound like much, but this increase will always be there, regardless of your cultivation rank. Once your cultivation rank has increased, its effects will be much more obvious.¡±

    Huo Yuhao received the leather bag that Zhou Yi gave him, then turned to Wang Dong. However, Wang Dong immediately faced away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I don¡¯t want it. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a little bit too ordinary for me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt touched when he saw Wang Dong¡¯s seemingly arrogant expression. Naturally, he knew that Wang Dong was deliberately doing this to give the soul bone to him. It was just as he¡¯d previously said to Xiao Xiao; it¡¯d be no big deal to split it among themselves if they obtained one in the future. However, obtaining a soul bone was easier said than done! At the same time, who knew when they¡¯d get another soul bone?

    Wang Dong¡¯s cheek became rosy under the rays of the sun, which added a faintyer of light to his face. Although he¡¯d turned away, Huo Yuhao could still see the determination in his eyes. He could sense that Wang Dong was trying to make up for the injustices he¡¯d suffered, thus he didn¡¯t refuse the soul bone again. He carefully put the Secret Law Soul¡¯s soul bone away while burying the feelings of brotherly love deep in his heart. Sometimes, the love between brothers wasn¡¯t said out loud, but shown through actions.

    ¡°En, this soul bone will be quite useful. Let¡¯s hang onto it for now, I¡¯ll help you use it soon.¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind without any prior warning, jolting him.

    ¡°Brother Skydream.¡± Hearing its voice, Huo Yuhao immediately felt as if he¡¯d seen a close rtive of his. The grievances he¡¯d suppressed for so long immediately exploded out, causing his eyes to turn somewhat red. However, Zhou Yi, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao naturally assumed that he¡¯d been moved by Wang Dong¡¯s actions.

    The Skydream Iceworm spoke unhappily, ¡°Little Yuhao, don¡¯t feel so down. You naturally have this brother supporting you. Those humans are so short-sighted, thinking that this brother¡¯s soul ring is a ten year one. Humph, you don¡¯t have to worry. In a few years, I¡¯ll make them tremble when they see this ten year soul ring. I¡¯m going to repeat this again¡ªquickly raise your soul power to Rank 20. When that timees, I¡¯ll make sure that no one dares to look down on you.¡±

    ¡°En, I¡¯ll definitely get to Rank 20 as quickly as possible. I¡¯ll definitely get there before I graduate from Year 1.¡± The tension in his heart had disappeared, but he still felt a sense of urgency from not being able to be a core disciple. With his current cultivation, it was definitely hard to say whether or not he could continue his studies within Shrek Academy.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Wang Dong, go back with Xiao Xiao first. I have some things I need to say to Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong looked towards Huo Yuhao, hisrge, beautiful eyes full of encouragement. He waved his fist towards Huo Yuhao, then walked away with Xiao Xiao.

    Zhou Yi walked over to Huo Yuhao and grabbed his arm with her right hand. Immediately afterwards, Huo Yuhao once again experienced the feeling of flying through the clouds.

    Not long afterwards, Zhou Yi stopped. To his astonishment, Huo Yuhao discovered that they¡¯d arrived back at the Soul Tool Testing Area. This ce had left a deep impression on him thest time he¡¯de here; it¡¯d also solidified his wish to study the creation and utilisation of soul tools. At this moment, he naturally knew what returning here signified.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, is Teacher Fan Yu willing to ept me as his disciple?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, a trace of surprise present in his voice.

    Zhou Yi nodded slightly. ¡°You¡¯re a smart child. However, I must warn you. Because you¡¯re a first year, your current cultivation puts you in a very dangerous position. The minimum requirement to be a second year student is to have two soul rings, thus you¡¯ll have to get your second one by the end of your first year. I don¡¯t have any objections towards you cultivating the art of soul tools along with you continuing your studies in the Martial Soul Department, but you still need to have a good foundation in the field of martial souls, even if you decide to specialise in soul tools in the future. As such, you¡¯ll have to manage your time rationally.¡±

    Zhou Yi brought Huo Yuhao into the Soul Tool Testing Area as she spoke.

    The sturdy-bodied Fan Yu quickly walked over to them when they walked in. Compared to the cold and stern face he¡¯d hadst time, the current Fan Yu had a much gentler expression on his face. He took the initiative to pat Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said, ¡°I watched the finals of your freshmen assessment. It was extremely brilliant, you did very well.¡±

    Zhou Yi looked at Fan Yu with a somewhat stupefied look on her face. Although she seemed like a strict person on the outside, she was actually a warm-hearted person on the inside. On the other hand, she understood Fan Yu¡¯s personality very well; he was a person who rarelyplimented other people, and was also iparably arrogant on the inside. Huo Yuhao was only a first year student, therefore it was no small thing for him to be praised so highly by Fan Yu.

    ¡°Greetings, Teacher Fan Yu.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted Fan Yu respectfully.

    Fan Yu nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Zhou Yi that your Spiritual Detection has improved a lot. Come, let¡¯s try it out.¡± A person like Fan Yu, who¡¯d devoted his entire life to research, was always straightforward when dealing with things.

    ¡°Alright.¡± As his pure white million year soul ring rose from his feet, Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils turned pale gold. An extremely minute amount of pale gold shed through his white soul ring, but nobody managed to notice it.

    Huo Yuhao instantly released his Spiritual Detection, encapsting everything within a fifty meter diameter.

    When he sensed the omni-directional three-dimensional image appear in his mind, Fan Yu nodded in satisfaction. ¡°En, it¡¯s actually improved by quite a bit. It¡¯s no wonder you guys were able to be the champions of the freshmen assessment. With your Spiritual Detection, you guys would¡¯ve definitely been able to predict all of your opponent¡¯s movements. Eh¡­?¡±

    As he spoke, Fan Yu suddenly realised that the image of the Spiritual Detection in his mind was changing. The originally omni-directional image had begun to shrink towards a single direction, but its range was gradually increasing. This strange feeling of having one¡¯s senses extended was simply too magical.

    Zhou Yi was also under the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, thus she felt it too. Her eyes immediately widened, and she cried out involuntarily, ¡°How are you doing this?!¡±

    Huo Yuhao saw the astonished gazes of the two teachers, but didn¡¯t reply; when he was focusing his Spiritual Detection towards a single direction, he had to concentrate intensely.

    Finally, when the range of his Spiritual Detection had reached its limit, he stopped, then cancelled the activation of his soul skill.

    Fan Yu looked at him, a fierce gaze in his eyes. ¡°A hundred and twenty one meters. Very good, you¡¯ve done what I asked you to do. Yuhao, let me ask you this: Will the range of your Spiritual Detection continue to increase along with your cultivation?¡±

    After hesitating for a moment, Huo Yuhao nodded.

    ¡°Good!¡± Fan Yu shouted loudly, jolting both Huo Yuhao and Zhou Yi.

    Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°Follow me.¡± With that, he turned around and walked back towards the Testing Area withrge strides.

    ¡°Caitou,e here.¡± Fan Yu waved his hand, causing He Caitou¡ªwho Huo Yuhao had previously seen¡ªto quickly run over. The moment he saw Huo Yuhao, he immediately shouted in a surprised tone, ¡°It¡¯s you! Huo Yuhao, long time no see!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled when he saw He Caitou¡¯s simple face. ¡°How are you, brother He? You look even sturdier today.¡±

    It was true; the dark-skinned He Caitou basically had the physique of an adult at this point. His muscles were rugged, while his robust body wasn¡¯t far off from Fan Yu¡¯s.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°Caitou, show Yuhao the power of soul masters from the Soul Tool Department. You don¡¯t need to hold back.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± He Caitou clearly became somewhat excited. He quickly shed his upper garments, revealing his sturdy body. After doing so, he did something that bbergasted Huo Yuhao.

    He Caitou¡¯s hands flew about his body as he pped the belt on his waist unceasingly. This caused countless strange metal objects to fly out from his storage belt, which he then equipped.

    It took less than ten seconds for him to finish equipping himself with the strange metal objects. The current him waspletely covered in pieces of ck metal, however Huo Yuhao naturally had no idea what the ck metal was or what it was used for.

    Afterwards, He Caitou¡¯s body glowed, and his three soul rings lit up. He had two yellow and one purple soul rings¡ªthe optimumbination of soul rings. Immediately afterwards, his first soul ring lit up, causing a two or so centimeter long thick yellow object that was as long as an adult¡¯s palm to appear in his mouth.

    He casually raised his left hand, and a spark appeared on the ck metal covering his hand. The thick, long object in his mouth lit up, in turn causing white smoke to rise into the air.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial muscles twitched violently, but he forcefully stopped himself fromughing. The thing in He Caitou¡¯s mouth was simply too simr to a freshly baked, piping hot¡­ turd¡­.

    Naturally, the object seemed to have a much harder texture¡­.

 Chapter 33.3: Two Soul Bones

    Chapter 33.3: Two Soul Bones

    At that moment, He Caitou¡¯s cheeks suddenly bulged, like he¡¯d forcefully inhaled something. Afterwards, a cloud of smoke left his mouth. With the ¡°turd¡± still in his mouth, he walked into the Testing Area.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was stunned by the strange effect of He Caitou¡¯s martial soul, he hurried to activate his Spiritual Detection to observe He Caitou¡¯s movements more carefully, as the omnidirectional three-dimensional image allowed him to sense things around him much more clearly.

    The instant he activated his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that something was amiss. He discovered that the testing area seemed to havee alive, asrge metallic balls with diameters of at least half-a-meter had begun to appear from all directions.

    ¡°Brother He, be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but cry out.

    He Caitou turned towards him, then smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Immediately afterwards, He Caitou¡¯s aura drastically changed.

    The normally straightforward He Caitou¡¯s gaze suddenly became sharp as he moved the ¡®turd¡¯ in his mouth to the side and breathed in deeply. Afterwards, his movements instantly became as vigorous as a cheetah.

    Tworge metallic balls had appeared beside him, and were rapidly flying towards him. He Caitou swiftly ran to the side, then rolled forward, allowing him to dive out of the way. He immediately turned around afterwards, and the two ck metal pieces he¡¯d put on his shoulders opened up, revealing minuscule holes.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao sensed that the soul power in He Caitou¡¯s body had suddenly began to surge violently and was rapidly gathering in his shoulders. As soon as it had, he released two thin rays of white light from his shoulders, which urately struck the golden balls hurtling towards him.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that He Caitou¡¯s shoulder muscles had slightly moved the instant he released the white ray of light; most likely for the sake of adjusting the whiteser¡¯s direction.

    The two metallic balls paused slightly for a moment, before unexpectedly melting midair.

    This, this is the power of a soul tool? Huo Yuhao was stunned. He knew, based on his Spiritual Detection, that the two metallic balls were hollow on the inside. However, they were still rtively heavy! And yet, they¡¯d instantly been sted apart by the two thinsers.

    However, Huo Yuhao was even more astonished by what happened afterwards. The ck pieces of metal on He Caitou¡¯s shoulds rapidly extended to cover He Caitou¡¯s arms, causing six foot-long metal tubes that were as thick as a child¡¯s arm to appear on both of his arms. After the metal pieces had finished extending, Huo Yuhao was able to see He Caitou shift his soul power from his shoulders to his arms, which caused the six metal tubes to spit tongues of fire. In that instant, He Caitou¡¯s berserk soul power distorted even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.1

    The six huge metallic balls that were charging towards He Caitou were all struck violently, multiple depressions appearing on them. He Caitou had only been firing the six metal tubes for less than three seconds before the six metallic balls had been entirely sted apart.

    As soon as they disappeared, six more metallic balls appeared to both his left and right sides and shot towards him.

    He Caitou angled the ¡®turd¡¯ in his mouth upwards, revealing a fearless smile. Then, the ck pieces of metal all over his body started moving. Furthermore, it seemed like they¡¯d all been activated by him moving his muscles. As soon as they finished moving, He Caitou¡¯s soul power erupted outwards like an explosion.

    Huo Yuhao had the assistance of his Spiritual Detection, yet he still wasn¡¯t able to count the number of metal, tube-like objects that had appeared all over He Caitou¡¯s body. Soon afterwards, he saw that He Caitou had been fully covered in light. Countless barrages of rays of light shot out wildly from him towards the metal balls. Beneath his terrifying undtions of soul power, the twelve enormous metal balls instantly disintegrated in midair.

    This was simply too mind-blowing!

    After doing all of this, He Caitou¡¯s soul power had been almost entirely drained. The metal tubes on his body quickly disappeared and transformed back into the original shape of his ck metal armor. At that moment, Huo Yuhao no longer thought that He Caitou looked strange; in his eyes, the gentle and straightforward He Caitou had be a monster!

    He¡¯d seen quite a few three-ringed Soul Elders in the past, such as Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, his own senior brother Bei Bei, and Teacher Xiao Ya. They¡¯d all had three soul rings, but in terms ofbat strength¡­ they weren¡¯t even on the same level as the current He Caitou! The destructive power of those metallic tubes was simply too terrifying.

    He Caitou walked over to the side and quickly removed the ck pieces of metal from his body. The small object in his mouth had disappeared as well, but the faint scent of smoke still lingered around his body.

    Fan Yu smiled and looked towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously replied, ¡°This, this is simply too powerful.¡±

    Fan Yu replied, ¡°Caitou¡¯s cultivation level is still limited, thus he¡¯s only able to release part of a soul tool¡¯s power. Currently, he still can¡¯t use any of the stronger soul tools. Other than the stationary soul tool you sawst time, all soul tools are activated via soul power. Because of that, cultivating soul power is also important to soul masters from the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re definitely curious as to how soul masters from the Soul Tool Department fare against those from the Martial Soul Department in a battle. Let me tell you this: Under the Soul Sage rank, our Soul Tool Department holds an absolute advantage against the Martial Soul Department in battle. On the contrary, the Martial Soul Department holds an absolute advantage against us in fights between soul masters above the Soul Sage rank. Our Douluo Continent focuses primarily on martial souls, but the armies of the other various countries focus primarily on soul tools. From another standpoint, soul tools are more helpful for ordinary people, as they can easily grant them arge amount ofbat power in a short period of time.¡±

    After listening to Fan Yu¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao finally had a basic understanding of soul tools. He¡¯d seen the power that He Caitou had shown, and could guarantee that, unless the abilities of his enemies martial soul were able to restrict him, not even four-ringed Soul Ancestors would be a match for him! This raised Huo Yuhao¡¯s interest towards soul tools to an unprecedented high.

    Fan Yu knew that the crucial moment had arrived. He lowered his tone, ¡°Currently, the Soul Tool Department is weaker than the Martial Soul Department after the seven-ringed stage¡­ but that¡¯s not a certainty. Of the many research topics I have, the most important one of them all is to nurture a consummate soul master from the Soul Tool Department. I¡¯m 46 years old this year, and the only disciple I¡¯ve ever taken in is Caitou. If you¡¯re willing, I¡¯m also willing to take in another disciple.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was rtively intelligent, and Fan Yu had already exined things so clearly; how could he hesitate? With a ¡®Putong¡¯, Huo Yuhao kneeled on the ground. ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, please take me as your disciple. I¡¯ll definitely work hard to study soul tools.¡± Afterwards, he kowtowed to Fan Yu three times.

    Fan Yu nodded slightly as he allowed Huo Yuhao to pay his respects. After he¡¯d kowtowed three times, Fan Yu helped him to his feet.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your diligence from Zhou Yi. From now on, you¡¯re the second, and alsost, disciple of mine. I¡¯ll do my best to nurture you and Caitou. Someday, I¡¯ll show the Martial Soul Department just what level our Soul Tool Department can reach. Yuhao, you aren¡¯t just my disciple; from now on, you¡¯re also a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. I heard how the Martial Soul Department evaluated you; it¡¯s their loss for not taking you in as a core disciple.¡±

    I¡¯m a core disciple now? This stroke of fortune was too sudden, to the extent that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but stare nkly. The difference in treatment between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department immediately caused the scales within his heart to shift.

    Regardless of the facts, Huo Yuhao was still an eleven-year-old child. Because of his childhood, he was someone who held grudges. However at the same time, this made him cherish favors even more. The instant that Fan Yu said he would be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, Huo Yuhao felt warmth rise up from his heart. The grievances that he¡¯d suppressed immediately turned into a warm stream that surged towards his eyes.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but let his tears flow freely.

    Fan Yu spread his arms and held Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Good child, don¡¯t cry. I know how aggrieved you feel, but I have to tell you this: no matter who it is, if you don¡¯t want to feel aggrieved, and you want to be respected by other people, you can only rely on yourself. What you need to do is use your own strength to reject your grievances.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded repeatedly as he wiped the tears from his face.

    He Caitou walked over as well. Laughing, he hugged Huo Yuhao, then used his enormous strength to lift him up off the ground and spun him around in a circle.

    ¡°I have a junior brother now, hahaha! This is too good, I don¡¯t have to be alone anymore. Yuhao, we¡¯re brothers from now on.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother.¡± The feelings that came from He Caitou¡¯s heart made Huo Yuhao feel something simr to the feeling that his senior brother Bei Bei had given him. As such, his inner emotions couldn¡¯t help but surge up again.

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Yuhao, even though you¡¯ve already be a core disciple of our Soul Tool Department, you still need toy yourself a solid foundation as a soul master. Because of that, you¡¯ll have to continue increasing your knowledge in the Martial Soul Department; at least until you graduate from your third year. Furthermore, you need to focus most of your energy towards cultivating your martial soul. Soul power is the foundation for everything we do; this is the case for the Soul Tool Department as well. At the same time, you have a special martial soul, so you have to pay attention to your soul skills too. I hope that you won¡¯t just be an outstanding soul master of the Soul Tool Department in the future, but will also be an outstanding Control System Battle Soul Master as well.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t hide this from you: Our Soul Tool Department has a rivalry with the Martial Soul Department. As such, you¡¯ll have to keep the matter of you bing one of our core disciples a secret for the time being, so that we won¡¯t provoke a reaction from the Martial Soul Department. Also, you can¡¯t be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. When you enter the inner courtyard, you¡¯ll enter our Soul Tool Department¡¯s inner courtyard. Zhou Yi will help you fill in the form that allows you to join our Soul Tool Department. Your sses at the Martial Soul Department normally end at around four in the afternoon, so after ss you¡¯ll have toe to me to study for two hours every day. The Martial Soul Department has a rest day every week, but you¡¯ll have toe here and study on that day as well. Are you scared of hard work?¡±

    1. From the Manga.

 Chapter 34.1: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Chapter 34.1: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Huo Yuhao shook his head, a determined expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of such a thing.¡± Fan Yu¡¯s attitude hadpletely won over Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. It only took him a few seconds to get over the regret he¡¯d had from not being able to be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. This was because he wasn¡¯t alone; he also had Brother Skydream within his body! The greatest advantage of joining the Martial Soul Department was that it would help its students obtain suitable soul rings. However, the Skydream Iceworm had already promised to obtain a soul ring for him. If he didn¡¯t factor this in, the Soul Tool Department could practically give him everything that the Martial Soul Department could. Furthermore, he would still be able to temporarily enjoy the treatment of a core disciple from the Martial Soul Department.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid of hardship, I¡¯ll do all that I can to teach you. Our Soul Tool Department also has more resources than the Martial Soul Department.¡± He walked towards Huo Yuhao and ced a ck ne on his neck. The ne was adorned with a tiny, dark-gold medallion made of some unknown metal, and there were a fewplicated patterns on its surface.

    ¡°With this medallion, you can enter any of the areas within the Soul Tool Department¡¯s outer courtyard as you wish. Now then, we¡¯re done here for today, but you¡¯ll need toe here every day from tomorrow onwards. You¡¯ve just been put into your new ss, so you should head back first.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, Teacher Fan Yu.¡±

    As Zhou Yi led Huo Yuhao away, a satisfied smile appeared on Fan Yu¡¯s face. On the other hand, He Caitou¡¯s excitement hadn¡¯t diminished in the least. ¡°This is too good, I have a junior brother now. Now Teacher can¡¯t keep tormenting me by myself!¡±

    Fan Yu grumpily hit He Caitou on his dark, bald head. ¡°I¡¯ve been tormenting you? Go do some work.¡±

    With a downcast expression on his face, He Caitou obediently walked away. The instant he left, a tall figure suddenly appeared and walked towards Fan Yu. Unexpectedly, this figure was the Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department¡ªQian Duoduo.

    ¡°Not bad, it went quite smoothly. This Huo Yuhao has quite a sincere temperament; he¡¯s a good seedling. I was quite happy when they won the finals with their fusion skill, but now that I think about it, I can¡¯t help but regret it greatly. Fortunately, Old Yan wasn¡¯t even able to recognise such a precious treasure, which allowed us to snatch him up arge bargain. Fan Yu, how confident are you that you¡¯ll be able to sessfully implementing our Ultimate Soldier n on him?¡±

    Fan Yu replied solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m 40% confident if we use it on Caitou, but our chances of sessfully implementing it with Huo Yuhao increase to 70%, at the very least. If the two of them work together, I¡¯m 100% confident that I can produce a prototype of the Ultimate Soldier in ten to fifteen years. Once they¡¯ve cultivated to my age, we¡¯ll have reached our true objective.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Qian Duoduo pped his sturdy chest. ¡°With this, the Soul Tool Department will dedicate all of its resources to you from now on. As long as weplete the Ultimate Soldier n, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be the next Dean of the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    A feverish gaze appeared in Fan Yu¡¯s eyes, and he hurriedly replied, ¡°Dean Qian, you should know that I¡¯m not trying toplete the Ultimate Soldier n simply for the sake of a higher position.¡±

    Qian Duoduo smiled. ¡°Of course I know that, as this is amon dream we share. The moment weplete our objective, the Douluo Continent will turn a new page in its history.¡±

    Fan Yu smiled. ¡°If Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul continues to grow at the same rate it¡¯s currently growing, we¡¯ll definitely seed. The Martial Soul Department might not want someone with a Body Soul, but we do. Does it really matter if he has a ten year soul ring? So what if he¡¯s had ate start? In my opinion, Huo Yuhao has a ten year soul ring that¡¯s better than any hundred year soul ring. Furthermore, Zhou Yi told me that he¡¯s increased his soul power from Rank 13 to Rank 18 in a mere three months. I¡¯ve asked Zhou Yi to conceal this fact, but is it really possible for him to be trash with a growth speed like that? Fortunately, only ss teachers have ess to a student¡¯s registration forms.¡±

    Qian Duoduo said, ¡°Your Zhou Yi is too strange; she insists on making herself look like an old woman. Don¡¯t you care about that?¡±

    Fan Yu was somewhat helpless as he replied, ¡°With a temper like hers, do you think I can really control her? ording to her, the only way for her to appear imposing in front of her students is to disguise herself. Whatever, it¡¯s fine as long as she doesn¡¯t look like that in the house at night.¡±

    After leading Huo Yuhao out of the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Testing Area, Zhou Yi quickly returned to the Martial Soul Department with him. However, she didn¡¯t bring him to the first year¡¯s school buildings.

    After reaching the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Assessment Area, Zhou Yi stopped and asked him, ¡°Yuhao, when you saw Director Du Weilun earlier, did you ask him what effect your fusion skill had?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Zhou Yi furrowed her brows slightly. ¡°That won¡¯t do. If you don¡¯t even know what your fusion skill does, how would you be able to use it in a fight next time? Let¡¯s do it this way. After you head back, ask Wang Dong to ask Director Du for you.¡±

    Ask Wang Dong to? Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    Zhou Yi smiled. ¡°You still don¡¯t understand? You¡¯ve already be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, so you should do your best to show your face around Director Du as little as possible. Also, Teacher Wang Yan seems to think quite highly of you, so you should try to keep a lower profile when you¡¯re normally cultivating. I know that you have a lot of doubts in your heart right now, but I promise you that Teacher Fan Yu wholeheartedly wants to raise you into an outstanding talent. I do as well. You might be wondering why I¡¯m inclined towards the Soul Tool Department, even though I¡¯m clearly a teacher from the Martial Soul Department. Let me tell you a secret: A woman should always go along with what her husband does, and Fan Yu is my husband. Thus, I have to support him.¡±

    After she¡¯d finished speaking, Zhou Yi raised her right hand and gently pulled something off of her face from the left side of her cheek. She slowly pulled of an borate face mask, revealing an extremely beautiful face that also seemed extremely youthful. Her eyebrows were as beautiful as the scenery in the spring, while herplexion was both graceful and touching.

    Huo Yuhao was dumbstruck. Even in his wildest dreams, he¡¯d never thought that the ¡®Perverted Old Grandma¡¯ Zhou Yi would actually be a beauty. Furthermore, how could her true appearance even look strict at all?

    Zhou Yi quickly pulled the face mask back over her face and said helplessly, ¡°Now you¡¯ve seen what I look like. My original appearance can¡¯t deter anyone at all, so I had to put on a disguise because of my philosophy of teaching. Now then, head back to ss 1. It¡¯s still in our original ssroom. Remember, you have to keep everything you¡¯ve seen and heard a secret, especially the fact that you¡¯ve be a direct disciple of Fan Yu. Also, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve been selling roasted fish at night. You should stop, as you won¡¯t have any time to in the future. Don¡¯t worry though, the Soul Tool Department will take care of all of your expenses from now on. In the future, you¡¯ll see just how well core disciples of the Soul Tool Department are treated.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Teacher Zhou.¡± Huo Yuhao had received too much information during this short hour, to the extent that he was even somewhat muddle-headed. However, there was no doubt that the injustice he¡¯d felt from not being chosen as a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department had thoroughly vanished due to how highly the Soul Tool Deparment thought of him, as well as the encouragement that Teacher Fan Yu had given him in addition to taking him in as a disciple.

    The moment he got back to ss 1, Huo Yuhao shouted from outside the ssroom, ¡°Reporting in!¡±

    ¡°Enter,¡± Wang Yan¡¯s voice rang out. After Huo Yuhao had entered the ssroom, all of the students in the ssroom¡¯s gazes immediately gathered on him.

    Of the four sses in Year 1, ss 1 was undoubtedly the strongest. Yet, they weren¡¯t thergest ss; that title belonged to the diverse ss 4. This was because the total number of assault-type and control-type soul masters amongst the freshmen didn¡¯t exceed sixty.

    The instant Huo Yuhao entered, he¡¯d immediately attracted the attention of every student present. Wang Yan smiled. ¡°Yuhao, you came at just the right time. We¡¯re about to begin the selection of the ss monitor. Come in and take a seat first.¡±

    Although their sses had been re-divided, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s seating arrangements hadn¡¯t changed. On the contrary, Xiao Xiao now sat to Huo Yuhao¡¯s left, which allowed the three to be seated in a single row.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie were seated two rows behind them. The moment he¡¯d entered the ssroom, Dai Huabin had red at him coldly.

    As he stood behind the podium, Wang Yan said, ¡°Next up, we¡¯ll be electing the ss monitor and assistant ss monitor of our ss. Our ss consists of assault-type and control-type soul masters, so each monitor will be in charge of a single System. We¡¯ll be re-electing both monitors each month. Now then, I¡¯ll nominate a few people, then let everyone cast their votes into a ballot.¡±

    With that, he turned towards the ckboard and wrote two rows of names on it. The first row was titled ¡®Assault System¡¯, and the names below it were: Wang Dong, Dai Huabin, Zhou Sichen, Huang Chutian, and Wu Feng.

    The second row was titled ¡®Control System¡¯, and the first name he wrote down was Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Afterwards, he wrote down Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo¡¯s names.

    A total of nine names had appeared on the ckboard, and one could tell what Wang Yan was thinking from the order he¡¯d written the names down. Nobody objected to Wang Dong¡¯s name being written at the top of the Assault System list; after all, his team had just be champions of the freshmen assessment, and Wang Dong had been the main force of his team. Even though he didn¡¯t have a three-ringed cultivation, everyone had seen the power of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s name being at the top of the Control System list sparked a flurry of whispers. The students who were originally from ss 1 were fine with it, as Huo Yuhao had been their ss monitor in the first ce. Moreover, they¡¯d seen how hard he worked. However, the students who¡¯de from other sses all had disdainful expressions on their faces.

    Huo Yuhao had been one of the members of the freshmen assessment¡¯s champion team along with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, but many students had secretly talked about him behind his back, calling him the luckiest person amongst this year¡¯s freshmen. The fact that a mere Soul Master¡ªone with only a ten year soul ring¡ªhad been able to mingle his way into the champion team, and was even able to enjoy the treatment of a core disciple, had aroused the envy and hate of several people.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, I have an objection to this.¡± Wu Feng, who was sitting near Dai Huabin, raised her hand.

    Unlike Zhou Yi, Wang Yan had a warm personality. He smiled. ¡°Wu Feng, do you have any problems with this?¡±

    With a disdainful expression on her face, Wu Feng replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao has the qualifications to be nominated as a candidate for the position of ss monitor. He¡¯s only a one-ringed Soul Master, and his soul ring¡¯s even a ten year one. Even if he was one of the champions of the freshmen assessment, he only did that by tagging along with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Why should he be nominated in this ss monitor election?¡±

 Chapter 34.2: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Chapter 34.2: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Ning Tian had already given voice to her doubts about Huo Yuhao¡¯s extraordinary abilities once before, and after their recent battle, she¡¯d reaffirmed her belief. That, in addition to the final fusion skill they¡¯d unleashed, resulted in everyone unanimously agreeing that Wang Dong¡¯s skill had knocked Ning Tian unconscious; it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to have done it. Furthermore, the obvious conclusion was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul fusion with Wang Dong was the only reason he¡¯d been able to join the champion team.

    Plus, Ning Tian¡¯s team had been eliminated after they lost to Huo Yuhao¡¯s team. The resentment she held from losing that match was why she¡¯d immediately protested Huo Yuhao¡¯s nomination.

    Her words were immediately met with agreement, especially from students who were a part of the Control System. Because of her, the entire ss¡¯ emotions had been stirred up.

    Wang Yan furrowed his brow and replied sternly, ¡°Huo Yuhao was part of the freshmen assessment¡¯s champion team alongside Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao; they all have their own strong points. I¡¯ve personally experienced his soul skill, and I can say that, within the same rank, there are very few control-type soul masters capable ofparing to him. The people I¡¯ve nominated were all based off of the freshmen assessment rankings as well as their individual strengths.¡±

    However, Wu Feng wasn¡¯t willing to give up. ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡¯ve just stated what I have wrong with him. ¡®Within the same rank, his soul skill is good.¡¯ However, what rank is he again? He¡¯s only a one-ringed Soul Master! Our ss doesn¡¯tck two-ringed Soul Grandmasters¡ªwe even have three-ringed Soul Elders! What right does a one-ringed soul master have to participate in the election for ss monitor? Can you even convince our ss to listen to him?¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± Wang Dong suddenly mmed his hands on his table and stood up. He turned towards Wu Feng and spat angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t go too far! Are you angry because you were eliminated by usst time? If you have the ability to, beat us fair and square during an assessment!¡±

    Wu Feng replied angrily, ¡°I¡¯m still unhappy about our loss, but so what? Aren¡¯t control-type soul masters supposed to have an advantage against assault-type soul masters? If he¡¯s strong enough to beat me, I¡¯ll admit that he has the qualifications to be nominated as a candidate for ss monitor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re full of shit. I¡¯ll fight with you. If you dare,e with me to the Soul Duelling Arena.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s clear eyes red daggers at Wu Feng. The soul power in his body had already begun to stir.

    ¡°Enough.¡± Wang Yan¡¯s imposing voice suddenly rang out, apanied by a strong undtion of soul power. This forced the two to immediately shut up.

    ¡°Sit down.¡±

    Only after Wang Yan interfered, did Wu Feng and Wang Dong unwillingly sit back down.

    Wang Yan sternly said, ¡°Since it seems like there are those with objections, let¡¯s put it to a vote. If the number of students who disagree with Huo Yuhao being nominated exceeds half the ss, I¡¯ll rub his name off. Students who disagree, please raise your hands.¡±

    Zhou Yi definitely wouldn¡¯t have handled the matter like this. Instead, she would¡¯ve stood her ground, or might have even directly appointed Huo Yuhao as the ss monitor. If someone wasn¡¯t happy with her decisions, she would¡¯ve punished them with an iron fist.

    However, Wang Yan was different. He was a gentle schr who excelled in theory, but he was much worse than Zhou Yi when it came to dealing with students.

    Regardless of whether it was jealousy that the one-ringed Huo Yuhao had been able to be part of the champion team, or if it was due to the influence of Wu Feng¡¯s words, two-thirds of the ss ended up raising their hands once Wang Yan had finished speaking. Only the students originally from ss 1 and a few moderate students hadn¡¯t raised their hands.

    Anyone that had entered Shrek Academy could be considered chosen; this could be seen from the optimumbination of soul rings that most students had before the four-ringed rank. Of the students within Shrek Academy, how many of them weren¡¯t proud and arrogant? How could they not be resentful and envious after they were forced to agree to a Soul Master, one who only had a ten year soul ring, being appointed as their ss monitor?

    Wang Yan had clearly never expected a situation like this to happen. He was left somewhat dazed for a brief moment.

    In a fit of anger, Wang Dong nearly stood up again. However, he was stopped by Huo Yuhao.

    Somewhat satisfied, Wu Feng said, ¡°Teacher Wang, over half the students in the ss have disagreed. Please rub his name off the ckboard.¡±

    Wang Yan had truly been put into a difficult situation. He¡¯d taught many students in the past, but this was the first time he¡¯d encountered a situation like this. Furthermore, he¡¯d already given his word earlier. It was impossible for him to take back his word now. He could only look towards Huo Yuhao apologetically.

    Just as he was about to remove Huo Yuhao¡¯s name from those qualified to partake in the election, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his right hand.

    On the outside, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood hadn¡¯t changed at all, even when Wu Feng had started to object. He¡¯d even stopped the enraged Wang Dong. However, was he truly as calm as he appeared on the inside?

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Yuhao, you can talk.¡±

    Huo Yuhao slowly stood up without even sparing a nce towards Wu Feng. Using a calm tone, he spoke in a voice that was slightly slower than his usual voice.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, I understand Wu Feng¡¯s objections. She¡¯s questioning my qualifications to be chosen as one of the ss monitors. Before you rub my name off, I want to say this: I¡¯m willing to ept Wu Feng¡¯s challenge. If I can beat her in a fight, I¡¯d like everyone to vote again.¡±

    His voice was moderate, but the originally morous ss 1 instantly turned quiet.

    Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and even Wu Feng herself were instantly stupefied. They never thought that Huo Yuhao would actually ept Wu Feng¡¯s challenge.

    Wu Feng had the Red Dragon martial soul. In terms of quality, it was slightly inferior to Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger and Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess, but there was only an extremely tiny gap between them. Moreover, she also had the most optimumbination of two hundred year soul rings. That, in addition to her tyrannicalbat power, as well as her Rank 25 cultivation, made it so that she exceeded Huo Yuhao in all aspects! This could be seen from how she¡¯d been able to be a core disciple, despite the fact that she didn¡¯t have a high ranking in the freshmen assessment. Even Shrek Academy¡¯s picky teachers had recognised Wu Feng¡¯s rtivelyrge amount of talent.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-attribute control-type soul master, he was still only a one-ringed Soul Master, and his only soul ring was that of the ten year rank. No matter which angle you looked at it from, nobody believed that he¡¯d be able to contend against Wu Feng.

    And yet, Huo Yuhao had expressed his willingness to ept Wu Feng¡¯s challenge. In addition to that, his calm voice didn¡¯t seem impetuous in the least. Furthermore, the determination in his voice had surprised everyone.

    Wang Yan¡¯s pupils contracted slightly. Seeing the calm gaze in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, he became silent for a few seconds. Afterwards, he took a deep breath, then nodded. ¡°Fine. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll allow you two to have a match in the Soul Duelling Arena. However, we¡¯ll change the bets to make it fair¡ªif Wu Feng can defeat Huo Yuhao, he¡¯ll be stripped of his qualifications to participate in the election. Conversely, Wu Feng will also be stripped of her qualifications if she loses to Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Wu Feng didn¡¯t raise any objections to the conditions of the bet. Either way, she was unlikely to be chosen as one of the ss monitors, due to the presence of Dai Huabin and Wang Dong. At the same time, what were the chances of her losing to Huo Yuhao, who only had a ten year soul ring?

    After being astonished for a brief moment, Wu Feng¡¯s face became filled with disdain and contempt. As the other students from ss 1 left the ss one-by-one, Wu Feng walked over to Huo Yuhao and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m gonna beat you to the point that you won¡¯t even be able to take care of yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced coldly at the tomboyish Wu Feng, then tookrge strides out of the ssroom.

    He¡¯d experienced a great deal of things today. He understood that, if he gave up like a gutless coward and lost his qualifications to be a ss monitor, he¡¯d never be able to hold his head up high in the ss. An adverse effect on his mental state far surpassed the pain he¡¯d receive from any physical damage to his body, so he chose to fight. Even if he¡¯d definitely lose, he still had to ept Wu Feng¡¯s challenge. Even if he lost, he had to lose like a man. If he didn¡¯t even have the guts to ept Wu Feng¡¯s challenge, how would he obtain his revenge in the future?

    After the students of ss 1 had arrived in the Soul Duelling Area, Wang Yan helped them pay the entrance fee. This was a Soul Duel where no one other than the students of ss 1 could spectate. In addition to that, this was the first Soul Duel that Huo Yuhao was participating in since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy.

    Wang Dong had walked to the Soul Duelling Area alongside Huo Yuhao, but he hadn¡¯t said anything to him. He could understand how Huo Yuhao was feeling today; not only had he not been chosen as a core disciple, he¡¯d even been called into question like this. Now, it seemed that Huo Yuhao could no longer endure things silently. Instead, he¡¯d chosen to prove himself through a method such as this.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t utter a word either. However, she silently fixed her gaze on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. In her mind, herpanion was no longer a mere youth; he was a man, a man who¡¯d had the courage to take on a challenge. Not everyone had the courage to face an opponent who was clearly stronger than them. How many people could take on a challenge like this while fully knowing that it was impossible?

    ¡°Let¡¯s bet, let¡¯s bet! I¡¯ll be the banker, does anyone wanna bet? Huo Yuhao¡¯s odds will be 1 to 10, while Wu Feng¡¯s odds will be 10 to 1.¡± Zhou Sichen stood and shouted. Teacher Wang Yan had apanied Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng to the Soul Duelling Arena, but naturally didn¡¯t bother to care about the other students.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet a hundred gold soul coins on Wu Feng.¡± Dai Huabin was the first person to approach Zhou Sichen. He handed him a heavy coin pouch.

    Zhou Sichen¡¯s facial muscles immediately twitched. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be this cruel.¡±

    Dai Huabin replied disdainfully, ¡°If you want to be a banker, you should have the guts to take a bet. If you don¡¯t, you should keep your thoughts to yourself.¡±

    Stirred up by Dai Huabin¡¯s arrogant words, Zhou Sichen immediately spat out angrily, ¡°I¡¯ll take it! I¡¯m just scared that you won¡¯t give it to me. Even if you win, I¡¯ll only owe you ten gold soul coins. I¡¯ll take any bets.¡±

    However, Zhou Sichen wanted to cry after the following scene unfolded. Arge number of students ran towards him, with practically all of them betting on Wu Feng. The disparity in strength between both parties was simply too great, to the extent that nobody was optimistic towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chances. Betting on Huo Yuhao would give an extremely high payout, but nobody was willing to bet on him.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s expression was bing uglier and uglier, but it was toote for him to take back what he¡¯d said. Instantly, his expression had be as dark as the bottom of a pot.

    At that moment, a voice that caused Zhou Sichen to be overjoyed rang out, ¡°I¡¯ll bet a thousand gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao.¡±

    The person who walked up and handed him an exquisitely made gold banknote was precisely Wang Dong.

    Immediately after Wang Dong handed his banknote to Zhou Sichen, Xiao Xiao also took out a golden banknote. ¡°I¡¯ll bet a thousand as well.¡±

 Chapter 34.3: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Chapter 34.3: Taking on an Impossible Challenge

    Hearing these two voices, Zhou Sichen immediately took their bets. The other students had bet a total of around two thousand gold soul coins, yet Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao alone had just equalled that. In other words, he wouldn¡¯t have to pay out of pocket if Huo Yuhao lost. On the whole, a crisis had been averted.

    ¡°We¡¯ll bet fifty gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao.¡± Two crisp voices rang out simultaneously, jolting Zhou Sichen. There were actually still more people who dared to bet on Huo Yuhao. After looking carefully, he realised that the two people betting on Huo Yuhao were actually the Lan sisters.

    The sisters smiled at Wang Dong, then took out a total of fifty gold soul coins.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet fifty as well.¡± Another voice rang out. This time, Zhou Sichen was somewhat bbergasted. The person who¡¯d ced a bet this time was actually his good brother, Cao Jinxuan. During their match with Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, Cai Jinxuan hadn¡¯t even been able to even release a soul skill before he¡¯d been knocked out by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯sbined Spiritual Shock.

    ¡°Jinxuan, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Zhou Sichen asked suspiciously.

    Cao Jinxuan smiled cunningly. ¡°I know that a fe like you has a lot of money; why can¡¯t I bet on an unknown gamble?¡±

    Still somewhat suspicious, Zhou Sichen replied, ¡°That can¡¯t be right. You¡¯ve never done something that doesn¡¯t profit you, nor have you done something that you¡¯re unsure of.¡±

    Cao Jinxuan replied in an easy-going manner, ¡°That¡¯s not your problem. Besides, I¡¯m only betting fifty gold soul coins. That isn¡¯t too cruel. However, let me remind you: If Huo Yuhao does win, you¡¯ll go bankrupt. With odds of 1 to 10, you¡¯ll have to pay out twenty one thousand gold soul coins for these two thousand one hundred gold soul coins. Do you even have that much money?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Cold sweat immediately began to drip off of Zhou Sichen¡¯s face when he heard Cao Jinxuan. Right! In the extremely unlikely chance that Huo Yuhao managed to win, what would he do? Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had each bet one thousand gold soul coins! That, multiplied by ten, was an astronomical figure to him!

    ¡°Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, can you guys lower your bets a bit?¡± Zhou Sichen had previously hoped that Huo Yuhao would cause an upset. However, his current attitude hadpletely flipped around.

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°You said that you were willing to ept any bets, no matter how high they were. I¡¯m confident in Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m not afraid of losing. What¡¯re you afraid of?¡± With that, both he and Xiao Xiao turned around and found a ce to sit.

    Seeing their backs, Zhou Sichen mumbled unhappily, ¡°Humph, let¡¯s see how you start crying after you lose. It¡¯d be weird if Huo Yuhao really was able to beat Wu Feng with such arge gap between them. Still, I¡¯ve really dug a hole for myself with the odds I¡¯ve set! If I¡¯d known people would make suchrge bets earlier, I would¡¯ve taken it easier, so as to guarantee that I¡¯d still make a slight profit.¡±

    Cai Jinxuan patted him on the shoulder and replied in a sincere voice, ¡°Being impulsive truly is the devil!¡±

    As the spectating stage continued to buzz with activity, Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng proceeded to enter the Soul Duelling Arena. For the sake of safety, Wang Yan was personally acting as the referee for their match.

    After entering the arena, Wang Yan said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯ll once again remind you that this is merely a sparring session between fellow ssmates, so although you can go all-out, you absolutely cannot injure your opponent. Do you understand? Once one party gains an upper hand in the match, I¡¯ll stop it immediately.¡±

    Both Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng nodded at the same time. However, Wu Feng said offhandedly, ¡°Teacher Wang, doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ll have to stop the match after only a few seconds?¡±

    After saying that, she turned around and walked towards her side of the arena. Wu Feng hadn¡¯t even turned twelve, yet she¡¯d clearly developed much faster than other girls her age. This was exemplified by her extremely tall figure. Furthermore, her feminine traits were very obvious; this was especially so for her fiery red hair, which had a peculiar beauty to it. Only, her tomboyish personality, which caused her to be even rowdier than boys, was clearly somewhat disharmonious with her beauty.

    As Huo Yuhao slowly walked towards the other side of the arena, Wang Yan whispered, ¡°Try your best, but don¡¯t force yourself. Sometimes, patience is a form of strength.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could see how concerned Wang Yan was for him. After nodding to him, he slowly moved backwards. He understood Wang Yan¡¯s good intentions, but he¡¯d already decided not to spare any costs when he fought against Wu Feng. He had no intentions of backing down.

    Both sides were quickly separated by a distance of a hundred meters.

    Wang Yan stood in the middle of the arena with his arms spread out. After ensuring that both parties had finished making their preparations, he suddenly raised his hands and shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Wu Feng moved instantly. Her red hair fluttered in the wind, resembling a red cloud as she charged towards Huo Yuhao at full speed. Her slender yet forceful legs caused her body to rapidly shoot forwards whenever her feet touched the ground, and in the blink of an eye, she¡¯d already traversed several tens of meters.

    As her tender body rushed forward, dragon scales began to cover half of her body. Though they were still a good distance away from each other, yet Huo Yuhao was already able to sense the valiant airing off of her body.

    Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move at all. Instead, he simply shut his eyes and stood there, making it seem as if he was meditating while standing up.

    The spectator¡¯s stage had bepletely silent; everyone¡¯s eyes were currently focused on the Soul Duelling Arena. Naturally, the most attentive students were Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Zhou Sichen.

    Likewise, Cao Jinxuan was also looking concentratedly at the arena. However, he wasn¡¯t following Wu Feng like many people were. Instead, he¡¯d fixed his eyes on Huo Yuhao, and was observing his every move.

    It was just as Zhou Sichen had guessed; Cao Jinxuan cing a bet on Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been a moment of impulsiveness, nor had it been because he was trying to obtain arge profit. Rather, he had his own motives for doing so.

    The true core of Zhou Sichen¡¯s team was actually Cao Jinxuan. His Time psing Clock was an extremely rare control-type Tool Soul that had the ability to control time. Cao Jinxuan had contributed the most during their arduous journey to the top four. As an outstanding control-type soul master himself, Cao Jinxuan had a much greater understanding towards the simrly control-type Huo Yuhao.

    During their match that time, he¡¯d instantly been knocked unconscious without even being able to use a soul skill. Many people had assumed that it was the work of Wang Dong, but Cao Jinxuan was fully aware that it had been a spiritual-type attack. Even though he¡¯d had Wang Dong¡¯s assistance, the truth was that it had still been Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. More importantly, he¡®d even been specifically guarding against a long-range attack like this. The time surrounding his body had been slightly distorted, which was extremely hard to see with the naked eye. Because of this, he hadn¡¯t been afraid of long-distance single-target attacks. However, even though his Time psing Clock was able to distort time, it wasn¡¯t able to distort Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Once Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack hadnded, Cao Jinxuan didn¡¯t have the chance to do anything at all. This had greatly increased Cao Jinxuan¡¯s interest towards Huo Yuhao.

    Cao Jinxuan was someone who had a strong desire for knowledge. He really wanted to know how Huo Yuhao had been able to do what he¡¯d done. After all, Huo Yuhao only had a ten year soul ring! Could his soul skill be used in two different ways? Or did his soul skill have two different effects? With its detection and attacking abilities, could that still even be considered a ten year soul ring? Only hundred thousand year soul rings could have two skills!

    Because of that, even though everyone else believed that Huo Yuhao would definitely lose to Wu Feng, Cao Jinxuan had a certain amount of confidence in him. This confidence was even stronger than that of even Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s. Sometimes, a person¡¯s rivals can understand them more than their teammates.

    The distance between the two parties gradually decreased. Facing the motionless Huo Yuhao, Wu Feng raised her vignce. After all, Ning Tian had been knocked unconscious during their previous match. In their post-match research, they¡¯d felt that the best way to protect themselves would be to gather their soul power in their heads. If they protected their spiritual seas, their opponent¡¯s attacks wouldn¡¯t be able to ovee their defenses.

    Because of that, Wu Feng didn¡¯t bother to use any soul skills. From her point of view, Huo Yuhao had no chance of winning in a directpetition ofbat power. As long as she was wary of his Spiritual Shock, everything would be fine. In reality, none of the students present¡ªother than Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡ªwere aware that Huo Yuhao¡¯s main soul skill was his Spiritual Detection.

    Currently, the distance between the two had shrunk to a mere five meters. Stamping the ground with her left leg, Wu Feng shot towards Huo Yuhao like a sharp arrow that had been released from a bow.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao finally made a move. The instant Wu Feng moved, he shifted his feet. As a result, he was able to quickly sidestep to the left. At the same time, he sent a kick flying straight towards Wu Feng¡¯s abdomen.

    The instant that Wu Feng had leapt out, her arms had been raised up high, while her palms had shed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders. By relying on his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao had grasped the trajectory of her movements perfectly. Because of this, Huo Yuhao had sidestepped her attack the very moment she¡¯d begun moving. At the same time, he¡¯d sent a kick flying towards an area that was very hard for Wu Feng to defend against.

    Even though she was extremely confident in herself, it was extremely ufortable for Wu Feng to deal with Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. However, she wasn¡¯t willing to get kicked by Huo Yuhao. Helpless, she could only twist her body in midair in an attempt to dodge Huo Yuhao¡¯s kick. However, the fact that she was in a leaping position couldn¡¯t be changed.

    Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped his kick in midair, then jumped forward using his left leg. After jumping half a meter off the ground, he changed his right leg¡¯s sweeping kick into a regr kick. This allowed him to perfectly kick Wu Feng¡¯s slightly defined and perky round buttocks.

    One¡¯s buttocks practically represent a person¡¯s center of gravity. If someone¡¯s buttocks were to be kicked midair, their bnce would immediately be broken. Just as Wu Feng twisted her body to the side, she felt arge amount of force transmitted through her buttocks. She immediately let out an rmed cry when this happened, and used her left hand to push against the ground in an effort to seize an opportunity to control her own body.

    After kicking Wu Feng¡¯s butt, Huo Yuhao immediately used a follow-up move. Landing his right foot on the ground, he suddenly rushed towards Wu Feng. Up to this point, his eyes had remained shut. However, his perception of the outside world was far clearer than it would¡¯ve been if he¡¯d been using his eyes.

    As Wu Feng pressed her left hand onto the ground, the speed of her fall decreased slightly. However, Huo Yuhao arrived at that point again. Stamping his right foot on the ground, he rushed forwards and used his left leg to strike Wu Feng¡¯s slender waist.

    Naturally, Wu Feng wouldn¡¯t just let him have his way with her. She hurriedly raised her left knee and angled it towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s left leg. At the same time, she exerted some strength with her left arm, borrowing the strength of her physique to forcefully turn around and send a vicious kick towards Huo Yuhao with her left leg.

    As a result of the embarrassment she was feeling, Wu Feng had put all of her strength into this kick. Even though she hadn¡¯t used a soul skill, the all-out kick of a Soul Grandmaster that was using her martial soul couldn¡¯t be underestimated.

    However, Wu Feng made another miscalction. Huo Yuhao suddenly pulled his left leg back mid-kick, then went down into a squat, allowing him to dodge Wu Feng¡¯s kick. Immediately afterwards, he nimbly shot forwards and firmly pped Wu Feng¡¯s lower back with his palms.

 Chapter 35.1: I Havenâ€™t Lost Yet!

    Chapter 35.1: I Haven¡¯t Lost Yet!

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had no intentions of going easy on Wu Feng. His palms became jade in colour as he unleashed Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon on Wu Feng.

    With a ¡°bang¡±, Wu Feng was shoved more than five meters away from Huo Yuhao. This time around, she couldn¡¯t maintain her bnce. As a result of this, Wu Feng fell down and rolled on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t as high as Wu Feng¡¯s, but he was still someone with Rank 17 soul power; he was a true soul master. His all-out Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and Mysterious Jade Palm had still been rtively heavy blows.

    Wu Feng couldn¡¯t help but shake slightly as she got up. With an ¡°ah¡± she spat out a mouthful of blood. She¡¯d clearly been injured.

    The students standing in the spectator¡¯s stage were all left bbergasted.

    Before the match, who would¡¯ve predicted an oue like this? Who could have!?

    Huo Yuhao had actually managed to gain the upper hand! Beneath his relentless attacks, Wu Feng hadn¡¯t even had a chance to counterattack.

    Both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were astonished, Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes had widened in surprise, and Zhou Sichen was chewing on his finger nervously. The only exception to all of this was Cao Jinxuan, who was currently staring at Huo Yuhao with sparkling eyes.

    From their outer appearances, it seemed like both sides hadn¡¯t used any soul skills yet. Yet somehow, an assault-type soul master had actually lost to a control-type soul master in hand-to-handbat! Furthermore, this was with such a disparity in cultivation between the two.

    Wu Feng, who had the Red Dragon martial soul, was definitely much stronger than Huo Yuhao in terms of physique alone. Her speed, power, and flexibility were all greater than Huo Yuhao¡¯s; what had happened?

    It didn¡¯t matter that she¡¯d been kicked in the bum, yet Huo Yuhao¡¯s palms had sent her flying and forced her to cough up blood. Her defense had been strengthened considerably under the effects of her Red Dragon martial soul, yet she¡¯d actually been forced to cough up some blood. Since when did Huo Yuhao have the ability to do something like this?

    Huo Yuhao basically hadn¡¯t participated in any direct confrontations throughout the entire freshmen assessment, except for the time that he¡¯d used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track against Dai Huabin¡¯s team. Because of that, his hand-to-hand abilities had been entirely overlooked. Only now did everyone realise how wrong they¡¯d been about him. This was especially so for those that weren¡¯t at the two-ringed rank yet. They couldn¡¯t help but ask themselves: if they were to fight against Huo Yuhao in a closebat fight, could they win? Had Wu Feng¡¯s loss truly been due to carelessness alone?

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but stare nkly. He¡¯d thought of many ways for Huo Yuhao to stave off Wu Feng, but he¡¯d never considered the possibility of hand-to-handbat. Huo Yuhao had actually decided to use his own weakness against his opponent¡¯s strong point¡­ yet he was winning?

    The most astonished person present was Wu Feng herself. She hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to fight her like this, not even in her wildest dreams. The Spiritual Shock she¡¯d been constantly wary off hadn¡¯te either, yet she¡¯d suffered a huge loss in a closebat fight.

    She also felt a burning paining from her back. Huo Yuhao¡¯s palms were like two chunks of metal when they¡¯d viciously smashed into her back. Furthermore, she¡¯d felt two gentle forces surge through her body as soon as his palms hit her. These forces that had seeped into her body could be described as ¡®gentle¡¯, but they had seeped directly into her internal organs. Unexpectedly, Wu Feng wasn¡¯t able to remove them in a short period of time, even with her tyrannical soul power. Thus, she had had no choice but to cough up a mouthful of blood in order to slow down the progression of her injuries. However, her internal organs had still been badly shaken.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s kick hadn¡¯t hurt that much, as there was arge amount of flesh on her bum. However, this had been done in front of the entirety of ss 1! Furthermore, a man had never touched her buttocks before. And, as soon as he¡¯d kicked her, a strange feeling had begun to spread throughout her buttocks; this was the main reason that she¡¯d stumbled after getting up.

    ¡°Bastard, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Wu Feng roared angrily, then pounced towards Huo Yuhao like an enraged lioness. This time around, she didn¡¯t hold anything back. She instantly activated her first soul skill, Dragonfire.

    The person who had the strongest self-augmenting soul skill amongst ss 1¡¯s assault-type soul masters was definitely Dai Huabin and his White Tiger Vajra Transformation. However, Wu Feng was the strongest person after Dai Huabin. Her Dragonfire and Dragonfury had extremely strong self-augmenting abilities in addition to the increase in attack power they gave her. Because of this, Wu Feng was definitely an expert in close-quartersbat. If Dai Huabin didn¡¯t use his third soul skill, the two of them would definitely end up locked in a stalemate during a closebat fight. And yet, she¡¯d just suffered a loss to Huo Yuhao, and it hadn¡¯t been a small loss either!

    Huo Yuhao continued to keep his eyes shut, but his expression became serious. He¡¯d been able to injure Wu Feng in their closebat fight by catching her unaware and using of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques in addition to his Spiritual Detection¡¯s foresight. At the same time, it was also because Wu Feng hadn¡¯t used any of her soul skills yet.

    Wu Feng¡¯s burning Dragonfire instantly scorched everything within a foot of her. Because of this, the scorching stream of air struck Huo Yuhao in the face before she¡¯d even arrived. Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, thus his Spirit Eyes weren¡¯t able to strengthen his body in any way. He could predict all of her moves, but he wasn¡¯t able to break through Wu Feng¡¯s defensive soul skills!

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to retreat. He knew that he hadn¡¯t had much of a chance in the first ce, and that being able to take advantage of his opponent¡¯sck of awareness was already an extremely good result for him.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to admit defeat. Even if he only had a sliver of hope left, he didn¡¯t want to give up.

    As such, Huo Yuhao chose not to retreat. As he withstood the high temperatures that were assaulting him, he used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to rush towards Wu Feng.

    This time around, Wu Feng didn¡¯t choose to jump into the air. Instead, she rushed towards Huo Yuhao on foot. The moment that Wu Feng was close enough to strike Huo Yuhao, she stopped and sent her left hand towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s stomach while firmly bnced.

    As a core disciple, even though Wu Feng had a fiery disposition, she definitely wasn¡¯t an impulsive person. After suffering a loss to Huo Yuhao, she¡¯d definitely pay attention to his attacks.

    Facing Wu Feng¡¯s palm strike, Huo Yuhao suddenly leaned to the left and dodged her attack. Making sure not to enter the one-foot area around Wu Feng, he crouched down and side-stepped to her right side.

    Like a bolt of lightning, Wu Feng sent a kick flying straight towards Huo Yuhao with her right leg. Her kicking speed was extremely fast, and her leg reached Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest in the blink of an eye.

    However, at that moment, Huo Yuhao unexpectedly slipped. He seemed to fall down, as if he¡¯d lost control of his body. Wu Feng¡¯s kick brushed past his chest as if it were stuck to it, instantly charring the front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shirt. At the same time, the scorching hot temperatures from Wu Feng¡¯s Dragonfire enveloped his body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t omnipotent, as his physical speed couldn¡¯t follow the speed of his thoughts. He¡¯d used up the of his energy in order to dodge Wu Feng¡¯sst attack.

 Chapter 35.2: I Havenâ€™t Lost Yet!

    Chapter 35.2: I Haven¡¯t Lost Yet!

    Wu Feng had missed, which resulted in her back being exposed to Huo Yuhao. Whilst leaning backwards, Huo Yuhao grabbed onto Wu Feng and¡ªenduring the the high temperatures caused by her Dragonfire¡ªviciously kicked Wu Feng¡¯s back, causing her to stumble forward.

    However, Huo Yuhao immediately let go after grabbing ahold of her. With her Dragonfire, the temperature surrounding Wu Feng¡¯s body in a one foot radius was simply too high. Furthermore, he¡¯d felt that something was amiss after he¡¯d grabbed her.

    He¡¯d grabbed ahold of two extremely stic yet firm mounds, which had instantly tightened the moment he¡¯d touched them. However, his hands had actually bounced off them. Huo Yuhao had only grasped hold of Wu Feng¡¯s clothes; no, it would be more urate to say that he¡¯d grabbed her dress¡­

    Huo Yuhao was dazed in that instant, and in turn had unconsciously lowered the direction of his kick.

    When Wu Feng stumbled forward, she unconsciously held onto her skirt. In a state of embarrassment and anger, she rapidly entered a half-squatting position after sweeping her right leg backwards.

    This guy! After doing such a shameful deed, one would definitely be distracted for a brief moment, and Huo Yuhao was no exception. Though he hadn¡¯t seen them with his eyes, the three-dimensional image he¡¯d seen in his mind wasn¡¯t too far off from the real things.

    Just as he blurted out the words, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything¡±, Wu Feng¡¯s kick arrived in his face.

    Dodging Wu Feng¡¯s kick was impossible. Thus, Huo Yuhao could only helplessly block Wu Feng¡¯s attack with the Mysterious Jade Hands.

    Wu Feng was extremely strong, and she¡¯d even used her soul power to strengthen her attack. Wu Feng¡¯s kick resembled an enormous, burning piece of iron as it viciously mmed into Huo Yuhao, who was forced to the ground from the force.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t scalded from Wu Feng¡¯s attack due to the protection of the Mysterious Jade Hands. However, her kick had simply been too powerful; he wasn¡¯t able to withstand it by merely relying on the strength of his arms. As the back of his arms smashed into his face, Huo Yuhao felt his mind go faint, while his nose began bleeding intensely.

    Wu Feng had finally managed to protect her skirt from being torn off after she kicked Huo Yuhao away, and could feel herself getting madder and madder as the fight went on.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you son of a bitch!¡± The intense red light surrounding Wu Feng¡¯s body instantly turned dark red as she activated her second soul skill, Dragonfire. Her entire body now resembled a genuine Red Dragon as she pounced towards Huo Yuhao; it seemed like she wouldn¡¯t be able to rest without killing him.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes. Just as Wang Yan was about to save Huo Yuhao from Wu Feng¡¯s attack, he couldn¡¯t help but pause his footsteps.

    Even with the scarlet mes surrounding Wu Feng, the trace of gold within Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed.

    In her enraged state, Wu Feng had forgotten to defend herself against Huo Yuhao¡¯s true attack.

    Wu Feng felt as if her brain had been gently pricked by a needle, which instantly caused her to be dazed for a moment. Following that, the dark-red light on her body dimmed slightly. She subconsciously buried her head within her hands because of the pain caused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    Taking advantage of the opportunity, Huo Yuhao jumped into the air and shot towards Wu Feng. He grabbed onto Wu Feng¡¯s clothes with his hands in an attempt to throw her to the ground.

    However, even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s calcting abilities were extremely precise, there were still times when even he made a mistake. He¡¯d underestimated the strength of Wu Feng¡¯s Dragonfury, and neglected the injury that his arm had suffered from Wu Feng¡¯s kick.

    He managed to grab ahold of Wu Feng¡¯s clothes, but he was immediately engulfed by a boiling stream of hot air afterwards. The intense waves of heat struck him in the face and made it seem like he¡¯d touched the sun itself. His sleeves instantly turned to ash, and he subconsciously loosened his grip right as he was about to pull his arms back due to the extreme pain that had suddenly spread from his hands.

    Even though Wu Feng had been struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, she still had her basicbat instincts. While she was still struggling subconsciously, she mmed her right arm into Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and forcefully flung him away.

    Wu Feng¡¯s blow was simply too heavy. Though his bones didn¡¯t shatter due to the soul power protecting his body, Wu Feng¡¯s zing fire energy still madly surged into his body. As he flew through the air, he couldn¡¯t help but cough up a mouthful of blood. When he finallynded on the ground, everything in front of his eyes turned dark and he nearly fainted.

    At the same time, Wu Feng kneeled on the ground with her head buried in her arms and let out painful groans. Having stored up so much energy, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock wasn¡¯t something that could be easily endured. There were traces of blood flowing from Wu Feng¡¯s nose, but she was still in slightly better condition than Huo Yuhao.

    It¡¯s finally ended. Wang Yan sighed inwardly. Though Huo Yuhao had lost, it could be considered a glorious defeat. For him to be able to injure Wu Feng in a closebat fight, with his current cultivation, was already something he could be proud of. After all, he was a soul master that specialised in the control and auxiliary systems! Wang Yan had never expected him to be so skilled in closebat fight.

    However, was it truly over?

    Still hugging her head, Wu Feng slowly stood up. However, she wasn¡¯t able to stabilize her footing due to the intense paining from her head. Humiliation, this was an enormous humiliation!

    After alleviating the intense headache she had with much difficulty, Wu Feng discovered that Wang Yan was standing between the two of them. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to make a move against Huo Yuhao for the time being, but the anger in her heart caused her to hysterically yell out, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you just wait! As long as you stay within ss 1, I¡¯ll keep targeting you till the day you screw off from Shrek Academy!¡±

    As everyone gazed on, Huo Yuhao began to crawl back up with great difficulty. To the astonishment of the onlooking students, a slight hint of red had appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes the instant he raised his head. He gazed coldly at the nearby Wu Feng, making it seem as if he were a blood-thirsty tiger that was about to devour its prey. The hysterical Wu Feng felt as if she¡¯d suddenly been stung by a poisonous scorpion, and a chill ran up her spine.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t lost yet!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was somewhat hoarse, but it was filled with decisiveness. Right, he hadn¡¯t lost yet. As long as he had a trace of energy left in him, Huo Yuhao would never admit defeat. With obstinance and perseverance in his heart supporting him, both the suffering his body had experienced and the humiliation he¡¯d suffered from her insults instantly caused the resentment he¡¯d suppressed for so many years to erupt like a geyser.

    At that exact moment, his body suddenly trembled. Immediately afterwards, the pale red in his eyes once again changed color, bing a terrifying grey filled with the aura of death!

 Chapter 36.1: The Awakened Gray Color!

    Chapter 36.1: The Awakened Gray Color!

    Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao had actually stood up! Furthermore, he¡¯d used a hoarse yet determined voice to express his wish to continue fighting.

    The students who¡¯d originally thought the battle to be over immediately quieted back down and stared at Huo Yuhao with stupefied gazes. They were unable to fathom what could be helping him stand back up since he¡¯d been struck by Wu Feng¡¯s powerful attack. Was the position of ss monitor this important to Huo Yuhao?

    To Huo Yuhao, whether or not he became a ss monitor didn¡¯t really matter. However, his honor was something extremely important to him; he couldn¡¯t allow anyone to tarnish it. This was the reason he¡¯d epted Wu Feng¡¯s challenge in the first ce¡ªeven though he knew he¡¯d probably lose. It was also the same reason he was standing back up now.

    Wu Feng¡¯s hysteria immediately diminished the second that she saw the red glow in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. However, the instant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned gray, she felt as if an enormous hand had grasped hold of her neck and was strangling her.

    This was the first time that Wu Feng had felt dread from Huo Yuhao. Regardless of how strong she actually was, she was still a young girl no older than twelve!

    Wang Yan was also dumbfounded by Huo Yuhao¡¯s current appearance. He hurriedly took a few steps back, while his heartbeat began to elerate uncontrobly. The only exnation he coulde up with for Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden change was a reason rted to Body Souls. Thus, instead of interrupting their Soul Duel, he fixated his eyes on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body whilst doing his best to sense the changes urring within it.

    Huo Yuhao had truly transformed in some way. As his had eyes turned bloodshot, his heart filled with an unyielding will to fight and resentment surging throughout his body, a refreshing feeling had suddenly spread silently throughout his Spiritual Sea. This refreshing feeling instantly covered the entirety of his Spiritual Sea, causing even the Skydream Iceworm to let out a bewildered cry.

    Gray¡ªHuo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea instantly turned gray. However, the dormant gray pearl that had always silently resided in his Spiritual Sea had vanished.

    The refreshing feeling quietly calmed down Huo Yuhao¡¯s surging resentment and allowed Huo Yuhao to quickly regain his senses. However, his eyes had turned gray due to the changes in his Spiritual Sea.

    ¡°Hatred will cloud your eyes.¡± A wise yet clear voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea. When it did, even the Skydream Iceworm was able to clearly hear it.

    Ten balls of golden light simultaneously lit up in an attempt to expel the gray stream of light that had appeared, but it didn¡¯t react at all. It was as if it was incorporeal. No matter how strong the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s origin power was, it didn¡¯t seem to affect the gray light; it hadn¡¯t even been scratched.

    ¡°You should use your spiritual power like this.¡± Huo Yuhao discovered that he¡¯d lost all control of his body, but he could still clearly see everything that happened. Immediately afterwards, he felt his soul power boil. The Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power¡ªidentical to his in terms of power, quantity, and intensity¡ªhad also had its control wrested from him.

    Afterwards, his gray Spirit Eyes lit up as his Spiritual Shock was activated again. To his astonishment, this Spiritual Shock moved slower than normal as it left his eyes¡ªas if it was a viper slowly extending its tongue.

    At the same time, the original ball-like Spiritual Shock had been shrunken down to the width of a strand of hair as it gently flew towards Wu Feng.

    In the eyes of the spectating students, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had suddenly lit up and turned crystal clear, rather than the muddy gray they¡¯d been before. The gray light in his eyes had flickered slightly, after which Wu Feng had let out a sharp cry.

    Wu Feng had gathered her soul power around her brain the second the feeling of dread had appeared in her heart. However, at this moment, she suddenly sensed a gray needle slowly arrive in front of her. It pierced through theyer of soul power she¡¯d created, then gently tapped her brain.

    Wu Feng¡¯s flowing red hair flew into the air as her eyes turned gray as well. Immediately afterwards, she fell backwards with a sharp cry and directly lost consciousness.

    The battle had ended, but the students of ss 1 had fallenpletely silent, as if their necks had been strangled just like Wu Feng¡¯s earlier.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook slightly, and the hint of gray in his eyes slowly faded away. However, he continued to stand as straight as a ramrod. After sweeping his already-normal eyes across the spectating students, he slowly left the arena without sparing a nce towards Wu Feng.

    Wang Yan hurriedly walked towards Wu Feng and made sure that she hadn¡¯t suffered any true injuries. However, he still decided to carry her to the infirmary.

    Whilst running towards the infirmary, Wang Yan felt a passionate fire ignite in his heart. Right, that was definitely the second awakening of a Body Soul. It must¡¯ve been! Otherwise, why would his eyes suddenly change color? Why else would he be able to beat Wu Feng? Huo Yuhao won, he won! This won¡¯t do, I have to find Elder Xuan and have him select Huo Yuhao as a core disciple.

    As Huo Yuhao was quickly approaching the resting room, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had just left the arena, allowing them to bump into the grave-faced Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re awesome!¡± Xiao Xiao excitedly cried out. However, Wang Dong walked towards Huo Yuhao after realizing that something was off.

    Huo Yuhao looked deeply at Wang Dong. Afterwards, he directly copsed onto Wang Dong¡¯s body, passed out. Moreover, his breath was scorching hot.

    In reality, Huo Yuhao¡¯s injuries were even more serious than Wu Feng¡¯s. Wu Feng¡¯s dual-soul skill augmented attack had seriously injured him. However, he¡¯d forced himself to stand upright in front of all the other students. With deep breaths as he persevered, he¡¯d carried himself all the way to the resting room.

    Wang Dong secured him tightly to his back with Xiao Xiao¡¯s help, then rushed outside with only one thought on his mind, Yuhao didn¡¯t want anyone else to see him like this, so I have to fulfill his wish. He ran towards the dorms with quick strides.

    Only after Wang Dong had left did Xiao Xiao react. She hurriedly chased after Wang Dong, stopping only after they¡¯d reached the dormitory area.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical body had fainted, but his consciousness had been dragged back into his Spiritual Sea. Moreover, he was exceptionally clear-headed.

    ¡°Old fe, just who are you? Why do you want to fight over territory with me?¡± The Skydream Iceworm grumbled.

    The gray light didn¡¯t withdraw, nor did it encroach upon the Skydream Iceworm.

    ¡°This old man, fight with you over territory? Who do you think you are? You¡¯re just a fleshy worm. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I currently only have a trace of my divine sense left, I¡¯d turn you into fertiliser in mere moments.¡± The aged voice wasn¡¯t willing to submit.

    The Skydream Iceworm spat, ¡°Bullshit. If you think you¡¯re strong enough,e on! Let¡¯s see who¡¯ll get rid of who! Don¡¯t think that this Brother can¡¯t see that you only have a strand of divine sense left. You don¡¯t even have any power left! Do you really think that you can beat me in a fight by yourself?¡±

    The aged voice replied disdainfully, ¡°You¡¯re right; this old man only has a strand of divine sense left. However, this old man¡¯s divine sense is on a much, much higher level than yours. Can you even do anything to me? Even though my divine sense has been shattered, you can¡¯t even take on this single strand of it. Think about it: If I were to gradually recover strength and memories, what would happen then? I¡¯d crush your fleshy body, then slowly squeeze you until all of your juice had squirted out.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm evidently couldn¡¯t beat the old man in a war of words. He was infuriated to the point that all ten golden balls of light had unceasingly begun to surge with light.

    ¡°This, what happened?¡± Huo Yuhao was bbergasted. Why had his Spiritual Sea be so lively in this short period of time?

    The aged voice spoke to him in a much warmer tone, ¡°Little fe, this old man didn¡¯t belong to your world in the beginning. I only remember that, when I was about to die, I broke through the barriers of space and entered your world with only a strand of my divine sense remaining. I don¡¯t know why that happened, but it might¡¯ve been because of my overly strong soul power. When thatrge worm fused with you, it created intense undtions of energy that guided me towards you. Thus, my strand of divine sense entered your Spiritual Sea. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t harbour any evil intentions. However, I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to leave you, even in the future.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only been left with this single strand of divine sense, so I¡¯m extremely weak. I need time to slowly recover all of my memories, but the resentment that appeared in your heart earlier gave me a familiar feeling that finally woke me up. I don¡¯t remember what happened in my past, but I can definitely tell you that you shouldn¡¯t let hatred cloud your eyes. Once you do something unredeemable, you¡¯ll regret it till the day you die. Furthermore, you won¡¯t be able to do anything to make up for it. Something simr seems to have happened to me in the past. Fortunately, you¡¯re still young, and you¡¯re not too strong yet. There¡¯s still time for you to gradually dispel the hatred in your heart.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice changed. ¡°You¡¯re saying that I shouldn¡¯t get my revenge?¡±

    The aged voice replied indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. I¡¯m saying that you shouldn¡¯t take out your anger on people who don¡¯t deserve it. You can still get your revenge, but don¡¯t harm the innocent. For example, let¡¯s say that the chief of a vige harms you. Would you ughter the entire vige if you were strong enough? Did those innocent vigersmit any sin?¡±

    Unhappy, the Skydream Iceworm cried out angrily, ¡°Oi, Yuhao¡¯s my host. He doesn¡¯t need you to teach him anything! Do you think that this Brother is just air?¡±

    The aged voice replied in an extremely disdainful tone, ¡°You¡¯re naturally not air, you¡¯re just a little bug. This old man¡¯s toozy to bother with you, I¡¯m going to continue restoring my divine sense.¡± After saying this, his attention shifted back towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°I scanned through your memories. You have too much hate built up in you. You can do as you wish and vent your hatred, but you can¡¯t let this hatred ferment. Once I¡¯ve recovered enough of my divine sense, I¡¯ll do my best to help you out. Let me see what I can remember¡­ Oh¡­ other than a few blurry bits and pieces, it seems that I can only remember a single phrase: My hand grasps the sun and moon and plucks the stars from the sky; this world has no one else like me. Haha, hahahaha.¡±

 Chapter 36.2: The Awakened Gray Color

    Chapter 36.2: The Awakened Gray Color

    Amidst the loudughter, the gray light within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea receded like a tide. After a few seconds, everything around him had returned to normal, and the gray pearl had returned to its original position.

    ¡°My hand grasps the sun and moon and plucks the stars from the sky; this world has no one else like me.¡± Muttering these domineering yet somewhat sorrowful words, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but be left stunned for a moment.

    The Skydream Iceworm cursed in rage, ¡°Bastard, bastard! That old fe actually dared to ignore this Brother. He even cursed at me! I want to kill him, I really want to kill him!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was jolted by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice, and said somewhat helplessly, ¡°Brother Skydream, you should calm down a bit. That old mister didn¡¯t seem to have any evil intentions.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm unhappily replied, ¡°What do you mean ¡®no evil intentions¡¯? Weren¡¯t you listening when he said that he wanted to crush me to death? This won¡¯t do. Yuhao, you have to quickly raise your strength. He¡¯s a parasite in your Spiritual Sea, thus only you can drive him out using your spiritual power. Even though his divine sense is at an extremely high level, he can¡¯t hurt you since he¡¯s a foreign object in your Spiritual Sea. Once your divine sense reaches his level, you¡¯ll be able to easily deal with him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat helpless. ¡°Brother Skydream, you just said that his divine sense was at a very high level. How long do you think I¡¯ll have to cultivate in order to reach his level?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ let me make a few calctions.¡± The Skydream Iceworm fell silent.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was extremely curious. The fact that an intelligent soul ring was in his body already allowed him to stand out from the masses, but he hadn¡¯t expected to absorb a strand of divine sense when he¡¯d fused with the Skydream Iceworm. This was his Spiritual Sea, and though he was far inferior to the Skydream Iceworm and the old man, he¡¯d clearly been able to sense everything going on in here. When that old man had spoken to him, he¡¯d been able to sense the vicissitudes and sincerity in his voice. From that, he¡¯d been able to tell that he truly had no intention of harming him. Furthermore, that strand of divine sense was extremely weak, so much so that it was even weaker than his spiritual power.

    However, was he truly as weak as he¡¯d seemed? Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but think of everything that had just urred. That seemingly-weak gray divine sense had taken control of his soul power, then activated the attack that had defeated Wu Feng. Even though it had been a Spiritual Shock, the gray light had been able to condense his spiritual power into something the thickness the strand of a piece of hair, which in turn had pierced through all of Wang Yan¡¯s defenses and defeated her without actually harming her. Was this level of control something that he was able topare to?

    If he possessed this level of control over his spiritual power, the strength of his spiritual-type soul skills would increase, as would the level of his soul power fusion with Wang Dong¡ªto the point that it¡¯d even be slightly excessive!

    This was true control. However, how could he increase his level of control over his spiritual power?

    ¡°Aih¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve done a quick estimation. With your current cultivation speed, even if I were to wholeheartedly help you out, you¡¯d still need around three thousand years for your divine sense to catch up to his.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Even though Huo Yuhao already a high estimation of the nameless old man, he¡¯d mostly been trying to pacify the Skydream Iceworm when he¡¯d said that he wasn¡¯t as good as the old man. However, he never expected the Skydream Iceworm, who resented the old man, to give him an answer like this. As he wasn¡¯t on good terms with the old man, it definitely couldn¡¯t be a lie!

    The Skydream Iceworm was extremely helpless. ¡°Why else would I be powerless to do anything to a mere strand of divine sense? I don¡¯t know where that old fe came from, but his divine sense is on a much higher level than mine. He¡¯s very weak now, but the level of his divine sense has already reached a level I¡¯m incapable ofprehending. He¡¯s already surpassed the level of all living beings on this continent. It truly seems like I can¡¯t do anything to him! Only, I don¡¯t know whether he¡¯ll have anybat strength once he¡¯s recovered. We¡¯ll see, but he shouldn¡¯t have any. His divine sense is this weak now, thus even if he does repair it, it¡¯s still just a strand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao murmured, ¡°Then, how strong was this old mister before his divine sense shattered?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sulkily replied, ¡°A level that you can¡¯t even begin to fathom right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Skydream, this old man has no evil intentions, and we can¡¯t do anything to him anyway. Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we all just live together peacefully?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± The Skydream Iceworm snorted angrily, clearly unhappy.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°You¡¯ve made a mistake; his Body Soul hasn¡¯t had a second awakening.¡± Elder Xuan moved his oily hand away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Wang Yan asked suspiciously, ¡°That can¡¯t be. If he didn¡¯t have a second awakening, why did his Spirit Eyes turn gray? Furthermore, I clearly sensed a different aura from him! Even more so, he defeated a two-ringed assault-type soul master. Elder Xuan, why don¡¯t we try it out again once he¡¯s woken up?¡±

    After sending Wu Feng to the infirmary, Wang Yan had dismissed ss 1. He¡¯d then rushed over to the inner courtyard and found Elder Xuan, then exined the situation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s possible second awakening to him.

    This time around, even Elder Xuan had been left somewhat stunned. One of the many advantages a Body Soul had over other martial souls was its second awakening. A Body Soul that could achieve a second awakening was a peak existence among Body Souls. Moreover, a Body Soul that achieved a second awakening would immediately reach a new level. Because of this, he¡¯d hastily followed Wang Yan to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s dormitory in order to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition for himself.

    Somewhat impatient, Elder Xuan replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to bother. Little Wang! I know you¡¯ve been studying Body Souls, but you can¡¯t be content with such a shallow understanding. Do you even know what happens when a Body Soul achieves its second awakening? He hasn¡¯t even reached the most basic level of a second awakening. His soul power is still Rank 17, meaning that it hasn¡¯t changed at all. If he¡¯d truly had a second awakening, his soul power would¡¯ve reached the bottleneck of Rank 20 at the very least. This kid can be considered to be quite talented, but he¡¯s still too old. He won¡¯t reach Rank 30 by the age of twelve, so there¡¯s still a gap between him and the most outstanding students amongst the freshmen. In the future, don¡¯t waste my time with him.¡± With that, he drank a mouthful of wine and left.

    With a downcast look on his face, Wang Yan told Wang Dong to take care of Huo Yuhao, then proceeded to leave as well.

    It was alreadyte into the night when Huo Yuhao awoke. The pain in his body had already diminished by arge amount. Moreover, Wang Yan had also brought some healing medicine over. His injuries weren¡¯t light, but his bones and internal organs hadn¡¯t been injured. With the help of Shrek Academy¡¯s top-ranked medicines, his injuries weren¡¯t much of a problem.

    What a soft and warm feeling. To his astonishment, Huo Yuhao discovered that he was sleeping soundly atop Wang Dong¡¯s bed. On the other hand, Wang Dong was soundly asleep with his upper body leaning on the bed.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that Huo Yuhao had been on Wang Dong¡¯s bed, but it was the first time he¡¯d slept there.

    Huo Yuhao was greatly touched by Wang Dong¡¯s actions. He clearly understood how mysophobic Wang Dong was. Normally, Wang Dong wouldn¡¯t even let him sit atop his bed. Yet, he¡¯d actually allowed him to sleep on his bed, despite his body being covered in dust from the Soul Duel.

    After quietly getting up from the bed, he carefully picked Wang Dong up and ced him on the bed. Turning his head, he nced towards his wooden bed that didn¡¯t even have a mattress. He gently ced Wang Dong on the fur-coated mattress and shuffled him around before lying down next to him.

    The two of them were slightly cramped, being together on the same bed, but they were still kids. They weren¡¯t as fat as Xie Huanyue, so squeezing together was still possible, though only barely.

    Huo Yuhao then pulled the cover over both of them. With a warm feeling in his heart, he fell asleep again. It had been a long time since he¡¯d had such a rxing night of sleep without cultivating. At that moment, hepletely rxed from the various emotions he¡¯d experienced during the day.

    Morning. The sky outside slowly brightened.

    As Wang Dong slowly woke up from his sleep, he slowly came back to his senses with his eyes still closed. Howfortable! What a nice sleep I had.

    After being dragged along by that fe to cultivate every night, it¡¯s been such a long time since I¡¯ve had such a nice night of sleep. It feels so nice to snuggle this warm and cozy pillow, and to sleep so soundly. Holding this pillow is so warm. Nice¡­ Nice¡­.

    Filled with contentment, Wang Dong nearly fell back asleep. Suddenly, his mind shook, remembering something.

    That¡¯s not right! Huo Yuhao was injured yesterday, so I should¡¯ve been taking care of him! How did I manage to sleep sofortably?

    Remembering the injured Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong immediately woke up and opened his eyes.

    The first thing he saw was the shape of a face. Soundly asleep, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks were ruddy under the morning sunlight. A strong aura of warmth slowly emanated off of him.

    Wang Dong was thoroughly stunned. He discovered that his head was currently leaning against that person¡¯s shoulder. His arm, on the other hand, wastched onto his chest, and it was even gripped tightly. His thigh was over that person¡¯s leg, and he¡¯d even hooked his heel onto his outer thigh in order to prevent himself from falling.

    This, was this a body pillow?

    His mind turned nk. Three, two, one¡­

    ¡°AH¡ª¡± An ear-piercing screech suddenly rang out through the first year dorms.

    This screech was simply too loud. Even though the dorm rooms had extremely good soundproofing, it instantly jolted arge amount of first years who were cultivating or sleeping awake.

    ¡°Aiyah, you¡¯re gonna make me fall to death.¡±

    Humans were always defenseless when they were asleep, and Huo Yuhao was no exception to this. He¡¯d been sleeping very soundly, and he¡¯d only felt a warm, soft ¡®pillow¡¯ that released a fresh odor sticking to him. With the soft yet thick fur-coated mattress he¡¯d slept on, he¡¯d slept very soundly. Normally, he¡¯d already be awake in order to cultivate the Purple Demon Eyes. However, he¡¯d slept especially soundly today.

 Chapter 36.3: The Awakened Gray Color

    Chapter 36.3: The Awakened Gray Color

    However, he suddenly felt like he¡¯d soared into the sky. The originally warm feeling he¡¯d had suddenly became chilly.

    Immediately afterwards¡­

    ¡°Putong!¡± The warm sensation that Huo Yuhao had felt from the nket suddenly turned into that of the cold, hard floor as he was shoved out of the bed. He hit the corner of his bed followed by the ground. The soundly sleeping Huo Yuhao only felt the world suddenly invert as he fell to the ground, confused, and let out a yell.

    However, his yell was drowned out by Wang Dong¡¯s sharp screech. As he woke up, he felt a cold shiver run up his spine. He looked up, only to see Wang Dong¡ªhis nket tightly clutched against his chest¡ªring at him with a vicious light in his eyes. Hisrge eyes seemed almost like they could spew fire, just like Wu Feng yesterday.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao massaged his sore chest as he got up from the floor.

    Wang Dong¡¯s chilly voice seemed to be forced through the gaps in his teeth as he enunciated each word he said, ¡°Why. Were. You. Sleeping. In. My. Bed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared nkly. He immediately realised what had gone wrong: Clearly, Wang Dong hadn¡¯t been willing to sleep together with him. However, his good sleep from the previous night had caused his mind to be especially clear.

    ¡°Ah? How would I know? Wasn¡¯t I fighting with Wu Feng yesterday? The only thing I remember after that is being kicked awake by you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Dong was left bbergasted at this as well. Right! Huo Yuhao had fainted after his match with Wu Feng, and had continued to sleep all the way until now.

    ¡°Why¡¯d I end up in your bed in the first ce?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong, a dumbstruck expression on his face.

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression reddened, and he sulkily said, ¡°Naturally, because of my good intentions! I was worried that you¡¯d catch a cold since you were injured!¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. ¡°Then why did you kick me out of it?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Wang Dong hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to me him. However, he truly wasn¡¯t clear as to what had happened. The only thing he remembered doing yesterday was looking after Huo Yuhao. After that, he¡¯d gotten tired as well, then had fallen asleep. However, he didn¡¯t remember climbing into his bed! Furthermore, he¡¯d even gone under the nket and hugged Huo Yuhao! This was simply too embarrassing¡­

    Huo Yuhao humphed and turned to look at the sky outside. Ignoring Wang Dong, he opened the window. It was just about time for him to begin cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes for the day.

    Wang Dong grew increasingly bewildered as he sat up on his bed. Did I subconsciously climb up into my bed and go to sleep after I got tired?

    This seemed to be the only logical exnation to Wang Dong.

    That kick was quite hard. Is he really okay?

    After thinking to this point, he jumped off the bed. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, ¡°Yuhao, sorry! I forgot that you were sleeping in my bedst night when I woke up. You know how mysophobic I am. When I saw that there was someone next to me when I got up, I subconsciously¡­ please don¡¯t be angry! Does your injury still hurt?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a word in response. Instead, his gaze was fixed on a distant patch of white in the eastern sky. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.

    Because of this, Wang Dong was under the impression that Huo Yuhao was truly angry. He silently stood in the corner and waiting for Huo Yuhao to finish cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes. Though he¡¯d already entered the Tang Sect, he hadn¡¯t yet begun cultivating the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques alongside Huo Yuhao.

    After finishing his cultivation of the Purple Demon Eyes, a purple glow briefly surged through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he stood up. Of all the techniques he was currently cultivating, the one that he¡¯d improved the most in was definitely the Purple Demon Eyes; his progress in it wasparable to traversing a thousand miles in a single day. His Spirit Eyes and the Purple Demon Eyesplemented each other extremely well, which allowed him to improve arge amount every day. This had held even truer ever since he¡¯d entered the Totality realm of the Purple Demon Eyes. Because of this, his four soul skills¡¯ strength had also increased along with the Purple Demon Eyes. This was the main reason why the distance, precision, and judgement of his Spiritual Detection had improved so quickly.

    ¡°What? You still aren¡¯t showering yet?¡± Huo Yuhao walked outside unhappily.

    ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t be angry! I really didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Wang Dong said, a pitiful expression on his face.

    Huo Yuhao was inwardly joyous, but he put on a magnanimous appearance and said, ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve experienced this bad habit of yours. You call yourself a guy, but why do you have to be so clean? You even have that sweet smell on you. Look, where you kicked me doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. Quickly shower, we¡¯ll cultivate for a while after we eat breakfast since we wastedst night¡¯s cultivation time.¡±

    The issue had smoothly been swept away because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. After the two showered, they put on a set of clean uniforms, then ate breakfast.

    After bing a core disciple, one would receive a badge specially meant for core disciples. The badge was dark green and had a golden border. Even though Huo Yuhao was currently only able to enjoy the treatment of a core disciple, he¡¯d still been given a badge. Only, he had to return the badge once the school year had ended.

    With the core disciple badge, they were treatedpletely different within the academy. As an example, they were able to eat the best type of food in the canteen. The nourishment and nutrition provided by this food was guaranteed, and even provided a certain amount of help towards their cultivations. The two of them ate a hearty meal, then returned to their dorm room to cultivate for a while. Afterwards, they headed towards ss 1.

    There were already quite a few people already in the ssroom by the time they arrived. However, the entire ssroom instantly turned silent when the two of them entered. Everyone present¡¯s gaze had instantly focused on Huo Yuhao, who acted as if nothing had happened.

    In turn, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was aimed towards Wu Feng¡¯s seat. However, Wu Feng hadn¡¯t shown up yet. He calmly walked toward his seat alongside Wang Dong and sat down. Afterward, he discovered that a trace of reverence was now present within the gazes of many of the students looking towards him.

    The facts had already presented themselves. Yesterday¡¯s fight had shaken practically all of the students; even Dai Huabin hadn¡¯t been an exception. Of the four sses within Year 1, ss 1 had the highest level of strength. In turn, the strongest students within ss 1 would naturally be the core disciples.

    The person that Huo Yuhao had defeated was a core disciple! In other words, his strength wasparable to a core disciple¡¯s, at the very least. Moreover, he was still only a one-ringed Soul Master. What if he became a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster? Advancing from the one-ringed rank to the two-ringed rank was much easier than from the two-ringed to the three-ringed rank. At that time, wouldn¡¯t he be even stronger?

    The students who¡¯d previously looked down on his ten year soul ring had be much more well-behaved today. At the very least, no one had looks of disdain present in their eyes as they looked towards him.

    Huo Yuhao had wanted an effect just like this. Even if he¡¯d lost yesterday, he still would¡¯ve been able to awe arge number of students by injuring Wu Feng to such a degree. He wanted to study in Shrek Academy for at least six years, hopefully even more. If everyone held him in contempt, his mental state would definitely be affected. If that happened, how would he even cultivate with peace of mind!?

    The ss bell rang, and the two teachers, Wang Yan and Zhou Yi, walked in just in time for ss to start.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s aged face seemed very serene, but her gaze was as sharp as a de as she coldly swept it across the ss. The students who were originally from the other sses didn¡¯t think much of it, but the original students of ss 1 inwardly shuddered; they knew that this perverted old grandma was about to show her authority.

    The facts proved to be just as they¡¯d predicted. When Wang Yan had told Zhou Yi about the previous day¡¯s incident, he¡¯d been showered with a barrage of reprimands. Wang Yan¡¯s status within the Academy was higher than Zhou Yi¡¯s, yet she didn¡¯t seem to care at all. After she¡¯d finished cursing at Wang Yan, she personally left to check up on the bed-ridden Huo Yuhao, and only left after verifying that he was fine. However, Huo Yuhao had still been asleep at the time.

    Wang Yan stood next to the ssroom¡¯s entrance, but didn¡¯t walk towards the podium. Zhou Yi walked towards the podium by herself. She swept her cold gaze across the entire ssroom, which caused even the students that were unfamiliar with her to quiet down underneath her sharp gaze.

    Wang Yan had never held a ss together with Zhou Yi. Rather, he¡¯d only heard of her style of teaching in passing. After being scolded by her yesterday, he¡¯d been inwardly annoyed. He thought to himself, I want to see how you¡¯ll take care of these students, who¡¯re all Chosen.

    ¡°Everyone, stand up!¡± Zhou Yi shouted coldly.

    As if there a heated iron had suddenly been ced in their chairs, the original students of ss 1 instantly stood up. The other students stood up as well; some of them quickly, some of them slowly. In their opinion, this olddy wasn¡¯t asrge of a deterrence as Wang Yan. Even Wang Yan had been forced to agree to Wu Feng¡¯s suggestion after being pressured by her yesterday. Just what could this olddy do to them?

    Zhou Yi icily said, ¡°Very good. There are a total of 67 students within this ss, while one person hasn¡¯t arrived yet. 36 of you stood up as soon as I ordered you to, while the other 30 or so students procrastinated. If I call your name, stand in the corridor as punishment.¡±

    ¡°Huang Chutian.¡± The first person she¡¯d called out was Huang Chutian, who was also currently receiving the treatment of a core disciple like Huo Yuhao.

    Huang Chutian was bbergasted. Heughed. ¡°Teacher Zhou, you don¡¯t need to be this serious. Isn¡¯t it just standing up a bitte?¡±

    Zhou Yi didn¡¯t bother with any superfluous words. With a sh, she appeared in front of Huang Chutian and grabbed ahold of his cor. Afterwards, she directly flung him out a window. Other than a brief shriek that rang out from outside the window, Huang Chutian¡¯s voice could no longer be heard. Not only were the students bbergasted, even Wang Yan himself was astonished by Zhou Yi¡¯s actions.

    Zhou Yi continued coldly, ¡°Ye Yulin, Yu Ling, Tang Xiaoxiao, Ouyang Haiya¡­¡± The other 30 students who¡¯d stood upte were all quickly called out.

    After learning from Huang Chutian¡¯s mistake, nobody dared to object to Zhou Yi¡¯s actions. The offending students obediently left the ssroom, one look at the six flickering soul rings around Zhou Yi¡¯s body being all they needed to know how little of a chance they had.

    Zhou Yi indifferently said, ¡°I¡¯ll now announce two pieces of information. Number one: I¡¯ll be choosing the ss monitors of the ss. The monitor from the Assault System will be Wang Dong, and the monitor from the Control System will be Huo Yuhao. Number two: From today onwards, anyone who dares to question a teacher¡¯s decisions will directly be expelled.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, wasn¡¯t the ss monitor supposed to be elected?¡± Dai Huabin suddenly asked.

    Zhou Yi looked at him coldly. ¡°I just said that anyone who dares to question a teacher will be expelled. Since you¡¯re a core disciple, I¡¯m unable to expel you. However, I will request that the Academy transfer you out of ss 1. Dai Huabin, stand up and leave this ss.¡±

 Chapter 37.1: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    Chapter 37.1: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    Dai Huabin was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Zhou Yi to be this harsh, and he could only stare nkly for a moment. Before he was able to react, Zhou Yi had appeared right in front of him. Despite Dai Huabin being the strongest individual amongst the freshmen, he was stillpletely powerless in front of the six-ringed Zhou Yi. He followed in Huang Chutian¡¯s footsteps as he was immediately thrown out the window by Zhou Yi.

    Zhu Lu¡¯s voice was intermingled with both anger and astonishment as she cried out, ¡°Teacher Zhou, I can¡¯t ept this!¡±

    Zhou Yi grabbed ahold of her and flung her out of a window as well. ¡°If you aren¡¯t able to ept it, you can scram too.¡±

    The ss had been shaken when Huang Chutian was thrown out, but now the entirety of ss 1 had be so silent that even a pin hitting the floor would be heard. Even the students who¡¯d been told to stand outside in the corridor had been able to hear themotion, and everyone had momentarily been overwhelmed with shock. This caused the atmosphere in the room to instantly turn grave.

    Wang Yan eyes widened in astonishment as he finally realized why Zhou Yi had never been promoted to a high-ranked teacher. Her, her temper was too¡­

    ¡°Teacher Zhou!¡± Wang Yan hurriedly shouted.

    Zhou Yi appeared in front of him in a sh, shocking the students, who thought for a moment that she was about to throw Teacher Wang out. However, Zhou Yi only said icily, ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡¯re the main teacher in charge of ss 1, while I¡¯m the assistant teacher. However, I have the qualifications to carry out my personal teaching philosophies. As such, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to make a report to the Academy stating that the students ¡®Huang Chutian¡¯, ¡®Dai Huabin¡¯, and ¡®Zhu Lu¡¯ have severely vited ss discipline. Seeing that they¡¯re either core disciples of the outer courtyard or temporary core disciples, I¡¯m unable to expel them. However, I¡¯d like the Academy to transfer them out of this ss, as I refuse to teach these types of students. At the same time, Wu Feng hasn¡¯t attended the first day of ss, and hasn¡¯t given a reason for her absence. Thus, I¡¯d like to request that the Academy transfer her to another ss as well.¡±

    Wang Yan hurriedly replied, ¡°Teacher Zhou, calm down. They¡¯re core disciples!¡±

    Zhou Yi red at him icily. ¡°In my eyes, there are only obedient and disobedient disciples; outstanding and trashy disciples. There are no core disciples. I¡¯ve already decided that they need to screw off. Now then, you can go ahead and teach the students in the ssroom. I¡¯m going to teach the students outside.¡± With that, she turned and left the ssroom.

    Xiao Xiao whispered, ¡°Yuhao, see that? Teacher Zhou¡¯s helping you out for the injustice you¡¯ve suffered. I like her protection.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s evaluation of her was even more sinct, ¡°Her domineeringness has been exposed!¡±

    Zhou Yi was truly domineering. In only a short three minutes, she¡¯d expelled three core disciples, as well as one temporary core disciple. If it were any other teacher in the Academy, they never would¡¯ve done this. At this moment, even Wang Yan felt that she was a lunatic.

    However, it was true that Zhou Yi¡¯s actions had stunned the students of ss 1. Every single student present suddenly felt an extremely intense sense of crisis.

    Core disciples couldn¡¯t be directly expelled by a teacher, but the other students could be! After core disciples had been used to set an example, who would dare to go against Teacher Zhou¡¯s authority?

    At this moment, the students both within and outside the ssroom all suddenly became extremely obedient.

    The original students of ss 1 were already having a moment of silence for the students that¡¯d been left outside with Teacher Zhou. They understood Teacher Zhou¡¯s methods of teaching all too well. However, not only did they feel joyous towards this matter, they even felt a sense of closeness. They all felt that she¡¯d vented some anger for Huo Yuhao; this was equivalent to venting some anger for the entirety of the original ss 1!

    Wang Yan began his ss with a heart full of depression. Even if he wanted to use Zhou Yi of misconduct, he¡¯d have to wait until after ss to do so. However, Wang Yan quickly discovered that the ss¡¯s atmosphere had changed.

    Compared to yesterday¡¯sx atmosphere, the remaining thirty or so students in the ss were extremely serious, to the point that they seemed to basically be thirsting for knowledge! Moreover, the discipline in the ss had be so good that he basically couldn¡¯t find anything to even be fussy about.

    He couldn¡¯t help his way of thinking gradually shifting because of this. It seems like being somewhat strict isn¡¯t that bad after all!

    Naturally, Huang Chutian, Zhu Lu, and Dai Huabin¡ªwho were currently crawling up from the field they¡¯dnded in¡ªdidn¡¯t feel the same about Zhou Yi¡¯s strictness. The three of them were somewhat dumbstruck; never in their wildest dreams had they expected a situation like this to ur.

    Dai Huabin had felt like he had the qualifications to be a ss monitor, as Wang Dong wasn¡¯t his equal in terms of strength. However, he¡¯d never expected Zhou Yi to not care about his cultivation or his identity, nor had he expected her to literally throw him out of ss. Furthermore, she¡¯d even kicked him out of ss 1.

    Of the four sses in Year 1, ss 1 was the strongest, and was also the ss that specialised in teaching control-type and assault-type soul masters. If ss 1 didn¡¯t want him, where could he go? The only answer to that was ss 2. However, ss 2 taught defense-type and agility-type soul masters! What could he learn there? More importantly, this was simply too embarrassing. As the son of the White Tiger Duke, he¡¯d actually been kicked out of his ss! If it hadn¡¯t been for his status as a core disciple, he would¡¯ve had to simply pack his bags and leave. For a brief moment, Dai Huabin was so filled with hatred that he clenched his fists, ready to explode.

    However, where was he again? This was Shrek Academy, the continent¡¯s number one academy. As a three-ringed Soul Elder, he was definitely an excellent figure amongst his peers. However, in a ce like Shrek Academy, where experts were like stars in the sky, he was worth a fart! Even if his father, the White Tiger Duke, were to personallye, he¡¯d have to kowtow in front of the upright sculptures of the first generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. What could he do?

    ¡°Huabin, what should we do?¡± Zhu Lu was somewhat agitated. As an agility-type soul master, she should¡¯ve gone to ss 2 in the first ce. However, she¡¯d been specially ced into ss 1 because of the martial soul fusion she had with Dai Huabin. However, they¡¯d been expelled together. At the same time, her arrogant temper was no less than Dai Huabin¡¯s!

    Dai Huabin clenched his teeth tightly. ¡°We¡¯ll follow the Academy¡¯s arrangements. I¡¯ll remember this humiliation. There¡¯ll be a day, hmph¡­.¡±

    In the end, Wang Yan didn¡¯t use Zhou Yi of misconduct. Furthermore, he decided to stand by Zhou Yi¡¯s decision. At the end of the day, the remaining students in ss 1 had all ended up being extremely obedient. Their learning efficiency was also much higher than any ss Wang Yan had ever taught.

    Wang Yan had no choice but to ept the facts that had been ced in front of him! He admitted that, even though Zhou Yi¡¯s teaching methods were somewhat rough, she was extremely efficient. With a partner like her, he¡¯d definitely be able to produce a good batch of students. Because of this, he decided to have a private conversation with Zhou Yi before he went to the Academy to report the issue that had urred at the end of the day. He only had one condition: He wanted to continue teaching ss 1 beside Zhou Yi all the way up until they¡¯d graduated from the outer courtyard. Zhou Yi agreed.

    ¡°You¡¯re making trouble. Is there anything good that I can say about you, Zhou Yi? The sses have only just been divided, yet you¡¯ve already caused such arge ruckus. Are you scared that they don¡¯t know who you are? The freshmen that you taught were cumtively able to obtain the best results in the freshmen assessment, thus the Academy was going to promote you to a high-ranked teacher. And yet now, you¡¯ve gone and done this. Don¡¯t you think¡­¡± With an angry expression on his face, Du Weilun looked towards Wang Yan and Zhou Yi, who were seated in front of him.

    Zhou Yi indifferently replied, ¡°This is the way I teach my students. If I can¡¯t be a high-ranked teacher, so be it. Either you get rid of me, or I¡¯ll continue to teach like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡ª¡± In a moment of anger, Du Weilun almost decided to actually get rid of her. However, he wasn¡¯t Zhou Yi, nor was he as impulsive as her. It was widely known that there was a problem with Zhou Yi¡¯s way of teaching, but one had to admit that the way she taught was extremely efficient. The number of inner courtyard students that Zhou Yi had nurtured was much higher than an overwhelming number of high-ranked teachers. Naturally, the number of students she¡¯d expelled was also the highest in the Academy.

    Wang Yan hurriedly tried to smooth things over. ¡°Director Du, please don¡¯t be angry. Actually, Teacher Zhou wasn¡¯t really wrong in doing what she did. These new students were overconfident because of their talent, which made them somewhat rebellious. They¡¯ll now be much more obedient after today¡¯s lesson, which in turn will be extremely advantageous for both their and our future sses. Furthermore, none of the students that Teacher Zhou removed were actually expelled in the end. They still have their identities as core disciples, so they¡¯ll still be able to receive pointers from inner courtyard teachers. Moreover, they¡¯ll still be able to continue studying in the Academy, so it won¡¯t affect them too much. As such, I support Teacher Zhou¡¯s strict way of producing brilliant students.¡±

    After hearing Wang Yan¡¯s words, Du Weilun¡¯s expression became much better to look at. He pointed towards Zhou Yi, and an exasperated expression appeared on his face. ¡°Is there anything good to say about you? When will a hegemon flower like you be any softer?¡±

    Zhou Yi, her eyes as calm as before, replied, ¡°When Fan Yu thinks that I¡¯m not soft enough.¡±

    When Du Weilun heard this, he felt like he¡¯d go crazy if Zhou Yi stayed there any longer. He hurriedly said, ¡°Fine then, you two can leave. Zhou Yi, from now on I won¡¯t care about any ruckus you make. However, this time, you¡¯ll have to follow this ss all the way from Year 1 until they graduate. If, by that time, you haven¡¯t produced five inner courtyard disciples, I¡¯ll fire you.¡±

    If Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng, and Huang Chutian were still in ss 1, Wang Yan wouldn¡¯t have thought much of this request. However, he felt uncertain about this since theycked these four core disciple-level students.

    However, Zhou Yi didn¡¯t reveal any weaknesses as she replied, ¡°There will only be more than that, not less.¡± After saying that, she turned around and left. Everything had smoothly been settled.

    As Zhou Yi and Wang Yan were making their report to Du Weilun, Huo Yuhao was walking over to the Soul Tool Department by himself for the first time.

    Since he could no longer sell his roasted fish anymore, there was now a two hour gap between the end of ss and dinnertime. After saying farewell to Wang Dong, he headed straight for the Soul Tool Department.

    From today onwards, he would have to learn from Teacher Fan Yu in the Soul Tool Department.

    With the golden badge Fan Yu had given him in-hand, Huo Yuhao entered the Soul Tool Department unimpeded. Afterwards, he went directly to Testing Area 12. As soon as he opened the door, he saw He Caitou busily messing with something atop metal table while Fan Yu stood beside him, guiding him.

    ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, senior brother He.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly walked over, only to see He Caitou fiddling with a few metallic parts.

    Fan Yu smiled. ¡°You¡¯vee? I heard about what happened yesterday. Nice job, real men can¡¯t surrender. Caitou, be a bit more careful. You¡¯ll have to handle it by yourself for a little while.¡±

    After He Caitou greeted Huo Yuhao, Fan Yu led him over to another metal table.

 Chapter 37.2: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    Chapter 37.2: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    Fan Yu pulled over a chair, looked towards Huo Yuhao, and said, ¡°You¡¯re myst disciple, so I¡¯ll definitely teach you in a way that¡¯s different to the other Academy teachers. At the same time, our schedule¡¯s going to be much tighter. You¡¯ll have toe over here for at least two hours after dinner before you can head back and rest. Do you have any problems with that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation, ¡°No problem, teacher. I¡¯m not afraid of hard work; I¡¯ll definitely study hard.¡±

    Fan Yu nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep telling me that you¡¯re hardworking. Show it to me with your actions. Let me ask you this: What are Soul Tools?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stumped; his understanding of soul tools was limited to the two trips he¡¯d made here.

    Fan Yu didn¡¯t seem to have any hopes of Huo Yuhao answering his question. He directly answered his own question, ¡°Soul tools are weapons that soul masters activate using soul power. Each and every soul tool is intimately linked to a soul master¡¯s soul power. Even a stationary soul tool, which needs very little soul power, isn¡¯t an exception to this. Today, I¡¯ll be teaching you some basic knowledge about soul tools, which you¡¯ll have to remember all of.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to tell when soul tools were first created, but the true development of soul tools began when the Sun Moon Continent collided with our Douluo Continent. You should know the history of our continent; the enormous collision that caused a massive war between our two continents. Though we were able to win in the end, the Sun Moon Continent inflicted enormous losses on the various empires within our Douluo Continent by relying on their soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Why then, was the Sun Moon Empire able to develop their soul tools to such an extent? Other than their painstakingly hard work, the main reason that they were able to do so was because of their resources. There are many precious metals avable within the Sun Moon Empire, and it¡¯s precisely because of these precious metals that they were able to create exceptionally high quality soul tools. Over these past few thousand years, the level of their research into soul tools has gone more and more in-depth. Moreover, the strength of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Soul Tool Army has already exceeded that of a few of our Douluo Continent¡¯s empires. As such, the main reason that they were able to do this was because of their resources. In turn, the conflict between their various empires will never end precisely because of their natural resources. However, the strength of the Sun Moon Empire has unceasingly increased due to their soul tools. If it weren¡¯t for theirck of consummate experts, they would¡¯ve already begun an all-out war.¡±

    ¡°Because of that, soul tools are strategic weapons for the various empires on the continent. However, the fact that a soul tool requires a soul master to utilise it stops an army from being able to use them on arge-scale basis. Otherwise, the conflicts that would¡¯ve urred would¡¯ve been even more terrifying.¡±

    ¡°You should know that our Shrek Academy is the number one academy on the continent. That, however, refers only to our Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department; our Soul Tool Department isn¡¯t the highest ranked on the continent.¡±

    After saying this, a light seemed to flicker through Fan Yu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Ah? We¡¯re not? Is the number one Soul Tool Department in the Sun Moon Empire?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Fan Yu nodded. ¡°You¡¯re correct. The top ranked Soul Tool Department belongs to the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s known as the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and it¡¯s specialised in both nurturing soul engineers and researching soul tools. Because of both the early start they got, and the precious metals they have ess to, they have arge advantage over us. For example, they were the first ones to create stationary soul tools.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve always been chasing after the footsteps of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but we¡¯ve never caught up with them. However, I believe that this sort of situation won¡¯tst forever. We have our own advantage over the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, which lies in the fact that we have far more talented soul masters.¡±

    ¡°The heavens are fair. They gave the Sun Moon Empire an abundant amount of resources, but they didn¡¯t give them too many talented soul masters. However, it¡¯s different for the countries that originally belonged to our Douluo Continent. There¡¯s always been a saying in the world of soul engineers: The stronger a soul tool is, the stronger the soul master required to utilise it. However, at the same time, you need stronger soul masters to create stronger soul tools. This is the path that we¡¯re currently following.¡±

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll give you a simple exnation of the ranks soul engineers have and what types of soul tools there are.¡±

    ¡°Soul masters that follow the path of researching, creating, and using soul tools are collectively called soul engineers. Soul engineers have different levels, but their titles aren¡¯t asplicated as ¡®Soul Grandmasters¡¯, ¡®Soul Elders¡¯, ¡®Soul Ancestors¡¯, and such that soul masters have. Instead, we simply separate them by ss. As such, we have ss 1 through ss 10 soul engineers. Currently, the strongest soul engineer on the entire continent is ss 9; there aren¡¯t any ss 10 soul engineers. Do you know why that¡¯s the case?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head nkly.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°The difference in ss between soul engineers is determined by the ss of the corresponding soul tool they can control. I¡¯ll give you an example so that you can understand what I mean: If you can create and control a soul tool suitable for soul masters that are Rank 10 and below, you¡¯ll be a ss 1 soul engineer. If you can create and use soul tools that are suitable for Rank 10 to 20 soul masters, you¡¯re a ss 2 soul engineer. Following this rule, ss 9 soul engineers need to be Titled Douluo as well. As for ss 10 soul engineers, the first step is having a cultivation of at least Rank 95.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a limit to the amount of energy a person has. A soul master¡¯s cultivation is extremely arduous; even people with an absolutely heaven-defying amount of talent have to go through an untold number of difficulties and an extremelyrge amount of hard work in order to simply be a nine-ringed Titled Douluo expert. Let¡¯s not even mention the time they¡¯d have to use to study and research soul tools as well. Because of that, while soul engineers aremon, high-ranked soul engineers are extremely rare. From what I know, there are only three ss 9 soul engineers within the Sun Moon Empire. However, the highest ranked soul engineer within the Heavenly Soul Empire, Spirit Ling Empire, and Star Luo Empire is only at ss 8.5.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked in astonishment, ¡°There are even half ranks?¡±

    Fan Yu replied, ¡°That ss 8.5 soul engineer actually belongs to our academy; he¡¯s the Dean of our Soul Tool Department. He¡¯s already reached the Titled Douluo rank, but he¡¯s currently unable to create a powerful soul tool that only Titled Douluo can use. That¡¯s why we call him a ss 8.5 soul engineer. The reality is, we don¡¯t have a single ss 9 soul engineers throughout all three of our empires. Ever since the high-speed development of soul tools, a ss 10 soul engineer has never appeared on the continent before; it¡¯s only there in name. If a Titled Douluo manages to reach Rank 95, he reaches a totally different level. There might not even be a single Rank 95 expert amongst ten Titled Douluo, much less one who¡¯s also a soul engineer.¡±

    ¡°Now that you know about the different ranks that soul engineers have, let¡¯s talk about the different types of soul tools. After several thousand years of development, soul tools have be increasingly mature. As such, soul tools have been separated into three different categories: closebat soul tools, long-range soul tools, and stationary soul tools.¡±

    ¡°As the name implies, a closebat soul tools focus on closebat, and allow a powerful offensive or defensive skill to be unleashed via soul power. Speaking rtively, there are very few soul engineers who use closebat soul tools. Arge majority of soul engineers don¡¯t have martial souls that are good forbat, so they¡¯re somewhat timid in a closebat situation. Though closebat soul tools aren¡¯t weak, it¡¯s hard to find a chance to use them against other soul masters at a simr rank. Because of that, most closebat soul tools are used bybatants from the Martial Soul Department. On the other hand, a majority of soul engineers use long-range soul tools.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already seen Caitou¡¯s demonstration; he was using a long-range soul tool. Long-range soul tools drain much more soul power than closebat soul tools, but if they¡¯re used skillfully, they can be equivalent to an additional soul skill with an extremelyrge amount of destructive power. With Caitou¡¯s current level of control and skill, even a four-ringed Soul Ancestor might not have the upper hand in a fight against him. Nobody at the three-ringed rank canpare to him.¡±

    ¡°Lastly, let¡¯s talk about stationary soul tools. Stationary soul tools are the most difficult of the three to create, with their material requirements and creation techniques able to be described with the phrase ¡®to perfect something that¡¯s already outstanding¡¯. Extremelyplicated formation arrays have to be carved onto the soul tool when it¡¯s created, and you also need to use soul power as a source to power it. It has thergest amount of power and range, but it drains the greatest amount of resources amongst the three types of soul tools. Furthermore, it has another problem: Unlike a long-range soul tool, where you can use your soul force to lock onto your opponent, you have to manually aim a stationary soul tool. This is the main reason that I was so interested in your Spiritual Detection.¡±

    ¡°Ever since the advent of the use of stationary soul tools on the battlefield, the gap between our three great empires and the Sun Moon Empire has been decreasing, so much so that it¡¯s practically be nonexistent at this point. If it weren¡¯t for them being afraid of the fact that we have even more consummate experts than them, the Sun Moon Empire definitely wouldn¡¯t have endured for so long. Because of that, the main focus of my research is on stationary soul tools. Once we can uratelyunch long-distance attacks with stationary soul tools, it¡¯ll y a crucial role in any future conflicts we have.¡±

    ¡°Other than closebat, long-range, and stationary soul tools, there¡¯s also subdivisions of soul tools. For example, the attack-type, defense-type, illumination, and other such soul tools that I¡¯ll gradually teach you how to create and use in the future. Now then, we¡¯ll be moving on to thest section of today¡¯s crash course: Theponents of a soul tool.¡±

    With that, Fan Yu stood up and retrieved a rectangr metal box. The box was ck, roughly a foot long, and as wide as a fist. It was square-shaped at the top, but arc-shaped at the bottom.

    Fan Yu fastened the metal box to his left forearm then made sure it was snug. Afterwards, he tapped it in an unknown fashion, causing the ck box to immediately begin changing.

    A series of ngs rang out as the ck box began topletely cover his left forearm. Three protrusions as thick as a thumb appeared above it.

    ¡°This soul tool¡¯s known as a Sleeve Cannon. It¡¯s a rtivelymon long-range soul tool, and it¡¯s activated by soul power. Here, watch.¡±

    With that, Fan Yu raised his arm. Three rays of white light immediately shot out from the three metal tubes that had appeared, and a strong undtion of soul power immediately shot towards the distance. They struck the distant metal wall, instantly causing halos of light to appear in it.

    ¡°The principles behind a soul tool are in fact, extremely simple. Using special methods and techniques, they turn soul power into destructive energy. The mostmon technique we use ispression, and the way that we do that is by using Formation Carving.¡±

 Chapter 37.3: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    Chapter 37.3: The Protective Hegemon Flower

    As Huo Yuhao carefully observed him, Fan Yu removed the Sleeve Cannon from his left arm and slowly dismantled it. While doing so, he exined, ¡°A soul tool is mainly split into three portions: the outer shell, the inner shell, and the core. The outer shell is what you can see on the exterior of the soul tool. You need to use the most durable and heat-resistant metals to create the outer shell, so as so prevent them from being easily destroyed in the long term. On the other hand, the inner shell is different; the inner shell¡¯s most important feature is its ability to magnify and conduct soul power. Because of that, it has to be created using extremely precious conductive metals such as crystal-silver. At the same time, the inner shell¡¯s ability to magnify soul power allows the user to reduce their consumption of soul power whilst using the soul tool. It¡¯s because of this that soul engineers below ss 7 are stronger than soul masters in a drawn-out fight. Lastly, the core of a soul tool is the most important part. It needs to be created using the most precious types of metals and gems. Different types of formation arrays have to be activated using different levels of soul power, and correspondingly, we have to change the materials used for the inner and outer shells of the soul tool. The core can be considered the most important part of the soul tool, and the carving of a formation array is the most important step for a soul engineer.¡±

    ¡°When we determine the rank of a soul engineer, the most important step is to look at the formation array they carve. If you can carve a formation array of a certain rank, and your own soul power has reached that rank as well, you can then be considered a soul engineer of that rank.¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any shortcuts in learning how to carve a formation array. Once you¡¯ve finished memorizing the formation that our predecessors racked their brains to create, you¡¯ll simply have to continuously experiment with a few ordinary metals. That¡¯s the only way that you¡¯ll be able to constantly improve. Once you¡¯ve learned the various theories of formation array carving, you¡¯ll finally be able to create something that can be considered your own. When that happens, you can graduate.¡±

    ¡°The most important parts of our research are reflected through formation array carving, as it¡¯s much easier to pair an inner and outer shell with a formation array as the base. Caitou has a lot of talent in this field. Despite how rxed he appears to be, he has a special characteristic that his peers don¡¯t have. That characteristic is his concentration. If you want to carve an extremely detailed formation array, you can¡¯tck concentration.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you can¡¯t make any mistakes while carving formation arrays. However, the fewer mistakes you make, the more durable your formation arrays will be.¡±

    After saying this, Fan Yu finally stopped. Huo Yuhao, who seemed to be deep in thought, made him feel extremely satisfied, as he could feel a level of concentration from Huo Yuhao that wasparable to He Caitou¡¯s. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial expression showed that he¡¯d been able to absorb the information very quickly; he seemed to already have a certain level of understanding towards soul tools.

    A short period of timeter, Fan Yu asked, ¡°Do you understand now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Teacher, I understand.¡±

    Fan Yu smiled. ¡°These are the most basic things that you¡¯ll have to learn from now on. Now then, what you¡¯ll first need to do is build a solid foundation in preparation of creating soul tools. This will take quite a long time to do, but it¡¯s a fundamental part of being a soul engineer. The only way that you can be an outstanding soul engineer is byying a solid foundation. You should know that, as a soul engineer, you¡¯ll have to personally create every single soul tool that you¡¯ll use. This is because only you can understand yourself the best, and because you have the most confidence in yourself. We¡¯ll start by teaching you how to forge metal. If you want to be an excellent soul engineer, you¡¯ll first have to be an excellent cksmith.¡±

    After he¡¯d finished speaking, he gave Huo Yuhao a set of cksmithing equipment that contained a funnel, a furnace, an anvil, a forging hammer, and more. Afterwards, Fan Yu began to teach him the art of forging, step by step.

    Forging was separated into four main steps, as was more or less the case for all precious metals. Even the base of a formation array followed this principle.

    The first of these steps was material purification. By unceasingly hammering a metal at high temperatures, one would be able to expel the impurities within it, in turn causing it to be morepact. The higher a material¡¯s purity, the better it would perform. However, different metals had slightly different methods of purification.

    The second step was molding. While some metals could be poured into a pre-made mold, arge majority of metals had to be molded by hand.

    The third step was tempering. Tempering was a somewhatplicated process, but more than anything else, it¡¯s something that requires experience.

    Thest step was polishing. Meticulously polishing and inscribing metal was thest step in creating a soul tool; it was the process that perfected an already outstanding item. However, once a core formation array had been polished, a formation array would have to be carved on the base.

    Once these four steps were performed, and all the necessary parts were assembled, a soul tool would be created.

    It seemed simple on paper, but every single step had extremely stringent requirements. And right now, Huo Yuhao was starting from the very first step of forging¡ªmaterial purification. The sound of a forging hammer smashing against metal began to ring out from Laboratory #12.

    At dinnertime that evening, Wang Dong noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands were visibly shaking.

    ¡°Hey, why¡¯re your hands shaking?¡± Wang Dong asked, puzzled.

    Huo Yuhao replied sulkily, ¡°You go and smash a metal hammer into a metal block for over an hour, see what happens. If I hadn¡¯t had my Mysterious Jade Hands, my hands would currently be full of blisters.¡±

    As they ate, he gave Wang Dong a concise exnation of the basics of soul engineering that Fan Yu had taught him.

    After he;d finished listening, Wang Dong had a disapproving look on his face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just creating more trouble for yourself? That Teacher Fan Yu said it as well; once we¡¯ve reached the seven-ringed Soul Sage rank, soul engineers simply aren¡¯t a match for us soul masters. Why bother? You¡¯re alreadygging behind in terms of cultivation, yet you¡¯ve decided to take time off to train as a soul engineer. Won¡¯t this slow down the rate of your improvement even more?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No. I have to be a soul engineer.¡± He had his own thoughts in mind. There were many characteristics of a soul engineer that he needed. Furthermore, Fan Yu had informed him that soul engineers were beginning to be even more popr than soul masters on the continent, even at the higher ranks. A single soul master only had thebat power of a single person, while a powerful, peak-level soul engineer could create a terrifying army.

    His enemy was currently the White Tiger Duke and his wife, which was equivalent to making half of the Star Luo Empire his enemy! Even if he managed to reach the Titled Douluo rank, would he safely be able to win solely by relying on the strength of a soul master? Because of this, he didn¡¯t just want to be a pinnacle-ranked soul master; he wanted to be a pinnacle-ranked soul engineer, so that he could forge the strongest soul tools for himself.

    This goal of his was still very far, far away froming to fruition. However, Huo Yuhao still had his own sense of pride and confidence. He wasn¡¯t afraid of suffering, and in turn was willing to put in twice the effort of an ordinary person. On top of these things, he also had the Douluo Continent¡¯s first ever million year soul ring. The Skydream Iceworm had also told him that the strength of his million year soul ring would increase along with his cultivation.

    After eating the top-ranked dinner that core disciples could eat for free, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body feltfortably warm; an indescribable sense of rxation had filled his body.

    Wang Dong wiped his mouth and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head back and rest for a bit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I still have to see Teacher Fan Yu and train for another two hours, you can head back first. We can meditate once I¡¯m back.¡±

    Wang Dong rubbed his forehead. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you know, sometimes I think that you¡¯re a madman.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°A cute madman?¡±

    Just as the two were leaving the canteen, they bumped into Tang Ya and Bei Bei. Seeing Huo Yuhao, Tang Ya patted her increasingly conspicuous chest like she was sighing in relief. ¡°Little Yuhao, I thought that something had happened to you. It¡¯s good that nothing¡¯s happened, it¡¯s good.¡±

    It turned out that Tang Ya and Bei Bei had also heard about Huo Yuhao¡¯s match with Wu Feng yesterday. Since he hadn¡¯t left to sell any roasted fish, they¡¯d assumed that he¡¯d suffered serious injuries. After the two had thought about it for a bit, they¡¯d realised that it was dinnertime. Thus, they decided to head over to the canteen and try their luck¡­ just in time for them to bump into Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who¡¯d just finished their meals.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, senior brother, I apologize, but I need to head to the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Testing Area to continue training! I don¡¯t have time to exin everything to you right now. You can ask Wang Dong about yesterday¡¯s incident since he knows what happened.¡± As soon as he¡¯d finished speaking, he hastily walked away. The first steps of one¡¯s journey would always be the toughest ones, and he wasn¡¯t willing to give up on his training in the Martial Soul Department. Thus, he naturally had to make the most of his time.

    Suspicious, Tang Ya asked, ¡°What¡¯s happened to Little Yuhao?¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Him? He¡¯s a madman. Well, using his own words, he¡¯s a ¡®cute¡¯ madman. When he cultivates, he has so much enthusiasm that he isn¡¯t even human anymore.¡±

    Wang Dong exined yesterday¡¯s issues, as well as the matter of Huo Yuhao bing Fan Yu¡¯sst disciple, to Tang Ya and Bei Bei. However, he decided to keep the matter of Huo Yuhao bing a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department a secret out of consideration for him. After all, the Martial Soul Department could immediately withdraw his temporary core disciple treatment if they were to find out.

    After they¡¯d finished listening to Wang Dong, Tang Ya and Bei Bei looked towards each other.

    Bei Bei smiled bitterly. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that our many years of hard work wouldn¡¯t even amount to our junior brother¡¯s three months. It seems that Teacher Fan Yu has actually taken him in as a disciple. Xiao Ya, perhaps the responsibility of reviving our Tang Sect will fall onto the shoulders of our little junior brother.¡±

    Tang Ya nodded, somewhat relieved. ¡°That¡¯s fine to. I wasn¡¯t really talented at creating soul tools in the first ce, so I wouldn¡¯t really be able to aplish much, even if I continued. It¡¯d be better if I focused on our Tang Sect¡¯s traditional hidden weapons.¡±

    With a puzzled expression on his face, Wang Dong asked, ¡°Senior brother, Teacher Xiao Ya, what are you two talking about?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Both the rise and fall of our Tang Sect were because of our hidden weapons. Ever since the high-speed development of soul tools began, our Tang Sect began to decline in turn. Because of that, we lost a lot of ie. After thinking it over, Tang Ya and I realised that the only opportunity we have to revitalise the Tang Sect is to fuse our hidden weapons with modern soul tools. Because of that, both of us entered the Soul Tool Department. However, I¡¯m a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, while my sses in the Soul Tool Department are all electives. Right now, I¡¯m only a ss 1 soul engineer. Xiao Ya is able to spend more of her time over there, but her personality makes it so that it¡¯s hard for her to focus while she¡¯s studying and researching. She¡¯s only a ss 2 soul engineer right now, and it will be hard for her to advance to a ss 3 soul engineer.¡±

    Tang Ya interjected, ¡°But Teacher Fan Yu¡¯s different! Teacher Fan Yu is the number one genius of the Soul Tool Department, as he¡¯s one of very few ss 8 soul engineers that are rarely seen throughout the entire continent! He¡¯s second only to the two Deans of the Soul Tool Department, and he¡¯s widely epted as the only person in our academy¡¯s entire history capable of bing a ss 9 soul engineer. He¡¯s also the current candidate to seed the Dean. In essence, if you can be his disciple, you¡¯ve basically entered the inner circle of the Soul Tool Department. Not only will you receive the best education, you¡¯ll also obtain the all-around backing of the Soul Tool Department. Little Yuhao¡¯s truly capable! He¡¯s unwittingly done something that we¡¯ve been yearning for. Bei Bei, I think that we can teach Yuhao the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation.¡±

 Chapter 38.1: Huo Yuhao, a Class 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    Chapter 38.1: Huo Yuhao, a ss 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    Bei Bei nodded slightly. ¡°Our little junior brother hasn¡¯t been in the academy for long, but he¡¯s definitely much calmer and more hardworking than his peers. His personality is warm yet stubborn, while his first soul ring¡¯s only a ten year one. However, if he can fully develop in the Soul Tool Department, he¡¯ll definitely y a crucial role in the revival of our Tang Sect¡­.¡±

    Tang Ya interjected, ¡°The Tang Sect¡¯s already fallen to this point in our generation. If it doesn¡¯t develop any further, it might reallye to an end. If that were to happen, how would we face our ancestors? Wang Dong, since Yuhao¡¯s gone to the Soul Tool Department tonight, you should follow me and begin learning the secret techniques of our Tang Sect. Once I teach him the main principles and cultivation techniques of our hidden weapons tomorrow, his studies will improve enormously.¡±

    Wang Dong looked towards Tang Ya and Bei Bei with a somewhat helpless expression on his face. He inwardly thought, I¡¯m not a little bee that¡¯s as hardworking as Huo Yuhao! I¡¯m being forced to work hard! When he realized that he¡¯d be dragged into cultivating overnight with Huo Yuhao¡ªwithout sleep¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.

    The next day, the teachers of the Martial Soul Department were informed that the first year students Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Huang Chutian, and Wu Feng would be transferred to ss 2 in order to continue their studies.

    They¡¯d undoubtedly raised a few appeals. However, Shrek Academy was still Shrek Academy. Regardless of your identity, everyone would be treated equally while studying here. The academy would first and foremost respect the decisions of its teachers, not to mention how Teacher Wang Yan had exined the situation. A few students had been kicked out of ss 1, but they¡¯d still remain in the academy. Furthermore, these core disciples were arrogant due to their outstanding talent, so suffering a setback like this wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.

    After this incident, the atmosphere inside of ss 1 changed into one that was somewhat jittery. Though they didn¡¯t tremble the moment they saw Zhou Yi, nobody dared to disobey what she said. When he saw this, Wang Yan had no choice but to respect her; after a ruckus like that, the learning atmosphere in ss 1 had immediately transformed into the best he¡¯d ever seen amongst all the sses he¡¯d taught.

    Most of the students¡¯ lives in the academy became much calmer after this, but this was only true for arge majority of the students. To a ¡®diligent little bee¡¯ such as Huo Yuhao, his life was filled with vigor every day. Naturally, only he himself felt that it was full of vigor. In Wang Dong¡¯s opinion, he was practically a man made of iron¡­

    As soon as he woke up in the morning to train his Purple Demon Eyes, it would mark the beginning of another intense, yet fulfilling day. To Huo Yuhao, his sses in the Martial Soul Department during the day were actually the easiest things that he did during the day, as he only needed to use his brain. Under his teacher¡¯s guidance, he learned tactics, cultivation techniques,bination techniques, and all sorts of other things that soul masters used.

    He didn¡¯t even waste the free time he had during the afternoon. As soon as he finished lunch, he¡¯d drag Wang Dong into cultivating with him for a period of time. Not only did this increase the energy he¡¯d have avable during the afternoon, it also improved his cultivation.

    This caused Wang Dong to feel that researching the Haodong Power alongside Huo Yuhao had absolutely been a mistake. He wouldn¡¯t even need to remember to cultivate, as once it was time, Huo Yuhao would drag him along to begin cultivating. Because of this, the normallyzy Wang Dong was forced to begin working diligently as well, in turn causing his soul power to increase at a rtively fast pace.

    As soon as school ended, Huo Yuhao would rush over to the Soul Tool Department to study soul tools with Fan Yu. The four hours he spent there every night were, to him, the most exhausting period of the day. Fan Yu¡¯s way of teaching was extremely strict, and the standards that he held for hisst disciple were so high that they were second to none, even in Shrek Academy. When He Caitou had been going through the first stages that Huo Yuhao was currently going through, he¡¯d suffered untold hardships.

    However, Fan Yu was astonished by the fact that Huo Yuhao seemed to be a rubber ball filled with sticity: No matter how hard he pushed him, he¡¯d always bounce back. Not only did heplete the tasks that Fan Yu assigned him in an excellent manner, he was even meticulous to the point that there weren¡¯t any ws in his work at all. Sometimes, Fan Yu even thought that Huo Yuhao was the one being too harsh on himself. However, in the end, Huo Yuhao still managed to conscientiouslyplete every task he was assigned without anyints. Even when he was exhausted to the point that he couldn¡¯t even return to his room, he didn¡¯t grumble at all. There was many times when Fan Yu had to personally send him back, but even when that happened, he wasn¡¯t willing to sleep. Instead, he¡¯d have Wang Dong help him into a cross-legged position in order to cultivate.

    Of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques that were rted to hidden weapons, the first that Huo Yuhao used was the forging technique¡ªthe Chaotic Wind-Splitting Hammer Technique. This technique borrowed the force generated by his lower body in order to move the hammer he held with his upper body, causing every single strike with a hammer to continuously increase in power. Not only did it save energy, it even managed to increase the quality of his forging. It was a secret technique that the Tang Sect that had never passed on.

    Huo Yuhao was entirely relying on his own intuition to learn and utilise the Chaotic Wind-Splitting Hammer Technique. Even though he continuously had the Mysterious Jade Hands active, blisters began to appear on his palms, and ayer of flesh was scraped off his palms as they formed calluses. Those calluses were then scraped off, forming new calluses. However, he didn¡¯t ck off for a single day, nor did he grumble. On the contrary, he took pleasure in it, assiduously working hard, like a true ironman.

    After three months, Huo Yuhao was able to chain together eighteen consecutive hammer strikes using the Chaotic Wind-Splitting Hammer Technique, and after five months, had increased to thirty six consecutive strikes. The highest realm that one could reach with the Chaotic Wind-Splitting Hammer Technique was only eighty one consecutive strikes, but by the time he could chain thirty six strikes together, he¡¯d already passed the first stage of soul tool creation. In Fan Yu¡¯s own words, ¡°The student has surpassed the master.¡±

    He Caitou had taken a full year to pass this stage, yet Huo Yuhao had only taken five months. Admittedly, the Tang Sect¡¯s Chaotic Wind-Splitting Hammer Technique had yed a decent part in this, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s fearless tenacity had been the main reason.

    In the blink of an eye, autumn had ended, and winter had arrived. And after that, winter ended, and spring arrived. At this point, eight months had passed since the beginning of Huo Yuhao¡¯s studies in the Soul Tool Department.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao, as well as Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, had already reached the end of their first year in Shrek Academy. After this, they had vacation time.

    Every year, Shrek Academy would have a month-long vacation. This month naturally wasn¡¯t meant for students to rx and tour around during. Instead, it was meant for them topletely digest the things they¡¯d learned during the past eleven months, and for them to continuously cultivate. After this one month rest-period, they¡¯d have to undergo their advancement test. Students that weren¡¯t able to pass their advancement test would directly be expelled. Because of that, the holiday period tended to be the most exhausting and busy time for the overwhelming majority of students. Who would dare to truly rx and rest during a time like this!?

    ¡ª-

    Within the Soul Tool Testing Area¡¯s Laboratory #12.

    Fan Yu and He Caitou both stood beside Huo Yuhao¡ªwho was currently working on an enormous metal table¡ªwatching him very quietly. Fan Yu had sped his hands behind his back, but he was watching every move that Huo Yuhao made very attentively. On the other hand, He Caitou had his fists clenched tightly, clearly somewhat nervous.

    Huo Yuhao was currently seated in front of the metal table, and was holding a hexagonal piece of metal that was roughly the size of a walnut in his left hand. His right hand gripped a slender, thin knife, which he was using to carefully carve an inscription on a piece of metal.

    His movements were extremely slow, but his hands were equally as stable. Every single movement that he made with his knife was made with extreme rity.

    The piece of metal was bluish-gold in color, and released a somewhat peculiar aura. As Huo Yuhao continued to carve with his knife,plicated patterns began to gradually appear on it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils shone with a pale gold luster, and even though he¡¯d been focused for a long period of time, he hadn¡¯t blinked once. Time passed second by second, but his body remained unmoving, like a sculpture. Only his fingers¡ªwhich were controlling the tiny sculpting de¡ªslowly moved alongside the guidance of his soul power. His tempo didn¡¯t waver in the slightest.

    An excited light gradually began to appear in He Caitou¡¯s eyes, and a strange light appeared in Fan Yu¡¯s eyes. Even his sped hands couldn¡¯t help but slowly turn into fists.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao slowly carved one final cut, finishing a miniscule engraving on the piece of metal. Afterwards, he finally stopped.

    The golden light in his eyes slowly faded away, and a trace of exhaustion appeared on his face. However, a brilliant smile had already appeared on his face by the time he raised his head to look towards Fan Yu and He Caitou.

    ¡°Teacher, senior brother, I¡¯ve seeded. From now on, I should be a ss 1.5 soul engineer, right?¡±

    He Caitou looked towards him with a nk look in his eyes. ¡°Yuhao, you¡­ you¡¯ve really seeded?¡±

    Huo Yuhao carefully raised the piece of metal with his right hand, and a gentle trace of soul power slowly flowed into it. Immediately, the metal piece shone with a clear, blue light, causing the soft halo of light it had originally had to turn into a foot-high pir that rose into the air. The blue halo of light was straight yet sturdy, and had no signs of flickering. On the other hand, the metal piece itself shone with a pratingly blue light.

    ¡°Good, good, good!¡± Fan Yu finally said. From the excitement on his face, one could tell that his emotions had been roused.

    ¡°Yuhao, good child. You aren¡¯t just a ss 1.5 soul engineer. Your cultivation hasn¡¯t reached the required level, but other than that, I can tell you that you¡¯ve already be a fully fledged ss 2 soul engineer. You have an extraordinary amount of talent that ordinary people can¡¯t even begin to hope for, and you¡¯re iparably hardworking on top of that. There were no coincidences in your sess. This is your reward for the eight months of hard work that you¡¯ve endured!¡±

    He Caitou cheered, then pounced towards Huo Yuhao. After grabbing ahold of him, he flung him into the air. Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was filled with happiness, but he pursed his lips tightly.

    Right, the small metal piece he¡¯d just engraved was the core of a ss 2 soul tool!

    He¡¯dpleted the foundations of forging after five months of hard work, then had taken another month to learn molding, tempering, and polishing, as well as the other necessary procedures. Afterwards, he¡¯d finally begun to learn how to engrave formation arrays. This was also the most important step in creating a soul tool.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous learning speed could be described as quick, the main reason behind that was because of his hard work and diligence. However, he¡¯d begun to reveal his true genius in creating soul tools after he¡¯d begun to learn how to engrave formation arrays.

    Huo Yuhao was much calmer than his peers, and also had an innate advantagepared to others¡ªhis Spirit Eyes. By relying on the Purple Demon Eyes alongside his Spirit Eyes, his visual acuity was several times greater than that of an ordinary person¡¯s.

    More often than not, students would fail while engraving a formation array due to miniscule errors they¡¯d made. However, a situation like this would almost never ur with Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 38.2: Huo Yuhao, a Class 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    Chapter 38.2: Huo Yuhao, a ss 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    His Spiritual Detection could create a clear, three-dimensional shape of the metallic core in his mind. Because of this, he would basically never make a mistake, regardless of how deeply he had to cut, or how many cuts he had to make. This,bined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s seriousness, allowed him to only need a month to finish engraving his first formation array from the time he started memorizing it from theory and putting it into practice.

    In other words, Huo Yuhao had taken seven months to formally be a ss 1 soul engineer.

    At that time, Fan Yu had told him that, although he wasn¡¯t clear what the record in the Sun Moon Empire was, Huo Yuhao was definitely the fastest person to be a ss 1 soul engineer in all of the Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling, and Star Luo empires. He Caitou taking one year and four months to do this had already been considered breathtaking by Fan Yu, but Huo Yuhao had only needed half that!

    Huo Yuhao had been extremely concentrated on his studies and practice. In Fan Yu¡¯s opinion, he didn¡¯t seem to know the meaning of ¡®dry and dull¡¯ at all. Even if it was the exact same ss 1 formation array, he would engrave several hundred of them onto an ordinary piece of metal with gusto.

    After another month, Huo Yuhao had attempted to engrave a ss 2 formation array onto a true core. And he¡¯d seeded; he¡¯d actually seeded! Though Fan Yu had already predicted it to some extent, he couldn¡¯t help but tear up at the sight of his disciple truly seeding in front of him.

    Strong teachers were hard to find, but talented students were just as hard, if not harder to find! That¡¯s not mentioning a talented disciple that was also willing to give 200%. Fan Yu was an extremely harsh teacher, but even he hadn¡¯t been able to find a single fault with Huo Yuhao.

    It should be known that a ss 2 formation array is at least three times moreplicated than a ss 1 formation array. Moreover, the requirements towards the usage of soul power are extremely high. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sess had had no element of luck to it at all; he¡¯d truly controlled everything perfectly.

    After Fan Yu waved towards He Caitou, he finally let Huo Yuhao go. Fan Yu couldn¡¯t help but be filled with pride when he saw his pleased disciples.

    Huo Yuhao had just passed his twelfth birthday, and was now half a head taller than when he¡¯d entered the academy.

    The top-ranked food that he¡¯d received from the Martial Soul Department had provided him with more than enough nutrients. Combined with his five months of forging training and enormous activity level, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had be much sturdier. Though his muscles weren¡¯t as exaggerated as He Caitou¡¯s, he had still be rtively rugged-looking. The lines drawn by his muscles were evident, but they were filled with flexibility. If he were to take off his clothes, he¡¯d look like a small leopard ready to pounce. His gaze had also be much calmer and much more resolute, while his back was naturally straight as he stood there.

    Fan Yu beckoned towards his two disciples. ¡°You guys can sit down. Yuhao, give me yourpleted core. This is the first ss 2 soul tool you¡¯ve made, so I¡¯ll assist you with creating its outer and inner shell as a graduation present for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t decline as he replied with a smile, then handed the core over to Fan Yu.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°The holidays are about to start. What do you two have in mind?¡±

    He Caitou smiled in a silly manner. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m an orphan, so I¡¯ll just stay in the academy and continue training. My little junior brother¡¯s improved too quickly; I already feel threatened by him. I want to be a ss 4 soul engineer by next year. In my opinion, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll need long to catch up with me.¡±

    Fan Yu smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so humble. The journey of a soul engineer gets tougher and tougher as you move forwards. Your junior brother truly has a monstrous level of talent in the aspect of formation array engraving, but his cultivation is stillcking. If he wants to engrave higher-ranked formation arrays, he¡¯ll have to first increase his cultivation rank. If he doesn¡¯t, he won¡¯t have enough soul power to finish an engraving. Yuhao, this is also something you have to do. You need to work hard to increase your cultivation. If I¡¯m not mistaken, your soul power should¡¯ve already reached Rank 20. I¡¯ll take you to the Great Star Dou Forest, as you need a suitable soul ring to improve even more.¡±

    Right, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had already reached Rank 20. Moreover, he¡¯d reached it two months ago. During these past eight months, he¡¯d cultivated incessantly. With the Haodong Power¡¯s assistance, the rate at which his soul power increased was no less than his rate of improvement in the creation of soul tools.

    When he¡¯d reached Rank 20, there had still been some time left until the holidays. Because of that, Wang Yan had suggested that he not rush to obtain a soul ring. Instead, he¡¯d asked Huo Yuhao to continue cultivating diligently. ording to a grandmaster from Shrek Academy¡¯s first generation, a soul master¡¯s cultivation wouldn¡¯t simply halt because of their inability to obtain a soul ring. Instead, the bottleneck would naturally restrict it from exploding upwards. In other words, although Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t increase in rank after hitting Rank 20, histent cultivation would still continue to improve. Once he¡¯d obtained his second soul ring however, it would immediately explode upwards.

    Because of that, Huo Yuhao had continued to cultivate. Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation speed was also extremely quick. Cultivating with the Haodong Power alongside Huo Yuhao had caused his cultivation speed to double. In the past eight months, his soul power had risen by an impressive three ranks; he¡¯d already reached Rank 28. ording to Wang Dong¡¯s calctions, he¡¯d be able to break through to the three-ringed rank by summer at thetest. This cultivation speed was already fast enough to astonish many people.

    Huo Yuhao being treated as core disciple of the Martial Soul Department naturally wasn¡¯t limited to food alone. Teachers from the inner courtyard woulde over every week to provide them with some pointers as well. Even though a person like him¡ªas someone who could only enjoy the treatment of a core disciple¡ªwas only a side character, the number of things he¡¯d learned absolutely wasn¡¯t any less than the others.

    ¡°Teacher, there¡¯s no need. I was one of the champions of the freshmen assessment, and one of the prizes I received was for a teacher to help me obtain the most optimum soul ring I could withstand. You¡¯re still busy with your research, so there¡¯s no need to trouble yourself.¡±

    Fan Yu chuckled. ¡°Right! I forgot about that. You can go find Director Du directly then; he takes care of these things. When do you n on going?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The day after tomorrow. I¡¯ll leave in the morning. Please don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best toe back early. I¡¯ll head back as soon as I get my soul ring.¡±

    Fan Yu nodded. ¡°Yuhao, if you¡¯re just trying to upgrade your martial soul, I suggest that you get an attack-type skill. However, I suggest that you diligently train in your Spiritual Detection if you want to increase your abilities as a soul engineer. However, I can¡¯t give you any specifics as to what soul ring you should obtain. Furthermore, the soul ring you obtain also depends on fate. Thus, it¡¯ll be up to you to create your soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll take note of that, teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded seriously. However, this was the first time he¡¯d told a lie to Fan Yu. He didn¡¯t have any ns to ask the Martial Soul Department to help him obtain a second soul ring for his Spirit Eyes. He wanted to do it by himself, as he had the Skydream Iceworm.

    Once he thought about how he was finally going to be a Soul Grandmaster, and how he¡¯d formally awaken his second martial soul with the help of the Skydream Iceworm, he couldn¡¯t help but inwardly turn fervent.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°We¡¯re about to begin vacation, so you don¡¯t need to continue working anymore today. Go on, head back to your dorm and pack up. Rest for a bit too.¡±

    He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes. This was the first time he¡¯d ever heard his teacher say the word ¡®rest¡¯.

    By the time he¡¯d left the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Testing Area, the sky had already darkened. The weather today honestly wasn¡¯t that great. A light drizzle gradually fell, and the sound of the pattering rain brought a slight chill to the spring night.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel that the rain was bad at all. On the contrary, he felt somewhat carefree, as if it were washing away his exhaustion. Just as he was about to step out into the rain and experience this refreshing feeling, he suddenly shifted his gaze towards the left.

    An umbre had already been opened, and beneath it was someone wearing a Year 1 uniform. His short, pinkish-blue hair gave off the beauty of a fairy beneath the rainy night, while his simrlyrge pinkish-blue eyes were filled with both ingenuity and a slight trace of astonishment.

    ¡°Even the ironman is goofing off?¡± He said as he smiled towards Huo Yuhao.

    Astonished, Huo Yuhao looked towards him. ¡°Why¡¯d youe?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s raining. We¡¯re gonna be splitting up the day after tomorrow, so I came to get you.¡± The youth flipped his short, pinkish-blue hair, the gaze in his eyes somewhat peculiar.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°You can¡¯t bear to part with me? There¡¯s only a month before we¡¯ll all be back together. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll head back to our room first. And I¡¯m not goofing off; Teacher Fan Yu specially allowed us to leave early.¡±

    The person who¡¯de to get him was Wang Dong. After eight months, the still-developing Wang Dong had also grown slightly taller. Only, he hadn¡¯t grown as much as Huo Yuhao had. Huo Yuhao was now taller than him by a little bit.

    The two people slowly walked across the wet ground as they returned to their dorms. Normally, Huo Yuhao would¡¯ve walked through campus as quickly as possible. Today however, he¡¯d slowed down. With the scenery being as rainy as it was, he¡¯d immediately felt that something was different. Thus, the two of them had deliberately slowed down as they walked back to their dorm.

    ¡°Did the Soul Tool Department agree to help you get a soul ring?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department after all.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat apologetic as he said this. In order to keep the Skydream Iceworm a secret, he had no choice but to tell a white lie to both parties.

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be heading back home too. I¡¯m also leaving earlier than you. Thus, you¡¯ll have to take care of yourself. It¡¯s a pity that I haven¡¯t reached Rank 30. Otherwise, I¡¯de with you to hunt a few soul beasts. That would¡¯ve been nice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be so discontented. Ever since we got the Haodong Power, hasn¡¯t our cultivation speed increased by arge amount? Go ask the other students; who else do you think could improve as much as you after reaching Rank 20? After we get back and pass the advancement test, you¡¯ll be able to reach Rank 30 after two or three months at most. I haven¡¯t obtained my second soul ring yet, but I reckon that I¡¯m about Rank 22 or so right now. As time passes, the advantage that we get from our Haodong Power will be more and more obvious. Let¡¯s try and catch up to Dai Huabin in soul power by the time we¡¯re in Year 4.¡±

 Chapter 38.3: Huo Yuhao, a Class 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    Chapter 38.3: Huo Yuhao, a ss 1.5 Soul Engineer?

    During the past eight months, Huo Yuhao had dedicated as much of his energy to cultivating as he could. With his current rank, he could calmly face Dai Huabin. However, this didn¡¯t mean that his hatred had dissolved; on the contrary, he¡¯d buried it even deeper inside of himself. His hatred had already been deeply rooted inside of him, thus how could he erase it so easily?

    He wasn¡¯t clear as to just how high Dai Huabin¡¯s soul power waspared to his, but he safely estimated it to be around Rank 33 or so. Although the rate at which a person¡¯s cultivation improved drastically decreased after crossing the Rank 30 threshold, going up three or four ranks in a year wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem with Dai Huabin¡¯s level of talent, plus his previous cultivation. Furthermore, it seemed that he¡¯d cultivated diligently after he was kicked out of ss 1.

    Wang Dong smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything, as arge amount of confidence had begun to emanate from his gaze.

    The route they¡¯d taken could easily have been taken in around ten minutes, but they purposefully took much longer. Just as they were about to reach their dorm room, Wang Dong suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go sit next to the Sea God¡¯s Lake for a while. It¡¯s not very easy to find you goofing off. It¡¯s also been a long time since I¡¯ve tasted your roasted fish.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat embarrassed. ¡°I didn¡¯t prepare anything. If I¡¯d known you wanted some, I definitely would¡¯ve roasted some for you.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled devilishly and shoved the umbre into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands as he said, ¡°Just wait here.¡± After saying that, he ran back to their dorm room as fast as he could. A few momentster, he reappeared and gestured with the bright blue bracelet in his left hand towards the Sea God¡¯s Lake. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You nned this in advance!¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t deny it. ¡°I was originally nning to wait for you to finish at night and drag you out for a little midnight fun, but I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d finish early. It¡¯s perfect timing; we¡¯re about to go on vacation, and it¡¯s hard to indulge for a bit. In any case, don¡¯t even think of sleeping tonight if you don¡¯t fill me up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Alright. As long as you have enough ingredients, I¡¯ll keep feeding you until you can¡¯t move.¡±

    Beneath the eaves of the dormitories, the old grandpa who was normally always sleeping couldn¡¯t help his eyes from widening slightly. The corner of his mouth curved slightly as he gazed towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were running into the distance. He thought aloud, ¡°Back then, how many girls said that to me!? And every time they¡¯d say that, I¡¯d be the one to feed them until they were full¡­ These two fes sure are interesting.¡±

    After excitedly running towards the Sea God¡¯s Lake, Wang Dong held up the umbre so that Huo Yuhao could start a fire. The rain wasn¡¯t very strong, thus the umbre was able to cover the entire area they¡¯d chosen. After only a moment¡¯s worth of work, a fire had been lit. The unique smell of charcoal began to slowly rise into the air, but didn¡¯t disperse due to the rainy weather.

    Mist began to appear atop the Sea God¡¯s Lake, and slowly enveloped the distant Sea God¡¯s Ind. The mistyke in turn gave off a cool yet damp feeling, while the now-bonfire gave Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong waves of warmth. The two of them looked towards each other at practically the same instant, their cheeks flushed from the reflection of the bonfire. As they smiled towards each other, a warm feeling seemed to bore into their hearts.

    After setting up his stove and cing the raw fish on it, Huo Yuhao began to roast them with his full attention. The concentration on his face was no less than when he¡¯d engraved formation arrays onto the cores of soul tools.

    Wang Dong stood next to him, holding the umbre up. However, instead of looking at the fish that were being roasted, he looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s serious face. The cool air, the hot furnace, and the golden mackerels¡ªwhich had begun to release a fragrant smell¡ªsketched a moving image as theybined. As Wang Dong gazed at Huo Yuhao, he instinctively knew that he¡¯d never forget this scene. He also quite enjoyed the thought of Huo Yuhao roasting fish for him, and him alone.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao finished roasting the first piece of fish. Huo Yuhao immediately handed it to Wang Dong and said, ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Wang Dong took the fish from Huo Yuhao, and ate the fish carefully. The fragrance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s roasted fish, which he hadn¡¯t tasted in such a long time, caused his eyes to turn somewhat red.

    As he roasted some more fish, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Speaking of roasted fish, we should call Teacher Xiao Ya, senior brother, and Xiao Xiao over. They enjoy it as well.¡±

    ¡°No way! You belong to me today!¡± Wang Dong blurted out.

    Astonished, Huo Yuhao raised his head to look towards Wang Dong. When he did, he saw a somewhat stubborn look in Wang Dong¡¯s pinkish-blue eyes.

    ¡°I mean that your roasted fish belong to me,¡± Wang Dong hurriedly interjected. The contrast between the dark sky and the bonfire caused his face to appear extremely flushed.

    Afterwards, they continued to eat roasted fish for so long that they didn¡¯t even know how long they¡¯d been eating. Only after they¡¯d gotten full did they return to their dorm room.

    Once they got back to their dorm room, Huo Yuhaoid down on his hard, wooden bed. ¡°Ah¡­ it feels so nice to fill myself up. I¡¯ve decided to just bezy for the entire day tomorrow, and to have a nice sleep tonight. You¡¯re right, we should take a break once in awhile.¡±

    ¡°No, get up and cultivate.¡± Wang Dong walked over to him and pulled him up as a sarcastic smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Huo Yuhao wailed. ¡°It¡¯s been so hard for me to resttely!¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°We¡¯re separating the day after tomorrow, thus we should make the most out of the rest of our time left to cultivate together. You can go goof off by yourself when you don¡¯t have the Haodong Power. Come on, get up.¡±

    ¡°Alright¡­.¡± With a helpless look on his face, Huo Yuhao slowly got up. Just as he was about to sit down in a cross-legged position on his wooden bed, Wang Dong suddenly said, ¡°Come over here. Seeing that we¡¯re about to separate, and that you just roasted so much fish for me, I¡¯ll let you sit over here while you cultivate.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. Afterwards, he smiled cunningly as he looked towards Wang Dong¡¯s fur-covered mattress, then obediently jumped onto Wang Dong¡¯s his bed without any reservations.

    ¡°Who said that you could get up here now? Go change into a clean set of clothes!¡± Wang Dong hurriedly shouted.

    However, Huo Yuhao had already sat down in a cross-legged position. ¡°You need to stop having so many bad habits. Quick, the sun¡¯s gonnae up if we don¡¯t start soon.¡±

    Only after hearing Huo Yuhao say this did Wang Dong sit across from Huo Yuhao, a somewhat unwilling expression present on his face. Afterwards, the two pressed their palms against each other¡¯s and began to circte the Haodong Power. The moment they closed their eyes, a faint smile appeared on both of their faces.

    The morning of the next day.

    Once they got up, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt that their minds had beenpletely refreshed, possibly due to the peaceful night they¡¯d had. Today was thest day of their Year 1 sses, as Shrek Academy¡¯s holidays would officially start tomorrow.

    After eating breakfast, they headed towards their ssroom early. Fan Yu had already begun Huo Yuhao¡¯s vacation, thus he didn¡¯t need to go and train his soul tool creation today. Eleven months had passed since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy, yet he¡¯d never been as rxed as today. The rxing feeling that enveloped his entire body made him feel warm andfy.

    Huo Yuhao decided that he wouldn¡¯t bother with anything else today; he¡¯d have a good rest today.

    Zhou Yi and Wang Yan walked into the ssroom together. Whenever Zhuo Yi was there, regardless of what time it was, the atmosphere in ss 1 could only be described using the word ¡®solemn¡¯. Today was no exception, even if the holidays began tomorrow. At this point in time, nobody dared to provoke the hegemonic flower known as Zhou Yi! In the event that her old mind suddenly blew up, none of them would be able to handle it.

    Wang Yan walked up to the stage, while Zhou Yi walked towards the back of the ssroom and sat down in an empty chair.

    ¡°Students, this will be yourst day in Year 1. The academy hasn¡¯t arranged any assignments for you. I¡¯ll be giving you all some parting words, then you can head back and pack up your things.¡±

    Once Wang Yan said this, the entire ss immediately erupted into cheers. They didn¡¯t even care that Zhou Yi was there. Since the holidays were about to start, everyone had their hearts set on going home. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to go home and see their rtives!? Naturally, those with no rtives were an exception to this.

    Wang Yan smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve all worked hard this year. I can say with pride that you¡¯ve been the most outstanding ss I¡¯ve ever taught. On behalf of Zhou Yi and myself, we thank you all for working hard. Your hard work will bring glory to those of us in ss 1.¡±

    ¡°However,¡± Wang Yan said, suddenly shifted the topic of discussion, ¡°unlike the other academies, Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t have any final exams. As to why this is the case, I¡¯m sure that everyone already knows. We¡¯ll be testing whether or not you¡¯re qualified to be a second year student at the start of the next year. Because of that, you can¡¯t rx at all, even when you go back home. You¡¯ll have to work even harder during the next month. This is the only way that you can continue to study in Shrek Academy next year. I¡¯m fond of every single one of you, thus I hope that we don¡¯t have to say farewell to anyone next year.¡±

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll tell you all a few of the main points regarding the advancement test. You¡¯ll have to remember this: The first part of the advancement test has no skill requirements. It tests your absolute strength, or in other words, your soul power. If you want to get into Year 2, you¡¯ll have to be Rank 20. If you haven¡¯t gotten two soul rings by the time we take the advancement test, I suggest that you not bothering next year. Regardless of how well you perform during the other assessments, it won¡¯t be of any use if you haven¡¯t gotten two rings. The academy won¡¯t change its rules for anyone. As such, if you¡¯re a student who hasn¡¯t reached Rank 20 yet, you¡¯ll have to cultivate for your lives. At the same time, you¡¯ll also have to get a second soul ring in order to prove that you¡¯ve reached the Soul Grandmaster level.¡±

    ¡°However, having a two-ringed cultivation doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll definitely pass the advancement test. Even Teacher Zhou and I don¡¯t know the specifics of the advancement test at this point in time. However, I can tell you my advancement test was like. That year, the Year 2 advancement test had every single student challenge a hundred year soul beast under the supervision of a teacher. Remember this¡ªyou¡¯ll have to do it alone, without any outside assistance. If the supervising teacher makes a move, the assessment will be over. This test is the academy¡¯s most-often used assessment. You should be happy if you get this test, as it tests your pure, unadulterated strength. However, there¡¯s a chance that they could give you an even more difficult test that requires luck, strength, and intelligence, but these tests normally only appear in upper year tests. At the same time, this advancement test isn¡¯t just rted to every single one of you; it¡¯s rted to our ss, as ss 1 also has to undergo an advancement test. This assessment is an extra one that you¡¯ll have to finish as well.¡±

 Chapter 39.1: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    Chapter 39.1: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    Everyone had been able to understand Wang Yan¡¯s first words, but some of them became somewhat confused when he started talking about a ss advancement test. What was a ss advancement test?

    Wang Yan indifferently continued, ¡°Every single ss acts as a whole body. As such, if that whole body can¡¯t advance to Year 2, what use would there be in the students advancing? From another standpoint, the ss advancement test is a test for Teacher Zhou Yi and I. During the ss advancement test, we¡¯ll choose three to seven students to participate in a special test. The advancement level of our ss will be determined by how well we do in this assessment. If weplete this assessment perfectly, then 100% of ss 1 will advance; every single student that can pass the individual assessment will be able to continue their studies in Year 2. However, if we can¡¯tplete it perfectly, we¡¯ll have to expel a percentage of students from ss 1, despite them passing their individual tests. In other words, even if every single one of you passes the individual assessment, if we only end up getting 90% on the ss advancement test, thest 10% of students in the ss 1¡¯s assessment ranking will be expelled.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished his exnation, the entire ss immediately understood what he meant, which in turn caused them to be dumbstruck. The students that had thought they could rx and take a short break during the holidays were astonished to the point that their mouths were wide open. This was especially true for those who had higher cultivations, as they¡¯d thought that they could breeze through the advancement test. They¡¯d never expected the possibility of there being a ss advancement test.

    Wang Yan smiled. Though it seemed warm, it actually contained an ominous feeling. ¡°I think that, if any of the students who¡¯ve been chosen to participate in the ss assessment make a mistake that causes the evaluation of the ss to drop, the entire ss will remember that person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also a student who¡¯s graduated from Shrek Academy, so I¡¯ll tell you about what my experience was like. Realistically, the period of time after you pass your advancement test and begin your studies again is actually the happiest and most exciting time you¡¯ll experience in Shrek Academy. Contrarily, the holidays are hell for an overwhelming majority of students. Unless you¡¯re unwilling to continue studying here, you should know what you all have to do once you get home.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. ss is dismissed, you can head back and pack up your things.¡± Wang Yan waved his hand as he dismissed the ss.

    The students of ss 1 were dumbstruck; their original excitement and enthusiasm had vanished from the face of the earth. Was it really possible for a two-ringed student to take on a hundred year soul beast by themselves? Although arge majority of them possessed hundred year soul rings, how many of them had actually been the one to hunt the soul beast that they¡¯d obtained their soul ring from? Not to mention the ss advancement test that they¡¯d have to pass afterwards.

    Wang Dong had a bitter smile on his face as he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Say, do you think that I¡¯ll be chosen for the ss test?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at him. ¡°What do you think, ss monitor Wang?¡±

    Depressed, Wang Dong stood up. ¡°Whatever, there¡¯s no use talking to you! Let¡¯s head back to our room and cultivate. An extra day of cultivating is still an extra day. Since we¡¯ve only got one month, I¡¯ll try to reach Rank 30 as quickly as possible, even if it means that I have to eat pills everyday.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°If you can manage to reach Rank 30 before we take the advancement test, I strongly believe that it will be much easier for you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll volunteer to participate in the ss assessment so that I can be a strong support for you.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao. You two stay behind for a bit.¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s cold voice rang out.

    The two of them hurriedly paused their footsteps. After the other students had left, Wang Yan and Zhou Yi had called the two of them over to the stage.

    ¡°What are your thoughts on the ss assessment that Teacher Wang mentioned?¡± Zhou Yi asked.

    Helpless, Wang Dong replied, ¡°What can I say? The two of us will just have to go together. Oh yeah, we¡¯ll have to get Xiao Xiao as well.¡± Xiao Xiao had already fused with the soul bone she¡¯d received, causing her strength to increase dramatically. Moreover, she was someone that possessed twin martial souls. Even though her soul power cultivation speed wasn¡¯t as fast as Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s, she was still one of the quickest within ss 1.

    Wang Yan nodded. ¡°The two of you definitely have to participate together when the timees. We don¡¯t know the specifics of the assessment, but you¡¯ll still have to work hard during the next month. Yuhao, are there any problems regarding your second ring?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately shook his head. ¡°There aren¡¯t any.¡± He was still afraid of Wang Yan questioning him, as that would expose his lie. Fortunately, Wang Yan didn¡¯t follow up with any further questions. He¡¯d clearly been reassured by Huo Yuhao.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Your studies here will be even more intense next year. I won¡¯t bother talking too much about other things, as you two should head back early. As ss monitors, I hope that the two of you cane back somewhat earlier. The earlier youe back, the better, as Teacher Wang and I will be informed of the contents of the assessment around ten days or so before we begin school. Following this, you two will be able to prepare for it if youe back early.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nodded simultaneously.

    Zhou Yi replied, ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, Teacher Wang, goodbye.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong respectfully said goodbye to the two teachers. Although they were about to begin their holidays, they were still somewhat unwilling to leave the academy.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s original ns¡ªto make the most of their time to cultivate¡ªdidn¡¯t seed, as Xiao Xiao, along with Bei Bei and Tang Ya, were waiting for them outside. Thus, the words that Huo Yuhao had saidst night became a reality; he ended up roasting some fish for everyone.

    Their meal wasn¡¯t just limited to the five of them, as Huo Yuhao also called over his senior brother, He Caitou. After the six of them had gathered, it became rather lively; they continued messing around like crazy until it was night time. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t tell anyone where he was going to obtain his soul ring, and in the end, his white lie wasn¡¯t exposed.

    Another morning began.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong walked across the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯skeside path. Since they had storage-type soul tools, they naturally didn¡¯t need to carry a backpack with them. The two of them remained silent as they slowly walked forwards.

    Mist proceeded to slowly cover the Sea God¡¯s Lake, while the damp air blown by thekeside wind battered their bodies, causing their uniforms to be somewhat moist.

    Though thekeside path was rather long, it still had an end. As the morning sun slowly rose, the water vapor surrounding them gradually evaporated.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now, but I¡¯lle back early. See me off.¡± Wang Dong said as he turned towards Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong, he could clearly see the trace of liquid sparkling at the corners of his eyes.

    During the past eleven months, the two of them had practically been together all the time, cultivating day and night. Though they weren¡¯t inseparable, they¡¯d be best friends. Just as they were about to separate from each other, a strong feeling of reluctance seemed to clog up their throats. Though this feeling didn¡¯tst long, it caused them to feel the pain of separation temporarily.

    Afterwards, Wang Dong ran out of the academy like he was escaping from Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t turn around, but he couldn¡¯t help the tears in his eyes from flowing uncontrobly. He muttered to himself inwardly, Huo Yuhao, you big dummy!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but rub his eyes as he watched Wang Dong¡¯s slender figure gradually disappear. Afterwards, he turned towards the doorte of Shrek Academy.

    Teacher Xiao Ya, elder senior brother, senior brother He, Teacher Zhou, Teacher Fan Yu, Teacher Wang¡­ I¡¯m leaving now. I¡¯ll definitely give you all a big surprise when I get back. I¡¯ve never forgotten the oath I made back then; I¡¯ll definitely make those that looked down on my white soul ring feel terrified whenever they see the color white in the future. I¡¯lle back as soon as possible.

    After taking a deep breath to calm his surging emotions, Huo Yuhao made sure that he was headed in the right direction as he left the academy. In the blink of an eye, he¡¯d vanished as he ran along Shrek City¡¯s official road to the north.

    To the twelve-year-old Huo Yuhao, the mncholy that he felt from separation was still very easy for him to control. After madly running for two hours beneath the caress of the cool breeze, he opened his mind and felt an indescribable sense of delight.

    A year ago, he¡¯d been a beggar-like youth who¡¯d just left the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    One yearter, today, he was a control-type soul master that only needed to obtain a soul ring in order to advance to the level of a Soul Grandmaster. Furthermore, he was even a ss 2 soul engineer. At the same time, he simply had too much information inside of his mind right now.

    Huo Yuhao might not have improved the most out of the students within Shrek Academy this year, but he had definitely transformed the most. It had only been year, but it seemed like he¡¯d shed his mortal body and bones. This was something that nobody could deny.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, how far to the north do we need to head?¡± In the past, the Skydream Iceworm had been very fond of sleeping. In fract, It wouldn¡¯t be umon for it to not speak to Huo Yuhao for over a month. Only after Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power broke through to Rank 20 did it finally awaken from its dreams. Somewhat unexpectedly, the elder that had previously appeared had been abnormally silent. The gray pearl was exceptionally silent, and other than the ripples it had madest time, it hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest. The Skydream Iceworm had even maliciously said that its strand of divine sense must¡¯ve been thoroughly destroyed.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that, if its strand of divine sense truly had disappeared, the gray pearl definitely wouldn¡¯t have remained inside of his Spiritual Sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯szy voice rang out, ¡°Just keep heading north, you¡¯ll definitely be on the right track. This road is quite long. Didn¡¯t you constantly practice running around with a heavy load on your back in the academy? This time, you don¡¯t even have to carry a heavy load. Based on your current speed, it¡¯ll take at least ten days to reach where we¡¯re headed.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Ten days?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, bbergasted. ¡°Brother Skydream, where are we headed? Why do we have to travel so far north? My current speed isn¡¯t slow at all! If I go all-out and run forwards for a full day, even if I don¡¯t manage to cross a thousand miles, I¡¯ll hit 800 miles at least! If I were to run for ten days, that¡¯s eight thousand miles!¡±

    ¡°Yep! That¡¯s about how far it is from here. We¡¯re heading to my old home¡ªthe Douluo Continent¡¯s Extreme North,¡± The Skydream Iceworm said in a tone that seemedpletely natural. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, that¡¯s the ce that I¡¯m most familiar with.¡±

    Puzzled, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Brother Skydream, isn¡¯t that too far? I still have to participate in the advancement test once I get back. Won¡¯t it be toote for me to get back in time? Is this the only ce you know of that has a spiritual-type soul beast?¡±

 Chapter 39.2: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    Chapter 39.2: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°My home¡¯s not the only ce with spiritual-type soul beasts; the Great Star Dou Forest definitely has some as well. The problem is, you¡¯re not getting something as simple as a soul ring. The most important thing you need to do is awaken your second martial soul, and to do that, you¡¯ll have to get your second soul ring from the Extreme North. I¡¯ve already nned it all out for you. If you have the energy to talk nonsense, why don¡¯t you speed up a little bit more? The earlier we get there, the more time you¡¯ll have. If everything goes smoothly, it won¡¯t be a problem for us to get back to Shrek Academy in a month.¡±

    Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d originally thought that he had an ample amount of time to obtain his soul ring, suddenly felt a pressing sense of urgency. Afraid of wasting any more time, he hurriedly sped up. As he adjusted his breathing, he continued takingrge strides towards the north.

    He¡¯d asked the canteen for two days worth of food the day beforehand. As such, he didn¡¯t need to worry about food for the next two days. Fan Yu had also given him a hundred gold soul coins which,bined with his original savings, should be enough for his journey.

    A year of bitter cultivation had formed Huo Yuhao¡¯s unyielding personality. Being able to cultivate in a solitary environment was definitely not something that just any soul master could do. Huo Yuhao calmed down and discarded any distracting thoughts in his mind as he wholeheartedly rushed towards the north. After running for between four and six hours, he¡¯d stop to take a break, as he¡¯d drained nearly all of his soul power. The instant he recovered his soul power, he¡¯d start running again.

    Considering the situation he was in, he ran without any restraints on his speed. Perhaps even a three or four-ringed expert might not be able to run as far as he had in a single day.

    In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Huo Yuhao was already able to sense the air around him getting colder and colder. However, the frigid cold didn¡¯t slow him down at all. He entered a city, bought a thick set of clothes, and replenished his supplies. Most importantly of all however, he bought a map.

    He was currently within the Heavenly Soul Empire. As long as he continued to head north, he¡¯d reach the northern borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire; at that time, he¡¯d have reached his destination. Shrek Academyy on the southeastern border of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Thus, Huo Yuhao¡¯s journey would take him from the southernmost part of the Heavenly Soul Empire to the northernmost part. From this alone, the exhaustion he¡¯d suffer throughout his journey could be imagined.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel tired in the least. On the contrary, he treated it as experience for the future. Other than the first city he¡¯d entered, he didn¡¯t enter any other cities before reaching the northern border; he rested in the wilderness. Of the many things he¡¯d purchased, one them had been a small, foldable tent made of leather. The tent itself wasn¡¯trge; it was roughly 2 meters long and 1.2 meters wide. However, it was enough for him to rest in. This, added to the warm sleeping bag he¡¯d brought, gave Huo Yuhao a good rest. Moreover, he¡¯d always cover himself with his sleeping bag when he entered a meditative state, making it so that he didn¡¯t even need to lie down or sleep.

    Huo Yuhao had lived in the Duke¡¯s Mansion his entire life, prior to entering Shrek Academy. Thus, he¡¯d never experienced a harsh winter before. However, the one year of bitter cultivation he¡¯d endured had caused him to gain an extremely sturdy physique. After adapting to it for a few days, he was much morefortable in the cold. For the sake of saving money, he chose not to buy a fur cloak; he only bought a heavy cotton shirt.

    After running at his top speed for eight days, Huo Yuhao finally neared the northern border of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Upon reaching this point, his location on the map had simply be a patch of white.

    Pausing his footsteps, Huo Yuhao stopped to take a small breather. The white mist that left from his nose instantly turned into fragments of ice that dispersed into the air.

    Huo Yuhao pulled his hood over his head to block the frigid wind from digging into his face. However, the freezing air still managed to pierce into his body like miniscule daggers via the small holes in his clothes.

    Water would instantly freeze into icicles where he was now. As if to prove this point, ayer of frost had already covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat depressed as he carefully looked at his map. Based on his current position on the map, he¡¯d reach an empty void if he continued to head northwards. There was a small warning above that void:

    ¡°The Extreme North, an area forbidden to humans. Soul beasts roam about freely here. Danger, danger, danger!¡±

    The three ¡®danger¡¯s were written in red.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, stop sleeping. We might¡¯ve reached our destination, thus I¡¯ll need you to lead the way from now on.¡± Huo Yuhao inwardly called out to the Skydream Iceworm.

    ¡°Lead the way? Lead what way?¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s stuporous voice rang out. Aftering to his senses, the only million year soul beast on the Douluo Continent stared nkly for a brief moment, then said, ¡°I don¡¯t recognise this ce!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°Brother Skydream, please don¡¯t joke around here! I followed your instructions and ran north for a full eight days to get here. If you don¡¯t recognise this ce, what should we do?¡±

    With an extremely innocent voice, the Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°I really don¡¯t recognise this ce. I used to live in the northeastern part of the continent, which is still extremely far from here. Later on, I drifted towards the south, before finally reaching the Great Star Dou Forest. This should be the north-central area of the continent, which was originally the northwestern area of the Douluo Continent. How am I supposed to know my way around here?¡±

    Anxious, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Then what should we do? Brother Skydream, you¡­.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm let out a cunningugh. ¡°I made you worry for a bit. Fine, I won¡¯t joke around with you anymore. Even though I don¡¯t know what direction we need to head here, you¡¯ve forgotten just how powerful my spiritual force is! I don¡¯t even need to worry about what direction we need to go. As long as we follow my spiritual force, we¡¯ll be able to find what we need. Isn¡¯t that enough? Right, strip now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was instantly stunned. ¡°You want me to take my clothes off? Brother Skydream, this is a world of ice and snow! You¡¯re going to cause me to freeze me to death!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm grumpily spat, ¡°Quickly do it, else you¡¯ll really freeze to death if you don¡¯t. And why did you call this a world of ice and snow? In the past, I¡¯d be sweating from such high temperatures. This is still very, very far from the truly cold areas. On the other hand, the thing that we¡¯re looking for is located in the very center of the Extreme North. You can¡¯t even imagine how cold it is there. Quickly, take off your clothes so that I can help you out a bit. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be finished in less than two days once we continue heading forward.¡±

    At this point in time, Huo Yuhao could only choose to believe in the Skydream Iceworm. He simply didn¡¯t have any other choice. Helpless, he removed the thick cotton shirt from his body.

    As soon as he did, the biting cold of the freezing northern wind prated his entire body. This feeling was akin to him suddenly eating ten popsicles at once. Amidst this world of ice and snow, it was even possible to see steam rising from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Clenching his teeth, Huo Yuhao took off the rest of his clothing as quickly as possible, exposing his sturdy muscles. He couldn¡¯t help but sway due to the extreme temperatures here. This feeling was definitely so ¡®rxing¡¯ that he couldn¡¯t even rx.

    ¡°Take your underwear off as well! Why did you even leave them on? If you don¡¯t wanna let me help you out for a bit, don¡¯t me me when your little brother freezes to death.¡± The Skydream Iceworm let out a devilishugh.

    Huo Yuhao angrily replied, ¡°Do it quickly, else it¡¯s going to freeze to death right now!¡± His voice was currently trembling. Ignoring the Skydream Iceworm, he quickly took off his underpants.

    As the bitingly cold wind mmed into his body, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned bright red, causing him to resemble a boiled shrimp.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t utter a word. Even though Huo Yuhao repeatedly called out to it, it didn¡¯t respond at all.

    Feeling that he was about to freeze to death, Huo Yuhao immediately prepared to jump towards his clothes. However, his surroundings suddenly transformed as ayer of pale gold light slowly spread out from his head. As the golden light dispersed, it expelled the cold from his body. Immediately, a warm feeling began to spread throughout his entire body.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but let out a groan from the pleasure. He even nearly began to cry. This feeling was simply too stimting¡­

    Afterwards, a gentle lump of white light suddenly shot out from his chest. To Huo Yuhao¡¯s surprise, he discovered that the lump of light seemed to be more like a lump of flesh that had grown from his chest. The light began to quickly expand in midair, until it had be asrge as Huo Yuhao. Afterwards, it slowly began to spread itself over his body.

    As the white light slowly glued itself to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he felt as if ayer of film had been applied to his skin. The white light gradually vanished along with the warm feeling. However, the frigid cold he¡¯d felt didn¡¯te back despite the disappearance of the warm feeling. As the bitingly cold wind swirled around him, it seemed to simply glide past him. Though he still felt the impact of the wind hitting his body, it didn¡¯t feel cold in the slightest.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, this¡­¡± Huo Yuhao had a look of astonishment on his face. Everything that had just urred had undoubtedly exceeded the range of his understanding.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯szy voice rang out, ¡°This is my shedded skin from my original body that you saw previously. Previously, didn¡¯t it stick to your chest? I¡¯ve made it cover your entire body now. Since I grew up in such a ce, how could I be scared of the cold? The skin I shed is extremely good at venttion, and can resist the elements. In addition to that, it can also hide your aura. Otherwise, rashly entering the Extreme North with your measly bit of strength would just be courting death. Now then, quickly put on some clothes. Do you think that you look good naked?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was left speechless. He inwardly thought to himself, You¡¯re the one who made me strip naked! However, he had to admit that the Skydream Iceworm was being considerate. After putting his clothes back on, he no longer felt cold at all. Moreover, theyer of shedded skin from the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t feel like it was there at all. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat more confident in entering the Extreme North with the aid of this mystical ability.

    At this moment, the Skydream Iceworm suddenly spoke with an extremely serious tone, ¡°Yuhao, you have to listen to mymands at all times from now on. You can¡¯t make any careless mistakes. If you don¡¯t listen to me, not only will you have to stay in the Extreme North forever, you¡¯ll cause me to get into trouble as well.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. He¡¯d naturally listen to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s instructions. If he didn¡¯t, he¡¯d be groping around in the dark.

    ¡°Continue heading northwards. We¡¯ll talk once you reach the central area of the Extreme North. Did you make sure to bring enough food? I reckon that we¡¯ll have to stay here for over ten days, as this ce doesn¡¯t have any water or food for you to eat or drink.¡±

    Huo Yuhao patted the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges on his waist and replied, ¡°No problem, I¡¯m all prepared.¡± After saying that, he equipped the few soul tools that he¡¯d previously created. Since the cold had disappeared, he was able to keep himself in peak condition.

 Chapter 39.3: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    Chapter 39.3: The Three Emperors of the Extreme North

    Huo Yuhao set out once again, headed towards the north. Though the biting cold wind no longer posed a threat to him, the frost that had gradually umted on his body still managed to slow him down. As he continued to travel northwards, the advantage that his Spiritual Detection gave him became more and more pronounced: Whenever he encountered an unfamiliar area, he could simply use his Spiritual Detection to continue travelling and avoid any possible dangers.

    As Huo Yuhao travelled, the Skydream Iceworm stayed awake, which was an extremely rare thing for him to do. The reason he¡¯d stayed awake was so that he could make sure to tell Huo Yuhao when to change directions. As he continued to travel northwards, Huo Yuhao was able to faintly sense that the Skydream Iceworm had been releasing some of its spiritual power in front of him. Compared to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s terrifying spiritual power, he was like a grain of rice adrift in an ocean. However, despite being able to sense it, he didn¡¯t know what the Skydream Iceworm was looking for.

    In the blink of an eye, two days had passed. By this time, Huo Yuhao had already fully entered the deste and uninhabited Extreme North. He¡¯d encountered a few soul beasts, but due to the guidance of the Skydream Iceworm, he¡¯d yet to meet an existence that actually posed a threat to him.

    As he continued onwards, the snow became thicker and thicker. Once it was higher than his knees, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to chop down a tree and create two wooden nks, which he tied to bottom of his feet. Though they weren¡¯t much, they were able to reduce the stress on his feet. And, whenever he reached a downhill slope, he was able to use them to slide down. In the end, he¡¯d found a pretty decent method to travel through the snow with.

    Two dayster.

    Even though he¡¯d slowed down quite a bit, he was already 400 miles into the Extreme North. The frequency at which the Skydream Iceworm told him to change directions had be much higher as well.

    Suddenly, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out as he anxiously said, ¡°Quickly lie t on the ground and bury yourself beneath the snow. Don¡¯t move an inch once you¡¯ve done so. You can¡¯t move no matter what¡ªeven if something touches you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked when he heard this. Afterwards, heid down as fast as he could, covered himself with the surrounding snow, and held his breath.

    Not even ten breaths of time had passed before Huo Yuhao¡¯s body began to shudder uncontrobly. Even though he¡¯d buried himself beneath the snow, he was still aware of his surroundings! By relying on his Spiritual Detection, he was still able to sense the outside world to a certain extent.

    He was shuddering because he¡¯d suddenly sensed an iparably terrifying aura outside. However, the instant that this aura had appeared, the trace of spiritual power he¡¯d left outside had instantly shattered. He hadn¡¯t even been able to tell what the neer looked like.

    From what Huo Yuhao could tell, the neer was extraordinarilyrge, and the terror brought about by its aura had reached the apex. In fact, it seemed like it could wipe him off the face of the earth with a mere breath. Immediately after sensing this, he felt a heavy pressure weigh down on his back and viciously shove him even deeper into the ground.

    Originally, he¡¯d been holding his breath. However, the instant this heavy pressure appeared, the oxygen he¡¯d been holding instantly disappeared. Afterwards, his entire body sank so deep into the snow that he reached the soil beneath it.

    Huo Yuhao felt a hard shell cover his body the instant the heavy pressure appeared. Even though he¡¯d been forced into the ground, he¡¯d only been shoved in. Other than the suffocating pressure he felt, he hadn¡¯t suffered any injuries.

    Were it not for the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s previousmand, Huo Yuhao definitely would¡¯ve made a noise. Due to the pressure and themand he¡¯d received, he didn¡¯t even dare to move at the moment. Instead, he forcefully endured the pain that came along with being suffocated.

    The enormous pressure that was weighing down on him suddenly disappeared, while the terrifying aura he¡¯d felt began to move further and further away from him. As he continued to choke, Huo Yuhao felt his chest burning up.

    However, he couldn¡¯t move before the Skydream Iceworm told him that it was alright. He could only endure. If he didn¡¯t, there was arge chance that he¡¯d encounter a cmity that could kill him as easily as breathing.

    After another ten or so seconds had passed, the terrifying aura disappearedpletely. Once it had, the Skydream Iceworm indicated that he could get back up.

    After getting to his feet with difficulty, Huo Yuhao immediately gasped for air. Even though he wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold, inhaling the cold air still caused him to instinctively shiver. He hurriedly lowered how much air he was taking in with each breath, but his chest continued to move up and down violently.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t seen what exactly had crushed him, he was certain that he¡¯d just escaped from the gates of hell! The outer shell that he¡¯d felt suddenly harden had been the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin. If it hadn¡¯t been for that, he would¡¯ve been squashed into a meat patty.

    He continued to inhale and exhale for quite a while before managing to recover somewhat, albeit with difficulty. The moment he stood back up, astonishment involuntarily appeared on his face. The first thing that he¡¯d noticed were the enormous footprints around him, and he was in the middle of one of these footprints.

    Each footprint was around five meters long and two meters wide. In contrast, Huo Yuhao¡¯s imprint in the ground wasn¡¯t even a third of a single footprint. He was able to see the enormous footprints headed towards the distance.

    After everything was said and done, Huo Yuhao was still just a kid. After encountering a situation like this, how could he not be scared?

    ¡°Brother Skydream, wh-what was that¡­ thing just now? How could its footprints be this big?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s somewhat nervous voice rang out, ¡°We nearly gave away our location. That fe¡¯s also a spiritual-type, thus he was actually able to block my Spiritual Detection. Fortunately, my spiritual power vastly exceeds his in quality. Because of this, I was able to notice him while he was still a certain distance away from us. You¡¯re really lucky, kid. You were actually able to meet the Titan Ice Devil King, one of the Three Emperors of the Extreme North. Luckily, we were able to hide from that fe. If we hadn¡¯t, only one thing awaited us: death. Even if it was me when I was at my peak condition I would¡¯ve died, let alone you.¡±

    ¡°The Titan Ice Devil King? What species does it belong to? Is it also a soul beast?¡± After the anxiety and palpitations in his heart had died down, the curiosity of a young man quickly won over Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°The Three Emperors of the Extreme North are equivalent to the kings in the Great Star Dou Forest. They¡¯re the rulers of the Extreme North, as well as the true consummate experts here. They¡¯re practically unparalleled existences in a cold environment such as this. In terms of overall strength, those fes from the Great Star Dou Forest most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat the soul beasts of my Extreme North, even if they all happened to work together. Only, the Extreme North has toorge of an area and range. This,bined with the few soul beasts present, makes it much harder for them to gather.¡±

    ¡°The Extreme North has arge number of hundred thousand year soul beasts, so many in fact, that the amount exceeds the amount within the Great Star Dou Forest. After all, the environment here is extremely harsh, and very few humans dare to intrude. In addition to this, the Three Emperors all share amon characteristic¡ªtheir cultivations all exceed a hundred thousand years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He was no longer the ignorant kid he¡¯d been when he met the Skydream Iceworm. After studying in Shrek Academy for more than a year, his knowledge towards both soul masters and soul beasts had drastically increased.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, if I¡¯m not mistaken, soul beasts have no ways of growing after they¡¯ve cultivated for a hundred thousand years. Once they reach that point, their life force will begin to deteriorate. Your situation is an extremely unique one, such that even our academy¡¯s Director Du hasn¡¯t ever seen anything like it before. However, not all hundred thousand year soul beasts are able to constantly eat the best heavenly treasures like you were! How did the Three Emperors do it? Are you one of them?¡±

    ¡°Hai¡­ they naturally don¡¯t include the likes of me. If I were really one of the Three Emperors of this ce, why would I need to go so far as to run away!? At that time, I was forced to run away because of one of the Three Emperors. Thends beneath the heavens are vast, and are filled with extraordinary things; I¡¯m not the only soul beast who¡¯s had a lucky encounter. Isn¡¯t it possible for someone else to have a lucky encounter as well? Indeed, the Three Emperors are different from me. We Iceworms can only be considered lower ranked soul beasts within the Extreme North. Most of the time we¡¯re just considered food. On the other hand, the Three Emperors of the Extreme North all have noble origins; the blood of the Ice God flows through their bodies. To begin with, they belong to the strongest races in this freezing ce. As such, their ability to gather heavenly treasures is definitely not weak. Combined with the secrets that they know, it¡¯s definitely not impossible for them to have a cultivation breakthrough.¡±

    ¡°But now that I think about it, it really is extremely hard to break through the hundred thousand year barrier by solely relying on cultivation. In the million years that I¡¯ve been alive, the number of soul beasts that I¡¯ve seen seed doesn¡¯t exceed ten. And of those ten, only three of are still alive. The others all died while trying to make a breakthrough to an even higher cultivation realm. The hurdle that soul beasts have to cross every hundred thousand years is an extremely arduous task.¡±

    ¡°That guy who passed by just now was a descendant of the Titan Giant n, which was supposedly visited by the ancient Ice God. He belongs to the Titan Ice Devil n. If you want to talk about race alone, they¡¯re undoubtedly the strongest race in this freezing ce. They currently only have several hundred nsmen left. However, despite this, when they gather together, they be an unparalleled existence. Titan Ice Devils are over ten meters tall at birth, while adult Titan Ice Devils are over fifty meters tall. The Ice Titan Devil King who just passed by was over a hundred meters tall, and he¡¯s definitely thergest living creature on the Douluo Continent. Furthermore, we¡¯re not talking about a ¡®one of a kind¡¯ thing. Even within the ocean, soul beasts that canpare to it in size alone are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was bbergasted. ¡°A hundred meters tall? That¡¯s too scary. Isn¡¯t it an unparalleled existence then?¡±

    ¡°Unparalleled?¡± The Skydream Iceworm snorted disdainfully. ¡°That¡¯s obviously not the case. Not to mention the entire continent, it¡¯s not even unparalleled in the Extreme North. It¡¯s rankedst amongst the Three Emperors. Of course, the chances of a human being able to beat it here in singlebat is naturally basically zero.¡±

    Astonished, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s only ranked third with such a terrifying body? Then the other two Emperors¡­.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Having arger body isn¡¯t always better. Contrarily, there are some times where it¡¯s more advantageous to have a smaller body. The other two Emperors aren¡¯t nearly as big as that guy, but they¡¯re both stronger than him. ording to what I know, this Titan Ice Devil King should¡¯ve only managed to break through the two hundred thousand year bottleneck with quite a bit of difficulty. I reckon that it won¡¯t be able to breakthrough to the three hundred thousand year level. One of the other two fellows has already passed the three hundred thousand year bottleneck, while the other has passed the even more terrifying five hundred thousand year bottleneck. Other than myself, it¡¯s currently the oldest soul beast on the Douluo Continent. If you were to determine the strongest soul beast on the continent, the leader of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors is definitely a powerful contender for that position.¡±

 Chapter 40.1: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    Chapter 40.1: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    Hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. ¡°Brother Skydream, stop it. If you continue talking about the Three Emperors, you¡¯ll destroy the little bit of confidence I¡¯ve finally built up. The Three Emperors of the Extreme North are still too far away from me. Let¡¯s be a bit more realistic now. When can I get my second soul ring? Also, I have to awaken my second martial soul.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re too far away from you? No, no, they¡¯re not at all.¡± The Skydream Iceworm said mysteriously, ¡°Yuhao! Haven¡¯t you heard the phrase ¡®the rewards of your harvest are only as big as your guts¡¯? Our target this time is the 2nd ranked Emperor!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was practically struck by lightning. As the corner of his mouth twitched, he said in all earnestness, ¡°Brother Skydream, don¡¯t you think we¡¯ve traveled a bit too far just for us to give it some free food?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm spat unhappily, ¡°What do you mean, free food? You good-for-nothing, just see how cowardly you are. Aren¡¯t they just the Three Emperors of the Extreme North? What¡¯s there to be scared of?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had an indignant expression on his face as he said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be scared of? If there¡¯s nothing to be scared of, why¡¯d you run away?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm flew into a rage, ¡°It¡¯s different now. I¡¯m no longer the person I was. Since I dared to bring you here, I naturally have a way to deal with that fe. What good does it do for me if I get you killed? Could I even continue living then? With your weak body, how¡¯re you gonna take revenge for me and let me stand with my chin held high if we don¡¯t take some desperate measures?¡±

    After feeling astonished for a brief moment, Huo Yuhao calmed down. Feeling somewhat helpless, he said, ¡°Fine. In any case, I¡¯m trusting you with my life. Even if you sell me away, I can only count the money you¡¯ll get. Let¡¯s go. The earlier I die, the earlier I¡¯ll reincarnate. Where do we go?¡±

    ¡°Continue heading northward. That guy only lives within the core regions of the Extreme North. From now on, you have to slow down. You¡¯re about to enter the borderline of the Extreme North¡¯s core regions, and it¡¯s extremely cold here. However, it houses the strongest soul beasts within the Extreme North, like that fe earlier. Even my Spiritual Detection was tricked by it. Moreover, there are some especially quick soul beasts, so we¡¯ll have to be even more careful. Otherwise, we¡¯re definitely screwed if we meet one.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Huo Yuhao could be considered to have understood the Skydream Iceworm. It definitely had a certain amount of assurance in what it was doing, but it wasn¡¯t a hundred percent certain; there was still a chance of failure. However, ording to his knowledge of the Skydream Iceworm, something that could make it risk its life would definitely yield great results if it were to seed. It was very possible that it would reach apletely astonishing degree.

    For the sake of concealing himself even more, Huo Yuhao removed the nks of wood from his feet. After that, he slowly trudged through the half-meter deep snow. Right now, he waspletely certain that were it not for the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin, he¡¯d turn into an ice statue after a mere ten minutes in a ce like this.

    In a crazy ce like this, even the snowkes were hard. When the biting wind stirred up the snow on the ground, theyer of frost that formed could even resist an omni-directional soul skill. When the wind got stronger, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to crawl about on the ground. He wasn¡¯t scared of the cold now, but that didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t scared of the wind.

    Because of the overly low temperatures here, he sometimes felt the light on the horizon twisting somewhat. However, this ce had a beautiful multicoloured radiance that other ces didn¡¯t have.

    After continuing forward for two more days, Huo Yuhao began to feel somewhat exhausted. It wasn¡¯t because of ack of physical energy, but ack of food and drink.

    Though he wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold, he couldn¡¯t do without food! No matter what rations he took out of the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, it would immediately freeze into a popsicle the moment it came out. Even chewing was a strenuous activity now, but he could only use his teeth to crush his food. The Skydream Iceworm wasn¡¯t willing to let him set up a tent for fear of attracting the attention of other soul beasts.

    There was no need to even talk about drinking water. He had no way of drinking the water he¡¯d brought at all. The instant he took it out, it was frozen solid. He simply had no way of pouring it out of his water sk. Thus, he could only eat the snow on the ground that had umted over god knows how many years. Whenever he swallowed a mouthful of snow, the coldness from it went straight to his heart. His internal organs had no defenses, and the moment he swallowed a mouthful of snow, his body shivered for a long period of time before he was able to recover.

    Under a situation like this, he could only do his best to reduce his consumption of food and drink. However, trudging through the snow consumed an extremelyrge amount of physical strength. When this wasbined with hisck of nutrition, he was gradually unable to withstand it any longer.

    As he sat within this snowynd, there was nothing but thick piles of snow all around him. Gasping for breath, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Skydream, I can¡¯t go on like this! I¡¯m already at the point where I don¡¯t think I can hold on any longer. Even if we meet that soul beast you¡¯re looking for, how will I have the energy to kill it and fuse with its soul ring!? Even if I seed, I might not even have the energy to go back out. I don¡¯t think I can withstand it any longer.¡±

    With that, he lowered his head and shoved it into his cotton shirt. He took a bite from the rations he had stored within his shirt. He was originally nning to use his bodily warmth to soften his rations a bit, but he simply wasn¡¯t able to do so due to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin. His rations remained as hard as ever, so he could only nibble off a bit with much difficulty. After waiting for it to soften a little in his mouth, he slowly chewed on it and swallowed it.

    ¡°Okay, okay. You don¡¯t have to keep whining anymore. We should be just about there. Next up, we¡¯ll have to wait for an opportunity toe.¡± The Skydream Iceworm continued, ¡°Take a rest for a while. After that, listen to my instructions.¡±

    After hearing that he wouldn¡¯t have to continue walking any further, Huo Yuhao let out arge sigh of relief. He hadpletely entered the core regions of the Extreme North. Not only was it extremely cold here, he had even encountered a few soul beasts from time to time. With the amount of power those soul beasts possessed, merely looking at them from a distance was enough to make Huo Yuhao feel a chill run up his spine! Though they couldn¡¯tpare with the Titan Ice Devil King he had bumped into previously, they were still existences above the ten thousand year rank. In a god-forsaken ce like this, he couldn¡¯t even find any thousand year soul beasts.

    After resting for fifteen minutes or so, Huo Yuhao¡¯s original location was buried in snow. Only then did he stand up.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out in his mind with an unprecedented seriousness, ¡°Yuhao, I need you to make a quick estimation. If you didn¡¯t have the protection of my shedded skin, how long could youst in conditions like this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Thinking about it for a moment, he said, ¡°If I use all of my soul power, I should be able tost for five minutes. But I definitely can¡¯tst for more than ten minutes.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go bring that fe over, so I¡¯ll have to release my aura. After that, my shedded skin will y a decisive role that will determine whether or not it will be willing to be your soul ring. Because of that, you must remain in a motionless state for a period of time after I bring it over. During this period of time, not only will I have to trap it, I¡¯ll have to negotiate with it. Your job is to remain still, otherwise all our previous efforts will have been for naught.¡±

    With a bitter look on his face, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Boss, why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier? If you had, I¡¯d brought a few more cold-resistant clothes!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted coldly, ¡°Do you think that clothes can block out the low temperatures here? You¡¯re already overestimating yourself by saying that you canst here for five minutes. Next up, you¡¯ll have to make a temporary residence underneath the snow. I¡¯ll leave some of my shedded skin here and suck out the soul power within it. You¡¯ll have to light it up with a match and draw heat from it. After that, no matter what happens, you must not do anything rash if I don¡¯t give you the signal. This time around, we¡¯re either going to make it or break it. You can use your Spiritual Detection to observe everything outside, but you must not make any rash moves. Understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded hurriedly.

    Building a house made of ice underneath the snow wasn¡¯t an easy task! The ice underneath the ground was as hard as steel, and even after pouring his soul power into the White Tiger Dagger, it took Huo Yuhao a full day to barely carve out a small ice house which could contain his curled up body. After doing this, he was tired to the point where even breathing was strenuous.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to start. Yuhao, you have to do three things for us to seed this time. Firstly, you¡¯ll have to endure the freezing cold for a short period of time. Secondly, luck; we¡¯ll have to see whether I have the luck to defeat the soul beast I¡¯m calling over. Lastly, we¡¯ll have to rely on your willpower. You¡¯re the person I¡¯ve chosen, so we¡¯re both screwed if you don¡¯t seed. If you seed, on the other hand, I dare say that you¡¯ll immediately be the number one genius in the entire Douluo Continent. Now, let¡¯s give it our all.¡±

    At that point, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice had turned somewhat frenzied.

    What could Huo Yuhao even say now? After getting all the way here, he could only follow the Skydream Iceworm all the way till the end; there was no other path he could take. There were no benefits to talking more, so he nodded forcefully, indicating that he would fully support the Skydream Iceworm.

    An intense undtion of soul power slowly began to appear within his mind, and Huo Yuhao felt waves of dizziness ovee him. By relying on the walls of the ice house, he was able to prevent himself from copsing.

    His only soul ring had already floated up into the air noiselessly, and the pure white soul ring released a brilliant luster. It slowly moved rhythmically into the air, hovering around his body as it did so.

    The pale gold light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes began to gradually transform, and he was very aware that he had lost control of his body.

    At this moment, he felt his consciousness spreading outwards rapidly, expanding towards the distance. It felt as if he was overlooking the earth from the sky above, and it was an entirely different feeling from when he normally used his Spiritual Detection.

    The vastness of this Spiritual Detection exceeded the more-than ten thousand square kilometers of the core regions of the Extreme North. However, the ray of light suddenly darkened, just as if daytime was transitioning to nighttime. An invisible pressure instantly spread outwards from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body along with the extremely terrifying amount of spiritual power that came from him.

    To his astonishment, he discovered that he actually felt a pleasure akin to that of a sovereign descending upon the world. The feeling of having the earth and snowpletely serving him, and having everything within the grasp of his palm, was simply too wonderful. It seemed as if he could destroy everything with the flip of a hand, and that he could judge everything within the reach of his eyes.

    Muffled sounds of thunder started to ring out in the gloomy sky, but Huo Yuhao astonishedly discovered that his body hadpletely turned bright-gold in colour.

 Chapter 40.2: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    Chapter 40.2: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    The pure white halo of light surrounding Huo Yuhao slowly began to change color, as his originally white soul ring gradually changed from white to pale gold, then from pale gold to bright gold. The golden lustering from it was definitely much brighter any soul rings Huo Yuhao had seen in the past.

    There were white ten year soul rings, yellow hundred year soul rings, purple thousand year soul rings, ck ten thousand year soul rings, and red hundred thousand year soul rings. And yet, all of them would only be able to submit in front of the boundlessly imposing golden luster of this golden soul ring.

    This¡­ this was the true color of the Douluo Continent¡¯s unrivalled, and only, million year soul ring! It was also the first time that the Skydream Iceworm had released the true color of its soul ring into the world.

    The astonishing golden luster immediately caused a strange feeling to rise in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    One day, I will no longer let the Heavens cover my eyes¡ªwhere I will no longer let the Earth bury my heart. I want everything in the world to submit to me, just like that man who could grasp the sun and moon in each hand, and could pluck the stars from the sky.

    At that moment, not only did the Skydream Iceworm show how powerful he was, he¡¯d even buried a seed of faith inside of Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart; the faith that he could be the sovereign of the entire world. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had a dream even loftier than his wish for revenge.

    As if he could sense the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mental state, the Skydream Iceworm seemed gratified. Right! Since he¡¯d been able to be the main body for a million year soul beast, there¡¯d be a day where he would be the true master of the Skydream Iceworm. If he didn¡¯t have any lofty ambitions, wouldn¡¯t he that be akin to covering a precious pearl with ayer of dust?

    Golden balls of light began to emerge from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. As each golden ball left his body, Huo Yuhao began to feel more and more hollow. By the time the ninth ball of light had left his body, he¡¯d even begun to feel somewhat tottery.

    In the beginning, the Skydream Iceworm had entered his body with a total of ten balls of light. This was the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual origin, as well as the nucleus of its strength. Now that nine balls of light had left his body, only one ball of light¡ªthe one that Huo Yuhao had already absorbed¡ªremained within his body. That was the only connection left between Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm.

    The nine golden balls of light slowly descended from the air. Once the first ball of light hadnded on the snowy ground, the second ballnded on top of it. The other seven balls followed suit as they stacked on top of each other. Afterwards, the total volume of the nine balls of light gradually began to decrease, while the golden light that they were emitting became increasingly tangible. At that moment, Huo Yuhao was clearly able to sense how strong the Skydream Iceworm was. It had such a terrifying amount of spiritual power that it could even cause a meteorological phenomenon.

    Once the nine golden balls of light had finished stacking atop one another, they gradually began to form a shape. Unexpectedly, they solidified into the shape of a golden man made of light. More astonishingly, its appearance waspletely identical to Huo Yuhao. Even the golden clothes it wore were identical to Shrek Academy¡¯s uniform. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether to cry or tough when he saw this.

    Once the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual body had taken shape, he sent a thought outwards with his spiritual force, ¡°Ice Emperor, I know that you¡¯ve already sensed that I¡¯m here. I, Skydream, havee to take my revenge. Do you dare toe out and meet me?¡±

    As soon as the Skydream Iceworm had begun speaking, an unfathomably strong wave of spiritual power had instantly covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, thus shielding his presence within the ice house.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm and Huo Yuhao were still a single entity. Because of that, Huo Yuhao could still tell what was going on outside via the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power after he came in contact with it. When the Skydream Iceworm erged the range of his spiritual power, he was still able to sense every single detail within a thousand meters. However, the more magical thing was that, this time around, his perception had entirely reced his eyes. He could truly see everything outside through his perception, not just shapes.

    After finishing his sentence, the Skydream Iceworm quieted down. However, the golden luster his body emitted continued to shine brightly. The bright golden light he was emitting was extraordinarily clear within the pure-white world. ck clouds began to appear in the air as the sky grew darker and darker, which caused the atmosphere to be increasingly grave. However, the golden luster emitted from the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body remained as brilliant as ever beneath the dusky sky.

    The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t seem to be worried at all as he quietly stood there. The violent winds continued to thrash about around him, but he stood there mightily, unmoving.

    Huo Yuhao was able to sense all of this. However, in an area outside of the range of his perception, an innumerable amount of soul beasts had scattered in all directions, terrified.

    There was a chance that the Skydream Iceworm wouldn¡¯t even be able to defeat a ten thousand year soul beast in directbat. However, there wasn¡¯t a single soul beast on the entire Douluo Continent that could contend with him in terms of pure spiritual power.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s biggest problemy in its bloodline. Even though he¡¯d cultivated for a million years, in the end he was still a low-ranked Iceworm. With a background like this, even though he¡¯d been able to be stronger due to the constant evolutions he¡¯d undergone, and had obtained an enormous amount of energy due to the Ten Thousand Year Ice Pith¡¯s unceasing nourishment, he had be akin to a mountain full of treasure; he had treasures, but he didn¡¯t know how to use them. If you were to describe it in soul master terms, he was an expert who possessed a terrifying amount of soul power, yet didn¡¯t have any soul rings or soul skills.

    When there was arge gap in cultivation between him and his opponents, he could still rely on the absolute strength of his spiritual power to defeat them. However, when he met an opponent that possessed at least a certain level of strength, he would bepletely out of luck. Regardless of how strong his spiritual power was, if he didn¡¯t have a way to concentrate it into a terrifying spiritual skill, his killing power would always be limited. After bing Huo Yuhao¡¯s million year soul ring, he¡¯d be extremely envious of the four soul skills that Huo Yuhao had received. Only, the Skydream Iceworm was someone who¡¯d always cared about face; he ¡®d never admit how envious he was.

    If, when the Skydream Iceworm had had a tyrannical million year cultivation level, he¡¯d only had a single soul skill, almost every single soul beast on the Douluo Continent wouldn¡¯t have been able to pose a threat to it.

    At this very moment, he¡¯d released all of his spiritual power. It extended out and covered basically everywhere that he wanted it to. A third of the Extreme North¡¯s core regions, at the very least, had been encapsted within his Spiritual Detection.

    Although the Skydream Iceworm appeared extremely carefree on the surface, his current actions were definitely not simple at all, as he hadn¡¯t used his own aura to release his spiritual power. At the very least, soul beasts that were unfamiliar with him definitely wouldn¡¯t think that this was something done by someone who possessed no attacking skills at all.

    The Skydream Iceworm had used his terrifying spiritual power to imitate the aura of a certain soul beat that lived within the Extreme North. Faced with this aura, the other soul beasts didn¡¯t dare to have any thoughts of resisting at all. This was the aura of the leader of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors. This was the aura of the soul beast who possessed a cultivation of five hundred thousand years along with its noble bloodline.

    Furthermore, he¡¯d purposely evaded the territory of the leader of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors. Due to his meticulous control over his Spiritual Detection, he wasn¡¯t scared of being discovered by the person he was imitating. As such, the soul beasts in the area that he¡¯d wanted to intimidate had immediately scuttled away after being frightened. They simply decided not to bother him and Huo Yuhao anymore.

    On the other hand, the second-ranked Ice Emperor who he was looking for was also encapsted within the range of his spiritual power. Having known him for a long time, the Ice Emperor naturally wouldn¡¯t mistake his aura for someone else¡¯s. Besides, he¡¯d also said such unbridled words.

    With the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s understanding of the second-ranked Ice Emperor, he believed that it would definitelye. This was because he himself was an extremely beneficial supplement that would tempt all soul beasts. Furthermore, this Ice Emperor was a soul beast whose cultivation exceeded the three hundred thousand year rank, yet couldn¡¯t break through the four hundred thousand year barrier.

    The Ice Emperor understood himself well, and understood the Ice Emperor just as well. At that time, the Ice Emperor had nearly died not long after its cultivation had broken through to the three hundred thousand year rank. Currently, it probably wasn¡¯t too far away from reaching the four hundred thousand year rank. Previously, when breaking through to the three hundred thousand year rank, the Ice Emperor had said that it had reached its limit. Moreover, it had injured its origin energy, thus making it impossible for it to reach the four hundred thousand year rank. The only way that it could break free of its fetters was for it to absorb the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s enormous yet pure energy. If it were to do this, it would even overtake the first ranked Emperor in one fell swoop.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s only stroke of luck was that the first ranked Ice Emperor wasn¡¯t aware of his existence. Otherwise, he believed that it would have definitely caught him¡ªeven when he was still in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Having been lured by something rted to its survival, the Ice Emperor had no other choice. It definitely wanted toe, and it definitely woulde. When the Skydream Iceworm was clearly able to sense its aura, a crafty smile appeared on his face.

    Time continued to pass second by second, but the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t seem to be panicked at all. Even though it was hard for the hiding Huo Yuhao to endure his stiffening body, he didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too loudly, just in case. He wasn¡¯t sure when the so-called Ice Emperor would appear, but this was undoubtedly a life-and-death trial for both him and the Skydream Iceworm. He still wasn¡¯t sure what the Skydream Iceworm was relying on in order to kill a super-expert like the Ice Emperor, who even Titled Douluos were terrified of.

    As Huo Yuhao continued to wait in his shelter, he felt his heartbeat slowly speeding up. At the same time, he felt both anxious and afraid, as his body began to stir with excitement. Just as this began to ur however, he suddenly felt the outside world change.

    The originally pitch-ck sky suddenly shook violently, and immediately afterwards, a jade green light instantly appeared in the distant northern horizon.

    In the blink of an eye, the dusky sky had turned a prating yet alluring jade green. This touching shade of color made it seem like the aloof sky had suddenly turned into an enormous jade green gem. In an instant, the originally oppressive aura within the sky had vanished into thin air.

    When the jade green light entered the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s thousand meter range, Huo Yuhao finally be able to sense it. He couldn¡¯t help but inhale a deep breath of icy air. It¡¯sing, it¡¯s reallying.

    ¡°Skydream, you¡¯re actually still alive. It¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯re the longest-living soul beast from our Extreme North.¡± A crisp voice rang out in all directions. The appearance of this voice was followed by a terrifying sound wave. The snow on the ground instantly rose by three meters as the sound wave struck it, akin to a wave suddenly passing through an ocean. Only the hundred meters around the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body remained calm, as it had been protected by the enormous spiritual powering from his body.

    ¡°Ice Emperor, you haven¡¯t died yet, so why can¡¯t I be still alive? Don¡¯t you remember what I said that year? ¡®If I don¡¯t die, there¡¯ll be a day when I¡¯ll be your partner.¡¯¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice suddenly turned gentle. This somewhat overly-sentimental voice even gave Huo Yuhao a few goosebumps.

 Chapter 40.3: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    Chapter 40.3: Skydream, Ice Emperor

    In this exact instant, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes after thinking of a certain possibility.

    With their currentbination,ing to the Extreme North would undoubtedly pose an enormous danger to them. Though the Skydream Iceworm was powerful, he was currently attached to Huo Yuhao after bing his first soul ring. Even if he was an intelligent soul ring, he was still a part of him. He still relied mainly on Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength to determine whether they were strong or weak.

    Under a situation like this, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s best option should¡¯ve been to make Huo Yuhao stronger by obtaining his other soul rings first. Once he was strong enough, they could¡¯vee to the Extreme North to find this so-called Ice Emperor in order to awaken his second martial soul!

    However, the Skydream Iceworm had impatiently decided toe here and find the extremely terrifyingly strong Ice Emperor right after he¡¯d gotten to Rank 20. Was it even possible for there to be no danger involved in this journey? Regardless of how meticulously the Skydream Iceworm had nned everything out, he and Huo Yuhao might be buried eternally in the Extreme North if he made a single mistake.

    Just what made the Skydream Iceworm insist on himing here, even if there was an enormous risk involved in doing so? Was it just to make him be even stronger? After hearing its gentle voice, it really didn¡¯t seem like the case!

    After this thought shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, he unexpectedly went silent. He didn¡¯t have any other choice but to believe in the Skydream Iceworm. More than that, he prayed that the Skydream Iceworm hadn¡¯te here due to the reason he¡¯d thought of. Right now, he could only patiently wait and observe silently.

    ¡°Skydream, you¡¯re courting death.¡± The Ice Emperor¡¯s clear voice was suddenly filled with killing intent, and the jade green sky instantly turned dark green. An intense killing intent descended from the sky, and the originally protected hundred meter diameter around the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body instantly shrank to a diameter of ten meters.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm wasn¡¯t scared of the Ice Emperor in a simple contest of spiritual power. Smiling, he spoke in a very unhurried and graceful manner, ¡°No, I¡¯m just expressing my true feelings. I¡¯ve lived for a million years, and I¡¯ve spent arge majority of them sleeping. However, the only thing within the depths of my heart that I can¡¯t control is you. Ice Emperor, do you know why I¡¯ve chosen toe back at a time like this? It¡¯s because I¡¯ve calcted that you¡¯re about to reach your limit and reach a dead end within a hundred years. At that time, you won¡¯t be able to break through to the next rank. Then, you¡¯ll disappear in this icy world. That¡¯s why I¡¯vee back. I can¡¯t wait anymore, and an endless life has no more meaning to me. I don¡¯t have much longer to live anymore. I¡¯vee back to let you continue living and let us truly be together.¡±

    Inwardly sighing, Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. Sure enough, that was the case! The Skydream Iceworm had really tricked him; he truly had his own motives foring here.

    From the moment he¡¯d met the Skydream Iceworm, Huo Yuhao had trusted him unconditionally from the bottom of his heart. The Skydream Iceworm had given him a million year soul ring in addition to four soul skills, which was equivalent to giving him a brand new life.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, the person he¡¯d felt the most grateful to was this fellow, this intelligent soul ring of his. The Skydream Iceworm had a higher position in his heart than Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and even Wang Dong.

    At this moment however, Huo Yuhao felt as if something within his heart had shattered. The emotions he¡¯d repressed since his youth suddenly exploded out like a dam bursting. He lied to me, he actually lied to me!

    An unprecedented amount of grievance turned into a river of teardrops that flowed down his cheeks before rapidly freezing into chunks of ice that gathered by the corners of his eyes. After all, Huo Yuhao was only twelve. Just as he¡¯d believed that everything in front of him was filled with hope, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s betrayal had instantly shattered his tenacious heart.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t scared of hardships, nor was he scared of any difficulties. As long as he saw hope in front of him, he was willing to give it his all.

    His one year in Shrek Academy had changed his personality drastically. In Shrek Academy, he had friends, teachers, andpanions. From another standpoint, this had all been given to him by the Skydream Iceworm. It was precisely because of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s existence that he had confidence and faith in his heart. However, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s betrayal had practically cut off the root of his faith, brazenly uprooting the tall, confidence-filled tree from his heart.

    This feeling could no longer be described using the word ¡®painful¡¯. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hope had beenpletely obliterated.

    Though the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power was extremely powerful, he had focused all of his energy on the Ice Emperor¡¯s reaction; he didn¡¯t notice the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    Hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, the Ice Emperor turned silent. As if the Skydream Iceworm had precisely called out the worries in its heart, it pondered silently.

    Somewhat nervous, the Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I¡¯vee back, Ice Emperor. We haven¡¯t seen each other for so many years, but you¡¯re not even willing toe and see me in person?¡±

    The Ice Emperor¡¯s cold voice rang out again. ¡°Skydream, don¡¯t you know that my tribe is a predator of your tribe?¡±

    The Skydream Icewormughed indifferently, ¡°I know that of course, but why does that matter? Is there a rule that states that one can¡¯t like their own predator? And it¡¯s precisely because of that that I like you even more.¡±

    The Ice Emperor said disdainfully, ¡°Unfortunately, you don¡¯t have the qualifications to like me. However, I¡¯m very touched. You¡¯ve actually agreed to bring yourself back as food for me to eat. How could I not help you aplish your goal to fuse our bodies together like this? You should be able to sense that I¡¯m approaching you right now. Just wait for me, I¡¯ll get to you within fifteen minutes. I¡¯ll take all of your love, and I¡¯ll treat you well. I¡¯ll slowly eat your body and energy bit by bit and make you a part of my body.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm seemed to already be familiar with the Ice Emperor¡¯s way of speaking. Somewhat helpless, he said, ¡°Can¡¯t you be a bit gentler? You¡¯re always so cold and overbearing. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re still single. Right, I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you this: is that joke going around the Extreme North true? Did you like the Snow Emperor back then?¡±

    ¡°Skydream, I¡¯ll definitely rend your body into ten thousand pieces!¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words seemed to have touched upon the Ice Emperor¡¯s most sensitive feelings, causing its voice to instantly be hysterical. At that moment, the dark green sky suddenly turned a deep ck.

    The smile on the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s mouth had never disappeared, as if it was purposely trying to rile up the Ice Emperor. On the other hand, there were no longer tears flowing from the eyes of the hiding Huo Yuhao. Only, he felt his heart go somewhat cold.

    From their conversation, it was obvious that the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Emperor had many grudges and emotions between them. It was definitely not as simple as the Skydream Iceworm had said. The Skydream Iceworm had purposely riled up the Ice Emperor, which meant that he definitely had his own motives; he definitely had a move he was nning to unleash.

    However, did this really matter to him? Was the Skydream Iceworm still deserving of his trust? He had lied to him, bringing him to this danger-filled Extreme North. Was his only objective to help him awaken his second martial soul? No, that was definitely not the case. In the end, he had still lied to him.

    Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face gradually turned chilly. The grief in his heart had caused a violent change to ur in his mental state. His nervousness and excitement had disappeared, and only a patch of ice remained in his heart.

    As if it had sensed the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions, the gray pearl located within the depths of his mind shook lightly. However, it quickly returned to normal.

    A voice that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hear muttered to itself within the gray pearl, ¡°The personality this kid¡¯s cultivated since his youth goes to extremes too easily. His greatest weakness is his own heart. To him, this could be considered a form of training. Otherwise, how will he be able to mature? It¡¯s better for me to not interfere. However, thatrge worm¡¯s made me look at him with apletely new light than before!¡±

    The gray pearl then quieted down. In this exact instant, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, ¡°Yuhao, the preparations are all ready. When I give you the signal, you¡¯ll have to endure the cold. You¡¯ll have to persevere, got it?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± Huo Yuhao replied coldly.

    Possibly due to the nervousness he felt, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t notice the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mental state.

    After fifteen minutes passed, the Ice Emperor who said that it¡¯d take fifteen minutes to appear finally showed itself.

    The dark sky turned jade green, and a jade green light streaked across the sky. With that sh of jade light, another soul beast appeared in front of the Skydream Iceworm.

    Huo Yuhao was also concentratedly observing what was going on. Though he hadn¡¯t personally seen the third-ranked Titan Ice Devil King, he¡¯d seen its terrifying footsteps before. In his opinion, the Ice Emperor who was also a member of the Three Emperors shouldn¡¯t be much smaller than the Titan Ice Devil Emperor.

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat stunned when the Ice Emperor finally appeared in his perception. He couldn¡¯t help but inwardly sigh in admiration, It¡¯s really too pretty.

    Right, the Ice Emperor was very beautiful. Though it was just a soul beast, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration.

    The Ice Emperor was roughly 1.5 meters long, which meant that it wasn¡¯t even as big as the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s previous body. Huo Yuhao had made lots of predictions towards the Ice Emperor¡¯s race, but they were all wrong. The Ice Emperor was a scorpion, a scorpion whose beauty had reached the pinnacle.

    Could the words ¡®scorpion¡¯ and ¡®beautiful¡¯ even be used together? Huo Yuhao was now certain of his answer to this question.

    The 1.5-meter-long Ice Emperor had two colors on its body. One was the color of ice, and the other was a jade green color.

    The front end of its body had fouryers stacked above each other, and eachyer was longer than the previous one by a third of a meter. Its heady on the frontmostyer, and its silver-white mouth shone with an ominous, cold light. The front of its body was covered a type of special scale that Huo Yuhao had never learned of in Shrek Academy. No, instead of call it a scale, it was more urate to say that it was protruding outwards.

 Chapter 41.1: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    Chapter 41.1: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    They were shaped like hexagons and shone with an iparably bright luster, and were akin to a diamond in shape. They covered the front section of its body, and its six slender legs. Beneath the green sky, they emitted an iparably brilliant luster. It was almost as if they¡¯d be another source of light as it reflected all a myriad of rays of light.

    Its two pincers were both a meter long, and they were both covered with the strange diamond-like hexagonal protrusions. Only, the foremost parts of its pincers were covered in a mirror-like silverish-white color just like its mouth.

    However, the things Huo Yuhao paid the most attention to were its eyes. Its eyes were yellow, as if two yellow diamonds had been embedded within its sockets. They were also hexagonal, and the flickering of their crystal-like yellow light gave off a feeling simr to that of a gem glistening.

    If its upper body could be considered sufficiently resplendent, its lower body¨Cthe long, yet upward pointing tail, was the core that dazzled everything around it.

    Unlike the finely segmented tail of an ordinary scorpion, the tail of the Ice Emperor only had five segments. Each segment shone with an alluring jade-green light that was filled with luster. Its five segments were identically colored, and the segment nearest to its upper body was the widest of the five; the further away from its body, the narrower it got. Thest segment was also iid with the diamond-like protrusions, and the very tip of its tail simrly flickered with a mirror-like, silverish-white luster.

    How could a soul beast with a gem-like resplendence like this not be deserving of the title of ¡®beautiful¡¯? Furthermore, merely describing it with the word ¡®beautiful¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to do it justice.

    As the Ice Emperor appeared, the Skydream Iceworm unconsciously let an intoxicated look appear on his face. Staring at the Ice Emperor with a passionate gaze in his eyes, he said, ¡°You¡¯vee.¡±

    Seeing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s bright-gold body which was created by spiritual power, the Ice Emperor seemed to be taken somewhat aback. A trace of astonishment appeared in its crystal-yellow eyes.

    ¡°Skydream, did you think that I¡¯d be unable to find your true body just because you hid it and used your spiritual power to create a virtual body toe see me? Even if your spiritual power¡¯s strong enough to create a body for yourself, you¡¯re still using the appearance of a human. You can¡¯t be too far away from your true body.¡± The Ice Emperor said icily.

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled slightly. His eyes were filled with an infatuated look, and he nearly started drooling, ¡°You¡¯re still as charming as ever. I remember thest time I saw you, you still had six segments on your tail. However, they¡¯ve already fused to five segments! I just love this attractive shade of green that you have. It seems like I wasn¡¯t wrong; you¡¯re not too far away from your limit.¡±

    Snorting disdainfully, the crisp, female voice of the Ice Emperor rang out again, ¡°Useless words like that will only hasten your death. You¡¯ve been hiding so well all these years, but you¡¯ve suddenlye back now. Did you onlye here to get yourself killed?¡±

    With an adoring voice, the Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I¡¯ve naturallye to let you live on! My suffering from the one-sided love I¡¯ve had will finallye to an end. During these long years, I¡¯ve always dreamt of you during my deep sleep. My beloved, we can finally stay together forever.¡±

    The Ice Emperor was no longer able to tolerate the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s infatuated appearance. Her tall, pointed tail suddenly lit up, and a spotlessly white beam of light instantly pierced through the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao felt the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power surging violently, and even his vision became somewhat fuzzy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what ns you have, but since you¡¯vee all the way here, you have to die. After absorbing your energy, I¡¯ll be the strongest soul beast in the entire continent.¡±

    After piercing through the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body, the white ray didn¡¯t disappear. On the contrary, it started spreading through the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s golden body, destroying it in a berserk manner.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t reveal any signs of pain. Somewhat regretfully, he said, ¡°I was originally nning to chat with you for a while, since I didn¡¯t want to be so heartless. However, I¡¯ll have to start it now, so that we can truly be together.¡±

    Having cultivated to its current level, the Ice Emperor could discern danger very well. She instantly felt that something was wrong, because the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body had suddenly turned blurry. Right after that, he suddenly appeared right in front of her.

    There was no need to doubt the Ice Emperor¡¯s speed, but she suddenly felt herself slowing down in this instant. The air around her seemed to have suddenly turned viscous, and the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s terrifying spiritual power had be a vast ocean that trapped her within it.

    The Ice Emperor¡¯s gaze instantly turned ferocious. Forcefully waving her jade green tail, it erupted with a brilliant light.

    ¡°Skydream, you¡¯re courting death. You actually dare to use spiritual power in this manner? Aren¡¯t you scared of being unable to return to your original body? Moreover, regardless of how hard you try, it won¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re trash. How long can you even keep me here for? One or two seconds?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said gently, ¡°Not much! One second¡¯s more than enough!¡±

    At this moment, a membrane made of a pale white light slid across the ground noiselessly. No matter how strong the Ice Emperor was, she hadn¡¯t noticed it.

    On the other hand, the hidden Huo Yuhao felt his body shake violently. Clenching his teeth, he concentrated all his soul power to defend against the extreme cold that had abruptly arrived.

    Though he had the ice room, which was able to block out the outside cold, as well as the warmth created by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s ignited shedded skin, he was still frozen solid instantly. He didn¡¯t know how low the temperatures here had reached, but it seemed as if his heart could stop beating at any time. He could only urge his soul power as if his life depended on it, maintaining the trace of warmth in his heart.

    Right, a single second was enough for the Skydream Iceworm. The Ice Emperor was releasing all of her strength in preparation for the Skydream Iceworm to waste all of his spiritual power, but she suddenly felt her body tighten. Unexpectedly, she had lost the ability to move.

    Astonished, the Ice Emperor immediately twisted about madly. White and green intertwined and flickered as she released all of her tyrannical skills without holding anything back.

    However, this powerful several hundred thousand year-ranked soul beast who¡¯d roamed about the Extreme North unhindered felt fear in the next instant. No matter how hard she struggled, it was unexpectedly to no avail.

    The sensation of constriction was strengthening at an astonishing rate, unexpectedly causing a gurgling sound to ring out. Regardless of how she struggled, the strength of her bindings continued to strengthen unceasingly. Unexpectedly, she had no way to resist it.

    The frontal pincers she¡¯d raised up into the air were gradually pushed downwards, and her raised tail was pressed up against her body. The Ice Emperor, one of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors, had actually been constricted this rigidly.

    ¡°No, no! This isn¡¯t possible. Skydream, how could trash like you be able to tie me up? What skill is this? Why can¡¯t I use my energy?¡±

    The golden light vanished, and the Huo Yuhao-shaped Skydream Iceworm reappeared in front of her. With an indifferent smile on his face, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve truly waited for this day for too long already. You don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening? Right, I¡¯ll give you an exnation, but not now. Once we¡¯ve left this area, I¡¯ll have a good chat with you. Right now, we should be on our way.¡±

    With that, he raised his right hand and pointed towards the Ice Emperor. Amidst the flickering golden light, the Ice Emperor¡¯s body vanished into thin air.

    Facing the sky, the Skydream Iceworm let out a sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d be able to use the few abilities I wouldn¡¯t have dared to use in the past after losing my body. Unfortunately, that was my only chance to use them. Ice Emperor, oh Ice Emperor, I really hope you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    The pale white membrane reappeared, but the Ice Emperor had already vanished. The membrane slowly fell through the ground, re-entering Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, which was located within the ice room.

    The extreme cold was instantly isted from the ice room, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s body remained as hard as steel. Ayer of frost had covered the surface of his body.

    The golden light vanished into his forehead, and the Skydream Iceworm called out to him softly, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao, how are you? I¡¯ve seeded.¡±

    Though Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was frozen solid, he was abnormally clear-headed.

    ¡°Why?¡± Within his spiritual world, Huo Yuhao asked coldly.

    Puzzled, the Skydream Iceworm asked, ¡°Why what?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s icy voice rang out, ¡°Why did you lie to me? Did you reallye here just to awaken my second martial soul? If so, how can you exin what you just did?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm fell silent.

    His voice filled with grief, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Skydream, you know, after leaving the Duke¡¯s Mansion, you¡¯re the first partner in my life who¡¯d given me hope. I considered you as a teacher, as well as my closest friend. You¡¯re the person who¡¯s finally given me a target I can work towards, but why did you have to lie to me? Why? Did you just want to use me as a puppet toe here? I used all of my energy toe here, but the only thing I saw was the love you had towards the Ice Emperor. I don¡¯t mind taking risks with you. If you had told me in advance, I would¡¯ve been willing to follow you all the way, even if I had to climb through mountains of des or swim through seas of fire. However, you shouldn¡¯t have lied to me.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm let out a long sigh, ¡°Sorry, Yuhao. I did lie to you. I didn¡¯t fully trust you. I didn¡¯t know whether you¡¯d still be willing to follow me if I told you everything. You¡¯re not wrong, I had my own selfish motives. I hope to be with the Ice Emperor forever. Ever since I was born, the only person I¡¯ve liked is the Ice Emperor. It¡¯s just like the ¡®love¡¯ you humans have. Even if she only treats me as food, I¡¯ll still love her without any second thoughts.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that doing things this way would hurt you. I don¡¯t wish for you to look down on me. It¡¯s just as she¡¯s said, I¡¯m a piece of trash and a coward. The Ice Emperor¡¯s full name is the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, and she¡¯s one of the true rulers of this freezing earth. The Ice Jade Scorpion tribe she belongs to takes my Iceworm n as food, but I¡¯ve loved her incorrigibly since I the first time I met her two hundred thousand years ago.¡±

 Chapter 41.2: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    Chapter 41.2: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to ask me: Why do I love her, even though we¡¯re frompletely different races? Realistically speaking, a difference in race doesn¡¯t really matter at our level. Besides, what I¡¯m pursuing is more of a spiritual rtionship. You¡¯ve seen what she thinks of me. To tell the truth, one of the main reasons that I was so eager to be your soul ring was because I simply couldn¡¯t wait any longer. I was scared that she¡¯d reach her limit early, and that she¡¯d pass away. Even though I love her, I won¡¯t force her to love me. However, I¡¯ll do everything I can in order to ensure that she stays alive, no matter what. It¡¯s my selfish wish that I can live with her beside me. Even if she ends up cursing me everyday, I¡¯ll still be willing to listen to her voice. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying? This is love.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice was filled with several emotions. An intrinsic transformation seemed to have urred in his usuallyzy voice, so much so that even Huo Yuhao was gradually swayed by his words. Huo Yuhao was only twelve after all, thus it was natural for him to not understand what exactly love was. However, he had unwittingly been moved by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words.

    ¡°What if an ident had happened before we found the Ice Emperor? What if you hadn¡¯t been able to restrain her?¡± Huo Yuhao blurted out.

    The Skydream Iceworm calmly replied, ¡°There was basically no chance of that happening with my Spiritual Detection. Furthermore, there¡¯s no chance that she wouldn¡¯t have been restrained by me. When I died, my corpse became the strongest weapon that a soul beast has ever produced in the world. Not to mention her, I¡¯m confident that I could¡¯ve trapped the first-ranked Snow Emperor if it had been within fifty meters of us. Unfortunately, I could only use it one time. This was the first time that I¡¯ve fought outside your body after fusing with you, and it will also be thest. The strength of my spirit won¡¯t allow me to do this again. After all, I¡¯m your soul ring; I¡¯ve alreadypletely fused with you. The dangers that you¡¯re worrying about couldn¡¯t have happened either, as I have ast-ditch skill that allows me to instantly teleport you several hundreds of miles away. As such, I wouldn¡¯t have had any problems making sure that you were safe. Yuhao, you need to remember this: Even though I was somewhat vignt towards you this time, we¡¯re still a single entity. We share both our glory and our losses.¡±

    Huo Yuhao fell silent. The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s lie had hurt him quite a lot, but he felt the sadness in his heart gradually disappear when he heard the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s exnation. Afterwards, another feeling took its ce.

    ¡°I can only do what I do best. Even if there hadn¡¯t been any feelings between the Ice Emperor and me, I still would¡¯ve brought you to this ce, as this is the only ce where I could utilize all of my abilities to help you find a good choice to awaken your martial soul with.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then muttered, ¡°Brother Skydream, is my heart too fragile?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°No. I can¡¯t me you for how you reacted. A person¡¯s mental state is truly determined by one¡¯s past experiences. You just rely too much on me. Haven¡¯t you realized it? Whether you¡¯re cultivating, undergoing an assessment, or even whenever you encounter danger. Every single time, you subconsciously tell yourself, No matter what, I still have Brother Skydream, or something like, As long as I cultivate diligently, Brother Skydream will help me be even stronger. Am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded subconsciously. By this point, the stiffness in his body had more or less receded. His blood had begun to flow quicker as he circted his soul power, which in turn gradually caused a warm feeling to rise from his body.

    The Skydream Iceworm continued, ¡°This reliance can sometimes be a good thing for you, but it can also sometimes be a bad thing. Relying on me too much will cause you to lose your way. You are yourself; you are Huo Yuhao, a human soul master, and a human soul engineer. I, on the other hand, am the Skydream Iceworm. I¡¯m currently an intelligent soul ring. And who do I belong to?¡±

    ¡°Me, ¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m your soul ring. Even if I¡¯m an intelligent soul ring, I¡¯m still your soul ring. Therefore, you have to remember that, while I am a part of you, you aren¡¯t a part of me. You¡¯re my master, and as such, you¡¯re the person who rules this body that we share. Because of that, I should be the one who¡¯s relying on you; you shouldn¡¯t be the one relying on me. If you keep thinking this way, you won¡¯t have any feelings of doubt towards me. If it continues like this, I¡¯ll have to consider whether or not any of my actions will affect my rtionship with you. I¡¯ll only be fine if you¡¯re fine. Do you understand?¡±

    After hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his mind clear up. He finally understood what he¡¯d just felt¡ªit was maturity.

    In this short period of time, his heart had matured. The hatred he¡¯d umted over the past several years seemed to have dulled by arge amount while, more importantly, his heart had matured. His fragile heart had firmed up, and the constant self-reflection he¡¯d done had caused him to discard his resentment.

    Once he realized this, his eyes became full of confidence once again.

    I¡¯m the master here. I¡¯m the one who will grab the sun and moon, and who will pluck the stars from the sky in the future.

    After digging his way out of the ice room, Huo Yuhao climbed out from underneath the snow. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt an urge to let out a shout towards the heavens.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise. Immediately run in the direction I tell you to. The Ice Emperor¡¯s nsmen areing, as they¡¯ve more than likely sensed her aura disappear. If we don¡¯t leave, they¡¯ll definitely find us quickly. Now then, we need to quickly leave this ce. We can handle the issue regarding the Ice Emperor once we reach a safe ce.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t waste any time as he immediately began running towards the direction they¡¯de from. His mind had cleared up, thus his footsteps had be extraordinarily swift. The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s powerful spiritual power concealed all traces of his aura, and there wasn¡¯t any need for Huo Yuhao to worry about leaving any footsteps behind. In this freezing world of wind and ice, all traces of his presence were wiped away with a single gust of wind.

    As he ran, Huo Yuhao spoke to the Skydream Iceworm, ¡°Brother Skydream, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you. However, I¡¯m still angry as, in the end, you still lied to me.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Okay, please don¡¯t be angry. You¡¯ll be able to see how beneficial this adventure was to you once we¡¯ve taken care of the Ice Emperor.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°What¡¯s the Ice Emperor got to do with me? She¡¯s your lover. Don¡¯t tell me that you truly have the heart to kill her and make her into my soul ring?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe¡­.¡± The Skydream Icewormughed. ¡°You¡¯ll see, but not right now. However, I promise that I¡¯ll never lie to you again. You¡¯ve passed my test.¡±

    ¡°What test?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, a somewhat nk look in his eyes.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Your heart, of course. Although your small heart¡¯s somewhat fragile, and even though your emotions are affected very easily, I¡¯ve still felt theplete trust and dependence you have in me. I did say that it wasn¡¯t a very good thing for you to do, but it¡¯s destroyed thest barrier between us.¡±

    Somewhat helpless, Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°That doesn¡¯t really make me feel very good.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s not good about it? Every experience always has its benefits. This isn¡¯t really a bad thing for you. Besides, you¡¯ll trust your friends more in the future, and you won¡¯t doubt them as easily.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me how you n to deal with the Ice Emperor, then at least tell me the story between you and her. I want to hear what this ¡®love¡¯ is all about.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you a little story. Run a bit faster; if we¡¯re discovered, all our previous efforts will have been for nought¡­.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already running as fast as I can.¡± Huo Yuhao brought his soul power to the maximum as he ran along the surface of the snowy ground using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Because of both his speed and the packed snow of the Extreme North, he left a trail of shallow footsteps in the snow without actually sinking into it. This was the quickest way he could move forward.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I¡¯ve been in love with the Ice Emperor for two hundred thousand years. I¡¯d just woken up from my sleep back then, and I was about to find another ce to continue sleeping. But then, she suddenly appeared. She¡¯d been looking for the Ten Thousand Year Ice Pith. Unfortunately, this Brother had already eaten all of it. The first time we met, we were both astonished. You¡¯ve seen my original body; it¡¯s beautiful, it¡¯s big, it¡¯s round, and it has a golden luster to it. Well, she was very beautiful too. The first time that I saw her resplendent body and herrge, jade-green tail, I was deeply captivated by her. In particr, I was charmed by her cool temperament. She looks the most beautiful whenever she¡¯s cursing at me. To me, it doesn¡¯t matter even when she wants to kill me; her personality¡¯s just that perfect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was left somewhat speechless when he heard this. ¡°Brother Skydream, I don¡¯t think you need to continue anymore. I just can¡¯t sympathize with the love between you soul beasts. Also, I can¡¯t help but say that you¡¯re really infatuated with her. Even when she¡¯s trying to kill you, you still find her perfect! Hahahaha¡­¡±

    Enraged, the Skydream Iceworm yelled, ¡°Huo Yuhao, how dare a stinky brat like youugh at me. Do you really think that I wouldn¡¯t dare to destroy your spiritual sea!?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. If you have the ability to do it, do it. However, if you destroy my spiritual sea, you¡¯re screwed as well. And if that happens, you won¡¯t be able to see your Ice Emperor ever again. Are you really willing to go through with that? If you are,e at me! I¡¯m not scared of you.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s words had struck the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s soft spot. He indignantly replied, ¡°Getting too intimate really isn¡¯t good for me! Now that we¡¯ve gotten closer, you¡¯re no longer afraid of the consequences for insulting me! I feel like I¡¯ve lost out on this deal¡­.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snorted. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the phrase ¡®being put at a disadvantage sometimes gives you an advantage¡¯? Whatever, quiet down a bit. I don¡¯t wanna get distracted.¡±

    This time around, Huo Yuhao had truly unleashed the entirety of his potential. In his current situation, one where he couldn¡¯t guarantee when he would even get to eat, he dashed wildly onwards in a way that seemed to overdraft his body. Only when his soul power was fully drained would he stop, shove two mouthfuls of snow into his mouth, then meditate.

    He didn¡¯t even consider eating the frozen food that he¡¯d brought with him.

    The drain on his physical energy by merely relying on water to replenish his energy could be imagined, but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Repeatedly urged on by the Skydream Iceworm, he continued to run for twenty-eight hours straight. By that point, he¡¯d finally left the core regions of the Extreme North and had arrived back at the border.

 Chapter 41.3: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    Chapter 41.3: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

    ¡°Pu¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao fell to the ground atop the thick snow. He wasn¡¯t able to crawl back up no matter what the Skydream Iceworm said.

    The excessive overdrawing of his physical strength had caused him to enter a state of extreme tiredness. Fortunately, the surrounding temperature had increased considerably once he¡¯d reached the outer areas of the Extreme North. At the very least, it had be a bit easier for him to hydrate himself by eating snow.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore, Brother Skydream. I just can¡¯t run anymore. I have to rest. If I don¡¯t eat any longer, I¡¯m going to die.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered inwardly.

    Huo Yuhao gasped for air as hey atop the snow, which caused bursts of white mist to unceasingly emerge from his mouth. His vision had be blurry, and waves of dizziness were assaulting him. Currently, he was weak to the point that he wasn¡¯t even able to activate his Spiritual Detection. The only thing he wanted to do right now was sleep. He¡¯d never felt like this before, even during the most difficult moments of his training in Shrek Academy.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Let¡¯s do it here then. I just did a quick search. It¡¯s rtively quiet for around a hundred miles around us. As such, there shouldn¡¯t be any soul beasts roaming about. However, Yuhao, you can¡¯t rest yet; your true test ising now.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You still want to test me? Just let me die.¡± After hisst conversation with the Skydream Iceworm, their rtionship had evidently improved by a significant amount. At the very least, Huo Yuhao had less misgivings when he conversed with the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to take this test?¡±

    ¡°What test?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, speechless.

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled mysteriously. ¡°Why did wee to the Extreme North in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°To awaken my martial soul! What, are you saying that you want to take care of the Ice Empress right now?¡± Huo Yuhao finally came back to his senses. However, he really didn¡¯t have any strength left. Just attempting to sit up took half of the little energy he had left, thus he chose to lie back down.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Right. I¡¯m going to use my shedded skin to trap the Ice Empress¡¯ body, then use my spiritual power to create a spiritual prison that¡¯ll trap her temporarily. However, even though my spiritual power is my origin energy, I won¡¯t be able to maintain it for too long. The Ice Empress¡¯s so strong that I can¡¯t truly trap her for long.¡±

    Curious, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What¡¯s a spiritual prison?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°It¡¯s a skill that¡¯s activated by spiritual power. After I gave up my body in order to fuse with you, the origin of my spiritual power became independent from my body, allowing me to use a few skills. Unfortunately, my spiritual brand fused even further with you after I left your body. As such, I won¡¯t be able to do this again. As of now, I can truly only be your subordinate. You need to prepare yourself as well, as there¡¯s a prerequisite for the Ice Empress to fuse with you and be your martial soul¡ªshe has to do it of her own ord. However, even if she willingly agrees, you¡¯ll still have to withstand an enormous amount of pressure. It won¡¯t be as easy as it was when I fused with you in the Great Star Dou Forest. At that point in time, I was fully drained of my energy. All I had left was my spiritual origin. Contrary to myself, she¡¯s a true three hundred thousand year soul beast; her cultivation is even at the 399,000 year rank. You definitely won¡¯t be able to absorb such a terrifying amount of power by yourself. As such, I¡¯ll have to seal her energy up in order to make sure that you won¡¯t explode. However, this will stille as an enormous shock to your body. Thus, you¡¯ll have to persevere no matter what. If you don¡¯t, all three of us are screwed. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°I understand. But¡­ will the Ice Empress really agree?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled mysteriously. ¡°Even though we¡¯ve lived for so many years, we¡¯re actually more afraid of death than you humans. After all, is anyone truly willing to give up an extremely long life? No matter how much she looks down on me and how unwilling she is, preserving her own life is still more important! The reason that I created a situation like this was to force her; besides, those descendants of hers won¡¯t even be able to find us. Just watch me. You just need to lie down and stay still.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly lit up, while a strong golden light flickered within them. Immediately afterwards, he felt the mind-numbing cold. Even though it wasn¡¯t as intense as the freezing cold parts of the Extreme North, he shivered instinctively, and his body curled up subconsciously. The Skydream Iceworm had evidetly taken his shedded skin away.

    A ball of golden light emerged from in between Huo Yuhao¡¯s brows, then slowly rose into the air. It was only a golden dot when it emerged, but it gradually expanded as it rose. In the blink of an eye, it had be a disk of light with a one meter diameter.

    The light that the golden disc had suddenly began to be illusory. If you were to look directly at it, your gaze would be sucked into a seemingly bottomless abyss.

    A light shed, and a figure emerged from the golden disc. The instant it appeared, the golden light in the air disappeared. A fist-sized ball of golden light surged out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead and proceeded to float in midair. The trapped figure within was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Currently, she¡¯d already been trapped by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn¡¯t get free. After all, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin was the crystallisation of his million years of cultivation. Even though his energy¡ªwhich he¡¯d umted after many years¡ªhad been continuously sucked out by the powerful soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest to the point where he¡¯d almost dried up, he¡¯d deliberately nourished his body with his energy during the extraction process. If it hadn¡¯t been for his durable body, he would¡¯ve died god knows how many times already.

    After choosing to give up his body in order to fuse with Huo Yuhao, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin had be an extremely valuable treasure. Even with the Ice Empress¡¯s terrifying level of energy and soul power, she had still been unable to break free from it. Its durability could be seen from this. Only, Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation was far too weak to control it, thus only the Skydream Iceworm himself could do so. However, the drain on his spiritual origin would be extremelyrge whenever he used it, and as such, he could only use it at extremely important moments.

    ¡°Ice Empress, stop resisting. You¡¯ve already tried so many times, you should know that it¡¯s useless by now.¡± The Skydream Iceworm said in its distinctivelyzy voice.

    The Ice Empress replied coldly, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm gently said, ¡°I only want to stay with my beloved forever.¡±

    ¡°This is your way of showing me your love?¡± After thinking it over for an entire day or so, the Ice Empress had alreadye to the understanding that she¡¯d been duped. At that time, if she hadn¡¯t been so close to the Skydream Iceworm, his ns would definitely have failed. Unfortunately, there was no use in her crying over spoiled milk. She¡¯d already fallen into the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s hands, and she wasn¡¯t able to escape from this strange power. An existence like the Ice Empress, someone who had lived for almost four hundred thousand years, naturally wouldn¡¯t give up easily. Thus, she could only rely on her other abilities to escape from this strange power that she couldn¡¯t seem to resist.

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient, listen to me.¡±

    The Ice Empress replied coldly, ¡°What did you say? You said that you loved me? If you really love me, then why haven¡¯t you released your true body? I¡¯ve already fallen into your trap, so what do you have to be afraid of?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed. ¡°I¡¯m naturally not afraid of you, it¡¯s just that there¡¯s no way for me to let you see my true body! My true body no longer exists. Haven¡¯t you realised that you¡¯ve been looking at my spiritual origin all this time, not a virtual body? After ruling over your domain for so long, you¡¯ve lost your cautiousness. If you hadn¡¯t, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have seeded so easily.¡±

    The Ice Empress was stunned. Astonished, she replied, ¡°What? You only have your spiritual origin? So your body¡­¡± At that moment, she finally noticed Huo Yuhao, who was lying on the ground. Because of the cold, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face had already turned somewhat pallid. Fortunately, his resistance to the cold had increased by arge amount after his journey to the core regions of the Extreme North.

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t be referring to this human, right? Even though you¡¯ve trapped me, I can easily tell how insignificant he is, just by using my eyes. Is he your puppet?¡±

    ¡°No, no, of course that¡¯s not the case. He¡¯s my host, or rather, he¡¯s my master. The current me is a soul ring that belongs to him; you should know about the soul rings that these humans have. On the other hand, I¡¯m the continent¡¯s first ever intelligent soul ring.¡±

    The Ice Empress cried out involuntarily, ¡°What? You¡¯ve actually be a human¡¯s soul ring? How can this be?! Even though you¡¯re a piece of trash, you¡¯ve still lived for this long. How could a human¡¯s fragile body withstand your enormous energy?!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up. My tragedy began with you. At that point in time, you were so persistent on eating me¡­ there was no way that I wouldn¡¯t run away! I still needed a body to continue loving you, thus I drifted along the ocean and reached an area down south¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm used the most miserable voice he could muster as he recounted his experiences from the past hundred thousand years. Huo Yuhao had already heard his story, but the Skydream Iceworm used a much more sorrowful tone as he exined it to the Ice Empress. Moreover, he described himself with a much more miserable tone, describing how he¡¯d been ¡®beaten up till he was a mass of bruises¡¯, and how ¡®death would have been preferable to living¡¯.

    ¡°¡­You know how terrifying limits are to us. You also know that no soul beast has lived longer than me. Even though I¡¯m only a piece of trash in your heart, I¡¯m still an old piece of trash who¡¯s lived long enough. My energy¡¯s foundation had been drained, and I was about to reach my next limit soon. However, I¡¯ve already lived for this long¡ªI naturally didn¡¯t want to die! I believe that you feel the same as I do. I can sense that your limit will arrive within a hundred years. Because of that, you¡¯re extremely worried.¡±

    ¡°You and me, we both don¡¯t want to die. We¡¯ve already lived this long; how could we be willing to simply turn into pile of dust? As such, I¡¯ve found the best way to get past this.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s story finally aroused the interest of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. She subconsciously asked, ¡°How?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied in a low voice, ¡°By creating God.¡±

    ¡°Creating God?¡± The Ice Empress was stunned. She immediately became even more curious. ¡°What do you mean by creating God?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied in a low voice, ¡°My beloved, let me ask you this: Which race on this continent has the highest potential of all?¡±

    After bing ensnared in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, the Ice Empress subconsciously followed his train of thought. ¡°Are you referring to humans?¡±

 Chapter 42.1: Creating God?

    Chapter 42.1: Creating God?

    If you¡¯re not up-to-date on DD1, this chapter has a reference/spoiler to something that happens in it. Forewarning.

    The Skydream Iceworm nodded forcefully. ¡°Right, humans. Even though there are some noble soul beasts like you, who are innately born with a powerful physique, you have to admit that we¡¯re much worse than humans in terms of talent. Although a human¡¯s body can¡¯t even be described as insignificant in the face of your Ice Jade Scorpion n, they can stillpete with your ten thousand year, or even hundred thousand-year-old nsmen after cultivating for several decades. Why is that? It¡¯s because they have a different amount of potential than us. Humans have frail bodies and short lifespans. However, their potential has allowed them to obtain the blessings of the heavens; they¡¯re iparable. This is the advantage the humans have, and yet is also something weck.¡±

    ¡°Most importantly, we can¡¯t even hope to strive for the peaks that humanity can reach. Do you still remember that incident that happened ten thousand years ago?¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°The Heavens and the Earth changed color; a God was suddenly born.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Right. At that time, I sensed the appearance of at least five Gods. Moreover, two of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Great Beast Kings fell. They were both powerful existences who resided within the core regions of the Great Star Dou Forest, and even though they were somewhat inferior in terms of cultivation to those sleeping fes who absorbed my energy, the races that they belonged to were extremely domineering. One of them had the same Titan bloodline that the Titan Ice Devil King has, while the other had the bloodline of dragons. Despite this, they both still fell. However, they didn¡¯t fall because they were killed by their enemies, but because they were used toplete the most powerful human who existed ten thousand years ago¡ªthe person whoter became the most powerful God.¡±

    At that point, the Skydream Iceworm stopped for a moment. Afterwards, he continued in an even deeper voice, ¡°Ice Empress, we both know the truth. Only Gods have an unlimited lifespan!¡±

    The Ice Empress fell silent. Striking while the iron was hot, the Skydream Iceworm continued, ¡°Whenever we soul beasts reach a hundred thousand years of cultivation, we can choose to re-cultivate as a human. However, there are an extremely small number of us who actually dare to re-cultivate. This is because we simply have no way of guaranteeing that we can cultivate and break through to the Titled Douluo stage in a short hundred years of time. Even if we did manage to break through, it would be very hard for our lifespans to exceed five hundred years. To us, bing a God is a mere fantasy. The Douluo continent has been around for over a hundred million years, and we soul beasts were around before humans even existed. However, how many of us were actually able to use the method of re-cultivation to achieve an unlimited lifespan as a God?¡±

    ¡°This is also the main reason why soul beasts like you who have noble bloodlines are unwilling to re-cultivate into a human, am I right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not willing to try that vague and unreliable method, nor am I willing to die a premature death during the process of re-cultivation. I¡¯ve chosen another method as the next best option. That is, to create a God. By creating a deity, even though I won¡¯t be a God, I¡¯ll still be able to follow this God, and will possess an unlimited lifespan by bing part of this God. As such, I¡¯ve chosen to be a soul ring. Not just any soul ring either, but an intelligent soul ring. I want to use my power to help him be a God, step by step.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m just a piece of trash in your eyes, but I still have my million years of cultivation. Once I became an intelligent soul ring, I was able to give him a total of four soul skills, double that of you hundred thousand year soul beasts. Even though I wasn¡¯t able to give him a soul bone, I was able to give him a martial soul, making him into a person with innate twin martial souls. This young man is only twelve, but he¡¯s been gradually revealing his talent with my help. He has a much calmer attitude than his peers, along with the willpower to cultivate assiduously. If he has my help, why can¡¯t he be an existence like that person ten thousand years ago. Why can¡¯t he be a God?¡±

    At this point, the Ice Empress was finally moved. She solemnly asked, ¡°How confident are you?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°By myself, 30%. After all, I¡¯m not good at attacking. As such, I can¡¯t give him the ability to protect himself. However¡­¡±

    When he reached this point, he suddenly paused.

    ¡°¡®However¡¯ what?¡± The Ice Empress asked, doubtful.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking right now. You¡¯re thinking of finding another human and trying to create a God like me. And you¡¯re right to think like that. There are many areas in which you¡¯re stronger than me. If you tried to create a God, you¡¯d definitely be more sessful than me. However, you¡¯ve forgotten one thing: Your spiritual power isn¡¯t anywhere near as strong as mine. More importantly, do you even have time to do the research that I¡¯ve already done? You don¡¯t even have a hundred years left, but I¡¯ve already spent several tens of thousands of years thinking about this feat. Furthermore, it took me several experiments before I was finally able to seed. You don¡¯t have time to even do a single experiment. Even if I were to let you go, the path I¡¯m going down isn¡¯t suitable for you.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you bullshitting about with me for!?¡± The Ice Empress immediately flew into a rage. The trace of hope that had just appeared in her heart had instantly and mercilessly been obliterated by the Skydream Iceworm. It would¡¯ve been strange if she hadn¡¯t been infuriated.

    ¡°I¡¯m naturally not bullshitting you. My beloved, how could I be willing to let you die? Since I¡¯ve told you about this method, I naturally have a way to help you! It¡¯s true that it isn¡¯t realistic for you to create a God by yourself, as you wouldn¡¯t be able to find a human able to withstand fusing with you, much less guarantee that you¡¯ll be able to maintain your consciousness and yourplete spiritual origin. However, I have experience in this! I¡¯ve already done it! Moreover, your chances of sess will be multiplied by ten, at the very least, with the protection of my powerful spiritual origin. Right now, if I do it by myself, I only have a 30% chance of creating a God. However, if you were to work with me, our chances would increase to 50%, minimum! Isn¡¯t a, minimum, 50% chance to live forever worth us fighting for?¡±

    The Ice Empress was left slightly nk. She finally understood the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s motive for exining so much to her. A pair of crystal-yellow eyes fell upon Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, a somewhat astonished look in them.

    Huo Yuhao had silently listened to the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress¡¯ conversation. His body felt extremely cold due to the weather, but he felt extremely passionate inwardly. He couldn¡¯t help but admit that the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words were very inciting. This was especially so to the Ice Empress, who was nearing her life¡¯s limit. The dawn of this hope was simply too attractive to her. It was no wonder that he¡¯d brought the Ice Empress here; he knew that he¡¯d be safe with his knowledge. He was simply poking the Ice Empress¡¯ weak spot!

    Would the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion really be his second martial soul, and his second martial soul¡¯s first soul ring? This¡­ she was the second-ranked Empress of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors!

 Chapter 42.2: Creating God?

    Chapter 42.2: Creating God?

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect to simply soar into the heavens with a single step because of this, he would still no longer be a simple control-type soul master who had nobat strength once the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion became his martial soul. On the contrary, he would be a powerful dual-attributed control and assault-type soul master. It didn¡¯t matter what soul skill the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion gave him, as it would definitely be a tyrannically offensive skill! After all, her strength had allowed her to be one of the Three Emperors of the Extreme North. Furthermore, since she was a hundred thousand year soul beast, she was also guaranteed to give him a soul bone.

    How could Huo Yuhao not feel excited about this?

    The Skydream Iceworm struck while the iron was hot, ¡°How about it? You have to clearly think this through. You also can¡¯t miss this opportunity, as this chance definitely won¡¯te again. I¡¯m also no longer the original me. However, if you don¡¯t agree to my suggestion, I¡¯ll have no choice but to turn you into a regr soul ring, both for the sake of my own immortality, and to make my master stronger. Only, if that happens, you¡¯ll lose your intelligence. You should know that I have several different ways to kill you know that I¡¯ve trapped you. At most, I¡¯ll just have to waste some time to do so. On one hand, you have a chance at immortality. On the other hand, you have definite destruction. You¡¯d best think carefully about which path you want to take.¡±

    His words undoubtedly carried a threat within them. However, the world of soul beasts was different than that of humans. More often than not, directly threatening the other party would bring about better results in a negotiation between soul beasts. The Skydream Iceworm had lived for a million years, and even though the first nine hundred thousand years of his life were as nk as sheet of paper due to his slumber, the amount of fighting and scheming he¡¯d undergone due to the powerful soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest wasn¡¯t small. He¡¯d undergone god-knows how many tribtions while attempting to escape with his life intact, all of which had strengthened his craftiness and intellect.

    ¡°Do I have any other choice?¡± The Ice Empress replied in an indifferent tone. Despite her tone however, her dense killing intent and chilliness had already decreased by arge amount. She was clearly trying to reach apromise. Although she¡¯d have to give up her freedom in for this chance at achieving immortality, living was still much better than dying¡ªespecially to a soul beast like her, who¡¯d already lived for nearly four hundred thousand years.

    The Skydream Iceworm let out arge sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯re the Snowy I love the most. In the future, you¡¯ll definitely be delighted by the choice you¡¯ve made today.¡±

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion angrily replied, ¡°Skydream, if a piece of trash like you dares to take advantage of this old woman, I¡¯ll see to it that you two follow each other to the grave, even if it means risking my life to do so. I don¡¯t believe that I won¡¯t be able to destroy this cage of yours if I self-destruct. If that happens, you two will have no choice but to apany me to my death. I¡¯m fine with creating a God with you, but I have a request: Don¡¯t speak so much bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ you don¡¯t have to be this merciless. I really came here just for you¡­.¡±

    The Ice Empress looked at him coldly, but remained silent.

    ¡°Alright fine, I agree. Release your spiritual origin for me. You can¡¯t just hope that I¡¯ll release you like this. That temper of yours doesn¡¯t reassure anyone.¡±

    Even though the Skydream Iceworm had been shooting his mouth off, he was still an extremely careful person. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s strength ranked her second in the entire Extreme North¡ªhow could releasing her be an option? The risks were too high if he did that. At the same time, the Skydream Iceworm wasn¡¯t worried about the her self-destructing like she¡¯d mentioned earlier. A soul beast would almost always choose the path of survival, so long as there was even a trace of a chance that they would.

    A trace of hesitation appeared in the Ice Empress¡¯ eyes. The second she released her spiritual origin, with the disparity in spiritual power between her and the Skydream Iceworm, there would be no way for her to back out. If the Skydream Iceworm was lying to her, she¡¯d have no hope of turning the tables.

    When he saw the doubt in her eyes, the Skydream Iceworm solemnly said, ¡°Almighty Ice God, I, the Skydream Iceworm, vow on the name of Ice that I shall be stripped of all my Ice if I lie to the Ice Empress and don¡¯t help her be an intelligent soul ring once she releases her spiritual origin.¡±

    This vow didn¡¯t seem to hold much meaning to Huo Yuhao, but the Ice Empress didn¡¯t have the same view; in the Extreme North, this was the most important vow a soul beast could make.

    ¡°Fine, I believe you.¡± As someone who had be one of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors, the Ice Empress was capable of killing without sparing a second thought. After hesitating for a brief moment, she decided. After all, the current Skydream Iceworm had already lost his body. Besides, it was just like he¡¯d said: It wasn¡¯t an impossibility for her to be reborn from the ashes. Furthermore, she¡¯d always known that the Skydream Iceworm liked her. After considering several factors, she finally confirmed her decision.

    Her crystalline yellow pupils gradually turned jade-green, while her long, jade-green tail suddenly rose into the air. This was something that she was only able to do after the Skydream Iceworm had loosened her bindings.

    A soft, jade-green halo began to undte from the root of her tail, then moved backwards and gathered at the tip of her tail. In a sh of jade-green light, small, jade-green balls of light began to separate from one another as they slowly rising into the air. At the same time, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s eyes immediately lost their luster and dimmed.

    This was her spiritual origin.

    Even though the process of releasing one¡¯s spiritual origin seemed simple, not just any soul beast could do it. Only when a soul beast broke through their limits and reaching the hundred thousand year rank could they do such a thing. Of course, it naturally didn¡¯t pose any problems to unrivalled experts such as the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    After letting out arge sigh of relief, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s own golden ball of light immediately glided forward and glued itself to his shedded skin. The golden light increased in size the instant the jade-green ball of light made contact with it as it swallowed the jade-green ball of light like a whale swallowing its food. After swallowing the jade-green ball of light, it returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and re-entered it via his forehead. Afterwards, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin rapidly retreated back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s semi-frozen body.

    After losing her spiritual origin, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s main body fell to the ground. With her spiritual origin no longer controlling it, her body immediately began to release an extremely terrifying amount of murderous might, while a jade-green luster simultaneously appeared in the sky. It could be imagined how terrifying the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was from this.

    ¡°I¡¯m freezing to death.¡± Huo Yuhao involuntarily shivered.

    ¡°Skydream, you really made a poor choice. He¡¯s just as trashy as you. Do you actually want him to receive my power with such a weak body? Do you really think that such a thing is possible?¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ disdainful voice rang out after she appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly had a strange thought in his mind. With the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, the gray elder, and himself¡­ there were now enough people to set up a mahjong table in his spiritual sea. It would be really lively in his spiritual sea!

    The Skydream Iceworm chortled. ¡°Ice Empress, there¡¯s no need to be so impatient. If you¡¯d died, it would¡¯ve naturally been impossible for him to absorb your martial soul. With his current body, even a thousand year soul ring could cause his body to explode, not to mention someone like you who¡¯s nearly reached four hundred thousand years of cultivation. However, the situation ispletely different since you and I are helping him out! Will we really let him fail just like that?¡±

 Chapter 43.1: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    Chapter 43.1: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    When she heard the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, the Ice Empress couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Once she made her decision, she¡¯d naturally have to work hard for it. If she failed, even if she could let her spiritual origin return to her main body, she still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape her next bottleneck. As such, how could she not be cautious?

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°If you work together with me, we¡¯ll have at least a 90% chance at sess. The remaining 10% will depend on Yuhao himself. Here, I¡¯ll introduce you two. Yuhao, this is Snowy. Er¡­ I meant to say Ice Empress. Anyway, this is the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion who is the second-ranked Empress of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors. Ice Empress, this is Huo Yuhao. He has the spiritual-type Spirit Eyes, as well as the foundation for an ice-type martial soul that Iid the groundwork for. Currently, his ice-type martial soul needs a main soul ring. Or, to put it better, it needs another intelligent soul ring like me. You could say that his ice-type abilities are currently nk tes, thus he needs you to fuse with him to gain them. Once you¡¯ve fused with him, you won¡¯t just be the first soul ring of his ice-type martial soul; you¡¯ll be his martial soul. As such, his second martial soul will be you, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!¡±

    ¡°Hello, Ice Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao said. His voice was extremely moderate as he tried not to excessively reveal the emotions he was currently feeling.

    The Ice Empress hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°Hello. I hope that you¡¯ll be able to persevere through this process. If you can¡¯t, all of our efforts will have been for naught, and we¡¯ll all have to face the consequences.¡± Unlike when she spoke to the Skydream Iceworm, she was much gentler to Huo Yuhao. Perhaps it was because she would soon be a part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body that she was naturally willing to be friendly towards this tiny human.

    When the Ice Empress had made her choice, she had done so somewhat begrudgingly. However, despite her choice being as such, she had immediately changed her position on the matter after making her decision. Huo Yuhao inwardly admired the speed at which she¡¯d changed her attitude. Even though the Ice Empress hadn¡¯t formally be his martial soul and soul ring, he already felt that she was somewhat more reliable than the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°We¡¯ve already reached the outer regions of the Extreme North. With the Ice Empress¡¯ body as a deterrent, only the Snow Emperor would dare to approach us. Even the Titan Ice Devil King himself will avoid this area once he senses the Ice Empress¡¯ aura. As such, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues regarding our safety here. Now then, we need to discuss how the fusion will proceed. Ice Empress, I¡¯ll tell you the method with which you can fuse with Huo Yuhao, so let¡¯s talk over it for a bit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea quietened down. In order to avoid affecting his mental state, they didn¡¯t want him to know how the fusion would proceed. Thus, the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empressmunicated with each other using some other method.

    After a short period of time passed, Huo Yuhao heard the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion let out a long sigh, ¡°If we do it this way, it¡¯s true that there¡¯s a high chance we¡¯ll seed. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body is still somewhat fragile and weak, so we¡¯ll need to change the order of the fusion. We¡¯ll first need to strengthen his physique beforepleting the entire fusion. Since I¡¯m going to be an intelligent soul ring, I want to transfer as much of my strength as possible to him.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Are you saying that you want to transfer your bone, your soul, then your ringst?¡±

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion said, ¡°Right. If we use your method, we¡¯ll have an 80% chance of seeding at most. You¡¯re still underestimating the amount of power I have. My soul power is extremely tyrannical, and even if I restrain it whilst continuously sealing it, some of it will still leak out. I¡¯m afraid that Huo Yuhao won¡¯t be able to withstand this spillover. Thus, I think it¡¯s better to be a bit more careful.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice changed, turning gentle as he said, ¡°Snowy, so you do trust me even this much. If we do this, we¡¯ll directly destroy your body, leaving you with no room for escape at all. I¡¯m really moved!¡±

    ¡°Just die, will you?¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ cold voice rang out. ¡°When have I ever left a path of escape for myself when I¡¯m doing things? Since I¡¯ve made my decision, I¡¯ll have to go all-out. If I¡¯m scared of the slightest thing, I¡¯ll only let my opportunities run away. Stop dawdling about with me. Skydream, don¡¯t forget that all of my power will appear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body once I¡¯ve fused with him. At that time, hmph, hmph.¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Hearing the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s words, the Skydream Iceworm immediately turned more moderate than before.

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat puzzled, ¡°Ice Empress, what do you mean by ¡®bone then soul¡¯?¡±

    The Ice Empress had a much better attitude towards him. Patiently, she said, ¡°ording to Skydream¡¯s method, I¡¯ll directly be your martial soul by molding the ice-type martial soul he gave you. After that, the energy within my body will be your soul ring. You¡¯re a human soul master, so you should know that we hundred thousand year soul beasts will definitely produce a soul bone. I¡¯m not an exception to that. Though I¡¯ve already cultivated for nearly four hundred thousand years, I can¡¯t turn my fleshy body into even more soul bones. However, the soul bone I¡¯ll drop will be much more powerful than one dropped from an ordinary hundred thousand year soul beast. Furthermore, I can decide its shape, turning it into any soul bone you choose. Because of that, I¡¯ve decided to first help you fuse with your soul bone. This way, your physique will be strengthened by an extremelyrge amount. After that, I¡¯ll assimte my soul power with your body, and because you already have my soul bone, the fusion process will be much easier.¡±

    Now Huo Yuhao thoroughly understood what she had meant. It was no wonder the Skydream Iceworm had said that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion would have no room for retreat by doing this. Right! Her body would have to be sacrificed in the first step in this scenario, and if she failed, she might die. Sure enough, it was a method that left no ways out. This also gave Huo Yuhao an extremely favourable impression of her. Solemnly, he said, ¡°Ice Empress, how do you need me to help you out?¡± At this moment, he didn¡¯t say any words of gratitude. This was because both parties were mutually benefiting from each other in the first ce. To the Ice Empress, fusing with her would be the most sessful oue.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Because I¡¯m doing this of my own volition, there won¡¯t be any problems with you fusing with my soul bone. Under my control, the energy contained within my soul bone won¡¯t leak out. However, there¡¯s a problem with that. You¡¯ll have to withstand an enormous amount of pain. I¡¯ve already thought about it, and to you, the most suitable soul bone I can give you is the spine. Due to my four hundred thousand years of cultivation, I¡¯m confident in recing your entire spine, your ribs, and your sternum. Due to the overly enormous amount of energy my soul bone contains, your entire skeleton will be remoulded by my soul bone. This process will be rtively long, and extremely painful. You¡¯ll feel as if all your bones are being disassembled and reconstructed. Can you withstand this amount of pain? My energy can protect your body, but it can¡¯t protect your mind. If you¡¯re unable to endure the pain and your mind copses, everything will all be wasted.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s knowledge of soul bones wasn¡¯tcking after his studies in Shrek Academy. Of the six soul bones, the most valuable bones were the skull and torso bone, followed by the four limb bones. What was referred to as the torso bone was in reality the spine, and not all the bones within the torso. For example, there were the ribs and the sternum, which were referred to as additional soul bones if a soul master found and fused with them. These additional soul bones had valueparable to that of a hundred thousand year soul ring, and they would give special and powerful abilities to their users.

    Though the Ice Empress was only giving him a single soul bone, this soul bone was already equivalent to a torso bone and two additional soul bones! Regardless of what soul skill he obtained from her, it would possess an iparablyrge amount of strength. Furthermore, hundred thousand year soul rings and soul bones would give him two soul skills each. It was no wonder the Skydream Iceworm had emphasised that as long as he was able to break through to Rank 20, he would experience a world-shaking transformation in strength!

    ¡°Ice Empress, I can endure it. No matter how painful it gets, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was very sincere. After all, strength couldn¡¯t be obtained with mere empty promises. If one didn¡¯t give up anything in return, how could you gain a harvest? During this past year, he had cultivated with practically twice the effort of the other students. This was the reason why he had his current level of power. When such an opportunity was ced in front of Huo Yuhao, he would absolutely not cower regardless of how intense the pain would be.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion said, ¡°Okay. Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s not waste any more time.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Yuhao, we¡¯ll be starting your fusion with the soul bone. Take your Secret Law Soul out. We¡¯ll be using it as a medium to help you fuse with the Ice Empress¡¯ soul bone. This way, the process will go a little quicker and you¡¯ll feel much less pain. You¡¯ll even be able to prevent unnecessary leakages of energy during the fusion process.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly retrieved the Secret Law Soul from his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. So the Secret Law Soul was actually meant to be used in this way.

    With a deep voice, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you ready?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded forcefully, ¡°Start!¡±

    The instant the word echoed out, a chilly sensation immediately blossomed in his mind. Huo Yuhao instinctively shivered, feeling as if he had fallen into a cavern of ice. This was somewhat different from how he had felt in the ice room in the Extreme North. At this moment, the chilly sensation had appeared in his soul itself, making it seem as if his mind had been frozen solid.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang out, ¡°I¡¯ll use the cold to numb your pain, so as to reduce the pain you¡¯ll feel to the very minimum. However, your body isn¡¯t fully developed yet, so I¡¯ll have to be extremely careful while fusing with your original skeleton. Because of this, this process will go on for a very long time. For the sake of attaining maximum effectiveness, you can¡¯t pass out. The only way I can make a few adjustments based off your body¡¯s instinctive reactions is if you remain conscious.¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was no longer able to respond. The Ice Empress didn¡¯t leave any ways out for herself, so there was naturally no way she could change her n.

    A jade-green light flourished in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and his Spirit Eyes instantly turned jade-green ordingly. The Skydream Iceworm appeared to have gonepletely silent, allowing the Ice Empress to carry out the fusion process.

    Two rays of jade-green light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, uratelynding on the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s body. This, in turn, caused her 1.5 meter-long body to immediately shake violently. This was especially true for her long tail, which undted unceasingly and violently with a jade-green halo. The diamond-like hexagonal protrusions on her body released an even more dazzling luster.

 Chapter 43.2: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    Chapter 43.2: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    Huo Yuhao faintly heard the Ice Empress let out a long sigh. Right after that, he felt an immense sensation of cold that instantly numbed his body and soul.

    The ground Huo Yuhao was lying on suddenly shook, and he floated into the air, supported by a jade-green light. On the other hand, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s main body rapidly flew over to his body.

    An intense jade-green light wildly fluctuated towards the tip of her tail. When the jade-green light turned dark-green, the Ice Empress suddenly swung her tail, viciously stabbing it into Huo Yuhao¡¯s tailbone.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook violently for a bit. He only felt as if his tailbone had instantly been run through by something. That sharp and pointed object pierced through his skin, muscles and flesh, and buried itself firmly into his skeleton.

    This sort of pain that came from one¡¯s mind was something that humans were simply unable to withstand. Huo Yuhao instantly widened his mouth, and his eyes protruded as if they were about to pop out of his eye sockets. His body started trembling violently, and the Secret Law Soul he held in his hands instantly tumbled to the ground.

    Though Huo Yuhao had already prepared himself for the arrival of this pain, he was still a human! Even if his body was already numbed somewhat by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s extreme cold, he instantly lost the ability to breathe.

    In this exact moment, a golden dot of light suddenly lit up between Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows. The gentle golden light instantly covered his head, turning his spiritual sea gold as well. Gently and rhythmically, the golden light protected Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, which had started undting violently. It resembled a mother¡¯s hand as it gently pacified his soul, which was experiencing an amount of pain that had reached the limit.

    The Skydream Iceworm had made his move. With the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s help, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body softened a little bit. However, the Ice Empress had already started the process of fusing her soul bone with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Another ray of jade-green light lit up, covering the Secret Law Soul. Immediately, the soul bone turned jade-green before dissolving at an astonishing pace. After turning it into a fist-sized globe of liquid, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion opened her mouth and inhaled it.

    Originally, the Ice Empress had nned to harmonize her soul bone using the Secret Law Soul. That way, the amount of pain Huo Yuhao suffered would be greatly reduced. However, she now chose not to do so. This was because she wanted to test how much a measly human like Huo Yuhao could endure.

    The results of that test astonished her. Though Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had instantly reached the limits of what he could endure, the Ice Empress could tell from his body¡¯s reaction that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was unexpectedly extremely durable, soft, with very few impurities within it. Most importantly, though his spiritual sea was fluctuating violently, it showed no signs of copse. Even if the Skydream Iceworm hadn¡¯t made a move, he would not have have been destroyed because of the pain.

    A trace of admiration appeared in the Ice Empress¡¯ heart. The amount of talent and potential humans had was truly iparable, even to that of a noble soul beast. Naturally, she only felt feelings of admiration. If she were given the choice to be a human, she would definitely not be willing to do so. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen to break through her limits during her hundred thousandth year of cultivation. Instead, she would¡¯ve chosen to transform into a human and re-cultivate.

    After all, no matter how talented humans were, their lifespans were just so. Even the strongest human beings had no way at all topare with soul beasts in terms of lifespan.

    After the liquid formed by the Secret Law Soul was absorbed by the Ice Empress, it was filtered into a wisp of green light that flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He only felt a gentle feeling of warmth resembling the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s shedded skin that had previously protected his body, causing the previously intense pain to immediately decrease drastically. The spasming pain was still there, but he was feeling much better than before.

    As this urred, Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest started moving up and down vigorously. He greedily gasped for the surrounding cold air in big mouthfuls. At this moment, his body started sweating profusely, even in this freezing cold region of the Extreme North, so much so that he nearly pissed and shat himself. It was obvious how intense that surge of pain was.

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s cotton clothes absorbed the sweat secreted by his body, they were instantly torn to pieces by the jade-green light. Only the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges escaped the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s power, due to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s earlier warning.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s naked body was very sturdy; his one year¡¯s worth of bitter training in Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t gone to waste. However, his current skin was astonishingly white, making it practically identical to the snow on the ground. More astonishingly, amidst his deathly pale skin, traces of jade-green light were slowly pouring into his spine, spreading throughout his torso.

    The first ce the jade-green light went to was naturally his spine. After that, the liquefied jade-green light slowly made its way upwards, causing Huo Yuhao¡¯s ribs to turn into branches of jade-green light. Then, it slowly headed further up.

    The terrifying, spasming pain in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body followed wherever the jade-green light went. He did all he could to endure it, but his body¡¯s reaction to it was still extremely violent. Only, he was simply unable to move due to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s control.

    Huo Yuhao unceasingly told himself, Persevere, persevere. No matter what, I can¡¯t give up. It was difficult for him to endure the pain, but he was currentlypletely focused on numbing his senses. The Ice Empress had told him that the thing she was most afraid of was his mind copsing the moment he could no longer persevere. If that happened, all of their previous efforts would have been for naught. Since that was the case, all he had to do was to protect his mind. As for his body, he would just leave it to the Ice Empress; she wouldn¡¯t just let him die, after all.

    With this thought in his mind, Huo Yuhao stubbornly continued to numb his mind unceasingly. Astonished, the Skydream Iceworm discovered that the few tools he¡¯d created to help Huo Yuhao protect his mind hadn¡¯t been needed at all. The spiritual origin of the Ice Empress was currently residing in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and she naturally noticed this miraculous scene. This was the first time that she had a whole new level of respect towards the Skydream Iceworm. Though the human the Skydream Iceworm chose was young, and his strength wasn¡¯t worth mentioning, he actually had a willpower that was this tenacious. This was an immensely good thing!

    The Skydream Iceworm stealthily revoked the influences he¡¯d made towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, silently guarding him by the side. Huo Yuhao being able to withstand this pain by himself was naturally for the best, as this was an extremely good grindstone for his spiritual power. This would strengthen his willpower, causing enormouslyrge benefits towards his future cultivation and growth.

    By the time the jade-green light covered all the bones in Huo Yuhao¡¯s torso, the jade-green light on the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s body began to dim.

    The soul bone created by the Ice Empress¡¯ main body was naturally the quintessential part of her strength. Though this process of reconstruction was painful, the future effects of this soul bone would vastly exceed that of Huo Yuhao¡¯s other soul bones. This would bring enormous benefits to his growth.

    Though the Skydream Iceworm was a million year soul beast, in terms of who could give Huo Yuhao the most well-rounded benefits, he would definitely lose out to the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress had a noble bloodline, and she was a natural monarch. Moreover, she had cultivated for such a long time. Thus, the increase in strength she could give Huo Yuhao would definitely be aprehensive one. Naturally, Huo Yuhao could only withstand an extremely miniscule amount of her total strength, so arge amount of it had to be sealed away. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s tolerance increased, the amount of strength she released would progressively increase. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s potential would reach an extremely astonishing degree. To many soul masters, increasing one¡¯s soul power during theter soul ranks would prove to be very challenging. However, the issue of having insufficiently strong soul skills would absolutely never ur to him. As for what he would grow to be in the future, even the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion didn¡¯t know.

    Their method of creating God waspletely unprecedented, even on the entire Douluo Continent. It had to be known that the Skydream Iceworm had used a full hundred thousand years of time toplete the basic preparations of this n. Even if he had easily fused with Huo Yuhao, he had actually sealed up his spiritual origin and divided it into many pieces. This process had beenpleted at a much earlier time. Moreover, there were even more minute preparations he had to make. Even now, he was giving instructions and assistance to the Ice Empress while she fused with Huo Yuhao by relying on his powerful spiritual power. All of this had to be aplished for the fusion to seed.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled incessantly. Ayer of ice beads had already formed on his skin; that was created by his sweat freezing up. Traces of blood had already started seeping out from his seven apertures, causing theyer of skin underneath the ice beads to bepletely red. The speed at which the blood within his body was circting had already reached an astonishing degree. If this were anyone else, they would¡¯ve already exploded and died. However, the powerful spiritual origins of the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion were currently protecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The speeding up of his blood cirction was something that inevitably urred due to him fusing with the Ice Empress¡¯ soul bone. On the other hand, the two of them were protecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s internal organs, meridians, flesh, and bones. This was equivalent to them covering his inner body with ayer of film. No matter how quickly his blood circted, it couldn¡¯t break through the defensive perimeter the two of them had created.

    The intense undtions caused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood, his pale skin, and his jade-green bones which could be seen from the outside sketched a terrifying image. Only, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were still golden. Though the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t help him protect his spiritual sea, he still had to protect his martial soul.

    As an intelligent soul ring, the Skydream Iceworm was the main martial soul of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, as well as the person who would control everything rted to the future Spirit Eyes. After the Ice Empress fused with him, she would control the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion martial soul. All in all, Huo Yuhao would be a true wielder of twin innate martial souls.

    In the beginning, the jade-green lights were merely strands of string that covered his spine, sternum, and ribs. As time passed, however, these strands of jade-green light started gradually expanding and widening, creating an outline of Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire skeleton.

    The pain Huo Yuhao felt began to change yet again. The previously spasming pain gradually transformed, and an alternating feeling of extreme cold and extreme hot began to spread throughout all of the bones in Huo Yuhao¡¯s torso.

 Chapter 43.3: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    Chapter 43.3: An Ordeal of Extreme Pain

    That was truly an amalgamation of ice and fire! The first moment would be so cold as to make him shiver, but the moment right after that was so hot that it evaporated all the ice beads off his body. The qi and blood in his body was starting to surge like a tide. During the extreme cold, his entire body would freeze up; during the extreme heat, the blood within his body would boil up, causing tiny beads of blood to form on his skin.

    The extreme cold changed to extreme heat, and the extreme heat changed to extreme cold. The violent changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body temperature made it seem like it was being smelted. Although his willpower was extremely strong, he gradually began to hallucinate. This was entirely different from the unadulterated pain he¡¯d gone through earlier. This was as if he had been thrown off an extremely tall building before being violently smashed onto the ground. He was simply unable to withstand this feeling.

    It could be said that Huo Yuhao was basically the person who¡¯d endured the most violent bouts of pain during fusion with a soul bone, even in the entire history of humanity. One reason behind this was due to his excessively low cultivation, and another reason was due to the overly high quality his soul bone had.

    Even if the Ice Empress was already controlling it to the best of her ability, her soul bone was still an existence older than three hundred thousand years! She had sealed an overwhelming majority of her power within it, but it still had an extremelyrge effect on the still-developing Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was even starting to be somewhat muddle-headed. No matter how strong his willpower was, he was still unable to continue resisting such violent bouts of pain. At this exact moment, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power surged into his body, rousing him back to his senses. At the same time, he shielded Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual origin, reducing the pain he was suffering by a slight amount.

    The Skydream Iceworm wished to temper Huo Yuhao¡¯s willpower, but he would never just stand idly as he walked towards the path of ruination. Sensing that Huo Yuhao was about to reach his limit, he made a move immediately to give him a buffer.

    Though Huo Yuhao had been tortured to the point where even dying was preferable, he immediately and acutely sensed the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s actions. He was now extricated from the extreme pain he had been feeling, and though the alternating hot and cold feelings were still there, he was now feeling much better. Composing himself, his nearly-copsed spiritual power immediately began to gather.

    By the time he¡¯d gathered nearly all of his spiritual power, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s protection disappeared. The extreme level of pain began to descend upon Huo Yuhao¡¯s body again.

    Huo Yuhao inwardly let out a sorrowful roar, Brother Skydream, are you ying with me?!

    A long time passed, but Huo Yuhao was simply unable to even think. Whenever his mind was about to copse, the Skydream Iceworm would appear in a timely manner and relieve him of his pain to a certain extent. Comparatively, this made it somewhat easier for Huo Yuhao to endure it.

    If the Skydream Iceworm had made his move at the beginning, lowering the pain Huo Yuhao had to withstand, then the amount of pain he withstood would have been maintained at a certain baseline from the start till the end. However, that didn¡¯t mean that he wouldn¡¯t copse. And if he did copse, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s hands would have been tied. Even if he was able to persevere in a situation like that, maintaining one¡¯s mind at a consistent level of pain would do him no good at all.

    However, the current situation they were in was slightly different. Though he would suffer an even greater amount of pain, the Skydream Iceworm only acted as a buffer whenever he made a move, rxing Huo Yuhao. At the very least, Huo Yuhao would be able to recover a certain amount of strength during this buffer period.

    After going through this cycle of pain and relief for a few times, Huo Yuhao understood what was going on. His Brother Skydream was clearly using this as an opportunity to temper his willpower! If this were any ordinary person, they might be unceasingly waiting for the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s help. However, Huo Yuhao was different from them. Training in Shrek Academy for a year had cultivated a ¡®when the going gets tough, the tough gets going¡¯ kind of mentality in Huo Yuhao. He clearly understood that the more he worked during cultivation, the more he would get in return.

    Because of this, even though the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s protection gave him a certain amount of safety when he needed it, it also gave him an extra amount of confidence. As his body continued to withstand the pain, his willpower continued to increase. The gap of time between the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s every action got increasingly longer, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s willpower became increasingly stronger as well.

    This discovery involuntarily stunned the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress. A feeling of admiration towards a small human like Huo Yuhao had arisen in these two pinnacle existences. Even consummate-level soul beasts like them might not be able to persevere under such an intense level of pain. However, Huo Yuhao was able to do so. With the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s limited help, he had actually persisted the whole time.

    Day became night, and night became day again. The jade-green light on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was bing increasingly intense, and the alternating colors of red and white on the surface of his skin began to weaken more and more. However, the qi and blood within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was much, much stronger than when he had originally started the fusion process.

    Though the Ice Jade Empresss Scorpion had only fused an extremely miniscule part of her energy with Huo Yuhao¡¯s qi and blood, it was an extremely beneficial supplement to him. That was the origin energy of an Empress whose cultivation neared four hundred thousand years!

    Through this nourishment, a transformation started to ur in Huo Yuhao¡¯s muscles, bones, and internal organs. Even if he didn¡¯t receive any limb or skull bones, Huo Yuhao¡¯s physique wasprehensively strengthened at this moment. Following the strengthening of his physique, the amount of pain he suffered now gradually decreased.

    Currently, the Skydream Iceworm no longer needed to make a move anymore. Huo Yuhao could now withstand the pain caused by the alternating heat and cold by relying on his own willpower. He could even sense his qi and blood strengthening increasingly, and his body bing more and more sturdy. As his soul power was stuck at the bottleneck of Rank 20, he was unable to determine how much his soul power had increased. However, there was no doubt that with his currently weak cultivation, the amount he would be strengthened by would definitely not be small, even if the Ice Empress had sealed her own power. At the very least, there would be no problem with him increasing his soul power by one or two ranks.

    ¡°Yuhao, you have to be careful now. Right now, the fundamentals of your fusion with the soul bone have beenpleted. The only thing that¡¯s left is theplete fusion between it and your bones. I¡¯m going to seal the power of the soul bone in your skeleton, allowing you to progressively absorb it in secret. It¡¯s very possible that the pain you¡¯ll suffer during thisst step will exceed that of the previous parts of the fusion. You¡¯ll have to persevere. Even Skydream might not be able to give you any help during this process, and it¡¯ll take two hours or so. If you can endure it, you¡¯ll be able to possess this soul bone I¡¯m giving you.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice had be much gentler. The way she addressed Huo Yuhao had changed slightly as well, and her exhaustion could be heard in the tone of her voice. After all, she was fusing her own body with Huo Yuhao¡¯s! This was equivalent to ripping out her own bones and fusing them with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Though her cultivation was immensely strong, the amount of pain she had withstood was definitely not less than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Only, the amount of willpower she¡¯d obtained after cultivating for several hundreds of thousands of years far exceeded anything that Huo Yuhao could evenpare to.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep, deep breath. As he continued to endure the paining from the fusion, he no longer spoke. Right now, all he could do was convey a stubborn and resolute conviction towards the Ice Empress.

    Was the Skydream Iceworm truly unable to protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea? The answer was naturally a definite no. The Ice Empress only said this in order to strengthen Huo Yuhao¡¯s willpower by another level. Only in a situation with no way out would he be able to stimte his potential to its greatest possible extent.

    However, the very instant thest bout of pain started, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly jolted. His spiritual sea surged violently, nearly copsing in an instant.

    He was able to endure pain, and he was also able to withstand the alternating hot and cold. At this moment, however, what he suffered was a kind of pain he was nearly unable to withstand. That was, an itch.

    The instant the Ice Empress made her move, Huo Yuhao felt a violent itche from every part of his torso. It was as if there were an innumerable number of ants that were crawling about his veins and bones. This itch dug all the way to the bone, and it was omnipresent.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s only thought was to thoroughly destroy his own body and scratch it ferociously, stopping this bout of pain.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was convulsing and shaking violently, but he was simply unable to control it. This acute bout of pain was causing the bones in his entire body to unceasingly release sounds of cracking.

    The Skydream Iceworm was solemnly lying in wait; he had already prepared to make a move at any time. Once Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea showed any signs of copse, he would not hesitate to intervene.

    The Skydream Iceworm clearly understood that at this moment, the Ice Empress was also enduring the same pain that Huo Yuhao was. Even the spiritual power of one of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors was shivering and fluctuating violently. From this, it could be seen how intense this pain was. However, the foundations of its transformations would only bepleted after Huo Yuhao finished fusing with the Ice Empress¡¯ soul bone. It wasn¡¯t hard for her to be Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul and soul ring, but maintaining her consciousness and all of her intelligence was a difficult task.

    The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t worry about the Ice Empress; the only thing he worried about was Huo Yuhao not being able to persevere!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale gold spiritual sea surged violently, asionally trembling, asionally rumbling like a sea wave. His jade-green bones gradually turned dark-green, then went back to jade-green. During this continuous process of transformation and fusion, he felt the most violent bouts of pain.

    It¡¯s itchy, this itch is killing me. Huo Yuhao felt as though he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue enduring this pain anymore. This inhuman amount of pain was truly stronger than the two previous tortures he¡¯d previously experienced.

    In the end, a few cracks started to appear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. If these cracks continued to growrger, they would definitely cause an explosion in the end. The instant his spiritual sea was thoroughly destroyed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain would die.

    The Skydream Iceworm unhesitatingly made a move, causing an intense golden light to rapidly surge towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    However, it was at this exact moment when Huo Yuhao¡¯s nearly hysterical voice suddenly rang out in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s mind. ¡°Don¡¯t help me! I can do it, I can do it!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was left staring nkly for a moment. He could hear the stubbornness in Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s roar seemed to signal his counter-attack. The cracks that densely covered his spiritual sea miraculously started to close.

 Chapter 44.1: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    Chapter 44.1: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve grown¡­ up. You must¡­ be¡­ an unrivalled hero¡­ like¡­ your father. But, mother¡­ might not be able¡­ to see that day¡­e. Mom has¡­ to go, and you¡­ have to take¡­ care of yourself¡­ Good child¡­ don¡¯t cry¡­ Mother¡¯s going to heaven, and¡­ I¡¯ll always¡­ be watching you. I don¡¯t¡­ hate your father, truly. If¡­ there¡¯s a single person¡­ I don¡¯t hate within this White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion¡­ it¡¯s actually¡­ only him¡­¡±

    ¡°Mom¡­ wasn¡¯t lucky, I had¡­ no way¡­ to continue¡­ living on¡­ with your¡­ father. I¡­ wish that¡­ I could have¡­ stayed by his side¡­ and seen him everyday¡­ like how it¡­ was in the past! Maybe¡­ I never had a spot¡­ in his heart¡­ but¡­ I don¡¯t regret it. Yuhao¡­ you look¡­ a lot like me¡­ If you can¡¯t¡­ be a¡­ soul master¡­ in the future, then¡­ learn a craft. As long as you¡¯re safe¡­ your mom can also¡­ smile¡­ in the underworld¡­¡±

    ¡°Mom, mom¡ª¡ª¡± Yuhao howled inwardly. A stubborn conviction suddenly rose up in his heart, and in this instant, it was covered by the longing and grief he felt. Mom, there will be a day when I¡¯llplete your wish. I will make that man kneel in front of your grave and beg you for forgiveness.

    Mom, for mom, I must be strong, I have to be strong. No matter what, I have to hold on. I¡¯m not a coward, I¡¯m Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m my mom¡¯s son, and for mom, I must bravely live on. I can¡¯t be a person like the White Tiger Duke, I have to surpass him!

    This inward howl became an indescribable energy that suddenly exploded within his spiritual world. All the cracks that had appeared due to him approaching his limit were healing at an astonishing rate, and his spiritual sea was re-coalescing. Though it was still undting violently due to the pain he was feeling, its core was abnormally sturdy. It was much sturdier than it previously was.

    The Skydream Iceworm was utterly astonished. Huo Yuhao had actually endured the pain that even the Ice Empress found difficult. Just how much willpower did he need to do this?! In this instant, not only did the Skydream Iceworm feel admiration towards Huo Yuhao, he even felt a trace of fear. He knew that he had chosen the right person, but this small Huo Yuhao might not be someone he could control in the future. He might only be able to serve as his intelligent soul ring.

    Two agonizing hours slowed passed, and the alternating jade-green and dark-green gradually stabilised. Finally, the color of Huo Yuhao¡¯s bones ended up an abstruse jade-green that was identical to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s tail. However, an earth-shaking, heaven-flipping transformation had also urred in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Nourished by arge amount of nutrients, Huo Yuhao¡¯s bones had grown noticeably. His shoulders had widened somewhat, and he had grown by a little bit. Furthermore, his muscles, tendons, fascia, veins, and internal organs had be much sturdier. A jade-like luster had appeared on his skin, radiating a noble aura within this snowy world.

    His eyes had been open the whole time, and now the jade-green light within them faded slowly. His deep blue pupils had be even more abstruse following this.

    If you were to use a word to describe the current Huo Yuhao, then ¡®metamorphosed¡¯ couldn¡¯t be any more fitting.

    When he had left the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion in the beginning, he had only been a low-ranked soul master with an ordinary amount of talent who wasn¡¯t taught by a teacher. You simply couldn¡¯t see any prospects from him. However, he was now a full-fledged super-genius who had the number one torso bone in the world. Furthermore, he was about to be a young soul master who had twin innate martial souls.

    As the pain gradually faded, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body loosened up. The Ice Jade Empress¡¯ tail which was stabbed into his spine slowly pulled back, cing Huo Yuhao on her back.

    The abstruse light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes gradually became one of exhaustion. Having been devastated by pain for such a long time, his body and mind had already reached their limit. The only thing keeping him up was the stubborn conviction within the depths of his heart. Now that his fusion with the soul bone had ended, the most important foundations had beenid. Following that, a strong wave of exhaustion swept towards him, and a sleepy feeling overcame him. Just like that, Huo Yuhao fell into a deep sleep while still on the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s back.

    After nearly a full hour had passed, the Ice Empress¡¯ exhausted voice rang out slowly, ¡°Skydream.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here. How are you feeling?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked, deeply concerned.

    The Ice Empress snorted, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Although a fe like you is a piece of trash, you have good eyesight.¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± The Skydream Iceworm was already used to being scolded by the Ice Empress, ¡°To tell the truth, I didn¡¯t think that Yuhao would be this strong. He was able to persist due to the stubborn convictions he holds in his heart. This experience has opened up a brilliant road for his future growth. Let¡¯s quickly start fusing your martial soul with his body. Now that you¡¯ve discarded the most important origin of your body, your spiritual origin will get damaged if we waste too much time.¡±

    ¡°En. Protect me.¡± To Huo Yuhao, the crucial moment had already passed. After fusing with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone, he had crossed a difficult level. With the torso bone as a foundation, hising fusion with the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ martial soul and soul ring would be much easier. This would mainly rely on the Ice Empress and the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s strength in order to seal her energy and fuse it with Huo Yuhao. Thus, the most important task for the Ice Empress had just begun. Fusing her martial soul with Huo Yuhao while protecting her spiritual origin in order to not have itpletely assimted with Huo Yuhao so she could maintain her intelligence was the foundation of her n to create God and attain immortality. She had never thought about a situation like this before, and it was simply impossible for her to have done any experiments in the past. It would be a lie to say that she wasn¡¯t nervous. If she did anything wrong, she would lose her sense of self, and her consciousness would disappear eternally.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you out. Ice Empress, I truly do like you. Don¡¯t worry, for the sake of my own happiness, I¡¯ll do all I can to help you. Come, let¡¯s start.¡±

    Strangely, the Ice Empress didn¡¯t make a retort this time around. Right after that, a thick halo of white light blossomed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, sweeping upwards and covering his body within it. The crystal-like sphere on the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s body dissolved quietly, turning into threads of icy mist that entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body through his skin.

    Huo Yuhao was in too deep of a sleep. Furthermore, the Skydream Iceworm had already responsibly guarded his spiritual sea, ensuring that he remained in his sleeping state so as to not wake him up. The previous events had already tempered him enough, and the following stages of the fusion needed to bepleted by him and the Ice Empress.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s presence quickly vanished within the icy mist. In addition to that, the Ice Empress underneath him also vanished without a trace.

    If an ordinary human were to have witnessed this scene, they would definitely have assumed that the Ice Empress¡¯ body had melted. To the Ice Empress, however, this wasn¡¯t a melting, but anbustion of her own body. Only by burning the origin of her body could she create an effect like this. Otherwise, with the toughness of her body, even the strongest weapons in the entire world couldn¡¯t damage her easily.

    A golden halo of light appeared noiselessly, drawing the white halo of light into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The Skydream Iceworm was actually doing all he could to help the Ice Empress. While protecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, he even protected the Ice Empress¡¯ spiritual origin. Furthermore, he was even helping the Ice Empress suppress her own power. He was multitasking, doing all three things at once. Due to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s powerful spiritual power, the Ice Empress¡¯ fusion with Huo Yuhao went much more smoothly. However, this process still took a long time.

    ¡­¡­

    The cold wind was still as bitingly cold as ever. Large snowkes covered everything as far as the eye could see within the icy in.

    Suddenly, a soft ¡®Pu¡¯ rang out. An arm jutted out from the thick snow, and right after that, apletely naked body crawled slowly up from underneath.

    The contours of his body were extremely well-defined, and although his muscles weren¡¯t especially big, they were wless. After his white, gem-like skin dug out from the snow, it radiated with a unique luster due to the parallelism created by the surrounding white.

    As he slowly opened his eyes, two different colors instantly shed through his deep blue pupils. It was gold at first, but then it turned jade-green before settling on a somewhat terrifying white thatpletely covered the original blue.

    A strange scene then urred. The falling snowkes suddenly moved away from a three-feet radius around his body the moment they approached him. Unexpectedly, a clean patch of earth around him had appeared within the world of ice and snow.

    As the white within his eyes slowly faded away, an abstruse dark-blue gradually resurfaced within them. His pupils had changed color three times; this was quite miraculous.

    He clenched his fists tightly, and immediately, his taut muscles released a sensation filled with power. He suddenly leapt into the air, reaching an astounding twenty feet. When he reached the peak of his jump, he let out a long, resounding roar towards the sky.

    The rumbling sound waves caused by his roar reverberated through the air, scattering the falling snowkes. His breathing immediately became unhindered, and under the cirction of his soul power, he was able to clearly see that his sternum, ribs, and spine were emitting a jade-green glow.

    This scene seemed beautiful, yet terrifying. A person¡¯s bones were suddenly emitting a light that could be seen through the skin; this was somewhat strange. At this moment, however, a halo of jade-green light suddenly spread out from his body, covering a ten-meter diameter around him in a jade-green light. It seemed as though the snowkes within this area had increased in weight, causing them to fall to the ground with a crash. The moment they fell onto the piled-up snow, they cut out tiny holes, as if they were tiny knives.

    However, that jade-green light only remained for an instant before vanishing quietly. Following that, his body copsed to the ground.

 Chapter 44.2: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    Chapter 44.2: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    A soul ring that flickered with a dazzling light rose up from the youth¡¯s feet. This soul ring was simply too bizarre; it shone with a terrifying blood-red light. This noble, cold soul ring that shone with a luster resembling a bloody sea emitted a boundless amount of might from it. There were also four golden patterns which were faintly discernible on the blood-red soul ring. The interwoven colors of red and gold were extremely dazzling amidst the snowy ins of ice. The instant this soul ring appeared, a suddenly transformation urred to the youth¡¯s aura. A destion that seemed toe from the ancient times appeared on his body.

    There were no obvious changes to his body, but there was now an enormous tattoo on his back. There was a pair of pincers that flickered with a dazzling light, and a captivating, jade-green tail. Was that not the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion?

    This tattoo was extremelyrge, practically covering his entire back. Its six limbs hugged his ribs, and its pincers were located on the back of his shoulders. Its long tail was followed his spine, continuing all the way till his backbone before it nted to the right, ending on his right buttock.

    Other than the enormous tattoo, the youth¡¯s greatest transformation was in his hands. His hands were now covered in ayer of extremely detailed diamond-like hexagons, which were about the size of a bean. If you looked at him as a whole, the resplendent lustering from his arms also brightened the enormous tattoo on his back. Naturally, all of these changes, other than the one that had urred to his hands, would be hidden if he had clothes on.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seeded.¡± The youth murmured to himself. At this moment, tears were flowing uncontrobly from his eyes. He had endured far, far too much pain for the sake of seeding. After finishing everything, how could he not let tears of joy out? Something that was not easily obtained would make one cherish it more. After sensing the powerful feelings that were unceasingly spreading throughout his body, he nearly couldn¡¯t control his emotions.

    Right, this youth was Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao, who had finallypleted his fusion with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Emperors.

    The blood-red soul ring flickering with four golden patterns was the first soul ring of his Ice Empress martial soul. It was a soul ring that had reached the four hundred thousand year rank.

    Yes, four hundred thousand years, not three hundred and ny nine thousand nine hundred years! During the fusion process, the Skydream Iceworm had used his origin energy to help the Ice Empress out. Due to this, she was able to break through her bottleneck during the fusion and strengthen her soul ring into a four hundred thousand year one. Although it was only a difference of a hundred years, it was a qualitative difference that was as different as the sky and the earth. That also represented the difference between a hundred thousand year soul ring with three golden patterns and one with four golden patterns!

    ¡°We¡¯ve finally seeded. All of my hard work wasn¡¯t wasted after all.¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s exhausted, yet relieved voice rang out.

    ¡°Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao yelled out. Tears started to spring out from his eyes, ¡°Thank you.¡± He naturally knew that from this moment on, he was no longer the weak, bottom-feeder soul master from Shrek Academy who could only rely on his hard work to barely catch up with everyone else while having no attacking soul skills at all. Everything he had at this moment had been given to him by the Skydream Iceworm! Thus, how could he not feel moved?

    The Skydream Iceworm chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve seeded. We¡¯ve crossed the most substantial step now. With the torso bone the Ice Empress¡¯ given you, the strength of your body has increased by at least fivefold. Your endurance has also increased by arge amount, so you¡¯re now able to withstand the soul ring of a three thousand year soul beast at the very least. This is also the main reason why I got you to fuse with the Ice Empress before getting you your second soul ring. The Ice Empress has formally be the main soul ring of your second martial soul, as well as the main part of your second martial soul. She¡¯s strengthened you by arge amount, so much so that it¡¯s even more than what I¡¯ve done. Your current cultivation is still weak, so you can only use a very small part of her power. However, as your cultivation continues to increase, the power she¡¯s given you will definitely give you a nice surprise.¡±

    ¡°At first, I gave you four soul skills and a martial soul. Though the Ice Empress¡¯ cultivation is inferior to mine, the legacy of her race is much more powerful than mine. Furthermore, ording to the strength of a hundred thousand year soul beast, she¡¯ll also give you four more soul skills in addition to the torso bone which has already fused perfectly with your body. The reason why you¡¯re receiving four soul skills is because her soul ring will give you two skills, and her soul bone will give you another two. Though the fusion used up that Secret Law Soul you originally had, it¡¯s absolutely worth it. Without the Secret Law Soul, the pain you received would¡¯ve increased by at least 20%, and the fusion might not have been this perfect.¡±

    It would¡¯ve increased by 20%? Hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shiver. Though he¡¯d already endured it, he didn¡¯t want to even remember the fusion. This was especially so for thest two hours; the moment he thought about it, he felt his body itch iparably.

    ¡°Four soul skills, another four soul skills!¡± Exuberant, Huo Yuhao asked impatiently, ¡°Brother Skydream, what soul skills did the Ice Empress give me? How is she now? Was she able to retain her consciousness?¡±

    An intelligent soul ring was much stronger than a regr soul ring that only gave him some strength. Let alone that, with the Ice Empress¡¯ status in the Extreme North and her intelligence, anything Huo Yuhao wanted to do here would be much simpler. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was Ice. As a result of that, it was probable that he would have to return here in order to obtain more soul rings. Furthermore, the Ice Empress had done everything she could for him. If she couldn¡¯t retain her spiritual origin, that would be extremely regretful.

    ¡°The Ice Empress is fine. Only, she¡¯s just fused with your body. She had my protection, but she was still extremely exhausted. Right now, she¡¯s in a deep sleep. After all, this was different from my fusion with you. When I fused with you, I didn¡¯t really have much of my soul power left. It was a simple fusion with my spiritual origin. Moreover, I¡¯m a spiritual-type soul beast, making it much easier. However, the situation was very troublesome with her. Fortunately, we seeded. She¡¯ll wake up in a while.¡± The moment he spoke about the Ice Empress, the Skydream Iceworm was evidently pleased.

    ¡°Then what about the four soul skills? What are they?¡± Huo Yuhao asked again.

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled mischievously, ¡°I don¡¯t know either! I¡¯m not the Ice Empress. You¡¯ll slowly understand what they are. Go, head towards the east and we¡¯ll go find your second soul ring.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was extremely happy. Now that he thought about it, he was still a Soul Master. His soul power was still limited to Rank 20. There was nothing he could do about it. Though he¡¯d obtained another soul ring, it was still the first soul ring of his second martial soul! Thus, he was still a one-ringed soul master. If he wanted to continue to increase his cultivation, he had to obtain another soul ring.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, should I get another soul ring for my Spirit Eyes or the Ice Empress¡¯ martial soul?¡± Huo Yuhao asked. Both of his martial souls were one-ringed ones, and he was faced with a choice now. Would he choose to continue strengthening the Spirit Eyes or the Ice Empress¡¯ martial soul? These were undoubtedly two different paths.

    Normally, soul masters possessing two martial souls wouldn¡¯t obtain soul rings for both of their martial souls at once, because that would erase the greatest advantage of having two martial souls. The truly powerful twin-souled soul masters would do their best to increase their soul power while cultivating and adding soul rings to a single martial soul. When they cultivated to a certain level, they would begin to add soul rings to their second martial soul. This way, it was very likely that a situation in which their second martial soul was filled with high-ranked soul rings would ur. In that case, they would be much stronger than the other soul masters of their rank.

    However, this required a process. Normally, twin-souled soul masters would add soul rings to their martial soul when they were at the seven-ringed rank, at the very least.

    For example, Xiao Xiao. She had had no choice but to add a soul ring to her second martial soul in order to im a ce in Shrek Academy and give her a certain advantage over the other students. This was why she had chosen to add a soul skill to her second martial soul. Other than giving a soul skill, a soul ring would also increase theprehensive physical ability of a soul master. After much consideration, and wishing to increase her cultivation as quickly as possible, Xiao Xiao decided to add a soul ring to her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. However, that was only her first soul ring. Before reaching the seven-ringed rank, she would definitely not add any more soul rings to her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    If Huo Yuhao decided to continue adding soul rings to his Spirit Eyes, he would walk the path of a control-type soul master for a very long time; if he chose to add soul rings to the Ice Empress, he would switch to the path of an assault-type soul master. There was no doubt that he would definitely be the number one attack-type genius in Shrek Academy if he chose to switch to the path of an assault-type soul master, having a four hundred thousand year soul ring. There was absolutely no need to doubt this. However, how would he exin the appearance of a four hundred thousand year soul ring?

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re already thinking about it. It¡¯s true that the Ice Empress is very powerful, but from my experience, you¡¯ll have to hide your abilities as much as possible if you want to live for a long time. Moreover, even if you choose to cultivate the Ice Empress, you¡¯ll have to find a second soul ring for your Spirit Eyes right now. It¡¯s because the first soul ring of your Ice Empress is too eye-catching. You have to conceal it, otherwise you¡¯ll just be studied in a researchb.

    Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement, ¡°Brother Skydream, I¡¯ve made a decision. I¡¯m going to continue cultivating my Spirit Eyes. Once my cultivation¡¯s high enough, I¡¯ll continue to add soul rings to my Ice Empress martial soul. In the future, I¡¯ll do my best to not use the Ice Empress. This way, other people won¡¯t be able to see how special my soul ring is.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled mischievously, ¡°Why won¡¯t you use it? If you don¡¯t use it, how are we going to go awe the others? That Shrek Academy of yours isn¡¯t simple! If you want to stand stably, you¡¯ll have to show off some of your strength. If you¡¯re going to use the Ice Empress, you don¡¯t necessarily need to be very subtle about it.¡±

 Chapter 44.3: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    Chapter 44.3: Perfect Fusion, The Red Soul Ring

    Huo Yuhao was at a loss. ¡°Brother Skydream, I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied in a mysterious tone, ¡°You¡¯ll naturally understand once you¡¯ve gotten your second soul ring. Now then, do you really think you look that good butt-naked? Quickly clothe yourself so that we can get going. Time¡¯s not moving any slower while you¡¯re standing here. You should probably know that your school¡¯s about to re-open. In fact, I¡¯m not particrly clear as to how long we actually have left until it does. I lost of track of time in the outside world while I was helping the Ice Empress fuse with you.¡±

    When he heard this, Huo Yuhao immediately became astonished. ording to his calctions, more than fifteen days should¡¯ve passed since the holidays had started. It would take him quite a while to get back as well, thus he couldn¡¯t afford to not rush.

    A pale gold light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he withdrew the Ice Empress and released his Spiritual Detection. However, he nearly jumped from shock the moment he released his Spiritual Detection.

    As his cultivation had increased in the academy, the range of his Spiritual Detection had also continued to increase. When he¡¯d left, it had surpassed eighty meters in all directions. If he were to focus it in a single direction, it could surpass two hundred meters.

    However, the moment that he released his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao immediately felt his eyes release an indescribable flow of air. Immediately afterwards, the ground in a two hundred meter radius around him¡ªincluding a meter deep into the snow and some parts of the mud underneath¡ªwere encapsted within the range of his Spiritual Detection. As soon as it did, arge amount of information surged into his mind. How could therge increase in the range of his Spiritual Detection and the amount of information he received not astonish him?

    ¡°How¡­ how could this have happened?¡± Huo Yuhao asked nkly, having managed to find the nearby Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges using his Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t just suffer that pain for nothing. Haven¡¯t you realized that your spiritual sea has nearly doubled in size? If you¡¯d followed the usual routine of obtaining your second soul ring, your spiritual sea would only be this big once you reached three rings. However, you relied on your own willpower to withstand that pain. As such, your spiritual sea has evolved. Of course, I¡¯ve also used my spiritual origin to help you out a bit. Congrattions. As of now, you can release power equivalent to that of a five thousand year soul ring, while your body¡¯s endurance now permits you to both obtain and perfectly absorb a three thousand year soul ring.¡±

    When he heard the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, a single emotion was left in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart: Happiness.

    After experiencing such an extreme amount of pain, a few shadows had been left in his heart. At this moment however, the pain and bitterness were over, while the rewards he¡¯d gained were just beginning to show themselves. He finally felt that everything was worth it. After receiving the proper reciprocation for his efforts, the shadows in his heart naturally shrunk by arge amount.

    He took a set of clothes out of the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, but decided to only wear a regr shirt, as he didn¡¯t feel cold at all.

    What a joke. With an existence such as the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion connected to him, the number of things in the entire world that could even make him feel cold was practically zero. His own body was basically a representation of extremely cold ice!

    ¡°Go!¡± The Skydream Iceworm shouted, jolting a certain person who was foolishly giggling to himself back to their senses. This certain someone then hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

    The originally-cold climate was no longer a problem to Huo Yuhao, as the soul ring and soul bone he¡¯d obtained from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion made it so that the quality of his physique now far exceeded what it had previously been. He wildly rushed through the snow, leaving only a few shallow traces behind him. In fact, he wasn¡¯t hindered by the snow at all anymore.

    The soul power in his body continued to circte, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was being drained at all. Right now, Huo Yuhao was unexpectedly relying only on his physical strength to maneuver through the snow. He didn¡¯t know how long it had been since he¡¯d eaten or drank anything, yet he didn¡¯t feel hungry or thirsty at all. At this very moment, he only felt that everything within the boundless, vast ins of ice was extremely beautiful.

    ¡­¡­

    Within Shrek Academy.

    The start of the new term had now arrived, which was the most important period of time every year. Arge stream of people had already arrived outside of Shrek Academy by dawn. Besides the returning students, there was also an overwhelming number of parents who¡¯d brought their children to register for the neer¡¯s assessment.

    No matter what background you had, or who you were referred by, you¡¯d still have to go home if you didn¡¯t pass the neer¡¯s assessment.

    A few of the upperssmen were outside the school gates, helping the teachers conduct the assessment. Although they were only students, they were still able to represent Shrek Academy, as they were all at least at the three-ringed Soul Elder rank. Since they¡¯d reached the rank of Soul Elder, they held considerable status within the continent. The lowest requirement for a student to graduate from Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard was to be a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. If you weren¡¯t able to be a Soul Ancestor, you wouldn¡¯t be able to be a Year 6 student. In the end, you¡¯d only be eliminated during the assessment.

    Twenty-eight days of the vacation had passed by, and the new school year would begin in just two days. Even though the neers were rushing to participate in the academy¡¯s entrance test, the older students weren¡¯t justzing about; their advancement assessments were about to start too. They would only be able to truly advance to a higher year group once they¡¯d passed their advancement assessments. If they didn¡¯t, they¡¯d have to do the exact same thing that the neers who weren¡¯t able to pass the entrance exam had to¡ªreturn home.

    At least two-thirds of the older students in the academy had returned by thise point. They hadn¡¯t dared to rx at all during their vacation period. Seeing that school was about to start, they¡¯d naturallye back earlier in order to ask their teachers about the contents of their various assessments. In addition to this, they¡¯d also asked their teachers for extra pointers. Students who were strong enough naturally weren¡¯t scared of the assessments; on the contrary, they enjoyed them. Through them, they could truly test the fruits of their cultivation. However, every single assessment would be an extremely difficult barrier to the vast majority of students. Thus, why wouldn¡¯t they grasp every opportunity they had?

    A figure rushed past the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯skeside path with astonishing speed, and quickly passed through Shrek za. When he arrived at the Year 1 dorms, he muttered to himself, ¡°Aih, I¡¯mte, I¡¯mte. He¡¯s definitelye back early and is probably waiting impatiently for me. Aih, it¡¯s all my fault! Why¡¯d I have to go and go all-out! Whatever, I¡¯ll definitely give that guy a big surprise, haha.¡±

    With that, the youth arrived at the door to the dorm. The elder that was always present by the dorms was still lying on his recliner in an easygoing manner when, giving off an indescribable sense of leisureliness when he arrived.

    ¡°Grandpa, hello.¡± The youth excitedly blurted out as he rushed into the dormitory.

    A funny look appeared on the elder¡¯s face, but he quickly returned to normal. Squinting his eyes, hefortably immersed himself in a half-sleep state.

    ¡°Peng, peng, peng.¡± The youth rushed back towards his room, then forcefully knocked on the door, causing dust to fall off of it.

    ¡°Eeh?¡± The youth hurriedly ducked away from the dust. Feeling that something was off, he said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, quickly open the door. Just look at howzy you¡¯ve be! You truly only know how to cultivate. There¡¯s already enough dust on the door to bury someone, yet you haven¡¯t even cleaned it.¡±

    Right, the youth who had hastily rushed over was Wang Dong. He didn¡¯t seem to have changed muchpared to one month ago. He was still wearing the Year 1 uniforms, but his short, pinkish-blue hair had grown slightly. Hisrge, bright eyes were also slightly livelier, and were filled with excitement,.

    They¡¯d been separated for almost an entire month, however Wang Dong had been held up because of a few issues on his way back. He¡¯d only managed to arrive three days before school started with great difficulty, which was muchter than the time that he and Huo Yuhao had previously agreed on. He thought that Huo Yuhao would definitely have arrived earlier. After all, the quickest way they could cultivate was by being together. Having returnedte, he was extremely apologetic. He was just about to apologize to Huo Yuhao and say a few good words to him; that was why he hadn¡¯t used his own key to unlock the door and enter on his own.

    No response? Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but be dazed when the dorm remained silent.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be petty. Are you still angry at me? I didn¡¯te backte on purpose. I was held up by something.¡± Wang Dong knocked on the door again, however there was still no response.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you little miser. If you don¡¯t open the door, I¡¯m going to open it myself.¡± Wang Dong said fiercely.

    There was still no response.

    At that moment, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but feel stunned. He felt that, even though he¡¯d arrivedte, with the rtionship between him and Huo Yuhao,bined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s character, he wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to ignore him like this!

    Wang Dong took out his key and unlocked the door.

    The dorm was quiet on the inside. Everything was identical to when they¡¯d left; there weren¡¯t any changes at all. Wang Dong¡¯s mattress had been rolled up and covered in a white bedsheet to shield it from dust. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed was still empty. Ayer of dust had already appeared on the ground and the table, as if nobody had recently been in the room at all.

    Wang Dong rushed into the dorm room. After looking at his own bed and then Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed, he felt his heart sink with a ¡°thunk¡±. His face immediately turned somewhat pale.

    He didn¡¯te back. He actually hasn¡¯te back yet. Wang Dong instantly felt a wave of goosebumps travel from his feet to his head. He would¡¯ve preferred to have Huo Yuhao waiting for him in advance to scold him the moment he saw him rather than the scene in front of him. The feeling of his heart being emptied caused his breathing to be rushed all of a sudden.

    ¡°How is it possible that he hasn¡¯te back yet? Didn¡¯t he say that there was a teacher waiting for him outside the Great Star Dou Forest? He only left to get his second soul ring; there was even a teacher apanying him. Why hasn¡¯t he returned after so long? He¡¯s an orphan, where else could he have gone?¡±

    Wang Dong immediately became anxious. He violently took in a few deep breaths of somewhat dirty air from the dorm room, then suddenly turned around and rushed back towards the dorm entrance.

    When he reached it, he instantly kneeled beside the reclining elder. ¡°Grandpa, have you seen Huo Yuhao? He¡¯s living in a room with me; he¡¯s the guy who alwayses back with me.¡±

    The old man squinted his eyes and shook his head.

    Wang Dong bit his lower lip and stood up. Afterwards, he immediately dashed towards the faculty buildings.

    Once he reaching the faculty buildings, he headed directly towards Zhou Yi¡¯s office. The door to her office was wide open, and inside a few students were talking to her.

    Wang Dong was extremely anxious, thus he didn¡¯t even bother to knock on her door. Like a gust of wind, he rushed inside. ¡°Teacher Zhou, Teacher Zhou.¡±

    The students standing in front of Zhou Yi¡¯s desk were all first year students, and they were all jolted by Wang Dong¡¯s hurried entrance. They were all aware of the fact that Zhou Yi hated students who broke the rules the most. Even though Wang Dong was a ss monitor, he was still acting too gutsy.

    However, they were astonished by the fact that not only had Zhou Yi not flown into a rage when she saw Wang Dong, she¡¯d even stood up. The two of them then spoke in an impatient voice at the exact same time.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Huo Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, have you seen Huo Yuhao?¡±

    The instant they finished speaking, both of them simultaneously became stunned. Afterwards, they spoke at the exact same time again, ¡°You¡¯re also looking for Huo Yuhao?¡±

 Chapter 45.1: Youâ€™re Still Alive?

    Chapter 45.1: You¡¯re Still Alive?

    The seemingly tacit understanding between Zhou Yi and Wang Dong sent the students standing in front of Zhou Yi¡¯s desk into a daze. They had no diea what had happened.

    Zhou Yi waved towards them, ¡°You guys can go back and prepare first.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Though the three students were very curious as to what had urred, they didn¡¯t dare to stay behind. They hurriedly left Zhou Yi¡¯s office, cleverly closing the door as they did so.

    Wang Dong spoke impatiently. ¡°Teacher Zhou, has Huo Yuhao note back yet? If you haven¡¯t seen him either, why don¡¯t we go over to the Soul Tool Department and ask them about it?¡±

    Zhou Yi furrowed her brows, and a hint of anger appeared in her eyes, ¡°No need. I¡¯ve already gone there to ask them about it. Just what is that brat Huo Yuhao doing? He told me that the teachers from the Soul Tool Department were apanying him to get a soul ring, but when I asked Fan Yu about it, he said that Huo Yuhao had told him that the teachers from the Martial Soul Department were taking him to get a soul ring. Isn¡¯t he just lying to both parties? In the end, nobody went with him. Don¡¯t tell me this brat just entered the Great Star Dou Forest alone?¡±

    Hearing her words, Wang Dong immediately became even more anxious, ¡°No way. He doesn¡¯t even have any attacking soul skills, so how in the world is he going to go hunt a soul beast by himself? That¡¯s too dangerous. No way, no way. Why would he be that dumb? When we left each other, his mood was still very normal!¡±

    Zhou Yi spoke in a low voice, ¡°He¡¯s definitely hiding something from us. Let¡¯s do this. Immediately go to the upperssmen¡¯s dorms and bring Bei Bei and Tang Ya over here. If they¡¯re not here either, then that¡¯s what must¡¯ve happened. Huo Yuhao belongs to the Tang Sect, so they might know what happened. If Bei Bei and Tang Ya followed him to the Great Star Dou Forest, then it¡¯s exinable.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong turned away and left. Right now, he was only praying that Bei Bei and Tang Ya weren¡¯t back yet. They must¡¯ve followed Huo Yuhao to help him get his soul ring.

    However, reality wouldn¡¯t just change due to a person¡¯s willpower. Within a few moments, Bei Bei and Tang Ya appeared inside Zhou Yi¡¯s office. Though they¡¯d just arrived, they¡¯d truly returned!

    After hearing that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t returned, they were both astonished. Bei Bei said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, our little junior brother was still fine thest time we saw him. He can¡¯t possibly have gone to hunt a soul beast by himself. Though we saw him kill a soul beast the first time we saw him, he was injured. Furthermore, the soul beast he killed was of the ten year rank. This time around, he¡¯s looking for his second soul ring. With hisbat strength, even with a low-ranked Soul Tool and the martial arts of our Tang Sect, it¡¯s still going to be very difficult for him to take on a hundred year soul beast. After all, his cultivation¡¯s still too low. Our little junior brother¡¯s very smart, so why would he act so foolishly?¡±

    They all looked at each other. No matter how they thought about it, they just couldn¡¯t understand why Huo Yuhao had lied to everyone when he left the academy.

    He hadn¡¯t returned, and there was no use in panicking. Zhou Yi was anxious, but Fan Yu was even more anxious than she was.

    It had been so hard for him to find such a good disciple who even revealed such an astonishing amount of talent in the field of soul tool creation. However, he had actually hatched such a wicked n. It¡¯d be strange if he wasn¡¯t feeling anxious. Like the others, he wasn¡¯tpletely sure as to why Huo Yuhao was doing this. However, with his understanding of Huo Yuhao, he knew that he wasn¡¯t an unreliable person! He definitely had a predicament that gave him no choice but to do this.

    Every person who was close to Huo Yuhao had their own different thoughts. Some of them were angry, some were remorseful, and some were puzzled. However, none of them could think of the true reason why Huo Yuhao had hidden the truth from them. But, time didn¡¯t stop for anyone.

    Within the blink of an eye, one day passed.

    Within another blink of an eye, the second day ended.

    It was finally time to re-enroll in Shrek Academy. The students from the various year groups were all reporting in and registering their names. The entrance exams had already ended, and the neers had already entered the school. However, the students from the other year groups were still waiting for theing advancement test.

    The registration period started in the morning and went on all the way till the afternoon before ending.

    Wang Dong had alreadypleted his re-enrollment. After that, he anxiously stood by the entrance to Shrek Academy and gazed outwards, waiting.

    Why? Why hasn¡¯t hee back yet? Why?

    Shrek Academy¡¯s rules were very stringent. If you weren¡¯t able to register in time, you would be forced to leave the school!

    The sky gradually darkened, but he still hadn¡¯t returned yet.

    As Wang Dong looked towards the distance, his gaze was already somewhat dazed. He was only twelve this year, and he was slightly younger than Huo Yuhao. During his twelve years of life, this was the first time he¡¯d thought so much about anyone.

    His legs had already gone numb after standing for so long, but scenes of his activities and studies with Huo Yuhao in the same dorm room during the past year floated up in his mind unceasingly. They had gone to ss together, cultivated together, participated in the freshmen assessment together, be champions together, eaten roasted fish together, andpleted their first year in Shrek Academy together.

    I¡¯ve alreadye back, so where are you?

    The sky gradually turned dark, and the sunset left a pale red at the edge of the horizon. The glow of the sunset was very beautiful, but it was unable to illuminate the haze in Wang Dong¡¯s heart.

    Late, he¡¯s alreadyte. He¡¯s already gone past the registration time. He won¡¯t make it, he won¡¯t make it!

    Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Xiao Xiao had also walked over to the academy¡¯s entrance. Their expressions darkened as they looked toward the gradually dimming sky.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t even know how he¡¯d returned to his dorm. By the time he got back, the outside sky waspletely ck. In the end, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t managed to make it back in time for him to register. At this moment, however, Wang Dong didn¡¯t me him at all.

    As long as you cane back alive, that¡¯s fine!

    The thing he was most scared of was Huo Yuhao being buried in the Great Star Dou Forest! If that urred, he wouldn¡¯t even have a corpse to bury.

    While thinking, Wang Dong slowly sat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed, which was still covered with dust. At this moment, he seemingly forgot about his own mysophobia.

    Huo Yuhao, are you still alive? Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists tightly. His eyes gradually reddened, and an anxiety that could drive one mad appeared in his heart.

    At this very moment, the sound of rushed footsteps sounded out from the outside. This was apanied by the sounds of a person¡¯s somewhat heavy breathing.

    Wang Dong raised his head, somewhat stunned. Right after that, a person suddenly charged inside with a bang.

    ¡°I¡¯m screwed, I¡¯m screwed! I¡¯mte! I ran over as quickly as I could, but I was stillte. How in the world is this supposed to be good!?¡± The youth who rushed in had an anxious look on his face as he muttered gloomily to himself. Raising his head to look at Wang Dong, he smiled, ¡°You¡¯re back! Is today the day when registration ends? I¡¯m screwed, I¡¯mte. This won¡¯t do, I have to quickly find Teacher Zhou and think of a way to go about this during the night.¡±

    With that, the youth turned around, about to leave.

    ¡°Huo¨C Yu¨C Hao!!!¡± An extremely loud screech suddenly rang out, causing the leaving Huo Yuhao to feel his back sink. He felt arge force strike him, immediately mming him to the ground. Then, his back was struck by a series of typhoon-like fists.

    Right. Was the youth who¡¯d rushed into the room not the owner of the empty bed, Huo Yuhao? Though he¡¯d exhausted all of his energy, he had still arrivedte. He¡¯d simply wasted too much time fusing with the Ice Empress, and he didn¡¯t even know how much time he had actually wasted. After the Skydream Iceworm helped him obtain his second soul ring, he left the icy ins. After asking someone what time it was, he was struck dumb. He did all he could to rush back, but he was stillte by a day.

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao wrapped his hands around his head, feeling somewhat dazed after being beaten up by Wang Dong. He felt two soft lumps of meat on his butt moving non-stop, causing his weary buttocks to feel a sense of rxation that didn¡¯t feel bad at all¡­

    ¡°You still remembered toe back? You bastard, you still remembered toe back?¡± A stream of tears fell from Wang Dong¡¯s eyes. This was the first time he¡¯d actually worried about someone other than his family. The instant he saw Huo Yuhao, he felt something in his heart shatter. This caused his repressed emotions to explode out uncontrobly.

    His fists gradually lost their power, and he suddenly starting crying while sitting on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao was originally feeling somewhat gloomy after being beaten up by Wang Dong, but now he was struck dumb by thetter¡¯s crying. As he was being pressed down onto the ground, he wasn¡¯t able to get up even if he wanted to. For a period of time, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was at aplete loss.

    ¡°Wang Dong, what are you crying for! Why¡¯re you acting like a girl?¡± Huo Yuhao was very speechless.

    ¡°Bastard, don¡¯t you know how worried everyone is? I even thought that you¡¯d turned into a pile of shit from a soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest. Why¡¯d you have to lie to us and tell us that a teacher was apanying you to go kill soul beasts? Why¡¯d you go by yourself?¡±

    Wang Dong was sitting on Huo Yuhao, his hands holding onto his shoulders firmly as he spoke angrily.

    ¡°This¡­ the teachers can¡¯t have found out, right?¡± Huo Yuhao asked somewhat guiltily.

    ¡°What a load of rubbish. You didn¡¯t evene back. Is it even possible for them to not have found out?¡± Wang Dong gnashed his teeth with anger, itching to bite Huo Yuhao a few times to vent his anger.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. ¡°I say, why don¡¯t you get up before we start talking. You¡¯re not heavy, but you can¡¯t just keep pressing down on me like that.¡±

    Only then did Wang Dong react. As if he¡¯d been electrocuted, he shot straight up, his face already blushing.

    Huo Yuhao turned over and got up. Looking at the tear-filled Wang Dong, he knew that thetter had been worried about his safety. He couldn¡¯t help but feel moved. Scratching his head, he said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ve made you worry. I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d take this long. It¡¯s actually because I lost track of time.¡±

    After wiping off his tears, Wang Dong red at him fiercely. ¡°You lied to all of us. If you don¡¯t give me a logical exnation to this, we¡¯re not settled.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled mischievously. ¡°Just look at you, you look like a little weeping woman. Just where did the imposing might of an assault-type soul master go to!¡±

    Wang Dong was astonished. The tone of his voice immediately turned deep. ¡°Just who did you call a little woman? Aren¡¯t you going to look for Teacher Zhou? Quickly go. I¡¯ll follow you. Teacher Zhou¡¯s also very angry. You¡¯d better pray for luck.¡± While speaking, he pushed Huo Yuhao out the door in a somewhat impatient manner.

 Chapter 45.2: Youâ€™re Still Alive?

    Chapter 45.2: You¡¯re Still Alive?

    Huo Yuhao was truly anxious to find a teacher and exin the situation. After all, he didn¡¯t want to get expelled just like this! Thus, he didn¡¯t notice how embarrassed Wang Dong was.

    After leaving their dorm, Wang Dong finally calmed down. The dim light of the night was everywhere, and he suddenly felt peace of mind as he looked at Huo Yuhao, who was in front of him. At this moment, all of his worries had vanished from the face of the earth. The release of the baggage from his heart even caused him to feel tired.

    ¡°Just what in the world were you doing? You even lied to a teacher.¡± Taking two steps forward, he caught up to Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong then walked along with him side by side.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin everything. I¡¯ll talk about it once we find Teacher Zhou. I can¡¯t exin everything right now.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°In any case, be a bit more careful. I feel that beingte won¡¯t be much of a problem. Though the academy¡¯s rules are quite stringent, they¡¯re much more rxed for core disciples like us. In any case, you¡¯re a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. Problem is, you¡¯ll now have to exin the reason why you were lying to the teachers in order to stop them from pursuing the matter. As long as Teacher Fan Yu and Teacher Zhou are willing to protect you, there won¡¯t be any big problems. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of Teacher Zhou¡¯s temper. Teacher Fan Yu hasn¡¯t said anything about it, but he¡¯s definitely very worried.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already thought of a n during his journey back. Nodding, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve truly got a special reason for why I did what I did. I believe they¡¯ll definitely understand it.¡±

    As the two continued to speak, they arrived at the teacher¡¯s office area. The teachers from the outer courtyard were living within the office block. The lower floors were the office blocks, while the higher floors were the teacher¡¯s homes.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had never been to Zhou Yi¡¯s house. Thus, they could only try their luck at the office.

    Their luck wasn¡¯t bad at all; the light in Zhou Yi¡¯s office was still on.

    Before they¡¯d even reached the door to Zhou Yi¡¯s office, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong heard the sounds of Zhou Yi¡¯s roaring¡­

    ¡°Fan Yu, what the heck did you just say that brat Huo Yuhao wanted to do? We¡¯ve done all we could to cultivate him, but he actually lied to us and ran away. He hasn¡¯t even returned yet. Just what reason do you think he had to lie to us? Don¡¯t tell me that a teacher helping him to obtain a soul ring won¡¯t be useful to him? I really didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d actually make a mistake. Originally, I thought that he was an extremely honest student who was willing to work hard. I didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d be an ungrateful brat like this. This really pisses me off. Don¡¯t let me see him again. If I do, I¡¯m going to y all of his skin off.¡±

    Hearing Zhou Yi¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shiver instinctively. He felt his scalp go numb. With a somewhat pleading look on his face, he looked towards Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong looked towards him with a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile, then made a gesture that said ¡®You¡¯re on your own now¡¯. Just who asked you to lie to everyone here? Who asked you toe back toote? Serves you right!

    Bracing himself, Huo Yuhao carefully shifted towards Zhou Yi¡¯s office. At this moment, Fan Yu¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°Okay, stop being so angry. Do you think I¡¯m any less anxious than you? Don¡¯t you know how hard it is to find an inheriting disciple? Yuhao is more talented than Caitou. Don¡¯t you know how much hope I¡¯ve ced on him? Now that he¡¯s lost, I¡¯m even more worried than you. But, I feel that you¡¯ve said something incorrect. After being in contact with him for so long, I understand him quite well. Though he¡¯s made a lot of ns, he¡¯s a very kind and steady person. He definitely won¡¯t do anything silly. Since he¡¯s lied to us in order to go by himself, I believe that he definitely has a reason for doing so. Now, we can only wait for him toe back. That way, I believe that he¡¯ll give us a logical exnation.¡±

    Zhou Yi unhappily said, ¡°He¡¯s alreadyte, so what damn use is there for him toe back? Won¡¯t he get expelled anyway?¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°That might not be the case. As long as he has a reasonable exnation, we can reveal the fact that he¡¯s a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department to let him remain in the academy. His treatment as a core disciple of your Martial Soul Department is alreadying to an end, so he¡¯ll definitely be stripped of his privileges if he can¡¯t give an astonishing performance during the assessment. Since that¡¯s the case, we can just reveal it. In any case, Dean Qian¡¯s already fallen for our trick.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt moved as he listened to the husband-and-wife duo. He had lied to his teachers, but they were still worried about him. An intense sensation of guilt flooded his heart, and he wanted to reveal the truth to them right there.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s faint voice rang out in his mind, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be used as a guinea pig, you¡¯d better control your mouth.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately regained his senses after listening to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s reminder. Right! No matter what, he couldn¡¯t reveal the truth. A million year soul beast, in addition to one of the Three Emperors of the Extreme North, had be his intelligent soul ring. This situation couldn¡¯t even be described using the word ¡®astonishing¡¯ anymore.

    Clenching his teeth, Huo Yuhao quickened his footsteps, reaching Zhou Yi¡¯s office door.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s office door wasn¡¯t shut, and there was no longer anybody left within the teacher¡¯s office buildings at this time. Huo Yuhao peeked his head in just in time for him to see an extremely gentle scene.

    Zhou Yi didn¡¯t have her mask on, and her beautiful face was filled with rage. However, she was sitting on Fan Yu¡¯s thigh, while her hands were cradling Fan Yu¡¯s neck. Fan Yu¡¯s arms were wrapped around her waist.

    ¡°Cough, cough. Teacher, Teacher Zhou, I¡¯m back.¡±

    Fan Yu and Zhou Yi were both stunned by Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance. Zhou Yi subconsciously jumped up from Fan Yu¡¯s thigh.

    Wang Dong was right behind Huo Yuhao, and he was stunned to the point of being bbergasted by this scene. Though he¡¯d heard about Zhou Yi¡¯s mask from Huo Yuhao, this was still the first time he¡¯d seen Teacher Zhou¡¯s true appearance. Furthermore, this had happened in a situation where she hadn¡¯t concealed herself at all.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you still know how toe back!¡± Zhou Yi shot towards him angrily.

    It had to be said that Huo Yuhao was truly lucky. The bbergasted Wang Dong subconsciously blurted out, ¡°Teacher Zhou, you¡¯re really pretty.¡±

    The overbearing Zhou Yi was stunned for a brief moment. In an instant, the mes of anger within her heart diminished by over 30%. Pausing her footsteps, she red fiercely at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Follow me in and close the door.¡±

    At this moment, Huo Yuhaopletely understood why Zhou Yi normally had to keep her old grandma mask on her face. Not only was she beautiful, her facial features were extremely gentle and soft. Though she was currently filled with anger, it was simply too hard for her to keep a deterrent effect up for the other students. On the contrary, the others would think that she was a beauty who was throwing a tantrum.

    Fan Yu sat there unmoving, his gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao. Though he had just exonerated the disciple he was proud of, could he truly be not angry at all?

    Lowering his gaze, Huo Yuhao obediently entered Zhou Yi¡¯s office. On the other hand, Wang Dong shut the door after entering.

    Huo Yuhao walked up to Fan Yu, falling to his knees with a ¡°putong¡±, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ve done wrong.¡±

    Fan Yu¡¯s heart was originally filled with the mes of anger. Huo Yuhao had returned, and he was waiting for the disciple he was proud of to give him an exnation with an extremely stern look on his face. However, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t given a reason to exonerate himself. Instead, he¡¯d immediately fallen to his knees in order to admit his wrongdoing. The stiff lines of Fan Yu¡¯s face immediately softened slightly.

    It had to be said that any teacher would be slightly more lenient towards the students they were fond of. Zhou Yi and Fan Yu weren¡¯t an exception to that case. Zhou Yi was extremely strict towards her students, but she didn¡¯t utter a word with Fan Yu there. Instead, she stood behind Fan Yu, giving the initiative to her husband.

    ¡°Why?¡± Fan Yu said indifferently.

    Huo Yuhao raised his head, giving a reply filled with guilt, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ve done wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have lied to you and Teacher Zhou. However, I- I was scared that you¡¯d be worried about me. That was why I had to concoct a lie before I could leave. This was because I wasn¡¯t even sure whether I would be able toe back when I left.¡±

    He¡¯d already thought of many ways he could give this apology. With the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s help, there were basically no holes in his excuse. His guilt-filled tone wasn¡¯t fake, but he couldn¡¯t tell the truth. Regardless of whether it was for him or his two teachers, telling the truth might not necessarily be a good thing!

    ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Fan Yu, Zhou Yi, and Wang Dong¡¯s interest were piqued.

    Zhou Yi couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Is there anything the academy can¡¯t help you settle? Did you absolutely have to do this by yourself? Are you telling me that we wouldn¡¯t be able to help you if you¡¯d told us the truth?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head softly, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have been able to help me. A problem came up with my martial soul. Teacher Zhou, do you remember? During Teacher Wang¡¯s ss, he told us that the most terrifying thing to a soul master was the shattering of their martial soul.¡±

    Zhou Yi was greatly astonished, ¡°What? Your martial soul¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°When the school year had just ended, I noticed a problem with my martial soul. I asionally felt absent-minded when I was using my Spirit Eyes, and there were even signs of my martial soul fracturing. At that time, I thought about what Teacher Wang said. He said that if a martial soul didn¡¯t have enough talent, and if a person who had rtively low innate soul power tried to forcefully cultivate, there was a very small chance that a martial soul could shatter. Moreover, the shattering of a martial soul was a catastrophe to a soul master. If they were lucky, they would lose all of their soul power, and their martial soul would shatter and disappear; if they were unlucky, it could even endanger their lives.¡±

    At this moment, even Fan Yu¡¯s expression had changed. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was truly shattering, then there was truly nothing that could save him. Even a Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    A martial soul was the internal core of every soul master. If any problems arose within that internal core, then not even heavenly treasures could do anything about it. That was equivalent to a death sentence!

    ¡°Yuhao, then, you¡­¡± Right now, Fan Yu didn¡¯t even care about how angry he felt anymore; his voice was filled with concern.

    Zhou Yi said unhappily, ¡°Since he¡¯s able to properly kneel here, there¡¯s clearly nothing wrong anymore. Yuhao, continue.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°During the few days before the academic year ended, those feelings were getting increasingly clearer. I was starting to be afraid. I was afraid for my martial soul, and I was afraid that I¡¯d be unable to live up to the love you two have shown me. I thought about it carefully, and I decided not to tell you two about it. If my martial soul truly shattered, then talking about it would be of no use; if it didn¡¯t shatter, I¡¯d definitelye back. Thus, I lied to both of you. I didn¡¯t want you to worry about me.¡±

 Chapter 45.3: Youâ€™re Still Alive?

    Chapter 45.3: You¡¯re Still Alive?

    ¡°You¡­ what can I even say about you!?¡± Fan Yu sighed. Bending down, he ced his hands under Huo Yuhao¡¯s armpits and propped him up. This child was simply too thoughtful.

    The anger that was originally between Zhou Yi¡¯s brows had eased by arge amount. Only, Wang Dong¡¯s anger didn¡¯t decrease in the slightest. He inwardly thought to himself, This bastard. He lied, and he¡¯s lying again.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lies could get past Zhou Yi and Fan Yu, but they couldn¡¯t trick Wang Dong. They had a perfect martial soul fusion, and they had cultivated together just before Huo Yuhao had left the academy. If anything had happened to his martial soul, Wang Dong would¡¯ve sensed it immediately. However, he hadn¡¯t felt anything!

    At this moment however, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t expose Huo Yuhao¡¯s lies. He could only bury his doubts in the bottom of his heart.

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°Then how are you feeling now? Did the signs of your martial soul shattering disappear?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Zhou Yi furrowed her brows tightly, ¡°That¡¯s also a problem. Not only did you arrivete, you didn¡¯t even obtain a second soul ring. I¡¯m afraid that the academy will¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao blinked, ¡°Teacher Zhou, I¡¯ve gotten my second martial soul!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Yi looked towards him, astonished. Fan Yu interjected, ¡°Let Yuhao finish what he has to say.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°When I left the academy, I felt that I didn¡¯t really have much hope anymore. In addition to that, there seemed to be an unseen force that was guiding me towards the north. The absent-mindedness from my martial soul was getting increasingly stronger, and I could sense that my Spirit Eyes were releasing traces of ice. It seemed to be guiding me towards the north. Under an absent-minded state like this, I didn¡¯t even know long I¡¯d walked for, but I unexpectedly arrived at a world of ice and snow. That ce was very, very cold, and I felt that I was going to be frozen alive. However, the sensation of shatteringing from my martial soul was bing increasingly intense, as though it could shatter at any time. I didn¡¯t really know what was going on, but I fainted in that icynd. Just before I fainted, I felt that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to wake up again. I didn¡¯t know how long I fainted for, but it was because of this that I came backte.¡±

    Fan Yu and Zhou Yi nced at each other. Though the area Shrek Academy was in was getting chilly, it was stillte spring. If he spoke about a world of ice and snow, wasn¡¯t that the deste and uninhabited Extreme North? Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t gone to the Great Star Dou Forest; he¡¯d gone to a ce that was that far away. Furthermore, it was even under a situation in which his martial soul that had signs of shattering was guiding him. This was simply too fantastical.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°By the time I woke up, it was still daytime. I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but my body was already buried in the snow. When I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with a dark white object. I thought that I was already dead, but I realized that something wasn¡¯t right after a moment. The condition of my body was still very normal, and I could even sense the flow of my soul power. Furthermore, my Spirit Eyes hadpletely stabilised; they no longer had any problems.¡±

    ¡°I climbed out from the snow, astonished. Only then did I realise that I was still in my original location. More astonishingly, an extra burst of power seemed to be within my body. I found a dead scorpion that was longer than a meter near my body. Its entire body was pure white, while its tail was jade-green. There were many crystalline objects on the surface of its shell, and though it was already dead, I could still sense how powerful it was.¡±

    ¡°An Ice Jade Scorpion?¡± Zhou Yi took a deep breath, while Fan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with astonishment.

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Zhou, what¡¯s an Ice Jade Scorpion?¡±

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°It¡¯s an extremely strong soul beast that lives in the Extreme North. They have an enormous poption, and they¡¯re the true rulers of that bitterly coldnd. They possess an ultimate ice attribute, and normally speaking, they only live within the core regions of the Extreme North. Even to us soul masters, that area is a forbidden ce. It is a truly forbidden area to humans. Even Titled Douluo-ranked experts wouldn¡¯t dare to easily tread within that extremely cold ce. Yuhao, you were actually able to survive after encountering an Ice Jade Scorpion.¡±

    Originally, Zhou Yi and Fan Yu still had some doubts towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. However, their suspicions immediately dropped by arge amount after Huo Yuhao described the appearance of the Ice Jade Scorpion. Though there were arge number of soul beasts within the Extreme North, human soul masters would rarely have the chance to encounter them. Furthermore, the outer courtyard had never taught them anything about the Ice Jade Scorpion from Year 1 to Year 6. If he hadn¡¯t truly seen an Ice Jade Scorpion, how would Huo Yuhao be able to describe a soul beast like it?

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how it did, but because I discovered some energy within its body, I tried to use my soul power to urge it on. In the end¡­¡±

    With that, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his hands. A trace of white light shed through his originally deep-blue eyes, and the temperature in Zhou Yi¡¯s office dropped right after that.

    The strong chilliness caused even Wang Dong to involuntarily shiver instinctively. Fan Yu and Zhou Yi clearly saw a translucent and sparkling luster on Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands, as if he was wearing a set of diamond gloves that had a moving radiance to them. The temperature within the office dropped suddenly.

    Fan Yu could no longer sit; he suddenly stood up. As he looked at Huo Yuhao, he unconsciously widened his eyes. Right after that, the two of them saw a purple soul ring slowly rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet. It was a halo that flickered with a noble purple, and it slowly undted rhythmically around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    ¡°A thousand year soul ring!¡± Wang Dong cried out immediately.

    Purple, didn¡¯t that represent a thousand year soul ring? However, how was that possible? Just what situation was this!?

    Huo Yuhao quickly took off his jacket and removed his shirt, revealing his naked upper body.

    ¡°Ah¨C¡± Because Wang Dong was standing right behind him, he was able to instantly see the sparkling tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. The vivid and lifelike portrayal of the enormous scorpion gave him a jump.

    Huo Yuhao slowly turned around, showing his back to Fan Yu and Zhou Yi.

    During the journey back, when he and the Skydream Iceworm had gotten to this point, Huo Yuhao had asked him whether the teachers would notice that the Ice Empress¡¯ tattoo was different whenpared to ordinary Ice Jade Scorpions.

    The Skydream Iceworm then replied using the simplest words it could, ¡°Other than you, every human who has seen the Ice Empress has died!¡±

    ¡°The Ice Jade Scorpion, it¡¯s really the Ice Jade Scorpion! Yuhao, you, you, this¡­ this is impossible!¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes were filled with a look of inconceivability, as was Fan Yu. The husband-and-wife duo looked at Huo Yuhao as if they were looking at a monster.

    After putting his clothes back on, Huo Yuhao withdrew his martial soul and stood there obediently, ¡°Teacher, Teacher Zhou, I don¡¯t understand what happened either. Can the two of you exin this doubt of mine? In any case, I¡¯m no longer afraid of the cold after I obtained this power. It seems as though I¡¯ve already be a part of that world of ice and snow.¡±

    Suddenly, Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes lit up. She looked towards Fan Yu, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s rted to his Body Soul? Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes should be a Body Soul. I¡¯ve heard Teacher Wang Yan say that powerful Body Soul soul masters will have a second awakening of their martial soul. If that¡¯s truly the case, although the situation he¡¯s in right now seems extraordinary, it isn¡¯t fully unexinable. Why don¡¯t I go find Wang Yan now and ask him about it?¡±

    Zhou Yi was always the type of person who would act immediately. Just as she said that she was about to leave, Fan Yu grabbed her by the arm, ¡°No, you can¡¯t go. Quiet down a little. If you let Wang Yan know about this, do you think the Martial Soul Department will let Yuhao go?¡±

    Zhou Yi was stunned. As she looked towards the determined gaze in Fan Yu¡¯s eyes, she immediately understood what he meant. She remained silent after that.

    Fan Yu sat back down, then looked towards Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, this situation that¡¯s urred to you is an extremely rare urrence among us soul masters. This is the first time we¡¯ve encountered a situation like this. Therefore, we¡¯re unable to give you a full exnation. However, ording to our estimations, it should be something rted to your martial soul. Body Souls have always been an extremely mysterious existence. There¡¯s a mysterious sect within the continent called the Body Sect, and they¡¯ve always been doing their best to collect and cultivate soul masters who possess Body Souls. Perhaps they¡¯re the only people who could understand what¡¯s happened to your body. Teacher can tell you that this isn¡¯t a bad thing. From what you¡¯ve shown us, you should have a second martial soul now. Moreover, this martial soul has a thousand year soul ring. It could¡¯ve been given to you by the dead Ice Jade Scorpion you found beside you. As for why you were able to obtain an Ice Jade Scorpion as your second martial soul, we can¡¯t exin this. However, this is absolutely a good thing for you. The Ice Jade Scorpion ranks among the apex of assault-type martial souls belonging to the ice attribute, and it¡¯ll have extremelyrge benefits towards your future cultivation. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°Teacher, then what should I do now?¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Let me settle the issue of you beingte. I¡¯ll formally announce the fact that you¡¯re a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. In addition to that, I¡¯ll give a report to the academy that the reason why you werete was because you were helping meplete a task I assigned to you. However, if we do it like this, you won¡¯t be able to be a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department in the future. Teacher isn¡¯t willing to force you, so you¡¯ll have to make a choice by yourself. However, I can guarantee you that the moment the Martial Soul Department discovers that you¡¯re a twin-souled soul master who has a thousand year soul ring as your second martial soul¡¯s first soul ring, they won¡¯t expel you. Because of this, you have to decide by yourself whether you want to study alongside me or remain in the Martial Soul Department as a core disciple.¡±

    ¡°As for your future cultivation, I personally believe that you should focus on your Spirit Eyes regardless of whether you stay in the Martial Soul Department or fully transfer to the Soul Tool Department. The greatest advantage of twin martial souls lies in the fact that you can add soul rings to your second martial soul once your cultivation¡¯s strong enough. At that time, the advantage of a twin-souled soul master can be fully disyed. However, you¡¯ve already walked the path of your Spirit Eyes, so it¡¯d be better for you to not easily change your style of fighting. Earlier, you said that you¡¯d obtained a second soul skill for your Spirit Eyes. Since that¡¯s the case, you should continue to cultivate your Spirit Eyes, and not this new martial soul you¡¯ve just obtained. It¡¯s strange how you obtained this new martial soul, so we should observe it for a bit more before doing anything. Let us see your second soul ring first.¡±

 Chapter 46.1: The Spirit Eyesâ€™ Second Soul Skill

    Chapter 46.1: The Spirit Eyes¡¯ Second Soul Skill

    Huo Yuhao nodded. A pale golden light flickered through his eyes as he released his Spirit Eyes. When he did, a white and purple soul ring rose up from his feet.

    Astonishment once again appeared on Fan Yu, Zhou Yi, and Wang Dong¡¯s faces,

    A thousand year soul ring, another thousand year soul ring. The second soul ring of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes was actually another thousand year soul ring. Just what had he done during the past month!? Under a situation in which he didn¡¯t even have a single attacking soul skill, he¡¯d actually obtained a thousand year soul ring. This was simply too inconceivable.

    ¡°A thousand year soul ring? You, how did your body endure it?¡± A puzzled look filled Zhou Yi¡¯s face, ¡°If it was already somewhat fishy that you were able to obtain a soul ring for your second martial soul, just how in the world did you get that thousand year soul ring for your Spirit Eyes? Don¡¯t tell me that you also got it after sleeping for a while. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll go run to the North and sleep there every day.¡±

    Somewhat embarrassed, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I didn¡¯t get it just by sleeping. I killed a soul beast, then discovered that it had a spiritual attribute to it. After that, I absorbed its soul ring. I didn¡¯t even know that it was a thousand year soul ring. As for why I could endure it, it seems to be because I¡¯ve obtained a soul bone¡­¡±

    The trio¡¯s facial muscles twitched simultaneously.

    Two thousand year soul rings and a soul bone? Did Huo Yuhao fall into a treasury?

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Carefully exin everything to us. Just what in the world happened?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded obediently. ¡°I really got that soul bone after waking up. It seems to be rted to the Ice Jade Scorpion; it¡¯s a torso bone. I discovered that after I pour soul power into my backbone, I can emit an extremely intense chilliness. However, this can only be maintained for a very short time before my soul power¡¯s fully drained. After killing that soul beast, I directly started to absorb it. This was because I didn¡¯t know it was a thousand year one. By the time I noticed that the soul ringing from its body was a purple one, it was toote. In the end, I finished absorbing it without feeling much pain. Could it be because the soul bone strengthened my physique?¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded. ¡°It¡¯s possible. Tell us the important part of this story; tell us how you killed that thousand year soul beast. Even three-ringed students might not be able to easily kill a thousand year soul beast, but you were only a one-ringed Soul Master at that time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The soul beast I encountered was very strange. When I first bumped into it, it was a fierce, snow-white tiger. It seemed extraordinarily strong, and I knew that it wasn¡¯t something to be trifled with at first nce. I didn¡¯t even have any thoughts of fighting with it! Thus, I turned around and ran away. After I ran a long distance away, I turned around. I discovered that it hadn¡¯t chased after me; it was only looking at me. At that time, I felt that it was very strange, as tiger-type soul beasts are extremely aggressive. This point was especially emphasized during our sses. However, why didn¡¯t it take the initiative to attack me? Because of that, I mustered some courage to quietly return and observe it. In the end, I discovered that the tiger was still looking at me, but it didn¡¯t have any intentions of making a move. Then, I tried using a long-range soul tool to attack it. But, who would¡¯ve predicted that the tiger¡¯s body would suddenly turn illusory, causing my attack to miss? Right after that, it charged towards me.¡±

    ¡°At that time, I felt that I was definitely screwed. I didn¡¯t even have enough time to regret my actions, and I ran away again. However, that tiger was much faster than me. Within a few moments, it caught up to me and pounced towards me viciously. Panicked, I released that Scorpion martial soul and blocked it with my hand. My body sank, and I fell down. Because I thought that I was finished, I subconsciously grabbed the throat of that tiger. That white tiger also attacked me, and it even released a spiritual attack. However, I had my Spirit Eyes! Though I felt waves of dizziness from its spiritual attack, I didn¡¯t suffer any real injuries. By the time I woke up from its spiritual attack, I discovered that the soul beast I¡¯d grabbed was actually not the white tiger; instead, it¡¯d turned into an enormous worm. It was a full meter long, and its entire body was snow-white and translucent. Oh, right. It was just like an especiallyrge silkworm. After using that Scorpion martial soul, I felt that I¡¯d be extraordinarily strong. Thatrge silkworm seemed to have been crushed to death by me. I didn¡¯t think much of it then. After all, spiritual-type soul beasts aren¡¯t easy to find in the first ce. Since I was able to bump into one, I hurriedly absorbed it. Then, I obtained this thousand year soul ring.¡±

    Wang Dong asked, suspicious, ¡°What you¡¯re saying is too farfetched. Why was it a tiger, then arge silkworm all of a sudden?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave a mysterious smile, ¡°Originally, I thought the same as you. However, I understood everything after trying out the new soul skill I obtained. Teachers, please take a look at this.¡±

    With that, the hint of golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly intensified. Instantly, the purple soul ring around him blossomed with a dazzling light. He quickly took a step backwards, arriving next to Wang Dong. Right after that, Fan Yu and Zhou Yi astonishedly discovered that there were unexpectedly two Wang Dong¡¯s in front of them; there was no longer a Huo Yuhao.

    Turning towards the ¡®Wang Dong¡¯ beside him, Wang Dong was immediately gobsmacked, ¡°This, what is this skill?¡±

    A distorted halo of light flickered slightly on ¡®Wang Dong¡¯s body, and he turned back into Huo Yuhao. Right after that, Huo Yuhao revealed another astonishing scene. The rhythmically undting soul rings around his body transformed yet again.

    The originally white and purple soul rings instantly transformed into two blood-red soul rings which were filled with a terrifying aura. The pressure that suddenly appeared caused even Fan Yu and Zhou Yi to subconsciously release their own soul rings while quickly retreating backwards.

    ¡°Hundred, hundred thousand year soul rings?¡± Wang Dong blurted out involuntarily. His reaction wasn¡¯t as violent as those of the two teachers. The martial soul fusion that he had with Huo Yuhao caused him to be unable to sense any danger from the two hundred thousand year soul rings.

    The lights changed yet again, and the two terrifying blood-red soul rings transformed again. This time around, they turned into a weak white color that represented the white of a ten year soul ring.

    The gap between a hundred thousand year soul ring and a ten year soul ring was quiterge.

    Huo Yuhao smiled mischievously. ¡°This is my all-new spiritual-type skill; my thousand year soul skill: Imitation. By using my spiritual undtions, it can bend space and allow me to imitate various shapes. However, the range of my Imitation can¡¯t exceed a diameter of three meters. Imitation gives me another special ability¨Cthat is, the ability to change the color of my soul ring as I wish. Though it doesn¡¯t possess any attacking abilities, it should be quite useful if I use it well.¡±

    Right, this was the second soul skill of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. The story he¡¯d just told wasn¡¯t a full lie; the way he¡¯d obtained this second soul ring wasn¡¯t much different from how he¡¯d narrated it. Only, the Iceworm he¡¯d killed had been found by the Skydream Iceworm. Moreover, it was the Skydream Iceworm who¡¯d exposed the other Iceworm¡¯s illusory imitation.

    The race the Skydream Iceworm was most familiar with was undoubtedly his own race! This Imitation skill seemed powerless, but it was the Iceworm¡¯s best life-protecting measure. This skill was especially important to the current Huo Yuhao. With his Imitation, he could arbitrarily change the colors of his soul rings, allowing him to reveal the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s first soul skill without being scared of anything. This was also why the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul ring had been purple when it had appeared earlier.

    ¡°Nice, nice imitation.¡± In what was practically an instant, Fan Yu¡¯s eyes lit up. As a powerful soul engineer, he immediately thought of a few effective uses of this skill within the domain of soul engineers. More importantly, he could conceal Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities to an even greater degree with this skill!

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was astonished as well. This was because of the number of soul rings surrounding Teacher Fan Yu.

    There were two yellow rings, two purple rings, and four ck rings, totalling eight soul rings. The merely forty-or-so year-old teacher was unexpectedly a powerful Soul Douluo, an eight-ringed Soul Douluo! With his teacher¡¯s age, it wasn¡¯t an impossibility for him to charge towards the Titled Douluo realm.

    Fan Yu spoke with a low voice. ¡°Yuhao, Teacher needs you to give me an answer right now. Will you choose to remain in the Martial Soul Department, or will we announce that you are a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department?¡±

    Without any hesitation at all, Huo Yuhao knelt down again. Respectfully, he said, ¡°A teacher for one day, a father forever. Teacher, I am willing to continue studying soul tools with you.¡±

    ¡°Good, good.¡± Fan Yu was overjoyed. Stepping forward, he propped Huo Yuhao up. ¡°Good child. Since that¡¯s the case, your teacher has to issue you amand. Since you have this soul skill, you should use it. From now on, regardless of whether you are participating in the academy¡¯s assessments or interacting with the other students, you have to use your Imitation to change the color of your soul rings to white.¡± With that, the hint of a naughty smile appeared in his eyes.

    Zhou Yi said unhappily, ¡°Are you teaching him how to eat a tiger by disguising himself as a pig?¡±

    Fan Yu smiled slightly, ¡°Is there anything bad about that? Those old fes from your Martial Soul Department are each shrewder than the other. If they were to learn the truth, would they not try to steal him from us?¡±

    Zhou Yi asked, doubtful, ¡°Didn¡¯t Dean Qian win his bet with Dean Yan? Would Dean Qian renege on his deal?¡±

    Fan Yuughed coldly. ¡°Is there anything he won¡¯t do? In front of an outstanding student, what do bets count for? Even if Dean Yan always has a solemn appearance, he can twist his words from ck to white for the sake of the Martial Soul Department¡¯s strength. You¡¯ve always thought that Dean Qian was very crafty, right? But, Dean Qian is still a ways off from Dean Yan. Caution is always the path to safety. Wang Dong, you have to keep this a secret as well. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be making enemies, even within our Soul Tool Department. Let¡¯s do it this way; you two can go back to your dorms first, and let me take care of this matter. Yuhao, you¡¯ll have to remain in the Martial Soul Department and learn some foundational knowledge until you graduate from Year 3, at the very least. Because of this, even if I announce the fact that you¡¯re a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, you can¡¯t be arrogant. You have to continue learning in a steadfast manner in the Martial Soul Department.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±

    This ordeal could be considered to have been crossed. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but inwardly let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 46.2: The Spirit Eyesâ€™ Second Soul Skill

    Chapter 46.2: The Spirit Eyes¡¯ Second Soul Skill

    Fan Yu rushed out the door, while Zhou Yi brought Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong back to their dorm room and told them to report to Year 2¡¯s ss 1 tomorrow morning to take the advancement test. It didn¡¯t matter how Fan Yu handled things; Huo Yuhao would still have to take the advancement test. If a student wasn¡¯t able to pass their advancement test, not even the dean would be capable of allowing that student to remain; the rules weren¡¯t so easily changed.

    Once Zhou Yi left, Huo Yuhao let out a sigh of relief. He¡¯d rushed the entire way to the academy, and was extremely tired. He didn¡¯t even wipe his bed off before heid down on it and stretched his body.

    Wang Dong angrily said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, get up.¡±

    ¡°What do you want!? You can¡¯t be diligent enough to the point that you¡¯ll drag me into cultivating with you as well, right? Just forget about it for today, I¡¯m exhausted. Let me sleep.¡± After speaking, he rolled over, and almost instantly began to snore.

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but be startled when he saw this. How could this guy just fall asleep like this?

    Despite what he¡¯d said, he¡¯d stille back in the end, and had even be a twin-souled soul master in the process. However, a mist seemed to surround him; what sort of person was Huo Yuhao?

    Originally, Huo Yuhao had just been an orphan to Wang Dong, but now it seemed that Hu Yuhao had changed. An air of mystery surrounded him. His story was extremely bizarre and nigh unbelievable, but the facts still stood: He now had twin martial souls and two thousand year spirit rings. With these facts before them, his bizarre story really didn¡¯t seem to have any ws at all. The only person who knew he was lying was Wang Dong; there was no way that his soul would show signs of shattering! Could it be that he hadn¡¯t noticed it because he was hallucinating?

    In the end, even though his mind was full of doubt, Wang Dong still decided not to wake Huo Yuhao. He sat down on his bed, still covered with a fur mat, and thought, Forget it, doesn¡¯t everyone have a few secrets? Am I not the same? Why should I be so inquisitive? At least the sincerity he shows towards me hasn¡¯t changed, and that¡¯s enough for me.

    Once his thoughts reached this point, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but reveal signs of fatigue on his face. Even this viin is asleep. Why should I cultivate if he¡¯s sleeping? I¡¯m going to sleep as well! He quicklyy down and pulled the quilt over him. However, he soon got up, took another quilt from his storage soul tool, and covered Huo Yuhao with it.

    ¡°When I get up tomorrow, I need to wash these sheets¡­ Hmph, your bed¡¯s covered in dust. I¡¯ll give you the matter.¡± When he came back, he¡¯d made sure to bring another set of bedding with him.

    After doing this, Wang Dong climbed back into his bed and soon fell asleep. This was the first time that he¡¯d managed to sleep soundly in thest few days.

    Huo Yuhao woke up early the next morning. He looked towards Wang Dong, who was still asleep in his bed, and couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    It sure felt good to be back!

    The day had just started as he carefully opened his window without making a sound. Afterwards, he gazed into the distant eastern sky.

    When light gradually began to appear over the horizon, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and immediately began to cultivate the Purple Qi from the East.

    His Spirit Eyes finally had their second soul ring, thus both his martial soul and eyesight had increased in strength. The four soul skills his first soul ring gave him had also increased in power due to the Skydream Iceworm; every single one of them now had the power of a thousand year soul ring. Even though he was only a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster, in terms of both his ability and number of skills, he could match a three or even a four ringed soul master.

    His Purple Demon Eyes had also been strengthened alongside his Spirit Eyes. Purple light would now appear when Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Shock, akiu to when he¡¯d used it before, with the help of Wang Dong and their Haodong Power.

    His trip to the north had gone just as the Skydream Iceworm had said it would; Huo Yuhao¡¯s overall power had increased, and he finally had a certain degree of fighting ability.

    Purple light rippled in his eyes as he cultivated, which he did until the sky outside had be quite bright.

    Huo Yuhao patted Wang Dong a few times through his quilt and said, ¡°Hey,zy pants, it¡¯s time to get up.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be noisy, let me sleep a bit more.¡± Wang Dong covered his head with his quilt and refused to get up.

    Hu Yuhao mischievously smiled, then reached into the quilt. He proceeded to touch Wang Dong¡¯s neck and activate his ice martial soul.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Wang Dong shouted and almost jumped out of his bed. A pair of slender legs were revealed as his quilt flew off of him.

    ¡°Bastard, you almost froze me to death! I¡¯ll fight you to the death Huo Yuhao!¡± The coldness he¡¯d felt on his neck had caused him to immediately wake up. When he saw Huo Yuhao standing over him with a mischievous smile, he immediately knew what had happened, and pounced on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t just wait for him. He used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to quickly run away. Since his body had been improved by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, it was now even even stronger than Wang Dong¡¯s, and in turn his speed was much faster than before. He retreated straight out the door of their room.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna wash up first, then we can eat breakfast together.¡±

    ¡°So cold¡­¡± Wang Dong touched his neck and shivered. He looked towards the door and couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Huo Yuhao, just you wait!¡±

    However, Wang Dong never got his revenge, as before they even reached the cafeteria for breakfast, Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Xiao Xiao alle looking for them.

    When the five of them met, things naturally became very lively. Huo Yuhao recounted the events ofst night again, but he didn¡¯t mention how old his new soul rings were, as he was still waiting for news from his teacher Fan Yu.

    ¡°Since teacher Fan Yu has decided to help you stay, it seems we can rx. Little Yuhao¡­ if you do this again little Yuhao, I¡¯ll kick you out the door!¡± Even though Tang Ya¡¯s words were fierce, the worry in her eyes showed her true feelings.

    Huo Yuhao apologized, ¡°Teacher Tang Ya, senior brother, I promise that I won¡¯t do this again. If I have any issues, I¡¯ll discuss them with you guys first from now on.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at him with a meaningful look as he patted his shoulder, then said, ¡°Junior brother, though this is a good thing¡­ As brothers, I shouldn¡¯t need to say any more. You should first focus on passing your advancement test.¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior brother.¡± Hu Yuhao respected Bei Bei even more than Tang Ya.

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go eat breakfast together.¡± There were only two cafeterias in the outer courtyard, both divided by year: one for the the Martial Soul Department and one for the Soul Engineering Department. Since they were all currently in the same department, they all ate in the same cafeteria.

    Being promoted from Year 1 to Year 2 meant that the building Hu Yuhao studied in would change as well. Originally, they¡¯d been first years, and thus had studied in the white building meant for Year 1 students. Now they¡¯d be studying in the yellow building meant for Year 2 and Year 3 students. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯te to register yesterday, but both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao knew where to go. Thus, the three of them arrived before the yellow school building, then walked directly towards the Year 2 ss 1 ssroom.

    As they walked, they met three people that they knew.

    Dai Huabin seemed to have grown taller, while his original cold demeanor seemed to have be more gloomy. He didn¡¯t look like a twelve or thirteen year-old teenager at all anymore. Rather, he seemed far more mature than his fellow peers.

    Next to Dai Huabin was Zhu Lu; her body had begun to mature as well. Girls developed earlier than boys, and she was now almost as tall as Dai Huabin. She possessed the Netherworld Civet beast soul, thus she made no sound when she walked.

    The third person with them was naturally the young girl who owned the Nailed Fox soul, Cui Yajie. Compared to Dai Huabin¡ªwho was an Assault System Soul Master¡ªand Zhu Lu¡ªwho was an Agility System Soul Master¡ªshe was different. Her abilities were a bit mixed, as her Charm was considered a control type ability, while her second skill, the Foxtail Needle, was considered to be between the assault and agility systems. When Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had been sent to ss 2, she¡¯d followed them. After all, they¡¯d been a group during the freshmen assessment.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of three saw them, thus Dai Huabin¡¯s group naturally also saw them. The six of them stood facing one another.

    When he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s group, Dai Huabin¡¯s expression sank. The two groups could be considered to have a feud with each other. First, Huo Yuhao had beaten them during the freshman assessment. Afterwards, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had been expelled by Zhou Yi simply because Huo Yuhao ran for ss representative.

    Dai Huabin could endure losing their battle in the freshmen assessment; after all, it had been director Du Weilun¡¯s decision in the end. No matter what objections he had, he could only endure. At the same time, he also believed that, in terms of individual strength, he was still above both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    However, to be expelled from ss 1 by Zhou Yi was a huge disgrace to him. Dai Huabin had never experienced this sort of humiliation in his life. As the son of the White Tiger Duke, not only had he received a strict education, he¡¯d also developed a temperament like he was above others. If he hadn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have ordered someone to beat Hu Yuhao up when he¡¯d blocked the road at such a young age, and thus caused a tragedy for Huo Yuhao and his mother.

    As the son of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Huabin naturally wouldn¡¯t be so shocked by this humiliation that he would stay down forever. In fact, it instead stimted his morale. Not only had he be the ss representative of ss 2 through his own efforts, he¡¯d also spent a lot of effort cultivating during the past year. His diligence hadn¡¯t been any less than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and his efforts, on top of the fact that he was already a gifted person, had allowed his cultivation to take great strides. His soul force was now Rank 36. He was definitely the strongest amongst the Year 2 students; there was no one who could match him.

    It was just like the saying: ¡®When enemies meet, their eyes turn red¡¯. Zhu Lu¡¯s eyes became cold, and she mockingly said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Huo Yuhao? Oh wait, I heard that you didn¡¯t register yesterday. Have youe to wrong ce, or don¡¯t you know that the rules of the school state that students who don¡¯t register on time will directly be expelled.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, his eyes still locked onto Dai Huabin, and replied, ¡°What does this have to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Of course this has something to do with me,¡± Zhu Lu said, ¡°as a student of Shrek Academy, I naturally must defend the rules of the academy. This isn¡¯t a ce you should be in, so get the hell out of here.¡±

    The rtionship between the two groups had already be irreconcble, and now that she had an excuse, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be polite.

 Chapter 46.3: The Spirit Eyesâ€™ Second Soul Skill

    Chapter 46.3: The Spirit Eyes¡¯ Second Soul Skill

    Wang Dong replied disdainfully, ¡°Who do you think you are? What makes you think that you can take the ce of the academy in order to uphold its rules? If you two hadn¡¯t relied on your statuses as core disciples, you both would¡¯ve screwed off already.¡±

    Wang Dong had pricked Dai Huabin¡¯s soft spot. An angry glint shed through his eyes, and he snorted coldly. ¡°You¡¯re courting death.¡± He took a step forward and sent a palm strike straight towards Wang Dong.

    At that moment, a ball of ck light suddenly appeared between the two parties. It was Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t stop his attack, and allowed his palm to m into the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. At this moment, the gap in their cultivations fully manifested itself. With a muffled noise, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron flew uncontrobly towards Wang Dong.

    At that moment, Xiao Xiao only had two choices: she could either withdraw her martial soul and expose Wang Dong to Dai Huabin, or she could allow her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron to careen uncontrobly towards Wang Dong.

    While Xiao Xiao was hesitating, a figure flew forwards and grabbed onto the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, stopped it, and ced it on the ground. This then separated the two parties.

    The person who¡¯d made a move wasn¡¯t Wang Dong, but Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Huabin hadn¡¯t activated his martial soul, nor had Huo Yuhao. Even though Dai Huabin had only used a single hand, and though Huo Yuhao had used both of his hands, he was still able to stop the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron in an extremely stable manner.

    Dai Huabin was inwardly astonished. He¡¯d fought Huo Yuhao previously, and his impression of Huo Yuhao from then was that, even though he was extremely crafty, and even though his martial soul was somewhat unpredictable, he definitely wasn¡¯t on par with him in terms of physical strength. Dai Huabin¡¯s physical strength was considerably astonishing; if it wasn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to swat Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron away like he had. However, he¡¯d been stopped by Huo Yuhao this easily. In other words, even though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t his equal in strength, he wasn¡¯t that far off. How could this be?

    Xiao Xiao was simrly astonished. Though she¡¯d heard the bizarre story of how Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul had awakened, she still thought that Huo Yuhao was a control-type soul master. She¡¯d never expected him to be this strong.

    Huo Yuhao indifferently said, ¡°Dai Huabin, if you wish to fight, we¡¯ll dly wee you in the Soul Duelling Arena at any time. However this is a school building. Don¡¯t you know the school rules?¡± Once he finished speaking, he motioned for Xiao Xiao to withdraw her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    After a brief moment of rage, Dai Huabin regained hisposure. He coldly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to wait for us to go to the Soul Duelling Area Huo Yuhao. We¡¯re about to start the advancement test. Do you dare to make a bet with me?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯ bet?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Dai Huabin replied in a low voice, ¡°We¡¯ll bet on the results you three getpared to the results that we three get in our advancement test.¡±

    Wang Dong asked in an arrogant tone, ¡°Stakes?¡±

    Dai Huabin replied, ¡°If you lose, I want the prize that you won during the freshmen assessment.¡±

    The moment he finished speaking, the expressions on all three of Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio changed. Other than the privilege to ask the academy to help them obtain a soul ring, the most important reward they¡¯d obtained from the freshmen assessment was the left leg bone of the Emptybright Devil Leopard, which Xiao Xiao had already fused with.

    Soul bones weren¡¯t like soul rings that could only follow a single soul master; when a soul master died, their soul rings would naturally dissipate. However, soul bones could be passed on. As long as the soul bone itself wasn¡¯t broken, it could still be re-absorbed by another person if its original owner had passed on, or if they¡¯d had the limb possessing the soul bone broken.

    Though Huo Yuhao and the rest didn¡¯t know whether or not Dai Huabin truly knew what the reward they¡¯d obtained from the freshmen assessment was, this stake was equivalent to breaking off Xiao Xiao¡¯s leg!

    When Zhu Lu saw the change in the trio¡¯s expression, she became very pleased and said, ¡°What? Scared? If you¡¯re scared, just screw off with your tails between your legs.¡±

    ¡°Bet, take the bet.¡± Xiao Xiao said as she flew into a rage. Even though she normally had a decent temperament, how could she endure being coerced by their opponents like this?

    However, Huo Yuhao shook his head. He looked towards Dai Huabin and said, ¡°Change the stakes.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Dai Huabin said coldly, ¡°you can either bet or scram.¡±

    A fierce light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you lose, then what will you do?¡±

    Dai Huabin replied, ¡°If we lose, we¡¯ll naturally bring out something of equivalent value.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then said in a low voice, ¡°Fine. Then, I¡¯ll just confirm the stakes of this bet; The reward we got from the freshmen assessment was a soul bone, a left leg bone. Xiao Xiao¡¯s already fused with it. If we lose, then we¡¯ll follow your request and cut off Xiao Xiao¡¯s left leg and give you her soul bone. On the other hand, if you lose, I want one of your legs and a soul bone of the same rank. This shouldn¡¯t be too excessive. As long as you can bring out a soul bone of equivalent value, we¡¯ll bet with you.¡±

    At this moment, the expressions of Dai Huabin¡¯s trio changed. They hadn¡¯t known what Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio had gotten as a prize from the freshmen assessment. It was no wonder that Huo Yuhao had asked him to change the stakes; this unexpectedly involved the severing of a limb. However, a fervent look appeared in Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes when he heard the words ¡®soul bone¡¯.

    ¡°Fine, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Just as Dai Huabin was about to reply, a shout suddenly rang out, interrupting him.

    Wang Yan charged over angrily and shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Just what are you lot doing?! You¡¯re all so young, yet you¡¯re actually using your bodies for a joke like this! Dai Huabin, why haven¡¯t you registered at ss 2 yet? Just what do you think you¡¯re doing by blocking this corridor? Are you trying to get disciplined?¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t take any chances due to a something as simple as a momentary impulse; this was Xiao Xiao¡¯s leg! He¡¯d deliberately trapped Dai Huabin when he noticed Wang Yan approaching them. Furthermore, he¡¯d purposefully spoken in a very loud voice so that Wang Yan would hear him.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, Dai Huabin is blocking our way, thus rendering us unable to enter the ss and register. Furthermore, they¡¯ve insisted on making a bet with us; they were also the ones who suggested this bet. We had no choice but to take on their challenge, please forgive us.¡± Huo Yuhao respectfully said to Wang Yan, saluting as he did so.

    Wang Yan snorted coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t object to you using the results of your advancement test as a bet, as it can serve make you work harder. However, I absolutely don¡¯t agree to the stakes of this bet. Even if you don¡¯t care about yourselves, have you even thought about your families? If you sever your leg, what sort of future would you even have left? I¡¯ll be the witness to this bet for you guys. The loser of this bet will have to bow down to the winner, apologize to them, and admit that they were wrong.¡±

    ¡°Bowing won¡¯t do; that¡¯s too soft! You need to make them kowtow and admit that they were wrong!¡± Zhu Lu screeched.

    Wang Yan was just about to reply, but Wang Dong quickly followed up, ¡°Fine then. You were the one who suggested it. If we lose, we¡¯ll kowtow and admit that we were wrong. What about if you guys lose?¡±

    After being suppressed by Wang Yan, Dai Huabin already felt somewhat dejected. Without any hesitation at all, he replied, ¡°We¡¯ll kowtow and admit that we were wrong as well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his hand and pped his palm against Dai Huabin¡¯s three times. Their bet was now considered to have been properly made. Even if Wang Yan wanted to change it, it was now toote.

    Though kowtowing wouldn¡¯t mutte anybody, there was no doubt that, regardless of who won, arge grudge had been formed between the two parties. Both parties had core disciples of the Martial Soul Department, but enmity like this was clearly detrimental towards the unity of the Martial Soul Department¡¯s freshmen. As such, Wang Yan couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows slightly. However, the situation had already reached this point. Both parties had already agreed on the bet, thus he could only let it go on like this.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s trio opened up a path for them, and Huo Yuhao followed Wang Yan to ss 1 beside Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    The students of ss 1 couldn¡¯t help but feel greatly astonished when they saw Huo Yuhao return. Though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t considered too strong in the eyes of arge majority of students, his match with Wu Feng had left a longsting impression on everyone present. Furthermore, even though he was the ss monitor, he¡¯d actually missed the registration date yesterday. However, he¡¯d still re-appeared today. Some of the students who were friendlier with Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel worried for him, while some of the students who had enmity towards him felt schadenfreude.

    Huo Yuhao sat down in the same seat he¡¯d originally sat in during Year 1. However, just as he was sitting down, Zhou Sichen, who was sitting in the row behind him, asked curiously, ¡°Boss Huo, why¡¯d youe back? Reporting inte is very troublesome.¡±

    The person who¡¯d been left in the most wretched state after Huo Yuhao¡¯s match with Wu Feng had been Zhou Sichen. He¡¯d lost almost twenty thousand gold soul coins in one go after betting with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Even he couldn¡¯t afford to take out that much money in one go!

    After that day, Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan had been considered friends with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. They¡¯d also maintained a rtively decent rtionship with Huo Yuhao¡¯s gang. When Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Huang Chutian were expelled from ss 1, the most conspicuous students in ss 1 had naturally been Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio, in addition to Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and the Lan sisters. Moreover, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were extremely friendly towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio. These powerful students were all amicable towards one another, thus, in addition to the cohesiveness of the original students of ss 1, it naturally resulted in the Year 1¡¯s ss 1 being extremely united. Only a small number of envious students had disassociated themselves from the rest. However, there was definitely a limit to the number of aplishments envious people could achieve. It was still hard to say whether or not they could pass the advancement test.

    Huo Yuhao whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s just listen to our teacher¡¯s arrangements. There shouldn¡¯t be too big a problem if we do.¡±

    Zhou Sichenughed mischievously. ¡°That¡¯s fine. In the event that you¡¯re screwed, you¡¯ll just end up helping that brat surnamed Cao.¡±

    Right! Amongst the control-type soul masters, disregarding Huo Yuhao who¡¯d personally been appointed by Zhou Yi, Cao Jinxuan was the strongest individual in terms of personal strength. Though the Lan sisters had a fusion skill, they were still two separate individuals. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been there, it was extremely likely that the ss monitor in charge of the control system would¡¯ve been Cao Jinxuan.

    Cao Jinxuan was seated beside Zhou Sichen. When he heard what was said, he immediately became angry. ¡°Zhou Sichen, return the money you owe me! When are you going to return the two hundred gold soul coins that you owe me? You actually dare to insult me, despite knowing that you owe me money? Pay me back right now, interest too!¡±

    ¡°Ah! I forgot.¡± Zhou Sichen¡¯s expression immediately changed when he heard this. With a fawning look on his face, he turned towards Cao Jinxuan. ¡°Brother Cao,e now. What sort of rtionship do us brothers have!? I was just kidding! I was only praising you! If it weren¡¯t for your strength, how could you seed Boss Huo¡¯s position?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just trying to drive a wedge between us. Cut the crap and return my money!¡± Cao Jinxuan jumped up and grabbed Zhou Sichen by the neck.

    When they saw the two buffoons horsing around, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help butugh. Even though they were fiercely arguing with each other, the two of them were actually very close friends with each other. They, along with Long Xiangyue who¡¯d gone to ss 2, had all grown up together. They had a rtionship that was essentially familial.

 Chapter 47.1: The Badge of a Class 2 Soul Engineer

    Chapter 47.1: The Badge of a ss 2 Soul Engineer

    ¡°Teacher Zhou¡¯sing!¡± Xiao Xiao shouted. When Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen heard this, they immediately became frightened. They both shivered, then quickly returned to their seats and quickly sat down. However, it was unknown whether or not Xiao Xiao had really gained the ability to see the future, as before she had the chance to make fun of them, Zhou Yi actually walked into the room.

    Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan couldn¡¯t help but turn towards Xiao Xiao and give her a thumbs up.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Xiao Xiao, who¡¯d only intended to tease them, didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry.

    Zhou Yi walked in wearing the mask she always wore, showing the same expression. She swept the room with her cold gaze. Forget about the students, even teacher Wang Yan felt a chill on his back.

    Wang Yan quickly walked up to Zhou Yi and whispered, ¡°Teacher Zhou, Huo Yuhao came today.¡±

    Zhou Yi nced towards Huo Yuhao, then whispered, ¡°Teacher Wang, what do you think we should do?¡± She naturally would not admit to the fact she already knew what was going on.

    Wang Yan frowned and replied, ¡°Quite a few people already know that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t here yesterday. At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s group had a verbal sh with Dai Huabin¡¯s group this morning. At this point, it¡¯s impossible for us to cover this up. We¡¯ll just have to shoulder the responsibility for it. The two of us will simply have to work together; no matter what, we can¡¯t allow Yuhao to be expelled. Even though the academy¡¯s rules are strict, Yuhao did enjoy the treatment of a core disciple before this. If both of us insist that he stay, the academy will definitely have to consider our opinions.¡±

    Zhou Yi couldn¡¯t help but reveal a look of admiration after hearing him say this. Wang Yan didn¡¯t even know why Huo Yuhao had beente, yet the first thing he¡¯d done was try to think of a way to prevent Huo Yuhao from being expelled. He¡¯d done this without even asking any questions! Even Zhou Yi felt somewhat ashamed when shepared herself to Wang Yan on this matter. Once she did so, she couldn¡¯t bear to hide the truth from him anymore. She whispered, ¡°Teacher Zhou, were you aware of Yuhao taking elective sses at the Soul Tool Departmentst year?¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯m aware. However, I¡¯m not sure how his studies there are going.¡±

    Zhou Yi said, ¡°His grades are very good. In fact, Fan Yu has already taken him on as his disciple. Fan Yu decided to take him in as a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, thus you don¡¯t have to worry, Yuhao won¡¯t be expelled.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Wang Lin¡¯s pitch immediately elevated as he eximed, ¡°How can this be?¡±

    Earlier, when they¡¯d just been whispering to one another, the students hadn¡¯t been able to hear them. However, when Wang Lin raised his voice, he caught the attention of all the students.

    Wang Yan realized that he¡¯d lost control of his voice for a moment and said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, let¡¯s talk outside.¡± He quickly left the ssroom once he¡¯d finished speaking.

    Zhou Yi let out a sigh. Sorry Teacher Wang. I did all of this for my husband. All I can do is not lie to you. When her thoughts reached this point, she turned and looked at the shocked students, then proceeded to follow Wang Yan out of the ssroom.

    ¡°Teacher Zhou, what¡¯s going on? Howe I didn¡¯t hear of this? I know that you¡¯re Fan Yu¡¯s wife, but don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re still a teacher for the Martial Soul Department! This isn¡¯t possible, it absolutely can¡¯t be possible! I won¡¯t allow it!¡± Wang Yan was somewhat agitated.

    Zhou Yi let out a sigh, then said, ¡°Teacher Wang, please don¡¯t get so worked up. Please, listen to me first. In our eyes, Yuhao is a extremely good student. He can even be described with the words ¡®unlimited potential¡¯. However, do the higher-ups of the academy see him like this? Whether it¡¯s Dean Yan, Director Du, or even old Xuan, who you found to examine him¡­none of them think that Yuhao has enough future prospects to be worth investing in. As such, they refused to give him the position of a core disciple. What sort of thoughts do you think he had? He was the team leader of the team that won the freshmen exam, yet he wasn¡¯t even given the position of a core disciple in the Martial Soul Department. If you were the same age as him, and the same thing happened to you, would your heart be at peace?¡±

    When he heard her question, Wang Yan immediately became silent. Zhou Yi¡¯s words may have been the truth, but Director Du also had his reasons.

    Zhou Yi continued, ¡°If that had been the only thing, it wouldn¡¯t have been to big of a deal. With the two of us taking care of him, I believe that, with Yuhao¡¯s talent and diligence, he definitely would¡¯ve had the chance to showcase his abilities in the future. In a few years, he could¡¯ve still be a core disciple, and maybe even an inner courtyard disciple. However, he decided to study soul tools. I¡¯ve heard from my husband that his performance within the Soul Tool Department can only be described as astonishing. His talent even managed to catch the attention of Dean Qian. In fact, Dean Qian has personally approved Huo Yuhao bing a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    Wang Yan was still a bit anxious and replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. He¡¯s only been in contact with the Soul Tool Departement seven to eight months, right? Normally. only Year 4 students or higher can be core disciples of the Soul Tool Department! Besides a handful of students who were specially recruited by the Soul Tool Department, there¡¯s never been an exception to this! Yuhao¡¯s only been going there to study after school; how great could his achievements truly be?¡±

    Zhou Yi let sighed yet again and said, ¡°Wang Yan, you know my personality. It¡¯s true that I favor Fan Yu in my heart; he is, after all, my man. However, what you¡¯ve said is correct: I¡¯m still a teacher of the Martial Soul Department. If our Martial Soul Department had paid enough attention to Yuhao, I never would¡¯ve agreed to Fan Yu¡¯s request for Yuhao to be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. However, what has our Martial Soul Department done to him? We broke that child¡¯s heart. Do you know how hard Yuhao has worked? Every day, in addition to his sses, he spent two hours studying at the Soul Tool Department, rain or shine. Look, I won¡¯t lie to you. Before the school year endedst year, before Yuhao even had his second soul ring, he¡¯d already managed to be a ss 2 soul engineer. You know how strict Fan Yu is, yet it was Fan Yu who personally rated him as a ss 2 soul engineer. He attained this in eight months. Even at Yuhao¡¯s young age, he only needed eight months to be a ss 2 soul engineer. He¡¯s set a new record within the Soul Tool Department. Do you really think that the Soul Tool Department wouldn¡¯t be in a rush to ept him as a core disciple in this sort of situation?¡±

    Once he heard this, Wang Yan suddenly became speechless. The Martial Soul Department was the one that had refused to give Huo Yuhao a core disciple position. In addition to this, Huo Yuhao had disyed an amazing amount of talent in the Soul Tool Department. As such¡­ what reason did he have to stop him? He clearly remembered the powerful sadness and disappointment that had appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes when he realized that he hadn¡¯t been announced as a core disciple. After thinking back to that moment, he didn¡¯t know how to refute Zhou Yi¡¯s words.

    It was also at this moment that, on Sea God¡¯s Ind, two crafty old men were discussing a simr topic.

    Qian Duoduo sat down on arge leather couch and said to Yan Shaozhe, who was currently behind arge desk, ¡°Old Yan! You can pay me back for the bet you lost now.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe ced a hand on the desk and leaned slightly forward. He revealed a shocked expression as he said, ¡°I lost a bet against you? What bet? Howe I don¡¯t remember this?¡±

    ¡°What? You forgot?¡± Qian Duoduo¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, ¡°Old Yan, do you still have any face? You¡¯re too thick-skinned. Last year, during the freshmen exam, we bet on which team would win in the end. Have you forgotten about how you lost to me? Do you really believe that I won¡¯t turn this ce upside down to remind you?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe looked towards Qian Duoduo, who looked like someone had stepped on his tail, and said with a smile, ¡°Fine, fine. However, did you really need to personallye all the way here for such a small matter? I¡¯m extremely busy, thus why should I remember such a trifling matter? Speak, which student of my Martial Soul Department has caught your eye? I must remind you, our agreement was that you couldn¡¯t take any core disciples. Those students are precious to this dean, so don¡¯t even think about it.¡±

    Qian Duoduo sat back down on the sofa angrily when he saw Yan Shaozhe own up to the bet and said, ¡°As long as you remember. You¡¯re such a miser. If I really tried to take a core disciple from you, wouldn¡¯t you fight me to the death? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s only an ordinary student.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe suddenly became more vignt. The more indifferent Qian Duoduo acted, the stranger he felt. ¡°Old Qian, don¡¯t use your nickname to describe me. I¡¯m definitely not as stingy as you. Your Soul Tool Department has so much money, yet you still haven¡¯t forgotten to exploit me. Tell me, who did you discover with your expert eyes?¡±

    Qian Duoduo looked helpless as he said, ¡°What do you mean ¡®discover with your expert eyes¡¯?! When you say it like this, I feel somewhat depressed. This is an internal matter of your Martial Soul Department, but it seems that I¡¯ll have to use this bet that I finally won against you. It seems that I¡¯ve lost big time this time.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± When he heard Qian Duoduo say this, Yan Shaozhe became somewhat interested and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Qian Duoduo replied, ¡°You know Zhou Yi from your Martial Soul Department? That girl who always make herself look like an old woman? She¡¯s Fan Yu¡¯s wife, and there¡¯s a student in her ss that she likes who waste in registering for his sses. ording to the academy rules, that student would normally be expelled. You know Du Weilun¡¯s shitty personality; he treats the academy rules like they¡¯re his father, thus it¡¯s impossible to discuss this matter with him. Zhou Yi, that girl, went homest night andined about it. Fan Yu originally didn¡¯t intend to deal with this matter, but he couldn¡¯t handle the fact that his wife wouldn¡¯t let him sleep in his own bed! As such, he came to me. He wanted me to use the bet that I won against you to bring that kid over and make him a core disciple of our Soul Tool Department. You know that Fan Yu is the candidate to be the next Dean, and as such I can¡¯t simply ignore his request. In any case, since it¡¯s been awhile since I won our bet, if I don¡¯t make you pay up now, you really might not be able to y in the future. That¡¯s why I came over.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe looked towards Qian Duoduo with an puzzled expression. ¡°Ate student is enough for you and Fan Yu to make such a fuss? What¡¯s this student¡¯s name?¡±

    Qian Duoduo sincerely replied, ¡°His name is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I seem to remember that name.¡±

 Chapter 47.2: The Badge of a Class 2 Soul Engineer

    Chapter 47.2: The Badge of a ss 2 Soul Engineer

    Qian Duoduo smiled cunningly. ¡°He¡¯s a brat from the champion team ofst year¡¯s freshmen assessment. His teammates are core disciples now, and he¡¯s the only one who¡¯s not because of his ten year soul ring. When Fan Yu came looking for me just now, I felt that he was somewhat undeserving of bing a core disciple. However, after I thought about it, this brat still did help me beat you in a bet. Beating you in a bet isn¡¯t easy for this daddy! If I¡¯m able to see this kid in my Soul Tool Department, I¡¯ll remember how I beat you. That¡¯d feel really good. Thus, I reluctantly agreed. I just came over to say hi to you. I don¡¯t care about the specifics of this event; I¡¯ll let Fan Yu handle it. Whatever, I¡¯m going back. I still have a lot of things to do.¡±

    With that, he stood up and left, pping his butt as he did so.

    Yan Shaozhe used his eyes to follow Qian Duoduo as he left, inwardly feeling that something wasn¡¯t right. Picking up a microphone-type soul tool from his table, he pressed a button and poured his soul power into it.

    ¡°Weilun?¡± Yan Shaozhe spoke in a low voice.

    Du Weilun¡¯s voice rang out from the telephone, ¡°Dean Yan, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Help me check something. Is there a student called Huo Yuhao who registeredte?¡±

    Somewhat astonished, Du Weilun said, ¡°What a coincidence. There were a few students who just made aint to me, saying that this Huo Yuhao entered the ssroom in a grandiose manner even though he came inte. I was just about to take care of this matter.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Tell me what you know of this Huo Yuhao. What¡¯s his talent like?¡±

    Du Weilun said, ¡°He has a bit of talent. Last year, he was one of the champions of the freshmen assessment, along with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. His martial soul is called the Spirit Eyes, and his soul skill should be something simr to a spiritual attack. His abilities can be considered to be ordinary, but he has the signs of possessing a Body Soul. Because he was one of the champions of the freshmen assessment, he was able to enjoy the temporary treatment of a core disciplest year. However, it¡¯s been withdrawn from him this year. His beingte has vited the academy¡¯s rules, so he will be expelled.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°If memory serves me right, he only has a ten year soul ring. Am I right?¡±

    Du Weilun said, ¡°Right. He was able to enter the academy due to the Tang Sect specially inviting him, and not because he was able to pass the entrance exam. Reportedly, his soul power was only at Rank 13 when he entered the academy. Right now, it isn¡¯t clear as to whether he¡¯s reached Rank 20. It¡¯s very possible that he hasn¡¯t reached it. And if that¡¯s the case, he¡¯ll be expelled anyway. As for his Body Soul, Wang Yan went over to Elder Xuan, who personally inspected this student. In the end, Elder Xuan was very disappointed. He said that this student had no talent, and that he wasn¡¯t worth cultivating. After that, this student was able to reveal a fusion skill with Wang Dong during the freshmen assessment; this is his only strong point. Because of this, Wang Yan went over to Elder Xuan again. After taking another look at him, Elder Xuan verified that there was no chance he could awaken his Body Soul. After that, we didn¡¯t pay much attention to this student.¡±

    Heraing Du Weilun¡¯s words, Yan Shaozhe immediately revealed a hint of a smile. Du Weilun¡¯s abilities were still worthy of recognition. Huo Yuhao was such an ordinary student, but he was able to immediately speak about his abilities in addition to a few of his experiences after entering the academy. He was definitely qualified to be the Director of Studies.

    ¡°Fine, then let¡¯s do it this way. You don¡¯t have to take care of this matter anymore. Earlier, Qian Duoduo came over to talk to me. He wants to use that time I lost to him to bring this student called Huo Yuhao into his Soul Tool Department. Supposedly, Zhou Yi requested this from Fan Yu, who then brought it up with him. Since this student¡¯s so ordinary, let¡¯s just give him to the Soul Tool Department. I can stop Qian Duoduo from bothering me about this.¡±

    ¡°Qian Duoduo wants a student from you? This is truly somewhat strange. Why don¡¯t we wait until the advancement tests to verify his abilities?¡± Du Weilun asked cautiously.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s hard to say whether he¡¯ll even be able to pass the advancement test. Even if he has the strength of a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster, with his spiritual attribute, his second soul skill won¡¯t be too strong. His first soul ring¡¯s only a ten year one, so he isn¡¯t worth training. Let¡¯s just give him to Qian Duoduo to stop him from nagging me next time. Our Martial Soul Department has to show a bit of magnanimity. Let¡¯s just do it this way.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dean.¡± Du Weilun replied, and the two simultaneously hung up.

    Just as Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t attach much importance to Huo Yuhao, neither did Du Weilun. There were many outstanding geniuses in Shrek Academy, and the ability Huo Yuhao had revealed on the surface wasn¡¯t enough to attract their attention.

    However, they didn¡¯t know that Qian Duoduo had immediately erupted into uproariousughter after leaving the Sea God¡¯s Ind to go back to the Soul Tool Department¡¯s outer courtyard. A pleased look filled his face, so much so that it even exceeded the expression he¡¯d shown when he¡¯d beaten Yan Shaozhe in their previous bet.

    ¡°Old Yan, Old Yan. I really feel bad for you; you¡¯ve been tricked again. I didn¡¯t think that my Soul Tool Department would actually have a day when we¡¯d get a twin-souled student. This Huo Yuhao really is my lucky star; he¡¯s allowed me to take advantage of Old Yan again. He took eight months to be a ss 2 soul engineer, has twin martial souls, and a top-ranked Ice Jade Scorpion, which is at the pinnacle of the ice attribute. Perfection, perfection. Wahahaha¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao had no idea that he had been quibbled over by the Soul Tool Department and the Martial Soul Department. At this moment, he was seriously listening to Zhou Yi exin the rules of the advancement test. Other than the freshmen who¡¯d just entered the academy, the advancement test was of utmost importance to every single student of the outer courtyard. If they couldn¡¯t pass it, they¡¯d have to pack their bags and leave. Even core disciples weren¡¯t an exception to this. Naturally, the situation of a core disciple failing to pass the advancement test had never urred in the past.

    Zhou Yi stood behind the podium as she spoke, ¡°The advancement test for Year 1 students entering Year 2 is rtively easy. Whenpared to the advancement tests the upper year groups have, your test is much more simple. The test we¡¯ll be undergoing is identical to ss 2¡¯s test. As for sses 3 and 4, they¡¯ll have a different test due to the strengths of their martial souls.¡±

    ¡°Our test will be held in the academy¡¯s Beast Duelling Area. I¡¯m sure that many of you still don¡¯t know where that is. Now, I¡¯ll tell you guys where it is. The Beast Duelling Area is to the south of the Soul Duelling Area, within the tall, castle-like gray walls. The Beast Duelling Area contains many different-ranked soul beasts that have been captured by the academy throughout the years. It¡¯s specialised in helping the upper year groups cultivate. If you¡¯re able to enter Year 4 in the future, you¡¯ll be able to train yourselves in the Beast Duelling Area. The livebat sses that are held there will be the most important tests you guys will take for the sake of your future aplishments.¡±

    ¡°For the advancement test this time, you¡¯ll have to fight against a soul beast in the Beast Duelling Area. At the same time, you¡¯ll also be able to choose the soul beast you¡¯ll be fighting against. Different soul beasts will have different points assigned to them, and the stronger the soul beast you challenge, the higher the chance you¡¯ll be able to obtain a high score in the test. This test will be graded by teachers from the Martial Soul Department¡¯s upper year groups. It¡¯ll have a maximum score of a hundred, and the people who are able to obtain more than sixty points will be able to pass the advancement test.¡±

    ¡°Now, I have a few things I want to warn you guys about. Number one, don¡¯t be too cautious. If the soul beast you choose is too weak, you might not be able to pass even if you¡¯re able to defeat it. Number two, don¡¯t be overly impetuous. If the soul beast you choose is too strong, in the event the proctor can¡¯t make it in time to save you during a fight, then¡­¡±

    With that, a cold light flickered through Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes, causing the students present to feel a shiver up their backs. They had all seen soul beasts in the past, but not everyone had faced a soul beast in singlebat. They were still young, and practically all of them had had the assistance of their teachers when they had obtained their soul rings. A prodigy like Huo Yuhao, who had obtained his rings through his own power, couldn¡¯t be seen everywhere.

    ¡°Number three, you have to keep in mind that losing the battle doesn¡¯t automatically eliminate you. If the soul beast you¡¯re fighting is strong enough, and your performance during the battle is worthy of praise, your final score might not necessarily be low. Furthermore, the standards required for control-type and assault-type soul masters are different. During a 1v1 test like this, assault-type soul masters will have higher requirements; your aim will be to defeat the soul beast you challenge. On the other hand, control-type soul masters will aim to control the soul beast. How long you¡¯re able to keep fighting will determine how many marks you obtain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was listening very seriously; he had to listen seriously! After all, they had made a bet against Dai Huabin. The stakes of this bet were for the losing party to kowtow and admit that they were wrong. Although this only involved a matter of face to other people, this had apletely different meaning to him. If he were able to make Dai Huabin kneel in front of him and kowtow, it was equivalent to him havingpleted a tiny part of his revenge. Therefore, he had to win this bet no matter what.

    Right at this moment, the sound of knocking on the door being suddenly rang out.

    Normally, disruptions wouldn¡¯t ur during ss time unless the academy had certain special arrangements. Wang Yan and Zhou Yi were stunned. Wang Yan, who was standing by the door, turned to open it.

    A teacher stood outside the ssroom. She was a very unfamiliar person to the students, and even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that it was this teacher who¡¯d given him the Secret Law Soul. Right, the teacher who¡¯de was exactly the Teacher Mu Jin who¡¯d lost a bet against Zhou Yi. Furthermore, there were two teachers in charge of the Teaching Department standing behind her.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s face sank. ¡°Teacher Mu, why aren¡¯t you teaching in your ss 2? What are you trying to do bying to our ss 1?¡±

    It was unknown whether she was deliberately setting herself up against Zhou Yi, but after Zhou Yi became the teacher in charge of Year 1¡¯s ss 1, Mu Jin became the teacher in charge of ss 2.

    Mu Jinughed indifferently. ¡°I¡¯d heard that there was a student from your ss who turned upte, but still came in for ss. I specially came over to see who it was. I didn¡¯te over to find you; it was these two teachers from the Teaching Department who were looking for you.¡±

    A cold light flickered through Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes as she walked towards the door. The two teachers from the Teaching Department had already walked into the ss, and the middle-aged male teacher on the left said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, Teacher Wang, we received the student reports. A student called Huo Yuhao from your ss didn¡¯t manage to register yesterday, but he turned up to ss today. You two should know the academy¡¯s rules as well. We now have to take this student away and handle his leaving procedures.¡±

    Wang Yan looked towards Zhou Yi, whoughed indifferently. ¡°Teacher Li, Teacher Lu. What you say is indeed the case. However, this student, Huo Yuhao, is a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. Though he reported inte, he waspleting a task assigned to him by the Soul Tool Department. The Soul Tool Department will exin this matter to you.¡±

 Chapter 47.3: The Badge of a Class 2 Soul Engineer

    Chapter 47.3: The Badge of a ss 2 Soul Engineer

    The two teachers from the Teaching Department were stunned. ¡°A core disciple of the Soul Tool Department?¡± Teacher Lu asked disbelievingly.

    Mu Jin was already itching to interject. ¡°Zhou Yi, if you¡¯re going to make up excuses, at least make up realistic ones. Since when has our academy had a core disciple from the Soul Tool Department who¡¯s only been a Year 1 student? Who doesn¡¯t know that the Soul Tool Department only takes in core disciples once they¡¯vepleted their Year 3 advancement tests in the Martial Soul Department? Who do you think you¡¯re fooling with such an excuse!?¡±

    The two teachers from the Teaching Department were briefly stunned. Teacher Lu then turned to Mu Jin and said, ¡°Teacher Mu, we¡¯ll take care of this matter. You should return to ss 2 and look after your students.¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s excuse was so inconceivable that they actually suspected it to be the truth. At the same time, having Mu Jin fan the mes of conflict would clearly be detrimental to the harmony between teachers.

    Mu Jin snorted resentfully. ¡°I hope the academy will notify me of the results once everything has been settled.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the the results right now. Huo Yuhao is my disciple and he¡¯s also a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department.¡± A tall figure appeared by the door to the ssroom, it was Fan Yu who was even apanied by Director Du Weilun.

    ¡°Director.¡± The two teachers from the Teaching Department hurriedly greeted Du Weilun.

    Du Weilun entered the ssroom and spoke with a solemn voice, ¡°With the approval of both Dean Yan Shaozhe and Dean Qian Duoduo, Huo Yuhao will no longer remain a temporary core disciple. Instead, he will now formally assume the role of a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. The reason for his tardiness was due to a task assigned to him by Teacher Fan Yu. Hence, this matter concludes here. Huo Yuhao will stay in ss 1 and continue to learn the various types of foundational knowledge in the Martial Soul Department until Year 3, at which point he will transfer to the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    Upon hearing Du Weilun¡¯s announcement, the other teachers remained silent. Mu Jin¡¯s eyes were filled with an incredulous look. From her perspective, even if Fan Yu had wanted to help Zhou Yi out, he would never have used a method like this! Furthermore, he¡¯d actually managed to convince Du Weilun.

    ¡°No, this can¡¯t be right. Director Du, which of the qualifications to bing a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department does Huo Yuhao meet? Bing a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department requires one to be extremely talented and experienced in the various aspects of soul tool creation!¡± Mu Jin said, unwilling to concede.

    Fan Yu snorted coldly, then shouted, ¡°Huo Yuhao, stand up ande here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately stood up and strode forwards. Although he was confused as to why Mu Jin was targeting him, he wasn¡¯t nervous in the slightest when facing so many teachers. On the contrary, he felt inwardly warm. Zhou Yi, Wang Yan, and Fan Yu were all protecting him, causing him to be filled with confidence.

    Fan Yu flipped his wrist, causing a octagonal blue badge to appear in his palm. The badge had two diamond-like stars embedded within it.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao has learnt the art of soul tool creation under me ever since the freshmen assessment ended. After eight months, he was able to pass the test required to be a ss 2 soul engineer under my guidance. In ordance with the academy¡¯s status within the world of soul engineers, I asked Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo from the Soul Tool Department for help. With his confirmation, I awarded him the badge of a ss 2 soul engineer. All it took him was eight months of time to advance from an ordinary soul master to a ss 2 soul engineer. This level of talent has already created history within Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Thus, how could we not take him in as a core disciple?¡±

    At this moment, even Du Weilun was astonished. He hadn¡¯t known a thing about Huo Yuhao¡¯s involvement in the Soul Tool Department!

    He had only taken eight months to be a ss 2 soul engineer? Even the word ¡®genius¡¯ was insufficient to describe this level of talent. After all, Huo Yuhao was still only twelve years old! Even in the Sun Moon Empire, which highly valued soul engineers, a twelve-year-old ss 2 soul engineer was an incredibly rare existence.. How was this possible?

    However, it was already toote for him to try to stop the Soul Tool Department from taking Huo Yuhao as a core disciple, they had just announced it to the world. Du Weilun was certain that Fan Yu couldn¡¯t have made all this up. But the more he believed this story, the more depressed he felt. He could only console himself with the fact that that Huo Yuhao was only talented in the matter of soul tools No wonder Dean Qian had personally gone to fetch Dean Yan; there was actually a foreshadowing like this! A mistake, they had made arge mistake! If they had known about this earlier, they would¡¯ve told Dean Yan about it earlier. Even if he still agreed to Huo Yuhao bing a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, he might have at least been able to obtain a few more advantages from Dean Qian.

    Even if Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department had a status that far surpassed that of the Soul Tool Department, their financial state was incredibly pathetic. Oftentimes, the Martial Soul Department had to rely on the Soul Tool Department in order to increase the funding they got.

    Zhou Yi coldly swept her eyes towards Mu Jin, ¡°Director Du, Mu Jin is the teacher in charge of ss 2, but nheless she hase over to my ss 1 to stir up trouble. Doesn¡¯t this seem inappropriate?¡±

    Du Weilun immediately woke up from his regret. Since the situation had already reached this point, there was no longer any use for regret. He spoke in a solemn voice, ¡°Teacher Mu, return to your ss immediately. You will not receive a second warning.¡±

    Mu Jin looked at Zhou Yi hatefully, then nced at the expressionless Fan Yu before finally stamping her foot and leaving.

    Zhou Yi said indifferently, ¡°Director Du, I honestly feel that Teacher Mu¡¯s attitude isn¡¯t too suitable for a teacher in charge of a ss. We wouldn¡¯t want her wasting the time of those outstanding students.¡±

    Du Weilun furrowed his brows, ¡°This is a matter for the academy to decide. Okay, you can continue with your ss. The advancement test will start in the afternoon, and I shall personally attend and observe how the test goes for your Year 2.¡± With that, he nodded towards Fan Yu and left along with the two teachers from the Teaching Department.

    Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder before following Du Weilun away. He¡¯d finally been able to announce that Huo Yuhao was a core disciple, and he had even done this with the approval of Dean Yan Shaozhe. This matter was already settled and now the Martial Soul Department couldn¡¯t renege on their words even if they wanted to. After leaving the ssroom, the hint of a faint smile appeared on the corners Fan Yu¡¯s mouth. Even if the Soul Tool Department wasn¡¯t able to have a rise to glory in his generation, it would definitely be able to do so in Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s generation.

    Under the awestruck gazes of the other students, Huo Yuhao sat back down in his original seat. Other than Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, who¡¯d known in advance, today¡¯s events had had stunned the entire ss.

    Having studied together for a year, everyone knew that Huo Yuhao was an orphan who didn¡¯t have any background to rely upon. However, it seemed as though he¡¯d been treated generously by everyone ever since he had entered Shrek Academy. First, Zhou Yi hadn¡¯t hesitated to expel two core disciples for him. This time around, the Soul Tool Department had taken him in as a core disciple and had even given him the badge of a ss 2 soul engineer. Just with his qualifications as a ss 2 soul engineer, Huo Yuhao would be able to be hired for a generous sry in any country on the continent. A soul engineer was a talent that was desperately required by every country, so much so that they could be referred to as strategic resources.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°What?! A ss 2 soul engineer?¡± Yan Shaozhe looked disbelievingly at Du Weilun. Various thoughts shed through his mind and he couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows for a moment.

    After leaving ss 1, Du Weilun had immediately rushed back to report to him.

    ¡°Dammit, we were tricked. We were tricked by that old bastard Qian Duoduo.¡± Yan Shaozhe smacked his table violently, a look of regret on his face.

    Du Weilun said, ¡°Dean Yan, it isn¡¯t that serious. If that kid Huo Yuhao¡¯s only talented in the field of soul tools, allowing him to be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department can be considered to be making full use of our resources.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe waved his hand. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be that simple. You¡¯ve forgotten something; if it¡¯s just as you said, why would the Soul Tool Department be so impatient to take him? It would be fine for them to just announce that they¡¯re taking him as a core disciple by the time he reaches Year 4. A student who¡¯s outstanding in the field of soul tool creation definitely won¡¯t attract our attention. As for why he waste this time, Zhou Yi and Fan Yu could¡¯ve found another excuse to settle this matter. However, Qian Duoduo personally came over to deal with this matter with me, and he even used the bet that I lost to himst time. Haven¡¯t you realised what this means?¡±

    Du Weilun was astonished as well, ¡°You¡¯re saying that, other than the strong points the Soul Tool Department values highly, he also has a few areas which we of the Martial Soul Department value?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded, ¡°That¡¯s definitely the case. Otherwise, Qian Duoduo wouldn¡¯t havee over to look for me straightaway. It¡¯s no wonder I felt something was off. I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d be schemed against by that cheapskate.¡±

    Du Weilun smiled bitterly. ¡°Dean, the matter¡¯s already done and dusted. The Soul Tool Department has already announced that he¡¯s one of their core disciples, so we can only acknowledge that. In the end, he¡¯s only a single student. There are many outstanding talents among their generation, so we should just pay a bit more attention in the future so as to not be taken advantage of by the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Yan Shaozhe nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way. This afternoon, participate in the entirety of their advancement test. Other than checking up on a few core disciples, pay special attention to this Huo Yuhao. In the event he really performs exceptionally, let me know immediately. Right, we can¡¯t renege on our deal via normal means, but what if this kid reneges on it by himself and chooses to leave the Soul Tool Department?¡±

    With that, Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t help but reveal the hint of a crafty smile on his face. I can¡¯t directly take him in as a core disciple, but what if he takes the initiative to request it from us? Then that¡¯s a different story. This matter isn¡¯t something that¡¯spletely non-manipble!

    ¡­¡­

    For once, the afternoon ss ended before the bell rang. After exining the various important topics regarding the afternoon¡¯s advancement test, Zhou Yi dismissed the ss. This was to allow them to go back and prepare, adjusting the conditions of their bodies to their most optimum states for the sake of taking their test in the Beast Duelling Area in the afternoon.

    cing the badge of a ss 2 soul engineer on his shirt, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong feeling of sess in his heart. The workmanship of the blue, octagonal badge was extremely exquisite, and the two diamonds embedded on it were even more brilliant.

    ¡°Stop showing it off shamelessly.¡± Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but tease him, ¡°You¡¯re grinning from ear to ear.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°Supposedly, having this thing is considered to be the same as receiving the approval of the Soul Engineering Association. You¡¯ll be able to get a decent job wherever you go with this. At the very least, I won¡¯t have to worry about food and clothing in the future.¡±

    Wang Dong unhappily said, ¡°Just look at how much you¡¯re bragging. Let¡¯s go back and cultivate now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had an amazed look on his face. ¡°Has the sun risen from the west? When have you be this hard-working?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted, ¡°I¡¯ve always been very hard-working, alright?¡±

 Chapter 48.1: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    Chapter 48.1: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    Huo Yuhao stifled a smile. ¡°Right, you¡¯re so hardworking. In fact, you¡¯re so hardworking that you cover your head with your nket every day so as to not get up in the morning. I wonder who this ¡®hardworking person¡¯, the one who¡¯s asked me not to wake him up every morning, is.¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± Wang Dong snorted and pushed Huo Yuhao away as he tookrge strides towards the dorms. Huo Yuhaoughed as he hurried after him. When they arrived back at their dormitory, they greeted the old man who was reclining near the entrance, then headed to their room.

    ¡°Come here, let me take a look. Let me see just how much your cultivation¡¯s increased now that you¡¯ve obtained your second soul ring and a second martial soul.¡± Wang Dong said as he plopped himself down on his bed.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°You¡¯re so anxious. Could it be that you¡¯re trying to prepare for the bet that we have in the afternoon? Since it¡¯s a score-based test, I reckon that we¡¯ll add all of our scores together andpete against theirbined score. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re not confident in yourself?¡±

    Wang Dong nced at him. ¡°Of course I¡¯m confident in myself. I¡¯m just not confident in a person who¡¯s holding us back like you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was left speechless when he heard this. He immediately took off his shoes and sat down on Wang Dong¡¯s bed in a cross-legged position. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll let you experience just how awesome this brother of yours really is.¡± After hearing the Skydream Iceworm refer to himself as his brother everyday during their journey, Huo Yuhao had learned to use the phrase as well.

    Wang Dong unhappily spat, ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you a set of bedding? Why¡¯re you sitting on my bed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Come on, stop that bad habit of yours. Hurry up.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t press the issue. He turned to face Huo Yuhao, then pressed his palms against Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Immediately afterwards, a look of astonishment appeared on both of their faces.

    They were both able to sense that their soul power fusion had formed a powerful soul power, which had in turn substantially increased both of their soul power. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t a simple quantitative change; it was such a substantial improvement that it could be considered a qualitative change. When they¡¯d separated one month ago, their Haodong Power could be described as a tiny brook. Their fused soul power now however, was practically akin to a small river. As the turbulent soul power flowed throughout their bodies, they both were able to clearly sense that their soul power was circting at 150% its original speed.

    The majority of what Huo Yuhao felt was the explosive increase in Wang Dong¡¯s soul power, but Wang Dong felt something different; he discovered that not only had Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power increased by a substantial amount, but the width of his passageways had doubled as well. The amount of Haodong Power the two had created was rtively enormous, yet it wasn¡¯t inhibited at all when it circted through Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways. It managed toplete an entire revolution without any difficulty at all. In fact, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cirction speed even exceeded Wang Dong¡¯s. It was as if a heavenly treasure had been used on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, causing an astonishing transformation to ur to it. When the Haodong Power had finished flowing through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, Wang Dong sensed a formidable burst of power from his body.

    Though the two felt astonished, they¡¯d already started cultivating. As such, they didn¡¯t dare to be careless at all. They hurriedly guarded their minds and gradually entered a meditative state.

    They cultivated all the way until lunchtime before stopping. When they finally slowly withdrew their palms and opened their eyes, both of them had a somewhat strange gaze in their eyes as they looked at one another.

    They¡¯d only cultivated for two hours, yet they both felt that their soul power had distinctly increased. With this sort of cultivation speed, they could potentially raise both of their soul powers by a single rank in less than a month! This cultivation speed was simply too astonishing.

    ¡°You¡¯re simply a freak!¡± Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.

    Huo Yuhao unhappily retorted, ¡°Then what about you? Aren¡¯t you one as well? This was abination of me being well-prepared and my good fortune.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled mischievously. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you were so confident when you made that bet with Dai Huabin. Don¡¯t worry, as long as your score in the advancement test is higher than Zhu Lu¡¯s or Cui Yajie¡¯s, our chances of winning will be extremely high. I¡¯ll definitely work hard in order to beat Dai Huabin¡¯s score.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked, ¡°Are you saying that the proctor will be able to notice if we cheat?¡±

    Their minds were practically connected at this point, as Wang Dong naturally understood what he was thinking. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll be extremely difficult. However, I can sense that your control has increased by a substantial amount, so it should be fine if you¡¯re careful. We have to make Dai Huabin and the rest kowtow before us. Let¡¯s see whether he¡¯ll dare to be so unbridled after that.¡±

    When he and Wang Dong reached the canteen, they learned that Huo Yuhao¡¯s lunch quality hadn¡¯t dropped, despite him being stripped of his privileges as a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. A thirty-or-so-year-old chef was already waiting for them outside. When he saw Huo Yuhao, he immediately approached them.

    ¡°You¡¯re Huo Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°And you are?¡± Huo Yuhao could guarantee that this was his first time meeting this man.

    The middle-aged man who was dressed as a chef smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Master Fan Yu¡¯s personal chef. From here on out, I¡¯ll personally be bringing you your food.¡± Once he¡¯d finished speaking, he handed Huo Yuhao the box of food he was holding.

    Huo Yuhao stared nkly. Once he came back to his senses, a warm feeling immediately spread through his heart; his teacher was truly too thoughtful. He thanked the chef and epted the box of food. Once he had, he and Wang Dong entered the canteen together.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°You¡¯re really great! You even have someone to deliver food to you. The core disciples of the Soul Tool Department are truly treated in an extraordinary manner.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Go and order your food.¡±

    When Huo Yuhao opened the box of food he¡¯d received and saw the food inside of it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished. This meal was simply too sumptuous!

    To Huo Yuhao, the food that the core disciples of the Martial Soul Department had been able to eat had already been of the best quality. However, the food that Fan Yu¡¯s personal chef had given him exceeded that by more than a single level.

    Inside of the box were two dishes, a bowl of soup, andrge bowl of rice. They seemed extremely simple at a nce, but the ingredients that had been used to make them could be described as precious treasures.

    There was a piece of paper thatbeled the food inside of the box as well, with instructions written on it that detailed which food should be eaten in which order so as to obtain maximum efficacy from the ingredients as well.

    Firstly, he needed to drink the soup that had been made from a hundred year jade ginseng stewed together with the essence of a gastrodia ta1. Huo Yuhao was no longer the previously ignorant kid that he had been; after enjoying the benefits of a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department for an entire year, he had a certain level of understanding towards these top-level ingredients. He could also roughly calcte that the cost of this bowl of soup alone exceeded fifty gold soul coins.

    The Martial Soul Department¡¯s canteen served a simr dish, but it contained a mere ten year jade ginseng instead of a hundred year ginseng. As such, its ingredients were very inferior whenpared to the dish in front of him. This bowl of soup could nourish the brain and body, and was considered an exceptionally good type of nourishment.

    Of the two dishes, one of them contained the simmered muscles of a hundred year Earth Dragon. These Earth Dragon muscles had been obtained from a genuine Earth Dragon. Thebat strength of a hundred year Earth Dragon was absolutely at the pinnacle of hundred year soul beasts, as it was the representative of power-type soul beasts. Its muscles could nourish both the muscles and bones of a human being, thus its benefits were especially great for a teenager like Huo Yuhao.

    When Huo Yuhao opened the dish, he found out that the Earth Dragon muscles had unexpectedly been turned into a soft stew. It would¡¯ve had to have been cooked for at least three full days to reach this degree of softness! Not only was it incredibly delicious, it was also incredibly beneficial to eat.

    The other dish contained the marrow of an Azure Bird, and was served with bean sauce. The Azure Bird supposedly had a trace of the Phoenix bloodline, and not only was its marrow delicious, it was also extremely nourishing to the bones of a human being.

    These three dishes altogether could be referred to as the Dragon Muscle Phoenix Marrow Jade Ginseng, and regardless of if you were talking about its nourishing effects or its price, all three of them were first-ss dishes.

    Even the rice was special; it was known as Crystal White Jade Rice and it seemed to be filled with tiny pearls. It could replenish one¡¯s Qi and would nourish one¡¯s body, thus increasing one¡¯s physical strength.

    The material price along for this meal surpassed a hundred and fifty gold soul coins!

    When Wang Dong returned from ordering his food, he took a look at his own food, then looked back at Huo Yuhao¡¯s. A strange light appeared in his eyes once he did so. ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m jealous now. I want to go to the Soul Tool Department as well. When did the Soul Tool Department¡¯s food be that good? I heard that the food that their core disciples eat in their canteen is far inferior to what we of the Martial Soul Department get! However, it seems like the Martial Soul Department needs more nutritious food.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s information wasn¡¯t wrong, but that only applied to ordinary core disciples of the Soul Tool Department. Was Huo Yuhao ordinary? Not only was he Fan Yu¡¯s direct disciple, he was also the Soul Tool Department¡¯s first-ever core disciple with twin martial souls. The Soul Tool Department had ced all of their hope on him, but even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know this.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, then pushed some of his food towards Wang Dong. ¡°Here, we¡¯ll split it fifty-fifty. Give me half of your food. We can taste many different things this way.¡± He didn¡¯t even wait for Wang Dong to reply before he impolitely shoved arge amount of Wang Dong¡¯s food onto his te and began to eat it withrge mouthfuls.

    Wang Dong silently gazed at him when he saw this. However, in the end, he didn¡¯t refuse Huo Yuhao¡¯s offer. Thus, he and Huo Yuhao ate the two different dishes avable for the core disciples of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department together.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Beast Duelling Area.

    As thergest specialised area within Shrek Academy, it was also thergest building within Shrek Academy. The space that the Beast Duelling Area upied was asrge as all of the buildings and dorms within the Martial Soul Department, including Shrek za,bined.

    Within the entire Douluo Continent, academies that could use their power to actually capture and raise soul beasts were as few and far between as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Of them, Shrek Academy was the one and only academy that could achieve such a scale as the Beast Duelling Area; even the royal families of the various empires were unable to do something create something like it. Capturing and raising soul beasts wasn¡¯t easy. One had to maintain the wild nature of a soul beast whilst keeping track of the different diets and habits different soul beasts had. At the same time, one also had to ensure their own safety whilst ordering them about. Investing in something this huge was something that ordinary soul master academies simply wouldn¡¯t dare to even dream of.

    The taxes obtained from Shrek City every year all went to Shrek Academy. And of this enormous sum of money, an entire third of it went into the Beast Duelling Area. It was obvious what sort of investment the Beast Duelling Area needed.

    Students who¡¯d just entered the academy would generally feel that the school fees alone were expensive, but students who managed to enter the Beast Duelling Area wouldn¡¯t have this feeling. The amount of money they paid as school feespared to the investments that Shrek Academy made was akin toparing the glow of a firefly to the radiance of the moon.

    Other than the taxes received from Shrek City, another form of ie that Shrek Academy received came from the Soul Tool Department. Every year, the soul tools created by the Soul Tool Department would be sold outside of the academy. However, these sales were limited to the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and the Star Luo Empire; they didn¡¯t include the Sun Moon Empire. This was also the reason that Yan Shaozhe had said that Qian Duoduo was rich.

    1. A Chinese herb.

 Chapter 48.2: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    Chapter 48.2: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    The Beast Duelling Area also had an underground portion. Originally, right after it had been built, there were also more than a hundred soul engineers helping the artisans and smiths. Thanks to various powerful Soul Tools, they were able to restrict the various soul beasts inside cages. However, powerful soul masters and soul engineers were required to guard the ce year-round. ording to the rumors, there were even some ten thousand year soul beasts imprisoned as well. However, there weren¡¯t any hundred thousand year soul beasts captured. Although capturing a hundred thousand year soul beast alive was extremely difficult, it wasn¡¯t impossible. However, a hundred thousand year soul beast was equivalent to an unimaginable amount of wealth to any soul master. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that just one hundred thousand year soul beast could instantly cause a soul master to soar into the sky. A hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone would provide four soul skills together! Just how terrifying was that?

    At the same, there was still the Beast Dueling Arena. It was specially provided to the students of Shrek Academy in order to allow them to conductbat training, as well as to assess their abilities. Currently, the Year 1 students had just entered the Beast Dueling Arena in order to take their final test.

    The Beast Dueling Arena was an oval-shaped building; its longest side had a diameter of roughly 190 meters, its shortest side had a diameter of roughly 160 meters, and it was approximately 60 meters tall. If one were to look at it from the outside, they would see that it was divided into fouryers. The first threeyers were built in a multi-arched style, and every single arched entryway had stone columns on both sides that acted as supports. On the other hand, the fourthyer had a decorated rampart that faced four narrow paths with four great arched entrances, which led directly to the spectator¡¯s stand inside of the Beast Dueling Arena. The spectator¡¯s stand inside of the Beast Dueling Arena was also divided up into four sections, and under special circumstances, Shrek Academy could conduct special area differentiations. The building looked extremely grand, and could be described as both glorious and magnificent.

    The enormous Beast Dueling Arena was capable of amodating up to ten thousand spectators, though arge part of its enormous space was taken up by the interior of the Beast Dueling Arena. Like the Soul Dueling Area, one could both fight against a single soul beast or against several soul beasts simultaneously. Senior students of the Martial Soul Department were definitely familiar with the Beast Dueling Arena, as students with a higher cultivation base would oftene to it in order to hone theirbat skills. At the same time, it was a nightmare to those with lower cultivation bases.

    After the fourth year, every single ss woulde to the Beast Dueling Stage once a week for a lesson, the cumtive results of which would influence the score of the students¡¯ final test.

    When Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao walked into the great Beast Dueling Arena together, they almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Despite whatever background they had, the building in front of them was definitely the most magnificent construction they¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice suddenly echoed inside of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Even though Huo Yuhao had be used to Brother Skydream appearing and disappearing on a whim, he was still nearly frightened to death by his sudden appearance.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Brother Skydream?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°You want that boy to kowtow in front of you and admit that he was wrong, right? I¡¯ll teach you the easiest way to do so. This will also be one of your future fighting styles.¡±

    When he heard this, Huo Yuhao became very happy. ¡°Tell me,¡± he replied.

    The Skydream Iceworm began to exin, ¡°Alright, you have to¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª-

    All of the Year 1 students needed to retrieve their forms for their final test first, which would in turn tell them the order they¡¯d need to follow to go on stage. ces for their scores and their rank were also on the form they received.

    Everyone lined up to receive their form. While they were doing so, Wang Dong looked around for Dai Huabin, until he noticed him standing a short ways away from them. He nudged Huo Yuhao with his elbow and said, ¡°Look, Dai Huabin and the others are here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then walked over to where Dai Huabin was currently standing.

    Wang Dong was dumbfounded. What is Yuhao trying to pull? How could he be so impulsive? However, he and Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t waste any time trying to guess Huo Yuhao¡¯s motive; they both immediately followed behind him.

    Dai Huabin had also been paying attention to them, thus he naturally noticed when Huo Yuhao suddenly approached them. He didn¡¯t reveal any weaknesses as he simply gave Huo Yuhao a cold look as he approached.

    The other students that were in line didn¡¯t know about the bet between them, but they did know that these two groups had were the final contenders during the freshmen test. At the same time, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s expulsion was already widespread. It was clear that the two groups held a grudge against one another. Thus, the six of them had be the focus of every single student.

    Huo Yuhao stopped around three meters from Dai Huabin, and after pausing briefly, he said, ¡°Dai Huabin, today is the day of our bet. I want to know, do you regret making the bet?¡±

    Dai Huabin instantly became speechless when he heard this, then thought, This Huo Yuhao must have gone crazy¡­ After thinking this, he coldly replied, ¡°I, Dai Huabin, have never gone back on my word. Today, our two parties of three will participate in the several phases of the final test; the party that has the lowest cumtive score will kowtow and admit their fault to the other.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Good, then I ask everyone present to act as a witness for today¡¯s bet. What do you think, Dai Huabin?¡±

    Dai Huabin subconsciously replied, ¡°That¡¯s fine. However, if you regret decision, you and Wang Dong better kowtow and admit your mistakes right now. Xiao Xiao¡¯s a girl however, so I can make an exception for her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sneered and said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you here once the test is over.¡± He turned around as soon as he¡¯d finished speaking and left.

    The conversation between them attracted the attention of the students from both the first and second sses of Year 1, who were in the process of receiving their final test forms. They immediately began to gossip in low voices, which caused Dai Huabin¡¯splexion to became uglier and uglier, until he coldly stated, ¡°You only have yourself to me for invoking this disaster. Since you want to lose even more face, I¡¯ll be more than happy to help you do so.¡± The way he saw it, Huo Yuhao had purposely said those words in front of so many people simply because he¡¯d wanted the entirety of Year 1 to know about the bet between them. Now that he¡¯d done so, the loser of the bet would forever be unable to lift their head inside of the academy. Where did his confidencee from? Even though he knew that Huo Yuhao probably had a few tricks up his sleeve, Dai Huabin hadplete confidence in his own abilities. He¡¯d trained extremely hard over the past year!

    Once everyone had received their forms, the students followed their respective teachers into the great Beast Dueling Arena one after another.

    Since they had to take the final test, they didn¡¯t head towards the spectator¡¯s stands. Instead, they lined up inside of the Great Beast Dueling Arena¡¯s Beast Dueling Arena in an orderly fashion as they waited for their turn to take their test.

    The total number of Year 1 students that were present to take the test equaled over a hundred. Furthermore, as it was their first time taking a test in the Great Beast Dueling Arena, the academy had attached a lot of importance to their safety. As such, twenty teachers were waiting for the students when they arrived. They were in charge of taking care of the soul beasts, protecting the students, and assessing their abilities. The number of participants was quite high, but in the interest of letting everyone familiarize themselves with the way that things were done, the Great Beast Dueling Arena hadn¡¯t been divided into separate arenas; the students would take the test one at a time. Doing it this way would allow the teachers to see things more clearly, and in turn would let them assign grades more urately.

    Du Weilun had alsoe, and would be the head examiner today. He, along with the other four teachers in charge of grading the students, were all sitting atop a tall tform that they could clearly observe the Beast Dueling Arena from.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, as ss 1¡¯s two well-known leaders, naturally stood in the front, while in ss 2¡¯s group, the ones standing in front were Dai Huabin and Xie Hanyue. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference between Xie Hanyue and Dai Huabin¡¯s cultivations, but the former¡¯s defensive ability was extremely strong¡ªit was at the point where Huo Yuhao and the others could only take notes.

    As Mu Jin stood beside Dai Huabin, she gazed towards Zhou Yi with an icy gaze full of evil intentions.

    Zhou Yi whispered, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve already been epted as a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. Just try your best here. Make sure not to choose a soul beast that¡¯s too strong to be your opponent; you should simply maximize your chance of victory. However, you also don¡¯t need to hold back. You¡¯ve already seen the order in which you¡¯ll participate. In order to give the students some encouragement, the academy has decided to have the leaders of the two sses be the first to go on stage. Once our ss has sent a person to take the test, ss 2 will send their leader to take the test. Wang Dong, it will be your turn in a short while. You absolutely have to be sessful. If you¡¯re confident, I advise you to choose the soul beast with the highest rank. This way, even if you lose, as long as you manage to resist for a long enough period of time, your score won¡¯t be terrible.¡±

    ¡°I understand. You don¡¯t need to worry, teacher.¡± Wang Dong made a gesture with his somewhat delicate fist.

    ¡°Hold on, Teacher Zhou. Let me go first,¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly said.

    ¡°Hm? Yuhao¡­ This will affect the reputation of our ss.¡± Zhou Yi said after a pause.

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Teacher Zhou, I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    When she saw the resolute look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, she hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and nodded. ¡°Good, you can go first.¡± Even though she wanted to exceed Mu Jin, she still wasn¡¯t willing to extinguish the enthusiasm of her disciples.

    Du Weilun¡¯s voice suddenly echoed from the tall tform, ¡°The test is starting. Year 1 ss 1 will send its student out first. Afterwards, ss 2 will send out a student from their ss.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grasped his test form as he entered the Beast Dueling Area with long strides. He immediately got an indescribable feeling¡ªas if all the blood in his body had suddenly begun to seeth from excitement. Maybe it was because there had been many, many battles in this ce. Coming here produced an intense fighting desire in every student of Shrek Academy. Only by fighting could one truly understand what they¡¯d studied. This was also why the Beast Dueling Arena existed, and was also why the students that had graduated from Shrek Academy would be outstanding soul masters that every great empire would fight over.

    Once Huo Yuhao had handed his form over to the teacher in charge, the teacher ced it atop the ascending tform right below the Judge¡¯s Stand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s assessment form almost immediately arrived in Director Du Weilun¡¯s hands.

    The first examinee that Du Weilun had to assess was exactly Huo Yuhao. Du Weilun immediately focused; he was impatient to see how outstanding this student¡ªsomeone who the Soul Tool Department hadn¡¯t been able to wait to take under their banner¡ªwas. Fighting soul beasts and fighting other students from the academy were twopletely different things. Soul beasts were innately hostile towards human beings; they wouldn¡¯t show any mercy when they fought. As such, this would give the students the feeling of a life and death crisis. Huo Yuhao was only 12 years old. Would he really be able to go all-out?

    Huo Yuhao arrived in the middle of the stage. Two teachers would act as referees here, in order to assure theplete safety of the students.

    The referee on the left asked him, ¡°What do you cultivate in?¡±

    Huo Yuhao respectfully replied, ¡°The Control System.¡±

    The referee continued, ¡°Choose the soul beast that you would like to take the test with. Remember, a Control System Soul Master has to do their best to focus on the word ¡®control¡¯. You¡¯ll only have a single chance to assess your abilities. Don¡¯t waste it. Soul beasts are divided into hundred year intervals, ranging from a hundred year soul beast to a thousand year soul beast.¡± The students from both ss 1 and ss 2 were focused on Huo Yuhao, who would be fighting a soul beast alone. For most of them, it would be their first time fighting a soul beast on their own, thus they would be lying if they said they weren¡¯t nervous. Of course, they all hoped to gain some valuable experience from those who would be taking the test before them. This final test would decide whether or not they could keep studying at the academy!

 Chapter 48.3: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    Chapter 48.3: A Terrifying Deterrence!

    A ray of light shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he said in a low voice, ¡°I choose a hundred year soul beast.¡±

    ¡°A hundred year soul beast? Are you sure?¡± The teacher in charge of assessing his skills thought he had misheard him; the first students to go on stage were usually the most outstanding of the bunch, but choosing a mere hundred year soul beast¡­ this was a bit too strange. Even if he was a control-type soul master, he shouldn¡¯t have made a choice like this!

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I choose a hundred year soul beast.¡± His voice was very loud; all the teachers and students, even the ones standing far away, could hear him.

    Zhou Yi felt everything in front of her going ck, and wondered in her heart, ¡®What is Huo Yuhao trying to do?¡¯

    On the other hand, Mu Jin had the look of someone taking pleasure in another¡¯s misfortune. Dai Huabin, who was at first taken aback, immediately regained his senses, showing a disdaining look.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s insistence, the referee nodded and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll choose a hundred year soul beast to conduct your test. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Huo Yuhao replied without the tiniest bit of hesitation.

    ¡°The test will nowmence.¡± The referee gestured toward a distant ce, immediately giving rise to a mechanical sound. In the distance, a huge hydraulic gate was slowly opening, and the sound of something dashing about madly could be heard from the pitch-ck corridor behind it. All the students that were busyughing at Huo Yuhao immediately went silent. It was their first time being in this kind of situation, and they started to feel an indescribable pressure weighing down on them.

    A streak of green light burst out from the depths of the corridor. Its speed was incredibly fast, and it traveled dozens of meters in an instant, directly pouncing toward Huo Yuhao.

    Its body was two meters long and one meter tall. It had green fur that swayed in the wind, and a pair of pale-brown eyes that were full of excitement. This was a verymon agility-type soul beast, the Wind Spiritwolf.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had a sudden change. Under the astonished gazes of the surrounding people, two blood-red rings of light suddenly emerged from under his feet, both with four pale-gold glittering lines on them. When they appeared, even Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes changed to a crimson red.

    It seemed as if a terrifying aura from ancient times had suddenly appeared. Everyone around him saw a blood-red light spreading from the center of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. At this moment, they found his small body to be as frightening as a demon from ancient times.

    ¡°Awoo¨C¨C¨C¡± The Wind Spiritwolf called out pitifully; that body that was dashing about madly suddenly stopped in midair. After that, it rolled on the ground like a gourd, lying weakly on the floor. Even excrement and urine could be seen here and there.

    At the same time, arge number of yells could be heard from that faraway cave inside the great Beast Dueling Arena.

    What did a red soul ring represent? It represented a hundred thousand year soul beast, it was the soul ring of a first-ss soul beast. Every hundred thousand year soul ring was a rare existence; forget the students, even the teachers present on the scene didn¡¯t have one.

    And at this moment, Huo Yuhao had not only disyed a red soul ring, but two of them. No matter if it was the visual impact or the terrifying aura, under that oppressive power, every part of the great Beast Dueling Arena was shrouded in a deadly silence.

    But those caged soul beasts inside the great Beast Dueling Arena were not the only one to be affected. Even the students and the teachers were greatly affected. It was as if they were facing a terrifying wild beast that had no equal. Under this fearful aura, they unconsciously released their martial souls, immediately assuming a defensive posture.

    A certain number of not-so-courageous female students started to cry copiously, and even the teachers¡¯ faces went pale from fright when they saw that silhouette in the middle of the stage that was neither big nor tall.

    Du Weilun had stood up from his seat long ago, the radiance of eight soul rings emanating from his body. Facing the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast, he was no exception to the crowd; he had immediately released his martial soul.

    ¡°I¡­ Impossible. He¡¯s just 12 years old, how can he have a hundred thousand year soul ring? But this aura¡­ is precisely that of a hundred thousand year soul beast! Moreover, that burst of aura just now¡­ was much stronger than that of the hundred thousand year soul beasts I¡¯ve seen in the past. Just how did he do it?¡±

    The red light slowly started to disappear. First it was the red color in his eyes, then the two red soul rings on his body. Then, the terrifying aura also slowly disappeared without a trace, and everything finally returned to normal. The oppressive aura emanating from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body hadn¡¯t spread too far; it had only affected those inside the great Beast Dueling Arena.

    A bad smell started to spread in every direction from that faraway dark cave, a stench that got stronger as time passed.

    Huo Yuhao turned toward the two teachers that were still dumbfounded, and said while respectfully bowing, ¡°Teachers, I¡¯ve finished my test.¡±

    Indeed, the test had concluded. That Wind Spiritwolf was nothing but a hundred year soul beast, and it had taken the terrifying presence of a hundred thousand year soul beast head-on, while being the sole target of its wrath. Therefore, it was not only so scared that it had wet itself, but it was also lying on the ground, twitching, with foaming out of its mouth. What fighting spirit would it even have left?

    ¡°T-this¡­¡± The referee was speechless. He had assessed the abilities of god-knew-how many students in this final test in the arena, but this was his first time dealing with something like this.

    Although Shrek Academy was famous for producing monsters, they still shouldn¡¯t be this monstrous! A Year 2 student with a hundred thousand year soul ring? And two of them to boot?

    After the initial great shock had passed, everybody¡¯s first thought was clearly, ¡®What had happened?¡¯ The only exceptions were Zhou Yi and Wang Dong, because they had already been shockedst night, butst night¡¯s shock was nowhere nearparable to the impact created by the scene just now.

    Although Zhou Yi had heard Fan Yu saying that Huo Yuhao¡¯s imitation skill could do wonders¡­ never would she have expected it to have such a terrifying effect. He hadn¡¯t even had to use his twin martial souls to win this battle.

    That¡¯s right, Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent was a soul beast that had cultivated for merely a hundred years. However, he hadn¡¯t moved from start to end, and had won this battle just by releasing his martial soul. How could this result be considered bad? This was simply the pinnacle of control! Now, Zhou Yi was finally clear on why Huo Yuhao had selected a hundred year soul beast instead of a stronger one. He wanted to haveplete assurance. Had that soul beast been stronger, would he have been able to make it lose its fighting capacity with just the aura of a hundred thousand year soul ring? Even if he could, it wouldn¡¯t have had as great of a reaction as the hundred year soul beast before them.

    The visual and mental impact of Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy had really been too strong. As a result, not only were the two sses shocked, even all of the teachers were shocked! At this moment, everyone in the Beast Duelling Arena was dead silent, looking stupidly at Huo Yuhao, who was returning to his ce with the other ss 1 students.

    Zhou Sichen swallowed a mouthful of saliva and whispered, ¡°Old Huo, that isn¡¯t the reincarnation of some hundred thousand year soul beast or something, right? That was just too terrifying. I almost wet myself.¡±

    Cao Jinxuan said, ill-humored, ¡°I almost shat myself too.¡±

    After that short moment of surprise, the referee in the middle of the arena, as well as the other members of themittee on the tall tform, all looked toward Director Du Weilun. The meaning of their looks was very clear: ¡®What should we do now?¡¯

    Exactly! What should they do now? This situation was out of the ordinary, to say the least. How should they proceed? No matter how unbelievable it seemed, a student had used two hundred thousand year soul rings to scare a hundred year soul beast to death. Huo Yuhao had naturally passed the test, but how should they decide the score?

    But right at this moment, several forms suddenly emerged from the side door of the great Beast Dueling Arena¡¯s beast cage. In front of them was an old man with a red face, a tall stature and an even more eye-catching head of red hair. Rushing forward, he howled, ¡°What happened? Who the hell did it? All soul beasts under ten thousand years were so scared that they shat themselves, and all of them are incredibly weak right now. Du Weilun, was this your doing?¡±

    Du Weilun forced a smile and said, ¡°Old Gong, it wasn¡¯t me.¡± While speaking, he descended from the tall tform,nding near that old man and exining what had just happened to him in a low voice.

    This old man with red hair was named Gong Changlong, and he was the person in charge of this great Beast Dueling Arena. He had a high status inside Shrek Academy, and his research regarding soul beasts was very thorough. Even Du Weilun had to be polite to someone like him.

    ¡°Hm? Something like that happened? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. No matter what kind of natural talent he has, or how many heavenly treasures he relies on, it¡¯s impossible for a 12-year-old to assimte a hundred thousand year soul ring. Which boy did you say it was? Call him and bring him here, I need to take a look at him.¡± Gong Changlong was a hot-tempered guy, and he immediately started shouting out loud.

    Somewhat embarrassed, Du Weilun said, ¡°Old Gong, we¡¯re in the middle of the final test, I was wondering if you could wait for the test to be over to¡­¡±

    Gong Changlong interrupted him with ill-humor and said, ¡°Test, my ass. Were you even listening to me? All the soul beasts under ten thousand years old shat themselves from fright, and all those under a thousand years shared the same fate. How exactly are you nning to continue your test? These soul beasts need at least two or three days of rest to recover. Do you have any idea how long it will take for my men to clean up this awful stench? It was so difficult for us to train them to not shit wherever they wanted to, but now, all our efforts have been wasted.¡±

    Even Du Weilun hadn¡¯t expected things to be serious to this degree. Right now, they were unable to continue the final test. This seemingly unimportant affair would actually have an impact on the students¡¯ studies.

    ¡°Fine, old Gong. I¡¯ll give everyone a short exnation. Wait a moment.¡±

    Du Weilun turned around and arrived near the students of the two sses. After pausing for a moment, he said, ¡°Due to certain circumstances, today¡¯s final test will be suspended. The teachers will now bring the students back to their ssrooms to take lessons.¡±

    Zhou Yi quickly asked, ¡°Chairman Du, what about Huo Yuhao¡¯s test?¡±

    Du Weilun frowned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s say that he passed. Huo Yuhao,e with me.¡± After finishing his sentence, he turned and returned to old Gong.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t immediately follow behind him. Instead, he went toward the front of ss 2, looked coldly toward Dai Huabin and said, ¡°Remember to wait for me outside. If I¡¯m not mistaken, ording to our bet, the one with the higher score will be the winner. You¡¯ve lost, I¡¯ll be waiting for you to kowtow and admit that you were wrong!¡±

 Chapter 49.1: The Claw of the Ice Empress

    Chapter 49.1: The w of the Ice Empress

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you to kowtow and admit that you were wrong!¡± These words struck Dai Huabin like a hammer blow and left him stunned. His already ice-cold countenance turned even paler as the blood seemed to drain out of his face. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you to kowtow and admit that you were wrong!¡± These words struck Dai Huabin like a hammer blow and left him stunned. His already ice-cold countenance turned even paler as the blood seemed to drain out of his face.

    He remembered now that just before they¡¯d entered therge Beast Duelling Arena, Huo Yuhao had specifically emphasized that their bet would be settled today. However, never in his wildest dreams would Dai Huabin have expected Huo Yuhao to actually pass the advancement test with such an overbearing method. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, Huo Yuhao had also revealed his dual hundred thousand year soul rings.

    No matter how much he tried to deny it, the facts were right in front of him! Furthermore, the presence of the hundred or so students from the two sses along with the presence of Teacher Wang Yan made it difficult for him to renege on his bet.

    For a moment, Dai Huabin felt as though there was a mouthful of air stuck in his chest. His throat tasted sweet and with a ¡®wa¡¯, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

    He was simply toopetitive. However, the morepetitive one was, the harder it would be for one to bear losses or humiliation.

    Zhu Lu let out an astonished cry and hurriedly rushed over to support him only to be roughly shoved aside by Dai Huabin. Traces of blood had already appeared in his eyes as he red fiercely at Huo Yuhao who had already left alongside Du Weilun. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and shouted out loud, ¡°I was wrong!¡± As he said this, he fiercely smashed his head into the ground. Then, he stood up and ran away.

    Huo Yuhao paused his footsteps when he heard Dai Huabin¡¯s loud voice. His gaze was somewhat dazed, but his nose ached.

    Mom, did you hear that? Dai Huabin admitted he was wrong. He¡¯s the son of that man and that woman. And this is just the beginning, I will definitely make them pay for the eleven years they made you suffer.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t turn back to look at Dai Huabin. After pausing for a brief moment, he strode forward and continued following Du Weilun to meet with Gong Changlong.

    Dai Huabin crawled to his feet and ran away immediately while Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie hurriedly chased after him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s target was only Dai Huabin, so naturally Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao wouldn¡¯t go over to trouble the two girls. This time, not only had they won but they had done so by using an inconceivable method that had astonished the entire audience.

    Du Weilun walked over to Gong Changlong with Huo Yuhao in tow, ¡°Elder Gong, I¡¯ve brought the person over. Look¡­¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence Gong Changlong let out a cold snort. Suddenly, his body shed and he sent a palm flying straight towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Instinctively, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shed as he moved backwards using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. However, the enormous attractive force that suddenly came from Gong Changlong¡¯s fan-like palm forcibly halted his movement, causing his body to stumble forward as his footsteps became chaotic. Furthermore, a terrifying wave of heat appeared within the force of attraction, causing water-like ripples to instantly form in the air around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Du Weilun didn¡¯t stop him since he knew that Gong Changlong was only trying to test Huo Yuhao. In reality, he was extremely curious too and if it wasn¡¯t for the situation urring in front of him, he would¡¯ve verified Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities himself. A milky-white light suddenly shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he forcefully stood his ground with a stamp. A spotless white soul ring instantly rose from his feet, since he couldn¡¯t evade Gong Changlong¡¯s blow his only option was to take it on forcefully. As if he was supporting the heavens, he moved his palms to block Gong Changlong¡¯s palm.

    Even though it was currently the middle of the day and there was still ample sunlight. When Huo Yuhao raised his hands to block Gong Changlong¡¯s palm, the nearby teachers could clearly see that his palms were flickering with a dazzling light almost as if he was wearing a pair of diamond gloves. At the same time, all of them suddenly felt an intense chill spread through them. The arrival of this chilliness was not only sudden but also ferocious, it was so powerful that it seemed to have the ability to pierce into one¡¯s bones. This dense cold aura even caused someone of Du Weilun¡¯s cultivation to instinctively shiver. The three palms connected and Gong Changlong¡¯s right palm suddenly turned fiery-red as if it was a burning hot piece of coal. A ¡®chichi¡¯ sound rang out the instant he collided with Huo Yuhao¡¯s palms. Large billowing waves of white mist burst forth from the point where the two collided, so much so that their entire bodies were hidden within the mist.

    The sh caused Huo Yuhao to retreat a few steps before falling onto the ground with a thump. Although, his butt hadnded on the ground and he had a somewhat astonished expression on his face. His appearance clearly showed that he hadn¡¯t suffered any injuries.

    Gong Changlong¡¯s astonished face was clearly seen once the white mist has dispersed. ¡°What a good brat,¡± he said, ¡°You possess the Ultimate Ice attribute which allowed your martial soul to suppress this old man¡¯s. What bothers me however, is how a one-ringed Soul Master like you possesses soul powerparable to that of a Rank 20 Soul Grandmaster? Also, where¡¯s the hundred thousand year soul ring you were supposed to have?¡± No one saw this but despite dispersing rapidly, an icy mist still lingered about the right hand he hid behind his back.

    Huo Yuhao stood up. He naturally understood that this elder was only trying to test his cultivation. He replied respectfully, ¡°Teacher, I don¡¯t have a hundred thousand year soul ring. That was only a special soul skill of mine. As for my soul power being above Rank 20, that is because I have two martial souls. My first martial soul has two soul rings. Earlier, I sensed that you had a fire-attribute martial soul and since it just so happens that my second martial soul is an ice-attributed one. I decided to use it in the hope that I¡¯d be able to retaliate better. ¡±

    Du Weilun was already widening his eyes when Huo Yuhao revealed his ice-type martial soul. Especially after he saw that singr white soul ring appear. Upon also hearing Huo Yuhao personally say that he had twin martial souls, he felt everything in front of him go ck. Depression took him over and he nearly spat out blood like Dai Huabin.

    Even if Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 1 had both him and Xiao Xiao that possessed twin martial souls, in reality, they were the only ones in the entire outer courtyard who had twin martial souls! People with twin martial souls were absolutely gifted and talented existences. Even in the extremely harsh Shrek Academy, all the previous students with dual martial souls had be core disciples and entered the inner courtyard.

    The thing that depressed Du Weilun the most was the fact that he thought that Huo Yuhao had wasted his twin martial souls! As a student of Shrek Academy, a ten year soul ring was already a disgrace and Huo Yuhao had a ten year soul ring on not one but both of his martial souls. Speaking of which, hadn¡¯t he mentioned that the hundred thousand year soul ring he had revealed earlier was a skill? The curiosity in his heart wasn¡¯t one bit less than Gong Changlong¡¯s.

    Gong Changlong nodded seriously. ¡°Very good, it¡¯s a very powerful skill. Both its power and attribute have reached the pinnacle. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you definitely have a soul bone within you. Moreover, it¡¯s a power-type soul bone. There is no other way for you to have been able to burst out with so much power otherwise.

    Earlier, he had been extremely furious towards the person who¡¯d sent his soul beasts into a mess. It was due to this anger that he had been prepared to disciple Huo Yuhao using that palm attack of his. After sensing Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, the strength contained within his palm should¡¯ve easily sent him flying ording tomon sense. At the very least, he should¡¯ve tumbled head over heels across the ground. However, Huo Yuhao had only retreated a few steps backwards andnded on his butt, as if nothing serious had urred to him.

 Chapter 49.2: The Claw of the Ice Empress

    Chapter 49.2: The w of the Ice Empress

    This wasn¡¯t just the might of soul power, but the manifestation of his physical strength. Gong Changlong couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished by this. After all, it had to be known that he was one of the top ten experts in Shrek Academy as cultivation rank went.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Yes. Thanks to a fortunate encounter, I obtained a torso bone.¡±

    Du Weilun felt like he was going to go blind; everything in front of him was going dark again! A torso bone? They¡¯d only had a one month holiday, but he went and got himself a torso bone? Since when were torso bones this inexpensive? Didn¡¯t he say that he was an orphan? The Soul Tool Department, it must¡¯ve been them! The Soul Tool Department actually invested so much in him? Wait, Gong Changlong praised the skill that came from that ten year soul ring of his?

    Du Weilun couldn¡¯t hold in his curiosity anymore, ¡°Huo Yuhao, just what in the world happened to you? Just what soul skill did you use earlier to make all the soul beasts within the Beast Dueling Arena go limp from fright? Don¡¯t you know how hard it is to train these soul beasts? Either you tell us what happened or you¡¯ll have topensate us for our loss.¡±

    Gong Changlong¡¯s face sank. ¡°Little Du, what are you doing? He¡¯s just a kid and an an outstanding student on top of that. You¡¯re called Huo Yuhao, right? Tell me, this old man is also very curious about you.¡±

    In such a situation, Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t try to conceal anything. He replied obediently, ¡°My first martial soul is my Spirit Eyes, and its second soul ring gives me a skill called ¡®Imitation¡¯. This Imitation skill can let me change the shape of my body to imitate various things, and can fake the age of my soul rings as well. Earlier, I made both my soul rings imitate the shape and aura of hundred thousand year soul rings. However, I wasn¡¯t able to fully imitate their auras due to mycking cultivation. Otherwise, its effects would¡¯ve been even better.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t trying to boast. He had been trying to imitate the aura of the Ice Empress and if a four hundred thousand year old soul beast had suddenly appeared in front of a group of soul beasts who had far inferior cultivations, just the pressure from its aura would have been enough to tten them all.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, Du Weilun and Gong Changlong suddenly understood everything. Gong Changlong couldn¡¯t help but reveal a strange light in his eyes, ¡°Good, good, this is an interesting soul skill. This Imitation is really good! If you had this skill in the Great Star Dou Forest, you would have been able to avoid arge number of conflicts. This would then be extremely useful when you¡¯re hunting soul beasts. This old man¡¯s called Gong Changlong also known as the Beast King. I have another question for you. What¡¯s your second martial soul? I know that it¡¯s advisable for you twin-souled soul masters to keep your second martial a secret and so this old man won¡¯t expect you to reveal your secret for free. How about this? I¡¯ll promise to do everything in my power to help you obtain a soul ring in the future if you¡¯re willing to tell me about your second martial soul. Do we have a deal? ¡±

    Huo Yuhao was overjoyed. A spiritual-type soul beast was simply too rare and this teacher was evidently in charge of the Great Beast Duelling Arena. His assistance would undoubtedly save Huo Yuhao a lot of time and effort.

    He nodded hurriedly and replied respectfully, ¡°Teacher Gong, I¡¯m willing to tell you about my second martial soul.¡±

    Du Weilun and the other teachers by the side all had curious expressions on their faces but Huo Yuhao clearly wasn¡¯t nning to satisfy their curious minds. A golden light flickered through his eyes as he immediately activated his Spiritual Detection.

    A three-dimensional image of the surrounding 100 meters immediately appeared in Gong Changlong¡¯s brain, and then image quickly focused on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. It entered his shirt, and the tattoo on his back appeared fully in Gong Changlong¡¯s mind.

    This was also Gong Changlong¡¯s first time experiencing the wondrous Spiritual Detection, and he couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue in wonder, ¡°What a good skill! Even among the world of twin-souled soul masters, yourbination of martial souls is absolutely at the peak. Very good, very good. So, your second martial soul is that thing. It¡¯s no wonder your ice attribute is at such an Ultimate level. The academy¡¯s truly picked up a treasure this time. Don¡¯t worry, this old man will keep this secret for you. I¡¯d never thought that I could see a martial soul like this within my lifetime.¡±

    The more Gong Changlong spoke about it, the more curious Du Weilun became. However, the second martial soul of any twin-souled soul master was an extremely important secret; they wouldn¡¯t easily divulge it unless it was absolutely necessary. Due to Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute being a Tool Soul, it was too easy for it to be exposed. Thus, she didn¡¯t bother concealing it. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul clearly wasn¡¯t easily distinguishable. However, Gong Changlong had said that it was an Ultimate martial soul. Thus, it absolutely wasn¡¯t bad at all.

    Furthermore, another question had popped up in Du Weilun¡¯s mind. Huo Yuhao¡¯s second soul skill was his Imitation. Then, was the soul ring he¡¯d unleashed from his ice-type martial soul a real one? Was the soul skill even Gong Changlong praised a mere ten year soul skill? Even if he was beaten to death, he wouldn¡¯t believe it!

    Huo Yuhao said obediently, ¡°Teacher Gong, Director Du, if there¡¯s nothing more to say, I¡¯ll be going back first.¡±

    Gong Changlong nodded, ¡°You can go back. If you have any spare time in the future, you cane over here and y for a bit. However, I¡¯m forbidding you from imitating a hundred thousand year soul ring here. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to make you go and clean up the beast cages.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled mischievously and ran off.

    Du Weilun didn¡¯t stop him. What good would stopping him do? He was already a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department! The current Director Du only felt everything in front of his eyes going ck. Even in his wildest dreams, he¡¯d never thought that he¡¯d let the Soul Tool Department pick up such a good deal. Furthermore, this was something that he and the Dean had forsaken.

    In reality, Du Weilun couldn¡¯t really be med. Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous performances had simply been nothing spectacr. However, his trip to the Extreme North had caused his strength to experience a qualitative leap.

    After bidding farewell to Gong Changlong, Du Weilun left hurriedly. The advancement test of the second year students hadn¡¯t gone smoothly, and he had to go back and rearrange it. At the same time, he had to report the day¡¯s events to Yan Shaozhe.

    After Huo Yuhao walked out of the Great Beast Duelling Arena, he was instantly surrounded by arge number of students.

    ¡°Boss Huo, exin yourself clearly. Just what in the world happened with that hundred thousand year soul ring of yours?¡± Lan Susu called out, standing by the side.

    ¡°Yeah. Boss Huo, you have topensate me for my trousers. I almost pissed myself because of you.¡± Zhou Sichen stood by the side, fanning the mes. Immediately, he caused his fellow students to erupt intoughter.

    ¡°Then you didn¡¯t piss in the end, right? If you take a piss in front of everyone here, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡± Huo Yuhao said unhappily.

    Zhou Sichen was immediately forced to shut up.

    Huo Yuhao spoke in a loud voice, ¡°I¡¯m sure that everyone can guess that those hundred thousand year soul rings of mine were definitely fake. I can only say that it¡¯s a new soul skill I¡¯ve obtained that doesn¡¯t have any other practical uses. I won¡¯t talk about any further details! Let me keep a few secrets.¡±

    The advancement test had just started and wouldn¡¯t just end due to such a matter. Just as Huo Yuhao and the other students were returning to their sses in a lively manner, Dai Huabin stood in a shadowy corner not far away from them. As he wiped away the bloodstains at the corners of his mouth, a cruel light appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°Huabin, are you okay?¡± Zhu Lu asked worriedly.

    Dai Huabin replied coldly, ¡°Help me request Teacher Mu for a leave of absence. I¡¯m going out for a bit.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Mind your own business¡± Dai Huabin said coldly. With that, he turned away and left.

 Chapter 50.1: Ancestor Tang Sanâ€¦

    Chapter 50.1: Ancestor Tang San¡­

    Due to the advancement test being cancelled, ss 1 and ss 2¡¯s students had to return to their respective ssrooms to take lessons.

    After a short discussion, Wang Yan and Zhou Yi called Huo Yuhao over to ask him a few questions. Afterwards, they finally began their afternoon ss. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return to his seat. Instead, he was told go to and stand on a nearby tform. Then, Zhou Yi was called over by the teachers of the Teaching Department, as Director Du Weilun was holding a meeting.

    ¡°Due to special circumstances, the advancement test will be dyed for two to three days,¡± Wang Yan told the students of ss 1, ¡°This will give you a bit more time to train. Today, you all saw the battle between Yuhao and the Wind Spiritwolf. Soul beasts are not affected by emotions, and the first thing you need to do to fight them is maintain yourposure. You must disy everything you¡¯ve learned. Soul beasts aren¡¯t scary. Most of the time, they only fight by relying on their natural instincts. Firstly, you¡¯ll have to ovee that psychological block in your mind, as fear will weaken yourbat strength by arge amount. Let go of your hesitation. Only then will you be able to give it your all.¡± He nced at the students. ¡°Ask yourselves, were you scared when that Wind Spiritwolf appeared?¡±

    Arge number of students immediately lowered their heads in shame.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°It didn¡¯t happen because you were weak; it happened because you don¡¯t have any experience fighting soul beasts. If you were to fight against a fellow ssmate with the same strength, would you still be afraid? Of course you wouldn¡¯t. That¡¯s because you believe that your fellow ssmates won¡¯t actually hurt you. Then, do you think soul beasts or we soul masters are stronger? I can give you a definite answer to this. Under a situation in which both parties have identical cultivations, we soul masters will definitelye out on top.¡±

    He raised his hand and pointed toward his head. ¡°That¡¯s because we human beings possess wisdom. You fear soul beasts because they have low intelligence. Furthermore, they won¡¯t think twice before killing. However, just wait till you get used to the fighting style of those soul beasts. At that point, you¡¯ll discover that the ones that are truly formidable are us soul masters. We can use our martial souls and soul skills toe up with many different kinds of tactics. But you have to remember this: no matter how outstanding the tactic, or how powerful the soul skill, only those who have courage will be able to show their true power. This advancement test will decide if you¡¯ll be able to keep studying at the academy. In a certain way, you can say that it will also decide your future. Today, we¡¯ll have ast minute lesson to improve your courage. Yuhao has the ability to change the color and aura of his soul rings. I ask everyone to not unconsciously release your martial souls. No matter how strong the pressure you¡¯re feeling is, try to keep your calm. Yuhao, you can start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, and a golden light flickered in his eyes. At the same time, two white soul rings slowly emerged from under his feet. They seemed to be ten year soul rings.

    Just now, when Wang Yan had pulled him aside to ask him a few questions, it was about this; whether he was willing to use this method to help the other students. Huo Yuhao had already briefly exined how his soul skill worked. Otherwise, Wang Yan wouldn¡¯t have asked him something like this. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediatelyplied. He was the ss leader, after all. Thus, he was willing to help his fellow ssmates. Moreover, at this point, he was unable to conceal his imitation skill. Thus, there was no need to hold back. He had managed to scare many soul beasts to death by relying on the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s instructions. In addition, this had allowed Huo Yuhao to experience some of the myriad possible variations of this skill.

    These white ten year soul rings weren¡¯t going to have a great effect on the nearby students. Their color quickly changed from white to yellow.

    Looking at the soul rings that had suddenly changed color, the students of ss 1 were astonished; this skill was really mysterious! It really could change the color of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings at will.

    Wang Yan said in grave tone, ¡°The white color represents a ten year soul ring. It¡¯s the lowest ranked soul ring that we soul masters can fuse with. The yellow color represents a hundred year soul ring. The color of a soul ring will change ording to its age, do you know why that is? Because there is a great amount of energypressed inside it. And every soul skill will use this energy in a different way. Therefore, it¡¯s not a given that a lower ranked soul ring will definitely have a bad effect.¡±

    The yellow soul rings then changed into purple ones. As these purple thousand year soul rings each made their appearance. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to emit an invisible pressure, making the ss 1 students somewhat nervous. After all, the only one that was known to possess a thousand year soul ring in the ss was Wang Dong.

    ¡°Everyone, be careful.¡± Huo Yuhao said loudly. The two thousand year soul rings on his body transformed once again, the purple color suddenly bing darker, until it slowly changed to ck.

    This ssroom wasn¡¯t as big as the great Beast Dueling Arena. The appearance of two ten thousand year soul rings immediately created a heavy oppressive feeling that spread everywhere from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. At this time, Huo Yuhao was drawing support from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s aura. It was a very ferocious soul beast, and when Huo Yuhao suddenly channeled its aura through those two ten thousand year soul rings in such tight quarters, its tyrannical aura gave the students the feeling of being crushed into smithereens.

    Immediately, the students with a weak cultivation base felt their soul ringse out of their bodies. Even their appearances became pale.

    Wang Yan furrowed his brows as he told Huo Yuhao, ¡°No need to increase the output further. Just keep this level of intensity.¡± He had the feeling that all these students would wet themselves if Huo Yuhao were to release the power of a hundred thousand year soul ring in this small and narrow ce. And he absolutely didn¡¯t want that; keeping the level of intensity at ten thousand years was the best thing for the students.

    ¡°After cultivating for ten thousand years, soul beasts will experience a qualitative leap. Generally speaking, if a human being wants to deal with a ten thousand year soul beast alone, he will need the strength of at least six rings. If he wants to deal with a thirty thousand year soul beast, he will need the strength of seven or more rings; and even then it would only be something he could try after obtaining a martial soul true body. Earlier, I said that soul masters would generally be stronger than soul beasts of the same rank. However, in the history of our Douluo Continent, there is only once instance of the strongest soul master surpassing the strongest soul beast. That happened when the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was still around. The best example among them is exactly the founder of the Tang Sect, the Asura Tang San. Except for that period of time where our human race was stronger than the soul beasts, we have always been unable to contend with the strongest soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°As for soul beasts that have cultivated for a hundred thousand years, even a Titled Douluo would find it hard to fight against them alone. That¡¯s because soul beasts who are able to cultivate for a hundred thousand years will definitely have a powerful inherited bloodline. And to suppress a hundred thousand year soul beast, one will need to be at least a Titled Douluo of the 95th rank or possess a sufficient number of soul bones.¡±

    ¡°A tide of soul beasts once emerged from the Great Star Dou Forest, attacking our Shrek Academy. That time, the academy suffered severe losses. Inside the Great Star Dou Forest were some soul beasts who had even exceeded the hundred thousand year rank. The hundred thousand year rank isn¡¯t actually the limit for soul beasts. There are some soul beasts that are particrly gifted by the heavens, and by relying on their cultivation, they can break through the limit of the hundred thousand year rank, reaching apletely new realm. These soul beasts that can surpass the hundred thousand year rank are called transcendent soul beasts. I can guarantee you that the Great Star Dou Forest still hides some transcendent soul beasts. For us soul masters, a hundred thousand year soul beast is a first-ss treasure. It will give us a hundred thousand year soul ring and a soul bone, totalling four soul skills. However, transcendent soul beasts are akin to a cmity. Even if we pay a huge price to kill them, it will be very difficult to obtain something valuable from their bodies. This is because the soul ring produced by a transcendent soul beast is not something we can absorb so easily. The body of the soul master that tries might be unable to withstand its power.¡±

    Zhou Sichen couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang, even Titled Douluo can¡¯t absorb it? Didn¡¯t you say that after surpassing the 90th rank and bing a Titled Douluo, one¡¯s body will undergo a qualitative leap?¡±

    After he finished his sentence, his expression changed, and he paled slightly. Huo Yuhao was continuously releasing the oppressive aura of a ten thousand year soul beast, and this aura was incessantly attacking the minds of the students. They needed to keep their concentration up; only then they would be able to suppress the fear in their hearts.

    Wang Yan replied ill-humoredly, ¡°You are going againstmon sense with these questions. Had this been the advancement test, they would have sent you home already. Tell me, how many rings does a Titled Douluo have?¡±

    Zhou Sichen promptly replied, ¡°Nine rings! Ah¡­¡± After speaking, he finally understood.

    Exactly, a Titled Douluo already had nine rings. They were existences of the highest level. How could they have another soul ring?

    Wang Yan said with faint smile, ¡°You finally understand your mistake. If you do your best and manage to resist this fear inside your hearts, teacher will tell you a secret. This secret is about the top-ranked soul ring.¡±

    The students were attracted by Wang Yan¡¯s words, and the fear inside their hearts diminished a bit. The students that had already released their martial souls also made an effort to withdraw them.

    Wang Yan said in a grave tone, ¡°What Zhou Sichen said just now was againstmon sense. However, I¡¯ll tell you this: in the history of our Douluo Continent, it¡¯s not like there haven¡¯t been soul masters with ten rings. This secret piece of information was recorded in our Shrek Academy.¡±

    Ten ring? After hearing those words, all the students were shocked. The fear in their hearts was also reduced a little more.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°The main subjects of my research are martial souls and soul rings. After doing a lot of research, I can guarantee you that it is possible to have ten rings, and having ten soul rings almost equates to bing a God. In the records of our academy, there was some information about a person possessing ten soul rings; a God-ranked powerhouse. And this person is exactly the one I mentioned a while ago, the founder of the Tang Sect¨CAncestor Tang San. Among his twin martial souls, his main martial soul, the Blue Silver Emperor, possessed ten soul rings. Researchers fromter generations decided to call it a God-ranked soul ring.¡±

 Chapter 50.2: Ancestor Tang Sanâ€¦(Preview)

    Chapter 50.2: Ancestor Tang San¡­(Preview)

    Of all the of students in the ss, Wang Dong was the person who had to face the least amount of pressure. He was extremely familiar with Huo Yuhao, and the two of them were able to fuse their martial souls! It didn¡¯t matter what ability Huo Yuhao used, he wouldn¡¯t feel too great of a threat from any of them. When he heard Wang Yan¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang, then what color are God-ranked soul ring?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Even I don¡¯t truly know. Based on historical documents, the ninth soul ring of Ancestor Tang San¡¯s Bluesilver Emperor was bluish-gold. His second martial soul¡ªthe Clear Sky Hammer¡ªalso had a different colored ninth soul ring; it was dark-gold. It¡¯s very possible that it was also a God-ranked soul ring. Based on this, we can deduce that God-ranked soul rings will all have different, unique appearances.¡±

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that one¡¯s tenth soul ring would be a God-ranked one? How was Ancestor Tang San¡¯s ninth soul ring able to be a God-ranked one?¡±

    Wang Yan smiled slightly. ¡°We¡¯ll first have to talk about a legendary soul beast that once existed on our Douluo Continent. Even among the teachers within the academy, only a few of them know about this secret. This legendary soul beast was known as the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor, and its cultivation had supposedly neared the million year rank. However, nobody is clear as to whether or not it actually surpassed a million years of cultivation. ording to our historical documents however, once Ancestor Tang San absorbed its soul ring, it fused with some sort of energy in his body, which caused it to be a dark-gold God-ranked soul ring. Ancestor Tang San had already broken through the pinnacle of cultivation at this point, meaning that his soul power had reached Rank 100 and that he¡¯d be a God. Only with the help of his main martial soul¡¯s tenth soul ring¡ªthe Bluesilver Emperor¡ªwas he able to kill the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor.¡±

    When Wang Yan finished speaking about Ancestor Tang San¡¯s God-ranked soul ring, Huo Yuhao was left in a daze. After hearing about the possibility of a million year soul beast who might have appeared in the past, he was stunned speechless.

    At that moment, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang, did the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor really reach a million years of cultivation?¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head. ¡°What really happened is moreplicated. ording to therge amount of research conducted over tens of thousands of years by powerful soul masters, a soul beast is normally limited to a hundred thousand years of life. When they hit this limit, they¡¯ll encounter a cmity of sorts, at which point they¡¯ll have to choose between attempting to break through this limit, or transforming into a human. Earlier, I said that soul beasts able to break through this limit are known as transcendent soul beasts. However, all of them will still have to face a cmity like this every hundred thousand years. Once they break through ten cmities, they¡¯ll be existences close to that of a God. If they can leap through the golden gate and transform from a carp to a dragon, they¡¯ll be able to be true Gods. As far as I know however, a soul beast has never been able toplete this step. Even the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor wasn¡¯t an exception. As such, regardless of whether or not it was able to reach a million years of cultivation, it would still only remain a transcendent soul beast so long as it wasn¡¯t able to be a God. Of course, only a God can force these terrifying transcendent soul beasts to surrender. If one doesn¡¯t have as much as power as someone like Ancestor Tang San, even someone with the ability to kill a transcendent soul beast like the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor wouldn¡¯t be able topletely absorb its soul ring and soul bone.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Teacher Wang. Before Ancestor Tang San became a God and left our world, did he have any other martial souls than his Bluesilver Emperor and his Clear Sky Hammer?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t have been any more. When Ancestor Tang San had hisst battle with the Martial Soul Hall, the two opponents he faced were both God-ranked experts. ording to the historical documents at least, a situation in which Ancestor Tang San possessed three martial souls didn¡¯t appear. Yuhao, why would you ask something like this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. ¡°I was just casually asking something random. The God rank is simply too far away from us, thus I was just wondering whether or not we¡¯d obtain a third martial soul if we reached the God rank.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled slightly. ¡°Your train of thought is very good. Our research into the field of martial souls is precisely because we want to explore more of their secrets. One should definitely make bold hypotheses and verify them carefully. Alright, let¡¯s stop for now.¡±

    Hisst sentence was directed towards Huo Yuhao. The other students instantly felt their bodies loosen up, which immediately causing the soul power in their bodies to undte intensely, and in turn caused them to feel and incredible sense of rxation. Only then did they recall the the pressure that Huo Yuhao had been releasing since he¡¯d imitated the aura of a ten thousand year soul ring.

    When Wang Yan saw the students act as if they¡¯d been relieved of arge burden, he smiled slightly. ¡°The menacing aura that a soul beast emits and the pressure that a soul master emits are actually just two different types of intimidation of your spirit. As long as your spiritual power is stable enough, you¡¯ll be able to stand unmoving like a reef near the seaside no matter how intense the pressure is. Earlier, your minds were captivated by my story, thus youpletely forgot about the pressure Yuhao was emitting. Head back and have a good rest. Afterwards, prepare yourselves as best as you can for the advancement test. We¡¯ll end ss here. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll continue to train in the same way.¡±

    Every single student within the ssroom¡ªincluding Huo Yuhao¡ªhad resolute looks in their eyes as they looked towards Wang Yan. Indeed, Zhou Yi couldn¡¯tpare to a schrly teacher such as Wang Yan when it came to theoretical knowledge. However, Zhou Yi was much better than him at controlling her students. Since they were both simultaneously in charge of the ss, they evenplimented each other. At the very least, ss 1 no longer had a single student under the two-ringed rank after the past year¡¯s worth of study.

    At this moment, there was still a period of time before dinnertime. As such, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong decided to head directly towards their dorm. At Huo Yuhao¡¯s strong behest, they began to cultivating as soon as they arrived.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t truly trying to be hardworking today, however, he had a few questions for the Skydream Iceworm. The only way he could have a conversation with the Skydream Iceworm currently was by entering a state of cultivation with Wang Dong and calming down.

    As the Haodong Power circted through their bodies, the dense undtions of soul power they emitted strengthened at a rapid rate. Both of them had experienced a qualitative leap in their cultivations during their vacation, thus the advantage they had in terms of cultivation speed since they¡¯d fused their soul power was bing more and more distinct.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, Brother Skydream.¡± Once he¡¯d entered a meditative state, Huo Yuhao immediately began to circte his soul power in a controlled manner while calling out to the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Skydream Iceworm responded to him quite quickly. Itszy voice rang out, ¡°What¡¯re you doing? Is this about that Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Yeah! Brother Skydream, was that Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor really a million year soul beast?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm smiled mischievously. ¡°Don¡¯t you already have an answer to this?¡±

    Yes, the reason that Huo Yuhao had asked Wang Yan if Ancestor Tang San had had a third martial soul was precisely to verify whether or not the Deep Sea Devilwhale Emperor was a million year soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve answered me like this, it truly wasn¡¯t one?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you: I¡¯m the only soul beast on the continent who¡¯s been able to break through to the million year rank. The moment I broke through the boundary of the million year rank, I felt something deep in my heart. It¡¯s impossible to describe what that feeling was, but I instinctively knew that I was the first soul beast to reach this level. There hasn¡¯t been anyone else able to. The number of soul beasts that reside in the ocean outnumber the soul beasts on the continent, thus it isn¡¯t surprising for powerful soul beasts to appear there. However, I can guarantee that there are no million year soul beasts among their ranks.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Skydream then, then¡­ shouldn¡¯t you be a God?¡± He still had an enormous amount of doubt within his heart. Once he¡¯d obtained his second soul ring for his Spirit Eyes, he¡¯d immediately discovered a secret. The Skydream Iceworm had always disguised the true color of his Spirit Eyes¡¯ first soul ring. Lazy as he was however, the Skydream Iceworm had immediately delegated this task to Huo Yuhao once he¡¯d obtained the ability to conceal his abilities. In truth, the first soul ring that the Skydream Iceworm had given him¡ªhis intelligent soul ring¡ªwas an impressive gold color. It waspletely different from the regr white, yellow, purple, ck, and red colored soul rings. When Teacher Wang Yan had talked about Ancestor Tang San¡¯s God-ranked soul ring, a thought had immediately popped into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Wasn¡¯t the first soul ring of his Spirit Eyes a God-ranked soul ring as well?

    The Skydream Iceworm unhappily replied, ¡°Stop dreaming. If I¡¯d truly be a God, would I really have been bullied by those fes in the Great Star Dou Forest? True, the soul ring that I gave you has the foundations of a God-ranked soul ring, but it absolutely isn¡¯t one. It¡¯s currentlycking two things: One, it needs a Godly Imprint that belongs to you. Only when you¡¯ve obtain the cultivation of a God and have branded it with your imprint will it truly be a God-ranked soul ring. The other thing you require is a Godly Seat. Do you really think that it¡¯s so easy to be a God? It¡¯s definitely impossible to seed without experiencing innumerable trials. However, it¡¯s still too early for you to be thinking about these things. All you need to know is that this Brother is a unique and genuine million year soul ring in the truest sense of the word. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Brother Skydream, don¡¯t go back to sleep yet. I still have another question to ask you. Earlier today, I used one of the soul skills that the Ice Empress gave me. Why was I suddenly so enormously powerful?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm immediately flew into a rage, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just full of crap now! Who do you think the Ice Empress is?! She¡¯s one of the most powerful soul beasts who currently exists. You¡¯ve received her soul ring and soul bone, and even though you only absorbed a very small amount of her power, your physique was strengthened by an enormous amount. Furthermore, the two soul skills that she gave you are both power-type skills. These two things¡ªher terrifying amount of power and her Ultimate Ice attribute¡ªculminated into the soul skill you released earlier: The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. However, you have to remember that the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer can only be utilised at its maximum in a closebat situation. On the other hand, you have to try your best not use the two skills her torso bone gave you. They simply require too much soul power; you wouldn¡¯t be able to endure it. Oh, right. When you¡¯ve fused your soul power with this little fe in front of you, you should be able to barely release a trace of the power those two skills possess. In reality, you should feel proud of yourself. The person who tested you just now is one of those people you humans call a ¡®Titled Douluo¡¯.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°Brother Skydream, you¡¯re saying that Teacher Gong is a¡­¡±

 Chapter 50.3: Ancestor Tang Sanâ€¦

    Chapter 50.3: Ancestor Tang San¡­

    ¡°My intuition is never wrong,¡± The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Whatever, if you have nothing else to say, Brother is going to sleep. Continue cultivating diligently.¡±

    After having a conversation with the Skydream Iceworm, the doubts in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had cleared up. Having gone through today¡¯s affairs, his self-confidence had increased even more.

    News of Huo Yuhao¡¯s stunning performance in the Great Beast Duelling Arena quickly spread throughout the entirety of the outer courtyard. However, under the conjectures of a few brainy people, the other students were able to surmise that he had used an aura-imitation skill. Because of that, he didn¡¯t cause toorge a ruckus.

    The advancement test for the Year 2 students was postponed for two days. Furthermore, Zhou Yi brought another piece of news to Huo Yuhao after the meeting the teachers had. The academy¡¯s Teaching Department had requested that he retake the advancement test without using his Imitation this time around. They guaranteed that he would obtain the minimum marks required to pass, but they still hoped that he would do all he could to disy his own strength in order to obtain even higher marks.

    Du Weilun wasn¡¯t willing to resign himself to the truth! After the advancement test had ended, he had organised a meeting with the other teachers before going over to see Dean Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe then gave him a single order¨Cthat was, for him to rify what Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was, in addition to his soul skill.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Second young master, this is too risky. Shrek Academy is the continent¡¯s number one academy, and experts are extremelymon there. The number of Titled Douluo they have exceed that of our empire. Rashly killing someone within Shrek Academy will be extremely inconvenient for the Duke.¡±

    ¡°Then what if it¡¯s outside Shrek Academy?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s sufficiently far away from Shrek Academy, we can try. Second young master, you have to calm down. If you really can¡¯t take it anymore, you can ask the eldest young master for guidance.¡±

    ¡°No need, I¡¯ve already thought it through. I was clouded by my anger. I¡¯ll think of a way by myself first. If I really can¡¯t do anything about it, I¡¯ll draw them out for the sake of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s honor. At that time, you are not allowed to dissuade me anymore.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Haha, that old fe Yan Shaozhe must be foaming with anger in his office. How delightful, it¡¯s really so satisfying!¡± Qian Duoduo was lying on his wide sofa, his mighty body taking up almost half the space of the sofa, which could normally fit three people. He had a pleased look on his face.

    Fan Yu, who was sitting opposite him, said sincerely, ¡°Dean Qian, thank you.¡± He was truly grateful to Qian Duoduo. He had made a timely move, allowing them to thoroughly bring Huo Yuhao over to the Soul Tool Department at the most crucial moment. Moreover, Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t do anything at all now.

    Qian Duoduo waved his hand, ¡°What¡¯re you thanking me for? This is all for our Soul Tool Department. However, that old fe Yan Shaozhe is very crafty. We still have to be alert.¡±

    Fan Yu was stunned. ¡°Be alert for what? Yuhao¡¯s already a core disciple of our Soul Tool Department!¡±

    Qian Duoduo said, ¡°You can¡¯t think this way. I understand that old fe Yan too well; he¡¯s not a person who gives up easily. He won¡¯t do something like threaten us, but he¡¯s extremely good at tempting someone. You still need to have a good conversation with that little fe Yuhao so he won¡¯t be fooled by any means. Tell Yuhao that our Soul Tool Department can give him anything that Yan Shaozhe offers. I simply don¡¯t believe that Old Yan will just let me snatch away the meat I¡¯ve obtained. Humph. Two martial souls, hahaha. I just need to imagine Old Yan¡¯s current expression to feel extremely happy.¡±

    Fan Yu smiled slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that you need to worry. After interacting with this child Yuhao for so long, I have confidence in him. I can guarantee you one thing¨Cas long as he gets his rank as a soul master up to the required rank, he¡¯ll definitely be a soul engineer of the same ss. Within five years, before he graduates from the outer courtyard, I¡¯ll work hard to make him a ss 5 soul engineer. When he then enters the inner courtyard, we¡¯ll be able to have him and Caitou implement the Ultimate Soldier n.¡±

    ¡°The Imitation skill that Yuhao¡¯s just obtained has eliminated arge obstacle to our Ultimate Soldier n. This skill has no offensive uses, but it¡¯s absolutely the strongest ability that a person can use to conceal themselves! The heavens above are truly thinking about our Soul Tool Department. Yuhao¡¯s practically made for our Ultimate Soldier n.¡±

    Qian Duoduo nodded. ¡°Fan Yu, I have a proposal. This kid Yuhao has an extraordinary amount of talent as a soul engineer, and we can¡¯t restrict him too much using conventional ways. I feel that He Caitou shouldn¡¯t continue being cultivated for the Ultimate Soldier n. If Huo Yuhao can be the Ultimate Soldier we nurture, then He Caitou can be the Armory of the Ultimate Soldier.¡±

    Somewhat concerned, Fan Yu said, ¡°But Dean, isn¡¯t this too risky? In the event we fail¡­¡±

    The smile on Qian Duoduo¡¯s face vanished, and he spoke in a grave voice, ¡°There isn¡¯t an ¡®in the event¡¯. If a person with twin martial souls can¡¯t make our n seed, then that only proves that our n doesn¡¯t hold any water. If we go with the mentality of staking it all on one person, our chances of sess are much greater.¡±

    Fan Yu furrowed his brows. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to think about it for a while. I need to ask Caitou for his opinion on this as well.¡±

    Qian Duoduo smiled. ¡°Yup. This issue isn¡¯t urgent. They¡¯re still young, so we have to establish their foundations well. Right, when is Huo Yuhaoing over?¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°The Martial Soul Department¡¯s having their advancement test. I¡¯ll get him toe over after his test.¡±

    Qian Duoduo said, ¡°He¡¯s already a core disciple of our Soul Tool Department now. After the Martial Soul Department¡¯s advancement test ends, bring him over and let him participate in our advancement test as well. I want to see his capabilities in livebat.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Fan Yu replied, filled with confidence. He had absolute confidence in the disciple he was pleased with.

    Two dayster.

    The Great Beast Duelling Arena. Outside the Arena.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, do you dare to make another bet?¡± Dai Huabin blocked Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s paths.

    Without even waiting for Huo Yuhao to open his mouth, Wang Dong interjected, ¡°What? You can¡¯t ept it? The only reason why you¡¯ve dared toe again is because you¡¯re fully aware that Huo Yuhao¡¯s been restricted from using his soul skill. Losing is losing, and you¡¯ve already forgotten the pain that came from that scar of yours, eh? You¡¯ve already kowtowed and admitted that you were wrong.¡±

    A cold light flickered through Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with seizing an opportunity? I lost, and I admitted it. I¡¯m only asking as to whether you dare to make another bet with me. This time, I¡¯ll bet against you two by myself. I¡¯m betting that I¡¯ll be able to exceed the total of your scores by myself.¡±

    The moment he spoke, Wang Dong immediately raised his brow, ¡°Dai Huabin, you¡¯re being too arrogant.¡±

    Dai Huabin said icily, ¡°Do you dare, or do you not?¡±

    Wang Dong said angrily, ¡°Since you wanna bet, we¡¯ll bet. We¡¯ll use the same stakes as before. The losing party will kowtow and admit that they were wrong, but three times this time.¡±

    Dai Huabin turned towards the silent Huo Yuhao, ¡°What do you say?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said indifferently, ¡°Seeing that you were willing to ept your lossst time, fine. We¡¯ll take your bet.¡±

    Dai Huabin squinted his eyes. After coldly sweeping his gaze over the two, he turned away and left.

    As Wang Dong looked on at Dai Huabin¡¯s leaving figure, he suddenly let out augh. Keeping his voice low, he turned towards Huo Yuhao, ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s exactly as you predicted. That fe has well-developed limbs, but the brain of a moron. He actually dared to make a bet like this for the sake of revenge. He¡¯s really thinking too highly of himself, and he¡¯s looking down on us too much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. ¡°Actually, he¡¯s not looking down on us. It¡¯s just that we have too many secrets that the others don¡¯t know about. If he makes a decision based onmon sense, it¡¯s natural for him to be fooled by us.¡±

    The Haodong Power was their greatest secret. Without the Haodong Power, it would¡¯ve been impossible for their cultivation to increase so quickly. Huo Yuhao even had two martial souls in addition to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone and soul ring. These weren¡¯t things that others would know about.

    Other than that, he still had an even greater secret, a secret that even the teachers didn¡¯t know about.

    Earlier this morning, Wang Dong had finally tested Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power after they had cultivated at an astonishing pace for two consecutive days. In the end, he was stunned all the way from breakfast till they reached the Great Beast Duelling. It was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had already reached Rank 26.

    When Huo Yuhao had entered Shrek Academy at the very beginning, he had only been at Rank 13. One yearter, he was now Rank 26. It could be said that within the entire academy, Huo Yuhao¡¯s leap in power was something that the other students werepletely unable topare with.

    Soul power couldn¡¯t be measured using simple numbers. If the soul power needed to bring someone up from Rank 0 to Rank 13 was considered one unit, then the soul power needed to bring someone from Rank 13 to Rank 26 was at least five units. In other words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had quintupled within a year! This waspletely inconceivable!

    Even among the students of ss 1, his current soul power ced him in the top ten of the ss. However, only Wang Dong knew about this secret. Moreover, Wang Dong himself had secrets! Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just limited to a single secret¡­

    The process of the advancement test was identical to that of two days ago; Du Weilun personally came over to oversee the test again. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just Du Weilun who¡¯de over this time. The proctor and the refereeing teacher were both stunned by the fact that the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean Yan Shaozhe had actuallye in person. Furthermore, he had reced Du Weilun as the main judge.

    Just when was an advancement test of a lower year group belonging to the outer courtyard able to move an important person like the Dean? And yet, nobody would¡¯ve guessed that Yan Shaozhe had actuallye for a single student.

    As the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe had an esteemed status. If he was willing to hold a post in any country, he would definitely receive the treatment of a state advisor. However, Yan Shaozhe had always remained within Shrek Academy. The thing he enjoyed most was seeing many outstanding geniuses being nurtured by himself, making Shrek Academy even more powerful.

    From the others¡¯ point of view, a single student wasn¡¯t worth him appearing in person. From Yan Shaozhe¡¯s point of view, however, this was extremely worth it. This was an extremely rarely seen twin-souled soul master!

    Not only had hee, he had arrived extremely early. Before the advancement test had begun, he had found the Beast King Gong Changlong and had a simple conversation with him for a period of time. Though Gong Changlong hadn¡¯t revealed what Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was, he said the word ¡®Ultimate¡¯ to Yan Shaozhe. This word solidified Yan Shaozhe¡¯s confidence even more. A series of ns had already formed in his heart.

    Seeing the students who had already entered the arena, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Dean Yan Shaozhe¡¯s mouth. Qian Duoduo, ah Qian Duoduo, I want to see which of the two of us will have thestugh.

 Chapter 51.1: The Butterfly Goddess Slash and the Berserk White Tiger

    Chapter 51.1: The Butterfly Goddess sh and the Berserk White Tiger

    ¡°Year 2, ss 1. Wang Dong.¡± Wang Dong strode forward and handed his test form to the referee.

    That¡¯s right. This time Wang Dong was the first to take the field instead of Huo Yuhao. However, the other students had all expected this sort of change. After all, Huo Yuhao had previously used his special soul skill to intimidate the soul beast, not harm it. This time around, his soul skill had been restricted. Thus, he naturally couldn¡¯t be ss 1¡¯s opening act. ss 1 needed an opening that would stun their opponents.

    In Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes, however, Huo Yuhao was a coward. The thought of him kowtowing and acknowledging his mistake to Huo Yuhao turned the intense humiliation he felt into bitter resentment, which wrecked havoc in his mind. Revenge. I want revenge! I will first trample them beneath my feet, then find an opportunity to eradicate them all. No, I want to see them kneel before me, wailing and begging me for mercy! Only then will I kill them!

    Dai Huabin, who wasn¡¯t even thirteen years old, had long since seen bloodshed. There was already a merciless look in his eyes!

    ¡°I choose a thousand year soul beast.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice drew Dai Huabin out of his reverie. He couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback when he heard Wang Dong¡¯s selection. Despite his thousand year soul skill, Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation was only that of a Soul Grandmaster. He actually dared to choose a thousand year soul beast, the highest ranked opponent in this examination?

    The two referees were also shocked.

    Two days ago, Huo Yuhao had shocked them. He¡¯d been the first to take the field, and had chosen a soul beast with a cultivation of a hundred years. This was a soul beast reared in the Great Beast Duelling Arena, yet Huo Yuhao had managed to scare it witless with the aura of two hundred thousand year soul rings, an event which had stunned everyone present. This time around, ss 1 had sent out someone else, who¡¯d immediately chosen a thousand year soul beast. Were these kids really intending to corroborate Shrek Academy¡¯s slogan, that they only bred monsters?

    However, the referee didn¡¯t dare to dy the matter any further with Dean Yan Shaozhe in the audience. ¡°Wang Dong, are you ready?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Wang Dong nodded with a serious expression on his face as brilliant blue rays of light enveloped him. He didn¡¯t waste any time in releasing his martial soul. Even he wasn¡¯t sure of himself when it came to confronting a thousand year soul beast.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Cries of surprise rang out as all of the students and even several teachers became gobsmacked by what they saw.

    They weren¡¯t taken aback by Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, but rather by the three soul rings that had gradually risen from beneath his feet. That¡¯s right. There were now three soul rings. This was Wang Dong¡¯s secret.

    When they¡¯d had to report back to the academy, Huo Yuhao had beente, while Wang Dong had rushed back with only two days to spare! Just what had he been up to? In the short span of just a month, he¡¯d seeded in breaking through his cultivation bottleneck of Rank 30 with the help of his n and had even managed to obtain his third soul ring.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes shone as he sat on the Spectator¡¯s Stand. With a slight nod of his head, he said, ¡°Good. He has one yellow soul ring and two purple soul rings. This kid¡¯s talent and martial soul has far surpassed those of his peers. He¡¯s definitely going to be a great asset in the future. However, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡­¡± A hint of a yful smile lifted the corners of his lips when he mentioned that point.

    Wang Dong¡¯s third soul ring was also a purple soul ring, which meant that it was a thousand year soul ring. Thus, the Soul Elder-ranked Wang Dong already had two thousand year soul rings.These weren¡¯t imitation soul rings but the genuine article.

    Dai Huabin would never have thought that Wang Dong would give him such a huge ¡°surprise.¡± That¡¯s right, his cultivation in soul power was truly stronger than Wang Dong¡¯s by arge margin. But they were both Soul Elders wielding three soul rings! On top of that Wang Dong overpowered him in terms of the ranks of their soul rings. This meant that if they were topete purely based on their soul skills, Wang Dong would still be able to hold the upper hand in their battle. Thus, the gap between their cultivations would be closed.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s face sank and the expression on his face immediately turned vile, however, his confidence didn¡¯t waver. From his point of view, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have the ability to directly injure soul beasts without using his second soul ring and could only rely upon his spiritual shock of his. Dai Huabin believed that Huo Yuhao could only follow his teacher¡¯s advice and pass the examination by umting the minimum amount of points required. He also believe d that he would perform even better than Wang Dong. However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous despite hisplete confidence in himself.

    At this moment, a tyrannical aura seeped out from the open metal gates located some distance away from Wang Dong. A tall figure slowly walked out of the beast pen.

    Even though it didn¡¯t have the speed of that Windspirit Wolf Huo Yuhao had fought thest time, the pressure its aura emitted was far superior.

    The soul beast was three metres tall and walked out on its hind legs like a human. There was a faint fishy smelling from its light brown fur. On its chest was a huge patch of white fur in the shape of a check mark that resembled the veined patterns on the wings of Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess. The sheer size of the bear was truly impressive.

    The most eye-catching feature of this massive bear was its eyes. It had faintly red eyes that were filled with callousness towards its prey.

    Even if they were all simrly aged thousand year soul beasts, the natural strength that gnus, goats, and cows possessed could not bepared to that of lions, tigers, leopards, and bears. Moreover, the probability of these carnivorous soul beasts having cultivated for over a thousand years was also very high.

    The thousand year soul beast that Wang Dong was going to face off against was called the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear, a powerful earth attributed soul beast.

    Wang Dong spread his wings and took flight the moment he saw his opponent¡¯s appearance. However, an enormous formless pressure immediately pushed him down to the ground before he could fly more than five meters into the air. The referee¡¯s voice rang out in his ear, ¡°You are not allowed to fly more than five meters above the ground in this advancement test.¡±

    The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear didn¡¯t appear to be very fast as it slowly walked towards Wang Dong on its hind legs and with an ominous glint in its eyes. However, the stifling aura that came along with it secretly startled Wang Dong. This was his first time facing a thousand year soul beast alone, but nevertheless he was still confident in his strength.

    It was also at this time that a three-dimensional image quietly appeared in his mind. Huo Yuhao sat not far off at the edge of the arena, with a faint golden glow already visible in his eyes.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the bet with Dai Huabin, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have chosen to cheat. But this time the stakes were high and he couldn¡¯t lose to one of his enemies that had been the cause of his mother¡¯s death. In any case, he could also better protect Wang Dong with his Spiritual Detection, so that no harm came his way.

    Wang Dong raised his shoulders, sping his front wings together as he simrly moved forwards. He only took small steps as advanced in the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s direction. Just like the bear, he wasn¡¯t quick at all. Rather, his steps were extremely steady and reflected the calm state of his mind.

    The two were slowly approaching one another. The two referees were also attentively observing their movements from a close vantage point. They needed to immediately take action if they felt that Wang Dong¡¯s strength had been depleted too far. After all, humans were not like soul beasts. It wasn¡¯t as though there weren¡¯t any casualties from such events. They¡¯d seen Wang Dong¡¯s test form just now and has noticed his status as a core disciple. That fact alone made it all the more important that they not lose him in an ident.

    The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear looked a little stupid as it stood up and walked like a human. Not only was it slow, but it was also swaying unstably. However, when it was about thirty metres away from Wang Dong, its front limbs suddenly dropped down. Now, all four of its limbs were touching the ground.

    The sudden change shocked Wang Dong, and he unconsciously stopped in his tracks. He then moved a few metres to the side in anticipation.

    The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear continued approaching him as though nothing had happened. A mocking expression even seemed to peek through its faint red eyes. When a soul beast reached a thousand years of cultivation, it would obtain some limited form of intelligence. It was only when soul beasts reached a cultivation of ten thousand years or more that they developed intelligence not inferior to that of humans and so were also able to interact in human speech.

    Wang Dong hesitated at the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s appearance, and it was in that moment of hesitation that the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear suddenly sped up. A thickyer of bloody light shrouded its whole body, making it look like a red cloud as it sprinted in Wang Dong¡¯s direction. It moved so quickly that for a moment its speed wasparable to that of the Windspirit Wolf that Huo Yuhao had fought the other day.

    The changes in its speed along with the sudden utilisation of all four limbs, these were all ssic strategies used in psychological warfare! It was no wonder thousand year soul beasts were experts among the same rank. The strength disyed by this thousand year Bloodthirsty Demon Bear couldn¡¯t bepared to a hundred year soul beast at all.

    In the time it took to take two breaths, the bear had already closed the distance between them and was now within thirty metres of Wang Dong. Wang Dong seemed be standing there in a daze as the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear swung its huge paw at him with a ball of bloody light trailing behind its movements.

    The judges had been waiting for some action after the slow movements from the two of them. The judges sitting in the Spectator¡¯s Stand couldn¡¯t help but frown too. They had earlier been pleasantly surprised by a Year 2 Soul Elder student who had three soul rings and was also a core disciple. How could his experience in realbat be so bad that he was terrified to the point of uselessness?

    Was Wang Dong terrified? Obviously not. Seeing the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s huge paw already in front of him, he suddenly slid down on one foot and made a half turn. The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s p seemed to brush dangerously close to his body but Wang Dong was already behind the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear.

    He unfurled his front wings and made a criss-cross scissoring movement as he swept them across the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s neck.

    The thousand year Bloodthirsty Demon Bear was an exceptional beast. It had immediately sensed that something was amiss the moment its paw came in contact with nothing but air. The bloody light surrounding its body gradually turned yellow and its light brown fur instantly turned as hard as steel.

    The instant Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wing grazed its tough fur, a series of sparks flew out along with an ear-piercing screech.

    Being an earth attribute soul beast, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear was naturally extremely good at defending. Unfortunately, it had still been a half beat too slow in responding to the situation. The bear thought that Wang Dong had been duped by the psychological warfare it had used against him. Therefore, the bear had pounced rather abruptly under such circumstances. But now, although it had been able to react in time, Wang Dong had taken a huge chunk of meat from its neck with his Guillotine Wings.

    Who didn¡¯t know how to wage psychological warfare against their opponent? Wang Dong let out a coldugh. His attack had hit the mark but he didn¡¯t follow up on it. With a p of his wings, his body suddenly retreated five metres back, dodging the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s frantic counterattack.

    Without Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, he would¡¯ve gained quite an advantage even if he hadn¡¯t been duped by the bear. However, the Spiritual Detection could help him clearly identify the blood vessels and cirction of soul power within the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s body, as well as its attack patterns. How could he not utilise this great opportunity?

    Sure enough, a stunned look crossed the eyes of all the judges sitting in the Spectator¡¯s Stand after witnessing this attack from Wang Dong. Included amongst them were Dean Yan Shaozhe and Director Du Weilun.

    Wang Dong had remained calm in the face of the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s attack and had even used his opponent¡¯s stratagem against him. His calm demeanor as he fought against a thousand year soul beast in such close proximity impressed the judges. The judges hadn¡¯t even seen such high level battle tactics from students in higher year groups!

 Chapter 51.2: The Butterfly Goddess Slash and the Berserk White Tiger

    Chapter 51.2: The Butterfly Goddess sh and the Berserk White Tiger

    The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear roared in both pain and anger as it rose up on its hind legs. Its pale-red eyes shed with a bloody light as its immense frame swelled with power and began to emit a savage aura. This was the beast¡¯s innate skill, Bloodthirst.

    The reason it was called the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear was due to the existence of this innate skill. On top of that, its earth attribute and bloodline skill further boosted its strength.

    Even the fur on it¡¯s body was stained with a redyer once it activated Bloodthirst. An intense stench of blood began to emanate from its body and it pounced towards Wang Dong, its front ws releasing an intense yellow light.

    Wang Dong unfurled his wings and forcefully waved them forward, which caused his own body to slide backwards. It seemed like he was trying to increase the distance between himself and the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear.

    However, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s speed had explosively increased after activating Bloodthirst. Moreover, Wang Dong¡¯s retreat was half a second too slow. Although its front ws didn¡¯t strike him, they dealt a heavy blow to the ground in front of him. Immediately, an intense yellow light blossomed from the point of impact.

    This was the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s earth-type skill, Seismic Wave.

    There was a notable difference between the abilities of thousand year soul beasts and hundred year soul beasts. While there was only a possibility for hundred year soul beasts to possess long-range attacking abilities, thousand year soul beasts would undoubtedly possess long-range or area of effect-type soul skills.

    Seismic Wave was the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s specialty. The skill would not only cause its opponent lose their bnce due to the strong vibrations, but would also cause them to feel dizzy to a certain extent. As long as the effects of its Seismic Wave remained active, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear would savagely devastate its opponents soon after.

    Because of that, the two referees quickly approached Wang Dong as soon as the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear released the Seismic Wave. They were ready to interrupt the match the moment they felt that Wang Dong was trapped within its Seismic Wave.

    Oftentimes during a battle between a soul master and a soul beast, the oue of the match would hinge on a single soul skill. The situation in which a single soul skill was able to change the situation of the entire match afternding was incrediblymon.

    Wang Dong¡¯s rear wings rose up the instant the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s paws struck the ground and released the Seismic Wave. Simultaneously, he tilted his front wings downwards as his second soul ring lit up.

    He¡¯d pped his wings forward previously, which had created a backwards stream of air. However, he now only adjusted his actions by a hair¡¯s breadth, which immediately caused his retreating body to fly up into the air by borrowing the stream of air, resulting in him instantly rising three meters into the air. Furthermore, his body remained parallel to the ground and was thus able to dodge the rumbling Seismic Wave just in time. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear who¡¯d struck the ground was currently right below Wang Dong, its sturdy backpletely exposed.

    All of the golden patterns on the dazzling blue wings of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess martial soul instantly lit up. A series of terrifying explosions immediately rang out amidst the flickering golden lights.

    This was Wang Dong¡¯s second soul skill, his thousand year soul skill ¨C the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    The tyrannical yellow light from the Light of the Butterfly Goddess mercilessly rained down without pause onto the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear¡¯s back. Even the sounds that rang out due to the violent explosions were painful! The Bloodthirsty Demon Bear had just released its attack which had left its body slightly sluggish for a brief period. Thus, it wasn¡¯t able to dodge Wang Dong¡¯s attack. From the moment it was struck by the first ball of golden light, it could only try its best to curl up and use its thick back to endure the bombardment from the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    The violent explosionssted for a full three seconds before they finally ended. Wang Dong slowly floated upwards as his dazzling blue wings suddenly turned an intense golden color. He moved his hands back to his chest and his palms touched his chest. Following which, his third soul ring released arge amount of light.

    A ball of pure golden light appeared between Wang Dong¡¯s palms and then started to expand at an astonishing rate amidst the light surrounding him. In the blink of an eye, the ball was already a foot wide. The ball of golden light was surrounded by golden electricity that illuminated Wang Dong¡¯s entire body.

    The golden wings on Wang Dong¡¯s back unceasingly flickered as they released curved golden shadows that fused with the pure gold ball of light, causing its volume to further increase.

    Under the series of explosions caused by Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess, the Bloodthirsty Devil Bear was already sprawled on the ground. Although it had gone put everything into its defense, how could a thousand year soul skill be so easily defended against? The flesh on its back had beencerated and its entire back was stained with fresh blood. The damage has been so severe that even its Bloodthirst had been interrupted.

    As an earth-type thousand year soul beast, however, the Bloodthirsty Devil Bear¡¯s defensive abilities were extremely powerful. Despite the violent bouts of paining from its back due to the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, it hadn¡¯t yet lost all of itsbat strength. But since two of Wang Dong¡¯s blows had struck one of its rear legs, its speed had dropped arge margin which had greatly reduced its ability to move.

    Sensing the terrifying aura above it, the Bloodthirsty Devil Bear forced itself to turn around. It couldn¡¯t help but let out ament when it saw the terrifying golden ball of light in front of Wang Dong¡¯s chest. Raising its front limbs, it managed to barely congeal a ball of yellow light in Wang Dong¡¯s direction. The yellow light then turned into a small shield that barely protected its body.

    ¡°Alright, the test is over. Wang Dong, withdraw your soul skill.¡± Du Weilun¡¯s voice rang out from the tall stage.

    However, a soul skill wasn¡¯t easy to withdraw. Wang Dong hurriedly moved his hands outwards and the golden ball of light in front of his chest rose into the air. Since the Great Beast Dueling Arena was located outdoors, the golden ball of light shot a hundred meters into the air before numerous golden crescent moon-like shadows blossomed out from it. They looked just like the petals of a flower as they flew into the air and turned into motes of golden light before they finally exploded, instantly creating a spectacr screen of golden light.

    The two referees simultaneously made a move and subdued the Bloodthirsty Bear before they dered the end of this round of the advancement test.

    There was simply no need for the judges to speak. All the students understood that Wang Dong had passed the test with the highest possible score.

    After releasing his third soul skill, Wang Dong¡¯s body swayed slightly and his face was clearly pale too. If it weren¡¯t for their bet with Dai Huabin, he would have no need to use his third soul skill in this test. However, his aim right now was to do everything in his power to obtain the highest possible score he was capable of.

    His third soul skill was called the Butterfly Goddess sh. It looked like a ball of light, but was actually a sh that contained a hundred and eight des of light within it. The moment it struck its target, the hundred and eight des within it would burst outward and rip their target to shreds.

    The Light of the Butterfly Goddess was an area of effect attack and though it was very powerful, itcked explosive power. However, the Butterfly Goddess sh was different. It sacrificed the lock-on ability and range that a long-distance attack would normally have for unparalleled attack power. The Butterfly Goddess sh had no way of locking onto a target and the des of light contained within it would automatically start to leak out once the attack was more than five meters away from the user until it waspletely depleted of power. This was also the reason behind the marvelous scene that had urred earlier.

    A major reason why Wang Dong had chosen this skill as his third soul skill was because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing. Only when he had the assistance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could he unleash the full might of this skill.

    After talking to each other for a bit, Du Weilun and Yan Shaozhepleted their evaluations.

    Du Weilun spoke in a solemn voice, ¡°Wang Dong, who chose to face the highest-ranked thousand year soul beast for his test has obtained a hundred marks for his base score. Considering the attack power of his final soul skill, there was a 70% chance that the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear would¡¯ve been killed instantly. Thus, he has obtained full marks for his foundations. His performance during the battle can be considered perfect and for that he has obtained the full fifty marks for battle technique.¡±

    During the advancement test, differently ranked soul beasts would give different base scores. The lowest-ranked hundred year soul beast would only give ten marks, and only by disying an extraordinary amount of battle technique and defeating it would a student be able to pass the advancement test. However, the thousand year soul beast Wang Dong had chosen gave a hundred marks as its base score. In addition to the fifty marks he had been given for his battle technique, he had obtained a total of a hundred and fifty marks. Inparison, the advancement test for the Year 2 students only required thirty marks for one to pass. In other words, even if he hadn¡¯t been able to defeat the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear, he would¡¯ve been able to easily obtain over thirty marks.

    Wang Dong was overjoyed to learn that he had obtained a perfect score. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to intervene for them to win the bet. He had obtained full marks by himself, which meant that Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t even put up a fight against them anymore.

    However, before he could rejoice, Du Weilun¡¯s next words shot him down.

    ¡°However, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear is an earth-type soul beast. Its defensive abilities rank amongst the top within thousand year soul beasts, which meant that it still had a 30% chance of blocking your final attack. Meanwhile, your soul power was almostpletely drained after releasing that attack. Under such circumstances, there would have been no way for you to contend against it again. If that had happened, you could¡¯ve been injured by itsst-ditch attack or maybe even have been killed. As a soul master, carelessly staking everything on a single attack is an unwise decision. After talking to Dean Yan, we have decided to deduct fifty marks from your score. This puts your final score for this test at a hundred marks. You pass the advancement test.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Dong was bbergasted, ¡°That¡¯s way too many penalties. After all, I beat a thousand year soul beast!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe replied warmly, ¡°As an outstanding soul master, your first priority in a battle must be your own safety. Only after you have guaranteed your safety should you think of how to beat your opponent. How long have you cultivated for? If you end up exchanging your life for the death of just a single soul beast, what meaning would your cultivation have? The reason

    we deducted fifty marks from you is because you¡¯re a core disciple of the academy. Core disciples receive better treatment than ordinary students, but at the same time they have to fulfill much more stringent requirements. Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 51.3: The Butterfly Goddess Slash and the Berserk White Tiger

    Chapter 51.3: The Butterfly Goddess sh and the Berserk White Tiger

    Wang Dong was extremely dejected, but there wasn¡¯t much he could do. He had no choice but to step down from the stage with his head lowered. Despite his disappointment however, 100 points in the advancement test was already an extremely high score. Not many students received such a score, even from previous years. On top of this, he¡¯d defeated a thousand year soul beast! Indeed, Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun had been severe on the surface, but they were still very pleased in their hearts. They had only deducted so many points from Wang Dong¡¯s score because they didn¡¯t want him to be too arrogant.

    Wang Dong returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, then said with a dejected look, ¡°That was too unfair. I can¡¯t believe they actually deducted so many points from my score.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied in a low voice, ¡°Forget it. Your score is more than enough to guarantee that we won¡¯t lose the bet. Leave the rest to me; don¡¯t worry about a thing. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t really that unfair. What do you think your chances of victory would¡¯ve been if you hadn¡¯t had my Spiritual Detection?¡±

    Wang Dong stuck his tongue out at Huo Yuhao, then said, ¡°Probably less than 30%. That big fellow wasn¡¯t just difficult to deal with, he was also extremely sly. Hmph, you only need 30 points to pass this test. In other words, Dai Huabin will have to get a score of at least 130 points in order to have a shot at victory. I refuse to believe that he¡¯ll be so much better than me.¡±

    One must know that Dai Huabin didn¡¯t have someone like Huo Yuhao that could secretly aid him! Wang Dong also knew that, in a one-on-one fight, he was no match for Dai Huabin. From another point of view, his Radiant Butterfly Goddess martial soul was abination of the assault and agility systems, while Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger martial soul was both the purest and the strongest assault type martial soul. In a direct fight, unless he had something such as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing that could help him foresee his enemy¡¯s actions, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.

    Of the freshmen this year with the highest battle prowess¡­ Dai Huabin¡ªthe son of the White Tiger Duke¡ªwas certainly one of the most talented.

    ¡°Year 2 ss 2, Dai Huabin.¡± Dai Huabin¡¯s powerful voice suddenly echoed outwards. The advancement test had yet to begin, yet his body had already begun emitting a firm, steely aura. As such, he seemed like a volcano about to erupt.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes lit up up when he saw this. He said to the nearby Du Weilun, ¡°Is this the strongest student in Year 2?¡±

    Du Weilun nodded and replied, ¡°The White Tiger Duke¡¯s posterity is truly outstanding. His natural talent is actually even a bit higher than his older brother¡¯s, who didn¡¯t have this level of cultivation at his age. Furthermore, I¡¯ve heard from Mu Jin that he¡¯s put much more effort into cultivating than his peers. Based on his current cultivation speed, it¡¯s extremely likely that he¡¯ll break through to the Soul Ancestor level in one to one-and-a-half years. If that really does happen, he¡¯ll go down in history within the academy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to be a Soul Ancestor,¡± Yan Shaozhe said with a faint smile, ¡°however, this child truly is outstanding. Let¡¯s keep an eye on his performance.¡±

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t wait for the referee as he announced, ¡°I choose a thousand year soul beast.¡±

    Based on Wang Dong¡¯s precedent, the referees weren¡¯t surprised by Dai Huabin¡¯s choice. Once they¡¯d asked Dai Huabin if he was ready, they immediately sent out his opponent.

    Coincidentally, Dai Huabin¡¯s opponent was extremely simr to his martial soul.

    A low roar echoed as a nimble, two meter-long, tiger-like soul beast leapt out of the beast cage.

    Once it had leapt out of the iron cage andnded, it began to carefully observe the nearby Dai Huabin. Its body was pale-yellow, and had long, dark-green stripes running through its fur. Its figure was a bit smaller than the ming Demon Tiger that Huo Yuhao had seen, but it appeared to be more agile. Its two eyes emitted a dark-green radiance as it observed Dai Huabin. It was a Wind Tiger¡ªone of the fastest amongst wind-attributed tiger-type soul beasts.

    The Wind Tiger seemed to realize that there was a dangerous auraing from Dai Huabin¡¯s body, as it didn¡¯t move forward, but instead began to moveterally. It was obviously nning to use its speed in order to probe its enemy¡¯s abilities and strength. Its four paws trailed along the ground as if it were cotton; they didn¡¯t make a single sound.

    The dangerous aura emanating from Dai Huabin¡¯s body suddenly lessened, which caused the Wind Tiger to charge. However, Dai Huabin didn¡¯t even release his White Tiger martial soul when he saw this. This action left the referees surprised. What was this student trying to do?

    After gauging the situation, the thousand year Wind Tiger judged that the threat represented by Dai Huabin wasn¡¯t all that great. A green light flickered through its eyes as its four paws were suddenly pressed t against the ground. Afterward, its body suddenly elerated towards Dai Huabin like an arrow. It looked like a green bolt of lightning as it pounced towards Dai Huabin, as its speed was much faster than other, simrly wind-attributed soul beasts. Needless to say, its attack power was also many times stronger as well. Wolves and tigers were already on two different levels, let alone a hundred year soul beast and a thousand year one.

    The distance between the two parties was almost instantly reduced. The Wind Tiger¡¯s two front paws opened in midair as it shed forwards, which revealed its sharp ws. The tiger shot proceeded to shoot ten foot-long des of wind towards Dai Huabin as it shot towards him. Its trailed behind the des it had sent towards Dai Huabin, as its body was the strongest weapon it had at its disposal. The sharp ws at the end of the tiger¡¯s palms glittered with green glint as it approached Dai Huabin as well, which caused arge amount of wind-type soul power to fluctuate as they cut through the air. This in turn made its ws gain even more prating power.

    Despite being faced with the attack of a thousand year Wind Tiger, Dai Huabin still didn¡¯t evade. Instead, the roar of a tiger suddenly echoed; he had atst released his White Tiger martial soul. Once he had, he immediately attacked the Wind Tiger fearlessly. His fighting style was different from Wang Dong¡¯s, however. What he relied on wasn¡¯t skill, but absolute strength, as both his first and third soul rings simultaneously lit up.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s body suddenly began to emit the aura of a White Tiger now that he¡¯d released his martial soul, which caused the thousand year Wind Tiger to involuntary show a panic-stricken expression. The White Tiger stood at the apex amongst tiger-type soul beast; wild White Tigers were considered kings amongst tiger-type soul beasts. This Wind Tiger, however, was now in midair. Even if it were faster, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge in its current situation. It would have to wait until the end of its attack to disy its superior speed.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s thousand year soul skill caused his body to suddenly expand; it reached its peak condition instantaneously. Under normal circumstances, when he used his third soul skill, he would require a certain amount of time in order toplete this transformation. Despite this, he had reduced that time to the minimum; one could imagine what kind of toll this had on his body. If one were to look at his outward expression however, they wouldn¡¯t notice anything amiss.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger Shield began to emit ayer of white light now that he¡¯d activated his White Tiger Vajra Transformation, while his tiger-like ws turned golden.

    The spectators all thought that Dai Huabin should¡¯ve first tried to resist the thousand year Wind Tiger¡¯s attack before he attempted to counterattack. He didn¡¯t n on doing that however. What he nned to do was something that the average person would never attempt.

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t pay any attention to the ten wind des approaching him. He also ignored the two powerful tiger ws filled with destructive power closing in on him. Instead, he aimed at the Wind Tiger¡¯s head with both of his ws. If one were to see this, one would simply think that it was suicidal!

    Even the widely-experienced Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun were greatly surprised by his actions. Was this really the fighting style of a twelve-year-old? He looked even more ferocious than a soul beast!

    At this point, the Wind Tiger had already been influenced by the White Tiger¡¯s aura released by Dai Huabin. Because of this, it had be somewhat scared.

    The wind des it had flung towards Dai Huabin struck his body one after another. Even though the White Tiger Shield had been strengthened by the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, it wasn¡¯t able topletely nullify ten sessive strikes from a thousand year soul beast. Bloodstains appeared on Dai Huabin¡¯s shoulders and chest, yet this didn¡¯t even cause him to flinch; it was as if he couldn¡¯t feel any pain. After they were weakened by his White Tiger Shield, the Wind Tiger¡¯s wind des were only able to leave a few superficial wounds on his body.

    Both Dai Huabin and the Wind Tiger¡¯s ws closed in on each other at the same speed. However, based on the time they¡¯d attacked and their arm¡¯s lengths, it seemed like the Wind Tiger¡¯s ws would reach Dai Huabin first.

    This was a battle of brute force! Who would win?

    When two tigers meet each other, the most valiant will win!

    The Wind Tiger was already somewhat scared. When it saw that it was about to collide with Dai Huabin, it promptly retracted its ws and tried to grab ahold of his arms; It wanted to stop its opponent¡¯s attack.

    However, Dai Huabin had already disyed this sort of reckless fighting style. How could he possibly be scared? He suddenly released a deafeningly loud roar. This roar contained the dignity of the king of the beasts, and if one were to look into the Wind Tiger¡¯s eyes, they would notice that its pupils had instantaneously widened. Under the effect of his mental counterattack, the speed of its ws immediately slowed down by a bit. At the same time, Dai Huabin suddenly infused his legs with strength, which caused his body to shoot forwards like an arrow.

    By doing this, he made it so that the Wind Tiger¡¯s ws would only hit his shoulders, while at the same time making it so that his own ws would gain even more speed.

    ¡°Peng¨C¨C¡± The Wind Tiger¡¯s ws smashed into Dai Huabin¡¯s shoulders. At the same time, its pupils shrank as Dai Huabin¡¯s two golden ws ruthlessly smashed towards the Wind Tiger¡¯s head from both sides.

    At that moment, their fearful fight had reached its peak. The Wind Tiger¡¯s muffled groan echoed outwards. The moment it was about to be hit, it suddenly opened its jaws wide in ast ditch attempt to bite Dai Huabin¡¯s palms.

    However, Dai Huabin was determined to win; would this really make him stop? He recklessly smashed his ws into the Wind Tiger¡¯s mouth, ripping apart the Wind Tiger¡¯s cheek muscles, the Wind Tiger¡¯s sharp teeth piercing his palms in the process. Despite this, he managed to grab hold of the Wind Tiger¡¯s long, sharp teeth and break its jaw so that it couldn¡¯t close its mouth.

    At this time, his second soul ring suddenly lit up, which caused a ball of white light to ruthlessly explode inside of the Wind Tiger¡¯s open mouth. This was the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave!

    ¡°Stop.¡± Du Weilun¡¯s voice echoed from atop the high tform. The two had fought for only a short time, yet the victor and the loser were already clear.

    However, Dai Huabin was already brimming with killing intent. In his mind, what he was fighting wasn¡¯t the Wind Tiger, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He took advantage of the fact that the Wind Tiger was still in a daze in order to arch his body backwards and cut open its soft abdomen, while at the same time, he used his ws to tear the tiger¡¯s lower jaw apart with a cracking sound. Its stomach was cut open at the same instant as he tore apart its jaw.

    As the Wind Tiger¡¯s bodyy atop of Dai Huabin with its belly cut open, Dai Huabin immediately became drenched in blood.

 Chapter 52.1: The Ice Empressâ€™ Armor

    Chapter 52.1: The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor

    The referees had arrived in the arena, but there wasn¡¯t anything they could do at this point. The battle had already ended, and as if to mock them, a purple ring of light rose from the Wind Tiger¡¯s body.

    A kill!

    There had only been a single collision between Dai Huabin and the Wind Tiger, yet Dai Huabin had savagely overwhelmed the Wind Tiger¡ªa thousand year soul beast¡ªwith brute force, and had torn its body in half. Dai Huabin¡¯s body was drenched in the Wind Tiger¡¯s blood. The students from both ss 1 and ss 2 had all be pale-faced, while some female students couldn¡¯t even bear to continue looking.

    Only Zhu Lu had an extraordinary splendor in her eyes. After all, this was the man whom she most admired! She loved to see how valiant Dai Huabin was.

    ¡°Dai Huabin, didn¡¯t you hear me tell you to stay your hand?¡± Du Weilun¡¯s angry voice rang out. The death of a thousand year soul beast wasn¡¯t exactly a small loss to the academy. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to capture a thousand year soul beast and domesticate it, nor was it easy to soothe Gong Changlong.

    Dai Huabin indifferently replied, ¡°A battle between soul masters and soul beasts is always one of life and death. Since it wanted to kill me, why couldn¡¯t I kill it? Besides, I couldn¡¯t stay my hand. If I had, its counterattack could¡¯ve injured me. In order to obtain full marks, I needed to avoid the error that Wang Dong made. I didn¡¯t have the 30% chance of failure that he did. As for the academy¡¯s loss, I¡¯m willing topensate the academy for it.¡±

    Du Weilun furrowed his brows tightly. Even though Dai Huabin was powerful, he was still too vicious. Furthermore, the personality of a rebellious student like him would grow stronger and stronger as his power increased, which would make it harder to control him.

    Du Weilun nced towards Yan Shaozhe, who nodded slightly and whispered a few words to him.

    Du Weilun sat back down and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Dai Huabin, you have obtained a hundred marks as your base score for choosing a thousand year soul beast during the advancement test. The way you met force with force also embodied the strong points of an assault-type soul master. However, your technique was somewhatcking. You¡¯ve obtained 45 marks for your battle technique. You will also have topensate the academy¡¯s loss within ten days. If you don¡¯t, the academy will strip you of your status as a core disciple.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Huabin had somewhat regained hisposure by this point. He naturally wouldn¡¯t go against Du Weilun¡¯s word. He bowed slightly, saluted, then walked back towards his ss withrge strides.

    He¡¯d obtained a total of a hundred and forty five marks! This was an outstanding result that neared perfection! A score like this had never appeared within the Year 2 advancement test in the past¡ªat least in Wang Yan, Zhou Yi, and Mu Jin¡¯s memories.

    In reality, Dai Huabin¡¯s performance truly had neared perfection. Though his hands had been injured, he¡¯d retained his fighting strength. Moreover, he¡¯d valiantly killed a thousand year soul beast in battle despite being only twelve years old! Having such a cultivation at his age was extremely rare, even in the history of Shrek Academy; this was the main reason that Dean Yan Shaozhe had still given him such a high score.

    Yan Shaozhe could tell that a student like Dai Huabin was different from Wang Dong: Though he had a steadfast personality, Dai Huabin could break too easily. He couldn¡¯t try to control him by giving him a setback like he had with Wang Dong. He could only guide him slowly. Giving him a high score would benefit his confidence in himself. That, and Yan Shaozhe was confident that he could control his rebelliousness. After all, he¡¯d taught many other students who¡¯d been even more rebellious. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was proud of its ability to train monsters. It wasn¡¯t worried about people with bad personalities; it was only worried that they wouldn¡¯t have the ability to back said personality up.

    When Mu Jin saw the blood-drenched Dai Huabin walking towards to her, she furrowed her brows. ¡°Huabin, head back and clean yourself up. You¡¯ve already passed.¡±

    However, Dai Huabin shook his head. He towards ss 1, then raised his right hand¡¯s index finger and pointed at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was currently gazing straight at him. At that moment, Dai Huabin realised that Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was extremely calm¡ªso calm that it almost icy. He didn¡¯t seem to have any intentions of cowering in front of his blood-drenched, savage appearance. On the contrary, he didn¡¯t relent at all when their gazes met.

    Huo Yuhao knew that Dai Huabin was telling him, ¡®It¡¯s your turn now.¡¯

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s my turn now.¡± Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly once he¡¯d finished speaking. He nodded towards Wang Dong, then strode towards the arena withrge strides.

    It took a few minutes for the arena to be cleaned up. Once it had been, the referee sent Huo Yuhao¡¯s test form to the tall stage.

    ¡°ss 1, Huo Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao reported his name calmly. As he did so, he stood tall and straight. Not only was he much more robustpared to a month ago, he was also quite a bit taller. Suddenly, the referee noticed that he was somewhat simr to Dai Huabin. Was it in his appearance? They seemed to be slightly simr. However, it had more to do with the confidence they both exuded; the confidence that they would definitely win.

    ¡°Are you still going to choose a hundred year soul beast?¡± The referee¡¯s impression of him was still fresh in his mind; this was the student who¡¯d alerted even the Beast King two days ago.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I choose a thousand year soul beast.¡±

    ¡°A thousand year soul beast?¡± The referee was stunned. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you need to carefully think about this. You¡¯re only a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster; a thousand year soul beast is still a bit too much pressure for you. You saw what just happened! Even if we wanted to help you out, in a closebat fight like this, it¡¯d still take time for us to reach you.¡±

    Despite his warning, Huo Yuhao confirmed his decision unhesitatingly. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ve decided to take on the test¡¯s highest-ranked opponent, a thousand year soul beast.¡±

    He spoke very loudly, thus those atop the tall stage, as well as the other students, were all able to hear him clearly.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s pupils contracted as a trace of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He¡¯s choosing a thousand year soul beast? What could he be relying on? He can¡¯t even use his second soul skill¡­ is he just relying on his Spiritual Shock? That skill¡¯s not too bad, but it¡¯s nowhere near enough to take on the likes of a thousand year soul beast. Could he even manage to break its defences if it were to simply lie down and let him attack it?

    He¡¯s courting death! Does he think that they¡¯re pushovers because Wang Dong and I were able to defeat them?

    Dai Huabin had obtained 145 marks, while Wang Dong had obtained 100 marks. In other words, Huo Yuhao just needed to obtain more than 45 marks to win the bet. At the same time, the academy had requested that he not use his second soul skill during the test. In exchange, they had guaranteed that he would score at least 30 marks in order to ensure that he passed the advancement test.

    Du Weilun had undoubtedly made a decision like this in order to see what he was capable of. If he hadn¡¯t, Huo Yuhao would be able to pass the test solely by relying on his Imitation, just like his performance the other day!

    ¡°Let him.¡± Du Weilun¡¯s voice rang out from atop the tall stage.

    ¡°Alright.¡± The referee responded. The arena had already been fully cleaned up by this point.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you ready?¡± The referee asked.

    He nodded.

    The referee gestured towards the arena, then reminded him, ¡°Pay attention to your safety. If you don¡¯t think that you can beat your opponent, do your best to protect yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, but he didn¡¯t reveal any emotions on his face, as he was currently fully concentrated on the uing battle. As such, he couldn¡¯t even spare the effort required to say a word of thanks.

    He was just a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster after all. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t even use his second soul skill. In a situation such as this, the difficulty of taking on a thousand year soul beast could be imagined. Of course, he naturally understood that he was somewhat inferior to Wang Dong and Dai Huabin in terms of direct fighting strength. The only reason he dared to take on a thousand year soul beast was because of his confidence in his Spiritual Detection and the Ice Empress¡¯ two soul skills.

    A pale golden light flickered as two soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

    Wang Dong and Dai Huabin¡¯s three rings hadn¡¯t surprised any of the other students, but the students from ss 2 immediately cried out in surprise the moment his soul rings appeared.

    Both of them were white, which represented two ten year soul rings! Yet, would anyone truly dare to underestimate these ten year soul rings? Two days ago, they had both been blood-red. At this point, almost no one who could tell what rank his soul rings truly were.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s gaze was fixed on his body, and his eyes flickered slightly. Even though he didn¡¯t have a martial soul like the Spirit Eyes that could enhance his eyesight, his spiritual perception and vision weren¡¯t any less than Huo Yuhao¡¯s when he was using his Spiritual Detection due to his cultivation.

    ¡°What a strange skill. When he activates it, even I can¡¯t sense the intensity of the aura from his soul rings. Is his second soul ring truly a ten year soul ring?¡± Du Weilun furrowed his brows.

    Yan Shaozhe shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way it¡¯s a ten year soul ring. We¡¯ve seen thousands upon thousands of soul rings. How could a soul ring that¡¯s capable of imitating the aura of a hundred thousand year soul ring possibly be a ten year soul ring? If it were only a ten year soul ring, could he really have scared hundred or thousand year soul beasts? If I were to make a guess, it¡¯s very likely that his soul ring is a thousand year one, just like Wang Dong¡¯s.¡±

    Du Weilun was stunned. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. His first soul ring¡¯s only a ten year one; how could his second one be a thousand year one? His body shouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand absorbing one.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that he has twin martial souls. Furthermore, it¡¯s extremely likely that his second martial soul had ate awakening. Though this urs very rarely, it could¡¯ve changed his physique. However, you mentioned that he left the academy by himself, and that he¡¯s an orphan. There¡¯s almost no chance that he¡¯ll be able to kill a thousand year soul beast by himself. Is there anyone outside the academy who could help him out?¡±

    At that point, their conversation stopped for the time being, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent had appeared.

    Surrounded by an intense aura of heat, a fire-wreathed lion charged out from the beast cage.

    It was no wonder they were the highest-ranked opponents a student could challenge during the advancement test. Not only were the soul beasts Wang Dong, Dai Huabin, and Huo Yuhao faced thousand year ones; they were all tyrannical existences such as lions, leopards, and bears too.

    Huo Yuhao felt somewhat strange when he saw the ming Lion King. He thought back to his match with Wu Feng. It was that match that had resulted in him obtaining stable footing in ss 1 and in sending Wu Feng to ss 2.

 Chapter 52.2: The Ice Empressâ€™ Armor

    Chapter 52.2: The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor

    Wu Feng, who stood near Dai Huabin, gazed towards Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with anger. She couldn¡¯t understand why a sense of fear towards him had welled up in her heart after their match, despite him clearly being much weaker than her. It was because of this feeling that, during the months that followed their match, she hadn¡¯t issued him another challenge.

    Wu Feng didn¡¯t know why this had happened, but the unyielding look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes would frequently pop up in her mind.

    He¡¯s actually going against the ming Lion King. This is gonna be a nice show to watch. Vicious thoughts popped up in Wu Feng¡¯s mind. It¡¯d be good if it burned him to cinders.

    The ming Lion King charged out of the beast cage and roared towards the sky. The lion¡¯s distinctive mane spread outwards and its fire-red fur looked even more formidable due to the fire surrounding it.

    It was much more robust than the Wind Tiger that Dai Huabin had faced; its body was a full three meters long and its shoulders were one and-a-half-meters wide. Its muscles were outlined distinctly and its light brown eyes had a grim look to them. After letting out a roar, it shot through the air towards Huo Yuhao.

    The mes around its body rose unceasingly as it charged towards Huo Yuhao. The mes were so hot that they began to distort the air around them.

    Could Huo Yuhao really take on a thousand year ming Lion King? It was even stronger than the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear and Wind Tiger that Wang Dong and Dai Huabin had faced.

    Dai Huabin did not not believe for a second that such a miracle would ur. In his opinion, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t even be able to take a single blow from it.

    Huo Yuhao stood unyieldingly as he faced the ming Lion King¡¯s charge. He released his Spiritual Detection and locked it onto its body. Despite having faced a thousand year soul beast in the past, it would be a lie to say that he wasn¡¯t nervous. This was still his first time facing a soul beast of its level by himself. However, he let out a mental sigh of relief once he sensed his opponent¡¯s attribute.

    By this time, it had already reached within fifty metres of Huo Yuhao. Arge majority of the audience was now focused on its body. Yet, due to their focus on the ming Lion King, they didn¡¯t notice that a change had urred to Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings.

    This time, the change wasn¡¯t the color of his soul rings, but rather the number of them. His two soul rings had suddenly be a single one, though they still remained white.

    That single white soul ring emitted a weak and feeble light as ayer of translucent crystals silently covered his body. Every crystal was about the size of a fingernail, and didn¡¯t hinder his movements even though they had covered his entire body. On the contrary, they formed a suit of armor made of ice.

    These crystals of ice were all hexagonal and multifaceted. Thus, any light that shone on these ice crystals would result in dazzling reflections.

    After the crystals of ice covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, the ming Lion King suddenly stopped. The zing mes around its body converged and turned into a fiery light identical to its body which then shot straight towards Huo Yuhao.

    This was the ming Lion King¡¯s innate skill, ming Clone Strike.

    The fiery light surrounding its body vanished as soon as it released this attack. However, the speed of its charge didn¡¯t diminish in the slightest as it continued to charge towards Huo Yuhao.

    The referee had been following the entire situation closely. He felt somewhat surprised when theyer of ice crystals appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Just what was his martial soul? Furthermore, the audience had just noticed that his two soul rings were now just a single soul ring.

    This strange phenomenon sent the two referees into a daze for a brief moment. Naturally, this wasted some of their time; by the time they came back to their senses and realised that Huo Yuhao might not be able to withstand the ming Lion King¡¯s attack, it had already reached him.

    Du Weilun had already risen to his feet with his right hand pointed downwards. He could naturally see that the two referees wouldn¡¯t be able to make it in time to help Huo Yuhao.

    Yan Shaozhe flicked his sleeve and blocked Du Weilun¡¯s hand. He smiled slightly and said, ¡°No need.¡±

    At that moment, the ming Clone Strike had already struck Huo Yuhao.

    Astonished cries began to ring throughout the entire stadium, both Zhou Yi and Wang Yan rushed into the arena simultaneously. However, they suddenly stopped after taking three steps; they had just witnessed a miraculous scene.

    Right when the lion¡¯s ming Clone Strike had collided with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, ayer of white mist surged from his body. Immediately after that, an illusory shadow shed behind his body. Following which, the lion¡¯s skill vanished without a trace. It was as though it had never urred in the first ce.

    After the white mist disappeared, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body returned back to its normal state. He sped his hands behind his back and red at the lion coldly. ¡°Scram!¡± he shouted with a stern voice.

    The huge lion had unexpectedly shivered before it turned around and ran away with its tail between its legs. Its terrified appearance was as though it had seen something extremely terrifying. Yet, it was only Huo Yuhao who stood there, with apletely nonchnt attitude.

    The two referees were left dumbstruck. Last time, a hundred year soul beast had been paralyzed from fear and this time, a thousand year soul beast had been scared to the point of fleeing. Furthermore, he had withstood its attack without releasing a hundred thousand year soul ring!

    Just what had happened? All the teachers within the arena were baffled.

    Yan Shaozhe slowly rose to his feet, turned towards Du Weilun and spoke, ¡°I¡¯m going to head back now. Huo Yuhao gets full marks for his advancement test. I want this kid.¡±

    With that, he took a step forward and left the tall stage. Then, he shed through the sky and disappeared.

    Of all the spectators observing the match, the only person who had clearly seen what Huo Yuhao had done was Yan Shaozhe.

    After he was struck by the lion¡¯s ming Clone Strike, a white mist had poured from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. At the same time, the crystalline ice armor he wore had turned jade-green. Furthermore, an illusory image had appeared behind him as the white mist floated upwards.

    It was a meter-and-a-half tall scorpion and Yan Shaozhe had clearly seen the scorpion coldly re at the ming Lion King with its crystal-yellow eyes. At that exact moment, the lion¡­ had pissed itself¡­

    This wasn¡¯t the sense of fear caused by his Imitation skill, but a true intimidation caused by the attribute of his martial soul. It was just like the intimidation Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger released towards the Wind Tiger.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s emotions surged violently as he hurriedly left. It had already been 76 years since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy, but this was the first Ultimate element martial soul he¡¯d seen.

    Ultimate Ice, this was the Ultimate Ice attribute!

    The fire-type ming Lion King was frightened to the point of fleeing by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice-type martial soul. This was the absolute suppression that stemmed from their attributes!

    Only Yan Shaozhe had been able to see through everything clearly and he had made many decisions as a result. The skill Huo Yuhao had just released was called the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, and it was the other skill that the Ice Empress¡¯ four hundred thousand year soul ring had given him. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor were absolute godly skills. Only, the current Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to reveal their true strength. However, the strength required to send a fire-type opponent fleeing through elemental suppression posed no problem to him.

    Yan Shaozhe had left earlier because he had seen what he hade to see. Now, all he needed to do was figure out a way to make Huo Yuhao stay in the Martial Soul Department without losing face.

    A slight sinister smile appeared on Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face. Qian Duoduo, ah, Qian Duoduo. I was taken in by your scheme this time, but let¡¯s see who gets thestugh. My Martial Soul Department is the true number one department on the continent and we have certain things that your Soul Tool Department doesn¡¯t. If this Dean doesn¡¯t hesitate to spare no expense, hehe¡­ it¡¯s all worth it for an Ultimate element!

    The silence in the arena vanished following Yan Shaozhe¡¯s departure, and the spectators all flew into an uproar.

    Just what in the world had urred?

    Dai Huabin¡¯s earlier feat of killing a thousand year soul beast was already enough to astonish them, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t even made a move. Yet, he¡¯d sent his opponent fleeing by merely withstanding a single blow from it. This was even more stunning than a direct kill!

    But, just what did he use to achieve this? After all, he wasn¡¯t allowed to use his Imitation!

    Dai Huabin¡¯s confident eyes turned somewhat dazed. He muttered to himself, ¡°Just how could this happen, how could this¡­?¡±

    At this moment, Du Weilun¡¯s voice boomed across the arena, ¡°Huo Yuhao¡¯s test is over. ording to the Dean¡¯s evaluation, Huo Yuhao has obtained 150 marks. He passes with full marks.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡± The astonished cries of various students immediately rang out. They didn¡¯t even know that the Dean had been watching this round of the advancement test. Without a doubt, Du Weilun¡¯s announcement of Huo Yuhao¡¯s score had been made even more persuasive with his use of the Dean¡¯s name.

    Huo Yuhao slowly walked back to the area where the rest of the ss 1 students were waiting. In reality, even he didn¡¯t know that a situation like this would ur. It hadn¡¯t even been his own intention to yell out the word ¡®Scram¡¯; in that instant, the Ice Empress had awakened. The Ice Empress had urged him to yell that out and as a resultthe grand ming Lion King was actually scared witless¡­. The might of the Ice Empress Jade Scorpion was truly terrifying.

    Without even waiting for Huo Yuhao to return, Wang Yan instinctively ran up to him. Though his eyesight wasn¡¯t as good as Yan Shaozhe¡¯s, his research in the field of martial souls was extremely profound. Moreover, he more-or-less understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities which resulted in him obtaining a few ideas as to what had really happened.

    ¡°Yuhao, you, just now, the soul skill you used just now, what happened? Your two rings became a single ring¡­ don¡¯t tell me you have two martial souls? Your second martial souls belongs to the Ice element?¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s words rang out like a string of cannon shots.

    Huo Yuhao might¡¯ve been able to conceal the truth from other people, but Wang Yan had always treated him extremely well. Furthermore, he had always been extremely concerned about Huo Yuhao¡¯s growth. The heartfelt respect that Huo Yuhao held towards Teacher Wang was no less than the respect he held for Fan Yu and Zhou Yi. He nodded softly, affirming Wang Yan¡¯s guess.

 Chapter 52.3: The Ice Empressâ€™ Armor

    Chapter 52.3: The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This¡­ were you werete because of your second martial soul? Is it because it just awakened? Come, follow me. There are some questions I¡¯d like you to answer for me.¡± He grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm as soon as he¡¯d finished speaking and left. Zhou Yi had an odd expression on her face when she saw him leave, but she couldn¡¯t leave since he had! In order to guide their students through the advancement test, a teacher was required to be present at all times.

    Huo Yuhao had been dragged away, but Wang Dong was still there! Even though he had been just as surprised by Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance, Huo Yuhao was still his martial soul fusionpanion. The stronger Huo Yuhao was, the stronger theirbinedbat strength would be. Thus, although he was stunned, he was also greatly excited. He turned and looked towards Dai Huabin with a look of disdain, whose face had begun to alternate between shades of green and white. He ridiculed, ¡°How about it, Mr. Dai? It seems that you were full of shit this time around. Whaddaya mean ¡®taking on both of us by yourself¡¯. Huo Yuhao¡¯s score alone is enough to beat yours. Remember to honor your promiseter. Aih, the feeling of looking down on you from above truly feels good.¡±

    ¡°You¡ª!¡± When he heard this, Dai Huabin became so angry that his entire body began to shiver. His blood-drenched body caused him to look even more sinister. Zhu Lu almost rushed towards Wang Dong, while Xie Huanyue simply had an astonished look on his face.

    Dai Huabin grabbed ahold of Zhu Lu; he¡¯d unexpectedly managed to calm himself down after such a short amount of time. He looked towards Wang Dong and said indifferently, ¡°Since I was willing to make a bet with you, I¡¯m also willing to admit my defeat. I¡¯ll naturally honor my promise when I see Huo Yuhaoter.¡± After he said this, he turned towards Mu Jin. ¡°Teacher Mu, I¡¯m heading back to clean myself up first.¡± With that, he let go of Zhu Lu and nced towards her with a deep look before leaving.

    The rancor and killing intent within Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes surged out like a waterfall as he left the Great Beast Duelling Arena.

    Wang Dong lips curled as he watched Dai Huabin¡¯s distant figure. ¡°He¡¯s actually quite a man; he still knows how to pay up when he loses.¡± However, he didn¡¯t realize that Dai Huabin¡¯s loss today had thoroughly transformed him into a crazy madman who would disregard the consequences of his actions.

    Wang Yan dragged Huo Yuhao all the way to his office, then shut the door once they¡¯d entered. As soon as he¡¯d shut the door, he impatiently inquired, ¡°Yuhao, did you just awaken your second martial soul?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then proceeded to give Wang Yan the same exnation he¡¯d given to Zhou Yi and Fan Yu.

    Wang Yan became somewhat tongue-tied as he listened to his story. Once he¡¯d finished listening, he asked, puzzled, ¡°Why would this happen? Just what in the world could cause this!? This can¡¯t be right! Even if your Body Soul were to have a second awakening, a brand new martial soul shouldn¡¯t have appeared. Twin martial souls are born at the same time; how in the world could a second one appear after the first? Was your second martial soul hidden from the very beginning? However, a situation like this has never urred in the annals of history¡­¡±

    The current Teacher Wang was apletely fanatical schr. He continued to ponder unceasingly as he talked to himself.

    ¡°Yuhao, what exactly is your second martial soul?¡± Wang Yan looked towards him, an urgent tone in his voice.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I heard Teacher Zhou say that it¡¯s the Ice Jade Scorpion.¡±

    Wang Yan sharply inhaled when he heard this. Perhaps the other teachers wouldn¡¯t recognize the Ice Jade Scorpion, but he did. He had always devoted his efforts to the research of martial souls, thus he had naturally done research on soul beasts that solely belonged to the Extreme North. He naturally knew about the terrifying existences that lived in that ce.

    ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± Wang Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°No wonder that ming Lion King ran with its tail between its legs. Your second martial soul is actually an extremely rare Ultimate martial soul! Heavens¡­ it¡¯s actually an Ultimate martial soul!¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. ¡°Teacher Wang, I think I¡¯ve heard Teacher Fan Yu mention this as well. What does an ¡®Ultimate martial soul¡¯ mean?¡±

    Currently, Wang Yan was looking at Huo Yuhao the same way he¡¯d look at a lover in a dream. Huo Yuhao felt somewhat guilty when he saw this.

    ¡°What is an Ultimate martial soul? How should I exin this to you¡­ Let¡¯s put it this way. As you know, there are various ranks within the world of soul masters.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°Within these ranks, it¡¯s appropriate to say that twin-souled soul masters are existences who stand at the top of the pyramid. Regardless of what their martial souls are, they¡¯re definitely much stronger than ordinary soul masters, due to the fact that they can add soul rings to their second martial soul after they reach a certain level of strength. However, twin-souled soul masters are extremely rare. You¡¯re one of them, and Xiao Xiao is too. It¡¯s the first time in the outer courtyard¡¯s history that two twin-souled soul masters have appeared at the same time.

    ¡°Besides a unique situation such as this however, there are certain differences between martial souls. There are Beast Souls, and then there are Tool Souls. All martial souls have characteristics that belongs to them alone; its existence is worth something as long as soul power appears when it awakens. Due to this fact, it¡¯s often very hard to differentiate strong and weak martial souls. Under different circumstances, or perhaps I should say, ¡®different domains¡¯, there won¡¯t be just one ¡®strongest¡¯ martial soul. However, even though that¡¯s normally the case, there are a few martial souls publicly recognised as extremely powerful ones.

    ¡°The first of these are Body Souls. Body Souls are extremely powerful due to the fact that they¡¯re a part of a soul master¡¯s body. A soul master¡¯s trained body is naturally more amodating to their wishes whenpared to a martial soul created after its awakening. Furthermore, a second awakening can ur in a Body Soul. This second awakening can both ur during the initial awakening of the Body Soul, or at higher ranks. I¡¯ve been paying a lot of attention to your Spirit Eyes, in the hopes that I would be able to see it undergo a second awakening. A Body Soul will experience a qualitative leap when it undergoes its second awakening, and will be an existence that lords over ordinary martial souls. It¡¯s just like a hundred thousand year soul beast that¡¯s broken through its limits; we can use the word ¡®transcendent¡¯ to describe martial souls that have achieved this.

    ¡°When a martial soul can be referred to as transcendent, it¡¯s obvious that it will definitely be much stronger than a normal martial soul. Besides Body Souls that have undergone their second awakening, there is another type of martial soul that can be ssified as a transcendent martial soul: Ultimate martial souls. An example of this would be your second martial soul.¡±

    Huo Yuhao conscientiously listened to Wang Yan¡¯s exnation. He¡¯d never expected Ultimate martial souls to be evaluated this highly.

    The more Wang Yan spoke, the more excited he got. His face turned slightly red as he continued, ¡°The strength of Ultimate martial souls is reflected in the word ¡®Ultimate¡¯. There are several different types of Ultimate martial souls, and they can belong to any element. However, for a martial soul to reach the pinnacle of any element is easier said than done. If it¡¯scking even a little bit, it can¡¯t be considered to have reached the pinnacle. You¡¯ve seen Wu Feng¡¯s Red Dragon; it¡¯s a rtively top-ranked martial soul within the fire element. However, her fire isn¡¯t Ultimate Fire. In fact, there¡¯s arge gap between her fire and Ultimate Fire. Because of that, we say that her martial soul is a Fire Dragon, not a True Fire Dragon. When a True Fire Dragon appears, it¡¯s capable of scorching everything within a thousand miles. However, your Ice Jade Scorpion is a true Ultimate Ice martial soul! Ice Jade Scorpions are soul beasts that live within the Extreme North. The Extreme North is an area that we humans simply cannot enter; soul beasts are the absolute masters of that ce.¡±

    ¡°ording to the legends, there are three extremely powerful ice-type races who live within that extremely frigid world. They are known as, respectively, the Titan Ice Devils, the Ice Jade Scorpions, and the Snow Ladies. The kings of their respective races are known as the Three Emperors of the Extreme North. I can guarantee that these Emperors are transcendent soul beasts.¡±

    A sense of admiration spontaneously arose in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart when he heard Wang Yan say this. His description of the Extreme North was identical to what the Skydream Iceworm had said. In a situation where there was no way for them to collect any information from that ce, Teacher Wang somehow possessed this much knowledge about it. The amount of dedication he¡¯d put towards the research of soul beasts could be seen from this. Even the newly awakened Ice Empress couldn¡¯t help but praise that he was somewhat knowledgeable.

    Wang Yan naturally didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao was thinking. He continued excitedly, ¡°The Snow Ladies are supposedly the strongest race within the Extreme North. Nobody¡¯s clear about their origins, but I strongly suspect that they have human blood; their appearance resemble those of humans as well. They¡¯re definitely Ultimate martial souls. Other than the Snow Ladies, there¡¯s the Ice Jade Scorpions, who have also reached to the pinnacle of the ice element. However, the Titan Ice Devils, who are likewise one of the three strongest races in the Extreme North, can¡¯t be considered to have achieved transcendence in terms of their element. As far as I know, I¡¯ve never heard of a Snow Lady or an Ice Jade Scorpion appearing as a human¡¯s martial soul. I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d actually be able to see one during my lifetime. Furthermore, it even turned out to be one of my students.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Teacher Wang, I¡¯m not even clear as to what happened myself.¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Ultimate martial souls are extremely rare. The academy¡¯s entrance contains the sculptures of the first generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. They were extremely powerful. Even the founder of your Tang Sect¡ªAncestor Tang San¡ªwas one of them. However, none of them had an Ultimate element. In the ten thousand year history of our academy, an Ultimate element martial soul has only appeared thrice before. They were, respectively, Ultimate Wind, Ultimate Fire, and Ultimate Wood. This is the the first time the Ultimate Ice element has appeared. In the past, the three of them all managed to achieve extreme fame amongst their contemporaries. Of them, the most famous is the possessor of the Ultimate Fire martial soul. It was under his leadership that the three original empires of our Douluo Continent were able to defeat the Sun Moon Empire. Later on in his life, he created an extremely powerful n. However, the martial souls that his descendants inherited didn¡¯t have the word ¡®Ultimate¡¯ attached to them.

    ¡°Do you know why Ultimate martial souls are so rare?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head nkly.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s extremely hard for our bodies to endure an Ultimate martial soul. Think about it. Regardless of whether it¡¯s your Ultimate Ice or that ancestor¡¯s Ultimate Fire, the extreme amount of power that appears once it awakens could easily blow a soul master¡¯s body apart. Without an unusual amount of innate talent, a person simply couldn¡¯t withstand it. Because of this, the chances that an Ultimate element will appear on the continent are miniscule; they¡¯re exponentially rarer than Body Souls. Based on what you¡¯ve said, I¡¯m going to make an outrageous hypothesis: Your second martial soul had already appeared when you first awakened your martial soul, but a mutation urred and it gained a shred of intelligence. Its element was too tyrannical, thus it must¡¯ve restrained itself.¡±

 Chapter 53.1: Irrefutable Benefits? (Preview)

    Chapter 53.1: Irrefutable Benefits? (Preview)

    ¡°In order to withstand it, your soul power must¡¯ve needed to reach at least rank 20; only then did it fully awaken. Now that it has, your body should be able to bear its load. I know that what I¡¯m saying right now might sound inconceivable, but I think that this is the best way to exin your situation.¡±

    It might sound inconceivable? Huo Yuhao felt like his back had be drenched in cold sweat when he heard Teacher Wang¡¯s exnation. Teacher Wang was just too amazing¡­ simply too amazing! His Ice Empress martial soul obviously hadn¡¯t appeared when he¡¯d awoken his Spirit Eyes, but besides that, there hadn¡¯t been a single mistake in what Wang Yan had said! His martial soul truly was sentient!

    Wang Yang took a deep breath. ¡°Yuhao, let me give you a piece of advice. Even though you¡¯ve be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, you¡¯re still someone who has an Ultimate martial soul. As such, the Martial Soul Department is the best ce for you to study. Only in the Martial Soul Department will you be able to properly raise your Ultimate martial soul. To tell the truth, your innate talent is the highest I¡¯ve ever seen. I never could¡¯ve imagined that, not just twin martial souls, but both a Body Soul and an Ultimate martial soul could coexist inside of the same person.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t that strong right now. However, given enough time and assuming you continue to cultivate properly, your strength will continue increasing at an extremely fast pace. At the same time, your Spirit Eyes martial soul can still awaken twice! Heavens! I¡¯m already incapable of imagining the heights you¡¯ll reach in the future. However, you¡¯ll have to pay close attention to your cultivation. An Ultimate element is extremely strong, but even an Ultimate martial soul has its disadvantages, which is rted to the speed of your cultivation. ording to the academy¡¯s records, the three ancestors who possessed the Ultimate element all felt their cultivation speeds drop dramatically once they reached Rank 30.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled. ¡°A drop in cultivation speed? To what extent is this drop?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry,¡± Wang Yang said with a faint smile, ¡°even though your cultivation speed will drop by arge margin, a soul master with an Ultimate martial soul will still be much stronger than other soul masters of the same rank. Furthermore, a slower cultivation speed is definitely eptable when it¡¯s for the sake of strengthening both your body and your Ultimate element. After all, it¡¯s not like you won¡¯t make any progress at all. Actually, progressing slowly isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing for an Ultimate martial soul; you won¡¯t encounter any bottlenecks since you have an Ultimate element.¡±

    Once Huo Yuhao had finished listening to Wang Yan¡¯s exnation, he realized just how much of an advantage his martial soul granted him. Moreover, Wang Yan didn¡¯t know that he also had both a million year intelligent soul ring and a four hundred thousand year intelligent soul ring inside of his body.

    Just like Wang Yan had said, Huo Yuhao was weak right now. At the same time however, his prospects were limitless.

    ¡°So, what do you think? You should seriously consider transferring to the Martial Soul Department. If you¡¯re willing to, I¡¯ll personally notify the Dean. He¡¯ll surely give you the position of a core disciple this time. Furthermore, I can assure you that, with your level of talent, you¡¯ll definitely advance to the inner courtyard.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows slightly. However, in the end, he shook his head. ¡°Thank you, Teacher Wang. I appreciate your good intentions. However, when I was in a pinch, it was the Soul Tool Department that epted me. Now that I¡¯ve be a core disciple of that department, I can¡¯t go back on my word.¡±

    Wang Yan sighed. ¡°The Martial Soul Department is also at fault for being so short-sighted! When you and Wang Dong ced first in the freshmen assessment, I went ahead and asked Elder Xuan to take another look at the two of you. However, they¡­¡± Wang Yan sighed again. ¡°An Ultimate martial soul can¡¯t be wasted. Yuhao, even if decide to specialize in soul tools in the future, you absolutely can¡¯t neglect the cultivation of your martial soul. I¡¯ll do my best to convince the Martial Soul Department to help you obtain your future soul rings. You definitely must cultivate this Ultimate element of yours properly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eye sockets became somewhat read when he heard this. ¡°Teacher Wang, I¡¯ll remain your disciple forever. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll definitely cultivate diligently and live up to your expectations.¡±

    Wang Yan patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°You should head back to your dorm room and rest for now. The advancement test will continue for the rest of the day; there aren¡¯t any more sses today. I¡¯ll go and look for the Dean; he should¡¯ve seen your performance just now as well. In fact, I bet he¡¯s already paying quite a bit of attention to you. However, you don¡¯t need to be in a hurry to choose. Dean Yan is always looking for people with outstanding talent. Now that he¡¯s found someone like you, there¡¯s no way that he¡¯ll give up on you.¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded, then turned to leave.

    When he did so, a gentle voice suddenly echoed from all directions. ¡°Teacher Wang, you live up to your reputation of being one of the most outstanding teachers in our Martial Soul Department. I have to thank you for all the work you¡¯ve done for the academy. There¡¯s no need to look for me, as I¡¯ve decided toe of my own volition. Please open the door.¡±

    This gentle voice was like a warm breeze; it was extremely pleasing to the ear. When he heard it, Huo Yuhao immediately felt his spiritual sea fluctuate slightly.

    The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion both simultaneously eximed from inside of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit sea, ¡°This human is extremely powerful!¡±

    Wang Yan became delighted when he heard these words, and immediately moved to open the door to his office. The person waiting outside was the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe.

    Dean Yan had held a meeting with all of the core teachers when he¡¯d returned to the inner courtyard. After a simple discussion, he¡¯d left once again and had returned to the test area to look for Huo Yuhao as fast as he could. He then heard that he¡¯d been led away by Wang Yan. When he¡¯d learned this, he decided toe to ce directly. With his cultivation, he could hear the sound made by flies and mosquitos pping their wings from several kilometers away; listening in on the contents of Wang Yan¡¯s speech had been a piece of cake for him.

    ¡°Dean.¡± Wang Yan greeted Yan Shaozhe respectfully. He admired Dean Yan from the bottom of his heart.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly. ¡°Teacher Wang, I heard what you said. In my capacity as Dean, I thank you on behalf of the academy. You¡¯ve done your best to convince this talented youth to enter our Martial Soul Department. No matter what, once Huo Yuhao and the others graduate from their ss in the outer courtyard, you¡¯ll be allowed to teach in the inner courtyard. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯ve always wanted to read the books held within the secret library. Look for me when you¡¯ve entered the inner courtyard. I¡¯ll give you clearance to enter the secret library.¡±

    Wang Yan was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, Dean. This is incredible! Really¡­ this is just incredible!¡± If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Yan Shaozhe was there, he would¡¯ve immediately begun to jump for joy. Bing a teacher of the inner courtyard and being able to read books from the secret library¡­ these were things that Wang Yan had always hoped for! He hadn¡¯t expected that his lifetime goal would be achieved just like this. How could he not be happy?

    Yan Shaozhe stepped into Wang Yan¡¯s office. Once he had, the door to the office closed of its own ord.

    Huo Yuhao, who was near Wang Yan, also hurried to greet him respectfully.

    Yan Shaozhe arrived in front of Huo Yuhao and said with a faint smile, ¡°Student Huo Yuhao, I came specifically to talk to you this time. First things first, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of the entire Martial Soul Department.¡± Once he¡¯d finished speaking, one of the true members of Shrek Academy¡ªthe majestic Dean who possessed an enormous amount of prestige within the world of soul masters¡ªbowed slightly to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t stop him; he¡¯d been in a daze from the moment that Yan Shaozhe had entered the room.

    The moment that Yan Shaozhe had appeared, he¡¯d already guessed that he¡¯de here for him, in the hopes that he¡¯d enter the Martial Soul Department. Huo Yuhao had nned to reject his offer, but he hadn¡¯t expected Yan Shaozhe to use a trick like this.

    Let alone Huo Yuhao, even the nearby Wang Yan had be so shocked that his mouth was wide open. He¡¯d never seen Dean Yan bow to anyone.

    There had once been a time when a king hade to visit the academy. Yet, this king had been the one to bow in front of Dean Shaozhe! This was because the king in question had studied at the academy once. Even though he hadn¡¯t been able to graduate from the outer courtyard and had been dismissed from the school, he¡¯d still been full of respect for the academy. This was more than enough to show what level of authority the academy held.

    And yet, Dean Yan Shaozhe, one of the two leaders of the academy, was currently bowing to a twelve-year-old second year student. If this matter were to be publicized, it would shock every single soul master on the continent.

    After bowing, Yan Shaozhe straightened his back. He was still smiling like before, and didn¡¯t seem to be even the slightest bit embarrassed. He gently said, ¡°Student Huo Yuhao, because of our negligence, the Martial Soul Department nearly lost someone as talented as you. I sincerely apologize for this. The me rests with us; we were unable to properly assess your skills. We almost lost an outstanding student.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was only able to react now: His small face had be entirely red, and gestured again and again. However, he couldn¡¯t say anything.

    The difference between him and Yan Shaozhe wasparable to that of heaven and earth. Yan Shaozhe had unexpectedly bowed to him; this alone had left him dumbfounded! His mind had been thrown into confusion, thus he didn¡¯t know how to reply. He had already forgotten the words he¡¯d prepared in order to refuse his offer.

    Yan Shaozhe continued, ¡°I saw your martial soul today. When you used your soul skill, your martial soul also manifested itself. If I¡¯m not mistake, it should be an Ice Jade Scorpion, right? An Ultimate martial soul of the ice element. I know that you¡¯ve already be a disciple of the Soul Tool Department. However, this isn¡¯t a problem. I can go and have a talk with their department. If you were to specialize in soul tools whilst being the owner of an Ultimate martial soul¡­ I can only say that it would be a huge waste. I dare say that, throughout the entirety Douluo Continent, the only soul masters capable of providing the proper guidance to someone with an Ultimate martial soul are those of our Martial Soul Department. If you¡¯re willing, from today onwards you¡¯ll be a disciple of the inner courtyard of the Martial Soul Department. I¡¯ll teach you personally, and will be your academic advisor. Given your innate talent¡­ even with your cultivation speed slowed by your Ultimate martial soul, I¡¯m confident that you¡¯ll be a Titled Douluo in less than 40 years under my tutge. A Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul, do you know what that means?¡±

    Huo Yuhao unconsciously shook his head.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly. Then, he continued in a firm tone, ¡°It means that you¡¯d be invincible and unmatched in the world.¡±

    These words spoken by Yan Shaozhe were like a bomb. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body swayed, and he had to take a step back. Luckily, his will was much stronger than that of the average person¡¯s. If it weren¡¯t, he might¡¯ve fallen down, which would¡®ve caused him to lose arge amount of face.

 Chapter 53.2: Irrefutable Benefits?

    Chapter 53.2: Irrefutable Benefits?

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Soul Tools have been rapidly developing during these past few years. However, the power of soul masters still lies deep within ourselves. If you like soul tools, it¡¯d be fine for you to try them out when you reach the rank of a Titled Douluo in the future. I hope that you¡¯ll think about this carefully and won¡¯t let this chance slip by. If you¡¯re willing to join our Martial Soul Department you¡¯ll receive arge amount of resources from the inner courtyard. At the same time, I can pledge three things to you, topensate for our past misjudgement.¡±

    ¡°The first is regarding Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Wang Dong can fully utilise your fusion skill, and has worked together with you this entire time. Xiao Xiao has also worked together with you, and is also a soul master who possesses twin martial souls. I can guarantee that they¡¯ll definitely be inner courtyard disciples of the Martial Soul Department like you in the future. You need to realize that core disciples and inner courtyard disciples are entirely different. Not all core disciples can definitely enter the inner courtyard. Furthermore, you¡¯d get more resources from the academy if you be an inner courtyard disciple ahead of time.¡±

    ¡°Secondly, with my position as Dean of the Martial Soul Department, I can assure you that the academy will do everything in its power to give you aplete set of soul bones. I¡¯ll do my best to give you soul bones of the highest quality to ensure that you have the highest possible fusion rate with the soul bones. I can also guarantee that there will be at least one soul bone from a hundred thousand year old soul beast included within this set.

    Thirdly, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be given a hundred thousand year old soul ring, at the very least.¡±

    Wang Yan became dumbfounded when he heard everything that Yan Shaozhe had to say. His first reaction to the Dean¡¯s proposal was that the Dean had gone crazy¡­

    Even though Shrek Academy was extraordinarily wealthy, the three things that Yan Shaozhe had promised Huo Yuhao were all simrly extraordinary things! A hundred thousand year soul ring and a hundred thousand year soul bone meant that the powerhouses from Shrek Academy would have to set out to kill a hundred thousand year soul beast just for Huo Yuhao! These rewards were unprecedented in the history of the academy. Not to mention the fact that Yan Shaozhe had added aplete set of soul bones to the deal!

    Yan Shaozhe was especially cunning however, as he¡¯d also proposed letting Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao enter the inner courtyard together with Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were both Huo Yuhao¡¯s best friends. With this condition present, Yan Shozhe was certain that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t reject him without a good reason.

    If it wasn¡¯t for thepetition with the Soul Tool Department, or if the Martial Soul Department had discovered the talent known as Huo Yuhao earlier on, Yan Shaozhe wouldn¡¯t have had to promise such things so early on, even if he¡¯d wanted to go all out and snatch him over. However, things were different now; Huo Yuhao had already be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, and one of Fan Yu¡¯s personal disciple. Yan Shaozhe thus understood that he needed to present real benefits if he truly wanted Huo Yuhao to change his mind. More importantly, he needed to carry out his overt plot to steal Huo Yuhao over to their side in a just and honorable manner so the Soul Tool Department wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything.

    The Soul Tool Department might be wealthy, but could they find a top-ranked soul bone? Could the Soul Tool Department help Huo Yuhao hunt down a hundred thousand year soul beast? It was evident that both of these things would be impossible to them!

    Yan Shaozhe had returned to the inner courtyard before he¡¯de over and had had a discussion with a few of the teachers in charge of the core disciples. In the end, they¡¯d decided that they definitely had to keep Huo Yuhao in the Martial Soul Department, no matter the cost.

    If someone were to ask him if Huo Yuhao was worth this incredible cost, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s answer would be that he definitely was.

    That¡¯s right, the Martial Soul Department was going to huge lengths just for the sake of obtaining Huo Yuhao. However, when Huo Yuhao became an adult, Shrek Academy¡¯s position as number one on the continent would definitely be solidified for at least the next three hundred years with him around.

    It was normal for a person who¡¯d cultivated to the rank of a Titled Douluo to live for three, or even five hundred years. Furthermore, there was already considerable veiled criticism towards Shrek Academy circting due to their influence. These criticisms had reached both the Sun Moon Empire, and even the three original empires of the Douluo Continent. This was evident due to the fact that the three empires no longer sent children from the royal family to Shrek Academy to study.

    Yan Shaozhe saw the potential in Huo Yuhao. There was a possibility that he would be a powerful leader in Shrek Academy in the future. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t necessarily remain in Shrek Academy, but so long as he was able to nurture him into a formidable powerhouse, Shrek Academy would definitely be able to stand tall in the face of any adversity it faced.

    What could their investment now amount to, when faced with a few hundred years of honor for Shrek Academy? Besides, an academy was an institution where students were taught; a ce that sought out talented individuals. Was it truly that easy toe across an Ultimate martial soul? This encounter was a first for both Wang Yan and Yan Shaozhe!

    That didn¡¯t mean that his Ultimate martial soul was definitely the strongest martial soul currently, but it did mean that it had the possibility to at least be one of the strongest. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao possessed twin martial souls.

    These elementsbined were enough for Yan Shaozhe toe to his current decision. Hence, he¡¯d gone to look for Huo Yuhao at the first possible moment.

    When he heard what Yan Shaozhe had to say, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to reply¡ªthe weight of his words were just too much to bear. No matter how smart or calm he was, Huo Yuhao was still a twelve-year-old child. As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s aura was just too powerful. For a moment, Huo Yuhao actually felt a little bit speechless.

    At that moment, a hurried shout suddenly rang out. It was so sudden that both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong trembled in shock.

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe, have you no shame?¡±

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± Someone forcibly pushed the office door open. Qian Duoduo immediately tookrge strides into the room with a furious look on his face, Fan Yu trailing closely behind him.

    Yan Shaozhe had been observing the advancement test, but had left once he¡¯d given Huo Yuhao a perfect score on his test. Zhou Yi had felt that something was amiss when Wang Yan pulled Huo Yuhao away afterwards. Thus, while the test was still going on, she¡¯d written a note for Wang Dong to give to Fan Yu.

    When Fan Yu saw the note, he immediately knew what was going on. For what reason had Yan Shaozhe personally observed the advancement test? It was undoubtedly for Huo Yuhao¡¯s sake! When his thought process had reached this point, he hadn¡¯t dared waste another second; he immediately began searching for Qian Duoduo.

    Actually, they had already arrived a few minutes ago. Yan Shaozhe had also realized this when was standing inside of the room. As such, it was only natural that they¡¯d heard what Yan Shaozhe had said a moment ago. A flurry of verbal abuse rapidly left Qian Duoduo¡¯s mouth as both anger and shock intermingled inside of him.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and replied, ¡°Old Qian, how¡¯d you manage to get enough free time toe over to the Martial Soul Department¡¯s office building?¡±

    Qian Duoduo exasperatedly said, ¡°Yan Shaozhe, do you still want your face? Ah? What did we agree on? You promised to give Huo Yuhao to the Soul Tool Department¡ªfor him to be a core disciple. This is what was agreed upon when I won the bet at that time!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°Indeed, I did promise that. However, even I am human, and humans will always have times where they make mistakes, right? There¡¯s an old saying: ¡®One can only reform oneself after recognising one¡¯s mistakes.¡¯. Am I not correcting my mistakes right now?¡±

    Qian Duoduo became furious. ¡°Rubbish! Are you saying that you can shove shit back inside after you¡¯ve excreted it?! If you dare to steal him from me, I¡¯ll have to fight you.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe expression remained beaming as he replied, ¡°You wanna fight?! Sure! We fought a lot when we were younger. Now that we¡¯re old¡­ it really has been a long time since we¡¯ve learned fighting techniques from each other! Sure, let¡¯s go and find a ce to fight at. If I win, Huo Yuhao stays inside of my Martial Soul Department, and you can¡¯t fight me over him anymore.¡±

    Qian Duoduo almost fainted from anger. ¡°Yan Shaozhe, I¡¯ve met shameless people. However, I¡¯ve never seen you behave so shamelessly before. You don¡¯t keep your word. You¡¯re shameless!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe felt like he¡¯d been wrongly used, and it showed on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t keep my word? How so? How am I shameless too? I did what I promised you! Huo Yuhao is already a core disciple of your Soul Tool Department. I didn¡¯t stop that from happening, right? I¡¯m only proposing something to him now. If he chooses to abandon the Soul Tool Department and return to the Martial Soul Department, then I¡®ll naturally need to wee him back wholeheartedly. This isn¡¯t about me not keeping my word. Yuhao, you should make your decision soon. I can tell you with utmost certainty that the Soul Tool Department can¡¯t achieve all of these promises that I¡¯ve made to you. One can¡¯t just kill a hundred thousand year soul beast just because they say they can. If you¡¯re not a Titled Douluo ranked 95 and above, it¡¯s definitely impossible for you to kill a hundred thousand year soul beast. However, it just so happens that I¡¯ve cultivated to rank 95. You¡¯ll understand what I mean by this when I give you an example. If I were to swap pointers with the vice-dean of the Soul Tool Department, this Qian Duoduo standing before you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against me, even if I were to let him make the first move in a one-on-one battle. He¡¯s also a Titled Douluo like me. You can ask him whether or not he has the ability to kill a hundred thousand year soul beast yourself.¡±

    Qian Duoduo felt like his lungs were going to explode. Yan Shaozhe had always overpowered, ever since they were young. This fact had remained true this time around too. However, he truly wouldn¡¯t be Yan Shaozhe¡¯s opponent if they ended up fighting. Even though Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words were harsh, he¡¯d only spoken the truth. However, Qian Duoduo became even angrier than before because of this. It had never urred to him that Yan Shaozhe would personally look for Huo Yuhao, nor that he would pledge so many conditions in order to steal Huo Yuhao away from him.

    However, he couldn¡¯t argue with Yan Shaozhe, thus he turned towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re already a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, as well as Fan Yu¡¯s direct disciple. Fan Yu will be the Dean of the Soul Tool Department in the future. You¡¯re also extremely talented at making soul tools. You¡¯re well aware of how the Soul Tool Department treats you. As such, I hope that you¡¯ll consider this matter carefully.¡±

    Consider? Consider what? Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had be a sticky mess; he¡¯d lost all of his ability to think.

    The honorable Dean of the Martial Soul Department stood on one side, while the vice-dean of the Soul Tool Department stood on the other. Both of them were Titled Douluo powerhouses, with Dean Yan Shaozhe being a Transcendent Titled Douluo who¡¯s soul power was rank 95. Huo Yuhao was only a student! What could he even say in such a situation? He wouldn¡¯t dare to offend either party!

    Fan Yu looked towards Huo Yuhao and saw that he had bepletely flushed and couldn¡¯t say a word. He immediately rushed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and patted him on the shoulder in aforting manner. He then said, ¡°Deans, you shouldn¡¯t bother Yuhao anymore. Dean Yan, you¡¯re truly the one in the wrong regarding this matter; Yuhao has already be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. In order to maintain the unity of both departments, please let sleeping dogs lie.¡±

 Chapter 53.3: Irrefutable Benefits?

    Chapter 53.3: Irrefutable Benefits?

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s attitude changed as he faced Fan Yu. He said indifferently, ¡°Fan Yu, you should already know that Huo Yuhao has an Ultimate element. Do you think your Soul Tool Department can nurture an Ultimate element better than our Martial Soul Department? Do you know what an Ultimate soul master means to our academy? During the past ten thousand years, our Shrek Academy has be the continent¡¯s number one academy by taking one step at a time. Other than the extreme leap we experienced under the leadership of Ancestor Tang San and the original Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, our academy has had three glorious batches. Those three batches were all created through the leadership of an Ultimate Douluo. This was how we solidified our status. Thus, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate element has great significance to us. Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t have used a method like this to request that he return to the Martial Soul Department. However, this matter is no longer negotiable. I¡¯d rather not be so thick-skinned but we have to make him stay in the Martial Soul Department for the sake of the academy¡¯s glory.¡±

    Fan Yu tightly furrowed his brows. He didn¡¯t think that Yan Shaozhe would be this stubborn and troublesome.

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe, shouldn¡¯t you ask me first before stealing one of my students?¡± A clear and melodious voice rang out as another person walked into the room, making Wang Yan¡¯s office much more congested.

    The rage on Qian Duoduo¡¯s face immediately dissipated the moment he saw this person. ¡°Lin¡¯er, I¡¯m d you finally came. Otherwise, I¡¯d die from anger due to this old bastard.¡±

    The neer was a woman, about 1.7m tall. She looked like she was in her early fifties. Her skin was white, her ck hair was neatly bundled up, and her gilded clothes made her look extremely experienced. Though she was aged, one could still tell that she was definitely an absolute beauty in her youth.

    Fan Yu bent down to Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°This is our Dean, Xian Lin¡¯er.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had calmed down much more with Fan Yu by his side. He knew that remaining silent at this moment was for the best. When the gods were fighting, it was better for a lowly student like him to stay out of the way.

    Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows upon seeing Xian Lin¡¯er, ¡°Lin¡¯er, you¡¯re¡­¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said icily, ¡°When we were young, you never kept your word. Now that we¡¯re over eighty years old, you¡¯re still the same. You¡¯re bullying my men to their breaking point. Didn¡¯t you say that you were very good at fighting? Come on, I¡¯ll duel you right now. Let¡¯s go to the Soul Duelling Arena.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe, who previously had a clear advantage over Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu, had an embarrassed look on his face now. ¡°Lin¡¯er,¡± he said, ¡°why are you doing this? I truly regret what I¡¯ve done regarding this matter. However, you should understand what an Ultimate soul master means for the future of our academy. This isn¡¯t something that a simple bet can change. I¡¯ve already talked it over with the teachers from the inner courtyard; Huo Yuhao must stay in my Martial Soul Department.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said icily, ¡°And what are you relying on in order to pull this off? Is it just because your Martial Soul Department is the top-ranked one in the continent? Does that mean that our Soul Tool Department has to give you our core disciples? How do you know that this child won¡¯t be someone outstanding by staying in our Soul Tool Department? I admit that what you¡¯ve said isn¡¯t wrong; if your Martial Soul Department nurtures him well, it¡¯s very likely that he¡¯ll be your department¡¯s future pir, and in turn will allow you to maintain your position as the number one martial soul department on the continent. However, you haven¡¯t thought about what happens if our Soul Tool Department manages to nurture him well, he might be able to bring our Soul Tool Department to the number one spot in the entire continent, allowing us to be free from the suppression of the Sun Moon Empire? I¡¯ve explicitly stated that you won¡¯t be able to snatch any student from my department. You don¡¯t need to force this child either; he belongs to my Soul Tool Department. You were talking about a hundred thousand year soul beast? When the timees, I¡¯ll help him hunt one. If worstes to worst, I¡¯ll just hand my life over to the Great Star Dou Forest. Then, I¡¯ll have been forced to death by you.¡±

    Qian Duoduo¡¯s expression became somewhat strange. He was slightly embarrassed and yet not. However, the anger on his face hadpletely vanished.

    This time around, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face alternated betweens shades green and white. He had a myriad of forms of sophistry, yet he couldn¡¯t use any of them in front of Xian Lin¡¯er. He had a guilty conscience regarding her, due to certain things he¡¯d done during his youth. However, an Ultimate twin-souled soul master was something that might not even ur once in a millennium for the Martial Soul Department. Thus, as the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, he couldn¡¯t simply give up because of his personal feelings.

    Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath. ¡°Lin¡¯er, here¡¯s how I see it. This matter has already reached the point where we can¡¯t settle it through a simple conversation. Why don¡¯t we decide it with a meeting in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? What do you think?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er didn¡¯t hesitate to reply, ¡°Fine. A meeting at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion it is. I¡¯m just afraid that you won¡¯t show up. No matter what way you word it, our side¡¯s more logical. Come, we¡¯ll go and gather the elders from the Hall of Consecration and start the meeting. I want to see how why you think you can steal my student.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows tightly, then turned to Huo Yuhao and revealed a warm smile. ¡°Huo Yuhao, this matter is also rted to your own interests. You should consider it carefully. As for us, we¡¯ll have to discuss the matter first.¡± With that, he turned around and left.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression turned grave as she turned to face Huo Yuhao. ¡°Child, ignore him. You don¡¯t need to pay this matter too much attention. Continue to cultivate diligently; the academy will make everything clear soon.¡± With that, she left as well. Qian Duoduo hurriedly chased after her, leaving Fan Yu and Wang Yan in the office.

    Wang Yan was somewhat speechless. ¡°It seems that this matter¡¯s gotten noisy. Aih¡­¡±

    Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. ¡°Yuhao, head back and rest first. Dean Xian¡¯s right; you don¡¯t need to worry too much about this matter, nor should you feel any mental burdens over it. No matter what the Academy decides, in the end, it won¡¯t be a bad thing for you. Work hard and continue cultivating. Increasing your cultivation is the most important thing for you right now.¡±

    Once the Deans had left, the pressure that Huo Yuhao felt in his heart lessened by arge amount. He hurriedly nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± The smartest thing he¡¯d done throughout the situation was to not show where he stood on the matter. Though his heart was naturally inclined towards the Soul Tool Department, it would be a lie if he said that Wang Yan and Dean Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words hadn¡¯t moved him.

    The thing that had moved him most hadn¡¯t been Yan Shaozhe¡¯s promises, as he already had two extremely powerful and intelligent soul rings. He wasn¡¯t worried about his chances of obtaining powerful soul rings and soul bones in the future either. What Wang Yan had said about the Martial Soul Department being best qualified to teach a student with an Ultimate martial soul, however, had moved him. Furthermore, Yan Shaozhe had apologised to him with his status as a Dean, and had even promised to allow Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to directly enter the inner courtyard. Even if he didn¡¯t think about himself, it wasn¡¯t as if he could simply not care for hispanions. For him to make such a decision right now was simply too difficult for him. As such, he¡¯d simply decided to remain silent and allow the academy to make the decision for him. He¡¯d already thought it through; no matter what the academy¡¯s final decision was, he¡¯d fullyply with it. In the deepest recesses of his heart however, he didn¡¯t truly wish to give up on either side, nor was he able to.

    When left the faculty building, he saw Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao waiting for him. They immediately rushed over to him the instant they saw him.

    Wang Dong spoke in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s the situation? What did Teacher Wang call you over for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conceal anything in front of them. He recounted the events that had urred in Teacher Wang Yan¡¯s office. Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes went wide when they heard that the three Deans had fought over him.

    Wang Dong was astonished as he said, ¡°Truly capable! You¡¯ve be so popr so quickly. Dean Yan seems really sincere, too! However, the Soul Tool Department¡¯s treated you well. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. ¡°What¡¯s there to think about? There¡¯s nothing I can change; I¡¯m merely a student. Do you really think that I get to decide anything? I¡¯ll justply with the academy¡¯s arrangements. Dean Yan, Dean Xian, and Dean Qian have all left to have a meeting. I reckon that they¡¯ll have a result shortly. However¡­ I¡¯d prefer to not give up on either side.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was somewhat worried. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you not get anything good from both parties then? Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to worry about us. I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll be able to enter the inner courtyard with my own hard work. It¡¯s fine if you make your own choice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was greatly moved when he heard her words. He looked at her small, pretty face and sincerely said, ¡°Thanks, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression tensed up, but then quickly rxed. ¡°Let¡¯s head back first. You¡¯re right, it¡¯d be best for the academy to make the decision.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly asked, ¡°Right, Xiao Xiao. How¡¯d you do in your test?¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled. ¡°110 marks. I¡¯m a control-type soul master, and I also chose a thousand year soul beast. Even though the soul beast and I fought for quite a while, it couldn¡¯t do anything to me until my soul power had been fully drained. The judges gave me a high score when they saw this.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Right, that Dai Huabin lost to us again. When will we settle our bet?¡±

    Wang Dong truly wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with Dai Huabin. Furthermore, he felt somewhat regretful. If it hadn¡¯t been for their bet, he wouldn¡¯t have had to reveal his abilities during their advancement test. If not for that, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the predicament he was currently in.

    ¡°We¡¯ll ignore him for now,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°let¡¯s just head back to our dorm rooms and wait for the academy¡¯s decision. It¡¯d be best to simply be a bit more obedient for the time being.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°That¡¯s that then. Let¡¯s head back and cultivate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to be this diligent!¡± Huo Yuhao replied jokingly.

    Wang Dong snorted. ¡°How could I not feel endangered now that you¡¯ve be so popr? Speaking of which, that Ultimate martial soul of yours is really magical. Even a thousand year soul beast was scared to the point that it tried to flee from it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I was simply relying on my elemental advantage. If it were a true 1v1, you and Dai Huabin are much stronger than I am. I¡¯m definitely not a match for you guys. Right, Xiao Xiao, what soul rank are you at now?¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°I¡¯m at Rank 28 now! I reckon that I¡¯ll be able to reach Rank 30 by the end of the year.¡± When she¡¯d first entered the academy, her soul rank had been at around Wang Dong¡¯s level. However, she didn¡¯t have the Haodong Power that Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had. As such, the difference in their cultivation speed was apparent now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back,¡± Huo Yuhao said ¡°the most important thing we have to do right now is to work hard and increase our strength. We¡¯ll be considered to have established ourselves in the academy once we be disciples of the inner courtyard.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Sea God¡¯s Ind had several buildings on it, but one among them was unquestionably the tallest and grandest. This building was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, situated in the heart of the ind.

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was six floors tall, and every floor was more than ten meters high, which resulted in an extremely grand structure. In turn, the mist that pervaded the ind year-round made it so that Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard was unable to see it clearly.

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was the most important ce within Shrek Academy, as the Hall of Consecration was located within it. The secret library that Yan Shaozhe had spoken to Wang Yan about was also located here. There were also a few secrets not known to anyone located here as well. Thus, there was nock of extremely valuable treasures here.

 Chapter 54.1: Meeting at the Sea Godâ€™s Pavilion

    Chapter 54.1: Meeting at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion

    Of course, a ce that held treasures would always attract thieves. Numerous arrogant experts who¡¯d thought highly of themselves had secretly tried to infiltrate Sea God¡¯s Ind in the past, in hopes of stealing the items within. However, none had ever been able to leave once they entered the ind.

    Meetings would be held at Sea God¡¯s Ind every time a major event happened within Shrek Academy. These meetings were of the highest importance to the academy. Only the Deans and Vice Deans of the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department, along with the resident elders of the Hall of Consecration, had the right to take part in these meetings. Important matters would be resolved through a show of hands.

    The Dean and Vice Dean of both departments had one vote each in these meetings.

    Currently, the grand conference hall waspletely silent. Inside of the room, ten people sat around a long oval table. A recliner had been ced at the innermost section, where the head of the long table sat. The light around the recliner was extremely dim; one could only faintly see that a person seemed to be lying on it. Compared to the ten people sitting around the round table, his posture caused him to appear particrly unusual.

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo sat on the right hand side of the long table, at the very end, while Yan Shaozhe and a woman who looked to be around fifty years old sat at the end of the table on the left hand side. The woman looked like she¡¯d been extremely beautiful when she was young. Though they were both women, she didn¡¯t even nce in Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s direction. She instead maintained a stern appearance as she sat next to Yan Shaozhe. Just like Qian Duoduo, they sat opposite one another.

    Besides the four of them, the six people who were sitting closer to front of the table were all Elders. Every single one of them were old, gray-haired individuals. Of course, their forms were different, a fact that could be seen through the way each of them sat.

    Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo, Yan Shaozhe, and that woman that looked fifty years old sat in aparatively proper manner, while the Elders all sat in various postures. Present amongst them was the Elder that Wang Yan had called Elder Xuan. He was seated near the front of the table and to the right of the chairperson. This also meant that he was currently seated in the first seat at Yan Shaozhe¡¯s end of the table.

    At that moment, Elder Xuan had a drumstick in his left hand and a wine cbash in his right. He looked extremely rxed as he continued to eat and drink at the table.

    ¡°Now that everyone has arrived, let¡¯s begin the meeting. Shaozhe, take charge of the meeting.¡± A gentle voice rang out. Hearing this voice would cause one to feel as if their soul and mind had been cleansed, yet it wasn¡¯t enough to discern the owner¡¯s age. This voice came from the head of the table¡ªfrom the one lying on the recliner that was hidden within the darkness.

    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± Yan Shaozhe stood and bowed towards the person sitting at the head of the table.

    If any outsiders were to hear the way Yan Shaozhe addressed that person, they would jump in shock. One had to realize that Yan Shaozhe was famous for being over sixty years old, but in reality, he was over ny years old. Furthermore, his teacher was actually still alive and in good shape! This was really shocking news!

    Even Elder Xuan put his drumstick and wine cbash down when he heard the gentle voice rang out. He rubbed his oily palms on his clothes, then proceeded to sit rtively straight. The other resident Elders also assumed rather proper sitting positions; only the person lying down kept their posture.

    Yan Shaozhe bowed slightly toward the Elders in front. ¡°Teacher and fellow resident elders, Lin¡¯er and I have gathered everyone here today and initiated a Sea God¡¯s Ind meeting for a matter that will decide whether or not our academy will continue to prosper in the centuries toe.¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± Xian Lin¡¯er violently mmed his hand down on the table. ¡°Cut the chit chat and stop trying to scare people Yan Shaozhe. Get to the point.¡±

    The elders became somewhat shocked when she mmed her hand down on the table. The looks in their eyes turned somewhat strange as well. The old woman who was sitting to the right of the chairperson frowned and said, ¡°Lin¡¯er, this is a meeting on Sea God¡¯s Ind. If you¡¯re going to make a ruckus, get out.¡±

    There was a slight change in Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression when she heard this. She snorted, but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The old woman¡¯s hair was as white as snow, but there weren¡¯t many wrinkles on her face. An extremely gentle glow was also present within her eyes. No matter what way one looked at it, she looked like an amiable old grandmother. She then turned towards Yan Shaozhe, gave him a small smile, and said, ¡°Shaozhe, continue.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder Lin.¡± Yan Shaozhe looked towards Xian Lin¡¯er. Even though a somewhat apologetic look was present in his eyes, his determination shone through even more. As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, he definitely couldn¡¯t let his personal feelings affect his decisions.

    Xian Lin¡¯er turned her head to the side, refusing to look him in the eyes.

    Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice and said, ¡°To all the resident elders, the matter is as follows¡­¡± As he spoke, he didn¡¯t conceal the truth. He began with the bet he¡¯d made with Qian Duoduo, then narrated Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance without missing a single detail.

    ¡°¡­When this student returned from the holidays, not only did he have a second martial soul, it was also an Ultimate martial soul. Even though his first martial soul isn¡¯t that good, as an Ultimate type soul master, he¡¯s bound to be a pir for the academy in the future¡ªif he¡¯s nurtured with care. Furthermore, this child is an orphan. There¡¯s a possibility that we could also fight for him to stay within the academy.

    ¡°I lost the bet with Dean Qian, but it must be stated that only the Martial Soul Department has the experience to properly raise and teach someone with an Ultimate element. It¡¯s also the only way he¡¯ll reach his full potential.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words were simple, but he spoke in a very natural manner as he exposed the way that Qian Duoduo hadid a trap by using a stratagem in order to ensure that Huo Yuhao could be a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department.

    When they heard what he had to say, surprised looks on all of the resident elder¡¯s faces. Elder Xuan in particr had knit his eyebrows closely together¡ªas if he could no longer see the drumstick before him.

    There were two ways a Sea God¡¯s Ind meeting could be held. One was the periodic meeting that was held annually, while the other was an interim meeting. The periodic meetings were normal, but when an interim meeting was held, it implied that something major had happened in the academy. The few times that an interim meeting had been held throughout the course of history had decided the direction that the continent would head towards.

    It was definitely worth hosting a interim meeting for an Ultimate attribute soul master. However, when the resident elders realized that the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department were fighting over the student, their expressions rxed quite a bit. This was an internal problem; it should be rtively easy to settlepared to other matters.

    As soon as Yan Shaozhe had finished speaking and had sat down, Qian Duoduo immediately stood up.

    ¡°Fellow elders, I don¡¯tpletely agree with Dean Yan¡¯s narration. Sure, we made a bet. However, when we did so, even the Soul Tool Department didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao would gain a second martial soul. It goes without saying that this is an extraordinarily rare urrence. Anyway, what we saw in him was his talent towards soul tools.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao had been formally dered as Fan Yu¡¯s disciple. In the short span of eight months, he¡¯s gone from a normal soul engineer¡ªsomeone who¡¯d never once touched a soul tool in his life¡ªto a ss 2 soul engineer. This rate of improvement is a new record in the academy¡¯s history. This child is both hardworking and endures hardship. He has no small amount of Fan Yu¡¯s praise. When we learned of this, we had already decided to take him in as a core disciple; how could we let such a talent slip through our fingers? Furthermore, the Martial Soul Department chose not to make him a core disciple, despite him leading his team to win the freshmen test. However, just as luck would have it, Dean Yan discovered his second martial soul, thus he is now fighting us over him. What happened to the academy¡¯s rules? I stand here as a representative of the Soul Tool Department: No matter what happens, the Soul Tool Department absolutely won¡¯t give up on such a talented person. Furthermore, the Soul Tool Department has already decided to put all of our resources into nurturing this child. We shall strive to nurture him into Shrek Academy¡¯s first ss 9 soul engineer within thirty years.

    ¡°In order to nurture Huo Yuhao, Dean Xian, Fan Yu, and I have talked things over. We¡¯ve decided that the Ultimate Soldier n will rest on his shoulders. As such, He Caitou¡ªwho was originally tasked with carrying out this n¡ªwill act as an auxiliary soul engineer and will help educate him.

    ¡°Fellow resident elders, I can understand Dean Yan¡¯s feelings; an Ultimate-type martial soul is indeed extremely important to the Martial Soul Department. However, is it not important to the Soul Tool Department as well? Their department has already be the number one martial soul department on the continent, yet ours hasn¡¯t. We¡¯re always striving to do our best in the hopes that we¡¯ll make a breakthrough. Yet, what do weck the most? Talent! Fellow resident elders, please think this through. Ever since our department was established, when have we not epted the rejects of the Martial Soul Department? How are we supposed topete with the Sun Moon Empire under such circumstances? We aren¡¯tcking in money, nor are wecking in resources now. What we arecking in is talent! Huo Yuhao has disyed extraordinary talents towards being a soul engineer. Furthermore, he now has twin martial souls, one of which is an Ultimate attribute. I¡¯m absolutely confident that I can nurture him into an extremely powerful soul engineer. As such, we definitely will not, and are not willing to, part with this student.¡±

    Qian Duoduo went straight to the point without beating around the bush. His words were far more direct than Yan Shaozhe¡¯s had been. In reality, the Soul Tool Department was actually being reasonable about this matter.

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Dean Qian¡¯s intentions are my intentions. The Soul Tool Department is willing to stake everything on this child. If he¡¯s unable to fulfill the Ultimate Soldier n, I¡¯m willing to resign from my position as Dean of the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe and the woman sitting beside him were shocked when they heard her say this. This was too cruel! Xian Lin¡¯er really was being ruthless when she made this move.

    It was true that the Martial Soul Department had held absolute dominance within the academy ever since Shrek Academy had been founded. However, when both departments were aligned side by side, Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo were on par with them in soul rank. Even though most of the resident elders were from the Martial Soul Department, they couldn¡¯t disregard the opinions of both Deans from the Soul Tool Department. This was even more true since the Soul Tool Department were actually being reasonable about the matter.

    For a moment, Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t help but feel that things really had be more difficult for him. If they continued to fight like this, the conflict between both parties would really spiral towards an all-out explosion. This wasn¡¯t what he hoped to see.

 Chapter 54.2: Meeting at the Sea Godâ€™s Pavilion

    Chapter 54.2: Meeting at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion

    Elder Xuan finally spoke up. He coughed slightly before he said, ¡°I understand your intentions, and I examined this student Huo Yuhao in the past. At that time, the Martial Soul Department didn¡¯t want him mainly because of his ten year soul ring. Moreover, it¡¯ll be extremely difficult to obtain soul rings for his Spirit Eyes in the future as it¡¯s a spiritual-type martial soul. Thus, it¡¯ll be hard for him to perform to his fullest potential. Though it was a Body Soul, I investigated his body¡¯s condition. From the state of his body at that time, I saw that the possibility of him awakening his Body Soul a second time was very small.¡±

    ¡°As we all know, the more important the location of a Body Soul is, the stronger it is. However, this only applies after the second awakening. The more important the location of a Body Soul, the smaller the chances of it awakening a second time. The eyes are the window to the spirit, making them the strongest spiritual-type martial soul among Body Souls. This means that it will be too hard for him to awaken it a second time. I¡¯ve never heard of a Body Soul on this level, even within the Body Sect. Thus, I can guarantee that the origins of his second martial soul are unrted to his Body Soul.¡±

    ¡°This is somewhat strange. Where did his second martial soule from? I feel that it¡¯d be better for us to dig into this a little deeper.¡±

    Elder Lin who was seated opposite Elder Xuan smiled slightly. ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re straying from the topic at hand. We can investigate this child¡¯s situationter, but our current meeting is being held to decide the path of his future cultivation.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed mischievously. ¡°Naturally, it¡¯d be better for him to remain with our Martial Soul Department. Regardless of where his second martial soul came from, as long as it¡¯s truly an Ultimate one, staying in the Martial Soul Department is clearly the best option for him. We have precedent in training soul masters with Ultimate martial souls, and we¡¯re stillcking a few men.¡±

    Elder Lin shook her head. ¡°This isn¡¯t proper. What Qian Duoduo said makes sense; the Soul Tool Department has always been extremelycking in talent. That child¡¯s already a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. Making such a change in the academy¡¯s policy isn¡¯t conforming to the academy¡¯s rules.¡±

    Elder Xuan curled his lips, ¡°What isn¡¯t conforming to the academy¡¯s rules? Let me ask you this: where does the Soul Tool Department recruit students from? At the very least, from the third years in the Martial Soul Department. But, what about this Huo Yuhao? He¡¯s just entered Year 2. The Soul Tool Department¡¯s the one who has broken the rules in the first ce.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was overjoyed. He inwardly thought to himself, The older generation is still more experienced than the younger one! Even if Elder Xuan was normally drunk, he wouldn¡¯t be vague in the least during important moments.

    The elder seated beside Elder Lin shook his head. ¡°Elder Xuan, what you¡¯re saying doesn¡¯t have any meaning at all. I understand soul engineers better than you, and this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of a person bing a ss 2 soul engineer within eight months. I¡¯m afraid that even the Sun Moon Empire doesn¡¯t have a student on this level. Furthermore, all of us approved of the Ultimate Soldier n during a meeting here. Now that Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo are trying to realise this n together, we should be encouraging them. In any case, this student is staying in our academy, so going to the Soul Tool Department gives the same results.¡±

    Elder Xuan snorted. ¡°The same? How can it even be the same? Leaving him in the Soul Tool Department is an utter waste of his talent.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er became angry, and stood up. ¡°Elder Xuan, why is leaving him in my Soul Tool Department a waste? The Martial Soul Department keeps repeating over and over again that they have experience in training a soul master with an Ultimate martial soul, but from what I recall, Huo Yuhao has an Ice-type Ultimate martial soul. Do you have experience in nurturing an Ultimate Ice martial soul? Moreover, you¡¯re an elder. You shouldn¡¯t be favouring the Martial Soul Department. Since you keep siding with the Martial Soul Department, is there any point in our Soul Tool Department existing?¡±

    Elder Xuan became angry as well. ¡°You girl! I¡¯m biased because a martial soul is the root of a soul master, as well as the root of our Shrek Academy. The Soul Tool Department is indeed important, and I don¡¯t want to keep helping the Martial Soul Department in this dispute either. Why don¡¯t we do this? Shaozhe, choose ten core disciples from the Martial Soul Department and let Lin¡¯er choose three of them for an exchange. This should be fine.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes lit up, Right! This was a good n. Didn¡¯t your Soul Tool Department say that you werecking talents? Then, I¡¯ll use talents to barter with you.

    He hurriedly dered his position, ¡°This isn¡¯t a problem. Why don¡¯t we use five core disciples of the Martial Soul Department and trade them for Huo Yuhao? This can be considered to be us having very good faith. It¡¯s true that our Martial Soul Department hasn¡¯t been supporting the Soul Tool Department enough during these years. Why don¡¯t we do this? Dean Xian, Dean Qian, though we¡¯re in charge of different departments, we all have the same goals; that is, to develop and strengthen our Shrek Academy even more. Right here, I¡¯ll promise you two that from now on, our Martial Soul Department won¡¯t choose our core disciples before they enter Year 3. After Year 3, we¡¯ll choose them along with you guys, allowing these students to choose the future path of their cultivations. This way, I¡¯m confident that we won¡¯t even need ten years for the Soul Tool Department to develop at a rapid pace.¡±

    The expressions of the originally furious Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo softened immediately after listening to Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words. They had no choice but to admit that he was a man who made very prompt decisions. Furthermore, his promise to the Soul Tool Department would be of tremendous benefit towards their future development. At the same time, this revealed his determination to obtain Huo Yuhao. Qian Duoduo¡¯s stinginess was in the form of money, but Yan Shaozhe¡¯s stinginess was in the form of talents. The fact that he could make a concession like that truly signified that he was extremely sincere.

    Elder Lin, who was seated on the first seat on the right side of the long table, turned towards Xian Lin¡¯er, ¡°Lin¡¯er, what do you think?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er revealed a pondering light in her eyes, but Qian Duoduo stood up slowly. ¡°Dean Yan, Dean Cai, various elders. I¡¯m dering my position on behalf of myself. With regards to me alone, I¡¯m not willing to ept this trade. No matter how many fine horses you give us, it won¡¯t be worth a single Thousand Mile Colt. Arge number of talentsing into our Soul Tool Department will truly give us an opportunity, but it is very likely that a single Huo Yuhao can directly make us flourish. At that time, will we have anyck of talents? With the current situation of our Soul Tool Department, it¡¯s more suitable for us to pool all our resources on a single person. I¡¯m very grateful for Dean Yan¡¯s sincerity, but I personally hope that we can keep Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er slowly stood up after listening to his words. ¡°I agree with Dean Qian¡¯s words. Our Soul Tool Department refuses the trade. He¡¯s already one of our core disciples, and we will absolutely not give in.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expression became grave. He¡¯d already made such arge concession, but Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo were still unwilling to give in to him. His heart surged with mes of anger.

    ¡°As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, I¡¯ll dere where I stand. The appearance of an Ultimate soul master urs less than once in a thousand years, and our Martial Soul Department cannot give up on a talent like this. I am determined to obtain Huo Yuhao. Since we¡¯ve convened here today, we¡¯ll put it to a vote to determine his final destination.¡±

    Thedy beside him who hadn¡¯t spoken yet slowly rose to her feet, ¡°I support Dean Yan. An Ultimate element must stay in our Martial Soul Department.¡±

    She was the Vice-Dean of the Martial Soul Department, a person called Cai Mei¡¯er, who normally remained within the inner courtyard.

    Both parties weren¡¯t willing to give way to each other, and the various elders had awkward expressions on their faces. Regardless of how they settled this matter in the end, they would leave one party unhappy. Furthermore, this matter would definitely cause an enormous conflict between the two parties. Even if the Martial Soul Department held an absolute advantage, the Soul Tool Department was still an irreceable part of the academy. If they were to suffer a setback again, it would be overly detrimental to its development. There was even a high possibility that an outflow of talent would ur.

    Because of that, the various elders were extremely cautious in their actions; none of them took the initiative to dere where they stood.

    ¡°All of you, sit down.¡± The warm voiceing from the person seated at the head of the table rang out once again. After hearing this voice, both opposing parties immediately curbed themselves a bit. They respectfully sat back in their original positions.

    The warm voice said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯ve both expounded on your reasoning very clearly. However, haven¡¯t you all thought of a single possibility? Let me ask you this¨Cwhen our Shrek Academy was founded at the very beginning, what was our original objective?¡¯

    ¡°To nurture talented soul masters who are monsters. Shrek Academy only trains monsters, not ordinary people.¡± Yan Shaozhe replied respectfully.

    The warm voice said, ¡°Correct, we only train monsters, not ordinary people. Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we be a bit more bold and train a true monster? This child Huo Yuhao has met the requirements to be considered a very gifted person. He¡¯s an orphan, and this means he won¡¯t be inclined toward any particr empire in the future. At the same time, it¡¯s very likely that he¡¯ll remain in the academy. Qian Duoduo.¡±

    ¡°Present.¡± Qian Duoduo stood up hurriedly, then said respectfully, ¡°Elder Mu.¡±

    The warm voice said, ¡°I ask you this: during the eight month period in which Huo Yuhao trained to be a soul engineer, were his studies in the Martial Soul Department interrupted at any time?¡±

    ¡°Never.¡± Qian Duoduo replied immediately, ¡°He trained for four hours with Fan Yu every night. It¡¯s because of this exact reason that I called him a genius! Even when he was distracted with his studies in the Martial Soul Department, he was able to be a ss 2 soul engineer within a mere eight months.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then let me ask you all this: during the process in which Huo Yuhao became a ss 2 soul engineer, were his studies in the Martial Soul Department interrupted? Did his cultivation speed decrease?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°No. His second martial soul¡¯s awakened, and when I made a move earlier, I was able to tell that his soul power was around Rank 25. I¡¯ve investigated this as well. This child was only at Rank 13 when he first entered the academy, but he was able to increase his soul power by 12 ranks within a short year. Regardless of whether he¡¯s innately talented or lucky, the facts are before us. Thus, your disciple thinks that he¡¯s more suited to stay in our Martial Soul Department. Even if his cultivation speed drops after he reaches Rank 30, a talent on this level shouldn¡¯t be affected by it too much.¡±

    The warm voice suddenlyughed, and hisughter was slightly coarse. ¡°You¡¯re all confused by the situation at hand. Since this kid was able to study in the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department at the same time for an entire year without letting his studies fall, and instead disying a genius-level performance, what are you fighting over? Why don¡¯t you just let him study in both fields at once?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo were all stunned.

 Chapter 54.3: Meeting at the Sea Godâ€™s Pavilion

    Chapter 54.3: Meeting at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion

    One needed to realize that the person in the reclining chair was Shrek Academy¡¯s real boss. At the same time, he was also Xian Lin¡¯er and Yan Shaozhe¡¯s teacher. This man was the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion; his word was absolute within the academy. Even old veterans like Elder Lin and Elder Xuan were lower than him in seniority. There hadn¡¯t been a single person that had dared to object to his decisions in the past.

    Xian Lin¡¯er couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and said, ¡°Teacher! It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s our Soul Tool Department or the Martial Soul Department; the more one studies a subject, the more energy one needs to reach a higher level in it. Studying in both departments at the same time will have a negative impact on the student! He¡¯ll have a broader range of knowledge, but he won¡¯t be an expert in either of them. Isn¡¯t this the same as wasting his talent?¡±

    The Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion faintly smiled, then said, ¡°Why are you so sure that he won¡¯t be able to study both subjects properly? Actually, all of you have made a mistake. All of you think that the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department¡¯s fundamentals are opposed to each other. However, let me ask you a question: Can either of your departments do without soulforce or martial souls? The only difference between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department lies in the methods used to attack and defend oneself; their fundamentals are still the same. Thus, you don¡¯t really need to think about this that much.¡±

    ¡°Lin¡¯er. If you truly hope for Huo Yuhao to be a first-ss soul engineer, you must realize that he¡¯ll also have to be a first-ss martial soul master as a prerequisite. How will he create and control powerful soul tools without enough soulforce if he doesn¡¯t? At the same time, the rate at which his soulforce increases will drop drastically once he gets past Rank 30, due to the fact that he possesses an Ultimate martial soul. Thus, if hecks a proper technique from the Martial Soul Department to cultivate his Ultimate martial soul, won¡¯t his growth be impacted?

    ¡°Shaozhe, the same goes for you. As you can see, Huo Yuhao is extremely talented at creating soul tools. He can create powerful weapons to protect himself because of this. A soul master won¡¯t be strong in just a year or two, but at the same time, you can¡¯t truly stay by his side all the time, right? When you encounter something dangerous, relying on yourself to survive is the best option. This being the case, why don¡¯t you let him be a soul engineer too? Besides, our Shrek Academy currentlycks a first-ss soul engineer.

    Now then, I¡¯ve decided to let this child cultivate in both schools and to treat him as a special existence inside of the academy. You shouldn¡¯t force the child to choose. Rather, you should create afortable environment within the academy in order to let him cultivate in peace. All of you have ignored an important fact: What¡¯re Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts? After all, he¡¯s only twelve years old. If you pressure him too much, it¡¯ll only have a negative impact on his future growth.

    ¡°The best thing to do¡ªat least for now¡ªis to leave things the way they are. Let him keep studying as he was before. The two departments will spend an equal amount of resources on him. As for the future, we¡¯re not really in a rush. If he continues to receive excellent marks in both departments¡¯ tests, then we¡¯ll have truly trained an exceptional ¡®monster¡¯: An Ultimate Soldier that¡¯s close to perfection!¡±

    Once they heard the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, all of the veterans nodded one after another. Theirplexions became much better as well.

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Teacher, what should we do if Huo Yuahao¡¯s grades start dropping?¡±

    The Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion smiled faintly and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? If that happens, simply let him choose a department. He¡¯ll join the department he likes the most. If that happens, we won¡¯t need to do anything else. However, Elder Xuan, don¡¯t inquire about the boy¡¯s second martial soul. Though I¡¯m curious as well, I can say for sure that this child has a very kind and resolute heart. As such, no matter what his second martial soul is, there¡¯s no need for us to pry into this secret.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Pavilion Master.¡± Elder Xuan nodded in assent.

    Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er looked at each other, their tense expressions now much looser than they had been. Since both parties had been in a deadlock, this oue seemed to be the best one.

    The Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion said, ¡°If there are no further objections, this meeting can be considered over. Shaozhe, Lin¡¯er, you two shouldn¡¯t get in touch with that boy again. At his age, it¡¯s best if his heart is focused on diligently cultivating. The less he¡¯s distracted by the outside world, the better.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    As far as Shrek Academy was concerned, this meeting had settled everything. Huo Yuhao¡¯s fate had also been decided.

    Huo Yuhao received the news from Fan Yu soon afterwards: The academy had decided that Huo Yuhao was now both a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department. With this, he¡¯d be the first person in the history of the academy to be the core disciple of both departments.

    As for Yan Shaozhe¡¯s other promise, he decided to not bring it up. Fan Yu urged Yuhao to keep cultivating with dedication. After all, he now had to attend ss in the Martial Soul Department during the day, then study in the Soul Tool Department in the evening. He also reminded him that tomorrow evening he had to go and take the Soul Tool Department¡¯s advancement test.

    This oue gave Huo Yuhao some breathing room. Not having to choose was the best choice for him.

    The advancement test for the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Year 2 students hadn¡¯t ended yet. After all, the students of both ssesbined amounted to more than a hundred. It would take quite a while, considering the fact that they had to be tested one at a time.

    Huo Yuhao was happily cultivated in the dormitory with Wang Dong the next day. They cultivated the entire morning.

    After lunch, they took a short break. Afterwards, before the afternoon bell rang, Yuhao headed towards the experimental area of the Soul Tool Department.

    He noticed from afar that He Caitou was waiting at the gate to the experimental area, waving towards him.

    ¡°Senior brother He.¡± Huo Yuhao hurried over to where He Caitou stood.

    He Caitouughed as he hugged Huo Yuhao and and twirled him around him once. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve be the academy¡¯s center of attention Yuhao! It seems that several deans almost got into a fight because of you. Not bad, not bad!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was surprised. ¡°Senior apprentice, how did you know?¡±

    He Caitou giggled. ¡°Teacher told me. I was forbidden from revealing it to anyone else though.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rxed a bit. He didn¡¯t want everyone to know about what had happened. If they did, he¡¯d be criticized by everyone in the outer courtyard. His only wish was to cultivate in peace, nothing more.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s head inside. The teacher said that you¡¯re going to take our Soul Tool Department¡¯s advancement test. Are you ready?¡± He Caitou threw an arm over Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders and pulled him inside.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s the Soul Tool Department¡¯s advancement test about?¡±

    He Caitou replied, ¡°It¡¯s a battle as well! We have to agree with the Martial Soul Department on this: Only actualbat can properly assess our abilities. The teacher has already prepared everything. As for the details of your test, I¡¯m not quite sure.¡±

    As they spoke, the two of them entered the experimental area. They soon arrived at the 12thboratory.

    Theboratory wasn¡¯t as peaceful as it usually was. There were currently around twenty students inside, all around the the same as He Caitou. Most of them were older than fourteen, with some even being eighteen or neen.

    The testing area was inside of the battle area, which currently held two students in the midst of battle.

    It waspletely different from the Martial Soul Department¡¯s advancement test. The Soul Tool Department¡¯s advancement test was mainly based on the usage of soul tools. The students¡¯ bodies were wrapped in ayer of radiant light, which seemed like it wasing from some sort of defensive-type soul tool. The two were attacking each other while wrapped in this light. The sky was also littered with several balls of light; it looked like they were keeping an eye on the students below.

    The current Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the ignorant youth from before who didn¡¯t know anything about soul tools; he was aware that the balls of light suspended in the sky were also a type of soul tool. They were Portable Soul Shields, which were a type of defensive soul tool that could be controlled from a distance. One needed to be at least a soul master of the fourth rank to control this sort of soul tool. It definitely wasn¡¯t something that these students could achieve. The function of these soul tools was pretty obvious: If the defense of the students who were fighting were to be breached, these Portable Soul Shields would immediately fly into action to protect them from any oing attacks. They were present in order to guarantee the safety of the students.

    When Huo Yuhao and He Caitou entered, the battle between the two students had already reached a critical juncture. Beams of light had intertwined in the sky and were emitting a dazzling radiance.

    Huo Yuhao unconsciously activated his Spiritual Detection. However, he didn¡¯t even have time to observe the beams before the battle had ended.

    ¡°Peng¨C¨C¡± The shield of the student on the left broke and shattered into a myriad of lights that filled the sky. When it did, the Portable Soul Shield immediately appeared in front of him and blocked the other student¡¯s remaining attacks.

    ¡°Zi Feng has defeated Mo Ke. Their score has been increased by 1 mark.¡± A teacher standing to one side of the testing area said as they noted something down.

    ¡°Next.¡± The teacher hinted for the next couple of students to step forward.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Fan Yu¡¯s heavy voice echoed out. He walked over from another side of the testing area and said, ¡°Yuhao,e here. You¡¯re next.¡± He¡¯d been the one controlling the Portable Soul Shields in the previous battle. He was able to make them react in the shortest time possible considering his cultivation level. Moreover, he¡¯d been controlling all of the Portable Soul Shields simultaneously. Because of this, he¡¯d been able to keep an eye on the students from all directions.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Huo Yuhao nodded and hurried over.

    At that moment, the students that had been nning to take the advancement test saw Huo Yuhao. A surprised look appeared in their eyes when they saw him. He was normally always studying with Fan Yu, thus this was the first time they¡¯d seen him. However, this guy looked like he was only twelve or thirteen years old, yet he wasn¡¯t even a student of the Soul Tool Department! Why was Teacher Fan Yu letting him take the advancement test?

    Fan Yu said, ¡°This test is very simple: You just have to fight. Everyone will have their soul tools carefully examined by the teachers, which must be self-manufactured. As long as you manage to destroy your opponent¡¯s defenses, you¡¯ll have won. I¡¯m using these Portable Soul Shields to protect everyone.¡±

    Huo Yu Hao pondered for a bit, then asked, ¡°Teacher, is it possible to fight without the protection of a Portable Soul Shield?¡±

    Fan Yu was surprised when he heard this. ¡°Hm?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since this is supposed to be a real battle, having a Portable Soul Shield will impact my performance. Furthermore, I¡¯m sure that I won¡¯t injure my opponent.¡±

    Fan Yu asked, ¡°And what about your own safety?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied without the slightest hesitation, ¡°Teacher, I have faith in my abilities.¡±

    Fan Yu smiled faintly, then said, ¡°Fine. With this being the case, we¡¯ll do things as you like. Remember to call for help if you can¡¯t block the attack. With your Spiritual Detection, you¡¯ll surely be able to tell if you can¡¯t. Now then, go ahead and take the test.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao entered the testing area withrge strides. As he did so, he began to adjust the soul tool he¡¯d personally manufactured.

    At that time, the students of the Soul Tool Department finally noticed the badge on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest that showed his status as a second rank soul engineer.

    Was this for real? He was really a second rank soul engineer?

 Chapter 55.1: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhaoâ€™s True Strong Point

    Chapter 55.1: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhao¡¯s True Strong Point

    Fan Yu had a kind look in his eyes as he watched Huo Yuhao enter the field. After all, a teacher would always hope for their disciples to be outstanding. It was hard to find a good teacher, but finding a genius student was just as hard! Regardless of whether he was talented or diligent, the strict Fan Yu was extremely pleased. Even if he¡¯d spent a longer period of time teaching He Caitou, Huo Yuhao¡¯s status in Fan Yu¡¯s heart had already exceeded He Caitou¡¯s. He could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s future achievements would far surpass He Caitou¡¯s.

    ¡°Ye Canying, Tang Suifeng, Ling Xue.¡± Fan Yu turned around and called for the next batch of examinees.

    Two male and one female student walked up hurriedly and respectfully greeted Fan Yu.

    Fan Yu said, ¡°You three, go up together. Your objective is to defeat him. If you can defeat him, you¡¯ll pass this year¡¯s advancement test.¡±

    The three students were all around fifteen to sixteen years old. They couldn¡¯t help but look at each other in confusion and dismay after what they just heard, Ye Canying blurted, ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, are you sure? This fellow ssman¡­¡±

    Fan Yu furrowed his brows tightly. ¡°Did you not hear me?¡±

    Fan Yu was a special teacher in the Soul Tool Department. After the two Deans, he possessed the greatest authority within the department. Though the three students were bewildered, they didn¡¯t dare to say anything more. They immediately entered the Testing Area with their soul tools fully equipped.

    The proctor revealed a doubtful look in his eyes and shot an inquiring gaze towards Fan Yu.

    Fan Yu walked over to him, then whispered, ¡°That¡¯s my inheriting disciple. I want to test his current limits. Don¡¯t worry, this is appropriate. Start.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The proctor naturally didn¡¯t argue with Fan Yu¡¯s decision. ¡°Both sides, prepare yourselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled when he heard Fan Yu send three students into the Testing Area. He could tell by their ages that they were at least third year students and maybe even fourth years. Although a portion of the Soul Tool Departments students were those who had been eliminated from the Martial Soul Department, they consisted mainly of auxiliary-type soul masters. However, this was still Shrek Academy! There were no weak students among those who had been able tost till Year 3 or 4. Huo Yuhao felt like his teacher¡¯s confidence in him was slightly excessive.

    Though he was inwardly astonished, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t n on retreating. He closely observed these three students as he began to formte a n.

    All three students all bore badges signifying their soul engineer ranks, they were all ss 2 soul engineers just like him.

    ¡°Start!¡±

    Following the teacher¡¯s shout, the three students facing him made a move simultaneously, and their soul rings rose from their feet. The eldest of the three, Ye Canying, had three yellow soul rings, whilst the other two had two yellow soul rings each. They quickly raised their arms as they released their martial souls and a sh of light erupted as they activated their soul tools.

    In his current situation where he was fighting against a team of three people¡ªwhich included a Soul Elder¡ªby himself, Huo Yuhao wondered whether he had any chance at all. In a situation like this, he could only win if he had the element of surprise.

    Two white soul rings suddenly rose from his feet, and his second soul ring flickered slightly. Afterwards, his body noiselessly became somewhat illusory, but the three students he was facing didn¡¯t notice. Immediately afterwards, a scene that astonished them urred.

    A ck, one-and-a-half meter-long metallic tube appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, then instantly shot out an intense ray of white light.

    Not to mention the three students Huo Yuhao was facing, even the proctor was stunned by the scene in front of him. He was about to call for them to stop, but Fan Yu ced his hand on his shoulder, causing him to swallow the words he¡¯d been about to say.

    What was the metal tube? All of the students in the Soul Tool Department had seen it before, but none of them had used it besides He Caitou. It was a stationary soul cannon! Stationary soul tools were renowned for their might, and though they didn¡¯t need too much soul power to be activated, it was extremely hard to control them. Because of this, even two-ringed Soul Grandmasters were able to use them, albeit with difficulty. However, each cannon shell was extremely expensive; a single shot cost over a hundred gold soul coins. The academy hadn¡¯t even implemented a course for using it.

    However, even if a person had never eaten pork before, they still would¡¯ve seen a pig in real life in the past. When students entered the Soul Tool Department, the first lesson they had to attend involved observing the might of a stationary soul tool.

    The stationary soul cannon that had appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was identical to the one they¡¯d seen in the past. They still clearly remembered the terrifying ten meter long, three meter deep ditch that had destroyed the ground when the cannon had been fired. Afterwards, their teacher had exined that soul masters who possessed less than six rings would definitely die if they received a head-on blow from a stationary soul cannon.

    As such, how could the three of them not be stunned when they saw the white ray of light from the ck tube? The white burst of light signified the firing of the stationary soul cannon; it was something irreversible! This wasn¡¯t something that the Portable Soul Shield could block. Furthermore, they hadn¡¯t even seen their Portable Soul Shields appear!

    The only thing that they could do now was give up on their assault and run away. They also knew the problems that stationary soul tools possessed: They had to be manually aimed by someone, they couldn¡¯t automatically lock onto an enemy.

    The three of them simultaneously ran in three different directions. At this point in time, they no longer cared that they were undergoing their advancement test. Their lives were more important than that!

    The quickest of the three was Tang Suifeng. His second soul ring flickered as a shadow suddenly appeared beside him. Immediately afterwards, he sped up and crossed the distance of ten meters with a single leap.

    A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face when he saw this. Beneath the astonished gazes of the spectating students, the stationary soul tool that had clearly begun its firing sequence soundlessly disappeared. Afterwards, he slid forwards in a specter-like manner towards the quick Tang Suifeng. Two blue lights appeared on his ankles as he sped up, causing his speed to quickly reach Tang Suifeng¡¯s.

    Tang Suifeng suddenly threw himself to the ground and curled himself into a ball. He then pushed his soul power to the limit, causing ayer of light to envelop him; this was the Portable Soul Shield he¡¯d personally created in order to defend himself.

    However, the explosion he¡¯d expected didn¡¯t arrive, leaving him astonished. Everything behind him seemed to bepletely silent.

    Tang Suifeng was stunned. Just what was that? Why didn¡¯t the stationary soul cannon make any noise? At that moment, he subconsciously raised his head in order to see what had happened. As soon as he did so however, he saw a warm and smiling face in front of him.

    Though the defensive abilities of the Portable Soul Shield wasn¡¯t bad, it was better suited towards long-range attacks; in other words, it was better used to defend against soul power. Its defensive capabilities against physical attacks weren¡¯t very good.

    A dagger that flickered with an incandescent light noiselessly prated Tang Suifeng¡¯s shield. The instant he finished raising his head, the de of the knife reached his eyes and softly tapped his head.

    Afterwards, the smiling face disappeared.

    ¡°Tang Suifeng, eliminated.¡± The proctor¡¯s voice rang out. This was just the way it was. If Huo Yuhao had taken advantage of the opportunity he¡¯d had to attack him, he would¡¯ve been cleanly stabbed by the White Tiger¡¯s Dagger.

    When they heard that Tang Suifeng had been eliminated, the other two knew that they¡¯d been duped.

    As students of Shrek Academy, they¡¯d trained in the academy for many years. Their battle experience was rtively plentiful, thus they didn¡¯t bother to think about how Huo Yuhao had tricked them. On the contrary, they simultaneouslyunched attacks towards him.

    The soul tools they used to attack him were both ced on their arms, and were both simr. There was a golden box on each of their arms, which when activated, three thin, golden tubes would simultaneously spit out a ray of white light.

    This was a ss 2 soul tool known as the Soul Light Ray. The principle behind it was topress the user¡¯s soul power via the use of the formation located within the core of the soul and then fire it out. It had a rtively decent amount of destructive power.

    There were many ways to examine the strength of a soul tool, but the most important factors taken into consideration were its destructive power, attack range, and attack radius.

    The ss 2 Soul Light Ray¡¯s attack could reach a hundred meters, and its destructive power was roughly equal to that of a long-range soul skill from a Soul Grandmaster.

    Ye Canying and Ling Xue simultaneously made their move as they fired six light rays each. Though they weren¡¯t very well coordinated with each other, they were both extremely familiar with they way a soul engineer fought. The twelve light rays encapsted an extremelyrge area and sealed off Huo Yuhao from evading their attacks.

    However, the instant they fired their Soul Light Rays, they felt themselves go absent-minded for a brief moment. This caused their attacks to deviate from their intended targets slightly.

    At this moment, they were about thirty-or-so meters away from Huo Yuhao. Though their attacks had only deviated by slight amount, it exponentially increased the time they took to reach him.

    Huo Yuhao immediately activated the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, which caused his figure to sh slightly. He urately found a ce where the twelve light rays wouldn¡¯t reach him, thus causing their attacks to harmlessly pass him.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao raised his arms. The soul tools on his arms were identical to those of Ye Canying and Ling Xue; they were both ck, wristguard-like pieces of metal that had been fastened to his arms. The metal boxes opened following his muscle-movements, which caused three tiny tubes to reveal themselves on each of the two wristguards.

    Yan Canying and Ling Xue¡¯s immediately released their ss 2 Portable Soul Shields in order to defend themselves. Once a Soul Light Ray had been fired, it would enter a short cooldown period that would prevent it from being fired repeatedly.

 Chapter 55.2: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhaoâ€™s True Strong Point

    Chapter 55.2: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhao¡¯s True Strong Point

    However, just like the stationary soul cannon that hadn¡¯t caused an explosion to ring out, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Soul Light Ray-like soul tools didn¡¯t cause any rays of light to appear. On the contrary, they released an ear-piercing screech.

    Six bolts of lightning shot towards Ye Canying and Ling Xue. However, they didn¡¯t have trails of light following them.

    When the six white streaks of light struck their shields, an astonishing scene urred: White ripples began to appear on their shields, until immediately afterwards something actually drilled through them. The two of them felt their arms shake before the hands they¡¯d raised were suddenly forced away. At the same time, they heard a snap, followed by a gray mist that covered their eyes and blocked their line of sight.

    Just what sort of soul tool was this? Ye Canying and Ling Xue were simultaneously bbergasted. However, as soul masters, they didn¡¯t just possess soul tools; they also had their own soul skills.

    Ling Xue hurriedly retreated while simultaneously releasing arge patch of snow from her body that both blocked Huo Yuhao¡¯s line of sight and dispersed the gray mist around her.

    Her martial soul was Snow. Snow was different from ice in that ice¡¯s toughness made it so that a soul master who possessed it could be a battle soul master, while snow could only be used for assistance. As such, Ling Xue was considered an auxiliary-type soul master. Her specialty was using her Snow to change the environment and hiding herself, then using her soul tools to attack. It was only because her martial soul had been suited towards letting her be a soul engineer that she¡¯d joined the Soul Tool Department.

    Ye Canying¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t slow either. His second soul ring lit up, which caused his body to shake and three shadow clones to appear. His martial soul was his Shadow.

    Their arms had been knocked away, thus they couldn¡¯t fire their Soul Light Rays for a brief period of time. Furthermore, their Soul Shields had been broken. Because of that, they chose to defend themselves while they attempted to confuse their opponent.

    In the span of their short collision, Huo Yuhao had actually managed to dominate the entire field, despite being ced in a 1v3 scenario. Who would¡¯ve expected this before the test had started?

    The light beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet lit up again, which caused him to shoot forward. At the same time, a ball of light on his back lit up, which caused the light beneath his feet to grow more intense.

    A ss 2 Thruster could instantly increase a soul master¡¯s speed in a single direction for a brief moment, and the soul tool below his feet was a Speed-varying Thruster.

    He hadn¡¯t even been a soul engineer for a full year yet. In fact, he¡¯d mainly directed his efforts towards creating soul tools that increased his speed in order tobine them with his Spiritual Detection. Because of this, the soul tool on his wrist didn¡¯t have sufficient attack power.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao took advantage of the fact that his two opponents were currently going all-out to both defend themselves and dodge his attacks to rush out at full speed. At the same time, the two soul rings around his body suddenly changed to a single one.

    The Speed-varying Thruster he wore had a rtively low propulsion force. He could use it to speed up, but the extent to which he could speed up wasn¡¯trge; its advantagey in the fact that he could use it to quickly change directions. The ss 2 Thruster, on the other hand, was the soul tool he used torgely increase his speed in a single direction. Though he could only minorly change what direction he was headed towards while using it, the short-distance explosiveness it gave him allowed him to catch up with the all-out sprint of a three-ringed agility-type soul master.

    The two parties had originally had a distance of thirty meters between them, yet Huo Yuhao was able to appear right in front of them in the blink of an eye using this explosive burst of speed.

    Ye Canying and Ling Xue had been put into a somewhat sorry state by Huo Yuhao¡¯s gray mist. Before they were able to vanishpletely amidst Ling Xue¡¯s snow, he¡¯d already reached them.

    The two were greatly astonished when he appeared in front of them, revealing the weakness that was their unfamiliar cooperation. Ye Canying hurriedly dashed to the left, while Ling Xue quickly retreated backwards. They were instantly separated because of this.

    All of the snowkes that Ling Xue had released instantly fell to the ground without any prior warning, astonishing her. As a result, the barrier between her and Huo Yuhaopletely vanished. At the same time, the full-speed Huo Yuhao appeared in front of her and reached for her with his crystalline, diamond-like hands that shone with splendor.

    Ling Xue subconsciously lifted her hands. In her moment of panic, she was only able to release her Soul Light Ray.

    Six rays of light shot immediately shot towards Huo Yuhao like bolts of lightning.

    At that moment, a strange scene urred. The six zing beams of light from Ling Xue¡¯s Soul Light Ray unexpectedly scattered in four different directions.

    As it turned out, his hands had been in just the right ce to block Ling Xue¡¯s Soul Light rays; the six rays of light had instantly been reflected the moment they¡¯de into contact with his hands.

    Afterwards, Huo Yuhao grabbed Ling Xue¡¯s hands.

    A spotless shade of white instantly spread outwards from Ling Xue and Huo Yuhao loudly shouted, ¡°Teacher, catch!¡± As soon as he¡¯d finished, he sent Ling Xue soaring through the air. Astonishingly, her body was now covered in a whiteyer of frost. When Fan Yu caught her, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver instinctively.

    Huo Yuhao instantly turned around once he¡¯d thrown Ling Xue into the air, just in time for him to see a white light appear on Ye Canying¡¯s chest, who¡¯d split into three shadow clones. He fired a white, palm-sized ball of light from all three of his chests towards Huo Yuhao from three different directions.

    Concentrated Soul Cannon!

    This was the strongest soul tool avable to low-ranking soul engineers. After focusing their soul power into a formation array for a short period of time, a soul engineer could release a powerful attack. Unlike the Soul Light Ray, the Concentrated Soul Cannon had a siphoning effect. In other words, it would expedite the absorption of a soul master¡¯s soul power. Thus, though it was powerful, its soul power consumption was just asrge. Normally speaking, a single shot from the Concentrated Soul Cannon would drain a soul master by a third of his soul power at the very least.

    The Concentrated Soul Cannon had a single disadvantage, whichy in the fact that it had a short attack range. It could only normally only lock onto an opponent within a ten meter range. If they were any further away, both its strength and uracy would progressively deteriorate.

    Ye Canying¡¯s martial soul was his shadow, which made it an extremely strange martial soul. A martial soul like his was rtively decent at assisting him as a soul engineer, but it was unfortunate that his opponent was Huo Yuhao, who¡¯s martial soul perfectly countered his.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes¡¯ Spiritual Detection would cause all illusions to vanish. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even bother with the Concentrated Soul Cannon shots to his left and front. He immediately charged towards Ye Canying with his right hand raised, then grabbed the genuine Concentrated Soul Cannon shot with his right hand.

    Afterwards, Ye Canying unexpectedly lost control of the left cannon shot. It didn¡¯t explode, but rather was flung by Huo Yuhao towards him. Furthermore, he¡¯d even used the Tang Sect¡¯s Arrow Throwing Technique.

    Stunned, Ye Canying was only able to activate his ss 2 Soul Shield in time to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. At the same time, he released his third soul skill, causing a ck shadow to emerge from his body and attempt to help him withstand the Concentrated Soul Cannon shot.

    Despite this, Ye Canying¡¯s body was flung away with a violent explosion, but was caught midair by the proctor. The intense vibrations that came from the attack caused Huo Yuhao to retreat a few steps backwards before he was able to regain his footing.

    Huo Yuhao was inwardly astonished. This Concentrated Soul Cannon¡¯s so powerful¡­it seems that I should make one for myself. Ye Canying had clearly sent out a shadow clone to block the blow in addition to his ss 2 Soul Shield, yet he¡¯d still been sent flying. Furthermore, he¡¯d unexpectedly fainted as soon as the proctor caught him. The might of this attack wasparable to the all-out blow of an assault-type Soul Elder.

    Huo Yuhao was so astonished by the power of the attack that he hardly realized that the spectating students were all looking at him with bbergasted expressions on their faces.

    Just how had a twelve or thirteen-year-old student pulled this off? He was only a Soul Grandmaster, and he was still a ss 2 soul engineer. He wasn¡¯t even that much stronger than his opponents! However, he¡¯d still been able to defeat all three of them by himself. Not only had he won, he¡¯d done it in a spectacr manner. The entire battle had gone smoothly, and he¡¯d seemingly made no errors; this had clearly been a wless victory.

    Even Fan Yu hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to deliver such a perfect performance in his test.

    In reality, a ss 2 soul engineer¡¯s participation in the advancement test was a mere formality. Their regr tests¡ªin other words the creation of their soul tools¡ªwere more important to them. This was especially true for their achievements in the field of formation array carving.

    It had been a 1v3 match, yet he¡¯d achieved a wless victory. He¡¯d started the match off by using his Imitation to fake the activation of a stationary soul tool, had suppressed Ling Xue¡¯s Snow, then blocked the Soul Light Ray using the tyrannical Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, before finally freezing and reflecting Ye Canying¡¯s Concentrated Soul Cannon back towards him. Regardless of whether it was his achievements inbat, his decision-making skills, or his usage of his martial soul and soul tools, Huo Yuhao was truly wless. Furthermore, the soul tools that he¡¯d fired from his arms had caused Fan Yu to smile slightly. When Huo Yuhao had first made it, he¡¯d given Fan Yu a big surprise due to the brand-new philosophy of soul tool creation that he had created. The soul tools on his arms that resembled Soul Light Rays were actually miniature Stationary Soul Crossbows he¡¯d made. The reason he¡¯d been able to shatter a ss 2 Soul Shield was actually extremely simple: He¡¯d used an attack that was half physical and half energy. This allowed him to fire them using his soul power. Because this had only been a noteparing session, he¡¯d fired ball bearings instead of crossbow bolts. The ball bearings that had been released by both crossbows had struck Ye Canying and Ling Xue¡¯s arms and released a gray mist that blocked their line of sight. This sort of move had absolutely reached the pinnacle of uracy.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reasoning was actually very simple. Why did a Stationary Soul Tool always have to release a powerful cannon shell? Doing it that way would indeed generate a powerful attack, but its production costs would be extremely high. If he couldbine the creation techniques of soul tools and the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons to create a Stationary Soul Crossbow, he¡¯d be able to incorporate both the driving force of a soul tool and the mechanics of a crossbow into his attacks. Doing this would allow him to fuse material attacks and energy-based attacks together, and would let him use different arrows based on the situation. Wouldn¡¯t that make his attacks much more flexible?

    His line of reasoning was extremely beneficial to the Soul Tool Department. This was also the reason that Fan Yu liked him so much, and was also the main reason why the Soul Tool Department was as adamant as they were on having him stay with them. He was simply too talented in the field of soul tool creation.

 Chapter 55.3: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhaoâ€™s True Strong Point

    Chapter 55.3: A Soul Engineer! Huo Yuhao''s True Strong Point

    The biggest problem with the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons didn¡¯t reallyy in their power. There were some that truly had extremely powerful attacks. The main reason they¡¯d declined over the course of time was their short attack range. However, if you were able to add the attack range of a soul tool to the attack pattern of a hidden weapon, wouldn¡¯t you create a brand-new soul tool? Huo Yuhao had designed this miniature Stationary Soul Crossbow based on this idea. It didn¡¯t consume too much soulforce, but it was still quite powerful. Like a Soul Light Ray, its attack range was a hundred meters. Furthermore, it could even break a ss 2 Soul Shield. But its might wasn¡¯t the main point; its biggest advantagey in its high flexibility. At the same time, just how many different kinds of soul tools could be researched with the help of this prototype? This was a world-shaking matter for Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Of course, they obviously needed many more theoretical and practical experiments to further research this subject. But with this prototype, they at least knew which direction to go in!

    Fan Yu gazed at Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d arrived in front of him, and couldn¡¯t help but sincerely say, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re truly the hope of the Soul Tool Department! Er, rather, I meant to say that the coordination between your soul tools and your martial soul were absolutely perfect. You pass the test.¡±

    Ling Xue was still shivering in Fan Yu¡¯s embrace when he said this. Even though she¡¯d only been in contact with the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer for a short moment, the extreme cold had almost turned her into a block of ice. The ice crystals on her body made it impossible for her to move for the time being. She did her best to revolve her soulforce. With Fan Yu¡¯s help, she managed to regain her strength. She gazed towards Huo Yuhao, and besides curiosity, fear was present in her eyes. This was the first time she¡¯d ever felt such a terrifying cold. She felt like her snow could almost be considered warmpared to it.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer was a powerful soul skill that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had bestowed onto Huo Yuhao. Even though he couldn¡¯t disy its full might, the special characteristics of the skill were still present.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer¡¯s primary effect would strengthen both of his hands and forearms, making them as hard as a ten thousand-year-old block of thick ice. In addition to this, the diamond-like ice crystals on his body had a powerful refractive ability. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincers themselves could be regarded as a powerful weapon. One need to realize that the strongest parts of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s body were her pincers and her tail! The Soul Light Ray hadn¡¯t been able to harm Huo Yuhao for this exact reason; it had been reflected by the crystals.

    Besides making his body extremely sturdy, the skill also granted him great strength. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer also had the ability to increase Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm strength by a extremelyrge margin, to the point that it wasn¡¯t one whit inferior to Dai Huabin when he was under the influence of his White Tiger martial soul.

    At the same time, these two skills were very simr to the Mysterious Jade Hands from the Tang Sect. As such, they couldplement each other. Anybody that made the mistake of treating the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincers as a regr first-ring soul skill would end up exactly like Ling Xue and Ye Canying.

    Aside from these two special characteristics, there was also the extreme cold. As an Ultimate ice martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had also bestowed an attribute of ¡®extreme cold¡¯ to every single skill Huo Yuhao possessed. This extreme cold had in-turn inherited the overbearingness of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Moreover, its power would increase along with Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation and his body¡¯s capabilities.

    Ling Xue also had an ice element martial soul. However, as it was iparable to the Ice Empress¡¯ martial soul, it had immediately been suppressed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer even had the ability to instantly freeze energy, which had allowed him to throw back the Concentrated Soul Cannon shot. It could be imagined what kind of power it held from this. If he¡¯d wanted to, he could¡¯ve broken Ling Xue¡¯s neck at that time.

    After this battle, all of the students of the Martial Soul Department were extremely curious about Huo Yuhao. Was this really the power of a student with a mere ten year white soul ring? Moreover, from beginning to end, his soul tool had done nothing other than increase his speed!

    Fan Yu looked towards the students and said, ¡°All of you should¡¯ve seen the fight just now. Ye Canying, Tang Suifeng and Ling Xue, even though the three of you lost, Huo Yuhao¡¯s circumstances are also a bit special. Therefore, you¡¯ll be given an opportunity to retake the testter, and your score will be reset. Now then, let me give you a brief introduction.¡±

    Fan Yu then pulled Huo Yuhao in front of him and continued, ¡°His name is Huo Yuhao, and he¡¯s my personal disciple, just like He Caitou. Furthermore, he¡¯s exceptionally talented at creating soul tools. For this reason, he¡¯s also a core disciple of our Soul Tool Department. However, due to special circumstances, he¡¯ll still be studying at the Martial Soul Department for now. Yuhao, all of these students are the same as you, ss 2 soul engineers.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly bowed and greeted them, ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m pleased to meet you.¡±

    The students also greeted him one after another. Those that were jealous of him far surpassed those that admired him, mainly due to his young age. From the battle just now, they¡¯d discovered that he was the strongest amongst all of the ss 2 soul engineers. Even a Soul Elder hadn¡¯t been his match.

    This battle just now had also been a great inspiration for Huo Yuhao. Soul tools could greatly help him ovee his shorings. Deep in his heart, he thought that, if he had enough time to create some ss 2 soul tools, he wouldn¡¯t even need to be afraid of facing someone like Dai Huabin in a one-on-one battle.

    At that moment, he¡¯d also begun to realize the might of the four skills the Skydream Iceworm had bestowed upon him.

    On first sight, the four spiritual-type skills he¡¯d received seemed very ordinary. However as his cultivation rose, these skills had also begun to show their might. The easiest and most useful one was surely the Spiritual Detection, while next was the Spiritual Interference. A moment ago, he¡¯d relied on his Spiritual Interference to avoid the enemy¡¯s crossfire when he¡¯d been encircled by three of them. Two spiritual skills that couldplement each other with soul tools; this was basically the best thing he could ask for! Furthermore, he could already use a Stationary Soul Tool with his current cultivated level. If he were tobine his Spiritual Detection with a Stationary Soul Tool, he was confident that he could hold his own against a soul master with four, or even five soul rings! Of course, that was only if he had enough ammunition and there was a great enough distance between them.

    The more he studied and used soul tools, the more Huo Yuhao could feel how much more advanced they were than the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons.

    If you were topare them, one had the power of a purely mechanical device; it was precise and urate, just like a piece of art. On the other hand, soul tools were powered by soulforce, which was a more advanced type of energy. Moreover, it could be used in conjunction with formation arrays.

    No matter what materials were used, the power of a mechanical device would always be limited. However, soulforce was different, as soulforce would increase alongside the cultivation of the soul master. As such, the power of soul tools would also keep increasing. Furthermore, with the increase of one¡¯s soulforce, the process involved in the design and creation of soul tools would also change ordingly, which would cause the power of the soul tool to be greater and greater. This was also one of the reasons that first-ss soul engineers were such terrifying existences.

    However, even if a ss 9 soul engineer could dominate a Rank 9 Titled Douluo in a long distance battle, the same couldn''t be said of a short-range battle. At the same time, there had never been a ss 9 soul engineer who¡¯d surmounted Rank 95. Because of this, soul masters were still recognized as the strongest existences on the continent. This was also one of the reasons that Shrek Academy had such a high status.

    After introducing him, Fan Yu let Huo Yuhao go. He also gave him a day of rest. They would meet the day after tomorrow in the evening, where they would continue studying together in the Testing Area.

    After bidding Fan Yu and He Caitou farewell, Huo Yuhao returned to his dorm room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Wang Dong looking at something with a very excited look on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? Howe you¡¯re so happy?¡± Huo Yuhao moved closer.

    Wang Dong raised his head and shot Yuhao a look. ¡°Did you pass the Soul Tool Department¡¯s advancement test?¡±

    Huo Yuhao giggled as he said, ¡°Of course I did. In fact, I discovered that fighting with a soul tool is much easier than without one. The consumption of soulforce is also smallerpared to purely using soul skills. What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    He moved closer when he was done speaking, then snatched a bronze-like red paper from Wang Dong¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Treasure Appreciating Auction? What¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao nced over the red paper. On it, Huo Yuhao saw that Shrek Academy¡¯s core students were invited to the Treasure Appreciating Auction to take a look at the goods that would be on disy.

    Wang Dong smiled, then turned and sat down. He excitedly exined, ¡°I did some research. This Treasure Appreciating Auction is something that was created for our Shrek Academy. However, it¡¯s been divided into different categories. For example, this section is specifically aimed towards us core disciples.¡±

    Huo Yuhao ill-humoredly replied, ¡°Exin yourself clearly. I didn¡¯t understand anything you just said.¡±

    Wang Dong stared at him nkly and said, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re stupid. This Treasure Appreciating Auction is a run by a big merchant organization in Shrek City. Isn¡¯t our Shrek City a huge business center? It¡¯s not umon for merchants of different nations toe here to carry out transactions. When the merchants living in Shrek City get ahold of something good, they¡¯ll auction it at our Shrek Academy¡¯s Treasure Appreciating Auction. To put it bluntly, we get to choose first, and the leftovers will be auctioned offter on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was surprised as he asked, ¡°For real? Do those merchants even gain anything from this? It¡¯s not like everyone in our academy is rich.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and replied, ¡°Of course they gain something. They gain the academy''s goodwill! Not everyone in the academy is rich, yet how do you think Shrek City came to exist? It was all thanks to our Shrek Academy. Our academy isn¡¯t only the number one academy on the continent¡ªit also has a terrifying military force. As long as Shrek Academy is here, Shrek City will never fall. Even if all the nations on the continent were to wage war against each other, none of them would dare to wage war here. Because of this, building a good rtionship with our Shrek Academy is in the best interest of those merchants.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s interest was aroused when he heard this. ¡°So what kind of good things are auctioned at this Treasure Appreciating Auction?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°The Treasure Appreciating Auction is mainly divided into three categories. The first one is directly reserved for the academy. For example, if your Soul Tool Department needs some rare metals, they can buy them directly from there. The same goes for the teaching articles of the Martial Soul Department. The academy can also order things such as precious ingredients. However, these are just a few examples. Aside from the things sold to the academy and the teachers, there won¡¯t be many other high quality goods.¡±

    ¡°Afterwards, there are the other two categories. These categories are reserved for us, the students, and you can find several good things here. One of these categories is aimed at inner courtyard students, and the goods there are pretty high quality. ording to the rumors, soul bones are sold there all the time. However, only inner courtyard students are qualified to enter that auction. There¡¯s not really anything we can do about it. After that, there¡¯s the ce written on this invitation letter. Only the core disciples of the outer courtyard are allowed to enter.¡±

 Chapter 56.1: The Treasure Appreciation Auction

    Chapter 56.1: The Treasure Appreciation Auction

    ¡°The Treasure Appreciation Auction for the core disciples willmence tonight. Even though this Treasure Appreciation Auction of ours isn¡¯t as good as the inner courtyard¡¯s auction, I¡¯ve heard that there are many good items there. For example, medicine pills, herbs and even custom-made soul rings! There are also soul tool-rted items. In any case, all of the items there are all high quality goods. Are you going?¡±

    Huo Yuhao let out a bitterugh and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going. I barely have any money so what¡¯s the use in going? Since there are only going to be good items there, they¡¯re naturally going to be expensive. It would be okay if I didn¡¯t fancy anything, but just in case I do fancy something, wouldn¡¯t I just be bringing suffering upon myself?¡±

    Wang Dong felt pleased as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t know this, but didn¡¯t you mention a moment ago that not all of our seniors are rich? What meaning would this Treasure Appreciation Auction have then? The truth is that we can buy the items on credit. This is also the reason why the auction is not open to normal students.¡±

    His curiosity peaked, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Buying on credit? Tell me more about this.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on our identity as core disciples. The probability of a core disciple from the outer courtyard graduating is above 95 percent. Moreover, each and every student capable of graduating from the outer courtyard is an outstanding talent in extreme demand, regardless of country or industry. That¡¯s because the main requirement in order to graduate from the outer courtyard is bing a Soul Ancestor!¡±

    ¡°Therefore, what these businesses are doing is investing in us and our potential. They¡¯ll arrange a date for us to sign an agreement with them. We would then repay them in yearly installments. We can even defer repaying them till after we graduate, but in that case they¡¯ll collect a small amount of interest from us.¡±

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t understand how they benefit from this, do you? First, since we are in their debt; if they have something to ask of you or if they encounter something problematic, how could you not help them? If they want to employ you, could you reject them? Taking a step back, there¡¯s no harm in forming a good rtionship with a powerful Soul Ancestor is there? In any case, at the very least they can boost the chances of you shopping in their store. You may not have money now but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll always be poor in the future.¡±

    ¡°These businesses are very shrewd and would never conduct transactions that would end in a loss for them. If we core disciples can enter the inner courtyard, the payment will increase further, and all the interest on the loan would be waived off. All we¡¯d need to do is repay the capital within the deadline via one of the many repayment schemes.¡±

    After his thorough exnation, Huo Yuhao finally saw the light, ¡°There are actually so many ways of doing things here. Then does that mean we can also buy things on credit?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°But of course! We¡¯re core disciples, after all! Moreover, you¡¯re a core disciple of two departments. If they heard about this, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d give you an even greater discount.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯d have to return the favor if I epted their discounts. We¡¯d better not do that unless we had no other choice.¡±

    Wang Dong was excited, ¡°Of course! Despite being in the academy for so long have you been to Shrek City?¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally hadn¡¯t been to Shrek City. From his point of view, the biggest hurdle was his first year in the academy. During that time, he knew that he could be expelled at any time. Other than giving it his all in cultivating, how could he have the time and energy to go window shopping?

    ¡°You¡¯ve never been out there, right? We¡¯re going to start lessons very soon. It¡¯s such a rare urrence that we¡¯ve got free time, so let¡¯s take a stroll. Even if we don¡¯t buy anything, we can increase our knowledge. We can¡¯t always ignore what¡¯s going on in the world outside even if we want to.¡±

    Huo Yuhao saw how excited he looked and couldn¡¯t bring himself to say no to him. He felt slightly helpless as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s tonight, right? Then before we finish eating, you have to apany me in cultivation. You¡¯re not allowed to ck off.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled as he replied, ¡°Deal!¡±

    They then spent the remaining hours cultivating. Huo Yuhao had originally been under the assumption that his soul power was increasing rapidly and that he had already caught up to most of the other students. However, he started to panic when he heard Teacher Wang Yan and Dean Yan mention that the speed at which a person with an Ultimate marital soul could cultivate would decrease after Rank 30. Moreover, he was different from the other students. As per the academy¡¯s instructions, he had to momentarily maintain his position as a core disciple of two departments. He had to multitask and study in both departments at the same time. This wasn¡¯t an easy feat. Hence, he didn¡¯t dare to rx for a single moment despite having already established himself in the academy. On the contrary, he had to work even harder.

    Huo Yuhao also had his own opinions on the situation. His n of singlehandedly seeking revenge on the Duke¡¯s Residence was a pipe dream. Even if he had the ability to do so in the future, how many years would he have to wait? Twenty, thirty, or maybe even fifty years? At that time, things would remain the same, yet people would¡¯ve changed. What would be the point of seeking revenge anymore? The target he gave himself toplete his revenge in was twenty years. This required him to be even stronger and even more powerful than he was currently. Shrek Academy was undoubtedly the best ce for him to take flight. Thus, he had to do his best and learn as much as he could so while he was here so he could be stronger.

    Time always passed very quickly when cultivating. The sky was already darkening by the time the two finished cultivating. After they finished eating a top-notch, scrumptious meal, they took the invitation letter and quietly left the school.

    Naturally, they weren¡¯t the only two to receive the invitation letter. The core disciples in the outer courtyard were spread across all year groups. For example, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Enchen and Chao Jinxuan from their year had also received invitations. However they would all go at different times as they had been taking their exams for the past two days.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong set off considerablyter than the others. As they walked out of the academy¡¯s gates, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Dong asked, puzzled.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Do you know how to get to the Treasure Assembly Pavilion? I¡¯ve never been to Shrek City before. You¡¯ve never been there either, right?¡±

    Wang Dong raised his hand and knocked Huo Yuhao on his head. ¡°Stupid, look at the back of your invitation letter.¡±

    As a core disciple, Huo Yuhao had naturally received his own invitation letter. He took it out and flipped it over. Sure enough, there was a detailed map stamped in gold which indicated the location of the Treasure Assembly Pavilion within Shrek City.

    Although Shrek Academy was located within Shrek City, they weren¡¯t connected to one another. This also meant that there wasn¡¯t a back door connecting the academy to the city.

    As a result of that, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had to walk out of the academy, head round to either the south or north gate of the city and then enter through that gate. The Treasure Appreciation Pavilion seemed to be closer to the north gate on the map, so they naturally headed to that gate.

    Shrek City was veryrge so the duo started to run as soon as they left the academy. They only stepped through the north gate after running for close to an hour.

    As one of the busiest cities and most integral cities on the Douluo Continent, Shrek City was the liveliest in the evening. Once they passed through the city gates, they were greeted by a noisy ce that was bustling with activity. Huo Yuhao was shocked by what he saw since neither had he ever been to such a big city,nor had he seen so many people before in his life.

 Chapter 56.2: The Treasure Appreciation Auction

    Chapter 56.2: The Treasure Appreciation Auction

    Everything as far as the eye could see was filled with a densely packed stream of people entering or leaving the city. On top of that, the sounds of vendors peddling their goods made everything even more chaotic.

    ¡°There are so many people here!¡± Huo Yuhao said, astonished.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°That¡¯s obvious. As one of the most flourishing economic centers on the continent, Shrek City is extremely bustling. The city boasts a poption of nearly five million people, that¡¯s almost as much as some empires. Hey, don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve never been in a city before?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°Yeah! This is thergest city I¡¯ve ever been in.¡±

    While looking around curiously, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong walked through the wide city gates. Shrek City¡¯s main roads were extremely wide and allowed eight carriages to ride through them at the same time. The vast atmosphere within the city made Huo Yuhao gasp in surprise as he felt his worldview widen.

    ¡°How about it? Our trip was not in vain was it?¡± Wang Dong smiled. He had a simr curious expression on his face; after all, this was also his first time entering Shrek City.

    The descriptions of Shrek City on the map were extremely urate and its roads were extremely orderly. As a result, it wasn¡¯t hard to navigate around the city. After walking for about fifteen minutes or so, they arrived at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

    The Treasure Gathering Pavilion was arge store that dealt with items rting to soul masters and soul engineers. If looked upon from afar, one could see that it was an enormous four-floored building that was over twenty meters tall. The building itself took up arge amount of space. It was a dazzling sight to behold from the outside, as it resembled a cornucopia.

    A building this luxurious had already exceeded Huo Yuhao¡¯s range of understanding. And so, he couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes when he saw the four cheongsam-wearing girls standing beside the door to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

    The girls who were in charge of receiving customers of the Treasure Gathering Hall were only seventeen or eighteen years old, they had sweet appearances and slender bodies. Their fair skins looked even more charming when contrasted with the dazzling Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Huo Yuhao was immediately bbergasted.

    ¡°Ouch. Wang Dong, what¡¯re you pinching me before?¡± An acute sensation of pain brought Huo Yuhao back to his senses. He turned around and saw that Wang Dong was ring at him fiercely.

    ¡°What¡¯re you looking at? Be careful of growing a sty if you look at something you¡¯re not supposed to.¡± Wang Dong said angrily.

    Huo Yuhao put an innocent expression on his face as he looked into Wang Dong¡¯srge beautiful eyes. ¡°Being attracted to someone beautiful is only human. I¡¯m just taking a look. These older sisters are really pretty.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Very pretty?¡± Wang Dong had a look of disdain on his face. He was somewhat hesitant to respond, but he managed to not say anything.

    Huo Yuhao rubbed his aching waist and said helplessly, ¡°Whatever, I won¡¯t look. You don¡¯t even like looking at pretty women, you¡¯re still such a child.¡±

    Wang Dong ignored him and strode towards the Treasure Gathering Pavilion as Huo Yuhao hurriedly chased after him.

    Before they could reach the door leading to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, one of the eight girls who were standing by the door walked over to them with a faint smile on her face. ¡°Are you two soul mastersing to participate in the Treasure Appreciation Auction?¡± she inquired respectfully,

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had both worn their Shrek Academy uniforms, which made them stand out in the crowd. As a result, they had received arge number of nces on their journey here.

    The two of them took out their invitation letters and handed them over to her. The smile on the girl¡¯s face immediately became much more gentle when she saw their invitation letters, ¡°Soul masters, please follow me.¡± she said as she led the way

    Even among the core disciples of Shrek Academy, there were very few students around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s age who could attend the Treasure Appreciation Auction. Hence, they received curious looks as they walked past the group of girls beside the door.

    Wang Dong was still fine, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s face waspletely flushed.

    After entering the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, a luxurious atmosphere immediately assaulted all of their senses. The golden hall was extremely extravagant and was illuminated by a crystal light that hung from the ceiling. The two sides of the hall were simrly lined with two rows of women.

    Whenpared to the eight cheongsam-wearing girls who were on the outside, the youngdies within the hall who wore short golden skirts were even more eye-catching. These youngdies were slightly younger and the material used in their skirts was extremely thin, revealing their fair slender legs. All of their appearances were stunning and their bodies were extremely beautiful. A person would feel as if he had walked into heaven on earth after entering this golden hall.

    ¡°We wee our distinguished guests.¡± The youngdies in the hall bowed and greeted them, immediately startling Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. They couldn¡¯t help but feel bewildered as they looked at the girls who were all bowing towards them.

    Huo Yuhao was still young and didn¡¯t know much of the differences in terms of status and wealth that different people had. However, he began to slowly understand that concept. Would an ordinary person be granted entry to such a luxurious ce?

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his vision go dark; his eyes had been covered. Wang Dong¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to look. I wouldn¡¯t have brought you here if I¡¯d known that it was gonna be like this. I won¡¯t let you be corrupted by bad things like this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was filled with helplessness. ¡°Why would I be corrupted by the sights here? Aren¡¯t you seeing them as well? Doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ll be corrupted too?¡±

    Wang Dong subconsciously justified his actions, ¡°I¡¯m different, I¡­¡± He suddenly stopped and continued in a fierce voice, ¡°In any case, you should just close your eyes and not look at anything here.¡± With that, he moved his hands off Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    As the two spoke, they passed the corridor filled with beautiful women. The white-clothed youngdy guided them up a golden flight of stairs to the second floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

    The second floor was much quieter than the first floor. It seemed extremely messy on the inside but everything was arranged in an extremely logical manner. Exhibition booths were all installed in the most eye-catching parts of the room and each booth was covered with an enormous piece of crystal-ss. Every booth had a wide variety of diverse and unique items.

    The white-clotheddy stopped. ¡°Greetings to the two distinguished guests who are attending the Treasure Appreciation Auction held within the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Please head towards the western area to register yourselves. You can get a credit evaluation if you wish to buy things on credit. The results of this evaluation will determine the discounts avable to you as well as your credit limits.¡±

 Chapter 57.1: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    Chapter 57.1: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other when the white-haired girl had finished. Huo Yuhao then turned back towards her and asked, ¡°Are there different credit limits? If so, what are the different limits?¡±

    The white-clothed girl smiled. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this should be the first time you¡¯ve visited the Treasure Appreciation Auction. It¡¯s like this: Our Treasure Gathering Pavilion will set different credit limits based on the personal situations of the distinguished guests who participate in the Treasure Appreciating Auction. We mainly judge your current cultivation, age, soul rank, and a few other factors in order to form aprehensive evaluation. Don¡¯t worry, our Treasure Gathering Pavilion will maintain a level of secrecy over this information; we absolutely won¡¯t reveal any of your secrets. At the same time, we won¡¯t ask what your background is. Your credit limit is based off of your ability alone. As such, we have a set of detailed confidential measures. Since it¡¯s your first timeing to the auction, I rmend that you go and receive an evaluation first. That way, we¡¯ll be able to confirm your credit limits, and you¡¯ll also have a good estimate as to what you¡¯ll be able to buy inside our Treasure Appreciation Auction. If the two of you wish it, I can take you there right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced inquisitively towards Wang Dong, who nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. It seems I¡¯ll have to trouble you to evaluate us.¡±

    As the white-clothed girl lead the two of them to the east, they were asionally drawn to the exhibition booths near them.

    Wang Dong suddenly tugged on Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeve and pointed towards a booth; impressively, there was a soul bone within the booth. The soul bone was reddish-gold, and it was surprisingly floating within the booth. It looked to be an arm bone, its five delicate digits pointed upwards. Each of its fingertips released a faint, reddish-gold light. It wasn¡¯t just them; almost everyone who walked past it would find their gazes drawn to it. Furthermore, the booth that the soul bone was located within was at least twice the size that of the other booths. Furthermore, the enormous crystal cover on it caused its reddish-golden light to glisten and cover the entire room.

    There was a sign underneath the soul bone with a few words on it, but the two of them couldn¡¯t clearly see what the words on it since they were were still walking.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look towards Wang Dong, only to see an intense brilliance in thetter¡¯s eyes. Wang Dong was also looking at him, and he whispered, ¡°I can sense that it suits me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°However, its price¡­¡±

    A resolute light shed through Wang Dong¡¯s eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about itter.¡±

    Naturally, there wouldn¡¯t just be one good thing within the auction. Just like Wang Dong had seen the soul bone, Huo Yuhao had seen quite a few treasures that had filled his heart with thirst.

    Wang Dong mainly paid attention to things that were rted to a soul master¡¯s cultivation, but Huo Yuhao also cared about certain precious metals and things that were rted to soul engineering. For example, he¡¯d seen a set of schematics that had been created by a ss 7 soul engineer. Though he didn¡¯t know what kind of soul tool it was for, the words ¡®ss 7¡¯ were already sufficient.

    Even though his teacher was a powerful ss 8 soul engineer who was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns among soul engineers, thetter had told him that every single soul engineer had a different inclination within their research¡ªevery single soul engineer who¡¯d reached ss 6 would definitely have their own specialties. It would be extremely beneficial for a low-ranked soul engineer to see the blueprints of a higher-ranked one. There were manymonalities between different blueprints, but no high-ranking soul engineer would easily let another person see his or her schematics. If they were to do so, it would be highly likely that certain features within their blueprints would be leaked. If that happened, the experience they¡¯d gained after researching for many years would be free to study by other soul engineers.

    For this reason, most high-ranking soul engineers would only rarely give their blueprints to someone that wasn¡¯t their inheriting disciple.

    Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to ask to know that that set of schematics would very likely beparable to a soul bone in price. That set of schematics wasn¡¯t just some basic one written by a ss 7 soul engineer¡ªit was a carefully written one; it was a schematic for a self-created ss 7 soul tool.

    A ss 7 soul engineer might not necessarily be able to create a ss 7 soul tool. Upon reaching ss 7, the restrictions that limited a soul engineer would increase dramatically. Oftentimes, a ss 7 soul engineer would only be able to create a set of blueprints for a ss 7 soul tool once in their entire lives.

    A highly ranked soul tool would contain special characteristics of the soul engineer who¡¯d created it, but to create a soul tool such as this was enormously difficult. For example, a soul tool created by a ss 9 soul engineer would typically be an existence ranked as a strategic weapon to any country. There was a chance that even its creator wouldn¡¯t be able to activate it. As such, the main reason soul engineers were still inferior to soul masters was because there were simply too few high-ranking soul engineers. ss 7, on the other hand, was the basic threshold required for a soul engineer to call himself a high-ranking one.

    Though the two of them had already predicted that there would be rtively precious treasures here even before arriving, they realised that they¡¯d still underestimated the power of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion once they saw the exhibitions present.

    In reality, it wasn¡¯t easy for the Treasure Gathering Pavilion to gather so many items. However, they didn¡¯t know that. Though a Treasure Appreciation Auction on this level was still inferior to those that disciples of the inner courtyard could participate in, it wasn¡¯t too far off. The two items that they¡¯d seen had previously appeared within a Treasure Appreciation Auction held within the inner courtyard, but the price of a treasure of this level was naturally high¡­ Because of this, no one had been able to afford it, and it had thus appeared within this auction for them to admire.

    After walking for nearly a hundred meters, they finally came to the end of the western area. There was a light groove under the long desks which flickered with a crystal-yellow light; the gentle rays of lighting from it weren¡¯t gaudy in the least, but filled with a sense of realism.

    The white-clothed girl brought the two of them to the left side of the front desk, and a girl behind it rose to her feet immediately and said respectfully, ¡°Greetings to the two soul masters. I¡¯ll have to trouble the two of you to fill in this evaluation form. We¡¯ll be able to calcte your credit limit within a few minutes.¡±

    Two evaluation forms, along with delicate ink brushes, were given to them. The contents of the form weren¡¯tplicated in the least.

    Name and surname, gender, age, soul rank, martial soul, and past achievements.

    There were only these six simple items that were required; the age of their soul rings wasn¡¯t required at all.

    Because of this, they felt much more at ease whilst filling in these forms. Huo Yuhao only gave his Spirit Eyes for the ¡®martial soul¡¯ field, and not his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Even in Shrek Academy, the number of people who knew that he possessed the Ice Empress were few in number.

    After filling in their respective forms, they handed them in. Quickly, their evaluations were released.

    The girl who was in charge of registration and calcting credit limits was somewhat stunned. The white-clothed girl who¡¯d brought the two to the desk whispered to her, ¡°Little Red, quickly.¡±

    Thedy behind the desk had a round, charming face along with a pair of small eyes, but her facial features were cute, making her look seventeen or eighteen. The instant she was urged on by the white-clothed girl, she looked towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with apletely different look in her eyes; a somewhat intense light had appeared in them.

    Huo Yuhao had seen this kind of gaze in the past; he would frequently see the female students in the academy look towards Wang Dong with a look like this in their eyes. Just who made him more delicate and prettier than a girl? However, the girl called Little Red wasn¡¯t looking towards Wang Dong this time around; her intense gaze was unexpectedly directed towards the twelve-year-old Huo Yuhao.

    She used an extremely respectful and gentle voice to speak to him, ¡°Respected Sir Huo, I would like to wee you to our Treasure Gathering Pavilion. I just did a quick investigation, and you do not have a credit limit within our auction.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned, ¡°Why?¡± He barely had any money himself, and if he couldn¡¯t use credit to purchase items here, he¡¯d have to leave empty-handed.

    Little Red could naturally see how he¡¯d misunderstood her, and said hurriedly, ¡°Mr Huo, please don¡¯t be worried. You¡¯ve been upgraded to a top-ranked VIP in our Treasure Gathering Pavilion, so you don¡¯t need a limit. ording to your current limit, you¡¯ll have the qualifications to take away a single item from the Treasure Appreciation Auction every year without paying anything.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was immediately stunned. He nced towards Wang Dong, clueless as to what had just urred.

    The white-clothed girl also had a look of astonishment on her face. Little Red ignored her, and instead whispered a few words to the girl beside her. That girl, in turn, hurriedly rose to her feet and walked towards the back.

    Little Red had already ced two cards on the table. One of them was red, and the other was purple.

    Little Red handed the purple card to Wang Dong. ¡°Mr Wang, your credit is a hundred thousand gold soul coins. You can only use it once this year, and you¡¯ll have to go through another evaluation next year. At your current age, a purple evaluation is already the highest you can receive. You will receive a 10% discount on any items you purchase, and our prices here are cheaper than what you can find in the outside world, so they¡¯re already extremely low.¡±

    Wang Dong took the card and nodded, but he was still extremely stunned with regards to Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation. ording tomon sense, even if thetter had performed extraordinarily after returning, he shouldn¡¯t have a status that exceeded his own! After all, he was a control-type soul master. However, he could tell that that was precisely the case from the girl¡¯s expression.

    The red card had a golden streak on it, and Huo Yuhao unexpectedly felt a faint warmthe from it after receiving it. It was extremelyfortable to hold it.

    This is¡­

    Red Spirit-warming Jade? This is too extravagant!

    Huo Yuhao had a look of astonishment on his face as he looked at the card in his hand. Only a small piece of Red Spirit-warming Jade was needed for a person to withstand the harsh winter. Naturally, this referred to ordinary winter, and not the one that existed within the Extreme North. More importantly, it was an extremely stable gem. Using it to carve a formation array was enough to the withstand soul power of anyone below a ss 6 soul engineer. It was a rtively umon material that was used for formation arrays. Though the card wasn¡¯trge, it was worth a hundred gold soul coins at the very least. Furthermore, there was only an extremely small quantity of Red Spirit-warming Jade in existence!

 Chapter 57.2: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    Chapter 57.2: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    The card had the words ¡®Treasure Gathering Pavilion¡¯ engraved on it, but it was otherwise unadorned.

    Little Red gazed at the red card in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand with jealousy. She then said, ¡°Mr Huo, this VIP card allows you a 40% discount within our Pavilion, which is the highest discount we can give anyone. Furthermore, you can also redeem any item you wish from our Treasure Appreciation Auction once a year with it.¡±

    Wang Dong asked curiously, ¡°How many cards like this does your pavilion have?¡±

    Little Red shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not very clear with regards to that. Every single person in possession of a top-ranked VIP card is an extremely honoured guest of our pavilion. Moreover, all VIP cards have slight differences. For example, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever heard of something like Mr. Huo¡¯s privilege, where he¡¯s allowed to choose a single treasure for free every year.¡±

    Suddenly, a warm voice rang out in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s ears, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel astonished. Go and pick what you need. The Treasure Gathering Pavilion is a part of the academy, thus it¡¯s naturally aware of your situations. The academy was the one who chose to give Huo Yuhao a top-ranked VIP card. However, you two have to keep this a secret; you can¡¯t reveal the rtionship between the academy and the pavilion to others, nor can you reveal your VIP ranks. If you do, you¡¯ll be stripped of your privilege to enter this ce.¡±

    This was the first time they¡¯d ever heard this voice, yet they felt an immense sense of pressure as soon as they did. Just this person¡¯s voice had been nigh unbearable for the two of them. They naturally didn¡¯t dare to ask any more questions and hurriedly turned to leave the front desk.

    A figure slowly appeared in front of the front desk soon after the two of them had left. The workers present all bowed respectfully when they saw him.

    The neer was an old woman who had a head of white hair and a ruddyplexion. She¡¯d recently attended the conference held in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. She was Elder Lin, who¡¯d sat next to Xian Lin¡¯er, and was also the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

    She hadn¡¯t lied when she¡¯d said that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was a part of academy, as the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was still a business that belonged to Shrek Academy. However, she¡¯d intentionally left out one thing: the Treasure Gathering Pavilion didn¡¯t belong to the academy itself; rather, this action was one of the points that had been discussed during the conference held at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. She would normally be the only person who would control everything within the pavilion.

    It was of course normal for a student like Huo Yuhao¡ªsomeone who could trigger a conference at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡ªto obtain a top-ranked VIP card from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. This was also deluded by the conference. The academy didn¡¯t say anything on the surface, but they naturally hoped that Huo Yuhao would rapidly mature and be of use to the academy. The academy would absolutely not be miserly to a talent on this level. This was also a reason why Shrek Academy, not only had outstanding students, but a group of powerful elders and teachers. Practically all of them had gone through the same process that Huo Yuhao was now going through. Only, the treatments they¡¯d received at his age weren¡¯t as high as this.

    Giving him help via the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was equivalent to concealing everything from the other students within the academy. After all, only the top-level figures who could participate in the meeting held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion knew of the rtionship between the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and Shrek Academy. This way, even if the academy tried to rope in and help Huo Yuhao, it wouldn¡¯t give rise to dissatisfaction from core disciples of the outer courtyard, or even students of the inner courtyard. Thus, why wouldn¡¯t they do it this way?

    However, Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t bet all of its resources on a single student. Regardless of how special a student was, he would only be a piece of trash if he lost his ambition and drive. Because of that, Huo Yuhao would only receive a single free item each year. Yet, he simply had too many treasures he needed as a person who dual-cultivated in the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments. The choice of this item would be left up to him, but he would have to rely on his own hard work if he wished to obtain any more items.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look at that soul bone.¡± Without any hesitation at all, he headed towards the soul bone that Wang Dong had seen earlier.

    Wang Dong hurriedly tugged at his sleeve. ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t need to. I can buy it myself.¡± He naturally understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions. There was no doubt that he was going to use his privileges to help Wang Dong get that soul bone.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at Wang Dong in a very serious manner.

    Wang Dong gradually felt somewhat awkward under his gaze. ¡°What¡¯re you looking at me for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wang Dong, do you still remember when Teacher Zhou gave me that soul bone? I used it, but I didn¡¯t fuse with it. Instead, I used it as a medium to fuse with another high-ranked soul bone. I can¡¯t tell you how I got that soul bone, but I definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to fuse with it without the use of the Secret Law Soul. Xiao Xiao and I already have soul bones, but the attack-type soul master in our team, you, doesn¡¯t have one. It¡¯s definitely in the team¡¯s best interests that you be our first choice when we get another one.¡±

    With that, he paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Moreover, the friendship between us definitely can¡¯t be measured using any benefits or money whatsoever. We¡¯re partners who can use a fusion skill! From another standpoint, the two of us are a single entity. If you get stronger, our strength as a whole will simrly increase. If you think of me as a brother, don¡¯t say anything else. Go.¡±

    As he spoke, he walked towards the soul bone while holding onto Wang Dong¡¯s hand.

    The reddish-golden soul bone had attracted a lot of attention. Anyone who could participate in the Treasure Appreciation Auction was a core disciple of the outer courtyard, and there were many of them that the two of them recognized.

    ¡°Senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately saw the gentle and cultured Bei Bei, but he didn¡¯t see Tang Ya beside him. Evidently, Tang Ya wasn¡¯t a core disciple of the academy. However, the person standing beside him was someone that they both recognised; it was Xu Sanshi, who possessed the Xuanwu Turtle. He was currently speaking to Bei Bei with a hand on his shoulder.

    The two of them simultaneously looked up after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s cry. It turned out they weren¡¯t looking at the soul bone, but another item beside it.

    ¡°Juniors, you¡¯vee as well.¡± Bei Bei walked up to them with a smile on his face.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes immediately lit up after he saw Huo Yuhao. With a look of faux-anger on his face, he said, ¡°Yuhao, I haven¡¯t eaten your roasted fish for a long time. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve been shining extraordinarily for a while, and even Dean Yan wants you. But why¡¯d you run over to the Soul Tool Department?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Big Brother Xu, you ask too many questions. I don¡¯t know how to answer all this at once. In any case, nothing has changed; I¡¯m training in both the Soul Tool Department and the Martial Soul Department.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you two havee. Help give this guy some advice. I¡¯ve just told Bei Bei that I¡¯ll definitely join the Tang Sect as long as you guys can get Jiang Nannan to join. How about it?¡±

    The two of them were both astonished after hearing that. Like Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi was a core disciple. Moreover, Xu Sanshi was already a sixth year student who wasn¡¯t far away from Bei Bei in terms of cultivation. In reality, he was even younger than Bei Bei as a result of having entered the academy at a young age.

    The Xuanwu Turtle was a top-ranked defensive martial soul, and though it wasn¡¯t as powerful as an Ultimate one, it could be considered at the peak of the defense system. Furthermore, Xu Sanshi definitely had some sort of background since he had been able to inherit a martial soul like this. All of this would definitely be of enormous use to the Tang Sect.

    Yet, Bei Bei turned a blind eye to this. ¡°What do you think the Tang Sect is? A tool to help you chase after girls? Go away.¡±

    Instead of bing angry, Xu Sanshiughed mischievously. ¡°Who asked Nannan to be on such good terms with your Little Ya? Just go and ask Little Ya to get Nannan toe here. A person with Nannan¡¯s personality won¡¯t easily leave the Tang Sect after she enters it. At that time, I¡¯lle in. Won¡¯t my chances be much better then?¡±

    Bei Bei sighed lightly. ¡°Although you¡¯re not a good fe, I have to admit that you¡¯re practically infatuated. For the sake of Jiang Nannan, you¡¯ve actually stayed in Year 5 and refused to enter Year 6. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you were a core disciple, you would¡¯ve already been expelled from the academy.¡±

    Xu Sanshi made a long face. ¡°I have no choice! Who asked her to be my first love? I¡¯m willing to do anything for her.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had actually decided to stay behind for Jiang Nannan¡¯s sake? Shrek Academy actually had a person as strange as this.

    ¡°Even this is possible?¡± Huo Yuhao blurted.

    Xu Sanshi smiled cunningly. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be possible? It was even Bei Bei who inspired me to do it. Why do you guys think he¡¯s in a year lower than mine even though he¡¯s older than me? Isn¡¯t it all for the sake of staying with Little Ya? Did you guys think he was praising me? He was clearly praising himself. That¡¯ll be good; Little Ya, Bei Bei, Nannan and I will all be in the same ss. However, Bei Bei, your Little Ya isn¡¯t in a good position! Looking at her cultivation, she¡¯ll have some difficulty graduating from the outer courtyard, much less entering the inner courtyard.¡±

    Bei Bei sighed. ¡°She¡¯s already been working hard these two years. But you know how hard it is to cultivate Bluesilver Grass. After all, she doesn¡¯t have the Bluesilver Emperor like the Tang Sect¡¯s Ancestor. She can only do her best. I¡¯ve already thought it through; if Little Ya can¡¯t enter the inner courtyard, I won¡¯t enter either. I¡¯ll follow her travelling around the continent.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately felt nothing but respect for him. ¡°Good! You¡¯re worthy of being called a man that I, Xu Sanshi, have witnessed it! You¡¯re righteous in your love.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ scram.¡± Bei Bei said unhappily, and stamped his foot.

    Bei Bei clearly hadn¡¯t used much force, but Xu Sanshi let out a miserable shriek, and he flew outwards fiercely. Just as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt astonished, they saw Jiang Nannan appear in the direction that Xu Sanshi had flown towards.

    Jiang Nannan wore the ck uniform that fifth year students wore, making her beautiful curves even more moving. She was calm andposed as she looked at Xu Sanshi, who was suddenly flying towards her. With an icy look on her face, she fiercely raised her right foot and smashed in down in a cutting motion towards him.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Xu Sanshi was truly sent flying this time around. His body directly moved five meters horizontally, and he flipped around and stabilised himself by cing his hands on the ground.

    ¡°Nannan, you¡¯re really heartless! Didn¡¯t you see Bei Bei kick me? It would have been fine if you didn¡¯t help me, but you even kicked me.¡± Xu Sanshi had a mournful look on his face.

 Chapter 57.3: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    Chapter 57.3: The Golden Left Arm Bone

    However, Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t even spare him a nce. She walked directly towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of three with a smile and nodded at them; it was as if Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t even exist in her eyes.

    Xu Sanshi also hurried?y made his way over. However, Jiang Nannan suddenly turned around, revealing a murderous look. ¡°If you keep following me, I¡¯ll leave Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Xu Sanshi immediately stopped. It seemed that he had really no chances of conquering Jiang Nannan.

    Looking at Jiang Nannan¡¯s disappearing silhouette, Bei Bei eximed, ¡°Junior brother, you have a long way to go!¡±

    Xu Sanshi had an uglyplexion as he said, ¡°Bei Bei, you¡¯re my senior brother. Can you teach this junior brother a few tricks? I¡¯ve tried everything in my power, but she won¡¯t give me a single chance.¡±

    Bei Bei was also curious as he said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised too. If we consider looks, talent and strength, you¡¯re actually quite good among the students. If Jiang Nannan wants to look for someone stronger than you in our grade, it won¡¯t be easy! Of course, I¡¯m an exception. And I¡¯m already booked anyway. By the way, why is she so unwilling to talk to you? Looking at the two of you, you should have known each other beforeing to the academy. And after all these years, you¡¯re still like this. What exactly happened between the two of you before you came here?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Xu Sanshi had an awkward expression. His face was still a bit red when he said, ¡°I can¡¯t say it, I absolutely can¡¯t say it. I¡¯m going to take a stroll now.¡± After saying these words, he quickly slipped away.

    Bei Bei shook his head helplessly. He had always been curious about what had happened between Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

    ¡°Junior brothers, what are you going to buy? There are many good things at the Treasure Appreciation Auction. The two of you should take a look around, I¡¯ll also go for a walk.¡± Saying this, he also left.

    Wang Dong said heartily, ¡°As I see it, Senior Brother Xu Sanshi is a very good person. He¡¯s very dedicated and resolute when ites to his feelings. I don¡¯t understand what Senior Sister Jiang dislikes about him. You should learn from them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded. ¡°Learn what? I don¡¯t even know what happened between them.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted as he said, ¡°Except for cultivating, what can you even think of? You¡¯re aplete blockhead.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. ¡°We¡¯re students, what should we think of besides studying properly? Anyway, take a look at this soul bone and tell me if it¡¯s suitable for you or not.¡±

    As he spoke, he arrived beside the golden-red arm bone and inspected it earnestly.

    Wang Dong kicked the air behind his back when he left. Then, he resentfully followed behind him.

    The arm bone waspletely enshrouded in its own reddish-gold radiance. Underneath it was a te with a detailed description.

    Golden Left Arm Bone.

    This arm bone hade from a ten thousand year Golden Earth Dragon King that had an affinity with the light element. It was spected that it could use light-type attacks. This bone was very suitable for soul master with an affinity for the light element. And the skill that came with it was likely to be an assault-type skill.

    Although a bit diluted, the Golden Earth Dragon King still possessed the pure bloodline of the light dragon race. Moreover, that was now concentratedpletely in this soul bone. This arm bone contained the essence of a ten thousand year Golden Earth Dragon King. The word ¡®pure¡¯ was the key here, because, although diluted, it had still inherited more characteristics of the light dragon race than those with mixed bloodlines. It was a pity that it had been killed when it was only ten thousand years old. Had it reached the hundred thousand year rank, it would have be an existence akin to a king of beasts.

    The soul bone was priced at 9.5 million Gold Soul Coins.

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong saw this price, their pupils immediately shrank.

    As time passed, the worth of Gold Soul Coins also kept increasing. For example, the expenses of a family of three amounted only to a few dozen Gold Soul Coins per year. So what could you do with 9.5 million Golden Soul Coins? You could take ten thousand cavalrymen and arm them to the teeth, horses included.

    As expected, soul bones were one of the most expensive things on the continent. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t even a hundred thousand year soul bone. Had it been a hundred thousand year soul bone, it wouldn¡¯t even have a price, because it would truly be a priceless treasure. However, a soul bone of that rank had never been auctioned or traded by anyone, because they were treasures that would attract even Titled Douluo. Even shops like the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, which dared to exhibit a ten thousand year soul bone, were extremely few in number. This was because they had confidence in being able to protect their goods.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and said to Wang Dong, ¡°Can you still afford it?¡±

    ¡°Why is it so expensive?¡± Wang Dong said, astonished, ¡°From what I remember, although expensive, the price of a soul bone will rarely surpass 3 million Gold Soul Coins!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I reckon it¡¯s so expensive due to that ¡®pure¡¯ word. A soul bone with a pure dragon bloodline can¡¯t be cheap, right? The stuff here is really good, but the prices are also very high. I wonder if I can get it through my VIP card. This soul bone is probably the most expensive thing in this Treasure Appreciation Auction. No wonder it¡¯s still here and no one¡¯s bought it, the price is just too high.¡±

    Wang Dong turned his head and looked to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, it¡¯s too expensive. I think I understand what the academy wants. The academy¡¯s giving you these privileges because you have great talent and an Ultimate martial soul. The more precious the thing you take from here is, the more you¡¯ll feel indebted to the academy. And in the future, you¡¯ll surely need a lot of these things. With that, you¡¯ll be tied down to the academy. Yuhao, if you want to be free, you can¡¯t take things from here as you wish.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head lightly as he said, ¡°When I heard that voice just now, I was already clear about the situation. However, you also know that I don¡¯t have a choice. ording to what Teacher Zhou said, no matter if it¡¯s a soul master or a soul engineer, the only way they have to get stronger is by relying on a huge amount of resources. Without enough money, how are you going to buy soul bones? How are you going to buy those precious materials to build soul tools? Even if a soul master can get stronger by himself, the road he¡¯ll have to walk will be more difficult, and he will have a greater chance of meeting hardships that will break his will. If I didn¡¯t have this enmity that I bear, perhaps I would have chosen that path. But the current me can only rely on the academy¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s still better than relying on countries or powerful families. Also, I like our academy. For the first time after my mother died, I felt the warmth of home by staying here. Today, I¡¯ll receive something from the academy. But in the future, I¡¯ll be sure to repay it.¡±

    Wang Dong looked carefully at Huo Yuhao. He knew that this guy that seemed nothing more than a blockhead was actually more mature than his peers. Under that gentle face, he had a zing heart.

    Wang Dong finally gave up and replied, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take this soul bone. You can go and make the exchange; I still want to take another look at it.¡±

    A smile immediately blossomed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He patted his shoulder and walked toward the counter on the western side.

    Wang Dong looked at his back, and his expression turned gentle. ¡°What you said is right. Today, I¡¯ll receive something from you. But in the future, I¡¯ll be sure to repay it.¡±

    The deal was sealed more quickly than he had imagined. After a short while, Huo Yuhao returned to Wang Dong¡¯s side. He whispered in his ear, ¡°Let¡¯s go! The Treasure Gathering Pavilion will keep the identity of the buyer secret. After a while, this soul bone will be picked up and delivered directly to the academy. It¡¯s not safe to take something so precious with us.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Do you want to buy something? I can still buy things on credit. If you need something, I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was about to shake his head when he suddenly heard the cold voice of the Ice Empress. ¡°You absolutely can¡¯t miss that thing on the third stand to your left.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was surprised. He said to Wang Dong, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around.¡± With that, he moved toward the third stand on the left as the Ice Empress had told him.

    The article disyed on this stand hadn¡¯t attracted their attention earlier because it was really too unremarkable. It was just a ck crystal. Its surface was uneven, and the color was dim andcked any luster. Compared to that Golden Left Arm Bone from before, there was a difference between heaven and earth.

    Above it, there was also a description, ¡°Thousand Year Whale Rubber. Whale Rubber is a special material that is only produced in the brains of whale-type soul beasts. It¡¯s a very good tonic for soul masters. It can strengthen the body, enhance the muscles and bones, and also increase the capacity of one¡¯s meridians. This piece of Whale Rubber was bought by the pavilion in the past, and ording to the seller, it came from a thousand year Devilwhale. Generally speaking, the Whale Rubber of a thousand year Devilwhale should be golden, and worth a lot. This amount of Whale Rubber is capable of thoroughly remoulding a soul master¡¯s body. However, this piece of Whale Rubber is ck. And ording to the pavilion¡¯s analysis, it decayed over time, and was partially ruined. It can still be used as before, but the effect might be somewhat weaker.¡±

    The price of this Thousand Year Whale Rubber wasn¡¯t high; it was only six thousand Gold Soul Coins.

    Somewhat puzzled, Wang Dong said, ¡°Yuhao, are you really interested in this thing? I¡¯ve seen Thousand Year Whale Rubber before. It was bright gold, and looked like a golden crystal. That was some real high-quality Whale Rubber. Such arge piece of Whale Rubber should be worth at least fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins. If they¡¯re selling this one for only six thousand, it shouldn¡¯t be very high-quality.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You know about Whale Rubber?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°Whale Rubber is a very precious material. However, you can only consume it after melting it over a me with a very high temperature. Eating it will improve a soul master¡¯s body. For example, right now, you can absorb at most the soul ring of a thousand year soul beast. However, if you eat a big piece of Whale Rubber, your body¡¯s capacity for soul rings will increase by at least five hundred years. Or at least, that¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to work. Whale Rubber is indeed beneficial for us soul masters, but there are some problems. After all, we can¡¯t judge a soul beast¡¯s cultivation with absolute precision, nor can we judge whether or not a particr product is suitable to absorb. Moreover, if you meet a soul beast that¡¯s suitable for you, you¡¯ll hardly check if its age is above the limit or not. Therefore, although good, Whale Rubber¡¯s worth is somewhat inferior to its price. And I¡¯m not even talking about this low-quality Whale Gel. If you eat this, you¡¯d be lucky to not get diarrhea¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao was at a loss. However, he still hurriedly said, ¡°Wang Dong, help me buy this piece of Whale Gel. Quick.¡±

 Chapter 58.1: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    Chapter 58.1: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    ¡°Do you really want to buy that Thousand Year Whale Rubber?¡± Wang Yan looked at Huo Yuhao, feeling puzzled by his decision.

    Huo Yuhao leaned over and whispered in his ear, ¡°Quickly. There won¡¯t be a second chance. This definitely isn¡¯t Thousand Year Whale Rubber, but Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber. That¡¯s why it¡¯s ck. Quickly, pay up! If someone else notices this item, we won¡¯t have a chance to buy it anymore!¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned. He naturally wouldn¡¯t question Huo Yuhao further with the mutual trust they both had with one another. He immediately turned around and paid up at the sales counter located at the western end of the room.

    That¡¯s right, this Whale Rubber was ten thousand years old just as Huo Yuhao had said. Naturally, it was impossible for him to discern this with his own experience and knowledge. The Ice Empress was the one who had told him the answer.

    Throughout the course of human history, Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber had been extremely rare. Thus, it was no wonder that no one in the Treasure Appreciation Auction recognised this item.

    The sea was another haven for soul beasts. Rumor had it that the number of soul beasts in the sea was more than ten times those onnd. Moreover, the soul beasts in the sea were ranked as well and whale-type soul beasts were unquestionably one of the overlords among sea soul beasts.

    When humans entered the sea, they were practically like meat on a chopping board. No human had dared venture into the depths of the sea. As a result of that, though it was still possible to kill a thousand year soul beast if one depended on a powerful soul master. The devilwhales were more than ten thousand years old and lived in the deep sea. On top of that, every single one of them was extremely powerful. Who would dare to make contact with their poisonous heads?

    However, as luck would have it, this Whale Rubber came from a ten thousand year devilwhale. While normally Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber was dark yellow, this one was ck. The difference in color was due to long-term changes in the weather. That was why no one had recognised it for what it really was.

    To Huo Yuhao, this Whale Rubber was practically the best thing he could have found here. His biggest problem now was his body¡¯s capacity to withstand more power from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and Skydream Iceworm.

    Even though the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion couldn¡¯tpletely transfer her hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, she had managed topress and seal the most quintessential bit of her power in him. As long as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had enough strength to withstand it, she could help Huo Yuhao elerate his cultivation efforts.

    The Ice Empress was anxiously looking forward to the day when Huo Yuhao became powerful, so she naturally couldn¡¯t let such a good item as this Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber slip through her fingers.

    Wang Dong quickly returned after paying, and only then did Huo Yuhao show a rxed look on his face. The Whale Rubber was not as eye-catching as the soul bone. A member of the staff from the Treasure Appreciation Pavilion retrieved the Whale Rubber from the disy stand and handed it to Wang Dong. When he got it, Wang Dong immediately shoved it into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    ¡°I hope we really didn¡¯t make a mistake with this.¡± Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but think that they¡¯d lost out as he looked at that ck gooey item. This ck Whale Rubber wasn¡¯t fragrant at all. It was truly difficult for one to believe that it hade from a ten thousand year-old devilwhale.

    Huo Yuhaoughed mischievously and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve already gotten the items we wanted. When I get back, I¡¯ll get Teacher Zhou to find a teacher with a fire attribute martial soul to help us. We¡¯ll automatically know whether it was worth it or not once we¡¯ve eaten it.¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head. ¡°If you want to eat it, you can do so yourself. I¡¯m not going to eat such a sticky thing. I have eaten a lot of this when I was younger because I was forced to do so by my family. After I fused with a thousand year soul ring, I swore that I would never eat this sticky thing for the rest of my life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a light bulb go off in his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder your second soul ring is a thousand years old! Your family is really rich!¡±

    The two chatted as they headed out. When they passed Bei Bei, they greeted their senior martial brother. Bei Bei asked them to head back first since he wanted to wait for Xu Sanshi who was still nagging Jiang Nannan in every possible way he could.

    ¡­¡­

    Sea God¡¯s Ind, Shrek Academy.

    ¡°What? It was that small guy, Huo Yuhao?¡± Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe with an incredulous look on her face.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. It is highly likely that the cold soul power shock you received at that time came from Huo Yuhao. However, it¡¯s also possible that he did so unconsciously. His second martial soul was still hidden at the time, so I reckon it protected its host of its own ord when it felt the attack from your Evil Phoenix Fire.¡±

    With excitement written all over her face, Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°That¡¯s great! This is really great! Teacher, the demonic fire inside of me is driving me crazy. Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Martial Turtle is after all only water-attribute and not an ice-attribute technique, so the effects are naturally worsening. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate ice-attribute, won¡¯t I be able to break free from my current predicament? If that¡¯s the case, I can represent the academy and attend the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, right?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded with a faint smile and said, ¡°It just so happens that you¡¯re not yet over twenty years old. If you can stabilise your martial soul, you¡¯ll definitely be the winner in this year¡¯s academypetition. I have no doubt about it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! I can finally participate! I must look for Huo Yuhao now and make him suppress the demonic fire inside my body.¡± As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao turned around and ran outside.

    Yan Shaozheughed and said, ¡°You rascal, slow down. Huo Yuhao ought to have gone to Shrek City to attend the Treasure Appreciation Auction today.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Before her voice could be heard, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s silhouette had already disappeared into the night sky.

    Yan Shaozhe shook his head as he felt a little helpless. ¡°It really is impossible to change your impetuous temperament. Who¡¯s going to be daring enough to court her in the future?! There are so many outstanding disciples in the inner courtyard and yet not a single one dares to woo her. Other than Le Xuan, Xiaotao is the most gifted student amongst the female students. I hope that Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate martial soul can gradually quell the demonic fire inside her body and allow her to be a true fire phoenix like her ancestors.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong left Shrek City feeling rather pleased. Even though they didn¡¯t know what soul skill Wang Dong would get from the golden right arm bone, they could clearly see that this was an impressively powerful soul bone from its price!

    It had cost them a whopping 9.5 million gold soul coins. Huo Yuhao had been somewhat nervous when he¡¯d paid for it as he hadn¡¯t expected his transaction with the Treasure Gathering Pavilion would be this easy. The favor he owed them this time was too great. Even Wang Dong owed the academy arge favor now.

    Huo Yuhao always made sure to clearly remember the favors and insults he received. He¡¯d never forgotten for a second the debt he owed Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Fuse with that Whale Rubber tonight when you get back. I¡¯ll protect you when I get the soul bone tomorrow. With this soul bone, I¡¯m now confident that Ipete with Dai Huabin on even footing even if I were to face him alone.¡± Wang Dong waved his fist as he spoke. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw Wang Dong in such high spirits.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were all currently growing at an astonishing speed. Once Wang Dong fused with his soul bone, their collective strength would take another huge step forward. At that time, they would really deserve the title of being the strongest group in Year 2.

    With regards to Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao had already gradually buried his hatred towards the other party. Dai Huabin had been defeated twice and had been made to kowtow, acknowledging his defeat. That had gone a long way to liberating the stifling feeling he had in his heart.

    At that moment, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out within Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, warning him of danger. ¡°Yuhao, there¡¯s a murderous aura directed towards you.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao was still young, he¡¯d umted a considerable amount ofbat experience. Hence, he didn¡¯t react in an obvious manner after he heard the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s warning. It was at times like these that he had to remain calm.

    He didn¡¯t change his walking speed and even retained the smile he had on his face. The only difference was that he had already quietly spread his Spiritual Detection Sharing to Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong was slightly startled at first but immediately understood something was amiss due to the tacit understanding he had with Huo Yuhao. He stopped talking for a moment and nced at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao quickly released his Spiritual Detection to its maximum range. Sure enough, he felt a hidden killing intent not far away from him. However, the range of his Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t great enough and thus he wasn¡¯t able to urately determine who his opponents were.

    Huo Yuhao took the initiative and pulled Wang Dong¡¯s hand back. He tightly sped Wang Dong¡¯s hand which was softer and more tender than that of a female¡¯s. When he did so, the Haodong Power immediately connected in their bodies.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but he spoke under his breath, ¡°There are people in front who are waiting to ambush us. We are further from the academy than we are Shrek City, so when I count to three, we¡¯re going to turn around and run back towards Shrek City as fast as we can. Understand?¡±

    Wang Dong spoke in a low tone, ¡°Do you have any idea who they might be??¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but they¡¯re emitting a murderous aura. Let¡¯s hide in Shrek City first and discuss itter. Get ready.¡±

    The killing intent grew increasingly dense as they walked forward. Huo Yuhao carefully sent his Spiritual Detection towards the root of the killing intent and immediately increased the range of his detection. Two hundred meters away from them, a group of six people were quietly lying in wait. From the thick soul power on their bodies, Huo Yuhao could tell that they were opponents that the two of them could not go up against.

    ¡°One!¡± Huo Yuhao spoke in a low tone, but he didn¡¯t slow down. At this moment, he definitely couldn¡¯t let the enemy discover the changes in their movements.

    ¡°Two¡­¡±

    ¡°Three! Run!¡±

    Huo Yuhao let out a low roar and abruptly carried Wang Dong as he ran in the opposite direction. At the same time, he quickly ced a metal te on his back. A ball of dazzling white light lit up and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were immediately propelled forwards. They were just like a white shooting star as they made a beeline for the northern gate of Shrek City.

    It was evident that the six people who had been fully prepared to ambush the duo had never expected the two of them to suddenly take a detour. Seeing their prey getting away, the six were taken aback. It was in this short time span that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong dashed far into the distance with all their might. A gorgeous mixture of blue and gold from the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings burst forth in the sky. In that moment, the scene had already changed to one in which Huo Yuhao was hugging Wang Dong¡¯s legs.

 Chapter 58.2: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    Chapter 58.2: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    However, the thruster he¡¯d equipped was only a ss 1 soul tool. It instantly overheated when it was activated with theirbined Haodong Power. Despite the thruster reaching its maximum possible speed, they were stuck in an embarrassing situation where it would explode after continued use. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to stop. Wang Dong, on the other hand, took the opportunity to unfurl his wings and fly into the air with the support of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power.

    Their six assants reacted, then broke cover. Soul rings lit up on all six of their bodies, and five of the six had five soul rings on them, while the sixth was actually a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Three of them instantly rose into the air, releasing their respective flying techniques, and all six of them rapidly chased after Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

    The disparity in strength between the two parties was simply too great. Though the two of them had taken a sudden head start by taking advantage of their unawareness, the distance between the two parties rapidly closed as their assants sped up.

    Their Haodong Power was extremely powerful, but it could only allow their fused strength to reach the three-ringed level of strength at most. They simply had no chance of winning against their assants in a direct confrontation.

    Their three enemies that had taken flight were rapidly approaching, and all three of them were five-ringed Soul Kings. However, Wang Dong had already flown fifty or so meters into the air, so it wouldn¡¯t be easy for their enemies to attack them at this distance. Furthermore, Wang Dong¡¯s current speed wasn¡¯t much slower than that of the people who were chasing them on the ground.

    They were currently several thousand meters from Shrek Academy¡¯s northern gate.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand, causing a ball of red light to soar several hundred of meters into the sky before exploding and turning into countless reddish-gold dots that spread through the sky.

    The six-ringed Soul Emperor immediately had a change in expression. They were all dressed in ck, and their faces were all covered. He couldn¡¯t help but let out a low roar after seeing this reddish-golden light. ¡°Didn¡¯t he say they were just core disciples? This is clearly Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard¡¯s distress signal. Quick, hurry up and kill them. We¡¯re leaving immediately!¡± Hisst roar was amplified by his soul power.

    Though this was the outskirts of Shrek City, Shrek City¡¯s foundation was Shrek Academy!

    Just who were in Shrek Academy? As long as a single one of those peak existences came out, they could easily crush them all to death. They simply had no time to waste here.

    One of the three midair assants immediately activated a powerful soul skill after hearing his roar.

    Of his five soul rings, one was white, two were yellow, and two were purple. He¡¯d activated his fourth soul ring, which was a thousand year purple soul ring.

    A dense purple light shone from his wings, and he suddenly pped them and sped up, charging towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong like a meteor.

    He was confident in his ability to kill the two of them in one strike as long as he was able to catch up to them.

    However, he was simply too overconfident. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were young, but they were still core disciples of Shrek Academy! Furthermore, the former was even a rarely-seen student who¡¯d caused a meeting in Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    The enemy was rapidly approaching them, but there was only a single person. In a situation like this, the two of thempletely relied on their instincts to work together. Wang Dong continued flying forward at full speed, while Huo Yuhao continued to climb up his legs to his body. He used his left hand to hug Wang Dong tightly, while pointing his right towards their assants.

    They were simply in too great of a rush, and Huo Yuhao could only equip a miniature Stationary Soul Crossbow in time.

    After he raised his right hand, the three tubes on its surface immediately came out. He poured his soul power into them, causing three bolts of lightning to shoot out.

    These three crossbow bolts were pitch-ck, and they wouldn¡¯t reflect light in this darkness. Furthermore, Fan Yu had specially taught him how to install a silencer during their creation. Because of that, they didn¡¯t make any noise as they flew through the dark night.

    This was another advantage of a stationary soul tool. An ordinary soul tool would directly emit the light of soul power, which would practically be amppost in the dark night. Only a stationary soul tool could release apletely traceless attack.

    However, it was evident that nobody else would be able to aim a stationary soul tool in a situation like this. Only Huo Yuhao, by relying on his Spiritual Detection, could do this.

    Wang Dong¡¯s midair figure paused slightly; he¡¯dpleted the transfer of soul power between him and Huo Yuhao.

    A purplish-gold light shot out from his eyes; for the sake of survival, he¡¯d held nothing back in this attack. After releasing his attack, he immediately transfered his soul power back to Wang Dong, who continued speeding up.

    Their assant had clearly never predicted that the two of them would actually pause to release an attack at him. He¡¯d reached the Soul King rank, but he wasn¡¯t a pinnacle Soul King like those that Shrek Academy produced. His strongest soul ring was merely a thousand year one, and he didn¡¯t have any outstanding points in the field of spiritual power.

    When Huo Yuhao had been a one-ringed Soul Master, hisbined Spiritual Shock with Wang Dong had even affected Ma Xiaotao for a brief period of time. However, their current strength had experienced a qualitative leap.

    The elerating Soul King felt his head collide with a rigid wall, and he immediately let out a muffled groan. He started bleeding from his nose and mouth, resulting in him being unable to control his flying body. The soul skill that had allowed him to elerate was also interrupted.

    At this exact instant, three pitch-ck terrors arrived in front of him soundlessly. With a ¡®peng¡¯, they exploded simultaneously. Immediately, a wave of ck mist covered him, blocking his entire line of sight.

    Huo Yuhao knew that even if he were to strike a Soul King head-on, he would be unable to cause real damage with his ss 1 soul tool. Because of that, he had chosen to interfere with him.

    The Soul King paused for a moment, causing the distance between the two parties to increase somewhat. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had instructed Wang Dong to not only fly forwards, but upwards in order to increase the distance between them and the three experts on the ground. After all, there was a Soul Emperormanding them down there.

    However, their airborne assants were still five-ringed Soul Kings! Even if theirbination of soul rings was subpar, they were still at the Soul King rank. The two Soul Kings who had initially been left behind quickly caught up to the stunned Soul King, and the three of them elerated together, decreasing the current distance between them and the duo to fifty meters.

    ¡°Wang Dong, fly straight up!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. At the same time, his two soul rings transformed into a single one, and the enormous crystalline and green tattoo on his back slowly emerged with an iparably tyrannical aura.

    Wang Dong, who had the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, could naturally sense the speed that their pursuers were moving at. He was already somewhat despairing.

    After all, there was simply toorge a gap between the two parties. They had one person with two soul rings, and another one with three. Even if they were even more talented than they already were, there was no chance they could go against three five-ringed experts. Moreover, they would immediately face even more enemies once they fell to the ground. The academy would send some men out after receiving his distress signal, but there was no way they could arrive in time at such short notice. At this moment, they were still two thousand meters from Shrek City.

    It was precisely because he waspletely nk, and because he trusted Huo Yuhao, that he unhesitatingly followed thetter¡¯s words. He suddenly pped his wings downwards, then shot straight into the air. For the sake of rising even higher, he aimed the Light of the Butterfly Goddess downwards in order to produce a thrusting force. At this exact moment, the cooldown of Huo Yuhao¡¯s thruster had ended, and he instantly fired it downwards. The two of them moved simultaneously, causing their speed to instantaneously reach the level of their assants. They flew straight up, resulting in them rising a hundred meters into the air in the blink of an eye.

    At this moment, they had already risen more than three hundred meters into the air. From their current position, they could see a patch of light when they looked towards Shrek City.

    However, Wang Dong was somewhat exhausted after breaking through the three hundred meter barrier. Huo Yuhao¡¯s thruster had also overheated again, causing their speed to decrease dramatically.

    ¡°Unfurl your wings horizontally.¡± Huo Yuhaomanded Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong was stunned. Won¡¯t spreading my wings horizontally decrease my speed even further? I¡¯ll only be able to float in the air!

    The absolute confidence that the two of them had in each other finally showed its use at this moment. Though Wang Dong had some doubt in his heart, he still trusted Huo Yuhao¡¯s words unconditionally. He unfurled his wings, causing the speed of his ascent to drop drastically. At this exact moment, the three Soul Kings below them were approaching quickly.

    ¡°Five, four, three, two, one¡­¡± Huo Yuhao inwardly counted to himself, and Wang Dong suddenly discovered that their fused Haodong Power was pouring towards the former at an incredible rate.

    Nothing seemed strange on the surface, but Wang Dong could tell that the current Huo Yuhao was like a filled balloon that waspressing unceasingly.

    What¡¯s he doing?

    Their three enemies were now only twenty meters away from them, and their soul rings had lit up.

    Fifteen meters. Their soul skills were already locked and loaded, but the frequency and ways they attacked were all encapsted within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Just as the three Soul Kings were about to release their attacks, they suddenly felt something strange. The targets in front of them had suddenly lit up.

    A jade-green light suddenly appeared within the pitch-ck sky. This light took the form of a single line which instantly spread outwards, outlining the figure of a person, including his spine, ribs, and sternum, as well as all the bones within his torso.

    The emerald jade-green light was enchanting, but this alluring sensation onlysted for an instant. Right after that, an eye-piercing jade-green light spread outwards, trapping them within it.

 Chapter 58.3: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    Chapter 58.3: The Boundary Between Life and Death

    An extreme coldness.

    The three Soul Kings instantly felt the terrifying effects of the Ultimate Ice element. For a moment, they felt as though the blood in their veins had frozen. They lostplete control over their bodies and were suspended midair in their previous positions as they tried to make their move.

    However, they were suspended three hundred meters above the ground. And once airborne, if you don¡¯t go up, you fall down. Therefore, the three Soul Kings soon began to fall from the sky like meteors after remaining suspended for a bit.

    The green light had only flickered through the sky for a moment, but as soon as it disappeared the Soul Kings began to fall. At the same time, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s expressions turned pale.

    Even though the green light released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body hadn¡¯t targeted Wang Dong, just being near it had caused Wang Dong to be afflicted with a terrifying feeling of coldness. He still felt his wings go somewhat numb despite not being in direct contact with it. Luckily, his wings were already wide open when he was hit by the terrifying coldness. As such, they kept flying straight.

    On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face had turned pale due to his excessive consumption of soul power. At the same time, his body had to withstand the burden of all that soul power. However, he couldn¡¯t rx yet. He knew that, even though it was strong, that attack just now was nowhere near enough to deal with someone as strong as a Soul King. Furthermore, a fall from their height wasn¡¯t enough to kill them either.

    The thruster in his right hand turned jade green in color. Afterwards, it began to emit a dazzling red light as he poured his remaining soul power into it. When he did so, it released a streak of white mes and they were immediately propelled towards Shrek City from their current altitude of three hundred meters.

    Huo Yuhao had begun to n how to run away as soon as the Skydream Iceworm had told him about the enemies lying in ambush. Luckily he¡¯d been warned ahead of time, thus he¡¯d had a lot of time to think.

    They would normally die for sure against people as powerful as their opponents. As such, fighting them head-on hadn¡¯t been an option. Thus, they could only rely on something out of the ordinary.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n had started the moment they¡¯d turned around to run away. He¡¯d since done everything in his power to achieve their current state.

    Now that they were flying at an altitude of three hundred meters, even a Soul Emperor ¡ªso long as they couldn¡¯t fly¡ªwouldn¡¯t be able to easily reach them with an attack from the ground.

    It wasn¡¯t that a high-ranked soul master couldn¡¯t fly, but one still needed to be at least a Soul Sage to do so. Only then would one be able to use their powerful soul power to fly for a short amount of time. As such, a Soul Emperor still fell short in this field.

    Because of this, they would only be rtively safe at a high altitude. However, they still needed to be lucky; if that Soul Emperor also had a soul skill that enabled him to fly, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. However, at this critical moment, the goddess of luck had favored them.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, the three Soul Kings that fell from the sky were only able to recover from their frozen state once they¡¯d descended over a hundred meters. They opened their wings with great difficulty and slowed their fall. Even though they were flustered, they¡¯d still been able to regain theirposure before they hit the ground. However, they were now unable to reach their two targets that were still soaring through the sky.

    The Soul Emperor, who was in hot pursuit, suddenly increased his speed and headed towards the ce where Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong wouldnd. At this point, he knew that his chances of sess were already quite low; his mission would end in failure if he couldn¡¯t catch and kill them before they entered Shrek City. However, he still wanted to make one final attempt. If he wasn¡¯t able to seed after this, he would have to flee as fast as possible.

    The speed that a Soul Emperor could achieve wasn¡¯t something that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could even imagine with their shallow cultivations. Furthermore, the sixth soul ring of this Soul Emperor was an awe-inspiring ten thousand year ck soul ring.

    The Soul Emperor ran as fast as he could until he reached the Shrek City¡¯s northern gate. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still around two hundred meters from the city walls when he reached the gate. As soon as he reached the gate, he put the tip of his foot into the city wall and began to climb it at an astonishing speed. It only took him an instant to reach the top.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had consumed most of their soul power by this point. Furthermore, Wang Dong¡¯s wings were still under the effect of the green light that Huo Yuhao had released a while ago, and Wang Dong definitely wasn¡¯t a Soul King! Most of his qi and blood had been frozen, thus he couldn¡¯t release any more power to fly upwards. Thus, they could only helplessly watch as the Soul Emperor standing atop the city walls soared into the sky and charged directly towards them.

    The Soul Emperor suddenly lifted his right hand in midair; he was pointing a broadsword enshrouded in pitch-ck mes at them. The pitch-ck mes seemed to originate from his ten thousand year soul ring. There was no doubt that it would be impossible for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to defend against this kind of attack.

    At this time, three forms were running at an incredible speed atop the city¡¯s walls. The one in front was Bei Bei; his body was already covered with dragon scales, and his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul was on full disy. Following him were Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

    The number of soul rings on Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s bodies wasn¡¯t three, but four. Two of their soul rings were yellow, while the other two were purple. This clearly meant that they had both already be Soul Ancestors.

    However, even when the pair saw them, Wang Dong felt that they were so close, and yet so far. They wouldn¡¯t make it in time¡­

    ¡°Wang Dong!¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted. Afterwards, he hugged Wang Dong tightly in his arms. His Spiritual Detection Sharing had also suddenly disappeared. Wang Dong was immediately startled awake, as the Haodong Power in their bodies had begun seething with excitement.

    The area ten meters around them then began to light up, as it had been permeated with a very peculiar radiance from their bodies.

    This radiance was extremely strange. It varied between blue, purple, and gold in color. Moreover, many strange and different fluctuations of soul power were blending inside of the intense light.

    A huge form appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯s back: It was aplete and absolutely magnificent Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    On the other hand, the image of arge, vertically-pupiled eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The eye was pale gold, but its pupil emitted a faint purple radiance.

    Those two huge forms then proceeded to ovep in midair. As soon as they did, they began to merge together.

    The manifestation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes was bing more and more profound. It had be a purplish-blue color, while the golden color it had previously had hadpletely disappeared.

    On the other hand, Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess manifestation began to burn with goldish-blue mes as it approached Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eye.

    As it burned, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess opened her beautiful wings and slowly wrapped them around manifestation of the Spirit Eyes. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were also held together and protected in its embrace.

    The huge Spirit Eye seemed extremely mysterious; if you were to look into it, it would almost seem as if there were an endless world inside. As soon as the Soul Emperor got within thirty meters of them, blue, purple, and golden bolts of lightning shot toward him.

    These streaks of light seemed almost illusory; the ces that the light passed through were illuminated by a radiance that seemed to havee from ancient times. It left a dim and twisted, yet dazzling luster behind.

    Both the Soul Emperor and Soul Kings were shocked when they saw this. Even the rapidly approaching Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan were shocked.

    The scene in front of them was just too magnificent! The illusory radiance had left a golden road in the sky.

    The skill disyed just now had been Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s mighty martial soul fusion, and was also their final trump card.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence!

    Thest time they¡¯d disyed this skill, Huo Yuhao had had one ring, while Wang Dong had had two. But now, they both had two and three rings respectively. Both their cultivation and the strength of their bodies were much stronger thanst time. When they¡¯d disyed their martial soul fusion skill, they¡¯d thought that the soul power inside of their bodies was depleted. However, they still managed to squeeze out sometent energy and finally execute their strongest move.

    The pitch-ck mes on the Soul Emperor¡¯s warde began to burn even more fervently now. He wasn¡¯t blind, and he could easily tell their cultivation from their soul rings. Even if the scene before his eyes was magnificent, in his mind, one hit from his sword would be enough to put an end to this light, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong.

    However, he quickly realized his mistake. As soon as his ck sword came into contact with the dazzling light, the Soul Emperor¡¯s mind went nk.

    The feeling he got was marvelous; he didn¡¯t feel any pain. In fact, he felt like someone dirty stepping into the bathroom and then being thrown into a pool after they¡¯d been stripped naked.

    It seemed like everything in his possession had disappeared. His powerful soul rings, sword, and soul skills were all gone. The only thing left was his body, which now resembled a golden statue. However, it immediately fell from the sky towards the city walls.

    Nevertheless, the Soul Emperor could still move. However, he felt as if his surroundings were suddenly covered in a golden hue. His soul power was normal, but he felt a burning sensation all over his body, as if he were about to melt. Moreover, he¡¯d unexpectedly lost contact with his martial soul.

    Actually, he should consider himself lucky, as he was the first enemy that had withstood the power of an all-out Golden Road.

    The power of the Golden Road wasn¡¯t enough to kill a Soul Emperor. However, its terrifying restrictive ability had still been able to momentarily stop him. In fact, this restrictive ability was actually the deprivation of his martial soul.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s remaining strength had also beenpletely consumed when theyunched this final attack. Their soul power wasn¡¯t even enough to maintain their soul rings. Having lost the support of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, they also fell from the sky towards the walls of the city.

    However, a fiery red figure suddenly dashed towards them from a very distant ce. Its speed was so fast that it left dozens of afterimages in the sky. It arrived and seized the two of them before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could reach the ground, and before the Soul Kings could catch up to them. As soon as it did, it threw the two of them towards Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan, who¡¯d just jumped down from the city walls.

    ¡°I really want to see who¡¯s so bold as to attack the students of my Shrek Academy!¡± A fierce voice suddenly echoed outwards from the red figure. Ma Xiaotao was wreathed in mes and resembled a fire goddess as two phoenix wings stretched behind her back. She looked on with disdain towards the crowd of enemies before her.

 Chapter 59.1: The Berserk Flamedevil Ma Xiaotao!

    Chapter 59.1: The Berserk medevil Ma Xiaotao!

    Right, Ma Xiaotao had arrived. She¡¯d left the academy from Shrek City¡¯s northern gate the moment she saw Huo Yuhao release the inner courtyard disciple distress signal. With her level of speed, she was able to make it just in time to save Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Though there were a total of six enemies, Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t afraid in the least. Despite being a girl, she gave off the air of a general as she stood there.

    Bei Bei caught Huo Yuhao while the speedier Jiang Nannan caught Wang Dong. Thetter was actually a four-ringed Soul Ancestor making her cultivation no less than Bei Bei¡¯s and Xu Sanshi¡¯s. This surprised Huo Yuhao somewhat. No wonder she was a core disciple of the outer courtyard.

    ¡°Junior disciple, are you okay?¡± Bei Bei asked in a low voice.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao saw a fierce killing intent in his senior brother¡¯s eyes; there was a true fire in his eyes. If Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t made it in time when they¡¯d fallen from the sky earlier, they would¡¯ve suffered severe injuries, if not died.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine senior brother. We just overexerted ourselves a little.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    Bei Bei nodded and gently ced him on the ground. Over on the other side, Jiang Nannan was also putting Wang Dong down.

    Their six opponents were all gathered together. The golden light on the Soul Emperor who¡¯d been struck by the Golden Road had finally disappeared by now but his clothes were burnt apart and his facial expression was extremely unsightly.

    Within the blink of an eye, he was forced to waste over thirty percent of his soul power in order to take on the Golden Road. He was a Soul Emperor! He¡¯d actually been put into such an embarrassing position by the teamwork of a Soul Grandmaster and a Soul Elder. How could he not be angry?

    Hidden within his anger, however, was fear. A deep sense of fear.

    Sure enough, they¡¯re worthy of being called core disciples of Shrek Academy! A Soul Elder and a Soul Grandmaster were actually able to escape with their lives from an encirclement consisting of a Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings. If this were to be leaked out publically, who¡¯d believe it? That golden light is probably a mysterious fusion skill.

    Although he was inwardly furious, the Soul Emperor already had thoughts of retreating. Ma Xiaotao and the other students behind her wouldn¡¯t be able to take them on, but at the end of the day they were still students of Shrek Academy. It wouldn¡¯t be possible to defeat all of them within a short period of time. On top of that, Shrek Academy was so close to them and in the event one of their experts came¡­

    With that, themander made a prompt decision. He suddenly waved his right hand, turned around and ranoff with his subordinates.

    ¡°You want to run? If I let even one of you escape, this momma can¡¯t be called the Berserk medevil Ma Xiaotao!¡± The moment she noticed that they were about to flee, Ma Xiaotao immediately flew into a rage. In the past hundred years, nobody had been presumptuous enough to kill a disciple of Shrek Academy while being this close to Shrek City. As a disciple of the academy¡¯s inner courtyard, her sense of pride towards the academy was extremely intense. Moreover, she had wanted to find Huo Yuhao to help her do something in the first ce, so it was natural that she would spare nothing to help her underssmen.

    Ma Xiaotao shouted, ¡°Xu Sanshi, protect these two students! Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan, you two nk me on the right! If we let even a single one escape, I¡¯ll hold you personally ountable!¡±

    With that, the six soul rings around Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body shone with a bright light. Of these, her second and third soul rings lit up simultaneously. An intense golden-red me exploded out from her body like a geyser as she pped the wings behind her fiercely, which then propelled her body towards the six like a fiery meteor.

    She was clearly trying to take on six enemies by herself!

    Was this fierce? Yes, this was definitely fierce! However, this was also a symbol of strength.

    They were both Soul Emperor-ranked experts, but Ma Xiaotao¡¯s six soul rings weren¡¯t ordinary! Two yellow rings, two purple rings, and two ck rings, this was the optimumbination for a soul master. On the other hand, her opponent had three yellow rings, two purple rings, and one ck ring. This was a rtively decentbination among normal soul masters but he was stillpletely outssed by the inner courtyard disciple Ma Xiaotao.

    Her six opponents were very quick but Ma Xiaotao was still quicker than them after using her second soul skill, Phoenix Baptism, and her third skill, Soaring Phoenix. Furthermore, she¡¯d activated another soul skill the instant she¡¯d flown out to intercept her opponents. Although it was more urate to say that they were two soul skills but not skills that came from a soul ring.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s legs lit up and reddish-golden patterns started to revolve around them. Following which, reddish-golden mes shot out from her legs.

    Due to her rapid eleration, a series of explosions and whistles erupted behind her as she moved.

    Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were somewhat tired, they were still extremely clear-headed and couldn¡¯t help but widen their eyes at this scene.

    They naturally knew that disciples of the inner courtyard were strong, but now they finally understood just how strong they were from this battle. She¡¯d actually used four soul skills in a row to chase after an opponent. The speed she¡¯d reached wasn¡¯t something they even dared to think about. Even seven or eight-ringed experts wouldn¡¯t be able topare with her current speed. Furthermore, thest two skills she¡¯d unleashed hade from her soul bones. In other words, she had fused her legs with soul bones. To be precise, an identical set of soul bones.

    The whistling and rumbling Ma Xiaotao shot viciously into her enemies like an artillery shell. Only two or three seconds had passed since she¡¯d activated her Phoenix Baptism and Soaring Phoenix to speed up and her soul bone¡¯s skills to explosively elerate. She instantly into their formation and didn¡¯t leave them any time to react, causing them to be caughtpletely off guard.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s target was the enormous warde-wielding Soul Emperor and she shot straight towards him.

    The Soul Emperor¡¯s perception naturally exceeded that of the Soul Kings beside him. But at that moment he felt something off and turned around to find that Ma Xiaotao was already in front of him.

    When facing a life-and-death crisis, the first reaction of an overwhelminglyrge majority of people would be self-preservation and this Soul Emperor wasn¡¯t an exception to that rule. He tried his best to lean to the side while he charged forward in order to dodge Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack.

    The spectacr auraing from her attack simply wasn¡¯t something he could take head-on.

    However, it no longer mattered if he dodged or not since Ma Xiaotao had already forcefully entered the nucleus of their formation.

    ¡°Hong¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong only saw Ma Xiaotao charge into the enemy formation and release a terrifying explosion. Her golden-reddish mes formed an enormous pir of me that was over ten meters high and released a sonorous phoenix cry. The figure of a fiery phoenix circled around that enormous pir of me.

    Four figures simultaneously flew out in four different directions. The instant the pir of me vanished, only these four of their six opponents remained.

    Huo Yuhao swallowed a mouthful of saliva and mumbled, ¡°Wang Dong, I¡¯m very suspicious as to how we escaped from this senior sister of ours at that time¡­¡±

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t even reply.

    Xu Sanshi, who was responsible for them, smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s because senior Xiaotao¡¯s been suppressing the demonic fire within her, so she won¡¯t use all of her strength in a normal situation. Today, however, she¡¯s truly enraged. That¡¯s why she¡¯s using all of her strength. Senior Xiaotao¡¯s a girl, but where¡¯d you think the title of ¡®Berserk medevil¡¯ came from¡­¡±

    During the short period of time in which their conversation urred, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s figure reappeared. Her four soul skills hadn¡¯t been used just to allow her to chase after her opponents but had the added purpose of raising her strength to to its limits. Her previous attack was alreadyparable to that of a seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    As a student of Shrek Academy, she not only possessed enormous strength but also an extremely refined amount of control over her soul skills. There were many different ways of using soul skills that were secrets of Shrek Academy and only students who¡¯d signed confidentiality agreements would be able to learn them.

    The four enemies who¡¯d been sent flying including the Soul Emperor all had reddish-golden mes enshrouding their bodies. Their bodies swayed and copsed to the ground as they had all been simrly affected by her attack.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t immediately follow up since her previous attack had drained her soul power by arge amount. She looked towards the sky and then spread her arms and wings wide.

    She took a deep breath as arge number of faint red dots of light immediately began to gather towards her at a noticeable rate. She was actually recovering her soul power during battle.

    At this moment, Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan had just caught up to her. The two of them simultaneously made a move, taking on an enemy Soul King each.

    The higher one¡¯s cultivation was, the faster one¡¯s rate of recovery would be. The enemy Soul Emperor was already filled with astonishment, was she even human? A single Soul Emperor had instantly obtained an overwhelming advantage against six opponents. He no longer dared to even try to resist the terrifyingly hot mes that surrounded her body and soul power.

    Without even daring to waste any more time, he turned around and fled. At this moment, he no longer cared about his teammates. He knew that Shrek Academy students were very powerful but had never expected them to be this strong. All of them hadn¡¯t even been able to face a single Soul Emperor.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes had by now turned a fiery red. A trace of disdain appeared at the corners of her mouth as she saw the fleeing Soul Emperor. She pped her wings once more, causing her body to move horizontally. Her target wasn¡¯t the Soul Emperor but the other living Soul King who Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan hadn¡¯t taken on.

 Chapter 59.2: The Berserk Flamedevil Ma Xiaotao!

    Chapter 59.2: The Berserk medevil Ma Xiaotao!

    The Soul King was astonished and spared no cost to activate a soul skill in order to block Ma Xiaotao. However, her fiery wings suddenly vanished and were reced by a red light that severed the sky before vanishing without a trace. Suddenly both the Soul King¡¯s body and his soul skill froze in midair.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t even spare him a nce. Her slender body rose into the air while a sonorous phoenix cry rang out. A countless number of magnificent feathers had appeared on her body before forming a beam of red light with an iparably beautiful tail that shot towards the Soul Emperor as it left behind dots of reddish-golden starlight in the sky.

    At that moment, herst ck soul ring finally lit up with a dazzling light,

    The golden-reddish light devoured everything and the Soul Emperor and his fallingrades were no exception. He was unable to put up a fight against Ma Xiaotao despite them both being Soul Emperors.

    Over on the other side, Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan hadn¡¯t disappointed her.

    When a Soul Ancestor fought against a Soul King, the former would normally be suppressed by thetter. However, the two of them were both core disciples of Shrek Academy. It would be hard to determine the victor even if the two parties were at their peak conditions, let alone when the two Soul Kings had already been injured by Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack. When Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan rushed over, the Soul Kings hadn¡¯t even recovered their strength yet.

    Bei Bei was an explosive assault-type soul master while Jiang Nannan was an explosive agility-type soul master. The results of their respective matches were obvious.

    By the time Ma Xiaotao finished her match, one of the two Soul Kings had been electrocuted till he was a block of coal while the other had been sent flying ten meters into the air by Jiang Nannan¡¯s attack before being stomped on in midair.

    Only a minute had passed since Ma Xiaotao had started her onught when it ended; all six of their enemies had fallen in this short period of time.

    When she realized that all of them had been killed, Ma Xiaotao scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°I forgot to leave someone alive¡­¡±

    Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan could only stare at her helplessly. Knowing how fierce she was, Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan naturally had to go all-out the moment she said that she ¡®wouldn¡¯t let a single one escape¡¯. Their opponents were Soul Kings, so they naturally had to be vicious.

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll let the academy¡¯s guardian team examine their corpses once we¡¯re back. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be able to find a few hints.¡± Ma Xiaotao waved her hand and brushed off her mistake.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s eyes were filled with nothing but admiration towards Ma Xiaotao; Ma Xiaotao¡¯s earlier performance could only be described using the phrase ¡®as swift as wind, as aggressive as fire¡¯.

    Even though they were both soul masters, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s six soul rings seemed to havee alive. They¡¯d flickered one after another, and whenever she¡¯d alternated between them, she¡¯d always used the soul skill most suitable to the situation. Huo Yuhao and the rest could barely use their soul skills this quickly with a single soul ring, yet she¡¯d seemed entirely uninhibited by the number of soul rings she had!

    This was the main reason that her opponent had had no chance against her, despite them both being Soul Emperors.

    Of course, Ma Xiaotao was also an extraordinarily talented soul master who possessed the Evil Phoenix. Her powerful martial soul and soul bones already made her much stronger than an ordinary six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    By this point, seven or eight prominent figures had appeared atop Shrek City¡¯s city walls, and arge number of soldiers stood behind them respectfully.

    Elder Lin and Yan Shaozhe were included in this group of seven or eight people.

    The distress signal of an inner courtyard disciple was an extremely important matter to Shrek Academy. In truth, they¡¯d already arrived earlier on; with their cultivation levels, it was natural that they¡¯d arrive earlier than Ma Xiaotao.

    However, as teachers, they hadn¡¯t instantly made a move, as they wanted to see what their students were capable of.

    And their students hadn¡¯t disappointed them. The word ¡®remarkable¡¯ could be used to describe everything that had happened, regardless of whether it was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s escape, or if it was Ma Xiaotao, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s timely rescue. The intruders had all fallen, with their only mistake being that they hadn¡¯t left anyone alive.

    Yan Shaozhe was somewhat speechless. ¡°This Xiaotao girl is too explosive. She bes an entirely different person the moment she enteresbat.¡±

    Elder Lin smiled slightly. ¡°Though that¡¯s mainly dictated by her temperament, it¡¯s also because of her martial soul. However, this child¡¯s cultivation has increased by quite arge amount. In fact, I reckon that she¡¯ll be able to break through the seven-ringed stage within three years.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe chuckled. ¡°Elder Lin. I didn¡¯t have any assurance of my n back then. However, it seems that I can now give a definite answer to your question because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance. Haven¡¯t you sensed that the most astonishing part of this entire event was their escapade?¡±

    They naturally hadn¡¯t seen everything that had urred. However, the person who¡¯d been closest to the battle had been Elder Lin. The instant she¡¯d appeared atop the city walls after discovering the distress signal had been the same instant that Huo Yuhao had unleashed the jade-green light that had caused the three Soul Kings to lose their ability to move.

    Even though Yan Shaozhe had been somewhatte, he didn¡¯t arrive from the city. Because of this, his line of sight hadn¡¯t been obstructed, which had allowed him to vaguely witness that scene. The level of speed that these consummate-level experts had couldn¡¯t bepared to that of ordinary soul masters. Their escape however,bined with the stunning Golden Road that they¡¯d fired off, had given these two members of the academy¡¯s upper echelon¡ªand the experts beside them¡ªa deep impression.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s performance had admittedly been outstanding, but she was already a disciple of the inner courtyard. Thus, there simply hadn¡¯t been any suspense in her victory over her six-ringed opponent. However, it was a different case for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. A Soul Grandmaster and a Soul Elder had actually managed to escape from a formation of five Soul Kings and a Soul Emperor. This was enough to illustrate the doubts they had.

    If Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t made it in time, though they still would¡¯ve been bruised from their fall, the possibility of their death was extremely small. At that time, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had already arrived, at which point temporarily staying alive would¡¯ve posed no problem to them. It could be said that their escape had been entirely sessful.

    Yan Shaozhe and Elder Lin were both members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, yet they couldn¡¯t find any faults with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s earlier performance.

    ¡°Shaozhe, were you able to see what skill Huo Yuhao used when he was being chased in the air?¡± Elder Lin smiled slightly.

    Yan Shaozhe was still somewhat stunned by what he¡¯d seen, thus he shook his head. ¡°I was too far away from them, thus I wasn¡¯t able to see it clearly. Elder Lin, you must¡¯ve seen it. Just what sort of soul skill did he use? It was actually able to cause three Soul Kings to lose their ability to fly.¡±

    Elder Lin smiled. ¡°My heart was still aching after those two fes took away a precious soul bone from my pavilion, but I now think that it was extremely worth it now that I¡¯ve seen this skill. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he used a domain-type skill, which should¡¯vee from his soul bone. Perhaps this soul bone of his is rted to the awakening of his second martial soul.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was bbergasted. ¡°Elder Lin, are you sure that it was a domain-type skill?!¡±

    Elder Lin nced at him, but didn¡¯t reply. She turned around and walked into the city as she unhurriedly said, ¡°Someone had a lot of guts. To think that he¡¯d bully one of our students all the way until they reached the academy¡­ do as you wish.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe knew that it was a slip of the tongue. He bowed towards Elder Lin, then stood back up, his eyes filled with killing intent. He turned towards someone beside him and said, ¡°Take all of the corpses back to the academy. Spare no expenses; discover just who dared to attack one of our students in Shrek Academy¡¯s territory.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Within the city.

    ¡°Thank you, senior sister.¡± Even though Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had overdrafted their soul power, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with their physical bodies. They respectfully bowed towards Ma Xiaotao, their eyes full of admiration.

    Ma Xiaotao waved them off. ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. These fes must¡¯ve been tired of living. To think they¡¯d dare to cause a ruckus in our Shrek Academy¡­ have you offended anyone recently?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The moment Huo Yuhao said this, however, he suddenly thought of something, and immediately turned towards Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong was also looking at him. Both of them felt a sense of chilliness in their hearts when their gazes met.

    There was only a single person that they could have offended recently: Dai Huabin. Dai Huabin had lost to them twice in a row, which had resulted in him having to kowtow to them. He was from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, and was therefore capable of mobilising several people to serve him. A Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings weren¡¯t forces that ordinary powers would possess.

    Before Huo Yuhao could even speak, Bei Bei walked up to him. ¡°Two junior brothers, this ce isn¡¯t safe. Let¡¯s head back to the academy before we continue this conversation.¡±

    In reality, there was no way they could be in danger anymore. Huo Yuhao¡¯s distress signal had directly summoned the top powers of Shrek Academy. After a brief moment, even Fan Yu arrived.

    There was no doubt that Huo Yuhao¡¯s distress signal had been given to him by Fan Yu, who¡¯d added something special to the signal re so that he¡¯d also know to immediately rush over the moment Huo Yuhao released it.

    Because of this, even though only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had originally gone to the auction, their returning party turned was muchrger. The corpses left behind were all taken away by Yan Shaozhe¡¯s men.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t able to sleep well that night. They were only allowed to return to their dorms early in the morning after the academy¡¯s unceasing interrogation. Although the academy hadn¡¯t given them a definite answer, they clearly had their own conjectures.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried about how the academy would deal with this matter. He and Wang Dong had truly been too careless this time. They¡¯d never thought that Dai Huabin would use a tactic like this in an area so close to Shrek Academy.

    The corpses gave them no leads. They had indeed been sent over by Dai Huabin, but they¡¯d wiped away all traces of their identities before going to ambush Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. This wasn¡¯t done just to avoid anything troublesome for Dai Huabin, but also to prevent any suspicion falling upon the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion!

 Chapter 59.3: The Berserk Flamedevil Ma Xiaotao!

    Chapter 59.3: The Berserk medevil Ma Xiaotao!

    The fury of Shrek Academy was something that even the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, who controlled over ten thousand men in the Star Luo Empire, couldn¡¯t endure.

    The academy didn¡¯t escte the situation due to theck of proof, but they were only suppressing their anger for the time being.

    The next morning. Dai Huabin¡¯s expression greatly changed when he saw the somewhat dispirited Huo Yuhao and Wang Donge to ss, but he was still a son of the White Tiger Duke. Though he was greatly astonished, he quickly masked any overt changes on his face.

    He hadn¡¯t received any information as to what had urredst night and had hoped that the final oue wouldn¡¯t be too messy. As long as his men hadn¡¯t been injured, all would be fine. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to exin himself to his father!

    Cold sweat imperceptibly began to drench the back of Dai Huabin¡¯s shirt. A Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings together were not enough to kill the two of them. Remorse began to blossom in the depths of his heart.

    ¡°Dai Huabin.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyesight was extremely good, and thus he was able to instantly see Dai Huabin, who had been staring at them with a bewildered look in his eyes. He then pulled Wang Dong along with him and tookrge strides towards him.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s face was somewhat pale. At the end of the day, he was only a youth around the age of ten and thus couldn¡¯t conceal his emotions very well.

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes turned cold as he saw Dai Huabin and was just about to charge straight towards him when Huo Yuhao hurriedly held onto him.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Dai Huabin asked coldly.

    As he tightly held onto Wang Dong so as to not let him fly into a rage, Huo Yuhao spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t you lose that bet we made the other day? Come on, fulfill your promise now.¡±

    It was now time for students to go to ss, and so there was an endless stream of students walking past their ssroom. They were all second year students and were naturally aware of the grudges between Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Dai Huabin. Arge number of students had already stopped by the side to watch the proceedings.

    Dai Huabin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly, making the veins on his forehead pop out.

    Zhu Lu walked out from ss 2 and stood in front of Dai Huabin as she yelled, ¡°Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, don¡¯t be too excessive!¡±

    Wang Dong replied icily, ¡°We¡¯re being excessive? Go ask him what he didst night. I¡¯m just not sure whether or not he¡¯ll have the guts to reveal what he did.¡±

    Dai Huabin gritted his teeth as he responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted disdainfully. ¡°I knew you were a scaredy-cat. Regardless of whether or not you admit to what you did. You have to kowtow towards us now since you lost, man up and admit your loss.¡±

    Zhu Lu was about to confront them but she was shoved from behind by the flustered Dai Huabin. He didn¡¯t dare to confirm whether or not his men had been exposed. This matter was simply too important and was even rted to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion. No matter what, he absolutely couldn¡¯t reveal that he was guilty. Otherwise, it would affect the rtionship between Shrek Academy and the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion and might even cause hostility between the former and the Star Luo Empire.

    He took a deep breath as shoved the rancor and humiliation he felt into the depths of his heart. He abruptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed three times towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong while shouting, ¡°I was wrong.¡± Following which, he stood up and returned to his ss.

    The rancor in Zhu Lu¡¯s eyes was no less than in Dai Huabin¡¯s. After all, the person who¡¯d been humiliated was her future boyfriend! She pointed her slightly trembling finger towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, ¡°You just wait, just wait¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao acted as if he¡¯d heard nothing as then turned back to ss 1 along with Wang Dong. Right now, he wasn¡¯t feeling ted but vignt. He¡¯d made Dai Huabin kowtow in front of so many students but thetter still hadn¡¯t flown into a rage. An enemy like this was much more terrifying, especially so given Dai Huabin¡¯s rtively astonishing growth. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t suffer any sort of punishment after the ambush he¡¯d nned.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know, however, was the fact that Dai Huabin had been put on the academy¡¯s cklist due to the ambush he¡¯d set up. Though they didn¡¯t have any concrete proof, just who was Shrek Academy have? From the mere scraps they had, they were able to deduce a lot of things. However, they were still afraid of the consequences of their actions; making the Star Luo Empire an enemy for the sake of two students was clearly an unwise decision. Furthermore, when all was said and done, this was something that¡¯d been organised by Dai Huabin alone. Because of this, the extraordinarily talented Dai Huabin was destined to not enter the inner courtyard the instant he failed to kill Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The advancement test had already ended, and every single person who could continue going to ss had passed it. Students who hadn¡¯t passed could retake the test three dayster but they would be forced to leave the academy if they failed that test too.

    The ss that Wang Yan and Zhou Yi taught, ss 1, had an astonishing 95% pass rate. The facts had shown that putting the two of them together was extremely effective.

    Zhou Yi could manage her students well while Wang Yan had a vast amount of knowledge and a warm teaching style. Combined with the truly outstanding batch of students that came this year, there were only a few people who weren¡¯t able to pass the advancement test. Moreover, they still had the chance to retake the exam.

    Comparatively, there were far more students from the other sses who had been eliminated.

    ¡°Yuhao, why didn¡¯t you let me settle my grudges with him?¡± Wang Dong asked Huo Yuhao furiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The academy didn¡¯t deliver a verdict, so what can we do ourselves? We¡¯re all in the academy so there won¡¯t be a conclusion to this matter even if we try to settle our grudges with him. Let¡¯s just stay quiet and keep a watch on him. It¡¯s still more important for us to work hard and increase our strength. When we can reach senior sister Xiaotao¡¯s level of strength, we won¡¯t need to be afraid of any ambushes anymore.¡±

    The battle yesterday had stimted him greatly, but it clearly wasn¡¯t possible for him to increase his cultivation by arge amount within a short period of time. However, soul tools could increase his survivability. Thus, he had already nned to use the next few days to modify his set of soul tools. At the very least, he wanted to make sure that all of them were ss 2 tools. If he and Wang Dong had possessed a ss 2 thruster when they were ambushed, they wouldn¡¯t have been left in such a miserable state.

    ¡°Wah, I really can¡¯t help but think about it!¡± Wang Dong stared at the ssroom door.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously followed his gaze to see a red-clothed Ma Xiaotao standing outside the ssroom and waving to him.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s physical state didn¡¯t seem right. Her charming face was flushed red and there was even a faint red light shining from her body.

    Huo Yuhao questioningly pointed towards himself and Ma Xiaotao nodded before turning around and leaving.

    There was still some time before ss began so Huo Yuhao hurriedly turned towards Wang Dong, ¡°If Ie backte, help me out. I¡¯m going to see why senior sister Xiaotao¡¯s looking for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Wang Dong also felt that something about Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t quite right. If this was before yesterday, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have allowed Huo Yuhao to go alone. However, he wasn¡¯t wary towards Ma Xiaotao since she had saved them yesterday.

    Huo Yuhao quickly left the ss. The moment he walked out of the door, he felt a wave of red light surge towards him. Regardless of how precise his Spiritual Detection was, he wasn¡¯t able to dodge it at all. A wave of heat immediately engulfed his entire body.

    The source of that heat was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body.

    The twenty-or-so-year-old Ma Xiaotao was at the most beautiful period of her life, and she was also extremely beautiful from the start. At this moment, her flushed cheeks made her even more of a radiant beauty.

    She let out a sweet moan as she hugged Huo Yuhao,, ¡°Huo Yuhao, I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t hold it anymore. Quickly.¡±

    Her voice was rtively loud and not only did the students who were passing by hear her but even the students from ss 1 did as well. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was currently in front of the ssroom door. As he was hugged by the fiery Ma Xiaotao, it was absolutely impossible for him to struggle free.

    A red light flickered and Ma Xiaotao suddenly elerated and disappeared from the end of the corridor with Huo Yuhao in tow.

    Wang Dong immediately felt that something was off. He hastily ran outside, but he could only see the back of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body by the time he got there.

    There were still a few students in the corridor who were looking at each other.

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression became pale. He was just about to chase after them, but an arm suddenly stopped him the moment he took a step forward.

    ¡°Unhand me!¡± Wang Dong flew into a rage. However, he was immediately sent into a daze when he turned around. The person who¡¯d grabbed him was Zhou Yi.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why¡¯re you being so impatient?¡± Zhou Yi spoke in a low voice. Though she liked the two of them, in ordance with her philosophy of teaching, she definitely wouldn¡¯t allow her students to go against her.

    Wang Dong said urgently, ¡°Teacher Zhou, Huo Yuhao has been taken away by Ma Xiaotao. Please go rescue him quickly! I feel that there¡¯s something wrong with her. In the event he¡¯s harmed by her¡­¡±

    Zhou Yi pulled him back to the ssroom, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen. Dean Yan has already notified me of this. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul is rather special, and Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul can help her cultivation. Furthermore, this will be somewhat useful for him. Go back to your seat, we¡¯re about to start ss.¡±

    With that, Zhou Yi shut the door to the ssroom.

    Wang Dong¡¯s sense of urgency didn¡¯t subside as a result of Zhou Yi¡¯s exnation. On the contrary, it became even more intense. He naturally knew that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be injured by Ma Xiaotao but the worry he felt intensified exponentially when he saw the image of Ma Xiaotao hugging Huo Yuhao in his mind.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was nk. He naturally knew that Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t hurt him, and moreover, he had seen her berserk appearance before. Only, he was somewhat embarrassed due to the big beauty hugging him out of the blue.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t have any perfume on her, but she nheless smelled rather refreshing. She smelled like sun-dried nkets, rxing and clean. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t warm like a nket but somewhat scalding instead.

    Ma Xiaotao was extremely slender and she continued to run as she hugged Huo Yuhao. Thetter only saw the scenery around him alternating unceasingly while the nk feeling he felt in his heart only grew stronger.

    Within the blink of an eye, they¡¯d left the school building. Ma Xiaotao rushed towards Sea God¡¯s Lake with Huo Yuhao in tow where she finally took a breather. ¡°Yu¡­ Hao¡­ quickly¡­ help me. I¡­ can¡¯t hold it anymore¡­ I need¡­ your Ice element¡­ help¡­ me suppress¡­ my Evil Fire¡­ Quickly¡­¡± she stammered.

 Chapter 61.1: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    Chapter 61.1: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    Regarding the fact that there¡¯s no chapter 60: The Author omitted it, thus we have too.

    Core disciples were entitled to a sumptuous breakfast. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was now a core disciple of both the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department at the same time.

    Normally, he¡¯d only eat the food supplied by the Soul Tool Department, as it was more exquisite and precious than the Martial Soul Department¡¯s. However, he was extremely famished today, and his body was in dire need of arge quantity of nutrients. As such, he devoured both of the breakfasts he was provided with today.

    Just as he was about to finish his meal, Wang Dong walked in in a dispirited and downcast mood. The moment he walked through the doors, Wang Dong spotted Huo Yuhao, who was pigging out. When he saw him, he immediately began to takerge strides towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you alright? Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t do anything to you, right?¡± Wang Dong ran over to him and questioned him impatiently.

    Huo Yuhao kept a natural expression on his face as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m alright! In fact, I¡¯m doing quite well. I simply apanied senior sister Xiaotao to cultivate. You should know just how extraordinary the nature of her martial soul is. With my help, she¡¯s managed to suppress that demonic fire of hers.¡±

    When he¡¯d left the Sea God¡¯s Ind and returned to thekeside, he¡¯d firmly made up his mind: No matter who it was that questioned him, he wouldn¡¯t say what had really happened, even if he was beaten to death. It was too embarrassing!

    Wang Dong gazed at him and felt a bit apprehensive. His nose twitched and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s that fragrance?¡±

    As a person who could normally control his desire very well, Huo Yuhao was used to controlling everything to the best of his ability. As such, he¡¯d already thought of a countermeasure for this situation a long time ago. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s because it was extremely exhausting when I cultivated with senior sister Xiaotao. That phoenix me of hers is really strong, thus I ended up sweating all over. When I was done, I borrowed her washing liquid to wash my clothes. I never expected her to use such a fragrant washing liquid with that fierce personality of hers.¡±

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t find a single mistake in what Huo Yuhao said, thus he gradually heaved a sigh of relief. However, he still bore a little resentment and said, ¡°You actually needed a whole day to cultivate. Ma Xiaotao is too overbearing! What happens if it end up interfering with your studies? Oh right, Teacher Zhou asked for us to see her in her office today before ss starts. It seems like there¡¯s something going on, as we weren¡¯t the only ones called. All of the core disciples have to go and see her. It seems that they¡¯re giving us special attention now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°This is a good thing! What was Dai Huabin reaction?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and replied, ¡°Nothing. I haven¡¯t even seen that fellow since back then. Gosh, are you a pig? How much have you eaten?!¡± He¡¯d only just now noticed that the table had been filled with empty tes.

    Huo Yuhaoughed sheepishly and said, ¡°I exhausted quite a bit of energy cultivating yesterday. However, what senior brother Xu Sanshi said at back then was correct. Even though it¡¯s painful to cultivate with senior sister Ma, the increased speed of cultivation I get is pretty good. I even asked her to help me melt that Whale Rubber so that I could eat it. Oh right, has your soul bone arrived yet?¡±

    Wang Dong immediately became excited when he mentioned the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, and nodded repeatedly as he said, ¡°Yep, it¡¯s already arrived. Can you protect me tonight so that I can fuse with it? I¡¯ve already gotten permission from Teacher Zhou for a leave of absence. It won¡¯t be a problem even if it takes me more than a day to fuse with the soul bone.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask Teacher Fan Yu for some materials tonight so that I can remodel my soul tool in our dorm room while I¡¯m watching over you.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished his breakfast, Huo Yuhao returned to the dormitory to freshen up. Afterwards, he changed into a new school uniform before heading off to find Zhou Yi with Wang Dong.

    It was still both extremely sunny and cloudless today. Moreover, a new school term had begun in Shrek Academy. Students from every year group were all facing different levels of pressure. The new students had the Freshmen Examination, while students from higher year groups had both their Advancement Examination and courses to study for.

    Huo Yuhao lightly knocked on the office door a few times.

    ¡°Enter.¡± Zhou Yi¡¯s ever ice-cold voice rang out.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong pushed opened the door and entered.

    The room was already full of core disciples from ss 1. Besides Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Chao Jinxuan and Huang Chutian, who had officially be a core disciple, were all present in the room. As such, there were a total of eight people from their ss present.

    Zhou Yi intentionally nced towards Huo Yuhao. When she saw that his expression was normal, she didn¡¯t ask any questions. With a cough, she directed everyone¡¯s line of sight towards herself. ¡°The reason I called you guys here today is because I have a special situation that I need to inform you guys about: In three days time, the outer courtyard will be organizing a core disciple qualification match. Originally, it didn¡¯t have anything to do with second years, but the academy suddenly decided to let the Year 2 core disciples participate in the match as well. As a result of this, you guys will need to prepare yourselves.¡±

    Feeling somewhat curious, Zhou Sichen asked, ¡°Teacher Zhou, what¡¯s this qualification match for?¡±

    Zhou Yi replied, ¡°However, you guys don¡¯t need to be too worried about it. There won¡¯t be any sort of punishment if you lose this qualification match. Those participating are all core disciples from the outer courtyard who are fifteen years old and under. People from the Soul Tool Department will also be attending. ording to my calctions, there are around thirty people participating in the match. We¡¯ll be choosing seven from this group to take part in a mission. As for what sort of mission it is, only the students who win will know what sort of mission it is. It¡¯s worth noting that these ces would normally belong to students from the third, fourth, and fifth years. However, you guys are lucky to be able to participate in this match. You guys should do your best. We have eight core disciples from our ss; at least try not to bepletely wiped out.¡±

    Hearing Zhou Yi speak as though she didn¡¯t think of the matter as very important, everyone immediately heaved a sigh of relief. They¡¯d even silently cursed at the academy in their hearts for having a bit too many examinations. The Advancement Examination had just ended! What was the deal with a Core Disciple Examination now?

    ¡°Alright, you guys head back to the ssroom first. Huo Yuhao, stay behind for awhile. The rest of you can head back first.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone uniformly replied. As they left, Zhou Sichen shot Huo Yuhao a nce that said that he was rejoicing in his demise. Afterwards, he took the lead and left the office with Cao Jinxuan.

    Wang Dong said in a low tone, ¡°Xiao Xiao and I will wait for you outside.¡±

    Once the others had left the room, Huo Yuhao obediently closed the door. He then turned around and faced Zhou Yi as he asked, ¡°Teacher Zhou, do you still have something to tell me?¡±

    Zhou Yi indifferently replied, ¡°I¡¯m only rying a message from Dean Yan and Dean Xian. Both of them mentioned that it would be fine, even if the others don¡¯t enter the top seven. However, they said that if you fail to do so, you¡¯ll suffer the consequences.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± When he heard her say this, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that the pressure weighing down on him was as great as a mountain! ¡°Teacher Zhou, that¡¯s impossible! If the students from the outer courtyard were topete with the core disciples in terms of strength alone, I would definitely be ranked amongst the top! However, there will be senior students participating in this match as well!¡±

    A hint of a smile appeared in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes when she heard this. She stood up and replied, ¡°It¡¯s useless to talk to me about this, as I¡¯m simply rying their message to you. If you have the guts to do so, reason it out with Dean Yan and Dean Xian. Now then, get going, you still have a ss to attend.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao immediately became crestfallen. Even though he felt confident about his abilities, that still depended on the circumstances! He¡®d bepeting against a bunch of senior core disciples; how could it be that easy?! Disregarding the other students, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan alone were bound to be within the fifteen-year-old category, along with the many core disciples he¡¯d never seen before. All three of them had four soul rings! He definitely didn¡¯t think that he could fight against his seniors with four soul rings¡ªeven if he did have an Ultimate martial soul.

    Once he left the room, he noticed Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao waiting for him.

    ¡°Why did Teacher Zhou ask you to stay behind?¡± Wang Dong asked curiously.

    This wasn¡¯t something that he could hide, thus Huo Yuhao told them what Zhou Yi had told him with a depressed look on his face. By the time he¡¯d finished, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but look at each other in dismay. They then simultaneously patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯d best rely on yourself, rather than on us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was full ofment and resentfulness as he replied, ¡°Are you guys even human?! You¡¯re not evenforting me!¡±

    Wang Dongughed mischievously and said, ¡°Who asked you to be a core disciple of two departments? Who asked you to show such an outstanding performance in the Advancement Examination, and to even have an Ultimate martial soul?! We¡¯ll cheer for you. Oh right, I keep forgetting to ask you. What was the skill you used the other day called? The one that sucked all of our soul power away and released that dark green light.¡±

    The reason that both of them had been able to escape their predicament that day was because Huo Yuhao had decisively used that move. It was mainly because he¡¯d used that skill in the nick of time, which had prevented the three flying Soul Kings from pursuing them. They¡¯d then able to escape to Shrek City¡¯s northern gates and had managed to wait it out until Ma Xiaotao and Bei Bei came to save them.

    Huo Yuhao snorted and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll just let you guys rejoice in my misfortune. This elder brother isn¡¯t telling you.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and headed towards the school building.

    Elder Lin¡¯s guess that night had been spot on; the skill he¡¯d used back then belonged to the domain-type. Domain-type skills were just as umon as Ultimate martial souls. A domain-type soul skill was a skill that affect everything within a certain area based on the user¡¯s domain. It could also be regarded as the highest ranked control-type soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain-type skill came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone. It was one of the skills she¡¯d bestowed to him, which was known as the ¡®Domain of Perpetual Ice¡¯.

    Based on Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation, it was still extremely difficult for him to properly use the Domain of Perpetual Ice. He¡¯d still only been able to use a fraction of the skill, despite having borrowed Wang Dong¡¯s power that day. If he wanted to fully unleash the potential of this soul skill, he¡¯d have to wait until he¡¯d managed to obtain seven soul rings at the very least.

    When the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had been known as the Tyrant of the Extreme North, her Domain of Perpetual Ice could freeze over a thousand miles in an instant. As such, it was the one of the highest ranked origin skills. If Huo Yuhao wanted to use the skill at the same level that the Ice Empress had, he¡¯d have to cultivate to the stage that she had been at.

    Huo Yuhao was immersed in his anxiety the entire day during his sses. Regardless of how much he mulled the matter over, he couldn¡¯t think of a way to rise above a bunch of core disciples. However, he didn¡¯tin about anything in his state of depression. Besides, he¡¯d received preferential treatment from the academy during the Treasure Appreciation Auction; he couldn¡¯t say anything, even if he was currently facing pressure!

    In the end, Huo Yuhao came to the conclusion that he¡¯d just have to stake it all in the match.

 Chapter 61.2: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    Chapter 61.2: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    Regarding the fact that there¡¯s no chapter 60: The Author omitted it, thus we have too.

    However, when he went to the Soul Tool Department in the evening to study with Fan Yu, he finally received good news. This time, the core disciples of the Martial and Soul Tool Departments would jointly participate in the test. In other words, the two departments wouldn¡¯t be separated. In the Soul Tool Department, the number of core disciples under the age of fifteen was scarce. The only ones that could participate and had some hope of being selected were He Caitou and Huo Yuhao. Thus, Fan Yu had directly removed all those students that didn¡¯t have any chance of passing the preliminary round. With that, the number of participants had dropped even more. And since he was a core disciple of both departments, Huo Yuhao could use soul tools during the test! This was a great boost to his fighting capability.

    After consulting with the professors and receiving some pointers from Fan Yu, Huo Yuhao started to create a ss 2 soul tool that would suit him. He had only three days to improve his equipment.

    For the sake of saving time, as soon as he finished his ss, he decided to bring all the parts back to the dormitory. He was nning to assemble his soul tool while acting as a protector for Wang Dong, who would absorb the soul bone from the auction in the meantime.

    As soon as he opened the dormitory door, he was weed by a burst of warm andfortable golden light that almost made him jump out of his skin. He quickly closed the door behind him.

    In the middle of their dorm room, Wang Dong was earnestly inspecting the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, which was hovering in mid-air. He seemedpletely engrossed by it and didn¡¯t even spare any attention to Huo Yuhao¡¯s return.

    Huo Yuhao sat beside him and also carefully observed the bone. Without the barrier of the stall, one couldpletely experience the awesomeness of this bone just by being near it.

    It hadn¡¯t been priced at 9.5 million Gold Soul Coins for nothing! It looked like an artificial sun as it hovered in the middle of the room. It¡¯s warmth filled light had spread to every corner of the room and dispersed every shadow from every corner and nook. Apart from it¡¯s warmth, the golden halo also radiated a faint pressure.

    The most eye-catching parts were the fingertips. They was a pulsating strange reddish-gold light surrounding them which was continuously emitting a sharp ¡®chi chi¡¯ sound.

    Huo Yuhao arrived behind Wang Dong and ced his hands on his vest. After that, he slowly poured his soul power into Wang Dong, activating their Haodong Power.

    Wang Dong¡¯s whole body shook as he finally came back to his senses.

    ¡°I¡¯m here. You can start.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Wang Dong didn¡¯t waste time. He raised his left arm and activated the Haodong Power.

    He had already examined the Golden Light Left Arm Bone for more than two hours. The more he looked at it, the more incredible it felt. The bone also seemed to have felt his gaze. The energy within it had started to rhythmically pulse in sync with Wang Dong¡¯s breath. This made Wang Dong slowly enter a strange meditative state.

    If he had to describe his rtionship with this soul bone, the most apt description would be ¡®like attracts like¡¯.

    When the soul power of his left arm came in contact the left arm bone, the reddish-gold light rushed toward him and started to twine around his arm.

    Immediately, Wang Dong¡¯s entire body was covered with the shining reddish-gold light. A rich, dense aura of warmth rose and surged about while Wang Dong exhaled deeply. Following which, he closed his eyes and stood there calmly, enjoying the fusion.

    At this point in the fusion process, the Haodong Power was irrelevant. Therefore, Huo Yuhao slowly stopped pouring his soul power into him. After stepping around in front of Wang Dong, he looked at his satisfied face and felt that it was somewhat unfair.

    They had both fused with a soul bone. But why was the difference so big?

    ¡°Idiot. This is calledpatibility. This soul bone has a very highpatibility with his body. Therefore, the fusion will also be very simple and quick. On the other hand, what was your cultivation level when you merged with me? Moreover, I was still alive when webined. It¡¯s already a miracle that you seeded at all.¡± The Ice Impress said in a dissatisfied manner.

    Huo Yuhao was startled, ¡°Ice Impress! Skydream! Where did the two of you go?! Didn¡¯t you hear me when I was calling you earlier? Why did the two of you keep ignoring me?¡±

    Be it when he and Wang Dong were in danger or when he was in that awkward situation with Ma Xiaotao, these two intelligent soul rings had acted as if they didn¡¯t exist.

    The Skydream Iceworm saidzily, ¡°If you rely on us for everything, how are you ever going to be strong? We can help you raise your strength but at the end of the day, the one that has to make the breakthroughs is you. Moreover, the more your cultivation rises, the more you¡¯ll need to rely on yourself. If you can resolve the situation on your own, we¡¯re unlikely to intervene. And you have to remember that we¡¯re only soul rings, not your bodyguards. Our strength has long since merged inside your body. If you encounter a dangerous situation, we¡¯re as powerless as you in dealing with it. In the worst case, we¡¯ll die together with you! That¡¯s why you have to rely on your own power, and not on us.¡±

    Although Huo Yuhao had already left them very satisfied, nheless the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress knew that he would have to do way better if he wanted to be stronger and shock even them.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t really med them for their actions. Therefore, he immediately said in a somewhat ashamed manner, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think that someone would ambush us. I¡¯ll be more careful from now on.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°We have good news for you. You didn¡¯t suffer in vain yesterday. Although that girl¡¯s phoenix mes weren¡¯t very pure, their temperature was still quite good. In addition, the benefits your body received from that Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber were greater than what we had imagined. Therefore, we unsealed some more of our power and merged it with our soul rings and soul bones. Your soul power also increased a bit thanks to the Ice Impress giving you a part of her power. ording to our calctions, all of your soul rings can now put out around 4200 years of power. The power of your skills has also slightly increased. However, you¡¯ll need to train even more now. The stronger the soul skill, therger its consumption of soul power. If you don¡¯t have enough soul power, it will all be for naught.¡±

    As expected, it was very good news. Huo Yuhao was very happy. It was also the greatest benefit that these two sentient soul rings had brought him. Maybe, if he kept cultivating like this¡­ one day, he wouldn¡¯t need to use his imitation skill to have red soul rings! No one else could raise the strength of their soul rings, but he could!

    ¡°Awesome, thank you very much. I won¡¯t ck off. However, I can¡¯t cultivate tonight since I need to act as a protector for Wang Dong.¡±

    The fusion between Wang Dong and the Gold Light Left Arm Bone went more smoothly than he had imagined. The entire process from start to finish waspleted in less than six hours. The process came to an end as thest thread of reddish-gold light merged into his left arm.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sleep for the whole night. While acting as a protector for Wang Dong, he had also been assembling his ss 2 soul tool. Since acting as a protector was distracting, he didn¡¯t engrave the formation arrays. However, he still made a few essories.

    ¡°Huuuu¡± After a long exhale, Wang Dong slowly opened his eyes. The reddish-gold light wasn¡¯t flickering through his eyes anymore.

    Huo Yuhao felt that Wang Dong¡¯s disposition had changed a bit. Before, he had given off a gentle and refined feeling. But now, he seemed somewhat aggressive. It was rather simr to the feeling Ma Xiaotao gave off.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked quickly.

    Wang Dong nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve seeded.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try out your soul skill?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°First, tell me about your soul skill. I¡¯ll try mine afterward.¡±

    ¡°You still remember!¡± Huo Yuhao said with a smile, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you. The name of this skill is Domain of Perpetual Ice. It can reduce the temperature within a certain range. That day, those guys were frozen and fell from the sky as a consequence of this skill. What about yours?¡±

    Wang Dong red at him and responded, ¡°It¡¯s better if you look.¡± With that, he excitedly raised his left arm. The wings of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess tore the back of his shirt and slowly spread out. Then, his left arm waspletely covered in a reddish-gold radiance.

    The reddish-gold light was apanied by a dragon¡¯s roar as it pushed forwards. Afterwards, ayer of reddish-gold mes started to cover his wings. It seemed as if those already beautiful wings now had an additional outer garment, making them look even bigger. The entire room was filled with the aura of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Golden Light¡¯, and it¡¯s an auxiliary-type skill. It can be used with any of my soul skills. I¡¯m also unaware of its concrete ability. I¡¯ll need to test it out. But it should have the ability to increase the destructive power of my light element.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This soul bone skill can give you an overall power up. I think I¡¯ve heard Teacher Wang say that an ability like this was very rare!¡±

    Wang Dong, who was releasing the golden light, had an even more surprised look right now. ¡°The restoration rate of my soul power seems to have increased as well. Just like you can feel your soul power slowly reducing when you release your martial soul, right now, I can feel my soul power slowly increasing. Although it¡¯s not very clear, I can still feel it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hand. Their soul power mixed, transforming into Haodong Power. Immediately, Huo Yuhao also felt a dense light aura entering Wang Dong¡¯s body, slowly helping him recover his soul power. At this time, his soul power was abundant. Therefore, it was difficult to feel the recovering soul power clearly.

    Huo Yuhao manipted his soul power and released several skills, such as Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing, Spiritual Shock, and Spiritual Interference, to consume their Haodong Power.

    Under these circumstances, the feeling became clearer. That dense light aura started to quickly pour into Wang Dong¡¯s body. What made them even more surprised was that after once this light energy had poured into his body, no matter what skill it was, they all had an overall increase in power. The soul power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique was fairly calm and didn¡¯t cause any trouble either. Moreover, after mixing his power with Wang Dong¡¯s and activating the Haodong Power, Wang Dong was also able to directly make use of this power. And now, under the effect of the Golden Light, they could even recover their Haodong Power.

 Chapter 61.3: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    Chapter 61.3: Icy Domain and the Golden Light

    This surprise was simply too pleasant for them. Regardless of how much the Golden Light amplified Wang Dong¡¯s offensive capabilities, the simple fact that it could simultaneously restore their soul power was an enormous gain for them! Theirbat strength in a prolonged battle would drastically increase now that they had this. Coincidentally, the Skydream Iceworm had brought up the issue of his soul power consumption in battle earlier.

    ¡°This is great news!¡± Huo Yuhao cheered, then immediately gave Wang Dong a big hug.

    Wang Dong was dumbstruck when Huo Yuhao hugged him. His face reddened, but he didn¡¯t resist, nor did he hug Huo Yuhao back.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel that it was strange at all and smiled mischievously. ¡°Quick, let¡¯s cultivate together to see if this golden light has any effect on our cultivation.¡±

    However, the facts proved that they hadn¡¯t been possessed by the God of Luck. The golden light was only capable of helping them restore their soul power; it didn¡¯t benefit their cultivation whatsoever. Despite this, their excitement didn¡¯t diminish in the slightest. The core disciples¡¯ qualification match would begin in two days, thus any increase to Wang Dong¡¯s strength would be incredibly helpful.

    The following two days were undoubtedly both tense and busy for Huo Yuhao. Besides his daily cultivation and studies, he also had to dedicate all of his energy to soul tool creation. For the sake of helping him progress faster, Fan Yu personally helped him create a few simple yet time-consumingponents for a few of his soul tools. However, the formation arrays of the soul tools would still have to be personally done by Huo Yuhao. Fan Yu was very specific on this point. Even though he favoured Huo Yuhao, he was still a strict teacher.

    Nobody knew how the core disciples¡¯ qualification match would be carried out. Despite this, it was inescapable for all of the core disciples. Fortunately, they wouldn¡¯t receive a punishment if they lost this match.

    ¡°Ding¡ª¡± The ss bell rang, signifying that their sses for the day had ended. The students from ss 1 immediately began to rx when they heard the bell.

    In Shrek Academy, managing to rise to second years from freshmen was equivalent to managing to pass through a strict filter; every single student left was of sufficient strength. Furthermore, now that they¡¯d finished their studies as a first year student, they truly understood just how hard they¡¯d have to work to remain students. Because of this, every single student was serious about their studies. If they didn¡¯t work hard, it would only signify their expulsion.

    Graduates from Shrek Academy were extremely popr on the continent, however graduating from Shrek Academy was easier said than done. Furthermore, this only referred to the outer courtyard.

    Wang Yan tidied up his lesson ns, then said, ¡°Those of you who are core disciples stay behind. I need you all to follow me to the Soul Duelling Area for a while.¡±

    It¡¯se! The spirits of the core disciples present were instantly aroused. They all knew that the qualification match was about to start. However, they hadn¡¯t expected the test to be held after ss had ended. Since it was, their ss time hadn¡¯t be wasted at all.

    The number of core disciples in Huo Yuhao¡¯s generation was extremely high; it was slightly higher than the previous generations. ss 1 alone had eight, while ss 2¡¯s Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Zhu Lu, and Wu Feng¡ªas well as ss 3¡¯s Ning Feng¡ªmade for a total of twelve core disciples. This was an extremely rare sight in Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard.

    Thebined total of third year and fourth year core disciples was around this number.

    When they left the ssroom, Huo Yuhao immediately saw Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Zhu Lu, and Wu Feng leaving their ss together as well. Their teacher in charge, Mu Jin, lead them as they left.

    Dai Huabin naturally saw Huo Yuhao as well, and a cold light shed through his eyes when he did. He concealed his own emotions very well however, as he simply looked away from Huo Yuhao as they left. He didn¡¯t even spare him a second nce. Though his status as a core disciple hadn¡¯t changed, he¡¯d still received a strict warning from the college. He¡¯d also just found out that the corpses of the six experts who¡¯d died in battle had been sent back to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion. Furthermore, this had all been done in the past two days. Fortunately, his father hadn¡¯t returned yet, thus his mother had been able to keep everything under control. If she hadn¡¯t, he¡¯d have had to suffer his father¡¯s wrath.

    Due to this, even though the rancor in his heart had deepened, his only choice was to hide it in the depths of his heart and not reveal any of it. Shrek Academy had already given the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion quite a bit of face, despite not possessing any concrete evidence. Considering the academy¡¯s power, did the fact that they didn¡¯t have any concrete evidence really matter? At the very least, having him expelled wouldn¡¯t trouble the academy in the slightest.

    Dai Huabin was simrly terrified once he realized the consequences of his actions. He couldn¡¯t afford to affect his future prospects just for the sake of some petty revenge.

    Ning Tian¡ªwho hadn¡¯t been seen in ages¡ªnced at Huo Yuhao the moment she came out from ss 3 just like Dai Huabin.

    The twelve core disciples of Year 2 left the teaching building as they followed the three teachers and headed towards the Soul Duelling Area.

    Huo Yuhao saw a few familiar faces when they neared the Soul Duelling Area.

    His senior brother Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan appeared in his line of sight; all of them were Year 5 core disciples. The most conspicuous of them were still the twin stars, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. The core disciples of Year 5 naturally weren¡¯t limited to the three of them, but they were the only ones who hadn¡¯t had their fifteenth birthday yet. They were, without a doubt, the strongest amongst the core disciples of the outer courtyard.

    Soul Elders were verymon in the outer courtyard, but there were very few students below Year 5 capable of reaching the four-ringed rank.

    Advancing from a Soul Elder to a Soul Ancestor was much more difficult than advancing from a Soul Grandmaster to a Soul Elder. This point alone was enough to demonstrate Dai Huabin¡¯s extraordinary talent. He hadn¡¯t even turned thirteen, yet he¡¯d already reached Rank 37. He was absolutely at the forefront of Shrek Academy. This was also one of the main reasons the academy hadn¡¯t been willing to give up on him so easily. However, his path to the inner courtyard had temporarily been sealed away. It would depend on whether or not he could explode out with an even greater amount of strength, such that it moved the academy¡¯s upper echelon, if he wanted to reopen this path. Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t owned by Huo Yuhao, and while it was true that his Ultimate martial soul had attracted the academy¡¯s attention, it wasn¡¯t as if the academy would give up on other talents because of him. Of course, Dai Huabin still had to suffer punishment for doing something malicious. As such, it had be much harder for him to enter the inner courtyard.

    In reality, there weren¡¯t any other four-ringed core disciples besides Bei Bei¡¯s group of three. The third and fourth year core disciples began to arrive in session, but He Caitou was the only core disciple of the Soul Tool Department to arrive. The final number of students participating in the match was twenty-seven, but the second year students upied half of these spots.

    Students from different sses stood behind their teachers in charge and waited silently. Though this test hade about somewhat mysteriously, and even though there wasn¡¯t any punishment if they did badly in it, anyone who could be a core disciple was quite gifted amongst their peers. Naturally, the more talented one was, the more confident one would be. None of them were willing to give up easily.

    Dai Huabin stood there, eager to give it a go. He¡¯d reached Rank 37, thus he wasn¡¯t really afraid of the core disciples from the higher year groups. From his point of view, this was an opportunity he could use to prove himself. Even though the teachers hadn¡¯t exined the benefits they¡¯d receive if they entered into the top 7, the academy definitely had its own motives.

    At that moment, a swaying figure slowly walked towards the Soul Duelling Area. His swaying appearance gave the impression that he could fall down at any time.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a trace of astonishment on his face when he saw him. Wasn¡¯t that Elder Xuan? Even though arge portion of his face was covered by his messy hair, the signature cbash of alcohol in his left hand and the chicken leg in his right immediately revealed who he was. Besides Elder Xuan, Huo Yuhao had never seen a person within Shrek Academy act like this.

    Elder Xuan unsteadily walked towards the group of students, then raised his head with an intoxicated look in his eyes. ¡°Little Wang.¡±

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Wang Yan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

    ¡°Is everyone present?¡± Elder Xuan asked.

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Everyone¡¯s arrived. There are a total of twenty six core disciples from the Martial Soul Department between Year 2 and Year 5, while only a single person hase from the Soul Tool Department.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Let¡¯s head in then.¡± With that, Elder Xuan turned around and wobbled his way into the Soul Duelling Arena.

    Most of the core disciples had never seen Elder Xuan before. Because of this, arge number of them had doubts in their heart. Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t help but whisper to Xie Huanyue, who was beside him, ¡°Who¡¯s this drunkard?¡±

    Xie Huanyue shook his head, but didn¡¯t reply.

    The Soul Duelling Arena looked like it usually did, except for the fact that there were no other teachers or students present.

    Elder Xuan walked all the way to the middle of the Area before he stopped. The core disciples also stopped, along with their teachers.

    Elder Xuan spoke in a muffled voice, ¡°Listen up you brats. The test you¡¯re about to take is extremely simple. I call it the Collective Chaotic Battle. It will be held in this Soul Duelling Area, and you¡¯re free to attack whenever and however you wish. There are no rules in thispetition. If you surrender or are rescued by a teacher, you¡¯ll be eliminated. Thest seven people will be the victors of this battle. Alright, I¡¯m done exining. Teachers, get ready. Once this old man gives the signal, you can start fighting.¡±

    ¡°Even this sort of thing is possible?¡± The students present couldn¡¯t help but look at each other in shock when they they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words. They¡¯d never seen a test like this before. There were twenty-seven people here! Furthermore, everyone here had different cultivations and specialties! How would they be able to test anything on a chaotic battle like this?

    The teachers naturally wouldn¡¯t disobey Elder Xuan¡¯s order, thus they left the Soul Duelling Arena one by one.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t wait for the students within the Area to react as he suddenly raised the bottle gourd in his hand and shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    With a ¡®whoosh¡¯, Elder Xuan¡¯s figure vanished, which left only the twenty-seven core disciples of the outer courtyard in the Soul Duelling Arena

    The sudden change in events truly happened too fast, thus the students present momentarily paused when they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s shout. Immediately afterwards, all of them made a different decision.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction was extremely quick: He immediately stretched his hands out and grabbed both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s hands. Afterwards, a light erupted from his back, and he shot towards Bei Bei with the two of them in tow.

 Chapter 62.1: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    Chapter 62.1: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    How exactly could a chaotic battle involving several tens of people be conducted? Considering that the participants ranged second- to fifth-year students, there was inevitably arge gap in their cultivations. This difference wasn¡¯t something that could just be made up with numbers.

    Even if five or six people were to simultaneously attack Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to take them down! As such, almost everyone began to form alliances once the battle had started.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t form a team with the other ss 1 students. First off, they couldn¡¯t be considered to be well coordinated. Second, all of them were only second year students. In a chaotic battle such as this, they wouldn¡¯t have any chance at winning even if they all teamed up.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first choice was to find his senior brother, as it was cooling to rest under arge tree.

    Bei Bei naturally understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s intention, as he growled, ¡°Sanshi, Nannan, let¡¯s work together.¡± All three of them were fifth year students with four soul rings; it would be extremely easy for them to be attacked from all sides. Furthermore, their rtionship was extremely subtle. Arge number of people thought that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were rivals, yet in reality they were extremely good friends. At the same time, even though Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t have a deep connection with them, she naturally wouldn¡¯t make a bad decision considering their situation. Moreover, she was good friends with Tang Ya.

    Other than Huo Yuhao¡¯s group, who¡¯d decided to make do by themselves, the other students had all looked forpanions that were near them. Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and Zhu Lu naturally decided to form a team together. Afterwards, they dragged their ssmate Wu Feng and the nearby Ning Tian into their team in order to form a small, five-man team.

    The other third and fourth year students formed their own teams, while the Lan sisters naturally formed a team with Huang Chutian. On the other hand, Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan decided to follow Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio, and rushed towards Bei Bei. The two of them were extremely clever; when they¡¯d witnessed Huo Yuhao reveal his astonishing amount of talent, they¡¯d naturally understood that, at the very least, no harm woulde from following him. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t him, nor did they possess something like his soul thruster. The two of them were immediately left behind as soon as he elerated with the use of his soul thruster.

    Of everyone present, the only person who hadn¡¯t found a team was the tall and sturdy He Caitou, who was also the only core disciple from the Soul Tool Department participating in the event.

    While the others scrambled to form teams, he stood there like a steel machine. Arge number of tube-shaped pieces of metal began to appear all over his body, which caused him to resemble an enormous steel hedgehog. Despite the many tubes that had appeared, the most terrifying things on his body were still the two enormous, thigh-sized cannons on his shoulders. Even if some of the students from the Martial Soul Department didn¡¯t know that they were stationary soul tools, they were still able to sense a terrifying sensation of crisis from them.

    He Caitou had followed Fan Yu for a long period of time, as Fan Yu was the who¡¯d brought him to Shrek Academy. The instant that therge number of soul tools appeared all over his body, two yellow and two purple soul rings rose up from beneath him and simultaneously lit up. Impressively, he¡¯d managed to be a Soul Ancestor-ranked expert.

    After all of the metallic tubes had emerged from his body, He Caitou mercilesslyunched a volley of attacks towards the area that held thergest number of people¡­

    Over twenty beams of light suddenly emerged from his body towards his target, and the ripples of soul power that instantaneously exploded outwards stunned everyone present.

    Zhou Sichen and Cao Jianxuan were the most unlucky of those he¡¯d targeted, as they had to bear the brunt of the terrifying volley of light. The barrage of attacks he sent towards them came too suddenly, and moved too fast for them to dodge. Furthermore, as an attackunched from a soul tool, it hadn¡¯t had any starting signs. This was also their first time facing one, thus they were somewhat stunned for a brief period of time.

    The moment they were about to be hit, the two of them felt their bodies suddenly lighten. Immediately afterwards, they felt themselves soar into the sky and vanish from the battlefield.

    ¡°The two of you are eliminated.¡± The smell of alcohol assaulted their noses as Zhou Sichen and Cao Jianxuan¡¯s found that, to their astonishment, they were now hovering in the air beside Elder Xuan, and a faint halo of light had covered their bodies.

    A loud explosion then rang out from the ground beneath them.

    The might of twenty soul tools was simply astonishing. Amidst the violent explosions, everyone other than Zhou Sichen and Cao Jianxuan¡ªwho¡¯d been directly eliminated¡ªhastily dodged to the side.

    He Caitou hadn¡¯tunched his attack for nothing. In fact, he¡¯d done it for the sake of his little junior brother. If he hadn¡¯t, why would his attack have perfectly collided with Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan? Huo Yuhao made use of He Caitou¡¯s covering fire to smoothly reach Bei Bei¡¯s group of three with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    ¡°Senior brother He, this way.¡± Huo Yuhao waved towards He Caitou once he¡¯d reached Bei Bei, then immediately began to release his powerful auxiliary abilities.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up with a faint golden color as his Spiritual Detection Sharing instantly enveloped Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou.

    Of the six of them, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were the only ones who hadn¡¯t experienced Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection before. As such, the two of them were immediately astonished when they were enveloped by it.

    It had to be known that his Spiritual Detection would grow even stronger as his cultivation increased. Even though it couldn¡¯t yet envelop the entire battlefield, it could still cover arge portion of it. A three-dimensional image appeared in all of their minds, afterwhich every single action their surrounding opponents were taking or were about to take was transmitted into their minds via the analysis of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. This wonderful sensation of total control was something that no soul master would refuse.

    Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a big thumbs up, then took arge step forward. He stamped the ground with his right foot, which caused a loud ¡®boom¡¯ to ring out. The sonorous cry of a dragon rang out from his body as he activated the mighty Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

    Xu Sanshi also took a step forward, and a dense flow of ck air swirled around his body as he raised his enormous Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. However, when he did so, his expression suddenly became strange.

    ¡°Bei Bei, did you use this when you won that Mysterious Water Pill from me? I was wondering how you¡¯d be that fierce. You were cheating.¡±

    Bei Bei shot a nce towards the indignant Xu Sanshi, then replied indifferently, ¡°Either way, my junior brother has already eaten it. What¡¯re you gonna do about it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll settle things with you once we¡¯ve finished this up,¡± Xu Sanshi retorted angrily.

    Next to Bei Bei, who was standing in front alongside Xu Sanshi, stood Jiang Nannan. On the other hand, He Caitou stood behind Bei Bei, while Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong stood next to each other behind him. Thest in line was Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°We only have seven people, just the right amount.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s quiet voice rang through the ears of everyone near him. The meaning behind his words was clear; only seven people could pass, and they had seven people in their team. As such, they wouldn¡¯t have to distract themselves with any infighting.

    ¡°Make your move!¡± Bei Bei let out a low shout, then tookrge strides forwards. He had a plentiful amount of battle experience, and it would be impossible for the four Soul Ancestors on their team to not attract any intention. As soon as the others noticed that they¡¯d teamed up, they¡¯ld undoubtedly gather all of their strength in order to attack them. Right now was the best time for them to strike in order to gain the upper hand.

    However, every single participant was a core disciple. As such, none of them were dumb. The instant that Bei Bei took a step forward, a fourth year core disciple let out a loud shout, ¡°Everyone, let¡¯sbine our strengths to deal with that team of four-ringed seniors!¡±

    The words ¡®four-ringed seniors¡¯ were extremely effective towards getting the other eighteen student¡¯s attention. When they heard that person¡¯s reminder, all of them immediately came to their senses and rapidly closed in on Bei Bei¡¯s team.

    Seven versus eighteen? Everyone present was a core disciple! Even though Bei Bei¡¯s team had four Soul Ancestors, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were still slightly weaker than them. They simply didn¡¯t have any chance of winning.

    Bei Bei immediately made a quick decision, stopped his charge, and shot to the right. When he did so, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection transmitted Bei Bei¡¯s intention to all of the members in their team.

    There were a total of six students from two teams to the right, all of whom were third year students. At that moment, they simultaneously released their martial souls. All of them were three-ringed experts, and all of them had an optimumbination of two yellow soul rings and one purple soul ring.

    Their reactions were extremely quick, as each of them attempted to release their respective soul skills concurrently. However, they suddenly felt their minds go blurry for a second, which caused their movements to slow by half a beat.

    They couldn¡¯t tell who¡¯d made a move, but Huo Yuhao¡¯spanions¡ªwho were under the effect of his Spiritual Detection Sharing¡ªcould sense that he¡¯d released a soul skill.

    Bei Bei took the lead and charged mightily into the six soul master¡¯s formation, but he was immediately met by two assault-type soul masters.

    The long hair of the person on the left turned orange, and his body doubled in size. His martial soul turned out to be the King of the Beasts: The Lion. Immediately afterwards, a pair of enormous palms met Bei Bei¡¯s charge. The martial soul of the person on the right was ance, which turned into a ray of light as it shot towards Bei Bei¡¯s chest like a viper. Evidently this wasn¡¯t their first time working together. With one person standing in the front and the other person attacking from behind, they were extremely well coordinated. Thence-wielding soul master who was in the back made his movest, but his attack arrived first; his sharpnce shot straight towards Bei Bei¡¯s body.

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t afraid in the slightest as he faced their attacks. He let out a shout, and countless electric serpents surged from his body. They didn¡¯t just envelop the two soul masters in front of him, they also enveloped the other four soul masters behind them.

    At the same time, the poignant sound of a flute rang out, which caused the speed of everyone that wasn¡¯t on Huo Yuhao¡¯s team to decrease. Xiao Xiao had chosen to release her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute at the most appropriate time.

    Bei Bei grabbed the sharpnce that was approaching him with his left dragon w, which created an intense flurry of sparks. He then swept out with his right w and sent the three-ringed assault-type master with the Lion martial soul flying.

    Jiang Nannan jumped into the air soundlessly as this happened. She was simply too quick, such that even her figure couldn¡¯t be seen. She chose to make her move, aided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, at the perfect time. The instant that the soul master who possessed the Lion martial soul flew into the air, his neck was mped between her legs. She then twisted her waist and sent him flying away from their team.

 Chapter 62.2: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    Book 9: Escape - Chapter 62.2: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    The most importantbatant among the six soul masters was naturally the one with the Lion martial soul. He was in charge of taking on Bei Bei¡¯s attacks in order to win some time for his teammates to surround them. However, he didn¡¯t think that a group of Soul Ancestors would be this strong. He¡¯d been sent flying after trying to use just a single soul skill. Moreover, Jiang Nannan had shown mercy. Otherwise, she could¡¯ve easily snapped his neck due to the difference in their power. Despite that, he flew into the air and joined the ranks of people standing next to Elder Xuan after being thrown by Jiang Nannan.

    Xu Sanshi chose this moment to make his move. He entered the fray from Bei Bei¡¯s other side, and his enormous Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle suddenly grew in size and simultaneously blocked the skills of two agility-type soul masters and a control-type soul master. This was done in order to let Bei Bei focus all his power on attacking.

    At the same time, the oue of the battle between thence-wielding Soul Elder and Bei Bei was revealed. In front of Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon w, his opponent could onlyst for three seconds before being forced to join his teammate by Elder Xuan¡¯s side.

    The soul masters in the rear naturally wouldn¡¯t just sit and watch while Bei Bei and the rest continued their onught. And out of them, the fiercest team was Dai Huabin¡¯s temporary team.

    The effectiveness of Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda revealed itself again. With her support, the strengths of Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, and Zhu Lu were all raised by a single tier. The four of them charged simultaneously, shooting towards Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao like an arrow, with Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue spearheading the attack while Wu Feng and Zhu Lu nked them.

    Huo Yuhao and the rest were all at the back, while Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan were currently fighting. As a result, a hole had naturally formed in the rear of their formation.

    Huo Yuhao paused, then revealed a brilliant smile towards Dai Huabin and the other people who were charging towards him. Right then, several dozen rays of intense white light shot out to intercept them.

    With the urate aim of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, every Soul Ray perfectly intercepted the movements of Dai Huabin and the rest of his team.

    Among the ranks of these core disciples, the person who was the strongest in terms ofbat strength and offensive power wasn¡¯t Bei Bei, nor was it Xu Sanshi. Rather, it was the person who¡¯d just stepped through the threshold of a ss 4 soul engineer, He Caitou.

    Under the Soul Emperor rank, soul engineers would have an advantage over soul masters of the same rank. Moreover, He Caitou was Fan Yu¡¯s first inheriting disciple and was hence one the best among his peers in terms of his attainments in the field of soul tool creation. This could easily be seen from the might of his soul tools. His soul tools were at least 20% stronger than those made by soul engineers of the same rank in both offensive and defensive capabilities.

    Even Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t confident that he could survive He Caitou¡¯s all-out barrage of attacks head-on. When facing a soul engineer, a simrly ranked soul master could only do one thing, that was, to do their best to consume their opponent¡¯s soul power in order to have a chance of winning.

    The instant Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan released their attacks, He Caitou was already aware of them due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and had changed his strategy ordingly. Because of this, they weren¡¯t worried about the rear of their formation at all. At the very least, for the time being, there was no chance of anybody breaking through the barrage of He Caitou¡¯s firepower.

    Naturally, he wasn¡¯t omnipotent. With his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t dare to rashly release long-range attacks. Otherwise, the drain on his soul power would be toorge. A soul engineer who had no soul power was equivalent to a tiger with no fangs.

    A stationary soul tool was naturally an exception to this but if He Caitou actually dared to use one of them in a test, Fan Yu would definitely not forgive him.

    ¡°Form a line and charge!¡± A fourth-year student made a quick decision and shouted as he took the lead. He was also a defense-type Soul Elder, and he pushed his arms forward, causing them to immediately expand and be unusually thick. A purple thousand year soul ring around his body flickered, and thick scales began to form on his arms. He strode forward and blocked He Caitou¡¯s barrage of attacks.

    Though this was their first time working together, they were elites of Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard. Even a single warning would be sufficient to make them change their ns. The panicked group of people who hid behind the defense-type Soul Elder formed an orderly line and charged forward.

    This defense-type Soul Elder naturally wasn¡¯tparable to He Caitou, but he was able to temporarily block thetter¡¯s attacks by relying on his defensive skills. All he needed to do was help the people behind him approach Huo Yuhao¡¯s group.

    He Caitou reacted in aposed manner, and proceeded to stop his attacks in aposed manner. As he did so, an enormous cauldron blocked the path of the defense-type Soul Elder.

    One of the advantages of advancing in single file was the fact that the range of attacks a team had to withstand would be greatly diminished. Even if He Caitouunched an arced attack, the destructive power of that attack would be greatly decreased. However, advancing in single file had its disadvantages as well. For example, the situation they were in right now. The moment the person at the front of the line was blocked, everyone behind him would have to stop as well. Moreover, a chaotic situation involving collisions of the people behind him could ur.

    The people who charged forward felt a slight amount of dizziness flood their minds, and it seemed as though their surroundings had be somewhat illusory.

    Huo Yuhao had activated his Spiritual Interference once more.

    Spiritual Interference was absolutely not a useless skill. Although it wasn¡¯t especially effective, the slight dizziness caused by it could often change the situation of a battle. Furthermore, the greatest advantage of this skilly in the fact that the user wouldn¡¯t suffer any bacsh no matter what.

    An enormous vertical eye soundlessly appeared at the other end of the orderly line and began to sh with a dazzling golden light. As the enormous Radiant Butterfly Goddess embraced and fused with the vertical eye, the golden light blossomed outwards.

    The fusion of blue, purple, and gold formed a horizontal halo of dazzling light that left a brilliant Golden Road wherever it passed through. Following that a fantastic scene urred, the orderly row of twelve core disciples were instantly dyed gold as the golden light passed through them.

    Right, they had fallen into Huo Yuhao¡¯s schemes from the very start. As a spiritual control-type soul master, merely releasing his Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t enough, he was controlling the flow of the entire match.

    Regardless of whether it was Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, Ning Tian and the others who were familiar with him, or the third and fourth-year students who were unfamiliar with him, absolutely none of them had thought that the two-ringed and three-ringed duo would be able to pose a threat.

    Their attention had been drawn towards the four Soul Ancestors, Huo Yuhao had relied on this, in addition to He Caitou¡¯s powerful offensive capabilities, in order to lure them into a single line. Then, he and Wang Dong released their powerful fusion skill without any hesitation at all.

    A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    Even the six-ringed Soul Emperor who¡¯d tried to kill them the other day had fallen into his trap, so naturally these core disciples who hadn¡¯t even reached the four-ringed rank didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    As the twelve golden statues stood there, some of the students with weaker cultivations such as the Lan sisters and Huang Chutian began to fall into a critical condition.

    The astonished Elder Xuan descended from the air and waved his right hand, causing a pure-white ray to envelop the bodies of every frozen student. Every student the raynded on softly copsed to the ground one by one.

    The three-ringed students wereparatively better off as they were only left in an extremely disheveled state with their clothes corroded and their martial souls temporarily sealed. Arge amount of their soul power had been consumed by the corroding Golden Road. However, the other two-ringed Soul Grandmasters had all fainted. If it weren¡¯t for Elder Xuan reacting in time, there was a chance that their lives would¡¯ve been at risk.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong never thought that their Golden Road would be this effective and were briefly stunned by its effects. Over on the other side, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had also dealt with their six opponents. Impressively, the Soul Duelling Arena was only left with the seven of them.

    He Caitou had his mouth wide open from astonishment, and so was Bei Bei¡¯s group of three.

    The four Soul Ancestors had never thought that the test would actually end like this. The most decisive move in this battle had actually been Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s.

    Furthermore, there was even a pair of twins among their opponents who could release a fusion skill. However, their glory had all been overshadowed by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s ¡®A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence¡¯.

    Dai Huabin was rendered speechless.

    Ever since he¡¯d lost to Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao in the finals of the freshmen assessment, he felt very unresigned. He¡¯d always felt that he was much stronger than the three of them.

    However, only now did they realize that Du Weilun¡¯s initial evaluation after blocking both of their fusion skills had been impartial. The Golden Road formed by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong was truly something that their Netherworld White Tiger was unable topare against. Though Dai Huabin didn¡¯t understand why this was the case, he still knew that he had thoroughly andpletely lost after experiencing the evaporation of half of his soul power.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other. Other than happiness, what else could they see in each other¡¯s eyes?

    The strength of a fusion skill was intimately rted to the synergy between the two parties. Their Golden Road wasn¡¯t stronger than the Netherworld White Tiger in terms of the soul skills used, but rather in terms of thepatibility rate their martial souls had. The rarity of a 100%patible fusion skill was even rarer than an Ultimate martial soul! Only, nobody had asked them about it.

    Their cultivations had been steadily rising. Every single one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings had quietly risen to the 4200 year rank while Wang Dong had obtained the Golden Light soul bone. Whenpared to the day they¡¯d been ambushed, their cultivations had increased by another level. Furthermore, the cooldown period between each use of the Golden Road had decreased to three days. Though all of their soul power would be drained with each use of the skill, the recovery ability of the Golden Light Left Arm Bone was currently helping the two of them recover their soul power as they held hands.

 Chapter 62.3: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    Book 9: Escape Chapter 62.3: The Chaotic Preliminaries

    With his cultivation, Elder Xuan only needed a nce to assess the current state of affairs. When he confirmed that no one had been severely injured, he rxed. He then waved towards the people on the edge of the stage.

    Wang Yan, Mu Jin, and rest of the teachers immediately came over.

    All of the teachers had witnessed the battle just now. When they gazed at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, they felt as if like they were looking at two monsters. Even in this academy of monsters, there shouldn¡¯t be someone so monstrous. One of them had two rings, while the other had three. And yet, somehow they¡¯d been able to defeat twelve opponents whose cultivation weren¡¯t inferior to their own.

    ¡°Those that have been eliminated can head back. You seven, stay behind.¡± Elder Xuan took a bite of his chicken leg when he¡¯d finished. Behind the mass of chaotic hair that covered his face, a strange light flickered through his eyes. He carefully observed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The students that had fainted were able to regain consciousness with the help of the teachers. Many of them revealed dissatisfied expressions on their faces when they came to. Indeed, many of them hadn¡¯t even had enough time to disy their full potential before they¡¯d been eliminated.

    Therefore, even when they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words, none of them left. Instead, they all silently gazed at him.

    Elder Xuan took another bite from his chicken leg, then snorted and said, ¡°Are you all not convinced yet? If you''re not convinced of something in the future, you¡¯d better show it with your strength. Do you think that this chaotic battle was unfair? Do you think that it was unfair that you couldn¡¯t disy all of your abilities amidst all those people, and that you therefore lost in an inconceivable way?¡±

    None of the core disciples replied, but their answer was clear.

    Elder Xuan curled his lips and continued, ¡°Was it really that unfair? In a chaotic battle, everyone has to fight for themselves. When you¡¯re on the battlefield, do you have the luxury of picking the number of opponents you have to face, or the conditions of the battle? No, you don¡¯t. However, in a chaotic battle like this, you all do at least have the same starting point. As such, you won¡¯t find yourself in an immediately hopeless situation. With your current mindsets, none of you are qualified to be inner courtyard disciples. To tell you the truth, this ¡®unfair¡¯ chaotic battle is the best way to assess your actual strength. In this short chaotic battle, I was able to see how well each of you coborates with others, your individual strength, and even your moral character. The saying that ¡®those that act in ordance to justice and morality will be widely supported¡¯ is utter bullshit. If you want someone¡¯s help, you¡¯ll need to have good rtionships with others. Of course, you¡¯ll still need enough strength. However, a person who can¡¯tmunicate is bound to be unsessful.¡±

    ¡°A test that consists of a chaotic battle is an extremelymon thing in the inner courtyard. If you can¡¯t even adapt to the situation, what qualifications do you possess to an inner courtyard disciple? Do you know what the most difficult situation encountered the inner courtyard disciples have faced is? Once, twelve inner courtyard disciples encountered a hundred thousand year soul beast when the teacher wasn¡¯t present. Eight of them died in battle. However, the four that survived now stand at the peak amongst the inner courtyard disciples. One of them even obtained the soul ring and soul bone of that hundred thousand year soul beast. Don¡¯t make mistakenly think that everything will be fine just because you¡¯re studying at Shrek Academy. If you want to be strong, you¡¯ll have to face life and death situations several times, even while inside the school.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s tone was very t. However, his words contained a formidable amount of spiritual power, which pounded into the hearts of the core disciples like a hammer.

    ¡°You should stop thinking that you¡¯ll be inner courtyard disciples just because you¡¯ve managed to be core disciples of the outer courtyard. Even if you do manage to be one, don¡¯t think of it as something great, as that¡¯s just the starting point; a starting point that can decide your life and death. Do you know what the first thing students do when they be inner courtyard disciples is? They sign a contract of life and death. The only way you can be capable of making the impossible possible is by throwing away all regard for your life and your death. Only then will you be able to be a top-level soul master. Regardless of your family background, once you became an inner courtyard disciple of the academy, you¡¯ll be a real member of Shrek Academy. That means that, for your entire life, you¡¯ll carry Shrek Academy¡¯s mark. However, at the same time, it also means that you¡¯ll also face mortal danger every day. You might lose your life at any time. While you¡¯re still in the outer courtyard, your security can essentially be guaranteed. However, if you manage to enter the inner courtyard, you¡¯ll face all kinds of terrifying tests.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how Shrek Academy managed to be the number one academy on the continent and how it managed to not fall over the past ten thousand years? It¡¯s all thanks to the efforts of the inner courtyard disciples. It¡¯s extremely rare for there to be more than fifty inner courtyard disciples. This is because every year, someone dies. Now then, does anyone still have any questions?¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s voice had be even colder than normal towards the end. Based on his speech, the core disciples of the outer courtyard hade into contact with the world of the inner courtyard for the first time. It didn''t give them hope, but rather somewhat stirred them up and gave them a solemn feeling when they thought about Shrek Academy''s glory.

    All of their previous resentment had vanished into thin air. Afterwards, all of the core disciples who¡¯d been eliminated lowered their heads and left the Soul Dueling Area one after another. Every single word said by Elder Xuan had been deeply engraved in their hearts; they wouldn¡¯t forget any of them for the rest of their lives.

    Wang Yan bowed deeply towards Elder Xuan and said, ¡°Thank you for teaching these disciples an important lesson.¡±

    Elder Xuan took a swig of alcohol and faintly said, ¡°I only exined to them how the world works.¡± At that time, no one noticed that his eyes had teared due to the mass of chaotic hair that covered his face.

    When those twelve disciples of the inner courtyard had faced that hundred thousand year soul beast alone, he had been the teacher leading them! Eight of them had died in that battle. This was both one of the saddest and one of the most heroic moments in Shrek Academy¡¯s history. Even now, he couldn¡¯t help but me himself for the ident. From that moment on, he¡¯d begun to drink heavily, and had given in to despair. He, who had once been Shrek Academy¡¯s number one genius, had fallen into despair. Originally, he was supposed to take over the positions of Dean of the Martial Soul Department and Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, given his circumstances, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had remained under Elder Mu¡¯smand.

    Even after so many years had passed, the pain he felt was still buried deeply in the depths of his heart.

    No one med him for the ident. However, he simply couldn¡¯t forgive himself.

    Currently, only Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were left inside the Soul Dueling Arena.

    The seven of them quietly stood in a row. None of them bothered Elder Xuan, as they¡¯d all been deeply affected by the sad atmosphere. Even though they¡¯d prevailed over the others, their hearts felt extremely heavy at the moment.

    Up until now, Shrek Academy¡¯s glory had never had anything to do with the outer courtyard disciples, which a lot of people felt was strange. However, they now realized why that glory belonged exclusively to the inner courtyard: The inner courtyard disciples had used their blood to gain their glory. Currently, a fire had begun to burn in their hearts. This was the so-called ¡®passing of the torch¡¯. They too hoped to inherit a portion of the inner courtyard¡¯s glory.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan¡ªwho were already Year 5 students¡ªhad all fallen deep into thought. After all, they were very close to entering the inner courtyard.

    Elder Xuan slowly turned around and said to the seven, ¡°Every one of you should have heard about Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, right? In the front door of our academy, you can find the sculptures of the founders of the academy, and those of the original Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Do you know how the original Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters gained their reputation?¡±

    At that time, none of them even thought of interrupting Elder Xuan. They chose to keep listening in silence.

    ¡°At that time, the head of the Golden Iron Triangle, the Four-eyed Eaglecat nders, had just established Shrek Academy,¡± Elder Xuan said in a grave tone, ¡°however, there weren¡¯t many teachers, and the number of students was even fewer than the number of teachers. As such, Dean nders proposed that the academy only ept monsters, and that they should disregard the average person. Later on, this became the academy¡¯s slogan. Nheless, finding monsters wasn¡¯t an easy task. It was only when the original Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters appeared that the academy had the opportunity to rise.¡±

    ¡°They gained the title of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters for several reasons. One of them was because they were monstrous geniuses that hailed from Shrek Academy. Furthermore, they were also the only students of the academy at the time. However, the most important reason, and also the reason that caused our academy to be famous, is because they represented the academy at the Elite Continental Soul Master Tournament. When the tournament began, nobody thought much of Shrek Academy. Back then, the academy was still unknown. However, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters relied on their strength to defeat all of their opponents and to barge into the finals. The opponents they faced in the finals came from the then-powerful Martial Soul Hall. And then, even though they were weaker than their enemy, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters still managed to obtain the final victory under Ancestor Tang San¡¯s lead. That day, the foundation that would lead our academy towards bing the number one academy on the continent was finallyid down. At the same time, the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters became famous.¡±

    ¡°To thank the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters for their contributions, the academy chooses a new group of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters every five years. These seven will then represent the academy in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, which is held every five years. The Elite Tournament part was changed to Soul Dueling Tournament alongside the appearance of soul tools. However, this great event has a different meaning from the past.¡±

    ¡°Originally, the Sun Moon Empire was defeated due to the coalition of our three great empires. However, our three empires also suffered heavy losses. For several thousand years now, the Sun Moon Empire has done its best to research and develop new soul tools. As such, their strength has continuously risen as a result. At the end of the day, the three empires are exactly what their names imply: Three different empires. The three of them aren¡¯t of the same mind. If the Sun Moon Empire hasn¡¯t made any moves yet, it¡¯s because they can¡¯tpletely assure themselves that they¡¯ll win. As long as our Shrek Academy remains standing, they won¡¯t dare to act rashly.¡±

    ¡°I''m absolutely not bragging when I say this. If the Sun Moon Empire really wants to dominate the continent, the one they¡¯d need to deal with isn¡¯t the Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, or Dou Ling Empire, but rather our Shrek Academy. This is because only our academy has the power to rally the three empires together, and to make them resist the Sun Moon Empire. Only we have enough power to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s top-ranked soul tools.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t dareunch a full-scale war just to test our strength either. However, they¡¯re constantly trying to probe it. And the best method for them to do so is exactly through the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. Therefore, our real opponent in this tournament is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

 Chapter 63.1: The Preparatory Team

    Chapter 63.1: The Preparatory Team

    After hearing the words ¡®Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯ Xu Sanshi blurted out, ¡°Elder Xuan, are you saying that you¡¯ll let us participate in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament?¡±

    Elder Xuan snorted. ¡°Will you be able to win even if I let you go? The age limit for the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is twenty years. You have the qualifications to participate this time but today¡¯s qualification match was used to select a preparatory team. Our preparatory team has always been chosen before the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters go out topete in the mainpetition.¡±

    Right! The main requirement for the qualification match held today was that participants needed to be under fifteen. They finally understood why this was the case now; the age requirement was there to ensure that they wouldn¡¯t turn twenty in five years, allowing them to participate in the next Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°I¡¯ve chosen you lot for two reasons. Firstly, to be the preparatory team, and secondly, to be the main team¡¯s substitutes. Realistically, there¡¯s an extremely miniscule chance of you actually going out to fight, but as substitutes, you will have the qualifications to watch the matches from the front row. This will be an extremely precious experience for you. However, this qualification match doesn¡¯t decide everything. You will be examined continuously over the next five years and will only be allowed to represent the school if you¡¯re strong enough. In the meantime, you¡¯ll have to go through many tests. Thus, if you want to truly represent the school, you have to first ensure that you can enter the inner courtyard.¡±

    Although Elder Xuan had given them many restrictions, the seven of them were still overjoyed. Representing Shrek Academy to go out and fight as the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was undoubtedly the highest honor they could obtain in the academy!

    Before today, none of them would¡¯ve expected that this seemingly simple qualification match would be the deciding factor for such an important event.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The fact that you lot are the preparatory team is a secret within the academy. Hence you¡¯re not allowed to reveal it to anyone or else you¡¯ll be stripped of your privileges. From now on, you¡¯ll train with me once a week. We¡¯re still one month away from the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament so in the meantime I¡¯ll bring you along to train with the current Seven Monsters. I hope that you¡¯ll seize this precious opportunity to strengthen yourselves as much as possible. Okay, all of you can go now. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, you two stay behind for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had excited looks in their eyes. After all, it was public knowledge that among these seven students, the ones who were most unconforming with the requirements needed to be a member of the Seven Monsters were the two of them and Xiao Xiao due to their young age. Even five yearster they would only be seventeen years old. At the very most, they would¡¯ve just entered the inner courtyard. Under the age of twenty, a difference of three years in cultivation was an enormous gap. However, Elder Xuan had already decided to temporarily allow them to enter the preparatory team. This meant that, at least for the time being, their position in the team was rtively stable and they could even receive personal pointers from Elder Xuan. From the terrifying amount of strength that he had released in mid-air, how could they not see how powerful this seemingly sloppy teacher was?

    After Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest left, Elder Xuan waved towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who quickly ran up to him.

    ¡°Your performance today has stunned me. If I had to choose the most outstanding participants in today¡¯s match, I wouldn¡¯t choose Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, or He Caitou but the two of you. Your fusion skill is miraculous but it has arge drawback to it. It¡¯s extreme strength is limited by its ring w, the fact that it can only attack in a straight line. If your opponents are able to dodge it in time, you¡¯ll have wasted an enormous amount of soul power for nothing. Because of that, however, you managed to give me an even bigger surprise. I care not about the strength of your skill, but rather, about the perfect timing you disyed. Tell me, was the fact that they were lined up together all due to luck or was it because everything was within your control? If it was in your control, how did you sessfully coordinate it with your other teammates?¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to be modest but Wang Dong spoke out, ¡°Elder Xuan, he¡¯s the one who nned and controlled everything during the battle. Ask him.¡± Wang Dong ¡®sold¡¯ Huo Yuhao out in a seemingly unloyal manner.

    Elder Xuan lifted the disheveled hair in front of his forehead and revealed a pair of pitch-ck eyes that werepletely inconsistent with his age, ¡°Tell me, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat bashful. ¡°It¡¯s nothing really, Elder Xuan. You¡¯ll understand everything once I let you try it out.¡± With that, he released his Spiritual Detection Sharing and expanded its range out to the maximum limit.

    Elder Xuan was slightly stunned when he initially received the spiritual undtions that Huo Yuhao had transmitted to him and instinctively resisted them, causing arge burst of spiritual force to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s skill. However, he quickly realised what Huo Yuhao was trying to do, and hence hurriedly controlled the spiritual power he¡¯d instinctively released. It was only then that was he able to truly sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Though Elder Xuan was already aware that Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, he also knew that his first soul ring was only a ten year one. Because of this, he¡¯d never paid much attention to him. It was only when Huo Yuhao obtained an Ultimate martial soul that he started to pay attention to him.

    One of the most important reason why the second year core disciples had been allowed to participate in today¡¯s qualification match was because of Huo Yuhao, who possessed an Ultimate martial soul. A soul master who possessed an Ultimate martial soul couldn¡¯t be viewed on the same level as an ordinary soul master. After all, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department had even caused a ruckus during the conference held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion for his sake. From that moment onwards, it was practically guaranteed that Huo Yuhao would have a ce among the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. He just didn¡¯t know it yet.

    As an elder of the Martial Soul Department, Elder Xuan naturally wouldn¡¯t have an absolute trust in Huo Yuhao solely based on the conference held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This qualification match was a way for him to judge what level of strength thetter had reached with his current cultivation.

    In reality, Elder Xuan had never expected that he would be able to see Huo Yuhao distinguish himself in this qualification match. After all, he could make this qualification match redundant with just one word.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had given him an enormous surprise. When he personally experienced the vast area that the former¡¯s Spiritual Detection enveloped, he was stunned. A mere second year student from the outer courtyard had managed to stun him.

    When he looked back at Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan¡¯s gazepletely changed. His originally apathetic gaze had be fiery and passionate, while his previously sentimental gaze was now full of astonishment.

 Chapter 63.2: The Preparatory Team

    Chapter 63.2: The Preparatory Team

    He muttered, ¡°An inborn Soul Commander! Is this the skill of a ten year soul ring? No, this is impossible, absolutely impossible.¡±

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao agitatedly, then raised his left hand. When he did so, Huo Yuhao felt a burst of soul power enter his body, which caused the two white soul rings hovering beneath his body to be even more eye-catching.

    Whenever he used his Spirit Eyes, the color of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings was always white.

    As Elder Xuan¡¯s soul power entered his body, his Imitation skill dissipated, which caused his second soul ring to reveal its original purple color. However, his first soul ring was still as white as jade.

    ¡°Tell me, what are your two soul skills?¡± Elder Xuan asked impatiently.

    Huo Yuhao told him the truth. ¡°The first soul ring of my Spirit Eyes has the Spiritual Detection Sharing skill while the second one has the Imitation skill.¡±

    ¡°Elder Xuan continued in a grave tone, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you used the Spiritual Shock skill during the freshmen assessment. How did you obtain that skill?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled. After all, he couldn¡¯t tell Elder Xuan his secret. Luckily, he had already thought of a way to exin it.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, I¡¯m a disciple of the Tang Sect. Therefore, I practice the Tang Sect¡¯s Purple Demon Eyes technique. And when Ibine it with my Spirit Eyes, I can use the Spiritual Shock skill.¡±

    After listening to his words, Elder Xuan¡¯s expression was even more bewildered, ¡°Is this even possible? The skill of a mere ten year soul ring was able to reach this degree? Just¡­ how? So soul skills can have mutations too?¡± Even after racking his brain, he was still at a loss. He was firmly convinced that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hide the color of his soul rings under the probing of his soul power. And even if he were to bang his head against a wall, he still wouldn¡¯t think of the possibility that Huo Yuhao possessed a million year soul ring. After all, how could he know that its white color was also the same as that of a ten year soul ring?

    After pondering over it for a while, he still wasn¡¯t able to find the answer. Thus, he said, ¡°Fine. You can go too. Originally, even if they were to win, second year students like you wouldn¡¯t be allowed to join thepetition as reserves. However, your performance was just too incredible. Remember, whether or not you can keep this position in theing five years will depend on your efforts. There are many core disciples eyeing this position. Which means that the moment I see that you can¡¯t keep up with thepetition, you¡¯ll be switched out immediately. Are we clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong bowed respectfully to Elder Xuan following which they turned around and left.

    As he gazed at their disappearing silhouettes, a faint smile appeared on his face, which was full of vicissitudes. ¡°So what if they¡¯re only second year students? Two twin martial souls, an Ultimate martial soul, and a fusion skill. Five years, huh? Who dares to im that I can¡¯t forge them into a team that will be unmatched among their peers? I hope you¡¯ll bring me even more surprises.¡±

    After leaving the Soul Dueling Area, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong discovered that Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao were all still waiting for them outside.

    ¡°Senior brothers! You haven¡¯t left yet?¡± Huo Yuhao dragged Wang Dong along as hurried to greet them.

    ¡°We were waiting for you two. We wanted to thank you!¡± Bei Bei said with a faint smile.

    ¡°Thank us?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, astonished.

    Bei Bei nodded and replied, ¡°In that chaotic battle just now, strength alone wasn¡¯t enough to obtain victory. After all, we had four rings. Sooner orter, we would have received a joint attack from the other students. It¡¯s all thanks to the two of you that we were able to win so easily. Your Spiritual Detection and fusion skill with Wang Dong proved to be a crucial role in our victory.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t we a family?¡± Huo Yuhao said shyly. ¡°Without you, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to pass the test either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Xu Sanshi interjected, ¡°You two brothers should stop ttering each other. Little Yuhao, we stayed behind for another reason too. Since we have been selected as Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ substitutes, we should give our all. None of us is allowed to fall behind. Only then will we be able to represent the academy at the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament five years from now.¡±

    While speaking, he secretly shot a nce at the nearby Jiang Nannan. Right now, she was hanging her head and looking at her feet. Xu Sanshi was very happy to have passed the test with Jiang Nannan. Now, he had found the best excuse to be with her.

    ¡°Little Yuhao, Wang Dong, we discussed another thing while you were away. Since we¡¯re going to be the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, we should decide on an order, like the first generation did. How old are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong told them their ages in years and months.

    They then ranked themselves ording to age.

    Bei Bei was the oldest. He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan and him all had a month¡¯s difference between each other, just like Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.

    After Bei Bei, there was He Caitou. After that was Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and finally Wang Dong, who was the youngest.

    Xu Sanshi spoke with a smile. ¡°Previously, we used to refer to each other as upperssmen. But in the future, we can just refer to each other as brothers and sisters. Wahahaha! I¡¯m ranked third, just like Ancestor Tang San was back then.¡±

    ¡°Having the same rank doesn¡¯t mean having the same ability,¡± Bei Bei said ill-humoredly, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem to call each other brothers. However, if you be part of our Tang Sect, you¡¯ll have to follow in his footsteps.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you my conditions for joining your sect?¡± Xu Sanshi said with a smile. As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Nannan and puckered his lips.

    At this time, unexpectedly, He Caitouughed foolishly and said, ¡°Bei Bei¡­ Uh, I mean senior brother. Can I also join your Tang Sect?¡±

    Bei Bei was dumbfounded when he heard that but quickly regained hisposure. Naturally, he was overjoyed after all He Caitou was already a ss 4 soul engineer as well as Fan Yu¡¯s inheriting disciple. In the Soul Tool Department, his status was higherpared to that of Bei Bei¡¯s and Xu Sanshi¡¯s in the Martial Soul Department. He was someone that would surely enter the inner courtyard of the Soul Tool Department.

    ¡°Caitou, can I ask why you want to join our Tang Sect?¡± Although he was very happy, Bei Bei still wanted to make things clear.

    ¡°Yuhao used many concepts rted to the hidden weapons of the Tang Sect when creating his soul tools.¡± He Caitou said with a smile, ¡°I was also thinking of studying them. Even if I¡¯m a soul engineer, I¡¯m not restricted from entering any sect. Moreover, what you said earlier was right! If I joined the Tang Sect, calling you senior brother would be more fitting.¡±

    Under these circumstances, how could Bei Bei refuse? He immediately agreed. Except for Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, the rest of the substitutes for Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters substitutes were now all disciples of the Tang Sect.

 Chapter 64.1: The Ultimate Soldier Plan

    Chapter 64.1: The Ultimate Soldier n

    He Caitou¡¯s choice to enter the Tang Sect was an absolutely overjoyous event to the previously five-man Tang Sect. Bei Bei had agreed to it, but Tang Ya was still the master of the Tang Sect. He immediately gathered everyone and went to inform her of the good news.

    Tang Ya was overjoyed and naturally agreed. The Tang Sect had originally declined due to therge-scale appearances of soul tools. As such, they needed to start from the same field if they wanted to make aeback. Outstandingly talented disciples could give the Tang Sect a certain amount of fighting power, but if they truly wanted to regain their past glory, they needed a source of ie. Coincidentally, soul tools could not only give the Tang Sect a source of ie, they could also cause their status on the continent rise once again.

    The integration of soul tools and the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons was naturally of the utmost importance. Even though Huo Yuhao had begun to disy his talent with soul tools, he was still only a single person. He Caitou, on the other hand, was already a ss 4 soul engineer. At the same time, he was also one of Fan Yu¡¯s inheriting disciple. As such, the Tang Sect¡¯s strength could be considered to have grown greatly with his addition.

    Ever since the Tang Sect had declined, everything in it had been conducted in a rather simple manner; the induction ceremony that Tang Ya held for He Caitou wasn¡¯tplicated, and everyone was able to enjoy a celebratory feast once the ceremony had ended. Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi joined the festivities as well.

    Once everyone had finished their meal, He Caitou called out to Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d been about to head to his dorm room, ¡°Junior brother, I¡¯d like to talk to you alone.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao stopped walking and looked towards the seemingly worried He Caitou with a somewhat astonished look in his eyes.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°I¡¯ll head back first. You two can chat.¡± With that, he left.

    Huo Yuhao walked towards the seemingly hesitant He Caitou, then asked ¡°Senior brother He, what¡¯s happened to you?¡±

    The sky had already be dark, and bright stars currently dotted the cloudless sky.

    He Caitou looked towards the sky. Afterwards, the normally straightforward look on his face gradually changed into a grave one. The nkness that was usually present in his eyes subsequently disappeared, and a rity that Huo Yuhao had never seen before in He Caitou¡¯s eyes slowly appeared.

    At that moment, he seemed like he¡¯d be apletely different person. His temperament hadpletely changed, to the point that Huo Yuhao almost couldn¡¯t recognise him.

    He subconsciously took a step back, his face filled with astonishment. ¡°Senior brother, you¡­¡±

    He Caitou looked back towards Huo Yuhao. When his gaze met Huo Yuhao¡¯s, there seemed to be something else besides the rity that had just filled them.

    ¡°Yuhao, you know, I¡¯m truly envious of your talent. If I had the same amount of talent as you do, I¡¯d work hard and do everything that I could to get everything that I deserve returned to me. However, I can¡¯t. Even if I do everything that I can, I¡¯m still limited by my talent. My future aplishments will, at most, tie with our teacher¡¯s. However, you¡¯re different: You have twin martial souls, with one of them being an Ultimate one. Your future is immeasurable. Even in a ce like Shrek Academy, your radiance will still outshine everything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was at a loss when he heard He Caitou¡¯s words. ¡°Senior brother, what are you saying!?¡±

    A pained look appeared on He Caitou¡¯s face. ¡°You know, we¡¯ve always had a n in our Soul Tool Department. It was known as the ¡®Ultimate Soldier n¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®Ultimate Soldier n¡¯?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, astonished.

    He Caitou nodded. ¡°It¡¯s also the most important n that we have. It was created in order to allow us topete with the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire on equal terms.¡±

    ¡°The so-called Ultimate Soldier n refers to the Soul Tool Department creating a single person capable of changing the oue of an entire battle by himself. Someone that possess this level of strength would thus be known as an Ultimate Soldier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, curious, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t a Titled Douluo be able to do that? What does this have to do with our Soul Tool Department?¡±

    He Caitou shook his head. ¡°No. Indeed, a Titled Douluo might be able to change the situation of a battle, but they can¡¯t reverse the oue of arge-scale battle. Won¡¯t our enemies have experts on their level as well? However, the Ultimate Soldier is different. The Ultimate Soldier is an existence that would live for the sake of war. It wouldn¡¯t just be limited to strength alone either; it would be specialised in both using and creating many different types of soul tools, and it would be good at concealing itself, subterfuge, and destruction. It would be sharp enough to find any node on the battlefield, and then capable enough to destroy targets or to provide assistance. The Ultimate Soldier isn¡¯t amander, but an artist who can change the oue of a battle. A Titled Douluo is strong individually, but their use in a battle is far from nned power of the Ultimate Soldier. Originally, I was working hard as the focal point of this goal, and our teacher always relied on me to realize this n. However, everything changed when you appeared. Not only are you more talented than me, you¡¯re also stronger than me in both soul tool creation and individual strength. Yesterday, our teacher told me that I wouldn¡¯t be nurtured as the focal point of the Ultimate Soldier anymore. Instead, I¡¯m to be an Auxiliary Soldier to help you. If we¡¯re to say that you¡¯re the future Ultimate Soldier, then I¡¯ll be your portable armory.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard this. He couldn¡¯t help but cry out, ¡°Senior brother He, I¡ª¡±

    However, He Caitou put his hand up to stop him from continuing. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t panic. Let me finish first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao truly didn¡¯t wish for a situation like this to ur. Ever since he¡¯d begun to follow in Fan Yu¡¯s footsteps, He Caitou had given him advice in many different aspects, and had selflessly passed on his experiences to him. The respect that Huo Yuhao had for He Caitou was no less than the respect he had for Bei Bei. However, he¡¯d never thought that he¡¯d be the one who¡¯d rob his senior brother of his dreams. As such, he felt greatly pained.

    It was precisely because of the fact that he¡¯d lived in a hypocritical ce like the Duke¡¯s Mansion that Huo Yuhao valued rtionships as much as he did. He¡¯d finally managed to obtain both warmth and friendship inside of Shrek Academy, and he treasured these feelings greatly. At the moment, his first thought was to give up his studies in the Soul Tool Department.

    He Caitou patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, and the look on his face became a little bit gentler. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t panic. I don¡¯t have any intentions of ming you. If it were someone else, I¡¯d definitely be unwilling to ept it. In fact, I¡¯d probably even rebel against teacher¡¯s arrangements. However, I don¡¯t feel unresigned at all, since I know that the person who¡¯ll carry out the Ultimate Soldier n is you. On the contrary, I feel quite happy.¡±

    ¡°I know where my ws lie. No matter how hard I work, I won¡¯t be a suitable Ultimate Soldier. This is due to the innate ws in my martial soul. Category wise, I¡¯m a food-type soul master. Even though my martial souls¡¯s auxiliary capabilities aren¡¯t bad, my personalbat strength is limited; I¡¯m far fromparable to battle-type soul masters like you. I¡¯ve done all I can, but all I can rely on are soul tools. However, oftentimes the effectiveness of soul tools falls short of martial souls. I¡¯ve worked hard, but talent isn¡¯t something that you can get away with by relying solely on hard work.¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember the first time we met? I¡¯ve always been an extremely simple person in the academy. Furthermore, because of how special my name is, everyone¡¯s always called me a turnip (Caitou), or some other nicknam like ¡®ckie¡¯ or ¡®muscleman¡¯. You¡¯re the only exception to this. The first time you met me, you called me ¡®senior brother¡¯. The look in your eyes back then was extremely clear, and was also very sincere. I recognised you as my junior brother from then on.¡±

    ¡°Once you began your studies, the talent that you revealed astonished even our fierce teacher. I can understand how he feels; after all, who wouldn¡¯t wish for one¡¯s disciple to exceed oneself? Furthermore, there wouldn¡¯t be the current ¡®me¡¯ without our teacher. Thus, junior brother, you don¡¯t need to feel burdened. I¡¯ve already talked it over with teacher, and I¡¯ll do all I can to support you as the Ultimate Soldier. I¡¯ll be your Portable Armory.¡±

    Tears began to well up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Senior brother, I really didn¡¯t wish for this to happen. This isn¡¯t fair. Why don¡¯t I¡­?¡±

    He Caitou stopped him once more. ¡°Junior brother, don¡¯t speak nonsense. There are some things that simply can¡¯t happen. Furthermore, I have my own selfish motives for helping you out at all costs: I hope that you¡¯ll help me out with one single thing in the future. Once you¡¯ve be sessful with your cultivation in the future, I want you to help me out. Of course, only if it¡¯s within your means.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, tell me.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly inquired.

    A trace of deep pain appeared in He Caitou¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yuhao, you know, in reality, even teacher Fan Yu doesn¡¯t know where I¡¯m from, or my identity. This is because I don¡¯t want to bring him trouble, nor do I wish for him to feel disturbed. Since I¡¯ve already told you this much today, I¡¯ll go ahead and tell you all of it; I¡¯ve held back too much pain in my heart over the past several years.¡±

    ¡°When teacher Fan Yu saved me that year, I was nine. When he first saw me, I was covered with blood, and I waspletely powerless. Once he¡¯d saved me, he inquired about my origins. I told him that my family were businessmen, and that all of them had been killed in an unfortunate encounter. I told him that I was the only one who¡¯d escaped, and that I had already be an orphan. When I said this, I was afraid that I¡¯d implicate him. However, I¡¯d never expected that this would be my origin story.¡±

    ¡°When teacher brought me back to the academy and taught me how to practice soul engineer, I cultivated diligently, which gradually revealed that I had a certain amount of talent towards soul tool creation. However, I hid an unforgettable piece of hatred in the depths of my heart.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯m a person from the Sun Moon Empire. The only ce where you can find a person as dark as me is in that ce. Furthermore, I¡¯m a member of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family. I¡¯m the nephew of the current Emperor.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was greatly astonished by what he¡¯d just heard. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected that his normally straightforward and simple senior brother He would have such an impressive origin. For a brief moment, he waspletely bbergasted.

 Chapter 64.2: The Ultimate Soldier Plan

    Chapter 64.2: The Ultimate Soldier n

    He Caitou smiled bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re surprised, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s no wonder, as I¡¯ve kept this matter buried deep inside my heart for such a long time. My father was the previous emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. In fact, I had seven older sisters, and my mother only gave birth to me when my father had turned forty-eight. Back when my father was still the crown prince, his younger brother, who¡¯s also my uncle, had always tried to snatch the throne away from him. However, grandfather knew about uncle¡¯s vicious nature, and knew that giving him the throne would¡¯ve only brought trouble to the country. Even though uncle¡¯s talent far surpassed that of my father¡¯s in every field, my grandfather still decided to deny him the throne.¡±

    ¡°Once he¡¯d inherited the throne, my father ruled the empire in earnest. He¡¯d give his it his all to take care of national affairs, every day. As time went on, our empire became more and more prosperous beneath his rule. Arge majority of the officials were moved by his earnestness, thus they pledged their loyalty to him.¡±

    ¡°Right before his death, grandfather told my father topletely strip away uncle¡¯s power¡ªonly then would our country remain peaceful. However, my father was too kind-hearted; he couldn¡¯t bear to take away his younger brother¡¯s power. Therefore, he didn¡¯t fulfill grandfather¡¯sst wish, and thus left behind the root of all of the troubles that followed.¡±

    ¡°Six years ago, when my father was in the prime of his life, he suddenly died in the middle of the night. My mother and my three unmarried elder sisters also died that same night. Later that same night, my uncle led the army and barged into the capital. Later, it was found out that my father, mother, and elder sister¡¯s food had all been poisoned. Everything changed from that night on. I still remember that terrifying figure entering the imperial pce and murdering everyone. I was only able to survive because my mother shoved me into a secret passage.¡±

    ¡°When he didn¡¯t find my body, uncle sent some out some people to find and kill me. At the same time, he dered to the country that our entire family had died from food poisoning. He then took advantage of the situation and killed all of the subordinates and servants in the pce that were still loyal to my father, and then buried them with him. After this great purge, and due to the fact that he was the sole remaining heir to the empire, he began to rule over the country with an iron fist.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes had be red as he spoke, and he¡¯d clenched his fists tightly. His usually kind and naive face had also be extremely sinister. His heart was currently full of hatred.

    ¡°Maybe it was thanks to father and mother watching over me from the heavens, but in the end, I managed to escape. However, I¡ªwho¡¯d once been the crown prince¡ªhad been reduced to someone that was inferior to a beggar. And yet, I still didn¡¯t dare to return; I could only keep running. Afterwards, I managed to reach the borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire, which is where teacher saved me. Thanks to that, I was able to survive. However, I couldn¡¯t simply forget the deep hatred that¡¯s buried inside of my heart. Of course, I was clear as to what my limits were. In the end, I was still alone, and my power was insignificant by itself. The Ultimate Soldier n was my only hope of seeding. However, I simply don¡¯t have enough talent toplete this n.¡±

    He looked towards Huo Yuhao, his eyes red, and continued, ¡°Yuhao. In the future, I really that you¡¯ll be the Ultimate Soldier. And once you do, I hope that you¡¯ll help me get my revenge. I know that this request might be too much. However, I¡¯ll do everything in my power to help you grow and be stronger. I didn¡¯t join the Tang Sect today just for its hidden weapons. It was also for the sake of deepening our rtionship as brothers. I won¡¯t force you to do something you don¡¯t want to do. However, I can¡¯t get my revenge by relying on my power alone. Therefore, are you willing to try your best to help me, so long as it doesn¡¯t endanger your life?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked towards He Caitou, his expression now somber. ¡°Senior Brother He, I also carry a deep hatred within me. However, I can¡¯t give you a definite answer right now, as I don¡¯t have the qualifications to do so. As of right now, I¡¯m too weak to deal with either of our enemies. However, I¡¯ll always be your junior brother. If there¡¯s someone that wants to injure you, I won¡¯t let them off.¡±

    ¡°Before I entered Shrek Academy, my heart was full of hatred. The only thought I had on my mind was revenge. However, when I arrived here, I discovered that I was nothing but a drop in the ocean. In order to get my revenge, I realized that I needed to train harder than I¡¯d ever trained before. Only once we¡¯ve be powerful people in the academy will we have the qualifications to talk about revenge. We¡¯ll both have to keep our hatreds buried inside of our hearts until we¡¯re strong enough. When the timees, not only will we be brothers, we¡¯ll also berades-in-arms. At that time, I¡¯ll fight side by side with you.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± He Caitou stretched out hisrge hand towards Huo Yuhao. His white palm created a sharp contrast with the tanned skin on the back of his hand. Huo Yuhao also stretched his hand out and tightly grasped his.

    He Caitou said in a grave tone, ¡°Junior brother, let¡¯s try to help each other. We¡¯ll get through this together. Even if we take our revenge in ten years, it won¡¯t be toote. Right now, we¡¯re both still very weak. But what about ten years from now?¡±

    Once he¡¯d brought Huo Yuhao back to his dormitory, He Caitou changed back to the kind and in core disciple of the Soul Tool Department he¡¯d always been. Huo Yuhao had also gone back to normal; it was as if nothing had happened between them. However, he¡¯d buried He Caitou¡¯s secret deep inside of his heart. Unless they had absolute strength, it would be pointless to talk about revenge.

    Once they received the status of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters substitutes, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao dedicated even more time to their studies. They spent all of their time after ss cultivating.

    They were honored to act as substitutes. However, the pressure weighing down on them was much greater at the same time. They wanted to preserve Shrek Academy¡¯s honor with all of their strength. And, since they were the youngest of the group, they needed to expend even more effort to keep up with the others and to maintain their position.

    In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed. In that time, Elder Xuan had helped them with their training twice. His teaching methods were very direct and crude. He simply made them fight without any reservations.

    Every time, the seven of them would be divided into different groups and made to fight each other. Elder Xuan had also told them not to hold back. With a powerful expert like him as a supervisor, they wouldn¡¯t be in any danger. Under Elder Xuan¡¯s assiduous training, Huo Yuhao fought while paired with several different teammates. And every single time, his team would end up on the weaker side.

    As they studied and cultivated earnestly, Huo Yuhao could feel that himself improving every day. Moreover, he and Wang Dong had gotten better and better at using their Haodong Power. After half a month, Huo Yuhao could feel his soul power approaching rank 27. Soon, he¡¯d break through again.

    But the one that gave them the biggest surprise was Xiao Xiao. Her soul power had managed to reach rank 29. Just one more level and she¡¯d be able to hunt a soul beast and be a rank 30 Soul Elder.

    Today was one of the days that Elder Xuan was training them. Whenever this happened, Huo Yuhao and the others would skip their sses ande to the Assessment Area to take Elder Xuan¡¯s lesson. Today was no different.

    However, as soon as they entered the Assessment Area, they saw some unfamiliar faces.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had already arrived. However, there were also some other students alongside Elder Xuan.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao felt their heartbeat speed up when they saw the seven students, all of whom were wearing blood-red school uniforms. This color meant that they were students of the inner courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao only knew one of those seven students: Ma Xiaotao. However, he hadn¡¯t seen her since that day.

    Today, her long hair had been pulled up into a ponytail; she looked extremely neat. When she noticed Huo Yuhao, the corners of her mouth lifted to reveal a pensive smile.

    Huo Yuhao was somewhat embarrassed, and he immediately blushed. He still clearly remembered the scene from that day! Moreover, Ma Xiaotao was the first woman to have ever had such an intimate rtionship with him. As such, he remembered it even more clearly.

    Besides Ma Xiaotao, there were six other people present, four of which were men, while the other two were women. Their age seemed to be about the same as hers. Bei Bei and the others had arrived a bit earlier, and they had solemn expressions as they stood there. From time to time, they¡¯d shoot a nce at the inner courtyard disciples. Apart from their envy, there was also admiration and respect within their eyes.

    These red-clothed disciples of the inner courtyard were the strongest students in the academy. It was also thanks to them that Shrek Academy could maintain its status as the number one academy on the continent.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao walked toward Bei Bei and the others; they too were very reserved. After all, today they were in the presence of several fellow powerful students. In addition to this, they had more or less guessed the seven¡¯s identities.

    Elder Xuan nodded at their arrival and said, ¡°You¡¯ve all arrived. The next Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament will begin in ten days. Both of your groups should¡¯ve guessed the identity of the other. Your guesses aren¡¯t wrong. On one side, we have those that will participate in thepetition. On the other side, we have the reserves. Both of you are the old and new generations of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. There are two reasons that I¡¯ve brought you to here to meet each other today: The first is to get to know each other, while the second is to get you guys acquainted with each other¡¯s respective abilities.¡±

    With that, he turned toward Huo Yuhao and the other seven and said, ¡°You couldn¡¯t have possibly thought that you guys would just act as spectators, right? On the contrary, unless something expected happens, all of you will probably have to fight. Whenever we encounter an opponent that¡¯s not too strong, it¡¯ll be your turn to go on stage. This way we can properly hide the main team¡¯s abilities.¡±

    When they heard that they would have a chance to go on stage, Huo Yuhao and the others were pleasantly surprised. At first, they had really thought that they would just be present as spectators! They hadn¡¯t thought that they¡¯d have the opportunity to represent the academy! And this wasn¡¯t just any academy they would be representing; it was Shrek Academy!

    Elder Xuan snorted and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t get overexcited. It¡¯s inevitable that you¡¯ll have to go on stage. However, you¡¯re not allowed to lose. If one of you isn¡¯t careful and manages to lose a match¡­ Hehe, you¡¯ll learn the consequences. So long as I¡¯m alive, that person can forget about entering the inner courtyard. Moreover, you should adjust your mentality. In this session, you¡¯ll act as a support for the main group. You¡¯ll have to obey their every order. Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 64.3: The Ultimate Soldier Plan (Preview)

    Chapter 64.3: The Ultimate Soldier n (Preview)

    ¡°Understood.¡± The group of seven answered in chorus. With their current ages and cultivations, bing the official substitutes for the main team was already enough to fill them with happiness! Furthermore, they might even get the oppurtunity to go out and fight. An experience such as this was already quite difficult toe by, yet the academy had done all of this in order to prepare them to be the next generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Elder Xuan nodded. ¡°Alright, everybody introduce yourselves so that you all can get to know each other. We¡¯ll start with the preparatory team.¡±

    After confirming how old they were, there was naturally no problem regarding the order in which the preparatory team started speaking. Bei Bei was the first to walk out, ¡°I¡¯m Bei Bei, a fifth year student from the outer courtyard. I¡¯m a Rank 42 assault-type Soul Ancestor.¡±

    He Caitou was the next to take a step forward. ¡°He Caitou. Fourth year from the outer courtyard. I¡¯m from the Soul Tool Department, and I¡¯m a ss 4 soul engineer.¡± As a student of the Soul Tool Department, he evidently had no need to give out his own cultivation. On the contrary, he would use his ss to reveal his own strength.

    Xu Sanshi was the third toe up. ¡°Xu Sanshi. I¡¯m a fifth year from the outer courtyard, and I¡¯m a Rank 43 defense-type Soul Ancestor.¡± In terms of soul power, he was still slightly weaker than Bei Bei.

    The fourth in line was Jiang Nannan. Though she didn¡¯t want to stand next to Xu Sanshi and listen to him grumble on and on again, they were of a simr age. It wouldn¡¯t be good to reveal her thoughts at an important event like this.

    ¡°I¡¯m Jiang Nannan. I¡¯m a fifth year from the outer courtyard, and I¡¯m a Rank 41 agility-type Soul Ancestor.¡±

    The gazes of a few male students from the inner courtyard immediately lit up after seeing her. Jiang Nannan was indeed extremely beautiful. Of the females present here, she was the most beautiful in terms of looks alone; Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, had the best physique. As for Xiao Xiao, she was simply too young. As a result, she hadn¡¯t developed much of her womanly charms.

    Xu Sanshi immediately tensed up, and he looked toward his seniors in the inner courtyard with a zing look in his eyes.

    The fifth person to step out was Xiao Xiao. ¡°I¡¯m called Xiao Xiao, greetings to my senior upperssmen. I¡¯m a second year from the outer courtyard, and I¡¯m a Rank 29 control-type Soul Grandmaster.¡±

    The disciples of the inner courtyard who were enraptured by Jiang Nannan¡¯s looks involuntarily widened their eyes at hearing the words ¡®Rank 29¡¯.

    Rank 29? Did they hear something wrong? This was the preparatory team of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, but there was actually a second year among them? It was no wonder they looked so small. Heavens! What was Elder Xuan trying to do?

    The next-in-line after Xiao Xiao was Huo Yuhao. He took a step forward to Xiao Xiao¡¯s side and said respectfully, ¡°Greetings to my senior upperssmen. I¡¯m Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m a second year of the outer courtyard. I¡¯m a Rank 26 control-type soul master.¡±

    Rank, Rank 26? Other than Ma Xiaotao, the expressions of the others in the inner courtyard became somewhat strange. However, seeing as they were able to be disciples of the inner courtyard, they had extremely calm temperaments. Though they were astonished, they didn¡¯t reveal anyrge changes on the outside.

    Thest in line was Wang Dong. He could naturally see the astonishment that the seniors in the inner courtyard had, and hence he proudly raised his little chest and said, ¡°Wang Dong. Second year from the outer courtyard, and a Rank 31 assault-type Soul Elder.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and pointed towards the disciples from the inner courtyard, ¡°Your turn.¡±

    The first one to walk out from among the group of disciples from the inner courtyard was actually Ma Xiaotao. She was evidently much calmer than before.

    ¡°Inner courtyard, Ma Xiaotao. Rank 67 assault-type Soul Emperor.¡±

    Though Huo Yuhao and the rest knew that she was powerful, they couldn¡¯t help but gasp after hearing her say the words ¡®Rank 67¡¯.

    The fact that she could participate in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament meant that she wasn¡¯t even twenty yet. However, her cultivation had already reached Rank 67. This couldn¡¯t even be described using the word ¡®terrifying¡¯.

    A male student stepped up after Ma Xiaotao. He was extremely tall, and standing together with the slender Ma Xiaotao was extremely fitting. Huo Yuhao felt a few traces of familiarity upon seeing him, but didn¡¯t know why this was the case. This man had a solemn temperament, and his gaze was as cutting as a de. He said in a low voice, ¡°Inner courtyard, Dai Yueheng. Rank 64 assault-type Soul Emperor.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally came to himself after hearing the words ¡®Dai Yueheng¡¯. He was greatly astonished, and his expression changed involuntarily. On the other hand, Dai Yueheng squinted his eyes as he looked at Huo Yuhao, and a faint chilly light flickered through them.

    The White Tiger Duke had two sons. The eldest was the prince of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, and also its future inheritor; he was called Dai Yueheng. Dai Huabin¡¯s talent was very outstanding, as shown by the fact that he was able to be a Rank 37 Soul Elder before even turning thirteen. However, he still had to live under the shadow of his elder brother.

    Huo Yuhao had never expected to see Dai Yueheng in a situation like this. He was actually one of the current generation¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. From the look in Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes, he knew that his grudge with Dai Huabin was definitely known by the former.

    The person who came up after Dai Yueheng was another male student. He wasn¡¯t as sturdily built as Dai Huabin, but his body was slender. He carried the trace of a warm smile on his face. ¡°Inner courtyard, Chen Zifeng. Rank 57 assault-type Soul King.¡±

    Though the two previous Soul Emperors were shocking, a person who was able to be a Soul King before the age of twenty was simrly astonishing! It was extremely difficult to be a disciple of the inner courtyard, but he was actually able to stand out from the many disciples in the inner courtyard to go out and represent Shrek Academy. Their excellence could be seen from this.

    The fourth person was another woman. She looked extremely normal, and her figure was also extremely normal. Moreover, she even had short hair. On the surface, she was a young girl who couldn¡¯t be any more normal. Even her voice was so normal that it was astonishing.

    ¡°Inner courtyard, Xi Xi. Rank 56 agility-type Soul King.¡± She gave a simr introduction, but it didn¡¯t really give a deep impression. The moment she spoke, her entire person seemed to dim, as if she¡¯d beenpletely overshadowed by the radiance of the people in front of her.

    The fifth person was also a female student, and she was much prettier than Xi Xi. Unlike Ma Xiaotao¡¯s fierceness, she had a cool sort of beauty. She was also different from Jiang Nannan¡¯s gentleness; the cold and aloof feeling that came from her would easily give a person a deep impression. Her skin was very white, and she seemedpletely weightless as she stepped forward.

    ¡°Inner courtyard, Ling Luochen. Rank 55 control-type Soul King.¡± Finally, a control-type soul master came out after the other assault and agility-type ones.

    The sixth person was a thin boy who was only 1.6 meters or so tall. He had a thin body, and was much shorter than Ling Luochen, but his eyes were bright and filled with expression.

    ¡°Inner courytard, Yao Haoxuan. Rank 55, control-type Soul King.¡± It was another control-type soul master, but were there any auxiliary-type ones?

    Thest disciple from the inner courtyard had an elegant set of facial features. Right, the word was ¡®elegant¡¯. Though he was clearly a male student, he had a slender body and a jade-like face. His elegant appearance made one involuntarily fall in love with him, and even his voice was soft, ¡°Inner courtyard, Gong Yangmo. Rank 59 auxiliary-type Soul King.¡±

    The seven from the preparatory team would never have thought that thest member of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters would actually be ranked third in terms of cultivation. Second only to Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, he was at Rank 59. He only needed to take a single step to be a Soul Emperor-ranked expert.

    After hearing his senior upperssmen introduce themselves, Huo Yuhao etched their names, specialties, and soul ranks into his mind. Though they were were only assisting them in the actualpetition, there were evident benefits to memorising all of this.

    Other than the gloomy feeling he had after Dai Yueheng¡¯s unexpected appearance, Huo Yuhao felt astonished after memorising the details of his seniors.

    Thesepetitors were all under the age of twenty, but they were all above Rank 50! Moreover, there were even two of them who were Soul Emperors. Was this actually something that could be achieved before the age of twenty? Though they were definitely consummate existences amongst their peers, since they were studying in Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, the fact that they were all Soul Kings and Soul Emperors still managed to startle Huo Yuhao. If he were able to reach the Soul King rank before the age of twenty, wouldn¡¯t that be a sight to behold?

    It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the inner courtyard disciples standing in front of Huo Yuhao were already at the very top amongst their peers. Would there even be a chance of losing in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament with a team like this participating?

    Elder Xuan nodded slightly, ¡°Okay, you all know each other a bit now. For the sake of getting you guys to know each other more, your first training task today is a friendly match. You should try and increase your familiarity with each other in today¡¯s match. You won¡¯t just be teaming up with your own teammates; I can switch the members of your teams any time I wish to during the match, so as to ensure that we can be the final champions of the Tournament. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, you each take a team. Ma Xiaotao, your cultivation¡¯s higher, so you can only take two official members for your team. However, I¡¯ll let you choose a member from the official and preparatory teams first. Dai Yueheng, you can take three official members along with some people from the preparatory team.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of seven were still somewhat baffled, but the seven from the inner courtyard were clearly familiar with Elder Xuan¡¯s way of doing things.

    Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng took a step forward and put some distance between the two of them. The former said, ¡°The first person I¡¯ll choose from the official team is Gong Yangmo.¡± She had a total of three official members she could choose from, but the first person she chose wasn¡¯t the assault-type Cheng Zifeng, but the person who had the highest cultivation within the official team other than her and Dai Yueheng, Gong Yangmo.

    With that, she paused, ¡°The first person I¡¯ll choose from the preparatory team is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The moment she spoke, both teams were greatly astonished, and even Elder Xuan revealed a startled look on his face.

    Ma Xiaotao snorted coldly. ¡°What? Can I not choose him?¡±

    Wang Dong bumped Huo Yuhao, who then nced back at him. Under Wang Dong¡¯s slightly inquisitive gaze, the former could only reveal a helpless smile.

    Gong Yangmo walked elegantly over to Ma Xiaotao and smiled slightly. ¡°Xiaotao, you truly have good eyes.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao revealed a loathful look and said, ¡°Maintain a five meter distance between you and me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being impolite.¡±

    Gong Yangmo wasn¡¯t angered by this; he walked five meters away from her with a smile.

    Ma Xiaotao waved Huo Yuhao over. ¡°What¡¯re you waiting for? Quickly,e here.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Only then did Huo Yuhao quickly walk over to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s side.

    Ma Xiaotao raised her chin towards Dai Yueheng in a seemingly provocative manner. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

 Chapter 65.1: Mixâ€™nâ€™Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    Chapter 65.1: Mix¡¯n¡¯Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    Dai Yaoheng nced at Ma Xiaotao, feeling a little dubious. In a low voice, he said, ¡°Chen Zifeng, Xu Sanshi.¡±

    Both of them immediately arrived at Dai Yaoheng¡¯s side.

    Ma Xiaotao immediately made her decision again, ¡°Xi Xi, Bei Bei.¡±

    Hearing her say this, Huo Yuhao almost burst outughing. Combining the characters from ¡°Xi¡± and ¡°Bei¡±, wouldn¡¯t that form the word for fake goods?

    As he was walking over, Bei Bei evidently thought of that as well, because the expression on his face was a little strange. He wanted tough, but he held it in.

    Dai Yaoheng said, ¡°Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan.¡± He could choose three people for the starting lineup. After Ma Xiaotao made two of her selections, it was naturally important to decide the next two candidates at the first possible moment. The team would definitely be a little stronger with a Soul King amongst them, especially since their opponents were all inner courtyard students from Shrek Academy.

    Ma Xiaotao naturally went ahead and chose two more people. This time around, she obviously chose the reserve members from the outer courtyard, ¡°He Caitou, Wang Dong.¡±

    Both parties had finished making their decisions at this moment in time. In the end, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao naturally went to Dai Yueheng¡¯s team, since they were the only two remaining from the reserve team. On Ma Xiaotao¡¯s end, the ones she chose were herself, Gong Yangmo, Huo Yuhao, Xi Xi, Bei Bei, He Caitou and Wang Dong.

    On the other hand, Dai Yueheng¡¯s final decision was to go with Chen Zifeng, Ling Luochen, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao.

    There were seven people on each end, but both teams had already beenpletely broken up.

    This match was led by Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yaoheng with the intention to learn from one another. Even though this match was primarily meant for both parties to fiercelypete with each other based on strength alone, it was simrly testing their abilities to select their team members as well. In a team battle, one would disy differentbat strengths when put in different groups.

    Elder Xuan hugged his huge alcohol cbash andughed mischievously. He then said, ¡°Very well. Since you guys have finished choosing your members, I will give you ten minutes to n your tactics. After ten minutes, the match will start. The losing party¡­ Well¡­ You can just scream this sentence ¨C ¡®I am a pig¡¯ and that¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Sure enough, this was a peculiar punishment, causing Wang Dong to break out inughter.

    There were seven people on both parties. The distance between both parties naturally grew as they went to stand on each opposite ends of the assessment area.

    Gong Yangmo spoke to Ma Xiaotao in a low voice, ¡°Xiaotao, why didn¡¯t you choose a Control System Battle Soul Master? Didn¡¯t I say that you can¡¯t put Xi Xi in?! But you also know that if you don¡¯t have a control-type in a team battle, we will be at a huge disadvantage. We usually conduct drills together, so you should also be very clear as to how powerful Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan are together as control-types. Even though I can barely act as a control-type, I am not a true control-type after all is said and done.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao red at him and said, ¡°Do I need you to teach me what to do? You just need to do everything you can to assist everyone when the match starts. I¡¯ll take care of Dai Yaoheng, but I can¡¯t finish him off in a short period of time. I can only do my best and help the rest of you. Xi Xi, I¡¯ll hand Chen Zifeng over to you.¡±

    Xi Xi frowned a little. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I take care of Ling Luochen first?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao shook her head and said, ¡°Ling Luochen has Yao Haoxuan by his side. You will be at a disadvantage because Yao Haoxuan¡¯s ability can restrain you. Rx, I have a n. Bei Bei, follow Xi Xi when the timees. Both of you have lightning abilities, so you¡¯llplement one another. You guys need to get rid of Chen Ziheng at the quickest possible moment, then you guys can focus on helping the others. Since we just put these two teams together, I know there isn¡¯t going to be much rapport between us in the uing confrontation. The most it¡¯s going to be is a battle between individuals. Caitou, I know that you¡¯re a very talented outer courtyard student from the Soul Tool Department. You don¡¯t need to hold back forter, and can shower them with omni-directional explosive attacks.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± He Caitou replied.

    Only then did Ma Xiaotao shift her gaze to Huo Yuhao. There was an odd expression on her face as she chuckled. ¡°Little Yuhao, elder sister did not pick you because we are personally on good terms. Elder Xuan only allowed me to choose two people from the starting lineup. You are the key as to whether we can win this battle or not, so you better go all out. I¡¯ll give you and Wang Dong the authority to battle as you please. Let me see just how far you can go. Moreover, I¡¯ll hand the team¡¯s control over to you. Even if you can¡¯t control your opponents, the best you can do is control the people on your team. Can you do that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but avert his gaze, seeing as there was somewhat of a yful look in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes. He had no choice but to nod and say, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao snorted and said, ¡°Doing your best is out of the question. We must definitely win. If you let this old woman scream that line as punishment, then you better be prepared for the consequences.¡± After she finished talking, she straightened her back and almost knocked into Huo Yuhao. A valiant aura suddenly rose around her as Ma Xiaotao turned around and looked at their opponents in the distance, ¡°Is Dai Yaoheng not satisfied that I got to lead the team when I returned? If so, then this old woman will beat him up till he¡¯s satisfied.¡±

    ¡°Elder sister Xiaotao, I have a question.¡± Wang Dong suddenly spoke.

    Ma Xiaotao nced at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the question?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that there needs to be a student from the Soul Tool Department amongst Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. But¡­ there isn¡¯t one amongst your group.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao indifferently said, ¡°We originally had one, but he was eliminated after I returned. No one is indispensable on this team; if we have to get rid of one person, we can deal with not having a Soul Tool Master.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou frowned hearing her say that. Even though Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t intentionally direct those words at the Soul Tool Department, it was extremely easy to discern from her tone that the Soul Tool Department didn¡¯t have a position in the inner courtyard.

    The ten minutes were up quickly. Dai Yueheng had evidently made certain arrangements on his end too. Both parties faced each other from opposite ends of the assessment area.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang out once more. ¡°From now on, you are not students, but enemies. I don¡¯t need to tell you what to do to fight over the title of not being a pig. All of you don¡¯t need to hold back. Start!¡±

    Both parties were still extremely far away from each other right now. When he shouted ¡°start¡±, both teams immediately moved.

    Ma Xiaotao was the first to rush out. Once the tips of her toes touched the ground, she was like an arrow, shooting straight out at lightning speed. Fiery feathers suddenly appeared, and following that, a radiant glow burned fiercely in her eyes.

    A strong reddish-gold me burst forth, lighting up the whole field.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had personally seen how Ma Xiaotao was like when sheunched an all out attack. When they saw the mes from her Evil Phoenix, they were suddenly fired up. They had never expected that they¡¯d actually get to fight alongside Ma Xiaotao so soon.

    However, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s opponent was Dai Yueheng¡¯s team. As a result of that, she clearly wasn¡¯t as fierce and quickpared to when she was when dealing with those soul masters who wanted to kill Huo Yuhao and Wang Dongst time. She intentionally controlled the speed at which she was advancing, and maintained the formation she had with her team members behind her.

    Xi Xi also made a move at the same time Ma Xiaotao advanced forwards. She was much faster than the outer courtyard students anticipated, and was even faster than Ma Xiaotao. In a sh, she was right behind Ma Xiaotao. It seemed as though her whole body had already fused into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mes. However, the moment she disappeared, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s zing phoenix mes seemed somewhat colder than before.

    Two magnificent pairs of wings simultaneously appeared on the battlefield. One of them was naturally Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess. Radiant rays of light flickered in blue and gold as he unfurled his wings. However, Wang Dong didn¡¯t take flight, rather he held Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand as they quickly dashed forwards with the help of his wings.

    The other magnificent pair of wings didn¡¯t lose to the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings in terms of beauty. The other person had huge wings with feathers thatprised of all the colours of the rainbow. Starting with red feathers on the person¡¯s back, the colors spread out till the tips of the wings were purple. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Those seven colours were pure and sparkled in the light. When he took flight, it was just as though a rainbow was hovering in the sky.

    This gorgeous pair of wings belonged to the elegant Gong Yangmo. In this moment, his long hair had simrly turned into the colors of the rainbow. There was also white scales on his skin. On the whole, it was just like he¡¯d turned into a huge colorful bird. The only difference between him and birds was that his legs seemed to have thickened a bit, with scales faintly shing at his ankles.

    What was this martial soul? The outer courtyard disciples had also learned about many martial souls, but they hadn¡¯t heard about a martial soul like Gong Yangmo¡¯s before. The rarity of said martial soul could bepared to the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    He Caitou wasn¡¯t fast, but one shouldn¡¯t forget that he was a Rank 4 Soul Tool Master. Rays of light suddenly shone on his back, brazenly indicating that the propeller had been activated. Moreover, he¡¯d dragged Bei Bei along with him and caught up to Ma Xiaotao, not slowing down in the slightest.

    At this moment, their formation was as follows: Gong Yangmo was in the sky. Ma Xiaotao, Xi Xi, Bei Bei and He Caitou were in front with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong behind them.

    On the other end, Dai Yaoheng¡¯s team simrly got into formation. Dai Yaoheng took the lead and released the white tiger martial soul unique to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion. Aherworldly glint shone in his eyes that had two pupils in them. They were filled with an intense desire to fight.

    Chen Zifeng was on his left, whereas Xu Sanshi was on his right. Jiang Nannan on the other hand, was behind Dai Yaoheng. Three Control System Battle Soul Masters were following them further behind the group.

    Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan and Xiaoxiao were standing next to each other. The trio released their martial souls one after the other.

    The seven on their end were arranged in a three-one-three formation.

    Seven versus seven. A match between the students from the inner and outer courtyard as well as the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was about to begin.

    Amongst everyone present on the battlefield, the conspicuous ones weren¡¯t the two Soul Emperors who were charging forth, ahead from everyone else in their own pack. Rather, Huo Yuhao was the one who caught everyone¡¯s eye as a Soul Master with only two soul rings. His two white soul rings were really too striking!

    When Gong Yangmo saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s white soul rings as he flew in the sky, he almost fell down. He really wanted to question when the Shrek Academy had a student who had two ten-year-old soul rings. Moreover, this student could even be a core disciple. If that wasn¡¯t enough, this student was also part of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monster¡¯s reserve team. It seemed as though Ma Xiaotao valued him highly too.

 Chapter 65.2: Mixâ€™nâ€™Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    Chapter 65.2: Mix¡¯n¡¯Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    As everyone else released their dazzling yellow, purple, and even ck soul rings, Huo Yuhao¡¯s pair of pure-white ones naturally became the focus of the entire field.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s assessment area took up arge amount of space, and though both parties were moving quickly, it still took a while for them to approach each other. At this moment, they were only a hundred meters away from each other. Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul ring was the first to light up.

    The halo created by the pure-white soul ring wasn¡¯trge, and it would be hard to attract anybody¡¯s attention with it. However, in the short period of time in which the halo expanded, the other six people in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team were all astonished.

    The sudden feeling of having an extra brain help them calcte and detect everything around them was simply too miraculous. They didn¡¯t even need to use their eyes to feel everything around them. The appearance of the three-dimensional image caused arge quantity of data to appear in their minds, causing them to feel much more confident. Though their opponents hadn¡¯t even entered the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, its sudden and powerful effect stunned the few members of the official team who weren¡¯t familiar with him.

    Just why had Ma Xiaotao chosen Huo Yuhao? In reality, she wasn¡¯t very clear on Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, but his Ultimate martial soul had left too deep an impression on her!

    The gap between her cultivation and Huo Yuhao¡¯s couldn¡¯t even be described using the phrase ¡®as wide as the difference between the heavens and the earth¡¯. However, even in a situation like this, he was able to rely on his weak ability topletely suppress her Evil Fire within a full day. After that suppression, Ma Xiaotao could no longer feel that evil intent burning her anymore. Though she knew that this was treating the symptoms, and not the root cause of her problem, Ma Xiaotao knew that there would be no chance of a rpse urring even if she cultivated and battled for an entire month.

    Combined with that fact that she had personally witnessed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong escape from the encirclement of a Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings, she knew that she couldn¡¯t treat them like ordinary two-ringed and three-ringed soul masters. Elder Xuan was extremely picky, but had still allowed the three of them to enter the preparatory team; their talent could be seen from this fact alone.

    Because of this, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s first pick wasn¡¯t Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi, but Huo Yuhao. She hoped to be surprised by him.

    And the facts had shown that Huo Yuhao had given her, Xi Xi, and Gong Yangmo an extremelyrge shock. The omnidirectional Spiritual Shock was essentially a fusion of a control-type and auxiliary-type skill, and its urate scouting capabilities immediately gave them the initiative.

    The midair Gong Yangmo revealed a look of surprise, then revealed his strength. After all, he couldn¡¯t fall behind his little junior disciples.

    A dazzling seven-coloured light lit up, and Gong Yangmo¡¯s first and second hundred year soul rings lit up. He pped his wings, causing a red and orange ring of light to soundlessly emerge from his body and envelop his allies below him.

    Immediately, an astonishing scene urred. A scarlet-red and orange ring of light appeared on the other six people led by Ma Xiaotao, and they were able to sense the strength of Gong Yangmo¡¯s auxiliary-type skill.

    The first buff they were given was an increase in strength. It was admittedly true that soul power was important, but one¡¯s physical strength yed a simrly important role. When the red ring of light appeared, the six of them felt as if they¡¯d been given a cardiac stimnt. This increased their strength by more than 50%, thus increasing their speed as well.

    However, the orange ring of light was even more miraculous. After itnded on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team, they immediately felt as if they¡¯d be a source of energy. The elemental undtions in the air became much clearer to them, before surging into their bodies like a river flowing into a sea. This was actually an auxiliary skill that could recover a person¡¯s soul power.

    A supplementary ability on this level could be considered to be an explosive increase to the overall strength of their team. This was the most important use of an auxiliary-type soul master in a battle.

    As an official member of the current participating team, Gong Yangmo¡¯s cultivation level could be imagined. The reason why he was rankedst wasn¡¯t because of a deficiency in his soul power or his martial soul, but because he was only an auxiliary-type tool soul master who didn¡¯t have anybat strength himself. Normally, a figure like him would tend to be rankedst in a team.

    In terms of simple cultivation, however, he was second only to Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng.

    What Huo Yuhao and the rest didn¡¯t know, however, was that because Ma Xiaotao had been affected by her Evil Fire, she had had to temporarily leave the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, and hence not be able to represent the school. At that time, the captain of the official team was Dai Yueheng, while the vice-captain was Gong Yangmo, who was rankedst.

    Gong Yangmo¡¯s martial soul was called the Rainbow Dragon. This was a soul beast that actually existed, but was extremely rare. Its rarity was around that of Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    The Dragon race had always been very powerful, and the Rainbow Dragon wasn¡¯t an exception to the case; after all, it had the word ¡®Dragon¡¯ attached to its name. Whenever a Rainbow Dragon appeared, it would be followed by the most powerful members of the Dragon race, as thepanion of the Dragon King.

    The Dragon King who was the partner of the Rainbow Dragon would generally be unshakeable. That was precisely because it had the terrifying assistance of the Rainbow Dragon.

    Practically every single member of the Dragon race was powerful in battle, but the Rainbow Dragon was an exception to this rule. It didn¡¯t have a high level of physical strength, nor did it have a terrifying innate soul skill. However, it had the highest amount of magical power. Because of this, it was also referred to as the Magic Dragon.

    Gong Yangmo was an auxiliary-type tool soul master, but his martial soul was actually a beast soul.

    Of the many auxiliary-type martial souls, the strongest of the tool souls was the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda that Ning Tian possessed. Once it was able to enter the realm of Nine Treasures, its auxiliary capabilities could terrify even a Titled Douluo.

    Gong Yangmo¡¯s Rainbow Dragon, on the other hand, was the strongest auxiliary-type martial soul within the category of beast souls; it wasparable to the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. However, like the former, his Rainbow Dragon suffered a few limitations. Once he achieved the Seven Coloured Gamut, or the seven-ringed rank in other words, taking another step would be extremely difficult for him.

    The Rainbow Dragon and the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda each had their own specialties. On aprehensive scale, there were hardly any differences between their respective strengths. From this, it could be seen how strong the pinnacle five-ringed Gong Yangmo was in the auxiliary field. Ma Xiaotao had taken him as her first pick due to the 30% strength increase he would give to the entire team, allowing her to make up for theck of an extra member from the official team.

    Just as Huo Yuhao and Gong Yangmo released their control and auxiliary-type skills, the seven-man team led by Dai Yueheng began to release their soul skills.

    A heaven-shaking roar rang out. The person who made the first move was the rtively unremarkable member of the official Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Yao Haoxuan. His extremely petite body suddenly elerated, and he stomped his right foot on the ground heavily.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± A muffled, loud sound shook the entire Assessment Area, as if an Earth Dragon was rising to its feet. It was very difficult to imagine how Yao Haoxuan¡¯s petite body was able to release such an enormous amount of power.

    Right after that, he borrowed the tyrannical amount of force from his stomp to shoot into the air. Then, Huo Yuhao witnessed a scene that he¡¯d never seen on a soul master before.

    Yao Haoxuan¡¯s petite body released a shattering sound in midair, tearing his school uniform to bits and pieces. As if he knew this was going to happen, he wore a dark-gold shirt under his uniform. This shirt was extremely stic; it didn¡¯t have any signs of tearing even after his body suddenly expanded.

    Normally, a soul master who possessed a beast soul would undergo a few changes when they activated them. For example, this was the case for Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng. However, amongst the soul masters Huo Yuhao had seen before, a person could only double the size of his body at most. However, the current Yao Haoxuan hadpletely overturned his understanding.

    While his body was in midair, Yao Haoxuan extended his four limbs. Then, his terrifying muscles bulged, and within the blink of an eye, he became an enormous and over-exaggerated adonis.

    Every single one of his muscles swelled, and the surface of his skin was covered in a keratin and leather-like substance. His skin turned a metallic gray, and his eyes turned dark green.

    Yao Haoxuan, who originally wasn¡¯t even as tall as Ling Luochen, was now over four meters tall as hended on the ground with a crash. Right, four meters. This was a height that ordinary humans couldn¡¯t even grow to.

    The more terrifying fact was that his shoulders were three meters wide. Afternding, he became as thick as a small fortress. He took a deep, coarse breath, then raised his pectorals, which were asrge as a chopping block.

    He pounded his chest using his enormous, hammer-like fists, and two yellow soul rings lit up.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡± Amidst the muffled booms, everyone could see yellow rings of light spread out from Yao Haoxuan¡¯s body. Every single member of the opposing team was covered with ayer of yellow light, and their auras became evidently sharper. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s team began to feel slightly dizzy after hearing that muffled sound.

    This was the auxiliary and control-type soul master, Yao Haoxuan! Just what martial soul did he possess?

    Following Gong Yangmo¡¯s appearance, another martial soul which Huo Yuhaopletely didn¡¯t recognise appeared.

    Control-type soul masters would always make the first move in a team battle. They didn¡¯t just control their enemies, but their own teammates as well if they were able to. Control-type soul masters were always known as themanders of the battlefield.

    Because of this, Yao Haoxuan wasn¡¯t the only person from Dai Yueheng¡¯s team who made a move; the control-type Ling Luochen and Xiao Xiao made a move as well.

 Chapter 65.3: Mixâ€™nâ€™Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    Chapter 65.3: Mix¡¯n¡¯Match Battle of the Seven Monsters!

    Xiao Xiao knew that her cultivation was too low to y a decisive role in the battle. As such, she only used her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. When she did, a ¡®wuwu¡¯ sound echoed throughout the surrounding area, and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s speed was immediately reduced by a small margin.

    Compared to Xiao Xiao, the nearby Ling Luochen was much more powerful. When she released her martial soul, all five of her soul rings began to move rhythmically, and ayer of ice crystals covered her entire body. Immediately afterwards, theyer of ice crystals began to shine as they merged with her second soul ring, which caused her body to be encased in light blue ice armor. When the light from her teammates¡¯ soul rings shone on it, the light was refracted and gave birth to a beautiful and radiant disy of colors.

    Her first soul ring was the next to light up. Ling Luochen raised her right hand when it did, and made a grabbing motion. When she did, a two meter-long magical staff made of ice crystals materialized from a blue light.

    Unexpectedly, both of the soul skills she¡¯d used so far had nothing to do with ¡®control¡¯. One had caused a magical staff to materialize, the other a suit of ice armor. Despite this, neither of these abilities seemed weak!

    However, Ling Luochen quickly disyed her strength. She pointed the staff towards the sky, and ayer of ice-blue light instantly enveloped the surrounding area. Afterwards, the ice-blue air rushed towards the enemy team. She didn¡¯t use any other soul skills.

    As one might notice, her martial soul was nothing but ¡®ice¡¯. She had an extremely rare elemental martial soul that let her control ice.

    Ma Xiaotao was in the front. Therefore, she would have been the first one to suffer the effects of the wave of cold. Dai Yueheng and the others thought that she would use her phoenix mes to resist the attack. However, she did nothing of the sort. She just stopped.

    Given her cultivation, Ling Luochen¡¯s ability to control ice wasn¡¯t really a threat to her. However, ice could restrain fire. With Ling Luochen here, her phoenix mes would be weakened, and her consumption of spiritual power would also increase.

    But surprisingly enough, the irritable Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t push forward. Since she had stopped, her teammates also quickly caught up.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, release your ice element aura and suppress her.¡± Ma Xiaotao shouted in a low voice. At this time, they were less than fifty meters away from Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng. And right now, they had already entered the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. The condition of their soul power, their speed, their movements, all the moves they were nning to do; nothing could escape Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still a little nervous. After all, the opposing team had four students of the inner courtyard! When Ma Xiaotao shouted thatmand, he mistook her intentions.

    Suppress her? How exactly can I suppress her? If it were a Soul Grandmaster, maybe I would be able to suppress him. But a Soul King? This is impossible!

    Ma Xiaotao was much more experienced than him. Therefore, she just wanted to make him release his Ultimate ice element martial soul. Even if Ling Luochen had a powerful elemental martial soul, it was still somewhatckingpared to an Ultimate martial soul of the ice element. Just by releasing his Ultimate ice element, he would be able to protect his teammates from Ling Luochen¡¯s ability to control ice. Otherwise, if they were to be affected by this cold, their speed and power would drop drastically.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that his duty was so easy. He only had to release the martial soul of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and spread her aura in all directions. He had turned a simple task into something veryplicated.

    Sister Xiaotao, you¡¯re asking too much of me! How should I proceed now?

    Would he allow them to say that he was a coward? Of course he wouldn¡¯t. At this time, Huo Yuhao recalled the words that Ma Xiaotao had left on the ground. This immediately ignited his fighting spirit. A golden light flickered through his eyes. Then, his second soul ring lit up.

    Since Ma Xiaotao had stopped, everyone else stopped too. They all heard the order she had given to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward. At this time, he was standing in front of his teammates. After that, he released a piercing shriek from his mouth, and at the same time, his body also disappearedpletely.

    At this moment, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and the others saw that Ma Xiaotao had stopped. Therefore, they also reduced their speed. If you know both yourself and your enemy, you won¡¯t suffer defeat. There was surely a reason behind the other party¡¯s strange behavior.

    Then, they saw the boy called Huo Yuhao taking a step forward. And after that piercing shriek, they saw his body disappearpletely. All those rays of light connected to his body also lost their luster.

    At this time, the wave of cold arrived where Yuhao and the others were standing. Except for Huo Yuhao, everyone else felt their bodies be cold. The temperature in the surrounding area also drastically fell.

    Ma Xiaotao was dumbfounded. She was just about to curse that idiotic Huo Yuhao when the surrounding scenery changed.

    A strange form appeared where Huo Yuhao was standing. And when it appeared, it caused the surrounding air to instantly congeal. Then, a burst of ancient, powerful and overbearing aura spread from its body.

    Elder Xuan, who was overseeing the match from the sky, lowered his head and spurted out the alcohol in his mouth. His eyes were wide open, and almost seemed to fall from his eye sockets. Afterwards, he started to cough fiercely. The alcohol had almost caused him to choke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had disappeared. And a beautiful and fearful form had appeared in his stead.

    It was a scorpion. A very beautiful scorpion.

    It was around one-and-a-half meters long, and its body had two colorations. One part had the same color as ice, while the other was a deep green.

    At its front, there were four oveppingyers. Eachyer was slightly longer than 15 centimeters, and the head was situated on the first one. Its silver-white mouth was emitting a cold light. Moreover, the first half of these fouryers was covered with strange scales.

    Each of these scales was hexagonal, and each and every one of them was emitting a bright light, just like protruding diamonds. Its six powerful long legs were also densely covered by these protuberances. Under the snowy radiance, they were emitting a blinding light. At this moment, it seemed as if its entire body had be a source of light; myriad different light shades were refracted from it.

    The two pincers in the front were each a meter long. The pincers were also covered by those protruding diamond-like hexagonal scales. They were simr to its mouth, emitting a silver-white radiance like two mirrors.

    However, the most eye-catching part was its two eyes. These eyes were yellow, and shining like a pair of crystals. They also had a hexagonal shape. They were emitting a bright yellow radiance, giving off an unusual feeling.

    If you were to think that the first half was bright enough, you still had to see thetter half. A long and dazzling tail was sticking up from its back, and this was the core of the radiance it was emanating.

    Unlike the many segments of a normal scorpion¡¯s, its tail only had five. Each joint had a charming dark green color. The glittering dark green color almost seemed lifelike. These five joints all had the same color, and the closer they were close to the body, therger they were. Likewise, the farther they were, the narrower they got. At the end of thest joint was a diamond-like stinger that was standing high up in the sky. The tip of the stinger was also emitting a silver-white luster.

    This soul beast, whose entire body resembled a shining precious treasure, was emitting an aura capable of making one terrified.

    After all, it was soul beast that had moved unhindered in the Extreme North for nearly four hundred thousand years! It was ranked second among the three emperors of the Extreme North, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!

    The six people from the outer courtyard weren¡¯t really affected. After all, they hadn¡¯t ever encountered a first-ss soul beast, and they didn¡¯t know what the aura of a first-ss soul beast looked like. In their eyes, this scorpion was nothing but a beautiful and dangerous beast.

    However, the students of the inner courtyard were different! After entering the inner courtyard, their sses were different from those of the outer courtyard. They had a ss that took ce exactly in the Great Star Dou Forest. As soon as the Ice Jace Empress Scorpion appeared, they felt an immense fear. It was the pressure of a hundred thousand year soul beast.

    The aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion exploded out, and a sense of coldness spread everywhere. That wave of cold immediately stopped midair, then began to slowly solidify. It turned into a white light that enveloped the tip of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s stinger. Those two bright yellow eyes were devoid of every emotion as they looked at the far away Ling Luochen.

    Ling Luochen felt her body stiffen, and she couldn¡¯t move from where she was standing. If one were to look carefully, they would notice that the ice armor covering her body had started to show signs of abnormally hardening. In addition, her feet were glued to the earth by ayer of ice. She couldn¡¯t move anymore, and her body had started to freeze.

    All of this happened in an instant. While everyone was still dumbfounded due to Huo Yuhao turning into the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Ling Luochen had already beenpletely subdued.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, this is a hundred thousand year soul beast.¡± Ma Xiaotao was astonished. She quickly released her martial soul to protect the people behind her.

    ¡°Sister Xiaotao, what are you doing? Quick, attack them!¡± A form suddenly shed. That terrifying Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had disappeared, and Huo Yuhao had reappeared in her stead. Moreover, he was impatiently pressing forward, unaware of the fact that everyone was about to attack him. Even Elder Xuan was preparing to fight him.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Elder Xuan shouted from midair. He descended from the sky and arrived in front of Huo Yuhao. Afterwards, he raised his right hand and grabbed him.

    As for resisting it¡­ it waspletely useless. Huo Yuhao was nothing but an ant in front of someone like Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s hand held his shoulder. Then, Huo Yuhao felt a powerful soul power entering and probing every corner of his body.

    The quantity of soul power was toorge. But luckily, Huo Yuhao¡¯s meridians had gone through a lot tempering, and were quite strong right now. And what surprised him the most was that after experiencing Elder Xuan¡¯s soul power, his own soul power that had reached the peak of Rank 26 suddenly broke through, allowing him to sessfully reach Rank 27.

 Chapter 66.1: Victory! Swap!

    Chapter 66.1: Victory! Swap!

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression turned strange. After looking at Huo Yuhao seriously for a while, he turned towards the others, ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t move. Wait for a while.¡±

    After that, he grabbed Huo Yuhao and disappeared without a trace.

    Huo Yuhao had been taken away by Elder Xuan, leaving Wang Dong somewhat anxious, ¡°Sister Xiaotao, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no use asking me anything,¡± Ma Xiaotao said unhappily, ¡°you should question Huo Yuhao instead. What did he do just now?¡±

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s team was currently surrounding Ling Luochen. The ice on her body was slowly melting, and after a few moments, the armor of ice disappeared. She had a pale expression on her face, and she nearly fell down as her body shook.

    Xiao Xiao rushed up to catch up, but she immediately felt as though she was touching ice when she touched her body.

    The usually cool Ling Luochen was filled with astonishment at this moment. She didn¡¯t know what had just urred either. After that strange scorpion had looked at her, she immediately felt as if the soul power in her body had been frozen. This was the first time she¡¯d encountered a situation in which she waspletely powerless to even resist. Even a Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to strip her of herbat strength with a mere nce! However, that scorpion had done just that.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t bring Huo Yuhao anywhere far; he merely went to a corner of the Assessment Area.

    ¡°Just what happened just now? Exin everything in more detail.¡± Elder Xuan asked, somewhat panicked. When Huo Yuhao had transformed into the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Elder Xuan¡¯s reaction was that the former was a transformed soul beast. Or rather, a soul beast that had decided to re-cultivate into a human.

    After reaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation, a soul beast could choose to re-cultivate into a human. However, this path was extremely difficult, because it would then have to undergo a period of weakness. Furthermore, the aura on its body would still remain that of a soul beast. Once it was discovered by a powerful soul master, the only result was death. Furthermore, it would be that soul master¡¯s soul ring and soul bone. Only after reaching the seven-ringed rank could a soul beast thoroughly mask its aura and be a true human. However, how easy would this process be? Because of this, very few soul beasts would choose this path. With the Ice Empress¡¯ level of power, she wouldn¡¯t dare to risk her life in this way.

    Greatly astonished, Elder Xuan examined Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. However, he quickly calmed down. In his heart, he already knew that there was no chance of Huo Yuhao being a soul beast. The most powerful evidence attesting to this fact was his twin martial souls. Re-cultivated soul beasts would definitely maintain their original form, and thus there was no chance of one having a second martial soul. The fact that there was no trace of the aura of a soul beast on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body merely further verified that he was truly a human.

    With Elder Xuan¡¯s cultivation, no matter how many brilliant tricks a person had, there was no way to conceal anything from the former when he was holding onto you. However, Elder Xuan was curious! He had no idea how Huo Yuhao had done what he just did. If it was merely an illusion, how did Ling Luochen instantly freeze up and lose all of her fighting power?

    ¡°Earlier, sister Xiaotao asked me to release my Ultimate martial soul to suppress sister Ling Luochen.¡± Huo Yuhao said obediently, ¡°I figured that there¡¯d definitely be no way for me to suppress her by simply releasing my martial soul, due to the massive gap in our cultivation levels. Thus, I used Imitation and imitated the form of my second martial soul. Then, I switched the attribute of that illusion to that of my second martial soul. I did my best to release the aura of an Ultimate martial soul. As for what happened to sister Ling Luochen, I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    He truly didn¡¯t know what had just urred. When the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had nced towards Ling Luochen, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had gone into a daze for a bit. In reality, the true charm of that gaze hade from the Ice Empress.

    Elder Xuan scratched his head and furrowed his brow. ¡°Ultimate martial soul, Ultimate martial soul¡­ Ah! I understand. Ice, you both have the Ice attribute. It¡¯s actually an absolute suppression. This Ultimate martial soul of yours is too tyrannical. Good, hahahaha, very good! I understand. Go, go back.¡±

    Elder Xuan had truly guessed the approximate essence of the situation. This was absolute suppression!

    The key to the problemy in the differences in their elements. Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen were both of the Ice element, but Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Ice. Thus, he held an absolute elemental superiority over Ling Luochen. The moment he imitated the body of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, the full power of his Ultimate martial soul was released.

    Though the three Emperors of the Extreme North all belonged to the chilly Ice element, the Snow Empress was still the strongest in terms of extremely low temperatures. The Snow Empress controlled the power of Snow, while the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion controlled absolute ice as the Ice Empress. In the current Douluo Continent, she waspletely deserving of the title ¡®Ancestor of Ice¡¯.

    In terms of cultivation, Huo Yuhao was naturally nowhere near Ling Luochen. However, the problemy in the fact that Ling Luochen had used the power of Ice, while Huo Yuhao had coincidentally imitated the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    The Ice Empress was one of his intelligent soul rings. Thus, she was always paying attention to him. When Huo Yuhao had imitated her aura, she was able to sense the existence of a hostile intent that originated from ice. Her concentrated gaze wasn¡¯t directed towards Ling Luochen, but the ice she was controlling. Unless there was an ice user who was even stronger than the Ice Empress, every ice element would fall under her control in front of her aura.

    This was another fact that showed how weak Huo Yuhao was. If he had the same cultivation level as Ling Luochen, he would be able to possess a sufficient amount of control over his Ultimate Ice as long as the Ice Empress willed it. Then, he would even be able to directly end Ling Luochen¡¯s life with her own ice if she dared to use it against him. This was one of the terrifying aspects of the Ancestor of Ice, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. If the powerful four hundred thousand year-old Ice Empress still had her main body, she would be an opponent who was rarely seen on the continent.

    Elder Xuan patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder in a somewhat strange manner. ¡°I was being narrow-minded. I shouldn¡¯t have interrupted your match.¡± This time around, he held Huo Yuhao by the armpits, and returned back to Ma Xiaotao and the rest with a sh.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s normal. Ling Luochen, leave the battle for now. Everyone else, continue.¡± With that, Elder Xuan stepped into the void and rose back into the air to spectate the match.

    Both parties were somewhat baffled. The members of preparatory team from the outer courtyard still had some doubts in their hearts, but the disciples from the inner courtyard were very familiar with Elder Xuan¡¯s temperament. Even if he usually seemed very erratic, he was always a fair person. Since he made Ling Luochen leave the match, he naturally had a reason for doing so.

    At this moment, Ma Xiaotao had approximately guessed at a hint of the truth. Among the disciples of the inner courtyard, she was the only one who knew that Huo Yuhao possessed an Ultimate martial soul. However, she didn¡¯t think that it¡¯d be this strong. We can talk about the specifics once the match is over. Winning¡¯s more important now.

    Ma Xiaotao let out a long hiss, then started her assault again. This time around, both parties were already very close to each other.

    Huo Yuhao reactivated his Spiritual Detection as though nothing had happened. He¡¯d consumed a certain amount of soul power while using his Imitation earlier, but Elder Xuan had identally helped him break through a bottleneck when he was probing the state and aura of his soul power. At this moment, his soul power was restored to its peak state.

    Gong Yangmo¡¯s Rainbow Dragon finally showed its use now. The opposing Yao Haoxuan¡¯s auxiliary and weakening skill had already ended, but the former¡¯s auxiliary skills were still activated. This was the difference in their martial souls and cultivations.

    However, a mere hundred year soul skill didn¡¯t drain much energy. As the opposing team began their attack, Yao Haoxuan hurriedly re-released the skill he¡¯d previously used. Right now, both teams were about to sh head-on.

    The person who made the first move was Chen Zifeng. He hadn¡¯t released his martial soul since the beginning of Dai Yueheng¡¯s assault, but just as the opposing team started to make their move, he finally revealed it.

    An intense, red light rose from Chen Zifeng¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t fire-type soul power like Ma Xiaotao possessed, but one that was purely blood-red in color. Following its appearance, Huo Yuhao could smell a mountain of corpses and a sea of blooding from the former¡¯s body.

    Chen Zifeng suddenly raised his head, and the pressureing from him instantly reached a peak. His eyes turned blood-red, and a fierce killing intent emerged from his body.

    He pointed with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, causing a blood-red bolt of lightning to shoot out. The blood-red soul powering from his body seemed to be drawn towards the bloody light, and actually fused with it.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao could see a de in Chen Zifeng¡¯s hand; a three foot six inch-long de that was only an inch wide. The slender body of the sword had no guard on it, but there were three bloody grooves carved into it. Mysteriously, Chen Zifeng¡¯s five soul rings didn¡¯t undte around his body. On the contrary, they surrounded this blood-red sword.

    After pausing for a moment in midair, the thin sword shot towards Ma Xiaotao like a blood-red rainbow. A bloody wound opened wherever the sword passed, and there was already a strong smell of blood filling the air even before the sword had arrived.

    This was Chen Zifeng¡¯s martial soul, Soulchasing Sword.

    Ma Xiaotao had a serious expression on her face. She spread her arms wide as the lightning-like sword flew towards her, causing her intense, golden-red phoenix mes to blossom out. This was her second soul skill, Phoenix Baptism.

    This was an omnidirectional attack. Other than that, her first soul ring flickered as she spit out a streak of fire that went straight after the Soulchasing Sword.

    As though it felt pressured, the body of the Soulchasing Sword paused briefly and let out a buzz. Right after that, an extremely sharp bloody light shed. The Soulchasing Sword spat out three bolts of sword light. Chen Zifeng¡¯g first and second soul rings lit up, shoving away the streak of phoenix fire that was chasing after him. Though it was slowed somewhat, its trajectory didn¡¯t change; it was still headed towards Ma Xiaotao.

    This was Chen Zifeng¡¯s first soul skill, Sharpness, and his second one, Destruction. The two soul skills harmonized with each other, filling his originally sharp Soulchasing Sword with destructive power.

    Just as he released his Soulchasing Sword, Chen Zifeng slowed down. He stood behind Dai Yuefeng with his right sword finger on his de, guarding against attacks from the sky.

 Chapter 66.2: Victory! Swap!

    Chapter 66.2: Victory! Swap!

    At that moment, Dai Yueheng finally reached Ma Xiaotao. However, even though the leaders of both teams were about to collide, thetter was still under the effects of the Soulchasing Sword. In other words, she was under attack from two people at once.

    A dazzlingly golden light suddenly appeared above Ma Xiaotao¡¯s head. Once it appeared, it shot outwards, then targeted the person behind Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng. This golden light was from Wang Dong, who¡¯d released his second soul skill, Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    He was currently standing atop Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders, thetter holding onto his legs with his hands in order to maintain the flow of their Haodong Power.

    The moment they made their move, the battle fully erupted.

    A bolt of lightning suddenly flickered past Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body. Dai Yueheng stopped his charge when he saw this, then squatted down and out a muffled roar. Sharp des appeared atop his enormous, tiger-like fingers as he carefully guarded himself. Immediately afterwards, a series of consecutive ¡®ding¡¯s rang out. When they struck Dai Yueheng, he became unable to move even half a step forward. On the contrary, an electric light had wrapped itself around his body and entrapped him. Xi Xi had made a move, but she she had simply struck too quickly. If Huo Yuhao locked onto her with his Spiritual Detection, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see her clearly.

    As students that¡¯d been able to be official members of Shrek Academy¡¯speting team, none of them were ordinary; all of them had their own respective specialties.

    The moment that Dai Yueheng slowed down, thebination attack he¡¯dunched with Chen Zifeng was naturally broken. Ma Xiaotao let out a cold snort, then rushed forwards like a bolt of lightning. She reached for the Soulchasing Sword with her hands as she unfurled her wings, which caused a red light to rise alongside the ck light her sixth soul ring had begun to emit. The patch of sky around her was almost instantly illuminated by a red light.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sixth soul skill was undoubtedly her strongest one. Furthermore, the floating Gong Yangmo made his move concurrently.

    Even though Ma Xiaotao thought that he had an extremely vile attitude, the two still held an extremely good rtionship. It was a rtionship akin to that of the rtionship between siblings. Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t just chosen him due to his strength, but also because of the rtively good synergy that they already had.

    The midair Gong Yangmo unfurled his wings, and his fifth soul ring lit up. When he released his ten thousand year soul skill, a green light urately shot out from his body towards Ma Xiaotao¡¯s back.

    His and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s green and red lights fused together in that instant, as if the wind itself were helping stoke the fire. The sky was then dyed red, and enormous, meter-long balls of golden-red fire immediately began to fall from the sky and pepper the opposing team.

    Regardless of whether it was Dai Yueheng or Chen Zifeng, none of the opposing team had expected Ma Xiaotao tounch an all-out attack at the very beginning of the battle. Furthermore, the might of her already-terrifying attack had been doubled due to Gong Yangmo¡¯s help! Even though this was an attack that covered arge area, its power made Dai Yueheng and the rest¡¯s expressions change.

    If Ling Luochen had still be present, she would¡¯ve been able to rely on her ice element to weaken Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack. However, she¡¯d already been eliminated! Dai Yueheng¡¯s team¡¯s only choice was to endure the full might of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strike.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s headstrong temperament was undoubtedly fully manifested in her attack. In fact, ever since she¡¯d returned to the official team, Dai Yueheng had been left in a somewhat ufortable state. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy for him to ept another person taking over as the head of the team. Fine! Since you¡¯re not willing to ept it, I¡¯ll use my strength to make you do so!

    Not only was Ma Xiaotao powerful, her mind was extremely sharp. She¡¯d immediately thought of a strategy to suppress her opponents using brute force the moment that Ling Luochen was eliminated. She wanted to defeat her opponents in the shortest possible amount of time, thus she¡¯d immediately used her strongest soul skill to simplify the situation on the battlefield.

    The balls of fire that were falling from the sky resembled fiery meteors as they fell towards the ground. Moreover, every single one of these ¡®meteors¡¯ seemed to have grown eyes. All of them had targeted one of the six people on the opposing team, with most of them naturally targeting Chen Zifeng and Dai Yueheng. After that, they headed towards Yao Haoxuan, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannnan, and Xiao Xiao.

    This was the Phoenix Meteor Shower, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sixth soul skill!

    When the fiery meteors neared their targets, they transformed into the shape of a phoenix and let out reverberating phoenix cries, then immediately elerated towards their respective targets.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were removed from the battlefield by Elder Xuan straightaway. With this, Dai Yueheng¡¯s team had lost another two members.

    Even though Dai Huabin and Xi Xi were both Soul Emperors, Dai Huabin was at a disadvantage against thetter¡¯s attacks. Currently, he could only do his best to protect himself; he didn¡¯t have any time to care about his teammates.

    Xu Sanshi was left in an even more miserable state. When the Phoenix Meteor Shower had shot towards them, he hadn¡¯t thought of protecting himself. On the contrary, he¡¯d immediately moved to help Jiang Nannan. Because of that, his enormous Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was sent flying towards her with his fourth soul skill activated. However, the sudden eleration of the Phoenix Meteor Shower caused Elder Xuan to take her out immediately, which resulted in his defensive shieldnding on thin air. Almost immediately afterwards, he himself was removed from the battlefield. Now that he¡¯d lost his shield, even a defense-type soul master like him wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand a full round of the strengthened Phoenix Meteor Shower!

    It wasn¡¯t clear if Elder Xuan had done this on purpose, but Xu Sanshi¡¯s entire back had been scorched by the Phoenix Meteor Shower as a result of him arriving a beatte. Fortunately, he was of the water element. Thus, even though he let out a few miserable wails, he hadn¡¯t suffered too much damage.

    In reality, even though Ma Xiaotao was extremely powerful, she wouldn¡¯t normally have been able to take out a team of people around their level of strength with just a single attack. However, their team simply wasn¡¯t coordinated enough. All of the people from the preparatory team had been disqualified in the blink of an eye.

    Inparison, the inner courtyard disciples¡¯ strength had been fully revealed. Chen Zifeng hadn¡¯t let Ma Xiaotao grab hold of his Soulchasing Sword, and the moment that the Phoenix Meteor Shower was released, he¡¯d immediately called his weapon back to him in order to defend himself. When he did so, Ma Xiaotao had no way to pursue him, as she needed to both maintain and control her sixth soul skill.

    The Soulchasing Sword in front of Chen Zifeng continuously carved out startlingly bloody rainbows as the soul rings surrounding it continued to flicker alternatingly. Firstly, it easily shrugged off Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess. Afterwards, it shed apart the meteors that were aimed at him. At the same time, Chen Zifeng continued to move about in an illusory manner. He shed around at an unusually quick speed in order to dodge a few of the fiery meteors, but when he did, more continued to urately home in on him.

    Chen Zifeng had revealed a valiant level of power, but he¡¯d be inwardly puzzled. Just when had Ma Xiaotao reached this level of control with her sixth soul skill? The level of strength that the Phoenix Meteor Shower had revealed once it¡¯d undergone Gong Yangmo¡¯s auxiliary-type skill was entirely real, but when it was strengthened like this, it was normally extremely hard to control it.

    However, the meteors that had filled the sky seemed to have grown eyes. Every single one of them had homed in one on of them; none of them were spared. Even the meteors that had previously been sent towards Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao had immediately changed directions in midair the moment that the three of them were taken out. They¡¯d then immediately begun to chase after Dai Yueheng, Yao Haoxuan, and him.

    There wasn¡¯t much difference in the cultivation levels of the members of the official team. The level of control that Ma Xiaotao currently had over her Phoenix Meteor Shower didn¡¯t shock Dai Yueheng and the rest. Instead, it caused them to feel that it was strange. This had clearly exceeded the level of control that a Soul Emperor could have!

    The art of controlling a soul skill mainly relied on abination of spiritual power and soul power. Besides spiritual-type soul masters, who were rarely seen, there was practically no difference in the spiritual powers of soul masters of the same rank. Spiritual power would grow alongside soul power; a special situation ur would only ur very rarely.

    The way that Yao Haoxuan blocked the Phoenix Meteor Shower could only be described as strange. He pounded his fists against his chest, which caused halos of light to appear and assist his teammates. He then activated his fifth soul ring, which caused his head to swell up. Afterwards, he opened his mouth and looked towards the sky. In that instant, his mouth swelled to an unimaginable degree. Immediately afterwards, he swallowed an entire Meteor, then spat it out towards another. He was actually able to block Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack by relying on a method like this.

    Dai Yueheng began to feel somewhat panicked when he saw that three of his team members had been eliminated. He let out a tiger-like roar, then swatted away a few meteors. Although mes had begun to appear on his body, he didn¡¯t pay them any attention. His first, third, and fifth soul rings simultaneously lit up.

    Ayer of golden-white light then covered the surface of his body, which caused his body to expand. Afterwich, the white fur on his body turned golden.

    Huo Yuhao had seen Dai Yueheng¡¯s third soul skill, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, before. However, the transformation that thetter had just released was unimaginably stronger than Dai Huabin¡¯s.

    The enormous image of a white tiger then appeared behind Dai Yueheng. Its eyes shed with a golden light, then it charged towards the Phoenix Meteor Shower in a valiant manner. It opened its palms, then either shattered or deflected every meteor that approached it. Its always-invincible aura now had a trace of desperation to it.

    He only had one aim¡ªMa Xiaotao, who was currently maintaining her sixth soul skill. She was in an extremely vulnerable position now that she¡¯d released her omni-directional soul skill. As such, Dai Yueheng believed that he¡¯d be able to defeat his remaining opponents with his Soul Emperor-ranked cultivation so long as she was defeated.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t have any intentions of retreating from Dai Yueheng¡¯s assault. She simply let out a low roar, ¡°Golden Road.¡± Afterwards, she rushed forwards to meet Dai Yueheng. Furthermore, she continued to maintain the Phoenix Meteor Shower as she did so.

    The scene of Ma Xiaotao elerating with her legs spouting fire once again revealed itself to Huo Yuhao. When she elerated like this, she collided with Dai Yueheng in practically an instant.

    They were both six-ringed assault-type Soul Emperors, and they were both inner courtyard disciples. Furthermore, there was only a slight difference in their cultivations.

    However, their styles of attack were somewhat different. Ma Xiaotao relied on energy-based attacks, which was somewhat simr to Wang Dong. However, Dai Yueheng was different; he relied on pure physical power.

 Chapter 66.3: Victory! Swap!

    Chapter 66.3: Victory! Swap!

    As such, it was Ma Xiaotao who got the short end of the stick when they met head-on.

    Following a thunderous roar, the Phoenix Meteor Shower suddenly stopped, and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body was sent reeling from the bacsh.

    Currently, Dai Yueheng had released his first, third, and fifth soul skills. These skills were, respectively, the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and the White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation, all of which had the ability to strengthen his body.

    However, Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t suffered aplete loss. When the two of them had collided, she¡¯d used her fourth skill. Thus, even though she¡¯d been knocked backwards and slightly wounded, her fourth skill had managed to interrupt Dai Yueheng¡¯s strongest skill, his sixth skill. A fiery red ring was now revolving around Dai Yueheng¡¯s body. Afterwards, it spread outwards and cancelled Yao Haoxuan¡¯s buffs, which made Dai Yueheng¡¯s body numb, and also made him incapable of using any of his soul skills.

    Of course, this state onlysted a very short time. After all, his body was currently under the effect of three powerful body-strengthening skills.

    But at that moment, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s dazzling Golden Road hit their target with great uracy.

    The moment that Ma Xiaotao had been knocked back, a huge vertical eye had quietly appeared where she¡¯d been standing before and releasing her Phoenix Meteor Shower.

    The golden radiance it emitted immediately covered an area fifty meters wide, and left a golden trail behind in the Assessment Area.

    Dai Yueheng, who was in a weakened state, had no choice but to meet the attack head-on. In an instant, the golden light passed through him. Moreover, Yao Haoxuan, who was still swallowing thest of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower and had been about to spit one out, also ¡®happened to be¡¯ directly behind Dai Yueheng. As such, he was hit by the Golden Road as well. When the Golden Road struck them, two golden statues were left on the battlefield.

    Thunderous explosions then proceeded to happen one after another. Bei Bei roused his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul and charged towards Chen Zifeng¡¯s Soulchasing Sword. If he were to only rely on himself, it would be extremely difficult to deal with Chen Zifeng. However currently, a very dangerous sh of lightning was beside him. Even someone like Dai Yueheng was fearful of Xi Xi¡¯s attacks, not to mention Chen Zifeng. And currently, he couldn¡¯t avoid them.

    ¡°Ti¨C¨C¡± Amidst the cry of a phoenix, Ma Xiaotao rolled upwards while in midair. Immediately afterwards, she opened her phoenix wings and charged towards Dai Yueheng once again.

    At the same time, dozens of dazzling lights exploded towards the currently golden form of Yao Haoxuan.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Road had the disadvantage of it only being able to attack in a straight line. Despite this, its greatest advantage was its extremely high degree of power.

    Nevertheless, Dai Yueheng¡¯s body reverted back to normal in less than two seconds. However, this only applied to his outer appearance! His White Tiger martial soul was still temporarily neutralized.

    Yao Haoxuan was in the same situation. In fact, he seemed to be in an even more miserable state. He Caitou returned to his normal form from that of a four meter-tall giant, then used all the power in his soul tool to charge towards Yao Haoxuan.

    The oue could be imagined: This time, it was Dai Yueheng that was sent flying. Yao Haoxuan was also covered in bruises once he was hit by He Caitou¡¯s soul tool head-on; he was directly removed from the battlefield by Elder Xuan the moment that He Caitou¡¯s attacksnded.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t go so far as to pursue and attack Dai Yueheng again. She unfurled her wings and looked arrogantly down at Chen Zifeng. ¡°Admit defeat.¡±

    Originally, he¡¯d already been at a disadvantage under the ¡®Xi-Bei¡¯bo. However right now, he was the only one left from his team. What was the point in resisting? He could only helplessly retreat and put an end to the match.

    The fight had concluded, and it could be only described as an overwhelming victory. No one from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s side had been eliminated, yet Dai Yueheng¡¯s entire team had been annihted.

    Nheless, Dai Yueheng hadn¡¯t been injured. Ma Xiaotao had shown mercy when she¡¯d sent him flying. He had a gloomy and surprised expression when he realized that they¡¯d lost. He then looked towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, both puzzled and astonished.

    How had they lost? They¡¯d clearly held a huge advantage in terms of individual strength! How had four members of the main team lost so pitifully! Furthermore, the cause of their loss hadn¡¯t even been the main members of the enemy team. In fact, he¡¯d already made ns for the strongest of them, Ma Xiaotao. However, Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and even Bei Bei and He Caitou¡¯s power had surpassed his expectations.

    The four members of the preparatory team on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s side had yed a great role in this battle, while the three reserves on his team had had little to no impact before they¡¯d been eliminated. Moreover, Ling Luochen hadn¡¯t even been able to disy her abilities.

    Elder Xuan came down from the sky with the students he¡¯d rescued. ¡°Quick, the losers should ept their punishment,¡± He said with a smile, ¡°you¡¯ll have another chanceter.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a pig!¡± Dai Yueheng shouted without hesitation. However, his face still twitched, as he hadn¡¯t epted this loss in his heart!

    Yao Haoxuan and Chen Zifeng had no choice either; they shouted the words as well. When Ling Luochen said them, she was carefully scrutinizing Huo Yuhao.

    Xiao Xiao also said it without any problems. Even these seniors are shouting it. Would I really lose face if I were to shout it?

    Jiang Nannan also said in a low and soft voice, ¡°I¡¯m a pig.¡±

    Xu Sanshi attempted to tter her, ¡°As you¡¯d expect from the woman I like. She still looks so cute even when she¡¯s calling herself a pig.¡±

    Jiang Nannan red at him and said, ¡°Go away.¡±

    Wang Dong, who was standing near Huo Yuhao, burst intoughter. However, he quickly turned his head away. Huo Yuhao¡¯s face also twitched as he tried to hold back hisughter. Senior brother Xu was madly in love with Jiang Nannan. Despite this, Jiang Nannan was trying her best to not pay any attention to him. They were truly an interesting couple.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Good. You have a two hour break. Afterwards, since some of you still seem to be unconvinced, you¡¯ll fight again.¡±

    When they heard that they would fight again, the seven disciples of the inner courtyard immediately sat down and began to recover their soul power. In the fight just now, everyone had used different quantities of soul power. As they meditated, they also went over the information they¡¯d gained from the fight just now.

    When they saw this, Huo Yuhao and the others also sat down to recover their soul power. Of everyone present, he and Wang Dong had consumed the greatest amount of soul power. Moreover, they¡¯d already used their Golden Road; they wouldn¡¯t be able to use it again if they had to battle in a short while.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were slowly discovering the peculiarities of the Golden Road now that they¡¯d used it in battle multiple times.

    The Golden Road itself possessed an incredible amount of destructive power. However, its limits were clearly visible when it was used against someone with a higher cultivation. It was a powerful fusion skill thatbined both attack and control. Combined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, many of its ws were counterable. Currently, it was without a doubt their strongest skill.

    Without this skill, their overall strength would definitely drop by arge margin. However, it wasn¡¯t like they werepletely useless without it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was one of the best auxiliary skills a soul master could have. Moreover, they both also had a powerful thousand year soul skill, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate element could also suppress Ling Luochen. Countering an enemy Soul King was an extremely useful thing in a battle.

    The fight just now had left a very deep impression on Huo Yuhao. Being able to fight along these senior schoolmates had been of great help to him, as he hadn¡¯t needed to show them the way. Just by being in the range of his Spiritual Detection, they¡¯d be able to understand how they should proceed, and would disy the right ability at the right moment. That had been an extremely wondrous feeling.

    Elder Xuan casually chose a ce to sit down. Afterwards, he took a greasy chicken leg out of nowhere and took a bite from it. Currently, his face that was hidden behind a mass of extraordinarily messy hair held a pensive expression. No one could tell what he was thinking.

    Two hours quickly passed, after which they were all back on their feet.

    Elder Xuan also stood up. He took arge swig of alcohol, then said with a smile, ¡°Kids, don¡¯t be impatient. What¡¯s the point of fighting with the same members once again? Therefore¡­ Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong will switch teams with Yao Haoxuan and Jiang Nannan.¡±

    Both sides were surprised when they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words. The ones that had the biggest reaction were Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng. Both of them furrowed their brows. On the other hand, the normally cold Ling Luochen had a pensive expression.

    Jiang Nannan was eager to get away from Xu Sanshi. As such, she quickly moved towards the opposite party. Yao Haoxuan had a happy expression on his face as he asked Elder Xuan, ¡°Elder Xuan, will the loser have to shout the same slogan asst time?¡±

    Elder Xuan immediately nodded and said, ¡°Of course. I¡¯m always fair, after all.¡±

    Chen Zifeng couldn¡¯t refrain from asking, ¡°Elder Xuan, I don¡¯t think that this is fair. We just lost the battle, yet you¡¯ve reced our members with weaker ones¡­¡±

    When Xiao Xiao heard Chen Zifeng¡¯s words, she angrily retorted, ¡°Senior schoolmate, how could you consider Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weak? They yed a decisive role in the previous battle!¡±

    Chen Zifeng replied, ¡°I¡¯ll take those words back if they can still use their fusion skill.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was immediately dumbfounded; this was still a problem! Given their current strength, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to use their Golden Road again. With this, their overall power would be greatly reduced.

    Elder Xuan indifferently said, ¡°Silence. It was an order. I wasn¡¯t asking for your opinion. If you have some skills, you better use them in the fight. Before criticizing your teammates, you should make sure to not act like a pig yourself. Now then, make the changes that I said.¡±

    As Elder Xuan spoke in a grave tone, a burst of oppressive aura began to spread over the area. None of the students dared to say another word and they quietly exchanged members.

    Besides Chen Zifeng, Ma Xiaotao was also unwilling to make this exchange. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was just too useful! Without him, would they still be able to have a tacit understanding like before?

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived at the opposite side, Yao Haoxuan and Jiang Nannan also took their ces in the opposite party. Just looking at their line up, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team seemed to have the advantage. Four of them were members of the main team, while the other three members from the preparatory team were all Soul Ancestors.

 Chapter 67.1: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    Chapter 67.1: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    The core strength of Dai Yueheng¡¯s team wasprised of Chen Zifeng, Ling Luochen, and himself. Among the other four, Xu Sanshi wasparatively stronger in terms of directbat. The remaining three consisted of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    To them, the only advantage brought about by having Huo Yuhao on their team was that Ling Luochen¡¯s ability shouldn¡¯t be restricted, but that was all.

    Elder Xuan indicated for both parties to space out, but he didn¡¯t give them time to familiarise themselves with one another this time around. As soon as both parties were a hundred and fifty metres apart he sounded themand for them to begin.

    Both sides were closer to one another this time around. As soon as Elder Xuan gave the signal to begin, the Control System Battle Soul Masters on both sides immediately activated their skills.

    Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Xu Sanshi were in front, Ling Luochen was in the middle, and Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao were in the back.

    Ling Luochen ran ahead of Huo Yuhao, then turned her head back to look at Huo Yuhao, her cold gaze bearing a degree of curiosity and alertness.

    Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders towards her. Afterwards, both of his foolproof white soul rings of lit up once more. Just like before, his Spiritual Detection Sharing was activated when the moment that his first soul ring lit up.

    The people in front of him shuddered all simultaneously shuddered. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were all well experienced in battle, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep themselves from turning and staring at Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng finally understood why Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower had been so urate before. However, they hadn¡¯t even thought that it had been due to Huo Yuhao. Weren¡¯t his soul rings just white, ten year ones? How could he have such a powerful spiritual-type soul skill?! Furthermore, he¡¯d previously used an ice-attribute martial soul, right? As such, how had this spiritual-type soul skille about?

    Both parties were just over a hundred metres away from one another. It didn¡¯t matter that Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Ling Luochen had misgivings about this soul skill in their hearts, as they had to face their opponents first.

    Ling Luochen was also a Control System Battle Soul Master. The cold stream that had previously surrounded her rose up once more. As it did, Ma Xiaotao appeared directly across from her. In that moment, her phoenix wings unfurled again, and with Gong Yangmo¡¯s help, raging torrential mes appeared once more. The temperature in the assessment area rapidly began to increase.

    At that exact moment, Ling Luochen felt two warm palms suddenly press themselves against her back. She couldn¡¯t help but shudder, which nearly interrupted her soul skill.

    Ling Luochen was mysophobic, quiet, and cold. Besides her close rtives, she¡¯d never let anyone from the opposite sex touch her body before. Amongst the three people standing behind her, the one directly behind her was Huo Yuhao. As such, this pair of hands undoubtedly belonged to Huo Yuhao. She was immediately enraged, but right when she was about to turn around andsh out at him, she suddenly felt that something about her soul skill had changed. It was difficult to describe the frigid air that had suddenly surged into her body from her back: Her ability was originally ice-based, thus this external force wasn¡¯t an attack, but an assimtion. She felt that her ice had turned into an existence that stood on apletely different level than before, while her entire temperament seemed to have subsequently changed because of that frigid feeling.

    As one of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard disciples, Ling Luochen wasn¡¯t only stubbornly strong, she was also extremely knowledgeable when it came to soul masters. She immediately became aware of a possibility that had been unknown to her up until this point. When she thought of this possibility, she immediately understood why she¡¯d previously lost to Huo Yuhao in such a dubious manner.

    Ultimate, it¡¯s actually Ultimate Ice. This tiny youngster actually has an inconceivable martial soul like Ultimate Ice!

    Both parties began to near each other as Ling Louchen had this revtion. Ling Luochen quickly calmed down, then immediately confirmed that it was Huo Yuhao behind her. However, when she did, she noticed that his two soul rings had actually turned into a single soul ring. Wang Dong was right behind Huo Yuhao, and he¡®d firmly nted both his hands on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as well. She was able to see all of this because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Her ice element had turned into an Ultimate Ice element! To Ling Luochen, this feeling was both magical and wonderful. Even though this wouldn¡¯t turn her into a true Ultimate Ice Soul Master, what Huo Yuhao had done was equivalent to amplifying her ice attribute for a short period of time, such that she could temporarily use the power of an Ultimate Ice attribute. Furthermore, Ultimate Ice that bore the power of a Soul King.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s first soul ring metamorphosed into an icy staff, which she then raised over her head. However, she didn¡¯t release her second soul ring and equip her ice armor this time around. Instead, she pointed her icy staff towards the sky. When she did, an icy blue halo encased her whole body in a split second, which caused body to be wrapped in an icy blue coat.

    Immediately afterwards, an icy blue pir of light soared into the sky. The dry heat that had filled their surroundings was immediately swept into oblivion. Not only that, but once the icy cold draft had risen ten metres into the air, it rapidly spread like a tide and pressed itself against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes.

    No matter how firm Dai Yueheng¡¯s resolution was, he couldn¡¯t help but look up at the sky. He just so happened to see an icy blueyer overtake both Chen Zifeng and himself at an astonishing speed. That icy blueyer then rapidly came into contact with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s monstrous phoenix mes.

    When they felt the chilliness brought about by the Ultimate Ice, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng couldn¡¯t help but shiver, despite being her teammates. They exchanged a nce, the astonishment they felt clearly present in their eyes.

    All of them were within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, thus they could naturally tell that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were both currently supporting Ling Luochen. Furthermore, the cold aura that Ling Luochen had revealed hadpletely surpassed that of the one she¡¯d revealed in the past. The overwhelming pressure brought about by it shocked even a Soul Emperor like Dai Yueheng!

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Reddish-golden mes rapidly collided with the icy blue streams of cold.

    The people on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team were startled to find that their deduction was wrong: The one currently winning wasn¡¯t the Soul Emperor Ma Xiaotao, but rather the Soul King Ling Luochen.

    When the cold streams came into contact with the scorching phoenix mes, they seemed as though they¡¯d suddenly encountered a downpour. The mes dissipated in the face of the cold streams, and were consequently reced by the cold torrential streams. The cold streams of air shocked every single person on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team, and caused them to feel a little sluggish.

    Yao Haoxuan had already turned into an extremely brawny four-metre tall man, and he began forcefully thumping his chest. That was his first soul skill, ¡®Warfare¡¯.

    However, this yellow soul skill of his that strengthened everyone on his team wasn¡¯t able to neutralize the chilliness they felt. Contrary to his expectations, he even slowed down a little.

    It was at this moment that Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute suddenly rang out. Under her precise control, the sound waves that caused people to slow down flew past her teammates without affecting them, only affecting the seven people on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team was strong, but they had a problem¡ªthey didn¡¯t have a real Control System Battle Soul Master on their team. Their opponents, on the other hand, had three of them.

    Under the joint efforts of Ling Luochen and Xiao Xiao, their seven-man team had now be significantly slower.

    Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng became fired up when they saw this. They suddenly felt that their loss wasn¡¯t necessarily certain in this match, and both released their martial souls. They then simultaneously elerated towards Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao was in apletely different situation this match, now that she didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing to aid her. Furthermore, Ling Luochen was suppressing her phoenix mes.

    ¡°Xi Xi, get rid of Huo Yuhao!¡± Ma Xiaotao shouted out as she faced Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng head-on without a shred fear in her body. Bei Bei and He Caitou nked her from the sides, but a sh of lightning immediately sparked past all of them, which formed a refraction at an rming speed; Xi Xi had already reached Huo Yuhao¡¯s side only a second after Ma Xiaotao had shouted.

    Neither Ling Luochen¡¯s cold streams nor Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute were capable of impairing Xi Xi¡¯s speed by arge amount. She was Xi Xi: An ordinary-looking girl, yet a true assassin-like Agility System Soul Master!

    ¡°Dong¡ª¡± Lightning shot out in all directions amidst the prolonged sound that was produced from a collision. Xi Xi finally revealed her true self from within the lightning.

    In that moment, her pupils were vertical, while her skin had turned ck, and lightning was currently coiling around body. That¡¯s right, this was her martial soul¡ªLightning Leopard.

    However, someone had blocked that attack of hers, which she¡¯d unleashed with the intention to win. It was only natural that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong wouldn¡¯t have been able to block her sudden attack head on, but there was someone who could: Xu Sanshi.

    His huge Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle hadnded right in front of Huo Yuhao, which had caused Xi Xi to rebound from her attack. After her attack struck, Xu Sanshi positioned himself horizontally from her.

    At that moment, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were even more aware of the wonder brought about by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. They were able topletely grasp the situation on the battlefield in a three-dimensional form at all times due to his Spiritual Detection. Normally, a speedy assassin such as Xi Xi would dart behind their opponents and ambush them where they knew they¡¯d appear. However, they didn¡¯t make a detour to deal with Xi Xi this time around. Xu Sanshi¡¯s obstruction had appeared in their Spiritual Detection, thus all they needed to do was face their opponents head-on.

    Both parties were about to collide with one another, when Dai Yueheng suddenly revealed a somewhat strange smile on his face. Following that, his fourth soul ring suddenly lit up.

    A bright, golden-white pir of light soared into the sky. A brilliant, crescent-moon shaped light seemed to shine from within the light pir. Shortly afterwards, tens of balls of light appeared from atop the light pir and descended in a sh. They passed Ma Xiaotao by, then split into two groups. One group headed towards the sky-bound Gong Yangmo, while the other portion rapidly dispersed and shot towards Jiang Nannan and He Caitou.

    Who doesn¡¯t know how to unleash a meteor shower? You have your Phoenix Meteor Shower, I have my White Tiger Meteor Shower. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! It¡¯s my turn tond a clean hit now that I have Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection on my side!

    If they werepeting based purely on strength alone, Dai Yueheng naturally wouldn¡¯t be able topare to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s six-ringed soul skill with just his four-ringed one. They were both Meteor Showers, but his was much weaker than hers. However, his meteor shower had a much smaller amount of meteorspared to Ma Xiaotao, which caused every single meteor of his to be more powerful in their own right. Moreover, the main target he¡¯d chosen wasn¡¯t the weakest amongst the three from the opposing team, but rather their team¡¯s main attacker, Gong Yangmo. As long as he was able to get rid of Gong Yangmo, the strength of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s team would plummet.

    Gong Yangmo had already released three soul skills at this point. The first soul skill he¡¯d used was ¡®Scarlet Strength¡¯, the second was ¡®Orange Soul¡¯, and the third soul skill was ¡®Yellow Speed¡¯. These three soul skills caused three halos to appear atop the heads of everyone on his team, with Yao Haoxuan¡¯s amplification then added onto them. Their party was now much stronger, and if one were to iste their team and look at each individual¡¯s current state they¡¯d clearly be able to see this.

    However, the moment that both parties were about to engage in a close-quarters battle, Ling Luochen suddenly let out another attack.

 Chapter 67.2: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    Chapter 67.2: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    Ling Luochen¡¯s third soul ring instantly lit up as she pointed her icy staff forward, which caused an icy-blue ray of light to strike the top of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s head.

    The blue light enveloped her and instantly entrapped her within an icy prison . Ma Xiaotao¡¯s charge immediately halted her charge and her fiercely struck the icy prison with her phoenix mes.

    However, the icy prison didn¡¯t shatter like she¡¯d expected it too; only a few cracks had appeared. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s fiery mes had beenpletely suppressed by this icy prison.

    Of the seven within the official team, Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t just have a bad rtionship with Dai Yueheng. Her rtionship with Ling Luochen wasn¡¯t good either. She was of the fire element, while Ling Luochen was of the ice element. As such, their dispositions naturally shed with each other. In the past, Ling Luochen had refused to help Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire. If she hadn¡¯t, she wouldn¡¯t have had to stoop to finding Xu Sanshi.

    However, Ma Xiaotao had always suppressed Ling Luochen in terms of pure cultivation; she definitely didn¡¯t want to lose against her this time around.

    Opportunities on the battlefield were both transient and fleeting; a single moment¡¯s opportunity could change the entire situation of a battle.

    Dai Yueheng had originally nned to fight Ma Xiaotao in a direct confrontation. However, the moment that Ling Luochen had made her move he¡¯d been able to figure out who her target was due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. His body suddenly flickered, and his first, third, and fifth soul rings once again lit up. This brought him to the peak of his abilities, and in an instant, he found Bei Bei.

    With the assistance of Gong Yangmo¡¯s Rainbow Dragon, Bei Bei was able to block three of Dai Yueheng¡¯s blows. However, he still retreated step by step as blood dripped from his mouth and nose. At the same time, Gong Yangmo was doing his best to protect himself from the White Tiger¡¯s Meteor Shower. As a result, he wasn¡¯t able to assist Ma Xiaotao. On the other hand, Jiang Nannan and He Caitou only choice was to exhaust their abilities in order to protect themselves from the White Tiger¡¯s Meteor Shower. Their originally orderly formation had crumbled in an instant.

    With a sh of blue light, Yao Haoxuan¡ªwho¡¯d just swallowed a meteor from the White Tiger¡¯s Meteor Shower and spat it out to help Gong Yangmo¡ªwas suddenly trapped in another icy prison. At that moment, Ma Xiaotao finally broke through the icy prison that had entrapped her. However, Ling Luochen¡¯s attack arrived at the same instant that she broke free.

    She pointed her icy staff forwards and her ink-like fifth soul ring lit up. A dark-blue ring of ice then floated outwards, the extreme cold it emanated covering the entire Assessment Area in ayer of frost. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil fire was then subsequently suppressed to the point where it could only actually appear in a two meter diameter around her.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Xi Xi continued to attack Xu Sanshi wildly. However, even though she was quick, her attacks weren¡¯t very strong. On the other hand, the Soul Ancestor-ranked Xu Sanshi was essentially a well-guarded fortress. He relied on the urate predictive capabilities of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to defend Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao in a timely manner using his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s dark-blue ring of ice continued to slowly rise, while the bluish light on it circted and released three blue pirs of light that shot towards Ma Xiaotao, Gong Yangmo, and Yao Haoxuan respectively.

    As a control-type soul master, Ling Luochen¡¯s held an enormous amount of control over her Ice. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s elemental amplification, she was able to instantly gain the initiative with this attack.

    Ma Xiaotao gritted her teeth. She knew that if this attack were tond, there was a high possibility that she wouldn¡¯t be able to turn things around. She pped her wings fiercely, which caused the soul power within her body to suddenly explode outwards. Amidst the sonorous cry of a phoenix, her body turned illusory. In that instant, she seemed to transform into a genuine phoenix. The golden-reddish light on her legs lit up, and she elerated toward Ling Luochen as she activated her fifth soul ring. If she wasn¡¯t able to deal with Ling Luochen, she wouldn¡¯t have another chance to take back the initiative.

    However, how could Ling Luochen, who was the core control-type soul master of her team, be allowed to take on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s all-out blow?

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s muscr body suddenly appeared on the only path that Ma Xiaotao could take. Amidst the roar of a tiger, his sixth soul ring finally lit up.

    An enormous ¡®KILL¡¯ that alternated between ck and white appeared in midair and collided with the charging Ma Xiaotao, who¡¯d been assisted by her two leg soul bones.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± A violent undtion of soul power instantly spread outwards from the point of their collision, which forced everyone it to bend down and defend themselves.

    When the fierce, fiery red light collided with the golden-white tiger, they shot straight into the air. Their figures instantly separated once they¡¯d collided with each other.

    Dai Yueheng was sent flying backwards from the collision, and two deep grooves had appeared on the ground below him. When he finally stopped, he was already knee-deep in the ground.

    Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t feeling any better. As she tumbled on the ground, she was struck by Ling Luochen¡¯s icy ring, and was frozen into a dark-blue pir of ice as a result.

    As for Gong Yangmo, even though his auxiliary abilities were extremely strong, he wasn¡¯t specialised inbat. He Caitou did his best to rescue him with his soul tools, but a ten thousand year soul skill that held the power of Ultimate Ice wasn¡¯t something that a ss 4 soul engineer could withstand. The power of Ice enveloped him, and he was frozen solid as well.

    There was no need to even mention Yao Haoxuan. Before he could destroy the icy prison that had entrapped him, Ling Luochen reinforced it. As a result, his massive body was sealed within the icy prison. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s elemental amplification, Ling Luochen¡¯s level of control over the battlefield had been at least doubled.

    The blood-red Soulchasing Sword flickered proudly as it shot forwards. It smashed into the solid pirs of ice that were Ma Xiaotao, Gong Yangmo, and Yao Haoxuan¡¯s bodies, then flew towards Bei Bei, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan.

    Bei Bei had already been injured, and he¡¯d consumed an enormous amount of soul power. He Caitou¡¯s consumption of soul power had been simrly enormous. Jiang Nannan had already expended all of her strength when she¡¯d defended herself against the White Tiger¡¯s Meteor Shower. How could the three of them currently defend themselves against Chen Zifeng¡¯s powerful Soulchasing Sword? With the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the battle ended in just three breaths of time.

    The battles going on on the other side of the battlefield ended as well.

    When Dai Yueheng shed against Ma Xiaotao, a w finally appeared in Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense. How could Xi Xi give up on an opportunity like this? She charged towards Huo Yuhao, who stood behind Ling Luochen, with a sh.

    At that moment, however, Huo Yuhao suddenly turned around. Two bolts of purplish-golden lightning shot out of his eyes towards Xi Xi¡¯s.

    Xi Xi only felt as if her head had been viciously smashed by a hammer. An instantaneous period of nkness overwhelmed her mind.

    Regardless of how quick she was, she was still a Soul King. Huo Yuhao had fused his Spiritual Shock with his Purple Demon eyes, and had utilized the spiritual power from the Haodong Power; even Ma Xiaotao would¡¯ve been momentarily stunned by his attack.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only person who¡¯d made a move; Xiao Xiao, who¡¯d been standing there and ying her flute by herself, finally made her a move as well. Her enormous pitch-ck cauldron mightily rumbled forwards as she released her National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble. She used her strongest soul skill, then maneuvered it right in front of Xi Xi¡¯s body with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Even though Xi Xi had only been stunned for a single second, that was enough time for her.

    Wang Dong¡¯s charged-up attack also finally arrived and struck Xi Xi. Even though she¡¯d been able to quickly recover from Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble with her powerful cultivation, it wasn¡¯t possible for her to dodge this attack.

    Wang Dong¡¯s thousand year soul skill, the Butterfly Goddess sh.

    Immediately after touching Xi Xi, the enormous ball of light instantly transformed into 108 des of light, which crisscrossed as they struck her. Moreover, this skill had been strengthened by both the Haodong Power and the Golden Light. Once this attack had been released, he and Huo Yuhao fell to the ground, powerless.

    These 108 des of light weren¡¯t inferior to a powerful attackunched by a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. Even if Xi Xi was the quickest among everyone present, she was still flustered when she was struck by the attack. She¡¯d never expected the three of them to be able toy a trap for her with just their two and three-ringed cultivations.

    She went all-out and released three consecutive soul skills before she was able to dissolve the might of the Butterfly Goddess sh. However, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle that struck her from behind.

    The other battles had already ended, and Xi Xi was sent flying by the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. Now that he¡¯d taken a breather, Dai Yueheng struck out with his palms and caught Xi Xi, who continued to flicker with electricity. Despite his hair standing up from her electricity, she still gave up the moment he extended his ws.

    The battle had ended, with the result of the battle still being a perfect victory. However, the victors were evidently different.

    Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Ling Luochen weren¡¯t joyous the moment the battle ended. Instead, they immediately turned towards Huo Yuhao, who was sitting on the ground.

    Chen Zifeng had an astonished look on his face. ¡°Twin martial souls? And you, you also have them?¡± The other person he was referring to was naturally Xiao Xiao. He finally understood, at least to some extent, why Elder Xuan wanted to make them members of the preparatory team, despite them being so young.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s question was only targeted towards Huo Yuhao, ¡°Ultimate Ice?¡±

    What could Huo Yuhao do except nod?

    Dai Yueheng took a few steps forwards and helped Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stand up. A trace of a smile appeared on his face. ¡°Wee to the preparatory team of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. I know that you have a few conflicting views with my younger brother, but I¡¯m not him. You don¡¯t have to mind me. In the future, we¡¯ll all bepanions.¡±

    There was no doubt that Dai Yueheng¡¯s words were equivalent to acknowledging Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao as members of the preparatory team.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel happy in the least when he heard Dai Yueheng¡¯s words. On the contrary, he became extremely vignt. Dai Yueheng¡¯s smile appeared to be genuine, but the more genuine it looked, the colder he felt in his heart. When he¡¯d met the former earlier, the trace of killing intent that had shed through his eyes hadn¡¯t escaped Huo Yuhao¡¯s keen Spirit Eyes.

    Furthermore, Dai Yueheng was one of the sons of the White Tiger Duke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest foe.

    An enemy that could hide his feelings was undoubtedly much more dangerous than one who wore his feelings on his sleeve. As an upperssman, Dai Yueheng was definitely more terrifying than Dai Huabin to Huo Yuhao. Moreover, he was also his elder brother! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Huo Yuhao looked more like his mother, Dai Yueheng would¡¯ve noticed that something was wrong.

 Chapter 67.3: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    Chapter 67.3: Ultimate Transformation! Attribute Amplification!

    ¡°Thanks,¡± replied Huo Yuhao with a smile. He was very clever; if Dai Yueheng could hide his emotions, why couldn¡¯t he? At the very least, Dai Yueheng wouldn¡¯t dare to make a move against him within the academy due to the lesson Dai Huabin had received.

    ¡°Have you felt it? A live battle is the best way to test everything out. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao aren¡¯t strong enough by themselves, but they have a respectable amount of talent. Thus, I¡¯m giving them this chance. Huo Yuhao, from now on, you¡¯re the main control-type soul master of the preparatory team. Bei Bei, you¡¯ll be its leader.¡±

    A team leader was the head of a team, while the main control-type soul master was the brains of a team. By relying on his performance in the previous two matches, Huo Yuhao was worthy of bing the main control-type soul master in the preparatory team even with his two-ringed cultivation. Nobody objected to this.

    At this moment, the frozen Ma Xiaotao and the rest finally broke free of their bindings. Shivering somewhat, Ma Xiaotao red fiercely at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shrugged helplessly towards her. He didn¡¯t know why, but he preferred Ma Xiaotao¡¯s faux-anger over Dai Yueheng¡¯s smile.

    Elder Xuan was very pleased with today¡¯s matches. He understood how strong each member of the official team was. After Ma Xiaotao returned, there were a few voices of dissent within the team. After today¡¯s matches, however, she had revealed a persuasive amount of power. Though they¡¯d lost the second match, everybody could see that she was slightly stronger than Dai Yueheng overall. Naturally, the situation could be different in a life-and-death match. After all, this was just a mock battle. The members of the official team hadn¡¯t used any rtively brutal techniques.

    However, Elder Xuan mainly wanted to test out the seven members of the preparatory team. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou¡¯s performances conformed to his expectations. Jiang Nannan was an agility-type soul master, and she had been suppressed rtively heavily. Thus, one couldn¡¯t me her for not being able to perform spectacrly. However, Elder Xuan was surprised by Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio.

    They had the lowest cultivation levels within their team, but they were extremely well-coordinated with each other. Huo Yuhao was also able to strengthen thebat strength of his entire team by relying on his powerful Spiritual Detection. When he was teamed up with Ma Xiaotao, he was able to use the Golden Road at the right moment in order to settle the entire battle. Though their opponents had underestimated them due to unfamiliarity, the effectiveness of the Golden Road was evident.

    Furthermore, the existence of Huo Yuhao was equivalent to an ice-type soul master who could restrict everything. Ling Luochen was already the most outstanding ice-type soul master within the inner courtyard, but she waspletely suppressed in front of his Ultimate Ice. When she worked together with him, she had an all-around boost to her abilities. Evidently, they couldn¡¯t be allowed to be enemies before the tournament started. Once the two of them worked together, Ling Luochen could definitely be the main control-type soul master within the official team. The reason why Ma Xiaotao had lost was because she had beenpletely suppressed!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s only problem was hisck of cultivation. Otherwise, Elder Xuan would¡¯ve even considered letting him try to be the main control-type soul master on the official team.

    These two matches had solidified the confidence in Elder Xuan¡¯s heart. He¡¯d secretly made a decision; within the preparatory team¨Cwhich was the future generation of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¨CHuo Yuhao¡¯s position as the main control-type master would never change.

    Chen Zifengughed mischievously. ¡°A few people have to pay up their bets!¡±

    After hearing his reminder, the newly crowned victors immediately looked towards Ma Xiaotao with a smile.

    The saddest of the lot were undoubtedly Yao Haoxuan and Jiang Nannan. They¡¯d lost two consecutive matches.

    Ma Xiaotao red at Huo Yuhao again, ¡°You just wait for me. I¡¯m a pig.¡±

    The others could only helplessly refer to themselves as a certain chubby animal. Elder Xuanughed as he watched all this, feeling joyous inwardly. He believed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s generation of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters would definitely be stronger than the current generation in five years¡¯ time.

    ¡°Okay, you can all go back. Pack up your things. Gather at the academy¡¯s entrance tomorrow morning. We¡¯re going to Star Luo City to take part in apetition.¡±

    ¡°Star Luo City?¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but cry out after hearing these words.

    Elder Xuan looked towards him with a somewhat puzzled look in his eyes. ¡°Is there a problem? The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament is held in a different country every year. This time around, it¡¯s the Star Luo Empire¡¯s turn. The next one, which is the one you¡¯ll be able to participate in as an official team member, will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯ll be held in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Thus, you¡¯ll have to work even harder during these next five years.¡±

    How could Huo Yuhao not reveal a change in his emotions after hearing the words ¡®Star Luo City¡¯? He¡¯d never been to the capital of the Star Luo Empire, but Star Luo City was something he¡¯d heard too many times during his youth. The Duke¡¯s Mansion he¡¯d grown up in was only 25km south of Star Luo City! When the weather was good, he would be able to faintly see the silhouette of the imperial capital from the outskirts of the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heartbeat involuntarily sped up. He¡¯d never thought that he would have to go back this quickly. Dai Yueheng was a member of the official team, and wouldn¡¯t he bring everyone to the Duke¡¯s Mansion?

    Though the two brothers no longer recognised him, he was still someone who¡¯d grown up in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. The servants there had seen him many times in the past. The moment he thought of returning to the ce he¡¯d grown up in, the ce he resented and hated iparably, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was immediately thrown into disorder.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d have to go to the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t take it to heart. ¡°Then you can all go back now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong walked all the way back to the dormitories. Nobody else had noticed anything strange about Huo Yuhao, but Wang Dong¡¯s senses were very acute. After living with the former for more than a year, he was rtively familiar with him. Furthermore, he knew the hatred that existed in his heart.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you okay?¡± Wang Dong whispered.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just can¡¯t adapt to suddenly going back. I can¡¯t let Dai Yueheng know of my true identity.¡±

    Wang Dong was silent for a moment, then whispered, ¡°Yuhao, he should be your older brother. You¡­¡±

    Stirred up, Huo Yuhao interrupted him, ¡°I don¡¯t have an elder brother, nor do I have any rtives. My mom is dead, and I¡¯m only an orphan.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine, an orphan it is.¡± Wang Dong hurriedly parroted him.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head gloomily.

    Wang Dong walked over to him and sat beside him, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. There¡¯ll always be a way to get over this. Furthermore, it¡¯s not guaranteed that someone will recognise you even if we go back. Haven¡¯t you felt that you¡¯ve changed greatly during this past year? Even someone who previously recognised you might not be able to tell who you are now. I know that you¡¯re pained, but since you¡¯ve chosen to face them and seek revenge, you have to be strong. The opponent you¡¯re going against is extremely strong!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Have I changed a lot?¡±

    Wang Dong knocked him on the head once, then passed him a mirror from his bedside.

    ¡°Take a look for yourself.¡±

    Right! Using the words ¡®heaven-shaking and earth-shattering¡¯ to describe Huo Yuhao¡¯s transformation over his past year at Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t be inappropriate. In the beginning, he was only a bashful, ordinary youth who even seemed rustic. Over this past year, however, not only did he experience a tremendous growth in his strength, he even became a core disciple of the academy. At the same time, an enormous transformation had urred to his outer appearance and his demeanor.

    Strength would make a person confident. With his two intelligent soul rings, and especially the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul bone, he¡¯d grown much taller.

    When he¡¯d arrived at the academy, he looked somewhat thin and weak. However, he was now as strong as a calf. His originally unhealthy facial appearance now shone with a rosy gloss. Moreover, he was filled with the aura of the sun. Wang Dong was correct¨Cduring this past year, he¡¯d turned over an entirely new leaf. He was no longer the servant-like Huo Yuhao who¡¯d lived in the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    ¡°Actually, you¡¯ve already set a target for yourself. Since that¡¯s the case, if we do go there, so be it. Why think too much about it?¡± Wang Dong stood up and took the mirror back from Huo Yuhao. Then, he took the initiative to sit in a cross-legged position and extended his hands towards him. ¡°Come, let¡¯s cultivate. We¡¯re still too far away from our seniors in terms of cultivation! We have to work hard.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally revealed a smile after seeing Wang Dong¡¯s serious expression, ¡°Since azy fe like you is actually asking me to cultivate, let¡¯s do it. I¡¯m going to surpass you sooner orter.¡±

    Wang Dong feigned surprise as he looked towards the window. ¡°Eeeeh, why are there cows flying in the sky? Ah, I know. It¡¯s because you¡¯re spouting bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dareugh at me. I¡¯ll show you how awesome I am.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly pounced towards Wang Dong. Defenseless, thetter let out an astonished cry as he immediately tumbled onto the bed.

    Huo Yuhao held onto his hands evilly, then shouted, ¡°Are you gonna submit?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Dong shouted provokingly.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not gonna submit?¡± Huo Yuhao slowly pressed down on him, and the distance between his face and Wang Dong¡¯s began to decrease. He had a naughty smile on his face as he looked at thetter¡¯s pair of beautiful, round eyes.

    As Huo Yuhao continued to get closer to him, Wang Dong could feel his breathing on his face. He was finally panicking, and hence shut his eyes subconsciously. But, he still forced out a few words, ¡°No! I won¡¯t submit!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was left in a daze as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯s long, trembling eyebrows. He was just a few inches away from him, and he could smell the faint fragranceing from him. He didn¡¯t know why, but he shivered uncontrobly as he looked at Wang Dong, who was being forced down by him, so much so that he waspletely helpless.

    He hurriedly let go of Wang Dong¡¯s hands, then grabbed his pinkish face and squeezed it. Then, heughed, ¡°If you won¡¯t submit, I¡¯ll make you look like a pig. Hey, you look rather good even as a pig. Quickly, stick out your mouth so you¡¯ll look even more like one.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯m gonna fight you!¡±

 Chapter 68.1: Shrek Guardians

    Chapter 68.1: Shrek Guardians

    Two simr figures stood together.

    ¡°Brother, so how about it? Is there a chance for you to make a move?¡± Dai Huabin asked resentfully.

    Dai Yueheng snorted coldly. ¡°You¡¯d best give up. There¡¯s no chance. Huo Yuhao¡¯s even more talented than you. He has a skill called Spiritual Detection that can benefit every single one of his teammates. Furthermore, it¡¯s obvious that Elder Xuan likes him a lot. The two consecutive matches we had were to show off his strength for everyone to approve of him. I don¡¯t even need to tell you what kind of person Elder Xuan is again. Also, mother is very angry over this incident. Fortunately, father¡¯s not home. Otherwise, you¡¯d be in for a lot of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Mother has told me to pass on a piece of news to you. If there is a ¡®next time¡¯, nobody is going to help you. Do you know how much pressure mother suffered to keep this matter quiet? Even the royal family doesn¡¯t dare to offend the academy. You were actually this rash?¡±

    Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes turned red. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re just going to let this go? Did our men die for nothing?¡±

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Dai Yueheng suddenly pulled his hand back and pped Dai Huabin¡¯s face. Thetter staggered, and nearly fell to the ground.

    ¡°How old are you already?¡± Dai Yueheng asked sternly, ¡°Do you not know the difference between the n¡¯s interests and your private grudges? If this were a soul master academy within our country, I¡¯d have let you do anything you wanted. But this is Shrek! Don¡¯t you know what the word ¡®Shrek¡¯ means? If you want to continue staying here, you¡¯d better back down. Is this a ce where you can simply do as you wish?¡±

    ¡°As for that Huo Yuhao, not only can we not go against him, we even have to rope him in. He¡¯s still very weak now, but he has the sovereign abilities of a twin-souled soul master and an Ultimate martial soul. He¡¯s a precious treasure even in our Shrek Academy. After the matter that you started, the old fes from the academy will definitely protect him even more strictly. If you can rope him into our n, do you know how many benefits we¡¯ll get? Have you forgotten the task our mother gave us?¡±

    Dai Huabin turned silent. Though his eyes were still filled with rage, he¡¯d calmed down.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s expression softened slightly. ¡°Go back first. Don¡¯t think too much about it. Even though you can¡¯t take Huo Yuhao¡¯s position, the other positions might not be as stable. Word hard, and you¡¯ll have a chance to be one of the Seven Monsters. After this tournament, I¡¯ll have the qualifications to graduate from the inner courtyard. I¡¯ll return to our n first, and prepare for our major project under our mother¡¯s ns.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Dai Huabin nodded. After he turned away and left, he sneered inwardly, ¡°Dai Yueheng, weren¡¯t you just born a few years before me? There¡¯ll be a day when you won¡¯t be able to strut around in front of me. Once I¡¯m your age, I¡¯ll definitely be able to surpass the current you.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Morning. Amidst the misty gates of Shrek Academy, a group of people slowly walked out. From their ages, it was clear that they were students of Shrek Academy. However, they weren¡¯t wearing their uniforms today. Some of the students were wearing clothes made of cloth, while some were wearing ones with flowery designs; all of them wore different things.

    Flowery clothes weren¡¯t necessarily beautiful, and ones made of cloth didn¡¯t necessarily represent mediocrity. The most obvious delegates of the two types of clothes were Yao Haoxuan and Jiang Nannan.

    As a result of his skinny body, Yao Haoxuan looked somewhat wretched with his flowery clothes on. On the other hand, the cloth-wearing Jiang Nannan looked iparably elegant.

    Huo Yuhao no longer wore the set of clothes he¡¯s brought to the academy. However, he treasured the set of clothes his mother had made for him, and had thus ced them in the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. Currently, he was no longer the poor young boy who didn¡¯t have a single penny to his name. The ck set of warrior¡¯s robes he wore made him look extremely nimble. Due to the changes that had urred to his body, he looked fourteen to fifteen years old, even though he wasn¡¯t even thirteen yet. The well-proportioned muscles underneath his robes seemed to contain an explosive amount of power within them.

    Wang Dong was no longer as tall as Huo Yuhao, but his slender body, elegant aura, and clever yet beautiful eyes were extremely captivating. If the prettiest among the girls was Jiang Nannan, he was definitely the most handsome of the boys. In terms of pure appearance, he wasparable to Jiang Nannan.

    The sun had just risen from the east, but they were already leaving the academy. This group of people naturally consisted of the official and preparatory teams of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t the only person leading the group; Huo Yuhao¡¯s teacher, Wang Yan, also tagged along with them.

    Only now did Huo Yuhao know that Elder Xuan was Teacher Wang¡¯s master. Only, Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t allow the former to address him as such. Elder Xuan liked his inheriting disciple very much, even though he wasn¡¯tparable to the other Heaven¡¯s Chosen in terms of cultivation. Wang Yan could travel far along the path of research into martial souls, and he would be able to teach within the inner courtyard after two more years of practice.

    The group of almost twenty people people walked together in twos and threes, but Elder Xuan was still as messy as ever, with his bottle gourd and chicken legs in his hands. The foodstuffs he ate seemed to alternate between chicken legs and chicken wings, and he didn¡¯t seem to ever get bored of eating them.

    Possibly due to the fact that he wanted to eat and drink, Elder Xuan didn¡¯t walk especially quickly; he walked at around the pace of an ordinary person. This gave the entire group a rxing and leisurely feeling. With their physical abilities, walking at such a pace was simply a type of pleasure.

    Compared to when he had just entered the academy, Huo Yuhao had experienced an earth-shattering transformation. He¡¯d entered by relying on the Tang Sect¡¯s special quota, and not only did he have a pitiful amount of soul power, he didn¡¯t even have a single attacking skill. His body was as frail as an ordinary person¡¯s.

    The fact that he was able topletely change everything within a short year couldn¡¯t be fully attributed to his two intelligent soul rings; his painstaking hard work couldn¡¯t be ignored. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Huo Yuhao had put in more than twice the amount of effort as the other students. He didn¡¯t even have any time to rest.

    Although he now possessed talent that made even the upper echelons of the academy approve of him, he didn¡¯t dare to rx at all. He deeply remembered what his Teacher Wang Yan had told him; as a wielder of an Ultimate martial soul, his cultivation speed would drastically decrease after reaching Rank 30. At that time, his cultivation speed wouldn¡¯t beparable to that of an ordinary soul master. He could cultivate alongside Wang Dong, but he still paid attention to this matter. Moreover, he was even dual-cultivating in the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments. Thus, he had to work even harder.

    After the earnest conversation he had had with He Caitou, Huo Yuhao paid much more attention to the Ultimate Soldier n. If he could be a person that could change the entire situation of a battlefield by himself, he would have the qualifications to seek his revenge!

    Due to his current mentality, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to waste any time. Seeing that they weren¡¯t walking too quickly, he immediately whispered to Wang Dong, ¡°Let¡¯s cultivate for a while.¡±

    Wang Dong red at him unhappily. ¡°I¡¯m gonna die of exhaustion. What bad luck I have, having a roommate like you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°Haven¡¯t you felt that you¡¯ve been improving so quickly with me urging you on? You should be grateful to me.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted, ¡°I¡¯d rather rest for a bit. Come. You¡¯re not allowed to use Spiritual Detection.¡±

    With that, Wang Dong ran straight towards Huo Yuhao. However, instead of colliding with him, he flickered around thetter¡¯s body at a rapid rate.

    Huo Yuhao continued to slowly follow the group, but they were at the very back of the group, and thus wouldn¡¯t be afraid of anyone noticing them. Huo Yuhao raised his hand, then started to make pushing and pulling motions with a regr tempo. A pale, white light could faintly be seen at the tops of his hands.

    Wang Dong immediately slowed down. Evidently, he¡¯d sensed what Huo Yuhao was doing. However, he immediately elerated using his soul power, doing his best to maintain his current level of speed.

    Whilst walking together with Bei Bei, He Caitou turned around. He saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with a weird look in his eyes and whispered, ¡°Senior brother, isn¡¯t Wang Dong using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks? What¡¯s Huo Yuhao doing?¡±

    Bei Bei naturally saw what the two of them were doing. He revealed a sincere look of admiration on his face. ¡°Huo Yuhao¡¯s using another secret technique of our Tang Sect. It¡¯s called the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and its user can use their soul power to release a pushing or pulling motion within a fixed range. It¡¯s a skill that¡¯s extremely practical in closebat. I¡¯ll teach it to youter. Actually, even if your martial soul isn¡¯t abat-oriented one, you¡¯ll be able to wield a decent amount of strength in a closebat situation once you¡¯ve finished training in our techniques.¡±

    Xiao Xiao looked towards the two of them with a somewhat envious look in her eyes, then moved closer to Bei Bei, ¡°Senior brother, let¡¯s try this out as well.¡±

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°We¡¯re not too suitable for what they¡¯re doing. The training they¡¯re doing now is more suitable for people whose cultivations are closer to each other. If I use my Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon on you, you won¡¯t even be able to use your Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks.¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s lips pouted, ¡°Those two are so close that they¡¯re like the same person. I can¡¯t interrupt them either! They¡¯re both guys, so why are they so intimate with each other? Hmph!¡±

    She was truly somewhat envious of the intimate rtionship that Wang Dong had with Huo Yuhao. In the past, she¡¯d thought that it would be much easier for her to mix around with guys due to the fact that she was a girl! However, the intimacy that Huo Yuhao had with Wang Dong was evidently much deeper than the friendship she had with them.

    He Caitou gave a sillyugh, ¡°Since the two of them canplete a fusion skill, they¡¯re naturally close to each other. However, a martial fusion between two people who don¡¯t share the same bloodline is quite rare. Xiao Xiao, why don¡¯t I help you out? I don¡¯t know how to use the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, but I can use some of my weaker soul tools to help you train your Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. How about that?¡±

    Though she felt that He Caitou¡¯s extremely rugged body and ck skin looked somewhat fierce, Xiao Xiao was always a very kind and straightforward person in her interactions with other people. Thus, she nodded, ¡°Sure! I want to train hard as well. Otherwise, I¡¯d deserve to be eliminated if Igged behind them.¡±

 Chapter 68.2: Shrek Guardians

    Chapter 68.2: Shrek Guardians

    Elder Xuan and the seven members of the official team stood at the very front, while the seven members of the preparatory team trailed behind them. Because of that, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were able to listen in on Bei Bei¡¯s conversation with the others.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for Xu Sanshi to obtain an opportunity to go out with Jiang Nannan. Naturally, he was tagging along with her shamelessly.

    Jiang Nannan was simply helpless in front of Xu Sanshi. Thus, she strictly forbade him from entering a one meter area around her and from harassing her. After Xu Sanshi nodded like a baby chick eating rice, she ignored him.

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao and the rest were working hard, Xu Sanshi immediately devised a n. He smiled mischievously, ¡°Nannan, see how hard they¡¯re working. Why don¡¯t we practice as well? Look, my hard and thick skin is great for you to practice your throwing skills. Naturally, I can take on your grappling skills as well.¡± His thirsty face was clearly telling Jiang Nannan, grapple me, grapple me!

    Jiang Nannan turned around and looked at him with an icy look in her eyes, ¡°It¡¯d be better for you to scram than anything else.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately contorted his face and said indignantly, ¡°Nannan, just what can I do to make you understand my heart!? I¡¯m sincere towards you. Just how can I make you be willing to be together with me?!¡±

    Jiang Nannan stared at him hatefully, and a tint of red that arose from either bashfulness or anger faintly appeared on her exceptionally beautiful face. ¡°I won¡¯t be together with the hedonistic son of a rich family like you no matter what. A beast¡¯s intentions stille from a beast¡¯s heart. Stop bothering me. Also, I¡¯m called Jiang Nannan. Please use my surname while referring to me.¡±

    With that, she turned around and sped up, increasing the distance between her and Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi covered his face with his hands and cried out sorrowfully, ¡°Just let me die, die, die.¡±

    Bei Bei was already next to him somehow. With a smile on his calm face, he asked sincerely, ¡°Do you need help?¡±

    Xu Sanshi put his hands down and flew into a rage, ¡°Are we brothers? Are we still brothers? I just knew that you¡¯d be a guy who enjoys schadenfreude and kicking someone who¡¯s down. If Xiao Ya weren¡¯t here, you¡¯d have revealed your true nature already.¡±

    Bei Bei had a look of surprise on his face. ¡°You want to talk about being brothers now? Why do I recall you saying that you¡¯d be willing to ¡®stab yourself twice for the sake of your brother, but stab your brother for the sake of a girl¡¯!¡±

    Xu Sanshi was left embarrassed. He raised his head high. ¡°A girl can give me a child, can you? A girl can sleep with me on a bed, but can you?¡±

    Bei Bei gave a warm smile, ¡°I can¡¯t do the former, but I can do thetter.¡±

    Elder Xuan, who was walking in front, suddenly staggered mysteriously. Then, he violently spat out the mouthful of wine he had in his mouth before ring fiercely at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

    The two of them straightened their faces, not daring to say anything more.

    ¡°Okay! Come over!¡± Elder Xuan spat out a mouthful of saliva, then used his dirty, greasy sleeve to wipe his mouth before yelling out unhappily.

    The group of fourteen hurriedly stepped forward and formed a circle around him. Due to the fact that they were just training, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were slightly out of breath.

    Xu Sanshi still believed that it was Bei Bei¡¯s words that had triggered Elder Xuan. ¡°Just wait for your scolding. Hehe.¡± He whispered coldly.

    At this moment, Bei Bei didn¡¯t have any traces of a smile on his face. He had a ruthless look, and he mouthed a few words, ¡°Since I¡¯m going to get scolded, I¡¯m gonna tell Jiang Nannan that you actually like guys. You were only chasing her to hide your real sexual orientation.¡±

    ¡°Your sister¡­¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s face reddened.

    Bei Bei maintained full eye contact with him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have a sister.¡±

    Elder Xuan suddenly ruffled his hair and red at the two of them, ¡°If you two spout anymore bullshit, I¡¯m gonna beat you to the point where you won¡¯t even be able to take care of yourselves anymore.¡±

    Ma Xiaotaoughed, ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re in perfectly good condition! However, our public morals are truly degenerating! They¡¯re so young, but they¡¯ve inclinations like this. I suggest that the academy have a rectification campaign.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly straight!¡± Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi cried out together.

    ¡°Psh¡ª¡ª¡± Ma Xiaotao had a look of disdain on her face, ¡°Was I talking about the two of you? I was talking about Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. What¡¯re you panicking for? There¡¯s no gold hidden here.¡±

    Xu Sanshi smacked Bei Bei and said indignantly, ¡°I me you for all of this! My reputation!¡±

    Jiang Nannan snorted and whispered, ¡°Did you even have a reputation? You¡¯re a¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s hearing wasn¡¯t bad. ¡°Nannan, it isn¡¯t like that! That time, I¡­¡±

    ¡°You dare?¡± Jiang Nannan suddenly raised her head. Her gaze resembled that of a dagger, and it was even that of an exceptionally sharp one. Xu Sanshi shivered instinctively, then instantly shut up. He put on a righteous appearance, giving off the impression that he wouldn¡¯t say anything even if he was killed.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were inwardlyughing themselves to death, but everyone here was an upperssman. It wouldn¡¯t be good for them tough out loud, so they held in theirughter to the point where their stomachs hurt.

    Wang Dong whispered, ¡°Adultery. There¡¯s definitely adultery between seniors Xu and Jiang.¡±

    Suddenly, everyone felt the temperature surrounding them drop. The words ¡®killing intent¡¯ arose involuntarily in their hearts, making all of them shut up.

    The killing intent that had appeared instantly caused Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao to stiffen up due to their low cultivations. Fortunately, it onlysted for a moment before disappearing.

    Elder Xuan acted as if he¡¯d heard and done nothing, and spoke in a low voice, ¡°We aren¡¯t far from the academy, and there a few things that I have to say now. You seven from the preparatory team have to listen carefully to me. This concerns the future direction of your path in the academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s usual attitude wasn¡¯t too calm, but this was the first time they¡¯d seen him act so seriously. Huo Yuhao and the other six felt their hearts go cold, and they immediately curbed their previousughter. Then, they paid full attention to Elder Xuan.

    The seven from the inner courtyard seemed to know what Elder Xuan was about to say, but they had solemn looks on their faces. Moreover, they radiated a unique sort of arrogance.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Our Shrek Academy has existed for over ten thousand years. Normally, a powerful soul master can live for two hundred years at the very least, while some can live even longer. Moreover, more and more students enter the inner courtyard every year. However, the total number of inner courtyard disciples who currently remain within the academy doesn¡¯t even reach a hundred. Do you know why this is the case?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°It¡¯s because our seniors have graduated, right?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re half-right. There are a few disciples of the inner courtyard who leave the academy after graduating, but I now want to talk about the disciples who don¡¯t graduate.¡±

    At this point, Elder Xuan¡¯s voice clearly contained a few more traces of sorrow, ¡°They were all good kids. Though they weren¡¯t able to truly graduate, their names still exist within the school register. They took the ideals of the academy as their own ideals. It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t have the strength to graduate, but because they died for the sake of the academy¡¯s ideals.¡±

    ¡°In reality, there are many other students who have the qualifications to enter the inner courtyard. However, many of them choose to leave the academy after graduating from the outer courtyard. It¡¯s because entering the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t just signify that you¡¯ll get better things and better teaching. The weight of the responsibilities you¡¯ll receive will be simrlyrge. Those students who choose not to enter the inner courtyard admit that they aren¡¯t able to shoulder this task. After agreeing to keep this a secret, they leave.¡±

    ¡°The academy respects the choices of all of its students, but I want to say that every single student who has entered the inner courtyard to pursue their studies is a hero. Not a hero of the academy, but a hero of the entire Douluo Continent.¡±

    The word ¡®hero¡¯ was still very unfamiliar to the young Huo Yuhao and the rest. However, this word carried an indescribable weight to it when it came from Elder Xuan¡¯s mouth.

    Elder Xuan said solemnly, ¡°The thing that you aren¡¯t allowed to disclose is the fact that you¡¯ve already taken a step into the inner courtyard from the very moment you guys became members of the preparatory team. However, it¡¯s just because of this that I have to confirm whether you are willing to shoulder the burdens of the academy before we leave. If you¡¯re not willing to, I can return you to the academy, and nobody will me you. You will stillplete your studies and graduate sessfully. Furthermore, I have to say that there isn¡¯t much the inner courtyard has that the outer courtyard doesn¡¯t. The reason why disciples of the inner courtyard are strong is linked to that responsibility I mentioned. If you choose to go back, you¡¯ll have to keep the same secret as the students who choose to leave after graduating. Can you do it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s group of seven could feel that the secrets that Elder Xuan was about to reveal weren¡¯t that humongous. The seven replied simultaneously, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The Douluo Continent was originally extremelyrge. After the collision and fusion it had with the Sun Moon Continent, it became evenrger. Of the four great empires, the Sun Moon Empire covers thergest area. Its various mineral resources are extremely plentiful. However, they¡¯re still foreigners to us. Even if several thousand years have passed, they aren¡¯tpatible with the three empires of our Douluo Continent. We aren¡¯t able to truly ept their existences. This formed a mutual alliance we have against them. Although there isn¡¯t anyrge-scale war on the Douluo Continent, disputes always exist. If this dispute urs among the normal countryfolk, it won¡¯t cause too much damage. However, a dispute among soul masters is different.¡±

    ¡°Not all soul masters are kind. Arge number of people will have inted egos due to their strength, and they¡¯ll get an air of haughtiness that makes it seem as though they¡¯re the number one expert under the heavens. They may even have evil intentions as a result. These people will then bring about enormous casualties to the ordinary folk. A soul mastermitting an evil act is amon urrence, and it¡¯s getting higher as the days go on. Oftentimes, the more talented and stronger a soul master is, the higher the destructive power he¡¯ll have after stepping onto the path of evil. There was once a Soul Emperor who massacred an entire vige just because the food they served him wasn¡¯t up to his standards. Why is that the case? It¡¯s because soul masters far exceed ordinary people in terms of strength, and also because theyck restrictions and control.¡±

    ¡°Our Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t consider itself a righteous organisation, but we aren¡¯t willing to allow cmities like this ur. Roughly six thousand years ago, the academy split into the outer and inner courtyards¡­¡±

 Chapter 68.3: Shrek Guardians

    Chapter 68.3: Shrek Guardians

    Elder Xuan became even more solemn as he said, ¡°You must be thinking, ¡®Police? Police what?¡¯ We aren¡¯t trying to police the injustices within the continent, because that¡¯s realistically impossible. The Douluo Continent¡¯s too vast, and there are an uncountable number of people within the four empires. There are already five million permanent residents in our Shrek City alone. Moreover, we can¡¯t even police the disciples from the inner courtyard. Because of that, we only police soul masters. We target people, and even government officials, but never an entire country. We have our own sources of intelligence, and once something evil that a country is unable to, or doesn¡¯t want to police urs, or if a soul master turns to the path of evil, we¡¯ll send out disciples of the inner courtyard to deal with the issue. Now, the disciples of the inner courtyard are known as police, the Shrek Police. Our inner courtyard has another name¨Cthe Shrek Guardians. Right now, I¡¯m the current vice-leader of the Shrek Guardians.¡±

    ¡°You must be thinking, how do we police everything? The continent¡¯s so vast, and the number of evil actsmitted are many. We don¡¯t even have a hundred people in the inner courtyard, so how do we do this? I can tell you this. Every single country, even thergest Sun Moon Empire, would never dare to look down on our Shrek Guardians. Although there are only around a hundred disciples in the current inner courtyard, we have over twenty thousand graduates from the outer courtyard. At the same time, there are nearly a thousand students who havepleted their service as Guardians. Casualties appear frequently within the inner courtyard, but I dare to say that every single person who steps out from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard is an elite of humanity as a whole. Furthermore, our academy has the most outstanding teachers within the continent, and every single teacher in the academy is a Guardian.

    ¡°Every single disciple of the inner courtyard is a Guardian, and for them to graduate, they have toplete thirty assignments. These assignments not only test the strength of our disciples, but also their hearts. Our Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t want to nurture in experts, but true talents who are willing to protect the peace and stability of the continent.¡±

    ¡°What I want to tell you is this¨Cwe are Guardians, and also enforces of thew. Everything that the Shrek Guardians deal with is problematic, and extremely dangerous. There was even one asion where we had to deal with a Titled Douluo. A threat to your life could ur at any time. Because of this, the first thing you have to cautiously consider is whether you¡¯re willing to be a Guardian.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, there isn¡¯t anypensation for a Guardian.¡± At that point, Elder Xuan¡¯s solemn tone softened much more; he saw the gazes in the eyes of the seven members of the preparatory team. None of them had erratic looks in their eyes, but rather staunch and stubborn ones. They had undoubtedly made their decisions already.

    Dai Yueheng walked up to Elder Xuan¡¯s side and said in a low voice, ¡°Junior brothers and sisters. I will tell you that, ording to many of the seniors who have graduated, bing a Shrek Guardian is the greatest honor they have ever been given. Even if they¡¯ve already graduated, many of them still do things that a Guardian should do. To evildoers, we are the butcher¡¯s de; to the weak and bullied, we are existences on the level of Gods of kindness to them. There are uncountable numbers of people who have received the help of the Shrek Guardians, and the act of helping them is the best way we can perfect our hearts. I¡¯ve always believed that doing good deeds doesn¡¯t help others, but ourselves. That feeling of satisfaction is something that¡¯s irrecable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very proud to havepleted twenty-eight assignments to this point. I¡¯m already not far from thirty. During this process, I¡¯ve killed bandits who raped and piged, and government officials who didn¡¯t care for their citizens¡¯ lives. I¡¯ve rescued children who were forced into very. The inner courtyard has a motto¨Cwith great strength,es great responsibility, and one¡¯s heart travels along the same path as the good deeds one performs. I¡¯m willing to work together with you guys.¡±

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s words were very in, but they contained a unique effect to them. Even Ma Xiaotao, who didn¡¯t get along well with him, had a solemn expression on her face as he recounted his experiences as a Guardian. Other than the pride on her face, she had a unique splendor to it as well. It was as though they were bathing in their glory.

    Elder Xuan nodded. ¡°Okay, you have to give me an answer now. Enter, or leave.¡±

    ¡°Enter!¡± The seven simultaneously cried out. In that instant, the thoughts of the seven from the preparatory team seemed to be linked. It was only then that they understood the missions and responsibilities that a disciple of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard had to shoulder. At this point in time, they didn¡¯t feel any of the glory that came with being a Shrek Guardian, but they unhesitantly epted this task.

    Elder Xuan smiled a very happy smile. ¡°Very good. I wasn¡¯t mistaken with you lot. None of you are cowards. I¡¯ll tell you this¨Cthere was another reason behind all this. It¡¯s because you¡¯re about to take on your first Guardian mission in a bit. Xiaotao, you can exin our assignment this time. Wang Yan, give them the equipment of a Shrek Guardian.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Yan nodded, then took a few rings from his storage tool and passed them to every single person there.

    The ring was very beautiful; the ring itself was made of a silvery-whitish metal, and a jade-green gem the size of a fingernail was embedded on it. The glistening gem shone with a bright light, and the green on it was filled with the aura of life. The top of the ring was carved into the shape of a Shrek, making it unforgettable.

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°You¡¯d better take care of this. This is the symbol of a Shrek Guardian, and only we have it. Now, put a drop of your blood on the surface of the ring, so it¡¯ll connect with your bloodline. As long as you¡¯re one of us, you can use the Guardian Ring to verify the identity of a Guardian in front of you. The ring is also a storage tool, and it contains aplete set of equipment that we use. You can take a look at it now.¡±

    ¡°We have our specialised clothing, a mask, a cloak, and a distress signal. During a mission, we can¡¯t let anyone see our appearances, so as to prevent things from affecting our lives. Thus, we need a mask. Most importantly, we have a distress signal. This signal is something that only we have, and after any Guardian releases it during a dangerous event, every student of Shrek Academy¨Couter courtyard or inner courtyard¨Cwill immediately go over to help you. It¡¯s much more effective than you think.¡±

    ¡°Our assignment this time is to head towards a mountain range that borders the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire to hunt down a group of bandits. The Advanced Academy Continental Soul Duelling Academy is going to start soon, so we have to finish this in three or four days.¡±

    ¡°These bandits are extremely savage and sly. They specialise in killing merchants who pass over the border, and they leave no survivors. They do every evil thing imaginable to their victims. The mountainous area they¡¯re hiding in has someplicated terrain, and it¡¯s precipitous. Moreover, there are many caves they can hide themselves in, so it¡¯s disadvantageous for an army to attack them. More disgustingly, the area where those bastards live in belongs partly to the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has never had a good rtionship with our Star Luo Empire. In a situation like this, it¡¯s very hard for the two nations to cooperate. Whenever an empire sends its army out, those sly bastards will run over to the other side. Once, they even started a small scale war between the two countries. However, they¡¯re still living fine now. Numbers won¡¯t be effective against them. There aren¡¯t even three hundred of those bandits, but they¡¯re familiar with the terrain, and they have many tricks. Because of this, a small team like us is better equipped to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°These bandits call themselves the Envoys of the Death God, and they¡¯re supposedly headed by a rtively powerful evil soul master. Because of that, we can¡¯t be careless at all. A majority of you haven¡¯t killed a person before, and you¡¯re going to have a brand-new experience now. I have to stress that the target of our assignment this time is to leave no survivors andpletely eliminate them. There aren¡¯t any elderly, weak, women, or children in this group of bandits, and none of them are kind.¡±

    Killing someone? This term was extremely foreign to Huo Yuhao and the rest. This was especially true for Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao; after all, they were only twelve. Their hearts started beating more rapidly after they heard the words ¡®killing someone¡¯.

    Ma Xiaotao smiled and looked towards Huo Yuhao, ¡°What? Scared? Don¡¯t wet yourself when the timees, since nobody¡¯s going to wipe your butt for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face immediately reddened. ¡°I¡¯m not scared at all.¡±

    He really didn¡¯t feel like he could lift his head in front of Ma Xiaotao. After the events of that day, a shadow had been cast over his heart.

    Ma Xiaotaoughed mischievously. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re not scared. The seven of us will be the main team during this mission, and you guys should do your best to protect yourselves while helping us from the side. These bandits are extremely unbridled; they¡¯ve even titled themselves the ¡®Hand of Death¡¯. Within that vast, mountainous area, as long as you bring up the names ¡®Hand of Death¡¯, or ¡®Envoy of the Death God¡¯, the folk there will be scared witless.¡±

    ¡°This mountainous area was formed four thousand years ago as a result of the collision between the two continents. Because of that, it¡¯s called the Ming Dou Mountain Range. It has an extremely vast amount of mineral resources, and it produces extremely precious minerals. Because of that, the Star Luo and Sun Moon Empires have been continuously fighting over that mountain range for many years. The Star Luo Empire can give us a certain amount of help.¡±

 Chapter 69.1: Evil Soul Master

    Chapter 69.1: Evil Soul Master

    ¡°We¡¯ve already informed the guards from the Star Luo Empire stationed near the Ming Dou Mountains before we departed. They¡¯ll provide us with a detailed map and urate information in due course. If there are no further questions, we have to depart at full speed. Keep your Guardian Rings properly. You can only wear them when you¡¯re executing a mission.¡±

    Everyone expressed that they were ready one after the other. Ma Xiaotao then said, ¡°The ones with lower cultivations will slow us down. There¡¯s no way we can amodate to you guys, so we¡¯re going to do things this way. I¡¯ll take Huo Yuhao along with me. Dai Yueheng, you take Wang Dong. Ling Luochen, you take Xiao Xiao with you. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ever since Ma Xiaotao started giving her presentation regarding the Guardian mission, Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t said another word ¨C everything was in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s control. This was not only his confidence in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ability tomand a group, but it was also a way for her to polish her skills. It would be no good if a dragoncked a leader. This Guardian mission was also the final learning curve for them all before the tournament started.

    ¡°I want senior sister Ma to take me with her.¡± Wang Dong suddenly spoke before rushing to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s side. He continued talking as he smiled with admiration, ¡°Senior sister Ma, I admire you the most. Can you take me along with you?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was stunned for a moment before she smiled and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take you with me. Dai Yueheng, you take Huo Yuhao with you. Let¡¯s go.¡± As she spoke, she dragged Wang Dong¡¯s underarm up with her right hand and leapt up, taking off on their journey.

    Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen also reacted in the same way, taking Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao respectively as they elerated.

    Huo Yuhao was silently cursing in his heart. Since when did Wang Dong admire Ma Xiaotao? It actually seemed as though the ineffable hostility he had directed toward senior sister Ma before was real. What was that guy doing?!

    Just because he knew this didn¡¯t mean that Ma Xiaotao knew it too. With Ma Xiaotao¡¯s help, Wang Dong now had a contented look on his face. He was extremely pleased with himself for what he¡¯d done. Only he knew of the little scheme he¡¯d concocted in his heart.

    This full-scale eleration revealed how powerful the inner courtyard disciples were. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were already going all-out, but they were still finding it extremely tough to follow along. On the other hand, He Caitou was in slightly better condition than them because he had an elerator soul tool helping him. He could control how much he wished to speed up with a Rank 4 elerator soul tool. Adding onto the fact that he had a robust body, it wasn¡¯t that strenuous for him to follow closely behind Ma Xiaotao.

    Even though Ma Xiaotao was bringing Wang Dong along with her, she¡¯d remained at the forefront since they¡¯d set off. She even had to slow down from time to time and wait for those behind her. The immense speed stemming from her torrential fire phoenix soul could be seen as clear as day.

    Huo Yuhao felt like he was riding on clouds as Dai Yueheng pulled him along. Dai Yueheng supported Huo Yuhao¡¯s underarm with his wide and powerful palm, just like a steady and soft support. Dai Yueheng would cover more than ten metres every time the tips of his feet touched the ground, darting forth like an arrow. When he was just about to slow down, the tip of his foot would immediately touch the ground once more, causing him to speed up. As a result of that, he was extremely stable even though they were advancing very quickly. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to do anything, but could still move forward at such a high speed thanks to Dai Yueheng.

    The scenery on both sides of the road was a blur. Even with his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao still felt rather dizzy at the sight.

    ¡°Yuhao, I heard that things aren¡¯t pleasant between you and my younger brother?¡± Dai Yueheng asked Huo Yuhao as he ran at full speed.

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback, not because of what Dai Yueheng said, but because he could actually talk without the slightest hint of a tremble in his voice while running at such a high speed. He spoke just like he was holding a normal conversation. Dai Yueheng was really a person of formidable ability!

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Huo Yuheng ambiguously snorted out.

    Dai Yueheng had a sincere look on his face as he said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know how you guys became enemies, I think Huabin is in the wrong. As his elder brother, I¡¯ll apologise on his behalf. Huabin¡¯s been exceptionally talented ever since he was a kid, which eventually formed the arrogant attitude he has now. I¡¯ve already reprimanded him before, and even pped him across the face. Now that I think about it, that was the first time I¡¯ve hit him. Let bygones be bygones. We¡¯re all in Shrek Academy to cultivate. You¡¯re now a member of the Guardian team, so we¡¯ll be brothers-in-arms and fellow soldiers from now on. I hope you won¡¯t hold any more grudges in your heart, and speak up if you need help. I¡¯ll repay what Huabin owes you on his behalf.¡±

    Dai Yueheng worded his sentences too beautifully. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Huo Yuhao had truly felt the maliciousness and strong killing intenting from Dai Yueheng before, he might¡¯ve really felt embarrassed by his actions before because of what Dai Yueheng said. However, he could only sneer at the other party in his heart now. Is Dai Yueheng trying to rope me in?

    ¡°Senior brother, I am actually in the wrong as well. You¡¯re right. Let bygones be bygones.¡± Huo Yuhao really couldn¡¯t mask his expressions like Dai Yueheng; he couldn¡¯t put such a sincere look on his face. He could only try his best to remain calm. How could a few apologetic sentences settle the grudge he held towards them for killing his mother, along with the miserable and hard life that he¡¯d faced since he was a child? What¡¯s more, Huo Yuhao¡¯s perception was sharper than most people¡¯s. With the Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao saw that Dai Yueheng¡¯s pulse was calm all throughout when he was talking a moment ago, with nothing out of the ordinary. That also meant that he was in a stable frame of mind, which was ipatible with how one would usually be a little excited when being sincere.

    Dai Yueheng was slightly more pleased when he heard what Huo Yuhao said. He could see that Huo Yuhao still harboured ill feelings in his heart, but from his point of view, Huo Yuhao was only a child who didn¡¯t reveal his emotions regardless of how talented he was. Conversely, it was normal for him to show reluctance and hesitation in his expression. However, it wasn¡¯t a bad start, since he was willing to let the previous matter pass. From his point of view, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to rope in a child. Moreover, Huo Yuhao¡¯s skill was quite good, but his level of cultivation was too low after all was said and done. At the moment, his level of cultivation was still far from a level that could threaten him. Thus, Huo Yuhao was far worse than Dai Huabin if he were topare the both of them.

    Dai Yueheng smiled faintly and said, ¡°That would be for the best. Once we spend more time together, you¡¯ll get to know what kind of person I am.¡±

    If Huo Yuhao had been who he was before he entered Shrek Academy, he might not have been able to mask his emotions, and would definitely have been at a loss when confronting Dai Yueheng. However, he had matured a lot over the past year. He knew that it was definitely not possible for him to get his revenge in such a short time. Since that was the case, he could only feign civility.

    ¡°Senior brother, I heard senior sister Ma mention an evil soul master just now. What¡¯s that?¡± Even though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t at Dai Yueheng¡¯s level of cultivation, he hardly needed to expend a great deal of effort in running now. As a result of that, he could still use soul power to protect his nose and mouth to speak.

    Dai Yueheng chuckled and said, ¡°I knew you were going to ask that question. Evil soul masters are also soul masters, but they¡¯re very scary.¡± Even with his cultivation and self-confidence, Huo Yuhao actually caught a smudge of fear in Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes when he uttered the words ¡®evil soul master¡¯. Huo Yuhao had originally asked this question without thinking it through. However, he was secretly shocked that an elite of Shrek Academy like Dai Yueheng was actually afraid of an evil soul master.

    ¡°Evil soul masters have been in existence since long ago. It is said that Ancestor Tang San, who was part of the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Devils encountered a powerful evil soul master one year. What¡¯s more, that individual was also an evil Douluo. He was nevertheless able to obtain a domain-type ability from the other party. A so-called evil soul master is a soul master who has a few very exceptionally evil martial souls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked when he heard this and said, ¡°There are evil martial souls too?¡±

    Dai Yueheng nodded and said, ¡°Martial souls can be anything. There¡¯s no distinction between good and evil if you view a martial soul on its own. But when the martial soul needs to be cultivated through special means, then that martial soul must definitely be evil. You¡¯ll understand when I give you an example.¡±

    ¡°More than six hundred years ago, a powerful evil soul master appeared on the continent. He eventually became a Titled Douluo powerhouse, and granted himself the title of Blood Baby. His cultivation method was extremely unique, and his martial soul only awakened when he was eighteen years old. After his martial soul awakened, he had a certain craving for babies. He needed to suck a baby¡¯s brain and swallow a baby¡¯s heart before he could cultivate. Don¡¯t you think this kind of soul master is evil? How many babies did he need to kill to cultivate from being a normal soul master to a Titled Douluo?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a shiver run up his spine, all the way up to his scalp. That feeling that resembled pins and needles almost made him cry out in surprise. He never thought that a soul master like that actually existed in this world.

    Dai Yueheng had a same look of fear in his eyes, ¡°Titled Douluo Blood Baby was tyrannically strong. In a short span of twenty years, he attained the rank of a Titled Douluo through that evil cultivation method of his before he even turned forty. When he was using his soul power, a blood baby would appear, and with it woulde iparably frightening firepower and corrosive abilities. Amongst all of his nine soul rings, the lowest one was a thousand years old, and he even had two ten thousand-year soul rings. Later on, the previousmander of the academy¡¯s Guardian squad personally undertook the task of disposing of him. It took him five whole years to find him before eradicating him from the face of the earth. Before that, he had killed tens of teachers and students from our academy. What do you say, isn¡¯t this evil soul master frightening?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps evil soul masters weren¡¯t born evil, but the strength and power of every soul master is the same, and so it is very easy for one to walk the path of darkness. Who can resist the temptation of obtaining such powerful and readily avable power? In the end, one can only follow the devil¡¯s path and fall from grace. These evil soul masters are the biggest enemies of the Guardian squad, and they are also the most difficult for us to deal with. But once we realise that an evil soul master has appeared, we must quickly eradicate them as fast as we can, because not only are they extremely destructive, but their growth is very rapid. Even though it is very difficult for an evil soul master to live too long a life, they can cause massive destruction in the years that they walk the face of the earth.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt enlightened, ¡°So it¡¯s like that! Thank you, senior brother!¡± Even though he¡¯d been on his guard around Dai Yueheng from the start, he couldn¡¯t help but admit that as an inner courtyard disciple, Dai Yueheng¡¯s knowledge and experience was far greater than his.

    ¡°Senior brother, I still have a question. Senior sister Ma said that we have toplete this mission in three days. We¡¯ve been progressing very quickly, but our academy is in the Heavenly Soul Empire, bordering the central north region of Star Luo Empire. On the other hand, Ming Dou Mountain is to the west of Star Luo Empire, and is more than a thousand miles away. We might not be able to hurry there in three days even if we were to give it our all! Let¡¯s not even talk about killing the enemy!¡±

 Chapter 69.2: Evil Soul Master

    Chapter 69.2: Evil Soul Master

    Dai Yueheng gave him a mysterious smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient, you¡¯ll know all about it in the afternoon. I believe that every single member of the preparatory team shares the same doubts as you. We¡¯re just an academy, but the amount of strength we have hidden is much greater than you can imagine. Regardless of whether we¡¯re talking about current students or ones who¡¯ve already graduated, every single person rted to the academy is a source of wealth. This includes manpower, and connections.¡±

    After a simple conversation, Huo Yuhao gradually got used to talking with Dai Yueheng. At the same time, he did his best to suppress his hatred to the depths of his heart. The two quickly became familiar with each other. Dai Yueheng wasn¡¯t as serious as he looked from the outside, and unlike his silent brother Dai Huabin, he was much more entertaining. During the journey, he shared a few interesting stories about his assignments as a Guardian, opening Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes to therger world. After all, travelling ten thousand miles was better than reading ten thousand books. Huo Yuhao began to recognise that he simply knew too little about the world. Whenpared to the entire Douluo Continent, he was still a piece of white paper which only had an outline of a drawing sketched on it.

    The swift journeysted all the way till midday before they stopped to rest. The students from the inner courtyard all had normal expressions, and their breathing was only slightly hurried at most. However, other than He Caitou, who¡¯d flown the entire journey with the assistance of a soul tool, the other three Soul Ancestors from the outer courtyard were drenched with sweat.

    Jiang Nannan was an agility-type soul master, and she had a nimble and agile body. As a result, she was left in a slightly better state. Though her sweat dripped from her body, her clothes weren¡¯t drenched. However, the assault-type Bei Bei and the defense-type Xu Sanshi were left in a miserable state. This was especially true for Xu Sanshi. He was the heaviest of the four, and he left a huge mark of water when hended on the ground.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, show off some of your abilities.¡± Ma Xiaotao put Wang Dong down, then turned towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Ah? Show what off?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, astonished.

    Ma Xiaotaoughed. ¡°What else? Food, of course! I don¡¯t think everyone here knows this, but at the very start, he sold roasted fish by the entrance to the academy every night to pay off his school fees.¡±

    ¡°Right, right. I approve. Yuhao¡¯s the best at this.¡± Xu Sanshi, who was panting violently on the ground, raised his hands and feet. His appearance looked somewhatical.

    Bei Beiughed, ¡°You really look like an overturned tortoise. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re the Xuanwu Turtle!¡±

    ¡°Psh¡­¡± Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t help butugh after hearing Bei Bei¡¯s words.

    Xu Sanshi was about to explode, but he immediately changed his expression after hearing Jiang Nannan¡¯sugh. He said angrily, ¡°Seeing as you amused the goddess in my heart, I¡¯ll forgive you.¡±

    At this moment, the gazes of everyone present were gathered on Huo Yuhao. Even Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t an exception to this. When everyone had been travelling earlier, there were no traces of him to be seen. When everyone stopped to rest, however, his alcohol-drinking, chicken-eating figure immediately appeared.

    Somewhat embarrassed, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°But, I have no ingredients. Actually, I only know how to make a few simple dishes. I don¡¯t know how to make anyplicated ones. I only brought a few seasonings.¡±

    ¡°Simple.¡± Elder Xuan suddenly appeared by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, and thetter was startled the moment he opened his mouth.

    ¡°Xiaotao, you¡¯re in charge of lighting a fire. Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, I¡¯ll give you a task. Go catch some fish, the more the better. Ling Luochen, Xi Xi, go catch some wild game. Gong Yangmo, go follow them.¡±

    Yao Haoxuan hurriedly raised his chest to volunteer himself. ¡°Elder Xuan, what about me?¡±

    Elder Xuan red at him unhappily, ¡°You? Just stay there obediently. Do you think this old man will eat something that a bastard like you spits out?¡±

    ¡°Urp¡­ actually, it¡¯s very clean.¡± Yao Haoxuan said tteringly.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to stay hungry, quickly get to work. Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re the chef today. Everyone else, go find some charcoal. Don¡¯t justze around.¡± As he spoke, Elder Xuan sauntered over to Huo Yuhao, then whispered, ¡°Is the roasted fish you make really delicious?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. ¡°It should be quite decent.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded, ¡°Then this old man will stay hungry for a bit to try your work. If I¡¯m not satisfied, humph humph, I¡¯ll make you wear tiny shoes in the academy.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry at seeing Elder Xuan¡¯s expression. Thetter seemed as though the heavens and the earth didn¡¯t matterpared to food.

    It had to be said that the elites of Shrek Academy were absolutely impressive atpleting tasks. Within a mere fifteen minutes, a sufficient amount of firewood was ced in front of Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d built a temporary stove by using the rocks around him.

    After a few more moments, Gong Yangmo, Xi Xi, and Ling Luochen returned with two hares, two pheasants, and even a plump deer in tow.

    ¡°Start, start.¡± Elder Xuan waved his bottle gourd at Huo Yuhao, signalling for thetter to start.

    As Huo Yuhao watched astonishedly, Ling Luochen revealed a delicate use of soul power. Under the effects of her Ice element, the five wild animals floated up into the air. Then, she stripped them, tidied them up, and cleaned them as though she was skillfully carving an ox. Within the blink of an eye, five cleaned up pieces of first-rate game appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.

    What a powerful control of Ice! Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly in praise. Although he had an Ultimate Ice martial soul, he was much, much weaker than Ling Luochen in terms of control.

    After peeling away the outeryer of wood from the charcoal, Huo Yuhao started cooking. Sure enough, he¡¯d brought a few seasonings along with him. Furthermore, there were quite a few types of them.

    Perhaps it was due to his destitute childhood, but even though he had a fixed amount of savings already, he still brought a few of these things along with him whenever he went out.

    The amount of oil that was present in these animals that had grown up in the wild was sufficient, and hence he didn¡¯t need to add too much oil. However, the most important thing was still his control of fire. Just like when he was roasting fish in the past, Huo Yuhao rubbed his own seasonings on the stomachs of the animals before starting to control the fire. His roasting technique was actually rather simple. After asking Ma Xiaotao to ignite the charcoal, he took a stick of dry wood and asionally prodded the charcoal within the stove. At the same time, he flipped the animals on the stove. The facts had once again proven that Spiritual Detection was rather good when cooking¡­

    After a while, the fragrant smell of meat started to diffuse outwards. The wild animals on the stove had turned an even, golden-yellow colour, and hissing sounds had begun to ring out from the stove as a result of the fat dripping into the fire. However, it was at this exact moment that the fragrance of the meat was at its strongest.

    Currently, Elder Xuan looked like a gluttonous child. He wasn¡¯t even drinking his alcohol as he squatted beside Huo Yuhao, waiting anxiously. Furthermore, he would even re viciously at the others who were swallowing their saliva, as if he were iming the area around Huo Yuhao as his own.

    At this moment, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng returned. From a distance, the two of them were able to smell the fragrance that came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s stove. They were greatly astonished at Huo Yuhao, who was busily working his skill in a familiar manner. He¡¯s only a second year student, which means that he isn¡¯t even thirteen. Just how is he this good at cooking?

    They¡¯d brought back the fish, and Chen Zifeng had even fashioned his outer shirt into a pocket that contained a clump of mushrooms. The delicate mushrooms even contained a few traces ofst night¡¯s dew, and their fresh and tender surface resembled the skin of a young girl.

    The two of them walked up to Huo Yuhao, and Dai Yueheng said, ¡°Yuhao, we¡¯ve brought the fish back.¡± The two of them had indeed brought back arge amount of fish. The two of them had brought back a total of seven to eight kilos worth of fish, and they¡¯d threaded them through using a string. As a result, the string resembled a bridge that separated him and Chen Zifeng by a total of five meters.

    Huo Yuhao looked up, then revealed a look of happiness as he looked at the mushrooms in Chen Zifeng¡¯s bosom, ¡°Two seniors, I need a wooden wok. Sister Ling, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to help clean these fishes. You don¡¯t have to descale them, just cleaning their innards is fine.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ling Luochen nodded. Unexpectedly, she revealed a seldom smile as she looked at the serious Huo Yuhao. Her impression of her seemingly-omnipotent junior brother grew increasingly deeper, and she couldn¡¯t help but think of her own naughty little brother.

    The problem of the wooden wok only needed two minutes to be resolved. Dai Yueheng used brute force to overturn arge three, then allowed Chen Zifeng¡¯s Soulchasing Sword to carve it up. Then, a perfectly roundrge wok appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. However, Ling Luochen quickly used her Ice element to clean it up as a result of the bloody smelling from the Soulchasing Sword.

    At this moment, the five wild animals were nearly cooked. The first of which to be finished were the two pieces of chicken.

    The moment Huo Yuhao took them off the grill, he instantly felt his hands lighten. A figure had already run off into the distance with two chickens in tow, only leaving behind the words ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you guys.¡±

    Yao Haoxuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh at this scene. ¡°A wild chicken¡¯s still a chicken! Elder Xuan should be called Elder Chicken.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to die?¡± An unclear voice suddenly exploded out like a bolt of thunder. Right after that, Yao Haoxuan was sent flying into the air,nding in the fork of a nearby tree as he let out a miserable wail.

    Xu Sanshi let out a muffledugh with his hand covering his mouth. ¡°Senior Yao actually called Elder Xuan a gay dude. Isn¡¯t he just waiting for a cmity to befall him?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded in agreement. ¡°Right. The gay dude¡¯s clearly you.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit, this brother of yours only likes girls. I like girls with big butts!¡± Xu Sanshi said indignantly. However, he didn¡¯t expect to see Jiang Nannan¡¯s murderous eyes again after he spoke. She humphed angrily, then left to the side.

    ¡°Fuck! Bei Bei, this old man wants to fight with you.¡± Xu Sanshi ran towards Bei Bei, red in the face.

    ¡°Then you¡¯d better not think of eating my junior brother¡¯s roasted meat.¡± Bei Bei said calmly.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s hand was about to touch Bei Bei¡¯s body, but he instantly stopped. He angrily stayed his hand. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take care of you once I¡¯m done eating. Bei Bei, do you know what I hate most about you?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head in a very serious manner, ¡°How is a man supposed to know what a pig is thinking?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xu Sanshi had no choice but to stay indignant due to Bei Bei¡¯s threat, ¡°This old man hates the fact that you keep spouting bullshit with an innocent look on your face. You¡¯re clearly an evil bastard. I really don¡¯t know why Xiao Ya likes you.¡±

 Chapter 69.3: Evil Soul Master

    Chapter 69.3: Evil Soul Master

    Bei Bei instantly replied, ¡°Because mine¡¯s bigger!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit.¡± Xu Sanshi immediately rose to his feet. ¡°Is yours as big as this daddy¡¯s?¡±

    Bei Bei raised his index and middle fingers towards Xu Sanshi. ¡°First off, I won¡¯tpare myself to shelled peanuts.¡± Afterwards, he put down his index finger, which left only his middle finger extended. ¡°Second, I was referring to my age.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± Xu Sanshi finally bared his fangs and pounced towards Bei Bei. However, it was at that exact instant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice distracted him.

    ¡°The rabbit¡¯s done.¡±

    To a human, being ripped apart by five horses was definitely one of the most miserable tortures they could suffer. However, the most appalling tragedy that could ur to two wild rabbits was being divided amongst ten or so people.

    The instant that Huo Yuhao spoke, the two rabbits were torn apart and scattered. This was a ssic example of there being too many wolves, yet too little meat! The funniest thing that Huo Yuhao took away from this was the fact that his seniors even had topete with each other in terms of strength while eating¡­

    Ma Xiaotao was the strongest of the lot, and was also the quickest. As such, she was also the first person to make her move. Dai Yueheng wasn¡¯t much slower than her, thus the two were able to split one of the roasted rabbits amongst themselves. The rest of them, on the other hand, had to split a single rabbit amongst them.

    Xu Sanshi was once again the most miserable of the lot. As an extremely slow defense-type soul master, he was only able to obtain a rabbit head.

    Of course, there were still a few people who were a bit worse off than him. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who had the lowest cultivation levels amongst the fourteen, didn¡¯t get anything. However, Huo Yuhao had managed to keep two rabbit legs for them when Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng had grabbed the first rabbit.

    There were too many wolves and not enough food. As such, Huo Yuhao¡¯s busy job had just began. He didn¡¯t begin roasting fish immediately. Instead, he had Ling Luochen fill the wooden wok with ice, then had Ma Xiaotao heat it till the ice had melted and begun to boil. Afterwards, he added the mushrooms that Chen Zifeng had brought back, then threw two fish into it.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s current appearance was definitely enough to overturn a country. In one hand, she held one half of a rabbit and ate it heartily, with her other hand she heated up the wooden wok using her phoenix mes. Her control over fire wasn¡¯t any less than Ling Luochen¡¯s control over ice, thus the water within the wooden wok gradually began to boil. Due to her meticulous control, only the outeryer of the wok started to cken; there were no signs of it being burnt.

    Huo Yuhao was even more skilled at roasting fish than they were at controlling fire. The stove wasrge enough for him to roast four fish at once.

    A fragrant smell soon began to diffuse outwards. By this point, the plump deer had almost was almost done.

    Even Teacher Wang Yan, who usually didn¡¯t have many requirements regarding food, was moved by the smell. He retrieved a few leather bags, each of which contained some ck-colored foodstuffs, then passed them to everyone present.

    These were the prepackaged meals that inner courtyard disciples usually ate when they went out on assignments; they were made using more than ten different types of medicinal herbs, alongside several refined ingredients that were highly nutritious. They had an extremely high amount of nutritional content, and could help one recover their physical strength in an extremely short period of time; they were very useful to inner courtyard disciples. However, there was just one problem with these foodstuffs: They didn¡¯t taste very good¡­

    Considering the fact that Wang Yan had tagged along this time, their current mission was rtively difficult. Not only did he have to serve as the leader of the team for the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, but he also had to deal with the logistics for the students. Considering Elder Xuan¡¯s personality, would he be the sort of guy to do something like this? The importance of his appearance was more to act as a deterrent.

    They all ate lunch together, beaming with joy. They had originally nned to rest for only an hour or two, but in the end, they stayed for over three hours.

    Everyone ate until they were filled to the brim. Both the fish¡¯s size and Huo Yuhao¡¯s cooking technique were more than enough to sate everyone¡¯s appetite. Once everyone had finished their meal, the seven seniors from the inner courtyard and the seven students from the outer courtyard immediately gathered together, which caused their rtionships to improve by a decent amount. This was especially true for Huo Yuhao, who had be the most popr of the bunch now.

    The thick soup that had been made with mushrooms and fish was also delicious. Huo Yuhao had only added a pinch of salt, but the soup tasted very good. The funniest thing was that, Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t been able to finish his soup because he¡¯d already eaten two chickens and four fish. However, he¡¯d taken out arge cbash and proceeded to pour half a wok of the soup into it, supposedly to finish it during their journey. Everyone else couldn¡¯t help but think of the phrase ¡®If you can¡¯t eat it all, you¡¯ll have to take it home¡¯, but nobody dared to say anything about it after what had happened to Yao Haoxuan.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ll carry you this time. I¡¯m not much slower than Dai Yueheng.¡± Yao Haoxuanughed cunningly.

    ¡°Forget about it,¡± Chen Zifeng said unhappily, ¡°it¡¯s already good that you can keep up with the rest of us. It¡¯d be best if an assault-type soul master like us did it instead. Junior brother, following your brother Chen can¡¯t go wrong. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of any ingredients you need in the future.¡±

    ¡°Ice is still more suited to be with Ice. I can also take you along with me.¡± The normally-cold Ling Luochen unexpectedly spoke up. The moment her words rang out, the entire ce turned silent. The Ice Lady, who was famous in the inner courtyard as such, had never spoken such nice words to a male before; she¡¯d never even been to a formal marriage interview held in the inner courtyard! Yet, she seemed to treat Huo Yuhao somewhat differently.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao ended up continuing onwards with Dai Yueheng. His reasoning was sufficient: One, his strength; secondly, to continue with his arrangements from the morning.

    The fourteen students were truly quite quick. Even though they¡¯d rested for such a long time, they¡¯d still obtained a sufficient amount nutrients. They finally arrived at the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire after two hours. When they arrived, arge army camp blocked the path in front of them.

    Dai Yueheng put Huo Yuhao down, then entered the barracks by himself. Huo Yuhao rapidly learned why Dai Yueheng had been so secretive in the morning.

    They didn¡¯t enter the barracks, yet Dai Yueheng borrowed more than ten military-grade flying-type soul tools.

    If a soul master wanted to fly, the only way for him to do so other than having a martial soul that could fly would be to wait until he¡¯d be a seven-ringed Soul Sage. However, one could only rely on pure soul power to fly short distances at that rank. Only Titled Douluo-ranked super experts were capable of flying extended distances.

    However, flying-type soul tools first began to appear in the Sun Moon Empire following the rapid development of soul tools. Their appearance brought about enormous trouble to the neighbouring Heavenly Soul and Star Luo Empires. The two countries used almost all of their strength to obtain the blueprints for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s flying-type soul tools, then manufactured their own.

    A flying-type soul tool could naturally only be utilised by soul masters, and it also had a rtively high cost of production. Normally, only soul masters with at least four soul rings could use one. The army didn¡¯t have many of these soul tools either; after all, four-ringed soul masters were simply too few in number!

    Despite this, Dai Yueheng had managed to borrow more than ten flying-type soul tools in one go; this wasn¡¯t something that a normal person could do. This made all sorts of feelings well up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Right! Dai Yueheng¡¯s father was the White Tiger Duke¡ªthemander of the Star Luo Empire. If he used his identity as the eldest son of the Duke¡¯s first wife, what did borrowing a few flying-type soul tools amount to?

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists when he thought of that person. Fortunately, arge part of his attention was drawn to the flying-type soul tools, thus he didn¡¯t lose hisposure in front of everyone else.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s flying-type soul tools were somewhat cumbersome. The main body of the soul tool was a meter-long, half-meter wide, and one-foot thick metallic box. The two sides of the box were connected to a set of folded wings, which would have a four-meter wingspan when they were unfurled. These ensured that the user would have enough buoyancy in midair.

    This wasn¡¯t their first time that the inner courtyard disciples had used a flying-type soul tool. However, Dai Yueheng patiently gave a simple tutorial to the students from the outer courtyard.

    The most important step in using a flying-type soul tool was the take-off, during which the user had to pour their soul power into the soul tool and shoot it towards the ground. The user could unfurl its wings once they¡¯d risen into the air, then could rely on the turbulence in the air to float. After that, they only needed to convert their downwards propulsion into a parallel one via the soul tool to be able to elerate in midair.

    However, there was a certain difficulty involved in the usage of a flying-type soul tool. Only a soul master with four or more soul rings could use one due to the amount of soul power required to reach an altitude of a certain level. If the user wasn¡¯t that strong, they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach that height, which in turn meant that they wouldn¡¯t have enough buoyancy to even float in the air, much less fly.

    At that moment, a problem arose due to Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao¡¯s cultivation levels. However, there was a more pragmatic solution to this, which was rtively simple. That solution was for them to let someone else bring them into the sky, then let that person fly using the flying-type soul tool.

    Of course, it was somewhat simpler for Wang Dong, as he could fly in the first ce! It wouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to rely on the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings to rise into the air, then fly forwards with the flying-type soul tool. Thus, the real problemy with Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t use the flying-type soul tool that Dai Yueheng had brought over, as he¡¯d brought one himself. Furthermore, his one was much morepact and delicate. His was only half the size of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s, while its wings were somewhat smaller. Despite this, it was clearly more effective. Not only had he brought one for himself, he¡¯d also brought one for Huo Yuhao as well.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Students from the outer courtyard, go practice using your flying-type soul tools for a bit. Students from the inner courtyard, you¡¯re responsible for teaching and protecting them.¡±

    Dai Yueheng had originally nned to help Huo Yuhao, but he now had no choice but to extinguish this thought when he saw He Caitou helping thetter get used to the delicate flying-type soul tool made by the Soul Tool Department.

    As He Caitou helped Huo Yuhao put on the flying-type soul tool, he said, ¡°Yuhao, once you reach a higher level of cultivation, our teacher will teach you how to make a flying-type soul tool. The soul tools made by our Soul Tool Department only need their users to have three or more soul rings, and they¡¯re more economical with their use of soul power. However, these aren¡¯t the most advanced types of flying-type soul tools on the market. Supposedly, the Sun Moon Empire has managed to add a special gem that¡¯s capable of storing and replenishing soul power to their flying-type soul tools. Even a one-ringed soul master is able to use them once it¡¯s stored enough soul power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°Can soul power even be stored in a soul tool?¡±

    He Caitou smiled bitterly. ¡°Exactly. Currently, this is the greatest gap between us and the Sun Moon Empire. However, it isn¡¯t that easy toplete this piece of research. The Sun Moon Empire wants to allow ordinary people to use soul tools, however if a day like that trulyes, a great war would be inevitable.¡±

 Chapter 70.1: Flying-type Soul Tool

    Chapter 70.1: Flying-type Soul Tool

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart immediately go cold. Right! If ordinary people could master the use of soul tools¡ªeven if it was only the lowest-ranked Soul Ray¡ªthen an army of over tens of thousand soldiers equipped with soul tools could be created. How terrifying would such a thing be!?

    ¡°Senior brother, then can you exin why our Tang Sect declined? In any case, ordinary people aren¡¯t able to use soul tools yet. However, our mechanical hidden weapons don¡¯t need soul power!

    Bei Bei, who was attempting to fly, sighed when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°They¡¯re trying to ovepensate. Furthermore, the army¡¯s best long distance weapon is still the bow and arrow. Our hidden weapons have quite a short range of effectiveness, while their cost of production is very high due to the quality of the materials we use. As such, the army naturally wouldn¡¯t equip itself with our weapons. In the past, we mainly sold our hidden weapons torge-scale sects. However, they¡¯ve since switched to soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a sh inspiration flit through his mind, but he wasn¡¯t able to tell just what this inspiration had been about.

    ¡°Yuhao,e here. Let¡¯s test out our flying-type soul tools. The process should be rtively smooth. Here, I¡¯ll help you up.¡± Once he¡¯d finished, He Caitou grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm, then released two beams of white light from the flying-type soul tool on his back, which propelled the two into the air.

    The feeling of one¡¯s feet leaving the ground was somewhat mystical, yet was also terrifying; after all, this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time flying.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s had already begun to help Xiao Xiao fly on the other side, albeit with some screeching on Xiao Xiao¡¯s part.

    To use a flying-type soul tool, one first had to gather one¡¯s thoughts, then needed to channel their soul power from their back into the core formation of the flying-type soul tool in order to produce a propulsive force. The contraption had a few buttons on it for the sake of adjusting its wingspan. However, arger wingspan didn¡¯t necessarily mean a that one would fly faster; that was determined based off the change in one¡¯s turbulence. As long as the user was able to maintain a high amount of forwards momentum, they wouldn¡¯t fall down.

    As Huo Yuhao was a soul engineer, controlling such a soul tool didn¡¯t pose a challenge to him. Right now, all he needed to do was learn how to control his bnce.

    However, he couldn¡¯t really calm down at the moment; he was currently distracted by the astonished voices of both the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who were currently engaged in a conversation in his mind.

    ¡°The humans actually have something like this. Isn¡¯t this equivalent to simply putting on a set of wings?¡± The Ice Empress asked, astonished.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°The reason that humans¡ªnot soul beasts like you and I¡ªare ruling the continent, is mainly due to the disparity in our creativeness! When I was in the Great Star Dou Forest, I saw even more powerful soul tools. Those weapons were truly terrifying; even hundred thousand year soul beasts didn¡¯t dare to take them head-on.¡±

    The Ice Empress said in a somewhat lonely voice, ¡°The life of a human is truly much more colorful than that of a soul beasts. I¡¯ve lived for nearly four hundred thousand years, yet I only have ice and snow in my memories.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm hurriedly consoled her, ¡°Aren¡¯t things different now? Isn¡¯t this proof that you¡¯ve made the right decision? We¡¯ll definitely see more interesting things as we watch Little Yuhao grow up! Unfortunately, we can¡¯t just spoil him. If we could, I¡¯d have considered making him more powerful quicker.¡±

    The Ice Empress sighed. ¡°This is rather good, I guess. Only, I¡¯m not to sure how the Snow Empress is faring. Her situation isn¡¯t much different from my previous one. Actually, she might be in an even more dangerous position than I was. I¡¯m afraid that she won¡¯t be able to make it past her next bottleneck!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t we head back and retrieve Snow Empress as well?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re trying to die, don¡¯t bring me along,¡± The Ice Empress unhappily said, ¡°don¡¯t tell me that you think you can persuade her. At that time, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that you¡¯d trapped me and threatened my very existence, do you think that I¡¯d have chosen this sort of passive route that I can¡¯t control? The Snow Empress can control her desires even more than I can. Furthermore, she¡¯s the true master of the Extreme North. It¡¯s impossible for her willing to in a state like this, where she¡¯d be attached to a human.¡±

    The Skydream Icewormughed mischievously. ¡°That isn¡¯tpletely impossible! If she were to fall in love with me, she might risk everything to be together with me.¡±

    ¡°Have you no shame!? Don¡¯t me me for not telling you this! When the Titan Snow Devil King tried to ask the Snow Empress out, do you know what happened? All of the bones in his body, including his skull, were crushed by her! It took him over a thousand years to recover his strength. And that¡¯s only because the Snow Empress decided to leave him a trace of his life due to the wisp of the Ice God¡¯s bloodline he possessed. If you want to be crushed into a gallon of juice by the Snow Empress, you¡¯d best get far away from this ce first.¡±

    ¡°Eep, I was just joking, just joking! The only person I love is you. Who cares about some Snow Empress? She¡¯s just some fleeting clouds, some fleeting clouds!¡± The Skydream Iceworm said in an extremely resolute tone.

    The Ice Empress snorted coldly. ¡°Get your evil spiritual power away from me. The Snow Empress can undergo a metamorphosis utilizing her innate skill, and she¡¯s already managed to break through various cmities. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she shouldn¡¯t be to far from her seventh cmity now. I hope that she seeds.¡±

    While they spoke, Huo Yuhao had already begun to control his flying-type soul tool. The omni-assisting Spiritual Detection once again yed a wonderful role in this: He was able to clearly detect the changes in turbulence in the air, and urately react by changing the angle of his wings. It only took him a short while of testing to master flying in a straight line. Afterwards, he began attempting to glide through the air. On the other side, Xiao Xiao had already fallen from the air thrice. If it weren¡¯t for Ma Xiaotao, she would¡¯ve been smashed into several pieces already¡­

    Even Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and the rest had trembled in fear when they¡¯d first tried out their flying-type soul tools. Despite their experience, they still needed a certain amount of time to familiarise themselves with its usage.

    Good things naturally couldn¡¯t be enjoyed by just a single person. The others were soon able to enjoy the aid of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. After an hour of practice, everyone was at least able to stay in the air. Once everyone had reached this point, they all naturally entered a state of meditation to recover their soul power, then took flight again.

    For the sake of receiving the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the outer courtyard disciples all gathered behind him. Wang Yan was now above them, while Elder Xuan had disappeared off to some unknown ce again. With Ma Xiaotao in the lead, the seven from the inner courtyard opened up a path in the shape of a ¡®V¡¯ and flew straight ahead at full speed.

    The greatest advantage of flying was the fact that one wouldn¡¯t be blocked by the terrain; instead, one could take the shortest path to one¡¯s destination. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how his seniors were able to keep track of their bearings, but all he needed to do right now was maintain his Spiritual Detection in order to help out his teammates around him.

    At this moment, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were practically inseperable. Wang Dong was flying beneath him, and had unfurled his flying-type soul tool¡¯s wings. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao had stretched his hands out and was currently holding onto his neck.

    The moment they¡¯d started to fly like this, they¡¯d suffered questions from the others. However, the two of them naturally wouldn¡¯t talk about the Haodong Power. As a result, they both shook their heads mysteriously at the others¡¯ questions.

 Chapter 70.2: Flying-type Soul Tool

    Chapter 70.2: Flying-type Soul Tool

    With the Haodong Power circting through their bodies, their flight speed wasn¡¯t one whit inferior to that of Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, or He Caitou¡¯s. Unlike Xiao Xiao, who had a rope tied to her waist¡ªwhich made her look like a kite as she was pulled along by Ma Xiaotao¡ªthey were able to fly by themselves.

    The others were asionally able to faintly see a faint golden light momentarily appear on Wang Dong¡¯s body. Afterwards, that faint golden light would gradually flow from his body to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    ¡ª-

    They were able to fly a total of five hundred miles in two hours, but this was their limit, due to the outer courtyard disciples with rtively lower cultivation levels. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had actually been able to persist without the assistance of any outside parties, much to the surprise of the inner courtyard disciples.

    Due to their earlier hold-up, the sky had already begun to dim by the time that theynded to rest.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good; we won¡¯t make it in time. This old man will carry you guys for a while.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang out as his leisurely figure materialized from the nearby forest, as if he¡¯d instantaneously teleported there.

    ¡°However, before we set off, I¡¯m a bit hungry. You guys should know what to do!¡± Elder Xuan walked over to Huo Yuhao with a smile on his face, then patted his shoulder with a somewhat encouraging look.

    This time around, they didn¡¯t need Elder Xuan to divide them up. Everyone immediately took up their positions, while the cook, Huo Yuhao, had to enter the limelight again before he¡¯d even had the chance to recover his soul power.

    Besides the Haodong Power, arge reason that he and Wang Dong had been able tost for two hours was due to thetter¡¯s Golden Light left arm bone. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they¡¯d been able to continuously recover their soul power throughout the journey, they would¡¯ve been exhausted already.

    They weren¡¯t able to find any fish for dinner, but the smell of wild game couldn¡¯t be any easier for them to track. Combined with a few mountain berries and bamboo shoots, they once again enjoyed another sumptuous meal. The inner courtyard disciples were so pleased that they praised Huo Yuhao incessantly; with Huo Yuhao present, it was practically like they were on vacation.

    It took another two hours for them to finish dinner, and it also took quite a while for everyone to recover their soul power afterwards. The sky had already turned dark by the time that everyone had fully recovered. Fortunately, the stars lit up the evening sky, so their sight wasn¡¯t impeded.

    Huo Yuhao was the person least affected by the darkness. With the visual acuity his Spirit Eyes granted him, there wasn¡¯t much difference between nighttime and daytime to him.

    ¡°Here, fasten this to your waist.¡± Wang Yan passed a long length of rope to Huo Yuhao. The rope had a specialised lock fashioned to one end of it, such that it could be fastened to a person¡¯s waist and thigh. The entire rope was over thirty meters long.

    Huo Yuhao took the rope and fastened it to himself. He already knew that a rope such as this was meant to be used alongside a flying-type soul tool. When there were soul masters with different cultivation levels, using a rope like this would allow the soul master with the higher cultivation level to take the one with a lower cultivation level along with them, so as to increase the joint distance flown by the two people, thus allowing the two to maintain a quicker flying speed.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only person to receive a rope; everyone else did as well, including Wang Yan. Once everyone had received a rope, the ends to all of them were handed to Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Little fes, you¡¯ll have to do your best to protect yourselves in a bit. Once we ascend, everyone should maintain a forwards-facing position. Once I give you the signal, activate your soul power to prevent yourselves from being injured by the turbulence around us. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s going to make a move? Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind shook. He Caitou, who was behind him, rose into the air with him in tow.

    Nobody could see what Elder Xuan had done, but a flying-type soul tool that was half as thick as Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s had appeared on his back. A set of dark-red wings quickly unfurled until they were about two meters or so wide, which wasn¡¯t considered too wide. However, there were twelve thrusters on the ends of his wings. It had to be known that the militarised versions of the flying-type soul tools, along with even Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s ones, only had two thrusters! Just what sort of flying-type soul tool was this?

    Huo Yuhao quickly understood what these twelve thrusters signified. Once everyone had gotten into a forwards-facing position in the air, Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Is everyone ready? Three, two, one, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Following Elder Xuan¡¯s shout, all twelve thrusters on his wings simultaneously burst into life with zing white light. Immediately afterwards, Huo Yuhao felt arge burst of force at his waist. Due to the enormous tension acting on him, the wings on his back automatically slightly withdrew. Afterwards, he wasn¡¯t able to clearly see his surroundings anymore.

    At the same time, the ear-piercing whistlesing from the turbulence around him affected his hearing. After only a few short seconds, he found it somewhat intolerable. Merely relying on his soul power to protect his body didn¡¯t seem to be sufficient anymore.

    Wang Dong was still holding on to his legs from below, but he wasn¡¯t in a much better condition either. Their Haodong Power circted at high speed through their bodies, while the golden-reddish coloring from his left arm flickered unceasingly as it protected his own body.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to be negligent; he immediately released the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, which caused a resplendentyer of crystalline diamonds to cover the surface of his body. This was the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor.

    Sure enough, the pressure that had envelop him immediately lessened the moment that he activated the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. Huo Yuhao also tried to release his Spiritual Detection in order to check his surroundings, but to quickly discovered, to his astonishment, that he wasn¡¯t able to release his soul skill more than a foot away from him.

    This¡­ just what was going on?

    ¡°You¡¯re travelling too quickly. As such, your spiritual power is being severed and scattered the moment it leaves your body. Be a bit more obedient and don¡¯t try to do anything else. That human¡¯s really strong.¡± The Skydream Iceworm gave Huo Yuhao a timely reminder.

    The Ice Empress was somewhat unresigned. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t even be my opponent if it was the previous me.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm immediately changed his tone and said, ¡°That¡¯s because my Bing Bing is awesome!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    As he was only using a defensive soul skill, the drain on his soul power wasn¡¯t toorge. After using the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor for a period of time, Huo Yuhao switched over to a ss 2 Soul Shield, which had a decent amount of defensive capabilities. At the very least, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems with it protecting his body from the turbulent wind.

    The pinnacle level of speed that Elder Xuan was travelling at made Huo Yuhao made it so that he was only able to sense a patch of pitch-ckness. Even raising his head to see the stars and moonlight was impossible. As a result, he could only do his best to protect himself. This was Elder Xuan¡¯s strength! Anybody could remain in equilibrium in mid-air using a flying-type soul tool, and the air didn¡¯t normally have much resistance at all. However, Elder Xuan was actually able to travel at such a terrifying speed by himself with so many people in tow! Just how could this be exined using the word ¡®strength¡¯ alone?

    Previously, they¡¯d travelled around four to five hundred miles in a timespan of two hours. Now, if they were to travel for two entire hours, would they really just stop at a thousand miles?

 Chapter 71.1: White Tiger Dukes Mansion

    <strong>Chapter 71.1: White Tiger Duke''s Mansion</strong>

    Western border of the Star Luo Empire.

    It

    was already so deep into the night that you couldn¡¯t see the stars or

    the moon anymore. In fact, it was so dark that, in the wilderness, you

    couldn¡¯t even see your hand if you were to hold it up in front of your

    face. This time of night was the darkest part of the night, as it was

    right before the sun would rise in the faraway east, and a new day would

    begin.

    But at that instant, a white light cut through the sky,

    leaving behind a magnificent glowing tail; it seemed as if the sky had

    suddenly been cleaved in two.

    This white light looked like a meteor that was descending towards the earth. However, it seemed to be slowing down as it fell.

    Suddenly,

    it grewrger, and the white light transformed into a huge tform

    that was dozens of meters in diameter. Afterwards, several ck forms

    slowly descended to the earth from the tform.

    ¡°Ou¡­¡±

    ¡°Ou¡ª¡±

    The

    sound of people retching continuously echoed in the night air. Once the

    white light had disappeared, the dozen-or-so figures that had appeared

    were either staggering, squatting on the ground, or leaning against tree

    trunks. Furthermore, over half of them were in the process of vomiting.

    ¡°You

    all have some skills after all.¡± A hoarse voice echoed. An old man with

    greasy clothes came forwards, arge cbash in hand. Afterwards, he

    took arge swig of alcohol. This man was one of the elders of the

    sacred Sea God¡¯s Pavilion of Shrek Academy, and was also themander

    of the Shrek Guardians, Elder Xuan.

    All of the pale-faced figures who were currently puking were obviously the students he¡¯d brought along.

    Even

    the likes of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were in a sorry state; they

    were having a hard time suppressing their gastric fluids.

    He

    Caitou and Xu Sanshi were in the worst state of those with a higher

    level of cultivation; they were almost unable to suppress their bile.

    Who told them to have thergest bodies amongst the disciples of the

    outer courtyard?

    Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong all threw up

    several times. Luckily, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had the protection of

    thetter¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone, which had sustained itself with

    their Haodong Power that they had continuously circted during their

    turbulent journey. As such, they were slightly better off than the

    others.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the others on the preparatory

    team had thought that their schoolmates were extremely strong. Yet,

    compared to Elder Xuan, everyone from the official team were nothing.

    Elder

    Xuan had carried the fifteen of them here by himself; he¡¯d maintained

    that incredible speed for over four hours, crossing what appeared to be

    over 1500 miles. Furthermore, if you were topare his current

    appearance to that of before he¡¯d begun, you wouldn¡¯t find any

    differences. This might have something to do with his flying-type soul

    tool, but the main reason was due to Elder Xuan¡¯s boundless soul power!

    Of course, his soul tool had been an important factor too; even if it

    was Elder Xuan, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to fly whilst carrying more

    than ten people for so long with just his power alone. From this, it

    should be seen just how important soul tools were for the Douluo

    Continent.

    ¡°Little Dai!¡± Elder Xuanzily called out.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s face twitched, but he still stepped forward and respectfully said, ¡°Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder

    Xuan said, ¡°When I descended to the ground just now, it created arge

    ruckus. The army should¡¯ve discovered us by now. We¡¯re currently only

    about 25 kilometers away from the western army of the Star Luo Empire.

    They¡¯ll probably send someone over here in soon. Go and take care of it

    while I take a nap. Your body will be weak when your old like me!

    Luckily, today¡¯s food was quite good.¡± Once he¡¯d finished speaking, his

    muttering figure disappeared without a trace.

    As expected, several figures descended from the sky not long afterwards. They were headed towards them.

    Dai

    Yueheng raised his hand towards the sky, then punched the air.

    Immediately afterwards, a ball of white light appeared around three

    meters above his head, then slowly spread upwards and morphed into a

    white halo.

    The figures that were descending from the sky

    immediately locked onto their position, and a total of thirty men d

    in tight-fitting ck leather armornded on the ground.

    The

    flying-type soul tools they wearing were also ck, although they were

    slightly different from the ones that Shrek¡¯s group had previously

    received from the army. Their quality seemedparable to the one

    manufactured by He Caitou.

    When they¡¯d reached the ground, they

    quickly encircled Shrek¡¯s group. Their leader, an old man with a cold

    expression, then stepped forward.

    ¡°Who are you and why did you use

    a flying-type soul tool to approach our army?¡± After he¡¯d said this,

    the old man and the soldiers all released their martial souls.

    The

    surrounding area was instantly lit up from the dazzling radiance of

    their soul rings. What was surprising was that the old man in front was a

    Soul Sage. He had three yellow soul rings, two purple, and two ck.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t the bestbination, it was still quite

    incredible.

    All of the soul masters he¡¯d brought along all had at

    least four soul rings as well. Furthermore, there were also several Soul

    Kings among them. However, the youngest of them appeared to be in their

    thirties.

    The white tiger¡¯s head engraved on their leather armor

    gave off a pale white glow beneath the radiance of their soul rings.

    It¡¯s head was veryrge, and covered the majority of the leather armor.

    It looked lifelike and was quite awe-inspiring.

    Thirty men, all

    of which were at least Soul Ancestors¡­ this was quite the disy of

    power. It wasn¡¯t surprising that they¡¯d been able to arrive so quickly

    using flying-type soul tools.

    ¡°Old Du, you don¡¯t recognize me?¡± Dai Yueheng smiled as he stepped forward.

    The

    old man was immediately taken aback. He shone his soul ring¡¯s light on

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s face and carefully scrutinized it. When he confirmed who

    it was, he was slightly surprised. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s the young master! What are

    you doing here? And who are these people¡­?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re also students

    of Shrek Academy,¡± Dai Yueheng replied with a faint smile, ¡°I sent a

    letter to father earlier. Is he here right now?¡±

    The old man in

    front of Dai Yueheng¡¯s was a member of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion

    known as Du Leisi. He¡¯d apanied the White Tiger Duke through several

    different fronts, and had obtained outstanding achievements. Besides

    his great power, he also possessed the title of Viscount in the Star Luo

    Empire. The reason he¡¯d called Dai Yueheng ¡®young master¡¯ rather than

    ¡®young duke¡¯ was due to the Dai Family¡¯s strict rules. For one to

    inherit the duke¡¯s title, they needed to be the most outstanding out of

    all of the the Duke¡¯s consanguineous sons. Therefore, even though he¡¯d

    already grown up, Dai Yueheng still needed to rely on his own ability to

    inherit the title. This was also why the other two sons of the Dai

    Family were trying so hard to be stronger, as they were the only two

    sons of the Duke¡¯s main wife. As for the sons of concubines, only Huo

    Yuhao existed. However, at this point, even the White Tiger Duke himself

    must¡¯ve forgotten about him.

    Du Leisi raised his hand, after

    which all of the soldiers withdrew their martial souls. ¡°I see. The

    commander should be in the military camp. He should already be up for

    his morning exercise. I¡¯ll lead you and your friends to him.¡±

    Dai

    Yueheng smiled bitterly. ¡°Just look at us, do you really think that we

    can travel as we are? Let us rest a bit; we¡¯ll see father once we¡¯ve

    recovered.¡±

    Du Leisi said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll send someone to make a

    report to the Duke,¡± then called over a Soul King-ranked subordinate and

    told him a few things to ry. The Soul King jumped up after Du Leisi

    had finished and used his flying-type soul tool to return to the

    military camp.

    Even though his insides were currently a mess, when

    Huo Yuhao heard the discussion between Dai Yueheng and Du Leisi, Huo

    Yuhao¡¯s mood changed drastically. His pale face had be red due to

    the excitement he felt.

    He hadn¡¯t imagined that he¡¯d be able to

    meet that person whilst participating in the Elite Continental Soul

    Master Academy Tournament. Would he really be able to see him?

    Half of his life hade from this man. Yet, ever since the day he¡¯d been born, he¡¯d never once seen this ¡®father¡¯ of his.

    Huo

    Yuhao¡¯s memory regarding him consisted of a single picture: It was the

    picture of him that his mother used to draw on the ground with a tree

    branch. When she had, his mother¡¯s eyes would be full of gentleness

    and devotion

    Huo Yuhao remembered his mother say that the fact

    that she¡¯d been able to stay together with him and bear his son were the

    best things that had happened in her life. She wouldn¡¯t regret her

    actions, even if she wasn¡¯t ever able to see him again.

    <em>Was he really such a great person?</em> Huo Yuhao clenched his fist so tightly that his nails left deep marks in his palms.

    ¡°Will

    he recognize you?¡± Wang Dong gently whispered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    Only he was privy to Huo Yuhao¡¯s background. As such, he was a little

    anxious right now; he was worried for Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shook

    his head lightly. How could he possibly recognize him if he hadn¡¯t ever

    seen him? Inside of the Duke¡¯s Mansion, he was nothing more than a small

    handyman inferior to even the domestic servants. Moreover, his

    appearance had gone through an earth-shaking transformation over the

    last year.

    Wang Dong could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was as taut

    as a wire. Thus, he reminded him in a low voice, ¡°Waiting ten years to

    take revenge isn¡¯t too long for a wise man. Yuhao, try to calm down a

    bit.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. He knew that he had to stay calm. However, doing so was easier said than done!

    After

    two hours of rest, they¡¯d more or less recovered from the aftereffects

    of their flight. Theirplexions were still ugly, but they¡¯d recovered

    most of their soul power and physical strength. Currently, even if a

    true delicacy were ced front of them, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to

    touch it.

    Dai Yueheng informed everyone of Du Leisi and the other

    soul masters¡¯ background. They were all soldiers who¡¯d been personally

    chosen by the White Tiger Duke, the White Tiger Bodyguards. They only

    followed the Duke¡¯s orders, and also resided in the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    Of

    those in the White Tiger bodyguards, everyone was at least a Soul

    Elder. Moreover, one¡¯s families needed to have held a position inside

    the Duke¡¯s Mansion for at least three generation before one was eligible

    to be one of the White Tiger Bodyguards. Therefore, besides them

    being very strong, they were also extremely loyal.

    The White Tiger

    Bodyguards had a total of five hundred members and were the White Tiger

    Duke¡¯s biggest trump card. They had several different types of soul

    tools, and they were always present at the Duke¡¯s side. Wherever he

    went, they went. Of course, the treatment they received was also the

    best. Every single one of them had their own residences inside of the

    Duke¡¯s Mansion. As such, it was obvious how important they were to the

    Duke.

    When he¡¯d lived inside of the Duke¡¯s Mansion, Huo Yuhao had

    also seen the White Tiger bodyguards a few times. But because of his

    status at the time, it had been impossible for him to even approach

    them.

 Chapter 71.2: White Tiger Dukes Mansion

    <strong>Chapter 71.2: White Tiger Duke''s Mansion</strong>

    Now

    that they¡¯d recovered, everyone once again ascended into the air. After

    being tormented by Elder Xuan, they all began to enjoy the feeling of

    flying slowly. At the very least, theirplexions improved somewhat

    from doing so. If one were to use Elder Xuan¡¯s previous speed along with

    both his strength and his flying-type soul tool as references, they¡¯dd

    be able to calcte that Elder Xuan would be able to travel to any

    corner of the entire Douluo continent within a week. Huo Yuhao was

    growing more and more curious about Elder Xuan¡¯s true strength. The

    latter shouldn¡¯t be just any Titled Douluo; it was likely that even Dean

    Yan Shaozhe wouldn¡¯t be able topete with Elder Xuan in cultivation

    alone.

    At that moment, the sky had already begun to brighten; the

    sun had risen from the east and bathed their bodies in a faint golden

    glow.

    Arge military camp slowly appeared in front of them. This

    camp was set up right next to the mountains, while a few more camps

    were visible in the Ming Dou Mountain Range itself.

    The word

    ¡®military camp¡¯ was somewhat inurate; the undting cotton walls to

    the west of the camp were over thirty meters tall and nearly fifty

    meters wide. Just howrge of a project was this!?

    Even though it

    wasn¡¯t quite daytime yet, an endless number of military carriages that

    were carrying blocks of stone away from the mountains could still be

    seen.

    At that moment, Dai Yueheng was flying rtively close to

    Huo Yuhao. Their rtionship had deepened slightly after their previous

    talk. He smiled and asked, ¡°Yuhao, is this your first time visiting an

    army camp?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Seemingly familiar with the

    matter, Dai Yueheng exined, ¡°The southern, eastern, and southeastern

    regions of our Star Luo Empire borders the ocean. We¡¯re second only to

    the Sun Moon Empire in size. Our army consists of two sub-armies: the

    Eastern Army and the Northern Army. Of these, the Eastern Army is the

    most important, as it has to guard against the Sun Moon Empire. Its

    total military strength numbers around five hundred thousand.¡±

    ¡°The

    Ming Dou Mountain Range has treacherous and ever-changing terrain,

    making it extremely hard for troops to march through. Furthermore, every

    country now has specialised soul masters who scout the mountain range

    every day. Both the Sun Moon Empire and our empire station our troops at

    a rtively low-lying part of the mountain range that¡¯s advantageous

    for them, of which there are only three in the entire mountain range.

    The mountain range itself spreads towards the south, and takes up almost

    two-thirds of the border; the other third is a soul beast-containing

    forest that¡¯s around half the size of the Great Star Dou Forest. This

    forest is known as the Great Ming Dou Forest, and is an area popted

    by a variety of soul beasts. It isn¡¯t as dangerous to us soul masters as

    the Great Star Dou Forest, but it¡¯s even more dangerous than the former

    to an army. This is due to the fact that the soul beasts there are even

    more aggressive than the ones in the Great Star Dou Forest. It¡¯s

    because of this, that we¡¯ve stationed our troops at rtively low-lying

    parts of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    ¡°Oh, right. Yuhao, I haven¡¯t asked you this yet, but where are you from?¡±

    Huo

    Yuhao had originally calmed down somewhat when he heard Dai Yueheng¡¯s

    exnation, but his expression changed yet again when he heard this

    question. He lowered his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m also a citizen of the Star

    Luo Empire.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Which part of the Star Luo Empire? I didn¡¯t

    think that we¡¯d be fellow citizens!¡± The smile on Dai Yueheng¡¯s face

    grew muchrger.

    ¡°A small vige near Star Luo City,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m sure that you wouldn¡¯t have heard of it.¡±

    Dai

    Yueheng chuckled. ¡°Even better! Not only are we fellow citizens, we¡¯re

    even from the same area. I also grew up near Star Luo City!¡±

    As

    the two conversed with each other, they arrived at the army camp.

    However, the White Tiger Bodyguards who were leading the way didn¡¯t

    descend. Du Leisi, who¡¯d led the pack, raised his right hand and

    released something simr to a re that released a multicoloured

    array of light. Afterwards they continued forwards unobstructed.

    However,

    Huo Yuhao was able to tell with his visual acuity that arge number

    of defensive fortifications had immediately reacted the moment they¡¯d

    approached the barracks. A somber atmosphere seemed to have pervaded the

    entire camp. Even though it was still early in the morning, arge

    number of soldiers had already begun their training drills. Not only

    were they orderly, but they also released an awe-inspiringly murderous

    air; they seemed like a pack of iron-blooded lions.

    ¡°The Eastern

    Army has the most elite troops within the Star Luo Empire,¡± Dai Yueheng

    proudly said. ¡°The hundred thousand men from the Central Legion you see

    in front of us are elites amongst elites.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao

    hadn¡¯t ever seen his biological father before, he was still somewhat

    aware of the inner workings of the White Tiger Dukedom. As the marshal

    of the empire, the White Tiger Dukemanded the Eastern Army. At the

    same time, he was also the Legion Commander of the Eastern Army¡¯s

    Central Legion. The amount of trust that the Star Luo Empire¡¯s imperial

    family had in him could be seen from this. Supposedly, the hundred

    thousand men in the Central Legion were enough to rival thebined

    fighting strength of all of the other soldiers in the Star Luo Empire.

    Although this was somewhat of an exaggeration, the strength of the

    Central Legion could be clearly seen with a single nce.

    They

    flew past one barrack after another. Once they¡¯d flown for nearly

    fifteen minutes more, arge, leather tent appeared in their field of

    vision.

    This leather tent was muchrger than the other army

    tents. Furthermore, it was hexagonal in shape, and was made entirely of

    dark-brown leather. There weren¡¯t too many guards around it. Only two

    squads of the White Tiger Bodyguards, each of which numbering about

    thirty, patrolled the perimeter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze quicklynded

    on a single person who was standing in front of therge tent. Although

    their figure was somewhat unclear, he was still able to sense a

    startling pressure from them; it was the sort of tyrannical pressure

    that came from thebination of a powerful cultivation and an aura of

    ughter. That person seemed to be training his fists, though he hadn¡¯t

    released his martial soul. His movements were simple and sinct, yet a

    muffled explosion of air would appear whenever he punched outwards.

    Du

    Leisi, who¡¯d been flying in front, slowed down, then descended along

    with everyone behind him. They began to sense the violent fluctuations

    in the air when they were a hundred or meters in the air.

    Huo

    Yuhao focused his gaze and was able to clearly see the man in front of

    them. He was currently facing towards them, his golden hair fluttering

    freely about in the wind. His upper body was naked, which revealed his

    rugged, copper-colored muscles. His tall figure was almost two meters in

    height, and one could see just how stalwart his chiseled face was from

    the side.

    His seemingly slow movements had a very natural and

    flowing tempo to them. Every step he took and every punch he released

    were followed by a muffled explosion of air. The valiant undtions of

    qi and blood he was releasing had reached the very pinnacle, which in

    turn caused Huo Yuhao to feel his blood roil about somewhat as he

    continued to stare.

    That man slowly pulled back his fist, then

    stood up straight as if he¡¯d sensed their arrival. He exhaled, inhaled

    deeply, then released a lion-like roar. A gale instantly erupted in the

    several hundred meters surrounding the leather tent; it truly resembled

    the descent of an actual lion. The stern auraing from him caused

    every single disciple of Shrek Academy to feel their hair stand on end.

    The

    pressure that Ma Xiaotao emanated during battle was already rtively

    astonishing, but she was still quite a ways away from the tall man in

    front of them.

    <em>Is that him?</em> Huo Yuhao was stunned, and

    all sorts of mixed feelings suddenly arose in his heart. He¡¯d never

    expected to meet his father in such a situation. Was this the man that

    his mother could never forget? The man who she held no regret for, even

    when shey on her deathbed?

    As everyone slowlynded, the

    foremost Du Leisi had already stepped forward. He bowed slightly and

    said, ¡°Marshal, the young master and people from Shrek Academy have

    arrived.¡±

    Everyone was able to see his full appearance at this

    point: He didn¡¯t look a day over thirty, and his facial features were

    proper. His deep azure eyes each contained flickering pupils. He looked

    somewhat thin, yet his entire body gave off a metallic feeling. This was

    especially true of his gaze, which flickered like an enormous de as

    it swept across everyone, which caused them to involuntarily stop

    moving. However, his gaze quickly turned warm.

    Handsome, stalwart,

    tall, and an iron-blooded temperament. When they saw him, even the

    Heaven¡¯s Chosen of Shrek Academy felt like serving him. An extraordinary

    splendor repeatedly flickered through Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes; a steel-like

    man like this was just her type.

    Dai Yueheng stepped out of line,

    then took a few quick steps forward. He kneeled down in front of that

    tall man, then said respectfully, ¡°Father.¡±

    There was no doubt

    about it¡ªthe tall man in front of them was definitely the current

    Iron-Blooded War God who stood above everybody in the Star Luo Empire,

    Dai Hao. He was also Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin¡¯s father, as well as Huo

    Yuhao¡¯s¡­

    The moment Dai Yueheng said the word ¡®father¡¯, Huo Yuhao

    felt all the blood in his body surge towards his head. His eyes

    instantly turned red, and he was nearly unable to control the flood of

    emotions he felt.

    <em>It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him! This is the person my

    mother was harmed by, yet couldn¡¯t forget. He¡¯s the father I¡¯ve never

    seen before! It¡¯s truly him¡­</em>

    His mother¡¯s smiling face instantly filled every corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, and he nearly began to cry.

    Wang

    Dong silently stepped to the side, blocking Huo Yuhao from view. At the

    same time, he stretched his right hand out, nning to sober him up by

    grabbing his sleeve. However, he didn¡¯t think that his hand would just

    so happen to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s special area.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body

    stiffened, and he immediately let go as if he¡¯d been electrocuted. His

    pretty face instantly turned bright red, but luckily everyone else had

    been captivated by the White Tiger Duke.

    Oddly enough however, his

    grab was incredibly effective. Huo Yuhao only felt his lower body

    tighten up, and his originally teary eyes vanished. The mixed feelings

    in his eyes subsequently transformed into those of astonishment. Even

    though Wang Dong hadn¡¯t used much force, the feeling of being assaulted

    caused him to wake with a shudder.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao whispered astonished.

    Wang Dong acted as if nothing had happened. ¡°Waking you up a bit.¡±

    ¡°Then do you want me to grab that part of your body when I wake you up next time?¡±

    ¡°Screw off¡­¡±

    Despite

    what had happened, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart had stabilised quite a bit after

    this interruption. Furthermore, he and Wang Dong were standing in the

    back, which had made their actions difficult to notice.

    At that

    moment, Dai Yueheng stood up and whispered a few words to the White

    Tiger Duke Dai Hao, who then took a fewrge strides and smiled.

    ¡°Greetings to Teacher Wang Yan and the various talented students from

    Shrek Academy.¡±

 Chapter 71.3: White Tiger Dukes Mansion

    <strong>Chapter 71.3: White Tiger Duke''s Mansion</strong>

    ¡°Greetings

    to the lord Duke.¡± Wang Yan lead the inner courtyard disciples and

    outer courtyard disciples behind them in bowing to the White Tiger Duke.

    The Duke wasn¡¯t just the marshal; he also stood at the apex of nobility

    on the entire continent. Naturally, they¡¯re manners couldn¡¯t be

    lacking.

    The White Tiger Duke shook hands with Wang Yan, then said, ¡°Everyone, please step inside. Let this Marshal act as a host now.¡±

    Wang

    Yan smiled, then replied in a neither servile nor overbearing manner,

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for Lord Duke to be so polite. We¡¯vee this time to

    carry out our mission. It¡¯ll be enough if Lord Duke can just give us

    some clues to help us out. We know that you have a multitude of problems

    to deal with every day, so we won¡¯t bother you too much.¡±

    The

    White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t attempt to remain, he simply nodded slightly.

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Elder Du, you¡¯re in charge of taking care of

    these distinguished guests. If any of you wish to join the army once

    you¡¯ve graduated, the Central Legion of my Star Luo Empire¡¯s Western

    Army will always have its gates¡¯ open to you. You might not get paid

    very well here. However, this is the best choice for men who want to

    aplish something in life.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao suddenly spoke up, ¡°Lord Duke, are you looking down on us women?¡±

    The

    White Tiger Duke was slightly stunned. He couldn¡¯t help but reveal a

    trace of astonishment on his face when saw Ma Xiaotao; from his point of

    view, the young and beautiful woman in front of him held a wild aura.

    Furthermore, she clearly wasn¡¯t weak.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking

    down on you, but because there are many inconveniences for women within

    the barracks. However, your cultivation is another cup of tea. If you¡¯re

    willing to follow this marshal after graduating, I¡¯d be honored to

    ept you.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao revealed a brilliant smile, then remained silent; she looked very pleased.

    Wang

    Yan was somewhat helpless. Even though he was the leader of the group

    in name, he was still inferior to Ma Xiaotao when it came to

    cultivation. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t restrict a brilliant student like

    her. He apologetically said, ¡°Lord Duke, we won¡¯t bother you anymore

    then.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. I hope that I¡¯ll have the chance to meet all

    of you again.¡± Once he¡¯d said this, the White Tiger Duke turned towards

    the leather tent and entered it.

    Huo Yuhao felt like a heavy

    weight had been lifted from his shoulders when he saw the White Tiger

    Duke disappear into the leather tent. He¡¯d never felt this nervous

    before¡ªnot even during his fight against Wu Feng when he was much

    weaker. Currently, he felt like he was about to copse.

    Du Leisi

    led them to another tent, where he allowed them to rest after he¡¯d

    arranged for some food to be brought to them. Afterwards, he went to

    gather the information that they needed. Before he left, he nced at

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao with a somewhat doubtful look in his

    eyes.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°We¡¯ll rest for six hours after we finish

    eating, then head into the Ming Dou Mountain Range. I¡¯m confident that

    we¡¯ll have the information we need by then.¡±

    Everyone was somewhat

    exhausted after yesterday¡¯s journey. Their current task was to ensure

    that their bodies were in peak condition before they set out for a fight

    in the mountains.

    Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang,

    since the White Tiger Bodyguards beneath the White Tiger Duke are so

    strong, why hasn¡¯t the Duke simply sent them to eliminate the bandits?¡±

    ¡°He

    has,¡± Dai Yueheng replied for Wang Yan, ¡°however, if he sends too many

    people, they¡¯ll catch wind of it and run away. Contrarily, if he sends

    too few people, it won¡¯t be of much use. The bandits from the Hand of

    Death are both rather strong and extremely crafty. They might even have a

    few spies nted within the army. Father has sent several people in

    the past to eliminate them, yet they¡¯ve all returned without any sess

    and arge number of losses. The area in which the bandits have

    stationed themselves is an extremely sensitive part of the border, thus

    the Central Legion can only endure silently, in order to prevent a

    needless war. As students of Shrek Academy, we¡¯re different; we aren¡¯t

    restricted by any countries. As such, we must make sure to thoroughly

    wipe them out this time.¡±

    Once they¡¯d finished eating, everyone

    immediately began meditating and recuperating. This was already a

    familiar task to the inner courtyard disciples, while Bei Bei, Xu

    Sanshi, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan were rtively older, thus they

    were able to take everything in somewhat quicker. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s

    trio were merely twelve years old. This task was truly a bit too early

    for them. From another standpoint, they were just kids.

    However,

    this matter had been decided by Elder Xuan, and nobody present could

    change that. Wang Yan clearly understood that Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t done

    this in order to allow the preperatory team to directly participate in

    the massacre. Rather, he wanted them to experience what a mission was

    like first-hand, and hasten the growth of their mental maturity. No

    matter how good the academy¡¯s tests and livebat training was, it was

    still iparable to the improvements gained from a real battle in a

    situation like this. In reality, the mainbatants in this mission

    would be the seven from the inner courtyard.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t

    enter their barracks, as he wasn¡¯t willing to concern himself with

    government officials. With his strength and status, he alone could

    represent Shrek Academy. However, an old man like him would never lose

    track of his students. Furthermore, he was confident that he could carry

    these young people through a battle if need be.

    After six hours

    of meditation, everyone¡¯s exhaustion had been swept away. Noon had

    already passed, and after they¡¯d eaten the lunch that Du Leisi¡¯s men had

    left for them, Du Leisi himself brought over the information that the

    Central Legion had gathered over for them.

    ording to the

    information he¡¯d gathered, the Hand of Death mainly carried out its

    activities in and around the central region of the Ming Dou Mountain

    Range. When they had a designated target, they¡¯d rush down the mountain

    and plunder them at the greatest possible speed. The entire bandit group

    numbered around three hundred in total, all of whom were young men in

    the prime of their lives. Of them, about a tenth of their entire group

    were soul masters. Unexpectedly, nobody knew who the leader of their

    leader was; the only thing they knew was that he was at the very least a

    Soul King. Nobody knew exactly how strong he was.

    The reason why

    there was so little information about them was because the Hand of Death

    never left any survivors; their methods were extremely brutal.

    The

    most recent piece of information was from roughly half a month ago:

    They¡¯d fled into the Ming Dou Mountain Range after looting a group of

    merchants. This report also included the general direction in which

    they¡¯d fled.

    The army only had this much information because there

    was a possibility of a quarrel if they were to enter the domain of the

    Sun Moon Empire. As such, the Western Army couldn¡¯t help them out at

    all, to the extent that they couldn¡¯t even bring the flying-type soul

    tools they¡¯d been lent into the mountains.

    However, time was of

    the essence; they still had to participate in the Continental Advanced

    Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. Hence, they immediately set off once

    they¡¯d obtained a map. They first flew to the entrance to the mountains

    under the guidance of the White Tiger bodyguards, then descended and

    handed back their flying-type soul tools. After that, they immediately

    entered the Ming Dou Mountain Range and began to utilize the map

    provided by the army to navigate the mountains.

    ¡°Maintain your

    formation. Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and I will remain in front.

    Control-type and auxiliary-type soul masters will remain ten meters

    behind us. Huo Yuhao,e over here. Follow me, and make sure to keep

    your Spiritual Detection up. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, you two keep up the

    rear. Let¡¯s set off!¡±

    The person who¡¯d sent out theirmands was

    their leader, Ma Xiaotao. Huo Yuhao felt very depressed when he was

    expropriated by her. Thus, he could only follow her orders and release

    his Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    His omni-purpose skill once again

    helped enormously. Inplicated terrain such as a mountainous forest,

    the three-dimensional image provided by his Spiritual Detection was an

    enormous benefit. Even though Huo Yuhao could only extend it ten meters

    from him, these ten meters were still enough to allow everyone to enjoy

    its benefits.

    With Ma Xiaotao¡¯s trio leading the way, they

    travelled forwards at an extremely rapid pace. The effectiveness of Chen

    Zifeng¡¯s Soulchasing Sword was extremely evident; as he hold his sword

    in front of them, the brambles in front of them were all cut apart

    rather quickly. Combined with Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strengths,

    they were easily able to cut a smooth path through the foliage in front

    of them. They¡¯d already prated deep into the Ming Dou Mountain Range

    by the time that the sky had begun to dim.

    When Wang Yan saw that the sky was beginning to dim, he reminded Ma Xiaotao, ¡°Let¡¯s let everyone take a rest and eat something.¡±

    Ma

    Xiaotao nodded. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s rest where we are for now. Don¡¯t light

    a fire, so that we don¡¯t alert them inadvertently. I¡¯m afraid that

    we¡¯ll have to continue our search throughout the night.¡±

    The

    students sat in a circle to rest, but Teacher Wang Yan soundlessly left.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t pay any attention to the fact that he¡¯d left.

    Instead, she turned towards Dai Yueheng, who was next to her, and said,

    ¡°Dai Yueheng, your father¡¯s rather handsome.¡±

    ¡°When my father was

    young, he was the number one noble of our Star Luo Empire,¡± Dai Yueheng

    indifferently replied, ¡°it wasn¡¯t because of his looks, but because of

    his ability. He didn¡¯t enter our Shrek Academy to study, but rather

    followed his father onto the battlefield at the age of thirteen. He

    began as an ordinary soldier, then was able to umte enough merits

    to be promoted to a squadron leader, then a team leader, then a mid-team

    leader, then arge-team leader, then a battalionmander, then a

    regimentalmander¡­ all the way up until he managed to be a Legion

    Commander at the mere age of twenty-three. At that time, nobody knew

    where he¡¯de from. After arge battle, my father achieved

    outstanding merits, and was called to the imperial capital to hold a

    post. When he epted a reward from His Majesty, His Majesty recognised

    him due to the simrities in his appearance and my grandfather¡¯s.

    Overjoyed, His Majesty entrusted the Western Army¡¯s Central Legion to

    him. Furthermore, he even stated that ¡®with Dai Hao, the empire will

    have no worries for a hundred years¡¯ in front of all of the ministers.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If you put it that way, is your father still a hero?¡±

    Dai

    Yueheng revealed a trace of pride in his eyes. ¡°My grandfather said

    that father¡¯s talent isparable to that of our ancestor¡¯s, the leader

    of the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Father is now

    forty-three years old, and he¡¯smanded the army for twenty years

    already. How could the number of battles he¡¯s participated in be limited

    to just a thousand? You know how strong the Sun Moon Empire is, but my

    Star Luo Empire¡¯s western border has always been invulnerable to attack.

    That¡¯s all due to the presence of my father! If we were to say that

    only one person could be called a hero in my Star Luo Empire, then that

    title definitely deserves to go to my father!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes immediately brightened even more. ¡°Then how many wives does your father have?¡±

    Dai

    Yueheng was stunned, and his gaze immediately turned somewhat strange.

    ¡°Only my mother. In our generation, there¡¯s only my brother Huabin and

    I. My father¡¯s extremely self-disciplined in the field of women. He¡¯s

    always said ¡®if a man can¡¯t control his lust towards women, he won¡¯t

    have anyrge aplishments¡¯. Why do you ask?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao stared at him, ¡°Can¡¯t I admire him? A man like your father is definitely a true man. You should learn from him.¡±

    A

    light flickered through Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes. ¡°Once we¡¯ve finished this

    task, I¡¯ll havepleted thirty Guardian missions. Once I¡¯ve graduated

    from the academy, I¡¯ll enter the army. However, I won¡¯t stay in the

    Western Army; I¡¯ll head to the North, even though there are fewer wars

    there. I want to follow the same path as my father: I want to carve out

    my own path, solely relying on myself.¡±

 Chapter 72.1: Hand of Deathâ€”Envoys of the Death God!

    Chapter 72.1: Hand of Death¡ªEnvoys of the Death God!

    Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng however, didn¡¯t realise that Huo Yuhao had buried his fists into the soil beneath him.

    Only one wife? He¡¯s very self-disciplined when ites to women? What does my mother count as, then? The hatred he¡¯d suppressed for so long grew even stronger when he heard Dai Yueheng. Perhaps he is a national hero, but he¡¯s definitely not a qualified husband or father. If he¡¯d intervened, mom would¡¯ve¡­

    The sky had already dimmed by this point, such that it was difficult to even see one¡¯s own hands in front of them beneath the cover the forest. At that moment, Wang Yan returned.

    ¡°Everyone,e here for a moment.¡± Wang Yan waved everyone towards him.

    The students from the outer courtyard immediately moved towards him, while the seven from the inner courtyard were somewhat impatient. In terms of cultivation alone, Wang Yan was just a Soul King, which meant that he was merely on par with them. Moreover, he was merely a teacher from the outer courtyard; as students from the inner courtyard, they only recognised strength. As such, they didn¡¯t truly respect a teacher like Wang Yan, who wasn¡¯t much stronger than them. However, a teacher was still a teacher, thus they still decided to give him some face.

    ¡°I just finished scouting out the area around us,¡± Wang Yan said in a low voice, bined with the observations we made on our journey here, I¡¯ve made a few discoveries.

    ¡°I found a few Warm Mist Trees near us. For those of you who don¡¯t know, a Warm Mist Tree is a rtively rare type of tree whose core can be used to produce medicine. Its trunk is as hard as steel, which makes it extremely suitable to be used in various types of furniture. During its growth, it has rather stringent oxygen requirements; only areas that have high levels of vegetation are suitable for them. An old book I once read stated that Warm Mist Trees only grow in areas that¡¯re at least fifty miles deep into a forest. Furthermore, it stated that these trees like the coldness of Yin, thus their cores can help soul masters with Yin-attributed martial souls.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brows. ¡°Teacher Wang, what¡¯re you trying to say?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°What I mean is that the appearance of these Warm Mist Trees signifies that we¡¯ve entered the core region of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. At the very least, we¡¯ve reached its border. Moreover, based on the information we¡¯ve been given, the leader of the Hand of Death might be an evil soul master. I found this just now.¡±

    He then retrieved a tree trunk from his storage-type soul tool. The tree trunk appeared to have been snapped in half by something, and a cylindrical hole was present within it.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°This is the Warm Mist Tree. Its core is normally dark-blue, but as you can see, it¡¯s missing. In other words, it¡¯s been removed by someone. Considering who our target is this time, we can make a bold conjecture that this was done by either the leader of the bandits or by one of his subordinates, then eaten by the leader. If this is really the case, then the likelihood of our enemy being an evil soul master is extremely high. At the same time, that also means that we¡¯re not far away from our enemies.¡±

    ¡°I can agree with the first point,¡± Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°however, what basis are you relying on to say that we¡¯re not far away from our enemies? Don¡¯t these Warm Mist Trees grow in other areas?¡± Wang Yan had actually able to deduce such arge amount of information with just a tiny clue like this; the others couldn¡¯t help but admire him because of this. Because of this, Ma Xiaotao had also spoken in a polite manner that befit a student.

    Wang Yan smiled confidently. ¡°I mentioned that the Warm Mist Tree is a rtively rare type of tree, right? Since it¡¯s rare, it obviously doesn¡¯t appear very frequently. I only mentioned the environment required for it to grow, but in reality, the number of ces it grows in is still extremely few in number. There are a rtively low number of Warm Mist Trees here, and the one that I found was thergest tree. To soul masters with Yin-attributed martial souls, not only does its core assist them, it can also increase their internal organs¡¯ resistance to the coldness of their own Yin attribute. Such a thing is very hard toe by. If it were you, would you give up on something like this? Thus, I can practically guarantee that they aren¡¯t far away from here, considering the fact that they¡¯ve discovered and extracted a core already. We¡¯re quite lucky; we were able to find our target without going very far. If we hadn¡¯t, considering howrge this mountain range is, we would¡¯ve had to scout from the air tomorrow. If we¡¯d done that, we definitely would¡¯ve attracted their attention, and thus would¡¯ve had to defend against them.¡±

    Everyone present couldn¡¯t help but gain a new level of respect for Wang Yan by the time they¡¯d finished listening to him. Of the fourteen students present, he¡¯d only taught Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. However, the three of them only knew that he was very knowledgeable and erudite in the field of martial souls; they¡¯d never thought that his experience with the wilderness would be just as abundant.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, what should we do now?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked subconsciously, ¡°Should we just wait for an opportunity to present itself?¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head. ¡°No, we have to take the initiative. When people move about in the forest, they¡¯ll always leave a few traces behind. Even though it¡¯s already dark and I can¡¯t locate these traces by myself, we have Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Thus, it won¡¯t be too hard for us to find them. Yuhao, follow me; listen to my orders and scout ahead.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao quickly walked over to Wang Yan. He also wanted to learn how to locate unknown enemies within a forest.

    Wang Yan led them three hundred or so meters deeper into the forest, then stopped in front of a Warm Mist Tree. ¡°Out of all the destroyed Warm Mist Trees I found earlier, the tracks near this one are the most recent. In other words, it was destroyedst. Yuhao, use your Spiritual Detection to search the thirty meters around us.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Now that Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had increased, he could share his Spiritual Detection with a total of ten people. However, he only shared it with Wang Yan for the sake of improving the uracy of his probe.

    A three-dimensional image of their surroundings immediately appeared in their minds. Huo Yuhao manipted his spiritual power and stopped his Spiritual Detection from instantly encapsting the thirty meters around him; instead, he slowly had it extend outwards, one meter at a time. Doing it this way would make it so that the information wouldn¡¯t immediately flood Wang Yan¡¯s mind. On the contrary, it would appear progressively, which was more beneficial for analysis and scouting.

    Wang Yan gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs up. Of the many students he¡¯d taught in the past, the one he liked the most was the person in front of him. Huo Yuhao might not be the smartest student he¡¯d ever taught, but he was definitely the most mature, steady, and hard-working person among his peers. Furthermore, he was also the most talented student he¡¯d ever taught.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Wang Yan whispered, afterwich Huo Yuhao¡¯s detection radius immediately came to a halt.

    Wang Yan motioned for him to stay where he was, then slowly moved to the right and squatted down to a patch of undergrowth. He carefully observed it for a while, and after verifying what he¡¯d seen with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, he waved to the rest and slowly moved in the direction of the undergrowth.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly followed behind Wang Yan, making sure to keep his Spiritual Detection activated. The others all followed behind him. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng nked the control-type and auxiliary-type soul masters in the middle, while the agility-type Xi Xi and Jiang Nannan vanished into the night, evidently scouting their surroundings. Everyone advanced in an orderly manner, and even though they weren¡¯t quick, Wang Yan¡¯s pace was extremely stable.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao shared his Spiritual Detection with Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Wang Dong. They began to respect Wang Yan more and more as they continued to carefully observe their surroundings.

    Wang Yan was able to discover a few subtle clues with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help, such as a few snapped branches, some shallow footprints in the dirt, pieces of cloth on the trees, and a few bloodstains left on the brambles around them.

    They gradually left the woods as they continued to these clues, and advanced at the same slow pace for an hour.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Wang Yan suddenly raised his hand and said. The students that were following him immediately crouched down and leaned towards him.

    ¡°Our search shouldn¡¯t have been wrong,¡± Wang Yan whispered, ¡°there are arge number of messy footprints in the area in front of us. Evidently, many people frequently pass through here. Our enemies shouldn¡¯t be far away now. Everyone, adjust your conditions. Prepare for battle.¡±

    The trees in front of them had be extremely sparse, and even Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were able to clearly notice the tracks he was talking about with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Wang Yan had clearly discovered the correct location.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, amazing.¡± Ma Xiaotao praised him in a low voice. The other students clearly respected him much more now.

    Wang Yan smiled bitterly. ¡°My talent in cultivation is quite poor, thus I¡¯ve focused most of my energy on these sort of misceneous things; it¡¯s nothing much. Once this tournament is over, it¡¯s very likely that I¡¯ll be a teacher in the inner courtyard. If you¡¯re interested, I can teach you all these skills then. Now then, Yuhao, how far can your Spiritual Detection reach?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused for a moment. ¡°If I direct it in a straight line, it should be able to reach two hundred meters or so. However, I can¡¯t use it that way for very long, as the drain on both my spiritual power and soul power is extremelyrge.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Scan the area from our eleven o¡¯clock to three o¡¯clock and see whether you can find anything.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao eyes focused, causing the gold in his pupils to deepen somewhat. He immediately switched his Spiritual Detection from its usual omnidirectional mode to its unidirectional mode, then sent it forwards in the direction that Wang Yan had told him to. His head slightly swayed as he scanned the circr sector per Wang Yan¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°I can faintly sense a hillside five hundred meters to the left. These footsteps also seem to lead to the bottom of that hill.¡± Huo Yuhao quickly gave an answer as he retracted his Spiritual Detection. A detection like this had drained him by quite a bi.

    Wang Yan nodded. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, our enemies should be beneath that hill. If I¡¯m not wrong, the cave that they¡¯re hiding in is also there. When we make our moveter, we¡¯ll have to confirm who they are first. Once we¡¯re sure that they¡¯re members the Hand of Death, I don¡¯t think I need to tell you guys what to do. The preparatory team will be with me, and they¡¯ll be in charge of assisting you guys. Xiaotao, we¡¯ll be relying on you to attack them.¡±

 Chapter 72.2: Hand of Deathâ€”Envoys of the Death God!

    Chapter 72.2: Hand of Death¡ªEnvoys of the Death God!

    ¡°No problem, leave it to us.¡± A fierce me seemed to have been lit in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s pinkish-red eyes. Now that they¡¯d found their target, the only thing left for them to do was make their move.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Everyone, change into your outfits. Shrek Guardians, prepare to move out.¡±

    As everyone began to move Huo Yuhao felt an indescribable sensation of excitement fill his body. When Wang Yan had said the words ¡®Shrek Guardians¡¯, he¡¯d clearly felt his blood begin to boil. He wasn¡¯t even thirteen, yet he was about to fight for Shrek Academy!

    Everybody was wearing a Guardian Ring that belonged solely to them, but the smaller a soul tool was, the harder it was to control it. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even able to tell what ss his Guardian Ring was, but he put it on the index finger of his left hand under Ma Xiaotao¡¯s instructions.

    He¡¯d already blood-bound the ring to himself during their restst night. When he put it on, the ring immediately shrunk to fit itself to his finger.

    He poured his soul power into the ring, and a bewitchingyer of green light immediately shed across its jade-green surface. He then took out its contents one by one.

    The first thing he took out was a set of armor that covered his entire body from to toe; the only things it revealed were his eyes, nose, and mouth. This set of armor was extremely flexible, and was made from some sort unknown material, which made it feel like a very thin piece of leather. Its texture resembled that of skin, yet it was extremely durable. After testing it out for a bit, Huo Yuhao discovered that he was only able to send soul power outwards; he wasn¡¯t able to absorb any from the outside while he had it on. The defensive capabilities of this set of armor could be seen without a doubt; a faintyer of thin scales was even visible atop the surface of the armor.

    Due to the differences between men and women, everyone naturally changed in two different areas ording to their gender. Huo Yuhao had nned to drag Wang Dong along to change, but thetter shot straight into the woods and quickly changed before he could.

    Other than armor, everyone had also been provided with a dark-green set of warrior robes and a dark-green mask, as well as a dark-green cloak.

    Three Guardian-specialised res were also strapped to their waists.

    When everyone gathered back together, they felt an air of mystery when they looked at each other. Their cloaks covered both their heads and bodies, and were extremely tight-fitting; they seemed to be made out of the same material as their armor. They were very thin, yet seemed to possess a sense of tactility and an extraordinary amount of defensive power.

    ¡°Prepare to make a move,¡± Wang Yan whispered, ¡°Xiaotao, you¡¯ll lead the fight. I¡¯ll be in charge ofmanding the preparatory team.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ma Xiaotao immediately replied.

    Ma Xiaotao bent her body slightly, then leapt into the air first. Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng immediately nked her on both sides, while the other four inner courtyard disciples quickly moved out as well. They maintained a neat formation as they quietly set out.

    Wang Yan waved his hand a few seconds after they¡¯d left and led the preparatory team up as well.

    Bei Bei took the lead role of the preparatory team, while Xu Sanshi stayed at the very back. After all, their role was merely to assist their seniors from the inner courtyard; taking care of themselves was of the utmost importance. Under Wang Yan¡¯smands, He Caitou and Jiang Nannan nked their group on the side. Wang Yan himself, on the other hand, was directly behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio; he emphasized protecting the three people with the lowest level of cultivation in their group.

    Ma Xiaotao and the rest were extremely fast; Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was simply unable to keep up with them. Fortunately, he was still able to use it on hispanions in the preparatory team and on Teacher Wang Yan.

    They rapidly arrived at the hillside that Huo Yuhao had spotted earlier. There were no traces of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s heptet, but the area waspletely silent.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head down as well,¡± Wang Yan whispered, ¡°Bei Bei, prepare for battle.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Bei Bei didn¡¯t dare to be negligent. He quickly released his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, then descended from the hillside first. They quickly spotted a cave that was covered in arge and dense amount of vines. This was, without a doubt, the nest that the bandits had stationed themselves in.

    There were already five or six fallen bandits near the entrance to the cave. Undoubtedly, their statuses as members of the Hand of Death had been confirmed, as Ma Xiaotao and the rest had already made their move.

    At that moment, a muffled explosion rang out from in the cave. Immediately afterwards, noisy shouts began to ring out from the cave. After that, there were able to hear some muffled sounds and sense strong fluctuations of soul power.

    Bei Bei turned his head towards Wang Yan, who said in a solemn voice, ¡°Head inside. Yuhao, release your Spiritual Detection all around us. Everyone, you must be careful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately released his Spiritual Detection to the best of his ability, which caused three-dimensional image in everybody¡¯s minds to immediately widen.

    The entrance to the cave wasn¡¯t big, but its interior was extremely vast. Besides the corpses at the entrance, they only saw another corpse after they¡¯d advanced fifty meters.

    The dense smell of blood assaulted their senses as they advanced. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou were still somewhat fine, but the other four had somewhat pale expressions.

    ¡°Ah¡ª!¡± Jiang Nannan suddenly screeched, and her body violently shuddered. Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d originally released his Spiritual Detection in a single ne parallel to the ground, immediately increased its range as he looked upwards following her gaze.

    The scene awaiting them didn¡¯t seem important, but all of their expressions instantly changed.

    Unexpectedly, there were ten sheets of human skin hanging from the walls. There was even an infant¡¯s corpse impaled on a stgmite. Earlier, Jiang Nannan had raised her head when she felt the drops of blooding from the corpse above them.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± The usually-schrly Bei Bei angrily roared. These were the sinsmitted by the Hand of Death bandit group! At that moment, everybody present felt their eyes go bloodshot. These bandits didn¡¯t even let little infants off! They were simply worse than beasts.

    As they continued forward, the number of corpses began to gradually increase, while the sounds ofbat began to grow more intense. The bandits within the cave had died in all sorts of strange ways, but nobody gave them even a shred of sympathy. This was because the two walls of the cave were entirely lined with sheets of human skin hanging from them. From the time they¡¯d entered the cave till now, they¡¯d seen more than a hundred, some of which had even been dried by the wind.

    ¡°Rouse yourselves. These are all evil men; killing one of them is equivalent to saving a countless number of people.¡± Wang Yan shouted, causing Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Jiang Nannan¡¯s hearts, which were in an extremely nervous state, to shake.

    The terrain in front of them suddenly widened, and they finally saw the true situation of the battle that was happening. The constant flickering from soul rings dazzled everyone¡¯s eyes. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix was most noticeable, and none of her enemies were spared from the berserk activation of her scorching mes. Her surroundings were littered with bandit corpses.

    Gong Yangmo stood at the very centre of the group, and multi-colored rays of light continuously shot out from his body andnded on hispanions. The others had loosely surrounded him and kept him in the middle of them.

    Yao Haoxuan had already transformed into his massive body, and was continuously pounding on his chest with his fists. He protected Gong Yangmo¡¯s back, while Ling Luochen took the other side. The three of them didn¡¯t participate directly in the fight, but if anybody were to assume that they¡¯d be easy to deal with, they would be wrong.

    The bandits that still had the ability to fight all had bloodshot eyes. Arge number of them were soul masters, with some of them even having rtively strong cultivations; there were even three Soul Kings. However, they were still forced to retreat step-by-step by the inner courtyard disciples of Shrek Academy.

    Waves of bandits continued to surge forth from the depths of the cave to participate in the battle, but Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Xi Xi all managed to cover veryrge areas.

    Gong Yangmo¡¯s powerful auxiliary abilities revealed their true capabilities at that moment. There was no need to mention the two who were already Soul Emperors, but the Soul King-ranked Chen Zifeng and Xi Xi weren¡¯t the least bit inferior to Soul Emperors with his assistance.

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Dai Yueheng tore an enemy Soul King apart, causing his blood to ssh everywhere. Immediately afterwards, he sent out a dazzling White Tiger¡¯s Meteor Shower in an attempt to st away the enemies attempting tounch a sneak attack on Gong Yangmo¡¯s trio.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s battle was even more spectacr. Nobody knew what she¡¯d done, but her fiery phoenix wings were now more than three meters long. Her wings were the most terrifying weapon she had at her disposal; they would either injure or kill anybody they touched. There was a Soul King in front of her, yet he simply didn¡¯t even dare to approach her. He could only put on a false show of bravado from afar.

    ording to the information they¡¯d been given, the leader of the bandit troupe was a Soul King. Evidently, he was one of the three in front of them. When he saw that the situation seemed to be settled, Wang Yan waved his hand. ¡°Everyone, move. Don¡¯t let a single one go. We can¡¯t leave any future troubles for ourselves.¡±

    The opponents in front of them weren¡¯t very powerful. The strongest members of their troupe had been blocked by the inner courtyard disciples, while the remaining few were only Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders. Some of the bandits weren¡¯t even soul masters; they were just ordinary humans.

    Bei Bei let out a shout and rushed forward. The others followed behind, and Wang Dong released his dazzling Radiant Butterfly Goddess. In reality, he was still somewhat nervous. The moment he moved, heunched a Light of the Butterfly Goddess towards an area that had aparativelyrge number of bandits.

    Several dozen bright golden balls were released, which were then amplified by his Golden Light soul bone. This was only a thousand year soul skill, but absolutely none of these bandits had a thousand year soul skill of their own. Moreover, Wang Dong¡¯s skill was being boosted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and his own Golden Light Left Arm Bone.

    The bandits frantically released their own soul skills in an attempt to defend themselves against Wang Dong¡¯s attack, but they were still left in aplete mess and let out bloodcurdling screeches as they were struck.

    Once he¡¯d seeded with his first attack, the panic that Wang Dong felt drastically decreased. Even if he didn¡¯t dare to attack anyone near him, wouldn¡¯t long-range attacks work?

    Xiao Xiao had already released her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and the threerge cauldrons formed a ¡°Æ·¡± shape as they protected the trio. Xiao Xiao had clearly assumed a defensive stance. For a small girl like her to kill someone was simply too difficult.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but get excited by the thrill of the hunt when he saw Wang Dong seed. Of the two white-colored soul rings beneath him, the first instantly lit up as he looked towards a one-ringed bandit with his pale gold eyes. Like him, that bandit¡¯s lonely first soul ring was only a white-colored one.

 Chapter 72.3: Hand of Deathâ€”Envoys of the Death God!

    Chapter 72.3: Hand of Death¡ªEnvoys of the Death God!

    A golden radiance immediately shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as thebined force of both his Purple Demon Eyes and Spiritual Shock soul skill burst forth.

    The body of the bandit Huo Yuhao had targeted shook fiercely. However, the scene that followedpletely shocked him: the bandit¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon. Bright red blood, white brain fluids, and other strangely-colored things flew in all directions, which instantly frightened the bandits around him and made them disperse. They¡¯d yet to understand how theirpanion had died.

    Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded. He hadn¡¯t expected his Spiritual Shock to be so powerful. When he saw the headless corpse fall to the ground, he immediately threw up. That person had been alive just a moment ago!

    He wasn¡¯t the only one to throw up; the nearby Xiao Xiao also puked. She¡¯d been holding it back since they¡¯d first entered the cave, but after thisst scene, she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore.

    At that moment, a sharp voice echoed forth from the depths of the cave, ¡°Who dares to oppose the Envoy of the Death God? All of you will die and be corpses under my control.¡±

    The bandits weren¡¯t relieved when they heard his voice. Rather, they all began to tremble and quickly retreated.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao roared as soon as he¡¯d finished throwing up. Thanks to his Spiritual Detection, he¡¯d discovered that the corpses on the ground had begun to swell at an astonishing speed; they¡¯d also be faintly red in color.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom¡­¡± Terrifying explosions began to echo throughout the entire cave. Flesh and blood was scattered all over the cave following each explosion.

    The seven members of the preparatory team had just arrived, and since all of them were within the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they were able to react quickly. All of them ran towards the corpse-free areas of the cave as quickly as they could in order to avoid the explosions.

    However, the seven disciples of the inner courtyard¡ªwho happened to be in the midst of the corpse-ridden battlefield¡ªweren¡¯t so lucky. They found themselves at the center of the explosions!

    Luckily, they were able to quickly erect some defenses since they¡¯d heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s warning. However¡­ the power wrought by the detonating corpses was just too much. Bones, muscles, and even blood vessels had be weapons because of the explosions. The stronger the corpse had been when it was alive, the stronger the explosion it caused. The corpse of the Soul King that Dai Yueheng had killed caused a particrly earth-shaking explosion when it detonated.

    These explosions continued for about ten seconds or so before they stopped. The Shrek Guardians hadn¡¯t thought that they¡¯d find themselves in this sort of situation. How could they have expected a group of bandits led by a Soul King to have such a powerful skill? Furthermore, the power of this ability was incredibly high. Its power had far exceeded their imagination, and was the main reason that they took such a big hit.

    The old man with messy hair that was sitting outside of the cave drinking alcohol was surprised when he heard the sound of explosions. He immediately turned into a streak of light as he shot into the cave.

    Elder Xuan had been following their group since the beginning. He¡¯d checked the auras of the people in the cave as soon as he¡¯d arrived and determined that the strongest one was only a Soul King. Though there was more than one Soul King present, he didn¡¯t give it too much thought. These bandits didn¡¯t really seem to have a chance against the elite disciples of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, someone as experienced as Wang Yan was in charge of the mission. As such, he¡¯d decided to stay outside and drink alcohol. After all, nobody liked the foul stench of blood.

    Even he hadn¡¯t expected such a sudden change in their situation. The power from the explosion just now had exceeded that of a Soul King or Soul Emperor.

    ¡°Gaga, gagaga¡­ Did you all like the exploding corpses from this envoy? Even if you all were stronger, you¡¯d still die when faced by my consecutive corpse explosions. Furthermore, even if you were survive the explosions, you¡¯d die from the poison!¡±

    The entire cave was now permeated with a thick smell of blood. Moreover, everyone felt like they were wet due to the thickyer of blood covering their bodies. Every single previously dead bandits had had their corpse exploded.

    The explosions hadn¡¯t distinguished between friend and foe. As such, they didn¡¯t only strike the students of the Shrek Academy; even the bandits that were still alive had been hit by the explosions. Despite this, the bandits had been somewhat prepared. Some of them had been able to quickly hide in depressions in the ground to dodge the explosions.

    However, the scariest thing was actually the liquid alongside the explosion; it had the same powerful corrosive properties as a strong acid. The ¡®chi chi¡¯ sound of things being corroded echoed throughout the entire cave. Besides the corpses exploding, the hidden soul master had even made them release a deadly poison. It was an extremely vile and cruel tactic.

    Everyone had done their best to protect themselves the moment they¡¯d heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s warning. However, considering the fact that they all had different martial souls, their defensive capabilities were all different from one another.

    Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were sent flying from the explosion, and they both spat out some blood. Despite their injuries however, their soul skills¡¯ protected them from being contaminated by the poisonous blood. Ma Xiaotaonded in a ce that not too far off from Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s entire body was protected by ayer of ice, but she was still sent flying regardless. However, considering that she¡¯d been in the rear, and that she¡¯d managed to raise her defenses in time, she didn¡¯t end up in a bad state. She spat out some blood like Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng had, but she didn¡¯t receive any external injuries.

    On the other hand, Chen Zifeng wasn¡¯t as lucky as them. He was also an assault system battle soul master, and considering the number of soul rings he had, he exceeded both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng in pure offensive power. However, how was he supposed to protect his entire body with just his Soulchasing Sword? He could only rely on his soul power and protective armor to withstand the explosion.

    Once the explosions had finished, he was lying sprawled on his side. His right leg had disappeared, and he¡¯d begun to scream pitifully due to the corrosion of the deadly poison and loss of his limb.

    However, he wasn¡¯t the only one that had been severely injured. Gong Yangmo wasn¡¯t much stronger than him; even if he was the ultimate auxiliary-type soul master, he definitely wasn¡¯t specialized in defense! Moreover, the corpses had exploded without much warning at all. Despite Ling Luochen¡¯s assistance, his chest, abdomen, and legs had all been badly mangled. Smoke was still rising from his wounds, and he¡¯d lost consciousness.

    Yao Haoxuan had met a tragic fate. As his build was the biggest, he¡¯d had to face the brunt of the explosions. Half of his body had simply disappeared¡ªhe obviously hadn¡¯t been able to survive the explosion.

    Xi Xi had it slightly better off. Her thunder and lightning had protected her body, while thanks to her fast speed, only her back had been struck. However, she¡¯d still suffered severe wounds and was lying on the ground in agony.

    Regardless of the intensity of their injures, the seven disciples of the inner courtyard had all suffered heavy injuries, while one of them had even died. Even though they¡¯d originally held the advantage, they were now in an extremely pitiful state.

    All of this had happened too quickly; the disciples of the outer courtyard didn¡¯t suffer any damage since they were on the periphery, but they were still shaken by the oue.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± A hoarse voice suddenly echoed, causing the entire cave to tremble. An intense white light immediately covered every corner of the cave, afterwich all of the deadly corrosive poison disappeared.

    The form of a slovenly old man immediately became visible. Elder Xuan raised his right hand, then made a grabbing motion towards the depths of the cave. A terrifying attractive force erupted from his palm, causing a figure to rapidly fly towards him from the interior of the cave.

    The word ¡®anger¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough to describe Elder Xuan¡¯s current state of mind. His students had been injured to this extent, despite being under his supervision. Furthermore, the ones that had received harm were members of the current Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters! They were supposed to represent the academy at the Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament in a few days, yet now, one of them had died, and the others were all severely injured!

    The form that was yanked towards Elder Xuan was shrouded in a ck robe. He had a slender build, and his facial features were hidden. Only the radiance of five soul rings, three of which yellow and two of which purple, were visible. This person really was just a Soul King, yet he¡¯d created such a terrifying tragedy!

    He let out a terrified scream as soon as he was yanked away by Elder Xuan. He tried his best to struggle free, but how could he struggle against someone as powerful as Elder Xuan? He could only watch helplessly as he was pulled closer and closer to Elder Xuan.

    At that moment, the remaining half of Yao Haoxuan¡¯s body suddenly began to swell.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao called out in rm.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s perception wasn¡¯t weak, and his students were much more important than this evil soul master! The academy had already suffered such a huge loss; how could he let more people be injured?

    He raised both of his hands, and a ball of white light immediately enveloped Yao Haoxuan¡¯s corpse. At the same time, he flicked his finger, which caused the Soul King to feel as if he¡¯d been struck by a huge hammer. However, something strange happened. All five of his soul rings simultaneously shone and he changed into a wisp of smoke. However, he didn¡¯t run away. Instead, he pounced towards Huo Yuhao.

    His speed was so fast that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t react even with his Spiritual Detection active. Afterwards he felt the world spin, then heard Elder Xuan¡¯s angry yell. There wasn¡¯t anything under his feet; they instantly sank through the ground.

    A powerful explosion echoed through the cave. Yao Haoxuan¡¯s body exploded, and even his skeleton was vaporized. The explosion was contained by Elder Xuan, but it was because of this that he arrived a moment toote to save Huo Yuhao; his hands only grabbed a newly-created b of stone. Huo Yuhao and the evil soul master had disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Elder Xuan angrily howled. He was now thoroughly enraged. He immediately punched the ground, instantly pulverizing the newly-created b of stone to. However, he didn¡¯t dare to use too much soul power out of fear that he¡¯d harm Huo Yuhao, who might have been below it. As this happened, a series of explosions echoed from the corridor beneath them, causing it copse. A crafty person always had several ways out of a predicament. That person was, without a doubt, the leader of the group of bandits known as the Hand of Death.

 Chapter 73.1: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    Chapter 73.1: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Huo Yuhao had already disappeared without a trace by the time Wang Dong reacted. When he thought back to the exploding corpses from before, Wang Dong felt his mind nk out.

    The scene had truly changed too quickly, such that no one had been able to react in time.

    Elder Xuan abruptly flourished hisrge sleeve, and swept all the oing people away. ¡°Wang Dong, quickly, help the others. I¡¯ll save Huo Yuhao.¡± As he spoke, Elder Xuan released his martial soul in front of the students for the first time ever.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s aged back suddenly arched upwards, and his oil-stained, tattered clothing immediately split open. The muscles on his back swelled up at shocking speed, and in the blink of an eye, he bulked up to at least twice his previous size. The strangest thing was that one long, screw-shaped horn also grew from either side of his head. In that moment that he released his martial soul, it seemed as though all the air in the cave wanted to freeze over.

    Nine soul rings shone and ascended with a dazzling brilliance ¨C two yellow, two purple, four ck and one red. Elder Xuan¡¯s messy bed of hair had turnedpletely light brown. He abruptly turned his head and looked towards those remaining bandits. An iparably frightening aura that was like a raging storm suddenly surged towards them. In the blink of an eye, an explosion urred once more, but this time around, instead of the corpses, the living exploded.

    He stomped with his right foot, and a huge crevice suddenly opened up in the ground. Elder Xuan bent his majestic body down and dug into the ground at a shocking speed withrge hands that were like palm-leaf fans. He disappeared into the ground without a trace in just the moment that it took to breathe.

    The heavy fishy fumes made Huo Yuhao feel nauseous. He was really too unlucky. The reason why the envoy of the Death God had grabbed him was first, to get a hostage, and second, the more important reason, was because the position that Huo Yuhao had previously upied was at the entrance to the tunnel. This was really a misfortune on his part.

    A cold, threatening aura surged madly into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body from the entity in front of him. That icy feeling waspletely different from his ice-attribute. This was cold, filled with evil intent, and apanied by a horrible stench. That cold and dark feeling was like countless vipers boring their way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Envoy of the Death God was running down the tunnel at a shocking speed. He continuously pped the walls as he dashed madly ahead, detonating the explosives he¡¯d buried in them.

    He had been able to lead the Hand of Death gang from the warping and winding Ming Dou Mountain Range, not only due to his ability as an evil soul master, but more importantly due to his cautious nature. This wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d encountered such a situation, but as long as he didn¡¯t die, it wouldn¡¯t take long before a brand new bandit group would rise up once more.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist. He was now in a far more dangerous situation than he had been before, but contrary to expectations, he¡¯d calmed down. This characteristic was unique to spirit-type soul masters. His mental strength far surpassed that of normal humans, so he could remain clear-headed more than a normal soul master could.

    Huo Yuhao knew that the two white soul rings he¡¯d previously revealed must¡¯ve definitely fooled his opponents. Moreover, when the Envoy of the Death God had attacked, he hadn¡¯t shown any signs of resisting at all. But he really couldn¡¯t do so, having been caught off-guard. The enemy must¡¯ve really looked down on him, but that was fine, because this was his only chance to flee for his life.

    What am I going to do? There might only be one chance for him to escape, so he definitely couldn¡¯t act blindly without thinking it through. As a result of that, Huo Yuhao could only force himself to circte his Mysterious Heaven Technique to protect his internal organs. He was fighting against that evil soul power surging into his body, but he didn¡¯t try to unleash a counterattack. As a matter of fact, his opponent¡¯s soul power far surpassed his own. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to retaliate either.

    ¡°Elder brother Skydream, Ice Empress, what are you guys doing?¡± Huo Yuhao softly called out to them in his Spiritual Sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm was extremely serious when he spoke. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t fret. We are also thinking of a way. In a second, the Ice Empress might temporarily take control of your body. It¡¯s really a little troublesome this time. This fellow¡¯s soul power has a special quality that reeks with blood. The disparity between your cultivation and his is far too great. If Ice Empress suddenly uses the power she sealed within your body, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll sustain injuries because of that. You must be mentally prepared.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very calm as he asked, ¡°That also means that attacking him isn¡¯t actually that difficult, but the key to this is whether I can bear the burden?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was silent for a moment before he spoke, ¡°The Ice Empress¡¯s ability is extremely overbearing. We¡¯re afraid that it¡¯ll injure the source of your spirit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao inhaled deeply, then said, ¡°Elder Brother Skydream, Ice Empress. The two of you don¡¯t need to care about me. Kill him and avenge those who¡¯ve died. This bastard definitely cannot be allowed to live. He¡¯s killed so many people, including Senior Brother Yao Haoxuan.¡±

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re very brave. I¡¯ll do my best to protect you. Don¡¯t fret. When the opportunity arises, you must strike him in one move.¡± There was a bit of praise in the Ice Empress¡¯s chilly voice. She immediately fell silent after speaking, evidently trying to find an opening in their opponent¡¯s guard.

    Just at this moment, an aged voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Big bug, little scorpion. Let this old man take charge, since you guys don¡¯t have the confidence to do so. I am very familiar with this deathly aura.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea subsequently turned grey. The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress felt a pressure that even they feared. That was an soul ranked on apletely different level than they were.

    ¡°You are¡­¡±

    The cave ahead suddenly opened up into a wide clearing. The Envoy of the Death God had brought Huo Yuhao out of the tunnel, causing the air around them to be fresh and clean. This immediately cleared Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    However, twelve silhouettes were quietly standing by that exit out of the tunnel.

    Those twelve humans, which didn¡¯t seem to be breathing at all, immediately knelt down on one knee, respectfully saluting the Envoy of the Death God once they saw him emerge from the tunnel.

    ¡°Rise, my corpses. You guys were left behind for me to use as my protection. We¡¯ve really run into huge trouble this time. I¡¯m afraid that guy¡¯s a Titled Douluo based on the aura he¡¯s emitting. Hmph, don¡¯t fret. Even Titled Douluo will only be able to prostrate themselves before me in ten years¡¯ time, at best.¡±

    At this moment, an aged voice suddenly rang out, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t even have ten years left.¡±

    The Envoy of the Death God paused and quickly looked around. ¡°Who is it?!¡± He shouted in a stern voice, ¡°Come out!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here. Where do you want me to go?¡± An odd, yet pure smell of death suddenly surged from his left hand. The Envoy of the Death God subconsciously loosened his grip on the person in his hand, and turned his body around at the same time to look at who it was. He was immediately taken aback by what he saw.

    He¡¯d been holding a person dressedpletely in dark green garb with two white soul rings. But now, that person suddenly shone with an incredible light.

    Behind the mask, the eyes that were originally a faint golden color had turned grey. It was a kind of grey that was filled with the vicissitudes of life, as though the owner could thoroughly understand everything in the world. What was even stranger was that a grey soul ring was slowly rising from beneath his feet. As that grey soul ring rose up, a string of fragmented shadow followed suit. One couldn¡¯t clearly tell whether it was one shadow or many shadows.

    The envoy of the Death God felt an inexplicably stifling feeling as he looked at that greyyer, subconsciously causing him to take a step back.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re also an evil soul master?¡± There was a shocked look on the Envoy of the Death God¡¯s face when he asked this question. The mantle on his face had been lifted as he was running just now, revealing a face that resembled a skull. Only a film of skin seemed to be covering his face. His eyes, which were glowing with a light green light, were filled with shock.

    ¡°Evil soul master? What¡¯s that? I¡¯ve never heard of that before.¡± There was a bit of astonishment in that aged voice.

    The Envoy of the Death God snorted and said, ¡°Every single evil soul master is an existence worthy of the greatest admiration. I am a spokesperson for the Death God, the Envoy of the Death God. You are clearly young, since you dare to deceive the people in front of me. If you really are an evil soul master, you should make your identity known, and maybe then we might still have a chance to cooperate with each other. But you need to tell me something first. Why is your soul ring grey?¡±

    ¡°Envoy of the Death God? You must be joking. Even though I can¡¯t remember most things from the past, I faintly remember that I could have been a Death God if I had wanted to be one. You¡¯re already sacrificing your flesh, having just recently brushed over the edge of Necromancy. A Necromancer like you is worthy of being called an Envoy of the Death God? A Death God¡¯s ability is to purify, not to summon souls and mess around with corpses. There¡¯s no chance of you bing a Demonic Shaman, and yet you¡¯re here boasting in front of this old man. It¡¯s really funny.¡±

    The Envoy of the Death God stumbled over his words hearing the aged voice. ¡°What Necromancy? What Necromancer? Demonic Shaman? I am an evil soul master worthy of admiration. You actually dare to spheme the Death God? You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed in front of him. The third soul ring on his body abruptly lit up, activating the purple soul ring with a few streams of ck. The twelve people around them who were emitting cold auras immediately moved and pounced toward Huo Yuhao at lightning speed.

    ¡°It¡¯s a very familiar aura. Though it is slightly disgusting, I still have a bit of affection left in me.¡± The aged voice sighed, but didn¡¯t move as he lifted his finger.

    A faintly grey ball of fire was burning on the tip of his finger. When those corpses that the envoy of the Death God had converted into humans came within three metres of his body, they immediately stopped their violent trembling.

    ¡°Big bug, I need to borrow a bit of your sealed power,¡± The aged voice said indifferently, ¡°I still can¡¯t recall anything from the past, but I remember my own name. A tiny Corpse Shaman actually dares to show off with this kind of unpopr Necromancy in front of me, the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux who possesses the Divine Law of Necromancy. Then, I¡¯ll let you y with fire!¡±

    As he spoke, the me atop his finger suddenly burned brighter. Shortly after that, that grey halo on his body was abruptly activated, encasing the twelve corpses within it.

    The twelve corpses stopped trembling, and slowly raised their heads one after the other. One could see that their skin was now a metallic grey ¨C a color that only dead people would have. Their eyes were empty and lifeless; their nails were strangely and iparably long, and appeared to be dark purple in color. A foul rotting smell also seeped out from every inch of their bodies.

 Chapter 73.2: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    Chapter 73.2: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    The Envoy of the Death God discovered¡ªto his astonishment¡ªthat he wasn¡¯t able to control his corpse ves anymore. He hurriedly increased the output of his soul power and activated his various soul skills, yet they still didn¡¯t react; he couldn¡¯t even make them self-destruct.

    Gradually, a pale light began to appear in the corpse ves¡¯ eyes. This light was actually a whitish me, and as the me progressively appeared in the eyes of every single corpse ve, it also began to circte throughout their bodies. Unexpectedly, emotions began to appear on their previously rigid faces: suffering, hatred, and boundless rancor. They then turned towards the Envoy of the Death God and immediately shot towards him in a frenzy.

    ¡°No, this can¡¯t be possible¡­ this is impossible!¡± The voice of the Envoy of the Death God was filled with disbelief. He quickly turned around to scuttle away.

    At that moment however, a purplish-golden light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The Envoy of the Death God felt as if his head had suddenly been struck by an enormous hammer. This,bined with the panic he felt, caused him to immediately tumble head-first to the ground.

    All of the corpse ves he¡¯d refined had been created utilizing the bodies of soul masters. Not only were they extraordinarily quick, but they were also impervious to des, and possessed extraordinary strength. These twelve corpse ves had taken more than half of his strength to refine, and they were his hidden trump card. However, at this moment, these corpse ves seemed to have regained a portion of their former consciousness; how could they let him off?

    All twelve of the corpse vesunched frenzied attacks towards the Envoy of the Death God, who¡¯d been temporarily stunned by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. In fact, they attacked in frenzied manner that they didn¡¯t even seem to take their own safety into ount.

    Electrolux¡¯s voice rang out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth again and said, ¡°A true necromancer controls spirits, not bodies. Even if you be stronger, a corpse shaman like you who can¡¯t even touch upon the mysteries of soul control will never be a true necromancer,¡± He then directed his voice towards the corpse ves, ¡°since he¡¯s killed you, this old man will give you an opportunity to gain revenge. Once you¡¯vepleted your revenge, your souls will subsequently be purified.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since I¡¯ve used necromancy. It¡¯s so familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time! But¡­ I like this feeling. There seems to have been an unforgettable hatred carved deep into my heart in the past, yet I feel only tranquility now. My spiritual imprint seems to have been stimted again. Little Yuhao, big worm, little scorpion, it seems I¡¯ll have to enter another period of slumber. Oh, there¡¯s onest thing I have to tell you all before I go: Power can be used for good, but if you use your power in an evil way on the pretext that you¡¯re only doing it to an evildoer is inherently evil as well. Little Yuhao, I hope that you¡¯ll be able to wash away your hatred by the next time I wake up. When your heart is free of hatred, and when you feel only joy and benevolence, I will truly be your third martial soul. Only then will you have the qualifications to inherit my art of necromancy.¡±

    The grayness around them vanished, as did the gray light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The gray soul ring around him also dissipated and disappeared. His body swayed a bit, then he copsed to the ground.

    In this short period of time, the Envoy of the Death God was ripped apart by his twelve corpse ves. His wretched screams could be heard from several hundreds of meters away.

    His sinful life had finally ended as a direct result of his own sins; a person who yed with fire would definitely be burned to death. As an evil soul master, his death hade at the hands of his own crimes.

    Once the evil soul master had died, the corpse ves slowly fell to the ground one after another. As they did, strands of white mist rose from their heads and faintly resembled human faces. However, their current expressions didn¡¯t contain any rancor; only relief and appreciation was left within them. They stared at the fallen Huo Yuhao as they gradually vanished into the air, their expressions much more peaceful.

    Once the imprisoned souls had been purified, the corpse ves began to rot and disappear at an astonishing rate. In the blink of an eye, only bones were left.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± A violent explosion rang out. Immediately afterwards, a figure soared straight into the air, thennded mightily, revealing Elder Xuan¡¯s powerful figure.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s naked upper body revealed his bronze-colored muscles, and the terrifying aura he was currently emanating shot straight into the air once he appeared, causing the weather itself to change. This was especially so for the two spiralling horns on his head, which shone with an indescribably mysterious luster. Nine types of light seemed to flicker through them before transforming into a jade-white color.

    With a sh, Elder Xuan appeared in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The current situation, however, quelled the fury within his heart; the Envoy of the Death God had vanished, and had only left arge patch of bones on the ground. Furthermore, there was even a rotten smell present. However, Huo Yuhao had been thrown to the side.

    Elder Xuan had originally thought that Huo Yuhao had encountered a cmity; after all, he was only human. However, he didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d still be perfectly alright. With his level of cultivation, he didn¡¯t even need to touch him to verify his status. He could tell that, even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing was somewhat weak, it was still present. His heartbeat was still extremely healthy, and his signs of life were well-evident.

    Despite this, there were no other signs of life in the surroundings besides Huo Yuhao. Elder Xuan¡¯s face revealed a trace of doubt, then he carefully picked Huo Yuhao up and poured his soul power into him.

    He quickly discovered that Huo Yuhao¡¯s fainting hadn¡¯t been due to physical trauma; he¡¯d merely overdrawn his spiritual power. Furthermore, his soul power hadn¡¯t even been overdrawn that much.

    Elder Xuan was anxious to learn about the whereabouts of the Envoy of the Death God, thus he took out a small bottle made of white jade and ced it beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose.

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly awoke with a sneeze. A spicy smell had caused him to gradually awaken, but he still felt as if his head was quite heavy. His brain was also dizzy, and he currently wasn¡¯t even able to use his Spirit Eyes to see everything in front of him clearly.

    ¡°Yuhao, what happened? What happened to that despicable evil soul master?¡± Elder Xuan asked impatiently.

    Huo Yuhao was left nk. After calming himself down, images of what had happened began to appear within his mind. He¡¯d beenpletely sober when he¡¯d been possessed by Electrolux; moreover, he clearly understood what had happened earlier. However, he didn¡¯t know what exactly Electrolux had done. He¡¯d both used his spiritual power, and had even seemingly used the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power. It was because of this that he hadn¡¯t even been able to speak up earlier. Even the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress were still in a state of shock.

    Following the recovery of his memories, a spiritual imprint that the aged Electrolux had left in his mind gradually began to appear. Huo Yuhao subconsciously followed the instructions left on that spiritual imprint and replied to Elder Xuan, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know either. After the Envoy of the Death God brought me here, he ordered his corpse ves to bring up the rear and nned to use me as a hostage to run away. When I heard him, I knew that I was running out of time. Thus, I used all of my strength to release a Spiritual Shock. He instantly fell into a short daze, and both his mouth and nose began to bleed. At that instant, I took the opportunity to roll to the ground. When I did, I heard him let out a loud screech, then I felt my head go dizzy. He seemed to have lost control of his corpse ves, which proceeded to attack him and tear him to pieces. When he died, those corpse ves also fell to the ground. After that, I seem to have fainted.¡±

    An enlightened look appeared in Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°An evil bacsh! Serves him right. He got left off lightly. Alright, we¡¯ll talk about this moreter.¡±

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao somewhat came back to his senses. With a somewhat hazy look in his eyes, he asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, what¡¯s an evil bacsh?¡±

    Elder Xuan carried Huo Yuhao through the cave he¡¯d forcefully created earlier as he exined, ¡°All evil soul masters have powerful and evil powers. For example, the bastard you saw earlier had the ability to control corpses. However, oftentimes the powers they use exceed that of what their bodies can withstand. Once this bnce is broken, there¡¯s a chance of a bacsh urring. Your Spiritual Shock earlier must¡¯ve temporarily broken the connection he had with his corpses, in turn causing him to instantly experience a bacsh. I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯d be you who¡¯d kill him.¡±

    Elder Xuan was definitely worthy of being called one of the peak experts of the Douluo Continent; his analysis was fundamentally correct. Even though Electrolux¡¯s technique weren¡¯t that simple, the overall results and effects it had achieved were still more or less the same. The only difference was that he¡¯d paid more attention to purifying the souls of the dead.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao replied, then sank back into a muddled state.

    Elder Xuan quickly returned to the cave that the Hand of Death had stayed in with Huo Yuhao in tow. The smell of blood in the cave had be even stronger since he¡¯d left.

    The seriously injured students from the inner courtyard had all been gathered together once he got back. Besides the now-deceased Yao Haoxuan, the people who were in the worst condition were Gong Yangmo and Chen Zifeng. The two of them were currently lying on the ground, unconscious, but their bodies were badly mangled. Even though Xi Xi was also unconscious, her injuries were still somewhat lighter than theirs.

    Although Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen were currently bleeding from their noses and mouths due to their heavy injuries, they were still able to maintain their consciousness.

    Compared to the desperate state that the seven from the inner courtyard were in, the disciples from the outer courtyard werepletely unharmed. They¡¯d originally had the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, and had been a decent distance away from the center of the explosions. The moment they¡¯d felt that something was off, they¡¯d been able to react.

    Xu Sanshi had sessfully used his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle to protect Jiang Nannan, who had the weakest defense of the lot. Bei Bei had in turn released arge amount of thunder and lightning, blocking the poisonous flesh that had been sent flying towards them from the explosions. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had also yed an important role in blocking arge amount of the explosion.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± The moment he saw Elder Xuan return with Huo Yuhao in tow, Wang Dong immediately pounced towards him. The others from the outer courtyard also quickly surrounded him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Huo Yuhao replied somewhat weakly. In spite of everything, Wang Dong hugged him, his tears surging uncontrobly.

    When the Envoy of the Death God had captured Huo Yuhao earlier, Wang Dong instantly felt as though the most important thing in his heart had been ripped away. At that moment, he¡¯d been sent into a foolish stupor. Before he¡¯de to, Elder Xuan had already left in pursuit. He¡¯d wanted to chase after them, but he¡¯d been stopped by Wang Yan. At that time, he¡¯d felt his brain space out. He¡¯d thought inwardly, It¡¯s finished, everything¡¯s over. Yuhao definitely won¡¯t be able to escape now that he¡¯s been captured by such a terrifying fellow. He didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao would actually be brought back by Elder Xuan so quickly.

 Chapter 73.3: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    Chapter 73.3: Third Martial Soul? Necromancy?

    Elder Xuan left Huo Yuhao in Wang Dong¡¯s care, ¡°He¡¯s fine. He has just overdrawn his spiritual power. Let him rest.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t even hear those words; he held Huo Yuhao tightly and started crying.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to say something tofort him. However, he was just too tired after exhausting his spiritual power. He only managed to fractionally raise his hand and wasn¡¯t able to say anything else.

    ¡°How is the situation?¡± Elder Xuan, who still had his martial soul active, turned towards Wang Yan and asked with a very gloomy expression. After that incident in the Great Star Dou Forest, where the disciples of the inner courtyard had encountered a hundred thousand year soul beast and suffered heavy casualties, this was the second time that there had been so many losses under his leadership. An ordinary person would never be able to understand the pain he was feeling right now.

    Wang Yan said full of grief, ¡°Yao Haoxuan died in battle. I tried my best to piece the remains of his skeleton together, but after being used by that evil soul master, his corpse was contaminated by the deadly poison and corroded. We won¡¯t be able to bring back hisplete skeleton.¡±

    Elder Xuan painfully closed his eyes, ¡°How are the others? What¡¯s the state of their injuries? Are they in mortal danger?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Chen Zifeng lost one leg, but the one that suffered the worst injuries was Gong Yangmo. His chest and abdomen have suffered immense damage from the exploding toxic flesh and blood. Therefore, his internal injuries are not only extremely severe but poisonous too. Xi Xi¡¯s internal injuries are less serious, but the poison she was infected with is still very dangerous. As, the three of them have already developed a high fever I gave them some pills to restrain the poison and lower the fever, but this is only a temporary measure. We need the best possible treatment to save their lives. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were in the epicenter of the explosions While they were able to block the toxic blood and flesh released by the explosion due to their high cultivations, the shock waves left them with internal injuries. They¡¯ll need some time to heal. Luckily, neither they nor Ling Luochen were contaminated by the poisonous flesh and blood. With the academy¡¯s medicinal pills, they should be able to recover in half a month. What about the Envoy of the Death God?¡±

    Elder Xuan heaved a deep sigh and told Wang Yan everything that Yuhao had told him. After hearing the story, Wang Yang¡¯s cold and stern expression thawed a little, ¡°Good, good. At least Haoxuan was avenged. Even that Envoy of the Death God couldn¡¯t have expected to die at Yuhao¡¯s hands.¡±

    Elder Xuan opened his eyes again, a resolute look within them. He had already made up his mind and said in a deep voice, ¡°Wang Yan, you¡¯ll have to bear the burden of this difficult task. Bring them back to the military camp, and once Xiaotao and the other two are stable, make haste towards Star Luo City and join the tournament. I¡¯ll bring Gong Yangmo, Chen Zifeng, and Xi Xi back to the academy to get treated. We can¡¯t afford to waste any time and must move immediately.¡±

    Having said that, Elder Xuan pointed his big hands toward the three people that were lying unconscious on the ground. Dense white soul power wrapped them up in a manner reminiscent of a giant cocoon, protecting them.

    Elder Xuan took a deep breath and then looked at at the seven from the outer courtyard as he spoke in a grave tone, ¡°The situation has now changed, and the responsibility lies with me. I¡¯m afraid there isn¡¯t enough time to send for new team members from the academy anymore. We can only rely on you lot for the time being. At the very least, you¡¯ll have to hold on until Ma Xiaotao and the others have recovered. Children, the academy can only rely on you to preserve its glory. If you win, the honor will be yours. If you lose, I¡¯ll personally bear all the shame.¡±

    After that, Elder Xuan raised his head, trying to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes. He then brought the three people wrapped in his soul power out of the cave before he activated his flying-type soul tool and headed toward Shrek Academy at full speed. It was of the utmost importance to cure and save the three students that had been injured and poisoned. After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao also sunk into a deep slumber.

    By the time he regained consciousness, the sun was already high in the sky; it was high noon. The stench of blood had also disappeared and had been reced by the fresh mountain air.

    He discovered that his head was leaning against something soft and stic. The height was just right, and it was veryfortable. A fine and slender hand was lying on his chest, and those same long and slender fingers were also right in front of his eyes.

    He didn¡¯t even need to raise his head to guess who they belonged to, because he had already held this hand innumerable times, though this was his first time seeing them up close.

    Wang Dong¡¯s hands were really beautiful! Although they were much smaller than his, the length of their fingers was about the same. They truly resembled the hands of a girl.

    After his nap, the dizziness from before had already disappeared. All the memories of what had happened previously now slowly started to resurface in his mind. Even though it had been a while, he still felt his heart skip a beat whenever he thought of what had happened.

    The Divine Law of Necromancy, the Specter of Cmity, Electrolux. This was the true identity of the gray ball of light slumbering in his Spiritual Sea!

    At the time, when Electrolux had temporarily taken control of his body, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been able to oppose him in the slightest. He could still feel the outside world and retained all five senses, but he had no control over his body.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that someone had taken control of his body. The Skydream Iceworm had also done it once before. However at that time, he hadn¡¯t been aware of what was happening in the outside world and had remained in his Spiritual Sea as a spectator. The Skydream Iceworm was a million year soul beast, and even if it was doomed to never be a god due to its special circumstances, it was still a million year soul beast which specialized in the spiritual field! Did this mean that he was inferior to a mere spiritual imprint left behind by Electrolux? Just who was this Electrolux? Moreover, he said that he could have be the Death God long ago if he had wished to. All of thisbined was just too scary.

    He had said that he was from another world. What was this world like? And what was this necromancy of his? It seemed somewhat simr to the power of that evil soul master. However, he didn¡¯t get an evil feeling from it. Instead, it felt pure and holy.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that my spiritual power is inferior to his. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not as knowledgeable as him when ites to the human Spiritual Seas.¡± The Skydream Iceworm admitted unwillingly.

    ¡°Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao hastened to say, ¡°Elder Electro¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± The Skydream Iceworm said, depressed, ¡°That guy should be a human like you, but is far from beingmon as evidenced by his incredible power. I suspect that he met a powerful opponent that destroyed both his body and soul, leaving behind only a small fragment of thetter. When we fused together, we created a strange celestial phenomenon, and that soul fragment was assimted in the process. That guy should feel grateful. If it weren¡¯t for this brother, that soul fragment might¡¯ve already dispersed.¡±

    ¡°Stop making excuses. If you¡¯re inferior, you¡¯re just inferior. Let alone you, even I am well below him in regards to spiritual strength. He really wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he said that if his soul fragment wereplete, he might have already be a god.¡± The Ice Empress said. She wasn¡¯t depressed as the Skydream Iceworm, and her voice even carried a hint of admiration.

    The Ice Empress continued, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t waste time worrying about this. Elder Electro¡¯s strength mainly lies in his knowledge and soul level with thetter being incredibly high. However, he has suffered a lot of damage, and with but a fragment left, there¡¯s not much he can do. In his current condition, he cannot even augment your strength. When he disyed his power earlier, he used your body as a medium and Skydream¡¯s sealed power as an energy source. He stopped us from taking action with his higher understanding of your Spiritual Sea. Since we were unsure of what to do and felt that acting rashly might cause damage to your Spiritual Sea, we had no choice but to rely on him. Elder Electro¡¯s strength lies exactly in his knowledge. The powerful magic he used should also originate from his world, You should learn it should the opportunity ever arise. ¡±

    ¡°However, Elder Electro¡¯s power and that of the evil soul master¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said somewhat anxiously.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Elder Electro and that guy were on twopletely different nes. Elder Electro gave me a feeling of purity and simplicity. His soul has already reached a realm where the words ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®evil¡¯ aren¡¯t suitable to describe the its aura. From another standpoint, he should be an existence above this world of ours. Therefore, his power is unlikely to influence your disposition. And from his words, it seems like it won¡¯t be easy for you to learn from him due to his exceedingly high requirements towards your moral character. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Elder Electro¡¯ s attribute should be the same as yours; a light attribute. And even if his light attribute was very weak, it was the purest I had ever seen.¡±

    ¡°Then, what should I do?¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even thirteen yet. Therefore, it was normal for him to rely on the Ice Empress or the Skydream Iceworm when he was in a dilemma.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything.¡± The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°All you have to do is keep cultivating and getting stronger. That soul fragment will still need several years to restore itself and be self-sufficient. And until then, he won¡¯te out easily, because he would be done for if this only fragment were to be damaged. Moreover, you can only learn from him if you have enough strength and spiritual power. Therefore, keep cultivating.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Huo Yuhao had now calmed down a bit. Even though they hadn¡¯tpletely dispelled the doubts in his heart, the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm¡¯s exnations had put him at ease.

    After settling this matter, he opened his eyes. Then, he gently moved Wang Dong¡¯s hand away and sat up.

    This slight movement caused Wang Dong to shake and call out in rm, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re awake.¡±

    When he sat up, Huo Yuhao saw that his fellow students were all nearby. They were sitting in the middle of the woods in deep meditation, trying to recover their energy. But when they heard Wang Dong¡¯s voice, they began to wake up one after another.

    From the main team, only Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen were left. Theirplexions were still pale due to being severely injured. At this time, even they opened their eyes.

 Chapter 74.1: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo

    Chapter 74.1: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo

    Until now, Wang Dong had been leaning against a tree with his thighs acting as Huo Yuhao¡¯sfortable pillow. Now, without even giving Huo Yuhao a chance to speak, Wang Dong hugged him fiercely and said, ¡°Yuhao, do you know that you scared me to death? I thought that you would be like those corpses¡­¡± A sobbing tone crept into his voice as he said these words.

    Xu Sanshi, who was standing next to Bei Bei, chuckled and said, ¡°Look, their brotherly feelings really run deep.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s lips twitched, and he retorted, ¡°In any case, they¡¯re much stronger than a naturally cold-hearted guy like you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately red up in anger, ¡°Bullshit! How can you im that I am naturally cold-hearted?! I just don¡¯t want to be toopassionate towards others! Humph!¡±

    Jiang Nannan furrowed her brows slightly, ¡°How old are you two to still be arguing like children?¡±

    After hearing herment, Xu Shanshi immediately began to behave. Thatment was far more effective than even consuming medicine would have been. With a righteous look on his face, he didn¡¯t bother Bei Bei anymore.

    Huo Yuhao patted Wang Dong¡¯s back as he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m alright now. After all, one who survives a great disaster is destined to have good fortune forever after.¡±

    Wang Yan also walked over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. ¡°All¡¯s well if you¡¯re alright. You better rest up too, then we can get back on track and return to the northwestern army barracks. After we rest up a bit and get ourselves reorganised, we¡¯ll immediately head straight for Star Luo City.¡±

    He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡¯re not really going to deploy us this time around, are you?¡± This question was one that the seven students from the outer courtyard were most concerned about. Wang Dong let go of Huo Yuhao, and they both looked at Wang Yan together.

    Wang Yan smiled bitterly and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there is no other choice. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Grand Tournament will go on for a month, which is a very long time. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen will need at least half a month to recoverpletely. All we can do now is entrust you guys to represent the academy in battle.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Wang, are we up for it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Representing Shrek Academy in battle wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly! It meant that they were representing the academy¡¯s honor!

    Shrek Academy was known as the number one academy in the continent because it nurtured numerous outstanding people of talent and skill. How did it disy this strength? The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Grand Tournament was the best stage to do so.

    Shrek Academy had already monopolised the position of champion for who-knows-how many years continuously. As for the other academies, they could only vie for the position of runner-up. Before the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy from the Sun Moon Empire had appeared, there hadn¡¯t been an opponent that couldpete with Shrek Academy.

    However, this was directed at the main team members! They had had a peak powerhouse like Elder Xuan as theirmanding officer, and their opponents had only been Soul Kings. Yet, who would¡¯ve thought that they would have sustained such heavy losses during their operation this time around? As if one death wasn¡¯t enough, three others were so heavily injured that they couldn¡¯t participate in battle. The remaining three had also sustained significant injuries. In just a short moment, all seven main team members had lost their fighting strength.

    The team had originally consisted of two Soul Emperors and five Soul Kings. Now, it was made up of four Soul Ancestors, one Soul Elder and two Soul Masters.

    This was arge difference in terms of strength.

    All this pressure fell on the seven reserve students from the outer courtyard. The eldest was just fifteen years old, and the youngest was only twelve years old. It was obvious what they must be going through at that moment.

    Wang Yan was slightly at a loss as to how he should respond to Huo Yuhao. He sighed and replied, ¡°The responsibility for the setbacks during this mission rests on my shoulders. I failed tomand the team properly and when we return to the academy, I will definitely beg the school¡¯s highest officials for forgiveness. As for the Grand Tournament, you guys shouldn¡¯t hold back at all. I believe that the preliminary rounds shouldn¡¯t be hard with your abilities. If Elder Xuan can rush back in time, the academy might be able to send another team of inner courtyard disciples as reinforcements before the Grand Tournament starts. With Elder Xuan¡¯s flying speed, I believe there¡¯s a possibility that he¡¯ll be able to make it in time.¡±

    Upon remembering Elder Xuan¡¯s terrifyingly quick manner of flying, everyone immediately became much more rxed.

    Bei Bei stood up and, just as before, spoke with a smile on his face. ¡°Teacher Wang is right. At the end of the day, we are just reserves. Moreover, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Grand Tournament doesn¡¯t have a knockout system Elder Xuan originally mentioned that we were meant to take the stage regardless, to polish our abilities and to serve as a shield for the main team members. We can still proceed ording to that n. Regardless of the oue, everything will work out if we try our best. Besides, we can still trick our opponents. I reckon reinforcements will arrive before we have take on more than a few matches. Our academy isn¡¯t that far from Star Luo City. The most it¡¯ll take the academy to select people and deploy them is around three to five days. So, in reality, we only need to hold up for a few days.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re not weaker than the others. I¡¯ve heard that the contestants from the participating academies normally have the strength of three or four ringed Soul Masters; we¡¯re Shrek Academy¡¯s elite students! What do we have to fear?! The main force might not even need to make a move, because we would¡¯ve already advanced courageously and stormed straight to the finals!¡± Xu Sanshi eximed, filled with fighting spirit.

    Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at him, ¡°Such developed limbs, and yet such a simple mind.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was sitting right beside Jiang Nannan and couldn¡¯t help but stifle a chuckle upon seeing the deted look on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face.

    A hint of a smile found its way onto Wang Yan¡¯s face too. He nodded and replied, ¡°Bei Bei is right. We should do our best.¡± As he spoke, his gaze subconsciously fell on Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen.

    The three of them didn¡¯t utter a word. Wang Yan sighed in his heart and thought to himself, Do your best, and everything will go ording to the will of the heavens.

    However, Huo Yuhao still held suspicion in his heart, because he could clearly remembered what Elder Xuan had said before he left. The academy¡¯s reputation can only rest on your shoulders now. This clearly wasn¡¯t something that he had said without thinking! Moreover, Huo Yuhao also believed that his mentally dexterous senior brother could not have failed to notice those words. But then, why was he talking like this now? Could it be to bolster everyone¡¯s hearts?

    With these thoughts running through his mind, Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t expose his senior brother. All he could do was do his best to go along with Bei Bei. It wasn¡¯t easy to raise everyone¡¯s morale, so how could he say something against him?

    Only Wang Yan and the three remaining inner courtyard students knew that there weren¡¯t many students in the inner courtyard. There were extremely few students under twenty who were sufficiently capable. On top of that, most of the inner courtyard disciples conducted missions outside as Shrek Guardians. Thus, it was practically impossible for the academy to gather another group of Shrek¡¯s Seven Devils from the inner courtyard. Sadly, there wasn¡¯t much hope for those in the outer courtyard either. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were outstanding individuals from the outer courtyard, but even if they could gather a few more students with four soul rings, would they really be stronger than Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong?

    As a result of that, they could only count on themselves during this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Grand Tournament.

    The next day in Shrek Academy.

    Elder Xuan was sitting on a flight of stairs with a bed of messy hair as he poured alcohol into his mouth. The sound of footsteps rang out from behind him, and an old man d in white walked over to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    The old man d in white stood respectfully behind Elder Xuan and said, ¡°The situation has already stabilized. It¡¯s corpse poison. Thankfully, this is only a simple kind of poison and you brought them back just in time. Their lives are out of harm¡¯s way now. The Soul Tool Department has already taken a look at Chen Zifeng¡¯s leg, and deduced that it¡¯s not going to be problem to make a prosthetic for him. Even though his movements will be affected a little, it shouldn¡¯t affect his strength too much.¡±

    Elder Xuan spat out a breath full of the smell of alcohol and sighed, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    At this moment, someone walked in from outside the courtyard. That person was the dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department ¨C Yan Shaozhe.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion conference that you proposed to hold has been prepared. You¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Elder Xuan stood up and walked out. His silhouette clearly seemed a little lonely.

    Yan Shaozhe followed behind Elder Xuan, sighing in his heart. It had been many years since the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion conference had been held so frequently.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, this matter isn¡¯t your fault. You shouldn¡¯t me yourself too much.¡± Yan Shaozhe advised in a low voice.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t speak, and only responded by shaking his head.

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Things weren¡¯t so different from thest Sea God¡¯s Pavilion conference held here, but the atmosphere surrounding the whole ce was somewhat heavier than before. Elder Mu, who was seated at the head of the table, was still lying on his recliner, the shadows obscuring his body.

    The ones seated beside him were Elder Lin and Elder Xuan. The four deans and vice-deans from the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department were still respectfully seated at both ends of the table.

    Elder Mu¡¯s gentle voice rang out. ¡°Speak, dear Xuan. Why have you proposed this Sea God¡¯s Pavilion conference?¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded, slowly got up and began to speak in a low tone, ¡°Everyone already knows what happened this time. This isn¡¯t the first time a problem has arisen from my leadership. As the one who was leading the group, I am therefore bound by an unshirkable responsibility. Henceforth, I have decided to resign from my position as vicemander of the Shrek Guardians. Moreover, I will leave Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and be an idler within the academy.¡±

    Once Elder Xuan spoke, everyone in the room was rmed. One had to know that he held an extremely high post in the academy, second only to Elder Mu lying on the recliner. He was the academy¡¯s elder, and had an extremely strong cultivation, hardly all that different from Elder Mu¡¯s. Elder Mu was themanding officer of the Shrek Guardians, and there was only one vicemander ¨C Elder Xuan. Over the course of nearly 50 years, all of the most outstanding inner courtyard disciples who had represented the school in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Grand Tournament had been led by Elder Xuan. For him to suddenly bring up the topic of his resignation from all of his duties, how could it not shock the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s conference?

    Yan Shaozhe was so shocked that his face turned pale. ¡°Elder Xuan, how can this be? No one can guarantee that something won¡¯t go wrong. Besides, this responsibility cannotpletely rest on your shoulders. Carelessness on the part of Xiaotao and the others also yed a huge part in this matter, along with the unusual abilities of that evil soul master. He could actually unleash an all-out attackparable to that of a Soul Sage. This can only illustrate the direct corrtion between the destructive power of his skill and the number of corpses he rose. Elder Xuan, you are one of the main pirs of the academy. The academy cannot lose you!¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and said, ¡°Shaozhe, don¡¯t say anything anymore. I had earlier wanted to take responsibility for my mistake in the Great Star Dou Forest that time and resign. But that girl, Le Xuan, stubbornly knelt in front of me and I didn¡¯t have the heart to hurt that child¡¯s heart, so I stayed on¡­¡±

 Chapter 74.2: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo

    Chapter 74.2: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo

    ¡°However, we have one dead and six heavily injured students this time. If I keep staying by their side, would another thing like this happen again? My martial soul has guaranteed that I¡¯m not suited to be the vice-captain of the Shrek Guardians. I¡¯ve already made my decision. Yao Haoxuan doesn¡¯t even have a corpse I can bury. I feel very pained, let alone the fact that they¡¯ll have to represent the school to take part in the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Academy now. Now that arge mistake like this has urred, the school¡¯s honor as the number one academy in the continent may be destroyed. This responsibility can only be taken on by me.¡±

    The Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin¡¯er, spoke up, ¡°Elder Xua, please stay your mouth. Although your Godly Taotie Bull requires you to eat things for long periods of time, this doesn¡¯t affect your capabilities! Everyone can clearly see the contributions you¡¯ve made to the academy during these years. We¡¯re all sad for the death of an inner courtyard disciple, but we can¡¯t stop eating for fear of choking. If you leave, that¡¯ll be the academy¡¯s greatest loss.¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head bitterly. ¡°Were it not for the fact that we were lucky this time, Huo Yuhao would¡¯ve died there. Were it not for the fact that his Spiritual Shock coincided with the bacsh of that evil soul master when he was captured, the hope of the academy would¡¯ve been ruined in my hands. With a mistake like this on my hands, how would I have the face to continue staying in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? You don¡¯t have to try and persuade me; I¡¯ve already made my decision. Yao Haoxuan¡¯s family has a rtively decent amount of influence, so I¡¯m going to go take a trip to his n and do my best to help dispel their sorrows. Everyone, I¡¯m going to say goodbye here.¡±

    With that, he turned around and walked towards the door.

    ¡°Come back.¡± A calm, yet imposing voice that contained a formless pressure rang out. These two words were spoken in a very calm manner, but they made Elder Xuan, who¡¯d started walking, forcefully stop moving.

    ¡°Elder Mu, I truly do not have the face to remain anymore.¡± Elder Xuan had his back towards the others, his body trembling slightly. Only he knew just how much pain he was enduring in his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m allowing you toe back. Do you not hear me?¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice became serious.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s body trembled. Just how many years had it been since he¡¯dst heard Elder Mu get emotional while speaking? Eighty? Or was it a hundred years?

    Although he was extremely unwilling, he still turned back and sat back in his seat. Even the other people had subconsciously straightened their backs after sensing the anger in Elder Mu¡¯s voice. They were all silent out of fear, not daring to utter a single word.

    Among everyone seated within the hall, the most senior of the elders were Elder Xuan and Elder Lin. However, even they were slightly junior to Elder Mu. Elder Mu was thest disciple of Elder Xuan¡¯s master, and also his youngest disciple. In other words, Elder Mu was actually Elder Xuan¡¯s junior uncle-master. In terms of age, Elder Mu was only ten years older than Elder Xuan. However, the contributions he¡¯d made towards the academy and his strength ced him as the true number one figure in Shrek Academy.

    Elder Mu, who¡¯d been reclining on his seat, slowly rose to his feet. His appearance could finally be seen clearly.

    Elder Mu had a very ordinary appearance, and he wasn¡¯t very tall either. He even gave off the feeling that he already had one foot in the grave. If Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were here, they would definitely be stunned. This elder, who was able to make the determined Elder Xuan turn back with a just slightly angry tone of voice, and silence the upper echelons of Shrek Academy, was actually the old man who they always saw lying down outside their dormitories.

    Right, he was the Elder Mu who¡¯d shaken the entire continent before. He was now over two hundred and fifty years old, and he was titled as the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En. Two hundred years ago, his name had been famous throughout the continent. Now, perhaps everyone might¡¯ve forgotten about him. Many people assumed that Shrek Academy¡¯s strongest expert was the Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi, but in reality, the Dragon God, Elder Mu, was undoubtedly the number one figure in the academy.

    Who would¡¯ve thought that the ordinary old man who looked like a security guard for the dormitories would actually be the true number one figure of Shrek Academy? Elder Mu stayed there every day, as he enjoyed watching the students from the outer courtyard, and the dynamism that they emanated.

    Only this would help dilute the loneliness he felt in his heart.

    Elder Mu revealed a rarely-seen chilliness in his gentle eyes and said in a low voice, ¡°Why is a two hundred-year-old man like you still being so impatient? If everyone else had left the academy after making a mistake, our Shrek Academy would¡¯ve closed down already. You¡¯re indeed no longer suitable to be the vice-captain of the Shrek Guardians, so stay behind in the academy and help me teach a few students.¡±

    Elder Xuan immediately became somewhat anxious, ¡°Elder Mu, please let me go. I feel very pained, and I don¡¯t even know how I¡¯ll be able to face these kids anymore.¡±

    ¡°If you want to leave, fine.¡± Elder Mu said indifferently, ¡°If you have the ability, go find a wife and marry her. Then, leave your bloodline of the Godly Taotie Bull behind. If you can do that, I¡¯ll let you go; if you can¡¯t, stop talking. If you continue spewing bullshit, I¡¯ll discipline you on behalf of my deceased senior brother.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    The other elders who were participating in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s conference revealed strange smiles as they listened to Elder Mu. Elder Lin, who sat opposite the two, directlyughed.

    Humiliated, Elder Xuan said, ¡°Lin Huiqun, what¡¯re youughing at?¡±

    Elder Lin didn¡¯t fear him in the least. She smiled slightly, ¡°Naturally, I¡¯m wondering whether you¡¯ll even have the chance to pass down your bloodline anymore.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± The other elders immediatelyughed in unison. The four elders couldn¡¯t help butugh, and Xian Lin¡¯er even covered her face with her hand.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s aged face immediately turned bright red, and his humiliation turned to anger as he pped the table and yelled, ¡°Noughing, noughing!¡±

    His outburst sounded serious, but the other elders seated around himughed even louder than before; even Elder Mu revealed the trace of a smile on his face.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Elder Mu gently tapped the table with his hand, silencing the other elders. However, the strange looks in their eyes didn¡¯t change in the least.

    ¡°Ever since the Guardians were established, every single student who joined was already prepared to make a sacrifice.¡± Elder Mu said indifferently, ¡°This situation was special. Not only were we facing an evil soul master, we were even facing one who had the very rare ability to control corpses. Therge number of massacres he caused with the bandits were for the sake of obtaining more corpses so he could cultivate in the techniques belonging to his evil sect. The fact that you were able to eradicate him is already a good deed. I also feel very pained by Yao Haoxuan¡¯s sacrifice, but the dead are already dead. Our Shrek Guardians, however, have to continue on. Your Godly Taotie Bull makes you gluttonous, and you weren¡¯t wrong in trusting Xiaotao and the rest. This tragedy can be even more of a reminder for us to be careful in the future. You followed them this time, but what would¡¯ve happened if you hadn¡¯t? Perhaps they would¡¯ve suffered even greater losses. Also, will an elder always tag along in every mission the Guardians undertake? It¡¯d be better for you to train even more and better Guardians rather than me yourself. Lin¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Present.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er hurriedly stood up and replied respectfully.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to end this now.¡± Elder Mu said in a low voice, ¡°After this conference ends, every single disciple from the inner courtyard will have to go over to you and have a set of custom-made flying-type and defense-type soul tools made. Anybody who dares to go against me will leave the college.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er immediately revealed a delighted look on her face, ¡°Yes.¡± However, Dean Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brows.

    From the very beginning, the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department had been opposing parties, with the former possessing the absolute advantage. The inner courtyard disciples of the Martial Soul Department had also inherited its arrogance. Because of that, they had all chosen not to use soul tools; they believed that this would maintain the legacy of Shrek Academy. However, the decision Elder Mu made today would undoubtedly tell the Martial Soul Department that they would need the help of the Soul Tool Department.

    ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t you need to consider this a bit more?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked probingly.

    Elder Mu red at him and said solemnly, ¡°Do you want a few more deaths to change your mind? Even if this hadn¡¯t happened, I would¡¯ve organised a conference in Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to talk about these important matters. Our generation keeps advancing, and soul tools were originally a creation of society¡¯s advancement in the first ce. An individual can be strong, but working with a soul tool can only improve one¡¯s strength even further. If you keep sticking to your old-fashioned ways, you don¡¯t have to be a Dean anymore. I¡¯ve already made a decision. The inner courtyard of the Martial Soul Department will have to purchase the soul tools from the Soul Tool Department using its own funds, and you¡¯re not allowed to drop behind in your payments.¡±

    Seeing as Elder Mu was getting angry, Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t dare to refute him even if he was inwardly dissatisfied. Thus, he assented respectfully. On the other hand, Xian Lin¡¯er had a victorious smile on her face.

    The vice-Dean, Cai Mei¡¯er, hurriedly tried to mediate the situation with Yan Shaozhe, ¡°Elder Mu, then what shall we do about the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament? The inner courtyard only has ten or so disciples now, and only two of them can qualify for it. However, they¡¯re somewhat weaker. Shall we take the previously-eliminated student from the Soul Tool Department and send him along with those two students?¡±

    Elder Xuan turned awkwardly and nodded, ¡°If I fly them over, we should be able to make it in time.¡±

    Elder Mu shook his head. ¡°No. We don¡¯t need to aid them any further. Let¡¯s let them show off their skills.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The various elders present were all astonished. Of which, one elder blurted out, ¡°Elder Mu, this matter rtes to the honor of the academy.¡±

    Elder Muughed calmly, ¡°Right! Honor. Haven¡¯t you felt that we¡¯ve been tied up by this ¡®honor¡¯ for the past few years? Losing isn¡¯t scary; the truly scary thing iscency. A few people have already assumed that the Martial Soul Department is unparalleled under the heavens, and it¡¯s time for a wake-up call. During the past thirty years, we¡¯ve been seeing new developments in the field of soul tools practically every day. However, what about the development of our Soul Tool Department? If wepare ourselves to the Sun Moon Empire, we¡¯re notcking by just a tiny bit. As society progresses, we have to continually improve our way of thinking. Even if we send extra help, would they definitely be better than those kids?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe naturally understood that his teacher was referring to him. He couldn¡¯t help but lower his head, and his aged face turned slightly red. If anybody else were to speak of the importance of soul tools, he could disapprove; however, the person speaking was the teacher who he respected most. He couldn¡¯t just not pay attention to his words.

    ¡°Although our official team can¡¯t participate this time, you shouldn¡¯t forget that our preparatory team this time is our academy¡¯s strongest-ever. Since the Heavens have decided to give them some early practice, why don¡¯t we help them seed?¡±

 Chapter 74.3: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo (Preview)

    Chapter 74.3: The Taotie Douluo and the Dragon God Douluo (Preview)

    ¡°It¡¯s too soon to talk about defeat. And even if we lose, we can use this opportunity to temper the seven children of the preparatory team, and turn them into an outstanding generation of our Shrek Academy. In that case, even if we lose, it will be still worthwhile. For the time being, let them do as they wish. Lin¡¯er, after the tournament ends, send a request to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy on behalf of our Soul Tool Department and apply for a student exchange program. Let¡¯s send the students of our Soul Tool Department to their empire to study.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was stunned. ¡°Elder Mu, will they agree? And even if they agree, I¡¯m afraid that our students¡­¡±

    ¡°The objective isn¡¯t to send them there to learn,¡± Elder Mu said with a faint smile, ¡°I want them to go there to gain experience. I want them to have a look at the number one soul engineering academy of the continent, and see what their soul tools look like for themselves. As for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they will agree. They¡¯ve already sent a request to apply for a student exchange with our Martial Soul Department. So tell them that as long as they agree to ept our students first, they¡¯re allowed to send ten students of their own to study here.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er replied.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°Talk things over carefully. Within five years, I want the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments to undergo a partial fusion. Add a weekly course on soul engineering for the students of the Martial Soul Department. Even if they don¡¯t learn how to manufacture soul tools, they must know how to use them. Shaozhe, Mei¡¯er, Lin¡¯er and Duo Duo, you must remember this: the advent of soul tools cannot be stopped. We¡¯re unable to predict to what degree they will develop in the future. Therefore, we must gain an advantage while there is still time. Our Shrek Academy has never had ack of talents, and in the future, soul masters will fight whilebining both their martial souls and their soul tools.¡±

    Perplexed, Yan Shaozhe asked, ¡°Teacher, aren¡¯t we rushing things? Even if soul tools are developing quickly, soul engineers aren¡¯tparable to soul masters that have surpassed the Soul Sage rank.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you neglecting the real problem and concentrating only on details?¡± Elder Mu said coldly, ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re mistaken. Not too long ago, I personally went to the Sun Moon Empire, and the things I saw there were able to shock even me. The growth of soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire has already exceeded your imagination. I even saw a huge soul tool that needed many people to control it, and that soul tool was capable of threatening even my life. Something like that has the power to change the course of an entire war. Everything I said today wasn¡¯t without cause. If you keep on with this mentality and refuse to change, Shrek Academy won¡¯tst for long.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Yan Shaozhe was dumbfounded. He was aware of how strong his teacher was. Even if he was a powerful Titled Douluo that had reached Rank 95, in front of his Elder Mu, he was only a tiny existence. And now, his teacher said that there was a soul tool capable of threatening his life. Just how powerful was this soul tool?

    ¡°And if we look at things from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s perspective, they should be unwilling to remain in the shadows anymore. If a war breaks out, you think our academy can shut itself up in an ivory tower? With things as they are now, we might even be the real objective of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attack.¡±

    After hearing these words, the expressions of the nearby elders turned solemn.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I have proposed something. ¡°Elder Mu said in a grave tone, ¡°Now, let¡¯s vote for what I¡¯ve proposed today.¡± After that, he raised his hand first.

    Given his position as Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, no one had ever gone against Elder Mu¡¯s propositions in the past, let alone now that his words had moved the elders. Everyone voted in favor.

    Elder Mu nodded and said, ¡°The academy needs to support the development of soul tools. Huiqun, your department will receive a little more funding.¡±

    Elder Lin nodded.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°That Fan Yu from the Soul Tool Department isn¡¯t bad. What about making him the vice-dean?¡±

    Once again, everyone voted in favor.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be in charge of researching and developing soul tools,¡± Elder Mu said to Xian Lin¡¯er, ¡°he doesn¡¯t need to teach anyone else except his two inheriting disciples. Moreover, he¡¯ll be the one leading the students in the exchange with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Tang Ya was sitting in the dormitory and gazing out the window. Her pretty face was a bit pale.

    ¡°I wonder how Bei Bei and the others are doing. Elder sister Le Xuan said that the disciples of the inner courtyard were seriously injured during this mission. One of them died in battle, and the other six were wounded. Even if Bei Bei and the others are alright, I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll have to participate in thepetition.¡±

    ¡°Even Little Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao are there. On the other hand, I¡¯m quite useless. Even if I¡¯m the head of the Tang Sect, I don¡¯t seem to have a bright future. It¡¯s already been a year since I broke through the third ring bottleneck, and up til now, my soul power has only reached Rank 33; it¡¯s getting harder and harder to advance. As of now, even that Dai Huabin from the second year has surpassed me. I¡¯m already in my fifth year, and I¡¯m starting to wonder how I¡¯ll be able to graduate once I¡¯m in the sixth grade! Breaking through the fourth ring seems so difficult.¡±

    The always-bright Tang Ya was talking to herself. Her beautiful face was quite gloomy right now.

    ¡°Father, mother, the both of you died in such a tragic way, and yet, there is no one that can really help us. Ten thousand years have passed, and all the friendships from back then have started to wane. In any case, Shrek Academy still remembers the contributions of Ancestor Tang San and gave me a ce to stay. But the Clear Sky n? I went to look for them, but they said that they would help the starving but not the poor. The decline of the Tang Sect seems unavoidable. No, I refuse to believe it! I must rebuild the sect, and even if I have to pay a great price, I can¡¯t shrink back!¡±

    Tears were streaming down Tang Ya¡¯s tender cheeks. After all, she was only a fifteen-year-old girl, but she had so many responsibilities already.

    The Tang Sect had recruited Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and He Caitou. This had given the Tang Sect some hope. However, her talent was the worst among them. How was she supposed to lead them in the future?

    After wiping her tears, Tang Ya stood up and clenched her delicate fists. ¡°I want to be stronger. I¡¯ll do everything to make the Tang Sect great again. Father, mother, forgive me. I¡¯m afraid that your Little Ya will have to go Star Luo City.¡±

    In regards to the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City was worthy of being called the number one city. It was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s political, cultural, and economic center. It also had the title of ¡®The Undefeated Imperial Capital¡¯.

    Star Luo City¡¯s city walls reached a height of hundred meters, and unexpectedly, their width was also a hundred meters. These walls were made of a very durable stone. The area it encircled surpassed a thousand square kilometers; it surpassed fifty kilometers in both length and breadth.

    The core of the city, the so-called inner city, was obviously situated in the center of Star Luo City. The inner city had a length of 960 meters and a width of 750 meters, and the inner city walls around it were 20 meters high¡ªit was a city within a city. The Imperial Pce was alreadyplete thanks to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lineage and the Imperial Family. Every time it was rebuilt, it got bigger in scale and more magnificent.

    Star Luo City¡¯s poption exceeded 8 million inhabitants, and could hold up to 20 million people if one were to add the foreigners.

    However, even such a big city had started to be crowded as ofte. The number of visitors had rapidly increased in a short half-month, and all the hotels were full. Therefore, the officers had to take over the residences of a fewmoners and open their houses up to the visitors. The number of troops inside the city had also increased quite a lot due to security reasons.

    There was only one reason for such a huge change: the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament that was held every five years. And now, the tournament was taking ce in Star Luo City.

    There were four great empires on the continent, and the various capitals of the empires would take turns to host the tournament. Therefore, Star Luo City would need to wait another twenty years to hold it again. How could such a grand asion not attract all the residents of the Star Luo Empire?

    The tournament was going to be held in Star Luo za, in front of the inner city. Star Luo za was very big, and could hold many spectators. There were thirty thousand soldiers tasked with keeping order in the city, and ten thousand of them were stationed at Star Luo za.

    Not far from the east side of the Star Luo za was a big hotel with seven stories. This was the Imperial Star Grand Hotel, and it belonged to the royal family. Currently, it was being used to wee the various high-ranked soul masters and soul engineersing from the other countries to participate in the tournament.

    Due to the fact that they were the reigning champions from the number one academy on the continent, the members of Shrek Academy were situated in the most luxurious room on the highest floor. Everyone had their own bedroom, and in addition, they also had a meeting room that they could use as they wished.

    At this time, the ten members of the team and their leading teacher, Wang Yan, were in the middle of the meeting room, talking things over before the start of the match.

    They had only arrived in Star Luo City yesterday. They were quitetepared to the other academies participating in the tournament. However, in their eyes, it was just Shrek Academy acting arrogantly because they were the defending champions and the number one academy on the continent.

    Wang Yan sat in the ce of honor. On his left were Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen; all three of them had paleplexions. Their internal organs were still damaged. Even if they had received medical treatment and tried to recuperate their strength with their own methods, they had rushed here in great haste with the aid of a flying-type soul tool. This had taken quite a toll on them, and had actually aggravated the state of their injuries. The time they would need to recuperate was going to be higher than the previous estimates.

    Given the situation, it would be strange if Wang Yan had a goodplexion.

    The registrations would end today. Wang Yang had already discussed things with the organizers of the tournament and signed up the current students, but the reinforcements from the academy were yet to be seen. Thepetition would start tomorrow, and at this point, they could only rely on themselves.

    Wang Yan tried to calm down, and showed a slight smile on his face as he said, ¡°Did you have a proper rest yesterday? The Star Luo Empire¡¯s hospitality isn¡¯t half bad.¡±

    Bei Bei, who was the first on his right, said, ¡°We had a good rest. However, today is thest day for the registration, and those reinforcements from the academy¡­¡±

    Wang Yan waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already received a letter from the academy. It takes some time to gather students that were away. Moreover, our academy has a certain privilege¡­ thus, we must fight for Shrek¡¯s glory! I really wonder how far the preparatory team can go.¡±

 Chapter 75.1: The Start of the Tournament

    Chapter 75.1: The Start of the Tournament

    ¡°Privilege?¡± The disciples from the outer courtyard looked at Wang Yan in astonishment.

    Wang Yan nodded. ¡°Right! Don¡¯t forget, our Shrek Academy reigns as the number one academy across the entire continent. When were we not the champions of a tournament? Because of that, we¡¯ll be able toplete our registrations regardless of when we arrive. However, the inner courtyard disciples are also Guardians, and many of them are carrying out assignments in the outside world, so they¡¯ll definitely need some time to rush over. We won¡¯t meet any strong opponents in the first few matches, so I¡¯m confident there¡¯ll be no problem with your strength. Now, I¡¯ll exin the rules of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.¡±

    After putting the students from the outer courtyard at ease, Wang Yan exined calmly, ¡°The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament is the ultimatepetition for the various academies around the world. It has fair and equitable rules that test the total strength of each academy¡¯s students.¡±

    ¡°Because of that, the manners in which wepete are extremely plentiful and lively. I¡¯m going to exin some of them today. There are a total of a hundred and thirty three advanced soul master and soul engineering academies who¡¯vee today, and all of them are staying in this hotel. The first round of the preliminaries is a direct elimination match. In other words, the losing party will be directly eliminated. The first round will be a 7v7 team fight. The lot-drawing for which will be carried out tomorrow. I reckon that it¡¯ll take three days for the first round to be finished.¡±

    ¡°Once the first round is finished, we¡¯ll be split into groups. Each group will have eight or nine teams, and will undergo a round-robin tournament. The rules for each of the round-robin matches will be randomly chosen from one of three situations: Firstly, Single Elimination. Secondly, a 3-man, 2-man, and 2-man Coordination Match. Andstly, a 7v7 Team Fight. This will test theprehensive strength of every team. Every match will have a lot-drawing preceding the match, and this will determine which situation will be used for that match. This is the best way to test your strength as a whole.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin the specifics of these matches after you get through the first round. Right now, you¡¯ll have to face your opponents in the first round. After you finish that, we¡¯ll be able to get into the elimination round and wait for our backup. Xiaotao and the rest won¡¯t be able to make it in time, so we can only rely on you guys to win this no matter what. After the elimination round, you won¡¯t have to be so nervous about theter matches. Furthermore, we could have our backupsing at any time. Even if they aren¡¯t able to make it in time, Xiaotao and the rest will be able to recover their strength within half a month, at the very most. And after all, we¡¯re still the number one team.¡±

    The moment they heard that the first round was an elimination round, everyone¡¯s faces clearly turned serious. If Shrek Academy were to take their leave in the first round of the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament, they would be a joke.

    Yet, Wang Yan was extremely confident. Without revealing any worry at all, he smiled slightly. ¡°What are you guys doing? Are you nervous? You don¡¯t need to be nervous at all. After the tournament starts, you¡¯ll realise that your opponents are far far weaker than what you were expecting. You¡¯ve forgotten one thing; you¡¯re the elites who¡¯ve been chosen from Shrek Academy. Even if you¡¯re the preparatory team, the fact that you¡¯ve been chosen to represent Shrek Academy on this tform has proved that you¡¯ve got enough strength. Moreover, this strength is something that the other academies will never be able topare against. You can¡¯t assume that your opponents from the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament will be as strong as the powerful enemies you¡¯ve faced during your advancement tests!¡±

    Everyone present was slightly stunned, Right! Teacher Wang was right. They were the disciples of the number one academy on the continent. They couldn¡¯t use their fellow peers to judge the strength of their opponents.

    Wang Yan leaned back in his chairfortably, ¡°Other than Yuhao, all of you have optimum soul ringbinations; every single one of you has a thousand year soul ring. What about your opponents? Do you think thousand year soul beasts are that easy to hunt? I can tell you that even Soul Kings are rare in many of the advanced soul master academies. Although your opponents are all around twenty, it¡¯s already quite hard for them to guarantee that their whole team will be filled with soul masters who have three or more rings. Four-ringed soul masters are extremely rare. I dare say that unless you meet the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, you won¡¯t meet a Soul King. What cultivations does our team possess? We have four Soul Ancestors, and two people with twin martial souls; we even have an Ultimate martial soul. Your opponents should be the nervous ones. Okay, go rest. Preserve your energy and go beat them up tomorrow. Let the other academies see that they won¡¯t have any chance against us, even if we send out our reserve team. Oh, right. I have to remind you that we¡¯ll definitely be going out on the first day of the elimination round. As the reigning champions, we¡¯ll be the first ones out.¡±

    Somewhat astonished, Xu Sanshi asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, are you not going to make any strategies for us?¡±

    Wang Yan snorted unhappily. ¡°What do you need a strategy for? Are you trying to humiliate me, or yourselves? Do you even need a strategy against these types of opponents? Go. Xiaotao, you three stay behind for a moment. I¡¯m going to get some medicine for you.¡± The seven from the preparatory team all returned to their rooms and rested. After Wang Yan¡¯s speech, they had be much less nervous. Right! We¡¯re the elites of Shrek Academy! So what if we¡¯re from the preparatory team? We¡¯re not weaker than anyone else.

    Once the seven left, Wang Yan rose to his feet and shut the door to the conference room. The rxed look on his face instantly vanished as he let out a long sigh. Once he sat back down, the look on his face turned extremely serious.

    Dai Yueheng sighed, ¡°Teacher Wang, is there a need for you to console them like this? Although nothing you said was wrong, the students who are representing their respective academies are the most elite existences among their peers as well. Although there might be a few weaker ones, the overwhelminglyrge majority of our opponents are at the Soul Ancestor rank on average. Furthermore, the academy we¡¯re fighting against in the elimination round tomorrow will definitely go all-out.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°What Teacher Wang did was right. Were it not for him, they wouldn¡¯t have any morale at all; they wouldn¡¯t have even needed to fight if that was the case. All we can do now is trust thempletely. Can you or I even move now?¡±

    ¡°I asked you three to stay behind to tell me how long you¡¯ll need to recover from your injuries and fight,¡± Wang Yan said solemnly, ¡°I need an urate timespan.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°If I go all-out cultivating to recuperate, I¡¯ll need fifteen days.¡±

    Dai Yueheng said, ¡°My cultivation isn¡¯t as good as Xiaotao¡¯s, so I might need a bit more time. I reckon seventeen days or so.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s heart became increasingly heavy. This was his first time taking a team to a tournament and he wasn¡¯t confident in himself at all!

    Ling Luocheng said, ¡°My injuries are rtively lighter, so ten days or so should be good.¡±

    There was finally a rather good piece of news. After doing a few calctions, Wang Yan continued, ¡°In other words, you¡¯ll be able to fight in the third or fourth match of the knock-out tournament if everything goes well.¡±

    After sinking into contemtion for a while, Wang Yan nodded. ¡°We can only hope that they¡¯ll win their first match. We¡¯ll only have the chance to continue on if we¡¯re able to get into the knockout stage. You have to keep the fact that we don¡¯t have a backup team a secret. Their confidence has to be established via victory, and I believe that they¡¯ll have the strength to maintain the glory of our Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both returned to the former¡¯s room.

    After shutting the door, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, do you think what Teacher Wang said was the truth?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s true or not, we have to assume that he¡¯s being honest, because we simply don¡¯t have any other choices. Come, let¡¯s start cultivating. After the lot-drawing for the knockout round tomorrow, the tournament will officially start. The only thing we can do now is make ourselves more confident. There are no alternatives.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Wang Dong sat directly opposite Huo Yuhao, and the two ced their palms against each other and started cultivating their Haodong Power.

    Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t the only academy that was holding a meeting; at this moment, all of the participating academies were trying to boost the morale of their students. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that was on the same level as Shrek Academy was also doing the same.

    They were always second ce in practically every single tournament, so there was practically no difference between the treatment that they and Shrek Academy received in the Imperial Star Grand Hotel. They only had a single target, that was, to be champions.

    Two elders sat at the head of the table within the conference room, and a total of fourteen students were sat by their sides. The students seated on the left were evidently older, and the students seated on the right were slightly younger. Clearly, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had also sent an official team and a preparatory team for the tournament that was to be held five yearster.

    The elder who sat on the left had a straight nose, and a square mouth. His facial features were majestic, and he was wrinkled like a date. As he sat there with his wide shoulders, he gave off an extremely sturdy feeling. He spoke in a low voice. ¡°ording to our investigations, Shrek Academy has actually brought only ten people this time. Furthermore, three of them look younger than twelve. The others are a bit older. We¡¯ve used a few men who¡¯ve infiltrated the inner parts of the Star Luo Empire, and we¡¯ve obtained urate information. When they registered, only those three were neen. The other seven were all under fifteen. In other words, Shrek Academy didn¡¯t even make an official team of seven to participate in this tournament. Out of the seven fromst time¡¯s preparatory team, only two of them showed up. It¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve seen that neen-year-old girl show up. Do you know what this means?¡±

    The fourteen students were all somewhat doubtful.

    The elder seated by the right had a curly beard and was simrly tall and big. His short white hair resembled steel needles, and the hairs on his temples, along with his curly beard made him seem impressively terrifying.

 Chapter 75.2: The Start of the Tournament

    Chapter 75.2: The Start of the Tournament

    He pounded the table violently, and stood up, saying, ¡°It means that they¡¯re looking down on us! They think they can defeat us just with their preparatory team! This is like getting a p in the face; do you understand that? This is the most direct way they could use to p us in the face. ording to the rules of the tournament, the registrations will end today. Therefore, they¡¯re nning to rely on that team to fight us. Ma Rulong.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± A male student sitting in the ce of honor on the regr team¡¯s side stood up. His face was somewhat simr to the angry old man¡¯s. He had arge stature and short hair with curly sideburns. Both his eyes were bright, and his entire body was emitting a boundless power.

    ¡°If we manage to lose against such a lineup, you will be kicked out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ma Rulong replied with one word just like before, but his voice was already filled with murderous intent.

    ¡°Elder Ma, don¡¯t be anxious. I don¡¯t think things are so simple.¡± Sitting in front of Ma Rulong was the captain of the preparatory team; he was less than fifteen, and looked very pretty and delicate. He had big bright blue eyes, and a tall and slender build. His hands, which were now ced on the table, were also as white as jade and very delicate. Even a girl was unlikely to have such beautiful hands. He seemed to like his hands very much. Even while talking to Elder Ma, he was still gazing at them as if looking at the most beautiful piece of art in the world.

    Elder Ma furrowed his brows slightly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s not so simple?¡±

    The delicate youth was still looking at this hands as he said, ¡°Shrek Academy isn¡¯t made of fools. How can they not know that those three aren¡¯t enough to stop us? I have great confidence in Big Brother Rulong, but as I see it, Shrek Academy must have run into some kind of problem. Didn¡¯t they always attach great importance to us? It¡¯s strange that they would get careless at this time.¡±

    After hearing these words, Elder Ma¡¯s face became slightly red. He had also suspected that something like this might have happened, but he had still said those words to rally the students.

    ¡°That would be better. Xiao Hongchen, you should use all this energy to deal with those students of Shrek Academy that are under fifteen years old. They¡¯ll be your opponents in the next tournament.¡±

    The youth named Xiao Hongchen finally raised his head and smiled. This smile was just like that of a beautiful woman. Then, he said, ¡°Elder Ma, only I can be my opponent.¡±

    Ma Rulong, who was sitting on the other side, gave him a supercilious look as he said, ¡°Xiao Hongchen, if you have something to say, just say it.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen put on a happy face. ¡°Big Brother Ma, I¡¯ve already said it. You should try your best, because if you fail to defeat the current members sent by Shrek Academy, you¡¯ll be kicked out of the Illustrious Virtue Hall just like Elder Ma said. That would be a pity, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± A hint of anger immediately appeared in Ma Rulong¡¯s eyes.

    Elder Ma red at him and said in a grave tone, ¡°Sit down. I¡¯ll now choose those that will participate in the first round.¡±

    Even if he was only the captain of the preparatory team, both the leader of the main team Ma Rulong and the old man that was leading them seemed to dread him. Behind Xiao Hongchen¡¯s smiled was hidden an arrogance that seemed to ce him above every other living thing.

    Early morning. Just as the first rays of sunlight started to shine over Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.

    All the roads leading to Star Luo za were blocked by soldiers in shining armor. The Imperial Star Grand Hotel was even more well-guarded. More than a thousand soldiers were stationed around it, and all the roads leading to Star Luo za from there were under strict supervision.

    Only the members of the various academies that were participating in the tournament could get through the encirclement.

    The location where the tournament would take ce wasn¡¯t the middle of Star Luo za. It was instead going to take ce in front of the inner city gate. This way, the emperor could watch the show with his civil and military ministers from the top of the walls of the inner city. Not only was the view very good, but it was also very safe.

    The tform that would be used for the matches had a length and breadth of 100 meters and a height of 5 meters. Moreover, there were 108 pirs of metal on the periphery of the tform. These pirs weren¡¯t there as an ornament, but were instead a defensive-type soul tool. After the start of the tournament, these pirs would be controlled by 108 soul masters, creating a defensive formation around the tform that would stop the leakage of soul skills. This was to avoid destroying the inner city and causing casualties.

    The tform had cost arge amount of money to construct. Moreover, they would have topensate the 108 soul masters that would operate the defensive-type soul tools for the duration of the tournament, which would go on for more than a month. It was difficult to achieve all of this without the power of an empire.

    At this time, except for the far off soldiers, there wasn¡¯t a single soul in the wide Star Luo za.

    The previous time the tournament had been held in the Star Luo Empire, there was an incident where people had trampled on each other. Therefore, the royal family had decided to attach great importance to this matter. Not only they dispatch the army to keep order this time, they also found other ways to avoid problems.

    There were many iron bars in the za. These iron bars were around 1.5 meters high, and wouldn¡¯t cover the line of sight for most of the audience. Their purpose was to divide the za into different zones. The audience had to enter and exit the za from different ces; this made the soldiers¡¯ work much easier. Every area could only hold a certain number of spectators.

    The inner city was located on the northern side of Star Luo City, facing south, and a luxurious resting area was built on the eastern side of the tform. It had been specially built for the members of the various academies that would be participating in the tournament. However, there was only space for around seventy academies in this resting area. This meant that there wasn¡¯t space for the academies that would be eliminated in the first round. With that, there would be no waste of space, and the students would be more motivated.

    After the tournament had changed its system to the current one, except for the final stage, the thorniest one was exactly this first round of eliminations. Both its awesomeness and harshness exceeded that of the round-robin that wouldeter.

    There was still ce for tactics in the robin-round stage, and you could even make use of tactical defeats. However, the first round would lead to a direct elimination. Losing the match would mean that you were out of the tournament, and every team had to go through this first round. Even the defending champions of Shrek Academy were no exception. When drawing lots, there was a possibility of a team obtaining a bye. However, none of the academies could enjoy its privileges directly.

    The teachers leading the respective academies had arrived at the inner city very early in the morning. They received a number te based on the time they had registered, and afterward, they started to draw lots. At this time, the lots had already been drawn. An official of the Star Luo Empire had the duty of announcing the results of the lots. Once the order of the matches was decided, the final preparations for the early phase of the tournament could be consideredplete.

    The sun slowly rose from the far away east. And Star Luo City, which was located in the middle of the continent, was engulfed in warmth.

    On the city walls of the inner city was a middle-aged man with his hands crossed behind his back and an imperial golden crown on his head. He was wearing a long bright yellow gown, and was standing exactly on top of the main entrance to the inner city. This also happened to be the best ce from where to watch the match.

    At his side was a beautiful woman wearing fine attire that belonged to a pcedy; she was standing respectfully and quietly beside him. A few steps behind her were the Star Luo Empire¡¯s civil and military officers.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± An old man wearing the red clothes of a civil officer took a step forward and bowed respectfully after arriving at the man¡¯s side. On his long gown was embroidered a python; this signified that his status was very high. He was worthy of holding the highest position.

    ¡°Prime minister, how are the arrangements going?¡± The emperor asked with a smile.

    The prime minister respectfully said, ¡°Everything is ready. The lots were drawn, and the order of the matches has been decided. There are no problems in the periphery either. We can allow the citizens to enter the arena.¡±

    The emperor of the Star Luo Empire nodded and said with a smile, ¡°Good, pass my order down. Clear the important passages, and allow the people to enter the arena. Make them enter in a slow and orderly fashion. If there are problems, the ones in charge of the area involved will be punished severely.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The prime minister retreated several steps before turning and leaving.

    The emperor spoke to the beautiful woman beside him. ¡°Empress, we have waited twenty years for this grand asion. It reminds me of when I was young! If the royal family didn¡¯t have so many customs, I would have participated myself.¡±

    ¡°The emperor has always had the heart of a soldier,¡± the empress said with a faint smile.

    ¡°Look,¡± The emperor said with a smile of his own, ¡°the students of the various academies are already entering the arena. However, not all of them will be able to make use of the resting area. Only those that achieve victory will have this privilege. It seems that Shrek Academy has only sent ten people this time, and their age is quite young. One of the leading students is Dai Hao¡¯s eldest son. I thought of calling him back and letting him watch the tournament. After all, it¡¯s something that our country can host only every twenty years. But in the end, I decided against it; the Sun Moon Empire is getting more and more restless. If he is there guarding the western border, I¡¯ll feel more at ease.¡±

    The empress listened quietly and didn¡¯t say anything. As the firstdy of the nation, she wasn¡¯t allowed to interfere with politics. Especially when there were many civil and military officers around them. Every one of those military officers was a powerful soul master. Their hearing was very keen.

    At this time, the crowd started to enter Star Luo za under the lead of the army; the long lines converged inside the za.

    You couldn¡¯t watch the tournament for free. However, the admission cost wasn¡¯t too high either; it was only two gold soul coins. And even if a limited number of people could enter the za, there was enough space to amodate more than twenty thousand spectators. Two gold soul coins was the base price. The nearer you were to the tform, the higher the price. You had to pay a hundred gold soul coins to enter the area that was nearest to the tform.

    For themoners, it was a lot of money. But for aristocrats and merchants, it wasn¡¯t that much.

    The Star Luo Empire was treating all the spectators fairly. The more you paid, the nearer you would be to the tform. But aside from this, everyone was treated the same. There weren¡¯t any seats, and you could watch only while standing. This was so that they could amodate more people.

 Chapter 75.3: The Start of the Tournament

    Chapter 75.3: The Start of the Tournament

    This simple entrance fee they collected would earn the Star Luo Empire two million or so gold soul coins every day. Within a single month, they could earn a total of sixty million gold soul coins. After deducting the military and other various costs, the empire would still earn arge sum. This was one of the main reasons why the four empires were very willing to host the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament. It had to be known that a year¡¯s worth of revenue from Star Luo City wasn¡¯t far from this number!

    Just as the spectators began to fill the arena, Huo Yuhao and hispanions were standing in the participant¡¯s area.

    Today, the people from Shrek Academy were dressed in their traditional, dark-green school uniforms; these were the standard colors of the academy. Furthermore, they stood at the very front of all of the other academies. However, there were no objections to this. This was the glory that Shrek Academy had umted through their strength for over a thousand years.

    However, the other participants who stood behind them involuntarily revealed a look of astonishment as they looked at their lineup.

    It would have been fine if only ten people had turned up, but an overwhelminglyrge majority of the ten didn¡¯t seem like they were anywhere near twenty years old. They were able to see how young they were without even using a bone test. Only the three who stood at the very front seemed like they were of an appropriate age. However, they all wore cloaks that concealed their facial features.

    Arge majority of the academies were inwardly praying that they wouldn¡¯t meet Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in their first match. Otherwise, it was practically announcing that they would be eliminated.

    The participants from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy stood behind Shrek Academy, allowing them to get an even better view of the students from thetter.

    The youngest students from Shrek Academy were Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Huo Yuhao was slightly better than the other two; after fusing with the Ice Empress¡¯ torso bone, his stature had changed greatly. He could now pass for a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth. However, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s faces still looked somewhat infantile. This was especially true for Xiao Xiao. She was rather short, and looked like she was only a young girl. At this moment, even the proud Xiao Hongchen was filled with doubt. Just what was Shrek Academy trying to do by sending out a lineup like this?

    It took a full hour for the spectators to enter the arena; there were simply too many people.

    The originally-empty Star Luo za was now packed with people. Fortunately, the ce didn¡¯t seem too chaotic due to the iron fences partitioning it, in addition to the army maintaining order.

    It was now 9am.

    ¡°Silence.¡± A loud voice suddenly spread throughout the entire field. After hearing this voice, every soldier in the army stood perfectly straight and raised thences in their hands.

    Immediately, as the solemn voice covered the entire field, the originally-morous Star Luo za promptly went silent.

    ¡°His Majesty, the Emperor, arrives!¡±

    With a crash, the popce immediately knelt down inrge numbers. Several hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously made the same, orderly movements, creating a truly spectacr scene.

    The soldiers only knelt down on one knee, but the participating academies had been given special permission to not kneel. However, they had to give a ny-degree bow to show their respect to the emperor.

    ¡°Subjects, you may rise.¡± The voice of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s emperor was magnified with a loudspeaker-type soul tool. Only then did the popce get to their feet, and the participating students subsequently straightened their backs. The gazes of everyone present were cast towards the top of the imperial capital¡¯s walls.

    The Star Luo Emperor was already standing at the very front of the city walls, along with the empress and his civil and military officials. His gentle gaze didn¡¯t lose any of its grandeur as he surveyed his people.

    ¡°The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament is the most important asion on our Douluo Continent. This time, it¡¯s our Star Luo Empire¡¯s turn to host it, and I¡¯m very happy. Now, on behalf of the Star Luo Empire, I wee each and every academy who has travelled far toe here. I wish that you¡¯ll be able to reveal the elegance you should have in the tournament one month from now.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± The leaders and students from the hundred and thirty-three academies bowed again.

    The Star Luo Emperor nodded and smiled slightly in their direction.

    ¡°Okay, I now announce that the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament has formally begun!¡± The Star Luo Emperor¡¯s loud deration opened the curtains to this grand asion.

    ¡°Long live the king, long live the king, long live the king!¡± The masses all cheered in chorus. The atmosphere in the za seemed to have been aroused instantly.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­.¡± Gun salutes rang out from the city walls, and rang out a hundred and eight times before stopping. Star Luo za had already transformed into an ocean of excitement and cheers.

    The Star Luo Emperor retreated slightly with his generals, then took a seat alongside the empress in a chair that was already prepared for him. He waved towards the prime minister beside him, who then obeyed hismand and ordered a subordinate to start the tournament.

    The sonorous voice that had previously spoken immediately rang out again, ¡°ording to the rules of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, the first round of the tournament will be a knockout round. This year, there have been a total of a hundred and thirty-three academies who have registered so far. After drawing some lots, there will be a single team who has a bye. A total of sixty-six matches will be conducted. The first round will be a knockout round, and the loser will have to end his journey in this tournament. Now, the first match will begin. The first team consists of the participants from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy, while the other is the continent¡¯s number one academy, the academy that has countless feats of glory to its name, the academy that has won every single tournament for the past thousand years, Shrek Academy!¡±

    Following the announcer¡¯s deration, the atmosphere in Star Luo za immediately reached its boiling point.

    ¡°Shrek, Shrek, Shrek¡­¡±

    The shouts for Shrek Academy thoroughly covered every single corner of the za.

    The seven from the preparatory team were left staring nkly as they watched the scene unfurling in front of them. This was the first time they¡¯d seen something like this, and their faces were somewhat pale for a brief moment. This was a crowd of several hundreds of thousands! If they were to lose this match, leading to Shrek Academy¡¯s disqualification, they simply couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen.

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic. This is the glory that belongs to our Shrek Academy, and also the glory that will soon belong to you. During thest tournament, we too faced a scene like this. I can tell you that our opponents will definitely be ten times more nervous and panicked than us, because we¡¯re Shrek Academy.¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice rang out in the ears of every single member of the preparatory team.

    A scene like this was a first even for Wang Yan, who was leading the group! Only Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, who¡¯d previously represented Shrek Academy as the preparatory team in thest tournament, would¡¯ve seen something like this. At this moment, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s words were naturally most persuasive to them.

    Dai Yueheng immediately continued, ¡°Xiaotao¡¯s correct. These cheers are for us, and for the glory of Shrek Academy. Right now, we need you to burst forth and step up. Use your strength to prove how powerful our Shrek Academy is. Go. Raise your chests, and put on your most enthusiastic face to thank these supporters.¡±

    With the morale boost from the two seniors, their incessantly excited hearts calmed down slightly. However, their palms were still sweaty. They naturally didn¡¯t know that Shrek Academy¡¯s preparatory team had never appeared in the first round before. This was because the first match represented the face of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, their hearts would definitely be affected after facing such a passionate crowd for the first time. Thus, the main team would go out in full force during the first round.

    However, they simply had no other choice now!

    Right at this moment, the announcer¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°May the team members from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy take the field.¡±

    A group of young, pale-faced students walked out from the far side of the contestant¡¯s area. As they walked out, even their footsteps were somewhat unstable. Ma Xiaotao giggled, and turned towards Huo Yuhao and the rest, ¡°Look, these are your opponents. Have you noticed? Some of them are shaking all over. The reputation of Shrek Academy is indeed arge responsibility and a heavy burden on you, but our glory is also one of the most effective weapons you have. Bring out your courage and strength. Shrek, win.¡±

    With that, Ma Xiaotao strode towards Bei Bei and extended her right hand. The others then stepped forth, and eleven right hands were ced atop each other.

    Wang Yan whispered, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re in charge ofmanding the team after we¡¯re up. The rest of you have to follow and maneuver ording to his Spiritual Detection. Yuhao, use your second soul skill carefully, if possible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had originally still been somewhat nk, but he was suddenly enlightened after hearing Wang Yan¡¯s reminder and the words that Ma Xiaotao had said. His Spirit Eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded heavily. ¡°Teacher Wang, I understand. Seniors, don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t lose any of Shrek¡¯s face. Shrek, win.¡±

    As they looked at the determination in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he said the word ¡®Shrek¡¯, every single member of the preparatory team felt their blood boiling. Right, they were students of Shrek Academy, representing the ten thousands years of glory it had held. Their opponents would only feel fear towards them. What they had to do was beat every single opponent who stood in front of them.

    They no longer had an escape, nor did they need to retreat. They needed to unceasingly advance, advance, and advance!

    ¡°Okay, the members of the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy have stepped up. Under the eyes of the crowd, let us now have the continent¡¯s number one academy, the true king of academies, Shrek Academy, take the field!¡±

    The announcer¡¯s resounding voice immediately reached its peak, and Star Luo za instantly became a sea of voices that cheered for Shrek. Even the Star Luo Emperor, who sat on the city walls, couldn¡¯t help but stand up and reveal a look of excitement on his face. Who would¡¯ve imagined that he¡¯d studied in Shrek Academy during his youth using a pseudonym? Even now, he still deeply loved a person, the person who eternally stood guard within Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard¡­

 Chapter 76.1: I come from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    Chapter 76.1: Ie from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    All of their hands trembled a bit when they heard themselves called up. When Bei Bei raised his head, thezy smile that was normally present on his face had vanished. Resolute determination now filled his face as he tookrge strides towards the stage.

    He Caitou followed immediately after Bei Bei, while Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong all trailed behind him.

    Right. As of this moment, the seven of them were now representing Shrek Academy. As of this moment, they were the current generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. The halo of their ancestors seemed to envelop their bodies, alongside the halo of the Tang Sect!

    The radiance of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy seemed to ignite within them at the same time, and when it did, their emotions reached an unprecedented level of excitement.

    Their breathing had be somewhat rushed amidst the cheers that had epassed them, and their faces had be flushed. Their soul power had also begun rapidly circting throughout their bodies due to their excitement. As a result, they all felt as if they had an unlimited amount of energy.

    Finally, they neared the tall stage that they¡¯d be participating upon. However, when they did so, Bei Bei didn¡¯t rush to step onto it. Instead, he turned towards hispanions and said in a low voice, ¡°We can¡¯t just win this match; we have to do so overwhelmingly. We have to show the glory that belongs to Shrek Academy. Yuhao, we¡¯ll be relying on you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forcefully nodded. He naturally understood what his senior brother was implying.

    Only when he saw this did Bei Bei turn around and takerge strides towards the tall stage in front of him.

    The seven members of each team gathered at their respective corners of the stage and looked towards one another. When the students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy saw that Shrek Academy had actually sent out such a young line-up, they were involuntarily stunned. Has Shrek Academy sent its preparatory team up? But, but this is the knockout round! Aren¡¯t they scared that they¡¯ll lose?!

    A simr question appeared in all of the spectator¡¯s minds as well, including those of the participating academies. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was left dumbstruck.

    At this moment, even Xiao Hongchen was doubtful of his own judgement. Wasn¡¯t Shrek Academy being too brazen? Regardless of how strong they were, would they be able to beat a team of soul masters who were near twenty years old with a team that had an average age of fifteen? One that even had a few members that looked eleven to twelve years old? There were no second chances if they were to lose!

    The Star Luo Emperor also had a stunned look on his face. He asked doubtfully, ¡°Just what is Shrek Academy doing? Why aren¡¯t they sending out their main force? Why isn¡¯t Dai Hao¡¯s soning up on stage?¡±

    However, apetition was apetition. No matter how doubtful they were, thepetition still had to go on.

    The referee sent by the Star Luo Empire had already taken his position. He motioned for both parties to step forward.

    The seven students from both teams gathered in the center of the arena. The closer they got to each other, the more the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were able to see the unsightly faces of their opponents. Countless years of history before them had already proven this; the result of meeting Shrek Academy in the first round was obvious.

    On the other hand, the interest of the students from Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy were piqued by Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao as they got closer. What¡¯s more, Bei Bei and the rest were clearly very young! This was undoubtedly their preparatory team. Furthermore, it was a preparatory team that had an average age that was lower than fifteen. Sure enough, Shrek Academy waspletely deserving of its nickname of an academy for monsters. Just what were they trying to do?

    ¡°The first round of the knockout round is a team fight.¡± The referee said solemnly, ¡°Both parties can use arge majority of their soul tools during the fight. However, if one party admits defeat during the course of the fight, the other party cannot continue attacking. Soul engineers cannot use stationary soul tools which have a high degree of killing power. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Bei Bei calmly took the initiative to respond.

    The leader of the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy¡¯s team was a slender youth who looked around twenty. Among the seven they were pit against, his expression was rather ordinary. He responded as well, following Bei Bei.

    Although they were only fighting against Shrek Academy¡¯s preparatory team, it was just as Ma Xiaotao had said. Shrek¡¯s reputation in itself was a powerful weapon. As they looked at the menacing gazes of Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven, the students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy felt even weaker.

    The referee nodded, ¡°Good. Both parties, move back to your corners. Once I give themand, the battle will start. Before I announce the start of this match, you are not allowed to release any martial souls. Otherwise, you will be punished.¡±

    Both parties started to slowly widen the distance between them. As they retreated, Huo Yuhao turned around and whispered, ¡°Later, everyone stand ording to my arrangements. After that, fight by following my Spiritual Detection.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had no confidence inmanding the team members of the official team. However, he was closely rted to arge portion of the preparatory team. The team leader, Bei Bei, was his senior brother; the second eldest of the lot, He Caitou, was also his senior brother. There was no need to even mention Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. He¡¯d gotten closer to Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan over these past few days, but more importantly, everyone was convinced by his Spiritual Detection.

    Over on the other side, the Tian Ling Empire were taking a very defensive formation. Quickly, both parties arrived at the edges of the arena.

    The referee who stood at the center of the arena slowly raised his right hand. At this moment, the Star Luo za filled with several hundreds of thousands of people instantly quieted down. Every single spectator was staring at the spacious stage with their eyes wide.

    This was the first round of the tournament, as well as the first knockout round. Moreover, it was a match that had the continent¡¯s number one academy participating! Shrek Academy¡¯s participants were very young, but they still carried the glory of Shrek with them. Everybody wished to see what they could do.

    As the referee raised his hand, both parties immediately took their positions. At the same time, the hundred and eight soul masters from the Star Luo Empire pressed their hands to the metal pirs in front of them.

    The hundred and eight metal pirs lit up simultaneously, causing rays of white light to surge into the sky. They carved out arcs as they gathered in midair, twenty meters above the stage.

    When the hundred and eight rays of light were gathered together, a white curtain of light rained down, covering the entire field. The protective barrier had beenpleted, signifying that the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament was about to begin.

    Over on the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy¡¯s side, the seven people quickly arranged themselves into a traditional battle formation. Three soul masters stood at the very front of the formation, and the fact that they were either assault or defense-type soul masters could be seen with a nce. The two soul masters who stood slightly behind them should be agility-type soul masters. Thest of the soul masters stood in a single line, one in front and one in the back, and ording to the traditionalyout, it was clear that they were respectively control-type and auxiliary-type soul masters.

    This was the best seven-man formation that had been devised after countless battles. If they were focused on attacking, the three people in front would be assault-type soul masters; if they were focused on defense and stability, there would be one or two defense-type soul masters.

    A traditional formation like this one was called the 3-2-1-1 formation.

    However, not many people were currently looking at the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy team. Practically everyone was focused on Shrek. Furthermore, they involuntarily cried out in surprise due to the scene in front of them. The ones who cried out the loudest were actually the hundred-plus Advanced Academies that were participating in the tournament. This was because Shrek Academy had revealed a formation that they were simply unable toprehend.

    Huo Yuhao stood at the very front of the formation, and his still-infantile face was currently filled with an arrogant look. On the other hand, the six people behind him maintained a fan-shaped formation behind him, making it seem as though the stars were cupping themselves around the moon. As a result, he was made the most prominent of the lot.

    What was this formation even called?

    The Advanced Academies that could participate in this tournament all had a certain amount of reputation within the continent. They had each conducted research into military strategy with regards to soul masters, but not a single academy had ever created a formation like this one.

    A formation like this made it seem as though the other six were just there to cheer for Huo Yuhao, as if they were letting him go out and fight by himself. This was an iprehensible scene! After sending out its preparatory team, Shrek Academy was giving everyone another surprise.

    Even the referee was somewhat dumbstruck. The fact that he was able to be a referee of the tournament showed that he was naturally a high-ranking soul master who had been specially chosen by the Star Luo Empire.

    The host of every single tournament was an empire, and this was also a time where the various countries were able to reveal their strength to the outstanding elitesing from the various academies. Naturally, they would do everything to the best of their abilities. However, even this referee had never seen a formation like this in a team fight before! He even forgot to put down the right hand that he had lifted earlier.

    ¡°Referee, we can start now.¡± Huo Yuhao said to the referee in an extremely unperturbed manner.

    He wasn¡¯t old, and even his voice was in the midst of cracking. Thus, his puerile voice was somewhat coarse. However, he was now the main focus of the entire crowd after standing in front.

    Only then did the refereee back to his senses. He swung down his right hand, then shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡± No matter what formation they were using, all he needed to do was ensure that the match went smoothly.

    Following the referee¡¯s shout, both parties simultaneously released their martial souls.

    The seven from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy couldn¡¯t be considered weak at all; their soul rings were mainlyprised of yellow and purple ones, and shed with dazzling light. Of the seven, five of them had four soul rings, while the other two had three soul rings. The four soul rings of the youth who led the pack flickered dazzlingly. Clearly, he had already reached theter stages of the Soul Ancestor rank. Reaching a stage like this at the mere age of twenty was rtively decent.

    However, simply nobody would pay attention to the state of the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy at this moment. All of the spectators were focused on Shrek Academy¡¯s side. More urately, they were all focused on Huo Yuhao, who was takingrge strides forward.

    At this exact moment, an indescribable yet terrifying aura impressively appeared on the tall stage.

    In that instant, a blood-colored light lit up the entire tournament stage. Filled with icy, cruel, ughtering, berserk, and other types of terrifying auras, it suddenly exploded out¡­

 Chapter 76.2: I come from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    Chapter 76.2: Ie from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    One, two, three, four, five, six¡­ a full six blood-red soul rings had appeared beneath the seemingly thirteen or fourteen-year-old Huo Yuhao.

    Red. What did that represent? It represented the pinnacle of soul rings, a terrifying level of power. It represented¡­ a hundred thousand year soul ring!

    Six hundred thousand year soul rings simultaneously appearing on a single person was something that ordinary people would never dare to imagine. Cries of surprise and rm rang out from the mouths of several hundreds of thousands of people like a raging wave. The ear-splitting sensationing from Huo Yuhao was simply too strong. Even the emperor of the Star Luo Empire himself, as well as his empress and officials, simultaneously stood up from shock.

    The first thought that appeared in their minds was that this was impossible. It waspletely impossible for a situation like this, in which a soul master waspletely filled with hundred thousand year soul rings, to ur, let alone in such a young child. However, the aura of his hundred thousand year soul rings was still so terrifying, and so real. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was already an existence akin to that of a legend in many of their hearts!

    One of the six blood-colored soul rings suddenly lit up, and the seven students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy let out a muffled groan at practically the same time.

    The sudden appearance of six hundred thousand year soul rings was already astonishing to the spectators below the stage, let alone to the originally nervous students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy who were standing on the stage itself.

    The moment they felt thatpletely horrifying aura, practically all of them retreated hurriedly. As a result, they were all bunched up together. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mysterious Spiritual Interference appeared at this exact moment.

    The students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy were originally tensed up. Combined with the visual stimtion caused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings, their minds were only a fine line away from copse. After receiving another tiny stimtion, they were like startled birds; their reaction to his Spiritual Interference was much greater than he had imagined. Looks of terror simultaneously appeared in their eyes, and their bodies were directly frozen by his Spiritual Interference.

    At this exact moment, an enormous pair of bluish-golden wings appeared behind the dazzlingly bright Huo Yuhao. The colors of blue and gold fused perfectly with each other, releasing a beautiful golden re. Within the blink of an eye, it was the focus of the entire arena.

    The two figures instantly merged together, and the blood-colored soul rings instantly vanished. Instead, an enormous, vertical golden slit reced it.

    The resplendent colors of blue, purple, and gold covered half the arena within the blink of an eye. The ray of light struck the seven from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy who were bunched up together perfectly.

    An instantaneous feeling of panic appeared in the hearts of every single person who saw that golden vertically-slitted eye. Right after that, the arena seemed to be cleaved in half by that dazzling ray of light.

    This ray of light neared seventy metres in length, and was three metres wide. After bursting forth, the three differently-colored halos of light slowly rose into the air. None of the seven from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy were able to dodge it. When the tricolored re finally vanished, a long, two foot-deep Golden Road that flickered with a resplendent golden light had been left on the arena.

    Of the seven from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy, two three-ringed soul masters immediately fell to the ground. The various protective soul tools that they were wearing had exploded, causing a series of lights to blow up. The bodies of the other five had been fully dyed gold, transforming them into golden statues. Their soul rings had vanishedpletely, and their martial souls had been sealed.

    The golden eye vanished, causing the six dazzling blood-colored rings of light to reappear. Not only that, but another person had appeared next to Huo Yuhao; this was a youth who had unfurled the dazzling wings of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess. He looked even younger than Huo Yuhao, but two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings flickered around his body. Six dazzling soul rings surrounded his body as well.

    Huo Yuhao sped his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with an arrogant look. He looked indifferently towards thepletely bbergasted referee and said, ¡°This match is over.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Only then did the referee react to the scene in front of him. The students from Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy had already grabbed the two fallen three-ringed soul masters before jumping down from the stage. Traces of golden light still remained on their bodies, and as they jumped off the stage, the hundred and eight soul masters who were in charge of protecting the arena cancelled the usage of their soul power. Clearly, the match had already ended.

    The za filled with several hundreds of thousands of spectators, including the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire and its civil and military officers, along with more than a hundred advanced soul master and soul engineering academies, waspletely silent at this moment.

    The people who had previously been somewhat doubtful towards the preparatory team that Shrek Academy had sent out were now left staring wide-eyed as they stared at the deep, golden ravine that was now on the arena floor.

    They were almost unable to breathe, and even swallowing their saliva was hard for them.

    Practically everyone was inwardly screaming the phrase ¡®This is impossible!¡¯ at seeing these six hundred thousand year soul rings. However, the word ¡®impossible¡¯ now had hesitation, astonishment, and a terrifying and hysterical excitement to it.

    Shrek. This was Shrek. The continent¡¯s number one,pletely unparalleled Shrek.

    Huo Yuhao slowly turned around, then looked towards the southern spectators in Star Luo za. He shouted in a solemn voice, ¡°Remember. Ie from Shrek Academy, and the Tang Sect!¡±

    With that, the six icy, blood-colored soul rings that made breathing itself difficult instantly vanished. He slowly walked down from the stage, returning to Shrek Academy¡¯s area along with the Seven Monsters. He didn¡¯t even wait for the referee to announce the results of the battle. The arrogance he possessed once again stunned the entire arena.

    He came from Shrek! He came from the Tang Sect!

    At this very moment, the most emotionally stirred person behind Huo Yuhao was Bei Bei. He forcefully suppressed the tears that were about to drip from his eyes, and thought to himself, Little Ya, how good it would¡¯ve been if you were able to be here today to witness this scene. Right, we don¡¯t juste from Shrek. Wee from the Tang Sect!

    Wang Yan took the initiative to walk up to Huo Yuhao. When he walked forward, their eyes seemed to converse with each other instantaneously. Wang Yan used a seemingly rebuking tone to speak to him, ¡°You were too vicious.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already understood something from Wang Yan¡¯s gaze. He replied coldly, ¡°I was already showing them some mercy by temporarily sealing their martial souls. If their men weren¡¯t able to save them in time, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to walk down from that stage alive.¡± His voice was very loud, allowing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the other academies behind it to hear his words.

    At this moment, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen were somewhat bbergasted. They¡¯d never thought that this match would end in such a dramatic fashion. Although they were able to determine that Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven would be able to win from the moment their opponents released their martial souls, they¡¯d never expected that the preparatory team would win in such a manner.

    Wang Yan and Huo Yuhao walked back, side by side. The former touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand seemingly by ident, and his gaze flickered slightly. ¡°Do you want to stay behind and watch the other matches?¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued putting on a cool look and said coldly, ¡°What¡¯s there to look at? Is there anything worth seeing? Let¡¯s go back.¡± With that, he directly went outside.

    When he walked past the representative teams from the various academies, Huo Yuhao swept his nce across them in a seemingly unintentional manner. Unexpectedly, nobody dared to meet his gaze. The current Huo Yuhao was like a king examining his citizens. The others from Shrek Academy all followed behind him, and they all left just like that after the first match had ended. They didn¡¯t even greet the Star Luo Empire¡¯s imperial family.

    ¡°Who is that person? Why have I never heard his name before? Go find out. Go find out what his name is, and do so at any cost.¡± The Star Luo Emperor¡¯s gaze followed Huo Yuhao all the way out. Shrek Academy¡¯s immediate exit following the end of the battle caused the entire tournament to pause for several seconds or so, and their exit attracted the gazes of everyone present.

    A fervent look gradually appeared in every single pair of eyes in the arena. Right! This was Shrek. This was the number one academy under the heavens, the existences akin to gods in their eyes! This was Shrek Academy¡¯s strength. One of their students even had hundred thousand year soul rings! That seemingly thirteen or fourteen year-old-youth was actually Shrek Academy¡¯s true leader in this tournament.

    The most stunned of the lot was still the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. They currently had hideous looks on their faces. Even the extremely arrogant Xiao Hongchen had an ashen look on his face as he clenched his fists tightly. A voice rang out unceasingly in his mind.

    How could this be? How could this be? How could there be a person even more talented than I am? No, absolutely not. He¡¯s a fake, a fake, a fake!

    He was naturally a fake.

    Huo Yuhao maintained his cold expression as he led the students of Shrek Academy all the way back to the Imperial Star Grand Hotel, and until he opened the door. After standing in his room for a few seconds, the expression on his face suddenly changed.

    Without any prior signs at all, his body went limp, and he fell straight to the ground. It wasn¡¯t just him; Wang Dong, who was behind him, did the same as the two tumbled down together.

    Fortunately, Wang Yan had already prepared himself for this. One in each hand, he caught them by the arms. Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi helped support Wang Dong, while Wang Yan hugged Huo Yuhao and carefully set him down on the sofa.

    The previously monarch-like Huo Yuhao was now as pale as a child; he¡¯d already fallen into a deep sleep.

    Just why would Wang Yan have asked whether he wanted to continue spectating? When he had touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand earlier, he had noticed that thetter¡¯s hand was cold and trembling. He knew that he was definitely in an extremely weak state. Sure enough, Huo Yuhao immediately agreed to bring everyone back the moment he asked for his opinion. By relying on his sturdy willpower, he made it all the way till the hotel before copsing.

    Wang Yan looked towards Bei Bei and asked, ¡°Just how did you guys n it?¡±

    Right! Just how had they nned it all out? This was also the question in Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen¡¯s minds. They¡¯d seen the strength of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s fusion skill before, but there was still a limit to their cultivations! It was simply inconceivable that their attack had seeded against the elites of the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy¡­ and they had drawn first blood! However, wasn¡¯t there some danger in this? Would theirter opponents be so easily taken in?

 Chapter 76.3: I come from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    Chapter 76.3: Ie from Shrek, and from the Tang Sect!

    Bei Bei looked carefully at the unconscious Huo Yuhao who was now lying on the sofa as he said, ¡°Our junior brother is really talented. Back then, our moods had already changed. As we bathed in Shrek Academy¡¯s glory, all our anxiety left us and we were only left with excitement. I told him that in the first battle under hismand our objective wasn¡¯t just to win but to win by andslide. In order to aplish that, our junior brother made a series of arrangements and brought about an oue that was beyond our expectations. Even Yuhao must not have expected that our opponents would be that pitiful. The main reason for their loss was fear. Senior sister Ma was right, our Shrek Academy¡¯s strongest weapon is our reputation.¡±

    ¡°ording to Yuhao¡¯s original n, all of us had had a role to y. He was supposed to start by using his Imitation Skill to scare our opponents and follow that up by hitting them with the fusion skill. Once their martial souls were sealed, the rest of us were supposed to rush in and immediately conclude the battle with our strongest soul skills. But who would have thought that those students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy were such cowards? When Yuhao used his Imitation Skill to simte six hundred thousand year soul rings, they were so scared that they even forgot to dodge. Upon being being hit by Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s fusion skill, they unexpectedly jumped down from the tform, which directly gave us the victory. I think they weren¡¯t able to use even 10% of their real power and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they didn¡¯t fight at all. The first match of the tournament was such an easy victory.¡±

    Wang Yan was mildly confused, were things really as simple as Bei Bei¡¯s exnation? He was incredibly experienced regarding soul masters. At the time, he had also witnessed Yuhao release all those soul skills one after another and perform the martial soul fusion skill with Wang Dong. However, even if they were scared to death, those students from the Tian Ling Advanced Soul Academy should have been able to react when attacked!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence was one of the most mysterious fusion skills Wang Yan had ever seen. Its power was incredible, but its disadvantages were also clearly evident. It could only be used to attack in a straight line. Therefore, unless the opponent was unable to move, there was no way it could hit seven people like that!

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± Dai Yueheng suddenly said. His words attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    He continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice? Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s fusion skill has gotten stronger than before. However, neither has their cultivation increased nor have they broken through any bottlenecks. This means that they pushed themselves to the extreme and used some special means to maximise the power of their fusion skill. This is how they were able to defeat the opponents in one move. Facing such a move, the enemy must have thought that they would suffer serious injuries. This thought scared them so much that they directly jumped down from the tform.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°ssmate Dai¡¯s words are reasonable. Given their current strength, the might of their fusion skill should be pretty high.¡±

    Wang Yan stood up, his face slightly flushed as he smiled. His gaze passed across Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao and He Caitou as he spoke, ¡°They preserved Shrek Academy¡¯s honor, it doesn¡¯t matter how they did it. In fact, I dare im that this is the most satisfying victory that has ever been obtained by Shrek Academy since their first participation in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. You let everyone experience Shrek Academy¡¯s power, and silenced all those who were questioning you. I sincerely thank all of you on behalf of the academy.¡±

    With that, Wang Dong bowed toward Bei Bei¡¯s five and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong that were sleeping on the sofa.

    This victory was incredibly important for Shrek Academy! With this win, they hadn¡¯t been eliminated in the first round and had secured a ce in the following elimination round. Now only time would tell how they would continue to fare, but Ma Xiaotao and the other two were bound to recover in middle of the elimination phase. Additionally, with the strength they had exhibited today, no matter which academy they would fight next, their opponents would surely be scared.

    Bei Bei took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, ¡°Teacher Wang, don¡¯t worry. As we wait for reinforcements from the academy and the recovery of our teammates, we¡¯ll try our very best to win every match.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded. ¡°First go put Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong on the bed and let them have a good rest. They did very well today. I¡¯ll borate a strategy based on today¡¯s results. As long as you capitalize on this opportunity, you should have it easy in the next match.¡±

    Everyone thought little of it, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ended up sleeping together in the same bed once again¡­

    After recovering from the shock of the first match, the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament advanced in full swing. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance in the first match was still deeply engraved in the minds of the audience and the otherpetitors, along with his overbearingst sentence. The names ¡®Shrek Academy¡¯ and ¡®Tang Sect¡¯ had be hot topics in Star Luo City overnight.

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong woke up, it was already evening.

    To be more urate, Wang Dong woke up first, and Huo Yuhao was startled awake as a consequence.

    When he woke up, Wang Dong discovered that another person was sleeping with him, and his first reaction was to kick that person!

    Then, Yuhao¡¯s tragedy began. How could he not wake up once he fell to the ground on his butt?

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed angrily as he climbed back onto the bed.

    Upon seeing it was Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong replied somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was you! And why are you in my room anyway?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled. He looked around as he hugged the quilt close to him and responded with even more indignation, ¡°Nonsense! This is clearly my room. Not only did you sleep in my bed, but you also dared to kick me down. Do you not have a conscience?!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ I have no idea how I ended up here!¡± After a brief moment of awkwardness, Wang Dong opened his eyes wide and eximed, ¡°What are you yelling for? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to die from falling of a bed, and you even want to be in the right after sleeping with me!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to be right; I am right. And so what if we slept together? It¡¯s not like this is the first time.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Wang Dong discovered that he couldn¡¯t win this argument against Huo Yuhao. He quickly turned his body and pressed Yuhao beneath him while separated by the quilt. He relied on his superior soul power to hold his shoulders down and sit on his body.

    ¡°Do you surrender or not?¡± Wang Dong asked wickedly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Of course not. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    Wang Dong was startled when he realised that he really couldn¡¯t do much to Huo Yuhao. While he was in a daze, Huo Yuhao quickly took advantage of the opportunity. His shoulders were held down, but he could still move his forearms! His small arm drilled out of the quilt and gently poked Wang Dong¡¯s waist.

    Wang Dong retreated as if he had received an electric shock and startedughing. How could Yuhao let go of this opportunity? He pulled his arm free and turned around, pressing Wang Dong down.

    Even though the quilt was still separating them, Huo Yuhao could still feel Wang Dong¡¯s soft body. He smiled wickedly as he spoke, ¡°Your body is very soft and even works wonders as a pillow. Do you surrender or not?¡±

    Wang Dong copied Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous appearance and replied, ¡°Of course not. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze started to wander from his face to the rest of his body, and a crafty look shed through his eyes. Wang Dong be a little nervous as he asked, ¡°W-What are you going to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, someone is very ticklish.¡± As he said that, his hands that were holding Wang Dong down went lower, poking at his waist.

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±

    Immediately, Wang Dong started tough, and his body arched like a dried shrimp.

    ¡°I surrender, I surrender. Let me go. I won¡¯t argue with you again. I¡¯m dying. Hahaha¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped and looked at Wang Dong in a daze.

    Wang Dong gasped for breath as he pushed Yuhao away from him, ¡°J-Just wait and see! A gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge!¡±

    However, it seemed like Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t heard his threat. He suddenly raised his hand and said, ¡°Wang Dong, howe your voice changed just now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao discovered that when he was tickling Wang Dong, his voice had suddenly changed and be very pleasant to hear, reminiscent of the sweet sound of a silver bell. This waspletely different from his usual voice. Huo Yuhao had known him for more than a year and during that year they were always together. Hence, he would immediately notice even the smallest irregrities,

    Wang Dong was startled, a hint of fear that was very difficult to notice shed through his eyes. He quickly said, ¡°Nonsense. How is that even possible? You probably misheard. Moreover, I couldn¡¯t even breathe properly due to you; it¡¯s only normal that my voice became strange. You don¡¯t really think I¡¯m someone else, right?¡±

    Yuhao nodded seriously and replied, ¡°That¡¯s also true. It would be difficult to imitate a stinky brat like you.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. I¡¯m showering every day. My skin smells really good! You¡¯re the stinky one!¡±

    When he saw that Wang Dong was beginning to get angry, Huo Yuhao hurriedly changed the topic, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s stop arguing. We still have a match to win tomorrow!¡±

    Wang Dong was momentarily at a loss. He recalled the scene where the entire nation was watching them. In particr, the Huo Yuhao that had proudly fought in front of hundreds of thousands of people¡­ was this really the same person that was bullying him right now¡­? How would the rest of thepetition go?

 Chapter 77.1: This Daddy has a Rough Cigar!

    Chapter 77.1: This Daddy has a Rough Cigar!

    Despite not even being thirteen yet, Huo Yuhao had still appeared tall and mighty when he¡¯d been onstage earlier. He¡¯d been filled with hot-blooded vigor, along with a seemingly astonishing amount of arrogance; some of that arrogance was of course faked however. Furthermore, there had also been his six blood-red soul rings. All of these things had been deeply branded into Wang Dong¡¯s mind; he couldn¡¯t forget any of them.

    ¡°Why did I have six soul rings when I was next to you?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My Imitation soul skill allows me to control everything within a three metre radius around me¡ªthat¡¯s why I waited for you to get close to me before I released it. The reason that you had six soul rings is that six hundred thousand soul rings is the limit of what our opponent¡¯s minds could withstand. Using my Imitation to make it seem as though we were both Soul Emperors was definitely already enough to frighten them. However¡­ I didn¡¯t think that they¡¯d be that weak. Along with the shock received by our soul rings, they were also sent into a daze for a moment when I used my Spiritual Interference on them. In addition to that, using your Golden Light to ignite our Haodong Power was quite effective; even though it didn¡¯t increase the strength of our Golden Road, its attack range was clearly increased by quite a bit. It seems that your left arm bone synergises quite well with our fusion skill.¡±

    Wang Dong shrugged his shoulders. ¡°However, using an all-out attack like that instantly exhausted all of our Haodong Power. Just heading back was hard on us. Even though this fight was satisfying, we revealed our most powerful attack. Haven¡¯t we lost more than we gained?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You can¡¯t look at it that way. This match was very significant to us, and just because it was our first match. Furthermore, it was also the first round of the knockout round. Right now we represent the glory of Shrek Academy, and everyone watching was able to see how old we were. If this had been a normal fight, we would¡¯ve had to reveal everyone¡¯s true strengths. However, we did it differently today. The two of us don¡¯t even look fifteen, yet we disyed Soul Emperor-ranked cultivations. Wouldn¡¯t that astonish everyone? Now that we¡¯ve astonished everyone, they¡¯ll overestimate our capabilities. As such, they¡¯ll feel nervous when they fight us in the future, and we¡¯ll be able to take advantage of their nervousness to win. Because of this, our chances of getting through the round-robin round before our seniors recover have be much higher. At the same time, revealing our strength allowed us to conceal the strength of the others! The most important thing we need to focus on is efficiency. Even though our Golden Road needs three days to recharge before we can use it again, we used it on day one in order to control our enemies. As such, we¡¯ll be able to use it at any time throughout the round-robin rounds. As you can see, we¡¯ve achieved quite a few things in one move.¡±

    ¡°From this match, I¡¯ve trulye to understand how important Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation as the number one academy in the continent is. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that our academy¡¯s fame terrified them, our match definitely wouldn¡¯t have been so easy!¡±

    Wang Dong muttered in response, ¡°However, we still would¡¯ve revealed it sooner orter. Our matchester on will definitely not be that easy either. Furthermore, your six hundred thousand year soul rings were too fake. I feel that if you¡¯d only made yourst soul ring a hundred thousand year one, it would¡¯ve been much more believable. You used their knowledge of soul rings to fool them, but once they actually think it over, they¡¯ll realise that you must¡¯ve used some sort of special method to fool them. A Soul Emperor who isn¡¯t even fifteen is already astonishing enough, but one with six hundred thousand year soul rings is another story. That¡¯s something that vastly exceedsmon sense.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°My blood rushed to my head then; I was just trying to make Shrek Academy look even more powerful. Because of that, I made all of them hundred thousand year soul rings. Now that I think about it, I was definitely a bit foolish. But what¡¯s done is done; I can¡¯t do anything about it now. Let¡¯s just let them think whatever they want to think.¡±

    Wang Dong ced his hands behind his head andy back down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling and said, ¡°Honestly, we don¡¯t need to think about it too much. Let¡¯s just do our best to win. In any case, it¡¯s definitely impossible for us to be champions by ourselves. Every single match counts.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoy beside him and ced his hands behind his head as well. ¡°That¡¯s true. Do you think we¡¯ll have a chance at be champions once sister Xiaotao and the rest have returned?¡±

    Wang Dong nudged him with his elbow. ¡°Move a bit further away from me. And how am I supposed to know the answer to that? We might have a chance. Either way, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng are both Soul Emperors. Hmph, calling her sister Xiaotao is quite an affectionate term! I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d have an Oedipusplex.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who has an Oedipusplex,¡± Huo Yuhao unhappily replied, ¡°I just don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so hostile towards her.¡±

    Wang Dong turned towards Huo Yuhao and hit him on the forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we almost died because of herst time! A fellow like you truly forgets all of his loyalties when he¡¯s lustful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao clutched his painful forehead and grumbled, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m only twelve! What do you mean by ¡®lustful¡¯! Just what sort of thoughts is your brain filled with? They must all be unhealthy thoughts. At our age, we should just study hard and aim for the sky. Don¡¯t think too much about things, understand?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted. ¡°It¡¯d be good if that really were the case. I¡¯m heading back to my room.¡± With that, he sat up to get off the bed.

    However, Huo Yuhao grabbed his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t go back.¡±

    Wang Dong hurriedly retracted his hand, then hugged his quilt and stared back at him vigntly. ¡°What do you intend to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re full of shit. Cultivate of course!¡±

    Because they¡¯dpleted their knockout round on the first day of the round-robin round itself, the students from Shrek Academy were able to get a very good rest during the following two days. However, there were no traces of the backup team they were looking forward to during these two days.

    The busiest person of them all during these two days was definitely Wang Yan, who entered and exited the hotel daily. He seemed to appear at one moment, then would disappear the next.

    On the third night of the tournament, he gathered all of them together in a conference room and held a meeting.

    ¡°Xiaotao, how are your injuries looking?¡± Wang Yan¡¯s gaze fell on Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen.

    Ma Xiaotao replied, ¡°Since we were able to peacefully recuperate during the past few days, our recoveries have gone quite well. I should be able to make aplete recovery in about half a month. If I have to forcefully enter the tournament, ten days should be sufficient. However, I¡¯m afraid that that would worsen my injuries.¡±

    An internal injury was the most serious injury a soul master could sustain. An attack to one¡¯s internal organs could cause a translocation, which brought about a series of injuries in session. Fortunately, the three of them hadn¡¯t been poisoned when they¡¯d been injured. If they had, this wouldn¡¯t have been a problem that could be resolved within a mere half a month. For example, the others¡ªwho¡¯d been sent back to the academy to recover¡ªwouldn¡¯t make a full recovery for at least three months. Even now, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s trio still felt somewhat indignant towards the events that had urred within the Ming Dou Mountain Range. That evil soul master¡¯s ability had simply been too evil! They¡¯d never seen a skill such as his, that would grow more powerful therger the number of corpses present. They wouldn¡¯t have suffered such arge loss otherwise.

 Chapter 77.2: This Daddy has a Rough Cigar!

    Chapter 77.2: This Daddy has a Rough Cigar!

    Dai Yueheng said, ¡°The same goes for me.¡±

    Ling Luochen also nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m recovering as expected.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Wang Yan said. He then looked towards the seven members of the preparatory team, who were led by Bei Bei. ¡°In your first match, you showed your opponents just how powerful Shrek Academy is. To be more urate, you increased Shrek¡¯s reputation even further. I¡¯ve been observing the other academies¡¯ matches during the past few days, and listening to the reactions brought about by your first battle; the effects you all achieved were much better than we could¡¯ve expected. Our Shrek Academy has be the manifestation of ¡®mysterious and powerful¡¯ in the eyes of the other academies. They have no idea what our true strength is, while Huo Yuhao definitely became the center of attention. Furthermore, thanks to the show orchestrated by Yuhao and myself that day, he¡¯s be the leader of the team in all of their eyes.¡±

    ¡°To us, it¡¯s already like that!¡± Bei Bei said with a smile.

    Huo Yuhao blushed as he said, ¡°Senior brother, please stop joking. As weak as I am, how could I be the leader?¡±

    ¡°Even though strength is definitely the most important attribute in this tournament, not everything depends on it,¡± Bei Bei resolutely replied, ¡°wasn¡¯t your performance in the first match absolutely incredible? Who among those seated there could¡¯ve done a better job than you? I don¡¯t think that even the three students of the inner courtyard could have defeated them with a single move like you did.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°What Bei Bei says is right. Your performance that day was simply amazing. Even though your cultivation isn¡¯t that high, even we have to admit that that soul skill of yours is really quite incredible¡ªespecially when you use it y tricks.¡±

    Huo Yuhao would always get embarrassed whenever he was faced by Ma Xiaotao. However, the nearby Wang Dong definitely wouldn¡¯t be. ¡°Senior sister Ma, how could you say that Yuhao yed tricks? Wasn¡¯t what he did for the sake of letting the academy win?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao smiled in response, but didn¡¯t say anything. She just looked ambiguously towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Wang Yan waved his hand and motioned for everyone to keep quiet. He then continued, ¡°During these past two days, I¡¯ve carefully examined the matches between the other academies. This first elimination round can only be described as ¡®fierce¡¯. None of the other academies won as easily as we did. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy struggled a bit with their opponents; it took them around ten minutes to conclude their battle. This means that we¡¯ll definitely have enough time to conserve and strengthen our energy. The round-robin phase of the tournament will begin tomorrow. In fact, the list matchups for the round-robin is already out. It seems to have beenpiled based on the order of the teams that passed this elimination round. My next objective is toe up with a n for tomorrow¡¯s match.¡±

    After their experience with the Hand of Death and having heard his instructions before the first match of the tournament, even the three students from the inner courtyard hadpletely epted Wang Yan as the leading teacher of the team.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao are all my students, as such I know quite a bit about their abilities. However, I don¡¯t know too much about you four. I hope that you all can tell me about your soul skills, as it will have an impact on the n that I¡¯m going to arrange for the match.¡±

    Normally, soul skills were a soul master¡¯s biggest secret. However, the situation wasn¡¯t the same inside the academy, let alone now that they were on the eve of an important match. Therefore, it was normal for Wang Yan to ask this question.

    Bei Bei nodded and went first in order to set an example as their team leader. He said in a grave tone, ¡°I have a total of four soul skills: Thunderous Dragon w, Vigorous Thunderbolt, Thunderous Fury, and Thunderous Dragon Head.¡±

    Afterwards, he carefully exined both the characteristics of his soul skills and their usage. Then, it was Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan¡¯s turn.

    Xu Sanshi was considered the number one student in the outer courtyard alongside Bei Bei, and his four soul skills broadened everyone¡¯s horizons. As for Jiang Nannan, her soul skills were also quite good. In particr, if she were to use them in a one-on-one fight, they would surely leave a deep impression on her opponents.

    Atst, it was He Caitou¡¯s turn. He was also a Soul Ancestor like the others.

    ¡°Caitou, considering the fact that you¡¯re a soul engineer, there would usually be no need to inquire about your soul skills. However¡­ the current situation is a bit special. We have to make use of everything at our disposition. If possible, could you please tell us about your martial soul?¡± Wang Yan asked He Caitou.

    He Caitou nodded, but he had an embarrassed expression on his face as he said, ¡°Actually, even my martial soul has a certain use. But I¡¯m sure that none of you will be willing to use it. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t bother to show it.¡±

    When Huo Yuhao heard these words, he suddenly recalled the time when he¡¯d seen He Caitou with a long and ck object in his mouth. His expression immediately became somewhat strange.

    Wang Yan smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, everything has its use. Come on, let us see your unique martial soul.¡±

    He Caitou looked around and,cking self-confidence, said, ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed tough.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao nodded seriously and replied, ¡°Fine. We won¡¯tugh at you. Now quick, don¡¯t waste anymore time. Come on and show us this soul skill of yours.¡±

    He Caitou dark face blushed as he said, ¡°This daddy has a thick cigar.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was dumbfounded, and she immediately got angry. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    However, she didn¡¯t even have the chance to release her anger, when four soul rings, two yellow and two purple, suddenly appeared from beneath He Caitou¡¯s body. His first soul ring lit up, and that ck and long thing that Huo Yuhao had once seen reappeared in Caitou¡¯s hand¡­

    The room immediately went quiet. He Caitou looked around, and¡ªsave for Huo Yuhao¡ªeveryone was dumbfounded. He quickly remarked, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed tough! You promised that you wouldn¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Pfff¡ª¡± The entire room immediately exploded intoughter. Everyone began tough; even Wang Yan was no exception.

    Yes, it was indeed truly unique! He Caitou¡¯s martial soul was unique to the point that no one had expected it.

    Theyughed so hard that the sound could even be heard in the corridor outside. Theirughter happened to be heard by the leader of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s main team, Ma Rulong, who happened to be passing through the corridor. His expression immediately changed when he heard them. Why were these guys from Shrek Academyughing so hard? The round-robin would began tomorrow!

    He Caitou became angry from the shame he felt. He struck back fiercely by immediately stuffing the long cigar he was holding into Xu Sanshi¡¯s wide open mouth.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s smiling face immediately stiffened. Then, a burst of mes appeared out of nowhere on the tips of He Caitou¡¯s fingers that were holding the game, which ignited the other end of the cigar¡­

 Chapter 78.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 78.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Xu Sanshi started to cough as he was almost choked by the smoke.

    He Caitou snorted and said, ¡°I had specifically told everyone that I didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but you guys still forced me too. Additionally, all of you said you wouldn¡¯tugh, but none of you kept your promise.¡±

    Everyone stoppedughing with great difficulty. They hadughed so hard that even their bellies had begun to hurt, especially Ma Xiaotao. At first, she thought that He Caitou was cursing her, but who would have thought that it was just his soul incantation.

    ¡°He Caitou, tell me this! What category does your martial soul belong to?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked while trying to hold back herughter. After asking her question, she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and started tough again.

    He Caitou was indignant and replied angrily, ¡°You¡¯re a senior student from the inner courtyard, and despite that, you don¡¯t even know such basic information? Only food-type martial souls need a soul incantation to appear. Therefore, I¡¯m a food-type soul master.¡±

    Just as He Caitou was exining things, Xu Sanshi cried out in surprise. He took the thick cigar out of his mouth. Next, to everyone¡¯s surprise, he brought it to his mouth again and took a deep breath, exhaling a mouthful of smoke afterward. The meeting room was immediately filled with the smell of tobo.

    ¡°This thing is not bad! My mind has be clearer after just smoking it twice, it feels really pleasant.

    The nearby Bei Beiughed as she interjected, ¡°Sure! Holding Caitou¡¯s thick cigar in your mouth must surely feel good, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao weren¡¯t too clear about the meaning of her remark, but everyone else burst outughing. Xu Sanshi¡¯s face immediately turned red and the nearby Jiang Nannan lowered her head; her face even redder than Xu Sanshi¡¯s.

    Xu Sanshi stomped furiously towards Bei Bei and tried to push the cigar into his mouth, ¡°Since you keep repeatedly talking about me, you should also get a taste of it before speaking!¡±

    But Bei Bei wasn¡¯t nning to open her mouth even if the alternative was death and so, he struggled with all his might. As the two of them were evenly matched in strength Xu Sanshi had no way to pin him down.

    Wang Yan also stoppedughing with great difficulty and said, ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t be noisy. Caitou, what¡¯re the effects of your food-type martial soul?¡±

    He Caitou snorted coldly and didn¡¯t respond.

    Wang Yanughed and said, ¡°Fine. I promise that no one willugh at you, but you can¡¯t me us either. Your soul incantation was just too strange, we couldn¡¯t help butugh! Anyway, you should tell us. It might be important when fighting our enemies tomorrow.¡±

    He Caitou replied somewhat unwillingly. ¡°The one I used just now was my first soul skill. It¡¯s called Mind Stimting Thick Cigar. Each cigar can stay lit for around twenty minutes. When smoked, it will strengthen both the user¡¯s mind and spiritual power. This type of soul skill is rather fitting for someone like Yuhao. If he smokes the cigar, I can assure that his spiritual-type soul skills will experience an amplification of at least 10%.¡±

    After hearing his exnation, all the smiling people in the room looked at each other in dismay. Their smiling expressions disappeared and were slowly reced with shock.

    Wang Yan was the most surprised. ¡°It can strengthen spiritual-type soul skills? And it can amplify his skills by at least 10%?¡±

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Isn¡¯t it quite normal for food-type soul masters? However, in the end, we are not as good as auxiliary-type soul masters. I¡¯ve heard that there is a member of the Nine Treasures n in the second year whose soul skills have an astonishing level of amplification.¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Granted, but she needs to continuously consume soul power to maintain the effect. On the other hand, you don¡¯t have to expend any additional soul power after creating the cigar. And on top of that, food-type soul skills require the least amount of soul power. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, won¡¯t your soul skill also get stronger as your cultivation progresses?¡±

    He Caitou thought about it for a bit and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. My consumption of soul power isn¡¯t high. However, since I usually use most of my soul power on soul tools, I have never paid much attention to this useless amplification skill. The main use of my soul rings is to increase the rank of my soul power, and between my four soul skills, the only one I use regrly is the first one. And that¡¯s only because it has the ability to increase my uracy when using soul tools. Since the other three aren¡¯t of any use to me, all I have is a vague idea about their effects.¡±

    Wang Yan looked at the crowd and asked in a grave tone, ¡°Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡±

    Dai Yueheng replied, ¡°It seems the Martial Soul Department has missed out on a very talented food-type soul master.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± He Caitou was bewilderedstartled, ¡°Are you talking about me?¡±

    Wang Yan smiled bitterly, ¡°Who else could we be talking about? Caitou, you¡¯re aware that there was a food-type soul master among the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, right? His martial soul was a sausage, and now that I think about it, he was simr to you in many ways. His soul incantation was also very funny. But in the end, he still managed to be a powerhouse and marry the sessor of the Nine Treasures n. At that time, he also strengthened Ancestor Rong Rong¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda and turned it into the Nine Treasures zed Pagoda. You have to understand that food-type soul masters are in no way useless. If we consider Bei Bei as the leader of the group, and Huo Yuhao as its future brain, then you are the crucial backbone of the team with your food-type martial soul.¡±

    He Caitou looked at Wang Yan in disbelief. Up till now, he had believed that his martial soul waspletely useless aside from the times he was practicing. Even Fan Yu didn¡¯t pay too much attention to his martial soul once he discovered that it was a food-type one and only trained him in the field of soul tools. In addition, that soul incantation was quite weird and was prone to causing misunderstandings. Therefore, he didn¡¯t use his martial skills too much. Today, or rather, now that Wang Yang had revealed the mystery of his martial skills, he discovered that even he could be a powerful soul master.

    At this moment, He Caitou had the feeling that the Heavens wereughing at him. His brain went nk, and he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°No need to doubt your own abilities,¡± Wang Yan said, ¡°Once I¡¯m done exining things, everything will be clear. Do you know which type of soul master is the most demanded by an army? It¡¯s precisely a food-type soul master. What you¡¯ve heard is correct. It¡¯s not the assault-type, defense-type, agility-type, control-type, nor the auxiliary-type, but it¡¯s the rarely seen and harmless food-type soul master.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Wang Yan asked rhetorically, then answered his own question. ¡°That¡¯s because a food-type soul master can act as backline support for an army, and can even increase the overall strength of the troops. If you¡¯re a battle soul master, the army can either look at you and act as spectators, or work as cannon fodder. But if you¡¯re a food-type tool soul master, you can integrate with the soldiers. For example, this thick cigar can increase spiritual power by 10%. If wepare it to an auxiliary-type soul skill, it is indeed not worth mentioning. However, you¡¯re considered a talent amongst talents if we¡¯re talking about food-type soul masters!¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t understand,¡± He Caitou replied, startled.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Let me ask you this. Given sufficient time, how many cigars can you create with your current level of soul power?¡±

    He Caitou replied, ¡°A lot of them. At the very least a thousand, I think. However, if they are not used within two days, these cigars will expire and won¡¯t have any effect.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Two days? You¡¯re saying that the cigars created by your soul skill canst for two days before going bad?¡±

    He Caitou replied as if it were obvious, ¡°Yes! However, if wepare them to normal cigars, they expire really quickly.¡±

    Wang Yan howled angrily after a moment of reflection, ¡°Quick, your ass! Do you know that usually, the things produced by other food-type soul masters can onlyst for a few hours? A preservation time of more than three hours is already considered a major feat. If it canst for 12 hours, the soul master can be considered a genius. And you, who can preserve his creations for a whole 48 hours, are speaking of it as if it were somethingpletely ordinary?! If we make full use of your abilities, your soul skill could allow an army of a thousand soldiers to increase their strength with your cigars over a period of several hours. Do you understand? And when ites to your teammates, you can definitely provide them with one or more sets of cigars before every battle. When they smoke them during the battle, they¡¯ll receive a boost from your skill. However, you would have already recovered the soul power used to create the cigar long before the match. In other words, it¡¯ll be as though there was an additional soul master on our team.¡±

    He Caitou scratched his head and said, ¡°Is it really that impressive? The effects of my other soul skills might be even better.¡±

    Wang Yan mmed the table and got up. ¡°What are you waiting for? Quickly, tell us about your other three soul skills. Let¡¯s see what bomb you¡¯re going to drop this time.¡±

    At this moment, Wang Yan felt his heartbeat speed up. All this time, he had thought that the biggest shoring of this team was theck of an auxiliary-type soul master. Without an auxiliary-type soul master, the team wouldn¡¯t have an opportunity to explosively increase its overall power during a match. And never would he have expected that a super talented food-type soul master like He Caitou would be hidden in in sight. How could he remain calm after such a revtion?

    Wang Yan¡¯s previous exnation had only mentioned some of the advantages of having a food-type soul master. Although auxiliary-type soul masters could amplify abilities to arger degree, the amplification wouldn¡¯tst for too long. For a long drawn out team battle, a food-type soul master would surely be more useful than an auxiliary-type one. Despite the auxiliary-type soul master¡¯s short-term advantage, among tool soul masters, both of them had their strong points.

    ¡°This daddy has arge cigar!¡±

    ¡°This daddy has a long cigar!¡±

    ¡°This daddy has a thin cigar!¡±

    Amidst everyone¡¯s violently twitching faces, He Caitou activated all three of his soul skills, causing three cigars to immediately appear in his hand. The form and the color were the same as the first cigar. However, all of them differed in size.

 Chapter 78.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 78.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    ¡°Alright,¡± He Caitou said in an obedient manner, ¡°myrge cigar, er, no, my second soul skill, is called the Strength Amplifying Large Cigar. I haven¡¯t used it much, so I don¡¯t know how much it can increase someone¡¯s strength by; you guys are free to test it out. As for my third soul skill, it¡¯s called the Defense Amplifying Long Cigar, and is a thousand year soul skill. Considering what level it is, I reckon that it¡¯s more effective than my first and second soul skills. Finally, myst soul skill is called the Soul Power Amplifying Thin Cigar. It has no use to me, thus I haven¡¯t used it yet.¡±

    Wang Yan forcefully swallowed a mouthful of saliva and stared wide-eyed at He Caitou. ¡°In other words, your four cigars can strengthen spiritual power, strength, defense, and soul power? Heavens! Fan Yu, that bastard! He actually let a genius food-type soul master like you be a soul engineer? I¡­ I really want to go beat him up now!¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to curse at my teacher,¡± He Caitou angrily retorted. Fan Yu¡¯s ce in his heart was akin to that of a father¡¯s; even though his usual straightforwardness covered up most of things hidden in the deeper recesses of his heart, nothing could rece the respect he held for Fan Yu. Without him, he probably would¡¯ve died at the hands of his assants long ago.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just got a bit too excited,¡± Wang Yan hurriedly said, ¡°however, I just couldn¡¯t help but get a bit excited over your soul skills! Come on, let¡¯s not talk about this for now. I order you to create ten of each of your cigars right now, as a trial.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Wang, can I not partake?¡± Bei Bei asked bitterly.

    ¡°No way,¡± Wang Yan resolutely replied, ¡°every single one of you has to try them out. If you have Caitou¡¯s soul skills supporting you, yourprehensive strengths will be increased by at least 10%! Furthermore, even though his cigars can¡¯t be used simultaneously, all of you can choose one ording to your specialty. Combined with the fact that these cigars are good for two days, they¡¯ll be essential tools for you guys on the battlefield.¡±

    The advantages gained from having the support of a food-type soul master were quickly revealed; if He Caitou had just been an auxiliary-type soul master, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to use any of his soul skills ten times in a row like right now. However, He Caitou was able to do so for all of his soul skills easily. The conference room table was rapidly filled with a pile of cigars.

    There were thick ones, thin ones,rge ones, and long ones. Truly, everything that they needed was there!

    Xu Sanshi smiled mischievously at Bei Bei. ¡°Come, brother, there¡¯s no need to be polite! Actually, they taste quite good. Just think of it as us enjoying our blessings together. Everyone, let¡¯s all enjoy Caitou¡¯s cigars together.¡±

    ¡°Nobody will think that you¡¯re mute if you don¡¯t shut up!¡± Jiang Nannan suddenly flew into a rage as she looked towards the table full of cigars in front of her. Her charming face had be somewhat pale.

    Only then did Xu Sanshi realise that his words had been a bit too harsh. He immediately shut up due to the embarrassment he felt.

    Despite this, Wang Yan didn¡¯t even seem to notice the resentment on Jiang Nannan¡¯s face. He immediately lit one of the Spirit Stimting Thick Cigar, then ced it in his mouth and inhaled deeply from it.

    The three disciples from the inner courtyard were clearly much more resistant towards He Caitou¡¯s soul incantation, as even Ma Xiaotao lit up a cigar and inhaled from it without giving it too much thought.

    Thus, the other members of the preparatory team had no choice but to unwillingly light their own cigars.

    Huo Yuhao held a thick cigar in his mouth, which He Caitou personally helped light it. However, his eyes held a somewhat cheeky glint in them as he did so. When Huo Yuhao finally inhaled, the strong taste of smoke caused his throat to immediately dry up. He involuntarily began to cough, and he felt as if all of his apertures had instantly been filled with the dense smell of smoke. Despite this, it really didn¡¯t taste too bad.

    At that exact moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his spiritual sea shudder slightly. Immediately afterwards, an indescribable sense of rxation spread throughout his body. When it did, his Spirit Eyes actually lit up involuntarily.

    This feeling was unexpectedly joyful. To his astonishment, Huo Yuhao discovered that his spiritual power hadn¡¯t just been strengthened by a mere 10%. Currently, his spiritual power was at least 15% stronger than usual.

    ¡°Damn, how rxing. Just what is this feeling?¡± The Skydream Iceworm seemed to have been almost immediately roused from its slumber.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao subconsciously inhaled another puff from the cigar.

    The Skydream Iceworm became infatuated with the feeling. ¡°Wah, wah, wah¡­ howfortable! It feels like all the pores on my body have opened up! This feels to great. What sort of soul skill is this!?¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ chilly voice immediately attacked him, ¡°Does arge bug like you even have any pores?¡±

    ¡°Icy, don¡¯t you think that this feeling is extremelyfortable too?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked, infatuated. ¡°This sensation has a great nourishing effect on our souls. There truly isn¡¯t anything more rxing. It¡¯s even more rxing than sleeping!¡±

    The Ice Empress snorted. ¡°Besides eating, all you do is sleep. Do you even know how to do anything besides those two things? I¡¯m toozy to even care about you. However, Yuhao, this sort of thing truly is quite beneficial for you. I suggest that you use it as often as you can over a long period of time. It¡¯ll help improve your level of control over your spiritual power.¡±

    The facts proved that He Caitou¡¯s cigars had much better effects than what he¡¯d said earlier.

    Huo Yuhao had felt arge increase in the strength of his spiritual power. On the other side of the room, when Xu Sanshi tried out the Defense Amplifying Long Cigar, he jumped up excitedly, and immediately told everyone that his body felt as hard as a rock. He felt that his defensive capabilities had increased by 15 to 20% at the very least.

    After continuous testing by everyone present, they discovered that identical cigars actually had different effects based on the person that used it.

    For example, the thick cigar¡ªwhich would amplify a person¡¯s spiritual power¡ªwas most suited for the spiritual-type Huo Yuhao, while the long cigar¡ªwhich would amplify a person¡¯s defense¡ªwas most suited for Xu Sanshi. On the other hand, therge cigar was most suited for Bei Bei, since it amplified a person¡¯s strength. The fourth cigar on the other hand, which boosted a person¡¯s soul power, turned out to be suited for everyone. When they used it, the soul power required for them to activate their soul skills was actually reduced. This was equivalent to their total pool of soul power being increased by the same amount!

    When they realized just how effective He Caitou¡¯s cigars were, they gradually became numb to the embarrassing soul incantations that he had to recite. In any case, his soul skillssted for two days, thus they wouldn¡¯t need to listen to his incantations when he used them most of them. However, despite the evidence of their usefulness, there were still a few people who were still somewhat unwilling to use his cigars.

    The person who was most opposed to it wasn¡¯t Jiang Nannan or Xiao Xiao, who were girls, but was actually Wang Dong. No matter what, Wang Dong absolutely refused to test the effects of He Caitou¡¯s cigars. Huo Yuhao tried to persuade him for an extremely long time, but he wasn¡¯t willing to relent no matter what.

    Even though Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were unwilling, they still epted a set of cigars.

    Helpless, Huo Yuhao could only keep an extra set of cigars as a reserve.

    Wang Yan gazed at the steadfast Wang Dong with a somewhat helpless look on his face. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re simply unwilling to try them. However, I suggest that you keep a set on you, just in case.¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head forcefully. ¡°No!¡±

    Wang Yan furrowed his brows, but only said, ¡°Alright then. Now then, let¡¯se up with a few ns for the uing round-robin tournament. Earlier, I said that there would be three types ofbat during the round-robin section of the tournament. Considering the level of strength we revealed during the first round, there¡¯s no doubt that our group will only contain eight teams. At least from the others teams¡¯ standpoints, they¡¯ll only be fighting for a qualifying spot in the tournament. To them, we¡¯re guaranteed to qualify. We can use this mindset of theirs against them in order to make our tactics more flexible.¡±

    ¡°There will be a total of sixty-seven teams participating in the round-robin tournament, who will be split into a total of eight groups. Of these, three groups will have nine participating teams, while the remaining five groups will have eight teams. In other words, we¡¯ll have to fight seven matches in our group. If we win a match, we¡¯ll get two points, if we lose a match, we won¡¯t get any points, and if we draw, each team will receive one point. Four groups will have a match every day, thus a cycle of matches will bepleted every two days. After seven cycles and the remaining matches from the groups with nine teams arepleted, the round-robin section will be done. I reckon that the round-robin portion of the tournament willst for fifteen to sixteen days. Ling Luochen should be recovered by the fourth cycle or so, and if their recovery goes smoothly, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng should be recovered by around the sixth cycle. When that happens, our strength team¡¯s strength will increase dramatically.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know which group we¡¯ve been ced into¡ªalong with who our opponents are¡ªtomorrow morning. With our reputation, we¡¯ll most likely be the first ones up during the round-robin tournament as well. The most important thing you all have to do is ensure that Yuhao doesn¡¯t make a move.¡±

    When he saw the astonishment present in everyone¡¯s eyes, Wang Yan continued, ¡°During the first round, Yuhao and Wang Dong revealed cultivations at the Soul Emperor rank. Yuhao even used his Imitation skill to give them them six hundred thousand year soul rings. That was truly extravagant, and ordinary soul masters would immediately be able to tell that this is simply impossible. However, we are Shrek Academy. Some of the other academies that don¡¯t understand us too well will have misunderstand. At the very least, they¡¯ll think to themselves, What if those youths from Shrek really have six hundred thousand year soul rings? What will we do then? This way, so long as Yuhao and Wang Dong don¡¯t make any moves during the round-robin tournament, they won¡¯t be exposed, and the fear in their hearts will persist. This will be extremely beneficial in our fights as a whole.

    ¡°In ordance with your cultivations and the understanding that I have of each you, I¡¯ve divided you into some simple groups. There¡¯s no need to mention the team fight; Yuhao will simplymand you with his Spiritual Detection. If we draw the 1v1 elimination fight, you¡¯ll start by going up based on your age, from the oldest to youngest.

    ¡°The 1v1 elimination fight isn¡¯t just fought by a single person. On the contrary, the loser of the fight steps down, while the winner continues fighting. This goes on until all seven members of a team have beenpletely defeated. Because of this, you must be wary of enemy soul engineers. If we draw a 1v1 fight, I¡¯ll do as much as I can to create the best lineup possible based on their abilities. You all will just have to do your best.

    ¡°Thest mode ofbat is the 2-2-3 fight. Normally, two 2v2 matches will be held before the 3v3 match. If we win both 2v2s, we won¡¯t even need to fight the third match. Because of that, I¡¯ve tentatively put Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan on one team, and Xu Sanshi and Caitou on the other team for the two teams that will go out in the 2v2 matches. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao work extremely well together, but we can¡¯t let them go out and fight. Because of that, they¡¯ll be the participants for the 3v3 match.¡±

 Chapter 78.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 78.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Xu Sanshi had a gloomy expression on his face as he said, ¡°Teacher Wang, why didn¡¯t you put Jiang Nannan and me in a team together? The two of us know each other well, thus we¡¯ll definitely work well together as a team.¡±

    Jiang Nannan almond-shaped eyes widened. ¡°Who¡¯s the one that¡¯s familiar with you? Stop trying to worm your way into being intimate with me.¡±

    Wang Yan interjected, ¡°This is apetition, not the ce for you two to murmur endearments to one another. The reason that I¡¯ve ced you all together like I have is because your abilities are much morepatible with Caitou¡¯s; your focus is on defense, while his is on attack. As for Jiang Nannan, her quick-wittedness is better suited whenbined with Bei Bei¡¯s strong attacks. If she were to team up with you, I¡¯m afraid that she wouldn¡¯t even be able to exhibit thirty percent of her true strength.¡±

    Jiang Nannan, who usually didn¡¯t talk much, immediately nodded without a shred of hesitation and said, ¡°Teacher Wang is wise.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression immediately sank at, but since this had to do with their arrangements in thepetition, he didn¡¯t think that it would be appropriate to harp on about this matter.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°The basic arrangements will thus be like this. Now then, the most favorable styles ofpetition for us are actually the 1v1 and 2-2-3 fights. On the other hand, team battles will the easiest for us to reveal ws to our opponents in. I have to emphasise this point once again: During thepetition, all of you must pay attention to your opponent¡¯s soul tools, aspetitors are allowed to utilise simple soul tools in battle. Yuhao definitely can¡¯t repeat his attack pattern after what happened in the first round, but the deterrent effect your team has is still present. Furthermore, Yuhao, you can¡¯t hold back with your spiritual detection either while the others arepeting. We have to do everything in our power to emerge victorious and ensure that we uphold the academy¡¯s glory. When the timees, I¡¯ll bemanding you guys on the field. I hope that you guys can carry out mymands at that time.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The seven team members from the outer courtyard replied in uniform.

    Wang Yan finally stood up and said, ¡°Make sure to get some rest tonight everyone; you all need to ensure that you¡¯re in peak condition for tomorrow. None of you are allowed to leave tonight. Dismissed.¡±

    Once Wang Yan had finished speaking, everyone stood up and left the conference room. As Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were walking towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s room together to cultivate, Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed something. His gaze instantlynded on the other end of the corridor afterwards.

    A handsome youngster that appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old stood at the other end of the corridor, and was currently burning holes through Huo Yuhao as he stared at him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze immediately froze over. He was immediately able to tell, based on the white, skin-tight clothing that the other party was wearing, as well as from the direction that the other person had appeared from, that the other party was a student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°You¡¯re known as Huo Yuhao, right? Remember my name: I¡¯m Xiao Hongchen. I¡¯ll definitely defeat you!¡± The handsome youngster then made a thumbs down sign towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°You¡­!¡± A cold glint shed through Wang Dong¡¯s eyes, but Huo Yuhao immediately stopped him from moving by cing his hand firmly on Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, then hooked his thumb and middle finger together and flicked his own clothes. He frowned and said, ¡°Where did this fleae from? It¡¯s so hateful! Whatever, I¡¯ll make sure to crush it to death sooner orter.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished, he opened the door to his room and entered with Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice had been very loud, while the acoustics in the Grand Imperial Star Hotel were also pretty decent. These two things caused Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face to twitch slightly as he squinted his eyes. However, he didn¡¯t seem angry; instead, a thoughtful look had appeared on his face. His strength wasn¡¯t the only reason that he¡¯d been able to be the newmander of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team. He also had a brain.

    ¡°Why did you stop me?¡± Wang Dong suddenly asked once they¡¯d entered the room.

    Huo Yuhao forcefully smiled and said, ¡°What would you have done if I didn¡¯t stop you? Did you n to suffer the consequences? I activated my spiritual detection the moment I saw that person, which he seemed to notice right away. Furthermore, the soul power fluctuations that his body was emanating far surpass ours. Based on his soul power fluctuations, I¡¯m afraid that he has five soul rings.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Dong was instantly taken aback. ¡°No way! He doesn¡¯t even seem that much older than us. He ought to be a reserve member of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but a Soul King at that? It can¡¯t be that he also disguised his soul power like you did, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Is it really that easy for someone to mask the fluctuations of one¡¯s soul power? Anyways, he hadn¡¯t even released his martial soul yet.¡±

    Wang Dong frowned slightly, and a worried expression emerged in hisrge pinkish-blue eyes. ¡°Just the reserve team is like that¡­ It seems that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is much stronger than we could¡¯ve imagined. Thankfully, we shouldn¡¯t meet them in the round-robin tournament, considering the fact that they were the runners-upst year.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Actually, the thing that we have to be more worried about is them being our opponents when we be official members of the team in five years andpete against them in the Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament! He¡¯s a Soul King now, but what about in five years, considering his current cultivation speed?¡±

    Wang Dong indignantly eximed, ¡°But we¡¯re still young!¡±

    ¡°The tournament still gives all of us the same amount of time,¡± Huo Yuhao retorted. ¡°Come on, we have to work harder. Our true strength actually lies in our Haodong Power. As you know, my cultivation speed will most likely be slower once I get my third soul ring, due to the restrictions of my Ultimate martial soul.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s appearance really did give them a sense of urgency. The duo immediately sat down on the bed, then ced their hands against each other¡¯s and began circting their Haodong Power.

    Wang Dong had be less and less mysophobic towards Huo Yuhao as they spent more time together.

    The warm Mysterious Heaven Technique intertwined with Wang Dong¡¯s light-attributed soul power, then quickly gathered to form their torrential Haodong Power. Once it had, it began to circte throughout their bodies.

    Following Wang Dong¡¯s breakthrough to Rank 30, Huo Yuhao had also broken through to Rank 27. Currently, when they joined hands and circted the Haodong Power in order to utilise a soul skill, the true might of their attack couldpare to that of a Soul Ancestor. This was a massive amplification in terms of martial soul fusion.

    Their cultivation was also close to each other¡¯s; the higher their cultivation level, the stronger the cirction of soul power, and in turn, the speed of their cultivation. Using their Haodong Power to cultivate was equivalent to them cultivating with the same speed as a Soul Ancestor; their cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds.

    Huo Yuhao had only broken through to Rank 27 around ten days ago, yet he already felt like his soul power was nearing the middle stage of Rank 27. If he continued at this cultivation speed, it wouldn¡¯t be a dream for him to break through at a speed of one rank per month until he reached Rank 30!

    Wang Dong wasn¡¯t left in the dust by Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed, as his body seemed to be able to support more soul power than even Huo Yuhao¡¯s, who had twin martial souls. He felt no sense of blockage whenever he circted his soul power, and he also felt as if he was growing stronger every day. In the few months since school had started, he¡¯d already broken through to Rank 32, yet he was already charging straight ahead towards the Rank 33 bottleneck. With the help of their current Haodong Power, it was possible that he might break through to the Soul Ancestor stage within a year and half.

    Currently, Dai Huabin was unquestionably the second year outer courtyard disciple with the strongest soul power, as he was currently at Rank 37. However, Wang Dong was beginning to feel more and more confident that he could surpass him in two years¡¯ time.

    On the other hand, Xiao Xiao¡¯s cultivation was slightly slower than the theirs. Despite this, this was only because she was about to break through her Soul Elder bottleneck.

    Once the first round of the knockoutpetitions finally ended, the spectators that had been watching the match in Star Luo City were all riding on an emotionally-driven high. Due to this, there would be people queueing up deep into the night every day of the tournament. Even though Star Luo za had an extremelyrge surface area, there were still some limitations as to how many people it could contain; it couldn¡¯t satisfy the needs of the masses.

    The government officials from the Star Luo Empire naturally increased the entrance fee in order to regte the queue and to ensure that it wasn¡¯t too congested. Because of this, the empire made an enormous amount of profit, thus it was only natural for the Star Luo Empire to contribute to the rewards for the tournament. It was the same every year, however the rewards were never expressly stipted. As no country would ever want to lose face, they¡¯d always present very good things as rewards.

    Why did thepetition rules stipte that the first cycle had to be a knockoutpetition? Besides the simple fact that it reduced the number of academies participating in theter matches, it was also in order to make thepetition more exciting!

    The Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament had be the most importantpetition on the entire continent, and was thus conducted by the officials of every single country The reason that thispetition was so popr every year was also due to these exciting matches. It was only natural to use various means in order to ensure that this grand asion, which was only held every five years, would run better than thest each time.

    The knockout tournament made the entirepetition extremely exciting. Even though the tournament officials tried their best to prevent any injuries, close to two hundred students participating in the match would sustain various degrees of injuries each time around. There were even several tens of students who¡¯d died due to excessive injuries. The battlefield was drenched in blood, thus it naturally drew in more viewership. Of course, it also meant that any school who¡¯s student unexpectedly died would also receive a bountifulpensation.

    However, the knockout round was now over, and the second phase¡ªthe round-robin tournament¡ªwas next. Even though the round-robin tournament wasn¡¯t as intense as the knockout matches, the former still had its perks, which mainlyy in the variety of rules that thepetition had. There were three ways that matches could be held, and whichever one the students wouldpete with was decided through drawing lots. One could say that every single match had its own exciting aspects.

    Moreover, after the first elimination cycle, the remaining teams would be much stronger, and thus the matches would get both much more exciting and more varied. As such, it was extremely difficult to get ahold of a ticket to watch this match in Star Luo za, despite it being capable of amodating more than two hundred thousand people. The entire za would be packed to the brim every day, while those who weren¡¯t able to get in that day wouldn¡¯t leave. They would continue waiting in line all the way until the next day; it was impossible for those who¡¯d queued up on the first day and watched thepetition to also watch it the second day, be it civilians, or the rich and powerful. This actually ensured that everyone was treated fairly.

    When faced with such a situation, the Imperial family of the Star Luo Empire naturally wasn¡¯t able to conceal their happiness. Not only did they deploy five thousand soldiers in order to maintain order throughout the city, they also began to sell official match reports despite having trouble dealing with so many people. They would release a new match report would appear every day, which would only cost a few copper coins. There would be also be a detailed report released after every match too, which served as another form of ie.

    However, the Star Luo Empire knew how to conduct themselves well. They would cover all travelling and lodging expenses for the academies that had been eliminated, and even gave them a set amount of subsidies. They also provided medical treatment for those that had been injured, and provided financial support to rtives of those who¡¯d died in the matches. In addition to that, all of the participating academies were highly praised during the event. The way that the Star Luo Empire had dealt with the lively crowd in such an orderly manner just three days into the tournament¡­ it could be said that they were earning a profit at the same time as increasing their reputation.

    Today was the fourth day of the tournament, and screams from the spectators had been constantly reverberating throughout Star Luo za since early in the morning. There was only one reason for this: and that was because the team representing Shrek Academy was finally going to appear on the field again. Furthermore, they would be appearing in the first match. Even the emperor of the Star Luo Empire, who would only asionally grace the city with his presence to spectate, had mounted the lead position in the imperial city at first light, and was currently quietly waiting for the match to begin. For the emperor to do such a thing, he was giving Shrek Academy quite a lot of face.

 Chapter 79.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 79.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    The weather wasn¡¯t great, being gloomy and somewhat oppressive, but the clouds in the sky weren¡¯t dark. However, the sun wasn¡¯t out but fortunately, the air was still fresh and clean, and there was no rain either.

    The start of the round-robin tournament signified the opening of the participants¡¯ rest area. The round-robin tournament today was only the first part of the tournament and four of the eight groups would make an appearance today. However, all sixty-seven teams who qualified from the knockout round were sitting within the rest area with no exceptions.

    They were here to spectate the tournament. More urately, they wanted to once again experience the shock that urred on the first day of the tournament. They wanted to see the youth who came from Shrek and the Tang Sect and see whether he really had six hundred thousand year soul rings.

    Shrek was Shrek, the Shrek that had ten thousand years of glory. Practically every single academy had unconsciously set it as their target, yet deeply revered it. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wasn¡¯t an exception to this.

    When the dark-green d team from Shrek appeared in the participants¡¯ entrance tunnel, the atmosphere of the entire Star Luo za started boiling. Loud cheers for Shrek began ringing out from the areas closest to the entrance tunnel.

    Huo Yuhao walked expressionlessly at the very front of the team. Since they wanted to assume an air of power to terrify their opponents, they would naturally have to go all-out. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen simply didn¡¯t bother turning up; they chose to stay in the hotel to recuperate and make their recovery as fast as possible.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s resting area was located the furthest north, making it nearest to the city walls. Furthermore, their resting area was clearlyrger than that of the other academies. The entire area had a total of twenty sofas and was staffed by an attendant. A table beside the sofas was filled with food, fruits, and drinks in order to cater to any needs the participants might have. Just how was this a tournament? It was practically a VIP spectator area.

    In reality, the other academies weren¡¯t treated much differently than them. However, they didn¡¯t have any attendants. But more importantly, their areas were much smaller than Shrek¡¯s. Every resting area only had seven seats meant for the official team; the preparatory team or substitutes could only stand behind the others.

    At this moment, the host was already building up the tension in the arena. He first announced the names of the academies that had already passed through the first round of the tournament and then proceeded to introduce each team in more detail.

    It was just as Wang Yan had predicted, the group that Shrek belonged to only had a total of eight participating teams. Shrek Academy was naturally the most popr team in the entire tournament, overshadowing any and all other teams in the same group. After all, nobody had ever seen Shrek Academy put into an awkward situation where they had to put on a false strong front.

    Other than the participants¡¯ resting area, there were also waiting areas located by either side of the enormous tournament stage that were used by the delegations of the various academies who would be fighting on stage.

    After spouting a load of bullshit that stirred the emotions of the crowd, the announcer used his most impassioned voice to cry out, ¡°Now, let us have the continent¡¯s number one academy, the representative team from Shrek Academy, in addition to their opponents, the representative team from the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Cloud Luo Soul Engineering Academy, enter the waiting area. May the leaders from both teams please step onto the stage to confirm the mode of battle.¡±

    The difference between the two academies could be seen from their introductions. When the announcer introduced Shrek Academy, he didn¡¯t mention the country it was located in. However, he would do this for the other academies. This was because no country would dare to im that Shrek Academy belonged to it. Even the Heavenly Soul Empire, which Shrek technically belonged to, wasn¡¯t an exception to this.

    Shrek Academy had its own Shrek City, the status of which was so incredibly high that every country had to give it an extremely high amount of respect.

    Whenpared to Shrek Academy, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was alsoparably powerful. However, it had a much weaker foundation. Because of that, they could onlypare themselves against Shrek during the Continental Advanced Soul Academy Tournament, and use that to stimte the explosive growth of their students.

    Bei Bei stood up and walked towards the stage after Wang Yan motioned for him to do so. The leader of the Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team was a buff Adonis who was practically no different from He Caitou. He had a head full of short, golden hair, and the outlines of his thick muscles could be seen below his white school uniform.

    The two walked up to the stage together. The lot-drawing process was very simple; the referee took a cylindrical lot-drawing tube and allowed the leaders of both teams to inspect it.

    The lot-drawing tube was transparent to prevent any possible cheating. One of the tube¡¯s sides had a small, round hole in it. The referee took three small balls that represented the three modes ofbat and shoved them into the small hole, then turned the entire thing upside down. After that, he allowed each one of them to hold a side of therge sphere.

    The referee shouted, ¡°Three, two, one!¡±

    Bei Bei and the opposing team leader simultaneously exerted force, throwing therge sphere into the air. If no small balls dropped out from therger ball during this process, the referee would turn it over after catching it. The ball which dropped out then would be their mode ofbat. If a small ball dropped out while therger ball was in the air, that would represent their mode ofbat.

    This was the round-robin tournament¡¯s first lot-drawing, and it was extremely sessful. When the two leaders threw therge ball twenty meters into the air, a small ball dropped out.

    There were three small balls, each with their own distinctive color. They were red, yellow, and blue respectively.

    Red represented the team fight, yellow represented the 1v1 fight, and blue represented the 2-2-3 fight. This time around, a small yellow ball dropped out of therge ball.

    The referee caught the small ball as he retrieved therger ball, which was falling back to the ground. After allowing both leaders to take a look at the smaller ball, he looked towards the Star Luo Emperor, who was seated at the top of the city walls. Thetter gave a signal, and the announcer used the soul loudspeaker to make an announcement.

    ¡°Shrek Academy¡¯s fight against Cloud Luo Academy will be conducted via the 1v1 knockout mode. May both parties please send out a single member to take part in thepetition.¡±

    1v1? After hearing that thepetition was to be conducted in such a manner, the audience¡¯s eyes lit up. Every single member of the audience who could see him, in addition to the students from the various academies who had Huo Yuhao in their line of sight, cast their gazes towards him. They all hoped that Huo Yuhao would be the first person toe out and wouldplete a 1v7. Wouldn¡¯t that be the most satisfying oue they could watch!? Who wouldn¡¯t want to feel the excitement and thrill that came from the appearance of six hundred thousand year soul rings again?

    Both leaders nced at each other, then stepped down from the stage. Bei Bei had already received instructions from Wang Yan before the lot-drawing. Wang Yan had told him toe back down after the lot-drawing, regardless of the format of thepetition.

    Bei Bei hurriedly returned to the waiting area, then cast an inquisitive gaze towards Wang Yan. ¡°Teacher Wang, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    However, Wang Yan shook his head and spoke in a premeditated manner. ¡°We should have a certain amount of assurance in this match. Out of the four empires, the empire that has the strongest soul engineering academy is the Sun Moon Empire. However, the soul engineering academies of the other three empires don¡¯tg behind by much. Although our academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department isn¡¯t the strongest, we¡¯re definitely better than those from the Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling, and Star Luo Empires. This Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academyes from the Star Luo Empire, not the Sun Moon Empire. As a whole, I¡¯m certain they won¡¯t be too strong. Furthermore, since they¡¯re soul engineers, I guarantee that they won¡¯t have any Soul King-ranked students. I¡¯m suspecting that they won¡¯t even have too many Soul Ancestors. Assault-type soul masters will be put at a disadvantage against soul engineers, and we don¡¯t have any substitutes. Thus, we need to guarantee that none of you suffer any injuries. Otherwise, we run the risk of you not being able to recover during the one day of rest that we have. Taking all this into consideration, Xu Sanshi, you¡¯re up for the first round.¡±

    As he spoke, Wang Yan pointed at Xu Sanshi and whispered, ¡°A defense-type soul master is most suited to restrain a soul engineer, especially a low-ranked one. Remember, do your best to control the consumption of your soul power. Last a few rounds on the stage. The longer you endure and theter we reveal our students, the better. Go.¡±

    The moment Xu Sanshi heard that he was going to go out first, he immediately stood up excitedly. Bending his right arm, he flexed his muscles and said proudly, ¡°Just watch me.¡± With that, he tookrge strides towards the stage.

    Bei Bei turned towards He Caitou and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s a bit thick?¡±

    He Caitouughed naughtily. ¡°A bit.¡±

    Jiang Nannan snorted, ¡°Extremely thick.¡±

    Xu Sanshi, who hadn¡¯t walked far, stumbled and nearly fell down, but he clenched his teeth and walked up to the stage.

    The first student sent out by the Cloud Luo Academy wasn¡¯t tall, but his shoulders were very wide; he was even somewhat fat. His nervousness was visible on his face as he faced the tall Xu Sanshi, beads of sweat could already be seen on his forehead.

    Any academy would be nervous while facing Shrek Academy, this was to be expected.

    At such a young age, Huo Yuhao had revealed such a prodigal amount of strength. Wouldn¡¯t the somewhat older person in front of him be stronger than his junior? This seemed especially true when he looked at Xu Sanshi¡¯s fierce appearance. He began to feel weak inside! He subconsciously wiped his sweat with his sleeve, causing the spectators to burst intoughter.

    Huo Yuhao noting up to the stage had disappointed arge number of people. But this was still one of Shrek Academy¡¯s matches and they quickly got excited again, prepared and curious to see how strong Xu Sanshi, who was decent-looking in terms of power, was.

    The referee called the two of them to him and said in a low voice, ¡°The rules of the 1v1 knockout round state that the loser has to immediately step down from the stage, while the winner can choose to either continue fighting or switch out. Each party has seven people, and thepetition will go on until all seven people from one side are defeated. Understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Xu Sanshi replied in a very straightforward manner. However, his opponent was stammering. ¡°Un-understood.¡±

    The referee said, ¡°Okay. Both parties, return to your sides. The match will begin with my call. You¡¯re not allowed to use stationary soul tools or any soul tools that have a high degree of killing power.¡±

    As he spoke, the referee began to step back. However, the student from the Cloud Luo Academy squeezed out a smile and said to Xu Sanshi, ¡°I-I¡¯m called Ma Yingjun1. Senior, please go easy on me.¡±

    The corner of Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth twitched as he said proudly, ¡°Are you as handsome as me?¡±

    Ma Yingjun hurriedly shook his head to the point where his brain shook like a drum. ¡°No, no.¡±

    Satisfied, Xu Sanshi nodded. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go a little easy on you.¡±

    1. Yingjun means handsome.

 Chapter 79.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 79.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Oh!¡± Ma Yingjun retreated with a delighted expression on his face. It almost seemed as if he had received the biggest gift of his life.

    None of them was using a sound amplifying soul tool. Therefore, the audience couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying. But from what they could see, it seemed that the student from Cloud Luo Academy wasn¡¯t too eager to fight!

    And in this case, they weren¡¯t mistaken. When Cloud Luo Academy discovered that Shrek Academy would be their opponent in the round-robin, and in the first match on top of that, they decided to conserve all the strength they could. At the same time, they decided to not put up too much of a fight to keep a friendly rtionship with Shrek Academy.

    ording to Wang Yan¡¯s info, Cloud Luo Academy wasn¡¯t very strong. They had paid quite the price just to get through the first round. As a result, many of their strongest students were injured. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, they had now encountered the strongest academy on the continent. It was no wonder that their fighting spirit was so low! Anyway, even if they lost to Shrek Academy during this round-robin, it wasn¡¯t something to be ashamed of. Therefore, they decided to go on stage and do their best, leaving the rest to fate.

    To tell the truth, they weren¡¯t too happy that it had turned into a 1v1 fight. They would have preferred to go in as a group and get over with it as soon as possible.

    The first match of the round-robin phase started under such premises.

    Xu Sanshi arrived in front of the tform and put a thin cigar in his mouth. Afterward, he used a small lighter-type soul tool to light the cigar and started to smoke, holding it crookedly in his mouth. From his appearance, he didn¡¯t really seem like a good person.

    Even the audience went into an uproar after seeing his behavior. Cloud Luo Academy was also angered. This guy was just too arrogant. He even pulled out a cigar just as the match was about to start. Was Shrek Academy sox when it came to their students?

    The referee also furrowed his brows. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t take action. First, there wasn¡¯t a rule that forbade a student to smoke. Second, he didn¡¯t want to offend Shrek Academy.

    ¡°The match canmence!¡± The referee shouted as he retreated to the edge of the tform.

    Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s Ma Yingjun had been waiting for these scary words all along. When the referee gave the signal, his short and stout body quickly reacted. He lifted his arms, and three metal pipes as thick as thumbs came out of them. Two metal pipes as thick as his arms came out of each shoulder. The wings on his back also quickly unfurled, and his two stout legs also produced six metal pipes. On his chest was a soul tool that resembled a heart-protective mirror. It was obviously a shield-type soul tool. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that he was armed to the teeth right now.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s body didn¡¯t change drastically like that. A somewhat unremarkable ck tortoise shell appeared in his right hand. At the same time, four soul rings, two yellow and two purple, started to shine.

    Four soul rings?

    The spectators were quite disappointed. He had only four rings! Many of them were looking forward to seeing some hundred thousand year old soul rings!

    Among the spectators, the ratio of soul masters was less than 1:1000! Most of them were only there for fun. Very few knew just how precious a hundred thousand year soul ring was.

    The difference between Xu Sanshi¡¯s soul release and Huo Yuhao¡¯s incredible performance from yesterday was the same as heaven and earth. Therefore, it was no wonder that the spectators were disappointed. But at this time, Xu Sanshi did something very unexpected.

    He started to run.

    Was he running toward his opponent? No! He turned around and ran in the opposite direction, just like a deserter leaving his post. He was running toward the edge of the tform.

    At this time, that defensive soul tool made out of 108 pirs was active. But the defensive barrier generated by the soul tool wasn¡¯t directly attached to the ring; there was approximately a three meter distance between them. ording to the rules of the tournament, if one were to fall from the ring, they would be disqualified; that was the purpose of the distance of those three meters.

    Ma Yingjun had already made up his mind before going on stage. The tactic he was going to deploy was very simple: struggle and consumption. Even if the flying-type soul tool on his back couldn¡¯t allow him to fly too high, it was still good for dodging. As long as he could consume some of Xu Sanshi¡¯s soul power, he would be satisfied.

    But when the match started, he saw Xu Sanshi turn around and start running in the opposite direction. Ma Yingjun was left speechless, and thought to himself, Boss, why are you running away?! Didn¡¯t you just say that you would go easy on me? What¡¯s the meaning of all this?!

    No one knew what Xu Sanshi was thinking. Only his good friend Bei Bei, who quarreled with him every day, guessed his intentions correctly.

    Bei Bei curled his lips and unintentionally revealed a strange smile. ¡°This guy seems in the mood to y dirty tricks.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Sanshi arrived at the edge of the tform. Next, he unexpectedly jumped outside the tform!

    It goes without saying, the audience immediately called out in rm. Even the emperor of the Star Luo Empire was shocked.

    ording to the rules of thepetition, if your feet were tond outside the tform, you would be disqualified!

    Let alone Xu Sanshi, who was from Shrek Academy, even students of lesser known academies hadn¡¯t ever done anything like this! Admitting defeat without even trying? What kind of situation was this?

    Indeed, what kind of situation was this? Xu Sanshi had a crafty expression on his face. Next, the fourth soul ring on his body lit up.

    The radiance of his purple thousand year soul ring covered the arena. The spectators were still calling out in rm when a strange scene yed out in front of their eyes.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s ck tortoise shell emitted a pale radiance. Soon after that, the one that was jumping outside the ring and was about to collide with the defensive barrier wasn¡¯t him anymore, but Ma Yingjun.

    In other words, Xu Sanshi and Ma Yingjun had swapped ces.

    Ma Yingjun, who had been looking at Xu Sanshi jumping outside the tform with a stupid expression on his face, suddenly found himself in midair. He started to fall on the ground soon after, while Xu Sanshi was now standing in his previous position.

    Even if Ma Yingjun wasn¡¯t too bright, he was still an elite student chosen by Cloud Luo Academy to participate in the tournament! If they sent him first, it meant that he wasn¡¯t that weak. After all, he too had disyed four soul rings, three yellow and one purple. And just as he was about to use his flying-type soul tool on his back to rise up into the air¡­

    Xu Sanshi, who was still standing at his previous position, took the cigar out of his mouth and shouted, ¡°Come forth, hundred thousand year soul ring!¡±

    ¡°Peng¡ª¡ª¡±

    Ma Yingjun was just too pitiful. Just as he was about to activate his soul tool, he was scared to death by Xu Sanshi¡¯s sudden yell. He directly fell to the ground.

    A heavy soul tool covered his whole body. Therefore, when he fell from a height of five meters, he would be still reduced to a mess even if had thick skin and strong bones!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were now in the waiting area, werepletely stunned. They looked at each other and said almost at the same time, ¡°It ended like this?¡±

    When Ma Yingjun crashed to the ground, the spectators suddenly went very quiet. If time were to stop right now, one would notice that at least a hundred thousand of them had their mouths wide open. Even the emperor was no exception.

    Huo Yuhao had been nning to use his Spiritual Detection Sharing to help Xu Sanshi, but just as he was wondering if it could bypass the defensive barrier, the match was already over.

    The referee was also at a loss. It had been less than three seconds since he had shouted ¡®the match canmence¡¯. And now, it was already over.

    Xu Sanshi held the ck tortoise shell in his right hand and used the left one to stuff the thin cigar back into his mouth. Afterward, he calmly said, ¡°Next.¡±

    The purpose of this cool pose was to imitate Huo Yuhao, but the effect he obtained waspletely different.

    After that short time of silence, the audience went into an uproar once again. Over 90% of them had no idea what had just happened.

    Was this Shrek Academy¡¯s mysterious power?

    Standing beside the tform, Bei Bei exined what had happened to his teammates, ¡°Sanshi¡¯s fourth soul skill is called Mysterious Underworld Recement. With this skill, he can instantaneously swap positions with people in a certain range. This skill is quite good, and amongst defense-type soul masters, it can be considered almost godly. However, when used by him, it actually looks some. The way he uses his Mysterious Underworld Recement leaves me speechless. I almost feel like crying.¡±

    He Caitou was stupefied as he said, ¡°Brother Sanshi is really shameless!¡±

    As the saying goes, while theymen watch for fun, only professionals understand the workings. The students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, who were seated not too far off from Shrek Academy, didn¡¯t feel likeughing at Xu Sanshi. They had more or less guessed the effects of this soul skill.

    When he went on stage and showed his four soul rings, they had breathed a sigh of relief. Someone with four soul rings should only be a member of Shrek¡¯s preparatory team. But after seeing the shield in his right hand and the trick he had used, the students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy started to be anxious once again.

    The captain of the main team, Ma Rulong, said in a serious tone, ¡°As you would expect from Shrek Academy, they aren¡¯t short of talented people.¡±

    When Xu Sanshi swaggering back to his original position, the referee finally reacted. He quickly went to the edge of the tform to check on Ma Yingjun, who had crashed to the ground and was now a mess.

    Xu Sanshi also came over, and spoke while still holding the cigar in his mouth, ¡°Little brother, are you alright?¡±

    Ma Yingjun subconsciously replied, ¡°I feel pain everywhere after falling. How did I even end up here?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I would go easy on you?¡± Xu Sanshi said with a stern expression, ¡°Therefore, I used the easiest way to make you fall from the tform. Anyway, no need to thank me. You can go now.¡± With that, he waved his hand to Ma Yingjun.

    Ma Yingjun also unconsciously waved his hand and went toward his team¡¯s waiting area.

    What could the referee even say at this point?

    The winner of the first match of the 1v1 elimination phase is¡­ Shrek Academy!¡±

    Ma Yingjun arrived at his team¡¯s waiting area. After pondering for a bit, he confusedly said to his team captain, ¡°Captain, was I just tricked?¡±

    The captain of Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s team hit him on the head and howled, ¡°Idiot! The academypletely lost its face thanks to you! Shang Yue, you¡¯re next.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± A girl immediately stood up from Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s team, quickly climbing up to the tform.

 Chapter 79.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 79.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    ¡°Beautiful!¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at the military-looking girl in front of him.

    Xu Sanshi outward appearance wasn¡¯t too bad; he had a square face and a normal-shaped nose and mouth. Even though he wasn¡¯t as elegant and schrly as Bei Bei, he could still be considered good-looking. However, his attitude waspletely different than what he looked like.

    Shang Yue, who stood opposite him, was a 1.7 meter-talldy who appeared to be about eighteen or neen years old. Even though she wasn¡¯t a peerless beauty, she still had an extremely slender figure; this was especially so for her long pair of legs, which stood out.

    Her form-fitting robes further served to entuate her exceptionally beautiful figure.

    A pervert such as Xu Sanshi would start observe thedy in front of him from the bottom upwards. Thus, the first thing he saw was her slender, round thighs. When his sight reached her perky chest, his pupils instantly widened. His mouth widened slightly, and it seemed like he was about to start drooling.

    Fortunately, he knew that Jiang Nannan was still looking at him. Thus, he forced his perverted gaze away from Shang Yue¡¯s chest and forcefully swallowed the saliva that had gathered to the side of his mouth.

    Chang Yue wasn¡¯t much older than Xu Sanshi, but she did have a boyfriend.

    She had clearly seen Xu Sanshi¡¯s ¡®performance¡¯ just now, thus she immediately raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    Xu Sanshi almost subconsciously replied, ¡°Steamed buns.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Chang Yue immediately flew into a rage, then shot straight towards him.

    Perhaps due to the fact that the referee couldn¡¯t bear to continue watching a certain person¡¯s vulgar disy, he immediately shouted ¡®start¡¯, then retreated backwards.

    Chang Yue¡¯s fighting style waspletely different from Ma Yingjun¡¯s. She had a pair of long des sheathed on her back, which she proceeded to unsheathe the moment that her body shot forwards. As she held one de in each hand, the two four foot-long des immediately lit up with a brilliant white light. Afterwards, two three foot-long beams of sword-light shot straight towards Xu Sanshi.

    Wang Yan, who was in front beneath the stage, suddenly blurted out, ¡°A closebat soul tool! Pay attention to it. Most of the time, soul engineers who use closebat soul tools are extremely formidable in closebat. Their soul skills might be somewhat weak, but their closebat fighting abilities are still rtively strong. The best way to deal with them is to not get close to them. If you do, you¡¯ll have a big problem on your hands.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze remained fixated on Chang Yue¡¯s closebat soul tool as he began to reminisce about his own soul tool. It was the only remnant he had left to remember his mother by¡ªthe White Tiger¡¯s Dagger.

    When he¡¯d fought against the Wind Baboon, it was precisely because of the White Tiger Dagger¡¯s special effect that he¡¯d been able to escape being killed by the first soul beast he¡¯d ever met in his life.

    ¡°ng, ng¡ª¡±

    Onstage, Chang Yue¡¯s long des viciously struck Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, which caused white sparks to immediately fill the surrounding air. At that moment, Chang Yue¡¯s soul rings were on full disy. Just like Ma Yingjun, she had three yellow and one purple ring. Furthermore, her martial soul was somewhat strange, as her head was the most affected by her martial soul; her originally golden hair had begun to turn gray, she¡¯d grown much taller, and her muscles were now so big that they were bulging. Her eyes had also turned a crystalline yellow. Her lips were jutting out slightly, revealing what seemed to be canine teeth.

    A dog-type martial soul? Furthermore, this seems to be a very strong one.

    A martial soul like this was rtively decent, as it strengthened its user by arge amount. Considering Chang Yue¡¯s ability as a closebat soul engineer, it could be said to beplement her very well. The only w of a martial soul like this was that her aesthetics would be ruined when she activated it.

    When he saw this, Xu Sanshi evilly cried out as he blocked Chang Yue¡¯s attack with his shield, ¡°Ghost!¡±

    His cry made the already-seething Chang Yue immediatelyunch a storm of sword-beams towards him as she shed madly at him. Although Xu Sanshi talked a lot of shit, he seemed to simply be an airbag at this moment. The only thing he did was unceasingly adjust the position of his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle as he cowered behind it, which made it seem as if he had no intentions of attacking.

    The violent boomsing from the stage, alongside the scene of Xu Sanshi beingpletely trashed once again, caused both an uproar and a general sense of puzzlement to spread amongst the spectators. From their point of view, Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi were both from the same academy. But if that was so, why was there be such arge gap between them?

    The activation of a soul tool drained quite a bit of soul power. Furthermore, the drain on one¡¯s soul power was directly proportional to the might of the closebat soul tool being used. Chang Yue¡¯s pair of des were a ss 3 closebat soul tool, thus they were rtively extraordinary in terms of strength. As she relentlessly poured down powerful blows with no regard for her soul power, Xu Sanshi gradually retreated, step by step.

    However, despite her powerful cultivation, she still eventually ran out of energy. After yet another flurry of blows, she began to feel that she was overexhausting her soul power. Xu Sanshi, on the other hand, was still ten or so meters away from the edge of the stage, despite his constant retreating.

    It wasn¡¯t as if Chang Yue hadn¡¯t attempted to find a w in Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense. However, thetter¡¯s use of the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was extremely clever. No matter what way she tried to attack him, he was always able to block it in time. More importantly, whenever she tried to attack him from another direction, the retreating Xu Sanshi would instead steady his footsteps, then retreat in another direction. This way, Chang Yue subconsciously chose to attack him in a frontal manner.

    Due to the overexhaustion of her soul power, Chang Yue¡¯s des began to slow down.

    At that moment, the corner of Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ I can¡¯t hold it anymore! Quick, be more forceful, be more forceful!¡±

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Chang Yue¡¯srge eyes went round, then she fiercely inhaled arge mouthful of air. She forcefully gathered the soul power in her body, then re-intensified the power of the des she was holding as she once again forced Xu Sanshi to retreat backwards.

    Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters¡­ five meters, three meters, one meter¡­ Finally, under Chang Yue¡¯s unrelenting assault, Xu Sanshi was finally forced to the edge of the stage. Currently, he would fall off if he took just a single step backwards.

    Chang Yue¡¯s four soul rings had continuously flickered during her previous attack, but she hadn¡¯t seemed to use any soul power on the surface. This was one of the unique characteristics of a soul engineer: When she¡¯d chosen her soul rings, Chang Yue had chosen ones that would increase her strength and speed. This way, she could make up for the deficiencies that her martial soul had. Furthermore, herbined fighting power after using a soul tool would be much greater than what it would¡¯ve been if she¡¯d remained a simple soul master.

    Right when she was about to seed and win the fight, herst two soul rings simultaneously lit up, while her twin des that had previously emitted white light now had a faint, green luster to them. The strong soul power undtions they were emitting caused even the surrounding air to distort. Her des then shed forwards as struck towards Xu Sanshi with an all-out attack.

    She¡¯s won!

    When Chang Yue struck towards Xu Sanshi with her two swords, every single student from Cloud Luo Academy, including her, thought this exact phrase.

    They all knew how strong she was; if she were tounch an all-out attack, even a Soul King-ranked expert wouldn¡¯t be able to take a direct blow from her, let alone Xu Sanshi, who had no path of retreat.

    However, right when these thoughts of victory popped into their minds, they instantly transformed into thoughts of astonishment.

    Just before Chang Yue¡¯s des struck Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, Xu Sanshi¡¯s body suddenly flickered to the side. At the same time, he nted the angle of his shield, which caused Chang Yue¡¯s twin des to practically slide across the surface of his shield.

    It was true that Xu Sanshi had been forced into the corner of the arena, but at the same time, Chang Yue herself had also been forced into that corner as well! When she felt her swords strike essentially thin air, the momentum carrying her immediately caused her to fly off the stage!

    Her greatest mistake was falling for Xu Sanshi¡¯s n; her decision-making skills had clearly been affected when she became angered by him. Combined with the string of attacks that had given her the absolute advantage in their battle, she¡¯d forgotten the most important thing: Even though Xu Sanshi was a defense-type soul master, he didn¡¯t have to block everything; he could also dodge an attack!

    Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t dodged any of her attacks when she¡¯d gone on the offensive, yet he¡¯d suddenly changed his movements at this crucial moment¡­ Chang Yue simply didn¡¯t have the time to react.

    The moment that she passed Xu Sanshi, Chang Yue immediately came to her senses. However, it was already toote for her to thrust her des into the ground to stabilize herself.

    Xu Sanshi nimbly turned the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hand around, then lightly smacked the t of it against Chang Yue¡¯s protruding buttocks. A crisp ¡®pa¡¯ rang out. Combined with the momentum that Chang Yue had from when she¡¯d charged forward, this was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back; Chang Yue immediately fell off the stage and rolled forwards.

    This was the second match in a row where a dramatic change had urred! Xu Sanshi had taken a beating from Chang Yue from the very beginning; in fact, he seemed like he¡¯d copse at any moment, yet he was still able to turn defeat into victory. Was this really just a fluke?

    After falling off the stage, Chang Yue face had turned ashen. However, she was still somewhat drained from using all of her strength earlier.

    On the stage, Xu Sanshi kept an innocent look on his face as he looked towards her. He shrugged his shoulders, then said, ¡°You can¡¯t me me. It¡¯s just that you were so bouncy that you got yourself bounced out. A mistake, that was definitely a mistake.¡± However, his gaze was fixated on Chang Yue¡¯s protruding buttocks the entire time he spoke. Worse, once he¡¯d finished speaking, his gaze turned towards Jiang Nannan, who was seated within the resting area.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s expression became frosty, and she turned to retrieve a pair of scissors from somewhere unknown. She then grabbed an elongated fruit from the table in front of her.

    Snip.

    Xu Sanshi instantly felt a certain area of his body tighten up, and he immediately turned around. He now had a righteous look on his face as he said to the referee, ¡°I¡¯ve won. Let¡¯s move on to the next match.¡±

    The referee¡¯s gaze towards him became somewhat strange; he¡¯d never seen such a strangepetition in his life.

    At that moment, the leader of Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team took the stage and tookrge strides towards Xu Sanshi.

    From the viewpoint of the spectators, this leader should¡¯ve been angry andshed out at Xu Sanshi due to his previous actions. However, the fact that he didn¡¯t do so astonished even the referee somewhat.

    Although he had a somewhat chilly and stern expression on his face as he faced Xu Sanshi, he didn¡¯t fly into a rage as he spoke. Instead, he bowed slightly to Xu Sanshi, then said, ¡°Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy, Situ Yu.¡±

    Xu Sanshi seemed to have felt something as well. The rxed look on his face vanished slightly, ¡°Shrek, Xu Sanshi.¡±

 Chapter 80.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 80.1: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    ¡°I know that you have yet to use your real strength,¡± Situ Yu said in a grave tone, ¡°thus, as the captain of the Cloud Luo Academy team, I hope to have a fair match with you. I want to see the real difference between the two of us. If you manage to beat me, then there won¡¯t be a need to fight the remaining matches. As such, I hope that you¡¯ll use your actual strength to win my respect.¡±

    Xu Sanshi narrowed his eyes. Even though he was only fifteen years old, the environment he¡¯d grown up in had allowed him to mature much faster than his peers. Even if Situ Yu was older than him, it didn¡¯t mean that he was more experienced.

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Xu Sanshi said after pondering for a moment. He then smiled as he had been previously; he wouldn¡¯t let his opponent influence his mood.

    The referee stepped forward at this point and said in a grave tone, ¡°Both of you, retreat.¡±

    Situ Yu backed up while gazing carefully at Xu Sanshi. His eyes became fiercer and fiercer as he retreated. A sharp, threatening aura was now emanating from his body. How could someone that was able to lead Cloud Luo Academy through that terrifying first elimination round, and lead them to this robin-round phase, not be powerful? Situ Yu was both the captain and the core of their group!

    Xu Sanshi also slowly retreated. More than half of the thin cigar in his mouth had disappeared by this point. However, he still had azy expression on his face as he withdrew. It seemed that he didn¡¯t attach too much importance to his opponent.

    In the waiting area.

    Wang Yan had a rxed expression on his face. Since they were quite near the tform, they had heard the conversation between the two of them.

    Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, felt a bit depressed. After several attempts, he¡¯d discovered that his Spiritual Detection could indeed get past the protective barrier. Nevertheless, the spiritual power required to do so was enormous; the consumption rate of using the AOE Spiritual Detection through the barrier was the same as when he focused it in a single direction normally. If he were to use it to assist one of them, his soul power would rapidly deplete. As such, it was impossible for him to keep it active all the time.

    However, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t seem to be in trouble. Hence, he decided not to take any action. Even Huo Yuhao had yet to experience Xu Sanshi¡¯s real power.

    Aside from Wang Yan, Bei Bei was also calm. However, the nearby Jiang Nannan was currently staring at the tform, the scissors in her hand continuously snipping. At this moment, her beautiful face was expressionless, and no one knew what she was thinking.

    On the tform, Xu Sanshi and Situ Yu had already retreated to their respective sides of the arena.

    The referee looked at both of them, then shouted, ¡°Start!¡±

    Situ Yu, who had been standing still a moment ago, suddenly appeared to grow a thousand hands in the blink of an eye, while his body began to emit several loud mechanical sounds. The scene that yed out was simr to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s first encounter: Arge number of metallic pipes emerged from his body. Situ Yu¡¯s body almost doubled in size in just a few breaths¡¯ worth of time.

    His stout and powerful legs now had three support-like metal shapes each. These three fingernail-like objects were as thick as a small arm, very sharp, and after popping out, immediately burrowed into the ground to form a very stable base. Afterwards, arge number of assault-type soul tools began to emerge from his calves.

    Huo Yuhao was continuously monitoring the situation on the tform, thus when these soul tools were released, he discovered that six ces on Situ Yu¡¯s body had begun emanating different types of lights. Next, arge number of soul tools began to pop up all over his body.

    These soul tools hadn¡¯t been installed on his body beforehand, but instead were activated just now.

    Three short metallic pipes proceeded to then grow out of Situ Yu¡¯s calves. At the same time, a thick and heavy metallic shell wrapped his body; he now looked like a fortress. Huo Yuhao was able to see at least thirty metallic pipes on his body. Thergest number were concentrated on his chest, which were emitting a pale dark-gold light; it was a concentrated soul cannon with more than a 1.5 meter calibre.

    Right now, Situ Yu looked even scarier than the fully armed He Caitou that Huo Yuhao had seen. In fact, he looked like a killing machine. Those pipes made of pure metal gave off a cool feeling. Four soul rings, two yellow and two purple, had also appeared beneath his feet. A white light also appeared behind his body, then changed into a huge fan. It almost seemed as if he were carrying the huge fan on his back.

    He Caitou moved next to Huo Yuhao, then said in a low voice, ¡°Junior brother, take a good look. That¡¯s the fortress formation: The pinnacle of attack and defense amongst us soul engineers.¡±

    ¡°The fortress formation?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, somewhat confused.

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the fortress formation, also known as the soul tool fortress. An armor-type soul tool is currently protecting his body, which sharply increases his defense. Furthermore, several more soul tools are equipped all over his body. Amongst these, there are also some auxiliary soul tools to recover soul power. Considering all of this, both the defense and attack of a soul engineer will skyrocket. They¡¯ll be able to utilize a great deal of power for a short while. Beneath seven rings, a soul master will hardly be a match for someone of the same rank using a soul tool fortress.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t teacher tell me about this?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, surprised.

    He Caitouughed and said, ¡°The soul tool fortress consumes arge quantity of soul power; only after obtaining your third ring will you be able topletely disy its power. Your current level of soul power is too low; you can¡¯t use it quite yet. Furthermore, our teacher doesn¡¯t like this sort of thing very much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao eyes widened and he asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    He Caitou replied, ¡°Junior brother, just think about it. Aside from the great offensive and defensive power, what other feelings do you gain from this fortress?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a bit, then said, ¡°It¡¯s reliable and stable.¡±

    ¡°But itcks mobility,¡± He Caitou continued, ¡°a soul tool fortress has to disy a lot of soul tools, including the formations to recover one¡¯s soul power. As such, the weight and volume of your equipment will greatly increase. Thus, if you want to equip the soul tool fortress and disy its full power, you¡¯ll have to sacrifice your mobility. In times of war, it is indeed extremely useful, but if you lose your mobility in a 1v1 fight, you¡¯ll just be passively beaten. However, it¡¯s not too bad here, as the contestants can only act within the bounds of the tform. The Ultimate Soldier n, developed by our Soul Tool Department, will not make use of this kind of approach; after all, it isn¡¯t something that canst for very long. The radiance you see emanating from his arms, legs, neck, and chest belong to his stored up soul tools. However, it¡¯s very difficult for soul engineers specialized in this fighting style to advance. Just think about it; if you want to upgrade so many soul tools, it would take you at least one year¡¯s worth of time. How would they even have the time to increase their soul power? Furthermore, thatrge fan on Situ Yu¡¯s back should be his martial soul. I¡¯m sure that it doesn¡¯t have any particr skill. All soul engineers specialized in this sort of style all hope that their soul skills will have the ability to increase their soul power and let them disy theplete strength of the soul tool fortress.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was able toprehend many things after He Caitou¡¯s exnation, and was enlightened. This time, a huge pressure was weighing down on their shoulders, but they were constantly learning new things from these real battles. After seeing Situ Yu stand on the tform equipped with a soul tool fortress, Huo Yuhao became lost in his thoughts. The world of soul tools was full of mysteries!

    While these two were talking, the battle on the tform had also begun.

    Compared to Situ Yu, Xu Sanshi seemed extremely frail. He was merely holding the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hand and waszily standing still. He hadn¡¯t even released any of his soul skills when the referee had announced the start of the match. He advanced withrge strides while still holding the thin cigar in his mouth and quickly reduced the distance between him and Situ Yu.

    Situ Yu raised both his arms, then pressed his elbows against his ribs. The metal junctions began tobine when he did so. Once they¡¯d connected, the six metal pipes on each of his arms began to emit a strong white light. At the same time, his four soul rings began to glitter in an alternating pattern. The huge fan on his back also released severalyers of white light at the same time.

    Countless balls of white light instantly shot outwards from him. Each ball of light was big enough to be a threat. In the next instant, all of them madly charged toward Xu Sanshi.

    It was the six-barrelled miniature soul cannon. This gadget was extremely powerful amongst soul tools of the fourth rank, and was excellent atying down suppressing fire. It was one of the preferred soul tools of armies, as even if there were only ten ss 4 soul engineers equipped with a six-barrelled miniature soul cannon, they would still be able to suppress several thousands of soldiers in a certain area.

    However, the strong and weak points of this gadget were very clear. The strong pointsy in explosive strength, wide coverage, and high attack power. However, there was only one notable w, which was a critical one: it consumed arge amount of soul power.

    A ss 4 soul engineer could use a six-barrelled miniature soul cannon for five minutes at most before they had to stop to recover their soul power.

    Facing this attack, Xu Sanshi used the most simple way to deal with it. Facing an all-out attack from a six-barrelled miniature soul cannon, the only way out for most Soul Ancestors was to run as far away as fast as possible. The soul cannon couldn¡¯t attack from too far away; its attack range was more or less only about a hundred meters. Therefore, if there was a certain distance between you and them, you wouldn¡¯t be in great danger. However, right now, they were on a tform, and there weren¡¯t really any ces to hide. Furthermore, even if he started running, Xu Sanshi wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun artillery shells made of soul power.

    He simply raised his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle and ced it in front of his body. Afterwards, he squatted down and shrank behind it,pletely hiding himself behind his shield.

    Powerful explosions continuously struck the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle; at the same time, a ck halo spread out from it. Xu Sanshi seemed to have fallen into a passive state; he didn¡¯t budge from his original position. However, the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle looked like an impregnable fortress; there wasn¡¯t even a scratch on it.

 Chapter 80.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 80.2: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Shang Yue, who had reached her waiting area, opened her eyes wide and cursed, ¡°Bastard!¡± She was absolutely furious! The attack power of the six-barrelled miniature soul cannon was even higher than that of her dual des. In particr when all the attacks were hitting the target like in this situation. However, even under this barrage, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t budge. Therefore, when he was running away from her before, it had just been bait.

    What incredible defensive power!

    Situ Yu¡¯s pupils shrank as he felt a great pressure weighing down on him. They were both Soul Ancestors, he should have had a distinct advantage when fighting on the tform with his soul tool fortress. ording to conventional wisdom, a soul master specialized in defense should have beenpletely suppressed and defeated. But even with this crazy barrage, he wasn¡¯t even able to make Xu Sanshi retreat.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t the limit of Situ Yu¡¯s skills. Three thick metal pipes came out of his shoulders and quickly adjusted their position thanks to his muscles. Next, several fist-sized white balls soared toward the sky with a ¡®puff¡¯ sound. These balls were moving slowly in a concentrated cluster. They assumed a parabolic trajectory, aiming at Xu Sanshi, who was hiding behind the shield.

    One couldn¡¯t attack for too long when using two powerful soul tools simultaneously. Sooner orter, even Situ Yu would have to stop. Xu Sanshi took advantage of this pause and stood up.

    At this moment, he couldn¡¯t rely on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Therefore, he took action when he felt that no attacks were hitting the shield.

    He dashed forward as soon as he stood up, and his second soul ring also lit up.

    If those six white balls in the air had kept following their original trajectory, they would havepletely missed Xu Sanshi. However, it seemed that they had locked onto their target. Now that Xu Sanshi was now leaving them behind, they changed their trajectory and started to pursue him. But Xu Sanshi, who was rushing forward hadn¡¯t yet realized anything.

    I won!

    Whenever Situ Yu would encounter this situation, he had always obtained victory. All the metal pipes forming his soul tool fortress suddenly lit up. His entire body was so brightly lit up that it seemed to be engulfed in white mes. Dozens of white lights exploded and shot toward Xu Sanshi.

    At this time in the waiting area, Bei Bei suddenly said to Huo Yuhao in a low voice, ¡°Look carefully.¡±

    His voice had yet to fade when something unexpected happened on the tform.

    Facing this simultaneous attack from the front and rear, Xu Sanshi seemed to be at a dead end. If he were to use his shield to block the attack from the front, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend the attack from behind properly. The strength of the white balls could be easily deduced by how concentrated they were.

    What could one do in this situation?

    Xu Sanshi gave the answer.

    He doubled his speed in an instant. The spectators only saw a sh, and his body disappeared. He left behind dozens of afterimages, and two-thirds of the light beams and artillery shellsing from the front missed. In addition, four of the white balls behind him were destroyed by the attack he had just dodged.

    That wasn¡¯t all. The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle ¡®broke¡¯ and split into many small shields the size of a palm as they scattered in all directions. Every shield urately protected him from the attacks he couldn¡¯t dodge. The two white balls at the rear were no exception.

    Thunderous explosions were echoing around him, and yet, not a single attack hit his body. With this sudden eleration, Xu Sanshi had dodged the heavy fire and arrived in front of Situ Yu.

    Situ Yu was extremely surprised. How could a defense-type soul master move so quickly? But he was still Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s captain, despite being surprised, he didn¡¯t forget to attack with his soul tool fortress.

    That Rank 4 concentrated soul cannon lit up. He hadn¡¯t used it before due to its excessive consumption of soul power. But at this time, it hardly mattered. He mustered all the soul power in his body, which was amplified by the martial soul behind his back, and poured it inside the concentrated soul cannon.

    Everyone could see the mouth of the cannon starting to light up. The white lighting out of the cannon suddenly began to turn darken. At the same time, the air on the tform started to be restless.

    Situ Yu had a frenzied expression on his face. Atst, he attacked.

    At this moment, if one could see Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression from close up, they would notice that his carefree expression had disappeared. Instead, a cold light was shing through his eyes.

    All the small scattered shields reunited once again into the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. Then, when the Rank 4 concentrated soul cannon fired, he took a quick step to his left.

    This single step changed everything. The concentrated soul cannon could lock onto an enemy, but with this move, Xu Sanshi wouldn¡¯t take the hit head-on, but from a nted angle. At the same time, the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle released a ck light as it morphed into a shining mirror.

    The terrifying attack of the concentrated soul cannon hit the shield. However, it did so at an angle. This caused the zing white light to be reflected towards the protective barrier above the tform.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s feet were like two huge boulders as he stood firmly in ce. But he wasn¡¯t done yet. After reflecting the attack, he pounced forward like a lion and ruthlessly smashed into Situ Yu¡¯s soul tool fortress from the side.

    With a thunderous boom, Situ Yu, who was not far from the edge of the ring, was sent flying. The base he had dug into the earth was also uprooted. Situ Yu mmed against the light screen of the protective barrier and copsed to the ground.

    After using the soul tool fortress, Situ Yu¡¯s weight had surpassed 250kgs. But when Xu Sanshi hit him, he was immediately sent flying without the slightest resistance.

    It was truly a beautiful collision, a showdown of pure brute force.

    Xu Sanshi, who was standing at the edge of the tform, had that carefree smile on his face once again. He looked at Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s waiting area and said to the dumbfounded Ma Yingjun, ¡°I didn¡¯t trick you. I went easy on you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Ma Yingjun nodded repeatedly. There was nothing else he could do anyway.

    Xiao Xiao said in a low voice, ¡°Senior Xu was actually this strong.¡±

    Till now, Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t left a deep impression on the other members. After all, he was a defense-type soul master. You wouldn¡¯t expect him to have any explosive or powerful skills, and on top of that, he spent most of his time pestering Jiang Nannan. Only today, after he defeated three opponents in a row, was everyone able to see his real power.

    He defeated a ss 4 soul engineer while being a Soul Ancestor with four soul rings. This alone was enough to make his strength clear. Not to mention that he had easily defeated three opponents in a row.

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°Since he always acts shamefully, you guys must have forgotten that when you entered the academy, he was already in the sixth year. If you think about it, he should have already entered the inner courtyard by now. However, he was so dead set on Nannan that he lowered his grades on purpose. I remember that his teachers were so angry that they nearly spat blood. Moreover, he is the most talented defense-type soul master I¡¯ve ever seen. Anyone would pay the price for looking down on him. Amongst our group of seven, he ranks first when ites to cultivation level. After all, you can¡¯t measure the strength of Shrek Academy¡¯s students with the number of soul rings alone, right?¡±

    Bei Bei was speaking the truth. You couldn¡¯t properly measure the strength of the students of Shrek Academy just by looking at the number of soul rings they had.

    Xu Sanshi had entered the academy when he was very young, and when he was fifteen, he could have graduated from the outer courtyard and taken the test to enter the inner courtyard. One could imagine how high his cultivation was. How could someone that was hailed as the number one genius of the outer courtyard together with Bei Bei be so simple? When making a proper evaluation, you had to take natural talent, strength, fighting capacity, and other various aspects into consideration.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Xuanwu Turtle martial soul was one of the strongest defense-type martial souls in his generation. This martial soul allowed the owner to possess an eternal and evesting defense. In all these years, Bei Bei had never heard of any fellow student being able to break through Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense.

    ¡°Brother, you should keep your word.¡± Xu Sanshi told Situ Yu. Situ Yu had fallen from the tform and was slowly getting up with great difficulty.

    What Situ Yu feared the most was exactly what had happened. The soul tool fortress covered his whole body, and many soul tools had been damaged after the fall. His own body had also received quite the shock as he was bleeding from both nose and mouth. With the help of his teammates, he was finally able to get out of the mountain of soul tools.

    He carefully raised his head and looked at Xu Sanshi. Then, he nodded and said, ¡°I lost, and I¡¯m sincerely convinced. Our Cloud Luo Academy admits defeat.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed heartily, ¡°You actually kept your word. You¡¯re a real man. Your offensive power is not half bad. However, I advise you to join the army. You won¡¯t be able to achieve much with this technique in 1v1 matches.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he looked toward his own waiting area and raised his hands.

    Shrek Academy had obtained victory in their first match. Just likest time, they had only used one person. However, the situation was a bit different fromst time. This time, they had sent out a defense-type soul master with four soul rings.

    This soul master had single-handedly defeated a soul engineering academy. Even if he had only faced three opponents, anyone could tell they were Cloud Luo Academy¡¯s strongest students. The remaining team members were merely Soul Elders with three soul rings and had no way of achieving victory.

 Chapter 80.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Chapter 80.3: A Genius Food-type Soul Master?

    Under these circumstances, one could say that Xu Sanshi had defeated a team of seven people alone!

    ¡°The winner is¡­ Shrek Academy!¡±

    As soon as the referee announced the winner, the audience exploded in cheers. The disappointed masses hadpletely changed their attitude. Even if Xu Sanshi had resorted to trickery in the first two matches, he had fought fair and square in thest one! Although they didn¡¯t know what kind of ability he had used, the fact that Shrek Academy had obtained victory with just a single participant was undeniable.

    No one sitting in Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s resting area dared to utter a word. When they saw that the student sent by Shrek Academy was just a Soul Ancestor, they didn¡¯t take him too seriously. Hence, they received a huge psychological blow when they saw his domineering performance.

    Xiao Hongchen furrowed his brows; no one knew what he was thinking. Then, the young girl sitting beside him, who had a very simr face, whispered, ¡°Elder brother, what are you thinking about? If we were to take his ce, we would be able to do it too, right?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. We are both soul masters and soul engineers. When fighting, we¡¯ll continuously consume our soul power. In the 1v1 matches of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, there is no time to take breaks. Do you really think you can defeat seven opponents despite continuously consuming your soul power?¡±

    The young girl said somewhat unwillingly, ¡°But he didn¡¯t defeat seven opponents either. He only fought three!¡±

    Xiao Hongchen said, ¡°But he still managed to win. Did you see the footwork he used just now?¡±

    The young girl was startled. She shook her head and replied, ¡°It was too sudden. I wasn¡¯t able to see.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen sighed and said, ¡°Neither could I. And although he wasn¡¯t able topletely dodge the attack when he used that footwork, it sent chills down my spine. Moreover, during his three matches, he only used two soul skills. To be precise, his second and fourth skills. He didn¡¯t even need to use the remaining two. From start to end, he gave the impression of doing things half-heartedly, but despite all that, he still managed to win. A person of great wisdom often seems slow-witted. That guy is most definitely a top-level defense-type soul master. Five yearster, we¡¯ll have to face this powerful opponent!¡±

    The young girl pouted her lips, still unwilling to ept what he said.

    Xiao Hongchen sighed once again. ¡°Shrek Academy is really Shrek Academy. Both in this and the previous battle, they managed to deal a huge blow to my morale.¡±

    The young girl chuckled and said, ¡°Give me a break. Your morale received a huge blow? I don¡¯t think your morale has ever wavered. No matter who your opponent is, you¡¯ve always been confident in your own victory.¡±

    Xiao Hongchenughed, ¡°Alright. You¡¯re not wrong. I really want to have a good fight now. I wonder what the real strength of that boy from the first match is.¡±

    The young girl snorted and said, ¡°That boy can¡¯t really have six hundred-thousand year soul rings, right?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Xiao Hongchen asked with a smile.

    The young girl stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s impossible!¡±

    Xu Sanshi returned to his friends with a satisfied expression on his face. Everyone warmly congratted him. After all, it was their first win in the round-robin phase.

    ¡°Senior Xu, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so strong!¡± Xiao Xiao looked at Xu Sanshi excitedly. ¡°Later, you have to give me a few pointers about defense. Even if my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron is a control-type martial soul, it excels the most at defense.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯m always happy to help my fellow students.¡± Xu Sanshi said smugly.

    Wang Yan stood up and patted Xu Sanshi¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go.¡± Following which, he led the team outside.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s members once again left Star Luo za under the gazes of the masses.

    On the city walls of the inner city, the emperor also stood up. He had a faint smile on his face as he muttered, ¡°So it was this boy. I know who he is, and he really has huge guts! Despite embarrassing me like that, he still came to participate in thepetition. Anyway, what a pity¡­¡±

    After mumbling to himself, the emperor headed toward the innards of the inner city. It seemed that he too had no interest in watching the next matches.

    Outside Star Luo za, Huo Yuhao arrived beside Wang Yan and asked in a low voice, ¡°Teacher Wang, shouldn¡¯t we look at the next matches? At the very least, we should watch Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s match. They are in the second group and will also be fighting today.¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and replied, ¡°Instead of wasting time here, you should go back and cultivate. I alone am enough to observe the other teams. Right now, you should preserve your strength and stay in top condition. Xu Sanshi did a great job today. He allowed us to win the first match while simultaneously hiding our true strength either. We¡¯ll have to maintain this secrecy for a few more matches. After Xiaotao and the others recover, things will be easier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a weird expression on his face. He felt that there was something wrong with the current situation. It felt as if Wang Yan was hiding something from then, his sixth sense as a spirit-type soul master was telling him this.

    After returning to the Grand Imperial Star Hotel, Wang Yan made them return to their respective rooms to rest. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong went to the former¡¯s room. Upon entering the room, Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. Suddenly, a golden radiance shed through his eyes. He gestured to Wang Dong to stay silent, then turned his body, facing the door of the room.

    Powerful spiritual waves spread through the air. Then, that golden radiance quickly disappeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°As expected, there is something wrong.¡± Huo Yuhao said quietly.

    ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Dong asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that that Teacher Wang is purposely not allowing us to watch the other matches?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and replied, ¡°But didn¡¯t we agree on that beforehand? We need to save as much time as possible to practice and must also continue to maintain our aloof status in everyone else¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that simple. Why can¡¯t we just watch the matches? Now that we¡¯re in the round-robin phase, matches will be fought 1v1. At the very least, he should have let us see the next three matches in order to gauge the abilities of our next opponents. However, Teacher Wang made us return to the hotel in a hurry. If things were really like he said, why did he immediately rush over to the za after delivering us here?¡±

    Wang Dong was startled as he said, ¡°Were you spying on Teacher Wang just now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Teacher Wang said that he alone would be enough to observe the matches. Therefore, he could have stayed back, there was no need for him to apany everyone till the hotel. On top of that, he was walking very quickly, and his mood seemed somewhat unstable. The reason he apanied us to the hotel was to make us leave Star Luo za and not let us see the other matches.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡± after hearing these words, Wang Dong seemed to have thought of something, ¡°We¡¯re not familiar with the names drawn through the lots. After all, this is our first time participating in the tournament. Even if we know that our opponent is from a certain academy, we won¡¯t know what their true strength is. Which means that Teacher Wang was nning to conceal the strength of our opponents? That seems like the only possible exnation¡­¡±

    They looked at each other and said at the same time, ¡°The teams we will have to face in this round-robin phase must be really strong.¡±

    After speaking their mind, they both fell silent. If this was really the case, Wang Yan¡¯s actions were reasonable. His purpose was very simple, to protect them from having their fighting spirit crushed.

    If they wanted to get past the round-robin phase, they needed to obtain five or more victories. With six victories, they were guaranteed to pass. They would have to wait for two more matches for Ling Luochen to recover. And four matches for Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng. Thus, if their opponents in the next few matches were very strong, they would be under a lot of pressure.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong along and left the room.

    Wang Dong quickly stopped him and said. ¡°We can¡¯t. Star Luo za is under the protection of the army. If try to disguise ourselves, we won¡¯t be able to enter. And if we go back without a disguise, wouldn¡¯t we ruin our reputation? We cannot destroy the mystery that surrounds us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not nning to go back to Star Luo za. Just follow me.¡± With that, he brought Wang Dong out of the room. After confirming that there was no one around, he pulled him towards the window at the end of the corridor.

    After opening the window, he pointed upward and said, ¡°Fly, and take me to the roof.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes lit up. He had already understood what Huo Yuhao was nning, ¡°But isn¡¯t it too far?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Grand Imperial Star Hotel is the tallest building around Star Luo za. We should have a fairly decent vantage point. Even if it¡¯s a bit far, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Don¡¯t forget about the properties of my martial soul. Let¡¯s give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong replied. He lowered his head and exited the window. The wings of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess unfurled, and he started to float in mid-air.

    Next, Huo Yuhao pounced toward him and wrapped his arms around him.

    ¡°Oi, why are you clinging to me like that? You¡¯re heavy.¡± After being hugged by Huo Yuhao, it was unknown whether it was because he was flustered or because Yuhao was really that heavy, but Wang Dong¡¯s body plunged. It took him a few moments before he was able to stabilize himself.

    Huo Yuhao replied sourly, ¡°Nonsense. If I don¡¯t cling to you, I¡¯ll fall. Anyway, you keep saying that you¡¯re a man, but why is your body so soft? It feels like a woman¡¯s body.¡±

    Wang Dong got angry. ¡°If you keep with that nonsense, do you believe I won¡¯t fly up and throw you down?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the roof.¡±

    Wang Dong pped his wings and proceeded toward the roof. Since they were residing on the top floor, they already weren¡¯t very far from the roof. But as soon as they got there, they were dumbfounded.

    ¡°Caitou, is this gadget even working? I can¡¯t see clearly!¡± Bei Bei was standing on the roof and holding something in his hand while looking towards Star Luo za.

    Beside him were Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao. The roof was quite crowded.

 Chapter 81.1: Hidden Strengthâ€¦

    Chapter 81.1: Hidden Strength¡­

    ¡°You guys¡­¡± Wang Dong looked at everyone in shock as he ced Huo Yuhao on the roof.

    Bei Bei put the telescopic soul tool down and replied, ¡°Teacher Wang may be unmatched when ites to researching martial souls, however he¡¯s very inexperienced when ites to concealing his emotions. ¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you guys call us?¡± Wang Dong said resentfully.

    ¡°That¡¯s because junior brother clearly saw through it! You guys have to remember not to be too expressive. Otherwise, anyone with a shred of intelligence would be able to discern your thoughts. ¡± said Bei Bei.

    Wang Dong felt gloomy as he said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you only implying that I¡¯m dumber than you guys?¡±

    Xiao Xiao weakly raised her hand and said, ¡°Me too. Senior brother told me there¡¯s a good show going on and brought me up here.¡±

    Those who could be a part of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were prodigies in their own right. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who recognised Wang Yan¡¯s problem. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou were also aware of it. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were the only ones that had been called up.

    ¡°Nannan, can I take a look?¡± Xu Sanshi inched over to Jiang Nannan¡¯s side, fawning all over her. Where had the powerful aura he had possessed during the tournament gone to?

    He Caitou had brought two telescopic soul tools along with him. He¡¯d given one to Bei Bei and handed the other over to Xu Sanshi. For appearance¡¯s sake, Xu Sanshi had immediately handed it to Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan ignored him and said, ¡°The tournament¡¯s starting.¡±

    The Grand Imperial Star Hotel and Star Luo za were separated by a few kilometers, which was extremely far for the eye to see. From this distance, the massive tournament za was but a very small square. It was more or less impossible for one to observe the ongoings clearly. Even He Caitou with the telescopic soul tool couldn¡¯t see what was going on too clearly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Senior brother, let me test out that telescopic soul tool.¡±

    Bei Bei handed the telescopic soul tool that looked like a metal box over to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took the telescopic soul tool and peered through the transparent convex-shaped crystal, looking into the distance through the ergement device installed within. One only had to pour a bit of their soul power into the telescopic soul tool to use it. It was a very simple auxiliary soul tool. Since there weren¡¯t many soul tool masters willing to put much effort into this aspect, they were only Rank 1 soul tools. Naturally, it couldn¡¯t erge the image in the distance by arge amount.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyesight was exceptionally shocking. His eyes were his martial soul, and he¡¯d also been cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes all along. Naturally, everything would be much clearer to Bei Bei if he could use the Purple Demon Eyes too. Even without the help of this telescopic soul tool, he would only need to use a bit of soul power if he wanted to clearly see what was going on a few kilometers away on a good day.

    Huo Yuhao expanded his Spiritual Sharing as he watched what was going on on the tournament stage. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t use his Spiritual Sharing only when he used his Spiritual Detection. He could use it on a normal basis too, just like what he was doing now. Huo Yuhao shared what he could see with his friends through his Spiritual Sharing. The four soul skills the Skydream Iceworm gave him didn¡¯t seem to be very powerful at first nce, but all of them were iparably mystical in their own right.

    The reserve team of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters only had to close their eyes for the scenes Huo Yuhao saw to appear in their minds.

    The match held in Star Luo za wasn¡¯t the first match held since they left, but rather a 1-vs-1 showdown.

    He¡¯d just clearly seen what was happening on the tournament stage when a shiver ran down Huo Yuhao¡¯s spine. The others also trembled once they became aware of what was happening on the stage under the conditions of his Spiritual Sharing. They atmosphere suddenly became very tense.

    The reason for this was because the two individuals currentlypeting actually had five soul rings each. Moreover, they were abination of two yellow soul rings and three purple soul rings. Even if these two Soul Kings didn¡¯t have the best ratio of ten-thousand-year soul rings between them, the words ¡®Soul King¡¯ pressed heavily like mountains in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Soul Kings had actually appeared after their match.

    The two Soul Kings were both soul masters who didn¡¯t use any soul tools either. Their battle was extremely intense, causing strong rays of light to explode from the tournament stage from time to time. Since they were very far from the za, it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to see every minute detail regardless of how good his eyesight was.

    Moreover, he couldn¡¯t clearly see the specific details on the stage when the rays of light flickered from the intense soul power.

    ¡°It looks like Teacher Wang was right. He really was afraid of cracking down on our confidence in the tournament.¡± Bei Bei said with slight difficulty.

    Xu Sanshi snorted and said, ¡°So what if they¡¯re Soul Kings? Bei Bei, you¡¯re disheartened just like that?¡±

    After the scene she saw through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sharing, Jiang Nannan put the telescopic soul tool down. She seldom spoke, but now she continued with, ¡°It¡¯s normal for Soul Kings to appear in the earlier parts of the knockout tournament. The academies that can pass the first cycle of the knockout tournament can¡¯t be especially weak in any way. Perhaps the Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy we faced off against today was the one with the weakest constitution. Even though these two academies sent out Soul Kings for the present match, it might very well stem from the reasoning of letting the Soul Kings emerge victorious in a few matches to deplete the opponent¡¯s strength as best as they can.¡±

    ¡°Even though you put it that way, what do you think is implied with them having Soul Kings as theirmanding officers?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously answered, ¡°It means there¡¯s a very high possibility that their team is made up entirely of Soul Ancestors.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Junior brother is right. I¡¯m afraid we have an arduous battle ahead of us from now on. We also definitely have to reveal our true strength. With team membersposed of Soul Ancestors with a Soul King as their leader, their strength surpasses ourspletely as a whole. We definitely can¡¯t duplicate what happened in the first match. Everyone must be mentally prepared. Our victory in the first two matches was due to our opponents being weak along with a small bit of luck. Thetter matches will be more difficult. I¡¯m afraid Teacher Wang only lied to us a little. There really are quite a number of twenty-year-old Soul Kings this time around.¡±

    Xu Sanshi shrugged and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Bei Bei. After all, we can have Soul Kings in our team in the next two matches. Senior Sister Ling is a Control-type Soul King. With her deployed in battle, we won¡¯t have a problem anymore.¡±

    Bei Bei red at him and said, ¡°Stop talking nonsense! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re hiding. We¡¯repeting in this tournament, which means that we¡¯re representing Shrek Academy¡¯s honor. At the very least, we¡¯re enjoying the treatment of being core disciples in the academy. Now it¡¯s time for us to protect the academy¡¯s honor. Even if we use thest shred of our energy, I will not permit myself to lose on stage. Xu Sanshi, you better get your act together. We must definitely win the next two matches. We have to give it everything we¡¯ve got before our senior brothers and sisters return.¡±

    Bei Bei hit the nail on the head with this one, exuding a mighty power that he¡¯d never had before along with his words.

    His martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. By nature, he had the tyrannnical aura of a king but the only difference was that he normally hid it extremely well. Unless it was under the conditions of a fight, no one could feel that aura around him.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao had seen Bei Bei look so serious. He immediately felt a shiver run down his spine.

    Xu Sanshi frowned. ¡°Bei Bei, isn¡¯t it too early? You ought to know that this tournament doesn¡¯t actually belong to us. If we reveal our true abilities too early, our opponents are sure to pursue countermeasures against us in five years.¡±

    Bei Bei lowered his voice and said, ¡°But we can¡¯t wait. Sanshi, do you have such little faith in what¡¯s toe in five years? Five years is a very long time to us.¡±

    Xu Sanshi gazed deeply at Bei Bei and said, ¡°If you want to go all in, I¡¯ll go along with you.¡±

    Bei Bei said in an unhappy tone, ¡°Can you not say it in such a sexual way? I don¡¯t have the slightest bit of interest in you at all. I understand your concerns. Our abilities are basically fixed. Once we reveal our true strength, our foundations won¡¯t change, although they¡¯ll continue to increase over the next five years. But you¡¯ve forgotten something. Even though our abilities are fixed, Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao are at the stage where their abilities haven¡¯t been fixed yet. Yuhao in particr. His Imitation ability is very effective at confusing his opponents. We need to support the team now. Also, they are the true core disciplese five years¡¯ time.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment. Senior brother, Senior Xu, are you guys saying that you¡¯ve always been hiding your strength all this while?¡± Huo Yuhao interrupted.

    ¡°Uh¡­ You can put it that way.¡± Bei Bei gave a slight nod as he replied.

    The other five exchanged nces with puzzled looks on their faces.

    Bei Bei looked at Xu Sanshi, who immediately had a look on his face that said ¡°It¡¯s none of my business¡±. The meaning behind his look was very clear ¨C if you bring up a topic, you¡¯ll naturally have to resolve any question that arise along with it.

    Bei Bei felt helpless as he looked at the curiosity in their eyes. ¡°The truth is¡­ Well, since you guys are now part of the reserve team, it¡¯s no big deal if we tell you guys. Not long after Sanshi and I entered the academy, we became core disciples like you guys. As our cultivation increased, we gradually gained the approval of the academy. We then unofficially got chosen to be the next generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. We were the only two who got chosen from the outer courtyard. To put it simply, we are slightly more valuablepared to the core disciples. The academy is slightly more biased towards us in terms of nurturing us and providing us with the necessary resources. However, that was on the precondition that we would have to sit for the inner courtyard examination after we graduated from the outer courtyard. Furthermore, we have to be Shrek Guardians for at least five years.¡±

    ¡°Generally speaking, unofficially dering someone to be a part of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters is a very rare urrence. For example, no one was unofficially dered as a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters in Senior sister Ma¡¯s generation. The academy only thinks highly of us because Sanshi and I have rather unusual abilities. Naturally, there¡¯s someone amongst you guys who also has that qualification, and that is Yuhao. This matter has been dyed because the tournament came too soon, and also because Yuhao is now cultivating in both the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department. However, both departments are nurturing him to the best of their abilities, making his treatment equal to ours.¡±

 Chapter 81.2: Hidden Strengthâ€¦ (Preview)

    Chapter 81.2: Hidden Strength¡­ (Preview)

    ¡°We¡¯re still young, so the academy mainly wanted us to participate in the next tournament. Because of that, they asked us not to use all our strength under normal circumstances. But for the sake of the academy¡¯s honor, I feel that we can no longer continue to hide. During the following two matches, it¡¯ll be very hard for us to win if we have to face any Soul Kings.¡±

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at each other after hearing his words. Sure enough, the fact that he had been chosen by the academy meant that he wasn¡¯t someone easily dealt with!

    Wang Dong looked towards Xu Sanshi, ¡°Senior Xu, can I ask a question? During our match today, how much strength did you use?¡±

    Xu Sanshi thought about it for a moment. ¡°About thirty or forty percent. In reality, Teacher Wang¡¯s estimations were wrong. I only can release my full strength when I work together with Bei Bei. We were a couple in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so full of air when you speak,¡± Bei Bei said gloomily, ¡°Who¡¯s a couple with you? We¡¯re partners. Exin it clearly.¡±

    ¡°Che¡­¡± Xu Sanshi curled his lips, ¡°Could it be that you don¡¯t know who I like? This brother¡¯s orientations are perfectly normal.¡± With that, his gaze immediatelynded on Jiang Nannan¡¯s body.

    However, Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t even spare him a nce. She thoughtlessly walked over to Xiao Xiao¡¯s side, and with a flick of the wrist, the pair of scissors that had previously appeared during the match once again appeared.

    Thirty to forty percent of his strength? They were all four-ringed soul masters, but just how strong was Xu Sanshi? Furthermore, there was also Bei Bei, who had simrly hidden his strength.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt as if the preparatory team he was in wasn¡¯t as weak as they seemed on the surface!

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Senior Bei, does Teacher Wang know that you have been unofficially dered a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head. ¡°Teacher Wang doesn¡¯t know. This is a high-level secret in the academy. Only the two Deans of the Martial Soul Department and the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion know of it. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is the highest level ofmand that our academy has, and it¡¯s based on Sea God¡¯s Ind. ording to the stories, the master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is the true number one expert our academy has. Only, he keeps watch from Sea God¡¯s Ind, and even we have never seen what he looks like.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s even stronger than Elder Xuan?¡± Huo Yuhao asked astonishedly. From his recollections, Elder Xuan was already a near-omnipotent super-expert due to the terrifying speed at which he¡¯d flown alongside them, and the catastrophic level of strength that he¡¯d released when he¡¯d flown into a rage.

    Bei Bei shrugged. ¡°Hasn¡¯t Elder Xuan already said it before? He¡¯s the vice-captain of our Shrek Guardians. Since there¡¯s a vice-captain, there¡¯s naturally a captain. Our captain is the master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Only, nobody has ever seen him make a move.¡±

    After listening to Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao finally understood everything. Their understanding of the academy was simply toocking. Unexpectedly, there was even a ce like Sea God¡¯s Ind within the inner courtyard. Furthermore, from what Bei Bei said, this Sea God¡¯s Ind had a much greater level of influence even whenpared to the Deans.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you guys to think too much over it. Although we¡¯ve hidden some of our strength, we didn¡¯t hide too much. After all, we¡¯re still at the Soul Ancestor level of strength. You¡¯ll see it during the tournament. Let¡¯s just follow Teacher Wang Yan¡¯s tactics and arrangements. However, if we get put into a 2-2-3 match, there¡¯s a high chance that Sanshi and I will be put into a team to fight against their strongest experts. On the other hand, there may be changes in the other teams. Nannan, what would happen if you were ced with Caitou?¡±

    Without any hesitation at all, Jiang Nannan replied, ¡°Other than a certain person, I¡¯m fine with pairing up with anybody else.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately interrupted her, ¡°I know, you¡¯re not willing to be together with a serious-looking person like Bei Bei. Bei Bei, I think it¡¯s still better for me to work together with Nannan. You can just work with somebody else.¡±

    Jiang Nannan flew into a rage. ¡°Stop ying dumb. The certain person I¡¯m talking about is you. Stay away from me, otherwise don¡¯t me me for being impolite to you.¡± As she spoke, she waved the scissors in her hand through the air.

    Xu Sanshi immediately fell silent. Clearly, he was acting as though he had fallen silent out of fear, and everybody could see that he nearly couldn¡¯t help but fly into uproariousughter.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Then, we¡¯ll temporarily put you with Caitou. Yuhao, we¡¯ll leave your partners as Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. If we can¡¯t deal with our enemies during the first two matches, you won¡¯t have to try too excessively during thest match. You should do your best to hide your secrets. Preferably, it¡¯d be better for you to lose rather than reveal some of your secrets. Understand? After all, we can still win even if we lose a single match in the round-robin tournament. Furthermore, it¡¯s impossible for us to be put into a 2-2-3 fight every round.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao replied immediately. He had nothing but utmost trust for his senior brother.

    A light flickered across Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. ¡°Fine. Everybody, go back. We don¡¯t have to stay here anymore. Teacher Wang Yan will definitely make a few arrangements for us based on our opponent¡¯s strengths. Everybody, go get a good rest and maintain your conditions.¡±

    After returning to their hotel room, Huo Yuhao called Wang Dong to his room to cultivate.

    Wang Dong closed the door and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that senior brother and Xu Sanshi would¡¯ve hidden the fact that they were unofficial members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Devils. We should have a fighting chance now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. If we¡¯re in a 1v1 elimination round or a team fight, our seniors will be able to utilise their strengths optimally. However, if we really do get into a 2-2-3 match like senior brother said, we¡¯ll be in a bit of trouble. After all, the only strong teammates we have are the two of them.¡±

    Wang Dong was somewhat unresigned. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating us too much. Do we not have enough strength to win a single battle? Don¡¯t forget, we can now use our Golden Road again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. ¡°Out of everyone who can participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament, tell me, who isn¡¯t a real elite? Since we¡¯ve already used the Golden Road once, our opponents will be cautious of it. Its greatest w is the fact that it¡¯s an attack that only targets a single direction. As long as our opponents make a few preparations against it, our chances of seeding will be much lower. Out of the three of us, two of us have two rings, while you have three rings. If all of our opponents are Soul Ancestors, we practically have no chance of winning.¡±

    Wang Dong fell silent, as though he were pondering something.

    Huo Yuhao patted his shoulder. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go cultivate. Every single little bit counts. No matter what, we should do our best. We absolutely cannot let the glory of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect be tarnished because of us.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    The matches of the round-robin tournament were held on alternate days. For example, every team in Group A would have to undergo seven matches. If a team wanted to qualify, they would have to beat five teams at the very least to stand a chance. Only by winning six matches would a team be able to guarantee themselves a spot in the next round.

    After two days passed, the first round of the round-robin tournament ended. Whenpared to the elimination round, the round-robin tournament was much more peaceful. Every single team continuously revised their battle tactics, and the strategies used in every single round of the tournament were more detailed than thest. However, it wasn¡¯t as crazy as the elimination round.

    The first round of the elimination round was still affecting the round-robin tournament; the teams whose main forces had been injured were using the first round of the round-robin tournament to adjust their team¡¯s condition. Because of that, the first round wasn¡¯t overly exciting. It wasn¡¯t yet time for everyone to bring out their strongest powers.

    However, a perspecious person could tell that the first round of the round-robin tournament was the calm before the storm. Many of the teams couldn¡¯t afford to lose theing matches anymore.

    Night.

    ¡°Teacher Wang Yan, where are we going?¡± Bei Bei asked, puzzled.

    One day had passed since the first round of the tournament, and they would be starting the second round of the round-robin tournament tomorrow. However, Wang Yan was bringing the seven from the preparatory team out of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel after dinner.

    In the first ce, this was the most bustling part of Star Luo City. The moment they stepped out the door, they were engulfed by arge and chaotic number of people.

    Wang Yan smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you to a ce. Just follow me. Recently, we¡¯d just finished our Guardian assignment before participating in this tournament. Your minds have been strained the whole time. It won¡¯t be good if you¡¯re like this the whole time. I¡¯m bringing you to a ce where you can rx. Rxation will have some benefits for your future matches.¡±

    Rxing?

    Their faces became somewhat strange. They were already aware of how strong their imminent opponents were, but Teacher Wang was actually taking them out to help them rx? Could anyone even believe him? However, Teacher Wang¡¯s concealment skills were much better thanst time, at the very least. Nobody questioned him, because everyone knew that wherever he was going to take them was definitely for the sake of obtaining better results in the tournament.

    Since the start of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, the vast Star Luo City had be extremely congested. It was very hard to maintain one¡¯s speed within the crowd, especially on the streets near Star Luo za, which were permanently congested.

    During the past few days, Wang Yan seemed to have understood the general outlines of their surroundings. After bringing them through a crowded part of the road, they broke through the masses; there were now much fewer people around them.

    After passing through another few streets, they finally stopped at a pointed-looking building.

    This building wasn¡¯t too conspicuous, and although it wasn¡¯t too bigpared to the other tall buildings surrounding it, it could be considered prominent. A sign with the design of a hammer was ced above its door, and the image of a golden, veined tabletop was under the hammer.

    Of the members of the preparatory team, only Huo Yuhao revealed a nk look at seeing this sign; the others all had a sudden sh of enlightenment.

    Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong, ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°This is an auction. See the design of that sign? That borately carved hammer is the symbol of an auction. Only auctions and cksmiths use a hammer as a sign, but the hammer of a cksmith tends to be much rougher andrger. As long as it¡¯s not toote, you should be able to hear the sounds of hammering near a cksmith.¡±

 Chapter 81.3: Hidden Strengthâ€¦ (Preview)

    Chapter 81.3: Hidden Strength¡­ (Preview)

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case.¡± Huo Yuhao felt ashamed. He was truly clueless in certain areas. As the saying went, reading ten thousand books is not as useful as travelling ten thousand miles. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t change. After all, the most important thing he had to do was increase his cultivation.

    Thepanions, seniors, opponents, and even the teachers who taught him, every single one of these people gave him the pressure and drive that made him continue an unending journey. During this journey, the only way he could have peace of mind was by exhausting all of his strength.

    This was also an advantage of Shrek Academy. In an environment like this, Huo Yuhao and the other students would absolutely be stimted into an all-out struggle as long as they were motivated. This was all done so they could release the potential hidden within their bodies.

    This was also the reason why Shrek Academy not only had talents, but also a group of talents who came forth inrge numbers.

    Just what is Teacher Wang bringing us to an auction for? A few traces of doubt rose in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    At the same time, Wang Yan gave them an exnation as he turned towards the others, ¡°Although you haven¡¯t seen the other academiespete, I have to tell you all that this time¡¯s tournament is very different than the previous ones. The difference lies in the fact that there are now very few pure soul master academies left. All of the other academies have been growing in the direction of a fusion between soul engineers and soul masters.¡±

    ¡°A fusion?¡± Bei Bei furrowed his brows slightly, ¡°Teacher Wang, what do you mean by ¡®a fusion¡¯?¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°There are many types of fusion for some ordinary academies. The simplest way they can do this is by diligently training the soul masters they have, then equipping them with soul tools. As long as their students learn how to use these soul tools, they¡¯re fine. Even if their ways of using soul tools aren¡¯t as refined as a soul engineer¡¯s methods, a soul tool can still increase their fighting power. Pure soul masters are bing rarer and rarer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just like what we saw during the first round of the elimination round, when Yuhao and Wang Dong activated their Golden Road. Our opponents had a few defensive-type soul tools. Were it not for them, they could¡¯ve been seriously injured. However, situations like this aremonce during this year¡¯s tournament. Practically every student from a soul academy has a soul tool, and some of the stronger academies have even set up their own independent Soul Tool Departments. Not only does this train their own soul engineers, but it also allows them to custom-make soul tools for their other soul masters to give them a dramatic increase in overall strength. You¡¯ll understand once I give you an example. Let¡¯s say we give a speed-increasing soul tool to an agility-type soul master like Nannan. If she can use it freely, what do you think will happen? At the same time, say we give her a few lifesaving defensive-type soul tool to guard against her weakness in defense. Wouldn¡¯t that be enough to let her use all of her strength without any worry at all?¡±

    ¡°I never thought that this tournament would change this much after five years. Actually, it¡¯s more urate to say that this started several decades ago. Only, an overwhelminglyrge number of academies were proud of the fact that they were soul academies at that time. Just like us, they felt that using soul tools would lower their reputations. However, the times change whether we like it or not. During thest few tournaments, academies who used soul tools have been obtaining better and better results. This unending change has changed the other soul academies¡¯ way of thinking . Only, I didn¡¯t think that they¡¯d fully explode during this year¡¯s tournament. From what I¡¯ve seen during the first round of the elimination round, over 80% of the participating academies have prepared soul tools. Furthermore, with this experience, I¡¯m afraid that every single academy will have equipped their students with soul tools by the next tournament.¡±

    Xu Sanshi furrowed his brows. ¡°They¡¯ve forgotten the honor of being a soul master. Aren¡¯t battles between soul masters meant to be pure? The most reliable tool we have at our disposal is the strength we¡¯ve cultivated, and it¡¯s our most trustworthy tool. After all, a soul tool is a foreign object.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Wang Yan said in a low voice, ¡°Also, I can guarantee you guys that Sanshi¡¯s way of thinking is practically identical to that of the upper echelon of arge majority of academies. It¡¯s this precise reason that has constrained the development of the Soul Tool Department. After my observations during this year¡¯s tournament, however, I have to say that we¡¯ve reached an irreversible point in time. Furthermore, this has to be acted upon immediately. Once we return to the academy after the tournament, I will immediately point this out to the academy.¡±

    ¡°Soul tools will be the weapons of us soul masters. This is a byproduct of the times. If we don¡¯t keep up with the passage of time, there will be a time when we ourselves are washed away. It¡¯s true that our Shrek Academy has a deep background, but how long will this deep background let us be extravagant? You guys are the next generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, and I hope that we can cause a change with you taking the lead. I¡¯ve brought you here for that reason. It just so happens that there¡¯s a soul tool auction in this auction house today, and I hope that you guys will be able to lead the academy with your example. Naturally, I won¡¯t force you, nor do I have the capability to do so. If anyone here isn¡¯t willing to enter, you can return now.¡± With that, Wang Yan¡¯s gaze turned somewhat apprehensive. He naturally understood that the deep-rooted Soul Tool Department of Shrek Academy had already been established for many years, but had always beenpletely suppressed by the Martial Soul department. As a result, it had simply been unable to truly grow.

    The inner courtyard disciples of the Martial Soul Department were elites among elites, but what about the Soul Tool Department? The Soul Tool Department also had inner courtyard disciples, but those exact disciples were only mediocre after graduating, and even now weren¡¯t able to create any sort of reputation for Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. This was because of the pressure of tradition! The pressure of tradition had be the currently restrained Shrek Academy¡¯s greatest barrier.

    The seven of them all fell silent, and each and every one of them was pondering inwardly.

    The only thing that Wang Yan could guarantee was that there would be two people who would agree with him¨Cthat was, the two people who belonged to the Soul Tool Department, He Caitou and Huo Yuhao.

    But what about the other five? They were all core disciples of the Martial Soul Department; their elites. If they chose to use soul tools during the tournament, this would be equivalent to them making their decisions. Although these kids weren¡¯t too old, they were able to stand steadily within Shrek Academy. Were any of them not outstanding geniuses? Wang Yan absolutely couldn¡¯t predict their way of thinking byparing them to their peers.

    However, Wang Yan didn¡¯t regret bringing them to this auction house at all. This was his first time trying to convince them to use soul tools, but it would definitely not be hisst. The more profound his research in the field of martial souls became, the more keenly he sensed the problems that would stunt the future growth of soul masters.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just stand the side first.¡± Wang Yan brought them to a corner of the auction house so as to not block the other guests who were attending the auction.

    Wang Yan took a deep breath as he looked at the people around him. ¡°I know. All of you are thinking different things, but arge number of you are against this. Let me say this again. Why did we fall into our current predicament during this year¡¯s tournament? It was due to a mistake we made during our mission. The death and injuries of the official team resulted in the preparatory team being forced to take part in the tournament. But, haven¡¯t you thought about this before? What if the official team had soul tools with them? What would¡¯ve happened then?¡±

    ¡°The seven members of the official team were all Soul Kings, or stronger. In other words, they could¡¯ve equipped ss 5, or even ss 6 soul tools. Let me bring up an extreme example. What if all of them had defensive soul tools on them? After all, every single one of them was already sufficiently strong in terms ofbat strength. The thing they needed most was a way to protect themselves. Caitou, you¡¯re a student of great ability from the Soul Tool Department, and also Fan Yu¡¯s disciple. Tell everyone this: during that corpse explosion, what if they had had defensive soul tools? Would the situation have changed?¡±

    He Caitou seemed to reply without any hesitation at all, ¡°It would¡¯ve definitely gone differently. I can guarantee that that corpse explosion wouldn¡¯t have broken through a ss 6 defensive soul tool. Moreover, a ss 5 soul tool would have ensured that they wouldn¡¯t have been rendered unfit forbat at the very least. Their injuries would¡¯ve been reduced by more than 60% as well.¡±

    Once he spoke, everyone else was stirred emotionally. Right! If they had had defensive soul tools, that tragedy might not have urred. If that had been the case, would they have been in such a predicament during the tournament?

    Wang Yan took a deep breath and said, ¡°Children. With my age, I think I can use this to refer to you all. I have to say that each and every one of you are the academy¡¯s most precious treasures. At the same time, you are your respective families¡¯ most precious geniuses. However, the fall of a genius is much, much easier than nurturing one. Weren¡¯t Yao Haoxuan and the rest geniuses as well? They all were. Yao Haoxuan even had a swallowing skill that could allow him to instantly swallow an opponent one rank above him, rendering them powerless for a certain amount of time. He could even be said to be a genius within the Control System. At the same time, they were the current iteration of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters! However, what happened in the end? No matter how talented they were, they couldn¡¯t prevent an ident from urring. However, the existence of a soul tool can dramatically reduce the possibility of an ident.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already seen the uses of a soul tool. What about those flying-type soul tools? Without them, would you have been able toe here afterpleting your Guardian mission within such a short period of time? For the sake of achieving his maximum speed, even our academy¡¯s Elder Xuan, who is a person who resides at the top of the pyramid, borrowed the use of a flying-type soul tool. I can tell you that the flying-type soul tool that Elder Xuan used was only a ss 8 one. That is also the strongest soul tool within our academy¡¯s reserves right now. Then, what about ss 9 and 10 soul tools?¡±

 Chapter 82.1: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    Chapter 82.1: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    ¡°Also, one thing I can reveal to you is that Xuan Lao¡¯s cultivation is certainly much more terrifying than what the majority of you people imagine it to be. His martial soul, the Godly Taotie Bull, is an extremely rare and special type that can also be called a mutated martial soul. The drawback of this type of martial soul lies in the need for constant consumption of food and drink, as the act of consumption itself is a form of cultivation. However, Xuan Lao¡¯s cultivation has already reached the ny-eighth rank, and he is the Transcendent Titled Douluo of Gluttony. It¡¯s almost impossible to find any being in existence on this continent that is stronger than that elder in a duel.¡±

    Even though they already had very high estimations of Xuan Lao¡¯s cultivation, the seven of them still drew a collective gasp when Wang Yan spoke the number ¡®ny-eight¡¯. What a thing to consider, that rank ny-eight!

    All soul masters who were rank ny or higher were Titled Douluo, but every increase in cultivation after the nieth rank came with exponential growth. This was particrly the case for the ranks past ny-five, as attaining that rank made one worthy of being called a Transcendent Douluo.

    For example, if a newly-promoted rank ny Titled Douluo were to encounter a hundred thousand year soul beast, his only option would be to turn and flee. Unless he had a sufficiently powerful martial soul and soul ring, he would not have the capability to battle such a soul beast.

    However, if his cultivation was somewhere around rank ny-two or ny-three, then he would stand a fair chance against the hundred thousand year soul beast, as long as it wasn¡¯t on the level of a Beast King.

    And if his cultivation was at rank ny-five, that of a Transcendent Titled Douluo, then the hundred thousand year soul beast would be the one doing the fleeing. Not even two hundred thousand year soul beasts who had broken past their limits were likely to have the guts to battle a rank ny-five Titled Douluo.

    And then there was Elder Xuan, who belonged to a tier equivalent to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion among soul beasts. It was the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me, and the terror of terrors.

    Only then did Huo Yuhao understand why he had felt such an overpowering panic in his heart when Xuan Lao was enraged. Even Skydream and the Ice Empress had remained silent within his spiritual sea, neithermunicating anything to him or causing any strong spiritual waves. The might of Elder Xuan¡¯s cultivation had simply been too terrifying.

    ¡°If this was set several hundred years in the past, I¡¯d say that Xuan Lao was almost without parallel. But is that really the case today?¡± Wang Yan went on. ¡°I can tell you all with certainty that Xuan Lao remains unrivalled in singlebat. However, the Sun Moon Empire has several ss 9 soul engineers who are capable of fighting him on even ground, to the point of posing a threat to his life. Top tier soul engineers whose existences are just as terrifying. Their entirely different fighting style enables them to use all of their soul skills to increase their soul power beforeunching an attack through a powerful soul tool. Another thing you must not forget is that ss 9 is not the ultimate limit of soul engineers. If the dayes when a ss 10 soul engineer appears in the Sun Moon Empire, then¡­ how are we to face that?¡±

    At this point, Wang Yan had already gotten himself quite worked up. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing. It may not be much of an issue in your generation, but as the time goes by, this problem that I¡¯ve discovered is bound to affect all soul masters: the problem of soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°Soul beasts?¡± they echoed, puzzled by the apparent non sequitur.

    Wang Yan nodded vigorously, then borated, ¡°What I¡¯m referring to is the number of soul beasts. All of you have learned during your time in the academy that soul beasts have existed since time immemorial on our Douluo Continent, as well as the fact that, a great many years ago, there were no humans here. One could say that our entire continent is a world belonging to soul beasts¡­ you could indeed say such a thing. The human race itself is the result of the evolution of soul beasts, and we are a form of intelligent soul beast.¡±

    ¡°Over the passage of time, we humans began to appear, around tens or even hundreds of millennia ago. In the beginning, the human race was weak, and only served as food for the soul beasts. However, since humans did exist, there was a reason for our existence. Our physical capabilities may be weak, but we have our strengths: our fecundity, and our ability to learn.¡±

    ¡°Human intelligence was gradually developed as we evolved through the ages, and our reproductive capabilities ensured that we did not suffer extinction even when we were preyed upon by soul beasts. And when we developed to such an extent that the intelligence of an ordinary human was on par with that of a top tier soul beast, earth-shaking changes began to happen on the continent.

    ¡°With our intelligence, humans began creating tools, traps and weaponry. We used the weather and geography to our advantage in battling soul beasts. We learned to cooperate, to group together and attack a single soul beast. We gradually began to possess the ability to hunt and kill soul beasts, instead of being hunted and killed by them. Nutrition became richer, and humans continued to grow.¡±

    ¡°Following the evolution of our intelligence, another change came about with the appearance of soul masters. The first soul master came to be when the first human with a prodigious level of innate soul power identally drew the soul ring of a in soul beast into his own body. After tens of thousands of years of change and research, humans gradually grasped the techniques required to be soul masters. In the meantime, we also began to undergo a poption explosion. Our intelligence allowed us to start learning how to build, to start having our own homes and cities. The number of soul masters, along with their powers, continued to increase.¡±

    ¡°Soul beasts remained powerful as they always were, but in the face of our intelligence and learning capabilities, they gradually lost the ability to pose any real threat. Finally, humans ruled the continent, and soul masters indubitably became the most powerful and most important upation on this continent.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s narration of the process of human evolution was very simple, but captured the few most important changes. At this point, his topic suddenly took a turn.

    ¡°However, here¡¯s the thing you kids may never have thought of: what changes would happen to soul beasts alongside our human race¡¯s development.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, soul beasts may have been around for tens of millennia, and the proportion of soul masters amongst humans is one in thousands ¨C it¡¯s not that much. But the fact remains that we are encroaching upon the soul beasts¡¯ habitats, and ying them for our soul rings. More and more high level soul beasts have been hunted and killed by people like us ¨C like all of you here, who all bear thousand-year soul rings. Those onlye about in soul beasts that have cultivated for a thousand years. And just like their soul rings, these high-level soul beasts are also limited in numbers!¡±

    ¡°Ten thousand years ago on this continent, the overall power of soul beasts was still greater than that of humans. But today, after ten thousand years have passed, I can say with certainty that the collective power of soul beasts is no longerparable to ours. The reason for that is that too many high-level soul beasts have be our soul rings. So let me ask you: what happens after another ten thousand years? What changes will happen to the continent in that time? Will we still be able to go to the forest and y soul beasts as we please? I can give you a definite answer: ten thousand years from now, even a ten-year soul ring will be an article of luxury. The final fate of soul beasts is absolute dependency upon humans as they are confined by us like livestock.¡±

    ¡°By that time, it¡¯s very likely that all soul masters will only be able to use ten year soul rings, and even hundred year ones will be unattainable. When that timees, what will we use to increase our own power? As time passes, soul tools are bound to be the true source of human strength. That is the inevitable result of time. I can do nothing to change this progression of events, and neither can any of you. What you must do instead, at this moment, is ept the truth. In the future, the only way our descendents can be stronger than us is through the usage of soul tools. And all of you, right now, stand at a crucial moment in the transformation of an era. Only through the perfect fusion of one¡¯s abilities with a soul toul can you be strong enough not to be left behind in obsolescence.¡±

    Those words had been held within Wang Yan¡¯s mind for much longer than just a day or two. Finally unleashed, the effect they had upon the seven was akin to stirring the deaf and enlightening the blind. All of them felt deeply shaken.

    Huo Yuhao and Caitou, being students of the Soul Tool Department, were less affected than the other five, who had always had some measure of aversion to soul tools. And yet, right then and there, could they really keep feeling that way?

    Some of what Wang Yan had said felt distant to them, but some of it had evidently instilled in them a sense of urgency. It was an ufortable feeling, and disrupted how they normally thought about things.

    All of them knew fairly well that Wang Yan¡¯s speech was intended to convince them to ept soul tools and use them in the tournament. But it was also far from being that simple, and had a great impact on them all.

    Wang Yan said no more, simply watching those children, who were still at such a tender age. He looked at the future hope of Shrek Academy, silently waiting as they thought things over. He knew they needed time.

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes betrayed traces of sorrow as he raised his head to nce at the already pitch-dark sky. What would the continent be in ten thousand years? At that time, would Shrek Academy still maintain its current position as the foremost academy on the continent?

    It will, it definitely will. Wang Yan unconsciously clenched his hands into fists.

    Shrek Academy made me what I am today. No matter what happens, I will do all I can to ensure that it remains great, that no one ever surpasses it, that Shrek Academy will always be the strongest.

    At that thought, Wang Yan felt his heart set afire, and hot blood course through his veins. He suddenly felt that it wasn¡¯t entirely a bad thing for the starting lineup to suffer such a heavy blow. At least it rang the warning bells to the seven that were the academy¡¯s future hope, the next generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. If they could ept what he was suggesting, then it would have a huge effect on the future of the academy while also leading the academy down the right track. Or, at least, the right track he had discovered.

 Chapter 82.2: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    Chapter 82.2: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    Perhaps the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy may already have exceeded Shrek in this field. We can only chase after them in full pursuit, relying on the ten thousand years of Shrek Academy¡¯s roots to do so. Shrek will never lose to anyone.

    Just as Wang Yan was pondering to himself, a person suddenly spoke up. The first person to finish his pondering was Bei Bei.

    ¡°I agree with what Teacher Wang said. I¡¯m willing to try working with a soul tool.¡± Bei Bei¡¯s voice was very steadfast; he was never someone who hesitated much. His warm countenance couldn¡¯t conceal his strong heart, and he was a person who did his all after setting his mind to something, just like when he had entered the Tang Sect for Tang Ya¡¯s sake.

    Sensing the astonished gazes of his fellow teammates, Bei Bei said in a low voice, ¡°Out of the seven people here, five of us belong to the Tang Sect¨Cthat is, everyone besides Sanshi and Nannan. Everyone knows about the history of the Tang Sect. Previously, we were the most glorious of existences on the entire continent. At that time, the glory of the Tang Sect was even greater than that of Shrek Academy. However, why did our glory fade away? It¡¯s true that there were some reasons behind this, but the most important one was the fact that we were washed out by the passing of time.¡±

    ¡°The emergence of soul tools directly affected our revenue streams¨Cthis was the main reason behind the fall of the Tang Sect. I¡¯m sure everyone knows that very few of our hidden weapons are used in the military anymore, so much so that I can even say that they aren¡¯t used at all. We can¡¯t stop the passage of time, and only by adapting to it can we allow the Tang Sect to rise again.¡±

    With that, his gazended on Huo Yuhao. ¡°When my junior brother first entered the Tang Sect, Xiao Ya and I had a discussion. The future growth of the Tang Sect will only ur if we merge our hidden weapons with soul tools. If we seed, it¡¯ll be because of soul tools; if we fail, it¡¯ll be because of soul tools. We will crawl up from where we fell. This is also our only path going forward.¡±

    ¡°As a soul master, an assault-type one, my heart tells me to reject a foreign source of power like a soul tool. However, this is rejecting the changes that go with time. As the eldest of all of us, and also the senior brother of the Tang Sect, I want to start by changing myself. When we get back, I will ask the academy to allow me to study in the Soul Tool Department in addition my current studies. Even if I don¡¯t create them, I will at least learn how to use them.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s words were powerful and resonating, and even Wang Yan¡¯s emotions were stirred. He was overjoyed.

    There was no doubt that Bei Bei¡¯s words carried arge amount of weight within the new generation of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. With his approval, convincing the others would be much easier.

    Xu Sanshi nodded, ¡°Teacher Wang, what you and Bei Bei said makes sense. I can also understand where you¡¯reing from. However, I still have a few questions I want to ask you for guidance. It¡¯s very likely that the strongest experts in the future will be soul engineers, but with our current levels of strength, it¡¯s already impossible for us to be soul engineers. In other words, we won¡¯t be able to change our current soul skills to ones that can amplify soul power, like soul engineers. Since this is the case, will we always be behind everyone else? Furthermore, it¡¯s very difficult for us to learn how to create soul tools; we can only learn how to use them. However, we will never be as good at using them as the soul engineers. How will we contend against them? I truly do not wish to make a decision while my heart is at a loss.¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Well said. I understand what you¡¯re worried about, and you¡¯re right. If you intend to purely pursue the field of soul tools, a person who started off as a soul master will never be able to catch up with a soul engineer. However, you¡¯ve forgotten your own advantages! If therees a day when you can be a Titled Douluo, you¡¯ll definitely be able to get a powerful soul skill. These soul skills aren¡¯t inferior to any ss 9 soul tools. Also, can your physiques even bepared to soul engineers who¡¯ve chosen soul power-amplifying soul rings? Impossible. Furthermore, your physiques as a soul master will be strong enough to allow you to withstand stronger soul rings. If you get a more powerful soul ring, won¡¯t you get more soul power? Soul engineers will never be able topete against soul masters in terms of physique. You merely have to find apatible soul tool; after all, a soul tool is only your weapon. On the other hand, a soul tool is a soul engineer¡¯s everything. Due to these differences, a soul master only needs to use a soul tool as long as he himself is strong enough. Whenpared to a pure soul engineer, you¡¯ll definitely possess a few advantages, especially when you consider the fact that a simple soul engineer will never be able to reach ss 10.¡±

    ¡°What are the requirements of a ss 10 soul engineer? To be one, you need to create a terrifying ss 10 soul tool while being able to control it. That requires the cultivation of a Transcendent Titled Douluo, which means that you¡¯ll need to be Rank 95 or higher. You¡¯re all soul masters, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all aware of the fact that the more you cultivate, the harder it gets. Even on the entire continent, how many pure soul engineers are able to reach the Titled Douluo rank? I can count them on one hand, I¡¯ll give you that. How many of them are able to be Transcendent Titled Douluo? I can also tell you that there are exactly zero people who have been able to do so. Because of that, the pinnacle experts of the continent will definitely be people who focus on their strengths as soul masters while simultaneously studying in the field of soul tools. Even if a true ss 10 soul engineer were to appear, it¡¯d be very hard for that person to fight against a Transcendent Titled Douluo who possesses a ss 9 soul tool.¡±

    A look of enlightenment filled Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Right! Teacher Wang, you¡¯re truly a person who can enlighten someone else. A pure soul engineer who only trains his soul power will find it much harder to improve whenpared to us. I understand, I understand.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s confidence immediately increased as he saw Xu Sanshi be convinced by his words. A look of self-confidence shed through his eyes as he said, ¡°During these past few days, I¡¯ve been observing how the other academies fight. I¡¯ve noticed that the academies with deeper backgrounds have been pursuing a fusion of soul masters and soul tools. However, arge majority of those academies are still trying to find the perfect level of fusion. On the other hand, I¡¯ve noticed the most things from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Although they¡¯ve never tried to hide anything, I¡¯ve noticed that practically every member of their preparatory team has an extraordinary martial soul. Even though not all of them have taken the stage, I can see that their way of thinking coincides with mine from this point alone. By focusing on a soul master¡¯s cultivation, they¡¯ll be able to guarantee that their students will be powerful soul masters. Then, they can use powerful soul tools. Now, do you still have any questions?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡¯ve convinced me. I¡¯m willing to try it out, both for the sake of the academy and for my own sake.¡±

    He Caitou chuckled, ¡°I naturally have no problems with it. However, the sad thing is that I¡¯m a food-type soul master.¡±

    ¡°Can a fifteen-year-old four-ringed food-type Soul Ancestor like you say anything more?¡± Wang Yan said unhappily, ¡°Your talent being overlooked due to your martial soul has been one of thergest mistakes the Martial Soul Department has made in recent years. With the help of your soul skills, it¡¯s very possible that you¡¯ll be one of the strongest soul engineers among you seven. After all, you can focus on cultivation alone. I can say that your martial soul makes you the most suitable person on the entire continent to be a pure soul engineer.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s gaze turned to Jiang Nannan, who hesitated slightly for a moment before saying. ¡°But, it¡¯ll take money to buy a few soul toolster. Also, they seem to be very expensive.¡±

    After hearing her somewhat strange words, everyone present was left stunned. Huo Yuhao reacted most profoundly to this; he still remembered the first time he had met Jiang Nannan; the number one beauty of the outer courtyard had actually tried to negotiate with him, as if she was very stingy with her money.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for you!¡± Xu Sanshi said instantly.

    As if she¡¯d thought of something, she immediately furrowed her brows and flew into a rage, ¡°Screw off!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± As if he¡¯d thought of something, Xu Sanshi unexpectedly obediently lowered his head after being yelled at. Other than feeling somewhat wronged, he didn¡¯t look too dissatisfied.

    His appearance gave the impression as though he was a person who was getting bullied.

    ¡°Nannan, you don¡¯t have to worry about this,¡± Wang Yan said warmly, ¡°The academy will settle the issue of money. At the very least, you won¡¯t have to worry about this before graduating. You¡¯re already a core disciple of the academy, and the academy will even give you a generous amount of money for living expenses if you¡¯re able to enter the inner courtyard. Even moreso,pleting guardian missions will give you prize money. Students of our Shrek Academy have never been troubled because of money.¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s eyes lit up, and she immediately said, ¡°Then I have no problems as well.¡±

    It was finally Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn. When he and Wang Yan¡¯s eyes met, he already had an answer.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, I only have a single problem. I don¡¯t seem to have any soul tools that I can buy.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s something you can buy,¡± He Caitou said suddenly.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao looked towards He Caitou, puzzled.

    He Caitou chuckled and rubbed his bald head, ¡°Once you enter the auction house, you¡¯ll understand. Practically every single auction house that sells soul tools will have that thing.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°I also have no problems. In the first ce, I was nning to go back and cultivate diligently to buy that flying-type soul tool as a toy after I be a Soul Ancestor. It¡¯s really too convenient.¡±

    Wang Yan let out a long sigh after seeing that the situation was settled. He chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s for the best then. Wang Dong, what about you? You shouldn¡¯t have any problems, right? Let¡¯s go in and participate in the auction then.¡±

    Surprising everyone present, the silent Wang Dong suddenly raised his head and revealed a stubborn look as he said resolutely, ¡°No, I have a problem. I¡¯m not willing to use a soul tool. You guys can go ahead, I¡¯m going back first.¡± With that, he turned around and tookrge strides in the direction of the Imperial Grand Star Hotel.

 Chapter 82.3: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    Chapter 82.3: The Future Developments and Dangers of a Soul Master

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly chased after Wang Dong, ¡°What¡¯s with you, Wang Dong?¡± Even he hadn¡¯t sensed anything wrong with him, and this sudden change had left him at aplete loss. Like the others, he didn¡¯t think that Wang Dong would have any problems. He¡¯d never heard Wang Dong rebuke soul tools so strongly in the past. Moreover, Teacher Wang Yan had just given a long exnation that was filled with true information.

    Wang Dong paused, lowering his head slightly. ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m fine. I have no idea what¡¯s happened, but my heart doesn¡¯t want this, nor is it willing to use a soul tool. You guys can go first, I¡¯ll be waiting in the hotel.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to speak further, but Wang Dong raised his hand to stop him. ¡°No need to persuade me any further. I¡¯m really fine. I just don¡¯t really want to use a soul tool to increase my own strength. I might be fine with itter, but I can¡¯t ept it just yet. I understand the logic behind what Teacher Wang said, but I still need to go back and think it over a little.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t try persuading him any further, because he clearly understood that it would be very difficult to try changing his best friend¡¯s mind when he had decided on something.

    After seeing Wang Dong off, Huo Yuhao returned to the group. ¡°He¡¯s fine. He just doesn¡¯t fancy using soul tools. Teacher Wang, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and smiled slightly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You all have your own aspirations, and I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to convince all of you in the first ce. I¡¯m very satisfied that the six of you are willing to try them out. Let¡¯s go, the auction is about to start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had originally thought that this was going to be a very small auction. After all, the building didn¡¯t look too big from the outside. However, he entered apletely different world after truly entering it. The auction was located mostly underground, and the building was only its entrance.

    After walking into the auction house, they were met with a five meter wide staircase that wasid with a red carpet as it headed downwards. Yet, they didn¡¯t see any workers to guide them inside.

    They continued heading downwards. After twenty meters or so, they finally reached the registration area. Wang Yan had alreadypleted a fewplicated procedures beforeing here in addition to giving each and every person a number te. Because of this, the red cheongsam-d girl took them inside.

    After passing through a simple wooden door, the scenery suddenly changed. A patch of gold filled their vision, the decorations of the wide, dazzling corridor surpassing even the Imperial Grand Star Hotel Huo Yuhao and the rest had stayed in in terms of luxury.

    The corridor was over ten meters wide, and the ground wasid with precious white jade. There was a pair of beautifully patterned pirs that were carved from the same material every ten meters, and the walls seemed to have been papered with gold leaf. The carvings on the wall wereplicated and beautiful. Huo Yuhao used his sight, that was far stronger than that of ordinary folk, to look at the walls in detail, and was astonished by how meticulous it was. It had to be known that this was only a wall used for decoration!

    Luxurious crystalmps hung from the top of the ceiling, but they didn¡¯t give off a stifling feeling, as the corridor was a full five meters tall. Themp gave off a gentle yellow light, and its contrast against the golden walls made it seem as if they were in a world of gold. This was enough to leave anybody dazzled.

    Wang Yan whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this ce just because it¡¯s unremarkable on the outside. In reality, this is Star Luo City¡¯srgest auction house. It isn¡¯t easy to obtain a pass to attend this auction. Not only do you need to prove your assets, you even have to go through an evaluation. If we followed the normal routes, it¡¯d take at least half a month for us to get in here. We were only able to smoothly enter this ce with Dai Yueheng¡¯s help. Unfortunately, I was unable to persuade the three of them. They¡¯ve stayed in the Martial Soul Department for many years, and theirbat styles are already fixed. Hastily giving them soul tools won¡¯t do them any good either.¡±

    As Wang Yan spoke, they entered arge door, guided by the youngdy. It was very obvious that this wasn¡¯t the end of the corridor; there was still a door simr to the previous one in front of them. In addition, there was a flight of stairs that headed downwards at the end of the corridor.

    Bei Bei seemed to be ustomed to this ce. Unlike Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, and Jiang Nannan, he didn¡¯t look everywhere constantly. He turned towards the girl who¡¯d opened the door for them and asked, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to give us a simple exnation of the rules of today¡¯s auction.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± The girl said respectfully, ¡°Today¡¯s auction specializes in the sale of soul tools, and will only sell soul tools ranked ss 6 or below. Because of that, there are rtivelyx rules. ording to the way we ssify auctions, this auction can only be considered a Grade 4 auction. Our Starlight Auction separates auctions from Grade 1 to Grade 5, with Grade 1 having the strictest rules. Only Grade 1 auctions will be held in the main auction hall. This is Hall 12, and it can amodate a total of two hundred people. It¡¯s used for Grade 4 auctions.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After entering Hall 12, the lighting suddenly dimmed. This was because only the walls surrounding them had wallmps on them. After entering the auction hall, every single person would receive a beautiful mask. Furthermore, these masks were differentiated by color. Huo Yuhao and the rest received white masks, but they didn¡¯t know what these colors signified. Other than white, there were also yellow, purple, ck, red, gold, and other types of masks.

    The decorations in the auction hall gave off a simple, refined, but luxurious feeling without losing any sense of warmth. Only, one would feel veryfortable after entering here. There were a total of two hundredrge,fy chairs which were covered by dark-blue swan cloth; these chairs were curved. Perhaps it was due to Dai Yueheng¡¯s influence, but Huo Yuhao and the rest were ced on the first row, which was also the row closest to the auction stage.

    Wang Yan reminded everyone, ¡°Everyone, put your masks on. It¡¯s very possible that various problems will arise if you participate in this auction. Because of this, the auction house has provided masks to cover your appearances. This is all done to prevent any problems from arising. The colors of these masks are also used to differentiate the ranks of the guests here, and their ranking is identical to that of soul rings. The lowest ranked mask is the white one, and it goes up from there. On the other hand, the golden mask, which is ranked above the red mask, is for the auction¡¯s most distinguished VIPs. Normally, a person like that will never appear in an auction like this.¡±

    Only then did Huo Yuhao understand the differences between the masks. This was his first time attending an auction, and he was curious about everything. The chair he sat on was veryfortable, and this was one of the rare asions that he was able to rest.

    At this moment, the auction hall was already filled with sixty to seventy percent of its attendees. A waiter came over to ask what beverages they wanted, and Huo Yuhao asked for a ss of in water.

    ¡°Distinguished guests, wee to our Starlight Auction. Our auction is about to start, so I would like to ask all of you to take a seat.¡± The graceful and pleasant voice of a woman rang out from all directions, causing the auction hall to quiet down. The originally dim lights in the hall gradually turned even darker, but the lights on the auction stage grew brighter.

    A purple cheongsam-d girl climbed up to the stage from a side of the auction hall. She looked thirty or so, and had a dignified and beautiful appearance. Her face carried a faintly discernible smile, and as she walked, her perfectly fitting cheongsam sketched the outline of her perfectly mature body.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes immediately turned towards her, and his throat moved slightly as he involuntarily gulped.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were sat by either side of Huo Yuhao. At this moment, Bei Bei lowered his mouth to Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Junior brother, this should be the auctioneer. When choosing an auctioneer for an ordinary auction or arge-scale auction hall like this one, the first thing considered is a person¡¯s appearance. They can¡¯t just be good-looking; a male auctioneer has to have an upright-looking appearance, while a female one has to be dignified and beautiful. This way, they¡¯ll instill a sense of trust in the people participating in the auction. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the auctioneers in this auction hall are also separated by ranks ording to the color of their clothes, just like how we¡¯re differentiated by our masks. This auctioneer should be a lower-middle ranked one. Actually, I¡¯m very curious as to how the gold-ranked auctioneers in this ce look.¡±

    At this moment, the purple-clothed auctioneer was already behind the auction table with a smile on her face. Her gentle voice reverberated throughout hall 12, borrowing the assistance of the sound-amplifying soul tool on the table.

    ¡°Distinguished guests, good evening to you all. I am a purple-ranked auctioneer of the Starlight Auction, Qing Ya. Today, I will be hosting this auction.¡±

    With that, she walked out from the auction table and bowed with a smile on her face. This immediately won her a round of apuse.

    After returning to the auction table, Qing Ya smiled. ¡°Today¡¯s auction will specialise in the selling of soul tools. Our goods will all be soul tools which are ranked ss 6 and below. They are suitable for soul masters and engineers below the Soul King rank. In addition, we have prepared a secret, big item to make your trips worthwhile. Distinguished guests, don¡¯t miss it for all the world. Our auction will now start, so can a staff member please bring up the first item that will be auctioned off today.¡±

    Two red-clothed girls pushed a cart that was covered with a purple cloth onto the auction stage. After pushing the cart all the way to the center of the stage, they removed the cloth from the cart.

    A ck soul tool appeared on the cart. This soul tool was rectangr, and it was about a foot long. It hadplicated carvings on it.

    Huo Yuhao was not only a soul engineer, but he also possessed a pair of Spirit Eyes that ordinary folk could never hope to obtain. His eyes moved slightly, and he was able to clearly see the carvings of the soul tool on the stage. He whispered, ¡°This should be an offensive soul tool that goes on your arm. It should be around ss 3 or so. Wang Dong should be able to use it.¡±

    A soul master needed the corresponding level of cultivation to fully release the power of a soul tool. If a person¡¯s cultivation was lower than the minimum requirements of a soul tool, he would be unable to release its strength; if his cultivation was higher than its maximum power, it would be unable to increase hisbat strength effectively.

    Qing Ya smiled slightly. ¡°Our first auctioned good is a ss 3 attack-type soul tool, a rtively rare Soul light Ray. An ordinary item like this should never be able to be auctioned in an auction like ours, but this ss 3 Soul Light Ray that can be ced on a person¡¯s right arm has been crafted by a ss 6 soul engineer. It¡¯s a special item, and quite rarely seen. An ordinary item like this was turned into aplicated one in the hands of a grandmaster like him, and its core formation has given it a special effect.¡±

 Chapter 83.1: The Ranked Carving Knife

    Chapter 83.1: The Ranked Carving Knife

    ¡°This ray has a paralysis effect, so its real name ought to be Paralysis Ray. Those ranked Soul King and below should be affected after being hit by the ray. How much it affects the soul master is dependant on the individual¡¯s cultivation.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already tested it. When used on a Soul King, this Paralysis Ray is so effective that it can numb them for a second. This is on the precondition that the ray must hit a defenceless Soul King who is not protected by soul skills or soul tools. When used on a Soul Ancestor, the ray can numb them for more than two seconds, with the same precondition as before. Moreover, it can numb a soul master with three soul rings of the same rank for at least three to four seconds.¡±

    ¡°Honoured guests, please note that we tested the ray on assault-type soul masters. The effects will definitely be different when used on other types of soul masters.¡±

    ¡°The requirement to use this Paralysis Ray is low, but it¡¯s extremely practical. It¡¯s a quality product amongst ss 3 soul tools. The starting bid is a thousand golden soul coins, with every increase not being lower than fifty golden soul coins. The bid starts now!¡±

    Someone immediately raised their auction board when Qing Ya finished talking. ¡°One thousand three hundred golden soul coins.¡±

    Just as Auctioneer Qing Ya said, it was very rare to see a ss 6 master making a ss 3 soul tool. One shouldn¡¯t look down on the fact that this soul tool wasn¡¯t of a high ss because it was extremely practical. Soul Ancestors would find it quite useful. In addition to that, the low requirement for using this tool was its biggest asset.

    As a result of that, the auction price for such items was always on the high side. Soon, the price shot past the two thousand golden soul coins mark.

    One had to know that the materials used to make this soul tool weren¡¯t very outstanding other than its ingenious design and the borate manufacturing of the formation arrays. It was a ss 3 soul tool after all. It was a rtively high price to pay for a soul tool of said ss. Normal ss 3 soul tools would go for hundreds of golden soul coins only.

    Just as expected, the bidding paused after it passed the two thousand mark. A few of those fighting to bid at the start were hesitating now. This was because everyone had limited amounts of money in their hands. Moreover, this was only the first auction item.

    ¡°Two thousand five hundred golden soul coins.¡± At this moment, Wang Yan suddenly raised the board in his hand.

    Auctioneer Qing Ya¡¯s eyes shone, and she smiled sweetly at Wang Yan, who was wearing a mask. ¡°Honoured guest number 166 has bid two thousand five hundred golden soul coins. Is anyone going to go higher?¡±

    The Auctioneer¡¯s source of ie came throughmissions from selling auction items. For example, if an item that cost one hundred golden soul coins was sold for two hundred, the auction house would deduct 10% from the total sum as their cut. Auctioneers would get 0.1% of the amount above the cost of the auction item.

    One shouldn¡¯t look down on such a small value of 0.1%. It was very normal for a ss 4 auction to exceed a hundred thousand golden soul coins in profit at the end of the day. Since this was Star Luo City, and even thergest auction in the whole Star Luo Empire, they practically had to organise countless auctions every day. A few high level auctioneers usually only appeared once a month, but could earn a lot throughmissions.

    As a result of that, when Qing Ya saw Wang Yan add five hundred to the bid, her heart naturally leapt with joy. As a purple-ranked auctioneer, she understood very clearly that the first price reached in the auction would often determine the direction of prices in the whole auction. Even though this first item wasn¡¯t very expensive, it would definitely be a good start if the premium was sufficiently high enough.

    Once the bid for two thousand five hundred was made, the audience fell silent. Thepetitors who were still hesitating just a moment ago no longer pondered the matter any further. This price was clearly far more than they could afford.

    ¡°Two thousand five hundred golden soul coins, going once.¡± After Qing Ya questioned the audience a few more times and didn¡¯t get a response, she started the closing call for the bid.

    This moment was when a first-rate auction revealed its aura. A normal small auction would dy the closing call of the bid for as long as they could, but Qing Ya showed no sign of doing so.

    Bang! Down fell the hammer on the table. ¡°Deal. The Paralysis Ray is sold to guest number 166. Thank you for your generosity.¡± Qing Ya shot Wang Yan another sweet smile, to which he responded with a light nod.

    ¡°Who¡¯s going to use this soul tool?¡± Wang Yan turned his head and asked his group.

    He Caitou was the first to interject. ¡°Teacher Wang, give this Paralysis Ray to junior brother. The effect of this soul tool is very rare. I reckon the manufacturer of this formation array has concealed something within it which is very difficult to emte. Even though junior brother hasn¡¯t cultivated three soul rings, his soul power has already reached Rank 27. He might find it difficult to use it, but he can still use it before he reaches Rank 40. ¡°

    Hearing him say this, the others naturally shut their mouths. In reality, the person most suited to using the Paralysis Ray ought to be Xiao Xiao. This was because she was closer to Rank 30 than Huo Yuhao was, and would breakthrough at any time.

    However, it was clear that He Caitou had his reasons for saying this. Rtively speaking, this Paralysis Ray was even more suited to Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting style.

    Huo Yuhao never thought that he¡¯d actually get the first auction item as a reserve soul engineer.

    As the auction continued, there were really many good items for specialising in soul tools. The overwhelming majority of soul tools were from ss 3 to ss 5. Wang Yan continuously bid for the items, and purchased more than ten soul tools, distributing them to everyone.

    ¡°The following is the second tost item for today. After this item is auctioned off, we¡¯lle to our grand finale. I believe the audience will definitely be pleasantly surprised.¡±

    The young girl wheeled out the penultimate auction item for the day. From the shape of the cloak and how it was practically sticking to the trolley, one could see that this item wasn¡¯t big.

    Qing Ya walked to the front of the cart with a sound amplification soul tool in her hand. She smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone seated in the audience who¡¯s done in-depth research into soul tools will definitely be very familiar with this item. It also often appears in soul tool auctions as well. It has an amusing name ¨C Milk¡¯s Bottle.¡±

    She lifted the fabric off the item as she spoke, simultaneously taking the auction item from the cart.

    The item was a silver ne, and on it hung a metal pendant in the shape of a milk bottle, about the size of a grown person¡¯s thumb.

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes shone as he whispered to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Junior brother, this is what I was telling you about. You need this the most now. Looking at the type of Milk Bottle she¡¯s holding, it looks like a ss 4 soul tool.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a wave of misgivings in his heart, while simultaneously feeling ashamed. He¡¯d learned how to make soul tools for almost a year, but there were still many things he didn¡¯t know within the realms of soul tools.

    Auctioneer Qing Ya smiled and said, ¡°As the name implies, a milk bottle is naturally used to drink milk. However, to either a soul engineer or a soul master, their milk bottle is used to replenish their soul power. Naturally, I have to mention that breastfeeding is still the best.¡±

    The audience immediately erupted inughter after hearing this joke, and even Qing Ya herself wasughing. The mountains on her chests were somewhat fitting to the breastfeeding she was talking about.

    ¡°Back to the topic at hand, the scientific name of this milk bottle ought to be energy restoration soul tool. Both soul masters and soul engineers can use this item. The milk bottle can be a soul tool of any ss, but only soul masters rank 3 and above can make it have a given effect. It¡¯s verymon amongst soul tools, but a high-ss Milk Bottle is extremely expensive. I remember seeing a ss 7 Milk Bottle appear once in our first-rate Starlight Auction. It really caused amotion at the time. In the end, a deal was made for seven million golden soul coins, setting a new record for all Milk Bottles.¡±

    ¡°Naturally, the milk bottle is used to replenish soul power, regardless of their respective rank. One only has to fill it with soul power before using it for it to work. This soul tool has its limitations as well. When using it, one has to stop and absorb the soul power with all their mind and soul. If one does not focus, they will fail to guide the soul power into their body. As such, I have to warn the audience in every auction not to use the milk bottle in battle. Alright, I believe that the audience understands the milk bottle very well. I won¡¯t ther on any longer. The starting bid is six thousand golden soul coins, with every increasing bid not lower than a hundred golden soul coins.¡±

    When Qing Ya proimed that the bid for the Milk Bottle was open, He Caitou also exined its characteristics in far greater detail to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao, this soul tool is the mostplicated soul tool in its ss in terms of its make, and also has the highest material requirements. The reason for that is because it has to store a huge amount of soul power. In addition to that, the Milk Bottle can¡¯t let the soul power leak out at the same time, nor can itpress soul power till it causes an explosion. As such, the requirements for the formation arrays and materials in manufacturing a Milk Bottle are extremely high. There is only one criterion for sessfully making a Milk Bottle, and that is stability. After the Milk Bottle is filled with soul power, it must be stable. If not, it¡¯ll turn into a bomb that can explode at any time.¡±

    ¡°This auctioneer¡¯s warning is very urate. Generally speaking, one definitely can¡¯t use the Milk Bottle while in battle. This is because when the soul master is absorbing the soul force from the Milk Bottle, a lot of soul power will be released. In the process of receiving soul power from the Milk Bottle, the soul master¡¯s body will definitely be deadlocked. This would be extremely fatal for a soul master in battle. Moreover, there are times when it¡¯s very difficult to control the Milk Bottle. It will normally absorb all of a soul master¡¯s soul power, or fill a person¡¯s soul power to the brim.¡±

    ¡°A high level Milk Bottle is expensive because it¡¯s very demanding in terms of the materials it needs. It¡¯s also far too troublesome to make one. The difficulty of making a ss 7 Milk Bottle can even surpass that of a normal ss 8 soul tool. At the very least, a ss 8 soul tool master is needed to make it. Even I can only make a ss 3 Milk Bottle at this point. That in itself doesn¡¯t mean anything, but it takes too long to make it. I only tried making one once, and wouldn¡¯t do it again!¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, things are different with you because your innate ability is spirit-based. Your spiritual power is powerful enough to be extremely effective in controlling the Milk Bottle. That way, it¡¯s more convenient for you to control how much soul power you absorb.¡±

 Chapter 83.2: The Ranked Carving Knife

    Chapter 83.2: The Ranked Carving Knife

    ¡°Furthermore, you¡¯re a control-type soul master. During a team fight, you can stay behind the team the whole time and recover your soul power using the Milk Bottle. However, you might encounter a situation where you receive too much soul power while using this ss 4 Milk Bottle. Will your body be able to endure it? After all, it¡¯ll be a huge surge of soul power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart trembled and he immediately responded, ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem.¡± A ss 4 Milk Bottle wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly but he still had his fusion partner! When he and Wang Dong fought with each other, they could produce Haodong Power in their bodies. And if they were to use this Milk Bottle after releasing the Golden Road, wouldn¡¯t that immediately replenish their depleted soul energy? This Milk Bottle was truly a good replenishing soul tool for them.

    As the two of them were talking, the price of the ss 4 Milk Bottle had already reached eleven thousand gold soul coins.

    One would never have to worry about selling a Milk Bottle during an auction; this was true regardless of what ss the Milk Bottle was. This was because it was simply too practical. It could even be said to be essential for a high-ranking soul engineer. And now, even soul masters were very willing to use them. Although a Milk Bottle would appear at practically every single auction, the difficulty involved in its creation made it so that its supply would never catch up to demand. Naturally, its price would increase more and more as time went on, to the extent that Milk Bottles were now one of the most demanded soul tools on the market.

    Wang Yan was just able to listen into their conversation when He Caitou had spoken earlier. As they chatted with each other, Huo Yuhao subconsciously nced at Wang Yan, who nodded back at him.

    Earlier, Wang Yan had already spent nearly seventy thousand gold soul coins. This wasn¡¯t a small number. Nobody knew how much money the academy had allowed him to take along with him.

    Bei Bei whispered, ¡°Teacher Wang, do you have enough money? If you don¡¯t, I have some too. This Milk Bottle is quite good, and all of us can use it. Also, it isn¡¯t as if we can¡¯t use it at all during a fight.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t really have to spend any money. I have the credit certificate that the academy issued. No matter how much money we spend, the academy will naturally settle the bill for us.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°The academy actually issued a credit certificate for us?¡±

    A credit certificate wasn¡¯t money, but a guarantee that was based off trust that could be used to im money from an organisation. Naturally, only credit issued by pinnacle existences would be effective and held in high regard. For example, the imperial families of the various academies and top-ranked academies. Only pinnacle existences like these would issue credit certificates with no limits on them. Undoubtedly, Shrek Academy was one of these existences.

    The fact that Shrek Academy had given them a credit certificate for their trip this time around signified the absolute trust the academy had in them. This was because the credit certificate they possessed had no upper limit on it; this meant that the academy would have to foot the bill no matter what they bought. The Starlight Auction would just have to settle its payments with Shrek Academy toplete its transactions.

    ¡°Twenty thousand.¡± Wang Yan ced a bid, once again using a high bid to crush the spirits of the other participants in the hall.

    Wang Yan had made his move many a time earlier, and he had crushed everyone else using pure wealth practically every single time. Because of this, the others weren¡¯t willing to let prices reach excessively high levels. Once he made a move, arge majority of the other bidders immediately dropped out of the bidding.

    Naturally, there were some people who were feeling unresigned. After all, this ss 4 Milk Bottle had a true price of twenty thousand gold soul coins or so.

    ¡°Twenty-one thousand.¡± A low voice rang out from the back.

    Wang Yan replied with an unflinching face, ¡°Twenty-five thousand.¡±

    At this moment, the entire hall quieted down again.

    After this round of bidding, Qing Ya¡¯s gaze toward Wang Yan started to change from a regr, professional one to a more intense one. After all, nobody wouldn¡¯t like a person with money. Moreover, Wang Yan¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t too loud. Although he wore a mask, the aura of a schr still leaked out from him.

    ¡°Twenty-five thousand going once, twenty-five thousand going twice, twenty-five thousand going thrice. Done!¡±

    Qing Ya¡¯s hammering speed was extraordinarily quick, as if she wanted to leave a good impression on Wang Yan. They had obtained the Milk Bottle.

    This time around, Huo Yuhao was somewhat excited. He was truly curious about this soul tool that could replenish his soul power.

    After pushing the cart down the stage, Qing Ya walked to the very front of the auction stage. Her charming face was now slightly flushed, and she said in a much quieter voice, ¡°Distinguished guests, our mystery gift is about to take the stage. This is also the final item we are auctioning tonight. This wasn¡¯t supposed to appear here originally, but with the permission of our chief auctioneer, we have decided to reveal this item to thank our various distinguished guests for supporting our Starlight Auction. Although it is extremely valuable, I trust that every single person here will be able to tell its true worth. Now, I would like our ceremonialdy to push our mystery gift onto the stage.¡±

    A push cart once again ascended the stage from the side. Unlike the previous items, this push cart wasn¡¯t just bigger; the cloth on it was actually changed to a conspicuous red one.

    All matters conducted within the Starlight Auction were differentiated by color, with gold being the most honorable color. After that would be red, the color of a hundred thousand year soul ring.

    From this, it could be seen that this mystery gift was extremely extraordinary.

    It was quickly pushed to the centre of the stage, beside Qing Ya.

    From the general outline of the cloth covering it, this item didn¡¯t look too small.

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes, quietly releasing his Spiritual Detection. After obtaining Imitation, his Spiritual Detection had be even more covert. As long as he willed it, he couldpletely conceal all of his soul rings so they would not appear during the activation of any of his soul skills.

    However, as Huo Yuhao quietly swept his spiritual power across the red cloth and the item within it, his body suddenly trembled violently. He quickly covered his eyes with his hands, and his entire body started to spasm.

    He Caitou and Bei Bei were both startled, and the two both blurted out in unison, ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s happened to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused for a few seconds beforeing back to his senses. When he pulled his hands down, however, He Caitou and Bei Bei could clearly see the glint in his eyes.

    ¡°What a sharp feeling.¡±

    When he had scanned the red cloth using his Spiritual Detection to find out what the item inside was, he had felt an indescribable sense of sharpness. That sharpness had instantly torn through his Spiritual Detection, going so far as to pierce through even his spiritual origin. This had scared Huo Yuhao to the point where he had quickly cancelled his soul skill. Although this was the case, his soul skills were still channelled through his Spirit Eyes. As a result, they were still greatly irritated, to the point where tears started flowing from his eyes.

    Qing Ya had already started her introduction on the stage of the 12th Hall.

    ¡°Everyone here must really want to know what our mystery gift is. It¡¯s gettingte already, and Qing Ya doesn¡¯t want to spoil the climax. This mystery gift is very ordinary, but it¡¯s also a soul engineer¡¯s most inseparable friend; every soul engineer must have one of these. However, thest item we¡¯re auctioning ispletely different. It isn¡¯t a soul tool¨Cwhich is why I said that it shouldn¡¯t have been here in the first ce. However, it¡¯s too closely rted to a soul engineer. Before I remove this cloth, let me say onest thing: this item¡¯s rarity and value is enough for it to be auctioned off in one of our Starlight Auction¡¯s top-ranked auctions. Everyone, please take a look.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn towards the stage the moment Qing Ya lifted the cloth from the cart. However, the dazzling or exceptionally brilliant item that they were expecting didn¡¯t appear. What appeared in its ce was an item that couldn¡¯t be any more ordinary. It was just as Qing Ya had said¨Cthis was an item that any soul engineer would be familiar with, as well as something they couldn¡¯t go without.

    The reason behind the tall cloth covering the cart wasn¡¯t due to the size of the item itself. Instead, it was because the item was ced on a showcase, and the mass covered by the cloth was naturally the showcase itself. The item itself was very small, around half a foot long or so, and was as thick as a finger. It seemed to grow narrower and narrower from the bottom to the top, and the very top of the item was an extremely sharp-pointed tip. On the other hand, its bottom was a half-inch wide de. It had a simple, dark look to it, and faintly discernible carvings could be seen on it. They emitted a faintly ancient, yet gloomy aura.

    Arge number of participants let out dissatisfied sighs. Clearly, they didn¡¯t think that this mystery gift had surprised them at all. However, the pupils of a small number of people were rapidly contracting. The appearance of this item had astonished them.

    A carving knife. Right, this was a carving knife that a soul engineer could use to carve a core formation. Both ends of a carving knife were useful to a soul engineer, who could use them differently while carving different core formations. Soul engineers couldn¡¯tck a carving knife; this was a basic requirement to carve a soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao also had a carving knife, given to him by Fan Yu. It was a rtively decent carving knife, made out of a hard metal that made it sharp, sturdy, and stable. It was very suitable for him to use it. Fan Yu had also told him that he would help him find another, more outstanding carving knife after he became a ss 4 soul engineer. After all, the higher the rank a soul engineer was, the more precious and tough the metals he would use. If a soul engineer¡¯s carving knife wasn¡¯t good enough, how would he be able to carve a core formation? Furthermore, a good carving knife could let a soul engineer achieve twice the results with half the effort while creating a soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were both stunned upon seeing this carving knife. At the very least, they weren¡¯t able to tell where its outstanding points were on the surface. However, Huo Yuhao ced a great deal of trust in his earlier feeling. The sharp sensation that had pierced through even his Spiritual Detection was definitely not fake, and this carving knife was definitely not normal.

    Qing Ya¡¯s voice rang out from the crowd of dissatisfied voices, ¡°In all likelihood, a few of our distinguished guests have been deceived by its outer appearance. Then, I can only tell you with much regret that you are all wrong. Missing this mystery gift will be your life¡¯s greatest regret. Now, let me introduce to you all this seemingly ordinary carving knife that is definitely not ordinary.¡±

 Chapter 83.3: The Ranked Carving Knife

    Chapter 83.3: The Ranked Carving Knife

    ¡°A carving knife is a necessity for a soul engineer. Moreover, a good carving knife is the most important thing that a high-ranking soul engineer can have. Distinguished guests, the carving knife you see in front of you can¡¯t be described using the word ¡®simple¡¯ alone. Calling it an exceptional carving knife wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration at all. Firstly, let me give a quick exnation. There¡¯s a ranking for carving knives within the world of soul engineers, and the top-ranking ones are all in the hands of the best soul engineers in the world. I¡¯m sure that everyone here has heard of the term ¡®ranked carving knife¡¯. It¡¯s a term used to describe carving knives that have reached the leaderboard.¡±

    ¡°Our Douluo Continent¡¯s Carving Knife Leaderboard lists the top hundred carving knives in the world. Regretfully, over two-thirds of those knives belong to the Sun Moon Empire. This is one of the main reasons why there are so many, and so powerful, soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire. And the item you see before you is one of the hundred carving knives on the Leaderboard. In other words, it¡¯s one of the ranked carving knives that I¡¯ve just spoken about.¡±

    The crowd below the stage immediately flew into an uproar the moment Qing Ya uttered the words ¡®ranked carving knife¡¯. The previous sighs of dissatisfaction immediately vanished, and He Caitou closed his eyes helplessly.

    If Qing Ya hadn¡¯t exined everything, he had been nning to keep everything to himself. As one of Fan Yu¡¯s disciples, he had noticed a few abnormalities regarding this carving knife after making a close observation. Moreover, as a soul engineer himself, his desire for a ranked carving knife would never becking. There were only two ranked carving knives within Shrek Academy, which respectively belonged to Dean Xian Lin¡¯er and Fan Yu.

    Right now, a ranked carving knife had just appeared before them. This had an extremely important significance to them, and even Shrek Academy as a whole.

    Although Wang Yan didn¡¯t know much about carving knives, he was instantly excited after hearing the words ¡®ranked carving knife¡¯. He understood that this was something that he had to bring back to Shrek Academy no matter what. Even if it had a high price, the academy would still reward him for it. Out of the precious things that the academy was looking for, a ranked carving knife had been ranked among the top for a long time! This was especially true for the Soul Tool Department, for even Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo wasn¡¯t able to use a ranked carving knife.

    The fervent atmosphere below the stage instantly caused a brilliant smile to appear on Qing Ya¡¯s charming face. She wasn¡¯t impatient at all¨Cafter waiting for a full five minutes, the participants of the auction gradually calmed down.

    ¡°Auctioness Qing Ya. What¡¯re you still waiting for? Quickly start the bidding.¡± There were already a few people who couldn¡¯t hold in their excitement anymore.

    Qing Ya smiled, ¡°Distinguished guests, please do not be so impatient. I¡¯m sure that everyone here knows that our Starlight Auction has always been sincere and honest to all of our customers. We have always guaranteed the quality of all goods that are sold within our auctions, and we will never allow a faulty or problematic good to be given to our distinguished guests. Because of this, I would like everyone to allow me to finish speaking.¡±

    Whilst speaking, Qing Ya looked regretfully at the ancient carving knife in front of her and sighed lightly. ¡°If this were an ordinary ranked carving knife, it would never have appeared here. Distinguished guests, I¡¯m sure that you are all aware of this. A ranked carving knife is one of the most valuable items within the world of soul engineers. It¡¯s even more valuable than certain precious materials. The reason why this ranked carving knife has appeared as thest item in today¡¯s ss 4 auction is because it has a particr problem.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ranked 99th on the Carving Knife Leaderboard, but with its strength, it shouldn¡¯t be ranked that low. In fact, it should be within the top 30. However, the main reason why it¡¯s ranked so low is because it¡¯s a cursed carving knife.¡±

    He Caitou suddenly cried out, ¡°Is that the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife that counter-devours its owners?¡±

    Shrek Academy was seated in the first row of the auction, and his voice wasn¡¯t soft either. Qing Ya was naturally able to hear his words, and a trace of astonishment immediately appeared on her charming face whereupon she answered, ¡°We actually have a knowledgeable guest. Correct, this carving knife is the 99th ranked Soul-Devouring Carving Knife that¡¯s known as the Vicious Knife.¡±

    ¡°This Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife has had over three thousand years of history. Three thousand years ago, it appeared in the Sun Moon Empire. Its creator was an absolutely exceptional soul engineer who supposedly became a ss 9 soul engineer. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t just a soul engineer, but a soul master as well; a terrifying evil soul master. Three thousand years ago, he brought about a storm of carnage and terror to the continent.¡±

    At that point, the participants in the auction quietened down. The expressions of many people turned grave as well.

    ¡°The Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife was created by that evil soul master during hister years. ording to the stories, he encountered a mortal enemy not long after creating this carving knife. He was a genius in his generation, but also a monster. He subsequently fell, but didn¡¯t carry the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife by his side when he died. Following the passage of time, this vicious knife ended up in the mortal world.¡±

    ¡°When our Starlight Auction made an investigation into its past, we found that this vicious knife has had a total of thirty-seven owners. However, every single one of these thirty-seven people have died violently. Of which, nine of them became evil soul masters. ording to the legends, this Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife contains a trace of that talented evil soul master¡¯s soul. Because of that, it steers its owners toward the path of evil. If you are not strong-willed, you will not be able to use it. Furthermore, it absolutely cannot be used frequently. Thus, it fell and fell in the rankings until it finally reached a spot where it couldn¡¯t fall any further. Due to its previous glory, it has never been stricken from the Carving Knife Leaderboard. People who like it have always been hoping that it can finally find a true master, but we hope that its owner possesses the attribute of Light. This way, it¡¯ll be very hard for him to be corrupted. Naturally, we don¡¯t have aplete understanding of this carving knife. Thus, we advise that our distinguished guests be cautious when purchasing this item. We can guarantee that as long as you don¡¯t pour soul power into it, you won¡¯t be counter-devoured. Furthermore, with its status as a ranked carving knife, turning it into an heirloom is quite good.¡±

    After listening to Qing Ya¡¯s long exnation, everyone present finally understood why a ranked carving knife had appeared in a ss 4 auction. Many participants who were originally eager to buy it were now silent.

    This Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife would absolutely not have an excessively low value due to its status as a ranked carving knife. However, no matter how good it was, it couldn¡¯t bepared to one¡¯s life! If a person bought such a precious item and didn¡¯t use it, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste? In the end, this was just a ss 4 auction, and many of the participants weren¡¯t very rich. Because of this, hesitation began to appear in their hearts.

    He Caitou sighed and shook his head, ¡°You can¡¯t buy this vicious knife. I¡¯ve heard my teacher talk about it before. The counter-devouring of this vicious knife isn¡¯t as simple as what that auctioneer said. You should be able to see this from what happened to the owners who didn¡¯t die. After all, it¡¯s a ranked carving knife! If we buy it and bring it back, will we be able to resist not using it? If I¡¯m not mistaken, my teacher said that soul tools produced by this Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife will have two additional effects, making them terrifying existences. It¡¯s truly a pity.¡±

    Nobody would take their own lives as a joke. When He Caitou finished speaking, Wang Yan revealed a disappointed look in his eyes. He was already prepared to give up on the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife.

    ¡°The starting price of the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife is one hundred thousand gold soul coins, and each increase cannot be lower than five thousand gold soul coins. We can start the auction now.¡± Qing Ya spoke with a smile on her face. In reality, she wasn¡¯t excited at all. She was able to tell with her nearly ten years of experience as an auctioneer that the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife would be left unsold yet again.

    In reality, the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife had appeared in one of the Starlight Auction¡¯s top-ranked auctions shortly after the organization had obtained it. Its starting price wasn¡¯t a hundred thousand, but three hundred thousand. It had been acquired by chance, and it was still a ranked carving knife no matter what was said!

    However, who could¡¯ve predicted that its infamy was so widespread? Even the high-ranking guests of the Starlight Auction weren¡¯t willing to possess it, even as an heirloom. Just who would dare to keep it with the dangers of an evil soul master¡¯s soul residing within it?

    The Vicious Soul-Devouring Knife had a history that could only be described using the word ¡®savage¡¯. None of its previous owners, including its creators, had been able to live for more than ten years aftering into possession of it. Because of this, it had spent arge majority of its three thousand years of existence lying unused.

    Helpless, the Starlight Auction¡¯s owner could only let it appear often within various auctions. Furthermore, he promised to give amission of 1% to the auctioneer who was able to sell it off. However, things turned out contrary to the way he wished. The Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife had appeared in several tens of auctions, but nobody had been willing to buy it. Due to this, its price fell and fell yet again until it was near the price that the auction had purchased it for.

    If it¡¯s not going to sell, so be it. Qing Ya hadn¡¯t had too much hope in the first ce.

    A somewhat young voice suddenly rang out from the seating area at this moment, ¡°One hundred thousand gold soul coins.¡±

    A sign containing the number 333 was suddenly raised.

    Qing Ya was left dumbstruck. This was the first time that a person had bid on the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife! She waspletely overjoyed after a brief moment of astonishment. It had to be known that the 1%mision of its price of a hundred thousand gold soul coins was one thousand gold soul coins! Even if a person squandered his money, it would be enough for that person to survive for a few years. It was already quite good for Qing Ya to be able to obtain tens to hundreds of gold soul coins during each auction she hosted. After all, she was only a purple-ranked auctioneer. If she was able to sell the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, she could be promoted to a ck, or even higher ranked auctioneer.

    Qing Ya even forgot to speak for a brief moment due to the exuberance she felt.

    ¡°I¡¯m bidding one hundred thousand gold soul coins.¡± That young voice rang out once again.

    ¡°Ah! Okay, guest number 333 has bid one hundred thousand gold soul coins. Are there any more guests who wish to bid?¡± Qing Ya came to her senses and spoke hurriedly. Furthermore, the hope she felt spiked dramatically. If one person was willing to bid for it, why wouldn¡¯t there be a second? Even if the bid was increased by five thousand, she would take away fifty more gold soul coins.

 Chapter 84.1: The Gold of Life

    Chapter 84.1: The Gold of Life

    Huo Yuhao was the one who had ced the opening bid.

    Everyone from Shrek Academy was shocked to hear Huo Yuhao bid for the item. People like Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi who didn¡¯t really know about soul tools could get a sense of this carving knife¡¯s problem from Auctioneer Qing Ya¡¯s exnation and the silence from the audience. Yet, Huo Yuhao had ced a bid without even consulting them about it. He¡­!

    ¡°Junior brother, you¡­¡± Bei Bei frowned. His junior brother wasn¡¯t an impulsive person from his understanding of the boy!

    Huo Yuhao nced at his senior brother with a slightly apologetic look in his eyes. He then leaned towards Wang Yan and said in a low voice, ¡°Teacher Wang, I used my Spiritual Detection a moment ago, and determined the source of this Ominous Soul-Devouring carving knife¡¯s problem. I¡¯ve got a way to control the drawback from using it. Let¡¯s bid for this first. If I¡¯m not mistaken, this carving knife ought to have been forged from an extremely precious and mysterious metal called the Gold of Life. It just so happens that I can undo the remnants of the curse contained within the carving knife with my spiritual power and Ultimate Ice. There definitely won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Wang Yan frowned and said, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t be hasty. Your life and future is at stake! I can¡¯t let anything happen to you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao muttered irresolutely to himself for a bit before continuing, ¡°Teacher Wang, why don¡¯t you look at it this way: let¡¯s bid for it first. If I can¡¯t use the carving knife, I¡¯ll get the Dean of the Soul Tool Department and Teacher Fan Yu to supervise me in undoing the curse on this soul-devouring carving knife when we get back to the academy. I will only use it on the condition that the curse has definitely been lifted. If not, I will give up and leave it to collect dust in the academy. I¡¯ll definitely repay this sum of money to the academy in the future. Do we have a deal?¡±

    Wang Yan felt a little reassured after hearing what Huo Yuhao said. The ranked carving knife was only going for a hundred thousand golden coins. If Huo Yuhao could really use the carving knife regardless of how problematic it was, then this was a huge steal!

    A ranked carving knife appearing in a first-rate auction was a rarity because soul tool engineers who owned a ranked carving knife would treat them as treasures. These ranked carving knives would be passed on from one generation to another; only wastrels would put it up for auction.The highest bid in history for a ranked carving knife had amounted to tens of millions of golden soul coins! That had been for a carving knife ranked in the top twenty.

    It wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing to spend a hundred thousand golden soul coins if it meant the academy would have three ranked carving knives.

    When he thought to this point, Wang Yan nodded at Huo Yuhao. He had another reason for agreeing to this bid. How could anyonepare to Shrek Academy in terms of people with reputable backgrounds? They had a few especially powerful light-attribute soul masters. If Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t control this murderous carving knife, then there was really no one in this world who could do so at present.

    Even though the creator of this carving knife was an evil soul master, he too was a ss 9 soul tool engineer. However, no existence wasn¡¯t unparalleled in the face of Shrek Academy. Moreover, Wang Yan faintly had the impression that the Shrek Guardians seemed to have gone on a very important mission three thousand years ago. After paying a heavy price, they had managed to kill a powerful soul master.

    In any case, he had to follow through with it since Huo Yuhao had already bid for it!

    Qing Ya repeatedly questioned the audience, yet there was no response from them. No one was willing to bid for this murderous carving knife because they knew that once they bid for it, a deal would really be formed.

    ¡°A hundred thousand golden soul coins, going once!¡± Qing Ya had no choice but to start the final call to close the auction.

    ¡°A hundred thousand golden soul coins, going twice!¡±

    ¡°A hundred thousand golden soul coins, going thrice! Sold!¡±

    The mallet fell with a bang, announcing that this exceptionally murderous carving knife now belonged to Shrek Academy. At the very least, it didn¡¯t belong to Huo Yuhao yet.

    Seeing as he had won the bid for this soul-devouring carving knife, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was beaming with happiness as he heaved a huge sigh of relief. ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s the Gold of Life?¡± He Caitou asked in a low voice.

    Huo Yuhao hastily replied, ¡°I read about it in an ancient text in the library. The Gold of Life is a special kind of metal that¡¯s extremely rare. This metal appears to have a life, but doesn¡¯t possess intelligence. It can seemingly break down all metals and ores known to man. It¡¯s very rare. From what was written in the ancient text, the Gold of Life seems to hold tremendous power, but no one haspletely grasp the means of using the Gold of Life to date.¡±

    He Caitou scratched his head and said, ¡°It looks like I need to read more books. I didn¡¯t even know that a treasure like this existed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed to himself. It was only natural that he hadn¡¯t read about it from some ancient text. Something like the Gold of Life might not even belong to this world! This was because the description of this metal came from Cmity Necromancer Electrolux ¨C the entity from another space that had helped him kill an evil soul master.

    When the soul-devouring carving knife countered Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, the almighty beings in his mind sensed that his spiritual sea was in danger and woke up at the same time.

    The Skydream Iceworm was the most sensitive to changes in spiritual power, so he too was the first to awaken. He only looked at the soul-devouring carving knife and told Huo Yuhao he shouldn¡¯t carelessly y around with it because a huge threat resided in that toy. The Ice Empress had other thoughts about this matter. In a slightly more disdainful manner, shemented that though this carving knife was cursed, Huo Yuhao had an Ultimate Ice armor. Added onto the fact that he had the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s tremendous spiritual power, and the curse shouldn¡¯t have too much of an effect on him. However, it only made sense if he couldn¡¯t use this carving knife.

    As they were both arguing with each other, a sound of bewilderment came from Cmity Necromancer Electrolux. He hadn¡¯t been surprised for who-knows-how long, but he was really astonished when he saw this carving knife.

    The words ¡°the Gold of Life¡± then spilled from his lips.

    Huo Yuhao exined everything that Electrolux had told him to He Caitou.. The reason why Huo Yuhao had impulsively ced a bid without soliciting Wang Yan¡¯s opinion on the matter was because Electrolux told him he definitely had to get this carving knife at all costs.

    However, Electrolux fell silent once the carving knife was in his hands. Huo Yuhao only sensed that the mysterious old man was actually pleasantly surprised, an emotion that was rare to him.

    The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress both held somewhat of a restraining fear towards Electrolux. As such, they hadn¡¯t opposed him yet. After all, Electrolux had previously proven his good intentions with actions. If it weren¡¯t for him, Huo Yuhao might have died in the face of the Envoy of the Death God. The soul beasts believed in the creed that the strongest was deemed king. Electrolux had used his strength to show them how powerful he was, so they had no choice but to ept his existence.

 Chapter 84.2: The Gold of Life

    Chapter 84.2: The Gold of Life

    ¡°Yuhao, this carving knife made from the Gold of Life isn¡¯t simple at all. Once you get it, I¡¯ll be able to resolve its issues, whereupon you¡¯ll be able to easily solve some of the problems you¡¯ll have to face in the future with it. I won¡¯t have to worry about my strand of divine sense being extinguished either.¡±

    Electrolux sank back into silence after uttering these words. However, only Huo Yuhao was able to listen to him speak; even the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress were screened out by his mysterious powers.

    Shrek Academy had obtained a plentiful harvest from tonight¡¯s auction, but they had spent a lot of money to acquire it. Wang Yan decided to settle the issue of payment and the collection of the items by himself, allowing the others to go back and rest. As for the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife that Huo Yuhao had bought, Wang Yan would be able to retrieve it with Huo Yuhao¡¯s participant sign.

    Wang Yan¡¯s ranking within the Starlight Auction had increased from the initial white to purple with this exchange. Subsequently, he now had the qualifications to participate in auctions that were of a higher ss. However, only ck-ranked and above customers were allowed to participate in the Starlight Auction¡¯s top-ranked auctions.

    The Soul-Devouring Carving Knife had left a very deep impression on Huo Yuhao. This was especially so after Electrolux¡¯s words, which made him overjoyed. His senses as a spiritual-type soul master were extremely acute. Although his spiritual power was far, far weaker than pinnacle experts like Electrolux, the Skydream Iceworm, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, he had a very strong ability to differentiate between good and evil. He could sense pure goodwill from Electrolux¡¯s divine sense, but the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress still had some reservations towards him. However, these reservations began to gradually decrease as they followed his improvements in cultivation. After all, they no longer had any path of retreat.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t head straight back to his room after returning to the Imperial Grand Star Hotel. Instead, he went to Wang Dong¡¯s room and knocked on his door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice rang out from within.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, I¡¯m back.¡±

    The door opened, revealing a somewhat stupefied Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t polite at all as he entered Wang Dong¡¯s room before closing the room¡¯s door. He asked, concerned, ¡°Wang Dong, what¡¯s with you?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and furrowed his brows slightly, ¡°You might not believe me, and even I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on. When I heard everyone talking about using soul tools, I felt an indescribable sense of vexation in my heart. There seems to be another consciousness in my mind that¡¯s rejecting the use of soul tools. This feeling¡¯s kinda strange, but it¡¯s notfortable at all. However, I don¡¯t seem to be able to reject it. I chose toe back because of that. Actually, I understand what Teacher Wang Yan¡¯s saying, and I believe that what he¡¯s saying is correct. However, it seems like I can¡¯t use soul tools at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Just what is this? Is there a problem with your spiritual sea?¡± He immediately thought back to his own situation. Did Wang Dong have other souls living within his spiritual sea? He still remembered what the Skydream Iceworm had told him¨CWang Dong also had three martial souls, like him. His three martial souls were already settled now. His Spirit Eyes were his main martial soul without a doubt, while his second martial soul was the powerful Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. His third martial soul was very likely to be one that he couldn¡¯t add any soul rings to¨Cthe Divine Law of Necromancy, the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux who seemingly possessed the powers of a evil soul master despite being much more pure-hearted than many other people.

    However, what about Wang Dong? What were his three martial souls? Huo Yuhao believed that the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s judgement couldn¡¯t have been incorrect.

    ¡°Wang Dong, do you trust me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked seriously, his hands on Wang Dong¡¯s shoulders.

    Wang Dong was stunned for a moment. He immediately nodded subconsciously, ¡°Naturally. Why wouldn¡¯t I trust you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, ¡°You know that I¡¯m a spiritual-type soul master. The biggest difference we spiritual-type soul masters have from ordinary soul masters lies in how well we can control our spiritual power. I have much more spiritual power than ordinary soul masters, and my spiritual power is stored in an area called my spiritual sea. I feel like I know something simr to what you¡¯ve just told me, so I¡¯d like to check your spiritual sea for a bit. Is that okay? There will be no problems as long as you haveplete trust in me. At the very least, we¡¯ll be able to figure out whether there¡¯s a problem with your spiritual sea.¡±

    Wang Dong looked deeply into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, ¡°I trust you. But, what do we do if there really is a problem with my spiritual sea?¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll solve that problem.¡± Huo Yuhao replied unhesitatingly. He had no confidence in other areas, but he was certain of his abilities with regards to spiritual power. After all, he had the support of an existence like the Skydream Iceworm! There was an extremely miniscule chance of a problem arising with the assistance of his Brother Skydream, who had a million years¡¯ worth of experience in controlling spiritual power. Moreover, he even had a power like the Ice Empress supervising him.

    Seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s confidence, Wang Dong nodded. ¡°Okay. What do I have to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You have to close your eyes and stop moving. No matter what happens, no matter what you feel, don¡¯t be astonished. Do your best to calm your mind. I¡¯m going to carefully peer into your spiritual sea with my spiritual power.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong nodded, ¡°Do we start now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded back, ¡°We¡¯ll start now. Prepare yourself.¡±

    Wang Dong slowly shut his eyes and rxed his body. He and Huo Yuhao were close partners who were able to fuse their martial souls. As a result, they had already established an unbreakable level of trust.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and calmed himself as much as possible. At this moment, the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress were both awake. They were monitoring Huo Yuhao¡¯s control of his spiritual power at his request, and they would make a move if any problems were to arise.

    Huo Yuhao moved his hands from Wang Dong¡¯s shoulders to the back of his head, then lowered his head slowly. After that, he ced his forehead against Wang Dong¡¯s forehead. The two of them could even hear each other¡¯s breathing.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body shivered slightly. His long eyshes shook, brushing against Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, rx. I¡¯m about to start.¡± Huo Yuhao urged quietly.

    Wang Dong regained hisposure, but his face was somewhat red.

    A gentle wave of spiritual power carefully flowed out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead and into Wang Dong¡¯s body from the point at which their foreheads were touching.

    Soul masters considered the area between the eyes, the brows, the forehead, and the nose the spiritual root of Heaven and Earth. It was the ce which contained the spirit, the ancestral cavity, and the ancestral Qi. At the same time, it was where the spiritual sea resided. cing their spiritual seas next to each other was naturally the easiest way in which Huo Yuhao was able to easily transfer his spiritual power to Wang Dong.

    Their soul power was already harmonious due to their martial soul fusion. Moreover, Wang Dong trusted him fully. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was able to quietly enter Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual sea without any trouble.

 Chapter 85.1: Twin Controllers of Ice and Fire, Thousandstrike Lance

    Chapter 85.1: Twin Controllers of Ice and Fire, Thousandstrike Lance

    Huo Yuhao had spent more than a year cultivating with his blood, sweat and tears. In addition to Skydream Iceworm¡¯s guidance, he was getting more and more proficient in controlling his spiritual power. Even though he still didn¡¯t have a spiritual sea that was sufficientlyrge enough, it wasparatively borate enough under his subtle control over his spiritual power.

    As a result of that, it appeared as though his entrance into the spiritual sea in Wang Dong¡¯s body was exceptionally gentle when he did so from his temple.

    Wang Dong felt a burst of warmth from his temple. Following which, he seemed to be in a slightly dazed state, as though everything wasn¡¯t real anymore. Immediately after that, he strongly felt as though someone was openly spying on him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power entered Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual sea without a hitch. The first thing he saw was a faint golden field, nothing too differentpared to his spiritual sea. The only difference was that Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual power was much weaker than his own.

    I seeded! Huo Yuhao was ted. For a connection between spiritual seas to work, both parties had to be extremely in sync. If one were to forcefully enter another¡¯s spiritual sea, it was very likely to cause damage to either parties¡¯ soul sea. At the very least, the connection happening at this moment proved the absolute trust Wang Dong had in him.

    The spiritual sea could be said to be the most mysterious ce in the human body. Even till today, no one had really been able to grasp the mysteries of the spiritual sea. As a result of that, Huo Yuhao was exceptionally careful as started delving into the depths of Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual sea.

    But at this very moment, an indescribably terrifying aura suddenly surged out of Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual sea.

    That iparably imposing aura was like a mountain. When faced with such terrifying might, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was as small as a drop in the ocean.

    ¡°Run!¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s startled voice suddenly rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual world. A massive suction force came from behind. Right before that terrifyingly formidable power came in contact with him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had already beenpletely stripped back to his original body.

    Even though that was the case, Huo Yuhao still felt that the sight before his eyes had turned into a golden world. After that, his whole body flew backwards in apletely uncontroble manner, viciously striking the wall. It was as though he¡¯d been branded there for a good couple of seconds. Only after that did he slowly slide down while his own spiritual sea started vibrating violently.

    The Skydream Iceworm barely kept Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea intact as it released its sealed, powerful spiritual power. Even so, Huo Yuhao was unable to regain his senses for a long time. His face waspletely pale as he sat listlessly on the ground.

    His mind drew a nk. After a good ten or so seconds passed, Huo Yuhao gradually regained consciousness, and the scene before his eyes was in once more.

    He clearly saw Wang Dong standing there with his eyes still closed as his body slowly absorbed a light golden light. He was emitting a feeling of divinity.

    W-what¡¯s going on? Huo Yuhao was in a state of shock when he felt a wet puddle on his back. It was no surprise he was afraid. Just a moment ago, he had clearly felt as though his spiritual world was about to bepletely destroyed if the Skydream Iceworm hadn¡¯t pulled his spiritual power back into his spiritual sea!

    That power was really too terrifying, to the point where the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress were a little sluggish. They were rendered temporarily unable to answer Huo Yuhao¡¯s question. Just what exactly was hidden in Wang Dong¡¯s spiritual sea that had stunned the two powerhouses in his mind?

    ¡°Elder Electrolux, what exactly is that power? How can it be so powerful?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, feeling horrified.

    ¡°Since the process was too brief, I can¡¯t determine what it is for sure either. I could only faintly feel that there¡¯s something sealed within his body. This seal is extremely powerful, so unimaginably powerful. Even when I was at my strongest in my previous life, I¡¯m afraid I couldn¡¯t evenpare to this seal. This seal seems to be sealing something on Wang Dong¡¯s body, or putting it another way, something in his consciousness. But at the same time, it¡¯s also protecting his spiritual sea so that it doesn¡¯t corrode. In any case, you shouldn¡¯t try it again. Just a stepter, and your body and soul would¡¯ve been obliterated. Thankfully, the big worm¡¯s sensitive to spiritual power, and was able to save you in time,¡± Electrolux spoke with a heavy tone.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to try again. Hispels werepletely drenched from the back. He never would¡¯ve thought that the oue would be like this. This was just as Elder Electrolux said. He had almost gone to the dogs!

    ¡°Elder Electrolux, would this situation cause harm to Wang Dong?¡± Huo Yuhao asked urgently.

    ¡°No, it shouldn¡¯t. This situation is actually very rare, but it¡¯s not like something like this hasn¡¯t appeared amongst humans before. There are a very few situations in the human world that will cause humans to have godlike traits, just like this one. To put it simply, a deity exists in your friend¡¯s body,¡± Electrolux said.

    ¡°Gods were nothing but illusions in the world I came from. Once one broke through that realm, they had to give up their corporeal body and everything they had. A deity expands itself all across the world and controls everything, yet controls nothing at the same time. This is main reason why people from my world weren¡¯t willing to be gods. When gods appeared, their souls would spread across the world. If a new life graced the world when that happened, the newborn¡¯s vitality might very well cause a shred of the deity¡¯s soul to enter their body. This is very beneficial to humans because, it would endow that child with talents. Moreover, this deity wouldn¡¯t affect the newborn¡¯s body, and would gradually disappear as the human aged. To put it in other terms, it¡¯s called luck.¡±

    ¡°Those who possess deities in them are lucky individuals. Don¡¯t you guys have that saying where lucky people don¡¯t have any worries in life?¡±

    After hearing Electrolux¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao gently exhaled. Everything was fine as long as Wang Dong was okay. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t try and pry into his spiritual sea anymore in the future. His experience from a moment ago was really too scary.

    The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress didn¡¯t give him any other exnation. After all was said and done, they were soul beasts, and their understanding of the human world wasn¡¯t as profound as that of Electrolux. Moreover, the deity that was like a seal really didn¡¯t harbor any ill intent towards Wang Dong. It only silently protected Wang Dong¡¯s soul. As a result of that, their conclusive opinion was the same as Elder Electrolux¡¯s, and they felt that everything would be fine as long as Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t purposely go and stir up trouble for himself.

    Wang Dong seemed to have woken up at this moment. He slowly opened his eyes, and was taken aback when he saw Huo Yuhao copsed on the ground. ¡°Yuhao, what happened to you?¡± He quickly strode forward and lent Huo Yuhao an arm.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just pried into your spiritual sea just now, and it consumed too much of my spiritual power. That¡¯s all. Your status is very normal, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with you. I reckon it¡¯s a psychological burden from when you cultivated your martial soul as a child. Don¡¯t mind it too much. You don¡¯t have to use soul tools if you don¡¯t like them. You have me, after all. Come, let¡¯s cultivate for awhile. I consumed quite a lot of my spiritual power just now, so you need to help me out. Are we going to stay here, or are we going over to your side?¡±

    Wang Dong saw his pale face and quickly said, ¡°Why torture yourself? We¡¯ll stay here.¡± As he spoke, he helped Huo Yuhao to the bed. The two of them pressed their palms against the other¡¯s, and the gentle fluctuations of soul power converged into Haodong Power, starting to circte within their bodies. Only then did Huo Yuhao feel somewhat stronger than before.

    A thousand miles away¡­

    A massive castle built atop the peak of a mountain. The grey castle was filled with an archaic aura, making it seem as though it had reached the pinnacle of existence.

    In the castle, two middle-aged men were drinking wine in a spacious hall.

    They were extremely tall. They still exuded a majestic aura even as they sat there.

    The middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table had long green hair draped over his impressively wide shoulders. His eyes were actually green too! As he closed and opened his eyes, there was an ineffably special sense of realism to his simple and unadorned eyes. It was as though they were faintly revealing the tyrannical aura that his body couldn¡¯t suppress.

    White skintight garments enveloped his tall figure. He held a huge wine cup in his hands, letting fine amber wine enter his system.

    A middle-aged brawny man whose body wasn¡¯t inferior to his sat in the seat next to the head of the table. This person had fine, short hair that resembled steel needles. He had a majestic appearance, with a chiseled, resolute face. His eyes were light brown, and shone faintly with a golden glow.

    These two people were only sitting there, but the feeling they exuded was an extremely majestic one. That strong aura definitely couldn¡¯t be fully concealed even if they were to suppress it.

    These two men had originally been drinking wine when their bodies shook at the same time out of the blue. Soon, a look of terror appeared in their eyes. With a swoosh, they immediately stood up.

    At this moment, four bolts of lightning seemed to have suddenly filled the hall. Two of them were the color of jade, while the other two were light brown. The pce-like hall creaked, failing to withstand the sudden terrifying aura that had exploded out in the room.

 Chapter 85.2: Twin Controllers of Ice and Fire, Thousandstrike Lance

    Chapter 85.2: Twin Controllers of Ice and Fire, Thousandstrike Lance

    ¡°It¡¯s Wang Dong. What¡¯s the matter?¡± The ck-haired brawny man roared, a savage glint in his eyes. He raised his right hand, causing a powerful golden light to shoot out from his palm. Right after that, nine consecutive rings of light instantly rose from his feet.

    If a soul master were to see the colors of his nine soul rings, he would definitely have fainted. His nine soul rings were actually as pitch-ck as ink. Furthermore, the ck emanating from his soul rings seemed to be different from ordinary ten thousand year soul rings; they gave off a profound and mighty aura.

    Nine ten thousand year soul rings?

    The short-haired man¡¯s sixth soul ring lit up, and he quickly sketched out a few golden lines in front of him, forming what seemed to be a pattern.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± The long-haired man raised his hand and grabbed the short-haired man, suppressing thetter¡¯s aura.

    ¡°Big brother, Little Dong might be in danger.¡± The short-haired man let out a low roar, somewhat discontent.

    His long-haired counterpart shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with him. My senses are never wrong. We can¡¯t overtly interfere in Little Dong¡¯s growth.¡±

    The short-haired man was unresigned, as if he were a fierce tiger protecting its young, ¡°No. I can¡¯t be careless. Why don¡¯t we go over to Shrek Academy and follow him? We¡¯ll be able to avoid most of our problems then. If anything does happen, I won¡¯t be able to withstand the consequences.¡±

    The long-haired man shook his head slightly. ¡°You! The more you care about him, the more trouble you¡¯ll cause. Let¡¯s do it this way: let¡¯s get the sect to send a few people to protect him from the shadows. Second brother, when will your short-tempered personality ever change?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! What¡¯s there to change? Ever since¡­ whatever, I¡¯m not going to talk anymore. Just whose fault was it that we didn¡¯t have the ability? Let¡¯s drink, drink.¡± As he spoke, he raised an enormous cup of fine liquor and downed it all in one gulp.

    The long-haired man shook his head helplessly as he watched his sibling. ¡°You!¡±

    The short-haired man put his wine cup down. The valiant look on his face had turned into one of worry. ¡°Big brother, is he really fine?¡±

    The long-haired man put his own wine cup on the small table beside him and moved his arms a bit. Immediately, a series of pops and cracks echoed from his body.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Let¡¯s do it this way: as long as you can beat me, I won¡¯t care about you; I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want. How about it?¡±

    ¡°Nope¡­ you¡¯re just trying to use me to get your kicks. I¡¯m not going to be fooled by you.¡± The short-haired man said resentfully.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s do it once?¡± The long-haired man replied mischievously.

    ¡°Big brother, I feel like you should go find a woman. There are truly many good women out there. Can you not look at me like that?¡±

    Star Luo City.

    Shrek Academy was all gathered together at dawn. Today, the second match of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament¡¯s round-robin section would bemencing.

    Dai Yueheng, Ma Xiaotao, and Ling Luochen were still recovering from their injuries. At the very least, Ling Luochen would still need a few days to recover from her injuries.

    Along with the rest of Shrek Academy who were fully equipped with the soul tools they had bought yesterday, Wang Yan walked straight towards Star Luo za.

    He had already given the suitable soul tools to the members of Shrek Academy, with the obvious exception of the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife. He had personally helped fill Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 4 Milk Bottle before giving it to him.

    Their opponents for today were already determined, but the tournament format had to be chosen through by lots. Wang Yan prayed that they wouldn¡¯t get a 1v1 fight¨Cafter all, that was the most unfavourable format for Shrek Academy. This was because their opponents would have a Soul King. In a 1v1 fight, a Soul King wouldpletely suppress their team, thereby drastically reducing their chances of winning. Star Luo za was as fervent as always, and this was especially true when the members of Shrek Academy stepped out from the soldier-protected contestant¡¯s passageway. The crowd immediately flew into an uproar.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s previous two matches had left an extremely deep impression in the minds of the audience. Just how would Shrek Academy surprise them again? All of them wanted to know the answer to this question.

    Wang Yan had given them an introduction to the opponents they would be facing today during breakfast. Unlike their previous matches, they would be facing a soul academy today. The Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy originated from the Dou Ling Empire, and it was an extremely famous academy within the empire itself. It was ranked in the top three most outstanding academies within the Dou Ling Empire, and it had provided arge number of outstanding talents for the empire.

    Huo Yuhao maintained an indifferent look on his face as he walked into the resting area, surrounded by hispanions. He had to continue assuming the airs of an expert until he was exposed, after all.

    He had fully recovered his spiritual power through yesterday¡¯s cultivation. Moreover, his energies were now at their peak condition due to the Haodong Power.

    Two fights. They had to persist for two fights, at which time Ling Luochen would return. Their following matches in the round-robin tournament would be much more rxed with a Soul King overseeing them. After all, a Soul King was already a pinnacle existence within the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.

    The only academy with a so-called ¡®special privilege¡¯ within the entire tournament was undoubtedly Shrek Academy. They were still participating in the first match of the day, and this had been chosen by Shrek themselves.

    8 a.m. It was now time for the match to start. The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire sat above the city walls, intending to spectate the match. There was no doubt about it¨Che was most interested in Shrek¡¯s performance.

    The referee walked to the centre of the tournament stage, then used a sound-amplifying soul tool to loudly announce, ¡°Both parties, enter the waiting area. Team leaders, please take the stage to conduct the lot-drawing.¡±

    The members of Shrek Academy rose to their feet and entered the waiting area d in dark green. Wang Yan nodded to Bei Bei, who nced at Xu Sanshi before climbing up to the stage withrge strides.

    His counterpart from the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy was also a male who looked around twenty or so. This person had a slim body and a stern face, giving the impression that he was a javelin. He remained expressionless as he faced Bei Bei.

    Lot drawing, start!

    Everyone present was interested in the results of the lot-drawing. Any match that Shrek Academy participated in would be extremely interesting, regardless of which format was chosen. Right now, the audience only wished for their opponents tost a little longer, so they could watch an even more interesting fight.

    Wang Yan¡¯s prayers worked¨Cthe result of the lot-drawing was what he wanted most.

    ¡°Shrek Academy vs Thousand Spirits Academy, team fight.¡± the referee loudly announced the result of the lot.

    The team fight was without a doubt the format that contained the most intense andprehensive fights that tested the overall strength of both teams. The leaders from both teams had no objections to this.

    ¡°Both teams, take the field.¡± The referee¡¯s voice boomed.

    He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong all rose to their feet. One by one, they ascended to the stage under Wang Yan¡¯s supporting gaze.

    Wang Yan had prepared most for the team fight in the morning. He already had all their strategies in ce, and all Shrek needed to do was execute them.

    Both parties stood opposite each other on the stage. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi stood at the very front, while Jiang Nannan and He Caitou stood behind them. This was followed by Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao nking Huo Yuhao, who stood in between them.

    Huo Yuhao ced his hands in front of his stomach and closed his eyes, as if he was just taking a rest. On the contrary, the students from the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy were all staring at him.

    Every single academy had conducted an analysis on Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength after the first day¡¯s elimination round. Although nobody thought that he was a terrifying existence who was able to possess six hundred thousand year soul rings, they had high expectations of him.

    After all, the duo¡¯s Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence had left an extremely deep impression on their hearts. They had won with a single strike!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look old from the outside; he was fourteen or fifteen at most. However, the other academies had taken him to be a Soul King, or even a Soul Emperor-ranked expert.

    The javelin-like leader of the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy was now focused on Huo Yuhao. Flickering through his eyes was not fear, but a strong will to fight. Shrek Academy¡¯s team formation was much more ordinarypared to the curved formation they had taken during their first team fight. However, their opponents had assumed a somewhat unexpected formation.

    The leader of the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy didn¡¯t stand at the very front of his team; instead, four people did. This was somewhat unexpected, but their formation consisted of four people standing in front. These four were all tall and brawny male students, forming what seemed to be a wall as they stood there.

    Their javelin-like leader stood behind the four, while two young girls stood behind him.

    These two girls were very easily differentiated¨Cone of them was red-haired, while the other was blue-haired, making them rather eye-catching. All seven of them looked to be around twenty-or-so years old, and the formation they had taken made it seem as though they were an invulnerable fortress.

    Huo Yuhao quickly thought back to Wang Yan¡¯s introduction of the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy. Every single academy had a main force and a batch of reserve students, and Wang Yan was able to urately determine the seven members of the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy¡¯s main team after careful observation. Today, the seven people who came out were identical to Wang Yan¡¯s predictions.

    Wang Yan had delivered an extremely thorough analysis on the enemy team, even talking about their individual specialties.

    The Thousand Spirits Soul Academy¡¯s current formation could be easily described using a single sentence: The four shields form an invulnerable fortress, while the twin controllers of Ice and Fire attack along with the Thousandstrike Lance.

    The four students standing at the very front of the enemy team were called Yang Ming, Song Hu, Bai Chen, and Ye Mao. ording to Wang Yan¡¯s deductions, the four of them hade from the same ce. In other words, they came from the same sect. This was because they shared an identical martial soul¨Cthe defense-type Spirit Rhinoceros¡¯ Shield, an upper-middle tier defensive martial soul.

    On the other hand, the stern javelin-like leader of the Thousand Spirits Soul Academy¡¯s team was called Shen Ce. He was the true core and the main attacker of the team, and his Thousandstrike Lance allowed him to specialise in both long and short-range attacks.

 Chapter 85.3: Twin Mistresses of Fire and Ice, Thousandstrike Lance

    Chapter 85.3: Twin Mistresses of Fire and Ice, Thousandstrike Lance

    The blue-haired girl standing in the back was called An Lengye and had the Frost Bear as her martial soul, while the red-haired girl next to her was called Fei Yuyan and possessed the ze Tiger. The reason for their nickname ¡®Twin Mistresses of Fire and Ice¡¯ was because they were both control-type soul masters.

    They hadn¡¯t used any soul tools during their previous match, thus there was no way to know whether or not they would do so in this match. However, theprehensive strength of the Thousands Spirits Soul Academy was iparable to the Cloud Luo Academy they¡¯d faced in the previous round.

    Shen Ce was at the five-ringed Soul King level of power. ording to Wang Yan¡¯s predictions, he was around Rank 53 or 54. However, the other six members of his team were four-ringed Soul Ancestors. Wang Yan estimated that two of them were above Rank 45.

    This match would absolutely not be a pushover to Huo Yuhao and the rest.

    ¡°Match, start!¡± Both parties simultaneously released their martial souls following the referee¡¯s shout. There was only a single exception to this, and that was Huo Yuhao.

    In reality, he had already released his martial soul. Only, his Imitation made it so that no one else was able to see his soul rings.

    Huo Yuhao kept his hands over his stomach as he remained motionless, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood by his side with no intentions of moving either. The two of them had released six soul rings each, and they both had the optimumbination of soul rings.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck rings. This was the optimumbination of soul rings for a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    The easiest way to distinguish the strength of an opponent was by looking at one¡¯s soul rings when both parties released their martial souls. Their opponents from the Thousand Spirits Academy were clearly stunned when Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao released their respective six rings. A formless pressure was now acting like arge hand that was crushing their chests, causing their breathing to subconsciously be rushed.

    Naturally, only the three of them stayed unmoving. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou made their moves simultaneously.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi both held cigars in their mouths. The former was puffing the Strength Amplifying Large Cigar, while thetter puffed the Defense Amplifying Long Cigar. The four of them simultaneously released their soul rings, and Bei Bei took the initiative to charge towards their opponents withrge strides. Xu Sanshi stayed by his side, while Jiang Nannan¡¯s body flickered and vanished. However, this was only from the point of view of their opponents. In reality, she was hidden behind Bei Bei.

    He Caitou followed close behind as he tookrge strides forward as well.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio slowly advanced forward.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s lineup could be described using the word ¡®formation-less¡¯, so much so that they even seemed somewhat scattered. It seemed as though they were each fighting their own battles.

    Compared to them, the Thousand Spirits Academy was clearly much more organised.

    A dark-yellowyer of light rose from the bodies of Yang Ming, Song Hu, Bai Chen, and Ye Mao as they released their martial souls. Right after that, transformations began to ur on their bodies as a result of the release of their martial souls.

    Their originally-tall bodies became even more muscr, and their yellow skin became even thicker. The most noticeable part of their transformation urred to their right arms, as their forearm muscles started twisting violently. After that, shields started to sprout from their right arms.

    Theyers of keratin on their dark yellow shields made them seem as thick as armor. The Spirit Rhinoceros¡¯ Shield was a mutation of the Rhinoceros, and the four of them possessed it. The four meter-long shields made it seem as though a wall was protecting the three people behind them. These four soul masters each had four soul rings, consisting of two yellow and two purple rings. They gave off a thick and solid feeling as they stood there. Were it not for the formless and choking pressureing from the distant Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao, theyer of defense they¡¯d created would¡¯ve been even more perfect.

    Their leader, Shen Ce, naturally stood behind the four of them.

    Shen Ce¡¯s martial soul looked somewhat special as it was released. He raised his arms into the air, causing his body to give off ayer of silver light. He looked towards the sky and motioned in a way that made it seem as though he was trying to hug the heavens. Right after that, a silver light instantly shot out from his back and into the sky before bouncing back into him aftering into contact with the defensive barrier surrounding the arena. This silver light then floated in front of him.

    This silver light was actually an extremely sharp and longnce. Its twelve-foot-long body shone a brilliant silver, and faint carvings covered its surface. An intense aura of sharpness immediately surged from thence the moment it appeared in Shen Ce¡¯s hands, creating a distinct juxtaposition with the four Spirit Rhinoceros Shields in front of him.

    This was Shen Ce¡¯s martial soul, the Thousandstrike Lance! He gave off a somewhat familiar feeling to the seven members of Shrek Academy, being an assault-type soul master who used a tool soul. They had previously encountered this exact feeling from one of the official members of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who was also an assault-type soul master, Chen Zifeng.

    Didn¡¯t Chen Zifeng¡¯s Soulchasing Sword also possess a terrifying aura of sharpness like this as well? Chen Zifeng¡¯s aura had been suppressed by Ma Xiaotao during their previous fight, resulting in his abilities not being revealed. However, Huo Yuhao and the rest had sensed just how terrifying that sharpness was.

    The Thousandstrike Lance flickered with two yellow and three purple soul rings. There was no doubt that the Soul King-ranked Shen Ce was iparable to Chen Zifeng. However, his abilities were extremely simr, and his attack power was undoubtedly extraordinary. His fifth purple soul ring gave off an extremely profound feeling, and although it wasn¡¯t a ten thousand year soul ring, it was an eight thousand year soul ring at the very least.

    Just as Shen Ce released his Thousandstrike Lance, two entirely contrasting lights appeared behind him, acting as a backdrop to his actions. On the left was a blue-colored Ice, while on the right was a red-colored Fire.

    These were the martial souls that An Lengye and Fei Yuyan had released.

    The martial souls these two soul masters possessed were very distinguishable. They were both possessors of beast souls, but their beast souls didn¡¯t cause any changes to their bodies. Instead, they appeared as images of light in front of them.

    An enormous, three-metre bear that was dark-blue in color appeared in front of An Lengye, emitting an intense aura of ice. On the contrary, a two-and-a-half-meter long tiger appeared in front of Fei Yuyan, its red body interwoven with ck stripes.

    Huo Yuhao had learned about things like this in Shrek Academy. What An Lengye and Fei Yuyan possessed were called martial soul mimicries. If the first soul ring that a soul master obtained was identical to their martial soul, there was a chance that he or she could cultivate a martial soul projection.

    A martial soul projection wouldn¡¯t give too much of a power-up to a soul master; it mainly changed a soul master¡¯s fighting style. An ordinary beast soul master would use their martial soul to strengthen a particr area of their physical body, then fight using that. On the contrary, a soul master who had a martial soul projection wouldmand their projections to fight for them. Theparative load on their bodies would be lighter, and this made it easier for theirpanions to protect them. However, there were very ring ws to this fighting style¨Ctheir physical bodies would beparatively weaker. Thus, it was necessary for a soul master to carefullymand their projection to protect themselves.

    An Lengye, who possessed the Frost Bear, and Fei Yuyan, who possessed the ze Tiger, should¡¯ve been assault-type soul masters. However, the fact that they were girls and their ns were rtively powerful made it so that they chose to cultivate a martial soul projection during the earliest parts of their cultivation. This allowed them to be control-type soul masters instead. This was the ¡®Twin Mistresses of Fire and Ice¡¯ that Wang Yan had spoken about.

    Unlike Shrek¡¯s charging assault, the seven members of the Thousand Spirits Academy didn¡¯t make a move after releasing their martial souls. The four wielders of the Spirit Rhinoceros¡¯ Shields came together, protecting the other team members behind them. At the same time, the four of them simultaneously released their first soul skill, Shield Wall!

    Countless dark yellow shadows blossomed from the Spirit Rhinoceros Shields, and the four shields instantaneously transformed into a thousand shields that blocked the line of sight and path of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had been activated since the start of the match. Shrek¡¯s team simply didn¡¯t need to use their eyes to see what was going on behind the Shield Wall.

    The elegant-looking An Lengye and Fei Yuyan simultaneously released their soul skills in a careful manner. An Lengye¡¯s soul skill activated first, and the Frost Bear strutted forward with its head held high. After reaching the Shield Wall, it vigorously thumped its own chest. At the same time, An Lengye¡¯s first soul ring lit up.

    An intense, icy-blue wave of light instantly spread out from the Frost Bear, and the originally-yellow Shield Wall was immediately encased in an icy-blue light. This was An Lengye¡¯s first soul skill, Frost Shield.

    Her Frost Shieldbined with the Spirit Rhinoceros Shields, causing thetter¡¯s defensive capabilities to instantly triple.

    The person who had the highest cultivation rank after Shen Ce within the Thousand Spirits Academy was An Lengye, who was a Rank 45 soul master.

    The Frost Bear¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t limited to just that. After thumping its chest, it suddenly raised its enormous paws and pounded the ground heavily. An ice-blue wave of light spread out from them, cleverly maneuvering around the four Spirit Rhinoceros Shields before expanding outwards. The icy aura generated from it immediately caused the temperature on the tournament stage to drop drastically. This was An Lengye¡¯s second soul skill, Frost Seal!

    Affected by the icy air, the charging Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou were slowed down dramatically. Furthermore, ayer of frost started to rapidly cover the floor of the tournament stage; the now-smooth surface caused their footing to be somewhat unstable.

    An Lengye¡¯s control of Ice was extremely strong, while the four Spirit Rhinoceros Shields seemed imprable. However, they weren¡¯t attacking, but defending. If that was the case, how was the Thousand Spirits Academy going to win?

    A zing fire rapidly sprouted from Fei Yuyan¡¯s ze Tiger, and her first, second, and third soul rings flickered alternately.

    The ze Tiger formed an intense ball of fire in its mouth, then spat it directly at Shen Ce¡¯s feet.

    A fiery red ring of light immediately appeared, dyeing Shen Ce¡¯s entire body a scarlet-red.

    Fei Yuyan¡¯s first soul skill, Raging me Ring, imbued its target with the fire attribute, along with a strong resistant to fire. At the same time, it gave its target the ability to attack and defend using the power of Fire by imbuing the element of fire into their soul skills. This was a powerful Fire-type auxiliary skill. Unfortunately, it was only a single-target skill.

 Chapter 86.1: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou

    Chapter 86.1: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou

    After being powered up by the Raging me Ring, Shen Ce¡¯s Thousandstrike Lance was dyed with ayer of red. A glint shed through his eyes, and the Thousandstrike Lance¡¯s third soul ring suddenly lit up. This thousand year soul ring immediately caused the weapon to turn somewhat illusory. Not only that, but a re of light appeared behind the Thousandstrike Lance, causing it to be increasingly brighter. As a result, its ring light suppressed even the reddish luster that came from Fei Yuyan¡¯s Raging me Ring.

    Clearly, Shen Ce and Fei Yuyan hadn¡¯t just worked together for a day or two. Just as the former released his third soul skill, thetter simultaneously activated her second and third soul skills. However, her second soul skill was used on the ze Tiger.

    zing Wings.

    A four meter-wide pair of ming wings appeared on the back of the ze Tiger, just like the phrase ¡®giving a set of wings to a tiger¡¯. With the strength increase given by the zing Wings, the aura of Fireing from the ze Tiger spiked, and the originally scarlet-red mes on its body started to turn a bluish-white.

    After that came Fei Yuyan¡¯s third skill, which caused ayer of bluish-white mes to emerge from the body of the ze Tiger. The ze Tiger itself was an image of light, and it had released something simr to it, yet even more illusory. This caused its main body to thin somewhat.

    The bluish-white ze Tiger didn¡¯t pause whatsoever. pping its wings, it leapt straight into the increasingly bright Thousandstrike Lance.

    Immediately, an intense, bluish-white me appeared on the body of the Thousandstrike Lance. Mixed within it was the low cry of a tiger, causing the members of the audience below to involuntarily hold their breath.

    This was practically an unrivaled use of strengthening soul skills! By relying on four defense-type soul masters to act as a defensive wall, and the use of An Lengye¡¯s control of Ice to strengthen their defensive capabilities while reducing their opponents¡¯ speed, they were able to give Shen Ce and Fei Yuyan the chance to join hands and release a deadly attack. This was the strategy that the current Thousand Spirits Academy was using. Moreover, this fighting style had never appeared in any of Shrek¡¯s previous matches before.

    Their opponents during the elimination round simply weren¡¯t strong enough. Moreover, their first fight during the round-robin round had been a 1v1 duel. Up till now, an original yet extremely powerful strategy like this had never appeared on the battlefield. This was something that even Wang Yan had been unable to predict beforehand.

    Would Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters be able to endure a crushing blow like this?

    The Thousand Spirits Academy had a very simple goal¨Crely on a special strategy like this tobine their strongest abilities, then eliminate a few of their opponents. After that, they could take advantage of a few mistakes their opponents made to achieve victory. This was also the strategy they had devised to use against strong teams they were fighting against.

    Originally, the Thousand Spirits Academy hadn¡¯t nned to fight against Shrek Academy. After all, thetter was a champion throughout the entirety of history! The Thousand Spirits Academy didn¡¯t have the foundation to challenge Shrek Academy. However, they had lost their previous 1v1 match, pushing them to the edge of disqualification. If they weren¡¯t able to beat Shrek Academy, they would be eliminated from the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.

    Hence, the Thousand Spirits Academy had a very simple strategy¨Cthey spared nothing in their fight. Even if they lost, they had to lose brilliantly so that everyone could see the true might of the Thousand Spirits Academy. They wouldn¡¯t be losing face either if they lost to Shrek Academy.

    Just as Wang Yan and the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were hoping for a team fight, the Thousand Spirits Academy was also hoping for the same oue; this was because they believed that they would be able to release all of their strength in a team fight. In the end, both parties were satisfied. However, could the current Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters withstand the might of the Thousand Spirits Academy?

    ¡°Go!¡± Shen Ce let out a low roar, then stretched out both hands. He was about to fling his Thousandstrike Lance that flickered with a bluish-white me outwards.

    At the same time, the four wielders of the Spirit Rhinoceros Shields suddenly moved. The very center of the Shield Wall shifted to the side, revealing a hole.

    Under the effects of An Lengye¡¯s Frost Seal, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan were ten meters away from the Shield Wall.

    Describing all of this took a lot of time, but in reality, everything urred within a few seconds. Shen Ce wasn¡¯t the only powerful person within the Thousand Spirits Academy; the cooperation and speed involved in the soul skills used by the Twin Mistresses of Fire and Ice had reached an extreme level of skill.

    The four people from Shrek Academy who were currently leading the charge had nk looks on their faces. At this exact moment, a white mark appeared on Bei Bei¡¯s body. This mark was in the shape of a cross, and it appeared right on his chest.

    However, an indifferent smile floated by the corner of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth at this exact moment. This was a smile of self-confidence.

    The members of the audience who could clearly see what was going on, including the Emperor himself, held their breaths at this moment. Would Shrek Academy suffer a heavy blow at the very beginning of the match?

    At this exact moment, they witnessed another bizarre scene. To put it more urately, it was an astonishing scene.

    Nobody would¡¯ve thought that the first of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters to release a soul skill would be Huo Yuhao. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t even released his soul rings.

    Without any prior warning at all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shot out two purplish-golden rays of light, each more than a foot long.

    This was precisely when Shen Ce was about to make a move.

    Shen Ce let out a muffled groan, and the cross-shaped mark that was on Bei Bei¡¯s body instantly vanished. However, the Thousandstrike Lance had already been released. Only, it had now diverged from its original trajectory¡­

    Opportunities were things that were given equally to both parties.

    The powerful effect of the perfectbination of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Shock was once again unveiled in a team fight. If it was the first time a person encountered thisbination of spiritual soul skills, they would undoubtedly suffer a loss.

    Even as his cultivation continuously increased, Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest improvement was in his spiritual power. His spiritual power had been continuously strengthened at a terrifying rate with the help of the Skydream Iceworm, and his first soul ring had reached the level of a thousand year soul ring. Even if his overall cultivation hadn¡¯t reached the level of a three-ringed Soul Elder, he had two thousand year soul rings by his side in reality. Moreover, these weren¡¯t just ordinary thousand year soul rings¡­

    He had been able to instantly send Ma Xiaotao into a daze using his Spiritual Shock when his cultivation was far weaker. Now, his cultivation had increased dramatically, and his opponent wasn¡¯t even as strong as Ma Xiaotao.

    Why was Bei Beiughing? The Thousand Spirits Academy was under the impression that their Shield Wall had concealed their movements, but with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they couldn¡¯t hide anything from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters; they were even able to clearly see the cirction of Shen Ce¡¯s soul power when he made his move.

    Huo Yuhao made his move the instant Shen Ce had no choice but to release his drawn bowstring. As the main control-type soul master of his team, his entire team jumped into action in ordance with his timing.

    A sudden change urred to the seemingly rxed Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stayed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, unmoving, but the four people in front of them rushed forward like fierce beasts. Furthermore, this wasbined with the explosion caused by Shen Ce¡¯s Thousandstrike Lance.

    Shen Ce had been fully concentrated on his control over the Thousandstrike Lance, but he had been struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Thus, not only was the angle of his throw skewed, but he also suffered heavy injuries to his mind; he started to bleed from his mouth and nose. Furthermore, the new target of his lightning-fast Thousandstrike Lance was now his team¡¯s Shield Wall.

    As the saying went, a fortress was most easily destroyed from within. This was something that made a lot of sense.

    When the four of them had formed the Shield Wall, nobody could see any holes or weak spots from the outside. Yang Ming, Song Hu, Bai Chen, and Ye Mao were constantly shifting their positions to maintain the overall bnce of the Shield Wall¡¯s defense. However, they were trying to defend against external attacks, not internal ones!

    Strengthened by Fei Yuyan¡¯s soul skills, Shen Ce¡¯s full-powernce fully struck their Shield Wall from within.

    With a violent boom, the countless shield images were sted apart from within. The bluish-white mes instantly melted the Frost Shield, and even burnt Yang Ming, who was closest to the wall.

    The terrifying impact caused by the Thousandstrike Lance blew the left side of the Shield Wall apart. Yang Ming and Song Hu were sent flying, and they let out a wretched cries due to the mes burning them. Traces of blood could now be seen on their right arms that had transformed into shields.

    Shen Ce¡¯s all-out attack against Bei Bei had struck his own side. Fortunately, the Thousandstrike Lance hadn¡¯t flown straight towards his own teammates. Otherwise, their injuries would¡¯ve been even more severe.

    As these violent booms continued to ring out, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi simultaneously let out a roar. Although they had been previously slowed down by the Frost Seal, they suddenly sped up. With a sh, Xu Sanshi made his way through the broken Shield Wall. On the other hand, Bei Bei mmed tyrannically into the remaining half of the Shield Wall.

    He Caitou suddenly stopped moving, as if he were a sitting tiger. After smoking one of his Soul Power Amplifying Thin Cigars, the rumbling sounds of metal rang out from his body.

    A few days ago, Xu Sanshi had encountered a stationary soul cannon while fighting against the students from the Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy. However, the person who was using it today was He Caitou.

    Huo Yuhao had studied the art of soul tools under Fan Yu for a very short period of time. Fan Yu had established a good foundation for him, while imparting a foundational knowledge of most soul engineers as well. On the other hand, when Huo Yuhao was learning how to create soul tools, Fan Yu had prioritised his foundation over everything else.

    However, He Caitou had already studied under Fan Yu for over five years. He wasn¡¯t as slow as he seemed on the surface. How could his five years of hard work bepared to the leader of the Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy that Xu Sanshi had previously fought against? His unleashing of a stationary soul tool was practically a transformation to his body.

    There was a qualitative difference between the soul tool forts that He Caitou and Situ Yu set up. The pedestal of Situ Yu¡¯s fort had only extended towards his legs, but He Caitou¡¯s one could truly be called a fort.

    Amidst the concentrated sounds of metal, a circr pedestal appeared below He Caitou¡¯s feet, fully covering his feet.

 Chapter 86.2: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou (Preview)

    Chapter 86.2: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou (Preview)

    This was a genuine fort; it was impossible to leave the original location once it was set up. The ce that He Caitou had chosen was also rather peculiar. He had chosen a ce in the middle of the arena, slightly towards the Thousand Spirit Academy¡¯s side. Once the pedestal was finished, several metal pipes¡ªboth thick and thin¡ªemerged from his body.

    When Situ Yu, the captain of the Cloud Luo Academy, had released more than thirty metal pipes to form his soul tool fortress, he¡¯d already exceeded the average number of pipes for a soul tool fortress. Generally speaking, as long as one had 24 attack-type soul tools along with a stable pedestal, and an enormous core formation that could conserve soul power, they¡¯d have sessfully formed a soul tool fortress.

    However, if one were to examine He Caitou¡¯s body closely, they would see that there weren¡¯t 24 soul tools, but rather too many to count. The number of pipes had probably surpassed 50.

    Huo Yuhao broke into a cold sweat when he saw his valiant senior brother. At the same time, he thought to himself: Is this the reason that all soul engineers have such strong bodies? So that they can control arger number of soul tools? It seemed that he¡¯d have to grow stronger too! If he didn¡¯t, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the burden of all those metal weapons!

    He Caitou had a total of 64 weapons on his body. Among them, the strongest was the gun-barrel on his right shoulder. This dark-colored gun-barrel was two meters long and as thick as an average person¡¯s thigh. Currently, it was emanating a metallic light and giving off a terrifying aura. However, this gun barrel was banned from the tournament, as it was a strengthening-type stationary soul tool.

    Once his fortress had been finished, the muscles on He Caitou¡¯s face twitched slightly. It was difficult to describe how he was feeling right now. He smiled towards the enemy team while holding the cigar in his mouth, but his smile was full of killing intent. Afterwards, instantly turned into a ball of zing light that was nearly as bright as the sun.

    Currently, Bei Bei was fiercely attacking the remnants of the Shield Wall in an attempt to destroy them. But at that moment, he felt a wave of heating from behind him, followed by a thunderous explosion thatnded not too far away from his head. This explosion was really quite scary. The powerful shockwaves caused him to squat down, and he had to use all the soul power in his body to protect himself. He even had to use the defensive soul tool that he¡¯d obtained yesterday.

    Afterwards, he saw various fragments falling from the sky. He then realized that the shields that¡¯d been blocking his way were now gone.

    ¡°Holy shit.¡± The always-elegant Bei Bei¡ªat least, that¡¯s how he looked from the outside¡ªunconsciously cursed as he stood back up.

    All of the fragments that were falling from the sky belonged to the Spirit Rhinoceros Shield! He saw that the protective barrier outside of the arena was full of ripples, and that arge number of halos were rapidly fluctuating. He then noticed that there was a person amidst those halos, and that this person was the captain of the Thousand Spirit Advanced Soul Academy, Shen Ce.

    At this moment, his body was glittering with many colors, and his five soul rings lit up one after another. However, no matter what he did, he was still being suppressed by a terrifying power, and was unable to move a single finger.

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. The other members of the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy were also surprised by this, as all four of their defense-type soul masters had been injured from that explosion!

    When the Thousand-strike Spear had injured them, Yang Ming and Song Hu had thought that they¡¯d been unlucky. But when they saw Bai Chen and Ye Mao¡¯s current condition, they were a little happy that their Shield Wall had already been destroyed.

    Of the 64 attack-type soul tools installed on He Caitou¡¯s body, 63 had simultaneously begun to glitter, which had been why his body had seemingly changed into a zing sun. All of them had then simultaneously released their strength in the same direction. Not only had they immediately destroyed the Shield Wall, but they had also fiercely bombarded Shen Ce, who had yet to recover from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Even though Shen Ce¡¯s skill were meant for defense, when faced with that terrifying power, he¡¯d been directly pressed against the barrier outside the ring.

    Just what kind of power was that?! Even if the Shield Wall had been previously damaged by an internal strike from the Thousand-strike Spear, it was still a defense that had been erected by two defense-type Soul Ancestors with all their might. Yet, in front of He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fortress, it had copsed instantly!

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who weren¡¯t too far away from each other, both looked at each other and saw saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. The two of them weren¡¯t the only ones hiding their strength; He Caitou had been as well! Furthermore, the strength that He Caitou had been hiding was extremelyrge! Even Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t entirely sure if he could block that full-power attack from before.

    Beneath the Soul Sage rank, a soul engineer held a definite advantage over a soul master of equal rank. Moreover, how could He Caitou bepared to a normal ss 4 soul engineer? If it wasn¡¯t for Huo Yuhao, he would be the number one student of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, and also the only candidate for the Ultimate Soldier n. However, the current Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hope to match his attainments in regards to soul tools. Furthermore, He Caitou had used the soul tool fortress, the strongest formation at the disposal of a soul engineer. Therefore, his full-power attack had immediately shown its terrifying effects.

    The tactic used by the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy wasn¡¯t bad, but it had a fatal w: It was too passive. It wasn¡¯t able to pressure on their opponents.

    He Caitou had already begun preparing the moment he¡¯d stepped forward. In that brief period of time, he¡¯dpleted the setup of his soul tool fortress with using his muscles. Only three seconds had passed between when he began to forming his fortress and when heunched his attack. This speed shocked the members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy so much that all of them stood up. Even among them, none of them could erect a soul tool fortress in such a short period of time, let alone such aplicated and powerful ss 4 soul tool fortress.

    By relying on his great number of soul tools, He Caitou was able to release the strength of a ss 5 soul tool fortress while using a ss 4 one. However, he hadn¡¯t used this formidable strength of his when he¡¯dpared notes with his fellow students.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who were thinking of going all-out, regained their senses after a short moment of surprise, and realized that the blinding light from He Caitou¡¯s soul tools were also fading.

    When the light faded, Shen Ce used the protective barrier behind him as a support to jump towards the ring with great difficulty. The sturdy clothes he¡¯d been wearing had already been turned into rags and had revealed ayer of armor beneath them.

    ¡°ng¡ª¡± The armor broke, and the instant it fell on the ground, Shen Ce¡¯s body looked thin and meager. He immediately opened his mouth to gasp for breath, and used his Thousand-strike Spear to support himself.

    He Caitou spat out what remained of his thin cigar and curled his lips. ¡°Not bad. You had a ss 5 defense-type soul tool. No wonder you managed to block my attack. You¡¯re the first Soul King that was able to take the full brunt of my soul tool fortress head-on without going down. Come, bring it on.¡±

    Afterwards, his round pedestal rotated. His 64 attack-type soul tools also moved rhythmically. This fortress of his could unexpectedly rotate 360¡ã! Furthermore, he only needed to make some small adjustments to his aim in order to target Fei Yuyan, who was still standing on the tform. Or rather, to be more precise, he was aiming at the ze Tiger martial soul she¡¯d released.

    ¡°Brothers, what are you waiting for?¡± He Caitou shouted. When everyone thought that he would need a little bit of rest after that all-out attack from before, the gun barrels began to light up again.

    Fei Yuyan immediately became scared and directly jumped onto her ze Tiger in order to run away. She definitely didn¡¯t have a ss 5 defense-type soul tool to protect herself!

    ¡°Keep your cool! He can¡¯t possibly use that sort of powerful attack two times in a row!¡± At that moment, Shen Ce showed his worth as a team captain. Not only was his cultivation high, both his knowledge and battle experience were also quite good.

    What he said was correct. In the end, He Caitou was only a Soul Ancestor. Even if he were stronger and could actually kill a Soul King with an all-out attack, there was no way that he¡¯d be able to release such an attack twice in a row.

    But it was only natural for human beings to feel fear. Even with Shen Ce¡¯s timely reminder, the deterrent brought about by those gun barrels on He Caitou¡¯s body was just too strong. The Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy¡¯s team members had already been thrown into confusion.

    At that moment, a tall and slender figure quietly arrived behind Yang Ming.

    Yang Ming suddenly felt his body sink, as though its weight had increased by several times. As soon as he tried move, his body suddenly froze. Afterwards, he felt a burst of power transmitted into him from his back. Two slender hands then seized his throat, and a hard object pressed against his back.

    In the next instant, everyone saw Yang Ming¡¯s body suddenly fly towards the outside of the ring.

    Jiang Nannan had made her move, and utilized her second skill, Gravity Control, alongside her first skill, Waist Bow.

    Even if he¡¯d been in his normal state, it wasn¡¯t certain if Yang Ming would be able to dodge this attack, let alone now that he was injured.

    ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± A tender voice echoed. A person suddenly stepped forwards from the team members of the Thousand Spirit Academy that were currently in disarray. Earlier, she had also been shocked, but considering her capacity as the vice-captain of their team, she needed to show her strength now. This person was An Lengye, the owner of the Frost Bear.

    The Frost Bear immediately tookrge strides forward under her orders, then made a grabbing motion towards the air and caught Yang Ming, who¡¯d been about to fall off the stage from Jiang Nannan¡¯s attack. However, that wasn¡¯t all. An Lengye¡¯s fourth soul ring then lit up, and the Frost Bear howled angrily. A burst of cold air spread through the surrounding area, and An Lengye¡¯s long blue hair immediately turned white. Even her two eyes turned an icy white color, and began to emit a chilly aura. The cold wind in the air then morphed into a tornado that swept through the arena. After holding Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan in ce, it swept towards He Caitou¡¯s position.

 Chapter 86.3: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou

    Chapter 86.3: The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou

    A soul tool fort¡¯s offensive advantages were tantly obvious as shown by He Caitou¡¯s ability tounch omnidirectional attacks. However, in exchange for such firepower, it was nigh impossible for him to move and so he was simply unable to dodge An Lengye¡¯s attack.

    An Lengye¡¯s attack was a surprise attack that wasunched with perfect timing. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the entire arena, that didn¡¯t mean it was omniscient; there were still a few instances, such as this one, that could exceed his senses.

    ¡°She has a soul bone¡ªa skull bone.¡± Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection Sharing to transmit his thoughts to his teammates¡¯ spiritual seas.

    There was no doubt about it¡ªthis was the strength of An Lengye¡¯s released soul bone, strength that allowed her fourth soul skill, Frost Tornado, to surpass the level of a Soul Ancestor. Only then was she able to stop the members of Shrek from advancing. Otherwise, if Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei charged over, and He Caitou was allowed to recover and start attacking again, the match would¡¯ve been settled.

    The might of An Lengye¡¯s amplified attack had already reached the level of a Soul King. Bei Bei furrowed his brows greatly, then ced his hands in front of his body and quickly moved horizontally. He released a dense cloud of lightning to protect his own body, but he was still forced backwards by An Lengye¡¯s powerful attack. However, his footwork ced him right in front of He Caitou. Since his opponents were able to spot the problems of a soul tool fort, why wouldn¡¯t he be able to, as the leader of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters?

    Right after that, however, Bei Bei suddenly felt the pressure on him lighten. Layers of barriers had appeared behind him, ck barriers that rippled like water.

    Xu Sanshi turned back and smiled naughtily at him. His second soul ring was flickering, and he didn¡¯t seem to exert any force at all as he took on the strengthened Frost Tornado.

    This was Xu Sanshi¡¯s second soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Shield.

    On the surface, it was a soul skill simr to the Shield Wall. However, the defensive power of Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Shield was far superiorpared to Shield Wall.

    This was especially true for the ice-type skill he was currently defending against. A portion of the attacking ice melted upon contact with Xu Sanshi¡¯s water barrier, depleting most of the attack before it could strike Bei Bei. One could tell from the smile that Xu Sanshi gave Bei Bei that this attack wasn¡¯t pressuring him.

    Although the strength of the Frost Tornado had been boosted to the level of a Soul King, she faced the same problem as He Caitou. In the end, An Lengye was still a Soul Ancestor and could not properly control the skill. Furthermore, her attack was one that targeted arge area. Its destructive power was far from the Thousand-strike Lance, which focused all its power on a single target.

    However, An Lengye¡¯s actions had given the Thousand Spirits Academy enough time.

    The four possessors of the Spirit Rhinoceros Shield quickly regrouped. Although they were all injured, with Bai Chen and Ye Mao¡¯s shields having been blown apart and their right arms bleeding. They were still defense-type soul masters. As a result, they could still defend themselves and weren¡¯t fully drained of their fighting strength.

    When An Lengyeunched her all-out attack, they had regrouped and quickly stood in front of her. Shen Ce was also able to recover to some extent thanks to the time An Lengye had bought them, while the red-faced Fei Yuyan quickly got back to her position by riding the ze Tiger.

    She had originallypeted against An Lengye for the position of vice-captain, but now, she finally understood that the gap between them was too simply too vast.

    Shen Ce shouted out, ¡°Let me do this!¡± At this moment, not only was he filled with the intent to fight at this moment, but he also felt grief and indignation. From his point of view, the match was going to be decided without his opponent¡¯s three strongest members having made a single move. As the saying went, an army burning with righteous indignation was bound to win. At this moment, he was prepared to put everything at stake for this fight.

    A cold glint flickered through his eyes as the Thousand-strike Lance¡¯s fifth soul ring lit up. He let out a shout as he flung his weapon out.

    This time, he had fully concentrated his spiritual power to defend against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    By now, Fei Yuyan finally understood the role she needed to y in this fight, and her strength-amplifying soul skill appeared once again. Additionally, she rode the ze Tiger to stand in front of Shen Ce and protect him from potential sneak attacks.

    Shen Ce¡¯s target wasn¡¯t anyone else but the person who¡¯d disrupted his attacking strategy, the same person who¡¯d caused the trajectory of the Thousand-strike Lance to swerve towards his own teammates¡ªHuo Yuhao. Despite knowing he had no hope of victory, he still attacked to see how strong his extremely mysterious and extremely powerful enemy was.

    The Frost Tornado blocked not only Bei Bei¡¯s assault but also Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. As a result, the ze Tiger-boosted Thousand-strike Lance¡¯s incandescent glow only appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection the moment it left the Frost Tornado.

    ¡°Not good!¡± Bei Bei cried out involuntarily.

    How was Huo Yuhao some kind of mysterious expert?! His real strength was only that of a two-ringed Rank 27 Soul Grandmaster.

    There would only one oue if he were to face the Soul King-ranked Shen Ce¡¯s Thousand-strike Lance that had been additionally boosted by a fire-attribute control-type soul master¡ªDeath!

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression changed, along with those of He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.

    Wang Dong moved horizontally, wanting to stand in front of Huo Yuhao. However, he was stopped by thetter¡¯s left hand. In order to hold onto Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate to use the enormous strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer

    The looks on five people¡¯s faces changed while the other two of them had ordinary expressions on their faces¡ªthese two people were Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi.

    A ck light shed and Huo Yuhao suddenly vanished, a tall figure taking his position. The figure raised a sturdy shield, and the image of an enormous ck turtle appeared behind him. The light of his fourth soul ring vanished as it was reced by the light his third soul ring.

    In an instant, the intense ck light transformed into an ice-cold wave. The air started to twist violently, causing distortions to surround the ck wave.

    The already enormous Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle suddenly doubled in size as a triangr point appeared underneath it. The instant the Thousand-strike Lance arrived, it stabbed fiercely into the ground. This shield was directly affixed to Xu Sanshi¡¯s shoulder, and its surface was nted!

    Boom!

    The violent booms forced Xu Sanshi and his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle back seven or eight meters before he was able to stop. And this was with the help of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    In that instant, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both felt a powerful, mountain-like feeling from their usually lecherous senior who always clung to Jiang Nannan. In that instant, Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes became filled with a grave and steady look, along with an unrivalled expression of haughtiness!

    When a defense-type soul master faced an assault-type soul master of the same rank, normally, neither would gain an advantage.

    At this moment, however, Xu Sanshi had overturned everyone¡¯s way of thinking. He was able to rely on his defensive capabilities to not only block the attack of a Soul King who not only had one more soul ring than him but was also being boosted by another fire-type Soul Ancestor. His current defensive power could be considered to be at the very peak of the Soul Ancestor rank.

    The ck light vanished, revealing Xu Sanshi¡¯s straight figure. The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hands had already returned to its normal size. He used his hand tob his hair for a bit before he said indifferently, ¡°How rxing!¡±

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who were originally filled with admiration, suddenly slipped and nearly fell to the ground.

    Why was Huo Yuhao not worried at all? This was because Xu Sanshi had an ability that didn¡¯t seem to have any offensive or defensive capabilities, and yet was a defense-type soul skill that could transform into something magical¡ªthe Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    He was able to instantaneously swap ces with Huo Yuhao by relying on the Mysterious Underworld Discement, taking Huo Yuhao¡¯s ce to block Shen Ce¡¯s all-out blow. However, Huo Yuhao was switched to the location of the Frost Tornado that Xu Sanshi was originally in.

    The might of the Frost Tornado was already reaching its end. Hence, although it was still very powerful, it wasn¡¯t life-threatening to Huo Yuhao. At the very least, it would be much better than being pierced by the Thousand-strike Lance.

    Furthermore, Bei Bei was able to immediately rush over the instant Huo Yuhao was disced due to thetter¡¯s Spiritual Detection. He pulled Huo Yuhao behind him, using his back to withstand thest bits of the Frost Tornado¡¯s might.

    At this exact moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up with an eye-piercing red glow as he raised his right hand and pointed a finger towards the sky.

    The six blood-colored soul rings once again descended upon the field. The terrifying aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast caused even the protective barrier set up by the hundred and eight soul masters to tremble violently.

    This deste aura filled with a deste might caused the air surrounding Huo Yuhao to seemingly solidify, and a light image flickered behind his back. Only He Caitou and Jiang Nannan, who were doing their best to hold on, were able to see that the light image was actually that of a scorpion.

    ¡°Ice, I am your master!¡± A low voice passed through a previously prepared sound amplifying soul tool and resonated throughout the entire Star Luo za.

    Every single spectator who was witnessing this astonishing scene suddenly felt as if their hearts were being crushed as they heard this voice.

    The audience then witnessed a scene that they would never be able to forget for the rest of their lives. The Frost Tornado that was originally wreaking havoc abruptly paused in mid-air. Following that, it instantly rose into the air and turned back towards the students of the Thousand Spirits Academy.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop there either, and pointed a finger from his right hand towards the Frost Bear. Thetter looked as if it had seen the most terrifying creature in the world, causing its body to shudder violently. Afterwards, it shattered with a peng into motes of light that filled the sky before dissipating.

    An Lengye let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood before copsing. Thest thing she saw before fainting was Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotionless and lifeless blood-colored eyes staring at her.

 Chapter 87.1: Crazy for Shrek

    Chapter 87.1: Crazy for Shrek

    The four shield wielders had resisted with all of their might, yet had only barely managed to block the power of the Frost Dragon¡¯s Fist. At this point, all of their fighting spirit had been expended. All of them stared, dumbstruck, at the god-like youth before them, as blood dripped from their wounds. Afterwards, they turned to look at their team leader, Shen Ce.

    As Huo Yuhao stood there, the red hue gradually fading from his eyes. His teammates left the stage, which caused him to appear as an all-dominating god as he remained on the tournament stage.

    This was his second time making an appearance at the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The first time, he¡¯d been with Wang Dong. This time however, he¡¯d been on his own.

    The conclusion of Shrek Academy¡¯s first tournament match¡ªwhen he¡¯d first appeared¡ªhad had a sobering effect on all of the the other academies. All of them immediately attempted to investigate Huo Yuhao, who seemed to possess six hundred thousand year soul rings; not only because of the appearance of his inconceivable soul rings, but also because Shrek Academy represented the strongest, most advanced soul masters on the continent.

    However, none of the academies, including the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, were able toe up with a satisfactory answer. Right now, Shrek Academy was like a dense cloud of fog to them.

    How could a youth who was obviously not yet fifteen years old have be a Soul Emperor? Moreover, how could he posses six hundred thousand year Soul Rings? This was an existence that defied the heavens. Almost everybody realized that it was a diversion; it was just that nobody knew how this diversion was being used.

    As such, they were all waiting for Huo Yuhao¡¯s next move; the first match had simply been finished too suddenly, but it was impossible for every match to be finished as fast as the first.

    Sure enough, this mysterious youth finally made another appearance during Shrek Academy¡¯s third match. However, he yet again shocked the entire audience.

    An Lengye¡¯s attack that had been activated using the power of her skull bone had reached around the Soul King level of power. Yet, when he casually destroyed it along with her martial soul projection, all of the audience¡¯s doubts immediately turned into astonishment.

    Soul Emperor or not, he shouldn¡¯t have had such an easy time. However, the key issue was that nobody had been able to tell what soul skill he¡¯d used.

    Just like how the Thousand Spirits Academy members wanted to describe him as ¡®dominating¡¯, he had dominated the tournament as soon as he¡¯d appeared.

    Could it be that he was truly a Spirit Emperor? One with six hundred thousand year Soul Rings? Several academies began to doubt their previous judgements. If this youth had really attained that rank, who would be able topete against Shrek Academy in this tournament? And what about the next one?

    Bei Bei turned his nose up at Shen Ce, who was seated across from him, and said in a low voice, ¡°Shall we continue?¡±

    Shen Ce looked at his burned-outrades beside him, then looked at the unconscious An Lengye who was currently lying on the ground. He sighed, then said, ¡°We concede.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had almost entirely outshone his teammates. As for Shen Ce, even though he had long ago prepared to fight and was standing in front of them, he was able what his situation was clearly. As things stood right now, even if he were to explode out with the power of a soul king, he still wuoldn¡¯t be unable to resist He Caitou and his soul tool fort. Nor would he be able to resist Xu Sanshi, who¡¯d used the power of a Soul Ancestor to forcefully block the all-out attack of a Soul King and a fire-type Soul Ancestor working together.

    As for the Thousand Spirits Academy¡¯s side, they¡¯d lost the fighting strength of their deputy team leader, An Lengye. Shen Ce himself had nearly expended himself well. Even if that mysterious youth didn¡¯t make a move, they¡¯d still lost all chance of victory. It waspletely pointless to fight anymore.

    ¡°Shrek Academy wins!¡±

    The seven members of Shrek Academy team stood in a line when they heard the referee¡¯s announcement. After giving a slight bow to their opponents, they walked off the stage one after another. Once Huo Yuhao had stepped off the stage, he pressed his palm to An Lengye. The air twisted slightly, then she gave a gloomy groan as she regained consciousness. However, when she saw Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with fear.

    Shen Ce hurriedly moved forwards to help An Lengye stand up. ¡°Lengye, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°How terrifying, how very terrifying. That was definitely a real hundred thousand year Soul Ring, I swear it. I¡¯ve felt that terrifying ice-type pressure somewhere before.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Shen Ce was gobsmacked. As he helped her up, he whispered, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    An Lengye, face was devoid of color as she nodded. She said, ¡°When I was sixteen, I went with Grandfather to the Extreme North in order to find a suitable third Soul Ring. However, we identally went too far, and in the distance, we suddenly saw a dark green silhouette sh by. The speed of that silhouette was terrifyingly fast, and Grandfather¡¯s only reaction at the time was to push me to the ground and protect my body with his own. A full fifteen minutes passed before Grandfather slowly stood back up. It was only then that I realised that ayer of frostbite had formed on a portion of Grandfather¡¯s back.

    ¡°At that time, Grandfather told me that we¡¯d met one of the most terrifying existences in the Extreme North. That was definitely a hundred thousand year soul beast. After that, Grandfather grabbed me and we swiftly left the region. When we got back, it took him over a year for him to recover from the frostbite he¡¯d received. Ever since then, Grandfather has never mentioned anything about taking me to the Extreme North to hunt for Soul Beasts.¡±

    ¡°Even though several years have already passed, I¡¯ll never forget that soul beast¡¯s aura; it¡¯s the same one that that youth¡¯s Frost Bear gave off. Back then, once I¡¯d returned with Grandfather, he said to me that the reason we were able to return alive wasn¡¯t because that hundred thousand year Soul Beast hadn¡¯t noticed us, but rather because we were too weak, and that it didn¡¯t care to bother with us. We¡¯re lucky to be alive.¡±

    Shen Ce inhaled a breath of cold air, then turned to gaze at Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, who was currently walking away from the waiting area. Without a hint of discontentment on his face, he said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go. We can talk about this once we get back. Shrek Academy is indeed an existence that we can¡¯t even dream of beating! I really regret not having attended Shrek Academy¡¯s entrance exams back in the day.¡±

    He didn¡¯t harbor even an inkling of doubt towards what An Lengye had said, as not only was she his girlfriend, but also because she was usually quite quiet and reserved. This was the first time he¡¯d seen her say so much in one go. From this, it was obvious that that mysterious youth from Shrek Academy had given her a great shock.

    However, unbeknownst to them, everybody at Shrek Academy was breathing a sigh of relief.

    Based on overall strength, Shrek Academy¡¯s current Seven Monsters weren¡¯t actually stronger than the Thousand Spirits Academy¡¯s team. Of Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao, two had two Soul Rings, while only one of them had three. They were useless in team battles at such a level, thus the reason that Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong hadn¡¯t acted wasn¡¯t because they hadn¡¯t wanted to, but rather because they wouldn¡¯t have had much of an effect even if they¡¯d to act. It was better for them to act as a deterrent at the rear.

    If one were to observe them closely, they would notice that when Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi had swapped ces with Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement. When they¡¯d done so, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had both quietly withdrawn their six Soul Rings. At that moment, Huo Yuhao had been extremely worried, as the spear hurtling towards him had the potential to be fatal. Furthermore, since he appeared to have six hundred thousand year Soul Rings, even the referee wouldn¡¯t step in to save him. It could be said that Xu Sanshi had saved his life. Even if he¡¯d somehow still been able to avoid it on his own, Huo Yuhao would¡¯ve been equally stressed.

    Going back to the beginning of the match, if it hadn¡¯t been for He Caitou exploiting the Thousand Spirits Academy¡¯s passive fighting style in order to rapidly construct a soul tool fort and break the enemy¡¯s defense in one go, as well as directly suppress their strongest opponent¡ªShen Ce, as well as Huo Yuhao¡¯s possession of the Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Shock, then it would¡¯ve indeed been difficult to determine who the victor would¡¯ve been.

    All four of the shield wielders¡¯ independent defensive ability were even weaker than that of Xu Sanshi. However, when they worked together, even Xu Sanshi, as talented as he was, couldn¡¯tpare. But in this match, Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t won through sheer force alone. They¡¯d won through superior tactics, as well as because of their superior focusing of their abilities.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao had reced his teammates at the front, and his suppression of An Lengye¡¯s ice attribute had sealed the deal. If An Lengye hadn¡¯t been an ice-type Soul Master, then it was likely that the match would¡¯ve continued. Even if they would¡¯e still won, it wouldn¡¯t have been as Huo Yuhao had made it seem.

    As such, it could be said that Shrek Academy had yet again achieved a lucky victory. Not only had they win, but they¡¯d maintained their previous degree of mysteriousness, as they¡¯d kept each of their true strengths, a secret, and a major advantage in uing matches. However, Wang Yan was beginning to worry ¨C that Thousand Spirits Academy wasn¡¯t the strongest opponent in the round-robin tournament. How long would their luck hold out?

    Like the previous two matches, the members of Shrek Academy didn¡¯t linger; they left almost immediately. Huo Yuhao calmly walked into the center. No matter how loudly the audience cheered, no matter how intently they stared at him, he showed no signs of responding. Thanks to today¡¯s match, his mysteriousness would cause any opponent facing him to be terrified.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t feeling excited, but rather quite worried. Prior to today¡¯s match, Wang Yan had warned them that their next opponent would be the strongest one they¡¯d face in the tournament. On that team, there were a total of three five Soul Kings who had entered the top eight in the previous tournament.

 Chapter 87.2: Crazy for Shrek

    Chapter 87.2: Crazy for Shrek

    An opponent like this naturally wouldn¡¯t amount to much in front of the original members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, but they were a fatal obstacle to the current iteration. If they lost this match, their true strengths would undoubtedly be revealed to everyone. However, did they really possess the capabilities to win this match? This was especially so considering they didn¡¯t even know the format of their match. Regardless of which format they had to fight in, they would be at an absolute disadvantage due to the disparity in strength. Wang Yan was already considering forfeiting this match; after all, this was the round-robin stage, and losing here wouldn¡¯t mean they would be eliminated from the overall tournament. As long as they were able to win their next match, Ling Luochen would be able to make aeback. With an ice-type Soul King like her working together with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, they would have a much easier time facing their remaining opponents in the round-robin stage. After three more matches at most, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng would be able to return as well. The arrival of two Soul Emperors would truly grant Shrek the strength needed to take the championship.

    However, Wang Yan was met with the strong opposition of the current Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters the moment he suggested forfeiting the next match. They were no longer how they were when they had just arrived; now that they had won two matches while being bathed in Shrek Academy¡¯s glory, how could they just let this glory be tarnished without a fight?

    Thus, all seven of them were determined to fight. Even if they lost the match, they still wanted to give it their all. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t as though they had no chance at all. After all, although their cultivations weren¡¯t strong, every single one of them was a breathtaking genius. The levels of coordination they could bring out could possibly defeat the overall strength of their opponents. In the end, Wang Yan agreed to their request. This was because he understood that there was a very high chance of leaving a shadow on their hearts if they were to forfeit this match to preserve their strengths; he absolutely didn¡¯t want a situation like this to ur.

    At this moment, the reason why Huo Yuhao was feeling so worried was due to the fight they had just gone through. This fight made him understand that there were no weaklings among the academies who were able to participate in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. They had already gained many advantages in their previous matches, especially Shen Ce losing control of his Thousand-strike Lance at the very start of the match. Even in a situation like this, however, their final victory hadn¡¯t been obtained so easily.

    Furthermore, this was only a team that possessed a single Soul King. If that was the case, what would happen the day after? What they had to face was a team that had three Soul Kings, a team whose overall strength was greater than that of the Thousand Spirits Academy by more than a single level. What would the situation be then?

    During the first round of the round-robin segment, the Thousand Spirits Academy had faced their uing opponent. Wang Yan had personally seen the results of that match; this was also the match that they had witnessed from the rooftop of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel. At that time, the Thousand Spirits Academy had beenpletely crushed; they had had no chance at all. That match had been a 1v1 fight, and their opponent¡¯s third member had already decimated the thousand Spirits Academy. Furthermore, only two of their Soul Kings had made an appearance. This had urred without their team leader making a move.

    They couldn¡¯t lose, but how could they win? This was the question that was currently stuck in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He was inwardly questioning himself for ways to raise his cultivation within a short period of time. At the very least, he wanted to bring himself to a level where he could fight against his opponents for the next round.

    Huo Yuhao had an urate judgement of his own strength. From another standpoint, every single one of his soul skills, without any exception, were extremely powerful. This was also the case for his auxiliary-type soul skills. Furthermore, the abundance of soul skills he possessed was something that even a four-ringed Soul Ancestor couldn¡¯t defeat.

    Huo Yuhao had an extremely urate evaluation of himself. Although he was still a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster, he wouldn¡¯t lose to any three-ringed opponents; he had the confidence to defeat Soul Elders. If he were to face four-ringed Soul Ancestors, however, he practically had no chance at all. At the very minimum, he had a very remote chance of winning. He had an advantage over Soul Ancestors in terms of soul skills, but there was toorge a gap in terms of soul power. This was also the case even if he had the Milk Bottle. During the tournament, what good would a powerful soul skill do if he didn¡¯t have enough soul power to utilise it?

    Because of that, Huo Yuhao knew that he would be able to defeat a three-ringed Soul Elder at most in a 1v1 fight. Moreover, he knew that he would actually be more effective in a team fight.

    If he were to encounter an ice-type or fire-type opponent in a team fight, he could use his Ultimate Ice to impose absolute suppression on his opponent¡¯s abilities. This was especially the case for ice-type soul masters. Even if they were Soul Kings, he had the confidence to suppress them, just like he had done earlier. This was perfect elemental suppression. Even if his cultivation was weak, he was still the Sovereign of Ice. No matter how strong ordinary ice was, how could it rebel against the Sovereign? There was no way for his opponent to stop this unless there was too great a difference in terms of cultivation between both parties.

    After that, there was the assistance that his Spiritual Detection Sharing gave to the entire team. Its urate decision-making capabilities could even predict their opponent¡¯s next movements; that was the main reason why they had defeated their opponents today.

    If the next match is a team fight, I might be able to be a bit more useful. At the very least, Wang Dong and I can restrain Soul Kings by using our Golden Road. Then we¡¯ll have a slight chance.

    What the students of Shrek didn¡¯t know, however, was that the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy got to their feet and left after the former¡¯s match had ended. Their next match wasn¡¯t going to be held today in the first ce. The only reason why they hade was to spectate Shrek Academy¡¯s match.

    The two academies which were at the very top of thedder walked back to the Grand Imperial Star Hotel at what was practically the same time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the conference room.¡± These were the words uttered by the two teachers who were leading their respective academies.

    Wang Yan looked towards the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who were sitting around him, then took a deep breath and said sincerely, ¡°Children, thank you all. To put it truthfully, even I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d be able to win these few matches in a row. You guys have already tried your hardest to protect the glory of the academy. The original reason why you guys came here as members of the preparatory team was to gain some experience, but you¡¯ve now be mainstays. The academy and I won¡¯t demand too much from you.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled, ¡°Teacher Wang, you need not say anymore. Since this is an experience, let¡¯s just treat it as a more thorough experience. Please arrange our strategies, we all trust in your ability.¡±

    Wang Yan looked at them deeply, ¡°You guys have trulye to a decision?¡±

    With Bei Bei taking the lead, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters stood up simultaneously. They looked at Wang Yan with a resolute light in their eyes, and none of them were timid at all. Even Xiao Xiao, who was the weakest of the lot in terms of overall strength, was no exception to this.

    ¡°Good. You all are worthy of being called elites of Shrek Academy. I am proud of you all.¡± Wang Yan¡¯s eyes were tearing up a bit, and his face was slightly red. Right now, he only felt that the kids in front of him were too cute. The academy truly hadn¡¯t made a mistake in choosing them as members of the preparatory team. During the most crucial moment of their current ordeal, none of them were timid; every single one of them was resolute and stubborn. It had to be known that these were seven kids whose average age wasn¡¯t even fourteen!

    ¡°Children, I dare say that as long as we can return safe and sound this time, you will definitely be the most outstanding talents our Shrek Academy has had in the past several hundred years. All of you. Good, I won¡¯t be unreasonable. Let¡¯s start making our strategies.¡±

    Wang Yan pushed his hands down, motioning for everyone to sit down.

    ¡°Our uing opponent is very strong. During thest tournament, they were able to reach be one of the top eight teams. They lost to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the quarterfinalsst time. In terms of overall strength, it¡¯s possible that they¡¯ve improved enough to give them the strength needed to reach the top four. There are three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors in their lineup of seven. Beforeing to this tournament, I only did research on the top 8 academies. This was because of the strength of our original team. I¡¯ve done some deep research into this team, and I have to tell you that their team leader has been referred to as a genius seen once in a thousand years by their academy. If he was in our academy, there¡¯s a chance that he would¡¯ve been chosen to represent us as well. Elder Xuan personally gave him an evaluation in the past. At that time, he said that this student would have definitely been able to break through to be a Soul Emperor before the age of twenty if he was in Shrek. Unfortunately, it seems he¡¯s been dyed a bit.¡±

    The expressions of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters turned even more grim as they listened to Wang Yan¡¯s words. Although they knew that their uing opponent would be very strong, they didn¡¯t know they¡¯d be that strong. For example, how much confidence would they have if they had to fight an opponent like Dai Yueheng or Ma Xiaotao?

    Wang Yan said in a low voice, ¡°This is the reason why I kept suggesting that we forfeit. Our chances are simply too miniscule with him and the other two Soul Kings there. I don¡¯t know what level his cultivation¡¯s reached, because he hasn¡¯t appeared during the previous two matches they¡¯ve had. However, I reckon from his aura that he hasn¡¯t be a Soul Emperor yet. When a soul master obtains his sixth ring, his physical body and aura will undergo a transformation; its a sign that a person has entered the upper echelon of cultivators. However, although he¡¯s still some ways from there, he shouldn¡¯t be too far from Rank 60.¡±

    ¡°ording to my research, this person is extremely wild. Because of this, his fighting intent will only increase when he¡¯s fighting against us; he won¡¯t retreat at all. In a situation like this, our chances of winning are even lower. Furthermore, there¡¯s definitely no way we¡¯ll be lucky enough for him not toe out. They¡¯ll definitely go all-out against us to test their strength.¡±

    ¡°After much consideration, I only have a single idea right now. That is, we gamble. We gamble that we¡¯ll be able to get a team fight next match. A team fight is the only way we have a sliver of a hope of winning.¡±

    Everyone was concentratedly listening to Wang Yan¡¯s exnation. The current Wang Yan had already entered a trance, ¡°Our chances of winning in the team fighte from a single one of you. That¡¯s Xu Sanshi.¡±

 Chapter 87.3: Crazy for Shrek

    Chapter 87.3: Crazy for Shrek

    ¡°It¡¯s just as I¡¯ve said. Our opponent¡¯s team leader is the strongest member of their team, so you can go think about it for a moment. As a genius seen only once in a thousand years, you can imagine how high his position is in his team. However, having such a high position can both be a good thing and a bad thing. This is because his teammates will be extremely dependent on him. Because of that, our chances of winning this match will be greater than 40% if we¡¯re able to take the initiative and take him out.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had a bitter look on his face as he said, ¡°I understand, Teacher Wang. You want me to trade me for him!¡±

    Wang Yan smiled slightly. ¡°If we do it abruptly, it might not be a one for one trade. I¡¯m confident that it won¡¯t be easy for them to take you out, seeing that you¡¯re a defense-type soul master in addition to the powerful defensive capabilities you showed in thest match. We can say that you¡¯ll be the true core of our next fight if we¡¯re lucky enough to get the team fight. Not only will you have to use your Mysterious Underworld Substitution to bring their team leader over to our side so we can beat him up, but you¡¯ll also have to do all you can to stall their helpers.¡±

    ¡°We can prepare for you to switch positions with the enemy team leader, but they won¡¯t be able to immediately attack you since they¡¯ll be caught unprepared. At that time, it¡¯ll all depend on your own ability.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stared at Wang Yan with widened eyes. ¡°Teacher Wang, you can¡¯t be serious. This task is simply too arduous.¡±

    Bei Bei patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Okay, stop faking. You¡¯re more afraid of death than anyone here. Even if the others don¡¯t know about this, do you think that I don¡¯t? You have so many life-saving techniques. Let¡¯s do it this way: if you can hold on and we win in the end, I¡¯ll get Nannan to get you a reward. How about it?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. At this moment however, Jiang Nannan¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She said in a cold voice, ¡°This is something between the two of you, so don¡¯t drag me into it. I¡¯m not a bargaining chip, nor a good you can barter with.¡± With that, she stood up and started to leave.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s sudden anger startled even Bei Bei. In reality, he had only said this as a joke; he didn¡¯t think that Jiang Nannan would react to it this seriously. He could only force an awkward smile for a brief moment.

    Wang Yan shed a look at Xiao Xiao, who quickly got up and left. After all, they were the only two girls on the team.

    Xu Sanshi smiled bitterly. ¡°You see. She treats me like this. Aih, what a waste of all my hard work! Bei Bei, you¡¯ve screwed me over.¡±

    ¡°Xu Sanshi, do you have a problem or not?¡± Wang Yan asked in a low voice.

    Xu Sanshi suddenly raised his head and said in a low voice, ¡°No problems. Teacher Wang, leave it to me.¡± At this moment, Huo Yuhao could see a trace of haughtiness in the depths of Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes, the haughtiness that had appeared when he had blocked the Thousand-strike Lance. Just what kind of heart was hidden beneath Xu Sanshi¡¯s unbridled appearance?

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°Xu Sanshi will be of the utmost importance during our uing team fight. Now, let¡¯s n how you¡¯ll gang up and take out the opponent¡¯s team leader. Your overall strength is still somewhat insufficient, but we¡¯ll win if we take them by surprise. You must make preparations tounch your all-out attacks on him. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡­¡±

    Just as Shrek Academy was devising its tactics and strategies for its next match, the students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had now returned to the hotel as well. Likewise, they walked towards the other end of the corridor and entered the conference room that belonged to them. Only, they weren¡¯t researching any tactics, but Shrek Academy itself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it. How did you feel after watching today¡¯s match?¡± Teacher Ma said in a low voice.

    Everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was silent. A student from the official team couldn¡¯t help but utter, ¡°Teacher Ma, is that mysterious youth from Shrek¡¯s representative team really a six-ringed Soul Emperor? But, all six of his soul rings were hundred thousand year ones! Could this be a result of Shrek Academy¡¯stest research?¡±

    ¡°Idiot. Is that what you saw?¡± Teacher Ma said angrily, ¡°Have you heard of any research that can let a soul master¡¯s soul rings all be hundred thousand year ones? Moreover, how old is he? I observed him carefully earlier, and although that youth can be considered quite tall, I can tell that he¡¯s only around thirteen or so from the inexperience between his brows. Even if he started cultivating in his mother¡¯s womb, he wouldn¡¯t be able to be a Soul Emperor at that age. Shrek Academy must¡¯ve used a special technique to cover everything up.¡±

    The student from the official team was somewhat unresigned. ¡°Then how was he able to make an ice-type Soul Ancestor instantly lose her power? A Soul King definitely doesn¡¯t have the power to do that, and even an ordinary Soul Emperor might not be able to.¡±

    ¡°It should be due to elemental suppression.¡± The team leader, Ma Rulong, spoke up. He said in a low voice, ¡°Teacher Ma is right. That youth can¡¯t be a Soul Emperor, so the only exnation we have is that elemental suppression urred. ording to my calctions, that youth¡¯s true cultivation should be at the Soul Ancestor rank at most. This is already extremely astonishing at his age. Furthermore, I can only think of one thing that can justify why he¡¯s so strong¨Che has twin martial souls.¡±

    The leader of the preparatory team, Xiao Hongchen, who was seated opposite Ma Rulong, couldn¡¯t help but raise his head. He nodded slightly at thetter, a few traces of admiration in his eyes. It was rtively rare for an arrogant person like him to have a gaze like this in his eyes.

    Ma Rulong revealed an indifferent smile as he noticed Xiao Hongchen¡¯s gaze on him, ¡°I believe that although that youth is quite outstanding, he still can¡¯t bepared to our Xiao Hongchen. However, his twin martial souls should be rtively powerful. His greatest weakness is his age.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Team leader, are you saying that I wouldn¡¯t be his opponent if we were at the same age?¡±

    ¡°What do you think about it?¡± Ma Rulong asked indifferently.

    Ma Rulong¡¯s brows furrowed even more as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say for sure. How can I make an urate judgement without fighting with him? Even if he has twin martial souls, I dual cultivate as a soul master and a soul engineer. If we¡¯re of the same age, he might not be able to cultivate his soul power to my level.¡±

    Ma Rulong waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. I¡¯ll continue with my analysis.¡±

    ¡°ording to my calctions, this mysterious youth can only be at the Soul Ancestor rank at most. Moreover, his twin martial souls should be of the rarely seen spiritual-type and ice-type. Out of his spiritual-type soul skills, he must have one that allows him to directlyunch a spiritual attack. Today, the Thousand Spirits Academy¡¯s Shen Ce was affected by this skill, resulting in him making an error in his first attack. From there on, it led to his final defeat. Then, I believe that the ice-type martial soul he used to control An Lengye was his main martial soul. I¡¯m not clear as to how he was able to subdue the Frost Bear, but his ice-type martial soul must be very powerful. The purity of its Ice must¡¯ve been far superior to An Lengye¡¯s, which was why he was able to suppress his opponent when they both had simr cultivation levels. Although he looked quite astonishing when he made a move then, didn¡¯t you guys notice that An Lengye¡¯s Frost Tornado had reached its final phase? It didn¡¯t have much attack power left. Even thatst attack was blocked by Bei Bei instead of him.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s think about it from another angle. If this youth really has the cultivation of a Soul Emperor, would Xu Sanshi have needed to switch ces with him? I noticed that two strange things happened when Shen Ce used his Thousand-strike Lance for thest time: one, the other two young teammates by the side of that mysterious youth had panicked and shocked looks on their faces. Two, all six of the soul rings on those two youths disappeared after that mysterious youth was switched with Xu Sanshi. What does this mean? It means that their six rings are fake as well. Furthermore, these fakese from that youth¡¯s spiritual-type martial soul. Out of his spiritual-type soul skills, he definitely has one that allows him to create illusions. He was able to create this aura of mystery around him by relying on these things.¡±

    Both the official and preparatory teams of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy felt their eyes widen as they listened to Ma Rulong¡¯s analysis. Teacher Ma also had a smile on his face as he kept nodding.

    Ma Rulong hadn¡¯t be team leader due to his strength alone; the more important factor was his meticulous line of thinking. Were it not for the abrupt rise of the Xiao siblings, Ma Rulong would have had aplete chance of bing the most outstanding student that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had seen in a hundred years.

    Ma Rulong continued confidently, ¡°To summarise everything, I have a rather urate conclusion. I believe that something must¡¯ve happened to Shrek Academy. Although the team they sent to participate in the tournament is very outstanding, they seem more like a preparatory team than an official one. There were a few people who turned up on the first day, but didn¡¯te after. They aren¡¯t just hiding their strength; something must¡¯ve happened to them. I dare to guarantee that our chance has finallye this year.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s too good for us.¡± The female student sitting next to Ma Rulong waved her fist around. Their Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had been suppressed by Shrek Academy for over three thousand years. They had participated in every single Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament since the start, but they had never beaten Shrek.

    Ma Rulong sighed slightly. ¡°Actually, I wanted to face the most powerful force that Shrek could muster, even though I know that our chances wouldn¡¯t be too great then. However, I truly wish to go all-out in a fight with our most powerful opponent.¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t our chances be great? Xiao Hongchen said indifferently, ¡°Our academy has been constantly improving these few years. Shrek Academy has been limiting itself by looking down on our soul tools, so there will be a day when they will suffer a loss due to that. Even if we can¡¯t beat their official team this time, we¡¯ll definitely be able to win next time.¡±

 Chapter 88.1: A Decisive Battle (Preview)

    Chapter 88.1: A Decisive Battle (Preview)

    Ma Rulong had a calm smile on his face, but didn¡¯t refute what Xiao Hongchen had said. Teacher Ma and the other teachers simrly didn¡¯t say anything.

    A cold glint shed in Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Teacher Ma, do you know that mysterious boy¡¯s name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already investigated that boy. He¡¯s called Huo Yuhao, but that¡¯s all I know. He doesn¡¯t exist in the data we have on Shrek Academy.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen nodded andughed coldly before speaking. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say whether Shrek Academy can enter the finals with their present situation. Leader, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to beat such a rubbish team if they continue deploying their preparatory team only!¡±

    Ma Rulong¡¯s face sank. ¡°Xiao Hongchen, shut your bloody mouth. I¡¯m still the captain of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s representative team. You can insult yourself, but before you truly beat Shrek¡¯s strongest representative team, you have no right to insult your opponent.¡±

    A powerful aura suddenly surged out from Ma Rulong¡¯s body. Xiao Hongchen staggered back as he felt the oppressive aura. His younger sister immediately stood up, brazenly exuding a severely sharp aura. She was about to counter Ma Rulong with force.

    Xiao Hongchen stretched his arm out and blocked his younger sister. A hint of a smile formed on his face. ¡°Yes, leader. I was in the wrong. But I will prove everything to you with my actions in time. I will take your ce, and that of all the seniors from previous generations who wanted to defeat Shrek Academy in trampling them under my feet.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Elder Mu, are we really not sending anyone over? They have to face three Soul Kings as their opponents tomorrow.¡± The one standing before Elder Mu was the vice-dean of the Martial Soul Department, Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Elder Mu smiled slightly and said, ¡°Is this what you wanted to ask me, or did Shaozhe ask you to pose this question?¡±

    ¡°Shaozhe meant for me to ask you,¡± Cai Mei¡¯er replied honestly.

    Elder Mu chuckled. ¡°I know it¡¯s him. He¡¯s not happy about this. I¡¯ve seen all the messages he sent to me before. Those kids are doing very well. Xuannie has very good foresight. Not a single one among them is a useless scoundrel. Aren¡¯t things going well the way they are now? Why must we emerge as champions? If we send people over to them, will these children be enticed to give it their all? Go back and tell Shaozhe that these seven children with Huo Yuhao as their leader will be Shrek¡¯s glorious pioneers in the years toe. Ask him to set his sights a little further. I sent them off to the tournament for them to gain experience. Since the heavens have decided on the oue, we don¡¯t have to try to fight it. Let the will of the heavens decide what their fate is. Who can say what will happen? Is it impossible for them to continue creating miracles? What we need to do now is believe in these children. After they return from the Star Luo Empire, you and Shaozhe, along with Lin¡¯er and Duoduo, should personally congratte them.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fighting for Shrek¡¯s glory. We must have faith in them. It takes ten years to polish a sword. We need at least ten years to let these seven children be Shrek¡¯s future. They will be the ones sitting in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the future.¡±

    ¡°Elder Mu, you actually view them in such high regard?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er was shocked. As far as she could remember, Elder Mu had never praised anyone like this before, not even his Inheriting Disciple, Yan Shaozhe.

    Elder Mu smiled faintly. ¡°That¡¯s because I understand them better than you do. You¡¯ll understand in the future. Go.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Early in the morning.

    The preparatory team assembled in the conference room after breakfast. They were all full of spirit and energy after resting up yesterday. Their energy, spirit and Qi were all at their peak. However, their faces didn¡¯t bear rxed expressions, but rather ones that were slightly grave.

    Their match today would inevitably be their toughest match in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament so far. They had to confront a strong team led by three Soul Kings without a single Soul King on their team. They didn¡¯t even have anyone above Rank 45 on their team!

    Wang Yan looked at Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong, who were all sitting in a row. His gaze swept from the first individual to the veryst person in the row.

    ¡°Dearest children, the crucial battle is about to begin. I didn¡¯t tell Xiaotao and the rest how difficult this match was going to be so that they can recuperate without worry weighing on their mind. I¡¯ll emphasise this for thest time. Even if you guys lose this tournament, you guys definitely shouldn¡¯t feel like you¡¯re a disgrace to the Academy, because all of you average out to only 14 years old. I believe that it¡¯s impossible for any other academy to have students that are superior to you guys at this age. What we need to do now is pray that luck is still on our side, that the next match will be a team battle again. I simrly have but one request for you all that you must aplish at all costs, and that is your safety. I know your hearts must definitely be bursting with energy to win this match. However, victory is nothingpared to your safety.¡±

    ¡°I hope I can bring every single one of you back in one piece, the same way I brought you guys here. Every single one of you is the most valuable treasure to the academy. Humans only have one chance at life, and we can¡¯t regenerate our limbs either. Since that¡¯s the case, I hope you guys won¡¯t fight with your lives on the line, or to the point where you be crippled in your efforts to stake everything on this match. We don¡¯t need to you to do something like that. You guys have already done your best. In any event, you don¡¯t need to feel pressured because of everything the outside world says about us. The tournament stage is nothing but a stage for you guys to disy yourselves, and nothing else. You guys are only going on a rxing journey.¡±

    Wang Yan spoke every word with the utmost sincerity. He was more emotionally charged now, paired with the worry he held towards them. He was entirely certain that other teachers apanying their teams to the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament definitely wouldn¡¯t tell their students not to be afraid of losing. Nor would they take the initiative to bring their students¡¯ fighting spirit down. Yet, Wang Yan was doing just that now.

    However, he could clearly see the raging mes burning in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    These children hade far from their apprehension toward the tournament at the start, progressing to the resolution they had shownter and ending with the pride they now had to uphold Shrek¡¯s glory. That pride had already filled their hearts with the intention to fight. How could they possibly give up on the tournament now and let the consecutive victories Shrek Academy held for many years end with them?

    Wang Yan inahled deeply and stood up before speaking in a low tone. ¡°Let¡¯s go, children. It¡¯s time we rx.¡±

    At that, he feigned a rxedugh and was the first to leave. However, when he turned around, he suddenly had a grave expression on his face. As the teacher in charge, the pressure he was shouldering was even heavier! Admittedly, Shrek Academy¡¯s long-held glory was not only a driving force for the students, but was simrly an immense pressure they had to face too. Wang Yan didn¡¯t even dare to imagine what it would be like for a representative team to appear in Shrek Academy after a loss. He didn¡¯t know how he was going to face the academy if they did lose. Even if the fault didn¡¯t lie with him, Wang Yan and these children behind him would be the ones who had disgraced the academy. The matter he was even more worried about was the serious mental burden these children would have to bear from that point onwards, affecting their development for all their lives. As a result of that, he was always advising them in the hopes that they could rx. However, the oue was not ideal, for he only saw a strong will to fight in them.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how the others felt. All he knew was that his blood was burning in his body. There was no fear or worry in him, for he only wished to fight for Shrek Academy, and would do anything he could to uphold their glory. If burning his blood could increase his strength, he would do it without giving it a second thought.

    It¡¯d been more than a year since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy. He¡¯d formed friendships he had never had in his life before, and received tender loving care from the whole academy. One could say that he had learned more in this year than he had in hisst decade. He¡¯d already fallen deeply in love with this academy and every single one of hisrades by his side.

    He would do anything he could for the academy. That was his lifelong hope, just like how he hadn¡¯t hesitated in making his decision to be a guardian. He needed to defend Shrek Academy¡¯s glory now. In his heart, this in itself was already a glory in its own right. How could Wang Yan¡¯s words dispel his fighting spirit for this glory and Shrek¡¯s glory? His heart was burning, and his blood was boiling. There was no sense of failure in his heart, only the glory apanying victory.

    The others all had the same expression in their eyes as Huo Yuhao. The match today was inevitably going to be the most difficult one, yet it was simrly the one time their cohesion was the strongest. The seven monsters were all of one heart. At this moment, they truly considered themselves to be Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    They left the Grand Imperial Star Hotel and headed toward Star Luo za. They could feel the firmness of the earth with every step they took, just like the unyielding conviction they had at this very moment.

    They had to win, win, win!

    The atmosphere in Star Luo za was still as riled up as before. Shrek Academy was going to appear again today. What surprises would they bring to the audience?

    In all of the three matches Shrek Academy had appeared in before, one could say that every match had brought different stunning surprises to the audience. Huo Yuhao was mysterious, Xu Sanshi had an impable defence, and the seemingly-disorderly team actually had gorgeous coordination. And no one could forget how He Caitou had fought with his Soul Tool Fortress. Every single battle had left asting impression on the audience.

    Even though the audience also found it very strange that Shrek Academy had deployed so many students who only had four soul rings, they didn¡¯t give it too much thought, since Shrek had always emerged victorious.

 Chapter 88.2: A Decisive Battle

    Chapter 88.2: A Decisive Battle

    Shrek Academy was once again the first team to take the stage. On the other hand, their uing opponents had easily obtained their victories so far during the round-robin tournament, and this even included the Thousand Spirits Academy that the Shrek¡¯s team had faced previously. After all, this team was one that had entered the previous quarterfinals.

    Everyone in the audience thought this match would be a powerful confrontation between the two teams due to their previous performances. Naturally, there were differences even among the strong. In the eyes of everyone present, Shrek wasn¡¯t on the same level as all of the other academies present; it was an existence akin to that of a sovereign. However, they all wished for Shrek¡¯s opponents to be a little stronger, so as to allow them to watch a more interesting fight.

    Shrek¡¯s sevenbatants were now at their peak condition as they entered the resting area. Now, all they needed to do was wait for the start of the match.

    The members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy once again arrived in the arena. There was no doubt that they were still trying to observe Shrek¡¯s overall strength.

    Mu Rulong couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows as he saw the same seven people from Shrek walk out. He was very confident in his own judgement, but was Shrek going to forfeit thispetition? If his predictions were wrong, how would they take on their powerful opponent today? Or perhaps, were his predictions all wrong?

    A light flickered through his eyes, and Ma Rulong was nearly lost confidence in himself.

    Wang Yan¡¯s current expression was evidently somewhat unsightly. It would be a lie to say that he wasn¡¯t feeling nervous right now. He couldn¡¯t fathom imagining how the audience would react if Shrek lost this match that was being watched by such arge crowd. At that time, the pressure of losing would all be forced onto the bodies of the children in front of him! Could they endure it? However, he couldn¡¯t forfeit of his own ord, as doing something like that would be even more disastrous. The always-wise Wang Yan now had his thoughts in a whirl. Even if they were to follow the strategy for the team fight that they had nned, their chances of winning wouldn¡¯t be too great. There was no need to even mention whether luck would be on their side then.

    As time passed second by second, the sun had already risen high from the east.

    The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire came to the city escorted by his ministers. He didn¡¯t sit down, but instead chose to walk directly towards the resting area to spectate the match.

    When he saw that Shrek¡¯s team still consisted of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters that hade from the preparatory team, he was slightly stunned. Astonished, he muttered to himself, ¡°Was my judgement incorrect? That can¡¯t be! Just what is Shrek trying to do? Why did they participate in this tournament with a lineup like this? I have to see whether these youngsters are really true talentster. I hope that they¡¯re truly talents who fear no trials.¡±

    As he spoke, he seemed to recall a few things, and muttered to himself, ¡°Huo Yuhao, twelve years old. Wang Dong, twelve years old. Xiao Xiao, twelve years old. None of the others are older than fifteen either. It¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re little monsters thate from Shrek! However, what about their official team? Where did they go?¡±

    It was extremely easy for him to look into a few things as the emperor. He had been greatly interested by Shrek¡¯s preparatory team, and he too wanted to see just how far these young kids could go, and what they could do.

    The referee took the stage, and used the sound amplifying soul tool to carry his voice outwards.

    ¡°This is the first match of the third round of the round-robin tournament. Both sides, take your positions. May the representative teams of Shrek Academy and Justsky Academy enter their waiting areas. Team leaders,e up to the stage to draw your lots for the tournament format.¡±

    That was right. Today, Shrek Academy had to face the Justsky Advanced Soul Academy. Justsky Academy was identical to Shrek Academy in the sense that they both came from the Heavenly Soul Empire, but unlike Shrek, which didn¡¯t belong to any empire, Justsky Academy was a famous academy from the Heavenly Soul Empire that had produced arge number of talents.

    The Empire that insisted most on maintaining traditional soul masters and rejecting soul engineers within the continent¡¯s four empires was the Heavenly Soul Empire. Because of that, Justsky Academy was actually even more insistent towards pure soul masters than Shrek Academy. They simply didn¡¯t even have a division for soul engineers; they only nurtured soul masters. Regardless of whether they would be washed away in the future, Justsky Academy was currently still a notable academy that was considered powerful throughout the continent.

    The team leader of Justsky Academy was a youth of around twenty or so, and his handsome looks wereparable to even those of Wang Dong. Naturally, Wang Dong was still young now, and he had yet to mature.

    Wang Yan had talked about this very team leader of Justsky Academy, and he had had a very high opinion of him. This person had never made an appearance since the start of the tournament, and as a result Wang Yan had only been able to obtain a bit of information about him after much hard work.

    Ye Wuqing, neen. A very talented person from Justsky Academy, and the leader of their representative team. His martial soul was the Golden Leaf, and he was a Rank 58 assault-type soul master who was extremely powerful. He had already represented Justsky Academy as a member of the official team in thest tournament, and now he was the cornerstone of his current team.

    If it just so happened that he had turned twenty this year, there would¡¯ve been a very high chance of him breaking through to Rank 60, bing Justsky Academy¡¯s first-ever Soul Emperor to participate in the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.

    If that had been the case, Justsky Academy would¡¯ve formally joined the ranks of the top-ranked academies.

    Ye Wuqing¡¯s physique wasn¡¯t too different from Bei Bei¡¯s. Unlike Bei Bei¡¯s schrliness, however, he had a much colder disposition. A cold light flickered through his eyes as he looked at Bei Bei.

    The aura Bei Bei emanated wasparatively weaker than Ye Wuqing¡¯s. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of cultivation, but due to their ages. After all, the neen-year-old Ye Wuqing had already matured, while the fifteen-year-old Bei Bei was still a youth.

    Bei Bei had a smile on his face as their gazes met, but his eyes were extremely resolute and focused; Ye Wuqing¡¯s gaze was like a sharp de that wanted to find a hole in his body and pierce through it.

    The referee said in a low voice, ¡°Lot-drawing, start. May both parties act as a witness to this.¡±

    Wang Yan was already nervously clutching his armrests as he sat in the waiting area. He inwardly prayed for a team fight. One could say that all of his ns had been based around a team fight. Furthermore, that was the only way they had a chance of winning! Conversely, they wouldn¡¯t have a single chance if they didn¡¯t get a team fight!

    While everyone waited for the results of the lot-drawing with bated breaths, the oue of the lot-drawing finally came out at this moment.

    Even Bei Bei, who was burning with fighting intent, instantly had a change in expression after seeing the oue of the lot-drawing. This time, luck hadn¡¯t sided with Shrek; this result was what they didn¡¯t wish to see the most.

    The referee said in a loud voice, ¡°The match between Shrek Academy and Justsky Academy will be held as a 2-2-3 match. In other words, we will have two 2v2 matches before a 3v3 match. Two out of three victories is sufficient to win the whole match, so if a side wins both of the 2v2 matches, the 3v3 match will be cancelled. May both team leaders step down and make their preparations.¡±

    Wang Yan felt his head buzz for a moment before going nk the instant he saw that they had drawn the 2-2-3 lot.

    How would they fight this 2-2-3 match? They practically had no chance at all when facing Justsky Academy, which had three Soul Kings! Over, everything was over. Wang Yan, who had originally had some semnce of wishful thinking, was now leftpletely disappointed. It seemed as though all of the energy from his body was sucked dry as he sat in his chair.

    Bei Bei¡¯s footsteps were clearly stiffer as he walked back. The expressions of the other six of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters became gloomy. There was already no use for the preparations they had made before the match. The reason why Wang Yan hadn¡¯t made any preparations for the other two tournament formats was because they simply had no chance of winning in them at all.

    ¡°Children, listen to me.¡± Wang Yan gritted his teeth and stood up, a sincere look in his eyes as he looked at the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters in front of him. ¡°Let¡¯s admit defeat. At the very least, this can be considered a strategic defeat. Let¡¯s make it so that our opponents won¡¯t be able to fully understand our condition.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Bei Bei let out a resolute, low shout, ¡°If we run without a fight, we can¡¯t be considered students of Shrek Academy. Teacher Wang, no matter what, let us give it a try. Even if we lose, we have to lose contentedly. We¡¯ll lose without any regrets. Teacher Wang, you¡¯ve already done a lot for us. Now, it¡¯ll all rely on us. From now on, can you let me lead the team?¡±

    At this moment, Bei Bei¡¯s schrly aura suddenly turned into a powerful one; it seemed as if he could control everyone seated in the waiting area. His current gaze was clearly much more concentrated than usual, and any traces ofziness hadpletely vanished. It was as though a sleeping lion that was filled with unrivalled tyranny had been awakened.

    Wang Yan nodded practically instantly, because he knew that persuasion wouldn¡¯t work at all. He suddenly felt that Bei Bei¡¯s eyes were very terrifying, as if they could swallow a man whole. He could even see the fighting intent that was burning through his eyes.

    ¡°Junior brothers, junior sisters, let me ask you a single question: are you willing to just lose and throw away Shrek¡¯s glory?¡± Bei Bei asked in a low voice, his fists clenched tightly.

    Huo Yuhao had never seen his senior brother act so seriously. The six of them practically simultaneously replied, ¡°We¡¯re not willing.¡± At this moment, a fiery ze seemed to have ignited from their heads. This was clearly the strength of conviction that came from a unity of wills!

    ¡°Good!¡± Bei Bei said solemnly, ¡°Now, I¡¯ll arrange the order in which we¡¯ll go out. I¡¯ll leave you guys to n your own strategies. I believe that we have the strength to fight against our opponents and win in the end. We need to burn, burn our soul power, burn our own bodies, and even burn our own lives for the sake of Shrek¡¯s glory. Today, we need to fight, to fight for what we can call our future. The only way we can stand straight and call ourselves Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters is by winning today. We won¡¯t lose any face for the title ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯!¡±

 Chapter 88.3: A Decisive Battle

    Chapter 88.3: A Decisive Battle

    Bei Bei spoke in a very deep yet powerful voice. His gaze fell on his close brother, Xu Sanshi first.

    ¡°Sanshi, you¡¯re up first.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded. At this moment, he awakened the domineering attitude he normally kept hidden, setting it aze as his will to fight. He squinted his eyes slightly, a cold glint shining in them. ¡°I will definitely win the first match. Either they¡¯ll beat me till I can¡¯t get up anymore, or I¡¯ll emerge victorious. Who¡¯s partenering up with me? You?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°No. If we both appear in the first round, the following matches will be very difficult for the team even if we win. I need to stay behind and oversee the team.¡±

    His gaze shifted to Jiang Nannan standing beside him. There was a deep and sincere look in his eyes as he said, ¡°Nannan, I don¡¯t know what happened between you and Sanshi in the past for you to look down on him so. None of that is important to our present formation. I hope you can put down all personal grudges for the moment. You must fight with him. The best oue will only ur when you both work together. After this match ends, I¡¯ll beat him up for you if you want. But now, I¡¯m asking and ordering you as your captain to fight the first match with Sanshi. Will you do it or not?¡±

    Jian Nannan was stunned. She had really never expected Bei Bei to pair her with Xu Sanshi. From her point of view, Huo Yuhao should be the one fighting with Xu Sanshi, not her. But once her eyes met Bei Bei¡¯s honest gaze, and feeling herrades¡¯ gazes on her, Jiang Nannan only gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded forcefully at her. ¡°Thank you. Now go. Let them see the power of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Nannan nodded lightly. Without even ncing in Xu Sanshi¡¯s general direction, she walked out of the waiting area in a sh and headed up to the stage first.

    Xu Sanshi quickly chased after her. When he walked passed Bei Bei, he stuck his thumb up. ¡°Bei Bei, I love you.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Bei Bei huffed unhappily. ¡°If you can¡¯t win even like this, don¡¯te back!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll castrate myself if I don¡¯t win.¡± Xu Sanshi strode up on stage after he threw those words out.

    The five other members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters realised that after he said that, his whole demeanor suddenly underwent an earth-shattering change.

    Wang Yan¡¯s mood recovered a little at this moment under the influence of the intense will to fighting from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. He temporarily let go of his worries and spoke to Bei Bei in a low voice. ¡°Bei Bei, why did you pair Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi together? With Xu Sanshi¡¯s defensive abilities, wouldn¡¯t it be be better to pair him with He Caitou¡¯s explosive firepower?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°Teacher Wang, you don¡¯t understand Sanshi. What he needs isn¡¯t firepower, but rather something to arouse all of his power. There¡¯s no one more suited for this than Jiang Nannan. Jiang Nannan will be the detonator to set him on fire. Just wait and see. Sanshi¡¯s strength is nothingpared to what it was before. He will reveal his true cultivation to us. I believe he can win this match!¡±

    Wang Yan nodded lightly. Since he¡¯d handed over the right tomand the team to Bei Bei, he could now only give him his unconditional trust. Moreover, they were in a desperate situation where anything goes, after all. There was one point Bei Bei made that he highly approved of. They were two remarkable people living in the same period. Did theyck students with four soul rings in the outer courtyard? No! Why were they blossoming with the most resplendent light? There must definitely be a reason behind that.

    For the first time, Wang Yan felt as though he had a little confidence in the team again.

    After Jiang Nannan went on stage, she stood to the side without consulting anyone. After Xu Sanshi followed her up on stage, he did something out of Jiang Nannan¡¯s expectations. He didn¡¯t greet her, nor did he say anything. He only stood in front of her in a very natural manner.

    Jiang Nannan looked at Xu Sanshi¡¯s broad shoulders, and a dull look suddenly appeared in her eyes. In this moment, he seemed to have changed into a person filled with masculinity. There was an intense confidence oozing out of him that she couldn¡¯t make sense of. Without releasing the slightest bit of his soul power, Xu Sanshi made one feel as though he was a massive shining entity. He looked like a volcano that could erupt at any time.

    What¡¯s wrong with him? Is it because of me? To Jiang Nannan¡¯s surprise, such a thought actually formed in her mind. She quickly shook her head forcefully to expel such distracting thoughts from her mind. She looked at Xu Sanshi standing in front of her again and felt that he wasn¡¯t as hateful as he usually was in this kind of situation, to say the least. If it wasn¡¯t because of that time¡­ maybe she would really be attracted to him?

    Just as Jiang Nannan let her imagination run wild, Justsky Academy¡¯s first 2v2 team took the field.

    Their pair was alsoprised of a boy and a girl, with figures that were even a little simr to Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. The girl was very beautiful. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side in this round, as she had encountered the one known as the number one beauty in the outer courtyard of Shrek Academy ¨C Jiang Nannan. Under Jiang Nannan¡¯s shining beauty, she seemed to be a little drab and dull. Even the boy standing next to her couldn¡¯t control his gaze as it fell on Jiang Nannan first.

    ¡°Xu Sanshi. She¡¯s Jiang Nannan,¡± Xu Sanshi said in a low voice.

    A 2v2 battle couldn¡¯tpare to a team battle. Teamwork was most important in team battles, and there wasn¡¯t a chance to distinguish the members apart from one another. Wang Yan had given them a rundown on every one of their opponents, but they¡¯d never seen their opponents before, nor had they paid attention to them, so it wasn¡¯t easy to tell who was who. Thus, they introduced themselves first so that they could see who their opponents were as thus be able to act on Wang Yan¡¯s information.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yang Yifan,¡± said the youth from Justsky Academy.

    The girl nced at Jiang Nannan with a slightly envious look in her eyes that was directed at the other party¡¯s for looking immature, yet being remarkably beautiful. ¡°Yu Mengdi.¡±

    It¡¯s these two. Xu Sanshi suddenly knew what was going on. Sure enough, one of them was a Soul King. It seemed like their opponents also didn¡¯t n on staking all their strength on one throw.

    Seeing as both parties had introduced themselves, the referee called out in a low voice, ¡°Both parties fall back and get ready.¡±

    Both parties simultaneously backed away from one another. It was a must to create distance between both parties regardless of whether it was a team battle, singles or doubles. This was so that all types of soul masters could freely disy their abilities.

    Xu Sanshi spoke to Jiang Nannan in a low voice as he backed away. ¡°Nannan, I¡¯ll create an opening for you. We¡¯ll win as long as we get rid of Yu Mengdi. You don¡¯t need to bother with the other one. I won¡¯t give him a chance to attack you. You¡¯ll have to wait, then go all-out in your attack when I tell you to. Before that, just focus on what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Jiang Nannan muttered in agreement. Since she had to cooperate with him in this match, she couldn¡¯t re up at this time regardless of how much she hated Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi was ecstatic. He suddenly felt his heart being tickled when Jiang Nannan said this. It was rare for her to be so gentle and agreeable, so maybe he felt that way because she¡¯d scolded him too much on a daily basis.

    When both parties reached the edge of the tournament stage, the referee shouted out, ¡°Start!¡±

    Without a doubt, releasing martial souls was key in a fight. Both parties finished this process in the blink of an eye. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t appear to bezy this time around. He held the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hands as he charged up in big strides. Jiang Nannan shed and bounced lightly behind him.

    Since Xu Sanshi was rtively robustpared to those in his age group, Jiang Nannan was practically invisible from the front as she hid behind him.

    On the other end, Yang Yifan and Yu Mengdi released their martial souls too. Yang Yifan¡¯s martial soul was a long dagger. In reality, he was an agility-type soul master despite his tall physique. His body shed as he moved around and over to the other side.

    Yu Mengdi¡¯s martial soul wasn¡¯t that simple. Once she released her martial soul, much of the feeling of being stunned was somewhat simr to when Wang Dong released his Radiant Butterfly Goddess for the first time.

    A pair of spotlessly white wings shining with strong golden rays of light unfurled from her back. Yu Mengdi was suddenly covered in a softyer of gold. The saintly aura she emitted made one feel as though they wanted to worship her.

    Her hand shed with golden light, and a long golden sword appeared within it. This wasn¡¯t a soul tool, but rather a weapon condensedpletely out of soul power. Five soul rings formed of the best proportions, two yellow, two purple, and one ck, simultaneously appeared on her.

    A ck soul ring meant that a ten-thousand-year soul ring had appeared. This was the first time Shrek Academy had encountered an opponent who had a ten-thousand-year soul ring in this tournament.

    Justsky Academy valued this first match a lot. Among the three Soul Kings, Yu Mengdi¡¯s cultivation was ranked second, and she was only second to Ye Wuqing. Her martial soul was the Angel. Even if it was only a two-winged Angel now, it was already a considerably powerful martial soul. If her cultivation could reach the rank of a soul master with seven soul rings, then she would have four wings. If she was able to be a Titled Douluo with nine soul rings, she would have six wings. Every additional pair of wings was equivalent to an evolution of her martial soul. This was closest to the strongest body soul in existence.

    As a result of that, Yu Mengdi wasn¡¯t weaker than Ye Wuqing in the slightest in terms of her potential to grow. They were both determined to win this match.

    The audience couldn¡¯t see the problem Shrek Academy had. However, a few individuals from other academies who had discerning eyes could see many problems with Shrek Academy¡¯s performance from their previous matches. Justsky Academy was among those who had seen through them.

    As a result of that, he was filled with excitement rather than fear as he faced Shrek Academy today.

 Chapter 89.1: The Xuanwuâ€™s Awakening (Preview)

    Chapter 89.1: The Xuanwu¡¯s Awakening (Preview)

    Justsky Academy realized that this wasn¡¯t Shrek Academy¡¯s strongest pair. Even so, they still represented Shrek Academy. As long as they could defeat them, that would make them the first team to defeat Shrek Academy in thest few thousand years! Such a victory and its glory would be invaluable to Justsky Academy¡¯s.

    This was why Justsky Academy had worked hard to prepare for this match. The circumstances motivating them and making them determined to win this match.

    When Yu Mengdi saw that Shrek had only deployed two Soul Ancestors with four soul rings, she calmed down. From her point of view, they already had this match in the bag. It was a match with Soul Kings against Soul Ancestors, additionally. she had her powerful Angel soul. She had absolute confidence in her abilities!

    Yu Mengdi pped her wings, suddenly increasing her speed. Her movement reminiscent of a golden meteor as she shot straight at Xu Sanshi. Simultaneously, Yang Yifan, who clearly seemed to be well coordinated with her, also moved. His body shed as he pounced towards Xu Sanshi from another direction. They acted as though they didn¡¯t see Jiang Nannan at all, making it clear that their target was Xu Sanshi. From the looks of it, they wanted to end this match with just one attack.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t panic even as the two powerhouses simultaneously attacked him. He slowed down and lowered his voice, ¡°Nannan, you don¡¯t have to interfere. Just wait for my signal.¡± The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hands as he spoke.

    Yu Mengdi and Yang Yifan were extremely well-coordinated with each other. Yang Yifan¡¯s dagger seemed to approach Xu Sanshi from the side at nearly the same time that Yu Mengdinded right in front of him. The two of them instantly and simultaneously released their soul skills.

    Yu Mengdi¡¯s first soul ring was already glowing as she released her golden swords. Her second soul ring subsequently lit up as well, and her pair of golden swords immediately formed a perfect cross in the sky. She spread her wings out, releasing golden rays of light into the cross.

    A beautiful and melodious singing voice rang out from the cross. Bright rays of golden light apanied by a holy aura pressed in Xu Sanshi¡¯s direction.

    Yu Mengdi revealed how superior her Angel was with just this attack. Her first soul skill was a peculiar weapon-type skill called Divine Dualsword. After equipping this soul skill, any other soul skill she used would be released through her first soul skill.

    Ordinary soul masters had to be very skilled in order to release stacked soul skills. The more soul skills that were stacked atop one another, the more difficult it was.. Not only did the user have to skillfully control the soul skills but the soul skills themselves also needed to coordinate with each other. This was a high-end technique even for Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard disciples. Yu Mengdi¡¯s martial soul had the advantage of naturally being able to release at least one more soul skill along with her first soul skill.

    Sacredglory Crucifix. That was the attack she was using now. It was an attack that possessed all the effects of a holy attack. It was not only a powerful attack but was also one that burned with a persistent holy me. Her Angel really was the best martial soul to restrain evil soul masters.

    Yang Yifan¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t weak either. As an agility-type soul master, his strength shone through in his powerful attacks. His second soul ring lit up as a two-meter long sword-shaped glow extended out from his dagger, piercing toward Xu Sanshi¡¯s ribs like lightning.

    Everyone had always paid attention to Shrek Academy during the tournament. They¡¯d all watched Xu Sanshi¡¯s previous matches, and his strong defensive abilities paired with his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle had left asting impression on every single one of them.

    This was why the pair hadmenced their attack on a strong note in an attempt to destroy Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense in the shortest time possible. Naturally, Jiang Nannan was of little importance to them, as she¡¯d shown herself to be a mediocre contestant throughout the tournament.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t seem to be panicking at all when faced with their attacks. Instead, he abruptly stopped in his tracks, quickly dispelling their attacks with a very simple move.

    His fourth soul ring glowed, signaling that he had activated his Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    In the blink of an eye, Xu Sanshi switched positions with Yang Yifan. Yang Yifan was originally stabbing his dagger at Xu Sanshi but was now stabbing Yu Mengdi. On the other hand, Yu Mengdi¡¯s Sacredglory Crucifix was falling straight on Yang Yifan.

    It was in situations like this that the Mysterious Underworld Discement could showcase its true power. The ability to change the course of any battle at the most crucial moment.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the first time Xu Sanshi had used this move in this tournament. How could his opponents not prepare for it when he had used this powerful soul skill numerous times?

    Yu Mengdi had a disdainful look on her face when Xu Sanshi used the Mysterious Underworld Discement. She raised the holy sword in her hands and the Sacredglory Crucifix flew past Yang Yifan¡¯s head, heading straight for Jiang Nannan, who was now exposed after Xu Sanshi¡¯s dodge. Yang Yifan didn¡¯t withdraw his dagger either, but rather, seized the opportunity to flop on his back to avoid Yu Mengdi¡¯s attack. The reflection from the dagger carved a crescent moon across the sky as he shed towards Jiang Nannan, who was now behind him. The teamwork between them both could be said to be impable in every aspect, whether it was adapting to changes or their control over their techniques.

    The joint attacks initially directed at Xu Sanshi were redirected to Jiang Nannan.

    The only thing they found a little strange was that Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t move an inch from where she was standing when faced with their joint attack. But it definitely wasn¡¯t because she was shocked to the bone. Her gaze fell on Xu Sanshi at this moment, a mocking expression on her exquisitely stunning face. She seemed to be asking Xu Sanshi whether this was his way of protecting her.

    Xu Sanshi had never expected their opponents to be so perfectly in sync with one another. Even though he had guessed that they would take countermeasures against the Mysterious Underworld Discement, he assumed that they would at least be flustered since they were already attacking him. However, he¡¯d had the tables turned on him as the pair managed to beat him at his own game.

    The mockery in Jiang Nannan¡¯s eyes seemed to light a fire within Xu Sanshi and his eyes immediately reddened.

    ¡°Scram!¡± A crazy roar burst forth from Xu Sanshi as he smashed the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle into the ground. A powerful ck halo instantly extended from the shield, forming a dome that enveloped spanning more than ten square meters. As this urred, a rumbling sound could be heard.

    A powerful tremor sent Jiang Nannan¡¯s body flying out of the dome and at the same time enveloped her opponents within the dome. Yang Yifan¡¯s dagger failed to strike its target, but Yu Mengdi¡¯s Sacredglory Crucifix was still emitting an intense golden light. It seemed as though it was about to break through the enclosure.

    But it was also at this very moment that the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in Xu Sanshi¡¯s hands lit up the whole stage. A strange light started warping the surface of the shield. The feeling it exuded was one that resembled the movement of a human¡¯s muscles. After that, the whole surface of the shield changed.

    A dark green snake with red eyes appeared on the thick, intricately-designed shield. Following its appearance, the Mysterious Underworld Quake that was originally ck suddenly turned dark green. An intense st that sounded just like a huge explosion had urred rang out in the enclosed area. The Sacredglory Crucifix that was originally going to break through the enclosure was swallowed up in the blink of an eye. And that wasn¡¯t the end. Yang Yifan bore the brunt of the attack; his whole body shook violently till he fell on the ground.

    Yu Mengdi was a Soul King and was much stronger than Yang Yifan. Even so, she lost her bnce and fell from the sky. She crossed the Divine Dualswords in front of her chest and released her third soul skill. The angel wings on her back curled around her body protectively, turning into an oval light cocoon. Only then was she able to block that dark green light.

    Offstage, Wang Yan¡¯s mouth dropped open as he watched this scene. ¡°T-this is¡­¡± he squeaked out.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Although he doesn¡¯t have an Ultimate martial soul, his martial soul far transcends regr martial souls. If there is one person amongst the seven of us who canpare to junior brother¡¯s Ultimate martial soul, it¡¯d be Sanshi. However, his martial soul is sealed and he can¡¯t break the seal on his own without a strong stimulus. Luckily, he seems to have seeded this time. But this means that definitely can¡¯t participate in the next match. After all, he won¡¯t be able to understand the true meaning of his martial soul before he gains seven soul rings.¡±

    Surprised, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Senior brother, just what is Big Brother Xu¡¯s martial soul?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes shone as he said, ¡°The bloodline of a Godbeast, Xuanwu. His Godbeast bloodline is even purer than Senior Sister Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix. Normally his martial soul is sealed and only ever bursts out when he¡¯s in an extremely dangerous situation. This is when he is at his strongest and all of his soul skills will bear the Godbeast stigma.¡±

    As opposed to the joy on the Shrek Academy¡¯s end, the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were staring nkly at the stage. Xiao Hongchen, who had been arrogant up till this point, also widened his eyes in shock. ¡°No, this is impossible. How can he possibly have a Godbeast bloodline that¡¯sparable to mine? Aren¡¯t Godbeast bloodlines supposed to be so diluted and rare that they¡¯re about to disappear? Even in my case, it¡¯d be impossible for me to have the aura of a Godbeast if not for my martial soul mutation. And this bloodline¡­ is this Xuanwu?¡±

    Having broken through the seal on his martial soul, Xu Sanshi flew across the stage and stood in front on Jiang Nannan again as he released his Xuanwu in front of him.

    After breaking the seal on his martial soul, Xu Sanshi¡¯s body had gone through some slight changes. He was taller and bigger than before; his physique simr to that of an adult¡¯s. On top of that, there seemed to be a faint jade lighting from his short hair. His muscles had swelled up, giving him the aura of an immovable mountain as he stood there.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯d protect you.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s deep voice had dropped a few octaves and the somewhat frivolous feeling his voice used to have was now reced with a maic charm.

    Expecting to have to defend herself, Jiang Nannan¡¯s third soul ring was originally shining but even she was shocked by such a sudden change. She never knew this shameless scoundrel was actually hiding such strength in him. Even though he was still a Soul Ancestor, the aura surrounding the present Xu Sanshi was far beyond his rank.

    The effect of the Mysterious Underworld Quake had justpletely disappeared. Yang Yifan, who had actually copsed to the ground, waspletely dazed. At this moment, he couldn¡¯t crawl up no matter how hard he tried.

 Chapter 89.2: The Xuanwuâ€™s Awakening

    Chapter 89.2: The Xuanwu¡¯s Awakening

    Xu Sanshi let out a roar towards the sky, causing the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle in his hands to shine with a jade light. The light resonated with his body, erging his entire body to the point where his jacket began to rupture due to his sturdy muscles. An intense dark green light burst forth, causing the air within the tournament stage to turn viscous. Following that, his third soul ring lit up. The current him was no longer like a soul master, but a savage soul beast.

    His third soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Force, caused the strength of his body to instantly double after being amplified by his Xuanwu bloodline. Furthermore, the Mysterious Underworld Force he activated within his current state didn¡¯t just strengthen his own body; it even affected a veryrge area around him. The wave-like viscosity that made it seem as though one was trapped within a wave was precisely because his Mysterious Underworld Force had instantly gathered arge amount of the water elements around him.

    Yang Yifan momentarily lost all of hisbat strength, but Yu Mengdi didn¡¯t. She immediately felt that something was wrong after the effects of the Mysterious Underworld Quake dissipated. This wasn¡¯t the strength that a four-ringed Soul Ancestor should possess, and this was especially evident after she witnessed the enormous changes that had urred to Xu Sanshi¡¯s body. Although she didn¡¯t fully understand what was going on, she made a prompt decision and immediately chose the correct answer to the situation¨Cand that was to attack!

    She needed to give Yang Yifan a moment to recover. The original self-confidence she possessed had already been greatly reduced, and she couldn¡¯t guarantee the oue of this battle if her opponents were working together.

    With her Divine Dualswords held above her head, her third soul ring lit up. A golden re of light quickly rose above her body, and the image of a six-winged Angel faintly appeared behind her. Her body was instantly dyed gold following the appearance of this Angel¨Cthis was her third soul skill, Angelic Protection. This would double the attack power of her next attack.

    Right after that, her fifth soul ring lit up. The ck soul ring that represented the strength of ten thousand years instantly lit up, causing the distant audience to involuntarily hold in their breaths and widen their eyes. This was the first appearance of a ten thousand year soul skill during this tournament, and everybody wanted to see just how strong it would be.

    ¡°Angelic¡­ Godsealing sh!¡± A charming voice rang out from Yu Mengdi¡¯s voice. This wasn¡¯t just a simple calling out of one¡¯s own skill. Every single one of the words she called out contained different musical notes, and her Divine Dualswords emitted a clear buzzing with each note. When she yelled out the word ¡®sh¡¯, the Divine Dualswords merged into one and formed a sharp sword light ten meters long and three meters wide that shed towards Xu Sanshi.

    The referee on the stage immediately charged over quickly the moment he saw this attack. He absolutely did not think that Xu Sanshi would be able to take this blow.

    Yu Mengdi¡¯s attack could be said to be a fusion of her first, third, and fifth soul skills. Combined with the strength of her Angel soul, the might of this attack of hers wasparable to that of a Soul Emperor¡¯s! An attack like this could only be released by the very strongest of Soul Kings, even in an academy like Shrek Academy.

    The pressure caused by Xu Sanshi¡¯s awakened Xuanwu made Yu Mengdi unhesitantly use her full power. No matter what, Justsky Academy wouldn¡¯t just give up this extremely rare chance to beat Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Nannan, I¡¯ll give you three seconds. Is that enough?¡± Wielding the Mysterious Underworld Shield that had already evolved into the Xuanwu Shield, Xu Sanshi revealed no fear at all as he faced the enormous pressure in front of him.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Jiang Nannan said in a low voice.

    As he spoke, Xu Sanshi lifted his shield. After that, everybody could see his first three soul rings light up. More astonishingly, these three soul rings instantly merged together and formed a ck soul ring that emitted a brilliant light.

    The dark green snake on the Xuanwu Shield seemed to awaken. It raised its tongue slightly, and a red light began to blossom from its eyes as an enormous image of a turtle-snake rose behind Xu Sanshi¡¯s back.

    This was the fusion of a godbeast bloodline and multiple soul rings.

    The three soul skills that Xu Sanshi was currently using were respectively, the Mysterious Underworld Quake, Mysterious Underworld Shield, and Mysterious Underworld Force.

    At this moment, his three soul skills fused into one, releasing the awesome might of a ten thousand year soul skill. However, if one were close enough to see Xu Sanshi, who was currently surrounded by jade-green light, they would discover that his face had turned iparably white the instant his three soul skills had fused together.

    The ck light wreathing the Xuanwu Shield instantly erged to the point where it had a diameter of three meters. The enormous shield nted forwards, blocking the might of the Angelic Godsealing sh.

    The instant the two ten thousand year soul skills collided, an ear piercing groan spread throughout the entire tournament stage. The outer protective barrier emitted a piercing bright light, causing the distant spectators to be momentarily unable to see what was going on on the stage.

    Yu Mengdi would never have thought that she would encounter a situation like this. The instant her Angelic Godsealing shnded on the Xuanwu Shield, she felt as if her attack had been swallowed by a vast sea. After that, a violent boom rang out. Furthermore, her soul power had been greatly weakened, while her third soul skill instantly vanished.

    A low roar suddenly spread throughout the entire arena at this moment. This roar that resembled the awakening of a godbeast covered an entire half of the tournament stage, and everyone¨Cincluding the referee, who was a seven-ringed Soul Sage¨Cfelt their minds go nk from that terrifying roar. Their bodies seemed to have been swallowed by the most viscous swamp, rendering them unable to move.

    ¡°Nannan, now.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s somewhat hoarse voice rang out by Jiang Nannan¡¯s ear.

    At this moment, Jiang Nannan¡¯s body vanished. Covered by the intense light generated by the collision between the Xuanwu Shield and the Angelic Godsealing sh, nobody was able to see how she vanished, nor how she appeared behind Yu Mengdi.

    Jiang Nannan had appeared right behind Yu Mengdi. She gently leapt up, thennded a kick on Yu Mengdi¡¯s lower back.

    Xu Sanshi had fused three of his soul skills into a ten thousand year one¨Cthe Xuanwu Roar. At this moment, Yu Mengdi was still paralysed as a result of that souls skill, causing her to be unable to resist Jiang Nannan. Xu Sanshi¡¯s estimation of her strength was very urate. Three seconds, she couldn¡¯t do anything for three seconds. Even the good-hearted referee was dyed for a full second by his Xuanwu Roar before he was able to return to his senses.

    After being kicked in the back by Jiang Nannan, Yu Mengdi¡¯s body was immediately thrown forward in the shape of a crescent. In battle, Jiang Nannan wasn¡¯t as kind as she looked on the outside. With her right hand pulling on Yu Mengdi¡¯s hair, Jiang Nannan locked her legs onto her neck. After that, she flipped around in midair, causing Yu Mengdi¡¯s body to fly out weightlessly and fiercely collide with the distant protective barrier before sliding to the ground and off the tournament stage. This entire process took only three seconds, and Yu Mengdi felt her entire body ache when she came to her senses. However, she was now below the stage. Furthermore, some of her important veins had been crushed, and the intense bursts of dizziness and nausea resulting from that caused her to remain on the ground for a long while before she was able to recover.

    There was no need to even talk about Yang Yifan. Without even needing Jiang Nannan to make a move against him, Xu Sanshi had already walked up to him and kicked him straight off the tournament stage like a bup sack. Even Yu Mengdi had been dazed for three seconds; after he was mmed into the ground by the Mysterious Underworld Quake, he didn¡¯t get back up. That was fairly tragic.

    In reality, even if Xu Sanshi were able to unseal the Strength of the Xuanwu, he wouldn¡¯t be a match for Yu Mengdi in a one-on-one fight. After all, hecked means of attacking. Furthermore, his soul power and potential would be drained at an astonishing rate after releasing the Strength of the Xuanwu. As an agility-type soul master however, Jiang Nannan was able to coordinate perfectly with him. Xu Sanshi¡¯s iparably powerful defensive abilities perfectlyplemented her speed and closebat abilities.

    In a situation where anyone with a discerning eye was able to tell that they weren¡¯t in a favourable position, they were actually able to pull off an unexpected first victory for Shrek Academy.

    ¡°We¡¯ve won.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s body trembled slightly, and the dark green light on his body faded away. At this moment, Jiang Nannan finally discovered that his face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and his body was tottering. Blood was even seeping from his mouth and nose.

    Although he had released the Strength of the Xuanwu, how could Yu Mengdi¡¯s Angelic Godsealing sh that wasparable to an attack released by a Soul Emperor be so easily blocked? After forcefully blocking that attack, Xu Sanshi had suffered heavy injuries. His body was swaying from side to side, and he was about to copse on the ground.

    Jiang Nannan subconsciously took a few steps forward and supported him by the arm.

    ¡°You¡­ how are you?¡± Jiang Nannan whispered.

    Xu Sanshi looked her in the face. Although he had an ugly expression on his face, his eyes were still filled with happiness, ¡°I¡¯m feeling very good. I¡¯ll always be happy fighting with you. If anyone wants to hurt you, they¡¯ll have to step over my dead body. Nannan, do you know? If it weren¡¯t for you, I would never have been able to break through the seal on my martial soul and release its true power.¡±

    At this point, his chest started to undte violently. After letting out another muffled groan and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body fell straight towards Jiang Nannan.

    Startled, Jiang Nannan hurriedly helped him up. Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t much taller than her, and so she could only put his arm over her shoulder and walk back to the waiting area.

    Below the stage, Shrek Academy was already in great jubtion. They had won their first match. This meant that they had taken a sturdy step forward through an impossible pass. Only Bei Bei¡¯s mouth twitched for a moment as he whispered, ¡°This cheap person really won¡¯t give up on a single chance!¡±

    A certain someone who was cing his entire weight on a soft and fragrant-smelling person felt his nose itch. He felt his eyebrows move slightly, and he resisted a sneeze.

    ¡°The first round of the 2-2-3 match goes to Shrek Academy.¡± When the referee announced the results of thepetition, his voice contained a few traces of astonishment.

 Chapter 89.3: The Xuanwuâ€™s Awakening

    Chapter 89.3: The Xuanwu¡¯s Awakening

    Right! Disregarding him, even the many high-ranking soul masters, soul engineers, and teachers present had never seen someone¡¯s martial soul in battle before! Not mention such arge increase in that person¡¯s power following said evolution. Furthermore, Xu Sanshi had actually ovee the difference between ranks! It had be realized that, even though Yi Mengdi was only Rank 53, her Angelic martial soul was strong enough to allow her to fight against peak-rank Soul Kings! Yet, she¡¯d still lost Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Even though the former appeared to have suffered heavy injuries though, if this had been a true battle to the death, the oue was questionable. However, in the end, a Soul Ancestor had actually managed to beat a Soul King in battle! This hadn¡¯t been a team fight either, but a 2v2 fight.

    Everyone at Justsky Academy, from Ye Wuqing to the ordinary students, had gloomy expressions. They¡¯d originally been filled with hope that they¡¯d be able to beat Shrek Academy, but this loss had been akin to a bucket of ice water.

    Within Shrek Academy¡¯s waiting area.

    ¡°Good. Now then, don¡¯t get too excited everyone. We¡¯ve still got more predicaments to ovee.¡± Bei Bei pped, drawing the everyone¡¯s attention to him.

    ¡°Even though we¡¯ve won the first match, Sanshi definitely won¡¯t be able to make it to our next match. As he¡¯s injured his vitality, I¡¯m not sure how long he¡¯ll take to recover. Previously, he told that if anything caused him to forcefully break his seal, he¡¯d temporarily be stronger, but that he¡¯d heavily injure his body and drain his potential in doing so. Nannan, is it possible for you take him back to recover? This ce isn¡¯t suitable.¡±

    If this was any other time, Jiang Nannan definitely would¡¯ve outright rejected Bei Bei without hesitation. However, when she thought of thest few words Xu Sanshi had uttered to her, she unexpectedly nodded, put his arm over her should, and left.

    What she didn¡¯t see, however, was the ¡®unconscious¡¯ Xu Sanshi give Bei Bei a slight thumbs up that only he was able to notice.

    The corner of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth rose slightly, and heughed while inwardly thinking, You¡¯ve earned this with your own hard work.

    ¡°Will the participants of the second round please take the stage.¡± The referee¡¯s words drew the attention of Shrek¡¯s team back to thepetition, while the audience immediately tensed up again. That¡¯s right, there were still two matches left! Furthermore, their opponents still had two Soul Kings on their team, one of whom was their most powerful member and team leader.

    Everyone, including Wang Yan, turned to look at Bei Bei. Shrek¡¯s first lineup had already proven Bei Bei¡¯s worth in their eyes.

    Bei Bei already seemed to have a n in mind as he whispered, ¡°Since we won the first match, we¡¯ve gained the initiative. What we¡¯re hoping for the most is that they¡¯ll impulsively send out both of their Soul Kings, or that they at least send their team leader out. Caitou, Xiao Xiao, you two are up first. You don¡¯t need to feel any pressure; just do your best to keep yourselves safe. I had originally nned for Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to go out, but since Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao have a fusion skill, it will be key in the round that we¡¯ll win.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes met Xiao Xiao¡¯s, and they both immediately understood what Bei Bei¡¯s intentions were; he was clearly saying that he already nned to give up on their second round. The only reason they were being sent out was in order to waste their opponent¡¯s Soul Kings. Bei Bei¡¯s n was undoubtedly spot on; the more people Shrek sent out alongside Huo Yuhao and his Spiritual Detection, the greater their chances of winning would be.

    Despite this, the fighting intent in He Caitou and Xiao Xiao¡¯s hearts was no less than that of theirpanions! The instant that their gazes met, they were both able to see the intense unwillingness in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Bei Bei grabbed He Caitou¡¯s shoulder, then ced his hand on Xiao Xiao¡¯s. He solemnly said, ¡°I know that you two feel unresigned, but there always have to be a few people who do certain things for the sake of victory. You guys have to remember that this isn¡¯t thest round of this tournament; Sanshi can¡¯t join us for the next match anymore, so you guys had beste back healthy no matter what; we still need you for the matches after this. Understood?¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s expression was somewhat grave as he looked Bei Bei in the eye, but he still nodded.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s response was somewhat half-hearted, but she managed to resist the urge to refute him.

    ¡°Good luck you two. Shrek¡¯s glory belongs to all of us together.¡±

    He Caitou and Xiao Xiao proceeded to walk onto the stage together. The instant that they¡¯d left, Bei Bei turned around to face Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, then solemnly said, ¡°The final victors of today¡¯s match will be decided in the third round. I only have one thing to say: Use everyst bit of strength you have. No matter who wins, in the end, we¡¯ll have at least disyed our strength.

    ¡°Sanshi¡¯s victory in the first round was extremely dangerous. If Nannan didn¡¯t have a teleportation skill, that Soul King with the angelic martial would¡¯ve instantly been able to turn the tables once she woke up. As such, we don¡¯t have any more chances. Our opponents will definitely be more careful from here on out. There¡¯s no way for us to win by a fluke now that they¡¯re fighting with all of their strength. Alright, you two need to rest up¡ªprepare yourself for our next match.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was now inwardly afraid; the excitement he¡¯d previously felt had been reced by a heavy sense of pressure.

    Pressure would have entirely different effects depending on the person: A weak-natured person could even copse beneath heavy pressure and be even weaker. However, a person who was full of fighting spirit could could be willing to give his all for his glory and ideals. The great the pressure, the greater the rebound. At the same time, the driving force behind the pressure would be even more abundant.

    The current Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were just like this: Wang Dong tightly clenched his fists, a fierce me of resolve rose in his eyes. As for Huo Yuhao, he squinted his eyes as a bright light flickered through the bottom of his eyelids. He then reached over, grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s fist, and leaned over to whisper something to him.

    A light smile appeared on Bei Bei¡¯s face when he saw this. The reason that he¡¯d allowed them to shoulder an even greater amount of pressure was because he was so familiar with his junior brothers. They were the kind of people that would squeeze out even more of their potential under great pressure.

    Wang Yan watched from the sidelines as this happened. He was filled with gratification as he watched Bei Bei¡¯s calm leadership, and suddenly felt that losing today wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad thing. At the very least, the psychological trauma he¡¯d been worried about wouldn¡¯t appear with a team leader like Bei Bei.

    Even though the awakened Xu Sanshi was stronger than Bei Bei in terms of overall strength, but there was arge gap between him and Bei Bei in terms of their ability to look at the big picture and takemand. It seems that Bei Bei is even more than I am to lead everyone here. I¡¯ll just let them do as they wish. Maybe these kids really can create a miracle for Shrek.

    Bei Bei gradually furrowed his brows as he stared at the tournament stage. His face grew increasingly grave, for he¡¯d just discovered that their opponents would be tougher than he¡¯d imagined; the leader of Justsky Academy hadn¡¯t appeared during the second round.

    It had to be known that Justsky Academy would lose the match if they were to lose their second round. In a situation like this, Ye Wuqing had actually managed to remain patient, which definitely exceeded Bei Bei¡¯s predictions. This meant that Shrek Academy would have an even harder time in the third round if they lost the second round.

    He Caitou and Xiao Xiao slowly made their way up onto the stage. The straightforward Caitou immediately did the same thing that Xu Sanshi had done, and loudly said to the two members of Justsky Academy in front of him, ¡°Shrek Academy, He Caitou.¡±

    Xiao Xiao immediately followed up, ¡°Xiao Xiao.¡±

    The two students from Justsky Academy had peculiar expressions when they saw He Caitou¡ªhis dark skin was normally only seen in the Sun Moon Empire. However, a person like him had appeared on Shrek¡¯s team. Despite this, He Caitou¡¯s suppression of the Soul King-ranked Shen Ce with a soul tool fort was still fresh in everyone¡¯s minds.

    ¡°Justsky Academy, Tang Xiaolei.¡±

    ¡°Justsky Academy, Xue Lang.¡±

    The two students immediately replied with their own names. Tang Xiaolei had a tall and straight figure, but he wasn¡¯t too muscr. However, his eyes were extraordinarily lively, and a purple light seemed to flicker through them. This was the first contestant that He Caitou had seen besides Huo Yuhao who possessed such a solid pair of eyes.

    Xue Lang was slightly shorter than Tang Xiaolei, but he was much sturdier; the width of his shoulders and the thickness of his arms wereparable to He Caitou¡¯s. Of course, this was aparison between the twenty year-old Tang Xiaolei and the fifteen year-old He Caitou.

    Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang were only slightly bbergasted when they looked at He Caitou, but they weren¡¯t simply astonished when their gazesnded on Xiao Xiao.

    They¡¯d both seen Xiao Xiao¡¯s previous matches while they were in the rest area. However, she hadn¡¯t done much during either of the two asions that she¡¯d appeared. Thus, nobody knew what her true abilities were.

    Xiao Xiao wasn¡¯t even twelve yet; she was only a few days older than Huo Yuhao. Combined with her how small she was, she looked like a small child; a few people would¡¯ve believed that she wasn¡¯t even ten yet. The juxtaposition between the two was simply too strong.

    Even though Tang Xiaolei and Xu Leng were anxious to obtain victory in this match, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was off when they saw Xiao Xiao. Their eyes then simultaneouslynded on He Caitou¡¯s body. As for the six soul rings that Xiao Xiao had previously revealed, the two only felt disdain in their hearts. If a small girl like her was truly a Soul Emperor, then they could just go directlymit suicide.

    The two of them had forgotten a single thing, however: Despite Xiao Xiao¡¯s extremely baffling appearance, and no matter how old she looked, she was still a student from Shrek Academy¡ªshe was still somebody that Shrek had chosen to send to this tournament.

    The referee felt somewhat unwilling when he saw Xiao Xiao, but thepetition was still apetition. He motioned both parties to their respective sides of the arena, then raised his right hand and shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    Both parties instantly released their martial souls, and Xiao Xiao¡¯s two yellow hundred year soul rings finally appeared on the tournament stage spectated by over ten thousand people.

 Chapter 90.1: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    Chapter 90.1: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    ¡°Ah¡ª!¡± The crowd immediately flew into an uproar when they saw Xiao Xiao¡¯s two yellow soul rings.

    Not even the weakest team would send out a two-ringed student to participate in a tournament like this!

    The Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament required that its participants be under the age of twenty. If a person couldn¡¯t breakthrough to the Soul Elder rank by the age of twenty, could he even be considered an outstanding student? This was a tournament for high-ranking soul master and soul engineering academies. A two-ringed soul master appearing on the tournament stage had never urred for an extremely long period of time.

    At this moment, however, they were personally witnessing this exact scene. Yet since this was such a rare urrence that it didn¡¯t feel real.

    For example, Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang. The two of them were involuntarily stunned for a moment by Xiao Xiao¡¯s two rings, to the extent that their movements slowed by a bit. She had previously revealed six rings, but now she only had two of them. Just what was Shrek Academy doing?

    They were stunned for a moment, but He Caitou wasn¡¯t.

    The moment the referee announced the start of the match, he took arge step forward. Just as everyone was thinking that he was going to use a valiant strategy like the soul tool fort, He Caitou didn¡¯t. He entered a half-squatting position, and an enormous ck two-meter cannon appeared on his right shoulder. Its appearance was very simr to that of a stationary soul cannon.

    The referee was first stunned at seeing this, but he quickly wiped away all thoughts of interfering. This was because a white light¨Cwhich was clearly a sign of soul power being gathered¨C began to flicker from this mouth of the cannon. From this, he could tell that this wasn¡¯t a stationary soul cannon, but an energy-gathering soul cannon.

    However¡­ did an energy-gathering soul cannon need to be thisrge?

    The referee was filled with doubt, but Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang didn¡¯t think the same. The instant He Caitou showed that enormous energy-gathering soul cannon, they suddenly felt a terrifying wave of pressure from him. It seemed as though this cannon would be able to threaten their very lives if it were to be activated.

    Normally, a soul engineer who didn¡¯t walk the very edges of the path would equip himself with an energy-gathering soul cannon due to its formidable might. Although it drained a lot of soul power, it would serve as a trump card at crucial moments.

    An energy-gathering soul cannon was also called a force-gathering soul cannon because it was a soul tool that condensed andpressed soul power beforeunching it in a powerful all-out attack. Its main faulty in the process of gathering soul power, while its main benefit was its powerful attack power. It would normally appear on a soul engineer¡¯s chest, but it would absolutely not be as terrifyinglyrge as the one He Caitou had on him now.

    Most other soul masters were at a loss towards tools like the energy-gathering soul cannons that He Caitou was currently using; only truly powerful soul engineers would understand what this thing was.

    The resting area of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°That, that is? That can¡¯t be. A super energy-gathering soul cannon? Shrek Academy has actually developed a super energy-gathering soul cannon? But, he¡¯s a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. Can he even use a soul tool like this?¡± Ma Rulong was astonished.

    Teacher Ma furrowed his brows tightly and muttered to himself, ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve always been underestimating Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Their research capabilities aren¡¯t as weak as they seem on the surface.¡±

    Right, the thing equipped on He Caitou¡¯s shoulder was something thatpletely shouldn¡¯t have appeared within thispetition. This soul tool was first developed in the Sun Moon Empire, and it was called the super energy-gathering soul cannon; it was also a soul engineer¡¯s singr most powerful weapon.

    The simple use of this super energy-gathering soul cannon would drain almost all of a Soul King¡¯s soul power. That was the only way to release most of its might.

    He Caitou naturally didn¡¯t have the strength of a Soul King, but the super energy-gathering soul cannon he wielded wasn¡¯t actually aplete one; the core formation within it had been modified slightly, though it seemed identical to the original on the surface. Once he became a ss 5 soul engineer and modified it again, he would be able to release the strength of a proper super energy-gathering soul cannon.

    Although it wasn¡¯t aplete one, the soul power within He Caitou¡¯s body started to pour into the super energy-gathering soul cannon at an astonishing rate.

    Right, he had a very simple n¡ªhe wanted to finish everything with a single stroke. He was very clear that fighting a Soul King and a Soul Ancestor with his and Xiao Xiao¡¯s strengths would yield practically no chances for him at all. If he wanted to win, he had to stake everything. Because of that, he decided to take out this iplete super energy-gathering soul cannon.

    He Caitou did his utmost to inhale the Thin Cigar in his mouth as he squeezed out every single bit of his soul power and poured it into the cannon. The Thin Cigar actually turned into ash within three puffs due to his furious inhaling.

    Xiao Xiao stood by his side, immediately recing the Thin Cigar for him ording to the n that they had set up beforehand. Furthermore, she even helped light it for him.

    The two ends of the tournament stage were separated by a distance of a hundred metres. This was an extremely short distance for soul masters; one could charge through that entire distance within three breaths of time at most. However, He Caitou didn¡¯t dare to be careless at all. He knew from Wang Yan that one of their two opponents was a soul master who specialised in long-range attacks.

    However, he had no other options. They could only stake it all, as doing so would itst give them a sliver of hope; not staking it all would guarantee their defeat. They were originally nning to use the strategy of Tian Ji in the horse race1, so although they knew that their opponents were specialised in long-range attacks, He Caitou had no other choice but to carry out his n.

    Tang Xiaolei and Xue Leng were astonished by Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul rings, resulting in them blundering away a bit of time. However, they quickly returned to their senses due to the might of the super energy-gathering soul cannon.

    Xue Lang roared wildly, and he exerted strength in his legs to dash out like lightning. A violent transformation urred to his body as he charged forward; silvery-grey fur started growing wildly on his body, and his muscles and bones grew at an astonishing speed. The biggest change urred to his head; his mouth started protruding outwards, revealing a pair of sharp teeth. His legs became extraordinarily thick, and his arms turned into a pair of sharp ws. At the same time, his first soul ring was already flickering.

    Xue Lang¡¯s martial soul was the Wolf, the Soulwolf. His martial soul in and of itself wasn¡¯t considered too powerful, but the reason why he was able to enter Justsky Academy¡¯s official team was due to a few rtively powerful soul skills he had gotten his hands on.

    For example, there was his first soul skill that he was current releasing: Wolf Transformation.

    When a soul master who had a Beast Soul released their martial soul, their strength would be determined by how closely their transformation resembled that of their martial soul. This Wolf Transformation of his was a self-strengthening skill, and its effects were akin to a weakened version of Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation.

    This skill gave Xue Lang an all-round increase in speed, power, and soul power, causing hisbat strength to instantly increase.

    Xue Lang was an agility-type soul master, but he was able to take on an assault-type soul master to a certain extent after using his Wolf Transformation.

    In contrast to Xue Lang¡¯s rapid charge forward, Tang Xiaolei¡¯s bright eyes instantly turned bright purple, as though a purple re was being released from his eyes. He raised his left hand, causing arge bow to appear within his palm. He was one of the three Soul Kings who had appeared in this match, and his two yellow and three purple soul rings flickered brightly.

    Ye Wuqing clearly had a lot of trust in Tang Xiaolei, seeing that he dared to send him out instead of going himself in this second round.

    Tang Xiaolei raised the longbow in his left hand and ced his right on the bowstring, a purple light flickering through his eyes as he did so. Immediately, the energies around his body began to surge at an astonishing rate. In an instant, the suppressive aura that he generated was actually not inferior to the super energy-gathering soul cannon that He Caitou had.

    The longbow in Tang Xiaolei¡¯s hands was 1.8 meters long; its entire body was bright purple, and the luxurious patterns on it shone with a purple halo. It was called the Purpleflower Bow, and Tang Xiaolei had always thought that his martial soul was unique and unmatched. Other than the fact that it wasn¡¯t suited for group battles, it was iparable among martial souls specialising in long-range attacks.

    Although this was something that only he considered, this indirectly proved how powerful his long-range martial soul was.

    Tang Xiaolei¡¯s wrist seemed to shake slightly as he drew the Purpleflower Bow with lightning speed. In an instant, a yellow beam of light shot out and practically instantly reached He Caitou. The beam didn¡¯t target He Caitou himself, but the super energy-gathering soul cannon on his shoulder.

    The speed of this arrow was simply too quick. Combined with the fact that it gave off no signs beforehand, and the entire process could only be described with the phrase ¡®lightning quick¡¯. What was more unusual, however, was the fact that the five soul rings that had originally surrounded Tang Xiaolei had decreased to a total of four after he fired this arrow. He didn¡¯t have any arrows, so what he fired was actually his own soul rings.

    The hairs on Xue Lang¡¯s skin stood up involuntarily the moment this arrow of light brushed past him. Even if he knew that this was an attackunched by his partner, a trace of fear still shed past his eyes. This was because he knew the might of the Purpleflower Bow.

    If one were to ask who the person who had the strongest suppressive and instant-attack abilities within Justsky Academy was, the answer to this wouldn¡¯t be Ye Wuqing or Yu Mengdi, but the Purpleflower Bow-wielding long-range soul master who was also a self-proimed assault-type soul master, Tang Xiaolei.

    Tang Xiaolei¡¯s martial soul had many ws. Namely, his Purpleflower Bow required him to use his soul rings as arrows to be fired. Furthermore, his soul power would be fully drained the moment he fired all of his arrows. He had to meditate patiently to recover his soul power, and only when the condition of his soul power return to its peak would he be able to release his soul rings again.

    In other words, he could only shoot a total of five arrows in a battle. After shooting those five arrows, he would be as good as dead.

    A w like this would be fatal to any soul master, but he was still able to represent Justsky Academy to turn up for this tournament in front of more than ten thousand people. This was naturally because his advantages were able to make up for his disadvantages; mainly, his terrifying attack power.

    A terrifying consumption of soul power that limited him to just a few attacks made it so that he possessed a terrifying amount of attack power. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t need to gather his energy like He Caitou¡¯s super energy-gathering soul cannon. Because of that, whenparing notes with each other, even Yu Mengdi and Ye Wuqing had to be careful of Tang Xiaolei when he still had soul rings on his body. The only way they could have a chance of winning was by making him waste all of his soul rings.

    1. Sending weak contenders to fight the opponent¡¯s strong contenders, then strong against their weak.

 Chapter 90.2: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    Chapter 90.2: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    At this moment, the lightning-like bolt of yellow light was just about to arrive. However, He Caitou wasn¡¯t finished with his energy-charging yet. He simply couldn¡¯t move, nor could he dodge the attack that wasing towards him. On the other hand, Xue Lang had crossed over fifty metres in his wild charge; he would enter his attacking range within one more breath of time.

    At this exact moment, the young, two-ringed girl stepped out, unbeknownst to Tang Xiaolei or Xue Lang.

    Arge, pitch-ck cauldron appeared not far away from He Caitou¡¯s body without any prior warning. The instant that yellow arrow of light was about to hit He Caitou, the cauldron took the initiative to let out a rumble. Its enormous body obstructed the arrow at an angle, as though it had grown a pair of eyes.

    A dazzling burst of sparks and an ear-piercing boom erupted from therge cauldron, an astonishing gorge having been cut into its surface. After that, the yellow arrow of light was deflected slightly, practically scraping past He Caitou¡¯s shoulder as it flew towards the protective barrier.

    ¡°Skree¡ª¡± A shrill whistle rang out. More astonishingly, a small hole had actually appeared on the protective barrier formed by a hundred and eight soul masters, causing it to ring with a weird sound. Although it was instantly repaired, that yellow arrow hadpletely disappeared. However, the hole had clearly existed; the prative power of Tang Xiaolei¡¯s arrows could be seen from that.

    ¡°Eeh! What urate judgement.¡± Tang Xiaolei was slightly astonished as he looked at Xiao Xiao. He couldn¡¯t help but squint his eyes as he saw her flickering second soul ring, the purple glint in his eyes brightening up even more.

    Right, this had been Xiao Xiao¡¯s own ability to judge. Huo Yuhao definitely couldn¡¯t spend arge amount of his spiritual power to help them out because of the third match he had to partake in, so this was all caused by Xiao Xiao herself. That was a wonderful feeling for her. Although her eyes couldn¡¯t keep up with the speed of Tang Xiaolei¡¯s arrow, she was able to instantaneously activate her Cauldron Sweep to forcefully change the direction of that arrow.

    However, Tang Xiaolei had already drawn his Purpleflower Bow for the second time. His arrow was still yellow this time, but it gave off apletely different feeling.

    Earlier, he had used the swift Speed Arrow. However, his current arrow was filled with a crazy force of oppression.

    Xue Lang had crossed another ten or so metres at this moment, but his speed was still increasing,

    ¡°Wuuu¨C¡± A mournful tune suddenly rang out. It was evidently somewhat sharp and piercing, but Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang felt their minds jolt when they heard it. At the same time, they slowed down for an instant.

    One shouldn¡¯t underestimate the effects of this instantaneous decrease in their speed. This exact instant made Xue Lang, who was already ready to attack Xiao Xiao and He Caitou, jump into the air, while dying Tang Xiaolei¡¯s arrow for another moment. Thus, it was able to win more time for He Caitou.

    Just what was that? A soul tool? Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang were drawn towards the long flute in Xiao Xiao¡¯s hands.

    No, that clearly wasn¡¯t a soul tool. The two soul rings surrounding Xiao Xiao had changed into a single one.

    In that instant, every single person from the audience and the other representative teams finally understood why Shrek ACademy would send out a weak, young girl to the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. This was because this young girl was actually a twin-souled soul master who had infinite potential! Could any of the academies present here even bring out a twin-souled soul master?

    So what if she only had two soul rings? The fact that she had twin martial souls signified that she had a boundless future. For a brief period of time, nobody dared to underestimate Xiao Xiao anymore; their gazes on her even became fervent. This was especially so for the teachers in charge of the various teams. They all had a single thought: ¡®How good would it be if she was in our academy!¡¯

    After Xue Lang was slowed down for a moment, he didn¡¯t immediately speed up to close the final twenty metres that were separating the two parties. Instead, he angled his body downwards as though he was swallowing a man whole.

    This was coordination, the coordination between him and Tang Xiaolei. This was because Tang Xiaolei¡¯s second arrow had finally arrived at this moment.

    The sharp whistleing from this arrow was much more intense than the previous one. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just a beam of light like the previous one, but a ball of light that was asrge as a watermelon.

    If anyone present was able to clearly see the yellow arrow in flight, that person would immediately see that it was a crystal-yellow arrow which was rapidly rotating in mid-air.

    This was Tang Xiaolei¡¯s second soul skill, Destruction Arrow; a spiralling arrow.

    Its prative power wasn¡¯t as high as the previous arrow, but its destructive power far surpassed it. This was especially so due to the extremely astonishing explosive force that came along with it.

    Nobody would ever have thought that Xiao Xiao would actually abandon He Caitou and rush out. No, she couldn¡¯t be considered to be abandoning him. Instead, she used her body to block He Caitou and rushed towards Xue Lang.

    The ck cauldron that had previously appeared was now gone. Three rays of ck light shone from Xiao Xiao¡¯s body as she charged forward, forming a horn formation.

    Although she was a twin-souled soul master who possessed infinite potential, she was currently still a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster! She was still extremely weak in front of Tang Xiaolei and Xue Lang. However, she still decided to charge forward without turning back.

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes instantly turned red. Before Xiao Xiao had rushed out, she softly whispered to him, ¡°Senior brother He, I can only do this much. I¡¯ll depend on you for everything else.¡±

    He Caitou was the physicallyrgest person among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, while Xiao Xiao was the smallest. One could imagine how he was feeling, seeing that a little girl was standing in front of him to face a Soul King and a Soul Ancestor. At that exact instant, the image of the little girl he had never paid special attention to was now branded in the softest parts of his heart. He would never forget her resolute eyes when she looked at him, and her small, tender cute face.

    Xiao Xiao!

    He Caitou clenched his teeth, using all of his strength to release his soul power. His blood vessels suffered an intense blow due to the overly quick release of his soul power into the super energy-gathering soul cannon, and tiny beads of blood started to seep from the surface of his skin. His veins werepletely revealed on his forehead, and it seemed as though his body could explode from his own soul power at any time.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s small face looked somewhat chilly, but her eyes were filled with a raging will to fight. Even if she clearly knew that any of the two opponents in front of her could easily defeat her, or even pulverise her if they wished to, she still decided to charge forward without turning back.

    Shrek¡¯s glory didn¡¯t just belong to their seniors; it simrly belonged to her, to Huo Yuhao, and to Wang Dong. It belonged to the weakest trio as well.

    Huo Yuhao had contributed enough as the team leader during the previous matches, and even Wang Dong had contributed by releasing the Golden Road alongside him. The only person who hadn¡¯t done anything was her; she had never contributed anything to the team before. She was only a background figure in the eyes of the others¨Cthat was what Xiao Xiao felt in her heart.

    This was especially so when Bei Bei sent her out along with He Caitou. This feeling in Xiao Xiao¡¯s heart intensified even further; she was being used to lure her opponent¡¯s most powerful forces away and waste them. Xiao Xiao had always been filled with arrogance as a twin-souled soul master, and so she had already decided to do whatever she could in this match, regardless of whether she would lose or not.

    Thus, she rushed out at this crucial moment. The feeling of prediction in her heart had be increasingly powerful, and she discovered that she could even sense the time needed for He Caitou to finish charging up his super energy-gathering soul cannon. Furthermore, she knew that she had to fight for more time for him to finish charging it.

    The downward-nting Xue Lang felt palpitations in his heart as he saw Xiao Xiao rush towards him.

    The young girl in front of him was clearly much weaker than him, but her charming face seemed to be radiating with light. By charging recklessly like that, did she not want her life? Was Tang Xiaolei¡¯s arrow so easily blocked? Was she mad?

    At this exact moment, Xue Lang was actually considerate towards Xiao Xiao. The youngdy in front of him was not only pretty, but her staunch attitude and bravery had already infected him to the point where he had no ns of taking the initiative to attack.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao!¡± Below the stage, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Bei Bei, and Teacher Wang couldn¡¯t help but cry out. This was originally a match that they had nned to throw! However, Xiao Xiao had no ns on giving up.

    As the Destruction Arrow neared, even Tang Xiaolei himself was infected by Xiao Xiao¡¯s fearlessness in the face of death. However, he couldn¡¯t retrieve an arrow that he had fired. Moreover, this was an issue that was rted to Justsky Academy¡¯s glory. Thus, he had to clench his teeth and release his attack no matter what. But, his eyes subconsciously drifted towards the referee.

    Right, the referee. The referee had already charged over, and he wasn¡¯t even thirty metres away from the area where both parties would collide. However, even a seven-ringed Soul Sage couldn¡¯t instantaneously teleport thirty metres!

    At this exact instant, Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes lit up. An intense white light suddenly rose from her body, and her two yellow soul rings blossomed with beautiful light, as though they were burning. The three cauldrons in front of her merged together, then flew straight towards Xue Lang.

    This was Xiao Xiao¡¯s most powerful attack: National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble.

    Xue Lang¡¯s movements were sluggish, to the extent that he was somewhatte when releasing his skill.

    An enormous might thatpletely surpassed his imaginations suddenly blossomed outwards as the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s quaking tremble waspletely focused on him; he was temporarily paralyzed.

 Chapter 90.3: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    Chapter 90.3: The Desperate Super Fusion Cannon

    Furthermore, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron flew right into the path of the Destruction Arrow. Xiao Xiao was not only temporarily blocking Xue Lang with the greatest amount of power she could muster, but she was also stopping Tang Xiaolei¡¯s fatal blow.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡±

    A violent boom rang out, shaking the entire tournament stage.

    Since Tang Xiaolei¡¯s first arrow was able to puncture a small hole into the protective barrier, how could his second arrow¨Cwhich focused on destruction¨Cbe any weaker?

    A terrifying explosive force practically instantly shattered Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. After using Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble, the Cauldron simply had no energy left to block the destructive power of the Destruction Arrow. However, it acted as a detonator that caused the Destruction Arrow to explode prematurely.

    The remnants of the explosion directly spread towards Xue Lang, who was in a temporarily paused state.

    The instant that terrifying explosive force descended upon Xue Lang, he unusually didn¡¯t feel any anger at all. While using all of his soul power to defend himself, he only felt admiration towards the courageous girl in front of him.

    Right, she had already done her best. A young girl, whose cultivation hadn¡¯t even reached that of a three-ringed Soul Elder, had forcefully blocked a Soul Ancestor and hurt him using the strength of his ownpanion by relying on her own strength. Moreover, she had simultaneously blocked the attack of a Soul King. Who could ask her for more?

    A martial soul was the foundation of every single soul master. Xiao Xiao¡¯s entire body seemed to be struck by an enormous hammer in the instant the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron shattered. She wildly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and her advancing body fell straight to the ground with blood seeping from her seven apertures. She had fallenpletely into a deepa.

    ¡°Ah¨C¡± He Caitou¡¯s eyes went red as he let out a mad roar. In an instant, a cloud of bloody mist erupted from his body. The charging process, which had originally needed five to ten more seconds toplete, was actuallypleted instantly.

    The super energy-charging soul cannon instantly turned into a white ze, and an indescribable, yet terrifying feeling pervaded the entire tournament stage.

    The hundred and eight soul masters in charge of maintaining the protective barrier subconsciously poured their soul power into the golden pirs in front of them, turning the protective barrier dark yellow.

    After the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron shattered, Xiao Xiao fell straight to the ground with no signs of waking up. Tang Xiaolei¡¯s soul was stirred by the scene, but he was still a Soul King-ranked expert, and this match was just that important to Justsky Academy. He adjusted his mental state in an instant, then raised the Purpleflower Bow in his hands.

    Time no longer permitted him to hold back anymore. The danger he felt from He Caitou¡¯s super energy-gathering soul cannon was simply too great.

    Three beams of purple light were pulled back into a single line, a gradual change urring to them. The first arrow was the lightest shade of purple, while thest was the deepest. When thest arrow left his bow, the Purpleflower Bow in Tang Xiaolei¡¯s hands turned it into a purple re that rose into the air. Immediately, a purple ze started to rise from the three arrows, twisting the air in front of them. By the time the three arrows crossed half of the tournament stage, He Caitou unleashed his super energy-gathering soul cannon.

    At this moment, every member of the audience¨Cincluding the various representative teams and the party surrounding the Star Luo Emperor¨Cheld their breaths. They hadpletely forgotten that the match they were spectating had Shrek Academy participating in it. Every single person present had been infected by the desperation felt by Xiao Xiao as she resolutely used her strength as a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster to stop two opponents who vastly outssed her.

    Everyone felt as though they were being choked; that feeling waspletely indescribable. In their eyes, the young girl who fell down spitting blood was just that steadfast and brave, yet so stubborn and cute. Even if she had already fallen while spitting blood, she was still an unconceble being of light who drew the attention of everyone present.

    A vast ray of white light appeared on the tournament stage. This wasn¡¯t a pir of light, but a ball of light. The instant it was released, He Caitou was marked with a cross-shaped symbol. No matter how he moved, this symbol would follow him.

    When the white ball of light left the super energy-gathering soul cannon, the entire tournament stage mysteriously started to distort. From the perspective of the audiences, the situation on the tournament stage seemed to have instantaneously turned blurry, making them unable to discern anything. However, Xue Lang, Tang Xiaolei, and the seven-ringed Soul Sage who was the referee felt space shattering instantly. Moreover, they felt their bodies shattering along with the space, making them nearly vomit blood.

    Tang Xiaolei¡¯s gaze changed in the next moment, and he was instantly terrified. He was originally absolutely confident in his own attack, but he now discovered that the target he had ced on He Caitou had vanished following the distortion of space. In other words, the three strongest arrows he had released had lost their mark.

    Right, the three rays of purple light had suddenly split into three as they flew through the distorted space. As a result, they simultaneously split up and flew towards three directions, akin to that of a triangle. Moreover, He Caitou was right in the middle of that triangle.

    After that, Tang Xiaolei saw the white ze grow bigger and bigger as it approached him. The ball of light was only a foot or so wide, but he felt as though he couldn¡¯t breathe.

    His soul power waspletely drained after releasing the five arrows, making it so that he had no strength to resist at all. He was originally hoping for his three arrows to interrupt He Caitou¡¯s attack before defeating him, but who would¡¯ve guessed that thetter¡¯s super energy-gathering soul cannon was able to twist the space around him?

    At this moment, the astonished referee finally yed his assigned role.

    Following a roar, one white, two yellow, three purple, and one ck soul ring appeared. The seven-ringed referee then sped up explosively, his seventh soul ring flickering.

    Amidst a low roar, a mountain-like figure flew straight out and stood in front of Tang Xiaolei.

    This figure was actually an enormous elephant that was shrouded by a thickyer of armor. Soul rings seemed to faintly light up around the body of the enormous elephant as it formed a earthen-yellow screen of light that fiercely collided with the super energy-gathering soul cannon.

    ¡°Kaboom¡ª¡±

    A person who had never seen the might of a super energy-gathering soul cannon would definitely not be able to imagine how terrifying it was.

    In the first ce, a weapon like this should not have appeared on the tournament stage. This was because a super energy-gathering soul cannon simply took too long to charge up, while a tournament held among soul masters had an extremely quick tempo. He Caitou had spared no costs, injured his own body and urged all of his soul power to reduce the charging time of the weapon by a half, but it still took so long to charge up. If this were an ordinary fight, he would¡¯ve lost god-knows how many times already.

    Although it had a long charging time, its might was simrly terrifying. It was equivalent to taking the soul power of a soul master within a certain area and unceasinglypressing and condensing it using an enormous andplicated formation array before focusing it in one point and releasing it using the mouth of the cannon.

    The army was provided with a few super energy-gathering soul cannons, but it wasn¡¯t given too many. This was due to its limited attack range, which was only around five hundred metres or so at maximum. Thus, a very powerful godly archer could definitely affect its charging. Furthermore, each usage of it would ignite a miniature sun within the army which was using it; it would be strange if their opponent didn¡¯t prioritise taking it down first.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done it. Xiao Xiao, did you see it? I¡¯ve done it.¡± The loud sounds of an explosion didn¡¯t just ring out in front of them; three terrifying explosions simrly rang out behind He Caitou. Only, the sounds of these three explosions were masked by the explosion in front.

    He Caitou felt arge force strike his back amidst the violent booms, throwing him forward. He then smashed violently into the tournament stage, and the ce hended was just beside Xiao Xiao.

    The current tournament stage was now a patch of beauty if looked at from afar. The dark yellow protective barrier surrounding the tournament stage was now gold, and the hundred and eight soul masters maintaining it now had grave expressions on their faces.

    Differently colored lights started exploding on either end of the tournament stage. One of the ends of the stage shone with an intense white ze, while the other shone with purple.

    The tournament stage had suffered a massive amount of destruction due to the release of these two terrifying forces. The ear-deafening noisesing from the stage could even be heard in ces very far away from Star Luo za.

    However, the current situation was a quiet world to a certain someone. This certain someone was precisely He Caitou.

    He Caitou felt as though his entire body had been emptied out as hey on the ground. The strong taste of a cigar continued to unceasingly slice his throat like tiny knives.

    He was already somewhat desensitised to the violent bouts of pain oveing him. Now, he was trying to look towards Xiao Xiao¡¯s direction from his fallen state.

    The iparably quiet Xiao Xiao definitely couldn¡¯t hear any of the violent explosions that wereing from the outside world at this moment. Her face was very pale, and her thin lips were still tightly pursed together. As she furrowed her brows, faint traces of blood could be seen flowing from her seven apertures. Not only did she look miserable, but she also gave off an indescribable sense of heartache.

    The current Xiao Xiao was just that cute in He Caitou¡¯s eyes. The conversation that only the two had heard on the stage earlier was now resounding in his mind.

    ¡°Brother He, do you have any especially strong soul tools that aren¡¯t restricted?¡±

    ¡°I have one, but it needs a very long time to charge up.¡±

    ¡°Then, how about we stake it all? I can help you stall for some time. I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to give you enough time, but I¡¯ll do my best. We¡¯re also students of Shrek Academy, so for the sake of Shrek¡¯s glory, we can¡¯t just easily forfeit. Our youth isn¡¯t an excuse.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xiao. But¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®but¡¯ me, brother He. If we don¡¯t use all of our strength to stake it all, we¡¯ll definitely regret it for our entire lives. If a girl like me isn¡¯t scared, don¡¯t tell me that you are.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m naturally not scared, but I¡¯m worried for you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about me. I¡¯m a member of Shrek¡¯s representative team, not just a little girl. Let¡¯s just do it this way!¡±

    Right. It was this exact conversation that had sealed their strategy on the tournament stage, and also the path that the match would follow. At this moment, He Caitou didn¡¯t even know whether he was feeling any regret in his heart.

    Struggling, he did his best to crawl over to Xiao Xiao. He bent his body, then used his wide back as a support to carry Xiao Xiao¡¯s body while enduring the falling gravel that came from the blown up tournament stage.

    ¡°Little girl, I will never let you protect me in the future again. I should be the one who¡¯s protecting you!¡± He Caitou felt his mind go dizzy. He continuously endured the pain of the falling gravelnding on his back, but even in the instant he fainted, he continued to use his elbows and knees to support his own body to protect the brave little girl under his back from the falling rocks.

 Chapter 91: Shrekâ€™s Glory!

    Chapter 91: Shrek¡¯s Glory!

    The light on the tournament stage finally vanished. The purple lights weakened first, but they still forcefully carved out three holes on the protective barrier. Fortunately, the barrier surrounding the stage was still solid. Although a part of it had been broken through, not too much of the energy had leaked out and affected the audience.

    The white ze on the other side vanished gradually, revealing the body of the enormous elephant.

    There was no doubt about it¡ªthis enormous elephant was the Martial Soul True Body created by the Soul Sage-ranked referee. It was precisely he who had taken the ce of Tang Xiaolei to block that fatal blow.

    Even the referee¡¯s Martial Soul True Body was covered in ayer of soot now. An enormous, fan-shaped area of the tournament stage in front of him had been destroyed. The widest part of the area was nearly forty metres wide, and the deepest part of the destroyed area was five meters deep. Extremelyrge cracks had even appeared in the area surrounding the destroyed area. This miserable sight was truly astonishing!

    This was the might of a super energy-gathering soul cannon, and it wasn¡¯t even aplete one.

    When the super energy-gathering soul cannon was first developed, it was imed that even a Soul Sage would not be able to withstand it in a direct collision. This was the most powerful aspect of a soul tool¨Ceven a five-ringed Soul King would be able to threaten a Soul Sage by relying on a soul tool like this. In reality however, would a Soul Sage give a Soul King the opportunity to charge up the required energy and aim it at him?

    This referee was unluckily the first soul master to have taken a blow from a super energy-gathering soul cannon with the body of a Soul Sage. Furthermore, he was still unable to counterattack when he was blocking the attack. The fortunate thing for him was that he was a defense-type soul master. Especially after releasing his Martial Soul True Body, his defensive capabilities were truly astonishing.

    The yellow light vanished, revealing the dirt-covered face of the referee, who had withdrawn his Martial Soul True Body. However, his eyes contained no traces of anger at all. As he looked at He Caitou, who blocked the falling rocks from hitting Xiao Xiao, he truly wanted to give a big thumbs up to the two students from Shrek Academy!

    Tang Xiaolei walked expressionlessly out from behind the referee. He waspletely unable to imagine what would¡¯ve happened if that attack hadnded on his body. Furthermore, although his three arrows were very powerful, he could guarantee that there would have only been a single oue if they had collided with the might of the super energy-gathering soul cannon¨Cthat was, an explosion. Moreover, his three arrows would simply have been unable to pierce through the soul cannon.

    The referee turned towards him and said indifferently, ¡°You were already eliminated from thepetition the moment I helped block your opponent¡¯s attack.¡±

    Tang Xiaolei shivered instinctively, and only then did he realise that he was still in a tournament. He hurriedly said respectfully, ¡°Many thanks for your kindness in saving my life. However, the oue of this match¡­¡±

    At this exact moment, a somewhat limping figure climbed out from a pile of broken rocks and dust. His sturdy body was filled with power, and his appearance seemed to make the entire audience think that this was a theater. This person was Xue Lang.

    After being frozen by Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble and taking on the shockwaves of the Purpleflower Bow¡¯s second arrow, Xue Lang had been slightly injured. However, He Caitou and Tang Xiaolei had started firing at each other before waiting for him to climb up.

    Think about it¨Cone party had shot three deadly arrows over, while the other had released a super energy-gathering soul cannon. Nobody else would¡¯ve dared to climb back up in a situation like this! Xue Lang could only curl his body up and release his strongest defensive soul skill and exert his soul power to hug himself amidst those terrifying explosions.

    Moreover, it was just by doing this that he was able to be the match¡¯sst remaining person.

    The referee leapt across the giant pit in front of him and examined He Caitou and Xiao Xiao¡¯s bodies, then shoved a medicinal pill into their mouths before standing back up. He announced in a low voice using the sound-amplifying soul tool, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t favour any particr team as a referee. However, I must say that my blood was ignited by being a participant in this match. My life¡¯s greatest regret is not bing a member of Shrek.¡±

    ¡°However, I have to announce that thest remaining student in today¡¯s match is Justsky Academy¡¯s Xue Lang. Thus, Justsky Academy wins this round. The current score of the 2-2-3 match is 1:1, and so the victor of this match will be decided in the 3v3 round. Shrek Academy, please send some people up to collect your members.¡±

    The referee¡¯s voice was somewhat low, his gaze not leaving He Caitou and Xiao Xiao¡¯s bodies as he made the announcement. The instant he finished his speech, Wang Yan, Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong simultaneously leapt up to the stage and surrounded their teammates.

    Wang Yan also took out more medicinal pills and shoved them into He Caitou and Xiao Xiao¡¯s mouths. Then, he motioned for the others to carefully take them down from the stage.

    After the referee announced the results of this round, the audience fell into a temporary silence.

    Nobody knew who made the first p, but sounds of apuse started to gradually ring out. These sounds were rather sparse at the very beginning, but they gradually grew louder as more and more people came to their senses.

    Right, Shrek Academy had lost. The Shrek Academy that had never lost had lost a small match. However, was Shrek Academy¡¯s glory affected at all?

    No, naturally not. In the eyes of the audience, at the very least, Shrek¡¯s glory had only grew even more.

    Although they didn¡¯t know why Shrek Academy would send out a Soul Ancestor and a Soul Grandmaster, this team had nearly defeated one consisting of a Soul King and a Soul Ancestor. It was just that a Soul King who specialised in long-range attacks hadpletely shut them down.

    Think about it: what had that brave girl done? She was a twin-souled soul master who infected every single person in the crowd with her perseverance and stubbornness. Did she lose? No, she hadn¡¯t lost. She was still that young, and she had a boundless future!

    At most, the audience only thought that Shrek Academy was being heartless. None of them thought that Shrek Academy had lost its glory; it was the exact opposite¨Cthis fight had proved the miracles that Shrek Academy could create. Right, this was a match of miracles!

    Xue Lang and Tang Xiaolei naturally wouldn¡¯t think that the audience was cheering for them. The two of them nced helplessly at each other, then looked back at their opponents who were being carried down with a look of admiration. This admiration had sprung up involuntarily; they had won their match, but their opponents had won the respect of everyone else here.

    He Caitou was left in a somewhat better condition. He had overexerted his body, and his meridians had suffered toorge of an impact due to his soul power. However, he was still older than Xiao Xiao. Moreover, his cultivation was deeper than hers, and his physique was much stronger than that of an ordinary person. After eating a medicinal pill, he recovered somewhat.

    However, Xiao Xiao was left in a less optimistic state. Damage to a martial soul would result in an injury to a soul master¡¯s origin. As a result, she was still left in a deepa even after taking medicine.

    Fortunately, the soul masters from the medical department arranged by the Star Luo Empire had quickly rushed over to treat the two of them. Thus, their injuries were soon stabilised.

    The tournament stage was still busy. After being violently destroyed, the tournament clearly couldn¡¯t be continued immediately. There were already earth-type soul masters who had quickly entered the tournament stage and begun to repair it by using rocks that had been transported over. However, this process would still take a bit of time.

    ¡°I owe Xiao Xiao my life.¡± This was the first thing He Caitou said after waking up. His emotions were veryplicated now, and an unusually warm gaze appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Xiao.

    Bei Bei grabbed the sturdy muscles on his shoulder, forcefully preventing the tears in his eyes from falling, ¡°You are all good people. You are heroes of Shrek. Shrek¡¯s glory will not be lost from our hands. No matter how strong our opponents are, we will protect this honor even if we have to burn everyst drop of our blood. You can go back and pat your own shoulders as you tell everyone that you are a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. You¡¯ve done it. Good job, Caitou. Leave the rest to us.¡±

    He Caitou nodded and shook Bei Bei¡¯s hand. ¡°Bei Bei, we¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    Bei Bei squinted his eyes, a sh of lightning seemingly flickering through them. The current him was just like a volcano that could explode at any time.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately stood up after taking a look at the state of Xiao Xiao¡¯s injuries. They could now see many, many more emotions within each other¡¯s eyes.

    Xiao Xiao was their teammate! The three of them had fought together before, but this was the first time they¡¯d seen Xiao Xiao reveal such a strong fighting intent. Why was this the case? This was because they were students of Shrek, and members of the Tang Sect.

    Wang Dong said coldly, ¡°We absolutely will not lose, even if we have to die.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a word, but a metallic glint had appeared within his light-gold Spirit Eyes.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, help me! Even if I have to die, I don¡¯t want to lose!¡±

    ¡°Good luck.¡± The Skydream and Iceworm didn¡¯t try to persuade him otherwise, but the two great soul beasts simultaneously said some words of encouragement. Even they had been infected by the scene that had just unfolded. Furthermore, they now increasingly understood why the innately-weak humans were able to release so much potential to be the masters of the continent.

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t say much. Although he knew that sending Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong out to fight in their current states could lead to a few unknown issues, he couldn¡¯t say anything to stop them; the emotions of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had been infected.

    They had given simply too much for the sake of Shrek¡¯s glory. Could he even make them give up at this point? Wang Yan couldn¡¯t¨Che felt like he didn¡¯t have the qualifications to do so. Even if the Dean was in his ce, he wouldn¡¯t have the qualifications to stop these cute children either.

    The repairs to the tournament stage were finishing up, and the referee had switched into a new set of clothes beforeing back up.

    The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire was already seated on the distant city walls to spectate the tournament grounds. He was using his actions to show his respect and admiration for Shrek Academy.

    At this moment, even the arrogant Xiao Hongchen from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering had no smiles or other emotions on his face. There was only astonishment in the depths of his eyes.

    He had never thought that Shrek Academy was much stronger than the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. But after watching these two matches and seeing the three people who seemed to be burning with a fierce ze as they came out, he gradually understood where the difference between the two academiesy.

    Glory. What they werecking was the glory that Shrek Academy had umted for over ten thousand years!

    Nobody knew why Shrek Academy would send a lineup like this to a tournament, but they were still able to win everyone¡¯s respect. Right, they had won the respect of everyone present!

    The referee waved towards the two teams within the two waiting rooms from the stage above.

    Justsky Academy¡¯s final three members slowly walked up to the tournament stage.

    Bei Bei turned towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and said in a somewhat special voice, ¡°It¡¯s going to be all on us now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously shouted, ¡°We have to win!¡±

 Chapter 92.1: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    Chapter 92.1: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    There were three people and three hurricanes of fighting intent.

    Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong tookrge strides up to the tournament stage.

    They couldn¡¯t forget the fallen Xu Sanshi, nor the heavily injured Xiao Xiao, or the fully-drained He Caitou.

    Everything had been done for Shrek¡¯s glory. At the same time, this was glory that belonged to the Tang Sect! Other than Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, who¡¯d taken part in the first match, the remaining five people who went out belonged to both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. Thetter was the sect that had been forgotten by countless people, yet had contributed much to the world of soul masters. It was the Tang Sect that had tried to desperately fight against a crazy tide, the Tang Sect that had been flourishing for a period of time.

    Bei Bei was the oldest among the seven, as well as the senior brother of the Tang Sect. As a result of this, he had to think about things much more than other poeple.

    The opportunity toe to this tournament was originally meant to be a form of tempering for the preparatory team to be the main team in the future. However, they were able to fully stimte their potential after being forced into the heart of the struggle. Bei Bei deeply believed that everyone present would receive unimaginable benefits as long as they were able to clench their teeth and persist. Ordinary learning and cultivation would bepletely unable to stimte their minds and potential in the way that this had.

    Furthermore, he regarded the title of ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ as a very important thing. How could he just receive it without doing anything? The true core of the first generation was Tang San, and the Seven Monsters from that generation had all be members of the Tang Sect. Since this match had an extraordinary amount of significance to Shrek Academy, how could it not be the same for the Tang Sect?

    We¡¯ll definitely seed. This was the only thought that was in Bei Bei¡¯s mind right now. The scene of him meeting Tang Ya for the first time had inexplicably appeared in his mind.

    The Tang Ya at that time looked so helpless, and her eyes looked so hazy. However, Bei Bei had also seen an unforgettably firm and stubborn look in her eyes.

    The current Tang Ya was normally a merry person, but only Bei Bei knew how heavy the burdens within the depths of her heart were. Only Bei Bei knew that the hard work that Tang Ya normally put in was no less than what Huo Yuhao did. The limitations of her natural talents were the reason why she was unable topete with the other students who had extraordinary talents. Tang Ya had neverined about anything, but in reality, the arrogance that came from her belonging to the Tang Sect had never decreased.

    Bei Bei had never told this to Tang Ya, but although he was only fifteen years old, he reckoned that he was a man who could hold up the heavens for her. Since he had chosen Tang Ya, he would do everything he could for the reemergence of the Tang Sect. Moreover, there were even deeper reasons for this. The dedication he gave to the Tang Sect wasn¡¯t just for Tang Ya alone.

    Four of Justsky Academy¡¯s seven official team members had already stepped out, and the remaining members were naturally Ye Wuqing and the other two members he led. This was also the first time that Ye Wuqing had stepped onto the tournament stage.

    Ye Wuqing wasn¡¯t especially tall, but he was extremely well-shaped. His well-fitting set of warrior robes showed that his body wasn¡¯t too different from that of an ordinary person, nor was he especially handsome. His only defining feature was his face, which had never revealed any emotions. Even his eyes were indifferent, making it seem as though everything that had just urred hadn¡¯t affected him at all.

    Nobody could be born with a disposition like this. The amount of information that Wang Yan had on Ye Wuqing was sparse to the point where it could be called pitiful. After all, Justsky Academy had never posed anything resembling a threat to Shrek Academy¡¯s original official team.

    A man and a woman stood beside Ye Wuqing. The man had a somewhat ugly face, a drooping nose, a pair of small eyes, thick lips, and a below-average height. Even his hair was somewhat thinly spread. The fact that he was able to participate in this tournament meant that he was twenty at most, but he looked much older than his actual age.

    His name was Shangguan Can, and he was an auxiliary control-type tool soul master. Among the students of Justsky Academy who had participated in the first round of the elimination tournament, he was the one who had left the deepest impression on Wang Yan. His capabilities in the field of auxiliary control could be seen from this fact.

    The female student standing beside Ye Wuqing was much prettier. Her long, fire-red hair was draped over her shoulders, and her charming features could even be considered pleasant. Although she wasn¡¯t an absolute beauty like Jiang Nannan, she was still filled with the aura of youth. Her body was extremely well-developed, giving a feeling of desire to all onlookers.

    She was called Yan¡¯er, and she was an assault-type battle soul master who specialised in long-range attacks. She was somewhat simr to the wielder of the Purpleflower Bow, Tang Xiaolei, in terms of abilities, but she didn¡¯t have the explosive power that thetter had. However, she was much better than him in a drawn-out fight.

    Shangguan Can and Yan¡¯er were both four-ringed Soul Ancestors, but their cultivations had reached Rank 46. On the other hand, Ye Wuqing was a Rank 58 assault-type Soul King.

    Although they hadn¡¯t sent out the strongest possible lineup of three Soul Kings, Ye Wuqing was still able to leave this group for thest match. In terms of willpower and the conviction to win, they were not inferior to Shrek Academy .

    This was a chance for Justsky Academy to make history. If they were able to be the first academy to defeat Shrek Academy, which had been undefeated for several thousand years, the glory they would gain would be able to let the seven members of Justsky Academy be respected for their entire lives.

    Both parties walked over to the center of the tournament stage, then looked each other in the eye. Since both team leaders knew who their counterparts were, Bei Bei didn¡¯t speak up. On the other hand, the first person to speak up was actually Ye Wuqing.

    ¡°Shrek is still Shrek. Although I don¡¯t know why Shrek Academy would send you guys to participate in this tournament, you have used your strength to win our respect. Even if you lose, you will not lose any face for Shrek Academy. I am called Ye Wuqing, and I am the team leader of Justsky Academy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m called Bei Bei,¡± Bei Bei said indifferently, ¡°As for victory or defeat, we¡¯ll just have to see after the match.¡±

    Ye Wuqing nodded his head lightly. ¡°It¡¯s precisely because of the respect we have for you that we will be going all-out. You have the glory that belongs to Shrek Academy, and we simrly have the glory that belongs to Justsky Academy. We will definitely win this match.¡±

    The corner of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°You speak a lot of nonsense.¡±

    Ye Wuqing¡¯s cold eyes flickered for a bit. He extended his right thumb, then slowly turned it downwards.

    However, Bei Bei started tough. ¡°It¡¯s always people like you who act like everyone owes you money so that other people don¡¯t actually know that you¡¯re trying to pull one out. I¡¯ll quickly send you off the stage to save you the trouble of being embarrassed. It¡¯s not embarrassing to have constipation, really.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was a perverted person, but he was far from Bei Bei¡¯s level at trash-talking, let alone a person like Ye Wuqing, who bitterly cultivated all day long.

    Ye Wuqing¡¯s calm face started to flush red, and the facial muscles of his two teammates twitched as they tried to notugh. Clearly, they didn¡¯t like Ye Wuqing¡¯s eternally expressionless face either.

    The referee interrupted the two parties who were quibbling with each other before the match. ¡°Get back. Prepare for the match.¡±

    Ye Wuqing pointed his finger at Bei Bei, then moved backwards.

    Bei Bei muttered to himself, ¡°I just hate people who point fingers at me the most. I¡¯ll definitely break itter.¡±

    Both parties retreated, quickly reaching the ends of the newly repaired tournament stage. The fighting intent of all sixpeting students was burning like a fierce ze, and the smell of gunpowder had already filled the battlefield before the match had even started. This was a match that neither party could afford to lose.

    Wang Yan, who was originally nning to forfeit the match, was currently clenching his fists. He prayed in his heart unceasingly: Kids, you¡¯ve already gotten to this point. You¡¯re already the best. However, you must win this match! You are the pride of Shrek.

    A Soul King and two Soul Ancestors were facing a team of a Soul Ancestor, a Soul Elder, and a Soul Grandmaster.

    There was arge disparity between both parties, but Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters hadn¡¯t been at a disadvantage during their previous matches with simr situations. Who would dare to say that they wouldn¡¯t be able to create a miracle during this match?

    Right, they needed a miracle to have a chance of winning. However, the monsters of Shrek Academy were always good at creating miracles.

    The referee gave at Shrek Academy¡¯s trio a deep look, then took a deep breath and shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    The tens of thousands of people in in Star Luo za were all focused on this single thing. The audience had even forgotten how to blink, so scared were they that they would miss a single thing.

    This match was simply too exciting. They had already forgotten the glory of Shrek Academy; right now, only the staunch and unyielding Shrek existed in their minds.

    Over on the city walls, even the Emperor couldn¡¯t help but press his hands into his chair as he watched intently. Would a miracle truly ur? ording to the investigations he had conducted, Shrek Academy stood no chance of winning this match. However, they had already used their actions to prove that their Soul Ancestors wouldn¡¯t be afraid of any Soul Kings, to the extent that even a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster had dared to forcefully sh with a Soul King. Just how valiant was this?!

    Following the deration of the start of the match, both parties released their respective martial souls.

    Apanied by a wave of lightning, dragon scales began to cover half of Bei Bei¡¯s body as he released his Tyrannical Blue Lightning Dragon. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong then released their martial souls while holding hands in a very natural manner.

    However, the blood-red soul rings didn¡¯t appear as per the audience¡¯s anticipations. What appeared was actually white¨Cthe white that represented a ten year soul ring.

    Currently, there were only two simple white soul rings around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies.

    ¡°This, this can¡¯t be possible, right?¡±

    The sudden and enormous contrast between the extremely powerful hundred thousand year soul rings and the extremely weak ten year soul rings threw Ye Wuqing¡¯s trio into a daze for a moment. The audience had also flown into an uproar. Even if the two-ringed Xiao Xiao had appeared in the previous match, a student from Shrek Academy would never only have two white soul rings!

 Chapter 92.2: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    Chapter 92.2: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simply didn¡¯t take any of that into consideration. At this moment, their hearts were interlinked, their soul powersbined. Borrowing the force of Huo Yuhao¡¯s tug, Wang Dong was now behind him. He was already prepared to act as a background figure in this match. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simply did not think about such matters. At this very moment, their hearts were linked, and their soul power wasbined. Wang Dong ducked as he pulled Huo Yuhao behind him. He was alreadypletely prepared to y the role of the supporting cast in this battle.

    Regardless of whether it was him or Huo Yuhao, they wouldn¡¯t be able to take on a powerful opponent by themselves. However, the fact that they werepanions with a one hundred percentpatibility rate couldn¡¯t be forgotten! The two of them could rival even a Soul Ancestor if they working together. Neither him nor Huo Yuhao would be able to contend against the enemy before them alone, however, one must never forget that they werepanions that possessed a one hundred percent martial soul fusion rate! Theirbined might was already enough to match a Soul Ancestor.

    Wang Dong stuck to Huo Yuhao¡¯s back in a very natural manner. As he held onto thetter¡¯s waist, he released his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    From the front, Wang Dong looked as if he had already disappeared. It was as if Huo Yuhao had grown a pair of dazzling wings, whose bluish-golden light radiated throughout the entire arena.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess wasn¡¯t the strongest martial soul that had appeared in the tournament, but up till now, there was definitely no other one that could bepared to it in terms of beauty.

    As the Haodong Power circted through his body, Huo Yuhao took a step forward and reached Bei Bei. After ¡®fusing¡¯ with Wang Dong, he wanted to rely on theirbined strength to help his senior brother fight.

    ¡°Senior brother, we¡¯ll fight alongside you.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was clearly somewhat low. At this moment, a golden light flickered through his eyes, and a few shades of jade-green were hidden within them.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Bei Bei shouted, taking the initiative to charge towards his opponents. Wang Dong unfurled his wings, allowing Huo Yuhao to follow his senior brother by flying in a manner that seemed as though he was gliding over the floor.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had already enveloped the entire stage.

    With Ye Wuqing leading the team, the three students from Justsky Academy released their martial souls. Their martial souls could be said to be somewhat unique, and one had no choice but to admit that Justsky Academy¨Cwhich relied on the cultivation of martial souls while rejecting the use of soul tools¨Cwas somewhat unique when selecting and nurturing students.

    Shangguan Can shut his eyes, causing a faintyer of mist to diffuse from his body. This mist wasn¡¯t white, but faint blue.

    This faint blue mist coiled about and rose into the air, making his body faintly discernible and filling his person with an aura of mystery.

    Following a series of crisp bell rings, an ancient bell appeared in his right hand. This bell was veryrge, and its wooden handle alone was already more than a foot long. The front section of the bell was dark blue, and there were three magical blue balls within it. The collision between these balls and the bell itself was what caused the ringing sounds.

    The reason why it was called magical was because these three balls were actually flickering with light as they rocked about within the bell. They resembled three small eyes that continuously opened and closed. One of the balls was cold, the other was hot, and thest was demonic. It was truly an extremely peculiar martial soul.

    Two yellow and two purple soul rings started to undte about his body. As he took a few steps back, Shangguan Can squinted his eyes, gazing at Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Over at the other side, the girl known as Yan¡¯er had a martial soul that rted to fire, as her name implied. Her current appearance was even more peculiar. At this moment, she was floating in the air, held up by a half-meter-wide fireball. Her hands were outstretched from her body, and her arms were slightly bent. She held a palm-sized fireball in each of her hands. There was no doubt about it¨Cher martial soul was a Fireball. It wasn¡¯t an elemental martial soul like the one Ling Luochen possessed, but it was a material elemental martial soul that was slightly inferior to hers.

    In contrast to them, Ye Wuqing¡¯s martial soul wasn¡¯t too peculiar. A long and narrow gold leaf had quietly floated in front of him, and his soul rings also surrounded him. He then raised his right hand, using his index and middle fingers to hold this leaf.

    This was Ye Wuqing¡¯s martial soul, the Golden Leaf. However, he was an assault-type soul master.

    Yan¡¯er was the first person on the battlefield to make a move. As she pressed her hands together, she shouted, ¡°Go!¡±

    Immediately, the two fireballs in her palms fused together. This fusion didn¡¯t look too important, but a foot-wide fireball suddenly flew towards Bei Bei. Following that, Yan¡¯er¡¯s first soul ring lit up.

    While Yan¡¯er made her move, Shangguan Can wasn¡¯t cking about either. He gently shook his Soulsucking Bell, causing a series of jingles to ring out. Waves of twitchiness flooded Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯s minds, and they became absent-minded for an instant.

    Spiritual Interference?

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched for a moment. Although he didn¡¯t know the correct name of his opponent¡¯s soul skill, he could guarantee that this was something akin to his Spiritual Interference.

    ¡°Pipe down a little!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted coldly as he counterattacked without any traces of politeness at all. A purplish-golden light instantly shot out from his eyes, targetting Shangguan Can¡¯s Soulsucking Bell.

    If Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were truly two-ringed Soul Grandmasters, the former¡¯s strength in spiritual-type skills wouldn¡¯t be too great. Moreover, whatever skill he could release would be weakened by his first white soul ring¨Cthis was what Shangguan Can thought. He was an auxiliary control-type soul master, making him somewhat simr to Xiao Xiao. He was called an auxiliary-type soul master, but he didn¡¯t strengthen his teammates; he weakened his opponents. For example, his first soul skill would affect the minds of all opponents within a certain range, and cancel the lock-on effects of any other soul skills. Shangguan Can could be considered to be quite skillful in its use.

    However, he would never have thought that he would encounter a pure spiritual-type soul master like Huo Yuhao. Shangguan Can still needed to rely on his Soulsucking Bell to unleash his soul skills, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type abilities were purely reliant on the use of his eyes. A body soul was naturally much stronger than his tool soul.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sharing, losing lock-on effects simply wouldn¡¯t bother any of his teammates. Furthermore, wouldn¡¯t Huo Yuhao still be able to hit his opponent using his Spiritual Shock?

    Because of that, Shangguan Can was somewhat unprepared when facing Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    One shouldn¡¯t assume that Huo Yuhao was weak just because of his two soul rings. Even a Soul King-ranked expert like Shen Ce had to suffer a loss from his Spiritual Shock.

    With Wang Dong¡¯s help and the amplification provided by the Haodong Power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was sufficient to step into the threshold of four-ringed Soul Ancestors. Although he had fewer soul rings, all of them were equivalent to thousand year soul rings in terms of power, and his Spiritual Shock was further strengthened by his Purple Demon Eyes.

    After being strengthened, his soul skill was already sufficiently powerful to take on anyone below the Soul Emperor rank. Only if his opponent was prepared, or his spiritual power was not powerful enough, would he suffer arge bacsh.

    A purplish-golden light instantly shot out, and Shangguan Can felt an irresistible, sharp spiritual power rush into his mind. He felt like his head had been fiercely smashed by a metal hammer, and two jets of fresh blood instantly shot out from his nose. He stumbled and nearly fell down, causing his first soul skill to immediately end.

    What a powerful spiritual-type attack skill! Astonished, Shangguan Can violently shook the Soulsucking Bell in his hand. An ear-piercing jingle brought about a powerful sound wave, causing Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio to feel as though their heads were exploding. This was especially true for Huo Yuhao, who had just suffered a bacsh after using his Spiritual Shock. His footsteps slowed down a bit, and he let out a muffled groan.

    This was the Soulsucking Bell¡¯s second soul skill, Souldeath.

    At this exact moment, Yan¡¯er¡¯s Fireball finally reached Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei raised his right hand, sending a w-shaped bolt of purplish-blue lightning forward. This bolt of lightning collided with the fireball in midair, causing a violent boom to ring out. Bei Bei wasn¡¯t stopped at all, but his Thunderous Dragon w had been drained by the Fireball.

    Bei Bei clearly had a better martial soul, but he was slightly inferior to Yan¡¯er in terms of soul power. When both parties used their first soul skills, they ended up being equal.

    Yan¡¯er let out a rxed sigh after seeing the results of their sh. Since their opponent was an assault-type soul master who wasn¡¯t even her equal in cultivation, how could they have any chance of defeating her side?

    Ye Wuqing made a move as well. His style of attacking was something that no one present would¡¯ve expected. He flung out the leaf he held between his fingers, his second soul ring lighting up as he did so. However, the very dazzling Golden Leaf didn¡¯t seem to possess any power as it was flung out. More mysteriously, it seemed as though Ye Wuqing had made a mistake. The leaf¡¯snding point was still two to three metres away from Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao, creating a seemingly powerless parab.

    Ye Wuqing had chosen an extremely good time to attack; this was just as Shangguan Can had released his Souldeath.

    Affected by Shangguan Can¡¯s Souldeath, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing turned sluggish for a brief moment. At that moment, the Golden Leafnded on the ground.

    ¡°Ding¡ª¡± The Golden Leafnded, causing a crisp peal to ring out. Right after that, it unexpectedly ricocheted. Furthermore, its originally yellow-gold surface suddenly turned pure gold as it tripled in speed and shot towards Bei Bei.

    However, the Golden Leaf didn¡¯tnd on Bei Bei. A small throwing knife seemed to coincidentally, yet extremely urately, strike the Golden Leaf mid-flight.

    The two items collided, and the Golden Leaf was slowed down momentarily. After that, the throwing knife, which was of rtively decent quality, unexpectedly melted. Then, a violent boom rang out, turning into a pure-gold re of light that swirled everywhere.

    The person who¡¯d thrown the throwing knife was Huo Yuhao. Although his Spiritual Sharing had been affected temporarily, his own Spiritual Detection still worked. As the user of the skill, his spiritual power was the strongest of the six people participating in this match. Because of that, he had still grasped the trajectory of the Golden Leaf. At the critical moment, Huo Yuhao had used the Tang Sect¡¯s technique of controlling hidden weapons to send a throwing knife to waste the power of the Golden Leaf.

    He had already felt that something was off the instant the Golden Leaf left Ye Wuqing¡¯s hands, because he clearly sensed that the Golden Leaf contained an enormous, yet unstable soul power. This soul power immediately circted in a peculiar fashion the instant it was thrown out. As a result, it would be strange if this thing was just that simple. After all, this was something released by an expert who was near the Soul Emperor rank of cultivation.

 Chapter 92.3: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    Chapter 92.3: The Decisive 3v3 Battle!

    Although Bei Bei¡¯s reactions were a bit slow, he still had the throwing knife to help him block the attack. Combined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s warning, he still had enough time to change the direction he was moving in and keep from being burned by that light re. But even though this was the case, he still felt as though a raging storm of metal was trying to swallow him up.

    Just what was this soul skill? Bei Bei was stunned. This Ye Wuqing seemed to have a very special martial soul. Even for a student of Shrek Academy like him, this was the first time he¡¯d seen a martial soul like this.

    Ye Wuqing was slightly stunned at seeing his Golden Leaf get intercepted. However, the second leaf quickly appeared in his hands. With a sh of golden light, it flew out as his first soul skill again. Furthermore, the Golden Leaf had an extremely swaying trajectory this time; he had flung it straight into the air.

    At this moment, the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection manifested itself. Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei simply didn¡¯t need to care about the Golden Leaf as they continued forward. Bei Bei suddenly elerated, closing the distance between the two parties to thirty meters. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao released a timely Spiritual Interference.

    Since Shangguan Can¡¯s Soulsucking Bell could interfere with them, they could naturally do the same to their opponents as well.

    Ye Wuqing¡¯s trio were slightly stunned by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference; Yan¡¯er even thought that Shangguan Can had mistakenly aimed his Soulsucking Bell towards them, and subconsciously looked towards him.

    The Golden Leaf suddenly fell towards Bei Bei, but a throwing knife appeared in a timely manner to block its path. Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaf was certainly very powerful, but what good would it do if it was unable to strike its target?

    If the first time was a coincidence, the second time clearly couldn¡¯t be exined as something as simple as a coincidence.

    Justsky Academy¡¯s trio consisted of one auxiliary soul master and two long-ranged ones, and so, distance was naturally a rtively important resource for Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao also sped up, but he didn¡¯t do this by relying on the burst of energy provided by his soul power. Instead, the soul thrusters on his back and feet suddenly lit up. This was the first time he was using a soul tool in this tournament.

    He wore speed-varying soul thrusters below his feet, and a ss 2 soul thruster on his back, allowing him to suddenly elerate. Instantly, he crossed the thirty meter distance between the two parties. With Wang Dong¡¯s soul power supporting him, he would be able to control even a ss 3 soul tool, let alone a ss 2 one. The only thing worth pointing out was that, when he activated the thrusters on his back, Wang Dong started holding onto his shoulders instead of his waist. This allowed him to fly horizontally through the air while keeping parallel with the ground. This prevented him from suffering any knockback effects from the soul thrusters, while allowing him to not affect Huo Yuhao¡¯s advance.

    Justsky Academy was extremely cautious towards Huo Yuhao. After all, he had performed astonishingly well during the previous matches, and a mysterious person was the most terrifying thing in the world. Up till now, nobody had clearly guessed what Huo Yuhao¡¯s actual strength was.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s target was Shangguan Can, and at this moment, he was just about to reach him.

    The sounding from Shangguan Can¡¯s Soulsucking Bell suddenly became sharp as he activated his third soul skill. That piercing toll of the bell made it seem as though there were countless needles that were irritating one¡¯s eardrums. It wasn¡¯t just unpleasant to hear, but it even gave off an indescribable sense of jitteriness.

    Soulpiercing! This was Shangguan Can¡¯s third soul skill. If one¡¯s cultivation was far weaker than his, one would feel extremely irritated due to this soul skill. There was even a chance that one would directly fall into aa. Furthermore, this soul skill covered an extremelyrge area.

    The charging Bei Bei was directly affected, and Wang Dong likewise; only Huo Yuhao acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything at all. Before he reached Shangguan can, a somewhat twisted ray of white light had already shot towards thetter like lightning.

    Ye Wuqing and Yan¡¯er would naturally not just stand idly by while Shangguan Can was being attacked. The aura around Yan¡¯er suddenly changed, and therge fireball she was standing on shot out. Therge fireball split into five smaller ones in midair, and two of them shot towards Huo Yuhao, while the other three blocked Bei Bei.

    Not only that, but she put her palms together in front of her chest, and her third soul ring lit up, causing an enormous purple fireball to congeal in front of her. Instantly, the air within the tournament stage started to heat up as a result of this purple me.

    A Golden Leaf urately blocked Huo Yuhao¡¯s light ray, just like how he had done the same using his throwing knives earlier. Ye Wuqing had made a move; he naturally would not allow his auxiliary-type soul master to be struck just like that.

    However, a mysterious scene urred the instant that Golden Leaf sliced through the soul light¡¯s beam of light.

    The Golden Leaf passed straight through it, as though it had not encountered any resistance at all.

    Ye Wuqing was originally nning to use his Golden Leaf to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, causing it to explode and generate an explosive force from the metallic storm it would create. He was confident in stopping Huo Yuhao¡¯s next move before using an even stronger soul skill on him and Bei Bei.

    However, he had made a mistake.

    Once the seemingly extremely powerful Golden Leaf touched the ray of light, it unexpectedly passed straight through it, as though it had collided with nothing at all. At this moment, it was flying straight towards Shangguan Can.

    Shangguan Can was very, very familiar with the strength of Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaf! After letting out a cry, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with the continued activation of his Soulsucking Bell as he fiercely leapt to the side like a fish.

    On the other hand, that ray of light suddenly curved in midair, then urately struck Ye Wuqing.

    Ye Wuqing only felt his entire body go numb as he fell into a state of paralysis.

    Right, Huo Yuhao had used the soul paralysis ray he had bought at the soul tool auction.

    The soul paralysis ray naturally wouldn¡¯t curve around in midair, and it would definitely have caused Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaf to explode if it had truly collided with it. However, why did the Golden Leaf just brush past it? Furthermore, why did it force Shangguan Can into such a miserable state?

    This was the effect of Huo Yuhao simultaneously using his two powerful soul skills. He had done this by using his Spiritual Detection to urately determine the movements of his opponents, and his Imitation to create a deviation in what had actually happened and what his opponents saw.

    Huo Yuhao clearly knew of the difficulties involved in this match. Due to this pressure, his potential was fully unleashed, not just in strength, but also in his wisdom. The most ingenious part of his attack was right here. His Imitation allowed him to make minute transformations to the things around him, and the more minute these transformations were, the harder it would be to tell that they were fake. The entire process of charging towards Shangguan Can was real; the only thing that was fake was the soul paralysis ray. The reason why it had curved was because it had left the range of his Imitation. No matter how strong Ye Wuqing was, he would definitely be unable to dodge a strange move like this!

    Ye Wuqing had been paralysed, while Shangguan Can had been forced into retreating in a sorry state. At this moment, Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong only had to face a single person¨CYan¡¯er.

    She hadunched fiverge fireballs, but Bei Bei had no ns of allowing the two fireballs directed toward Huo Yuhao from striking their target.

    Countless lightning snakes shot out simultaneously, then transformed into countless arrows of lightning that explosively sted everything.

    This was Bei Bei¡¯s second soul skill, Vigorous Thunderbolt.

    The tyrannical of lightning collided with the five fireballs, filling the sky with sparks. The terrifying impacting from that collision was so great that even the paralysed Ye Wuqing was forced to stagger a few steps backwards.

    At this moment, the most powerful use of Wang Dong¡¯s wings was revealed. As he pped his wings, Huo Yuhao changed directions, allowing him to not only dodge the aftereffects of the Golden Leaf¡¯s explosion, but also allowing him to soar into the air. He flew past Bei Bei¡¯s head, bringing Huo Yuhao straight towards Yan¡¯er.

    Right. From the very start, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei¡¯s target wasn¡¯t Ye Wuqing or Shangguan Can.

    As an auxiliary-type soul master, although Shangguan Can wasn¡¯t weak, he couldn¡¯t provide too much assistance to his teammates due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. Moreover, Ye Wuqing was strong to the point where even if Huo Yuhao¡¯s trio were to take him on 1v3, they might not be able to defeat him directly.

    Because of that, their target from the very start was Yan¡¯er. Only, they had concealed all of this in an extremely ingenious manner during their previous collision. At this moment, they suddenly exploded out.

    Yan¡¯er¡¯s only strength was the enormous purple fireball that she had formed in front of her. The high temperaturesing from it scorched the air, causing ripple-like distortions to appear in the air surrounding her body.

    At the same time, she waspletely deserving of being a student chosen for Justsky Academy¡¯s official team. Even when facing a disadvantageous situation like this, she didn¡¯t seem flustered at all. She quickly retreated, preventing the distance between her and Ye Wuqing from increasing as she did so. At the same time, she didn¡¯t use the purple fireball created from her thousand year soul skill. Instead, she kept it in front of her, ready to block attacks from her opponents at any time.

    There was no doubt that she was making the right choice. The only thing she had to do right now was persevere and not fall under the all-out attacks of the three opponents in front of her until Ye Wuqing recovered from his paralysed state.

    However, she quickly discovered that she had still made a miscalction.

    The originally-scorching temperatures on the tournament stage suddenly dropped, as though a cold stream had poured into it. The size of purple fireball in front of Yan¡¯er¡¯s body was instantly reduced by a third, and she was simply unable to release the power of its heat.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had bepletely jade-green. Although he still had two soul rings in front of him due to his Imitation, he had actually switched his martial soul to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    This was a martial soul that possessed Ultimate Ice, a martial soul that could cause Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to hold a meeting! Even the great powers within Shrek Academy were overjoyed beyond belief when discovering the existence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. From that, the power of his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion could be seen.

    His soul power wasn¡¯t up to par, but his martial soul and soul rings were unrivaled existences.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned serious, and the soul thruster on his back flickered with light as he shot towards Yan¡¯er like a bolt of lightning. Unexpectedly, he used his hands to directly swat at Yan¡¯er¡¯s purple fireball.

 Chapter 93.1: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    Chapter 93.1: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    He was likely the first to ever take on the powerful soul skill of a Soul Ancestor as a Soul Grandmaster. However, he was sessful.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands first turned the color of jade, before numerous resplendent diamond grains swiftly appeared and covered his hands. This pair of hands was akin to a work of art.

    At this moment though, Yan¡¯er was not in the mood to appreciate this work of art. She could feel that her fire type soul power was greatly affected by the ice-cold aura from that pair of hands, giving her the impression that it was beingpletely forced back.

    How was this possible? How was this possible?

    Yan¡¯er finally couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. The two hands pushed forward and swiftly approached the purple fireball that was heading towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was clearest to the audience. Forget the fact that the originally massive purple fireball suddenly shrank for no reason while it was flying towards Huo Yuhao, but now it was actually continuing to contract at an astonishing speed. When it arrived in front of Huo Yuhao, it was not even half a foot in size.

    With his right hand directly cutting into it, thick white smoke rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand. Quickly, with the effect of soul thruster, he broke through the white smoke and arrived in front of Yan¡¯er.

    The reason why he had targeted Yan¡¯er was highly rted to his element. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was most effective against the ice element, after which was the fire element.

    Under the effect of the Haodong Power from his fusion with Wang Dong, he could already exhibit the power of the Soul Ancestor level. This was also equivalent to possessing Soul Ancestor-level Ultimate Ice. Against another Soul Ancestor of the fire element, Yan¡¯er, Huo Yuhao would clearly gain the upper hand! Thus, what he needed to do was to first snap his opponent¡¯s wings.

    Yan¡¯er was indeed panicking somewhat. The suppressive effect that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had on her exceeded even his original estimation. The absolute suppression of elements made Yan¡¯er want to turn around and run away.

    In that brief moment, Ye Wuqing finally recovered from his paralysis. Shangguan Can, who had barely avoided the Golden Leaf¡¯s explosion, also crawled up.

    They never imagined that there would be such an elemental suppression as they watched Yan¡¯er being oppressed by Huo Yuhao.

    Unfortunately, they were currently unable to move to forward and assist Yan¡¯er, because Bei Bei was still in front of them.

    When Huo Yuhao had leapt over his head and pounced at Yan¡¯er, Bei Bei had also lunged forward. However, his target was not Yan¡¯er, but Ye Wuqing. Thus, the moment Ye Wuqing was released from his paralysis, he immediately saw Bei Bei charging towards him. What he needed to do now was protect himself, and thus he was unable to save hispanions.

    This scene was somewhat simr to the previous round where Xiao Xiao blocked their opponents to allow He Caitou to build up power. However, there was no doubt that Shrek Academy¡¯s current situation was much better.

    Vigorous Thunderbolt. Bei Bei unleashed his area of effect skill at close proximity without hesitation. Enormous bolts of lightning devastated the sky, forming a giant lightning. Ye Wuqing could not send out a Golden Leaf even if he wanted to.

    The two who had shed with words earlier now stood face to face. As Ye Wuqing watched the enormous lightning pounce at him, his eyes suddenly turned golden. It was as if two golden leaves were covering his eyes.

    At the same time, the first and third soul rings on his body simultaneously lit up.

    At least a dozen golden leaves shot out from his hands, instantly turning into a golden in the air that brazenly flew towards Bei Bei¡¯s Vigorous Thunderbolt.

    Due to the powerful explosive force the Golden Leaf had disyed previously, Bei Bei involuntarily paused. He did not want to be surrounded and sted by so many golden leaves.

    However, he quickly realised that he had made a mistake, because although they were still the same golden leaves, their ability was different.

    Each Golden Leaf was akin to a sharp de. The leaves forcibly sliced his Vigorous Thunderbolt apart before sweeping towards his body like a wild storm.

    This was Ye Wuqing¡¯s first soul skill, Leaf de, and third soul skill, Leaf Formation. It was this offensive style that he was most proficient with. Under his control, sharp golden leaves headed straight for Bei Bei.

    At this very moment, Bei Bei had a certain feeling. If he were to to be trapped within this Leaf Formation, his entire body would be ripped to shreds.

    However, could he retreat at such a time?

    Impossible!

    Even a little girl like Xiao Xiao had done everything she could in the face of powerful enemies, and even heavy injuries had been unable to deter her as she stopped her opponents; how could he do otherwise?

    A somewhat evil smile appeared on the corners of Bei Bei¡¯s lips at this crucial juncture. He did not back away, but instantly dashed forward instead, charging straight at Ye Wuqing.

    All of this happened in the blink of an eye. On the other side, Huo Yuhao had already achieved decisive results. Both of his hands had arrived in front of Yan¡¯er.

    The Ultimate Ice¡¯s suppression caused Yan¡¯er¡¯s heart to be filled with panic. When a woman fell into such a hysterical state, she would be much crazier than a man. The current Yan¡¯er was no exception. She retreated in a flustered manner as she desperately shot fireball after fireball at Huo Yuhao.

    However, in the face of Huo Yuhao¡¯s magical hands, any fireballs that locked onto him were already greatly weakened by his Ultimate Ice by the time they neared his body, and could only rapidly dissipate. His Soul Thruster allowed Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed to greatly surpass Yan¡¯er¡¯s. In the end, he arrived in front of her.

    Two hands attacked at the same time. Their targets were Yan¡¯er¡¯s shoulders.

    However, Yan¡¯er suddenly stopped moving at this moment. The panic on her pretty face was cleanly swept off as the corners of her mouth lifted to form an enchanting smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been duped, little Brother. me Prison Cage. Come down with me.¡±

    As she spoke, an enormous fiery light abruptly rose from the ground, enveloping Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Yan¡¯er. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands didnd on Yan¡¯er¡¯s shoulders, instantly freezing her entire body. However, the huge me Prison Cage was alreadyplete. More importantly, with her final bit of willpower, a pair of giant me hands appeared in the me Prison Cage and pushed in the opposite direction, causing the three of them to tumble off thepetition stage.

    Only at this moment did Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong realise that Yan¡¯er had unknowingly arrived at the edge of thepetition stage. Moreover, the me Prison Cage she had unleashed was her fourth soul skill.

    This was the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. For Justsky Academy, this was an important battle that would affect its history and glory. How could they be unprepared?

    The moment Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong lunged at Yan¡¯er, she had already realised that the situation was not optimal. However, such a situation was still within their expectations.

    This was not the first time Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice power had seen use. Furthermore, while Justsky Academy was researching Shrek Academy, they concluded that although Huo Yunhao¡¯s strength could not possibly be at the Soul Emperor level, he was still the opponent they needed to pay the most attention to. This was because he was a mystery.

    In their analysis of Huo Yuhao, he possessed very powerful Spiritual Power, but Sky Academy did not believe that his Martial Soul was of the spiritual element. It should be the ice element instead. Moreover, it should be a very strong ice element.

    This was due to the fact that Huo Yuhao had directly taken control of the Frost Bear, An Lengye¡¯s soul skill, during that round of thepetition. Although it was close to the end of the soul skill, how could one do this without strong ice controlling powers?

    The reason why Yan¡¯er had been dispatched during the final match was because Ye Wuqing had predicted that Huo Yuhao would also appear in the final match. A powerful ice element would surely be able to suppress the fire element. Since that was so, it was very easy for Ye Wuqing to guess that Huo Yuhao would target Yan¡¯er.

    It was just that their original n did not ount for the fact that he could bring such powerful suppressive abilites to bear. Yan¡¯er¡¯s fireball martial soul was ultimately unable to withstand Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. Even her fourth soul skill, me Prison¡¯s Cage, was unable to threaten Huo Yuhao.

    However, thispetition was not a death match, but a match on thepetition stage. Since it was a match, one had toply with the rules, and it was also reasonable to make use of the rules.

    In this final moment, the debut of her me Prison Cage made Yan¡¯er smile rather happily. This was because she had been able to remove two opponents from the stage. One of them was even their opponent¡¯s most mysterious youngster. Without this duo¡¯s help, Sky Academy fully believed that thebination of their captain, the powerful Golden Leaf Soul Master Ye Wuqing, and Shangguan Can would definitely defeat Bei Bei.

    This was basically a trap. This was the same thought that emerged in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s hearts the moment their bodies were brought tumbling down from the stage.

    Yes. This was indeed a trap, and they had already fallen into it.

    What Huo Yuhao used at this moment was the Ice Emperor¡¯s Pincer. However, even his Ice Emperor¡¯s Pincer could not possibly break the me Prison Cage behind him within a short period of time and bring Wang Dong back onto the stage. This was, after all, a level forty-six Soul Ancestor¡¯s final fully-powered soul skill!

    It¡¯s over! This was the only thought in Wang Dong¡¯s heart at this moment. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he and Huo Yuhao would actually be beaten off the stage in such a sullen manner.

    However, it was already toote from them to release any soul skills even if they wanted to at this moment. The Haodong Power he and Huo Yuhao had condensed was under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. Furthermore, no matter what soul skill he used, he could not instantly break this me Prison Cage. Only by instantly breaking the cage would it be possible to change everything.

    Was it truly over?

    As he looked at the smile on Yan¡¯er¡¯s face, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes faintly narrowed. In the twinkle of an eye, Yan¡¯er saw ayer of dark green.

    A dark green luster erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and the me Prison Cage was instantly wiped out, disappearingpletely. Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Goddess Butterfly wings brought Huo Yuhao back onto the stage, while Yan¡¯er was akin to a heavy ice statue as she smashed ruthlessly to the ground, producing a loud ¡®bang¡¯. Fortunately, this ice statue was hard enough. Or else, Yan¡¯er¡¯s body would bepletely shattered like a piece of ice¡­

 Chapter 93.2: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    Chapter 93.2: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    Only an extremely small handful of people were able to truly see what had happened a moment ago.

    In that moment, Wang Dong only felt a strong chill sweep past his body in the blink of an eye. When he and Huo Yuhao used the Haodong Power, it was as if they were of the same body. Hence, that terrifying chill didn¡¯t permeate into his body, but rather rapidly flowed out of his body. The only thing Wang Dong could clearly see was a dark green light shining faintly in the shape of a bright scorpion on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Huo Yuhao¡¯s torso bone shone with the strongest jade light.

    The cold stream onlysted for a brief moment. However, the Haodong Power in their bodies was close to beingpletely depleted when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to the stage. Theirbined soul forces were on par with that of a Soul Ancestor. That waspletely depleted the instant they unleashed that burst of their soul force.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any other choice. He had fallen into his opponents¡¯ trap. If he didn¡¯t utilise this powerful skill, he and Wang Dong would be terminated in battle right this instant. They¡¯d still have a chance to continue fighting if they depleted their soul power, but if they fell off stage, they wouldn¡¯t have any right to uphold Shrek¡¯s glory anymore.

    This was one of the two soul skills from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s four hundred thousand year torso bone, Domain of Perpetual Ice.

    None the members participating in this Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament were a match for Huo Yuhao based solely on this soul skill.

    The four soul skills the Skydream Iceworm had given him still needed to undergo countless evolutions before they could be upgraded, but the Ice Jade Scorpion Empress directly gave him her four hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone. He had such a powerful soul ring and soul bone that even if he became a Rank 95 Douluo in the future, or even an Ultimate Douluo, the soul skills the Ice Jade Scorpion Empress had given him would still be that of an ultimate champion.

    However, a simr problem existed in the sense that one had to have formidable strength to support a powerful soul skill. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and the Ice Empress¡¯ Armour were slightly better in the sense that their powers would adjust ording to the soul power he injected into them.

    The Domain of Perpetual Ice was different. This was a domain-type soul skill that even Elder Mu, the Dragon God Douluo, and Elder Xuan, the Taotie Douluo, envied. Moreover, this was an Ultimate Ice domain-type soul skill. If Huo Yuhao could cultivate to the level of Elder Mu and Elder Xuan, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to freeze over a thousand miles with this terrifying soul skill.

    Hence, it was very difficult for Huo Yuhao to achieve the lowest requirement necessary to activate this soul skill. He could only barely release it now, even when he borrowed Wang Dong¡¯s power.

    It was impossible for the me Prison Cage to resist the Domain of Perpetual Ice, since thetterpletely dominated the former in terms of attribute, annihting the me Prison Cage in an instant. The audience seemed to witness the return of that Soul Emperor with six soul rings when they felt the tyrannical aura Huo Yuhao exuded in that moment.

    Wang Dong grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders and rushed back to the stage after breaking through the me Prison Cage. Their legs hadn¡¯te in contact with the ground, so they naturally could continue participating in the tournament.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move an inch after hended firmly on the ground as he squinted his eyes. If one were to take a closer look, they would realise that the rays of light surrounding his body were slightly distorted. It was obvious that he was using Imitation again with the remnants of his soul power. However, there didn¡¯t seem to be any changes happening around his body on the surface. What was he trying to hide?

    The thing he was trying to hide were the ripples of silver light that belonged to his ss 4 Milk Bottle flowing out from his chest.

    How could he continue fighting if he practically had no soul power left?

    He was hiding this silver light with his Imitation! Perhaps Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the first to use a Milk Bottle during a tournament, but he was the one who hid it best. Him recovering his soul power was equivalent to restoring both his and Wang Dong¡¯s soul power together. The soul power coursing into his body quickly transformed into one that belonged to the both of them.

    That was why the Milk Bottle was priced so high. Other than being able to store andpress soul power, there was another very important point, and that was the purification of soul power. Any soul master could use the Milk Bottle after having another soul master inject soul power into it. That was because after the soul power entered the Milk Bottle, it would go through a round of filtering in the Milk Bottle¡¯s core, which would remove anything rted to the soul power¡¯s attribute or power. The end product would be the purest form of soul power. Only then could others or the owner absorb it, and at a rapid speed too.

    The Milk Bottle Huo Yuhao had obtained from the auction was undoubtedly an exquisite ss 4 product. He felt an endless stream of soul power feeding into his body, rapidly refilling his dried up meridians.

    Naturally, the downside of using the Milk Bottle was that he couldn¡¯t fight or move. He had to calmly stand where he was and concentrate on absorbing the soul power from the Milk Bottle. It was considerably difficult for Huo Yuhao to use Imitation while absorbing the external soul power. His dexterous control was all thanks to him being a spirit-type soul master.

    Huo Yuhao had finally managed to keep his strong opponents under control after going through a series of dangerous attacks, finally reducing their opponents by one. Just as he managed to do so, the battle on the other side of the field had reached its climax too.

    Bei Bei also felt it when Huo Yuhao was in danger, but he was too preupied with Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaf Formation.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t back away when he was faced with that iparably sharp Golden Leaf Formation, but instead, he charged onwards and faced it head-on. At this moment, he seemed to be deeply connected with Ye Wuqing as the both of them had a small smile ying on their lips.

    The difference was that the smile on Ye Wuqing¡¯s face was one of disdain. Do you think your scales can block my ever-changing Golden Leaves?

    On the other hand, Bei Bei¡¯s smile was a little crafty and evil. Do you think such puny leaves can block my path?

    Bei Bei had already prated the Golden Leaf Formation when both of them held these thoughts in their minds.

    A scene that shocked Ye Wuqing appeared. Bei Bei suddenly became an illusion, and his footsteps seemed to be disorderly as he moved onwards like a green wisp of smoke. The Golden Leaves chased after his body, but they missed their target by a hair¡¯s breadth. Bei Bei wormed his way out of the Golden Leaf Formation like a loach in the blink of an eye, appearing right in front of Ye Wuqing.

    At this dangerous moment, Huo Yuhao had stopped using his Spiritual Detection Sharing with Bei Bei since he was releasing the Domain of Perpetual Ice. After all, it was impossible for him to control two different soul skills from two martial souls and make sure that they were both effective in such a dangerous situation.

    Bei Bei hadpletely relied on his own abilities to pass through the Golden Leaf formation. Bei Bei was not only a disciple of the Shrek Academy, but also a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master. But even more so, he was a senior brother of the Tang Sect! He was the best wielder of the Tang Sect Secret Techniques in this generation.

    The Tang Sect specialised in hidden weapons!

    Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaf was extremely simr to a hidden weapon to some extent. Tang San, the founder of the Tang Sect, would beughing if he saw Ye Wuqing ying with hidden weapons in front of a hidden weapons expert.

    Bei Bei had already had a n when he saw Ye Wuqing¡¯s martial soul. He was waiting for an opportunity like the one before his eyes right now.

    He saw through the fact that this Golden Leaf Formation was different from the one Ye Wuqing had used before within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. But Bei Bei still retreated to confuse his opponent and delude Yu Wuqing into thinking that he was afraid. He¡¯d silently endured through the previous moment to release this explosive attack now.

    From the start of the match till now, one could say that every single person on the field was constantly plotting against their opponents. Even though Justsky Academy was distinctly stronger than Shrek Academy, they were simrly filled with apprehension.

    In their eyes, everyone from the Shrek Academy was a monster. Xu Sanshi could awaken his Xuanwu Godbeast at the eleventh hour. Xiao Xiao had twin martial souls. He Caitou wielded that terrifying super energy-gathering soul cannon. Only the heavens knew what other shocking changes these remaining three would show. That was why Justsky Academy had held back a little at the beginning, but even then everything had been within a series of set calctions. However, they had never expected that Huo Yuhao could release such a terrifying soul skill like the Domain of Perpetual Ice and reduce their numbers by one in an instant.

    It didn¡¯t matter how strong Ye Wuqing was because he was an expert in long-ranged attacks. Even though there wasn¡¯t much difference between their cultivations, Bei Bei was an expert in close-ranged attacks as a soul master with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!

    Just at this exact moment, a chime from the Soulsucking Bell rang out in an attempt to hinder Bei Bei¡¯s advancement. But the chime onlysted for a few seconds beforeing to a sudden stop.

    A dull hum rang out, and fresh blood flew out of Shangguan Can¡¯s nostrils before he staggered down to the ground. The purplish golden light inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly disappeared as he stood not far off.

    How could he sit idly by and watch his senior brother struggle to fight alone? When the Milk Bottle replenished a certain amount of his soul power, he immediately attacked Shangguan Can, who was attempting to interfere with Bei Bei¡¯s attacks. He eliminated the Soulsucking Bell¡¯s threat with just a single spiritual shock. After which, he reactivated the Milk Bottle again and continued replenishing both his and Wang Dong¡¯s soul power.

    Bei Bei¡¯s thick and solid right arm was covered in bluish purple dragon scales as it sparked with lightning. He swatted it right in front of Ye Wuqing as all the Golden Leaves chased him from behind. Even so, Bei Bei seemed to bepletely disregarding them.

    It didn¡¯t matter how strong a Soul King¡¯s attack was, because all would be futile if the attack didn¡¯tnd on their opponent.

    Ye Wuqing was still expressionless, but he didn¡¯t retreat. He suddenly raised his left hand when faced with Bei Bei¡¯s attack, clenching it as he faced Bei Bei¡¯s dragon w up front.

    Bang! Ye Wuqing blocked his Thunderous Dragon w with his fist, startling Bei Bei. Ye Wuqing turned his leftnd and grabbed ahold of Bei Bei¡¯s dragon w. The meridians in Ye Wuqing¡¯s left hand suddenly became bigger in a split second, and arge quantity of venative veins dazzled in gold. His whole hand turnedpletely golden as his fourth soul ring lit up.

    Was a long-range soul master really that weak? Ye Wuqing¡¯s actions proved to everyone that that might not necessarily be the case.

    This was his fourth soul skill: the Golden Left Hand.

 Chapter 93.3: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    Chapter 93.3: Breaking Through the Prison, Domain of Perpetual Ice

    That¡¯s right, this soul skill only amplified his left hand. If his Golden Left Hand unleashed another Golden Leaf, its power would double. The Golden Left Hand was also immensely powerful, and held a strong defensive ability.

    Bei Bei had already used all his energy to unleash his Vigorous Thunderbolt. But even so, he couldn¡¯t electrocute his opponent with the Golden Left Hand suppressing him. His opponent hadpletely overpowered him with his fourth soul skill powered by his Rank 58 soul power.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Bei Bei roared out and unleashed his third soul skill ¡ª Thunderous Fury, the powerful thousand-year soul skill.

    A Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master would be in a berserk state for a set period of time when the Thunderous Fury was activated. The power of the user¡¯s thunder would double, while his or her soul power would increase by half of what it originally was.

    One could say that Bei Bei was only the strongest when he used his Thunderous Fury.

    His power that had previously been suppressed stabilized in a sh. The terrifying thunderbolt also broke through the Golden Left Hand¡¯s control and spread over Ye Wuqing. However, it was at this moment that Bei Bei saw the cold look in Ye Wuqing¡¯s eye, which caused him to curse out in his heart.

    Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Bei Bei continuously released his second soul skill, Vigorous Thunderbolt. His tremendous thunderbolts immediately turned into a thick electrical that shrouded his whole body.

    Ye Wuqing protected himself within the electrical with a light shield made of his dense white soul power. Even though he was rapidly depleting his soul power, he didn¡¯t face a direct attack from the Vigorous Thunderbolt in the end. This was the disparity in soul power. If both parties were at the same level of cultivation, it would definitely be impossible for him to do this.

    Ye Wuqing hadn¡¯t done anything else all this while. What was he waiting for? He was waiting for his Golden Leaf.

    His first soul skill, Leaf de, was in sync with his third soul skill, Leaf Formation. With him dying Bei Bei with his left hand, how could Bei Bei still dodge with the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Technique, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track?

    The Vigorous Thunderbolt could only block those sharp leaf des for just a moment even after having its power amplified by the Thunderous Fury. This further reflected the disparity between a Soul King and a Soul Ancestor.

    However, Bei Bei was equally as outstanding. He could actually respond to his opponent under such disadvantageous circumstances. His Thunderous Dragon w erupted again and, amplified with the effects of his Thunderous Fury, forcibly shocked Ye Wuqing away. He wrung his body around at the same time and faced the Golden Leaf Formation. The audience then saw a huge clump of silver threads shoot out from his chest, epassing arge surface area. It was sorge that it could actually envelop arge part of the Golden Leaf Formation.

    A chain of nks rang out. Ye Wuqing¡¯s Golden Leaves broken into pieces before his eyes. It was truly an unbelievable sight to him. Not only that, but Bei Bei suddenly transformed into a being that resembled Guanyin with a thousand hands while he was blocking the Golden Leaf Formation. Numerous hidden weapons resembling throwing knives, darts and flying needles flew out. He didn¡¯t even need to look as he did so, aiming with frightening precision. Not only did that attack deal with Ye Wuqing, but it also enveloped Shangguan Can, who was standing far off. Shangguan Can had just stood up a moment ago, but this attack scared him so much that he didn¡¯t even have time to ring his Soul Absorbing Bell.

    That¡¯s right. These were the Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapons. Even if the Tang Sect had declined, who would dare to say that Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapons were useless, for they had once been popr on the continent.

    Ye Wuqing rapidly swung his Golden Left Hand out, and his second soul ring shone. Golden leaves rapidly fell to the ground and exploded into intense balls of light, forming a huge golden storm. It neutralised all those hidden weapons, but it also made him miss the chance to nk Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t rx either. In the end, he didn¡¯t destroy all the golden leaves. Two golden rays of light shed past his body. One grazed his right shoulder, sending a string of sparks in its wake. The dragon scales on his right shoulder were much thicker when he was in his Thunderous Fury state, so the attack was unable to slice them open.

    However, another golden leaf flitted across his chest and left a small gash about half a meter long in its wake. Blood sshed out and dyed Bei Bei¡¯spel red in the blink of an eye. The sharp golden leaf had cut his pectoral muscles and caused his flesh to roll back, making for an extremely horrifying sight.

    Ye Wuqing finally didn¡¯t hold back anymore. His opponent was only a Soul Ancestor, but he was much more troublesome than he had imagined.

    The whole aura around Ye Wuqing changed when his fifth ck soul ring lit up. He slowly raised his Golden Left Hand and waved his hand at the sky. Looking at him, it looked as though he wanted to tear through the sky. Specks of golden light shone on that ck soul ring. The small golden specks of light rapidly floated out and epassed his body, forming a golden light canopy.

    There were only tens of leaves in the previous Leaf Formation, but now there were hundreds or even thousands of Golden Leaves. The leaves rapidly whirled around with his body as their center. The whole stage immediately sparkled with a brilliant golden light.

    This was the difference between a ten thousand year soul skill and a thousand year soul skill. Ye Wuqing once again showed everyone how terrifying a ten thousand year soul skill was, with this being the second time one had appeared in this year¡¯s tournament.

    At this moment, Bei Bei turned around with much difficulty, since he¡¯d just sustained injuries. Now, he had to face Ye Wuqing¡¯s terrifying Golden Leaf that was just like a tornado.

    Ye Wuqing coldly said, ¡°This is my fifth soul skill ¡ª Golden Leaf Dance. You guys better admit defeat if you don¡¯t want to turn into pieces of meat.¡±

    Shangguan Can had already stood up, and was standing not too far behind Ye Wuqing. He didn¡¯t even try to ring the Soul Absorbing Bell as a look of victory appeared on his face.

    Justsky Academy was about to triumph over Shrek Academy. He was one of the veryst participants remaining on stage who was about to bear witness to this very moment. How could he not feel excited?

    Bei Bei pursed his lips and raised his right hand, gesturing at Ye Wuqing with the index finger of his dragon w. His signature refined smile appeared on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve won.¡±

    Ye Wuqing realised that he really couldn¡¯t control himself in front of this fellow. He hated how the other party appeared to be gentle and refined, yet spouted foul words at him.

    The terrifying Golden Leaf Dance ascended and engulfed Bei Bei like a powerful golden current. He was so experienced that he knew both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were spent, and had consumed too much of their soul power. As long as he got rid of Bei Bei, it would definitely be possible for him to triumph over those two.

    Shangguan Can also seized the opportunity and took up a small Milk Bottle as he stood there, replenishing his soul power. His Milk Bottle was a bracelet, and didn¡¯t seem to be as meticulous as the one Huo Yuhao had, but its recovery speed wasn¡¯t slow at all. It was very clear that he wasn¡¯t going to be careless even if victory was in their hands.

    A hint of despair appeared on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s faces. Even if they used the Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence, it would be impossible for them to stop everything that was happening before their eyes. It was impossible for their opponent not to dodge, and when they did dodge, their skill would be ineffective. Could they still interrupt thatpleted Golden Leaf Dance?

    ¡°Little junior brother, get ready to back me up.¡± Bei Bei still didn¡¯t back away as he faced the Golden Leaf Dance. The smile and gentleness in his eyes gradually became domineering.

    Bei Bei naturally kept his true abilities under lock and key. After all, he was called the Gemini of the outer courtyard, and had been unofficially dered as the next generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters along with Xu Sanshi.

    A violent roar rang out from Bei Bei¡¯s mouth. Soon after, the lightning surrounding his body turned gold and shone brightly, forming a golden eye-catching ball above his head.

    Soon after, dragon scales rapidly extended from Bei Bei¡¯s right shoulder while he was still in his Thunderous Fury state. They covered his whole body in the blink of an eye, and the aura around himpletely changed. He now had a lofty, tyrannical and an indescribably powerful and kingly aura around him.

    Bei Bei¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was powerful martial soul. However, the current Bei Bei was already miles ahead of what he had been before. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think he could suppress that horribly tyrannical aura.

    The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion seemed to speak up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind at the same time. ¡°Golden Holy Dragon.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s vigor had reached its peak. He stepped out with his left foot and shouted, ¡°Tyrant King, Thunderous Domain!¡±

    Below the stage, Wang Yan had already buried his face in his hands. He felt depressed as he thought, Just how many things are these little ones hiding from me?!

    Golden light that resembled a whirlwind of angry waves burst forth. Since the golden light was made out of rays of lightning, a golden color filled the air and fully covered a 20-meter radius around him.

    What was even scarier was that the angry golden waves soared and created a tremendous attractive force under Bei Bei¡¯s control, absorbing and tearing the Golden Leaf Dance to pieces.

    The skills both parties used were golden. Every piece of Golden Leaf turned to fine dust in this explosive golden battle. They instantly vanished in a puff of smoke.

    Bei Bei sped his hands in front of his chest and made the hand movements for Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon that Huo Yuhao was very familiar with. He then pushed his hands out in front of him, and that golden Thunderous Domain surged towards Ye Wuqing, enveloping him in the process.

    Ye Wuqing also bellowed out, and golden rays of light shone from him. The intense rumbleing from him formed a continuous golden storm, contending with Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Domain.

    However, the power of Bei Bei¡¯s ability had far surpassed his judgement. His Thunderous Domain gradually forced its way over to Ye Wuqing till it was right in front of him.

    ¡°Little junior brother, now!¡± Bei Bei roared out and stomped with his right leg. His Thunderous Domain rushed forth, but gradually weakened till it disappeared at the same time. Ye Wuqing¡¯s whole body was enveloped within it,pletely covered with golden lightning. He was paralysed.

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood what his senior brother meant. He immediately turned around and was about to hug Wang Dong when he heard a clear jingle ring out at the same time. He subconsciously stopped what he was about to do and looked over from the corner of his eye. The scene that graced his eyes took him back by surprise.

    Shangguan Can, who¡¯d previously been replenishing his soul power with a Milk Bottle, appeared once again. He rang his Soulsucking Bell again, but what was different from before was that his expression had be tremendously serious and dignified. That was definitely not an expression a person who would normally be reluctant to sumb to others would have.

 Chapter 94.1: The Ice Empress Awakens

    Chapter 94.1: The Ice Empress Awakens

    An evil, dark-red light emerged from his Soulsucking Bell, which then transformed into a series of halos. They immediately mmed struck Bei Bei, who¡¯d just finished using the Tyrannical Emperor¡¯s Thunderous Domain.

    Bei Bei¡¯s entire body trembled violently when he was struck, and his eyes turned nk. Shangguan Can then pointed towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, and Bei Bei unexpectedly turned around and shot straight towards them.

    A spiritual control-type soul skill? Shangguan Can actually has a soul skill like this?

    Considering how powerful Bei Bei¡¯s martial soul was, his spiritual power definitely wasn¡¯t weak! Yet, Shangguan Can had still been able to temporarily take control of his mind. This greatly startled both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Fortunately, the hypnotized Bei Bei was only able to follow his instincts; he couldn¡¯t disy the finesse he usually possessed when he fought clear-headed. Furthermore, he was currently in a weaken state from using the Tyrannical Emperor¡¯s Thunderous Domain.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in midair as Wang Dong pped his wings, which caused him to fly backwards a few meters, Bei Bei in tow. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong then hugged each other tightly.

    On the one hand, you had Huo Yuhao, whose Spirit Eyes began to emit a faint-gold color, while on the other, you had Wang Dong, whose beautiful wings had been entirely unfurled as he released his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    When they hugged each other and released their martial souls, the ten or so meters around them lit up as a special sort of light blossomed from their bodies.

    As blue, purple, and gold light began to fill their surroundings, and Wang Dong¡¯splete and gorgeous Radiant Butterfly Goddess folded its wings forwards in a hugging motion.

    At the same time, an enormous, faint-gold vertical eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao, its pupil filled with boundless purple light.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess violently ignited with a bluish-golden re of light as it approached the Spirit Eye. When the two images of light finally fused in midair, they suddenly swung downwards.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    The fused colors of blue, purple, and gold instantly cut out a t path atop the tournament stage.

    The person who bore the brunt of their blow was Bei Bei. Afterwards, the ray of light continued forward, and struck the paralysed Ye Wuqing. However, Shangguan Can had sensed an opportunity to flee out of the attack¡¯s range.

    Huo Yuhao had no other choice but to do this, as Bei Bei had almost used his Thunderous Dragon w against them. If they were dyed by Bei Bei, Ye Wuqing would be able to recover from his paralysis, and they would have no chance of winning this match at all. Thus, he could only choose to do this. The purpose behind Wang Dong¡¯s shift in location had been to make sure that Bei Bei and Ye Wuqing were in a straight line.

    Bei Bei let out a muffled groan as his body was transformed into a golden statue. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon instantly copsed, as was also the case for the distant Ye Wuqing. However, he was able to snap out of his paralysis at this moment.

    After releasing his fusion skill, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time. He took a sudden stride forward, then used his right hand to pat Bei Bei before shooting straight towards Ye Wuqing. At this moment however, Wang Dong didn¡¯t continue to follow him. The remnant soul power that they had left was now in Wang Dong¡¯s body, and before he left, Huo Yuhao removed the Milk Bottle from his neck and shoved it in his hand.

    As his soul thruster activated, Huo Yuhao shot straight towards his opponent like a bolt of lightning. There was only Ye Wuqing in his eyes now.

    A Soul King who had lost the use of his martial soul was merely a soul master who possessed slightly more powerful soul power. Thus, how would he be able to withstand Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice? Moreover, the only way they could win this match was to defeat Ye Wuqing first before doing anything else.

    After being touched by Huo Yuhao, the traces of gold on Bei Bei¡¯s body receded. However, he immediately fell straight towards the ground.

    The Golden Road could cause one¡¯s martial soul to copse, but it also possessed a powerful erosive effect. After using his Tyrannical Emperor¡¯s Thunderous Domain to block Ye Wuqing¡¯s most powerful attack while draining as much of his soul power as he could, Bei Bei was like amp whose oil was nearly extinguished. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been so easily controlled by Shangguan Can. Right after that, he had to suffer the corrosive effects of the Golden Road. Although Huo Yuhao had quickly dispelled the effects of the fusion skill, Bei Bei directly fainted due to overexertion. As Wang Dong held the Milk Bottle in his hands, he looked towards the charging Huo Yuhao with aplicated look in his eyes. At this moment, he was inwardly screaming a single phrase: You can¡¯t, you can¡¯t use a soul tool!

    Ye Wuqing currently resembled a golden man. Although he had Rank 58 soul power, he had drained an utterly enormous amount of it during his battle with Bei Bei. How could he not panic after losing the use of his martial soul? He would need a period of time to dispel the negative effects of the Golden Road.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao arrived in front of him.

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t have a martial soul, can a Soul Grandmaster like you threaten me?¡± Ye Wuqing said arrogantly. He sent his right fist flying through the air to meet Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. A ball of soul power condensed into a white light, which then used his fist as a conduit as it flew out.

    Huo Yuhao once again used the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer as he sent his palms forward to meet Ye Wuqing.

    After controlling Bei Bei, Shangguan Can had seemingly fallen silent. However, he was actually focused on absorbing the soul power provided by a Milk Bottle, and he paid no attention to the current situation of the battle.

    ¡°Peng¨C¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned sluggish. His Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer broke through his opponent¡¯s soul power, but the powerful impact from that collision forced him to screech to a sudden stop. All of the soul tools he had now had been used to increase his speed, and even if that wasn¡¯t a case, a ss 2 attack-type soul tool wouldn¡¯t be able to pose a threat to a Soul King!

    The soul paralysis ray? Huo Yuhao no longer had the support of the Haodong Power, and he didn¡¯t have much of his soul power left. As a result, he didn¡¯t dare to use it in an extravagant manner!

    Clenching his teeth, Huo Yuhao used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to sh towards Ye Wuqing in an illusory manner. A majority of his hidden weapons then flew out rapidly.

    Ye Wuqing was immediately overjoyed after he saw that Huo Yuhao had been blocked by his attack. He urged the soul power in his body outward, causing ayer of white mist to prate his body and form a protective barrier. After all, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t possess a high enough cultivation, so his hidden weapons would simply be unable to break through his defenses.

    The gap between Rank 27 and Rank 58 was simply toorge. Even if Ye Wuqing was temporarily unable to use his martial soul, and his cultivation wasn¡¯t even a third of its usual peak, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to shake him easily.

    Seeing that his opportunity to win was disappearing, Huo Yuhao started to panic. He finally couldn¡¯t endure it any longer and cried out, ¡°Ice Empress, help me!¡±

    If this were a normal time, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion would definitely have ignored Huo Yuhao¡¯s request. Both she and the Skydream Iceworm needed an expert who would be able to cultivate their way to bing a God.

    This was the only way that would allow them to break away from the restraints imposed on them by the world. If they were to blindly help him with everything, how would he truly grow?

    However, this was clearly different. Both the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress had been infected by the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ attitudes of sparing no cost for Shrek¡¯s glory.

    In the next moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura suddenly changed.

    He didn¡¯t undergo the violent transformation or visual differences that Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had gone through when they releasing their hidden powers. However, the current Huo Yuhao was much more terrifying in Ye Wuqing¡¯s eyes.

    While using the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes would asionally flicker with a jade-green light. This was a natural phenomena caused by the appearance of that particr martial soul. At this moment, however, his eyes turned a prating color of jade, making it seem as though his eyes were precious gems that sparkled with light.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was instantly taken over by the Ice Empress. The voice of thetter rang out in the depths of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul, ¡°Watch carefully. You have to be adept at using every bit of strength that you have, and you need to diligently train your control over your strength. If you want to defeat the strong while being weak, the only technique you can use is control.¡±

    The Ice Empress didn¡¯t use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track; she shot directly forward, and the tattoo of the Ice Empress on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back turned extraordinarily bright and clear. However, his body emitted no traces of chilliness at all.

    Ye Wuqing felt his heart thump as he sensed the sudden changes in Huo Yuhao. At this exact moment, the effects of the Golden Road vanished.

    Overjoyed, Ye Wuqing¡¯s first reaction was to once again release his martial soul to block Huo Yuhao. As he releasing it, he didn¡¯t forget to send a punch out, causing an even more condensed ball of soul power to stop the advancing Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand; to put it more urately, the Ice Empress raised Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand. She pointed a single finger towards the iing ball of soul power, then gently tapped it.

    The white ball of soul power paused distinctly for a moment, then slowed down. The Ice Empress then used the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand to swipe at it, causing it to unexpectedly fly away. However, the speed of Huo Yuhao¡¯s advance didn¡¯t slow in the least.

    Ultimate Ice wasn¡¯t just able to freeze humans; it was also able to freeze soul power! It was just as the Ice Empress had said¨Ceverything depended on one¡¯s level of control.

    The speed of Ye Wuqing¡¯s movements wasn¡¯t slow either. With a sh of light, his soul rings started to rise from his feet.

    At this moment, however, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his entire body go dark. Right after that, he couldn¡¯t see anything else as he directly fell into a deep sleep.

    From the point of view of the audience and the two teams within the waiting area, a strange transformation had suddenly urred in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. A jade-green pir of light that was as thick as an arm suddenly shot out from his chest. The instant this pir of light shot out, everyone was able to see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertebrae, sternum, and ribs were emitting an intense jade-green light, even though his body was covered by his clothes.

    In the next instant, this jade-green light fell on Ye Wuqing.

    The jade-colored light shed and disappeared right after that.

    Ye Wuqing was a Rank 58 Soul King! At this moment, however, his face only had shock on it. After that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s charging figure struck his body.

    Ye Wuqing didn¡¯t resist at all as his entire body was forcefully knocked backwards. Just like Yan¡¯er, he directly fell off the tournament stage with a crash. However, Huo Yuhao also fell down. Unlike Ye Wuqing, who fell off the stage, however, the ce he fell was still a part of the stage.

    This was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s four hundred thousand year soul skill, Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

 Chapter 94.2: The Ice Empress Awakens

    Chapter 94.2: The Ice Empress Awakens

    Huo Yuhao had never used this skill in the past; to use this soul skill, one had to at least be a Soul King. This was also the skill with the highest attack power among the four soul skills that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had given him.

    After adjusting all of the remaining soul power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and using her own origin to protect his body, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion used a weakened version of the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    Had it been the original version of the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath, even Titled Duoluo would have felt the wrath of the Frost Seal immediately. Then, only the Ice Empress would¡¯ve been able to remove the seal. However, her Wrath could barely even deal with Ye Wuqing, who only had a little soul power left and was limited by The Golden Road and whose martial soul had yet to fully recover. Before the consciousness of the Ice Empress returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, it was greatly aggrieved, and already thought to urge Huo Yuhao to quickly enhance his strength once it returned.

    Unfortunately, at this moment, Huo Yuhao had passed out. Had he been conscious, he would surely have protested; after all, he was barely thirteen years old!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hard work ensured that Bei Bei¡¯s sacrifice was not wasted. Justsky Academy¡¯s strongest member, Ye Wuqing had finally been beaten, and was out of thepetition.

    In terms of numbers, Shrek Academy had three people left, while their opponent¡¯s team only had Shangguan Can left. However, could Shrek Academy really win?

    Wang Dong had already rushed out when Huo Yuhao was unconscious, and Shangguan Can also stopped recovering his soul power with the Milk Bottle. A sinister smile crept over Shangguan Can¡¯s face as he watched Wang Dong, looking confident of winning.

    Previously, when Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had beenpletely sucked away, Wang Dong had been unable to even utilize his martial soul. Now, he looked like a helpless child. Certainly, Wang Dong was unable to make Shangguan Can feel threatened.

    ¡°In the end, I¡¯m still the one who has to put an end to thispetition.¡± Shangguan Can said as he walked slowly towards Wang Dong, Soulsucking Bell in hand. Wang Dong¡ªwho¡¯d been running as fast as possible towards Huo Yuhao¡ªstopped in his tracks.

    Behind Wang Dongy a long-unconscious Bei Bei, whose chest was still bleeding. In front of Wang Dong, Huo Yuhaoy simrly unconscious, with his lips pulled tensely together. Seeing this, the look in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes turned fierce.

    ¡°I suggest you bring the two of them down, and then leave yourself. You can only pass two rounds; I¡¯m a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, you don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Shangguan Can said, sniggering at Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong responded coldly, ¡°You¡¯re just a auxiliary-type Soul Ancestor. What makes you so sure you can beat me?¡±

    ¡°Even though I¡¯m an auxiliary-type soul master, I¡¯m still a Soul Ancestor! Notwithstanding how much more soul power I havepared to you, just this Soulsucking Bell in my hand would be sufficient to defeat you. Hurry up kid, I don¡¯t want to waste anymore time with you.¡±

    Shangguan Can got increasingly excited as he spoke, as his heart beat faster and faster.

    When he left thepetition with the ultimate victory, Shangguan Can would have made history, and his name would surely be written into the annals of Justsky Academy¡¯s history. After this, his title would have to include the fact that he was the first to defeat Shrek Academy in the Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament. Regardless of the standards of the team from Shrek Academy, they were still representatives of Shrek.

    I won, I won. It¡¯s truly unexpected that I would ultimately win thispetition. Shangguan Can could hardly hide the joy in his heart, and was smiling uncontrobly as he thought about his impending victory.

    ¡°Senior Brother Bei Bei once said, don¡¯t assume victory prematurely.¡± Wang Dong said as he took long strides towards Shangguan Can.

    Shangguan Can could have activated his fourth soul skill at this moment and controlled Wang Dong¡¯s spirit, but he wasn¡¯t in a hurry at all. Shrek Academy¡¯s members always put up such a strong front, and that only made him more determined to crush their persistence.

    ¡°It¡¯s futile, do you still not understand that, kid? Your soul power is so depleted now that even your martial soul probably can¡¯t release any power. How are you going to fight me? Just give up quickly, then I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Shangguan Can said with a smile. What he wanted to see most was Shrek Academy¡¯s members bowing down in front of him.

    Wang Dong walked even faster, and said coldly, ¡°Are you certain that my martial soul is incapable of releasing any power?¡±

    Both parties were now within forty meters of each other.

    Shangguan Can seemed speechless for a moment, before he retorted, ¡°So what if you can still release power from your Martial Soul? I¡¯m sure the best you can do is just release your martial soul. I can feel the weakness in your soul. Stop acting brave; from your martial soul, it seems that the battle style that you specialise in is focused on releasing energy, which is one of the styles that requires the most soul power from us soul masters. You obviously can¡¯t release any soul skills now, so stop pretending, it¡¯s useless.¡±

    Wang Dong took a deep breath, the look in his eyes growing colder. ¡°Who told you that you can¡¯t be defeated without soul skills?¡± A sh of light passed through his body as he spoke, and ayer of ck light seemed to sh past, but not a single Soul Ring appeared. A simple and unsophisticated jet-ck hammer appeared in his hand. The hammer was enveloped by a ball of ck light. Once the hammer appeared, a strong, thick feeling arose.

    Shangguan Can gasped with astonishment, saying, ¡°You Shreks are all freaks, but you don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to hesitate any longer, and started to shake the Soulsucking Bell in his hand forcefully as he spoke. He also activated his fourth soul skill, Spiritual Control, on Wang Dong. Multiple rings flew towards Wang Dong.

    A mocking smile appeared on Wang Dong¡¯s upturned lips, and he continued charging forward, ignoring the the spirit-controlling halos that surrounded his body.

    At that moment, a light appeared between Wang Dong¡¯s eyebrows, and the ball of golden light expanded at an astonishing speed, growing to a radius of about ten meters, emitting a blinding light.

    Shangguan Can screamed, his mouth spewing fresh blood. He felt like his brain was about to split open, and the Soulsucking Bell in his hand was shattered to pieces.

    The hammer in Wang Dong¡¯s hand flew out of his hand at this moment, drawing a beautiful and strong arc in the air as it flew straight towards Shangguan Can¡¯s chest.

    A figure appeared in front of Shangguan Can¡¯s body just in time. The strong body blocked the path of the hammer, and a ¡°ping¡± sound could be heard as the hammer hit the body. The figure stepped two steps back to steady himself from the impact of the hammer, and remarked breathlessly, ¡°What a strong force.¡±

    The ck light converged, and before anyone could see the hammer that was about to emerge from the ck light, it disappeared.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body shook a little, but he stood his ground.

    Wasn¡¯t that the Soul Sage judge who just blocked the attack for Shangguan Can? The judge¡¯s appearance meant that thispetition had finally ended.

    ¡°They really won.¡± Wang Yan watched, dumbstruck, as Wang Dong limped towards Huo Yuhao, his lips trembling. Wang Yan was rendered speechless. He could never have guessed that this team made up of four Soul Ancestors, one Soul Elder and two Soul Grandmasters could have defeated a strong team of three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors.

    Yes, even Shrek couldn¡¯t believe it.

    He Caitou was also stupefied. When he had lost the round, he had thought that it was the end. After all, the opposing team had still had a Rank 58 Soul King that had not entered the arena.

    Yet, a miracle happened again. Although Shrek Academy paid for their victory with blood, they did not lose the glory that belonged to the Shrek Academy. They won match¨CShrek Academy had emerged victorious again!

    The whole match could only be described as immensely tragic. From the first round, Xu Sanshi was already badly injured. Although heter exaggerated his injuries, Bei Bei had verified that the source of his injury was genuine.

    In the second round, He Caitou had used all his power, and Xiao Xiao had sustained major injuries¨Ceven her martial soul was crushed by her opponent. If not for the fact that she was born with two Martial Souls, this would have been a blow serious enough to force her departure from thepetition.

    The third round didn¡¯t end any better, with Bei Bei unconscious after severe injuries, and Huo Yuhao on the ground, exhausted. Shockingly, the final victory was achieved by Wang Dong, whose soul power had already beenpletely depleted.

    In the three rounds of this match, it could be said that every one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had tried their very best, and utilised every possible trick they had up their sleeves. They had won through sheer perseverance and will, despite being a much weaker team than their opponent, gaining the final victory.

    This victory was hard-earned, but to the Shrek Academy team and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, it was undoubtedly glorious. An unparalleled glory.

    Tears started to course uncontrobly down Wang Yan¡¯s cheeks as he struggled to understand how Wang Dong had summoned a second Martial Soul, and the power with which Huo Yuhao had vanquished his opponent.

    The only thought that upied his head was victory. They had achieved the final victory. Shrek had won.

    Victory for Shrek Academy in the Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament hadn¡¯t been so difficult for at least a few thousand years. Thispetition had certainly been difficult, but in Wang Yan¡¯s heart, this was more meaningful than an easy victory by Shrek Academy¡¯s regr members. He could see seven stars gradually rising. In the near future, these Seven Monsters would definitely be strong pirs of Shrek Academy.

    Far away, beyond the Imperial City and the battlements, the Star Luo Emperor had already taken off his crown.

 Chapter 94.3: The Ice Empress Awakens

    Chapter 94.3: The Ice Empress Awakens

    He Caitou, who by this time had recovered slightly, rushed up to the stage and helped Wang Yan hold his teammates. He Caitou was a person who looked simple and straightforward on the outside, but actually harbored a deep hatred in his heart. At this moment, the most outstanding student from Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department couldn¡¯t rein in his tears any longer.

    Wang Yan temporarily passed the three people in his hands to He Caitou, then stood up. He was no longer able to control the emotions in his heart anymore, and he had to stand in testimony for the venerable and adorable kids he was a teacher of. He tookrge strides forward and said a few words to the referee, who nodded back at him and passed the sound-amplifying soul tool over to him.

    Wang Yan took a deep breath, then used the sound-amplifying soul tool as a medium to say loudly, ¡°Everyone, please quiet down a little. I¡¯m the teacher in charge of Shrek Academy¡¯s team, Wang Yan, and I have a few words to say.¡±

    The atmosphere in Star Luo za now was astonishingly frenzied, but it instantly quieted down upon hearing Wang Yan¡¯s announcement.

    The gazes of the audience were all drawn towards the tear-filled Wang Yan.

    ¡°Fellow friends, teachers, and students from the various participating academies. You all saw what just happened. For the sake of defending our academy¡¯s glory, my children from Shrek Academy have fought a long, bloody battle to obtain a final victory.¡±

    ¡°I know. A lot of you are asking: why has Shrek Academy suddenly be so weak? Why was it so difficult for Shrek Academy to win? These kids have done all they could to finally create a miracle. This was simply an unwinnable match! They relied on their own willpower to persevere under all this, but why would a situation like this ur?¡±

    ¡°This is a story known only to a few people in the academy, and I shouldn¡¯t say anything about it. However, I can¡¯t hold it in anymore; I have to stand in ce of these venerable, admirable, and adorable children of mine to testify.¡±

    ¡°Our Shrek Academy is known as the continent¡¯s number one academy by everyone here, and we made ample preparations for this year¡¯s tournament like everyone else. However, none of the participating students you see in front of you were official members; they were preparatory team members who came here to gain some experience. They aren¡¯t representing our academy to take part in this tournament because we decided to give them this much experience; it¡¯s because we had no other choice.¡±

    At this point, the various representative teams from the various academies, the popce, and even the Emperor, who was originally nning to leave the city walls, felt curiosity in their hearts.

    ¡°Before we came to Star Luo City to participate in this tournament, our academy¡¯s official and preparatory teams were assigned to do something else. We were to eliminate a group of bandits that were led by an evil soul master in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They were a group of bandits who wantonly killed, robbed, andmitted every imaginable evil act. For the sake of the safety of the merchants andmon people who live in the Ming Dou Mountain Range, our Shrek Academy decided to take it upon ourselves to solve this problem. Finally, we found those bandits and their leader in a cave. Wepletely dominated them in terms of strength, but that evil soul master used an evil skill to detonate the corpses of his fellow bandits. Due to therge number of dead bandits, that detonation caused severe injuries to our official team members. One of which died, and the other six received injuries to different extents. Of which, we¡¯ve sent a few back to the academy to recuperate. The academy didn¡¯t have enough time to send more people, and thus we came here with a disjointed team. A few of our official team members who have lighter injuries are still resting in the hotel, and the only people we have who cane up are these preparatory team members.

    ¡°In reality, even the first match that we participated in was extremely tough for us. This team was only able to slowly get to this stage by diligently working together. For the sake of Shrek¡¯s glory, they have already given all they can, and as a teacher of Shrek Academy, I am proud of them. They will always be Shrek Academy¡¯s most dazzling students.¡±

    ¡°The reason why I chose to stand in front of all of you today is because I wish for everyone here who has ced their hopes on Shrek Academy to not criticise these kids too harshly. Of the seven of them, there are even three who are only twelve years old! The other four aren¡¯t even fifteen yet. What more can we ask of them? Even if we lose this tournament, in my heart, they have won. That is all. Thank you, everyone.¡±

    With that, Wang Yan handed the sound-amplifying soul tool to the referee, and bowed deeply towards the audience. Only then did he return to He Caitou¡¯s side and bring the three unconscious people down from the stage. The audience remained silent for a few seconds. Nobody cheered, but what reced it was the sound of intense pping. It started out soft, but it infected the entire arena. Even Shrek¡¯s opponents and the Emperor and his ministers above the city walls were pping for Shrek Academy.

    The enigma behind Shrek Academy¡¯s team was finally solved. It was exactly this that stunned everyone present. This was especially true for Wang Yan¡¯sst words; there were actually three of these kids who were only twelve years old!

    As their opponents, Justsky Academy felt like they couldn¡¯t raise their heads at all. They had lost. Not only had they lost to Shrek Academy¡¯s preparatory team, but they had lost to such young opponents.

    Naturally, there were two exceptions to this. Ye Wuqing and Yan¡¯er were still stuck in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Frost Seal, and no matter how hard the medical soul masters sent by the tournament¡¯s organisationalmittee tried, they were unable to melt the ice that covered them.

    Protected by arge number of medical personnel and soul masters from the empire, Shrek Academy once again left the arena. Only, their departure was filled with a moving and tragic air. The audience wasn¡¯t even sure whether or not they could participate in the next match.

    They truly didn¡¯t wish for this tournament to lose the presence of Shrek Academy. They weren¡¯t just the continent¡¯s number one academy, but one that could make its students go crazy to defend it. Without them, this tournament would definitely lose its luster.

 Chapter 95.1: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    Chapter 95.1: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    Xiao Hongchen exchanged a look with her younger sister, Meng Hongchen, thenughed bitterly. ¡°Shrek¡­ what an Academy. Did you hear? Those little fellows are only 12 years old; over 2 years younger than us! They will be our rivals in 5 years.¡±

    Meng Hongchen was still unconvinced. ¡°So what? They¡¯ll never rival our abilities.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen forced augh. ¡°But I¡¯m fearful. Not because of their prowess, nor because of their twin martial souls, but because of their unwavering and intimidating spirit, something that¡¯s unique to Shrek Academy. As for us, weck of all these.¡±

    Meng Hongchen chewed on her words, and after a moment of silence, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°Brother, can you understand why are they so stubborn? Is it worth it? This is only apetition! Are they not worried that they will end up sustaining critical injuries that will lead to a regression in their abilities, or even permanent disability?

    Ma Rulong appeared beside them suddenly and said in a deep voice, ¡°We are unaware because we are not members of Shrek. Yesterday, we received news from the academy that Shrek Academy sent us invitations. They cordially invite members of our academy over for an exchange. The academy has already chosen the two of you to lead the group, and we hope that the two of you can satisfy your thirst for knowledge and find what you seek in Shrek Academy.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes betrayed a look of obvious astonishment. She nodded her head after a moment of stupefaction and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he felt intense pain pulsing through his body. The pain seemed to originate from his bone marrow, and from there to his skeleton, his passageways, his organs, and even his brain. Every single part of his body was throbbing in agony.

    He groaned from the acute difort. Fortunately, his mind was clear. He relied on his resolute determination and gradually repressed these painful sensations, eventually adapting to them.

    He did not rush to look outside as he closed his eyes. The soft andfortable mattress told him that he was already back in the hotel. His first observation was the state of his physical body. He was able to acutely sense the changes in every part of his body with only his immense spiritual power and without using any skills at all.

    Upon closer inspection, Huo Yuhao realized that there was nothing amiss with his body. Even his soul power had regenerated on its own, to around 20% of its full strength. He also had no idea why his body ached so much, especially the swelling pain in the trunk of his body and in his passageways. He couldn¡¯t help but recall the time when he had fused with the bones and essence of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion; he didn¡¯t just feel pain, he also had to endure an intense itch ¨C that was the most unbearable feeling.

    The bones of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion? Huo Yuhao had a sudden epiphany. Yes, it must be because the Ice Empress had channeled the power of her bones, and he himself had actually used a four hundred thousand year soul bone¡¯s power twice in a row within a short period of time. It was no wonder his body was rebelling; it was already a miracle that his passageways and his bones were not majorly affected.

    With that in mind, Huo Yuhao immediately concentrated on channeling the soul power in his body ording to the Mysterious Heaven Technique. The technique itself had rejuvenating qualities in and of itself, and was thus the most optimal choice.

    Indeed, once his soul power circted through his body, he began to feel cool sensations coursing through his body, and his pain was instantly reduced considerably.

    As the pain receded, his mind became clearer and more lucid. The first question he thought of was, ¡°Did we win?¡±

    There was no way he could answer his own question. All he could remember was that he seemed to call for aid from the Ice Empress, and when the Ice Empress made her move, he cked out, and everything that came after that was unknown to him.

    He had sacrificed way too much for thispetition. How could he not be concerned about the oue? He murmured under his breath even before he opened his eyes, ¡°Did we win?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, victory is ours. We defended the honor and glory of Shrek,¡± a tender voice rang out from beside his ears. Once he heard these words, a wave of indescribable relief flowed through his entire body. He felt his entire body rx as he was bathed in tranquility.

    We won, we won. We managed to protect the honor and dignity of Shrek.

    After a tiny moment of exhration with that reply in mind, he wanted to open his eyes. However, he eventually fell into a deep sleep ¨C the toll on his body was simply too great, and he needed some time to recuperate.

    ¡°You guys are so powerful!¡± The person that was sitting beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed, and who had conveyed the news of their victory to him was the appointed group leader of the squad sent forth to participate in thepetition, Ma Xiaotao.

    Thepetition was over, and Huo Yuhao and all the others were either injured or expended. Wang Dong¡¯s condition was the most positive, but even he had gone out like a light and fainted in the end. Only Jiang Nannan was able to retain her consciousness.

    Under such a circumstance, how could Wang Yan cope on his own? He could only inform Ma Xiaotao, whose injuries had recovered significantly by now, as well as Dai Yaoheng and Ling Luochen. As for the situation with thepetition, he could no longer conceal the truth, and neither did he want to do so anymore.

    After listening to Wang Yan¡¯s recounting of what had happened, Ma Xiaotao and the two others fell into a deep silence. Along with Wang Yan, they bore the heavy responsibility of taking care of Huo Yuhao and the others.

    Wang Yan apanied the therapists sent forth by the Star Luo Empire to care for Xiao Xiao and Bei Bei, who were both heavily injured. Dai Yaoheng was responsible for He Caitou, while Ling Luochen took care of Wang Dong. Ma Xiaotao was naturally watching over Huo Yuhao.

    Jiang Nannan had to take care of Xu Sanshi (that lucky chap!); no matter how reluctant she was, as she couldn¡¯t just leave him to die. There was nobody else left, and in light of his heavily damaged vitality and outstanding performance, she took it upon herself to take care of Xu Sanshi.

    This was the night after thepetition, and Huo Yuhao woke up momentarily in a daze. Wang Dong was just as expended and exhausted, but for some reason, he was still stuck in a deep sleep. He Caitou was naturally stronger, and was in a much better state after a series of treatments.

    Even Bei Bei, who was more heavily injured, was awake by now. Only Xiao Xiao, who was in a far more dire state, remained unconscious, though her injuries had stabilized ¨C it was hard to say how long she would need to fully recover.

    The Star Luo Empire deployed their best medical resources to aid them in their recovery.

    Ma Xiaotao drew a nket over Huo Yuhao and caressed his hair. Her face was extremely serene and endearing as she whispered, ¡°Yuhao, do you know? Do you know that I am angry, and I¡¯m angry with myself? I am the group leader, and all this should¡¯ve been my responsibility, but I gave it all to you guys instead. Rest assured, we will soon bear the mantle of defending Shrek¡¯s glory, and I will let everyone know that Shrek Academy will not be bullied or disgraced.¡±

    Her voice was soft and gentle, but one could see a cold fog of in the deepest recesses of her eyes.

    Her loss of ground against the Evil Soul Master had heavily affected her. In thispetition, Huo Yuhao and the others¡¯ performance also made her extremely agitated. She had never felt such belligerence before.

    The next time Huo Yuhao came to, it was already the next morning. His physique had undergone a drastic change after the infusion of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s bones. This time, his exhaustion did not just stem from the expenditure of his soul power; more substantially, it came from when the Ice Empress was manipting his body and channeled the true power of the bones ¨C his body was nearly unable to withstand the pressure.

    After a day and night of recuperation, in addition to the natural regenerative abilities of his bones and bodily functions, he felt a lot better than before.

    Ma Xiaotao drifted into his sight the moment he opened his eyes.

    Ma Xiaotao was not d in red like she usually was. Instead, she was wearing a cascading white dress and was just quietly sitting there, with her flowing pink hair hanging loosely behind her back. There was an enchanting beauty and tranquility about her.

    ¡°Sister Xiaotao,¡± Huo Yuhao shouted in shock.

    Ma Xiaotao grinned and said, ¡°What? Are you feeling better?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sensed the state of his body. His soul power was almost fully replenished, and even though he could feel throbbing aches all over his body, his passageways were intact. The sentence spoken by the Ice Empress when she took over his body floated into his mind.

    Control ¨C you must be able to control every single ounce of power in your body with meticulous uracy, and only then can you defeat a stronger opponent.

    The true power of the Ice Empress was not something that his current body could handle. However, after the first channeling of her power, the reason why his body was hurt but not damaged was due to the Ice Empress¡¯ perfect control! The impable maniption was simply spectacr and breathtaking to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling a lot better.¡± Huo Yuhao struggled to get up, and his nked slipped down from his shoulders. He suddenly realized that there wasn¡¯t a single thread on his body as he gasped and reflexively hugged himself across his chest.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Ma Xiaotao chuckled as she watched his awkward disy of embarrassment. ¡°Seriously? It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t seen your little ¡®peanut¡¯ before.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth hung agape as he felt his face flush with hot blood. His cheeks were red and puffed out as he eximed once again, ¡°It¡¯s not a peanut!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t control her amusement any longer as sheughed heartily. Her actions were faintly elegant as she said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s true that no matter how old you are, males will always have an unrivaled ego about that thing. Alright, I won¡¯t tease you anymore. Since there¡¯s nothing you need to do, go wash up and grab a bite. Then you will rest,¡± she stood up as she spoke and stretched her backzily.

    She had been watching over Huo Yuhao for an entire night. No matter how powerful her abilities were, she hadn¡¯t fully healed from her own injuries, and it was inevitable that she felt a little exhausted. Her stretch instantly ced her perfect and even slightly exaggerated curves in front of Huo Yuhao, and caused his little guy to flush even more.

    At this moment, the door opened, and somebody walked in. From that person¡¯s perspective, he just witnessed Ma Xiaotao stretching her back, and the half-naked Huo Yuhao, whose cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

 Chapter 95.2: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    Chapter 95.2: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    ¡°You¡­ you guys¡­¡± Wang Dong gasped as he stood at the doorway, stunned at the sight before his eyes, which started to grow red.

    Ma Xiaotao stretched once more before she sauntered to the door and came up in front of Wang Dong. She tapped him lightly on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t think about all this nonsense at such a young age. I think he¡¯s fine, and you look like you¡¯ve recovered as well. Go grab a bite together,¡± she said as she pushed the door open and stepped out.

    This light tap on the head knocked Wang Dong to his senses and he instantly reoriented himself. He scratched his head andughed at himself ¨C yes! We¡¯re only twelve years old.

    ¡°How are you, Yuhao? You look like you were just vited,¡± Wang Dong snapped.

    Huo Yuhao dove right back under his nket. ¡°Xiaotao was right ¨C your head is just full of nonsense with all that talk of vition. She said we won, so please tell me, how did we win?¡±

    Wang Dong grunted and sat down on the same stool that Ma Xiaotao had just gotten up from. ¡°Of course it was done with a single hammer stroke from my Soul Elder that silenced them all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little confused, and asked curiously, ¡°Was I not the one that dealt the winning blow?¡± Even though he didn¡¯t know what had happened, he had absolute faith in the powers of the Ice Empress.

    Wang Dong recounted the final scenes of the battle in detail, including the part where he threw out the hammer.

    ¡°A hammer? Truly a masterstroke! That must be your second Martial Soul. What¡¯s it called?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Dong watched his face of in calmness and asked with amused impertinence, ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised that I have two Martial Souls?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grunted and answered, ¡°What¡¯s so surprising about that? I¡¯ve known that all along.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Dong red and opened his eyes wide. ¡°No way! I¡¯ve never revealed my second Martial Soul before!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed mischievously and said, ¡°But our Martial Souls have fused before. Don¡¯t you know the requirements for a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? Teacher Wang Yan said it before ¨C even though a Martial Soul Fusion Skill doesn¡¯t require both parties to have the same Martial Souls, they have to bepatible with each other. The strength of the Martial Soul Fusion is also intricately connected to ourpatibility, and ourpatibility rate was so high that even Teacher Wang said it was extremely rare. How can it be that I have two martial souls and you only have one? I will never believe that! So, even though I don¡¯t know what it is, I¡¯ve always known you had a second martial soul.¡±

    ¡°Then why have you never asked?¡± Wang Dong murmured as he lowered his head.

    Huo Yuhao shrugged. ¡°Why would I? Everybody has their own secrets. Even though we are the best of friends, probing into others¡¯ secrets is not a good thing. Everybody needs personal space, no?¡±

    Wang Dong raised his head once again as he nced at Huo Yuhao with a look of astonishment. ¡°That means that you have a secret that I don¡¯t know about! Quick, spill it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said with resolute righteousness, ¡°Over my dead body!¡±

    A cunning look came over Wang Dong¡¯s face. ¡°So you won¡¯t say it unless I beat you till you¡¯re dead?¡± He pounced on Huo Yuhao as he spoke.

    ¡°Help!¡± Huo Yuhao screamed as they fought into a bundle with the nket separating them.

    Wang Dong tugged on the nket and Huo Yuhao, who was hiding underneath it, was instantlypletely exposed¡­

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±A shrill cry came out from Wang Dong¡¯s mouth as he saw the said ¡°little peanut¡± that Ma Xiaotao was just talking about.

    Huo Yuhao snatched the nket back and red at Wang Dong with furious eyes. ¡°You gangster ¨C you even want to peep at people of the same gender?¡±

    Wang Dong recovered at the same time and shot back, ¡°So you¡¯ve peeped at people of the opposite gender?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Of course I haven¡¯t!¡± Huo Yuhao denied, but the glorious images of his tryst with Ma Xiaotao inside Sea God¡¯s Lake slowly drifted into his head. For young men, it is normal to have such fantasies as long as one doesn¡¯t lose control.

    Wang Dong leapt down from the bed with puffy cheeks and said, ¡°Alright, go wash up and get dressed now so we can eat. I came to see you as soon as I woke up, so I¡¯m famished. I haven¡¯t eaten anything since thepetition yesterday.¡±

    As he spoke, he turned around and strolled over to the sofa on the side and closed his eyes as he turned away from Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao got out of bed as well and stretched his body, feeling sore all over. However, after a night¡¯s rest and the natural healing abilities of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, his mobility was not affected.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s time to grab a bite. We should continue training and healing once we¡¯re done eating. My overdraft from thepetition is serious, and my passageways are swelling with difort. We still have another round of thepetition tomorrow, so we have to try our best to recover today. We¡¯ve only cleared a single challenging hurdle ¨C eh? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    As they were speaking to each other, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt an ominous tinge of rm sh by in his head as he nced towards the window subconsciously.

    Following the continuous rise in his abilities and his training of the spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual awareness was a lot sharper than before. In addition to that fact, the arriving party had no intention to mask himself or herself, so Huo Yuhao detected the intruder at the first possible instance.

    In a sh, a single person appeared before Huo Yuhao. Fortunately, he was properly dressed at this point, and his ¡°little peanut¡± wasn¡¯t exposed.

    The person who came was an elder, who was scraggy and of average height. However, he seemed to be brimming with energy. On the surface, he appeared to be around 60 years old, and his short hair was dark-brown. His gaze was filled with passion and vigor as itnded on Huo Yuhao. An invisible pressure bore down on Huo Yuhao and stifled him instantly.

    Wang Dong, whose eyes were originally shut, immediately bounced up upon hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice and stood beside him. There was no doubt that the elderly man who hade in through the window didn¡¯t harbor good intentions.

    The elderly man did not respond. As he raised his right hand, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt their eyes go dark as the surrounding light dimmed. A frightening soul power that left them fetid permeated the entire room in an instant.

    At this point, they felt like they were trapped in a cage, without even a chance to struggle and resist.

    As he watched the elderly man, Huo Yuhao was bewildered. He had never seen this man before and neither did he know what he was here for.

    ¡°Elder, who are you? Are you here to find me?¡± Huo Yuhao posed the same question again. At the same time, he lifted his hand to protect Wang Dong, who was behind him.

    Both he and Wang Dong did not unleash their martial souls at this moment, as they could sense the immense gap between them and this elderly man in front of them. He was not someone that could be resisted easily even if they teamed up together against him. Since this was the case, unleashing their martial souls could have the undesirable effect of provoking the elderly man. At the very least, they had to rify the situation first.

    The elderly man snorted as he cast his piercing and vigorous gaze on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He said indifferently, ¡°Tell me, which human form of the Ten Great Savage Beasts are you? While you have concealed yourself well, you can¡¯t fool me, even though you might fool others.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was incredulous as he replied, ¡°What do you mean, Ten Great Savage Beasts? Elder, I have no idea what you are talking about.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea what I am talking about? Stop pretending; it¡¯s useless. Don¡¯t even think of trying to escape. With your current abilities, you don¡¯t stand a chance against me. I have already sealed this ce with my soul power. Neither your voice nor your body will have a single shred of a chance of escaping.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. ¡°Elder, I have seriously no idea what you¡¯re talking about or why you are here.¡±

    The elderly man guffawed and seemed to be very proud of himself, ¡°Very well, since you¡¯re not going to admit anything, I shall expose you then. I shall let you die convinced.¡±

    As he spoke, the elderly man stepped forward and his aura erupted, forcing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to retreat uncontrobly. They even fell back onto the sofa.

    ¡°I am Cheng Gang, the Protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire. On that day, how did you manage to emerge victorious over your opponent during thepetition between Shrek Academy and Justsky Academy?¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart could not help but skip a beat, as he understood what the elderly man was talking about. While Huo Yuhao was not exceptionally smart, he had be much more intelligent after he fused with the Skydream Iceworm. Not only was he much more mature than others of the same age, he was also more pensive. He now understood that the elderly man could have sensed the aura of the Ice Empress, which exined the man¡¯s previous question. The elderly man had taken him for the human form of a hundred thousand year soul beast!

    As Cheng Gang looked at the stunned Huo Yuhao, he assumed that Huo Yuhao was feeling guilty over what he said and added, ¡°During thepetition, you were forced to use your origin power, am I right? At that moment, you inevitably revealed the aura that you originally possessed. To others, they might not have noticed, but you can¡¯t escape my sharp eyes. My Martial Soul contains a spiritual sense that is extremely sensitive. At the very first moment, I had already felt your aura.¡±

    ¡°Let me think, among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, only two of them belong in the ice-type category. One of them is the Snow Lady, who is ranked third, and the other is the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who is ranked eighth. Which of them are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was truly stunned by the judgment of the elderly man now. Besides the fact that he was not the human form of a Soul Beast, this elderly man¡¯s judgment was wless.

    While the elderly man referred to her by a different name, Huo Yuhao could tell that the Snow Lady that the elderly man was talking about was actually the Snow Empress, as the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion called her. As for the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, wouldn¡¯t it be referring to the Ice Empress herself?

    What was it with these Ten Great Savage Beasts? The Titan Snow Devil King, rankedst among the Three Heavenly Kings in the Extreme North, was not even included. As for the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, she was even only ranked eighth among the Ten Savage Beasts. The rankings were indeed frightening and astonishing!

    ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to act foolish anymore. You won¡¯t stand a chance. I never expected my luck to be so good ¨C that I would manage to catch one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts today. Whether you are the Snow Lady or the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion King, my reward will be an entire set of transcendent soul bones. Haha, hahahaha.¡±

 Chapter 95.3: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    Chapter 95.3: The Top 10 Savage Beasts

    As he spoke, the elderly man extended his hand towards Huo Yuhao, trying to grab hold of him.

    Huo Yuhao did not resist, as both he and Wang Dong werepletely helpless against the elderly man. The immense Titled Douluo-level abilities of the elderly man allowed him to summon his soul power to suppress their actions.

    Once he grabbed hold of Huo Yuhao, the elderly man tightened his grip on Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck using his other hand. A gush of vast soul power surged instantly into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao felt his body swelling up like a balloon. Regardless of whether it was the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress or Electrolux, they did not react. Against an invincible opponent, none of them could save him with this diminutive figure of his.

    Huo Yuhao felt that the whole situation was absurd. Am I just going to ridiculously die like that? It was only his first time seeing Cheng Gang! Furthermore, he was not even any form of Soul Beast.

    ¡°Oh? Something¡¯s not right.¡± Cheng Gang was suddenly dazed, and the soul power that he had injected into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly stalled. Following that, he swiftly rushed to the bedside and flung Huo Yuhao onto the bed. After that, both of his hands pped Huo Yuhao¡¯s body rapidly.

    This time, the surge of soul power was considerably less than before. Huo Yuhao could only feel a numbing sensation originating from the bones all around his body. He could not tell whether he wasfortable or feeling awful as this sensation coursed through his entire body. But Cheng Gang¡¯s dense soul power did agitate the cirction of blood in his veins, which alleviated the overbearing pain caused by the Ice Empress.

    As Cheng Gang increased the frequency of his ps on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body with his palms, his expression became more and more dismal too.

    Finally, he wrenched Huo Yuhao from the bed and dragged him in front of him, bellowing, ¡°Are you not the rebirth of a savage beast?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at him coldly, ¡°Since when did I tell you that I am the rebirth of a savage beast? I am a true, living human being!¡±

    Cheng Gang reacted to his words like a deted balloon and threw Huo Yuhao onto the bed violently. Then, he said depressingly, ¡°How is this possible, how is this possible? I clearly sensed the aura of a savage beast! I can¡¯t be wrong. Only extremely powerful savage beasts will possess such a strong undtion of life force!¡±

    Under the suppression of his soul power, Huo Yuhao was immobile. However, he could still speak, ¡°That¡¯s because of your own greed. There¡¯s no harm in telling you, my Ice Martial Soul is indeed the Ice Jade Scorpion.¡±

    Cheng Gang¡¯s face was struck with a look of revtion. ¡°So that¡¯s the case. So that¡¯s the case¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­ how are you able to make the aura of the martial soul of your Ice Jade Scorpion appear with traces of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion? This is impossible! Moreover, how did the martial soul of the Ice Jade Scorpion appear? I have never heard of anyone who possesses such a martial soul.¡±

    With regards to this Titled Douluo elder who had appeared so abruptly, Huo Yuhao was extremely riled up, and he bellowed in rage, ¡°How should I know? Aren¡¯t you the Titled Douluo here? You should know better than I do. But you came here to grab me before even rifying the situation?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, Yuhao. This elder is not being deliberate here either.¡± Wang Dong finally spoke, and his voice in an unusual, tender tone. He even coupled the smile on his face with adtion. ¡°People cannot avoid making mistakes. Elder Cheng might be a super expert, a Titled Douluo, but it¡¯s inevitable that he will make mistakes too. He¡¯s not doing this on purpose, and he didn¡¯t cause you any real harm either. Just forget it.¡±

    As he said that, Wang Dong even shot a look at Huo Yuhao.

    They had been partners for such long time, to the point where they were practically telepathic. Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat as he instantly understood what Wang Dong was trying to do and scowled at himself ¨C he wasn¡¯t as calm as Wang Dong in such a crucial moment!

    Only the three of them were inside the room at this moment, and the entire room had been sealed off. If this Titled Douluo wanted to cover up what had just transpired, or if he suddenly felt murderous and wanted to silence them forever, then nobody could save them!

    However, a sudden change in attitude wasn¡¯t the way to go either. Huo Yuhao grunted once and stopped talking entirely.

    Cheng Gang growled, ¡°It¡¯s just my bad luck. You two little kids better watch your mouths.¡±

    Wang Dong inquired, ¡°I haven¡¯t asked ¨C what is your title?¡±

    Cheng Gang snorted indifferently and said, ¡°Neither of you are worthy of knowing it.¡± As he spoke, he waved his right hand and withdrew the soul power in the room. With that, he leapt through the window, and his figure vanished.

    Only when they couldn¡¯t feel that intense pressure anymore did Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao heave a heavy sigh of relief at the same time. They could sense how close they had been to death in front of power as real as what had just stood before them.

    Huo Yuhao walked up to close the window once again. He clenched his fists tightly and turned to Wang Dong. ¡°We were bullied and humiliated just because we¡¯re weak. I will remember his humiliation by heart, and I will avenge it.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t respond directly, instead changing the subject. ¡°Wash up, let¡¯s go eat.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged and stepped into the bathroom. At this moment, he felt as if the dormant Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had just woken from their slumber.

    ¡°There are truly many talented individuals hiding in in sight. I only released a single strand of my aura that day, and I was instantly discovered. How dangerous. However, it was only a weak Titled Douluo. Who knew that a day like this woulde, when a person with abilities as weak as his could stomp around arrogantly before me. Back in the day, I would have turned him into an ice statue.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice was filled with fury and exasperation.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and asked, ¡°Ice Empress, what are the Ten Great Savage Beasts?¡±

    The Ice Empress knew that he was feeling a little despondent, and thus exined patiently, ¡°The Ten Great Savage Beasts is a term used by humans to refer to the ten most powerful Soul Beasts on the maind. It¡¯s only a ranking given to the few that they know. That guy is an idiot ¨C once we break through the two hundred thousand year mark, we cannot be reborn into a human anymore. The weakest of the Ten Great Savage Beasts have already had more than three hundred thousand years to reach mastery ¨C how can they take human forms? He didn¡¯t even consider that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was distracted by this discussion about the Ten Savage Beasts. ¡°Who is on the list? I didn¡¯t know that there were so many Transcendent Soul Beasts.¡±

    The Ice Empress answered, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know even if I told you. However, the Ten Savage Beasts may not be the most powerful soul beasts. Put simply, the older a soul beast is, the more powerful it bes. However, the list curated by humans doesn¡¯t include the oceanic soul beasts. Even if the list only included the soul beasts onnd, it doesn¡¯t include entities like Skydream, who train through hibernation, and other powerful entities who haven¡¯t been discovered by you humans.¡±

    ¡°Oceanic soul beasts? Are they powerful?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in astonishment.

    The Ice Empress replied without hesitation. ¡°Of course they are powerful. However, the truly powerful ones all reside in the deepest abyss of the ocean. Furthermore, humans have limited abilities to venture into the sea, so the oceanic soul beasts aren¡¯t disturbed by humans as much as the soul beasts onnd. Thus overall, they are collectively more powerful than the soul beasts onnd. However, thepetition for survival in the ocean is a lot crueler, so the various breeds of soul beasts in the ocean are a lotrger than those onnd. Therefore, even powerful oceanic soul beasts run the risk of death if they meet an even more terrifying species of soul beast. This is the reason why I cannot confirm whether oceanic soul beasts can rival the most powerful soul beast onnd.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded in acknowledgement and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s topping the list of Ten Savage Beasts? What¡¯s his power like?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure myself,¡± The Ice Empress answered, ¡°You should ask the Skydream Iceworm, maybe he¡¯ll know. All I know is that the leader of the Ten Savage Beasts resides in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s more powerful than the Snow Empress.¡±

    ¡°Right, Brother Skydream, how could I forget about you? You have a million years of soul power ¨C you should be considered one of the savage beasts, shouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Him? A savage beast?¡± Before the Skydream Iceworm could respond, the Ice Empress dismissed hisment. ¡°He¡¯s just a gluttonous bug, he can¡¯t be considered a savage beast. If not for his ¡®contributions¡¯ to the Great Star Dou Forest, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many powerful soul beasts there.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was indignant and retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t your bloodline better? If you had just yed nice and followed me, we would have been able tobine our powers as husband and wife, and we would have reigned supreme over the world!¡±

    The Ice Empressughed coldly and said, ¡°Husband and wife? Are you even worthy? I think you¡¯re only worthy enough to be my food. If you had just let me gobble you up back then, I might have actually be the most powerful individual on the maind.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm did not tter the Ice Empress as much as before anymore. Perhaps it was due to his realization that his chances with the Ice Empress weren¡¯t too great anyway, but he had decided to toughen up. ¡°Eat, all you know to do is eat. Are you a scorpion or a pig?¡±

    ¡°Do you wish to die?¡± the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion muttered darkly.

    The Skydream Iceworm fearlessly eximed, ¡°Come! Bite me! Since we¡¯re all locusts on the same string, Yuhao will die if I die, and you will be gone if he dies. Hmph.¡±

    ¡°Okay, stop arguing. Let¡¯s just go to sleep.¡± Huo Yuhao tapped himself on the head as he felt a headacheing on.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Yuhao, your body is slowly recovering. You should work hard to break through to Rank 30; then you¡¯ll be able to control my powers more smoothly ¨C at least, you¡¯ll be able to protect yourself much better.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao answered.

    At this point, the frail old voice of Electrolux rang out. ¡°Obtain that Ominous Soul-Devouring Carving Knife as quickly as you can. It holds great meaning for you, and for me as well. With it, my consciousness will no longer run the risk of dissipating.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Compared to the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao was more deferential towards the Electrolux, and even trusted his words more. He wasn¡¯t just calm andposed. He used to be a human himself!

    Once he finished washing up, Huo Yuhao went out for a meal with Wang Dong. Neither of them mentioned anything about what had just transpired ¨C even though their opponent had been a Titled Douluo, it had still been a great humiliation. Furthermore, their team were the only members of Shrek Academy inside Star Luo City, as they were the contest participants, and the leader of the entire group was Teacher Wang Yan, who was only a Soul King. Who could seek justice for them? That guy was a Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire! This humiliation would be forever imprinted in their hearts.

 Chapter 96.1: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    Chapter 96.1: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    Cheng Gang, the Protector Douluo, left the Grand Imperial Star Hotel. There was no need to even mention how depressed he was feeling.

    The instant he had sensed the aura of the savage , he had felt as if the blood in his body was boiling. As a Titled Douluo, he was naturally aware that when a soul beast reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation, it could choose to re-cultivate to be a human. Otherwise, it could attempt to break through the exceedingly perilous bottleneck. After two hundred thousand years of cultivation, a soul beast could no longer cultivate to be a human anymore.

    However, he had indeed sensed the aura that hade from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body! Spurred by his own greed, he could not help but ponder how humans did not fullyprehend soul beasts. Perhaps there was some special circumstance? Maybe soul beasts had researched a special method of undergoing cultivation?

    With such a mindset, he had gone looking for Huo Yuhao this morning with an elevated heartbeat. But who knew that things would turn out to be theplete opposite of what he had expected? After inspecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he had gleaned nothing from it. Even if a soul beast turned into a human, the condition of the soul beast¡¯s body would be starkly dissimr from that of a true human being. In particr, the method of circting soul power was something that could not escape the eyes of a powerful individual, a Titled Douluo, like him. However, Huo Yuhao body clearly reflected his identity as a real human.

    As his hopes had been dashed, it was no wonder that Cheng Gang was currently crestfallen.

    With his current status in the Star Luo Empire, it was rtively easy for him to obtain a Soul Bone. While soul bones were rare, there were still some that could be acquired. However, Cheng Gang was a conceited man. He had been searching for the most suitable and outstanding soul bone for himself. Ordinary soul bones hardly caught his eye. Despite this, he had yet to procured a soul bone for himself even though he had cultivated to the level of a Titled Douluo. After all, when top-quality soul bones appeared on the market, their prices were astronomical. Even though the Star Luo Empire supported him, they wouldn¡¯t go to such an extent for him.

    ¡°What luck, damn it. I hope those rascals have some tact. Otherwise, offending Shrek Academy for no valid reason won¡¯t be good for me. But then, I didn¡¯t really do anything either.¡±

    ¡°You should be d that you didn¡¯t do anything to harm them.¡± A cold voice sounded in his mind.

    ¡°Who is that?¡± It was still in the afternoon, and the sun was still bearing down. With Cheng Gang¡¯s cultivation, everything within a thousand-meter radius would be within his range of sensation. However, he had not realized the presence of the person whose voice he had just heard.

    ¡°I am your daddy. Your daddy is waiting for you outside the west gate. Obedient child,e over now.¡± That cold voice started to sound weird and piercing all of a sudden.

    ¡°Bastard, you dare to use a soul tool to make a fool of me.¡± Cheng Gang¡¯s figure shed, and he made his way towards the direction of the west gate as if he were a puff of smoke. To him, if even a Titled Douluo could not detect the presence of the other party, then the other party must certainly be using some form of peculiar soul tool to avoid detection.

    He had always been a very direct person, and very passionate towards martial arts. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gone to capture Huo Yuhao. He was still within Star Luo City and could wait for Shrek Academy to leave before making a move. But right now, he was extremely down, and thus he didn¡¯t deliberate before making his way to the west gate under the prompting of the voice he had heard.

    After leaving the city through the west gate, Cheng Gang became calmer. He squinted his eyes, and a weird change started to develop in his pupils. Both his eyes started to turn pure ck, as all semnce of white disappeared. Following that, the pure ck color in his eyes split into small pupils at an rming rate. Under such conditions, his sensitivity increased severalfold. Although he did not possess the soul skill of spiritual detection like Huo Yuhao, his detection abilities were simr to that of spiritual detection at this point. Almost everything within his vision could be sensed by him at this moment.

    However, he discovered nothing.

    Outside the west gate, there was no one among the bustling crowd that caught his attention. Everything seemed to be as normal as ever. However, the more it was like that, the more uneasy Cheng Gang felt. He knew that something was amiss.

    ¡°Continue to proceed west.¡± At this point, the voice from before sounded again.

    As he focused on sensing his surroundings, Cheng Gang was shocked when he heard the voice. At the same time, a chill developed in his heart. What form of soul tool was it that could escape his detection?

    A shred of difort caused him to retreat one step subconsciously.

    ¡°Are you trying to escape? Are you not afraid that I will tear down Star Luo City?¡± A wave of might suddenly swept across him. With Cheng Gang¡¯s cultivation, he felt as if his blood was solidifying along with this sudden might that swept across.

    It was pertinent to note that he was a Titled Douluo! Ever since he had be one, he had never felt such fear before. However, the pressure that was being exerted on him now was very obvious. What left him even more stupefied was the fact that everyone around him did not seem to react at all. This meant that the frightening pressure being exerted on him was only targeted towards him.

    This was the most terrifying part. To be able to control one¡¯s might to this standard, even Cheng Gang could not do so.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Cheng Gang replied to the other party through themunication bridge in their spirits that the other party had set up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the west. If you don¡¯te, I will make my move on Star Luo City. I shall give you 3 seconds to consider. 1, 2¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go.¡± As the Protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire, Cheng Gang naturally could not allow this unknown, yet powerful individual to make a move on the city. When a Titled Douluo unleashed all his power, he had the daunting ability of causing mass destruction! Furthermore, through his interaction with this mysterious individual, he could clearly sense the fury that this person contained, although he had no killing intent.

    Cheng Gang did stall any further, and proceeded west immediately. That voice did not appear anymore. At this point, he did not reckon that the other party was using any form of soul tool anymore. When the might of the other party had swept over him just now, he had realized that the other party was an outstanding Titled Douluo just like him. However, he was fearless. He yearned forpetition against those at the same level as him. He believed that this was the only way that he could improve himself. While the other party possessed a mighty stature, Cheng Gang was aware that some unusual martial souls specialized in reflecting such mighty stature. This didn¡¯t mean that the other party was necessarily more powerful than him.

    After advancing for roughly 10 miles, Cheng Gang stopped in his tracks. He did so because he saw someone sitting in the middle of the road not far away from him. It was an elderly man who appeared to be greasy from head to toe, and who had unkempt hair. In his left hand, there was a chicken drumstick, and in his right hand, he held a wine gourd.

    Cheng Gang sensed that the elderly man was only an ordinary person. However, this elderly man was enjoying his food and wine in the middle of the road.

    ¡°Come over!¡± The elderly man gnawed on thest fragment of meat on the chicken drumstick as he lifted his head towards Cheng Gang and looked at him.

    Cheng Gang shivered with fear. His ability to hide his aura was rather exceptional! ¡°Who are you? Why did you lead me here?¡±

    The elderly man leapt up from the ground, ¡°I called you over so that I can wallop you.¡± As he spoke, the drumstick bone was already flung towards Cheng Gang.

    Cheng Gang squinted both his eyes. As he whipped his right hand up, he deflected the chicken bone away.

    ¡°Snap¡ª¨C¡± The chicken bone was turned into powder, but Cheng Gang was forced one step back too. He felt an agonizing pain in his right palm, and the back of his hand even showed with a red mark.

    What powerful soul power!

    Neither parties had even released their martial souls, but Cheng Gang¡¯s opponent was able to force him back just by using a chicken bone. His cultivation must be very immense!

    ¡°I recall that your title is Immense. Come, show me how powerful you are. As long as you are able to withstand 10 attacks of mine, I will let you off.¡±

    In the face of this unpredictable elderly man, Cheng Gang remained calm as he said in a deep voice, ¡°Elder, are you from Shrek Academy?¡±

    The elderly man snorted, ¡°You¡¯re not dumb. Do you really think that Shrek Academy is such an easy target to be bullied?¡± Who else from Shrek looked like that? It was naturally the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t even sent by Shrek Academy. After being reprimanded by Elder Mu, he had run out on his own. He couldn¡¯t stop worrying about the little fellows!

    As for thepetition before, he had been watching it secretly. When Wang Dong supported Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei to seize victory, he had been so emotional that he had teared up, even though he hadn¡¯t been so impassioned for a long time. At that point in time, he even had the urge to burst up to the arena topete himself!

    Today, he had witnessed the entirety of Cheng Gang¡¯s actions. He had watched from the side. If Cheng Gang had had the murderous intention to kill both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, he and even the Star Luo Empire wouldn¡¯t have been spared.

    Cheng Gangmented in his heart. From what he knew, Shrek Academy¡¯s teacher that hade this time should have only been in the Soul King level!

    ¡°I was a little reckless. However, if a soul beast converts into a human to cultivate, it will pose a huge threat to the human race. That¡¯s why I¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your trap.¡± Elder Xuan bellowed in anger, ¡°Cut your flowery words with me. Are you not just being selfish? Let¡¯s not even talk about the fact that a soul beast can¡¯t turn into a human. Even if a soul beast could, it would just be a human after it seeds in its cultivation. What has that got to do with you? Are you not eyeing the hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone? Stop trying to spout nonsense to me. On ount of the fact that you did not attempt to kill them, I shall only teach you a lesson today. Remember it.¡±

    Cheng Gang was the Protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire, and it¡¯d been a long time since he had been admonished like this. His face turned red, and he retorted in fury, ¡°Come on then, show me what you have to teach me.¡±

    As he said that, his left leg stepped forward slightly. Following that, a beam of glowing concentrated ck emanated from within his body. When this ck glow appeared, it had an earth-shaking effect. The entire earth seemed to tremble slightly.

    Cheng Gang¡¯s body began to show obvious changes. To a Beast Soul Master, the higher his cultivation, the greater the changes his body would experience when he unleashed his martial soul. Right now, this was the case with Cheng Gang. His skin turned dark and glimmered with light, as if it were a crustacean that was coated with ayer of ck. The most intriguing change that he experienced were in his brows. Both sides of his eyebrows grew longer at the same time before they curled up. Eventually, they reached over 20 centimeters in length, as if they were two tentacles that were pointed upwards¡­

 Chapter 96.2: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    Chapter 96.2: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    Two yellow, three purple, four ck. A total of nine rings appeared on his body. Following the rhythm of the soul rings, the frightening aura of a Titled Douluo burst forth ceaselessly.

    The earth-shaking sensation became stronger and stronger. It seemed to have been influenced by Cheng Gang¡¯s martial soul. This was the pressure of a Titled Douluo. A Titled Douluo who could cause mass destruction! Because of the presence of Titled Douluo, a soul engineer had always been unable to surpass a soul master.

    As he howled, Cheng Gang stepped forward abruptly. At the same time, the earth in front of him undted and rose more than 10 meters tall like a tidal wave. Following that, the plot of earth that rose up started to m down on Elder Xuan.

    This wasn¡¯t any earth-type power, but a pure force. Cheng Gang wasn¡¯t even using a soul skill right now.

    Elder Xuan snorted, and stepped forward with his right leg too.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡±

    Just that simple step caused a huge impact, as if a meteorite had crashed or an earth dragon had risen from the ground. The earth that Cheng Gang had lifted was instantaneously crushed. Not only that, but the frightening force was converted into a fan-shaped yellow shockwave that was conducted towards Cheng Gang¡¯s feet.

    Cheng Gang could only feel a wave of irresistible force being transmitted to him from beneath his feet. When he wanted to use a soul skill, he discovered to his shock that his soul power had been repressed. After that, he was heaved into the air.

    As Elder Xuan stomped with his right foot, he appeared in front of Cheng Gang in a sh.

    ¡°The forte of the Ant Emperor is its strength. Let this old man see how strong you are.¡± As he spoke, Elder Xuan¡¯s hand was already pressing on Cheng Gang¡¯s shoulder.

    From the moment he leapt from the ground to the instant that he pressed on Cheng Gang¡¯s shoulder, only a brief period of time had passed. However, Cheng Gang felt that this brief period of time was as long as a century.

    When Elder Xuan¡¯s figure shed, Cheng Gang must have had thought of at least five ways to escape his opponent¡¯s control. However, he was unable to perform any of them. As they were pulled closer, a startling pressure was exerted on him. He was stifled by this pressure, and could not even use a single soul skill. He froze in mid-air.

    Since he had be a Titled Douluo, and even since he had be a soul master, he had never experienced such a situation in all his years!

    Cheng Gang waspletely out of sorts now. He had never thought that someone so powerful existed in this world. It was also at this point that the frightful momentum disappeared. Both Cheng Gang and Elder Xuannded on the earth again. Elder Xuan¡¯s huge hand was still pressing on Cheng Gang¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Come. I will not use my soul power, but only my pure strength. Whatever you have to do, I will let you off if you can shrug my hand off your shoulder.¡± Elder Xuan looked at Cheng Gang in disdain.

    As a Titled Douluo, Cheng Gang was normally an arrogant person. Furthermore, the strong suit of his martial soul was its strength!

    An ant might be minute, but it was able to lift heavy objects up to hundred times its weight. Moreover, Cheng Gang¡¯s soul skills were targeted towards increasing his strength still further. He could be considered a pure strength-type Titled Douluo. His opponent¡¯s soul power was immense, and he knew that he could not resist it, but he did not believe that he could not match up in terms of strength.

    Therefore, Cheng Gang expended all his strength and used all the soul skills he had which could increase his own strength. He struggled mightily.

    The frightening strength caused the earth beneath him to crack, and fissures extended through the earth for several thousand meters around them. It was as if an earth dragon was really going to rise from the ground.

    However, the hand that was pressing on his shoulder was very strong. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shrug it off.

    Cheng Gang¡¯s veins were already popping out. He had already tried his best, but he was still unable to free himself.

    No, that¡¯s impossible. That¡¯s impossible. Cheng Gang was unwilling to believe it no matter what. As a Titled Douluo, he could not even struggle against this opponent of his who had yet to even unleash his martial soul, and who was not even using his soul power right now. This was unthinkable.

    His confidence was slowly being crushed, and his dignity was gradually being degraded. He struggled less and less as time passed. Eventually, there was only a look of dejection left on Cheng Gang¡¯s face.

    Elder Xuan picked his brows and asked, ¡°Can you do it?¡±

    Cheng Gang shook his head helplessly.

    Elder Xuan retracted his right hand, ¡°This is a lesson to you. As a Titled Douluo, you need to possess the ego and pride that belongs to a Titled Douluo. As someone with nine rings, you went to bully those two kids with only two or three rings. This is a humiliation for you. I don¡¯t want your life either. Forget this matter after you¡¯ve pped yourself a hundred times. I also don¡¯t want to dirty my hands by beating you up.¡±

    Cheng Gang¡¯s body shivered. He¡¯d rather die than p himself. However, everyone was scared of death. He was not an exception either. In Star Luo Empire, he possessed great authority. How could he be willing to die? In front of this elderly man, he had no other choice, as he was helpless against him. He was filled with regret now! As he had been blinded by greed, how could he have thought of the pride and ego of a Titled Douluo? However, it was toote for regrets now.

    ¡°Piak¡ª¡± He pped himself hard, ¡°Piak, piak, piak¡­¡±

    As he saw Cheng Gang pping himself, Elder Xuan counted every p seriously. After more than 10 ps, Cheng Gang¡¯s face had already swelled up. With Elder Xuan around to scrutinize him, he did not dare to let himself off lightly.

    As Cheng Gang pped himself, Elder Xuan¡¯s face became much more appeased. He had finally done something for those little fellows.

    It did not take long for Cheng Gang to p himself a hundred times. Very soon, Cheng Gang hadpleted this humiliating task. Right now, his cheeks were already swollen like two huge peaches. Blood flowed down from the edges of his lips continuously.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Enough. Scram now.¡±

    ¡°Elder, are you an Ultimate Douluo?¡± Cheng Gang asked in a blur. The physical pain that he felt was notparable to the agony he felt in his heart.

    A long time ago, Cheng Gang already knew that there were huge gaps between the cultivations of Titled Douluo. But after he became a Titled Douluo, he reckoned that his own abilities were very powerful and forgot this. When he was pping himself earlier, he had be much clearer in his mind too.

    Every major level of a soul master was divided into ten different ranks. When the lowest soul schr reached Rank 10, he could be a soul master after obtaining a soul ring. Because of that soul ring, a soul master was much more powerful than a soul schr. In the soul master level, every increase in rank would increase one¡¯s soul power by at least 10%. At the stage of a soul grandmaster, the gaps between the ranks would be even greater.

    However, the gap in soul power between Titled Douluo was the greatest. This was after 90 ranks.

    Only after obtaining a soul ring could one¡¯s soul power transcend Rank 90 and reach Rank 91 through the power of the soul ring. Between Rank 91 and 92, there was a twofold increase in soul power.

    Of course, the powers of a soul master could not just be determined using soul power. The strength of one¡¯s soul skill, the effectiveness of the soul rings on one¡¯s body and even differences in soul bones could make up for the differences in cultivation between two different people. Hence, a Rank 92 soul master might not find it particrly easy to defeat a Rank 91 soul master.

    However, there was definitely a gap in soul power. Every time one¡¯s cultivation increased a rank, the difference would increase too. When Rank 95 was reached, there would be a huge bottleneck. A Rank 95 Transcendent Titled Douluo possessed a cultivation that could resist 10 lower ranked Titled Douluo. If a Titled Douluo¡¯s cultivation could reach Rank 99, he would be recognized as an Ultimate Douluo.

    In the entire history of the Douluo Continent, there had been very few Ultimate Douluo. The period of time when there was the greatest concentration of Ultimate Douluo was during the generation of Tang San of the Tang Sect. Not only did Ultimate Douluo appear then, but Tang San and his wife, as well as their rivals, even became Gods.

    However, very few Ultimate Douluo had appeared on the Douluo Continent since then.

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Elder Xuan shook his head and denied Cheng Gang¡¯s words.

    ¡°You are not? Can you tell me your title then?¡± Cheng Gang continued to ask indignantly.

    Elder Xuan twisted his mouth and said, ¡°How did you reply to those little fellows? I shall reply you in the same way. You are still not fit to ask what my title is. You don¡¯t have the right to. Scram now.¡± As he said that, he kicked Cheng Gang in the torso. Cheng Gang felt as if he was flying above the clouds as he was kicked out. But this kick wasn¡¯t important. When he controlled his body to cushion hisnding on the ground, the slovenly elder had already disappeared.

    While his face was flushed, his heart was cold at this point.

    He shook his head and wiped the blood off his lips. Cheng Gang muttered bitterly, ¡°I am a frog in a well. I am really a frog in well! After I became a Titled Douluo, I thought that I was the most outstanding. But I didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯d be nothing against someone who is truly powerful. Shrek Academy, what a Shrek Academy! I have to shut myself in and cultivate again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong did not know that Elder Xuan had avenged them. After eating, they went to visit Xiao Xiao.

    However, the two of them only remained at the entrance of the room to take a look at her situation. They did so because it was not too appropriate for them to enter, given the situation inside.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s room door wasn¡¯t shut and was half-opened. From the opening of the door, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could see a burly figure sitting at the bedside. This person was meticulously feeding Xiao Xiao porridge with a small spoon.

 Chapter 96.3: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    Chapter 96.3: A Battle Between Titled Douluos

    ¡°Caitou simmered the porridge himself. After simmering it for half a night, he only scooped up the rice oil on the surface, which was the essence of the porridge. I didn¡¯t know that he¡¯s actually so meticulous underneath that cloddish appearance of his.¡± Teacher Wang Yanmented after he appeared behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong suddenly.

    ¡°Brother Caitou is such a nice person!¡± Wang Dongplimented.

    Wang Yan chuckled and said, ¡°When all of you returned, all of you conked out, so you didn¡¯t see what Caitou was like. He muttered one sentence repeatedly. He said that no matter what happens in the future, he wouldn¡¯t let Xiao Xiao be hurt because of him. He swore to protect her. Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s fine since Caitou is here to take care of Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao has also just awoken, so let¡¯s not disturb her.¡± As he said that, he gently shut the door and dragged both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to his own room. He had many doubts in his mind, and needed to interrogate both of them.

    After they arrived in Wang Yan¡¯s room, Wang Yan gestured for both of them to take a seat on the sofa. Following that, he stared at them with a serious expression on his face without opening his mouth for a whole minute.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong began to develop chills on their skin after being eyeballed by Wang Yan. Wang Dong got tot point where he could no longer bear it, and asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, why are you staring at us?¡±

    Wang Yan sighed slightly before replying, ¡°I have been cultivating since my youth. Only when I reached 20 did I realize that I¡¯m not innately talented. Then, I turned my attention to the research of martial souls. I toiled, and eventually cemented my ce in Shrek Academy today. I am 41 years old this year, and I¡¯ve been studying martial souls for a good 35 years now. In Shrek Academy, there¡¯s never ack of talents. However, my understanding of what a ¡®talent¡¯ constitutes has been redefined repeatedly when ites to your batch. I have even seen the urrence of many situations that have until now only appeared in myths and legends.¡±

    ¡°Initially, I believed that Dai Huabin was the most outstanding among your batch of students. Although he¡¯s only 13 years old, he possesses soul power up to Rank 37. It¡¯s almost conceivable that he can reach the cultivation of Soul Emperor when he¡¯s 20 years old, under the meticulous guidance of the academy.¡±

    ¡°Maybe the both of you are unaware, but we¡¯ve something known as ¡®seeds¡¯ in the academy. They refer to students whose cultivation can reach 6 rings even before they¡¯re 20 years old. Right now, there are only 4 ¡®seedling¡¯ students remaining in the entire academy. They include Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yaoheng, whom the two of you have seen before. Achieving 6 rings before the age of 20 is also publicly recognized in the continent as the criteria to be called an unrivaled talent.

    ¡°I used to think like that in the past too. However, after I got to know the both of you better, I have been reminded through your actions that this theory is facious. The ss of one¡¯s soul power is not everything. There are even more crucialponents and situations apart from the ss of one¡¯s soul power. Let me exin to the both of you. Yuhao, I shall talk about you first.¡±

    ¡°You are the one who surprises me the most. In terms of diligence, you are among the top 3 of all the students that I¡¯ve seen. As for your talent, you are the only one with an ultimate martial soul that I have ever seen. What¡¯s even more unbelievable is that it¡¯s a twin martial soul. Your second martial soul awakened after the first. These few conditions of yours are all suitable to be the subject of my research. Even till now, I have not grasped some of your mysteries. As for your will and resilience, you are without a doubt the toughest person I have seen among those in your same age bracket. I am certain that your achievements will be above Dai Huabin¡¯s in the future. In thepetition yesterday, you disyed two abilities at the end. Don¡¯t tell me that they were skills derived from your first soul ring. If I am not recalling wrongly, your first soul skill was your soul bone skill, which is a powerful soul skill that resembles the power of a domain. Logically speaking, with your condition, you shouldn¡¯t have been able to possess such a skill. And when you disyed that skill at the end which forced Ye Wuqing off the arena, I could feel the frightening aura of that soul skill even though I wasn¡¯t even in the arena. Furthermore, Ye Wuqing had already freed himself from the restraint of the Golden road. With his cultivation as a Soul King, you couldn¡¯t have beaten him simply by consolidating your soul power. At that point in time, I felt that your control of soul power became much greater. Can you exin to me how you were able to do that?¡±

    In the face of Wang Yan¡¯s doubts, Huo Yuhao groaned inwardly. Teacher Wang was indeed very astute in his observations, as his questions were all on point.

    However, Wang Yan did not press him to answer immediately. Rather, he turned to Wang Dong, ¡°What about you then? Your situation is even more interesting. Twin martial souls, am I right? If I¡¯m correct, that ck light of yours that was shaped as a hammer should belong in the strength-type category. That means that your body contains a second martial soul that¡¯s in the strength-type category. You have concealed it quite well! Although I¡¯m shocked, I can still ept it. However, I am interested to know the method that you used that led to Shangguan Can¡¯s fourth soul skill losing effectiveness and even triggering such an intense bacsh. Your victory was not determined by thatst hammerstroke of yours, but through the instantaneous backfiring mechanism that you initiated. You actually repelled the soul skill that even Bei Bei was controlled by. How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°Err¡­¡±

    Wang Dong was simrly speechless. Just like Huo Yuhao, he had his own secrets, and more than just a few!

    As he looked at the both of them, Wang Yan chortled. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t put the two of you on the spot. I¡¯m just pointing out the mysterious conditions both of you have. Everyone has their own secrets, especially for soul masters like us. Honestly speaking, I have developed a sense of surrealism towards the word of soul masters because of your appearances. Since when did twin martial soul be so readily avable, such that there are three of them now? Moreover, each one of them is greater than the preceding one. All of you are indeed phenomenal! However, I remember a phrase shared by the dean that I concur with. If things go wrong, there must be something strange. Our academy is blessed with three twin martial souls at the same time. Perhaps a heavy responsibility willnd upon the shoulders of the few of you. Hence, I hope that the few of you won¡¯t waste this gift that you have been blessed with. Putting effort into your cultivation to achieve the special abilities that the few of you were meant to have will be the best choice that the few of you can make.¡±

    ¡°As your Teacher, I won¡¯t question yourmitments. But my purpose in calling the both of you here today was to tell the both of you that you can feel free to approach me if you have any doubts. After all, I am more experienced, and I know more than the both of you. With the ten thousand years of heritage that Shrek Academy has, my knowledge is bound to be richer than the both of you. I can aid you in skipping some unnecessary bends along the way. If it involves your secrets, I can guarantee with my character that I will preserve them.¡±

    As they saw the sincere expression on Wang Yan¡¯s face, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong appeared much more rxed.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Wang, I do have some questions that I would like to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Shoot.¡± Wang Yan nodded his head towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Wang, you have seen both our martial souls, which are vastly different from each other. My first martial soul is the spiritual-type Spirit Eyes, whereas my second martial soul is the ultimate ice martial soul, the Ice Jade Scorpion. As for Wang Dong, his first martial soul is the light-type Radiant Butterfly Goddess, and his second martial soul is of a strength type. I can fairly say that these four martial souls that we possess arepletely dissimr. However, how are our martial souls sopatible with one another, such that we were even able to exhibit a martial soul fusion skill?¡±

    ¡°I remember that you taught us before thatpatibility between martial souls happens very rarely. It¡¯s even rarer to witness a high degree ofpatibility between martial souls. Generally speaking,patibility between martial souls is achieved if they are of the same type, or if their carriers were of the same species. For example, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo managed to achieve martial soul fusion through ovepping their entirely simr martial souls before achievingpatibility through their identities as twins. The same goes for the fusion between Dai Huabin & Zhu Lu, the White Tiger and the Netherworld Civet. At least their martial souls both belong to the Felidae family. Furthermore, one represents positive energy, while the other represents negative energy. This means that it makes sense that they arepatible. But between the both of us, where does thepatibility originate from?¡±

    This problem had been bugging Huo Yuhao for some time. In the past, he had not known what Wang Dong¡¯s second martial soul was. He even assumed that their second martial souls had some form of connection. But now, he realized that the second martial souls the two of them possessed werepletely unconnected. Despite this, there was still a high degree ofpatibility between their martial souls, to the point where they had even obtained the Haodong Power. which was a force that could be used to cultivate and improve together.

    Wang Yanughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s indeed tough for me to answer your question. I have been pondering it too. Regarding this, I¡¯ve pored over a lot of materials in the academy. However, I¡¯m still unable to give you a precise answer.¡±

    ¡°The fusion of twin martial souls has never appeared before in the records of the academy over the past ten thousand years. I can even say that there¡¯s no relevant information regarding this in the entire history of the continent. Thus, no one can be sure about what¡¯s going on with the fusion of both of your martial souls. We can only guess.¡±

    ¡°I thought about itst night, and came up with a few possibilities. The first possibility rtes to the quantity of martial souls. While it¡¯s true that both your martial souls are different, it¡¯s also crucial to understand that your martial souls are both twin martial souls. Twin martial souls are very rare. For two to appear, and even achievepatibility like the both of yours, is even rarer. Your two twin martial souls represent one simrity between the both of you.¡±

    ¡°The both of you must be wondering why Xiao Xiao can¡¯t fuse with you. This rtes to my second possibility, which is also the most probable reason. The two of you areplement each other.¡±

    ¡°For two martial souls to fuse together even though they are unconnected to each other has happened before. The reason why they can fuse together is due to theirplementary existence. As both martial soulsplement each other, they will fuse together, just like Yin and Yang, developing a martial soul fusion skill in the process.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao¡¯s two martial souls of the spiritual type and ice type. As for Wang Dong, your martial souls belong to the light-type and strength-type categories. All four of your martial souls are different, but no one can be sure whether they areplementary to one another. Maybe, for some reason, your martial souls fused together because they areplementary.¡±

 Chapter 97.1: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    Chapter 97.1: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    ¡°Myst guess, which I think is highly probable, is that there¡¯s him in you and you in him.¡±

    After he said this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were stunned. They looked at each other, and Huo Yuhao had a weird look in his eyes. Wang Dong shifted his gaze away the moment their eyes met. His tender face blushed a little.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misinterpret what I¡¯m saying.¡± Wang Yan snapped at them, ¡°I¡¯m talking about your martial souls, not the both of you. You kids nowadays have such fertile imaginations.¡±

    ¡°You were the one being ambiguous,¡± Wang Dong retorted.

    Wang Yan ignored him and continued, ¡°The him in you and you in him that I mentioned refers to the fact that there may be some form of co-existence between your martial souls internally, even though they seem to be unconnected on the surface. It¡¯s a little awkward to put it this way. I¡¯ll give you an example to rify things.¡±

    ¡°For example, the Spirit Eyes and Radiant Butterfly Goddess do not seem to be connected to each other. However, what if Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes contain the power of light? This means that Yuhao¡¯s martial soul contains a characteristic of Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul. Let¡¯s shift our attention to the Ice Jade Scorpion and Wang Dong¡¯s strength-type martial soul. I¡¯ve checked, and found out that the strength of the Ice Jade Scorpion is rather powerful. This means that an Ic,e Jade Scorpion possesses strength. This may be a key point why both of your martial souls could fuse together. However, I will still need to research the details further.¡±

    After hearing Wang Yan¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong pondered them carefully, and their faces gradually showed looks of admiration. Yes! The situation described by Teacher Wang did exist in their bodies, but they hadn¡¯t thought of his point before. In this way, it didn¡¯t seem too unexpected that their martial souls had fused.

    Wang Yan grinned, and his eyes were filled with fanaticism as he said, ¡°Whatever the reason for the fusion of your martial souls, they have already fused. I will continue to research further, but this is not the main point. After all, what¡¯s supposed to have fused has already fused. What I really want to research is the difference between the fusion of your twin martial souls and that of a single martial soul.

    ¡°Both of you have such a high degree ofpatibility. This produced the Golden Road, a powerful martial soul fusion skill in terms of control. Then, did the both of you realize that this is only a fusion between your first martial souls!? Since this is the case, will 4 different fusions ur? As the two of you have two martial souls each, this allows for 4 different permutations. Theoretically speaking, there¡¯s the possibility of 4 martial soul fusion skills.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stared at each other and saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. 4 martial soul fusion skills? What kind of concept was that? If they could possess 4 different skills and use them at the same time, they might be able to challenge a soul king with their current abilities!

    Wang Yan leaned into the sofa and watched their shimmering eyes. ¡°However, don¡¯t be too optimistic. Besides the fact that it¡¯s almost impossible for four martial soul fusion skills to appear, you won¡¯t have the ability to use all four martial soul fusion skills in battle even if they appear. That¡¯s because the power of the martial soul fusion skills will rise along with your cultivations. At the same time, your soul power will be depleted much quicker upon using them. I estimate that the two of you will only be able to use two martial soul fusion skills in a battle, unless some unprecedented situation urs. Of course, both of your futures will be very bright if more martial soul fusion skills appear.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Wang, is it really possible? Then what should we do?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s really possible. I mentioned before that such a situation has never appeared in the history of soul masters. The reason why I¡¯m proposing this is because I hope for the both of you to try it out. What you have to do is very simple. It¡¯ll still be a fusion of martial souls. However, I hope that both of you can summon a different martial soul during the fusion process. That means both of you should try to summon the single martial soul. There may be a possibility of sess.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s that simple!¡± Wang Dong said.

    Wang Yan chuckled, ¡°What else did you think you had to do? For ipatible martial souls, everything will still be futile even with ten thousand attempts. But for those like you, whose martial souls arepatible, this process is not difficult. Based on the use of the martial soul fusion skill that both of you possess now, I believe that the other three martial soul fusion skills can be unleashed once every 3 days if you are able to seed at your other 3 fusions. Thus, I shall give you both 9 days. Within 9 days, you¡¯ll have toplete all the experiments. Wang Dong, can you tell me what your second martial soul is?¡±

    Wang Dong hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. Then, he said, ¡°My second martial soul is the Clear Sky Hammer.¡±

    After hearing the words ¡®Clear Sky Hammer¡¯, Wang Yan stood up in shock from the sofa before Huo Yuhao even had a chance to react. ¡°What, the Clear Sky Hammer? It¡¯s actually the Clear Sky Hammer. You are from the Clear Sky Sect?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded his head and replied, ¡°Yes! Why?¡±

    Wang Yanughed bitterly. ¡°No wonder. The Clear Sky Sect was once the top sect on the continent! Come to think of it, it has a rather close yetplicated rtionship with our academy. But as the Tang Sect fell, the Clear Sky Sect hid itself from the world again. If I¡¯m not wrong, a direct disciple should have the surname Tang! Why is your surname Wang then?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°This is my secret. I can¡¯t tell the both of you. What¡¯s wrong if my surname is Wang? Inheriting the Clear Sky Hammer means that I¡¯m a part of the Clear Sky Sect. Furthermore, the Clear Sky Sect did not really hide itself from the world.¡±

    ¡°No wonder,¡± Wang Yan muttered, ¡°Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul is Ultimate Ice. You arepatible with him because you have the most powerful offensive tool on the continent. I am really looking forward to the other martial soul fusion skills that can be created between the both of you. I suggest that the both of you try to fuse the Clear Sky Hammer and Ice Jade Scorpion first. These are two martial souls that have not been used in your current martial soul fusion skill. After this, the two of you should try fusing the Clear Sky Hammer and Spirit Eyes, as well as the Ice Jade Scorpion and Radiant Butterfly Goddess.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Wang, is it possible for 3 or even all 4 martial souls to fuse together at the same time?¡± Huo Yuhao asked suddenly.

    Wang Yan jumped in shock, and hurriedly said, ¡°No. Don¡¯t ever attempt that, at least not now. It¡¯s not easy to tell what will arise from that kind of situation. However, a martial soul fusion skill causes a great depletion of power. Once you attempt a fusion of such a degree, both of your powers may be depleted even if you seed. To be safe, only consider such an attempt when your cultivations reach six rings. As long as you seed with one of the threebinations that I proposed, there will be extra changes in your strategy for thetter stages of the tournament.¡±

    ¡°3 rounds have already beenpleted in the round robin stage. We have also met our strongestpetitor in our small group, which was the Justsky Academy. The remaining 4 rounds won¡¯t be too difficult for us either. Especially for tomorrow¡¯spetition, since Ling Luochen has already recovered from her injuries and can participate. After one more round, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng will also recover. With the return of these 3 official team members, it won¡¯t be too difficult for us, at least during the round robin stage. The two of you should think on how you can unleash a brand new martial soul fusion skill.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Wang, we will do our best. However, please keep this a secret for us.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°Naturally. I may not even let you use your new martial soul fusion skill even if you seed. After all, you will carry the responsibility of handling the Shrek Academy Tournament in 5 years¡¯ time.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Wang, can you give me that Soul-Devouring Carving Knife? I am a spiritual-type soul master. When I bid for that carving knife, I had a feeling that it had some sort of special connection to me. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t harm us.¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t. The two of you are the pride of our academy. Even if there¡¯s only a slight danger, I still must keep you away from it. It¡¯s not toote for you to try using it under the guidance of your teacher from the soul tool department when we return to the academy. You can¡¯t possibly make a soul tool right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was helpless, and could only forget his wish to obtain the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife.

    After bidding goodbye to Wang Yan, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s room excitedly. However, they couldn¡¯t possibly try a new martial soul fusion skill right now. They had just unleashed the Golden Road yesterday, and their bodies had not yet recovered fully. If they were not at their peak states, it was less likely for their martial soul fusion to seed. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had already expended all his energy. Hence, their priority now was to recover.

    As the Haodong Power was initiated, they entered a state of cultivation very quickly. In their hearts, they were yearning for the creation of a new martial soul fusion skill.

    Wang Yan¡¯s words seemed to have opened a door for them. Even though they had not attempted it yet, the two of them had the feeling that they would seed.

    Gloomy clouds filled the sky. Rounds after round of the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament continued. As of yesterday, the third round of the tournament had already ended. There were only 1 or 2 teams that managed to ensure perfect winning streaks in each small group.

    With the results of the first 3 rounds ofpetition in, the situation was much clearer. The traditional powerhouses pulled away from the rest, and the team that evoked the most debate was still the top academy of the continent, Shrek Academy!

 Chapter 97.2: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    Chapter 97.2: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    Today should mark Shrek Academy¡¯s fourth appearance in the round robin stage of the tournament. However, nobody knew whether they would participate today, and if they did, whether they would emerge victorious in the end.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had relied upon their incredible perseverance and determination, as well as their extraordinary talent, to ovee stronger opponents during theirst battle. Their lineup had beenposed of four soul ancestors, one soul elder and two soul grandmasters, but they still defeated their opponents, Justsky Academy, who had had three soul kings and four soul ancestors in their lineup. Despite their victory, they had paid a painful price for it. Six of them had hit the deck the moment their battles ended, and some of them were severely injured. It was hard to say whether or not Shrek Academy had enough people for the next round.

    Furthermore, could they recreate the same miracle if they went on to the next round? Could they win today¡¯s contest with an exhausted and wounded team?

    All the spectators had already arrived on scene way before the appointed time, and they were all silently standing in wait with these doubts in mind. They either wanted to see another phenomenal performance from Shrek Academy, or Shrek Academy¡¯s exasperated and helpless defeat.

    It was already midday, but dark clouds were moving aimlessly in the sky and the heavens seemed a little gloomy. A light drizzle had begun as miniscule raindrops drifted downwards. This was the first time there had been rain since the beginning of thepetition, and there was no doubt that the teams would carry on the contest in the rain.

    ¡°Here theye!¡± Somebody shouted into the air as the audience, the participants and the other students turned towards the entry tunnel.

    Indeed, the troupe of participants from Shrek Academy were here, d in their dark green school uniforms.

    Bei Bei, as the team leader, led the entirepany. He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and another young girl who looked like she was around twenty years of age followed closely behind in that order. Nobody had seen this girl before in thispetition.

    This young girl was elegant and pretty, but her expression was ice-cold. Their teacher in charge, Wang Yan, was behind her. This meant that only six people would represent Shrek Academy in today¡¯s contest ¨C Xiao Xiao and Xu Sanshi were both absent, as Xiao Xiao had been heavily injured, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s vitality had been damaged.

    Xu Sanshi needed to recuperate after bruising his vitality. Even though Xiao Xiao¡¯s injuries had been stabilized, there was no way she could participate in thepetition for the time being. There was a silver lining to her injuries ¨C she was now at the bottleneck of Rank 30, and was on the brink of bing a soul elder once she broke through. All she had to do was gain another soul ring.

    Therefore, it could be said that Xiao Xiao had remained at the hotel to recover and cultivate at the same time. The girl with the chilly expression that walked behind every other participant was Ling Luochen, who was a control system battle soul master with an ice-type martial soul.

    Even if there were people who were familiar with the participants from Shrek Academy in the previouspetition, those who recognized Ling Luochen were few and far between. Puberty could change a girl¡¯s looks in all kinds of ways, and Lin Luochen was but fourteen or fifteen years old five years ago. She was nearing twenty now, and there had been many transformations in her physical appearance since thest time she hadpeted. Furthermore, she had never made an appearance for Shrek Academy when she was only a reserve participant. This was the reason why nobody was familiar with her abilities.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team had the biggest reaction upon seeing her appearance. Ma Rulong¡¯s eyebrows creased as he muttered under his breath, ¡°Are they finally sending out members of the official team? If I remember correctly, their team at thispetition consists of ten people. This is the first appearance of someone outside of the reserve team.¡±

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t arrange any tactics or strategy when they entered the resting lounge. Due to Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ outstanding performance in thest round, Wang Yan hadpletely let go of his authority and handed it over to Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t severely injured, and was but a little exhausted. He had already recovered after two days of rest, and with the help of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul and the physique of a Golden Holy Dragon soul master.

    Instead of sitting down, Bei Bei stood before hisrades and said, ¡°Our opponents today are from the Longpeace Academy of Star Luo City. It can be said that they¡¯re battling us on their home ground. Even though their strength cannot bepared to Justsky Academy¡¯s, they¡¯re not that weak, and they have a soul king amongst their ranks. I will decide on the order of battle after drawing lots.¡±

    The judge swiftly arrived on stage and the announced the drawing of lots. Bei Bei disyed his unnaturally lucky touch, and it was clear that luck was on Shrek¡¯s side today. In light of the fact that they were a man down, a group battle gave them the best edge, and the result of the ballot was as such.

    Bei Bei was about to step off of the stage after the ballot was drawn when the team leader from Longpeace Academy eximed, ¡°It seems the task of defeating Shrek Academy has fallen to us.¡±

    He was big and tall, with a center parting to his hair. There was a tinge of arrogance in his eyes, and he looked at Bei Bei as if he was looking at an opponent that he had already defeated.

    Bei Bei nced at him from the corner of his eye and curled his mouth a little. ¡°Just like the bamboo shoots in the mountains. A sharp mouth and tough skin ¨C but empty inside.¡± As he spoke, he had already stepped off the stage.

    Longpeace Academy¡¯s team leader was boisterous in speech, and he had been loud enough for the other members of Shrek Academy, who had already entered the waiting area, to hear him.

    He Caitou was indignant. ¡°Seems like everybody wants to bully Shrek Academy. We will surely teach them a lessonter.¡±

    At this moment, Ling Luochen stood up and stepped over to Bei Bei¡¯s side. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Do they really think we have no depth? Leave this group battle to me, Bei Bei. Let Huo Yuhao and I take this round. I will make them pay the price for their outrageousness.¡±

    Bei Bei hesitated. ¡°Just the two of you? Senior sister, this¡­¡±

    Ling Luochen lowered her voice again and said, ¡°I never joke about Shrek Academy¡¯s honor and glory.¡±

    Bei Bei contemted his options for a moment, then nodded his head. ¡°Alright. Do be careful.¡±

    Ling Luochen gestured to Huo Yuhao and whispered something in his ear. Huo Yuhao nodded his head repeatedly before he followed Ling Luochen onto thepetition stage.

    All seven members Longpeace Academy¡¯s team had moved swiftly to the stage after the conclusion of the ballot. Even though they hadn¡¯t stepped back into their corner, their cone formation was set up, and the person standing at the forefront was their outrageous team leader.

    The judge was a little confused as he only saw two members from Shrek Academy on stage. ¡°This is a group battle, Shrek Academy. It¡¯s not a two-two-three fight or anything ¨C please get the other members on stage. If not, they¡¯ll be considered to have forfeited this round.¡±

    Longpeace Academy¡¯s team leaderughed condescendingly. ¡°Shrek Academy is truly disappointing! Making such a low-level mistake when under stress.¡± He sighed, ¡°What bad news for the reputation of the number one academy on the continent. Let¡¯s get ready, boys. We will not lose this round due to a moment¡¯spse in concentration.¡±

    Ling Luochen said inly, ¡°We only need two people for this group battle.¡± She hadn¡¯t even looked at her opponents once as she took Huo Yuhao to the other corner of thepetition stage.

    ²ÃÅÐÒ»ã¶£¬ÈÌ²»×¡×·ÎÊµÀ£º¡°ÄãÃÇÕæµÄÖ»ÓÐÁ½ÈË²ÎÈü£¿¡±

    The judge was slightly taken aback, and couldn¡¯t help but press the issue. ¡°Will it really just be the two you?¡±

    Ling Luochen nodded her head without even turning back as she sauntered away.

    Longpeace Academy was a little perplexed as well. ¡°Are they too arrogant, or are they preparing to admit defeat?¡±

    One of the participants beside him said, ¡°I think it¡¯s more likely they¡¯re trying to admit defeat. They are too depleted from thest round, and they barely managed to bring six people here today. I¡¯ve never seen this girl before. They only have two people on stage ¨C what else can it be, but attempting to admit defeat? This is a kind of self-assurance, as losing a battle to seven people when they¡¯re only two isn¡¯t embarrassing at all. However, a loss is a loss, and Shrek Academy will still have lost this battle.¡±

    All seven members of Longpeace Academy¡¯s team seemed to agree with this argument. This was the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and they refused to believe that these two people on stage were about to challenge them in any way.

    The judge heard their grant discussion, and his eyebrows furrowed. He said with a serious voice, ¡°Step back, all of you. Get ready for battle.¡±

    He disagreed with their assessment. As a powerful soul sage, he could feel the fearsome ripples of soul powering from Ling Luochen¡¯s body. It was clear that she was at least a soul king ¨C a soul king from Shrek Academy. As such, she was at least thirty percent stronger than the soul kings from other academies. With a participant of her level, how could Shrek Academy just be admitting defeat?

    Ling Luochen had already retreated to the edge of the stage. She took point, while Huo Yuhao stood behind her. Her expression was typically chilly, but right now her face was so icy that it was frightening. It was even a little pale.

    She was a member of the official team from Shrek Academy. She didn¡¯t have an explosive temper like Ma Xiaotao, but the pride deep within her heart was no different from the same pride shared by the other members of Shrek. She would never swallow any humiliation suffered by Shrek Academy.

    Following the lowering of his right hand, all of the members of Longpeace Academy¡¯s team immediately released their respective martial souls. It was hard to deny the reason behind their outrageousness ¨C besides their team leader, who was a soul king, the other six were soul ancestors. Furthermore, their team leader had the optimalbination of two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring. This was the origin of his arrogance.

    Ling Luochen unleashed her martial soul as well ¨C she also had two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring. Huo Yuhao had two white soul rings behind her, as usual. Nobody knew the true level of his soul rings, and this included Wang Dong and his other friends, let alone his opponents.

    Ling Luochen raised her right hand and eximed, ¡°Begin.¡± Following the flickers of her first soul ring, the Icy Staff appeared in her hands, and the surrounding air instantly became freezing cold.

    She was naturally speaking to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao stepped forward and closed his eyes as he pressed both of his hands to Ling Luochen¡¯s back.

    Immediately, Ling Luochen¡¯s eyes turned even colder as an inexplicable aura started to emanate from her body. In the next moment, she directly channeled her fifth soul ring ¨C the ck one ¨C and she began to radiate a pressurizing effulgence as the brilliant color extended outwards.

 Chapter 97.3: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    Chapter 97.3: The Conjecture Regarding Multiple Fusion Skills

    The seven people from Longpeace Academy who had just released their martial souls immediately felt that something was amiss, because they could feel a rapid fall in temperature. Then they saw the icy-blue halo of light opposite them starting to expand.

    ¡°That crazy woman is using her ten thousand year soul skill straightaway. Everyone, be careful,¡± their team leader cursed in a low voice. He immediately released his soul skill as he prepared to resist carefully. From his perspective, a soul skill with such arge area-of-effect could not be too powerful. If they could withstand it, they would counter-attack. After all, there was strength in numbers.

    However, he soon saw something that made his gaze pause. In his field of vision, the judge of thepetition, who was swiftly moving away from the center of the arena, suddenly stumbled.

    Then, this unlucky judge turned into an ice statue. He was frozen in a retreating position.

    What was going on?

    Before the people from Longpeace Academy could react, they all felt an immense, frigid chill at the same time. It appeared to being straight for them. Then, their vision started to blur. While they were still conscious, their martial souls, soul power, and even their soul skills were frozen in the ice and snow.

    In an instant, there were eight sculptures in the arena.

    Ling Luochen retracted her staff and turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Go, kick them all down. Remember, use only your legs and not your hands. These foul-mouthed scoundrels don¡¯t warrant such respect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart missed a beat. He thought, ¡°The seniors from the inner courtyard are so strong!¡±

    The strategy that Ling Luochen had just used was very simple. With the help of Huo Yuhao, her ice-elemental attack had turned into Ultimate Ice, and then she had used her fifth soul skill, the Icebrilliant Halo.

    While it was Ultimate Ice, with her powerful control of magic and elemental mastery, she was able to freeze her opponents for a while. Coupled with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, even if her opponent were a Soul King, he would be unable to escape for at least ten minutes.

    This was the terrifying aspect of an Ultimate martial soul. If aided by the same element, the power of Ultimate Ice would be abnormally terrifying.

    The audience and representatives from the various schools were all dumbfounded.

    The moment Huo Yuhao walked past the unfortunate judge, the ice cracked, and the judge was able to break free from it. However, his entire body shivered for a while because of the cold. He seemed to have something to say, but in the end, he swallowed his words, which were likely a warning against beating the judges.

    If a Soul Sage could be frozen for a period of time, what was there to say about a Soul King?

    Subsequently, the ¡®battle¡¯ chiefly became a scene where all Huo Yuhao did was kick the seven ice sculptures that enclosed the members of Longpeace Academy¡¯s team. The teacher in charge of the academy was deathly afraid that his team would be injured from the impacts, and rushed down to catch his students as Huo Yuhao kicked them out of the arena. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was generous enough to give that teacher enough time to catch each of his students.

    The judge had recovered from his shivers too. In shock, he stared at Ling Luochen, who had already withdrawn her martial soul, and proimed, ¡°Winner, Shrek Academy.¡±

    The entire audience was stunned.

    Just as everyone thought that Shrek Academy was out of the fight, Ling Luochen used her powerful ice-maniption skills to tell them that Shrek Academy was still number one in the continent! They were the invincible Shrek Academy!

    The faces of the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy appeared to have frozen over. They seemed to have lost their ability to think.

    In the earlier rounds of thepetition, no matter how excitingly Shrek Academy battled, no matter how strong their will, they would show them respect at most, and never caution. After all, a preparatory team was ultimately a preparatory team. If they had so much difficulty resisting the onught from Justsky Academy, what more could be said about them? Even Ma Rulong, their captain, believed that victory would ultimately be theirs.

    However, just as their hearts were filled with hope, Ling Luochen appeared today. She was able to control all her opponents in the blink of an eye. This was not enough to shock everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. After all, they had been careless when dealing with her. What shocked them was that the judge, a Soul Sage, was frozen by her too. Even though the judge was only frozen for five seconds, and he had not released his martial soul, it was a testament to Ling Luochen¡¯s powerful ten thousand year soul skill.

    Who dared to say that they would not be immobilized by her powerful soul skill? In a battle, even if one was immobilized for a single second, the consequences on the oue of the battle would be dire! Shrek Academy only deployed a single Soul King, but was able to stun everyone with her prowess. This was testament to the awe of Shrek Academy.

    When Ling Luochen and Huo Yuhao left the arena, the others from Shrek stared at each other. They knew the power of this icy-cold soul master, who was also a member of the official team.

    Ling Luochen was able to maximize her own elemental powers with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. However, the power of her ten thousand year soul skill was equally terrifying too! Skills with an area-of-effect coverage were the hardest to control. Yet, they were able to see that when the Icebrilliant Halo appeared, it did not spread out in all four directions, but instead went straight for her opponents. This was enough to illustrate her mastery over ice, which she could control as well as any other part of her body.

    Wang Yan exhaled, and his body evidently rxed. With the return of Ling Luochen, Shrek Academy regained its status as a powerful team. As the teacher in charge of this team, the pressure on him had been greatly reduced. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng would soon return too. The uing rounds would be easier for them.

    Ever since he had brought the team here, he had been under a huge amount of pressure. The responsibility on his shoulders was heavier than that on the shoulders of his students. At this point, he could truly take a breather.

    Like before, the team from Shrek Academy did not linger long. After thepetition, they quickly returned to their hotel to rest. Everyone who stayed behind were from the other academies, who were discussing Ling Luochen¡¯s elemental control with great interest. The hot topic of the day was how to counter her.

    The round robin portion of thepetition entered its fourth round, which was also its mid-phase. Shrek Academy was in the first group, which wasprised of eight other teams. Every team had to take part in seven rounds ofpetition toplete a cycle.

    In the next three rounds, Shrek Academy did not meet any opponent who posed a serious threat to them. They were on a winning streak. After two rounds consisting of a one-on-one deathmatch and a group battle, they were able to defeat their opponents. Finally, they were able to emerge victorious in their group with zero losses, drawing closer to the cruel elimination round.

    Unexpectedly, the other team that was able to progress to the next round from their group was Justsky Academy, who had caused so much trouble for them before.

    As the other groups had nine teams each, they were able to obtain three full days of rest after this round-robin cycle ended.

    Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng had by now fully recovered from their injuries. However, they did not participate in the round robin portion of thepetition. They did not even go down to the arena. This was part of Wang Yan¡¯s strategy. Concealing their true power would be immensely beneficial to the subsequent rounds of thepetition.

    In these few days, Shrek Academy received a lot of good news. Xiao Xiao had more or less recoveredpletely, and after that difficult battle, she was able to break through her Rank 30 bottleneck. All she needed was a third soul ring.

    After experiencing many arduous battles and relentless sessions of cultivation, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both experienced an increase of a single rank in soul power. Wang Dong¡¯s soul power was now at Rank 32, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s was at Rank 28, bringing him a step closer to Rank 30.

    What was even more delightful was their experimentation with the martial soul fusion skill. However, they did not know what their rate of sess was. Only Wang Yan knew that. At least, they had experimented with the other threebinations, and they had been able to achieve breakthroughs as they tried out these threebinations.

    Xu Sanshi remained in bed for five days before Bei Bei finally kicked him out of it. He was shameless indeed. To receive Jiang Nannan¡¯s care, he had remained persistently in bed as he moaned about his predicament non-stop. He thought that this would improve Jiang Nannan¡¯s attitude toward him, but everyone knew that it was a one-sided affair. Jiang Nannan still treated him coldly.

    As everyone recovered from their injuries, Shrek Academy returned to peak condition. Their power might not yet beparable to the original official team, but it was not too far off.

    After all, the two Soul Emperors and main control-type soul master of the original official team were still present. Coupled with Bei Bei, whose martial soul could evolve into the Golden Holy Dragon, and Xu Sanshi, whose martial soul could evolve into a Xuanwu, a powerful Soul Ancestor, and the exceptional powers of the rest, their overall strength was still terrifying.

    ¡°The pairing for the elimination round is out,¡± Wang Yan said in a deep voice. He had just returned from the Star Luo Empire¡¯s pce, where he had drawn lots. Afterwards, he gathered everyone for a briefing.

    ¡°For the Round of 16, our opponent is a familiar one. They are the premier academy from the Dou Ling Empire, the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy.¡±

    When they heard the name ¡®Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy¡¯, a look crossed the faces of Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen and Dai Yueheng.

    Ma Xiaotao arched her brows and asked, ¡°Why did we meet them so early on?¡±

    Xiao Xiao asked curiously, ¡°How powerful is the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°They were in the top four in the previous tournament, that¡¯s how powerful they are. They are much stronger than the Justsky Academy who you met earlier on. Teacher Wang, how powerful are the members of their delegation this time?¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°The Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy¡¯s official team isprised of five Soul Kings and two Soul Ancestors. They are powerful indeed. Furthermore, they are not inflexible in their approach. While they are an advanced soul academy, they are also the premier soul engineering academy. Through my observations, I have realized that every single one of their delegation possesses a soul tool, and they are able to wield them efficiently in battle. At least two of them are soul engineers, which means that they are Soul Kings with soul tools. This is a difficult opponent.¡±

 Chapter 98.1: A Top-ranked Auction

    Chapter 98.1: A Top-ranked Auction

    ¡°Teacher Wang, we qualified from the round-robin round in first ce, and with their strength, the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy should¡¯ve done the same as well. If that¡¯s the case, why are we fighting them? Aren¡¯t the number one teams supposed to only get the second ce teams in the round of 16?¡± Dai Yueheng asked suspiciously.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°In terms of overall strength, the Dou Ling Imperial Academy should¡¯ve been first ce in their group. However, that wasn¡¯t the case. A ck horse which also had a streak of consecutive wins and no losses appeared in their group. Yet, the Dou Ling Imperial Academy forfeited their match with that ck horse for no reason. That¡¯s why they qualified in second ce. I didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d meet them.¡±

    ¡°Was there a problem?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked, ¡°The Dou Ling Imperial Academy is also a well-known school. They must¡¯ve known the importance of the group matches, and what first ce signifies. Just what would make them give up that first ce spot? Are they trying to preserve their strength for a single attack?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°I¡¯ve also thought about this. The only difference between first and second ce in the qualifier rounds lies in the round of 16. It doesn¡¯t hold any significance after this match. The Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy must¡¯ve done this for a reason, and they must¡¯ve concealed it well. We¡¯ll only be able to see why in the match. Fortunately, we¡¯ve kept the fact that you and Yueheng are participating in this match a secret as well. With you guys leading the team, there shouldn¡¯t be too big of a problem. Okay, I¡¯m going to exin the rules of our next elimination round.¡±

    ¡°Over the ten thousand years that the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament has been held, its rules have never changed. This is especially so for the final elimination rounds. To make the tournament more interesting, as well as to better disy theprehensive strengths of the participating academies, the tournament format will change slightly from previous matches. The elimination rounds won¡¯t be decided using lot-drawing as per previous matches. Each match will be held over two days, and both a team battle and an individual knockout round will be held. Winning the team fight doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll definitely proceed to the next round; if you can defeat all seven of your opponents using only three members, you¡¯ll be able to overturn the oue of the team match. On the other hand, the team that wins the team fight can guarantee their advance into the next stage by defeating three of their opponents using seven team members.¡±

    ¡°These tournament rules both illustrate the importance of a team¡¯s overall strength and give a chance to teams which have strong individuals. For example, our team has Soul Emperors like Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng. Even if we lose the team fight, they might be able to shine in the individual matches and defeat all seven of their opponents by themselves. In that case, we could still win the elimination round. Because of that, although the elimination round tests our strength as aplete whole, it gives a great chance to strong individuals. Truly powerful academies will definitely try extremely hard to nurture their best students, and one reason for that is to allow them to turn the tides in the elimination round¡¯s individual matches.¡±

    The fact that the elimination round was actually held in a way like this was something that nobody had imagined. Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, then what happens in the 1v1 fights if a team member is injured or over-exhausted from the team fight?¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Then it¡¯ll depend on the strength of that team¡¯s bench. Every academy that¡¯s participating in this tournament has to have a preparatory team, just like what you guys originally were. If something like what you¡¯ve just said urs to an official team member, a member from the preparatory team will have to take their ce.¡±

    ¡°Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi. The two of you should¡¯ve recovered already. Would it be possible for the two of you to use your abilities if you were to participate in the elimination round?¡±

    Wang Yan was naturally referring to Bei Bei¡¯s Golden Holy Dragon and Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu.

    Bei Bei nodded. ¡°I should be able to. My martial soul doesn¡¯t get strengthened as much as Xu Sanshi¡¯s. However, it all depends on whether I can make ite out. After using it once, I¡¯ll have to wait three days to use it again, just like the fusion skill my junior brothers use. Also, I¡¯ll only have the power to unleash a single attack. I¡¯ll only be able to stabilise this power once I be a seven-ringed Soul Sage.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had a bitter look on his face as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, because I can¡¯t control it. A variation like that only urs to my martial soul when I receive an especially intense stimtion. However, I¡¯m the same as Bei Bei. Once I be a Soul Sage, everything will be fine.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded slightly. ¡°I understand. Now, I¡¯ll make arrangements for the team members who are participating in tomorrow¡¯s match. Once we enter the elimination round, we can¡¯t be sloppy at all. Our uing opponents were within the top 4 of thest tournament, and so we¡¯ll definitely have to go all-out. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong. The seven of you are participating in the team fight tomorrow. Ling Luochen and Huo Yuhao will be the main controllers in the team, and everyone else willunch frontal attacks to smash our opponents with our strength. Caitou, you¡¯ll have to go make a few cigars and distribute them to everyone so they¡¯ll be able to use them during the match.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Caitou answered.

    Xiao Xiao curled her lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with me then.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled slightly. ¡°Seeing that we¡¯re near the end of the tournament, nobody can guarantee that we won¡¯t suffer any injuries. As benchwarmers, you guys are also important. You all have already performed very well during the earlier parts of the tournament. You, Nannan, and Caitou also have to make preparations to go out and fight at any time. Now, I¡¯ll talk about the strategies we¡¯ll use in tomorrow¡¯s team fight. No matter what that Dou Ling Imperial Academy has prepared, we¡¯ll have to give them a show of strength.¡±

    With the return of the two Soul Emperors, the current Wang Yan was filled with confidence to win. They still had to go through four more elimination rounds to secure their spot as champions, and although the following matches would be very tough, it wouldn¡¯t be as tough as the preparatory team facing off against Justsky Academy.

    At this exact moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door to the conference room.

    Wang Yan furrowed his brows and shouted in a low voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t we tell the service staff to not disturb us?¡±

    A pleasant, female voice rang out from outside the door. ¡°Sorry for the interruptions. I¡¯m not a member of the service staff; I¡¯vee from the Starlight Auction.¡±

    The Starlight Auction? Wang Yan couldn¡¯t help but feel stunned for a brief moment after hearing this somewhat familiar voice. The person who was nearest to the door¨CBei Bei¨Cstood up and shot Wang Yan a questioning look. After seeing Wang Yan give him a nod of assurance, he walked towards the door and opened it.

    A woman wearing a ck cheongsam was standing outside the door. Being twenty-eight to twenty-nine years old, she possessed a mature charm and an asional air of youth.

    Huo Yuhao and the rest all recognised her; she was the auctioneer who had held the auction they¡¯d participated in that day, Qing Ya.

    Qing Ya¡¯s gaze directlynded on Wang Yan as she smiled and greeted him, ¡°Hello, Teacher Wang Yan. I have to apologise for taking the liberty to disturb you.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s gaze softened somewhat as he saw that the intruder was Qing Ya. He asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you have something for us, auctioneer Qing Ya? Also, how did you find us here?¡±

 Chapter 98.2: A Top-ranked Auction

    Chapter 98.2: A Top-ranked Auction

    Qing Ya apologised, ¡°When you came to the auctionst time, you used Shrek Academy¡¯s ount to settle the bill. Thus, we naturally guessed at your origins. After making a few inquiries, we were able to find where you were. Our Starlight Auction is hosting a top-ranked auction tonight, and an auction like this will only be held once or twice a year. Only our most respected honorable guests receive an invitation from us to attend. Last time, we didn¡¯t know that you came from the continent¡¯s number one academy¨CShrek Academy¨Cand thus we mistakenly neglected you. Our auction¡¯s boss has asked me to deliver this invitation card to you. If all of you have some free time tonight, you are wee to participate in our auction. I believe that there will definitely be a few interesting things at tonight¡¯s auction.¡±

    As she spoke, she ced an invitation card on the table. Then, she held her smile as she bowed and said, ¡°Then, I won¡¯t disturb all of you anymore. Once again, I apologise.¡± With that, she slowly moved backwards and closed the door after her.

    Wang Yan squinted his eyes as he saw the beautiful, golden invitation letter, ¡°This Starlight Auction is impressive. Eleven invitation letters, and not one less. They were even able to ignore the Star Luo Empire¡¯s blockade around this hotel to deliver this letter. They¡¯re truly skilled!¡±

    Dai Yueheng took an invitation letter and nced over it. ¡°It¡¯s actually a top-ranked auction. That auctioneer wasn¡¯t wrong¨Can auction like this is only held once or twice a year. In the past, even I didn¡¯t have the qualifications to participate in it. Only my dad, the members of the royal family,rge businessmen, and top-ranked soul masters and engineers were allowed to participate in them. There definitely won¡¯t be ack of good things sold there, but they¡¯re extremely expensive. The Starlight Auction should just be trying to establish a good rtionship with our academy; they shouldn¡¯t have any ulterior motives. Teacher Wang, what do you think about this?¡±

    Wang Yan looked briefly at everyone, and saw a hopeful light in all of their eyes. They were indeed the most outstanding soul masters among their peers, but they were still a bunch of kids. They were simrly interested in new things. Moreover, a top-ranked auction like this couldn¡¯t be easily entered!

    ¡°Okay. Since everyone¡¯s beenpeting all this while, we should rx for a bit. However, we should keep our eyes open and our mouths shut to avoid trouble. Tomorrow¡¯s match is of the utmost importance. Once the auction ends, we¡¯ll immediately head back to the hotel to rest.¡±

    ¡°Long live Teacher Wang!¡± Xiao Xiao was the first person to jump to her feet. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the others all had excited expressions on their faces.

    They had been filled with curiosity thest time they had gone to the Starlight Auction. Moreover, thest auction they had attended was merely a low-ranked one which only sold a single soul tool. The auction they were about to attend was different; it was a top-ranked one. What kinds of goods would appear in it? They contrarily had no hopes of obtaining anything from this auction, and wished to participate merely to gain some knowledge.

    Wang Yan chided them with a smile, ¡°You rascals! Get your minds back to the topic at hand. I¡¯m going to organise our strategy for tomorrow¡¯s match.¡±

    The strategic nning they underwent didn¡¯t take too much time. After that, they returned to their respective rooms to cultivate all the way till dinner time, when they switched into a set of ordinary clothes. With the invitation letters from the Starlight Auction in hand, the eleven of them went back to the auction house, with Wang Yan leading them.

    Astonishingly, auctioneer Qing Ya was already waiting for them by the entrance. Clothed in a ck cheongsam, she looked even more elegant and noble under the night lights. Her charming face was filled with a warm smile.

    Wang Yan met her gaze, then nodded slightly. ¡°Hello, auctioneer Qing Ya. We meet again.¡±

    Qing Ya had a delighted look on her face as she said, ¡°Distinguished guests, wee.¡±

    ¡°How did you know that we¡¯d definitelye?¡± Wang Yan asked.

    Qing Ya shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t, but I was tasked to receive all of you. Regardless of whether you turned up, I would¡¯ve waited here until the auction formally started. Guests, please follow Qing Ya.¡±

    With that, she shot a sweet smile towards Wang Yan and elegantly led them forward.

    Xu Sanshi, who was standing behind them, whispered to Bei Bei with a quietughing, ¡°If thisdy auctioneer smiles at Teacher Wang a few more times, I¡¯m afraid that his soul will be taken away by her. She truly has a very mature charm!¡±

    Bei Bei nced at him. ¡°Stupid.¡±

    As the two of them spoke, they had already entered the Starlight Auction.

    The interior of the Starlight Auction was identical to their previous visit. There was no information about today¡¯s top-ranked auction that had spread to the public. Led by Qing Ya, they walked towards its inner parts, quickly passing by the auction hall they had enteredst time.

    After reaching the end of the corridor, two youngdies who were d in golden cheongsams walked up to them. They bowed in Wang Yan¡¯s direction and greeted him, then exchanged a few words with Qing Ya. After that, a girl turned toward the wall and pressed on it with her right hand.

    Immediately, a bizarre scene urred. Wave-like ripples started to appear on the wall, and a fewyers of light gradually stabilised on it.

    As the girl pressed her hand on the wall, a pattern of light swept horizontally across it. After that, the wall slowly split into two with a buzz, revealing a path within.

    Unlike the dazzling gold outside, this path was pure white. It didn¡¯t have the coldness of white, but a unique feeling that was filled with softness and realism.

    The floor, roof, and walls were tiled with a semi translucent white jade, below which could be seen faintly hidden patterns. However, these hidden patterns couldn¡¯t be seen clearly. Yet, this room was clearly much more refined than the outside passage.

    The soft, white light permeated the corridor from all directions, while the two sides of the room had halos of blue light that converged to form a line.

    Qing Ya exined softly, ¡°This is the Number One auction that we use to conduct top-ranked auctions. Only our most distinguished guests will be invited here to partake in an auction. I¡¯m only here because of you distinguished guests. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way that I¡¯d have the qualifications to enter this ce with my auctioneer rank.¡±

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t bat an eyelid as he said, ¡°Looking at what you¡¯re wearing now, it seems like you¡¯ve been promoted!¡±

    Qing Ya smiled. ¡°I also have to thank all of you for that. I was able to umte enough merits to be a ck-ranked auctioneer by selling the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knifest time. Everyone, pleasee inside.¡± With that, she slowly led the way. Two girls in golden cheongsams, who looked to be around eighteen or neen, came up to greet them.

    After walking a short distance forward, doors started to appear on either side of the walls. Qing Ya took them into one that was numbered seven.

 Chapter 99.1: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    Chapter 99.1: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    This was a room that was roughly two hundred square meters in surface area, and the decorations were as posh and extravagant as they could be. There were exotic wood and jade stones, along with other furniture and decorative items that people could tell with one look were highly valuable. The ornaments around the room were filled with garishness, yet they gave off a feeling of elegance that one simply couldn¡¯t help but praise.

    This was inside the first auction hall of the great Starlight Auction, in the seventh room, and it was ostentatious.

    The entire room was rectangr, and the longer side of the wall was crystal clear with a radiant white hue. This was the only wall without a single decorative element.

    The sprawling sofa was made from the skin of an unknown beast, and the long white fur was incredibly soft and tender. Anyone sitting on the sofa would enjoy thefortable feeling of sinking into the whole thing, and yet there was enough support.

    The sofa wasrge enough to amodate twelve people. There were also all kinds of refreshments and condimentsid out on the jade table stand at the side. Huo Yuhao quickly realized that he had never even seen the thingsid out on the table before, not even a single kind of fruit.

    Everybody was justfortably spreading out on the long sofa. Qing Ya, the auctioneer, and the two other young girls d in flowing golden dresses stayed back. Qing Ya was standing by the side of the sofa and grinned as she said, ¡°I will exin the rules of our top-ranked auction.¡±

    As she spoke, she signaled to the two young girls beside her.

    One of the girls stepped over to the smooth wall and tapped lightly on its surface. Instantly, ayer of gentle light started to radiate from the entire wall, which gradually became stronger until the entire wall eventually transformed into an enormous screen.

    All this fell into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he turned towards He Caitou with an astonished look. He Caitou was the first to speak as he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is this a soul tool?¡±

    Qing Ya nodded her head and replied, ¡°This is a custom-made soul light screen that we specially obtained from the Sun Moon Empire. It can disy images via an esoteric method, but its formation arrays are not activated by soul power ¨C instead, they¡¯re activated by a kind of ore from the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Huo Yuhao and He Caitou who reacted in shock at her statement ¨C the other members of Shrek shared the same confoundment.

    What did using ores to activate soul tools suggest? It implied that soul engineers no longer needed to expend any soul power to use soul tools! The value of this to the world of soul tools was simply too great.

    Qing Ya was adept at reading people¡¯s emotions, and it was only natural that she picked up on the befuddlement from her audience, because she quickly tried to exin. ¡°Don¡¯t be too hasty everyone, and wait for me to finish my exnation. Even though this light-directing screen is activated by ore, this kind of ore emanates an extremely weak and gentle energy, and there¡¯s no way it can activate offensive or defensive soul tools. All it can do is carry out the lighter tasks of weak soul tools.¡±

    Qing Ya gave a most logical and sensible exnation, but the confusion and bewilderment in the hearts of her audience had not been fully dispelled yet.

    Perhaps it was true that the Sun Moon Empire had yet to discover a method to activate soul tools without using Soul power. However, this soul light screen was evidence of how advanced the Sun Moon Empire was in terms of the development of soul tools. Wang Yan¡¯s speech about the future drifted to the forefront of everyone¡¯s minds, and everyone started to feel heavy in their hearts. Times were ever-changing, civilization was always advancing, and soul tools were continuously being developed as well. The Sun Moon Empire had never been too keen about interacting with other nations, so nobody really knew the exact extent to which the Sun Moon Empire had made advancements in their research on soul tools. Before long, they would be facing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The Light-Transmitting Screen was bing clearer. Some images were disyed on either side, while an auction station was presented in the middle. The auction didn¡¯t seem very big, but was presented on the screen with extreme rity.

    Qing Ya continued, ¡°In order to protect the privacy of the participants of this top-ranked auction, all valued guests will have their own designated rooms, just like the one everyone is in right now. All viewing and the contest for items up for auction will be carried out inside this room, and I will be responsible for introducing the items up for auction in detail. These two girls will report the quotations during the auction.¡±

    ¡°All you have you do is quote the price. Everything in here ¨C the food and refreshments ¨C areplimentary. After the auction, the items will be sent into the room as soon as possible and will be settled with a final overall bill at the end of everything. As our guests, you can grab something to eat before we officially begin the auction.¡± Everybody had just had a meal not too long ago, and nobody was too interested in the foodstuffs. However, the alluring drinks were too tempting to resist, and some of them reached out to try them.

    The top-ranked Starlight Auction was worthy of its name. The drinks were not only delicious, they were as nutritious as the food provided to the core disciples of Shrek Academy itself. Huo Yuhao only had a single ss of fruit punch and he could already feel afortable warmth coursing through his body.

    Wang Yan said to Qing Ya, ¡°Auctioneer Qing Ya, please have a seat as well.¡±

    Qing Ya didn¡¯t reject this offer, and after tilting her head with a wide smile on her face, took a seat beside him. Wang Yan hurriedly shifted to the side to create some space between the two of them before his face flushed red. He wasn¡¯t young anymore, but he didn¡¯t yet have a family, and he had never really interacted with girls before ¨C his heart and soul were dedicated to the research and development of soul masters. At this moment, there was a mature and enchanting beauty sitting so close to him and this made him a little uneasy.

    Qing Ya covered her mouth as she giggled at the sight of his reaction. Yet, instead of teasing him, she asked softly, ¡°Is this your first time in Star Luo City?¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been here before, but every trip waspleted in a hurry.¡±

    Qing Ya said, ¡°You must be very busy with your work at Shrek Academy.¡±

    Wang Yan answered, ¡°It¡¯s better if I¡¯m busy with my work. If it¡¯s just normal teaching, it won¡¯t be so tiring. After all, the members of our academy are all outstanding students, and they don¡¯t need too much worrying from us teachers.¡± As he said this, a look of pride shed across his face, and this was naturally due to Year 2¡¯s ss 1.

    He had said before, more than once, that Year 2¡¯s ss 1 was the most talented ss he had ever taught. This was also extremelypatible with his teaching style, which was purely skill-based, and he was also strict and firm with his students.

    His students were not only prodigious, one was more hardworking than the other. ording to his own estimations, when they ascended to Year 3, the entire ss could reach the third ring in mastery. How impressive would that statistic be? His greatest wish at this moment was to have the honor of taking his entire troupe of students to the end, and to ensure that everybody sessfully graduated from the academy.

    Qing Ya smiled faintly and said, ¡°One look, and I can tell you¡¯re a great teacher. The moment you mention your students, there is an obvious exhration in your emotions.¡±

    All this small talk caused Wang Yan to unwind a little, and his emotions became a lot less tense. ¡°It¡¯s because my students are too cute. In reality, as a teacher, my greatest wish is to see my students seed. As of now, my students haven¡¯t disappointed me.¡±

    Qing Ya bowed her head a little and said, ¡°I hope you can produce even more extraordinary students.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks.¡± Wang Yan returned her well-wishes politely, but he failed to detect the slight unnatural sparkle in Qing Ya¡¯s eyes as she stared at him.

    Qing Ya giggled as she asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, the Starlight Auction wishes to expand our business into Shrek City. What suggestions do you have for me?¡±

    Wang Yan was slightly taken aback. ¡°The Starlight Auction wants to go to Shrek City as well? That¡¯s a good thing! However, there seem to be multiple auctions in Shrek City already, and thus thepetition is bound to be pretty vigorous.¡±

    Qing Ya chuckled and replied, ¡°The Starlight Auction has never been afraid ofpetition, as we believe in our own strengths. If we ever have a chance to venture into Shrek City, I wonder if I can contact you?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can.¡± Wang Yan answered her question almost subconsciously.

    Qing Ya raised her hand and produced a small gold box. ¡°Do ept this gift from me then. This is a sound-amplifying soul tool, and they are produced in pairs, so I have one as well. As long as we are within fifty kilometers of each other, we canmunicate using this. If you need anything from me during your stay in Star Luo City, feel free to contact me!¡±

    Wang Yan epted this little gift and nced at Qing Ya. He suddenly noticed that Qing Ya was staring at him with a piercing gaze, and it instantly gave him mixed feelings, so he hurriedly nodded and put the sound-amplifying soul tool away.

    Right at this moment, the entire room was abruptly plunged into ayer of golden light, and everybody turned toward the soul screen.

    A gentle golden light that wasn¡¯t hurtful to the eyes emanated from the screen that had previously blocked everyone¡¯s field of view. Pale rays of golden light also shone from the every corner of room, and the calm andfortable atmosphere was instantly transformed into something more dignified and elegant.

    Qing Ya announced, ¡°My honorable guests, our auction is about to begin.¡±

    The golden lighting from the screen gradually receded as a charming voice rang out from within. ¡°Wee to the top-ranked Starlight Auction. Today, we are cing nine exotic items up for auction. These items will be shown to you, our honorable guests, by their value from the lowest to the highest. We do hope you will enjoy yourselves.¡±

    The soul screen cleared up again, and the tform that had appeared before was now covered with anotheryer of pale white light. In the middle of the tform was a young girl d in a lengthy red dress.

    This girl appeared to be no more than eighteen, and she was enchantingly pretty ¨C to the point where she rivaled even the looks of Jiang Nannan. Furthermore, she was a few years older than Jiang Nannan, and her body was much more mature. Thebination of her flowing red dress and her pale white skin gave onlookers a feeling of perfection ¨C the only strange thing was that the auction station had yet to appear on the tform.

    ¡°Greetings, valued guests. I am today¡¯s auctioneer, and my name is Jiu Jiu. I am honored to be here today to host this top-ranked auction. Your time is valuable to us, so we shall begin the auction right away. Subsequently, do feast your eyes upon the first item of the day.¡±

    As she spoke, she shed a morous smile and made an extremely exquisite greeting as she gestured with her right hand. The scene switched right away, and the soul screen on the wall presented the first item up for auction.

 Chapter 99.2: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    Chapter 99.2: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    No wonder there wasn¡¯t an auction station ¨C the item itself was a magnified projection! It was disyed across the ten-meter-long wall, down to its most intricate details.

    Dai Yaoheng asked inquisitively, ¡°Why is this auctioneer following the formalities of the royal pce of the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Qing Ya nced at Dai Yueheng with a look a of faint shock and answered, ¡°Fine eyes you have, valued guest. Auctioneer Jiu Jiu is the lead auctioneer of the Star Luo Auction, and its only gold-ranked auctioneer. However, only when the value of the item is over hundreds of millions of gold coins will she don the golden auctioneer¡¯s uniform. At the same time, Auctioneer Jiu Jiu is the youngest sister of the current emperor of the Empire. She has remarked that her status in the auction is as an auctioneer, which is the reason why we don¡¯t address her as ¡®Your Highness¡¯.¡±

    Everybody exchanged looks with each other, as this was surreal for them. Even though they had already guessed that the Starlight Auction had an extraordinary background, they never thought it would reach such a level.

    A princess from the royal pce as an auctioneer. What did this mean? This meant that the entire Starlight Auction probably belonged to the royal family of the Star Luo Empire.

    Still, while they were boggled by what they had just discovered, everybody¡¯s attention was diverted to the item that was presented before them, and Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s voice could be heard.

    The Tyrannical Tiger Soulde is a ss 8 closebat soul tool. Itsponents are extremely valuable, including the right arm bone of a ten thousand year Tyrannical Tiger. It also contains a soul bone skill called the Tyrannical sh. At the same time, it can boost the offensive powers ofpatible soul skills by fifty percent.¡±

    ¡°Do take note, honorable guests, that every strike using this precious closebat soul tool will produce the effect of a Tyrannical sh, and this effect will add onto the effects of any rted soul skills. At the same time, through the sophisticated workings and direction of the formation arrays, and in addition to the inherent energies contained within the soul bone, the amount of soul power required to use the Tyrannical sh is only a third of what it normally is.¡±

    ¡°Lastly, the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde originates from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall. I think these three words ¨C Illustrious Virtue Hall ¨C are enough to prove its quality. Seven-ringed Soul Sages can use this weapon, and they will be able to challenge a Soul Douluo. You will have five minutes to inspect the item.¡±

    ¾Ã¾Ã¹«Ö÷µÄ½éÉÜÒ»Íê£¬·¿¼äÄÚ²»×Ô¾õµÄÏìÆðÁË³éÆøµÄÉùÒô¡£Õâ»¹Ö»ÊÇµÚÒ»¼þÅÄÆ·°¡£¡

    Once Princess Jiu Jiupleted her introduction, deep breaths could be heard being drawn across the room ¨C this was only the first item up for auction!

    It was a ss 8 soul tool, and even though both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were from the Soul Tool Department, they had never seen this before. Several simple and crisp sentences were enough to bring out the most powerful and attractive aspects of this item.

    Even the more experienced Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng and Ling Luochen betrayed looks of amazement. They had seen ss 8 soul tools in past auctions that they had participated in before, but they were few and far between. Normally, the appearance of a ss 6 soul tool in an auction was already a rare sight. Once in a blue moon, a ss 8 soul tool would be revealed, but even then, they would be the anchoring item to close off the entire auction. Today, the first item was already a ss 8 soul tool, and it was the item with the lowest value in the list of items that were in store ¨C how could all this not overwhelm them with bewilderment and excitement?

    One couldn¡¯t underestimate the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde just because it was a closebat soul tool. In reality, for high level soul masters, closebat soul tools were more important than long-range soul tools and stationary soul tools, as they were moreplementary to their skills.

    The students were unable to help themselves as they got up from thefort of their seats and stepped up to the screen to inspect this eighth-ranked war de.

    There was aprehensive description of the item on the screen. The Tyrannical Tiger Soulde was four feet six inches long, while the de itself was at least an inch wide. It was modeled like a saber, the hilt extending to the handguard, and it was shaped like a bone. The handguard itself was ten centimeters wide, and was a caricature of a tiger¡¯s head ¨C there was no doubt that this soul tool¡¯s formation arrays were located there. The tiger¡¯s head radiated with a crystal yellow hue, and seemed to have been made from a special jewel.

    He Caitou was the most knowledgeable amongst the entire group regarding soul tools. He took but a few nces before a look of awe came over his face. ¡°These¡­ not only do these formation arrays draw from the power of the soul bone, but the entire body is made from Amber Gold! Such extravagance! Besides, it¡¯s quite arge piece of Amber Gold! No wonder they can solidify the energy from the soul bones. Items produced in the Illustrious Virtue Hall are indeed extraordinary.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was beside He Caitou, and he too was observing it intently. Even though it was just an image, he could feel a faint aura of ferocity drafting towards him. The broad de seemed to shimmer with a terrifyingyer of blood.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Senior brother, what kind of ce is the Illustrious Virtue Hall?¡±

    Before He Caitou could respond, Wang Yan lowered his voice as well and answered, ¡°The Illustrious Virtue Hall has connections with Shrek that run very deep, and they hold the highest status in the Sun Moon Empire. Put more urately, they are a part of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Much like our own inner courtyard, only the most outstanding students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy are allowed to enter for cultivation and studies. At the same time, they are the cardinal authority in forging and manufacturing soul tools. All the soul tools produced by the Illustrious Virtue Hall overflow with excessive demand the moment they hit the market. Thus, the Illustrious Virtue Hall is also a substitute representation of a soul tool¡¯s quality.¡±

    Qing Ya smiled faintly and chimed in. ¡°Teacher Wang is right. There are more teachers than students within the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and the most powerful soul engineers are concentrated there as well. Over the years, most of the epoch-making soul tools originated from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. One can well say that the Illustrious Virtue Hall is like the most important ivory tower of the Sun Moon Empire. Their technologies regarding the development of soul tools are also the most advanced on the continent.¡±

    Bei Bei appeared behind Huo Yuhao like a ghost. He was also listening attentively to Qing Ya¡¯s exnation as he tapped Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and whispered, ¡°Keep it up, little junior.¡±

    Only five simple words fell into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears, but it instilled in him an overflowing feeling of hope. Huo Yuhao thought to himself ¨C how incredible would it be if the Tang Sect could one day receive such exalting praise?

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been so sensitive back when he was still cultivating and studying inside the academy, but following his expedition out of the academy and into Star Luo City for thepetition, he had picked up and learned so many things in the process that he would never have been exposed to in the academy. He gradually began to understand the substantial importance of soul tools, and that the manufacturing of soul tools by the Sun Moon Empire were far greater than that of other nations ¨C more than he had imagined.

    The thing that staggered Huo Yuhao the most wasn¡¯t the ss 8 Tyrannical Tiger Soulde before him, but the soul screen that could be operated without the injection of soul power, in spite of Qing Ya¡¯s previous exnation about the weakness of these external sources. However, the Sun Moon Empire had already produced a soul tool that didn¡¯t require soul power to be activated ¨C in that case, what was the difference between the weak and the powerful? It wouldn¡¯t take more than a few years before the Sun Moon Empire would be able to produce soul tools with offensive and defensive capabilities that could be activated without consuming soul power. When that day arrived, the structure of the entire continent would change drastically.

    ¡°I have to work harder and be stronger,¡± Huo Yuhao made a mental note to himself.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up. The Tyrannical Tiger Soulde¡¯s opening price is six hundred thousand golden soul coins, and every bid cannot be less than five thousand golden soul coins. All of you, my honorable guests, are experienced with this, and I trust that we won¡¯t need Jiu Jiu to exin too much. If a bid is unanswered after a minute, the deal is done ¨C let¡¯s begin.¡±

    The screen started to transform into a pale white color. The image of the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde gradually grew more obscure as it faded into the background, while a giant number that read ¡°six hundred thousand¡± shed on the surface of the screen.

    ¡°Six hundred and fifty thousand.¡± Dai Yueheng was the first to bid, before he turned towards Wang Yan. ¡°Teacher Wang, this is my personal decision.¡±

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t say anything, and simply nodded in his direction.

    The students in the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy had never had any issues with their finances, and they would also bring their savings with them when carrying out simr tasks. Dai Yaoheng himself was the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, who had been passing down the position for at least ten thousand years ¨C this naturally meant that the amount of money he could use was plentiful.

    The moment he quoted his bid, the golden-robed servant girl immediately executed a simple action on the soul screen, and the giant numbers on the screen subsequently changed to six hundred and fifty thousand.

    The reason why Dai Yueheng was so moved was that this ss 8 soul tool had something to do with the tiger, and could be used by a Soul Sage. Dai Yaoheng wasn¡¯t too far from his seventh ring, and he could probably break through to that level in the next three to five years. Furthermore, a ss 8 soul tool such as this that wasplementary to his abilities didn¡¯te around too often.

    Ma Xiaotao snapped at once. ¡°You think you¡¯re big just because you¡¯re rich?¡±

    Dai Yueheng wasn¡¯t angry at all. He shed her a faint smile and said, ¡°You are stronger than me, Xiaotao, and you will definitely advance to the seventh ring before I can. How about this ¨C when you be a soul sage, you can use the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde first and return it to me once I reach the seventh ring. How¡¯s that? If not, it will just be rotting in my possession anyway.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao shot him a look and said, ¡°Why do I need your stuff? Besides, it¡¯s still uncertain whether you can win the bid in the end.¡±

    Indeed, the numbers on the screen were already starting to flicker.

    Huo Yuhao was a little perplexed. When he was at the Treasure-Appreciation Conference at the Treasure Pavilion with Wang Dong, Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone had been valued at nine million five hundred thousand golden soul coins. This ss 8 soul tool¡¯s opening price was only six hundred thousand golden soul coins, and it even included a tiger-type right arm soul bone ¨C how could the price disparity be so great?

    Wang Dong understood him very well, and instantly detected the doubts in his mind. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Are you thinking about the Golden Light Left Arm Bone? That¡¯s iparable. Even though soul bones are all precious, a tiny distinction in quality can lead to vastly different values. The description of this de¡¯s power seems fine, but it probably means that the quality of the soul bone infused within it isn¡¯t too great ¨C otherwise, why would it be used to forge a soul tool? A soul master could just absorb it. As for the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, it gives my abilities an overall boost. Furthermore, I can feel that the reason why its effects on me are still limited is because my level of mastery isn¡¯t high enough, just like your soul skills. Otherwise, it would be because I am not yet familiar with handling it. Do remember that the presence of the bone enhances our cultivation speed when we use the Haodong Power. You have to know that an increase of even ten percent in our cultivation speed is already difficult to gauge with money. Besides, this ss 8 soul tool¡¯s opening price may only be six hundred thousand, but who knows how much its final price will be?¡±

 Chapter 99.3: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    Chapter 99.3: Top Quality Goods & The Princess

    ¡°Although my Golden Light Left Arm Bone can¡¯tpare to a hundred thousand year soul bone, it¡¯s still a rather formidable presence among soul bones. It was also the item with the highest value at the Treasure Appreciation Auction held in the Treasure Pavilion. While there are many items in this Starlight Auction house, not all of them can supersede it in terms of value in such a top-ranked auction.¡±

    As the two of them spoke, the number on the soul screen had already changed rapidly.

    The golden soul coin figure soared and crossed the 1 million mark very quickly. However, the figure increased at a slower rate upon crossing the 1 million mark.

    Qing Ya said, ¡°Distinguished guests, this Tyrannical Tiger Soulde has a rough value of six hundred thousand golden soul coins based on its own quality and without consideration of the craftmanship of the soul engineer. This is ording to careful analysis by our auctionce. This is also the reason why we raised the starting bid for this item. A conservative estimate of its actual value would be at least 1.3 million golden soul coins. That piece of Tyrannical Tiger soul bone from which it was carved has a slight w, but the ss 8 soul engineer that produced it has already removed this w during the process of carving the de. If that piece of soul bone were perfect, this de might have been even be more powerful. However, this would also mean that its price would have been even more astronomical. Personally, I feel that the price of this Tyrannical Tiger Soulde is very reasonable.¡±

    How many of those who came to this top-ranked auction were fools? Just like Princess Xingyun said, they were all connoisseurs, and were clearly aware of the right price of the items. The auction house did not overprice the starting bids, but it was also almost impossible for anyone to obtain any item at a steal.

    Dai Yaoheng eventually made up his mind and used 1.56 million golden soul coins to bid for this Tyrannical Tiger Soulde.

    The price of the de didn¡¯t change for a minute. After the bidding ended, golden lights in the entire room burst into bright fireworks. This signified a sessful bid.

    Dai Yaoheng was also feeling the pinch in his heart. After being a member of the Shrek Guardians for such a long time, his personal savings were barely over a few hundred thousand golden soul coins. However, Star Luo City was his headquarters. Thus, it was not too difficult for him to raise this sum of money.

    Princess Jiujiu, who wore a long red dress, appeared on the screen once again. She smiled sweetly as she bowed slightly. She said, ¡°I¡¯d like to thank the guest who won the bid for the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde for his support of our auction today. Below, we shall present the second auction item now. Although they can only be expended once, they are very rare. It¡¯s not easy to gather this entire set. Distinguished guests, please take a look.¡±

    The soul tool screen changed once again, and the screen on the wall was divided into 12 sections. The items in each of the 12 sections looked very simr to one another.

    They were all cylindrical objects. One end was cone-shaped, and the other end was the base of the cylinder. This applied to all 12 items. The only difference that they had were in terms of their color. They seemed to be carved from different types of metal.

    ¡°Stationary soul cannon shells.¡± He Caitou muttered almost instantaneously, his voice filled with shock.

    Princess Jiujiu¡¯s voice echoed within the room, ¡°These 12 stationary soul cannon shells are products of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. It took us quite some effort to gather them. Each of them has a different effect and their sizes are ording to the standard format. When used appropriately, these 12 shells have the power to threaten the life of a Soul Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Using the ss of a soul tool to measure them, each one of them contains a precise formation array. The formation arrays are not inferior to a ss 6 soul tool in terms ofplexity. Their elements include water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, poison, lightning, frost, metal, explosion and paralysis. At least a ss 6 stationary soul cannon shell is needed to fire the cannonballs. For repeated firing, at least a ss 7 stationary soul cannon will be needed. I shall give all of you 5 minutes to appreciate this set of 12 items.¡±

    Before she had even finished speaking, He Caitou had already leapt forward quickly. Huo Yuhao followed closely behind him. Although they had not encountered a soul tool of this ss, it was still good if they could just admire it!

    This was especially so for He Caitou, as he had used a stationary soul tool before. He was more aware of the importance of a stationary soul cannon shell. Thinking about it, the effect of the stationary soul tool in battle must be very immense given that even the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament did not permit the use of it by its participants.

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s description was not exaggerated. If these shells were all at the ss 6 level, they could certainly threaten the life of a Soul Douluo, and even cause problems for a Titled Douluo.

    ¡°They¡¯re too exquisite. Little junior brother, the formation arrays are at the tails of the cannon shells. There are elerator circuits on the surface of the formation arrays, too. Furthermore, these circuits are so huge. Once the cannon shell is released, its speed will be frightening. No wonder a ss 6 and above stationary soul cannon is required to fire them, so as to prevent the bore from exploding.¡±

    He Caitou looked at these shells and jumped around in excitement.

    Wang Yan walked beside him and asked softly, ¡°Caitou, do you know the value of these shells?¡±

    He Caitou nodded his head without any hesitation and said, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve researched them very heavily! Teacher Wang, we must get them. These few years, our soul tool department has focused our research on stationary soul tools. The might of a stationary soul cannon is a huge problem that has stumped us. Right now, our academy can only produce stationary soul cannon shells that are ss 5, at most. This item is pricey and expendable, but they¡¯re something we haven¡¯t been able to produce. These shells, will be very useful in our research of higher ss shells.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± Wang Yan nodded his head.

    Qing Ya reminded them softly, ¡°Distinguished guests, these cannons are all equipped with the encrypted formation schematic of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. If any of you is buying them for research purposes, please take due care. If the encrypted formation is touched, it may induce an explosion.¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that.¡± He Caitou said without any hesitation, ¡°No matter who created such a high-level soul tool, the same logic applies. However, we can reap some information just by looking at the clues on their surfaces¡­¡±

    He wanted to continue on, but Wang Yan coughed and blocked out his words. He Caitou also realized that he was getting too excited, and quickly refrained from speaking further.

    The price of these 12 shells was indeed astonishing, and were true to the idea that every seeding auction item was more expensive than the preceding item. The starting price for these 12 shells was actually 650,000 golden soul coins.

    ¡°Distinguished guests, I don¡¯t think that this set of cannon shells from the Illustrious Virtue Hall is too expensive for all of you. Not only can they be used in battle, they can also be kept as souvenirs. It¡¯s also not easy for the Illustrious Virtue Hall to produce such a set like this. The most important thing is that they are very rare. The Starlight Auction house can guarantee that this is the first time a set of ss 6 stationary soul cannon shells from the Illustrious Virtue Hall has appeared in our auction house.¡±

    The bidding started. Wang Yan did not rush to make a bid, and only watched the screen quietly.

    It was not his first or second time taking part in an auction. Even for the most specific auctions, not all the auction items would be able to be auctioned out sessfully. There would be situations where a second auction would be held.

    Perhaps the value of these 12 shells might be greater than the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde earlier. However, that was attributed more to their rarity. There were very few who were willing and able to use these shells. Furthermore, the price of the entire set of 12 shells was too high. They were not like closebat soul tools or long-range soul tools. Once the shells were used, they could no longer be used anymore.

    Indeed, Wang Yan¡¯s steadiness was rewarded. The figure of 650,000 golden soul coins did not increase. No one was willing to make a bid.

    After a minute, Princess Jiujiu regretfully said, ¡°It seems like these 12 shells will not have an owner today. I shall count down thest 20 seconds. If no one makes a bid, this auction item will be put for up for a second auction.¡±

    Wang Yan twisted his head towards Qing Ya and asked in a low voice, ¡°How many seconds does it take to make a bid?¡±

    ¡°Bids are processed instantly.¡± Qing Ya replied.

    Wang Yan nodded his head slightly, and his eyes shed with a wise and far-sighted radiance.

    ¡°5, 4, 3, 2, 1.¡±

    When the countdown reached 2 seconds, Wang Yan shouted, ¡°I will bid 655,000 golden soul coins.¡± The smallest raise was 5000 golden soul coins. He did not bid the starting price, but added 5000 golden soul coins.

    The price was entered in immediately. At the veryst second, the illusory 650,000 figure jumped to 655,000 instantly after it froze.

    Qing Ya was stunned as she covered her small mouth. Following that, she raved, ¡°Teacher Wang, you are brilliant!¡±

    Huo Yuhao also understood what had happened. At the veryst moment, it was not only Wang Yan who had made a bid. However, the other person had offered the starting price. Under such a circumstance, the increase that Wang Yan had added to his bid had a decisive impact.

    Wang Yan smiled before saying, ¡°I was just taking precautions. I¡¯m lucky to have obtained this set of stationary soul cannon shells by bidding a little higher.¡±

    Qing Yaughed slightly as she congratted him; she seemed ted too. The Shrek Academy that she was in charge of hosting managed to seed in their bid for two auction items consecutively. Not only would she gain amission, but it would also greatly help her assessment score in the auction house.

    However, Shrek Academy did not bid on any of the next 5 auction items. They included a left arm bone, a right arm bone, a right leg bone, a piece of rare metal and a long-range ss 8 soul tool.

    What was worth mentioning was the long-range ss 8 soul tool. As a ss 8 soul tool, it required a Titled Douluo to use it. Its name was the Heavensplitting Cannon, and it also came from the Sun Moon Empire. However, it was not a product of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. It was made by a ss 9 soul engineer.

 Chapter 100.1: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    Chapter 100.1: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    The powerful Heavensplitting Cannon was simr to the super soul cannon that He Caitou used. However, it was much more powerful, and could only be used once per day. Its full power was the equivalent of a full-force blow from a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo.

    The only reason why it was judged to be a ss 8 soul tool and not a ss 9 one was because it was made from inferior materials. This limited the amount of times one could use the Heavensplitting Cannon to only once per day. At the same time, it needed a long time to recharge, and could only hit a single target. In a battle betweenbatants of the same ss, it was rather useless. In the words of Princess Jiu Jiu, it was a ss 8 soul tool that possessed ss 9 formation arrays.

    In the end, this Heavensplitting Cannon was bought by some other buyer at the high price of 7 million golden soul coins.

    It was not that Wang Yan did not want to intervene. However, at prices like the ones on disy, he did not dare to make the call without serious consideration. After all, his power within the academy was limited. As for the students, none of them could use this item, neither did they have the money to buy it. All they could do was spectate.

    Other than the first two items, the rest of the items in the auction were sold at increasingly higher prices. Since they were not particrly enthralled with these items, they decided to keep silent.

    Qing Ya, the auctioneer, did not provide any additional prompts. All she did was fairly and impartially exin the functions and abilities of every single item up for auction.

    Princess Jiu Jiu appeared for the eighth time on the screen as she said with a smile, ¡°The following two items will be the main stars of today¡¯s auction. I believe that every single one of you will be interested in them, so seize this chance. You may only see these items once, and you may not find a second chance to see them on the entire continent. Our eighth auction item is one such example. While it¡¯s still a soul bone, it is different from the rest. Please, take a look.¡±

    Light shed, and the image of a soul bone, which was maximized many times over, appeared on the soul screen.

    This soul bone waspletely emerald green. An emerald green halo swirled and pulsed around it, as if it were filled with emerald-green liquid.

    From its external appearance, it appeared to be a left arm bone. On top of its emerald green body, it gave off a faint, white mist.

    As it had been magnified many times over, everyone could feel that it was something special. The surface of this jade green bone appeared to be dotted with small crystals. These crystals were clear, and they looked as if they had been carved from some precious metal. The other soul bones that had appeared earlier paled inparison to this one. Evidently, they were not in the same category. Even Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone might not be as powerful as this one, superficially.

    ¡°How is this possible¡­?¡±

    ¡°Bastard!¡±

    Two voices rang out simultaneously in Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain. The first one belonged to the Skydream Iceworm, and the second one naturally belonged to the Ice Empress.

    Huo Yuhao was startled by their sudden reaction, particrly that of the Ice Empress. He could feel her rage.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Ice Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao asked quickly.

    The Ice Empress did not respond. Huo Yuhao could feel her rage increasing exponentially.

    At this moment, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s alluring voice rang out. Compared to before, it was a bit deeper and more moving. The allure in her voice was stronger too. ¡°Honored guests, I am proud to introduce this soul bone to everyone. Everyone knows that, to a soul master, the most valuable item is either a hundred thousand years soul ring, or a hundred thousand year soul bone. It is extremely rare for these two items to appear at the same time during an auction. Even for our Starlight Auction, such premium items have yet to exist. After all, no matter who possesses these items, he or she will not choose to auction them off, but instead use them to create an elite.¡±

    ¡°The bone that is before everyone is the most premium bone to have appeared in our Starlight Auction in recent years. After we obtained it, we nned on keeping it. Originally, we did not n to auction it off, because it was too precious and too rare.¡±

    ¡°I believe that everyone can see that this soul bone is an ice-type bone. Before I borate any further on its pros, I want to introduce to everyone to its con. Some guests may be curious: why would we introduce the cons of an object as auctioneers? This is because the Starlight Auction values trust above everything else. Furthermore, the downside of this object can also be said to be a strength.¡±

    ¡°The most important downside of this soul bone is that it¡¯s an ice-type bone. Everyone knows that most soul bones do not have elemental requirements. Most of them can be used by all soul masters. Their apanying soul skill will change ording to one¡¯s martial soul. This applies even to hundred thousand year soul bones. This type of soul bone is mainstream among soul bones. Other than these mainstream soul bones, there are some special exceptions. These types of soul bones have elemental requirements, and soul masters that do not fit these elemental requirements can never fuse with them. Forcing it will hurt oneself, which can even be fatal. Hence, of the eight items up for auction today, this bone is one such object. Hence, its first downside is its elemental requirement. Only ice-type soul masters can use it.¡±

    When the auction reached its eighth item, Princess Jiu Jiu became evidently more vocal. Her voice, perfect in its intonation and pitch, was even more alluring. Naturally, many were drawn by her description of the object.

    ¡°The ice-type elemental requirement is already very restrictive. After all, less than 1% of all soul masters specialize in the ice element. Hence, I must say that while this soul bone is good, it is only good for those who can meet its requirements.¡±

    ¡°Its second w is very clear too. However, I believe that it¡¯s actually one of its strengths. Its soul skill is set. The Starlight Auction has invited many soul bone specialists to verify it, and our conclusion is that the soul skill of this soul bone is set. No matter what the martial soul of the ice-type soul master that fuses with it is, its soul skill will never change. This is a strong limitation.¡±

    ¡°As for its final w, it¡¯s its age. ording to our analysis, this soul bone is between 50, 000 to 70, 000 years old. This is one of its strengths, but at the same time, please don¡¯t try to fuse with it if you do not possess the calibre. If not, you will likely die from it. So these are its three ws.¡±

    ¡°Are these really ws?¡± Wang Yan¡¯s thoughts were evident from his twitching face.

    What ws? These were evidently its strengths. While it was true that its elemental requirement was a severe limitation, all soul bones with elemental requirements were more powerful than those without these requirements. Once a soul master fused with one, its effects would vastly exceed those of one without elemental requirements.

    For example, Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone was only so valuable because it could only fuse with a light-type soul master. After fusion, its effects were vastly superior to any ordinary soul bone.

    As to its second ¡®weakness¡¯, the fact that its soul skill was set was a humongous advantage. Only exceptionally powerful soul bones would have set soul skills!

    As for its final w, when had the age of a soul bone ever been a w? With a few sentences, Princess Jiu Jiu was able to elucidate every single strength of this emerald ice type soul bone under the guise of listing its ¡®ws¡¯.

    ¡°Now that we are done with its ws, we shall now talk about its strengths,¡± Princess Jiu Jiu said as her voice turned sincere in an instant.

    ¡°As the main auctioneer of the Starlight Auction, and as a princess of the Imperial Household of the Star Luo Empire, I give my solemn word that everything I say is true. Firstly, I want to say that this soul bone is the most perfect one I have seen. Its rarity can bepared to a hundred thousand year soul bone because it did not originate from our continent or any particr country. Instead, ites the Extreme North, an area forbidden to us humans. Furthermore, ites from the core regions of the Extreme North. The owner of this soul bone is a transcendent soul beast of the bitterly cold extreme north, the Ice Jade Scorpion.¡±

    The moment Princess Jiu Jiu said the three words ¡®Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯, everyone¡¯s gaze fell onto Huo Yuhao. Everyone looked surprised, as they all knew what Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was. No one, however, thought that the eighth item up for auction would be the same as Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul. Doubtlessly, if Huo Yuhao obtained the soul bone, he would be its best fit.

    Huo Yuhao was struck by a sudden realization. No wonder the Skydream Iceworm was shocked, and the Ice Empress was filled with rage. This left arm bone came from her fellow tribesmen!

    Princess Jiu Jiu continued, ¡°The Ice Jade Scorpion may not be a familiar name for everyone here. However, I believe that everyone is familiar with something else. The leader of the Ice Jade Scorpions is the Ice Jade Scorpion King, otherwise known as the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, it is ranked eighth. Any beast that could enter the ranks of the Ten Great Savage Beasts is top ss. Even if we don¡¯t take into ount its age, the Ice Jade Scorpion is at the top of the pecking order among all soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°This soul bonees from an Ice Jade Scorpion. As they live in groups, it¡¯s a miracle that someone could kill one from a pack of them. This is more difficult than killing a hundred thousand year soul beast from the Great Star Dou Forest. What makes this feat even more difficult was that the yer obtained a soul bone after killing an Ice Jade Scorpion.¡±

 Chapter 100.2: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    Chapter 100.2: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    ¡°ording to the ancient records, the power of ice is determined by its temperature. The lower the temperature of ice, the scarier and tougher it is. The Ice Jade Scorpion King is recognized as the one who possesses ice of the lowest temperature in the world. Although its n members are not as outstanding as it is, there are very few others who are able to match up to them in the domain of ice. Hence, I would like to tell all of you that once this left arm bone is infused, there will be an elemental amplification of the martial soul of ice-type soul masters. Regardless of what soul skill is employed, the temperature will be lower than before. This is basically a major benefit, an all-round amplification. It¡¯s not too much to im this as the first advantage of this piece of Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, is it?¡±

    ¡°Secondly, the Ice Jade Scorpion is naturally powerful beyond measure. After obtaining this left arm bone, the strength of the left arm of the soul master will increase significantly. As for the magnitude of increase, I¡¯m unsure. This can only be tested by the fortunate, distinguished guest that receives it.¡±

    ¡°Next is the third benefit of infusing this piece of soul bone. Once it¡¯s infused, the solidified skill of this soul bone will also be possessed by the soul master. I shall not beat around the bush any further. This solidified skill is called Ice Explosion. I mentioned earlier that the solidified skill is its weakness andcks changes. However, I also must rify that this is also its greatest advantage. Even to the Ice Jade Scorpion, this skill could be considered a divine skill. As long as there¡¯s ice, the might of the Ice Explosion will exist.¡±

    ¡°I have clearly stated all three huge weaknesses and advantages. An ice-type soul master will not regret possessing it. Now, I shall give all of you 10 minutes to appreciate it.¡±

    After speaking for so long, everyone was stunned as Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s voice disappeared. Only Wang Yan remained sober and in fullmand of his senses. He turned his head rapidly to look at Qing Ya, asking, ¡°Qing Ya, are there many ice-type soul masters among those who are here to bid?¡±

    Qing Ya¡¯s pretty face shed with a tinge of awkwardness. However, she did not deny his words, and nodded her head slightly, ¡°Apologies, it¡¯s necessary for our auction house to do this. The items for auction in this top-ranked auction are treasures. Thus, they are naturally allocated to the distinguished guests that need them the most. In fact, the first 7 items on auction are like the appetizers, while thest two items are the main course of this auction. While our auction house does have our own strategy, there was no exaggerated content in Jiu Jiu¡¯s introduction. This soul bone is indeed the most exquisite item.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded slightly as he twisted his head towards Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen. Then, he said in a deep voice, ¡°There¡¯s only one soul bone. If the two of you can achieve a consensus, I can give it a shot for the both of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen naturally understood what Wang Yan meant. For such a top-ranked ice-type soul bone, it was no longer about money. It was an item that was extremely desirable but difficult to obtain! No matter how many golden soul coins one had, they were just irrelevant numbers without the items that one wanted to get.

    There was no need to doubt the value of the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone to Huo Yuhao. But simrly, it carried immense value for Ling Luochen too. It was even fair to say that Ling Luochen¡¯s powers would be able to rise a level if she possessed it. She could then reach the level of both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng. It would also be ideal for her future progress.

    An ice explosion sounded very simple. However, as a soul master, how could Ling Luochen not understand its significance? Simply put, this ice explosion wasparable to the corpse explosion unleashed by that Envoy of the Death God that they had met. This Ice Explosion might even be more powerful. To an ice-type soul master, it was nothing to conjure a little bit of ice. If this Ice Explosion move was controlled well after it was set to explode, its might would render it a divine skill!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was a mess. After a brief moment of resentment, the Ice Empress demanded that Huo Yuhao obtain that soul bone by hook or by crook upon hearing the words ¡®Ice Explosion¡¯. The reason was very simple, but not even the Starlight Auction House knew about it. To the Ice Jade Scorpion n, this Ice Explosion skill was rarely seen. Even As the Ice Jade Scorpion King, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion did not possess such a skill among her gifts.

    Huo Yuhao immediately understood when the Ice Empress exined the strength of this skill using one sentence. The Ice Empress said that she could challenge the leader of the Three Heavenly Kings if she possessed this skill.

    However, could Huo Yuhao really say so? He couldn¡¯t.

    As he saw the radiance of hope in Ling Luochen¡¯s eyes that was very difficult to mask, Huo Yuhao¡¯s words stuck in his throat.

    This soul bone wasparable to a hundred thousand year soul bone to an ice-type soul master. No one would be able to give it up so readily! Ling Luochen definitely wanted it. Without a doubt, this soul bone must be extremely costly. Besides its price, Huo Yuhao was also unwilling to let the mood of his senior change because of him. They wererades, and still needed to fight alongside each other in the followingpetition.

    After sensing Huo Yuhao¡¯s hesitation, the Ice Empress gradually calmed down as well. ¡°Idiot, just give it to her first.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned, ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me to obtain this soul bone at all costs?¡±

    The Ice Empressughed coldly and said, ¡°I was feeling gloomy just now, and my thoughts were not clear. Do you think that the soul bones produced by Ice Jade Scorpions can be absorbed so readily by anyone? Everything in that auctioneer¡¯s introduction was just conjecture. How is anyone clearer than me about the special characteristics of Ice Jade Scorpions? Although she¡¯s right in most of her description, there are some parts that were wrong too. This is also why this soul bone is a great problem to ordinary soul masters. Her mistakey in her im that fusing with this soul bone can increase the ice-type power of one¡¯s body. Do you know why she¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°You are making me anxious. Look at Senior Ling¡¯s eyes. Stop beating about the bush.¡±

    The Ice Empress snorted before saying a few words to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°What? So this is it?¡± Huo Yuhao was appalled. Following that, he became much more rxed from his initial uneasiness and said, ¡°This is much easier then.¡±

    ¡°Qing Ya, I have a question.¡± Huo Yuhao did not look at Ling Luochen¡¯s shining gaze, but instead looked towards Qing Ya.

    Qing Ya smiled and nodded at him without despising him at all. They had dug deep into the profiles of all the students from Shrek Academy who were here topete. Among all the students, Huo Yuhao was one of the few that they monitored closely. Qing Ya was fully aware of his brilliant performances during thepetition. With the strength of his ice-type martial soul, he had relied on his strength as a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster to achieve decisive impacts during thepetition. He was also touted as the future hope and star of Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Please feel free to ask, my distinguished guest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said in a deep voice, ¡°Can you halt this auction temporarily? There¡¯s something wrong with your auction item.¡±

    After he spoke, everyone present was stunned. They did not expect him to raise his suspicions with the auction house instead of discussing how they should share the spoils if they obtained the soul bone with Ling Luochen.

    Qing Ya creased her eyebrows slightly and replied, ¡°My distinguished guest, that¡¯s impossible. All our auction items have been through stringent checks and tests. They are all problem-free for sure. Which auction item are you referring to anyway?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m referring to the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone that was just presented. I¡¯m also doing this for the name of your auction house. If such an item is auctioned out for an exorbitant price, it won¡¯t do any good for the reputation of your auction house. If you can¡¯t make a decision, please ask someone who has the authority toe out now.¡±

    Qing Ya furrowed her brows even further and turned to Wang Yan, as if she was looking for his help.

    Wang Yanughed gently and said, ¡°Qing Ya, you don¡¯t have to look at me. I trust in the judgement of my students. Furthermore, if there¡¯s anyone who has the right to im that this 8th auction item is wed, it¡¯s him. We won¡¯t put you on the spot either. Yuhao, please let Qing Ya take a look at your martial soul.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and turned around. He stripped his jacket off and passed it to Wang Dong. After that, he removed his top and revealed his firm upper body.

    As his soul power surged, a white soul ring rose from beneath his feet. The temperature in the entire room dipped at an rming rate. Following that, a tattoo of a huge scorpion appeared on his back.

    This tattoo was too big, such that the curled part of the scorpion¡¯s tail was hidden underneath his pants. However, most of the tattoo could be seen on his back. Wasn¡¯t it the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion?

    Of course, it was needless to say that Qing Ya was unable to tell what the tattoo was. Even for Wang Yan, who had decades of experience in the research of martial souls, he could not differentiate between the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and an Ice Jade Scorpion.

    ¡°This, this is¡­¡± Qing Ya was stunned as she looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Qing Ya, the martial soul of this student of mine is the rare Ice Jade Scorpion. It originates from the same soul beast as the soul bone that is on auction. Hence, I believe his judgment when he says that this soul bone is wed. For the sake of the reputation of this auction house, I think it¡¯s best for you to ask for advice from your superiors.¡±

    Qing Ya did not hesitate any further, and nodded her head. She said, ¡°All distinguished guests, please wait for a moment.¡± After she finished saying that, she turned and walked out. It was no longer under her authority to make any decisions if there were problems with the auction items. After Huo Yuhao revealed his martial soul, she was convinced, but needed some time to seek advice from her superiors.

    After less than a minute, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s voice rang out on the big screen again, ¡°Due to the value of this auction item, our auction house has decided to extend the time for it¡¯s appreciation by a further 10 minutes. This will allow all of you to make a more informed choice.¡±

    Ling Luochen walked up to Huo Yuhao and whispered, ¡°Is there really something wrong with this soul bone?¡±

 Chapter 100.3: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    Chapter 100.3: A High Quality Ice Bomb

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head slightly and said a few words to her in a low voice. Ling Luochen was dazed for a moment. Following that, her expression changed. Finally, she sighed in exasperation and mumbled, ¡°What¡¯s meant to be yours will be yours. What¡¯s not meant to be yours won¡¯t be yours. We can¡¯t force things.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoforted her, ¡°Senior, I am not 100% confident either. If we are able obtain this soul bone, you can try it first. If it doesn¡¯t work out for you, you can then pass it to me.¡±

    Ling Luochen shook her head and touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. She said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to. I was just being greedy. I believe your words. If possible, you can cultivate a few times with me in the future when you have the time.¡±

    Before Huo Yuhao even opened his mouth, Wang Dong forced his jacket towards him. ¡°Put it on. What are you trying to achieve by being naked? Do you want our eyes to suffer?¡±

    As he interrupted, they deviated from the subject that they were on.

    At this moment, the door opened, and Qing Ya returned to the room. What was unexpected was that the person who followed her was Princess Jiu Jiu, the chief auctioneer of the Starlight auction House, who still wore her long, red dress.

    Upon seeing her, everyone stood up. As she was a princess and this was the Star Luo Empire, everyone had no choice but to ord her the respect she deserved.

    At close range, the beauty of this princess was astonishing. Her almost wless face left everyone dizzy. Fortunately, this room already had a ravishing beauty in Jiang Nannan, which relieved a little of the amazement that everyone felt.

    Princess Jiu Jiu bowed slightly to everyone, then asked anxiously, ¡°Who is the distinguished guest that ims that our Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone is wed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu sized him up for a moment before saying, ¡°What¡¯s the problem? You are an Ice Jade Scorpion soul master?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes. There¡¯s nothing wrong with this soul bone.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s huge beautiful eyes shed with a chill, and she said in a low voice, ¡°Why is there nothing wrong with it again?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I am referring to the soul bone when I say that nothing is wrong. The person absorbing the soul bone is the one with the problem. This soul bone can¡¯t be absorbed by just anyone.¡±

    As the royal princess and chief auctioneer, Princess Jiu Jiu was a very restrained person. But now that she was pressed for time, and this concerned the sess of the auction, she could not help but feel anxious. Her tone hardened. ¡°I know that not everyone can absorb this soul bone. Only ice-type soul masters and those with a cultivation capable absorbing soul bones of 50,000 years and above can try. Are you pointing out this problem?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The limitations of this soul bone don¡¯t end there. I believe that Your Highness doesn¡¯t really understand the Ice Jade Scorpion n. As the strongest species in the Extreme North, the Ice Jade Scorpions have always been very proud. Furthermore, they currently possess the strongest ice avable. Hence, there is always a special requirement in order to absorb everything that they produce, including soul rings and soul bones.¡±

    As he spoke till this point, Huo Yuhao reviewed what the Ice Empress had said to him earlier, ¡°To absorb the soul bones of us Ice Jade Scorpions, you humans will need Ultimate Ice, regardless of what type of soul bone you want to absorb. Without the Ultimate Ice physique, it¡¯s impossible to absorb a soul bone produced by an Ice Jade Scorpion. This is the pride of the Ice Jade Scorpions!¡±

    He had also rted this reasoning to Ling Luochen, which had dispelled her desire for this soul bone.

    ¡°What is the special requirement?¡± Princess Jiu Jiu calmed down. Before entering, she had already known who was inside the room. The members of Shrek Academy never spoke without thinking.

    Huo Yuhao said in a deep voice, ¡°Ultimate Ice. Without an Ultimate Ice physique, it¡¯s impossible to absorb this soul bone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Princess Jiu Jiu reacted almost instantly, ¡°Since when have the requirements for a soul bone been so high? Doesn¡¯t this mean that no one can absorb it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°This is the pride of the Ice Jade Scorpions. Furthermore, it doesn¡¯t mean that no one can absorb it just because it¡¯s difficult to. I¡¯m saying all this out of goodwill, as I don¡¯t want the credibility of your auction house to be undermined. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. I have said my piece. Your Highness, you can continue with the auction.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu creased her brows and clenched her fists subconsciously. One could see her internal struggle at this point.

    It was true that Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were one-sided. However, Qing Ya did mention to her that Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was an Ice Jade Scorpion. It was normal that he would know a lot about the soul bone of an Ice Jade Scorpion. However, this would spoil her original n. Moreover, it would be a major w in this top-ranked auction.

    Not forgetting her status as the chief auctioneer, she took in a deep breath and calmed down. After greeting Huo Yuhao with a pce formality, she said, ¡°Thanks for telling me all this. Time is tight, and I will deal with this matter immediately. If I¡¯m being rude, I hope that everyone can forgive me.¡± After she finished, she turned around and left in a hurry.

    Qing Ya only returned to the room after seeing Princess Jiu Jiu out. She wore a gloomy expression.

    Wang Yan smiled and tried tofort her. ¡°Qing Ya, this has nothing to do with you. Don¡¯t fret too much.¡±

    Qing Ya shook her head and said, ¡°This concerns the credibility of our auction house! It¡¯s also a very big thing. The starting bid for this soul bone was initially going to be set at over 10 million golden soul coins. There has never been a case of anyone having any problems with our auction items that cross the 10 million mark.¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°It¡¯s better to discover earlier than not to discover it at all. At least there¡¯s still room to rectify the problem, since it¡¯s yet to be auctioned out,.¡±

    On the other side, Princess Jiu Jiu went further in after she exited the previous room. She came before a door that was numbered 1 at the very end of the hallway. Without even knocking on the door, she pushed with her right hand, and the door slid open to one side. She walked in hurriedly.

    ¡°Brother, we have an issue.¡±

    There was only one man seated in this room. He was tall and upright, and he wore a long, ck robe. Besides him, there were no other people around, not even maids. However, if one saw the appearance of this man, he would be horrified. That¡¯s because this man was the Star Luo Emperor.

    After he saw Princess Jiu Jiu entering the room, the Star Luo Emperor said in a low voice, ¡°I know that something has gone wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have extended the time for the guests to appreciate the item. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu repeated Huo Yuhao¡¯s words to him.

    After hearing her words, the Star Luo Emperor shook his head andughed after a momentary daze. ¡°I still wanted to deliver them a favor, but who knew that this favor would becking? Go and settle it. In a while, I will go to meet them, and deliver this favor properly.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu nodded as she understood his hint. ¡°Brother, are they worth it? If we do it this way, the auction house will sustain considerable losses.¡±

    ¡°Of course they are. We can even kill two birds with one stone. It¡¯s necessary to improve our ties with Shrek Academy. In recent times, the Sun Moon Empire has not been very attuned to peace. The Illustrious Virtue Hall has also produced items that have invoked a sense of crisis within me. Once there¡¯s movement by the Sun Moon Empire, we¡¯ll be the first on the receiving end. When that timees, Shrek Academy will be the first to be able to help us. Furthermore, the youth that I noticed even once sparked a conference within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He has twin martial souls and an ultimate ice martial soul. Doesn¡¯t that make it necessary for us to build up our ties with him? More importantly, he is under the rule of our empire as indicated in his registration information in Shrek Academy. For such a talent, I believe that he¡¯ll grow closer to us even if we don¡¯t use him. Go, we don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s eyes shed with radiance, and her mind floated with the image of Huo Yuhao¡¯s confidence earlier. She couldn¡¯t believe that he wasn¡¯t even 13 years old. But he was very calm earlier!

    After the 20 minutes of appreciation time was up, Huo Yuhao was surprised that the auction was not affected by his words earlier. It continued to be held.

    The starting price of the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone reached over 12 million. Every increase had to be no less than 50,000 golden soul coins. For such a high price, everyone from Shrek Academy was stunned.

    After Wang Yan gritted his teeth and made 2 bids, he couldn¡¯t carry on anymore, and had to give up. While Shrek City was wealthy, the taxes that it collected in a year was only a mere few hundred million golden soul coins. For such a treasure that was priced in the millions, it could be the treasure of a city. The amount of money involved meant that Wang Yan was not exactly in a position to make any calls.

    The greatest source of money for Shrek Academy did note from the taxes collected from Shrek City. They came from the mary rewards obtained when the powerful individuals from Shrek Academy carried out missions or hunted soul beasts outside. For example, if the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in Shrek Academy was willing to act, it was not difficult to hunt and kill a hundred thousand year soul beast. The value of a hundred thousand year soul beast was very difficult to measure in terms of money.

    However, in the past thousand years, Shrek Academy had toned down this aspect of their work. The most important reason for doing so was because they did not want to rile up the Great Star Dou Forest. If it did, the situation would be dire. Even if Shrek City could be preserved, the surroundings cities and viges around the Great Star Dou Forest would still be destroyed. Hence, Shrek Academy did not hunt and kill soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest even though it was lucrative. They would only do so to help increase the soul rings of their students if they needed one.

    The price of the soul bone soared. It indeed attracted a lot of attention. When the price of the soul bone reached 15 million, the sudden shout of a figure caused everyone to be appalled.

    30 million!

    The number 30 million had appeared on the soul screen. Who said numbers were simple? By looking at this frightening number, all of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters started to breathe more anxiously. This figure was enough to buy a mid-sized city! The number referred to golden soul coins too, and not silver or bronze soul coins. The purchasing power of a golden soul coin was enough to buy 150 loaves of bread. It was not simple for even a country to fork out such a sum, but right now, this figure was used to bid on a soul bone. Who could be so wealthy?

 Chapter 101.1: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    Chapter 101.1: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    ¡°Teacher Wang.¡± In a rare urrence, Ling Luochen spoke. She appeared to be irritated. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Starlight Auction House being deceitful, knowing that the soul bone they are auctioning is wed?¡± She had been moved by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words earlier too. She was wondering about the prospect of being able to fuse with this soul bone. If this soul bone was wed, it would be in the best interest of the Starlight Auction House to sell it to them. After all, Huo Yuhao possessed an ultimate ice martial soul, which was very umon.

    Wang Yan waved towards her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t fret.¡±

    Qing Ya came towards Wang Yan and whispered a few words to him.

    Wang Yanughed slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve guessed that it¡¯d be like this already. We¡¯ll wait here. Isn¡¯t there ast auction item? Let us take a look at it and see what can be more valuable than the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone.¡±

    Upon seeing Wang Yan¡¯s expression, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yaoheng were both relieved. They seemed to have understood something too. Bei Bei, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi all grinned too. Xu Sanshi even took the initiative to answer Jiang Nannan¡¯s doubts.

    Wang Dong was initially as irritated as Ling Luochen. Only when Huo Yuhao muttered a few words into his ear did he seemed to be enlightened. Xiao Xiao was at a loss though. Ling Luochen continued to furrow her brows, but did not say anything.

    As this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament continued, Wang Yan was gaining further recognition from his students based on his profound knowledge and hard work.

    ¡°Next, we have our final auction item.¡±

    The image on the soul screen turned golden. As the golden light receded, Princess Jiu Jiu appeared on the screen wearing a long, golden skirt.

    Her milky-white skin didn¡¯t lose its beauty and elegance when paired with the graceful and luxurious golden pce skirt. The tailoring of the skirt fitted her body to a tee, and even managed to entuate her curves.

    Qing Ya had already said before that wearing the golden auction attire signified that the auction item that was about to be presented next could potentially achieve a bid of over 100 million golden soul coins.

    Although no one knew what that auction item was going to be, they were excited upon seeing Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s change of attire. In this top-ranked auction, she was indeed capable of getting everyone to their feet!

    ¡°Distinguished guests, we can tell how valuable this final auction item will be just by looking at Princess Jiu jiu¡¯s dress. Honestly speaking, it¡¯s also my first time seeing this auction item in my entire life. From my viewpoint, the value of this item can no longer be judged using money.¡±

    Princess Jiu jiu showed some minor changes again after changing into this golden skirt. She was different from her previous self, which appeared to be more seductive. Right now, her tone of voice was more serious. Her expression was also more serious. Just by saying a few words, others could sense her sincerity. They even could not help but believe every single word that she said.

    ¡°I shall not reveal the name of this auction item yet. I shall give a brief introduction of what its effects are. The Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone earlier was already very scarce and rare. As for this final auction item, it¡¯s even more unique. Its price is even immeasurable using money.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an item that can only expended once. More specifically, it¡¯s medicinal in nature, and there¡¯s only one of it. Distinguished guests, please take a look.¡± As she spoke, Princess Jiu jiu waved her right hand, and a change urred on the soul screen. There was one more white tray that appeared on the screen. On that tray, there was another wooden tray. This wooden tray was embedded with at least a hundred jewels of various colors. Above this average-sized wooden tray, a ball of flowing gas surged slightly.

    This ball of flowing gas revealed itself to be white. The tender whiteness of it undermined its strength. Furthermore, it only appeared to be a ball of flowing gas from the screen. It was difficult to sense how miraculous it was through one¡¯s vision alone.

    However, this ball of flowing gas was very condensed, and did not disperse. Subtly, it seemed to be struggling, and attempting to escape some form of encirclement. The wooden tray beneath the ball of flowing gas even emanated ayer of dim golden light that engulfed the gas as the gas struggled. This stopped the gas from escaping.

    ¡°All of you must be very curious. What exactly is this item? When I saw it for the first time, I was also unable to confirm what sort of presence it is exactly. However, we have confirmed its detailed form through countless research attempts. Never underestimate this ball of flowing gas. It¡¯s even a blessing just to see it today. Although it¡¯s a little disrespectful to say this as an auctioneer, I can¡¯t think of another way to describe how valuable and rare it is other than using this method.

    ¡°All of you should be aware that in the world of soul beasts, there¡¯s a situation. After a soul beast reaches 100,000 years of cultivation, it will have a choice. If it continues to cultivate, it has to rely on its powerful innate talent to challenge the bottleneck that could potentially dissipate its soul. If the bottleneck is ovee, we would then name it a transcendent soul beast until it reaches 200,000 years of cultivation. Among transcendent soul beasts, we call the most powerful ten of them the Ten Great Savage Beasts. It¡¯s fair to say that they are the elites among the soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°However, not all soul beasts will choose this path after they reach 100,000 years of cultivation. There¡¯s another choice that they can make. They can re-cultivate to be human. To carry this out, they must convert themselves into the most primitive form of humans. They must exist in the form of an embryo first before continuing to cultivate in order to increase their cultivation. As long as they can cultivate all the way till the 7th ring, they will be able to be true humans. For such soul beasts, they are almost certainly able to reach the level of Transcendent Douluo. However, it¡¯s more umon for soul beasts to choose this pathpared to the previous one. Why?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s equivalent to them forsaking all their previous cultivation once they choose to be reborn. Besides retaining their soul skills and relieving themselves of the need to kill a soul beast to replenish themselves, their bodies will be as weak as the bodies of humans. Regardless of whether it¡¯s the soul beasts themselves or the most powerful human soul masters, they can also sense the difference between these soul beasts and humans. Such soul beasts with 100,000 years of cultivation are the prime targets to be hunted and in by human soul masters. If we say that 1 out of 10 soul beasts survive by choosing the previous path, it¡¯s fair to say that none of them will survive if they choose this path. As a result, there have been fewer and fewer soul beasts who will make such a choice. This is unless if they are able to cultivate till 100,000 years based on luck, or if their lineage is extremely poor.¡±

    ¡°After saying so much, I reckon that some of you will be thinking that I am saying stuff that all of you are already aware of, and there¡¯s no need for me to remind all of you of this. However, I must rify that what I¡¯m saying is not gibberish. What I¡¯m saying is closely rted to this, the final item of today¡¯s auction. This ball of flowing gas is a soul beast with 100,000 years of cultivation that was captured by someone powerful after it reached its bottleneck and decided to re-cultivate into a human. After that, it was trapped in a ss 9 Godsealing Altar.

    After hearing Jiu Jiu¡¯s words, the entire room went silent, including Wang Yan. Everyone was astounded.

    Huo Yuhao was still immersed in his expectations for the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, but he opened his mouth wide in shock when he heard Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s words.

    A soul beast was captured and trapped in the process of turning into a human, when it was in its embryonic state. What did this mean? This meant that a 100,000 year soul beast could be easily in. As a result, a hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone could be obtained. But at the same time, this signified immense cruelty too!

    Undoubtedly, this ss 9 soul engineer must havee from the Sun Moon Empire. That¡¯s because only the Sun Moon Empire possessed a soul engineer of such a level.

    This was indeed a treasure! A hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone were indeed the most valuable treasures currently in the world. It was tremendously arduous to obtain them, not to even mention capturing a 100,000 year soul beast. The temptation to get ahold of this embryo was very great. No wonder Princess Jiu Jiu had donned the golden auctioneering clothes.

    An item worth 100 million golden soul coins was undoubtedly a staggering figure. Butpared to a 100,000 year soul beast, there were those who were willing to fork out this sum of money!

    However, this was not the end of the shock for everyone.

    Princess Jiu Jiu beamed with a smile and said, ¡°Distinguished guests, am I right that all of you are stunned now? I shouldn¡¯t be wrong. However, there are even more astonishing things that I haven¡¯t revealed yet. ording to the research information provided by the Sun Moon Empire regarding this embryo, this 100,000 year soul beast embryo¡¯s memory was also sealed when it was solidified into this state. Besides the fact that it can provide a hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone, this means that it can be easily absorbed. Of course, the powers of the ss 9 Godsealing Altar have to be tapped into during the process of absorption. Moreover, the probability of it being absorbed directly might not be huge. However, an entire martial soul could be obtained by the person absorbing it if it¡¯s sessful, and all the powers of the soul beast could be absorbed. If this is true, a martial soul that can be added with 9 soul rings is much superior than a soul ring or a soul bone.¡±

    Silence. Not only was the room that Huo Yuhao and the rest were in silent, all the participants of the auction were alsopletely hushed. However, their breathing became heavier and heavier.

 Chapter 101.2: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    Chapter 101.2: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    If they had thought that Princess Jiu Jiu was exaggerating when she described that auction item, their mindset changed immediately at this moment. If what Princess Jiu Jiu said was true, then this hundred thousand year soul beast was indeed a priceless treasure!

    ¡°Is it really possible?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress.

    The Ice Empress said nothing, but she felt as if she was about to blow up any moment. The Skydream Iceworm did not try to provoke her this time, but instead tried to calm the Ice Empress down.

    ¡°It is really possible. Unbelievably, you humans managed to catch the embryo of a hundred thousand year soul beast that was about to turn into a human. All I can say that the luck required for something is like this is incredible. Furthermore, the person who caught his embryo probably prepared for it for quite some time. When a soul beast tries to turn into a human, it will be at its weakest. One has to be extremely careful. For the captor to remain undetected means that he had some powerful concealment ability. If the embryo could be forcibly fused, it may be a martial soul. However, it will not cooperate as seamlessly as you and I. If it were to be a martial soul, the embryo of the soul beast would still preserve a bit of its consciousness. Think about it; will it be willing to be fused? While it may not necessarily create problems, it is surely not a good thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and sighed in his heart. He had no chance of obtaining this item. Including Electrolux, he had three martial souls already. Furthermore, as he looked at the stream of gas that was actually the embryo of a soul beast, he could not make himself want it.

    When humans killed mature soul beasts, it was survival of the fittest. When humans won, they would obtain soul rings. When they were killed, humans would be food for the soul beasts. However, no one would pick on the younger humans and soul beasts. It was as if the two sides hade to a tacit agreement that harming a youngling was something shameful.

    Princess Jiu Jiu was not yet finished with her introduction. She smiled and continued, ¡°Honored guests, please don¡¯t worry excessively. If one fails at fusing with it, then the soul beast will surely die. At that time, the soul ring and the soul bone will naturally appear. I want to remind all guests that whoever wishes to try fusing with it must possess the power of an Soul Douluo. If not, when the beast dies upon failure and produces its hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone, you will not be able to absorb it because you won¡¯t be strong enough. Optimally, one must be an Soul Douluo. Then, regardless of whether you seed or fail, no problem will arise.¡±

    ¡°Of course, if you are not powerful, it¡¯s fine too. The Godsealing Altar is powerful enough to seal time and space. With it, as long as one does not open it with some special spell, the hundred thousand year soul beast will still be inside. Even after a thousand years, or even ten thousand years, it will not be damaged. However, this creates a problem unto itself too. Whoever buys the hundred thousand year soul beast must also buy this ss 9 soul tool, as it is necessary to preserve this embryo.¡±

    ¡°Now, we will give our honored guests 30 minutes to rest and admire this object. After 30 minutes, we will start this auction. Here, we allow our guests to obtain some cash by offering coteral. We will assess each object offered thus objectively, but we will take a 20%mission fee for each exchange. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as this object is unprecedented in history. With it, one¡¯s power will surely increase immensely. Don¡¯t miss this chance.¡±

    The Godsealing Altar in the image was blown up many times, and the ball of faint, golden light became clearer. If one looked at it carefully, one would see that the ball of gas in the ·âÉñÌ¨ possessed a humanoid shape, akin to a human baby.

    Wang Yan arched his eyebrows tightly as he sat on the sofa. This treasure was attractive, no doubt. However, the people from Shrek all had a look of helplessness in their eyes.

    Because of the value of this treasure, its price would surely be terrifyingly high too. Even if Shrek Academy wished to purchase it, it would put a huge dent in their finances. Furthermore, with their current setup, they might not even be able to bring it back.

    At this time, Ma Xiaotao finally yed her role as the team leader. ¡°Pa! Pa! Pa!¡± She pped her hands and attracted everyone¡¯s gaze to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine guys, there¡¯s no need for Shrek Academy to own every single goodie. No doubt this item is good, but it¡¯s way too expensive. To me, this item is overvalued. With so much money, why don¡¯t we just ask some freaks from Shrek Academy to catch some hundred thousand year soul beasts? Furthermore, the descriptiones solely from the auctioneer, and we don¡¯t know much about any specific details either. Its auction price is surely based on the value of a second martial soul, produced upon sessful fusion. What if the fusion fails? Let¡¯s just enjoy the show, shall we?¡±

    Dai Yueheng regained his senses too as he nodded his head and said, ¡°Xiaotao is right. This is a treasure that we might encounter, but may not possess. Even if we encounter it, this is not something that we can buy with our current financial ability. What a shame.¡± While that was what he said, a dark expression still crossed his eyes. If the people behind the Starlight Auction were not the Imperial Family, he would surely do something. Hatred brewed in his heart. For a treasure like this, even his father did not know the details. If he did¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were clear. He had no desire for the embryo of this hundred thousand year soul beast. Without desire, his heart was much calmer too. He turned his head to look at Wang Dong. What shocked him was that Wang Dong was eating a fruit from the table. He was acting even more naturally than him.

    Huo Yuhao could not help but say in a low voice, ¡°What? Don¡¯t you have the slightest desire for it at all?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°No.¡±

    When Ma Xiaotao heard their exchange, she could not help but chide, ¡°The two of you are already twin-souled soul masters, what desire can you possibly have? However, do you know how many twin-souled soul masters are there in the continent? I can count them with one hand. Even for our school, we had not seen one for over 400 years. Now, three appear all at once.¡±

    At this moment, a knock came from the door. Qing Ya stood up and shot a look at Wang Yan, as if seeking his permission.

    Wang Yan nodded. Only then did Qing Ya open the door.

    The door opened, and the first to enter was Princess Jiu Jiu, who was still d in her golden, regal robes. The person behind her was none other than the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

    When she saw who they were, Qing Ya was shocked. She retreated a few steps and knelt on one knee. The two maids next to her knelt on both knees.

    The people from Shrek had all seen the emperor in Star Luo za. Now, when they looked at him up-close, all of them were dumbfounded. Only Dai Yueheng leapt up from the sofa and knelt on one knee as he said respectfully, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor raised his hands and said, ¡°Rise. This is an auction, and you are guests. I am the host. There¡¯s no need for formalities. In fact, I should properly extend my hospitality to you as the host. Yueheng, your father is my big brother. You should call me uncle. Why are you acting so formal?¡±

    Only then did the team from Shrek get over their initial shock. They all got up and paid their respects to him, but instead of kneeling, they simply bowed. After all, they belonged to Shrek Academy, whose dean¡¯s position rivalled that of emperors. It would be wrong to show too much deference.

    After Wang Yan bowed, he eximed in surprise, ¡°Your Majesty, what are you doing?¡± Bying, the emperor had revealed his status as the force behind the auction. This shocked him.

    The emperor smiled and said, ¡°I am here to look at you all. I wanted to take a look at the high-caliber students of Shrek for a very long time. I have seen youpete in every single round. While there were some mishaps in the ÕýÑ¡¶ÓÔ± of Shrek Academy, your resolute disy of force and talent have left a deep impression on me.¡±

    ¡°Please sit, Your Majesty,¡± Wang Yan said as he gestured with his hands.

    The Star Luo Emperor shook his head and said, ¡°No, thank you. All of you have seen how shocking this object is. I still need to be there, to guard against those who may harbour ill intent. Speaking of this object, I really can¡¯t bear to auction this item out. However, the empire¡¯s expenses are rather high, and all I can do is give up what I love. Today, other than taking a look at you talented people, I also want to thank you for your warning during the auction of the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone. This has helped to preserve everyone¡¯s trust in the auction.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu said, ¡°Just now, under my mediation, we bought the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone back ourselves. However, to prevent anymore trust issues from arising, this item can no longer be sold. To thank Shrek Academy for your timely reminder, we have decided to give the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone away as a gift. If Shrek Academy can be the champions of the inaugural Elite Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament, then we shall give the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone to your school as an additional reward. Of course, we do hope that you can keep this matter a secret.¡±

    Even if Princess Jiu Jiu did not say it herself, everyone could guess that the auctioneers were the ones who had bought back the item at a price of 30 million. Using this method, they were able to stop others from realizing that the auction item was unable to live up to its hype.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Wang Yan and everyone from the Shrek Academy were shocked. While they knew that the price for the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone was clearly not indicative of its value, it was still an immensely valuable object. While others might not be able to use it, it was priceless to Huo Yuhao! Its value surpassed Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone. 10 million was too cheap a price for it! It was possible that the Star Luo Empire had decided to gift it out only because of the absorptive ability of Ultimate Ice. This debt of gratitude was immense indeed, to the point where Wang Yan did not even dare to ept it.

 Chapter 101.3: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    Chapter 101.3: The Embryo Of A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast

    The Star Luo Emperor simpered at Huo Yuhao, who was standing at the side, and said, ¡°My Protector Douluo told me that it is likely that you possess an ice-type martial soul with Ultimate Ice, so this soul bone is suitable for you, just like how a hero deserves an exotic sword. Besides, I don¡¯t think you can find a second person in the entire world with Ultimate Ice. Since that¡¯s the case, I shall gift it to someone instead of letting it collect dust somewhere in a corner. Of course, the champion¡¯s title is a prerequisite ¨C even though this soul bone couldn¡¯t fetch a high price, it needs the respect and dignity it deserves.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first encounter with the emperor of a nation, so it was impossible for him not to feel a little nervous as he bowed timidly once more.

    The Star Luo Emperor continued, ¡°Your name is Huo Yuhao. From what I can see about your ce of birth in your registration, you are from my country, after all ¨C we can¡¯t give the good stuff to outsiders, eh? The gates to Star Luo City will always be open to you. Let¡¯s just leave it like this first. I wish to continue with the highlight of this auction, and it¡¯s highly likely that thest item will fetch an exorbitant price. So you guys can witness a miracle before your departure.¡± With that, the Emperor tilted his head to his audience before he turned and left.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first impression of him was that his aura of majesty and prestige wasn¡¯t overflowing, yet he was extremely unruffled at the same time. There seemed to be a feeling of absolute control hidden within his indifferent smiles, and he appeared to be able to convince other people for no other reason than it was he who had spoken.

    ¡°He¡¯s really giving it to us for free?¡± Xiao Xiao was a little taken aback.

    Wang Yan shook his head and replied, ¡°Nah. Put more urately, it¡¯s a gift to Huo Yuhao of Shrek Academy. The Emperor is truly well-informed.¡±

    As he spoke, he surveyed the rest of his students, and everybody could see the sudden change in his eyes. Everyone instantly sealed their mouths and ceased to discuss the matter. In the end, Qing Ya and the other two servant girls were still in the room.

    Once he was out of the seventh guest room, the Star Luo Emperor smiled as he muttered under his breath, ¡°I do hope this kid won¡¯t let me down. The beacon of trust and friendship has been sent out ¨C I wonder what response Shrek will give. Jiu Jiu ¨C after the conclusion of thepetition, strengthen our rtionship with Shrek Academy. Waive the taxes for merchants and business delegations from Shrek Academy doing business in our country by fifty percent.¡±

    ¡°Yes, brother. Something¡¯s happening,¡± Princess Jiu Jiu whispered.

    The Star Luo Emperor nodded his head faintly, but asked nothing, and instead strolled back into the first auction room that he was initially in as Princess Jiu Jiu followed behind him. One could see upon closer inspection that there was a white-colored ear plug in her right ear, and she made gestures that suggested she was listening closely to something.

    Once the door was closed, only the two of them were left in the first guest room.

    ¡°You can speak now,¡± the Star Luo Emperor signaled to Princess Jiu Jiu.

    Princess Jiu Jiu answered, ¡°The target has taken the bait and has begun selling soul tools to us for the appropriate amount of cash. When we proposed to reduce the processing fee for products manufactured by the Illustrious Virtue Hall by ten percent across the board, they had a brief discussion and took out a portion of the soul tools from the Illustrious Virtue Hall to sell us. What a sess!¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°This is within our estimations. The Illustrious Virtue Hallmaster¡¯s great-grandchild is the most prodigious individual in the history of the Sun Moon Empire. If they can finish the fusion of the embryo, it will be like the cherry on the cake. How can they let go of such an opportunity? In terms of financial power, the Illustrious Virtue Hall can be considered to be number one on the continent. Every single soul tool obtained from the Illustrious Virtue Hall shall be immediately sent to the researchb.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± there was a tinge of craftiness in Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope they search for that ss 9 soul master when they go back. Hehe.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor said, ¡°This n can be said to be seamless. Start the clock after the conclusion of the auction ¨C three monthster, announce a quest to steal treasures from the Illustrious Virtue Hall to the Adventurer¡¯s Association, and that the reward uponpletion will be one hundred million golden soul coins. No matter how talented the great-grandchild of the Illustrious Virtue Hallmaster is, it¡¯s highly unlikely that he will finish the fusion within ten years. This estimate is also made under the assumption that they will utilize their most exotic herbs and whatnot. Ten years is enough to change many things and create a lot more variables.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu giggled and teased, ¡°I realize that you¡¯re bing more and more scheming, brother.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor¡¯s eyes grew a little dull. ¡°Why would we have to employ such methods if we had enough power? ording to our intelligence, the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research on soul tools has had multiple continuous breakthroughs. If we don¡¯t restrain them right now, it won¡¯t take ten years for the Sun Moon Empire to take some drastic action ¨C and we are far from prepared.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu attempted to console her brother. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault, brother. You are already trying your best. The only difference is that, in terms of researching and developing soul tools, we don¡¯t have the rich geographical and natural advantage that the Sun Moon Empire possesses. Furthermore, they have been on this journey even before they shed with the Douluo Continent.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor waved his hands and said, ¡°Nothing you can say can alter reality, and we can only work with what¡¯s real. I will pay a personal visit to Shrek Academy in the near future. If the Sun Moon Empire decides to take some drastic action, they are the only allies that we can count on. What are the responses from the other powerful sects?¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu replied, ¡°Everyone has responded, and two of them are clearer with their intentions and they have already sold us a great many things. A conservative estimate of our direct revenue from this auction should be in excess of fifty million golden soul coins. This sum of money is enough to purchase plenty of things from the Sun Moon Empire via our agents.¡±

    A trace of chilly light flickered in the Star Luo Emperor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Try to instigate sparks between them, as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Thirty minutes was enough time ¨C enough for many people to settle a lot of things.

    The audience from Shrek Academy followed the intense contest in thest round of the auction as outsiders who were out of the picture, who simply sat back and rxed.

    The opening price of the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo was an outrageous one hundred million golden soul coins. Princess Jiu Jiu imed that this opening price was unprecedented in the Starlight Auction and set a historical record.

    The subsequent events could only be described as cruel and fierce. Three parties entered the fray from the very beginning. The price rose steadily, and swiftly reached one hundred and thirty million golden soul coins. The moment this number was reached, the speed of the bidding became a lot more gradual.

    After all, anything after a hundred million golden soul coins was a sum that most parties wouldn¡¯t be able to fork out.

    At this very moment, the number changed suddenly. ¡°One hundred and fifty million golden soul coins!¡± Someone had added twenty million golden soul coins in one go.

    A youth stood before the soul screen in the second guest room with his fists tightly clenched together. ¡°I want to see who willpete with me now.¡±

    There were about a dozen people sitting on the sofa behind him, and everybody¡¯s expression was a little different. Some looked envious, some had indifferent faces, and some were even jealous, while others were clearly displeased.

    If the people from Shrek Academy were here, they would have recognized their identities instantly. Were these people not the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, here to participate in thepetition? The youth standing at the forefront was their reserve team leader, Xiao Hongchen.

    Elder Wu¡¯s brows were tightly knitted together. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you raised the price a bit too high? Twenty million golden soul coins in one bid¡­¡±

    Xiao Hongchen shook his head and snickered, ¡°This is meant to frighten mypetitors so that they¡¯ll be afraid to continue bidding. If we grind them down slowly, the price may end up being even higher.¡±

    Ma Rulong lowered his voice and said, ¡°Is it really worth it to spend so much money on just one thing?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s emotions and rationality were already influenced by the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo, and he was almost in a hysterical state of mind. He didn¡¯t spare a second thought and said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s worth it. I¡¯m not spending the academy¡¯s money either. With this treasure, I will be able to have twin martial souls or a hundred thousand year soul ring and bone, or the »ê½ú.This is an opportunity thates once in a blue moon ¨C how can I let it slip?¡±

    Ma Rulong¡¯s face instantly turned even darker, but Elder Ma red at him, and he said nothing more.

    Inside the third guest room.

    ¡°Little bastard. Tell me who¡¯s the one raising the price ¨C I¡¯ll end him.¡± There were only two people inside this room, and they both looked like they were at least forty years old. The person who spoke was tall andnky, and the most striking feature about him was that his right arm was unnaturally thick and burly ¨C at least twice asrge as his left arm. His entire being seemed to emanate with an aura that resembled that of a prehistoric beast.

    The other man was a lot smaller and skinnier, but his head was especiallyrge, which made him look like a big-headed doll. There were barely a few strands of hair on his head and they were all yellow in color, but his eyes sparkled as he blinked, as if they were flickering lights.

    ¡°I think we have to find out who this is. If we can¡¯t take this item back to our little lord right away, we at least have to find out where we have to snatch it from.¡±

    As he spoke, the big-headed man closed his eyes into slits, and the air within the entire guest room immediately started to twist vigorously. The sensation was simr to that of a person in a daze as he witnessed heat ripples above raging mes, and the entire room suddenly became extremely surreal.

    Every room was hosted by an auctioneer and two servant girls. The first people to feel the intensity were the three girls working for the auction. As their bodies quivered, their eyes grew empty, and they just stood there, rooted to the ground, and didn¡¯t move a single inch.

    The big-headed man sank back into the sofa and gestured towards the ck-ranked auctioneer. ¡°You, get over here.¡±

    The ck-ranked auctioneer stepped up hurriedly and stopped before him as if she were in a stupor.

    ¡°Go out and find out the identity of the person who just raised the price to a hundred and fifty million golden soul coins.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The ck-ranked auctioneer actually bowed respectfully before she turned and left the room.

    If the Soulsucking Bell Soul Master, Shangguan Can, who had faced off against Shrek Academy during the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, were to see this scene, his jaw would be hanging ck ¨C that big-headed man had hypnotized and controlled the willpower of several people at a whim, without even unleashing his martial soul. Even though they were just several normal people, this was a miraculous and incredible urrence.

    The thick-armed man whispered, ¡°You¡¯re so powerful, second senior brother. Why don¡¯t we just control the people working for the auction instead, and simply steal away the item?¡± As he spoke, murderous emotions flickered in his eyes, and his burly right arm cracked several times in a row. These sounds weren¡¯t produced by his bones ¨C instead, they were the crackling sounds created by a change in the air flow surrounding his arm.

 Chapter 102.1: Team Dou Ling

    Chapter 102.1: Team Dou Ling

    The big-headed man shook his head. ¡°No, we can¡¯t. This Starlight Auction House is under the control of the Star Luo Empire. Furthermore, there will definitely be people acting as security for such a top-ranked auction. I can feel at least four different powerful auras here. There are four Titled Douluo here, do you want to die? Unless our sect elders are here, we won¡¯t be able to achieve anything good. Rx, this hundred thousand year soul beast embryo is not so easily absorbed. So what if they manage to win the bid for it? As long as we can identify the right target, we can always get it back.¡±

    Simr situations to this yed out across the several guest rooms. It was just the methods they used to seek out information that were different. With the secret cooperation of the Starlight Auction House, how could the identities of the members of the Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineering Academy remain a secret?

    The figure of 150 million golden soul coins did not continue to soar any further. This astronomical figure was frightening to everyone, no matter how powerful they were.

    ¡°As expected, they¡¯ve all been scared by me.¡± In the second guest room, Xiao Hongchen snorted and turned his head towards Elder Ma. Then, he said, ¡°Elder Ma, this treasure is a knotty problem for us. Our safety cannot be guaranteed during the handover and takeover process at this auction. Once the exchange is done, bring it back to our academy immediately and pass it to our ancestor. Once it enters the Illustrious Virtue Hall, let¡¯s see who¡¯ll dare to harbor any ill intentions.¡±

    Elder Ma nodded and said, ¡°This should be the case. We must still try our best to remain low-profile. It¡¯s rare to see an auction item that¡¯s worth hundreds of millions in the history of the continent. I will return through the secret passageway that the Illustrious Virtue Hall has in Star Luo City.¡±

    The first guest room.

    The Star Luo Emperor listened to all the news that was being conveyed to him, and the smile on his face became brighter and brighter.

    ¡°150 million. Illustrious Virtue Hallmaster, I hope you like this gift I¡¯m giving you.¡± After he finished speaking, he stood up slowly, and the soul screen in front of him tore in half. Then, the figure of this Star Luo Emperor disappeared within that secret passageway.

    The secret passageway of every guest room opened to allow the guests that had participated in the bidding to leave secretly. Shrek Academy was no exception.

    Wang Yan did not keep these things to himself this time. The Tyrannical Tiger Soulde was paid for by Dao Yaoheng, but he kept this rare, ss 8 closebat soul tool in his pocket. As for that entire set of ss 6 stationary soul cannon shells, he directly passed them to He Caitou. Regarding soul tools, no one in Shrek Academy was as knowledgeable as him. It was best for him to hold onto the items.

    He Caitou put the 12 shells away carefully. He was so excited that his tanned face swelled with red. Even though the shells were only ss 6, they could not be underestimated. They could not be measured based on ordinary soul tools. As they could only be used once, the power of these ss 6 shells were more frightening than ss 8 long-range soul tools. Right now, the most powerful shells that Shrek Academy knew of were only ss 8. A ss 8 shell could crush a small-sized city, and it was only produced in limited quantities by the Sun Moon Empire as a weapon in battles.

    Wang Yan specially instructed him not to use them during the tournament. At this time, everyone had only just returned to the Grand Imperial Star Hotel quietly. Tomorrow, they were going to face a tough opponent!

    After returning to their rooms, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong started their cultivation as usual. As the Haodong Power was summoned and was supplemented by the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, the two of them entered a state of meditation.

    Huo Yuhao did not know that the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress weremunicating through their minds in his spiritual sea.

    ¡°Humans are bing more and more evil. They are already eyeing our ¼«±±»ÄÔ­. Our n members¡­¡± The Ice Empress said furiously.

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting angry? Can you change anything by being like this? Furthermore, from a certain standpoint, we can no longer treat ourselves as soul beasts after we fused with Yuhao. We are now a part of Yuhao, and perhaps a part of the humans too. This world is about the survival of the fittest. Humans have killed countless soul beasts. However, what happened when there were humans tens of thousands of years ago, when the continent was just created? They were just food for us soul beasts.¡±

    The Ice Empress seemed to calm down slightly. ¡°Humans are frightening creatures. There are many powerful soul beasts that have lived for tens of thousands of years, such as the both of us. However, we have only remained as soul beasts for as long as the continent has existed. What we have improved are only our powers too. But look at the humans. They created cities and invented all sorts of cultivation techniques. They even have soul tools that are increasingly threatening to our existence. I am truly worried that soul beasts will disappear from the face of this world in times toe.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°It¡¯s possible. Our greatest w is that we are not united. The stronger a soul beast, the more it¡¯ll act in this way. Take you for an example. Would your Ice Jade Scorpion n be willing to team up with the Titan Snow Devils under the Titan Snow Devil King? The humans possess a significant advantage over any of our species. At the same time, humans are adept in inventions and thinking. We are unable to match up to them in these aspects. They are the dominant ones on the continent now, and they will continue to be so in the future.¡±

    The Ice Empress was a little stunned as she said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell! You are really able to tell everything clearly.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said proudly, ¡°If not, do you think I¡¯ve been sleeping for these few million years that I¡¯ve lived?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡± The Ice Empress replied as she acted stunned.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± The Skydream Iceworm was a little cross as he retorted.

    The Ice Empress seemed to feel much better, and sighed slightly before saying, ¡°After losing my power that could control everything around me, I¡¯m actually thinking more than I did in the past. Although the humans are powerful, us soul beasts were the rulers of this world much earlier. Perhaps we¡¯re not very united now. However, us soul beasts will retaliate against the humans when their existence affects our survival.¡±

    ¡°Whatever goes,¡± The Skydream Iceworm answeredzily, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m only just a soul ring now. As long as Yuhao is fine, I don¡¯t care about anything else. Don¡¯t force Yuhao either. He is already working very hard. There¡¯s one phrase by the humans that¡¯s well-said ¨C everything has to be done just right. Come, let¡¯s sleep together for a while.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s sleeping with you?¡± The Ice Empress said tempestuously.

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have bodies now, and are sealed in Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. If we¡¯re not sleeping together, then what¡¯re we doing? Whether you¡¯re going to admit it or not, can¡¯t I just visualize it for myself? Wahahaha.¡±

    ¡°You rascal.¡±

    ¡°Beside my favorite little scorpion! Sleep¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm went silent, and the Ice Empress eventuallyughed after being cross for half the day, ¡°Rascal, I wouldn¡¯t have let you take advantage of me if I wasn¡¯t destined to fail in my attempt to break through the bottleneck. It¡¯s weird. Why did I feel a sense of familiarity when I saw that soul beast embryo today? Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s a hundred thousand year soul beast thates from the extreme north? But if it¡¯s only just a new hundred thousand year soul beast that is preparing to be reborn as a human, why did I feel such a sense of familiarity?¡±

    Early the next morning, the sun rose over a clear day in Star Luo za.

    After breakfast, the bustling crowd in Star Luo za could be clearly seen from afar if one stood at the corridor in front of the window.

    The round of 16 was divided into 4 matches every day for 4 days. As the previous title holders of this tournament, the Shrek Academy would be the first topete. Their opponent was the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy that had 5 soul kings, and which was the top academy in the Dou Ling Empire.

    Wang Dong ced his hands on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°What¡¯re you thinking of? Are you nervous, or excited?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed cheekily and said, ¡°Neither. I was just thinking about whether we¡¯ll set a record as the youngest to be champions if we do be champions.¡±

    Wang Dong chuckled, ¡°What a kid. Wait till you be the champion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped at him, ¡°You dare to lecture me even though you are younger than me? Are you that unconfident? Don¡¯t forget that we have already¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± Wang Dong covered his mouth and pushed his words back down his throat.

    Huo Yuhao also understood. He scratched his head and wrenched his hands away, ¡°I was just a little excited.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°Do you think that I can¡¯t see that look ofcency in your eyes? Don¡¯t forget that no matter how powerful our soul skills are, our current cultivations are not sufficient yet. Little kid, know your ce. We are not the main forces.¡±

    Huo Yuhao guffawed and said, ¡°Little Wang Dong, you are indeed my mentor. Thanks for the reminder. Honestly speaking, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone did not make me lose my calm. It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t repress my excitement from the sess of our experiment. It seems like we are destined to be together.¡±

    Wang Dong turned red and retorted, ¡°Nonsense. Who¡¯s destined to be together with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied cheekily, ¡°Why are you blushing? You must be thinking of something wayward. It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re young and never learned what¡¯s right. But your mind is full of dirty thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you looking to be whacked?¡± Wang Dong grabbed his shoulder. Huo Yuhao turned his body and dodged. As the two of them horsed around, Wang Yan coincidentally walked out of his room. Huo Yuhao dodged until he hit Wang Yan in the back, and Wang Dong did not manage to grab him in time.

    Wang Yanughed, ¡°What are the both of you doing?¡± Today, the Shrek Academy was about to send its strongest lineup from its team for the tournament. Hence, Wang Yan was much more rxed. With 2 soul emperors holding the fort and his own arrangements and strategy, surely victory was theirs?

 Chapter 102.2: Team Dou Ling

    Chapter 102.2: Team Dou Ling

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Nothing. Someone is just experiencing seizures.¡±

    ¡°You are the one having seizures.¡± Wang Dong replied in fury. He chased after Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao did not run away this time. After he was caught, he immediately straightened his look and said, ¡°Stop ying, we¡¯re about topete soon. Remaining calm will help us keep ourselves in the best condition.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ing up with this trick again.¡± Wang Dong tugged his ears, and Huo Yuhao screamed in pain. Fortunately, everyone else came out from their rooms at this moment, and gathered together to leave the hotel. Huo Yuhao managed to avert a crisis just like that.

    However, there were more coincidences today. When they reached the staircase, the members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy came out of their room at the same time. Both teams descended the staircase together.

    Today, Elder Ma wasn¡¯t the one leading the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy . He smiled and nodded towards Wang Yan. Wang Yan returned the formality. But the students of both academies were not so cordial towards one another.

    Xiao Hongchen spotted Huo Yuhao almost immediately, and his face shed with the smile of a victor. He smiled, ¡°Twin martial souls. You are brilliant!¡±

    Although Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were disturbing each other earlier, Wang Dong stood up for Huo Yuhao without any hesitation at this point and said sarcastically, ¡°Uncle, who are you?¡±

    ¡°Un¡­ uncle?¡± Xiao Hongchen opened his eyes wide as he looked at Wang Dong. He pointed to his nose and said, ¡°Are you calling me?¡±

    Wang Dong seemed innocent and unaffected as he said, ¡°Of course I am! Uncle.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was not even 15 years old. Although he often seemed very arrogant, he was not that old. The short moustache above his lips was a symbol of his youth. But now, Wang Dong made it seemed like it was a symbol of a middle-aged man.

    ¡°Am, am I so old?¡± Xiao Hongchen was speechless as he stared wide-eyed at Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong was very serious as he nodded his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re not that old. You must be the teacher of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, uncle.¡±

    ¡°Stop calling me uncle.¡± Xiao Hongchen felt as if he was going to go berserk. Normally, he was one who liked to unt himself, such that no one apart from his sister Meng Hongchen was willing to help him. Instead, they wanted tough.

    Meng Hongchen was annoyed as she said, ¡°Little fellow, take a careful look. My brother is only 14 years old; he has not even reached 15 years. He is no uncle.¡±

    Wang Dong turned to Meng Hongchen, and the look in his eyes suddenly changed. It was a weird look that carried 30% admiration, 60% attachment and 10% yearning. ¡°Elder sister, you are a ravishing beauty!¡±

    Meng Hongchen was stunned as he said that. It was important to note that when Wang Dong had first entered the academy, he caught the eyes of almost the entire batch of young girls, including those from his ss. He had charming, big pinkish-blue eyes, and pinkish-blue short hair that covered his forehead. His skin was tender and white, while his delicate face had a pinkplexion. To every girl, he was like ady-killer.

    Although Meng Hongchen was older than Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, it was only by a year. Looking at this young man who was around the same height as her and so attractive too, Meng Hongchen¡¯s face blushed as she wasplimented. She muttered, ¡°You are very handsome too.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled and said, ¡°So this uncle is your elder brother! Is he your biological brother? Why do the both of you look so dissimr? Although the both of youe from the same parents, the gap in looks is too stark.¡±

    ¡°Rascal, do you want to get beaten up?¡± Xiao Hongchen could not tolerate it any further. Not only did Wang Dong call him old, he even implied that he was ugly. He could not bear it any further!

    ¡°Elder brother, why are you so fierce?¡± Meng Hongchen looked at the frantic Wang Dong and could not help but pull her brother away.

    ¡°Meng, are you for real?¡± Xiao Hongchen was stunned as he looked at his own sister. Right now, Wang Dong had already shot him a provocative look before leaving the hotel with Huo Yuhao quickly. As he walked, he waved goodbye to Meng Hongchen.

    ¡°Wang Dong, you¡¯re good!¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you were capable of picking up girls too.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°You don¡¯t know about this, but many youngdies have fallen in love with me. There are many ways to pick up girls, but it¡¯s a pity that¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to pity?¡± Huo Yuhao asked casually.

    Wang Dong red at him and said, ¡°Nothing. Huo Yuhao, do you know what the highest level of picking up girls is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head ignorantly.

    Wang Dong replied seriously, ¡°It¡¯s to make them chase you on their own! Haha.¡±

    Bei Bei, who was walking in front, had been noticing all the movements behind him. He could not help butugh, and shook his head as he said, ¡°These little fellows are really active!¡±

    Xu Sanshi was beside him, and he said softly, ¡°I think Wang Dong is very great! Seems like I should learn from him.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at him disdainfully and answered, ¡°What nonsense do you want to learn? His methods of picking up girls are build on his looks. Do you have his looks? If you were half as handsome as I am, you wouldn¡¯t be in this state.¡±

    ¡°You are the nonsensical one.¡± Xu Sanshi retorted. ¡°I can¡¯t pick up girls because¡­ aiyo, who kicked my butt?¡± When he turned around and saw Jiang Nannan¡¯s infuriated look, he became honest, and pped himself. He tried to appease her, ¡°I won¡¯t say. Rest assured that I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    Jiang Nannan ignored him, and quickened her steps to overtake him.

    The situation was rather weird now. The members of Shrek Academy were walking in front, whereas those of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy followed behind them. Many of the champions and runners-up of recent tournaments streamed into Star Luo za.

    Perhaps the Star Luo Empire had allowed more spectators in, as the Star Luo za seemed to have arger crowd than usual. People were packed in extremely tightly. As heads bobbed up and down, that was all the majority of people were able to see.

    The resting area for the tournament felt very empty now. Most of the teams had been eliminated, and the 16 teams that remained were the representatives of the top academies on the continent. Today, 4 matches would be held. Tomorrow, another 4 matches would be held. After that, there would be 2 more days of individualpetition against the same opponents. When all 4 days ofpetition had ended, the round of 16 would conclude, and the 8 finalists would be decided. After each stage of the tournament, there would be 1 rest day. Following that, the tournament would continue.

    Both Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would feature in today¡¯s 4 rounds, but the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s match was in the afternoon, and they did not have toe in the morning. However, they still came to watch how Shrek Academy would perform against the 5 soul kings of the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy.

    After settling down in the resting area, Wang Dong did not forget to smile at both Xiao Hongchen and his sister. Xiao Hongchen felt that he was obviously being provocative. But to Meng Hongchen, Wang Dong¡¯s bright and beautiful smile made her heart beat faster.

    Huo Yuhao tugged at Wang Dong¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Stop ying. Be careful of going overboard.¡±

    Wang Dong groaned and said, ¡°What? Are you jealous? Are you interested in that girl?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered him softly, ¡°Stop harboring dirty thoughts, will you?¡±

    Wang Dongughed coldly and said, ¡°I wonder who¡¯s the one with all the dirty thoughts. Alright, I won¡¯t bother you anymore. I¡¯ll get ready to fight.¡± The elimination rounds would be held across 2 days, and today was the teampetition. The victor of the teampetition could be said to be one foot into the quarterfinals of the tournament. The individual elimination rounds would be held the next day.

    Wang Yan was serious as he stood in front of everyone. ¡°Act ording to our strategy. The Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy must have their reasons for intentionally losing first ce in the qualifier round, or they must have some special preparations. This round is critical to both parties. Hence, we must not give them any shred of opportunity.¡±

    As he saw Ma Xiaotao¡¯s look of disapproval, Wang Yan said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what the consequences were when we were careless in front of the Envoy of the Death God. All these years, Shrek Academy has been the champion of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. However, we have also be everyone¡¯s target for that same reason. I think it¡¯s fair to say that every participating academy will have done their research on us. Following the development of soul tools, there are more and more strategies now. Do not underestimate our opponents. Whoever is not interested in carrying out my strategy can forget aboutpeting in the next round.¡±

    Upon remembering the Envoy of the Death God that had heavily hurt the official team members, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. Ma Xiaotao looked up to Wang Yan. Although she was a little unconvinced, she was less scornful than before.

    As thepetition drew closer to its end, the atmosphere also became more and more intense.

    This was an elimination round. Furthermore, it was the round of 16 elimination stage. If defeated, it would mean elimination from the tournament. For every round won, one¡¯s ranking would increase. Undoubtedly, all the academies that participated in this tournament would give their all under such a circumstance.

    The more they watched the tournament, the more the spectators appreciated it. The most intense battle was about to start. How could they not be eager to watch? There appeared to be more spectators than usual in Star Luo za today. They managed to squeeze their way in through different forms of connections and through different channels, as they wanted to see this exciting duel! Especially since Shrek Academy waspeting in the morning, and their opponent had taken second ce in the round-robin stage of the tournament. This attracted more attention than usual.

    ¡°The round of 16 to qualify for the quarterfinals will now begin. The first match will be between Shrek Academy and the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy. Competing members, please enter the waiting area to prepare for the match.¡±

 Chapter 102.3: Team Dou Ling

    Chapter 102.3: Team Dou Ling

    On the stage, the referee¡¯s voice caused everyone to cheer louder and louder. The atmosphere reached a high in an instant. The peacekeeping army that was in charge of maintaining order raised their alertness to guard against any unprecedented situations.

    As if nothing had happened, the Star Luo Emperor came to the top of the city wall very early on. Whenever Shrek Academypeted, he woulde to watch.

    Under Wang Yan¡¯s guidance, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong entered the waiting area.

    When thepeting members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy saw that Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were present, they immediately raised their guard.

    In the previous tournament, Dai Yueheng had appeared as the leader of the preparatory team, and Ma Xiaotao had not participated. Hence, Dai Yueheng naturally drew more attention to himself.

    Wang Yan looked at his own team members. After pursing his lips, he said in a low voice, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been not easy for us to reach this stage. It was only possible because of all your hard work and effort. All of you must remember not to allow any mistakes to render all our hard work for nothing. Shrek will win.¡±

    ¡°Shrek will win!¡± The 7 of them shouted at the same time. Once they spoke these few words, all of them became focused, and theirpetitive streaks rose.

    Competition was the best way for one to grow. From the start of the tournament till now, Wang Yan could clearly see the growth that the 7 students on the preparatory team had experienced. Their state of mind, emotions, thirst forpetition and live experience had all improved at rming rates. They were like depthless sponges that kept on absorbing elements that would aid in their growth.

    Wang Yan also knew about the arrival of Elder Xuan, the Taotie Douluo. After Elder Xuan arrived, he found Wang Yan and ryed the decision of the conference held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to him. Wang Yan had not understood at first. But as time passed, he became convinced of the decision. Maybe this would dim the glory of the Shrek Academy. However, would all the glory be lost if this batch of talented kids was able to mature?

    Not to even mention anything else, the simultaneous appearances of 3 twin martial souls in Shrek Academy was already worth a wager.

    ¡°Participants of both parties, please enter the stage.¡± The referee¡¯s voice disrupted Wang Yan¡¯s thoughts. Ma Xiaotao was the first to stand up, and she advanced with huge steps. Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xu Sanshi followed behind him.

    The 7 of them streamed onto the stage.

    On the other side, the participants of the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy also walked towards the stage.

    They were simr to Shrek Academy in one aspect. Among their 7 members, 2 were female. While it was a teampetition, everyone from Shrek Academy understood that today¡¯s match would be different from any of the other matches they had fought before.

    A dim radiance shed, and Huo Yuhao smiled gently. He turned to look at Wang Dong, and noticed that Wang Dong was also looking at him. As their gazes met, they saw the resolve in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng stood at the very front. As for their opponents, the person who stood at the front was a youth who seemed to be around the same age as Dai Yueheng.

    This youth had a huge bone structure, but he was very thin. His cheeks even appeared to be shriveled. However, his eyes were filled with energy. As he advanced a few steps and walked towards the referee, he said to the others from the Shrek Academy, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to spar with Shrek Academy. Please advise us.¡±

    The person who stepped forward was not Ma Xiaotao, but Dai Yueheng. Dai Yueheng took arge step forward and smiled gently, saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you are called Gu Zhujian. Am I right?¡±

    Gu Zhujian was slightly stunned, and replied, ¡°How do you know my name? I think I saw you in thest tournament.¡±

    ¡°I am Dai Yueheng.¡± Dai Yueheng introduced himself. He did not believe that the other party did not recognize him. As the team leader of the preparatory team of Shrek Academy thest time round, he had been a focal point for many of them.

    Gu Zhujian squeezed out a slightugh from his shriveled cheeks and said, ¡°I hope to learn new things through thispetition with Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Your wish will be granted,¡± Dai Yueheng replied.

    Gu Zhujian¡¯s eyes shed with a cold radiance. He onlyughed without replying to Dai Yueheng. The other participants of Dou Ling¡¯s team were also very confident. It seemed as if they were pretty sure of defeating Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Both parties, please step back and prepare for the start of the match.¡± The referee today looked to be around 60 years old. But he seemed to be much moreposedpared to the previous referee. His cultivation also appeared to be greater. With him at the center, both parties seemed to have been separated by a barrier.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind quickly thought over the descriptions of the 7 participants on the opposing team that Wang Yan had rted to them.

    The team leader of Dou Ling¡¯s team was Gu Zhujian. His martial soul was the Purplebrilliant Bamboo, and he was a Rank 57 assault system soul king. As an assault system battle soul master, his fighting strength was extremely tough. The Purplebrilliant Bamboo was also very unique.

    Their vice team leader was a youth who stood beside Gu Zhujian and seemed to be two sizes bigger than He Caitou. His name was Qian Yuan. His martial soul was a rare assault-type martial soul, the Terrorw Bear. The Terrorw Bear was extremely powerful, and it was equally good at offense and defense. It could be considered a top-ranked martial soul. His soul power was also Rank 53.

    The core of Dou Ling¡¯s team was a thin youth that was standing at the back. His name was Xiao Feng. His martial soul belonged in the rare spiritual-type category just like Huo Yuhao. However, his was not a body soul, but was something called the Maze Pearl. His spiritual-type martial soul was different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s. It did not effect his opponents directly but was targeted towards the environment. It was extremely powerful, and Xiao Feng was one of the 5 soul kings. His soul power was only inferior to Gu Zhujian¡¯s and he was a rank above Qian Yuan at Rank 54.

    The three of them were the absolute core of this team. Besides them, there were two more soul kings. They were Chi Hengyu, a Rank 52 defense-type soul king, and Han Ling¡¯er, a Rank 51 agility-type soul king. Han Ling¡¯er was one of the 2 female members.

    The remaining 2 soul ancestors were Tang Niuniu, who was an auxiliary system soul master, and Qing Feng who was a control system soul master. The two of them each had their own special traits. The powers of their entire team were very strong, and were far superior to the Justsky Academy that had made a lot of trouble for Huo Yuhao and the rest.

    As both parties stepped back, their formations had already started to change.

    On Shrek Academy¡¯s side of, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were naturally the ones in front. Behind them were Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who stood slightly diagonally outwards. The 4 of them formed an arc. In the center at the back, Ling Luochen was there. Behind Ling Luochen were both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    During the process of stepping back, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection sharing was already unleashed, and shrouded all of his team members. The entire stage was instantly enveloped by his spiritual detection.

    Even for the strongest Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, they felt a wave offort and relief as they sensed the all-round detection from the spiritual detection sharing. Indeed, with such a powerful spiritual skill, they would be able to control the rhythm of the match.

    On the other side, Dou Ling¡¯s team also unleashed their formation as they stepped back. However, a scene that left Shrek Academy shocked appeared. Gu Zhujian did not appear in front of the team even though he was the team leader and an assault-type soul master. Rather, he stood in the center.

    The ones who stood in front were Qian Yuan, the Terrorw Bear, and Chi Hengyu, the Giant Vajra Shield.

    Han Ling¡¯er, the agility-type soul king, concealed herself a short distance behind the both of them. The two control system battle soul masters stood at either two side of her, protecting Gu Zhujian in the center, as well as Tang Niuniu, the auxiliary-type soul master.

    This formation was very weird. The assault system battle soul master actually stood at the position that the control system soul master should be standing in. What were they trying to achieve?

    In the face of such a situation, the reaction of Shrek Academy was to do nothing. They only watched their opponents carefully.

    Seeing that both parties were already in position, the referee gestured to the team leaders of both parties and shouted, ¡°Match start!¡± Before he even finished speaking, the referee quickly left the center of the stage. No one knew if he was fearful of the freezing effect that Ling Luochen had exhibited in Shrek¡¯sst match.

    The soul masters of both parties unleashed their martial souls at the first instant. Ling Luochen did not carry out an ultimate move like she did in thest round. She only summoned her own ice staff. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong worked well with each other to support her. The adhesive effect of his ultimate ice was on disy now.

    Thick phoenix mes rose instantly on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body. She could not hold it any longer. Even though Wang Yan had instructed her to conceal her true abilities, how could she listen to him? Two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings ¨C a total of six soul rings ¨C were unleashed. Along with the burning phoenix mes, her might was shown.

    However, since Huo Yuhao had shown to everyone that not everything that they saw was the truth, no-one did not believe that a soul emperor had appeared even though they were stunned.

    Dai Yueheng also exuded the aura of a soul emperor. As he roared, the White Tiger possessed his body, and his entire body swelled up. His aura was notcking either. The 2 soul emperors of Shrek Academy¡¯s official team had finally appeared on thepetition stage of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament for the first time.

 Chapter 103.1: Complete Suppression

    Chapter 103.1: Complete Suppression

    The Dou Ling team¡¯s defense-type soul master, Chi Hengyu, released his gigantic Vajra Shield. From the looks of it, this Vajra Shield seemed to be more eye-catching than Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle.

    The upper part of the Vajra Shield was rectangr in shape, while the bottom part was triangr. The shield was over 2 meters tall, and around 1.5 meters wide. For such a giant shield, even Chi Hengyu had to bend his burly body to lift it off the ground.

    After the Vajra Shield was released, Chi Hengyu¡¯s first action was to hardily stab the shield into the ground. Following that, his 5th soul ring lit up, and an intense white light shed within the purple glow emanated by his 5th soul ring. The shield expanded from its already enormous size, doubling in number from 1 to 2, 2 to 4 and then 4 to 8. Almost instantaneously, it turned into a huge shield wall that blocked everything in front of it. Every face of this expanded shield was covered by a blinding white light. The tough feeling it gave off was superior to Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield.

    This was Chi Hengyu¡¯s 5th soul skill, the Vajra Shield. It was a defense-type soul skill that was extremely strong and resilient.

    At the same time, it wasn¡¯t only him that made a move. The control-type soul ancestor called Qing Feng and the auxiliary-type soul ancestor called Tang Niuniu both attacked too.

    Tang Niuniu was extremely small in size. As her body swayed, her ears grew and twitched in a very cute manner, and her body became a little fatter. As her round lips sped together, her 3rd soul ring lit up. A streak of straight green light shone on Qing Feng¡¯s body. Her martial soul was a pure auxiliary-type martial soul, a roon.

    Qing Feng¡¯s 4th soul ring lit up. Ayer of dirt-yellow radiance shone from beneath his legs. Soon after that, the entirepetition stage started to shake tremendously. Following a loud, rumbling noise, a huge dirt wall swept in the direction of the 7 participants from Shrek Academy like a wave. That wasn¡¯t all; thorns appeared on Chi Hengyu¡¯s Vajra Shield, pointing outwards. Along with the help of the dirt wall, Chi Hengyu¡¯s defense was like a metal wall.

    Huo Yuhao and the others had experienced a simr situation in the tournament before. Back then, they had been pitted against the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy. Their opponents had used 4 Spirit Rhinoceros Shields as their defense. Shen Ce had been supported by Fei Yuyan as they mounted an attack. However, they had been unsessful against Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection.

    But right now, the Dou Ling team looked starkly different from the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy. Furthermore, they had not used such a strategy in the tournament yet, ording to Wang Yan.

    Of course, the defensive power of the Dou Ling team right now was far superior to the Thousand Spirit Advanced Soul Academy back then. The strong defensive line that they had left even the referee in awe, and he nodded slightly.

    However, his nodding suddenly stopped. That was because the situation had suddenly changed.

    The Dou Ling team had disyed such a formation right from the start. Their intentions were very obvious. They must possess some form of powerful, special offensive abilities that they needed to time to prepare. After that, they would tap into this offensive power toplete what they wanted to do. As for what this offensive ability was, no one knew as of now. But it was clear that this strategy had been prepared for Shrek Academy.

    However, as the top academy on the continent, would Shrek Academy not do anything? Of course not. While their opponents had their strategy, they had their own strategy too.

    On Shrek Academy¡¯s side, someone had released their soul skill while their opponents had been busy mounting their defense. It was neither Ma Xiaotao nor Dai Yueheng, the 2 soul emperors with the highest cultivation, nor was it Ling Luochen. Instead, it was Xu Sanshi. Just as the opponent was erecting their turtle shell formation, Ma Xiaotao shouted ¡°action¡± over at her teammates from Shrek Academy.

    Their original formation experienced rapid changes. Out of the 7 of them, 6 of them burst out and formed a circr formation, while Xu Sanshi stepped into the center of this new formation, and his 4th soul ring lit up with blinding radiance.

    This change in Shrek Academy¡¯s formation was one beat slower than that of the Dou Ling team. When Xu Sanshi unleashed his soul skill, their opponents were more or less done mounting their defense. This was also the point when the referee nodded his head.

    But at this point, the situation experienced an earth-shattering change.

    What was Xu Sanshi¡¯s 4th soul skill? Mysterious Underworld Discement. While it seemed ordinary, it could be considered a divine skill for a defense-type soul master in a team battle. Furthermore, this was coupled with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection sharing.

    With Huo Yuhao around, there was no fear that a target couldn¡¯t be found. Just sensing them was enough. There¡¯s no need for Xu Sanshi to even use his eyes.

    Hence, the confused and shocked team leader of the Dou Ling team, Gu Zhujian, instantly switched positions with Xu Sanshi. He appeared in the middle of Shrek Academy¡¯s formation, surrounded by the other 6.

    ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Gu Zhujian cursed, wide-eyed. Although he realized what had happened, his mood was still extremely unpleasant.

    He seemed a little weird at this point. In both his hands, he held a metal circle that seemed like a millstone.

    There were many holes on the surface of this metal millstone, and it was even carved with many magnificent, flowery patterns. There was concentrated lightning shining from it, and he was even down on one knee, as if he were presenting this b of metal.

    Bei Bei smiled and asked, ¡°What is he giving us? Thanks!¡± As he said this, he pped his Thunderous Dragon w down.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s 2nd soul skill, the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave, and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s 1st soul skill, the Phoenix Fireline, were also unleashed at the same time. 3 assault-type soul masters all teamed up against one member of the opposing team. Among the 3 of them, there were even 2 soul emperors, whereas their opponent looked to be entirely unprepared.

    This was Wang Yan¡¯s strategy. In reality, this strategy had been targeted towards Justsky Academy. However, they were fortunate not to have gotten involved in a team battle. Otherwise, Shrek Academy would have used this method to defeat Ye Wuqing, their team leader. While Ye Wuqing was very powerful, the ramifications of what would happen if he had to face the encirclement of an entire team under such a sudden change were clear!

    In addition, the 3 assault-type soul masters were even supported by a control-type soul king. The staff in Ling Luochen¡¯s hand pointed out, and Gu Zhujian¡¯s legs were frozen on the spot.

    If one phrase had to be used to describe Gu Zhujian¡¯s feelings now, it was grief and fury. In his mind, he thought that he was the most sorrowful leader in this entire tournament.

    However, Gu Zhujian was not easy to deal with as the team leader of a team that had finished in thest 4 in the previous tournament. Facing the encirclement of Shrek Academy, a ball of golden light shed in front of his chest. A coat of golden light covered his entire body.

    The soul skill that Ling Luochen had used to freeze his legs started to take effect. However, the soul skills of the rest were being blocked outside of the golden light.

    Huo Yuhao roared immediately, ¡°Invincible Barrier, a soul tool that can only be used once.

    He¡¯s a soul king. Thus, this shield can only survive for 3 seconds.¡±

    Soul tools that could only be used once usually had rather exceptional powers, and this Invincible Barrier was no exception. With these 3 seconds, Gu Zhujian could keep the huge b of mysterious metal and unleash his martial soul. His 5th ten thousand year soul ring shed with a light that tried to get him out of Shrek Academy¡¯s blockade.

    On the other side, Xu Sanshi had already switched positions. Gu Zhujian had originally been standing at the center, at the back of the formation. However, all of his team members had been facing him. There were different bs of metal of different shapes in all of their hands. Initially, they had been aimed at Gu Zhujian. But now, they were aimed at Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi was not as unprepared as Gu Zhujian. The moment after the Mysterious Underworld Discement was used, he released another soul skill. It was his 1st soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was smashed hard into the ground. A ck glow instantly emanated from his shield and covered tens of square meters. It was like a canopy that stretched out. During this process, a loud, rumbling noise also followed. At this point, everyone from the Dou Ling team gathered within this area and were all affected. This was too sudden of an attack for them. As they were not prepared, they were jerked out of their senses.

    Xu Sanshi grinned, and the ck glow shone again. The Mysterious Underworld Discement was summoned again. In the next instant, Ma Xiaotao, who unleashed burning mes from her body, reced him. She appeared at the center of the Dou Ling team.

    This series of changes was very dazzling. But the spectators who could see everything clearly also felt the same. Completely suppressed.

    Right now, the Dou Ling team was at an absolute disadvantage. And what had caused this was not their powers, but the limitations of their strategy.

    Without a doubt, this strategy from Shrek Academy could only achieve such an effect the first time it was used. Although no one knew what the Dou Ling team had been trying to form earlier, it was bound to be very powerful. Their initial n had been to use their defenses to keep Shrek Academy out. On top of their powerful defensive soul skills, they would add the powers of 5 soul kings. As long as they could hold on until the mysterious metal item they had produced did its job, they should have been able to win this match.

 Chapter 103.2: Complete Suppression

    Chapter 103.2: Complete Suppression

    But who knew that their team leader¡ªwho was holding the formation¡¯s core¡ªwould be switched out? The person who had switched with him had unleashed a crowd-control skill, and was a soul emperor. The mysterious b of metal couldn¡¯t assemble to receive it, and there was only a head-on sh.

    Ma Xiaotao was the only one who was aware of how dejected she felt. This was also her first time participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament. However, she had been hurt even before the tournament had started. 3 official team participants had been critically injured, and 1 other person had even been killed. As the team leader, she recognized the responsibility that she had to take. No matter how tough her personality was, she had been filled with torment after all of that was over.

    She was resilient enough, however, and concealed this torment she felt in the depths of her heart. She had tried her best to heal this wound of hers, and hoped to turn her sorrow and fury into strength. She wanted to do her best for Shrek Academy in this tournament.

    However, her injuries were far more serious than what she had imagined. She could only watch as the younger preparatory team members did their best in several rounds of the tournament. They even paid a heavy price as they sustained grave injuries.

    Ma Xiaotao did not say anything, but the drive that she repressed in her heart left her feeling much more tormented than the time she was burnt by demonic fire.

    It was finally her turn topete today. Wang Yan wanted her to conserve her powers, but how could she suppress herself any further?

    Thus, she was the one who was switched over by the Mysterious Underworld Discement rather than Dai Yueheng. This was an opportunity that she had obtained by threatening Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Grr¡ª¡± A bright phoenix howl reverberated, and burning phoenix mes surged instantly. Huge, ming wings pped open following the shing of her 3rd soul ring. A ring of intense, bright-red fire spread out from her. Her figure also jumped up as she pped her ming wings.

    It was a pity that Team Dou Ling¡¯s defense was projected towards the front, but their opponent appeared in their core. They received Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack before they had a chance to steady themselves, as they were still affected by the Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    The Dou Ling team reacted quickly though. The remaining 6 divided into 2 groups of 3. Chi Hengyu, Qian Yuan and Han Ling¡¯er were in front, while the other 3 were in the back. A yellowish-golden barrier of light lit up before the 3 in front. It was the Invincible Barrier, another soul tool that could only be expended once.

    This Invincible Barrier was a soul tool that was developed from a very rare soul skill. It required a special golden crystal only produced by the Sun Moon Empire as an intermediary. The Invincible Barrier could unleash the powers of the golden crystal when initiated by the core formation, and produce a defensive barrier of immense strength.

    Of course, invincibility was rtive. The lowest ss of the Invincible Barrier was a ss 5 soul tool. This also meant that at least a soul king was needed to use it. A ss 5 Invincible Barrier could resist any soul master below an eight-ringed Soul Douluo for 3 seconds. A ss 6 Invincible Barrier could even defend against a Titled Douluo for more than 3 seconds. ss 7 Invincible Barriers were extremely rare.

    A soul tool like the Invincible Barrier could be a life-saving treasure at certain times. Hence, it was a soul master¡¯s favorite soul tool, along with the Milk Bottle. However, its demand was far greater than its supply.

    But the Invincible Barrier had a w that was very obvious. Firstly, it was very costly. A ss 5 Invincible Barrier started out at 100,000 gold soul coins, but its true sale price was far above this figure. While it was not that difficult to produce it, there were very few golden crystals produced. The higher the ss of the Invincible Barrier, the higher the quality of golden crystals it required.

    More importantly, the Invincible Barrier could only be expended once, no matter its ss. The golden crystal within each Invincible Barrier would blow apart upon use, and the Invincible Barrier itself would also be damaged. It was not something that could be used by any ordinary soul master. Soul engineers who owned golden crystals were all wealthy too.

    If the Sun Moon Empire did not restrict the export of soul tools, the empire would have been even wealthier.

    The current situation was very obvious. All of Team Dou Ling¡¯s soul kings were equipped with the Invincible Barrier. This was a frightening investment they had made! Not all academies were as wealthy as Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The Invincible Barrier granted the Dou Ling team some time by blocking the mes from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix wings.

    As the main control-type soul master, Xiao Feng lifted his head towards Ma Xiaotao, then flew up and forsook the huge b of metal in his hand. His hands formed a heart-like shape, and a white pearl that released a dim purplish fog appeared above his palms.

    His thousand year 4th soul ring shed, and that pearl emanated ayer of thick purplish light. Team Dou Ling¡¯s remaining 6 members and the surrounding region were all engulfed within this purplish light. Within the boundary of this purplish light, everything became illusory and less clear. There were even varying undtions of soul power that appeared at every corner.

    This was the Maze Pearl, Xiao Feng¡¯s martial soul. He was a rare spiritual control-type soul master just like Huo Yuhao. But his was not a body soul. Rather, he used the Maze Pearl to release different forms of hypnotic illusions to protect and aid his team members. At the same time, he also used them to trick his opponents.

    If Ma Xiaotao were to look down, she would only see a purplish patch of blurriness, wherein the Dou Ling team¡¯s 6 members were shifting positions quickly and unleashing different types of soul skills targeted towards her.

    However, Ma Xiaotao revealed a smile on her face right now. She thought to herself, ¡°It feels good topletely suppress them.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao dived down without hesitation as she was watched by the Dou Ling team¡¯s 6 remaining members. Her 2nd, 3rd and 4th soul rings shed with a bright radiance at the same time. Her body was zing with mes right now, and she looked like a true fire phoenix. Half of thepetition stage was lit with a red glow because of the phoenix mes on her body.

    Chi Hengyu had already retracted his Vajra Shield, and there was no doubt that he had to resist the attack using his shield. As a defense-type soul king, he blocked the attack without any misgivings. The Vajra Shield was lifted horizontally, and was rapidly shifted to the position where Ma Xiaotao was striking using the Maze Pearl¡¯s purplish fog.

    Qian Yuan also inched closer to Chi Hengyu rapidly. As long as Chi Hengyu blocked Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack, he would retaliate with all his might.

    Qian Yuan¡¯s height had reached above 3 meters after he released his martial soul. His immense build was shocking, and there were 5 enormous, sharp ws that reached over half a meter long at the ends of his thick arms. He had to bend slightly to be engulfed by the Maze Pearl¡¯s illusions.

    Han Ling¡¯er was concealed somewhere further away. She was an agility-type soul king. Her style was to await her opportunity to strike precisely.

    Tang Niuniu¡¯s auxiliary-type soul skillnded on Chi Hengyu. Her aim was very simple ¨C increase Chi Hengyu¡¯s defensive strength. As long as he could withstand Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack, it would be their turn to retaliate against her.

    Qing Feng was the only one who did not join in to attack Ma Xiaotao. He continued to face the others from Shrek Academy. His Earthen Wave had almost reached his opponents, and he was about to get Gu Zhujian back.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡±

    A loud, booming sound resonated from both sides at the same time. The Vajra Shield¡¯s defensive strength could not be doubted. As a soul king, he was able to resist a soul emperor¡¯s attack, much more with the aid of hisrades. But the problem was that Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack had to strike above his shield before he could resist it.

    Ma Xiaotao dove down extremely quickly, as if she were staking everything on this attack of hers.

    She wasnding at the correct time too. It was at the exact instant when 3 of the Dou Ling team¡¯s Invincible Barriers disappeared. Ma Xiaotao had already arrived just when their Invincible Barriers were starting to crack.

    This was impossible!

    Almost the same thought rose in the minds of everyone from the Dou Ling team.

    It was almost impossible to urately pinpoint this w using her naked eyes. What¡¯s more was that Xiao Feng had used his 4th soul skill, the Purple Illusory Domain.

    However, this was a fact. It wasn¡¯t projected by someone using his will. Amidst that booming sound, an intense, bright-red fog covered the Dou Ling team once again. However, it no longer produced the same might as Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    Chi Hengyu and Qian Yuan were struck the heaviest, as they were the closest. The two of them only felt a wave of heat sweeping across their bodies. The soul power in their bodies seemed to be on fire, and their developing soul skills were degraded in an instant. At the same time, their bodies turned stiff.

    The rest were roughly affected the in the same manner, although the degree of their injuries was lower.

    Phoenix Skywhistle, a very powerful crowd-control soul skill that could be use to attack and defend. It was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s 4th soul skill. Enhanced by the Phoenix Baptism and Soaring Phoenix, its might was definitely not inferior to any ten thousand year soul skill.

    Tang Niuniu¡¯s auxiliary-type soul skill and Xiao Feng¡¯s Maze Pearl were all instantly burned away by the Phoenix Skywhistle as it struck.

    There was no longer any suspense for the rest of the battle after the involvement of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Skywhistle. Ma Xiaotao snorted, and her pitch-ck, 6th soul ring shed with a bright radiance. At the same time, the defensive barrier surrounding thepetition stage that was formed by 108 soul masters started to jerk tremendously. Large patches of red solidified within the defense barrier, and the temperature above thepetition stage soared.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strongest offensive soul skill, the Phoenix Meteor Shower, was already incubating. After they were affected by the Phoenix Skywhistle, the Dou Ling team was no longer capable of avoiding or resisting any further attacks.

    Was she really a soul emperor? This was what every spectator thought. She was also the first soul emperor to appear in this tournament.

    Many of the spectators raved in their hearts. This was the power that Shrek Academy was supposed to have!

    At this moment, the battle on the other side had already concluded.

 Chapter 103.3: Complete Suppression

    Chapter 103.3: Complete Suppression

    Qing Feng¡¯s Earthen Wave still managed to achieve a certain effect. However, it was a pity that he had met Xu Sanshi, who possessed the strongest defense among soul ancestors.

    Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, Shield Wall. The Earthen Wave was blocked out by Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement, and did not fulfil the desired effect ofing to Gu Zhujian¡¯s aid.

    Meanwhile, Gu Zhujian had managed to hang on for 3 seconds with the help of his Invincible Barrier, and he also unleashed his 5th soul skill.

    The Purplebrilliant Bamboo was around 3 meters in length, and shone with a purple glow. There were subtle streaks and patterns of golden light on it. Gu Zhujian utilized the protection of the Invincible Barrier, and stabbed his Purplebrilliant Bamboo into the ground before him. He released this 5th soul skill the instant his Invincible Barrier went down.

    His purpose was very simple: He was looking for an opportunity to escape.

    It was a pity that he was up against 5 people from Shrek Academy!

    A form-fitting Ice Prison engulfed Gu Zhujian precisely at the moment his Invincible Barrier disappeared. Furthermore, this Ice Prison was entirely wless.

    Hence, Gu Zhujian¡¯s 5th soul skill that he had prepared for so long collided intensely with the Ice Prison.

    The Ice Prison was Ling Luochen¡¯s 3rd soul skill. Furthermore, it was only a thousand year soul skill. With her cultivation as a soul king that was simr to Gu Zhujian¡¯s, she should logically be unable to resist Gu Zhujian¡¯s attack.

    However, Ling Luochen was not the only person fighting! Under thebined injection of Haodong Power by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, they increased her ice element to the level of ultimate ice, and even added a streak of Wang Dong¡¯s light aura. Hence, the Ice Prison became nearly indestructible.

    Everyone could only see the Ice Prison turn purple. After tiny cracks started to appear, the purple color turned dim.

    The Ice Prison was cracked open as Ling Luochen retracted her own soul skill. Following that, before Gu Zhujian had a chance to catch his breath, he was faced with an attack from Dai Yueheng, who had used all three of his 3 strengthening skills, the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation.

    Therefore, the remaining process could only be described by the word ¡®devastation¡¯. A devastation caused by a soul emperor attacking a soul king.

    The fight was ending much faster than everyone had expected. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower did not fall in the end, as the referee stopped her soul skill. Shrek Academy¡¯splete suppression of the Dou Ling team helped them attain victory in this teampetition.

    Gu Zhujian was the most pathetic. As they still had an individualpetition the day after tomorrow, the refereehad stopped Ma Xiaotao. But the sly Dai Yueheng did not go easy on Gu Zhujian; his attack had crushed his limbs. Of course, he could recover, but not within such a short period of time.

    When the referee rushed over to pull Gu Zhujian out, he seemed to imply the ruthlessness of Shrek Academy¡¯s members with his look.

    Dai Yueheng imed innocence, as if he wasn¡¯t the one whoid that heavy blow on Gu Zhujian. Gu Zhujian was already very fortunate that Dai Yueheng did not break his ¡®5th limb¡¯!

    Ma Xiaotao had been restraining herself greatly, and so did he. This was also due to the fact that he had greatly suppressed the violent instincts within him.

    The members of the Dou Ling team appeared very furious as they looked at those from Shrek Academy.

    Ma Xiaotao snapped at them, ¡°What are all of you looking at? Would you have held back if you were in our position?¡±

    Out of humanitarianism, Dai Yueheng had knocked Gu Zhujian out first before breaking his limbs. Thus, the leadership of the Dou Ling team passed to Xiao Feng, who was their vice team leader.

    Xiao Feng lifted his hands to stop his team members, who wanted to dash forward, and said to Ma Xiaotao in a low voice, ¡°How did you see through our illusory world? Don¡¯t tell me that was luck.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao pursed her lips. ¡°Can¡¯t I be gifted? If you want to take revenge, we¡¯ll meet at the individualpetition.¡± As she spoke, she gestured and led the members of Shrek Academy down from thepetition stage with the ir of a female mob boss.

    How did she see past their illusory world? Was there even a need to ask? With the spiritual detection sharing that couldpletely suppress their opponents, did she still need to see?

    While they might have seemed to win this round of thepetition easily, they had actually exerted perfect control of time every time they had struck, and that was all because of Huo Yuhao.

    Rather than saying Ling Luochen was the main control-type soul master, it was better to im that Huo Yuhao was the main control-type soul master instead. It¡¯s just that no one else knew. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng¡¯s limelight masked the rest.

    ¡°This is Shrek. This is Shrek at its best. However, the Dou Ling team wasn¡¯t bad either. It¡¯s a pity that they met the wrong opponent.¡± The Star Luo Emperormented.

    Sun Moon Empire Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    It was rare that Xiao Hongchen did not show his arrogant side. One had to wonder whether he had been provoked by Wang Dong. He stood beside Ma Rulong and said softly, ¡°Team leader, what did you see? The Dou Ling team was not simple! They were only unfortunate.¡±

    Ma Rulong nodded his head slightly. ¡°No wonder they forsook first ce. It¡¯s because they had such a n. If I¡¯m not wrong, they must have nned to group together and release therge version of the Gigantic Lightning Cannon. The question is, how did they get the blueprint to build a Gigantic Lightning Cannon?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen creased her brows and said in a low voice, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, their Gigant Lightning Cannon must be a replica of our Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s model. It¡¯s just that they can¡¯t replicate the craftsmanship of our Gigant Lightning Cannon, thus they erged it. This makes it easier to produce the cannon, which requires 7 of them to operate too.¡±

    Ma Rulong nodded and said, ¡°This must be the case. It seems like that the Dou Ling Empire has made significant improvements in the production of soul tools. But they must not have expected to meet Shrek Academy so early on, and their strategy was curbed. If it were some other team, their defense would not have copsed so quickly. 5 of them had the protection of Invincible Barriers. Along with theirbined defense and illusory world, it can only be attributed to luck that they lost, and not because of ack of abilities.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was a little irritated as he said, ¡°Shrek Academy is a little too lucky. They can only use such a strategy once, and they used it on their most suitable opponent. Otherwise, they would be unable to resist the powerful offensive strength of a ss 7 soul tool even with two soul emperors.¡±

    Ma Rulong smiled and said, ¡°This is not a bad thing either. At least we can see the full prowess of Shrek Academy, right?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen nodded his head and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Ma Rulong twisted his head to look at him and said seriously, ¡°Xiao, you are indeed more talented than me. In our empire, probably no one can match up to you. However, you are too short-tempered because of your talent. If you don¡¯t change, you will not have it well in the future.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was stunned for a moment, ¡°Team leader, I¡­¡±

    Ma Rulong lifted his hand to stop him from speaking any further. ¡°I hope that you be powerful for the empire, Illustrious Virtue Hall and our academy. I don¡¯t want you to disappoint those who have high hopes and have sacrificed unselfishly for you. You¡¯re almost 15 too. It¡¯s time to grow up.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen looked a little unhappy, but he didn¡¯t argue against Ma Rulong. He slowly walked back to his position and sat down. He seemed to be thinking of something.

    It¡¯s not only the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that had keen eyes. Wang Yan and the rest who were watching thepetition were also shocked.

    When Gu Zhujian was switched over, and was holding the mysterious b of metal, he had already known what their opponents¡¯ strategy was. It was no longer just a scheme. It was very easy for everyone to see what they were doing. Even if he knew what they were going to do, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it either.

    All 5 soul kings had been equipped with Invincible Barriers, and they had also had sufficiently strong defense-type soul skills. All this had been prepared beforehand, and not targeted towards Shrek Academy. It could even be said to have been prepared for the finale of this tournament. Such a brand-new strategy had been sparked from the powerful soul tools they had at their disposal.

    On the way back to the Grand Star Imperial Hotel, Dai Yueheng said, ¡°I shall go first in the individual round the day after tomorrow.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao stared at him before saying, ¡°What right do you have to go first?¡±

    Dai Yueheng smiled and replied, ¡°Because I hurt their team leader today. If they see me again, their emotions will be unstable. It¡¯s best if I go first.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao snorted and said, ¡°Against an absolute power, what¡¯s the use of such little schemes and tricks?¡±

    Wang Yan opened his mouth suddenly and said, ¡°Xiaotao, let¡¯s talk back at the hotel.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao brow creased, but didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Very soon, everyone returned to the hotel. Wang Yan instructed the rest to cultivate and rest back in their rooms, while he brought Ma Xiaotao into the meeting room.

    After closing the door, Wang Yan did not rush to say anything. He poured a ss of water for Ma Xiaotao first.

    Looking at the ss of water in front of her, Ma Xiaotao lifted her head to look at Wang Yan and said, ¡°Teacher Wang, I know what you¡¯re going to say. Is it that I didn¡¯t follow your strategy today in thepetition? The result would have been the same no matter whether it was Yueheng or I that changed over.¡±

    Wang Yan sat opposite Ma Xiaotao and looked at her calmly.

    ¡°Xiaotao, you are the team leader of Team Shrek in this tournament, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ma Xiaotao said subconsciously.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Then let me ask you, what¡¯s your greatest responsibility as the team leader? Are you supposed to vent your emotions, or are you supposed to be working towards being the championship by leading your team with all your might?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was in a daze. She was a clever person. Although she was normally a short-tempered person, she was an intelligent person. She could tell what Wang Yan was implying.

    Wang Yan gazed at her deeply, and said in a low voice, ¡°Among the 10 people who came, the most suited to be the team leader is Bei Bei, not you. Even Dai Yueheng is stronger than you. I think Huo Yuhao is even more suitable as the team leaderpared to you.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ma Xiaotao stared furiously at Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes were filled with relentlessness, ¡°Are you feeling indignant? Then, tell me, what have you been doing in this tournament? You were injured and couldn¡¯t participate, but no one is ming you. However, what have you done in thispetition since you¡¯ve recovered?¡±

 Chapter 104.1: Reaching the Semifinals

    Chapter 104.1: Reaching the Semifinals

    ¡°What did I do wrong? Everything I did was for our team to win. With my abilities, I was clearly more suitable to fight against the opposing team than Dai Yueheng. And we won in the end, didn¡¯t we? Easily at that.¡± Ma Xiaotao spat out unceremoniously.

    ¡°Easily?¡± Wang Yan smirked, ¡°Sure, we won that very easily. But, let me ask you this, don¡¯t you think you revealed your abilities too early? Are our future opponents stronger or weaker than the Dou Ling team? Just who do you think our strongest opponent is?¡±

    Wang Yan suddenly raised his voice and mmed the table in front of him as he stood up, pointing outside. ¡°Our strongest opponent is the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! Whenever we¡¯re out therepeting, they watch and take note of all the abilities that our team disys, of all the team members that enter the arena, and of all the soul skills that we use. They scrutinize everything we do and memorize every little detail. But just what did you go and decide do? You just magnanimously revealed all your powers to the opponent¡¯s team! Are you worried that your opponents won¡¯t take note of how strong you are?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother even denying it. That¡¯s the truth. You, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, the three of you are our team¡¯s only powerhouses. And since you, Ma Xiaotao, didn¡¯t participate in thest tournament, our opponents are least familiar with you. Can¡¯t you imagine what would have happened if you had just hidden your full capability until the end of thepetition? It would have been a nice big surprise, a surprise that would have led us to bing the final champions! Yet, what did you do? You couldn¡¯t wait to reveal your strongest abilities, almost as if you were scared to not let your opponents know about them! Ma Xiaotao, don¡¯t forget that our regr team isn¡¯tplete anymore, and that our opponents are stronger than ever before. Given our current lineup, what makes you so certain that we will win this tournament?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was rendered speechless as Wang Yan reprimanded her, and she was unable to rebut him. She had always been, by nature, a very headstrong individual, and ever since she was young, no one had ever scolded her like Wang Yan was doing. As such, her face turned bright red.

    Wang Yan continued harshly, ¡°Take today¡¯spetition, for example. If not for the fact that Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement had a unique effect, would we have been able to break through our opponent¡¯s defenses? Even if we could, just how long do you think it would have taken? Despite knowing who we were, the opponent still chose to use that battle formation. Has it ever urred to you why they did so? The only exnation is that they were confident that they could defeat us with their formation! I ampletely certain that the mystery metal that they were assembling was a type of offensive soul tool, and that neither you nor Dai Yueheng would have been able to receive it. You think that¡¯s impossible, don¡¯t you? You guys are Soul Emperors; strong Soul Emperors with ten-thousand-year soul rings. Well then, were you able to predict what happened when you met the Envoy of the Death God? Never underestimate your opponent. You¡¯re proud of your abilities- that¡¯s definitely not a bad thing, but this pride needs to be built on top of a foundation of assured victory. Furthermore, you¡¯re not fighting alone. You are a team leader, a team leader representing Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Look at these kids, what did they do? When they faced Justsky Academy in battle, they each paid a huge price, all for Shrek¡¯s glory. Of the seven of them, five were knocked unconscious. Xiao Xiao sustained major injuries, and hasn¡¯t even fully recovered yet. But why did they have to face such a situation in the first ce? Because of the carelessness of regr members like you, during your surveince mission. For Shrek, they gave their all. If, in the end, Shrek Academy loses thispetition because your carelessness, how will you ever face them? Sure, in terms of ability, the three of you are certainly stronger than the seven of them. Yet, in my opinion, at least up till now, their contributions to thispetition far surpases yours.¡±

    Having said so much in one go, Wang Yan was tired and slumped down on his seat, his face still red with agitation.

    Ma Xiaotao had wanted to interrupt in the middle, but as Wang Yan showed no signs of stopping, she became lost for words. Only now did she manage to slightly defeatedly murmur, ¡°But your tactics might not necessarily be right, either.¡±

    Wang Yan raised his head and red at her, saying ¡°My tactics are wrong? Are your tactics right then? Do you know how the changes on your part affected the entire team? At least using my strategy, you all would have went into battle as a whole. But your change of strategy caused the team to be separated like loose sand. If not for Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing that connected everyone, do you think we could have won so easily today?¡±

    ¡°I know you look down on me because my abilities are inferior to yours and Dai Yueheng¡¯s. That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t need your approval. But there¡¯s one thing I need you to remember, and that¡¯s the fact that I am the teacher in charge of Shrek Academy¡¯s team in this year¡¯spetition. If you can¡¯t handle the responsibilities of a team leader, then don¡¯t enter the arena in the nextpetition. I¡¯ll assume full responsibility.¡±

    Wang Yan usually gave the impression of being a genial and quiet person, and had never had let out such an outburst before. He also always spoke with reason. Thus, even though Ma Xiaotao was an inner courtyard disciple, she couldn¡¯t help but feel flustered. If Wang Yan really chose to bar her from entering the arena, it would be a lifelong disgrace for her.

    Ma Xiaotao lowered her head and no longer spoke. Wang Yan stood up and said ¡°Think carefully about how to be a proper team leader.¡± He then pushed the door open and left.

    Outside, Wang Yan let out a long sigh, and shook his head, feeling helpless. In terms of hierarchy, his position in the Academy was lower than that of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s. Thus, it had taken a great deal of courage to say what he had just said to her, but Wang Yan had no regrets. He was not afraid of offending anyone to win the ultimate championship and guard this honor for Shrek Academy. Since he couldn¡¯t enter the arena to fight for Shrek, Wang Yan was determined to make sure that all off-field problems were solved outside the arena. If Ma Xiaotao refused to realize her mistakes, he would rather have her she stay out of thepetition. Even if that meant losing the power of a Soul Emperor, Wang Yan couldn¡¯t let her affect the others. A full suppression of battle tactics like today wouldn¡¯t happen all the time. The next three rounds would each be more difficult than thest.

    Thus far, eight schools have been eliminated out of the initial sixteen, and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had sessfully defeated all their opponents. In fact, even in the group round, their team leader, the Soul Emperor-level Ma Rulong, had yet to enter the arena. They had won with just six of the regr members and a reserve.

    Up till now, three members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team had yet to enter the arena ¨C team leader Ma Rulong, reserve team leader Xiao Hongchen and his younger sister, Meng Hongchen.

    Due to the Shrek Academy team¡¯s internal problems, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had be the crowd¡¯s favourite to win the final championship. Now, many were secretly cing bids on who the champion would be. Although Shrek Academy had two great Soul Emperors that had yet to enter the arena, their odds of winning stillgged behind that of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy by a few points.

    After a day of rest, the individual round started as nned on the third day.

    Dai Yueheng had caused a perfect amount of damage in the team battle, causing the Dou Ling Imperial Soul Academy team leader, Gu Zhujian, to be unable to enter the arena. Although his broken limbs had been set and healed, he still needed to recuperate for quite a while before he could fight again.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would not take part in the individual rounds, as their martial soul fusion skill were useless if they were alone, and their individual fighting capabilities were still rather weak. Thus, only Dai Yueheng, Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou would bepeting in the individual round.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had be onlookers.

    Under Wang Yan¡¯s arrangements, Dai Yueheng was the first to enter the arena, while Ma Xiaotao would be thest.

    After getting reprimanded by Wang Yan, Ma Xiaotao ultimately gave in and apologised to Wang Yan, admitting her mistakes. She also expressed that she would fully cooperate with Wang Yan and follow his arrangements for the rest of thepetition, and would not engage in individualistic behaviour anymore. Wang Yan took what he got and arranged for Ma Xiaotao to be the anchor of the team.

    When Dai Yueheng walked up to thepetition stage representing Shrek Academy, the Dou Ling team¡¯s eyes reddened.

    Their team leader¡¯s limbs had all been broken, and his strongest skills had not even been disyed. They held their breath, knowing that the chances of them winning today¡¯spetition were slim as well, but they couldn¡¯t just give up now. They had to fight to the death.

    Due to Shrek Academy¡¯s victory in the team battle, they just needed to defeat three opponents today to make it to the final eight.

    As the losing team in the team-battles, the Dou Ling team needed to defeat the entire Shrek Academy team of seven people with just three members in order to enter the top eight. Faced with two strong assault-type soul emperors on the Shrek Academy team, it was simply unrealistic for the Dou Ling team to win.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s first opponent was Dou Ling¡¯s assault-type Soul King Qian Yuan.

    Previously, Qian Yuan had hardly used his Terrorw Bear powers before he was restrained by Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Skywhistle. Afterwards, the judge had ended thepetition, causing him to burn with fury.

    Qian Yuan didn¡¯t feel that he was inferior to Dai Yueheng, and his team all saw how Shrek Academy¡¯s reserve team overcame the odds in the previous rounds of the tournament. Maybe the Dou Ling team, too, would achieve a miraculous victory today. Thus, when Qian Yuan stood on the stage, his entire being was emitting a thirst for battle, and only one thought filled his mind- to seek revenge for Gu Zhuqian.

    Inparison to his opponent¡¯s aggressive manner, Dai Yueheng seemed much calmer, wearing a peaceful expression as he stood on thepetition stage, bowing to the judges before ncing at his opponent.

 Chapter 104.2: Reaching the Semifinals

    Chapter 104.2: Reaching the Semifinals

    Dai Yueheng had a ratherrge frame, butpared to Qian Yuan, he still appeared to be dwarfed by a taller giant. In terms of size, Qian Yuan was significantly bigger than Dai Yueheng.

    Following the judge¡¯s instructions, the two of them retreated to their respective halves of the arena. The moment the battle started, the two Assault System Battle Soul Masters released their martial souls.

    Qian Yuan roared into the air, and his sturdy frame started to expand rapidly. His terrifying muscles ripped his clothes, revealing a metallic grey body of muscles. Two muscr and thick arms expanded from both sides of his body, and from those hands sharp ws, two inches long, grew out. His upper body bent over slightly and his sharp ws reached the ground. Scraping gently across the ground, he was able to leave clear lines on it.

    Dai Yueheng also released his White Tiger martial soul. While it did not look as muscr and strong as his opponent¡¯s, it was extremely strong too. Light shed in his devilish pupils. Two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings pulsed rhythmically around his body. He was no way weaker than his opponent.

    Qian Yuan roared and attacked first. In terms of type, both Dai Yueheng and he were the same type of soul master. His soul skill specialized in increasing his own powers, and he was most apt at closebat. However, Ma Xiaotao, who was an Assault System Battle Soul Master too, was stronger in terms of ranged attacks. In closebat, Ma Xiaotao could notpare to them.

    The almost three meters tall Terrorw Bear roared lowly. As his first soul ring shed, ayer of gold light cloaked his skin. His shoulders expanded outward from his body. Suddenly, he lunged vigorously propelling himself towards Dai Yueheng.

    While Dai Yueheng had tiger ws, he was still smallerpared to his opponent in every single aspect.

    When the road was narrow, the braver of the two would win. Dai Yueheng did not retreat. Ayer of intense white light burst forth from his body, and every single strand of hair on his body stood up. His speed increased exponentially as he turned into a ray of white light and flew straight towards his opponent.

    The two sides appeared to have shed in the center of the arena.

    Qian Yuan¡¯s two thick shoulders moved in mid-air. He stretched out with his ws, seemingly covering the area before him, giving Dai Yueheng no chance of escape.

    However, in reality, Dai Yueheng had no intention of escaping. The tips of his feet touched the ground, and his speed slowed by a fraction of a second. His tiger ws shed out, crashing against his opponent¡¯s sharp ws.

    ¡°nk, nk!¡± Two screeching sounds exploded. Sparks flew from the arena. Shockingly, Dai Yueheng, who was a soul emperor, was at a disadvantage.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s body trembled for the briefest of instants. The attack from Qian Yuan¡¯s sharp ws actually knocked him back. He was at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

    Seizing the initiative, Qian Yuan did not relent. He roared once more, and instantly chased straight after Dai Yueheng. This time, his third and fifth soul rings lit up. His body, which had originally shone with a grey metallic light, turned bronze-green, and then silvery-white. His entire body continued to expand. When he reached Dai Yueheng, he was already more than 3.5 meters tall. The muscles on his body mutated crazily. One could no longer tell that he was originally human.

    While Dai Yueheng appeared to be retreating, his body was changing too. His hair turned gold, like that of his opponent¡¯s initially. His first, third and fifth soul rings started to shine. In quick session, he used his White Tiger¡¯s Shield, White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation.

    Just as Qian Yuan rushed before him, and just as his sharp, silver ws were about toe shing down, an icy light shed in Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes, and his entire body mysteriously disappeared.

    That¡¯s right. In that instant, his entire body disappearedpletely from before Qian Yuan, causing Qian Yuan¡¯s attack to strike nothing but thin air.

    Did Dai Yueheng use a soul skill that allowed him to teleport? Of course not. As the °×»¢»êÊ¦, he did not possess that ability. His body naturally did not disappear, but instead changed direction suddenly. Right before Qian Yuan caught up to him, he jerked his head downward forcefully and spat a mouthful of white light onto the ground. This allowed him to send his body flying into the air with his own powers.

    All of this happened too quickly. Qian Yuan had already attacked, and could no longer pull it back. The moment his attacknded on thin air, he sensed that something was wrong. However, at that moment, Dai Yueheng was already above his head.

    Dai Yueheng did not use his tiger ws to strike Qian Yuan directly. Instead, as he came crashing down, he mmed his knees into Qian Yuan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Thud!¡± A low grunt came from Qian Yuan¡¯s mouth. His legs wobbled, and under this humongous pressure, he almost fell.

    A pair of giant wsshed upward as he tried to dismember Dai Yueheng. This time, Dai Yueheng did not try to dodge.

    His tiger wsshed out to his left and right side, trapping his opponent¡¯s sharp ws. His palms were as sturdy as a monolith. No matter how much strength Qian Yuan used, he was still immobilized.

    ¡°Your strength is remarkable indeed. If you were at the same level as me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to match your strength. Unfortunately, I¡¯m a soul emperor, and you are just a soul king. Furthermore, while your martial soul is strong, it is not agile enough. Even if you became a soul emperor, you would still die in a deathmatch between you and me. If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead.¡±

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s cold voice sounded next to Qian Yuan¡¯s ear. In the next moment, he mmed his knees together on both sides of Qian Yuan¡¯s head. Immediately, The muscles on Qian Yuan¡¯s humongous frame contracted involuntarily as he fell to the ground.

    Dai Yueheng somersaulted into the air as he leapt off Qian Yuan¡¯s body.

    This battle was extremely short. While it appeared to be a straightforward fight, the danger in it could be felt by both teams. Regardless of whether it was Dai Yueheng¡¯s tiger ws or Qian Yuan¡¯s terrifyingly sharp ws, a direct strike by either would have been be fatal. This had been a fight of pure power, and Qian Yuan had lost. He had lost in terms of his cultivation, and also in terms of experience. Dai Yueheng used the cleanest and most efficient method to obtain victory. His victory was set the moment he was ¡®knocked back¡¯ by Qian Yuan. As a soul emperor, and as someone with the White Tiger martial soul that specialized in physical strength, how could he lose to someone weaker than him? Tricking his opponent into entering a trap, and then finishing him off with a single blow, this was the power of Shrek¡¯s Inner Courtyard!

    Before the judge came over, Dai Yueheng had already lifted the unconscious Qian Yuan. He made an ¡®it¡¯s fine¡¯ gesture to the judge, and then brought Qian Yuan over to the waiting area for contestants, which was at the side of the arena.

    ¡°Gu Zhujian, thepetition is akin to a battlefield. I may have used too much strength, but it was to obtain victory. I believe that if it were you, you would have done the same. There¡¯s nothing else to say. Catch,¡± Dai Yueheng said as he sent Qian Yuan out. Naturally, the members of the Dou Ling team caught him.

    A bitter smile crossed Gu Zhujian¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Thank you for showing mercy, Senior Dai.¡± All of them were clear that the moment the Dai Yueheng suddenly appeared above Qian Yuan¡¯s head in the blink of an eye, Qian Yuan had no chance of victory. If Dai Yueheng had used his tiger ws to strike his head, Qian Yuan would have died for sure. However, Dai Yueheng did not do that.

    This was the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, where deaths and injuries weremonce. However, Dai Yueheng did not even severely injure his opponent. He had shown much mercy this time, which helped reduce the hatred the Dou Ling team towards him.

    The second representative from the Dou Ling team was Han Ling¡¯er, an Agility System Soul Master who was also soul king.

    This round would be a battle of speed versus strength.

    Han Ling¡¯er¡¯s attacks were extremely sharp, and her speed was unparalleled. Her martial soul was known as the ÉÁµçõõ, and among all Agility System Soul Masters, she was one of the fastest. Other than her inability to fly, very few soul masters could match her short, speedy bursts onnd.

    Faced with such an opponent, Dai Yueheng adopted a passive approach. Faced with his opponent¡¯s attacks, all he did was remain stationary instead of retaliating. After a full minute, Han Ling¡¯er¡¯s soul power could not keep up. As her speed decreased, she was forced into a corner by Dai Yueheng, and had no choice but to admit defeat.

    Through two consecutive rounds ofpetition, he was able to beat two soul kings. The crowd started to feel the power of a soul emperor. Dai Yueheng¡¯s performance in these two rounds could be summarized with three words: he held back. This was evidently not his full strength.

    There was not much excitement about the results of the third battle when Chi Hengyu, the soul master with the Vajra Shield as his martial soul, stepped up. While his defensive abilities were impressive, Dai Yueheng taught him a lesson in terms of raw strength. Compared to the second battle, the two sides switched roles. This time, Dai Yueheng attacked while Chi Hengyu defended.

    However, the results were reversed too. Earlier, Dai Yueheng had used his immense strength to expend all of Han Ling¡¯er¡¯s soul power. This time, his attacks were like a flood as they mmed into Chi Hengyu¡¯s Vajra Shield head-on. Finally, he was able to send him off the arena.

    Battle after battle, °×»¢Õ½»êµÛ Dai Yueheng showed off his immense power. By challenging and defeating three opponents, he was able to end the individual elimination round. At the same time, he ensured that Shrek Academy was ranked among the top eight. The ¶·Áé»Ê¼Ò¸ß¼¶»êÊ¦Ñ§Ôº could pack up and go home.

    After getting scolded by Wang Yan that day, Ma Xiaotao was much more well-behaved. Off the arena, she wanted very much to act, but she kept her silence.

    After this battle, the fame of Shrek Academy grew even more. Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao, both soul emperors, had left a deep impression on everyone.

    The crowd was like this. They would only like the strong ones. Huo Yuhao, whose performance was exceptional, was gradually forgotten. So what if you had twin martial souls? If your cultivation was not enough, no one would care.

    Huo Yuhao delighted in this. Over the next few days, as long as he had time, he would train with Wang Dong. Their soul power increased exponentially with the help of the Haodong Power and the Golden Light Left Arm Bone.

 Chapter 104.3: Reaching the Semifinals

    Chapter 104.3: Reaching the Semifinals

    In the quarterfinals, Shrek Academy was fortunate enough to obtain an excellent pairing. They were selected to go against the weakest of the top eight teams, who was not unfamiliar to them. The team was from Justsky Academy, who had once created much trouble for Huo Yuhao and the rest.

    The final results were to be expected. Even without Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen, Shrek had been able to obtain victory. Now, with two soul emperors and a soul king, there was no question about the results of this round. Justsky Academy waspletely trashed, as Shrek trampled over them and entered the top four.

    At this point, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was nearing its end, which was also its high point.

    In the room, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were cultivating through meditation. They were bing increasingly skilled at using their Haodong Power, and the effects of the Golden Light Left Arm Bone were further amplified by their Haodong Power.

    The soothing yet vast Haodong Power would first pass through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and then through the Mysterious Heaven Technique, it would enter Wang Dong¡¯s body. The entry point into Wang Dong¡¯s body was his left arm.

    The Golden Light Left Arm Bone, upon being triggered by the Haodong Power, would immediately give off a powerful absorptive energy. This allowed the element of light to enter Wang Dong¡¯s body and the Haodong Power. Then, as it passed from Wang Dong¡¯s body, it would follow his cultivation method and exit after cycling through his body into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The entire process was like the Yangtze River, slow but never once stopping. With each cycle of cultivation their soul powerpleted, their cultivation would increase.

    As Wang Dong had surpassed Rank 30, his overall soul power was much stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Hence, his soul power increased morepared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Both of them could feel that if they continued cultivating like this, their soul power would catch up to Dai Yueheng¡¯s in just one or two years.

    As the Haodong Power circted, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies would emit a pale, golden glow. Ever since the two of them had experienced the variousbinations of their martial souls, their ability to cooperate as a team was further perfected. Now, as the Haodong Power circted, it was as if the two of them had be one.

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock.¡± Suddenly, a knock could be heard on the door, which jolted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong from their cultivation.

    Wang Dong frowned unhappily and said, ¡°Who is it? Why have they disturbed our cultivation?¡±

    Huo Yuhao inhaled and together with Wang Dong, he retracted his soul power. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look,¡± he said. Then, he leapt off the bed and opened the door.

    It was Wang Yan. The moment Wang Yan opened the door and saw Huo Yuhao, he was startled too. This was because he could clearly see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with a clear golden light. Despite him being a soul king, he felt as if he Huo Yuhao could see through him.

    ¡°Sorry for disturbing your cultivation,¡± Wang Yan apologized.

    When Huo Yuhao saw that it was him, he rushed to the side and said, ¡°Teacher Wang, pleasee in.¡±

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Come with me, Yuhao.¡± With that, he turned and left.

    Wang Dong naturally heard the exchange between the two of them. He jumped off the bed and said curiously, ¡°I wonder why Teacher Wang¡¯s looking for you. Go with him!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Teacher Wang saw me just now, but he only called you. Evidently, he does not want me around. Go by yourself, I¡¯ll rest.¡±

    The two of them exchanged a gaze, and an amused look crossed their eyes. After cultivating together for so long, the camaraderie between the two of them had be increasingly obvious. Sometimes, they knew what the other was thinking with only a single nce.

    However, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could feel that there was a forbidden zone in their counterpart¡¯s heart. No matter how close they became, they could never touch on these taboos.

    Huo Yuhao waved to Wang Dong and left the room. Wang Yan was waiting for him in the corridor. When he saw him, he led him to his room.

    After he closed the door, Wang Yan summoned Huo Yuhao to the study table in the room and then said in a low voice, ¡°Look.¡±

    On Wang Yan¡¯s study table, there was a carving knife etched with ancient patterns. Next to the carving knife, there was a ring that had already been sliced in half.

    Huo Yuhao had seen this ring before. Normally, Wang Yan wore it on his finger. This was his storage-type soul tool. However, right now, it waspletely destroyed. Huo Yuhao, with his eyes of a soul engineer, could see that its formation arrays had been destroyed. As for the carving knife that was giving off an icy aura, wasn¡¯t it the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife that was Rank 99 on the Carving Knife Leaderboard?

    ¡°Teacher Wang, this¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said in shock.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°My storage-type soul tool was a Rank 4 soul tool. However, I didn¡¯t expect that it couldn¡¯t take the power of the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. Earlier, I could feel a violent aura from the Soul-Devouring Carving Knifeing at my storage-type soul tool, but I didn¡¯t give it much thought. However, this morning, I found it split in half,pletely destroyed. The carving knife continued to give off a brutal, terrifying aura. I felt a dark, gloomy aura enter my body when I touched it. I was only able to expel it after circting my soul power for half a day.¡±

    When he said that, Huo Yuhao suddenly understood why Wang Yan had such a terrible expression. A ss 4 soul tool was not cheap! No wonder he felt a pain in his heart when he saw that it had been destroyed. However, this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was powerful indeed, till the point where even a storage-type soul tool couldn¡¯t take it.

    ¡°Yuhao,st time you said that you had a way of subduing it. Try it. If you seed, it¡¯s yours. However, you must be careful. I will protect you, but you have to stop if you feel that something is amiss.¡±

    A ss 4 soul too was the best item that Wang Yan had on him. The Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was indeed evil, and the impact of carrying it oneself directly was too great. Helpless, he could only look for Huo Yuhao, who had previously sworn that he could take care of it.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try,¡± Huo Yuhao said gleefully. Despite Electrolux¡¯s personality, he had already asked him more than once to retrieve this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. This was a testament to its importance. Originally, he had thought that he would have to wait until he returned to the Academy. However, he did not expect Wang Yan to give him a chance now.

    ¡°Electrolux, Electrolux,¡± Huo Yuhao tried to wake Electrolux, who was in his Spiritual Sea. However, right now, all three inhabitants of his Spiritual Sea were asleep. None of them responded to his call.

    Huo Yuhao felt a sense of helplessness. If he did not try now, he did not know when would he next have the opportunity to do so. A smile crossed his face. If Electrolux would not wake up, then he would force him to get up.

    As he thought about that, Huo Yuhao had already released his spiritual detection toward the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. However, this time, he did not act rashly. Instead, he was cautious, but not fearful. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the bacsh from the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. While his own powers were nothing remarkable, as he was just a two-ringed soul master, his spiritual power was respectable. While his own spiritual power was nothing much, he had a million year soul beast with the spirit attribute, a powerful person from another world, and one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts in his Spiritual Sea.

    If the three of them couldn¡¯t help him ovee the spiritual bacsh, very few people in the world would be able to help secure his Spiritual Sea.

    The spiritual power of any soul master was greater than that of an ordinary mortal. However, only seven-ringed soul masters and above could control their own spiritual power, or use their spiritual power directly. The exception were soul masters like Huo Yuhao, who naturally had the spirit attribute.

    His spiritual detection carefullynded on the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. The moment it touched it, Huo Yuhao felt his body tremble violently. Everything before him turned ck, and the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife appeared to have turned into an endless ck hole. A crazy energy devoured his spiritual power, and an extremely dark and cold aura, brimming with terror, prated his Spiritual Sea through his spiritual detection.

    The moment the terrifying aura entered, Huo Yuhao could feel his spiritual power being dissected. It was as if someone had cut it in half. It was a terribly ufortable feeling, as if his head were being forcefully sliced open.

    If Huo Yuhao were acting alone, then this powerful aura would have injured him severely as it entered his Spiritual Sea. In fact, his Spiritual Sea might even have be damaged. However, he was not fighting alone.

    The first to react was the Skydream Iceworm, who was the closest to Huo Yuhao.

    Skydream woke up from his sleep, and while he did not know what had happened, he immediately rushed to defend his turf.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea was like his home, and he had a wife and kids in his home. The invasion from the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was like someone kicking down his front door to steal his wife. How could he not be enraged?

    Wang Yan stood by the side. His heart almost missed a beat when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembling violently, and he almost acted to interfere. However, he quickly noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s two eyes shone with a dazzling gold light. Quickly, his two soul rings appeared on his body. The second one currently gave off the purple glow of a thousand year soul ring, while the first one was a glossy white with an intense golden halo at its center.

    The terrifying aura that had sought to barge into Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain hit a stone wall. Immediately, it rebounded, and the knife itself made a pathetic whimper. It was vibrating slightly, and giving off a green gas.

    Wang Yan stopped himself as he stared in shock at the gold on Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul ring. He had never seen anything like this before, but he could feel the vast, unbridled spiritual power that Huo Yuhao gave off, which exceeded that of a soul king.

 Chapter 105: Purifying the Ominous Soul Devouring Knife

    Chapter 105: Purifying the Ominous Soul Devouring Knife

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils had be filled with golden light and translucent; it was as if they were 2 golden crystals.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Who dares attempt to snatch my territory?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked furiously.

    After being provoked by the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, the Ice Empress¡¯ mind also cleared up. A streak of azure light shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden pupils, and an aura that was 100 times more ferocious than that of the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife¡¯s was unleashed. It viciously mmed into the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife.

    This time, the knife cried out in sorrow and the green gaseous light it was emanating was dispersed.

    The Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion were both partially fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, thus their own true powers were sealed as well. However, their spiritual origins were both in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. Even though Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t unleash their power, they could still definitely protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea!

    What kind of temper did the Ice Empress have? If the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm could be described as a married couple, then the Skydream Iceworm was the henpecked one, while she was the tigress in the family¡­

    The Skydream Iceworm had gone into defense mode the moment he felt that he was being attacked, but she had immediately counterattacked.

    Huo Yuhao mind immediately cleared up. Thebined spiritual powers of the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress gave him the feeling that they could devour a person forcefully. It was only at this point that Electrolux finally woke up.

    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s Life Gold. Little worm and scorpion, both of you quiet down please.¡±

    Even though Electrolux, the self-proimed ¡®Cmity Necromancer¡¯ who followed the Divine Law of Necromancy, only had a shred of divine sense left, the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress were still afraid of him. They were also clearly aware that Electrolux didn¡¯t harbor any ill intentions towards Huo Yuhao; his spiritual sea was amon interest that all three of them shared.

    Wang Yan noticed that the ferocious gaze in Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils changed once again: His azure-golden eyes rapidly turned grey, while his aura seemed to greatly transform.

    The first time that Wang Yan had seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turn grey was back when his soul power had only been Rank 17 and he¡¯d been fighting Wu Feng. Even with all of his special powers, Huo Yuhao had only managed to win once his eyes turned grey.

    However, he¡¯d been quite far away back then, and hadn¡¯t been able to sense things clearly. However, right now, Wang Yan was very close to Huo Yuhao. The only thing he felt was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s grey eyes were filled with a boundless mysteriousness. But within this mysteriousness, he could sense an unprecedented divinity. It was even more divine than the Angel he¡¯d once seen before.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s youthful face even exuded a tinge of holiness when theyer of grey appeared in his eyes.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao turned to look at Wang Yan. Wang Yan had never felt that he needed to be cautious against him before, but the moment he saw the boundless grey in the depths of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, his mind became blurry. No matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to resist it.

    If anyone else were present, they would see that Wang Yan¡¯s eyes had be filled with emptiness the moment Huo Yuhao looked at him; he was akin to a walking zombie.

    Once this was done, Huo Yuhao then turned back to the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, and focused his attention on it. The dim greyish radiance from his eyes seemed to be an entity with form as it shot out andnded on the knife.

    After a moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness retreated to his spiritual sea, and Electrolux took back control of his body. From his own perspective, Huo Yuhao was helpless. Who¡¯d asked him to be so weak? Regardless of if it was the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress, or Electrolux, Huo Yuhao was quite a lot weaker than all of them by a significant amount. How else could his body be controlled by them at any time? However, this thought only shed across his mind. After all, Electrolux was doing everything for him.

    The Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife shook violently and released a mournful groan the instant that the greyish spiritual power Electrolux released struck it. If someone wasn¡¯t resolute enough, his emotions would be greatly affected by this groan.

    Electrolux¡¯s thoughts then echoed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, ¡°Injecting evil thoughts and curses into the Life Gold is only something that an evil creator could think of. He simply sensed the immense strength that this Life Gold has, but he didn¡¯t know how to let it unleash its truly miraculous effects. Life Gold, cleanse yourself! I¡¯ll let you return to your original state, and shall remove all the stains on you. Your purest life aura can be unleashed once again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils experienced a change once again. His previously grey pupils suddenly turned white¡ªa white that was as wless and pure as jade. It was as white as snow. The greyish spiritual power also turned into a white, Purifying Light instantaneously.

    This time, the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife had stopped shaking. As it resisted, an intense green light was suddenly released from it¡¯s de. The green light formed a ferocious-looking face and roared madly. It seemed to want to devour the white light that Electrolux was emitting.

    However, even though the Purifying Light seemed extremely thin, it was akin to boiling oil being poured onto a pile of snow when it struck the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife: The green light from the fierce-looking face was blurred by half in an instant. The originally ferocious look that the face had also turned blurry. However, the green light revolving around it was still very strong, but gust after gust of ck gas was evaporating and dissipating beneath the effect of the Purifying Light. The green light that the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife was emitting began to be both purer and gentler as this continued.

    The entire cleansing process was very short and quick. The moment that thest streak of ck gas dissipated, the green light that the knife¡¯s de was emitting became as clean as spring water. There were no longer any impurities on it, thus the originally ck de also turned into a greenish crystal-like entity.

    Electrolux sighed heavily. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d be so weak. I feel so tired and weak despite just using a bit of the Purifying Light. Alright, you¡¯ll have to tell your teacher that you need to keep the knife on you. I¡¯ll need some time to fuse the two of you together.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished speaking he made Huo Yuhao look at Wang Yan. After that, the whiteness in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes disappeared. Huo Yuhao regained control of his own body, while Wang Yan¡¯s empty eyes regained their focus.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Yan immediately noticed the obvious change in the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife once he¡¯d regained focus. The originally-deadly sense of ferocity that it had possessed had ceased to exist. Currently, the crystal-like knife gave him a burning feeling of life.

    Wang Yan was very confused; he didn¡¯t even remember Huo Yuhao turning to look at him. He was quite shocked by what had happened. ¡°This¡­ this is? Yuhao, how did you do this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao only choice was to make up a lie. ¡°Teacher Wang, I felt spiritual fluctuationsing from this knife the moment that I saw it. They weren¡¯t very strong, and were only based on the strength contained within the knife¡¯s de. From the perspective of us soul engineers, this is known as a sealing of one¡¯s soul. In other words, a shred of evil will from an evil soul master had been sealed inside of this carving knife, which is why it was so ferocious. I simply used my spiritual power to open the seal, which wasn¡¯t very powerful, and remove the shred of evil will from the knife. This has allowed the knife to return to its normal state. It shouldn¡¯t pose a threat anymore. As for whether it¡¯s ready to use, we can only bring it back to try.¡±

    Wang Yan was very knowledgeable in regards to the research into soul masters, but he wasn¡¯t very clear about soul engineers. He could only nod when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. He then tried to pick up the knife.

    Indeed, the knife had lost all traces of its ferocious aura. Instead, the knife felt very smooth in his hand. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to have an aura at all. It seemed like had been carved from some sort of crystal. If not for the unchanged, simple patterns on the knife, he would¡¯ve thought that Huo Yuhao had switched it out.

    He lifted the knife and handed it to Huo Yuhao, then said, ¡°Keep it then. We¡¯ll let Fan Yu take a look at it when we return to the academy. I¡¯m not very knowledgeable when ites to soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Teacher Wang.¡± Huo Yuhao felt ted when he received the knife. He had the same feeling as Wang Yan when he held the knife: It seemed like the knife was made of ordinary crystal¡ªthat was it.

    After obtaining the knife as he wished, Huo Yuhao was extremely delighted. However, he also knew that he owed the academy a lot. The academy had nurtured him, thus he would need to repay their contributions in the future.

    After returning to his room, he ryed everything to Wang Dong. Of course, he only told him the same version of what had happened as what he¡¯d told Wang Yan; he couldn¡¯t let anyone know about the secret in his spiritual sea.

    Wang Dong was also awed when he saw the knife. ¡°Is it really that good? It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s not a suitable environment around. If there was, you could try to create a soul tool with it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Come, let¡¯s continue cultivating together.¡± He¡¯d already leapt out of bed by the time he¡¯d finished speaking.

    Wang Dong was annoyed and replied, ¡°You aren¡¯t human! Don¡¯t you ever feel bored or fatigued? Why not go out and y? I¡¯m gonna die of boredom!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not talented, you have to be one step ahead of others. My cultivation is the weakest of everyone present; if I don¡¯t work harder than everyone, how will I live up to the academy¡¯s expectations?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°Fine, cultivate by yourself first. I¡¯m heading back to my room and shower first. You have to achieve bnce in your cultivation; you can¡¯t always be so tense.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted when Wang Dong left. He was still waiting for Electrolux to tell him how miraculous the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife was.

    After Wang Dong left, Huo Yuhao immediately pulled the green, crystal-like knife out.

    Electrolux¡¯s slightly weak voice rang out, ¡°Press it against your forehead. Yuhao, remember not to panic no matter what happens. Remain calm and leave everything to me. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged, then pressed the knife to his forehead.

    When the knife came into contact with his skin, he felt a surge of warm energy. Immediately afterwards, a strange aura streaked from his spiritual sea into the knife.

    In an instant, the knife shone with green light, and a stream of vigorous life aura surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body through the center of his forehead.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned the same color as the knife. Even his spiritual sea was no exception. As the intense green light spread, the spiritual origins of the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion were temporarily suppressed.

    An unprecedentedfort flowed throughout his body, causing Huo Yuhao to feel as if every minute area of his body was moaning in happiness. His body greedily sucked at the vigorous life energy being released by the knife.

    He seemed to be able to see everything inside his body: Everything turned green and were filled with the same life aura. His passageways became more flexible, his organs became tougher, his bones were strengthened¡­ His entire body seemed to its quality raised.

    The most obvious change he sensed was in his passageways. Even though they hadn¡¯t dted, Huo Yuhao was sure that his passageways could definitely withstand a greater flood of soul power due to their increased resilience.

    As the green light cleansed his entire body, all of the impurities within his body were rapidly expelled through his pores.

    Huo Yuhao had once consumed pills and medicine that had solidified his foundations. In the process, they had cleansed his body from the inside out after as he digested it. However, it was different this time. The strong powerful aura contained within the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife was like the water of life; it cleansed every single corner of his body.

    This didn¡¯t increase his cultivation, but Huo Yuhao was able to sense that his body had be as transparent as the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife. All of the cultivation that he¡¯d umted over the past few years was also cleansed under the nourishment of this wave of vigorous life aura. He felt that his body had finally be whole; even things that he hadn¡¯t understood in the past became clear to him as his mind cleared up.

    Was this the miraculous effect of the Life Gold? Huo Yuhao was astonished. He¡¯d been exposed to many things as he cultivated and learned: Even though his abilities hadn¡¯t been increased, he was well-aware of what this change meant to him.

    The benefits he¡¯d received from body being cleansed were immediately apparent. His state of weakness had turned into strength, and his cultivation speed had been greatly increased. Only a tough body could amodate an abundance of soul power, which in turn would allow him to better absorb it and increase his cultivation faster.

 Chapter 106: The Eye of Life

    The Life Gold before his eyes only nourished his body for an extremely short period of time, but he could clearly feel that the sum of every herbal medicine and tonic he had eaten before were not as effective as that moment he had just experienced. The feeling of sudden and smooth cirction was unprecedented. He was positive that, after this transformation, his cultivation speed would be greatly improved, and his body¡¯s endurance would be boosted as well. His capacity for higher-ranked soul rings would be raised by at least a thousand years, and this meant the power of his soul skills would be raised at the same time.

    Just when Huo Yuhao was at the climax of his exhration, the vast aura of life paused as the sensation offort and pleasure receded in just a matter of seconds.

    Huo Yuhao was still relishing in hisfort before his entire body started to feel empty. However, his unnaturally sensitive perception immediately told him that something was wrong ¨C he realized, to his shock, that the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife had departed from between his eyebrows. What was more frightening was the fact that the sharp end of the de was pointed right at his forehead, above his eyebrows.

    Before he could even react, the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife stabbed down ferociously, and the entire de sunk deep into his skull. Huo Yuhao wanted to scream and struggle under the agonizing pain, but he quickly realized that, to his intense dismay, there was nothing he could do.

    Tremendous volumes of life energy instantly flooded in once the de entered his skull. His current experience was simr to that of someone who had just eaten a strike of his Spiritual Shock ¨C it felt like he had just been hammered on the head, and his mind was aplete nk.

    It was toote for the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion to save him once they felt everything. The extensive energies of life surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea from his forehead and gave them an inexplicablyfortable sensation as their spiritual origins were rinsed.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea had turned into a green-colored ocean at this point. Dense and thick mists of life energy gradually started to condense, while his spiritual sea began to expand outwards with bedazzling speed.

    Two shadows materialized in his spiritual sea ¨C the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress.

    They nced at each other, and immediately detected the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. They had been alive for hundreds of thousands of years, and even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s head had just been pierced by the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife, they could feel that Electrolux didn¡¯t harbor evil intentions. Furthermore, that vast pool of life energy that had just poured into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, and the process of expansion that was triggered, was greatly beneficial to them.

    The life energy nourished the spiritual sea, and this was equivalent to nourishing their spiritual origins. Therefore, they resolved to calm themselves as they focused on protecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual origin while paying attention to the changes around them.

    A frail old man d in white appeared inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea between shimmering grey lights.

    He nced at the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and smiled as he said, ¡°Big bug, small scorpion ¨C I will not fight with you for territory any longer. You can release a little bit of your sealing power to boost Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea and raise his spiritual power. His body can be considered pristine and impable after this transformation. However, don¡¯t infuse your powers into him too quickly ¨C it¡¯s better to wait for his mastery of soul power to break rank 30 before you two continue fusing with him.¡±

    Skydream watched him with astonished eyes as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re Electrolux?¡±

    The old man nodded and replied, ¡°My thread of divine sense had no foundation. It was empty and weak, which meant that it could have dissipated at any moment. However, things are a lot different with this miraculous Life Gold ¨C it can provide me with a vector, and I will be able to sustain myself inside, and this is bound to stabilize my divine sense a little more. However, much of my memory has been lost ¨C too much ¨C and I can only rediscover these memories if my divine sense gets stronger, and so I need Yuhao¡¯s help. You guys can rx ¨C we all share the same goal, and that¡¯s to make him stronger. When the power of his divine sense reaches the level I possessed back in the day, everything I¡¯ve lost will return. Furthermore, I am starting to find this world a lot more interesting ever since fusing myself with his body. I need to be on my way, and you guys canmunicate with me through our spiritual origins.¡±

    Electrolux¡¯s right hand swiped across the air as he spoke, and a green door made of light appeared before him. He waved back at the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress before his shadow vanished into the door.

    The Ice Empress couldn¡¯t help but give praise as she watched Electrolux¡¯s departure. ¡°Such powerful control of his divine sense. This is humankind¡¯s innate talent! I have cultivated for four hundred thousand years, but I don¡¯t think I can condense my spiritual origin enough for it to evolve into divine sense.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm wriggled his body and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We are integrated with Yuhao in order to draw upon his innate talents now. If he can seed in the future, then we will surely seed as well.¡±

    They were still engaged in casual conversation when something insidious started happening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The green Soul-Devouring Carving Knife inside his forehead was trembling faintly. However, the gash that was opened by the de didn¡¯t gush with blood ¨C instead, the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife started to soften, and eventually melted into a green liquid that flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head through the opening.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire being was tainted with a thickyer of green as therge volumes of life energy started to wash his body continuously, with his forehead as the central point.

    The wound shed open by the de didn¡¯t close up following the fusion of the carving knife. Instead, it began to open even wider under the effects of a circle of green-gold light, much like the mouth of an infant ¨C it also seemed like a single eye.

    His wound quivered, while his muscles and his bones were all being continuously distorted during the process. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled from the effects of the transformation, and that was an excruciating pain that ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind had been awake this whole time. He could even hear the conversation between the two powerful soul beasts and Electrolux inside his spiritual sea. However, there was nothing he could do to interrupt the process, or truly understand what was happening to him at this moment.

    The green-gold light gradually stabilized. A single tiny grey pearl materialized at the gash on his forehead and began to fuse intricately with the broken flesh, tendons and bones around the hole.

    The harrowing pain pierced Huo Yuhao¡¯s nerves like countless numbers of needles. The pain he was feeling now was perhaps ten times greater than what he had experienced during his fusion with the bones of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul and spiritual origin were screaming incessantly as he felt as if his spiritual origin was being torn apart. One could also say that his spiritual origin was being ripped to shreds before it was pieced back together. That kind of pain was truly indescribable. No matter how vast the pools of life energy were, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t feel a single ounce offort at this particr moment. The pain he was feeling seemed to drag him into the deepest and darkest abyss, and he was just sinking ever deeper.

    Terrifying ripples of soul power erupted at this moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique soul power instinctively tried to protect his body, but that soul power had no way of entering this particr region of his spiritual sea.

    An unknown duration of time passed, and just when he was bing numb to the agonizing pain, and his spiritual origin already felt like it had been torn to pieces, he suddenly felt a trace of light.

    It was a dull, gentle and tender golden color.

    His shattered spiritual origin was seamlessly covered and enveloped by this all-epassing golden light. That feeling was strange, as if he was thrown into a warmke, and his fractured spiritual origin was progressively softened and agglutinating within.

    Theke was golden, and glued his spiritual origin back together while it injected a mysterious kind of energy inside.

    The numbness slowly became warmth. Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was also recuperating along with the convalescence of his spiritual origin.

    He reached out with his senses at once. The first thing he saw was that he was sitting by his bed, cross-legged, and his waist was erect while his entire body was extremely silent. There was suddenly an extra eye on his forehead.

    This eye didn¡¯t radiate with green light, and the socket was a little smaller than his original eyes. There appeared to be faint and pale flickers of green light around the socket.

    The pupil itself was grey. However, there was a subtle flicker of golden light deep within the patches of grey. His strange third eye moved a little, and Huo Yuhao instantly realized that he was staring at himself ¨C he saw the vicissitudes, the abstruseness, and a life and purity that was difficult to describe.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power returned to his body with a whistle. This time, the things he was looking at started to change ¨C he could see his bones, his muscles, and his veins and capiries.

    The cirction of blood was like a flowing river as it trickled along, and the dense essence of blood was permeated with vigorous life energies. His skeleton, his muscles, his veins and his organs were all covered by strangeyers of green, and thisyer was currently fusing with his body while its color gradually receded.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t wait as he directed his spiritual energy back into his brain and back into his spiritual sea, as he wanted to see what was different about it.

    The changes in his spiritual sea fell into his eyes very swiftly.

    Describing it as world-changing was as suitable as it could get.

    His spiritual sea was drastically different from before. If one could say that his original spiritual sea was a patch of nothingness, his current spiritual sea was now transformed into a patch of real space.

    This space was white, with no end in sight. The first thing he saw the moment he entered it was arge greenke. Thiske was filled with vitality and vigor, and its surface was calm and gentle like a mirror. Dense auras of life energy nourished his spiritual sea.

    Such a vast space! Huo Yuhao perceived the boundlessness of his spiritual sea in shock. His spiritual sea was at least three timesrger than before, and it was hard to say how much more stable it had be.

    He refocused his eyes, and noticed a single pearl drifting on the surface of the azureke ¨C it could also be said to be the Sun of the spiritual sea.

    This pearl was also jade-green in color. It was totally transparent, crystal-like and radiated a gente light, much like that of the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. It changed when Huo Yuhao cast his gaze upon it, transforming into an eye that gradually opened and looked back at Yuhao with a tender gaze.

    Lights flickered as Huo Yuhao discovered, to his intense shock, that he suddenly had a body. His spiritual power created a figure that was identical to himself in the blink of an eye, and he was just standing there by theke.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. The plump and robust white bug, the Skydream Iceworm, and the enchantingly beautiful Ice Jade Empress Scorpion appeared beside him as well.

    ¡°This¡­ What¡¯s all this? What just happened?¡± Huo Yuhao was clueless about everything before his eyes. However, there was a feeling tingling at the bottom of his heart that told him he was in control of everything here. This kind of change that he had never experienced before gave him a strange and iprehensible sensation.

    The giant eye in midair stared at him, and Electrolux¡¯s decrepit voice rang out, ¡°This are the effects of the Life Gold. Don¡¯t worry, for I will exin everything to you slowly.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about what Life Gold is. Life is as the name suggests. All beings have life, and can called living beings. It¡¯s the same whether it was me in the olden days or you guys. Every living being is separated by intelligence, and the original force of all living beings is life energy, or vitality.¡±

    ¡°Life Gold is the material representation of life energy. Put more simply, it¡¯s the product of condensing copious amounts of life energy, and a treasure of the world that only cane about after many years of gestation and incubation. I was not originally from your world, but from another parallel dimension ¨C however, Life Gold shares the same existence no matter which world you¡¯re in. The vast amounts of life energy contained within Life Gold are extremely beneficial to any living being. Every living being represents a life, but every piece of Life Gold represents an entire world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao became more perplexed as he listened on, and a look of confusion came over his eyes. He still didn¡¯t really understand the existence of this Life Gold.

    At this moment, the Skydream Iceworm asked, ¡°Old man, you still haven¡¯t mentioned how Life Gold came about. And what does it mean by gestating copious amounts of life energy over many years? Don¡¯t make it so abstract and get to the point.¡±

    Electrolux replied inly, ¡°It¡¯s easy to be direct. Even though your origins are nothing impressive, it¡¯s a rare sight for someone like you to live for so long, and you¡¯ve been alive for a million years. Put simply, the sum of your million years of age is about the size of a teardrop of Life Gold.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± The Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress eximed at the same time. Even though the Ice Empress didn¡¯t think too highly of the Skydream Iceworm, she knew that she was ultimately inferior to him in terms of life energy, as the Skydream Iceworm had been alive for over a million years.

    Electrolux continued, ¡°This is already holding him in high regard. You guys have to know that Life Gold exists initially in a gaseous form, and following the passage of time, gradually transforms into a liquid ¨C much like the one Huo Yuhao has obtained, except it had already be a solid. You guys will understand as I exin. Big bug, do you remember the forest in which we fused together with Huo Yuhao?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm muttered through his teeth, ¡°Of course. The Great Star Dou Forest. I was tortured by those bastards in that cursed ce!¡±

    Electrolux said, ¡°That forest is host to a plentitude of lives. When my divine sense descended, I could feel the intense vigor and vitality of the giant forest. If we used that to measure Life Gold, forming a lump of solid Life Gold about the size of a carving knife would require about twenty thousand years ¨C and that is already under the assumption that nothing is damaged or interrupted. Furthermore, you guys need to understand that the formation of Life Gold requires a great many objective conditions. For example, for the forest to produce a piece of Life Gold, there has to be a ce inside that is dense and concentrated with life energy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I think I roughly understand. You¡¯re trying to say that this carving knife was made entirely from Life Gold.¡±

    Electrolux replied, ¡°Yes, that is correct. Life energy is beneficial to any force of existence; evil beings can also enjoy the benefits of vast amounts of life energy. My divine sense is too dpidated ¨C therefore, I had no choice but to take the majority of its power when we obtained this piece of Life Gold. I used its power as the foundation to open a third eye for you, which is the same one you saw with your consciousness. My consciousness is contained within this third eye. Under the nourishment of this Life Gold, I don¡¯t think my divine sense will ever run the risk of dissipating anymore.¡±

    ¡°With the nourishment from this enormous pool of life energy, my divine sense will be healed continuously, and I will also be able to manipte some of its power. You¡¯re too weak at the moment ¨C when you¡¯re stronger, I will give you a choice, and you can decide whether you want to inherit my powers.¡±

    ¡°I can still remember three different powers from the remnants of my broken memory. Two of them were passed down to the people from my original ne, but myst inheritance ¨C also my highest one ¨C is still being withheld. When you reach the fifth ring, you should have the ability to attempt this inheritance. Of course, you have to be willing.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted and said, ¡°So you are taking the lion¡¯s share of the benefits of this whatever Life Gold?¡±

    Electrolux couldn¡¯t help butugh and answered, ¡°Are you blind, you bug? I have even transformed his spiritual sea into such a beautiful ce. I dare say that there will never be such a beautiful spiritual sea inside this ne ever again. I have just said that every single piece of Life Gold is an entire world, and I used the power of this Life Gold to seal its original life energy into this spiritual sea. After today, the growth of Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power will be at least three times faster than before, and his spiritual sea will be as good as eternal. Even his physical body has been influenced by this Life Gold ¨C whatever his injury is, as long as his mind is still functional, it will regenerate on its own. It won¡¯t be so easy for him to die anymore.¡±

    ¡°You have to remember a few things, Yuhao. Firstly, that carving knife hasn¡¯t disappeared. Your third eye, and also the Eye Of Life that I just spoke of, is its current metaphysical existence. When you¡¯re in need, you just have to focus your consciousness into the Eye of Life, and you will be bestowed with the power of the carving knife. However, this carving knife will possess certain qualities of the Life Gold and a portion of my own qualities as well. You¡¯ll have to try it out to know exactly what those are.¡±

    ¡°Secondly, my existence from now on can be counted as one of your martial souls ¨C a very special martial soul. However, this martial soul cannot be fused with soul rings. You have to be clear that my strengthes from you, only my control is probably superior to yours. The most I can give you is intelligence and wisdom ¨C therefore, you can¡¯t have too high hopes of me.¡±

    ¡°Thirdly, I hope you will shut yourself in for a while after you¡¯ve finished with the things you have at hand. You should attempt to experience and understand the profundities this Life Gold has brought to you, and truly integrate with the life energy inside of you. You have to allow it to be a part of you like your finger or your arm, and this will be extremely beneficial for your future development.¡±

    ¡°Lastly, following the transformations made by the Life Gold, both the strength and flexibility of your body has been greatly improved ¨C do make use of that. Oh, and you have to try your best to control it however you can. Your spiritual sea can now contain a greater volume of spiritual power. However, no matter how powerful your spiritual powers are, it¡¯s all wasted if you don¡¯t know how to control them. This is also one of the reasons why I wish for you to shut yourself in to cultivate and meditate in silence.¡±

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all I have to say. I have to integrate with the Eye of Life as soon as possible. You will also regainmand of your consciousness very soon. After this episode, your consciousness, your body and your spiritual sea will be wlessly integrated. It will be very difficult for us to take over your bodies after this ¨C all we can do is help you in your growth.¡±

    The eye closed, and Electrolux¡¯s aura swiftly vanished. In the next moment, Huo Yuhao felt his world spinning like a top around him, and he fell into a daze. When he opened his eyes in the next moment, he was back on his bed.

    He first action was to reach up to touch his forehead subconsciously. What caught him off guard was that his forehead was smooth ¨C where was the third eye?

    Perhaps all this was due to the unbearable intensity of pain that he had just experienced, but his mind ended up in a trance ¨C could everything that had just happened be nothing but a hallucination?

    He tossed his head from side to side as he attempted to reorient himself before he focused and looked inwards once again.

    It wasn¡¯t a hallucination after all. At this point, his spiritual power enabled him to see every corner of his body when he looked inwards, to the point where he could see the cirction of the pure white color of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power. Every detail within his body fell into his perception ¨C the life energy that belonged to the piece of Life Gold was currently being fully absorbed by his body.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and stretched a little. He immediately discovered, to his amazement, that every single joint in his body felt incredibly flexible. He turned his head, and found that his neck could almost rotate a full hundred and eighty degrees. He lifted his right leg backwards; it didn¡¯t take much effort at all to touch his head.

    What stunned him the most was the circumstance of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s cirction. He no longer needed to engage in meditation ¨C its cirction had practically be a part of his breathing process, and followed the huff and puff of his every breath. The Mysterious Heaven Technique was actually following the paths of cultivation and circting automatically. His own blood essence was flowing vigorously, and was integrated impably with his soul power, as if they were being boosted with every second that passed.

    Huo Yuhao watched the rays of sunlighting in through the window. He immediately felt as if his mood was ovee with an incredible sensation of optimism and cheerfulness, as if his entire being was immersed and integrated with nature.

    The Life Gold was so powerful! His body seemed to have risen to another level under its effects.

    He concentrated on his spiritual sea. Everything that he saw before was still there ¨C the serene Lake of Life, the dense essence of life energy, and the Pearl of Life hovering in the sky could all be seen with great rity.

    Both the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress remained at theke, as if they had felt the probing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. They turned their gazes into the sky, and Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that they were watching him.

    At this moment, these two powerful soul beasts started to radiate with pale brilliance. Especially the Skyream Iceworm, who was a emanating tender golden light that flooded his spiritual sea. It looked like he was fusing his vast pools of soul power with himself to boost his expanded spiritual sea.

    The Ice Empress was emittingyers of light that were a mix of icy-white and green. Theseyers of light were first infused into the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton before they were spread all around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Neither the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s nor the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s power could increase Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, as they had already be Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial souls, but the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power had also taken two different forms of existence. There was no question that the changes they were currently undergoing were meant to boost Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, his physical strength and the power of every one of his soul rings.

    Huo Yuhao could still use his spiritual detection to perceive his surroundings before his absorption of the Life Gold. However, there was no way he could be irvoyant, and his personal senses were only slightly superior to those of normal people. The Life Gold had triggered an almost sublime transformation in his body, but his powers didn¡¯t appear vastly improved, as the effects worked to develop his potential while giving him a boost to his senses.

    Huo Yuhao rushed into the bathroom to cleanse his body and changed into a set of clean clothes the moment he witnessed the changes that were happening to the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. He checked himself in the mirror and made sure that there wasn¡¯t a third eye on his forehead, as if that eye had only existed in his sensations ¨C but the feeling of its existence was just too real.

    He refused to mull over it too much, and returned to his bed. He started to channel the Mysterious Heaven Technique and activated his soul power to begin his cultivation, as he had a faint feeling that cultivating at this time would be most beneficial to himself.

    All Wang Dong saw when he slunk back into the room was Huo Yuhao, who was deep in meditation.

    Wang Dong was a little surprised as he watched him. Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem any different on the surface, Wang Dong had a feeling that there was something different about his friend, and it felt like his temperament was different. Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical appearance was originally slightly above average, but he suddenly seemed to have a new and unique kind of charm.

    Self-confidence, steadiness and a few measures of depth ¨C yet, he was still filled with liveliness and brimmed with vitality.

    ¡°This guy is just too hardworking. He can still be so involved even when he¡¯s cultivating alone ¨C he can even enter deep meditation.¡±

    Soul masters generally experienced two different states during their cultivation ¨C meditation and deep meditation. Standard meditation could typically be interrupted, and the soul master would wake up naturally when there was external stimulus, or if the soul master detected any change in his physical surroundings, so any adverse effects would be highly limited. Therefore, this form of meditation was also referred to as light cultivation.

    This was the state that they would typically enter when Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao teamed up to concentrate the Haodong power. After all, they had to pass the Haodong power around, and thus they couldn¡¯t let their soul power course around freely.

    On the other hand, deep meditation was a serendipitous urrence that only came about when one had an epiphany in the process of normal meditation. The meditator¡¯s consciousness would sink deep into his or her cultivation, and their entire being would be fixated ¨C one would no longer be able to experience any changes in the outside world and, would only wake when it was time.

    The soul master¡¯s soul power would be circting automatically during deep meditation, and at a speed that was much faster than during normal meditation. At the same time, the soul master would experience a higher level of absorption and perception during deep meditation. Many things that were typically perplexing or difficult to fathom would be a lot more transparent and understandable during deep meditation.

    Any soul master would wish that he or she could enter deep meditation during cultivation, especially when they were breaking through a bottleneck. If the soul master was lucky enough to encounter deep meditation, he or she would experience a sess rate of higher than eighty percent.

    Because of the very reason that deep meditation epassed a profound level ofprehension and cultivation, soul masters in deep meditation were most afraid of being interrupted. They ran the risk of going insane if they were interrupted, and it could even be reflected in real and severe bodily harm.

    It was easy to differentiate between normal and deep meditation. There was no change in physical state or appearance during normal cultivation, as soul power was only circting inside the soul master¡¯s body. There would only be a slight external aura or release when there was a special or esoteric technique in y, or if the soul master was breaking through a bottleneck ¨C for instance, when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were cultivating with Haodong power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body would radiating with golden light under the effects of the Golden Light Left Arm Bone.

    Due to the need for personal protection, the soul master¡¯s soul power would be automatically released to protect himself or herself during deep cultivation, and mask his or her aura at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao was currently in this exact state. There wereyers of white light shimmering outside his body, as if his entire body were a jewel that sparkled with in rays of light.

    It was natural for other people to develop some sense of envy or jealousy when they witnessed others in deep meditation. However, Wang Dong was different, and he only felt d for Huo Yuhao. He made a few mischievous expressions before he took a chair, discreetly departed the room and took his ce outside to protect his friend and prevent Huo Yuhao from being affected by anybody from Shrek who came around looking for him.

    Huo Yuhao felt a wave of warmth course through his body the moment he woke up from his deep meditation. The green colors in his body had vanishedpletely, and his soul power was vastly improved. He had just reached Rank 28, but he was now clear of a third of his journey into Rank 29. Besides cultivating with Haodong power in his daily activities, this episode of deep meditation proved to be of great help.

    His speed of cultivation during deep cultivation was higher than when he channeled Haodong power with Wang Dong. However, this was only a state that came around solely by chance.

    Huo Yuhao leapt down from the bed, and he felt light as a feather. There was an inexplicable feeling offort, as if his entire body was a lot lighter than before ¨C this was a feeling that couldn¡¯t even be fully described with the word ¡°beautiful¡±.

    Everything seemed to be different, and his self-confidence returned ¨C was he finally getting closer to greatness?

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly together as he nced outward. It looked like it was still midday, but he felt as he if he had been renewed, and the mes relit inside him.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Wang Dong returned? He¡¯s taking too long to bathe,¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel that he had taken a long time to cultivate, and distinctly remembered that they had been cultivating together in the morning before he took back the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. Afterwards, Wang Dong went ahead to take a shower while he continued to cultivate ¨C he should be back by now!

    He walked out as these thoughts turned in his head. The moment he pulled the door toward him, he felt a pushing forceing from the other side.

    Huo Yuhao was caught off-guard, and subconsciously reacted as he leapt backwards and quickly released his martial soul ¨C but what came next left his mouth agape.

    ¡°Bam-¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡±

    Wang Dong fell backwards along with his chair, and Huo Yuhao immediately hurried forward to help him up. ¡°What are you doing? Why are you waiting outside? Why didn¡¯t youe in?¡±

    Wang Dong had been sitting outside this whole time, and his body had been leaning against the door. He was already starting to doze off, and when the door opened, Wang Dong fell backwards onto the ground with his chair.

    Wang Dong was furious. ¡°You¡¯re terribly ungrateful! I was protecting you, and all you do when you wake up is let me fall back onto the ground. Are you going to take care of me if I cripple myself because of this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Have I not been taking care of you in the dorm? When have you cleaned up the dorm? Or swept the floor? Or mopped the floor? When have you even done anything at all? Even your wardrobe is cleaned by me. You¡¯re like a big boss figure every day.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Wang Dong wanted to retort, but he couldn¡¯t find a suitable argument to make. He scowled and said, ¡°Stop with your loud rhetoric and your facious arguments. I¡¯ll let you off the hook this time. You seemed to be having a good time with all that deep meditation, while my ass was about to break into several pieces.¡±

    Huo Yuhao reached out and pressed against Wang Dong¡¯s butt cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s all good. Let me massage you.¡±

    Wang Dong was still young, but his little butt cheeks were firm and springy. Huo Yuhao squeezed a few times, and immediately realized that the feeling in his hands was pretty good.

    Huo Yuhao was quick. Before he even finished his sentence, his hands were already in action, and Wang Dong¡¯s entire body froze. He even felt a little immobilized.

    Huo Yuhao squeezed a few more times, but faintly realized that something was amiss. He nced at Wang Dong out of the corners of his eyes ¨C Wang Dong was ring at him, and his face was ck while his eyes were spitting mes.

    ¡°Does it feel good?¡± A chilly voice floated out from between the gaps in his teeth.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not so bad.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was almost subconscious.

    ¡°Go to hell.¡± Wang Dong tossed his head and raised his left leg for a high kick that was aimed straight at Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead.

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head backwards hurriedly and dodged his kick. However, Wang Dong¡¯s body was extremely nimble, and his right foot, which was supporting his body, rotated like a fulcrum, and his left foot returned once again ¨C and swept across Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at once.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to see with his eyes as he swung his body backwards and avoided Wang Dong¡¯s kick once more while his entire body became like a nk.

    Wang Dong¡¯s sweeping left leg paused in the air and mmed downwards at Huo Yuhao¡¯s abdomen. Huo Yuhao spun around in midair as he dragged his right leg upwards and pressed his kneecap against the calf of Wang Dong¡¯s left leg to stop its movement. At the same time, his right leg sprung up and back down again and wrapped around Wang Dong¡¯s right leg like a whip. He pushed against the ground with both hands and pulled backwards ¨C instantly, both of them fell down together with their legs still intertwined.

    It was clear that Wang Dong had never expected Huo Yuhao to be so adaptable. He watched Huo Yuhao with an astonished look and said, ¡°When did you be so agile and flexible?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been flexible,¡± Huo Yuhao answered proudly, ¡°and a gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists.¡±

 Chapter 107: The Semifinals Lineup!

    Huo Yuhao, utilizing the strength in his legs, quickly stood up from the ground, then reached out and grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s ankles.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body bent forwards as he pointed his downwards-facing legs forwards in order to wrap them around Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck and trap his head between his legs.

    Huo Yuhao immediately retracted both of his arms to beside his neck, then reached out and grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s ankled again.

    ¡°Your arms can¡¯t twist my thighs.¡± Wang Dong snorted. He didn¡¯t dodge Huo Yuhao¡¯s strike, instead leaning his upper body backwards and supporting his body with both hands on the floor. At the same time, he tried to encircle Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck with renewed vigor.

    However, Huo Yuhao had an iron grip on Wang Dong¡¯s ankles; no matter how much Wang Dong struggled, he couldn¡¯t move his legs forwards even an inch.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re still too weak. You call these matchstick-thin legs thighs?¡±

    Wang Dong continued to exert his strength in disbelief, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s grip remained firm. Huo Yuhao was even slowly prying Wang Dong¡¯s legs apart.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You only have two soul rings, how could you be stronger than me?¡± Wang Dong said, unconvinced.

    Huo Yuhaoughed again. ¡°I have a soul bone.¡±

    ¡°So do I!¡± Wang Dong rebutted, refusing to yield to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao became speechless when he heard this, and thought about telling Wang Dong about the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s trunk bones. He¡¯d also felt his strength increase palpably once he¡¯d absorbed the Life Gold energy. If it hadn¡¯t been for that, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist Wang Dong¡¯s legs so easily.

    Don¡¯t think that Wang Dong, who possessed the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, was weak. On the contrary, his abilities were much greater than his slender frame suggested, due to his second martial soul being one of the strongest strength type martial souls on the continent, which once belonged to the continent¡¯s first hereditary martial soul of the sect¡ªHao Tianchui!

    To think that Huo Yuhao could defeat Wang Dong when he had not cultivated as much power as Wang Dong, it must have been a victory purely in terms of an increase in his physical body. Of course, neither of them had used their soul power either.

    Wang Dong had already used all his strength, yet he still wasn¡¯t able to mp his legs around Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck. Instead, his legs were being pulled further and further apart, causing the both of them to look ratherical. One was standing there with his hands apart beside his head, while the other was doing a handstand with his legs apart. Furthermore, half of Wang Dong¡¯s body was outside of their room.

    ¡°Wow, what¡¯re you guys doing? Do you need to be so affectionate?¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s voice could be heard as he, Bei Bei, and Ma Xiaotao emerged from the room. All of them could tell with one look that Wang Dong¡¯s body was the one sticking out of the room.

    Wang Dong was both ashamed and annoyed as he said, ¡°Let go of me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally let go, then immediately took a few steps backwards as Wang Dong flipped backwards and stood upright, ring at Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong then turned to face Xu Sanshi and the rest and said, ¡°We¡¯re just practising our fusion skills, is there anything wrong with that?¡±

    He definitely couldn¡¯t say that they were fighting because Huo Yuhao had touched his butt.

    Huo Yuhao touched his nose with a smile.

    Ma Xiaotao burst outughing, then said, ¡°Go on, young people should be lively.¡±

    Wang Dong humphed, then said, ¡°You aren¡¯t so old yourself, Ms. Tao!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao replied, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. Teacher Wang has called for a pre-battle meeting. We¡¯ll have topete tomorrow, so we need to make our final preparations now. ¡± After being lectured by Wang Yan the other day, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s temper was much more restrained. She had be less of a maniac, and was acting more calm; she was finally showing some semnce of a team leader¡¯s qualities.

    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± Huo Yuhao gasped, surprised. ¡°You must mean the day after. We justpeted yesterday, so the other teams should still bepeting in the quarter-finals today. We should get a day¡¯s rest after the end of thepetition, right? Ms Tao, you must have remembered the dates wrongly.¡±

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°Ms Tao didn¡¯t make a mistake, it¡¯s you who got confused. You were in deep meditation for an entire day and night, and I¡¯m dead tired from trying to protect you, yet you still bullied me.¡±

    ¡°Er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect that a day and a night had already passed. In light of this revtion, he noticed the dark bags under Wang Dong¡¯s eyes and felt deeply touched.

    Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs up, then said, ¡°My Little Junior is amazing. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Senior, you¡¯re being biased. I¡¯m obviously the youngest one; shouldn¡¯t you be calling me your Junior?¡±

    Bei Bei gave him a strange look and said, ¡°Really? Are you certain that you want to be my Little Junior?¡±

    Wang Dong felt rather sheepish after getting stared at like that, so he stuck out his tongue and said, ¡°Who cares, let¡¯s go.¡± He then rushed out of the meeting room before the others.

    Huo Yuhao followed, rather confused as he asked, ¡°Big Senior, what¡¯s gotten into him? Why¡¯d he just let it go?¡±

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t ask so many questions, it¡¯s fine like that for now. Let¡¯s go, we have a meeting to attend. Tomorrow¡¯spetition is no joke.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still in shock about how he¡¯d managed to stay in deep meditation for a full day and night. Previously, he thought that he had only mediated for a very short while¡ªonly a few minutes. Now, he realized first-hand how amazing the results of deep meditation were. Besides, it was also a great way to evade monotonous training. No wonder every soul master yearned for such an opportunity.

    As these thoughts ran through his mind, Huo Yuhao followed the others into the meeting room.

    Wang Yan was clearly the first to reach the room, and had been waiting for everyone. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he said, in a deep voice, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin the meeting.¡±

    ¡°Now that the quarter-finals have finished, the semifinals will start tomorrow. We will undoubtedly be in the first match. Another round will take ce tomorrow. After the semifinals, there will be 3 days till the final.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, who¡¯s our opponent in the semi-finals?¡± Xiao Xiao asked curiously.

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°I¡¯m still unsure. For fairness¡¯ sake, the semi-finals pairings are to be decided through lot drawings. As the reigning champions of the tournament, we¡¯ll definitelypete tomorrow. Thus, we can¡¯t make any specific preparations to target our opponent. Our only option is to consider everyone in our preparations. Even though this is a drawback, all of our opponents have to face the same situation as us. They¡¯re also not sure whether or not they¡¯ll meet us.¡±

    ¡°The remaining 4 teams are us, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Star Luo National Academy, and the Imperial Mystical Academy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fair to say that the other 3 academies are all old rivals of our academy. They¡¯re all very powerful, with our strongest rival undoubtedly being the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Even if we don¡¯t meet them in the semifinals, we¡¯ll meet them in the finals. Thus, we need to aim our strategies at them.¡±

    ¡°Let me brief you all on these 3 teams, as well as what we¡¯ll have to take notice of when wepete, and the specific strategies against them.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is definitely our strongest opponent out of these 3 teams. Their team leader, Ma Rulong, hasn¡¯t appeared yet. However, based on previous tournaments, Ma Rulong should be a soul emperor. Luckily, he¡¯s the only soul emperor from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    ¡°Of the 14 people in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s official and preparatory teams, only Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen haven¡¯tpeted yet. Both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen are from the preparatory team. For reference, Meng Hongchen is that youngdy that Wang Dong tried to pick up back then.¡± Wang Yan couldn¡¯t help but grin and look at Wang Dong as he said this.

    Wang Dong did not seem to take this awkwardly at all.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°The rest of their official team are all soul kings, but only 2 of them are above Rank 55. The rest of them are below Rank 55 but above Rank 50. They¡¯ve also all inherited martial souls with some useful characteristics to soul engineers, that not ones that are too outstanding. They¡¯re main strongpoint is their soul tools. As for the 5 preparatory team members who¡¯ve alreadypeted, 2 are soul ancestors and 3 are soul elders. However, we shouldn¡¯t see these preparatory team members at all.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy isn¡¯t our strongest rival because they have nurtured students that can match us, but due to the countless changes in their soul tools. Without a doubt, they must have many soul tools that they haven¡¯t used in this tournament, and they have kept these soul tools to use them against us. This has always been the case in previous tournaments. Over these past few decades, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools have been changing at a faster rate, and are bing increasingly difficult to handle. That¡¯s why our strategies have to be able to adapt against them. In the team round, we¡¯ll likely be at a disadvantage because of the group advantage of their soul tools. But in the individual round or the 2-2-3 fight, we won¡¯t be at a disadvantage. We¡¯ll have our chance their.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, are there any more changes in the rules for the finals?¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°A team round will be organized, along with an individual round and a 2-2-3 fight. Furthermore, these 3petition segments will bepleted in one go after both teams have chosen all 7peting members. There will be no intermission. The eventual champion will be the one that wins 2 out of the 3 segments.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned when he heard his words. It wasn¡¯t easy to be the champion of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament!

    Wang Yan said, ¡°However, the Imperial Mystical Academy from the Heavenly Soul Empire is also our rival. Only us, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and the Imperial Mystical Academy have soul emperors amongst everyone in the tournament. The Imperial Mystical Academy is the royal academy of the Heavenly Soul Empire. All the royal members of the empire will enter the academy to learn. Their lineup for this tournament is very strong: 1 soul emperor and 6 soul kings. However, soul masters are their main force. Their soul engineers will provide support to their soul masters. Among their 7 official team members, 2 of their soul kings are soul engineers. From my observations, they shouldn¡¯t even be ss 5 soul engineers, and are instead most likely ss 4 like He Caitou.¡±

    ¡°Ourst opponent is the Star Luo National Academy from the Star Luo Empire. Among these 3 rivals, the Star Luo National Academy is the weakest. But this doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that they are the easiest to deal with. This is the Star Luo Empire, their home turf. Furthermore, the overall power of the Star Luo National Academy isn¡¯t that weak either. Although they don¡¯t have a soul emperor to hold down the fort, they still have up to 6 soul kings. Things have gone smoothly for them so far, or at least, they¡¯re finding it smoother than us.¡±

    ¡°Thest 2 rounds will be very tedious for us. Even though we have two soul emperors¡ªXiaotao and Yueheng¡ªour rivals still possess a greater overall strength in numbers. Their overall abilities aren¡¯t inferior to ours. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Imperial Mystical Academy are even somewhat superior to us in terms of overall abilities. The only we¡¯ll be champions is by giving it our all. It¡¯s like the first time we faced Justsky Academy.¡±

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t sound rxed at all. Everyone from Shrek Academy also felt heavy in their hearts.

    Indeed! Even though they had two soul emperors and Ling Luochen, who was a control-type soul king, their preparatory team members were still much weaker than their rivals.

    Among their 4 soul ancestors, Xu Sanshi¡¯s soul power was only Rank 47. The rest were even worse. As for thest 3, Wang Dong was only a soul elder, Xiao Xiao had barely be a soul elder, and Huo Yuhao was only a soul grandmaster. While they all had twin martial souls, their cultivations were still very weak! How much could they truly contribute in the top-ranked teampetition of the tournament?

    ording to Wang Yan¡¯s arrangements in the previous round, it was more likely that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong wouldn¡¯t participate in the team battle. Even if the two of them were sent out together, it would still pull Shrek Academy¡¯s overall power down. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill was very practical, and the Golden Road was a rather decent crowd-control skill, could their powers be fully unleashed against tough opponents? This was also under the circumstance that their opponents were entirely unaware of their capabilities.

    Wang Yan swept his gaze from left to right. He naturally realized that not everyone was fully confident. He gently said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to be the champions ever since the day we came to Star Luo City, as we¡¯re not champion material. I¡¯m already extremely satisfied that we¡¯ve made it this far. All of your hard work is clear for everyone to see. All of you have already preserved Shrek¡¯s glory, thus I hope that all of you won¡¯t be pressured in the uingpetition. Whatever the result, I will ask for all of you to receive merits when we return.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s words sounded normal to Huo Yuhao and the rest of the preparatory team members, as they had indeed sacrificed quite a lot. However, his words sounded a bit piercing to Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen.

    As official team members, they faced a worse predicament than the preparatory team members in this tournament. Even though Wang Yan¡¯s words had pricked them, they didn¡¯t know how to reply.

    Wang Yan seemed rxed as he spoke; it was as if he didn¡¯t notice the burning radiance in Ma Xiaotao and the other two¡¯s eyes. ¡°Our mission has already beenpleted. I shall describe our opponents now. We¡¯ll analyze the capabilities of each team member before deciding our strategies. We¡¯ll adjust whopetes ordingly.¡±

    This prepetition meeting went on for nearly 6 hours, all the way from lunch through dinner until the sun set.

    Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t the only anxious one. The other 3 were also anxious. The overall victor of the tournament was about to be decided. This wasn¡¯t only a battle of glory between these 4 top-ranked academies, but was also the most crucial battle for thepeting team members.

    It must be known that the members of the top teams would receive the most distinguished treatment no matter which power they joined. If they were to assume positions in an empire, they would be conferred titles, and this glory would apany them throughout their entire lives! It was fair to say that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had be a tform for the various empires in the continent to pick and fight for the best talents.

    If not for the prestigious status that Shrek Academy held, many powers, families, and even sects would have poached their students already.

    Huo Yuhao felt that his body was extremely stiff as he walked out of the meeting room. Spending the entire afternoon memorizing the capabilities and strategies of his opponents was indeed very dull and boring. He would rather run in metal clothing than do this.

    After stretching hiszy body, Huo Yuhao felt much better. As his blood began to circte more smoothly throughout his body, the fatigue he¡¯d felt earlier disappeared. The prosperous life power in his body seemed to have been awakened by this simple action.

    ¡°Junior brother, go and get some food.¡± Bei Bei patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao answered hurriedly.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, do you think we can be the champions in the end?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly. While Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng appeared to be the most powerful among them, Huo Yuhao was the most convinced by his gentle-looking and refined, yet intelligent and approachable eldest senior brother.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°What? Are you unconfident?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not confident. I just think that our opponents are extremely strong now that I¡¯ve heard Teacher Wang Yan¡¯s analysis!¡±

    Bei Beiughed. ¡°That¡¯s right, our opponents are very strong. Their teams are almost entirely made up of at least soul kings. But I¡¯m confident that we¡¯ll be the champions in the end.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he looked at him.

    Bei Bei retracted his smile a little and said gently, ¡°Confidence stems from one¡¯s own abilities. Shrek Academy was able to be the best academy on the continent because the academy has never once been hasty. Every single person that was sent to participate in this tournament has achieved our skills through our own hard work. That¡¯s why Shrek Academy¡¯s soul elders and soul ancestors are different from those of other academies. Our soul kings are even more different. At the soul emperor level, the gap is evenrger. Maybe our opponents can use soul tools or some strategies and tactics to close this gap, but if our true abilities can be sparked by our fighting will, and if we can light the fire of glory for Shrek, we¡¯ll win for sure.¡±

    Everyone was walking out of the meeting room sequentially when Bei Bei said this, and as he didn¡¯t lower his voice, they all heard what he¡¯d said.

    Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen¡¯s expressions changed. The look in their eyes as they watched Bei Bei also changed slightly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked curiously, ¡°Eldest senior brother, what do you mean by destructive enthusiasm?¡±

    Bei Bei chuckled and replied, ¡°Do you think there are really so many talents in the world that are able to be a soul king before they¡¯re 20 years old? Our Shrek Academy nurtures such students through a teaching model that has been built up over tens of thousands of years, as well as the extremely hard work of the talented students. Perhaps other academies can nurture a few such students, but have you ever wondered how those soul engineers with ordinary martial souls are able to do it?¡±

    ¡°I dare say that those from Shrek Academy will all have the ability to be a Titled Douluo so long as they¡¯re able to survive in the outside world. However, it¡¯s much less likely for people from other academies who¡¯vepeted against them in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. That¡¯s because a lot of the increase in their powers isn¡¯t attributed to their own hard work.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever realized that the most outstanding teams alle from the royal families of various empires, or are the best academies of the different empires? I¡¯m sure that at least half of those who arepeting used different types of pills and treasures to increase their cultivation. Especially the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy from the Sun Moon Empire, which is very wealthy! You¡¯ve also seen the soul tools from the Illustrious Virtue Hall before.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately understood. ¡°So their powers were enhanced through medicine.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s undeniable that several medicines are beneficial to soul masters. However, moderation is key. A lot of medicines possess poisonousponents too. Apart from a select few medicines that can solidify one¡¯s foundations, it¡¯s best to consume medicine that increases one¡¯s soul power as little as possible. Ask Senior Ma and Senior Dai; they¡¯ll tell you that Shrek Academy has banned our students from consuming such medicine. That¡¯s because this form of cultivation method has no future. If one over-consumes these medicines, even by just a little bit, it can make it so that one will never be able to be a Titled Douluo.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Junior Bei Bei, you know quite a bit. How do you know so much about the inner courtyard even though you¡¯re from the outer courtyard?¡±

    Bei Bei turned around and smiled at Ma Xiaotao, ¡°Senior, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was stunned for a moment. ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell me? Tell me.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°Saying it would offend someone.¡±

    Everyone knew Ma Xiaotao¡¯s temper. She pped her chest and said, ¡°So what if you offend someone? I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    An ufortable expression appeared on Bei Bei¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Alright, Sister Xiaotao. You must live up to your side of the bargain and protect me!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was impatient and said, ¡°Why are you dilly-dallying like a woman? Quickly, just say it!¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and revealed a mouthful of white teeth as he said, ¡°You might have never eaten pork before, but you¡¯ve surely seen a pig run.¡±

    The moment he said that, he violently pulled the door next to him open. Whoosh! He immediately dashed inside. It appeared that, unknowingly, he¡¯d already arrived outside of his own room.

    Ma Xiaotao was stunned when she heard this. She quickly reacted and cursed, ¡°The nerve of you, Bei Bei! You dare to call me a pig.¡± With that, she attempted to rush into Bei Bei¡¯s room.

    Ling Luochen quickly pulled her back as she tried to stifle augh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t run. If you run, you¡¯ll have fallen for his ploy. Remember, he did talk about a running pig.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao looked at her, and a chortle suddenly escaped her mouth. She couldn¡¯t help butugh too.

    After this bout of tomfoolery, the somber atmosphere from the meeting before was greatly lightened.

    As Wang Yan stood in the doorway of the conference room, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration after seeing what had just happened. Bei Bei indeed possessed extraordinary leadership capabilities! As for the preparatory team, they appeared to be getting better and better.

    Five yearster, when the children from the preparatory team grew up, they¡¯d probably be the most powerful team Shrek Academy had had in a long while. They would probably be the most powerful Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters in a long while too.

    ¡°Are you going to train tonight or not?¡± Wang Dong nudged Huo Yuhao with his shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Of course we have to train. Last-minute training has its uses too. You¡¯ll see the results of my deep meditation once you¡¯ve finished eating.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s mouth twitched involuntarily as he said, ¡°You¡¯ve only cultivated for a single day. Do you expect some sort of earth-shattering change?¡±

    Yet, reality proved that he had experienced an earth-shattering change.

    After dinner, the two of them began to cultivate together using their Haodong Power. However, Wang Dong opened his eyes and stopped his cultivation after only a single revolution.

    ¡°How¡­ how can this possible?¡± Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao in shock.

    Huo Yuhao beamed as he opened his eyes and said, ¡°How could it not be possible?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Your cirction speed of the Haodong Power has doubled.!It¡¯s even faster than me, a Soul Elder. My god! What did you do? If not for the fact that I¡¯ve been following you all this time, I would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d taken some sort of precious elixir.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t eat anything. But you¡¯d still be shocked if I told you.¡±

    Actually, right after the two of them linked arms to cultivate, their Haodong Power circted much faster after it entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Its speed had indeed almost doubled. It appeared to be filled with a vibrant life force when it re-entered Wang Dong¡¯s body. After their soul power hadpleted a full revolution, Wang Dong¡¯s body became much morefortable and rxed. His energy rose in all aspects, and the effects of his cultivation were greatly enhanced too. While he didn¡¯t know it was from the vast life energy that the remnants of the Life Gold had left in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he¡¯d still felt an obvious change!

    Wang Dong looked suspiciously at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Are the effects of deep meditation really so good? Next time, I¡¯ll calm myself down too, and try to achieve it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Come on, let¡¯s start cultivating. Deep meditation is the best way to restore one¡¯s energy. I feel that my soul power has undergone a special kind of change. Let¡¯s not waste this opportunity; it will benefit you too.¡±

    While the vast life energy from the Life Gold would continue to congregate inside of his body, it would gradually be absorbed by his body. It wouldn¡¯t attach itself to his soul power for long, otherwise it would be draining on his soul power. Huo Yuhao wanted Wang Dong to train with him right now so that he could pass some of the life energy to him while he still had it. In doing so, they could share in its benefits.

    The two of them started to use their Haodong Power once more. This night could be said to be their most productive joint cultivation session.

    After that night, more than half of the vast life energy in Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was absorbed by Wang Dong. The finished cultivating at dawn, and as Huo Yuhao cultivated his Purple Demons Eyes at the window, Wang Dong¡¯s entire frame appeared to be bursting with energy. His skin shone with light, and his eyes were much brighter. His handsome face was reddish, and was indescribably adorable. He appeared well-rested and energetic. After an entire night of cultivation, their cultivation speed had more than tripled. Furthermore, after they¡¯d connected and cultivated that vast energy, they were even more in-sync with each other. It was as if they were a single person.

    Now that it was dawn, it would be time for the semifinals once they¡¯d brushed up and eaten breakfast!

    The team from Shrek Academy, d in ink-green attire, was met with thunderous apuse when they appeared in Star Luo za.

    There had been more than a hundred teams at the start of thepetition, but there were now only four teams left vying for the top spot. Thepetition had taken over a month at this point, during which Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao had all experienced breakthroughs in terms of their soul power.

    Of the four remaining teams, every single one of them had at least two major fights left. The decisive moment hade, and they would be battling with all their strength.

    After some renovations, there were now only four zones left in the participants¡¯ resting area. Every single team was spread quite a distance from each other.

    There was still an hour until themencement of thepetition, but all four squads were already present.

    asionally, they would cross gazes. When that happened, sparks appeared to fly from their eyes. A powerful battling aura could be felt, and the atmosphere in the resting area became harsh and tense, some traces of killing intent even present.

    The sun slowly rose through the sky, the temperature today not bad. As sunlight cascaded over the vast Star Luo za, it appeared to be cloaked with ayer of light gold. However, in the eyes of the four teams, it wasn¡¯t just sunlight, but the honor of a victory that they had to stake their all for.

    The first day of the semifinals would beposed of the team battles.

    What no one expected was to see a red carpet, about ten meters wide, stretching from the gates of the pce all the way to the front of the arena. Tten minutes before the teams were to draw lots, the gates of the pce swung open and the Star Luo Emperor, surrounded by his guards, strode out from it and headed towards the arena.

    ¡°Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!¡± Every single soldier who was responsible for maintaining order cheered and waved their weapons in the air.

    When the crowd noticed the appearance of the emperor, they burst into cheers.

    The four teams stood up as well, and gazed at the emperor with respect.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that there were four old men next to the Star Luo Emperor. They¡¯d formed a square around the emperor. Behind them, there were no more than 20 guards. Hence, it didn¡¯t appear to be overkill.

    However, every single person there clearly knew that the squad of guards there was nothing to scoff at. Those four old men were likely the Titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire.

    Ten thousand years ago, after the Martial Soul Hall¡ªwhich had possessed the most powerful soul masters on the continent¡ªhad disintegrated, the many powerful soul masters within had pledged their allegiance to various states. As soul masters began to understand more about their martial souls, more and more Titled Douluo started to appear. However, some of them had relied on medicine to achieve their breakthroughs. Hence, they wereparatively weaker.

    Of course, even if there were more Titled Douluo than ten thousand years ago, they were still scarce. Furthermore, different Titled Douluo had different martial souls, different ways of cultivation, different soul rings, different soul bones, and different amounts of soul bones. Thus, their individual powers varied greatly.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t find the person who¡¯d threatened them among the four Titled Douluo below.

    The 108 soul masters responsible for security all bowed to the emperor. However, they didn¡¯t kneel.

    ording to the rules of the Star Luo Empire, soul masters that had more than four rings and were under the employ of the empire didn¡¯t have to kneel to the emperor.

    The emperor ascended the arena under the protection of the four Titled Douluo. He then faced the Star Luo za, smiled, and said, ¡°Please rise my subjects.¡±

    ¡°Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!¡±

    Cheers erupted from all sides of the Star Luo za. Evidently, the emperor was well-loved by his subjects.

    The Star Luo Emperor didn¡¯t try to stop their cheers. Instead, his gaze was calm, and he had a smile on his face as he looked at his subjects from afar. Once the za had quietened down, he smiled and said, ¡°The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is a major event for the Douluo Continent that takes ce once every five years. It¡¯s an honor for us to host thepetition this time. I¡¯d like to thank these representatives from over a hundred schools. Thanks to them, we¡¯ve been able to witness many exciting rounds, as well as the ever-changing developments among the soul masters and soul engineers of the continent. This pleases both me and the general popce.¡±

    ¡°The semifinals willmence in a moment. In turn, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament will soone to an end. There will be no more lot drawing after the top four teams draw their lots, thus I will personally supervise the lot drawing this time. I hope that Shrek Academy, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Imperial Profound Academy, and our own Star Luo National Academy will put on a grand, exciting show for all of us.¡±

    ¡°I know that everyone is dying to watch the show. I¡¯m very excited too. Without further ado, let the drawingmence. I wish to partake in the joy with my people, and I hope that our Star Luo Empire will prosper for generations toe.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor¡¯s words were majestic, humorous, and not too long. The moment he finished, the crowd began to cheer once more.

    Among the four old men who¡¯d gone up with him, the front-left one took two steps forward as he faced the resting area and said in a low voice, ¡°Will the team leaders of the four teamse up to the stage now and draw lots.¡±

    A hard-to-describe powerful energy could be felt from the body of this old man. The power that this energy held made everyone in the Star Luo za feel as if the sky had darkened.

 Chapter 108: The Princess

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled faintly and said, ¡°In order to ensure the safety of the semi-finalists and the finalists, I have decided that the Empire¡¯s Protector Douluo will be the judges for the subsequent rounds, and be hosts to the contest. Senior Huang Jinxu shall be the host for today¡¯s balloting and the first round. His title is the Heavenfiend Lonestar.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s introduction stirred up a wave of apuse from the citizens in the audience. However, the participating teams were all slightly taken aback.

    Wang Yan was surprised and remarked, ¡°Huang Jinxu, the Heavenfiend Douluo. I thought he was long dead ¨C who knew that he joined the Star Luo Empire instead.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was already walking up to the stage. Huo Yuhao whispered to Bei Bei beside him, ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s the deal with this Heavenfiend Douluo? Is he very powerful?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded his head without hesitation and said, ¡°Yes, very powerful. The Star Luo Empire is trying to assert their dominance and unt their national strength. The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s martial soul is extremely special ¨C he uses the stars in the skies above as his own martial soul. Legend has it that there was a star that was especially bright on the day he was born. His martial soul was automatically awakened after his birth. On the same night, his mother died from losing too much blood, and his father passed away when he was eight years old. After this, his friends also died one by one. It waster discovered that his martial soul was the Heavenfiend Lonestar that targeted his family and friends. Because of this, he is destined to be alone for the rest of his life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth hung open in shock. ¡°There can be martial souls like this?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°Soul masters can have any kind of martial soul; what isn¡¯t possible? This elder¡¯s Heavenfiend Lonestar martial soul caused him to lose his family, but at the same time, it gave him great power. It¡¯s been imed that he cultivated without a master, and that everything he knows is self-taught. He has continued his journey alone over the years, and eventually attained the title of Heavenfiend. He¡¯s around sixty years old this year, and he is around Rank 91 or 92. However, it¡¯s been said that star power of the Heavenfiend Lonestar enables him to hold his own against a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo.¡±

    ¡°He has had to rely on himself for everything, since he lost all his family and friends at a very young age. Perhaps this exins why the Heavenfiend Douluo is a very capricious person with a fickle nature, bing extremely cruel and brutal at times. However, rumor has it that he picked a fight with several powerful sects some time ago, and they chased him down like a dog.¡±

    Just as Bei Bei was introducing the Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s background to Huo Yuhao, the respective team leaders of the final four teams arrived on stage.

    Ma Xiaotao represented Shrek Academy, while Ma Rulong represented the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. The team leader of the Imperial Mystical Academy was a youth with broad shoulders and an average build; he had a calm disposition, and looked as firm as a rock. The representative from the Star Luo National Academy was a young girl. A female team leader was a rare sight. Huo Yuhao and the others from Shrek Academy had seen this girl before ¨C she was the chief auctioneer from the Star Luo Auction, Princess Jiu Jiu.

    It wasn¡¯t just thepany from Shrek Academy who were astonished. The participants from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were equally surprised as their eyes widened ¨C they had also been there during the top-ranked auction!

    The Star Luo National Academy¡¯s uniform was a pale-yellow warrior robe. The princess was a lot differentpared to her dignified and elegant look during the auction that day. Donning a warrior robe changed her aura, and now she seemed to emanate a rippling heroic spirit. Her flowing blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore a faint smile on her pretty face. The yellow warrior robe was tailored to her body, and it brought out the distinct features of her perfect and alluring figure.

    Even though Ma Xiaotao¡¯s aura wasn¡¯t inferior to hers- in fact, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s figure was even slightly better- there was a still a feeling that she was outdone by this princess on the whole.

    Ma Rulong only nced at the princess once, and his eyes betrayed a tinge of astonishment before he turned his gaze elsewhere. The team leader from Imperial Mystical Academy stared at Jiu Jiu for a long time before he shifted his eyes away.

    Wang Yan furrowed his brows as he watched the princess on stage. She hadn¡¯t appeared in the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s lineup before today. However, ording to what he knew, the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s reserve team had a single vacancy.

    Whether it was him or the other three academies, nobody knew anything regarding this princess.

    Suddenly, Wang Yan¡¯s eyes flickered as a trace of bewilderment flowed out from within. ¡°I remember now. Yueheng, the Star Luo royal family¡¯s martial souls should be¡­¡±

    Dai Yueheng arrived next to Wang Yan and nodded. ¡°Your guess is correct, Teacher Wang. My father has evaluated the emperor¡¯s martial soul before, but he only said a few words ¨C enigmatic and impossible to predict. My father also said that the emperor is the most talented and prodigious individual in the past three hundred years. However, I have never heard of the princess¡­¡±

    Wang Yan took a deep breath and said, ¡°Let¡¯s watch the lots first.¡±

    The four representatives from the final four academies were already on stage, and the lot drawing had begun.

    The four team leaders arrived before the Star Luo Emperor under the watchful eyes of four Titled Douluos. The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet such outstanding youths such as yourselves. Before thepetition begins, I¡¯d like to remind all of you that friendship takes priority over anything. I hope you can finish thepetition with that in mind. I will toss four inscribed balls after this, and you guys will vie for them at the same time. Are you ready?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao narrowed her eyes slightly as she stole a nce at Princess Jiu Jiu beside her. ¡°Ready.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu smiled and nodded her head as Ma Rulong and the Imperial Mystical Academy¡¯s team leader tilted their heads in response as well.

    ¡°Pay attention.¡± The Star Luo Emperor squinted his eyes. Immediately after ¨C and nobody saw how he did it ¨C the four golden balls were tossed into the air at the same time.

    Ma Xiaotao was already lying in wait. She shot into the air the moment the Star Luo Emperor made his move. Releasing her martial soul and using soul skills wouldn¡¯t affect her speed at such a short distance. Her choice was the same as Ma Rulong and Imperial Mystical Academy¡¯s team leader, as all of them leapt into the air towards the four golden balls in the sky as fast as they could.

    Princess Jiu Jiu was the only one that didn¡¯t move an inch ¨C she just stood there with a grin on her face.

    Ma Xiaotao lived up to her status as Shrek Academy¡¯s team leader. One shouldn¡¯t underestimate her just because she was a girl¨C her enchanting figure was like a spring as she shot up into the air. She caught the tiny ball in an instant before she drifted back down. As she was descending, the Imperial Mystical Academy¡¯s team leader and Ma Rulong caught theirs respectively, while Princess Jiu Jiu casually reached out to catch thest remaining golden ball as it dropped down.

    A faint smile appeared on her face. She nced at the tiny ball in her hands. Even though she was thest one to catch the ball, she was the first to report.

    ¡°One.¡±

    Ma Rulong said, ¡°Two.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao stared straight at Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s face. ¡°One.¡±

    Even though the Imperial Mystical Academy had yet to report their number, the results of the ballot were decided. Shrek Academy would face off against the Star Luo National Academy today, while the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would go against the Imperial Mystical Academy.

    After the Star Luo Emperor personally checked the lot numbers, he announced the results to the audience. The audience roared with a mix of excitement and surprise the moment they heard their home team was up against Shrek Academy.

    On the surface, it appeared as if Ma Xiaotao drew the better number for Shrek Academy. ording to Wang Yan¡¯s analysis the previous day, the team from Star Luo National Academy was the weakest one amongst the final four teams.

    The semifinals and the finals followed the same rules as the previous elimination rounds and were carried out over two days, with both group elimination rounds and single elimination rounds. The only difference was that both rounds had to be won before they could advance. If both parties won one round each, the format would be changed to a 2-2-3 round. This meant that winning the group battle no longer gave a team any advantage.

    While the semi-finals were held throughout the course of a day with breaks in the middle, the finals¡¯ group elimination, single elimination and 2-2-3 rounds were to bepleted in one go. In the end, it wouldn¡¯t just be a battle of strength ¨C it would be a battle of attrition, endurance and determination.

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°I hope all four teams will give their best in the subsequent rounds of thepetition. The balloting has been concluded, so make your preparations. Shrek Academy and the Star Luo National Academy will start off today¡¯s group battles, and the second match will be between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Imperial Mystical Academy.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao returned to the resting area. Wang Yan was the first to step up as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Xiaotao ¨C what do you feel about the princess from the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao shook her head and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t see through her. She¡¯s veryplicated. I had hoped to gauge her mastery through her physical strength during the lot drawing, but she didn¡¯t move at all. She didn¡¯t activate any soul power either, and there was no way I could discern her abilities. Yuhao, try using Spiritual Detection.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows creased as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already tried. However, the princess seems to be carrying some sort of special item. When my Spiritual Detectionnded on her body, there was a mysteriousyer that blocked me. I couldn¡¯t detect her soul power¡¯s cirction or predict her actions. My Spiritual Detection is also affected when the gap in mastery is too great.¡±

    At this point, everybody circled around as the semi-finals were about to begin. There was a sudden and unforeseen change in circumstances with their opponents, and this wasn¡¯t good news at all for Shrek Academy. They weren¡¯t even all from the official team.

    Wang Yan¡¯s expression was solemn as he said, ¡°We will follow the original n. Don¡¯t think too much about this, and trust your own abilities. Ma Xiaotao and Yueheng will anchor the single elimination rounds. Even if Princess Jiu Jiu is a powerful Soul Emperor, we must not let our self-confidence fall. Since this is the case, winning the group battle is a must. I will announce the order of battle for the group elimination round.¡±

    ¡°Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong. The seven of you will start the battle. We can¡¯t let anything go wrong in the group battle. I have a feeling that Star Luo National Academy will have some sort of advantage in the 2-2-3 battle. If we lose the group battle, thepetition may slip out of our control.¡±

    Everybody nodded their heads as He Caitou and Jiang Nannan exchanged a look. They both saw the surprise in each other¡¯s eyes; they had assumed that they would be part of the lineup for the group battle. He Caitou¡¯s battle prowess with his soul tools was already proven in the previous rounds, while Jiang Nannan¡¯s closebat abilities were incredible as well. Even Soul Kings would find it hard to fight her if they let her get close. However, Wang Yan choosing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to fight in this crucial group battle was unexpected for everyone.

    Wang Yan stepped in front of Huo Yuhao and lowered his voice. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t fight, but the moment you make a move, you have to be confident of victory. I trust you know what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded curtly.

    Wang Yan took a deep breath as he reached out his right hand, palm face down. ¡°I¡¯ve said this before, kids. You guys have already exceeded all expectations, and fought in all the previous rounds sessfully. Whether our glory will continue today in today¡¯s battle is entirely up to you. I have done all I can as the teacher in charge. Now, I can only pray for everyone from the side of the stage. You guys will be the heroes of Shrek regardless of whether we win or lose. Do watch out for Princess Jiu Jiu¨C if I¡¯m not wrong, her martial soul should be the Starcrown.¡±

    Hand after hand was stacked on top of Wang Yan¡¯s, one after another. Ma Xiaotao was thest to extend her right hand. She nced at Wang Yan with a serious look and said, ¡°Teacher Wang Yan, I know you are trying to bolster our fighting spirit. Don¡¯t worry¨C as members of Shrek Academy, our determination to guard our academy¡¯s glory is no less than the others. Even if we have to use our lives to fuel the mes of Shrek¡¯s glory, we will never let it burn out.¡±

    ¡°To victory!¡± Everybody roared out in unison. The mes of their fighting spirits erupted in an instant.

    Compared to Shrek Academy¡¯s energetic aura, the Star Luo National Academy appeared to be a lot quieter and calmer. The participants of this round stepped up one after another. Princess Jiu Jiu, who was standing at the forefront, nced at Shrek Academy casually. The first person that she searched for wasn¡¯t Shrek¡¯s team leader, Ma Xiaotao. Instead, she was looking for Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was ncing over towards their camp at the same time, and their eyes met at that very instant. Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback as he realized, to his astonishment, that the dignified princess¡¯ eyes betrayed a provocative undertone.

    ¡°Why is she trying to provoke me? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be the one fighting her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little baffled. His eyes squinted a little as they sparkled with a green light. The two parties may have been a world apart in mastery, but that single sh of light in his eyes sent a chill up Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s spine.

    ¡°Participants from Shrek Academy, Star Luo National Academy, please step on stage.¡± The judge responsible for today¡¯s group battle was the Heavenfiend Douluo from before.

    The Star Luo Emperor had already returned to the imperial pce under the protection of the other three Titled Douluo, and was watching the stage from the top of the city wall.

    Ma Xiaotao walked in front with Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong following closely behind as both parties stepped onto thepetition stage at the same time.

    The semi-finals had yet to begin, but the sharp smell of fireworks drifted through the air as both parties eyed each other.

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s eyes changed as well. Her originally bright blue eyes began to emanate a pale golden radiance. Her gaze felt as vast as the ocean.

    On the other side, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes were like two raging mes, and the scorching aura that she let off gave her opponents an intense pressure.

    The Heavenfiend Doulou¡¯s swept his eyes across Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body, and betrayed a single trace of astonishment before his expression quickly returned to normal. His face was cold as he said, ¡°Step back. Before I announce the beginning of the contest, nobody is allowed to release their martial souls.¡±

    Both parties stepped up to their respective corners, but their eyes had never left each other since the start. While retreating, both teams¡¯ formations swiftly changed.

    Shrek Academy took up a different formation than the one they had always used. Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao took the lead as per usual, but Xu Sanshi stood behind them guarding Ling Luochen, who stood behind him. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood side by side behind Ling Luochen. Bei Bei was up at the front beside Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, establishing a three-pronged powerful attack force.

    The Star Luo National Academy also had a unique formation. Six people formed a triangle, with one person in front and two members behind them, followed by three more members standing behind them. Princess Jiu Jiu stood behind this triangle formed by these six people. The golden shes in her eyes grew stronger, as if she were the general of thepany.

    Xu Sanshi watched the princess with a grin. His eyes darted back and forth from her as a mischievous smile snuck up on his face.

    People were already familiar with the powerful effects of his Mysterious Underworld Discement. Still, being familiar didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t fall for the same trick¨C just like when Shrek Academy faced off against Justsky Academy in the previous round.

    Everybody thought that Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t use the same tactics again. However, the moment he stepped up, Xu Sanshi yed the same trick without hesitation, and forcefully swapped Ye Wuqing into his own formation.

    Ye Wuqing wasn¡¯t given a chance at all before he was trampled over. Not every participating party had an expensive disposable soul tool like the Invincible Barrier. Xu Sanshi, that indecent fellow, triggered the Mysterious Underworld Quake after swapping with his opponent to slow the others down. He had then leapt off the stage before his opponents could surround him.

    Justsky Academy didn¡¯t stand a chance without Ye Wuqing, and the remainder of the contest became a walk in the park.

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s brows creased as she watched the eager look on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face. It was clear that she was wary of soul skills that were hard to handle like the Mysterious Netherworld Discement.

    ¡°Begin.¡± Just as both parties were closely observing each other, the Heavenfiend Douluo announced the start of thepetition as a single ray of golden light shot across the center of the stage. In just a split second, the powerful Titled Douluo disappeared without a trace.

    The reactions of both parties were extremely quick, and everyone released their martial souls at the first possible instant.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection at once, and cast his gaze towards Princess Jiu Jiu. He was very curious¨C what was her martial soul, exactly? Wang Yan didn¡¯t have enough time to exin it to them in detail, and all he said was that the Princess was an auxiliary-type battle soul master.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that she¡¯s a tool soul master?¡± Huo Yuhao already had his doubts back then, but he didn¡¯t have time to think too much before he had to get on stage.

    A single ray of golden light lit up on Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s forehead. It was a golden, diamond-shaped jewel. Huo Yuhao immediately thought about his Eye of Life the moment he noticed the position of that jewel ¨C wasn¡¯t it oddly simr to the position of his Eye of Life?

    However, Princess Jiu Jiu didn¡¯t have a third eye. The golden diamond-shaped jewel started to radiate brilliant golden light the moment it appeared before proceeding to leave her forehead and drift upwards with rays of golden light encircling it. A magnificent crown glimmered above her head just like that before it descended andnded gently on her head.

    This crown seemed to have been formed by countless stars, with all the stars shimmering with a golden hue. With the diamond-shaped stone at the front of the formation, the stars swiftly retreated as eighteen rtively bigger stars on the crown flew up to form an exquisite tip.

    The Starcrown. This was Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s martial soul.

    Two yellow, two purple and single ck soul ring appeared around the princess¡¯ body¨C she was a powerful Soul King.

    The six others in front of Princess Jiu Jiu were all the same opponents that Wang Yan had previously exined to the members of Shrek Academy in detail. They released their martial souls one by one; they too were all Soul Kings.

    Surprisingly, the lineup from the Star Luo National Academy wasprised entirely of Soul Kings.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s martial soul was already unleashed. As if he was afraid of others not knowing, he roared into the sky, ¡°Mysterious Netherworld Discement!¡±

    The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle erupted with ck light ¨C and the rays of light were pointing right toward Princess Jiu Jiu.

    At this moment, the Starcrown on Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s head burst with light as well. The third ring on her body lit up as a ring pir of golden light shot up into the sky.

    The inner regions of the golden pir of light was filled with a golden-colored mist with specks of starlight spiraling up towards the sky¨C it was mystical sight. It was impossible to fathom what the effects of this soul skill were from its appearance.

    The Shrek Academy team charged forward at once. Ma Xiaotao took the lead, while Dai Yueheng and Bei Bei followed closely behind. Ling Luochen¡¯s Icy Staff was once again in her hands as she raised it high over her head. A dense and chilly mist permeated their surroundings and enveloped Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and herself. This patch of icy mist began to spread towards both ends of the arena with dazzling speed, and formed a gigantic shroud that slowly mped down on their opponents. All four of them werepletely hidden within this icy mist.

    This was Ling Luochen¡¯s fourth soul skill, and she had never used it before until now.

    ¡°Just kidding.¡± Before he was swallowed by the icy mist, Xu Sanshi waved at the princess, as he never intended to use the Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s face froze as she shot a cold look at him. The golden light mist that was rising into the air started to spread in all directions and nketed her six teammates.

    In the next instant, every member from the Star Luo National Academy was covered with ayer of golden light. The golden radiance around Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s body hadn¡¯t dissipated yet as starlight continued to surge out of her Starcrown.

    Ma Xiaotao was lightning fast, and shot to the front of her opponents¡¯ formation in the blink of an eye. zing phoenix mes surged into the sky as she extended her enormous phoenix wings and sted her Phoenix Fireline towards the Soul King right in front of her.

    This Soul King¡¯s name was Huang Heyun. The fact that he was standing in front naturally meant that he was an assault-type soul master. Before Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s appearance, he had been the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s team leader.

    Huang Heyun¡¯s martial soul was also extremely fearsome. Following the release of his martial soul, dense ck energy started swirling around his body, and his body suddenly erupted in size. His muscles grew and became more defined, while a ¡°King¡± character appeared on his head, simr to Dai Yueheng. The difference between the two of them was that the hair all over Huang Heyun¡¯s body wasn¡¯t white or a yellow-chalk color. Instead, it was ck, just pure ck.

    His martial soul was the Darkdemon Tiger. It was a rare darkness-type martial soul, but he wasn¡¯t an evil soul master. The fearsome power of darkness imbued him with natural prowess that was not much inferior to Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger.

    At this moment, a mist of golden light diffused from behind his back, fusing together with his ck soul power. The light didn¡¯t sh with the darkness ¨C instead, it painted his soul power a dull golden hue that flickered with specs of starlight, causing his body to no longer be just pure ck. It was peculiar.

    Huang Heyun howled into the sky as he faced Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Fireline. He rushed forward without hesitation and punched out with his fist. His first soul ring radiated with yellow light, and a dull-golden arc of light with a diameter of over one meter instantly burst out into the sky.

    Sparks crackled and flew, but the Phoenix Fireline was surprisingly not able to pierce even a single inch through that arc of light before it was stopped in its tracks. It was the Darkdemon Tiger¡¯s first soul skill ¨C Aphotic Darkwave.

    Ma Xiaotao was still a little bewildered by what had just taken ce before the Aphotic Darkwave, which now red with a fiery red color due to the Phoenix Fireline, arrived before her.

    Even though the Phoenix Fireline under the Soaring Phoenix¡¯s amplification was only Ma Xiaotao¡¯s first soul skill, she was a powerful Soul Emperor with extremely solid foundations. How could her opponent evenpare to her? Nheless, her opponent still managed to fend off her Phoenix Fireline with just his own first soul skill.

    However, the Aphotic Darkwave was right before her eyes, and she no longer had time to contemte. Ma Xiaotao held out her right palm out against the Aphotic Darkwave, and it shattered into pieces in an instant with a ¡°puff¡± sound. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s right hand red with raging mes once more as abundant phoenix mes poured out and surged towards her opponent ¨C this was her second soul skill, the Phoenix Baptism.

    Faced with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ferocious onught, Huang Heyun made a retreating motion as his body appeared to sit down. His third soul ring lit up, and his soul power, which sparkled with dull-golden starlight, apanied a bright tiger roar as it surged out as well and transformed into the form of a tiger while it crashed towards Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes.

    This was the thousand-year soul skill of his third soul ring¨C the Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sensations were much more acute as they shed once more at close quarters. She discovered that when her opponent¡¯s soul skills collided with her phoenix mes, the golden starlight in her opponent¡¯s soul skills would break out first. Those tiny specks of starlight were like miniature bombs that continuously detonated inside her phoenix mes, and these unassuming explosiveness actually grinded down Ma Xiaotao¡¯s offensive power. The full force of Huang Heyun¡¯s soul skills shed with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes only after the dampening of the golden starlight.

    This shocking realization caused Ma Xiaotao to cast an astonished look at Princess Jiu Jiu behind her opponent. What kind of martial soul was that? She could actually provide such powerful group auxiliary support for her entire team. This rivalled the effects of even the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, which was widely imed to be the most powerful auxiliary-type martial soul.

    Ma Xiaotao concentrated as she searched her mind for a suitable answer to the Starcrown. As a student from Shrek Academy, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s knowledge was especially abundant, and she finally recalled what the Starcrown martial soul was.

    This martial soul was simply too rare in the continent, even though it had existed for a long time. The number of times it had appeared in the past thousand years was just too few, and thus it was forgotten. Still, one of the lessons she had once taken in Shrek Academy had introduced the Starcrown before. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had spent too little time in the academy, and had yet to reach that level.

    The Starcrown martial soul used to be held in high regard within the Douluo Continent. It had been around since more than ten thousand years ago, and could be considered the most ancient amongst the top-ranked martial souls.

    Over ten thousand years ago, the entity that handled soul masters was an organization called the Soul Hall. Back then, the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, the only two most powerful empires at that time, had to pander to them. The Soul Hall once possessed six especially powerful martial souls, and each one of them respectively represented the most powerful entities in the world at that time. One of them was the Starcrown.

    The Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire had three seats each back then, and the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family was still the White Tiger Duke¡¯s bloodline. However, the White Tiger martial soul wasn¡¯t one of the six great martial souls. Instead, the Starcrown martial soul was the strongest of the three seats that belonged to the Star Luo Empire.

    The only problem was that the Starcrown bloodline¡¯s inheritance was thin, and thus it was rarely seen on the continent. It was simr to a hidden sect. Over four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Continent collided and merged with the Douluo Continent, eventually instigating the conflict between the Sun Moon Empire and the empires that resided within the Douluo Continent. The Star Luo Empire took the lead and absorbed most of the external pressure, causing the White Tiger Duke bloodline and the royal family to almost be driven to extinction. During this period, the Starcrown sect stepped out of reclusion to unify and lead the Star Luo Empire¡¯s armies in a valiant effort against their enemies. After intense and fearsome battles did they manage to defend the Star Luo Empire and consolidate the Star Luo Empire¡¯s position as the leading sovereignty amongst the three nations within the original Douluo Continent. The White Tiger Duke bloodline waned, and was left with a meager lineage. The position of the royal family was passed on, and the Starcrown bloodline took over as the new leaders of Star Luo Empire. Of course, the new royalty did not choose to employ any underhanded tactics against the White Tiger Duke bloodline. They won over their citizens¡¯ hearts and minds and seeded the throne via proper means, which caused the empire to flourish for over a thousand years.

    Even if the Dou Ling Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire formed a coalition, theirbined power would still not be enough topare with the Star Luo Empire.

    The Starcrown bloodline managed to turn the tide all those years ago, and this went to show their extraordinary power. In terms of pure auxiliary capabilities, the Starcrown was probably inferior to the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. However, the Starcrown wasn¡¯t just about support¨C it possessed incredible fighting power, and even its auxiliary capabilities leaned entirely towards boosting fighting power. This was vastly different from the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda¡¯s overall capabilities. It could be said that the Starcrown martial soul existed purely for battle.

    Ever since the Starcrown sect took over Star Luo Empire, they became low-profile once more. The passage of a few thousand years caused people to forget that the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family was one of the more powerful soul master sects in the past, and the Starcrown martial soul was never seen again in the outside world for many years.

    Even though Ma Xiaotao was recalling this information regarding the Starcrown martial soul, her movements did not slow down at all. Her opponent¡¯s Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock that was amplified by Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s third soul skill, the Starglory Spell, ultimately broke through the Phoenix Baptism¡¯s mes and reached Ma Xiaotao.

    Ma Xiaotao grunted coldly. Instead of retreating, she chose to advance, and rushed toward the Darkdemon Tiger¡¯s light shadow. She roared into the sky as she extended her fiery wings. In this moment, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s entire being appeared to transform into a real fire phoenix. The phoenix mes¡¯ searing red colors were raised to a white incandescence, and the instant outburst of heat caused even Dai Yueheng and Bei Bei to distance themselves from Ma Xiaotao. The blistering mes scorched the Darkdemon Tiger¡¯s light shadow in an instant. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body shed once more, and she closed in on her opponent whileunching another stream of Phoenix Fireline. This time, the phoenix mes had the same white incandescent hue.

    Normally, she wouldn¡¯t dare to raise her phoenix mes¡¯ powers to such a level like she did just now. The reason for that was because unleashing the phoenix mes like this made her highly susceptible to a bacsh from the evil fire within her body. If she didn¡¯t handle it correctly, she had a high chance of losing her mind again.

    Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t afraid this time, as she had an Ultimate Ice martial soul master beside her. With Huo Yuhao around, she was no longer fearful of suffering the pain from the evil fire¡¯s bacsh. In fact, she hadn¡¯t had any problems at all since thest time she had received help.

    The reason why Ma Xiaotao could be a team leader and repress Dai Yueheng was entirely due to her prowess. How could Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers not know that she possessed a very impatient and short-tempered nature? However, she was one of the most powerful ones amongst her age. Dai Yueheng was actually inferior to her by an entire ss, and Ma Xiaotao could only be described as terrifying when she was in full eruption mode.

    Wang Yan had been riling their fighting spirit over the past few days. Even though she didn¡¯t express it, how could she not be affected? All the energy, vigor, and overflowing belligerence that she had been suppressing were on full disy today as she faced off against a powerful opponent.

    Huang Heyun was shocked as the sweltering mes zed before him. He discovered, to his intense fear, that he seemed to bepletely unable to defend himself. The white-hot phoenix mes surrounded him, and all the air within a few meters of him waspletely distorted. The sky-high temperature of the white circle of fire triggered and detonated the Starglory Spell¡¯s energy in the sky, perfectly blocking off the Starglory Spell¡¯s effects. This meant that the Starglory Spell was no longer able to provide support for him.

    Just as Huang Heyun was in an incredibly dangerous situation, he felt the pressure lift from his body as Ma Xiaotao¡¯s white-hot mes started to tilt towards the side before they began to drift up into the sky.

    A girl appeared not far behind Huang Heyun. Her looks were average, and she looked like a simple and normal girl. She had long dark-purple hair behind her back, and had freckles on her face. Her most defining feature was her eyes¨C it seemed as if her eyes were zing with fire. All five of her soul rings were undting on her body as her right hand reached out toward Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes in the distance. She was the one that had drawn Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Fireline away.

    Fire control type. An exnation instantly rang out in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s head.

    Wang Yan had reminded Shrek Academy¡¯s students of this purple-haired young girl specifically. Before Princess Jiu Jiu appeared in the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s team, the two individuals that Wang Yan was most wary of were two control-type soul masters.

 Chapter 109: The Absolute Defense and the Star Protection

    Wang Yan referred to them as the Windfire Duo. They both were female soul masters with elemental martial souls: one was fire-type while the other was wind-type.

    At this moment, Yi Chen, the rank 51 fire control-type Soul King, pressed her right hand down towards Ma Xiaotao. A zing circle of light instantly appeared below Ma Xiaotao¡¯s feet, generating an intense vacuum underneath her. Ma Xiaotao suddenly felt her phoenix mes draining out from below her with unstoppable momentum; they were being frantically absorbed by the red circle of light.

    The weaknesses of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing started to show at this point. The Starglory Spell unleashed by Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s Star Crown interfered with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, rendering him to be unable to support his teammates. Otherwise, how could Ma Xiaotao¡¯s battle be so passive?

    Huo Yuhao was despondent. Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s Star Crown seemed to counter his Spirit Eyes. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t have been afraid if they were both at the same level of mastery. However, his level of mastery was greatly inferior at the moment, so the gap in power was simply too great for him to ovee. Furthermore, this was the case even after Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea received a considerable boost¨C all this served to prove the power of the Star Crown martial soul.

    While Ma Xiaotao was being held back by Huang Heyun and Yi Chen, the battle had simultaneously begun on the other side of the arena.

    Dai Yueheng was faced with a tall,nky youth. His martial soul was a lion ¨C the Netherworld Crazed Lion. He was the second-ranked assault-type Soul King from the Star Luo camp, and his name was Dugu Shangshan.

    The Netherworld Crazed Lion martial soul gave Dai Yueheng a hard time as it made him unable to fully unleash his strength. Once the Netherworld Crazed Lion was attached to his body, Dugu Shangshan let off an illusory feeling. While Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger martial soul was powerful, his forte was physical assault. Faced with an opponent that was hard to hit with physical attacks, much of his strength was being negated. With the support of the Starglory Spell, Dugu Shangshan was able to hold off Dai Yueheng.

    It would have been a lot easier for Dai Yueheng if he was against just the Netherworld Crazed Lion Soul King; he would even probably win if he put in a little more effort. The problem was that there was another control-type battle Soul King behind him ¨C the person that represented Wind in the Windfire Duo.

    Just as Dai Yueheng unleashed his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, he felt his body suddenly freeze in ce as a green circle of light rose up from beneath his feet. The green circle of light instantly transformed into a miniature tornado that trapped him within. Even though it didn¡¯t knock him off his feet and throw him around, his subsequent assault was countered just like that.

    The two Soul Emperors were the most powerful strike force on the Shrek Academy¡¯s team, but they were forcibly held back by thebined efforts of four Soul Kings from the Star Luo National Academy with the support of the Starglory Spell.

    Bei Bei was also being obstructed. The opponent he was facing was an agility-type Soul King whose speed was something that Bei Bei had never encountered before.

    He hadn¡¯t been able to see his opponent clearly since the beginning of the battle. If Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t been so close, his opponent wouldn¡¯t have dared to defend against the attack. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to properly utilize his Spiritual Detection Sharing. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was directed towards him, he would probably be in deep trouble.

    In the eyes of the audience, Bei Bei appeared to be surrounded by a bolt of lightning that flickered incessantly. This bolt of lightning was yellow, which was in stark contrast to bluish-purple lighting on his body. Every time the yellow bolt of lightning charged over, it erupted with a ferocious assault. Bei Bei seemed a little hard-pressed as he tried his best to defend. Bei Bei was only able to barely hold on with the Blue Tyrant Lightning Dragon¡¯s immense power.

    His opponent was the only agility-type soul master in the Star Lou National Academy¡¯s team. His name was Chen Xiaojie who possessed the Lightning Warfalcon martial soul. When Wang Yan was evaluating this Soul King, he had described him with just a few words ¨C tough and annoying to handle.

    Not only was the Lightning Warfalcon extremely fast, it also possessed powerful offensive capabilities. Apse in concentration was simply not allowed when engaging this fellow in battle. Bei Bei already had more than ten wounds on his body by this time. Even though they weren¡¯t serious, the wounds continually weakened his fighting strength.

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s eyes did not linger at the battle urring before her. Instead, her eyes were directed at the thick white mist that was swiftly rolling towards them.

    The current situation was that the Star Luo National Academy used five people to hold back three assault-type soul masters from Shrek Academy¡¯s lineup. In reality, they weren¡¯t really at a disadvantage, as one could say that Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng and Bei Bei made up seventy percent of Shrek Academy¡¯s fighting strength.

    Both parties had yet to give their all as the battle continued to unfold. The most frightening aspect of group battles was the sudden appearance of harmonious teamwork. With such team fights, either party would be able to tip the scale and emerge victorious with a single eruption of explosive power.

    Princess Jiu Jiu squinted her eyes a little as she gradually pointed her right hand into the sky. A single golden speck of light sparkled on her fingertip as the brilliance of the Star Crown above her head flickered once more. This time, a streak of golden light shot up into the sky. However, this wasn¡¯t the same light pir as before but a thin golden thread. Her first soul ring sparkled on while she continued to maintain her third soul ring, which powered the Starglory Spell.

    The ray of golden light paused as it approached the protective dome around thepetition stage. Immediately afterwards, a single brilliant star appeared above Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s head. This star wasn¡¯t big, but it exuded a vigorous radiance.

    Princess Jiu Jiu closed her eyes momentarily as she pointed towards the rolling Icemist. The patch of starlight transformed into uncountable rays of light in the next moment as they surged towards the patch of Icemist.

    Surprisingly, these thin streaks of light weren¡¯t impeded by the Icemist at all. They entered it with extreme ease, as they were just pure rays of light, without a trace of offensive power.

    The threads of light glimmered as a vast majority of them vanished into thin air. Only four streaks of light remained as they guided Princess Jiu Jiu like a bridge. These four rays of light shimmered within the Icemist while they phased in and out of sight.

    This was the Starguiding Technique, her first soul skill. She sessfully located her four opponents hidden within the Icemist with the help of the star¡¯s guidance.

    Within the Icemist, the four people maintained their positions. The only difference was that they were closer to the center of thepetition stage than before. The patch of Icemist continued to close in from both ends towards the center of the stage as well.

    Ma Xiaotao released a shrill phoenix cry into the sky as her zing wings forcefully pped downwards, and a streak of red light surged into the sky. The pir of red light was took the form of a fiery phoenix as scorching phoenix mes erupted. The control spell that Yi Chen directed towards her was immediately broken as the Darkdemon Tiger Soul King, Huang Heyun, was forcibly pushed away.

    The dense Icemist riled up at this point and lunged towards the center like a tsunami. A single ray of ck light flickered within, and it was targeted straight at Princess Jiu Jiu. Xu Sanshi who had been holding back the Mysterious Netherworld Discement for a long time, finally unleashed it. Even though he knew that it was almost impossible for him to seed, he still had to use it. The purpose of this move was just to upy the the princess¡¯ attention.

    Dai Yueheng unleashed his White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation in an instant, and pounced towards his opponent. On the other side, Bei Bei exploded with innumerable streaks of lightning and forced back the Lightning Warfalcon Soul King. Besides Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, almost every member from Shrek Academy was erupting all around.

    However, just at this moment, a faint smile appeared on Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s face. It felt as if she had been waiting for this the whole time, as if she had been looking forward to this moment since the very beginning.

    She suddenly tossed out a sphere of golden light from her hands. It wasn¡¯t a soul skill. The golden light shed once before smashing against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s frightening phoenix mes that were soaring into the air.

    The strangest of scenes happened. Ayer of golden light descended from the sky and enveloped Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sixth soul skill, the Phoenix Meteor Shower, which had already been unleashed. It crashed downwards with lightning speed as it applied pressure on Ma Xiaotao herself ¨C her most powerful soul skill was negated just like that.

    Ma Xiaotao felt a stifling pressing weigh down on her from the sky. She wanted to dodge, but the patch of golden light bore down on her in an instant, and trapped her within.

    There was a single sphere with a hundred and eight cross-sectional areas that sparkled with brilliant light above theyer of golden light. This sphere was about the size of a fist, and spiraled with intense speed as it flickered with blinding light. Ma Xiaotao, who was trapped inside, immediatelyunched a hysterical assault against theyer of light, but was only able to create ripples along its surface. Her efforts proved futile.

    This sudden change shocked the entire team from Shrek Academy. They had chose to explode with the tactic that Wang Yan called the Dual Sky Of Ice And Fire. The Icemist unleashed by Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen provided all-round control and pressure, but the move that would have imed victory for them was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower! Who would have thought that Ma Xiaotao would be so easily locked down by their opponents?

    He Caitou stood up abruptly below thepetition stage. Intense disbelief filled his eyes as he said, ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s an absolute defense soul tool! How can that be? That Absolute Defense Barrier soul tool is at least ss 7! They actually have a ss 7 soul tool! The Absolute Defense Barrier can only be used once, but its value¡­¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes were wide open as he reacted with an equal amount of surprise. He asked hurriedly, ¡°What is the Absolute Defense Barrier?¡±

    He Caitou answered, ¡°It¡¯s simr to the Invincible Barrier. Once it¡¯s deployed, anybody under the Absolute Defense Barrier¡¯s seal will have to face the protection of a defense-type soul master simr to the power of a stage 8 Soul Douluo for fifteen minutes. However, this is a special soul tool that also works in reverse. The Absolute Defense Barrier has the same effects internally and externally. Even if one wants to forcibly break out of the pearl, one has to be at least a ss 7 Soul Sage. This soul tool can only be manufactured by the Sun Moon Empire, and its formation arrays are extremely mysterious. It¡¯s impossible for us to produce anything simr. To think it would appear in thispetition! It¡¯s been said that the Absolute Defense Barrier is worth several million gold soul coins. Having this item during a dangerous moments is equivalent to having another life! This is so much more powerful than the Invincible Barrier, which is only effective for three seconds. Fifteen minutes is enough to aplish many things. ¡±

    He Caitou continued, ¡°In terms of abilities, we may be at an advantage. However, how can our financial power match up to such dominant powers like the Star Luo Empire? To them, even such an expensive soul tool is expendable.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao, the most powerful member, was trapped. This was a disaster for Shrek Academy¡¯s team.

    Princess Jiu Jiu had obviously nned out her strategy well. With Ma Xiaotao out of the way, her fourth soul ring lit up. A ball of thick, intense starlight was unleashed. This time, the starlight was as bright as the sun. This ball expanded into a barrier of light, it forcefully expelling the Icemist outside. Only the seven members on her side, including Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei and the trapped Ma Xiaotao, were covered within thisyer of light.

    On the surface of theyer of the light barrier, 18 stars appeared and shed with a bright glow.

    Huang Heyun and Yi Chen, who were both fighting Ma Xiaotao initially, changed their target to Dai Yueheng without any hesitation. The four Soul Kings encircled him. Bei Bei continued to suffer from the relentless attacks of the Lightning Warfalcon, and he could not even ensure his own safety.

    Princess Jiu Jiu appeared indifferent as she looked at the Icemist outside theyer of light, and she curled her lips up slightly. There was yet another soul master in front of her who, till this point, had not joined in the battle at all.

    ¡°Not good.¡± Inside the Icemist, Ling Luochen¡¯s face grew solemn. She quickly forced an wave with the Icemist. However, the light barrier that shed with starlight continued to resist the Icemist. It was unable to gain any ground. There was a flickering radiance that shone from the 18 stars. It was obvious that unless the light from all 18 stars dimmed, this light barrier would not be broken.

    No one would have expected such a situation before thepetition. Princess Jiu Jiu had divided the seven members of the Shrek Academy in half. Furthermore, Ling Luochen had discovered this problem far toote. Amongst her own team, those who were offensively inclined were covered by the light barrier, while everyone else left outside of it were not skilled in attacking.

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao could mount an offense, but their cultivations were simply too weak.

    The Ultimate Ice could only enhance Ling Luochen¡¯s soul skill, but not change it. Unfortunately, Ling Luochen was a control-type soul master, not an assault-type soul master. She only had the Icemist at her disposal for attacking.

    On top of the city wall, the Star Luo Emperor revealed a gentle smile on his face, ¡°To Shrek, it¡¯s not an entirely bad thing to lose. The Star Barrier of our Star Luo bloodline hasn¡¯t appeared in the continent for a very long time. I¡¯m afraid the world of soul masters has already forgotten our powerful defense-type soul skill that¡¯s known for being able to iste all other elements. It¡¯s rather useful while facing off against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. My younger sister has been unconvinced by my appraisal of that little fellow because of this. When that little fellow grows up, I would really like to see the result of a fight between the Star Barrier and his Ultimate element.¡±

    At this moment, Dai Yueheng was the one who was in the most danger.

    The attacking force of Star Luo Academy¡¯s Windfire duo had increased after they teamed up. Without the suppression of the phoenix mes, Yi Chen looped her hands in front of her, causing a bright ming ring to loom over Dai Yueheng.

    Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t avoid this ming halo. This was because the light ring first expanded to cover the entire area of the Star Barrier before it retracted towards the center.

    The wind control-type Soul King, Wang Shiying, also unleashed a simr halo of light. One red and one green light ring ovepped each other and exploded at the same time.

    As the saying went, wind aided the strength of fire. The instant that the two light rings ascended, a series of howls and booms resonated in the air. With Dai Yueheng¡¯s body as the center, a huge pir of wind and fire rose into the sky. With the power of wind supplementing it, the burning mes became extremely deadly; they were like a huge meat grinder that was wildly crushing everything within them.

    After unleashing thebination of Wind and Fire, Huang Heyun, Dugu Shangshan, Yi Chen and Wang Shiying did not exploit the opportunity to attack. Rather, they gathered together rapidly and stood in a row.

    The abilities of the Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Emperors were disyed right now. Even while Ma Xiaotao was suppressed heavily, Dai Yueheng didn¡¯t panic at all. As the pir of Wind and Fire was unleashed, Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan were not able to force him back by even half a step. Instead, they caused him to be even fiercer.

    As the pir of Wind and Fire was unleashed, the immense pressure caused his hairs to curl up. However, Dai Yueheng faced the sky and released a roar. He thumped his fists against his chest, and zing golden lights were suddenly released from his body. The character ¡®Íõ¡¯ on his forehead even shed with a bright radiance. Behind him, a huge illusory figure of a white tiger shed. Suddenly, he bent his back and mmed his fist down on the ground beneath his feet.

    When this fist struck the solidpetition stage, everything seemed to go still in the Star Barrier Domain. Following silence, a booming sound like thunder rang out. Debris flew and blew apart the pir of Wind and Fire, scattering fragments in various directions.

    It should be noted that the two control-type Soul Kings fought with the support of Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s Starglory Spell. ording to their original estimates, a Soul Emperor could only defend passively if the two of them teamed up together to control him. But who knew that Dai Yueheng would managed to ovee them using his tough strength and soul power. Not only did he not defend, but he used his immense strength to break apart the wind and fire elements using the earth element.

    Princess Jiu Jiu focused her gaze. When the red and green light rings exploded, Dai Yueheng also lifted his head and looked in the direction of Princess Jiu Jiu.

    As their gazes met, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s expression turned cold. Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes shed with a strange glint. As he bellowed, his body bent forward a little. In the next instant, he had already leapt out like lightning, and his target was Princess Jiu Jiu. It was best to go for the leader to root out the problem.

    However, four figures formed a quaternity in front of her and blocked his path. Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t see anything strange from the front, but the back of four members of the Star Luo Academy emitted dim white radiances.

    The white radiances formed a dome-like shape, just like the shell on the back of a turtle. These radiances shone through the uniforms they wore.

    Yi Chen, who stood the furthest back, pressed on Wang Shiyin¡¯s back. Wang Shiying did the same towards Dugu Shangshan. Simrly, Dugu Shangshan¡¯s palms also pressed on Huang Heyun¡¯s back. Right now, they seemed like one entity now.

    Huang Heyun¡¯s size seemed to have ballooned from earlier causing blood vessels squirming under the fur of the Darkdemon Tiger¡¯s Possession to be visible. As Dai Yueheng leapt forward, Huang Heyun suddenly struck his palms forward. As they struck, Huang Heyun let loose a deep growl. This growl carried an extremely concentrated aura of darkness and collided with Dai Yueheng.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± Dai Yueheng felt as if he had collided with a sheet of iron. He was sent flying and was knocked violently against the light barrier of the Star Barrier. His organs felt as if they were on fire. As he tried to get up, he vomited fresh blood.

    Impossible! This was the first thought that he had in his mind after he was sent flying.

    The opponent was only a Soul King! How could his soul power be so great? Even if the opponent was a seven-ringed Soul Sage, he would still be unable to unleash such power without using his Martial Soul True Body!

    Below thepetition stage, Wang Yan was a little anxious. He grabbed He Caitou beside him and asked, ¡°What, what soul tool is this?¡±

    He Caitouughed bitterly. ¡°This is a rare soul tool called the Nine Transformations Soulrite. The core formation that¡¯s used to produce it requires a special metal called Chaos Silver. The greatest strength of this Nine Transformations Soulrite is that it can change soul power types. No matter what type of soul power is injected into it, the type of soul power thates out is the most bnced chaos-type that can be absorbed by anyone of any type. Through this Nine Transformations Soulrite, soul masters can inject their soul power into one another for a short period of time. But a portion of the soul power injected into them has to be released quickly. After all, soul power beyond what a soul master can handle will lead to damage in his passageways. Furthermore, chaos-type soul power can only be used temporarily, and can¡¯t be fused with one¡¯s own soul power. I didn¡¯t expect them to use this. The Nine Transformations Soulrite is a ss 5 soul tool, and can be used by soul masters with less than seven rings. If the person it¡¯s used by is a seven-ringed Soul Sage or stronger, the core formation of the Chaos Silver can¡¯t handle the surge of soul power unless it¡¯s an extremelyrge Nine Transformations Soulrite.¡±

    As he struck his palms towards Dai Yueheng, Huang Heyun¡¯s face surged with a tinge of red. He shouldered the greatest pressure, as he helmed the tip of the Nine Transformations Soulrite. After thispetition, he would have to rest for up to a month to heal his passageways. However, he would not hold back here. Amplified by Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s Starglory Spell, thebined power of 5 soul kings had hurt Dai Yueheng. However, Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t be restrained forever. To win, they had to end everything before Ma Xiaotao escaped, and gather the powers of all seven of them to deal with the strongest Soul Emperor.

    Hence, Huang Heyun followed up with another attack immediately. A huge figure of a ck tiger leapt out from his body. It was the Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock that he had used against Ma Xiaotao before.

    The difference this time was that, under the support of the frightening soul power, this illusory figure of the Darkdemon Tiger seemed like a real entity. In just a moment, it was already in front of Dai Yueheng. They were nning to incapacitate Dai Yueheng in this next strike.

    The situation in the Star Barrier was very dangerous. However, what about the situation outside the Star Barrier?

    When Huo Yuhao and the rest saw that Dai Yueheng was being attacked by the Windfire duo, they realized that things were going to be bad. However, they had no chance if they did not ovee the barrier of light in front of them. But, how could they have the power to do so?

    Xu Sanshi really wanted to enter the state of the Xuanwu turtle. However, he couldn¡¯t just summon it at any time he wished. If Jiang Nannan was the one who was trapped, it might have been a different story. But without her, he couldn¡¯t unleash it.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s Icemist constantly engulfed the entire Star Barrier, and the 18 stars above the Star Barrier were slowly dimming. But if things were dragged on at this pace, they might not get in before the seal trapping Ma Xiaotao was released.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Wang Dong asked Huo Yuhao anxiously.

    Huo Yuhao did not have a clue either. As the effect of his Spiritual Detection Sharing was crippled, he had fallen into a bewildered state. Hearing Wang Dong¡¯s anxious voice only increased his depression. Apetition of this level was out of his control! He wanted to sweep aside this sense of helplessness, but the gap in cultivation rendered him unable to do so.

    ¡°Do you know why you are so helpless?¡± An old voice rang in his head clearly.

    ¡°Elder Yi.¡± Huo Yuhao responded in his consciousness.

    Electrolux answered his own question. ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t fully understand yourself. You haven¡¯t used your control to the fullest. While increasing one¡¯s cultivation is important, you will be unable to reach the top no matter how hard you cultivate if you don¡¯t understand your own capabilities. After thispetition, I want you to enter closed-door cultivation. Understand that power cannot decide everything all the time. The ability to control everything that you possess, and exhibit your capabilities appropriately in different situations, that is true power. For now, act ording to what I tell you.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, what do we do?¡± In Wang Dong¡¯s eyes, Huo Yuhao was entirely in a daze. This was a critical situation. Wang Dong was aware that his own abilities could not faze the light barrier. In this battle, the only chance he had was if hebined with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened, and he shouted, ¡°Senior Ling, maintain the strength of the Icemist and help to block our figures. Wang Dong, let¡¯s strike.¡± As he said that, he turned around suddenly and opened his arms wide. He hugged Wang Dong tightly and strongly. Their spirits and soul powersbined and merged into one entity.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°The strength of the opponent is derived from Star Power. What¡¯s the origin of the Star Power? It¡¯s light. No matter how they are structured internally, they are all made of light. They can be considered a high level performance of light,¡± advised Electrolux.

    ¡­¡­

    Within the Icemist,

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils emitted a dim golden glow on one side.

    On the other side, Wang Dong unleashed his Radiant Butterfly Goddess, spreading his elegant wings behind his back.

    Alternating shades of blue, purple and gold shone within the mist.

    When the illusory figure of the huge Radiant Butterfly Goddess spread opened her wings and hugged the illusory figure of the Spirit Eyes, a dazzling purplish-golden light burst out. A glow that descended from the sky engulfed the illusory figures. A huge bluish-golden pupil directed its gaze towards the front. Blue, purple and golden light that intertwined with each other shot out from the depths of the pupil that seemed to contain a boundless world.

    A radianceced with a magical color shot straight forward, locking onto the light of the Star Barrier.

    Blocked by the dense Icemist, neither the audience below the stage nor thepetitors inside the Star Barrier could see what was happening. Even Princess Jiu Jiu did not have a clue as her Starguiding Technique could only sense their positions with her.

    The Icemist subtly diminished. It was as if its aura of ultimacy had been lost. However, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s attention was entirely on Dai Yueheng at this moment as Huang Heyun¡¯s second wave of Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock was about to strike Dai Yueheng. To her, this was the key to determine victory. She ignored the four outside the barrier. She reckoned that even though Huo Yuhao was very talented, he was unable to pose much of a threat to her.

    However, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s expression changed the next instant.

    The dim golden glow on the Star Barrier suddenly turned a bright golden color. The entire barrier actually began to emit the same radiance as the 18 stars above the barrier. Princess Jiu Jiu could only faintly see what was in front of her, only catching a short glimpse of a huge pupil briefly appearing before vanishing again. In the next moment, she discovered to her horror that her Star Barrier seemed to have been melted. Drops of golden fluid flowed down the surface of the barrier. Furthermore, the soul power that she was continuously injecting was forcefully stopped.

    This was impossible. She was now feeling like Dai Yueheng had felt earlier. She had no idea how the four members outside were able to damage her Star Barrier.

    However, there was nothing impossible in this world. At the moment when the Star Barrier was broken through, Dai Yueheng reacted to his opponents¡¯ assault.

    Blinding white light was suddenly unleashed from his body and a huge figure of a white tiger surfaced above his head, instantly fused with his body. Dai Yueheng let out a furious roar. His first, third, fifth and sixth soul ring shed at the same time.

    His three strengthening skills, the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation and the White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation were powered to their peaks with his Soul Emperor cultivation.

    From his pair of almost foot-long golden tiger ws, a cold radiance was emitted. In the next instant, his body suddenly disappeared from the bright radiance that had shed from white to gold.

    A huge ¡®kill¡¯ character É± suddenly appeared out of nowhere and collided with the ck tiger formed by the Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock. Sharps streaks of piering and splitting were heard inside of the Star Barrier. It wasbined with the roars of two raging tigers that were wreaking havoc to their surroundings.

    Huang Heyun and the rest were indeed very powerful, as they hadbined their soul power using the Nine Transformations Soulrite. Their overall power had already reached the intermediate stage of the Soul Sage rank. In terms of soul power, Dai Yueheng, who was only a Soul Emperor, waspletely suppressed.

    Princess Jiu Jiu had meticulously chosen Huang Heyun to be ced at the very front. She was very familiar with Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger martial soul, so she had created this strategy to specifically counter Dai Yueheng. Huang Heyun¡¯s Darkdemon Tiger was only slightly inferior to the White Tiger. However, the difference was minimal. Along with the enhancement of the Starglory Spell, this suppression of martial souls waspletely removed. Under such a circumstance, the might of Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger no longer had to be feared.

    However, things did not always go ording to n. Princess Jiu Jiu could never predict that Huang Heyun¡¯s state of mind would experience changes during the battle, resulting in the failure of his second strike, which was supposed to be the defining blow.

    The change in his state of mind was not because of Dai Yueheng, but Ma Xiaotao, who had fought him earlier.

    Ma Xiaotao was just too powerful. Even after being infused with the Starglory Spell, Huang Heyun had still feltpletely helpless. He was clearly aware that Ma Xiaotao was stronger than Dai Yueheng. After they defeating Dai Yueheng, their next target would be Ma Xiaotao!

    Hence, Huang Heyun did not unleash his fifth soul skill to defeat Dai Yueheng ording to the original n. Instead he used his third soul skill. A thousand year soul ring skill was significant weaker than a ten thousand year soul kill. However, Dai Yueheng coughing up blood and seemed to be on the verge of falling. With hisrades supporting him, he had felt that a thousand year soul skill backed with the power of a Soul Sage was enough to finish him off. By this, he could conserve his soul power to deal with Ma Xiaotao. Using soul skills with thebined power of four people caused the toll on his body to be rather big. The reason why theybined only four of them and not five was because no one could handle the umtion of five individual soul powers.

    Against any other person, Huang Heyun¡¯s decision would have been correct. However, Dai Yueheng was from Shrek Academy. He was a monster, and a very experienced one at that. Knowing that he had no room to escape, his potential was stimted. In a short span of time, he managed to pin point Huang Heyun¡¯s w.

    The result of the infusing four people¡¯s soul power into one person boosted his soul power to tremendous heights. However, there was also a drawback. This drawback was very simple: their attacks became very rigid.

    While the Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock was full of power and speed, itcked flexibility. Dai Yueheng managed to unleash his strongest soul skill under the support of his three strengthening skills.

    White Tiger¡¯s Extermination!

    Using this closebat skill allowed him to dodge the charge of the Demontiger¡¯s Heavenshock. Turning around, he managed to forcefully disperse this attack while taking six consecutive strikes from the side.

    Although Dai Yueheng vomiting more blood, he took advantage of the situation and dashed towards Bei Bei in the distance.

    After losing their opportunity, another drawback was revealed. The four of themcked dexterity. With Dai Yueheng¡¯s cultivation, it was not easy for his opponent to force him to take another blow without determining his exact location.

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Princess Jiu Jiu could not help but curse. As the saying went, ¡°A weak teammate does more harm than a strong opponent.¡± What added to her misery was that her Star Barrier had copsed with a loud, booming sound.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°The effect of your martial soul fusion skill, the Golden Road, is to melt and degrade. It is abination of the light element and spiritual power. This skill of yours only fires in a straight line but will have no problems hitting on a stationary barrier. Even if the opponent¡¯s defense-type soul skill istes other elements, all you have to do is to control the power of degradation within the Golden Road and convert it into the power to melt,¡± said Electrolux.

    ¡­¡­

    When the Golden Road struck the Star Barrier, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the collision between the Golden Road and the Star Barrier.

    In the past, the Golden Road had passed through everything in a straight line whenever it was shot. This was the first time it was blocked. However, the instant the bright, tri-colored radiance was blocked, it spread over the Star Barrier.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt something in his mind being stirred. A wave of weird power passed from his forehead and guided his mind to his Golden Road. With the help of the strange power, he was able to clearly differentiate the concepts of melting and degradation.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his spiritual power and converted the power of degradation into that of melting. To him, everything happened very slowly, but in reality, it all waspleted in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 110: The Second Fusion Skill!

    <strong>Chapter 110.1 The Second Fusion Skill!</strong>

    ¡°What¡¯re you waiting for? When that hard barrier softens, you have to break it.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Golden Road ended, revealing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies. Huo Yuhao loosened his arms and stretched out his hands, while Wang Dong raised his right hand.

    They looked at each other, and saw a reflection of their own bodies in each other¡¯s eyes. At this moment, their souls were connected.

    Huo Yuhao cupped Wang Dong¡¯s right hand within his two palms as if he was protecting the most valuable treasure in the world. The instant his palms closed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands turned ice-white. On the other hand, Wang Dong¡¯s right hand turned a strange dark-gold. The three palms interlocked, causing a terrifying stream of air to suddenly surge from their bodies.

    The originally thick icy mist quickly rose into the air like a mushroom cloud, causing an indescribable sense of awe to appear with it. At this moment, the only people who could truly feel and see what was going on were Ling Luochen and Xu Sanshi.

    They werepletely unable to describe how shocked they were feeling right now. The scene unfolding in front of them was just that shocking!

    The instant the intense white light interweaved with the dark-gold light, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s figures vanished. Right after that, a slender figure quietly appeared behind that light.

    This figure looked around two or so meters tall, and it had a slender, tall figure and a head of ck hair draped over its shoulders. Its gorgeous changshan seemed to have been iid with diamonds, causing it to emanate a resplendent light. His eyes were jade-green; it wasn¡¯t an abstruse jade-green, but one that flickered with the light of a gem, and was filled with boundless might. In terms of appearances alone, he looked 80% simr to Huo Yuhao. Perhaps, this was simply how he would look after growing up.

    The instant he appeared, the Icemist in the air started to surge towards him at an astonishing rate, making it seem as though the rivers were flowing back into the sea. Even Ling Luochen¡¯s own soul power started to be swallowed at a rapid pace.

    Ling Luochen was rtively clever, and thus she didn¡¯t try to resist or obstruct it. On the contrary, she did all she could to release her Icemist. Although the Icemist started to rapidly vanish, Ling Luochen was able to maintain the portion of it that covered them.

    This was a figure that was clearly incorporeal, yet felt very real. He extended his right hand, plunging it into the ball of light in front of him. The light suddenly solidified, and the figure suddenly vanished into thin air right after that. The instant he disappeared, Xu Sanshi and Ling Luochen felt the exact same feeling in their hearts--ferocity!

    In the next instant, the space in front of the Star Barrier instantaneously shattered. Then, an enormous hammer appeared.

    The head of this hammer was as ck as ink, but its two ends each had a sharp protrusion that was jade-green. On the other hand, its handle was fully iid with diamonds.

    The instant it appeared, a peculiar, never-before-seen whimpering sound rang out in the air. It was as though the air itself was weeping due to its existence. The two protrusions on the head of the hammer shone with a jade-green light, and the head itself shone with a dark-gold light. The handle of the hammer also shone with an icy-white light, and the three different colors simultaneously exploded out. Right after that, the super hammer that was more than ten meters long, and whose head was more than three metres wide, turned blood-red in color.

    All other traces of light seemed to have been swallowed by that blood-red light, and even the Star Barrier in front of it started to tremble.

    It was as though an invisible hand was controlling this enormous hammer. In the next instant, it fell.

    The only thing Princess Jiu Jiu could see was the instant that the hammer descended. She only felt like a streak of blood had shed past the outer parts of the Star Barrier, and right after that, she suddenly felt an enormous blow strike her chest. Then, a ng that resembled the sound of shattering came from the Starcrown on her forehead.

    The rhombus-shaped gem set in the center of the Starcrown actually started to show cracks. Right after that, the Star Barrier instantly copsed.

    The bloody light disappeared without a trace, and the Icemist on the tournament stage vanished along with it.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong reappeared on the tournament stage. Only, the current Wang Dong was leaning on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, clearly having lost consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao was still clear-headed as he looked forward with a burning gaze in his eyes. He pressed on his forehead with his right hand, then pointed his second, third, and fourth fingers into the air.

    Immediately, a mysterious green light shed through the sky before vanishing. The light, however, was directed towards the absolute defense barrier that trapped Ma Xiaotao.

    Right after he pointed his fingers into the sky, the gaze in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes darkened. He seemingly indifferently looked towards the distant Princess Jiu Jiu, then fell to the ground with Wang Dong with a trace of arrogance, but even more satisfaction in his eyes.

    ¡°Ding--¡±

    The metal ball located above the Absolute Defense Barrier suddenly let out a crisp cry, then shook violently. The originally-dazzling golden light it emitted started to darken at an astonishing rate, before vanishing within two breaths of time. The metal ball turned grey, and the barrier it generated became extremely thin.

    Without the Icemist concealing the stage, the audience and the Star Luo Emperor were all able to clearly see what was going on.

    Just like his younger sister, the Star Luo Emperor suddenly blurted out, ¡®impossible¡¯.

    From the outside, the Star Barrier looked like Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s fourth soul skill. In reality, however, it couldn¡¯t be used easily. The Starcrown¡¯s might far exceeded that of ordinary martial souls, and even a few top-ranked ones wouldn¡¯t be able to go against it. However, its wielder needed to cultivate arduously in order to use it.

    A soul master who possessed the Starcrown could only cultivate at night, as they would need to absorb star power to further increase their cultivation. Furthermore, their soul skills could only be used by consuming some of their umted star power. Of which, the skill that needed the most star power was the Star Barrier.

    The eighteen gold stars that created the Star Barrier needed a full eighteen days to be fully absorbed. However, the strength of the Star Barrier would continuously increase following its owner¡¯s increase in cultivation; it was an extremely rare and powerful skill that wasn¡¯t affected by the quality of the soul ring that bestowed it. However, its drawbacks were extremely obvious. After using it once, its owner would need to wait eighteen days in order to use it again.

    It was because of this exact reason that the Star Barrier¡¯s defensive powers were extraordinarily tyrannical. It wasn¡¯t just a defense skill, but one that allowed the current Princess Jiu Jiu to possess the power of a defense-type Soul Emperor. This was the reason why she and the Emperor were so confident in this match.

    However, this tyrannical defense had been blown apart at this moment. Looking at Shrek Academy¡¯s current abilities, there was no way that any of them should¡¯ve been able to achieve this feat. However, the destruction of the Star Barrier signified one thing--that was subjugation. One of Shrek Academy¡¯s four students who were previously hidden within the Icemist was able to subdue the Star Barrier.

    Right after that, an even more astonishing scene urred. A problem had suddenlye up with the powerful ss 7 soul tool that was known as the Absolute Defense Barrier.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°The Soul-Devouring Carving Knife didn¡¯t disappear after I purified it. The enormous life energy contained within the Life Gold isn¡¯t something that you¡¯re able to fathom. Because of that, you now possess apletely new carving knife, one that can fully disy the true might of the Life Gold. After thinking about it for a while, I¡¯ve decided to name it the Life Guardian. This Life Guardian can not only bestow life energy, but also take it away. This special ability of stripping one¡¯s life energy away shall be called Judgement, and the life energy taken away will be absorbed back into the Life Guardian.

    Every single person in this world possesses life energy, but Judgement only targets existences which do not guard their own life energy. If you encounter any resistance, it¡¯ll lose all of its effects. However, it can be a very powerful weapon against the soul tools from your world.¡±

    -Electrolux

    ¡­¡­

    Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t be Ma Xiaotao if she wasn¡¯t able to grasp an opportunity like this. While she was trapped by the Absolute Defense Barrier, she had continuously tried to break free of her bindings.

    Just what kind of temper did Ma Xiaotao have? She was basically a can of gunpowder that would explode with just a light spark. However, she absolutely wasn¡¯t the type of person who would let anger go to her head; on the contrary, she had hidden her intelligence under her outward explosiveness.

    Afterunching a few attacks as a test, she understood that she wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy this barrier with her level of cultivation. At the very least, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it within a short period of time. After that, she made the smartest choice avable--that was to directly sit in a cross-legged position within the Absolute Defense Barrier and sense the strength of the barrier while recovering the soul power she had drained earlier. At the same time, she continued to observe what was going on outside the barrier.

    Ma Xiaotao knew that she could hasten the destruction of the Absolute Defense Barrier if she were to stake everything on one attack. However, since their opponents had used a soul tool like this to counter her, she understood that she wouldn¡¯t be able to break free like Dai Yueheng had, no matter how she attacked. Since that was the case, she chose to wait patiently.

    No matter what tactics their opponents were using, the match wouldn¡¯t be over as long as she wasn¡¯t defeated. Although Shrek Academy¡¯s overall strength would suffer dramatically if they were to lose her, the team Dai Yueheng led wouldn¡¯t be defeated so easily. At the very least, their opponents would have to pay an extremely heavy price to defeat them. However, a soul tool like this would be going against the heavens if it was able to be used for a long period of time! Because of that, Ma Xiaotao would be able to take her opponents on in her peak condition after the barrier finally expired.

    She had been paying close attention to everything going on on the battlefield, observing each and every one of her opponents and how much they had endured in the battle. What she was waiting for was a chance to counterattack. She had nevercked any confidence, because confidence came from strength. Ma Xiaotao knew that her team would absolutely never fall easily as long as she hadn¡¯t fallen.

    <strong>Chapter 110.2: The Second Fusion Skill!</strong>

    However, Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t think that her chance woulde so quickly. The instant the Star Barrier was destroyed, she was greatly astonished. She absolutely didn¡¯t think that the four of them could¡¯ve destroyed the barrier that even Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t from the outside.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao had an extremely pale face as he supported the unconscious Wang Dong. However, his eyes were just that resolute. Although there was an age difference of seven years between the two, Ma Xiaotao had no choice but to admit that she had been moved by Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes at that moment.

    This resolute, stubborn unyieldingness from a youth who wasn¡¯t even thirteen gave her an indescribable sense of shock. He was like a towering, stable mountain that made people trust him.

    After that, Ma Xiaotao witnessed everything ur. The only person who could hear the crisp shattering of the Absolute Defense Barrier was her, who was trapped within it. She didn¡¯t know how Huo Yuhao had done it, but she didn¡¯t need to ponder this question at this moment.

    Her silent mes once again rose into the sky, and when her phoenix once again cried out in her voice, its mes had reached an iparably terrifying degree of heat.

    It carried a few traces of demonism within it, causing Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes to turn dark red. Right after that, her phoenix wings once again blossomed from her back. However, the mes that appeared alongside her wings were now dark red as well!

    The sonorous cry of a phoenix carried boundless tyrannical might and anger as it mightily rang out, its demonic, dark red mes covering its wings surging forth as it did so. The Absolute Defense Barrierpletely shattered in its wake, making it seem as though Ma Xiaotao was just crushing thest weed in her path. At the same time, her body shot out like a cannon shell made of fire.

    She didn¡¯t fly towards Princess Jiu Jiu, but the four soul masters who were grouped together.

    The students from Shrek Academy had nevercked in coordination. The instant Ma Xiaotao started moving, Dai Yueheng exploded out. Although he¡¯d been previously injured, his injuries weren¡¯t severe. His powerful physique that had been strengthened threefold had turned him into the person with the sturdiest body on the battlefield. His body was practically intertwined with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s as he rushed out, but the person he chose to run towards was Jiu Jiu.

    The soul master in front of Princess Jiu Jiu who hadn¡¯t made a move since the start of the battle finally stood up. A pair of enormous wings suddenly unfurled, blocking Dai Yueheng¡¯s path like a set of wooden doors.

    This was Sheng Yi, a defense-type Soul King whose martial soul was the Gigant Eagle.

    Although Jiu Jiu¡¯s Starcrown was powerful, its drawbacks were very obvious. The Starcrown wouldn¡¯t give too much of a boost to its user¡¯s physique, and because of that, Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s physique was still one of her weaknesses, even if she had an auxiliary-type soul skill strengthening her defense, or even her attacks. Because of that, she always had this defense-type Soul King protecting her, so as to avoid any idents from uring.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes went wide as he roared, ¡°Screw off!¡±

    He charged tyrannically forward, then used both his palms to aggressively catch the wings which were swatting at him.

    As a defense-type Soul King, Sheng Yi wasn¡¯t so easily taken care of. His second and fourth soul rings lit up simultaneously, and his enormous wings turned a metallic grey, then burst forth with a metallic light.

    An ear-piercing sound caused by friction rang out, apanied by countless sparks flying about. It seemed as though both parties were metallic weapons which were shing with each other.

    Considering how much rage Ma Xiaotao had pent up inside her, how could Dai Yueheng¡¯s mood be any better? As the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, the arrogance he possessed in his heart was no less than hers. If it weren¡¯t for the disparity between their cultivation levels, he would¡¯ve fought for the position of leader already. Although he looked much more mature than his younger brother from the outside, there wasn¡¯t too big of a difference between them on the inside.

    There was no need to even mention how depressed Dai Yueheng had been feeling, seeing that he had been ganged up on and even injured by his opponents. At this moment, he was only facing a single opponent! More importantly, Princess Jiu Jiu had been heavily injured by the destruction of the Star Barrier, and her Starglory Spell had been interrupted as well. In other words, herpanions couldn¡¯t provide her any assistance at all.

    In a situation like this, the oue of a battle between a Soul King and a Soul Emperor could be imagined.

    If an ordinary assault-type Soul Emperor fought against a defense-type Soul King, thetter might be able to hold their ground for a few breaths. Unfortunately, Sheng Yi was facing a Soul Emperor who possessed the White Tiger, one who was not only extremely good at closebat, but one who had an extremely tyrannical physique!

    Although Sheng Yi¡¯s wings--which were as tough as metal--blocked Dai Yueheng¡¯s path, thetter shoved his sharp ws into the former¡¯s wings amidst an ear-piercing sound caused by friction.

    Dai Yueheng let out another explosive roar, and a fierce, white light surged through his eyes as he unleashed the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination for the second time.

    However, his attack struck only air this time. A powerful absorption force suddenly descended from the sky, causing Sheng Yi to vanish into thin air; only, his wings now had ten additional gashes on them.

    This time, the Heavenfiend Douluo had made a move. There was no doubt that Sheng Yi would die if he were to take on Dai Yueheng¡¯s attack, so he had no choice but to intervene in a situation like this. While he was able to guarantee Sheng Yi¡¯s safety, this was equivalent to announcing his departure from the match.

    While everything over at Dai Yueheng¡¯s side went smoothly, Ma Xiaotao revealed the strength befitting of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament¡¯s reigning champion.

    A dark red fire propelled her body forward, making it seem as though she was a real phoenix--an Evil Fire Phoenix.

    There was no doubt about it--she was now using thepletely unrestrained evil fire. In the past, she would always suppress the evil aura hidden within her phoenix mes during battles or cultivation sessions; that was the only way she could prevent it from affecting her state of mind. However, suppressing it would undoubtedly affect her cultivation to a certain extent. This was because she would have to use some of her energy to suppress it. Not only that, but the evil aura within her was a part of her strength in the first ce!

    At this exact moment, the dark red mes she revealed were her true, unsuppressed power--the full power of the Evil Fire Phoenix.

    From another standpoint, the strength of the current Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul had already exceeded that of her ancestor from the first generation¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Ma Hongjun. This was because Ma Hongjun had relied on a heavenly treasure to resolve the issue of his evil aura, turning his martial soul into the pure Fire Phoenix in the process. Although the purified Fire Phoenix was even more overwhelmingly powerful, itcked the zing strength that came from the evil aura.

    Without the support of the Starglory Spell, Huang Heyun¡¯s team of four were bogged down for a brief moment. They were originally pursuing Dai Yueheng, but seeing Ma Xiaotao suddenly charge towards them had left them in a daze. Furthermore, they had been facing Ma Xiaotao horizontally. In other words, Ma Xiaotao was now suddenly nking them on the side.

    Theck of coordination that stemmed from a team of four once again appeared, as the four of them could only quickly turn around. Huang Heyun was left in an even more flustered state. He had been previously suppressed by Ma Xiaotao, and her sudden appearance after breaking through the Absolute Defense Barrier had crushed him in terms of impressiveness.

    Panicked, Huang Heyun didn¡¯t dare to waste any time. He forcefully pounded his own chest, and his eyes instantly turned blood-red. Then, he let out a tiger¡¯s roar, causing a ck hurricane to instantly sweep towards Ma Xiaotao.

    This was Huang Heyun¡¯s fifth soul skill, his strongest attack--Darkness Hurricane. Strengthened by his three teammates, this attack of his even seemed to have some substance to it. The instant it appeared, the air on the tournament stage seemed to melt. At the same time, this hurricane had a strong absorption force, which was now targeting Ma Xiaotao.

    After using this attack, Huang Heyun¡¯s veins turned purple. He was nearing the limit of his physical endurance, and there was a high chance that he would self-destruct if he were to use another soul skill.

    Dugu Shangshan, who was standing behind him, had no choice but to remove his hands from Huang Heyun¡¯s body. He now took Huang Heyun¡¯s ce, but the former quartet now turned into a trio.

    This attack had beenunched by thebined powers of four people, and it was even Huang Heyun¡¯s strongest soul skill. From their point of view, even if it wasn¡¯t able to directly take down Ma Xiaotao, it would at least be able to severely injure her.

    However, they didn¡¯t expect the valiant Ma Xiaotao to choose to not take it on directly.

    With a sudden p of her enormous wings of fire, Ma Xiaotao elerated as she was sucked towards the powerful hurricane.

    At this moment, her advantage in terms of cultivation was revealed. They were both Soul Emperors, but Dai Yueheng was five ranks lower than her. She was already Rank 67, and she wasn¡¯t too far from the Soul Sage rank. After releasing her full power and bringing the level of her mes to that of evil fire, even a Soul Sage who had fused their element with their soul power might possibly lose to the current her.

    Although she couldn¡¯t break free of that absorption force, a strange scene urred as she pped her wings. It wasn¡¯t her who was drawn into the Darkness Hurricane, but the hurricane that was drawn towards her.

    As her feet spouted jets of zing me, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body shot out. The Darkness Hurricane that was nearing her immediately slowed down greatly as it was sted by the twova-like jets of dark-reddish fire. Furthermore, it even seemed to be damaged slightly, causing it to be reduced slightly in size. However, Ma Xiaotao was able to borrow the force from her two leg soul bones to explosively increase in speed. Flying in an arc, she brushed past the pursuit of the Darkness Hurricane and flew straight towards Dugu Shangshan¡¯s trio.

    Her fifth soul ring lit up in midair, and the phoenix mes by her side suddenly formed halos of fiery light. These fiery halos swept behind Ma Xiaotao, and she let out a fierce shout as she once again sped up. Her figure vanished within the dark-red mes, and she transformed into a true Fire Phoenix as she instantly appeared in front of Dugu Shangshan.

    <strong>Chapter 110.3: The Second Fusion Skill!</strong>

    An even stranger scene appeared, as the fiery rings of light that were swept backwards seemed to damage the Darkness Hurricane. Although they weren¡¯t strong enough topletely destroy it, they were still able to obstruct and weaken it time over time. By the time that Ma Xiaotao had reached Dugu Shangshan, over half of the Darkness Hurricane had dissipated.

    Dugu Shangshan was simply unable to do anything. Evading her waspletely impossible; how could the the three of them defeat Ma Xiaotao in speed?

    His fifth soul ring shed as he released the Darkdemon Tiger¡¯s most powerful attack. However, the three Soul Kings behind him were no longer able to obstruct the raging Ma Xiaotao¡¯s advance.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The entire tournament stage was engulfed in an explosion of dark red fire. The instant that Ma Xiaotao¡¯s zing mes blossomed out, the audience was only able to see three figures soar into the air, rescued by the Heavenfiend Douluo. However, the three of them had suffered heavy injuries during the violent collision between the two parties; the Nine Transformations Soulrite behind them had been shatteredpletely.

    Oh, wait, four figures had shot into the air. Huang Heyun had also been rescued by the Heavenfiend Douluo after copsing due to overexertion.

    It wasn¡¯t just Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao who¡¯d simultaneously ended their battles: Bei Bei also defeated his extremely troublesome opponent on the other side of the arena at that moment. Of course, he hadn¡¯t just relied on his own power.

    The Lightning Falcon was simply too quick, and even possessed the ability to use lightning to some extent. As such, it was able to resist Bei Bei¡¯s paralysis. Fortunately for Bei Bei, his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was sufficiently strong, thus he¡¯d been able to persist through the entire battle. Granted, he¡¯d been left in an injured and weary state after the Star Barrier broke down.

    The instant that the Star Barrier broke down, Chen Xiaojie felt that something was off. He immediately wanted to use his most powerful attack to deal with Bei Bei, but a ck streak had appeared behind thetter at that exact moment. The instant he exploded out with all of his power, a thick and solid shield that was filled with the aura of ice faced him.

    The Mysterious Underworld Discement had finally been revealed in this match. Only, the person that had been disced was on Shrek¡¯s team.

    Even though Bei Bei¡¯s injuries were rather heavy, arge majority of them were only flesh wounds. He didn¡¯t hesitate to immediately jump back into the fight when Xu Sanshi took his ce. Furthermore, he made his move at just the right time, as Chen Xiaojie¡¯s entire body was in a sluggish state from his previous attack at that moment.

    Xu Sanshi naturally wasn¡¯t able to slow Chen Xiaojie down with his strength; his control-type soul skills weren¡¯t of much use towards the iparably quick Chen Xiaojie, who even had a cultivation level that exceeded his. However, Shrek¡¯s team still had another control-type soul master who¡¯d been trapped for quite a long time!

    The instant that Xu Sanshi switched ces with Bei Bei, an icy blue halo of light appeared beneath Chen Xiaojie.

    This was Ling Luochen¡¯s fifth soul skill, Icebrilliant Halo.

    However, the Icebrilliant Halo wasn¡¯t used to trap her opponents, but rather spread toward outwards from the epicenter. Under Ling Luochen¡¯s control, the halo of light instantly spread outwards.

    No matter how fast the Lightning Falcon was, it wasn¡¯t faster than the release of a soul skill, not to mention an omnidirectional one. He was naturally struck by it.

    Ling Luochen didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s assistance, thus her Icebrilliant Halo didn¡¯t contain his Ultimate Ice. However, it was stillpletely possible for her to temporarily freeze an agility-type soul master who was both weaker than her, and who didn¡¯t specialise in defense. After all, the fact that control suppressed agility had been known by everyone since the olden days.

    And what did a rascal like Xu Sanshi specialise at doing? There was no doubt that he was amazing at pelting a stone at someone who was already on the ground! He immediately used his third soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Force, followed by his first, Mysterious Underworld Quake, then smashed his shield into Chen Xiaoji repeatedly.

    Even though his attack power had never been worth mentioning, being hit by a shield still wouldn¡¯t feel good. Only people who¡¯d taken the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle head-on would understand how heavy it felt. Strengthened by the Mysterious Underworld Force, the Mysterious Underworld Quake¡¯s stunning effectnded on Chen Xiaojie¡¯s body and shot him towards the extremely angry Bei Bei.

    Bei Beiughed, his smile as warm and schrly as ever...

    Afterwards, a series of thunderps rang out on the tournament stage. Although the Heavenfiend Douluo was a Titled Douluo, even he felt somewhat nervous rescuing every participant at thest moment. This was especially so considering the fact that three battles had ended simultaneously.

    As such, he naturally chose to deal with the person left in the most dangerous condition. Even though Chen Xiaojie was getting wildly beaten up by Bei Bei, he was still a Soul King, while thetter was only a Soul Ancestor. As such, the Heavenfiend Douluo naturally didn¡¯t think that Chen Xiaojie would suffer any heavy injuries. Regardless of what one said, Bei Bei still looked like a rather warm-hearted person.

    Unfortunately, the Heavenfiend Douluo didn¡¯t know how two-faced this ¡®warm-looking man¡¯ was,

    Bei Bei had previously been beaten up by Chen Xiaojie god-knows how many times, thus he was now all bruised up! He¡¯d been oppressed for too long! Bei Bei wasn¡¯t a person who would bite the hand that fed him, but he was definitely a person who would exact vengeance on those that wronged him.

    He pped Chen Xiaojie¡¯s shoulder with his Thunderous Dragon w, sending him straight to the ground. Afterwards, Bei Bei leapt into the air, pointed his elbow downwards, and mmed into Chen Xiaojie¡¯s body.

    In an even more violent move, Xu Sanshi leapt into the air the same instant that Bei Bei did, and proceeded to m into Chen Xiaojie alongside him.

    Chen Xiaojie let out a muffled groan from the pain. Before he could regain his ability to move, Bei Bei used Vigorous Thunderbolt, which sent countless tendrils of lightning into his body.

    Naturally, Xu Sanshi was left shaking from the lightning that struck him. He immediately sent Bei Bei¡ªwho was lying underneath him¡ªflying with a kick.

    Once he got up, Bei Bei immediately used eighteen consecutive Thunderous Dragon w strikes on Chen Xiaojie. A wave of lightning swept towards him...

    Chen Xiaojie resembled a piece of charcoal that had been barbecued by the time that the Heavenfiend Douluo rescued him from Bei Bei¡¯s clutches.

    In reality, only seven or eight breaths of time had passed since the battlefield had changed. What Team Shrek had disyed wasn¡¯t just coordination, but explosiveness.

    Six of the seven students from Star Luo Academy had been eliminated. As Dai Yueheng stood in front of the staggering Princess Jiu Jiu, he didn¡¯t attack her. Instead, he gazed at her with a calm gaze.

    Princess Jiu Jiu had already retreated to the very edge of the tournament stage at this point in time. The instant she¡¯d been attacked, her mental state had been affected. The match had practically already ended while she was trying to recover her mental state.

    Princess Jiu Jiu mind was somewhat nk. She truly wanted to say, <em>I haven¡¯t even used my strongest attack yet.</em> However, she clearly understood that there was no longer any meaning in doing so. Even if her Starcrown was stronger, she couldn¡¯t take on the entirety of Shrek¡¯s team by herself.

    ¡°Jiu Jiu, just surrender.¡± Dai Yueheng said indifferently. The Starlight Auction clearly wasn¡¯t the first time that they¡¯d met. The gaze he looked at her with was somewhat mysterious, and even carried a few faint traces of warmth.

    ¡°I¡¯m not surrendering to you.¡± Jiu Jiu said coldly. She then turned around and jumped off the tournament stage, signalling the end of the team fight.

    The match had been quite short, so much so that arge majority of the audience hadn¡¯t managed to witness the most brilliant and intense scenes that had urred.

    However, this intense battle was definitely the most marvelous and fierce battle in the tournament to date.

    From Star Luo Academypletely controlling the tempo of the entire battle, to Shrek Academy¡¯s sudden reversal and explosiveness. The entire battle had not only been intense, but had also been extremely exciting. This was especially true for Shrek¡¯s team, who had been feeling palpitations in their heart throughout the entire fight.

    Ma Xiaotao watched her opponent leap down from the stage, then immediately turned around and flew to Ling Luochen. With a hoarse voice, she said, ¡°Help me suppress it, quick.¡±

    At that moment, her eyes werepletely dark red, and flickered with a savage light that seemed like it could swallow one whole.

    Ling Luochen didn¡¯t dare to waste any time. She quickly ced her icy staff on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s forehead, causing an Icebrilliant Halo to appear and forcibly suppress her evil fire that was about to blow up.

    A chilly sensation stimted Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body, and after a bout of shivering, her expression became slightly better. However, the dark red light in her eyes didn¡¯tpletely recede.

    After watching Princess Jiu Jiu leap off the stage, Dai Yueheng was left feeling somewhat nk. He quickly turned around, and a slightly strange¡ªand even somewhat chilly¡ªlight shed through his eyes as he looked at the fallen Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Right! It wasn¡¯t him who¡¯d defeated Princess Jiu Jiu. At that time, he¡¯d already received a few injuries. Furthermore, he hadn¡¯t possessed enough strength to even defeat the quartet that had faced him. Perhaps they wouldn¡¯t have been able to immediately chase after him, but they definitely could¡¯ve taken care of Bei Bei, who¡¯d been trapped by Chen Xiaojie. At that time, how long could he survive in the fight if he were to have to take on the entire team by himself? It would¡¯ve been hard to tell the results of the following battle. At the very least, the scales of victory would¡¯ve been tipped in his opponent¡¯s favor.

    However, the people who¡¯d truly pulled against the strong tide were the two youths who had copsed. However, just how had they done it? Even though they were now unconscious, they were the true highlights of Shrek¡¯s team in this match. It could be said that they¡¯d dominated the match despite only Ling Luochen and Xu Sanshi clearly witnessing what they¡¯d done.

 Chapter 111: Blaze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperors Hammer!

    <strong>Chapter 111.1: ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor''s Hammer!</strong>

    Breaking the Star Barrier and the Absolute Defense Barrier one after another hadpletely unraveled the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s battle tactics and strategy, and had subsequently changed the entire situation.

    Dai Yueheng walked over to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and, lost in thought, bent down to support the two of them.

    As that moment, a pair of hands shed before him, and Bei Bei¡¯s face appeared in front of Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes with a grin. ¡°Let me do it, senior.¡±

    Dai Yueheng was momentarily stunned. He instantly recovered from his mildly dense state of mind and agreed as he took a step back.

    ¡°Give him to me.¡± A pair of searing-hot hands reached out and snatched Huo Yuhao from Bei Bei¡¯s hands just as he was helping him up. Huo Yuhao was mped under her armpit as they leapt off thepetition stage almost immediately vanished from everyone¡¯s eyes.

    The corner of Xue Sanshi¡¯s, who was standing next to Bei Bei, mouth twitched a little as he heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I feel bad for him. However, I have to thank him as well. Xiaotao hasn¡¯t sought me out even once since he arrived.¡±

    ¡°Shrek Academy has defeated Star Luo National Academy in the first group battle round of the Semifinals.¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s indifferent and chilly voice rang out as he announced the results of the battle.

    On Shrek Academy¡¯s side, Dai Yueheng and Bei Bei had suffered varying degrees of injuries. As for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, they could be said to be used to the exhaustion frompeting, as their cultivations were simply too low. Ma Xiaotao had had to endure the toxic bacsh from channeling her evil fire, and had only managed to forcibly suppress the evil fire with Ling Luochen¡¯s help. However, she needed Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice topletely recover, which was why she¡¯d snatched him away.

    However, the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t that great either. Princess Jiu Jiu was injured, and Huang Heyun, their frontline assault-type soul master, had absorbed an enormous amount of soul power and had severe internal injuries. He would most likely not be able to fight again for a long time. Dugu Shangshan, another assault-type soul master, as well as the Windfire Duo, had been heavily wounded by the piercing strike that Ma Xiaotao had unleashed when she¡¯d triggered her Evil Phoenix. If not for the Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s timely intervention, all three of them would have perished beneath the scorching heat of her phoenix mes. The Gigant Eagle soul master was even worse for wear, as his wings, which he relied heavily on, had been torn apart. His wings being severely damaged meant that his origin as a soul master had also been hurt. It could basically be said that not a single one of the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s seven main team members would be able to continue in tomorrow¡¯s single-elimination match at their peak condition. Furthermore, they¡¯d already lost the first round, thus they would have to defeat Shrek Academy in the single-elimination round and the 2-2-3 round if they wished to turn the tables.

    ¡°How did Yuhao and Wang Dong do that, Teacher Wang?¡± Dai Yueheng eagerly probed Wang Yan the moment he stepped off thepetition stage.

    Wang Yan nced at him, then shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t see the situation onstage. How would I know?¡±

    Ling Luochen thought about it, then muttered, ¡°It was most likely a martial soul fusion skill. Their Golden Road seemed to counter Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s barrier. Afterwards, they used anotherbined soul skill. That soul skill was unique, and contained a frightening aura of raw power and majesty; I can¡¯t even begin to describe the force behind that strike. However, I know that they were the ones who broke through the weakened light barrier. Could it be that the two of them possess a second martial soul fusion skill?¡±

    Wang Yan eyed Ling Luochen deeply as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°We shall not discuss this any further. Let¡¯s head back.¡±

    Dai Yueheng frowned and said, ¡°Are we not going to watch the epic battle between the Imperial Profound Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and replied, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell from today¡¯spetition? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy will never use the tactics that they have specially in store for us before they¡¯re actually facing us on stage. Watching them will simply be a waste of time¡ªwe might as well hurry back and recuperate. Even though we probably won¡¯t receive much resistance from Star Luo National Academy in the single-elimination rounds, we can¡¯t be too careless.¡±

    It was true that the soul skill that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had used to ovee the Star Barrier was a new martial soul fusion skill that they¡¯d been experimenting with. To be more urate, it was their second martial soul fusion skill.

    Theirbined abilities would only get stronger and stronger as their cultivations increased. This was especially true regarding theirpatibility while using their Haodong power. This meant that their energy consumption when using their martial soul fusion skills would be much lower than usual.

    At the same time, ever since Huo Yuhao had fused with the Life Gold, his physical willpower endurance had been greatly boosted, which had been the most important part of their ability to use two martial soul fusion skills in a row.

    Huo Yuhao would have never experimented with activating two martial soul fusion skills in a row on his own had Electrolux not told him that he could do so. This was because failure would mean his death.

    Unleashing a martial soul fusion skill meant that two individuals martial souls and soul powers were being seamlessly fused together, and in turn releasing a different kind of soul skill. However, there was always a single person directing this how it was released.

    There was no question that Huo Yuhao was the main director of the Golden Road and the second soul skill, thus it was natural that he had to endure more. When he¡¯d obtained the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s bones, enduring the Golden Road no longer proved to be much of a problem. In light of his fusion with the Life Gold, and in addition to his increase in cultivation, using a second martial soul fusion skill right after the first had be he and Wang Dong¡¯s current limit. Wang Dong had fallen unconscious because of this, as Huo Yuhao had extracted all of Wang Dong¡¯s soul power whilst being pushed to the limits of his own soul power.

    Their second martial soul fusion skill was the product of fusing their other two powerful martial souls: the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer.

    The Spirit Eyes were the main director in the fusion between the Spirit Eyes and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, which meant that it was a fusion between spiritual power and light power in addition to the Purple Demon Eyes¡¯ mighty power, with their Haodong power as the source of activation. Comparatively, the Golden Road was a powerful martial soul fusion skill that leaned towards control rather than destructive capabilities.

    What about their other two powerful martial souls, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer?

    There was no question that both entities were the pinnacle of offense and destructive capabilities. One was an Ultimate martial soul, and was known as one of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings. The other held the reputation for being the most frightening assault-type martial soul in existence. Their fusion could only mean one thing: devastation.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s second martial soul fusion skill had a corresponding name to the Golden Road.

    ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer!

    The Ice Empress, as an Ultimate Ice martial soul, became the main controlling power as the Ultimate Ice¡¯s elemental destructiveness fused impably with the Clear Sky Hammer¡¯s pure cataclysmic power. The result was a illusion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mature figure as it ripped through space with a terrifying strike. The devastating power produced in that single instance was already far greater than theirbined might using their Haodong power.

    Perhaps it was because their martial souls¡¯patibility rates were so high, but their level of sess during their experiments with martial soul fusion skills in the past few days had been so high that even they hadn¡¯t been able to believe it.

    In theory, two soul masters with twin martial souls should be able to unleash four mighty martial soul fusion skills. In fact, they¡¯d already achieved electrifying sess with the other three besides the Golden Road. This was the most important reason that Wang Yan had been willing to send the two of them out in the semifinals group battle round. If he hadn¡¯t, theirbined strength wouldn¡¯t have been able topare to He Caitou and Jiang Nannan¡¯s strength without any special abilities.

    The oue proved that Wang Yan¡¯s decision was right: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s two powerful martial soul fusion skills had been the key part in Shrek Academy forcibly turning the tide. Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing¡¯s power had been greatly weakened, he¡¯d be Shrek Academy¡¯s spark once again in this battle.

    However, Huo Yuhao was currently in trouble, as Ma Xiaotao was dragging him back to the Grand Imperial Star Hotel.

    Ma Xiaotao rushed into her room like a gust of wind, then mmed the door shut with a bang and locked it.

    Her body was like a pile of burning coal at this point, while her skin was covered in a seductive pinkyer due to the evil fire¡¯s adverse effects within her body. The dull red color in her eyes had grown a shader darker, and her flowing red hair was so bright that it appeared to be dripping with blood.

    She shook Huo Yuhao with all her might and eximed in a hoarse and trembling voice, ¡°Get up, you can¡¯t sleep now!¡±

    Huo Yuhao had expended too much soul power, and his body had endured too great a hit from his martial soul fusion skill. He¡¯d been unconscious since the match. Therefore, simply shaking him a few times wouldn¡¯t wake him up, but Ma Xiaotao¡¯s situation was extremely dire at this point.

    She¡¯d forcefully suppressed the evil fire within her body with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice thest time around, and this had changed her attitude towards battle, as she felt as if she could just let herself go. She¡¯d begun to develop a change in mindset, as if she¡¯d forgotten the pain once the scars were healed. This was even more due to Huo Yuhao being by her side. In fact, she¡¯d begun to be a lot less watchful about controlling that evil fire within her body.

    Recently, she¡¯d felt the evil fire within her body beginning to stir again, but she hadn¡¯t hurried to ask for Huo Yuhao¡¯s help in suppressing it. She intended to ask for his help after they¡¯dpleted the rest of thepetition.

    She¡¯d triggered the evil fire within her body of her own volition in today¡¯spetition. This had caused her phoenix mes to reach a petrifying level that she was no longer able to control, even if she wanted to suppress it in certain situations. Even though Ling Luochen¡¯s ice element was powerful, the gap in their cultivations was too great. Her normal ice element couldn¡¯t evenpare to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil phoenix mes. This in turn led to her not being able to control the evil fire within her body when she returned to the hotel.

    Fortunately for her, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was ice cold, and his body also contained the Ice Empress¡¯ bones. Ma Xiaotao was still able to retain a trace of her rationality by hugging him ever so tightly. However, she couldn¡¯t even tell that the peaks on her chest were currently being pressed out of shape as she squeezed their bodies tightly together.

    ¡°What now? What should I do? This fellow just won¡¯t wake up.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao grasped Huo Yuhao¡¯s body impatiently as the evil fire surged periodically within her body. She could acutely feel that she was about to lose controlpletely. This hotel was inside a bustling district, and she was afraid of the lives that would be lost the moment she went berserk.

    <strong>Chapter 111.2: ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor''s Hammer!</strong>

    As Ma Xiaotao held onto Huo Yuhao as tightly as she could, she darted into the bathroom. She immediately turned on the shower, then plunged both Huo Yuhao and herself underneath the cold water.

    Even though the water was cold, it began to sizzle like burning charcoal that had been doused with water once it encountered her boiling-hot body. Thick, dense steam instantly permeated the entire bathroom, covering it in ayer of blurriness.

    Ma Xiaotao felt a wave offort course through her body once she¡¯d soaked herself inside of the cold water. She heaved a faint sigh of relief, then grit her teeth and started to gradually inject her soul power into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    She didn¡¯t know what else to do. Her half-dazed, unstable state of mind had made her irrational, and caused her topletely forget about Huo Yuhao¡¯s current situation. Even though she was trying her best to suppress it, the hysterically simmering evil fire found its way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and immediately began to wreak havoc.

    If this was Huo Yuhao before he¡¯d absorbed the Life Gold, just this alone would¡¯ve been enough to cause him grave injury.

    However, his passageways were able to endure much more than before. Although his entire body began to tremble violently under this riling stimtion, his passageways still managed to force down the small stream of evil fire that was flowing into his body.

    Huo Yuhao finally came to from his unconscious state because of this. Two arms tightly wrapped around his body were the first things he felt¡ªalongside the two extremely soft and springy peaks that were pressed against his chest.

    <em>What¡¯s happening?</em> Huo Yuhao was stunned momentarily, then felt the wave of uncontroble evil fire surging throughout his own body.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know the results of thepetition after he passed out, he was familiar with evil fire; it had once caused him unimaginably agonizing pain. He figured out what was going on almost immediately. Regardless of how the battle had ended, the Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil fire had rpsed and was out of her control.

    Dense steam obscured his vision, but he could clearly hear Ma Xiaotao¡¯s violent breathing. In addition to the fact that both of them were so intimately close, Huo Yuhao¡¯s young body also began to feel somewhat strange despite the pain he felt from the evil fire¡¯s torture.

    ¡°Xiaotao¡­ let me grab¡­ that milk bottle¡­¡± Huo Yuhao struggled to say.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have much soul power left in his body when Ma Xiaotao began to inject evil fire inside. However, the Ice Empress¡¯ soul bone was still there, and reacted immediately by releasing an Ultimate Ice aura to resist the evil fire.

    The extreme cold instantly made Ma Xiaotao feel like she¡¯d just experienced rain after several long years of draught. As she heaved a long sigh of relief, she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice.

    Considering their circumstances and her current unstable state of mind she immediately misunderstood his intentions.

    ¡°You little bastard. You still want to take advantage of me at a time like this?¡± Ma Xiaotao was furious, and immediately attempted to push Huo Yuhao aside. However, the moment her body stopped touching Huo Yuhao¡¯s, the evil fire in her body began to rampage once more. She moaned, then hugged Huo Yuhao as tightly as she could once again.

    Huo Yuhao yet again experienced the process of two lumps of soft flesh departing from his body and then being forcefully thrust back onto it. The encounter felt magical, but the agonizing sensation of evil fire flowing into his body made him grunt in pain. He subconsciously reached out to push Ma Xiaotao away.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t that short anymore, but he was still a tad shorter than Ma Xiaotao was. He was stuck in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s iron grip, with even his arms trapped within hers, which meant that he was unable to raise them at all. When he reached out with his hands, he naturally pressed them against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s waist. Due to the force of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s forward momentum, Huo Yuhao felt his feet slip beneath him, and he immediately stumbled backwards ¨C his hands slipped down as a result, and he ended up grabbing Ma Xiaotao¡¯s firm and perky butt cheeks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first felt something round in his hands, then intense heat, and finally that what he was holding was spongy¡­

    ¡°You¡­¡± The evil fire in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body had seeped into her veins, thus she was ten times more sensitive than normal even though her body was scorching hot. She was at risk of losing control in her current situation, yet she was also at her most powerful. Her heightened senses were used against her opponents in normal times, so it was easy to imagine how she felt now that she was using them on herself. No matter how hardy and resilient she was, she was ultimately still an unmarried woman. Even though Huo Yuhao was still young, he definitely didn¡¯t look like he was only twelve years old. Ma Xiaotao grunted from his grab, and subconsciously hugged him even tighter, the evil fire she¡¯d initially been trying to control instantly pouring into Huo Yuhao with more ferocity.

    Heat waves akin to a volcano¡¯s eruption assaulted his body from all over before he could enjoy the exhration of what he¡¯d grabbed.

    This sudden flow of heat made Huo Yuhao feel like his entire body was melting. As his body was still weak, he was sent into a daze. His hands naturally didn¡¯t let go when this happened¡ªinstead, they squeezed even tighter, and his fingers sank into the spongy flesh of her buttocks. The two of them then maintained this dubious position.

    Cold water continuously sprayed downwards, but it was quickly reduced to steam. The entire bathroom now resembled a giant steamer. Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes had be soaking wet in an instant, and he felt like he was about to be cooked alive.

    His Ultimate Ice¡¯s power would gradually reveal itself at times like this, and Ultimate Ice naturally countered the pressure that Huo Yuhao was withstanding from fire-type energy. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion also retaliated as Huo Yuhao faced this shockwave from all over his body. Of course, even if he hadn¡¯t had a powerful entity like the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao still wouldn¡¯t have just melted from this.

    Chilly air quickly spread from the Ice Empress¡¯ bones and protected his internal organs. The evil fire was powerful, but there was nothing it could do except be dispelled, as its adversary was Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea had been developed greatly ever since he¡¯d ingested the Life Gold. Not only had his spiritual power been boosted, but his control over his own body had also be a lot better than before. Neither the Ice Empress, the Skydream Iceworm, or Electrolux could easily take over his body anymore.

    However, the Ice Empress could still control the power that she had sealed within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    If the searing evil fire that invaded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body reached his heart, Huo Yuhao would be done for; how could the Ice Empress sit by and watch this unfold? The moment she felt that something wasn¡¯t right, she¡¯d lifted a corner of her seal, causing the Ice Jade Scorpion tattoo on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back to glimmer into view. An icy aura instantly flowed through his body and forcefully dissipated Ma Xiaotao¡¯s dense, blisteringly hot phoenix mes.

    The Ice Empress wouldn¡¯t have dared to attempt something like thisst time, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways had not only just suffered being baked beneath the waves of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil fire, but now had to sustain another rush of extremely cold air. It was possible that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body would directly crumble on the spot. However, it was different now, as Electrolux was no longer just a trace of divine sense now that Yuhao had absorbed Life Gold.

    The Pearl of Life hidden within his spiritual sea began to glow with dense volumes of life energy at the same time as when the Ice Empress made her move, and was released alongside the energy that the Ice Empress had unleashed. This way, Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways would possess arge amount of life energy and sustenance, in turn making it much harder them to break apart. His body was being refined by the sh of ice and fire yet again.

    The entire process was actually quite quick, but Huo Yuhao had already gone through an extreme case of a twin tribtion of ice and fire. His body shivered from head to toe due to the cold, and he felt as his he¡¯d been transformed into a water crystal once the heat receded and his entire body was frozen. His whole body felt as if it had be transparent.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s felt somethingpletely different; she felt that she¡¯d discovered an avenue to vent the evil fire stuck inside her body, and immediately funneled her evil fire towards it with lightning speed. This process made her feel extremely rxed andfortable. However, right at that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands¡ªwhich were still grasping her buttcheeks¡ªturned cold, and two streaks of extremely chilly energy flowed through her hips and into her body.

    This sensation was extremely peculiar. She didn¡¯t have a vast amount of life energy protecting her passageways like Huo Yuhao did, but her cultivation was enough that her passageways were resilient enough to resist the intense cold. The evil fire from before had flicked at her heartstrings continuously, and she¡¯d had an instant and obvious reaction when Huo Yuhao had grabbed onto her butt cheeks. Her hips had also been burning up a moment ago, but when they turned ice-cold the next, thebination of heat and cold caused an inexplicable sensation to course throughout Ma Xiaotao¡¯s entire body.

    ¡°Mmmm¡­¡± Ma Xiaotao began to quiver vigorously. Even though she¡¯d already found an avenue to release the evil fire within her body, she didn¡¯t let go of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, instead hugging him tighter instead. The gasping sounds she¡¯d been making became more intense as she struggled to break free from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands by shaking her buttocks. However, at that very moment, a ferocious individual such as her suddenly felt like she didn¡¯t have a single ounce of strength in her body. Her hips began to contort while the continuous conflict between the chilly sensation and the intense heat inside of her body caused her to enter an unceasing state of convulsions.

    ¡°Why am I dealing with my evil fire like this?¡± Ma Xiaotao thought to herself in between her convulsions. Immediately afterwards, she bit Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder as her body¡¯s convulsions grew even more intense. Her face flushed red as the sh of ice and fire within her body that resembled nirvana finally caused her to let go of all her safeguards; she could no longer control her own emotions.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was still in a daze, and the tribtion of ice and fire that he¡¯d just experienced had affected his entire body from top to bottom. His organs and passageways were changing as a defensive mechanism, and his soul power had been swiftly replenished after the Ice Empress lifted her seal. It felt as if his entire body had entered a special state of meditation.

    The two of them maintained their strange hugging position while they stood inside the bathroom, both their minds slowly bing even blurrier.

    The thick steamy mist inside the bathroom gradually dissipated, and eventually diffused outwards asyers of icy mist and in traces of frost began to appear around them. The bathroom was extremely tranquil, with the only thing disturbing the peace being the faint light radiating from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion tattoo on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Neither of them knew how much time had passed. Ma Xiaotao was the first to slowlye to from her state of deep sleep. When she regained her senses, the first thing she felt was icy coldness. It was something that she¡¯d never felt before, and she shivered uncontrobly.

    This tiny movement of hers was small, but infinite tiny cracking sounds rang out. She eximed in surprise when she saw piece after piece of thin ice break off of her body and fall down to the ground.

    <strong>Chapter 111.3: ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor''s Hammer!</strong>

    The ice wasn¡¯t the only thing that shattered into pieces. Her clothes, which had been roasted and frozen in turn and thus be extremely fragile, separated at the seams as well. Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t have a single thread on her body by the time all the ice had fallen to the ground.

    ¡°Ah ¨C¡± Ma Xiaotao gasped softly, but realized she couldn¡¯t move at all. She felt as if all the blood vessels in her body had been frozen solid, and her blood cirction was unbearably slow. She couldn¡¯t even sense a single trace of her phoenix mes, let alone the evil fire. It felt as if her entire body had gone into stasis, and she was just a statue made of ice.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s movement shocked Huo Yuhao awake. A person waking up would naturally and subconsciously move his or her body, and the thinyer of ice over Huo Yuhao¡¯s body broke and drifted to the ground as well. He was in the same situation as Ma Xiaotao ¨C besides the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges around his waist, every other piece of fabric on his body broke apart and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Ah ¨C¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in simr fashion before he immediately found that he could only see a patch of white before him.

    ¡°What are you shrieking about?! And you shouted even louder than I did, as if you just suffered a loss.¡± Ma Xiaotao was furious.

    Huo Yuhao finally saw the person before him clearly. How would one describe the scene before his eyes? Extreme perkiness, buxom, tender and delicate bright-red peaches, and¡­ and¡­ ¡°Close your eyes!¡± Ma Xiaotao said indignantly.

    Huo Yuhao recovered at once, and hurriedly covered his vital parts with his hands as he closed his eyes at once. However, what he just saw had been imprinted in the deep recesses of his mind. In fact, he felt as if he could see with more rity with his eyes closed.

    Ma Xiaotao was still panting faintly. She began to feel a touch of warmth as her blood flow started to smooth out. Her physical strength was far superior to normal people, after all.

    She recited her mental cultivation technique in her mind and the phoenix mes within her body were gradually awoken. Ma Xiaotao realized, to her intense shock, that the suppression of evil fire in her body was far moreplete than thest time. There seemed to be a ck pearl within her soul power that was located in the center of her pubic region. Furthermore, her own soul power also became a lot clearer and brighter, and there wasn¡¯t a single vestige of evil fire to be found.

    Ultimate Ice was so powerful! Ma Xiaotao finallyprehended how inappropriate it was for her to seek Huo Yuhao¡¯s help to suppress the evil fire, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was clearly exhausted, and he had overdrafted his energy back then.

    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked softly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Huo Yuhao had a feeling as if he wanted to cry, but there were no tears in his eyes. A young virgin boy like him was simply just full of vitality and liveliness. He had some natural reactions subconsciously after seeing something he shouldn¡¯t have, and he felt like his hands were unable to cover him up any longer. All he could do was bend his body and point his buttocks upwards to avoid exposing his buffoonery as much as possible.

    Ma Xiaotao heaved a soft sigh of relief and didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Strangely, the bathroom just maintained this tranquil state.

    The stiffness in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body gradually vanished following the phoenix mes¡¯ cirction in her body, and an unprecedented relief andfort coursed through her entire body, giving her indescribable satisfaction.

    Ma Xiaotao really wanted to moan out loud to express her pleasure, and would have if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been there.

    Could it be because the evil fire had been entirely suppressed? Ma Xiaotao knew that the answer wasn¡¯t so simple. When her body wasn¡¯t so stiff anymore, she immediately felt something sticky between her legs that made her extremely awkward and ufortable. What disturbed her even more was the fact that her long and powerful thighs felt a little weak.

    She cursed under her breath, and color returned to her pretty face. She nced at Huo Yuhao and she had an epiphany as she watched his strange behavior.

    She immediately raised her leg, kicked him in the chest and sent him tumbling out of the bathroom.

    ¡°Put your clothes on and wait for me outside. I¡¯m not going to let you leave. You¡¯re not allowed to leave.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s kick seemed heavy and hard, but it was a force that was meant to push him out, and not injure him. Huo Yuhao rolled once inside the bathroom, got on his feet and barreled outside as if he had just received divine forgiveness.

    He hurriedly shut the door behind him once he was out of the bathroom and immediately started to pant in deep breaths.

    Torture, this was torture. Besides feeling as if he was being tortured, all he felt was bewilderment. How many distracting thoughts could he have in his mind at such a young age? However, males and females were different, after all, and there was bound to be curiosity about the opposite gender. Still, seeing something that one shouldn¡¯t have seen would undoubtedly produce a certain measure of fear. Huo Yuhao swiftly put on some clothes he had stored inside the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, and then he was stood just inside Ma Xiaotao¡¯s room feeling extremely unsettled. He really wanted to dart back to his own room, but what if Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t forgive him for running off just like that?

    Furthermore, what made him even more anxious and exasperated was the fact that he just recalled the incident where he grabbed onto Xiaotao¡¯s buttocks. He didn¡¯t just see them ¨C he had touched them! What was that?

    Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t nervous and stressed like Huo Yuhao was. She used her phoenix mes to melt the ice freezing up the water pipes and immediately switched on the shower tap. Flowing water rinsed over her smooth and impable skin, and this refreshing sensation instantly increased the invigorating feeling within her body.

    She was already neen years of age, and she was far more mature than Huo Yuhao in terms of both mind and body. Even though she was still embarrassed about what had just transpired, her current thoughts and feelings were very different from his.

    Ma Xiaotao reached up and touched her hot cheeks as she reminisced over her repeated experiences of the tribtions of ice and fire, and the feeling of her arrival at the pinnacle of bliss.

    ¡°What a little bastard. Could this be an attempt at revenge?¡± She immediately recalled Huo Yuhao¡¯s dilemma and predicament inside the Sea God¡¯s Lake ¨C except, it was her this time.

    ¡°Whatever the case, I still have to thank him.¡± Ma Xiaotao gasped once more as she checked the evil fire within her pubic regions. She thought about Huo Yuhao¡¯s panic and bewilderment and she slowly withdrew the smile on her face as she tapped herself on the forehead. What was that? A single episode could be called an ident, but this was the second time. ¡°He¡¯s just a kid. I can¡¯t corrupt him like that.¡±

    Her thoughts stopped there as Ma Xiaotao quickly washed her body, dried herself and found a change of clean clothes before she stepped out of the bathroom.

    Huo Yuhao was sitting on the sofa with his head lowered and both hands on his knees. His back was as straight as an arrow, and his appearance was just like a kid who knew he had done something wrong ¨C even his face was flushed red.

    Ma Xiaotao found his behavior extremely cute and amusing, and couldn¡¯t help but giggle at the sight.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly stood up as if he had just been shocked. He didn¡¯t even dare to look up at Ma Xiaotao. His head was still lowered as he said, ¡°Xiaotao, I¡­ I made a mistake. It really wasn¡¯t on purpose. I¡­ I messed up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. What¡¯s all this talk about messing up? The person saying sorry should be me.¡± Ma Xiaotao tried to keep her tone asposed as possible as she stepped over to Huo Yuhao and touched his head. ¡°Sit down.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was caught off guard by this amicable behavior. He had thought that she was going to rage at him, considering her typical short temper and fiery personality.

    Ma Xiaotao pulled on Huo Yuhao to sit him down before she took a seat on the sofa opposite him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. The evil fire was already attacking my heart, and I dragged you back here in my dazed state and directly forced the evil fire into your body. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t cause any damage to you. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong ¨C I was the one who made a mistake. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight through all my anger, and triggered my evil fire to attack them, except I forgot you were already exhausted and couldn¡¯t immediately help me suppress the evil hidden within my phoenix mes. Thankfully, you¡¯re okay. Otherwise I¡¯d really regret this till the day I died.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s tone was extremely serious and solemn, and her pretty face was full of sincerity.

    Huo Yuhao stared nkly at her, but the anxiety and butterflies in his stomach had mostly receded.

    Ma Xiaotao continued, ¡°Luckily, nothing happened to you. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to exin what happened, and it¡¯s the same for me. The evil fire was affecting my mind and my rationality. As for what happened afterwards¡­¡± Her face turned red as she said this, and she hurriedly held back her emotions before she continued, ¡°It was just an ident. Everything came about by ident, and I hope this won¡¯t disturb you or cause you any trauma. You¡¯re still young, and you¡¯re not at the age where you should pine after women, so don¡¯t think too much. What you should be doing is focus on cultivating ¨C do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I understand¡­¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged repeatedly. He never expected Ma Xiaotao to give a speech like that. While he rxed his emotions, he developed a certain level of reverence and admiration for this girl before him.

    Ma Xiaotao watched his behavior and felt he was getting cuter by the second. She couldn¡¯t help himself, and giggled once more as she said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to be so prim and proper. Even though I almost messed up big time and I almost hurt you, you didn¡¯t lose out, did you? You¡¯re the first one to touch my body besides my family members ¨C and it¡¯s not even the first time.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao wanted to exin himself, but had no idea what to say as he blushed again.

    Ma Xiaotaoughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re still young, and I don¡¯t mean anything else by it. You¡¯ve touched my body, and that¡¯s it. You¡¯re still a kid, so I¡¯m not about to bicker with you about this. You¡¯re almost eight years younger than me, and you can call me sister if you¡¯re willing to. This way, you can be considered my family, and my reputation and integrity won¡¯t be tarnished. The next time I need your help to suppress evil will therefore be right and proper. Of course, being my little brother is a good thing ¨C I will take revenge on whoever dares to bully you by roasting him into a suckling pig. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Sister¡­¡± A sour sensation rushed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose, and tears poured out of his eyes instantly.

    Tears were products of grief, but they were also products of when one was deeply moved. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s words probably didn¡¯t mean much to normal people, but it wasn¡¯t the same for him.

    Huo Yuhao had been interdependent with his mother ever since he was a kid, and he had long been used to the hypocritical indifference in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. He had had no other kin besides his mother, who had always swallowed her anger.

    He had met Bei Bei and Tang Ya when he first joined Shrek Academy, and that was when his icy heart began to gradually change, and the cold sensations in his heart slowly turned into warmth.

    Even Wang Dong didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts had been extreme and radical when he had first moved into the dorm with him, just that Huo Yuhao channeled this extremity into silent determination in cultivation and tried his best to improve himself. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hatred towards the Duke¡¯s Mansion was still very strong at that time, to the point where he wanted to end the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lineage and bloodline once and for all.

 Chapter 112: Familial Love

    Huo Yuhao was still young, however, and as time passed he became more and more normal under hispanions¡¯ influence. However, he still felt very lonely. After all,panions and friends weren¡¯t family! He had no more rtives left in this world. He cultivated tirelessly to avoid the loneliness and dead silence in his dreams at night.

    At this point, tears fell from his eyes because of what Ma Xiaotao had said. ¡°I will take revenge on whoever dares to bully you by roasting him into a suckling pig.¡±

    Elder sister, if only he had an elder sister. She could openly ask him for help to suppress the evil fire, protect him and take care of him. The phrase ¡®elder sister¡¯ was a very unfamiliar term to him.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Ma Xiaotao was stunned as she saw Huo Yuhao crying. Huo Yuhao leapt up from the sofa towards her and gave her a tight hug. He wailed as he hugged her.

    He was bawling hysterically to vent his emotions. He didn¡¯t even realize that he had buried his head in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s chest as he wept.

    Ma Xiaotao was in a daze. A wave of distress surged within her heart after that. Although she was unsure why Huo Yuhao was crying so pitifully, she could clearly sense the change in his emotions. He developed a reliance on her as he bawled.

    All females possess maternal instincts. It was just a matter of how strong they were. Ma Xiaotao might seem very sturdy in front of others, but she was actually very delicate. Those who usually seemed tough were actually the ones who were the most vulnerable internally. Huo Yuhao¡¯s wailing sparked the kind, maternal instincts that resided within her.

    She patted his back lightly and did not mutter any words offort. She felt that letting him cry his heart out like this was the best for him.

    Huo Yuhao was crying very sadly. The venting of his emotions caused his tears to fall uncontrobly.

    He recalled his predicament when he was at the Duke¡¯s Mansion at a very young age. He was afraid of winter. Every winter, he would shiver in the cold with his mother at night. In the day, he still had to help his mother perform chores outside. His mother¡¯s hands were already frozen, but she didundry for the higher-ss servants in the Duke¡¯s Mansion in exchange for some low-quality grease for him to rub on his hands so that he wouldn¡¯t freeze up.

    The look in his mother¡¯s eyes was so kind and amiable. But it also carried a tinge of sorrow that could never be wiped away.

    He deeply recalled that his mother was crying very sorrowfully once. That¡¯s because he asked her, ¡°Mom, when can we ever be full?¡±

    ¡°Mom, when can we ever be full?¡± Huo Yuhao talked in his sleep.

    This simple sentence caused Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body to tremble. She teared up as she thought of how much bitterness Huo Yuhao had experienced when he was young.

    ¡°Mom, mom¡­¡± Huo Yuhao muttered under his breath as he wailed. His tears had already drenched Ma Xiaotao¡¯s shirt. However, he was unaware, and gradually fell into a deep sleep in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s arms.

    He cried for 15 minutes until he fell asleep without drying his tears. Ma Xiaotao hugged him lightly.

    Perhaps he missed the feeling of being in his mother¡¯s arms when he was young, but Huo Yuhao ced one of his hands on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s chest very naturally. But Ma Xiaotao was not angry with him for doing so. She only felt that he was very pitiful.

    Everyone would miss their mother. But from the way he cried, how could it be that he only simply missed his mother? Ma Xiaotao could sense the sorrow that was deeply ingrained in his bones. She also heard some of his childhood stories when he talked in his sleep.

    She did not ce Huo Yuhao on the bed directly. Ma Xiaotao hugged him as she leaned on the bedside. She allowed him to snuggle in her arms and continued to pat his back softly.

    It was early still in the morning when their match had ended. But right now, the Grand Imperial Star Hotel lit up with bright lights as night approached.

    Huo Yuhao slept very soundly and sweetly. In his dream, his mother hade back to life. He felt his mother¡¯s warmth as heid in her arms. Little Yuhao had never felt so peaceful before.

    Mom, mom¡­

    He murmured continuously as he stuck close to his mother in her arms. There were no more tears, but warmth and longing affection.

    By wailing bitterly, he had unleashed the sorrow and hatred that he had suppressed for so long. The warm hug left himpletely rxed. Maybe the knot in his heart had not beenpletely untied, but at least it was no longer a dead knot anymore.

    A man¡¯s growth would never be far away from a woman. A mother, sister, girlfriend, wife or daughter could not be missing from a man¡¯s life. In Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sister-like or mother-like arms, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and mind were both maturing subconsciously.

    When the first ray of sunlight passed through the window to the bedside at dawn, itnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    The golden ray caused the sleeping youth to slowly wake up.

    His entire body was warm, and he was feeling extremelyfortable. His soul power coursed freely in his body, and his heart felt an indescribable carefreeness. It was as if all his umted negative emotions had been vented.

    ¡°Sofortable¡­¡± He turned his head around unwillingly to avoid the beaming sunlight. But the abnormally soft pillow caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness to be a little clearer.

    As he moved his finger, an stic force was exerted on his fingertip. Huo Yuhao was truly awake now. He opened his eyes and saw azy but serious-looking face watching him weirdly, whereas his hands were ced on the upper chest of this person, and he was even grabbing this person¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Sister Xiaotao, this¡­ this is a misunderstanding.¡± Huo Yuhao rxed his grip quickly and crawled up awkwardly. His face blushed.

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Ma Xiaotao straightened her face, ¡°Did I hug you one night for you to call me this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao only regained his awareness now. He lowered his head as he said, ¡°Elder sister.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao sat up straight and stretched her arms and aching body before rubbing Huo Yuhao¡¯s head and saying, ¡°Go back to your room and wash up.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s indulgent action relieved the embarrassment and nervousness that Huo Yuhao felt. He lifted his head to look at her, ¡°Elder sister.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao smiled and replied satisfactorily, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s better.¡± As she said that, she dragged Huo Yuhao down from the bed and tidied up his shirt. ¡°Go wash up and eat something. It¡¯s not early anymore. We still have topeteter.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao replied. Although his face was still blushing, his eyes were filled with affability as he looked at Ma Xiaotao.

    He walked towards the door to her room as he spoke. When he was about to open the door, Ma Xiaotao said suddenly, ¡°Yuhao, I would like to hear your story when you are willing to tell me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned and smiled brightly at Ma Xiaotao, ¡°I will.¡± Ma Xiaotao sensed the intimacy she had with Huo Yuhao as their gazes met.

    Huo Yuhao breathed out heavily after he closed the door behind him. He felt extremely energized, which was something he had never felt before. Even the soul power in his body had been enhanced. He almost screamed because of the carefreeness he felt. He wanted to announce to the world that he had an elder sister!

    After returning to his room and opening his room door, Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong sprawled on his bed in an unmorous sleeping posture. A greater sense of warmth filled Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he saw Wang Dong. Without a doubt, Wang Dong must have had been waiting for him to return. The both of them were just exhausted yesterday, and sufficient rest was enough for them to recover.

    As he tiptoed to the bedside, Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and pped Wang Dong¡¯s butt. ¡°Time to wake up.¡±

    ¡°Aiyo.¡± Wang Dong whined in pain and jumped up.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhaopared this p he gave to Wang Dong to the hug he had given Ma Xiaotaost night¡­

    Wang Dong¡¯s butt was much smaller, but was equally perky. His butt was very springy even though he was wearing pants.

    Wang Dong was dazed for awhile after seeing that it was Huo Yuhao. He then scanned him for a few moments. Following that, he seemed alerted, ¡°You weren¡¯t wearing this yesterday!¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied vey naturally, ¡°Yes! I helped my elder sister suppress her evil fire yesterday. My shirt was burnt, and many parts of it were torn.¡±

    ¡°Elder sister?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s tone of voice became higher.

    Huo Yuhao nodded seriously and said, ¡°Elder sister said that she¡¯s unwilling to ept favors from anyone. If I¡¯m willing to be her kin, she will love and protect me in the future. Wang Dong, do you know that I¡¯m very happy? Ever since mom passed away, I became an orphan. I finally have kin now.¡±

    Wang Dong felt heartbroken as he looked at the shing radiance in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He said almost instinctively, ¡°You still have me!¡±

    When he sensed the weird expression in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, he supplemented his words hurriedly, ¡°We are brothers. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t treat me as your brother?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s different.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Wang Dong asked stubbornly.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°She gives me the feeling my mother did. Since we are brothers, your gender is totally different!¡±

    ¡°Err¡­¡± Wang Dong wanted to say something, but curbed his impulse. He snorted and said, ¡°While you were enjoying your time with your elder sister, I was waiting for you here. If they didn¡¯t let me find you, I¡¯d have rushed in already!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You call this waiting? You didn¡¯t even know that I came in. You were sleeping like a pig.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the pig.¡± Wang Dong leapt towards him. Huo Yuhao turned around to escape and said hurriedly, ¡°Stop ying already. Go and wash up before we have breakfast. We still have topete.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not going to be an individualpetition anymore. After the teampetition yesterday, the Star Luo National Academy has already conceded defeat. Their main team members are all injured. Who can they send to fight us? We don¡¯t have to go today. We will also rest tomorrow. It¡¯s the final the day after tomorrow!¡±

    After learning that he didn¡¯t need topete today, Huo Yuhao rxed. ¡°It¡¯s better not topete. What happened in the other semifinal match?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I was also in a daze, and didn¡¯t see what happened. From what eldest senior said, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy gained an overwhelming advantage over the Imperial Profound Academy. But today¡¯s individualpetition will still continue.¡±

    ¡°Overwhelming advantage?¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly felt petrified. The Imperial Profound Academy had 1 soul emperor and 6 soul kings. Without considering strategies, their abilities were above the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s. After recalling how Princess Jiu Jiu used a few powerful soul tools to turn the tide against his side, Huo Yuhao felt his head getting heavier.

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°I heard that they used less time than us in the team round. From the start to the end, the Imperial Profound Academy waspletely suppressed and had no chance. I also heard that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team leader has been promoted to a ss 6 soul engineer. He¡¯s very powerful.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, I had an idea after I woke up yesterday.¡± Wang Dong started to be excited.

    ¡°What idea?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Dong said in a low voice, ¡°Do you think that we are considered 1 person or 2 people when we unleash our martial soul fusion skill?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head at a loss and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to tell. Even if it¡¯s only 1 person, the difference from an ordinary soul master is still very great.¡±

    Wang Dong blinked hisrge, beautiful eyes and said, ¡°If Senior Xu can use the Mysterious Underworld Discement to shift us into the middle of our opponents, we can use¡­¡­¡±

    The two of them had great chemistry. Huo Yuhao understood Wang Dong immediately, ¡°Are you saying¡­ I understand now. But is this really possible?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°We won¡¯t know if we don¡¯t try. Let¡¯s ask Senior Xuter.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao replied immediately.

    After they washed up and had their breakfast, they went to find Xu Sanshi and ryed their idea to him.

    After listening seriously to their description, Xu Sanshi shook his head and said, ¡°I fear that it¡¯ll be very difficult. I might seed if I can remain in the awakened form of the Xuanwu turtle. The thing is that my Mysterious Underworld Discement can¡¯t just shift anyone. The prerequisite is that the person I¡¯m trying to shift doesn¡¯t possess any defense-type soul skills that cover a wide area, which will prevent any discement. It¡¯s just like how I failed when Princess Jiu Jiu used the Starcrown soul skill. When a soul master uses his soul skill, my soul power will be depleted twice as fast if I want to disce him. The stronger the soul skill, the faster the depletion of energy. This continues until the soul skill can¡¯t be used anymore. Let¡¯s not even consider the question of whether you¡¯re 1 or 2 people when the both of you use your martial soul fusion skill. Purely based on the fact that your martial soul fusion skill is immensely strong, I may not be able to disce the both of you sessfully. I may seed if I am in the awakened form, which will make me close to the rank of a soul king and supplemented by the Mysterious Underworld Force.¡±

 Chapter 113: Heavenquake Axe

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were both disappointed as they heard Xu Sanshi¡¯s words. If the Mysterious Underworld Discement could be used when they unleashed their martial soul fusion skill, it would be a great strategy in a team battle.

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be like this anymore. At such a young age, the both of you managed to turn the tide in a critical situation. What more do you want? Teacher Wang won¡¯t even allow me to ask you what your martial fusion skill is. However, I saw it that day. Powerful! I would like to try it if there¡¯s an opportunity.¡±

    Wang Dongughed, ¡°Brother Xu, do you want to try 1 or 2?¡±

    Xu Sanshi snapped, ¡°Nonsense, obviously 1. Do you want me to die?¡± As he spoke till this point, he revealed a dash of craftiness on his face and continued, ¡°Do the two of you want to see what¡¯s going on in the individual round? But you must both fully recover first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong turned to look at each other, and they could see that they were both starting to be excited.

    The Star Luo National Academy had conceded defeat, and would not be participating in the individual round. That¡¯s why today¡¯s match was between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Imperial Profound Academy. Although Wang Yan did describe how the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy hadpeted, they had not seen it for themselves. Furthermore, the individual round wouldn¡¯t take up too much of their time.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Xu Sanshi, it¡¯s just the three of us?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled. ¡°Three of us is enough. Why do we need so many people? Bei Bei and Senior Dai are both still recuperating from their injuries. Yuhao, did Senior Ma do anything to you yesterday?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Elder sister treated me very well.¡±

    Xu Sanshi revealed the same look as Wang Dong earlier, ¡°Elder sister? You¡¯re good! Your progress is quick.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Brother Xu, we¡¯ve only acknowledged each other as siblings. She said that if anyone dares to bully me¡­ hehe, you know.¡±

    Xu Sanshi shivered. ¡°You¡¯ve benefited. Does it matter whether it¡¯s your elder sister or younger sister? Let¡¯s rush, we don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xu Sanshi crept out of the hotel as they were driven by their curiosity. As members of Shrek Academy and finalists of the tournament, they managed to enter thepetition venue through the corridor for team members.

    At this point, the Imperial Profound Academy and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had both entered thepetition venue too. While they were in the resting area, the attention of the members of both academies were drawn towards the three of them as they approached. The resting area for Shrek Academy was not empty either. Wang Yan was sitting there. His brows furrowed as he saw the three of them walking over.

    ¡°Teacher Wang.¡± Xu Sanshi brought Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to the Shrek Academy¡¯s resting area before greeting Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Aren¡¯t all of you supposed to be resting? Why are all of you here? Yuhao, are you fine?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Teacher Wang, don¡¯t worry. I have suppressed Senior¡¯s evil fire.¡± He did not call her elder sister anymore because he did not want to be interrogated anymore. It was best if he said it to everyone once they were gathered.

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Alright then. Since this is the case, let¡¯s all watch together.¡±

    The three of them sat beside him, and Xu Sanshi asked curiously, ¡°Teacher Wang, what happened yesterday? I only heard that it was an overwhelming victory. How did the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering manage to do it?¡±

    Wang Yan revealed a bitter smile on his face and replied, ¡°Do you know why I didn¡¯t allow all of you to watch thempete?¡±

    The look in Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes changed a little. ¡°Were you afraid of shaking our confidence?¡±

    Wang Yan was stunned as he replied, ¡°You are smart. However, this is only one of the reasons. Another reason is that there¡¯s no point in watching thempete.¡±

    His tone became more serious as he continued, ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is obviously very prepared for this tournament. Let me rify this point. Since they are our biggest rival, I have been monitoring them ever since the tournament started, and watched almost every round that they havepeted in. But do you know what I discovered? They have never used the same strategy in each round of thepetition, especially during the team matches. Tell me what¡¯s the point of watching them then? It¡¯ll only shake your confidence.¡±

    ¡°Their team leader, Ma Rulong,peted yesterday. He was impable. He used 2 ss 7 soul tools to suppress the entire Imperial Profound Academy. The other 6 simply used Soul Tool Fortresses. Think about what kind of scene you will see when 6 Soul Tool Fortresses are fired at the same time. The entirepetition stage was raging with attacks. The Imperial Profound Academy was forced off thepetition stage by the frightening firepower before they could even disy their true abilities. Their soul emperor was struck the moment he stepped forward and was knocked out of thepetition stage. Thepetition ended after that.¡±

    After hearing Wang Yan¡¯s description, Huo Yuhao¡¯s and the other two¡¯s expressions changed. Although they had expected them to dominate, they didn¡¯t expect them to be so dominant! If this was the case, how would they fight?

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°After seeing yesterday¡¯s team match, I think that it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. We¡¯ll just do our best in the final.¡±

    Xu Sanshi asked in a low voice, ¡°Teacher Wang, do you think our main team members would have a chance if they came to participate in this tournament?¡±

    Wang Yan replied after pondering for a while, ¡°It¡¯d be difficult for them.¡±

    Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Since this is the case, don¡¯t think too much about it anymore. Didn¡¯t you mention before that we¡¯ve alreadypleted our mission by making it to this stage? Whether we win or lose in the future, we¡¯ve earned it. Since we only have one round left, so what if we lose, as long as we give our all? Moreover, it¡¯s not our first time creating a miracle. We are Shrek!¡±

    Wang Yan smiled and said, ¡°You are quite open-minded. I will be relieved if all of you carry such a mentality when youpete. Regardless of whether it¡¯s the academy or me, we won¡¯t bother too much about the result. But if we lose, the public¡¯s opinion will bear on all of you. As all of you are still young, I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t be able to bounce back from the setback. If that happens, I will be a sinner in Shrek¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed. ¡°No way! Teacher Wang, you are thinking too much. The academy gave us this chance because we are all determined and resilient. Furthermore, we can just return to the academy immediately if we lose. Don¡¯t tell me that there will be people in the academy who will spout gibberish?¡±

    As they spoke, the referee had already arrived on the stage. The Star Luo Emperor was also here to observe thepetition on top of the city wall. Princess Jiu Jiu, who lost to them yesterday, was also standing beside the Star Luo Emperor.

    Huo Yuhao could sense someone observing him, and he lifted his head subconsciously. He saw Princess Jiu Jiu ncing at him. Her ravishing face seemed to be filled with frustration, but this could only be noticed by Huo Yuhao because of his Spirit Eyes. The others beside him didn¡¯t notice this.

    On top of the city wall.

    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m indignant. We were supposed to be able to win.¡± Princess Jiu Jiu protested.

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to be indignant about? It¡¯s a fact that you lost.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu was unconvinced as she said, ¡°But I didn¡¯t get to use my strongest skill.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor said, ¡°But it¡¯s not that you didn¡¯t want to use it. Furthermore, it might not have changed the result even if you had. Even if Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn¡¯t unleash the soul skill that suppressed the Starcrown, do you think that all of you could have defeated that Phoenix together? Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, and she¡¯s the descendant of Ma Hongjun, who belonged to the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. She¡¯s a Rank 67 soul emperor, and her cultivation is the best among everyone in this tournament. You saw what happened yesterday too. Even when 3 soul kings teamed up together, they couldn¡¯t challenge her. Would all of you have won if you were tired? And that would be even worse in the individual round. All of you had no chance with Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng around. It¡¯s still about the difference in power. While Shrek Academy did not send its strongest lineup this time, no one can underestimate their foundation. I am excited to see how things will pan out when that young fellow grows up 5 yearster.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu snorted and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll be like 5 yearster, but they¡¯ll likely leave this tournament in the humiliation of failure. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is too powerful. They have also prepared very sufficiently for this edition of the tournament. Shrek Academy has also appeared with problems. Even if their entire official teampetes, they may not have a chance at all.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperorughed and said, ¡°Younger sister, you are too concerned about the result of this tournament. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is like you, taking this tournament too seriously. At the same time, both you and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy are taking fame and fortune too seriously. That¡¯s why you reckon that the Shrek Academy has made a wrong move. In reality, I think they are doing what they are doing because of a deeper meaning.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu was puzzled as she asked, ¡°Deeper meaning?¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor asked in a low voice, ¡°Jiu Jiu, what do you think about our Xu Family¡¯s powers?¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu, who was also called Xu Jiu Jiu, replied without any hesitation, ¡°We are very powerful. We were only able to lead the empire¡¯s troops to force our enemies out and disintegrate the Duke¡¯s Mansion bloodline to be the leader of this empire because of our family¡¯s power. It¡¯s very rare to see huge ns like our Xu Family in the continent now. Even when the Martial Soul Hall behaved atrociously then, they couldn¡¯t do anything to us.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Our Xu Family is very powerful. But why did we only making our move when the empire was in trouble? It¡¯s not just because a wise man looks after his own hide. We did it more for the umtion of strength. However, our Xu Family has been getting smaller over the past few thousand years. In our generation, it¡¯s only you and I that have inherited the Starcrown. Now, think about Shrek Academy¡¯s foundation. Shrek Academy has been growing over the past 10,000 years, and they have also secretly done a lot of for the continent. Many huge empires are afraid of them too. However, who do you think is truly aware of Shrek Academy¡¯s depth? And would such an established academy make such a stupid error? Furthermore, Shrek Academy can send another group of official team members if they wanted to. Shrek Academy is never devoid of talents.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu asked doubtfully, ¡°Brother, are you saying that Shrek Academy does not value the tournament?¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, shook his head and replied, ¡°No. Shrek Academy might not care about the tournament, but I¡¯m sure that they value this batch of young students a lot. Many people miss out on a few things because of their low cultivations, but those who are keen-eyed can tell their talents. Shrek Academy might have forsaken the chance to be the tournament champion in order to train them up. Losing the tournament isn¡¯t scary. The scary thing is if there are no sessors. I have watched Shrek Academypeting in every round. I can fairly say that every one of their students has their own special trait. If they can progress rapidly, given 5 to 10 years, Shrek Academy will have a bright future, and that¡¯ll be even more frightening.¡±

    When he reached this point, Xu Jiawei stopped and turned his attention to the distance, ¡°Younger sister, you must remember this. With the strength of their academy, they once led the 3 empires on the continent to retaliate against the invading Sun Moon Empire. They even resisted the wave of beasts from Star Dou Forest. Without them as a stabilizing force at the border between our empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire would have made their move already. Alright, let¡¯s watch thepetition.¡±

    At this point, thepetition had already started.

    One might wonder whether the Imperial Profound Academy had be angry from embarrassment. The first member topete was their team leader, who was a soul emperor. He was also the one who drawn the lots for them yesterday.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy sent a tall and thin youth up.

    Inside the resting area, Wang Yan introduced the both of them to Huo Yuhao and the others with great familiarity.

    ¡°Imperial Profound Academy team leader. His name is Jiang Peng, and he¡¯s a soul emperor. His soul power is between Rank 61 and Rank 62, and he is the first in the Imperial Profound Academy history to be a soul emperor before reaching twenty. Because of this, he¡¯s also very arrogant. His martial soul is a Heavenquake Axe, which is very powerful. Amongst all the assault-type martial souls, I only know Wang Dong¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer that can suppress his martial soul.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has sent one of their official team members up. His name is Michael, and he is a ss 5 soul engineer. He has many strategies, and I have no way of appraising him. In the previous rounds, he would fight almost every time. He is a very stable person, and has never once made a mistake whenpeting.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s im that he had never made any mistakes so far was already a positive appraisal on its own. As he was introducing them, the battle had alreadymenced on stage.

    Michael had already let out a series of metallic ngs just as the referee shouted to signal the start of thepetition.

    A bright blue b of metal rapidly appeared from his back and covered his entire body. It was as if he was wearing a suit of armor over his body. bs of metal also appeared from his waist and legs.

    After all the bright blue bs of metal covered his entire body, Jiang Peng had already rushed beyond the halfway line.

    Michael was wearing a suit of heavy armor. After donning the armor, his body seemed to have expanded by about 3 circles. The bright blue metal shed, and a ball of white light shone from both his chest and belly. It was very obvious that these were the core formations of this soul tool of his.

    A soul tool that covered his entire body?

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide and observed seriously. He had never seen this soul tool before. But Fan Yu had once mentioned that the highest ss closebat soul tool was the most primitive armor in the Sun Moon Empire. However, this type of soul tool couldn¡¯t be appraised using simple armors. Its presence greatly increased the user¡¯s offensive and defensive abilities. It could even amplify the user¡¯s cultivation.

    Soul engineers¡¯ martial souls were usually defective. But a soul engineer could unleash the powers of assault-type soul masters with this type of full body armor. Thus, it was a pity that the Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Engineering Department had experienced some issues with their current research. They had no experience in producing this kind of full body armor. They didn¡¯t expect to see it in this tournament.

    Blue light shed in Michael¡¯s hands, and a huge sword that was the same color as the armor on his body appeared in his palm. The sword¡¯s radiance was even brighter than that of his armor, and the core formation at the edge of the sword released halos of blue light.

    As Michaelpleted all this, his opponent was already in front of him.

    Jiang Peng deserved to be called the most outstanding student in the Imperial Profound Academy¡¯s history. He did not unleash his martial soul when he burst towards his opponent. That was because his martial soul would cause his speed to decrease. It was only when he reached his opponent that he unleashed his martial soul.

    6 soul rings ¨C 2 yellow, 2 purple and 2 ck ¨C rose from beneath his feet instantaneously. A reverberating boom that sounded like lightning resonated in the sky. Following Jiang Peng¡¯s leaping movement, a streak of huge, ferocious radiance had already descended from the sky.

    It was a huge axe. The axe was roughly 5 feet in length. But the scary thing was that the axe de was over 5 feet in width as well. The axe de was pitch-ck, and exuded a cold aura. Its immense destructive strength could be sensed just by looking at it.

    Grabbing the axe with both his hands, Jiang Peng shed it without using any soul skills. The Heavenquake Axe reverberated with a menacing roar. It was shed towards Michael¡¯s head, aided by its falling momentum.

    Michael did not panic, and he slid his feet slightly so that he moved back by a meter. At the same time, his full body armor shed with an intense blue radiance, which connected with the sword in his hand. As he held the sword¡¯s hilt with both hands, he made an upwards shing motion.

    It was clear that he had practiced this action countless times. There was no fanciness involved. It was simple, direct and urate. He was not targeting the axe de, but instead used his sword¡¯s 7 foot length to sweep towards his opponent¡¯s axe handle.

    Jiang Peng snorted, and his downwards shing motion stopped in mid-air. He instead swept his axe across horizontally, causing it to collide strongly against the sword.

    Michael staggered backwards as a booming roar sounded. Jiang Peng¡¯s momentum was stopped also stopped, and his body even shone with a series of electrical lights.

    Huo Yuhao immediately understood that Michael¡¯s armor and sword should carry the effect of lightning.

    It was not rare for closebat soul tools to carry elemental effects. He was, however, shocked by Michael¡¯s powers. This was evidently due to the enhancement by the soul tool. With the soul tool enhancing his powers, he was not much inferior to a strength-type soul emperor as a soul king. This showed the great enhancement effect of this soul tool on him.

    Wang Yan¡¯s description also left Huo Yuhao even more shocked. Wang Yan said, ¡°In the earlier rounds, Michael also disyed his long-range offensive abilities. This is his first time using a closebat soul tool.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s exnation caused Huo Yuhao to be stunned. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s abilities had reached such a tremendous standard?

    However, Michael also did not feel good after being struck by the axe. He did not manage to chase after Jiang Peng, who was suffering from numbness all over his body. Both of them stopped on thepetition stage for a while. Following that, Michael did not continue to fight forcefully. The bright blue radiance behind him shone even brighter, and his body picked up speed. He burst out a few meters before his toes touched the ground. Then, he switched directions at a 90 degree angle, but his speed did not decline. He burst towards the center of thepetition stage.

    Jiang Peng¡¯s arrogance had dipped a little by now. He naturally knew the importance of this round to the Imperial Profound Academy. He did notpete first because he was reckless. He had pondered his decision carefully before making it. Only if he managed to get rid of a few opponents could they have a chance of winning today¡¯s individualpetition. This was also why he did not use his soul skill when he came up. He needed to conserve his soul power and abilities so that he couldst longer!

    However, Michael was much stronger than he had expected. He was a soul king, and it was obvious that his cultivation wasn¡¯t increased solely through his own training. His foundation was not as deep as an orthodox soul master¡¯s. But it was precisely this soul king that was not at a disadvantage after he met his strike as he wore the armor.

    Total body numbness was not a good feeling. Jiang Peng knew that he could no longer hold back anymore. Otherwise, he would be at a disadvantage the longer his opponent remained standing.

    As he thought till this point, his 3rd soul ring lit up as he turned. The purple thousand year soul ring emitted an elegant glow while the Heavenquake Axe had already moved amidst a series of booming air sts.

    This Heavenquake Axe was deservedly termed a powerful attack-type soul tool by Wang Yan. After it struck, the huge axe revolved in the air like a huge light disc that emitted a cold radiance.

    A dark, full moon descended from the sky. It managed to catch up to Michael¡¯s sprinting figure in the blink of an eye.

    Huo Yuhao saw it clearly this time. Both his armor and sword released an intense blue lightning current as he drew his sword. The current did not disperse, but quickly gathered towards the tip of the sword before being unleashed brutally once again.

    Lightning was very unstable. For this soul tool to seal the powers of lightning and unleash it with such precise control, Huo Yuhao was a little uncertain of how to describe this soul tool anymore. He believed that it was not only a ss 5 soul tool, and might not have been produced by Michael himself. This was especially so because the sword released a lightning radiance that almost seemed solid. When it was used, it even felt as if there was a flow or wave.

    However, Michael had miscalcted this time.

    Jiang Peng waved both his hands in the distance, and the originally fierce Heavenquake Axe changed suddenly directions in the air. It drew a weird-looking arc and swung behind Michael instantly. The axe de shed down heavily.

    Michael¡¯s reaction was not slow. He leapt forward immediately when he realized that things were amiss. The soul thruster behind his armor was unleashed at full power. But it was no longer just a driving force now. Rather, it shot out a powerful light towards the back that attempted to resist the strike of the Heavenquake Axe.

    But a soul emperor was a soul emperor. This soul tool on Michael¡¯s body was very strong, but Jiang Peng was no easy opponent either. After all, he was the top talent in the Imperial Mystical Academy¡¯s history. Upon closer examination, it was possible to discover that Jiang Peng¡¯s yellow first soul ring was shing with a subtle radiance. This radiance was very special, and wasn¡¯t just like the kind of radiance emitted by soul masters¡¯ martial souls. It was delicate, and shed with a frequency that resembled the rate of a heartbeat.

    Jiang Peng had never used his first soul skill before in previous rounds.

    Generally speaking, soul masters¡¯ soul skills were usually more powerful theter they were obtained. That was because the added limit would be greater. But Jiang Peng was special in a certain aspect. His first soul skill was not used for any direct attack or offense. It was a control-type soul skill that was used to control his martial soul.

    The Heavenquake Axe was an extremely tough assault-type martial soul, and it also carried a powerful destructive capability. It could bepared with Wang Dong¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer. Its destructive strength was still very frightening without even using a soul skill. When Jiang Peng had fused with his first soul ring, he had identally chosen the wrong soul beast. This had led to his possession of this control-type soul skill. But with his intelligence and solid foundation, he managed to progress in another way under the guidance of the Imperial Mystical Academy¡¯s teachers. He invented a special offense, which he called the Eighteen Dragonying shes.

    The strength of this Eighteen Dragonying shes was that it wasn¡¯t a soul skill. It was better than a soul skill, and could bebined with other soul skills. With the control of the first soul ring, he could enable the Heavenquake Axe to strike consecutively for a maximum of 18 times. This was the first time this killer move had been demonstrated in the individual matches.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± In front of the Heavenquake Axe, the light shot out by the soul thruster was instantly split, and the axe struck Michael¡¯s back heavily.

    In the next moment after the Heavenquake Axe struck, a dull explosion sound rang out. The impact caused Michael to be pushed forward.

    Concussive explosion. This was the destructive ability that the Heavenquake Axe carried. Along with its immense weight, this strike was very heavy.

    It was clear that the armor behind Michael had been struck till it bent inwards. The piercing axe continued to advance, and Michael spat out fresh blood. He staggered as he fell forward.

    It was not that Jiang Peng was extremely strong. It was just that the changes to his strikes were too special. It was different from what the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy knew about Jiang Peng. Michael was at a great disadvantage now.

    The Heavenquake Axe, however, did not care. The fury that Jiang Peng had restrained in the teampetition yesterday was unleashed right now. The Heavenquake Axe shed toward the same area it had previously struck with an ear-piercing boom. Michael¡¯s armor should be proud of itself for being able to resist the Heavenquake Axe¡¯s first blow. But the concussive explosion it had brought with it couldn¡¯t be shaken off so easily. If it was unleashed once more, he would be heavily injured, if not killed.

    The referee intervened in time and blocked the Heavenquake Axe in the air. He also announced the end of thepetition.

    Jiang Peng recalled his martial soul. Turning around, he hooked his finger towards the Sun Moon Academy team in the waiting area with a cold and arrogant look on his face.

    Xiao Hongchen made a swishing sound as he stood up. He was about to ascend to the stage, but was stopped by Ma Rulong. Xiao Hongchen red at him, but Ma Rulong shook his head and shot him a look. After that, he walked up to the stage himself.

    During the team round, using a soul tool as a team would achieve an appreciable effect. But in the individual rounds, it was difficult to use a soul tool to make up for the gap between a soul king and soul emperor. It¡¯s important to know that Jiang Peng was not just an ordinary soul emperor, but a talent nurtured by the Imperial Mystical Academy. They had gathered all their resources to nurture him, and he was no longer conserving his power at this critical moment.

    Michael was sent topete first, but not with the hope of defeating Jiang Peng. His purpose was to deplete some of his soul power. However, it seemed like the Sun Moon Imperial Engineering Academy would be the one at a disadvantage if this continued.

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes shifted a little as he saw Michael being defeated. He thought of something in his heart. Although the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s soul tools were very powerful, the powers of a soul engineer could be said to rely entirely on soul tools. Against an elite soul master in a restrictedpetition stage, they would not confer him much of an advantage.

    Jiang Peng had forced Ma Rulong topete. To the observers, this was a good thing. To a certain extent, the abilities and methods of this the Sun Moon Academy team leader would be the key to victory in the finals.

    Jiang Peng was slightly petrified as he saw that Ma Rulong was the next topete. He squinted his eyes as he held the Heavenquake Axe. If he could defeat Ma Rulong, the Imperial Mystical Academy might really have a chance of turning the tide. This battle would be extremely crucial.

    ¡°I will defeat you.¡± Jiang Peng pointed his Heavenquake Axe at Ma Rulong. He was trying to provoke him.

    Ma Rulongughed gently, ¡°Do you think this will provoke me?¡±

    The two of them retreated to the edges of thepetition stage as they spoke.

    Jiang Peng snorted, ¡°Ma Rulong, I will let you realize that soul engineers like you who exploit external powers will never beparable to soul masters like myself that work hard to fulfil our potential. You will be defeated under my axe just like the one just now.¡±

    Ma Rulong shook his head and said, ¡°Michael didn¡¯t unleash his full abilities. It doesn¡¯t mean that a soul master is better than a soul engineer just because you defeated him. Michael didn¡¯t use any soul tools that he developed himself. His abilities were not truly unleashed to fight you. One understands himself best, thus a soul engineer is only at his peak state when he uses his own soul tools. I created every soul tool I use. I will show you what a true soul engineer is.¡±

    Jiang Peng snorted. ¡°I¡¯d be a fool if I believed you. Did you make the ss 7 soul tool that you used too?¡±

    ¡°I have no need to lie to you.¡± Ma Rulong said indifferently.

    At this point, they had already reached the edges of thepetition stage. As the referee shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡± a huge battle ensued.

    Jiang Peng burst forward towards Ma Rulong like before.

    Ma Rulong lifted his right hand, and it was clear to see that there was a silver ring on each of his fingers. The first ring shed, and a metal barrel that was around 1.5 meters long and 10 centimeters wide appeared in his palm. He then lifted it to his shoulder, and unleashed his martial soul.

    The release of Ma Rulong¡¯s martial soul caused his body to experience weird changes, and his head suddenly ballooned. It was obvious that it was no longer aligned with his body. Even his hair seemed to be sparse. He looked ugly amidst this bizarreness.

    His martial soul was called the Bigheaded Spirit Ape, an auxiliary-type martial soul. He was doing this to unleash greater power andst longer like most soul engineers did. Ma Rulong¡¯s soul skill was also used to aid the increase of his soul power or to enhance the outburst of his soul power. This was also an important reason why he could create a ss 7 soul tool that was beyond his level.

    Ma Rulong was an absolute genius in the production of soul tools in Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. If not for hiscking cultivation, he would already qualify to be a ss 7 soul engineer.

    6 soul rings ¨C 2 yellow, 2 purple and 2 ck ¨C appeared at the same time. The silver barrel also emitted an intense radiance in the next instant.

    A silvery ball of light shot toward Jiang Peng, who was rushing over. The light ball was flying at an immense speed and had nearly reached Jiang Peng when it shed with radiance

    Jiang Peng¡¯s attention was entirely focused on Ma Rulong¡¯s body, and he was naturally wary. He dodged immediately as he saw Ma Rulong attacking. 3 figures formed as the radiance from his second soul ring shed.

    The 2 figures at the side lurched forward quickly, while the center figure that faced the silver light ball jumped up and tried to dodge the attack.

    However, Ma Rulong seemed to have expected that. Jiang Peng¡¯s adaptation seemed to be for naught. After the silver light ball suddenly stopped, a violent explosion sounded in the next moment.

    Intense silver light filled the entirepetition stage. All the spectators in Star Luo za instantly shut their eyes because of the intense light.

    Although Jiang Peng had divided into 3 figures, he still bore the brunt of the attack, and screamed in pain under the intense silver light. As he shut his eyes rapidly, everything had already turned white in front of him.

 Chapter 114: The Body Sect

    shlight. Who would¡¯ve expected Ma Rulong to use the ss 4 shlight as his first move against a strong opponent? He used his actions to prove to everyone that the most appropriate weapon was the best weapon.

    Jiang Peng lost his sight, and his burst of forward momentum was halted. Using his left hand to cover his eyes, he quickly retreated using soul power. At the same time, the Heavenquake Axe revealed an axe projection that protected his body.

    Compared to him, Ma Rulong seemed a little more rxed. As the shlight disappeared from his hand, he remained standing where he was. No one managed to see how he did it, but suddenly, more than 10 tiny light bullets rapidly flew out from his back.

    These light bullets did not fly directly towards his opponent. Instead, they sprayed out in all directions simultaneously. Following that, a loud explosion echoed from different directions on thepetition stage.

    The light bullets may have looked small, but the explosive sounds that they generated were ear-piercing. Amidst the series of explosive sts, Jiang Peng lost hisposure. He frantically waved the Heavenquake Axe about him, and even used his fourth soul skill to unleash more than 10 huge axe projections.

    Huo Yuhao was watching very seriously below the stage; he wanted to know how the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers fought their battles. As a soul master, he wanted to learn how soul engineers dealt with soul masters in battle.

    He had gained a lot of inspiration from the conversation between Jiang Peng and Ma Rulong. He was especially struck by Ma Rulong¡¯s words that only he could understand himself, and that he created his own soul tools.

    As the battle started, Ma Rulong quickly took the initiative. Huo Yuhao did not think this was coincidental. Ma Rulong was strong, not in terms of his soul tool, but his urate judgment of the situation. The first skill he used restricted his opponent¡¯s vision and hearing. This method was simply unheard-of, so it was no wonder that Jiang Peng was tricked. Of course, the effect wouldn¡¯t be the same if this same method was used again.

    At this point, the soul tool on Ma Rulong¡¯s body showed another transformation. A golden cannon that was around a meter long and with a 3 centimeter caliber appeared on his shoulder. In the next instant, a streak of thin, blood-red light beam shot out.

    He maintained a natural and smooth impression as he controlled the soul tool. He did not stop from the start till the end. Almost instantly after the light balls were fired, this golden cannon had already appeared on his shoulder. The very next instant after Jiang Peng¡¯s fourth soul skill waspleted, explosive bangs sounded all around, and that streak of blood-red light had already appeared before him.

    At the Soul Emperor-level, one would develop astute senses. Jiang Peng was aware of the imminent crisis even though his sight and hearing were both greatly affected when the streak of blood-red light shot out. He subconsciously swung the Heavenquake Axe horizontally in front of him and blocked the streak of blood-red light.

    There was no booming sound. A small red hole appeared on the Heavenquake Axe after the blood-red light made contact with it. Although Jiang Peng had already shifted his body to dodge, the blood-red light still prated his left shoulder. A small, ck hole was formed.

    Huo Yuhao had never even heard of this type of soul tool before, much less seen it. What was more frightening was that after the red light prated through the Heavenquake Axe and Jiang Peng¡¯s body, the defensive barrier created by 108 soul masters together was also prated.

    The air reeked of a burning smell wherever the red light passed.

    Jiang Peng groaned in pain, and his body shook tremendously. However, he had no intention of retreating even though his left shoulder had been pierced. He roared and flung the Heavenquake Axe out again. This time, his most powerful sixth soul ring shed with a bright radiance.

    Without a doubt, this wasn¡¯t a good opportunity to use his sixth soul ring. But Jiang Peng could not dy any further.

    His eyes were badly burnt by the shlight. He was fully aware that his eyes wouldn¡¯t recover before thispetition ended. His opponent also wouldn¡¯t give him a chance to regain his hearing. Even a small explosive sound was now enough to cause a severe disruption to his hearing.

    However, Jiang Peng did not just stand there passively. As he was struck, he also perceived where Ma Rulong was, and he flung the Heavenquake Axe in that direction.

    Ear-piercing booming sounds rang out continuously as the huge axe spun rapidly in the air. Thick ck light surged out maniacally from the Heavenquake Axe and caused its size to rapidly expand. The thick ck light was like a ck hole that swallowed all the light around it. Even the spectators were petrified as they watched from afar.

    Ma Rulong also turned serious. He did not attempt to dodge. A strong suction force was being unleashed from the Heavenquake Axe. Although this suction force was not enough to drag him over, it prevented him from moving from his current position.

    An indescribable, frightening power suddenly burst forth. Fissures appeared on the ground beneath Ma Rulong, and a strange, ck circr symbol took form under his feet. Thick, ck mes shot out from the ground. At this point, the pitch-ck Heavenquake Axe that had erged to twice its size descended from the sky as it carried a dazzling, ck re.

    The Heavenquake Axe¡¯s sixth soul skill was the Darkdemon Heavenquake, which was a single-target attack that drew the Yin Fires of Hell to unleash the fury of Heaven. Its demonic attributes allowed it to lock onto its opponents and destroy everything that was in its path

    This was Jiang Peng¡¯s strongest strike. Although he had unleashed it with his sight and hearing impaired, as well as heavy injuries, he still managed to use this strike to lock onto his opponent. In terms of both his timing and judgment of the situation, both were definately fitting of a Soul Emperor.

    At that moment, ayer of blinding golden light surged out from Ma Rulong and covered his body.

    No matter how powerful the Yin Fires of Hell were, they couldn¡¯t prate a single inch through that glow. The Heavenquake Axe released a deafening growl, and the entirepetition stage seemed to be on the verge of copse. Thin cracks began to appear all across the golden barrier.

    This was an Invincible Barrier that could defend against an eight-ringed Soul Douluo for 3 seconds! It was a soul tool that could only be used once. However, this was on the verge of breaking against the Darkdemon Heavenquake¡¯s single-target attack.

    Ma Rulong revealed a look of respect. The 3 seconds that the Invincible Barrier could be sustained were very short, but it was enough for it to withstand a blow of that caliber.

    The soul tool on his body changed again. More than 50 metal cannons of different sizes suddenly appeared on his body. Once again, no one could tell how he used the soul tools. It was as if they grew from his body.

    Jiang Peng did not give up either. As he had unleashed his strongest strike, he had immediately burst forwards towards Ma Rulong. With his connection to the Heavenquake Axe, he could locate Ma Rulong¡¯s position. However, his left arm dangled limply beside him as he rushed forward. It was obvious that it had lost its use. The strange thing was that the hole in his left shoulder was not dripping with even a single drop of blood.

    After the 3 seconds were over, the Heavenquake Axe returned to Jiang Peng¡¯s hands again. He was less than 10 meters away from Ma Rulong now. As he stepped forward, he lifted the Heavenquake Axe, and several of his soul rings lit up. Jiang Peng believed that if he got close to Ma Rulong, he could control the result of thispetition.

    Jiang Peng could not see for himself, but the spectators could. Just as both parties were about toe into contact, the metal cannons on Ma Rulong¡¯s body all shone with a splendid radiance.

    Unexpectedly, these metal cannons were each unleashed in a certain sequence. The first was a red cannon on his chest that was as big as a bowl. A red light ball silently shot towards Jiang Peng¡¯s leaping body.

    However, everyone was stunned to see that Jiang Peng did not sense the red light balling towards him. It was as if his senses were being deceived.

    Following that, the red light ball gently stuck onto his chest. Jiang Peng did not seem to realize even at this point. But suddenly, his body seemed to solidify in that instant, and he froze in the air. Then, what greeted him were countless streaks of light that were assembled before being shot out.

    Besides a select few of higher cultivations who were aware of what had happened, the only other person who could see what had happened was Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had watched the entire process through his sharp observation skills. He didn¡¯t know what that red light ball was, but he guessed that it was a special soul cannon that could hoodwink one¡¯s senses. It was not a simple soul cannon that concentrated soul power used by lower-skilled soul engineers. The effect of that special soul cannon should have been its ability to temporarily make a person lose all mobility. The instant Jiang Peng was hit, the Heavenquake Axe disappeared from his hands.

    Streaks of soul light rays assembled before shooting out, and Jiang Peng¡¯s body was sent flying. Although his internal soul power protected his body, his body only stopped flying when he struck the defensive barrier on the other side of the arena.

    After struggling a little, he slid down from the barrier and fell onto thepetition stage.

    The match had ended. Ma Rulong had obtained an overwhelming victory. The only thing he had sacrificed was the Invincible Barrier, but with his capabilities, he should be able to procure another one. Higher-level soul engineers were usually wealthy, not to mention that he was even from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    After he finished watching the match, Huo Yuho let out a long breath. He didn¡¯t think that Ma Rulong was very scary. Rather, he was filled with excitement.

    This was a battle between a soul engineer and a soul master! The feeling that Ma Rulong gave off when he fought was a very natural and smooth one.

    Yes, it was a natural and smooth feeling. From the very start, Ma Rulong took the initiative. Following that, he relentlessly chained his attacks while reacting urately to Jiang Peng¡¯s changes, using the most suitable soul tool to respond.

    He seemed to have achieved victory very leisurely. However, the truth was that he would have had to face the continuous attacks of his opponent if he messed up even a single chain attack. Jiang Peng¡¯s Darkdemon Heavenquake allowed one to see how frightening a Soul Emperor¡¯s explosiveness was.

    The entire ce was struck with awe as Jiang Peng was defeated. Over on the Imperial Profound Academy¡¯s side, the faces of Jiang Peng¡¯s team members were filled with dismay. If even Jiang Peng couldn¡¯t defeat Ma Rulong, who else could?

    What was even more frightening was Ma Rulong¡¯sposure. His chest started to shine with a white halo immediately after he struck Jiang Peng. Without a doubt, it must have been the effect of some soul tool that was simr to the Milk Bottle. It was replenishing Ma Rulong¡¯s depleted soul power.

    The Imperial Profound Academy was stunned for a while before hesitantly sending a new team member up to thepetition stage. However, what chance did they have left?

    Ma Rulong didn¡¯t disy his strength any further. He only used the few soul tools that he had used before. Even so, no one could resist him with his precise control.

    ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s observations, the only soul tool that could possibly be a ss 7 soul tool was the golden cannon. The cannon shot out rays that were of extremely high temperature. These rays were so hot that even Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes would be prated if they met. The referees even had to intervene in the following rounds of thepetition to save the Imperial Profound Academy¡¯s team members.

    Ma Rulong eventually ended the remaining matches with his soul tools, and the Imperial Profound Academy dropped out of the tournament. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy reached the finals without a hitch.

    A lot had happened in this year¡¯s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, but it eventually was still the pair of old rivals that would meet in the finals ¨C Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Huo Yuhao watched the entirepetition carefully. On the way back to the Grand Imperial Star Hotel, he constantly pondered over something. Wang Yan was also doing the same.

    Huo Yuhao was greatly moved by Ma Rulong¡¯s strategy and the entirepetition process. Firstly, Huo Yuhao learned that a soul tool created by oneself was the most appropriate soul tool to use. Ma Rulong had also showed Huo Yuhao the strategy of a soul engineer. The key to Ma Rulong¡¯s sessive victoriesy in his control of the battle.

    They were stopped by 2 people when they were about to go up to their rooms after reaching the lobby of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Yan was walking in front, but he was blocked. He was stunned, and lifted his head to look at the two people blocking his way.

    They were two men who looked very ordinary in terms of appearance, but their figures were very peculiar. One of them had an abnormallyrge right arm, whereas the other one was very thin, but his head was huge, as if he were a big-headed doll.

    Wang Yan felt a chill in his heart and said in a deep voice, ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    The guy with the huge right arm said, ¡°All of you can go, but this little fellow must stay. We need to talk to him.¡± This guy was growling. Although he was trying to restrain himself, he still released a terrifying, authoritative aura. He was pointing towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was also stunned. ¡°I don¡¯t know either of you.¡±

    The big-headed guy looked at Huo Yuhao and smiled slightly. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know us now?¡± The look in his eyes was very strange. It was weirdly gentle. When Wang Yan and Xu Sanshi peered into his eyes, they went into a trance. Huo Yuhao suddenly tensed up and golden light shone from his Spirit Eyes. Wang Dong was in a momentary daze, and a streak of odd radiance shed in the depth of his eyes. He also wasn¡¯t confused by the big-headed guy¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°We don¡¯t mean any harm. We just want to talk to you. If you don¡¯t want those around you to be hurt, follow us.¡± The big-headed guy saw the shocked look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes and led the other guy to the resting area at one corner of the hall. There were a few sofas there for guests to rest.

    Wang Yan and Xu Sanshi woke up from their trance too. The two of them were astounded that the big-headed guy could force them into that trance. His cultivation must be above theirs! Wang Yan¡¯s abilities were nothing spectacr in Shrek Academy, but he was still a soul king. To be suppressed by someone else so easily, the gap in their abilities shouldn¡¯t be small.

    However, Wang Yan calmed himself down after a period of momentary shock. He nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Go and hear what they have to say. I will follow you. Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, the two of you can return to your rooms first.¡±

    Wang Dong wanted to reject this proposition, but was dragged away by Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi shot a look at him, and Wang Dong finally understood what his intention was. It was obvious that Xu Sanshi wanted Wang Dong to follow him to get reinforcements. He only left indignantly upon realizing this. He even shot a look at Huo Yuhao before he left.

    Wang Yan was a little amused as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t have to bring any reinforcements over. Since they have decided to intercept us here, they won¡¯t do anything. This is Star Luo City, and also the ce where all thepeting members of the tournament are staying.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s better to be wary.¡± As he spoke, he dragged Wang Dong up.

    Huo Yuhao proceeded to the resting area with Wang Yan. There were only the two weird guys there. While there were many guest going into and out of the hotel, none of them went to the resting area.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan sat across from the pair of oddballs. Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Why are the two of you looking for me? It must be my first time seeing the both of you.¡±

    The big-headed guy smiled and nodded. He answered, ¡°Of course. But we¡¯ve observed you for quite some time already. If I¡¯m not wrong, your first martial soul, which is also your main martial soul, must be your eyes, and your first soul skill must be something rted to spiritual detection, and you can even share it with yourpatriots. Through some special method, you¡¯ve also managed to cultivate some kind of shock ability with your spirit. Based on my judgment, it¡¯s like the Purple Demon Eyes from the Tang Sect. Whereas your second soul skill from that martial soul should be something to do with bewitching others. I recall an Iceworm from the north that uses such an ability to hoodwink its opponents. Am I right?¡±

    The big-headed guy was called Lang Ya. His simple words caused a chill to go up Huo Yuhao¡¯s spine. The feeling of being seen through seemed to have left himpletely exposed in front of the other party.

    Fortunately, he was resilient. Although he was shocked, he did not say, ¡°How did you know?¡±.

    Upon seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s shock, the big-headed guy continued, ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Lang Ya. This is my brother, Yu Tao. We are both from the Body Sect. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the Body Sect before.¡±

    Not only did the words ¡®Body Sect¡¯ leave Huo Yuhao horrified, but Wang Yan also opened his eyes wide, and his pupils shrank.

    Although the Body Sect rarely appeared in the world of soul masters, they were still very reputable. Among the few strange existences in the world of soul masters, evil soul masters undoubtedly took the top spot. And in terms of peculiarity and power, only the Body Sect could match up to the evil soul masters.

    Furthermore, the Body Sect was even more scary than evil soul masters in the eyes of most soul masters. While evil soul masters were powerful, they often appeared alone or in small groups. The Body Sect was a true sect! It was called the most mysterious sect in the world too. It was conceivable how many venerated the powers of the Body Sect.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan could never imagine people from the Body Sect appearing in front of them because of the rarity with which they revealed themselves. But now they hade specifically for Huo Yuhao. Wang Yan could figure out what they wanted without even asking them. But the strange thing was that he didn¡¯t seem very nervous.

    Lang Yan smiled at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I shall not beat around the bush any further. We are here to bring you back to the sect.¡±

    ¡°Bring me back?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. He had never joined any sect before!

    Lang Ya nodded and replied, ¡°We¡¯re bringing you back. The Body Sect is the home of all soul masters with body souls. Since your eyes are your martial soul, it means you¡¯re part of the Body Sect. And since we¡¯ve found you, it¡¯s only natural that we¡¯d bring you back.¡±

    Although Huo Yuhao had heard of the Body Sect a few times before, they were filled with mystery and power. Without a doubt, joining the Body Sect would be very beneficial to his Spirit Eyes. But could he trust these 2 guys who had appeared so suddenly? Even if they could be trusted, could he just leave Shrek Academy?

    Without much consideration, Huo Yuhao shook his head determinedly and said, ¡°Thanks for your offer, but I¡¯m a student of Shrek Academy and a member of Shrek. At the very least, I won¡¯t consider joining any sect before I graduate from the academy.¡±

    Lang Yaughed indifferently and said, ¡°Shrek Academy, the best academy? However, they don¡¯t seem too impressive. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have let someone as young as youpete. The Body Sect is the most familiar with body souls, and we¡¯re the most suited to guide you to be the best. With your talent, you will shock the entire world of soul masters within 20 years. Although the Body Sect rarely reveals itself, we will be an unstoppable force once we do so. Your martial soul hasn¡¯t experienced its second awakening, and you have yet to experience the true power of a body soul. Following us back will only be beneficial to you.¡±

    It was probably only the Body Sect that was capable of snatching personnel right under the nose of a Shrek Academy teacher. Wang Yan, however, did not say anything, and only listened in on their conversation.

    Huo Yuhao continued to shake his head. ¡°No, Shrek Academy is my home. The academy has given me family warmth. They have nurtured me. I won¡¯t join the Body Sect. Elders, I¡¯m sorry, but we shall end things here.¡± As he spoke, he stood up before turning away and walked towards the stairs.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re the one calling the shots?¡± Yu Tao suddenly stood up. As he stretched out his right hand, his thick right arm instantly caught hold of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. His right arm seemed able to stretch itself freely. It had stretched out almost 2 meters when Yu Tao grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Lang Ya turned his attention to Wang Yan the moment Yu Tao made a move. He wanted to use his powerful martial soul to suppress Wang Yan and prevent him from doing anything. But he was shocked to realize that Wang Yan remained calm and had no intention of doing anything.

    The instant Yu Tao¡¯s handnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulder and slipped out of Yu Tao¡¯s grip.

    ¡°What a slimy kid.¡± Yu Tao was stunned for a moment as he felt a gust of chill rising the moment he grabbed hold of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. After that, he could see that ayer of ice that resembled armor was now coating Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Although it seemed like ice, it was very tough and slippery. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have slipped out of his grasp.

    ¡°Using your Spiritual Detection on me won¡¯t work.¡± Lang Ya snorted and straightened his gaze. A wave of formless undtions spread from his huge head.

    Huo Yuhao only felt that his Spiritual Detection was crushed like ss. As he groaned in pain, he staggered forward. However, his spiritual sea started to ripple with intense undtions as it was invaded by the enemy. His Pearl of Life that belonged to the Life Guardian shed brightly. Lang Ya¡¯s spiritual power surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head and threatened to invade his spiritual sea. But then, a green glow shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. Following that, Lang Ya¡¯s spiritual power was cut to pieces.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lang Ya was shocked at this. Although he had held back a little for fear of hurting Huo Yuhao, he was sure that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to resist him. He immediately thought that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body soul must have already been awakened. However, how could his body soul awaken if it couldn¡¯t awaken on its own and if he didn¡¯t have the Body Sect¡¯s special manual?

    Just as he was about to increase the output of his spiritual power, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Yu Tao. A dirty index finger pressed against Yu Tao¡¯s back.

    Yes, it pressed against his back. When that finger rebounded, it gave off an illusory feeling. Yu Tao tried to dodge, but he realized to his horror that he was unable to dodge even though he was being guided by Lang Ya¡¯s spiritual power.

    ¡°Pop¡ª¡±

    ¡°Aiyo.¡±

    Yu Tao¡¯s right arm bounced up, and his entire person staggered backward two steps. A depressed finger mark was left on his thick right arm, which caused him to turn pale.

    Although he did not unleash his martial soul, his right arm was his martial soul since he was a member of the Body Sect! He was forced back by a finger from his opponent under such a circumstance. His shock was greater than the pain he felt.

    On the other side, Lang Ya also retracted his spiritual power. He was cautious as he watched the neer who had suddenly appeared behind Huo Yuhao and separated him and his brother.

    Huo Yuhao had also turned his body quickly by now. After a momentary daze, he revealed an intense look of surprise. ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re back.¡±

    That¡¯s right, the person who had just appeared between Huo Yuhao and the two Body Sect members was an elder of Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan appeared as slovenly as ever. His enormous, oily hands were holding that familiar drumstick, and he carried a look of ridicule amidst the calmness in his eyes. He spoke as he looked at the two men from the Body Sect, ¡°We won¡¯t tolerate your nonsense! It¡¯s so ridiculous how people dare to climb over Shrek¡¯s head. The 2 of you are brilliant! You dare to poach our student.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lang Ya was obviously the one in charge among the two from the Body Sect. At the same time, his aura became more authoritative. With his head as the center, the surrounding air up to a radius of 1 meter started to distort furiously. What was even more daunting was that he exerted all this increased pressure on Elder Xuan. He was able to do all this without unleashing his martial soul. This revealed his immense control over his own abilities.

    Elder Xuan snorted, ¡°Are the two you from the second or third generation of the Body Sect? That old freak from your Body Sect wouldn¡¯t dare to stand so close to me if he were here, yet the two of you dare to?¡±

    The rare strands of yellow hair on Lang Ya¡¯s head trembled a little. The distorted air around him dispersed, and his aura declined. He was shocked as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Since the two of you know about the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, you¡¯d better scram,¡± Elder Xuan replied indifferently, ¡°On ount of that old freak, I won¡¯t fuss over today¡¯s matter. You¡¯re still not up to it yet. I¡¯m scared that old freak will use me of bullying the juniors.¡±

    Yu Tao¡¯s right arm was still in pain, and he groaned furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t think of bluffing us with your words. At least prove it to us.¡± As he spoke, his right arm extended quickly again, ballooning in size, and eight soul rings suddenly appeared.

    The appalling thing was that his first 4 soul rings were purple thousand year soul rings, and from the fifth soul ring on, they were ck. He had 4 purple and 4 ck soul rings. Not only did his soul rings carry a tremendous oppressive power, but they even superseded the ratio of soul rings that ordinary soul masters had.

    Elder Xuan acted as if he didn¡¯t see it. When Yu Tao extended his palm toward him, no one could see his actions clearly before his hand was stopped. He was in a daze as he stood there, and his eyes were filled with fear.

    A chicken drumstick had been forced into his mouth. The drumstick¡¯s bone was at the tip of his throat, such that his throat would be pierced through if more strength were exerted. Furthermore, this drumstick had broken all of his teeth before it had entered his mouth. At this point, his lips were forced in, and all of his teeth had been crushed by a chicken drumstick.

    Lang Ya couldn¡¯t even help him in time. Elder Xuan was too quick. If Yu Tao were bolder in his actions, he might have been able to strike Elder Xuan. But the drumstick would have killed him too. That¡¯s why he did not dare to move, and only stood there in a daze.

    Lang Ya was not doubtful at all now, ¡°You, you are Taotie from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan darted a look at him, ¡°Scram. Tell that old freak that I can still eat, drink, shit and sleep.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder, for your mercy.¡± This time, Lang Ya became respectful. He pped his hand behind Yu Tao¡¯s back, and Yu Tao spat out his broken teeth and the drumstick. The two of them turned and left the Grand Imperial Star Hotel in an instant.

    As he watched their leaving figures, Huo Yuhao respectfully said in a hurry, ¡°Thank you, Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, ¡°You are a member of Shrek. Whoever dares to harm you is going against Shrek. Return first and take the time to cultivate. Don¡¯t waste a second. I will be watching your finals.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao was slightly surprised and excited. He turned and walked towards the stairs. At this point, everyone from Shrek had descended from the stairs. Ma Xiaotao led the group and she drifted over quickly.

    ¡°Where are those two fellows? I will roast whoever dares to bully my younger brother.¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s rage and domineering aura were revealed. However, she stopped as she saw Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Ma Xiaotao stuck her tongue out. She naturally knew Elder Xuan¡¯s status in the academy.

    Elder Xuanughed and said, ¡°Alright, all of you can return to rest now. I will handle this matter.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ma Xiaotao dragged Huo Yuhao away before she turned and left. Her actions made her seem like a hen protecting her chicks. The rest of the team wore weird looks in their eyes as they saw her and couldn¡¯t help but gossip about what had happened between Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao yesterday.

    All the students left, but Wang Yan remained. ¡°Elder Xuan, the Body Sect¡­¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re troublesome.¡± Elder Xuan said in a deep voice. ¡°If we¡¯d known, we wouldn¡¯t have sent this fellow topete. Not only is that old freak from the Body Sect dominant in terms of his powers, but he is also a dominant person. I don¡¯t think this can be settled so easily. But I don¡¯t think they dare to test us anymore. I will return to Shrek Academy immediately. I should be able to rush back before the final. I hope that he acts slower. He¡¯s also capable of doing anything, and never resorts to logic. Huo Yuhao also possesses a body soul, which will spur him to do anything. Why is he not dead even though he¡¯s older than me by 30 years? Handle the situation over here well. There must not be any casualties, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Yan acknowledged respectfully.

    ¡°What? Body Sect?¡± Ma Xiaotao immediately interrogated Huo Yuhao as she dragged him into the room. Huo Yuhao did not conceal the truth either. Everyone from Shrek was in the room too. After hearing the words ¡®Body Sect¡¯, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan and even He Caitou were only stunned. But the rest were extremely horrified, including Ma Xiaotao.

 Chapter 115: Start of the Final Battle

    ¡°Is the Body Sect really so scary?¡± Wang Dong asked doubtfully.

    Ma Xiaotao nodded seriously and said, ¡°They¡¯re very scary. There¡¯s not many who can be mentioned in the same breath as Shrek Academy in the Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is one of those who can. They represent the highest abilities of the Sun Moon Empire. All of you are the academy¡¯s core disciples now, and it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for all of you to enter the inner courtyard in the future. I think it¡¯s fine if I tell all of you. There¡¯s a ce called the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion on our Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God Ind. The elders of our academy live there, which includes Elder Xuan. It¡¯s also the organization in our academy with the highest authority and power. Even the 4 current vice-deans hold little authority in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. There¡¯s a saying in the world of soul masters that there are 3 strong powers on the Douluo Continent. One of them is the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall. Another is our Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Thest one is the Body Sect. Does anyone know why the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was established?¡±

    ¡°The Body Sect¡¯s appearance once led to a huge catastrophe. Shrek Academy tried to resist them, but we lost.¡±

    ¡°Shrek Academy was high-flying at that point in time too. But the Body Sect was even more powerful. To resist them, the academy had no choice but to recall many of their top-ranked students, and set up the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The academy gathered all its strength to defeat the Body Sect, and managed to avert a catastrophe. Ever since that incident, the Body Sect hid itself, and never made any further movements.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the Body Sect be just like the evil soul masters if they threaten the continent? Why didn¡¯t the soul masters team up together to deal with them?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao shook her head and answered, ¡°The Body Sect and evil soul masters are different. They¡¯re neither good nor evil, and they do things to achieve what they want. They are also very domineering, and thus they are not very popr among the others on the continent. But they did contribute something positive to the continent before. However, very little people know about it. It¡¯s almost impossible to get rid of the Body Sect. It¡¯s said that where they¡¯re located is the scourge of the earth. It¡¯s easy to defend, and difficult for others to attack it. Without three times the Body Sect¡¯s abilities, it¡¯s almost impossible to prate their defenses. And how difficult would it be to gather a force that is both more than three times their ability and willing to sacrifice itself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had never expected the Body Sect to be so powerful. No wonder they were not afraid of Shrek Academy.

    Ma Xiaotao continued, saying, ¡°The secret files in the academy did record the re-appearance of the Body Sect once more. asionally, their members would also appear in the continent. But they didn¡¯t cause any huge uproar. Do you know what huge catastrophe the Body Sect almost brought about? All of you will realize how strong they are once I describe it.¡±

    ¡°That time, almost 40 members of the Body Sect snuck into the Star Dou Forest and killed seven hundred thousand year soul beasts. This led to a huge uproar among the beasts in the Star Dou Forest, and they rushed out of the forest in an attempt to mount an attack on us. This almost caused a disaster. The Four Great Savage Beasts of the Star Dou Forest teamed up to attack Shrek City. The reason why we stopped fighting with the Body Sect is because they joined us to resist the attack of the beasts. It was also during that time that we discovered that the Body Sect was above us in terms of overall ability. The wave of beasts that attacked ensued for a year, until the academy started to recall students back. At least tens of viges were massacred in that time. Eventually, we reached apromise with the Body Sect, and their leader back then swore not to enter the Star Dou Forest to hunt hundred thousand year soul beasts anymore. This ended the catastrophe. However, the soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest were angered, and soul masters encountered powerful soul beast much more frequently when they entered the Star Dou Forest for the next 500 years.

    Huo Yuhao focused and listened. He was amazed that the Four Great Savage Beasts actually existed in the Star Dou Forest.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice sounded at this moment. ¡°I know about this too. I was trapped in the forest then too. The savage beasts that she mentioned were the ones who imprisoned me. But they shouldn¡¯t be the strongest creatures in the Star Dou Forest. That¡¯s because I overheard them mentioning a frightening presence that slept beneath the Star Dou Forest. They called this thing their leader. I¡¯m not sure about the cultivation of this thing, but they sacrificed at least half of my soul power to this leader of theirs using some special ritual. That leader must be very powerful. From my estimation, its cultivation must be the greatest among all the soul beasts on the continent. I fear that only the Hegemon in the ocean can match up to it.¡±

    The Ice Empress seemed to be very interested when they talked about this, ¡°Yes, I heard the Snow Empress mention before that Star Dou Forest is the scariest ce on the continent. She warned me never to enter it easily. Over there, there¡¯s someone who¡¯s more powerful than her.¡±

    Not just one? Huo Yuhao was horrified. From the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm¡¯s evaluations, it must be a Transcendent Soul Beast that had cultivated for at least five hundred thousand years! The Star Dou Forest was actually so scary. He had dared to enter the forest to hunt soul beasts even before he had a soul ring. He was indeed very na?ve then!

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°The Body Sect¡¯s ambivalence towards good and evil is indeed a headache. But it¡¯s not that we didn¡¯t want to settle them then. On ount of the fact that they tried to right their wrong, it¡¯s clear to see that they are not too evil. Also, it will be a disaster if we fight the Body Sect. The Sun Moon Continent has been bound by our Douluo Continent for a thousand years, and even possesses the tendency to counter-attack against us.¡±

    That¡¯s why the conference held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion decided that our academy should settle our dispute with the Body Sect through apromise.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was a little irritable as she said, ¡°Then themoners died for nothing?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao nced at her before replying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve no idea how to answer this question of yours. I can only say that our academy did what we could. We stopped the wave of beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest and saved at least tens of thousands ofmoners. We also resolved our dispute with the Body Sect to preserve our powers for the protection of the continent. I¡¯m unsure of the detailed situation then though.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was silent, but it was clear that she disliked thatpromise from the look of resentment in her eyes.

    Xu Sanshi walked over to pat her shoulder, but Jiang Nannan shrugged her shoulder with force.

    Ma Xiaotao said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°I don¡¯t think the Body Sect will dare to do anything with Elder Xuan here. But you must still be careful. From now on, don¡¯t leave the hotel on your own. You must travel with the rest of us. Things will be fine when we return to the academy. Regardless of how strong the Body Sect is, they won¡¯t dare toe to Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao replied hurriedly.

    Ma Xiaotao looked at the slightly weird expressions of the rest and said, ¡°Are all of you interested in our rtionship? Listen carefully now. Yuhao will be my younger brother from now on. He won¡¯t be any different from my biological younger brother. That¡¯s it. Alright, all of you can return to your own rooms to cultivate now.¡±

    Everyone left except Ma Xiaotao and Wang Dong, who remained in Huo Yuhao¡¯s room.

    Ma Xiaotao was puzzled as she looked at Wang Dong. She asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said, ¡°I have something to tell Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong raised his chest and said, ¡°I want to cultivate with him. Don¡¯t you know that we are martial fusion soul skill partners? Our martial souls are almost perfectlypatible. We¡¯ll achieve sess much faster if we cultivate together.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao creased her brows and said, ¡°Okay, then you can remain here. You say that you are even better-looking than a girl as a guy. Be careful of bing a sissy.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong was furious. But he seemed to think of something as his eyeballs rolled, which caused his anger to dissipate. He sat down and remained silent after he snorted.

    Ma Xiaotao said to Huo Yuhao in a low voice, ¡°Younger brother, this matter regarding the Body Sect is likely to be more troublesome than you imagine. Come to think about it, the talents that you¡¯ve disyed are too outstanding. Furthermore, you¡¯re still young, and it¡¯s easier to shape you. No wonder the Body Sect is tempted, and even send someone to watch the entire Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Elder sister, don¡¯t worry. Nothing will go wrong with Elder Xuan around.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brows and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand the Body Sect. They¡¯re capable of resorting to anything to achieve their goals. Because they have the abilities to achieve their goals, it makes them scarier. I¡¯m staying here to warn you not to resist if the Body Sect tries to abduct you. Just follow them. The Body Sect is very protective of their own members. They appreciate your talent, but I don¡¯t think they will harm you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Ma Xiaotao to say something like this, and he resolutely retorted, ¡°Elder sister, I won¡¯t join the Body Sect no matter what.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was stunned. ¡°Younger brother, don¡¯t think like that. Although you are part of Shrek, we¡¯re an academy, not a sect. No one will really restrict you. Even if the academy has high hopes for you, your safety is the most important when ites to the critical moment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, elder sister. Everything that I have right now was given to me by the academy. I¡¯m a member of Shrek Academy, and I¡¯m willing to fight for Shrek¡¯s glory. Shrek is my home. No matter how strong the Body Sect is, it¡¯s obvious that they are not suited for me from their behavior. I¡¯m an orphan, and have no kith or kin. The academy is my home.¡±

    Looking at the resolute look in his eyes, Ma Xiaotao could not help but think to herself, ¡°This kid is really cute! No wonder the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion held a conference for him.¡± Perhaps Elder Xuan¡¯s appearance was not a coincidence after all.

    Ma Xiaotao stood up and said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m happy because of your attachment to Shrek. But you must remember that things are only possible if you¡¯re alive. You can¡¯t be too stubborn as a person. A great man needs to know when to yield and when not to.¡±

    After speaking, she nced at Wang Dong once more before leaving Huo Yuhao¡¯s room.

    Wang Dong followed her to the door and asserted his authority as he closed it.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wang Dong, go back and rest first. I¡¯ll find youter.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you scared? I actually agree with her words that preserving your life is more important. If the Body Sect abducts you, don¡¯t be stubborn.¡± Wang Dong said worriedly.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared about? Nothing is scary with Elder Xuan around. I¡¯ve never overthought the Body Sect all this while. Who can predict the future? It¡¯s just that I gained some experience and developed some thoughts towards soul tools after seeing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s performance. I need some time to think things over, but I¡¯ll find youter. Don¡¯t think so much.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Wang Dong was a little angry as he growled, ¡°You¡¯re taking my goodwill as malicious. Go and slowly think.¡± After he finished, he opened the door and left. He even shut the door quite hard.

    Huo Yuhao touched his nose and felt as if an unexpected cmity had arrived.

    The Body Sect¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t exactly stir up his feelings much. But as Ma Xiaotao said, there was at least one thing that he doesn¡¯t have to be afraid of no matter what ploy the Body Sect used in the future. The Body Sect wanted to take him in and not hurt him. What was there for him to be afraid of? He was more focused on the start of the finals.

    After witnessing Ma Rulong¡¯s tremendous powers today, he was not confident that they would win! It was also his first time seeing how Ma Rulong was so frightening with his use of soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils turned golden as he stood up, and 2 of his soul rings quietly appeared. The dim golden color amidst the white was the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s soul ring, while the darker purple soul ring was an imitation of his second soul skill.

    The rise in his capabilities caused the burden on him to increase greatly. The Skydream Iceworm kept on releasing the powers that he had sealed to increase the strength of his soul ring, just like he had mentioned before. The strength of his second soul ring was at about five thousand years right now.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity there¡¯re only 2 rings.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s clenched his fist. What he needed the most now was the umtion of time.

    He stripped off his outer wear and sat cross-legged on the bed. He did not meditate, but recalled the performance of Ma Rulong earlier. Along with his own understanding of soul tools, heprehended that soul tool strategy.

    Star Luo City. As the Star Luo Empire¡¯s capital, it had already been overcrowded for a few days.

    Overcrowding in the city meant that every street was full of people.

    The semifinals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had already ended. After the Semifinals ended, a queue had already formed in Star Luo za. Some even queued for 2 days and 2 nights straight because they wanted to watch the finals of the tournament. This was one thing that they would probably rave about for the rest of their lives.

    Moreover, the finals would be conducted in their entirety in 1 day even, though it was divided into a team round, an individual round and a 2-2-3 fight. This was indeed an exciting event, and it would be worth it to watch it, although they had to endure the suffering now.

    The Star Luo Empire had also deployed 10,000 more elite troops to maintain order in the city. All the shops in the city extended their operating hours too. To amodate the sudden rise in the city¡¯s poption, various types of resources were transferred from surrounding major cities. In an instant, Star Luo City had reached a bustling state never seen before.

    Without a doubt, the economic benefits to the Star Luo Empire brought about by the tournament were immeasurable. No wonder many empirespeted to host the tournament, but still had to reach apromise eventually, so that the tournament was held by a different country every time.

    The 2 finalists, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, represented the strongest powers on the continent. There was an enormous amount of anticipation for the finals.

    However, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was odds on to defeat the Shrek Academy on the ck market due to Shrek Academy¡¯s weak lineup. They were given a 65% probability to emerge victorious,pared to Shrek Academy¡¯s 35% chance.

    However, no one would believe that Shrek Academy would lose so easily. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy thought so too. After all, Shrek Academy¡¯s students were all filled with potential. No one knew what kind of powers they would disy, or whether they had anymore tricks up their sleeves.

    In the previous rounds, they had already dished out surprising performances several times. In the finals, they would definitely give their all to protect Shrek Academy¡¯s glory. It was thus difficult to predict what the result would be.

    Today¡¯s weather was not very good. There were gloomy clouds, and a dim fog even covered Star Luo City. Light drizzles fell asionally and brought about a sense of chill to this majestic city.

    However, the spectators¡¯ warmth and passion didn¡¯t fall even with the sense of chill that struck the city. The finals of the Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament were about to start. An ultimate battle was about to begin.

    Right now, both teams were on their way to Star Luo za. Troops were deployed along the way to restrain the people who were shouting and screaming their names. Many of those who were unable to gain admission into Star Luo za were gathered at the sides of the street to get a close look at both teams¡¯ members.

    Ling Luochen was in the middle of Shrek Academy¡¯s team, and asionally lifted her head into the sky. Her pretty face rippled with a tinge of happiness. Since she controlled the ice element, this gloomy weather that signified a possibility of rain was undoubtedly very beneficial for her! Moreover, she was also aided by Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Yan had discussed their strategies yesterday and made further adjustments to ount for the weather today. Everyone was overly nervous because of the uing finals. However, it was inevitable that they would feel like that.

    Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t the only nervous one. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s students were even more nervous. This was the closest that their academy had ever been to winning the tournament! They were extremely powerful, while the Shrek Academy team¡¯s lineup wasparatively weaker too. This kind of opportunity only came once in a lifetime. They were more nervous because they were so close to bing the champions.

    Even the normally arrogant Xiao Hongchen was very tense now. asionally, he would take a peek at the Shrek Academy members that graced the red carpet with them today. Hispetitive streak and hunger were piqued as he watched them.

    Meng Hongchen was much betterpared to Xiao Hongchen¡¯s anxiety and buzz. Meng Hongchen¡¯s gazended on Wang Dong.

    From the side, Wang Dong¡¯s facial lines were extremely smooth. Although he was still young, his figure was already very slender. Meng Hongchen observed him in a different way from the others.

    She thought to herself as she looked at Wang Dong, ¡°Wow, his eyshes are really long. Not only are they long, but they¡¯re also raised. They¡¯re so beautiful, and even longer than mine by a lot. His eyes are pinkish-blue, and there¡¯s an indescribable allure about him. He¡¯s 12 years old, 2 years younger than I am. His twin martial soul is also considered¡­¡±

    She was already feeling a little hot in her head as she thought till this point. For some reason, she kept thinking of Wang Dong after he had struck up a conversation with her that day. Even Wang Dong was unaware that he had caused her to develop a pure and intense crush on him.

    The red carpet led all the way to the resting area before looping around the arena. On top of the city walls in the distance, the Star Luo Emperor had already led the Star Luo Empire¡¯s officials up. This showed his respect for the two teams that were about topete.

    Huo Yuhao was very calm now. Wang Yan had talked to both him and Wang Dongst night for some time before he left. Hispetitive streak had never been so high before. While his powers were nothing inparison to the other team members of both academies, things changed quickly in apetition. He wanted topete, and thirsted for victory. He hoped to further Shrek Academy¡¯s glory with his own hard work.

    He turned his attention to the top of the city wall unintentionally. At first nce, he could already see the Star Luo Emperor, as well as Princess Jiu Jiu on his left.

    Princess Jiu Jiu also saw him, but she didn¡¯t seem too friendly.

    In the next instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly jerked. Theposure that he had maintained was suddenly overwhelmed by horror.

    It was a middle-aged man that appeared to be more than 30 years old. He wore golden armor, but no helmet. This revealed his facial features. His eyes were sunken, and his pupils shed within his blue eyes. He looked a little thin, but he gave off a tough feel. He was charming, resilient, tall and straight, but also bursting with energy as he stood beside the Star Luo Emperor.

    It¡¯s, it¡¯s him¡­

    How could Huo Yuhao remain calm upon seeing this person?

    Yes, the White Tiger Duke that protected the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western border had returned for the finals. It wasn¡¯t just because this was the finals of the tournament, but also because he wanted to see his eldest sonpete.

    Since Huo Yuhao saw the White Tiger Duke, Dai Yueheng naturally saw him too. An excited me lit up in his eyes as he saw his father, and he clenched his fists.

    The White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, only nodded slightly at him. He encouraged Dai Yueheng using the expression in his eyes. As Dai Yueheng had treated his father as his role model since his youth, the look that Dai Hao gave him caused hispetitive streak to surge. The previous anxiety that he felt was now gone.

    The Star Luo Emperor revealed a dim smile on his face as he saw the team members from both teams entering the resting area. He nodded at the White Tiger Duke beside him.

    ¡°Silence, thepetition is about to start. Your Majesty, please.¡± Dai Hao shouted in a deep voice. He did not use a sound-amplifying soul tool, but his voice still echoed far away. His vigorous energy spread out from the top of the city wall just like this.

    All the peacekeeping troops lifted their weapons high and shouted, ¡°Kill, kill, kill¡ª!¡± At the same time, the entire Star Luo za was filled with a strong killing intent.

    The peacekeeping troops were all engulfed by passion and fanaticism. In their eyes, there was only themander standing at the top of the city wall. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s authority in the military was even above the emperor¡¯s to a certain extent!

    The Star Luo Emperor wasn¡¯t displeased because of this. He continued to smile, while all the spectators all kept their silence because of the strong killing intent.

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°Thest time the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was held in Star Luo City was 20 years ago. Both myself and Dai Hao were only youths then. Fast forward 20 years, and I¡¯m already the ruler of an empire, while Dai Hao is also the topmander in the empire. We¡¯re about to witness a battle between the strongest youths on the continent. I¡¯m feeling very excited. I hope both teams can present an exciting contest for every spectator. As per tradition, the winner of this tournament will be awarded 3 soul bones and 1 million gold soul coins. I have already picked out 10 of the most outstanding soul bones from our treasury for the winner to choose from. I wanted Dai Hao to host today¡¯s final, but one of Shrek Academy¡¯s team members is his eldest son. For fairness¡¯ sake, today¡¯s referee will still be the Heavenfiend Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Without further ado, let¡¯s all watch this historical battle.¡±

    After the Star Luo Emperor finished speaking, a streak of radiance shed from the top of the city wall. It appeared in the center of the stage in the next moment. It was the Heavenfiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu.

    However, his body jerked slightly after hended on the stage. He turned his attention subconsciously to the resting area. His gazended on Shrek¡¯s team.

    A slovenly elder that carried a wine gourd had suddenly appeared behind them. As he saw the Heavenfiend Douluo looking over, he pinched his brow slightly, while Huang Jinxu became a little frantic, and quickly turned his head.

    Everyone from Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy discovered the arrival of this slovenly elder because of the referee¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re here.¡± Wang Yan said in surprise.

    Elder Xuan too out another chicken drumstick from somewhere and took a bite. He said indistinctly, ¡°Just give whatever instructions you have to and take it that I¡¯m not here. No one will dare to y any tricks since I¡¯m here.¡± Without a doubt, the Taotie Douluo was here to hold the fort for Shrek Academy.

    Upon seeing him, the faces of the teachers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Academy changed. They naturally recognized Elder Xuan. ording to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s research, this Taotie Douluo¡¯s cultivation was already above Rank 97. He was the strongest in Shrek Academy. However, this was as much as they were able to discover, as the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was too secretive.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo also knew Elder Xuan, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have lost hisposure. However, he recovered quickly, and said in a low voice, ¡°I am Huang Jinxu, the referee for the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I shall announce thepetition rules.¡±

    Although both parties were familiar with the rules, they still had to be announced as part of protocol.

    ¡°The finals will be divided into the team round, the individual round and the 2-2-3 round. A team must win at least 2 victories to be the overall winner. For the team round, each team will send 7 members out. After the team round, each team will have one chance to change theirpeting members. No further chances will be given. In the other 2 rounds, the 7peting members cannot be changed. The team that wins 2 rounds will then be crowned the champion. Both teams can do what they want, and the referee will be responsible for everyone¡¯s safety. Once the referee thinks that a particr move is fatal, he will intervene and eliminate the losing side. But because of the ever-changing conditions, the referee cannot guarantee absolute safety. I hope that both teams will know their limits. Right now, please prepare to send your team members up to the stage within 1 minute.¡±

    As thepetition rules were announced, the atmosphere in Star Luo za tensed up. The spectators became extremely silent as they waited. Everyone widened their eyes. Although thepetition was yet to begin, they were unwilling to miss out on anything.

    Wang Yan stood up and spoke to all 10 students from Shrek Academy in a deep voice, ¡°Follow our original strategy. Shrek will win.¡±

    ¡°Shrek will win.¡± 10 people stood up together and roared in a unified, determined voice.

    Wang Yan turned his attention towards Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng and nodded his head at them. The two of them also nodded back in acknowledgement.

    On the other side, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy members also stood up and listened to their teacher¡¯s final strategy.

    One minute passed very quickly.

    ¡°Members from both teams, please enter the stage.¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo kept strict watch on time, and didn¡¯t extend the time limit by even a second.

    7 members instantly walked out from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s side. Firstly, there was the team leader, Ma Rulong. Behind him were Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. Following them was Michael, the ss 5 soul engineer that Huo Yuhao and the others had seen in the semifinal match. The remaining 3 were all ss 5 soul engineers too. Because of their unique appearances, everyone from Shrek¡¯s team could recognize the 7 members from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Thest 3 were Xiao Xiafeng, Chen Fei and Lin Xi. Besides Meng Hongchen, everyone else was male.

    Shrek¡¯s team was not surprised to see these 7. That¡¯s because this was exactly what Teacher Wang Yan had expected.

    Ever since the start of the tournament, Wang Yan had been monitoring the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy silently. Just yesterday, he rted everything that he had gathered and analyzed on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to everyone from Shrek. He even came up with a detailed n. Today¡¯s victory was highly dependent on his tactics and strategies.

    Since their opponent was already walking towards thepetition stage, Shrek Academy also did the same. After everyone entered the waiting area, 7 walked out. However, this was a surprising scene for the spectators and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy both.

    The 7 from Shrek Academy were the team leader, Ma Xiaotao, vice-team leader Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and He Caitou.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had both contributed greatly in the semifinals, were not in the team lineup. They sat in the waiting area.

    All the spectators who were originally silent started to be noisy.

    Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong did not have powerful cultivations, they had left a deep impression in everyone¡¯s minds in the previous rounds of the tournament.

    Ever since Huo Yuhao imitated a soul emperor in the first few rounds and unleashed 6 hundred thousand year soul rings, he managed to capture every spectator¡¯s attention with that shocking method.

    In the following rounds, he was very effective as long as he appeared. The most obvious examples of this were the time they were against Justsky Academy, and in the semifinal against Star Luo Academy. This pairing of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong managed to turn the tide on several asions.

    Even till now, no one was clear on how powerful they were. For those who understood soul masters, they knew that both of them had twin martial souls even though they only had two and three rings respectively. They even possessed a martial soul fusion skill. Although their cultivations were not high, they were still very young, and they had great potential. They could aid their team greatly during a battle, and this was especially obvious during the team round.

    No one could understand the reason why Shrek¡¯s team hadn¡¯t sent the both of them out for the team round, including the Sun Moon Soul Academy team. Because of this, everyone wore stunned looks on their faces as they watched Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the waiting area.

    Was this some new way of winning? What was Shrek Academy doing?

    Wang Yan was expressionless as he sat down in the waiting area. No one knew how he was feeling.

    Wang Yan was exhrated beneath his calm exterior. When he had first led Shrek¡¯s team to Star Luo City, he had had no confidence. This tournament was a huge Ï´Àñ for not only the team members, but him too. The further thepetition proceeded, the more self-confidence he gained, and the more ideas on tactics and strategies he developed.

    However, Wang Yan had not made too many detailed arrangements in the previous rounds of the tournament. This was even the case in the semifinals.

    What was his reason? It was because he was trying to hide, puzzle and conceal his abilities from their opponent.

 Chapter 116: A Wild Team Fight

    Wang Yan only had one goal in mind after Shrek Academy defeated Justsky Academy. He wanted Shrek Academy to be the eventual champions and carry on Shrek¡¯s streak as the tournament champions. There was only one true obstacle to Shrek Academy in their pursuit for glory.

    That¡¯s why Wang Yan hadn¡¯t given too many instructions even though he had a brilliant set-up in ce. His purpose was to confuse their strongest opponent and trick them into believing that Shrek Academy only fought based on abilities, and not strategies.

    He was sessful. Even Shrek Academy¡¯s own students were kept in the dark before yesterday.

    As the finals approached, there was no need for anymore concealment. Wang Yan was about to show his talent in today¡¯s final through the Shrek team¡¯speting members.

    Wang Yan could not help but recall his conversation with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as he looked at them. The both of them sat to one side and appeared to be calm, but they were gripping their fists tightly.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°The two of you will notpete in the team round tomorrow. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan will rece you.¡±

    ¡°What? Why? Teacher Wang, we can help the team.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already decided. This is a strategy that I¡¯m using. At the same time, I¡¯m protecting you. If you want to help your team in the team round, unleashing your martial soul fusion skill cannot be excluded. Furthermore, more than one of your martial soul fusion skills have to be unleashed. But I don¡¯t want to expose so much too early on. Don¡¯t forget that both of you will be the driving forces in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament 5 years from now in the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, it¡¯s my responsibility to protect the both of you as your teacher. My strategy also requires you to conserve your powers in the team round.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Listen to me first before any buts. Maybe you will continue to turn the tables¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Star Luo Emperor said to the White Tiger Duke beside him softly on the top of the city wall, ¡°Brother, what do you think of Shrek¡¯s arrangement?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke said after pondering for a while, ¡°They must have adjusted their tactics and strategies. Although I¡¯ve never seen thempete, we can¡¯t underestimate the importance of these 2 fellows to their team. They¡¯re probably not being sent out now because they¡¯re preparing for theter segments.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯re your predictions then?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with either team, thus I can¡¯t make any predictions. What about you, Your Majesty? You seem very confident. I¡¯m sure you have made your judgment.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor lowered his head and said something softly.

    The White Tiger Duke was stunned as he looked at him and replied, ¡°How could this be?¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see. Although that teacher from Shrek is no longer young, it¡¯s easy to tell that he¡¯s not simple from his lineup selection. I believe we¡¯ll see a surprise in this final.¡±

    As they spoke, both teams had already ascended to the stage. They formed two rows and stood to the left and right of Huang Jinxu.

    ¡°I¡¯ve announce the rules earlier on, and will not repeat them again. Both teams, please step back and prepare to start fighting. This match will end once one team can no longer continue.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao squinted her small eyes, and her gaze shone as she stared at Ma Rulong. Her eyes seemed to surge with mes too.

    Ma Rulong looked very serious. He had not had too much trouble against Jiang Peng, but the look Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes made him feel suppressed.

    This was a result of Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation. Ma Rulong kept on telling himself this, but that suppressive feeling remained as he faced Ma Xiaotao.

    Both teams slowly retreated. The emotion in Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes turned from anxiety to excitement. He was meant topete. The more nervous he was, the stronger he became. He and his sister, Meng Hongchen, greatly disyed their prowess by being able topete in this tournament as preparatory team members. This was also their first appearance in this tournament. As secret weapons, what kind of capabilities did they possess?

    Both team members had already reached the edges of the stage. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng still led the line over on Shrek Academy¡¯s side. Ling Luochen stood behind the both of them, followed by Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei. Jiang Nannan and He Caitou stood the furthest back.

    Thisbination wasn¡¯t very good. There were 3 assault-type soul masters, 1 defense-type soul master, 1 agility-type soul master, 1 control-type soul master and 1 soul engineer. There were no auxiliary-type soul masters among them. Of course, no one knew that He Caitou was a food-type soul master.

    They already held cigars in their mouths, except for Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Nannan. Shrek Academy¡¯s formation wasckluster, and there was nothing special about it. It even seemed a little redundant as 4 rows were formed.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s formation also didn¡¯t seem impressive. It was shaped like a cone, with Ma Rulong at the tip and the rest forming a triangle behind him.

    Both teams were extremely focused. At the moment when they reached the edges of the stage, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu announced, ¡°Match, start!¡± The finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had finally begun.

    In the next moment after Huang Jinxu announced the start of the match, both teams¡¯ formations changed, and a shocking scene appeared.

    It seemed as if Shrek¡¯s team and the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team had agreed on this beforehand. Both teams¡¯ members gathered towards the center of the stage and formed one row.

    It was no longer Ma Xiaotao at the front for Shrek Academy, but Xu Sanshi.

    After the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team formed their row, Lin Xi switched to the front of their formation.

    As the formations changed, both teams unleashed their martial souls. The Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team also used their soul tools.

    Everyone from Shrek stood in one straight line. Xu Sanshi lifted his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle and burst forward in gigantic steps. The rest also followed him as they unleashed their martial souls.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team did not move on the other side. To soul engineers, sufficient distance was required for them to unleash their powers.

    Lin Xi immediately whipped out a soul tool, which was also a shield, though it only looked as big as the most ordinary tray. The golden shield shed with radiance on its surface, and a yellow halo spread out from it. It turned into a light shield that reached almost 2 meters in diameter. Not only did it protect him, but it also protected the rest of the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team behind him.

    Those who were sharp could tell what the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team was doing. The reasoning behind their actions was very simple ¨C they were guarding against Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    The Mysterious Underworld Discement had been very useful against Shrek¡¯s opponents on many asions. Once Xu Sanshipleted the discement, his repeated discements would cause Shrek¡¯s strategies to be extremely strange. It wouldn¡¯t be a good thing for the Sun Moon Soul Academy team if he substituted someone over or sent someone away.

    Only Lin Xi could be seen as the Sun Moon Soul Academy team stood in a straight line. Lin Xi was huge, and blocked everyone behind him. Now that he had unleashed this shield, he could block the effect of Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement. He was already prepared to be switched over.

    Everyone from the Sun Moon Soul Academy team was pleased when they saw Xu Sanshi rushing to the front of Shrek¡¯s team. To them, their n was already pretty wless. At the very least, Xu Sanshi was unable to use his Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    This was only the formation changes of both teams. An even more intense battle was about to ensue following this.

    Countless balls of light condensed from soul power and unleashed using soul tools were released from the bodies of the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team members behind Lin Xi in an instant. These balls of light rapidly spread to both sides and into the air before engulfing Shrek Academy¡¯s team at an rming speed along with a fizzing, ear-piercing sound.

    The balls of light were still gathering at an increased speed as they flew into the air. From their trajectory, they were headed towards all 7 of the Shrek¡¯s team members without any wastage.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s soul engineers were all at least ss 5. Although their soul powers were enhanced using different medicines and secret methods, and were iparable to soul masters, their soul powers were indeed still very strong. Through a soul toolmanded by a soul king, its powers were even superior to the soul skills used directly by a soul king. How much more powerful would a skill that was unleashed by so many ss 5 soul engineers together be?

    Against the Imperial Profound Academy, the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team had used such an all-rounded soul tool to suppress their opponent. They had also forced the Imperial Profound Academy¡¯s members down from thepetition stage through an incessant and relentless attack.

    They used a simr strategy against Shrek. They didn¡¯t hope to harm their opponent, but wanted to suppress them so that they couldn¡¯t get close to them.

    However, a beam of white light also shot into the sky from the amidst the seven Shrek members just as their balls of light spread.

    This beam of light revealed a white crescent. Following that, it turned into countless streaks of white light that poured down on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s 7 members.

    While the concentration of the white lights might seem weaker than the light balls unleashed by the Sun Moon Soul Academy, and their powers might also be inferior, they were unleashed at the perfect time. Just as the light balls were released by the soul tool and gathered towards the center, these white lights were unleashed. The two offenses collided right in the center of thepetition stage.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s fourth soul ring shone brightly as he unleashed his White Tiger Meteor Shower, a domain-type soul skill.

    Since it was a soul emperor¡¯s fourth soul skill, it was bound to be more powerful than a ss 5 soul tool used by a soul master. Furthermore, it was only being used to intercept. When both offenses collided in the center of thepetition stage, the initial collision turned into a full-on collision that led into an explosion.

    From the first wave of attacks, Shrek appeared to be doing better than the Imperial Profound Academy had.

    Xu Sanshi did not stop because of the explosion. The Shield of the Xuanming Turtle in his hand shone with a ck light, and both the Mysterious Underworld Force and Mysterious Underworld Shield were unleashed together.

    Who knew that he was at the front not to defend against the opponent¡¯s attack, but to take advantage of the shockwave produced as both teams¡¯ soul powers collided?

    Xu Sanshi was the best among all the soul ancestors in terms of defense. The Mysterious Underworld Shield removed all the shockwaves under the effect of the Mysterious Underworld Force, and his advancing footsteps weren¡¯t affected at all. He seemed to enter the core of the explosion, and the distance between both parties was decreased to less than 70 meters.

    the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s attack did not stop. They had great chemistry together as ss 5 and above soul engineers. As the first ball of light flew out, the second wave of long-range soul tools was also initiated. Radiances, light balls and cannon shells that many from Shrek had never seen before started to flood towards them.

    But Shrek Academy also unleashed its second strike at this point.

    Amidst a bright, fiery whistle, a dazzling phoenix me shot into the sky. After the White Tiger Meteor Shower, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strongest soul skill, the Phoenix Meteor Shower, was also unleashed.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger Meteor Shower was only a thousand year soul skill. But Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower was her sixth soul skill, and was also a ten thousand year soul skill. It must mean that she had already prepared to attack at the instant the formation was set up, for it to tightly follow the White Tiger Meteor Shower after it was unleashed.

    The burning mes caused the area within thepetition stage to heat up tremendously. A Phoenix Meteor Shower that was at least 5 times bigger than the White Tiger Meteor Shower descended from the sky. Not only were the meteors very concentrated, but they were also extremely powerful. The air seemed to distortpletely, and the 108 soul masters had to unleash all their soul power to prevent the barrier from copsing.

    A reverberating explosion sounded at the center of the two teams. Ma Xiaotao once again proved how strong she was.

    Her Phoenix Meteor Shower suppressed all the soul tools from the Sun Moon Soul Academy, and even attacked their formation.

    The Phoenix Meteor Shower superseded the White Tiger Meteor Shower in terms of power and duration. Shrek Academy¡¯s two soul emperors decided to attack their opponents at long-range. No matter how strong the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s soul tools were, they had tond to have any effect. Since this was the case, Shrek could just prevent their attacks fromnding. Soul tools did not unleash real soul skills. Their attacks couldn¡¯t be controlled the moment they were released. Under Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng¡¯s exquisite control, their opponents¡¯ long-range attacks were all stopped. Even if there were any ws, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Shield would prevent those behind him from being hurt with his all-rounded defense.

    However, the explosive force was already beyond Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense capability, as the second shockwave was too powerful. He had no choice but to stop in his tracks 50 meters away from his opponents.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy also whipped out 3yers of barriers to resist the Phoenix Meteor Shower. All 7 of them were protected within the barriers.

    A figure from Shrek shot out quickly at this point. Burning phoenix mes turned into wings that pped in the air. As she rose, a tough fist punched her foot and sent her flying up like a cannon shell. Her speed reached an extremely frightening level. After she flew up 10 meters, two gusts of mes also spurted out from her feet. This caused her speed to soar once again. In the blink of an eye, she had already arrived in front of her opponents.

    Without a doubt, this person was Ma Xiaotao. It was only her and Dai Yueheng who dared to fight their way into their opponents¡¯ formation. And distance was always the most important in a fight between a soul master and soul engineer.

    Everyone was a little dumbfounded as they saw this. From the odds, the Sun Moon Soul Academy should be beating Shrek Academy easily! But the current situation showed that Shrek held the upper hand. Ma Xiaotao had already arrived in front of Lin Xi in just the blink of an eye, while the other 6 also upped their speed as they rushed closer to the Sun Moon Soul Academy team.

    Ma Xiaotao was so strong that her fourth soul ring had already lit up as she flew quickly. The phoenix mes turned dark red, and the Evil Phoenix Fire appeared once again. Once her Phoenix Skywhistle restrained the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s members, the result of this round would be decided.

    Under the stage, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had already clenched their fists. Although Wang Yan¡¯s strategy had only just been executed, they hoped that Ma Xiaotao could use this strike to ensure victory for Shrek.

    However, the truth proved that it was reasonable to tip the Sun Moon Soul Academy as the favorite to be the champion.

    Against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack, Lin Xi made a leaping motion. Following that, at least 3 soul tools on his body released an intense radiance.

    Firstly, a white halo was unleashed from his chest. This white halo seemed as faint as fog. When it appeared, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body also showed a white light. Ma Xiaotao changed her direction slightly because of Lin Xi¡¯s leaping motion.

    After that, ayer of golden light that everyone from Shrek Academy was familiar with lit up on Lin Xi¡¯s body. No, it wasn¡¯t just oneyer. It was twoyers. The firstyer was an ordinary Invincible Barrier that blocked Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Skywhistle. Following that, there was a biggeryer of golden light that spread from his body. From the outside, it engulfed both his and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body within it. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix mes were prevented from being unleashed.

    An explosive boom sounded from within the twoyers of barriers. Within the barriers, intense phoenix mes rose. But Ma Xiaotao¡¯s determined strike was blocked off by Lin Xi.

    However, Lin Xi did not have it well either as he blocked Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack. While the Invincible Barrier was defensively sound, it still had to absorb a huge amount of the user¡¯s soul power before its defensive capabilities could be disyed. His soul power had been depleted tremendously after using 3 ss 5 soul tools, and his face had turned pale.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy coordinated among themselves very well. Michael also unleashed a shield when Lin Xi leaped up. This caused Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement to fail.

    At this point, a streak of golden-red radiance shot out from Michael¡¯s shoulder. Xu Sanshi had seen this golden-red radiance before. It was a frightening attack by a ss 7 soul tool! It was also an offense that was focused on one point. The barrier erected by the 108 soulmasters couldn¡¯t handle this frightening presence either.

    This streak of golden-red radiance came at the perfect time. Lin Xi had leapt up to block Ma Xiaotao, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement was unleashed. A ck line was blocked by Michael¡¯s shield, and the golden-red radiance also appeared at this instant. Its target was Xu Sanshi. He had no choice but to resist it forcefully, as he had just used his soul skill.

    Not only did this golden-red radiance appear, but countless streaks of radiance also shot out from Michael¡¯s back. These lights were purplish-blue in color, and were abnormally dazzling. After these lights shot in the sky, they turned into parabs and flew towards Shrek¡¯s team.

    An unexpected situation urred at this point. A sly look drifted across Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes, although he had appeared frantic earlier. Following that, his body disappeared, and he was reced by someone else.

    The person who was switched over was none other than the preparatory team leader of the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team, Xiao Hongchen.

    The Mysterious Underworld Discement seeded just like that.

    If one were to look carefully, they would see that the ck line unleashed by Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement had made a strange turn as it was blocked by Michael¡¯s shield. It had turned in front of Michael and struck Xiao Hongchen.

    This change was too rapid. No one expected that Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement could be used like that.

    In the waiting area, Huo Yuhao lowered his head, and his eyes repeatedly shone with golden light. They regained their normal look very quickly.

    There was no way it could be controlled so precisely if it were only by Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement. However, his Mysterious Underworld Discement became different with the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    All of this was within Wang Yan¡¯s n. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower had struck the barriers around thepetition stage, meaning that a portion of her soul power was wasted. However, was it really wasted?

    Just as the barrier shook, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was condensed into a wave using his precise control, and this wave prated the barrier. He used his Spiritual Detection Sharing on Xu Sanshi alone.

    Huo Yuhao might have fused with the Life Gold, but even still, his spiritual power would be depleted after he managed to prate the barrier. Furthermore, the burden on his spiritual power would be very great. However, his spiritual sea had undergone a transformation now, and his spiritual power had increased greatly. His control of his spiritual power had also been enhanced. Although he could not sustain this Spiritual Detection for hispatriots for very long, he could still manage for a short while.

    Wang Yan had expected their opponents to guard against Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement. However, soul shields were not one-way. This meant that if a soul shield became a barrier, it would affect the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s offense because of itsrge size. This was not what they wanted. That was why Wang Yan believed that it was unlikely that they would be able to block the Mysterious Underworld Discement. Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement was very critical in this team round. Since they were inferior overall, they had to grab hold of every opportunity. Although Huo Yuhao was not present, his aid offstage was even more important than the direct help he could give onstage.

    There was no room for Xiao Hongchen to dodge. As he was switched over, the golden-red radiance had already reached him. It came at the speed of light, and thus he was unable to unleash his soul tools even if he wanted to. Neither him nor Meng Hongchen had made a move in the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s previous attack. He was in unlucky now!

    Before he could even turn gloomy, the frightening radiance had already struck his chest. But at this instant, ayer of even more intense golden light was suddenly emitted from Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body.

    Thisyer of golden light had to be activated. The golden-red radiance¡¯s prative ability was very strong, but it was stopped by this golden light. Xiao Hongchen groaned and stepped back. He looked pale. The golden light from his body had protected his entire body just like the Invincible Barrier. However, it was brighter than what Shrek¡¯s team had ever seen before. It was much more eye-blinding.

    At this point, the purplish-blue radiance from the sky had already descended. On Shrek¡¯s side, a huge shield of ice had appeared mid-air. Not only that, but countless streaks of light were shining towards the purplish-blue radiance. A series of dazzling fireworks seemed to have been released. Ling Luochen and He Caitou made their moves now.

    However, that purplish-blue radiance was much more difficult to deal with than they had expected. After being struck by He Caitou¡¯s rays, the purplish-blue radiance stopped in mid-air. Following that, streaks and streaks of light spread rapidly and became like a cage that moved downwards.

    Since Xiao Hongchen was switched over there, Xu Sanshi was also switched to the other side. Immediately after he was switched over, he unleashed the Mysterious Underworld Quake that was enhanced by the Mysterious Underworld Force without any hesitation.

    A ck halo engulfed the other 5 from the Sun Moon Soul Academy and dyed the martial souls that they had unleashed.

    Xu Sanshi did it wlessly. After he used the Mysterious Underworld Quake, he did not stop. He straightened his body and dashed out again. The Mysterious Underworld Discement shone again, and Dai Yueheng had also made a dash forward. If the Mysterious Underworld Discement seeded once again, this second soul emperor from Shrek Academy would be brought over as well.

    Lin Xi and Ma Xiaotao had bothnded on the ground. Thest second of the Invincible Barrier¡¯s 3 seconds remained.

    It was not a good thing to be in close contact with Shrek Academy¡¯s two soul emperors. At least it wasn¡¯t what the Sun Moon Soul Academy hoped to see. This would only lead to their defeat.

    However, the ck line from the Mysterious Underworld Discement was destroyed at the next moment. Xu Sanshi and Dai Yueheng didn¡¯t manage to switch positions. It was the purplish-blue radiance that had stopped the Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    That was a huge purplish-blue barrier that had trapped Shrek Academy¡¯s remaining five members within. When the ck line from the Mysterious Underworld Discement reached it, the purplish-blue radiance surrounded and destroyed it.

    Xu Sanshi was a little dumbfounded now, and cursed to himself. He lifted his shield and struck towards Ma Rulong, who was not far away.

    That purplish-blue radiance was unleashed by Ma Rulong. It was another ss 7 soul tool that he had developed himself.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s choice of offense was quite on point. Ma Rulong had unleashed 2 ss 7 soul tools consecutively, and also needed some time to regenerate his soul power. Xu Sanshi¡¯s sudden appearance and surprise attack with the Mysterious Underworld Quake had caused Ma Rulong to be struck from the side.

    But the instant the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle struck Ma Rulong, ayer of intense white light shone from his body. A white bracelet on Ma Rulong¡¯s right hand was crushed, and that white light also caused Xu Sanshi to be violently jerked away.

    It was the Repelling Bracelet, a single-use ss 5 soul tool.

    At this point, everything was a mess. The spectators were also unable to tell which side held the advantage.

    Ma Rulong shouted, ¡°Second n, fight the enemy separately.¡± As he spoke, his head lit up with an intense ck light. A huge helmet appeared on his head. After unleashing his martial soul, his head was much bigger than before. This was the effect of the Bigheaded Spirit Ape.

    The Bigheaded Spirit Ape enhanced Ma Rulong¡¯s souls tools with its power. It also had the advantage of doubling Ma Rulong¡¯s spiritual powerpared to soul masters with the same cultivation. Although he was not a spiritual-type soul master like Huo Yuhao, it was a great help to his control and usage of soul tools.

    In the center of this ck helmet was a circr ruby. At this point, the ruby shone with a weird radiance. Following that, a dark red light projection burst out of it. It went straight in the direction of Lin Xi¡¯s Invincible Barrier.

    Ma Rulong¡¯s reaction was not slow, but he still couldn¡¯t save Lin Xi. That was because Ma Xiaotao was too powerful.

    After Huo Yuhao suppressed her Evil Phoenix Fire, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s cultivation managed a breakthrough once again. She reached Rank 68, which was something even she herself had not expected. She didn¡¯t expect to achieve such rapid progress. She was only 2 ranks away from a seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    What was the concept behind Rank 68 soul power? Her soul power was much greater than Dai Yueheng¡¯s or Ma Rulong¡¯s, who were also soul emperors. The higher a soul master¡¯s cultivation, the greater the gap in soul power between the ranks. In terms of soul power, Ma Rulong and Dai Yueheng were still inferior to her even if theybined their power.

    The Invincible Barrier did block Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Skywhistle. But that strike was also unleashed by Ma Xiaotao with her full power. The temperature within the 2 Invincible Barriers reached a frightening level in an instant.

    Lin Xi was originally a little ted. He thought that he had stopped the strongest team member from Shrek and earned enough time for hispatriots. His action could be considered noble. He was also no longer needed against Ma Xiaotao next. Furthermore, he had other methods to use.

    The Invincible Barrier blocked out the attack and temperature. However, the frightening heat was unleashed between the 2yers of barriers as the Invincible Barrier disappeared.

    The Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s greatest mistake was to underestimate the Evil Phoenix Fire¡¯s temperature and explosiveness. If there were only a single Invincible Barrier that blocked Ma Xiaotao, Ma Xiaotao could still continue to attack, and wouldn¡¯t be trapped for long. The might of the Phoenix Skywhistle also spread to the others. But it was still just spreading. At this moment, even Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t control the heat contained within the strike that shot out.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡±

    The smile that was previously on Lin Xi¡¯s face disappeared in the next instant. It had disappearedpletely. Even the air seemed to be left with some of the smug smile he had had earlier.

    Ma Xiaotao was also in a daze. At the moment when the Invincible Barrier disappeared, she felt a wave of heat that suddenly spread. Lin Xi disappeared after that. At this point, the dark red light projection that Ma Rulong had unleashed was forced back as it collided with the wave of heat and revealed its form.

    It was an ape that was not more than 1.5 meters tall. Its arms were very long as they reached the ground. Its dark-red fur gave off a smooth and clear feeling, but its eyes were golden, and shed with a weird golden radiance. After being forced back by the wave of heat, it jumped rapidly on the spot. It was groaning in pain, as if it had been burnt.

    ¡°Lin Xi¡ª!¡±

    The Sun Moon team only reacted at this point, and they screamed in horror. They hadn¡¯t expected one of them to be killed within such a short time. His life disappeared just like that. Even the Heavenfiend Douluo was unable to save him in time. It had happened too quickly, and no one had expected Ma Xiaotao to generate such a frightening amount of heat with this ultimate blow of hers. Not only did it melt the soul tool that protected Lin Xi, but it also turned his body into air.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s brows rose after a momentary daze. After all, this was just apetition, and killing someone wasn¡¯t her intention. She was also helpless against such a situation that was either a cmity or an ident.

    ¡°Bastard.¡± A figure dashed out from the Sun Moon team. It was Chen Fei, an agility-type soul master. His martial soul was the Lightning Bird.

 Chapter 117: Xiao Hongchenâ€™s Three-Legged Golden Toad

    <strong>Chapter 117.1: Xiao Hongchen''s Three-Legged Golden Toad</strong>

    Chen Fei moved with lightning speed as a ball of bright golden light sted towards Ma Xiaotao with undeniable uracy. His movements were blindingly quick, and he even left an afterimage in his wake.

    Ma Xiaotao grunted coldly. She wasn¡¯t the kind that liked to kill people, but wouldn¡¯t hesitate if it was required. Red light shed in her eyes, and a Phoenix Fireline poured out and shed with the sphere of golden light rocketing through the air.

    What was strange was that there wasn¡¯t any violent explosion or anything like that. The light circle expanded instantly after being triggered, and transformed into an enormous golden that bore down on Ma Xiaotao.

    She had already suffered a loss under trap-type soul tools such as this, and she had been on guard this whole time. She watched the various red-eyed members of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp as she tapped on the floor with the tips of her feet and immediately flew backwards. Two streaks of red light spurted out from beneath her as she surged into the distance. However, she wasn¡¯t retreating without a n in mind, and she flew towards the position where Xu Sanshi had just been sent flying.

    Their battle continued to rage. On the other side, Xiao Hongchen faced the Shrek team¡¯s siege as well.

    Xiao Hongchen had relied on his auto-activated advanced invincible barrier to block Ma Rulong¡¯s strike within the lightning cage, but the protective barrier that flickered with golden light had been greatly weakened.

    The protectiveyer of golden light on his body was called the Impregnable Wall, and it was a ss 6 soul tool. This soul tool had to be activated by a soul master¡¯s own soul power, or maintained through a continual injection of soul power.

    The reasons why invincible barriers were so precious was because their defensive capabilities were sufficiently powerful, and also because they could be activated with a fixed amount of soul power. Afterwards, the special jewel contained within the soul tool would provide enough energy to maintain the protective barrier for three seconds, and it would have the defensive power of an eight-ringed soul douluo. The only problem was that it was a disposable item, and thus was a little wasteful and extravagant by nature.

    However, the Impregnable Wall on Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body was far more advanced. Its defensive powers were slightly inferior to invincible barriers, but it was just enough to fend off attacks from ss 7 soul tools. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t a disposable item. This soul tool had two salient features: it could be used repeatedly, and it could automatically activate itself. That meant that if Xiao Hongchen came under attack and wasn¡¯t able to react, the Impregnable Wall would deploy its mechanisms automatically, which made it a lot more useful than the Invincible Barrier.

    Of course, there were pros and cons to everything ¨C the problem was that the Impregnable Wall absorbed Xiao Hongchen¡¯s soul power automatically after activating itself in order to provide protection.

    Ma Rulong¡¯s golden ss 7 soul tool was only a single attack, but it possessed formidable destructive powers. The Impregnable Wall did block the strike, but, as he was a Soul King, Xiao Hongchen¡¯s soul power was immediately consumed by more than fifty percent, which caused his expression to change to one of immense fear.

    Furthermore, as long as that cage called the Net of Lightning was around, the members of Shrek¡¯s team were not the only ones caught inside ¨C he was trapped within as well.

    This proud young man disyed a battle prowess worthy of his high and respected status within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team at this critical moment.

    The Impregnable Wall¡¯s appearance was too simr to the Invincible Barrier, thus Shrek¡¯s team didn¡¯t continue their assault at the first possible moment. Instead, they waited for the ¡°Invincible Barrier¡¯s¡± time to naturally run out.

    Xiao Hongchen took advantage of this grace period and unleashed his own martial soul.

    A sh of golden light flickered, and a leg grew out from his buttocks behind him. This leg waspletely golden, and ayer of blinding gold nketed his entire body.

    The three-legged Xiao Hongchen crouched a little, and three of his two yellow, two purple and one ck soul rings radiated. He arched his back faintly, and little humps protruded from his clothes, each one exuding a bright golden hue. His first and third soul rings lit up at the same time before he waved both of his hands and hurled out several hundred metal balls.

    These metal balls instantly hovered in midair and encircled his entire body.

    A strange scene then urred; row after row of metal cannon barrels grew out just like that, with the metal balls as the core.

    It wasn¡¯t wrong to describe them as things that simply just grew out. Those metal cannons just came into existence, and Xiao Hongchen wasn¡¯t the one that released them. His whole body became like a giant porcupine in just a moment.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Shit¡­¡± Bei Bei was never one to curse and swear, but he couldn¡¯t help but speak what was on the Shrek team¡¯s minds.

    He Caitou was most familiar with soul tools. He thought to himself, ¡°Can he rely on his own soul power to fire so many metal cannons?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just the number of soul cannons that were out there. The most important thing was that his personal mastery must be able to handle that number of soul cannons. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be functional, and would be for disy.

    Xiao Hongchen showed everyone whether his soul cannons were simply decorative or not.

    His second and fourth soul rings reced his first and third soul rings. One could see with rity that uncountable numbers of golden specks of light appeared in the sky and surged towards Xiao Hongchen with unstoppable force. Every light speck released a circle of pale-golden light as they came close to his body, as if they were burning up, and the poignant smell of metal immediately permeated the whole area.

    The rows of metal cannons began to burst with blinding brilliance as the specks of golden light fused into them, and this fearsome aura cast a haze of terror over the Shrek team.

    There were a total of one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons that appeared on Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body, and every single one was a ss 5 soul tool. The sonorous soul cannons actually turned towards their targets automatically, and every single one was pointed at the Shrek team members. Even the soul cannons behind Xiao Hongchen¡¯s back curved forward, and this wasn¡¯t something that could be exined with the handling of soul tools.

    The next moment, a terrifying hurricane of soul power exploded the moment the Impregnable Wall was withdrawn.

    The Shrek team members naturally didn¡¯t just stand around to watch. Dai Yueheng stood in front of everyone the moment Xiao Hongchen erupted and used the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation and the White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation at the same time. All three were powerful amplifying soul skills, and boosted his defensive powers to the highest possible level. He was the vice-captain, and also a Soul Emperor ¨C and he was under the audience¡¯s watchful eye and his own father¡¯s scrutiny. There was no way he was going to back off.

    A searing ball of white light suddenly flew out from beside Dai Yueheng. He Caitou had started channeling power inside the super energy-gathering soul cannon from the start of the battle, and released his own attack at this moment.

    However, he was also a soul engineer, and he was being suppressed far too much. His super energy-gathering soul cannon possessed power greater than normal ss 5 soul tools, but faced with Xiao Hongchen¡¯s one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons¡¯ unified assault, his super energy-gathering soul cannon was instantly dispelled by that frightening nket of light. He only managed to obstruct it momentarily as the petrifyingyer of light bore down upon them once more.

    Ling Luochen did all she could as well. She used her Icy Staff to release wall after wall of ice andunched an Icebrilliant Halo at Xiao Hongchen at the same time.

    However, those ice walls were simply unable to resist the coordinated assault from Xiao Hongchen¡¯s ss 5 soul tools, and every singleyer was shattered in an instant.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s face grew solemn and serious. His buddies were right behind him, and he couldn¡¯t dodge this attack no matter how much he wanted to. He took a deep breath, and vigorous streaks of white light flickered while he raised his Soul Emperor-level soul power to the highest possible level; he needed to withstand this strike no matter what.

    Before Xiao Hongchen was swapped over with the Mysterious Netherworld Discement, who would have thought that this Soul King was actually this powerful? He was able to activate so many ss 5 soul tools at the same time, and this was clearly beyond a Soul King¡¯s limits. Even ss 6 soul masters would have probably failed at this endeavor! Ma Rulong had never controlled so many soul cannons at the same time.

    A smile broke out across Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face. This was the first time he had put his maximum power on full disy, even though this strike was a powerful as it could get. However, he had absolute confidence that Dai Yueheng wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand his attack, and he would be severely injured even if he did. His own soul power would be almostpletely exhausted after this strike, but he would be satisfied if he could eliminate a Soul Emperor from his opponents¡¯ camp, and better still if he could even wound the others ¨C furthermore, he still had the strength to retreat safely.

    He was the reserve team leader. Not only was he adept with soul tools, but his martial soul wasn¡¯t weak like other normal soul engineers. He was only fourteen years old, but had managed to be a Soul King via various methods and without using too many sequ. The reason for that was because his martial soul was powerful enough. More importantly, his martial soul could be said to be the one most suitable for soul engineers in the entire world, yet was sufficiently powerful by itself.

    This was Xiao Hongchen¡¯s martial soul: the Three-legged Golden Toad. This rare beast soul possessed a special ability: it could manipte metal.

    He could control any type of metal. He could even absorb the energy from certain exotic metals to support and enhance his personal cultivation. Otherwise, how could he be a Soul King at such a young age? If the Sun Moon Empirecked anything, it wouldn¡¯t be metal.

    Before this, out of the four soul skills that he had just used, the first and third soul skill that he had released at the same time were called Metal Maniption and Golden Coagtion. The metal balls that he had thrown out were the soul cannons¡¯ formation arrays, while the cannon barrels were formed entirely from his ability to control metal on the spot. He always carried voluminous amounts of metal powder on his body, and the metal powder could solidify into any form under his maniption.

    The second and fourth soul skills after that were called Golden Surge and Golden Sacrifice.

    Golden Surge was used to greatly boost his Three-Legged Golden Toad¡¯s metal soul power activity, and exponentially increase his ability to control metal for a short period of time, while absorbing the metal elements contained in the air in vast amounts for his own use at the same time.

    <strong>Chapter 117.2: Xiao Hongchen''s Three-Legged Golden Toad</strong>

    The Golden Sacrifice filled the metal elements that hade together with fire to produce formidable power. Using these two soul skills at the same time gave him the energy to fire so many soul cannons at the same time. The toll on his soul power was only present on the soul skill, and the energy used to support the soul cannons all came from the metal elements.

    He was known as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s number-one prodigy since the beginning of its history for his impressive ability to control metal. His overall battle prowess wasn¡¯t inferior to Ma Rulong by much. If his level of mastery caught up with Ma Rulong, his abilities would irrevocably overtake his team leader¡¯s.

    However, a person that nobody expected suddenly stepped in front of Dai Yueheng just as Xiao Hongchen thought he had it.

    Her figure was tall and slim, but appeared young and immature. Yet, there was a tinge of unwavering determination on her pretty face. Thick and vigorous golden light rose from her body and formed a light barrier that protected her inside.

    Who was she? When Xiao Hongchen clearly saw the young girl that was far more good-looking than his younger sister, Meng Hongchen, his actions became a little sluggish, as he couldn¡¯t bear to hurt her.

    However, his assault had already been fully unleashed; withdrawing it now was impossible even if he wanted to.

    Who was she? She was the number-one beauty in Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard, and could be said to be the one with the least salient features in thispetition from Shrek Academy¡¯s team¡ªJiang Nannan.

    Just as that terrifying strike was about tond, Jiang Nannan went beyond everyone¡¯s expectations and stepped in front of Dai Yueheng. In the next moment, her figure was swallowed by the soul cannons that loomed over everyone.

    ¡°No, Nannan¡­¡± Xu Sanshi looked on from far away. His pupils widened in an instant as the blood in his face receded, and a petrifying aura was immediately unleashed from within his body. His Strength of the Xuanwu was finally triggered once more in the moment Jiang Nannan ced herself in danger.

    Ma Xiaotao was standing beside him. At this very moment, she raised her hand without warning and chopped down on his neck.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Strength of the Xuanwu had yet to erupt when he was knocked unconscious. Ma Xiaotao raised her leg and kicked him off thepetition stage.

    Wang Yan stood up abruptly below the stage when he saw Ma Xiaotao¡¯s actions, and his eyes sparkled as he muttered under his breath, ¡°She¡¯s finally a qualified team leader.¡±

    Just as Ma Xiaotao kicked Xu Sanshi off the stage, Ma Rulong¡¯s dark red monkey had arrived before her. The monkey cooed in front of her, and its originally scrawny and tiny frame suddenly exploded in size ¨C it had be an enormous ape that was over four meters long in the blink of an eye. It raised its giant fists and hammered them down on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s head as the dark red fur all over its body stood on end, resembling ayer of iron needles.

    This wasn¡¯t a skill. It was a real soul beast, and its cultivation was definitely over ten thousand years judging by its aura. Who would have thought that Ma Rulong could release a soul beast to fight for him during thepetition?

    The monkey wasn¡¯t the only one on the offensive. Thirty-six lightning balls had already caught up to Ma Xiaotao when she retreated before this, and it came from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Michael.

    All the lightning balls transformed into arge that didn¡¯t have a single loophole as it bore down on her.

    Chen Fei, the Lightning Bird Soul King, pounced forward beside the enormous dark red demonic ape as he repeatedly fired spheres of golden light from his hands much like before. These spheres of golden light followed closely behind the lightning balls and sealed off every possible spot that Ma Xiaotao could dodge towards.

    Yet, this wasn¡¯t the greatest threat that Ma Xiaotao faced. The greatest and most conspicuous threat she was facing right now was still Ma Rulong, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team leader.

    The golden cannon was on his shoulder once more. Ma Rulong¡¯s emotions appeared entirely unaffected by the death of hisrade, and his hands were still as stable as ever as he gazed at Ma Xiaotao with cold and sparkling eyes. Even if he was only locked on to her, it would consume at least half of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s concentration.

    The only person that didn¡¯t make a move from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp was Meng Hongchen. She stood behind Ma Rulong as if she didn¡¯t exist at all. Xiao Xiafeng rushed to Ma Rulong¡¯s side and stuffed a ball of something round, white and soft into Ma Rulong¡¯s mouth while thetter began chewing without hesitation.

    A steamed bun¡­ Xiao Xiafeng was actually a food-type soul master. There was no question that the steamed bun he had stuffed into Ma Rulong¡¯s mouth served to amplify his soul power.

    He rooted himself to the ground the moment he finished shoving the steamed bun into Ma Rulong¡¯s mouth. There was a steamed bun in his mouth as well, while a cacophony of metal nging sounds rang out from his body. Eighty-one cannon barrels appeared one after another, and a circr pedestal swivelled beneath him as he turned towards Ma Xiaotao and locked onto his target. This was the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic.

    Soul power was already starting to condense in the ck cannons¡¯ openings. Xiao Xiafeng was a food-type soul master, and he was able to maintain the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic for a longer period of time than normal soul masters because of that.

    Ma Xiaotao had already been in a corner when she had moved to a spot beside Xu Sanshi. At this moment, she was under pressure from four people and a soul beast, and she had no hope of evading this onught. Her opponents¡¯ strategy was obvious ¨C they wanted to negate Shrek Academy¡¯s team leader¡¯s strength at once before they targeted anyone else.

    Just as Ma Xiaotao was entering a perilous situation, the circumstances on the other side also began to change drastically.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face was full of proud smiles when all his soul cannons hit their targets. Xu Sanshi had swapped him over with the Mysterious Netherworld Discement, but had given him a shot at fame and glory instead of helping his team. He even had the thought that he¡¯d be his own academy¡¯s hero if he could wipe out Shrek Academy¡¯s remaining five members with his epic strike; he would even be a national hero! It was just too bad for that little beauty.

    However, the smile on his face was quickly reced with a haze of terror. The reason was because a sphere of golden light burst forth as if it were riding the waves after it blocked his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons, and arrived right before his eyes. Subsequently, he felt as if the soul cannons on his body had grown ten times heavier, as if they were going to drag his entire body into hell. He was afraid that this terrifying weight would tear open his own physical body.

    Even though he had the ability to control metal, his body was ultimately the one holding everything up, and that was flesh! He almost instantaneously severed his connections with his soul cannons, and let the dozens and dozens of soul cannons fall to the ground. The golden shadow dashed next to him in a sh and kicked him in the chest.

    The golden luster receded. Xiao Hongchen could clearly see the person that had just kicked him in the chest. Wasn¡¯t it the charmer with unrivaled beauty that he¡¯d just felt bad for hurting?

    <em>What, what¡¯s this?</em> Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes widened as he couldn¡¯t believe that such a tender-looking young girl with only four soul rings could forcibly stop his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons. He wanted to exim, <em>Is this reality?</em>

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s kick was quite heavy, and knocked him over as he stumbled backwards. Xiao Hongchen¡¯s soul power had been heavily expended at this point, and his body weight had seemingly increased exponentially, which meant he didn¡¯t even have the means to dodge this attack.

    Jiang Nannan leapt up the moment her kicknded on her target before she trapped his neck in between her legs. Before Xiao Hongchen could struggle or retaliate, he felt his body weight decrease by multiple times from the previous density, and a force traveled from his neck as he was tossed away as if he were being thrown into the clouds.

    Subsequently, he saw a sharp edge flickering with golden light ¨C it belonged to Dai Yueheng, the White Tiger Soul Emperor. The sharp edge was his shimmering golden tiger w.

    Xiao Hongchen wanted to curse and swear. He wanted to curse at Shrek Academy¡¯s members. Why were they so perverted? Were they still people? What he didn¡¯t see was that Jiang Nannan vomited blood and copsed the moment she tossed him away.

    Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t have many sh points during this season¡¯spetition. However, did that mean she wasn¡¯t powerful? No, she was only low-profile by nature.

    She was chosen by Elder Xuan to be one of the reserve team members, and shared the same status with Xu Sanshi. Could it be because she was pretty? One should take a look at her four soul skills.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s four soul skills were: Waist Bow, Gravity Control, Instant Teleportation, and Invincible Golden Body.

    The Waist Bow was a rtively normal soul skill, but the other three remaining soul skills rivaled even the Mysterious Netherworld Discement, and could achieve miraculous effects when used appropriately.

    What was the Invincible Golden Body about? Xiao Wu from the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had used this soul skill before. Jiang Nannan¡¯s martial soul was simr to hers, and even some of her soul skills were no different either.

    The Invincible Barriers used by soul engineers were created after they drew inspiration from this rare and powerful soul skill, the Invincible Golden Body. The Invincible Golden Body¡¯s defensive capability was the ultimate form of absolute protection. Nobody would be able to break through the Invincible Golden Body during its execution unless they possessed divine power.

    Jiang Nannan had used her Invincible Golden Body to block Xiao Hongchen¡¯s strongest attack. She had then used Instant Teleportation and Gravity Control to unleash multiple-pronged pressure on Xiao Hongchen and finally used the Waist Bow to toss him out.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s disbelief and bewilderment came from the concordantbination of these four soul skills. Jiang Nannan vomited blood and crashed to the ground as she gave her all to maintain the Invincible Golden Body for just a moment longer, which took a heavy toll on her body.

    She didn¡¯t have Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi¡¯s incredible potential. However, she had her own repertoire of sufficiently powerful soul skills. She was the number-one short rangebatant in Shrek Academy¡¯s team under particr circumstances, and it was her that gave Dai Yueheng an opportunity.

    <strong>Chapter 117.3: Xiao Hongchen''s Three-Legged Golden Toad</strong>

    The dazzling de radiated frightening hues as the White Tiger Soul King¡¯s sixth soul skill, the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination, appeared in the blink of an eye.

    The referee of thepetition, the Heavenfiend Douluo, appeared next to the two of them in a sh, but hesitated momentarily, as he wasn¡¯t sure whether he should interfere. This was ultimately the finals of thepetition, and his interference would very likely affect how thepetition would unfold. However, someone had already perished, and if someone else were to meet his or her unfortunate demise, there would be a lot of pressure on him as the judge. The respective team members from the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek could all be described as extraordinary prodigies, after all.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s strike crashed downwards within that moment of hesitation.

    How could Dai Yueheng not be despondent? There had already been two important rounds in thepetition. It was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s sudden explosion that had broke the impasse and forcibly turned the tides. It was Jiang Nannan who had appeared in front of him in a split second in this round and blocked his opponent¡¯s fatal strike. Furthermore, both his father and the emperor were watching from the top of the city wall, and this was the finals. He was a Soul Emperor, and he let a Soul Ancestor step in in front of him, and this intense stifling sensation that he felt was better off not mentioned. Yet, he also understood that he would have been severely injured if not for Jiang Nannan.

    He swallowed all of this, and this was the reason why his White Tiger¡¯s Extermination could be said to be his best effort. The judge was there anyway, and he never even considered whether he might end up murdering his opponent.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s fifth soul ring sparkled as the terrifying soul skill was about to hit him. At this point, He no longer dared to use his Impregnable Wall, which was much more practical than the Invincible Barrier, as he could clearly feel from the petrifying aura looming over him that he wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain the Impregnable Wall to fend off his opponent¡¯s assault even if he emptied the rest of his soul power.

    Therefore, even as a soul engineer, he still resorted to soul skills at this crucial moment.

    The White Tiger¡¯s ws shed by, while Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body seemed to instantly melt; he simply transformed into a sphere of dark golden liquid, then slid down to the ground.

    The White Tiger¡¯s Extermination also instantlynded on this sphere of liquid.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s strike was formidable, and his maniacal and devastating aura reached the highest possible level in an instant, and the liquid that Xiao Hongchen had transformed into was shed apart into pieces as it exploded in all directions like fine powder.

    However, just as the liquid touched the ground, it spread out in all directions with bedazzling speed, and the dark golden liquid merely looked a little singed when it came out of the Prison of Lightning.

    ¡°Brother¡ª!¡±

    Meng Hongchen screamed in shock, and she finally made her move after holding herself back since the start as she rushed towards the dark golden liquid that was flowing out.

    The liquid began to solidify and when Xiao Hongchen reappeared in front of everyone¡¯s eyes, his entire body was full of wounds, and there were dozens of gashes all over. He coughed out mouthful after mouthful of blood, and copsed into Meng Hongchen¡¯s arms. However, he was still conscious, and muttered a single sentence. ¡°Such bad luck¡­ I¡¯ve been severely wounded.¡±

    The soul skill that Xiao Hongchen disyed during the most crucial moment was called Golden Yearning. This was an extremely powerful ten thousand-year soul skill, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall had to send three ss 8 soul engineers toplete the task of killing the ten thousand year soul beast for this skill. They had then used special medicines to amplify Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body so that the absorption would be sessful, and so that he could have this thirty thousand year soul beast¡¯s impressive soul skill.

    Xiao Hongchen was able to instantly liquefy himself, and convert his entire body into liquid metal using the Golden Yearning. It gave him the ability to negate about eighty percent of material attacks. However, his cultivation was still low, and his control of this soul skill was notpletely smooth. Otherwise, he would be much more frightening if he paired it with his Golden Coagtion. He used the Golden Yearning to escape impending demise.

    However, the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination was simply too brutal. Metal conducted electricity, and this property brought insufferable pain to his entire body as he escaped from the Prison of Lightning, and he had lost his ability to continue in this group battle. He had never expected to end up like this in his first appearance, and even his hair had been charred a charcoal ck color. This wasn¡¯t anythingfortable at all.

    While Xiao Hongchen was seriously wounded, Ma Xiaotao made an unexpected decision on the other side. Shrek Academy¡¯s team leader chose to go on the offensive instead of defending herself under her opponents¡¯ barrage of attacks.

    She flew backwards like a bolt of lightning as she raised her right arm, and a searing ball of dark red me congregated and transformed into a ck phoenix before it shot out. At the same time, she leapt down from thepetition stage in the nick of time in the face of her opponents¡¯ attacks.

    The ck phoenix¡¯s target of choice wasn¡¯t the enormous ape, and neither was it the strongest of them all, Ma Rulong. The ck phoenix¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t fast at all, but Michael¡¯s lightning pearls strangely disappeared the moment the ck phoenix collided with them. When the ck phoenix shed against Chen Fei¡¯s metal balls, they dissipated into nothingness as well, and these soul tools weren¡¯t able to unleash their full potential before they were vaporized entirely.

    The fiery ck phoenix¡¯s aura was just too frightening, and its first target was Chen Fei. Chen Fei justunched his attack and was standing next to the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape, and he never thought that Ma Xiaotao would go after him. His body flickered as he attempted to dodge the assault from the ck phoenix.

    The ming ck phoenix¡¯s surface area wasn¡¯t big, and neither was it fast from his perspective. His Lightning Bird¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t something that could be threatened by the ck phoenix.

    It was a pity that his judgement was erroneous.

    The ck phoenix wasn¡¯t thatrge, and it wasn¡¯t that fast either. However, just as it Chen Fei was in the midst of evading it, the scorching ck mes suddenly exploded outwards.

    This speed of expansion was simply too fast, and too quick to be registered by the naked eye. Chen Fei¡¯s body was swiftly swallowed inside this abrupt expansion.

    Not all members from the Sun Moon Academy had the status to use automated soul tools like the Impregnable Wall. The resources required to make that particr soul tool were simply too great.

    Chen Fei did have the Invincible Barrier in his possession, but the Invincible Barrier was a single-instance soul tool, and it was far too valuable. He was confident that he could avoid the attack, and wanted to save it for future use, thus he naturally hadn¡¯t unleashed its power. However, by the time he realized something was wrong, it was toote.

    Ma Rulong eximed, ¡°Judge!¡±

    If the Heavenfiend Douluo had been paying attention to their side, he could have reached out in time, but it was a pity that the Heavenfiend Douluo was upied with Dai Yueheng¡¯s strike against Xiao Hongchen. When he heard Ma Rulong¡¯s voice and wanted to make a move, it was toote.

    The crisp and shrill cooing sounds from the phoenix rang out as Chen Fei¡¯s fast-moving body was barely scraped by the expanding ck mes before the ck mes sped up and surged towards Michael the next moment.

    Chen Fei¡¯s body was still surging forward into the sky, but half his body had disappeared, and his corpse crashed down onto the stage.

    Michael didn¡¯t dare to hold back as he witnessed Chen Fei¡¯s tragedy. He threw out the Invincible Barrier in the first possible moment and attempted to block the ck phoenix¡¯s strike. What he didn''t expect was that the ck phoenix swerved, and finally lunged towards Ma Rulong.

    Ma Rulong¡¯s eyes were flushed red from his fury and hatred, but he had no choice but to use his own Invincible Barrier. Even though he was also a Soul Emperor, he knew that there was no other soul tool in his arsenal besides the Invincible Barrier that could defend him against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Boom ¨C¡± The blistering red mes detonated in the sky, and a dark red mushroom-shaped cloud burst into the air from the collision.

    Michael initially felt as if using his Invincible Barrier was wasted when the ck phoenix turned away, but he knew he was fortunate as even the aftershocks of the ck phoenix¡¯s detonation turned the stage¡¯s surface into moltenva.

    The Sun Moon Empire''s team had already ced Ma Xiaotao in high regard by arranging four people to besiege her at the same time. However, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s explosive power was still almost too much for them to take.

    Lin Xi and Chen Fei perished in battle, while Ma Rulong and Michael¡¯s Invincible Barriers were no longer operational. Even though they were students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they had all been equipped with only one Invincible Barrier, as this item¡¯s value was simply too lofty. Ma Xiaotao jumped down from the stage, and this meant that she was no longer able to participate in the battle, but this also meant that she managed to reserve her strength and wasn¡¯t injured.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t nce back at the stage to see the consequences as she leapt off. She grabbed Xu Sanshi and swiftly returned to the waiting area.

    Huo Yuhao jumped up from his seat and gave it to her at once. Her seat was immediately vaporized the moment Ma Xiaotao sat down, and Wang Yan hurriedly shifted to the side fearfully. It appeared as if anybody who touched this Phoenix Soul Emperor would be done for.

    If a term could be used to describe this battle, then ¡°cataclysmic¡± would be perfect.

    Only in the initial elimination rounds had people died in this season¡¯s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. There were individuals who were grievously injured in the subsequent rounds, but there had been no other casualties under the judges¡¯ watchful eyes ¨C yet, there had been two participants from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team who perished in battle during today¡¯s battle even though it was refereed by a titled Douluo. Lin Xi¡¯s situation could still be counted as an ident, but the Heavenfiend Douluo truly couldn¡¯t save Chen Fei in time. The vigor and intensity of this battle only went to show how ferocious both parties could be in their attacks.

    Ma Xiaotao tossed Xu Sanshi aside, and Wang Yan supported him as he shifted him to the side without attempting to wake him up.

    Huo Yuhao quickly ced both of his hands onto Ma Xiaotao¡¯s back. He activated the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and his Mysterious Jade Hands to amplify his powers as he pressed his hands onto her back, and two streams of steam erupted as they crackled loudly. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s clothes instantly vaporized in the shape of two palm prints where Huo Yuhao came into contact with them.

 Chapter 118: Shrek Lost?

    Huo Yuhao only felt two waves of heating from the points of contact between his palms and Ma Xiaotao. They flooded his body and surged maniacally inside him.

    However, today was different from the situation before. He was in his peak state now. His soul power was surging rapidly, and the aura that turned into Ultimate Ice assimted this wave of surging fire. At the same time, Ma Xiaotao felt a wave of coldness in response.

    Wang Dong also arrived beside Huo Yuhao now. He ced his palms behind his back and relieved Huo Yuhao¡¯s burden with an increase in Haodong Power.

    That ck fire phoenix that was no more than a meter long possessed a frightening strength. How could it be so easily unleashed?

    It seemed like Ma Xiaotao had only lifted her right arm. But that strike of hers included the will of her Evil Phoenix and the frightening strength of 3 skills, the Phoenix Baptism, Phoenix Skypierce, and Phoenix Rupture contained within her right arm soul bone.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s right sleeve had disappeared by now, revealing her charcoal-burned arm.

    This was a secret method of Shrek Academy ¨Cpressing 3 soul skills before unleashing them. And it was only suitable for Ma Xiaotao, who was a strength-type soul master. Even Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t do it. Who from Shrek Academy was simple? This was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s true power.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao experienced a weird feeling when he ced his palms on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s back. After he experienced the change in ice and fire soul power with Ma Xiaotao earlier, they seemed to develop some sort ofpatibility. It was if the burning soul power in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body was calling him.

    Surely not? Huo Yuhao was in a daze. That¡¯s because he had felt something simr before between him and Wang Dong. That was when both of them used their martial soul fusion skill! The me in you and you in me feeling then was very simr to how it was like now. However, Ma Xiaotao was a Phoenix, while he was an Ice Empress and Spirit Eyes. How could they have developedpatibility if she contained the fire element and he contained the ice element? This was too weird.

    Ma Xiaotao also sensed what Huo Yuhao sensed. She even felt it more intensely. She managed to quickly repress the evil fire that was engulfing her using the Ultimate Ice. She clearly felt the affection when the cool ice circted through her body.

    Why was it like this? Was it a problem because she had initiated the evil fire repeatedly? Ma Xiaotao was also very puzzled.

    Compared to thest two times, where Huo Yuhao had suppressed the evil fire passively for her, he did so actively this time. He was also in peak condition. Ma Xiaotao had also initiated her evil fire without any hesitation because he was around. Along the way, minor changes started to ur between their ice and fire.

    While these weird changes urred between them, the group match ended on thepetition stage.

    Meng Hongchen saved Xiao Hongchen and retreated quickly. On the other side, the surviving Team Sun Moon members were going crazy after another of their members was killed. Ma Rulong led the rest as they unleashed their strongest soul tools. They mounted a relentless attack on Shrek¡¯s team, who were caught in a Net of Lightning.

    Xu Sanshi and Ma Xiaotao had left the stage, while Jiang Nannan had lost the strength topete further because of her critical injuries. Only Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei and He Caitou were left.

    Bei Bei shouted suddenly as the opponent unleashed all their soul tools, ¡°Referee, we concede defeat.¡±

    The Heavenfiend Douluo did not feel well at this point. As the referee, he was very concerned about his own reputation even though he didn¡¯t care about the two Sun Moon members who had died! That was why he was very focused. Bei Bei¡¯s shout caused him to descend to the center of thepetition stage. A ball of bright light shone from the Heavenfiend Douluo at this point.

    9 soul rings ¨C 2 yellow, 2 purple and 5 ck ¨C shone brightly. He used his right hand to guide a wave of proud and noble aura as it was unleashed. A white star appeared in front of him, and starlight instantly spread. It turned into a huge barrier that segregated thepetition stage and blocked off the Sun Moon team¡¯s attack.

    It was impossible for a ss 5, 6 or 7 soul tools to hurt a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, the Heavenfiend Douluo had powers that were very close to a Transcendent Douluo.

    Dai Yueheng turned and stared at Bei Bei furiously, ¡°Why did you shout so randomly? We hadn¡¯t lost. We could have still continuedpeting.¡±

    Bei Bei creased his brows and said, ¡°Senior, this is Teacher Wang¡¯s strategy. We¡¯re to follow his strategy.¡±

    ¡°But victory is right in front of our eyes!¡± Dai Yueheng roared back.

    Bei Bei sighed, ¡°Do you really think that we can beat the 4 of them with just the 4 of us alone? I couldn¡¯t have resisted that blow earlier. Do you think that anyone of us could have?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Dai Yueheng really wanted to impress his father. He knew what Bei Bei was saying was true. After all, he was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s eldest son. He calmed down after a temporary outburst of emotion and nodded at Bei Bei, ¡°Sorry, I was too impulsive. It¡¯s because I¡¯m feeling bad that Jiang Nannan took that blow for me.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and revealed a set of white teeth. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll have a chance to sher.¡±

    The soul tool attacks had already ended, and all of the Sun Moon team members¡¯ eyes started to turn red. Tournament, this was just a tournament! But 2 of their team members had died. Those who could represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy topete in this tournament were elite talents! Those who perished in battle were theirpatriots and brothers. They felt extremely sorrowful that they had just died like that. If the Heavenfiend Douluo hadn¡¯t intervened, they would have gamble with their lives against Team Shrek.

    ¡°Both teams, please calm down,¡± Huang Jinxu said coldly, ¡°Victory has already been decided. If anyone acts recklessly, don¡¯t me me for being unkind.¡±

    The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon team had also turned pale, but remained calm. He scolded his team members, which stopped Ma Rulong and the rest from acting recklessly.

    Huang Jinxu turned to the direction of the city wall and said in low voice, ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has won the team round. Both teams, you have 1 minute to readjust. After 1 minute, the 1v1 round will begin. At the same time, please choose your 7 members for the individual round. Once decided, no further changes can be made.¡±

    Shrek Academy had lost?

    The entire Star Luo za descended into silence. In the next moment, there was an uproar again.

    Although many knew that Shrek¡¯s team was inferior to the Sun Moon Soul Academy¡¯s team in this tournament, everyone was still feeling incredulous that they had lost this team round. They were all awaiting a miracle from Shrek. But no miracle happened.In the end, Shrek had actually lost. They didn¡¯t even hold on to the end. Some of the agitated spectators started to curse furiously, and the entire Star Luo za was now in chaos.

    ¡°Silence!¡± A mighty and sonorous voice rang across the entire venue at this point.

    Themotion in the huge za was restrained by this furious roar.

    It was the White Tiger Duke. He held a sound-amplifying soul tool in his hand, and said in a deep voice, ¡°Both teams have already done their best. Victory and failure are verymon. Those who hurl insults at thepeting members will be found and severely punished.¡±

    As themander of the military for many years, Dai Hao¡¯s simple words were filled with a mighty aura. He controlled the situation just like that. His mighty aura even pressed Huo Yuhao, who was helping Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire, to look up to the city wall,.

    His mood and the expression in his eyes were veryplex.

    As a guy, who would not hope that their father was a hero and their pride? But he had never enjoyed paternal love before. He only had hatred for this father who he had not even seen before he left the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    Yes, he ruined his mother¡¯s chastity. His mother¡¯s victimization was because of him. But he was so valiant and powerful. No wonder Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother didn¡¯t regret giving birth to him because of Dai Hao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s psychological mindset was not as twisted as it was when he had left the Duke¡¯s Mansion after learning and cultivating in Shrek Academy for the past year or so. But his hatred for the White Tiger Duke and those in the Duke¡¯s Mansion who victimized his mother had never waned.

    ¡°Mom, this is who you loved before. He is outstanding, but it¡¯s precisely because of this that he hurt you so badly. Mom, don¡¯t worry. One day, I will stand before him and exact revenge for you. He¡¯s my father and gave me life, thus I won¡¯t kill him. But I will make him repent as he kneels in front of your grave.¡±

    ¡°Mom, I will find you after the tournament is over. Bless me, so that I can grow up quickly. Mom, I miss you so much.¡±

    His eyes welled up unwittingly, and he didn¡¯t even realize Ma Xiaotao looking at him.

    ¡°Younger brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked softly.

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao only regained awareness now, and he shook his head slightly, ¡°Elder sister, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great then. I¡¯m fine already. Quickly regain your soul power. You may be neededter.¡±

    Everyone had descended from the stage right now. Bei Bei carried the unconscious Jiang Nannan as he returned to the waiting area.

    Wang Yan rushed forward. There were already healing-type soul masters from the Star Luo Empireing forward to administer treatment. As men were different fromdies, and the individual round was about to begin, Wang Yan let Xiao Xiao tend to Jiang Nannan temporarily. After that, he reported the seven names he wanted to send out for the individual round.

    These seven were Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Ling Luochen, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Yes, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were being sent out for the individual round. Xu Sanshi was woken up by Ling Luochen using the ice element.

    ¡°Nannan, Nannan!¡± Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but scream as he regained consciousness. His soul power surged out ferociously.

    ¡°Calm down.¡± Bei Bei pped him, and Xu Sanshi only calmed down because of that.

    Xu Sanshi very soon found Jiang Nannan, who was in Xiao Xiao¡¯s arms. His body was even trembling because he was too agitated.

    Xu Sanshi was more than a little frantic as he asked, ¡°How is she? How is she?¡±

    Wang Yan came to his side, patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, ¡°Her injury is very serious, but her life won¡¯t be in any danger. Sanshi, do you want to avenge her?¡±

    Xu Sanshi turned around suddenly, ¡°Of course.¡± His voice sounded different because he replied with great enthusiasm.

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°I shall give you a chance. You¡¯ll be the first in the individual round.¡±

    ¡°Good. I will go up and destroy them.¡± As he spoke, Xu Sanshi received a Milk Bottle from Wang Yan. He shut his eyes quickly, and regained the soul power that he had depleted earlier.

    For today¡¯s final, Wang Yan had specially bought a few more Milk Bottles in the two days of preparation. Everyone had one of them now, and used them to regain their soul power quickly. The individual round was about to start.

    Wang Yan was very calm. Although he seemed lethargic, he had a resolute look in his eyes.

    Yes, the loss in the team round was part of his n.

    Shrek was inferior in terms of overall abilities. The Sun Moon team was made up of powerful soul engineers, and they had the most advanced soul tools among those of the same rank. They were undoubtedly the strongest as a team. This meant that they would be most powerful in the team round.

    If they shed head-on, Shrek¡¯s chances of sess wouldn¡¯t be greater than 30%, and so Wang Yan had decisively chosen to give up victory in the team round without knowledge of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s abilities.

    His strategy was very simple. In the team round, all his team members were supposed to conserve. Only Jiang Nannan and He Caitou would unleash their all, because they wouldn¡¯t be in the individual round. They only had one target in the team round ¨C hurt as many of their opponents as possible. It¡¯s important to note that today¡¯s finals would bepleted in one go. While the Sun Moon team was very powerful, they had a limited number of soul kings too. Wang Yan also didn¡¯t expect Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen to be soul kings, but even still, the Sun Moon team only had 9 soul kings. If one was taken down, only 8 would be left.

    Reality proved that Wang Yan¡¯s strategy had seeded.

    Lin Xi and Chen Fei¡¯s deaths were not part of his n, but a Ma Xiaotao who gave her all was too scary. She couldn¡¯t be merciful at all in this final. Along with a little ident, she actually killed 2 ss 5 soul kings. At the same time, she depleted several Invincible Barriers. More importantly, Xiao Hongchen was severely injured. He was unlikely to participate in the rest of the matches. Out of the 9 soul kings, 2 were killed and 1 was heavily injured. Team Sun Moon was very restricted in who they could send out. This would be very disadvantageous for theter segments of the final.

    However, the blow that Jiang Nannan took for Dai Yueheng wasn¡¯t within Wang Yan¡¯s n. But he could understand Jiang Nannan¡¯s painstaking intention.

    Although Jiang Nannan was never a phony in front of Xu Sanshi, she was clear that she might bring Xu Sanshi down. That¡¯s why she took the blow for him without any hesitation. It¡¯s important to know that her life might have been lost if her Invincible Golden Body couldn¡¯t hold on long enough! But she still dashed forward and managed to achieve the best result. Xu Sanshi was agitated, and his internal strength was half-awakened. It was also her efforts that caused Xiao Hongchen to be critically injured. It was even fair to say that Shrek¡¯s team had executed Wang Yan¡¯s n better than expected.

    Ma Xiaotao made the greatest contribution in this team round. Without her, this result would not have been achieved. Even so, Wang Yan did not think that Jiang Nannan made the second greatest contribution. He thought that it was Bei Bei who did so, after he shouted that Shrek conceded defeat at thest moment.

    What¡¯s being able to see the bigger picture? It¡¯s the ability to make the correct choice after judging the situation at the most critical moment.

    Bei Bei had shouted at the right time. The remaining 4 from the Sun Moon team were still very powerful, and they were also very far away from them. Their soul tools could still be preserved in their best states. Even though Dai Yueheng got closer eventually, the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape that Ma Rulong had summoned wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with. Or at least, it couldn¡¯t be dealt with in a short period of time. Shrek wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve victory in that situation. Since this was the case, they should conserve their powers and use them in the individual round.

    Dai Yueheng was the one who was supposed to concede defeat, but it was obvious that he had lost control of his emotions. Wang Yan was more impressed with Bei Bei, as he was able to do what Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t.

    Both teams had to decide their sequence before the individual round started and ry them to the referee. This was to ensure fairness.

    Wang Yan had already prepared his list earlier on, and passed it to Huang Jinxu. As two members had been killed and one member was severely injured, the teacher in charge of the Sun Moon team had to make changes. This left him extremely frantic.

    ¡°No, I have topete. I mustpete. If I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t be present for the 2-2-3 fight either. Damn it, I¡¯m too cowardly.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was still squawking even though he was heavily injured. He wasn¡¯t very bothered by the 2 official team members¡¯ deaths. He was not very good at interpersonal rtionships, and those 2 official team members didn¡¯t like him either. But he was feeling indignant!

    Xiao Hongchen had been recognized as the top talent in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s entire history. His talent didn¡¯t just make him a soul engineer, but also an outstanding soul master. He could even perfectlybine these 2 together.

    Both he and Meng Hongchen weren¡¯t sent topete earlier because they were kept to deal with Shrek Academyter on. But who knew that he would embarrass himself the first time he revealed himself.

    His all-out offense was blocked by a ravishingdy. What was even more unfortunate for him was that he was wrenched into the air by that samedy using her feet. Eventually, he was heavily injured by Dai Yueheng. He was totally embarrassed even before he did anything. How could he not feel depressed?

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s identity on the Sun Moon team was very sensitive. Their teacher didn¡¯t dare to let him take a risk! After he was critically injured and two of the other students were killed, he quickly withdrew Xiao Hongchen¡¯s participation from the tournament and reced him with another preparatory team member. What could Xiao Hongchen do?

    Xiao Hongchen still wanted to turn the tide and reveal himself in front of everyone. If he left it just like that, it would be an absolute farce for him!

    That was why he was unwilling to be substituted just like that. As he was treated by the healing-type soul masters, he debated with his teacher. He was unwilling to disqualify himself.

    The teacher said in a deep voice, ¡°Xiao Hongchen, calm down. Don¡¯t forget what you mean to our academy. If something happens to you, how can I ount to the hallmaster?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen raged, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to ount to anyone. Isn¡¯t my sister here? If I really die in battle, she¡¯ll exin it to my grandfather. I don¡¯t care, I have topete. Don¡¯t me me forining to my grandfather if you don¡¯t let mepete.¡±

    Meng Hongchen was a little annoyed as she said, ¡°Teacher, just let himpete if you have no choice. At most, we¡¯ll not let him fight in the individual round. I think 6 of us is enough. If we can¡¯t and lose, my brother and I can unleash our full strength together for the 2-2-3 fight. He can also use the time for the individual round to recover a little. Although I hate to admit it, it¡¯s partly idental that two seniors were killed just now.¡±

    The teacher creased his brows. These two fellows were very troublesome! Only after the Heavenfiend Douluo urged him for a lineup did he say helplessly, ¡°Very well then. Even if we lose in the individual round, you can¡¯tpete. At most, you can pair with Meng Hongchen in the 2-2-3 fight.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Hongchen agreed forthrightly. He also knew his own condition. He couldn¡¯t recover so fast from the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination attacks that were unleashed onto him. With some time from the individual round, he believed that he could regain a part of his true powers. With his sister around, he was sure he could achieve something in this final. It was definitely better than watching from below the stage.

    The Sun Moon team¡¯speting members and their sequence for the individual round were decided just like that.

    Ma Rulong had expended a lot of his powers earlier, and couldn¡¯t be the first topete. The first to be sent up was an official team member that had been substituted by Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen earlier on. After that, it was another official team member that had been substituted. Following these two, it was Michael, Meng Hongchen, and Ma Rulong followed by Xiao Hongchen. There was a reason why Meng Hongchen was among the first few to be sent up.

    Since Wang Yan had already arranged everything, there were no changes on Shrek¡¯s side.

    Xu Sanshi was the first to enter the fray. He would be followed by Bei Bei, Ling Luochen, Dai Yueheng, Ma Xiaotao, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

    Without a doubt, the first 5 were the main forces for this individual round, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the icing on the cake. One of them had 3 rings while the other had 2 rings. Wang Yan included them in the lineup with eyes on the 2-2-3 fight. If the 2 of them were paired along a soul emperor, it would be a great choice. Their martial soul fusion skill couldn¡¯t be underestimated, even though they weren¡¯t that powerful individually.

    Wang Yan didn¡¯t send them out in the team round because of his arrangement for Shrek to lose the team round, and also because he wanted to conceal their true abilities. Wang Yan might not have even sent them topete for today¡¯s final if not for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s incessant pleas. He wanted to protect them.

    In 5 years, they would be the core of Shrek Seven Monsters. The more they revealed themselves now, the better their opponents would understand them. Furthermore, the Body Sect had alreadyid their eyes on Huo Yuhao. Wang Yan didn¡¯t want them to reveal even more about themselves.

    But how could Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong not want topete because of that? Furthermore, there were only 3 possible permutations for Shrek¡¯s lineup. After the team battle, they were definitely needed! That¡¯s why such an arrangement cropped up.

    ¡°The individual round begins. The firstpeting member of each team, please enter the stage. From Shrek Academy, we have Xu Sanshi. From the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we have Li Yan.¡±

    Xu Sanshi did not even use the stairs. He jumped onto the stage from Shrek¡¯s waiting area.

    Even everyone from Shrek felt an unfamiliar sense as they looked at him right now.

    Xu Sanshi oftenughed and joked normally. He either pestered Jiang Nannan or bickered with Bei Bei. The asional promise that he showed wouldn¡¯t hold up either. But now, his entire person seemed to have change at this point.

    He was silent, cold, and even had an indescribable manner to him. This manner could be described as dignified, or could be referred to that of a leader. He was no longer like a youth now. He was more like an adult, one that was very aloof andpetitive.

    Through closer observation, one could notice a subtle undtion of ck gas flowing around him even though he had not unleashed his martial soul. There was even a dense, gentle ripple that moved with a slight rhythm around his body. He wore a deep gaze that was also cold. His entire person seemed to have be a deep valley that sucked people in.

    This was Xu Sanshi in hisplete state. He was no longer a soul master who controlled the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle, but the wielder of the Xuanwu Shield. He had the strongest defense-type martial soul on the continent.

    Coincidentally, Xu Sanshi¡¯s opponent was a fire-type soul master.

    Li Yan was originally one of Team Sun Moon¡¯s official team members. But his ranking among the 7 official team members should be quite low considering how he could be reced by Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen. His martial soul wasn¡¯t a pure Fire element; it possessed many impure sources of deviant fires and impurities. He wouldn¡¯t have been powerful enough if he only cultivated as a soul master. That¡¯s why he chose to be a soul engineer. He couldn¡¯t use his martial soul to provide himself with more soul power tost in battle, but he could use his own deviant fire to supplement all his soul tools with a fire aura through different soul skills. Of course, his fire was much weaker than Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes. But he was still extraordinary to have be a ss 5 soul engineer before he was 20 years old.

    Both of their gazes crossed as if they were arch-enemies. The Sun Moon team had lost two of their members! Normally, they were partners that trained and improved together. Li Yan was filled with hatred now that they had passed on.

    But Xu Sanshi felt even more hatred in his heartpared to them. When he saw the unconscious Jiang Nannan, he was rubbed the wrong way, and he now only had one thought on his mind. He had to take revenge for Jiang Nannan and defeat his opponent.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo didn¡¯t say anything much. Instead, he gestured for both of them to step back with an ugly look on his face. But the most chaotic team round was already over. He believed that he had enough focus and energy to monitor every exchange of moves between both teams in future battles.

    ¡°Match, start!¡±

    Both parties made their move as Huang Jinxu shouted.

    Li Yan waved his right arm upwards, and a thick soul tool cannonnded on his shoulder. Without even looking, he fired the cannon towards Xu Sanshi.

    A huge fireball was suddenly shot towards Xu Sanshi. The fireball carried a series of explosive sounds in the air, distorting the air wherever it passed.

    His deviant fire wasn¡¯t very strong, but it was still very powerful as his soul toolpressed and condensed it. After he injected his soul power into the soul tool, it was almost as if he had created this soul tool himself.

    Under normal conditions, one¡¯s first reaction to this cannon shot would be to dodge it. After Li Yan¡¯s soul power waspressed, this cannon shot was rather devastating offensively. The best choice was to dodge it.

    But Xu Sanshi did not dodge. He opened his feet wide and suddenly dashed towards his opponent. His martial soul was also unleashed at the same time.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s martial soul had the Xuanwu aura as it was unleashed. This was expected by Wang Yan and everyone from Shrek after Xu Sanshi was agitated because of Jiang Nannan.

    Another dark-green snake appeared on the fine and heavy turtle shield. The snake¡¯s eyes were fresh red. A turtle and snakebined ¨C this was the original appearance of a Xuanwu.

    A ck halo spread out from the shield. Xu Sanshi seemed to turn entirely ck at this point. Against the ball of fire, he performed an extremely domineering action. He swept the Xuanwu Shield and used the shield¡¯s surface to strike the ball of fire.

    Under normal conditions, any power released by a soul tool would cause an impact once it collided with something else. This was even more so for a fire-type attack like this

    However, what happened next was contrary to everything that everyone knew. When Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield struck the ball of fire, the snake eyes shed with a red light. At the same time, a gentle ripple strangely covered the ball of fire. The ball of fire did blow apart, but it was dyed by a second because of this ripple. But this second was enough to decide many things.

    The ball of fire was hit more than 10 meters away before it blew apart. The shockwave it produced couldn¡¯t reach Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi continued to dash forward in big steps. As his martial soul became the Xuanwu Shield, his cultivation had also increased greatly, which meant that he had also be faster.

    Li Yan did not panic even though his strike achieved nothing. The stage was 100 meters wide. Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t dash to the front instantly even if he wanted to.

    Metal barrels started to appear on his body, and streaks of intense light lit up continuously. Not only this, but the soul tool on his shoulder changed into a huge fire cannon. This fire cannon was not fired towards Xu Sanshi directly, but above him.

    A huge fiery web descended from the sky and engulfed the area in front of Xu Sanshi from above.

    Li Yan had calcted this strike beforehand. If Xu Sanshi continued to burst forward, he would be covered by this fire web. If he stopped, it would buy more time for Li Yan to unleash more soul tools against him. Li Yan was waiting for Xu Sanshi to dy himself. He could notst, but his explosiveness was great. But that explosiveness of his had to be unleashed at the correct timing too.

    Just when everyone thought that Xu Sanshi would stop in his tracks or go around the web, Xu Sanshi made a decision that no one had expected. He did not stop, and continued to sprint forward. The fire web covered him.

    A cold grin appeared on Li Yan¡¯s lips. He was sure that Xu Sanshi was unaware that this fire web was a soul tool that he had invented. This fire web would restrict the opponent like a cage. However, all of his fire-type attacks could prate the fire web, and he could thus continue to attack his opponent. This meant that Xu Sanshi would be in deep trouble if hended inside the fire web. At least this was what Li Yan thought.

    As the fire web was about to descend and engulf Xu Sanshi, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield was still blocking the attacks of Li Yan¡¯s various soul tools, and he couldn¡¯t defend against what was above him.

    At this moment, Xu Sanshi stopped in his tracks. He did not even nce at the fire web that descended from the sky as he ced the shield in front of his chest.

    In the next instant, Li Yan saw two spots of red light shining on the Xuanwu Shield. After that, he felt that space had distorted.

    Everything around him seemed to turn illusory. Li Yan couldn¡¯t describe this feeling either. He was a little dizzy because of this, and his soul tool attacks also seemed to be very messy and chaotic.

    This distortion onlysted for a moment before normalcy was restored. In the next instant, Li Yan was appalled. That was because he discovered to his great horror that he was in front of Xu Sanshi and the Xuanwu Shield. That fire web had only justnded.

    A dense, ck soul power spurted from Xu Sanshi¡¯s body. His third and fourth soul rings started to light up.

    His third soul skill was the Mysterious Underworld Force, while his fourth soul skill was the Mysterious Underworld Discement. However, everything was different when the Shield of Xuanming Turtle turned into the Xuanwu Shield.

 Chapter 119: Xu Sanshi Goes All-Out

    With the Strength of the Xuanwu supporting him, the soul power unleashed caused the fire web to descend at a much slower speed. His fourth soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Discement, did not switch his position with his opponent. Rather, it caused his opponent to be translocated in front of him.

    Xu Sanshi was calmer in such important battles. That decisive charge of his confused his opponent and caused him to slip up.

    After the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle became the Xuanwu Shield, all his soul skills changed too. The Mysterious Underworld Discement changed from its pure discement effect to a soul skill that could both disce and translocate opponents.

    The Mysterious Underworld Discement now allowed translocation of all life within 100 meters to just right in front of him. The translocated person would also be momentarily stunned. Although it was only for one second, it was already sufficient for a defense-type soul master to do many things. If a friendly force was translocated over, the user could stop the person being translocated from being momentarily stunned.

    He had arrived so close to Xu Sanshi in an instant that Li Yan did not even have time to react before he saw Xu Sanshi¡¯s cold and scary ck pupils. Following that, the Xuanwu Shield mmed into him.

    Li Yan was a soul king, while Xu Sanshi was only a soul ancestor. But the Xuanwu Shield caused an unimaginable impact at this moment.

    Li Yan still managed to react through his panic. He wanted to unleash his Invincible Barrier, seeing that things were not right. Everyone had prepared an Invincible Barrier before they came for the final. Although it was very costly, it could turn a situation around if used well. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy never had ack of money.

    But Li Yan miscalcted this time. Before the Xuanwu Shield even mmed against him, he already felt a gentle water ripple engulfing his body. He was a fire-type soul master, whereas the Xuanwu was a water and earth-type. Water was the main element, while earth was the secondary element. As his martial soul was suppressed, his soul powers retracted, and he couldn¡¯t use the Invincible Barrier. After all, the Invincible Barrier was neither auto-activating or omnipotent.

    The Xuanwu Shield mmed into him in the next moment.

    Li Yan¡¯s entire body turned ck after he was struck, and there was a feeling of water being sshed. Countless metal shards flew out from his body in all directions. Not only this, but he seemed to have been sucked into a whirlpool. His body wasn¡¯t thrown away, and a string of booms resonated from the Xuanwu Shield¡¯s surface. Xu Sanshi¡¯s first soul ring also started to sh.

    Mysterious Underworld Quake. The violent Mysterious Underworld Quake. The ever-changing Mysterious Underworld Quake! Or rather, the improved version of the Mysterious Underworld Quake!

    Li Yan¡¯s body seemed to be struck thousands of times in that instant. His soul tool was knocked away from him, and his soul powers were dissipated. His life was also in danger¡­

    The Heavenfiend Douluo reacted in time. When he noticed something amiss, he had already appeared beside Li Yan instantly. He used one hand to chop the central position where both of them had collided with each other.

    The ck light from the Xuanwu Shield jerked a little, and Xu Sanshi staggered backwards half a step, whereas Li Yan copsed to the ground. At least 7 or 8 of his ribs were probably broken, and his internal organs were greatly injured too. If he hadn¡¯t been wearing his soul tool armor, his injuries would have been even worse.

    Even the Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s palm shook a little as he stopped Xu Sanshi. This showed how powerful the Mysterious Underworld Quake was. Xu Sanshi was no longer simply just a defense-type soul master.

    A gentle, immense force dragged Li Yan¡¯s body down from thepetition stage. Healing-type soul masters immediately tended to him.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo said in a deep voice after he nced at Xu Sanshi, ¡°The Sun Moon team¡¯s secondpeting member for the individual round, Chen An, shall enter the fray. You, step back.¡±

    Hisst few words were for Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t retract his Xuanwu Shield, but stepped back a few steps. Another Milk Bottle appeared in his hand too. As he stepped back, he used the Milk Bottle without retracting the shield. Milky white ripples could be seen spreading outwards from his body before they were retracted back in.

    ¡°Sanshi!¡± Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help himself, and screamed from below the stage. He was the clearest about Xu Sanshi¡¯s ability. He had fulfilled his potential by using the Xuanwu Shield, which also expended all his soul power. To recover his soul power to its peak state in a short period of time, he was using the Milk Bottle while his martial soul was still out. Although the impact on his body by his soul power was minimized by his strong Xuanwu aura, the feedback on him would be too great if he left this explosive Xuanwu state right now.

    Jiang Nannan had also slowly regained consciousness in Xiao Xiao¡¯s arms with the aid of the healing-type soul masters.

    Jiang Nannan was a little dazed as she saw the huge and tall figure that was retreating step by step with his back facing her, and was using the Milk Bottle to regain his soul power.

    ¡°He¡¯s, he¡¯s doing this for me? He treats me¡­ but¡­¡±

    Complex emotions surged in this youngdy¡¯s heart, and her pain didn¡¯t seem obvious anymore. Her intense distaste for a certain someone was slowly disappearing.

    ¡°He¡¯s indeed awakened the powers of the Xuanwu. I¡¯ve seeded. But why do I feel frantic even though I seeded? Is he really true to me? But I¡­ but he¡­¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s mind drifted with the scene when she saw Xu Sanshi for the first time. Her tender face was also starting to flush. She lowered her head, as if she didn¡¯t dare to look at him on the stage. But she lifted her head very soon, and the look in her eyes changed tremendously in just a blink. There was an extra tinge of concern, or perhaps that was worry.

    Chen An was an official team member of the Sun Moon team. His martial soul was the Lightning Bird. He was also Chen Fei¡¯s biological younger brother, and they were only a year apart in terms of age.

    Compared to his brother, Chen An was only 18 this year. It was obvious that he was more talented than his brother, as he could represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as an official team member even though he was only 18 years old. But he only had this one biological brother, who had always been his goal.

    Chen Fei was dead. He had died under Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes. Chen An¡¯s eyes turned had blood-red from that point on.

    Li Yan had lost. He had already jumped onto the stage the moment the Heavenfiend Douluo opened his mouth. His entire person seemed to be on fire, and ayer of formless radiance was shining from him.

    He fought differently from other soul engineers. When the Heavenfiend Douluo signaled the start of thepetition, he leapt towards Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.

    He was too quick. In terms of speed, he was even faster than his elder brother. Huo Yuhao could only tell that Chen An was wielding a pair of short swords as his weapons even though he had his Spirit Eyes.

    The 100 meters between them seemed to be covered so easily. That bolt of lightning surged straight towards Xu Sanshi, and even the Heavenfiend Douluo had to be absolutely focused in preparation to end this round.

    The radiance from Xu Sanshi¡¯s Milk Bottle had disappeared when his opponent dashed out. He lifted the heavy Xuanwu Shield and performed an action that didn¡¯t seem rted to thepetition.

    He moved half a step to the right, and tilted the Xuanwu Shield at an angle. He also shut his eyes at this point and sealed his vision.

    ¡°Dang¡ª¡± A streak of advancing golden light grazed past the Xuanwu Shield and amidst a stream of sparks. After that, a series of explosions echoed from the Xuanwu Shield. The frightening explosive force was too much for Xu Sanshi, even though he had the Xuanwu Shield. He retreated a few steps rapidly, and only managed to stabilize after staggering a little.

    Yes, Chen An and Chen Fei were different. Chen Fei used his speed, as he was a speed-type long-range attacker, whereas Chen An was a closebat soul engineer. He specialized in closebat and attacked rapidly. A powerful assault-type closebat soul tool, along with his extreme speed, made him stronger than an agility-type soul king.

    The pair of short swords in his hand had been molded by him 7 times. The short swords would be more powerful every time they were molded. He had made them ss 6 soul tools through all his effort. One sword had a sh effect, and was extremely quick, while the other sword could invoke a thunderstorm. Once struck by this sword, a thunderstorm would rage and strike the opponent. It would also create an opportunity for the other sword.

    It took Chen An less than a third of a second to slow his assault. In the next instant, he had already attacked Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.

    Xu Sanshi started to shift his feet, and his small steps changed repeatedly. It appeared that his actions were out of tune with the oing bolt of lightning, but he was able to dodge behind the Xuanwu Shield.

    A closebat soul engineer was offensively stronger than a long-distance soul engineer. While the soul tool rays and soul tool cannons looked very dazzling, only a closebat soul tool could unleash the effects of a soul tool to its fullest.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s defense had reached a soul king¡¯s standard with the Xuanwu Shield supporting him. However, he was still forced back by Chen An¡¯s relentless attacks. He couldn¡¯t even stand properly. A streak of shing light left streaks and streaks of shrilling sparks. Bolts and bolts of lightning brought booming, reverberating sounds with them.

    Xu Sanshi was in great jeopardy now. He was at risk of perishing under the pulsating bolts of lightning.

    He was getting closer to the edge of the stage. If this continued, Xu Sanshi would certainly be forced off the stage even if he could resist Chen An¡¯s attacks.

    However, Chen An changed the direction of his attacks at this point. Xu Sanshi had to retreatterally because of this.

    ¡°Rascal, what¡¯re you doing?¡± The Sun Moon team¡¯s teacher could not help but scold furiously. Chen An was on the verge of victory earlier!

    ¡°He wants to take revenge for Chen Fei. This fellow¡­¡± Ma Rulong was a little annoyed as he shut his eyes. What else could he say? If it were him, what would he do?

    Chen An didn¡¯t force Xu Sanshi off the stage, as he wanted more time to attack. He wanted to find a loophole and kill him.

    Xu Sanshi was forced to retreatterally. He was staggering now, and could be killed at anytime.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo was experienced, and could tell Chen An¡¯s motive.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡±

    An explosion rang from the Xuanwu Shield. Xu Sanshi¡¯s hands also trembled a little, and he staggered backwards quickly. He wanted to use his soul skill to make up for his shortfall, but Chen An¡¯s speed increased to its peak at this instant. Chen An¡¯s shing sword stabbed towards Xu Sanshi rapidly.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo hesitated for a while. He could tell that Xu Sanshi was unable to dodge this blow, but he saw Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield lighting up too.

    He could end this round if he made his move, but he couldn¡¯t determine the victor. That was why he hesitated. He didn¡¯t strike with the hand he lifted, as he didn¡¯t want to influence the result.

    ¡°Psht¡ª¡± The shing sword stabbed into Xu Sanshi¡¯s chest. Intense lightning shed across his chest, and his entire person seemed to be coated with ayer of lightning.

    ¡°No¡ª!¡± Below the stage, the critically injured Jiang Nannan sat up. She let out a sorrowful groan, then spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

    How could Xu Sanshi not hear that? His eyes were filled with resolve initially, but a shred offort appeared when he heard that sorrowful groan.

    The lightning that spread across his body was the effect caused by the shing sword. As the sword stabbed into his body, the shing lightning surged in his entire body and could even tear it apart.

    Chen An was delighted when he managed to stab Xu Sanshi sessfully. He muttered to himself, ¡°Elder brother, I¡¯ve avenged you.¡±

    However, his smile stiffened up at this point.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s body was covered on shing lightning, but there were too many bolts of lightning on his body. Just as Chen An was stunned in ce, a gentle ripple undted, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s tough Xuanwu Shield softened. It turned into rippling water that engulfed his body internally.

    Xu Sanshi had been waiting for this moment for too long. Against a closebat soul engineer, his Mysterious Underworld Discement was useless. Bringing his opponent close to him would only enable his opponent to increase his frequency of attacks. The Mysterious Underworld Quake couldn¡¯t even quake at a speed that matched up to the opponent¡¯s rate of attack. That was why he could only wait for an opportunity to arrive.

    Did Xu Sanshi slip up just now? No, of course not. He had intentionally revealed a crack in his defenses. That was because he could clearly sense that he was unable to hold on, as his soul power was depleting quickly and his opponent was attacking him relentlessly. He had no chance to wait any further, thus he needed to take a risk.

    The Xuanwu Shield turned into a ball of ck watery light that engulfed Chen An precisely. In the next instant, a huge illusory Xuanwu Shield appeared behind Xu Sanshi

 Chapter 120: The Tang Sects Secret Techniques

    The shield had turned into a liquid? The changes came too suddenly, but it changed the oue of the fight.

    Even Bei Bei, who was the most familiar with Xu Sanshi, didn¡¯t know that this good friend of his had such a capability. No one would also have expected that this soul skill would be Xu Sanshi¡¯s trademark. It had a frightening strength that was almost irresistible. Its name was Descent of the Xuanwu.

    This was an additional power that the Xuanwu Shield possessed. However, Xu Sanshi could only attack within close range, as he could not fully control the shield yet. Furthermore, the area that he could cover was very small, and he had only one chance. Once his opponent dodged this attack, he would no longer possess any chance of winning.

    That¡¯s why he waited. When his opponent¡¯s shing sword stabbed into his right chest that he intentionally exposed, he knew that the opportunity had arrived.

    Chen An lowered his guard for an instant after he got what he wanted and slowed down by a beat. This gave Xu Sanshi an opportunity to unleash an all-out strike towards him.

    The shing lightning from the sword didn¡¯t cause any harm to Xu Sanshi. Only the sword de that stabbed right through him left him in intense pain.

    Water conducts electricity. Moreover, Xu Sanshi had the Xuanwu Shield. He could suppress his opponentpletely using his martial soul. That¡¯s why the lightning from the sword was conducted out from his body by his water-type soul power. It wasn¡¯t that easy to harm a defense-type soul master.

    Chen An¡¯s first reaction to being engulfed by the water ripple was to burst out of it. He wanted to retract his sword, but he couldn¡¯t do it anymore. Xu Sanshi tightened his muscles and both his hands grabbed the sword de very tightly.

    Chen An had no choice but to let go of his sword since strength was not his forte. He subdued with his speed, thus it was imperative for him not to get caught.

    Bolts of lightning shone on his other sword, and an intense boom reverberated from it.

    Impure water conducts electricity, and the radiance from the Xuanwu Shield contained traces of water.

    The viscous fluid prevented Chen An, a ss 5 soul engineer and soul king, from escaping.

    Fresh blood flowed down Xu Sanshi¡¯s chest and palms as he pulled the shing sword from his chest and red coldly at the entrapped Chen An, who was surrounded by the ck radiance converted from the Xuanwu Shield.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    The illusory Xuanwu figure behind Xu Sanshi turned into another Xuanwu Shield as the ck radiance shed. The snake¡¯s eyes on the shield then shot out a red light, causing the ck radiance trapping Chen An to turn red in an instant.

    ¡°Stop.¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo stepped forward and attempted to stop Xu Sanshi¡¯s attack.

    However, the Xuanwu Shield¡¯s innate offensive method was too weird . The Heavenfiend Douluo erected ayer of light to segregate the both of them and extended his hand to pull Chen An out. However, he quickly retracted his hand when he extended it into the red fluid, as if he was shocked.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s expression had changed because of the terrifying feeling he¡¯d experienced.

    His spirit shook from the Xuanwu¡¯s aura of destion. After that, he watched as Chen An disappeared within the red fluid. Or rather, he melted in the fluid.

    This strike was no longer just inflicted with Xu Sanshi¡¯s strength. He¡¯d be the intermediary between the Xuanwu that controlled the water and earth elements.

    There were only threee ways of preventing this blow fromnding. The first was to avoid being struck by the ball of ck light converted from the Xuanwu Shield. The radius of that ball of ck light was only 3 meters, and it could only be used once every 3 days, just like Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul fusion skill. Furthermore, it had to be unleashed in the awakened Xuanwu form.

    The second way was to take Xu Sanshi down before the Descent of the Xuanwu was fully unleashed. This was the only way to end his ritual of summoning the Descent of the Xuanwu.

    Thest way was to suppress the Xuanwu with one¡¯s martial soul. However, this was very difficult.

    This was Xu Sanshi¡¯s first time using this innate skill, or rather this bloodline skill. Chen An was also the first sacrificial offering towards the Descent of Xuanwu.

    ¡°Ahhh¡ª¡± Sorrowful moans rang from below the stage. Everyone from the Sun Moon team was about to go crazy. Their teacher was even about to rush up thepetition stage.

    This was the third one! This was the third member from their team that had perished in the tournament! How could this be? Their teacher was absolutely flustered now. There was no way he could ount to the dean after three of the academy¡¯s outstanding talents had been killed!

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t see all this. Once Chen An was assimted by the red radiance, he copsed himself and passed out. The burden on him was even greater this time; he wasn¡¯t acting anymore.

    He¡¯d managed to beat two soul kings as a soul ancestor. He¡¯d already contributed a lot to Shrek¡¯s glory. Furthermore, he was only a defense-type soul master!

    The defensive barriers on thepetition stage were projected inwards. This was to prevent any outflow of powers from the stage, and the barriers only exerted a unidirectional force. That was why it was very easy for everyone from the Sun Moon team to barge up the stage towards Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo shouted. Even though he felt gloomy, he still had to restrain the Sun Moon team, as he was the referee.

    The Sun Moon team could no longer hold back as they were too emotional. Countless soul tool rays shot towards Xu Sanshi, who¡¯d copsed to the ground.

    However, a brazen figure appeared at the center of the stage at this point, and all of the rays of light were instantaneously dispersed.

    Ayer of formless yellow seemed to spread in the air. Everyone on the stage, including the Heavenfiend Douluo, seemed to have been frozen in ce, and all of their actions stopped.

    The figure on the stage held onto his wine gourd and calmly downed a mouthful of wine. He peacefully looked at everyone from the Sun Moon team peacefully.

    ¡°Trying to revolt?¡±

    These simple words of his seemed to heavily strike the minds of everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. None of them could speak at this moment.

    Without a doubt, the person that had appeared onstage and caused everyone to be petrified was the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan said indifferently, ¡°The history of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament can be traced back more than 10,000 years. Even when the Martial Soul Hall controlled all the soul masters on the continent, the tournament has never been disrupted before. Please find the referee if someone has been killed and you want to get even. ording to the rules, allpeting members have to give their all in order to disy their true abilities. Who can hold back after they¡¯ve given their all? Furthermore, the referee is in charge of monitoring thepetition. If someone dies, the referee is the one at fault. What has that got to do with our team member? If anyone intends to break this ten thousand year-old rule, they cane find me.¡±

    He turned around and walked towards Xu Sanshi as he spoke, then bent down and lifted Xu Sanshi up. A gentle yellow radiance was injected into Xu Sanshi¡¯s body, which immediately sorted him out. It also sealed the veins where his wounds were located.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu was extremely depressed after hearing this. Subtle streaks of ck seemed to droop from his forehead.

    Why was this old fellow still alive? However, he didn¡¯t say anything in response.

    Elder Xuan turned around once again as he reached the edge of the stage, ¡°The tournament must continue, unless you want to be the butt of all jokes. Oh yes, I don¡¯t care if the others die, but if these little fellows die, I can¡¯t guarantee that I won¡¯t go crazy. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone here who can stop me if I go crazy.¡±

    This was an obvious threat! However, no one dared to open their mouth.

    Only after Elder Xuan had carried Xu Sanshi off the stage did everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy manage to move again.

    The students still wanted to protest, but their teacher reached out his hand and stopped them.

    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯re just going to leave things like this? We¡­¡± Ma Rulong protested indignantly.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Their teacher bellowed, ¡°Do you know who that is? He¡¯s the strongest in Shrek Academy, and he¡¯s also one of the top 5 on the continent. His title is Taotie, and he¡¯s a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo. He has frightening power close to that of an Ultimate Douluo. If he goes crazy, he couldy waste to this city. Even the Hallmaster wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge him if he were here. No one expected him to appear in today¡¯s finals.¡±

    After he spoke, it was as if everyone from the Sun Moon team had been sshed with a basin of ice water. They all felt a chill in their hearts.

    As soul engineers, they believed that soul engineers would surpass soul masters in the future. But Rank 98 was too high of a figure for them; it was beyond their knowledge. In the Sun Moon Empire, there wasn¡¯t a single Transcendent Douluo! Rank 98 was even more ridiculous.

    ¡°Are we really going to leave it just like that?¡± Xiao Hongchen asked indignantly.

    Their teacher was pale as he said, ¡°Taotie may be very strong, but he cares about his own face. So long as we don¡¯t annoy him, he won¡¯t do anything to us. He won¡¯t disrupt the tournament as long as things go ording to the rules either. Let¡¯s all leave the stage. He¡¯s also right in that that it¡¯srgely the referee¡¯s fault that our team members were killed. The academy will seek redress for this matter.¡±

    It had been proven that a Transcendent Douluo was enough to suppress everyone. Even the Star Luo Emperor and White Tiger Duke didn¡¯tment, instead only watching from afar. The Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, revealed a pensive look, whereas the White Tiger Duke furrowed his brows and seemed to be thinking of something.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo was very proud and withdrawn. If it were someone else, he would have retaliated even though it was in front of 100,000 spectators. However, he didn¡¯t dare do so in front of Elder Xuan. That was because he had sparred with Elder Xuan 20 years ago, and hadn¡¯t fared much better than a certain Protector Douluo from the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family¡­

    Huang Jinxu took a deep breath, and tried his best to calm himself down. There was nothing embarrassing about being humiliated by Elder Xuan. Although Elder Xuan had shifted the me to him, he didn¡¯t argue back and bore the humiliation.

    ¡°Both teams, please send your nextpeting members up to the stage. From Shrek Academy, we have Bei Bei. From the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, we have Michael. Both members, please ascend the stage.¡±

    Shrek Academy held the advantage now that the individual round had reached this stage. They¡¯d evenid a solid foundation for the uing 2-2-3 fight.

    Shrek Academy had only sent out a soul ancestor, Xu Sanshi, yet he¡¯d been able to ovee 2 ss 5 soul engineers. His contributions were immense. Furthermore, one of his opponent had died, while the other had been gravely injured. They couldn¡¯tpete in the 2-2-3 fight. This meant that Shrek Academy had already won 1 round out of the 3 rounds in the 2-2-3 fight. And they just had to win 2 rounds out of 3 in the 2-2-3 fight!

    Even though Shrek Academy had lost Xu Sanshi, their 2 soul emperors had yet topete. Their advantage in the individual round was obvious.

    Team Sun Moon¡¯s teacher squinted his eyes, and his expression turned ghastly. However, he also knew that he couldn¡¯t panic at this point. If they made a false move, they could lose the entire tournament. It wasn¡¯t as if Shrek¡¯s advantage wouldst forever, even though they had the upper hand right now. After all, the individual round had only just begun.

    He summoned Meng Hongchen over.

    ¡°Little Meng, everything will depend on youter. You¡¯ll be up next. For the academy¡¯s glory, give it your all.¡± The teacher said in a deep voice.

    A weird radiance shed across Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes as she nodded her head slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher. I might not be able to determine the oue, but I can definitely change the situation. I won¡¯t let Shrek Academy have it easy.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re counting on you.¡± The teacher bowed slightly towards Meng Hongchen.

    Xiao Hongchen pursed his lips from the other side. He was dejected, as he believed that he should be the one to turn the tables around. While his sister¡¯s capabilities were special, and could lead to unprecedented effects, she was likely to be greatly restricted under certain conditions. Her abilities weren¡¯t as bnced as his! However, he really was seriously injured. Even though he might be able to participate in the 2-2-3 fight, he would be useless in the individual round. Besides feeling dejected, there was nothing he could do.

    Bei Bei and Michael retreated to the edges of thepetition stage. The Heavenfiend Douluo didn¡¯t reveal any expression on his face as gestured and shouted, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    Michael was an official team member, thus his powers were superior to the other 2 members before him. His abilities weren¡¯t as simple as they¡¯d seemed when he¡¯d faced Jiang Peng from the Imperial Profound Academy.

    He immediately disyed his true capabilities the moment thepetition began. A series of metallic nking sounds rang out as several soul tools attached themselves to his body.

    However, he was different from his other team members. There weren¡¯t many barrels on his body, but they were all located around his legs and back.

    A pair of blue, metal boots had appeared around his feet and legs. At the same time, 2 metal barrels had appeared behind his back. These 2 metal barrels were only 3 inches long, but they were more than 6 inches in diameter. The backs of these barrels were shaped like balls, which allowed them to change directions easily.

    Huo Yuhao would find it difficult to control such an advanced soul tool, as his soul power was insufficient, but Michael could easily control this soul tool, as he was a ss 5 soul engineer.

    Other than these 2 soul tools, 4 metal wings extended from Michael¡¯s ribs. But they were not flying-type soul tools. Rather, they were there to help him adjust his aim and maintain his bnce.

    In addition, Michal there was a thick barrel on each of his arms, as well as another huge, circr, ball-like object that seemed simr to a concentrated soul tool on his chest.

    Bei Bei fought in a simr style to most soul masters: As soon as the start of thepetition was announced, he burst forward towards his opponent as fast as possible.

    Closing the gap between them was the best way that one could resist a long-distance soul engineer.

    Michael also made his move, the long boots on his leg shing with light, causing him to immediately move a few metersterally at a frightening speed. While he wasn¡¯tparable to Chen An, he was not that much slower either. The soul thruster behind his back also shot out a little light as he movedterally, although their radiance wasn¡¯t intense. However, it still managed to increase his speed significantly, while the wings on his back automatically adjusted to maintain his bnce as he moved. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were both awed when they saw these soul tools in action. Michael truly lived up to his name as a disciple that came from the best soul engineering academy on the continent! Michael¡¯s immacte control of these soul tools had left them extremely amazed.

    He couldn¡¯t just dodge throughout the entire fight though. He lifted his hand while he was moving, and the barrel on his right hand fired towards Bei Bei. An scarlet, oval-shaped ball of light quickly shot out into the air and flew without any rhythm. Despite its erratess, Bei Bei remained its target. What was strange was that it didn¡¯t let out any sound as it appeared.

    Bei Bei expression became serious and he stopped in his tracks. He waved his right hand and unleashed his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, his first soul ring shining brightly. He then used his Thunderous Dragon w to grab the ball of light.

    It was imperative for Bei Bei to understand what the offensive capabilities of his opponent were, based off of the 2 soul cannons on his opponent¡¯s arms.

    He managed to precisely grab the orange-red light ball, but a strange scene appeared.

    The lightning from the Thunderous Dragon w was extinguished as soon as it made contact with the orange-red light ball. The ball of light stopped in mid-air, then began to shine even more brightly than before.

    He Caitou had already stood up below the stage. He said in horror, ¡°That¡¯s an automatic soul cannon! To think they actually had something like this¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao had once heard Fan Yu¡¯s description of such a soul tool. It was a powerful soul tool that Shrek Academy didn¡¯t possess.

    Once an automatic soul cannon was fired, the cannon shell would absorb all surrounding energy, then be explosive once it struck its opponent or was blocked. The scariest thing was that it could be also be detonated at any time.

    This meant that Michael could make it so that the cannon shell only detonated a few seconds after it was touched. Generally speaking, it would explode between one and five seconds after contact. After all, a cannon shell was a high-energy entitypressed from soul power; it couldn¡¯t be controlled for too long.

    But many things could still be decided within this period of time!

    This was the case now. When he saw the sudden increase in the intensity of the light, Bei Bei had no choice but to stop and leap to the side.

    The scarlet ball of light exploded after a second, its frighteningly explosive force creating a burning, scarlet circle of light with a diameter of more than one and a half meters, and an even greater explosive strength, to appear. The light caused the air within a 3 meter radius to distort wherever it passed.

    Bei Bei turned pale and wanted to curse. This soul tool was too powerful. He was likely to be critically injured if he was struck head-on even once!

    Fortunately, the automatic soul cannon fired at a rather slow speed due to its great power, as a huge amount of soul power had to be gathered before the cannon could be fired.

    By the time the first cannon shell exploded, Michael¡¯s second cannon shell had only just been fired from the barrel on his other hand.

    This type of soul tool was very useful, but the heat that it generated could easily cause the barrel to crack, and couldn¡¯t be fired repeatedly. As such, Michael chose to fire with the other barrel. Ma Rulong had mentioned before that closebat wasn¡¯t his forte. These automatic soul cannons that had appeared in this tournament for the first time were his true trump cards. Of course, there was also the scarlet ball that started to light up in front of his chest; it was bound to be something powerful too!

    Michael¡¯s body moved rapidly as he attacked in a constant attempt to maintain the furthest distance he could from Bei Bei.

    This second cannon shell crossed in front of the path that Bei Bei would have to follow if he wanted to get to him.

    A cold radiance shed in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. This time he actively moved to collide with the cannon shell, rather than use a soul skill to intercept it.

    A cold smile was revealed on Michael¡¯s face. He thought to himself, ¡°Are you trying to dodge my attack? My cannon shell has locked onto you; you can¡¯t escape it. Once you¡¯re hit by it, you¡¯ll be stuck, and I¡¯ll be able to exact revenge for my brothers.¡±

    When the cannon shell reached in front of Bei Bei, he lifted his left hand and grabbed it.

    Why did he grab hold of the cannon shell? This was what every spectator wondered. In the Sun Moon team¡¯s eyes, his arm was bound to be crippled, even if he didn¡¯t die.

    Bei Bei¡¯s movements were sequential. The moment he grabbed the cannon shell, his footsteps became slightly faster. As he slid towards the cannon shell, his body became slightly illusory. He let go of the cannon shell, but the cannon shell came sticking back towards him as it tracked him.

    But Bei Bei also wrenched his left hand downwards at this point. The cannon shell, which was a less than a foot away, seemed to be guided by his palm, and was mmed into the ground. It waspletely smashed by the impact.

    Bei Bei then burst forward with increased speed as he propelled himself off the ground with the tips of his toes, increasing the gap between the cannon shell and him to over 3 meters.

    A boom resonated from behind him; it was as if the sun seemed was shining brightly at his back.

    ¡°I have to return your favor. Since you¡¯ve given me two eggs, I¡¯ll give one to you in return.¡± Bei Bei¡¯s right wrist jerked as he flung a pitch-ck, ball-like entity towards Michael.

    This ball-like entity was oval-shaped, and its trajectory was as unrhythmic as the automatic soul cannon shell. It drew an arc in the air as it flew towards Michael.

    Michael had just fired his third cannon at this point, and was shocked by how his second cannon shell was smashed onto the ground by Bei Bei. However, he immediately adjusted his third cannon so that its cannon shell would blow apart instantaneously. If Bei Bei dared to use the same method again, the cannon shell would explode the instant he made contact with it. However, it was a pity that he couldn¡¯t absorb any further energy from Bei Bei¡¯s soul skills, as it was unlikely that Bei Bei would use them again.

    The 2 ball-like objects seemed to intece as the scarlet ball of light reached Bei Bei almost instantly. Bei Bei performed an unexpected limbo-like action as he burst forward. He continued to advance, but his upper body was bent backwards. He flung both of his hands backwards too, causing the scarlet ball of light to be pushed backwards by a special force. Despite this, it remained locked onto Bei Bei, and continued chasing him after flying 3 meters away.

    A loaded arrow concealed in Bei Bei¡¯s sleeve suddenly flew out and struck the ball of light at this moment.

    Once Michael¡¯s automatic soul cannon shell was struck, it would blow up. In other words, it wouldn¡¯t continue to chase its target anymore. It wasn¡¯t so intelligent after all!

    A deafening explosion that generated immense heat reverberated from behind Bei Bei, but Bei Bei wasn¡¯t struck by the shockwave as he continued to advance forwards.

    ¡°Well done!¡± Even Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but say when he saw this scene. He was immensely amazed. Bei Bei had dealt with his opponent¡¯s soul tools extremely brilliantly.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other and saw the amazement in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Bei Bei hadn¡¯t resisted the automatic soul cannon with his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but with a secret weapon from the Tang Sect! As the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest disciple, he¡¯d finally revealed the true ability that he¡¯d concealed for so long in the tournament. He¡¯d used the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques!

    While Bei Bei handled the third automatic soul cannon, the metal ball that he thrown reached Michael.

    Michael wasn¡¯t careless, but he was still extremely scornful subconsciously. As an outstanding student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he was acquainted with the history of soul tools. Thrown soul tools had existed for a long time, but he couldn¡¯t think of any powerful ones amongst those this size.

    It wasn¡¯t just arrogance for Bei Bei to fling a thrown soul tool towards a ss 5 soul engineer like him¡ªit was much worse than arrogance.

    However, he didn¡¯t react to it carelessly despite having such an opinion. He lifted his right hand and the Thunderous Soul Sword that he¡¯d once used against Jiang Peng appeared.

    A bolt of lightning shot out and turned into a lightning whip that he swung towards the metal ball.

    Lightning was naturally attracted to metal. He wouldn¡¯t let the metal ball get close to him. A simple explosion wouldn¡¯t affect him with the distance he maintained from the metal ball. Furthermore, he was rapidly retreating backwards as he wielded the sword, while also preparing to fire his fourth cannon. Bei Bei might be very agile at dodging, but Michael wasn¡¯t scared of Bei Bei getting close to him. In addition to this, he could tell that Bei Bei had exhausted all of his power dodging his previous 3 cannon shells. He fired this fourth cannon towards the ground in front of Bei Bei; dying his opponent was imperative.

    A sequence of strategies formed in Michael¡¯s mind. The only thing that didn¡¯t cross his mind was the potential problem that the metal ball could pose to him.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The metal ball blew apart the moment it was struck by the lightning.

    Compared to Michael¡¯s cannon shells, this explosion seemed very mild; it was as if a watermelon had been smashed. It didn¡¯t even catch many people¡¯s attention.

    However, a gust of fog rose the moment it exploded. This fog carried a sweet scent that diffused in the air. As lightning shed through it, the gust of fog surged slightly.

    Poison?

    This was Michael¡¯s first thought. He was called an elite talent from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for a reason, as a barrier immediately shone around his body.

    As he was a ss 5 soul engineer, this barrier was naturally a ss 5 barrier as well. Although this barrier couldn¡¯t withstand Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attacks or Xu Sanshi¡¯s Descent of Xuanwu, it was still resistant against most soul king-level attacks.

    He believed that his defense was already very stable. While Bei Bei was quite intelligent to use poisonous gas, he was only dying Michael¡¯s attack by a bit. Poisonous gas wasn¡¯t of much use against him.

    But was it really just poisonous gas?

    A soft crackling sound rang out. There was insufficient sunlight bearing down amidst the gloomy weather, thus Michael only briefly saw a ck figure sh through the air. The crackling sound had originated from the barrier on his body.

    Afterwards, he felt his body turning numb. It was as if he had been stabbed, and his body became stiff. The most tragic thing was that the cannon shell he¡¯d just fired had stopped in front of him.

    How could this have happened? Was it a dud?

    Two thoughts popped up in Michael¡¯s mind at the same time. He hadn¡¯t expect to face something like this. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t know what trick Bei Bei had employed.

    However, a beam of light descended from the sky engulfed his body at this point. This beam of light shielded him when the cannon shell blew up.

    Everything had turned scarlet in front of Michael, and his gaze stiffened. His hair stood on end, and cold sweat ran down his back. If the beam of light hade even a secondter, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to react in time. If he¡¯d been engulfed entirely by that scarlet radiance, he would¡¯ve followed in the footsteps of hispatriots. There truly was a thin line between life and death.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo had been the one to save him.

    The things that had happened before had left this Titled Douluo on his toes. He¡¯d already readied his only defense-type skill in his palm. Once he realized that something was amiss, he¡¯d immediately protected Michael.

    Bei Bei seemed regretful as he muttered, ¡°It seems like I¡¯m better. He used so many eggs, but they were all inferior to mine!¡±

    As the scarlet radiance slowly faded away, the muffled sound thunder could be heard from the sky. The weather became even more gloomy.

    But this gloominess couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon team¡¯s mood.

    Since the Heavenfiend Douluo had intervened, it meant that Michael had lost. What they couldn¡¯tprehend was how Michael had lost.

    What was that metal ball that Bei Bei had thrown? Even most of those from Shrek Academy were confused.

    Secret weapon; it was definitely a secret weapon from the Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao clenched his fist and watched the lofty Bei Bei in awe.

    The Tang¡¯s Sect secret technique had finally appeared after many years of disappearance. However, how many still knew about the Tang¡¯s Sect secret techniques now?

    It was a powerful secret weapon from the Tang Sect known as the Clustered Soulchasing Balls. The ck figure that had appeared was the metal ball. After the Clustered Soulchasing Balls blew apart, countless Oxhair Needles had flown out. While these needles were poisonous, the poisonous fog had appeared in order to mask their presence.

    The Clustered Soulchasing Balls were among the top 10 secret weapons in the Tang Sect, and specialized in breaking down all sorts of defensive barriers. Even a ss 5 defense barrier could only slow these needles down. In the end, the barrier was eventually prated by the needles, and the automatic soul cannon shell was detonated. Bei Bei hadn¡¯t intend to do thest part, however; that was just a coincidence.

    Michael copsed just like that at the center of the stage. The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s facial muscles twitched, and he burst towards Michael to prop him up. He quickly examined Michael¡¯s body.

    ¡°Poison?¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo was shocked and turned to look at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei shrugged and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not lethal. I¡¯ll give him the antidote once today¡¯spetition ends. It¡¯s not like I can give it to him now, right?¡±

    The 2-2-3 fight had yet to begin. Giving his opponent the antidote now would mean that he¡¯d have another opponent to deal with in the 2-2-3 fight.

    What else could Huang Jinxu say? He could only personally escort Michael down from the stage.

    Shrek Academy had won yet again.

    Up until now, only 1 out of the 7 Shrek Academy members had been eliminated, whereas the Sun Moon team had already lost a total of 3 members. The conclusion seemed forgone in this individual round.

    The healing-type soul masters were also helpless against the poison; they were only able to treat injuries. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t easy to remove poison from the Tang Sect.

    As the team leader of the preparatory squad, Bei Bei¡¯s move was very intelligent. Now that one of them had been poisoned, the Sun Moon team would be more cautious in theter stages. If they went all-out, who would be able to provide them with the antidote after thepetition ended?

 Chapter 121: The Tang Sects Secret Techniques

    ¡°Will the fourth contestant from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Meng Hongchen, please step forth.¡±

    Meng Hongchen sauntered onto thepetition stage. Her looks couldn¡¯tpare to Jiang Nannan¡¯s, but she was still a charming and good-looking young girl, and was about Jiang Nannan¡¯s age as well. Her flowing locks were a rare wine-red color. It was a deeper hue than Ma Xiaotao¡¯s, and resembled mellow wine flecked with pale hues. However, her eyes weren¡¯t red, but were blue. This characteristic was different from her brother, Xiao Hongchen.

    She was the fourth contestant from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team to participate in the single-elimination round. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team only had four individuals left who could still participate, including her and her severely injured elder brother.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team had won the group battle, but everything was still going ording to Wang Yan¡¯s n and arrangement. Shrek Academy¡¯s team could be said to have obtained an overwhelming victory in terms of battle strategy and tactics; all their patience in terms of battle strategy in thepetition before this had been worth it at this moment.

    Who else did Shrek Academy have to send out in this single-elimination round? Other than Bei Bei, Shrek was able to send out the control-type Soul King, Ling Luochen. After that, there was still the White Tiger Soul Emperor, Dai Yueheng, as well as the Evil Phoenix Soul Emperor, Ma Xiaotao. As for the Sun Moon?

    Besides Meng Hongchen, they only had a food-type ss 5 soul engineer, Xiao Xiafeng, their team leader, Ma Rulong, and the heavily wounded Xiao Hongchen.

    Soul engineers should generally have an advantage over soul masters of the same level. However, which of the contestants from Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t a monster?

    Why had Michael lost? Because he hadn¡¯t expect Bei Bei¡¯s battle tactics. ording to their research, Bei Bei¡¯s greatest strength was his martial soul mutation on the battlefield¡ªa cross between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Golden Holy Dragon. He¡¯d been on guard against this the whole time, which was why he hadn¡¯t used his strongest offensive move. He¡¯d unwittingly lost the battle due to that single Clustered Soulchasing Ball without even getting to unleash his full potential.

    The battlefield could have a myriad of changes in an instant, but every single one of Shrek¡¯s team members were pervertedly strong.

    Two Soul Ancestors had stepped onto the battlefield and defeated three Soul Kings that were also ss 5 soul engineers! How powerful would their Soul Kings and Soul Emperors be?

    Even if one didn¡¯t mention Dai Yueheng, the dominance that Ma Xiaotao had disyed in thepetition thus far meant that she would be Shrek¡¯s cornerstone and pir of strength in the subsequent battles.

    How would the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team stand a chance in the single-elimination rounds? How would they stand a chance in the following 2-2-3 battle?

    The finals¡¯ situation was quickly unfurling after this abrupt turn, with the scales of victory nting in Shrek Academy¡¯s favor. This was Shrek, the monster academy with over than ten thousand years of history.

    Meng Hongchen stepped onto thepetition stage under such circumstances, and faced her opponent: The Soul Ancestor with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Bei Bei.

    ¡°Begin!¡± The round that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team couldn¡¯t lose began following the Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s bellow.

    Bei Bei growled as his feet slid forward, and his entire body rocketed towards his opponent at the fastest speed possible. He¡¯d alreadypleted his original task once he¡¯d achieved victory against Michael. He knew that he couldn¡¯t use the same tactic to attain victory a second time. But despite this, and even if he lost, he wanted to whittle down Meng Hongchen¡¯s power as much as possible in order toy down a solid foundation for Ling Luochen, who would be the next toe on stage.

    Wang Yan¡¯s current emotions weren¡¯t rxed at all as he stood below the stage, despite their recent victory. His eyes were fixed upon Meng Hongchen, who¡¯d just stepped on stage, but he couldn¡¯t exin the sudden ominous feeling that had surfaced in his heart.

    A profuse number of talents and prodigies hade from Shrek Academy. Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had already sufficiently proven their status as the current outer courtyard¡¯s stars, as well as the future inner courtyard¡¯s pirs with their background and prowess. But what about their opponents? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wouldn¡¯t have be Shrek Academy¡¯s nemesis over the past few thousand years if they were that easy to deal with.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s abilities were enough to attract Wang Yan¡¯s attention. Xiao Hongchen would¡¯ve probably caused great trouble and danger for the Shrek Academy team if not for Jiang Nannan¡¯s sudden outburst of strength¡ªwhich had stopped her opponent in his tracks¡ªfollowed by Dai Yueheng¡¯s all-out strike, who wasn¡¯t even fifteen years of age.

    Then, what about Meng Hongchen?

    Xiao Hongchen was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s trump card, and his ability had been to control metal. What was Meng Hongchen¡¯s ability? This befuddling question mark had been in Wang Yan¡¯s mind this whole time, and still remained unanswered.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s expression remained as calm as ever as Bei Bei lunged towards her. She wasn¡¯t like herrades, who¡¯d released their soul tools or engaged in long-rangebat right from the start. Her feet shifted from beneath her body and she traipsed forward¡ªright towards Bei Bei. At the same time, conspicuous changes began to ur all over her body.

    Her flowing wine-red hair turned snowy white, while her icy blue eyes instantly turned bright red¡ªthe kind of color that made it seem like her eyes were dripping with blood.

    Whoever witnessed the sudden change in her eyes would definitely be shaken by the sight; some would even feel terror.

    Bei Bei had a sensation simr to when he¡¯d faced off against the evil soul master, the Envoy of the Death God, when he saw her, and an inexplicable chill instantly ran up his spine.

    It was just at this moment that the sky rang out with the crackling sounds of a lightning strike, and a thin drizzle flitted down from the sky.

    Meng Hongchen raised both of her hands into the air and suddenly pushed forwards. Every part of her skin that was visible became a snowy-white color, and appeared sparkling and translucent. However, her eyes still seemed extremely out of ce. They were incredibly breathtaking and electrifying.

    Her palms seemed to faintly flicker with a pale green luster as well.

    Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t look like a soul engineer at all. Instead, she appeared much more like a soul master.

    However, not a single person from Shrek could tell what her martial soul was; not even the Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan or Wang Yan.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes narrowed into a squint, and his eyes sparkled with astonishment. Even though he still couldn¡¯t tell what Meng Hongchen¡¯s martial soul was, he postted that her martial soul couldn¡¯t be as weak as a typical soul master¡¯s, and even if she couldn¡¯tpare to Xiao Hongchen, they wouldn¡¯t be too far apart.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s metal-type martial soul waspatible with his status as a soul engineer. His potential in the future was boundless, and he was already a Soul King even though he was still so young; one could only imagine what kind of power he would possess when he grew up.

    It was apparent that Meng Hongchen had chosen a different path from her elder brother.

    While everyone was bbergasted by Meng Hongchen¡¯s martial soul, both parties were headed straight at each other with dazzling speed. The distance between them was quickly reduced to less than thirty meters.

    The first one to attack was Meng Hongchen. She raised her hands and drew two semicircles outwards, then pushed them in Bei Bei¡¯s direction.

    Her soul rings began to sparkle brilliantly on her body¡ªtwo yellow, two purple and one ck. This was the standard and most optimal soul ringbination. At the same time, a light projection gradually drifted into view behind her.

    It was a toad, spotlessly white like a piece of jade, and with eyes the same blood-red color as hers. However, the martial soul beast transformation that had appeared on Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body didn¡¯t appear on Meng Hongchen.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Wang Yan¡¯s eyes instantly widened. He¡¯d perused and scrutinized all sorts of encyclopedias and archives from the academy about martial souls from the moment he¡¯d joined Shrek. He had a strangely familiar feeling about the white jade-like toad before him, and knew that he¡¯d seen this in some ancient record before.

    A beam of white energy that was a foot long in diameter surged towards Bei Bei from Meng Hongchen¡¯s palms when she pushed them out, and her first soul ring lit up along with it.

    The reason why she¡¯d released a beam of energy and not radiance was the fact that this beam didn¡¯t seem quick at all. There were tinges of green throughout the whiteness, and the whole thing seemed like a luminous patch of mist.

    What was even more sinister was that the tiny raindrops drifting down from the sky naturally infused themselves naturally into the beam of energy, which made it look like a whirlpool.

    Bei Bei naturally wouldn¡¯t underestimate an unknown martial soul. His personality was a lot calmer and more stable than Xu Sanshi¡¯s, thus he abruptly halted in his tracks. His third soul ring, the Thunderous Fury, lit up first, followed immediately by his fourth soul ring. He¡¯d actually used his most powerful offensive move, the Thunderous Dragon Head, at the very beginning of the battle.

    Bei Bei knew just by looking at Meng Hongchen¡¯s appearance that it would be extremely difficult for him to emerge victorious. Meng Hongchen seemed to exude an air of mystery in whatever she did. Thus he¡¯d assigned himself a simple target: he would grind his opponent down as much as he could.

    An uncountable number of streaks of lightning apanied the Thunderous Fury and crackled all around him. Their radiant light reflected off of the dragon scales on the right half of Bei Bei¡¯s body, causing them to gleamed with a bluish-purple brilliance. At the same time, his fearsome draconic aura waspletely unleashed amidst the drizzle around him, and a crisp draconic roar could be heard as the colossal Thunderous Dragon Head ferociously boomed out. Under the Thunderous Fury¡¯s amplification, the force of this strike wasn¡¯t one whit inferior to the strike of a powerful Soul King.

    Lightning and thunder were rolling in the skies, causing the Thunderous Dragon Head tp appear even more ruthless than before. The enormous dragon head had a diameter of over one meter, and pierced through the miniscule raindrops falling from the sky as it mmed into the dense white whirlpooling towards him.

    Right at this moment, Meng Hongchen made a decision that waspletely beyond everyone¡¯s expectations. She didn¡¯t intend to fight fire with fire, and neither did she push forward¡ªinstead, she stood up on her tiptoes, and her body sprung into the sky like a bolt of lightning as she flew backwards with bedazzling speed.

    The Thunderous Dragon Head barreled forward and blew the white mist energy that she¡¯d unleashed into smithereens, then proceeded to chase after her with the sounds of thunderous howls and dragon-like roars.

    Meng Hongchen disyed astonishing agility as she arrived on thepetition stage¡¯s edge with two flips before she abruptly leapt to the side.

    The Thunderous Dragon Head was able to lock onto its target. However, instead of chasing after her, it proceeded to crash into the protective barrier surrounding thepetition stage with a loud boom.

    Innumerable streaks of lightning erupted when it struck the protective barrier, causing a sphere of lightning that was over three meters in diameter to appear. Several seconds passed before it gradually dissipated.

    Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t move an inch as she dropped back onto the ground. She didn¡¯t take the initiative tounch another attack, nor did she do anything else; she just watched Bei Bei on the other end of the stage.

    Bei Bei just stood there, his gaze a littleckadaisical. There was a trace of disbelief in his eyes, but the twinkling glow in his eyes was dwindling with tremendous speed.

    Boom. Bei Bei¡¯s body copsed backwards onto thepetition stage just like that. He didn¡¯t move an inch after the initial bounce when his body first crashed onto the stage.

    The audience looked on with bewilderment, while everybody from team Shrek stood up in unison, their expressions that of intense disbelief.

    How could this be? It was clearly Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon Head that had broken through his opponent¡¯s attack. How could he just crumple onto the ground, unconscious, when he hadn¡¯t even touched his opponent?

    What exactly had happened?

    Even the Heavenfiend Douluo looked a little dazed, as not even he knew the reason why Bei Bei had fainted on the spot. There was no reason for him to copse, no matter which perspective he looked at it from.

    However, the truth was that he¡¯d gone down, which meant that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was victorious this round.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo used a strand of gentle soul energy to carry Bei Bei¡¯s unconscious body towards Shrek Academy¡¯s team members. Huo Yuhao hurriedly came forward and grab his senior brother, and realized that Bei Bei¡¯s face was extremely pale. All it took was that tiny moment before his breathing became extremely weak. It felt as if his vitality had been frozen, but the more frightening fact was that Bei Bei¡¯s skin color had be as white as Meng Hongchen¡¯s skin, except that he didn¡¯t have her crystal-like translucence.

    Meng Hongchen gradually stepped into the stage¡¯s center, then she nced at the other team members from Shrek with a pair of chilly eyes. She raised her right hand and pointed at the troupe in the waiting area and coldly said, ¡°Next.¡±

    Ling Luochen slowly straightened her back. The third contestant from Shrek Academy¡¯s team was her.

    Suddenly, Wang Yan and Huo Yuhao eximed at practically the same time.

    ¡°I know what her martial soul is!¡±

    ¡°I finally remember!¡±

    The first sentence belonged to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, while thetter was Wang Yan¡¯s. Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who¡¯d just been abruptly shaken awake inside his mind, while Wang Yan¡¯s determination came from his rued knowledge from reading a myriad of materials.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan exchanged a look, then shouted at the same time. ¡°Her martial soul is the Vermillion Ice Toad! It¡¯s extremely poisonous.¡±

    The Ice Empress was in a deep slumber inside his spiritual sea, but she¡¯d been awakened the moment Huo Yuhao caught Bei Bei and had said the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s name.

    Huo Yuhao quickly probed for information about the Vermillion Ice Toad. The Ice Empress told him that it was an ice-type soul beast that possessed extremely strong poison, and was known in the Extreme North as the ¡®King Within the Crevice¡¯. The reason for this was because its territory was in the Extreme North¡¯s outer regions, along the border to the human world. There were very few of them around, and their whereabouts were unpredictable, as they always moved from ce to ce. As such, they were rarely-seen and exotic. The Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s forte was poison, and they absorbed the coldest air and energies between heaven and earth to forge their poisons. The two reasons that they hadn¡¯t moved deeper into the Extreme North was because the Three Heavenly Kings were holding down the fort, and the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s body was an ice-type soul beast, while its eyes were fire-type¡ªan extremely peculiarbination. Thus, ces of extreme cold weren¡¯t suitable for them to inhabit. They intertwined both their fire and ice abilities to produce their special icy poison.

    The Vermillion Ice Toad would leave a trail of acute poison wherever it went, which would remain there almost indefinitely. Even soul beasts more powerful than it found it challenging to harm the Ice Toad. There had been records of soul masters with this martial soul on the continent, but they were extremely rare. The reason for this was because the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s situation was simr to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix; the icy poison within it would cause a toxic bacsh to its owner. One misstep, and the soul master would perish from the icy poison entering his or her heart. This was the main reason why there were very few of such soul masters who could cultivate to an extremely high level.

    However, there were two sides to everything. The stronger the toxic bacsh, the more formidable its power, and the stronger the poison in battle.

    There was no question that the sphere of white mist that she¡¯d released was charged with the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s intense poison. Bei Bei had been unwittingly poisoned, thus he had no longer been able to control the Thunderous Dragon Head, which naturally meant thetter wouldn¡¯t be able to lock onto its target anymore. Meng Hongchen wasn¡¯t only powerful and unique¡ªher calctions were urate and impable. She¡¯d defeated Bei Bei practically without breaking a sweat, and it was apparent that she could control the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s intense poison at a whim, as the Heavenfiend Douluo would¡¯ve been affected otherwise. Whether she¡¯d suffer from a toxic bacsh was hard to say.

    Bei Bei hadn¡¯t let Michael unleash his full potential, and he ended up with the same fate. The Golden Holy Dragon¡¯s radiance would no longer shine in this season¡¯s grandpetition.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan¡¯s unified exmation was so loud that even Meng Hongchen heard it from thepetition stage. She nced towards Shrek Academy¡¯s waiting area, then grunted and said, ¡°You guys are from Shrek after all. Looks like you do know some things.¡±

    Thepetition carried on, as the single-elimination rounds couldn¡¯t be stopped halfway. Huo Yuhao and Wang Yan¡¯s words were clearly meant to remind Ling Luochen as she stepped onto thepetition stage.

    However, both of their faces were full of worry and anxiety.

    The rain was bing even finer. There was no doubt that Ling Luochen¡¯s ice-type control abilities would receive a great boost under such a deluge. However, wouldn¡¯t the downpour also create many perfect avenues for poison to spread?

    Someone with Bei Bei¡¯s cultivation, and with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon¡¯s natural resistance, had lost the ability to battle in just a few gasps of breath. One could only imagine how intense the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s poison was, and Meng Hongchen was already a ss 5 soul engineer.

    Ling Luochen walked on stage with a calm look in her eyes and stood before the judge. Shrek still had the advantage in the single-elimination round for now, as she was the third contestant, while Meng Hongchen was the fourth.

    The light drizzle continued as both parties gradually retreated to their respective corners. Meng Hongchen¡¯s expression at this moment was like an arrogant and aloof peacock.

    Ling Luochen moved back to the edge as she breathed out lightly. The raindrops around her body drifted away and couldn¡¯t touch her body at all.

    ¡°Begin.¡±

    Ling Luochen immediately made an extremely magnificent and gorgeous move.

    She released her martial soul, her soul rings naturally appearing as well. The moment they came into view, all five of her soul rings started to sparkle alternately.

    Ling Luochen had actually used all five soul skills one after another within a span of three breaths. Everybody could see that all five circles of light were flickering alternately, from her first hundred year soul ring, to herst ten thousand year soul ring.

    This was no longer about simple tactics or tricks, it was more about her personal understanding of ice.

    Soul masters couldn¡¯t possibly unleash so many soul skills with such dazzling speed under normal circumstances, yet Ling Luochen had managed to do so. She hadplete control over ice, and had thus made use of the connection between her soul skills and exploited their rtionships. Not only had she unleashed five soul skills within such a short period of time, but she¡¯d also managed to reduce their consumption by about thirty percent.

    Every single disciple from Shrek Academy that could enter the inner courtyard could be described as both talented and prodigious.

    Following her five soul rings¡¯ alternate sparkling, the first thing that appeared in her palm was naturally her Ice Staff. She raised her Ice Staff into the air as her soul rings continued to flicker, and a crystal-like Ice Armor covered her entire body; even her mouth and nose werepletely protected. At the same time, an icy prison descended upon Meng Hongchen and trapped her inside. The sprawling Icemist erupted with Ling Luochen at the center, followed by her Icebrilliant Halo.

    The temperature on thepetition stage instantly dropped to fifty degrees below zero, the Icemist¡¯s extreme coldness permeating and wreaking havoc within the stage¡¯s protective barriers at lightning speed.

    As Ling Luochen didn¡¯t have the Ultimate Ice¡¯s power, the lowest temperature that she could reach with her current level of control was only about eighty degrees below zero. Inparison, Huo Yuhao¡¯s level of cultivation wasn¡¯t that high, but he could reduce the temperature in his immediate vicinity to more than two hundred degrees below zero if he wanted to because he had Ultimate Ice. This was the distinction between their two different kinds of ice, and this was also the reason why Huo Yuhao was recognized.

    Theck of Ultimate Ice didn¡¯t mean that Ling Luochen wasn¡¯t powerful, however. She was strong enough to be chosen as Shrek¡¯s official team¡¯s main control-type soul master, and her control of the ice element had long reached nearlyplete freedom.

    She was uncertain whether she would be affected by the acute poison. Therefore, she had to use her most powerful abilities in the face of such danger. She needed to use her strongest defensive abilities while simultaneously controlling both the stage and her opponent.

    What made her a little surprised was that Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t do anything to stop herself from being entrapped by the icy prison after Ling Luochen¡¯s multi-pronged release and her elegant unleashing of five different soul skills. She didn¡¯t even seem like she wanted to break out from the inside. In fact, there was a tinge of indifference at the corner of her mouth.

    The Icemist and the Icebrilliant Halo¡¯s effects reduced the temperature to an extremely low level and spread around with dazzling speed; both had permeated the entire stage in the blink of an eye.

    Most of the audience didn¡¯t really appreciate soul masters like Ling Luochen, as she would greatly affect thepetition¡¯s visibility the moment she made a move.

    The Icemist swiftly nketed the entirepetition stage, making it so that nothing else could be seen on stage.

    Both Shrek Academy¡¯s team members and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team members were as nervous as ever inside of their respective waiting areas. Victory was imperative to Shrek Academy in this round, as a loss would mean that their advantage would disappear. Even though they still had two powerful Soul emperors, their opponents¡¯ team leader had yet to step out either.

    A minute passed, and then two minutes passed¡­ Soon, five minutes had passed in the midst of everyone¡¯s agonizing anxiety.

    The Icemist covering the entire stage gradually dissipated. When everything that was on stage became visible, everybody could see that Meng Hongchen was still standing inside the icy prison. Her pale white skin seemed to be even more pale at this point, as it was covered in ayer of frost.

    Ling Luochen also remained in her original spot on the other side, as her Ice Staff was raised high above her head, while her entire body was covered in her Ice Armor.

    Was it over? Who¡¯d won the round?

    The Heavenfiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu, stood at the center of the stage, as he was the judge. Ayer of starlight had condensed into a protective barrier that enveloped his body within it. It was obvious that he was rather fearful of the battle that had transpired before him.

    At that moment, piece after piece of thin ice drifted down from Meng Hongchen¡¯s body following a series of crisp crackling sounds, which shattered into dust as they fell to the ground. There was still a look of disdain paired with a faint smile on her face.

    ¡°Did you think that ice could block off my poison? It¡¯s a pity for you, as my martial soul is an ice-type one as well. Passing venom through ice is my forte, thus your loss is not unjustified.¡±

    Blue light shed through her right hand as she spoke, a blue longsword appearing in her hand. She shed it in front of her body, and a chilly and sinister blue light flickered as she cut open the ice prison, which Ling Luochen no longer had control over. She then elegantly sauntered out from inside.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is victorious. Shrek Academy, send forth your next contestant.¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo waved his arm in the air, and a sphere of light enveloped Ling Luochen and sent her off thepetition stage. Ling Luochen was like an ice statue.

    Huo Yuhao was the one who caught her yet again. He tapped her and instantly dispelled the ice armor that was enveloping her body.

    Ling Luochen hadpletely lost consciousness like Bei Bei before her; even the color of their faces was identical. Such powerful poison!

    Wang Yan was also ovee with a haze of terror.

    No matter how intelligent he was, and no matter how well he could arrange battle strategies, he was at his wits¡¯ end, and could only look on helplessly in the face of such a situation. Who would have thought that such a formidable poison soul master would emerge from their opponents¡¯ camp? Both Bei Bei and Ling Luochen had been defeated in battle without even having a chance to directly sh with their opponent.

    Huo Yuhao would be able to get rid of a pure ice poison. However, even though Meng Hongchen¡¯s dual-type venom origin was ice-based it also contained traces of fire inside of it as well. The moment the outeryer of ice-type venom was removed, the fire-type poison inside was likely to be unleashed. One misstep could cost Ling Luochen her life; how could Huo Yuhao dare to take this risk?

    ¡°Next.¡± Meng Hongchen¡¯s voice¡ªakin to the harbinger of death¡ªcould be heard once more. Her expression was still condescending and extremely arrogant, but this single word caused an immense pressure to fall onto team Shrek inside of the waiting area.

    She¡¯d defeated two people in a row, both of which could be described as effortless victories. Meng Hongchen was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s cornerstone at this point, as both parties had now been pulled back onto the same footing in terms of able-bodied contestants.

    Dai Yueheng gradually rose to his feet, his brows furrowed. Wang Yan had exined the Vermillion Ice Toad¡¯s situation to the best of his ability to the rest of Shrek¡¯s team while Ling Luochen was battling with her opponent.

    The White Tiger was ferocious enough, but it still belonged to the same category as Bei Bei¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Bei Bei hadn¡¯t been able to resist Meng Hongchen¡¯s poison; would he be able to as a Soul Emperor? Dai Yueheng didn¡¯t know the answer to this question.

    Yet, even if he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist it, how could he just chicken out? Both the emperor and his own father, the White Tiger Duke, were watching.

    The despondence and exasperation that Dai Yueheng felt in his heart was already at the highest possible level, causing veins to pop out all over his forehead. He¡¯d rather challenge a Soul Sage than fight someone like Meng Hongchen. It wouldn¡¯t be much if he won, but it would be an embarrassment if he lost, and he¡¯d be humiliated in front of the vast audience.

    The list was fixed and couldn¡¯t be changed, however, so he could only gather his courage and prepare to engage in battle.

    ¡°Dai Yueheng.¡± A deep voice rang out from beside his ear.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Dai Yueheng turned around. Ma Xiaotao was the one who¡¯d just called his name.

    Ma Xiaotao hadpletely suppressed the evil fire in her body during their period of adjustment and recovery before this, and she¡¯d even regained much of her soul power through a Milk Bottle.

    Ma Xiaotao gazed at him, and a serious look shed across her eyes. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Her venom is powerful, but she¡¯s ultimately still a level below us. Your three powerful transformations that are meant to amplify your powers will grant you a great boost to your resistance. Rain hell upon her in the time that she tries to take you down with poison!¡±

    All of them were intelligent; this single pointer was enough. Dai Yueheng immediately understood the meaning in her words, and his eyes squinted a little as he nodded his head. He gave Ma Xiaotao a thumbs-up, then leapt into the sky andnded on thepetition stage.

    As the onlooker, he could see more of the game, and immediately understood what he had to do with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s timely reminder. He possessed a powerful martial soul and was a Soul Emperor over Rank 60. The amplifications that his martial soul could apply onto his body were extremely formidable. Under such circumstances, a certain duration of time was needed for poison to take effect on his body no matter how acute his opponent¡¯s venom was.

    Bei Bei¡¯s level of cultivation was inferior to his opponent, plus he¡¯d been caught off guard.

    As for Ling Luochen? Their round had only concluded ten minutes after her Icemist had permeated throughout the entirepetition stage. Meng Hongchen had mentioned afterwards that ice was ineffective in blocking her from spreading poison, but it was clear that she¡¯d needed a certain amount of time to deal with Ling Luochen. Ling Luochen was a control-type soul master, and thus was more adept at controlling the battle rather than using brute force. He, on the other hand, was different.

    Meng Hongchen looked back over her shoulder at her own camp¡¯s waiting area as Dai Yueheng stepped onto thepetition stage. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s teacher-in-charge made a few gestures towards her, and Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes, then she nodded her head slightly to show that she understood. An added tinge of self-confidence instantly appeared in her eyes.

    ¡°Step back,¡± the Heavenfiend Douluo habitually said.

    Dai Yueheng squinted slightly as he stared at Meng Hongchen with a chilly gaze.

    Meng Hongchen felt her body tighten up and a chill ran down her spine. She felt as if she was actually facing off against a ferocious tiger. He was a Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy, and his intimidating aura was cause her stomach to freeze.

    She quickly recovered, however, as her two previous victories had built up her confidence.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s disposition seemed to change delicately when he reached his corner. He didn¡¯t move very fast, but the distance between every step that he took was extremely bnced and even. His aura kept bing denser and more stable, as if he were a mountain that was gradually taking shape.

    On top of the royal city wall.

    The Star Luo Emperor grinned and said, ¡°My friend, do you think that Dai Yueheng will be able to defeat the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s rare poison soul master?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke frowned faintly and replied, ¡°He can win if he ys it smart. However, he will still probably end up hurting himself even if he does emerge victorious, as poison soul masters are troublesome¡ªespecially those from the Sun Moon Empire. Your Majesty, you need to start taking that girl seriously.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Sun Moon Empire is getting more out of control. The messenger that I sent to Shrek Academy returned yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What did Shrek Academy say?¡± It was apparent that the White Tiger Duke knew about the Star Luo Empire¡¯s efforts to form a rapport with Shrek Academy.

    The Star Luo Emperorughed and replied, ¡°What else? Those cunning foxes! They politely declined my offer. The Martial Soul Department¡¯s dean, Yan Shaozhe, sent a message: Shrek will never fall in. They will only nurture, and they will only protect. Shrek¡¯s influence will never leave Shrek City.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke grunted and said, ¡°They¡¯ve already be the Continental Guardians, yet they¡¯re still noting out of the city? They¡¯re just not going to expand outwards.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor sighed and said, ¡°We still have to admit that it¡¯s only because of the Shrek Academy¡¯s steadfast belief in their principles that they¡¯ve remained as the neutral party between the Douluo Continent¡¯s three original empires. We might¡¯ve had the opportunity if not for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s existence, and it would¡¯ve been our chance to unify the continent. However, Shrek will never allow any form of infighting, and we don¡¯t have the strength to contest anything under the current political circumstances.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke replied, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has been rtively quiet recently; I imagine they won¡¯t cause much disturbance in the near future.¡±

    The Star Luo Emperor waved his hand and said, ¡°Thepetition has begun. Let¡¯s watch.¡±

    Dai Yueheng and Meng Hongchen¡¯s contest had begun while the ruler and his minister were discussing the great throes of politics.

    Dai Yueheng roared like a tiger as soon as the judge gave the green light, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow. His first, third and fifth soul ring immediately began to sparkle sequentially as he flew through the air, and he transformed as fast as he could.

    Golden fur and golden ws appeared as he used the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and the White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation. These three powerful amplification skills could raise his power to the highest possible level in a matter of seconds.

    He¡¯d already reached the center ofpetition¡¯s stage by the time his third soul ring had beenpletely released, and it was obvious how frighteningly quick his movements were. It felt as if his fearsome aura was going to tear everything before him to pieces.

    Below thepetition stage, Ma Rulong¡¯s expression changed again and again. He was also a Soul Emperor, but the rift between him and Dai Yueheng was simply too vast in terms of their martial soul and cultivation. He only had a fifty percent chance of defeating Dai Yueheng at best, even if he unleashed his soul tools with all his might. He had to admit that Shrek was superior in singlebat at the same age and the same level of cultivation. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t even have a thirty percent chance of victory if he were to go up against Ma Xiaotao in a one-versus-one matchup.

    Meng Hongchen finally released her soul tools as she faced off against Dai Yueheng.

    An icy blue radiance glowed from thirteen spots on her body¡ªthese thirteen spots were her forehead, shoulders, chest, elbows, abdomen, hips, knees, and both of her hands.

    Thirteen spheres of chilly blue light formed from, then swiftly transformed into an exquisite blue armor that protected Meng Hongchen¡¯s body.

    Even though her armor covered her entire body, there didn¡¯t appear to be any redundancies in it. The entire set of armor seemed extremely delicate and fine, and was even engraved with magnificent bluish-gold floral patterns. Meng Hongchen was already enchanting, but this body armor made her appear even more valiant and formidable.

    She also held a pair of icy-blue longswords in both of her hands. The swords were thin, and were each three feet long. Three pairs of folded wings that were roughly a foot long extended from behind her body. The body armor in and of itself was enough for her to release a dense, chilly aura.

    He Caitou¡¯s ability to distinguish soul tools was rtively advanced, thus he immediately gave his opinion. This was a ss 6 soul tool; a full-body armor with attached weapons and a flying-type soul tool. Furthermore, a ss 5 soul engineer would be able to use this ss 6 soul tool. He was also positive that Meng Hongchen couldn¡¯t possibly have made this; this soul tool had definitelye from the hands of some expert.

 Chapter 122: Dai Yuehengs Determination

    Generally speaking, soul engineers could only use soul tools of the same ss unless there were special processes involved during the crafting of said soul tools, or if the soul tool itself had something unique about it that allowed it to bypass ss differences.

    How old was Meng Hongchen? The fact that she was already a Soul King was extraordinary; there was no need to ask to know how much importance the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy ced on her. It was almost impossible for her to have reached her current level of cultivation all by herself, and she¡¯d also had to train in soul engineering at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao possessed twin martial souls, and the Ice Empress, Skydream Iceworm, and Electrolux all lived in his body simultaneously. Yet, even with all of these factors, even he wasn¡¯t confident that he¡¯d be able to reach Rank 50 and be a ss 5 soul engineer by the age of fifteen.

    There was no question that both Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had had a lot of man-made factors involved in their growth. There was no use telling others what exotic treasures or herbs they¡¯d ingested, but the sheer level of their cultivations also implied that their foundations weren¡¯t stable.

    Rank 30, Rank 60, Rank 70, and Rank 90 were the four important milestones that soul masters faced. Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen would experience a decline in their cultivation speed if their foundations weren¡¯t solid enough. They would have to stabilize and consolidate their foundations over a sufficient period of time if they wanted to achieve real sess in the future.

    This was the reason why it was so apparent that Meng Hongchen hadn¡¯t been the one to forge and produce the ss 6 soul armor that she was currently wearing.

    This didn¡¯t mean that she couldn¡¯t disy formidable prowess using this soul tool. Instead, she was using her own aptitude and abilities to show Shrek what the future development of soul masters on the continent was likely to be.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s speed increased exponentially as her figure shed once. She didn¡¯t intend to sh directly with Dai Yueheng. Rather, the thin swords she was holding cut through the air as she stepped to the side.

    Two streaks of icy blue light appeared in midair like two bolts of lightning and formed something like a cross, then soared towards Dai Yueheng. They didn¡¯t appear as if they would dissipate either; it was as if they were part of a soul skill.

    Dai Yueheng didn¡¯t even attempt to dodge, as he was aware that he didn¡¯t have much time. He swung his tiger-like left hand and unleashed his soul power, causing five beams of golden light to collide with the center of the cross. His forward momentum remained unchanged and unaffected as he did so.

    The cross was immediately shattered into pieces, but thick white mist immediately permeated the air. There was no question that this attack had been charged with the Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s intense venom.

    Dai Yueheng held his breath, but he still felt his entire body turning cold. It was as if something was invading his body with unstoppable force.

    He concentrated his soul power and relied on his body¡¯s powerful resistance to disregard this feeling as he continued his forward lunge towards Meng Hongchen.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s first soul ring had been sparkling ever since she¡¯d made her first strike, which represented her Vermilion Clear Icetoad¡¯s acute poison. At this moment, her second and third soul rings lit up one after the other.

    An icy-blue light ring extended out from beneath her feet and covered the entirepetition stage in a matter of seconds. This was her second soul skill¡ªIcevenom Ring.

    Every ounce of venom that belonged to her Vermilion Clear Icetoad would be amplified inside the Icevenom Ring. She¡¯d taken advantage of the cover provided by Ling Luochen¡¯s Icemist previously to use the Icevenom Ring to amplify her first soul skill and eventually defeat Ling Luochen inside of her own Icemist.

    When her third soul ring lit up, something strange began to happen. A mirror-like solid piece of ice that was about five meters in diameter appeared beneath her feet. This ice block projected her reflection, but the scene that appeared was extremely peculiar.

    Dai Yueheng arrived in front of her just as she finished unleashing these two soul skills. He shot out the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave at her as soon as possible.

    The White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave was extremely formidable under the amplifying effects of his three transformation skills. A beam of white light as thick as an arm tore through the air, booming and crackling with energy. If this beam of light hit its target directly, its power wasn¡¯t inferior in the least to that of a ss 5 energy-gathering soul cannon.

    A sinister scene appeared at that moment: Two Meng Hongchens suddenly appeared on the surface of the ice block. The streak of white light shed by, and the Meng Hongchen that it was targeting simply dissipated like a shadow, while the original Meng Hongchen relocated to another position. Not only had she managed to evade the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave, but she¡¯d also managed to relocate to a position behind Dai Yueheng.

    Her thin swords sparkled and transformed into sword shadows that pervaded the skies before they stabbed right towards Dai Yueheng. Her swords¡¯ foot-long radiances became concentrated, causing the air around them to release chirping sounds.

    This was Meng Hongchen¡¯s third soul skill¡ªIce Reflection. It allowed her to switch positions with the light images of herself that were reflected on the surface of the block of ice that she¡¯d released. Even though it wasn¡¯t as powerful as Instant Teleportation, it was an extremely practical soul skill that worked well inbination with her soul armor.

    Who was Dai Yueheng? He was the White Tiger¡¯s heir, and a Soul Emperor who¡¯d stepped out from Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard. He could be counted as a veteran of countless battles.

    He was not in the least bit worried or frightened despite his opponent¡¯s unique soul skills. He immediately swept his tiger-like palms out behind him the moment that his left legnded on the ground. The sharp talons on his tiger-like palms zed withrge patches of golden light when they shed directly with the thin swordsing toward him.

    The thin swords in Meng Hongchen¡¯s hands were ss 6 soul tools; their offensive power was just as strong as Dai Yueheng¡¯s tiger ws. She relied on her soul tools¡¯ power to forcefully bridge the gap between their levels of cultivation.

    Dai Yueheng had severely wounded Xiao Hongchen before this, thus it was natural for Meng Hongchen to feel an acute sense of belligerence when she unleashed her full power.

    However, he was still a Soul Emperor after all. Dai Yueheng would be able to ovee Meng Hongchen in terms of strength, soul power, and martial ability if he didn¡¯t have worry about the effects of her venom. Even though a ss 6 soul tool was powerful, Meng Hongchen still wasn¡¯t a ss 6 soul engineer, thus she was only able to temporarily maintain this bnce. When Dai Yueheng took the opportunity to spin around and face her directly, she started to crumble under the pressure.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s figure shed once more as she used her Ice Reflection to relocate herself again. Her thin swords shed through the air, their shadows permeating through the entire arena as she relentlessly tried to find any weaknesses or loopholes in Dai Yueheng¡¯s defense.

    She could wait; she understood that Dai Yueheng was relying on his resistance to fight against her Icetoad¡¯s Venom. However, she was positive that this resistance was time-based. Dai Yueheng would feel the Icetoad Venom¡®s effects more and more over the continuous passage of time, which would undoubtedly lead to her being the ultimate victor.

    This was the truth, and Dai Yueheng could feel a chill that pierced right into his bones incessantly assaulting his body. Even though his body was tough and he could dy this process for a long time,pletely stopping it was impossible for him.

    Meng Hongchen was no match for him in close-quartersbat, but she was nimble and agile thanks to her Ice Reflection. In order to hold back Dai Yueheng for as long as she could, she tossed out explosive soul tools from time to time, meant to distract rather than damage her opponent.

    Their epic battle made the audience dizzy as they looked on, ear-piercing crackling sounds constantly audible. Dai Yueheng wasn¡¯t slow, but he wasn¡¯t able to gain any sort of advantage over Meng Hongchen, who had a ss 6 soul tool and the help of her Ice Reflection. The situation on the stage remained at a prolonged impasse.

    Everybody in Shrek¡¯s waiting area began to frown and curse. They could tell what sort of battle tactics Meng Hongchen was employing, but nobody had expected her closebat prowess to be so formidable¡ªshe was actually able to hold back Dai Yueheng, and she didn¡¯t look like she would be defeated anytime soon.

    Dai Yueheng suddenly slowed down, his entire body shivering as a streak of icy-blue light shed across his shoulder.

    However, he had the three amplifying transformation soul skills protecting him, thus the icy-blue sword radiance merely shaved off some of his golden tiger fur. It didn¡¯t damage his body at all.

    ¡°Oh no.¡± Wang Yan¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that Yueheng can withstand the poison anymore.¡±

    Dai Yueheng had used all three transformative soul skills from the beginning of the battle, which was the only way that he could raise his resistance, and in turn his offensive powers, to the highest possible level.

    However, Meng Hongchen had refused to sh with him directly; she was as slippery as an eel. Dai Yueheng had almost broken through her defense several times, but his attacks had immediately been dispelled by her automatically triggered Impregnable Wall. Meng Hongchen¡¯s soul power was greatly diminished whenever this happened, but Dai Yueheng¡¯s was being consumed at a far greater rate.

    ¡°Believe in him. As a disciple from Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard, if he can¡¯t defeat an opponent one tier of cultivation below him, then he isn¡¯t worthy of stepping out from the inner courtyard.¡± Ma Xiaotao was the only one able to remain calm, as only disciples from the inner courtyard could truly understand each other.

    Still, the situation on stage wasn¡¯t very optimistic. Dai Yueheng had slowed even more after he¡¯d suffered that first strike¡ªit seemed that the Icetoad¡¯s Venom had begun to take effect. The thin swords in his opponent¡¯s hands began to be more ferocious as more and more streaks of sword radiance criss-crossed towards him. His body was quickly cut several times.

    Even with the White Tiger¡¯s Shield, the White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and the White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation, he couldn¡¯tpletely defend himself against a ss 6 soul tool¡¯s attack. Traces of blood rapidly began to appear on Dai Yueheng¡¯s body. However, what was more important was the fact that Meng Hongchen¡¯s weapons were also tinged with venom as well. The poison would only spread faster now that it had made contact with his blood.

    ¡°Urghh!¡± Dai Yueheng seemed to have be infuriated, or maybe it was because he¡¯d realized the current state of his body. He suddenly roared into the sky, and a dense golden light erupted from his body as his sixth and final soul ring finally began to sparkle brilliantly.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s most powerful soul skill, the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination, had finally been unleashed.

    A terrifying aura immediately enveloped an area around five meters in diameter as the intense golden light gathered together form a giant word ¡°Kill¡± in midair. The shadow of the White Tiger also slowly came into view behind Dai Yueheng at the same time.

    Was this his final strike? Meng Hongchen¡¯s mouth curled into a cold smile and a beam of golden light immediately emerged from her body.

    She was naturally unable to withstand his White Tiger¡¯s Extermination; the result would be the same even if she used her Impregnable Wall. The gap in their soul power was ultimately too great, and the White Tiger Soul Emperor¡¯s most powerful strike when he was fully amplified was powerful enough to sap her entire pool of soul power, which would cause her to copse and crumble.

    This ray of golden light wasn¡¯t from the Impregnable Wall, but¡­ following the sh of golden light, Meng Hongchen was instantly moved ten meters away,pletely evading Dai Yueheng¡¯s most powerful strike.

    One couldn¡¯t underestimate the power of shifting ten meters away in the blink of an eye. This was a ss 7 soul tool known as the ring of teleportation; even Xiao Hongchen didn¡¯t possess a soul tool like it.

    The ring of teleportation could only be used once per day, but it wasn¡¯t a disposable soul tool, and was often touted as a miracle amongst ss 7 soul tools. Possessing an item such as it was essentially equivalent to having a second life in most situations, even though its instant teleportation distance was limited to a hundred meters.

    Meng Hongchen had teleported a mere ten meters, and had been waiting for an opportunity like this.

    The White Tiger¡¯s Extermination had missed, thus her fifth soul ring finally started to sparkle with eye-catching luster.

    She¡¯d been waiting for him to use his ultimate move. Now that he had, Meng Hongchen¡¯s heart was filled with self-confidence, and she was sure that she would emerge victorious. Her elegant figure flew into the air, her entire body starting to vigorously spin in the sky; it was as if she¡¯d transformed into a whirlpool. She thenunched herself directly at Dai Yueheng, who¡¯d yet to recover from using his White Tiger¡¯s Extermination.

    Dai Yueheng was in the weakest possible state right now, as he was both suffering from her acute poison, and had just used all of his strength in hisst attack. Meng Hongchen¡¯s opportunity of choice could only be described as optimal and impable.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo quickly arrived at a spot not far from where the battle was uring at; he was prepared to end the contest at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Red light glimmered in the center of the whirlpool, which flickered icy-blue. That pale red light gave the spectators a searing sensation; it was as if there were a pir of blistering fire in the icy whirlpool¡¯s center.

    This was the most powerful attack that Meng Hongchen could unleash¡ªthe Icefire Venomdragon¡¯s Corkscrew.

    This was a perfectbination of a ten-thousand-year soul skill and a ss 6 soul tool, and its power was enough to rival a formidable Soul Emperor¡¯s soul skill. It was apparent that she didn¡¯t intend to give Dai Yueheng any chance at all by using such a mighty soul skill.

    However, what Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t realize was that the mirror-like ice block that enabled her to use Ice Reflection beneath her feet had been shattered in her fight against Dai Yueheng.

    The Icefire Venomdragon¡¯s Corkscrew had already reached Dai Yueheng, whose eyes seemed to be growing more and more clouded, and whose aura was growing weaker. The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s hands were already raised into the air.

    However, Dai Yueheng suddenly moved at this moment.

    His move was simple: He stepped out with his left foot, then took a stance simr to that of using a bow and arrow as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡±

    A series of explosions rang out as Dai Yueheng¡¯s right arm sparkled. A brilliant golden light covered and protected his entire body in an instant, stopping Meng Hongchen¡¯s Icefire Venomdragon¡¯s Corkscrew just like that. It didn¡¯t achieve anything at all.

    A searing white light glowed once more immediately afterwards, and Dai Yueheng¡¯s body was like a ferocious tiger as he entrapped Meng Hongchen.

    He¡¯d activated the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination once more!

    Meng Hongchen had been waiting for her opportunity to strike Dai Yueheng down for good, but Dai Yueheng had also been waiting for the same thing all along.

    The resistance provided by the White Tiger¡¯s three amplifying soul skills were even stronger than Meng Hongchen had imagined. Dai Yueheng had deliberately revealed every single weakness or loophole that she¡¯d discovered.

    Meng Hongchen was just too slippery and agile. As she was a soul engineer, Dai Yueheng was acutely aware that she had multiple tools and methods to protect her life. This was the reason that he¡¯d chosen to reveal weakness¡ªto lure his enemy deep within, and to let them think that he was no longer able to continue.

    How could Meng Hongchen¡¯s experience in battlepare to Dai Yueheng, who was the true veteran?

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s right arm flickered with light. This was a soul bone skill, and was something that he had yet to use throughout the entirepetition. It was called Absolute Defense.

    It was dissimr to Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s absolute defense barrier from before, as his Absolute Defense could only be used for a fraction of the time, and only once a day. That miniscule moment would render him invincible, but it was imperative that his opponent¡¯s attack strike his right arm.

    Considering Dai Yueheng¡¯s current level of cultivation, he would be able to negate any attack or soul skill within that instant as long as his opponent wasn¡¯t a Transcendent Douluo.

    Meng Hongchen was rtively powerful, and Dai Yueheng had almost no way to deal with her Icetoad Venom. However, just as Ma Xiaotao had said before, a Soul Emperor from Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard was sophisticated. Dai Yueheng had relied on his own battle experience to finally force his opponent, who¡¯d just won two rounds in a row, into desperate straits.

    Meng Hongchen had consumed arge amount of soul power in her hit-and-run tactics from before. Furthermore, she¡¯d just unleashed her Icefire Venomdragon¡¯s Corkscrew, definitely not expecting Dai Yueheng to turn the tables at a time such as this. She, who wasn¡¯t even fifteen years old, immediately became hysterical.

    Her Impregnable Wall was triggered at the first possible moment. However, Meng Hongchen felt her soul power immediately drain at lightning speed following the golden light¡¯s protection. Her Impregnable Wall would only be able tost for two seconds before it crumbled under the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination.

    Frightening tiger ws shed her ss 6 soul armor and made ear-piercing grinding sounds.

    ¡°We admit defeat!¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s teacher-in-charge¡¯s suddenly shouted, a ray of starlight descending from the skies to protect Meng Hongchen¡¯s body.

    In this short duration of time, dozens of cracks and marks had appeared all over Meng Hongchen¡¯s ss 6 soul armor. Its defensive capabilities were formidable, but Dai Yueheng¡¯s all-out strike was incredibly terrifying as well. If not for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s teacher-in-charge and his quick reaction, Dai Yueheng would¡¯ve shattered the soul armor to pieces after another second, and Meng Hongchen would¡¯ve been ravaged and torn to pieces by the White Tiger¡¯s immense power.

    This was absolute strength! Dai Yueheng, as a Soul Emperor with White Tiger as his martial soul, had proved to everyone with his extraordinary prowess that Shrek was still as powerful as ever, even if their martial souls were restrained.

    Meng Hongchen was still held in the vice-like grip of terror even after the White Tiger¡¯s Extermination¡¯s radiance had dissipated. She could still feel how close to death she¡¯d just been in that tiny amount of time. Her Impregnable Wall had beenpletely destroyed, while her soul armor¡¯s formations had been heavily damaged. This valuable ss 6 soul tool had beenid to ruin just like that, the only things left intact being her twin swords.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Meng Hongchen suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, and her body quivered as if she was about to fall over. She would¡¯ve copsed if she didn¡¯t use her thin swords to support herself.

    Dai Yueheng gazed at her coldly, the ferocity in his eyes sending a cold shiver down Meng Hongchen¡¯s spine. She knew very well that, without her Icetoad¡¯s Venom and her soul tools, she wouldn¡¯t even be worthy of battling this individual.

    What surprised everyone was that Dai Yueheng only shot a single look towards Meng Hongchen before quickly leaping off the stage and returning to Shrek¡¯s waiting area.

    He stepped before Ma Xiaotao. His body¡¯s transformations from his martial soul and soul skills were receding with dazzling speed, revealing his original form once more.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t let Shrek down, team leader.¡± Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyes sparkled as he gazed into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes. This was the first time that he¡¯d taken the initiative to address Ma Xiaotao as his team leader.

    Ma Xiaotao stood up and nodded heavily in his direction.

    Dai Yueheng raised his hand and removed a massive ring from the index finger of his left hand. The ring was light silver, and had a fearsome tiger head engraved upon it.

    ¡°This is for you. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be able to use it. Shrek cannot lose, team leader. Please.¡± He stuffed the ring into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s hands as he spoke. Immediately afterwards, his eyes closed and his burly body copsed backwards.

    Ma Xiaotao grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from falling. Her red lips were pressed tightly together, and her perky chest undted vigorously for a while.

    ¡°An admirable resolve. You¡¯re not a good-for-nothing after all.¡±

    Dai Yueheng had been victorious¡ªhe¡¯d beaten Meng Hongchen. However, he¡¯d also been knocked unconscious by her intense venom, and had lost all ability to continue battling.

    However, his ferocity galvanized every single member of Shrek, and rekindled the raging mes in every one of their hearts.

    Yes, Shrek had to win.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong clenched their fists tightly. The two of them, along with Ma Xiaotao, were the only people still conscious in Shrek¡¯s seven-member participating team for the single-elimination battle.

    They looked at the others, who were either unconscious or severely injured, and their hearts were immediately filled with both despair and an unrivaled fighting spirit. Right now, they would ce their lives on the line for Shrek¡¯s honor and glory without a single instant of hesitation. This was the only thought on their minds.

    ¡°It¡¯s my turn.¡± Ma Xiaotao put Dai Yueheng¡¯s ring on her right hand¡¯s thumb as she spoke, and was about to go up onto thepetition stage.

    At this moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo loudly announced, ¡°As the judge, I have confirmed that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy have given up the rest of this round and have admitted defeat. Shrek Academy is victorious in this single-elimination round. Both parties will have one minute to rest. The 2-2-3 fight will then begin immediately afterwards. As both parties no longer have enough people toplete the third round, and as both parties have a single win each from the previous two rounds, the third round shall bepleted with each team¡¯s respective reserve team members that did not participate in the single-elimination round.¡±

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had admitted defeat?

    Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were all astonished.

    There were three people in their opponents¡¯ camp who were still able to participate. Ma Rulong, their team leader, was the most powerful one, and was still able to fight. How could they just admit defeat?

    Wang Yan grew solemn and muttered, ¡°Impressive.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao frowned and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Teacher Wang?¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s expression was as dark as ever. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Although they¡¯ve given up on the single-elimination rounds, this is them retreating in order to advance. They¡¯re aware that none of them will be able to defeat you one-on-one, and that, as soul engineers, they¡¯re stronger when they¡¯re together. Thus, the 2-2-3 battle will be more advantageous for them. Furthermore, of the original seven participating contestants, only three of you are still able to fight. Even though they also only have three contestants left, Meng Hongchen hasn¡¯t lost her ability to fight ¨C she¡¯s simply overly exhausted. She¡¯ll be able to recover, given enough time.¡±

    ¡°The first people they¡¯ll send out will be Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng for the first round of 2-2-3 battle, iso that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen have enough time to rest. However, we only have the three of you left. Even if Ma Xiaotao wins a round with one of you, they¡¯ll almost certainly win the next one. Even if we get a win, it¡¯ll be equivalent to a loss for us.¡±

    All three of them immediately understood the situation when they heard Wang Yan¡¯s words. What he¡¯d said was true. Who else was left in Shrek¡¯s reserve lineup?

    Only He Caitou and Xiao Xiao were left. Xiao Xiao¡¯s injuries had yet topletely heal, while He Caitou was only a ss 4 soul engineer.

    Thest round would be a three-versus-three. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for their opponents to choose three ss 4 soul engineers from their reserve team then¡ªShrek didn¡¯t stand a chance for it.

    This meant that in the subsequent battle, their opponents would practically win the entire tournament so long as they won a single two-on-two battle.

    Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were both wounded, and weren¡¯t at their peak condition. However, Meng Hongchen¡¯s venombined with the fact that they were both Soul Kings as well as ss 5 soul engineers still made them extremely formidable.

    Furthermore, they still had Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng. Ma Rulong was a powerful ss 6 soul engineer, while Xiao Xiafeng was a ss 5. It would be extremely challenging for Shrek to win even a single round. This was the disparity between the two team¡¯s depths¡ªShrek had only had three official team members to begin with. The rift in their strengths couldn¡¯t even bepared.

    Wang Yan looked upwards and heaved a sigh, an expression of defeat on his face. Both he and his team had already given up so much, yet this was how they were going to be defeated in the end? He couldn¡¯t reconcile with this fate¡­ he just couldn¡¯t! Everybody could only participate once in the 2-2-3 battle¡ªthey didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    ¡°Yuhao, Wang Dong.¡± Ma Xiaotao suddenly spun around and ced her hands on both of their shoulders.

    ¡°Leave the first round to me. The two of you will have to face Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen in the next round. We can¡¯t retreat; we have to fight to the end. Look at the rest of yourrades who have already fallen¡ªit¡¯s up to us to defend Shrek¡¯s honor and glory. Shrek must win.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes shed red. Her valiant fighting spirit hadn¡¯t wavered at all, even after Wang Yan¡¯s analysis.

    ¡°Tell me¡ªcan you guys do it?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice instantly became somewhat overbearing as her words resonated.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a look. The me of passion in their hearts had beenpletely rekindled at this point.

    ¡°Shrek must win!¡± They shouted in unison. Even though their voices were slightly hoarse, the resolute determination and unwavering spirit they disyed was filled with bravery, as if they were currently facing death with equanimity.

    Wang Yan felt a little dazed when he saw this. He felt as if his soul was about to jump out of its shell at this moment. These kids were just too cute. Nothing could describe the feeling he currently felt.

    Tears poured from his eyes uncontrobly as Wang Yan took a giant step forward and epassed all three of them in a hug. ¡°Children¡ªit¡¯s all on you.¡±

    Elder Xuan remained seated in the back, but he put his chicken wing down, as well as the wine gourd in his other hand. A radiant luster flickered in his eyes that were filled with vicissitude.

    These children were destined to be the source of Shrek¡¯s pride, no matter whether or not they emerged victorious in the end. They would leave a heavy mark on Shrek¡¯s history, and Shrek would be extremely proud of them.

    ¡°Both teams, approach the stage,¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo¡¯s voice could be heard once again.

    Both the audience inside of the Star Luo za and the ruler and his ministers atop the royal city wall werepletely silent at this point. They had all predicted that the finals would be exciting, but could this contest still be described as ¡°exciting¡±?

    Both Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s teams could only be described as bitter and desperate at this point.

    Yes, this was a bitter and desperatepetition, but it was also a final that rattled everyone¡¯s hearts!

    Both parties had won one round each after the group battle and the single-elimination rounds. This was the ultimate round that would decide every; the 2-2-3 battle was the most uncertain contest format.

    Shrek had three able participants, while the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had four. Everybody could tell that thispetition was now the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s to lose. Unless Shrek could emerge victorious in the first two battles of this round, they would lose the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament¡¯s champion title for the first time in several thousand years. However, they didn¡¯t even have enough people to participate; how would they be able to outmatch their opponents?

    Just as Wang Yan had predicted, Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng stood up from the Sun Moon team¡¯s waiting area and strode onto thepetition stage in order to give Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen enough time to recover. Their soul powers had been almost fully restored from the time they had to rest; it could be said they were nearly at their peak condition. Ma Xiaotao was the only one to step onto thepetition stage from Shrek Academy¡¯s side.

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo nced at Ma Xiaotao, doubt in his eyes.

    Ma Xiaotao said inly. ¡°I¡¯ll represent Shrek for the first round. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s allowed. We¡¯ll give up the other entry spot for this battle.¡±

    The rules stated that only a maximum of two people were allowed to participate in the two-versus-two battle, but there wasn¡¯t a rule that stated that only one person couldn¡¯t represent a team. The Heavenfiend Douluo hesitated, then nodded his head and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ma Rulong¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits as he muttered, ¡°You¡¯re too condescending and disrespectful, Ma Xiaotao.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao grunted indifferently as she looked up and shot a cold look at the two people before her. ¡°So what if I¡¯m looking down on you two? I along am enough to take down the two of you. Come. If you want take revenge for your fallenrades, you¡¯ll have to take me down. However, that¡¯s if you have the ability to do so, because I¡¯ll destroy you if you don¡¯t.¡±

    Even the Heavenfiend Douluo felt his heart skip a beat when he heard these words; this girl was truly ferocious and dauntless!

    How could Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng not feel intense hatred when they heard her words? Two of their friends had just perished under Ma Xiaotao¡¯s hands, even if it hadn¡¯t been intentional. This feeling was intensified now that they were standing before the target of their vengeance, and was even further aggravated when Ma Xiaotao took the initiative to provoke them.

    Ma Rulong had no confidence at all if he was to battle Ma Xiaotao by himself. However, it was a different story with Xiao Xiafeng by his side, who was a ss 5 soul engineer. He would have a much easier time dealing with Ma Xiaotao with Xiao Xiafeng impeding and obstructing her.

    Xiao Xiafeng was infuriated at Ma Xiaotao¡¯s words, and nearly pounced forward before Ma Rulong held him back.

    ¡°Do you guys really think you still stand a chance? You may not even be able to beat us, and so what if you do? Do you really think that those two little fes over there can defeat Xiao Hongchen and his sister? Stop your wishful thinking; they have no way of countering Meng Hongchen¡¯s venom.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao chuckled and said, ¡°Is spouting nonsense all you know how to do? If you¡¯re trying to beat down my fighting spirit, then you¡¯re dreaming. That venom is bullshit. Why don¡¯t you ask that immature little girl if she dares to face me in battle? I¡¯ll burn her alive. Stop this nonsense and let¡¯s get this over with.¡± She then turned and walked to the edge of thepetition stage.

    Ma Rulong took a deep breath, as he knew that Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t be easy to handle. Her temper was fiery and explosive, but her thoughts and reasoning were meticulous and thorough, to the point where he wasn¡¯t even sure what Ma Xiaotao¡¯s true strength was. He had yet to see where Ma Xiaotao¡¯s baseliney, even up to today.

    Ma Rulong led Xiao Xiafeng back to their corner, gradually distancing themselves from their opponent.

    This round could be said to be the ultimate showdown between the Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s respective team leaders, and was also a sh of the highest level in thepetition. Shrek Academy would have a shot at victory if she won, but if Ma Xiaotao lost, it would automatically decide thepetition¡¯s result.

    Ma Xiaotao quickly backed off to the edge of the stage, her eyes flickering with chilly light. Nobody knew what was on her mind as her expression grew solemn.

    Ma Rulong whispered something into Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s ear as the two of them took their time arriving at their own corner.

    A light drizzle continued to flitter down. The current weather was extremely humid, which was naturally disadvantageous for Ma Xiaotao, but the negative impact she¡¯d received definitely wasn¡¯t that great.

    The sprawlingpetition stage seemed to be riddled with gaping wounds from all of the battles that had taken ce before; every surface was either damaged or smashed inwards like a crater.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo nced at both parties. The finals were about to end at longst. Even he felt a little exhausted from fully concentrating for such a long time, despite his cultivation.

    ¡°Let thepetition begin!¡±

    The ultimate showdown had finally started. Ma Xiaotao dashed forwards, while her phoenix wings swiftly emerged from her body into the air and pped backwards. Her body barreled towards Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng like a meteor. As she did so, she opened her mouth, a Phoenix Fireline surging out from it and asserting long-distance pressure.

    Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng weren¡¯t slow either. Ma Rulong was well-aware that the methods he¡¯d employed against Jiang Peng would be useless against Ma Xiaotao. A thick, bluish-purple cannon barrel instantly appeared on his shoulder, which almost immediately fired a bluish-purple ball of light.

    He and Xiao Xiafeng shared a decent chemistry, as a unidirectional soul shield was unleashed that protected them both from the Phoenix Fireline attack when he did so. At the same time, he rooted himself to the ground and quickly released his Soul Tool Fortress. Metal nging sounds could be heard as a series of cannons appeared on his body with lightning speed; there was no doubt that he intended to use his most formidable firepower to coordinate with Ma Rulong. Relying on his food-type soul master¡¯s salient characteristics, his ability to continue battling was the best amongst the other Sun Moon team members.

    The bluish-purple lightning strike that Ma Rulong had fired from the cannon in his hands wasn¡¯t directed at Ma Xiaotao. Instead, it struck the center of thepetition stage.

    A bluish-purple light wall was immediately erected at the exact spot it struck, barricading Ma Xiaotao¡¯s advance. ording to Ma Rulong¡¯s judgment, Ma Xiaotao was fearsome and ferocious, thus she would definitely attempt to forcefully charge forward. And when she so, she would fall into his trap.

 Chapter 123: Dark Phoenix Transformation!

    This ss 6 soul tool that Ma Rulong had just used was strong in the sense that, once Ma Xiaotao touched it, she would be stuck to it like a housefly in a spider¡¯s web. Immediately afterwards, the lightning energy contained within would envelop her entire body. When that happened, Ma Xiaotao would have to deal with the might of their attack. Although it couldn¡¯t truly harm her, it would be able to buy sufficient time for her to be subjected to their immense firepower while she was trapped.

    However, they didn¡¯t expect Ma Xiaotao to stop the moment the lightning screen appeared. She stopped extremely quickly, and her sixth soul ring lit up.

    ¡°Damn it, the Phoenix Meteor Shower.¡± Ma Rulong cursed to himself, his expression changing drastically.

    Was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sixth soul skill so easily resisted? That lightning trap had be her defensive barrier instead.

    The golden barrel that had given Team Shrek a lot of trouble appeared once again at this moment. Ma Rulong squinted his eyes as he aimed the golden barrel towards Ma Xiaotao.

    Whenever Ma Xiaotao unleashed the Phoenix Meteor Shower, any movement she made would greatly affect its power. Ma Rulong had Xiao Xiafeng to defend him, thus he wouldn¡¯t suffer too much if he were struck by the Phoenix Meteor Shower a few times. On the contrary, Ma Xiaotao would be the one in deep trouble if she was struck by his attack. Ma Rulong¡¯s reaction was both quick and appropriate.

    However, the Phoenix Meteor Shower didn¡¯t strike when he expected it to. When the golden barrel appeared in Ma Rulong¡¯s hand, Ma Xiaotao suddenly stepped backwards and punched out with her right fist. A ball of fire was sent towards the lightning barrier in front of her.

    The lightning immediately engulfed the ball of fire, then blew apart. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s figure turned illusory when this happened.

    On closer inspection, her ming wings were pping rapidly behind her back. It was due to this pping motion that she managed to rapidly change her position in the air. She even left a series of shadows behind her that shimmered as she continued to advance forward. Ma Rulong realized, to his horror, that he couldn¡¯t lock onto her exact position.

    What ability was she using? It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t using a soul skill, as her body wasn¡¯t shining with any soul rings. This was obviously a secret technique suitable for soul masters.

    Even though both parties had yet to truly sh with one another, they¡¯d already disyed what they were capable of.

    It was also at this point that superiority in numbers began to show its worth: Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s soul tool fort was finallypleted.

    Waves and waves of light were rapidly unleashed. Light balls, light rays, and even metal balls that rose into the air and drew parabs were unleashed.

    The immense firepower of his soul tool fort was instantly unleashed.

    Ma Rulong had been waiting for this opportunity. He sped both of his hands in front of him, and a ball of intense, golden light shone as one of his soul rings started to sh repeatedly. His aura ballooned, while the golden barrel disappeared and was reced with a huge, golden-red sword.

    Was it a closebat soul tool? Had Ma Rulong given up his long-range offensive capabilities for a closebat soul tool?

    This was the first time the sword had appeared in the tournament. Ma Rulong had also concealed his trump card, and was only using it now.

    The offensive might of a soul engineer when they unleashed everything they had was extremely formidable. Ma Xiaotao tried her best to dodge, but Xiao Xiafeng depleted his soul power in order to increase the offensiveness of his various soul tools, which left her frantic.

    Team Sun Moon was much stronger in terms of applying soul tool fortspared to other ordinary soul engineering academies.

    Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s attack was holistic. There were automatic explosions, intense rays¡­ even trapping-type soul tools involved.

    The entirepetition stage seemed to light up with dazzling lights. It was impossible for Ma Xiaotao to dodge all of his attacks, thus she could only face them head-on.

    Ma Xiaotao was more powerful than Dai Yueheng, but her body wasn¡¯t as tough as his.

    She used her wings as her shield, and exerted all of her soul power to resist the wave after wave of Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s relentless attack.

    Even though Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t a soul engineer, she was rather familiar with the strategies that they used. Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s soul power was bound be depleted extremely quickly if he kept this up, as he was only a ss 5 soul engineer, yet he was trying to suppress a soul emperor. His attacks couldn¡¯tst long at this rate. Xiao Xiafeng would be less and less useful to Ma Rulong as his intensity dipped, .

    Ma Xiaotao was the calmest at the most critical moments. She carefully observed Ma Rulong actions while she was resisting Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s attacks. Xiao Xiafeng was, without a doubt, aiding Ma Rulong. Ma Rulong¡¯s attacks were much more threatening towards Ma Xiaotao because of this.

    Ma Rulong suddenly grabbed the golden sword¡¯s hilt with both of his hands and slowly lifted it, intense golden light shining from the sword¡¯s body as he did so. Nine core formations could be seen extending from the sword tip down to the hilt. Streaks and streaks of light shot into the air as the intense golden light shone. Ma Rulong lifted the sword far above his head, his pupils slowly starting to turn golden.

    ¡°Awaken, Judgement Sword!¡± Ma Rulong shouted, injecting his soul power into the huge sword at a frightening speed. A white halo could be seen rising from his feet because he was injecting his soul power into the sword so intensely. As the halo moved round his entire body, it eventually reached his hands, then entered the sword.

    The sword also started to experience changes: The golden light on the hilt retracted, while the sword gradually turned two different colors. One side of the sword turned white, while the other side turned ck. The two contrasting colors exuded an odd sense amidst the golden light that shed.

    ¡°Ordained as darkness, guilty of heresy.¡± Ma Rulong grabbed the huge sword with both his hands, then pointed the ck side of the de in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s direction.

    A streak of ck radiance shed through the air, then suddenly disappeared.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s entire body raged with mes. However, when the ck radiance reached her, all of her defenses failed. The ck radiance simply shed as it entered her body.

    Ma Xiaotao immediately felt her body turning abnormal. Her crimson-red phoenix mes instantly turned ck and dark and chilly sense filled her entire body. The evil energy that had been suppressed immediately rampaged through her body andbined with the ck phoenix mes. She was about to lose control.

    What soul tool is this? Ma Xiaotao was appalled. It was her first time experiencing something as strange as this. This soul tool attack couldn¡¯t be defended against?

    It was also at this point that Ma Rulong flipped the huge sword over. The white side then emitted an intense white color and shone with an extremely bright white radiance. The surging aura of light instantly filled the entire venue.

    Ma Xiaotao groaned in pain as the ck phoenix mes on her body turned into a haze; she felt as if she was going to be dposed by the light. The phoenix mes in her body started to flood out of her.

    Ma Rulong appeared very pleased. The scheme that he¡¯d plotted had finally seeded.

    He¡¯d once mentioned in hispetition against Jiang Peng that a soul engineer was the most familiar with his own self. That was why all of his soul tools were self-developed. He hadn¡¯t said it for Jiang Peng, however. He¡¯d said it for Shrek Academy.

    In reality, the Judgement Sword couldn¡¯t have been created by him, as it was a ss 8 closebat soul tool. In fact, it was one of the best ss 8 soul tools.

    The Judgement Swordbined both light and darkness. It could infuse the power of darkness into the enemy¡¯s soul and cause the enemy to turn dark uncontrobly. At the same time, it could use the immense power of light to then judge the enemy. If the enemy was weaker, his soul power would be instantly degraded. It could even bepletely destroyed under the aura of light.

    Ma Rulong was still only a ss 6 soul engineer however. He¡¯d had to pay a huge price in order to use this ss 8 soul tool. What Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t see was that a blood-red core formation was currently shining behind Ma Rulong¡¯s back, intense blood-red mes burning from it.

    That was the power of a ss 7 soul tool, which was known as the Sacrificial Seal. Ma Rulong had sacrificed his own life energy and potential to instantly increase his physical and soul power. This was needed to support the Judgement Sword. Of course, he still couldn¡¯tst long. But he only needed to defeat Ma Xiaotao.

    Ma Rulong knew that even if he and Xiao Xiafeng lost to Ma Xiaotao, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen would still be able to emerge victorious. But he was just like Dai Yueheng: He wanted to be the one to decide victory. Furthermore, he was their team leader.

    That was why he¡¯d paid the price necessary to unleash the Judgement Sword from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    This Judgement Sword was useless against only an opponent with a light-type or darkness-type martial soul. However, Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t have either of these. Her martial soul was a fire-type.

    Ma Rulong felt that the price he¡¯d paid was worth it when he heard Ma Xiaotao groaning in pain. An indescribable satisfaction filled his entire body; he was about to take revenge for his team members that had perished at her hands.

    His determination to win reached its peak. Ma Rulong suddenly stepped forward and lifted his Judgement Sword, then swung it towards Ma Xiaotao yet again.

    Ma Xiaotao was also experiencing weird changes as well as several emotional changes.

    Her phoenix mes turned entirely ck as her Evil Phoenix Fire surged out from her body, guided by the dark power. The Evil Phoenix Fire that had been suppressed by the Ultimate Ice had instantly been unleashed and turned into dark mes, which were raging and surging throughout her body.

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    Chapter 123.2: Dark Phoenix Transformation!

    Book 14: The Finals!

    Chapter 123.2: Dark Phoenix Transformation!

    Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t control her mes anymore, even if she wanted to.

    The intense aura of light suppressed her from the outside, causing the dark mes on her body to be extinguished, whereas the Evil Phoenix Fire continued to ravage her body now that it had beenbined with the power of darkness.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body was on the brink of copse.

    The evil aura had be a part of darkness. The Judgement Sword¡¯s effect on her was even greaterpared than it would be to an ordinary soul master; her eyes that had originally shed with mes had instantly turned pitch-ck.

    Was this the end¡­? Was she going to lose? Was Shrek Academy going to lose? Shrek¡¯s glory was at stake here!

    Ma Xiaotao became filled with fury. She was extremely indignant.

    Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Ling Luochen had all been defeated. Even Dai Yueheng had lost hisbat abilities due to fighting against their opponent¡¯s poison-type soul master. They¡¯d given their all in order to contribute to the eventual victory of Shrek; they¡¯d even put their lives on the line for Shrek¡¯s glory. But as their team leader, was Ma Xiaotao going to copse just like this?

    ¡°Judgement. What bullshit judgement? I¡¯m not convinced. I don¡¯t believe that there¡¯s anything that can judge me in this world!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s desire to survive, coupled with her strong resentment, was revealed.

    As the inheriting disciple of Shrek Academy¡¯s dean, Ma Xiaotao was one of the best in terms of abilities, talent, andpetitiveness among all the inner courtyard disciples. Nobody her age could rival her; she was Shrek Academy¡¯s future hope.

    With her talent, she could¡¯ve gone even further and be the first in Shrek Academy¡¯s history to be a soul sage before she was 21. However, she¡¯d regretfully been dyed because she had to repress the evil fire within her. Thus, this was never fulfilled.

    All of this repression disappeared at this moment. Her martial soul began to show signs of changing due to the purification at this instant under the effect of her resilience.

    The phoenix was the king of all birds. Even only the strongest and most powerful dragon could be mentioned in the same breath as a phoenix.

    Among phoenixes, Fire Phoenixes had the purest bloodline. However, they weren¡¯t the only ones with an extremely pure bloodline.

    Ma Xiaotao had a part of the fire phoenix¡¯s bloodline in her body. However, this bloodline wasn¡¯t pure; she¡¯d never be a true Fire Phoenix because of the evil aura that also existed in her body.

    But the bloodline in her body suddenly changed. It became that of a dark phoenix¡ªfilled with destion and violence. This phoenix¡¯s sole purpose was to destroy and wreak havoc.

    This was the evil side of the Fire Phoenix¡ªthe Dark Phoenix. It had appeared in the world for the first time as a martial soul.

    A clear and crisp phoenix whistle resonated from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mouth. At the same time, a huge, golden light de had just taken form on the Judgement Sword. It then shed towards her.

    The ck mes were quickly extinguished as they met the golden light de. Thepetition was also bound to end when the sword shed down; the Heavenfiend Douluo would definitely stop the sword from striking Ma Xiaotao.

    But the ck mes on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body that had quickly turned to haze began to gather andpress inside of her. Following that, a huge projection appeared behind her back.

    A entirely ck phoenix that was much smaller than the original Evil Phoenix appeared. However, a frightening aura was exuded from its pitch-ck body, and its deep, purple eyes were filled with an aura of destion and insanity.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. Xiaotao has changed.¡± Elder Xuan suddenly stood up. His eyes revealed a look of anxiety. Even with his experience, he couldn¡¯t determine whether this change that Ma Xiaotao was experiencing was good or bad.

    The pitch-ck mes reformed into a pair of wings behind Ma Xiaotao¡¯s back. Her figure suddenly shed through the air as she dodged the Judgement Sword.

    How was this possible? Ma Rulong eyes widened. He¡¯d already expended his life power! If he didn¡¯t finish Ma Xiaotao off quickly, he¡¯d have to stop using the Judgement Sword. Otherwise, the bacsh wouldn¡¯t just cost him a year¡¯s worth of his cultivation.

    Ma Xiaotao lifted her head as she movedterally, her once-bright red hair now ck.

    ¡°Ah¡ª!¡± Ma Xiaotao screamed. When she opened her eyes, a purplish light shed, and a frightening aura emerged alongside her ck mes.

    A streak of crystallic yellow light instantly emerged and turned into a huge de of light alongside her maniacal, tiger¡¯s roar. It struck the side of the Judgement Sword heavily, and a loud boom resonated.

    Ma Rulong¡¯s Judgement Sword was stopped in ce, while Ma Xiaotao held another huge de in her hand.

    This was what had been concealed within the ring that Dai Yueheng gave to her: It was the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde, the ss 8 offensive closebat soul tool that they¡¯d obtained from the top-ranked auction. This soulde was four and a half feet long, and iwas at least one inch thick. It was curved like a cavalry saber, while its hilt was made of bone, and its pommel was extremely wide. Overall, it was shaped like a tiger¡¯s head.

    This soulde wasn¡¯tparable to the Judgement Sword in terms of quality, and to unleash its full might, one needed to be a soul sage at the very least.

    However, Ma Xiaotao had understood Dai Yueheng¡¯s intention when she¡¯d received the ring. She also believed that she¡¯d be able to at leastnd a few strikes with this soulde if she utilized her phoenix mes.

    But she hadn¡¯t expected to use this soulde under such circumstances. Now that she turned into the Dark Phoenix, she could sense that everything was different. A boundless aura of brutality and violence raged from her heart, while a frightening aura was instantly unleashed. The Tyrannical Tiger Soulde¡¯s seven-ring restriction couldn¡¯t even stop her from using it.

    As she held the soulde, ck mes instantly entered it. Ma Xiaotao screamed once again, and the ck phoenix behind her slowly drifted in front of her, then fused with the soulde. As she held onto the soulde¡¯s hilt with both hands, her delicate figure made a half-turn in the air. She then swung the soulde again.

    Ma Rulong couldn¡¯t resist her anymore this time. His cultivation was not only beneath hers, but he¡¯d also used the Judgement Sword against his abilities. The soulde strike that was previously unleashed against him nearly crippled his ability to wield the Judgement Sword further. When Ma Xiaotao struck again, the Judgement Sword flew out of his hand. The huge souldended on his body with a tiger¡¯s roar, and a ck light shed.

    The Invincible Barrier lit up in time. However, something extremely shocking appeared: The Invincible Barrier was torn apart within the first second, even though it was supposed tost for three seconds. Ma Rulong¡¯s body flew backwards and heavily struck the defensive barrier around thepetition stage.

    Ma Xiaotao then swung the Tyrannical Tiger Soulde towards Xiao Xiafeng.

    Xiao Xiafeng continued to persistently attack Ma Xiaotao after she transformed. However, he was absolutely horrified when he discovered that almost all of his ss 5 soul tools had lost their effect. The attacks unleashed by his soul tool fort were ated by Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ck mes, with no traces left behind.

    Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s n was that Xiao Xiafeng would try to restrain Ma Xiaotao, while Ma Rulong would unleash the Judgement Sword.

    The Judgement Sword was an elite ss 8 soul tool, close in might to a ss 9 soul tool. It was also a closebat soul tool. Even a soul sage or soul douluo would be elementally suppressed by the Judgement Sword. They¡¯d once experimented before; a Rank 69 Soul Emperor couldn¡¯t resist even a single strike from the Judgment Sword. This soul tool was thus their most powerful weapon in this tournament. Even though they hadn¡¯t used it in the team round, they¡¯d prepared it in the event that they needed to turn the tables.

    But who could¡¯ve known that this powerful soul tool would cause Ma Xiaotao to transform, and enable her to be even more powerful. She¡¯d be nearly invincible.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul rings weren¡¯t even visible amidst the ck mes anymore. An enormous ck de light descended from the sky towards Xiao Xiafeng, but he couldn¡¯t even dodge it, much less resist it.

    The ck mes swallowed every trace of light. Even thepetition stage seemed to have been divided in two.

    A streak of starlight suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Xiafeng; the Heavenfiend Douluo seemed to have teleported over.

    A star-shaped shield with five corners then appeared in front of him and blocked the de light.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± ck mes scattered and instantly covered the entire region. When the ck mesnded on the ground, the ground also started tobust and turned into a sea of fire. The regions that were on fire then began to melt and even began to copse.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s shing, purple gaze was fixated on Xiao Xiafeng. As she held the de with both her hands, spots of purplish radiance seemed to spread from her eyes. A frightening aura was released from her body, and she shed out with her soulde again amidst a terrifying roar.

    ¡°Stop, the match has ended.¡± Huang Jinxu¡¯s frantic voice sounded. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Tyrannical Tiger Soulde stopped mid-strike and didn¡¯t sh down.

    The ck mes around Ma Xiatao weakened a little, and she slowly lowered the huge soulde. A purplish radiance shed through her eyes, but she remained steadfast.

    Huang Jinxu seemed a little pathetic even though he was a Titled Douluo.

    He quickly led Xiao Xiafeng¡ªcovered in a globe of starlight¡ªto Ma Rulong. The shield from earlier had already disappeared, and many holes had appeared in his long robe. Even a small segment of his hair seemed to have been charred away.

 Chapter 124: A Wide Gap, the Last Battle!

    When Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen walked up to thepetition stage, their minds were still pre-upied by Ma Rulong and Xiao Xiafeng¡¯s lost looks.

    In the previous round, Ma Xiaotao had still managed to defeat them even though she was outnumbered and had to face the frightening attacks of the ss 8 Judgement Sword. Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t just achieve victory. She even dented their confidence.

    This was especially so for Ma Rulong. Although he was not heavily hurt, he was tormented internally.

    As their team leader, he still lost even though he had used such a powerful soul tool,busted his own life power and had a numerical advantage over Ma Xiaotao.

    The over-depletion of his soul power meant that his powers would not just stagnate for a year. What was even more frightening was that Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ck mes had left a trauma in his heart that couldn¡¯t be obliterated. Both he and Xiao Xiafeng had been trounced in their fight.

    However, Shrek wasn¡¯t in good shape either. They no longer had any alternatives. However, they could be the eventual champions of the tournament if they managed to achieve victory in this uing 2 v 2 battle.

    ¡°Younger sister, I must admit that my past opinion about Shrek Academy was wrong. Shrek is really powerful.¡± Xiao Hongchen did not look arrogant anymore. He was still a little pale from the injury he had received. But there was a sense of resilience amidst that paleness that had never been there before.

    Meng Hongchen sighed. ¡°If all their official team members were here, we¡¯d not even stand a chance.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen looked into the sky. The rain was getting heavier, and there was even ayer of mist in the air. Their clothing was also wet, but didn¡¯t be drenched, as their soul power evaporated some of the rain.

    ¡°I must stabilize myself after this tournament. Grandpa was right. It¡¯s not a good thing to increase our cultivation so quickly. It¡¯s not just because our bodies can¡¯t handle the burden. It¡¯s more because of our psychological mindset. If I don¡¯t stabilize myself, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll continue to be unable to reach my peak.¡±

    Meng Hongchen nodded her head hardily and said, ¡°Alright, I shall apany you.¡±

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, ¡°But we have to win this battle first. Our partners can¡¯t just die for nothing. We must snatch our glory back from Shrek¡¯s hands. We must win this battle.¡±

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes lit up too. At this point, she saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ascending the stage holding hands. Wang Dong¡¯s pinkish-blue eyes were filled with his fighting spirit. As Meng Hongchen looked at him, her heartstrings were tugged.

    ¡°Yes, we must win.¡±

    The four of them took their positions on thepetition stage. Theirpetitive streaks rose as they looked at one another. Besides Meng Hongchen¡¯s gaze that carried a slight bizarrerie when she looked at Wang Dong, the rest were all resolute.

    The four of them also had another feeling at this point. It was as if something had guided all of them to gather on this stage and meet one another in this important tournament.

    Was this fate? If this was really fate, then perhaps they were destined to be rivals. 5 yearster, they would stillpete for their respective academies in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. They were bound to be the main forces in their respective teams then. What could change after 5 years? They didn¡¯t know. Right now, they only knew that they had to be the champions.

    More than a month had already passed. After all the hard-fought battles and effort they had made, they had finally reached this stage. This was especially so for everyone on Shrek¡¯s team. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to be standing here in the final.

    The burningpetitive streak in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes dipped a little. In his eyes, a dim golden light subtly appeared. Although he wore an obvious look of innocence, there was also a shocking calmness about him too.

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were different. A light seemed to shine from Wang Dong¡¯s body. That pure feeling of light seemed to cause his body to burn up. No matter how gloomy it was or how the raindrops kept on falling, everything around seemed to turn clear as he stood there.

    Xiao Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king. His martial soul was a Three-Legged Golden Toad, and he was a ss 5 soul engineer.

    Meng Hongchen was a five-ringed soul king too. Her martial soul was a Vermilion Clear Icetoad, and she was also a ss 5 soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao had two soul rings. His martial souls were the Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress. He was a ss 2 soul engineer.

    Wang Dong had three soul rings. His martial souls were the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.

    The difference in cultivation between both sides was very obvious. But no one thought that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would definitely emerge victorious.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had created a lot of miracles in this tournament. Moreover, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both hurt now, and their soul power had been depleted greatly too. Their soul power could be replenished by soul tools like the Milk Bottle, but what about their vigor? What about their injuries?

    Their powers waxed and waned, making the gap in their powers less obvious than the gap in their ranks.

    ¡°Both sides, please step back.¡± The Heavenfiend Douluo shouted. This was likely to be thest match that he would referee. Huang Jinxu swore to himself secretly that he wouldn¡¯t serve as a referee if there was a next time.

    No one was more shocked than him right now. As the referee, he could truly sense the power of these youths. He saw many things on them that he shouldn¡¯t have seen on youths. Top-ranked martial souls, twin martial souls and even ss 8 soul tools. The transformation of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul earlier left him the most appalled. His Heavenfiend Lonestar was even unable to entirely resist Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ck mes. What was it exactly? Were these youths really not even 20 yet?

    Especially these two representing Shrek Academy now. They were probably not even 15 years old yet, much less 20 years old.

    However, the expression in their eyes told Huang Jinxu that they were confident they would win.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo was even in a slight trance now. That¡¯s because he recalled when he was only 15. He was trying his best to cultivate then, and his family hadn¡¯t been killed by his Heavenfiend Lonestar¡¯s curse yet. But he didn¡¯t even know much about the world of soul masters then!

    He couldn¡¯t imagine how far these youths could go 20 and even 30 years from now.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong held each other¡¯s hands as they stepped back. They knew that this was probably the toughest and the most intense battle that they were going to fight ever since they had entered Shrek Academy.

    It was no longer just a tournament. It was war. It was a war where their lives were at stake.

    But the more it was like that, the more excited they felt. Their potential seemed to bepletely stimted now.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the kind of talented youths that resembled sponges that had fully absorbed water. The greater the pressure, the greater the potential they showed. Before thepetition even began, their energies had reached their peaks already.

    As they held each other¡¯s hands, their minds were connected.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shed, and he moved behind Wang Dong after they retreated to the edge of thepetition stage. He ced his hands on Wang Dong¡¯s waist, while Wang Dong was calm as he looked opposite him.

    This was already starkly different from what they had disyed in this tournament before.

    In the previous rounds, Huo Yuhao took the lead when they unleashed their martial soul fusion skill. Everyone believed that Wang Dong was only his aide. Besides unleashing their martial soul fusion skill together, Wang Dong didn¡¯t really stand out. The only surprise that he gave was probably when he unleashed his Clear Sky Hammer. But that was the only time.

    There were very few who remembered Wang Dong. But no one would forget Huo Yuhao¡¯s six hundred thousand year soul rings at the start of the tournament! Although everyone found out that it was fake, the shock that they felt was still deeply imprinted in their minds.

    Huo Yuhao was actually standing behind Wang Dong right now. It was obvious that Wang Dong was going to lead this time. No one expected this, even their opponents.

    After seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s movements, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s expressions changed slightly. They discovered that they knew very little about Wang Dong.

    To everyone, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao came as a single entity. They fought together from the start. But what were his abilities? What was his martial soul? Many were already starting to think about this question.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen retreated to the edge of thepetition stage too. Meng Hongchen stood in front, while Xiao Hongchen took up the rear. But neither of them made any contact with each other.

    Xiao Hongchen was not physically well yet. His physical body waspletely ravaged by Dai Yueheng, and he didn¡¯t even dare to use the Milk Bottle to restore his soul power. That was because his passageways couldn¡¯t handle it.

    His dislocated bones were already set, and his injuries were already healing too. But he still felt tremendous pain throughout his body at times. He was not even up to thirty percent of his peak condition. That was why he could only aid his younger sister. Meng Hongchen was the one leading now.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s ss 6 soul tool armor saved her at thest moment when she fought Dai Yueheng. But she was still hurt to some degree. Even so, she still managed to maintain more than 70% of her abilities. More importantly, she was confident in her Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s lethal poison.

    Dai Yueheng could dy the spread of the poison with his soul emperor cultivation, but what about these two? What cultivation did they have? The tournament would likely end if they were even slightly touched by the Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s poison.

    The only thing that Meng Hongchen couldn¡¯t figure out was why the two of them had such tenacious looks in their eyes. Did they still think that they had a chance in this tournament? They were Shrek¡¯sst standing members, and they had no choice but topete. Meng Hongchen revealed a cold look on her face. Though she was attracted to Wang Dong, this was apetition that involved the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s glory. This tournament might even concern the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s glory. She couldn¡¯t lose. The pride in her heart had never been inferior to her brother¡¯s.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo took in a deep breath. After that, he lifted his right hand up before it jolted downwards, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    As he shouted, everyone opened their eyes wide. Their pupils even shrank. Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to thepetition stage.

    On the city wall, the Star Luo Emperor and the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t really converse either. Their palms were pressed on the crentions, and they were watching the match anxiously.

    The White Tiger squinted his eyes, and they glowed with light. When he saw Huo Yuhao, he had a weird feeling. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was exactly, but Huo Yuhao naturally drew his attention. Could this young fellow create a miracle?

    Both parties unleashed their martial souls as thepetition began. Meng Hongchen lifted her arms, and two streaks of icy-blue light instantly appeared.

    Her armor was damaged. But her ss 6 swords were still intact. Her defense might have been weakened without the Impregnable Wall and armor, but her offensive ability wasn¡¯t much affected.

    Xiao Hongchen took in a deep breath behind Meng Hongchen and repressed the pain in his body. He also unleashed his Three-Legged Golden Toad. Golden, metal foam spilled out, and barrels started to appear on his body.

    Although these metal barrels only formed a third of the barrels that he had formed in the previous round under his Golden Coagtion and Metal Maniption, a stable core formation still appeared. Not only that, but his aura also ballooned, and the opening of every barrel shone with strong light. They also seemed ready to be fired.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had mastered long-range range soul tools and closebat soul tools respectively. They divided up their roles well, and they excelled in their respective roles. Although Xiao Hongchen was critically injured, one was likely to suffer if he dared to underestimate Xiao Hongchen.

    When these metal barrels were formed, Xiao Hongchen also formed a thick, pitch-ck barrel on his shoulder. When he lifted this barrel, his entire face turned pale. His body also trembled a little. This showed how heavy this soul tool cannon was.

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had already burst towards them as they unleashed their soul tools.

    The dazzling Radiant Butterfly Goddess appeared behind Wang Dong, whereas Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was blocked, and he couldn¡¯t be seen.

    Wang Dong had unleashed his martial soul in the previous rounds, but no one had noticed a three-ringed soul master like him. But now he was the center of attention.

    His blue wings pped open, and golden light patterns surfaced. An intense aura of light spread, along with his charming looks, and Meng Hongchen was suddenly left in a daze.

    Meng Hongchen had a sudden feeling that only such a dazzling martial soul was worthy of him!

    Wang Dong¡¯s figure started to rise as his wings pped open. As they started to p, he leapt in Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao was tightly stuck to Wang Dong¡¯s back, and his hands were around his waist. The two of them seemed like the same person now.

    But Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen couldn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms around Wang Dong¡¯s waist, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation started to take effect.

    Wang Dong¡¯s speed was naturally inferior to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s, but he was not slow. As he pped his wings, he emitted a dazzling and blinding golden-blue radiance which enabled him to quicken his speed through the air. Huo Yuhao had also unleashed his soul tool thruster behind him. Although it was only a ss 2 thruster, it still allowed Wang Dong¡¯s speed to increase by at least 30%.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack began. Streaks of light shot out, and they started to engulf Wang Dong¡¯s body.

    Since he was a soul engineer, using a long-range soul tool to lock onto his target was very basic. Even though he was critically injured, he was confident that he could strike his opponent.

    Soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells engulfed Wang Dong as if they were windstorms. There were even soul tools among them that could lock onto their opponents.

    However, the two of them fell into a slight trance just as they were about to attack.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack had already been unleashed, but its lock-on effect didn¡¯t work.

    What was going on? Xiao Hongchen was shocked. But he had unleashed several of his long-range soul tools at the same time. His all-round attack had already beenunched.

    Xiao Hongchen believed that it would be very difficult for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to resist his wave of attacks with their abilities. He used ss 5 soul tools that even soul kings had to be careful of. Moreover, his attack was so condensed. Even if they used the Golden Road, what kind of effect could it produce? That martial fusion soul skill of theirs was a control-type skill, meaning that it was unlikely to strike both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. Even if they were struck, nothing would happen. There was no way that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could get close to them.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had the same thoughts. But their eyes soon opened wide. That was because they discovered that they were wrong.

    Against the attacks of ss 5 soul tools, one could dodge instead of resisting them!

    Wang Dong¡¯s wings retracted before he made a breathtaking escape.

    His pair of wings seemed to have a life of their own. They pped open before retracting, pping and drifting. Every transformation adjusted his flying posture slightly.

    The streaks of soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells slid past him because they couldn¡¯t lock onto him.

    Wang Dong was like a Radiant Butterfly Goddess that was facing a huge web. No matter how all-engulfing that web was, he could find a loophole to escape.

    His glittery dodges even left streaks of dazzling shadows in mid-air. Bright, golden-blue flowing light caused the spectators to erupt in cheers.

    Everyone sympathized with the underdogs. The spectators¡¯ emotions reached their height as they witnessed Wang Dong¡¯s impable dodges. They were even praying for Shrek Academy. It didn¡¯t matter whether they had wagered on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    As the saying goes, ¡°The insider knows the ropes, while the outsider justes along for the ride.¡± The spectators were extremely excited as they watched thepetition, but the true soul masters were also wide-eyed right now!

    Including the Star Luo Emperor and White Tiger Duke, those who were observing carefully or soul masters with great visual powers could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool thruster had developed slight changes as Wang Dong was dodging Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack. This meant that his soul tool thruster hadunched, but not with great intensity. But it was these gentle propulsions that enabled Wang Dong to dodge sessfully time and time again. The cooperation between the two of them couldn¡¯t just be described using great chemistry; they were almost like the same person!

    However, they would vomit out blood if they knew what Huo Yuhao was thinking.

    Without a doubt, Xiao Hongchen had lost his ability to lock onto Wang Dong because of his Spiritual Interference.

    As his spiritual power became stronger, his Spiritual Interference started to reveal its strength. What enabled Wang Dong¡¯s agile dodging of Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attacks was naturally the Spiritual Detection Sharing. With both the Spiritual Interference and Spiritual Detection Sharing, it was not difficult for the two of them to cooperate with each other.

    Huo Yuhao was whining in his heart right now. He was whining about Wang Dong¡¯s thin waist. Both his hands were already touching when he hugged Wang Dong¡¯s waist. He didn¡¯t feel as if he was hugging Wang Dong tightly enough.

    But Wang Dong¡¯s butt was extremely perky and pressed against Huo Yuhao¡¯s belly. It was a little weird and ufortable.

    Even Huo Yuhao was unsure why such a thought would sh across his mind amidst such a tensepetition.

    A series of dodges enabled Wang Dong to slip through the web of soul tool rays and soul tool cannon shells. If Xiao Hongchen were in his peak state, his attacks would be at least 3 times more condensed practically wless. No matter how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to help Wang Dong escape then. But they seeded now.

    At this point, the gap between both parties had already been reduced to 30 meters.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s toes were pointed toward the ground, and her tender figure shed as she moved. She swung her pair of thin swords, and two streaks of light wereunched towards Wang Dong¡¯s path.

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    Chapter 124.3: A Wide Gap, the Last Battle!

    Book 14: The Finals!

    Chapter 124.3: A Wide Gap, the Last Battle!

    Her mentality became apparent as she unleashed this strike. That¡¯s because she coincidentally shouted, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Wang Dong gazed at her deeply, and the light in his eyes became gentler. This caused Meng Hongchen to be stuck in a slight daze. She thought to herself subconsciously, ¡°What¡¯s he thinking about?¡±

    Wang Dong turned to his left at this instant and managed to slide in between the two streaks of light.

    But Meng Hongchen¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t so easily avoided. The light des struck each other behind Wang Dong and unleashed ayer of icy fog.

    The Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s lethal poison had finally appeared in this criticalst match of the tournament.

    Below the stage, Elder Xuan, Wang Yan, He Caitou and Xiao Xiao were all extremely anxious. The keyy in whether Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could resist this lethal poison!

    The icy fog covered a huge area. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were immediately engulfed, but Wang Dong didn¡¯t seem to realize the lethal poison that wasing from his back. His wings revealed a golden light pattern before his second soul ring shed brightly.

    A huge number of golden balls of light suddenly appeared. They started to bombard Xiao Hongchen, who had also just unleashed his second wave of attacks.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    An intense aura of light filled the entire venue. This was everyone¡¯s first time seeing the might of Wang Dong¡¯s soul skill.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation covering them, the soul rings that both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong unleashed were white. No one could see exactly what ss their soul skills were in. But the power of their soul skills wouldn¡¯t change because of this!

    Wang Dong quickly told Xiao Hongchen with his abilities that underestimating him was a big mistake.

    An explosive boom reverberated within a 20 meter radius. Logically speaking, Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess shouldn¡¯t have been able to resist the soul tool rays even if they could resist the soul tool cannons. But Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack was perfectly intercepted. The explosion only urred between the two of them. A few of the balls formed by Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddessnded even in front of Xiao Hongchen and forced him to resist using his Impregnable Wall.

    Only a soul ancestor¡¯s strongest soul skill would have such an effect. Xiao Hongchen cursed in his heart. His cultivation was indeed not up to standard yet, such that the power of his soul tools couldn¡¯t be fully unleashed. He was suppressed by Wang Dong¡¯s second soul skill, and felt extremely depressed by that.

    Wang Dong had three rings. With the aid of Huo Yuhao¡¯s twin martial soul that was close to a three-ringed cultivation, thebination of their soul powers reached above Rank 40.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power might only be at Rank 28, but the sum of his soul power was not any less than Wang Dong. That was because his second martial soul might have a soul ring! Although most of the power of the hundred thousand year soul ring was sealed, his total soul power still managed to increase some.

    The Haodong Power didn¡¯t function based on thews of addition. Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess was also a thousand year soul skill. Under such a circumstance, theirbined strike was alreadyparable to a top-ranked soul ancestor. They were as powerful as Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi with their unchanged martial souls, and that was without consideration for their martial fusion soul skills

    Meng Hongchen was slightly shocked as she saw Wang Dong showing his might. She quickly adjusted her mentality and burst forward rapidly. Her thin swords turned into a sky full of light projections that shed down towards Wang Dong. It was a pity that her armor was damaged, otherwise she would have flown into the air to fight Wang Dong.

    Meng Hongchen had a question in her mind right now. Why hadn¡¯t the Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s poison taken effect yet?

    The Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s poison did engulf Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. But it was a pity that her poison was useless against them.

    Why was this? Only Huo Yuhao understood why. This could only be traced back to the time when Huo Yuhao caught hold of Bei Bei after he was defeated by the Ice Toad¡¯s poison.

    ¡°Oh? How could this be? Such a soul beast still exists?¡±

    ¡°Ice Empress, what¡¯s going on? What¡¯s wrong with my eldest senior?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s contracted a very hateful Ice Toad poison. The martial soul that hurt him is a Vermilion Ice Toad, a soul beast that roams the borders of the Extreme North. Its powers are quite extraordinary. Although it¡¯s not really aplished in the aspect of ice, it has managed to grasp the true meaning of thebination of ice and fire. That¡¯s why the Ice Toad¡¯s poison is extremely lethal, and very difficult to be neutralized.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then what do we do? Ice Empress, can you neutralize this poison?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. That¡¯s because your partner cannot bear the Ultimate Ice¡¯s encroachment. He can only dispel the poison through the extreme chill in his own body. There¡¯s no other way. If that method is used, only an ice-type body can handle the burden. Otherwise, one¡¯s internal organs will be frozen.¡±

    ¡°Will I be poisoned?¡±

    ¡°Are you joking? As one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, I am the king of all ice-type soul beasts. Although the Vermilion Ice Toad is a rather strong soul beast, there¡¯s a reason why it doesn¡¯t dare to enter the Extreme North region. That¡¯s because the Ice Jade Scorpions are its jinx.¡±

    ¡°While we gave up lethal poison to achieve the Ultimate Ice, we can¡¯t be hurt by any ice-type poison. You don¡¯t have to be afraid of her poison when you face her. No ice-type or fire-type poison can work against the Ultimate Ice.¡±

    If Huo Yuhao had to appraise which soul skill of his was the most powerful, it had to be one of the four soul skills that the Ice Empress conferred onto him. In terms of both offense and defense, the Ice Empress lived up to its name as one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.

    But if he had to choose the most practical soul skill, which one would he choose?

    If someone really understood his capabilities, he might think it was the Spiritual Detection. But Huo Yuhao would certainly choose the Spirit Eyes¡¯ second soul skill, Imitation.

    Imitation was a thousand year soul skill bestowed onto him by the n members that the Skydream Iceworm helped him to find. Among all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skills, Imitation was the least offensively inclined. But it was the most important soul skill to him, even far more important than his Spiritual Detection.

    Although Imitation was a thousand year soul skill, it depleted Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power the least when it was unleashed due to its special characteristic. Huo Yuhao could sustain it for a very long time, and he wouldn¡¯t even be discovered by his opponent, unless his opponent¡¯s spiritual power was beyond his, and they could use a special spiritual detection power to see through him.

    The only pity was that Imitation could only be used within a 3 meter radius with Huo Yuhao as the center. Otherwise, this soul skill would have been unbelievably powerful.

    Huo Yuhao was using Imitation at this exact moment. Not only did his Imitation prevent his opponent from seeing him, but it also prevented his opponent from seeing what he was doing.

    Even the spectators couldn¡¯t see. When Imitation was used, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were actually masked by ayer of transparent armor that seemed to be made up of diamond-like particles. Their entire bodies were covered.

    It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Barrier, Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest defense-type soul skill. It was one of the two soul skills bestowed onto him by the four hundred thousand year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul ring.

    The Ultimate Ice¡¯s defensive strength reached its peak under the Ice Empress¡¯ Barrier. How could the Vermilion Ice Toad¡¯s poison ovee it?

    A dim radiance shed. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong seemed to be the same entity now. In fact, Huo Yuhao depleted more of his soul power than Wang Dong, who was attacking more actively.

    Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Detection Sharing, Spiritual Interference and the Ice Empress¡¯ Barrier. These soul skills were unleashed with all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s might.

    Huo Yuhao had managed to achieve significant progress in his cultivation and spiritual power after the constant improvements and enhancements of the Life Gold. His body was also able to bear more than what someone of his age should be able to. At least in terms of his physical strength, he was not weaker than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

    A dim radiance shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a cold, divine radiance on his face. It was time to snatch the final victory!

    The countless sword projections that Meng Hongchen created as she waved her swords engulfed Wang Dong. The enhancements of her ss 6 swords were all in terms of offense. They were extremely destructive, and had even hurt Dai Yueheng earlier. The Vermilion Ice Toad poison that it contained was also the most lethal.

    Although Meng Hongchen had lost the help of her soul tool to aid her in flying, her cultivation was still far beyond Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. When her swords were unleashed, they soared up immediately.

    The height of the defensive barriers on thepetition stage had a limit. Meng Hongchen could reach this height with the extreme leaping abilities of the Vermilion Ice Toad.

    That¡¯s why no matter how impable Wang Dong¡¯s flying techniques were, he couldn¡¯t escape from her attacks.

    But Wang Dong didn¡¯t dodge.

    When Meng Hongchen jumped up, his Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings pped towards the front and propelled Wang Dong backwards. At the same time, a ball of golden light shone on his chest. From the edge of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings, all the golden light started to gather towards Wang Dong¡¯s chest as countless golden spots appeared.

    A small sun seemed to have appeared in front of Wang Dong¡¯s chest. The radiance of this sun was extremely blinding.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s attack stopped, and Wang Dong pushed the ball of light from his chest at this critical moment. It struck the center of Meng Hongchen¡¯s sword projections.

 Chapter 125: Yearning for the Mortal World

    <strong>Chapter 125.1: Yearning for the Mortal World</strong>

    An ear-piercing boom enveloped the entire stage, and the seemingly-ordinary golden ball of light instantly exploded the instant it collided with Meng Hongchen¡¯s sword shadow.

    This was the Butterfly Goddess sh, Wang Dong¡¯s third soul skill.

    This was a soul skill that Wang Dong used very, very rarely. However, its strength was absolutely not as ordinary as that of a normal thousand year soul skill.

    Wang Dong¡¯s second soul ring was already a thousand year one, and his third one had actually surpassed three thousand years of age. In other words, his third soul skill was practically equivalent to Meng Hongchen¡¯s fourth one. Although his attack couldn¡¯t take on a Soul King, the explosive power generated by the Butterfly Goddess sh that was strengthened by the Haodong Power was extremely great.

    It clearly wasn¡¯t possible for him to use this soul skill to defeat Meng Hongchen, but it was enough for him to merely stall for time.

    The waves of light des instantaneously detonated, making the hundreds of golden light des resemble the bloom of a rose bud. Then, it once again exploded into countless flower petals. The instant the tightly packed des of light detonated, they carried the aura of the sun and flew around in all directions.

    Meng Hongchen was flustered as she faced Wang Dong¡¯s attack. After all, she had lost her powerful defensive armor, which meant that she would be injured if the des of light struck her. If she were in her peak condition and fully equipped with her soul tools, she would¡¯ve even dared to charge through an attack like this without feeling any pressure.

    However, this was clearly impossible now. This was the final battle, and victory in this match would determine whether or not they would be able to bring the champion¡¯s trophy back. How could she dare to be careless at all? Furthermore, she subconsciously felt that Wang Dong was very strong. Perhaps these were her inner feelings wreaking havoc on her, or just the feelings of a young girl.

    Because of that, Meng Hongchen instantly danced about with her swords the instant she collided with the Butterfly Goddess sh, creating an airtight barrier that blocked all of Wang Dong¡¯s attacks. Whenever her thin swords collided with a de of light, they would release arge amount of the Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s poison. As long as her poison took effect, this battle would be over.

    At this exact moment, an indescribable sense of terror suddenly rose in Meng Hongchen¡¯s heart. Her mind started to uncontrobly tremble violently.

    This suppression came from her mind itself, or rather, the source of her power--her martial soul.

    An enormous illusory figure noiselessly emerged behind Wang Dong. Its crystalline and translucent body emitted a chilly aura, and its jade-green tail gave off the light of a serene forest. The most terrifying thing about it was the suppression it caused to the very depths of Meng Hongchen¡¯s soul, causing her movements to slow greatly due to her astonishment.

    This was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul. At this moment, the aura of a four hundred thousand year soul ring hadpletely emerged due to his Imitation.

    Although the Vermillion Clear Icetoad didn¡¯t reside in the Extreme North, nor was it a pure ice-type martial soul, arge part of itsprehensive power came from the element of Ice.

    It was just as the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had said--she was the master of Ice, and all ice-type soul beasts would have to revere her as their king. How could the Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s aura beparable to that of the Ice Empress? Moreover, this was the aura of a four hundred thousand year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had watched over Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous matches, but their line of sight had been blocked by the protective barrier surrounding the tournament stage. As such, they were only able to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s hundred thousand year soul ring and the imposing aura that it gave off; they hadn¡¯t sensed its true aura.

    The facts had shown that what Huo Yuhao had done was merely an illusion. After that battle, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used an ability like that in any of his other battles. Although the other teams wouldn¡¯t go so far as topletely ignore his soul skill, arge majority of them reckoned that he had been seen through, which meant that there was no longer any practical meaning to it anymore.

    However, as Meng Hongchen faced the aura that belonged to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, she immediately realised how much of a joke her judgement had been.

    The terrifying aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was just so realistic, and even if they were trapped in an illusory domain, this was one that was infinitely close to reality! Her martial soul was fully suppressed in front of this terrifying aura, to the extent where she wasn¡¯t even able to release a half of her true cultivation. This was evenpounded with the sensation of terror that came from the very depths of her heart, causing a tremendous impact to her will to fight.

    It was no wonder that so many people had suffered disastrous defeats when facing the hundred thousand year soul ring that Huo Yuhao had released; the deterrence it gave off was just that powerful.

    Meng Hongchen wasn¡¯t the only person affected by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s aura. Even Xiao Hongchen was simrly affected by it.

    The Vermillion Clear Icetoad and the Three-Legged Golden Toad were both toad-type martial souls. Out of the five poisons, the poison that came from a toad and the poison that came from a scorpion were equally matched. There wasn¡¯t too much of a difference between both parties, and thus victory and defeat would be decided by the levels of the two creatures.

    There was no doubt that the Three-Legged Golden Toad was of a higher level than the Vermillion Clear Icetoad, and the two were also top-ranked martial souls. However, they were akin to subjects who were facing their king whilst facing the unrivaled martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Regardless of how strong they were, they were still petty and weak in front of a true king.

    They werepletely unable to imagine how a mere illusory domain could cause such a great effect. However, was what Huo Yuhao was releasing now still a mere illusory domain?

    As the saying went, the truth would be a lie when a lie became a truth. If a person added a few true things within an illusion, it would be hard to tell that the illusion was fake. The illusory figure behind Huo Yuhao was created using his Imitation, but the aura it possessed came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul ring! This was a true four hundred thousand year soul ring! Could an illusory domain fake an aura like this? This was the aura of pure Ultimate Ice, and also the aura of one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    There was no need to even mention the two of them; even the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, who was nervously presiding over the match as referee, felt his heart palpitate after sensing the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Everything happened within an extremely short amount of time. Although Meng Hongchen was able to neutralise the Butterfly Goddess sh while her body and soul were shaken, the force behind her following attacks was greatly weakened. On the other hand, Xiao Hongchen had just gotten back to his senses from the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, and was slowed down for a brief moment while trying to assist his sister.

    At this exact moment, thebination of an icy-white aura and the supreme majesty of an emperor blossomed from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Meng Hongchen was simply too close to the two of them, and thus she had no chance of dodging the omnidirectional release of this light. As her martial soul had clearly been affected, she couldn¡¯t even take the opportunity to attack Wang Dong.

    A strange, cold aura instantly spread through her body, and Meng Hongchen¡¯s body stiffened instantly in midair. Since she awakened her martial soul, she couldn¡¯t even remember thest time she felt cold. At this moment, however, the extreme cold that seemed to dig into her bones made her body tremble violently. Ayer of light-blue frost even seemed to cover the surface of her skin.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯sbat strength instantly reached its peak. Although the extremely cold air only spread for a rtively short distance, the illusory figure of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion that appeared behind his back emitted a dazzling light. This was especially so for its jade-green tail, which seemed to have halos flowing around it.

    Due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation concealing his body, nobody was able to see that his sternum, ribs, and spine were releasing an intense jade-green light.

    Right, this was the powerful soul skill granted to him by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone, Domain of Perpetual Ice.

    This was a true disy of the power of Ultimate Ice, and also its tyrannical might. Even the Vermillion Clear Icetoad that was also an ice-type martial soul wasn¡¯t able to endure it. Although Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t truly use the might of this domain-type soul skill, he was still able to unleash a portion of the Ice Empress¡¯ power in a limited range.

    Meng Hongchen reached the top point of her jump as her body was instantly frozen in the Domain of Perpetual Ice, causing her to immediately plummet to the ground.

    How could Wang Dong just give up on a good opportunity like this? Folding his wings, he instantly chased after Meng Hongchen and activated his Guillotine Wing.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn¡¯t notice that a dark-red chain had somehow been connected to Meng Hongchen¡¯s waist. The instant Wang Dong¡¯s attack was about tond, Meng Hongchen was instantly pulled away, bringing her out of Wang Dong¡¯s attack range. Right after that, arge energy storm flew straight towards him, blocking his pursuit.

    The dark-red chain had appeared in Xiao Hongchen¡¯s hand first, and his current expression was that of solemnity.

    Right. As they walked onto the tournament stage, neither he or Meng Hongchen had thought that this battle had any meaning. However, he now felt that he had been wrong. As he faced these two youths, he realized that he couldn¡¯t use their level of soul power to judge them.

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were extremely well-coordinated, but Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were siblings! The two had grown up together, and had worked, fought, and cultivated together. The level of synergy they possessed wasn¡¯t any inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s duo.

    At this moment, a dark-red light lit up by Meng Hongchen¡¯s chest. Right after that, an icy mist shot out from her body with a sh of red light. Then, it quickly returned and entered her body once again, allowing her to unexpectedly recover from the Domain of Perpetual Ice. Although her body was still trembling, and she didn¡¯t seem to be able to hold her swords properly, she had regained the ability to move.

    Huo Yuhao had used the Domain of Perpetual Ice many times in the past, and he had even used it against Soul Kings before. However, this was the first time he met someone who was able to bypass it so quickly.

    Other than the difference in their cultivations, the profundity contained within the Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s fusion of ice and fire had yed an important role in this.

    Huo Yuhao was quickly thinking to himself, It¡¯s no wonder the Vermillion Clear Icetoad didn¡¯t get decisively sealed in front of my Ultimate Ice. Aih, if I were also a Soul King, how would she be able to break through my Domain of Perpetual Ice so easily?

    At this moment, both parties seemed to return to their original positions. Under Xiao Hongchen¡¯s all-out attacks, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t able toplete their pursuit.

    <strong>Chapter 125.2: Yearning for the Mortal World</strong>

    The might of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion then vanished like a sh in the dark.

    Unfurling his wings, Wang Dong once again revealed his powerful evasion skills in midair. Guided by the Spiritual Detection, over 90% of the soul tool attacks targeting him would misspletely. However, Wang Dong¡¯s figure was gradually approaching the Hongchen siblings.

    At this moment, Meng Hongchen had finally caught her breath. She had just used her fourth soul skill, Ice Feeding. By using fire as a catalyst, she was able to stimte her Icetoad poison and turn it into pure energy that could feed her body, causing her attack power to reach apletely new level.

    However, she wouldn¡¯t be able to use the Icetoad for a short period of time after using Ice Feeding. On the surface, it seemed as though Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had spent more energy than their opponents. However, the string of collisions had greatly affected Meng Hongchen as well.

    She could no longer use her Icetoad poison, and her Ice Feeding hadn¡¯t even increased her attack power, but merely allowed her to regain the ability to move. Why wouldn¡¯t she have spent arge amount of energy? Furthermore, the freezing caused by the Ultimate Ice had caused her injuries from Dai Yueheng¡¯s attack to resurge faintly.

    Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly. If their previous attack that relied on their opponents looking down on them had seeded, winning this match would¡¯ve been much easier. However, it now seemed that it wouldn¡¯t be possible to win this match without a fight.

    However, the Hongchen siblings now felt a tremendous amount of pressureing from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The most terrifying opponent that one could face was one that waspletely unreadable. However, these two youths who were even younger than them had damaged the conviction they had in winning.

    ¡°Sister,e. Let¡¯s finish them off. We can¡¯t hesitate any longer.¡± Xiao Hongchen let out a deep shout.

    Meng Hongchen hesitated, ¡°But, your body¡­¡±

    ¡°What do these injuries amount to?¡± Xiao Hongchen said arrogantly, ¡°Let¡¯s show them our strongest attack. Quick. We can¡¯t lose this match. We can¡¯t give them a chance. Once we beat them, we¡¯ll be the pride of our academy, and the heroes of our empire.¡±

    With that, all of the soul tools on Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body suddenly switched off and fell to the ground. The soul tools themselves turned back into metallic dust, and he didn¡¯t even bother to care about the formation arrays that had fallen to the ground. Instead, he spread his hands out towards his sister.

    The rapiers in Meng Hongchen¡¯s hands vanished as she turned around and threw herself into Xiao Hongchen¡¯s embrace. Immediately, a pir mixed with golden and ice-blue light surged into the air and instantly covered their bodies.

    ¡°Not good.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were simply too familiar with their movements. That was clearly the starting sign of a martial soul fusion! They had already evaluated the Hongchen siblings highly, but they¡¯d never thought that the two soul engineers would actually be able to use a fusion skill. Furthermore, they were using it at this extremely critical moment.

    When two Soul Kings used a fusion skill together, how powerful would their attack be? They were clearly trying to take Huo Yuhao¡¯s duo out in one shot.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take them on!¡± Wang Dong let out a shout. Because he was overly excited, there seemed to be a few traces of delicateness contained in his voice.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He could no longer hesitate at this moment. Otherwise, theirst chance of winning would disappear.

    Immediately dispelling the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong. At the same time, the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion returned to his body, leaving only his Spirit Eyes.

    Wang Dong¡¯s wings quietly vanished, causing the dazzling bluish-golden light in the sky to disappear. Wang Dong hugged Huo Yuhao from the back, then descended to the tournament stage. At this moment however, a pitch-ck hammer appeared in his hand. This was his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.

    They were about to fall to the ground, but at this moment, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies released a dazzling light.

    This was an indescribable light of nothingness that caused everything contained within it to vanish from sight. The only thing left was an illusory figure. This illusory figure looked somewhat strange, and its entire body was transparent. Its face couldn¡¯t be clearly seen, but its hands formed the shape of a heart.

    The figure looked like an adult male, and if anyone had seen the initial disy of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer, they would¡¯ve discovered that this void-like figure was identical to that of the aforementioned skill.

    However, the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer was formed by the fusion between the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t using the Golden Road that was formed by the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Spirit Eyes, nor the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer. Instead, they were using the mysterious fusion between the Spirit Eyes and the Clear Sky Hammer.

    Everything passed by quickly as both parties unexpectedly released their respective fusion skills together. This was the first time that this had happened in this year¡¯s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament.

    The audience felt as though their hearts were about to jump out from their throats. A scene like this would be rarely seen even in a hundred years!

    How many soul masters in this world could possess a fusion skill? The fact that two pairs of them had appeared at this moment was simply too shocking.

    Even Elder Xuan from Shrek Academy was already clenching his fists tightly. Were it not for the fact that he was distracted by suppressing the ck mes of the Dark Phoenix, he would¡¯ve had an even more excited expression.

    The excitement from this event was so great, to the point where even Wang Yan couldn¡¯t even bear to look at it. He covered his face with both hands, only revealing his eyes. He was the only person who knew how many fusion skills Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong possessed, but even he had never seen the true might of those fusion skills. Nobody knew just how Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were able to create a miracle like this.

    If Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were in perfectly good conditions today, he would never have allowed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to take the stage. However, Xiao Hongchen was heavily injured, and Meng Hongchen was somewhat injured. Only thus did a chance of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong winninge into existence.

    However, Wang Yan would never have thought that the Hongchen siblings would be able to bring a fusion skill out. This was a practically unimaginable even in the world of soul engineers. It could even be said that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were the first pair of soul masters from the Sun Moon Empire who were able to do so.

    Over on the city wall, Emperor Xu Jiawei had an astonished expression on his face. Who would¡¯ve thought that the finals of this tournament would actually turn into a duel between two fusion skills?

    On the other hand, the most depressed and pained person in the entire arena was the referee, the Heavenfiend Douluo. At this moment, he naturally couldn¡¯t stop both parties from using their fusion skills. However, just what level would the might of both fusion skills reach? He wasn¡¯t clear about that! In the event he wasn¡¯t able to rescue the losing party in time, resulting in a casualty, the burden ced on him would be far too great. He was very clear that the four people who were standing on the battlefield were very different from the previous people who had died.

    The pir of light that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen floated into began to transform. The pir of light solidified in mid-air, turning into the enormous shape of a toad. Mysteriously, a change in color suddenly urred to the toad while it solidified.

    At this moment, the gold of the Three-Legged Golden Toad and the ice-blue of the Vermillion Clear Icetoadpletely vanished, leaving a red light that emitted a metallic glint. The scarlet-gold that covered it made the enormous toad that was over five meters tall iparably dazzling. Its eyes were a shade of ck that was as deep as an abyss.

    As it widened its mouth, a violently spinning scarlet-gold whirlpool could be faintly seen. It seemed as though the toad could spit out the whirlpool at any time.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s voice rang out across the entire field. Even at a time like this, he didn¡¯t forget to y the part of a hero who was trying to save the battle.

    ¡°Take this blow, youngsters. We¡¯ll let you witness what a truly powerful fusion skill is, our Hongchen¡¯s Yearning.¡±

    Right. Hongchen¡¯s Yearning was the name they had chosen for their fusion skill by taking the family name of the two siblings. If one looked carefully at it, one would discover that the reddish-golden toad was three-legged. However, its eyes were shing with the same light as that of the Vermillion Clear Icetoad the instant it was about to spit out the reddish-gold whirlpool.

    At this exact moment, a change also began to ur to the illusory figure that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had formed. His eyes lit up.

    Since his entire body was in a void-like and transparent state, the sh in his eyes was especially obvious. This was a pair of eyes that couldn¡¯t be described using words. Its dazzling gold seemed to absorb and coagte all of the starlight in the skies. The instant that mysterious golden luster appeared, the light on the entire tournament stage actually darkened. The drizzling rain in the sky instantly paused, and every single drop of rain remained in its descending state, unable to fall any further.

    A strange vertical eye slowly opened on the void-like figure¡¯s forehead, and a light filled with the aura of life instantly illuminated the entire arena. Faintly, a glorious golden hammer appeared out of nowhere, then shattered into countless smaller hammers above the void-like figure. Then, these smaller hammers transformed into golden light, causing a golden halo to appear on the void-like figure¡¯s forehead.

    Everything that was urring seemed to slow down, but spider web-like cracks appeared within the air on the tournament stage wherever the golden light passed. It seemed as though space was going to cave in.

    Even the Heavenfiend Douluo was left dumbstruck at this moment. This was because he clearly felt that his movements had uncontrobly slowed down. Not only that, but he felt his chest depress. Right after that, it seemed as though an enormous hammer had suddenly pounded his spiritual sea, instantly sending his mind into a field of white. The deepest part of his spiritual sea suddenly shook violently, making it seem as though all of his memories were able to burst apart,

    This was the reaction of a Titled Douluo, and even he couldn¡¯t resist at all. This was because at that moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu simply didn¡¯t know how to block that mysterious golden light. Naturally, this was because he couldn¡¯t make a move to disturb the match as a referee.

    <strong>Chapter 125.3: Yearning for the Mortal World</strong>

    The golden halo spread out, signalling the start of Hongchen¡¯s Yearning. A whirlpool-shaped ray of reddish-golden light transformed into a flood that rained straight towards the void-like figure.

    The reddish-golden light was filled with the nging of metal and the toughness of ice. More terrifyingly, the air started to distort from its heat the moment it appeared. Various contradictory elements gathered together, forming a madness that was seemingly twisted and hysterical. Illuminated by the reddish-golden light of Hongchen¡¯s Yearning, the entire tournament stage seemingly transformed into a sea of magma.

    However, it wasn¡¯t able to obstruct that golden ring of light from spreading outwards regardless of how strong it was. When the extremely soft ray of golden light passed through the violent, reddish-gold wave without any obstruction, it instantly reached the enormous figure of the reddish-gold toad, making it tremble violently. Right after that, the reddish-gold light suddenly copsed, revealing Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s falling figures.

    Before Hongchen¡¯s Yearning was even able to release a third of its power, it ended unexpectedly.

    The siblings had nk looks on their faces, as though they had lost their sense of self, to the extent where they couldn¡¯t even control their descent from the sky. As they fell, snake-like wisps of blood started to surge out from Xiao Hongchen¡¯s seven apertures.

    The terrifying Hongchen¡¯s Yearning had onlysted for a brief instant. Although it still filled the entire tournament stage, nothing happened afterwards.

    However, it still couldn¡¯t be blocked so easily. The terrifying might caused by melting gold into steelnded, immediately causing the entire tournament stage to boil as though a volcano had erupted. The madness of metal and the poison from the Vermillion Clear Icetoad, along with the fusion of ice and fire, caused the wide tournament stage to turn into a hell on earth.

    The void-like figure was about to be swallowed up. At this moment, the Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Xujin hadn¡¯t woken up from the golden light¡¯s effect. This meant that he simply wouldn¡¯t be able to rescue them as a referee.

    Elder Xuan already had one foot outstretched, but Wang Yan tugged on his sleeve just before he made a move.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    Elder Xuan flew into a rage, ¡°What should I be waiting for? For them to die?¡±

    However, he suddenly quietened down after uttering these words. To his astonishment, he saw that the void-like figure didn¡¯t just resign itself to its fate in front of the surging Hongchen¡¯s Yearning. Instead, it floated backwards at a lightning-quick rate, revealing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies again.

    Under the eyes of the enormous audience, another mysterious change urred to their bodies.

    A bluish-gold pair of wings was once again unfurled, revealing the Radiant Butterfly Goddess. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s shirt suddenly burst open, revealing the enormous tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. It seemed as though there was some kind of power that was trying to burst out from his swelling muscles, and the jade-green tail of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion stretched all the way to his waist. Naturally, his buttocks couldn¡¯t be seen.

    At this moment, the tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion seemed toe alive. This was especially true for its crystal-yellow eyes, which emitted a wild aura that made it seem as though it was the only sovereign in the entire world.

    In a situation like this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong once again hugged each other. They looked at each other for an instant, and everything else seemed to disappear, leaving only the other¡¯s determination in their eyes.

    Huo Yuhao had two martial souls, which were the Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Wang Dong also had two martial souls, which were the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.

    When the Spirit Eyes fused with the Radiant Butterfly Goddess, they could use their first fusion skill--A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    When the Spirit Eyes fused with the Clear Sky Hammer, they could use what they had just used earlier--the golden ring of light that could cover over a hundred metres.

    This was their third fusion skill, and it was called Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest.

    The Spiritual Tempest was equivalent to taking the Clear Sky Hammer¡¯s most powerful attack and fusing it with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Moreover, it was arge-scale attack, and possessed an attack power that was many times greater than that of the two aforementioned skills.

    On the other hand, this fusion skill drained much less soul power than the other two. However, its demand on their spiritual power was extremely terrifying. Were it not for the fact that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea had been strengthened immensely by the Life Gold, he would¡¯ve immediately fainted after using it.

    The Life Gold had opened Huo Yuhao¡¯s third eye, allowing Electrolux to sleep within it. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that the ce Electrolux had used the Life Gold to carve out for himself could be considered a second spiritual sea.

    Other than their initial testing, this was the second time they had used the Spiritual Tempest. However, its power this time around had increased explosively due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s second spiritual sea. Combined with the Life Deprivation given to him by the Life Guardian, they were able to instantly interrupt Hongchen¡¯s Yearning.

    These were the two fusion skills that could be used bybining Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes with either of Wang Dong¡¯s martial souls.

    But what if it were the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion instead?

    The fusion between the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer was the most powerful attack at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s disposal. Previously, even the Absolute Defense Barrier had been shattered by that attack, which was known as the ze Amidst the Frost, Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer.

    On the other hand, what Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were using at this very moment was thest fusion skill at their disposal, the fusion between the two insect-type martial souls, that of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    In terms of pure offensive capabilities, this fusion skill wasn¡¯t as powerful as the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer. However, this was the only fusion skill that was controlled by Wang Dong. In terms of flexibility, this skill wasparable to that of the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer, which staked everything for a single, all-out attack.

    A supernova that seemed as though a myriad rays of light had exploded spread out from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s bodies. This light was so intense that nobody dared to even look at it directly.

    Even the surging Hongchen¡¯s Yearning was forced to slow down due to that intense light.

    Right after that, the bluish-gold pair of wings started to spread outwards at an astonishing rate. Within the blink of an eye, they had already doubled in size.

    Originally, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess only had a pair of front and rear wings. At this moment however, it now had a pair of jade-colored middle wings which were as transparent as a gem, and extremely alluring. An intense aura of life blossomed outwards, with a true essence of light and water. This dense aura of lifeplemented the aura of light extremely well.

    As the dazzling pair of butterfly wings unfurled, the three colors of blue, gold, and green seemed to be embellished with countless rays of light. There seemed to be countless drops of water gently rolling around the butterfly wings, reflecting every single ray of light within their surroundings that could be reflected. Tens of thousands of rays of light shone forth, butyers of frost started to emanate from its feet, causing that slender figure to look ever so noble.

    The frost quietly diffused, causing the surroundings to turn into a world of ice and snow. As the chilly aura started to spread out, an astonishing change urred to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s fused body. A slender figure had noiselessly appeared amidst the three-colored halo of light.

    This figure was a girl, a girl who had already matured. This girl was over 1.8 meters tall, and her slender figure looked extremely moving and thrilling.

    She had a head full of bluish-pink hair which fell all the way to her feet. Her eyes were a brilliant gold, and even the word ¡®perfection¡¯ wasn¡¯t sufficient to describe her moving, slender body. Her perfect looks eclipsed every single other girl within the arena, and every ray of light and curve on her body fitted extremely well. Nobody could even describe the first thing they felt when seeing her, but every single man and woman in the arena waspletely drawn to her.

    In the next instant, she made a move. After taking a slight step forward with her left leg, the slender woman was now in midair. The three differently-colored wings on her back had carried her slender figure upwards into the air in a graceful and light manner.

    A denseyer of frost started to spread from her feet, turning into small wisps that rose and spiralled around her.

    At this moment, a small crack was carved open from the murky clouds in the sky. A ray of sunlight descended from the sky, passing through the tournament stage¡¯s defensive barrier beforending on her.

    The golden ray of sunshine contrasted with her perfect looks that could overturn a city, making it seem as though a goddess was undergoing her rebirth on the tournament stage.

    The flood brought about by Hongchen¡¯s Yearning had arrived, but just before it struck the slender figure, it suddenly split into two, then spiralled around her body.

    She started dancing gracefully in midair, and every single step of hers was just that soft and perfect. Her movingplexion was filled with the light of life and hope, and the six butterfly wings on her back were the best decorations on her body. Bathed within the warm sunlight, she danced a Raiment of Light.

    The beauty who had looks that could overturn a city didn¡¯t even seem to sense any dangering towards her as she continued to dance alone within the faint frost. Her three differently-colored wings continued to stretch outwards and fold inwards, making her noble figure look even more dazzling and brilliant.

    A faintly discernible set of golden characters quietly appeared on her forehead, but nobody was able to see them, as her dancing movements began to grow quicker and quicker.

    That set of golden characters started to flicker with light, releasing a gentle light. Then, the strong undtions of spiritual power caused her to fall into a mysterious state.

    While spiralling around the beauty¡¯s body, Hongchen¡¯s Yearning quietly copsed. It was as though it had only appeared to supplement the appearance of the beauty who could overturn cities.

    Even if the White Tiger Duke had an unwavering heart filled with determination, his eyes started to turn somewhat dull. He didn¡¯t dare to believe his own eyes and even questioned himself inwardly, Can such a beautiful woman even exist in this world?

    The three-colored wings vanished, and that dazzling figure flew towards Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

 Chapter 126: Rainment of Light

    <strong>Book 14: The Finals!</strong>

    <strong>Chapter 126.1: Rainment of Light</strong>

    It was at this moment that the audience finally took notice of them. There was no need to even mention how much of a miserable state the two siblings were in. Disregarding Xiao Hongchen, even Meng Honchen¡¯s mouth and nose were covered in bloodstains. They seemed to havee to their senses at this moment, but they couldn¡¯t do anything other than reveal the shock in their eyes.

    Xiao Hongchen suddenly let out a muffled groan, and he directly fell to the floor. However, his eyes were actually filled with infatuation the moment before he copsed.

    However, Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes were only filled with shock. She couldn¡¯t believe that the city-overthrowing beauty that made even her look inferior was created by a fusion skill.

    The peerless beauty descended from the sky and swiftlynded in front of the duo, a chilly intent radiating from her golden eyes as she did so.

    At this moment, Meng Hongchen was finally able to clearly see the characters on the peerless beauty¡¯s forehead. This character was clearly a trident, and it was very small, seemingly only an inch wide. Moreover, it quietly faded as the peerless beautynded. However, it left behind a noble sense of awe on her forehead, though it had only existed for a brief moment.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡± The youngdy¡¯s red lips rose gently. With a gentle sweep of her wings, a three-colored halo of light immediately covered Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s bodies. However, it didn¡¯t seem to hurt them; it only sent their bodies off the tournament stage.

    Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t try to resist it. Due to Xiao Hongchen¡¯s heavy injuries, Hongchen¡¯s Yearning had been unleashed using her own soul power only. Furthermore, after it was forcefully interrupted by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Spiritual Storm, they were struck with a heavy bacsh. At this moment, they truly didn¡¯t possess any fighting strength at all.

    The tri-colored butterfly wings vanished, and the peerless beauty moved towards the very center of the tournament stage with a sh. Ayer of frost formed wherever she passed.

    Wang Yan observed everything from below the tournament stage with a bbergasted look in his eyes. He murmured, ¡°We, we won? Elder Xuan, we won! We¡¯re the champions, we¡¯re truly the champions!¡± His voice was trembling. When he uttered hisst sentence, he was already shouting in a hysterical manner.

    Elder Xuan was no calmer than Wang Yan. Every single wrinkle on his aged face seemed to be filled with vitality as he said, ¡°They, just how did they do it? Was what they just used a fusion skill?¡±

    ¡°Right, right!¡± Wang Yan said excitedly, ¡°I was the only person who they told about thatst fusion skill. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Huo Yuhao said that that fusion skill was produced when his Ice Jade Scorpion fused with Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess. It is called the Solitary Dance Amidst Frost, Raiment of Light. I didn¡¯t think that a fusion skill would be this, this beautiful! This is also the only fusion skill they possess which is controlled by Wang Dong.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve won.¡± The peerless beautynded right in front of the Heavenfiend Douluo.

    However, this great referee still had a dazed look in his eyes as he looked at this youngdy, whose age seemed to be in the double digits. His voice was clearly somewhat hoarse as he said, ¡°Yes, you¡­ you¡¯ve won.¡±

    After speaking, Huang Heyun seemed to slip slightly. He was only able to regain his footing after stabilising himself.

    Spiritual Storm wasn¡¯t just a pure spiritual-type attack, but an attack that could directly go through an opponent¡¯s spiritual sea to unceasingly attack their spirit by using various memories. It didn¡¯t do something as simple as destroying a target¡¯s spirit, but affected their consciousness.

    Although Huang Heyun was a Titled Douluo, he had endured far, far too many things in his life. He had watched his close rtives and friends die one by one, and he had buried that pain deep in his heart. As he didn¡¯t make any preparations to block Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Spiritual Storm, Huang Heyun was affected much more than Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

    The tri-colored light vanished, and the peerless beauty once again turned into a bright, colorful halo. The halo of light quietly dissipated, revealing the two figures who were hugging each other.

    They were extremely pale, and they were both supporting and nestling up against each other as they quietly stood there.

    The tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back slowly faded away. However, Wang Dong had already fallen into a deep sleep against his chest. Only the golden trident on his forehead flickered quietly for a bit.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to see all this. Although he was barely able to stand up while supporting Wang Dong, overexhausting his body had caused him to gradually lose all six of his senses. He only felt a patch of darkness surround him, but he didn¡¯t feel any regret; at this moment, he only felt excitement and happiness. Hisst memory was that of him tightly hugging Wang Dong while standing on the tournament stage of the finals of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament with his back straight.

    At this exact moment, he felt as though his spiritual sea had been upgraded to a higher level amidst this happiness. Right after that, he didn¡¯t know what happened.

    At this moment, an uproarious cheerpletely covered the entire tournament stage. Every single member of the audience had reddened faces due to their excitement.

    All of the waiting and hardships they had to endure were all worth it, in their opinion. The finals of this tournament could no longer be simply described using the word ¡®marvelous¡¯. On the contrary, it was a ssic that would be eternally engraved within their hearts!

    This was especially so for the curtain call, with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong releasing their fourth fusion skill. The city-overthrowing peerless beauty formed by their Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light had been deeply engraved in all of their hearts.

    She was too beautiful, simply too beautiful. That was a type of beauty that simply didn¡¯t belong to the world of mortals.

    Perhaps that was simply the descent of the Goddess of Light.

    Every single person had a different definition of what a goddess was in their minds, but at this moment, that had all been reced by the youngdy who had been dancing alone amidst the frost. The figure of that peerless beauty had even been elevated to the level of worship in many of their hearts.

    That figure possessed abination of beauty and strength, and was the most dazzling figure within the fight. Everything that had just urred was simply too astonishing.

    The Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinxu forcefully took a deep breath, then forcefully shoved the scenes which were unceasingly flickering through his mind to the depths of his spiritual sea. He said loudly, ¡°The 2-2-3 match has ended, and the winner is Shrek Academy. This year¡¯s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament hase to an end. The final winner is the representative team from Shrek Academy!¡±

    The sounds of cheering were brought to a peak following his announcement. The entirety of the Star Luo za was now boiling, and even many of the aristocrats and ministers who stood on the city walls couldn¡¯t help but yell out.

    <strong>Chapter 126.2: Rainment of Light</strong>

    The Star Luo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, had a somewhat flushed expression as well, as he was also extremely excited. The image of that empire-overthrowing beauty had been embedded in the depths of his heart as well!

    The White Tiger Duke was much calmer than him. He began to mutter to himself as he looked at the pair of youths who were embracing each other, ¡°A willpower as tough as steel. They¡¯ll definitely be very useful in the future.¡±

    The entire za had already turned into a sea of boiling emotions. Due to the heavy injuries suffered by both participating teams, the awards ceremony had to be dyed.

    The Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan, had already appeared by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, blocking their path forward.

    ¡°None of you are allowed to leave. Dispel the poison inflicted on my disciples first.¡± Elder Xuan had a very cold and solemn gaze in his eyes, and he still held Ma Xiaotao, who was flickering with the mes of the Dark Phoenix, in his embrace.

    The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was still somewhat confused about the entire matter. Since everything had happened so quickly, he didn¡¯t know just how they had lost the final match that they were originally guaranteed to win. The instant he saw that peerless beauty take the stage, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were sent down from the stage.

    Why had Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao not hurt Meng Hongchen? This was because they wanted her to dispel the poison in their teammates¡¯ bodies.

    ¡°Did you not hear what I just said?¡± As he speaking, Elder Xuan made a grabbing motion towards Meng Hongchen.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± The teacher in charge hurriedly blocked the path to Meng Hongchen. If possible, he truly wanted to resist Elder Xuan; he truly didn¡¯t wish to allow the absolutely astonishing members of Shrek Academy to continue living.

    The higher the hopes one had toward a certain thing, therger the disappointment would be if one failed to achieve it. The pain he currently felt was simr to that of falling down from a tall mountain. He had to stay strong as the teacher in charge of his team, but he couldn¡¯t.

    He didn¡¯t dare, he truly didn¡¯t dare to obstruct Elder Xuan at this moment. Xiao Hongchen was now unconscious, while Meng Hongchen had suffered heavy injuries. If he couldn¡¯t bring them back, he wouldn¡¯t face a consequence as simple as losing his own life. Even his family would be implicated in this matter.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, this is only apetition. I¡¯ll dispel the poison in your student¡¯s bodies.¡± The teacher in charge forcefully suppressed the grief he felt in his heart and enunciated each word carefully.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said coldly, ¡°That¡¯d be for the best. Also, give me that sword that Ma Rulong used earlier.¡±

    The teacher¡¯s expression immediately changed, ¡°That won¡¯t be possible. That¡¯s a ss 8 soul tool that our Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall forged. Its value is inestimable.¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you this. Are you going to give it, or not?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice was as cold and tough as ever, and he didn¡¯t release any pressure either. However, his mere question caused the teacher to start sweating to the point where his shirt was drenched.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t look at him, but the unconscious Xiao Hongchen.

    The teacher¡¯s voice trembled somewhat as he said, ¡°Elder Xuan, you are but a Transcendent Douluo. Don¡¯t tell me that you are going to bully the weak and make things difficult for us of the younger generation?¡±

    Elder Xuan said indifferently, ¡°This old man disdains to do something like that, but you too have seen what has happened to the child in my hands. Xiaotao was affected by that soul tool of yours, causing a variation to her martial soul. It¡¯s hard to say whether she¡¯ll even be able to continue living. I won¡¯t bully the weak; I¡¯ll find that old fellow from the Illustrious Virtue Hall to exin things to him. These two kids should be his grandkids. I¡¯ll bring them back to Shrek Academy, and you can call that old bastard of yours to find me in Shrek Academy.¡± With that, he made a grabbing motion towards the unconscious Xiao Hongchen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll give you what you want.¡± The teacher in charge of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy nearly shattered the steel teeth in his mouth. How could he dare to let Elder Xuan take Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen away?! If they were brought back to Shrek Academy, would they even be able toe back in one piece? Whenpared to the Judgement Sword, the Hongchen siblings were clearly much more important to the Sun Moon empire.

    The Judgement Sword quickly fell into Elder Xuan¡¯s hands. Supervised by Elder Xuan, Meng Hongchen had no choice but to recover her soul power using a Milk Bottle and save the people who had fallen unconscious due to the Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s venom whilst she was in an extremely exhausted state. Fortunately, due to the fact that Michael had been struck by Bei Bei¡¯s Clustered Soulchasing Balls, she didn¡¯t make any vicious moves for fear of letting her teammate die of poisoning. Otherwise, the poison of her Vermillion Clear Icetoad could¡¯ve been fatal.

    In the end, Elder Xuan left the other party with a bit of face. At the very least, he let the awakened Bei Bei dispel Michael¡¯s poison, and helped dispel the poison from the Oxhair Needle.

    Only then did both parties settle the various issues that had resulted from the match. Naturally, this was only on the surface. As for any repercussions which would ur as a result of this, they didn¡¯t bother caring about them for the time being.

    The fervent atmosphere in the Star Luo zasted for several hours. Due to the several thousand soldiers maintaining order within the city, themon folk gradually dispersed.

    For the sake of ending the crowded condition of the Star Luo za, the Star Luo Emperor made a decree stating that the awards ceremony would not be open for public viewing.

    With this decree sent out, themon folk of Star Luo City began to leave. After all, arge majority of them didn¡¯t stay in the city itself. Moreover, the cramped conditions in the city had causedmodity prices to rise to a terrifying level. Without anything nice to see, would there be any meaning left in staying there?

    Due to the astonishing performances of Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the finals, the defenses of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel had been strengthened threefold. This was done to keep the masses from charging right into it as a result of their surging emotions.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know about any of this.

    By the time he woke up from hisa, it was already the afternoon of the day after.

    ¡°How ufortable.¡± Coughing, Huo Yuhao gradually woke up from his deep sleep, his eyes still somewhat dazed. He only felt his entire body go soft, as though all of his energy had been sucked away. Not only that, but all of his muscles were in an extremely sore state. Even after sleeping for so long, he didn¡¯t seem to have any signs of recovering his soul power.

    ¡°This feeling of having everything sucked out from my body is really ufortable!¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t feeling anxious at all. As his consciousness gradually recovered, he discovered that although he had severely over-exhausted his body, he felt extraordinarily clear-headed after waking up. The memories of everything that had just urred were clearly returning to him after he woke up, and he quickly remembered him and Wang Dong defeating their opponents in the finals.

    ¡°We should¡¯ve won. We¡¯re the final champions. We¡¯ve protected Shrek Academy¡¯s glory!¡± His excitement caused his eyes to gradually light up. The current Huo Yuhao had just noticed that something had changed in his spiritual sea.

    As he gazed deep into himself, he was immediately overjoyed. His spiritual sea had increased in size by 25% at the very least. Not only that, but his spiritual power had be more condensed, and even the golden lights in his spiritual sea had brightened somewhat.

    At this exact moment, a figure suddenly appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. It had a head of pinkish-blue long hair, a set of golden eyes, and peerless looks, as well as a faintly discernible golden trident.

    She, was she really the descent of the Radiant Goddess?

 Chapter 127: The End of the Tournament and the Awards!

    Chapter 127.1: The End of the Tournament and the Awards!

    The dancing figure kept on drifting into his mind. Huo Yuhao had a dazed look in his eyes.

    The figure¡¯s long pinkish-blue hair was the same color as Wang Dong¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t help but recall the time when they unleashed the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer together. The fusion of their martial souls then projected his adult figure that unleashed an extremely powerful blow. Huo Yuhao still clearly recalled the strength of that blow. It was an amazing feeling.

    But why did the Rainment of Light turn into a ravishing beauty? Did the Radiant Butterfly Goddess descend? That didn¡¯t seem too possible either.

    As Wang Dong was the one who controlled that martial fusion soul skill, Huo Yuhao¡¯s impression of it wasn¡¯t very deep. Wang Dong had even lost consciousness after the attack.

    Right, how was Wang Dong now? Both of them had over-drafted their powers, and Huo Yuhao immediately thought of Wang Dong as he recalled everything that had happened before. He suddenly became anxious.

    Although his body was depleted, he was only fatigued. With the Life Gold nourishing him and his own extraordinary life power, his body recovered quickly after he rested for a day.

    But Huo Yuhao still found it difficult to move. He couldn¡¯t go and find Wang Dong even if he wanted to. He could only calm himself down and use the Mysterious Heaven Technique to restore his soul power.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique was very effective in healing and recovery. When it was initially activated, Huo Yuhao could only sense ording to how he cultivated normally because he had no excess soul power.

    However, a tinge of soul power seemed to be squeezed out from his limbs after three days. They started to be activated.

    Everything was different when he had soul power. Huo Yuhao sat up, albeit with difficulty. He focused his mind and attention on activating his soul power.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique didn¡¯t just restore his power. It also nourished his body. The sore feeling he felt was also alleviated as his soul power was activated. But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t see the Eye of Life opening on his forehead. The dim green that contained a life aura nourished his entire body quietly.

    When he awoke from his cultivation, it was already dark outside. It was already evening.

    After he stretched, Huo Yuhao made a surprising discovery. His soul power had increased once again and was now quite close to Rank 29. This had something to do with his effort in cultivation, but more importantly, his potential was stimted by that life and death situation.

    But he couldn¡¯t be bothered about his delight now. There were too many things on his mind. He jumped out of bed and changed his clothes. He didn¡¯t even wash up before he rushed out of his room.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously wanted to go to Wang Dong¡¯s room. But he soon realized that there were more important things. That¡¯s why he went to knock on Wang Yan¡¯s door directly.

    Huo Yuhao realized that Teacher Wang had ck circles all over his eyes when the door opened. He looked very lethargic, as if he had yet to wake up.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Yuhao? You¡¯re fine already? How¡¯s your body?¡± Wang Yan was jolted awake seeing that it was him.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, ¡°Teacher Wang, how¡¯s my elder sister? The ck mes¡­¡±

    Wang Yan creased his brows and said in a deep voice, ¡°Troublesome. We became the eventual champions after the tournament ended yesterday. After we returned, Elder Xuan started to help Xiaotao suppress the ck mes. Although the overall strength of the ck mes can¡¯tpare to Elder Xuan, they¡¯re very resilient. They managed to free themselves even though Elder Xuan suppressed them a few times. Xiaotao¡¯s awareness still remains unclear. The trouble is indeed quite great now! We must return to the academy once we collect our prize. We need to treat her using the academy¡¯s resources. Come in first.¡±

    As he spoke, Wang Yan allowed Huo Yuhao into the room.

    Wang Yan¡¯s room was a little messy. The curtains were still drawn, and it was obvious that he had been resting before Huo Yuhao came. He was too exhausted. As the teacher in charge of this tournament, he was under greater pressure than anyone else. He felt as if his body was going to copse after he became more rxed following the excitement of being crowned champions. After settling a few matters when he returned, he copsed onto his bed. He tried to crawl out of bed a few times, as he was worried about his students¡¯ condition. That was why he looked so exhausted now. Without some adjustment, he wouldn¡¯t be able to restore himself to his peak state. But this experience was still very precious to Wang Yan. He became a much more outstanding teacher in terms of experience, mentality and some other subtle aspects.

    Wang Yan allowed Huo Yuhao to take a seat and poured a ss of water for him. ¡°Your body is already fine?¡± he asked.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, and downed the ss of water. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m already fine. I was just exhausted. Teacher Wang, will elder sister¡¯s martial soul turn into an evil martial soul?¡±

    He was the most familiar with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix among everyone. While the evil aura of the original phoenix mes was very obvious, it was suppressed by the phoenix mes. But Huo Yuhao could no longer feel the nobility of the phoenix mes when Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul transformed. It was only left with desperation and violence. This shouldn¡¯t resemble a normal soul master¡¯s martial soul.

    Wang Yan wore a bitter look. ¡°If the ck mes can¡¯t bepletely suppressed, she may be an evil soul master. She¡¯ll even be an extremely powerful one. Elder Xuan mentioned that Xiaotao¡¯s soul power reached Rank 70 after the phoenix mes turned ck. After she obtains seven rings, there¡¯s likely to be another increase. Elder Xuan is also unclear about how much it can potentially increase. But we¡¯ll definitely hope that Xiaotao won¡¯t be an evil soul master. Her awareness will be consumed by the evil darkness. When that happens, she won¡¯t be the original Ma Xiaotao anymore. She¡¯ll be an evil Dark Phoenix.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he said, ¡°What should we do then? Elder sister¡­¡±

    Wang Yan sighed and shook his head. He replied, ¡°At least, we have no solution now. We can only see after we return to the academy. Elder Xuan has already brought Xiaotao back to the academy. He wille back to fetch us after that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief after he heard that Ma Xiaotao had returned to the academy. He had great belief in the academy. He only asked out of curiosity, ¡°Teacher Wang, why do we need Elder Xuan to fetch us? Can¡¯t we go back ourselves? Our injuries aren¡¯t too bad.¡±

    Wang Yan looked at him with a deep gaze and said, ¡°Yuhao, you can¡¯t leave the academy for some time after we return this time. You can¡¯t even leave during the holidays. After bing champions of this tournament, all of you have gone into the spotlight and have be others¡¯ targets. What if someone wants to harm all of you? The academy is only being cautious. Did you forget the Body Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide. ¡°Are you saying that someone will¡­¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and replied, ¡°We can¡¯t exclude that possibility. Those fellows won¡¯t act recklessly with Elder Xuan around. Don¡¯t ever underestimate the evilness of this world. All of you are already so outstanding at such a young age. What about 10, 20 yearster? Our rivals won¡¯t want to see all of you reach the stage where you be threats to them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. Although he wasn¡¯t old, he was much more mature than others of the same age. He understood Wang Yan immediately.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, how¡¯s Wang Dong?¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°His condition is quite stable. Like you, his body was over-drafted. Both of you gave your all in the final. Honestly, your martial soul fusion skills shocked everyone. This is the first time in the continent¡¯s history where 2 twin martial souls managed to unleash 4 martial soul fusion skills. You must both be more aware of your safety precisely because of this. Alright, go take a look at him. Just get whatever you want to eat from the hotel. You¡¯re a star now.¡± Aforted smile appeared on his face after he finished speaking. The way he looked at Huo Yuhao was like how he was looking at his own kid.

    Huo Yuhao always had Wang Dong¡¯s room key, just like how Wang Dong would walk in and out of his room freely.

    Huo Yuhao walked into the room after opening the door.

    Wang Dong was still asleep. His entire body was covered by a warm nket, and only his pale face was revealed.

    His short pinkish-blue hair was very messy as his heady down on the pillow. His charming face appeared much gentler.

    Huo Yuhao sat by the bedside and couldn¡¯t help but pinch his face. He lowered his head and went closer to him before muttering, ¡°He looks exactly the same!¡±

    Yes! Whether it was the hair color or the facial outline, Wang Dong and thedy¡¯s figure were the same. But he was much more innocent, andcked thedy¡¯s charm.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely close to Wang Dong because he was analyzing Wang Dong¡¯s face. At this point, he felt soft hair brushing across his face. A pair of blue eyes appeared in front of him. The long and curly eyshes trembled a little because they had been slightly touched.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked and straightened his back. For some reason, his heartbeat rapidly increased as he was watched by the huge eyes.

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°You dare to pinch my face. You wait¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°You were already awake? Why didn¡¯t you say anything when I came in then?¡±

    Chapter 127.2: The End of the Tournament and the Awards!

    Wang Dong snorted and replied, ¡°Why must I make any sound? I wanted to see what you were up to. Indeed, I discovered your intention!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Whatever. Wang Dong, aren¡¯t you extremely weak now, and can¡¯t use any of your energy?¡±

    Although Wang Dong was awake, his voice was very weak. His condition was just like Huo Yuhao when he just woke up.

    Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Do you think everyone is as fit as you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed teasingly, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re weak too. What can you do if I pinch your face?¡± As he said, he used both his hands to pinch Wang Dong¡¯s face. He even twisted his cheeks a few times.

    Wang Dong¡¯s charming face was twisted till a weird shape was formed. Even his lips couldn¡¯t help but pout.

    ¡°You, you rascal¡­¡± Wang Dong spoke unclearly.

    Huo Yuhao rxed his grip on Wang Dong¡¯s face before patting his neck. He said, ¡°You should behave yourself more since you¡¯re already so weak. Haha, I¡¯m enjoying this feeling.¡±

    Wang Dong was furious till his face turned red. He red at Huo Yuhao, but a slightughing intent shed across the depths of his eyes subconsciously.

    The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had finally concluded, and they had managed to defend Shrek¡¯s glory. They were even the ones who had decided victory in the final.

    They were much more rxed now that the intense tournament was over. That¡¯s why Huo Yuhao had behaved in this way now.

    Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong smiling too, but he was trying to conceal his smile.

    ¡°Wang Dong, aren¡¯t we the best?¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned as he looked into his eyes. The fury on his face disappeared, and he nodded slightly. ¡°Yes, we are. We¡¯re the champions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled brightly, but tears started to appear in his eyes. He bent his waist suddenly and crawled up to Wang Dong¡¯s body before hugging him tightly.

    ¡°Thanks, Wang Dong.¡±

    Wang Dong was in a daze. He could sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden emotional outburst, but he didn¡¯t know what to do or say at this moment. But he stretched out his arms slowly. Though he was weak, he still managed to hug Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao muttered, ¡°From the day I left the Duke¡¯s Mansion, I swore to avenge my mother when I returned. I must be stronger than all of them, and make them pay the price for the torment my mother bore for more than 10 years. I even wanted to end the Duke¡¯s bloodline.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how childish this mentality was then.¡±

    ¡°I met eldest senior and Teacher Xiao Ya in Star Dou Forest. I only realized how small and weak I was after I entered Shrek Academy. I worked so hard to fulfil the stubborn desire I had. However, I realized how impractical it was the more things I learned. I¡¯m just a weak orphanpared to the Duke¡¯s Mansion. I can¡¯t threaten them in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°There was even a period of time when I was filled with destion. I didn¡¯t think I stood a chance in my life anymore. It was you and everyone that made me feel warm. I¡¯m really fortunate to have met Teacher Xiao Ya and eldest senior. I¡¯m even more fortunate to have met you. It¡¯s all of you that enabled me to join Shrek¡¯s big family. It¡¯s all of you that made me feel the warmth and friendship I never felt when I was younger.¡±

    ¡°We came hand-in-hand to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and even obtained the championship. From that moment onwards, I realized that not everything is possible because of hard work. Wang Dong, thanks for giving me courage and helping to be stronger. You¡¯ll always be my best brother.¡±

    After listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Wang Dong¡¯s gaze turned extremely gentle. Even his arms developed more strength to hug Huo Yuhao tighter.

    The two of them maintained this position for a few minutes, while one side of Wang Dong¡¯s pillow was drenched by Huo Yuhao¡¯s flowing tears.

    ¡°Hey¡­ you¡¯re crushing me.¡± After a long while, Wang Dong finally managed to squeeze these words out of his mouth.

    Huo Yuhao bounced up unwittingly, but only saw Wang Dong smiling at him. Seeing his charming face, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but pinch his face again.

    ¡°Wang Dong, how great it would be if you were a girl just like the appearance of the Rainment of Light revealed that day.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    Wang Dong¡¯s face turned red, and he answered, ¡°Even if I¡¯m a girl, what has that got to do with you?¡±

    A few teardrops still continued to cling to Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t even realize, and chuckled, ¡°Of course it concerns me. Then I¡¯ll cling onto you shamelessly. Elder Xu said that a good girl is afraid of clingy guys, and that he¡¯ll manage to win over Jiang Nannan one day. Oh yes, do you have a sister at home? You can introduce her to me. It¡¯s better to benefit someone you know than outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Pui!¡± Wang Dong¡¯s face turned red, but he didn¡¯t turn to look at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao thought that he was angry, and said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Don¡¯t take it for real!¡±

    Wang Dong twisted his head suddenly, ¡°What do you mean by that? You can¡¯t take back your words. Let me tell you, I really have an elder sister.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes opened wide as he looked at him, ¡°Is that for real?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s real,¡± Wang Dong said seriously, ¡°I have an older twin sister. She was born 2 hours earlier than me. If you really want to know her, I can introduce you to her. She¡¯s in another academy now. That¡¯s because my family is worried about her being too far due to her gender and her beautiful looks. But my elder sister¡¯s martial soul is just like mine. Our Shrek Academy allows outstanding individuals to join the inner courtyard test. Maybe my elder sister will join too when we take the test a few yearster. I can introduce you to her then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Wang Dong, ¡°Older twin sister? Does that mean she looks just like you?¡±

    Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Obviously. How can we be twins if we don¡¯t look alike? I believe she¡¯ll look just like the appearance of the Rainment of Light that we disyed that day. Why? Are you moved? If you listen to me, I can consider introducing her to you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled before shaking his head. He said, ¡°Forget it. If your sister is so pretty, why would she fall for me? I was just kidding. That Rainment of Light was indeed ravishing.¡±

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate yourself. Do you still think that you¡¯re lousy? Twin martial souls, ultimate martial soul. A member of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament champions. You¡¯re even a main driving force of the team. Who are you lousier than among those of the same age? Of course, even I am a little off from you too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. Yes! Who was he inferior to? After he questioned himself, he discovered it was difficult to answer his own question.

    Wang Dong was cross as he said, ¡°Stop spacing out. Help me recover. Are you still human? You only know how to bully me, but not help me recover my strength.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, okay.¡± Huo Yuhao rushed to grab both his hands. He slowly injected his Mysterious Heaven Technique soul power into Wang Dong¡¯s body.

    Wang Dong was equally exhausted, but his passageways were resilient. They didn¡¯t show any signs of damage.

    The nourishing effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power was extremely great. Along with Huo Yuhao¡¯s life aura in his soul power, Wang Dong restored his soul power very quickly. The Haodong Power even managed to start circting again.

    The two of them worked together and used less than 2 hours. When the sky outside turned dark, Wang Dong¡¯s soul power had almost been fully restored. He was no longer in a weakened state.

    Huo Yuhao let go of Wang Dong¡¯s hands as he let out a long breath, ¡°Alright, you should be muchfortable now. Let¡¯s stop cultivating today and have a good rest. Let¡¯s go and have some food.¡±

    Wang Dong sat up suddenly, and he quickly used his hands to pinch Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks. He revealed a cheeky look on his face after he twisted Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist, and let Wang Dong pinch him. ¡°Your petty mentality is too great.¡±

    Wang Dong opened his eyes wide and increased his strength, ¡°My petty mentality is too great? Who¡¯s the one who started it? I shall pinch you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao screamed in pain, ¡°I didn¡¯t use so much force. If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯m going to retaliate!¡±

    As he spoke, both his hands had already reached below Wang Dong¡¯s armpits.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Wang Dongughed loudly.

    The two of them were continued to have fun in their room.

    ---

    Shrek Academy. Sea God¡¯s Ind. Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. In a quiet chamber.

    Ma Xiaotaoy on a smooth, white bed. The ck mes that kept oning out from her body had disappeared, but she still looked extremely pale. Her face even shed with ayer of ck gas at times.

    A golden light barrier covered this bed. It seemed as if Ma Xiaotao had been sealed.

    There were two people standing at her bedside. On the left was the Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department¡¯s dean, Yan Shaozhe. Beside him was an elder in his declining years.

    The elder seemed unable to straighten his back. Although he stood there, his body seemed to be bent at a 90-degree angle. He held a crutch with both his hands, with which supported his body.

    Yan Shaozhe wore a serious look as he looked at Ma Xiaotao and said in a deep voice, ¡°Teacher, I think this is just a temporary measure even though we used the Manifold Mysterious Ice Bed and your power of light to seal Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Dark Phoenix mes. Those Dark Phoenix mes are extremely domineering. Once they break free from the restraints, things will get messy. Xiaotao¡¯s senses will also¡­¡±

    Chapter 127.3: The End of the Tournament and the Awards!

    This elder was Shrek Academy¡¯s Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the most powerful person in Shrek Academy¡ªElder Mu.

    No wonder he alwaysid down in a recliner chair. He had an unmentionable disease that prevented his back from straightening. Who would have expected that he possessed the powers of a Transcendent Douluo? He even had a respectable status.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s also my first time seeing this Dark Phoenix me. I also took a look at the sword that Little Xuan (Elder Xuan) passed to me. What a Judgement Sword. It can actually turn any soul power to the powers of light and darkness at will. My estimates of soul tools are already very great, but who could have expected that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s development in this aspect was even beyond my imagination?¡±

    ¡°Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul experienced a transformation because that Judgement Sword¡¯s power of darkness could enter her body and stimte the evil aura that was suppressed. Theyplemented each other and took control of her body. Xiaotao resisted with her resilience and fought for control of her own body. Although the will of the evil force is extremely strong, she still has a fire-type body. A huge collision urred between both parties in her body.¡±

    ¡°Xiaotao is a very resilient person. She doesn¡¯t bend. I can imagine how she was willing to perish alongside the other party when that came along. Although she was obviously inferior, she managed to force the power of darkness and evil topromise. They stopped shing with her and infused into the phoenix mes directly, hoping to assimte her. Xiaotao also used the transformation time to unleash an obstinate blow and achieved victory.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right about one point. The greater the suppression, the greater the bacsh. After the evil will and power of darkness were infused into the phoenix mes, they initiated a mad transformation. I¡¯m also unclear on the details, but not everything¡¯s bad.¡±

    Upon hearing Elder Mu¡¯s words, Yan Shaozhe was shocked. ¡°Teacher, isn¡¯t this bad enough? If we didn¡¯t control Xiaotao, she would¡¯ve be an evil soul master!¡±

    Elder Mu tilted his head and nced at him. He furrowed his brows before saying, ¡°You¡¯re almost a hundred too. Why¡¯re you still so surprised by things? You¡¯re good in other aspects, but your character is wed. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have asked Lin¡¯er to restrict your authority.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was petrified and answered respectfully, ¡°Yes, Teacher. I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know you¡¯re wrong,¡± Elder Mu said indifferently, ¡°you must be calm in dealing with matters. There are always two sides to a coin. Yes, Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes did get contaminated and can¡¯t suppress the evilness within like in the past. But the power of darkness can stimte the most primitive power of her phoenix mes. Otherwise, how could these ck mes be so powerful?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was also very powerful, and had the cultivation of a Transcendent Douluo. He also spent his life immersed in the study of martial souls. After hearing Elder Mu¡¯s words, he understood, ¡°Teacher, are you saying that Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix has evolved following this transformation?¡±

    Elder Mu nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. It didn¡¯t just evolve. It evolvedpletely too. Besides the fact that she can¡¯t control it, I dare to im that her mes are the strongest existence of fire currently. In other words, they¡¯ve formed the Ultimate Fire.¡±

    ¡°Phoenix mes form Ultimate Fire naturally, but the evil aura in Xiaotao¡¯s body prevented the mes from being pure. Her lineage has always experienced this problem. The transformation in her martial soul has initiated the power of her phoenix¡¯s primitive bloodline. Although it has turned into a Dark Phoenix, its powers are still very great. If Xiaotao were awake, she could fight an ordinary Titled Douluo with her seven-ringed cultivation right now.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes shed with radiance. ¡°Ultimate Fire. It¡¯s indeed the Ultimate Fire. However, it¡¯s a pity that Xiaotao can¡¯t control her Ultimate Fire in her current condition!¡±

    Elder Mu sighed, ¡°That¡¯s why I say that there are two sides to a coin. We can only seal her here for now. Otherwise, she may be the strongest evil soul master in the continent¡¯s history if she loses control. Once her cultivation reaches a Titled Douluo¡¯s level, it¡¯ll be difficult to suppress her anymore. The development of evil soul masters has always been very frightening.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said with a look of worry, ¡°But we can¡¯t just leave her like that. I can feel the Dark Phoenix¡¯s mes growing in her body. There¡¯ll be a day when we can¡¯t suppress it anymore. Once that dayes, will we really have to¡­¡±

    Elder Mu shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too anxious. It¡¯s not entirely hopeless yet. We can¡¯t be hasty right now.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a while. ¡°Teacher, you have a solution?¡±

    Elder Mu whispered something.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded repeatedly after hearing his words and became more relieved, ¡°We can only do it this way since this is the case. When the timees, I¡¯ll be the bad guy. We have no choice anyway.¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°The other kids are almost back. I can¡¯t believe they were able to defend Shrek¡¯s glory even though they were so much weaker. Their achievements are beyond conceivable. After this experience, they will have a lot of room to improve. The academy will also not be stingy with them for what they¡¯ve contributed.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was moved, ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t worry. We shall reward them ording to what we discussed. When Wang Yan returns and rtes the entire tournament process, I will record everything into the academy¡¯s history books, and they will be orded with unprecedented rewards.¡±

    Star Luo City also regained its peace after the tournament ended.

    The prize ceremony wasn¡¯t made public, and it wasn¡¯t grand either. But the prizes were top-quality.

    The runners-up, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, left Star Luo City on the second day after the tournament ended under the charge of their teacher and returned to the Sun Moon Empire.

    Shrek Academy waited one more day for Elder Xuan. Besides receiving gold soul coins, they were also given 4 soul bones as their prize. They were offered the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone apart from the 3 soul bones normally given to the champions.

    The Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei wanted to invite Elder Xuan to choose from the imperial treasury, but he was declined by Elder Xuan. As the strongest individual from Shrek Academy that revealed himself to the external world, he didn¡¯t want to have too much to do with the Star Luo Empire. Wang Yan represented the academy to make the choice eventually. He understood his students sufficiently well, and his discernment of soul bones wasn¡¯t inferior to Elder Xuan either.

    The Star Luo Emperor felt the pinch with his final choice, but he was helpless too.

    The value of the 3 soul bones couldn¡¯t just be measured using money anymore. The pressure brought about by the tournament prizes was also one of the reasons why the tournament was organized by a different empire every time. All semifinalists were awarded prizes, but only the champion was given 3 soul bones, and the runners-up were given 1 soul bone.

    The soul bones had no lives on their own; they could only exert their effects when they were absorbed. That was why empires and sects often gave their soul bones directly to their outstanding sessors. The greatest difference between a soul bone and soul ring was that a soul bone remained after a soul master perished, but a soul ring disappeared.

    Soul masters had been around for several ten thousands of years. Although soul bones could be umted, there were far less of them than soul masters. More importantly, the world of soul masters had gradually developed a method to synthesize soul bones through research. This was because of the increasing demand for soul bones. If not for the rapid development of soul tools and the conflict between the Sun Moon & Douluo Continents, the most advanced research in the Douluo Continent would probably be in the synthesis of soul bones.

    The so-called synthesis of soul bones referred tobining a few pieces of rted soul bones using a special method. This would form a brand-new soul bone. The synthesized soul bone was likely to be more powerful, but they would also be damaged in half of all instances.

    There were very few people who dared to synthesize soul bones because of how valuable soul bones were.

    When Huo Yuhao fused with the Ice Empress¡¯ skeleton, he had used a Secret Law soul bone. It was considered a type of soul bone synthesis. But because the Ice Empress¡¯ skeleton was too powerful and the synthesis was even controlled directly by the Ice Empress, there was no way that it could have failed.

    Elder Xuan only took a day to make the round trip between Star Luo City and Shrek Academy. He didn¡¯t allow Wang Yan to allocate the 4 pieces of soul bones, but paid for Shrek¡¯s expenditures in the Starlight Auctionce first. After that, he instructed everyone to pack up and return to Shrek Academy. He could only rx once they were back in the academy.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had fully recovered. Bei Bei, Ling Luochen and Dai Yueheng were also fine after they dispelled their poison. Jiang Nannan¡¯s injury, however, wasn¡¯t light, and she was still in the process of recovery. Xu Sanshi was the most heavily injured one. He only woke up after 2 days in aa. But he was still so weak that it was difficult for him to speak, and would need some time to recuperate.

    Elder Xuan returned from Shrek Academy and brought sufficient flying-type soul tools. He led everyone personally just like the previous time. He unleashed his soul power to protect both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. The rest used the flying-type soul tools to fly just like they had when they left the academy.

    On the second morning after they collected their prize, everyone from Shrek changed into ordinary attire. Without alerting the Star Luo Empire¡¯s officials, they snuck out of Star Luo City and flew towards Shrek Academy. It was time to return home! The anxiety that they had felt when they first came had turned into pride and glory.

 Chapter 128: The Light of the Seagods Pavillion

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    This was a spacious great hall, and every decoration was styled with metal, and were mainly pale-gold in color. The ornaments weren¡¯t extravagant, but they were full of tactile qualities. A horizontal inscribed board hung from the top of the great hall¡¯s entrance, and the enormous pale-gold characters had an intimidating feeling about them ¨C Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    ¡°Stand up.¡± There was a person sitting in a chair in the center of the great hall¡¯s inner regions. He looked not more than forty years of age, and he wasn¡¯t tall, yet he was robust. A simpler way of exining his appearance would be that he was short and plump.

    Long hair wasn¡¯t suitable for a person with a short and plump build, but he had a flowing lock of long reddish-brown hair that draped behind his head, and this made his short and thick neck even more obscure.

    There was a person prostrate on the ground, and he stood up at this moment as if he had just received great amnesty.

    ¡°Please punish me, Hallmaster. I failed to lead the team to sess.¡± This person¡¯s appearance became apparent once he stood up; it was the teacher that had led the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s students into the finals. However, his face was ovee with a haze of terror, and it appeared as if he was as frightened as he could possibly be.

    The short and plump middle-aged man was actually the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s famous Hallmaster, and that meant he was also Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s grandfather. One wouldn¡¯t be able to tell his age purely from his appearance.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. There were many coincidences and unforeseen circumstances that you couldn¡¯t control. Furthermore, you and your students¡¯ takeaways have been rtively fruitful even though a few people perished. As for the Judgment Sword, I will personally visit Shrek Academy, as we can¡¯t let it end up in their hands. The grandpetition¡¯s results actually turned out to be disappointing, but I cannot be bothered with defeating Shrek Academy when they are having some internal issues.¡±

    The Hallmaster¡¯s magnanimity and mercy took the teacher in charge by surprise, as the Hallmaster¡¯s temper wasn¡¯t so mellow if memory served. He raised his head and stole a glimpse, and he realized that there was a faint smile on the Hallmaster¡¯s pudgy face, as if he wasn¡¯t furious at all.

    ¡°Thank you, Hallmaster.¡± Only then did the teacher in charge dare to heave a sigh of relief.

    The Hallmaster¡¯s mood seemed to be on cloud nine. ¡°Do you know which of your harvests I¡¯m most satisfied with?¡±

    The teacher-in-charge tested the waters and said, ¡°Is it because of the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo?¡±

    The Hallmaster shook his head and answered, ¡°No. That may be part of the harvest, but we have also given uprge amounts of wealth, so that can only be said to be a fair exchange. Of course, the embryo in our hands is different from the embryo ending up in other people¡¯s hands, but it has also brought much trouble to us. There have already been three batches of people who have attempted to steal it from the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and this exemplifies the crime of treasuring a cherished item. Furthermore, there¡¯s still the Godsealing Avatar. The Godsealing Avatar isn¡¯t worth much amongst the other ss 9 soul tools, but it can only be forged by ss 9 soul engineers. I do want to know which ss 9 soul engineer from the Sun Moon Empire sold this supreme treasure to the Star Luo Empire instead of handing it over to the Illustrious Virtue Hall.¡±

    A hostile re flickered in the Hallmaster¡¯s eyes as he spoke thatst sentence, and this terrified the teacher in charge so much that he got down on his knees once more.

    ¡°Continue guessing,¡± the Hallmaster went on with a in voice.

    ¡°The¡­ The¡­¡± Beads of sweat were breaking out on the teacher in charge¡¯s head, ¡°Can it be the information we have obtained regarding Shrek Academy¡¯s students?¡±

    The Hallmaster answered, ¡°That can be considered a part of it. Three twin martial souls ¨C Shrek Academy is truly extraordinary, and they also have an Ultimate martial soul. Shrek Academy has already agreed to an exchange between our respective students, but the news from yesterday stated that the exchange will have to be pushed back due to some internal reasons in the academy. They will decide the exact postponement after their investigation. It seems like they¡¯re afraid of us making a move on their students! Still, I have to admit that Shrek Academy is the best in the entire Continent at attracting talents and soul masters. It¡¯s a pity. However, this still isn¡¯t the greatest takeaway from your expedition.¡±

    The teacher in charge was a little lost as he gazed at the Hallmaster with perplexed eyes.

    The Hallmaster gradually stood up. He wasn¡¯t even one-and-a-half meters tall, but his girth was definitely over a meter-and-a-half. He ced his hands behind his back, and there was a flowing ck robe embroidered with golden patterns covering his bulbous tummy.

    He sauntered before the teacher in charge as he suddenly raised his leg and sent him tumbling with a kick. ¡°The only reason why I¡¯m not going to kill you is because you have let Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen realize the danger and urgency from thispetition, and they now know it¡¯s time to focus and buck up. They took the initiative and requested to go into closed-door cultivation when they came back, and that is the greatest takeaway from your expedition. Get lost, and don¡¯t let me see you in the near future ¨C if not, I will remember all the children who have passed away, and I will send you to the grave to apany them.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes¡­¡± The teacher in charge was ted instead of feeling angry, as he knew he was going to live. He didn¡¯t even bother getting up, and just crawled out of the room.

    The Hallmaster¡¯s brows creased as he watched him crawl away. ¡°The Taotie Douluo was personally at Star Luo City to hold down the fort. Fine! We shall meet again during the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament five yearster, and we shall see if the Taotie can hold back this toad. Hmph!¡±

    He turned around and walked towards the back of the hall. He strolled through the main hall and stopped before a metal statue by a certain spot in the wall. A sphere of light shed before his chest, and a peculiar golden rune was printed onto the wall before him as if it had just flown out from inside his chest.

    The entire wall seemed toe alive in the next instant as it split open into two sides, while gears and machinery crackled within. There were several faint ripples of frightening energy that flickered when the wall first opened up, but the Hallmaster was undeterred and unmoving from beginning to end.

    He stepped into the crack, and the wall closed behind him.

    The Hallmaster arrived in a silent room without any windows at all after ten minutes.

    Everything inside this room was also made of metal. The ceiling, the floor and the walls were all filled with metal sculptures.

    A soul engineer would be able to tell that these metal sculptures had a simr functionality as formation arrays, but they were extremely sophisticated, and emanated a magnificent and elegant feeling.

    There was a squarish metal pir erected in the center of the room. The metal pir was about one and a half meters tall, and there was an object ced on top.

    It was a wooden base, and there were several hundred jewels of a myriad of colors iid on its surface. A sphere of air undted faintly above this wooden base.

    This sphere of air was white. The tender white hues resembled streams of air, and there appeared to be several shapes glimmering faintly within, yet it was hard to perceive its profundity or arcane might simply by looking at it.

    This sphere of air was condensed, and seemed to surge left and right, as it were trying to break out of some barrier. The wooden base beneath it constantly released a barrier of pale-golden light that enveloped the air sphere within throughout the entire struggle, rendering it unable to break free.

    Yes, this wooden base was the Starlight Auction¡¯s final item up that was up for bidding ¨C the Godsealing Altar, and the item sealed inside was the one-hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo.

    The Hallmaster squinted his eyes as he stood before the Godsealing Altar. He actually directly spoke to the one-hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo that was sealed inside the Godsealing Avatar.

    ¡°I can feel your immense power. I have affirmed by spection through various experiments that you¡¯re not a typical hundred thousand year soul beast. Anybody that tries to absorb you and assimte you into a soul ring or a soul bone after obtaining you will definitely die a painful death. I can sense that even a powerful Titled Douluo will find it extremely difficult to absorb your strength, and it might even lead to a toxic bacsh. Am I right?¡±

    The white air sphere grew quiet, as if it were listening intently to the Hallmaster¡¯s voice. A small human figure shimmered within the pale white mist, much like a human infant.

    ¡°Therefore, I believe my guess is correct,¡± the Hallmaster chuckled and said, ¡°I am extremely clear about the Starlight Auction¡¯s background ¨C they belong to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family. Their intentions in putting you up for auction were meant to cause some trouble for me, and for me to wonder: who forged this Godsealing Altar? They wanted to use the fact that a person¡¯s treasure will arouse the envy of others to instigate powerful beings from across the Continent to attack the Illustrious Virtue Hall ¨C so what? Let theme. This is a test for the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s defense mechanisms, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s disciples cannot live a life this smooth, can they?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, because Star Luo City has made a grave mistake, and that is the fact that they hadn¡¯t discovered your true power. That means I will have thestugh. You¡¯re not some typical one-hundred-thousand year soul beast, but a soul beast with at least one hundred ny nine thousand nine hundred and ny-nine years of cultivation, except you haven¡¯t been able to break the bottleneck, am I right? This shouldn¡¯t be the first time you¡¯re attempting the soul beast¡¯s bottleneck, except you weren¡¯t sessful in the end. I¡¯m curious about something ¨C ording to what we humans know about you guys, soul beasts only have one chance to cultivate into human form after the one hundred-thousand year mark. However, how is it that you haven¡¯t broken through the capstone, yet you are still able to do this? I am very curious about this.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, though. We will make the best use of you here. I will study you meticulously, and I will extract every single ounce of energy from you, so that your almost two hundred thousand years of cultivation will not be wasted. This is wonderful ¨C maybe I can even lend you a hand, and help your overall strength break through that bottleneck, so that you will be a transcendent soul beast before I strip your power from you. It may be difficult for normal soul masters to absorb your power, but it¡¯s not that much of a challenge for me. It¡¯s a pity, because I already have nine soul rings, and I can only extract your power to bestow upon my prodigious grandson. Everybody will be in the same family in the end.¡±

    The Hallmaster¡¯s eyes were tender, as if he were speaking to his own child, and there was even a tinge of benevolence within his voice.

    ¡°Sssss¡­¡± The white mist abruptly crashed violently against the Godsealing Altar¡¯s golden light barrier, as if a wail had suddenly appeared in the Hallmaster¡¯s consciousness.

    The Hallmaster continued to grin as he said, ¡°You should count yourself lucky, as there are hardly any treasures that are worthy of my emphasis and my cherishment. Do you know what a person¡¯s greatest agony is when he or she has reached the pinnacle? It¡¯s theck of happiness. I can feel this blissful sensation from you, and I believe this blissfulness will be with me for quite a long time.¡±

    ------

    At Shrek Academy¡¯s main gate.

    It was almost midday, and it was still lesson time. Shrek Academy¡¯s main gate felt extremely tranquil today as the myriad of vendors and merchants that would gather here on typical days were all absent. There were five people standing before the enormous gateway.

    The person standing in front was Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Deparment¡¯s Dean, Yan Shaozhe, and the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean, Xiao Lin¡¯er.

    The three people behind them were: the Martial Soul Department¡¯s vice-Dean, Cai Mei¡¯er, the Soul Tool Department¡¯s vice-Dean, Qian Duoduo and the Soul Tool Department¡¯s core teacher, Fan Yu, who was also Huo Yuhao¡¯s mentor.

    The four Deans were all present along with Fan Yu, who was almost set to be the Soul Tool Department¡¯s next vice-Dean. This group was substantial and monumental, but they were not apanied by other teachers.

    Their heads were slightly tilted as they nced towards the far end of the horizon, and everyone was standing silently in wait.

    Several figures that looked like tiny ck dots gradually drifted into view one after another in the skies in the distance, and descended from the sky as the five of them looked on.

    ¡°They have returned.¡± A faint smile broke out on Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face.

    Xian Lin¡¯er took a step forward and muttered, ¡°They¡¯re finally back.¡± Her eyes flowed with obvious excitement and exhration, and it was a wonder she wasn¡¯t trying to oppose Yan Shaozhe at every avable opportunity like normal.

    Yes, the five of them were here to wee the return of Shrek Academy¡¯s heroes.

    Several figures flitted onto the ground. The first person that came into view was the slovenly-dressed Elder Xuan, and he waved hisrge hand, and the others descending behind him caught the two stretchers in the sky.

    Xu Sanshi was still unconscious on the stretcher, but Jiang Nannan was wide awake. She was so thrilled when she saw the words ¡°Shrek Academy¡± across the enormous gate that tears of excitement flooded from her eyes.

    Even though they hadn¡¯t even been gone for two months, they had experienced and gone through far too much over these two months.

    Bei Bei and Dai Yueheng caught Xu Sanshi¡¯s stretcher, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were responsible for Jiang Nannan¡¯s stretcher. Everybody¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement, and the younger ones all began to tear up.

    They had been through so much suffering, but they managed to defend Shrek¡¯s honor and glory. They were finally home, and they were finally standing before the main gate that they were so familiar with.

    ¡°Wee home, children.¡± Yan Shaozhe and the others strode forward and weed them with open arms. All five of them paid their respects to Elder Xuan as they spoke before they arrived before Shrek Academy¡¯s marvelous students.

    Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei¡¯er managed to suppress their emotions, but Fan Yu couldn¡¯t control himself, and lunged forward as he pulled Huo Yuhao and He Caitou over. He scrutinized his two dear disciples, and only heaved a sigh of relief after he was sure that they were in one piece.

    He Caitou swallowed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t embarrass you master. I didn¡¯t embarrass Shrek.¡±

    Fan Yu nced at him, and then at Huo Yuhao beside him, whose face was flowing with tears, and he grabbed the both of them into a bear hug as he said, ¡°Silly child. I am not afraid of you guys disappointing me ¨C all I wish for is that everyone returns home safely!¡±

    This period of time was way too torturous and agonizing for Fan Yu. He wasn¡¯t even supposed to be here, as he was not yet the Soul Tool Department¡¯s vice-Dean.

    Fan Yu hadn¡¯t enjoyed a single day of peace ever since the main team members had returned with heinous injuries, and his heart began to beat out of his chest when Elder Mu decided to let Shrek Academy continue on in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with an iplete team. He was extremely aware that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament wasn¡¯t an entirely safepetition, and participants died almost time.

    He only had two direct disciples! Fan Yu and Zhou Yi didn¡¯t have their own children, and he had long treated He Caitou and Huo Yuhao as his own children. There were several times when he wanted to venture into Star Luo City, but was stopped by Qian Duoduo.

    How could Fan Yu not be ted, now that his prized disciples had returned home? This hardened man couldn¡¯t help it, and tears cascaded down his cheeks in an instant.

    The four Deans shook hands with the group before they personally led them all back into the academy. A small boat was already waiting on the the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯s shore.

    Everybody exchanged looks with one another as they turned towards the Deans with astonished looks on their faces.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and said, ¡°You have sacrificed so much for the academy. You continued on in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with an iplete team, and eventually brought home the championship. This record will forever be etched into Shrek Academy¡¯s history, and the conference held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion has decided that everyone shall be rewarded ¨C on the Sea God¡¯s Ind, inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    Neither Huo Yuhao nor Wang Dong knew what the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was about, but Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen were aware, and they instantly reacted with intense shock.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was Shrek Academy¡¯s cardinal location for official businesses and meetings, and it was also Shrek Academy¡¯s actual treasury. Shrek Academy¡¯s top secrets were all kept there, and nobody was allowed to enter besides the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s Elders and the four Deans under normal circumstances. The opportunity to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was an incredible honor. Both Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen had never heard of any student who had been allowed to go inside, and this was the case even for their seniors that participated in the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament and eventually took home the crown.

    Everybody got onto the boat, and Yan Shaozhe personally checked Xu Sanshi¡¯s health. He immediately passed on an order for both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan to remain on Sea God¡¯s Ind for treatment and recovery.

    Huo Yuhao knew that the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion existed, but he didn¡¯t really know anything much about it. He was anxious and excited when he was told that he was about to set foot on the ind. Sea God¡¯s Ind had something that was touted as the most impressive cradle for soul masters across the entire Continent ¨C Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard!

    The fact that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were able to visit the ind at such a young age was enough to excite them.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯s surface area was immense, and it was farrger than the rest of Shrek Academy added together. The boat pierced through theyers of mist, and the shape of an ind gradually drifted into view after about fifteen minutes

    The Sea God¡¯s Ind only appeared to be roughly two square kilometers, and its surface wasn¡¯t t and smooth at all. Instead, it seemed like a small mountain, with all kinds of buildings constructed upon it. The structures that were usually obscured behind theyers of dense mist finally appeared right before their eyes, and the excitement in their eyes grew ever more radiant.

    Even though everything was unfamiliar and novel, these things were still the stuff of legends to them.

    Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t let someone take Xu Sanshi away to rest yet. Instead, he took them all and stepped along a narrow stone path towards the Sea God¡¯s Ind¡¯s inner regions.

    Sea God¡¯s Ind was extremely quiet, almost as if it were uninhabited. Everything just seemed too tranquil and serene, and the entire ce felt like Shangri. The various pavilions and structures that were hidden within a myriad of tall and endless vegetation appeared graceful and elegant. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time here, but he fell in love with it at first sight.

    The vegetation here had more than a few thousand years of history, and some trees were even a hundred meters tall. The air along the trail was fresh, and all that vegetation blocked everyone¡¯s vision. There was a mysterious and enigmatic feeling as they sauntered along the footpath, as if they were just inside the mountain.

    It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach a position near the mountain summit, and a single pavilion immediately appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes.

    This was a three-storey building, and the entire structure was gray and made of wood. It appeared simple and unadorned, yet there were tinges of vicissitudes upon it. One would realize upon closer inspection that there was ayer of grease-like light on the structure¡¯s wooden body.

    The three-storey building was about ten meters tall, and it didn¡¯t feel grand or magnificent at all. However, a ck horizontal inscribed board hung from the top of the first level¡¯s entrance, and three radiant golden words announced the building¡¯s identity ¨C Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Everybody developed a solemn and respectful feeling as they saw these three words. Judging by the distance, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was not only close to the mountain summit, but was also near the ind¡¯s center.

    Yan Shaozhe stopped before the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s entrance and turned towards the Shrek team members with a faint smile on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t let Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan rest because I wanted them to have the experience of stepping into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    He turned back towards the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after exining himself, and he bowed respectfully and said, ¡°They¡¯re back, teacher.¡±

    Everybody was taken aback when they heard ¡°teacher¡±. Both Dai Yueheng¡¯s and Ling Luochen¡¯s faces were stricken with shock, even though they were disciples from the inner courtyard.

    Yan Shaozhe was the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean, and his status was already extremely high in the minds of the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples. Even Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t as important to them as Yan Shaozhe due to the differences in their responsibilities. Never once did they expect that Yan Shaozhe¡¯s teacher was still alive.

    ¡°Come in, everyone.¡± An old voice rang out, and a scene that astonished everyone appeared before their eyes.

    The three-storey Sea God¡¯s Pavilion that was just as unassuming as it could be suddenly brightened without warning right before them. Radiant beams of golden light glowed, and the entire pavilion became golden, as if it were a building made entirely from pure gold.

    The thick but tender golden light drifted down and enveloped everyone within. The warm and dense light aura nourished everyone¡¯s bodies, and all the exhaustion that they had brought back from their long road home was swept away in an instant. Xu Sanshi was still in a deep sleep, but his body quivered and gradually came to.

    Wang Dong¡¯s experience was the deepest. His body emanated transparent golden hues that interacted with this sudden burst of golden light, and his left arm was evenpletely golden in color as it sparkled radiantly. That pure golden luster was extremely bright and vivid, and it felt as if colors were flowing out from it.

    The Shrek team members and even Wang Yan subconsciously shut their eyes as they were bathed within the golden light. The four Deans, Fan Yu and Elder Xuan quietly stepped into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. They weren¡¯t affected by the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s sudden outburst of light.

    The expression in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes was a little peculiar as he released the soul power in his body. The bluish-purple lightning radiance disappeared, and faint dragon roars could be heard from within the flickering golden lights.

    Everybody who closed their eyes had different sensations. Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t as great as Wang Dong¡¯s, but the astonishment he experienced was extremely intense as well.

    The vitality of heaven and earth in the air became a lot denser, and the three powerful beings that were slumbering within his body awakened at the same time. These three powerful beings didn¡¯t unleash their respective auras, and neither did they attempt to interact with Huo Yuhao. Only Electrolux subtly passed Huo Yuhao a thought, telling him that the person who possessed this light aura was exceptionally formidable, and was almost at his level of cultivation when he was still alive. The Ice Empress, Skydream and he had to hide themselvespletely, as they ran the risk of being discovered by the owner of this light energy even though they were inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Could he be more powerful than Elder Xuan? Huo Yuhao felt the muscles in his heart tighten. His original perception was that Elder Xuan and the several Deans were supremely powerful beings. It appeared, however, that the academy¡¯s strength didn¡¯t stop there ¨C this was Yan Shaozhe¡¯s mentor!

    However, these thoughts in his mind dissipated after a while, and he entered a meditative state while standing inside the dense and thick light aura. He channeled the Mysterious Heaven Technique, and he could clearly feel his cultivation rising linearly with every cirction.

    His body¡¯s endurance had be a lot more powerful after the Life Gold¡¯s regtion and harmonization, and his life energy had also be much more bountiful. Even his Eye of Life started to itch as he soaked himself within the dense light aura ¨C it was subconsciously absorbing the life energy in the air.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power circted smoothly, and the dense vitality in the air seemed to flow directly into his soul. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was originally at around Rank 28, but he was already close to breaking through to Rank 29 after these few moments.

    If felt as if only a minute had passed, yet it also felt like a century. The warm and radiant aura gradually vanished, and everybody woke up from their strange sensations and experiences one after another.

    The first to recover was Dai Yueheng, as his cultivation was the highest, and there was an exhrated look on his face. His soul power improved at a sluggish pace at his current rank, and even raising it by one level was extremely challenging. However, he had felt improvements in his soul power after these few moments, and what was more substantial was that he felt like his soul power had beenpletely rinsed, and was now purer. This was rtively more important than increasing his cultivation directly.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have this sensation was because his soul power had already undergone several simr experiences ¨C the Life Gold¡¯s cleansing and nourishment was only the most prominent episode. Therefore, the light energy¡¯s effect on his body was just a pure boost to his soul power.

    Ling Luochen, Bei Bei and the others gradually came to after Dai Yueheng. Xu Sanshi¡¯s face looked a lot better after he woke up, as if he had just replenished all the vitality that he had lost. He gazed at the three-storey building before him with perplexed eyes as the golden hues gently receded, and he muttered under his breath, ¡°Where am I?¡±

    Jiang Nannan had recovered a little from her injuries since the beginning, and that recovery process had been sped up with this golden light. She got off her stretcher voluntarily and whispered a few sentences in Xu Sanshi¡¯s ear to exin the situation.

    Xu Sanshi looked at her with a dazed look. ¡°Are you alright, Nannan?¡±

    Jiang Nannan shook her head softly, and the expression on her face was a littleplicated.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s just go inside before anything else,¡± Bei Bei said as he carried Xu Sanshi¡¯s stretcher.

    Huo Yuhao had already awoken at this point. He realized, to his pleasant surprise, that his soul power had broken through Rank 29 just like that, and it didn¡¯t feel like a long time had passed when he nced up at the sky.

    What kind of power was this?! The light aura contained dense volumes of life energy ¨C could this be achieved by soul masters?

    Wang Dong was thest to wake up. Huo Yuhao could tell from the look on his face that it was needless to say that he had also benefited greatly from this experience. The golden luster on his left arm was still sparkling, and wasn¡¯t receding quickly.

    They stepped into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in single file after everybody woke up. They had just been baptized by light, and this tiny three-storey building suddenly became incredibly majestic in their eyes. They walked inside with feelings as if they were undergoing a pilgrimage.

    They stepped into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s first level. Everything was just so in and austere, and every single piece of furniture or decoration seemed to be made from this strange wood, just like the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion itself.

    There was a long table in the center of the great hall. The four Deans and Elder Xuan were sitting by the table, while Fan Yu stood behind Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo ¨C it was clear that they didn¡¯t have the status to sit down at this table. There were several other elders sitting on either side of the table. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t recognize most of them, and only the inner courtyard¡¯s Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen could recognize some of them.

    Huo Yuhao and the others stood before the table and couldn¡¯t help but feel a little nervous. Yet, they were also a little excited. This was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and the elderly people sitting before them were the most powerful existences in the academy. This overwhelming feeling and astonishment was amplified when they realized that the four Deans were sitting beside thest seat.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and said, ¡°Wee back, children. Whether or not you¡¯ve heard this before, I will exin it to everyone again. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is the supreme ce for official business and meetings, and conferences held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion will determine the academy¡¯s future direction and path. Everyone here, besides the four Deans, are Elders from the academy, and they have each contributed greatly to the academy.¡±

    ¡°You represented the academy and emerged as champions in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with an iplete team. We have heard of the entire process. Giving everyone the opportunity toe here is the academy¡¯s way of showing our gratitude and rewarding you guys. We hope that you will continue to work hard and not be ovee with pride by what you have achieved.¡±

    Everybody immediately bowed respectfully toward the Elders sitting around the table. They were slightly surprised that Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t introduce the Elders to them.

    This wasn¡¯t because Yan Shaozhe had forgotten ¨C this was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s rule, and giving Huo Yuhao and the others the permission toe in was already an exception. Everything inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion could be said to contain Shrek Academy¡¯s core secrets, and anybody that wasn¡¯t part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion wasn¡¯t allowed to know.

    ¡°I will announce the rewards,¡± Yan Shaozhe said with a deep voice, ¡°Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen bowed respectfully.

    Yan Shaozhe continued, ¡°Both of you are inner courtyard disciples along with Ma Xiaotao, and you guys weren¡¯t able to protect yourrades while executing your surveince task. Your teammates were severely wounded as a result, and this affected our participation in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. That¡¯s a grave mistake.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen hadn¡¯t seen thising at all, and both of them turned pale with fright.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face turned ck as he continued, ¡°What? You wish to dispute that? Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were the team¡¯s main assault-type soul masters. What are assault-type soul masters supposed to do? They have to push forward in the face of danger and protect their teammates. Did you guys done that? Ling Luochen, you are the team¡¯s main control-type soul master, but have you been pulling your weight in controlling battles? If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection that gave you a timely reminder, you wouldn¡¯t even have been able toe back in one piece, no? I can tell from the situation during that time that yourrades were hurt because of yourcency, and because you underestimated the enemy. You are Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard disciples, and was that the battle prowess that you should have disyed? Even the outer courtyard students know the principle that you have to give your best even if you¡¯re stronger ¨C but what about you guys?¡±

    Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen lowered their heads from Yan Shaozhe¡¯s chiding. They didn¡¯t dare to retort against his intimidating speech, and it didn¡¯t help that the Dean was speaking the truth.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice became a little more amiable. ¡°You guys followed the team to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament afterwards. You managed to exercise enough fighting strength due to the sufficient time given by the reserve team¡¯s exemry performance for you to recover and tend your wounds, and ultimately helped the team to win the championship. The academy is well-aware of this achievement. However, you are inner courtyard disciples, and you are also part of the official main team, so you guys will receiveparatively smaller rewards. Your achievements will cancel out your mistakes, and we will not include that in your records and our case files. We hope that you will learn your lesson from this, and bear in mind that life is precious ¨C nobody can have another one.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Dean.¡± Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen heaved a sigh of relief. It would be a serious blemish to their lives if their mistakes were recorded in Shrek Academy¡¯s case files.

    The difference between the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples and those from the outer courtyard was that the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples were bestowed with all kinds of resources, and they received the best mentors and teachings. The academy would naturally expect more from them inparison to the outer courtyard¡¯s students. This was the main reason why Yan Shaozhe dered that they would receive fewer rewards than the reserve team, even though everybody was part of the team that won the championship.

 Chapter 129: Shreks Seven Monsters

    Yan Shaozhe nodded his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s been tough on the both of you this time. Go back and rest. Remember to keep everything you¡¯ve seen in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion a secret. Yueheng, you¡¯vepleted sufficient policing work. You can start preparing for the inner courtyard test.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after they respectfully bade their farewells.

    The two of them only rxed after they had left. Although the elders present didn¡¯t say anything, they still felt the immense pressure at the long table. They were clearly aware that all the elders were Titled Douluo! And most of them were even¡­

    Although they didn¡¯t really receive any important rewards, they weren¡¯t really punished either. At least the tournament was over. As for Dai Yueheng, it also meant that he was going to graduate from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard since Yan Shaozhe told him to prepare for the test. He could return to his empire after that. After cultivating tirelessly for more than 10 years, he could finally embark on a new journey. He was extremely anxious now.

    Only Wang Yan, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were left in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion right now.

    Their excitement had died down after Yan Shaozhe reprimanded both Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen. They were even a little diforted now.

    Yan Shaozhe turned to them and smiled. He said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do all of you think that the academy is being too strict on them? I have to say that these are the academy¡¯s requirements of all our inner courtyard students. The academy has used various forms of resources to nurture the inner courtyard disciples, thus it¡¯s natural that our requirements are high too. You¡¯re also going to be part of the inner courtyard in the near future. All of you will understand then. Alright, it¡¯s time for your rewards. Teacher Wang.¡±

    ¡°Dean Yuan.¡± Wang Yan stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

    Yan Shaozhe said sincerely, ¡°Although we didn¡¯t have all our team members around¡­ four official team members couldn¡¯tpete, and three of the others were even injured, and yet you still managed to lead the team to victory in the tournament. All of us can see how capable you are. You shall be promoted to Shrek Academy¡¯s top-ranked teacher of the inner courtyard.¡±

    Wang Yan said hurriedly, ¡°Dean, I don¡¯t want any reward. It¡¯s not really my effort that won us the tournament. It¡¯s all because of these kids¡¯ hard work. They gave their all and came back from the dead more than once. If the academy really wants to reward someone, they should reward all of them handsomely.¡±

    Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen¡¯s treatment left Wang Yan frightened that the academy would neglect these kids¡¯ hard work!

    Yan Shaozhe smiled slightly and answered, ¡°They¡¯ll be rewarded too. So will you. What I just mentioned wasn¡¯t even considering your reward yet. It¡¯s only just a normal promotion. The real reward for you is that the Sea God¡¯s Hidden Beach will be open to you for a year. You are allowed to read anything you want within this year, but you can only read and research within the Hidden Beach.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± After hearing his reward, Wang Yan didn¡¯t conceal his emotions in front of all the elders. He was so excited that he jumped up, and his face turned red from agitation.

    What was in the Sea God¡¯s Hidden Beach? There were countless solitary copies of books, out-of-print collections and resources. At least in Wang Yan¡¯s eyes, it was the greatest wealth that Shrek Academy possessed! Even the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion elders had to go throughplicated administrative processes to enter the Hidden Beach to read. One year of ess to the Hidden Beach was extremely valuable to Wang Yan.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled upon seeing Wang Yan¡¯s excited behavior. He said, ¡°Teacher Wang, this is the reward that you deserve. We can see your contributions to the academy, as well as your persistence and hard work in your research. I hope that you can learn more from the Sea God¡¯s Hidden Beach over the next year.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Dean, thank you elders.¡± Wang Yan was so excited that he almost bowed all the way to the ground. He would¡¯ve never have imagined that he would be given ess to the Sea God¡¯s Hidden Beach!

    All the elders smiled and nodded their heads at him. In Shrek Academy, only the best were valued. This was applicable even in the aspect of theoretical research, which was considered crucial in the academy. There was one seven-ringed elder in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion who specialized in theoretical research. But he didn¡¯t have such a long lifespanpared to the Titled Douluo. That was why such individuals tend to be lower in numbers in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Yan Shaozhe turned to Huo Yuhao and the rest and he said, ¡°It¡¯s all of your turns.¡±

    ¡°Kids, I can only express my astonishment and awe regarding your performances. Shrek Academy has emerged champions in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament several thousand times. But I am certain that this is one of the most meaningful triumphs that we have achieved, and it deserves to be recorded in our history. Shrek will remember the contributions that all of you have made. All of you are the academy¡¯s true heroes.¡±

    Everyone was moved when they heard Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words. They didn¡¯t expect such an appraisal from the academy. It was glorious to be recorded in Shrek¡¯s history! Everyone suddenly started to feel passionate.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°The academy¡¯s senior management are aware of what all of you have done. All of you have shouldered Shrek¡¯s shining glory. In a tournament that was supposed to merely be training for all of you, you fought unyieldingly, and attained the championship through your efforts. Your brilliance has left all of us astounded. After a conference here in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, we¡¯ve decided to award two different rewards to all of you. The academy was given three soul bones and one extra one as the champions. The extra one is suitable for Huo Yuhao. The academy has also decided to offer three more soul bones, so that each one of the rest of you can receive one soul bone each. All of you will be allowed to choose based on your abilities and special characteristics too.¡±

    Another three soul bones? Everyone was delighted. If each of them was given a soul bone each, there wouldn¡¯t be much of a choice anyway. The reward offered by the academy wasparable to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s!

    But they would be even more shocked by what was toe.

    Yan Shaozhe said in a deep voice, ¡°The soul bones are used to encourage all of you for your efforts in the tournament. But the academy is also going to credit all of you for protecting the academy¡¯s glory. From this moment onwards, the academy shall name the seven of you Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.¡±

    He stopped for a moment before saying seriously, ¡°For life.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao and the others couldn¡¯t help but exim in shock after they heard thosest two words. They stared at Yan Shaozhe with their eyes and mouths wide open. They felt as if their spirits had left their bodies at this moment.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. While these words sounded simple, they held a deep meaning to Shrek Academy, and even the entire Douluo Continent! Ever since the glory held by the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, this name continued to represent greatness up till now. There were only two instances so far in Shrek¡¯s history that anyone possessed this name for life. They were only conferred to inner courtyard disciples that had contributed greatly to the academy. The soul bones were already a huge surprise to all of them, but this lifetime Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters title conferred onto them was much more meaningful!

    The glory that belonged to Shrek would be imprinted onto their bodies and spirits from this moment onwards. They were going to shine for life under this glory that had been shared with them.

    This reward brought such a shock to all of them that it couldn¡¯t be described in words. Huo Yuhao and the rest were all speechless. They finally understood why Yan Shaozhe was so determined to let Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan follow them to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He didn¡¯t just want to censure them, but to give them the opportunity to im their rewards personally! This was an extremely important moment in all their lives. They would regret it for life if they missed this moment!

    Yan Shaozhe said in a deep voice, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion discussed the matter for an entire day before we came up with this reward. It was only decided after a round of voting by the elders and a final decision by the Master. But I must rify one thing first. To ensure the smooth progression of your studies in the academy, this will not be publicized. It will even only be recorded in our history. Before all of you graduate, only all of you will be privy to this. Please don¡¯t make it public.¡±

    They could understand this restriction they had to face. If news of this spread, they would be put into the limelight. This would then affect their normal cultivation and studies.

    As their team leader, Bei Bei could not help but ask, ¡°Dean Yan, does lifetime refer to the time we spend in the academy or¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and replied, ¡°What? Is it so difficult to understand? It¡¯s called lifetime because it¡¯ll be with all of you for your entire lives. Furthermore, this title will not be given to anyone else as long as one of you is still alive. That¡¯s why all of you need to work hard at your cultivation and try to live longer. This glory will then stay with all of you for a longer period of time.¡±

    Bei Bei was delighted, and used his eyes to gesture to the rest. He bowed respectfully towards the four deans and the elders present.

    The others understood him and followed his lead, as they bowed respectfully too.

    Yan Shaozhe stepped to one side and said respectfully to someone at the head of the table, ¡°Teacher, do you have any other instructions?¡±

    Everyone just now realized that there was someone half-lying on the other side of the table. They couldn¡¯t see what he looked like because of their perspective.

    ¡°Kids, your performances were beyond what I expected.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why these rewards are what all of you have earned. But it¡¯s important to realize that this doesn¡¯t mean you will be forever sessful. All of you must live up to the name of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. I hope that all of you can work hard to preserve Shrek¡¯s glory just like you did before. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and He Caitou, the four of you are already beyond soul ancestors. I grant special permission to the four of you to go take the inner courtyard test after this academic year ends. After passing the test, the four of you shall continue to learn in the inner courtyard. The difficulty level of your tests will remain the same.¡±

    Bei Bei and the other 3 looked at one another. Right now, they were all nervous. The test choked many external courtyard disciples, and there were very few who could really be admitted to the inner courtyard. It was impossible for them not to feel anxious, as they were about to undergo the test earlier than was required.

    The frail, elderly voice continued, ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, the three of you shall remain on the Sea God¡¯s Ind temporarily and cultivate alongside me. The three of you will only return to the external courtyard when I think that it¡¯s time. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi shall be guided by Little Xuan, while Jiang Nannan shall be guided by Cai Mei¡¯er. More effort has to be ced on Lin Er, Duo Duo, Fan Yu and He Caitou too. If they don¡¯t pass the test, you will be punished as teachers.¡±

    Although this elderly voice sounded very gentle and benevolent, his words left everyone convinced, and no one doubted his words. All the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion elders and four deans stood up together and bowed towards Elder Mu respectfully.

    ¡°Meeting dispersed.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice became more peaceful.

    All the elders seemed to instantly disappear. The new Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters didn¡¯t even notice their movements clearly.

    Elder Xuan, the four deans and Fan Yu remained.

    ¡°All of you can go too. It¡¯s fine if only Huo Yuhao and the other 2 remain here.¡± Elder Mu waved his hand.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Shaozhe replied respectfully and left with everyone quietly. Bei Bei and He Caitou lifted both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan as they left too. They all nced at Huo Yuhao as they left. They gave him an encouraging look.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion quieted down. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were nervous. The Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion who was half-lying on the main seat was even Dean Yan Shaozhe¡¯s teacher! He was the greatest authoritative figure in Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Kids,e over.¡± Elder Mu gestured towards the three of them.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao walked around the long table quickly and came beside Elder Mu. They all lowered their heads slightly and looked a little nervous.

    ¡°Why? Did the three of you managed to defeat your opponents like this in the tournament? What¡¯s there to be nervous about in front of me when all of you are fearless in front of your opponents? Lift your heads. We¡¯re old friends.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s gentle voice sounded very inspirational.

    Huo Yuhao and the others lowered their heads subconsciously. All they saw was an elder who was in his declining years, but had a face that wore a slight smile and was filled with tenderness.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± The three of them eximed at the same time. They even stared at him directly.

    They wouldn¡¯t have gotten it right even if they had 10,000 guesses. The elder who alwaysid down leisurely in front of the freshmen dorm was actually the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in Shrek Academy! The three of them were so shocked that they became speechless.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s weird, isn¡¯t it? All of you are right, I am that old man! Although I control the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, I¡¯m unwilling to stay here. It¡¯s too boring. How can it be as bustling as your freshman dorm? I can feel the youthful aura, which makes me feel younger too. Sensing all of your vitality and vigor can also prolong my lifespan by a few years.¡±

    ¡°You, you¡­¡± Huo Yuhao discovered that he was stuttering. Whether it was him, Wang Dong or Xiao Xiao, they couldn¡¯t draw the connection between this frail elder and his identity as Shrek¡¯s master.

    Elder Mu lifted one hand and said, ¡°Help me up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rushed forward and lifted Elder Mu¡¯s hand. Elder Mu¡¯s actions were very slow, just like an old man who had one foot in his grave. He stood up from his lying position slowly. But his back continued to be bent at a 90 degrees angle, which was a sorrowful sight.

    Elder Mu¡¯s arms were very delicate. While they felt very warm, they were extremely bony and rigid.

    Elder Mu chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be ostentatious by lying over here. When I was younger, I was injured, and I never recovered from that injury. That¡¯s why I can only bend my back like that. They felt bad for me, so they prepared a reclining chair for me.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his hand and pointed in a direction. Huo Yuhao carefully supported him as they advanced. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed behind. Even now, their eyes were still filled with surprise.

    Elder Muughed slightly as he walked, ¡°Huo Yuhao, I noticed you the first time you entered the freshman dorm. That¡¯s because you are one of the rare few kids who greeted me actively. You¡¯re very courteous. Every time you entered the freshman dorm, you greeted me. That¡¯s very good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what younger ones like me should do.¡± Huo Yuhao replied in a low voice. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao lowered their heads in guilt. They were normally all so focused on learning and cultivating in the external courtyard. How could they be bothered to notice an elder in front of the freshman dorm?

    Huo Yuhao supported Elder Mu all the way to the front of a wall. Elder Mu lifted his hand and pointed out. A streak of golden light suddenly lit up, and everything around them seemed to turn illusory. An intense golden halo surrounded Huo Yuhao and the other two instantly. They only felt that it was extremely bright in front of them. They quickly shut their eyes. There was nothing beneath their feet. When they stepped forward in the next moment, the surrounding golden light had already disappeared.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had disappeared. To their horror, they discovered that they were in a vast hall. This hall seemed to be 100 meters long, and was squarish in shape. Its surface area was simr to thepetition stage of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    There were several tunnels at the sides of the hall that led to unknown ces. There were no windows and everything was enclosed, but the air was very fresh. There was several statues erected inside the hall. They were simr to the ones in Shrek Academy after one entered the academy. Shrek¡¯s founder, the Golden Triangle, and the first-generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. But there were more statues here, and these statues seemed to be made of wood.

    Elder Mu smiled, ¡°Aren¡¯t you all curious as to why the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion doesn¡¯t seem grand? But did any of you realized that the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion wasn¡¯t constructed, but carved out?¡±

    ¡°Carved out?¡± Huo Yuhao and the other 2 were stunned. They didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind those 2 words.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was originally a huge tree, a golden tree that was rarely seen in the world. It was a tree that contained an aura of light and life. The earlier generations used this golden tree as the foundation, and carved out the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion without affecting the life of the golden tree. That¡¯s why the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion doesn¡¯t seem to have been put together, while the various decorations and statues in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were made by the wood that was dug out during the carving process. This golden tree can be said to be the root of Shrek Academy. The three of you will understand its significance in the future.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, go to the first tunnel on the right. At the 10-meter mark, there should be a door. Push the door open and enter the room behind it. Sit on the prayer mat and cultivate there.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned and hesitated for a moment. Huo Yuhao nodded his head at him hurriedly, and he then followed Elder Mu¡¯s instructions. He naturally knew that Elder Mu¡¯s instructions were for his own good, but he was unwilling to be separated from Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, take the third tunnel to the left and enter the second door. Cultivate there too. Whenever the two of you recover from your fixed state, you can return to the external courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Xiao answered hurriedly. Her huge eyes blinked, and she walked to the other side.

    Only Huo Yuhao was left with Elder Mu after the two of them left.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°You can go too. Walk to the end of the first tunnel to the right. There will be a door to a room. Enter the room and start to meditate. You¡¯ll have your answer when youe out.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, elder.¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°My surname is Mu. You can call me Elder Mu.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Elder Mu.¡± Huo Yuhao answered. But he didn¡¯t leave. ¡°Elder Mu, do you need me to take you somewhere to rest first?¡±

    Elder Mu was a little stunned as he twisted his head to look at him. He could only see Huo Yuhao¡¯s sincerity and naturalness from his eyes. There was no deliberate intention at all.

    After patting Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand, he smiled and said, ¡°I can still walk. Go. This closed-door cultivation will be important to all of you. Rx and go over everything that has happened. I believe that you will gain something from this.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao only let go of his hand now and walked towards the first tunnel to the right. When he reached the opening of the tunnel, he stopped in his tracks subconsciously and turned back to look at Elder Mu. Elder Mu was also looking at him. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that Elder Mu was sure this concerned look of his proved that his words previously didn¡¯t contain any other intentions.

    Wang Dong was the first to reach his destination - the first door at the end of the first tunnel to the right.

    The door was wooden, and appeared to be made from the golden tree wood that Elder Mu had mentioned. As he lifted his hand to push at the door slightly, the door opened easily. It was as if it had just utched.

    Wang Dong felt a strong aura of light engulfing him as he opened the door, which almost caused him to suffocate. In the next moment, a wave of suction force appeared and dragged his body into the room.

    Wang Dong¡¯s gaze turned lifeless as he walked into the room. The room was around 10 square metersrge. Countless rhizomes hung from the ceiling and covered the entire four walls, as well as the floor. He wouldn¡¯t be so shocked if they were just stems. He was shocked because these rhizomes were entirely yellowish-golden. The strong aura of life came from these rhizomes.

    In the center of this room, there was a circr mat that subtly shone with a golden radiance. The strong aura of light spread out from above it.

    The concentration of the light element was so great that it almost assumed liquid form.

    Wang Dong only felt that his heart had been cleansed. He even had the same feeling he had experienced when he had first bathed in the golden light before he came to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He understood that the golden light he was being bathed in belonged to the power of the golden tree! But he didn¡¯t know who guided it.

    This wasn¡¯t just a stroke of luck, but fortune. Wang Dong was also very intelligent. He walked forward rapidly and sat cross-legged on the mat.

    A strong wave of light aura suddenly soared up from underneath him. His entire body instantly turned a smooth gold. His soul power circted, and he didn¡¯t even need to do anything before he entered meditation. He wasn¡¯t absorbing the light element now, but the light element was surging into his body.

    His head became unprecedentedly clear. The light element flowed naturally, and his soul power circted at high speed. His spirit was flushed with vigor, and all types of thoughts now seemed very clear in his mind. Different types of sentiments also arose. In just a matter of breaths, he entered the deep meditative state that he once admired Huo Yuhao for.

    It was different from an ordinary meditative state. His mind was working at great speed now, and he began to master the various abilities and experiences that he had as he understood them.

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡± A gentle voice rang in Wang Dong¡¯s heart just as he was experiencing the brilliance of this deep meditative state. The sudden appearance of this voice caused his senses to be jolted.

    ¡°Elder Mu?¡± Wang Dong thought to himself.

    ¡°Continue to meditate without messing up your thoughts. Listen to me, you just need more time toprehend things. Your twin martial souls are the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer. They¡¯re two outstanding martial souls. The former is more of an element-type, while thetter is more of a strength-type. Both martial souls are suitable to be your main martial soul. It seems like you chose the former. You should have learned in the external courtyard that different martial souls will lead to different results when mastered in different environments. It¡¯s more beneficial to a soul master if he cultivates in an environment most suited to his martial soul.¡±

    ¡°All of you are in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion Underground World. There are 108 rooms here, and they cover almost all the environments suited for all types of martial souls. Every inner courtyard disciple has a chance to undergo deep meditation here. Although the few of you aren¡¯t inner courtyard disciples yet, I¡¯ve granted permission for the few of you to undergo deep meditation here beforehand on ount of your contributions to the academy, sufficient experience in the tournament and your gifts of twin martial souls. Your efforts will reap greater rewards here, and this experience will be be very valuable to your future cultivation. But it¡¯s not just about your cultivation here. More importantly, you have to find your path here.¡±

    Wang Dong was jolted once again as he heard Elder Mu¡¯s words. He seemed to understand some things.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°Every soul master has a path he needs to take. Assault, agility, control, auxiliary ¨C these are only the shallowest things. Achieving more requires one to find his path urately and precisely. No one can tell you how to walk this path. You can only discover it for yourself. For individuals with twin martial souls like yourself, it¡¯s even more important to discover your own path. Never hesitate, or doubt the path you chose. Try your best to finish walking that path. You¡¯ll seed no matter what the path is if you can do this.¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s guidance stopped here, and his voice also disappearedpletely. In the other 2 rooms, Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao also heard the same things.

    Xiao Xiao was in a special room. There were no rhizomes in this room. There was only a huge bell. Firstly, Xiao Xiao felt a heaviness that almost suffocated her. When she made an effort to sit down on the mat, she only heard a loud boom. Everything around her disappeared, and the only thought in her head was that she was trapped in a bell.

    Huo Yuhao was in the most special room. When he entered, it was pitch-ck. The entire room was silent.

    He subconsciously wanted to unleash his martial soul when he entered the room. With his Spirit Eyes and Purple Demon Eyes, he could see everything clearly even if there wasn¡¯t any light.

    But he suddenly felt a great distortion in the space where he was standing at this moment. It was as if the entire area around him had twisted tremendously, and his mind seemed to enter a trance.

    He staggered forward two steps, and countless yellow spots lit up around him. It was as if many pairs of eyes were staring at him. A quiet chamber that was also 10 square meters in size also lit up.

    What was this?

    When Huo Yuhao looked at what was on the walls around him, he was shocked. He wanted to escape immediately. But he soon found out to his horror that he couldn¡¯t locate the door. Even though he unleashed his Spirit Eyes and used his Spiritual Detection to search for the door, he still couldn¡¯t find it.

    The same type of bone was hung on the four walls and the ceiling. This bone didn¡¯t belong to a human, but was instead a triangr skull that was. There was a huge gap for the eyes, and the bottom of the skull was sharp. The yellow lights were shining from the eye sockets, which appeared to be balls of mes.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Huo Yuhao groaned. His body shook, and he almost fell to the ground. He only felt like a huge cage formed by immense spiritual power was trapping him within, and it was even caving in towards him.

    He did not just feel tormented. He was even fearful. His Spiritual Sea also started to writhe tremendously, as if it was about to be torn apart by the frightening spiritual power outside.

    But the Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and Electrolux didn¡¯t react at this point. He was the only one bearing all this.

    If this was Huo Yuhao before the tournament, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything except panic. His Spiritual Sea would even be on the brink of copse. But torment and pain allowed one to grow. Furthermore, he was even nourished by the Life Gold before.

    After panicking momentarily, he calmed himself down. He resisted the strong spiritual power and sat down on the mat in the room. He gathered his mind and focused so that he could calm down. He also controlled his own spiritual power and skin to act as defensive barriers. Heidyers andyers of spiritual barriers around and on himself to resist the vition of the external spiritual power.

    His Spiritual Sea had be extremely resilient after he had trained it for so long. He quickly calmed down and stabilized his condition. The external spiritual power also became less intense at the same time.

    Elder Mu¡¯s voice resonated at this moment.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, tell me: what is spiritual power?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was different from both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao in that he was already used to spiritual interaction. He immediately used his Spiritual Sea to reveal his answer.

    ¡°Spiritual power is will.¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°That¡¯s right, spiritual power is will. And the key to training one¡¯s spiritual power is through resistance and pressure. Your spiritual power is much stronger than I had imagined. There¡¯s no other way to describe it other than the fact that you have an unusual gift. Since you have twin martial souls and the Ultimate Ice as one of them, can you tell me why you didn¡¯t choose the Ultimate Ice to be your main martial soul, but instead chose your Spirit Eyes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°That¡¯s because the Ice Jade Scorpion is too powerful. Its powers can only be fully unleashed when the soul rings on it are stronger. That¡¯s why I hope to use the Spirit Eyes to umte sufficient strength, and ensure that the soul rings on the Ice Jade Scorpion are at least ten thousand years and above.¡±

    Elder Muughed suddenly. ¡°Little fellow, what¡¯s the level of your Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s first soul ring?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao turned anxious. He realized that he couldn¡¯t lie to Elder Mu.

    ¡°Hundred thousand year soul ring, am I right?¡± Elder Mu¡¯s words were like a ss 9 soul tool cannon shell as they struck Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°In fact, you¡¯ve concealed it very well. You managed to conceal your second martial soul¡¯s first soul ring with your Spirit Eyes¡¯ second soul ring¡¯s Imitation. Others can¡¯t tell, but it¡¯s different for me. Do you know why?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything. He was only very tense at this moment. The Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress were the two most important secrets on him! He was filled with fear at this moment.

    Elder Mu followed with, ¡°That¡¯s because the domain-type soul skill that you disyed before exposed the capability of your Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s first soul ring. I have a domain-type soul skill too. They are usually hundred thousand year soul skills, unless there are special circumstances involved.¡±

 Chapter 130: Finding Ones Path

    It was actually the Domain of Perpetual Ice that exposed his soul ring. Huo Yuhao looked at him quietly. He was calmer now. Since Elder Mu was too powerful, he couldn¡¯t resist no matter how he dealt with him. After realizing this point, he didn¡¯t try to correct anything, and allowed Elder Mu to deal with him. His calmness also made him much moreposed. He could subtly feel that Elder Mu didn¡¯t harbor any ill intentions towards him though he had exposed him.

    Elder Mu eximed, ¡°I have cultivated for my entire life, and roamed the continent for more than 200 years. I have seen countless soul masters and even more martial souls. But it¡¯s my first time seeing a situation like yours.¡±

    ¡°I sensed the special characteristic of your second martial soul. I even went to the Extreme North for it and caught an Ice Jade Scorpion. It¡¯s indeed different. Although your martial soul is simr to an Ice Jade Scorpion, there were no Ice Jade Scorpions that possessed the azure-green, five-joint tail like your martial soul. After a period of observation, I discovered that stronger Ice Jade Scorpions had greener tails. That¡¯s why I¡¯m certain that if your second martial soul belongs to an Ice Jade Scorpion, it must be the king of the Ice Jade Scorpions. It may even be the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, the second among the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North and the top among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.¡±

    A deep fear rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Elder Mu actually went to the Extreme North to verify his martial soul, and even conducted research on the Ice Jade Scorpions in the Extreme North. He had made an urate analysis. Elder Mu was indeed too brilliant. Huo Yuhao felt as if he was entirely exposed in front of Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu continued saying, ¡°When I returned, I analyzed this condition that appeared on your body. The only answer that I have is that you possess a hundred thousand year soul ring and a hundred thousand year soul bone. To better observe your condition, I watched the tournament in Star Luo City, especially the few important rounds. Your abilities were revealed when you faced strong opponents, especially when you unleashed your domain-type ability. I can clearly feel that your bones have surpassed normal conditions. This has also further verified my judgement. But your Imitation skill was good, and you concealed it well. Even I couldn¡¯t get theplete picture.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been at least 50 years since something has aroused my curiosity. But you¡¯ve aroused it now. I wondered then how was it possible for a teenager like you to fuse with an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul ring and soul bone? And this Ice Jade Empress Scorpion must have had a cultivation of at least two hundred thousand years. You even made it your martial soul. I am certain that less than five people in Shrek Academy can bear the fusion of that kind of optimal soul ring, and those people already have nine rings to themselves. Nine rings is the limit of an ordinary soul master, and we don¡¯t have twin martial souls. The fact is that even if we could find and kill an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, we couldn¡¯t put its soul ring to use.¡±

    ¡°I discoveredter on that the power of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion should exist in your body. But it¡¯s just that this power has been sealed. How did this seale about? You¡¯ve indeed piqued my curiosity! I thought for a good 6 months beforeing up with a forced guess. Before you went to the Extreme North and nned to obtain the second soul ring for your Spirit Eyes, you met the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who couldn¡¯t break through its bottleneck. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion couldn¡¯t bear for its formidable strength to disappear before it passed on, thus it sealed its powers and gave them to you. That¡¯s how you got your second martial soul. You were also given its soul ring and soul bone. It seems like this is the only logical exnation.¡±

    ¡°But herees the question: why did you go to the Extreme North to hunt for soul beasts and soul rings even though you possess a spiritual-type martial soul? Even though the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion sealed your powers, it¡¯s not something that someone as small as you should be able to bear! And how did the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion be your martial soul directly? I can¡¯t find the answers to these.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lips and did not speak. Elder Mu¡¯s guess wasn¡¯t entirely correct, but it was close to the answer.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°There are too many peculiarities on your body. If I didn¡¯t observe your body and verify that you were human, I might really suspect that you were a soul beast reborn. Everyone has their own destiny. I can¡¯t fully tell your condition, but I can see steadiness and sincerity on you. Your performances in the tournament left me extremelyforted too. If you¡¯re willing to, I hope to y the role as your listener before I leave this world. But I won¡¯t force you.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me?¡± The unexpected turn of events left Huo Yuhao feeling incredulous.

    ¡°I won¡¯t. I believe that my guess is not far from the truth. Since you have such a destiny, I am delighted for you as your senior. Before I verified that you were human, I really hoped that you really had such a destiny. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re now part of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Shrek¡¯s imprint has been carved onto your body. How? An elder¡¯s train of thought is different from a young person¡¯s, am I right? Haha.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath after remaining in a daze for a moment. He said seriously, ¡°Thanks for your belief. I won¡¯t let you down.¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°You saw those hanging skulls. These are skulls from soul beasts called Terrifying Demon Dragons. The Terrifying Demon Dragons are earth and evil dragons, but are not very powerful. But they are a rare spiritual-type dragon species. After a Terrifying Demon Dragon passes on due to natural causes, its skull will retain some of its spiritual power that won¡¯t diminish over time. It¡¯s not difficult to kill a Terrifying Demon Dragon, but it¡¯s difficult to obtain the skull of a Terrifying Demon Dragon after it dies of natural causes. There are 1001 Terrifying Demon Dragon skulls in this room, and it took the academy 800 years to gather them. I will stimte their spiritual auraster on, and you¡¯ll feel an immense pressure amidst their auras. For your spiritual power to grow, you¡¯ll have to bear the immense pressure. It¡¯ll be very beneficial to your Spirit Eyes. I hope that you canprehend more in the process of cultivation. There¡¯s only one chance like this.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Elder Mu¡¯s aura disappeared. But the pressure of the spiritual power earlier that had weakened grew stronger. Ripples appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea, and an intense undtion of spiritual power caused him to resist it with all his might.

    Underground Hall.

    Elder Mu was still in the center of the hall. But he hadid back onto his reclining chair. Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er stood beside him.

    Yan Shaozhe asked in a low voice, ¡°Teacher, are you really not going to rify things?¡±

    Elder Mu shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to. He¡¯s a human, and his bloodline is obviously not from the Sun Moon Empire. With these two premises, the rest is unimportant. He¡¯s still young, and can still be molded. We can¡¯t chill his heart because of our doubts.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe creased his brows slightly and said, ¡°If he¡¯s a spy sent by the other side¡­¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er suddenly snorted coldly, ¡°If it were you, would you send someone with an Ultimate martial soul to be a spy? Furthermore, I analyzed Huo Yuhao¡¯s progress and experience after he entered the academy. His powers only soared after he graduated from first grade. He must have met with that weird encounter during the holidays. If it were you, would you tell anyone if you had such an encounter?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯t infuriated because of Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s tone. He only replied as if something was on his mind, ¡°Lin¡¯er, I understand what you¡¯re saying. But don¡¯t you find it a coincidence that the Spirit Eyes¡¯ second soul ring came to possess Imitation at the same time he gained the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion as his martial soul? It¡¯s so coincidental that it seems everything was nned.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said coldly, ¡°I only know that I would recall my spy if he obtained an Ultimate martial soul from some miraculous opportunity and nurture him with all my strength. At the same time, I would not send an 11-year-old kid into my enemy¡¯s camp. How unpredictable are kids? Yan Shaozhe, you¡¯re always so narrow-minded andck magnanimity.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Yan Shaozhe turned red and white from Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s censure. But he didn¡¯t dare to re up in front of Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu smiled and interrupted, ¡°Alright, the both of you have squabbled for many decades already. I¡¯ve already made my decision on Yuhao. This kid deserves to be nurtured by the academy. Even Tang San, the true core of the first-generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, had his own secrets.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded his head and said, ¡°Teacher, regarding their future arrangements¡­¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°They will be in closed-door cultivation here for some time. Once they¡¯re finished, allow them to return to the outer courtyard. After all, they¡¯re still young, and it¡¯s not good for their development if we put too much pressure on them. The two of you need to monitor the other four and give them the best aid and guidance. You must ensure that they enter the inner courtyard, but don¡¯t make the test easier for them. After entering the inner courtyard, they cane here once. That¡¯s why I let them return first. The Body Sect came to find trouble during the tournament. I estimate that peace will not reign in the short-term. The two of you must be wary.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Tang Ya packed her things and looked at the weather outside. Her normally smiling face revealed a sense of loneliness. She seemed to be bothered by many thoughts, and she lowered her head as she walked out of the ssroom.

    She had been living an entirely boring life in this period of time. ssroom, dormitory, dormitory, ssroom. She never stayed outside or left the academy.

    After leaving the ssroom block, she returned to the dormitory quickly. She seemed to be thinking of something as she walked.

    ¡°Prettydy, give me some face and have a meal with me.¡± At this point, a figure blocked her way. As she was walking very quickly, she almost walked into that person.

    ¡°Scram.¡± Tang Ya was enraged, and lifted her head. Everyone knew about her rtionship with Bei Bei. Did someone from the outer courtyard just try to take liberties with her?

    However, her eyes never shifted once she lifted her head. That handsome face that appeared gentle and refined wore a slight smile on it as it filled Tang Ya¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°You still remembered to return!¡± Tang Ya¡¯s voice trembled a little.

    Bei Beiughed slightly. ¡°How could I not return when my wife¡¯s here? What if she runs away with someone else?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife?¡± Tang Ya reprimanded him, ¡°You¡¯re so rude. I¡¯m the head of the Tang Sect, your teacher!¡±

    Bei Bei extended his arms and the smile on his face didn¡¯t change, ¡°Come teacher, give me a hug.¡±

    Tang Ya pursed her lips lightly and red at him. After that, she rushed into his arms and hugged his waist tightly. She started to bawl.

    Bei Bei hugged her slender finger and was a little stunned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did someone really bully you?¡± In his heart, Tang Ya had always been like a cheerful angel. Although she had the heavy burden of rebuilding the Tang Sect, she was still a very cheerful person. Although Bei Bei had been away from her for a long time, she should have at most censured him with a few words. She wouldn¡¯t wail uncontrobly like this!

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t reply, and only hugged him as she cried. She cried until Bei Bei¡¯s shirt was drenched with her tears. She then lifted her swollen, red eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Bei Bei lifted his hand uncourteously above her head and knocked it, ¡°Why would you cry so hard if nothing was wrong? Let¡¯s return to the dormitory first.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s dormmate was Jiang Nannan. Jiang Nannan was not around, as she had followed Xu Sanshi to the pharmacy and wouldn¡¯t return anytime soon.

    It wasn¡¯t Bei Bei¡¯s first time sneaking into thedies¡¯ dorm. Although the academy had rules, they couldn¡¯t possibly catch every trespasser. Tang Ya opened her door and entered before opening the window for Bei Bei to climb in. He wasn¡¯t spotted. But even if he was, who in the outer courtyard would dare to expose him?

    Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan¡¯s room didn¡¯t have too many decorations. It was simple and pleasant. Jiang Nannan¡¯s mattress even had patches.

    Tang Ya dragged Bei Bei onto the bed to sit down. She leaned into his arms and hugged him tightly. ¡°There was no news even though all of you were gone for so long. How was the tournament?¡±

    Bei Bei gazed at her deeply and didn¡¯t pursue the doubt in his heart. He recounted his experiences to her.

    He had always been someone who could control his temperament and was patient. That¡¯s why he recounted everything in detail, and only finished when it had already turned dark outside.

    ¡°What? The academy rewarded all of you by making all of you Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters?¡± Tang Ya was stunned and she sat up. She opened her eyes wide and looked at him as if she didn¡¯t recognize him.

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m very surprised too, but I¡¯m also delighted. Why? Are you not delighted? You need to know that 5 of us out of the 7 hails from Tang Sect.¡±

    Tang Ya furrowed her brows and shook her head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m ted for all of you. But can all of you still do anything for Tang Sect now that all of you have be Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters? Too many of the academy¡¯s imprints have been carved onto your bodies.¡±

    Bei Beiughed uncontrobly, ¡°Why not? The academy won¡¯t restrict our freedom. Furthermore, the rtionship between the academy and Tang Sect has always been quite good!¡±

    ¡°How is it good?¡± Tang Ya was furious as she shook her head. Her eyes even shed with a tinge of hostility. ¡°Where was the academy when the Tang Sect was going downhill? I was chased out of my own home. Where were they when the Tang Sect ended? Did they ever help us as the continent¡¯s top academy?¡±

    Bei Bei was a little stunned as he looked at Tang Ya¡¯s expression, ¡°Xiao Ya, are you fine? Your emotions are¡­¡± It was his first time seeing Tang Ya revealing such an expression.

    Tang Ya threw her head down forcefully, as if she was trying to wrench something to the ground. She lowered her head and said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Bei Bei couldn¡¯t see that a shred of dim purple had shed across Tang Ya¡¯s bright, wide eyes. It wasn¡¯t the glow of the Purple Demon Eyes, but a dim purple that carried an aura of death.

    Bei Bei hugged her once again and said, ¡°Xiao Ya, don¡¯t waste your time! The Tang Sect declined because due to its own actions. Besides theck of advantage of secret weapons, the Tang Sect¡¯s past leaders also had all sorts of problems. These led to the fall of the Tang Sect, which was once prosperous. But you should be seeing a glimmer of hope now! There¡¯s Yuhao, He Caitou, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao and me by your side. We can help you rebuild the Tang Sect, help it be prosperous again when our powers grow. We¡¯re still young, and we¡¯ve time to work hard for the Tang Sect¡¯s rise.¡±

    Tang Yaughed bitterly and said, ¡°But have you ever thought of what I¡¯m capable of doing for Tang Sect as its leader? All of you are already Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, but I¡¯m getting further and further from all of you. I¡¯m also aware that I won¡¯t make it into the inner courtyard. I¡¯m not that capable, and the inner courtyard won¡¯t let me in just because I¡¯m the Tang Sect¡¯s leader.¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t think like that,¡± Bei Bei said hurriedly, ¡°why can¡¯t you make it if you¡¯re willing to work hard? We¡¯ll try our best to get you into the inner courtyard.¡±

    Tang Ya shook her head and said, ¡°Bei Bei, don¡¯t be like this. I don¡¯t want to be your burden. Do you understand? You should be cultivating tirelessly now and get into the inner courtyard next year. Do you know why I was crying just now? That¡¯s because I¡¯ve decided to leave Shrek.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Bei Bei was shocked upon hearing her words. His smile also disappeared instantly. ¡°Xiao Ya, what¡¯s wrong?¡± He could clearly feel the change in Tang Ya after more than a month without seeing her. He even felt a sense of unfamiliarity from her, as her personality had changed greatly. He hadn¡¯t even seen her smile ever since he had returned.

    Tang Ya lifted her head to look at Bei Bei, and her eyes were filled with sorrow. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave, but staying here no longer holds any meaning for me. I¡¯ll only tie you down. Since I can¡¯t get into the inner courtyard, I need to try my best to carve out a path for the Tang Sect¡¯s future. I cried because I can¡¯t bear to leave you. Bei Bei, do you know that I¡¯ll really miss you?¡±

    ¡°Stop speaking.¡± Bei Bei interrupted her rather violently and hugged her tightly in his arms. ¡°You can¡¯t go, do you hear me?¡±

    Tang Ya replied faintly, ¡°You know my character. I won¡¯t ever change my mind.¡± Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she never cried out. But the sorrow in her eyes wasn¡¯t simply because of her impending departure.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, listen to me,¡± Bei Bei said gently, ¡°we¡¯re still young! Why do you have to be so impatient?¡±

    Tang Ya buried her face in his arms, ¡°Stop persuading me. You don¡¯t know how hard it was for me to make this decision. I must leave. I¡¯ve already tended my leave from the academy. I hesitated on whether I should wait for you to return. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to make my decision when you return. But I was more afraid that my sudden departure would be too much for you to bear and affect your studies. That¡¯s why I decided to bear the pain of my departure and tell you about it clearly.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s body shook. ¡°Xiao Ya, have you really made up your mind?¡± He understood her, and knew the stubbornness that was deeply rooted in her bones.

    Tang Ya nodded slightly.

    Bei Bei took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down forcefully. ¡°Where are you going then? At least tell me the ce so that I can find you during the holidays.¡±

    Tang Ya replied softly, ¡°I will return to the Heavenly Soul Empire where the Tang Sect originated. I will rebuild the Tang Sect in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital. Our Tang Sect¡¯s family is also there. Heaven Dou City was named to remember the Heaven Dou Empire that once existed. The Tang Sect will always be tied to this city. While the Tang Sect may not be around temporarily, they¡¯re still connected. I will go back and contact them. I¡¯ll at least find a ce for the Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei creased his brows. ¡°Must you go to Heaven Dou City? The Tang Sect¡¯s former address was there. I¡¯m afraid they will do something bad to you.¡±

    Tang Ya answered, ¡°I won¡¯t let them discover me. This is unless I can push them into a corner and regain the Tang Sect¡¯s territory one day.¡±

    Bei Bei saw the hostility in Tang Ya¡¯s eyes once again, and was filled with difort, ¡°What if I don¡¯t let you go?¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s gaze turned tender again. She gently caressed his face, ¡°Bei Bei, you¡¯re the one who understands me the best in this world. I can¡¯t do anything for the Tang Sect in terms of my abilities. If you don¡¯t let me contribute to the rebuilding of Tang Sect, I won¡¯t be happy. I will wait for you in the Heaven Dou City as I set up the Tang Sect¡¯s foundation. We¡¯ll seize the Tang Sect¡¯s estate and rebuild the sect one day when you, Huo Yuhao and the rest achieve something. This is something I have to do.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was like a small boat amidst a spiritual windstorm as the immense spiritual power exerted pressure on him. He maintained himself as the windstorm raged. While the windstorm was very frightening, he never submitted.

    Huo Yuhao was also unsure of how much time had passed. His Spiritual Sea seemed to be hammered into shape as it was assaulted repeatedly.

    His Spiritual Sea had shrunk by a third from the start till now. But he realized that his spiritual power had be more condensed at the same time.

    Based on the total spiritual power in the quiet chamber, it would be impossible for Huo Yuhao to bear if they were all in an offensive state. They could tear his Spiritual Sea apart instantly. But the spiritual power was scattered in this enclosed space. Some of them exerted pressure, but didn¡¯t attack him. That¡¯s why Huo Yuhao could still hold on.

    The external assault became weaker as Huo Yuhao condensed his spiritual power. He also calmed down.

    He wasprehending the changes in his body and the new capabilities he possessed. Every soul skill and all the strength in his body was growing as heprehended his body and everything within it.

    Huo Yuhao realized why Electrolux had told him to enter closed-door cultivation as soon as possible then. His thoughts were much more agile under such an entirely quiet condition where he wouldn¡¯t be disrupted. Furthermore, the strength that he possessed fused greater with his body and made him feel as if he was growing.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique was still circting, but its enhancement had reached a bottleneck. This bottleneck stemmed from his soul power, which had reached Rank 30.

    This also meant that Huo Yuhao could advance from a soul grandmaster to a soul elder if he could obtain a soul ring. He would then reach Rank 30.

    But the increase in his soul power couldn¡¯t keep up with the pleasure he felt inprehending his own strength. It was a profound change.

    His tireless mastery and the live experiences he had gathered so far caused him to experience changes in his body after the immense pressure he bore in the tournament. There was also the fusion of the Life Gold.

    He had never had the opportunity toprehend all this quietly in the past. But the opportunity had arrived now.

    Huo Yuhao could recall that Elder Mu once told him to find his own path. It was only through finding his own path that his future road to mastery would be smoother, and he would not be lost.

    But what was his path?

    Soul master? Soul engineer?

    Assault-type, Ultimate Ice soul master? Control-type, Spirit Eyes soul master?

    Everything he learned seemed a little heterogeneous now,. and didn¡¯t seem toe together. The path he was supposed to find was supposed to teach him how to fuse all his strengths together.

    The external pressure sparked the enhancement of his spiritual power, and he also became more and moreposed. He wasn¡¯t anxious at all. He tried to painstakingly sense all the capabilities in his internal world and slowly find the path that belonged to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your path?¡± Elder Muid quietly on the recliner chair and looked at the youngdy in front of him with a gentle gaze.

    Xiao Xiao had grown thinner. She wasn¡¯t fat in the first ce, but was even thinner now. She even seemed a little bony. But her eyes had be brighter.

    ¡°My path is auxiliary.¡± Xiao Xiao answered without hesitation.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Elder Mu was a little stunned, ¡°Why did you choose auxiliary?¡±

    Xiao Xiao answered confidently, ¡°I have two martial souls. They are the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and the Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute. The Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute is a sound-type martial soul, and can turn into either a control-type or auxiliary-type martial soul. My first soul skill is the auxiliary-type, and I don¡¯t wish to waste it. That¡¯s why the Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute can only be an auxiliary-type, whereas my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron can be a control-type or defense-type. It can even be used offensively. It belongs in the category of Ten Thousand Gold Oil. So from what I see, the abilities that it has can be used for auxiliary purposes. I¡¯m confident in bing a top-ranked auxiliary-type battle soul master if it¡¯s paired with my Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute.¡±

    Elder Muughed, ¡°This is a new term to me. I¡¯ve only heard of auxiliary-type tool soul masters.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a battle soul master,¡± Xiao Xiao said confidently, ¡°my aid will be active. This is my path.¡±

    Elder Mu looked at her, ¡°Are there any other reasons why you¡¯ve made this choice?¡±

    Xiao Xiao nodded slightly, ¡°Because Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters need someone in that role.¡±

    Elder Mu smiled. Although the smile on his frail and elderly face didn¡¯t look nice, it was filled with benevolence andfort. ¡°Very well, you¡¯ve found your path. I¡¯m happy for you.¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed too, ¡°But, how long will I be here? Elder Mu, I¡¯m hungry. I feel

    Elder Mu smiled more radiantly, ¡°Silly kid, your deep meditationsted 34 days and 12 hours. Get something to eat first. After that, you can fuse the soul bone you got as a reward.¡±

    He opened his eyes slowly. His huge, purplish-blue eyes were clear and bright. His body was smooth and translucent, like a golden ruby. A gentle, golden light shone from his body.

    ¡°I never expected my path to be like this. But I¡¯m confident that I¡¯m right.¡±

    Wang Dong got up, and the golden radiance around his body suddenly soared up like mes. He was filled with a divine aura under the support of the mes.

    He understood many things through his deep meditation. He evenpleted his second fusion, or rather a true fusion, with his Golden Light Left Arm Bone. He only understood what the strength of the Golden Light was now.

    What was more important was the increase in his soul power. Where was this ce? It was the stem of the golden tree. It contained the purest power of light. Those with light-type martial souls would experience the most obvious and greatest increase in soul power here.

    Rank 36. This was Wang Dong¡¯s current soul power. It was a rank even he wouldn¡¯t have expected. More importantly, the increase wasn¡¯t followed by any side effects. In this period of time, his body quality also soared, and his understanding of the true meaning of light was far greater than what it was before.

    Wang Dong stood up as he let out a long breath. His body was extremely light. Even when he breathed, he seemed to swallow and spit out light elements. Hisplexion had also be smooth and clean. The dim pink on his skin was filled with the taste of healthy sunlight.

    Wang Dong¡¯s golden radiance slowly retracted as he pushed the door open, and his soul power circted smoothly. His mind also seemed to be isted from his cultivation state as he walked out the door.

    ¡°Yuhao, how are you? I¡¯ve improved. What¡¯ll happen when we form the Haodong Power again?¡±

    He seemed to sense something at this point. He turned his head suddenly and looked towards the end of the tunnel. He saw someone walking out from the innermost door.

    It wasn¡¯t well-lit here. But Wang Dong saw a pair of shining, bright eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Wang Dong eximed in surprise before bursting towards him.

    Yes, it might or might not be a coincidence, but Huo Yuhao walked out at the same time that Wang Dong finished his cultivation.

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡± Just like how Wang Dong was shocked when he saw him, Huo Yuhao was equally shocked when he saw Wang Dong bursting towards him.

    Wang Dong had grown taller, and was now almost his height. His figure was slenderer and straighter. His purplish-blue hair flowed freely behind him, and his facial lines appeared gentler. His handsome face seemed to be better described with the word ¡®beautiful¡¯, and it felt as if he had be more simr to thedy that danced in the Rainment of Light. Huo Yuhao might have thought that Wang Dong was a girl if he didn¡¯t interact with him much.

    Huo Yuhao opened his arms, and the two of them hugged. Their soul power surged into each other¡¯s body at this instant, and the Haodong Power also circted at this point.

    There was a clear, white halo that surrounded Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the center. This led to the formation of a whirlpool. The intense undtion of their soul power burst forth as they surged, which made the both of them feel as if they were filled with strength.

    He became stronger.

    This was the same thought that went through Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s minds. But they didn¡¯t simply be stronger. Their strength had soared.

    Compared to the increase in soul power, it was more important that they could feel a sense of all-roundedness on each other that wasn¡¯t there before. It¡¯s as if their entire strength had been perfectly fused. Their soul master rankings seemed unable to restrain their true abilities anymore.

    Wang Dong rxed his arm and asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Have you found your own path?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and asked him back, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Wang Dong proudly said, ¡°Of course I did. I¡¯m so talented, of course I managed to find it.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Then I would have found it naturally too. Since you¡¯re a talent and I¡¯m better than you, I must be the talent among all the talents?¡±

    Wang Dong snorted and said, ¡°How are you better than me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled andpared their arm muscles. He said, ¡°At least I¡¯m more robust than you. Your body is so soft. While it¡¯s nice to hug, itcks manliness.¡±

    Wang Dong turned red. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with you. Tell me, what¡¯s your path?¡±

    Huo Yuhao, ¡°I found¡­¡±

    As he spoke till this point, a gentle voice resonated in both their ears. ¡°Come out and speak.¡±

    ¡°Elder Mu?¡± The two of them were stunned as they looked at each other. They didn¡¯t expect Elder Mu to be waiting for them.

    They walked out of the tunnel quickly, and saw the elder lying on the reclining chair in the middle of the hall.

    ¡°Elder Mu.¡± The two of them bowed respectfully.

    Elder Mu looked at Huo Yuhao before looking at Wang Dong. He revealed afortedugh. ¡°It seems like the two of you have also found your paths.¡±

    Wang Dong was surprised as he asked, ¡°Also? Has Xiao Xiao found hers too?¡±

    Elder Mu nodded and said, ¡°She came out earlier than the both of you. Tell me, what are your paths?¡±

 Chapter 131: The Tang Sect

    Wang Dong rushed to speak first, ¡°Let me go first.¡±

    Elder Mu suddenly said, ¡°Why don¡¯t the both of you write your paths on my hand at the same time?¡± As he spoke, he smiled while extending both his hands.

    Elder Mu¡¯s hands appeared extremely youthful, unlike his face. His palms were slender, and his skin was clear like jade. A sparkling radiance subtly shed, but it was different from Wang Dong¡¯s glossy skin. There was a sense of simplicity to his palms.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stared at each other. They acted with great chemistry, and came to Elder Mu¡¯s side.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°You can begin.¡±

    They lifted their hands and extended their index fingers at the same time. They wrote the paths that belonged to them on his palms. These were the paths that they would walk for their entire lives.

    Elder Mu¡¯s smile widened. He clenched his palms into fists when they both stopped.

    ¡°The two of you have indeed found the paths that belong to you. Very good. I¡¯m veryforted.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his hands, and they intersected. His palms faced towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    There were two words on both his palms, and they shone with a dim golden color.

    ¡°Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect!¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong eximed together. They were shocked as they looked at each other. They were momentarily stunned.

    Was this chemistry? It couldn¡¯t be simply described using chemistry anymore. The paths they chose were exactly the same.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°Wang Dong, tell me first why you chose this path. What does it mean to you?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I¡¯m actually not very sure myself. Both my martial souls are assault-type. Without a doubt, my path should be assault-based. But during the process of deep meditation, the words ¡®Tang Sect¡¯ popped up for no reason. I also realized that my strength is closely rted to the different capabilities of the Tang Sect. Besides being unskilled in secret weapons, the rest of the Tang Sect¡¯s methods are aligned with my skills. They include the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Purple Demon Eyes, Mysterious Jade Hands, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, etc. Both the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and Clear Sky Hammer require offensive tactics. The most urate soul master just unleashes his soul power, whereas a stronger soul master unleashes his soul power cleverly. I hope to be a soul master thatbines my soul skills with the Tang Sect¡¯s techniques. This is the path that I want to take.¡±

    Elder Mu nodded his head and said, ¡°Very good. Huo Yuhao, what about you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong and said, ¡°My situation is moreplex than Wang Dong¡¯s. But I think that the Tang Sect is more suitable for me.¡±

    ¡°I have two martial souls. One is a control-type, and the other is an assault-type. While I can use both of them at the same time, their effects are unleashed on their own. It¡¯s extremely crucial for my future cultivation to organicallybine both my martial souls. At the same time, I¡¯m not just a soul master, but also a soul engineer. If I only cultivate my martial soul, I will only be a pure soul master. But I don¡¯t wish for it to be so. I¡¯m unwilling to give up my soul tools. That¡¯s why I thought of the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve learnt all of Tang Sect¡¯s Six Great Secret Techniques ¨C the Purple Demon Eyes, Mysterious Jade Hands, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation and Mysterious Heaven Technique. I¡¯m more skilled in the Mysterious Heaven Technique and Purple Demon Eyes among these six techniques. I only have brief experience with the other four techniques.¡±

    ¡°But when I thought of the Tang Sect, I found to my surprise that all of my capabilities can be rted to the Tang Sect. My Spirit Eyes are greatly connected to the Purple Demon Eyes. I only managed to possess a spiritual-type ability like the Spiritual Shock because of the Purple Demon Eyes. My Spirit Eyes¡¯ attainments in the aspect of spiritual control can also help me to use many of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques. This includes the Tang Sect¡¯s secret weapons. And that¡¯s not even mentioning the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. An ice-type soul skillbined effectively with the Tang Sect¡¯s capturing techniques and footwork. Just like Wang Dong said, it¡¯ll increase my abilities greatly.¡±

    ¡°When I first studied secret weapons in the Tang Sect, eldest senior told me that the only way to rebuild the glory of the sect was bybining soul tools and secret weapons. I¡¯m more and more inclined to believe that this will work. That¡¯s why my future path willbine the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques with my own capabilities. This is my choice.¡±

    Elder Mu nodded repeatedly as he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°Very good. The two of you have made good choices. The Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques once prospered under Tang San, the founder of the Tang Sect. Tang San managed to save the world of soul masters using the Tang Sect¡¯s Six Great Secret Techniques and break through the bottleneck, achieving rapid progress. The copse of the Tang Sect doesn¡¯t equate to the copse of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques. It¡¯s just that no one suitable has been able to master the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques. Both of you have extraordinary talents. I hope that you can continue to walk this path andplete it. You shall inherit the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestors¡¯ immense strength and write your own legends.¡±

    Elder Mu turned his wrists around, and something else appeared in both his palms.

    In front of Huo Yuhao was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s left arm bone that he had once seen at the top-ranked auction in the Starlight Auction house. A thick, icy fog caused the temperature in the hall to dip quickly.

    There was a right arm bone in Elder Mu¡¯s other hand. This right arm bone presented itself in bright gold, and the radiance that came from it carried an intense aura of sharpness.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ve analyzed this left arm bone before. It¡¯s a soul bone that came from at least a ten thousand year soul beast. Although soul bone absorption won¡¯t be as tremendous as a soul ring¡¯s reaction, the Ultimate Ice aura contained within this soul bone is extremely domineering. I believe the saying about the Ice Explosion Technique is real. Are you confident?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nodded his head with strength.

    Elder Mu smiled and passed him the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone. He said, ¡°Then you can start fusing it here.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, this right arm bone is called the Broken Devil of Light. I obtained it when I was young, but it¡¯s a pity that I already had six soul bones then. Otherwise, you¡¯d have had no fate with it. This Broken Devil of Light came from an extremely rare element-type soul beast. This strong presence can only be nurtured in a ce where the light element is in abundance. I¡¯m still not sure what soul skill the Broken Devil of Light carries, and I can only tell when itbines with you. But I¡¯m certain that it carries a powerful offensive soul skill. It also has a strong restraining effect on all dark and evil powers. I believe evil soul masters will be afraid when they see it.¡±

    ¡°When soul bones are being paired, it¡¯s best to pair the corresponding soul bone to an existing soul bone that you possess. Since you already have the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, the addition of this Broken Devil of Light will greatly enhance all your soul skills. You can also start fusing it here. I shall protect the both of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were both surprised, especially Huo Yuhao. After Elder Mu exposed his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, he was still anxious, although he hadpleted his deep meditation. But Elder Mu had passed the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone to him now, which made him more assured and enabled him to understand that Elder Mu¡¯s words were true; that the academy wasn¡¯t bothered about the origin of his second martial soul.

    Both of them received their respective soul bones and sat cross-legged on the ground to either side of Elder Mu.

    Wang Dong gently caressed the Broken Devil of Light¡¯s smooth surface. At the same time, his left arm also lit up with an intense, golden me. The golden light seeped into the Broken Devil of Light slowly, and caused the right arm bone to light up with the same light too. An intense aura of light caused Wang Dong¡¯s body to be transparent again. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings pped open behind his back before stretching forward to cover his entire body. Bright, golden halos started to spread from his body.

    This soul bone that Elder Mu gave him was the academy¡¯s treasure, and not a reward from the tournament. Since the soul bone was personally picked out by Elder Mu, it was guaranteed to bepatible.

    Amidst the undtion of the light aura, the Broken Devil of Light started to fuse with Wang Dong¡¯s right arm. Wang Dong only felt a patch of warmth on his right arm, and didn¡¯t experience any pain.

    It was easy for Wang Dong to absorb this Broken Devil of Light with the golden light in front of him because the Radiant Butterfly Goddess was once baptized by the golden tree¡¯s aura of light. But he was still inferior to Huo Yuhao in terms ofpatibility.

    Huo Yuhao felt an indescribable sense of closeness that came from the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone when it entered his hand.

    If this soul bone had appeared in front of other soul masters, they would immediately be affected by the ultimate chill released by the soul bone. Even Elder Mu had to use his own power of light to suppress it.

    But Huo Yuhao only felt a sense of closeness. To him, there was no sense of chill to speak of.

    An azure light lit up Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and back. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton seemed to have been awakened by this left arm bone. The aura of a ruler that belonged to the Ice Jade Scorpions was gradually exuded, while the left arm bone in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands seemed toe alive. It trembled slightly, then leapt up like a child that had seen his mother. It turned into a streak of white light before prating Huo Yuhao¡¯s left arm.

    Huo Yuhao felt the chill this time. The ice-cold flow of gas rose rapidly along his left arm and prated his shoulder. Then, it reached his chest and vicle. An intense, azure light also shone from his body.

    The power sealed within the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton was stimted and rapidly connected with the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone. Huo Yuhao¡¯s left arm was also dyed an azure green. An intense undtion of soul power surged maniacally. The pain that he felt when he had once fused the skeleton appeared again.

    Ultimate ice and heat alternated with each other. Fortunately, it was only on his left arm this time.

    ¡°What, again?¡± Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly in heart. But he couldn¡¯t do anything except tolerate it at this point.

    In fact, it was not that the Ice Empress wanted to train him. It was that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton was modifying this Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone.

    No matter how strong this Ice Jade Scorpion was, its cultivation was only around ten thousand years or so, whereas the Ice Empress had cultivated for four hundred thousand years!

    The skeleton was the core of the body, and the spine was the most important of the six soul bones. The rest of the soul bones connected to it. If it were any other soul bone, the Ice Empress might not be bothered. But this Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone came from the same origin as her, and thus the modifications were very smooth. The keyy in the sense of familiarity!

    The immense power sealed within the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton started to surge into the left arm bone. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in any danger, but the pain he once felt came back¡­

    ¡­¡­

    Shrek Academy. External Courtyard. Second grade, ss 1.

    ¡°Why is everyone silent? Have all of you be dumb?¡± Zhou Yi suddenly mmed the table and revealed an infuriated look.

    The students under her kept quiet out of fear; no one dared to speak.

    While Zhou Yi¡¯s teaching method was simple and crude, it was quite suitable if she wanted to intimidate these talented youths. In the past year or so, the students from ss 1 maintained strong camaraderie and achieved significant progress under her. The crucial thing was that they listened to her! No one dared to defy Zhou Yi, and all of them diligentlypleted the tasks that she gave them.

    While Zhou Yi had expelled many in the first academic year, not one student had yet been expelled in the second academic year. She would at most reprimand them if they made mistakes, or even give them two kicks. They would be motivated to cultivate harder through this.

    However, the current atmosphere in the ssroom was very tense, and all the students lowered their heads.

    Zhou Yi scanned everyone before she fixed her attention was on Zhou Sichen. ¡°Zhou Sichen, stand up.¡±

    Zhou Sichenmented in his heart and knew that he couldn¡¯t escape. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn¡¯t have be the ss monitor after Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong left.

    Zhou Yunchen bit the bullet, stood up and answered, ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡±

    ¡°Did you not eat?¡± Zhou Yi raged, ¡°you don¡¯t seem to have any guts! You¡¯re a man. Puff up your chest.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhou Sichen acknowledged her words and puffed up his chest.

    ¡°Tell me,¡± Zhou Yi said indifferently, ¡°as the ss monitor, what are you going to do with regards to thepetition suggested by the ss 2?¡±

    Zhou Sichen¡¯s lips moved a little, and he shouted in his heart, ¡°Go for it!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± He replied loudly.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Good. This is how my students should be. So what if you lose? I don¡¯t expect you to win. But we must have the aura. As the ss monitor, I will give you full authority to choose your team members. Choose another six topete with you.¡±

    The second academic year was already halfway done, and the mid-term exams had ended. ss 1 had tipped ss 2 to be the most outstanding ss in the level. This was achieved even without Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    ss 2 was unconvinced! That¡¯s why the teacher of ss 2, Mu Jin, proposed to Zhou Yi for both sses to have a friendlypetition. Both sses would choose 7 members each to form a team. The losing team had to sweep the level where all the second grade sses were held for the rest of the academic year.

    The punishment for losing was nothing. Sweeping and maintaining hygiene were nothing to these young soul masters. They were fighting for glory in thispetition. The losing team would lose the glory of their ss!

    ss 3 or 4 wouldn¡¯t participate in thispetition. If they weren¡¯t auxiliary-type soul masters, they possessed misceneous martial souls. They weren¡¯t in a position to challenge the assault-type, control-type, defense-type and agility-type soul masters in the first and second sses.

    Zhou Yi and Mu Jin were rivals in love in the past. Zhou Yi also had a hot temper. After being provoked by Mu Jin, she epted the challenge impulsively. But she immediately regretted agreeing to the challenge. She would naturally be unafraid if Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were in the academy. Since ss 2 had Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Zhu Lu and the others, ss 1 would have an absolute advantage only if 7 members were selected topete. But she had lost three of her most outstanding students, negating her advantage in thispetition. It was rumored that Dai Huabin¡¯s soul power had reached Rank 39 after a period of tireless cultivation. He might be Shrek Academy¡¯s youngest soul ancestor ever.

    Dai Huabin was very strong himself. No one from ss 1 could win against him in a one-on-one situation. In addition, he and Zhu Lu possessed the Netherworld White Tiger. In a 7 v 7 team battle, it would take a miracle for ss 1 to win.

    But Zhou Yi couldn¡¯t take back her words. With Zhou Yi¡¯s temper, she couldn¡¯t back off even if she regretted her decision! That¡¯s why she could only try to relieve the pressure. She figured that losing thepetition wasn¡¯t the end of the world, and it was enough if her students managed to unleash their rightful abilities. She would keep an eye on thepetition and prevent her students from getting hurt.

    Zhou Yi heard from Fan Yu that Huo Yuhao and the other two were back, but they were taken to Sea God¡¯s Ind. Fan Yu was also unclear why they hadn¡¯t returned to ss. He only told Zhou Yi that it was a good thing for the three of them.

    Zhou Yi had asked about them several times over the past few days. While Fan Yu¡¯s status wasn¡¯t low in the Soul Tool Department, he still didn¡¯t have the right to inquire about news from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Thepetition wasing soon, and she couldn¡¯t hesitate any further. That¡¯s why she had to start picking her members.

    Zhou Sichen revealed a cheeky look on his face after he heard Zhou Yi¡¯s words. He scanned the ss, and there was a myriad of expressions from the other students. Some dodged his gaze, while some begged him to spare them. They were not afraid ofpeting, but who was willing to throw their own face knowing that they were bound to lose?

    Zhou Sichen lifted his hand and tapped on Cao Jinxuan beside him. He said with an awe-inspiring look on his face, ¡°Brother, we might not have been born on the same day or at the same time. But we hope to die on the same day and time. Follow me into battle.¡±

    Cao Jinxuan¡¯s lips trembled a little as he lifted his head to re at Zhou Sichen. He seemed to subvocalize something to him. Zhou Sichen could only subtly make out that Cao Jinxuan was cursing his father. He tried his best to withhold hisughter before looking at the rest.

    Zhou Yi seemed to relinquish her authority and allowed Zhou Sichen to choose as he pleased. She also approved of Zhou Sichen in her heart, as he was quite capable. He made a conscious decision to choose Cao Jinxuan. Cao Jinxuan was his best friend, while thispetition didn¡¯t bode well. By choosing Cao Jinxuan first, what could the others say if they were chosen next?

    ¡°Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo. The two of you shalle along too. The two of you shallplement Little Cao, who will be the main controller.¡±

    Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo nodded their heads lightly. They were well-liked in ss, and they were also very good-tempered, which made them close to the rest. Although everyone was still young, there were many male students who had already developed a liking towards them. Once they were picked up, there were immediately a few who volunteered themselves to be their chaperone.

    Zhou Sichen very quickly picked out the strongest three. They were all assault-type soul masters. Thus, their team of 7 was formed.

    There were 4 assault-type and 3 control-type soul masters. This was a rather goodbination of assault-type and control-type soul masters.

    Zhou Yi nodded and said, ¡°Alright, the 7 of you shall practice in the afternoon. Tomorrow¡¯spetition shall depend on the 7 of you. There¡¯s no punishment for losing, but the reward for winning is being relieved of your cleaning duties in the ss. ss has ended. Everyone is free to do what you want. The 7 of you, follow me.¡±

    After she finished speaking, Zhou Yi turned around. While she wasn¡¯t confident in tomorrow¡¯spetition, she didn¡¯t want to give up either. She was making herst-minute preparations and giving tips on how her students should work with one another. Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were all the academy¡¯s core disciples even though their overall strength was inferior to their opponents¡¯. They were not that bad themselves either! They were all close to Rank 30.

    ss 2 was also choosing their team, although the atmosphere was different from ss 1. They managed to pick their choices much more easily.

    Mu Jin stood behind the podium and chose her team members directly, ¡°Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, Huang Chutian, Cui Yajie and Long Xiangyue. The 7 of you shallpete tomorrow. I won¡¯t say too many motivational words. If all of you don¡¯t want to continue living in ss 1¡¯s shadow, then give it your all. I want to see if Zhou Yi still dares to becent in front of me.¡±

    Dai Huabin sat quietly in thest row. He appeared much steadier now, and had lost some of the arrogance that he had had in the past. A greater sense of gloominess was revealed in his eyes as he blinked. He also seemed to be less magnanimouspared to his elder brother, Dai Yueheng.

    But one couldn¡¯t deny his talent in cultivation. He was even better than his seniors. His Rank 39 soul power wasn¡¯t a joke; that was his true cultivation. Although it wasn¡¯t easy to rise from Rank 39 to Rank 40, Dai Huabin was determined to do so before he entered the third year. He wanted to obtain his fourth soul ring.

    Dai Huabin was deeply convinced that his superiority in cultivation to Huo Yuhao meant that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t beat him even if he possessed twin martial souls or was extremely gifted.

    Dai Huabin believed that he was never inferior to Huo Yuhao before. It was more of a coincidence. If it were a pure one-on-one battle, he believed that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be his match.

    Dai Huabin was filled with jealousy and hate as he thought of how Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao took part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament even though they weren¡¯t as powerful as him. It was just that they had left for so long, but hadn¡¯t returned. Did they perish in the tournament? After he humiliated ss 1 tomorrow, it would be time for him to make a trip and inquire about the tournament results.

    He had been keeping a low profile ever since it was known that he had instructed someone to attack Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He cultivated tirelessly, and rarely made any contact with the outside world. On the other hand, Dai Yueheng was instructed not to reveal any information about the tournament after he returned to the inner courtyard, and went into retreat in the inner courtyard due to pressure from his uing graduation. That¡¯s why no one from the outer courtyard knew anything about the academy in the tournament. The academy only announced that they had returned as champions, but didn¡¯t reveal any of the details of the process. There was nothing extraordinary about Shrek bing champions in many of the students¡¯ eyes.

    In reality, it was not only Dai Huabin from ss 2 that resented ss 1. Zhu Lu, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng and Huang Chutian ¨C who used to be the Lan sisters¡¯ partner, but was also chased out like Wu Feng ¨C all possessed hatred towards ss 1. ss 1 only had assault-type and control-type soul masters, but they had defensive-type and agility-type soul masters in addition to those two. Although theycked any auxiliary-type soul masters, they still formed a rather powerful team. The importance of an auxiliary-type soul master had also dwindled due to the development of soul tools. There were fewer and fewer auxiliary-type soul masters in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    Early morning.

    The weather was a little hazy, but the air was very fresh. It carried a slight moisture from Sea God¡¯s Lake. When inhaled, it left one feeling rxed and refreshed.

    Many students were already gathered at the Soul Dueling Area within Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard in the early morning. They were all from the second grade of the outer courtyard, and it wasn¡¯t just the students from the first and second sses. Students from the third and fourth sses were also gathered here. Their reason was very simple ¨C they were here to observe and learn.

    Zhou Yi gave off a very cold and rigid look when she wore a mask. It was as if she was warning everyone not toe close to her. Zhou Sichen and the others were already prepared beside her, but it was obvious that they were still a little anxious from the looks on their faces.

    The students from ss 2 were a littlete. Under Mu Jin¡¯s leadership, Dai Huabin and the rest were all feeling verypetitive. Even the rest of the students behind them were all in high spirits, and looked very proud.

    It wasn¡¯t a surprise that they were like that. The first ss of every grade in the outer courtyard was always the strongest, and they were always superior to the other sses. But it was a little special for ss 2 in the second grade. ss 2¡¯s abilities were greatly increased because Dai Huabin, Huang Chutian, Wu Feng and the other core disciples that had been chased out of Zhou Yi¡¯s ss. This also developed theirpetitive streak. Although their overall abilities were still iparable, ss 2 still possessed an advantage in today¡¯spetition.

    Many of ss 2¡¯s students reckoned that ss 1 wouldn¡¯t be able to match up to them even if Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were present. That¡¯s because only 7 team members could be selected. After all, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao only had 2 soul rings. In ss 2, it was not only Dai Huabin who had managed to reach an astounding Rank 39 soul power. Xie Huanyue was slightly lousier at Rank 35, but was stillmendable. The two of them were the top two in the second grade. Wu Feng and Huang Chutian had crossed the Rank 30 mark, whereas Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie were only slightly off from Rank 30 at Rank 29. Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan managed to reach Rank 28, and were among the top few agility-type students. They were also chosen topete this time. The depth of ss 2¡¯s strength was obvious.

    On the contrary, the greatest strength of ss 1 was that the average cultivation of the entire ss was above Rank 25. But none of them were above Rank 30 as of now. Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were all Rank 29, while the other 3 were Rank 28. There was a huge gap in both team¡¯s abilities. Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao would make it better if they were here. After all, Wang Dong had crossed the Rank 30 mark, and Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao both had twin martial souls. They would have a fighting chance.

    ss 1¡¯s morale was extremely low, which was a stark contrast from ss 2. All of themcked energy, which revealed their despondence.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t be seen, as she wore a mask. But she already regretted her decision. She was naturally aware of the disparity in the abilities of both sses. She regretted her impulsiveness for agreeing to the challenge after Mu Jin provoked her. She wasn¡¯t afraid of losing, but the impact on the students¡¯ fighting spirit if they lost. However, she wasn¡¯t fully devoid of confidence. She recalled Fan Yu mentioning that Xiao Xiao had ended her retreat. She had asked her to find her in the inner courtyard yesterday. But why were they not back?

    ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡± Mu Jin brought her 7 team members in front of Zhou Yi at this point. She appeared calm, but thecency in her eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed.

    ¡°Teacher Mu.¡± Zhou Yi answered indifferently.

    Mu Jin looked at the 7 behind Zhou Yi and revealed a slight smile on her face. ¡°Eh, there should be a few students with decent cultivations in Teacher Zhou¡¯s ss if I remember correctly. Where are they? Were they expelled because they made some mistakes?¡±

    Zhou Yi revealed a cold look in her eyes. Mu Jin was asking an obvious question, ¡°Teacher Mu, you don¡¯t have to worry about this. How my students are is my problem .¡±

    Mu Jin smiled and replied, ¡°You can¡¯t put it this way. Teacher Zhou, the students in every ss across all grades are the most brilliant talents that have been picked out. Their development is extremely crucial. Although I¡¯m in charge of ss 2, it¡¯s also necessary for me to be concerned about the academy¡¯s future. However, our grade is a little special. In terms of overall abilities, ss 1 is strongest. But ss 2 is better in terms of high-endbat strength. There are already 4 students in my ss that are Rank 30 and above. It seems like Teacher Zhou is still iparable to me in terms of nurturing outstanding students.¡±

    Behind Zhou Yi, Zhou Sichen couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Teacher Mu, Dai Huabin and the rest¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Zhou Yi interrupted him.

    Zhou Sichen was shocked, and didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore. His eyes were filled with indignance. Teacher Mu¡¯s skin was extremely thick. Out of the 4 students from ss 2 that were Rank 30 and above, 3 of them came from ss 1. The only exception was Xie Huanyue. It was just that these 3 were chased out by Zhou Yi.

    Mu Jinughed uncontrobly. ¡°Teacher Zhou, your teaching attitude is undesirable. How can you stop your student from speaking? This would not happen in my ss. We have to preach democracy. If your students cannot adapt to your teaching style, they can find me in ss 2. The doors to ss 2 are always open.¡±

    Zhou Yi turned more and more dismal under the mask, and she said coldly, ¡°Teacher Mu, you¡¯re full of nonsense. As Shrek Academy¡¯s teacher, aren¡¯t you aware that soul power rank doesn¡¯t represent everything?¡±

    Mu Jin straightened her look, ¡°Good, I was waiting for you to say that. We shall meet in the Soul Dueling Area. I want to see how your students can prove to me that soul power rank doesn¡¯t represent everything.¡±

    ¡°They will prove it to you. We¡¯ll prove this point to you, Teacher Mu.¡± A crisp voice rang out at this moment. The students behind Zhou Yi stood aside and created a path. Three people walked towards them with big steps.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s fury that was about to erupt instantly turned into a bellyful of surprise when she saw the 3 of them. She couldn¡¯t help but scream, ¡°You three rascals still know when to return!¡±

    Three students wearing second grade uniforms quickly walked over as they were surrounded by excited ss 1 students. They were led by Huo Yuhao, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed behind.

    Xiao Xiao had only undergone her retreat for slightly more than 30 days, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had been secluded for more than 60 days. That¡¯s why their abilities had increased so significantly.

    Xiao Xiao hadn¡¯t left after she finished her retreat. She had remained on Sea God¡¯s Ind to absorb her soul bone. She was supposed to return to the outer courtyard after she finished absorbing the power of the soul bone, but she was retained by Elder Mu. He invited the strongest auxiliary-type soul master in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to guide her personally in her cultivation. Since she had chosen to be an auxiliary-type soul master, she had to learn vastly different things from what she did before.

    There was another reason why Elder Mu kept her in the inner courtyard. That was because both her and Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had reached a bottleneck. After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ended their retreat, Elder Mu was going to instruct someone to bring them to hunt suitable soul beasts to enhance their soul rings.

    After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ended their retreat, they both absorbed their respective soul bones before reuniting with Xiao Xiao outside of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Elder Mu gave them a few days to rest and allowed them to readjust themselves. They went to obtain their third soul rings after that. It was also at this point that Fan Yu reached the inner courtyard and found Xiao Xiao.

    Fan Yu didn¡¯t tell Zhou Yi that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had ended their retreat, as he wanted to give her a surprise. At this point, Zhou Yi¡¯s best students had finally returned.

 Chapter 132: Class Stand-off

    Chapter 132.1: ss Stand-off

    ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡± Huo Yuhao arrived before Zhou Yi and bowed to her respectfully.

    It had been more than three months since they had left the academy. Zhou Yi looked at Huo Yuhao and the two others. The suffering that they had endured over the past three months had clearly made them calmer, and it even felt like they had grown taller. The determined look in their eyes astonished Zhou Yi even more ¨C that was an expression of unwavering faith and unshakable belief! She had only seen this kind of look from inner courtyard disciples before.

    Her amazement was amplified because they were familiar. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao seemed to have transformed in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes. They had shed their youth and inexperience, and they had truly be restrained and mature. Even though they were only children who were not even thirteen years of age, Zhou Yi could see the embryonic shadows of top-ranked soul masters in them.

    ¡°d to see everyone back.¡± Zhou Yi realized that her voice was a little shaky when she said these words. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao had been the most outstanding students she had ever mentored since she became a teacher in Shrek¡¯s outer courtyard. Zhou Yi ced a lot of hope and faith on the three of them ¨C but greater hope meant greater disappointment. Zhou Yi was far too worried during the three months that they weren¡¯t around, but her position inside the academy was not high enough, and she couldn¡¯t possibly know too many secrets.

    She only heard about their bewildering performance from Fan Yu after the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament¡¯s conclusion. She was filled with pride ¨C she was one who had taught them, and they were her students! She longed for their return, and even the thought that the academy could take them into the inner courtyard crossed her mind.

    The three of them had finally returned. When Fan Yu told Zhou Yi that Elder Xuan had decided to let the three of them continue learning in the outer courtyard, Zhou Yi was so excited that she didn¡¯t sleep for the whole night. However, their subsequent closed-door cultivation would take nearly two months. The rtionship between Zhou Yi and the three of them wasn¡¯t just a normal teacher-student rtionship anymore; there was a special emotional attachment involved. She felt as if she were a mother watching her children grow up.

    Zhou Yi was exhrated, but Mu Jin¡¯s expression was a little dark. The initially proud look in her eyes had clearly changed. She could tell that Huo Yuhao and the two others¡¯ personalities and demeanors were quite different from before, and her confidence in absolute victory immediately took a hit.

    Dai Huabin stepped forward and whispered in her ear, ¡°We will definitely emerge victorious, Teacher Mu. We will win even if we have to sacrifice everything.¡±

    Mu Jin¡¯s eyes sparkled as she nced at him, and Dai Huabin nodded his head forcefully. Mu Jin could see roaring mes in his eyes ¨C how incredible was that fighting spirit?

    Dai Huabin had never epted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Their appearancepletely unleashed every ounce of his fighting spirit.

    Mu Jin grunted coldly and said, ¡°Honesty is the best policy, Teacher Zhou. It seems like you are preparing a trump card especially for me. It is truly unexpected that Teacher Zhou is starting to employ battle tactics.¡± Huo Yuhao and the two others had been back for quite a while from her perspective, but Zhou Yi had hidden them away.

    What was Zhou Yi¡¯s temperament? She wouldn¡¯t exin anything to Mu Jin as she answered inly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that we would meet in the Soul Dueling Area? I believe my students will prove to you that soul power rank isn¡¯t everything.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Mu Jin grunted indignantly before she took Dai Huabin and the six others, as well as the rest of ss 2¡¯s students, directly towards the Soul Dueling Area,

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back, big brother Huo.¡± Zhou Sichen pounced on Huo Yuhao and immediately gave him a bear hug. He had been the interim ss monitor, and he had felt the pressure from this contest most acutely. Huo Yuhao¡¯s return made him feel like the onset of spring, and both his mental and psychological pressure immediately vanished into thin air.

    The other ss 1 students swiftly circled around and began to ask about everything. Morale was initially low, but it immediately skyrocketed. When everybody entered the academy as freshmen, everyone witnessed Huo Yuhao¡¯s toils and utmost efforts in cultivation, and his subsequent improvements, with their own eyes. Huo Yuhao had never let them down ever since he became the ss monitor. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao¡¯s return instantly gave them all a mainstay.

    If one described a ss as a constructed room, then Huo Yuhao and the other two were its toughest pir. The three of them could carry the entire ss on their backs.

    Huo Yuhao and Zhou Sichen hugged and he chortled, ¡°The academy only gave us a single task. It was dyed because of some things. Let¡¯s go ¨C we shall go in first, so we don¡¯t keep ss 2¡¯s students waiting.¡±

    Zhou Sichen hammered his fist on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Are you confident in taking them out, big brother Huo? You have no idea ¨C Dai Huabin and the others have been stomping around as if their victory was assured when you weren¡¯t around. I have been patient with them for far too long. You have to lead us and teach them a lesson.¡±

    Cao Jinxuan never forgot to tease his buddy. ¡°Some people are just so shameless. Someone was just anxious like ady about to enter a marriage sedan, and now he¡¯s be an eager pervert.¡±

    ¡°Will you die if you shut up?¡± Zhou Sichen shot him a re.

    Cao Jinxuan chuckled, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao guffawed and said, ¡°Confidence isn¡¯t something that hangs from our mouths. We have to prove it with actual substance. Come, let¡¯s proceed.¡± He waved one hand and followed closely behind Zhou Yi as he led ss 1¡¯s students into the Soul Dueling Area, and everyone behind him walked in with grandiose majesty.

    ss 3 and ss 4 were enjoying the show from one side before this. The person standing at ss 3¡¯s forefront was their ss monitor, Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda martial soul.

    A small girl with a dainty frame beside Ning Tian whispered, ¡°Sister Tian¡¯er, Huo Yuhao and the others actually returned on time. Who do you think will win?¡±

    Ning Tian¡¯s eyes had been following Huo Yuhao this whole time till his shadow disappeared from sight. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Huo Yuhao¡¯s true strength is a little mysterious, and his spiritual-type soul skills are also very unique. However, ss 2 are still stronger in terms of battle prowess, unless Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao obtained their third rings. Huo Yuhao has be ss 1¡¯s absolute core, and he can even be said to be their spiritual leader. ss 1¡¯s morale is a lot different with him around, and the participants¡¯ fighting strength will thus naturally be fully unleashed.¡±

    The dainty girl giggled and said, ¡°Spiritual leader? Just like you and ss 3? It¡¯s a pity that fighting is not our forte. If not, how interesting would it be to face them in battle?¡±

    Ning Tian¡¯s eyes squinted a little and she replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that day wille. Come, let¡¯s go inside.¡± ss 3 and ss 4¡¯s teachers were not around, as both sses weren¡¯t directly involved in the contest. Ning Tian waved her hand and led both ss 3 and ss 4 inside. These two sses¡¯ fighting strengths couldn¡¯t bepared to ss 1 and ss 2, as thetter¡¯s main curriculum was fighting. However, especially with an extraordinarily powerful ss monitor like Ning Tian, ss 3 and ss 4¡¯s cohesiveness was still quite impressive.

    Over a hundred students from ss 4 quickly entered the Soul Dueling Area. Everybody stepped onto the spectator¡¯s grandstand, other than the two participating parties.

    Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan both wanted to participate. If not, they would have immediately opened a gambling ring or something of the sort in the spectator¡¯s grandstand, even though it was just for entertainment purposes, and wouldn¡¯t be for money. They would unquestionably stake everything on ss 1 if they were betting. This had nothing to with rtive strength ¨C it was about team honor and glory.

    ¡°Arrange our battle strategy, big brother Huo.¡± Zhou Sichen handed the mantle of ss monitor back to Huo Yuhao without hesitation once the three of them returned, as if it were a burden. The seven participants representing ss 1 were Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, and her sister, Lan Luoluo.

    Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu and her sister had fire in their eyes, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao shared the same expression.

    Their performance during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was exemry, but that stage was still too immense for Huo Yuhao and the others. Thatpetition was far too challenging, and it wasn¡¯t apetition that they should be participating in at their level. The truth was that luck had yed a substantial part in their ster performance and them bringing back the championship in the end.

    If both Xiao Hongchen and his sister weren¡¯t injured before thest round ¨C and Xiao Hongchen was actually severely wounded ¨C they wouldn¡¯t have emerged victorious even if they had unleashed their two martial soul fusion skills.

    It was different this time. They were back, and they had returned to Shrek Academy, and they were still Year 2 students. What they had to do now was fight against others of the same age group. They had been through the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. How could they feel even an inch of pressure now? Huo Yuhao had be the absolute dictator, and the three of them would have an absolute impact on the oue of the battle. They were at the pinnacle of their age group, and their current circumstance weren¡¯t something that could bepared to the pressure they felt during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. This battle was exhrating to them, if it could be described with one word.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to arrange anything. Just follow my instincts during the contest,¡± Huo Yuhao said with a smile on his face.

    Zhou Sichen was a little taken aback. If these words came from someone else¡¯s mouth, they would have given others a condescending or arrogant feeling. However, Huo Yuhao spoke as if it was a matter of fact. Huo Yuhao himself didn¡¯t feel anything special after saying those words.

    Lan Susu covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°Your dominance is overflowing, ss monitor.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s good to let it leak out a little.¡±

    Chapter 132.2: ss Stand-off

    Zhou Yi stood by the side and watched the youthful and adolescent children. She had no intention of interrupting them, as she was acutely aware of what Huo Yuhao and the two others had done in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The contest they were about to participate in was not a big deal to them at all. Mu Jin, heh heh.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time. Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Dong was overflowing with fighting spirit, and he bounced on the tips of his toes as he spoke.

    The teachers from both sses led their respective participants into the Soul Dueling Area. The morousmotions on the spectator¡¯s grandstand instantly quieted down.

    There was no doubt that this contest represented a battle at the highest level amongst all of Year 2¡¯s sses. With the return of Huo Yuhao and the others, both sses¡¯ standards didn¡¯t appear all that different. Everybody wanted to see which ss had made faster progress after half a year of cultivation.

    Nobody noticed several people slinking into a dark corner inside the spectator¡¯s grandstand ¨C were they not the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean, Yan Shaozhe, and the teaching director, Du Weilun?

    Du Weilun knew about everything that went on within the Martial Soul Department. If Du Weilun knew about everything, that naturally meant that Yan Shaozhe was aware as well.

    The reason why Yan Shaozhe had ced so much emphasis on the outer courtyard¡¯s ss 2 was undoubtedly because of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Dean Yan was here to witness the results of their closed-door cultivation.

    Du Weilun whispered, ¡°Dean, why don¡¯t we just watch the battle from the podium?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe shook his head and replied, ¡°Forget it. The children may be spooked if wee out officially. I don¡¯t want to affect Huo Yuhao and the others¡¯ daily training in the outer courtyard. I want to take them to the Great Star Dou Forest after this contest, and hopefully they will benefit from the expedition.¡±

    Du Weilun heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see thating!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled. Yes! He had never expected Huo Yuhao to grow at such dazzling speed over the course of a little more than a year. He hadn¡¯t thought much of Huo Yuhao before, but now even his own master held Huo Yuhao in high regard.

    Both parties had arrived on stage at this point.

    Mu Jin said, ¡°Teacher Zhou, shall the two of us be the judges for thispetition? We will rescue our own students if something unfortunate happens during the contest.¡±

    Zhou Yi nodded and answered, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Mu Jin¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°We are definitely going to win.¡±

    Zhou Yi said inly, ¡°I wonder if you will be personally present when we clean up the Year 2 teaching block.¡±

    ¡°We shall see.¡±

    ¡°Come.¡±

    These twopetitive teachers ordered their students to retreat and distance themselves from each other.

    Dai Huabin stood at the forefront of ss 2¡¯s seven participants. His eyes were ring with hysterical belligerence as he stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t match his gaze. He closed his eyes, as if he were contemting something.

    The Soul Dueling Area¡¯s arena was a lot bigger than the one in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The stage was circr, and this enabled thepetition to develop more smoothly.

    The seven people from ss 2 had clearly been through teamwork drills that boosted their chemistry. Dai Huabin stood at the very front, while Wu Feng was on his left side and Huang Chutian stood on his right. Three assault-type Soul Elders stood shoulder-to-shoulder, and created a powerful and invisible form of pressure.

    Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie, and Long Xiangyue stood behind them, and they were all agility-type soul masters. Xie Huanyue, who was a defense-type soul master, was positioned at the back to anchor the lineup.

    The formation was a little peculiar ¨C a 3-3-1 formation was a rare sight. However, one couldn¡¯t disregard their overall fighting strength.

    Huo Yuhao andpany walked back side by side as well. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood beside Huo Yuhao, while the others calmly awaited Huo Yuhao¡¯s orders.

    Both parties retreated to the Soul Dueling Area¡¯s borders.

    Mu Jin and Zhou Yi raised their right hands at the same time. Their gazes met as they eximed in unison, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Seven people lunged forward from ss 2. Dai Huabin was at the vanguard, and he released his martial soul as he pounced forward. White fur mixed with ck patterns covered his entire body, and a ck ¡°King¡± character appeared on his forehead, making him unnaturally ferocious ¨C he suddenly became a lot more intimidating and overbearing. One couldn¡¯t fail to mention that he was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son, and he was an outstanding student in terms of both talent, fighting spirit and determination. Huo Yuhao had defeated him many times, but each defeat made him even more determined and resolute, as if defeat consistently fueled and triggered his fighting spirit.

    Two yellow soul rings and one purple soul ring sparkled as soul power surged and rippled across his body. It felt as if his soul power could transform three soul rings into four at any time.

    The dragon scales on Wu Feng¡¯s body were conspicuously more numerous. Two yellow soul rings and a purple soul ring glowed as fire seemed to pour directly from her eyes, while dense and fiery-red soul power circled around her body and burned vigorously. The hate she harbored towards Huo Yuhao was second only to Dai Huabin. Of course, this hatred only came from her unconvinced attitude and her unwillingness to submit, rather than Dai Huabin¡¯s intense feeling of humiliation.

    Huang Chutian¡¯s soul power was ck. The Herculean Ape martial soul made his body extremely strong. He wasn¡¯t inferior to Dai Huabin in terms of size and volume, and three soul rings sparkled at the same time. Unlike the others, he shot a ferocious gaze towards Zhou Yi. Never in his life would he forget the time when Zhou Yi had chased him from the ss, and it was because of this that he cultivated as much as he could inside ss 2, and finally broke through Rank 30. From his perspective, his opportunity for vengeance was here, and he wanted Zhou Yi to see that expelling him from her ss back then had been a dreadful decision.

    The seven participants from ss 1 released their respective martial souls as Huo Yuhao roared, ¡°Go!¡±

    ss 2¡¯s students felt a chill run down their spines as they watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s two white soul rings glow. Ten year soul rings represented weakness on other people, but were Huo Yuhao¡¯s white soul rings really ten year soul rings?

    ss 1 was originally formed up in one row, but their formation started to change in the blink of an eye. Huo Yuhao was a control-type soul master, but he led the entire pack with Wang Dong while the other five instantly experienced the wonders of Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Nobody needed Huo Yuhao to give out instructions ¨C everybody¡¯s positions were already in ce.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood in front of everyone. Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan and Xiao Xiao formed the second row, while Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were at the back; it was a 2-3-2 formation.

    ss 2¡¯s overall strength was formidable, but they had an obvious weakness ¨C they didn¡¯t have a control-type soul master. Huo Yuhao¡¯s party had four control-type soul masters, and that was excluding Xiao Xiao.

    Mu Jin and Zhou Yi didn¡¯t sit around idly. They released their respective martial souls and followed their students closely. Their students were extraordinary prodigies, and most of them were the outer courtyard¡¯s core disciples. How could they answer to their superiors if something happened to these children? Mu Jin was a six-ringed Soul Emperor, just like Zhou Yi.

    Both parties retreated at a normal pace, but their forward movement was as quick as lightning. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong pushed forth side by side, while his left hand grabbed onto Wang Dong¡¯s right hand right before their opponents¡¯ watchful eyes. Thick and violent soul energy instantly rippled from their bodies.

    Both sides were within fifty meters of each other at this point. Huo Yuhao swung his left hand, and Wang Dong¡¯s body flew into the air with the force of his toss. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings closed inwards, and he immediately hugged Huo Yuhao.

    Brilliant radiance exploded within a sphere of five meters in diameter with the two of them as the center. Their bodies released a unique glow, and it was a peculiar luster that phased between blue, purple and gold.

    An enormous light appeared behind Wang Dong. It was aplete, elegant and impable Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    Arge shadow of a vertical eye shimmered behind Huo Yuhao. The vertical eye¡¯s entire body was golden, but its pupils emanated a in purple hue.

    Two gigantic lights glimmered at the same time and lunged forward.

    ¡°Move away!¡± Dai Huabin howled without hesitation, and his forward movement immediately transformed into a nk.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time such a peculiar transformation had urred with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. They had relied on this transformation during the freshman¡¯s assessment back then to defeat Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie with this single strike, and eventually became the ultimate freshman champions. It was natural that Dai Huabin reacted like he did when the two of them used the same technique once again.

    However, just as he was feeling astonished, Dai Huabin felt that Huo Yuhao was insane. Thepetition had only just begun, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had already unleashed their martial soul fusion skill. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Road fusion skill was formidable, but it was only one strike, and it only attacked in a straight line, and most of their soul power would be consumed afterwards. Who fought like that? Was he insane? Did he really think that they would maintain their original positions for him to hit us?

    Dai Huabin¡¯s movement was swift, but ss 2¡¯s participants weren¡¯t slow either. Seven figures darted to the side almost at the same time, and everyone gave up their central positions. Everyone was afraid to be hit by that radiant Golden Road.

    The lustrous three-colored golden light had appeared, but it only surged out for two meters before it dissipated in midair.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to their original form. They weren¡¯t using a martial soul fusion skill at all, and both of them didn¡¯t even connect to each other to channel the Haodong power. They blitzed past half the entire arena within that tiny period of time, and his team¡¯s current position was where Dai Huabin and the others had quickly dispersed and before they leapt towards different spots.

    It was a perfect Imitation. Huo Yuhao had be much more adept with Spirit Eyes¡¯ functions and applications as his spiritual power increased. Hepletely understood his soul skills¡¯ powers after they were boosted beyond their maximal year after his closed-door cultivation, and his Imitation¡¯s area of effect was increased from a diameter of three meters to five meters.

    Chapter 132.3: ss Stand-off

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong unleashed the Golden Road, the initial radiance could cover an area up to 10 meters in diameter. But Dai Huabin and the others naturally wouldn¡¯t know the exact figure.

    The best way to avoid the Golden Road was to leap to either side. This was what Dai Huabin and the others did.

    Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Zhu Lu and Xie Huanyue all leapt to the left, while Huang Chutian, Cui Yajie and Long Xiangyue leapt to the right. The 7 of them were separated now, and acted freely on their own. What formation was there to speak of now?

    An intense blue halo was emitted from behind ss 1. Countless blue streaks turned into a huge that stretched towards one side. The covered Huang Chutian, Long Xiangyue and Cui Yajie. This was the Hai unleashed by Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.

    ss 1 managed to unleash their full strength under Huo Yuhao¡¯s dispatch. Cao Jinxuan¡¯s Time-psing Clock rose up silently behind him. His second soul ring shed with a yellow light. The light distorted andnded on Huang Chutian. It was the Time Lock.

    Huang Chutian was very familiar with Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. The Hai was this pair of sisters¡¯ first soul skill. Although it was very restrictive, it could still be ovee with enough force. But everything around him seemed to go still just as he was about to unleash his power. He stood there in a daze without moving too. Cao Jinxuan¡¯s Time Lock had locked time.

    Cao Jinxuan was able to be a core disciple of the outer courtyard because of his magical Time-sping Clock¡¯s special time-type soul skill. It couldn¡¯t be shaken off easily. Even though Huang Chutian¡¯s cultivation was above his, he was still paralyzed for two seconds in front of the Time Lock.

    These two seconds were enough for the Hai to be put to use.

    Long Xiangyue and Cui Yajie seemed to have be dazed, and the Hai descended on them. They were both agility-type soul masters, and didn¡¯t possess Huang Chutian¡¯s strength. They were helpless after they were covered by the Lan sisters¡¯ Hai. It was even toote for Huang Chutian after he was trapped. Countless needle-like strands of hair also quickly blocked their sensitive areas. It was the Lan sisters¡¯ second soul skill, Pierce. Huang Chutian might be very strong, but he was a strength-type soul master, and not a defense-type soul master. He didn¡¯t dare to use his body to test the close-range, all-around attack of the Pierce.

    3 out of the 7 were already down, including a Soul Elder. It couldn¡¯t be much simpler than this.

    Mu Jin was totally stunned. What was going on?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions didn¡¯t stop. He used Imitation to scam his opponents first before using the Spiritual Detection Sharing to help the Lan sisters¡¯ Hai to determine their precise location and enable Cao Jinxuan to use the Time Lock to paralyze Huang Chutian. He unleashed his Spiritual Interference to affect Long Xiangyue and Cui Yajie. He did all this in one shot without stopping.

    As he was doing all this, he burst towards Dai Huabin and the others along with Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao and Zhou Sichen.

    Dai Huabin let out a tiger¡¯s roar. He twisted his head and burst towards Huo Yuhao. Zhu Lu chased after Dai Huabin hurriedly, whereas Xie Huanyue and Wu Feng stayed close to the both of them. Although 3 of them had lost their ability to fight, the remaining 4 of them were the core of the team¡¯s abilities. They were not totally helpless if they banded together. After all, this was just apetition, and their lives were not at stake. ss 1 had also used 3 members to control Huang Chutian and the other two. They believed that they still had a fighting chance.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute sounded at this point. The four of them reduced their speed quickly. Following that, a huge cauldron appeared and divided into 3 parts instantly. It was the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Even Wang Dong couldn¡¯t use both his martial souls at the same time in the past. Only Huo Yuhao could control the appearance of both his martial souls using his Spirit Eyes¡¯ immense spiritual power. However, Xiao Xiao managed to do so now.

    Perhaps her limelight was always taken by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. But she still possessed twin martial souls.

    The three cauldrons were positioned in the worst possible positions for Dai Huabin and the other 3. They werepletely separated from one another because of the 3 cauldrons, and the cauldrons were also urately ced in the paths that they had to cross to reach one another.

    They had to stop, as they were intercepted at high speed. In addition, Xiao Xiao had grasped the precise timing to make her move because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Dai Huabin burst forward on his own, while his 3 teammates behind him stalled for a second and were stopped by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    It seemed as if he was purposely left on his own, and he wasn¡¯t even aware of it.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong advanced together. While Huo Yuhao used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to advance towards Dai Huabin, Wang Dong had already disappeared behind him.

    Dai Huabin might possess a strong fighting will, but he was still petrified when he had to face Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He roared and unleashed both his first and third soul skills ¨C the White Tiger¡¯s Shield and White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation. A sharp aura instantly.

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin possessed the same first 3 soul skills. But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any pressure against Dai Huabin now.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s aura was even more acute than Dai Yueheng¡¯s, but itcked the steadiness and reservation of Dai Yueheng¡¯s aura, which resembled a suppressed volcano.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s second soul ring also lit up as he roared at a distance of 3 meters from Huo Yuhao. The White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    However, he couldn¡¯t conceal any of his actions with the Spiritual Detection Sharing around. Huo Yuhao slipped 3 feetterally and avoided the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave. He also inched closer to Dai Huabin.

    Dai Huabin sensed an abrupt, sharp aura and subconsciously lifted his right arm quickly.

    ¡°Ding!¡±

    A golden light shed before disappearing. Dai Huabin felt his right arm turning numb, and his body shook until he stopped moving.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Guillotine Wings?

    An ominous feeling suddenly rose in his heart. He couldn¡¯t see Wang Dong¡¯s actions with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation concealing him. How could he continue to fight? He was outnumbered, and Wang Dong was even a three-ringed Soul Elder. His will to win was crushed. He also discovered that Wang Dong¡¯s soul power was much greater than before. He had put himself at a disadvantage amidst his haste.

    His thoughts ran quickly as the battle continued.

    When the Guillotine Wings stopped Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao also pped both his hands towards Dai Huabin. His palms shed with a diamond glow, as if he were wearing a pair of diamond gloves. A streak of ultimate, chilly air rose up.

    Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer

    Dai Huabin used his right arm to block Wang Dong¡¯s attack. He lifted his left arm and his ws opened wide. He didn¡¯t dodge as he stretched his left arm forward to w at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    His arm wasn¡¯t much longer than Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm, but it was different with the tiger¡¯s w. If Huo Yuhao continued to attack him, his own chest would also be pierced by the tiger¡¯s w.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s choice was right. He reckoned that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t challenge him in terms of strength, even with Wang Dong¡¯s help. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to dodge this strike. There was no other way out for him. Once Huo Yuhao stepped back, Dai Huabin could also retreat rapidly and gather his teammates again before attacking once more. He had no more confidence in fighting Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong by himself.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hide. He sped his palms before his left hand pped the outer area of Dai Huabin¡¯s left wrist. His right hand also pped the inner area of Dai Huabin¡¯s right arm.

    Dai Huabin was delighted. He thought to himself how Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t me anyone but himself for seeking death. He concentrated his soul power in his left arm. With the White Tiger¡¯s Shield and White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation¡¯s enhancements, the strength of his strike couldn¡¯t be blocked easily, even by a four-ringed Soul Ancestor.

    But his delight onlysted for an instant.

    ¡°Kacha, kacha.¡± The crisp sound of bones being crushed was very obvious in the Soul Dueling Area. Dai Huabin¡¯s left arm was instantly distorted, and changed shape. His tiger w was wrenched away before it could w at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest as his arm was snapped.

    Dai Huabin was stunned at this instant. He didn¡¯t believe what had just happened in front of him. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t feel an intense pain. That¡¯s because an ultimate chill was injected into his arm as soon as it snapped, freezing his broken arm and nerves.

    Huo Yuhao trampled on Dai Huabin¡¯s body to lift himself into the air. His right shoulder knocked heavily into Dai Huabin¡¯s chest. Dai Huabin was sent flying into the air as a bang was heard. Ayer of frost also covered his body instantly.

    All of this happened instantly.

    Who would have expected that Dai Huabin, the strongest among the Year 2 and even Year 3 students, didn¡¯t even manage tost 3 seconds against Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

    At this point, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng and Xie Huanyue all burst out from the trapid by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Zhu Lu rushed towards Dai Huabin in shock. Wu Feng rushed towards Huo Yuhao, inspired by her hatred. Xie Huanyue hesitated for a moment instead. But the three of them were stopped by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, which blocked their paths.

    ss 2 appeared very disorganized. They copsed under ss 1¡¯s attack.

    Wu Feng¡¯s hatred towards Huo Yuhao was not any less than Dai Huabin¡¯s. Her confidence was at an all-time high after she obtained her third soul ring. A sharp dragon¡¯s roar sounded from her mouth, and she leaped forward. She appeared in front of Huo Yuhao in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 133: A Powerful Enemy Suddenly Descends

    Chapter 133: A Powerful Enemy Suddenly Descends

    Scorching dragon mes were unleashed by her first soul ring ability Dragonfire. Dragonfury was also unleashed at the same time. This caused Wu Feng to look like a ferociously burning piece of coal.

    Huo Yuhao was expressionless as he went to face Wu Feng¡¯s charge head on. His right hand pped forward quickly; it was still the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer.

    The seemingly simple palm strike of his developed countless changes. While Wu Feng was impulsive, she wasn¡¯t weak. She was just like a weaker version of Ma Xiaotao. Her intelligence wasn¡¯t low even though she seemed very reckless. However, to her horror, she found out that she couldn¡¯t dodge Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm strike no matter how many transformations she underwent. She clenched her fists and punched them out towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm.

    Something weird happened at this moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm suddenly disappeared, and Wu Feng¡¯s fists hit nothing but air. After she expended all her strength, Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm seemed to re-appear illusively and strike her fists.

    ¡°Psshh¡ª¡ª¡±

    The sound that rang out suddenly seemed as if burning coal had been thrown into a basin of ice water. Steam rose up, while the red light on Wu Feng¡¯s body dissipated at a shocking speed. She couldn¡¯t use her third soul skill now even though she wanted to.

    A streak of golden light shed and hit her from the side, and she was sent flying. This second consecutive strike was unleashed by Wang Dong. Wu Feng and Dai Huabin were tackled in different manners, and this was only apetition after all. That¡¯s why his Guillotine Wing didn¡¯tnd on Wu Feng.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head suddenly, and the purplish-golden radiance in his eyes shone extremely brightly. A seemingly tangible ray of light shed in his pupils before disappearing. Zhu Lu screamed in horror and instantly copsed to the ground not far from Huo Yuhao. Fresh blood flowed from her mouth and nose.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s hopes of forcefully unleashing the Netherworld Tiger with her were dashed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock stopped that from happening. Zhu Lu had no chance of resisting Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock with her Rank 29 cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned to Xie Huanyue, who had burst out of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s trap. He asked with the expression in his eyes, ¡°Do you still want to continue?¡±

    As he looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Xie Huanyue swallowed his saliva with difficulty andughed bitterly while shaking his head.

    What was there to continue?

    Behind Huo Yuhao, Zhou Sichen had been watching fiercely, but had yet to make his move. Both Dai Huabin and Wu Feng were three-ringed Soul Elders, but they were taken down before they even had the opportunity to unleash their second strike towards Huo Yuhao. While Xie Huanyue thought highly of himself, he didn¡¯t think he was stronger than Dai Huabin.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have be a new person after disappearing for a few months. He seemed to bepletely beyond their age level. Xie Huanyue had still believed that they were evenly matched, but thepetition ended so quickly.

    Mu Jin was in a daze upon seeing what had happened. Huo Yuhao disyed not just his abilities, but also his calmness andposure. Even as a teacher, she was petrified when she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze as he fought.

    It was a look that was filled with wisdom and farsightedness. It was as if everything was under his control. This match was also entirely under his control. ss 2 didn¡¯t even have a chance from start till end. ss 1¡¯s 7 members held an advantage over the weaker ss 2¡¯s 7 members throughout thepetition. Dai Huabin didn¡¯t even manage to block one attack by Huo Yuhao in the process.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s soul power had reached Rank 39, and his White Tiger also added sufficient enhancements to his body. But his White Tiger couldn¡¯t ovee the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion no matter how strong it was.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer was a pure strength-type soul skill that was supplemented by other elements. After Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was enhanced by the ten thousand year Whale Rubber, Life Gold and other treasures, he was no longer inferior to Dai Huabin. More importantly, there was a Wang Dong behind Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Dong¡¯s soul power had reached Rank 36, and wasn¡¯t far off from Dai Huabin¡¯s. Huo Yuhao was also Rank 30 himself. Thebination of their Haodong Power was immensely strong. Even a four-ringed Soul Elder wouldn¡¯t have it easy against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. But Dai Huabin regarded himself so highly that he believed his arm could resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. In short, he was seeking death.

    Thepetition ended even faster than Huo Yuhao had expected. He looked at Wang Dong before turning to Xiao Xiao, who had put her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute away. The three of them felt that thispetition was too simple. It ended before they had unleashed their full powers. Their opponents were even the elites among those in their same grade.

    The more it was like this, the better they understood the benefits of participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, as well as the influence and change the closed-door cultivation had on them by enabling them to find their own paths.

    Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan and the Lan sisters didn¡¯t look excited now. They were more stunned. As the four of them looked at one another before turning to Huo Yuhao, it wasn¡¯t just friendship that was revealed in their eyes. There was even a tinge of admiration.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing had had a magical effect on how they were dispatched. They just needed to unleash their soul skills and follow the rhythm and speed that Huo Yuhao provided them.

    Cao Jinxuan was extremely awed, as he was a control-type soul master himself. This was true control! It wasn¡¯t just about controlling one¡¯s opponents; it was about controlling one¡¯s teammates too. With such a godlike team leader, he was even confident in fighting others above his level.

    The Lan sisters let go of the Hai after Huo Yuhao gestured for them to do so and released Huang Chutian, Cui Yajie and Long Xiangyue.

    Zhou Yi came beside Huo Yuhao and looked at the distant Mu Jin, who was in a daze. She wasn¡¯t excited, but proud. How could she not be proud with such a disciple?

    ¡°Teacher Mu, I hope that you and your students will take care of our level¡¯s hygiene in the future. If your students can¡¯t take it, don¡¯t bother challenging my ss to apetition anymore.¡±

    After she finished speaking, Teacher Zhou turned around, lifted her head and walked away proudly, whereas Mu Jin turned pale.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a slight smile on his face. He actually liked Teacher Zhou in this manner. Zhou Yi guided him with this temperament and strictness of hers. He could sense the passion behind her strictness. Although she was harsh on her own students, she was also very protective of them. Those who truly knew her wouldn¡¯t forget her.

    It wasn¡¯t just Zhou Yi who walked out of the Soul Dueling Area with her head held high. The students from the entire ss 1 also did the same. They were all feeling exalted!

    They didn¡¯t just win thispetition. They won it beautifully. That exhrating feeling made the students from ss 1 tempted to rush into the venue and battle alongside their ssmates.

    In a dark corner of the stands, the teaching director, Du Weilun, was in a daze.

    ¡°Does he really only have two rings? Dean? Why do I not recognize this Huo Yuhao anymore?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe revealed a smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s not just you who¡¯s surprised. Even the teachers are awed by his abilities. More importantly, this kid doesn¡¯t just possess talent. His desire to pursue self-improvement is even more outstanding. He will be a leading figure of the younger generation if given another 3 to 5 years. I don¡¯t think he even used half of his powers when he teamed up with Wang Dong earlier.¡±

    Du Weilun was in awe. ¡°Fortunately, you fought for him. Otherwise, such a talent would have been taken by the Soul Tool Department¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe interrupted him with a sigh. ¡°I owe the Soul Tool Department a favor because of this. From this year onward, we shall allow the Soul Tool Department to choose our third-grade students and above once they pass the advancement examinations. This is provided the students are willing to go to the Soul Tool Department. We¡¯ll grant them permission to leave as long as they¡¯re willing to.¡±

    Du Weilin was shocked. ¡°Dean, we¡¯ll lose many talents!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe sighed and said, ¡°Teacher is right. I¡¯m not generous enough with my actions. I¡¯ve also figured things out during this period of time. The Martial Soul and Soul Tool departments are a family. In addition, I have to admit that I agree that the situation of the world of soul masters is going to change as soul tools develop after I heard Wang Yan¡¯s detailed description and analysis of the tournament. If we continue to remain deluded, we¡¯ll be surpassed one day. It¡¯s time to change things.¡±

    Du Weilun still seemed a little lost. Yan Shaozhe patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Just follow my instructions. Go and find Wang Yan and see what he has to say. You¡¯ll understand what I¡¯m doing after that.¡±

    Wang Yan had remained cooped up in the inner courtyard after he led the team back from the tournament. He only proceeded to the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He was like a thirsty sponge that kept on absorbing the knowledge that he had yearned for in the past.

    As they were conversing, a weird voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Little Xuan,e out now.¡±

    This voice didn¡¯t seem very loud, but it echoed in one¡¯s ears. It was as if a p of thunder had sounded in one¡¯s head. More frighteningly, this voice engulfed the entire Shrek Academy. These simple few words seemed to cause the atmosphere around Shrek Academy to turn gloomy.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expression changed greatly, and he said in a deep voice, ¡°This is not good. There¡¯s a powerful enemying. Weilun, instruct all students to remain in their ssrooms. I shall make a move first.¡± As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe shook his body and shot out quickly from where he was. He didn¡¯t advance towards the direction where the voice came from, but went straight for Huo Yuhao, who was in the Soul Dueling Area.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao had only just left the area. He was also startled as he heard this sudden voice. The weird voice caused his Spiritual Sea to shake. He said in shock, ¡°Very strong spiritual power. Who is this? He¡¯s here to find Elder Xuan?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression also changed greatly, but ayer of golden light shed slightly from the depths of his eyes.

    The rest of the students were more horrifiedpared to the two of them. They turned pale, and those with lower cultivations were even shaking.

    ¡°Yuhao, be careful. The owner of this voice is of the same level as the elder in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡± Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice was very stern. It wasn¡¯t just him. The Ice Empress and Electrolux seemed to have awakened too. Huo Yuhao could even feel a slight tension in his Spiritual Sea.

    At this point, a gentle white light surfaced and covered Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    ¡°Don¡¯t resist. I¡¯ll bring the three of you to the Sea God¡¯s Ind.¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice rang in their ears. In the next moment, they felt as if they were flying among the clouds. It was all white around them. Zhou Yi and the ss 1 students who were around them only sensed a white light shing before noticing that the three of them had disappeared. Only Zhou Yi was informed by Yan Shaozhe.

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic,¡± she said hurriedly, ¡°follow me back to the ssroom immediately.¡±

    Where was the safest ce in Shrek Academy? It had to be the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°Old freak Du, it¡¯s you?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s sonorous voice resonated above Shrek Academy at this point. A streak of bright, yellow light shot into the sky. That blinding radiance instantly covered the entire academy. In addition, a wave of immense aura came from within the academy. It shot into the sky like waves of billowing air.

    ¡°What a Shrek Academy. Are you going to bully us because we¡¯re outnumbered by you? Let¡¯spete then.¡± Intense light and me shot into the sky outside Shrek Academy. There were more than 20 beams of light within the mes, which didn¡¯t dissipate as they shot into the sky. They were led by a dark green beam of light that was extremely thick. This beam of light wasrge enough to almost cover the rest of the beams behind it.

    Elder Xuan stood in the air above Sea God¡¯s Ind. He continued to take a sip of wine and said coldly, ¡°What? Old freak Du, are you nning to wage a battle against Shrek Academy?¡±

    A figure slowly appeared from within the dark green beam of light.

    It was a huge old man. His dark green hair flowed freely behind his back. But the funny thing was that he didn¡¯t have hair on top of his head. He was bald.

    This elder¡¯splexion was red and smooth like a baby¡¯s. He didn¡¯t have many wrinkles either. The only way one could tell his age was through the look in his dark green eyes ¨C they seemed as if he had experienced the vicissitudes of life.

    The twenty-or-so beams of light behind this elder lined up and gradually revealed the figures within them. They took different shapes and sizes, but they were undoubtedly all top-ranked individuals since they could float in mid-air with their own cultivations.

 Chapter 134: The Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi

    Chapter 134.1: The Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi

    It was important to know that non-flying-type soul masters could only fly in the air for a short period of time even if they were seven-ringed Soul Sages. It was only with eight rings that one could float in the air like this. At the Titled Douluo level, they were then able to fly for long periods of time using their soul power. This meant that the twenty-or-so people in the air right now had at least eight rings.

    One had to have sufficient ability to provoke Shrek Academy and find trouble with them. These people were obviously here with ill intentions.

    Over on Shrek Academy¡¯s side, figures also started to rise into the air. Many students looked into the distant sky from the windows of the teaching block. Their gazes were all stiff. Such a confrontation between top-ranked individuals was not somethingmonly seen. This was even the first time that the inner courtyard disciples had seen something like this.

    The inner courtyard students from Shrek Academy soon realized that there were more than 30 people from the academy in the air. They outnumbered the intruders, and were led by Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan seemed neither anxious nor worried. He said indifferently, ¡°Old freak Du, what do you want with this lineup of yours today? Your Body Sect wants to re-appear in the continent and we¡¯re your first target?¡±

    When the words ¡®Body Sect¡¯ came from Elder Xuan¡¯s mouth, some of the younger teachers behind Elder Xuan looked petrified. No wonder the other party had intruded into Shrek Academy so fearlessly ¨C they were powerful individuals from the Body Sect.

    Shrek Academy and the Body Sect were equally matched on the continent. The other party had their own history too.

    The elder with green hair that was called old freak Du by Elder Xuan snorted and rolled his eyes. ¡°Little Xuan, you¡¯re asking the obvious. Why? Have you forgotten what you¡¯ve done?¡±

    Elder Xuanughed. ¡°Forgotten what? Didn¡¯t I just lecture two rascals under you? Ask them what they did. They dared to attack me. If not for the fact that I was giving you face, do you think they would have returned alive?¡±

    Old freak Du snorted furiously. ¡°Nonsense, nonsense. You beat up my sect members, and you¡¯re still acting so upright. I won¡¯t let the matter rest. I want you to show me where your confidence ising from.¡± As he spoke, he roared furiously, and a thick dark-green radiance shot into the sky. This radiance caused half the sky to be dyed a dark-green color. His body ballooned in size and became 10 times bigger in the blink of an eye. His dark-green skin turned into huge muscles, and only the shorts that he wore that covered his sensitive area survived. Of course, those shorts were custom-made. Otherwise, they would have been torn apart by his expanding body.

    The most frightening part was still his soul rings. There were 2 yellow, 2 purple, 2 ck, and 3 red soul rings. He had 3 hundred thousand year soul rings. Once he unleashed his martial soul fully, he almost crushed the air with his arrogance.

    Elder Xuan turned serious and roared too. He shot up into the sky, and an intense yellow radiance was released from his body. An overbearing aura erupted, and the dense yellow radiance supported the sky above Shrek. Yellow and green were clearly separated in the sky high above.

    However, Elder Xuan¡¯s soul rings were slightly inferior to old freak Du¡¯s soul rings. He had 2 yellow, 2 purple, 4 ck, and 1 red soul ring. But he only had 1 hundred thousand year soul ring. This also signified that he needed to have at least 2 more hundred thousand year soul bones than old freak Du.

    Elder Xuan experienced huge transformations too. Under the light of the yellow radiance, he let out a deep groan in the air that forced the individuals from the Body Sect to retreat a hundred meters.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s appearance changedpletely as the intense yellow radiance spread.

    He had the body of a sheep, and his eyes were below his armpits. He had the teeth of a tiger, and human hands. A pair of huge, weird horns appeared too. His body was more than 30 meters in length, and he even seemed stronger than old freak Du. The intense yellow radiance continued to advance, and the nine soul rings turned into circles of light that moved up and down between the huge horns that were around 5 meters in length.

    Huo Yuhao and the other two had arrived outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion through Yan Shaozhe¡¯s guidance at this point. Yan Shaozhe was worried as he watched what was happening above him. He said to Huo Yuhao and the other two, ¡°Enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion quickly. Don¡¯te out no matter what. Do the three of you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The three of them answered him hurriedly. They were all shocked by what was happening.

    This was also their first time seeing Elder Xuan unleashing his full abilities.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother entering the pavilion. Just watch from the door.¡± A gentle voice sounded, and was heard by Yan Shaozhe, Huo Yuhao and the other two. Yan Shaozhe heaved a sigh of relief as he heard this voice. After bowing in the direction of Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, his toes touched the ground, and he changed into a white light that instantly rose into the sky. As the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean, how could he be absent when Shrek Academy was under attack?

    The gentle voice undoubtedly belonged to Elder Mu. Huo Yuhao and the other two were naturally safe from danger since Elder Mu was around.

    Wang Dong said softly, ¡°Elder Mu, it should be a Martial Soul True Body that¡¯s just been unleashed. It¡¯s something that can only be done with at least a seven-ringed cultivation! It seems very strong! But why is that green giant in a human form? Did his martial soule from some type of ancient giant?¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t answer Wang Dong¡¯s question, but Elder Mu could! Elder Mu¡¯s gentle voice rang out again, ¡°What you¡¯re seeing is not just a simple Martial Soul True Body anymore. It¡¯s a powerful force that¡¯s revealed when soul power that¡¯s at least Rank 95 is injected into a Martial Soul True Body after a fusion of one¡¯s pure understanding of his martial soul. It¡¯s a technique that only a Transcendent Douluo can use. That person is called Du Busi, the Sect Master of the Body Sect. His martial soul is himself.¡±

    ¡°Body Sect? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± After hearing the words ¡®Body Sect¡¯, Huo Yuhao was shocked. He also remembered what had happened to him in Star Luo City.

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°Yes. Without a doubt, they¡¯vee for you. It¡¯s worth it to make a trip for someone with a Body Soul and an Ultimate martial soul. I think they¡¯re also here for some other purpose. Yuhao, I shall not hide it from you. The Body Sect has researched Body Souls for ten thousand years. No one can rival them in this aspect. I believe that they have a way of making your Spirit Eyes experience their second awakening and make them stronger. The academy will not me if you choose to leave. But if you stay, I¡¯m sure you can tell that the academy will do our best to nurture you. The academy should be better at nurturing your Ultimate martial soul. You have to tell me your decision, so that I know how to ount to the Body Sect.¡±

    After hearing Elder Mu¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao answered him without any hesitation, ¡°Elder Mu, the academy is in trouble because of me. But I won¡¯t leave the academy. I¡¯m already one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. I will always be a part of Shrek as long as the academy doesn¡¯t give up on me. Furthermore, I have a sect. I¡¯m a Tang Sect disciple. How can I change my sect again? I wouldn¡¯t have entered the academy if not for Teacher Xiao Ya and eldest senior. I might have even died in Star Dou Forest. I won¡¯t join any other ce apart from Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Good kid.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice became gentler. There was also a sense of resolve within this gentleness.

    A reverberating boom sounded in the sky at this point. Both Du Busi and Elder Xuan had started to make their moves.

    The entire sky changed because of their battle. One side was dark yellow, while the other side was a domineering dark green. They both upied one half of the sky. At the point where they intersected, they surged as Elder Xuan and Du Busi fought. This was an extremely frightening duel!

    Elder Xuan¡¯s Godly Taotie Bull burst forward in mid-air. The yellow radiance behind him struck towards Du Busi.

    The dark-green giant converted from Du Busi sprinted in the air with huge steps. He was fearless as he went straight for Elder Xuan.

    The two of them collided in mid-air amidst reverberating booms.

    At this point, both Shrek Academy and the Body Sect cultivators that were in the air initially all descended rapidly. They returned to the ground.

    A frightening pressure was exerted from the sky, and it only disappeared when one was around a hundred meters from the ground. This was a result of intentional control by both parties. After all, neither side wanted their own people to be struck by the aftermath. It also seemed like Du Busi had no intention of fighting Elder Xuan to the death.

    Even so, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao still shook as they stood on the ground. They turned pale too. It was as if the sky was copsing.

    Was this a duel between top-ranked individuals? Human strength was actually able to reach such a frightening level.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely shocked. Before today, he hadn¡¯t expected a soul master¡¯s strength to reach such a standard. This was already beyond his understanding of what a soul master was capable of.

    He had witnessed the top-ranked, six-ringed Soul Emperor cultivations of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng before. While they were much stronger than him, he could still see the gap between him and them. But the abilities that Elder Xuan and Du Busi disyed were beyond his understanding, such that he couldn¡¯t appraise them at all. He couldn¡¯t even sense the presence of their levels.

    Elder Mu¡¯s voice didn¡¯t resonate again. Neither did he exin anything to them. He left the three of them staring into the sky silently.

    He left them outside and didn¡¯t allow them to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion because he wanted them to watch this earth-shaking battle. Such a huge battle was rarely seen on the continent. To young soul masters, this was also an extremely valuable experience for them!

    Chapter 134.2: The Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi

    The sudden collision of Elder Xuan and Du Busi in mid-air caused the sky to blow apart, as if fireworks had been ignited. The dark green radiance behind Du Busi formed a huge whirlpool-like patch in the air. The yellow radiance behind Elder Xuan instantly formed countless huge circles of light. After that, they changed into a huge meteor shower that struck towards the whirlpool-like patch.

    Huo Yuhao had seen many meteor shower-type soul skills. The strongest that he had seen ertr Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower and Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger Meteor Shower. But those meteor showers were soul skills that imitated meteor showers. They only covered a few hundred square meters at most. But the meteor shower that Elder Xuan unleashed was truly mighty! It engulfed the entire area and was boundless. It was as if the sky was being torn apart.

    But Du Busi was very powerful too. The huge, dark green whirlpool-like patch formed a funnel-like shape and allowed the meteor shower to strike it. The yellow light disappeared as it entered the funnel.

    The two of them were at a stalemate right now. The green giant formed from Du Busi used its hands to grip Elder Xuan¡¯s horns tightly. While bothpeted to see who was better, neither could gain the upper hand over the other. The lights on their body also alternated between brightness and dimness, while their bodies were half-still.

    Streaks of ck light shed past their sides. The light of stars could be subtly seen amidst the ck light. They were spatial cracks!

    The longer they fought each other, the more frequently the ck lights appeared. A ck circle soon formed around them, and began to expand outward.

    ¡°Du Busi, you¡¯re really mad.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang in the air.

    Du Busiughed loudly and said, ¡°You¡¯re the mad one. I don¡¯t want to die with you. Let go and we¡¯ll go again.¡±

    A piercing, tearing sound could be heard in mid-air. The ck circle dispersed and turned into countless streaks of ck lights that snaked out in all directions. Wherever the ck lights passed, Elder Xuan¡¯s yellow meteor shower and Du Busi¡¯s dark green whirlpool dissipated. The ck lights reached extremely far before they disappeared.

    Du Busi and Elder Xuan had separated at this point. There were more than a thousand meters between them. They gathered their powers once again, and the confrontation between yellow and dark green started again.

    ¡°Little Xuan, you¡¯ve improved greatly after all these years of not seeing you!¡± Du Busi snorted.

    ¡°The same goes for you,¡± Elder Xuan replied coldly, ¡°why are you still not dead yet, old freak?¡±

    Du Busi seemed to have been triggered. ¡°Nonsense, why would I die? And you still call me old? How many years younger are you? At most 20 years. If you¡¯re not dead, why would I be? I can still survive another 100 years.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re capable, live for another 1000 years,¡± Elder Xuan replied disdainfully, ¡°you¡¯ll be a thousand year tortoise then. Oh, I think this name suits your skin color.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking for death.¡± Du Busi raged and flipped his hands. He mimicked a lifting action, while the dark green whirlpool behind him retracted. It was rapidly gathered within his body. The dark green of his body also started to turn transparent, and his size increased even further. His height reached more than a hundred meters instantly, and a simr ck from earlier appeared around his body. It was smaller than the spatial cracks created by him and Elder Xuan earlier, but seemed denser.

    Elder Xuan seemed awed, and the yellow radiance behind him also retracted. His Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s size also ballooned and instantly turned into an extremely domineering presence.

    Du Busi red at Elder Xuan furiously. His hands suddenly mimicked a wrenching action, as if he were smashing something onto the ground. A huge dark green ball of light with diameter of over 30 meters prated through space and crashed down towards Elder Xuan from above.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t cower away either. A white light that shone as brightly as a diamond shed between his horns. It stabbed into the dark green ball of light like a bolt of white lightning.

    A piercing boom resonated for more than a thousand miles, and the dark green light ball turned into a light ring that dispersed in the sky.

    Du Busi snorted and sped his palms together. The space around Elder Xuan suddenly started to distort, and dark green lights appeared around his body like smudged stains. Several huge ck holes started to appear too, and the frightening spatial cracks were seemed to be trying to tear Elder Xuan¡¯s body apart.

    Elder Xuan grunted in disdain. The bright yellow radiance turned into a barrier of light that burst out. The ck holes were all mended just like that.

    Du Busi was slightly shocked. ¡°Mending the sky, what a move! Little Xuan, you¡¯re indeed worthy as my opponent. But you¡¯re stillcking a little.¡±

    Du Busi absorbed all the dark green back into his body. As he spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up, and an azure light shone from his entire body. The intense light shone unprecedentedly brightly, and made him seem like an azure-green sun. The entire Shrek City below was covered in this azure-green light.

    Du Busi sped his palms before his chest, and a small dark green whirlpool formed. This whirlpool seemed to only have a diameter of one meter, and was extremely ipatible with his huge size. But the whirlpool seemed to contain boundless strength, causing the expression in Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes to change greatly.

    A bright yellow shone from Elder Xuan¡¯s body. His Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s body turned back into human form, and only his horns still appeared obvious. His palms sped together, and a strong will could be sensed from Elder Xuan¡¯s body. Both his hands probed forward, and his nine soul rings lit up as if they were being burned. A ball of yellow light gradually grew bigger on his hand and turned into a weird-looking weapon.

    The weapon was thick at the top but narrow at the bottom. Elder Xuan¡¯s body shrank back to his normal size so that the weapon¡¯s power was at its greatest. On a closer look, Elder Xuan¡¯s weapon seemed to have a simr shape to a chicken drumstick.

    Du Busi shouted, and the dark green whirlpool in his hand turned into a ball of light that shot out. The ball of light shrank as it moved in the air. It left deep gorges in the air as it moved. It was as if its presence couldn¡¯t be tolerated in space.

    Elder Xuan bellowed, and his muscles swelled. His entire body seemed to have distended, and he wielded the chicken drumstick weapon to tackle the dark green light ball that came his way.

    ¡°Puff¡ª¡ª¡± When both parties collided, the dark green light ball stuck onto the ¡®chicken drumstick¡¯ and instantly seemed to stagnate. An immense pressure suddenly descended from the sky.

    The powerful individuals from Shrek Academy and the Body Sect teamed up together to unleash a powerful aura. Many colors mixed together to form a light barrier that resisted the frightening will that came down.

    ¡°Ding¡ª¡ª¡±

    A crisp sound resonated in the sky. There was no release of any frightening force. The dark green light ball and Elder Xuan¡¯s ¡®chicken drumstick¡¯ disappeared at the same time, while Elder Xuan was sent flying as his body was stained dark green. It was obvious that he had been struck.

    Du Busi was extremely delighted, andughed, ¡°Little Xuan, your soul rings are weaker than mine even if your cultivation is the same. I even possess a special Body Soul. You¡¯re still inferior to me in terms of your level. Concede defeat. If not for the fact that I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll lose an opponent like you, I would kill you now.¡±

    Elder Xuan only stabilized his body after flying for more than a thousand meters. It seemed as if nothing great had changed after the dark green subsided. Even his aura remained very powerful. However, his eyes revealed his greater impatience.

    ¡°Du Busi, stop sugar-coating your words. Do you dare to fight to death with me? I¡¯ll bring you along with me even if I die. At least I¡¯ll make you unable to provide for yourself.¡±

    Du Busi snorted, ¡°Why won¡¯t I dare to? I¡¯ll at most be heavily injured if I kill you. You¡¯re still not powerful enough to make me perish along with you. But don¡¯t forget that this is Shrek¡¯s territory. If you fight to the death with me here, I¡¯m afraid that Shrek Academy will disappear from the face of this continent.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I dare you!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in this world the Body Sect is afraid of doing,¡± Du Busi said arrogantly, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve forgotten who started the wave of beasts in Star Dou Forest?¡±

    Elder Xuan was furious. ¡°Shameless fellow. You still have the cheek to mention that incident? I don¡¯t think you find it a humiliation. Rather, you treat it as your glory. Many people lost their lives because of the Body Sect. If Shrek Academy didn¡¯t resist the wave of beasts, it would have been a full-blown massacre.¡±

    Du Busi groaned and said, ¡°What do you mean Shrek Academy resisted the wave of beasts? It¡¯s as if you¡¯re hinting we didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget what the Body Sect promised after the wave of beasts receded.¡± Elder Xuan said coldly, ¡°Are you reneging on your promise bying here so boldly today?¡±

    Du Busi replied, ¡°Promise? So much time has passed. I don¡¯t remember anything. Even if I renege on my promise, what can you do?¡±

    Elder Xuan twisted his lips and said, ¡°I never expected that you¡¯d be so shameless.¡± While he spoke in this way, he was shocked in his heart. Du Busi¡¯s words seemed to foreshadow the appearance of the Body Sect in the world! In addition, they were likely to have a ploy.

    Du Busi said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve already fought. The Body Sect and Shrek Academy still have some ties. We¡¯re not here to target Shrek Academy. I¡¯m here today not just to demand an exnation. There¡¯s something more important. If you return our Body Sect member, I will turn around and leave immediately.¡±

    Elder Xuan snorted, ¡°What Body Sect member? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Chapter 134.3: The Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi

    Du Busi said, ¡°Stop acting ignorant. Soul masters with Body Souls are automatically recognized as Body Sect disciples. Don¡¯t you know that? Where¡¯s that little fellow who took part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament? Hand him over now. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being unkind. Don¡¯t forget what my name is. If I release my Body Soul¡¯s poison, how much of it can you resist? When that happens, your Shrek Academy will¡­ hehe!¡±

    Elder Xuanughed coldly. ¡°I knew you came here for Yuhao. Aren¡¯t you just trying to unt your strength by going about it in such a roundabout manner? Let me tell you. If you dare to release your lethal poison, at least half of your Body Sect members will remain here today, you included.¡±

    The expression in Du Busi¡¯s eyes changed. He revealed his ferocity. ¡°Little Xuan, do you really think that I don¡¯t dare to make a move on your academy? What¡¯s risking everything if I can continue my sect¡¯s legacy?¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s smile became gentler. ¡°Old freak, you can only talk big if you have the ability to walk your talk. Do you really think the Body Sect can threaten Shrek Academy?¡±

    ¡°What? Du Busi argued, ¡°Do you think you can stop me? Better hand him over quick, or don¡¯t me me for going in directly to find him. It won¡¯t be so nice when ites to that.¡±

    He did have his misgivings about Shrek Academy. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered with Elder Xuan for so long, given the Body Sect¡¯s hard-headed approach. Although Elder Xuan was slightly inferior to him, the gap wasn¡¯t too huge. Du Busi was unwilling to bear the consequences of an all-out fight.

    ¡°Little Xuan can¡¯t stop you. But what about me?¡± A gentle voice sounded quietly at this point. A gentle halo was unleashed from Shrek Academy after the voice was heard. More urately speaking, it came from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    A gentle, golden light spread quickly, even though it seemed very gradual. It reached a high altitude in an instant. As this magical scene appeared, both Elder Xuan and Du Busi¡¯s auras were diminished under the engulfment of the golden light. The immense pressure from the sky also disappeared. Not only did the gentle, golden light engulf Shrek Academy, but it also covered all of Shrek City. Shrek City looked like a golden city from the outside now.

    Du Busi¡¯s expression changed greatly after he saw this scene, ¡°Sea God¡¯s Light? How is this possible? How is there still someone who¡¯s able to unleash the Sea God¡¯s Light in Shrek?¡±

    ¡°Busi, it¡¯s been awhile. It seems like you¡¯ve forgotten about me.¡± The gentle voice rang out once again. But only Du Busi could hear it.

    ¡°You, you are¡­¡± Du Busi was shocked as he looked at the shining, golden Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. His dark green forehead instantly started to glimmer with beads of perspiration.

    ¡°I can still remember what you left for me,¡± Elder Mu said slowly, ¡°your brother has the same temper as you. Recklessness is the devil. If your brother wasn¡¯t reckless then, he might still be alive now.¡±

    Du Busi confirmed his guess when he heard till this point. He was stunned as he asked, ¡°You, you aren¡¯t dead yet? How is this possible? Didn¡¯t you¡­?¡±

    Elder Mu replied gradually, ¡°If I¡¯m dead, you¡¯ll bully Shrek Academy?¡± His words were simple, but they struck Du Busi hard. The intense, golden light instantly shed in the air and Du Busi¡¯s dark green body shortened by a meter. An intense, dark green radiance was also emitted from his body.

    Du Busi was a little vexed as he said, ¡°Dragon God Douluo, the battle then wasn¡¯t simply about personal feelings. Why did my elder brother have to take a step back?¡±

    ¡°You know the full details of what happened.¡± Elder Mu replied, ¡°I won¡¯t debate it with you. You just need to know that the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is still me. I¡¯ve already asked Huo Yuhao and told him about the Body Sect. He expressed his will to remain in Shrek. Please return. I won¡¯t hold today¡¯s matter against you on ount of your brother. But if there¡¯s a next time, or if the Body Sect tries to scheme against this disciple of mine in the future, don¡¯t me me for demanding an exnation from the Body Sect personally.¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s expression changed. ¡°That fellow has be your disciple?¡±

    Elder Mu answered coldly. ¡°That¡¯s right. Why? Do you think that you¡¯re more suitable than me to guide him?¡±

    Du Busi took in a deep breath, ¡°Dragon God Douluo, I shall give you face and let the matter rest. An honest man doesn¡¯t deal underhandedly. I must also tell you that we won¡¯t give up on this kid. You¡¯re older than me, thus you should know that we¡¯re almost reaching our end. But the Body Sect still doesn¡¯t have a sessor.¡±

    Elder Mu was a little stunned. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a sessor? Isn¡¯t the Body Sect¡¯s Seed of Inheritance on you?¡±

    Du Busi was a little vexed as he exined, ¡°But no one new has appeared in the sect for almost 20 years. Furthermore, do you think that the Seed of Inheritance can just be passed on to anyone? I shall end it here today. I won¡¯t touch that kid as long as he¡¯s in Shrek Academy. But once he¡¯s out, we¡¯llpete fairly. Dragon God, I don¡¯t believe that my elder brother didn¡¯t leave anything on you even though you¡¯re still alive. I¡¯m not your match, but you¡¯ll still pay the price even if you kill me. The Body Sect isn¡¯t the only opponent of Shrek Academy either. We¡¯ll meet again someday.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Du Busi¡¯s dark green radiance red up and burned a hole in the Sea God¡¯s Light. He waved his hand after he escaped, ¡°Body Sect, retreat.¡±

    The twenty-or-so figures he had brought with him escaped rapidly and disappeared in an instant. The golden light in the air also retracted slowly back into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    It was not only the Shrek Academy that was restless now. All of Shrek City was also drowned in amotion over what had happened earlier.

    Elder Xuannded in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The four deans also arrived.

    Elder Mu¡¯s voice drifted out from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. ¡°Shaozhe, go and appease the people in the city. The rest of you can return. Little Xuan, bring the 3 kids in.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Shaozhe acknowledged his words and left immediately.

    Shrek City was still Shrek Academy¡¯s territory. It was also the foundation of Shrek Academy. All that had happened earlier was too strange, and someone had to handle the situation.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao hadn¡¯t recovered from their shock yet.

    First was the collision between Elder Xuan and Du Busi. That was followed by the intense, golden light. Although only Du Busi could hear Elder Mu¡¯s voice, they could roughly guess that Elder Mu had engaged him.

    Even the powerful Body Sect had to retreat in front of Elder Mu. This was Shrek Academy¡¯s true power. Elder Mu didn¡¯t need to fight, but still managed to force the enemy¡¯s troops back. Elder Mu¡¯s position in the three of their hearts rose once again. It was as if it was almost beyond them to even worship him.

    Huo Yuhao now realized why he had felt so rxed when he had fought ss 2¡¯s team.

    He had been under immense pressure in almost every round of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. He managed to hang on along with his partners even under such immense pressure, and even became the champions. Every opponent they faced in each round was stronger than them by a lot. Although Dai Huabin and the others were also gifted, they were still very young. They were still lousier than the top-ranked students that had an average age of 19 years and above from the various academies in the tournament.

    The closed-door cultivation that Huo Yuhao and the rest had experienced after they had returned had also been extremely crucial. Their experiences and outlook were now different from what they were before.

    It¡¯s important to note that Huo Yuhao and the others had almost participated in the tournament as official team members. They weren¡¯t like most preparatory team members that hardly featured.

    But they realized how lousy they were after they witnessed this top-ranked duel, even though it hadn¡¯t exploded into a full-blown conflict. They were still far off from the top-ranked soul masters. But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t as impatient as he was before. He was much more mature now. He had to walk his path step by step, which he had alreadyid the foundation for. His achievements wouldn¡¯t be low as long as he worked hard. There would be a day when he would reach Elder Xuan and even Elder Mu¡¯s level.

    Elder Xuan looked a little dismal. It seemed as if he was unhappy that he had been suppressed by Du Busi. He brought the three of them to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s second level.

    Elder Muy quietly in his chair. He appeared as frail as ever. Who would have expected that he was the one who had chased the entire Body Sect away?

    ¡°Elder Mu.¡± Elder Xuan was a little depressed as he greeted Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu smiled and asked, ¡°Why are you depressed? You didn¡¯t lose. It¡¯s nothing to be repressed by Du Busi. If I wasn¡¯t fortunate, I would have died along with Du Busi¡¯s elder brother. Even though I preserved my life, I¡¯m still disabled. I may not be much stronger than you even if I fought. After all, the Dragon God now is no longer like the Dragon God then.¡±

    ¡°No, Elder Mu. You can¡¯t put it that way,¡± Elder Mu said hurriedly, ¡°you¡¯re Shrek¡¯s anchor!¡±

    Elder Mu sighed. ¡°My spine was snapped, and Du Busi¡¯s elder brother¡¯s ¨C Du Bisi¡¯s - lethal poison entered my passageways. Although I preserved my life, I can¡¯t straighten my back anymore. But it¡¯s only through that sh that I managed to attain a breakthrough and escape a catastrophe. Du Bisi wasn¡¯t as fortunate as I was. He died of his injuries after hanging on for a while. It¡¯s a pity! He was also a hero of his time.¡±

 Chapter 135: Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen

    Elder Mu revealed a look of disappointment on his face and said, ¡°A person¡¯s life is limited, even for Titled Douluo like us. I can feel that my time ising. After I go, the academy will have to be supported by you and the various elders. Little Xuan, you¡¯re too headstrong, and notposed enough. You must remain calm when you meet with something in the future and think of the academy.¡±

    Little Xuan was shocked and replied, ¡°Elder Mu, you¡­¡±

    Elder Mu chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die so soon. I must hang on for a few more years until these little fellows mature before I¡¯m relieved enough to go.¡± As he spoke, his benevolent gazended on Huo Yuhao and the other two.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao,e over here.¡± Elder Mu waved toward Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao hurried towards Elder Mu and came to his side respectfully.

    Elder Mu smiled slightly and said, ¡°Good kid, I¡¯m pleased with your answer just now. You¡¯re not old, but you¡¯re very resilient. I was especially shocked by your development after you returned from the tournament. A soul master can be nurtured in all areas except attitude. You are good, very good.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°Elder Mu, you overestimate me. I¡¯m an orphan. I have no more kin since my mother passed away. I was only filled with hatred then. I met Teacher Xiao Ya and eldest senior in Star Dou Forest, and they sent me to Shrek Academy using the Tang Sect¡¯s slot. I grew up with my mother in that freezing ce since I was young. All I felt was humiliation and indifference. It was only after entering Shrek Academy that I feel a familial sense. The academy gave me warmth, fed and clothed me, and even educated me to be a soul master and a person. This is my family. Everything except family can change. I can do anything to protect and preserve the glory of my family.¡±

    His words were emotional. His eyes turned red as he spoke.

    Elder Xuan was a little shocked as he looked at him. Elder Mu grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand and said, ¡°When I first saw you, I knew that you were a kid with a story. That¡¯s because the expression in your eyes was different from most others. Your eyes might have been very clear, but they concealed your pain. Your pain has only disappeared recently. As you said, Shrek is your family. It¡¯s also our family. I told Du Busi when I conversed with him earlier that you¡¯re my disciple. He told me that he won¡¯t target you as long as you¡¯re in Shrek. I understood what he meant. When you graduate from Shrek, he may target you again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that the Body Sect still hadn¡¯t given up on him.

    Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Stupid kid, quickly acknowledge your teacher.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Huo Yuhao only reacted now. He knelt down immediately and bowed to Elder Mu respectfully. ¡°Elder Mu, please ept me as your disciple.¡±

    Elder Muughed and said, ¡°Good kid, stand up.¡± He grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand and pulled gently. A gentle strength was injected into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and lifted him up.

    Elder Mu was all smiles when he saw the sincere look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The more he looked, the more pleased he was.

    He couldn¡¯t make the proposal to Huo Yuhao to be his disciple with his current status. He could only hint. Fortunately, Elder Xuan reminded Huo Yuhao from the side, so he didn¡¯t miss out on such a great opportunity.

    Huo Yuhao tried to test the waters by asking, ¡°Elder Mu, are you agreeable?¡±

    Elder Muughed. ¡°Silly kid, it¡¯s time for you to say it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted, and hurriedly said, ¡°Teacher.¡± He wanted to kneel down again as he said it. But Elder Mu didn¡¯t let him do so this time by using his gentle soul power to lift Huo Yuhao up.

    ¡°You will be my closed door disciple from today onwards. I¡¯m not very particr about the formalities. You don¡¯t have to kneel in the future. A bow will do.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao was still very respectful even though Elder Mu wasn¡¯t very particr about formalities. If Elder Mu and Elder Xuan were not around, he would have jumped in excitement.

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were envious as they saw this scene, and walked up to congratte him hurriedly.

    Elder Mu smiled. ¡°The two of you are good too. Xiao Xiao, learn from Elder Xuan in the future. Let him analyze you ¨C a special auxiliary-type battle soul master. As for Wang Dong, you¡¯re a light-type soul master too. You can be my disciple in name temporarily.¡±

    Wang Dong stuck out his tongue and said in a slightly brazen manner, ¡°Elder Mu, this is unfair. I¡¯m a light-type soul master just like you, but you epted Huo Yuhao as your disciple although he isn¡¯t the light-type. How can you be so discriminatory? I want to be your closed door disciple too.¡±

    Elder Mu couldn¡¯t help butugh as he saw Wang Dong¡¯s indignant look. He said, ¡°You little fellow! You¡¯re the first person to make such a request in front of me. There can only be one closed door disciple.¡±

    Wang Dong moved closer as he saw that Elder Mu wasn¡¯t angry. He said almost naturally, ¡°It¡¯s okay! With your status, you can set a precedent! Who will dare to doubt you? Moreover, both Yuhao and I possess martial fusion soul skills, and are one together. Just take the both of us as the same person.¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s smile turned a little cheeky, ¡°Oh? One together?¡±

    Wang Dong blushed as he saw Elder Mu looking at him. He grabbed onto Elder Mu¡¯s other hand and said, ¡°Just ept me too. Otherwise, he will bully me in the future when he¡¯s an official disciple but I¡¯m just a disciple in name.¡±

    Elder Xuan was stunned as he saw this scene. In his memory, no one, including Yan Shaozhe, had ever dared to be so brazen in front of Elder Mu! But Wang Dong didn¡¯t only just do this. He didn¡¯t seem vexed as he looked at Elder Mu. On the other hand, he appeared delighted.

    Elder Mu smiled as he said, ¡°Alright, alright. I can¡¯t outtalk you. I shall ept you too.¡±

    Wang Dong was ted, and knelt down hurriedly before bowing to Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu lifted his left hand, and a wave of soul power dragged him up. Elder Mu said, ¡°Little Xuan, did you see this? I was forced to ept two ¹ØÃÅµÜ×Ó. Haha.¡±

    Elder Xuan chuckled and replied, ¡°I see that you quite enjoy it. This is not bad either! Both these fellows are good. Since this is the case, I shall ept a closed door disciple myself too. I¡¯m not much younger than you anyway!¡±

    Xiao Xiao was quick-witted, and knelt down in front of Elder Xuan hurriedly. She bowed to him, ¡°Teacher.¡±

    Elder Xuan lifted her up and chortled, ¡°Little fellow, you must be outstanding when you¡¯re under me. Don¡¯t lose to those two fellows.¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed and replied, ¡°Teacher, I will do my best. Just give me all the items that can enhance my strength.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed, ¡°Wow, did I ept a closed door disciple or a little troublemaker? You¡¯re definitely not standing on ceremony!¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed, ¡°We¡¯re on the same side. What¡¯s there to stand on ceremony between us, right? I bought you a chicken drumstick too.¡± After she ended her retreat, she had been cultivating with Elder Xuan, and was already very familiar with him. She was naturally extremely excited now that their rtionship had been confirmed.

    Elder Mu revealed a stunned look on his face at this point and said, ¡°Du Busi just left, but someone just came. It seems like it¡¯s a good day today.¡±

    Elder Xuan squinted his eyes, and a sharp radiance shed across them. He was about to make his move.

    Elder Mu lifted his hand and stopped him. He said, ¡°The visitor is a guest. Just invite him in.¡±

    Elder Xuan was shocked and asked, ¡°Into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and replied, ¡°Yes, into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    Although Elder Xuan was shocked, he wouldn¡¯t go against Elder Mu¡¯s instructions. But he never recalled any outsiders being allowed into Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before.

    Elder Xuan had already disappeared from where he was as a radiance shed. He arrived outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion at the next moment. He looked into the distance and said coldly, ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, you don¡¯t have to sneak around anymore. Come out.¡± As he spoke, he grabbed at the air, and a huge citrine hand appeared in the air. The hand opened wide and grabbed in one direction. Suddenly, countless thin ck cracks appeared in air in that direction.

    Although these cracks couldn¡¯tpare to Du Busi¡¯s, they still existed.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, this is not a way to receive your guest.¡± A dim golden radiance lit up. As a halo spread instantly, it rippled, and the distorted light rays canceled out Elder Xuan¡¯s huge hand. A figure also appeared in that direction.

    The person that appeared wasn¡¯t tall, but he was plump. His long, elegant robe was embroidered with gold patterns. He ced his hands behind his back and smiled at Elder Xuan. Wasn¡¯t he the Hallmaster of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall, as well as the person in charge of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?

    ¡°It¡¯s you? Jing Hongchen.¡± Elder Xuan was also shocked. Although he could sense his strong presence, he didn¡¯t expect it to be the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Jing Hongchen smiled and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, you shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Since you want something from the Illustrious Virtue Hall, I¡¯vee to personally pay a visit to Elder Xuan and Shrek Academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes shed with a divine light as he thought to himself, ¡°This Jing Hongchen came at such a coincidental timing! Did Hee with the Body Sect, and only show himself at this point, or is it really a coincidence?¡±

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t reveal his thoughts, and spoke indifferently. ¡°You¡¯re a guest, pleasee in.¡± As he spoke, he turned around and walked into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Jing Hongchen was the one who was shocked now. He was already shocked when he had been discovered. With the concealment-type soul tool that he had created himself, he believed that he was undiscoverable as long as he didn¡¯t move. But Elder Xuan managed to trace him. He was even more surprised that Elder Xuan invited him into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Jing Hongchen hesitated. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was probably a ce that was easy to enter, but not easy to leave! After all, this was Shrek Academy. Although he had sufficient cards in his hands, Shrek Academy had been established for many years, and was ever-present on the Douluo Continent. It was also because of Shrek that the Sun Moon Empire had many misgivings and proceeded cautiously. They didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly even though they had sufficient resources.

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. What a Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    Elder Xuan walked in front of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before turning around and joking, ¡°What? As the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, you don¡¯t dare to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? Why are you here since that is the case?¡±

    Jing Hongchen pricked his brows. His haughtiness was even greater than Du Busi¡¯s. He had only appeared now because he didn¡¯t want to mix with the Body Sect and affect his reputation. After being provoked by Elder Xuan, heughed loudly before walking into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion with big steps.

    Elder Mu revealed a slight smile on his face and was in awe of Elder Xuan in his heart. Elder Xuan was indeed an expert in human psychology! The simple action of inviting Jing Hongchen into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion greatly diminished his mighty aura.

    After entering the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion first level, Jing Hongchen¡¯s gaze moved around the entire level. He was slightly stunned. It was obvious that he could tell that the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was extraordinary.

    Elder Xuan walked to the golden tree seats at one side of the first level before sitting down. He also gestured for Jing Hongchen to take a seat.

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. He smiled at Elder Xuan before sitting opposite him.

    Neither of them spoke first, and they only stared at each other as they sat there. But the air around them was about to solidify because of their auras.

    Elder Xuan and Jing Hongchen had simr auras ¨C they were very pressing. But the difference was that Elder Xuan¡¯s aura appeared foundationally stable like the earth, whereas Jing Hongchen¡¯s aura originated from a suppression that might be unleashed at anytime.

    ¡°It seems like soul tools can help a soul master to a certain standard. Your cultivation is only around Rank 93, but you can stabilize yourself in front of me.¡± Elder Xuan said slowly.

    Jing Hongchen smiled and replied, ¡°I believe that soul tool research is only in its preliminary stage. The world belongs to soul tools in the future. When the dayes when soul tools no longer rely on soul masters¡¯ soul power as a motivation, soul masters will be eliminated. I wonder if Elder Xuan is convinced by this belief.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied coldly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether I believe it or not. Anyway, you won¡¯t live to see that day.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not important whether I¡¯ll live to see that day,¡± Jing Hongchen said very casually, ¡°it¡¯s enough if it happens in the Sun Moon Empire, and it will happen in the Sun Moon Empire. Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling and even your Shrek Academy are too far off in the aspect of soul tools.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed, ¡°Oh? Are we that far off? I don¡¯t think so. Since when were you able to exploit this gap to defeat Shrek Academy? We only sent half of our main forces for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament that just ended. But we still won. This proves that your advantage in soul tools is not decisive yet.¡±

    Elder Xuan was surprised that Jing Hongchen nodded after hearing his words, ¡°You¡¯re right. I received news from your academy that expressed your interest to hold an exchange with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. I was very happy then. But for some reason, your academy changed its mind. If it¡¯s because of the tournament, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary. The Sun Moon Empire is magnanimous. A tournament is a tournament. We won¡¯t develop a hatred because of idents during the tournament.¡±

    Elder Xuan asked, ¡°Is this your reason foring today?¡±

    Jing Hongchen answered, ¡°Partly. There¡¯s another reason too. I want to get the Judgement Sword back. It¡¯s one of my best creations, and holds great significance for me too. I hope that you can return it to me.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded his head seriously and said, ¡°I can return it. I will return it to you as long as you can allow Ma Xiaotao to fully heal.¡±

    Jing Hongchen turned dismal and replied, ¡°Elder Xuan, you can¡¯t put it this way. Many of our elite students have also died under your students¡¯ hands. But we never asked for anypensation.¡±

    Elder Xuan said indifferently, ¡°Can your studentspare to Xiaotao? Ma Xiaotao will seed the role of Dean of the Martial Soul Department of our academy. She¡¯s not even 20 years old, but she¡¯s already a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Furthermore, she has a top-ranked martial soul. No one in the continent can match up to her in a one-on-one fight. Shrek Academy won¡¯t seize your things forcefully, but Xiaotao¡¯s condition is special. Her martial soul has transformed negatively, and she¡¯s been in aa till now. After we find a treatment for her using that sword, we¡¯ll return it to you.¡±

    Jing Hongchen furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Is there no room for negotiation?¡±

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t speak and only looked at him calmly.

    After pondering for a moment, Jing Hongchen said, ¡°What if I exchange something of equal value for it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you that we¡¯re keeping the sword to research Xiaotao¡¯s transformed martial soul,¡± Elder Xuan replied coldly.

    Jing Hongchen stiffened a little, then said in a deep voice, ¡°Can I take a look at her?¡±

    Elder Xuan was the one who hesitated now.

    Elder Mu¡¯s voice rang out at this point, ¡°Yes, you can. Bring him to the second level.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression became terrified as he heard this voice. He quickly stood up.

    Although he hadn¡¯t appeared with the Body Sect earlier, he had clearly witnessed the fight between Elder Xuan and Du Busi, as well as how Du Busi was deterred by Shrek Academy¡¯s golden light.

    Jing Hongchen was very sharp even though he had not reached the level of a Transcendent Douluo. He immediately recognized that the external world¡¯s understanding of Shrek Academy was erroneous. The strongest in Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t the Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan, but someone else. Even Du Busi had to retreat in front of this guy. How powerful was he? That¡¯s why he sneaked into Shrek Academy after the Body Sect left, and didn¡¯t appear as uprightly as the Body Sect.

    Jing Hongchen said in a deep voice, ¡°Elder Xuan and unknown elder, I have at least 3 automatic ss 9 soul tools with me now. If I¡¯m attacked, these soul tools are powerful enough to destroy the all of Shrek City. They can¡¯t be stopped either.¡±

    He was around Yan Shaozhe¡¯s age. It was normal for him to call Elder Xuan and Elder Mu his elders. It was an obvious showing of his weakness to boast about

    This was Shrek Academy. There were more than 5 Transcendent Douluo from what Jing Hongchen knew. Regardless of how strong his soul tools were, he was only Rank 93. He wasn¡¯t a match for so many Transcendent Douluo at such close distance. But he came prepared. He also believed that Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t really attack him. It wouldn¡¯t fit their standards.

    ¡°You¡¯re our guest now that you¡¯ve entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion,¡± Elder Mu said indifferently, ¡°if I really wanted to touch you, your soul tools may not be able to unleash their full might.¡±

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t retort, but revealed a sense of relief. Heughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to be a guest of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    He came to the second level quickly under Elder Xuan¡¯s guidance.

    Elder Muid in his reclining chair, while Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood behind him.

    Huo Yuhao was very anxious. Before he underwent his retreat, he had once asked Elder Mu about Ma Xiaotao¡¯s condition. Elder Mu had told him then that Ma Xiaotao was fine, which gave him peace of mind as he retreated into cultivation. But it seemed like she was in grave condition from what Elder Xuan and Elder Mu said! How could he not be anxious?

    Jing Hongchen was drawn to Elder Mu. Elder Mu might look like a frail elder and didn¡¯t unleash any of his powerful aura, but Jing Hongchen was certain that he was the one who had previously forced the Body Sect away! Elder Mu¡¯s abilities and cultivation couldn¡¯t be seen just by using one¡¯s eyes. It was unexpected that Shrek Academy had such a powerful figure. He felt surer and surer that he was right to have been cautious.

    ¡°Greetings, may I know elder¡¯s name?¡± Jing Hongchen bowed slightly to Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°My name is Mu En. I believe there¡¯s not many in this world who still remember my name.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was entirely lost as he heard Elder Mu¡¯s name. He couldn¡¯t recall such a name from his memory or investigations into Shrek Academy. He was warier of Elder Mu because of this.

    Elder Mu said to Elder Xuan, ¡°Little Xuan, bring him to take a look at Xiaotao¡¯s condition. Yuhao, the three of you shalle along too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao represented the rest and acknowledged Elder Mu. He quickly walked towards Elder Xuan.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s gaze changed direction as he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s name. His name appeared the most in the reports of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He appeared even more frequently than both Shrek¡¯s team leader Ma Xiaotao and vice-team leader Dai Yueheng.

    Twin martial soul? And it was likely that one was an Ultimate martial soul with a cultivation of around two rings. But he was likely able to conceal his own cultivation and abilities.

    During thest battle, he and his partner had unleashed a series of powerful martial soul fusion skills that earned them victory. He had a partner that also possessed twin martial souls which werepatible with his.

    This series of information popped up in Jing Hongchen¡¯s mind and made him view Huo Yuhao in a different manner. He even obtained a useful piece of news ¨C Huo Yuhao calling Elder Mu teacher. He was the disciple of a mysterious old man.

    Huo Yuhao and the other two came beside Elder Xuan and greeted Jing Hongchen slightly by nodding their heads. They disliked those from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and thus they weren¡¯t very formal with their greeting either. Elder Xuan and Elder Mu acted ignorant of the matter.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± Elder Xuan walked towards the higher steps and brought them to the third level, whereas Elder Mu remained where he was and shut his eyes. It seemed like he was resting.

    Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao interestedly as he walked. He said, ¡°You¡¯re Huo Yuhao? These two must be Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.¡± All of their appearances were described in detail in the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s files.

    Huo Yuhao nodded but didn¡¯t speak. He was only worried about Ma Xiaotao now.

    Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t vexed even though he was being ignored. He only looked at Huo Yuhao seriously. No one knew what he was thinking.

    Sea God¡¯s Pavilion third level. The first thing that could be seen on this level was a small hall that was around 20 square meters in area. There was a tunnel on each of the two sides that led somewhere deeper. Elder Xuan walked into the left one and stopped at the fifth door.

    The entire space turned golden as their surroundings shed instantly at this point. Jing Hongchen¡¯s hands trembled subconsciously, but he soon calmed down. But the intense yet pure undtion of light left him shocked. A sense of peril rose in his heart. He was knowledgeable, but he knew nothing about the mysterious Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The pure light didn¡¯t seem to be unleashed by someone, but emitted from the wood that surrounded them. What exactly was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion built from?

    The door in front opened as the golden light shed. They walked into a quiet chamber one by one.

    ¡°Elder sister.¡± Huo Yuhao saw Ma Xiaotao, whoy t on the Manifold Mysterious Ice Bed. He was so anxious that he wanted to rush over, but he was stopped by Elder Xuan.

    Ma Xiaotao looked a little pale, while her originally-red lips were now purplish-ck. They carried a sense of evil to them. Her entire body surged with ck mes as she was engulfed by the golden light. Although they were repressed by the golden light as soon as they surged slightly, they still appeared to be unyielding.

    Elder Xuan shook his head at the anxious Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao bit his lips and his fists clenched unwittingly.

    It had already been two months since the tournament had ended. He hadn¡¯t expected his elder sister¡¯s condition to be so disastrous. She could only lie on the ice-cold bed, and had to be sealed by the powers of light. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned red as he looked at Ma Xiaotao¡¯s face and reminisced about her usual shrewishness.

    Elder Xuan gestured to Jing Hongchen, who stepped forward. He stopped before the light that engulfed Ma Xiaotao and took a careful look at the ck mes. After a moment, he said in a deep voice, ¡°Can I get closer to sense the change in her soul power?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice resonated. Following that, everyone was shocked as a golden figure appeared beside Jing Hongchen. This figure belonged to Elder Mu, but it was only an illusory projection of him.

    Elder Mu¡¯s back wasn¡¯t bent over now, but straight. His entire body shone a bright gold. Although it was only a projection, it seemed very real. Everything around him turned golden as he stood there calmly. The intense light circted in the air and caused Wang Dong¡¯s light-type martial soul to flow out unwittingly. Even his arms that contained soul bones lit up.

    Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t control his emotions, and eximed, ¡°What soul skill is this?¡±

    Although he wasn¡¯t a Transcendent Douluo, he was still a Rank 93 Titled Douluo! But Elder Mu¡¯s current avatar was already beyond the boundaries of his understanding of soul masters. As the best soul engineer in the world, he was certain that this wasn¡¯t achievable using soul tools. Elder Mu was more than just a simple light projection. Jing Hongchen was awed by the immense power that he possessed.

    A soul master actually possessed such a power? It was an eye-opener for Jing Hongchen. But he was more horrified. He suddenly realized that Elder Mu¡¯s im that he could stop him from unleashing his soul tools wasn¡¯t a joke.

    Elder Mu lifted his right hand, and a door appeared in the halo that covered Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body. It could squeeze in one person. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mes didn¡¯t surge violently because of this door either. That was because the entire room was a like a giant light seal that suppressed the ck mes in her body.

    Jing Hongchen took in a deep breath and tried topose himself. He walked two steps forward to Ma Xiaotao and used his hands to test the ck mes that surged from her. After that, he pressed his hand to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s wrist and sensed the condition of her body. He then took two steps back and quickly exited the halo.

    No one noticed that when he pressed his hand to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s wrist, his fingernails shook slightly. That change wasn¡¯t even noticed by Elder Mu.

    ¡°I am helpless. This is the bacsh of a mutated fire. If I¡¯m not wrong, this youngdy already possessed a weird force within her martial soul that affected her. When she was provoked by the Judgement Sword¡¯s dark power, she couldn¡¯t suppress this force in time and unleashed it. This mutated fire that¡¯s filled with darkness and violence took control of her body, and it couldn¡¯t be stopped. It¡¯s already close to the strength of Ultimate fire. If it¡¯s forcefully suppressed or broken down, her body may copse. Sealing her is the best solution so far. Unless a gentle force can be found to tackle this mutated fire, she¡¯s likely to be controlled by the fire, and her mind will never be clear again once she wakes up.¡±

    A cold radiance appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He detested that he wasn¡¯t strong enough. He could help his elder sister if he was strong enough. She wouldn¡¯t be in such a state then. There was also the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. A vicious radiance shed across his eyes as he looked at Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re helpless too, you don¡¯t have to ask us for anything,¡± Elder Mu said gradually, ¡°the tournament was a chance for us to interact and exchange tips. We won¡¯t be petty over the damages we suffered during the tournament. Please return to the second level. We can converse there.¡±

    After his voice subsided, the surrounding golden light disappeared, and the halo also returned to normal. Elder Mu¡¯s golden illusory projection shed before disappearing. He naturally wouldn¡¯t exin where this magical avatar of his appeared from to Jing Hongchen.

    The light in Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes faded greatly as they returned to the second level. He only felt his head getting heavier. He always reckoned that he could resist Shrek Academy with his soul tools. But he only now realized that the Sun Moon Empire was still inferior in terms of top abilities after he saw Elder Mu.

    Huo Yuhao and the other two returned to Elder Mu¡¯s side again. Elder Muid there and wasn¡¯t any different from before. He still didn¡¯t unleash his powerful aura, and justid there quietly. But he brought great pressure on Jing Hongchen. This caused Jing Hongchen to start perspiring. He only now realized why the Body Sect left so quickly after seeing Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu said gradually, ¡°Can you tell me which is better in your opinion ¨C the Illustrious Virtue Hall or Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    Jing Hongchen was slightly stunned. Elder Mu¡¯s question might seem very vague, but he understood immediately. He was asking about the advantages and disadvantages of soul masters and soul engineers, as well as aparison between the Illustrious Virtue Hall and Shrek Academy.

    After pondering for a moment, Jing Hongchen said, ¡°I don¡¯t dare toment, as I don¡¯t know much about the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Let¡¯s take Elder Xuan and I as examples. Elder Xuan will beat me within a hundred meters. But I can perish along with him. If the distance between us is expanded to a thousand meters, I can escape. If it¡¯s ten thousand meters, I am confident of beating Elder Xuan if he doesn¡¯t leave the battlefield of his own ord. In a war, my side will win.¡±

    Jing Hongchen sounded very resolute and unhesitant as he got to hisst sentence. Elder Mu was even a little moved.

    ¡°It seems like you are very confident.¡± Elder Muughed slightly.

    Jing Hongchenughed bitterly. ¡°I believe that you can tell that Ick confidence. Soul tools have an advantage in a war, but Shrek¡¯s position on the continent can¡¯t be shaken in more higher-end battles. Neither the Illustrious Virtue Hall nor the Body Sect can shake Shrek Academy.¡±

    Elder Mu stole a nce at him. It was obvious that he could tell the meaning behind his words. If the Illustrious Virtue Hall and Body Sect couldn¡¯t do it themselves, what if theybined their power?

    ¡°Jing Hongchen, I once went to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Your development in soul tools is indeed beyond my imagination. I agree with one point of yours. When soul tools no longer rely on soul masters¡¯ soul power one day, soul masters will be eliminated. Just like how soul tools reced the Tang Sect¡¯s secret weapons. But I have to add something. Even if that day reallyes, soul masters will still be the most powerful. That¡¯s because only powerful soul masters can unleash the greatest might of even more powerful soul tools. Do you agree?¡±

 Chapter 136: The Sea Gods Pavilion has an Entrance Fee

    Jing Hongchen nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. The stronger the person using the soul tool, the higher the limit of the soul tool.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve yet to develop soul tools that are powerful enough to be used without a soul master apart from stationary soul tools. I can¡¯t predict any future developments. But the rise of soul engineers can¡¯t be stopped, just like how soul tools reced cold weapons.¡± He sounded very sincere, but he was actually very baffled in his heart. Had Elder Mu gone to the Illustrious Virtue Hall before? ¡°If such an unpredictable, Transcendent Douluo has gone there before¡­¡± He broke out in a cold sweat.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°You can¡¯t bring the Judgement Sword with you. You can tell me what you¡¯re here for. If you point soul tools towards Shrek City from outside Shrek Academy again, I will pay a visit to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s capital.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression finally changed. Why was he daring enough to enter Shrek Academy? He didn¡¯t only possess ss 9 automatic soul tools. He also had his setup outside. But he didn¡¯t expect Elder Mu to know about this. As he recalled Elder Mu¡¯s avatar, he became fearful for the first time since he took up the position of Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    ¡°Elder Mu, you¡¯re indeed admirable.¡± He bowed slightly and tried his best to repress the shock that he felt. ¡°I¡¯m here for another reason. Many months ago, Shrek Academy agreed to an exchange between our academy¡¯s students. But it was put aside for some reason. Both the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy are top-ranked academies in the continent now. I believe that this exchange is necessary, and I feel that it will improve integration and learning between both parties.¡±

    Elder Mu answered, ¡°It¡¯s fine for us to have an exchange, but can you ensure the safety of my students? In addition, what can my Shrek students learn from your academy?¡±

    Jing Hongchen seemed to have expected this question, and answered without any hesitation, ¡°I can ensure theirplete safety, and I¡¯ll swear to that by the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s honor. During the exchange period, your students will receive the best guidance. If they¡¯re capable enough, they can even enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall to learn.¡±

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°There¡¯s no evidence to prove your words.¡±

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°If you¡¯re worried, you can send Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers with them. You can even send many of them to tag along.¡±

    Elder Mu shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯ll be unnecessary. The exchange is fine. Send Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen to my academy before bringing my students to your academy. I can guarantee that they¡¯ll learn in my academy¡¯s inner courtyard. You shall personally send my students back and bring your students back to your academy once the exchange is over.¡±

    Jing Hongchen shook his head immediately. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be appropriate. Although I believe in your character, I think it¡¯s best to be cautious. What if, when I send your students back, Shrek¡­¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your proposal then?¡±

    Jing Hongchen replied, ¡°There¡¯s no rush to have an exchange now. I suggest that we hold a three year long exchange two years from now. That way, it will be the start of the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. You can send your academy¡¯s teachers to observe the tournament. When it¡¯s over, they can bring your students back. At the same time, they can send my students back too.¡±

    Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°How will you settle the same problem?¡± The suggestion that Jing Hongchen gave was simr to Elder Mu¡¯s previous proposition. The only difference was in the identity of the host.

    Jing Hongchen replied, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is organizing the tournament, and everyone will be watching us. We¡¯ll be aughingstock if we do anything behind your backs. I¡¯m willing toe to Shrek Academy to act as coteral, and I¡¯ll only return once the tournament is over and your students are back safely. However, the Illustrious Virtue Hall shall be meless if anything happens to them during the tournament.¡±

    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s a promise. You shall bring them here 2 years from now. I will ask Little Xuan to send my students to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, including Huo Yuhao.¡± Elder Mu said.

    ¡°That¡¯s a promise.¡± Jing Hongchen was also ted. Although he had been demeaning soul masters and elevating the status of soul engineers, he was clearly aware that the development of soul masters was very crucial to the growth of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Especially since Shrek had been around for years, learning even a little from them was beneficial to the overall enhancement of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Perhaps Shrek Academy could also gain some knowledge of soul tools from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. But it was pertinent to note that Shrek Academy didn¡¯t belong to any empire, while the Illustrious Virtue Hall belonged to the Sun Moon Empire. This difference was bound to benefit the Illustrious Virtue Hall more greatly, and allow them to umte more long-term profits.

    There was another reason why Jing Hongchen agreed so readily. It was that Elder Mu proposed for Huo Yuhao to go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s safety with Huo Yuhao as an exchange student. The statuses and potential of the students sent out by both academies were equal. In addition, Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls. He had to expend a lot of effort to master his martial souls. Even if he specialized in soul tools too, he wouldn¡¯t be able to focus much on them. At least to him right now, Shrek Academy would be sending Huo Yuhao to ensure that the students both academies sent out were of equal standing.

    Elder Mu smiled. ¡°Since things are settled, you can leave now.¡±

    Jing Hongchen bowed once again and said, ¡°Thank you, elder, for your kind treatment. I want to ask you something before I leave. Can Shrek have an even deeper exchange with the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Elder Mu picked his brows, ¡°Shrek Academy is Douluo Continent¡¯s Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is also the Douluo Continent¡¯s Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was slightly moved. ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± He turned around and left after he finished speaking.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Elder Mu stopped Jing Hongchen.

    Jing Hongchen asked, ¡°Do you have something else for me, elder?¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re the first outsider to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in all these years. It¡¯s also not a ce that one cane in and leave easily. Leave a ss 9 soul tool behind and teach us how to use it. Think of it as your admission ticket into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Admission ticket¡­¡± Jing Hongchen was stunned as he looked at Elder Mu. He didn¡¯t expect him to suggest something like this. This was an obviously ckmail! Furthermore, this ¡®admission ticket¡¯ was a little too pricey.

    ¡°Elder, you¡¯re bullying me!¡± Jing Hongchenughed bitterly. He might be a little more headstrong if he hadn¡¯t seen Elder Mu¡¯s avatar. But he was a little hesitant and fearful in foreign territory and inside the unpredictable Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Elder Mu smiled without saying anything. He remained calm as he looked at Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen discovered to his horror that the walls, floor and ceiling all started to exude a dim golden light. It was as if a formless hand had gripped his throat.

    ¡°Elder, you invited me into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡± Jing Hongchenughed bitterly. He was trying to hint at Elder Mu¡¯sck of scruples for demanding an admission fee.

    Elder Mu smiled slightly and said, ¡°I invited you into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, but I didn¡¯t invite you into Shrek Academy. Although it isn¡¯t some secret territory, I have to think of the students¡¯ safety too. If you¡¯re unwilling to pay the admission fee, I won¡¯t force you. But you¡¯ll have to stay here with me until the exchange 2 yearster.¡±

    ¡°Remain here for 2 years?¡± Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression stiffened. The Illustrious Virtue Hall and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would be a mess if he stayed here for 2 years. Without him holding the fort, the soul engineers under him couldn¡¯t be repressed easily by anyone. Elder Mu might seem very friendly, but he exerted great pressure on Jing Hongchen. Although he was confident that he had a fighting chance if he went all-out, there was no doubt that he would remain here.

    Jing Hongchen took a deep breath and nodded his head. He said, ¡°Since this is the case, I shall follow your orders. It¡¯s my fault that I entered Shrek Academy without permission. I shall leave behind soul tool as a gift.¡±

    As he spoke, Jing Hongchen lifted his hand and fumbled around his chest. A metal chip that looked extremely thin appeared in his palm.

    This metal chip was circr in shape and very thin. It released a gentle, golden halo. The most special part of it was a carving on its surface. The carving pattern was very fine and neat, but it was filled with a sense of creation and imagination. No undtion of soul power came from it, but it had a special feel like a solid mountain as it appeared on the chip. A dim golden halo shed across it subtly. The radiance wasn¡¯t intense, but it was very distracting.

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°I made this soul tool myself. I call it Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. It¡¯s an automatic defense-type soul tool. cing it at the chest area will allow it to stick close to a soul master¡¯s body and absorb the soul master¡¯s soul power to be a single entity. It will mount a defense when the soul master is under attack. It can be initiated and shut down with the soul master¡¯s mind. I¡¯m quite satisfied with a few parts of this Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. Firstly, it ces no restrictions on its user¡¯s cultivation. Even a one-ringed or two-ringed soul master can use it. Its defensive effect is equal to the strongest attack unleashed by the user with all of his soul power without initiating any soul skills. But the soul power depleted is only 1/5th of that strongest attack. It¡¯s suitable for all soul masters. In the hands of a Titled Douluo, it has the defensive strength of a Transcendent Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, it has a unique activation method.

    ¡°It can only form an Invincible Barrier capable ofsting a full 15 seconds when its core formation is activated using this method. The defensive strength of this barrier can reach up to three times the user¡¯s cultivation. The reason that it¡¯s ssified as a ss 9 soul tool is because of this Invincible Barrier. However, it can only be activated like this once before it needs to be recharged, but it doesn¡¯t have to be manually charged. When the user cultivates, it will naturally charge itself with the required soul power over time¡ªaround three days. Of course, the user can also charge it deliberately. Doing so will take an entire day and night of meditation, during which the user will have to inject all of their soul power into the soul tool.¡±

    Elder Xuan was shocked when he heard Jing Hongchen¡¯s introduction. He realized that Jing Hongchen truly had the ability to get out of almost any dangerous situation with this ss 9 soul tool, despite his cultivation only being Rank 93. No wonder he¡¯d dared to sneak into Shrek Academy.

    Elder Mu nodded, and Jing Hongchen felt that the weight in his hands disappear as Hongchen¡¯s Blessing appeared in front of Elder Mu. Elder Mu squinted his eyes and lifted it in front of him. He then said, ¡°You¡¯re able to adapt well; no wonder the Illustrious Virtue Hall is improving every day under your leadership. You may leave now. However, if you intend oning here without permission again, I hope that you¡¯re fully confident. If you aren¡¯t, your entrance fee won¡¯t be as simple as just one ss 9 soul tool.¡±

    Jing Hongchen revealed a smile on his face. Even though it was bitter, it was also filled with stubbornness. He bowed slightly towards Elder Mu, then turned to leave.

    Once he¡¯d left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he leapt up into the air, and a pair of dark golden wings opened behind his back. He disappeared almost instantly; he wasn¡¯t willing to remain in Shrek Academy even a second longer.

    Jing Hongchen had wanted to get back what belonged to him, yet had ended up suffering even more losses. He hadn¡¯t managed to get back the ss 8 Judgement Sword, and had even lost a ss 9 soul tool. It¡¯s important to know that Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t had a ss 9 soul tool prior to this, as ss 9 soul tools were only utilized for strategic purposes even in the Sun Moon empire. Even though the ss 9 soul tool that Jing Hongchen had given Shrek wasn¡¯t the best, it wasn¡¯t the worst either. He¡¯d chosen Hongchen¡¯s Blessing because it wasn¡¯t offensive at all; its core formation was very resilient, and wouldn¡¯t be ovee easily.

    However, Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t exactly returning empty-handed. He¡¯d seen Elder Mu, and had gained an even deeper sense of Shrek¡¯s background. This had been his greatest reward. Furthermore, he¡¯d made other arrangements; failure was the mother of sess. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being repressed for once. Despite how depressed he felt, Jing Hongchen had several other ideas.

    However, he almost spat blood when he reached the soul tools that he¡¯d set up beforehand.

    Jing Hongchen had set up eight automatic soul tools over a thousand meter distance before he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy. Four of them were ss 9 soul tools, while the other four were ss 8 soul tools. With them in ce, he could remotely mount an attack on Shrek Academy and Shrek City with the push of a button. Even the most powerful individuals wouldn¡¯t be able to resist an attack of such a magnitude without sufficient preparation. They might be able to escape, but ordinary soul masters and all of the buildings present would be destroyed.

    But when he reached the locations where he¡¯d ced these ss 8 soul tools, he realized that only traces of them were left behind¡ªall of them had disappeared. He immediately realized that Elder Mu must¡¯ve done something to them. He used his remote to test them out, but didn¡¯t get a reaction. It was obvious that their receivers had been destroyed.

    ¡°Bastard, I knew I should¡¯ve had that old man equip them with self-destruct devices. Damned Shrek Academy.¡± Jing Hongchen cursed in fury. He didn¡¯t act like how he had in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    However, his temper disappeared as quickly as it¡¯de. He turned around to look at Shrek Academy, an evil radiance appearing in his eyes. He snorted coldly, then turned around again and quickly left.

    ¡°Elder Mu, we¡¯ve seeded.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo reported the good news to Elder Mu.

    Where had Jing Hongchen¡¯s soul tools disappear to? They¡¯d taken them away of course! Elder Mu had stalled Jing Hongchen in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in order to buy them enough time.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°I hope that your Soul Tool Department will be able to make some progress this time. However, take due caution; it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing if such powerful soul tools were to explode.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Elder Mu, please rest assured. We¡¯ll only research the core formations for now. We won¡¯t take them apart without understanding them. Even when we do, we¡¯ll only do so in the academy. Fan Yu¡¯s already taken them back to the academy so that we can begin researching them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he listened from one side. He only barely managed to piece together that Elder Mu had most likely instructed the two Soul Tool Department deans to gather up some powerful soul tools.

    Qian Duoduo looked at Huo Yuhao and couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Little Yuhao, you must be curious. Well, Jing Hongchen snuck into our academy and was discovered by Elder Mu. Elder Mu also sensed what he¡¯d setup outside the academy, and told us to go and gather up his soul tools. Of the soul tools he set up, four are ss 8 and four are ss 9. No matter how deep the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s coffers are, this will definitely be enough to make them feel a pinch for some time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He clearly remembered the auction prices for the top-ranked soul tools sold at the auction house. The Illustrious Virtue Hall had definitely suffered a heavy loss since they¡¯d relinquished these 8 soul tools alongside the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing that Jing Hongchen had left behind for Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu passed the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing to Xian Lin¡¯er and said, ¡°Study this soul tool too. I tried it out just now; Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t lying when he exined its usage. But don¡¯t ruin it¡ªI have other uses in mind for it.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er excitedly received it. Even though she wasn¡¯t young anymore, she was still as excited as a little girl right now.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department had been making slow progress all these years; this was a great opportunity for them! Researching the soul tools that they¡¯d obtained today would definitely help Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department make significant progress. It wasn¡¯t easy for one to obtain top-ranked soul tools from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Elder Mu gestured and said, ¡°Go on then. Yuhao and Wang Dong, help me up to the third level. Xiao Xiao, follow Little Xuan and learn well from him. Little Xuan, take them to Star Dou Forest first thing tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Elder Xuan acknowledged.

    Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes brightened when they heard that they were going to the Star Dou Forest. Their cultivations had already reached the Rank 30 bottleneck, thus heading to the Star Dou Forest could only mean one thing: They were going there to obtain their third soul rings! Bing a Soul Elder represented a significant step forward in one¡¯s cultivation.

    Only after one had ovee the barrier at Rank 30 would they be considered to have advanced from the beginner stage to the intermediate stage of cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong helped Elder Mu up from his chair slowly, then helped him up to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s third level again. Beneath Elder Mu¡¯s guidance, they entered the left tunnel and walked all the way to the room at the end of it.

    Golden light shone, and the door to the room opened, afterwich they entered the room.

    The room wasn¡¯t big; it was only around 30 square meters in size. There was a simple wooden table, a chair, a bed, and a bookshelf that covered one of the walls. The interior design was very simple, and the natural scenery of Sea God¡¯s Ind could be seen through the window.

    ¡°Eld¡­ Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao almost addressed Elder Mu incorrectly, as he still wasn¡¯t used to the new way he had to address him since he¡¯d just epted Elder Mu as his teacher. ¡°How¡¯s elder sister? Is there any way to heal her? My second martial soul is Ultimate Ice. I¡¯ll do my best to help heal elder sister so long as I¡¯m able to and you tell me how.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was more concerned with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s condition than bing a Soul Elder. He¡¯d only just established a rtionship with Ma Xiaotao, yet she¡¯d suffered such an enormous injury. It had taken him a great deal of effort to gain kin!

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be too anxious. Xiaotao¡¯s condition right now is special. It¡¯s not entirely a bad thing for her martial soul to have transformed. Once I sealed her, the Dark Phoenix mes began to lead her body in the direction of Ultimate Fire. It¡¯s just that the aura of darkness within her is like a parasite¡ªit can¡¯t be neutralized so easily.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued to probe, ¡°How can we make the aura of darkness disappear?¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a way, but we can¡¯t do so now. She needs to remain asleep in my seal for a longer period of time. It might be two, three, or even four to five years. It¡¯ll depend on what destiny has in store for her. I¡¯ll truly need your strength when the timees however. For now, just remember what you said.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll save elder sister no matter the price, so long as I¡¯m able.¡± Huo Yuhao answered resiliently.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°Yuhao, Wang Dong, let me ask you this: Do the two of you know why I let Jing Hongchen enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion today?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other, then Wang Dong said, ¡°Are you trying to stamp your authority on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Sun Moon Empire? I¡¯ve heard from Teacher Wang that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s development in soul tools has been extremely rapid. It seems that the beginnings of a war are brewing.¡±

    Elder Mu didn¡¯t judge Wang Dong¡¯s analysis and turned towards Huo Yuhao. He asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I have the same general idea as Wang Dong. However, I also think that you seem to value the exchange and interaction between us and their students that you discussed.¡±

    Elder Mu nodded and said, ¡°Both of you are right. Stamping my authority, scaring him, and reaping the benefits. These were some of the reasons that I let him enter. However, the main reason was to fight for time¡ªtime for all of you.¡±

    ¡°For us?¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were stunned.

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°My existence is Shrek Academy¡¯s greatest secret. Only the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion currently know about me. Yet, I revealed myself in order to fight for more time so that you young people will have time to develop. This is because I can¡¯t protect Shrek for much longer.¡±

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    Chapter 136.3: The Sea God''s Pavilion has an Entrance Fee

    ¡°Teacher, you¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked.

    Elder Mu smiled and said in a carefree manner, ¡°All people will eventually die, unless they manage to ovee that barrier. But doing so is simply too difficult. I¡¯ve already been alive for over 200 years; death isn¡¯t scary to me. Both Du Bisi and I suffered critical injuries back then, but I managed to ascend to Rank 99 because I overcame my limits in that life and death battle. That¡¯s also what has allowed me to stay alive until now. Just this makes me very fortunatepared to Du Bisi.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve clearly been able to feel my body¡¯s degradation over these past few years; it¡¯s irreversible. I¡¯m not exactly sure how long I have left though. At the very least, I have three years, while at the most, I have five to six years. I can¡¯t protect Shrek for much longer. That¡¯s why I need to use what limited time I have left to do something for Shrek.¡±

    ¡°If I were still in good shape, it¡¯d be best for me remain in the dark. In that case, I¡¯d be able to use my power to greatly rock the Sun Moon Empire even if I can¡¯t decide the result of the war. However, I can¡¯t do so now; my body¡¯s on the decline. The only thing I can do is instill fear in them by letting them know of my presence, in order to stall them from doing anything for now.¡±

    In fact, the reason that Elder Mu had allowed Jing Hongchen to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion wasn¡¯t as simple as he¡¯d said. There had also been a deeper meaning behind his actions.

    ¡°The next two years will be very important to you all. There won¡¯t be any time for you rest. Yuhao, you must go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in two years. Wang Dong, what about you?¡±

    Wang Dong was dazed, and hesitated. ¡°Teacher, I don¡¯t really like soul tools. I don¡¯t have any talent in them either. However, Yuhao and I¡­¡±

    Elder Mu nodded slightly and said, ¡°Your martial soul fusion won¡¯t disappear simply because you¡¯re distanced from one another. You aren¡¯t inferior to Yuhao in terms of talent, but your paths of development will still differ in some ways. As such, I hope that you¡¯ll remain in the academy in order to further your learning while he goes to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Wang Dong hesitated, as he was still unwilling to part with Huo Yuhao. Furthermore, it would be an entire three years of separation. However, he didn¡¯t say anything against it, as it would still only happen two years from now.

    Elder Mu squinted. ¡°Jing Hongchen was right. Soul tools will enter every household in the future as they continue to develop. They¡¯ll inevitably rece the cold weapons that we have now. This is also one of the reasons that the war is inevitable. The other three empires are also developing soul tools much slower than the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯ll only be able to fight for up to ten years of time from now. After that, many things will change when the wares.¡±

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°Teacher, why didn¡¯t you kill Jing Hongchen today?¡±

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°Killing him would only cause the Sun Moon Empire to go all-out. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t lying. Many of the soul tools on his body were very threatening. Both parties would¡¯ve suffered if we weren¡¯t careful. In addition to this, we couldn¡¯t afford to put Shrek¡¯s many years of foundation at risk. Jing Hongchen is extremely powerful and adaptable. He¡¯s able to make urate choices decisively when he¡¯s forced to; he¡¯ll be a huge enemy of Shrek in the future.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Early the next morning.

    The weather was a little gloomy, which caused the mist above Sea God¡¯s Lake to be more concentrated than usual.

    Four figures left Shrek Academy, but stopped after they¡¯d gone through the gate.

    Elder Xuan hugged his wine gourd and looked at the two young men and the youngdy in front of him. He said intoxicatedly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, you three can head forwards on your own. You¡¯re all young. If I keep following you, I¡¯ll only be a pain in the ass. You should know where Star Dou Forest is. Go and find suitable soul beasts for yourselves. I¡¯ll follow all of you secretly. However, you¡¯ll be deducted 10 points from your outer courtyard test this semester if I have to intervene while you¡¯re getting your soul rings.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The three of them were naturally Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Only Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao needed to obtain their third soul rings, but Wang Dong had volunteered to apany them. His reasoning had been simple: Huo Yuhao would be twice as strong with him around. Their martial soul fusion skills were able to achieve crucial effects at critical times. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for the three of them to deal with a thousand year soul beast if they were to team up. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao only needed to obtain thousand year soul rings.

    After Elder Xuan addressed the three of them, his figure shed, and he disappeared. However, they were still confident despite the fact that Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t directly following them. With a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo secretly protecting them, they were bold enough to even enter the core regions of the Star Dou Forest.

    The three of them determined the direction to head, then rushed towards the Star Dou Forest that was located to the south of Shrek Academy.

    Shrek Academy was quite close to Star Dou Forest. Otherwise, the wave of soul beasts from the Star Dou Forest wouldn¡¯t have swept over Shrek City first back then.

    They arrived outside Star Dou Forest in less than two days.

    The air along the way had be much fresher, and their breathing had in turn be smoother as they¡¯d neared the forest. The three of them were feeling quite good even though they¡¯d rushed along the road for two days.

    They¡¯d been very busy with learning and cultivating ever since they¡¯d entered Shrek Academy; they¡¯d hardly had any time to rx. Once their first year had ended, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had managed to return home and rest. However, Huo Yuhao had gone to the Extreme North. Even though he¡¯d managed to obtain the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, he¡¯d still undergone tough training and many ordeals. He¡¯d then continued to cultivate effortlessly once he returned to the academy, and hadpeted in the tournament afterwards. His mind hadn¡¯t been able to calm down since he¡¯d entered Shrek Academy.

    They were extremely excited to finally be getting their their third soul rings. They all felt like they¡¯d changed after their closed-door cultivation, thus they were incredibly confident right now. They were excited to use their skills in the Star Dou Forest.

    That was why they weren¡¯t fatigued despite rushing for two days straight. They were both thrilled and in their peak conditions.

    As they walked, Huo Yuhao asked Xiao Xiao, ¡°Xiao Xiao, what¡¯s your n for your soul ring?¡±

    Xiao Xiao answered, ¡°I have a n. However, teacher mentioned that a lot of luck is involved when ites to obtaining a soul ring. If I see a better alternative, I¡¯ll take it. I¡¯ll even consider fusing with a soul ring that¡¯s extremely suitable for my Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. To be honest, I¡¯m raring to go right now. If I wait for my first martial soul to get all nine soul rings before I start cultivating my second martial soul, the advantage of my twin martial souls will be realized too slowly. I¡¯m nning to add three or four soul rings to my Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute while I cultivate the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. If I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t be able to keep up with the two of you.¡±

    Since there were only the three of them present, Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t hide what she really thought.

    Xiao Xiao could clearly sense the gap between her and both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong after the tournament. Huo Yuhao had more than caught up with the both of them; he was the one in the lead now. Meanwhile, Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess and Clear Sky Hammer were both rather powerful martial souls. Her martial souls were slightly inferior inparison to theirs, thus she didn¡¯t want tog too far behind them, regardless of whether she chose to be an auxiliary-type battle soul master or to add a soul ring to her second martial soul beforehand. She was intelligent; she sensed that she wouldn¡¯t have a chance to catch up to them if shegged too far behind them now.

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°Xiao Xiao, what¡¯s your second soul bone?¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a secret; I¡¯m not telling. However, I know that Yuhao¡¯s second soul bone is the Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s Left Arm Bone.¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t tell us. You¡¯ll still have to use it when you hunt soul beasts anyway. You haven¡¯t revealed what type of soul ring you want for your Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron though.¡±

    Xiao Xiao answered, ¡°I chose to be an auxiliary-type battle soul master. As such, my soul ring naturally needs to have an auxiliary effect and be able to disy my special trait. My n is to use a control-type soul skill as my main soul skill, or to enhance the defensive strength of my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. After the tournament, I had the feeling that, so long as my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron is defensively strong enough, it will achieve unprecedented effects when coupled with its ability to separate itself and my enemies. Furthermore, I still have the Cauldron Quake and Cauldron Sweep.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was awed when he heard this. ¡°Xiao Xiao, you¡¯ve analyzed your martial soul very thoroughly. I also think that a defense-type soul ring suits you. Your Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron is indeed very outstanding in separating your enemies. When we fought ss 2, we wouldn¡¯t have won so easily without that skill and control of yours.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Xiao Xiao asked, ¡°What¡¯s your n? It won¡¯t be easy to find a soul ring to add to your Spirit Eyes. Spiritual-type soul beasts aren¡¯tmon. Furthermore, they¡¯re good at concealing themselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao concurred and nodded. He replied, ¡°We can only take it step by step and see how our luck ys out. Besides, we¡¯re only circling the Star Dou Forest¡¯s perimeter. We¡¯ll hunt when we find suitable ones. Contrarily, we need to kill as few of them as possible.¡±

    Xiao Xiao agreed, ¡°Yes! To a certain extent, soul beasts are resources that soul masters like us need. If we kill too many of the lower-level soul beasts, future generations will find it difficult to obtain soul rings.¡±

    Wang Dong creased his brows and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t put it that way. Soul beasts are also living beings. How could you call them resources? We¡¯re already preying on the weak by hunting them.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was a little stunned and looked at Wang Dong. Shemented, ¡°I never realized that you were actually so kind.¡±

 Chapter 137: Re-entering the Great Star Dou Forest!

    Chapter 137: Re-entering the Great Star Dou Forest!

    Wang Dong thought for a moment, then said, ¡°We should avoid hunting and killing soul beasts like Yuhao said. We¡¯ll only hunt what we need. However, it¡¯s another story altogether if we encounter hostile attacks.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. He didn¡¯t know what kind of soul ring he was going to get for his third one, but he wasn¡¯t worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find a soul beast suitable for himself. What kind of soul beast would be able to escape the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s gaze?

    This was his second expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. However, his mood was entirely different from the first time he¡¯d entered, when he¡¯d been full of negative emotions.

    He¡¯d left the Duke¡¯s Mansion over a year ago and ventured into the Great Star Dou Forest by himself. He¡¯d been determined to give his life to seed, and had been ready to die inside of the Great Star Dou Forest if he didn¡¯t find a soul ring for himself; he¡¯d been prepared to fertilize the nts inside. The only two emotions in his heart back then had been extreme resolution and a desire for revenge.

    His mentality waspletely different now. Even though it had only been a year and half, he felt like an eternity had passed. Both his personal abilities and his mindset had undergone drastic transformations.

    His miraculous encounters had begun the day that he¡¯d met Skydream, at which point his destiny had beenpletely changed. During his two months of closed-door cultivation, Huo Yuhao had reminisced on his experiences and the vagaries of his life over the past year-and-a-half, and had used the word ¡°fortunate¡± to sum up his life.

    He was fortunate to have met Skydream, and was also fortunate to have met Teacher Xiao Ya and his eldest senior brother. He was fortunate to be part of Shrek Academy, and to have met his many exemry teachers and excellent partners. He¡¯d probably experience more over the past year-and-a-half than the ten plus years beforebined. It had only been a year-and-a-half, and he wasn¡¯t even thirteen years of age, yet he had a conspicuous feeling that he¡¯d somehow matured.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother. I will forge a life for myself. I¡¯ll aplish your most cherished desire; the one that you never voiced, and the one that I know you¡¯d rather die than forget about.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with deep longing and nostalgic sentiments when he thought about his mother. If she were alive to witness his aplishments today, how happy would she be? Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes started to turn red as such thoughts spun around in his head.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t notice much, but Wang Dong was sensitive enough to notice the changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions. He knew much more about what Huo Yuhao had experienced than Xiao Xiao did, and could vaguely guess what Huo Yuhao was thinking. He reached out and gently grasped Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards Wang Dong, who shed a faint smile at him. There was no pity in his eyes, only encouragement.

    Huo Yuhao responded with a smile. The tacit understanding and chemistry between them meant that they could understand each other¡¯s thoughts without voicing them.

    ¡°Hey you two, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯m clearly the only girl here; could you guys not make me feel like I¡¯m third-wheeling?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even react to herment, but Wang Dong¡¯s face immediately flushed red as he turned to re at her. ¡°What, do you like him? Why do I remember that I¡¯m the one you like? Have you fallen for someone else already? Eh, the hearts of women¡­¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s face blushed as she scoffed and replied, ¡°Stop it. The two of you are extraordinary; there are several girls in our grade who like the two of you. Can you still even count the number of girls who¡¯ve discreetly slipped pieces of paper into your hands? Yet what¡¯re you doing? You immediately head back to the dormitory after school if you aren¡¯t selling fried fish with Yuhao. Everybody says that you don¡¯t even know what the word ¡®like¡¯ means. As for Yuhao, he¡¯s simply obsessed with training; I¡¯ve never seen him interested in anything besides cultivating. The two of you otherworldly beings could¡¯ve been a match made in heaven, but it¡¯s a pity that the two of you are male.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rubbed his nose and forced augh. ¡°Obsessed with training? Am I that insane? So that¡¯s what people think about me.¡±

    Xiao Xiao snickered and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t know that, did you? The person that we talk about the most in our grade isn¡¯t our handsome Wang Dong¡ªit¡¯s you. There¡¯s a saying about the underdogs¡¯ vengeance. I still remember that your soul power was one of the weakest when you first entered the academy. But afterwards? Over the course of a year and a half, you¡¯ve managed to be ss 1¡¯s ss monitor, and defeat Dai Huabin, who also happens to be a top-tier fighter. I don¡¯t even have to ask anyone to know that you¡¯re the most powerful individual in Year 2, especially considering the fact that we destroyed ss 2 in that contest. You¡¯ve consolidated your status as the outer courtyard¡¯s number-one star. Our ssmates are all saying that you¡¯re the embodiment of how perseverance and determination leads to sess, and our ssmates have be especially hardworking in their cultivation. There might not be not be many three-ringed students in our grade right now, but don¡¯t worry. My guess is that at least ten people from our ss, or that even half of our entire ss, will be Soul Elders by the time we graduate from Year 2. And all of this is because of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stupefied when he heard this, and his mouth hung agape. ¡°Seriously?! You were with us in thepetition for a long time; how do you know so much?¡±

    Xiao Xiao smiled teasingly and said, ¡°The two of you are always living in your own worlds, and never really interact with the others. Meanwhile, I have several good friends¡ªI heard about this from Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. The two of them look like they¡¯re head over heels for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Seems like I¡¯m quite the popr guy.¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled. ¡°You¡¯re popr indeed, but your affinity for love isn¡¯t as good as the guy next to you. Even though the two of them admire your abilities, they actually like Wang Dong. They also asked me to probe Wang Dong on his thoughts before we left.¡±

    Wang Dong put his hands behind his back and cast his gaze toward the far horizon. His gaze was as if he¡¯d transcended life¡ªas if the academy was all about him even though he wasn¡¯t there. However, he really looked like he needed a beating to Huo Yuhao, thus he immediately violently broke his bubble.

    ¡°You dare to hit me, Huo Yuhao? Don¡¯t you run!¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡±

    The three of them proceeded forwards as they continued tough and joke around. Gradually, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s outer regions appeared before them.

    Vestiges of the endlessly dense forest could be seen in the distance, and Huo Yuhao saw the wooden warning sign that he¡¯d seen once before.

    He wasn¡¯t as afraid the first time around because he¡¯d been ignorant. However, he¡¯d almost met his end at the hands of a mere ten year soul beast, and immediately felt a stifling feeling when the Great Star Dou Forest drifted into view. He subconsciously stopped in his tracks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s rxed expression became a lot more solemn, and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you guys feel that the Great Star Dou Forest is enigmatic and unfathomable?¡±

    Xiao Xiao frowned and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t. Maybe you learned a painful lesson the first time you were here, and now you have a psychological barrier.¡±

    Wang Dong pondered momentarily, then said, ¡°I do, but only a little, and it¡¯s not obvious. Your Spirit Eyes are spiritual-type, and your perception is superior to ours. The Great Star Dou Forest is the number-one habitat for the Continent¡¯s soul beasts, so it¡¯s normal to feel stifled. Who knows how many powerful soul beasts are hidden inside? If soul beasts weren¡¯t necessary for a soul master¡¯s cultivation, this enormous forest would¡¯ve been cleared out by the empires, as it¡¯s located on arge t in, and takes up a lot of space.¡±

    An expression of disbelief appeared on Xiao Xiao¡¯s face. ¡°The empires could take down the entire Great Star Dou Forest? There are so many powerful soul beasts inside!¡±

    Wang Dong answered, ¡°Of course, though it couldn¡¯t be done instantly. What if several sovereignties formed an alliance? They could start with the outer regions and whittle down the dense vegetation. This would gradually affect the ecological bnce, and in turn would eventually grind down the soul beasts¡¯ power inside of the Great Star Dou Forest. Humans wouldn¡¯t need that many years to make the Great Star Dou Forest a part of history with our intelligence.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head a little and said, ¡°The existence of soul masters and the inability for soul beasts¡¯ to get older quickly will be a serious conflict in the future.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and continued, ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about. How can there be soul masters if soul beasts go extinct?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No. Soul beasts might not be unified, but they¡¯ll always retaliate when they¡¯re faced with death and annihtion. Who knows¡ªit¡¯s possible that the soul beasts will fight back one day, and that humans will face a great cmity.¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°That possibility is gradually diminishing as we further develop and advance our knowledge of soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope that the equilibrium isn¡¯t destabilized. It¡¯s fortunate that the number of soul masters has always been maintained at a reasonable level, and that many soul masters have also begun to pay attention and stop killing soul beasts for no reason. From now on, the two of you need to stay within five feet of me, and need to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. My Spiritual Detection Sharing will be activated for a prolonged period of time. We¡¯ll have to keep our guard up at all times while we¡¯re inside, and we can only roam about ten kilometers into the forest, give or take; we can¡¯t venture too deep. We also need to leave the Great Star Dou Forest every night and sleep outside. Please remind me if I¡¯m not following these rules¡ªsafety alwayses first.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao acknowledged at the same time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s importance as group leader was put on full disy in these sorts of situations.

    Huo Yuhao allowed Xiao Xiao to position herself in the center, while both he and Wang Dong stood respectively to her left and right behind her. The three of them maintained this small triangr formation as they finally arrived at the dense and thick Great Star Dou Forest.

    The air all around was full of vitality, and was full of moisture. As they walked into the forest, and immediately felt as if their bodies were being nourished by some unique force.

    Huo Yuhao immediately activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing, which he could perfectly maintain at two hundred meters in diameter with his current cultivation level. Physical images immediately surfaced in their minds. Everything was as detailed as could be, the only exception being that it was colorless

    Several weak soul beasts were watching them discreetly from somewhere nearby. They seemed afraid as the three of them approached, and none of them approached them.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. He¡¯d devised many ns and schemes targeted at their movement through the Great Star Dou Forest while they¡¯d been travelling over the past two days.

    Huo Yuhao released a low roar, and a concentrated fire-red radiance emanated from his body immediately afterwards. A powerful aura then expanded outwards, and the low-level soul beasts that were secretly observing them instantly scattered in all directions, frightened and terrified.

    Huo Yuhao had copied the aura of a thousand year me Lion using the power of Imitation. Seeing as most of the soul beasts in the outskirts of the forest were ten year soul beasts, the fearsome aura of a thousand year soul beast left them terrified. This saved the group a lot of time as they ventured deeper into the outer regions of the forest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing and Imitation were two soul skills that could be considered miraculous tools for expeditions. The three were able to move onwards for about an hour unimpeded with thebined effects of these soul skills.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Imitation from time to time, releasing a thousand year me Lion¡¯s aura. There was a deeper meaning to his actions: The soul rings they were looking for needed to be at least a thousand years old. Of course, only those with at least three thousand years of cultivation were considered suitable. The me Lion was considered a powerful thousand year soul beast with incredible offensive capabilities, thus the soul beasts that were afraid of it weren¡¯t suitable targets. Soul beasts that weren¡¯t afraid, on the other hand, were likely to be close in cultivation to what they needed.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Take a break, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had been fairly rxed throughout the entire journey, seeing as all they¡¯d had to do was follow Huo Yuhao. Contrarily, Huo Yuhao had had to activate two of his soul skills repeatedly, which had consumed a considerable amount of his energy.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he had to maintain his peak condition at all times, thus he immediately nodded.

    They found a vantage point on a hill and stopped to rest.

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here.¡± Huo Yuhao said, and signaled for Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to take a break.

    Wang Dong came to his side and pressed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder with his left hand. Their Haodong power instantly fused, and radiant light energy flowed from Wang Dong¡¯s body. The dense vegetation around them almost seemed to exude an aura of euphoria when it felt the auraing from them.

    Circle after circle of golden light poured forth from Wang Dong¡¯s body, pulsed from his shoulder, then traveled down his arm and into Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nced at him in shock when he felt his exhaustion being immediately dispelled as the thick light aura enveloped his body, and his soul power being filled with a vigorous liveliness. With the support of their Haodong power, the ten percent of his soul power that he had consumed earlier recuperated in about ten breaths of time.

    Wang Dong sounded a little proud. ¡°This is the true essence of my Golden Light spirit bone. I¡¯ve decided to call this true essence ¡®Omnipresence¡¯; it¡¯s extremely useful for offence, defense, soul power recovery, or even treating others. My Golden Light Left Arm Bone can rival even a hundred thousand year soul bone¡¯s effects. The more I learn about its Golden Light skill, the more profound it seems. It¡¯s able to aplish many things with the power of light.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Are you trying to make me want to cultivate with you more? It seems like our cultivation speed can be even further increased.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t jump to conclusions,¡± Wang Dong replied, ¡°earlier you said that once you break through to Rank 30, your cultivation speed would plummet because of your Ultimate martial soul, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned and said, ¡°Who knows? We can¡¯t be certain.¡± He wasn¡¯t an ordinary soul master with an Ultimate martial soul; the Ice Empress¡¯ former power was still present in his body, constantly refining it. This was in addition to the Life Gold¡¯s effects, which made Huo Yuhao confident that his cultivation speed wouldn¡¯t be affected too much by his Ultimate martial soul if it even was.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao froze and he immediately shifted his attention without using Imitation.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Huo Yuhao remarked, then stepped forward, his hands turning white.

    A tangible ripple of soul power had appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing¡¯s area of effect, which was also reflected in Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s minds. This obscure silhouette seemed to have already discovered them, and was bounding towards them at a breakneck speed.

    Light flickered in the distance as a green shadow soundlessly appeared atop a tree branch roughly thirty meters away. A wild cat with a small frame came into view; its fur was greenish-ck, while its eyes were purplish-red and gleamed with hostility. Its fur had a pattern simr to that of a tiger¡¯s, while the hues of the fur were unbnced.

    It was only two feet long, but a considerable amount killing intent weighed down on the three of them.

    Only soul beasts could survive inside of the Great Star Dou Forest. One could tell from its speed and aura that it was at least a thousand year soul beast.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°That¡¯s a Deviltiger Cat. Seeing as its fur is greenish-ck, its must have around two thousand years worth of cultivation at the very least. A Deviltiger Cat¡¯s fur will turnpletely ck and show lustrous green glimmering patterns once it reaches ten thousand years worth of cultivation.¡±

    The knowledge he¡¯d obtained in the academy was put to good use. Huo Yuhao¡¯s quick exnation also helped Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong recall the soul beast.

    Shrek Academy taught them about soul beasts in four of their sses per week. The Deviltiger Cat wasn¡¯t considered exotic, thus they¡¯d heard of it from their sses before.

    If the Deviltiger Cat were to be described from a soul master¡¯s perspective, it would be seen as an agility-type soul beast with high lethality.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t avoid this battle. Remember not to kill it,¡± Huo Yuhao reminded everyone with a whisper. As they hadn¡¯t encountered a thousand year soul beast so far, he didn¡¯t expect to be able to scare this Deviltiger Cat away very easily. Because there were hundred thousand year soul beasts with strong territorial instincts lurking in the depths of Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use his hundred thousand year soul beast¡¯s aura, lest he run the risk of attracting a real one to him. Elder Xuan had previously reminded him that he should only do so as ast resort.

    The Deviltiger Cat pounced forward like a green lightning bolt the moment that Huo Yuhao had finished speaking. Its target wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao, who was in front, but rather Wang Dong at his side.

    The ¡°Devil¡± in the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s name was because it was both wind-type and darkness-type, which in turn was the reason for its ferocious nature and formidable strength.

    Its front ws sprung out, while its greenish-ck fur exuded a glow that wasn¡¯t all that brilliant, but lightly shimmered. It lunged through the air, somehow managing to switch directions, avoiding Huo Yuhao as it flew straight towards Wang Dong. Wang Dong was a light-type soul master, and it really hated the light attribute.

    Small wings protruded from its ribs. However, they were extremely narrow, which meant that it couldn¡¯t fly. Maneuvering itself in mid-air however, was still very possible.

    Wang Dong had already unleashed his Radiant Butterfly Goddess by this point. He didn¡¯t evade the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s lunging strike. Instead, he swiftly moved his hands in front of his chest while his wings sparkled with an intense golden light as he activated his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    A ck cauldron suddenly appeared about three meters away from Wang Dong and blocked the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s assault. The Deviltiger Cat was exceedingly agile however, and tapped the surface of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with one w, intending to leap over it and continue towards Wang Dong. However, the cauldron trembled violently the moment it did so.

    The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body was momentarily hindered by the vigorous shaking beneath it which, while it wouldn¡¯t hurt the Deviltiger Cat, would certainly slow it down. The moment it was slowed, a streak of purplish-golden light shed through the sky and struck it, causing the Deviltiger Cat to scream in agony and lose control of its body as it continued to glide through the sky.

    Huo Yuhao had employed his Spiritual Shock with the utmost efficiency. Because his ever-growing spiritual power¡ªwhen channeled through his Spiritual Shock¡ªhad a highly synergistic effect with his Purple Demon Eyes, the end result was much more powerful than Huo Yuhao had expected.

    The Deviltiger Cat plummeted towards the ground. Some of Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess struck the cat¡¯s body and detonated, while the rest flew over Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and exploded when it hit the ground.

    ¡°Mmph.¡± The Deviltiger Cat crashed into the ground, ck burns present where Wang Dong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess had struck it. When Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection on the Deviltiger Cat, he was surprised to find that the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s blood essence and soul power were in a chaotic mess; the cat was effectively incapacitated.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Xiao Xiao nced at Huo Yuhao doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao was also astonished. ¡°The Deviltiger Cat seems to have fainted from my Spiritual Shock. Take a look¡ªits body is still seizing.¡±

    He walked forward once he¡¯d finished speaking and flipped the unconscious Deviltiger Cat over.

    The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s appearance was a little peculiar; its body was still seizing, and there specks of dark green blood were trickling from its nose. Its eyed had rolled back into its head, and it waspletely unconscious.

    Wang Dong was taken aback. ¡°Since when did your Spiritual Shock be so powerful?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, ¡°I have no idea. If I¡¯d known it was, I would¡¯ve used it right from the get-go and saved us some trouble.¡±

    He immediately connected therge boost in his Spiritual Shock¡¯s power to the growth of his spiritual power. His abilities were always improving, while his cultivation level had constantly grown as well. However, the growth of his spiritual power was much more prominent than the growth of his soul power.

    His spiritual sea had been transformed several times, and a second consciousness had been established between his eyebrows once he¡¯d fused with the Life Gold. The fact that the three powerful entities residing within his spiritual sea could no longer directly control his body showed the great progress his spiritual power had made, and was also further indicative of his growth.

    The Skydream Iceworm was more than happy that Huo Yuhao had be stronger. He¡¯d been discreetly opening his seal throughout the expansion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea and during the consolidation process, and had also been constantly fusing his sealed origin power with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao could only increase his cultivation bit by bit, and had to gradually grow ustomed to his origin power. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had experienced rapid progress due to a long period of umtion. This was especially so during his recent closed-door cultivation, where he¡¯d consistently been enlightened, causing his spiritual level to skyrocket. His spiritual sea was now ten timesrger than that of most Soul Elders; even Soul Kings couldn¡¯t rival him in terms of pure spiritual power¡ªand this was excluding his second one.

    The four powerful soul skills that Skydream had bestowed upon Huo Yuhao with his first soul ring had been greatly boosted as well, and now both soul rings on his Spirit Eyes had transcended five thousand years in power.

    His spirit-type martial soul directlyplemented his spiritual power, and he also had a million year soul beast¡ªthe Skydream Iceworm¡ªconstantly refining it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had therefore reached a rtively astounding level. However, one¡¯s spiritual power had more growth limitations than soul power, thus advancing would be harder and harder as time passed. Despite this, if Huo Yuhao managed topletely absorb the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s million years¡¯ worth of spiritual power one day, he¡¯d be the number one individual in the world in terms of pure spiritual power.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao with a shocked look.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s injuries aren¡¯t severe, its spirit just took a powerful hit. He¡¯ll recover after a while. Let¡¯s just put it on the tree itunched itself from and keep moving; we¡¯ll just avoid it.¡±

    He grabbed the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s pudgy body once he¡¯d finished speaking, then climbed up the big tree that they were resting beside and ced him on a branch that was rtively high up.

    Thousand year soul beasts¡¯ recovery abilities were rtively formidable, and Huo Yuhao could feel that the disorganized and scattered soul power inside the Deviltiger Cat was beginning to congregate and stabilize.

    He came down from the tree and immediately departed with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, and the three of them ventured deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡°We¡¯ve traveled about ten kilometers, Yuhao.¡± Wang Dong whispered to Huo Yuhao in front of him after about fifteen minutes of walking.

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll proceed along the outer regions from now on.¡±

    The Great Star Dou Forest was vast. Most of the soul beasts that were gathered within ten kilometers of the forest¡¯s outer regions were mostly ten year and hundred year soul beasts. Besides the thousand year Deviltiger Cat that they had just encountered, they weren¡¯t met with any other ambushes in the subsequent two hours. They dide across several thousand year soul beasts, but they were mild and had gentle temperaments. These soul beasts weren¡¯t the kind to actively attack others, and they weren¡¯t what the three of them needed either.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the sky. It was almost evening. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and rest outside the forest. We¡¯ll stop here today.

    Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t resign herself to fate. ¡°It¡¯s still early¡ªthe sky hasn¡¯t turned dark yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°The forest trails aren¡¯t easy to walk. We can¡¯t move too fast either, as we have to maintain the Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect, so it¡¯s better if we go back slightly earlier. We can alwayse back at dawn. Have you already forgotten what I said? We can¡¯t be hasty and impulsive, we have to ce our safety before everything.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Xiao immediately nodded her head.

    They were still young, and their cultivation levels were at a bottleneck. It was natural that they desired another soul ring to boost their abilities, and even Huo Yuhao thought the same way. The only difference was that he wasparatively more patient.

    They discerned the right direction and began walking out of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    They traveled for about fifteen minutes before Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Dong knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abrupt halt hadn¡¯t been for no reason. However, his Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect didn¡¯t show anything threatening.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s squinted and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I have a feeling that someone¡¯s watching us¡ªsomeone dangerous.¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled and said, ¡°You mean that they¡¯re watching us from over a hundred meters away? With so many nts here, how could he even see us? Maybe you¡¯re feeling our teacher¡¯s aura.¡±

    Even though the three of them hadn¡¯t brought it up, everyone knew that Elder Xuan was definitely following them in the shadows to ensure their safety.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. This is hostile.¡± Huo Yuhao spun around, grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hand this time and immediately stepped in front of Xiao Xiao.

    ¡°Meow¡­¡± A sharp and shrill sound rang loud, and patches of thick vegetation around them rustled as if a sudden gust of wind had billowed past them.

    A powerful and intimidating aura immediately appeared in the next moment, and this intimidating pressure was also charged with the sharpness of metal.

    Huo Yuhao raised his Spiritual Detection to the highest possible level in the blink of an eye. The area of effect that was originally one hundred meters instantly expanded to more than three hundred meters. He knew that doing so would greatly consume his soul power, but he also knew that an extra hundred meters of Spiritual Detection could possibly save their lives.

    A shadowy figure appeared soundlessly about one hundred meters in front of them. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect was three hundred meters in length and one hundred and fifty meters out to either side, but he didn¡¯t feel much when this figure surged fifty meters within his range, and neither was he able to capture its movement ¨C this speed was simply too frightening.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed a little from the immense pressure, and the golden hues in his pupils grew more intense. The sky was starting to dim now that it was sunset, thus his concentration was raised to a maximum.

    It was a Deviltiger Cat that was more than a meter long. Emerald-green patterns glowed faintly on the surface of its ck fur, its blood-red eyes were filled with acute hostility, and its entire body emanated ferocity. There were subtle and in greenish-ck lights rippling within three meters of its body. There was also a Deviltiger Cat with purplish-red eyes and greenish-ck fur on its back ¨C wasn¡¯t this the one they had just taken down earlier?

    Xiao Xiao mumbled, ¡°We hurt the small one and attracted the old one. Looks like sometimes we just can¡¯t be merciful!¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s expressions had also be serious. They didn¡¯t expect to run into such peril on their first day inside the Great Star Dou Forest, but they had brought this menace upon themselves with their benevolence!

    This Deviltiger Cat that was over a meter long was clearly a ten thousand year soul beast. Its fur flickered with ayer of flowing emerald-green light, and one could tell that it wasn¡¯t a soul beast that had just entered ten thousand years.

    This was their first time encountering a ten thousand year soul beast; how could they not be nervous? The lightning speed that this Deviltiger Cat had just disyed was far superior to that of a normal agility-type Soul King.

    Soul beasts were vastly different from soul masters; their visceral capabilities probably trumped those of soul masters, while soul masters held an advantage in intelligence and mutable battle tactics.

    This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was the greatest danger they had ever encountered in their lives. This wasn¡¯t apetition ¨C it was a battle to the death.

    This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat wasn¡¯t hasty to attack. Its blood-red eyes were charged with a terrifying aura, and its ck vertical pupils contracted from time to time. ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s vigorous aura could erupt with explosive power at any time, and they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defend themselves against this force.

    Huo Yuhao murmured, ¡°Seems like our opinions were a little wrong,¡±

    Wang Dong said nothing, but pressed his lips tightly together.

    These kinds of situations brought out their qualities as Shrek Academy¡¯s core disciples. The three of them didn¡¯t rx because Elder Xuan was protecting them from the shadows; the only solution they had to deal with this Deviltiger Cat was to rely on their own abilities.

    ¡°Meow!¡± The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s shrill roar rang out again and it began to move.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had the right precognition. This time, he was the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s target of choice.

    This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was just too fast¡ªit was almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. It left behind an after-image when it sprung forwards, even though its body was clearly pouncing through the air, which only dissipated once it had arrived in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t retreat. Xiao Xiao was behind him, and Wang Dong was beside him. He was their team leader; he couldn¡¯t simply retreat. Furthermore, even if he did, how could he match his opponent¡¯s speed?

    Wang Dong stepped behind Huo Yuhao at the same moment that the Deviltiger Catunched its attack, and the two of them moved together as if they were a single entity. The center of Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand curved inwards, while he pushed his right hand outwards, both of which werepletely covered in ayer ofpact ice as he used the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincers.

    ¡°Hoot¡­¡± The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute was extremely useful at this point. When the note from the flute rang out, even though the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was only slowed for a moment, it still gave Huo Yuhao another moment to adapt.

    ¡°ng¡ª¡± A series of sparks was created, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were thrown sideways. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings opened when this happened so that the two of them didn¡¯t m into a tree.

    The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body twisted the moment it shed against Huo Yuhao, and was flung sideways and spun around as if it had lost its center of gravity, negating its fatal w.

    Huo Yuhao felt a wave of numbness in his arms. His palms throbbed painfully as if they were being torn apart, and a deep white gash appeared on the ice pearls that the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer had given him. Even though he had sessfully defended himself against the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s assault, his shirt was torn at his chest. One could only imagine how sharp the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s attack was.

    However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with his trembling and sore palms that had been amplified by the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and the Mysterious Jade Hands. He hurriedly eximed, ¡°Watch out, Xiao Xiao!¡±

    The two of them were flung aside, and that meant the Deviltiger Cat was now closest to Xiao Xiao.

    The ten thousand year Deviltiger Catnded on all fours. It didn¡¯t make a sound, as if it were cotton flowers fluttering to the ground, before its bodyunched explosively in the next moment. It was still going after Huo Yuhao, but it would definitely cross Xiao Xiao¡¯s path. It swiped horizontally with its right w, and a dark green light light shed right toward Xiao Xiao.

    Other two-ringed soul masters would have been shed in half if they faced the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s tremendously quick attacks; it just didn¡¯t seem like anything else was possible. Two-ringed soul masters attempting to defend against a ten thousand year soul beast¡¯s onught ¨C wasn¡¯t that just foolish?

 Chapter 138: The Strong Eat the Weak, the Law of the Jungle

    <strong>Chapter 138.1: The Strong Eat the Weak, the Law of the Jungle</strong>

    Xiao Xiao, however, wasn¡¯t a normal two-ringed soul master, as her cultivation had already reached Rank 30. More importantly, she had the experience of participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, in addition to the consolidation during her previous closed-door cultivation. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing was also supporting her.

    She had already begun to retreat the moment the Deviltiger Cat pounced forward. She was a Tang Sect disciple, and she knew how to use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. She constantly changed directions as she flew backwards swiftly while the Spiritual Detection determined the light de¡¯s position the moment it was unleashed. Her body arched like a bow as she flew backwards and narrowly evaded the light de.

    A series of crackling sounds could be heard wherever the light de crossed, and a great many nts met their ends.

    Xiao Xiao broke out into a cold sweat even though she managed to dodge this attack. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s target, as she wouldn¡¯t have avoided its attack so easily otherwise.

    At this moment, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat had arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Purplish-golden radiance flickered once more as brilliant light mes poured out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s blood-red pupils also sparkled once following this shining outburst. It was apparent that it was aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual-type abilities from its child, and it wanted to use its own spiritual power to fight against Huo Yuhao.

    However, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat soon realized its mistake, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s target of choice was something else.

    The thousand year Deviltiger Cat that was lying prostrate on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s back was overflowing with murderous hostility, and lying eagerly in wait. ¡°Tch ¨C¡± Its hide suddenly crackled like a melon being smashed open, and blood instantly poured out from the seven apertures of its head. The blood trickled down and flowed all over the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show a single ounce of mercy this time. The thousand year Deviltiger Cat had already taken a hit from his Spiritual Shock before this, and its spiritual sea was already severely damaged. It had no preparation at all, and when took another all-out strike from Huo Yuhao, its brain directly turned to mush.

    This was thew of the jungle ¨C if my enemy wants to kill me, I have to kill my enemy first. There was only cold light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    It hadn¡¯t been long since they had faced the thousand year Deviltiger Cat, and then the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat caught up with them shortly afterwards. However, his opinions had transformed drastically, because he realized that the peril they were mired in was because of their tenderheartedness. Those that weren¡¯t of the same species surely thought differently, and these were soul beasts, after all. This was an unchangeable fact.

    The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was shocked by the thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s death. It roared into the sky as it subconsciously turned back towards the thousand year Deviltiger Cat on its back. It had ultimately been alive for ten thousand years, and its innate ability allowed it to turn its body in midair at a time like this as it temporarily avoided Huo Yuhao.

    However, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong made a move at this moment. Vigorous blue, purple and golden light sparkled on their bodies ¨C The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    They were guided by the Spiritual Detection Sharing, and the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was also momentarily disoriented. This attack was aimed at a location that the Deviltiger Cat was bound to cross.

    The brilliant Golden Road lit up a few hundred meters around them, and mmed directly against the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat, which was immediately transformed into a golden sculpture, and plummeted downwards with its forward momentum.

    This was the first time they had used the Golden Road used against a soul beast, and its effects startled both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    A cat¡¯s shadow seemed to depart from the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body as it crashed against the ground, motionless. The shadow quickly lunged towards the body on the ground.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a look, and they both felt a little dumbfounded. This shadow surged into the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body within these two seconds, and the golden color on its body swiftly receded before it leapt to its feet once again.

    The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat seemed a little wretched at this point. The Golden Road carried immense light power, and many charcoal-ck spots had appeared all over its fur from the corruption, while its powerful aura was also greatly diminished. It tossed its head from side to side, as if it were struggling against something. The thousand year Deviltiger Cat dropped to the ground by its side, and a purple thousand year soul ring gradually took form.

    It was apparent that the Golden Road had a different effect on soul beasts than on soul masters. Huo Yuhao had chosen this martial soul fusion skill because of the Golden Road¡¯s ability to control his opponent. However, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat exceeded his expectations in the end. It was moving too fast, and it flew out far away with its forward momentum despite taking a direct hit from the Golden Road. It was too far out of range for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to chain their onught, while what happened afterwards bewildered them.

    The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was just vigorously shaking its head. It only recovered after a few seconds, and it immediately nced towards the thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s corpse beside it. It roared furiously into the sky, and its blood-red eyes felt as if they were actually dripping with blood while it pounced towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong once more. However, its speed was clearly a little slower than before.

    The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute chimed continuously as it worked its slowing effect on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t be bothered about what exactly had happened with the changes that had just urred to this soul beast, as they had to focus all their attention on this air of hostility that was charging towards them.

    The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s fur suddenly turned emerald-green, and a green radiance immediately expanded outwards. This expansion wasn¡¯t forceful, and only reached about a foot from it, but it appeared as if the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s entire body was also expanding. It was initially a little more than a meter long, but as its entire sparkled with green light, it grew to the point where it was now more than two meters long. It also looked burlier than before, as if it were an actual fearsome tiger. Even the purring sounds from its mouth became more like a tiger¡¯s roar.

    The immense pressure made Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong feel a little suffocated, and the enormous gap in their cultivations was apparent at this moment. This Deviltiger Cat was simr in power to a Soul King after all, and its abilities were possibly also superior to those of a Soul King.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had retreated quickly while the Deviltiger Cat was vigorously tossing its head from side to side. Circle after circle of golden light emanated from Wang Dong¡¯s left arm, and both of them appeared to sparkle with golden luster.

    Haodong power amplified the Golden Light Left Arm Bone¡¯s soul skill, Golden Light, as the soul skill swiftly took effect, and the soul power they had consumed to power their martial soul fusion skill was restored with dazzling speed.

    Huo Yuhao raised his left hand and fired a beam of light at the Deviltiger Cat that was lunging towards him. He was pretty much locked onto his target with the Spiritual Detection Sharing, and this beam was the soul paralysis ray.

    The soul paralysis ray¡¯s light uratelynded on the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body, or it could be said that the Deviltiger Cat willingly collided against this beam. The dense green light around its body flickered, and the soul paralysis ray was actually diverted away from the green light that was protecting its body. The emerald-green hues burst violently, and the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s speed exploded once more as it arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in a sh.

    A sphere of light that was a foot in diameter rose into the sky. Huo Yuhao shifted behind Wang Dong and grabbed onto Wang Dong¡¯s shoulders with both hands as they used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at the same time. They moved with blinding speed as the Deviltiger Cat smashed against that sphere of light.

    Uncountable rays of light surged in an instant,pletely enveloping the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body within them. However, the Deviltiger Cat had unleashed its origin skill, and it was truly fearsome. The golden rays of light seemed to dissipate immediately as they rushed into theyer of emerald-green radiance that was protecting its body. The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body had been impeded in midair, and it couldn¡¯t continue its assault, but this moment onlysted about the time needed for two breaths. The rays of light were all dispelled, but the protective radiance on the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body appeared to have thinned a little.

    The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s soul skill was simr to Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Shield, except this was just its first soul skill, and it boosted its attack, defense and speed. Wang Dong¡¯s Butterfly Goddess sh was formidable, but he couldn¡¯t gain an advantage at all against the Deviltiger Cat.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong changed their tactics once more with this moment¡¯s worth of hindrance to the Deviltiger Cat.

    Huo Yuhao was still standing behind Wang Dong as he channeled Haodong power into Wang dong¡¯s body. Wang Dong raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at the Deviltiger Cat, while his entire right arm began to glow.

    This was different from the circles disyed by his left arm¡¯s Golden Light. The radiance from his right arm was a concentration of sharp energies.

    Wang Dong¡¯s right arm pressed against the root of his left arm, and his left arm began to flicker with signs of Golden Light. Two powerful soul bone skills were activated at the same time, and they boosted one another.

    He hadn¡¯t used the Golden Light when he had attacked with the Butterfly Goddess sh because he was acutely aware that the Butterfly Goddess sh worked on a single target, but it wasn¡¯t concentrated into a single point. The attack that he was unleashing at this moment was his most powerful strike.

    ¡°Together, Yuhao!¡±

    Wang Dong eximed as a sharp radiance drilled out from his right index finger. This beam was about three inches long, and its tip was pointed, while its root was thick like a finger. The Golden Light¡¯s hues were sparkling with lightning speed.

    Right before the Butterfly Goddess sh waspletely dispelled, the golden drill surged forth with lightning speed ¨C and it went straight for the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s forehead.

    Yes, Wang Dong¡¯s Broken Devil of Light Right Arm Bone had provided him this soul skill. Wang Dong named it the Broken Devil of Light because he waszy, and it instantly concentrated the power of light into a single point andunched an attack. It looked like a drill because Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, but it could be as thin as a needle as he became stronger, to the point where it would eventually be a thread of light.

    Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation transcended that of a Soul Ancestor with the Haodong power, and this was in addition to the support from his Golden Light. His light power was extremely effective against the dark-type ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat.

    <strong>Chapter 138.2: The Strong Eat the Weak, the Law of the Jungle</strong>

    The Deviltiger Cat moved as well when Wang Dong attacked. It had cultivated for ten thousand years, and it was also extremely sensitive towards danger. It expanded its protectiveyer of green light at the first possible moment as it attempted to evade this strike. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock arrived right at this moment.

    The purplish-golden light was fired out from over the top of Wang Dong¡¯s left shoulder. The Deviltiger Cat¡¯s cultivation was impressive, but its spiritual power still couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao¡¯s. It grunted once as the purplish-golden beam flickered, and it looked as if the shadow that had been forced out of its body by the Golden Road from before glimmered above its head once again, except it returned to its body instantly this time.

    However, this was enough, and the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s evasive movement was neverpleted.

    ¡°Tch ¨C¡±

    The Broken Devil of Light drilled ruthlessly into the emerald-green radiance. Wang Dong¡¯s most powerful strike was met with an immense defensive force as the emerald-green radiance started to seethe like ayer of boiling oil. The green light congregated at the point where the Deviltiger Cat was being struck, as it no longer maintained its original protective form, and the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body also plummeted to the ground.

    The Broken Devil of Light gradually pierced deeper, while the Deviltiger Cat¡¯syer of emerald light became more vigorous. The green radiance was slowly diminishing, but the Golden Light that was infused into the Broken Devil of Light was also gradually withering away.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but be awed at the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s powerful soul skill even though it was their opponent. This soul skill amplified its own body, and it could even concentrate its powers when faced with a prative attack that was focused onto a single point. The Deviltiger Cat looked like it was having a rough time, and it wasn¡¯t able to anything else, but at least it managed to avoid the Broken Devil of Light boring through its brain!

    Three pitch-ck cauldrons appeared beside the Deviltiger Cat at this crucial moment. Ear-splitting chiming sounds apanied vigorous ripples as they assaulted the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s body ¨C Xiao Xiao gave no quarter.

    Huo Yuhao switched positions with Wang Dong after his attack. His golden pupils immediately became emerald-green, and the temperature of the air plunged with him at the very center. His body began to emanate a subtle aura of destion.

    Emerald-green light shimmered from his bones. This time, it extended to his left arm, and every single inch of that green color congregated towards his chest. Terrifying Ultimate power erupted at this very moment.

    The Deviltiger Cat was tied down as it defended itself against the lethal power of the Broken Devil of Light. The protectiveyer of green light dimmed from the Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble¡¯s effects, and the Broken Devil of Light drilled inwards with increasing speed. This was his best chance at dealing a final blow.

    The Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer was the optimal choice. However, martial soul fusion skills could only be used once within three days, and today was only their first day inside the Great Star Dou Forest. It was better to conserve their martial soul fusion skills if they could help it. Therefore, Huo Yuhao opted for another of his powerful soul skills. This was a soul skill that he could barely handle after breaking through to Rank 30 during his closed-door cultivation.

    An emerald-green pir of light discharged from his chest. The air all around the beam appeared to solidify wherever it touched, to the point where a white ice pir glimmered in the space behind the green light pir before it crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. This was because the air in the forest was rtively moist and humid, but that extreme coldness was the more substantial reason!

    It was also green in color, but it was a different type of energy. The radiance that had resisted the Broken Devil of Light finally crumbled as the emerald beam of light smashed against it. The Broken Devil of Light was left with about thirty percent of its power, and it pierced right through the protectiveyer. The Deviltiger Cat could only tilt its head to the side so that its forehead didn¡¯t take the brunt of the attack. However, the Broken Devil of Light drilled right through. Ayer of golden light immediately appeared on its head, and these golden hues continued creeping down its entire body.

    However, this ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat didn¡¯t scream in agony at all ¨C its body had beenpletely frozen.

    Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath, Huo Yuhao¡¯s most powerful soul skill. This was one of the two powerful soul skills that came with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s bones.

    It had appeared once during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and it now appeared once more. Still, it consumed the rest of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s soul power. If he were the only one using it, and if he activated it when he was at his peak condition, he would have consumed at least ny percent of his soul power.

    The power of the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath was terrifying, and the Deviltiger Cat had beenpletely frozen into a statue. Chilly air emanated from its body, and every single nt within ten meters of the ice statue transformed into a patch of ice. The scene was rather spectacr, as transparent ice crystals permeated the entire area.

    Xiao Xiao withdrew her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and shivered. ¡°It¡¯s so cold! Your Ultimate Ice is so frightening, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuaho and Wang Dong sat down on the ground, exhausted. It seemed as if they won the battle without suffering any conspicuous losses, but they had actually given everything they had.

    The Golden Road was used, Wang Dong¡¯s most powerful soul skill, the Broken Devil of Light, was used along with his Golden Light, and Huo Yuhao activated the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath as well as the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. This was already excluding his Spiritual Detection Sharing and his Spiritual Shock.

    They were one of Shrek Academy¡¯s most talented groups, and they barely squeezed out a win after giving everything they had. Furthermore, the Deviltiger Cat that was frozen like a statue wasn¡¯t dead yet. However, its blood had been frozen, and it was almost impossible for it to break out of its solid ice prison that resembled the Manifold Mysterious Ice.

    If something didn¡¯t melt the ice from the outside within an hour, it would eventually lose its life.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong nced at each other. They weren¡¯t ted after defeating the Deviltiger Cat, and their brows were tightly furrowed instead. Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Seems like our original decision was wrong. This world follows thew of the jungle, and mercy will bring even more dangers and perils.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s spirit was even more affected, and he nodded his head lightly but said nothing.

    Huo Yuhao grasped his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be dejected. How would we have known that such a thing would happen if we didn¡¯t try? This is probably an important experience in the process of growing up.¡±

    Wang Dong snapped his head around and replied, ¡°Did you think about what happened to it when it took a direct hit from our Golden Road?¡± His left arm¡¯s Golden Light began to work its magic as he spoke, and triggered the remaining Haodong power within their bodies to recuperate their soul power.

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head faintly. ¡°I thought of something. My Spiritual Detection nketed the entire battlefield. When the shadow appeared above the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s head, I could feel that it hadpletely lost control of its body, or that it had lost consciousness. We aren¡¯t able to hit soul beasts directly with the Golden Road, but it seems like we can strip them of their spirit. This is the reason why it took several seconds to recuperate after the shadow returned to its body, but it was clear that it had been weakened. It was also conspicuously slower, and that¡¯s why it unleashed its most powerful soul skill to fight us till the end.¡±

    Wang Dong eyed him with an astonished look. ¡°If your guess is correct, I wonder what would have happened if we had attacked its spirit after it appeared?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shuddered, and his eyes sparkled with vigorous colors. He pped himself on the thigh and eximed excitedly, ¡°Yes! Why didn¡¯t I think of that? If we attacked its spirit when it appeared, we could have blown it into smithereens, and it would have be like a zombie. Any living being, as long as it doesn¡¯t practice spiritual skills, will be extremely weak when their spirits leave their body. Even if we can¡¯t directly destroy its spirit, it will also severely affect its fighting strength once the spirit returns to its body. Your eyes are clearer, Wang Dong.¡±

    Wang Dong shot him a cold look as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s enthusiastic analysis. ¡°Take your hand off of my thigh.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that he hadn¡¯t pped his own thigh in his fit of excitement ¨C no wonder he didn¡¯t feel any pain at all. Heughed sheepishly and said, ¡°Sorry, sorry, that was idental. We have to try that once we can use the Golden Road again. Othersck the ability to target spirits, but we don¡¯t. It¡¯s a pity that the Golden Road can only be activated in a linear direction. If it can have arge area of effect like the Spiritual Tempest, and webine these two soul skills together ¨C heh.¡±

    Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Quit dreaming. How can we have everything that¡¯s good in the world? Our soul skills are strong enough. However, our cultivation is the limiting factor. If we don¡¯t have enough soul power to maintain ourselves, what use are our skills if we can¡¯t use them? Quickly restore your soul power, and we should leave this ce before it bespletely dark.¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s consumption of soul power was the smallest, so she naturally took up the responsibility of protecting everyone. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately began to cultivate beside the ice statue to restore their soul power.

    Huo Yuhao was not worried about the Deviltiger Cat suddenly escaping from its ice prison. Without someone outside melting it, the Deviltiger Cat had no hope of breaking out after it had been frozen in ice. There was nothing it could do after it was frozen unless it used its soul power to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack from the beginning.

    Wang Dong obtained a greater understanding of his Golden Light than before. Their recovery process was greatly boosted with the Golden Light, and they recovered about thirty to forty percent of their soul power in the blink of an eye.

    Elder Xuan was casually drinking wine atop a thick branch about five hundred meters away from where they were, and a sphere of golden light soundlessly entered his body at this moment.

    <strong>Chapter 138.3: The Strong Eat the Weak, the Law of the Jungle</strong>

    This was the Star Dou Forest. Elder Xuan was going all-out to protect the three of them. The tragedy that had urred before served as a warning to him. He had the strength to follow the three of them, but his power was beneath the ground. That¡¯s why Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t detect him.

    Elder Xuan was also stunned when discovered the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. This Deviltiger Cat¡¯s cultivation was nothing to him, but it was able to kill Huo Yuhao and the other two, who were only around Rank 30 on average.

    But Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t make his move so easily, having taught in Shrek Academy for years. He wanted to see how the three of them would react when their lives were in danger. He didn¡¯t want them to becent just because they had protection.

    The three of them had disyed astonishing strength. Elder Xuan only expected the three of them to resist the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s assault for some time. But who knew that they would take the Deviltiger Cat down sessfully, and even capture it alive.

    Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t expected such an ending. It was also his first time realizing that the three of them couldn¡¯t be judged based on their current cultivation. Even Elder Xuan was slightly shocked by the aura of destion when Huo Yuhao used the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    ¡°One makes the greatest improvement in a life and death situation. The three of them are good. I shall let them experience what thews of the jungle are in this Star Dou Forest. Their luck seems to be really good!¡±

    As Elder Xuan muttered to himself, a ball of yellow light started to rise from his body.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s soul power was restored faster and faster. From their depleted state, it only took 15 minutes before they reached 50% of their soul power. Huo Yuhao opened his eyes suddenly at this point.

    How could he not be wary since he was in Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts were everywhere? He had continued to use his Spiritual Detection even though his soul power was greatly depleted. He had only not used the Spiritual Detection Sharing to save his soul power during the process of cultivating with Wang Dong. Only he could sense the changes around him.

    ¡°Another soul beast ising.¡± His Spiritual Detection Sharing was initiated, and used on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s expressions changed. They were not in their best condition now. They both tensed up as they were given another warning.

    As Huo Yuhao signaled, the three of them walked around the ice-sealed ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat to one side. Huo Yuhao lifted his left hand and pressed it against the Deviltiger Cat. An azure light shed across subtly. Following that, he waved his hand lightly, initiating his Imitation. But he wasn¡¯t imitating the aura of any soul beast, but the aura of nts. Ayer of dim green light covered the three of them, and they walked further into the forest under his guidance. They tried not to make any noise.

    The soul beast that Huo Yuhao had discovered was not as quick as the Deviltiger Cat. Rather, it looked a little sluggish.

    An huge, entirely pitch-ck bear appeared within his Spiritual Detection. Its nose kept on moving, as if it were sniffing something. Huo Yuhao judged that this was a soul beast that was a few thousand years old from its vigorous energy and undtions of soul power, regardless of its species. It wasn¡¯t just an ordinary soul beast; its cultivation was at least three thousand years.

    The huge bear had managed to use its acute olfactory sense to sniff out the location of their previous fight. Its attention was first caught by the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat, before it realized the presence of the thousand year old Deviltiger Cat and went towards it.

    Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection Sharing to share his thoughts with the other two, ¡°It seems to be attracted by the bloody smell.¡±

    This huge bear was more than 3 meters in length. It was very burly, and its ck fur seemed to emit a slight golden glow. It didn¡¯t seem to be afraid even though it saw the ice-sealed ten thousand year old Deviltiger Cat.

    This was the case in the world of soul beasts. While cultivation was important, the species of the soul beast also determined how strong they were. This bear possessed a cultivation between three to five thousand years. But it wasn¡¯t afraid when it faced the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat.

    Two ten thousand year soul beasts of different species still possessed great differences in their abilities. If it were a ten thousand year tiger-type soul beast that was present here, this huge bear would have absconded. It would have never gotten close to it.

    However, the bear now devoured the thousand year Deviltiger Cat in 2 to 3 bites, but it wasn¡¯t full yet. It came before the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat and tried to w at the ice.

    Its power was extremely frightening. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation couldn¡¯t allow him to use his Ultimate Ice on the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat for too long, the frozen ice chunk was still very tough. But the bear managed to w till cracks appeared on the ice. It¡¯s important to know that the entire ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was frozen, including its blood. Its body would crack along with the frozen ice chunk if the bear continued to w at the ice like that.

    Huo Yuhao turned to Xiao Xiao at this point.

    ¡°How?¡±

    Xiao Xiao was stunned and asked, ¡°What how?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Is this bear suitable to be your soul ring?¡±

    Xiao Xiao was stunned. ¡°Why would you think of this now? Its cultivation seems to be suitable. But we¡¯ve only sensed it using your Spiritual Detection. We haven¡¯t seen it. We can¡¯t even confirm what soul beast it is. How can we judge whether it¡¯s suitable?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. ¡°I know you n to supplement the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with either a defense-type or control-type soul skill. This bear didn¡¯t even flinch when it saw the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. This means that it¡¯s emotionally stable, and therefore tells me that it isn¡¯t afraid of the Deviltiger Cat. Coupled with the fact that the Deviltiger Cat is offensively threatening, I can conclude that this bear is defensively strong.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s attacks don¡¯t seem to threaten it that much. This bear muste from a species that¡¯s rather strong.¡±

    Xiao Xiao opened her eyes wide and said, ¡°Yes! No wonder you¡¯re the ss monitor. You can analyze so much even without using your eyes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°My main martial soul is both a spiritual and control-type. Observation and analysis are my strengths. Make a decision now, or it¡¯ll be toote.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Of course I want it. We can¡¯t let it go! But can we deal with a soul beast that¡¯s unafraid of the Deviltiger Cat?¡±

    Huo Yuhao used his actions to answer Xiao Xiao¡¯s doubts.

    The bear managed to get the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat out after wing at the ice several times. It lifted the Deviltiger Cat up and was about to smash it onto the ground.

    At this point, the Deviltiger Cat suddenly turned azure-green. A reverberating boom resonated across the entire Star Dou Forest following that.

    A vicious bear roar was heard after this. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were a hundred meters away, but they still felt a frightening shockwaveing their way. Many nts and trees were instantly destroyed by this shockwave, while the three of them were sent flying for tens of meters before theynded.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was there to warn them earlier. The three of them had made preparations and took advantage of the situation, thus they were not hurt.

    It wasn¡¯t only Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao who were shocked. Even Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment.

    The frightening shockwave carried some remnants of ice, and the cool feeling caused a chill to travel down everyone¡¯s spine.

    The frightening explosion even caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to be scattered. But they didn¡¯t need to use it anymore. They could just use their sight now.

    A frightening scene was presented before them. A huge crater had appeared, with the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat at the center. It covered a radius of more than a hundred meters. All the nts within this area had disappeared, as they were blown to ashes by the explosion.

    The center of the depression was more than 3 meters deep, and was semicircr in shape. The nts and trees around this depression had also fallen. It seemed as if there was a copsed plot of wheat.

    ¡°What, what situation is this?¡± Xiao Xiao asked as her eyes opened wide in shock.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be so ferocious. I used the Ice Explosion Technique on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat just now.¡±

    Wang Dong was shocked as he asked, ¡°Your Ice Explosive Technique is so powerful?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Did the both of you forget? During the top-ranked auction at the Starlight Auctionce, my Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Let Arm Bone was one of the final auction items. It was only inferior to the hundred thousand year old soul beast embryo. That¡¯s because the Ice Explosion Technique that it contains is considered a divine skill under the appropriate conditions. But it¡¯s useless in certain environments too. Not all ice exploded by this technique will cause such a huge force. Normal ice can be induced to explode by the Ice Explosion Technique, but the explosive force is rted to my soul power ¨C it won¡¯t be too strong. The real threat of the Ice Explosion Technique is simr to the corpse explosion we saw when we faced that evil soul master. The stronger the corpse being detonated, the greater the explosive force. But two prerequisites must be fulfilled first. First, the entire body must be frozen, and it must be filled with water internally. Second, I muste into contact with it using my left arm and inject the strength of the Ice Explosion Technique into its body. The body¡¯s own strength will develop a special reaction with the ice under the guidance of the Ice Explosion Technique, and can be induced to explode at any time. The stronger the target, the more frightening the explosive force.¡±

 Chapter 139: Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s expressions changed when Huo Yuhao talked about the corpse explosion that had happened back then. An evil soul master who was only a Soul King managed to exterminate almost all of Team Shrek¡¯s official team members. Even Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were heavily injured. In the tournament, they witnessed how powerful these 2 soul emperors were! They even possessed soul bones. They only thought that evil soul masters were too frightening then, but didn¡¯t realize that Huo Yuhao possess a simr ability too.

    The Ice Explosion Technique and corpse explosion were very simr, but they were also different in their own ways. Corpse explosion was a direct explosion of a corpse, but it required the injection of a poison. The Envoy of the Death God had injected the poison in the cave then, and all the corpses were infected with the poison. They were then induced to explode. The timing of the explosion couldn¡¯t be controlled. The Ice Explosion Technique was advanced in this aspect. Not only was the timing of the explosion controble, but it could even be used as long as the opponent was frozen. That¡¯s why the Ice Explosion Technique was highly regarded in the Starlight auction house after it appeared.

    Of course, one couldn¡¯t bear the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone¡¯s intensity without Ultimate Ice due to the domineering Ice Explosion Technique. That¡¯s why this soul bone eventuallynded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands. This was his first time using it, but its power was beyond what he had expected. The explosive force of a ten thousand year soul beast could rival Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strongest attack, and might even be superior to it.

    ¡°Are you trying to scare me to death?!¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang out at this moment.

    He had been observing the 3 of them. From afar, he became more rxed after he saw the 3 of them retreating into the forest and concealing themselves well using Imitation. But he didn¡¯t expect an explosion to happen so suddenly.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s heart almost jumped out of his mouth when the Ice Explosion rang out. He was extremely sensitive now after thest lesson. Furthermore, he was well-aware of what the 3 of them meant to the academy. They all had twin martial souls!

    That¡¯s why he rushed over instantly. After he saw the three of them who appeared dejected and heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s description of the Ice Explosion, he revealed himself and vented his frustration.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± The three of them greeted.

    Elder Xuan lifted his hand and smashed his wine gourd on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao spat out his tongue as his head was struck. ¡°Rascal, be careful of ying with fire. No, ying with ice and causing harm to yourself. If something happens to you, how I can ount to Elder Mu? You didn¡¯t even try it before you used such an uncontroble soul skill. What if all of you were blown apart because you were too close? Don¡¯t tell me you can control the explosive force.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little indignant as he retorted, ¡°But I can¡¯t find a ten thousand year soul beast in the academy to try this on.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± That was true, as Shrek Academy did have ten thousand year soul beasts. But they were valuable resources, and couldn¡¯t be used for experiments.

    The radiance in Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes shed, and he looked to the other side of the area that had exploded.

    A burly figure wobbled out. This figure took unsteady steps, as if it could copse at any time.

    It was a huge bear that was huge and tall, but had suffered many injuries. The fur of this huge bear was dark gold, but it was stained with arge amount of dark red blood now.

    One of its front limbs had already disappeared, including the shoulder de. It was bleeding from many ces, and its eyes shed with a dim green light.

    On the other side of its body, its ws were extremely long as they reached more than 2 feet in length. It was still bursting with energy although it was covered entirely in blood as it wobbled.

    ¡°That¡¯s the bear from just now.¡± Xiao Xiao said in shock.

    After Huo Yuhao exined the Ice Explosion Technique, they reckoned that the bear must have been blown to pieces. After all, Huo Yuhao was unaware of the Ice Explosion Technique¡¯s might beforehand. It was not abnormal to make such a mistake.

    However, they hadn¡¯t expected that the huge bear would survive the explosion, and only be sent flying by the explosive force.

    The three of them could sense the aura of death even at the borders of the area that had exploded. Their ears were still ringing now. And the huge bear had borne the explosion right at the center of it! But only one of its limbs had been blown apart, and it hadn¡¯t died yet.

    How strong was its defense to survive such a st? No wonder it wasn¡¯t afraid of a ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat with its thousand year cultivation. This was the difference in species. It was just like how the youngest giant dragon was stronger than the most powerful lizard. This huge bear possessed a shocking strength indeed.

    The three of them were certain that they couldn¡¯t beat this bear even if they teamed up together. Their offense was unlikely to ovee the defense of this bear. Unless Huo Yuhao could freeze its body and use the Ice Explosion Technique, they didn¡¯t have any chance at all.

    ¡°Oh, a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. Why would this soul beast appear around the perimeter of Star Dou Forest?¡± The bear looked extremely pathetic right now. In addition, the three of them couldn¡¯t identify it because it was very rare. But Elder Xuan was very experienced, and could identify it easily.

    The ¡®Darkgolden Terrorw Bears¡¯; a soul beast with the title ¡®Earth Render.¡¯ They were the greatest of the most powerful soul beasts, and were belligerents in the Star Dou Forest.

    After Huo Yuhao returned to Shrek Academy, he had specially researched the Ten Great Savage Beasts. He seemed to recall the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear being one of them.

    Soul beasts generally specialized in certain traits. For example, they could be very speedy, offensively or defensively inclined, etc. The Deviltiger Cat, for example specialized in speed. Its offensive strength relied on its extreme speed.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was an anomaly. Its specialty was offense and defense, which was conflicting. Its dark golden fur contained powerful defensive strength, while its pair of frightening ws was frightening offensively. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was even rumored to be able to challenge a giant dragon. It was very umon for a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear to appear in the perimeter of Star Dou Forest.

    Although this Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was critically injured, it still maintained its sensitive hearing. It heard Elder Xuan¡¯s voice, and released a furious roar that sounded very threatening. But it stopped in its tracks. It didn¡¯t continue to advance forward. The painful lesson that it had received earlier had left it extremely wary.

    Elder Xuan revealed a slight smile on his face and said, ¡°Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t scared for nothing. Your luck is pretty good. Not only is this fellow suitable, but it¡¯s even beyond my expectations. Let me do it.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to let the three of them face the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. It possessed frightening offensive ability. The three of them would definitely be killed if they were struck by it.

    Elder Xuan arrived in front of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear as his figure shed. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear reacted very quickly. It still managed to attack and mount its own defense even though it was critically injured.

    Ayer of dark golden flowing light surged out from its undamaged fur. Thisyer of light didn¡¯t stick to its fur, but remained slightly above it. Its fur started to stand up like needles. At the same time, it waved its w and wed towards Elder Xuan.

    Its 2 foot w already seemed very exaggerated. But the three of them understood the true meaning of a terrorw when it waved its w. Its w tripled in size, growing to 2 meters in length. Its sharp w shed with a dark golden radiance as it wed towards Elder Xuan. Even a mountain rock would be split into pieces if it were struck by this w, let alone a human!

    However, it¡¯s a pity that it was facing Elder Xuan. Even a top-ranked Darkgolden Terrorw Bear might not fancy meeting Elder Xuan, while this bear only had a thousand year cultivation.

    Elder Xuan straightened his expression, and a yellow radiance shed before disappearing. The thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s body remained still without moving. It was clear that its lower limbs had sunk into the ground.

    Elder Xuan rose up and pped his palm on the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s head. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s bones were shattered.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao,e over!¡± Elder Xuan shouted.

    Xiao Xiao knew what Elder Xuan wanted her to do. She rushed over to Elder Xuan¡¯s side. Elder Xuan gave her a sharp de and plucked out a patch of dark gold fur from the back of the bear¡¯s neck. Xiao Xiao expended some effort before she managed to stab the de into the bear¡¯s neck. She pierced the nerves of the bear¡¯s central nervous system, which caused it to die.

    Xiao Xiao was wondering whether she could kill this Darkgolden Terrorw Bear on her own if Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t around.

    Its defensive strength was too frightening.

    A dazzling, bright purple soul ring surfaced as the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was killed.

    Elder Xuan spoke after making some careful observations. ¡°Its cultivation is around 2000 years. It¡¯ll be fine for you to absorb it with your current powers and the enhancements made to your body by the 2 pieces of soul bones. You can begin.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Teacher.¡± Xiao Xiao was excited as she sat cross-legged on the ground. She started to absorb the soul ring. The purplish soul ring turned into a streak of flowing light and fused with her body. Xiao Xiao was suddenly covered by ayer of dim purple light.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had rushed over by now. They were a little envious as they looked at Xiao Xiao. Although the quality of a soul ring was mainly decided by its age, the species of the soul beast also mattered. A powerful soul beast would naturally bring about a powerful soul skill.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t sit still afterwards. He reached his hand over to the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, then revealed an excited look. He formed a knife-like stance with his hand, then amputated the bear¡¯s right forelimb. He dug through it, unearthing a weird-looking bone.

    This bone was dark gold, and intense undtions of soul power emanated from it. It was a soul bone. Xiao Xiao¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t just simply good¡ªit was tremendously good!

    But this soul bone was different from conventional right arm soul bones. To be precise, it was a right palm bone.

    The bone wasn¡¯trge, but 5 long des were on top of it. They were akin to a smaller version of the terrorws. The des seemed like a kind of divine weapon as dark golden halos revolved around them.

    Elder Xuan was shocked and envious, ¡°You guys are really lucky! It¡¯s quite natural for a soul bone to emerge from a rare soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, but I never expected that it would leave behind its most valuable right palm soul bone!¡±

    The three of them were already in the second grade,thus they¡¯d already learned some stuff about soul masters and soul beasts. However, it wasn¡¯t possible for them to know everything, thus Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked to Elder Xuan with curiosity.

    Elder Xuan showed them the right palm bone and said, ¡°The strongest attack at a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s disposales from its terrorws. This bear was a juvenile, this it couldn¡¯t unleash the full potential of their terrorws. However, I once came across a hundred thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear in my youth. I remember that, when it swiped its ws, hundred meter long des would fly out. Back then, I believed that even giant dragons would be torn to shreds in front of such an attack. In the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion there¡¯s a memoir of an elder¡¯s research on Darkgolden Terrorw Bears. It has highly detailed information about Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.¡±

    ¡°Their terrorws may seem the same, but their right w is in fact stronger.

    ¡°In fact, it¡¯s far more powerful. The memoir also notes the four Darkgolden Terrorw Bear soul bones that have appeared in the past. The elder discovered that only the arm bones have offensive capabilities like the terrorws, while the rest¡ªwhile still good¡ªonly bolstered one¡¯s defensive capabilities. But neither the left nor right arm bones¡¯ terrorw soul skills were even able toe close to matching the real Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. Sessfully hunting a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear is very rare, as at that point even a Titled Douluo will find it difficult to win. As such, the terrorw soul skills in the arm soul bones have always had their limits, even though they¡¯re very powerful.¡±

    ¡°Coincidentally that same elder met with a soul master who possessed a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear soul bone, who became a renowned soul master after only a few years. This elder from our academy was also pretty famous, and was even a Transcendent Douluo. He traded information with that soul master and promised to keep their secret, which in turn allowed him the chance to learn more about the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s soul bones.

    ¡°The rarest soul bone from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear is the palm bone as it would turn out, which also has the strongest soul skill. More importantly, the soul skill develops alongside the soul bone just like an actual Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. That soul master had obtained a left palm bone and was famed for his dark left hand¡ªhe even had the title of Darkleft Douluo. This time you managed to obtain a right palm bone! Which is the highest rank soul bone you can get from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. Palm bones are different from arm bones, they¡¯re almost considered external soul bones. It¡¯s best to find a suitable arm soul bone to go along with it so that the fusion isn¡¯t problematic. The only pity is that this Darkgolden Terrorw Bear only had two thousand years of cultivation, thus this right palm bone needs time to develop.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong realized just how extraordinary this palm bone was after hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s description. It was especially eye-opening for them, as they recalled how this Darkgolden Terrorw Bear had wed at Elder Xuan earlier. Their faces grew heated at the same time.

    Wang Dong took the lead and asked when he saw Elder Xuan looking at them seriously, ¡°Elder Xuan, I already have both left and right arm bones. Judging from what you said, one should fuse with this palm bone before a right arm bone. As such it¡¯s wasted on me; I¡¯ll give up on it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Elder Xuan, you know that I¡¯m the leader amongst the three of us. Xiao Xiao is the only girl, and she isn¡¯t strong offensively. But if she gets this palm bone, she¡¯ll be good at both attacking and defending. Furthermore, she¡¯s fusing with the soul ring of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear as we speak. As they say,dies first. I¡¯ll leave it to her. I believe that our luck will hold out in the future.¡±

    Elder Xuan feltforted seeing how generous they were. ¡°Kids, I¡¯ll have you know that the value of this right palm bone isn¡¯t inferior to a hundred thousand year soul bone! Once it fully develops, it¡¯ll be even more valuable than an ordinary hundred thousand year soul bone.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Wang Dong can¡¯t fuse with it, and I can¡¯t be too greedy, since I already have the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone! Moreover, it really suits Xiao Xiao. We¡¯re all Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, so we¡¯ll share what¡¯s needed with those of us that need it. We can maximize our potential better this way, right?¡±

    Elder Xuan looked at him sincerely and nodded slightly. He said, ¡°Then I shall thank you on Xiao Xiao¡¯s behalf.¡± He was selfish at heart and really wanted to give this soul bone to Xiao Xiao¡ªshe was his personal disciple after all, and he was truly fond of her. He could tell that, in terms of talent, Xiao Xiaogged behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. But if she could fuse with this soul bone, then she could close the gap between them.

    But he couldn¡¯t make that decision of his. As an elder and a teacher of the academy, he knew that Huo Yuhao had been the first to attack the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. However, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t taken the soul ring. If Elder Xuan bluntly gave the soul bone to Xiao Xiao as well, then that would be pushing it. It was beyond his expectations that Xiao Xiao would obtain this soul ring without his interference.

    But it was different if Huo Yuhao offered to give up the palm bone. Not only was such a decision much to Elder Xuan¡¯s delight, but it also made him respect Huo Yuhao more. It wasn¡¯t strange that Elder Mu regarded him so highly; he was verypassionate. Huo Yuhao was bound to be the center of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Devils in the future if he developed properly.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could rx with Elder Xuan around, thus they sat close to Xiao Xiao and began cultivating and restoring their soul power.

    Their confidence soared after finding a suitable soul ring for Xiao Xiao on their first day.

    Their soul power was fully restored after a while, and the sky had turned dark. Huo Yuhao felt like chuckling as he looked at Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan had used a thick tree branch to form a fire pit as they were cultivating. He¡¯d then skinned a chunk of Darkgolden Terrorw Bear meat and washed it clean before skewering it on a tree branch. He¡¯d also prepared firewood and even disyed more than 10 condiments to one side. When he saw Elder Xuan looking at him hopefully, Huo Yuhao immediately understood what he wanted.

    ¡°Hehe, little Yuhao! This bear¡¯s meat is extremely delicious, especially the palm meat. It¡¯s considered one of the top 10 delicacies in the world. I leave the palm meat to you; freeze it for now, and we can find some top quality honey to cook it with when we return.

    ¡°It¡¯s also very nourishing, so we can let Elder Mu try it too. We¡¯ll feast on the rest of the meat. The three of you are still growing, so you can have some more meat.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes also brightened. He swallowed his saliva as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He hadn¡¯t tasted the delicacies that Huo Yuhao could make in a long while..

    ¡°Elder Xuan, I recall our teachers mentioning that we can¡¯t start a fire in a ce like this, since soul beasts live here.¡± Huo Yuhao joked.

    Elder Xuan chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s only the case for you kids. With me here, nothing will happen unless we set the whole forest on fire, so hurry up..¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and walked in front of a chunk of Darkgolden Terrorw Bear meat to check its quality.

    Meat of different qualities had to be grilled using different methods. Huo Yuhao had a natural appreciation for cooking, and a sizeable talent at it..

    There were some people who made ordinary tasting food even after years of cooking experience, while others had natural talent. Like Huo Yuhao who could use his Spiritual Detection to enhance the quality of cooking this chunk of meat to make it taste better.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s meat was entirely dark red and very springy. There were streaks of fat spread proportionally on the surface of it in a webbed pattern, usually meaning that the meat was very fresh.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved his White Tiger Dagger and cut this chunk of meat, to discover that this chunk of meat came from the bear¡¯s back.

    Elder Xuan had no opinions on how to grill the meat. He was fine with it as long as it tasted nice.

    Huo Yuhao deftly sliced the chunk of meat into small pieces, while Wang Dong was given the task of skewering the meat onto thin tree branches. They teamed up very well when cooking as well it seemed¡­

    After finishing, Huo Yuhao started a bonfire and started to grill the meat.

    He grabbed a slice and draped it over the bonfire on a tree branch unadorned, then began to turn the branch repeatedly until the meat started to smoke and let out a golden yellow oil. The aroma of cooked meat spread through the air as the meat¡¯s color changed quickly and it shrank just as fast.

    Huo Yuhao pulled the meat off the bonfire and sprinkled salt evenly across the surface, then shook the branch a little to help the meat cool. Afterwards, he tasted his new recipe.

    Elder Xuan salivated at the sight from the side. He no longer looked like a top ss powerhouse, but rather quite pitiful. Of course, there was no question as to why he looked this way: the Taotie Douluo could never resist the allure of good food.

    Juice flooded into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth as he chewed. He quickly polished off the strip of meat in threerge bites. Contrary to what one would think because of its defensive capabilities, the Darkgold Terrorw Bear¡¯s meat was extremely tender, and seemed to simply melt in one¡¯s mouth when chewed. Huo Yuhao had doubted his words at first, but just like Elder Xuan had said, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s palm meat was definitely one of the top ten delicacies in the world. He smiled brightly as he swallowed the delicacy.

    Huo Yuhao could still taste the extraordinary vor of the meat when the unforgettable delicacy entered his stomach alongside a deluge of juiciness. It was as if a hot gust of air had filled his stomach, which caused all the tension and fatigue from thest day to disappear.

    ¡°It was delicious.¡± Huo Yuhaoplimented.

    ¡°Rascal, you don¡¯t know how to respect your elders,¡± Elder Xuan snapped, ¡°you should¡¯ve given me some first!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Elder Xuan, please be patient. I was experimenting with the fire when I cooked this bear meat. I couldn¡¯t bear to waste such an ingredient by using inadequate cooking methods. The next slice will be yours elder, don¡¯t fret. Besides, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s meat is extremely fresh and tender, so it won¡¯t take long to cook. However, it¡¯s a pity that we don¡¯t have any eggs. I could make meal this even more delicious if we did.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes snapped open and he said, ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that? Do you want raw eggs or cooked?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned and replied, ¡°Raw. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, light radiance shed in Elder Xuan¡¯s hands, and several multi-colored chicken eggs appeared.

    ¡°These are Five-Colored Golden Pheasant eggs. Will they suffice?¡± Elder Xuan said smugly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened and he said, ¡°You brought chicken eggs along?¡±

    Elder Xuan said mysteriously, ¡°Let me tell all of you a secret. There¡¯s one thing that I can¡¯t do without¡ªfood. Not only eggs, I also have almost every kind of food on me! I need at least ten cubic meters of food on me when I go out, else I¡¯ll get uneasy. I even asked Qian Duoduo to help me create a storage-type soul tool exclusively for food, so that it would stay fresh!¡±

    Wang Dongughed, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re called the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan!¡±

    Elder Xuan passed all the eggs to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Hurry up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Did you bring any bowls with you? It¡¯d be for the best if you have a clean brush too.¡±

    The things that he¡¯d requested appeared after a second.

    Elder Xuan squatted beside the fire like a small kid. He watched Huo Yuhao curiously as he swallowed his saliva.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to make him wait, and started to grill the meat again.

    He was much more confident in grilling the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear meat now that he had experience. Such delicacies didn¡¯t require too much cooking or ingredients. Their original taste was already good enough.

    That¡¯s why the bear meat was only flipped three times before Huo Yuhao retracted it from the fire and sprinkled salt on it. After that, he brushed the meat with the stirred eggs.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, please give it a try and see if it¡¯s to your liking.¡±

    ¡°Just like this? It¡¯s my first time seeing eggs on meat.¡±

    However, he¡¯d already stuffed the meat into his mouth and swallowed it before he¡¯d even finished speaking.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Xuan stared at him stunned, but his eyes brightened. The bright, yellow radiance that he emitted from his eyes was just like the time when he fought Du Busi.

    ¡°I regret it.¡± Elder Xuan said.

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°Regret what? Is it not delicious? That can¡¯t be! This bear meat is tender and juicy, while its fat is proportionally separated such that it doesn¡¯t need to be cooked too long. The egg should even make it more tender and fresh. Its aroma will be let out when you chew into it, and the juices should explode in your mouth! It should be extremely delicious. I¡¯ve never even used such awesome ingredients before.¡±

    Elder Xuan, ¡°When I said I regret it, I meant that I regret not snatching you as my disciple! If you were my disciple, I¡¯d bring you across the continent and make you the best chef on the continent, haha.¡± Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help butugh at this and said, ¡°Yuhao, give me some too! If Elder Xuan wants to make you a chef because of it then it must be really delicious!¡±

    They gorged themselves on the food. Huo Yuhao, while busy, was gratified. More than half of the meat entered Elder Xuan¡¯s stomach who, when he discovered that there wasn¡¯t enough meat left, simply cut off another serving from the bear.

    Elder Xuan had tried to grill this meat before. However, his talent was a far cry from the likes of Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and his meat tasted far inferior to the delicacy before him.

    When the three of them were almost full, Xiao Xiao finally awakened from absorbing her third soul ring.

    Her six senses were restored. But it wasn¡¯t her sense of sight that stirred first; it was her sense of smell.

    ¡°Wow, it smells good! What is it?¡± Xiao Xiao opened her eyes to see the bonfire in front of her.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, how did your martial soul fusion with the soul ring go?¡± Huo Yuhao asked concernedly.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t bother to answer as she snatched the freshest Darkgolden Terrorw Bear meat that he¡¯d just finished grilling, which she immediately devoured withrge bites.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s delicious. It¡¯s really delicious. I want to woo you now. Whoever marries you in the future will be really lucky. Oh no, I can¡¯t speak anymore. I just bit my tongue¡­¡±

    Xiao Xiao seemed to have be as gluttonous as Elder Xuan after epting him as her teacher. She was overjoyed to be able to eat so much.

    ¡°I¡¯m full, great food.¡± Xiao Xiao said satisfactorily. She used her sleeves to wipe the oil from her lips, and appeared very pleased.

    Elder Xuan was already full, but he didn¡¯t idle around. While Xiao Xiao was eating, he dissected the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear into 8 pieces and passed them to Huo Yuhao for him to freeze so that they could be brought back to the academy.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s meat was very nourishing. It was a delicacy even to Shrek Academy¡¯s core disciples. Of course, Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t generous enough to give it to them; he would keep these pieces of meat for himself. He only gave the palm meat to Huo Yuhao.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao was still unsure as to what the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s palm meat represented.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, are we leaving now, or are we going to wait for Xiao Xiao to absorb her soul bone here too?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it here,¡± Elder Xuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m full right now, and toozy to move. Since I¡¯m here, no soul beasts will dare toe close.¡± This was indeed the case. Even though they¡¯d started a fire and even grilled meat here, no soul beasts hade to interrupt them. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were unsure how Elder Xuan had pulled this off.

    Xiao Xiao heard Elder Xuan¡¯s exnation on the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s external soul bone. When she found out she was going to absorb the soul bone, she turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    ¡°ss Monitor, can I pledge myself to you in exchange for what you¡¯re giving up?¡± Xiao Xiao teared up.

    ¡°No.¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong replied at the same time.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xiao Xiao looked at them suspiciously, ¡°What¡¯s with you two¡¯s immediate reactions? Is there some sort of illicit affair between the two of you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°How old are you? Why¡¯re you talking about pledging yourself to someone else? Do you know what that means?¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed, ¡°ss Monitor, stop it. When wepared our ages earlier, I was fifth, you were sith and Wang Dong was the youngest. You¡¯re younger than me, yet you still dare to lecture me? Why don¡¯t you tell me what it means then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought of Ma Xiaotao for some reason after she¡¯d asked this. His face turned a little red and he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed, ¡°That¡¯s right. How dare you lecture me when you don¡¯t know what it means either! You know what I meant. Should you want to woo me, you better move fast! I¡¯m very popr. I¡¯ll make it easy for you though.¡±

    Psht¡ª

    Elder Xuan spat out wine from his mouth and stared at Xiao Xiao. He said, ¡°Stop spouting gibberish. Fuse with it quickly, I want to see how mystical this right palm bone is right away.¡± Once he¡¯d finished, he passed the soul bone to Xiao Xiao and signaled for her to begin.

    Xiao Xiao lowered her head to look at the soul bone when she received it. After that, she lifted her head up to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and seriously said, ¡°Thank you.¡± She emphasized these words strongly.

    Xiao Xiao held onto the right palm bone and sat down where she was, then began to stimte her soul power in preparation to fuse with the soul bone.

    The right palm bone visibly melted under the effects of her soul power into a dark golden fluid. This dark golden fluid then slowly seeped into her right hand.

    Wang Dong said in a deep voice, ¡°We forgot to ask Xiao Xiao to demonstrate her third soul skill to us just now. The soul skill from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear must be quite extraordinary. I¡¯ve got a feeling that the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron will bepletely changed with this new thousand year soul skill.¡±

 Chapter 140: There Has To Be an End in a Life

    Between the three of them, only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had thousand year soul rings. It was a huge increase in power when a two-ringed soul grandmaster became a three-ringed soul elder. Besides the obvious increase in soul power, their soul skills would improve qualitatively. The might of thousand year soul skills were far superior to their hundred year counterparts, and their versatility was likewise greater. This would especially be the case for Xiao Xiao, since her soul ring was far more powerful than their initial projections.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I think that it will take quite some time for her to fuse with the soul bone. Let¡¯s cultivate while we wait.¡±

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had both experienced the soul bone fusing process. They knew it was very tedious to absorb a soul bone. Especially Huo Yuhao, who still shivered when he recalled his unbearable experiences fusing soul bones.

    ¡°Okay,¡± replied Wang Dong.

    They sat down on the spot, palms sped together, and a gentle white and gold halo emerged and intersected from them as they started to circte their Haodong power. Since Elder Xuan was here they didn¡¯t need to worry about anything and immediately started cultivating.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone once more disyed its full capabilities, causing the aura of light around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong became more intense as rings of golden light silently engulfed them. The cirction speed of their soul power and their absorption rate of the energy of heavens and earth both increased.

    Elder Xuan sat below a tree off to the side and watched over them with a benevolent gaze. He thought to himself, No wonder Elder Mu always watches over the freshmen dormitory. Youth is nice!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had entered a meditative trance. The positive effect of Haodong Power towards their cultivation only ever increased as their cultivation rose further. Their influence on one another greatly enhanced their soul powers.

    Huo Yuhao had reached a bottleneck in soul power, thus he could only start umting his soul power now, whereas Wang Dong felt that his own soul power was increasing. Their current cultivation speed was simr to when they individually underwent deep meditation.

    Wang Dong believed that reaching Rank 40 would be possible in half a year¡¯s time with a speed like this. Don¡¯t forget that he was the youngest of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s situation was going well on one side, but Xiao Xiao had met with troubles on her end.

    The fluid converted from the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone was flowing into her palm. At first she feltfortable, as if a warm liquid had coated her hand. But the warmth soon became scorching. Even though her soul power was being rapidly stimted, she couldn¡¯t interfere with the fusing process in her arm. That scorching feeling was still increasing, and became zing hot.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s entire right hand had visibly turned dark golden colored. It seemed as if something were crawling out of her palm, and the searing heat caused her to sweat profusely. The experience was torturing her, as she felt like her palm was being grilled. At that moment, only Xiao Xiao¡¯s right palm felt like this, but slowly the same sensation spread up her entire right arm!

    Sheughed bitterly in her heart. Was this her retribution for eating grilled bear meat earlier? It was her turn to be grilled this time, and it was even from the inside out.

    The intense, burning pain caused Xiao Xiao to shiver slightly. Her slight shivering soon became convulsions, and the dark golden radiance on her right hand became brighter.

    Elder Xuan opened his eyes wide and rushed to Xiao Xiao¡¯s side. He observed her carefully.

    Xiao Xiao was trembling more and more. Elder Xuan could feel a struggling life-force releasing waves of hysteria from her right hand, . It wasn¡¯t struggling to resist being assimted, but was struggling to break free! It was like some kind of embryonic creature trying to escape from its shell. Xiao Xiao looked like she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore.

    Not good! Elder Xuan eximed in his heart. He¡¯d been careless. Indeed the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone was powerful, but this had blinded him to an important difference between soul bones and soul rings; while the strength of soul rings was determined by age, the soul bone was reliant on quality!

    While they both came from the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, and Xiao Xiao had had no problems fusing with the soul ring, it was a different story for the soul bone! The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was too overbearing, and its soul bone manifesting as a right palm bone meant it was the of the highest quality. The dominating power of a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear came from its fierce lineage, and Xiao Xiao was currently suffering precisely from the strength of this overbearing lineage! Afterall, she was only a young soul elder.

    Elder Xuan had thought that, once Xiao Xiao¡¯s cultivation had increased greatly by obtaining her third ring, it and the fierce aura of her Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s soul ringbined with the enhancements to her body from her previous two soul bones¡ªwould allow Xiao Xiao to absorb this two thousand year soul bone without anyplications. But reality was cruel; the difficulty of absorbing this soul bone was far beyond his calctions.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, hold on!¡± Elder Xuan shouted softly. No one could help her at this point; sess or failure was in her own hands. Should an outside power intervene, it would simply be sucked in. At that point, unless Elder Xuan could be by her side at all times supplying a steady stream of soul power, the soul bone could explode at any time.

    ¡°Teacher, my hand is about to melt. I can¡¯t hold on anymore!¡± Xiao Xiao screamed in pain and couldn¡¯t maintain her sitting posture anymore, then twisted her body and fell on the ground. Her right hand stabbing into the mud, although this did nothing to alleviate her pain.

    The golden radiance had extended from her right hand to her whole arm at this point, which caused Xiao Xiao¡¯s entire body to start spasming tremendously.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. The soul bone is creating a bacsh!¡± Elder Xuan didn¡¯t care about the ramifications anymore, and rushed to Xiao Xiao¡¯s side before pping his palm on her right shoulder. This sealed the dark golden radiance in Xiao Xiao¡¯s right arm. However, Xiao Xiao¡¯s right arm started to balloon in size, and the power within was about to break free from its restraint.

    A soul bone bacsh was the most dire oue of soul bone absorptions. It could even be a fatal situation should things go wrong. It usually happened because the soul master can¡¯t handle the immense power within the soul bone, which then counterattacks the soul master in retaliation.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s painful screams also jolted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong awake. Both of them were shocked when they saw Xiao Xiao¡¯s condition.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, what¡¯s wrong with Xiao Xiao?!¡±

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brows and said in a somber tone, ¡°The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone contains too much domineering strength; Xiao Xiao can¡¯t bear the current pressure its exerting. She¡¯s experiencing soul bone bacsh.¡±

    ¡°What can we do?¡± Huo Yuhao asked anxiously. He could see that Xiao Xiao¡¯s arm had swollen up like a balloon, and that her shirt was just moments away from ripping.

    Elder Xuan bitterly replied, ¡°If this continues, I¡¯m afraid that her arm will¡­¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Wang Dong eximed. ¡°Elder Xuan, is there nothing we can do? The soul bone can¡¯t even be suppressed with your soul power?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°No. If I try to forcefully suppress it, her arm will burst. She¡¯ll only lose her arm faster if I do that. If I didn¡¯t already have a right arm soul bone, I could try to guide the soul bone out, but since I do I can¡¯t.¡±

    Xiao Xiao looked extremely pale, and the pain from her right arm made her body spasm violently. Without Elder Xuan¡¯s seal, the power of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s soul bone would¡¯ve spread its bacsh to her entire body, which would leave her life in danger.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, let me do it.¡± Huo Yuhao said decisively.

    Even though he immediately made this decision, you could tell how resolved he was from his tone .

    Aside from Xiao Xiao, he was the only one left in the group without a right arm soul bone. Meaning he was the only outlet this frightening power could be siphoned to. Not only that, but he couldn¡¯t watch as Xiao Xiao was in danger of losing her right arm.

    ¡°You?¡± Elder Xuan was slightly shocked and said, ¡°Yuhao, your cultivation isn¡¯t even at Rank 30 yet. If Xiao Xiao can¡¯t bear it, I don¡¯t think you can¡­¡± Moreover, the soul bone¡¯s power had been fully unleashed now, and it was far more brutal than before.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and replied,¡±Elder Xuan, believe in me. I hold at least 70% confidence in myself to do it. Elder Mu must have told you what has happened to me so far, and my body is extremely strong. While Xiao Xiao did get a chance to practice our Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Jade Hands, she did so long after me. Her mastery of the Mysterious Jade Hands is inferior to my own. Furthermore, my second martial soul¡¯s Ice Empress Pincer increases my palm strength even further. I should be able to bear it better than her.¡±

    Elder Xuan took in a deep breath, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Kid, I won¡¯t waste anymore time. If you get hurt because of this, I will help you recover, even if it costs me my life.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t try to talk Huo Yuhao out of it, but he tugged at his shirt from behind.

    They were friends, even close to seeming like rtives, Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly the closest person to Wang Dong at Shrek Academy. He wasn¡¯t willing to see Huo Yuhao take this risk.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to understand Wang Dong¡¯s intention. As he stepped forward, he shook his left hand behind his back slightly and removed Wang Dong¡¯s grip on his shirt, while his right hand also grabbed onto Xiao Xiao¡¯s right hand firmly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body jerked as their hands contacted. He didn¡¯t feel a scorching heat at first, but instead a wave of hysterical will that instantly surged from Xiao Xiao¡¯s right palm into his body.

    However, he wasn¡¯t afraid topete against the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear in terms of spiritual power and will, even if it was still alive.

    Elder Xuan said in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯m about to start.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s reply was very short. He adjusted his breathing, and readied himself.

    He was a little stunned that, while the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress were awake, they didn¡¯t try to stop him. They didn¡¯t even warn him, as if they werepletely ignorant of current events.

    An intense undtion of soul power circted around his entire body rapidly, as the Mysterious Heaven Technique was focused on his right arm.

    Elder Xuan unleashed his pure power to suppress the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s tyrannical strength. Without Huo Yuhao being there, this power would be used to support Xiao Xiao¡¯s arm and dy it reaching the limit of what it could bear. But instead it forced the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s strength into Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm.

    Once it entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm, he immediately understood the pain that Xiao Xiao was experiencing.

    The burning power surged maniacally. Like a raging inferno had transformed into countless tiny des furiously cutting at his palm. This tyrannical strength caused Huo Yuhao to tremble, but he quickly stabilized himself.

    He couldn¡¯t bother to think of the consequences earlier. He found it clear that even if he and Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t take it, Elder Xuan was still around. At most his right palm would be crippled, but Xiao Xiao would have herr entire right arm crippled. He bnced the repercussions for the both of them. As her team leader and friend, he didn¡¯t hesitate to help Xiao Xiao resolve this problem, when he was the only one that could.

    He was also confident in himself. He was convinced that the power of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear soul bone couldn¡¯t bepared to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s soul bone, even after it was sealed. After experiencing such frightful pain once, what was a measly Darkgolden Terrorw soul bone to him? Besides, even if he really couldn¡¯t take it, the Ice Empress would help him. This was why he was so confident.

    It turned out that Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous conjectures were absolutely right. His Mysterious Jade Hands¡¯ proved far more effective than Xiao Xiao¡¯s. When the strength of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear came into his right palm, his right arm emitted a faint glow, resembling a gem. This glow suppressed the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s power in his palm, and kept it from spreading further.

    Huo Yuhao also switched his martial soul to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. His soul bones also emitted a turquoise radiance. The radiance was so intense that it prated outwards from inside his body, and became visible on the outside from beneath his skin.

    The aura assaulting him came from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, which, while they are very powerful, they aren¡¯t up to the standards of the Ice Jade Scorpions. Let alone the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion that Huo Yuhao possessed. Its aura would not lose out to a simple Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s. Huo Yuhao also activated his first soul skill, the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, without any dy.

    Xiao Xiao waspletely unprepared for the aura¡¯s assault, and she didn¡¯t have any soul skills to strengthen her palms. Huo Yuhao on the other hand, had such a skill at his disposal. Upon activating the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, Huo Yuhao could feel an immediate effect on the pressure facing him. So even though his palm was still feeling the full force of the pain, it was solely in his palm, and didn¡¯t spread past his wrists. As the dark golden radiance shone, a diamond radiance that belonged to his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer appeared.

    The diamond radiance was colorless and transparent. Under the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s radiance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire palm shone with intense light.

    Elder Xuan was very sharp, and his eyes brightened. He thought to himself that there was hope!

 Chapter 141: Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone

    Volume 16, Chapter 141.1: Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s pain lessened as the power from the soul bone was being siphoned to Huo Yuhao. Her swollen right arm started going back to normal again as well. While she was in such miserable pain that she couldn¡¯t speak, she was able to hear the conversation between Elder Xuan and Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao wasn¡¯t simply grateful when she saw the resolute look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s power wasn¡¯t under the fire element, instead it was of the metal element. It was a tyrannical power that demonstrated the sharpness of the metal element to the point.

    Huo Yuhao could even hear the sonorous sound when the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s strength shed with the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer¡¯s power..

    Eventually, all of the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s strength had been siphoned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm. At which point Xiao Xiao groaned slightly before copsing in Elder Xuan¡¯s arms, unconscious.

    Wang Dong was unable to stop Huo Yuhao before, but he knew what to do now and reacted with haste¡ªreceiving Xiao Xiao from Elder Xuan so that he could help Huo Yuhao withoutplication.

    Elder Xuan stood over Huo Yuhao, watching him anxiously. He was well aware of what was going on, thus he couldn¡¯t act recklessly here. As long as Huo Yuhao could suppress that soul bone¡¯s power in his palm, then he must allow him to absorb it. Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t nervous because of how precious the soul bone was¡ªit was because he wanted to preserve Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm!

    The drained Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s energy had all entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm. Huo Yuhao could sense that the Mysterious Jade Hands and his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer were being a little overwhelmed by the invading energies.

    With his soul skill active he couldn¡¯t absorb the soul bone. However, if he withdrew the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer he would have to bear with the intense pain relying on sheer willpower and his body¡¯s tough physique.

    When he thought about it. Huo Yuhao wanted tough. He wondered if soul bones were his arch-nemesis. Whether it was the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Torso Bone, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, or the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s Right Palm Bone he was absorbing right now, they all gave him immense difficulties when trying to fuse with them. While the current situation isn¡¯t nearly as potentially fatal or painful as Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Torso bone had been, it would still be painful.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s choice was to face this ordeal bravely. However, one cannot simply always face their obstacles head-on, even if they¡¯re willing to. If one didn¡¯t copse amidst the repression, they would be burnt amidst the suppression.

    He took in a slow, deep breath, and the Mysterious Jade Hand¡¯s made one more full body cirction of soul power. Huo Yuhao slowly closed his eyes, and in the next instant¡ªthe bright radiance disappeared. Leaving behind an intense dark gold glow.

    Wang Dong lifted a hand to cover his mouth in, stopping himself from shouting in surprise. Elder Xuan¡¯s body twitched. Aside from the unconcealed shock in his eyes there was a faint hint of awe.

    Resilient and courageous! Only Huo Yuhao could make such a critical decision!

    The excruciating pain led Huo Yuhao to believe that the Darkgolden Terrorw had torn his palm bone asunder! The maniacal will of the Darkgolden Terrorw started rising up, prepared to rush into the rest of his arm.

    If that happened he would end up just like Xiao Xiao had, as the Darkgolden Terrow¡¯s strength would run rampant in his body.

    Huo Yuhao made the correct decision; disregarding the pain in his right palm with his resilient will, as if his right palm didn¡¯t belong to him. His immense spiritual power attacked the maniacal will. Simultaneously, his forehead lit up with a blinding turquoise light.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shot wide open, an intense aura of light exuding from them. His third eye also started to crack open, and a streak of azure-green light shed from his eyes as a bolt of electricity came out of the Life Gold before piercing his right wrist.

    The azure-green light spread, and the aura within helped to seal the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s power within the confines of his right hand.

    This is¡­

    Elder Xuan was shocked. He could distinguish that the azure-green light was a carving knife, but what was this third eye doing on Huo Yuhao?!

    At this moment, there was only one possibility that he thought of¡ªthe second awakening of one¡¯s Body Soul!

    The azure-green light didn¡¯t just appear on his right hand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Gold slowly disyed its strength, releasing an aura of light all over his body. This aura¡¯s appearance left both Wang Dong and Elder Xuan relieved.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s second trump card. Although offering to save Xiao Xiao was a little reckless, he was still very confident in his own body. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer actively prevented the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s power from running rampant. Then he used the Life Guardian¡¯s de and life power to suppress the power further. While this move also increased his body¡¯s overall resistance. With all these actions being put into y, Huo Yuhao could only resign himself to defeat if he still couldn¡¯t absorb this Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone.

    The Life Gold¡¯s power was proven once again. That bountiful life force seemed to sense the mayhem in his hand and advanced towards it.

    Long ago, The Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, spoke to Huo Yuhao of the Life Gold¡¯s greatness. As of right now, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that greatness.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw and Life Gold¡¯s energies seemed to cause a continuing cycle of destruction and construction within Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm, while the destruction was going at a furious rate, it was no match for the restorative powers from the Life Gold. Meaning the condition of Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm had stabilized.

    Although stable, it still brought about untold amounts of pain. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time feeling such pain.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s destructive energies brought him great pain, while the Life Gold¡¯s restorative properties caused him to feel a great numbness. The contrasting feelings made Huo Yuhao undergo a whole new kind of torture! Even though he had once experienced the immense pain from the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Torso bone, Huo Yuhao still found himself sweating buckets! Bead after bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, his shirt bing drenched very quickly, and his body starting to give off a faint mist.

    Wang Dong had never seen Huo Yuhao in such unbearable pain before. Which left him shocked and speechless at the current scene.

    His cultivation and physique weren¡¯t that different from that of Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao¡¯s. Wang Dong had seen how Xiao Xiao ended up after attempting to fuse with the soul bone. After a short and fleeting resistance¡ªXiao Xiao gave up. Showing just how unbearable this pain, really was.

    Huo Yuhao was possibly bearing even more pain than Xiao Xiao had! As Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion partner, Wang Dong could get a feel for his current condition. The slight sensations he could feel through their spiritual connection caused Wang Dong to shiver internally as Huo Yuhao bore the astonishing pain.

    With this, Wang Dong finally realized how strong Huo Yuhao was mentally. Even as his body gave off the asional twitch, Huo Yuhao sat very stably. His facial expressions remained entirely the same, his brows never even furrowed once. While the beads of perspiration rolled down his face, intermittent subtle crackling sounds came from his right palm. Wang Dong couldn¡¯t bear to watch anymore!

    He wasn¡¯t alone in his shock either. Elder Xuan had cultivated for hundreds of years, and had seen the bearings of many soul masters. While he could tell that Huo Yuhao was using that magical carving knife to suppress the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s power, he was positive that Huo Yuhao had to endure greater pains himself. Relying solely on his resilient willpower and mind to bear with the pain. Could this be done by a 12-year-old-kid? Just how many trials had he faced toe out with such a terrifying will?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what Wang Dong and Elder Xuan were thinking, but he could feel that he was getting more ustomed to the pain. After all, it was focused in his right palm. When he had fused with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Torso bone before, the intense pain had spread over his entire body!

    He could now start to sense what has been happening in his right palm. He discovered that his whole right hand was undergoing a special transformation. The bones that had felt crushed and destroyed, weren¡¯t crushed at all¡ªcountless fine cracks had appeared all over their surface. The Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone was fusing into his right hand through these small cracks. His bones were being destroyed under the pressure from the maniacal will, and restored by the overflowing life power. While the destruction wasn¡¯t as intense, the pain was. Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm bone began to change as the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s power merged with it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s bones had ayer of greenish-gold after they were nourished by the Life Gold. It demonstrated the presence of immense life power. But his right palm bone had turned a dark gold hue, simr to that of boundless space!

    His bones slightly increased in size, but this wasn¡¯t readily apparent. His finger bones grew like a knife, narrowing at the top and widening at the bottom. Even the flesh surrounding his bones transformed. The extreme powers caused his bones to shrink, letting them fit into their new forms. Huo Yuhao also started noticing weird patterns emerging from the bones of his palm.

    Volume 16, Chapter 141.2: Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone

    Cloud-like patterns appeared on the outer bones in his right hand, while triangr patterns showed up on the inner palm bones. These patterns ovepped meticulously and seemed to contain great strength. An immense power followed the great pains in Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm and gradually fused with his mind.

    Time passed slowly, and an entire night had gone by unknowingly, with the bright sunlighting out. Huo Yuhao was sweating less and less, mist no longer rising from his skin.

    ¡°Whoosh¡ª¡± The Life Guardian¡¯s de jumped out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm and disappear in a sh of azure-green light into Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. Instantly healing the wounds from its entry and exit.

    After which Huo Yuhao let out a deep roar and lifted his right arm. A ¡°pfft¡± sound was heard, and bloody lights shot out from his fingers.

    Wang Dong started towards Huo Yuhao in concern, thinking that his palm couldn¡¯t bear it and exploded. But he was immediately stopped by a powerful force, and Elder Xuan looking at him with a stern expression whilst shaking his head.

    Presently, five streaks of dark golden light¡ªabout fourteen inches in length¡ªhad shot out from each of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers. They were wider at the fingertips and narrower at the end. When they appeared, a slight whirring sound was heard, and the dark golden lights undted like rippling water. Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand hadpletely turned dark gold, the five des of light seeming to be an extension of his fingers. Leaving no scars as it came out from his fingers.

    The dark golden light started surging from his right palm. Extending up his arm and to the rest of his body. Seemingly baptizing Huo Yuhao in ayer of dark golden light. His Spirit Eyes also shot open with a golden sh of color before returning to normal.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body twitched while he let out a deep breath. Elder Xuan supported him quickly to keep him from falling, but he also subconsciously used his right palm to stabilize himself. His Darkgolden Terrorw silently pierced into the ground.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to figure something out. He pulled his Darkgolden Terrorw out from the earth and stared at his dark gold palm. His mind wandered, and his ws disappeared. Everything returned to normal, including the color of his palm.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Yuhao, how are you?¡±

    A concerned Wang Dong and an awoken Xiao Xiao sprung to his side. Xiao Xiao was very grateful to him on top of being concerned.

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said to Xiao Xiao, ¡°I stole your soul bone.¡±

    Xiao Xiao sobbed as she said, ¡°ss Monitor, how can you put it like this? If not for you, my arm would¡¯ve already been¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t have you pledge your body to me.¡±

    Elder Xuan was also relieved, ¡°It¡¯spletely fused, thank goodness it all worked out alright. I suspect that, without the life energy contained within that magical carving knife, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t have pulled this off even if he had six soul rings. Perhaps only a seven ringed soul sage or higher could¡¯ve enhanced their body enough with their Martial Soul True Body to absorb this soul bone. I must say, Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re the first youngster I¡¯vee to admire.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°Elder Xuan, shall we rest for the day?¡± Upon finishing his statement, he copsed into Wang Dong arms long before Elder Xuan could reply.

    The three had benefited greatly from thest 24 hours. However, it was also mentally trying and left them exhausted. Elder Xuan had likewise been on edge the entire time he was following them. Primarily due to things spiraling out of his control.

    However, the end result was fantastic for the trio. Xiao Xiao got her third soul ring, while Huo Yuhao got his third soul bone. It was even an exceedingly rare Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone, an external soul bone even.

    ¡­¡­

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s capital, Radiant City. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Asked a person wearing a long, ck robe, standing quietly in front of the Hallmaster of the Virtuous Hall, Jing Hongchen. It was apparent that he was a tall and burly man from his rough voice and build. However, his long, ck robe and huge hat disguised his true appearance.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain. I just came back from Shrek Academy. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re interested in the Dark Phoenix.¡±

    ¡°What do you want from telling me all this? Besides, it¡¯s not easy to enter Shrek Academy.¡± The man in the ck robe said in a deep voice.

    Jing Hongchen smiled, his chubby facepressing as he said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about. Shrek Academy is far more dangerous than we gave them credit for. With that Elder Mu holding down the fort, any tomfoolery on their campus grounds is just assured death. But what if we lured the powerhouses out from Shrek Academy?

    The man wearing a ck robe¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    Jing Hongchen squinted, and a streak of sharp light shed across his eyes. He spoke for almost 15 minutes. The man in the ck robe nodded his head repeatedly, as if he fully agreed with his words.

    ¡°If this is the case, our chances are good. As the Dark Phoenix descends, the Sacred Lady will assume her position yet again. We must be ready to receive the Sacred Lady, but when all this is over, we¡¯ll reward you handsomely.¡± The man in the ck robe sounded excited, hysterical even.

    ¡­¡­

    Heaven Dou Empire¡¯s capital, Heaven Dou City.

    A petite and lonesome figure walked the streets. It was Tang Ya, it had been almost a month since she returned to Heaven Dou City. Her face no longer bore a smile, instead showing an unhealthy pallor, even more delicate in appearance than before.

    Heaven Dou City was where she was born and raised. Five years ago, a sect that didn¡¯t even have worldly renown had taken everything from her. The Tang Sect had copsed after years of decay, and was wiped out. Her parents as well¡­

    Tang Ya started to tear up when she thought of it.

    ¡°Mom, dad, I will help the Tang Sect regain its glory no matter the price I have to pay.¡± Tang Yan clenched her fists tightly.

    She didn¡¯t wait till Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao ended their secluded cultivations, and she left Shrek Academy even with Bei Bei¡¯s objections.

    She returned to Heaven Dou City after leaving the academy and bought a small house with the savings she shared with Bei Bei.

    Tang Ya¡¯s original n was to find her footing in Heaven Dou City before re-establishing the Tang Sect and recruiting disciples. She wanted toy down the foundation before Bei Bei and the rest came to Heaven Dou City. They would join her in reiming the Tang Sect¡¯s former glory after they graduated.

    However, she now realized why Bei Bei had tried to dissuade her from being impatient in returning to Heaven Dou City. Everything was not as simple as she had imagined.

    She hadn¡¯t returned with insufficient money, not after calcting the costs of re-establishing the Tang Sect. Tang Ya was faced with an important problem: The sect wouldn¡¯t have any ie, not for a long time at least. But she couldn¡¯t go back to Bei Bei for the money! The money that Bei Bei had already provided her with came from his family, and her pride wouldn¡¯t allow her to ask for more.

    Then there was the issue with connections. She was 10 years old when she left, and now 15 years old upon her return. How many contacts could a 15-year-old-girl have without any family have in such arge city?

    Tang Ya did attempt to seek out the old acquaintances of the Tang Sect, her parents¡¯ friends. But they treated her like the gue and wanted nothing to do with her. Furthermore, when the sect that destroyed the Tang Sect discovered her, she was even further oppressed and discriminated against. Even when buying the bare necessities on the streets, she would find merchants that only raised their prices for her.

    Over thest month, Tang Ya experienced true destion, true istion. The burning, primal fury that she had suppressed in her heart started to leak out. Rebuilding the Tang Sect was too much; her thin shoulders could barely carry on¡­

    A huge door drifted into view from afar. Tang Ya¡¯s body jerked slightly, and two streams of tears started to trickle down her pale face.

    This gate was twenty feet high and fifty feet wide. The ten-foot-high wall extended twenty meters to either side of the gate, while the eye-catching crimson-red paint on the walls seemed slightly solemn. Grey tiles neatly and finely formed the roof of the gate, and two huge words could be seen, emzoned above the gate. These two words were ¡°Ironblood Sect¡±.

    There were horizontally-inscribed boards that were ced vertically upright to the left and right of the gate. The left board wrote ¡°A Heart As Loyal As the Blood of Iron¡±, while the right board was inscribed with the words ¡°Lofty Existence For All Eternity¡±.

    There was a time when this ce didn¡¯t look like that, when there was a board with only two words inscribed above this gate that read, ¡°Tang Sect¡±.

    Indeed, this was the former residence of the Tang Sect. Even though it wasn¡¯t the same ce the sect upied long, long ago, when it was still the famous top sect of the world, but it was still the sect¡¯s home for almost 3000 years! It was now home to the Ironblood Sect. This was aplete humiliation for the Tang Sect.

    ¡°This is my home¡ªthis is my home!¡±

    Tang Ya lifted her right hand and wiped her tears away. Red light shed in her eyes, and her aura started to be fiercer.

    The Ironblood Sect didn¡¯t do anything to her directly within the city, because Heaven Dou City was home to the Heaven Dou Empire¡¯s royal family. Moreover, Tang Ya was from Shrek Academy. It would not end in their favor to attack her! But Tang Ya couldn¡¯t bear with this humiliation any longer. Her primal impulses were screaming out to her in front of her old residence. She was here. She had arrived¡ªand she would have vengeance.

    Volume 16, Chapter 141.3: Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone

    Standing before the Ironblood Sect¡¯s gate, Tang Ya took a deep breath. Then she extended both of her arms and shouted softly. Suddenly, countless thick bluish-ck vines rushed out and separated into three attacks, simultaneously destroying all three boards. Four sour rings also rose up from under Tang Ya¡¯s legs.

    Bei Bei would be shocked to learn of her cultivation progress. Tang Ya had only crossed Rank 30 a year ago, but was already a four-ringed Soul Ancestor! Not even Bei Bei himself or Xu Sanshi had made such staggering progress!

    Tang Ya¡¯s martial soul was Bluesilver Grass¡ªno, it wasn¡¯t normal Bluesilver Grass anymore. When the bluish-ck vines danced, they seemed more like massive pythons. Tang Ya¡¯s eyes emitted a dim purplish-red light.

    There were two Ironblood Sect disciples standing guard at either side of the gate. But they couldn¡¯t react in time, before Tang Ya had destroyed the boards.

    ¡°What are you doing? Are you courting death?¡± One disciple shouted furiously. However, he was struck speechless immediately after he noticed the two yellow and two purple soul rings behind Tang Ya.

    Having four soul rings wasn¡¯t very eye-catching in Shrek Academy. But formon schools and sects, having four rings was a huge deal. Furthermore, her soul rings were an optimal set. Much like how Huo Yuhao and the others thought that Dai Huabin and the rest of ss 2 wasn¡¯t strong after returning from the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Tang Ya could no longer be seen as a weakling in the eyes of the disciples of a small sect.

    Tang Ya was after revenge. Two thick vines of Bluesilver Grass wrapped around the necks of these sect disciples, although she didn¡¯t use any soul skills, her Bluesilver Grass suddenly turned purplish.

    The two Ironblood Sect disciples screamed pathetically, they looked like they were being strangled to death by pythons. Their bodies were then crushed, and wave after wave of bloody aura came out of their body, before being absorbed by the Bluesilver Grass. After which,yers of bloody light flowed towards Tang Ya, making skin seem even paler.

    ¡°Eh?¡± An elder was sitting in a restaurant across the street on the second level. This elder had eyes on the whole situation from where he sat. However, this elder looked surprised and squinted his eyes as if he was in the midst of deep thought.

    ¡°Tie Li,e out!¡± Tang Ya shouted. She proceeded to dash through the archway and into the former inner courtyard of the Tang Sect. Her Bluesilver Grass flung the 2 corpses towards the crimson-red walls.

    Their screams alerted the Ironblood Sect, hence arge number of sect disciples rushed out. Leading them was a tall figure, with small eyes and short hair. He was even bald on top of his head. He focused his gaze on the small figure of Tang Ya rushing into the courtyard, ¡°Damn wench, you dare kill our Ironblood Sect disciples? You¡¯re courting death. Kill her.¡±

    This tall middle-aged man was the young master of the Ironblood Sect, Tie Tang. He had followed his father, the aforementioned Tie Li, bribed some city guards, and attacked the Tang Sect in the dead of the night. s the Tang Sect was too weakened by this point, and only Tang Ya escaped the carnage.

    While small, the Ironblood Sect still had over 200 disciples. The sect master, Tie Li, was a soul emperor, and there were 2 soul king elders. Tie Tang was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor himself.

    ¡°All of you can die.¡± Tang Ya bellowed¡ª her body whirling off the ground like a screw, jumping into the air. Myriad hidden weapons being flung in all directions as she attacked the Ironblood Sect disciplesing her way.

    The front-line Ironblood Sect disciples were wiped out instantly. They weren¡¯t even able to get into Advanced Soul Master Academies, let alone stand up to Tang Ya¡¯s hidden weapons.

    Tie Tang saw Tang Ya¡¯s four shing soul rings. While he also had four rings, two were yellow, and the other two were white and purple. He could only even obtain these rings with the help of his father and the elders.

    Tie Tang wasn¡¯t shocked at Tang Ya¡¯s attack on the Ironblood Sect. While Tang Ya herself might not be an issue to the Ironblood Sect, Shrek Academy was. The Ironblood Sect was terrified of offending Shrek Academy, and actively attacking Tang Ya would do just that. Or so they believed, as they didn¡¯t know Tang Ya had already left Shrek Academy. Hence they had been scheming for a long time to provoke Tang Ya into an attack on them, so they could justifiably kill her. However, it dide to Tie Tang¡¯s surprise that Tang Ya¡¯s cultivation hade so far in just a few years.

    After the wave of secret weapons was over, the Bluesilver Grass was unleashed. The numerous purple vines of Bluesilver Grass struck out like awls. Reaping several Ironblood Sect disciples in the process. While the Bluesilver Grass turned dark purple, their blood was absorbed by it.

    An unhealthy shade of red was present on Tang Ya¡¯s face. The purplish-red glow in her eyes bing deeper. She stomped her a petite foot on the ground, and more than 10 vines of the Bluesilver Grass came out and threw out the corpses. Meanwhile, she dashed towards Tie Tang.

    Tie Tang¡¯s martial soul was inherited from the Tie family¡¯s lineage. It was called the Iron-Armed Bear, a very ordinary bear-type martial soul. If the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was at the top of the food chain, then the Iron-Armed Bear was at the bottom of it.

    Tang Ya¡¯s ferocity deterred the Ironblood Sect disciples from taking another step forward. They had fled in all directions, leaving an exposed Tie Tang.

    Tie Tang couldn¡¯t back down now. He had already let off a signal for the elders and his father in the back courtyard. Tang Ya was far more powerful than they¡¯d expected, and killed numerous sect disciples instantly. However, Tie Tang believed that if he could stall Tang Ya, she would be killed by the elders of the sect. The Ironblood Sect wouldn¡¯t even be held ountable for dismembering her corpse after all the sect disciples she¡¯d ughtered at this point.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Tang Ya shouted,her mental statepletely out of control. Many vines of Bluesilver Grass shot out towards Tie Tang.

    Tie Tang stood his ground, and his third soul ring lit up. He threw his fists forward, shooting out a cluster of white light. The white radiance created arge light shield, with a 2 meter diameter, that swatted away the oing Bluesilver Grass, then struck out towards Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya groaned and pulled back the vines of Bluesilver Grass before flinging them out at the shield again. Each vine littered with sharp spikes. At the same time, she dodged to the side with the use of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

    Due to their limited talents, Tang Ya¡¯s parents had acking mastery of the Tang Sect Secret Techniques. Tang Ya on the other hand, managed to slowly learn and master the techniques with Bei Bei¡¯s help. Leaving the current sight of a Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track that her parents couldn¡¯t have replicated.

    While that light shield had locked onto Tang Ya¡¯s body, its radiance dimmed as she dodged repeatedly. Tie Tang was also on the receiving end of some attacks himself.

    A loud bellow came from the back courtyard. ¡°Who¡¯s causing trouble in the Ironblood Sect?¡± An elder who looked simr to Tie Tang and two other elders quickly bolted over from the back courtyard.

    A cold radiance brewed in Tang Ya¡¯s eyes. She lifted her right hand and waved it in the air. Her third soul ring lit up, and a ball of purplish-ck light shot towards the 3 of them.

    The ball of purplish-ck light opened up in the air and formed a huge web with a diameter of over 5 meters. This was Tang Ya¡¯s third soul skill, Saros Pythonweb. This soul skill came from the thousand year Mand Snake that Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei helped her kill a year ago.

    Tang Ya¡¯s Bluesilver Grass was much more powerful and ferocious than Tie Tang had expected. Even though his father and the elders had arrived, he didn¡¯t feel safe. Primarily due to the fact that Bluesilver Grass was closing in on him from all directions!

    Tie Tang unleashed his fourth soul skill without any hesitation. Ayer of white light was suddenly unleashed from his body, and his arms became extremely thick. His body spun off the ground, and his arms struck down the vines surrounding him.

    However, Tie Tang discovered he was at a severe disadvantage, because when his arms made contact, the sharp spikes covered the vines pierced his skin. His martial soul couldn¡¯t resist them at all. Even worse, he could feel energy flowing out of his body from where the spikes had pierced him, which the Bluesilver Grass was able to absorb!

    What kind of power was this?

    Tie Tang was using the wrong method to protect himself now. Even though further resistance would just lead to the Bluesilver Grass sucking out more energy, he persisted in his defence.

    He was on the verge of copse after 7 or 8 blocked attacks. When another vine came at him, his arm could no longer force it off. The sharp spikes piercing into his arms stuck. The vine of Bluesilver Grass wrapped around his body, ignoring his pathetic screams. More and more vines surrounded him, engulfing him as he screamed in horror.

    Purplish halos of light were supplied to Tang Ya through the Bluesilver Grass, and her aura started to be stronger by the second.

    Absorbing a four-ringed Soul Ancestor¡¯s power quite different; Tang Ya could feel her soul power increasing substantially.

    Where was Tie Li when Tang Tie was devoured by the Bluesilver Grass?

    Tie Li stood to the side,pletely helpless as he watched his son¡¯s death.

 Chapter 142: Dark Bluesilver Grass

    Volume 16, Chapter 142.1: Dark Bluesilver Grass

    Tie Li and the two elders tried to deflect Tang Ya¡¯s Saros Pythonweb, but the web proved resistant to their attempts. Any soul power they sted towards it just seeped through the gaps in the web, all as it barreled towards them.

    Because of the sharp spikes on the web, they were unable to physically deter the web, leaving them to retreat. Likewise, dodging to the sides was proving difficult with how fast the web wasing at them.

    But when they finally managed to avoid the web and arrive on the scene, they witnessed Tie Tang, being engulfed by Bluesilver Grass.

    ¡°You¡ªyou killed my son!¡± Tie Li roared furiously, his eyes almost entirely red. He was indeed a six-ringed Soul Emperor, and his body began expanding rmingly fast. His body became over 2.5 meters in size, and greatly increased in physical attributes¡ªall from unleashing his martial soul.

    Though still a Soul Emperor, he wasn¡¯t nearly up to scratch whenpared to Ma Xiaotao or Dai Yueheng. This was easily seen in the colors of his soul rings; one white, two yellow, and three purple. Zero ck soul rings, this meant that Tie Li¡¯s was to forever remain a Soul Emperor¡ªhe¡¯d reached his limit and had no hope to be a seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    The other two elders were also shocked. They also knew who Tang Ya was. They unleashed their own martial souls when they saw Tang Ya¡¯s four soul rings and the Bluesilver Grass.

    ¡°Sect master, please be cautious. Her martial soul doesn¡¯t seem to be ordinary. She seems to be sucking young master¡¯s strength away. Don¡¯t tell me, don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s an evil soul master?¡± The elder to the left of Tie Li eximed. His face turned pale-white when he said the words ¡®evil soul master¡¯.

    What did an evil soul master mean to an ordinary soul master? Death. All evil soul masters had a special ability to increase their speed of cultivation beyond that of an ordinary soul master. But their mental states would degrade along with the evilness. It was very difficult for them to improve any further after they obtained seven rings.

    Was Tang Ya really an evil soul master? The answer was yes.

    When Tang Ya was first conceived, her parents already knew of a hidden gift in her body¡ªthe gift of devouring life.

    This gift contained an immense evil aura. However, it was concealed, and wouldn¡¯t appear unless it was initiated actively.

    Tang Ya felt that she wasgging further and further behind Bei Bei when she was at Shrek Academy, and restoring the Tang Sect was even more hopeless for her. Eventually, she chose to initiate this gift of hers when Bei Bei went topete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    She left the academy secretly after sses were over and found a dense forest. She then unleashed her Bluesilver Grass and devoured the nts in the forest, absorbing their life power for her own cultivation. Her gift of devouring life was extremely strong, and her cultivation improved leaps and bounds with the help of this gift. However, her martial soul also underwent transformations because of this, and turned into the current Dark Bluesilver .

    Tang Ya had a strong will. She knew that her own cultivation would increase even faster if the Bluesilver Grass devoured a soul master¡¯s life and soul power. But she never did so. How could she kill innocent people just to restore the Tang Sect? It was only today that she could no longer suppress her will to kill when she saw her enemies upon returning to the Tang Sect. The evil aura controlled her mind, and she began killing senselessly within the Ironblood Sect. After she used the Dark Bluesilver Grass to kill and devour the life of the first Ironblood Sect disciple, she had turned irrevocably into an evil soul master.

    Tie Li was also fearful at the prospect of facing an evil soul master. An evil soul master¡¯s cultivation couldn¡¯t be measured in the ordinary sense. Although Tang Ya only had four rings, it was clear that her true abilities had surpassed those of a soul ancestor from how easily she killed Tie Tang.

    However, Tie Li couldn¡¯t be bothered about his fear after witnessing his son¡¯s tragic death. He didn¡¯t even get to see his son¡¯s corpse.

    He dashed towards Tang Ya and roared furiously.

    Tang Ya¡¯s Dark Bluesilver Grass¡¯ greatest strength was that it became stronger the more it fought. She could nourish her own body by draining her enemies¡¯ life and soul power. The Bluesilver Grass would carry out its own filtering in the process of absorption. This was the special characteristic of her evil martial soul.

    Not all evil soul masters were strong. But Tang Ya¡¯s Dark Bluesilver Grass was undoubtedly very outstanding and had great potential.

    Blood was on the verge of appearing in Tang Ya¡¯s eyes as she faced her arch-enemy. Her internal hatred erupted like a volcano. Several thick vines of Bluesilver Grass were covered by ayer of dim blood light as they flew up. They whipped towards Tie Li maniacally as if they were long canes.

    Tie Li had the same Iron-Armed Bear martial soul as his son, but his was much stronger. His thick arms started to il and became extremely tough through the enhancement of his third soul ring. The sharp spikes on the Bluesilver Grass couldn¡¯t pierce his skin, and he shook off the vines of Bluesilver Grass. He was also getting closer and closer to Tang Ya.

    The other two soul kings didn¡¯t idle around either. One of them was an agility-type soul master, while the other was a control-type soul master. Their martial souls were the Swift Wolf and Long Whip respectively. Those were two ordinary martial souls.

    The soul king with the Long Whip exhibited his fourth soul skill and drew a circr arc in the air that attacked Tang Ya, whereas the soul king with the Swift Wolf snuck up behind Tang Ya and unleash his wolf ws as he carefully leapt towards her.

    Tang Ya was under attack on three fronts by two soul kings and a soul emperor. Even Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi might be unable to deal with this situation if they were here. Tang Ya¡¯s dominance as an evil soul master was fully unleashed at this point.

    ¡°All of you will die!¡± She shouted as she looked into the sky and her fourth soul ring lit up.

    It was pertinent to note that her fourth soul ring was only added after the dark characteristic of her Bluesilver Grass was awakened. It also contained her strongest soul skill, obtained from a nt that had a five thousand year cultivation.

    Ayer of weird purplish-red spread from Tang Ya. With her body as the center, a huge purplish-red ball of light with a 2 meter diameter was formed. There were weird stripes on this ball of light. All the vines of Bluesilver Grass that were attacking Tie Lie were also retracted at this point.

    The long whip that descended was deflected away, and the ball of light blew apart when the Iron-Armed Bear and Swift Wolf got close to Tang Ya.

    Countless vines of Bluesilver Grass appeared underneath Tang Ya¡¯s legs like sharp spikes before they spread out rapidly. It felt as if they were spreading like ripples. The entire courtyard seemed to be covered by Bluesilver Grass and a frightening aura. At the same time, it had turned bluish-purple too.

    This was too sudden. Tie Li and the other two elders had never seen such a powerful ranged attack before. The Bluesilver Grass was merely amon species of grass! Who knew that it could unleashed such a powerful soul skill?

    The two soul kings were instantly pierced by the Bluesilver Grass. An intense pain and numbness spread across their entire body. The elder with the Swift Wolf martial soul was in a better condition. When he realized things were going wrong, he leapt up quickly. The Bluesilver Grass reached a height of 2 meters, but only pierced his feet, whereas the elder with the Long Whip was pierced throughout his entire body. He stimted all his soul power before he managed to destroy the Bluesilver Grass that pierced his entire body. But he was already covered in blood, and his life had been sucked away by the Bluesilver Grass.

    But did the elder with the Swift Wolf really avert this crisis? He didn¡¯t. Even though he was only pierced at his feet, the numbness caused him to fall straight down, and his body became stiff.

    The Bluesilver Grass continued to attack him, but his cultivation wasn¡¯t fully unleashed, as he was already numb. He was engulfed just like the other elder.

    The two of them weren¡¯t weak. They were mainly terrified by the appearance of an evil soul master. In addition, Tang Ya¡¯s fourth soul skill was also very tyrannical. If it were just ordinary Bluesilver Grass, they would only lose their ability to fight temporarily. But the Dark Bluesilver Grass carried a frightening devouring ability. The two soul kings¡¯ strength was immediately turned into its tonic.

    Tang Ya turned pale as she unleashed this blow, but she was immediately nourished by the two soul kings¡¯ strength. However, she was in great peril now.

    Ayer of greyish light covered the Iron-Armed Bear. His fifth soul ring shed extremely brightly, while the vines of Bluesilver Grass that tried to pierce his body were deflected away easily. He had already burst in front of Tang Ya ferociously and he struck his thick arms towards Tang Ya¡¯s head.

    Although Tang Ya¡¯s fourth skill was very powerful, she had lost her flexibility, and was temporarily unable to move.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Tang Ya screamed, and several nging noises sounded. Several secret weapons shot out from different parts of her body. shing golden Dragon Beard Needles also appeared in her hands. She knew she was in trouble, but she wanted to drag Tie Li down to perish along with her. All the secret weapons that she unleashed were injected with the power that she had devoured earlier.

    Tie Li was a soul emperor. His sixth soul ring lit up at this point, and his arms grew in size again. They were now 3 times their original size. When he smashed them down, he managed to block off all the secret weapons.

    Volume 16, Chapter 142.2: Dark Bluesilver Grass

    The frightening force blew Tang Ya¡¯s hair behind her. She was about to perish under Tie Li¡¯s fists.

    As a mere soul ancestor, Tang Ya should be proud of herself for killing almost the entire sect and even two soul kings. But she still had to pay the price for her recklessness. That price was her life.

    ¡°Dad, mom, I¡¯ming to find the both of you.¡± Tang Ya¡¯s shut her purplish eyelids and two teardrops appeared at the corners of her eyes.

    She wasn¡¯t fearful, but reluctant in the face of death. Bei Bei¡¯s smiling face filled her mind at this point.

    Bei Bei¡­

    However, when Tang Ya was supposed to be struck, she didn¡¯t feel any pain. She groaned, and all the pressure was suddenly taken off her.

    One was usually insensitive at the most desperate of times. Tang Ya only reacted after a few seconds, and opened her eyes.

    Her fourth soul skill had already disappeared. The entire Ironblood Sect only had one corpse now. All the Ironblood Sect disciples that were killed by her previously had already been mummified by the Bluesilver Grass.

    Tang Ya¡¯s soul power had increased another level through this battle. She had reached Rank 44.

    Tie Li was currently being held in the air by an elder in a ck robe. The elder looked at Tang Ya calmly. He lifted his hand and threw Tie Li in front of her.

    ¡°He¡¯s yours now. You can deal with him in whatever way you want.¡± The elder¡¯s voice was very calm. There was even a sense of benevolence amidst that calmness. The Iron-Armed Bear¡¯s sixth soul skill was helpless against this elder, who didn¡¯t even unleash his martial soul.

    Tang Ya was both emotionally and mentally unstable now. She didn¡¯t even bother to think who that elder was. She was only focused on Tie Li, who was still alive, but could only limp on the ground.

    Her arch-enemy was in front of her, and she could have her revenge now. Her body started to tremble in excitement.

    She lifted her hand and her delicate fingers pointed at Tie Li, ¡°Tie Li, did you expect yourself to be in such a predicament after killing my parents and destroying the Tang Sect? I shall use you as a sacrifice to my parents¡¯ souls today.¡±

    As she spoke, Tang Ya¡¯s hands moved repeatedly, and several streaks of golden light prated Tie Li¡¯s body. Tie Li¡¯s facial expression suddenly distorted, and he was no longer able to move his body. It¡¯s as if his entire body had cramped up all at once.

    Tang Ya was stunned. She lifted her head to look at the elder, ¡°You sealed his voice.¡±

    The elder smiled, ¡°Do you want to listen to him?¡±

    Tang Ya nodded forcefully and gritted her teeth. ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The elder lifted his hand and pressed against Tie Li. Tie Li¡¯s screams could suddenly be heard. His loud and pathetic voice even shocked the elder that had sealed his voice a little. Perhaps half of Heaven Dou City could hear his screams.

    Tie Li¡¯s body started to change. A contusion the size of a fist started to protrude from his body. He had turned into a freak in just a few seconds.

    Tang Ya used the Dragon Beard Needle once again. The Dragon Beard Needle wasn¡¯t the most dominant secret weapon in the Tang Sect, but it brought the greatest pain to an enemy.

    The thin, golden needle could normally shrink into a small grain, but when needed, it would turn into a long needle and pierce through the enemy¡¯s flesh. After it pierced through the flesh, it could shrink once again. The contusion was formed in this manner.

    Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t take it when he was pierced by 1 needle previously. Tie Li was pierced by more than 10 needles now, and experienced unbearable pain. It was as if his muscles and nerves had been glued together. Tie Li could only use his soul emperor cultivation to scream now. No wonder it was so loud.

    The elder furrowed his brows and said, ¡°Youngdy, you need to be faster. Otherwise, the Heaven Dou Empire¡¯s royal family will send someone here.¡±

    Tang Ya nodded and unleashed many varities of Tang Sect secret weapons. She didn¡¯t use them to attack Tie Li¡¯s sensitive areas. She started with his limbs before extending them to his body.

    ¡°Dad, mom, I¡¯ve taken revenge for the both of you!¡± Tang Ya bellowed into the sky. A crossbow bolt shot into Tie Li¡¯s head and ended his screams.

    At this point, waves of powerful aura could be sensed. The elder creased his brows and dashed in front of Tang Ya, ¡°We have to go.¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t go. This is where the Tang Sect is. Why must I go? I only killed the perpetrators who destroyed the Tang Sect. This is my home!¡±

    The elder raised his brows. He lifted his palm to hack at Tang Ya. Before Tang Ya¡¯s Bluesilver Grass could even react, her entire body turned numb, and she went limp. The elder lifted her, and a ck fog engulfed his entire body. He disappeared into the air instantly.

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao regained his energy after one day of rest. With the Life Gold¡¯s nourishment, his body¡¯s regenerative abilities were much greater than that of most soul masters of the same level. Although Xiao Xiao had endured less pain than him, she was still a little fatigued.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, how¡¯s your recovery?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Xiao Xiao, who had just awakened from her cultivation.

    Xiao Xiao replied, ¡°I¡¯m almost fully recovered. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear is very nourishing. Besides some soreness in my right arm, my soul power and strength have been fully restored.¡±

    The sun had already risen in the east at this point. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had just finished cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes, while Elder Xuan had disappeared to parts unknown.

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°So we¡¯ll be entering the forest again today?¡±

    Xiao Xiao jumped up and looked at the Star Dou Forest. She said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I¡¯m already a soul elder now. Haha. Monitor, I¡¯m a level above you.¡±

    They were resting 50 miles from Star Dou Forest. No soul beasts woulde here under normal conditions. Elder Xuan disappeared after bringing them here.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Xiao Xiao, let us see your newly-obtained thousand year soul skill. It¡¯ll also strengthen our cooperation in Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Although they had only been hunting soul beasts in Star Dou Forest for one day, the experience had been quite dangerous. The most perilous part wasn¡¯t when they met the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, but when they encountered the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. They would have perished under the Deviltiger Cat¡¯s sudden attack if not for Elder Xuan¡¯s protection and their enhanced powers.

    After the close shave that day, their excitement and yful mindsets had ceased to exist. They were only left with vignce.

    ¡°Alright, I shall let you see,¡± Xiao Xiao said forthrightly.

    As a ck light shed, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had already appeared in front of her. Three soul rings¡ªtwo yellow and one purple¡ªalso rose from beneath her feet.

    It was a different feeling to obtain another soul ring. The elegant purple thousand year soul ring was indeed more beautiful than the yellow hundred year soul rings.

    Xiao Xiao shouted, and the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron rose into the air. ¡°Watch carefully.¡±

    As she spoke, the purple thousand year soul ring had already lit up.

    ¡°Nom-!¡± A weird sound came from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It was as if the cauldron was jerking tremendously. The size of the cauldron started to increase greatly following that.

    The cauldron, which initially had a diameter of around 1 meter, increased in size to about 3 meters in diameter. The cauldron also turned dark gold like the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s fur. The cauldron was much stronger than before as the dark golden light shed.

    ¡°Monitor, be careful.¡± Xiao Xiao shouted before the huge Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron started to burst towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had already sensed a gust of ominous wind blowing towards him when the cauldron was tens of meters away from him. The cauldron had to be over a thousand kilograms in weight. But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t retreat. Instead, he lifted his hands and unleashed the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. He mmed it into the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    ¡°ng!¡± The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron fell, while Huo Yuhao was sent flying by the collision. Even the chill released by the Ice Empress Pincer was dissipated by the dark golden light. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron sank slightly into the ground. It had the aura of a national treasure at this moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s really tough.¡± Huo Yuhaoplimented. He was forced back by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron even though he had unleashed the Ice Empress Pincer. This showed how powerful the cauldron was.

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron carried a sense of nobility. The dark gold radiance seemed to havee alive, and revolved around the cauldron.

    Xiao Xiao was delighted as she said, ¡°My third soul ring has brought me a thousand year soul skill ¡®the Cauldron¡¯s Might¡¯ that has changed my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldronpletely. It¡¯s as if the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear has possessed it. Its defensive strength has increased by at least 3 times. In addition, unleashing the Cauldron¡¯s Might before using the two other soul skills makes me much stronger. My Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron has experienced a holistic increase in strength with this soul skill. It¡¯s not so easy to crush it anymore. Watch this Cauldron Quake.¡±

    Xiao Xiao shouted once again as she spoke. As a thunder-like boom rang out, a dark golden halo extended to a radius of 3 about meters with the cauldron as the center. The earth under the halo copsed and caused the cauldron to sink a meter into the ground. The powerful shockwave even caused a little distortion in the air.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could still feel the tremors even though they were not standing within the radius of the halo. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had be much more powerful with her third soul skill, the Cauldron¡¯s Might.

    Volume 16, Chapter 142.3: Dark Bluesilver Grass

    ¡°Excellent. Segregation, control and defense. Your Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron is indeed a powerful tool soul.¡± Wang Dongplimented. An increase in Xiao Xiao¡¯s abilities was equivalent to an increase in their team¡¯s strength!

    They had the lowest cultivations among everyone in Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. It was impossible for them not to have the desire to catch up with their seniors. However, the three of them possessed twin martial souls and the greatest potential.

    Xiao Xiaoughed and looked at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Monitor, show us how powerful the fellow that almost destroyed my arm is.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was still a little petrified as she mentioned the Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t absorbed its strength away, her right arm would have been gone by now.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and lifted his right arm. As a dark golden radiance shed, 5 sharp ws that resembled des extended from his palm.

    ¡°It was rather difficult to fuse with this Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone. However, it¡¯s indeed different from an ordinary soul bone. There are 2 forms to it. The first is the ordinary form just like what we¡¯re seeing now. The other form is during a soul skill attack. Take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao chose a rock that was as big as a millstone and threw it up. He then shed his right hand towards the rock. The rock was cut into several pieces without even making a sound.

    The pieces of the rocknded on the ground. Both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong rushed to take a look at them. The rock had been divided into many pieces, and the cuts were very sleek.

    Xiao Xiao stared wide-eyed, ¡°This, this is like cutting tofu! It¡¯s really sharp.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel indebted to me now that you¡¯ve seen this. I¡¯ve obtained an extremely good soul bone for myself too! The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear is able to be one of the most dangerous soul beasts because of its Darkgolden Terrorw.¡±

    Xiao Xiao shook her head and said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s different. Monitor, I know it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. I shall show you its soul skill form.¡±

    His gaze straightened as he spoke, and the terrorws on his right palm waved in the distant air. An intense dark gold radiance shot out, and the powerful terrorws changed into 3 meter-long dark golden w projections before they wed into the ground.

    No dirt or gravel was disced from the ground, but five 3 meter-long scratch marks appeared. Even the air seemed to have been wed. After Huo Yuhao finished wing, there was still an echo left in the air.

    Huo Yuhao teased Xiao Xiao, ¡°Do you want to test out my Darkgolden Terrorws with your Cauldron¡¯s Might?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Thanks.¡± Xiao Xiao shook her head hurriedly, and quickly put her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron away.

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s the rate of depletion of your soul power when using this Darkgolden Terrorw?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°It¡¯s still fine, as it onlyes from a two thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. There¡¯s not much depletion in its original form. It¡¯s just like a part of me ¨C nothing different from my hand. The depletion is greater when I¡¯m using the soul skill. It depletes around 30% of my soul power every time I use it. Elder Xuan was right. I can feel this right palm bone absorbing my strength slowly after it has fused with me. It seems like it really can evolve.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s enter the Star Dou Forest again and hope our luck continues. We¡¯ll find a suitable soul beast for your third soul ring.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. Bing a soul elder was necessary for every powerful soul master, and it was also the first major barrier in the development of every soul master. For those whose soul power and martial soul were weaker, they were destined to be unable to ovee this barrier in their entire life. After crossing this barrier, a soul master was no longer in the beginner stage anymore. He would have reached the intermediate stage.

    While the three of them were not ordinary soul elders, they still had to make this breakthrough in their soul power.

    The three proceeded in the direction of Star Dou Forest after they packed up.

    They covered the tens of miles quickly. Huo Yuhao continued to lead them while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed behind him. The three of them seemed familiar with Star Dou Forest as they entered it again. Huo Yuhao initiated his Spiritual Detection Sharing and they proceeded much faster than the first time they had entered the forest. They covered around 10 miles in less than an hour, and started to search for a suitable soul beast for Huo Yuhao.

    Although Huo Yuhao knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to find a spiritual-type soul beast that suited him, he didn¡¯t think it would be that difficult either. Over the next 10 days, they circled almost half of Star Dou Forest. But they didn¡¯t manage to find a suitable soul beast.

    They did encounter spiritual-type soul beasts, but these soul beasts were either too weak or not old enough. He couldn¡¯t possibly fuse with ten year or hundred year soul rings.

    Their strategy also changed during this period of time. Their original strategy was not to rile any soul beasts, but they wouldn¡¯t cave in when they met soul beasts that attacked them actively. In this way, they prevented a lot of trouble. However, this didn¡¯t manage to attract higher-level soul beasts.

    But they did benefit slightly from their 10 days in the forest. They had to remain on alert in the Star Dou Forest as they might be in danger at any time. Under such conditions, they started to assimte their experience in the tournament and understanding during their closed-door cultivation, and coordinated better and better with one another. Thousand years soul beasts no longer posed any threat to them. Of course, this was only if they met one of such soul beasts. They could only escape if they met a bunch of soul beasts.

    In these 10 days of training, their mindset, attainments and the development of their potential were all very important to them. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t appear in these 10 days, as if he wasn¡¯t following them at all. He allowed them to move freely.

    Huo Yuhao finally understood why he hadn¡¯t been made a core disciple of Shrek Academy. It was too difficult for his Spirit Eyes to obtain a suitable soul ring. His good fortune seemed to have ended after he hunted the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear.

    Night had fallen again. The three of them retreated from Star Dou Forest and rested at a small hill 30 miles away. They slept in two small tents.

    ¡°Yuhao, we can¡¯t continue on like this! We¡¯ve circled almost half of Star Dou Forest, but we¡¯ve only seen a few spiritual-type soul beasts. Even then, none of them were suitable for you.¡± Wang Dong furrowed his brows as he looked at Huo Yuhao flipping grilled meat.

    Huo Yuhao flipped the grilled meat skillfully and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed difficult to find a soul beast that¡¯s suitable for me. It¡¯s already rare to find a spiritual-type soul beast. It¡¯s even more difficult to find one that¡¯s suitable for me.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°Monitor, why don¡¯t we go deeper in? If we go further in by another 10 miles, I believe the quality of soul beasts that we¡¯ll encounter will be higher.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent. Although they knew that Elder Xuan was protecting them secretly, they were all very proud as the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. None of them wanted Elder Xuan to intervene unless there was a special situation. They could naturally sense their improvement in all aspects after these 10 days of training. This was especially evident for Xiao Xiao, who was able to use her Cauldron¡¯s Might more freely. She should be able to determine the oue of a battle with one sweep of her Cauldron¡¯s Might.

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°I agree. Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to think so much. We should be able to deal with a ten thousand year soul beast with ourbined strength if we meet one, or at least we¡¯ll have no problem preserving our lives. Even if we venture a further 10 miles in, we¡¯ll still be very far from the center of the forest. We¡¯ll just see fewer hundred year soul beasts. It won¡¯t be too dangerous with your Spiritual Detection Sharing¡¯s ability to warn us and if we¡¯re careful enough. In addition, greater pressure will also be beneficial for us. Elder Xuan hasn¡¯t appeared, not even to eat your grilled meat, because he wants to give us more training. I feel that our soul power and live experiences have improved significantly during this period of time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go deeper in then. However, I have to put this across first. If we meet a ten thousand year soul beast, we have to leave the area immediately after the battle.¡± As the team leader, he had to take responsibility for everyone¡¯s safety. They could venture deeper in with their current abilities. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t persist any further, since Elder Xuan was secretly protecting them too.

    The three of them rested early after they had their dinner. The tents only covered the night sky. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong cultivated in one tent, while Xiao Xiao took another tent by herself.

    Although Huo Yuhao had reached a bottleneck in his mastery of the Mysterious Jade Hands, he understood the importance of umtion. The temporary bottleneck wouldn¡¯t affect his cultivation, and it would increase ordingly when he obtained his soul ring. This was said to be confirmed by one of Shrek Academy¡¯s founders, a teacher known by the title of Grandmaster. This Grandmaster¡¯s research on the 10 corepetitive powers in the world of soul masters also yed a huge role in erecting Shrek Academy¡¯s foundation as the continent¡¯s top academy.

    As they were cultivating in the middle of night, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyelids started to twitch. He opened his eyes quickly. When he opened his eyes, a golden light shone in the small tent.

    The Haodong Power also dispersed quickly and turned back into their soul powers. Wang Dong opened his eyes too.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong was a little puzzled as he looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao said in a deep voice, ¡°We havepany. I¡¯ll go and take a look. Wake Xiao Xiao up. This bunch of people should be going to Star Dou Forest.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

 Chapter 143: Entering the Star Dou Forests Hybrid Region

    Volume 16, Chapter 143.1: Entering the Star Dou Forest''s Hybrid Region

    The two of them exited the tent at the same time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were sparkling golden, and his Spirit Eyes¡¯ two soul rings rose up from beneath his feat, projecting his Spiritual Detection towards a certain direction. He could detect more than six hundred meters in a single direction, and his detections were highly urate.

    Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong darted out from the tent. The campfire was lit in between both tents, and it shielded them from the coldness of the night. The mes shone on their faces and flickered with a pale red luster.

    Huo Yuhao reported his findings softly, ¡°Eight people ¨C six males and two females. I can¡¯t figure out one male¡¯s cultivation level, and I think he has at least seven rings. There¡¯s a Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings amongst the other five. The two females have about three soul rings each, about the same as us. They¡¯re walking towards us right now.¡±

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°Shall we hide?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No need. They¡¯re definitely noting here for us, and they¡¯ll be here very soon. The tents and the campfire tracks cannot be erased so quickly, and we¡¯ll raise suspicion instead. We just have to be natural and wait for them toe. I think they¡¯re probably here to hunt soul beats, just like we are.¡±

    Voices could already be heard while they were discussing.

    ¡°Eh, there¡¯s a fire here.¡±

    A silhouette appeared before Huo Yuhao and the others before the voice arrived. It was a tall and skinny man, and he was so scrawny that he resembled a bamboo stick. However, he moved with astonishing speed and his gazended on Huo Yuhao and the others beside the campfire the moment he appeared. Huo Yuhao and the others stared at him as if they had been startled.

    There was no doubt that this tall and skinny man was an agility-type soul master. He took the lead and scouted the path ahead, and he rxed the moment he realized that Huo Yuhao and the others were children, barely over ten years old. He raised one hand, and a beam of yellow light sparkled in the center of his palm. This light beam surged about five meters into the sky before it transformed into a yellow circle of light that permeated outwards.

    Huo Yuhao and the others sprang to their feet. They could tell from the other party¡¯s movements that he was highly disciplined, and it was apparent that this wasn¡¯t a normal team.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked warily but didn¡¯t step forward.

    The skinny man smiled faintly and replied, ¡°We¡¯re just passing by. We saw your campfire, so we came to take a look. What about you? Who are you guys?¡±

    There was a smile on his face, but his smile was tinged with arrogance.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°We are here in the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts to collect soul rings.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re here by yourself to hunt soul beats?¡± The scrawny man stared at the three of them suspiciously.

    Xiao Xiao grunted coldly and retorted, ¡°What? Is that not allowed?¡±

    The scrawny man chuckled and shook his head with amusement. There was a look of condescension and indifference on his face. Even though the night was dark and dusky, how could Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes not be able to see?

    Figure after figure appeared beside the skinny man at this moment. The lineup was just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s had detected ¨C there were six males and two females, including the skinny man.

    A middle-aged man that was about forty years old lowered his voice and said, ¡°What¡¯s the situation, Bei Tang?¡±

    The skinny man replied respectfully, ¡°Big brother ¨C there are three young fes that they im that they¡¯re in the Great Star Dou Forest to obtain soul rings. They don¡¯t have any seniors following them. I¡¯ve checked the surroundings, and only the three of them are here. Two males and one female, and they don¡¯t even look like they¡¯re fifteen years old.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The middle-aged man turned towards Huo Yuhao and the others while Huo Yuhao and the others were also scrutinizing the people before them.

    It was apparent that this middle-aged man was the leader, and he was also the seven-ringed Soul Sage that Huo Yuhao had identified earlier. His soul power was so exuberant that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t judge his cultivation urately.

    Besides this middle-aged man, the other males were all normal-looking people with average builds, and the kind of look that wouldn¡¯t be easily recognized in a crowd. Of course, their cultivations weren¡¯t normal at all ¨C their standards were enough to support a mid-level sect.

    The two girls in the party attracted Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention. They were both wearing warrior robes, and one of them had flowing green hair draped behind her. This girl was enchantingly beautiful, almost at Jiang Nannan¡¯s level. She looked extremely tender, and her pretty eyes moved like flowing water; one could feel her faint gentleness even from afar. She looked like she was around fifteen or sixteen years old ¨C this was the age when girls were full of adolescence. Her yellow warrior robe was extremely riveting even in the deepest darkness of night. It was slightly bigger than her frame and enveloped her figure nicely, but it wasn¡¯t all that visible.

    The other girl beside her looked around the same age. However, she was a little taller, and her expression was ice-cold. Her long ck hair wasbed neatly and tied into a ponytail, while her white warrior robe was a little more fitting and her long legs were especially alluring. She was so tall that she was almost as tall as Huo Yuhao, who was over one meter and seventy centimeters tall. This girl wasn¡¯t as good-looking as the other one, but her aura felt more elegant and dignified. These two girls stood next to each other, and the two of them were equally brilliant and attractive in their own ways.

    ¡°My three little friends ¨C pleasee here for a moment.¡± The middle-aged man waved at Huo Yuhao and the others.

    Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong nodded immediately. Xiao Xiao wanted to follow, but she held back when even Wang Dong decided to stay behind.

    Huo Yuhao stepped forward quickly and came before the row of people before them. He was neither obsequious nor supercilious as he said, ¡°What do you need?¡±

    The middle-aged man scrutinized Huo Yuhao for a moment and said, ¡°Little man, you guys are inside the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes were piercing, and carried traces of obscurity. It felt as if he was locked onto Huo Yuhao, and couldunch an attack at any moment. However, Huo Yuhao was calm and unperturbed as he stood before him and wasn¡¯t on guard at all.

    The middle-aged man smiled and said, ¡°My name is Mo Feiyun, and these are myrades. We are heading into the Great Star Dou Forest as well. We traveled throughout the night, and it seems like we¡¯re almost there, but everyone is a little exhausted. We can see that you have a campfire started here ¨C I wonder if you can share it with us and let us rest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao agreed heartily, ¡°Alright.¡± He understood that speaking too much could mess things up. This group of people actually appeared travel-worn, and it was clear that they had been traveling for a long time. This middle-aged man who imed to be Mo Feiyun was a little wary of him, but Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t feel much hostility. His spiritual power was superior to most others, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment of emotions was usually extremely urate. His Spiritual Detection had been activated this whole time, but it was being handled with immense subtlety and ingenuity, and even powerful Soul Sages wouldn¡¯t realize even if the Soul Sage used their soul power to survey their surroundings. The people before them didn¡¯t reveal any intentions of making a move against them.

    The two young girls looked Huo Yuhao up and down. The yellow-cloaked girl smiled at him, while the girl d in white nced at him coldly ¨C there was a clear distinction in their personalities.

    Huo Yuhao guided the entire group to the campfire, and two people quickly set up tents, which were muchrgerpared to their own. The tent closest to the campfire was a rtively smaller ck tent, which was apparently made from cowhide. These two people swiftly set up two rtivelyrger tents with their agile hands and feet afterwards.

    Mo Feiyun and a few others sat down beside the campfire. It was obvious that their eyes paused on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao for a longer period of timepared to Huo Yuhao. This was especially so for Wang Dong; he attracted everyone¡¯s attention after they arrived at the campfire.

    His short hair was powdery blue, his eyes were the same color, and he exuded a dense light aura. Wang Dong was extremely handsome, and he appeared full of youthful energy. In terms of looks, the yellow-robed and white-robed girls lost their radiance beside him.

    The yellow-robed girl was evidently a little taken aback, and her pretty face flushed a little when she nced at Wang Dong. The white-robed girl¡¯s cold face appeared slightly surprised as well, and her eyes paused on Wang Dong for a long moment before she turned away.

    Huo Yuhao and the others sat on the other side of the campfire. The three of them said nothing at all, and just silently warmed themselves next to the fire. Returning to their cultivation wasn¡¯t a good idea with these people around, especially when all of them were incredibly powerful.

    Mo Feiyun seemed the most affable. He smiled and said, ¡°My three little friends ¨C how may I address you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°My name is Yuhao, and this is Xiao Dong and Xiao Xiao.¡± He didn¡¯t reveal both his and Wang Dong¡¯s full name, but Xiao Xiao¡¯s name couldn¡¯t really be masked with a nickname, so he just said it.

    Mo Feiyun said, ¡°You guys are still young, but your soul power is quite strong. However, venturing into the Great Star Dou Forest isn¡¯t really a good idea. Have you been inside before?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°We¡¯ve roamed around in the outer regions. Thank you for reminding us ¨C we won¡¯t venture too deep inside the Great Star Dou Forest. We will leave once we find suitable soul beasts for ourselves.¡±

    Mo Feiyun continued to ask, ¡°Where are you guys from? Are you guys from a sect or an academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°We are from the Star Luo Empire, and we are members of the Star Luo National Academy.¡± He wouldn¡¯t have been able to name another academy before his participation in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. However, he knew a lot more names now. He himself was from the Star Luo Empire, so his ent was natural, and thus using the Star Luo National Academy to hide their true identities was the most appropriate. He had also be familiar with the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s standards during his battle against their official team, which was led by Princess Jiu Jiu. Furthermore, part of the Great Star Dou Forest was located inside the Star Luo Empire anyway.

    Volume 16, Chapter 143.2: Entering the Star Dou Forest''s Hybrid Region

    Mo Feiyun and the others reacted in shock when they heard ¡°Star Luo National Academy¡±. Star Luo National Academy was rtively reputable in the continent, and they were one of the elites within the Star Luo Empire. They ended up in the final four during the recent Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Academy.

    ¡°So you guys are the gifted kids from the Star Luo National Academy ¨C no wonder you guys dare to venture into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts by yourselves.¡± Mo Feiyun¡¯s tone sounded a little more careful, and the air of arrogance around the others receded slightly. It was apparent that the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s name was extremely handy.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°How about you guys, Uncle Mo? Are you guys hunting soul beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest as well?¡±

    Mo Feiyun nodded and answered, ¡°Some of us have reached a bottleneck, and we are just trying our luck inside the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    The other tents had been properly set up while they spoke. Mo Feiyun ate something light and chatted idly with Huo Yuhao and the others before he went into his tent to rest.

    Mo Feiyun introduced the people beside him while they were talking. The skinny man was called Bei Tang, the yellow-robed girl was named Wei Na, and the white-robed girl was called Mu Xue. However, Mo Feiyun didn¡¯t reveal much about their backgrounds. He made an agreement with Huo Yuhao that they would travel together into the Great Star Dou Forest, and he was willing to take care of them for a while in exchange for their campfire.

    Huo Yuhao could tell that Mo Feiyun developed such ideas only after he found out that they were from the Star Luo National Academy, and they lowered their guard quite a bit as well.

    Mo Feiyun and the other males entered the tworge tents respectively, while Wei Na and Mu Xue walked inside the cowhide tent near the campfire. Judging by their allocations and positions, these two girls¡¯ statuses weren¡¯t simple.

    Huo Yuhao and the others returned to their own tents, but Mo Feiyun quietly left his own tent and came before Wei Na and Mu Xue¡¯s tent. He whispered, ¡°May I enter, mydy?¡±

    ¡°Come in.¡± Mu Xue was the one who spoke.

    Mo Feiyun bent down and entered the girls¡¯ tent. However, he sat down cross-legged at the tent¡¯s entrance and didn¡¯t proceed any deeper.

    ¡°Can you tell where these three fes are from, Master Mo?¡± Mu Xue asked inly. Wei Na was sitting by her side, and there was a faint smile on her face from the beginning to the end, but she said nothing. However, judging from the position of her mattresspared to Mu Xue, her status wasparable to Mu Xue¡¯s.

    Mo Feiyun¡¯s body began to sparkle with ayer of white light that enveloped the entire tent, blocking out his voice.

    ¡°These three kids are young, but their appearance and qualities are not ordinary, yet they are not that simr. It¡¯s obvious that they don¡¯te from the same sect. They should be between Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder judging by their auras. It¡¯s highly believable that they¡¯re from the Star Luo National Academy at their age. However, I think we should take them with us for safety purposes so that we can avoid any idents or unforeseen circumstances. If everything is alright with them, lending them a hand isn¡¯t much trouble.¡±

    Mu Xue tilted her head downwards slightly and said, ¡°Then you decide, Master Mo.¡±

    ¡°Master Mo, which one of them do you think deserves the most attention?¡± Wei Na suddenly opened her mouth. Her voice was incredibly enchanting, and sounded like music to the ear.

    Mo Feiyun answered, ¡°Your Highness, I think the youth called Yuhao deserves the most attention. I have noticed from the expressions they give each other that the Xiao Xiao girl trusts and admires Yuhao, while the good-looking Xiao Dong has good chemistry with him. The two of them didn¡¯t exchange nces much, and they seemed to understand each other with a single twinkle in their eyes. This Yuhao can lead this trio, so he¡¯s definitely not simple. Furthermore, my judgment of his abilities is also murky. He hasn¡¯t seemed to reach Soul Elder yet, judging by his soul power fluctuations, so the other two are better. However, he¡¯s overflowing with life energy, at a level higher than even grown-ups.¡±

    Mu Xue tilted her head again and said, ¡°Go back and rest, Master Mo. We just have to pay more attention to them tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yes, mydy, your Highness. I will take my leave now.¡± Mo Feiyun retreated outside the tent, and theyer of white mist was immediately withdrawn and dissipated.

    ¡°Xiao Dong is really good-looking, sister!¡± Wei Na giggled once Mo Feiyun left the tent.

    Mu Xue¡¯s pretty face revealed a faint smile. ¡°What? Have you fallen for him?¡±

    Wei Na pressed her rosy lips together. ¡°No way. I¡¯m just helping you out.¡±

    Mu Xue shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t like boys that are younger than me. Master Mo is right ¨C Yuhao is extremely sophisticated. I don¡¯t know why, but I keep feeling a wave of goosebumps whenever I¡¯m near him, and my martial soul also fluctuates conspicuously. It feels as if there¡¯s something about his aura that can restrain and counter my martial soul.¡±

    Wei Na asked, ¡°Does he have a fire-type martial soul?¡±

    Mu Xue shook her head once more and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it. We will know once we enter the Great Star Dou Forest. The three of them must have some tricks up their sleeve since they dare toe in by themselves. We should rest early ¨C we have to collect our soul rings inside the Great Star Dou Forest tomorrow, so hopefully our luck will be good. If we don¡¯t find anything suitable here, we¡¯ll have to travel to the northern side. The northern side is a lot more dangerous and perilous.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to bed. Can I hug you to sleep, sister Xue?¡±

    ¡°Cut it out¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were discussing in their own tent as well, except Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power blocked off their voices.

    ¡°Yuhao ¨C will there be any problems if we travel with them into the forest?¡± Wang Dong was a little anxious.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°What are you worried about? I can tell that these people are from some sect, and the two girls are likely the ones that are here to collect soul rings, while the others are their servants. We can save a lot of effort by following them inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and we can probably venture deeper as well. Even if they are hostile towards us, they will have to face Elder Xuan first.¡±

    Wang Dong was confused. ¡°Are you interested in one of the girls?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a face of exasperation. ¡°We¡¯re still children. Can you not speak like a grown-up? Plus, will a girl be interested in me with you around?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know,¡± Wang Dong said with an air of arrogance,

    Huo Yuhao was immediately rendered speechless.

    Nothing else happened that night. Huo Yuhao and the others got up early to pack up their tents the next day, and Huo Yuhao cultivated the Purple Demon Eyes while facing the rising sun. Mo Feiyun came out of his tent when the three of them were starting on their breakfast.

    ¡°You guys are up early!¡± Mo Feiyun greeted Huo Yuhao first.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Dawn is just breaking, Uncle Mo. You guys aren¡¯t consideredte.¡±

    Mo Feiyun asked, ¡°Who is collecting soul rings amongst the three of you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had no intention to hide anything and replied, ¡°It¡¯s me. My soul power has reached Rank 30, and I need an appropriate soul ring to break through and be a Soul Elder. My two friends are here to apany me.¡±

    Mo Feiyun was full of awe and amazement. ¡°Bing a Soul Elder at such a young age ¨C impressive!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled in response, but said nothing more.

    Mo Feiyun and the others moved swiftly, and it wasn¡¯t long before they packed everything up and finished breakfast. Wei Na and Mu Xue were still dressed like they were yesterday, and the ten of them got on their way.

    The others in their group rarely said anything, besides Mo Feiyun. The two girls asionally chattered between themselves, and didn¡¯t pay much attention to Huo Yuhao and his friends.

    Mo Feiyun took point throughout the entire process. The other five men formed an arc, while the two young girls, Huo Yuhao and his friends walked in the middle.

    Huo Yuhao had a good feeling about Mo Feiyun and his group. They hadn¡¯t inquired about Huo Yuhao and the others¡¯ martial souls or soul skills, or other simrly sensitive topics. Even though asking them to tag along contained elements of wariness and vignce, they hadn¡¯t made Huo Yuhao and friends to walk in front to scout the path. It was apparent that they didn¡¯t harbor evil intentions.

    Thepany arrived at the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s borders when the sky was alreadypletely bright. Mo Feiyun stopped and turned around. ¡°We will enter the forest soon. Just a gentle reminder ¨C everyone has to remain alert and vignt, as anything can happen inside the Great Star Dou Forest. There could even be ten thousand year soul beasts in the forest¡¯s outer regions, and soul beasts have all sorts of abilities, to the point where we might not be able to rescue you in time. So, everyone has to be especially careful. I will continue taking pointter. Yuhao, the three of you will follow behind me and prepare to reinforce me. This includes Wei Na and Mu Xue. The rest of you will sweep out and protect the nks.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The other five men answered in unison.

    Huo Yuhao paid the most attention to a short and stocky man, besides Bei Tang who they had met earlier. He stood in the center at the back, and he was the most powerful individual besides Mo Feiyun, as he was a Soul Emperor. His name was Chou Xiangdong.

    Huo Yuhao and his friends had no objections to this arrangement. The Soul Sage was clearing the path for them, and this meant there wasn¡¯t much pressure on them anymore.

    Mo Feiyun made a feel more arrangements before he immediately turned and walked into the Great Star Dou Forest. One could tell from his movements that he had absolute faith in hisrades.

    Huo Yuhao and the others didn¡¯t dy either. Huo Yuhao walked in front, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao took one side each, and the three of them followed closely behind Mo Feiyun and entered the great forest.

    ¡°Eh, that is¡­¡± Wang Dong eximed in shock. This was because he suddenly realized that Mo Feiyun¡¯s body began to emanate a dense mist, and this mist enveloped his entire body within while it permeated quickly to the point where they couldn¡¯t see him anymore.

    Volume 16, Chapter 143.3: Entering the Star Dou Forest''s Hybrid Region

    ¡°Master Mo¡¯s martial soul is Cloud. He¡¯s using his own powers to scout and protect everyone.¡± Wei Na¡¯s charming voice rang out.

    Wang Dong nced at her, and she shed a smile back at him. Her tender smile was extremely charming, but it was clear that her beautiful smile didn¡¯t find the right target. Wang Dong nodded at her before he turned back without a trace of expression on his face.

    Mu Xue glimpsed at Wei Na, and amusement flowed from her eyes, while a look of annoyance shed across Wei Na¡¯s soft eyes.

    The mist was pervasive, but didn¡¯t impede Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao could feel from Mo Feiyun¡¯s martial soul that he had exactly seven soul rings ¨C two yellow, three purple and two ck. Even though it wasn¡¯t the optimalbination of soul rings, it was considered rtively formidable.

    Cloud? This was a martial soul that was seldom seen, and should be considered a tool soul. Huo Yuhao just wasn¡¯t sure whether he was an assault-type or control-type soul master.

    The cloudy mists in front of them gradually expanded and permeated their surroundings like threads. The cloudy mist didn¡¯t look like it contained any power at all, but expanded incredibly far into the distance while it drifted through the air, and quickly reached out beyond the effective range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao faintly understood that this soul skill was simr in functionality to his Spiritual Detection. Mo Feiyun would have certain judgments about anything that the cloudy mist touched, ording to the situation. Even though it wasn¡¯t as urate as his Spiritual Detection, Mo Feiyun¡¯s cultivation allowed him to scout and cover an area that was farrger than his own area of effect. It was no wonder that he didn¡¯t pay much attention to hisrades¡¯ formation after entering the Great Star Dou Forest by himself, and neither did he really give any instructions. Huo Yuhao was surprised when he realized that Mo Feiyun¡¯s soul ring didn¡¯t light up when he released the cloudy mist into the sky. This meant that the cloudy mist was his martial soul¡¯s innate skill, and not a soul skill. Having its own innate abilities implied that his martial soul was of extremely high quality.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The cloudy mist gradually dissipated, and Mo Feiyun¡¯s voice could be heard from in front of them. The mist surrounding his body was still there, and his figure was still obscure and blurry.

    They entered the Great Star Dou Forest once again. Huo Yuhao and his friends quickly felt an unprecedented unwinding feeling, as if they didn¡¯t have to do anything much at all, and all they had to do was follow the trail.

    Mo Feiyun constantly changed their course as they traveled, and he was a lot faster than the three of them exploring the forest by themselves. They didn¡¯t run into any soul beast ambushes, and not even thirty minutes had passed before they were more than ten kilometers into the Great Star Dou Forest ¨C Mo Feiyun didn¡¯t even look like he intended to slow down.

    The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s shape wasn¡¯t regr. The widest areas was more than two hundred kilometers across, and its surface area was more than a hundred thousand square kilometers. It lived up to its reputation as the Great Star Dou Forest, and it wasrger than some countries¡¯ provinces. Furthermore, even Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t dare to walk right through its center.

    The world of soul masters¡¯ perennial adventures enabled them to divide the Great Star Dou Forest into separate regions ording to the strength of the soul beasts that appeared in the vicinity. The outermost twenty kilometers were called the Peripheral Region, and only ten year, hundred year, and thousand year soul beasts roamed this area. Ten thousand year soul beasts were asionally seen, but they were rare. The next region was called the Hybrid Region, and it upied forty percent of thergest radius, which was one hundred kilometers. The greatest number of soul beast species were found here, and they had the highest cultivation levels. This was the resting ce of hundred year, thousand year and ten thousand year soul beasts. Hundred year soul beasts had to move around in herds if they wanted to stay in this area.

    The innermost forty kilometers, which was about eighty kilometers in diameter, was known as the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region. This Region was vast, and the number of soul beasts that lived here was far fewer than inside the Hybrid Region because only incredibly powerful soul beasts inhabited this area. Hundred year soul beasts were almost never seen in this region, and even thousand year soul beasts were few and far between. Ten thousand year soul beasts were the zone¡¯s main inhabitants, followed by the asional frightening hundred thousand year soul beast. ording to the soul masters¡¯ research, soul beasts that could have their own territory inside this area had to be at least thirty thousand years old.

    The ten kilometer-wide region in the very center of this eighty-kilometer zone was known as the ughtering Grounds, and it was also called the Forbidden Grounds. Undetailed maps of the Great Star Dou Forest always colored this region with blood-red colors. Legend had it that petrifyingly fearsome beasts resided there, and their existences were even more terrifying than the soul beasts in the core regions of the Extreme North ¨C it was a region that even Transcendent Douluo had to be extremely careful in.

    Huo Yuhao could tell from Mo Feiyun¡¯s traveling speed that his target wasn¡¯t the twenty outermost kilometers of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Peripheral Region. He was a Soul Sage, and could very well enter the outer regions of the Core Region if he wasn¡¯t taking so many people with him. It wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to ensure everyone¡¯s safety inside the Hybrid Region, and the species, quality and number of soul beasts that lived inside the Hybrid Region was far superior to the Peripheral Region.

    Huo Yuhao and his friends didn¡¯t even dare to enter the Peripheral Region, let alone the Hybrid Region. No matter how talented they were, they were still Soul Elders, after all. They could possibly hold their own in one battle, but there were innumerable soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest! They wouldn¡¯t have a chance to retreat if someone was severely injured. This was one of the most important reasons why Huo Yuhao refused to venture too deep inside. Without Mo Feiyun and his group, he would probably continue on with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao for about five to ten kilometers, but he would never take the risk of entering the Hybrid Region.

    Thepany pressed on and made another five kilometers before Mo Feiyun started to slow down, and he stayed a little closer to Huo Yuhao and the others behind him.

    ¡°The outer regions of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Hybrid Region are right in front of us, so everyone should be more careful. We have to avoid angering certain sensitive soul beasts, and I will reduce the area covered by my clouds. This will reduce their intimidation as well, so everyone should be ready for battle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was once again astonished by the discipline from Mo Feiyun¡¯spany. Their formation quickly became morepact after Mo Feiyun¡¯s reminder, but there was at least three meters between each of them so that they wouldn¡¯t hinder each other.

    Wei Na and Mu Xue had been observing Huo Yuhao and his friends along the way, especially when they were hurrying along in the forest and when they were met with threats from soul beasts. Huo Yuhao maintained a steady pace behind Mo Feiyun, and he didn¡¯t disy a single trace of exhaustion. His body was nimble and agile, and his movements were crisp and decisive. Huo Yuhao was the vanguard, while Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong were positioned slightly behind him, and the three of them lined up like a horn. They could tell from Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s asional nces at Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements that Huo Yuhao was actually their leader.

    Mo Feiyun¡¯s reminder swiftly became reality. Thepany proceeded forward, and not much time passed before Mo Feiyun suddenly retreated as quickly as he could. A series of chirping sounds could be heard, and a chain of shadows appeared in front of them. These shadows moved at breakneck speed and surged through the trees. They seemed extremely organized as they dangled through the treetops, and surrounded the ten of them in no time at all.

    ¡°Be careful, everyone. They¡¯re Scarletfire Monkeys. They¡¯re extremely aggressive.¡± Mo Feiyun remarked to everyone as he shifted backwards and stood in front of Huo Yuhao and the others.

    Scarletfire Monkeys? Huo Yuhao observed the soul beasts in the trees around them while a memory surfaced in his mind ¨C it was a fire-type soul beast that liked to live in groups was extremely irritable and short-tempered, hostile, and held grudges. They were agility-type soul beasts that were adept with long-range attacks, and they were incredibly challenging to handle.

    The Scarletfire Monkeys all looked simr, except there were differences in their sizes. The biggest one was about two meters tall, taller than most grown-up humans, while the smallest one was not more than two feet in height. Their fiery-red fur was conspicuous inside the forest, and the two lengthy fangs protruding from their lips showed their carnivorous nature. There were about thirty to forty monkeys in this group, and every single one started to chirp incessantly once they surrounded everyone, as if they wanted to intimidate thepany.

    The burliest and most majestic Scarletfire Monkey on a tree crown in the distance hammered its chest, and specks of me flickered from its fiery-red fur. It leapt into the air like a lightning bolt, andunched an enormous fireball that was at least one meter in diameter at the same time.

    Soul beasts were unlike humans, and the only difference they could tell was between things they could eat and things they couldn¡¯t. This Scarletfire Monkey wasn¡¯t a ten thousand year soul beast yet, as its fur wasn¡¯tpletely golden-red, but it had at least five thousand years of cultivation. Their strength as a herd allowed them to inhabit the Hybrid Region¡¯s outer regions.

    The other Scarletfire Monkeys leapt from their trees as their monkey kingunched its attack. Apanied by their immense speed, sphere after sphere of fire descended from the sky like a meteor shower as they fired on the entirepany.

    Mo Feiyun grunted coldly, and thick mist energy expanded outwards. Uncountable missiles condensed from air shot out in all directions in the next moment, and immediately dispelled most of the fireballs raining down from the sky. The sphere of mist in front of him subsequently materialized into the shape of a hand, and he grabbed the Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s enormous fireball.

    The enormous fireball burned violently and swiftly ate away at the mist energy. However, the giant hand formed by the mist energy swiftly closed up, and the fireball was shattered into pieces. Sparks flew in all directions as they dissipated in the air.

    Nobody knew if Mo Feiyun did it on purpose, but when he was dispelling most of the Scarletfire Monkeys¡¯ attacks, a single fireball broke through his defenses ¨C and this fireball was going straight for Huo Yuhao and his friends.

    A vibrant pair of blue wings extended in midair. The blue hues were as pure as the sky, and their color immediately became the center of attention. Golden light patterns glimmered, and this slim figure flickered faintly while des of light shimmered from the wings. The descending fireball was shed in two, and flew away into the distance.

 Chapter 144: The Most Suitable Soul Beast for Huo Yuhao!

    Wang Dong was already extremely handsome. He set off the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings, and even the cold and arrogant Mu Xue was dazed momentarily, while Wei Na¡¯s charming eyes sparkled.

    Soul Masters¡¯ martial souls had many different kinds of attributes, but those that could be described as ¡°beautiful¡± were few and far between, especially so for beast souls. Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess had a seamlessbination of blue and gold, and how could its grandeur and elegance not be riveting? Mo Feiyun andpany didn¡¯t even recognize his martial soul.

    The Scarletfire Monkey¡¯s assault wasn¡¯t about to stop because of Wang Dong¡¯s dazzling charm, and a second fireball followed closely behind the first one. The Scarletfire Monkey king also seemed to realize that Mo Feiyun wasn¡¯t an easy opponent, and it quickly disappeared into the forest. Fireballs of all sizes were fired continuously in between the Scarletfire Monkeys¡¯ shifting shadows.

    Mo Feiyun and hispany¡¯s overall strength was immediately unleashed. Nobody panicked, and everybody released their martial souls to defend themselves.

    Four of them attracted more of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention. The agility-type Soul King, Bei Tang, had a bamboo pole for his martial soul. The bamboo pole was thirty feet long, and its entire body was shiny purple. Its length was mutable, and it waltzed through the air, whipping at fireball after fireball. These fireballs detonated when they were struck, or they were sent flying away in another direction.

    Then there was Chou Xiangdong, who was anchoring the formation in the center at the back. His martial soul was unique as well ¨C it was a pir that was thick like a water bucket, and was about twelve feet long. The pir had a smooth surface, emanated pale golden hues, and had a strong metallic quality. He didn¡¯t seem to do anything much, but the pir would always appear where it was needed, and the fireballs cracking against it couldn¡¯t knock it down at all.

    What fascinated Huo Yuhao the most was Mu Xue. Even though her cultivation couldn¡¯tpare to the Soul Kings, Soul Emperors and the Soul Sages around her, Huo Yuhao felt extremely close and intimate with her martial soul. Even her soul skills were incredibly powerful.

    Mu Xue¡¯s flowing ck hair turned white as she released her martial soul, and the chilly sensation in her eyes multiplied. She raised her arms into the air, and her two yellow and one purple soul ring rose into the sky. Innumerable snowkes were hurled out as her first soul ring sparkled, and they permeated the sky, causing the temperature to plummet.

    Yes, her martial soul was Snow. The fireballs that flew through her flurry of snowkes were weakened by varying degrees, and the dense cold air dispelled the scorching heat that the Scarletfire Monkeys brought about. What was more amazing was that these snowkes seemed to have eyes as they drifted towards the Scarletfire Monkeys within the forest. Any Scarletfire Monkey that the snowkes touched became conspicuously slower.

    Mu Xue¡¯s martial soul wasn¡¯t just Snow ¨C it was snow with elements of control. Even though she had only released her first soul skill, she managed to considerably reduce the pressure on everyone.

    Mo Feiyun wasn¡¯t hasty about attacking the Scarletfire Monkeys surging in between the trees. He stood guard in front of everyone while he monitored hisrades¡¯ battle situations. Soul beasts¡¯ instincts were sharp, so the number of Scarletfire Monkeys in front of everyone was the fewest because of Mo Feiyun¡¯s position. This meant that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao felt the least pressure, and only Wang Dong had to sh away a fireball using his Guillotine Wings ¨C both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao hadn¡¯t even revealed their martial souls yet. Wang Dong¡¯s yellow and two purple soul rings surprised Mo Feiyun. His second soul ring was a thousand year soul ring; this wasn¡¯t something that even elite academies could have easily nurtured.

    They passively defended themselves against the Scarletfire Monkeys¡¯ onught, and everyone figured out this pack¡¯s overall strength. Mo Feiyun¡¯s cloudy mist constantly transformed in the sky, and the Scarletfire Monkeys directly facing everyone couldn¡¯t break through at all. Instead, they were repeatedly attacked by the air missiles that the cloudy mist constantly formed, and it didn¡¯t take long for over a dozen Scarletfire Monkeys to die at Mo Feiyun¡¯s hands.

    Huo Yuhao looked on indifferently. With his understanding of high-level soul masters, he could immediately tell that this Soul Sage hadn¡¯t given his all, and he had his own reservations.

    Wei Na appeared extremely idle beside Mu Xue. She didn¡¯t release her martial soul, and she was just watching the glittering pair of wings behind Wang Dong.

    A piercing howl rang out at this moment, and a fiery-red silhouette suddenly pounced from the nk. At the same time, arge nket of fireballs wasunched from all directions and suppressed everyone.

    The Scarletfire Monkey king hidden in the forest couldn¡¯t hold back any longer, and a series of three fireballs over a meter in diameter bombarded an agility-type Soul King on the nk and continuously pushed him back ¨C a crack finally appeared in the formation. The Scarletfire Monkey was unbelievably fast, and it darted past that Soul King as it extended its sharp ws and lunged straight for Wei Na.

    Mo Feiyun reacted the moment this Scarletfire Monkey made its move. He raised his right hand, and a cloud sphere transformed into a fist before it banged against the Scarletfire Monkey king.

    A golden-red shadow sprung forward right at this moment and crashed against the cloud sphere. The cloudy mist crumbled and dissipated, and the golden-red shadow arrived before Mo Feiyun.

    He was taken by surprise, and even a powerful Soul Sage such as Mo Feiyun was momentarily bewildered. He never expected that there was such a mighty presence hidden amongst this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys. The white clouds around his body dimmed and transformed into a shield before him.

    ¡°Boom¨C¡± The clouds dissolved once more, and Mo Feiyun was immediately thrown into the sky.

    The Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s sharp ws appeared before Wei Na at the same time.

    Everything happened too quickly. Nobody expected that there was such a formidable being within the pack, and neither did they anticipate that this monkey would employ such insidious battle tactics. That powerful Scarletfire Monkey had escaped even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Mu Xue was the closest to Wei Na. However, Mu Xue was on the other side, and she only had three soul rings. She was no match for the five thousand year Scarletfire Monkey king, especially so when everything happened in the blink of an eye.

    The other Soul Kings and Soul Emperors had too much faith in Mo Feiyun¡¯s abilities, and they were toote with their reinforcements. Wei Na was about to be struck, and she didn¡¯t seem like she had any intention of defending herself.

    A dull golden radiance suddenly sparkled before Wei Na, and a giant cauldron that was over a meter wide appeared between her and the Scarletfire Monkey king. The enormous cauldron expanded in an instant, and the dense golden radiance erupted against the Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s body while it pushed Wei Na away at the same time.

    One couldn¡¯t underestimate such a simple hindrance. A single second of resistance was enough to change the entire situation in life and death circumstances.

    The Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s stinging ws scratched against the Threelives Soulcruch Cauldron, and the shrill sounds of nging metal could be heard. However, the monkey couldn¡¯t do anything to it. The monkey¡¯s offensive abilities couldn¡¯tpare to the cauldron formed by the soul ring taken from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear.

    Mu Xue seemed a lot moreposed than Wei Na. She dragged Wei Na away from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron as her third soul ring immediately lit up, and a white circle of light appeared beneath the Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s feet. Snow danced through the air with the monkey¡¯s body at the center of everything, and eventually congregated into a tornado that was over three meters tall. The Scarletfire Monkey was temporarily trapped within the waltzing snowkes.

    What a formidable control-type soul skill! Huo Yuhao was mildly astonished. He could feel with his Spiritual Detection that Mu Xue¡¯s soul skill had been cast instantly. If her target on solid ground, it would have no chance of evading it. This kind of ability was known as Forced Control amongst control-type soul skills, and taking it head-on was the only way of dealing with it.

    mes erupted from the Scarletfire Monkey¡¯s body. Its cultivation was far higher than Mu Xue¡¯s, and her Snowdragon Tornado couldn¡¯t hold it for too long. However, these few moments were enough to determine the Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s fate.

    The agility-type Soul King that was previously pushed away bounced back in an instant. A pair of small des shed and dashed as his fifth soul ring sparkled, and dozens of bloody wounds immediately appeared on the Scarletfire Monkey king¡¯s body.

    A purple shadow surged into the sky nearby, and the purple bamboo pole appeared like a drawn bow before it cracked down, leaving afterimages in its wake.

    ¡°Crunch¨C¡± The Scarletfire Monkey king copsed onto the ground, and everyone could hear the sounds of ligaments tearing and bones breaking.

    The purple shadow withdrew and returned to Bei Tang. The purple bamboo pole was almost sixty feet long previously, and two the Soul Kings worked together with the help of Mu Xue¡¯s forced control to finally eliminate this Scarletfire Monkey king.

    Mo Feiyun andpany were infuriated at this point. They continuously unleashed their various formidable soul skills, and the Scarletfire Monkeys were no longer leisurely surging through the trees ¨C many Scarletfire Monkeys were killed in an instant.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention shifted to the other side once the Scarletfire Monkey king was killed. The entity that tied down Mo Feiyun was also a Scarletfire Monkey ¨C no, it should be called a zefire Monkey.

    Its golden fur felt like it was burning with mes even if it didn¡¯t unleash any soul power. It was only about three feet tall, but its aura was far superior to the other Scarletfire Monkeys.

    Scarletfire Monkeys had a chance to shed their fur and be reborn after they reached ten thousand years of cultivation, and their fur would be golden-red ¨C they were known as zefire Monkeys. That implied that this zefire Monkey that was holding Mo Feiyun back was the Scarletfire Monkey¡¯s true leader. This was also the reason why they didn¡¯t retreat before such a formidable human presence. It was a pity that soul beasts were soul beasts after all, and even if they could employ certain battle strategies, they could neverpare to human intelligence. There was one price for underestimating one¡¯s enemies ¨C death!

    This zefire Monkey was getting worried as it watched its kinsmen being in all over the ce, but itsmitment to vengeance and settling its debts meant that there was no way it was going to withdraw. Mo Feiyun also appeared infuriated by the disaster that had almost urred, and he immediately unleashed his true power.

    The clouds changed from white to yellow, before they were tainted purple. Mo Feiyununched a myriad of attacks, and every strike was ten times stronger than the previous one.

    Even though the ten thousand year zefire Monkey was incredibly strong, Mo Fieyun suppressed it until it didn¡¯t have a chance at all. The purple clouds swiftly expanded and arrested the ten thousand year zefire Monkey within.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t extend his Spiritual Detection into the purple cloud mist. He had a subconscious feeling that the purple cloud mist would affect his own spiritual power. Even though it probably wouldn¡¯t have any toxic bacsh, he didn¡¯t want to reveal his own abilities.

    The purple cloud mist suddenly became ck. However, Huo Yuhao and his friends could acutely feel an immense pressure that resembled dark clouds looming over an entire city that could whittle it into dust. An agonizing cry could be heard from within the dark mass of clouds, and a golden-red me flickered once before it waspletely extinguished.

    The clouds dissipated, and Mo Feiyun walked out with a gloomy look on his face. He was holding the zefire Monkey¡¯s corpse in his right hand. The zefire Monkey was soft like a ragdoll, as if its skeleton had beenpletely crushed into pieces.

    Mo Feiyun arrived before Wei Na in a sh. Wei Na¡¯s face was pale from the trauma and he said, ¡°Your¡­ Wei Na, are you okay?¡±

    Wei Na patted herself on her supple chest. Her breathing was a little faster than normal and she replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Fortunately, the giant cauldron took a hit for me.¡±

    Mo Feiyun turned towards Huo Yuhao and the others. His gazended upon Xiao Xiao, and he said sincerely, ¡°Thank you for your timely aid, Xiao Xiao. If not, Wei Na would have been wounded by the Scarletfire Monkey even if she wasn¡¯t kidnapped. That was my fault - I was too careless. I didn¡¯t think this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys could have been so scheming and dangerous.¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled and said, ¡°We¡¯re all in the same boat. You don¡¯t have to be so polite, Uncle Mo.¡±

    Wei Na¡¯s emotions calmed down a little, and she hurried before Xiao Xiao and grasped her hands. ¡°Thank you, Xiao Xiao. Thank you for helping me just now.¡±

    Everybody quickly circled around. They looked at Huo Yuhao and his friends with warmer expressions than before, and even Mu Xue¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t appear so ice-cold.

    Wang Dong¡¯s withdrew his Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings, but he turned towards the zefire Monkey¡¯s body. Its golden-red fur glimmered with pale hues, and appeared unnaturally brilliant.

    ¡°Can you sell this zefire Monkey to me, Uncle Mo? The zefire Monkey¡¯s hide and fur are extremely rare and valuable. After it reaches over ten thousand years of cultivation, the rtionship between fire and light will be much clearer. My element is light, and it will be extremely beneficial for me if I can use its hide as a fur coat. Do name a price.¡±

    Mo Feiyun smiled and replied, ¡°What price? Didn¡¯t Xiao Xiao just mention that we are in this together? You guys saved Wei Na, so this zefire Monkey should be yours. I hope we can have even better chemistry in the future. Here, it¡¯s yours.¡± He tossed the zefire Monkey¡¯s corpse before Wang Dong as he spoke.

    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Mo.¡± Wang Dong grabbed the zefire Monkey without excessive formalities and put it away inside his storage-type soul tool.

    The zefire Monkey wasn¡¯t that big, so it wasn¡¯t enough to forge a fur coat or any kind of clothing. However, the zefire Monkey¡¯s element was extremely simr to his Golden Light Left Arm Bone, and wasplementary in its effects. It could be forged into an armguard.

    They returned to the trail, while Huo Yuhao and his friends changed positions. Their initial doubts and suspicions were a lot lower after Xiao Xiao¡¯s timely reinforcement. Furthermore, both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong had disyed extraordinary abilities as Soul Elders, so Mo Feiyun ended up arranging for them to travel with Wei Na and Mu Xue. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood in front, while the three girls walked behind them.

    ¡°What is your martial soul called, Xiao Xiao? It looks like an enormous cauldron, and it looks incredibly tough. The Scarletfire Monkey couldn¡¯t shake the cauldron one bit when it struck it, ¡°Wei Na asked inquisitively. She felt intimate with the person that had saved her life.

    Xiao Xiao answered, ¡°My martial soul is called the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It¡¯s mainly defensive, so it¡¯s natural for it to be tough.¡±

    ¡°What about them?¡± Wei Na lowered her voice and pointed at Wang Dong in front.

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°His martial soul¡­ I think you should just ask him yourself.¡±

    Wei Na pouted and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that. He¡¯s still young, but he looks like he doesn¡¯t like talking to strangers ¨C what a waste of good looks.¡±

    Xiao Xiao giggled and said, ¡°Are you interested in him, Wei Na?¡±

    Wei Na¡¯s pretty face flushed red, and she red at Xiao Xiao. ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    Thepany entered the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Hybrid Region, and everyone¡¯s speed was obviously slower than before. Mo Feiyun was a mighty Soul Sage, but even he had to be extra careful. Ten thousand year soul beasts could have vastly different standards ¨C he could handle a zefire Monkey below thirty thousand years, but he would find it challenging to deal with anything stronger than that. If they were faced with a top-tier soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, it would be cmitous for the entirepany even if it only had ten thousand years of cultivation.

    They also fought battles much more frequently. Fortunately, most of their encounters were with thousand year soul beasts, as they were barely over the Hybrid Region¡¯s borders. The rtively more intelligent soul beasts could feel the danger brought by thispany of humans, and they wouldn¡¯te near for no reason. Even so, the entirepany took more than an hour to travel ten kilometers while maintaining their heightened vignce. The day gradually proceeded into midday.

    Mo Feiyun found a vantage point with a rtively wide field of view, and ordered thepany to take a break.

    Everybody carried their own snacks and ate their respective shares while they rested. Nobody dared to light a fire inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and everyone started to meditate to restore their energy after eating.

    Mo Feiyun gathered everyone around after a little more than thirty minutes and said, ¡°There will be asional ten thousand year soul beasts appearing around this location. We cannot venture any deeper, so we will proceedterally to find suitable soul beasts. We will retreat from the Hybrid Region before evening, rest in its outer zones and continue our search tomorrow.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and his friends realized that Mo Feiyun and those with him had faith in their abilities and were about to spend the night inside the forest. This would undoubtedly increase their chances of finding appropriate soul beasts, but it would also raise the danger level exponentially.

    Mo Feiyun changed their direction after everybody was done resting. They didn¡¯t venture forward any longer, and started movingterally as he had just said. They traveled a lot slower than before, and he released his Cloud martial soul from time to time to search for suitable soul beasts.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wasn¡¯t idle either. Mo Feiyun was scouting for everyone, so there wasn¡¯t much pressure on him. He decided to concentrate his Spiritual Detection towards a single direction so that he could detect things at a much greater distance. He swept from left to right, and attempted to find a soul beast suitable for himself while avoiding Mo Feiyun¡¯s clouds as much as possible.

    Huo Yuhao discovered after repeated observation that Mo Feiyun¡¯s martial soul was vastly different from normal soul masters¡¯ martial souls. His soul rings amplified the clouds¡¯ strength, from white to yellow, then to purple, and finally to ck. Every amplification was different, and the clouds¡¯ ferocity was also different after materializing ¨C it was almost an exponential increase in power. The Cloud could be said to be all-in-one: crowd control, detection, and assault. No wonder hisrades had so much faith in him. Huo Yuhao was positive that Mo Feiyun had eliminated more than seventy percent of potential threats and dangers.

    ¡°Roar¨C!¡± A fearsome roar that resembled a tidal wave boomed in the distance. Mo Feiyun immediately stopped in his tracks and his expression changed drastically, before he turned around and ced his index finger to his lips.

    A shrill and piercing cry was heard after the ear-splitting roar. It wasn¡¯t as intimidating as the roar, but it was as piercing as it was, and wasn¡¯t masked by the fearsome roar at all.

    Mo Feiyun retreated before hisrades carefully and whispered, ¡°There appear to be two soul beasts locked in battle. Judging from the sounds, both entities are at least ten thousand years old, and could be even more than thirty thousand years old. We will go around ¨C hurry.¡± He turned around as he spoke and shifted towards the outer zone. He moved much more carefully than before, and the clouds he spread around him were reduced to a radius of about fifty meters.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s perception was incredibly sharp. Even though his hearing wasn¡¯t as good as his vision, he could faintly tell that the roar came from at least three kilometers away from where they were.

    ¡°Yuhao, get over there. A soul beast suitable for you has appeared.¡± Suddenly, the hibernating Skydream Iceworm spoke in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao felt a wave of excitement and said with look of surprise, ¡°That¡¯s a ten thousand year soul beast, brother Skydream. Do you actually think I can assimte a ten thousand year soul ring?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm grunted coldly and replied, ¡°Of course you can¡¯t. But, miracles can happen sometimes with me around. Do you really think sleeping is all I know how to do after fusing with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao actually wanted to ask, ¡°Is that not true?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm continued proudly, ¡°I have been investigating the different functionalities of spiritual power even in my sleep, and I think I have gained some knowledge recently. You can¡¯t assimte a ten thousand year soul ring. In fact, you¡¯re quite far off from being able to do so. However, your body has be extremely tough and resilient after being remade by Electrolux¡¯s Life Gold. Even ten thousand year soul rings can¡¯t immediately damage your body when you first attempt to absorb them. I can use spiritual power to lock part of the ten thousand year soul ring¡¯s power so that it will be suppressed into a thousand year soul ring for you to absorb its power. When you are powerful enough, you can gradually assimte the rest of its power. With your current cultivation speed, the refining from several soul bones, and in addition to the Life Gold¡¯s amplification, you will definitely be able to absorb ten thousand year soul rings when you have four. Of course ¨C the seal has its limits, so I can only help you seal a soul ring with roughly ten thousand years of soul power. Your own limits of absorption should be limited to around five to six thousand years, so that means your target of choice will be appropriate as long as it doesn¡¯t have over fifteen thousand years of cultivation. One of the two soul beasts locked in battle is suitable for you. You have to hurry up, this opportunity won¡¯t appear again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced out augh and said, ¡°Brother Skydream, do you really think I can defeat a ten thousand year soul beast? Let alone two of them? Even if Elder Xuan is here, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit suspicious? Also wouldn¡¯t the fact that I can absorb a ten thousand year soul ringpletely unscathed raise suspicion?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ that does sound like a problem.¡± The Skydream Iceworm was bing a little skeptical.

    ¡°What are you doing, Yuhao? Hurry up, let¡¯s go.¡± Mo Feiyun suddenly realized that Huo Yuhao had stopped walking, so he quickly roused him. His voice far more solemn than usual¡ªthis was the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Hybrid Region, a single moment of absent-mindedness could prove fatal.

    Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and said, ¡°You guys go ahead, Uncle Mo. I just felt a soul beast that¡¯s suitable for me nearby, I¡¯ll go take a look. Xiao Dong, Xiao Xiao, you two should stick with Uncle Mo¡ªI¡¯ll be right back.¡± Before anyone had a chance to speak, he darted out with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and disappeared.

    Mo Feiyun was momentarily stunned. What just happened? Huo Yuhao¡¯s explosive speeds also took him by surprise, as only Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had fought in previous battles, he had no idea of Huo Yuhao¡¯s capabilities. Nobody even knew what Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to vanish into thin air the moment he moved.

    Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were taken aback. Huo Yuhao had actually abandoned them¡ªthis was something they had never expected to happen.

    Huo Yuhao did disappear, and his vanishing act was aplished with Imitation. He imitated arge tree the moment he jumped forward, and how could anyone see him within all that dense vegetation?

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Wang Dong eximed desperately, but Huo Yuhao was nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, he had no means to track him down, even if he wanted to. Huo Yuhao had never behaved so irrationally before, so what was happening? Why did detach himself from the group, just like that?

    The moment he vanished into the jungle, Huo Yuhao raced forward. Channeling his Imitation as best he could, appearing only as a faint contorted blur, constantly transforming with the surroundings.

    ¡°Has Elder Xuan discovered I¡¯ve left the team yet?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the Skydream Iceworm while bolting forward.

    The Skydream Iceworm answered, ¡°I think he knows, he¡¯s also chasing you right now. Stop running¡ªit¡¯s pointless even if you do. So you might as well be straightforward with Elder Xuan. Besides, you can¡¯t handle a ten thousand year soul beasts anyways.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Then how should I exin things to Elder Xuan?¡±

    Skydream said matter-of-factly, ¡°Just bullshit him. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re good at?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was exasperated. ¡°How am I supposed to do that?! Elder Xuan isn¡¯t easily deceived! He¡¯s studied martial souls his entire life.¡± Huo Yuhao stopped in ce anyways and dispelled his Imitation.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s voice could be heard in the next moment. ¡°What are you trying to do, you little bastard? You don¡¯t feel good if you don¡¯t scare me a little, eh?¡±

    Elder Xuan appeared beside him in a sh.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Did you hear those two howls? I have a hunch that one of them would make me a suitable soul ring¡ªa rare spirit-type soul beast.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied with annoyance, ¡°Nonsense. Those two are ten thousand year spirit beasts, I can tell by their auras. But you¡¯re just a Soul Elder, not a Soul King¡ªcan you even assimte a ten thousand year soul ring?¡±

    Thoughts spun at lightning speed inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as he replied, ¡°You know that I¡¯m a Tang Sect disciple, Elder Xuan. My path is that of the Tang Sect. Which has a secret technique that can suppress a soul ring¡¯s power. Have you heard of it?¡±

    All he could do was fabricate a story. What else could he do? He wanted to properly obtain this golden opportunity, after searching for a suitable soul ring for many days he had finallye across a match. Huo Yuhao had no doubts in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s keen perception.

    Elder Xuan was slightly taken aback, and said, ¡°The Tang Sect has such a secret technique? I¡¯ve never actually heard of such a thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°The Tang Sect¡¯s secret technique is only suitable for soul masters with sufficient spiritual power, but can only be used for the fifth and lower soul rings. At present, I am the only one in the Tang Sect capable of using the ring-sealing secret technique. It can temporarily seal a soul ring¡¯s power, so I can absorb a portion of it now, and the rest as I grow stronger. Furthermore, I have three soul bones now, and my body is extremely resilient¡ªplus the ring-sealing technique. I am confident in my odds as long as the soul beast has a cultivation lower than twenty thousand years. A soul master¡¯s willpower is most imperative when ites to assimting a soul ring, and in this, I am most confident. Elder Xuan, I have finally discovered a suitable soul beast, I want to give it a shot!¡±

    Elder Xuan deliberated for a while and said, ¡°The Tang Sect¡¯s forefather, Tang San, had soul rings that were almost breaking every natural limit all those years ago. Did he use the ring-sealing technique? It¡¯s the first I¡¯ve ever heard of this. It¡¯s a shame the Tang Sect no longer passes on these kind of esoteric techniques.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was ovee with exhration when he heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words. He never expected that his ¡®fabricated story¡¯ had precedence, so he nodded his head continuously..

    Elder Xuan frowned and said, ¡°But why did you choose to leave Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao behind? I can¡¯t be in two ces at the same time, so how am I supposed to protect them?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think into it that much. I felt the spiritual fluctuations and Uncle Mo was impatient, so I bolted out as fast as I could. I didn¡¯t think that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were in much danger within that group. Why don¡¯t you go fetch them, while I wait here?¡±

    There were some obvious ws in Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation. But Elder Xuan was generous to overlook them on ount of Huo Yuhao¡¯s age. It was only natural that a not-even-thirteen-years-old child would be a bit impulsive.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°I guess that¡¯s the only way. I won¡¯t let anything slip. I¡¯ll go fetch those two fes, you can wait here. Use your Imitation to hide yourself¡ªeven I was almost fooled just now. Luckily, you can¡¯t hide your spiritual fluctuations with Imitation yet.¡±

    With that, Elder Xuan disappeared into the sky with a sh.

    Huo Yuhao could feel cold sweat breaking out on his back. Concocting stories really wasn¡¯t something he should be doing! Even though his lies werepletely harmless, he still found the task more difficult than an epic battle.

    A ear-splitting roar suddenly pierced the silence. There was a terrifying and unstoppable shockwave that followed this fearsome roar.

    Huo Yuhao witnessed asrge patches of trees copsed in its wake, much like a wheat harvest. At the same time, an extremely imposing and majestic figure leapt forward. The ground trembled and shook when itnded, and Huo Yuhao even felt arge amount of dizziness¡ªfalling to the ground after losing his bnce.

    The gigantic figure wasing toward him. Huo Yuhao could finally make out its appearance¡ªit was a giant, ck and white fur growing from its body. There were two heads on its shoulders, each with only one eye, and its colossal figure was more than ten meters tall. Its eyes glowing with an intimidating luster.

    ck and white lights were being continuously released, causing the many shockwaves. The purpose of the shockwaves was to clear a path ahead for it, so it could run unobstructed. But even with its imposing mannerisms, it seemed to be running from something¡­ Could this be the exceedingly rare Cyclops variant, the Twin Cyclops?

    Huo Yuhao knew something about this Twin Cyclops from Elder Xuan, but he had yet to learn of it in his outer courtyard studies.

    Cyclops were a very special species of soul beast. Their physical appearance was no different than normal humans, excluding its one eye. They even used tree branches and vines to craft clothing and cover their lower bodies. The only catch was that Cyclops were farrger than humans.

    They were born two meters tall, and they would grow to about five meters when they reached a hundred years of cultivation. Which was when they are considered a grown Cyclops, and from there its growth would slow down. They would grow to about eight meters at one thousand years, and about fifteen meters upon ten thousand.But they were far too conspicuous due to their massive size, and would make easy prey for powerful soul beasts. Hence why ten thousand year Cyclops were almost non-existent. Their brains were nutritious to some soul beasts with top-tier bloodlines.

    This Cyclops before him was only about ten meters tall, but Huo Yuhao was absolutely sure it had more than ten thousand years of cultivation.

    The ten thousand year point marked an enormous milestone for soul beasts¡¯ cultivations. Their power would rise exponentially upon crossing the threshold and asionally soul beasts would even evolve after breaking through ten thousand years. This was evident in Scarletfire Monkeys, which evolve into zefire Monkeys. However, this was assured for their species.

    The Cyclopes¡¯ evolution wasn¡¯t assured, only a possibility. Moreover, there were different types of mutations, with the most powerful¡ªthe Twin Cyclops¡ªright before Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    A Cyclops¡¯ original element was chaos¡ªan umon type, which could fundamentally change at any time. Upon bing a Twin Cyclops it would change, while sometimes its body size would also decrease as it birthed another head. This Twin Cyclops had both light and darkness elements¡ªmaking it an incredibly rare existence. It was so powerful it could be ranked among top-tier soul beasts.

    But what was this mighty Twin Cyclops running from?

 Chapter 145: Emperor Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion

    Volume 16, Chapter 145.1: Emperor Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion

    Huo Yuhao was proud of his knowledge of soul beasts in identifying the Twin Cyclops. He even began wondering what could cause a Twin Cyclops to flee in terror. But his wonder swiftly turned into terror as he realized the Twin Cyclops was only a hundred meters away, and Elder Xuan still had not returned with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

    What kind of luck is this¡­?

    Huo Yuhao was about to cry; as right now, he couldn¡¯t make an escape even if he wanted to. A single step from the Twin Cyclops brought it forwards 50 meters, meaning it would reach Huo Yuhao in just 2 steps. Not only that, but the shockwaves being generated were far more frightening. Even if he didn¡¯t die from them, he would definitely lose ayer of skin! Nothing in his arsenal of soul tools or Tang Sect techniques would help him avoid the Twin Cyclops.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao was saved by his quick reaction to the danger, brought about by his rich experiences. The blood-red soul ring with four golden streaks rose, and the Ice Empress¡¯ fierce aura was exuded¡ªazure-green radiance shooting into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao fully unleashed the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion using Imitation. The four hundred thousand year soul beast¡¯s frightening aura made even his own aura be dormant.

    Simultaneously covering his entire body in the Diamond Ice Armor, from the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor soul skill. He was prepared for battle, in hopes that if he could stall for a short while, Elder Xuan would arrive to save him. .

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation could easily replicate the aura of the Ice Empress, since the Ice Empress was his second martial soul, and its origin was contained in his body. This aura would prove extremely effective against hundred or thousand year soul beasts, making them flee in terror.

    However, his Imitation was not entirely wless. Because his cultivation was so far off from the likes of the Ice Empress, he could not truly im to possess its dominant aura¡ªonly a cheap imitation aura.

    If the Ice Empress¡¯ original body was here in the flesh, its aura would be enough to make any Twin Cyclops below ten thousand years submit without a second thought.

    But, Huo Yuhao¡¯s luck didn¡¯t run dry just yet. While this Twin Cyclops would at most be shocked by the aura in normal circumstances, but this wasn¡¯t the normal condition for the Twin Cyclops. It was in an extreme state of fear, preventing it from making an urate assessment of the situation. Feeling an aura more ferocious than the one pursuing it¡ªthe Twin Cyclops subconsciously shifted directions. In one step, it was only fifty meters away from Huo Yuhao, however after changing directions it went diagonally away from Huo Yuhao on the second step.

    While the powerful shockwaves did send Huo Yuhao flying, he was rather delighted at taking no injuries with the help of the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. He rolled into the forest and struck a tree. Immediately changing his aura to imitate that of the nts around him, after which he didn¡¯t even dare to breathe.

    It was now that the figure chasing after the Twin Cyclops made its entrance. It appeared as a beam of flowing golden light, and seem like a small sun dashing through the forest. Huo Yuhao only detected a sh of light with Spiritual Detection, before an animal appeared where was a moment ago, sniffing the air strongly.

    This was a soul beast that Huo Yuhao had never seen or heard of before. It was 3 meters in length, and around 8 feet in width. It was coated in ayer of bright golden fur.

    The zefire Monkey¡¯s fur that Huo Yuhao had seen earlier was already very beautiful, but was still inferior to this soul beast. This soul beast had golden fur, and its body seemed semi-transparent, it gave off a very special feel. Its body was shaped like a lion, but its ws were that of a dragon. There were even golden mesing off its dragon ws. Its mouth was longer than that of usual lion-type soul beasts, and there seemed to be golden scales beneath the fur. On top of that, it had a third eye apart from the normal two eyes, which appeared much like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Life¡ªvertical.

    Both its normal eyes shed gold, while the vertical eye emitted a red light. The red seemed slightly freakish.

    It stopped for awhile, then it started facing in the direction the Twin Cyclops ran in. Its figure shed, and it became a golden beam of light, in hot pursuit.

    ¡°Skydream, is this that soul beast ¡®suitable for Huo Yuhao¡¯? Just tell us when you want all of us to die next time.¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ cold voice bore a colder fury on the brink of eruption within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea.

    ¡°Err¡­ I only that it was suitable to Yuhao¡¯s spiritual undtions from its aura and feel. But I didn¡¯t misjudge this fellow¡¯s cultivation! It has a cultivation of around fifteen thousand years. Theoretically speaking¡ªahem, theoretically speaking¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s attempt to defend himself seemed a little weak.

    The Ice Empress answered furiously, ¡°What theoretically? Do you think that the Star Dou Forest won¡¯t flip if you kill it? The significance of the Emperor Beasts are incalcble! Even hundred thousand year soul beasts must give before it. Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly absorb its soul ring, and even if he did, do you think he¡¯d escape from the Star Dou Forest alive?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was lost as he heard till here, ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, what do the both of you mean? What is this soul beast exactly? It¡¯s such a problem?¡± A mere fifteen thousand year soul beast caused the four hundred year soul beast to be petrified. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it.

    The Ice Empress said in a deep voice, ¡°It¡¯s called the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Don¡¯t look down on its fifteen thousand year cultivation; it can fight with ordinary hundred thousand year soul beasts. It holds two extreme elements: Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve bumped into it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he heard the Ice Empress mention the words ¡®extreme elements¡¯. This Three-Eyed Golden Lion was no longer just a top-ranked soul beast in his mind. How terrifying was its lineage that it could fight hundred thousand year soul beasts from the fifteen thousand years it was at?

    The Ice Empress continued, ¡°Its greatest strengthsy in its innate abilities. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is an ancient beast. During a time when soul beasts ruled the continent¡ªlong ago¡ªsuch soul beasts would appear asionally, and they would be crowned Emperors. Which is why they¡¯re known as Emperor Beasts. There can¡¯t be two of such beasts alive at the same time. Which means that Three-Eyed Golden Lion you saw just now is the only Emperor Beast on the continent. Even the strongest soul beasts must bow down to it and cannot harm it. Soul beasts it chooses as prey can only flee, they can¡¯t resist.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was curious as he asked, ¡°Why? Even Transcendent Soul Beasts like the two of you can¡¯t win against it? Don¡¯t you have the Ultimate Ice too? Your cultivation is superior to it, thus you shouldn¡¯t be afraid when you bump into it!¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ emotions were a little unstable, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of it, but I must still pay it due respect should it appear in the Extreme North. What exactly is an Emperor Beast? They beget prosperity. A habitat with an Emperor Beast boasts twice the normal soul beast¡¯s cultivation speed. Furthermore, after hundred thousand year beasts reach a bottleneck, their chances of breaking through it will double in the presence of an Emperor Beast. I would not have be your soul ring had this happened to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he asked, ¡°Does this mean that soul beasts with five hundred years¡¯ cultivation can reach a thousand years¡¯ cultivation with it around?¡±

    The Ice Empress snorted. ¡°That¡¯s right. Think about it: how would the soul beasts in the forest react if you dared to touch it? I think there are many savage soul beasts guarding the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Isn¡¯t Skydream just courting death for all of us by targeting it?¡±

    A pathetic scream rang out from afar, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression soured. He said softly, ¡°Oh damn¡­¡±

    A reverberating boom resonated from afar. The entire Star Dou Forest seemed to shake as roars and howls sounded repeatedly. The intense undtions of soul power turned into a terrifying might that caused Huo Yuhao to be glued to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao could only think of one possibility as he heard that pathetic scream¡ªElder Xuan had met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    His thought process was simple and logical. Elder Xuan knew without a doubt that Huo Yuhao had unleashed the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s aura from earlier, and would rush over. However, upon discovering the sudden disappearance of his aura immediately after that and realizing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was where he had stood earlier, it stood to reason that Elder Xuan would be very anxious.

    This was indeed what had happened. Elder Xuan knew things had gone downhill when Huo Yuhao suddenly unleashed the Ice Empress¡¯ aura. Huo Yuhao shouldn¡¯t have met an unresistable opponent, so why did he use a hundred thousand year soul beast¡¯s aura to scare off his opponents with his cultivation level? But then his aura disappeared! What could that mean? It meant that Huo Yuhao could have been killed by a powerful soul beast!

    Elder Xuan had grown sensitive when all the academy¡¯s official team members were almost killed. But he was even more anxious considering Huo Yuhao¡¯s importance to Shrek. When he tried to sense his surroundings, he discovered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion first.

    Elder Xuan had previously instructed Huo Yuhao to use Imitation to conceal himself, which let Elder Xuan find him through his soul power undtions. But Huo Yuhao had ceased any cirction of soul power now, and hadn¡¯t been discovered by Elder Xuan, which had lead to the current misunderstanding.

    Before the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could chase down the Twin Cyclops, it managed to provoke the ire of Elder Xuan. Hence all the screams and tremors Huo Yuhao now sensed.

    Volume 16, Chapter 145.2: Emperor Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion

    Elder Xuan was a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, and was only a slight bit away from an Ultimate Douluo. As Shrek Academy¡¯s second-in-charge, he was extremely frightening when he unleashed his powers.

    The Twin Cyclops was instantly crushed into the ground. Even though it tried to retreat, it was still struck by the shockwave and was critically injured. It was not even a true hundred thousand year soul beast. Even if it was, how could a hundred thousand year soul beast resist Elder Xuan?

    A screeching howl rang out in the next instant. A dark red figure blocked Elder Xuan from unleashing his next attack on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    Elder Xuan descended amidst a reverberating boom. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were also beside him, which meant that he still had to worry about their safety. The figure that blocked Elder Xuan was knocked a hundred meters back by the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s strength, but it still remained in front of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Three furious howls were released at the same time.

    It was a soul beast that was more than 5 meters in length, and was extremely burly. It seemed like a lion, but it had three identical heads that were over a meter in diameter. Its terrifying teeth released a scarlet-gold glow. Its three heads roared furiously at the same time and all the soul beasts within a ten square mile radius didn¡¯t dare to move.

    The huge noises that came from where they were also affected Mo Feiyun and the others in the distance. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden disappearance left them extremely displeased. However, a streak of yellow light suddenly shed by. They didn¡¯t even see it clearly before Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao disappeared. At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ aura, and the series of furious roars and explosions caused this bunch of soul masters to turn pale. They wondered whether they were in the Core Region rather than the Hybrid Region. Mo Feiyun led everyone as they escaped. They couldn¡¯t be bothered to seek soul beasts anymore.

    ¡°Scarlet King?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s expression turned serious as he looked at the soul beast that roared furiously. He stopped his attack too.

    ¡°You¡¯re that fellow from Shrek Academy.¡± The three-headed soul beast that had a lion¡¯s form spoke in the human tongue, but its voice was filled with rage.

    Elder Xuan growled, ¡°Scarlet King, I won¡¯t make it difficult for you on ount of our academy¡¯s agreement with the Star Dou Savage Beasts. Give way and hand that golden-furred lion over to me.¡± His fury had already reached its limit. How could he exin things to Elder Mu if Huo Yuhao was dead?

    Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao also turned pale as they stood behind Elder Xuan. This was especially so for Wang Dong, who felt that everything had turned ck in front of him. Something seemed to have been crushed in his heart. The intense pain manifested as tears which trickled down his face.

    ¡°In just an instant, Yuhao¡­ Yuhao is already¡­¡±

    The Scarlet King was infuriated. ¡°Rascal, do you know who this is? If you dare to touch it, you¡¯ll be themon enemy of all the soul beasts in Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Elder Xuan stared at the Scarlet King coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t care who it is. I only know that it has killed and even eaten one of Shrek Academy¡¯s most important disciples. You should know that you¡¯re not my match even though you¡¯re ranked 8th among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. I won¡¯t mind if you want to die with it. I can¡¯t ount to the academy anyway. Why not just kill to my heart¡¯s content?¡±

    As he spoke, Elder Xuan had already taken a step forward. His frightening aura resembled a mountain that was crashing towards the Scarlet King.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The Scarlet King was a little worried. Although it had cultivated for more than three hundred thousand years, and was ranked 8th among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, he was indeed not Elder Xuan¡¯s match. It was toote for him to signal for help at this point. The top-ranked soul beasts needed time to rush out from the Region of Savage Beasts, but time was not something that Elder Xuan would be willing to offer them.

    ¡°Wait for?¡± Elder Xuan asked coldly.

    The Scarlet King said, ¡°Human, don¡¯t attack. I¡¯m protecting the Star Dou Forest¡¯s Emperor Beast, which is also the only one in the continent now. If it dies, the entire Star Dou Forest will go crazy.¡±

    Elder Xuan was shocked. He had heard of Emperor Beasts before, but he thought that it was only a legend.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if all of you go mad. I¡¯m going mad myself now.¡± Elder Xuan didn¡¯t back off. Huo Yuhao¡¯s ¡®death¡¯ had already caused him to lose his mind.

    ¡°Hear me out first.¡± The Scarlet King said anxiously, ¡°The Emperor Beast is called the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. It won¡¯t attack humans unless it¡¯s attacked first. It only feeds on the brain matter of light-type soul beasts. Let me ask if it really killed your student.¡±

    Even in such a crisis, and especially one that concerned the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s life, the Scarlet King still had to remain respectful towards Elder Xuan although it was a savage beast.

    Elder Xuan calmed down after hearing his words. Was Huo Yuhao really dead?

    At this point, a powerful and frightening aura was released not far from where they were. That brutal will came from the aura of another savage beast.

    Elder Xuan and the Scarlet King were both stunned as they sensed this aura. The Scarlet King was perplexed. That aura came from a Transcendent Soul Beast just like it, but why did the ice-cold aura seem so familiar? It seemed to have appeared once just now, but the aura disappeared before he could look for it.

    Elder Xuan was delighted after he was in a daze for a moment. Huo Yuhao was imitating the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast! He wasn¡¯t dead!

    Huo Yuhao was obviously alive. He was slow to react because he couldn¡¯t just interfere when two powerful figures were at odds with one another. He only imitated the Ice Empress¡¯ aura under the Ice Empress¡¯ advice as he stood where he was being repressed to send the message that he was still alive.

    Elder Xuan knew what was going on, but the Scarlet King didn¡¯t! However, it believed that it was a good thing for him and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that a savage beast had rushed over. A soul beast with a cultivation over a hundred thousand years possessed an intelligence that was superior to ordinary humans. It wouldn¡¯t start conflicts easily too. Moreover, the Scarlet King knew that this savage beast that came would help it in protecting the Emperor Beast. It wasn¡¯t afraid of Elder Xuan anymore with another savage beast around. It was confident of protecting the Three-Eyed Golden Lion even if it couldn¡¯t beat Elder Xuan.

    A deep and low roar came from the Scarlet King¡¯s three heads. An intense dark red radiance also spewed out from its body, and its three heads seemed to balloon in size. A deathly sense enveloped Elder Xuan, as the Scarlet King¡¯s roar called for all soul beasts to rush over to protect the Emperor Beast. Since he possessed enough strength to resist the enemy, why would a three-headed Scarlet King who was also one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts and the king of the Canidae-type soul beastspromise with a human?

    Elder Xuan was relieved when he learned that Huo Yuhao was still alive. He immediately developed a n in his mind and roared furiously too. He revealed his Godly Taotie Bull, and the two of them shed.

    A situation that left the Scarlet King extremely depressed urred. The aura of the savage beast that had appeared earlier disappeared, and there was no more movement.

    It wanted to give in to Elder Xuan now, but Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t entertain the notion.

    The Scarlet King could only try to protect itself as he faced Elder Xuan. It was slowly losing ground as it protected itself.

    However, Elder Xuan and the Scarlet King didn¡¯t go all-out apart from Elder Xuan¡¯s first, formidable blow. If they did so, it would be a catastrophe for the entire Star Dou Forest. This was something that neither of them wanted to see.

    An intense yellow radiance appeared like a sticky fluid, and a cage formed by the powers of the earth rose up, trapping the Scarlet King.

    The Scarlet King¡¯s three heads roared, and its dark red fur surged with streaks of ck patterns. It was like a volcano that had erupted, trying to break free from its restraints.

    At this point, the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s figure shed and came in front of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. A bright yellow radiance shot out from its horns and engulfed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    The Scarlet King depleted his origin power to break free from the cage, but it didn¡¯t dare to attack any further.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion appeared very weary as it was trapped in the yellow light. The Scarlet King knew that Elder Xuan could take the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s life with his dominant, earth-type power if he wanted to.

    The Scarlet King appeared very fearful, and he raged, ¡°I dare you! If you kill the Emperor Beast, we¡¯ll destroy the humans.¡±

    Elder Xuan turned back to his human form and said, ¡°Who says I¡¯m going to kill it?¡±

    The Scarlet King became much moreposed after Elder Xuan said that he wouldn¡¯t kill the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. He was also highly intelligent, and he asked, ¡°Then what¡¯re you going to do?¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Nothing. Find me a spiritual-type soul beast that has a cultivation of around fifteen thousand years and is of top quality to exchange for it.¡±

    The Scarlet King was stunned. What condition was that? A fifteen thousand year spiritual-type soul beast was nothingpared to the Emperor Beast! He even suspected that he had heard wrongly. If Elder Xuan had demanded a hundred thousand year soul beast, he wouldn¡¯t be so surprised.

    Elder Xuan said coldly, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m saying? I¡¯m giving you 4 hours. After the deadline, I will make this Three-Eyed Golden Lion my disciple¡¯s soul ring if you can¡¯t find me a recement.¡±

    ¡°You must not do that,¡± The Scarlet King said anxiously, ¡°The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is the current Emperor Beast. Its strength can¡¯t be absorbed by humans, and it won¡¯t be useful to you. Okay, I will ede to your request. But how can you ensure the safety of the Emperor Beast? How can I believe you?¡±

    Volume 16, Chapter 145.3: Emperor Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion

    Elder Xuan mounted the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and his yellow radiance became even brighter. ¡°Scarlet King, you should know that you have no choice, and you¡¯ve no right to bargain with me. I¡¯ll wait for you in the northern direction outside of the forest. Remember, you only have 4 hours. I can only tell you that the Great Star Dou Forest is very close to Shrek City. I¡¯m unwilling for a full-blown conflict to happen unless it¡¯s unnecessary. But this doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m fearful of war.¡±

    The expressions on the Scarlet King¡¯s three heads changed repeatedly. Its teeth moved a little as it stared at the indifferent Elder Xuan, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll believe you this time.¡± After it finished speaking, it didn¡¯t dy any further. Its figure shed and it changed into a streak of dark red light before disappearing instantly.

    Elder Xuan rode the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao¡¯s anxiety had disappeared by now. They wanted to search for Huo Yuhao in the direction he had unleashed his aura, but were stopped by Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan shook his head slightly at them. His eyes moved slightly, and he nodded his head after a brief moment.

    Huo Yuhao had already snuck over before Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao went to find him.

    The Scarlet King and Elder Xuan¡¯s confrontation was over, thus he didn¡¯t need to restrict his movement anymore. He snuck over since there was no longer any tension over here. In addition, the Skydream Iceworm also told him that the powerful savage beast had left.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted as he saw Elder Xuan on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. He even initiated his soul tool thruster to rush over.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me,¡± Elder Xuan snapped, ¡°You almost scared me to death. What happened just now? Why did you disappear after unleashing your hundred thousand year soul beast aura?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as he recounted how he had to unleash the aura against the Twin Cyclops to preserve his own life, as well as his encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression turned weird after hearing his words. He took a look at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that he sat on and patted its head. He said, ¡°It¡¯s been tough for you.¡±

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to recover a little and looked at Elder Xuan coldly. It started to speak in the human tongue, and it even sounded like ady with a moving voice, ¡°Despicable humans. If you dare to harm me, I¡¯ll make sure you regret it, and that misfortune will befall you.¡±

    Elder Xuan chuckled and pped his palm on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s head. This caused the lion to be pressed onto the ground. Elder Xuan even exerted more force to make it kiss the soil.

    ¡°Threatening me? Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know about Emperor Beasts like you even though it¡¯s my first time seeing one. You carry a special blood lineage from ancient times, and you can use this blood lineage¡¯s aura to influence the undtions of spiritual air in the heavens and earth. It¡¯s nonsense when they say that you beget prosperity. And you still dare to threaten me with misfortune? Do you believe that I can torture you till the brink of death? The soul beasts treat you as a treasure. If I kill you, they may really attack the humans out of rage. But don¡¯t think that you¡¯re noble. No matter how well those hundred thousand year soul beasts treat you, you¡¯re only a treasure to them. You¡¯re not their emperor. Your title as an Emperor Beast only sounds nice. Regardless of whether you¡¯re human or a soul beast, it¡¯s best if you know your ce.¡±

    ¡°You, you¡¯re spouting nonsense.¡± The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sounded more agitated.

    Elder Xuanughed coldly. ¡°Spouting nonsense? I¡¯m already being very kind here. How do you think they¡¯ll treat you if you¡¯re useless to them, or if they believe that your meat gives them immortality? Yuhao,e over.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao rushed over.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Press your forehead against this Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s third eye. Don¡¯t worry, I will stop it from resisting.¡±

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t you dare do it!¡± The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was furious and roared furiously. It tried to struggle, which caused golden-red blood to ooze from its mouth due to an internal injury it had sustained earlier.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, this¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan chortled and said, ¡°There¡¯s a record in an ancient collection that Shrek Academy obtained from ancient times which propagates the Emperor Beasts¡¯ dominance. They beget prosperity and possess unlimited potential. This also means that Emperor Beasts can protect soul beasts and enhance their speed of cultivation. Different Emperor Beasts are different elementally. Just like this Three-Eyed Golden Lion here. It has many elements. When I attacked it just now, I could sense the light and fire elements in its body. However, they aren¡¯t its main element, although they are close to the level of an ultimate element. Its main element is its spiritual power. If not for its spiritual power, I would have already killed it. Elemental transfusion refers to its ability to enhance your element using its own element. This is very beneficial for your future cultivation. But it¡¯s a little vague when we refer to its ability to beget prosperity and its possession of unlimited potential. We aren¡¯t sure what benefits it can bring, and it can only beprehended through one¡¯s own self. Hurry up. Stop moving.¡±

    Hisst sentence was directed at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion wanted to speak, but it couldn¡¯t as Elder Xuan pressed its head into the ground.

    Huo Yuhao naturally believed Elder Xuan¡¯s words. He slowly pressed his forehead against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s vertical eye as he looked into its fiery-looking eyes.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s powers werepletely repressed by Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t know that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would kill itself without any hesitation if it still possessed a shred of strength. Elder Xuan also didn¡¯t know what elemental transfusion entailed for Emperor Beasts. Even the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion didn¡¯t know. It was the Emperor Beasts¡¯ biggest secret.

    No soul beasts dared to unravel this secret in the world of soul beasts. The title of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as an Emperor Beast wasn¡¯t as lowly as Elder Xuan described it to be. No soul beasts dared to get close to it. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was very violent. Whoever dared to get close to it would be ferociously and maniacally attacked by it.

    Both Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s body trembled violently when Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead pressed against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s vertical eye.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Life opened as it was initiated by the magical powers contained within the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s vertical eye. However, Elder Xuan, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t see this, because his forehead was pressed against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s vertical eye.

    Huo Yuhao felt that his mind had gone empty after trembling for a while. Even his Spiritual Sea seemed to disappear. The Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and Electrolux decided to shrink their powers at this moment and hide in one corner.

    Rings of weird, distorted light engulfed Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s body. Their bodies seemed to be transparent as a subtle radiance shed. Every time the radiance changed, Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s bodies would tremble slightly.

    The immense life aura contained within his Eye of Life rapidly flowed out and entered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s body.

    The injury that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sustained earlier healed at an rming speed. The entire Great Star Dou Forest started to shake tremendously, with Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion at the center of this tremor. An intense life aura surged towards them and into their bodies.

    The distorted radiance became stronger and stronger, engulfing the both of them within. A special force prevented even Elder Xuan from breaching this radiance.

    Elder Xuan was a little diforted as he witnessed this amazing change. He muttered to himself, ¡°Did we escte the situation? This Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still struggling earlier. Don¡¯t tell me this transfusion will take its life away? That¡¯ll be disastrous. Will the Star Dou¡¯s soul beasts go all-out against Shrek? That will cause many deaths! Why is there such a huge reaction?¡±

    Wang Dong furrowed his brows, and golden light shed in his eyes. He felt something weird as he looked at the distorted radiance. It was as if something that belonged to him had been taken away. But the feeling was very mild, and he couldn¡¯t sense it clearly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness was gradually restored, while his Spiritual Sea became active again. He was stunned to realize that there was something more in his Spiritual Sea. The size of his Spiritual Sea had even seemed to double. A subtle aura appeared to be within his Spiritual Sea too. His Eye of Life had also transformed.

    The Eye of Life usually emitted green light. To him, it was only a ce that Electrolux temporarily stayed in. It also helped him preserve a shred of spiritual power. The Life Guardian de was also there, and it could be used by him at any time.

    But it was different now. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that he really owned a third eye now. His Eye of Life had turned bright gold under his control. The Life Guardian de had also been extracted, andnded on the ground. The Life¡¯s Gold life aura was still on the Life Guardian de. Electrolux¡¯s awareness had also return into his own Spiritual Sea.

    This also meant that the Eye of Life had be his third eye, and was now fully under his control. He could also clearly feel that there was another magical force within his third eye. He couldn¡¯t tell what this force was, but he could sense that it was a force that was beyond what he was capable of. Even the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t dare to resist this force.

 Chapter 146: The Eye Of Destiny

    ¡°Buzz ¨C ¡±

    Ayer of golden light suddenly exploded from where Huo Yuhao had encountered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Huo Yuhao¡¯s was thrown backwards from the force, but Elder Xuan grabbed him in midair and stabilized him.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook its body hazily and stumbled backwards. Its three golden eyes suddenly became ck for a tiny moment before they recovered their golden hues. However, Elder Xuan, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao witnessed the entire process.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed a little weak, and it stopped struggling. It was just watching Huo Yuhao withckadaisical eyes as Elder Xuan ced him on the ground. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also looked dazed.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to feel something. He gazed at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and human and beast stared into each other¡¯s eyes. They both felt a faint tremble in their minds, and their third eye numbed momentarily as they felt a peculiar sensation.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if his spirit was surging through the ages, and his consciousness appeared within a dense forest.

    Everything around him suddenly became golden, and the brilliant hues painted the vegetation all around him the same color. These nts were growing with bedazzling speed, and a multi-colored egg with a golden luster at its base appeared on the ground.

    Crisp cracking sounds could be heard as a single gash appeared on the golden egg¡¯s surface. The crack extended swiftly, and a tiny w reached out from within the shell with a crackling sound before a tiny head emerged.

    Its golden fur was a little moist, and it looked like a little puppy. It effortfully broke out from the eggshell before it turned around and gobbled it down with a few bites.

    A series of crackling sounds rang out as this tiny dog-like beast started flickering with golden radiance.

    A luminous golden beam suddenly descended from the sky, as if it were a pir of light that connected the heavens to the earth, and enveloped the small ¡°dog¡± that had just consumed the egg shell.

    The mucus on the tiny beast¡¯s body gradually disappeared, and its body instantly transformed from a foot long to a meter long. Its golden fur became transparent like water crystals, and the dazzling golden radiance transformed into glowing circles of light that rippled outwards.

    The tiny beast roared into the sky, and its forehead suddenly cracked open as a single eye that seemed like it could see through everything in the world appeared.

    When this image appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness, everything started to speed up, and uncountable images surged in his mind. He felt as if were experiencing ten thousand years in that instant as voluminous pure remnants of memory shed by. Everything was set inside that dense jungle, but he couldn¡¯t really see very clearly in that instant.

    Elder Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was fine. He released a single yellow circle of light and swept up Huo Yuhao and the two others, before he released another yellow sphere of light to trap the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Lights flickered as the Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo carried both the humans and the beast and soared through the sky, towards the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s outer regions in the north. Perhaps only a mighty individual like Elder Xuan dared to fly across the Great Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts were amassed. Elder Xuan could cover dozens of kilometers in an instant.

    Everybody was in the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s outer regions when theynded back on the ground. He chose the northern border as this location was closest to Shrek City. It would be convenient for Elder Xuan to retreat with everyone if there was a disturbance with the fearsome beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡°Are you alright, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong whispered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear. Elder Xuan was also watching him with a concerned look on his face. Even the ancient archives didn¡¯t detail the effects of transfusing an emperor beast¡¯s element to refine one¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao tossed his head from side to side. The intense rush of memory shocked his spirit, and he was still a little dazed. ¡°I¡¯m fine. My spiritual power is much stronger now, and I think I took part of its memory.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What kind of memories?¡± Wang Dong asked in bewilderment.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°It¡¯s a soul beast that has been alive for more than ten thousand years. Even though its life inside the Great Star Dou Forest is rtively simple, its memories are immense, and how can I differentiate anything with rity in one moment?¡±

    Elder Xuan tilted his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as your spiritual power has been boosted. It seems like the archives are urate, so it¡¯s all good as long as there are no side effects. I think this is yours, here you go.¡± Elder Xuan lobbed the Life Guardian de at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered that his ranked carving knife had been squeezed out of his Eye of Life ¨C no, his third eye could not be described as an Eye of Life anymore.

    He grabbed the Life Guardian de. Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that he was still mentally connected to this ranked carving knife, and the vast life energy contained within it was also greater than before.

    ¡°I want to meditate for a while, Elder Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao remarked before he sat down and crossed his legs. The Mysterious Heaven Technique was channeled naturally, and his spirit quickly concentrated within his own spiritual sea.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s eyes had more vitality at this point. It didn¡¯t try to struggle as it watched Huo Yuhao with a nk look, and there wereplicated and indescribable emotions in its eyes. It felt as if that momentary touching of heads had taken all of its intimidating ferocity.

    Elder Xuan nced at the lion and said, ¡°It seems like the elemental transfusion didn¡¯t hurt you much. You have also benefited from Huo Yuhao, and your wounds are healed. Don¡¯t worry ¨C I¡¯m a man of my word. I¡¯ll let you go when they arrive.¡±

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shot a cold look at Elder Xuan, but said nothing. It turned towards Huo Yuhao with another deep gaze before it closed all three of its eyes andid prostrate on the ground, as if it were sleeping.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was filled with remnants of memories, but what about the beast? The beast¡¯s mind was filled with Huo Yuhao¡¯splete memories!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life and experiences covered a period of less than thirteen years, but he had experienced many trials and tribtions. His childhood life was rough, his life after leaving the White Tiger Duke¡¯s mansion was exciting, and all the wonders and awes of the human world deeply stimted this emperor beast.

    ¡°Are you alright, Elder Yi?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Electrolux first when he entered his meditative state. Even though Electrolux didn¡¯t interact with him much, his influence wasparable to both Skydream and the Ice Empress ¨C especially when he saved Huo Yuhao¡¯s life from the Envoy of the Death God.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Such mighty power of destiny! However, I have already transcended beyond destiny, and it isn¡¯t so easy to destroy my destiny. The Life Gold has nurtured me over time, and my shattered divine sense has stabilized. I have regained a few memories as well, and this is happening while I hibernate inside your spiritual sea. Your cultivation is still low, but I will impart my abilities to you when your fundamentals are solid enough.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Electrolux was alright. He asked doubtfully, ¡°What is this power of destiny about, Elder Yi? Why would the Three-Eyed Golden Lion transfer the power of destiny to me?¡±

    Electrolux contemted momentarily and said, ¡°I don¡¯t belong to your world, and I don¡¯t understand much about the soul beasts in your world. I can only make judgments based on my logic and reasoning. Emperor beasts are unique entities which are born from destiny, and their level is somewhat like mine in some sense ¨C they have one leg through the divine gate. The difference is that I reached that level before I was born, but this emperor beast has to start from the beginning and approach that level step by step. You can say that it only has the potential to reach that level. This potential gives it the ability and power to control certain destinies.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, it will receive the blessing of heaven and earth. Its body is like a supreme treasure that can absorb the origin energies of heaven and earth. The surrounding origin energies of heaven and earth will change with it around, and sometimes even destinies will change as well. For example, your destiny was bumpy before you entered Shrek Academy, and even a little tragic. When you entered Shrek Academy, your life started to turn around, and you began to have immense good fortune. This emperor beast should have iparable fortune from beginning to end, and its growth since the day it was born has been smooth sailing. In addition to its powerful element, it should ultimately be able to be a demigod ¨C unless it meets its unfortunate end in the process.¡±

    ¡°These emperor beasts are blessed by destiny, and they will run into very few threats. These threats will only ur for two reasons ¨C when the beast meets an opponent with a level of fortune that negates its own, or because that is its destiny. It is able to control destiny to a certain extent, and therefore there will undoubtedly be a bottleneck that will eventually appear in its life. Perhaps you are its bottleneck, and this is all part of its destiny. I am sure that your fortune is not enough to negate its own.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was lost and confused. Destiny? A bottleneck? He didn¡¯t really understand.

    Electrolux could naturally feel his bafflement, and smiled as he said, ¡°Simply put, it¡¯s a bit like the romantic sentiment between males and females. Everybody will have a rtionship that belongs to himself or herself some time in their lives. There may only be one, or there may be many. The person that will be emotionally entwined with you is destined to be the bottleneck in your life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Elder Yi, this is tooplicated. Actually, all I want to know is what happened to my third eye after it touched the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s third eye? I can feel that I¡¯m able to control it now, as if I have an actual third eye. Furthermore, my third eye seems to embody a special power, and I cannot feel this power¡¯s element. I have never even seen it before.¡±

    Electrolux smiled and said, ¡°Had you asked the little worm or the small scorpion, they probably wouldn¡¯t know the answer to this. But if you¡¯re asking me¡ªyou¡¯vee to the right person. The power of destiny chased me out from the Eye of Life, and it would seem it¡¯s the power of destiny that has taken over your eye. It has amplified and refined your spirit sea, saving you at least five years of cultivating spiritual power. You will continue to feel its positive effects as time goes by. Initially it was my own powers supporting your second mental sea; you would¡¯ve only been able to channel the power within it upon reaching a certain level of spiritual power. However, after this round of refinement, you now can use your second mental sea. From now on, your third eye shall be called the ¡®Eye of Destiny¡¯¡ªit gives you power over destiny.

    Huo Yuhao reacted in shock. ¡°Power over destiny? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    Electrolux answered, ¡°The Eye of Destiny bestows you with the ability to change someone¡¯s destiny for the better within a fixed amount of time. It might sound a little abstract, but it¡¯s actually quite simple; anybody that your Eye of Destiny gazes upon will have their fortunes changed if your will it¡ªfor better, or for worse. But, using the Eye of Destiny will consume arge amount of soul power. It will awaken in three days; you¡¯ll have a better understanding of it then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood a little more after listening to Electrolux¡¯s exnation. ¡°Thank you, Elder Yi. Thankfully you¡¯re here to exin things. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have a clue of what was happening. The power of destiny sounds pretty impressive!¡±

    Electrolux lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t speak too soon, Yuhao. While it¡¯s true that you¡¯ve received a unique and unmatched ability, this power of destiny has also linked your destiny with that of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s. You obtained a portion of its memories, while it received all of yours¡ªwhich includes the information about us. Your fate is now irrevocably entwined with the beast, whether it be as friend or foe. Either way, you should work hard and focus on your cultivation; it¡¯s vital to you now.¡±

    His destiny would be entwined with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s? Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t too worried about this. He could acutely feel that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion no longer felt hostile towards him after their strange interaction. In fact, he could feel some kind of faint connection with it now. As for his fate going forwards¡ªwho knows?

    The Great Star Dou Forest changed mysteriously at that moment: It seemed to quiver, while every tree in sight began to sway in one direction, then began osciting back and forth. An invisible force gradually emerged from the Great Star Dou Forest, as if some kind of earth-shattering change was taking ce. Afterwards, the Great Star Dou Forest became silent and motionless, like every living being had gone into hibernation.

    Elder Xuan arrived beside the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in a sh, then released a dense yellow radiance to cover everyone present, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion included. His expression grew dark and solemn¡ªthe arriving presence had a higher cultivation than his own, which made his skin crawl.

    A wine-red glow shone brilliantly, and the Three-Headed Scarlet Devil-Mastiff appeared before everybody once more.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly awakened from his meditation and positioned himself behind Elder Xuan, raising his guard as he did so.

    The Scarlet King was no longer infuriated like he¡¯d been before. His eyes seemed extremely calm, and it carried itself with utmost confidence. Its leftmost head held a dark-purple soul beast between its teeth.

    The Scarlet King muttered coldly, ¡°Release the emperor beast and take this soul beast with you.¡± It tossed the soul beast in its mouth to the ground as it spoke. Turning to Huo Yuhao, it said, ¡°Your disciple wasn¡¯t murdered by the emperor beast it seems.¡±

    Elder Xuan answered inly, ¡°He wasn¡¯t indeed, however it was close. It was his agility and quick thinking that allowed him to evade its attacks¡ªhe would¡¯ve perished otherwise. I¡¯ll let this go¡ªbut only once. However, the one that doesn¡¯t want to show himself¡ªwhy don¡¯t you try ande out? Come, show me what you¡¯ve got.¡±

    ¡°Human, if you want to die I¡¯ll grant this wish of yours.¡± A deep voice boomed from within the Great Star Dou Forest. It sounded as hoarse as sandpaper, but felt like rolling thunder when it travelled through the air. It held an unrivaled prestige that seemed to dull the colors of the sky.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all. ¡°If you have the power to put me in the ground right here, you can go ahead and try it.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to anger me, human?¡± The deep voice in the sky was now tinged with fury.

    Elder Xuan smiled and replied, ¡°So what if I anger you? This was all just a coincidence. My previous decision to leave the emperor beast here¡ªinstead of taking it back with me to Shrek¡ªwas already quite a generous one. Are you trying to frighten me? You¡¯ve made a mistake. Since this is the case, I¡¯ll be taking this emperor beast back to Shrek City for strict monitoring. Let¡¯s see if the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest dare tounch anotherrge-scale invasion.¡± He grabbed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s nape as he spoke.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion eyes burst open, all three of which were full of indignation.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± the deep voice hesitated momentarily, then continued, ¡°release the emperor beast, then you can go. I shall swear upon my reputation as Di Tian that we¡¯ll let this go just like that.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression rxed a little and a look of astonishment shed across his face. ¡°So it¡¯s Di Tian. Alright, I believe you.¡± He released his grip once he¡¯d finished speaking and decisively pushed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion towards the Scarlet King with a beam of yellow light.

    The Scarlet King positioned himself beside the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, then took the chance to inspect its body. He then realized that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s injuries had all beenpletely healed, and his gaze became noticeably more tender when he nced at Elder Xuan again.

    Elder Xuan reached his right hand forward and grasped the dark purple soul beast in his hands. Yellow radiance flickered as he swept up Huo Yuhao and the others, then he raced back towards Shrek Academy.

    Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but anxiously ask, ¡°That fellow hidden within the forest really won¡¯t attack us, teacher?¡±

    Elder Xuan answered inly, ¡°You guys would do well to remember that soul beasts are generally more trustworthy and honorable than humans.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Just as Elder Xuan had said, nothing else happened within the Great Star Dou Forest once they vanished from the Scarlet King¡¯s sight. The fearsome and intimidating aura around the Scarlet King vanished into thin air as well.

    ¡°You! You¡¯re too mischievous. I¡¯ve long since told you that human soul masters are our greatest threat. If he hadn¡¯t been from Shrek Academy, your life would have easily been forfeit considering his abilities. We probably wouldn¡¯t have even had the time to rescue you. Don¡¯t leave the Core Regions like that again.¡±

    The deep voice sounded a lot more tender and amicable, a little doting even.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised its head, a strange sparkle in its eyes as it said, ¡°That human said that you guys are just using me. If I wasn¡¯t an emperor beast, or I didn¡¯t bring you enough good fortune, you guys wouldn¡¯t be so nice to me, eh?¡±

    The owner of deep voice contemted momentarily before muttering, ¡°You have to realize, little fellow, that there¡¯s nothing absolutely pure in this world. I can tell you with confidence that he¡¯s right. But it can¡¯t simply be described as ¡®using¡¯ within the world of soul beasts. I can confidently say that once we¡¯ve been together for ten thousand years, you¡¯ll still be my friend, and even my child¡ªeven if you were to lose your powers of fortune right now. Whoever dares to hurt you with me around will have to suffer my wrath.¡±

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lowered its head as if it had been aggrieved. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Di Tian. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you. I was wrong¡ªlet¡¯s go home.¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s voice became even more gentle. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go home.¡±

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised its leg as it prepared to take off. However, it suddenly turned back to face the direction that Elder Xuan had gone and nced at thepany of humans quickly disappearing into the distance. The memories that it had received from the young human became even clearer in its mind, but it would still take it quite a long time to digest these memories.

    ¡­¡­.

    A gold and wine-red streak flickered simultaneously, the Great Star Dou Forest returning to its original tranquility afterwards. Meanwhile, Elder Xuan continued to surge through the sky as he swiftly carried Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao back to Shrek Academy along with the soul beast.

    Elder Xuan only put them down once they¡¯d reached the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°Absorb its soul ring, Yuhao.¡± Elder Xuan tossed the dark purple soul beast onto the ground and reminded Huo Yuhao to absorb its soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t idle about any longer. His right arm transformed under the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and heshed out at the unconscious dark purple soul beast, who didn¡¯t seem to have any of the trademark ferocity a ten thousand year soul beast normally would at the moment.

    It looked like a wolf, but it was a little smaller than normal wolves. Aside from its brilliant dark purple fur, its appearance was rather wretched. It had a slightly copsed nose bridge and tiny narrowed eyes, as well as incredibly short legs that didn¡¯t seem capable of carrying its own weight.

    Huo Yuhao struck at the unconscious soul beast and turned it to ice. Then dull golden des appeared at the fingertips of his right hand, which he then stabbed into the frozen beast¡¯s skull. It didn¡¯t feel any pain as it passed into theherworld, as its body had already beenpletely frozen, nor did it lose a single drop of blood.

    A dark ck soul ring gradually rose into the air from its head.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mess around; he quickly sat cross-legged in front of the soul ring, then activated his soul power and quickly began to fuse with it.

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    Volume 16, Chapter 146.3: The Eye Of Destiny

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea immediately began to shudder. Dense spiritual energy flooded through his Spirit Eyes and surged towards his spiritual sea, while the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power began to twist and churn.

    The vast spiritual fluctuations¡ªas well as the shock from the frightening spirit and soul power¡ªsent waves of pain through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The power that was surging through him was unlike the tender unconscious soul beast¡ªinstead, it was filled with a crazed mania.

    Far from being terrified at this, Huo Yuhao felt ecstatic. He might not have recognized this soul beast, but Elder Xuan surely had, which in turn meant that its cultivation definitely wasn¡¯t greater than fifteen thousand years. Brother Skydream had told him that he wouldn¡¯t have any problems absorbing such a soul ring, aside from having to seal a small portion of its cultivation. Furthermore, his spiritual power had been boosted by the encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to the point where he could now manipte his second mental sea. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being unable to assimte with the soul ring. Rather, the stronger the mania he felt the better, because this would signify the might behind the new soul skill.

    While the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power surged violently, Huo Yuhao remained as calm as ever. He controlled his spiritual sea so that it epted the vast spiritual power pouring in, while simultaneously he slowly assimted it and activated the Mysterious Heaven Technique to circte it throughout his cirction paths. Even though his skeleton, passageways, and flesh were currently swelling and in agonizing pain, his facial expression didn¡¯t change much.

    Elder Xuan cautiously observed from beside him. A minute passed, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression had remained just as calm as before. His body appeared a little swollen, and purplish-ck light flickered incessantly all over it, but Elder Xuan inwardly gasped in admiration. This level of discipline and endurance wasn¡¯t something that a child should possess¡ªeven most of the inner core disciples couldn¡¯t possibly do what he was doing now. No wonder he hadn¡¯t been afraid of absorbing a ten thousand year soul ring. His body had been enhanced by several soul bones, and with the help of the spiritual seal that he¡¯d talked about, it looked like there wouldn¡¯t be any problems at all with this absorption.

    ¡°Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, the two of you stay here to watch over him. I have something to discuss with Elder Mu.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Elder Xuan then strode into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. What surprised him a little was that Elder Mu couldn¡¯t have not detected their return, yet he didn¡¯t hear a single sound. He swiftly approached Elder Mu¡¯s room and gently knocked on the door.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought the three little fes back, Elder Mu.¡±

    ¡°Come in.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice was as cid as before, but it sounded a little downcast.

    Elder Xuan pushed the door and walked in, but was immediately taken aback by what he saw. ¡°Elder Mu¡ªwhat¡¯s happened to you?¡±

    Elder Mu was lying quietly in his reclining chair. However, his face seemed a little gloomy and bleak¡ªthere was no vitality in his eyes. He now appeared extremely old, and half of his white hair had actually be a in gray color.

    Elder Xuan himself was a Transcendent Douluo, and naturally understood what these transformations meant for Elder Mu. His life energy was quickly leaking out, which would further reduce Elder Mu¡¯s lifespan!

    ¡°Sit down, Xuan Zi.¡± Elder Mu was still as calm as ever. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of emotion within his frail eyes.

    Elder Xuan hurriedly sat down beside Elder Mu. He was incredibly rmed when he saw Elder Mu and said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be happening! Your situation was still stable when we left. How did you consume so much life energy within such a short period of time?¡±

    Elder Mu heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my time¡¯s not up yet. But¡­¡± Elder Mu was the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and even though he possessed the frightening power of an Ultimate Douluo, a mournful expression filled his eyes.

    ¡°That child, Xiaotao¡­ she¡¯s gone.¡± Elder Mu spoke arduously.

    ¡°What?!¡± Elder Mu was astonished. ¡°How can that be? Wasn¡¯t she under your seal? Furthermore, even if she had the ability to break your seal, you¡¯re anchoring down the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡ªand the other elders are around too! How could she have vanished just like that?¡±

    Elder Muughed bitterly and said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly the point¡ªand it¡¯s why I feel like I¡¯ve let her down! We were too careless. Nothing was wrong with my seal at one point, and the only person to be let in to see it was the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Even though I¡¯m not sure how, I¡¯m sure that he definitely did something to my seal, or to Xiaotao, that gave her the ability to run away. The academy was invaded five days after your departure. The enemies were too powerful, thus the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had to fight them in order to keep them from damaging Shrek City. Xiaotao took this opportunity to escape¡ªright under our noses.¡±

    ¡°The Body Sect?¡± Elder Xuan was bbergasted. The way he saw it, only a select few groups in the Continent could force Elder Mu to show his hand in battle, and the Body Sect had stirred up trouble not long ago.

    Elder Mu waved his hand and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Body Sect. Du Busi may be headstrong, obstinate, and conceited¡­ but he¡¯s still an honorable man, like his elder brother. At least, he won¡¯t do anything to the academy before my death. However, the fact that it wasn¡¯t the Body Sect worries me even more¡ªthey were all evil soul masters, all eleven of them. Four were even Titled Douluo.¡±

    Elder Xuan drew a cold breath as he listened. ¡°Eleven evil soul masters¡ªhow is that possible? This, this¡­¡± Elder Xuan actually lost hisposure.

    Evil soul masters were far more powerful than normal soul masters. However, it was extremely difficult for them to be Titled Douluo¡ªin fact, it was almost impossible. Yet, ording to what Elder Mu had just said, there had been eleven of them! And four of them were even Titled Douluo! This was far beyond Elder Xuan¡¯s knowledge.

    Such arge party of powerful evil soul masters showing up at the same time had never happened before throughout the course of the Continent¡¯s history.

    ¡°What I was most apprehensive about hase to pass: Not many evil soul masters have appeared in the past hundred years, and most that did had low cultivations. I always felt that something was wrong, but I never thought that the evil soul masters hade so far as to make their own organization.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyebrows were tightly furrowed. ¡°Evil soul masters are almostpletely uncontroble due to their element. How could they follow somebody¡¯smands and form an organization?¡±

    Elder Mu heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Discussing this now has no meaning. I did my best and managed to kill six of them, but ended up consuming a lot of life energy. However, only one Titled Douluo died. The most powerful of them was a Transcendent Douluo. I was tied down by them, thus I couldn¡¯t kill the other evil soul masters. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t suffer many losses. However, I¡¯m deeply concerned with Xiaotao¡¯s situation. The fire of ultimate darkness¡ªif the evil soul master organization¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan was stern as he said, ¡°It must be the Illustrious Virtue Hall causing trouble. At the very least, they¡¯re definitely connected to it. Elder Mu, do you want me to take some people to the Illustrious Virtue Hall to find her?

    Elder Mu waved his hand and answered, ¡°That would be useless. The Illustrious Virtue Hall would never actually cooperate with those evil soul masters, and they wouldn¡¯t leave any evidence behind either. They most likely just used the evil soul masters¡¯ strength to attack us. My life energy will run out in a year and a half, after which I will infuse myself within the Golden Tree and seal my soul imprint within. Whoever wants to cause trouble for Shrek Academy at that point¡ªhmph!¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s infuriated grunt wasn¡¯t loud, but even a Transcendent Douluo like Elder Xuan felt his heart skip a beat.

    ¡°We have to nurture the younger generation as fast as we can. The evil soul master organization shouldn¡¯t be mature yet, but when they dare to officially appear on the Continent, humanity will be in distress, and cmity will be upon us. Xuan Zi, you guys have a heavy load and a long road ahead of you. I feel sorry for Xiaotao, though¡­¡±

    Elder Mu closed his eyes painfully, his face full of exhaustion and weariness.

    Originally, Elder Xuan had been in a great mood. Both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao had gained big rewards from this expedition. Especially Huo Yuhao, who¡¯d absorbed the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone. Moreover, it was an extremely rare, external soul bone, which could evolve. However, Elder Xuan¡¯s heart grew heavy, and he became nearly as despondent as Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu contemted for more than ten seconds, then said slowly, ¡°Why did you bring back a soul beast for Huo Yuhao to absorb? How did their adventure go?¡±

    Elder Xuan took a deep breath and cheered himself up, then exined their adventure in great detail.

    Elder Mu¡¯s focus was different from Elder Xuan, who ced more emphasis on the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone. When Elder Mu finished listening to Elder Xuan¡¯s recounting of the events of thest dozen days, he appeared a lot more invigorated than before as he said, ¡°An emperor beast¡­ it¡¯s actually an emperor beast. Yuhao said that he absorbed its memories? It seems like the archives¡¯ records have some deeper meaning, and I guess that we finally have a piece of good news. We have to speed up this child¡¯s nurturing. Bring him to see me after he has finished absorbing his soul ring. A ten thousand year Purplespirit Wolf¡ªthose guys inside of the Great Star Dou Forest are extremely generous when it concerns the emperor beast. The Heavenly Emperor¡¯s word is worth more than all the money in the world. Thankfully, you all returned safely.¡±

    However, no one expected Huo Yuhao to take as long as he did to absorb his soul ring. It took far beyond their projections.

    The dark purple light gradually entered his body. But afterwards he just sat there, without moving an inch. A pale golden light flickered incessantly all over his body, while a vertical golden eye seemed to shimmer on his forehead. This strange scene made Elder Xuan invite Elder Mu to observe.

    Elder Mu probed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power fluctuations, then told everyone not to disturb him and to let him cultivate in peace.

    Why was Huo Yuhao taking so long to absorb his third soul ring? Because it wasn¡¯t as simple as just absorbing a soul ring.

    The dark purple soul beast¡¯s soul ring was extremely powerful, but it was a spirit-type in the end. It boosted Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, and raised the limit on his optimal soul ring age for his Spirit Eyes yet again. The Skydream Iceworm was very conservative with his estimates to ensure Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety however, thus he only allowed Huo Yuhao to absorb around six thousand years¡¯ worth of the soul ring¡¯s power before sealing the rest.

 Chapter 147: Fusion! New Perspective

    Under the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s control, Huo Yuhao would fuse this soul ring into his left arm. Once his cultivation had reached the appropriate level, the Skydream Iceworm would then unleash the soul ring¡¯s boosted power, and it would be a hundred thousand-year soul ring. This process could certainly be known as the first soul ring fusion of its kind.

    After fusing with his third soul ring, Huo Yuhao¡¯s umted cultivation also came into effect now that he¡¯d overcame his bottleneck.

    The Ice Jade Scorpion and Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s soul bones¡ªboth of which were extremely powerful¡ªhad brought about great benefits to Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hadn¡¯t let up on their cultivation either, and the Life Gold had also nourished Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. So when the Mysterious Heaven Technique broke through, his soul power erupted in an overwhelming surge of power.

    Huo Yuhao could feel his soul power still soaring even when he reached Rank 31. It was only once he¡¯d reached Rank 32 that he felt the rate of increase stabilize, but it didn¡¯t stop increasing until he¡¯d reached the peak of Rank 32.

    Huo Yuhao had an Ultimate martial soul, which was very different from ordinary soul masters. At Rank 30, the density of his soul power was noticeably greater than most soul masters. Elder Mu had warned him some time ago that the increase in his soul power would slow down significantly once he reached Rank 30. If an ordinary soul master had obtained two soul bones in the same manner as he had, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising for them to increase four or five ranks once they gained their third ring.

    Even so, Huo Yuhao was still happily surprised by his gains. It was definitely a good start considering the difficult cultivation he¡¯d have in the future.

    It took him roughly eight hours toplete everything, which was still much faster than it normally took a soul master to fuse with a soul ring.

    As soon as hepleted his fusion and was about to rx, his Eye of Destiny suddenly started to act up. He immediately tensed up again, as the Eye began to emit an absorptive force.

    What was this? Was the Eye of Destiny absorbing his spiritual power like Electrolux had mentioned earlier?

    That was exactly what was happening; it had urred even faster than Huo Yuhao expected.

    The broken memories that he¡¯d gained from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were quickly gathered and drawn away, alongside his spiritual power. He could sense that a hole had been poked in his Spiritual Sea, and his spiritual power was flowing out of rapidly. The process was in-turn strengthening the connection between him and the Eye of Destiny.

    The Eye of Destiny was sucking away his spiritual power with such immense strength that he couldn¡¯t even try to resist it. It even took away a shred of his spiritual origin!

    Fortunately, this process didn¡¯t cause him any pain. The memories from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion shed through his mind once more, appearing much clearer this time.

    Everything started to change weirdly. He could feel an indescribable shift in his Spiritual Sea, as if part of it had been drawn away with his spiritual power. His awareness seemed like it was jumping from one side to the other when the sliver of his spiritual origin entered the Eye of Destiny.

    Everything seemed to happen in an instant, but it felt like it took an eternity. When he finally awoke from his cultivation, the sun happened to be rising slowly in the east.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously turned his gaze to the east. When he did so, the purple that shed through the sky seemed to be brighter than it had been before.

    A new warmth filled his eyes, and he was shocked to discover that his eyes had been nourished by the purple light that had washed across them. This was something that he¡¯d never experienced before.

    He shut his eyes and focused his mind, feeling a little dizzy. After re-focusing himself, he opened his eyes to stare just above the rising sun¡­ and everything he saw seemed to be different from before.

    Countless spots of light, most of which were golden, floated through the air. The whole world seemed to have exploded with color. The sun wasn¡¯t blinding at all, but he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was red or gold in color.

    This, this is¡­

    Everything new in front of Huo Yuhao disappeared as his mind wavered. His third eye shut itself, even though it had just opened.

    Everything returned to normal once he¡¯d re-opened his eyes. However, he was still shocked by what he¡¯d felt earlier.

    The Eye of Destiny had given him a special perspective. He could also clearly feel that everything was still normal when he injected his spiritual power into his Spirit Eyes. If he were to use a soul skill, the might of his increased spiritual power would be disyed.

    His spiritual power seemed to have changed after he injected it into the Eye of Destiny. There appeared to be some form of connection between his Spiritual Sea and the Eye of Destiny¡¯s second spiritual sea, as his spiritual power was instantly depleted at a frightening speed

    Huo Yuhao immediately tried to use his Spiritual Detection. He discovered, to his shock, that it took four times as much soul power to unleash the soul skill through his Eye of Destiny. Doing so also used up a third of his spiritual power, despite the fact that Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t very taxing on either his soul or spirit power!

    However, the benefit he gained was as great as the cost, and equally shocking: When unleashed through the Eye of Destiny, his Spiritual Detection covered three times the area that it normally did. It was able to reach up to 600 meters!

    While it seemed like tripling the area of effect wouldn¡¯t make up for quadrupling the cost, that wasn¡¯t the case. This meant that his Spirit Eyes could disy a tremendous explosive strength when he unleashed a soul skill with his Eye of Destiny. His Spirit Eyes possessed the equivalent of a four-ringed cultivation level, even though he only had three rings, which raised his abilities by an entire grade. The only drawback was that they couldn¡¯t be used too frequently, since the cost was too great. Using his Spiritual Shock once would take forty percent of his soul power, while using it twice would knock him unconscious.

    The Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion still had a gap in strength, due to the Ultimate Ice. While the Spirit Eyes was a Body Soul, it hadn¡¯t undergone its second awakening yet. On the other hand, the Ultimate Ice couldn¡¯t even be dealt with by Body Sect soul masters who¡¯d gone through their second awakening! The Ice Empress was entirely superior to the Spirit Eyes, even though it had only one soul ring. The role of the Spirit Eyes was more supplementary, and favored auxiliary and control abilities.

    However, everything had changed now that he had the Eye of Destiny. The Eye of Destiny greatly increased the adaptability and explosive power of his Spirit Eyes. Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t discovered everything that Eye of Destiny was capable of. But after obtaining his third soul ring, the Eye of Destiny, and the Darkgolden Terrorw, Huo Yuhao could definitely rival a four-ringed Soul Ancestor¡ªwithout Wang Dong¡¯s help. And not just any Soul Ancestor, but a Soul Ancestor from Shrek Academy!

    ¡°Yuhao,e here,¡± Elder Mu¡¯s gentle voice rang in his ears, jolting him out of his surprise.

    He quickly entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and came to Elder Mu¡¯s bedroom.

    ¡°Teacher, what¡¯s this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned when he saw Elder Mu, but Elder Mu didn¡¯t exin anything to him. He raised his hand to stop Huo Yuhao from speaking any further. ¡°Tell me how you¡¯re feeling. I believe you didn¡¯t just absorb your soul ring, given that you¡¯ve been meditating for so long. Do you realize that this is already the third morning since you returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was appalled. It didn¡¯t feel like much time had passed at all!

    ¡°Tell me about the changes that this ¡®Eye of Destiny¡¯ has brought you. I¡¯m curious.¡± There weren¡¯t many things about a soul master¡¯s abilities that could make Elder Mu curious anymore.

    Huo Yuhao was honest, and described the changes to Elder Mu. However, he still concealed the matter of the Eye of Life. After all, that involved Electrolux, and his third eye finally had a legitimate backstory behind it.

    Elder Mu thought for a moment after Huo Yuhao finished. He said, ¡°It¡¯s very simr to the change that urs when a Body Soul awakens for the second time, but your increase in strength was even greater. You have to analyze the brilliance behind the word ¡®destiny¡¯ in the ¡®Eye of Destiny.¡¯ Receiving power from the Emperor Beast is no simple thing. From today onwards, you shall learn from Fan Yu for three days, then return and cultivate with me for three days. Wang Yan will then give you theoretical lessons on soul masters for one day. You¡¯ll need to work for seven days a week without any rest days. You don¡¯t need to return to the outer courtyard either. You¡¯ll just need to take the advancement exam every year.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little shocked when he heard this, but knew that Elder Mu was doing his best to nurture him. ¡°No problem.¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°You can go now. Go and find Fan Yu first, I¡¯ve already informed him that he can begin the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Ultimate Soldier n. You shall be learning alongside He Caitou.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, what about Wang Dong?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have much interest in soul tools. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll remain in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to cultivate with me. I¡¯ll also supervise your joint cultivation. You shall return to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion every night to cultivate with him.¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡±

    Elder Mu opened his eyes slowly and looked at Huo Yuhao with a gentle yet stern look. ¡°Yuhao, you must enter a rapid state of development from now on. Possessing an Ultimate martial soul doesn¡¯t just signify your bright future, it also means that you carry a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. In two years, you¡¯ll proceed to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for a three-year exchange. I hope that you¡¯ll have your own special set of skills once it¡¯s time for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. We¡¯re a little tight on time, but time isn¡¯t on my side. The ties between the empires on the continent are fragile. The Sun Moon Empire has shown signs of making a move, the Body Sect has reappeared, and¡­¡±

    He paused for a while, then gazed at Huo Yuhao seriously. ¡°Your ability to obtain the Emperor Beast¡¯s power of destiny shows that destiny has chosen you. Your future isn¡¯t just about protecting Shrek Academy and revitalizing the Tang Sect. It¡¯s also about ensuring the continent¡¯s peace and stability. If you can remember my words and are willing to do your best, it¡¯ll be an honor to be your teacher.¡±

    For some unknown reason, Huo Yuhao felt his heart be heavy when he heard Elder Mu¡¯s words, though it wasn¡¯t because of Elder Mu¡¯s words or tone. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher, how¡¯s your body?¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and shook his head. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. At my age, I¡¯ve already learned to ept unpleasant truths. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t give up on my ailing body so long as it means that I can protect Shrek Academy for just one more day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to add on to his words, but was stopped by Elder Mu. ¡°Go on, every second is important to you now. I¡¯ve already informed Fan Yu. Now that you¡¯ve absorbed your soul ring, you¡¯ll learn from him for the three days, and begin your weekly cultivation cycle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gazed steadily at Elder Mu, then bowed to him. After that, he turned and left the room.

    A sense if sorrow surged through his mind after he carefully closed the door to Elder Mu. Huo Yuhao was much more sensitive to things now that he had the Eye of Destiny. He could clearly sense that Elder Mu¡¯s life was on the decline. It was likely that he wouldn¡¯t live past a year. In addition, this was a natural decline that couldn¡¯t be stopped.

    Huo Yuhao stood silently outside Elder Mu¡¯s door for another ten seconds, before slowly turning and leaving the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. When Elder Mu had stared at him seriously earlier, he¡¯d had an unforgettable look of expectation in his eyes. He knew that the only way to make Elder Mu happy was to try his best to increase his own abilities.

    Elder Mu revealed a faint smile inside of his room. He muttered, ¡°Boy, this pressure might being to you too early, but I have no choice, because I don¡¯t have much time left!¡± He hadn¡¯t told Huo Yuhao about Ma Xiaotao because he wanted Huo Yuhao to cultivate without any distractions.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t fly, thus he could only take the ferry to leave Sea God¡¯s Ind. It wouldn¡¯t be as troublesome once he reached the four-ringed cultivation, which would allow him to use flying-type soul tools to travel around.

    He returned to the outer courtyard after passing over the surface of the vastke. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sorrow had disappeared, and an unprecedented motivation had reced it.

    After discarding all his nonsensical thoughts, Huo Yuhao rushed to the Soul Tool Testing Area, reaching it soon after he passed Shrek za. He saw Fan Yu standing at the door to the Soul Tool Testing Area just as he arrived.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao hurried forwards.

    Fan Yu sternly nodded his head and said, ¡°Follow me.¡±

 Chapter 148: Extreme Test

    Mo Feiyun looked extremely dismal as he rushed pathetically out of the Great Star Dou Forest. There had been eight of them initially, including Wei Na and Mu Xue. However, there were only five of them left now. Three soul kings had been left behind in the forest forever. They hadn¡¯t even managed to hunt down the soul beasts that they¡¯d wanted.

    All of this had something to do with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao after they left¡ªor perhaps after they went missing.

    After the three of them went missing, a frightening aura was released when Elder Xuan shed with Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff. Mo Feiyun had been terrified when he felt the aura, and immediately frantically escaped with everyone. Because they didn¡¯t know where the aura hade from, they ran in the wrong direction in their panic, and met with opponents that they couldn¡¯t deal with.

    In the end, they made a lucky escape after they left the three soul kings behind. However, they didn¡¯t make any progress after searching for several days, and had no choice but to leave the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡°Missy, Your Highness, it seems like we¡¯ll have to make a trip to the Extreme North.¡± Mo Feiyun sighed.

    Mu Xueforted him, ¡°Master Mo, it¡¯s fine. We can search slowly. It¡¯s also better for me and Wei Na to search for martial souls in the Extreme North. However, it¡¯s a pity for those three other masters. The sect willpensate their families greatly when we return, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Mo Feiyun nodded his head and said, ¡°Hai, it¡¯s all my fault. I let them down! If I hadn¡¯t chose the wrong direction and brought everyone to the Hybrid Region, all of this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    Mu Xue snorted. ¡°They¡¯re also to be med. We haven¡¯t seen them since they disappeared. Don¡¯t let me see them again.¡±

    Wei Namented, ¡°Sister Mu Xue, we can¡¯t me them either. They didn¡¯t do anything to us either. They only left us suddenly.¡±

    Mu Xue answered, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t think that they¡¯re capable of making a hundred thousand year soul beast unleash its aura, they did coincidentally disappear when it happened. Who was the one that brought Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong away? If I¡¯m not wrong, the three of them were here to seek soul rings. But they must¡¯ve been followed by a powerful elder. Star Luo National Academy is the top academy in the Star Luo Empire, and has Titled Douluo-level teachers. Maybe that elder was a Titled Douluo who attracted strong opposition.¡±

    Wei Naughed bitterly. ¡°There¡¯s no point guessing now that things have gotten to this stage. Let¡¯s just head to the Extreme North. To be honest, I¡¯d really rather not go there! It¡¯s too cold, and danger usually lies in the unknown.¡±

    Mu Xue said, ¡°Let¡¯s return to Heaven Dou City to reorganize ourselves and replenish our strength. We won¡¯t need to be afraid of the Extreme North if we make proper preparations. However, Wei Na, you¡¯ve indeed impressed me! You didn¡¯tin once on this journey even though you¡¯re the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s princess. I didn¡¯t expect this!¡±

    Wei Naughed and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sister Mu Xue. We have to seize the day if we want to reorganize. It¡¯s been almost a month since we reached our Rank 30 bottlenecks. I don¡¯t want it to go on like this.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, how did you know I wasing back?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously as he followed Fan Yu into the Soul Tool Testing Area.

    Fan Yu replied, ¡°Elder Mu informed me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked, ¡°Teacher informed you?¡±

    Fan Yu chuckled and said, ¡°Elder Mu is highly skilled; what¡¯s so strange about him using long-distancemunication? Yuhao, you have an important mission from today onwards. It¡¯ll be much tougher than before, but you must persevere. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion has decided that the Soul Tool Department will use all of its resources to initiate the Ultimate Soldier n and nurture you and He Caitou. The pressure on the both of you will greatly increase from now on. Even though I¡¯m your teacher, I won¡¯t let you off so easily. You¡¯ll face immense challenges when the training begins unless the both of you somehow back out of the Ultimate Soldier n.¡±

    The two of them finally reached Testing Area Number 12.

    The Testing Area was empty, save for He Caitou, who was in the midst of creating a soul tool.

    ¡°Senior He.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted him and rushed over.

    He Caitou put the metal in his hands down and chortled, ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re finally back. How are things? Are they settled?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯m a soul elder now.¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get to work. Both of you,e over here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou rushed to Fan Yu and stood in front of him.

    Fan Yu said in a deep voice, ¡°The Ultimate Soldier n will start from today. Even though it¡¯s likely to be very tough with your current cultivations, there¡¯s no way that you can back out now. You need to give your all toplete this training. Dean Xian, Dean Qian, and myself will be guiding both of you. I shall exin the significance of the Ultimate Soldier n in today¡¯s first lesson.¡±

    ¡°The Ultimate Soldier n aims to nurture a powerful entity capable of changing the tide of an entire war. The definition of war here refers to resistance by a foreign army.¡±

    ¡°All four empires on the continent have armies that consist of soul masters. The generals of these armies must, at the minimum, be a soul sage. If a coordinated and well-trained army possesses sufficient soul tools, even Titled Douluo can¡¯t easily deal with them. Since the two of you have been chosen as part of the Ultimate Soldier n, you must not only learn how to create soul tools, but you must also know how to use them. In addition, you need to learn infiltration, camouge, investigation, destruction, and concealment techniques, on top of military knowledge. The academy¡¯s original intention was to try out this n over a ten year period. However, Elder Mu has instructed us to make it feasible within two years.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, Caitou, there¡¯s a slight difference in the way that both of you will be nurtured. Yuhao will focus more on investigation, destruction, infiltration, and concealment techniques, as well as the usage of soul tools. Caitou, you¡¯ll focus on soul tool development, explosives, camouge techniques, survival skills, military administration, strategy, observation skills, quick reactions, escape techniques, ambush techniques, and many other misceneous aspects.¡±

    He Caitou had much more to learn than Huo Yuhao. This was because Huo Yuhao had to focus on cultivating both his martial soul and soul tools.

    Fan Yu continued, ¡°Simply put, Yuhao¡¯s aim is to increase his own destructive capability and learn all of the methods avable to destroy his enemies. On the other hand, Caitou is a food-type soul master. He needs to obtain greater knowledge to take on a more supplementary level. You¡¯ll be Yuhao¡¯s advisor and strategist. In our n, the Ultimate Soldier refers to the two of you as a single entity. It¡¯s not just one of you; it¡¯s the both of you. Understood?¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly turned to look at He Caitou. He Caitou appeared calm, but his eyes revealed a look of excitement. He Caitou smiled when he saw Huo Yuhao looking over and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? This was my choice. My role is more important than yours in the Ultimate Soldier n, hehe.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t old, he was much more mature than others his age due to the experiences he¡¯d been through. How could he not understand from Fan Yu¡¯s words that he was the main protagonist in the n, and that He Caitou was just his aide? Furthermore, He Caitou had to learn that much more than him. He would definitely have less energy to devote to his own cultivation!

    Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t think too much. Even though Caitou is your aide in this n, his future cultivation won¡¯t be low. The academy will definitely think of a way to help him be a Titled Douluo. The academy has put a lot of effort into this Ultimate Soldier n; we¡¯ll do our best to make it perfect. You should only concern yourself with how to enhance yourself through the tough learning and training.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything further, but he¡¯d never forget this favour from his senior.

    Fan Yu said, ¡°As it¡¯s the first day of this n, I shall give both of you a test. Go and prepare first, I¡¯ll make the necessary arrangements while you do so. Proceed to the Beast Dueling Area in an hour¡¯s time. You can use whatever skills you have during the test, including soul tools. Everything but stationary soul tools will be allowed.¡±

    After Fan Yu left, He Caitou busied himself and grabbed many different types of soul tools.

    ¡°Senior, do you know the contents of this test? We should be fighting soul beasts in the Beast Dueling Area, right?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    He Caitou replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. However, teacher said that the Soul Tool Department¡¯s resources will all be expended on us. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as simple as a fight with soul beasts; we have to be prepared. If I¡¯m not wrong, the test today is to find out what our limits are before they arrange our future training. The Ultimate Soldier n is more focused on live experience. We¡¯ll have at least one practical experience every week from now on. The remainder of our training involves learning and practice.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, and his eyes were filled with confidence. His abilities had improved greatly ever since they¡¯d won the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. His teacher didn¡¯t even know what he¡¯d obtained in the Great Star Dou Forest. He was determined to surprise his teacher in this test.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t prepare too much, since there wasn¡¯t much for him to prepare. He hadn¡¯t made any soul tools in months, so he still had the same few soul tools on him. The strongest one was likely the soul paralysis ray, which was why he only sat cross-legged and tried to regte his soul power to bring himself to his best condition. He Caitou was soon finished with his own preparations.

    After an hour, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou proceeded towards the Beast Dueling Area. It was already lesson time, thus the outer courtyard was very quiet. The two of them looked at each other, then entered the Beast Dueling Area.

    A few important figures and the person in charge of the Beast Dueling Area, Gong Changlong, were waiting for them in the center of the Beast Dueling Area.

    As Shrek Academy¡¯srgest exclusive region, the Beast Dueling Area was also thergest building in the academy. It covered an area that was greater than the all of the Martial Soul Department ssroom blocks, dormitories and Shrek zabined. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou jogged over there.

    ¡°Greetings to Dean Xian, Dean Qian and Teacher Gong. Teacher.¡± The two of them greeted everyone, including Fan Yu.

    Gong Changlong had a deep impression of Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao imitated the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast, he had caused widespread fear among the soul beasts in the Beast Dueling Area, and they literally shit and pissed themselves. It took a lot of time to clear all that up.

    Gong Changlong furrowed his brows and he asked, ¡°Dean Xian, Old Qian, are the two of you both certain that you want to do this? How old are these two kids? What if something happens?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said in a deep voice, ¡°Elder Gong, how can we test their limits if we don¡¯t do this? Their potential and abilities can only be fully unleashed in a life and death situation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were stunned as they heard Dean Xian. Wasn¡¯t this just a test? Why did it involve a life and death situation?

    Gong Changlong said, ¡°I hope that the Soul Tool Department doesn¡¯t cause any trouble. I don¡¯t agree with this. I need to be responsible for these students¡¯ safety.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er took out a token of made of some unknown material. The token was lush blue, and contained a spinning blue halo.

    ¡°Elder Gong, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion has already given approval for the Soul Tool Department to begin the Ultimate Soldier n. All resources in the academy must be duly allocated ording to their wishes. Please begin with what we agreed on just now.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was one of the two most authoritative deans in Shrek Academy. His words carried great weight.

    Elder Gong¡¯s expression changed greatly when he saw the lush blue token. He didn¡¯t speak any further, and he turned around before leaving. The Sea God''s Writ was Shrek Academy¡¯s highest-ranked token. It could only be given out during the conference held within Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. It could only be used temporarily, and had to be returned to the Pavilion afterward.

    One who held the Sea God''s Writ could move all Shrek Academy¡¯s resources, which included recalling graduated students and re-allocating Shrek City¡¯s human, material and financial resources. Apart from Elder Mu, everyone had to listen once the Sea God''s Writ was revealed. Even Elder Xuan was no exception. If something special happened, only Elder Mu could retrieve the token before the userpleted his mission.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou didn¡¯t know the significance of the Sea God''s Writ. They were a little nervous now. What exactly was the test about?

    Xian Lin¡¯er nodded at Fan Yu, ¡°Fan Yu, tell them about the test.¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Caitou, Yuhao, we¡¯ll test the limits of your abilitiester. The two of you must not hold anything back in this test. During this test, I will keep adding soul beasts to deplete all your powers. The test is only over when you lose all ability to fight any further. The soul beasts will not be merciful on you. We¡¯ll be ready to step in anytime, but we can¡¯t guarantee that no idents will happen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you must try your best to protect yourselves during the entire test. The longer you persist, the more soul beasts you¡¯ll encounter. This will also enhance your scores in the test. You can kill soul beasts during this test; do not have any misgivings. Besides a restriction on Yuhao¡¯s Imitation, which will be that he is not allowed to imitate a hundred thousand year soul beast¡¯s aura, and Caitou¡¯s use of stationary soul tools, both of you can use whatever abilities you have. The first requirement of an Ultimate Soldier is to be able to protect yourself under all sorts of conditions. You must keep this in mind. Go on to the center. The soul beasts will appear from anywhere, and there¡¯ll be no start signal. Let me see how good you are.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged resolutely just as He Caitou was feeling anxious. Huo Yuhao was filled with fighting will when he thought of Elder Mu¡¯s expectations, Teacher Fan Yu¡¯s hopes for both of them and Senior He Caitou¡¯s sacrifice. He wanted to work hard, fight and give his all to improve himself.

    He Caitou also gathered his emotions and walked towards the center of the Beast Dueling Area with Huo Yuhao.

    As he walked, He Caitou said softly, ¡°Little junior, what¡¯s our n?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a while before saying, ¡°Senior, I¡¯ll be the one who mainly fights while you cover me. You¡¯ll attack based on the directions given by my Spiritual Detection. Control your own attacks and try to retreat after each strike. I believe that we won¡¯t be facing just one soul beast in this test. We need to conserve our energy and soul power.¡±

    He Caitou answered readily, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll follow your instructions.¡± As the test was about to start, they started to be excited. They had managed to survive the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. How difficult could this test be?

    ¡°Here theye.¡± Huo Yuhao shouted and turned around. He shifted his feet two steps and blocked He Caitou.

    A wolf-like soul beast that was covered in ck fur had leapt towards them quietly. It even seemed a little illusory as it leaped.

    It was a Spectre Wolf, a lightning-quick soul beast with extreme dodging abilities. This Spectre Wolf¡¯s forehead had a lock of golden hair, which signified that its cultivation was beyond a thousand years.

    3 white soul rings rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet. His eyes lit up, and a dim golden light shed. His Spiritual Detection Sharing was initiated, covering 100 meters around him. A very clear blueprint appeared in He Caitou¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao immediately reduced the area that his Spiritual Detection covered to save his soul power.

    He had no Wang Dong, Haodong Power or Golden Light to aid his recovery. He had to depend on himself and He Caitou.

    The Spectre Wolf had already burst in front of them in this short period of time. He Caitou¡¯s body rang with nging noises, and 12 small soul tool cannons appeared on him. He immediately chose his soul tools based on his experience and Huo Yuhao¡¯s advice to retreat after attacking.

    The thousand year Spectre Wolf didn¡¯t leap at them directly. As it realized that it was less than 10 meters away from Huo Yuhao, its body shook a little, and two other Spectre Wolves appeared on its left and right. There were now 3 of them that wereing from different directions. 2 of them went for Huo Yuhao, while the remaining Spectre Wolf went for He Caitou.

    This was the Spectre Doppelganger, an innate soul skill of the Spectre Wolf. Only one of the doppelgangers was real. The other two didn¡¯t have any true offensive abilities. Not only was this innate skill useful, but it was also quite effective. If not for the fact that soul masters couldn¡¯t unleash their soul skills with this skill, the Spectre Wolf would have already been extinct. Even so, thousand year Spectre Wolves were soul beasts that many beast soul masters liked to choose.

    Huo Yuhao also moved as the Spectre Wolf turned into 3 different figures. He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to turn illusory as well.

    His abilities had benefited from an all-round increase as his cultivation went above three rings. His speed became extremely rapid. Along with the changes to his body by the Life Guardian, he was like a hunted panther escaping quickly as he burst out.

    His figure shed, and he reached the Spectre Wolf on the left. His right hand pped the head of the Spectre Wolf directly.

    He struck at a very opportune time. It was in exactly the same moment that the Spectre Wolf jumped out. The Spectre Wolf couldn¡¯t change direction anymore, and only lifted both its front legs to w at Huo Yuhao. At the same time, it tried to bite Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    However, it was doing this based on its calction of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm length and the speed of his strike. At this instant, 5 long dark golden des suddenly appeared at the tips of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers.

    They increased in length until they were a foot long, meaning that Huo Yuhao¡¯s reach had also increased by a foot. His strikended on the Spectre Wolf¡¯s head, and the sharp, dark golden des stabbed into its forehead. Huo Yuhao exploited its momentum to lift its body until it was almost perpendicr to the ground. The Spectre Wolf¡¯s ws didn¡¯t manage to strike him. Huo Yuhao used his right arm¡¯s strength to propel his body into the air and suppress the Spectre Wolf.

    The Spectre Wolf screamed pathetically and was immediately killed by the dark golden des that had pierced its head.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t move from his position, and the other two Spectre Wolves leapt towards him and Huo Yuhao. But they were instantaneously turned into balls of grey fog before they disappeared.

    The Spectre Doppelganger was a joke in front of the Spiritual Detection. How could Huo Yuhao be tricked?

    Huo Yuhao used his left hand to hit the Spectre Wolf¡¯s head and flip himself over. The Spectre Wolf¡¯s body was struck to the ground and remained motionless. Not even a single drop of blood flowed out from the wolf. There was only a purple soul ring.

    ¡°Fan Yu, you¡¯ve developed a new closebat soul tool?¡± Qian Duoduo was stunned. He had already ascended to the stage with Xian Lin¡¯er and Fan Yu to watch the battle in the Beast Dueling Area.

    Fan Yu was also puzzled. ¡°No! I don¡¯t even know what that dark golden de is. Did he develop it himself?¡±

    Qian Duoduo said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Wolves are like dogs. Their heads are very tough, although their bodies are very weak. The skull of the Spectre Wolf is the toughest part of its body. Although this thousand year Spectre Wolf isn¡¯t defensively sound, its skull is still quite strong. But it was pierced so easily by Yuhao. I¡¯m afraid even a ss 5 or 6 closebat soul tool wouldn¡¯t be able to do that. How would it be possible for him to even create one, much less use it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a soul bone,¡± Xian Lin¡¯er said.

    ¡°Soul bone? This kid has a right arm soul bone?¡± Fan Yu was shocked. ¡°I recall that he only received a left arm bone after he returned from the tournament!¡±

    The battle in the arena didn¡¯t stop as they conversed. After Huo Yuhao regained his footing, he slid, and his entire body fell to the ground. The dark golden des on his right hand didn¡¯t retract, but were stabbed into the ground instead.

    He caused a tremor that covered tens of square meters. Dirt sprayed everywhere as a huge body was forced out of the ground

    It was a huge python covered in dark green scales, about six meters long. At this time, its whole body was spasming wildly. Huo Yuhao had grabbed on its head as he ¡°slipped¡± earlier.

    Pythons had more vitality then wolves, so it hadn¡¯t died immediately. It shook violently and flung Huo Yuhao to one side, twisting and turning, while the wounds on its head gushed blood. No matter how strong its vitality was, it couldn¡¯t withstand five killing wounds on its head!

    This was a thousand-year ckscale Python, a thousand-year soul beast. But it was actually killed so quickly by Huo Yuhao, undoubtedly the work of his Spiritual Detection.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t even unleash a strike. When Huo Yuhao fell to the ground, his legs shifted rapidly, and he retreated 10 meters, preventing any attack by the thousand-year ckscale Python.

    Two thousand-year soul beasts had been killed in a matter of seconds.

    Gong Changlong, who was initially worried that they would be hurt, was now extremely appalled. Did Huo Yuhao really only have three soul rings? Furthermore, his soul rings were all white. What was going on?

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were given the opportunity to catch their breath after ying two soul beasts in session. Of course, they weren¡¯t really in need of such a break at the moment.

    He Caitou was as shocked as the teachers right now.

    Compared to the teachers, he was much more familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. A three-ringed Soul Elder was on the same level as a thousand-year soul beast. However, this didn¡¯t mean that all soul elders had the ability to kill a thousand-year soul beast.

    When Huo Yuhao first met Bei Bei, he had helped him kill a thousand-year soul beast. Bei Bei even mentioned that he didn¡¯t have absolute confidence in resisting the thousand-year soul beast they had run into back then. Of course, Bei Bei had been referring to a soul beast with seven or eight thousand-years of cultivation.

    The two soul beasts that had appeared just now only possessed a thousand-years of cultivation, but they were true thousand-year soul beasts! Even if Huo Yuhao was fortunate enough to have Spiritual Detection to help him sense their movements, he couldn¡¯t have killed them without the Darkgolden Terrorws. Almost all soul beasts had tough skull, but the two soul beasts he had fought just now had no chance against the golden ws!

    He Caitou hadn¡¯t seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws before. He only knew that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show any obvious undtions of soul power when he killed the two soul beasts. He had only maintained his Spiritual Detection, and used pure strength to kill both soul beasts. The two soul beasts were killed before they could unleash their own abilities. This was especially so for the python, which had wanted to mount a surprise attack. However, it was killed before it could do so.

    However, He Caitou didn¡¯t have time to ask Huo Yuhao what his Darkgolden Terrorws were. The test had only just started. Even though Huo Yuhao had already disyed his full strength, it didn¡¯t change the nature of the test.

    Four more soul beasts burst towards the two of them from four different directions. These four soul beasts were all different, but they were obviously at least in the thousand-year bracket in terms of cultivation.

    They were a lion, a tiger, a panther and a bear. They were thousand-year soul beasts, but there were differences in their powers. Just like how a thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was unafraid of a ten thousand-year Deviltiger Cat, these four species of soul beasts might not have especially outstanding blood lineages, but their powers were greater than those of most soul beasts.

    Furthermore, these four soul beasts belonged to the same element ¨C the rare Metal element. This meant that that they were skilled in physicalbat, and their defensive strength was extremely high.

    The four soul beasts let out different roars as they started to force their way closer to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    The thousand-year Golden Panther was the quickest. This yellow- eyed Golden Panther had a row of fine metal spikes on its neck. Each spike was around three inches in length, and covered its neck all the way to its spine. Although it moved very swiftly, it didn¡¯t dash over at the first opportunity. The four soul beasts seemed to be coordinating with one another!

    This was Shrek Academy¡¯s Beast Dueling Area. Some of the soul beasts had been trained. The higher the soul beasts¡¯ cultivations, the higher their intelligence. Training them wasn¡¯tpletely impossible with sufficient temptation. Of course, the secret method to training them was confidential in the academy.

    A dim radiance shed, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s face revealed a cold smile. Coordination? How could he let them do as they wished?

    ¡°Charge!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted, and charged towards the east with He Caitou. There was a thousand-year golden bear on this side. It was huge and burly, its body close to three meters tall and exuding a golden glow. Although it couldn¡¯tpare to the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s dark golden glow, its standing fur and rough skin made it the most defensively resolute among the 4 soul beasts. It was also the strongest.

    The Golden Bear roared as it saw Huo Yuhao and He Caitou rushing over. It charged at the two of them, while the other three soul beasts also sped up, quickly surrounding the two humans. The Golden Panther was the fastest, chasing them like a bolt of yellow lightning. As the golden bear faced them from the front, it would attack them from behind!

    Huo Yuhao suddenly lifted his head and squinted. Two streaks of purplish-gold light shot out from his Spirit Eyes. The golden bear¡¯s body trembled violently, and its front legs lost their footing before it crashed onto the ground. Its immense weight even caused its two front w bones to crack slightly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had increased to three rings, and he even possessed the Eye of Destiny. While his increased spiritual power was sucked away by the Eye of Destiny and left him almost the same as before, the quality of his spiritual power had greatly increased. He used Spiritual Shock topletely crush the golden bear¡¯s spiritual power.

    Why did Huo Yuhao choose this direction? The reason was simple ¨C the bear had the lowest intelligence among all four soul beasts, even though it was the strongest. This meant that its spiritual power was the weakest among the four soul beasts. It wasn¡¯t directly killed by the Spiritual Shock, but its soul had suffered irreparable damage.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s backs lit up. Their soul tool thrusters were initiated, propelling them forward. They quickly closed the gap to the golden bear.

    The Golden Panther was now only twenty meters away from the. The other two soul beasts were fifty meters away, as they were not as quick.

    Huo Yuhao had enough time to do many things with the distance between them and the other soul beasts.

    He suddenly leapt forward and unleashed the Darkgolden Terrorws once again. He didn¡¯t stab the ws into the bear¡¯s head. Since he was trying to conserve his soul power, he didn¡¯t want to waste it on the golden bear¡¯s skull. This golden bear¡¯s defensive strength was much greater than the wolf and python earlier.

    The dark golden ws stabbed into the bear¡¯s neck and tore its spinal cortex. Its huge body slumped down, its life leaving its huge body quickly..

    He Caitou¡¯s figure shed, and he came in behind the golden bear, using its body as a shield. Huo Yuhao stepped onto the golden bear and used his momentum to leap up before turning around in midair.

    He lifted his right hand high above his head, as his entire body bent into a bow. He was like an axe that was about to unleash immense destruction. The Golden Panther was already close to him at this point.

    A streak of frightening dark gold light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s true appearance was finally revealed for the first time.

    The huge dark golden projection swept across the space between the panther and Hu Yuhao, its frightening aura causing the other two soul beasts to stop in their tracks.

    The Golden Panther, however, was already in the air, and was about to unleash an all-out attack on Huo Yuhao. Its body shed with a golden light as it tried to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. However, its body was still instantly cut to pieces, falling to the ground in a stter of blood and gore.

    ¡°Damn it, Darkgolden Terrorws!¡± Qian Duoduo finally recognized what Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm bone was. Who didn¡¯t know of the famous Darkgolden Terrorw Bear? Even Qian Duoduo envied Huo Yuhao now. Not only was it difficult to kill a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, it was even more tedious to find a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear that fit one¡¯s own cultivation! Furthermore, Darkgolden Terrorw Bears didn¡¯t just possess one innate skill. Finding a soul bone and a soul skill from a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was even moreborious!

 Chapter 149: Judgement of the Light of Destiny

    Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu became restless after seeing the golden panther being killed by the dark golden radiance.

    In their original n, they hadn¡¯t put too much hope in the first 2 soul beasts in this test. They were mainly there to deplete Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s soul power. The 4 soul beasts that came after that were the main ones to deal with Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The lion, tiger, panther and bear were representatives of powerful soul beasts. Their cultivations and metal element were a testament to their strength.

    The reason why the metal element was chosen over the more explosive fire element was because Huo Yuhao had the Ultimate Ice. This was a meticulous consideration, but they didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to disy the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s ability. 2 out of the 4 metal-type soul beasts were killed just like that.

    He Caitou also began to show his powers in this battle. His 12 soul tool cannons were aimed at the golden lion on the left. 12 streaks of light sealed off all escape routes for the golden lion under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. The golden lion could only defend, and couldn¡¯t advance any further.

    He Caitou had four rings. He shouldn¡¯t be too fearful of these 4 soul beasts if he unleashed his soul tool fort, given his abilities. However, it was impossible for him to take down these 4 soul beasts himself.

    Huo Yuhao also made his move as He Caitou acted. His first action was to bend his back, and he grabbed ahold of the golden panther¡¯s thigh that had been cut off. After that, he threw it at the golden tiger, which was around 20 meters away from him, using his left hand!

    The golden tiger roared furiously and lifted its front ws. It was about to deflect the panther¡¯s thigh away. At this point, Huo Yuhao unleashed another of his divine skills.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± An explosive force was unleashed, and ice shavings scattered into the air. Although it was only just a panther¡¯s thigh, it was still filled with the golden panther¡¯s soul power since it had only just perished. The Ultimate Ice initiated the Ice Explosion Technique, and the golden tiger¡¯s ws seemed to strike a soul tool bomb as it hit the panther¡¯s thigh. In addition, the tiger waspletely unprepared!

    Its ws were blown apart amidst the reverberating boom. Its body was sent flying into the air, and the upper half of its body was covered in fresh blood.

    Huo Yuhao had another identity. He was a Tang Sect disciple. At the same time, he chose the Tang Sect as his path after his retreat in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He showed everyone how to use the Tang Sect¡¯s secret weapons. This time, his secret weapon was the golden panther that had been cut to pieces.

    The golden tiger that was sted didn¡¯t even have a chance to crawl up before more of the golden panther¡¯s remains were turned into bombs by the Ice Explosion Technique and flew towards it. Amidst a series of explosions, the powerful golden tiger was killed as Shrek Academy¡¯s elders looked on in shock. It couldn¡¯t even get close to Huo Yuhao, much less make him unleash a soul skill.

    The weakness of such metal-type soul beasts was always in terms of long-range attacks. This was also natural given that they were physically tough. Otherwise, they would have be the most outstanding soul beasts around if they were strong in all aspects.

    Huo Yuhao knew the might of his Ice Explosion Technique after his experience in the Great Star Dou Forest. He almost killed a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear using a ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat¡¯s corpse. While a thousand years soul beast¡¯s body was inferior, the difference wasn¡¯t too great.

    He turned around calmly after killing the thousand year golden tiger. His left hand pressed on the bear that was already dead. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer¡¯s diamond shed with radiance. The golden bear was quickly turned into a Transcendent Ice Bomb that could go off at any time.

    He Caitou¡¯s attacks stopped. A ss 4 Milk Bottle appeared in his palm, and he used it to suck in soul power. In fact, he hadn¡¯t depleted much of his soul power. He could kill the golden lion if he wanted to, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t let him do so. He was following Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to fight.

    The golden lion felt relieved, but couldn¡¯t locate the golden tiger. It was in a daze. Huo Yuhao tried to provoke him by hooking his finger toward him.

    The lion was the king of beasts! It had a bad temper, and its yellow mane, which was shing with a metallic glow, started to spike up. It roared and burst towards Huo Yuhao. Its legs let out nging metal noises as they struck the ground as it opened its mouth to reveal its huge, razor-sharp teeth. Even a Titled Douluo might be unable to handle its bite!

    Huo Yuhao was slightly breathless after killing the tiger. He revealed a soul tool against this golden lion that came towards him. It was the soul paralysis ray. The golden lion couldn¡¯t escape the rays shot out by him under the influence of his Spiritual Detection. As a streak of light shed, the attack of the soul paralysis ray was counteracted by a metal-like halo released by the golden lion. However, the paralysis effect still took ce. The lion¡¯s body shook a little, but it didn¡¯t copse like the bear as it tried to hold on. However, its speed immediately dropped.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes squinted, and a cold radiance shed across them. He burst towards the golden lion. Looking very ferocious.

    As he got closer to the lion, the paralysis effect began to wear off. The lion opened its mouth and attempted to bite Huo Yuhao as he burst towards it. Its fur also spiked up and turned into golden spikes. They became offensive weapons.

    It unleashed its full abilities as the strongest among the 4 soul beasts. Its eyes shed with a metal glow, and at least 10% of its mane shot out as sharp spikes. Huo Yuhao was quickly engulfed by a huge number of metal spikes.

    The lion was the only one among the 4 soul beasts that still had some long-range offensive abilities. However, these metal spikes were most effective at a 5 meter range.

    Huo Yuhao decided to face these metal spikes head-on. He didn¡¯t use a soul tool to protect himself, but the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, one of the two soul skills the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had given him.

    As his cultivation increased, the power of his soul rings also increased in tandem. The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor was defensively stronger than before.

    ¡°Ding ding ding ding ding ding¡­¡± A series of knocking sounds rang from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The metal spikes were deflected away by the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor and couldn¡¯t prate his body. Huo Yuhao also used this opportunity to get closer to the lion.

    The golden lion bit down on nothing as the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was used. Huo Yuhao dodged its bite and came beside it.

    The golden lion also recognized Huo Yuhao¡¯s frightening Darkgolden Terrorws. Its mane started to change form, and its entire head now looked like a hedgehog. The lion tried to spike its head towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao naturally tried to prevent that from happening. He moved his body back a little before increasing the speed of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. He continued to strike his right hand towards the golden lion¡¯s head. He was not bothered about the damage that could be inflicted onto him by the metal spikes, since he had the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, the Mysterious Jade Hands and the Darkgolden Terrorws with him now.

    The lion lifted its body amidst this crisis and struck its huge ws towards Huo Yuhao. At the same time, a series of nging noises resonated from its body as two metal des came out from its shoulders. One of the des hit Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    The greatest point about Spiritual Detection was its ability to anticipate situations. Huo Yuhao was clearly prepared for this moment. His Darkgolden Terrorw shed with the metal de that shot out of the lion¡¯s shoulder, and he wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage in terms of strength. He only rocked his upper body back a little, and the golden lion¡¯s body also stopped moving.

    This was the strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and the Mysterious Jade Hands. The metal de from the lion¡¯s shoulder couldn¡¯t suppress Huo Yuhao in terms of strength.

    Huo Yuhao had already dodged the lion as his figure shed. His Darkgolden Terrorws shed at the metal de, his left hand unwittingly grabbed hold of the lion¡¯s left forelimb due to the great impact of his shing motion.

    A wave of cold instantly entered the lion¡¯s body. The lion couldn¡¯t help but shiver while its left forelimb was frozen such that it no longer had any sensation there.

    Huo Yuhao exploited the momentum of his sh to flip his body around before sliding his body below the lion¡¯s belly. His left hand shed with an azure radiance before a ¡®boom¡¯ was heard.

    The lion screamed in pain before its huge body was overturned.

    What was the significance of the Ice Explosion Technique? It could blow apart all ice within an area that Huo Yuhao could work his spiritual sense on. It didn¡¯t matter if it was a frozen corpse. The Ice Explosion Technique could turn all matter into its energy aftering into contact with them and make them a source of explosive power.

    Huo Yuhao had previously used his Ice Explosion soul skill to detonate soul beast corpses, in turn converting soul power into pure explosive force.

    But right now, Huo Yuhao took advantage of the lion¡¯s focus on his Darkgolden Terrorws to activate his Ice Explosion soul skill on its left forelimb.

    The most solid fortresses were often felled from the inside; when the soul power in the lion¡¯s left w turned into explosive energy, this was exactly what happened. The Ice Explosion soul skill showed its might once more, blowing the lion¡¯s left w to bits. The frightening st also riddled half of the lion¡¯s body with injuries.

    How could Huo Yuhao miss such an advantageous attack?

    He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to urately appear at the ce where the lion was weakest. A powerful suction force was released towards the lion from Huo Yuhao. While it didn¡¯t drag the lion to him, it did increase his speed towards the lion. With no defenses to bar its way, his right w stabbed into the lion, causing its pathetic, miserable cries to instantly stop as it died.

    At present, all four metal-type soul beasts had been killed. What remained were only four purple soul rings, which floated silently in the air.

    Huo Yuhao pressed his left hand to the Golden Lion¡¯s body, making another bomb out of it with the Ice Explosion soul skill. He then ran towards the center of the arena alongside He Caitou.

    If he included the Spectre Wolf that he¡¯d killed earlier, Huo Yuhao now had three ice bombs at his disposal.

    Gong Changlong regretted speaking up for the two of them earlier; they¡¯d killed six of his thousand year soul beasts! It had been very difficult to catch them¡ªespecially the four metal-type soul beasts that hade at the end. They¡¯d taken him an entire year to train, yet it had all been for naught the moment that Huo Yuhao ughtered them.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t anything like a normal control-type soul master. Evenparing him to agility-type soul masters wasn¡¯t quite appropriate. To be honest, he was more of a mesh between assault-type and agility-type soul masters.

    From start to finish, Huo Yuhao had killed all six soul beasts during the test. He Caitou had only needed to help once, which had been to prevent the tiger and lion from meeting up.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s very impressive disy had already gone far beyond the elders¡¯ expectations.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t getcent. He¡¯d given it his all, and had used every advantage avable to him. He might have depleted a lot of his soul power when he¡¯d used his Darkgolden Terrorws to kill the Golden Panther, but that was to ensure that he didn¡¯t give the panther any chances.

    If these four metal-type soul beasts teamed up, it would¡¯ve been arge problem for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Huo Yuhao had been most concerned about the Golden Panther, since it was the most cunning soul beast of the four.

    It hadn¡¯t rush Huo Yuhao immediately, even though it held an absolute advantage in terms of speed. Instead, it had waited for an opportunity to group up with the other beasts. It was basically the general of the four soul beasts. After obtaining the Darlgolden Terrorws, Huo Yuhao¡¯s offensive might soared. But he was still left with ring weaknesses: He was weak against long-range attacks and lightning-quick opponents.

    As panther-type soul beasts were incredibly fast, the Golden Panther could¡¯ve dragged He Caitou over if it had used hit-and-run tactics, and thus forced Huo Yuhao to fight an uphill battle against the lion and tiger together. While Huo Yuhao was confident that he could take on these two soul beasts at the same time, it would¡¯ve been far more consuming, both mentally and physically.

    That was why he chose the simpler approach¡ªkilling the Golden Panther with his Darkgolden Terrorws quickly, albeit at the expense of his soul power. He¡¯d then used the panther¡¯s corpse to attack the tiger. While this ¡®simple¡¯ method indeed dealt with them, it didn¡¯t seem cost effective for his soul power. However, Huo Yuhao might have expended even more soul power if he¡¯d been sucked into a drawn out fight with the soul beasts.

    The Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone and Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone had shown their worth in this battle. Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting capabilities werepletely new to the deans and Fan Yu¡ªhe¡¯d been more offensive than a four-ringed assault type Soul Ancestor as a three-ringed control-type Soul Elder. The elders felt nothing but shock and awe after witnessing him killing the six soul beasts.

    Of course, there was an exception to that awed feeling: Gong Changlong currently felt extremely gloomy right now, as he was the person in charge of the Beast Dueling Arena. His heart ached when he thought of the fact that six thousand year soul beasts had been wasted just like that! The amount of human and material resources needed to catch and train another six just like them would be astronomically high.

    ¡°Send in eight thousand year souls beasts adept at long-range attacks, and four three-thousand year soul beasts adept at closebat. I don¡¯t believe that these kids will be able to handle them all.¡± Increasing the pace of the test made Gong Changlong¡¯s heart ache, but it meant that it would end faster. However, this wasn¡¯t too shocking. After all, Huo Yuhao had disyed abilities far beyond their initial expectations.

    Huo Yuhao looked a little weird now. He had 2 cigars in his mouth: One thick, and one thin. They were, respectively, the ¡®Spirit Stimting Thick Cigar,¡¯ and the ¡®Soul Power Amplifying Thin Cigar.¡¯ He grasped a Milk Bottle in his hand, as did He Caitou. The two of them leaned on each other as they stood there.

    They were suddenly jolted, and Huo Yuhao eximed, ¡°So many¡­¡±

    He Caitou was also stunned. ¡°They¡¯re trying to kill us¡­¡±

    Twelve soul beasts sauntered in from different directions. There was four huge beasts in front, and eight others trailing behind. They inched closer and closer to them in the center of the arena. The huge pressure emitting from them made Huo Yuhao and He Caitou pretty terrified.

    Huo Yuhao had seemed very rxed as he dealt with the four soul beasts earlier, but that was already giving it his all. But now, their number had tripled, and from the looks of it, several of them were long-ranged attackers. Twelve thousand year soul beasts! If Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were here, then Huo Yuhao reckoned they might have a fighting chance. But could they really win in this situation now?

    ¡°Junior, what do we do?¡± He Caitou looked at the dozen thousand year soul beasts that surrounded them and felt numb. This was definitely beyond what they could handle.

    Fan Yu¡¯s brows furrowed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Elder Gong follow the n? This is too much. They must have been expended quite a lot of their energy already.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Don¡¯t fret. The pressure will do them good. Also we can tell their limits from this and n out their future training. We¡¯re ready to save the both of them if anything happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes slightly and sensed with his active spiritual power. He didn¡¯t ask for help from the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress or Electrolux, even in such a perilous situation. His confidence was slowly growing as his age and powers increased, and he knew how to turn pressure into motivation.

    ¡°Senior¡ªsoul tool fort strategy. I will try and control the soul beasts, and you¡¯ll follow up under the guidance of my Spiritual Detection to attack them. We¡¯ll try our beast and see what happens.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± He Caitou didn¡¯t speak too much either. His confidence in Huo Yuhao had grown immensely following the previous battle. Many metal pipes started to appear on his body as they made nging noises. He Caitou turned around with all the weapons on his body, maintaining a solid grip on the floor underfoot. Showcasing his ability to mount a multi-directional assault.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that it was the same soul tool fort strategy, but a portion of He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fort had already been modified. It seemed like he had made considerable progress after the Advanced Continental Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament.

    The dozen soul beasts were still stalking closer. The four in front were of the same species¡ªthe Single-Horned Devilrhino. A very powerful soul beast, entirely ted in armor. It was rumored to have a strong ram and sturdy defense, while its horn could unleash the Sealing Light. After locking onto an opponent, it would ram them till they perished.

    In the arena, four Single-Horned Devilrhinos with more than three thousand years of cultivation were shing with a subtle, light-blue radiance. Their eyes had turned blood-red, and they advanced forward faster now¡ªready to attack at any moment.

    The eight long-ranged attacker soul beasts behind them also began shing with different colors, ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice. If it wasn¡¯t for the small size of the Beast Dueling Arena and them not having enough space, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou would already be facing a barrage of attacks.

    He Caitou fully prepared his soul tool fort, and Huo Yuhao remained still. He spat out the two cigars, put his Milk Bottle away, and stood there with his arms ced beside his waist. His Spirit Eyes slowly began to close.

    A weird feeling started to spread from Huo Yuhao. The Beast Dueling Area¡¯s work crew, the deans and Fan Yu could all sense iting from Huo Yuhao, but couldn¡¯t identify what it was.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be intangible in an instant. However, amidst that illusion, even he felt awed. The feeling was indescribable, like he had changed into an invisible force that covered the entire arena. He felt like he wasn¡¯t even himself anymore.

    At this time, a weird golden light lit up on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead, looking like the first ray of light at dawn. Everyone squinted their eyes unwittingly, even though it wasn¡¯t blinding them. For just an instant, everyone seemed to pause.

    It was a golden eye, filled with the bright light of destiny. The strange eye disyed the majesty of heaven and earth. Even the air was buzzing as the light from the eye shone forth.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved a little. Only He Caitou managed to hear what he said.

    He had called out, ¡°Destiny, judgement!¡±

    Ayer of strange light spread out, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at the center. The light didn¡¯t seem very intense, but it couldn¡¯t really be described, because every soul beast and soul master saw the color of this light differently.

    The air distorted slightly as the light passed by. It felt like a huge door of destiny had been opened behind everyone.

    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t cover a wide area. It only engulfed the area which the twelve soul beasts were in.

    If this feeling only left Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo in a trance, the next moment revealed the true effects of the transformation in front of their eyes.

    The first transformation happened to He Caitou, who was the closest to Huo Yuhao. He was coated with ayer of dim gold. Thatyer of dim gold instantly peeled off from his body and formed a weird golden light projection behind him. This projection looked identical to him, and was onlycking his soul tools, otherwise a perfect duplicate

    A ring of golden light shed from his double¡¯s shoulder, giving off a feeling of calm and peace.

    The transformation didn¡¯t just happen to He Caitou. The twelve soul beasts that were engulfed by the radiance also underwent transformations. However, their transformations were different from He Caitou¡¯s.

    Every soul beast started to shake uncontrobly. Following that, a pale whiteyer appeared on their heads before peeling off instantly. However, the form that they took after they peeled off didn¡¯t appear as bnced as He Caitou¡¯s projection. These projections took the form of the beasts bare skull, floating above their heads. Even more frightening, the eye sockets of the skulls were glowing a bloody red..

    ¡°What, what is this? Third eye? Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo, and Fan Yu said in unison, ¡°Second awakening of the Body Soul?¡± They couldn¡¯t think of any other possibility except this. Their eyes opened wide as they watched the changes the soul beasts were continuing to experience.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny silently shut itself. His body shook a little, and he seemed a little dizzy.

    His mental fatigue was now intense. His second sea was extremely ufortable, sucked dry by what he had just done. However, he had finally disyed the power of the Eye of Destiny. He also wanted to see what kind of judgement the Light of Destiny could unleash through the Eye.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes opened at the same time he shut his Eye of Destiny. The dim gold remained, but he was much more fatigued.

    The soul beasts were dyed in their advance, and they could all feel a chill rising from the depths of their hearts. They didn¡¯t know what was happening, but they were clearly aware of the changes. But where were these transformationsing from? They had no idea.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t exin it to them. The soul beasts could also feel the changes, but they were stunned that their bodies hadn¡¯t seemed to change. Everything still looked the same as ever to them.

    Some of the soul beasts were furious from the fear that he had inflicted them. The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos roared together and started to charge towards Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The Sealing Lights on their horns also shot out towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul ring suddenly lit up at this point. After he managed to obtain the Spirit Eyes¡¯ third soul ring, it was his first time using it! What was his third soul skill?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned white at this point, and a ring of white light spread out from his body. Undoubtedly, it was a domain-type skill. The twelve soul beasts were all engulfed in its radiance.

    A weird scene urred as the white light engulfed the soul beasts. Every one of them turned white, and their mighty auras from before started to be weaker and weaker.

    The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos that were charging forwards slowed down, and their bodies even started to shake. The soul beasts that were adept in long-range attacks also dyed their attacks at this moment.

    ¡°Senior He, use your soul tools as defensive barriers and attack the soul beasts in the back. Leave the Single-Horned Devilrhinos to me.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao wrenched his head down forcefully. It was as if he were trying to shake off his fatigue. His body then shot out like an arrow.

    The entire battle erupted at this point. Even though the soul beasts that were adept at long-range attacks had been influenced by Huo Yuhao¡¯s white light, they still managed to unleash their long-range attacks at the first opportunity.

    Huo Yuhao could still dodge, but He Caitou was struggling. This was also why Huo Yuhao asked him to use the soul tools to form a defensive barrier for himself.

    Eight long-range soul skills were unleashed. Some of them covered an area, while some of them were fixed on a specific target. Their goal was to strike both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    However, something weird happened at this moment. He Caitou mounted his attack as he engaged his defense. He chose the closest soul beast to him. However, he was anxious at this moment. The concentrated attacks of the eight soul beasts couldn¡¯t be resisted by his ss Four soul tool barrier! Furthermore, the Spiritual Detection had disappeared. He could onlypletely trust Huo Yuhao now.

    Fan Yu was already holding a dark gold metal barrel in his hands on the stage. He locked onto He Caitou, and was about to fire. Although a ss Four soul tool barrier couldn¡¯t resist the soul beasts¡¯ attacks, it could stillst for some time. That was why Fan Yu didn¡¯t rush to his aid. He was waiting for He Caitou to bepletely defenseless. After all, this test was to challenge their limits. However, he was clueless as to why Huo Yuhao and He Caitou didn¡¯t search for a breakout point even though they were in a critical situation. They didn¡¯t even diversify their attacks, which might prove to be their fatal w. Could they still hold on against the twelve soul beasts?

    However, Fan Yu opened his eyes wide at this moment. The light that was about to shoot out of the dark golden barrel also dimmed instantly.

    He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.

    How was this possible? How was this possible? What did he just see?

    Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er also opened their eyes wide. They were both incredulous.

    If they could ept Huo Yuhao¡¯s impressive performance previously, whatever was going on now was beyond what they couldprehend.

    Three of the eight soul beasts using long-range attacks were using domain-type attacks. Domain-type soul skills were all-engulfing, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Meteor Shower being a good example. Of course, domain-type attacks weren¡¯tpletely wless, but their ws were almost negligible, usually that the user couldn¡¯t fully control them, while most targeted long-range attacks locked onto an enemy before a soul skill was unleashed towards them. This was the modus operandi of most soul masters and soul beasts.

    However, an unbelievable scene urred within the Soul Beast Dueling Area. There were eight long-range attacking soul beasts! What happened to their attacks? Their attacks struck nothing. Not even one of their attacks managed to hit He Caitou or Huo Yuhao!

    Even He Caitou couldn¡¯t believe it. He didn¡¯t even have to use his soul tool barrier! Meanwhile, the strike from his soul tool fort managed to easily tear apart one of the soul beast¡¯s bodies.

    How did Huo Yuhao manage to avoid all the soul beasts¡¯ attacks?

    The battle continued to progress as everyone was shocked. Even weirder changes continued to happen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s leaping body had already reached a Single-Horned Devilrhino as the other soul beasts attacked. He leapt up high, and unleashed his Darkgolden Terrorws. He targeted them at the Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s head.

    The Single-Horned Devilrhino was too defensively sound. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could tell that the Single-Horned Devilrhinos weren¡¯t thousand-year soul beasts. Under such circumstances, He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fort might be able to take down one Single-Horned Devilrhino. However, the burden on him would be very great. What about the rest of the soul beasts?

    That¡¯s why Huo Yuhao decided to make a move himself.

 Chapter 150: The Ten Thousand Year Soul Skill - Enfeeblement

    After being enveloped by the radiance from Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul ring, the Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s speed was noticeably lessened, and its body began to tremble.

    The Single-Horned Devilrhino jerked its body as Huo Yuhao lunged at it, attempting to impale Huo Yuhao with the drill-like horn on its head..

    Huo Yuhao was prepared to dodge this attack, knowing full well that he couldn¡¯t down this Devilrhino in a single strike. The Devilrhino¡¯s head is its most vital area, and its most armored, not even the Darkgolden Terrorws have a good chance of prating it in one shot.

    But a peculiar coincidence happened once more. . .

    The Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s body shook as it was running, so its front hoof stepped into a small hole formed during the previous battle, but the small hole was nted.

    The Devilrhino was more than four meters long. Its body was thick and burly, and it weighed more than three thousand kilos. Its front hoof suddenly twisted, and caused its entire body to nt along with it. The horn it stabbed at Huo Yuhaopletely missed, and its head was critically exposed to him.

    ¡°Squelch¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be in the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monster¡¯s if he couldn¡¯t capitalize on the mistakes of an enemy. The Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s five talons bunched together like a woodpecker¡¯s sharp beak, and pierced through the Devilrhino¡¯s eye when its head turned towards him.

    The Single-Horned Devilrhino was taken by great surprise when its body nted to one side, and it even forgot to close its eyes to protect them with its thick eyelids.

    How soft and weak were one¡¯s eyes? Furthermore, it was the Darkgolden Terrorw that stabbed into the eye. Huo Yuhao¡¯s dark golden sharp des jabbed into the Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s head instantly, and its colossal body crashed to the ground with an agonizing howl.

    The dark golden talons turned an icy-white, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm was covered in a diamond-likeyer of crystals. The harrowing screams of a dying Devilrhino ceased, and its head was nketed in ayer of frost.

    Its body was excessively huge, and even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice couldn¡¯t freeze its entire body within a short period of time.

    The strike was too fluid for that. His body sprung into the sky once more as the soul thruster on his backunched him with great might¡ªat another Single-Horned Devilrhino.

    All the other Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s suddenly lost their footing at the same time. Even Huo Yuhao, agent of their demise, found this unbelievable. One of the Devilrhino¡¯s copsed, falling right onto the Golden Tiger¡¯s corpse.

    The corpse exploded from the Ice Explosion soul skill, and the enormous body of the Single-Horned Devilrhino was tossed into the air. The frightening power of the Ice Explosion soul skill made He Caitou think back to their encounter with the corpse explosion back with the evil soul masters inside the cave. The gigantic Single-Horned Devilrhino was blown to smithereens, and its horn was sted from the explosive force,nding right on a vulnerable long-range soul beast¡¯s head¡ªand piercing right through it.

    The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos were all locked onto Huo Yuhao, so they didn¡¯t threaten He Caitou at all, who was currently attacking with all his might.

    ¡°Senior brother, try attacking those long-range soul beasts¡¯ eyes. Fire in bursts, and conserve soul power!¡± Huo Yuhao yelled out while his Darkgolden Terrorw easily pierced through another Devilrhino¡¯s eye. The incredibly strange thing was that this Single-Horned Devilrhino was also inexplicably incapable of closing its eyes in time.

    The long-ranged attacking soul beasts were definitely not in normal condition. Their mobility was reduced, and even after waves of attacks beingunched at Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, not a single attack hit. Their ability to lock onto targets had vanished, and their luck with it.

    Aiming at the soul beasts wasn¡¯t difficult for He Caitou, but soul beasts had very sensitive perceptions, and would swiftly dodge away when they felt something was off. Soul tools could lock on targets, but only one body at a time, and not onto a particrly small region. Still, He Caitou acted ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestions.

    All these incredible, miraculous, and even insidious urrences caused his confidence in Huo Yuhao to increase many times over.

    The battlefield was already extremely chaotic. Two of the four Single-Horned Devilrhinos were eliminated by Huo Yuhao in a matter of seconds, and one was killed by the Ice Explosion. The remaining Devilrhino struggled back to its feet and continued charging towards Huo Yuhao. He Caitou managed to take out two long-range soul beasts, and another one was eliminated by the exploded Devilrhino¡¯s flying horn. There were five more ranged soul beasts to kill, but skull projections still lingered over their head while they stumbled like before.

    The Eye of Destiny judged them with the Light of Destiny. Combined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul skill, Enfeeblement, was the cause of everything that had just happened and was happening.

    Huo Yuhao finally understood the true meaning of destiny¡¯s judgement. A golden shadow glimmered behind his back, and there were wheels of light protecting it. This was the radiance and fortune bestowed upon him by destiny, while those soul beasts were abandoned by destiny¡¯s judgment. Their bodies seemed to be gued by the god of weakness. It was a pity that even though Huo Yuhao was the creator of their bad destiny, he couldn¡¯t change his own destiny. If not, the situation would have been even more sinister.

    And Enfeeblement? This was a domain-type soul skill, so it should rightfully be called Mass Enfeeblement. Those that were struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual fluctuations would find their central nervous system affected. Enfeeblement didn¡¯t diminish the target¡¯s soul power, but it would cause the target to experience dizziness and weakness in their lower limbs, among other things.

    All these crippling effects weren¡¯t conclusive. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement¡¯s most potent effect, was that it could be extended for a long period of time. He had only absorbed six-thousand years out of the whole fifteen thousand in the soul ring, but he could still channel Mass Enfeeblement for an entire minute.

    These twelve soul beasts were impeded by Mass Enfeeblement, and they were judged by destiny at the same time. One could only imagine their dire state. Huo Yuhao took this opportunity, and three Single-Horned Devilrhinos were felled, the tables had turned!

    ¡°Tch, tch, tch.¡± Three brilliant needle-like beams shed by. Three long-range soul beast¡¯s heads erupted in a cloud of blood mist simultaneously¡ªall of them were attacked through their eyes, and their brains were vaporized instantly.

    A long and thin soul tool could be seen on He Caitou¡¯s shoulder. Its foremost point was shaped like a cone, and those thin light beams were fired from the cone-like tip of this soul tool.

    His three simultaneous sts could only be described as the work of a sharpshooter. While the distance between him and his targets wasn¡¯t even a hundred meters, the souls beasts were dodging swiftly, without stopping. Not even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could help him aim at those soul beasts¡¯ eyes.

    He Caitou faintly felt as if there was an unknown force guiding him when he was firing these three shots. When the feeling peaked, he only aimed in roughly the right direction and fired.

    Eight long-range soul beasts dwindled into two very quickly, while thest Single-Horned Devilrhino arrived before Huo Yuhao.

    The Single-Horned Devilrhino had formidable defense and offense. However, it wasn¡¯t agile enough in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and brushed past the Devilrhino¡¯s side. Even though the Single-Horned Devilrhino had already locked onto Huo Yuhao, it still needed time to turn its body.

    Huo Yuhao grasped this opportunity, and his Darkgolden Terrorw shed down ferociously¡ªthe sharp dark-golden des shing through the weak underbelly of the Devilrhino.

    This Single-Horned Devilrhino was the most defensively capable foe Huo Yuhao hade across since obtaining the Darkgolden Terrorw Right Palm Bone. Even his Darkgolden Terrorw couldn¡¯t stab all the way into the soft underbelly of the Devilrhino, only halfway through instead.

    However, half was enough for Huo Yuhao. He bounced off the ground and stered his entire body onto the Devilrhino¡¯s side. Meanwhile his Darkgolden Terrorw turned an icy-blue¡ªthe Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer!

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer gave the Darkgolden Terrorw the Ultimate Ice element, and greatly boosted the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°Squelch¨C¡± The Darkgolden Terrorw fully submerged itself into the Single-Horned Devilrhino¡¯s body, and the Ultimate Ice¡¯s formidable power was injected within with frightening speed.

    However, Huo Yuhao immediately began to feel an obstruction from the muscles of the Devilrhino, which had mped onto his Darkgolden Terrorw, and the Devilrhino used its soul power attempting to eject Huo Yuhao.

    Time was not on his side¡ªHuo Yuhao couldn¡¯t conserve soul power anymore. His spiritual power had been thoroughly drained from the series of battle, to the point where he didn¡¯t even attempt a simple Spiritual Shock.

    Emerald green hues burst from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s shadow shimmered for a second behind his back, and a nket of icy-green light immediately expanded outwards in the next moment. The struggling Devilrhino froze in ce, unable to shake off Huo Yuhao.

    It was clear that Huo Yuhao had used the Darkgolden Terrorw that was impaled into the Devilrhino¡¯s body as the center of his attack when ice crystals quickly spread all over the body of the Single-Horned Devilrhino. Before long, the entire body was coated in ayer of sparkling and translucent ice crystals, the Devilrhino was motionless, like an ice statue.

    ¡°Tch¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao pulled out his hand as he leapt up andnded on the back of the Devilrhino. He was supporting himself against the back with his hands as he panted with deep and heavy breaths¡ªhis face as pale as a ghost.

    Using the Domain of Perpetual Ice without the support of Haodong power simply took too much out of him. He felt like he¡¯d been hit with his own Enfeeblement as his body fell into a crippling state of weakness, while his spiritual power and soul power were spent The Domain of Perpetual Ice infiltrated through the open wound caused by the Darkgolden Terrorw and stopped the beast¡¯s heart, instantly turning it into an ice sculpture..

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with the other two long-range soul beasts anymore. He quickly took out another thick and thin cigar and stuffed them into his mouth, before he lit them and sucked on them as hard as he could. He took out the Milk Bottle at the same time, and restored his soul power.

    He Caitou did not disappoint, and even though it was less than a hundred percent uracy rating like before, he still got in six more missiles under the Light of Destiny¡¯s blessing. The two remaining soul beasts still recovering from Enfeeblement¡ªdecapitated.

    While the battle seemed like it took a lon

    Gong Changlong no longer felt his heart ache. Instead, he had already be numb. Even though there were many mystical beasts inside the Beast Dueling Area, a third of their thousand year soul beasts had already been eliminated in just this one battle. The color on his face turned blue with a green tinge before it turned ck altogether¡­ How could Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu have expected such a result from the spectator¡¯s grandstand?

    Huo Yuhao surveyed his surroundings warily and awaited the next wave of soul beasts that could appear at any time. This Single-Horned Devilrhino was the most important weapon in his arsenal for the subsequent battle. He couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°If only big brother Xu were here. He could concentrate all the soul beasts together, then use the Mysterious Underworld Discement to swap over this Single-Horned Devilrhino and I would detonate it ¨C I would be able to destroy an entire wave!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it! Why are we still testing? If this assessment continues, all the Beast Dueling Area¡¯s properties will be gone.¡± Gong Changlong walked out with a glowering look on his face. He shouted towards the spectator¡¯s grandstand, ¡°Dean Xian, I am also a reserve Elder of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and I am worthy enough to question the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and to question the decision you guys have made using the Sea God¡¯s Writ¡¯s authority. Every one of you saw it ¨C twenty thousand-year soul beasts of mine perished just like that, and all of you should know these soul beasts¡¯ value. Take a look, how many soul rings has this wasted? The Soul Tool Department has to be responsible for capturing another batch for me. I will take this up to the Sea God¡¯s Ind right now.¡±

    Gong Changlong spun around furiously as he spoke and was about to leave.

    Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu hurriedly leapt down from the spectator¡¯s grandstand and arrived before Gong Changlong in a sh.

    Xian Lin¡¯er wore an apologetic face as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Elder Gong. We will stop here for today. I never imagined that such a situation would happen, and it¡¯s all because our judgment of these two students¡¯ abilities was inadequate ¨C so it¡¯s all our fault. We will exin things to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion ourselves. Duoduo and I will be responsible for capturing another batch of soul beasts when wee back.¡±

    Gong Changlong¡¯s face softened a little as he said, ¡°That will do. Don¡¯t pull this kind of assessment anymore ¨C if not, how can my Beast Dueling Area endure? Leave, all of you. These two fes are no longer wee inside the Beast Dueling Area.¡± Elder Gong huffed and puffed at his beard while he red at three of them as he spoke, before he turned around and walked out, leaving Xian Lin¡¯er and the othersughing bitterly at each other.

    Huo Yuhao had rendezvoused with He Caitou by now. They both heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Elder Gong¡¯s furious look, and it seemed like today¡¯s assessment was over.

    The two of them felt as if they were in a dream as they watched the corpses scattered all over the ground. There were eighteen thousand-year soul beasts, and four of them were three thousand year soul beasts! Yet, they massacred every single one within fifteen minutes. Even a Soul King from the inner courtyard probably wouldn¡¯t be able to aplish this.

    Fan Yu forced augh and said, ¡°What shall we do about today¡¯s assessment, Deans?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er expression also seemed a little sullen. She replied, ¡°Go to the Martial Soul Department and fetch Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. The assessment will continue; let them battle the others from the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. I want to see how long they canst.¡±

    She deliberately raised her voice when she spoke thest sentence so that both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could hear her. The two of them nced at each other exasperatedly and swiftly sat down on the ground. They restored their soul power through Milk Bottles while they started to meditate to recover the energy they had previously expended.

    Huo Yuhao realized that his spiritual power¡¯s recovery speed inside his spiritual sea was rtively impressive. However, his second mental sea¡¯s spiritual power recuperated incredibly slowly ¨C as a slow as a snail sliding across the ground. He would probably need an entire day topletely recover the spiritual power he had expended ¨C that meant his Eye of Destiny could only be used once per day.

    Fan Yu was highly efficient. He had no problem extracting the several students from the Martial Soul Department, as he had Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s orders. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan arrived at the Beast Dueling Area within fifteen minutes.

    Xu Sanshi looked like he was in a good mood, and he looked like he couldn¡¯t wait to get it on while he wore a mischievous and wry smile on his face. Jiang Nannan was calm andposed, and even though she maintained a distance between Xu Sanshi and herself, they were no longer as distant as before. This was probably the reason why Xu Sanshi was in a good mood ¨C at least there was progress.

    Bei Bei was as elegant and refined as always. However, he no longer had that faint smile on his face ever since Tang Ya had left. He couldn¡¯t wait for the holidays so he could go to Heaven Dou City to find Tang Ya. He had no clue why he felt as if his hair had been standing on end recently, and he grew even more worried about Tang Ya venturing towards Heaven Dou City all by herself. He had had his own revtions after the grandpetition, and he had also reached a crucial point in his cultivation, while the academy had also ordered him not to leave. He was also about to face the immense pressure of the examination to enter the inner courtyard during his graduation.

    ¡°Senior brother, big brother Xu, sister Nannan.¡± Huo Yuhao stepped forward tedly. He hadn¡¯t seen Bei Bei and the others ever since their closed-door cultivation after they returned.

    However, Bei Bei and the others were as astonished as ever. The Beast Dueling Area was incredibly messy ¨C there was a giant crater from the Ice Explosion, there were soul beasts¡¯ severed limbs, and there was a multitude of corpses strewn all over the ce.

    ¡°Little junior brother ¨C what¡¯s all this?¡± Bei Bei asked with a face full of doubt.

    Before Huo Yuhao could exin, Xian Lin¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan ¨C I have an immediate assessment task for you guys: take down Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The battle will start immediately. If the three of you lose the fight, then I will ask the Martial Soul Department to increase the difficulty of your assessments to enter the inner courtyard next year.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Bei Bei and the other two were immediately shell-shocked.

    Fan Yu chimed in. ¡°This is also an assessment for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Look at the corpses of soul beasts around you ¨C they were the ones that killed them all. The battle will start immediately.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes sparkled. There seemed to be blue lightning flickering within his eyes when he turned back toward Huo Yuhao, and he was the first to mentally prepare himself. The academy had their reasons for arranging something like this, and he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be bad for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou if he followed his teacher¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Watch out, junior brother.¡± A crackling lightning strike burst from within his body as he spoke, and his right arm swiftly transformed. Bluish-purple dragon scales began to spread, first towards his chest then all the way to his hips. He lunged towards Huo Yuhao in a sh.

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were a beat slower, but they immediately realized what was happening and released their respective martial souls before theyunched their own attacks. Xu Sanshi went for He Caitou, while Jiang Nannan hid herself behind him. With the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle defending them, there were no cracks or loopholes for soul tools in front of them to exploit.

    Even though this battle was incredibly rushed and hasty, Bei Bei and the others¡¯ experience and discipline in battle were quickly put on the disy, and everyone went for their most suitable targets.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly inside. He felt a little stifled facing off against his eldest senior brother, and this wasn¡¯t just because his soul power had only been restored to about fifty percent, his spiritual power had only recovered to about thirty to forty percent, and his second mental sea wasn¡¯t operational at all. This was also because of his rtionship with Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei had always been like a mentor and a big brother to him. It could be said that without Bei Bei¡¯s care and help, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to stand his ground when he first came to Shrek Academy. He was already disadvantaged in terms of his mentality even though this was only a friendly battle.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed the Spiritual Detection as fast as he could as Bei Bei lunged directly at him. He connected himself to He Caitou while he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to make a swift retreat in an attempt to distance himself from Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei¡¯s experience in battle was as rich as it could be. He was the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother, and he was simply too familiar with the Tang Sect¡¯s Six Great Secret Techniques.

    The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track¡¯s most prominent point was that it was mutable and unpredictable. There wasn¡¯t a rhythm or pattern to take advantage of. However, Bei Bei was familiar with this technique, and as such was acutely aware of its speed.

    ¡°Crackle!¡± A thunderous boom could be heard as a colossal Thunderous Dragon w shed out through the sky and went directly for Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The lightning bolts had yet to reach him, but Huo Yuhao could already feel his entire body starting to go numb. There was no doubt that Bei Bei¡¯s cultivation had grown exponentially again. The Thunderous Dragon w¡¯s ferocity was augmented, and its area of effect was much wider than before.

    Huo Yuhao ced his hands in a circle before him, and his Spirit Eyes began to glow. His Spiritual Detection found the Thunderous Dragon w¡¯s weakest spot, and his left hand formed the Controlling Crane while his right hand formed the Capturing Dragon. With a single pushing and pulling action, he pushed the Thunderous Dragon w to one side.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Bei Bei nced at Huo Yuhao with a surprised look on his face. However, he took the time that Huo Yuhao needed to stop and block the Thunderous Dragon w to swiftly close the distance between him and his junior brother. He made a grab at Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder as he bent the center of his palms inwards ¨C he was also using the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique.

    Bei Bei was more than ten ranks above Huo Yuhao in cultivation, and formidable suction power immediately pulled at Huo Yuhao till he stumbled. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for Huo Yuhao to defend against Bei Bei¡¯s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon even at his peak, and he was no match Bei Bei in cultivation. This was the reason why it was challenging for him to evade this attack even though his Spiritual Detection could predict and detect it.

    He Caitou finally disyed his fearsome and ferocious side. His consumption from the previous battle was far smaller than Huo Yuhao, since he hadn¡¯t needed to expend much energy with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual guidance. His soul power had been restored to more than eighty percent, and his soul tool fort asserted its dominance in all directions. He managed to suppress both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan so that they couldn¡¯te near ¨C instead, they were gradually forced back.

    He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fortress was a great counter to Jiang Nannan¡¯s abilities, and it was hard to throw him out when he was solidly rooted to the ground. However, the destiny¡¯s blessing from before when he was facing the soul beasts waspletely gone. The Eye of Destiny¡¯s powers had a limited duration, and Huo Yuhao could only maintain it for about three minutes with his current strength.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw sprung out once more, and he shed against Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon w head-on.

    ¡°ng!¡± A metal nging sound boomed, and Bei Bei felt as if five streaks of intense chill shot through his arm from five incredibly sharp talons, and they were drilling deep into him with hysterical speed. He was taken by surprise, and he unleashed his Vigorous Thunderbolt in an instant. Huo Yuhao also released his own ss 2 soul barrier at the same time.

    His soul barrier was immediately shattered to pieces, but he managed to block the Vigorous Thunderbolt¡¯s immense power of paralysis. The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor released diamond-like ice crystals that nketed his entire body and resisted the Vigorous Thunderbolt. Huo Yuhao was pushed back several meters, but he wasn¡¯t injured.

    Bei Bei looked down at his dragon w and realized, to his intense bewilderment, that the sharp tips of his talons each had a thin crack. Even though these cracks weren¡¯t that big, his right arm¡¯s dragon w was the toughest spot on his entire body. His gaze was immediately attracted to the Darkgolden Terrorw on Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°Junior brother, is that the Darkgolden Terrorw soul bone from the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear?¡± Bei Bei asked in astonishment.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Very discerning, senior brother.¡±

    Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up with his left hand and said, ¡°Great job. However, I¡¯m going to give everything I have.¡± He had already noticed that Huo Yuhao had three soul rings on him, and he had never underestimated or looked down on his little junior brother.

    He howled into the sky, and Bei Bei¡¯s entire skeleton crackled with a series of explosive popping sounds. His frame grew in size as he became taller by an entire head, while the flesh on his body was conspicuously more bulging than before. His eyes sparkled with bluish-purple lightning, and snake-like streaks of lightning webbed all over his body like a of lightning.

    His third soul skill, Thunderous Fury, had also evolved. Huo Yuhao could feel a tremendous gravitational energy emanating from Bei Bei. The fine andplex bluish-purple of lightning seemed like it wanted to suck everything into itself, and subsequently tear it apart. The Ultimate Ice energy that he had injected into Bei Bei¡¯s body through the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and his Darkgolden Terrorw were instantly dispelled after the Thunderous Fury¡¯s explosive release.

    Bei Bei¡¯s prowess was worthy of his status as the leader of the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. He made a grab through the air at Huo Yuhao. This was another Thunderous Dragon w, but the force of this attack was vastly different from before.

    An enormous streak of bluish-purple lightning formed a lightning w with three meters wide thatshed at Huo Yuhao. This lightning w was infused with vigorous suction power, as if Bei Bei had incorporated the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon¡¯s effects into his soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t struggle out from this formidable suction power with his current cultivation, so he could only face it head-on.

    Two purplish-golden beams of light burst from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes ¨C Spiritual Shock!

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes sparkled at the same time. Purple light shed across his eyes, but the difference was that Bei Bei¡¯s eyes seemed to contain two lightning whirlpools. Invisible spiritual power shed violently, and Bei Bei¡¯s head was forced backwards slightly while his forward movement was halted. However, he wasn¡¯t injured in any substantial way. He also knew how to use the Purple Demon Eyes, and he was also incredibly familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. How could he not be prepared for his little junior brother¡¯s signature move?

    However, the power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual shock took Bei Bei by surprise. His forward momentum was hampered, but his Thunderous Fury wasn¡¯t over yet.

    His Thunderous Dragon w had arrived before Huo Yuhao, and the immense suction power already caused Huo Yuhao to lose his bnce slightly. The monumental expenditure during his battle against the soul beasts before this was starting to show. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have enough soul power, so formidable abilities such as the Domain of Perpetual Ice and the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath were out of the question. The Eye of Destiny was simrly unusable. His third soul skill, Mass Enfeeblement, was incredibly powerful, but it was a ten thousand year soul skill, and consumed a lot of his soul power. He had looked very glorious and spectacr before, but there weren¡¯t that many soul skills that he could still use at this point.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and he exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations when he decided to take this hit. Yes, he didn¡¯t any soul skills to defend himself as he curled his body as much as he could before he took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon w.

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t prolong his control over this soul skill due to the Spiritual Shock¡¯s effects, so Huo Yuhao only took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon w¡¯s original power after it was amplified by Thunderous Fury.

    The gigantic lightning w swiftly closed up and trapped Huo Yuhao¡¯s body in a vice-grip. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul barrier was activated, but it immediately shattered into pieces, and even the original item broke apart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s own body was in a dire state. Streaks of lightning surged all over his body, and the ice crystals formed by his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor exploded into ayer of icy mist that permeated the sky. His own body wasn¡¯t electrocuted by the lightning streaks, but his body quivered, twisted, and contorted as he copsed onto the ground. This strike¡¯s power did what it meant to do, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s defenses werepletely ovee.

    He Caitou wasn¡¯t having a good time on the other side either. His soul tool fortress managed to hold Jiang Nannan back, but Xu Sanshi¡¯s defensive abilities countered his as well. Repeated bombardment meant Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t advance, but using the soul tool fortress consumed a lot of soul power.

    Xu Sanshi darted forward with Jiang Nannan in between He Caitou¡¯s intermittent attacks, and he finally found an opportunity and mmed into He Caitou¡¯s body.

    He Caitou¡¯s choice was a littleical. He realized that he was about to crumble, so he released his ss 4 soul barrier while he withdrew his soul tool fortress. His soul tools were extremely weak, and if the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle directly shed against them, most of them would probably be damaged ¨C how could he bear to let that happen? This was just an assessment, after all.

    Jiang Nannan finally leapt into action, and when she stepped on He Caitou¡¯s shoulders, He Caitou raised both his hands in the air to signal that he wanted to surrender.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression was a little sullen. She understood that her impromptu assessment didn¡¯t achieve the best results. Soul masters were soul masters after all, and the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were best buddies from the beginning, so it was impossible for them to fight with everything they had. However, this meant that she hadn¡¯t seen Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s real limits yet.

    ¡°Are you alright, junior brother?¡± Bei Bei swiftly came before Huo Yuhao and wanted to help him up, but Huo Yuhao flipped around on the ground andunched a Darkgolden Terrorw with his right hand. This attack wasn¡¯t aimed at Bei Bei, but rather it shed to another side. The Darkgolden Terrorw erupted with a colossal wave of dark golden light, and a giant w that was three meters long surged across the sky and violently mmed against the ground, leaving five deep grooves.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be so careless, senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as he got to his feet. Even though he appeared terribly unkempt and wretched from the lightning strike, he didn¡¯t seem like he was substantially injured. The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor¡¯s defensive capabilities were still rtively formidable, and the Thunderous Dragon w that was no longer under Bei Bei¡¯s control could only make him numb. Bei Bei didn¡¯t follow up on his assault, so he wasn¡¯t considerably injured.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao still lost the battle. If Bei Bei had followed up with another strike, then his life would have been in danger. However, he used actions to tell his senior brother that he couldn¡¯t be careless no matter what.

    Bei Bei wore a look of amazement. ¡°This¡­ this must be the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯splete version. You are so fortunate, junior brother!¡±

    Bei Bei was familiar with the Darkgolden Terrorw, as he favored soul bones that were rted to ws. He had always wanted to attach a suitable right arm soul bone to himself, but hadn¡¯t been able to.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Senior brother, this is one of my takeaways from our expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. My expenditure during the soul beast assessment was a little too great ¨C if not, I would have let you have a taste of my third soul skill.¡±

    The assessment was over. Even though it was a little anticlimactic, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duouo, and Fan Yu still admired Huo Yuhao.

    The Ultimate Soldier n had been suggested for a long time, but this was the first experiment. Even though the assessment¡¯s results were a little below expectations, Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s mood was still pretty good after she frowned momentarily. Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy of well-rounded prowess and mighty fighting strength would undoubtedly have a catalyzing effect on the entire Ultimate Solder n.

    ¡°Alright, the three of you can go back.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er said to Bei Bei and the two others with an expressionless look on her face.

    Xu Sanshi snickered and said, ¡°Dean Xian, about reducing the difficulty of our inner courtyard assessment¡­ What do you think¡­?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er snapped, ¡°Reduce what? Did you guys give your all? You call this an assessment? It was clearly an artificial performance for us to see. Scram, and don¡¯t make me angry.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xu Sanshi nced at Bei Bei, but Bei Bei looked like he didn¡¯t see Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression. Who would choose such a time to invite a snub?

    ¡°We should catch up at night when we have time, junior brother.¡± Bei Bei greeted Huo Yuhao and He Caitou before he hurriedly departed with Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s mouth twitched and she said, ¡°When you have time? Let me tell you the truth ¨C when the Ultimate Soldier n has officially begun, you guys will no longer have time to yourselves. From now on, your lives will be incredibly rich!¡± She deliberately ced emphasis on thest word, and both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could feel their hearts beating out of their chests as they listened.

    Reality proved that Xian Lin¡¯er wasn¡¯t lying. Once the assessment was over, the two Deans and Fan Yu immediately took them both back to the Soul Tool Testing Area.

    They didn¡¯t give Huo Yuhao or He Caitou time to meditate so that they could speedily restore their soul power, and a new teacher appeared before them.

 Chapter 151.1: Extreme Teaching

    Volume 17, Chapter 151.1 Extreme Teaching

    This teacher was fine and slim, and had the allure of a female. However, he was bearded with a face full of facial hair. His appearance was a little ring and shocking to the eyes.

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Let me introduce to the two of you. This is teacher Gao Sheng, and he¡¯s responsible for guiding you guys in the art of makeup and the art of concealment. Learn from him.¡±

    He Caitou mumbled pitifully, ¡°Dean Xian, are you letting us rest for a little while before we continue our lessons? We will be more efficient that way. We have consumed too much soul power.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er snapped, ¡°This will be thest time I hear you whine. Every minute that you have is precious. You don¡¯t need soul power to learn the art of makeup and the art of concealment. You will naturally recover your energy and your soul power during the process. Begin, teacher Gao. Fan Yu, you will stay here to monitor them. If they ck off even a little bit ¨C hmph!¡±

    Gao Sheng walked elegantly before the two of them and made the gesture of a cymbidium with his right hand. He said softly, ¡°My two students, you will learn the art of makeup and concealment from me for one full year, starting today. Oh, yes. Huo Yuhao will spend a little less time learning the art of makeup. You will attend four lessons for about a month, and all you have to do is understand a little bit. However, you have to learn theplete art of concealment.¡±

    This teacher¡¯s fine and soft voice gave Huo Yuhao and He Caitou goosebumps. They would rather face swarms of soul beasts than listen to Teacher Gao speak.

    Fan Yu¡¯s facial muscles were also faintly twitching not far away from them. If he wasn¡¯t aware that teacher Gao was especially adept with the art of makeup and concealment, he probably would have pped him right across the face. Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo were already gone by this time.

    Gao Sheng giggled femininely, and suddenly spun around. When he turned back, both He Caitou and Huo Yuhao felt their eyes brighten. The enormous beard on Gao Sheng¡¯s face was gone, and a pretty and exquisite face appeared before the two of them ¨C this look was morepatible with his feminine and elegant frame.

    Gao Sheng patted his chest with both hands. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou watched with widened eyes and ck jaws as two supple, firm and round humps suddenly protruded from Gao Sheng¡¯s originally t chest. The humps even looked a little stic and bouncy.

    He raised his butt, and his originally t buttocks suddenly became a lot bigger than before. His hips gradually lifted upwards, and when juxtaposed with the two perky humps that had appeared on his chest before, he transformed into a perfect body.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? It¡¯s magical, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Gao Sheng spoke again just as Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were immersed in the incredible transformations that were happening before their eyes, and he frightened these little fes once more. His initial feminine and giggly voice actually became a deep male baritone. The pairing of this voice with his alluring and sexy build made Huo Yuhao feel like even his heart was starting to twist into knots. However, he had to admit that teacher Gao Sheng had left an extremely strong impression in his mind.

    Gao Sheng smiled and said, ¡°Making a male into a female, and without any loopholes at all. This is an extremely high level. At its peak, the art of makeup can transform a person into anything ¨C sometimes you can even transform into a soul beast and not have your cover blown. I will impart some tips and tricks to you today. For example, how to increase my bust like I just did.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Fan Yu sprang to his feet and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to get some fresh air, Teacher Gao.¡± With that, he immediately turned around and walked out without a single moment of hesitation.

    Gao Sheng¡¯s smile was very terrifying to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    Gao Sheng tortured Huo Yuhao and He Caitou all the way until lunchtime. When the two of them walked out from the Testing Area, even their eyes had be a littleckadaisical.

    Teacher Gao¡¯s pedagogy couldn¡¯t just be described as extraordinary. From the beginning to the end, they had no idea which voice was Teacher Gao¡¯s actual voice, and they weren¡¯t sure what Teacher Gao¡¯s real appearance was like.

    Gao Sheng disyed the magic of the art of makeup to them over the span of more than an hour. Gao Sheng¡¯s appearance changed eleven times during the process, and every transformation was drastic, and with incredible speed and agility.

    The art of concealment was to be learned together with the art of makeup. Both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were stuffed with voluminous knowledge and information even though this was only one lesson. Teacher Gao adjusted their bodies and enabled them to truly experience what it felt like to transform¡­ Gao Sheng only conducted one lesson every week, but he told them that he would conduct an assessment based on this lesson¡¯s teachings. If they couldn¡¯t pass his assessment, then he would transform into his original elegant frame with a bearded face, and he would hug them while taking a stroll around Shrek za¡­ and it would be the look with a perky chest and buttocks, with a face full of facial hair¡­ Huo Yuhao and He Caitou reoriented themselves only after they finished lunch. Fan Yu told them that they would have thirty minutes to rest and digest what they had learned in the morning. Fan Yu would take over for the subsequent lesson in the afternoon, and this lesson would be about the forging and designing of soul tools that were considered imperative for soul engineers.

    The speed of imparting knowledge was clearly a lot faster than before, especially for Huo Yuhao. Fan Yu couldn¡¯t be bothered with the two-year gap between Huo Yuhao and He Caitou during his afternoon lesson, and started his lesson directly from ss 3 soul tools. All sorts of information and knowledge that wasparable in volume to the art of makeup that they had encountered for the first time in the morning was shoved into their heads.

    After the day was over, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was turbid and in aplete mess even though he was a spirit-type soul master. He had learned too many things, and they would have a hands-on lesson in forging soul tools tomorrow, along with multiple other lessons. The fatigue in his mind was even more agonizing than the physical exhaustion. When they were brought to the canteen that was specially prepared for them in the Soul Tool Department, the two of them felt as if they could crumble and copse at any time.

    However, they were pleasantly surprised ¨C dinner was sumptuous and wholesome!

    Dinner filled up arge table, and was prepared just for the two of them. They had never seen most of the glittering and dazzling foods on the table, and the fragrant smell of food triggered their voracious appetites.

    However, their excitement was short-lived, and disappeared very soon. A teacher that was responsible for their diet arrived beside them and started teaching them how to eat.

    Yes, teaching them how to eat!

    Did eating require guidance?! This was the first thought that appeared in Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s minds. The person before them seemed around thirty years old, and she wore a white chef¡¯s hat on her head while a clean white gown draped from her body ¨C this extremely pretty middle-ageddy gave them the answer.

    ¡°The foods you see before you aren¡¯t normal ¨C I have specially selected them. Oh, yes, let me introduce myself. My name is Lu Xiaoxiao, and I am the number one nutritionist in the academy. I specialize in the variousbinations andpatibilities of exotic foods and ingredients. Many different precious ingredients have to be used at different maturities, and you have to follow a specific order if you use several top-tier ingredients at the same time. Otherwise, their nutritious value will be affected. I will be responsible for your dinners from today onwards, and you will follow my guidance strictly when you eat. You can consider this a co-curricr lesson. I don¡¯t require you to learn everything, but you must at least learn to discern and distinguish.¡±

    ¡°Pick up the teacup in front of you. This is produced from the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin found in the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s East Coast, and it¡¯s a very special seafood. In order to preserve its taste and the rest of its nutrition, we have expended much energy and effort to transport it as fast as possible through the ocean. Finish it immediately with a spoon. This is your first dish, and I will exin its effects and nutrition while you guys eat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted the teacup before him and opened it. A dense fishy smell immediately wafted into his face. How would he describe it? The smell was like a macerated and stinky salted fish that was left to fester in a hot and humid environment for at least ten days.

    He Caitou¡¯s originally tanned skin seemed to grow pale in an instant. Huo Yuhao eximed in shock, ¡°How is this thing still moving?!¡±

    Lu Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s still moving, dumbass. Didn¡¯t I just say that we have to preserve its original nutrients by keeping it fresh? Therefore, we have to eat it raw. If we eat it after killing it, its nutrients will be damaged and tainted. This is a rare top-tier food that can nourish the soul. Every single one is incredibly pricey, and it¡¯s extremely difficult toe across even a single one. If it weren¡¯t for the academy¡¯s requirements, do you really think I could bear to let you guys eat it? If this were sold in the big cities, or even within Shrek City, a single one could fetch thousands of golden soul coins. You will experience its mystical effects once you consume it. Hurry up, don¡¯t wait for it to die.¡±

    That smell¡­ eating it alive¡­ this¡­ Huo Yuhao felt his stomach starting to churn vigorously, and his face turned ghastly pale.

    Lu Xiaoxiao¡¯s expression turned cold when she saw that the two of them didn¡¯t move a single inch. She snapped the fingers of her right hand. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou both saw that this ¡°number one nutritionist¡± in the academy, teacher Lu, seemed to have eight soul rings, which flickered once before the two of them realized they were immobilized ¨C as if the entire space around them had been frozen and arrested.

    Lu Xiaoxiao casually came before the two of them and picked up a spoon from the table before she grabbed He Caitou¡¯s chin and forced his mouth open. Then, she picked up the teacup and used the spoon to scoop out the thing inside¡­

    It was a green sticky ball, and nothing seemed to be left inside the teacup once she scooped it out. It looked like a giant ball of snot¡­ and it was squirming.

    Lu Xiaoxiao moved incredibly quickly. She raised her wrist and stuffed this ball of snot into He Caitou¡¯s mouth, and He Caitou immediately felt as if his entire mouth was filled up. That sticky, moist, slimy, and stinky ¡°snot¡± suddenly started to squirm vigorously.

 Chapter 151.2: Extreme Teaching

    <strong>Chapter 151.2 Extreme Teaching</strong>

    Lu Xiaoxiao lifted her wrist and pressed He Caitou¡¯s jaws together. The ¡°snot¡± was swallowed just like that, with a gurgle.

    He Caitou¡¯s face went from ck to white, from white to green, and then from green to purple, and then¡­ he fainted.

    A day¡¯s worth of taxing lessons had already made him both mentally and physically exhausted. He couldn¡¯t take this torturous experience, and his body reacted naturally¡ªhe just copsed onto the ground.

    Lu Xiaoxiao frowned and grumbled, ¡°Useless.¡±

    She snapped her fingers again as she spoke, and Huo Yuhao regained his ability to move. He was infuriated and blurted out, ¡°You should try it yourself! This isn¡¯t something for humans to eat!¡± He was just about to toss the teacup away as he raged.

    Lu Xiaoxiao raised her wrist and caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand, and she muttered coldly, ¡°I really do want to try, but I can¡¯t. The Spiritcharm Sea Urchin truly doesn¡¯t taste nice at all, but good medicine always tastes bitter. You think the academy is trying to poison you by allowing me to set a dinner table for you guys? The academy has expended so many resources on you two, but you two are just going to crumble from something that tastes bad? So much for the being the academy¡¯s ¡®gifted elites¡¯. I won¡¯t force you to eat¡ªif you don¡¯t eat it, then scram. However, don¡¯t count on me to select foods for you anymore. You have two choices: eat the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin, or throw it at my face. I am giving you this opportunity.¡±

    Lu Xiaoxiao let him go as she spoke and took a step back.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the teacup in his hands, and then at the ice-cold butposed Lu Xiaoxiao. He took a deep breath and decisively raised the teacup to his mouth, used the spoon to scoop the thing inside into his mouth, and swallowed forcefully.

    He suddenly felt as if there was an inexplicably terrifying smell that coursed over his entire body in an instant. All the sweat nds on his body seemed to open, and the unearthly sensations stimted his body until he started to shiver and quiver involuntarily. He gritted his teeth and forcibly resisted that disgusting and revolting feeling that made him feel like even throwing up a hundred times was insufficient.

    This shudderingsted for almost twenty seconds. Then the repugnant sensations were suddenly gone, and a breeze of cold air rushed through his brain.

    He had originally felt as drowsy and exhausted as could be, but now his brain felt as if it had suddenly been sshed by a bucket of cold water, and he shivered from the chilly sensation. Huo Yuhao immediately felt as if vitality and rity had returned to his body, and his senses were fresh once again. His spirit felt smooth, and all the abhorrent emotions became a lot better than before. Furthermore, he realized that his second mental sea¡¯s spiritual power recovered at a much higher speed than before, and the exhaustion in his mind was alleviated to an incrediblyrge extent.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Teacher Lu. I was wrong.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully toward Lu Xiaoxiao. This wasn¡¯t just because of the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin¡¯s magical effects¡ªit was also because of what Lu Xiaoxiao had said to him before that.

    The academy had given so much for them, and he couldn¡¯t take this trivial distress? If that was the case, were they still worth the academy¡¯s attention and resources?

    Lu Xiaoxiao woke up He Caitou, who immediately felt the changes happening in his body. The revolting sensations had long since disappeared during his brief bout of unconsciousness.

    ¡°The second dish¡ªthe Peony Lobster. This dish is best eaten when still raw. However, it can also be eaten after killing it, so eating it alive isn¡¯t necessary. I will prepare it, and you guys will consume it immediately.¡±

    Lu Xiaoxiao opened two golden covers as she spoke, and both white porcin tes had a lobster that was about as long as a palm. They were still struggling and moving around, but some unknown force was restricting them, and they couldn¡¯t leave the te.

    A small and nimble silver dinner knife suddenly appeared in Lu Xiaoxiao¡¯s hands¡ªand then, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou witnessed a brutal sight.

    From their perspectives, the two living lobsters looked like they were shedding their own shells, and their bodies swiftly broke apart into pieces, before piece after piece of thin lobster meatnded on the meal tes before Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    ¡°Eat them right away. You will feel the magical effects of this exquisite delicacy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had learned his lesson. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all as he immediately impaled a piece of meat using his fork and ced it in his mouth.

    The thin lobster meat was pink in color, and its appearance had an inexplicable allure to it. The meat melted in his mouth, and was converted into a clear and sweet juice that carried the fresh tastiness of seafood as it slid into his stomach.

    If the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin was diabolically destructive to his taste buds, then the Peony Lobster was a miracle from the heavens. A warm feeling flowed through his body from his innards as the lobster meat entered his stomach. His pores opened once again, but this was a smooth andfortable release, as if his entire day¡¯s exhaustion and fatigue were swiftly receding.

    He Caitou hesitated a bit morepared to Huo Yuhao, but he ate his food too in the end. The two of them started to enjoy their dish, and didn¡¯t seem like they were getting tired of it. The two Peony Lobsters suddenly became part of their nutrients in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°The Spiritcharm Sea Urchin is only produced in a tiny patch of ocean within the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s East Coast, and it¡¯s not considered a soul beast. However, it¡¯s a delicacy that¡¯s coveted by all soul beasts. Soul beasts can unlock their intelligence and be inspired after eating it, and cultivating will be a lot smoother and more efficient. Legend has it that if a soul beast can eat a hundred Spiritcharm Sea Urchins, this soul beast will easily possess the intelligence of a ten thousand year soul beast. For human soul masters, Spiritcharm Sea Urchins can nourish our souls and increase our ability to absorb and understand. Simply put, it boosts your spiritual power and helps you to resist spiritual fatigue so that you can work harder.¡±

    ¡°Inparison, the Peony Lobster got its name because its fresh red tail is beautiful when it opens, and looks like the peony flower. Even though it¡¯s also a top-tier ingredient, it¡¯s actual value is nothingpared to the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin. It contains clean and enriching nutrients, and can be absorbed directly. It helps with restoring your physical strength, and also refines and boosts your physique. You guys should be able to eat one every day from now on, but I only have ten Spiritcharm Sea Urchins left in storage, so we¡¯ll see if you guys get lucky.¡±

    The two Peony Lobsters were gobbled down just as Lu Xiaoxiao finished her exnation. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou looked up from their tes with astonishment¡ªboth Peony Lobsters were suddenly whole again. They had devoured the lobster meat, but the shell had been pieced back together, as if the lobsters were still alive. The shell was just sitting there in the center of the te, vivid and lifelike. This teacher Lu was obviously a perfectionist!

    ¡°The third dish¡­¡±

    The subsequent dishes gradually became Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s food while Lu Xiaoxiao exined them to them. The two of them were not used to it at first, but they adapted. Not everything was unptable, but there were quite a few dishes that simply tasted terrible¡­ The two of them felt in awe after consuming every single dish on the table. They had eaten so many things, yet they didn¡¯t feel bloated at all. Their spirits were as high as ever, and their bodies had recovered to their peak condition, and perhaps even a little further beyond that.

    Lu Xiaoxiao said, ¡°Different areas produce different foods. Not all exotic foods are ridiculously expensive. When you find yourselves in a dire situation, you¡¯ll need food to restore your strength. This is when nutritional knowledge will be extremely beneficial¡ªI hope you guys will remember that. Alright, you¡¯lle back tomorrow evening.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, teacher Lu.¡± From their initial anger to their delightedness and submission in the end, both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou faintly felt as if they were in a different world.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s exemry qualified teachers were proven to them one step at a time.

    The two of them departed the special canteen prepared for them. Fan Yu was already waiting outside, and he said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve regained your energy now. Train with me for another hour, and then I will send you two back to consolidate what you have learned. I forgot tell you that it¡¯s extremely difficult to meditate after eating so many top-tier foods, so you need to consolidate your knowledge while you still feel nourished and invigorated, so that you can master the subject and integrate what you have learned tomorrow.¡±

    Reality proved that Fan Yu wasn¡¯t exaggerating. Huo Yuhao tried as hard as he could, but he couldn¡¯t meditate in the slightest after he returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He ended up contemting what he had learned today for over an hour, and only started cultivating with Wang Dong around midnight.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life suddenly became enriched, fulfilling, and wholesome from this day onwards. His studies in the outer courtyard were the most stressful, and he would have to absorbrge volumes of information three days every week. He Caitou was even worse off, he was immersed in the same level of strenuous studies all seven days of the week.

    Elder Mu¡¯s teachings were different. Elder Mu didn¡¯t ask them to memorize anything, instead cing greater emphasis on guidance and advice. Most of the time, Elder Mu would make some ambiguous description and exnation, enough to bring out the crux of the issue before he left Huo Yuhao to ponder by himself. Elder Mu¡¯s intentions were clear¡ªhe believed that only things deliberated by yourself would be worth it, and these things would truly be part of you. Elder Mu had umted over two hundred years of knowledge, and subconsciously influenced Huo Yuhao over this process of guidance while helping him raise his own abilities.

    Time flew by during this stressful but enriching life. Huo Yuhao made rapid progress in all aspects, and he could even feel that he was improving every single day.

    The Soul Tool Department would conduct an assessment every week for him and He Caitou. As the assessors became increasingly familiar with their abilities, the respective tests became more specific and targeted. Every single instance was torturous for these two students, but every assessment made them more masterful of their weeks¡¯ worth of knowledge. A singlepse of effort would be revealed during the assessment, and every examination was targeted at the content they had covered in the past week. The Soul Tool Department¡¯s authorities could be said to have gone to painstaking lengths and effort for the two of them.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power grew at the fastest rate. With his second spiritual sea, his spiritual sea expanded at a speed conspicuously faster than before, and his spiritual power also became morepact and condensed. The first of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s ten seals was finally opened to Huo Yuhao, and he allowed Huo Yuhao to absorb some of the vast spiritual power contained within.

 Chapter 151.3: Extreme Teaching

    Volume 17, Chapter 151.3 Extreme Teaching

    The Eye of Destiny¡¯s mystical effects gradually proved their worth, especially with regards to soul tools. Huo Yuhao could skip two levels in his work with the Eye of Destiny. Of course, he required Wang Dong¡¯s soul power to support him, and the Golden Light¡¯s regenerative capabilities to aplish this feat. Even so, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mastery with forging soul tools quickly caught up with He Caitou¡¯s standards.

    The only thing that made Huo Yuhao mncholic was his soul power¡¯s growth. He consumedrge amounts of nutrients every day, but the academy was aware that they couldn¡¯t affect his future breakthroughs, so they didn¡¯t feed him any medicine that could boost soul power. Wang Dong¡¯s cultivation progressed rapidly with the Haodong power, but Huo Yuhao was limited by his Ultimate martial soul. Even though the Life Gold had refined and remade his body, his soul power growth was not even half as quick as Wang Dong¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t discouraged by this, however. At the very least, his cultivation was still improving every day, and he didn¡¯t even spend too much time thinking about his slow growth in cultivation ¨C there were just way too many things he had to learn.

    Bei Bei decided to visit the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital city, Heaven Dou City, to find Tang Ya right before the inner courtyard entry examination, but didn¡¯t find a single trace of her, as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.

    This dealt a huge blow to Bei Bei. He channeled all his energy and focus on cultivation when he returned, and tried his best to raise his own standards so that he could numb himself. He gave himself a tremendously high target every month, and gave himself twenty days to reach his target while he spent the remaining ten days searching for Tang Ya outside.

    The smile on Bei Bei¡¯s face never surfaced, and his typical elegance and schrly air became tinged with a little despondence.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan made it into the inner courtyard through their constant effort and unwavering perseverance. Their cultivations soared after closed-door cultivation within the inner courtyard ¨C Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi broke through to the fifth ring first, and became powerful Soul Kings.

    He Caitou wanted toplete the Ultimate Soldier n with Huo Yuhao, so he didn¡¯t take part in the Soul Tool Department¡¯s inner courtyard entry examination. From the Soul Tool Department¡¯s perspective, whether he or Huo Yuhao participated in the entry examination wasn¡¯t important anymore.

    More than a year passed just like that, while Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters improved in all aspects. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan¡¯s soul power both reached Rank 49, and they were only a hair¡¯s breadth away from bing Soul Kings. Wang Dong¡¯s speed of improvement was even more frightening ¨C over more than a year, his soul power reached Rank 44, and he managed to obtain his fourth soul ring.

    Xiao Xiao was a little slower than Wang Dong, but she still broke through Rank 44 and earned her fourth soul ring as well.

    Of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, only Huo Yuhao remained a Soul Elder. Even though he gave his all to cultivate, and even with the help of the academy¡¯s resources, his soul power had just broken through Rank 38.

    However, nobody would ever dare to underestimate Huo Yuhao¡¯s Rank 38 soul power. His soul power after breaking through to Rank 38 wasparable to Xiao Xiao¡¯s, who was already at Rank 44, and his Ultimate Ice¡¯s formidable power was bing increasingly conspicuous.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s rate of growth was rtively slower, but it didn¡¯t affect his natural talent with soul tools. Following his improvements in soul power and in addition to his Ultimate Ice, he was beginning to design and forge his own authentic soul tools. He was recognized as a ss 5 soul engineer, and obtained the ss 5 soul engineer badge with flying colors. Yes ¨C only Soul Kings should be ss 5 soul engineers.

    He could only forge ice-type soul tools that only he could operate even when he was forging ss 5 soul tools. These soul tools could only be activated with Ultimate Ice soul power, but one had to admit that he was making history in the world of soul engineers. Huo Yuhao was only Rank 38, but his overall strength could easily rival that of a Soul King.

    The Douluo Continent was rtively peaceful over this year and a half. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s restlessness and their eagerness for action disappeared, the Body Sect that had appeared at Shrek Academy vanished as quickly as they came, and they didn¡¯t create any more disturbances on the Continent. Huo Yuhao still found out about Ma Xiaotao in the end, and he grieved for several days because of it, while he only gradually recovered after listening to Elder Mu¡¯s constions and guidance. He swore that he would find his sister and bring her home.

    Shrek Academy, Sea God¡¯s Ind, Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were standing side by side in silence.

    Elder Mu was lying down quietly on his reclining chair. More than a year had gone by, and Elder Mu no longer had any hair. His life energy was reaching the end of its path, and even his eyes rarely opened. If Huo Yuhao and the others didn¡¯t know, they would have never expected or imagined that this old man on hisst legs was Shrek Academy¡¯s number-one powerhouse ¨C the Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.

    Elder Xuan stood silently beside Elder Mu. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and the other elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were standing with him.

    Elder Xuan looked a little aggrieved and mournful. He only felt a little better after looking at the seven children before him, as he could feel a thread of sce andfort through them.

    Sixty-seven inner courtyard disciples sat cross-legged outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The person sitting at the forefront was a young girl about twenty-five to twenty-six years of age, and her flowing ck hair draped down to her waist. Her sharp and defined face was fair and impable, and her four fingers on both hands were inteced, while her thumbs pointed out and against each other as she ced her hands on her calf in a crossed-legged position. This peaceful and sweet-tempered disposition made a strong impression.

    Not a single one of the other sixty-six inner courtyard disciples were more than thirty years old. They formed ten rows, and everyone had the same posture as she did. Dai Yueheng was in the second row behind her. Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, and Gong Yangmo, people who Huo Yuhao was familiar with, were also amongst the ranks. Their differences in cultivation determined their seating position, so Dai Yueheng was worthy to sit in the first row, while the others were positioned towards the back.

    The young girl in front of everyone gradually opened her eyes. Her bright and prudential pupils flowed with deep sadness and sorrow.

    ¡°Are you really leaving us, Elder Mu?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked herself in her heart as she took a deep breath. As Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard¡¯s chief disciple, she had interacted with Elder Mu far more than the other inner courtyard disciples had, and it was natural that her sentiments ran a lot deeper than the others. She really didn¡¯t want to ept this fact, but reality was right before her eyes. Today, she could only be here to see Elder Mu off on his final journey.

    Two rows of crisp tears trickled down Zhang Lexuan¡¯s perfect face.

    Dai Yueheng¡¯s gaze was fixed on Zhang Lexuan from beginning to end. There was an unspoken rule within Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard: everybody had to address the chief disciple as ¡®big senior brother¡¯ or ¡®big senior sister¡¯. There was no question ¨C Zhang Lexuan was revered amongst the inner courtyard disciples, while her poption and poprity was unrivaled and iparable. She was also secretly admired by many male students as they fantasized about her. However, she had never really interacted with the other students, and she channeled all her energy and effort into cultivation. Zheng Lexuan was only twenty-six years old, and she had participated in two seasons of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. She was team leader in both seasons, and she defeated her opponents like a knife through butter.

    More frightening was the fact that she had made history in Shrek Academy¡¯s three thousand years of existence. She was only twenty-six years old, but she was a powerful eight-ringed Douluo. She reigned supreme over the entire Shrek Academy, and even Ma Xiaotao was but a little immature girl before her. Zhang Lexuan was the only person within the inner courtyard that Ma Xiaotao respected from the bottom of her heart.

    Even though Zhang Lexuan was more than six years older than Dai Yueheng, this big senior sister had always been the goddess of his dreams. She was even his true motivation for working so hard at his cultivation. He thought that if he could surpass his big senior sister in cultivation, or if he could even usurp her status as chief disciple, perhaps he would have a chance.

    However, this chance had already slipped through his fingers by now. After the conclusion of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Dai Yueheng officially graduated from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, after which he returned to the Star Luo Empire and joined the military, where he was currently a regimentalmander. He had had to return to the academy to settle some administrative matters, and coincidentally arrived at the same time as Elder Mu¡¯s passing ¨C how could he not remain to send him off?

    He personally witnessed Huo Yuhao and the other six walk into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He was filled with shock and surprise ¨C even Zhang Lexuan, the inner courtyard¡¯s chief disciple, couldn¡¯t personally be there to send Elder Mu off, yet Huo Yuhao and the others could¡­ inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Elder Mu gradually opened his eyes. His dusky and hazy eyes suddenly became incredibly clear, and his pupils were tainted a dark blue color, as if they were portals to the deepest and darkest parts of the boundless ocean.

    His eyes slowly shifted to the Bei Bei, who was standing on the leftmost side. His gaze gradually moved sideways, and paused momentarily on He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong. His eyes paused for the longest time on Huo Yuhao.

    Tears poured uncontrobly from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He was fourteen years old by now, and he was more than a meter and eighty centimeters tall. His physique wasn¡¯t that robust or sturdy, but his body ratio was bnced, and he looked like he was full of life and vitality. His eyes were resolute and determined, and his Spirit Eyes were nimble and deep ¨C there was even a subtle quality that intimidated others. If his features weren¡¯t immature and adolescent like that of a youth, he would have easily been mistaken for a grown adult.

    Wang Dong¡¯s sockets were moist, and tears welled up in his eyes. He was more than a meter and seventy centimeters tall, and his handsome face could be described as exquisite. As he grew older, the lines on his face became gentler, while his big and powdery-blue eyes sparkled. His long and curly eyshes were dripping with tears. Only Jiang Nannan amongst the others could rival him in terms of physical appearance. They were all Elder Mu¡¯s final disciples, and Wang Dong sobbed wildly as well.

 Chapter 152.1: Reinstating the Tang Sects Glory!

    <strong>Chapter 152.1 Reinstating the Tang Sect''s Glory!</strong>

    ¡°Kids, don¡¯t cry¡­¡± Elder Mu revealed a slight smile on his face. His cheeks also started to glow slightly. He seemed more energized at this point.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao fell to his knees on the ground and couldn¡¯t contain his emotions anymore. He cried until he lost his voice.

    Wang Dong followed, and the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters as well. Bei Bei was sobbing pitifully. His cries left the others in shock. They all looked very sorrowful.

    Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei¡¯er kneeled too. They started to tear up.

    ¡°Great-great-grandfather.¡±

    Great-great-grandfather? This was obviously a way of addressing a blood-rted elder. Father, grandfather, great-grandfather followed by great-great-grandfather! No one really knew that Bei Bei and Elder Mu were rted.

    Elder Mu smiled as he looked at all them as they kneeled, ¡°Silly kids, what¡¯s there to wail about? I¡¯ve already lived in this world for almost 200 years, my lifespan was longer than most. Isn¡¯t it a joyous thing that I¡¯ve lived for so long? I¡¯ve spent almost my entire life in Shrek Academy. It has always been my greatest pride to watch batch after batch of kids like you mature. I feel younger as I bask in your youthful energy. I¡¯m leaving today, but I hope to leave happily. I can rest in peace seeing the state of Shrek Academy and all of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao weeped even more when he heard Elder Mu¡¯s words. He could clearly recall all the advice and guidance that Elder Mu had given to him in the past year. Elder Mu was like a benevolent elderpared to Teacher Fan Yu. He felt extremely warmed by Elder Mu¡¯s kindness. He didn¡¯t disappoint Elder Mu either, as he managed to slowly assimte Elder Mu¡¯s self-created secret techniques, and also managed to fuse the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques with his martial soul. He had developed a stable foundation to be a generational talent even though his soul power hadn¡¯t increased significantly over the past year.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°I¡¯m about to leave. Little Xuan, I¡¯ve some instructions for you.¡±

    Elder Xuan rushed beside Elder Mu. His disheveled beard started to shake slightly because he was too emotional.

    Elder Mu sighed, ¡°Little Xuan, you¡¯re not young either. Don¡¯t be so emotional. I¡¯m not leaving entirely yet! Even if I die, I¡¯ll still protect Shrek forever. Listen up. Little Xuan will seed my role as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion when I leave. Everything will stay the same under him as it was with me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± All the elders acknowledged his words respectfully.

    Elder Xuan was a little anxious, ¡°Elder Mu, I¡­¡±

    Elder Mu waved him off and said, ¡°Although you¡¯re impulsive at times, your ability to see the bigger picture and your passion towards Shrek makes you suitable for this role. No one is more suitable in the academy to seed my role. You¡¯ve also benefited greatly after following me for so many years. The only instruction that I have for you is that you need to learn how to ponder over things carefully and control your own emotions. Even Du Busi may not be able to beat you with your current abilities. After I leave, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll dare to try anything if you¡¯re in Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    A tiger¡¯s aura remained even in the face of death. Elder Mu might be in hisst stage of life, but his words were still very dominant and overpowering.

    Elder Xuan was already choking on his tears, and couldn¡¯t mutter any words. The rest of the elders also agreed with Elder Mu. Indeed, Elder Xuan was the next strongest after Elder Mu in Shrek Academy. It was fitting for him to seed Elder Mu as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°Shaozhe, Mei¡¯er,e over.¡± Elder Mu said gently.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei¡¯er hurried two steps forward before kneeling down beside Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu said deeply, ¡°Shaozhe, I¡¯m the most worried about you. Youck a sense of magnanimity. I¡¯ll give you 10 years to change this. After that, proceed to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion first level for deep meditation. If you still can¡¯t pass my test, you¡¯ll resign from your dean¡¯s position.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe shuddered, but didn¡¯t dare to rebut. He replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±

    ¡°Mei¡¯er.¡± Elder Mu shifted his gaze towards her.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Cai Mei¡¯er was the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Vice-Dean. Her authority was considered quite great in Shrek Academy too. However, she was just a little girl in front of Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu was much gentler towards her, ¡°You have contributed greatly to the academy over all these years. If Shaozhe can¡¯t pass my test in 10 years¡¯ time, you shall enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and seed his role as Dean. In addition, Lexuan will be promoted to the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Vice-Dean and enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after I pass on.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Teacher. Don¡¯t die¡­¡± Cai Mei¡¯er leapt into Elder Mu¡¯s chest and started bawling.

    Elder Mu caressed her head gently and said to Yan Shaozhe, ¡°Shaozhe, I hope that you¡¯ll understand why I¡¯m so strict towards you. 10 years is not long. I hope that you can make good use of this time. Do you understand?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe seemed to have understood something, and looked deeply at Elder Mu. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and maintained a serious look on his face. He replied to Elder Mu seriously, ¡°Teacher, I understand. I won¡¯t disappoint you. Shrek won¡¯t fall even after you leave.¡±

    Elder Mu finally smiled, ¡°Good. It seems like you¡¯ve finally got it. Pull Mei¡¯er to one side. I don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    Elder Mu still had a lot of things to say before he passed on.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded his head slightly before looking deeply at Elder Mu. He lifted Cai Mei¡¯er up and brought her to one side.

    ¡°Lin¡¯er, Duoduo,e over.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo rushed to kneel beside Elder Mu. Xian Lin¡¯er was crying as much as Cai Mei¡¯er, and couldn¡¯t even speak properly because of it.

    Elder Mu sighed and said, ¡°Lin¡¯er, do you know what your greatest w is?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er sobbed while looking at Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu said gently, ¡°You are too emotional and direct. If you were a man, I¡¯d let you take Shaozhe¡¯s position, and I¡¯d be assured to hand over Shrek Academy¡¯s greatest responsibilities to you. But as ady, your ws are magnified. Your emotional attachments render you unable to improve yourself. Otherwise, your achievements would have superseded Shaozhe¡¯s and you wouldn¡¯t be stuck at the barrier to bing a Transcendent Douluo. I¡¯m assured in passing on the reins of the Soul Tool Department to you and Duoduo. Both of you are sufficiently open-minded. The speed of the Soul Tool Department¡¯s development will depend on both of you. The future of soul masters is deeply tied to soul tools. I¡¯m unsure of how this path will progress, but I need the both of you to explore and discover its secrets.¡±

    ¡°After I leave, promote Fan Yu to the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Vice-Dean. I hope that the Soul Tool Department will produce a ss 9 soul engineer in 10 years time. In 3 months, it¡¯ll be the date that I set with the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Fan Yu will lead the group. I believe that the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall won¡¯t try anything in the open. Let those that he sends over learn ording to their abilities. Don¡¯t create any barriers for them. Shrek Academy has always been very straightforward. If they¡¯re capable enough, they should be given the opportunity to learn. We cannot pull any tricks on them. I believe you and Shaozhe will handle this well.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er only nodded repeatedly. Qian Duoduo supported her from one side and acknowledged Elder Mu¡¯s words respectfully.

    Elder Mu sighed and said, ¡°This will be myst order as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    All the elders stepped forward as they heard his words. They kneeled on one knee and Elder Mu¡¯s voice resonated through the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and even echoed in the Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    ¡°From today onwards, the Soul Tool Department must be developed at all costs, and the interactions between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department must be strengthened. Due to the astronomical costs of running the Soul Tool Department, half of Shrek Academy¡¯s profits from its estates in Shrek City will be diverted towards the Soul Tool Department. If the Soul Tool Department can produce a ss 10 soul engineer one day, that person will seed my role as Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡ª¡ª¡± The elders agreed respectfully.

    Elder Mu looked tired after he finished speaking. He shut his eyes slightly before opening them again.

    ¡°Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The seven of you, stand up.¡±

    The seven of them stood up, all with tears in their eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s face even had turned pale from his sorrow. He only managed to stand straight with Wang Dong¡¯s help.

    Elder Mu scanned the seven of them, before his attention was drawn to Xu Sanshi, ¡°Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, I have a request.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Elder Mu¡¯s words shocked them. It wasn¡¯t very appropriate for Elder Mu to mention the word ¡®request¡¯ with his current status. Furthermore, he was even saying it just before he passed on. Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan felt the great pressure. They both kneeled on the ground.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s voice was trembling a little, ¡°Elder Mu, feel free to instruct us. If we can manage it, we¡¯ll do anything to fulfil your request.¡±

    Elder Mu sighed and said, ¡°This is a personal request. I hope that the two of you can join the Tang Sect like the rest of your brothers and sisters.¡±

    ¡°Join the Tang Sect?¡± Xu Sanshi was a little stunned as he lifted his head. He hadn¡¯t expected Elder Mu to make such a request.

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°Ten thousand years ago, the Tang Sect was still very prosperous. Without Ancestor Tang San¡¯s Tang Sect, we wouldn¡¯t have had these past thousands of years of Shrek¡¯s glory.¡±

 Chapter 152.2: Reinstating the Tang Sects Glory!

    ¡°The Tang Sect has walked towards copse as soul tools have developed over the years, and the talents in the sect kept on diminishing. Eventually, it was encroached upon and copsed. Shrek Academy has always maintained its neutrality in the continent, thus the academy can¡¯t do anything to save the Tang Sect. But it pains me to see the Tang Sect¡¯s copse. Bei Bei found Xiao Ya, and he joined the sect because I told him to.

    ¡°After the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament ended, all of you became the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. This title and glory will follow you throughout your lives. The first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were all from the Tang Sect. That¡¯s why I hope this continues. Shrek is ultimately an academy, and can¡¯t intervene in the continent¡¯s matters unless a critical situation pops up. But if all of you belong to one sect, you won¡¯t be restricted. I hope that the Tang Sect can rise and be as powerful as it was tens of thousands of years ago. I believe that all of you are not inferior to the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters in terms of talent. Perhaps you may be restricted because you were born into a sect, but I still hope that you can join the Tang Sect with Jiang Nannan. If the seven of you work together and develop the Tang Sect, you can make it as influential as the Body Sect.¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s breathing quickened as he spoke those words. His cheeks became redder too. His eyes were filled with hope as he looked at Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. He was waiting for their answers.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing,¡± Jiang Nannan spoke first. Her teary eyes revealed a resolute look. ¡°Elder Mu, please rest assured. I¡¯m willing to join the Tang Sect. If I¡¯m not remembering wrongly, Ancestor Xiao Wu from the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had the same martial soul as me. I will work hard to follow in her footsteps, and help the Tang Sect regain its former glory.¡±

    Bei Bei heaved a sigh of relief as he heard Jiang Nannan¡¯s words. That was because Xu Sanshi had once mentioned that he would join the Tang Sect if Jiang Nannan was willing. Jiang Nannan had finally agreed. However, where was Tang Ya?

    It was undeniable that he had tried to get close to Tang Ya at the most difficult period of her life, and joined the Tang Sect under Elder Mu¡¯s instruction. However, he had fallen in love with her after interacting with her all these years. But Tang Ya had disappeared at this most critical period. He had heard nothing from her over the past year.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing too,¡± Xu Sanshi agreed. He looked at Jiang Nannan and said, ¡°Elder Mu, I¡¯m willing to join the Tang Sect and break my ties with my family¡¯s sect. We¡¯ll work hard together to reinstate the Tang Sect.¡±

    Elder Mu smiled and waved his right hand gently, and a soft force lifted them off the ground. ¡°Good. This is good. I¡¯m finally doing something for the Tang Sect on behalf of Shrek Academy. I will be watching all of you from above and waiting for the day all of you seed. Bei Bei,e over.¡±

    Bei Bei rushed up beside Elder Mu and lowered his head. He greeted, ¡°Great-great grandfather.¡±

    Elder Mu said, ¡°You¡¯re the only sessor from my lineage. Your parents died young as they were carrying out their duties as Shrek Guardians. I was very hurt by that incident. I can see you carrying on the light-type bloodline. Although your martial soul only has the partial mutation abilities of the Radiant Holy Dragon, our bloodline was inherited from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon¡¯s family sessor, Yu Xiaogang. He was also Shrek Academy¡¯s notable Grandmaster. Even after thousands of years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon¡¯s bloodline hasn¡¯t changed, even if our surnames have. Your martial soul is partly mutated. It¡¯s not a bad thing. I¡¯m about to leave, so I¡¯ll help you to stabilize the Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s bloodline. From today onwards, you need to do your best to be stronger and continue to walk this path of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s thin and frail right hand gently caressed Bei Bei¡¯s head as he spoke. Suddenly, the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion lit up, and an intense golden light shed once before disappearing. Bei Bei groaned and copsed on the ground. A bolt of golden electricity shed repeatedly around him, and his entire body shone subtly with a golden light.

    This was the strength of an Ultimate Douluo. Even as he reached his life¡¯s end, he was still able to maneuver his powers and those of the Golden Tree. He managed to stabilize Bei Bei¡¯s bloodline in a split second. Bei Bei¡¯s martial soul mutation was stabilizedpletely just like that. Just as Elder Mu had said, it had been advanced to a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

    The color on Elder Mu¡¯s cheeks faded and turnedpletely pale. He wanted to lift his hands, but seemed to bepletely out of strength. His voice had also be weaker. ¡°Yuhao, Wang Dong,e over.¡±

    Huo Yuhao leapt up beside Elder Mu when he finally heard that it was his turn. He gripped onto Elder Mu¡¯s right hand, stuttering. ¡°Teacher, teacher¡­¡±

    Elder Mu struggled to open his eyes and smiled. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t be sad. I¡¯ve epted quite a few disciples in my life, but epting you at this stage of my life is the proudest thing I¡¯ve ever done. Your Ultimate Ice may cultivate at a slower speed than others, but don¡¯t be disheartened or impatient. You¡¯ll only be consumed if you rush to achieve sess. You¡¯re working hard enough at your cultivation already. You need to rx when it¡¯s time to do so. You¡¯ll proceed to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to learn in three months¡¯ time. The next three years will be very important for you. They will concern the sess of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Remember not to use your Eye of Destiny during that period of time, unless your life is under threat.¡±

    ¡°Uh, uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao waspletely speechless now. His teardrops fell onto Elder Mu¡¯s palm one by one.

    Elder Mu forced a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve basically imparted all my experience and research to you. You must assimte it. You¡¯re Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect¡¯s future hope. You need to aid Bei Bei and Tang Ya in the future in reinstating the Tang Set¡¯s glory. I practiced a divination on Tang Ya before. While she¡¯ll meet with a huge crisis, a benefactor will help her. I can confirm that she¡¯s alive. You must help Bei Bei find her.

    ¡°In addition, I need to warn you that the Douluo Continent cannot be ruled by a different empire. You must work hard to prevent the rise of the Sun Moon Empire. This is myst hope. Once your cultivation reaches nine rings and you be a Titled Douluo, I hope that you can be the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher. I promise you anything. Rest first,¡± Huo Yuhao finally managed to string a sentence together.

    Elder Mu shook his head slightly. ¡°Fool, you¡¯re a fool. How can you not see it? I won¡¯t really die. I will always be here to watch all of you grow, and watch as Shrek¡¯s legacy is passed down forever. The academy will face a few crises in the near future. The responsibility on you is greater than anyone else. The Ultimate Soldier n must continue. The academy has imparted everything that¡¯s needed to be imparted to you. We¡¯ll need you to continue to work hard and discover the future of this extreme path. There¡¯s no end to this path.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Huo Yuhao gripped onto Elder Mu¡¯s hands tightly. He could clearly feel that Elder Mu was reaching the end of his life now, and could pass on at any time.

    Elder Mu struggle to turn his attention towards Wang Dong. His voice also became weaker, ¡°Wang Dong, do you think that I¡¯ve always been very biased?¡±

    Wang Dong was in a daze. He wiped the tears in his eyes. He didn¡¯t lie, and nodded his head gently.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because I can¡¯tpletely see through you. I can¡¯t see what you¡¯ve experienced, or what your future will be like. Maybe your talent is not much inferior to Yuhao¡¯s. But I can sense an aura from you that makes me shudder every time I try to see through you. I can confirm that you¡¯re human, and not a soul beast. However, your secret is bound to be¡­¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s breathing became faster as he spoke till here. He struggled to say, ¡°I¡¯ve settled the matter between you and Yuhao. You will cultivate in the inner courtyard for these few years and wait for him to return.

    ¡°Shrek¡¯s ancestors, Mu En ising...¡±

    Elder Mu increased the volume of hisst words. An intense golden light also suddenly shot out from his body.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were instantly separated. Elder Mu¡¯s body rose from his reclining chair. A magical scene appeared. Two yellow, one purple, three ck and three red soul rings appeared on his body. A sonorous dragon¡¯s roar resonated in the air.

    The entirety of Sea God¡¯s Pavilion turned bright golden, and a huge golden beam of light shot up into the sky from it. All of Shrek Academy, and even Shrek City, was shrouded in golden light.

    Elder Mu¡¯s bent back started to be straighter as he was soaked in the golden light. His frail-looking face also became younger and younger. Even his thin and sickly body started to gain weight.

    There was a look of hope and reluctance in his gaze. Elder Mu looked at everyone in front of him quietly. He lifted his right hand and gently waved. His gaze eventuallynded on Huo Yuhao. No further sound was made, and he only gazed on hisst disciple benevolently.

    The golden light became stronger and stronger, while Elder Mu became younger and younger. He slowly turned from his original frail self into a young man .

 Chapter 152.3: Reinstating the Tang Sects Glory!

    The younger appearance of Elder Mu bore a shocking resemnce with Bei Bei, but also had a more cheerful disposition. Elder Mu¡¯s body gradually turned gold, as golden dragon scales started to grow from underneath the skin from head to toe.

    Elder Mu lifted his limbs. The intense golden light turned scarlet-gold before turning an orange-gold, yellowish-gold, greenish-gold, bluish-gold and purplish-gold. The final purplish-gold eventually turned whitish-gold. Elder Muughed, and a sonorous dragon roar was let loose. His body shook, and he turned into a white dragon that exuded an intense light before disappearing from within the Pavilion.

    Even from afar, a huge white dragon could be seen in the skies above Shrek Academy. The bright re of the sun seemed to be blotted out by the golden light.

    The sonorous dragon roar kept on resonating in the sky. The intense golden light made it seemed as if it were swimming in a golden ocean.

    The frightening aura spread outwards, whereas the golden light shot straight down and covered the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    All living beings on the Sea God¡¯s Ind were covered in a dimyer of golden fog. They could feel the pure light power cleansing their bodies, removing the impurities within. Their soul power¡¯s werepressed and their cultivation was boosted.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice resonated throughout the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, ¡°Everyone, sit cross-legged and meditate.¡± Even though he was sobbing, he still sounded verymanding at this point. This was thest present that Elder Mu was giving the academy!

    Everyone quickly sat cross-legged and circted their soul power, basking in the extreme light aura.

    The except to this was Huo Yuhao, who rushed out of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and looked towards the huge white dragon in the sky. Far from being shocked at its appearance, Huo Yuhao was saddened. ¡°Teacher! Teacher!!¡± He shouted into the air. However, his voice didn¡¯t echo, and it quick disappeared as it left his mouth.

    The huge white dragon seemed to have seen him from the sky too. Then its huge body wriggled as it looked southwards; towards the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Another sonorous dragon roar came out. The frightening dragon¡¯s aura crushed and dissipated all the clouds within the nearest thousands of square miles.

    ¡­¡­

    In the inner Great Star Dou Forest. The Region of Savage Beasts. The Forbidden Grounds.

    It was the center of the Forbidden Grounds, where the strongest soul beast slowly lifted its head, looking at the north seriously. An aura of concentrated darkness rose up and diffused into the air before converting into a dragon form. The roar of another dragon sounded, but it disappeared instantly.

    The aura of darkness then dispersed to cover the entire Forbidden Grounds,pletely blocking out the dragon roar from the Radiant Holy Dragon.

    A figure stayed silently in the center of the Forbidden Grounds. It was a man who kneeled on a single knee. His long, golden hair flowed behind his back, and his figure more than three meters tall. His charming and resolute-looking face bore an indescribable sense of dominance, and although he was kneeling, not a single soul beast could be found in the vicinity.

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve finally awoken.¡± The golden-haired man said respectfully.

    An illusory voice sounded, ¡°Di Tian, I¡¯ve only temporarily ended my sleep because of this Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s aura, I¡¯ve not truly ended my sleep yet. Remember not to provoke Shrek Academy while I¡¯m asleep.¡±

    Di Tian? Was he the powerful presence that approached Elder Xuan when he caught the Emperor Beast? He was in his human form right now.

    ¡°Boss, he is threatening us. Don¡¯t tell me that we¡¯re afraid of him?¡± Di Tian¡¯s expression was filled with determination, and a dominant aura spread while golden light shot out.

    ¡°Not at all, an Ultimate Douluo can¡¯t make the entirety of the Great Star Dou Forest fearful, but the important thing is that Shrek Academy can connect with that ce. Remember my words. My cultivation is at a critical juncture, I will awake again in 10,000 years. At that time, the humans¡¯ rule will be over.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Sky Emperor replied respectfully. However, an ecstatic look shed across his eyes, and he thought to himself, ¡°10,000 years is too long. We need to grab hold of time now!¡±

    The aura of darkness slowly faded away, and everything returned to normal. The Sky Emperor stood up and coldly looked in Shrek Academy¡¯s direction. His golden aura soon also disappeared.

    ¡­¡­

    The Radiant Holy Dragon nodded towards the south, then reluctantly looked down at Huo Yuhao down below, slightly touched. By this point, the entire Sea God¡¯s Ind was bathed in gold.

    It happened without a sound: The huge white dragon dissipated into spots of golden light across the sky, which swiftly descended.

    Elder Mu¡¯s voice rang in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears, ¡°Kid, let me give you onest gift.¡±

    He only saw a patch of gold in front of him before he fainted from the extreme sorrow, and a wave of heat rushed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The countless spots of golden light gathered towards Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. A huge golden light projection gradually made its entrance, almost like it was stretching down.

    The golden projection was a bright tree, it grew almost 100 meters tall as it stretched outwards. Its branches extended, and instantaneously engulfed the Sea God¡¯s Ind in golden light. The illusion of a white dragon above it disappeared, the light aura dissipated, and finally, the projection of the tree shrunk slowly before disappearing into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Everything seemed to return to normal. But this normality was missing something, the Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, the strongest person in all of Shrek Academy and the Radiant Holy Dragon¡ªElder Mu.

    Elder Mu had passed on. Shrek¡¯s pir had copsed. On Sea God¡¯s Ind, the sorrowful cries and aura remained¡­

    When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he found himself in his room on the Sea God¡¯s Ind, which Elder Mu had granted to him, he also gave one to Wang Dong who was crawled up beside him sleeping soundly. But with two streams of tears still on his face.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body jerked a little, and his memory gradually recovered. His tears also started to flow.

    ¡°Teacher has left. Teacher has left in such a shocking way. Teacher, teacher¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sobbing woke up Wang Dong, he lifted his head to look at him. The two of them started to cry loudly together.

    After crying for 15 minutes, the two of them slowly calmed down. Huo Yuhao jumped off the bed. ¡°How did Teacher pass, in the end?¡±

    Wang Dong lowered his head and said, ¡°Teacher turned into light energy and fused with the Golden Tree. He hasn¡¯t died, just like he said before. He¡¯ll always be watching over us. His powers have already be a part of the Golden Tree.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head forcefully. He said resolutely, ¡°Yes, teacher isn¡¯t dead yet. He won¡¯t die. He¡¯s still alive. He just changed his body.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed three times.

    ¡°Teacher, I won¡¯t disappoint you. Shrek Academy is my home, and it¡¯ll always be my home. For Shrek Academy, and for the Tang Sect, I will give my all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up suddenly after he finished speaking. He pulled Wang Dong¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Wang Dong, let¡¯s start cultivating. We can¡¯t disappoint Teacher.¡±

    Wang Dong could clearly sense that something was wrong with Huo Yuhao. But how could he agitate him any further at this point? He understood the importance of kinship in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind through his knowledge of Huo Yuhao¡¯s background, and he wished to lessen the sorrow filling Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    Wang Dong nodded and sat on the bed with Huo Yuhao. Their Haodong Power surged and started to flow in their bodies.

    However, Huo Yuhao started to cry just as they started. He couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes, ¡°Teacher¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help it. Because he could feel his soul power had reached the Rank 40 bottleneck.

    He recalled what Elder Mu had said before he passed out. Yes! This was Elder Mu¡¯sst gift for him.

    He would have needed need three months to half a year to reach Rank 40 with his cultivation speed. But now, he managed to reach Rank 40 instantly with Elder Mu¡¯s help.

    Wang Dong naturally felt the changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He said, ¡°Yuhao, you need to cheer up. Teacher is watching us now. You don¡¯t want him to be disappointed, so let¡¯s start cultivating.¡±

    He was really worried that Huo Yuhao would have an emotional breakdown. The Haodong Power entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as guided by Wang Dong before it circting slowly.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything. He continued to cultivate along with Wang Dong. Their soul powers undted and flowed along their passageways.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to go mad over the next three months. However, this madness was only shown in his cultivation.

    Within these three months, he focused all his energy on increasing his abilities. He didn¡¯t even bother to obtain his fourth soul ring. He was either meditating, practicing soul tool creation, training his soul skills or using the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques every day, sometimes doing all of these things. He didn¡¯t speak much in a day, as if speaking would only dy him.

 Chapter 153.1: A Farewell Between Bosom Friends

    With his current state, everyone was extremely worried for Huo Yuhao. Even Elder Xuan trailed him for a while, he discovered that Huo Yuhao had sealed up emotionally and immersed himself in this crazy cultivation state. However, it was undeniable the progress Huo Yuhao was making in this time. He was calm and cold, treating his body like a soul tool, trying to sculpt and cultivating tirelessly.

    Practically, all his teachers advised him to rest, but he didn¡¯t listen. He wanted to cultivate every moment without rest, and no-one could dissuade him from it.

    ¡­¡­

    Countless streaks of golden light shed, and a mountain rock was crushed in front of Huo Yuhao. Following this, Huo Yuhao put the away the soul tools on his person.

    Sess! This was the first ss 6 soul tool that he had sessfully created. Although he needed to use the Eye of Destiny to increase his spiritual power to be able to control the soul tool when he used it, he had still seeded.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice sounded.

    Huo Yuhao stopped unwittingly and turned around. He was a little stunned as he looked at Elder Xuan. He said respectfully, ¡°Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder Xuan said deeply, ¡°Follow me to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled, and said, ¡°But I still need to cultivate. There are still twelve segments that I haven¡¯tpleted.¡±

    Elder Xuan was furious. ¡°This is an order. Do you think you can fulfil Elder Mu¡¯s wish by being like this? Three months. You¡¯ve gone mad for three months. If this continues, your body and mind will copse, but you still won¡¯t fulfil Elder Mu¡¯s wish. Do you want me to watch you die? Furthermore, there¡¯s something more important for you to do now, so you can¡¯t cultivate like that anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body jerked slightly, and he turned before walking away. He muttered, ¡°I want to cultivate, I want to cultivate.¡± As he spoke, his pace quickened.

    Amentable look shed across Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes. What an emotional kid! While on the surface he was reprimanding Huo Yuhao, underneath how could he not feel heartache? He was proud on Elder Mu¡¯s behalf, and envious of him for having such a great disciple too.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s figure shed, and he reached behind Huo Yuhao before pulling him away.

    Elder Xuanpletely overwhelmed Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao also reacted instantly. His leg slid forward, and intense white light shone from his body, covering it.

    He used his left toes as an axis, and spun around like a gyroscope. The Darkgolden Terrorws turned into five meters long w projections that grabbed towards Elder Xuan.

    Battling seemed to have be instinctual.

    His Darkgolden Terrorws had be stronger over the past year. Almost bing real from their tangible state. With them was ayer of diamond ice crystals, which meant that Huo Yuhao hadbined his Darkgolden Terrorws and the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. It¡¯s important to note that the two arepletely different soul skills, one came from a soul ring, the other from a soul bone. One was of Ultimate Ice element, the other metal.

    Just adding the strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer to the Darkgolden Terrorws wasn¡¯t hard, instead their strengths had beenpletely fused. Leading to aplete transformation, all of this happened under Elder Xuan¡¯s guidance.

    Although Huo Yuhao was in no rush to be a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, he still couldn¡¯t be defeated by any of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Even Bei Bei¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon or Xu Sanshi¡¯s Awakening of the Xuanwu Turtle could only repress him at best. However, this was under the assumption Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t using any soul tools. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were both Soul Kings, able to fight lower level Soul Emperors with some difficulty. After the experiment earlier, Huo Yuhao could be considered almost a ss 6 soul engineer, equivalent to a soul emperor.

    Once Huo Yuhao obtained his fourth soul ring, his powers would be on par with Bei Bei¡¯s and Xu Sanshi¡¯s at least. In reality he would be slightly better than anyone else in the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, evenparing him to Wang Dong. His mastery in the martial department and soul tool department was slowly revealing its advantages.

    Elder Xuan groaned as he faced the Darkgolden Terrorws. He moved his shoulder slightly, and ayer of yellow light spread from his body. When thatyer of yellow light appeared, it was contorted tremendously, making Elder Xuan¡¯s body illusory in appearance.

    The Darkgolden Terrorws caused a piercing sound to echo out as they struck the yellow light. Huo Yuhao finally reacted to what he was doing, and hurriedly stopped his actions. The Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s projection disappeared instantly. But Elder Xuan extended his right hand and chopped down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck, even through the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor Elder Xuan still forced Huo Yuhao to copse in one strike.

    Elder Xuan grabbed with his right hand and pulled him over. After that, he threw Huo Yuhao over his shoulder. He sighed and mumbled, ¡°This brat needs to rest. It¡¯s been tough on him over the past three months.¡±

    After a short while, Elder Xuan brought Huo Yuhao to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Although Elder Xuan had already seeded the role of Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he didn¡¯t move into Elder Mu¡¯s former room, choosing to remain in his own.

    There were two people in his room at the moment¡ªFan Yu and He Caitou. He Caitou was in far better shape now, and his muscles were like a replica of Qian Duoduo¡¯s. His tanned skin gave a healthy glow, and while he still looked as goofy as ever, his disposition was much more mature than a year prior, developing a pensive look. Much like Huo Yuhao, he had also put in a lot of hard work over thest year. He had also slowly found his path, the path that would end up giving him the title of the Origin of Destruction.

    Elder Xuan ced Huo Yuhao on his bed, giving him some medicine to calm his mind. Fan Yu asked respectfully, ¡°Elder Xuan, how¡¯s Yuhao?¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°He¡¯s too tensed up. Elder Mu¡¯s death was a huge blow to him. However, I believe that he can ovee this. Thest three months he¡¯s been numbing himself with cultivation. We¡¯ll let him rest. You should prepare to leave in three days, Shaozhe will personally escort you to Heavenly Dou Empire¡¯s Maple Leaf City to make the exchange with the students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Fan Yu, we leave this great responsibility to you!¡±

    Fan Yu asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, are we really not going to increase Yuhao¡¯s soul rings?¡±

    Elder Xuanughed and said, ¡°Let him keep a low profile, we¡¯re in no hurry to make him a soul ancestor right now. Let them underestimate him so he can learn stuff easier. The important thing for our students is to see more, learn more, say less and do less. Remember that. Whether or not we can get our hands on their core knowledge is on all of you.¡±

    Fan Yu nodded and replied, ¡°I understand. If we meet with a suitable soul beast for him in the next three years, I will consider letting him add a soul ring. Otherwise, we¡¯ll try to keep it on the down-low to keep the Sun Moon Academy in the dark.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The Illustrious Virtue Hall is just like us. To obtain our core knowledge they¡¯ve opened their Illustrious Virtue Hall to us, and we the inner courtyard to them. While they may not try to limit you in what you can learn, they could attempt to impart advanced knowledge beyond yourprehension. Even if you don¡¯t fully understand what they give you, be sure to fully record it forter. They¡¯ll be wary of you, ensuring Caitou and Yuhao¡¯s protection is your highest priority.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao, who was lying on the bed, and said, ¡°Elder Mu¡¯s death has changed the mind of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. We¡¯ll exchange our students at Maple Leaf City, and they will return in three months, just before the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The venue for which will also be held in Maple Leaf City this time. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is being very sincere since they¡¯re anxious to break through in the soul masters area. Likewise we¡¯re very anxious to have a ss 10 soul engineer. Both academies will send out ten students, from the Sun Moon side both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen will being, and then on our side, Elder Mu agreed to send Yuhao as one of the ten. For the other eight students, besides Yuhao and Caitou we must pick them with care. Caitou, you must try to shine in the Illustrious Virtue Hall and be the center of their attention, do you understand what I mean? ¡±

    He Caitou nodded without any hesitation. ¡°Elder Xuan, I understand. The other eight students are there to protect me and Huo Yuhao, while I¡¯m there as a secondyer of protection for Yuhao. If he wants to keep a low profile, then I must keep a high one.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded satisfactorily and said, ¡°Okay. Go and prepare first. I will return a sane Huo Yuhao to you in three days.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Yu answered, but he was still a little worried as he looked at Huo Yuhao. Could he recover in three days? He was more than aware of just how hard Huo Yuhao had been working the past three months, he was internally broken. Elder Mu¡¯s death had just been a great blow to him.

    Fan Yu left with He Caitou, leaving Elder Xuan with Huo Yuhao in the room.

 Chapter 153.2: A Farewell Between Bosom Friends

    Elder Xuan sat on a chair beside him and looked at Huo Yuhao quietly. He revealed a slight smile on his face.

    ¡°Silly kid, even I can¡¯t deal with your stubbornness! It seems like I have to let you know beforehand.¡±

    Three days passed in a sh.

    Wang Dong was a little lonely as he sat in his room. Even though he hadn¡¯t be an official inner courtyard disciple, he¡¯d been cultivating on Sea God¡¯s Ind the entire time. His guiding teacher had changed from Elder Mu to Elder Xuan, and he now learned alongside Xiao Xiao. Elder Xuan had told him that he could take the inner courtyard test when the next academic year started, then enter the inner courtyard. The same was true for Xiao Xiao. After all, they were both soul ancestors already. If they weren¡¯t able to pass the inner courtyard test even after being guided by Elder Mu and Elder Xuan, they would most certainly be wasting the two elders¡¯ efforts.

    Was Yuhao leaving?

    Wang Dong felt a tinge of bitterness in his heart. He was the one most affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s transformation during the past three months. Huo Yuhao had sealed himself up almostpletely. Besides the time they spent cultivating together, Wang Dong hadn¡¯t seen Huo Yuhao at all. As the days passed, he¡¯d clearly felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s mental state tensing up. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was so great, he would¡¯ve broken down already. He truly was too tensed up.

    Wang Dong tried to speak to him, but Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t listen. When he spoke too much, Huo Yuhao would start to tear up and mumble the word ¡®teacher¡¯.

    Wang Dong had to admit that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities had improved by leaps and bounds in these past three months of tireless cultivation. He¡¯d managed to increase his soul power to Rank 40, but his cultivation had been stuck at a bottleneck. He needed to obtain his fourth soul ring to proceed any further. But this hadn¡¯t affected his cultivation. Wang Dong was certain that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities had superseded his ownpletely. Even though this had been the case in the past, he¡¯d been an assault-type soul master then, and Huo Yuhao more of a control-type soul master. However, Huo Yuhao was now very dominant in assault techniques. Wang Dong didn¡¯t even think that he¡¯d have a shot at defeating Huo Yuhao if they were to fight now. Of course, this was based on the condition that Huo Yuhao could use soul tools. In the past year, Wang Dong¡¯s abilities had also improved greatly!

    I heard that he¡¯s leaving tomorrow. Elder Xuan has already taken him away for three days. Can he really recover? It¡¯ll be almost three years until we see him again if he leaves! When his thoughts reached this pont, Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips, his pinkish-blue eyes revealing a trace of reluctance.

    He was also in pain from Elder Mu¡¯s death. However, he was much more rational than Huo Yuhao. After all, his background waspletely different; he didn¡¯t crave kinship as much as Huo Yuhao did. However, he¡¯d developed a very close rtionship with Huo Yuhao over these few years.

    Wang Dong had even proposed that he go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy with Huo Yuhao, but he was rejected. The reason was very simple¡ªone of them had to remain in the academy since they were both Elder Mu¡¯s closed-door disciples. This was in case of any emergencies. If something happened to Huo Yuhao, at least Wang Dong would still be in the academy. Although Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were less innately talented than Huo Yuhao, they still possessed twin martial souls! They could still carry on the fire of the academy even if something happened to Huo Yuhao. Moreover, Wang Dong didn¡¯t work with soul tools!

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang.¡± A knock on the door sounded, causing Wang Dong to regain his awareness.

    Wang Dong walked towards the door and asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± A familiar voice sounded. Wang Dong stopped when he heard this voice. Immediately afterwards, he burst towards the door and opened it.

    Huo Yuhao was standing outside the door.

    His eyes looked clear, and the sense of loss and sorrow hadpletely disappeared from his eyes.

    Precisely because they were so familiar with each other, Wang Dong was able to sense the changes in his body. He was stunned and asked, ¡°Did youe back from the dead?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I guess so.¡±

    Wang Dong blinked. ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered naturally, ¡°Of course it was because Elder Xuan who helped me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already thought it through; a dead person can¡¯t be revived. If I continued like I was, I¡¯d copse before I could fulfil teacher¡¯s hopes. Teacher wouldn¡¯t be able to rest in peace if that happens!¡±

    Wang Dong opened his eyes wide. ¡°Wow, how did you manage to figure it out? I wasn¡¯t able elicit any reaction from you even though I tried persuading you for three months!¡± He became more frustrated the more he spoke. He couldn¡¯t help but grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s cor and pull him into his room before shutting the door forcefully.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°Be gentler, I¡¯m about to leave. Why¡¯re you not leaving me a goodst impression of you?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s body jerked when he heard the word ¡®leave¡¯. Indeed! Huo Yuhao was leaving the next day. He had to leave, especially since his mind hadpletely recovered.

    ¡°Are you here to say goodbye?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice trembled slightly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head gently and held onto Wang Dong¡¯s shoulders while pushing him further into the room. ¡°I¡¯m leaving tomorrow. This trip to the Sun Moon Imperial Engineering Academy is of the utmost importance. I¡¯ll be leaving on an important mission for two and a half years, and won¡¯t be back during this period of time.¡±

    Wang Dong, feeling a little impulsive, said, ¡°I¡¯ll find Elder Xuan and ask him to let me tag along again. We have four martial soul fusion skills! You¡¯ll bepletely safe with me around.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held Wang Dong back and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s useless; Elder Xuan won¡¯t change his mind. Besides, you don¡¯t even like soul tools. Going there would only affect your future cultivation. Two and a half years will pass in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, even though we¡¯re quite outstanding among others of our same age, we¡¯re nothing outside the academy. While the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is packed with soul engineers, they shouldn¡¯t have ack of Titled Douluo. Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re better than all of them? You¡¯ll only dy your own cultivation if you go there. Staying here is the best choice. Besides, you can monitor Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen if you remain in the academy. In three years time, they¡¯ll be our strongest opponents in the tournament. Luck won¡¯t always be on our side. They already had five soul rings in the previous tournament. If we face them again, they¡¯ll give us even more problems.¡±

    Wang Dong clenched his fists, ¡°But¡­ two and a half years¡­ I¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and continued to hold onto his shoulder, ¡°Wang Dong, you¡¯ve be more and more feminine over this past year! You can¡¯t bear to see me go?¡±

    ¡°Scram, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s turned feminine.¡± Wang Dong pushed his hand away and snorted. ¡°I was just thinking that you¡¯llg behind me after your two and a half years in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Your speed of cultivation is already extremely slow. Without me around, you¡¯ll be even slower.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Alright, stop acting. Just say it if you can¡¯t bear for me to leave. Stop finding excuses. I¡¯m reluctant to leave you too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words touched Wang Dong in his softest spot. His eyes started to turn red, and he suddenly rushed up to Huo Yuhao and hugged him extremely tightly.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously hugged him back. He was stunned to realize that Wang Dong¡¯s body seemed to be softer than before. The two of them hadn¡¯t unleashed their martial fusion soul skills for some time, thus Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t hugged Wang Dong for a long time. He felt extremelyfortable as he was hugged by Wang Dong. Weird emotions started to spread in his heart.

    ¡°No! I¡¯m into girls!¡± A petite figure surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Even though almost two years had passed, he couldn¡¯t forget the surprise that figure had brought him back then. It was the ravishing beauty that Wang Dong had created when they had used the Rainment of Light together.

    Thatdy had looked very simr to Wang Dong, but she was very beautiful. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t forget her looks, just like the audience beneath the stage. It wasn¡¯t too far-fetched to im that she was the dream of all men.

    ¡°Yuhao, how long have we known each other?¡± Wang Dong sounded a little resentful.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Almost three years. If we were still in the outer courtyard, we¡¯d be in the fourth grade once this break ends.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded lightly, but had no intention of hugging less tightly. ¡°Yes, three years! In these three years, I¡¯ve always been with you except for the times that I returned home during the holidays. Yet, you¡¯ll be leaving for two and a half years this time. Will we still be like we are now after two and a half years?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Hugging just like this?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Wang Dong suddenly let go of his arms and pushed him away. He snapped, ¡°You know I¡¯m not talking about that!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was jolted when he saw Wang Dong¡¯s teary face, ¡°Wang Dong, our brotherhood won¡¯t change. It could be two and a half years, or it could be twenty years. Once a brother, always a brother. It was our fate to be martial soul fusion skill partners. Our destinies will forever be intertwined.¡±

 Chapter 153.3: A Farewell Between Bosom Friends

    Wang Dong looked at him seriously, as if he was thinking of something, but hesitating. However, he didn¡¯t continue.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the weather outside and said, ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore. Let¡¯s rest, I¡¯ll be leaving early in the morning tomorrow. Let¡¯s not cultivate today either. I¡¯ll sleep here tonight; we haven¡¯t slept together in a while.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face turned crimson, ¡°Who¡¯s going to sleep with you? Scram.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you happy? I don¡¯t even remember how many times we¡¯ve slept together. Anyway, I¡¯m not going to leave. You can sleep on the floor.¡± As he spoke, he leapt onto Wang Dong¡¯s bed before removing his shoes. Following that, he stripped andid down.

    Wang Dong watched his roguish look and found it funny, ¡°Why are you so shameless?¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to sleep barefoot with me? I still remember the first time we slept like this. You¡¯re still a clean freak after so many years.¡±

    Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Does my obsession with cleanliness bother you? Since when did you care so much about it?¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯ve always respected you! Come on, I¡¯ll leave some space for you.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao shifted a little and patted the bed space beside him.

    Wang Dong¡¯s face turned red. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t notice, as it was getting dark outside, and the room wasn¡¯t well-lit.

    He turned around to put the ss 1 soul toolmp that Huo Yuhao had made out, then stripped to his outerwear. Following that, he walked towards the bed andid down.

    Huo Yuhao covered both of them with the nket.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Wang Dong sat up like a terrified little deer. ¡°I have more nkets; I¡¯ll go get another one.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled his shoulder back and pressed him back onto the bed. He also tugged the nket over him and said, ¡°Enough, don¡¯t be such a spoilsport. Let¡¯s share the bed tonight. I¡¯ll be leaving for two and a half years tomorrow. Let¡¯s sleep together and have a good talk tonight, alright?¡±

    The room had bepletely ck. The two of them were squeezed into a single bed, and their bodies were touching each other. Huo Yuhao felt that Wang Dong¡¯s body was a little stiff. However, it loosened up after he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t insist on getting another nket anymore either.

    ¡°Wang Dong, you¡¯re already fourteen. Sorry! I¡¯ve been a little crazy during this period of time, and didn¡¯t celebrate your birthday with you.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s birthday had passed in the three months that Huo Yuhao had gone mad.

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°At least you still remember! Eldest senior and the rest celebrated it with me. Eldest senior, second senior, third senior, fourth senior, and fifth senior were all there. You were the only one missing.¡±

    Ever since Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan had joined the Tang Sect, there¡¯d been a change in how the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters greeted one another. Bei Bei had proposed that they call each other based on their seniority.

    Bei Bei was naturally the eldest, while He Caitou was the next. This was followed by Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Xiao Xiao had be Wang Dong¡¯s fifth senior. The youngest two were Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Huo Yuhao was the sixth oldest, while Wang Dong was the youngest.

    ¡°What birthday present do you want?¡± Huo Yuhao asked guiltily.

    Wang Dong almost shook his head, but seemed to think of something and said, ¡°Will you give me anything I want?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°It has to be within my capability first!¡±

    Wang Dong turned to face Huo Yuhao. They were in such close proximity that they could hear each other¡¯s breathing. Wang Dong was very fragrant, and had a child-like milky fragrance; even his breath held the scent. Huo Yuhao had a manlier smell, but it was one filled with youthfulness.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s within your capabilities. Yuhao, you¡¯ll be nearly seventeen when you return in two and a half years. You won¡¯t be young anymore. You have to promise me one thing when that timees. Take it as your birthday gift to me for this year.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Why¡¯re you being so mysterious? You¡¯re even nning to only receive your gift then!¡±

    Wang Dong chuckled and said craftily, ¡°In case you forget me! Wait a minute, I think I¡¯m going easy on you if it¡¯s only one thing. You¡¯ll also miss my fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays. That¡¯s three birthdays, so you owe me three things! Don¡¯t¡¯ worry, you¡¯ll be able to fulfil all three things. Hurry up, let¡¯s hook our pinkies!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he extended his right hand and wiggled his pinkie in front of Huo Yuhao. Although the room was very dark, Huo Yuhao could see his pinkie with his Spirit Eyes.

    Huo Yuhao was a little amused. ¡°You¡¯re a ssic bully! I haven¡¯t agreed yet!¡±

    ¡°So are you going to agree?¡± Wang Dong said unyieldingly, ¡°It¡¯s going to be two and a half years, and I didn¡¯t mind your stinky smell too. Can¡¯t you agree to such a small request?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s face turned a little red when he said this.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart softened, and he replied, ¡°Okay, I promise. We¡¯re such close brothers. Don¡¯t mention three things, even if it were thirty things or three hundred things, I promise you that I¡¯d do them for you. Are you satisfied now?¡±

    Wang Dong was delighted, ¡°Let¡¯s hook our pinkies.¡±

    Huo Yuhao helplessly extended his right pinkie and hooked it with Wang Dong¡¯s. But the two of them were so close that his hand touched Wang Dong¡¯s body.

    He felt something very soft, yet very springy. Wang Dong¡¯s body shriveled a little as he was touched, and he eximed furiously, ¡°Watch out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and said, ¡°Your chest muscles aren¡¯t very impressive; they¡¯re soft. Mine are what you call firm.¡±

    ¡°What nonsense.¡± Wang Dong raged and sat up, but was immediately pulled back down into the bed by Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Stop ying, didn¡¯t you want to hook pinkies? I won¡¯t cave in to youter.¡±

    Wang Dong seemed to be very bothered about the three things Huo Yuhao had promised him. He wanted to punish him for his recklessness, thus he extended his hand to tug at his pinkie with his own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve promised me. You can¡¯t forget, no matter what. Do you understand?¡± Wang Dong emphasized with a domineering tone.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I know. You¡¯re already fourteen; why¡¯re you acting just like a little kid? You need to learn to be as mature as me.¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but boast.

    Wang Dong ced both his hands behind his back and said disdainfully, ¡°Mature? You¡¯re the one who copsed under such a small setback. Who¡¯s the one who went crazy for three months? Oh yeah, what did Elder Xuan say that made you return to normal? I don¡¯t believe that he simply convinced you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t reply.

    Wang Dong turned his body to lie on his side, ¡°Tell me. Otherwise, I might have to get violent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snorted and said, ¡°Am I scared of you? If you can beat me, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t really take action. He couldn¡¯t beat Huo Yuhao at such a close distance. He flipped his body over andid down again. ¡°Forget it if you¡¯re not going to say it.¡±

    The room went silent. Besides their breathing, no other sounds could be heard. But they both knew that the other was awake. The mncholy from Huo Yuhao¡¯s impending departure slowly spread through the air.

    ¡°Yuhao,¡± Wang Dong suddenly said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s voice sounded hoarse, ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. You have to do one of the three things that you promised me first.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice didn¡¯t soundpletely calm either.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°When you¡¯re in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering academy, you have to prioritize your own body and not train so hard. No matter how much hope teacher and the academy have ced on you, you¡¯re still only fourteen years old! You¡¯ve already gone through so much; you might really copse if you continue on like this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent for a brief moment, then sighed. ¡°Wang Dong, you know we can¡¯t back out at this point. The academy didn¡¯t just expend money to nurture us. Over the past two years, the Soul Tool Department¡¯s resources have been devoted to train me and second senior. We¡¯ve also received pointers from the teachers at the Martial Soul Department. Have you forgotten the fact that teacher once mentioned that the continent won¡¯t be peaceful much longer? I didn¡¯t believe in the idea of destiny in this world previously. However, I started to believe in it when I obtained this Eye of Destiny. You, I, and Xiao Xiao all have twin martial souls, which is somethingpletely innate! Can we avoid our destinies since we¡¯re blessed with such circumstances? If we do try to avoid it, we¡¯ll only continue to be ordinary for our entire lives. I don¡¯t want to be ordinary.

    ¡°My goal hasn¡¯t changed in all these years. However, I don¡¯t want to be as reckless as I was before. At least I understand that I can¡¯t involve innocent people in my revenge. In the end, I only have two enemies. One of them is the Duke¡¯s wife, while the other is my father, the White Tiger Duke. Teacher once said that humans are innately kind; I believe in that. Dai Huabin may be wed, but that¡¯s a result of his upbringing under the Duke¡¯s wife. I still want to take my revenge on him, but I no longer want to kill him. After all, he has simr blood flowing through his body, just like me and Dai Yueheng.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m so sad that teacher left? It¡¯s because he was like a father to me. I¡¯d always wanted a father who could guide me through life¡ªever since I was young! He was the one who taught me everything, and who dissolved my internal extremities. It was he who corrected my mindset and gave me so much guidance. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t push myself so hard in the future. I¡¯ll try my best and work hard. We¡¯re fourteen years old; we¡¯re no longer kids, but true youths now. Both of us have to work hard. Don¡¯tg too much behind me though.¡±

    Wang Dong listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words silently. He was internally shocked, and had an indescribable feeling. Huo Yuhao had really matured, and be much more rational and wise.

    The night passed quietly. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn¡¯t even know when they fell asleep. The simply knew that they chatted quite a lot that night¡­

 Chapter 154: Im Leaving, Dont Cry

    When Wang Dong woke up, the sun had already risen. Although he had gone to sleepte the previous night, he still slept very soundly.

    He had spent many of his nights cultivating. He felt much more rxed after sleeping through the night instead.

    He wanted toze in bed for the rest of the day! However, what time was it already?

    His initialfort turned to a flurry of emotions, jerking him up from his sprawling position.

    He was the only one on the bed. The other side of the bed was empty, except for a sheet of paper.

    Wang Dong snatchedup the paper. There was only a single line of words on it: I¡¯ve left. Don¡¯t cry. Wait for me to return.

    ¡°That rascal.¡± Wang Dong jumped off from his bed and donned his outerwear. Before he even finished buttoning up, he had already opened his window and leapt out. A pair of bluish wings pped open behind his back, shing with a golden-yellow radiance as the sun shone on them.

    He pped his wings forcefully and flew rapidly towards the main gate of the academy.

    ......

    Huo Yuhao was very calm, and even wore a smile on his face. He had yet to obtain his fourth soul ring, but he could already use a flying-type soul tool with his Rank 40 soul power.

    Wang Dong was sleeping very soundly at dawn, so Yuhao didn¡¯t wake him up. He was afraid of saying goodbye. Wasn¡¯t it good just like this? He had already bid his goodbyes the night before.

    The other four members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters sent him and He Caitou off. They were perplexed as to why Wang Dong didn¡¯te. Huo Yuhao onlyughed and joked that Wang Dong was crying in his dorm room.

    Huo Yuhao turned and looked back in the direction of Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao said in his heart, Shrek, Wang Dong, I¡¯m leaving. Don¡¯t worry, I still remember that I owe you two things.

    He hade to Shrek Academy at the age of eleven, and now he was already fourteen years old. His entire personality had transformedpletely in these three years. Huo Yuhao was overwhelmed as he recalled his three years in the academy. What would the next two and a half years be like?

    What would he be like two and a half years from now, when he returned from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?

    Everything was unknown.

    Even if Elder Mu didn¡¯t insist on sending him to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy then, he would have fought for this chance. Huo Yuhao became more and more interested in soul tools the more he learned about them. Furthermore, he could sense the difference between Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in terms of soul tools. He was certain that the Judgement Sword that had caused Ma Xiaotao¡¯s martial soul to transform was something that Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers couldn¡¯t create even if they worked together.

    The difference wasn¡¯t just in terms of valuable resources. More importantly, it was in terms of the concepts behind soul tools, and the amount of umted research.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou chose two different paths even though they were both learning to create soul tools. Huo Yuhao was more focused on closebat soul tools, and soul tools controlled by one¡¯s body. On the other hand, He Caitou was more into stationary soul tools, and especially stationary soul tool cannons. The stationary soul tool cannons that they had purchased from the Starlight Auction House had many uses.

    Elder Mu once mentioned that he had snuck into the Sun Moon Empire for reconnaissance purposes before. Within the next thousand years, stationary soul tool cannons were bound to be the strongest soul tools. That was because stationary soul tool cannons could fuse in more core formations regardless of their size, and use better materials without any restrictions.

    When He Caitou realized that his talent in soul tools was iparable to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, he decisively made a choice to focus on specific areas. Huo Yuhao also gave up learning about the creation of stationary soul tools after He Caitou made his choice. Both of them had their own targets to meet.

    Over the past one and a half years, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou had made some progress in the Ultimate Soldier n. This progress wasn¡¯t just in terms of their cultivation, but also their knowledge of different aspects. Of course, they needed more time to digest the knowledge they had as they learned more. ording to Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department¡¯s n, these two and a half years would be the time for them to assimte all their knowledge.

    Yan Shaozhe was the one leading the group from Shrek Academy this time. Besides He Caitou and Fan Yu, there were eight other outstanding talents from Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department¡¯s inner courtyard that wereing on this trip.

    Although the Soul Tool Department¡¯s inner courtyard disciples couldn¡¯tpare to the Martial Soul Department¡¯s inner courtyard disciples, they were still outstanding, having been nurtured by the Soul Tool Department. Furthermore, the students from Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department were originally from the Martial Soul Department. Their ability to get into Shrek Academy already proved that they weren¡¯t ordinary.

    The Soul Tool Department inner courtyard disciples that were chosen this time were at least soul kings, and were at least ss 5 soul engineers. They would be pretty outstanding even in the Sun Moon Empire. Of course, ss 5 soul engineers from Shrek Academy couldn¡¯tpare to ss 5 soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou flew at the back of the group. There was a ss 6 soul engineer badge on He Caitou¡¯s chest.

    Soul engineer badges differed ording to ss. They all adopted the shape of a star anise, but the badges were blue for ss 1 to ss 3 soul engineers, which were differentiated using diamond-carved stars. The badges were purple for ss 4 to ss 6 soul engineers, ck for ss 7 and 8 soul engineers, and red for ss 9 soul engineers. As there had never been a ss 10 soul engineer before, a ss 10 soul engineer badge didn¡¯t exist.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s badge was blue, and had three diamond-carved stars on it. He Caitou¡¯s badge was purple, and had six diamond-carved stars on it. This represented a huge gap between them.

    Only He Caitou was aware that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t inferior to him, apart from creating stationary soul tools. It was just that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power wascking. In addition, He Caitou even carried a few soul tools created by Huo Yuhao.

    He Caitou had managed to reach Rank 50 just a month ago. He had obtained his fifth soul ring and be a soul king. As such, his ss 6 soul engineer title wasn¡¯t just for show.

    It was also fitting for Huo Yuhao to wear a ss 3 soul engineer badge, since he had three soul rings. After all, a soul engineer¡¯s soul power rank and soul engineer ss had a direct connection, even though it was possible to perform beyond one¡¯s ss.

    ......

    Shrek Academy was situated at the southeast region of the Heavenly Soul Empire, while Maple Leaf City was at the southwest region of the Heavenly Soul Empire. The Sun Moon Empire could be reached by moving west to the border of the western territories. The flying distance was about twice the distance between Shrek City and Star Luo City.

    The students had to rest every two hours due to their limited soul power. Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t carry the rest like Elder Xuan had. They only arrived at their destinationte in the afternoon.

    Maple Leaf City was on the western side of the Star Luo Empire, near to its very active border with the Sun Moon Empire. Maple Leaf City handled a lot of the military logistics of the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, it was an important trading andmercial city at the border. Even though it wasn¡¯t as prosperous as Shrek City, it wasn¡¯t inferior in terms of size.

    After entering the city, Yan Shaozhe brought the students to find a hotel to stay in. He instructed them to rest well.

    The eight students from the inner courtyard knew one another very well. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao were younger, and the academy also kept news of them a secret after they entered the Ultimate Soldier n, so the inner courtyard seniors didn¡¯t know much about them. However, He Caitou¡¯s ss 6 badge caught their attention. He Caitou hadn¡¯t entered the inner courtyard yet, and he was only seventeen years old.

    There was another ss 6 soul engineer among the inner courtyard disciples apart from He Caitou. He was also the leader of the eight students. Yan Shaozhe announced a break, and this ss 6 soul engineer senior started to gesture for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou to join him.

    The two of them looked at each other before stepping forward together.

    ¡°Senior, what instructions do you have for us?¡± The two of them greeted this ss 6 soul engineer respectfully.

    This senior looked pleased with the both of them. He wore a smile on his face and said, ¡°The two of you don¡¯t have to be so formal. We¡¯re all from the same academy. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve never seen either of you in the inner courtyard before. It seems like both of you are very talented, since you¡¯re both here in this exchange. Caitou, you¡¯re Teacher Fan Yu¡¯s disciple, if I¡¯m not wrong. Oh yes, my name is Ye Xiaosheng. You can call me Brother Sheng.¡±

    ¡°Brother Sheng.¡± Huo Yuhao and He Caitou said respectfully.

    Ye Xiaosheng nodded his head in satisfaction and said, ¡°A snake cannot crawl without its head. We¡¯re all from Shrek, and this is a valuable opportunity. We have an important mission to carry out, too. If there¡¯s anything either of you need, you cane and find me.¡±

    He Caitou smiled and replied, ¡°Thanks, Brother Sheng. You can also instruct us if there¡¯s anything that you want us to do.¡±

    Ye Xiaosheng was originally worried that He Caitou would snatch away his leadership role. He was much more relieved after this brief conversation. But he wouldn¡¯t make it difficult for He Caitou, either. After all, He Caitou was a ss 6 soul engineer too, and was also Fan Yu¡¯s inheriting disciple. He was fine as long as He Caitou didn¡¯t affect his leadership role.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in a position to instruct the both of you. Brother He, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony. The two of you should also rest after this long journey.¡± After he finished speaking, Ye Xiaosheng waved goodbye before leaving.

    He Caitou and Huo Yuhao stared at each other for a moment before smiling. After that, they returned to their rooms.

    ......

    Shrek Academy¡¯s students quickly finished packing on the second morning, and followed Yan Shaozhe and Fan Yu to Maple Leaf City¡¯s central za.

    Huo Yuhao immediately recognized both Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, who were familiar foes. They were both seventeen years old now, and didn¡¯t look much different from adults. They were standing at the forefront of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s group. What stunned Huo Yuhao was that Jing Hongchen hade personally. The teacher that was leading them was Teacher Ma, the same teacher he¡¯d seen during the tournament. Teacher Ma was also Ma Rulong¡¯s biological grandfather, and the chief of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was determined this time. Not only did the Hongchen siblingse, but Huo Yuhao also spotted three of the preparatory team members from the tournament. Jing Hongchen appeared quite relieved.

    Both parties met at Maple Leaf City¡¯s central za. The Hongchen siblings quickly located Huo Yuhao, who stood at the back of the group. When Xiao Hongchen saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 3 badge on his chest, he instinctively pursed his lips and shot Huo Yuhao a provocative look.

    The Hongchen siblings were still very indignant about having lost to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the most critical battle during the tournament. They believed that it wasn¡¯t because of cultivation, but rather because their understanding of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong was insufficient. In addition, Xiao Hongchen had been gravely injured back then.

    Xiao Hongchen didn¡¯t regard Huo Yuhao as being on the same level as him, even though he had lost the tournament. His targets were soul emperors like Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng.

    Jing Hongchen said to Yan Shaozhe, ¡°Greetings, Dean Yuan. I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d be here personally today. It seems like your academy is treating this exchange quite seriously.¡±

    What kind of person was Yan Shaozhe? He was as calcting as Jing Hongchen. He wore a smile and replied, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, aren¡¯t you personally here too? Apologies for not hosting you well when you came to Shrek Academy as a guest the other time.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe disliked Jing Hongchen. Although he didn¡¯t have proof, it was likely that Jing Hongchen was behind Ma Xiaotao¡¯s disappearance from Shrek.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s facial muscles cramped a little. His experience at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was too memorable. A ss 9 soul tool! He had lost such a soul tool to Shrek Academy; even the automatic ss 9 soul tools he¡¯d brought had been confiscated by Shrek Academy. He¡¯d suffered great losses! Yan Shaozhe was obviously adding salt to his wounds.

    ¡°I heard that Elder Mu has passed on. My condolences! It¡¯s a pity that it was ourst time meeting then. He was the strongest and most deserving of respect among all the Titled Douluo that I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe received those words coldly. Elder Mu¡¯s death had been a huge blow to him. He replied, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, let¡¯s cut the unimportant words. Since we already agreed to this earlier, let¡¯s exchange our students now. I¡¯m representing Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department in weing your students for this exchange.¡±

 Chapter 155: A Completely New World of Soul Engineering

    When he heard Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words, Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression turned gloomy, but he smiled and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know Dean Yan was such a reliable person. I hope you can take good care of my students.¡±

    Yan Shaozheughed and said, ¡°At least I can guarantee that the things they learn learn while they¡¯re at Shrek will be useful. Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard will be open to them; I hope that Hallmaster Hongchen can reciprocate this sincerity during the exchange.¡±

    Jing Hongchenughed and replied, ¡°Of course. Your elite students will receive the best possible guidance in the Illustrious Virtue Hall.¡±

    Yan Shaozheughed slightly and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s make this a promise.¡± He then lifted his right hand.

    Jing Hongchen also lifted his palm and give Yan Shaozhe a high-five. The two of themughed, but only they themselves knew what they were thinking.

    The students from both academies switched positions under the guidance of the teachers. When Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao brushed past each other, Huo Yuhao clearly heard Xiao Hongchen say, ¡°In the next tournament, I¡¯ll personally be the one to crush your balls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smirked. ¡°I¡¯m so scared.¡±

    They exchanged heated gazes, neither backing down from the challenge. However, unlike Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen was in a good mood, which was quite a surprise to Huo Yuhao. She even had a smile on her face, and only nodded her head slightly when she saw him. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any contempt in her gaze, which left him a bit perplexed.

    In fact, even Xiao Hongchen didn¡¯t know what his sister was currently thinking.

    Meng Hongchen smiled and her face even turned a little red. She looked into the distance and thought to herself, He isn¡¯t a part of this exchange. Does that mean that he¡¯s in Shrek Academy? I wonder what he looks like now; I bet he¡¯s even more handsome. I¡¯m going to see him soon! His pinkish-blue eyes are really beautiful.

    Apart from Yan Shaozhe and Jing Hongchen, everyone from both academies had switched positions.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled gently and said, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, I shall bid you farewell for now.¡±

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°Dean Yan, take care.¡±

    Their gazes met again, then Yan Shaoze flew up into the air. He didn¡¯t even need to use a flying-type soul tool. Rather, tan invisible staircase seemed to be present in the sky and lead all the way up.

    Under Teacher Ma¡¯s guidance, everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy took out their flying-type soul tools and started to activate them. However, they were shocked when they saw Yan Shaozhe glide into the air. Was this the power of a Transcendent Douluo?

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t rush to leave. He watched as Yan Shaozhe left with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s students, somewhat pensive.

    He could also fly on his own, since he was also a Titled Douluo. However, he couldn¡¯t do what Yan Shaozhe was doing. After all, Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t even used any soul power! Even though Elder Mu had passed on, Shrek Academy was still a powerhouse!

    Jing Hongchen grinned and then turned around. He looked at Fan Yu and the Shrek Academy students before saying, ¡°Guys, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen. On behalf of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, I wee you all.¡±

    Jing Hongchen also leapt up into the air once he¡¯d finished speaking. Two thin streaks of golden light slowly rose behind his body.

    Huo Yuhao observed the flying-type soul tool that he used carefully. It seemed like a pair of wings that was both very thin and very soft. The wings didn¡¯t appear to be made of metal at all. Even though the golden lights on the wings surged, no soul power could be felt from it. Jing Hongchen pped his wings lightly and rose into the sky with ease.

    Soul tools were usually made from metal, but what kind of metal could be described as soft? At most, metals were generally considered malleable, yet Jing Hongchen¡¯s flying-type soul tool actually gave off a feeling of softness.

    Fan Yu was a ss 8 soul engineer himself, but his shock was even greater than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. He muttered to himself as he flew into the air, ¡°The Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research into soul tool bionics has reached such a level?¡±

    Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department had developed rapidly over the past two years. However, Fan Yu could clearly sense the difference in quality between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy. As far as soul tools go, the gap was exceedinglyrge!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher, what do you mean by ¡®soul tool bionics¡¯?¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°It refers to imitating the form of a living being with a soul tool. The soul tool will then adopt some of themon characteristics found in the being it¡¯s imitating.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s voice could be heard as soon as Fan Yu finished speaking, ¡°Little fellows, we need to be quicker. Else we won¡¯t reach our destination before dark.¡±

    As he spoke, the flying-type soul tool behind him started to shine with golden light. It was like a golden screen of light had descended from the heavens, and they were all engulfed in it.

    Some of the students attempted to resist out of surprise, but Fan Yu stopped them.

    Afterwards, everyone started to move upwards. They realized that Jing Hongchen had expanded his flying-type soul tool a thousand times over, and engulfed them in the aforementioned film of light. They ended up behind Jing Hongchen¡¯s back, his more than ten meter-wide wings pping lightly.

    Jing Hongchen turned around and smiled at them. The golden light became even more intense soon afterwards, and the surrounding scenery began to blur.

    Huo Yuhao groaned, only managing to stabilize himself with He Caitou¡¯s help, and then unleashed his Spiritual Detection to analyze the light film. However, attempting to do so ended with his spiritual power simply being shredded by the air current outside of the film. Luckily, he stopped his Spiritual Detection fast enough that he wasn¡¯t hurt.

    Everything outside had be blurred, but even so, the students from Shrek Academy felt nothing; it was almost like they were in a quiet room. They couldn¡¯t even hear the sound of the wind outside. In fact, they might not have even realized that they were moving if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they could see the scenery zooming by.

    Fan Yu¡¯s expression hardened. He was well aware that Jing Hongchen was showing off, but he also understood that his flying-type soul tool was the highest calibre on the entire continent. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s understanding of bionics must¡¯ve reached a considerably high level, considering the fact that they were able to use it on flying-type soul tools. Conversely, Shrek Academy was still in the dark on soul tool bionics.

    Elder Xuan had once carried everyone as he flew, but Jing Hongchen was on an entirely different level.

    Huo Yuhao began to ponder as well. He¡¯d discovered early on that streaks of golden light would shine near Jing Hongchen¡¯s back; they were most likely the soul tool¡¯s origin. But what about the film of light surrounding them? Had it also been formed through the soul tool with soul power?

    No, definitely not.

    Huo Yuhao reached out to touch it, and felt a smooth texture. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was made of, but he was certain that he¡¯d never seen anything like it before.

    Originally Huo Yuhao had been feeling down from his separation with Wang Dong, but now he was fascinated with this magical soul tool. For the next two and a half years, he would be learning in the same ce that this soul tool had been made.

    ¡°Guys, are you alright?¡± Jing Hongchen¡¯s voice resonated through the light film.

    Fan Yu nodded and said in awe, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, your flying-type soul tool is quite impressive. I didn¡¯t expect your academy¡¯s research in this aspect to have reached such a level.¡±

    Jing Hongchen replied, ¡°It¡¯s never enough. I won¡¯t consider it a major breakthrough until I can be within the light film at the same time as I pilot it. To be honest, even though this soul tool expended quite a lot of valuable resources, it was primarily made for research purposes. One goal of the Illustrious Virtue Hall is to create a flying-type soul tool that can carry many people without using too much soul power. Of course, we¡¯re hard at work in achieving this goal, but it¡¯s not something we can achieve in the short-term.¡±

    Fan Yu sighed and said, ¡°At least your academy has a lofty goal like that. When that dayes, the masses will be able to fly across the continent with ease; everything will change.¡±

    Jing Hongchenughed and said, ¡°That might be possible many years from now, but I doubt I¡¯ll live to see it.¡±

    Fan Yu didn¡¯t know how much he was leaving out, but he was certain that the gap in technology between their academies was smaller than the gap in training their soul masters had.

    Elder Mu decision to develop soul tools before he passed on was undoubtedly the correct decision, and the opportunity to pursue that goal was right in front of them.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s capital was called Sun Moon City or The Radiant City. It was the hub of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s administration and economy. The city was veryrge,pletely beyond what the Shrek Academy students had imagined.

    Jing Hongchen only slowed down once they entered the Radiant City. When he did so, everyone could clearly see what was beneath them.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already arrived in The Radiant City. All of you will live in this ce for the next two and a half years. I hope that you all find it to your liking.¡±

    ¡°The Radiant City is the pride of the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯m certain that even if one were to ce Star Luo City, Heaven Dou City, and Dou Ling City together, they¡¯d still be outssed in size by The Radiant City.¡±

    It was already nightfall when they arrived, but the time only served to make the city appear more shocking. As Huo Yuhao looked down on the city, he could only see buildings in every direction; there didn¡¯t seem to be end to the city. The majority of the buildings were five stories tall, but some were more than ten. This was extremely rare in Shrek City and Star Luo City. However, this wasn¡¯t what caused the city to look shocking; many buildings were lit up, and shone brightly, like the stars in the sky.

    Manyrge streets and avenues snaked between the buildings, some of which were asrge as thirty meters in width. Huo Yuhao seemed to sense a soul power fluctuation amidst the bright lights.

    Fan Yu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, why are there no city walls?¡±

    Jing Hongchen replied, ¡°The Radiant City doesn¡¯t need walls.¡± His voice sounded very calm, yet was also full of assurance. His words were thought-provoking, but they didn¡¯t divulge any of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s secrets.

    Jing Hongchen led everyone as they flew towards the south. As they flew, Huo Yuhao noticed some star-shaped golden lights emerging from Jing Hongchen¡¯s flying-type soul tool and spreading outwards that seemed to maintain a special frequency.

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what the point of it was, but he knew it had to have a point. He quickly found the rhythm with his spiritual power, then recorded it.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s words weren¡¯t an exaggeration. While they weren¡¯t flying very fast, it still took them fifteen minutes to reach the Radiant City¡¯s southern edge. Huo Yuhao could tell that even if they really didbine all of the capitals, it would still be less than half the size of the city beneath them. While he might not have seen the Heavenly Dou Empire and Dou Ling Empire¡¯s capitals in person, he still knew that this was the case. This city¡¯s sheer scale left them in shock.

    Not too far in front of them, a hexagonal region outlined by lights appeared. This region alone wasparable to a medium-sized city. There were several buildings inside of it, but the region mostly contained empty plots ofnd. Jing Hongchen informed everyone that this region was property of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The golden light scattered, and Jing Hongchennded with everyone in an enormous za. The light film dispersed, and the magical flying-type soul tool disappeared before any of them realized.

    Some people were awaiting their arrival in the za and hade to wee them. Among them, a short and plump middle-aged man walked towards Jing Hongchen and said respectfully, ¡°Hallmaster, everything¡¯s been arranged.¡±

    Jing Hongchen smiled and said, ¡°Let me introduce this man to you all. He¡¯s the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s teaching director, Lin Jiayi. All of you will be learning from him over the next two and a half years. Jiayi, please make the proper arrangements for these students. Teacher Fan Yu, please follow me.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished speaking, Jing Hongchen led Fan Yu somewhere else. Fan Yu didn¡¯t even look at Huo Yuhao or He Caitou as he left. As of this moment, the exchange had officially begun.

    Lin Jiayi¡¯s face was as chubby as Jing Hongchen¡¯s, it was just younger looking. He waved his right hand, and the people behind him stepped forward. They each held a tray and stood in front of a different Shrek student.

    ¡°Wee everyone, to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. For the next two and a half years, each and every one of you will be considered students of our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. To ensure the sess of this exchange, we¡¯ll be providing you all with the best learning environments. As such, the Illustrious Virtue Hall will be open to you two days week. Additionally, you¡¯ll have the opportunity to take part in the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s tests. If you manage to pass, you¡¯ll be members of the Illustrious Virtue Hall until the exchange is over.

    Within these trays you¡¯ll find a map of the academy and the academy¡¯s handbook, as well as the keys to your room. As it¡¯s a bitte right now, the academy¡¯s teachers will conduct a few simple tests so that you can receive your proper uniforms tomorrow. Once your physical conditions have been recorded, you can find me if you need help with anything.¡±

    Everyone received their things, while Ye Xiaosheng cemented his role as their leader by stepping forward first. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao, along with the rest of the students, followed him. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao stayed near the back of the pack as they were led by the teachers to a nearby area.

    As they walked, Huo Yuhao took out the map that he¡¯d just received. The darkness didn¡¯t affect his vision much. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was muchrger than Shrek Academy, even if one included Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    The map simply showed that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was divided into three regions¡ªthe teaching area, dormitories, and the testing area.

    The testing area covered two-thirds of the academy, and many regions within the testing area were circled. Huo Yuhao could vaguely recall that there were many buildings within these regions, but their purposes weren¡¯t written on the map.

    There was a particr region in the center of the testing area that was circled in red called the Illustrious Virtue Hall. While the Illustrious Virtue Hall was a part of the testing area, everyone present knew just what it meant to the Sun Moon Empire and their academy.

    The teaching area and dormitory area had more details on the map. There were a total of twelve teaching blocks divided into six grades of students¡ªtwo blocks for each grade. It was clear that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy epted far more students than Shrek Academy.

    Elder Xuan had given them a brief overview of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy before they¡¯de, which included its students.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s six grades weren¡¯t ssified by age. Instead, the requirements to join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were to be a Rank 10 soul master with at least one soul ring, and to not be over twelve years in age. However, age wasn¡¯t an important divider once one joined the academy.

    In the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, one could enter the second grade when their abilities reached the standard of a ss 1 soul engineer. Following this rule, they would enter the third grade at ss 2. The learning atmosphere at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy seemed to be much more rxed than Shrek Academy¡¯s, as there were only tests to determine the grade of a soul engineer. Of course, the soul engineer tests given at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were much different than the tests given out at Shrek Academy, but Huo Yuhao was unsure how this difference would manifest.

    There was still a cut-off point in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. If one was unable to be a ss 3 soul engineer by the time they turned eighteen, they¡¯d have to leave the academy and fend for themselves. But if one could live up to their standards and be a ss 5 soul engineer by twenty-five, then they¡¯d qualify to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Simrly, if they didn¡¯t reach ss 5 by twenty-five, then they¡¯d have to leave.

    At this point, the teachers brought Huo Yuhao and the others to a school building for first-grade students.

    The building was massive, and the vast corridors extended far into the distance. Lin Jiayi informed everyone that the quantity of students in each grade varied a lot because of the promotional criteria in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. There were thirty-two sses of forty students each in the first grade, which fell by a third once one entered the second grade. The sixth grade students, on the other hand¡ªall of whom ss 5 soul engineers¡ªwere no longer separated into sses, and all cultivated together in order to prepare for the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s tests.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that there were many soul tools all throughout the school building, all of which looked exquisite. While he could tell what some of them were used for, most of them he couldn¡¯t.

    Lin Jiayi brought them all the way to the end of the first level and stopped in front of a room. There was a sign on the door that read ¡®Measurement Room.¡¯

    Lin Jiayi retrieved a badge from his neck and ced it in front of a circr, disc-like object embedded in the door.

    A beep sounded, and the metal door silently opened to both sides. Lin Jiayi then led everyone inside .

    The room wasn¡¯t very big, only around a hundred square meters in size. Inside, there were severalrge-scale soul tools.

    There were somerge-scale soul tools inside Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department¡¯s testing area, but they were mainly used for handling metal, sculpting, and punching holes during the process of creating other soul tools. However, therge-scale soul tools here were much morepact, and soul power undtions they emitted were much stronger.

    Lin Jiayi pped his hands, attracting everyone¡¯s attention to him. ¡°This is the academy¡¯s measurement room. All students mustplete their physical measurements here. Don¡¯t worry, the soul physique measuring scale won¡¯t do any harm to your body. Now then, I¡¯ll need all of you to temporarily put your soul tools away to prevent any interference. Pass your storage-type soul tools to your friends first, then ensure that there¡¯s no other metals on your bodies.¡±

 Chapter 156: Entering School and Taking Measurements

    Huo Yuhao nodded and rxed. He had already made up his mind. If they wouldn¡¯t let him stay low-profile, then he was going to let them see true brilliance.

    The golden light in his eyes faded away. After a detailed analysis of the of the soul physique measuring scale from up close, Huo Yuhao had managed to record its entire structure in his head, including the development of its formation arrays.

    Huo Yuhao had already started to absorb the spiritual power in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s second seal as his cultivation increased. Even Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t aware of this information, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection not only could improve in the range of its detection, it could also improve in its intensity. With his current cultivation, he could memorize the structure and formation arrays of a ss 6 soul tool not in use with his Spiritual Detection. This was his ¡®lethal weapon¡¯ ining to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. These records would be very important the future development of Shrek¡¯s soul tool department. This soul physique measuring scale was his first target for today.

    Huo Yuhao was certain that the soul physique measuring scale was a ss 6 soul tool through his detection and observation of its formation arrays. He didn¡¯t find any problems, and he hadpletely recorded the information on this soul physique measuring scale. As he stepped up to the soul physique measuring scale, hepleted his record of its formation arrays.

    However, the amount ofplicated information was too great to be memorized in the long-term. Huo Yuhao could at bestmit it to memory for two hours before he¡¯d forget it. So he had to draw what he could recall as soon as possible, or cement his memory even further.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was depleted by almost ten percent just like that.

    The white light from the soul physique measuring scale lit up and scanned him from the top down. Huo Yuhao squinted as he retracted his spiritual power.

    ¡°Physical strength¡ªRank 62. Physical tenacity¡ªRank 68. Soul power undtion¡ªRank 40. Height¡ª1.80 meters. Weight¡ª74 kilograms. Left arm length¡­ Age¡ª14. Added left and right arm bones. Final evaluation¡­¡±

    The series of numbers in front of them left everyone around shocked. The entire measurement room was in pin-drop silence.

    Even though He Caitou was evaluated to be a soul king based on the statistics that popped out, everyone was stunned to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s age and Rank 40 soul power.

    What did his Rank 40 soul power signify? It meant that he had yet to be a four-ringed soul ancestor. That being the case, then Huo Yuhao must be a soul elder, but he was a soul elder that had obtained over Rank 60 in more than one measurement. Besidesgging behind He Caitou in physical strength, he matched him in others. Most importantly, he had three soul bones, which was more than He Caitou!

    ¡°Beep, beep, beep, beep¡­¡± Weird sounds came from the soul physique measuring scale. The teacher in charge of recording results was stunned. He said, ¡°The numbers are a mess, the soul physique measuring scale has malfunctioned¡­ Monster, this guy¡¯s a monster.¡±

    When he looked at Huo Yuhao again, his eyes even showed traces of shock and fear.

    Huo Yuhao scanned him calmly. He stepped off the soul physique measuring scale and said gently, ¡°I¡¯m from Shrek Academy. The academy has another name: Monster Academy. Our school motto is: We only nurture monsters, not ordinary people. Thanks for yourpliment.¡±

    Ye Xiaosheng was shocked as he looked at Huo Yuhao returning to He Caitou¡¯s side. He couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself, ¡°There should be another measurement¡ªfor arrogance¡­¡±

    Lin Jiayi swallowed and looked at Huo Yuhao, astonished. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    He¡¯d seen many talented students in his role as the continent¡¯s top soul engineering academy¡¯s teaching director. But he had to admit that Huo Yuhao had one of the most abnormal body conditions he¡¯d ever seen. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen couldn¡¯t evenpare to him!

    When they were his age, both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had better soul power ranks. However, their physical strengths paled inparison. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power wasn¡¯t very great, it might¡¯ve been shocking to see a soul king at age fourteen. Lin Jiayi tried to keep himselfposed, he nodded at Huo Yuhao and smiled. ¡°Little fellow, your body is quite strong indeed! No wonder you¡¯re in Shrek Academy.¡± Heplimented. Before this Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t catch his attention. He caught a glimpse of Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 3 soul engineer badge and sighed in relief, at least Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul engineer ss was normal.

    Lin Jiayi said, ¡°Alright, we still have two more tests to do. We don¡¯t have much time left, so let¡¯s move it along. Allow me to introduce the subject of the second test. This test will measure you strength. You can¡¯t use soul tools for the test, but you can use soul power to boost your strength. Strength is vital to a soul engineer, necessary to controlrge-sized soul tools.¡±

    The soul strength measuring scale. It wasrger than the soul physique measuring scale, taking up around ten percent of the room. There was a striking point covered in leather within the soul strength measuring scale, this striking point was a square meter in size. No-one from Shrek Academy knew what this soul tool was made of. The strength test was very simple¡ªone just needed to hit the striking point with all their might. Evaluations were determined in terms of soul power rank, in line with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s evaluating standards.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª"

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª"

    ¡­¡­

    Dull booms sounded repeatedly. These Shrek Academy students didn¡¯t excel in this test. After all, they were from the Soul Tool Department and were more focused on increasing their soul powers. Even their soul rings were focused on increasing their soul powers. None of them were evaluated above Rank 60 in this test, including Ye Xiaosheng.

    It was He Caitou¡¯s turn again!

    He Caitou and Huo Yuhao looked at each other. They didn¡¯t need use words to understand what the other was thinking.

    He Caitou walked up to the soul strength measuring scale and took in a deep breath. Hepared the size of his fist to the striking point. Just as everyone thought he would punch the striking point, he suddenly shouted, ¡°I have arge cigar!¡±

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Ye Xiaosheng slipped and fell to the floor. His head even hit the side of the soul strength measuring scale. Everyone stiffened up suddenly as they saw He Caitou holding hisrge cigar. He stuffed the cigar in his mouth and lit it with a speck of me before taking in a deep breath.

    Strength-Amplifying Large Cigar! This was He Caitou¡¯s second soul skill.

    ¡°Student, you can¡¯t smoke in the academy¡­¡±

    As a teacher tried to warn him, He Caitou¡¯s eyes shot open. He brought his left foot forward and punched out with his right fist, striking the soul strength measuring scale before him.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± A huge tremor spread, the entire room seemed to shake because of this fist. The numbers on the soul strength measuring scale quickly changed, and the scale even shifted more than three inches from its original position.

    ¡°Strength¡ªRank 70.¡± The teacher that was in charge of recording muttered the staggering number out. It was pertinent to note that this soul strength measuring scale could only record soul power up to Rank 70! This Rank 70 limit was set using a strength-type soul master as a benchmark.

    He Caitou shook his fist and jumped off of the soul strength measuring scale leisurely. He took out the cigar from his mouth and breathed out a swirl of smoke. He spoke to the teacher that warned him, ¡°Sorry! Didn¡¯t mean to vite academy regtions on purpose. I¡¯m a food-type soul master, the cigar is my martial soul. Teacher, do you wanna try myrge cigar? How about my thick cigar?¡± He stretched his waist as he spoke.

    The teacher quickly rejected him. He was stillpletely stunned by He Caitou¡¯s strength. To teaching director Lin Jiayi¡¯s knowledge, no one else in the room but him could reach the limit on the soul measuring scale.

    He Caitou¡¯s strength wasparable to a soul beast¡¯s. At Rank 50 soul power he could actually unleash such a powerful force, whereas even an assault-type soul king with many enhancements from soul skills might not be able to reach such force.

    Huo Yuhao was thest to take the test. He had many things to consider at the moment. Should he go all-out? Should he hide his power? This soul strength measuring scale wasn¡¯t as thorough as the soul physique measuring scale. With his age, he had no doubt that no-one could see through his bluffs if he held back a bit. However, that previous test had revealed some of his figures, if he tried too hard to conceal his strength he might arouse suspicions. After a moment¡¯s thought, Huo Yuhao knew what to do.

    He took a deep breath while he stepped onto the soul strength measuring scale. Huo Yuhao lifted his right arm slowly, mimicking the action of hitting the striking point.

    All the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy teachers focused their attention on him. After all, they¡¯d been shocked by his previous test.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly took in another deep breath. He gave off the impression that he was sucking all the air in the room into his lungs. He made a fist with his right hand, and pulled it back a foot before striking out!

    ¡°Thud¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s strike was much more underwhelmingpared to He Caitou¡¯s. The sound it made was also the softest among the ten students present.

    ¡°Strength¡ªRank 55!¡± The teacher in charge of recording their results shouted another shocking number once again.

    Huo Yuhao was only average amongst the ten students despite his Rank of 55. However, as he was only fourteen years old, this was actually an extraordinary result. Furthermore, he¡¯d released his strength using a different method than the others; he¡¯d managed to unleash such a powerful force even though he was only a foot away. His strike hadn¡¯t made much sound, which further demonstrated his technique. He hadn¡¯t wasted any strength at all.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used any soul skills to enhance his body either. The only thing he¡¯d relied on was his own personal strength and a little of the Tang Sect¡¯s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. He was quite satisfied with his strength evaluation; it was neither too high nor too low. With this, he¡¯d pass the test without drawing too much attention to himself. If he¡¯d used the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and Mysterious Jade Hands, the result would¡¯ve beenpletely different.

    After the strength test ended, everyone proceeded to thest segment. This time, it was a reaction speed test.

    The measuring scale was much smaller this time. It was a squarish tform that held sixteen boxes, each of which were the size of a fist. These boxes would light up at random, after which one was supposed to p the lit boxes in order to deactivate them. The test would end when one box was missed.

    This test had nothing to do with one¡¯s abilities; it was a simple test of one¡¯s reaction speed and the coordination between one¡¯s mind and body.

    Ye Xiaosheng didn¡¯t act as arrogant as he had before when they arrived. The two tests that they¡¯d just taken had revealed how inferior he was to He Caitou. The only lead he had was his soul rank. Although he didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d lost face, he still felt a bit awkward.

    Thest test was like a game. In the beginning, Ye Xiaosheng wasn¡¯t very bothered by the test, and even became slightlycent. However, he paid the price for hiscency very quickly.

    When the test started, the boxes only lit up one by one and remained lit for around a third of a second. If one hit the boxes before the time was up, they¡¯d pass and the test would continue.

    Ye Xiaosheng managed to breeze through the test while the boxes lit up one by one. However, a pair of boxes lit up after a while, which temporarily stunned Ye Xiaosheng. He managed to hit one of them, but he was slightly too slow to reach the other.

    With this, his test was over.

    ¡°Reaction¡ªslow.¡± When the teacher in charge of recording the results gave him this evaluation, Ye Xiaosheng felt like hiding himself in a hole.

    The rest of the students learned from Ye Xiaosheng¡¯s mistake and were much more cautious. Even though they were all inner courtyard disciples from the Soul Tool Department, they had still once been part of the Martial Soul Department. Shrek Academy often trained the reactive abilities of their students, thus they weren¡¯t too bad at it.

    When He Caitou¡¯s turn came, he fully demonstrated his great reaction speed and managed to survive for five full minutes. It was only when eight boxes lit up at the same time that he couldn¡¯t react in time.

    Huo Yuhao was thest to take the test. He was rather curious about how the test functioned. However, he found it difficult to focus. While the others had been taking the test, he¡¯d attempted to memorize the structure and formation arrays of the three measuring scales using his spiritual power, which had depleted him greatly.

    This caused him to be eliminated rather quickly. He only managed to reach six boxes, thus his reaction speed was evaluated as average.

    ¡°Alright, the tests will end here. The teachers will bring you all to your dormitory in a little while. The academy has arranged a single room along with a washroom for each of you. I hope that all of you like this ce for the next two and a half years. Your uniforms will also be delivered tomorrow.¡±

    The dorm area was located behind the teaching area, and was muchrger than Shrek Academy¡¯s. The map clearly detailed the various amenities in this area. Huo Yuhao was extremely interested in a ce called the auxiliary cultivation room. However, it looked like an exorbitant fee had to be paid in order to use it.

    They were all allocated rooms on the top floor of the sixth-grade dormitory region. The floor was rather quiet, and just like Lin Jiayi had mentioned, they¡¯d each been allocated a twenty square meter dorm room equipped with a washroom. Even though their rooms weren¡¯t luxurious, they were still neat and tidy, and were better than the dorm rooms at Shrek Academy.

    However, Huo Yuhao had no energy to deal with any of this right now. The moment he entered his room, he quickly locked his door and walked to one side. A golden light shed from his forehead, and his third eye slowly opened.

    He shut his other two eyes, then solely used his Eye of Destiny to observe the world around him. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection, which reached a nuanced state under the influence of the Eye of Destiny. Even the smallest dustmite wouldn¡¯t escape his detection.

    The entire processsted for about a minute. When his Eye of Destiny finally shut, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but nod his head in satisfaction. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy hadn¡¯t installed any monitoring devices in their rooms, which could be considered quite magnanimous.

    He didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer, and quickly sat in front of a table in the room. He retrieved a paper and pen from his storage-type soul tool and then started to record the details of the three soul tools that he¡¯d seen.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s huge responsibility. He was aware that by recording the structure and formation array of every single soul tool that he saw, he was helping Shrek Academy improve.

    The structure of a soul tool was ratherplex, hence he couldn¡¯t make any mistakes in his recording. The soul physique measuring had been the most advanced of the three soul tools that he¡¯d seen today, followed by the soul strength measuring scale. They were ss 6 and ss 5 soul tools respectively. Thest soul tool had only been ss 4, and was much simpler than the other two.

    Theirplex structures and formation arrays were slowly recorded by Huo Yuhao. He took two hours to record everything, and even included his own evaluation of the three soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao also managed to develop a deeper understanding of them as he recorded their structures and formation arrays. He sighed when he realized that they weren¡¯t even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s greatest works. However, he could already sense the enormous gap between Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Despite the deeper understanding he¡¯d gleaned from them, Huo Yuhao could barely understand a third of the three soul tools he¡¯d just recorded. Yet, ording to Shrek¡¯s standard, he was already at the level of a ss 6 soul engineer!

    Despite hisrge quantity of spiritual power, he was still fatigued once he¡¯d finished writing, thus he went to his bed to meditate.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation like?¡± Jing Hongchen asked Lin Jiayi.

    Lin Jiayi said, ¡°The most outstanding of them is He Caitou. His strength has reached Rank 70. Furthermore, he stated that he was a food-type soul master, and his martial soul should be a cigar. His body has reached the level of a soul emperor despite him only being a soul king. He ranked first in all three tests.¡±

    ¡°What about Huo Yuhao?¡± Jing Hongchen asked.

    Lin Jiayi answered, ¡°He¡¯s quite extraordinary. During the physique test, his strength and tenacity were rather outstanding. His reaction speed was normal, however. I observed him carefully, and I don¡¯t believe that it was intentional. Furthermore, he actually has three soul bones. When our soul physique measuring scale tried to analyze them, the numbers got messed up. I thus suspect that he has an external soul bone. He¡¯s not like a soul engineer, but more like a talented soul master. His soul power has reached Rank 40, yet he hasn¡¯t obtained his fourth soul ring to attain a breakthrough yet. This is also quite suspicious.¡±

    Jing Hongchen smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s normal; Huo Yuhao is from Shrek¡¯s Martial Soul Department. He¡¯s mainly here as coteral. However, we can¡¯t underestimate him. After all, he¡¯s still Elder Mu¡¯s personal disciple. My sources im that he¡¯s an orphan, and that his background is unclear. Continue to observe their movements. During ss, try to pay attention to He Caitou. I¡¯ll send someone else to watch Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Lin Jiayi asked, ¡°Hallmaster, do we¡­?¡±

    Jing Hongchen shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to. Just follow the normal procedures. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy can¡¯t go back on its word. So what if they manage to learn? The gap between our academies in terms of soul tools is simply too great; it can¡¯t be closed with just a few exchange students. They won¡¯t possibly be able to figure out our core secrets either. More importantly, Shrek is only an academy. However, we¡¯re the research facility of the Sun Moon Empire. With the Dragon God Douluo Mu En dead, the continent will belong to the Sun Moon Empire within twenty years. The Douluo Continent will be renamed to the Moon Continent when that happens.¡± When he reached this point, an excited look shed through his eyes.

    Lin Jiayi acknowledged his words respectfully and then retreated.

    ¡°Jiayi, wait a minute.¡±

    ¡°Yes, do you have any other instructions?¡± Lin Jiayi asked.

    Jing Hongchen asked, ¡°How¡¯s the progress on n One?¡±

    Lin Jiayi said, ¡°It¡¯s a little problematic. The main problem lies in the formation arrays. Based on our design, even a Titled Douluo runs the risk of having his soul crushed by the intense spiritual shock of the formation arrays. That is, unless we can find a spiritual-type Titled Douluo to try it, which will give us a thirty percent chance of sess. Hallmaster¡­¡± As he reached this point, he seemed a little hesitant to speak.

    ¡°What?¡± Jing Hongchen squinted, ¡°What do you want to say? Tell me. Don¡¯t tell me that I¡¯ll me you if you tell me what you want to say.¡±

    Lin Jiayi replied, ¡°Yes. Hallmaster, I¡¯ve always reckoned that n One is proceeding too quickly. Even if our research is sessful, we won¡¯t be able to form a proper military that¡¯s big enough. But we have expended a lot of human resources, material resources, and money on n One. I believe that our chances of sess will be greater if we lower our standards. After all, forming arge-scale force is scarier than creating a top-ranked military force.¡±

    Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never considered that before. However, the chance of sess is still very low even if we lower the standards. The key lies in the design of the formation arrays. I¡¯ve always emphasized high standards because they can be extended to other aspects if they¡¯re achieved, which will increase our probability of sess in other areas. It seems like we¡¯re rushing too much. Pass on my instructions ¨C allow the ss 9 soul engineers to rest for a few days. I must consider the future of n One before proceeding. Let them work their brains too.

    ¡°Whoever has a good idea must inform me immediately.¡±

    Lin Jiayi was delighted when he saw that Jing Hongchen had listened to his advice. ¡°Hallmaster, you are indeed wise.¡±

    Jing Hongchenughed, ¡°Wise my foot. I¡¯ve been under a lot of pressure because of n One, and His Majesty has asked me about it a couple of times. We need to hand something up soon. Otherwise, I believe his patience will be limited.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s three eyes opened together, and he watched as the sun rose. He let out a refreshed breath, and a gust of white fog came out from his mouth. It slowly took shape and surrounded his body. As he breathed in again, the fog turned into two streaks of white gases that entered into his body through both of his nostrils. The entire room was filled with a clear aura.

    Although there weren¡¯t any nts, there was a strong sense of life.

    His fatigue ceased to exist after a few hours of meditation. Huo Yuhao¡¯s improvements in the Mysterious Heaven Technique were slow but steady.

    He wasn¡¯t in a rush to obtain his fourth soul ring. He had enough soul skills, unlike other lower-level soul masters who possessed limited soul skills. His first soul ring had given him four useful spiritual-type soul skills. He also had two other soul skills from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, as well as five soul skills from his four soul bones. Even a soul sage might not have as many soul skills as he did!

    If he absorbed another soul ring he could increase his own power and add another soul skill. Furthermore, he had also realized after he added his third soul ring that his spiritual-type martial soul needed some luck in finding a suitable soul ring. That was why he wasn¡¯t rushed at all, and instead calmly focused on increasing his own cultivation. He also aimed to improve his knowledge on soul tools over the next two and a half years, and enhance his own abilities. In addition, he also aimed to steal the research results of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    He took in three more deep breaths and adjusted his soul power. Huo Yuhao felt a warmthing from his body. He shut his Eye of Destiny and it disappeared. The light within his Spirit Eyes also slowly faded away. While he was only fourteen years old, when he ced his hands behind his back he already looked very mature.

    ---

    Every dormitory block in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had its own canteen. The higher the grade, the nicer the food in the canteen of the dormitory block. Huo Yuhao and the others stayed in the sixth-grade dormitory block, which meant that the food in the canteen there was the best.

    However, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy couldn¡¯tpare to Shrek Academy in terms of its food. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou had been enjoying delicacies in Shrek Academy over the past two years. The food here in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was too in for their liking.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou met Fan Yu in the canteen.

    ¡°How are the two of you feeling?¡± Fan Yu wore a slight smile as he looked at the both of them.

    He Caitouughed bitterly, ¡°The gap is really huge.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Fan Yu smiled and said, ¡°We wouldn''t be here if there wasn¡¯t a gap. Everything here regarding soul engineers is worth learning. I spoke with the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall yesterday. They¡¯re more sincere than I thought they would be. Just do your best to learn and don¡¯t worry about other things. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy won¡¯t do anything to the both of you before these two and a half years are up. As for how much you¡¯ll learn, that depends on you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mention the fact that he had recorded the three soul tools. There were too many people around, and it was best to be prudent.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s efficiency was indeed great. After they finished their breakfast and returned to their rooms, their uniforms had already been delivered. They were also told to gather at the first level of the sixth-grade teaching block.

    ¡­¡­

    The sixth-grade teaching block was not smaller than the first-grade teaching block that they saw yesterday. However, they knew that there were only a handful of students in the sixth grade. These students were at least ss 5 soul engineers. What could they do by upying two huge teaching blocks?

    The teaching director, Lin Jiayi, was already waiting here. There were ten teachers of various ages standing behind him.

    ¡°Students from Shrek, you¡¯ll be learning from our teachers from today onwards. I hope that you¡¯ll treat this as your room for the next two and a half years. To facilitate your learning of more advanced soul tool knowledge, your learning arrangements will be as follows¡­

    ¡°All of you will follow the ten sixth-grade teachers who are standing behind me now. They are the most capable teachers in the academy. They¡¯re all at least ss 7 soul engineers. Each of them is in charge of a few sixth-grade students.

    ¡°The sixth-grade testing area will be open to all of you, too. All the materials that you need for experiments will be provided by the academy. Of course, you¡¯ll need to pay a certain fee for the materials if you want to bring the soul tools that you¡¯ve created back with you. However, the experiments will bepletely free.

    ¡°In the first month, you¡¯ll all be learning here. Once you possess a certain foundation, you¡¯ll take a test administered by a teacher from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. The results of that test will determine your frequency of participation in the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s lectures and practicals. The best you can achieve is to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall directly to learn. The worst is that you¡¯ll only be able to enter once every ten days. You¡¯ll also be offered the opportunity to take the test again as you learn. As long as the results of your test are satisfactory, your time in the Illustrious Virtue Hall will be increased.¡±

    ¡°Principally, the academy doesn¡¯t wish for any of you to leave unnecessarily. That¡¯s because we can¡¯t guarantee your personal safety outside of the academy. As exchange students, we¡¯ll be heavily ountable if anything happens to any of you. That¡¯s why it¡¯s important for you to apply for leave and report to me if you want to leave the academy for leisure purposes. You¡¯ll need to sign an indemnity form, too. Basically, that is all. If there are any questions, you can ask your assigned teacher directly, or you can find me.¡±

    Lin Jiayi exined the future learning process to Shrek¡¯s students. Besides the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s test that caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention, he was also piqued that they were all going to be separated. There were ten teachers standing behind Lin Jiayi, meaning that each one of them would take one student.

    ¡°To ensure fairness, the teachers will use a lot-drawing method to choose which student they¡¯ll be guiding. The lot-drawing will start now.¡±

    As he spoke, Lin Jiayi received a tray from one of the working crew. There were folded pieces of paper on the tray. The ten teachers streamed towards the tray and each took a piece of paper.

    The first teacher to draw his lot was the youngest among the ten teachers. He appeared to be around thirty or so, and was even younger than Fan Yu.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± He read out the name on his piece of paper.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s brow furrowed a little, but he still walked out quickly. He replied, ¡°Present!¡±

    This young teacher looked very cold. After seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 3 soul engineer badge, he said coldly, ¡°Follow me.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away. He didn¡¯t wait for the other teachers.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything else, and followed him out. He proceeded to the second teaching block of the sixth grade as he followed this young teacher.

    He had furrowed his brow earlier because this teacher was too young. He was capable of bing a ss 7 soul engineer even though he was only thirty or so years old. However, he should be cing all his focus and energy on his cultivation and research on soul tools at such an age. Could he teach well? Furthermore, he could sense that this teacher didn¡¯t like him. That¡¯s because the teacher also furrowed his brow when he saw Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°I hope that I can learn something from him,¡± Huo Yuhao sighed. He had hoped for an older teacher.

 Chapter 157: An Oath Made by a High-Five

    That thirty or so year-old teacher went up the stairs inside the second block of the sixth grade. This ssroom block was six stories high, and he brought Huo Yuhao to the fifth before they turned down a corridor. They walked down it a few dozen meters until the teacher stopped before a door.

    There was a tag on the door that read ¡®3rd Laboratory.¡¯

    He¡¯s already taking me to theb? Huo Yuhao had some doubts in his mind when he saw where they were. However, he didn¡¯t have any control over what he was going to learn while he was here.

    The young teacher took out a namete from his pocket and waved it in front of the door. A simr sight to what Huo Yuhao had seen at the measuring room yesterday presented itself¡ªa single beam of light shed, followed by the door opening.

    ¡°Come in.¡± The young teacher¡¯s voice was simple and pithy as he led Huo Yuhao into theb.

    Theb was extremelyrge and spacious; it wasrger than Fan Yu¡¯sb in Shrek Academy. There were all sorts of soul tools and metallic materials on disy, while the giganticb desk was more than thirty square meters in size. The matte, silverish-white metallic surface was squeaky clean, and gave off a pleasant sensation.

    Theb was empty save for them; nobody else was around. The young teacher said in an uninterested manner, ¡°My name¡¯s Xuan Ziwen, and I¡¯ll be your teacher from today onwards. I don¡¯t care what the assessment rank you¡¯ve received from Shrek Academy is; you¡¯ll have to retake my tests from the very beginning. If you can¡¯t pass my assessments, you¡¯ll have independent learning in the library so that you don¡¯t waste my time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He¡¯d never expected this teacher to say something like this; he didn¡¯t want to teach him?

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher Xuan, is every teacher in charge of the exchange students like you?¡± It would spell immense trouble for them if this was the case. He was confident that he¡¯d be able to learn something by himself in the library, but he knew from his experiences with Fan Yu that there were some topics that one would have to ponder for several days to understand alone, rather than being able to simply resolve it in just a few minutes with a teacher¡¯s help.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t seem to react to Huo Yuhao¡¯s jibe, and he replied coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t care how others act; this is just how I do things. My schedule is tight, so if you find this unfair, go and take your dispute to Lin Jiayi and request a change of mentorship. I didn¡¯t want to take this responsibility anyway, so I¡¯m telling you what choices you have.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought about Zhou Yi when he gazed into the coldness in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes. Teacher Zhou¡¯s strictness and fierceness was different, but learning under Zhou Yi gave Huo Yuhao some experience with teachers who had strange personalities. Teachers with characters meant they had standards, and tests were just tests anyway ¨C how could he be afraid of assessments?

    Huo Yuhao tempered his emotions momentarily before he gave his answer. ¡°I¡¯m willing to take your assessment.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s calm but cold eyes flowed with a strange emotion, and he shot a mildly surprised nce at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s begin. The badge on your chest should represent a ss 3 soul engineer from Shrek Academy. I¡¯ll give you fifteen minutes ¨C you can select from any of the materials here, and you will forge your best ss 3 soul tool formation arrays for me. It¡¯s not about how low your ss is, it¡¯s about a soul engineer¡¯s thoughts and his or her creativity. This is my only prompt for you ¨C you may begin.¡±

    With that, Xuan Ziwen stepped to one side. He flipped his wrist, and a small timer appeared in his hands. Fifteen minutes were entered, and he ced it on theb desk after starting the countdown.

    Huo Yuhao started on his work as soon as possible. Ever since he had joined the Ultimate Soldier n, he had simply put in too much effort. However, he was still a fourteen-year-old teenager after all. He had passed his soul physique measurement with flying colors, and an arrogant ir rose from his heart after he received Xuan Ziwen¡¯s neglect and indifference.

    He walked towards the metallic materials before him. He didn¡¯t even bother inspecting them closely, but instead immediately activated his Spiritual Detection and perceived everything in his mind. He raised his right hand, and five dark golden des protruded from his fingertips. He swung his hand gently, and sliced off the corner of a bright silver chunk of metal.

    Huo Yuhao raised his left hand, used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique, and this piece of metal was securely in his grasp. He withdrew the Darkgolden Terrorw, and diamond ice crystals suddenly appeared on both of his hands. He ced his hands together and gradually kneaded the metal piece that he had just shaved off.

    Xuan Ziwen gasped in surprise when he first saw the Darkgolden Terrorw. He was already more than thirty years old, but he had been immersed in soul tools for more than twenty years, and he could clearly tell that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t using a soul tool. The metal that he had chosen was the notoriously tough and hard titanium ¨C it was a rare metal that was only produced within the Sun Moon Empire. Xuan Ziwen¡¯s first impression when he chose titanium was: did he make a mistake?

    However, his pupils immediately contracted when the dark golden de swiped across the silver-white titanium chunk and effortlessly chopped a piece off without even making a single sound. His brain started to work quickly as he attempted to calcte the dark golden de¡¯s sharpness and toughness.

    What shook Xuan Ziwen even more was what came after. A series of crackling sounds could be heard from between Huo Yuhao¡¯s palms, and a fine silver-white powder started drifting down from his hands. The diamond ice crystals looked incredibly brilliant as they reflected the light from inside theb.

    Huo Yuhao came before theb desk without giving Xuan Ziwen a chance to deliberate. His demeanor changed a little as well, and Xuan Ziwen could subtly feel Huo Yuhao¡¯s otherworldly focus and stability ¨C a silver-white sphere that was about asrge as a lychee appeared on the table.

    He¡­ He used his hands to knead titanium into a sphere? Xuan Ziwen was in awe once more. He hadn¡¯t collected any of Huo Yuhao¡¯s assessment details and particrs from Lin Jiayi before this, so he had no idea what this fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenager¡¯s abilities were like. He hadn¡¯t even seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings, but he had already used two soul skills. Xuan Ziwen was finally attracted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s behavior. However, he told himself that Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy of abilities was that of a soul master. Huo Yuhao was from the number-one soul master academy in the Continent, Shrek, so his possession of these abilities wasn¡¯t that wondrous. He was here to test Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul engineering abilities.

    Huo Yuhao started working while Xuan Ziwen continued thinking to himself. A silver-white carving knife appeared in his hands, but it wasn¡¯t the Life Guardian de ¨C it was just a normal fine golden carving knife, and there was ayer of diamond powder on the de. It was enough to carve and sculpt most metals, but it wasn¡¯t the best of the best. It would be extremely difficult to cut certain hard metals, and it could even break.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand pinched the small silver-white sphere while his left hand waltzed swiftly. His movements were incredibly fast ¨C at least, it seemed this way from Xuan Ziwen¡¯s perspective. Every slice connected to the next without pause, and deep grooves began to appear on this silver-white metal sphere¡¯s surface.

    Xuan Ziwen came next to Huo Yuhao out of curiosity, and meticulously monitored his work.

    Huo Yuhao worked with tremendous speed. It didn¡¯t take long for sophisticated and intricate patterns to appear on the metal sphere¡¯s surface. However, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s brows knitted into a knot, and he muttered to himself, ¡°Charge, Speed, Speed, Speed, Speed, Speed, Speed. Adding seven arrays to such a small body is outstanding, but why are you making six Speeds? If this were used as a soul thruster, a single use would break your back in half. Titanium is strong and tough, but seven arrays being added to a piece this size ¨C and six Speeds. You are pursuing something so extreme, so you can only use it once. Don¡¯t you feel like it¡¯s a waste due to the fact that you will discard it after a single instance?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t that soft, but Huo Yuhao seemed to be paying no attention to outside matters and focused on his work. The titanium sphere constantly rotated as the carving knife in his right hand sliced down repeatedly. Thin and fine titanium powder scattered subtly all over theb desk.

    Xuan Ziwen became even more interested in Huo Yuhao at this point. He could tell that this teenager¡¯s foundations were good, and even though this was a ss 3 soul tool, adding so many arrays at once was something that only a ss 4 soul engineer should be able to do. His hands were steady while his movements were quick yet rhythmic. What was more impressive was that he didn¡¯t make a single mistake despite all his bewildering speed, and Xuan Ziwen could tell with one look that it wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time creating formation arrays like this. Formation arrays were a soul tool¡¯s heart and soul, so there was no room for errors. Even a tiny error or mistake would cause the soul tool to be discarded as worthless.

    Five minutes ¨C Huo Yuhao took only five minutes to sculpt his formation array. He blew on the metal sphere gently, and ayer of metallic powder drifted down; the carving wasplete.

    What was previously just a normal titanium sphere now looked like an exquisite art piece at this point. Deep and shallow grooves, vertical and horizontal lines snaked all over the metal sphere, giving it a formidable three-dimensionality.

    ¡°I¡¯m done, teacher Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao sped the small formation array sphere in his hands.

    Xuan Ziwen said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s nothing impressive. Do you think creating such an extreme formation array is considered creative?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at the timer and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, there¡¯s still some time left. With your permission, I hope to be able to forge the entire soul tool and demonstrate it to you. The profundity of this soul tool I intend to create isn¡¯t about its formation arrays.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xuan Ziwen watched him with astonishment and said, ¡°Alright, show me. If it¡¯s actually that creative, you are allowed to exceed the time limit by a little bit.¡± His interest was now sufficiently piqued by this youth from Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged and immediately returned to the pile of metal from before. He didn¡¯t pick titanium anymore, but chose iron instead, which was the most normal metal. It was a typical metal that was rarely used even when forging a soul tool¡¯s shell. Iron was typically used for molds, and people rarely used it directly for forging soul tools.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw appeared once again, and chopped off piece after piece of iron. From Xuan Ziwen¡¯s perspective, Huo Yuhao¡¯s methods of creating soul tools were extremely special and unique.

    Huo Yuhao could use his hands to knead a metal as tough as titanium, and even knead it into a perfect sphere ¨C it was needless to say what he could do with iron.

    Huo Yuhao quickly converted the iron pieces in his hands into the desired shapes. He used the carving knife after kneading the iron to carve them into the precise shapes and forms that he wanted.

    If the time Huo Yuhao needed to create the formation arrays was considered quick, then the speed at which he was working now could only be described as frighteningly fast, almost to the point where Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t distinguish his movements. Huo Yuhao would subtly shift and tilt his body from time to time during his work, intentionally blocking off Xuan Ziwen¡¯s line of sight. When Xuan Ziwen changed his own position to continue watching, several metal pieces would already have been swiftlypleted, and Xuan Ziwen never got a chance to witness what Huo Yuhao did during that time.

    Xuan Ziwen could gradually discern some clues, however. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just carving and sculpting the iron pieces when he was making the shell ¨C he looked like he was engraving something on their surface, while piece after piece of arrow-shaped metal sticks were incorporated within that emanated soft metal nging sounds from time to time.

    ¡°Crack, crack, ng, ng¡­¡± A series of crisp metallic sounds could be heard, and a iron box that was roughly one foot long, three inches wide and two inches thick appeared before Xuan Ziwen. The formation array that Huo Yuhao had designed before had already been infused inside. Despite his extraordinary memory, Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t remember much, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s forging speed was simply too fast, and he had intentionally blocked off his vision at times. He could feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool was extremely fine and exquisite, especially for a shell formed by iron. He even felt a little eager to discover what it could do.

    ¡°You¡¯re done?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and pressed down on its surface with his right hand, as if he were making some final touches.

    ¡°Alright. Show me what this consumable can do.¡± Xuan Ziwen muttered indifferently.

    Huo Yuhao wasted no words, stepping out from behind theb desk and moving into the soul tool testing area. Everyrgeboratory would have a soul tool testing area, which was used to testpleted soul tools. Of course, the testing area had a limit to how much it could take, and soul tools that were too powerful couldn¡¯t be used here.

    Huo Yuhao raised the rectangr box in his hands and pointed at the alloy wall more than fifty meters away, which was two meters thick. He pressed with his fingers, and Xuan Ziwen only heard a buzzing sound.

    A series of ear-piercing explosive sounds could be heard from fifty meters away, and metal powder erupted from the alloy wall.

    The iron box in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands groaned and shattered into pieces with a st. Huo Yuhao pressed his hands inwards, and the broken soul tool in his hands was immediately kneaded into a metal sphere with his Mysterious Jade Hands.

    Any soul engineer below ss 4 probably wouldn¡¯t understand what Huo Yuhao had done. However, Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t a soul engineer below ss 4! The Illustrious Virtue Hall had given him special subsidies, and he was also one of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research consultants. He was also a special teacher in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and he was a ss 8 soul engineer. He couldn¡¯t be more clear about what Huo Yuhao did in that instant.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes sparkled like the stars in the night sky, and he immediately gave his feedback. ¡°ss 4 soul tool, name unknown. If better original materials were used, its offensive abilities would be close to a ss 5 soul tool ¨C no, more urately put, this should be considered a stationary soul tool that doesn¡¯te with explosive projectiles. It¡¯s very difficult for soul barriers to defend against this, and its speed can rival that of a soul ray, while its force is far superior. What¡¯s more outstanding is the fact that this soul tool has impressive extensibility. Wait ¨C when you fired that shot, you only pressed a button on the soul tool, and you didn¡¯t inject any soul power? I understand now. You used the Charge array to infuse soul power, to activate the entire soul tool when you were cing the entire formation array inside. Ingenious! What an ingenious n! In other words, even normal people can use this soul tool as long as it¡¯spletely charged. However, how can the overall discharge system be so small? There¡¯s something about this soul tool¡¯s shell, and you must have included elements that I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was filled with awe as he listened to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s analysis ¨C every statement was right on point. There indeed was something within the shell. The shell¡¯s structure was sopact and sophisticated that it could rival even the formation array inside. This was the most important feature of the entire soul tool ¨C the formation array was nothing much, but this shell was Huo Yuhao¡¯s secret.

    This soul tool had a name that shook the entire Continent ten thousand years ago ¨C Zhuge Divine Crossbow. Tang San, the person that established the Tang Sect, was its inventor. However, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow that Huo Yuhao had just forged was a soul tool that incorporated the Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s principles and structures.

    Even though he had had the Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s original blueprint, Huo Yuhao had had to study it for more than half a year before finallypleting this creation. Even Fan Yu didn¡¯t know this soul tool¡¯s actual structure, as this was the first soul tool that he had created for the Tang Sect. Just as Xuan Ziwen said, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s force wasn¡¯t that formidable, but its authentic extensibility and that normal people could also use it could be considered exemry and extraordinary features ¨C it could even be said to be something that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had been pursuing for a long time.

    The number-one research topic pursued by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was how they could enable normal people to use soul tools. This research topic focused on empirical principles, and not how soul tools were made or how they operated.

    Xuan Ziwen grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Tell me right now, how did you do that? How did you create such an impressive soul tool? No, sorry, I¡¯m too excited. Sell it to me ¨C sell your research to me. You can name any price you want. How about that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s impression of Xuan Ziwen became a little better as he watched Xuan Ziwen¡¯s exhration. He could feel that Xuan Ziwen was the kind of person that would give everything he had for his research, and these kinds of people were usually purer, and didn¡¯t have too many ulterior motives.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m here for your guidance. Did I pass the assessment?¡±

    ¡°Of course you¡¯ve passed. Are you selling this soul tool? Even though its empirical principles may not be enough to solve the problem, it will be able to give great inspiration¡­ Wait, I don¡¯t know your name yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sounded a little exasperated, and replied, ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Huo Yuhao, tell me ¨C can you tell me your research findings?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked eagerly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher Xuan, I can¡¯t sell it to you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of thepetition between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy. More importantly, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy belongs to the Sun Moon Empire. You should understand how frightening it could be if soul tools that could be used by normal people were eventually dispersed to the military.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s brows creased tightly and said, ¡°That means you¡¯re not willing to sell?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied with a resolute and upromising tone, ¡°No, I¡¯m not. You don¡¯t look like a belligerent, so do you really want to use my research to incite conflict and war? Even if it¡¯s for assistance, I belong to the Star Luo Empire, and I cannot give my research findings to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s facial expressions changed continuously as he said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of me doing something to you because of your research?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled inly and answered, ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t have told me that if you did harbor any such intentions. Furthermore, Shrek Academy can¡¯t be so easily bullied and pushed around by others. Even though your cultivation is much higher than mine, I have a ten percent chance of taking you down with me at this distance ¨C do you believe me?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t explode in a fit of fury like Huo Yuhao imagined he would. Instead, Xuan Ziwen had a look of genuine sincerity and said, ¡°Alright, then tell me ¨C what will it take for you to share your research findings with me? How about I give everything I have to teach and mentor you? I will use my own research findings in exchange for yours. You have to know that mytest research findings are extraordinarily impressive, and one of them is controlling soul tools from a distance. This is something that only I can do within the entire Illustrious Virtue Hall. Even though it¡¯s a ss 8 soul tool, people have touted it to be the ss 9 soul tool among ss 8 soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao still shook his head with a calm expression on his face. He didn¡¯t know that if Jing Hongchen, the Hallmaster of the Virtuous Hall, heard Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words, he probably would have vomited blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡± Xuan Ziwen could tell that Huo Yuhao disregarded his own research findings, and immediately grew furious.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, teacher Xuan. However, I can tell that your research findings are more suitable for the national military, and not so much for personal use. However, I¡¯m not a soldier. As for reconnaissance abilities, do have a look.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes glowed as he spoke. Pale golden light flowed out, and his Spiritual Detection immediatelynded on Xuan Ziwen¡¯s body.

    Three-dimensional images immediately appeared in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mind. He felt his body quiver vigorously as he could clearly feel everything within five hundred meters around him. Everything, including things outside theboratory, were all part of this mystical detection ability.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t give him much time to experience it, and he withdrew his soul skill as soon as he activated it. He was still gazing calmly at Xuan Ziwen. He revealed his abilities because he had a faint feeling that he could make a breakthrough with this teacher Xuan. This breakthrough would be immeasurably beneficial for both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xuan Ziwen gazed at Huo Yuhao, his words stuck in his throat, renderedpletely speechless momentarily. ¡°That¡¯s not possible! You can¡¯t be a spirit-type soul master, just judging from the soul skills you disyed forging the soul tool. You¡­¡±

    ¡°Heh. It¡¯s not really a secret¡ªI have twin martial souls; one assault-type, one spiritual control-type. The files you academy has on me should say about as much.¡± With his experiences in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, there wasn¡¯t much hidden about him, in the eyes of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, from two years ago. Huo Yuhao was a spirit-type soul master, making his instincts keenly urate, and he could sense that this teacher Xuan wasn¡¯t someone sent with malicious intentions at all. His blistering passion for soul tools gave Huo Yuhao an idea.

    ¡°Spirit-type? Assault-type?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes instantly began to sparkle. He grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°A soul master with twin martial souls¡ªand one of them is a spirit-type! What a heaven-sent blessing!. This is great, just too great.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so excited, teacher Xuan. Can you let go of me first?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face was flushed red from all the excitement. ¡°Spirit-type¡ªyou live up to the Shrek Academy name! Wow, you actually have a spirit-type martial soul. Yuhao, what¡¯s your soul power rank?¡± It wasn¡¯t as simple as just epting Huo Yuhao, within this brief conversation he even changed his form of addressing him.

    ¡°Rank 40. However, my spirit-type soul is the primary soul for now, and spirit-type souls are just too few and far between, so I just haven¡¯t been able to get a fourth ring yet. I¡¯m still a three-ringed Soul Elder.¡± Huo Yuhao gave a detailed exnation. The thought from earlier red up again as he saw the fiery passion in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes.

    Xuan Ziwen frowned and said, ¡°Rank 40? That¡¯s a little too low. We could have a go if you had at least six soul rings.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily speechless, and couldn¡¯t help but remind him. ¡°I¡¯m only fourteen this year, teacher Xuan! Not twenty-four!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Right, I forgot. Regardless, you¡¯ve won my approval with your abilities. I will admit that with the Spiritual Detection alone, I am confident in mentoring you to be a top-tier soul engineer, even if you¡¯d never touched soul tools before. I just have a few more questions for you, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Xuan Ziwen contemted for a short while, lowered his voice and asked, ¡°First off, can you control your Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect? More specifically, can you reduce the area of effect in exchange for uracy and precision?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I can do that for myself. However, I can¡¯t do that if I¡¯m sharing my Spiritual Detection with others.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen said contentedly, ¡°That¡¯s impressive enough as is. Soul engineers need to rely on hard work to learn and research, they can¡¯t just rely on strength to create things¡ªstrength is a supporting tool. My second question is: Can your Spiritual Detection reach deep into physical materials to perceive the transformations within them?

    Huo Yuhao said without hesitation, ¡°Yes, but only to a certain level. To put it simply, I can¡¯t look deep inside the mostplex things, but a human body is no problem. Naturally, that also means that I can perceive soul power transformations inside someone.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be so honest and straightforward with him. He gave an astonished nce as he looked over at Huo Yuhao, then he tilted his head slightly as he said, ¡°Truly a powerful spirit-type martial soul. Myst question: Will you ept me as your teacher, as a disciple? My hope is that you leave Shrek Academy and join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. This might sound outrageous, but I can guarantee you direct entrance to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, without any entry examinations at all. I will teach you all I have to offer, and mentor you into a top-tier soul engineer, and you will be a part in our most important and substantial research projects. Plus, I daresay that the Illustrious Virtue Hall is at least dozens of years ahead in soul tool research from any other power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I realized that in the trip to The Radiant City, teacher Xuan, and I¡¯m sure what you¡¯ve just said is true. Dozens may even be a conservative estimate. However, I need to know what will happen if the dayes, where the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s technology and soul tools leave them entirely unafraid of even the most powerful soul masters. Will the Sun Moon Empire be as peaceful as they are now?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xuan Ziwen frowned and replied impatiently, ¡°This isn¡¯t something that researchers like us should be worried about. We should only care about how to produce more magnificent, practical, and novel soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao loosed a faint sigh and said, ¡°That¡¯s because this is your country, but it isn¡¯t mine. I don¡¯t want to, nor can I, fuel conflicts because of my passion for soul tools, which leads to the destruction of life.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen muttered indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re too full of yourself. You think you can incite a war by yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said seriously, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m not powerful enough to incite a war, but I won¡¯t give my abilities to a rival country¡ªdo forgive me. You are my teacher now, so I hope that means you¡¯re willing to guide me.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face seemed a little ck, but he had to admit that this exchange student from Shrek Academy possesses the qualifications to shake him to the core. Perhaps this little fe didn¡¯t have much experience in regards to soul tool research and concepts, but he has solid foundations and a creativity that is imperative for soul tool research. Furthermore, he has a spirit-type martial soul, and that¡¯s as unique and extraordinary as it could get.

    Xuan Ziwen sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯s a pity. However, I¡¯m still willing to mentor you. The only difference is that I can¡¯t share some of the most crucial information from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Of course, we can still negotiate if you¡¯re willing to make an exchange using your research findings.¡± He smiled sheepishly after he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Have you ever thought about leaving this ce, teacher Xuan?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was slightly taken aback, and shook his head as he said, ¡°No. Why would I leave? I have always wanted to be a top-tier soul engineer since I was kid. I want to enable the civilians, so that they too can use soul tools, so that I can change their lives forever, and perhaps even the entire world. Across the entire Continent, only the Illustrious Virtue Hall can provide sufficient budget and a research direction for me. Even though the Illustrious Virtue Hall can¡¯t teach me much, they still have the best research facilities. Shrek Academy may have superior soul masters, but they are far inferior in terms of soul tool research facilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to convince you to join Shrek Academy. I wanted to tell you that the only way for you to obtain my research findings is to join my sect. I aplished my research by incorporating the esoteric knowledge from my sect, so it doesn¡¯t really belong to myself.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was stunned momentarily and asked subconsciously, ¡°You have a sect? What sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Tang Sect. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve heard of it before¡­¡±

    Xuan Ziwen contemted for a short while, and then eximed, ¡°The Tang Sect¡ªthe one that invented hidden weapons? The Tang Sect that existed during the time of the Heaven Dou Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and asked with a surprised look, ¡°You know of the Heaven Dou Empire?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°Of course I do. Ie from the Heavenly Soul Empire, but my parents¡¯ generation migrated to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was even more moved at this. ¡°Then, are you willing to join the Tang Sect?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and answered, ¡°Are those lunatic ravings, or are you trying to deceive me? ording to what I know, the Tang Sect no longer exists. Even if there are remnants of it lying around, they are extremely weak. Are you sure you can provide me with sufficient research expenses and facilities?¡±

    Huo Yuhao could feel the contempt and scorn in his voice, and he was instantly infuriated. However, he took a deep breath and pacified his rage quickly, as he had to admit that Tang Sect was indeed in a declining state, and was currently far from enough to attract the likes of Xuan Ziwen.

    ¡°Yes, the Tang Sect cannot afford a top-tier soul engineer like you right now. However, let¡¯s make a bet. If the Tang Sect rises again within ten years, and they have arge enough research budget and facilities for you, then you shall join it.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen answered, ¡°You still don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m after. I don¡¯t care about the money, and I probably don¡¯t care about anything else except the profound world of soul tools¡ªmuch like the research that you just showed me. How about this? I will join your Tang Sect if you can produce ten of these extraordinary research findings.¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and ced it before Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen was a little shocked. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said with determination, ¡°A promise must be kept! We will high-five to make an oath.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen chuckled and blurted out, ¡°You think it¡¯s so easy to produce simr research breakthroughs? I have to say you could even be considered fortunate to have one¡ªsome soul engineers cannot even produce one such research breakthrough in a lifetime, let alone ten in different fields.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled as he gazed at Xuan Ziwen and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, whether or not I can aplish this is my problem. I only want to ask you¡ªif I seed, will you honor your word?¡±

    The amusement in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes disappeared as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°If you can aplish it, and every soul tool research direction is different, then I will join the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°p, p, p.¡± Three high-fives, and the oath was made.

 Chapter 158: Senior Sister Ju Zi

    Xuan Ziwen could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had changed a little after their three high-fives. Huo Yuhao was no longer a child in his eyes, as he could clearly feel that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just saying all this for the fun of it. The determination and self-confidence in his eyes was truly stunning and remarkable.

    ¡°Alright, then we shall start today¡¯s lesson. Hopefully, I can give you even more pleasant surprises today. However, I have to say that you can¡¯t take too long to devise ten different research breakthroughs, or I may no longer have that hysterical passion to achieve my dreams when I¡¯m too old.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was stubborn and passionate about soul tools, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t rational and intelligent about other things. Huo Yuhao¡¯s research was enough to move him, but it wasn¡¯t enough to pull him over without conditions and prerequisites.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s begin our lesson, teacher Xuan. I have already passed your assessment, and I am your student now.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s start. I can tell that your foundations are solid and reliable, and you are a unique spirit-type soul master. I want to discuss some principles and concepts before I borate more about techniques in forging soul tools. Once your principles and concepts are right, you won¡¯t digress from the right path so easily when you¡¯re doing deeper research.

    ¡°Tell me... what is a soul tool?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face was serious and solemn.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°They are tools activated and directed by a soul master¡¯s soul power. They can be used as weapons, or tools to support people''s¡¯ daily lives or their work.¡± This should be the model answer, and he had known that ever since he started learning how to forge soul tools.

    However, Xuan Ziwen shook his head disappointedly when he heard these words.

    ¡°I have to say that Shrek¡¯s views and perception of soul tools is simply too backward. I will give you a new definition ¨C you must memorize it. What are soul tools? Soul tools have nothing to do with soul masters. The meaning of the existence and advancement of soul tools lies in catalyzing human society¡¯s evolution.

    ¡°That means research and development in soul tools is intended to advance and further societal development, so that humans can enjoy a stronger and more fulfilling existence. I have always believed that, one day in the near future, humankind will be able to use soul tools to dominate and subdue all other species, perhaps even other worlds that are not our own. Our vision may be too insignificant and trivial for now, but humans are also constantly growing and evolving in tandem with our advancements in soul tools. Do you believe that one day, humans without even a thread of soul power can use soul tools to hunt and kill ten thousand year soul beasts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paid attention and remembered everything that Xuan Ziwen said to him. His current impression of Xuan Ziwen was simr to the same awe and amazement that Xuan Ziwen had felt when Huo Yuhao had forged the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

    Xuan Ziwen had flipped his knowledge and understanding of soul tools with just a few simple words, and this was entirely because of the gap in their standards.

    ¡°Human evolution and development has been extremely slow over the past few thousand years. I believe that the Douluo Continent¡¯s sluggish development would have continued if it hadn¡¯t collided with the Sun Moon Continent. Even now, the three empires native to the Douluo Continent haven¡¯t entirely taken soul tools seriously. Without considering top-tier soul masters, I dare say that the Sun Moon Empire is entirely capable of using soul tools to dominate and unify the entire continent. There is already a rift in the levels of civilization.¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s speech gave the impression that he couldn¡¯t stand not saying staggering and startling things.

    ¡°However, our research and development in soul tools has reached a bottleneck. The reason is simple: soul masters are the bottleneck.

    ¡°That is because research in soul tools began with the notion and purpose of soul masters using them, so soul power was required to activate them. Over the past few thousand years, every single piece of research has been channeled and focused on this aspect. This has created a worldwide mdy, in that soul tools cannot be used on arge scale. Soul masters are ultimately the elites among humans, but they are still the minority, and normal citizens are still the majority. If soul tools cannot enter normal citizens¡¯ lives, then we will never truly realize the dream of advancing humankind and transcending generational boundaries. Mightier soul tools required stronger soul masters to use them, and this moronic logic has led to the stagnation of soul tool research. Our current research direction is ¡®how do we enable normal citizens to use soul tools?¡¯ This is the reason why I was so amazed and bewildered when I saw the soul tool that you just created!

    ¡°Even though you haven¡¯tpletely solved the problem, you have allowed soul masters to act as a vector for charging the soul tool. Once it¡¯s charged, the soul tool that you have forged can be used by normal citizens. This is what I¡¯m most concerned about, and not your soul tool¡¯s force. In other words, this soul tool¡¯s most important technology is about using gears and buttons so that the Charge array can be used as a primer, instead of soul power. Therefore, you should do everything you can to explore and research soul tools for civilian use if you wish to move me. The rtively more sessful examples are currently limited to stationary soul tools. The only problem is that stationary soul tools are simply too expensive, and even the Illustrious Virtue Hall rarely forges high-level stationary soul tools. To this day, the Sun Moon Empire has only equipped a single stationary soul tool regiment.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen suddenly seemed to realize that he had misspoke, and he forced augh in exasperation. ¡°Pretend you didn¡¯t hear thatst sentence.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled in understanding but said nothing, and only listened intently to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s exnation.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mood and interest had beenpletely triggered by now, and he went on and on about his knowledge and understanding of soul tools, as well as some principles and concepts. Huo Yuhao was like a dried-up sponge, and constantly absorbed all this information. He could imprint everything into his mind with impable uracy due to his supernatural memory.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research in regards to soul tools truly bbergasted Huo Yuhao. He was a ss 8 soul engineer, but the feeling he gave Huo Yuhao was different from what he felt with Fan Yu. Fan Yu¡¯s style was stability, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s foundations had be extremely sturdy under his guidance.

    Xuan Ziwen was theplete opposite. His mind was like a heavenly steed soaring through the skies, bold and imaginative; he was a soul engineer filled with creativity and vigor. His research was mostly unrted to war, and certain principles and concepts gave Huo Yuhao a sudden sh of insight. Some things that he didn¡¯t understand about soul tools, or some things that he just couldn¡¯t wrap his head around, were smoothed out and resolved by Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance in principles and concepts. Even though it couldn¡¯t be considered aplete resolution, he could at least see a clear path before him.

    This was also a soul engineer curriculum, but the gap had be increasingly conspicuous. Huo Yuhao¡¯s learning in Shrek Academy was more about memorizing blueprints of soul tool formation arrays, yet Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t produce a single blueprint for him! He was merely exining exining the innovative principles of soul tools. In Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words, a soul engineer teacher should never give his or her students rules and boxes to follow. Soul engineer teachers should be giving their students principles and concepts, and once their students obtained a sufficient foundation, they would use their understanding in principles and concepts along with their personal creativity to create soul tools that belonged to themselves.

    This was the main reason why Huo Yuhao amazed Xuan Ziwen when he made something of his own during the assessment.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if he was re-learning everything he knew about soul tools under Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance. His brain had beenpletely rewired at this point, and he would ask some questions from time to time, which Xuan Ziwen answered immediately without exception. Time seemed to sh by as an hour passed just like that. Xuan Ziwen spoke until even he was a little exhausted, but Huo Yuhao was still as excited and lively as ever ¨C one of the major advantages of being a spirit-type soul master.

    Creeeeak... Theb door suddenly opened with a jarring creak and shook Huo Yuhao out of his immersion in the ocean of knowledge as he subconsciously nced towards the door.

    It was just a nce, but his eyes suddenly seemed to freeze, and he could no longer withdraw his gaze.

    There was a young woman standing by the door. She seemed a little drowsy-eyed, but her beauty made Huo Yuhao lose his focus even though he had seen many pretty girls before.

    This youngdy had long,flowing ck hair. She looked to be between seventeen and eighteen years of age, herrge and nimble eyes appearing a little nebulous. Herplexion was just too impressive, as not a single pore could be seen on her soft and tender skin, as if he could squeeze water out of her with just a single pinch. She wore a school uniform like everyone else, which brought out her rtively attractive figure. Perhaps she wasn¡¯t as pretty as Jiang Nannans, but herzy and naturally cute demeanor was riveting.

    ¡°You¡¯re early, teacher! What a rare sight!¡± The young girl acted like she didn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao at all, addressing Xuan Ziwenzily. She walked over and sat down on theb desk before sheid down on top of it, as if she wanted to take yet another nap.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem!¡± Xuan Ziwen coughed dryly and said, ¡°Stop sleeping, Ju Zi. Can¡¯t you see there¡¯s someone new here?¡±

    The young girl referred to as ¡°Ju Zi¡± was still lying down. She waved her right handzily, as if she were swatting flies and said, ¡°Stop talking and let me sleep for a little while. You know what I was doingst night when I burned the midnight oil.¡± Her soft and silky voice gave people a strange and tickly sensation in their hearts.

    Xuan Ziwen was a little exasperated and said, ¡°Forget it. Don¡¯t mind her, she¡¯s just like that. Her name is Ju Zi, and she¡¯s also one of my students. You can call her senior sister from now on, or you can just address her by her name. She was researching soul toolsst night, and she kept at a single experiment until midnight. That is the reason why she¡¯s only up at this hour. I only have four students. The other three are out to gain experience, and will probably only be back after a few days.¡±

    ¡°Experience? Soul engineers also have to venture outside for experience? What kind of experience is that?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°Of course they need to have experience! Simply doing experiments inside ab is not enough, and some research has to be tested in real life so that it can be improved, and better results obtained. I guided them through forging some soul tools before this, and they brought their soul tools out for experiments. You will have simr experiences in the days toe.¡±

    ¡°Since you already have Rank 40 soul power, you should go out and get your fourth soul ring as soon as possible. Even though I¡¯m unwilling to admit it, soul engineers will dread the stagnation of their soul power the most, as powerful soul tools require a powerful soul master to wield them right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m dying in getting another soul ring. Suitable spirit-type soul beasts are just too rare, if that wasn¡¯t the case, I wouldn¡¯t have dragged it out this long.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°Rare doesn¡¯t mean nonexistent. Even though the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s overall soul beast quality may be inferior to that of the Great Star Dou Forest near Shrek Academy, it holds true that different regions will have different types of soul beasts. I can apany you to find a suitable soul ring, you can get one as long as you find an appropriate soul beast.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, teacher Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao thanked him sincerely. While he wasn¡¯t wholly convinced that Xuan Ziwen could take him to find a suitable soul beast, he could still appreciate his teacher¡¯s good intentions.

    Xuan Ziwen nced at the time and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s gettingte. We will stop here for today, in the meantime you can think things over on your own. I can only teach you the principles, after that your subsequent inventions and innovations are yours alone.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Xuan Ziwen sauntered beside Ju Zi and suddenly shouted, ¡°It¡¯s time to eat!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Let¡¯s go! The shrimp crackers will be gone!¡± This beautiful girl, who still had sleepy and dazed eyes just a moment ago, suddenly leapt to her feet. She raced out of theb with a spring in her step while Huo Yuhao watched her, ck-jawed.

    Xuan Ziwenughed uncontrobly as he watched her mannerisms.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Ju Zi stomped furiously back into theb. She raised her arm and hurled a sphere of yellow light towards Xuan Ziwen eximing, ¡°You lied to me! You lied to me again. I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± She tossed sphere after sphere of yellow light as she spoke.

    Xuan Ziwen could catch a few at the start, but was quickly overwhelmed and guffawed, ¡°Help me, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could see everything from the moment Ju Zi raised her hands into the air. She was actually throwing out oranges, every single one was ripe and supple. It was apparent that she was a food-type soul master with an Orange martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were quite unlike Xuan Ziwen, while neither released their martial soul, Huo Yuhao seemed to grow innumerable hands, catching every single orange barreling through the air. Not a single orange could get by him, he simply dropped them on the ground beside him.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ju Zi finally realized there was someone else in theb. She stopped what she was doing and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen walked towards Huo Yuhao and exined, ¡°He is your new junior brother, and I will be mentoring him from today onwards.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was rtively tall andnkypared to others of the same age. He had a cool andposed demeanor, so he seemed more like a teenager closer to seventeen or eighteen years old.

    Ju Zi waved at him indifferently before she rushed in front of Xuan Ziwen angrily and said, ¡°You lied to me again, teacher Xuan. If you do that again, I¡¯m going to request a change of teachers.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen chuckled and replied, ¡°Is it my fault that you were born a glutton? Everything would be okay if you didn¡¯t react so dramatically. I leave you in charge of answering your junior brother¡¯s questions when I¡¯m not around. His name is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stepped forward a bit rushed and said respectfully, ¡°Nice to meet you, senior sister Ju Zi.¡±

    Ju Zi looked him up and down more carefully than before, then muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that, I still have to continue researching and studying my own things. Anyways, I¡¯m leaving to find something to eat¡ªI¡¯m famished! I haven¡¯t had anything to eat yet.¡± She waved her hands as she spoke and departed theboratory once more.

    Xuan Ziwen exined sheepishly, ¡°Our learning atmosphere is a little more rxed. Ju Zi might seem reserved and isted from her surroundings, but she has extraordinary talents with soul tools¡ªshe¡¯s already a ss 5 soul engineer. The only thing she¡¯scking is cultivation level.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°I¡¯ve seen many students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy before, and I noticed that they typically possess a very formidable soul power from a young age¡ªreaching Rank 60 before twenty years of age isn¡¯t rare, is it? Have they achieved it by eating exotic foods or whatnot? That might be a little excessive.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen sighed and answered, ¡°They¡¯re spoiling them with undue haste. The academy has employed some special and unnatural methods to aid students with a talent for forging soul tools, and the academy spends a myriad amount of exotic foods and precious resources to boost their cultivations. This method has side effects, which will affect their future development. I can¡¯t tell you about that though¡ªit¡¯s ssified.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen quickly left, and Huo Yuhao was the only person left inside theb. Huo Yuhao sat down on the ground crossed-legged, and started meditating.

    He wasn¡¯t just trying to understand and consolidate the things he learned from Xuan Ziwen¡ªhe was also trying to memorize the structure and formation arrays of the soul tools within theboratory. But he didn¡¯t dare to draw them onto paper right now, as he wasn¡¯t quite sure if there wasn¡¯t a soul tool spying on him or monitoring his actions.

    He was about to head down to the canteen to eat after finishing up when theb door opened again¡ªJu Zi was back.

    ¡°Senior sister Ju Zi.¡± Huo Yuhao was a little fatigued when he greeted Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi raised one hand and tossed a card that looked like it was made of crystal to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao caught it.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°How troublesome. Teacher Xuan wanted me to give you this ess card. You¡¯ll be able to go in and out of theboratory when you like with it. We don¡¯t really have any rules here, so you can carry on with your own research if you have any, and find teacher Xuan if you have something you don¡¯t understand. Alright, I¡¯m going to take a nap and continue my research in the afternoon.¡± She yawned as she spoke. She turned and began walking towards the exit.

    She suddenly stopped after taking only a step or two and snapped her head around. ¡°Huo Yuhao, right? How did you catch so many of my oranges awhile ago?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°It¡¯s a technique from my sect.¡±

    ¡°What sect are you from?¡± Ju Zi asked curiously.

    ¡°The Tang Sect.¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Ju Zi was a little confused, and asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it before. Is it fun?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a little speechless, but he still replied. ¡°A sect shouldn¡¯t be described as ¡®fun¡¯, senior sister.¡±

    Ju Zi grunted and said, ¡°Forget it, if it¡¯s not fun, I¡¯m out.¡± She pranced away just like that.

    Huo Yuhao ate a simple lunch and returned to theb in the early afternoon. Neither Xuan Ziwen nor Ju Zi were around.

    He recalled Xuan Ziwen¡¯s advice from the morning, and began to experiment with soul tools. He was trying to forge amonce, but extremely valuable, soul tool¡ªa ss 4 Milk Bottle.

    The Milk Bottle, and soul tools like it, were always in high demand. Only problem is that forging one is a troublesome process, with its formation arrays being especially sophisticated. Huo Yuhao was experimenting in simplifying theseplex formation arrays.

    After about thirty minutes of deep concentration, Ju Zi walked in. She wasn¡¯t too concerned to see Huo Yuhao making a soul tool off to the side, she walked over to the other side of theb desk and got down to work. She was also creating formation arrays.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were incredibly perceptive, he was aware of her presence the moment she entered. He discreetly activated Spiritual Detection and monitored his senior sister¡¯s movements.

    Even with his good impression of Xuan Ziwen, he still knew it would be difficult to pick up any core knowledge or bits and pieces of information, because he was from Shrek Academy. He had to learn whatever he could, however he could do it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first impression of Ju Zi was that she seemed cute, she was pretty too, but also ignorant and obnoxious. He quickly realized that Ju Zi was almost like apletely different person when she walked in. She was extraordinarily focused, as if without a care in the world for anything else besides the formation array she was forging at the moment. It was far moreplicated than Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 4 Milk Bottle¡¯s formation array. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even tell what the formation array was for, despite his vast memory banks of formation arrays¡ªof course, this was also because Ju Zi had just started carving.

    Ju Zi appeared to enter a state of absolute concentration, as if she didn¡¯t realize that Huo Yuhao was now right behind her. She grabbed a silver-white piece of metal with her left hand while she held a carving knife with unique colors in her right. This knife looked like it was made of clear and transparent crystal, and its handle was an orangish-red. The de¡¯s hues gradually became lighter and more in from the handle all the way up to the tip, which was so clear and transparent that it was almost invisible.

    The carving knife spun between her fingers, and waltzed like a sphere of me.

    Fan Yu had once remarked that different soul engineers had different preferences and varying carving knifes when creating formation arrays. Those who would eventually be top-ranked soul engineers all had their own unique techniques and style.

    Huo Yuhao was still discovering his own style and preferences. However, he could see fragments of a style from Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi gave onlookers a light and agile feeling when she handled her carving knife. The knife looked like a ball of me, only briefly touching the metal piece before it was withdrawn, and didn¡¯t stop moving for even a single moment. This natural movement made it seem like she was caressing the metal piece with her carving knife. Metal scraps continuously drifted to the floor, but none of them scattered outwards; the intricate textures made her work seem like that of uncanny and supetive craftsmanship.

    One was sitting down while the other was standing up. One was carving in silence while the other observed quietly from the side. Like this, time unwittingly flew by.

    Dusk was gradually approaching, warm lights automatically lit up inside theb to maintain the brightness. However, neither Huo Yuhao nor Ju Zi noticed these changes.

    One was focused on working, another was watching on, enchanted.

    Today¡¯s takeaways were almost overwhelming for Huo Yuhao. He had received Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance in soul engineering principles this morning, but these several hours of standing during the afternoon were actually even more important.

    This was the optimalbination of theory and hands-on practice. Ju Zi was effectively giving him an exciting and magnificent practical lesson, it was especially effective because she was a form of confirmation for what Xuan Ziwen had talked about in the morning. A new door to bing a proper soul engineer was slowly opening before Huo Yuhao.

    Ju Zi heaved a long breath after a long time. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s finally done.¡± The silver-white metal piece became a square formation array. The horizontal and vertical lines on the formation array were precise and orderly, and Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have believed it if you told him they were carved manually, without the help of any other tools, had he not just seen it happen in person.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use any other tools?¡± Huo Yuhao spoke for the first time after she finished her work.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ju Zi was clearly startled. Her body instantly erupted with orangish-red radiance, and uncountable oranges were immediately flung towards Huo Yuhao. The oranges whooshed through the air like they were shot out by a tornado.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect she would have such a violent reaction, but his battle instincts caused him to respond subconsciously.

    Diamond-like crystals covered his entire body, and the flurry of oranges crashed against him, but didn¡¯t even force him to take a single step back. The oranges ricocheted against the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor and scattered in different directions.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils suddenly dted as he felt more than ten oranges soundlessly stick to his body, and he was assaulted with an unprecedented sense of danger.

    He made a split-second judgment due to his perceptive senses. Emerald light flickered as a shadow shed behind his body. An emerald-greenyer of light blew outwards with his body at the center before being immediately withdrawn.

    Everything froze within an area of about ten meters in diameter. Ju Zi had already turned around, and was a looking at Huo Yuhao with an astonished look on her face, the whirling oranges in the sky¡ªjust stopped and remained in a strange state of silence.

    The oranges rained down from above, to the ground. They crackled like fireworks as they hit the floor, like they were rocks mming into the ground.

    Huo Yuhao first scanned his body. There were more than ten oranges stuck to his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, but they had all be small ice blocks, and their original effects were dispelled by his Ultimate Ice.

    He pinched one of them, and realized that the orange¡¯s surface was soft and tender like an actual orange. He used his Spiritual Detection and discovered, to his intense fright and bewilderment, that this orange contained aplicated formation array that was no weaker than that of a ss 4 soul tool, as well as a small energy-gathering array. The soul power contained within it had been frozen luckily¡ªif not, he couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what would have happened.

    Without a doubt, her food-type martial spirit was just like her name, Orange. Her food-type martial soul didn¡¯t contain much offensive power, but was incredibly misleading. He would have suffered unimaginably had his senses not been adequately keen and perceptive. Ten ss 4 soul tools detonating on his body at the same time¡ªnot even his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor could¡¯ve taken that! Of course, it was likely that Ju Zi would stop what she was doing when she realized it was him. However, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t gamble with his life over this.

    He shook his body, and the ten ¡°oranges¡± fell off. Huo Yuhao used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique to grab them carefully before putting them on theb desk some distance away.

    Huo Yuhao ced his right hand on Ju Zi¡¯s shoulder, and the Ultimate Ice energy released by the Domain of Perpetual Ice was slowly withdrawn.

    Ju Zi was a five-ringed Soul King, but it would have probably still taken her around fifteen minutes to remove the effects on her own, and this was only when Huo Yuhao used the Domain of Perpetual Ice without much force in consideration of her safety.

    ¡°It¡¯s so cold.¡± Ju Zi shivered, and her charming figure quivered slightly before she sat back down. Her red and supple lips were turning blue, and the infuriated expression in her eyes held a tinge of fright.

    ¡°What were you thinking?!¡± Ju Zi eximed angrily.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I would not have acted like that if you didn¡¯t react so violently.¡±

    Ju Zi grunted angrily and pointed a finger at Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose. ¡°Just you wait!¡± She took the newly finished formation array as she spoke and stormed out.

    Huo Yuhao stroked his nose. He felt as exasperated¡ªhe had never intended to offend this senior sister, but he couldn¡¯t possibly be expected not to retaliate in that kind of situation.

    He didn¡¯t think too much about it. The sky was getting darker by the minute, after eating something light at the canteen, he returned to the dormitory and immediately started meditating.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s meditation process was different from that of normal soul masters. After obtaining his second spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao realized that he could separate a strand of consciousness to think about things while he cultivated. This was undoubtedly a great increase for his intellect and ability to grasp concepts.

    This was how things were: He had absorbed voluminous amounts of knowledge, even though it was only the first day, and he needed time to fuse what he¡¯d learned today with the things he already knew. All so he could better understand the most advanced soul tool engineering principles.

    ¡­¡­¡­

    Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Over these few days Huo Yuhao received Xuan Ziwen¡¯s meticulous guidance on principles and concepts. Even though he hadn¡¯t attempted to forge another soul tool yet, he obtained a fresh mind, full of knowledge about soul tools. However, he didn¡¯t see Ju Zi again after the first day, as if she¡¯d just vanished into thin air.

    On the morning of the fourth day, Huo Yuhao arrived early and started cleaning up theb once he arrived. He¡¯d been doing this since the second day; he cleaned every theb until it was spotless and then awaited Xuan Ziwen¡¯s arrival.

    He was halfway through cleaning when theb door suddenly shot open. Huo Yuhao was wondering why teacher Xuan wasing so early in the morning when four people stepped in from outside¡ªone of them being Ju Zi.

    A tall and burly youth stood in front of the group. He was at least two meters tall, and his muscr body rivaled that of He Caitou. Even his skin was dark and tanned¡ªdarker skin was an aristocratic sign within the Sun Moon Empire. This muscr youth¡¯s hair was brown and short, his eyes sparkled with vitality, and his bulging muscles stretched his uniform tightly.

    A tiny girl with a small figure stood behind him. She wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Ju Zi, but she had a cute charm, and was only about one hundred and sixty centimeters tall. Her eyes were full of life and ferocity, and even contained a tinge of intimidation. The third person was male, and he had a tall and slim figure. He was a little taller than Huo Yuhao, had long flowing golden hair reached past his shoulders, his nose was high and sharp, his blue eyes were deep yet lively, and his handsome features wereplementary with Ju Zi¡¯s behind him.

    Huo Yuhao immediately stopped what he was doing when they walked in and he said respectfully, ¡°Nice to see you again, senior sister Ju Zi. You guys must be my senior brothers and sisters. Nice to meet everyone¡ªmy name is Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m a new exchange student.¡±

    He barely finished his sentence when the tiny girl¡¯s shrill voice rang out. ¡°Enough with all that formality. We aren¡¯t your senior brothers and sisters¡ªdid we let you call us that?¡±

    She walked towards Huo Yuhao as she spoke. Her hands nted on her waist, carrying a truculent and overbearing demeanor.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Then how should I address you?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± The tiny girl was stunned momentarily, and her fierce mannerisms fell apart instantly. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that first. Who allowed you into theb?¡±

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, of course.¡± Huo Yuhao replied, amused.

    The tiny girl grunted and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t agreed to that. This is a shared study area. Follow me outside for a while, I want to ask you something.¡± She pointed towards the door as she spoke.

    ¡°Why?¡± Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully.

    The tiny girl said, ¡°Come out and you¡¯ll know.¡± She took the lead and headed outside as she spoke

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, but, judging from her attitude, it probably wasn¡¯t anything good. However, he didn¡¯t want to antagonize his senior brothers and sisters in his first few days here, so he followed the tiny girl outside. The other three gazed at him expressionlessly¡ªit was clear that they were ostracizing him.

    The tiny girl walked out of theb and pointed towards a wall by the corridor. ¡°Stand over there.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed her instructions and asked, ¡°What do you want to say to me?¡±

    The tiny girl grunted coldly and replied, ¡°I want to tell you that you aren¡¯t worthy enough to enter theb without our permission. Next time you do, we¡¯ll beat you up. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s brows creased. He wanted to say something, but the young girl swiftly took a step back and into theboratory and shut the door behind her.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao possessed impressive self-restraint andposure, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel a indignant. He hurriedly stepped forward to use the ess card hanging at his chest to swipe at the door, while he prepared to reason with them inside.

 Chapter 159: Xenophobia, Bullying, and the Sovereign Descends

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression grew solemn and gloomy. His eyes narrowed into slits, and a cold light flickered through them.

    I just want to learn here, yet you guys just had to force my hand. Huo Yuhao knew that the best thing for him to do would be to find Xuan Ziwen and let his teacher resolve his predicament. However, he knew that doing so would mean lowering his head to the four of them; a moment of timidity and cowardice like that would probably lead to even more bullying in the future. How could he focus on studying if that happened?

    He heaved a sigh and mumbled exasperatedly under his breath, ¡°You guys forced me.¡± He raised his right hand once he¡¯d finished speaking and pressed it to theb door. A pale golden radiance flickered in his eyes and one white, one purple, and one ck soul ring¡ªquite the peculiarbination¡ªgradually rose from his body. This was the true color of his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul rings, but whether or not others would believe what this was a different story. After all, not many people believed that the colors of one¡¯s soul rings could be changed at will.

    Xuan Ziwen had asked Huo Yuhao if he could use his Spiritual Detection to probe into metallic objects, to which Huo Yuhao had answered that he could, but only to a certain extent. This was a huge breakthrough he¡¯d achieved in his two years of cultivating Spiritual Detection, and he¡¯de up with a name for it: Focus.

    He could focus his energy on a single point to increases its prative power and analytical abilities to a truly formidable level. Huo Yuhao¡¯s target of choice was naturally theb¡¯s ess control soul tool.

    His gaze quickly concentrated on a single point. He raised his right hand that he¡¯d just pressed against the door and pointed his index finger at a certain spot. Dark golden light sparkled the next moment, and a sharp de extended from his fingertip and pierced into the alloy door.

    One had to admit that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy didn¡¯t skimp with the mechanisms they used to protect theirboratories. The door was at least half a foot thick, and was incredibly tough. Huo Yuhao had the ability to break it down, but it would consume too much of his soul power to do so. He had several things he needed to do after this, thus he didn¡¯t want to expend too much energy.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for his Darkgolden Terrorw to drill through such a tough alloy. His Darkgolden Terrorw released an ear-piercing sound as it ground through it, and was apanied by intermittent sparks. However, he was gradually making progress thanks to the Terrorw¡¯s extraordinary sharpness.

    He drilled about two inches in before violently jabbing his finger inwards, causing the ess control soul tool to instantly explode in a shower of sparks. Huo Yuhao immediately withdrew his Darkgolden Terrorw when this happened, and the door opened before him.

    The best method to open a door guarded with a soul tool was to destroy the soul tool guarding it. It hadn¡¯t been too difficult for him to find the crucial formation arrays.

    ¡°Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep¡­!¡± the sound of an rm rang out. The four inside of theb all turned to stare at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Not even in their wildest dreams had they expected Huo Yuhao to break down the door; they¡¯d never even suspected that he had the ability to do so.

    The shrill rm continued to ring, but Huo Yuhao pretended to not hear anything and stepped into theboratory. He didn¡¯t even look at the four of them as he sauntered towards the ce that he¡¯d just been cleaning previously.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡± the young girl eximed in both fury and shock. ¡°You dare to damage ourb! Have you already forgotten what we just told you? ¡®If we see you inside one more time, we¡¯ll beat you up again!¡¯¡±

    Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks and gradually turned around. His expression was full of regret and pity as he said, ¡°I gave you guys onest chance after opening the door. Since you have refused to take it, then I¡¯m sorry. I suspect you guys are intruders, and Ju Zi is your aplice on the inside. I will take all of you down and hand you guys over to teacher Xuan.¡±

    ¡°Where did this little bastarde from? Who do you think you are? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re punching above your weight? Take us down? You?¡± the tall youth that stood in front of everyone eximed indifferently. Ju Zi was also indignant, and only the rtively good-looking youth revealed an expression of astonishment, but didn¡¯t react much.

    He had already decided what he was going to do once he broke down theb door. He wanted to give these fellows a show of strength, did they really think he was that easily bullied?

    Golden light shed from his eyes, and one white, one purple, and one ck soul ring appeared on his body.

    The four of them were slightly taken aback when they saw his soul rings. Three rings wasn¡¯t much in their eyes, but the colors of Huo Yuhao¡¯s three soul rings were simply too peculiar.

    Just as they were momentarily off-put, Huo Yuhao¡¯s first and third soul rings lit up at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils immediately turned white, and a circle of white light subsequently expanded from his body. Theb¡¯s entire atmosphere twisted and contorted. When Ju Zi and the others looked at him again, they felt as if everything around them had turned blurry and obscure.

    Even though Ju Zi and the others weren¡¯t inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, they were the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s sixth year students, and they could be considered the elites of their batch. How could they just sit back and let Huo Yuhao attack them?

    Ju Zi¡¯s reaction was the fastest. Uncountable oranges lunged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s slightly contorting figure, while the handsome youth beside her raised both hands and hurled out six hexagon-shaped golden boxes. A golden light screen wrapped around them and protected them inside itself, right before Huo Yuhao¡¯s circle of white radiance hit them.

    The four of them unleashed their martial souls at the same time, as powerful soul tools required sufficient soul power to maximize their effects. A giant cannon that was disproportionate to her body size suddenly appeared on the tiny young girl¡¯s shoulder. This cannon barrel was evenrger than He Caitou¡¯s Giant Lightning Cannon, and it looked quite heavy. The tall youth flipped out more than fifty strange soul cannons of all kinds. Even though it wasn¡¯t a soul tool fortress, he moved incredibly fast, and the number of soul cannons he was already disying outmatched most soul tool fortresses.

    It was a pity that they still underestimated Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. The white circle of light effortlessly passed right through theyer of golden light, not impeded at all, and struck the four of them, just like that.

    Their eyes immediately turned white, and an intense weakness coursed over their bodies. Their subsequent movements seemed to be slower than usual as dizziness, weakness in their legs, and fatigue caused them to stumble around. This was especially so for the young girl with the enormous cannon, who almost lost her bnce.

    It was right at this moment that Huo Yuhao suddenly vanished right in front of them, disappearing into the flurry of oranges that were still in midair.

    Huo Yuhao had been tricked before, so he wouldn¡¯t fall into the same trap again in the face of a simr attack. He was almost sliding across the ground when he slipped out, and he grabbed at the air above him again and again while he was sliding. He seized six actual oranges in the blink of an eye, and hurled them towards the goldenyer of light.

    Food-type soul masters were the most adept at materializing soul power, the food items that they produced were real, and actually had special effects.

    Oranges contained moisture inside them, and he had now transformed them into solid ice. What could six oranges do against a ss 5 soul barrier?

    Huo Yuhao gave them the answer.

    These four students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were outstanding enough. Even though they were struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement and their minds were under the influence of Spiritual Interference, they still managed to unleash their respective attacks. The handsome youth stepped forward and stood in front of Ju Zi as a pristine white light barrier rose from his body. He raised his right arm at the same time, and a fiery-red longsword instantly appeared in his hands.

    Strength and burliness was not a characteristic of long-range soul masters. He was tall andnky, yet he was a closebat soul master. The closebat soul tool in his hands was also clearly a special item.

    The tall youth¡¯s body erupted with soul rays and soul cannon shells, his judgement extremely urate for his currently weakened state. He nked the area Huo Yuhao was moving into and through with ranged fire. It was unfortunate for him that his mind was far too hampered by Spiritual Interference, and adding in Huo Yuhao¡¯s urate judgments via Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao simply shifted his position subtly as he surged past this shower of attacks.

    The tiny young girl only stabilized herself at this moment, but she hesitated in firing her giant cannon. If she fired this giant cannon inside theboratory, the cost would be¡­ Just as she hesitated, Huo Yuhao arrived before the light barrier. This was ab after all, and not somepetition arena ¨C the distance between both parties was not even ten meters before this!

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!¡± Six vigorous explosions could be heard on the golden light barrier. The things that detonated were the six oranges that Huo Yuhao had tossed out before this ¨C Ice Explosion!

    However, it didn¡¯t look like that from their perspective. The tiny young girl reacted in shock and fury as she shouted, ¡°What are you doing, Ju Zi?!¡±

    An enormous crack appeared on the golden light barrier after this series of explosions, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands mmed ferociously against the light barrier in the next moment.

    Fearsome energy spewed from his body like crashing mountains and tidal waves. Diamond ice crystals covered hisrge palms, and a faint green luster was shining from them. The golden light barrier wasn¡¯t able to resist for even a single second, it was blown to smithereens under his hands with a string of shrill breaking sounds.

    He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and his figure appeared even more surreal and virtual under the incredible masking effects of his Spiritual Interference. He was beside the tiny young girl in a sh, and used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique to pull her in front of him¡­ and directly into the path of the tall youth¡¯s soul tool onught.

    There were two main types of soul barriers in a soul engineer¡¯s defensive arsenal ¨C one was soul rays and shells that were simr to soul power attacks, and the other was soul barriers that could defend against physical attacks. Both could be used at the same time, but soul engineers would typically only choose one when they were engaged in battle. In the end, it was rare for soul engineers to use physical attacks; this was the case even for closebat soul engineers.

    The golden light barrier released by the handsome youth was meant to defend against physical attacks. This tiny young girl didn¡¯t have the same urate judgment, and this took Huo Yuhao by surprise, so hisrge hands immediately mped onto her neck.

    Everything happened far too quickly. The time needed for two breaths was all it took for Huo Yuhao to make a move to the point when he closed his fingers around the girl¡¯s neck. Both parties had tremendously quick reactions, but it was undoubtedly Huo Yuhao who came out on top.

    The tiny young girl was unexpectedly strong. She was still struggling and twisting her neck in resistance to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer while she pushed backwards with her hands and her right leg sprung out at the same time to kick Huo Yuhao¡¯s vital points.

    Unfortunately, it was to no avail. The soul barrier on her body blocked off the tall youth¡¯s soul tool barrage, but that was it ¨C she felt an intense chill on her neck before a wave of numbness came over her body, and she copsed onto the ground like a ragdoll.

    Purplish-golden light immediately erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He hated it when people dragged in his mother when they were insulting him, and the ¡°little bastard¡± that the tall youth had just called him was one of the main reasons why he was infuriated and immediatelyunched an assault. Therefore, this formidable Purple Demon Eyes¡¯ Spiritual Shock was naturally intended for that tall andnky youth.

    The most frightening feature of spirit-type attacks was that the defensive barriers previously mentioned were entirely useless against them, and those struck by such an attack could only use their own spiritual power to protect themselves.

    These four students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were five-ringed Soul kings, but their spiritual power absolutely paled inparison to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    Blood gushed from the tall youth¡¯s mouth, nose, eyes and ears as he grunted and crashed onto the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted straightaway.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop because of this. His right hand flickered with dark golden light and he sliced directly towards the handsome youth. This was because the handsome youth¡¯s sharp sword stabbed at him just as he unleashed his Spiritual Shock.

    The handsome youth¡¯s hands were as stable as ever even under the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement. He stabbed out with his sword and projected three sword shadows into the air. They were like three blooming roses as they covered all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s vital points.

    Huo Yuhao made the right judgment in this split-second that he was inferior to his opponent in terms of closebat techniques. However, this didn¡¯t mean that his opponent¡¯s closebat strength was more powerful than his ¨C therefore, he gave the handsome youth aplete Darkgolden Terrorw.

    An enormous dark golden de shed down from the sky and crashed against the soul barrier that the handsome youth quickly released. The ss 5 soul barrier instantly crumbled, and the ¡°roses¡± he had formed were the next to break apart.

    Huo Yuhao punched out with his left fist after he shed out with his right hand. His right foot took a step forward, and Huo Yuhao punched forward simply without any special effects. However, this punch wasn¡¯t simple at all in this handsome youth¡¯s eyes.

    It felt as if all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was concentrated onto this fist. In the handsome youth¡¯s eyes, this fist was all that was left of Huo Yuhao ¨C a fist that sparkled with diamond brilliance.

    A golden shield appeared in the handsome youth¡¯s hands. He held the shield up with both hands and infused his Soul King-level soul power inside. Dense soul power rippled, and the shield erupted with golden luster.

    ¡°I cannot possibly lose this!¡± The handsome youth could not longer maintain hisposure. Two yellow and three purple soul rings sparkled on his body. However, the peculiar three ringbination had already disappeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    ¡°Boom ¨C¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist connected with the shield, and what the handsome youth felt in that moment could only be described as wretched and shattering.

    He felt as if his shield wasn¡¯t the only thing that was being destroyed. His mind was breaking apart at the same time as a defenseless sensation burst from the bottom of his heart, and he felt as if his entire world was being torn apart.

    He puked out a stream of blood. The handsome youth followed in the tall youth¡¯s footsteps, and copsed onto the ground. Blood trickled from his nostrils like miniature snakes, but the shield in his hands didn¡¯t actually break apart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes erupted with golden radiance, and he turned towards hisst remaining adversary ¨C Ju Zi. At this point, her eyes were a littleckadaisical, and her face waspletely pale.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± An astonished voice could be heard right at this moment, and a figure appeared in theb with a sh and stood in front of Ju Zi. The golden radiance in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes vanished at the almost the same time, and his previous frightening aura, as if he reigned supreme over the entire world, also receded.

    Supreme Reign! Yes, this was Supreme Reign. This was the name of his ability, and it was invented by the Ultimate Douluo, Elder Mu. It was a terrifying ability thatbined both physical and spiritual attacks, and Huo Yuhao was the only person in the entire world who had inherited this ability.

    Supreme Reign wasn¡¯t a soul skill ¨C it was more, and it could be used with any soul skill. However, it could only be used to infuse spiritual power into physical attacks. In other words, this ability¡¯s foundations were still in physical attacks. Huo Yuhao could inject his formidable spiritual power into his physical attacks, but he couldn¡¯t flip the process around. In the end, the creator of Supreme Reign wasn¡¯t a spirit-type soul master.

    Elder Mu hadmented to Huo Yuhao before that if he could find out how to reverse the process, then he would have seeded in life.

    Of course, this was still quite a distance away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s current standard. There were just too many things that he had to learn, and even though the Ultimate Soldier n was starting to bear fruit, the path ahead of him was still extremely long.

    Xuan Ziwen was ovee with a haze of terror as he stood before Ju Zi, who was ghastly pale at this point. He would have taken another fifteen minutes to reach theb, but he was rmed by the security sirens. He had remote control over his door¡¯s ess control soul tool, so he was as bewildered as could be when he realized that the incident wasing from his ownb, and he came as fast as he could.

    Xuan Ziwen was bbergasted as he watched his three students unconscious on the ground. Huo Yuhao had mentioned to him before on the first day that they met each other that he was confident of perishing together with him within a fixed distance. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to that then, but how could he not be shaken to his very roots by the scene before him now?

    These four students had been his personal students ever since they had entered Year 6, including Ju Zi. He was naturally acutely aware of his students¡¯ abilities ¨C they were all Soul Kings and ss 5 soul engineers, and were considered the best of the best amongst their batch. Yet, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even have his fourth soul ring, and three of them were actually defeated. He had no doubt that Ju Zi would also hit the deck if he had arrived just a secondter.

    ¡°This child is so fearsome and outrageously powerful at such a young age? No wonder¡­¡±

    Xuan Ziwen had perused his files and records since the first day he met Huo Yuhao, especially his experience during the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    His files detailed Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance during several key battles, and it was remarked that he had been mentored by the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, before his passing. He was one of the absolute elites amongst the younger batch of students from Shrek, and he was definitely in line to participate in the next season¡¯s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t have much of an impression after browsing through his records. He could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s records mentioned that he had twin martial souls, but the records mentioned that Yuhao¡¯s soul power rank was only a little more than twenty during thepetition, and he only had two soul rings. Even though nobody knew his soul rings¡¯ exact level, his files had clear records of his abilities. One of the more salient ones featured his martial soul fusion skill with Wang Dong, and Xuan Ziwen was more interested in the fact that the two of them could use martial soul fusion skills rather than in Huo Yuhao¡¯s personal battle prowess, and so he paid less attention to thetter.

    Xuan Ziwen suddenly realized that he was wrong. Huo Yuhao¡¯s personal battle prowess was weak¡­? Then, what¡¯s the deal with these three guys lying on the ground?

    Huo Yuhao crushed three ss 5 soul engineers even without his fourth soul ring, and thest one wasn¡¯t even fit to continue the battle. This caused Xuan Ziwen to lose all his faith and confidence in his previous experiences.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, these guys hacked the ess control and barged into theb. I was afraid they were intruders, so I made the first move, and I was going to take them down and hand them over to you. Ju Zi brought them here, and I suspect they are aplices in this act. Please take care of this.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke as if he were recounting the truth. His face of sincerity was totally disproportionate to the ferocious aura that he had emanated during the battle before this.

    Ju Zi had recovered by now. Her face was still as pale as ever and she eximed, ¡°Nonsense! You intentionally attacked us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, ¡°If you guys hadn¡¯t hacked the ess control, and if you guys hadn¡¯t insulted me, why would I treat you like intruders? Did I say something wrong? Teacher Xuan, you can inspect the ess control soul tool. They deceived me after barging into theb to step out, and they hacked it afterwards. I had to force my way in to ensure theb¡¯s safety, so that I could take them down. They have only lost their autonomy and ability to move, and some are slightly injured. It¡¯s not a big a deal.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was immersed in soul tool research, but he wasn¡¯t a fool. He could tell from Huo Yuhao¡¯s description that Ju Zi and the others had bullied Huo Yuhao, who was new to this ce. Huo Yuhao was infuriated, and found an excuse to retaliate.

    The process wasn¡¯t that important ¨C what was more substantial was that the four of them fell before Huo Yuhao one after another, and Huo Yuhao was just standing there without even a speck of dirt on his body.

    Could he have some special soul tool on him? Xuan Ziwen was a little suspicious.

    Many academy guards had arrived by this time. Xuan Ziwen shot a re at Huo Yuhao and walked out of theboratory. He exined what had happened to the guards, telling them that something went wrong with his students¡¯ experiments in theb, and it had already been resolved.

    Experimenting with soul tools was bound to give rise to all sorts of problems. The guards naturally knew that Xuan Ziwen was a reputable researcher from the Illustrious Virtue Hall, so they didn¡¯t suspect the truth of his words and departed immediately afterward. Xuan Ziwen tinkered with the ess control soul tool, and returned it to normal.

    Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao and wanted to say something threatening, but nothing came out of her mouth. It was clear that this kid, who was actually younger than she was, had instilled a deep sense of fear in her.

    She had brought three ssmates back with her today to seek vengeance for what had happened the day before, when she was frozen by the Domain of Perpetual Ice. Even though she had recovered, she was shivering for pretty much the entire day afterwards, and it wasn¡¯t that easy to recuperate. She was instantly infuriated when she thought about Huo Yuhao watching her secretly and even attacking her. She waited for her ssmates to return before she recounted the episode, and everyone came to an easy consensus. They all agreed to show Huo Yuhao, this new student who had just arrived, who was boss around here.

    However, never in Ju Zi¡¯s dreams hadshe expected Huo Yuhao to overwhelm theirbined strength. Even though theboratory wasn¡¯t big, and no one went all-out, Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were just too quick. He never gave them a chance to show their best, and then the battle was over. If teacher Xuan hadn¡¯t arrived in the nick of time, she would probably have been struck down as well.

    How did he do that? He didn¡¯t use any soul tools, he was just relying on his power as a soul master.

    Ju Zi had always been one of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s elites, and she was confident of passing the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s entry examination. Her research with soul tools had gone so deep that she was beginning to doubt the abilities of a soul master. From her perspective, a soul master of the same ss would never be able to outmatch a soul engineer from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy like her.

    But today, Huo Yuhao hadpletely turned her opinions around. Even though she wasn¡¯t convinced, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of defeat and self-deprecation whenever she thought about Huo Yuhao¡¯s three soul rings lighting up at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao continued to act as if nothing had happened, and went back to cleaning the ce up, especially the oranges that littered the ground.

    Xuan Ziwen closed theb door with a strange expression on his face and walked back to everyone. He checked the three copsed students on the ground to make sure they were okay, but suddenly realized that he had a problem on his hands.

    Huo Yuhao made it seem like it wasn¡¯t a big deal, and that their lives weren¡¯t in danger, but it wasn¡¯t as simple as losing their fighting strength!

    The only person that was in rtively good shape was the tiny young girl. Only her central nervous system had been frozen by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, and she ended up like Ju Zi on the first day, who had recovered after shivering for an entire day. The other two¡¯s circumstances were a lot less optimistic.

    The tall youth took a hit from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Even though Huo Yuhao had limited his spiritual power, he gave his opponent a solid and ferocious hit in return for the humiliation. The powerful Spiritual Shock had caused the tall youth¡¯s spiritual sea to disassemble ande apart. He was now in aa, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t wake up for a while. It was hard to say whether he would experience any seque when he woke up.

    The handsome youth was in a slightly better situation. He had suffered a traumatic injury that Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t identify, and there seemed to be some remnants of power left inside his body that were still wreaking havoc. It wasn¡¯t that fierce, but Xuan Ziwen was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, and even he couldn¡¯t resolve it with all his power.

    ¡°Come here, Yuhao,¡± Xuan Ziwen waved towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Huo Yuhao walked over immediately.

    Xuan Ziwen nced at him with an inscrutable expression. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°The three of them are my students. I know that you must have received some injustice, but you have wounded them in return, so let¡¯s call it even. What do you think?¡±

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to be shocked. He had originally expected Xuan Ziwen to chide or punish him, and he was mentally prepared for that eventuality. However, he didn¡¯t expect teacher Xuan to resolve the issue so casually.

    ¡°I will listen to you.¡± Huo Yuhao answered like an obedient child.

    Ju Zi watched from the side with a look of annoyance. She thought to herself, You little bastard, acting like an obedient and gentle little child in front of teacher Xuan. You were so fierce just a moment ago.

    Xuan Ziwen continued, ¡°You¡¯re an exchange student, and you will be studying with us for two years. No matter what, they are still your seniors, and the academy prohibits fighting inside theboratories. We¡¯ll let this go, and I hope there won¡¯t be a next time. Of course, I will control and restrict them. If they trouble you again, I will punish them ording to the academy¡¯s rules. However, you have to help me heal them, as I don¡¯t wish for anything bad to happen to my students. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mince his words, and pointed a finger the tall youth. ¡°I can¡¯t help him, teacher Xuan. I have only had my mother since I was young, but my mother is no longer around, and he called me a little bastard. There is nothing I can do to help him. Find a ce to let him rest, and he will recover on his own after about half a month. However, he might experience some spiritual disorientation for a period of time.¡±

    He immediately knelt down on the floor afterwards. He pressed down on the back of the tiny girl¡¯s neck and withdrew his Ultimate Ice energy, before he walked beside the handsome youth and patted him on the body several times to neutralize the Supreme Reign¡¯s mystical effects.

    The two of them woke up one after the other. The tiny girl shivered violently, before she suddenly saw Huo Yuhao right next to her. She leapt to her feet and was about to erupt once again until Xuan Ziwen stopped her with a furious exmation.

    ¡°Enough, Ke Ke. If you still want to cause trouble, get out of my sight.¡±

    It was only then that the tiny girl, Ke Ke, realized Xuan Ziwen was present. She said with an aggrieved expression, ¡°He¡¯s a bully, teacher Xuan! He hit me! You have to get justice for me!¡± It was obvious that she was better than Ju Zi was at throwing tantrums.

    Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and muttered, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know who¡¯s bullying who? How can you mess around with them, Zi Mu?¡±

    The handsome youth, Zi Mu, had a look of exasperation as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, teacher Xuan. We were wrong.¡± He didn¡¯t push the issue, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but nce a few more times in his direction.

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°Wang Shaojie needs more time to rest. Send him back to the dormitory, and I will send a teacher responsible for healing students to see to him soon.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zi Mu acknowledged. He turned towards Huo Yuhao momentarily, and he couldn¡¯t help but quiver when his eyes came across this youth for reasons he couldn¡¯t exin, as if something in his spirit had been shattered.

    Huo Yuhao met Zi Mu¡¯s gaze calmly. He was much more familiar with Supreme Reign¡¯s effects.

    Supreme Reign was a mighty ability thatbined physical and spiritual attacks. Once his opponent took a hit from Supreme Reign, their confidence would be crushed as well. His opponent would develop a fear of him, as if there were no way they could resist him the next time they encountered each other.

    Zi Mu carried Wang Shaojie away, and Xuan Ziwen turned towards Yuhao with an exasperated look. ¡°Ah, Yuhao. This is a little problematic. Wang Shaojie belongs to the royal family. Even though he¡¯s not a direct member, he belongs to an aristocratic family that has been added to the royal family¡¯s register. The academy needs to answer to them now that you have wounded him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°Everything is up to you, teacher Xuan.¡± He was ready to give and ready to take, and he knew he couldn¡¯t be overly tough and stubborn if he wanted to continue studying at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He was positive that teacher Xuan could do something about this with his status within the academy.

    Indeed, Xuan Ziwen frowned and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Let me handle this. You can stay in theb and clean everything up. Nobody will cause trouble for you again. If not, don¡¯t me me for not giving you another chance.¡± With that, he hurried away. Even though Huo Yuhao refused to help Wang Shaojie, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s medicinal prowess was rtively formidable, and it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to find someone to heal Wang Shaojie. This infighting would quickly be resolved as long as he was okay.

    Theboratory door closed once again, and only Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi, and Ke Ke were left inside.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything else, and continued cleaning up theb. Ke Ke and Ju Zi were extremely close and intimate, and they knew what the other was thinking the moment their gazes met. Ke Ke¡¯s red lips shifted up and down, and she mouthed to Ju Zi, ¡°This fellow is so powerful! Even four of us can¡¯t take him down?!¡±

    Ju Zi was a little unconvinced. ¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯re inside theb. If we were outside, and if we were given enough space, he would have no chance at all.¡± She didn¡¯t suppress her voice, and intentionally said everything out loud.

    Huo Yuhao pretended as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, and kept at what he was doing.

    Ke Ke chimed in and harmonized with Ju Zi. ¡°He¡¯s a soul master. He has an advantage at close-range, but he doesn¡¯t have a chance at a distance. We shall see when we¡¯re on our expeditions, heh!¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly straightened his back and stared at Ke Ke.

    Ke Ke was taken by surprise and raised her hands to protect herself. She stammered nervously, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    A mocking smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. ¡°Strength and ability doesn¡¯te from speech or from the mouth. You might as well spend the time researching or studying soul tools. I can help you if you need guidance or whatnot.¡±

    The oranges on the floor had been swept into his storage-type soul tool at this point. He cleaned up theb every single day, and it was spick and span in the blink of an eye.

    He found a spot to sit down afterpleting his task, and quietly contemted some questions for his teacher he had had regarding soul tools while he waited for Xuan Ziwen toe back.

 Chapter 160: Enlightenment

    Ke Ke was still infuriated, and made a few hand gestures at Ju Zi. Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°Forget it. Don¡¯t bother with him. Didn¡¯t you say that he was an orphan?¡±

    Ke Ke stuck her tongue out and said, ¡°You¡¯re the one withpassion. I¡¯m the one who got whacked.¡±

    Ju Ziughed and replied, ¡°He didn¡¯t whack you! He only touched you. Come to think of it, Zimu was the only one who got hit. Even Wang Shaojie only got red at. I wonder how he started bleeding and fainted.¡±

    The two of them were feeling better now. They were also a little stunned as they recalled Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance just now. Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities had left a deep impression on them.

    ¡°Oi!¡± Ju Zi called out to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao, not ¡®oi.¡¯¡± Huo Yuhao turned around, annoyed. He couldn¡¯t focus on his thinking as the two of them stared at him. Furthermore, it seemed like Teacher Xuan wouldn¡¯t be back in time for lessons. He was prepared to return to the dormitory to cultivate.

    ¡°Alright, Huo Yuhao. What¡¯s your martial soul? Are the ws that you used just now your soul tool? What ss is it? Zimu¡¯s ss 5 soul tool barrier couldn¡¯t even block it. That¡¯s not normal!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± As he spoke, he started to walk out.

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave before answering me!¡± Ke Ke moved in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t care, and continued to move forward. He said, ¡°What? You want to get frozen again?¡±

    Ke Ke didn¡¯t dare to sh head-on with him, and seeing that they were about to knock into each other, she dodged to one side unwillingly. Huo Yuhao opened theboratory door and walked out just like that.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Ke Ke pped a table hard and said angrily, ¡°This fellow is too unreasonable. Hmph!¡±

    ¡°Forget it,¡± Ju Zi snapped at her, ¡°He¡¯s an orphan. Anyway, we¡¯re the ones who provoked him first.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Ju Zi, how can you side with him? Are you into him because his abilities are great? It seems like he¡¯s not even our age!¡±

    ¡°Pooh, pooh, pooh!¡± Ju Zi snapped, ¡°Did you forget what my goal is? I swear that I¡¯ll marry the best chef on the continent. That¡¯s the only way my insatiable appetite can be satisfied.¡±

    Ke Keughed and answered, ¡°Your goal has tortured Zimu. He had the ability to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hallst year, but he dyed it for you. He even allocates some time every day to learn cooking. Honestly speaking, he treats you quite well. Why¡¯re you so stubborn?¡±

    Ju Zi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t want to find a guy who I have no sense of security with. I¡¯m not into handsome guys! I¡¯m not as obsessed as you. You can have him if you want.¡±

    Embarrassed, Ke Ke retorted, ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s obsessed! See if I spare you!¡± As she spoke, she leapt towards Ju Zi. Their conflict with Huo Yuhao seemed to have been forgotten. Women¡¯s hearts were really unfathomable!

    ¡­...

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lifestyle back in the dormitory was simple, yet fulfilling. He engaged in meditation, thinking, cultivation, and sketching. Besides the short amount of time he allocated to eating, Huo Yuhao did all of these things in his room. It was only when He Caitou came to find him at night that they shared their findings over the past few days. That was the only time that he stopped cultivation.

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang!¡± the room¡¯s door sounded.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou looked at each other. Who was here sote? The sky was alreadypletely dark, and the lights in the dorms were about to go out for the night.

    Huo Yuhao opened the door. Xuan Ziwen was standing outside.

    He looked ghastly. He didn¡¯t enter the room, and only said from the hallway, ¡°Yuhao, Wang Shaojie¡¯s condition is not very good. Will he really recover in half a month¡¯s time?¡±

    It seemed like the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had healing-type soul tools apart from healing-type soul masters. However, one¡¯s mind and Spiritual Sea had always been forbidden ground. Soul masters and soul engineers were both limited in their research on Spiritual Seas. After all, it was too dangerous to venture into such an aspect, since it might lead to permanent impairment.

    Wang Shaojie¡¯s mind had suffered from a powerful shock. Although he was a five-ringed soul king, most of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students relied on medicine and some soul tools to increase their cultivation when they were young. Just like Shrek Academy¡¯s soul engineers couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Empire, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers were inferior to true soul masters in terms of defenses. Wang Shaojie¡¯s spiritual power wasn¡¯t strong, and he was critically injured after suffering from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s healing-type soul masters didn¡¯t dare to use invasive methods to heal him. They could only let him recuperate on his own, like what Huo Yuhao had suggested.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I held back. It won¡¯t harm his life. He just needs a while to rest. After one¡¯s mind suffers from shock, it¡¯s best to recuperate on one¡¯s own. External help may be counter-effective.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. But¡­¡± as he spoke to that point, he became a little hesitant.

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°Teacher Xuan, ¡®but¡¯ what?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen sighed and said, ¡°Wang Shaojie has some standing in the empire¡¯s royal family. Thus, the royal family has already learned of his injury. They want me to hand you over. Even though I tried to keep matters under control, they¡¯re still demanding that you be handed over. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to suffer for a few days.¡±

    Huo Yuhao squinted and asked, ¡°Teacher Xuan, what do you mean?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. They didn¡¯t test our newly-created soul tool properly thest time. Tomorrow, you shall follow Ju Zi and Ke Ke to test that newly-created soul tool. You¡¯ll return in half a month¡¯s time. If Wang Shaojie wakes up like you said, the problem should be resolved. Leave things here to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could sense that Xuan Ziwen was protecting him. He felt a tinge of warmth in his heart, and bowed towards him, ¡°Thank you, Teacher Xuan.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re my student. I must be responsible for you. If you really want to thank me, you should invest more effort in the research of soul tools. I¡¯m waiting for you to surprise me more. Alright, it¡¯s no longer early. Have an early night. Tomorrow morning, wait for the two of them at the gate of the academy. They will bring you to a suitable testing area.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen left, and Huo Yuhao returned to his room. He Caitou was a little worried as he looked at him. He said, ¡°Little junior, should I go with you tomorrow? Is this their scheme? If something happens while you¡¯re out¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a scheme. I believe Teacher Xuan. Second senior, you should know that I¡¯m quite sensitive. If Teacher Xuan had been nervous when he was talking to me earlier, I would have been able to sense it immediately. Furthermore, I believe in my own judgment. If the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wants to deal with me, they can only do so after the exchange is over. After all, Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen are still in Shrek. If something happens to me, will Shrek let them off? Let me follow Teacher Xuan¡¯s arrangement. It¡¯s also good for me to leave the academy. I can pass on all the sketchings I¡¯ve made. At the same time, I can take a look at their new soul tool.¡±

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°But you must still be careful. If you¡¯re attacked, don¡¯t think too much, and escape. Safety is your first priority.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other. They were still exploring, since they had just arrived. Although they had learned some things, they were still very far from the core of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°Second senior, I can sense that Teacher Xuan is under a lot of pressure teaching me. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t just be teaching me all the theoretical stuff, and not exining the practical stuff to me. What about you?¡±

    He Caitouughed bitterly. ¡°We did talk about practical stuff. But they¡¯re all about ss 8 soul tools, which I can¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t have a memory like you, either. I can only memorize a little, and my sketchings are all iplete. They¡¯re obviously ying tricks on me. I believe that the rest are also learning the same things.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°That¡¯s normal. If they didn¡¯t do this, I might even have suspected that something was wrong. It¡¯s not early anymore. You should return to rest. I¡¯ll be out for at least half a month this time. I hope that I can learn something.¡±

    He Caitou left, but Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t enter his meditative state whileying on his bed. His emotions were a little messy.

    He had already been in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for four days. He had learned quite a lot in the past four days. Although he hadn¡¯t encountered anything important yet, the knowledge that he had acquired was definitely more than the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy expected.

    However, he didn¡¯t like the feeling here. Compared to the familial warmth that he felt in Shrek Academy, he always had to be on his toes over here. He had to be able to react at any time, and he was wary of everyone around him.

    Huo Yuhao missed the time he¡¯d spent cultivating in Shrek Academy. If it were possible, he hoped that the two-and-a-half years would pass quickly, so that he could return to Shrek and reunite with his friends.

    When he thought of his friends, he couldn¡¯t help but miss Wang Dong. He didn¡¯t wake Wang Dong up the day that they separated. However, Huo Yuhao could clearly remember the tears in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes. Wang Dong had even muttered his name in his dreams, and begged him not to leave. His voice had even seemed to¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was a mess when he reached this point. Wang Dong¡¯s figure and the ravishing beauty formed from the Rainment of Light¡¯s transformation appeared in his mind.

    These messy thoughts made him filled with yearning for Shrek Academy. Was eldest senior fine? Did he find Teacher Xiao Ya yet? How was the rtionship between third and fourth seniors? Fifth senior Xiao Xiao had also seemed a little different before he left with second senior. As for Wang Dong, he¡¯d discover the truth about him when he returned.

    The next morning.

    A refreshingly chilly, light mist filled the air.

    Huo Yuhao had changed his attire; his current ordinary attire made him seem like an ordinary kid.

    The sun had already risen halfway in the east. He¡¯d also finished cultivating his Purple Demon Eyes. He¡¯d made the quickest progress in the Purple Demon Eyes among all of the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques.

    There were four different levels of the Purple Demon Eyes: Surveyance, Totality, Mustard Seed, and Boundlessness.

    He was already at the third level, Mustard Seed. He¡¯d managed to reach this level using his Spiritual Detection to research the ability to focus. He was also the first to reach the Mustard Seed level among everyone in the Tang Sect.

    Even Shrek Academy¡¯s senior management didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest offensive strength didn¡¯t lie in his Ultimate Ice or Darkgolden Terrorw. Rather, it was his immense spiritual power that could be used through thebination of his Purple Demon Eyes and Spiritual Shock. His irresistible spiritual power was the reason why he could fight beyond his level.

    In the distance, two graceful-looking figures drifted into view. They were walking very quickly, and reached Huo Yuhao quite quickly.

    Ju Zi had changed into a white dress, which entuated her figure. Her silky-white skin looked much brighter, as it wasplemented by her white attire.

    Ke Ke was dressed in green, and looked very neat. Although her figure wasn¡¯t as good as Ju Zi¡¯s, it was still very proportionate, her dress making her look more vibrant.

    The two of them weren¡¯t kind when they saw Huo Yuhao. Ke Ke ced her hands on her waist and said, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault that we have to go out again. Teacher Xuan said that you have to listen to the both of us when we¡¯re out. If you dare to try anything, the academy will expel you and immediately send you back to Shrek Academy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed, thus he shrugged his shoulders. He simply gestured for them to advance, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Ju Zi nced at him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re heading to the Jing Yang Mountain Range. There are many soul beasts there. We should forget our conflict back in the academy and work together on this journey. You¡¯re the only male here, thus you should protect us well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he looked at Ju Zi. He hadn¡¯t expected her temperament to change so much. He nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ke Ke was annoyed after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s short reply and said, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re taking this attitude even though Sister Ju Zi is being so nice to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Am I supposed to be grateful? The two of you were bullying me just yesterday.¡±

    Ke Ke re grew even wider. It was as if she¡¯d just heard something ridiculous. ¡°We bullied you? Wang Shaojie is still unconscious, while Zimu¡¯s injury is still quite serious. Who bullied who?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I was just defending myself. Could you take it if someone calls you a bastard?¡±

    Ke Ke wanted to say more, but was stopped by Ju Zi, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. Huo Yuhao, Teacher Xuan indeed said that I¡¯m the leader for this trip. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take revenge on you for what happened earlier. It¡¯s one thing to have conflicts in the academy, but even though you¡¯re an exchange student, you¡¯re still part of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. You¡¯re even leaving the academy to experiment on soul tools on its behalf. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Once she¡¯d finished speaking, she forced Ke Ke to walk in front. Ke Ke turned to look at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Can you use a flying-type soul tool despite your three rings?¡± A pair of wings pped open behind her as she spoke. Her toes pointed upwards, and two blue mes spewed out from her wings, which quickly propelled her into the air.

    Ju Zi also turned back to look at Huo Yuhao, asking him the same question with her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speak, but a simple, greyish pair of wings pped open behind his back. A gentle white light shot out and propelled him into the sky. Even though he wasn¡¯t a ss 6 soul engineer in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he still had a flying-type soul tool with him.

    Ju Zi¡¯s flying-type soul tool was orangish-red; she seemed to love this color. Three pairs of wings pped in the air and headed towards the south.

    At this point, the difference in their soul tools was revealed. Ju Zi and Ke Ke seemed very rxed as they flew in front. However, they were still very fast. Their wings even released ayer of dim light that formed a film on the surface of their bodies. Even their hair swayed in the wind as they flew.

    Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, wasgging behind them. Although he tried his best to propel his self-made ss 5 flying-type soul tool, he couldn¡¯t catch up, and thus was still depleting more soul power than the other two, who would slow down to wait for him so that he didn¡¯t get separated from the group.

    Ke Ke was delighted. Every time they waited for Huo Yuhao, her eyes held a look of disdain and mockery.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t react to this. He knew how inferior he was in terms of soul tools, and that it wasn¡¯t something that he could make up for in such a short period of time. However, he memorized the structures and formation arrays of their soul tools as they flew.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t conduct practicals for him, thus he had to find real-life examples to test his theories.

    Even now, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know exactly where the Jing Yang Mountain Range was. He was fine just following the both of them. However, he could make a rough guess from Ju Zi¡¯s words. The Jing Yang Mountain Range had many soul beasts. Was this an arrangement that Teacher Xuan had made so that he could get his fourth soul ring? That was highly probable.

    After flying for two hours, Huo Yuhao expressed that he needed to rest. Afterwards, he flew downwards, disregarding the other two¡¯s opinions. He still had some soul power left, but he wouldn¡¯t deplete it all.

    He found a suitable ce to rest as he descended. Once hended, he immediately sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state to restore his soul power.

    Ju Zi and Ke Kended after him.

    Ke Ke stuck out her tongue at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he arrogant before? His soul engineer standard is just average. He can¡¯t be arrogant anymore, can he? Sister Ju Zi, you¡¯re right. With enough distance between us, this fellow wouldn¡¯t be our match.¡±

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t say anything, simply watching Huo Yuhao. She appeared to be thinking of something.

    She was the only one out of the four yesterday that had seen the entire fight. Huo Yuhao left a deep impression on her¡ªnot because of his Darkgolden Terrorws, but because of his punch towards Zimu¡¯s soul shield.

    Ju Zi had felt as if he was a king capable of ruling the world at that point in time. She¡¯d seen the extremely wise, intelligent and powerful Zimu be unable to even handle his strike, and copse after just one punch.

    She couldn¡¯t forget the golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes and his dominant might.

    The horrible feeling she¡¯d felt from being frozen by the Domain of Perpetual Ice had been reced by curiosity. How magical was this young fellow from Shrek Academy?

    She was only a student, and didn¡¯t have the authority to investigate Huo Yuhao¡¯s background like Xuan Ziwen. However, she clearly felt that he wasn¡¯t just some random three-ringed soul master. There must be some secret to him. Shrek Academy was indeed mysterious!

    ¡°Alright, Ke Ke. We have to stick together since we¡¯re on the same trip. There are bound to be conflicts. If we meet danger and can¡¯t work together, won¡¯t we just be harming ourselves? Let¡¯s take a break too.¡± Ju Zi pulled Ke Ke and sat down.

    They had more soul power than Huo Yuhao, and had depleted less of it too. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s restoration left both of them shocked. It only took 15 minutes before he opened his eyes, looking refreshed.

    Ke Ke was stunned and asked, ¡°Your soul power¡¯s already been restored?¡± She hadn¡¯t even seen Huo Yuhao using an auxiliary-type soul tool like the Milk Bottle.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°We can leave now.¡±

    His soul power increased very slowly even though he¡¯d had the greatest support from Shrek Academy in terms of resources. He¡¯d only managed to reach Rank 40 with Elder Mu¡¯s help before he passed on. His improvement was slow even though he¡¯d had the help of the Haodong Power and worked very hard on his cultivation. However, it wasn¡¯t that simple. His soul power was extremely dense, much more than that of any ordinary soul master¡¯s. More importantly, his endurance in battle and regenerative abilities were greater than most soul masters at the same level as him.

    Huo Yuhao estimated that with his current cultivation speed he¡¯d need five more years to reach Rank 50, should everything go smoothly. He would need ten years before he reached Rank 60. As for bing a Rank 70 soul sage, it would require twenty years. The progression of an Ultimate Element soul master was indeed fraught with difficulties.

    However, could his cultivation speed really be appraised as normal? Elder Mu had already helped him find the most suitable path. Although this path was difficult to tread, it was already a shortcut. He even had another shortcut for himself. However, it wasn¡¯t the time for him to fully activate his potential yet.

    Huo Yuhao wondered whether he could fulfil his true mission here in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. When he thought of this point, a streak of blinding light shed through his eyes.

    Ju Zi managed to capture that light in his eyes, and she discovered that her heart throbbed a little when she saw it. How was it possible for someone his age to have such a look in his eyes? Why did she feel like she was looking at the cold eyes of a huge soul beast?

    They flew up once again, but Ju Zi didn¡¯t remain at the front with Ke Ke, instead choosing to fly alongside Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, the Jing Yang Mountain Range is located in the northern region of the Sun Moon Continent. It¡¯s around a thousand miles away, so it¡¯ll be another six hours for our flight. The Jing Yang Mountain Range covers a wide expanse, and is engulfed by thick vegetation. There are many valuable resources located there, but there are also many metal-type soul beasts. Even spiritual-type soul beasts have been known to appear, Teacher Xuan asked me to tell you that. He told me to let you use your own judgement. Don¡¯t miss the opportunity if a suitable soul beast appears. Ke Ke and I will help you too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Thanks, senior sister.¡± Ju Zi¡¯s kind gesture removed the disdain he held her in previously, and his tone of voice also became much gentler. However, he remained quiet. It was impossible for him to not be wary of them.

    Ke Ke twisted her lips beside Ju Zi and didn¡¯t make a sound. She didn¡¯t hold any less contempt for Huo Yuhao, and she vividly recalled how Huo Yuhao had strangled her. When that happened, she felt as if she was going to die. Her entire body turned numb from the struggle, and she even felt that she would never wake up again.

    They flew for another two hours before resting again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat before we continue our journey. With our current speed, we¡¯ll reach the Jing Yang Mountain Range before evening.¡± Ju Zi looked at the sky and instructed them to rest.

    She was fully prepared for this trip. She brought out arge quantity of food from her storage-type soul tool, which she had since she was ady who loved to eat. There were vegetables, fruits, frozen meats and even condiments. Needless to say, she was well prepared, she even brought her own kitchen cutlery.

    Ju Zi was delighted when she saw Huo Yuhao staring at her in a daze. ¡°I¡¯m going to show off my skills now and let you two taste my outdoor-grilled food. It¡¯s definitely delicious. Be careful not to eat your tongue too.¡±

    As she spoke, she set up the grill and started a fire to prepare her food.

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he watched. He had a weird feeling in his heart, because he was always the one who grilled meat for others. However, it was the reverse now, an entirely new experience for him. He didn¡¯t say much, and just watched quietly.

    ¡°You¡¯re in luck. Sister Ju Zi¡¯s cooking is the best. Even Zimu and Wang Shaojie rarely get to try it.¡± After flying for four hours, Ke Ke seemed to have forgotten the conflict between her and Huo Yuhao. Although still as petty as ever, the contempt in her eyes had dissipated.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed even though he thought it seemed a little silly.

    Ke Ke snapped, ¡°What¡¯re youughing at? Oh right, what type of a soul engineer are you?¡±

    ¡°Type?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little puzzled as he looked at her.

    Ke Ke seemed as if she were looking at a freak and said, ¡°That can¡¯t be right. Don¡¯t tell me that Shrek is so backwards that it doesn¡¯t categorize its soul engineers? Soul masters must tend towards a certain aspect. No soul engineers can excel in all areas, unless you¡¯re a research-type soul engineer like Teacher Xuan, who puts research as his priority, and is not inclined towards any certain aspect. You must be a closebat type of soul engineer, since your closebat skills are so honed. However, I haven¡¯t seen you use a closebat soul tool before.¡±

    Boom¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao felt the illusion of something that had been confusing him for along time instantly being blown to pieces in his brain. A light appeared in his head.

    All this while, he and He Caitou had been cultivating tirelessly because of the Ultimate Soldier n. They practically tortured themselves every day. How couldn¡¯t he feel tired? Wasn¡¯t he human too? Even though his memory was shockingly good, and his spiritual power was superior to that of most others, he would still be fatigued when he tried to meditate at night. This was also why his mind became unstable when Elder Mu passed away.

    In Shrek Academy, the Soul Tool Department was undergoing rapid development. The Ultimate Soldier n¡¯s goal is to nurture an invincible soul master and soul engineer. This was a great motivational n for Huo Yuhao, but also a great source of mental pressure!

    Ke Ke¡¯s words jolted him awake, especially when she mentioned that ¡®no soul engineer could excel in all areas¡¯.

    Yes! No wonder he felt as though his improvements didn¡¯t match up with that of He Caitou¡¯s even though his soul engineer rank increased. This was the problem!

    He Caitou had managed to find his path, which was in the area of stationary soul tools. What about him? Besides stationary soul tools, he learned everything. The immense knowledge that he had been assimting caused him to be incredibly exhausted.

    She was right. He needed to make a choice. To decide on a path suitable for him. If he continued like this, he might be unable to be the Ultimate Soldier. If things went wrong, he might even be overwhelmed in theplex and advanced knowledge of soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao felt very free when he figured all this out. He stood up and bowed towards Ke Ke.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Ke Ke jumped in shock. ¡°Hey, are you okay? Are you sick in the head? I don¡¯t want to train with a mentally-ill person.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a good mood now. The sense of unhappiness that he¡¯d had earlier disappeared, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just thought of something that made me happy. You¡¯re right. But I¡¯m not a closebat soul engineer. I¡¯m a war-type soul engineer to a certain degree.¡±

    Ke Ke was stunned, ¡°A war-type soul engineer? It¡¯s my first time hearing that. What do you mean?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°A war-type soul engineer researches soul tools that exist solely for the purposes of war. Mainly using closebat and certain long-range soul tools, but it¡¯s effects are more for close-range.¡± He wasn¡¯t slow-witted. He had been giving his all for the Ultimate Soldier n. After he figured out this all-important question, he immediately found his direction. However, he couldn¡¯t tell Ke Ke everything. He had chosen closebat as his main direction. As for long-range attacks, he would need He Caitou to back him up. With their chemistry, the title of a war-type soul engineer should technically belong to the both of them.

    Ke Ke said, ¡°Be careful of being overzealous.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked her, ¡°Senior, what path did you choose?¡±

    Ke Ke seemed to be in a better mood after Huo Yuhao called her senior. She proudly said, ¡°I chose to be an explosive medium-rangebat-type soul engineer. If I wasn¡¯t concerned about ruining theboratory, do you think you would have won? Otherwise, when I fire a cannon at you, you won¡¯t be able to take care of yourself for the rest of your life.¡±

    After digesting her words and recalling the huge cannon she¡¯d brought at that time, Huo Yuhao vaguely understood what her direction was.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department didn¡¯t make any clear distinctions like this. Soul engineers were ssified just like soul masters! He had to pass this news back quickly. His entire trip out here made worthwhile by this discovery.

    As he was thinking, a thick aroma wafted over. He and Ke Ke were attracted to it.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so fragrant.¡± Ke Ke rushed towards Ju Zi. Her eyes brightened up, surprisingly her drooling face looked rather cute.

    Ju Zi¡¯s grilling technique was indeed amazing. The two pheasants she cooked turned a golden yellow from the grilling.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose twitched, and he could immediately tell that Ju Zi had used more than ten different types of spices on the grilled pheasants, and her could tell her grilling method was slightly different from his. However, he could ascertain that the taste of the pheasants would be good from its aroma and crispy, golden-yellow appearance.

    Ju Zi nced at Ke Ke andughed. ¡°They alwaysugh at me for being a glutton, but you¡¯re not much different from me. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re good at hiding it.¡±

    Ke Keughed. ¡°I¡¯ll put up with anything you say now. Faster! I¡¯m dying of hunger. As long as you feed me right this instant, I¡¯ll let you say anything.¡±

    Ju Zi red at her before ncing at Huo Yuhao, who didn¡¯t react. She joked, ¡°You¡¯re spouting so much nonsense. Are you sure he won¡¯t misunderstand you?¡±

 Chapter 161: Arrived, Grilled Meat

    Grilled meat, roasted buns, peppered vegetables, chilli, sour plums and stew brewed from beef became a hearty meal for Huo Yuhao and his friends.

    In Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao was rather selective about the food he ate. While he was not picky, he had to admit that Ju Zi¡¯s culinary skills were decent. The meal helped the three of them to bond, and reduced the distance between the three new students.

    ¡°So? I am right, right? Sister Ju Zi¡¯s food is indeed tasty. Let¡¯s see if you dare to offend us in the future. If not for Sister Ju Zi¡¯s kindness, we would not have given this meal to you,¡± Ke Ke informed him.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Sister Ke Ke, please don¡¯t keep thinking about that incident that day. Why don¡¯t you let me cook dinner instead, as a form of apology to you and Sister Ju Zi?¡±

    ¡°You can cook?¡± Ju Zi and Ke Ke asked simultaneously. While Ju Zi¡¯s faced brimmed with curiosity, Ke Ke¡¯s face was full of doubt.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°After I try, you¡¯ll know. When I first came to Shrek Academy, I survived by selling grilled fish. If I hadn¡¯t done that, how could an orphan like me afford the school fees?¡±

    When they heard the word orphan, the gazes of both girls turned soft. The change in Ju Zi¡¯s emotions was natural, but Ke Ke was better at concealing it. However, the change in her eyes could not escape Huo Yuhao¡¯s observation.

    They were indeed two kind seniors!

    ¡°Okay, you are in charge of dinner. However, to preserve their freshness, I did not bring much food. When we arrive at the Jing Yang Mountain Range, we may have to make do with what we find there.¡±

    The three of them continued on their journey. This was not Ju Zi and Ke Ke¡¯s first time going to the Jing Yang Mountain Range. As they flew, Ju Zi told Huo Yuhao about some of the dos and don¡¯ts.

    ¡°The Jing Yang Mountain Range resembles a huge spider. The central mountains upy a vast space, and they branch out in eight different directions, like the legs of a spider. The branches surround the central mountains, protecting them. There aren''t a lot of soul beasts in the branches, which are rich in mineral resources. However, the central mountains are full of soul beasts, and many of them are powerful, particrly around Jingyang Peak.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked curiously, ¡°With the power of the Sun Moon Empire and its progress in soul tool technology, it wouldn''t be difficult for them to harness the resources of the Jingyang Peak, right?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Jingyang Peak. In the continent, the Great Star Dou Forest near Shrek Academy is undoubtedly the top gathering area for soul beasts, but Jingyang Peak is definitely within the top five worldwide. To take advantage of the resources here, one would need to use a long-ranged soul tool to carpet bomb this ce. Even so, the soul beasts would retaliate furiously, and there would be many casualties.

    ¡°While a huge amount of mineral resources can be found in the Jing Yang Mountain Range, we from the Sun Moon Empire view the soul beasts as valuable resources, too. Since they are valuable resources, we cannot drain the pond to look for fish. After all, in terms of soul beasts, the Sun Moon Empire cannotpare to the three big states of the Douluo Continent. The Jing Yang Mountain Range contains the greatest amount of soul beasts in our country, and we are more keen on preservation. Hence, despite knowing that there are many precious mineral resources, we will only exploit those found in the branches. However, we have stationed a huge army near the Jing Yang Mountain Range¡­¡±

    Here, Ju Zi suddenly stopped. She looked at Huo Yuhao and smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you more, these are military secrets.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to know anything military. It has nothing to do with me.¡±

    Ke Ke said, ¡°We have told you so much already, shouldn¡¯t you share a bit about yourself? You have only three soul rings, so why are you so powerful? What power did you use that day?¡±

    Looking at the curious expressions on the faces of the two girls, Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I am a twin-souled soul master.¡±

    When they heard the four words,¡¯twin-souled soul master¡¯, Ju Zi and Ke Ke could not help but open their eyes wide. Ke Ke¡¯s eyes were almost glittering as she said, ¡°Whoa, so twin-souled soul masters aren¡¯t a myth! No wonder you¡¯re so powerful.¡±

    The two girls were more surprised than Huo Yuhao had expected. This made him feel slightly odd. ¡°Are there no twin-souled soul masters in the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°No, I can be sure. In the history of the Sun Moon Empire, there has never been any twin-souled soul masters. Even in the Douluo Continent, it is considered rare.¡±

    Ke Ke was more excited as she said, ¡°Tell us, what are the differences between your two souls? What are your martial souls?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent. Perhaps it was because he, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were all twin-souled soul masters, but he did not think much of his status as a twin-souled soul master. Furthermore, he was not born with a second soul. Instead, the Skydream Iceworm gave it to him. In the past few years, regardless of whether it was Skydream, the Ice Empress, or Electrolux, they had all been very quiet. asionally, when he reached a certain level of cultivation, they would release some of their sealed power for him. However, beyond that, they did not really have a huge impact on him. Instead, it appeared as if they wanted him to improve by himself. However, Huo Yuhao was clear that the Ice Empress, Skydream, and Electrolux were his main sources of support and his true shield. They feared that he would be over-dependent on them, and hence they rarely appeared. In the past two years, they had been happy with his progress.

    ¡°My main martial soul is a spiritual type, and my auxiliary martial soul is an ice-type. I have Rank 40 soul power. However, as I could not find an appropriate spiritual-type soul beast, I have yet to add a soul ring.¡±

    ¡°No wonder your three soul rings are so powerful.¡± Ju Zi said in shock, ¡°Not only do you have two martial souls, but your soul power is also at Rank 40. A spiritual-type martial soul, that¡¯s rare indeed! The school has been searching for a spiritual-type soul master, though I do not know what for.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart missed a beat. He realized that it was the right choice to follow these two girls out. Perhaps Teacher Xuan would be more careful and prevent him from knowing too much about the inner workings of the Soul Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but Ju Zi and Ke Ke were much less guarded against him. Anything they said thoughtlessly would be helpful to him.

    ¡°So what are your soul skills? Especially the one that distorted the surrounding rays of light which stopped me from taking clear aim at you,¡± Ke Ke asked curiously.

    Ju Zi frowned and said, ¡°Ke Ke.¡± It was taboo to ask a soul master about his soul skills.

    Huo Yuhao, however, answered nonchntly, ¡°That¡¯s one of my auxiliary soul skills, called Spiritual Interference. Through my spiritual power, I used it to affect you. Anyone within the radius of my Spiritual Interference will have lowered uracy. Only those whose spiritual power is superior to mine will be less affected.¡±

    Ke Ke followed up with another question, ¡°So what¡¯s the radius of your Spiritual Interference?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and did not reply. He could not answer that. This was his true secret.

    Ju Zi red at Ke Ke, who stuck out her tongue and stopped asking. Evidently, she knew that she had gone overboard too.

    When the western skies turned into a beautiful dusk, they finally reached their destination. From far above in the sky, one could tell that the Jing Yang Mountain Range resembled a huge spider, or an octopus, thaty syed on the ground, majestic and awe-inspiring.

    While they were both gathering points for soul beasts, Huo Yuhao sensed that it was different from the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The Great Star Dou Forest seemed endless. Here, however, one could sense a raw, fearsome smell. In terms of depth, it could notpare to the Great Star Dou Forest. However, it was clearly more aggressive.

    ¡°We shall rest nearby for the night, and tomorrow we will try the soul tool. At the same time, we will try our luck and see if we can find a suitable soul beast for you,¡± Ju Zi said.

    The three of themnded a few hundred kilometers away from the foot of the Jingyan Mountains. They found an elevated piece ofnd and pitched their tents there. With their storage-type soul tools, they were able to bring enough items for all of them. Three people, three tents. Aided by Huo Yuhao, they were able to quickly set these tents up.

    Ke Ke looked at Huo Yuhao, who was hurriedly setting up his own tent, and said with a smile, ¡°I remember someone saying that it¡¯s show time tonight! Don¡¯t disappoint us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Of course, let me prepare. Please wait while I see if there are suitable ingredients nearby. The fresher, the better.¡±

    As he said that, Ke Ke and Ju Zi saw a golden light shing from his eyes. The moment they saw the golden radiance, their hearts skipped a beat. They could still clearly remember the power he had emitted.

    Huo Yuhao looked into the distance and slowly turned around. He expanded his field of view.

    Ke Ke asked Ju Zi in a low voice, ¡°The sky is dark, is he using his eyes to search for food?¡±

    Without waiting for Ju Zi to reply, Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shimmered. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

    Ju Zi replied in a low voice, ¡°He is indeed powerful. Earlier, I thought that a soul master could notpare to a soul engineer of the same rank. However, looking at it now, this notion seems ludicrous. Even now, we have yet to see him use any powerful soul skills. With his own martial prowess, he was able to render us defenseless. I daresay that in the wild, and with sufficient distance, even the four of us would not be his match.¡±

    Ke Ke nodded and said, ¡°His Spiritual Interference targets us soul engineers in particr. I just hope that its radius isn¡¯t too wide.¡±

    Ju Ziughed and said, ¡°He is not our true enemy. After all, he is just an exchange student from Shrek Academy. Who knows, maybe we can learn something from him? However, are we really going to eat his food?¡±

    Ke Ke sniggered and said, ¡°That brat did insist on cooking for us despite having tasted your food for lunch, which means that he should be rtively skilled, right? If we don¡¯t try, how will we know? Who knows, maybe you will even realize your goal of finding a lover who can cook.¡±

    Ju Zi coughed, and her face turned red. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. He isn¡¯t that old. If you look carefully at his skin, you will see that despite his size, his face is still supple and youthful. The soft hairs at the side of his lips have just started to harden. He should only be about 15 or 16 years old, and is surely much younger than us.¡±

    Ke Ke looked at her with oddly and said, ¡°Wow, Sister Ju Zi, you are observant indeed.¡±

    Ju Zi said unkindly, ¡°What is going in your head? Know oneself and know your enemy, only then can you win.¡±

    As they spoke, Huo Yuhao returned. His right hand appeared to be clutching something. As it was dark already, they couldn¡¯t see what it was. Then, he busied himself.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke did not notice what wild beast Huo Yuhao caught. When they took notice, all they could see were strips of meat. Each strip of meat had been sliced evenly. They were the size of a palm, and as thick as two thumbs. Not too thick, not too small.

    It was time to start a fire. The moment he thought about fire, a shiver went down Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. He could not help but to look into the distance. Sister, where are you? As he thought about the missing Ma Xiaotao, his mood soured.

    However, he did not stop what he was doing. After a while, a fire was burning. He turned his head to look at the two girls who were staring at him and said, ¡°Come, seniors, and prepare to feast. My meat must be eaten as soon as it¡¯s ready to preserve its taste.¡±

    As he said that, he took out three small bowls. He added something into each of the bowls, which looked like a translucent brown sauce. Then, he distributed forks to the two girls.

    ¡°Grill the meat, and then eat it with some sauce. Let¡¯s start.¡± As he said that, Huo Yuhao used his fork to take a slice of meat off a branch. His wrist twirled, and that meat was cooked over the fire. Then he twirled his hand again, and the meatnded in Ju Zi¡¯s bowl.

    Under the light from the fire, both Ju Zi and Ke Ke¡¯s faces were red. They looked rather seductive.

    Ju Zi had been noticing Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions. From his skilled actions, it was clear that this was not his first time grilling meat. She looked down and noticed that the sizzling meat was still slightly pink. It was not fully cooked.

    ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot. It tastes best this way.¡± As Huo Yuhao said that, a second piece of meat was ready. It dropped into Ke Ke¡¯s bowl.

    Ju Zi loved to eat. When she heard that, she did not think on it any further. With the fork, she picked up the slice of meat and gentlythered some sauce over it. Then, she ced it in her mouth.

    The sauce was not strong, but was extremely fragrant. The meat was extremely smooth after it had beenthered with sauce. After it entered her mouth, she chewed on it on a while, and it melted and went smoothly down her throat. The fragrance and silky texture almost made Ju Zi bite her tongue.

 Chapter 162: The Mysterious Ju Zi

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so tasty.¡± Unlike Ju Zi, who ate the meat in a daze, Ke Ke could not help but leap up the moment she tasted the meat. She was extremely excited.

    This taste¡­ Ju Zi appeared lost, but she felt an indescribable emotion in her heart. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she looked at Huo Yuhao in apletely different light.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention waspletely devoted to the meat. He wanted to maximize his control over the fire, and he even used his Spiritual Detection to help him with that. As he grilled every single piece of meat to perfection, and then delivered them into the hands of the two girls, he himself began to eat too. It tasted good, and he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration. Most importantly, he had been lucky today, as he had caught a deer that was perfect for grilling. If not, no matter how skilled he was, he could not have made a meal as tasty as this.

    The deer, which had weighed about five kilos, had about two to two-and-a-half kilos¡¯ worth of good meat. In less than an hour, it was in their stomachs. The tasty juice from the meat made them content in a way that words could not express.

    ¡°Is there anything else you want to eat?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the two girls as he ate thest piece of meat.

    Ke Ke patted her slightly bulging belly and said, ¡°It¡¯s so tasty, it really is. It tastes awesome, but I can¡¯t eat anymore. Eh, Sister Ju Zi, why are you crying? Why are your eyes red?¡±

    Huo Yuhao, who had devoted all his attention to cooking, and Ke Ke, who had devoted all her attention to eating, realized that Ju Zi was not in a normal state. Her eyes were puffy and red. Carefully, she inserted thest piece of meat Huo Yuhao gave her into her mouth and chewed softly.

    She did not reply to Ke Ke, but instead mumbled to herself, ¡°This taste, it¡¯s really this taste. I thought I would never taste it again.¡±

    Ke Ke saw her slightly unstable state of mind and rushed to her side. She grabbed her arm and asked worriedly, ¡°Sister Ju Zi, are you alright?¡±

    Ju Zi gently lowered the bowl in her hands and nodded. She looked at Huo Yuhao, and her warm voice croaked as she said, ¡°Thank you, Yuhao, for letting my taste my father¡¯s cooking again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not expect Ju Zi to say something like this. A look of shock crossed his face as he said, ¡°Fa¡­father?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded. Her eyes were blurry and she appeared to be in her own world as she said softly, ¡°Father was the best cook. I was born in a small border town of the empire. Mother was the prettiest woman in the entire town, and father opened a small restaurant that did very well. Father said that his greatest joy in life was to cook for mother. Your food tasted like my father¡¯s. While I haven¡¯t tasted it in a decade, I will never forget it.¡±

    ¡°A decade?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Ju Zi. Her eyes were so warm and sweet. They also brimmed with longing and admiration for her father. This look shocked him greatly. In his memory, he never had a father.

    Grief now filled Ju Zi¡¯s eyes. Huge teardrops started to roll as she continued, ¡°War, war ruined my family. Father was forcibly conscripted, and he perished in the war against the Star Luo Empire. Mother was grief-stricken and fell deathly ill. Three yearster, she passed on too. Hence, like you, I am an orphan, too.¡±

    An indescribable feeling engulfed Huo Yuhao. Faced with this girl, who shared the same fate as him, he had a sudden desire to embrace her. She had lost her father and mother, and was an orphan just like him. No wonder she treated him differently after she found that he was an orphan, too.

    However, he did not know how tofort Ju Zi. His heart was filled with an intense sorrow. He thought about his mother, who had raised him with much difficulty, and his father, whom he hated. At this moment, he was wracked by emotions too.

    Ke Ke stood up and spoke in a loud voice, with her hands on her hips, ¡°What are you guys doing? Don¡¯t be sad. All those things are in the past. The more you think about it, the sadder you will be. Look ahead, and don¡¯t wallow in your grief. There are many nicer things waiting for us, no?¡±

    Looking at her, the heavy atmosphere suddenly changed.

    Huo Yuhao and Ju Zi were both stunned. Then, they couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing.

    Ke Ke was confused as she said, ¡°Am I that funny? Sister Ju Zi, don¡¯t you find it embarrassing to be crying andughing at the same time?¡±

    Ju Zi stood up and tugged her elbow. She said, ¡°It¡¯s not early, let¡¯s rest. We need to be well-rested should we wish to enter the mountains tomorrow.¡±

    As she said that, she pulled Ke Ke toward her tent.

    After a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Huo Yuhao. She said, ¡°In the future, you will be responsible for our meals.¡± With that, she shed him a smile. When he saw that smile, he felt that the tension between them had been reduced. The distance they kept from each other in school was gone.

    Her smile is beautiful indeed, Huo Yuhao thought. However, another figure filled his heart. He couldn¡¯t help but to mumble to himself, Raiment of light, raiment of light, Wang Dong, that¡¯s truly¡­

    It was a quiet night.

    ---

    In the morning, when Ju Zi and Ke Ke woke up, Huo Yuhao had already made breakfast. Because of his dawn training, he would wake earlier than everyone else. Everyone present was a soul master, and they all felt rejuvenated after a good night¡¯s rest.

    Ju Zi was especially chirpy. Her smooth face had a tint of pink, making the desire to nibble on her almost irresistible. She was like a sweet and juicy peach.

    Huo Yuhao made a simple breakfast. Soup, roasted buns, and some simple meat. He had brought all the ingredients himself. However, despite their simplicity, Ju Zi¡¯s heart raced with every bite. She did not say it, but she had dreamt about her fatherst night. It was almost as if her father had coaxed her to sleep. While she did not train beforehand, it was one of the best nights of sleep she had ever had.

    Even Ke Ke felt that something was amiss about Ju Zi. Over breakfast, she stole eight nces at Huo Yuhao. Every time she looked at him, her gaze would be warmer. It was as if she had found her soulmate.

    Huo Yuhao noticed this, too. Unlike Ke Ke, he felt that Ju Zi now viewed him as her father. He felt as if he was lying on a bed of nails. Ju Zi was older than him by at least four or five years!

    After breakfast, they continued their journey. This time, they did not proceed with flying-type soul tools. The skies above where soul beasts congregated were off-limits. Unless someone had a death wish, or was immensely confident in his or her abilities, no one would attempt to fly.

    At this time, Huo Yuhao finally saw the soul tool they nned to experiment with.

    It was an extremely odd-looking item. It was shaped like a ball with a diameter of two meters. Inside, there were three seats, one in front and two behind. The ball was sealed shut, but it had windows made of crystal on its front, back and two sides, which one could look out.

    At the bottom of the ball, there were six metallic legs. Every leg was split into three segments. Thest segments were extremely sharp, and could easily be stuck into the ground. The second segment raised the contraption up, and the first segment connected the leg to the ball. It looked very weird.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise. It was his first time seeing something like this.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Teacher Xuan named it the all-terrain exploration soul tool . You see its six legs? We can sit inside the ball, and with its formation arrays, we can control it. The ball is formed from high-density metals, and can resist attacks from Grade 6 soul masters and below. At the same time, the ball can let us release our protective soul tools. Right now, its protective gear is Grade 5. Both Ke Ke and I can control it.

    ¡°Furthermore, it can seal off our life energy. As long as we sit inside, we need not fear soul beasts sensing our energy. It can adapt to different scenarios. For example, if we encounter danger on a mountain, it can retract its legs and release a thickyer of rubber, rolling down while protecting us. The ball is sealed, but if necessary, there won¡¯t be an issue if it falls into water. The all-terrain exploration soul tool emphasizes life energy. Hence, its armor is very thick, but it drains soul power quickly, too. With my cultivation, I can control it for an hour before I need to meditate to regain my soul power. However, if the three of us take turns controlling it, it canst much longer.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. This was the first time he had seen a soul tool a human could fit inside. While it was only an exploratory tool, what if soul cannons were added to it? That wouldn¡¯t be too hard.

    Ju Zi¡¯s exnations were very detailed. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t underestimate this soul tool. More urately, it can be said to be an amalgamation of many soul tools. To research it, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy took thirty years, as we tried to match different formation arrays and further refine it. Only in thest two years have we achieved something significant. The highest level of research in the Illustrious Virtuous Hall concerns ways to weaponize it.¡±

    ¡°Currently, the technology is not fully explored. Research into weaponizing soul tools like it can only get moreplex, and they expend huge amounts of soul power. Even a Titled Douluo cannot control it for long, furthermore, its powers cannotpare to that of the Titled Douluo themself. This is not what we want at all. We hope that with our research, we can even let an ordinary person control the soul tool, till the point where even civilians can use it. This is what Teacher Xuan has been researching.¡±

    Huo Yuhao inhaled deeply. Ju Zi¡¯s exposition changed his perception of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s research. Did they just want civilians to operate their soul tools, or¡­? Ordinary soldiers would be able to operate these machines. With that, who could resist an invasion from the Sun Moon Empire?

    While he had yet to try the all-terrain exploration soul tool for himself, he had the feeling that this item¡¯s sess would significantly impact the future of the Douluo Continent.

    ¡°Come, you try it.¡± Saying that, Ju Zi walked over to the all-terrain exploration soul tool and climbed in with the help of the handles by the side.

    Ke Ke looked at Ju Zi, speechless. She thought to herself, ¡°Isn¡¯t this top secret information in our school? He can try it out, but why did Sister Ju Zi tell him about its origins, and the research the school is working on? Did his food really loosen her tongue?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say much. He entered the machine straightaway.

    The inside of the all-terrain exploration soul tool was extremely simple, crude even. The three seats were simple and metallic, and they were secured in a small space within the ball, also the seats had seatbelts. There was a metal stick in front of the first seat, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what it was for. When they entered, Huo Yuhao noticed a few windows. Other than the four main windows, the ball also had a crystal window directly above the seats, and one in the center that seemed to hold the two halves of the ball together.

    Before Ke Ke entered the ball, Ju Zi exined to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Our all-terrain exploration soul tool¡¯s original objective was to transport and protect soul engineers. When soul engineers need to fight, they can be directly ejected from the seat. The crystal ss above will split in two, and the person willunch out from the ball. Every seat has this function. To the right of your seat, there is a red button. If you hit it, you¡¯ll be ejected.¡±

    ¡°Such a good design,¡± Huo Yuhao said in admiration.

    Ke Ke had climbed in as well, and she sat next to Huo Yuhao. Ju Zi chose a function from the control stick and tugged it gently. Instantly, the window closed, and the three of them were sealed inside a two-meter wide ball.

    ¡°Be careful, I¡¯m going to start.¡± As she said that, an orange-redyer of light shone from Ju Zi¡¯s body. Two yellow and three purple soul rings appeared. With her left hand, she grabbed the thickest metal bar and injected her soul power into it.

    Instantly, the all-terrain exploration soul tool started to move. As its engines purred to life gently, the ball started to rise. Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection. He could sense that its six legs started to lift the ball up, allowing him to see through the windows clearly.

    ¡°Ke Ke, you take charge of the soul barrier.¡± As she said that, she pressed down on a button to her left. Then a metal stick appeared before Ke Ke as well, who grabbed it tightly and prepared to channel her soul power into it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ju Zi shouted excitedly. She pushed the metal bar in her left hand forward a little, and in turn, the six thick metal legs started to move forward slowly. The entire all-terrain exploration soul tool began vibrating.

    Huo Yuhao fully activated his Spiritual Detection. He could clearly sense that, all throughout the all-terrain exploration soul tool, at least thirty formation arrays were operating. The soul tool waspletely propelled by Ju Zi¡¯s soul power. Hence, a great deal of her soul power was being siphoned, particrly when she first started the machine. When that happened, Ju Zi¡¯s face turned pale from the exertion.

    As its speed increased, Huo Yuhao took the time to quickly record the inner structure of this soul tool. The all-terrain exploration soul tool had too many formation arrays, and he could not remember all of them at present. But it was far more important for him to remember its structure instead, something which took the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy thousands of tests and trials toe up with.

    In a short time, Huo Yuhao had gauged the soul tool¡¯s abilities. However, from one perspective, this soul tool did not appear to have much usefulness. While its defensive powers were decent, it would extort a huge amount of soul power for a ss 5 soul master. Once attacked, its huge size meant that it was just a massive target. While it was moving faster and faster, it still couldn¡¯tpare to a flying-type soul tool. Its six metallic legs would not let it be faster than this.

    One could say that this soul tool was full of deficiencies, but Huo Yuhao waspletely certain that Shrek Academy absolutely could not make a soul tool like it. In other words, the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire had yet to make any soul tools with its ability. The technology required to make this soul tool was too advanced. The inter-connected formation arrays and its inherent concealment technique prevented him from fully understanding the soul tool, even with his Spiritual Detection.

    Looking at it now, the soul tool appeared to have very little use. With its huge soul power consumption, it was less useful than a ss 5 soul engineer. Even he could easily destroy this machine should he wish to. However, what if one day the Sun Moon Empire found a recement for the soul power source? What if the new source could support a soul cannon? What would the situation be then? It was hard to imagine, but what if it became the main weapon of all wars? How useless would ordinary soldiers be next to it?

    In just a short while countless thoughts and possibilities shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. The impact of this soul tool was indeed extraordinary.

    He implicitly understood that while Xuan Ziwen did not have any well-defined teaching sybus, that he wasn¡¯t too guarded against Huo Yuhao, as he allowed him to partake in this experiment with Ju Zi and Ke Ke. However, he understood Xuan Ziwen¡¯s intentions too. If he couldbine the Zhuge Divine Crossbow with the all-terrain exploration soul tool, then it would possess offensive potential! While it would requireplex preparational procedures, it could at least bestow it attacking capabilities. This research would significantly improve this soul tool.

    While a stationary soul tool could be ced on it, from Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of a stationary tool, almost all the projectiles fired by a stationary soul tool were propelled by the formation array. While the energy-gathering formations could definitely gather a certain amount of energy, it still required soul energy to operate. Compared to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, which was mechanical, a concentrated soul tool was vastly different.

    Simply speaking, should the internal workings of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow be imnted into the all-terrain exploration soul tool, it would reduce its overall energy consumption. This was what Xuan Ziwen wanted the most.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao would not give him the mechanical secrets of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow. With the current technological level and research behind the Sun Moon Empire, if he helped them by divulging any of the secrets of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, then the three other countries would be in deep trouble!

    Ju Zi did not know what Huo Yuhao was thinking, partly because she was giving all her attention to controlling the all-terrain exploration soul tool. As she expended her soul power, she also had to adjust ording to the type of terrain.

    Inside the sealed ball, it was indeed ufortable. The main problem was its shakiness. While the all-terrain exploration soul tool was rtively shock-proof, the path wasn¡¯t smooth at all. In the hard seat, the motions were extremely ufortable. After fifteen minutes, Ju Zi had to stop to rest. Atst, they had arrived at one of the outlying branches of the Jing Yang Mountain Range. Moving forward, they would be climbing the mountains.

    Huo Yuhao made some quick calctions, and he realized that since the all-terrain exploration soul tool started operations, its speed was almost as fast as his highest running speed.

    ¡°Yuhao, share your feelings.¡± Ju Zi, who was visibly pale, turned her head to look at Huo Yuhao. She¡¯d switched positions with Ke Ke, who was piloting now.

    Huo Yuhao thought about it for a while and said, ¡°Clumsy andcking agility. I feel that what we see now is the result of its materials. For such a huge contraption, it¡¯s amazing enough that you can make it move at such high speeds just with your soul power. Whenpared to ordinary soul tools, which can only attack or only defend, it is already extremelyplicated. I would say that it¡¯s a ss 8 soul tool in terms ofplexity, but in terms of usefulness it¡¯s ordinary.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s still full of problems, and all we can do is continually improve it. With our current progress, it will be awhile before we refine it any further. Right now, there are some people in the empire who believe that we should devote more energy to the stationary soul tools. After all, they can already be operated by lower level soul masters, and they have very powerful offensive abilities. Furthermore, the expenses put into the production of a soul tool like this are extreme¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know this, but even though this machine appears clumsy, every single one of its joints holds a different formation array. Several researchers have been involved in its creation, and many different materials have been tried. The workload is immense. I think it¡¯ll take a few thousand years to weaponize.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tly asked, ¡°Sister Ju Zi, do you think there was a point to doing such research?¡±

    Ju Zi replied without missing a beat, ¡°Of course there was a point. Research into soul machines will have a monumental impact on both our society and era. However¡­¡±

    She frowned, then continued, ¡°Looking at things right now, soul machines seem to be too advanced, which is why continuing to research them has be so hard. If we spent more time on fundamental research, soul machines would surely be a thing of the future. In my opinion, we need to focus on researching a recement for soul power. If we don¡¯t, only soul masters will be able to use this sort of soul tool. This massive limitation will surely affect the development of soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected Ju Zi to be so open about it. With respect in his heart, he gently nodded, but chose not to express his own opinion.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you said anything? Is it because you¡¯re afraid that we¡¯ll use it to attack your country?¡± Ju Zi seemed to understand what Huo Yuhao was thinking.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t try to hide his thoughts. He nodded again and then said, ¡°Many technological advancements are made to fuel the war engine. Once war breaks out, civilians are the ones who suffer the most.¡±

    Ju Zi looked at him in the eye and said, ¡°I understand this point perfectly. Hence, rapid technological advancement might not be a good thing. Regardless of whether it¡¯s me or Teacher Xuan, we all share this sentiment. You don¡¯t know this, but Teacher Xuan is considered the best researcher of his generation in the Illustrious Virtuous Hall. He could be considered one of the top researchers in the entire Sun Moon Empire, but he¡¯s never once revealed his full ability. This is because he doesn¡¯t want his research to be used for war, and is why I respect him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked and said, ¡°You mean to say that Teacher Xuan doesn¡¯t submit his research?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. When you came to the Sun Moon Empire, didn¡¯t you feel that our soul tool research progress was much faster than the other three countries?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°In reality, our research has reached a bottleneck¡ªin all directions. We haven¡¯t made any improvements in thest decade. This is also why we have yet to see a ss 10 soul engineer emerge in the past few years. Coupled with the constant turmoil in the imperial family, which results in the ruling ss not having a proper direction, our research into soul tools has naturally stopped.

    ¡°Many years ago, the Sun Moon Empire was defeated by the other three countries of the Douluo Continent, which caused the Sun Moon Continent to be stripped of its name. Because of this, the empire devoted all of its energy to developing soul tools for a period of time. Our progress was the fastest back then; in just a thousand years, our progress in soul tools and all aspects of technology surpassed that of the other empires. However, the presence of soul masters kept us in check, thus we didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly.

    ¡°However, following the development of soul tools, the country progressed well too. Thus, the imperial family started to believe that our country¡¯s defences were adequate, and that we were powerful enough topete for supremacy on the continent. Hence, the official policy of the imperial family started to change; hedonism reigned, and ie inequality throughout the empire widened. Conflicts began to erupt between the rich and poor, especially in the past few decades. Themon people have rioted several times now. Do you know what the best option for the ruling ss is now?¡±

    Had Ju Zi asked Huo Yuhao the same question two years ago, he would¡¯ve only been able to show her an expression of confusion. However, the Ultimate Soldier n had let him gain quite a bit of knowledge over the past two years, including knowledge pertaining to politics and history of the continent.

    ¡°A war would be able to resolve all of the empire¡¯s conflicts. Following an invasion, the empire could resolve all sources of conflict. War would let the country gain morend, which would in turn enrich more people. The lower ss could be rich and aristocratic through war, while societal conflicts would be partially resolved because of it. At the very least, there wouldn¡¯t be anyrge-scale riots.¡±

    Ke Ke appearedpletely confused, but Ju Zi looked at Huo Yuhao and smiled slightly. She then said something that caused the hairs on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back to immediately stand on end. ¡°You seem more and more like a spy, albeit one who¡¯s not fully qualified.¡±

    A startled expression crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, but he soon returned to normal and said inly, ¡°As an exchange student from Shrek Academy, I wasn¡¯t wee from the very start, right? But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a spy, nor am I serving any country. However, if possible, I want to prevent a war from happening.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and said, ¡°Yuhao, do you know what my life¡¯s goal is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head.

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits as she looked out of one of the windows and mumbled, ¡°I hate war; I despise it. However, I have to avenge my father¡ªto trample the Star Luo Empire under my feet. That¡¯s the reason for my existence.¡± Right now, her normally-warm eyes held an ice-cold gaze. It was as if she¡¯d put a pair of sses over her heart.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. He¡¯d thought that Ju Zi was a pacifist in his heart. He¡¯d never expected Ju Zi to say something like this.

    Ju Zi turned her head and smiled at him. ¡°It¡¯s not afortable thing to hear, right? I know that you¡¯re a citizen of the Star Luo Empire, thus I hope I don¡¯t see you on the battlefield in the future. Let¡¯s go, Ke Ke.¡±

    Following Ju Zi¡¯s words, the atmosphere within the all-terrain exploration soul tool became solemn. The ball began to move forwards, while Ju Zi had already closed her eyes and appeared to be meditating.

    Huo Yuhao sat there and stared at her quietly. His heart was heavy. Ju Zi made him ufortable. Even though she was only a ss 5 soul engineer, Huo Yuhao had heard several different things from her words that weren¡¯t something a soul engineer¡ªengaged only in research¡ªcould think of. What was she hiding in her heart?

    Kill her!

    Suddenly, an unknown sense of danger shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart and manifested itself into a desire to kill. He suddenly felt that, in the future, the warm and pretty young girl in front of him would be a powerful and threatening enemy. He¡¯d only seen a small portion of her heart, but it was enough to shock him. This girl was better at concealing herself than he was!

    However, could he really do it?

    No, he couldn¡¯t.

    He couldn¡¯t forget the sorrow her eyes had held when she¡¯d uttered the word ¡®father.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t bear to do so.

    ¡°If you have this sort of mentality, why are you telling me so much?¡± Huo Yuhao finally asked.

    A warm light suddenly spread from her, separating Ke Ke from them. It was from a soundproofing soul tool. Surprisingly, Ke Ke didn¡¯t seem to realize. Ju Zi turned her head, smiled and said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Your heart is still young; you don¡¯t have the capability to be my opponent. If I¡¯m to die in battle one day, I hope to die by your hands. Like this, I¡¯ll be able to taste my father when I die. Wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart trembled. He could see the very same expression he¡¯d had when he first left the Duke¡¯s Mansion in her eyes. However, she hid it very well. Furthermore, she¡¯d cloaked herself in ayer of warmth. It was only because he¡¯d cooked for themst night that the deepest thoughts in her mind had been triggered.

    ¡°So how are you going to lead the Sun Moon Empire into war?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in a low voice. Even though Ju Zi was a Soul King and ss 5 soul engineer, her powers didn¡¯t appear to surpass Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    Ju Zi smiled and said, ¡°Guess. All I can say is that martial prowess isn¡¯t the only determinant.¡± She appeared to have given a lot of thought to this. Naturally, she wouldn¡¯t tell Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you all of this today purely because I had the urge to do so. There¡¯s nothing I truly cherish in this world, as there¡¯s nothing that¡¯s worth cherishing to me. However, I have to avenge my father and mother. I can still clearly remember the look of desperation in my mother¡¯s eyes when she heard that my father had died, as well as my own desperation. At that moment, the entire world seemed to be ck and white. Oh well, I know that you think I can¡¯t do much. Just treat it as a story then.¡± Once she¡¯d finished speaking, she deactivated the soundproofing soul tool.

    Is it really only a story? Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know. However, the Eye of Destiny on his forehead appeared to be telling him something. But when he tried to focus on it, the feeling disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao looked deeply at Ju Zi and then sank into deep thought.

    Ke Ke hadn¡¯t sensed the conversation that had just taken ce. As she had to constantly channel her soul power, her attention waspletely focused in front of her. Currently, they¡¯d just started to ascend a branch of the Jing Yang Mountain Range. The ball¡¯s multiple legs proved their usefulness here. While it was still vibrating, it wasn¡¯t slowed down at all. Under Ke Ke¡¯s control, the metallic ball continued to move forwards. Since it had six legs, there were always at least three support points. Furthermore, they were made from firm metal that could easily be inserted into both the mud and granite around them. After a while, they managed to ascend a mountain.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t say anything else to Huo Yuhao. Instead, she took out a pen and paper and started to take notes. Evidently, she was recording notes on the all-terrain exploration soul tool.

    ¡°Ke Ke, if you¡¯re tired, just tell us,¡± Ju Zi reminded Ke Ke.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Ke Ke replied. Her face was pale from continually channelling her soul power into the all-terrain exploration vehicle.

 Chapter 163: The Hexa-Elemental Silverwolf

    Huo Yuhao kept his Spiritual Detection activated and an eye on their surroundings. He also used it to observe the twodies in front of him, and slowly realized that they¡¯d used medicine and some special methods to increase their soul power to their current levels. However, their soul powercked tenacity and didn¡¯t circte well. It wasn¡¯t evenparable to a normal soul master who¡¯d just reached Rank 40. This wasn¡¯t something that would happen in Shrek Academy.

    This was a side effect of impatiently chasing sess! They¡¯d increased their soul power quickly, but their foundations werecking. They hadn¡¯t even fully experienced the changes that had urred as their soul power increased. Whether it was the they gathered soul power at or their control of it, they definitely couldn¡¯tpare to an orthodox soul king.

    Would soul masters be reced by soul engineers in the future? Huo Yuhao had never thought of this question before. Even if such a thing were to happen, he probably wouldn¡¯t live to see it.

    Ke Ke waspletely spent once she got the machine over the mountain, thus she left the main control seat. Rather than take over, Ju Zi gestured for Huo Yuhao to take her ce.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t decline. He sat down in the main control seat and listened to Ju Zi¡¯s exnation of how to control the vehicle.

    Sitting in the main control pod felt quite different. The window in front of him wasn¡¯t very fine, but it had been specially designed to allow him a 180-degree view of the outside terrain.

    There were four control joysticks in front of him. One was for injecting soul power into the vehicle, while the other three joysticks were used to advance, retreat, and jump. The joystick used to inject soul power also had the ability to rotate which direction the vehicle was going. All in all, the controls seemed very easy to use.

    However, Huo Yuhao discovered some problems the moment he started to control the vehicle; he couldn¡¯t coordinate its controls well. In order to properly control this all-terrain exploration vehicle, he needed to learn the rhythm that the six mechanical legs moved in. It was only through this that he¡¯d be able to change directions at the appropriate time, as well as control the speed of his advancement and retreat.

    Others might take some time to adapt and familiarize to this, but Huo Yuhao held an advantage because of his Spiritual Detection. He was able to control the soul tool after about ten minutes of testing, and after almost a third of his soul power had been depleted.

    He pushed the joystick to advance forwards, injected his soul power into the directional joystick, and then excitedly said, ¡°We¡¯re about to move. Sit tight.¡±

    The soul tool then began to move under his control. Although it was a little slow when he started, the burden on his soul power had also be greater.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s advantage over the other two was disyed at this point. While he was only Rank 40, his foundation was extremely solid. His cultivation had been greatly influenced by the Ultimate Ice between Rank 30 and Rank 40, thus his umtion of soul power had increased greatly. Currently, his soul power was restored a little but every time he simply took a breath, and was also aided by the Mysterious Heaven Technique. This was an aspect that the twodies couldn¡¯tpare to him in.

    Ju Zi observed Huo Yuhao seriously, only to reveal a stunned look. Ke Ke was equally appalled, and her reaction was even greater than Ju Zi¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao had seemed a bit rusty when he¡¯d started to use the all-terrain exploration vehicle, but that had onlysted for the first ten minutes. After some minor adjustments, he managed to control the speed of the all-terrain exploration vehicle pretty well.

    This huge metal ball seemed quite imperious from the outside. Its speed gradually increased, and its direction continuously adjusted. When the metal ball encountered any barriers, it always managed to jump up at just the right time.

    It could jump up to twelve meters into the air, the amount that it did beingpletely controlled by the joystick. As such, Huo Yuhao was able to have the vehicle jump to the appropriate height at the appropriate time without wasting any energy at all every time.

    As time passed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s control over the vehicle became better and better. The all-terrain exploration vehicle seemed to havee alive as it burst forwards. It was extremely rapid, and its traits were greatly exhibited.

    Ke Ke mumbled, ¡°Is this really the first time he¡¯s controlled this all-terrain exploration vehicle?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded slightly and said, ¡°It should be.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Ke Ke was doubtful.

    Ju Zi smiled. ¡°Sometimes you have to admit that there are geniuses in the world. Isn¡¯t he a good example?¡±

    Ke Ke shook her head speechlessly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. Even if he is a genius, he¡¯d still need some time to grasp the controls. Sister Ju Zi, do you know how he did it?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it¡¯s because of his spiritual-type martial soul. Think about it: If he can judge the geography of our location and urately pinpoint the condition of the all-terrain exploration vehicle, wouldn¡¯t controlling it to be much simpler? After a period of training and adapting, he¡¯ll be able to control this soul tool better than both of us.¡±

    Ke Ke asked, ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that require a lot of calctions?¡±

    Ju Zi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Do you honestly think that this guycks the ability to do such a thing? I finally understand why the academy has been searching for spiritual-type soul masters. Spiritual-type soul masters have a unique advantage when ites to controlling and creating soul tools! No wonder Teacher Xuan thinks so highly of him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could hear what the two of them were saying, but he was immersed in controlling the soul tool. His soul power continued to deplete, but he realized that he didn¡¯t need to continuously inject his soul power to keep the vehicle moving.

    There were six cumtive formation arrays inside of the vehicle. These formation arrays would gather the soul power he injected before they absorbed it. Following this, his soul power would then be transferred to the other formation arrays. If he continued to inject his soul power, a small portion of his soul power would be wasted in the process of being transferred between the formation arrays. He was able to tell that this was happening through his Spiritual Detection, which in turn allowed him to conserve his soul power. Furthermore, his regenerative abilities were superior to those of most ordinary soul masters, which was why he still had some soul power left despite controlling it for nearly 30 minutes.

    Right as Huo Yuhao was exploring the magical effects of the vehicle, his Spiritual Detection sent him a warning. The all-terrain exploration vehicle suddenly stopped, and its six mechanical legs descended into a half-squatting stance. Huo Yuhao then scanned one direction in particr with his Spiritual Detection .

    A two meter tall, wolf-like soul beast appeared and gazed at the all-terrain exploration vehicle warily. It then let out a deep hooting sound, as if it were trying to demonstrate its might.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing this wolf. Its was silvery-white, while its fur appeared metallic. An intense radiance was reflected off of it, which made it seem as if it were glowing under the sun.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell what the soul beast¡¯s cultivation was from its appearance.

    ¡°It¡¯s a rare soul beast, a Silverwolf! Based on its size, it should have a cultivation of around three thousand years. Yuhao, beware.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked, ¡°What kind of soul beast is this Silverwolf? Howe I¡¯m not familiar with it?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°The Silverwolf is a special soul beast in the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s a metal element soul beast, but it¡¯s not any ordinary soul beast. It¡¯s very difficult to deal with, and it feeds on Mithril. The Silverwolf needs to consume massive amounts of Mithril to break through its own bottleneck like humans need a soul ring when they reach a bottleneck. There¡¯s a rumor that a Silverwolf King appeared in the past with cultivation of ten thousand years. It managed to resist two Soul Douluo before escaping with injuries. A Silverwolf Emperor with a hundred thousand year cultivation and above has never appeared before. A Silverwolf¡¯s fur and bones are extremely useful materials for making soul tools with, while their meat is quite delicious, and can strengthen the body of a soul master.¡±

    Ke Ke eagerly said ¡°Let me go out. I have a way to deal with it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let me go instead.¡±

    ¡°Be careful.¡±

    The Silverwolf had alreadyunched an attacked while they were speaking. It was evidently unhappy with the metal ball in front of it, as its silver fur started to shine, and it spat out a silver ball of light towards it.

    The silver ball of light didn¡¯t make any sound as it shot through the air. However, the silver light transformed the moment it neared the all-terrain exploration vehicle. It became a diameter-wide fireball, then sped towards the all-terrain exploration vehicle.

    Huo Yuhao was also shocked. He rushed to make the all terrain exploration soul tool jump, barely managing to evade the fireball. Even so, two of the vehicle¡¯s mechanical legs were struck, which caused the bnce of the all-terrain exploration vehicle to be affected. Huo Yuhao quickly corrected the all-terrain exploration vehicle to prevent it from copsing.

    The Silverwolf unleashed a second silver ball of light at that moment. Huo Yuhao thought that it would turn into another fireball, but the silver light turned into ten wind-des that surrounded the all-terrain exploration vehicle this time. The des then swung towards the all-terrain exploration vehicle maniacally.

    Fortunately, Ju Zi unleashed a ss 5 soul tool barrier and blocked the wind des.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and asked, ¡°What element does this fellow have?¡±

    Ke Ke replied, ¡°The Silverwolf is so strong because it possesses the six elements of water, fire, earth, wind, light and darkness. It¡¯s able to unleash the powers of any element depending on its will. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so difficult to deal with. There¡¯s practically no element that can curb it. It¡¯s said that once it bes a Silverwolf King after ten thousand years, another rare and advanced element will be added to it. At the hundred thousandth year, it will gain yet another element. The only fortunate thing is that it can only unleash the most basic attacks of each element, even though it possesses many elements.¡±

    Before Ke Ke even finished speaking, a third ball of silver light had already turned into a cone-shaped ice attack shooting at them. Although it couldn¡¯t ovee the barrier, it depleted Ju Zi¡¯s soul power rapidly.

    Ke Ke wanted to press the eject button beside her seat, but she was stopped by Ju Zi. ¡°Let Yuhao do it. Your fighting style creates too muchmotion. I didn¡¯t expect to meet such a rare soul beast after just entering the Jing Yang Mountain Range.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything after he heard her words. He mmed his right hand beside his seat, and the window above him opened to either side. His body was ejected like a cannonball.

    The Silverwolf couldn¡¯t ovee the ss 5 soul tool barrier easily. It was even shocked as Huo Yuhao suddenly appeared. As the Silverwolf lifted its head, it spat out a silver ball of light.

    It was yet another wind-type attack. Many wind des covered the entire area, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly dodge.

    Diamond ice crystals appeared and shone extremely brightly under the sun. They were even more dazzling than the silver light on the Silverwolf¡¯s body. The wind des couldn¡¯t prate Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Armor.

    Six metal barrels appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at this point, and were fired in the direction of the Silverwolf. Six streaks of light instantly shot out. The Silverwolf was extremely quick, and spat out a few more silver light balls as it leapt backwards. They formedyers of water curtains in the air, which weakened the soul rays. By the time the soul rays reached it, it managed to dodge them easily.

    Huo Yuhaonded on the ground following this strike and started to lope towards the Silverwolf like a panther.

    The Silverwolf was evidently more adept at long-range attacks. As it retreated, it continued to spit out balls of silver light towards Huo Yuhao.

    However, Huo Yuhao had a deeper understanding of the Silverwolf after Ju Zi and Ke Ke introduced it to him. The element contained within the Silverwolf¡¯s silver light balls couldn¡¯t be concealed from him, he used his Spiritual Detection to detect it.

    Three white soul rings rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs, and started to shine brightly. The twodies who were watching him were shocked. What was happening?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to reveal too many of his abilities since Ju Zi had threatened him. Right now, he was using all three of his soul skills at the same time.

    A purplish-golden radiance shed across his eyes before disappearing. The Silverwolf screamed pathetically before falling into convulsions on the ground. It writhed around in pain for a few seconds before staggering back to its feet. However, it didn¡¯t appear to be clear-headed anymore. Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual Interference had struck it at the sametime.

    Huo Yuhao was the one most surprised at this point. He thought that the Silverwolf was merely a few thousand years old, and thus its spiritual power should be inferior to him by a lot. Even if it didn¡¯t die from his Spiritual Shock, it should be almost half-dead. However, it was able to crawl up.

    This was beyond what Huo Yuhao had expected. Was this Silverwolf a spiritual-type soul beast? However, it only had three thousand years of cultivation. It wasn¡¯t suitable enough for him!

    He did not slow down even though he was thinking in his head. When the Spiritual Shock was unleashed, he had already charged forward. The intense radiance from a ss 5 soul thruster lit up behind his back. He increased his speed to the limit instantly and reached the Silverwolf just as it stood up.

    He struck with his right hand. The purplish-golden radiance shed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes again. He didn¡¯t give the Silverwolf any chance to catch its breath. He unleashed the Spiritual Shock once again, causing the Silverwolf¡¯s seven apertures to spurt blood. His Darkgolden Terrorws stabbed into the back of the Silverwolf¡¯s neck and tore into its central nerves.

    The entire fighting process was very simple. The three thousand year old Silverwolf was repressed so heavily by Huo Yuhao that it couldn¡¯t resist at all.

    Ju Zi looked at the wide-eyed Ke Ke with an amused expression. ¡°Do you still think we can beat him in the wild?¡±

    Ke Ke muttered, ¡°He¡¯s too scary when he engages in closebat. That¡¯s a three thousand year Silverwolf! However, it waspletely helpless against him. Since when did a Silverwolf be so weak? I¡¯ve heard that such soul beasts are very strong!¡±

    Ju Zi sighed, ¡°The Silverwolf isn¡¯t weak. He¡¯s just too strong. Before hisst strike, the Silverwolf had already lost its ability to resist after being struck by his soul skills. His twin martial souls are indeed scary! I think even a ss 6 or 7 soul engineer wouldn¡¯t be able to resist him if he gets close.¡±

    Ke Ke was a little indignant as she said, ¡°Then don¡¯t let hime close.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head helplessly and said, ¡°You say it like it¡¯s so simple. Didn¡¯t you see what he used to increase his speed? That was a ss 5 soul thruster. Even a ss 7 soul engineer wouldn¡¯t dare to use it so easily. Aren¡¯t you aware of its impact on one¡¯s body? With our physical strength, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to use a ss 3 soul thruster a few times. He only has three rings. Although his soul power has reached Rank 40, he is still considered brave to attempt the use of a ss 5 soul thruster. Furthermore, he was still able to attack after using it. What does that mean?¡±

    Ke Ke didn¡¯t speak. She naturally knew what it meant it. It meant that Huo Yuhao was much stronger than they had imagined. How strong must his body be to withstand such an immense, instantaneous thrusting force? With their current abilities, they could only manage to sustain it for somewhere between fifty and two hundred meters. Beyond that range, they needed stationary soul tools to maintain sufficient offensive strength. A ss 5 soul tool increased Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed such that he moved one hundred meters in a second. This meant that he moved two hundred meters every time he inhaled. How would they stand a chance against him with his physical strength and impressive closebat abilities?

    ¡°He must be quite extraordinary in Shrek Academy, too,¡± Ke Ke said softly.

    Ju Zi nodded lightly, ¡°Perhaps, the seemingly weakest out of the exchange students is actually the core of everything. Alright, this doesn¡¯t really concern us. Don¡¯t talk of this matter when you return either. After all, we enjoyed his delicacies.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already returned with the Silverwolf as they spoke. A shing purple soul ring rose from it.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, wake up!¡± Huo Yuhao slowed down intentionally. He called for the Skydream Iceworm, as he needed answers to his questions. He was actually tempted by this Silverwolf¡¯s soul ring. For most soul masters, their fourth soul ring shoulde from a thousand year soul beast. If he had no choice, he could ept this three thousand year soul ring.

    ¡°Little Yuhao, you haven¡¯t disturbed me in a long time!¡± The Skydream Iceworm answeredzily. It didn¡¯t sound fully awake yet. However, it was still very happy that Huo Yuhao woke him up.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, I met a special soul beast found only in the Sun Moon Empire. Help me see if it¡¯s a spiritual-type. I can¡¯t be sure.¡± He quickly described the Silverwolf¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Skydream Iceworm used the projection in his Spiritual Sea to observe the Silverwolf as he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s description. When Huo Yuhao reached the all terrain exploration soul tool, it gave him a definite answer.

    ¡°This soul beast is supposed to be a mix of elements that doesn¡¯t possess all the elemental powers? That is not possible for a soul beast. It¡¯s only tapping into its affinity with the various elements and its own immense spiritual power to control the elemental powers. The metal that it consumes is probably only effective in increasing its affinity toward the different elements. Otherwise, it would be able to exhibit more than just the basic elemental powers. Yes, you can adopt it as your fourth soul ring. However, this Silverwolf is too weak, andisn¡¯t suitable for you. I didn¡¯t expect to see such a fun soul beast. If you meet another one of the same species with a cultivation of at least ten thousand years, you must not let it go. I believe that its soul skill should be rather good. Although it may not be an offensive-type soul skill, it can enhance your overall abilities, as well as your Mass Enfeeblement.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Huo Yuhao put the Silverwolf¡¯s corpse away in his storage-type soul tool before re-entering the all-terrain exploration soul tool.

    Ju Zi gave him a thumbs-up as apliment. Huo Yuhao only smiled and asked, ¡°How do you n to deal with this Silverwolf?¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to sell it, I can help you. It should fetch a good price. You can keep it for now, the Silverwolf¡¯s fur will prevent its corpse from rotting. We¡¯ll deal with it once we return to the academy. I believe that the Silverwolf isn¡¯t a spiritual-type soul beast, but its spiritual powers should be quite strong. Otherwise, it shouldn¡¯t be able to control the elements to attack. Aren¡¯t you going to try it? Also, why did your soul rings turn white just now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not what I want yet. As for the color of my soul rings, can¡¯t I have three ten-year soul rings?¡± As he spoke, he alsoughed. This was an answer that no one would believe.

    Ju Zi pursed her lips. She had already returned to her gentle persona, and managed to conceal her thoughts well.

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Wolves are usually very sensitive in terms of their sense of smell. Does this Silverwolf also have such a characteristic?¡±

    Ju Zi thought for a moment before replying, ¡°It should. After all, it¡¯s a wolf.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Seniors, I may have to separate from the two of you for some time.¡±

    Ju Zi was stunned. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to find a suitable soul beast. This Silverwolf is indeed suitable for me, but its cultivation is too low. It¡¯s too easy for me to fuse with it. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to find a stronger Silverwolf, or some other spiritual-type soul beast. It should be a dangerous journey. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better for me to work alone. Continue with your experiments. I will meet the both of you back at the ce we campedst night. If I¡¯m not back in half a month¡¯s time, the two of you must return first.¡±

    ¡°No, how can we leave you alone?¡± Ke Ke asserted righteously. ¡°We have to go together. Don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re soul kings. Three is always better than one in terms of safety. Although your closebat skills are outstanding, our soul tools are rather powerful too. Our survival skills are equally as good as yours.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that this youngdy who continuously shed with him was actually offering help to him at this critical moment. Huo Yuhao could see the sincerity in her eyes.

    Ju Zi also nodded and said, ¡°Ke Ke is right. We can¡¯t let you take the risk alone. It¡¯s always safer with three rather than one. Furthermore, we¡¯re the ones who are familiar with the Jing Yang Mountain Range. Let¡¯s go together. Are you scared that we¡¯ll drag you down? I know what you¡¯re going to do. You¡¯re going to scatter the Silverwolf¡¯s blood on the all-terrain exploration vehicle to threaten the lower-level soul beasts not toe close to us. It¡¯s also a good way to test the survival capabilities of the all-terrain exploration vehicle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at Ke Ke before turning to look at Ju Zi. He said seriously, ¡°However, that is very dangerous. The Silverwolf¡¯s blood may attract other types of soul beasts, which can be very strong. Think about it carefully. This all-terrain exploration vehicle can¡¯t ensure our absolute safety.¡±

    Ke Ke was a little impatient as she said, ¡°Are you a girl? Why are you so pushy? Let¡¯s go. If your soul power is gone, I can take the controls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded at the two of them as he nced over them. Although Ju Zi had revealed her internal thoughts before, Huo Yuhao had a feeling that it was because he was like a father figure to her. That was why she wouldn¡¯t hurt him.

    ¡°Alright, I will protect the both of you as long as I¡¯m alive.¡±

    Ju Zi satzily in her seat and replied him, ¡°It¡¯s still too early to tell who¡¯ll be protecting who. Just remember that you need to feed us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face stiffened, and he shook his head in annoyance. He couldn¡¯t help but think, Are they following me because they want me to cook for them?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t set off immediately. He made some minor adjustments, and only moved off after his soul power had been restored to about half.

    He controlled the all-terrain exploration vehicle with ease, following the experience that he had already umted. He would only slow down if they had to pass through a dense forest. He passed mountain after mountain, but didn¡¯t rush to scatter the Silverwolf¡¯s blood.

    They also met a few soul beasts along the way, but they were all below a thousand years in cultivation. Huo Yuhao used the simplest method to deal with them: he ran them over. This all-terrain exploration vehicle had used a lot of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s resources, and the materials used to construct it were very tough. Soul beasts below a thousand years¡¯ cultivation couldn¡¯t cause any damage to it.

    The quality of soul beasts in the Jing Yang Mountain Range was evidently lower than that of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. As they followed the branching trails to get closer to the main trail in the forest, they didn¡¯t bump into a single ten-thousand year soul beast. Including the Silverwolf, only three soul beasts attacked them. The other two perished at Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands and became food.

    ¡­...

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mindset up a fire in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. Lunch was yet another feast. However, it was different from the grilling the night before. He made soup this time using Silverwolf meat.

    The Silverwolf¡¯s bones and fur were preserved, and its blood was smeared on the all-terrain exploration vehicle. Its meat became their delicacy.

    Huo Yuhao only decided on his cooking style after examining the quality of the Silverwolf¡¯s meat. The Silverwolf¡¯s meat was quite tough, not tender enough for grilling, which would make it difficult to chew. After a period of cooking, it would taste nicer when it was softer.

    He indeed had the sense of a father, just like Ju Zi had said. His delicious meat soup left Ju Zi and Ke Ke pleased. They revealed a greater trust and reliance on Huo Yuhao in their eyes.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯m going to stick to you from today onwards. As long as you¡¯re in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, you have to cook for me!¡± Ke Ke eximed.

    Ju Zi teased, ¡°You made him your chef, but what¡¯re you going to offer? Your body?¡±

    ¡°Err¡­¡± Ke Ke¡¯s face turned red. However, she threw a threatening look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Do you dare to demand anything from me?!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Huo Yuhao answered smoothly.

    Ke Ke wanted to scare him, but she didn¡¯t expect him to answer so readily. She said dismally, ¡°I¡¯m smart, intelligent, and cute. What expression is this? Why don¡¯t you dare to make a demand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and answered, ¡°Even if I said I wanted something, you wouldn¡¯t budge! I¡¯m only saying what you want to hear. I¡¯m really maligned! Do you want me to beg you to be my girlfriend before you¡¯ll dump me to one side?¡±

    Ke Ke nodded her head forcefully and said, ¡°That should be the case. However, I may give you a chance if you continue your cooking. It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re a little young. Tell me, how old are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Fourteen, going on fifteen.¡±

    Silence! Turned heads! Eye contact!

    ¡°Ah¡­.!¡±

    Ke Ke and Ju Zi screamed at the same time, shocking Huo Yuhao. Even a few weak soul beasts that were observing them were startled, and fled in fear.

    ¡°You¡¯re only fourteen? How¡¯re you only fourteen? You look more like eighteen. Furthermore, you¡¯re already at Rank 40 at fourteen years old, and possess twin martial souls. You¡¯re inhuman!¡± Ke Ke eximed in disbelief.

    Huo Yuhao rubbed his nose and said, ¡°I grew a little faster. You don¡¯t have to be so appalled. As for cultivation, the two of you are only three or four years older than me, but you¡¯re soul kings already. I may not even be a soul king at your ages.¡±

    Ke Ke shook her head forcefully and replied, ¡°Although I look young, I must say that I¡¯m already neen years old. Sister Ju Zi is almost twenty. We¡¯re five years older than you! Generation gap, there¡¯s definitely a generation gap.¡±

    Ju Zi chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. An older wife can be as loving as a mom. You still have a chance.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the mom. It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have a sister. Otherwise, I could introduce him to her.¡±

    After interacting for a day, the three of them had bepletely familiar with one another. Their rtionship also became closer after what they had gone through together.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke had trained with Wang Shaojie and Zimu in the past, but they seemed to be more secure with Huo Yuhao now.

    ¡­¡­

    After lunch, the three of them took a short break. They only continued after their soul power was restored to their peak levels.

    Huo Yuhao remained seated in the main control pod. Before he moved off, he turned to the twodies and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already smeared the Silverwolf¡¯s blood on the all-terrain exploration vehicle. It¡¯s toote for regrets now.¡±

    Ke Ke snapped, ¡°Enough with the crap. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t impatient as he said, ¡°If the two of you insist on following me, I must insist on being the team leader from this point on. Although I¡¯m not fully aware of your abilities, you must listen to my instructions. I am definitely more experienced in dealing with soul beasts than the two of you. I can guarantee our safety if we don¡¯t meet a hundred-thousand year soul beast or many ten-thousand year soul beasts.¡±

    Ju Zi offered her position to him easily. ¡°Alright, you can be the team leader.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Then let¡¯s move off. Seniors, remember not to leave the all-terrain exploration vehicle easily no matter what. This soul tool is able to withstand more damage than you described earlier. It can unleash your soul tools through the windows, too. If there¡¯s a fight, leave it to me. The two of you just need to reinforce me with firepower.¡±

    Ke Ke snapped, ¡°Why do I feel more like trash the more I listen to you? Stop spouting gibberish and let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 164: Silvermoon Wolf King

    Huo Yuhao put his soul power into the all-terrain exploration vehicle, and its six mechanical legs began moving. It followed this branch of the trail, until they passed a narrow downslope finally entering the main trail of the Jing Yang Mountain Range.

    Huo Yuhao currently was observing the geography of the Jing Yang Mountain Range from above. The main trail of the Jing Yang Mountain Range was ovr. Although it was his first time here, he could roughly discern the distribution of soul beasts, referencing his experiences with the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The weaker and smaller soul beasts lived near the outermost perimeter of the mountain range, while the stronger ones lived somewhat deeper in. As long as they didn¡¯t venture in too deep, they shouldn¡¯t be in much trouble.

    After all, the Silverwolf¡¯s scent could only spread outwards a certain distance, and shouldn¡¯t be able to reach all the way to the core of the mountain range.

    The Silverwolf¡¯s profuse bleeding hadn¡¯t caused any trouble for them, or at least not yet. Most soul beasts would flee after detecting the scent of the Silverwolf¡¯s blood. This was very evident when Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection. He discovered that even some of the thousand year soul beasts would escape after catching a whiff of the Silverwolf¡¯s blood. Just like this, they were advancing faster and faster along the path.

    Huo Yuhao quickly controlled the all-terrain exploration vehicle to ascend a nearby mountain peak within the outer boundaries of the Jing Yang Mountain Range.

    He didn¡¯t dare expend too much of his soul power as they ventured into the habitats of these soul beasts. After restoring part of his abilities from the mountain peak, he looked into the distance.

    Like most mountain ranges, the Jing Yang Mountain Range¡¯s mountain peaks were higher the closer to the center you got. However, not all of them were steep inclines, and there were some with quite gentle inclines.

    The quantity of soul beasts near the main trail was much greater. They were easilyparable to the soul beasts at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest. However, they didn¡¯t reveal themselves because of the Silverwolf¡¯s blood.

    Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the ground and allowed the wind to blow against him softly. He wasn¡¯t being adventurous, when he leaned on the all-terrain exploration vehicle, the twodies couldn¡¯t see his face. A streak of golden light shed across his forehead, and the Eye of Destiny quietly opened.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual world had experienced earth-shaking changes after he had received the Eye of Destiny. Neither the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress nor Electrolux could control his body anymore because of the Eye of Destiny, unless he allowed it. Even so, he could instantly regain control of his own body with his will even if he invited them to control his body.

    Him using the Eye of Destiny right now wasn¡¯t to enhance his Spirit Eyes¡¯ visual acuity. When he opened them, the aura of destiny appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. His sensitivity also increased greatly, allowing him to predict the future to a certain extent, and be warned of trouble or anything good that was about to happen.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Eye of Destiny shut. But even when Huo Yuhao opened his normal eyes, he was shocked. He didn¡¯t expect toe across something like this when he used the Eye of Destiny to search for the paths of destiny.

    Danger! Opportunity!

    It was a little unclear, but he could definitely sense the presence of both danger and opportunity. This was new, surprising him.

    What was going on? Huo Yuhao tensed up. Although the Eye of Destiny only gave unclear answers, he did sense that the dangers came before the opportunities. It seemed as if some countless dangers were waiting for him in the mountains faraway. This was a very ominous sign.

    However, he wouldn¡¯t back off when he was already here. Moreover, the Eye of Destiny didn¡¯t give him any sense of fatal danger.

    Proceed with caution. Huo Yuhao set himself this careful strategy.

    Huo Yuhao slowed down as they continued once more. He stopped almost every fifteen minutes to make adjustments, while they offered, the twodies were rejected by him to take control the all-terrain exploration vehicle. He only required them to be at their optimal fighting conditions at all time.

    Them seeing Huo Yuhao so cautious, they didn¡¯t dare to say anything. It was always good to be more cautious. Even Ke Ke didn¡¯t appear to be annoyed anymore.

    After two hours, they were on the way to the top of the third mountain. This was the final destination set by Huo Yuhao for the day. They would be spending their night on the mountain peak.

    They finally ran into some problems earlier. Two golden tigers with three thousand years of cultivation had stopped them from advancing.

    The golden tigers in the Jing Yang Mountain Range were very strong. Huo Yuhao had only been able to prate an inch into their tough skulls, even when using the Darkgolden Terrorws. They still died, but a lot of time had been wasted killing them. It wasn¡¯t simple to best their resilient bodies.

    After a day¡¯s worth of observation, Huo Yuhao discovered that the metal-type soul beasts in the Jing Yang Mountain Range were stronger than average soul beasts. However, the other types of soul beasts weren¡¯t much weaker. They¡¯d ran into a wind-type Noble Roc with ten thousand years of cultivation as well, which was also the strongest soul beast they saw today. But it was still scared off by the two golden tigers! This showed how dominant the metal-type soul beasts were in the Jing Yang Mountain Range.

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hear a peep from the soul beasts that he really wanted to meet. No more spiritual-type soul beasts appeared. Spiritual-type soul beasts were indeed very rare, no matter which part of the continent you look for them. Fortunately, this was only the first day, Huo Yuhao still had patience to spare.

    He decided to venture inwards up to the fifth mountain peak as the limit based on his Eye of Destiny¡¯s prediction. He wouldn¡¯t venture any further in past that. He would then proceed to move perpendicrly to conduct his search. If he didn¡¯t make progress in the next five days, he would retreat. After all, his safety was paramount.

    They finally reached the top of the mountain.

    There was an important reason for choosing to rest at the top of the mountain¡ªthe all-terrain exploration vehicle was most adept at escaping from a high ground. As a ball-shaped entity, it could roll down a moderately low slope. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for a soul beast to chase them down. Of course, the soul masters inside the all-terrain exploration vehicle wouldn¡¯t find it veryfortable.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t start up a fire, but he still whipped up a delicious meal for thedies. Earlier Huo Yuhao had retrieved the tastiest loin from the golden tiger, then, using the White Tiger Dagger, he cut out thin strips of meat.

    Tiger meat was generally a tinge sour. Usually speaking, it wouldn¡¯t taste nice without appropriate cooking methods. Fresh tiger meat tasted better than normal meats, but how many people had a chance to eat it?

    Before Huo Yuhao cut the fresh tiger meat into pieces, he had already prepared a condiment. It was a new slightly spicy sauce, but it was very refreshing. After the tiger¡¯s meat was marinated, it became very tender. Not only did the sour and fishy taste disappear, somehow it developed a wild taste.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t let them eat too much of it. He knew it wasn¡¯t easy to digest raw tiger meat, even though it¡¯s very nutritious. He came up with another sauce and used it to make a sd. He added some dried foods to the sd, which tasted pretty addictive themselves.

    Ke Ke and Ju Zi discovered that their sisterly affections for Huo Yuhao increased every time they tasted his cooking.

    ¡°What will we do at night?¡± After having dinner, the three of them formed a circle. The mountain breeze was chilly at night, and gusts of mist floated by, causing their outerwear to be wet.

    However, it wasn¡¯t a good idea to pitch a tent here, because they might meet a soul beast anytime.

    Huo Yuhao pointed at the metal ball behind him and said, ¡°We can only sleep in it. The two of you can rest. I¡¯ll stand guard outside. If there¡¯s any movement, I¡¯ll inform you immediately.¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Let me relieve you at midnight.¡±

    Ke Ke added, ¡°Let¡¯s make it four hours per person.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry and go to sleep. I¡¯ll call for you when your timees.¡±

    Thedies returned to the all-terrain exploration vehicle and shut the crystal door,pletely isting themselves from the chill outside.

    Huo Yuhao leaned against the metal ball and sat down. Although the mountain breeze was very chilly, it meant nothing to him. He was someone with Ultimate Ice, this was a suitable ce for him to cultivate, rather than harmful.

    He shut his eyes and sat cross-legged. His Spiritual Detection spread out, and his soul power circted in his meditative state.

    This was a major benefit of using Huo Yuhao¡¯s second mental sea. He could leave a shred of consciousness in his second mental sea and adjust his soul power to use his Spiritual Detection to sense the conditions around him. He could also rest part of his mind in primary Spiritual Sea. It was like sleeping with one eye open. If he discovered something, his mind could be activated quickly. Which was why he had no intention of asking them to relieve him.

    The sky was getting darker, and the starlight dimmed. Gusts of thick fog blew past, and visibility became very poor.

    The chill had no effect on Huo Yuhao though. His body temperature was even lower than the temperature outside. The Ultimate Ice caused his soul power cultivation to proceed at a snail¡¯s pace, but his foundation was very solid. No soul master at the same level couldpare with him in this aspect.

    Water was the foundation of ice. The water element in the air was very beneficial to Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation. Furthermore, the natural qi of heaven and earth was providing nourishment amidst the mountains of the outside world. His cultivation would elerate here.

    There was a great feeling to cultivating deep in the mountains. Huo Yuhao could sense everything that changed within a 500 meter radius, and he sighed to himself. No wonder soul beasts would rather live in the deep mountains, swamps or a forest. The spiritual energy was just so very nourishing.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao shivered. Although he hadn¡¯t discovered anything with his Spiritual Detection, his hairs still stood on end.

    What¡¯s going on? Huo Yuhao stopped meditating, stunned. He trusted in his own instincts, these sudden warnings and his intense reactions signified that the impending danger was terrifying.

    He knocked on the crystal door twice. It wasn¡¯t loud, but thedies were jolted awake.

    ¡°We may be in trouble. Don¡¯te out, but be prepared to attack. Ju Zi, remain in the main control pod. If things get out of hand, don¡¯t bother with me and just roll down the mountain. I¡¯ll find a way to escape.¡± Huo Yuhao said softly. Theposure and tension in his voicepletely woke Ju Zi and Ke Ke up.

    ¡°What did you discover?¡± Ju Zi opened a ss window and asked softly. As she spoke, some metal nging sounds could already be heard from her and Ke Ke¡¯s body. They were preparing their offensive soul tools for battle.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m still unsure. But I¡¯m far more sensitive than most people. I believe that a huge problem ising.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Although he had made significant improvements over thest two years, he was still only at Rank 40 at the moment. He couldn¡¯tpare with truly powerful figures.

    His Spiritual Detection changed from an radial detection to a one-directional detection as Huo Yuhao scanned his surroundings.

    The one-directional detection could stretch out to a kilometer if he didn¡¯t use the Eye of Destiny. This wasn¡¯t the time to conserve soul power, so he initiated his Spiritual Detection to the fullest and scanned downslope.

    The two windows of the all-terrain exploration vehicle were open, two ck cannons poking out from them. Each cannons¡¯ caliber was greater than 100 millimeters, both operated by Ke Ke, who was carrying a cannon on each shoulder. Ju Zi sat in the main control pod, ready to move the all-terrain exploration vehicle at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash any soul tools, but he watched his surroundings very sharply. When his entire body made a full revolution, his expression was extremely dismal before he finished.

    Silent figures were already gathering towards the top of the mountain from all directions. They didn¡¯t make a sound, but the invisible threats clenched at Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    ¡°A pack of wolves. It¡¯s a pack of golden wolves. We¡¯re surrounded. There are at least three ten thousand year golden wolves leading more than one hundred hundred year to a thousand year wolves. They¡¯ll be here in less than three minutes. Be prepared to escape. I believe they won¡¯t be able to resist the all-terrain exploration vehicle if it rolls over them.¡±

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke were stunned. These golden wolves were in fact metal-type wolves. They were actually soul beasts under the metal element. Although they weren¡¯t as powerful as the golden lion, tiger, panther or bear metal-type soul beasts, they were much quicker, and they moved in packs. In the Jing Yang Mountain Range, all metal-type soul beasts show more ability in fighting than the other soul beasts by at least thirty percent. In addition, there were even three ten thousand year soul beasts leading this pack. This spelled trouble. Even if Huo Yuhao and the girls couldn¡¯t be killed so easily, their energy would be depleted rapidly.

    ¡°Yuhao, get in.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s roll them down together.¡± Ju Zi called anxiously.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head in refusal. ¡°No, I can¡¯t leave. These golden wolves were sent by a Silverwolf. I can sense the Silverwolf¡¯s aura. If I¡¯m not wrong, this Silverwolf¡¯s soul ring should be suitable for my fourth soul ring. Leave first. Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ll find a way out.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous. There¡¯s more than a hundred golden wolves out there!¡± Ju Zi wanted toe out as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao pressed against the door and said, ¡°I know how I can get out. But if I¡¯m really stuck, I can just use a flying-type soul tool to escape. Be careful now. I¡¯m sending the both of you off.¡± As he spoke, his palms were covered in diamond crystals. His arms exerted an immense force, and the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon fully unleashed the Mysterious Heaven Technique, in cohesion with Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical strength. He lifted two of the metal ball¡¯s legs and pushed them forward.

    At the same time, the heavy all-terrain exploration vehicle shifted backwards. Ju Zi and Ke Ke cried out in exmation simultaneously. Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rang in their ears, ¡°Don¡¯t bother worrying about me. Let¡¯s meet at our rendezvous pointter. I¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t turn back. Just keep rolling.¡±

    The top of this mountain wasn¡¯t very wide, so the all-terrain exploration vehicle immediately lost its bnce and nearly rolled off the side.

    Ju Zi¡¯s decisiveness was disyed at this moment. While Ke Ke was still very displeased with Huo Yuhao and wanted to question his decisions, Ju Zi had already shut the two open windows. The six mechanical legs shrank, and a huge amount of rubber spewed out of the all-terrain exploration vehicle. This caused the surface of the all-terrain exploration vehicle to be very springy, its scent was concealed by the rubber as well. The all-terrain exploration vehicle rolled down the mountain, and the twodies inside rolled around interior of the all-terrain exploration vehicle. The protective mechanism in the all-terrain exploration vehicle finally took effect. The internal area was separated from the outer surfaceyer, which let the central springs rapidly reduce its bouncing, and increased the stability inside the soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao was relieved as he watched the metal ball roll down the mountain. He couldn¡¯t let them see some of his abilities. It was less strenuous on him if they were around yes, but he also couldn¡¯t unleash his full power. He wasn¡¯t lying when he said he had felt a ten thousand year Silverwolf¡¯s presence earlier. As a spiritual-type soul master, Huo Yuhao knew the importance of a suitable spiritual-type soul ring, and he couldn¡¯t let go of such a great opportunity. Otherwise, it would prove to be very difficult to find this ten thousand year Silverwolfter, given its ingenuity.

    Ever since he started training for the Ultimate Soldier n, he¡¯d never once burst forth with his full abilities. Even he himself didn¡¯t know the limit of his current cultivation¡¯s might. However, today was as good an opportunity as any to test out his abilities. Only in the face of a true threat could his potential truly be unlocked. He wasn¡¯t afraid of a ten thousand year soul beast, even if it was of the metal element, he already specialized in fighting many opponents. Moreover, he thrived in situations where he was outnumbered! Otherwise, what was the point of the Ultimate Soldier n?

    His hands drooped down beside his body, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes emitted a dim golden glow. The gentle gold contained a thick aura of austerity.

    ¡°Come.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind and energy were at their peak.

    His Spiritual Detection told him that the all-terrain exploration vehicle had attracted a few golden wolves as it rolled down, they had chased after it. This was also a small part of his n. Right now, his n was to distract these wolves. Making the wolves run around was bound to cause confusion and mess up their formation.

    Huo Yuhao threw a silver figure into the air. Following that, a reverberating boom resounded in mid-air. A subtle azure-blue radiance appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left arm, which was a trace of his Ice Explosion Technique.

    The Silverwolf¡¯s corpse turned into powder in mid-air and scattered. A thick, bloody scent diffused across the mountain top.

    If one wasn¡¯t merciless enough in the world of soul beasts, where survival of the fittest was the rule, one wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. At this point, Huo Yuhao had retracted the little hint ofpassion hiding in his heart and made himself more cold-blooded.

    Pathetic wolf howls could be heard from the midway point up the mountain. The pack of wolves evidently realized that Huo Yuhao already discovered them. The all-terrain exploration vehicle that rolled off the mountain lost the Silverwolf¡¯s scent and no longer captured their attention. The pack of wolves didn¡¯t bother with concealing themselves anymore, and burst forth with the fastest speeds they had towards the peak.

    Crisp, nging sounds rang on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and metal cases started appearing. They emitted an eerie, dark golden color.

    The metal cases were stacked on his shoulders, arms, chest and back, the sides of his legs, his waist etc. There were eighteen of them. Every metal case seemed to be rather heavy, and made Huo Yuhao¡¯s person seem to tower high.

    The first golden wolf finally drifted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s view. It was indeed different from the golden wolves found in other ces. Its muscles protruded underneath glowing fur, and made it seem very burly. A bloodthirsty gaze from it was instantly fixed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    It roared furiously and leapt towards Huo Yuhao. It lifted its de sharp front ws and shed towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao estimated that this golden wolf should be among the strongest for its cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao took half a step back, only a series of nging noises resonating could be heard. Ayer of white shed on one of the metal cases on his left wrist before disappearing. That golden wolf¡¯s figure froze in the air. Although it was still in a leaping stance, it started to howl pathetically.

    Sixteen transparent holes appeared in its fur, which was supposed to be defensively sound.

    This was part of the frightening prative ability belonging to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow. Which instantly pierced through the golden wolf¡¯s body.

    The crossbows on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body werepletely charged beforehand. They had to be recharged once every three days. Huo Yuhao had already prepared them long before he¡¯d entered the Jing Yang Mountain Range. This golden wolf became the first victim of his Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

    Huo Yuhao reached out with his left hand and grabbed the golden wolf¡¯s corpse. He sealed its wounds with ice and then threw the corpse to one side with a flick of his wrist as he opted not to use the Ice Explosion Technique on its body

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbows he was currently using were different from the ones that he¡¯d created in front of Xuan Ziwen. They were made from better materials, and more meticulous craftsmanship. They could be fired three times, and were top-grade ss 5 soul tools. This meant that the eighteen slots in the Zhuge Divine Crossbow could fire fifty-four times in total, which was the reason that Huo Yuhao was so confident. It¡¯s pertinent to note that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow could also be fired extremely easily¡ªhe only needed to use a tinge of his soul power to initiate the cumtive formation arrays within them. The rest of the firing mechanism waspleted by the soul tool itself, the end result being that the charged power would fire the arrows. Their destructive ability was also extremely great.

    Another seven golden wolves had already reached the mountaintop by the time the first golden wolf was thrown to the side. All of them rushed towards Huo Yuhao. Their cultivations varied from three hundred to two thousand years, which was evident from their size and muscle density.

    Huo Yuhao initiated his Spiritual Detection and moved extremely quickly. He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to burst towards the smallest golden wolf, and then lifted both of his arms, causing a crisp, nging sound to resonate. He¡¯d fired the Zhuge Divine Crossbows, causing several sharp arrows to pierce into the golden wolves¡¯ flesh and for them to howl in pain. He didn¡¯t even need to use his Spiritual Detection to know that two of the golden wolves had copsed.

    Huo Yuhao had reached the smallest golden wolf at this point, his figure shing to the side as he dodged its attack. At the same time, he used his Darkgolden Terrorws to sever the wolf¡¯s spinal cord through its neck, instantly killing it.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his toes off the ground, but his entire body froze in ce for a moment. He transferred the golden wolf¡¯s corpse to his left hand and then made a turned the upper half of his body as he threw the corpse towards three golden wolves who¡¯d just reached the top of the mountain.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow was unleashed once again when he turned around instantly taking down the golden wolves that had intended to attack him from behind.

    Boom!

    The Ice Explosion Technique was initiated, causing the three hundred year golden wolf¡¯s corpse to became an incredibly effective bomb that flipped the three golden wolves leaping towards Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao quickly turned and grabbed another golden wolf corpse with his left hand. He injected the Ice Explosion Technique into it, then flung the corpse out as he lifted his right foot off the ground.

    The advantage his Spiritual Detection gave him was clearly demonstrated at this point: The corpse he¡¯d thrownnded at the edge of the mountain at the same time as when the majority of the pack of golden wolves reached the top of the mountain.

    Blood and flesh scattered amidst an explosion; several golden wolves had been blown apart.

    Huo Yuhao continued to grab wolf corpses with his left hand, causing the golden wolves that perished under his crossbows to continuously be turned into bombs from his Ice Explosion Technique one by one, then be flung out. As explosions continued to resound, it soon felt like the entire Jing Yang Mountain Range was shaking. Sonorous echoes could be heard from between the mountains.

    Over thirty golden wolves had been killed, just like that. Huo Yuhao had only wasted half of his Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s arrows, while the majority of the golden wolves had been killed with his Ice Explosion Technique.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Explosion Technique achieved an effect simr to the Envoy of the Death God¡¯s corpse explosion. The difference was that the Envoy of the Death God¡¯s corpse explosion was a soul skill simr to a lethal poison, in that it needed some time to transform a corpse. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use his technique on arge group of corpses at the same time, but his Ice Explosion Technique could be unleashed faster. The only problem was that he needed to manually inject the Ice Explosion Technique into the corpse. However, the benefity in that it had a negligible impact on Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power.

    A ss 6 Milk Bottle appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands, and he quickly restored his depleted soul power. Meanwhile, the pack of golden wolves had stopped rushing to the top of the mountain; the string of deaths had evidently left them fearful. They were all waiting for their leader to appear.

    Huo Yuhao was also waiting; it would be a good idea for him to escape right now, as the golden wolves wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him. However, his target wasn¡¯t this pack of golden wolves. He was still waiting for his target to appear.

    He put the Zhuge Divine Crossbows on his arms away, as they''d beenpletely expended. This freed up his arms, after which he lightly flexed his Darkgolden Terrorws, causing dark golden light to ripple through the air. They weren¡¯t stained with blood even though Huo Yuhao had used them to kill a golden wolf earlier.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened, and he turned to face a certain direction. Three figures jumped up and lined themselves up in front of him.

    They were three unusuallyrge golden wolves, each of which was more than four meters long. Their thick bodies resembled huge bears, and they stood on their hind limbs, which were especially developed. Their four ws also looked just as sharp and ferocious as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws.

    Their eyes were also blood-red rather from themon brown. Bloodthirsty auras were continuously released from their bodies.

    They were ten thousand year golden wolves and were the leaders of the pack. Based on their auras and soul power undtions, their cultivationsy somewhere between ten thousand and twenty thousand years. However, their practical fighting strength should be beyond twenty thousand years. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had seen such strong soul beasts. Although he was confident in himself, he wasn¡¯tpletely confident that could deal with these golden wolves. However, he didn¡¯t have a choice, as a slim silver figure had also appeared behind the wolves when they revealed themselves.

    This Silverwolf was three meters long, and wasn¡¯t as developed as the golden wolves. However, it was more slender and still well-built, and a crescent shaped patch of silverish-white fury on its forehead. Its silver eyes looked as if they were about to spurt fire as they stared at Huo Yuhao. They were filled with hatred and resentment.

    Both parties appeared very restrained and quiet at this point. Normal strategy dictated that the three golden wolves should¡¯ve surrounded Huo Yuhao in a triangr formation. However, they hadn¡¯t adopted this formation. Instead, they were facing him from one direction. It was obvious that the Silverwolf¡¯s safety was a higher priority to them.

    The Silverwolf was a Silvermoon Wolf King¡ªa ten thousand year soul beast, and the same soul beast that Huo Yuhao was looking for. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid at all now. Instead, he was a little excited. Fear hadpletely vanished from his head, and had been reced withposure.

    He didn¡¯t need to sh with the golden wolves; his only objective was to kill the Silvermoon Wolf King behind them and bring its soul ring away sessfully. However, this would be a difficult task.

    The rest of the golden wolves didn¡¯t attempt to rush to the top of the mountain. As the top of the mountain wasn¡¯t veryrge, if too many of them were to gather, it wouldn¡¯t be advantageous for their leaders. Huo Yuhao¡¯s use of the wolves¡¯ corpses to unleash his Ice Explosion Technique was also another important reason for them being afraid ofing to the top of the mountain.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly made his move: He leapt forwards like an arrow, activelyunching an attack. The moment his body moved, a golden vertical eye opened on his forehead. A mighty aura that seemed to be in control of destiny was suddenly released.

    The three golden wolves and the Silvermoon Wolf King that had already prepared their own strategy were stunned by this, and an indescribable fear filled their hearts.

    At that point, a streak of purplish light shot out from the Eye of Destiny, its target being the Silvermoon Wolf King.

    Yes! This was the strongest spiritual-type strike that Huo Yuhao could currently unleash¡ªthe Staring Soul of Destiny.

    The Silvermoon Wolf King was a soul beast with with extremely great amount of spiritual power, but its body began to shake tremendously, and it screamed ferociously when its gaze met Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    A light suddenly shot out from its head as it tried to resist destiny, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Staring Soul of Destiny!

    This light was blue, red, yellow, green, gold, ck, and purple. When it appeared, the air around the Silvermoon Wolf King began to distort. It distorted so greatly that even the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s body began to be indistinguishable.

    When the purplish-golden light that was filled with the might of destiny struck the seven-colored light, it caused it to distort furiously. It turned into a huge whirlpool that wanted to crush Huo Yuhao¡¯s Staring Soul of Destiny!

    A white projection appeared behind Huo Yuhao. This projection had a swollen, extremely plump body, but ten golden patterns surfaced on its body. The entire projection shed once before disappearing. However, the Staring Soul of Destiny¡¯s radiance became even brighter.

    The seven-colored whirlpool was then crushed, and the Silvermoon Wolf King roared pitifully. Its silver eyes burst, and fresh blood flowed out of them. Its body also rolled across the ground before it managed to stop itself and force itself to stand back up.

    It was extremely powerful! Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t excited now; he was shocked.

    The Staring Soul of Destiny was his strongest spiritual attack. He was capable of threatening a seven-ringed soul sage with it. When he¡¯d unleashed his attack, the Eye of Destiny had already increased the intensity of his attack to its highest point, and had sucked out almost all of the spiritual power in his second mental sea. It had even borrowed the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power toplete the attack. It was an attack that he could only use once a day.

    Huo Yuhao had once unleashed this strike against a two thousand year soul beast during a test in the Ultimate Soldier n. That soul beast had instantly died, its head exploding.

    The Silvermoon Wolf King should¡¯ve only just reached the ten thousand year level. However, it had still managed to withstand Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. Huo Yuhao had even borrowed the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s strength and spiritual power to increase his own power in order to make it unbearable for the Silvermoon Wolf King. Yet the Silvermoon Wolf King hadn¡¯t died, even though its eyes had burst. This had put a little dent in Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    Everything seemed to have happened very slowly, but all of this actually urred extremely quickly.

 Chapter 165: Fourth Soul Ring

    At this point, Huo Yuhao relied on his explosive strength. Once the three golden wolves began to attack him, it would be very difficult for him to escape.

    When he unleashed his strongest strike, his Imitation also exhibited a great effect. The mighty Ice Empress Aura spread out, and the blood-red soul ring started to shine extremely brightly.

    The three golden wolves that were about to leap towards him stopped in their tracks. Among the surrounding pack of golden wolves, those that had less than a thousand years of cultivation all copsed to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao exploited this opportunity, and his third soul skill, Enfeeblement, turned into a patch of white light that scattered. The Silvermoon Wolf King, the three golden wolves and the rest of the golden wolves were all struck by this white light.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbows fired at this moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss 5 soul thruster behind his back was also activated with full force, propelling his body forward like a shooting star.

    Although his n had deviated, he didn¡¯t retreat. He still needed toplete it. Even if he couldn¡¯t kill the Silvermoon Wolf King, he had to burst forward. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have any chance left.

    Spiritual Interference was unleashed following the Enfeeblement. The three golden wolves weren¡¯t affected that much, but the rest of the golden wolves weren¡¯t so fortunate. That was also key to ensuring Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape.

    The Silvermoon Wolf King let out a vicious howl. Although it had already lost both its eyes, it still relied on its immense spiritual power to predict Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions. Its howl also jolted the three golden wolves, who were still reeling in shock from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation. The three huge wolves blocked Huo Yuhao and prevented him from proceeding forward.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbows¡¯ arrows could pierce through thousand year golden wolves¡¯ bodies, but they only created sparks when they struck the three golden wolves. The three golden wolves shut their eyes and lifted their ws. They kept on wing towards the arrows. Although they felt pain, they weren¡¯t really harmed.

    Huo Yuhao collided with the three golden wolves in front of him at this moment.

    His speed was frightening under the effect of the ss 5 soul tool. Huo Yuhao hugged his knees to his chest and used his hands to hug his legs as he lowered his head. This was to reduce the surface area of his collision.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor covered his entire body. He was currently like an enormous ice ball.

    The three golden wolves reacted quickly. The burliest golden wolf in the center stood up straight, and its two ws pierced towards Huo Yuhao as it let out an ear-piercing roar. The golden wolf on the left retreated rapidly and protected the Silvermoon Wolf King. The golden wolf on the right teamed up with the central golden wolf to attack Huo Yuhao.

    Indeed, the higher the cultivation of a soul beast, the more intelligent it was. The three golden wolvesplemented each other very well, and worked together efficiently.

    Although the Enfeeblement had taken effect on them, their offensive strength didn¡¯t dip by a lot. After all, Huo Yuhao was still some way off from their abilities. That was why Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill didn¡¯t affect them too much.

    Under normal circumstances, Huo Yuhao¡¯s best choice was to use his Spiritual Detection to try and avoid the golden wolves¡¯ attacks. However, this would make it impossible for him to burst past them.

    Huo Yuhao looked very calm now. It was as if it wasn¡¯t his body that was was about to be struck.

    There was no resistance or attack. He chose to take the strikes of the two golden wolves forcefully!

    A scarlet-golden radiance suddenly shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. In the pitch-dark night, another sun seemed to rise from the mountaintop.

    The strikes of the two golden wolvesnded on the scarlet-golden light barrier that appeared, and a miraculous scene urred. The scarlet-golden light barrier¡¯s surface seemed to ripple, and the strikes of the golden wolves slid off. They couldn¡¯t prate it.

    Huo Yuhao groaned, and his ss 5 soul thruster propelled him forward at maximum speed. He collided with the golden wolves and pushed them aside.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer restrained the ws of the golden wolf that was originally in front of Huo Yuhao. However, he was still struck in the back by the golden wolf that was originally at his left side. The scarlet-golden barrier weakened a little. But Huo Yuhao managed to lift his legs, and two balls of light were shot out from the balls of his feet. It was yet another soul thruster. Although it was only a ss 3 soul thruster, it managed to propel him forward extremely rapidly. He burst past the two golden wolves instantly.

    An intense azure light now shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. A weird golden light also shed across his Eye of Destiny beforending on the Silvermoon Wolf King, which was spitting out a huge silver ball of light.

    The intense azure light spread and carried a chill with a deste aura that filled the entire top of the mountain. Everything within a 10 meter radius was engulfed by this azure light. It was the Domain of Perpetual Ice.

    The silver ball of light spat out by the Silvermoon Wolf King had already been converted into a huge fireball. However, it was instantly extinguished by the azure-green Domain of Perpetual Ice. Not even a single spark was left.

    Huo Yuhao was in a delicate position now. Behind him were the two golden wolves that had tried to block him earlier. To his front left was the golden wolf that was protecting the Silvermoon Wolf King, whereas the Silvermoon Wolf King itself was less than five meters from him, and bursting forward.

    The Domain of Perpetual Ice was indeed very powerful. The four wolves instantly slowed down tremendously as their bodies were coated with ayer of frost. However, they were all too powerful for Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation was insufficient to freeze thempletely. Even so, Huo Yuhao still earned himself a great opportunity by slowing them down.

    The golden wolf that was protecting the Silvermoon Wolf King became much slower. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body twisted in the air, and he avoided its ws. He came before the Silvermoon Wolf King. At this point, the three golden wolves were behind him, while the Silvermoon Wolf King was in front of him. He was surrounded by the four wolves now.

    A cold look appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He didn¡¯t even bother with the three golden wolves behind him. The Domain of Perpetual Ice could at least ensure that they couldn¡¯t attack within the next three seconds. What he had to do now was deal with the Silvermoon Wolf King before the three golden wolves recovered.

    He unleashed everything that he was holding in earlier. The Silvermoon Wolf King was also affected by the Domain of Perpetual Ice, and its movement were slowed. However, its resistance was superior to the three golden wolves, so it was recovering faster. However, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t grant it the opportunity to fully recover.

    An azure-blue light shed in his left hand before disappearing. Apressed boom sounded right in front of the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s face. The frozen bloodstains on its fur that were left by the Domain of Perpetual Ice exploded.

    When the Silvermoon Wolf King was struck by the Destiny Soul Gaze, its eyeballs had been blown apart as it neutralized the impact of Spiritual Shock, and its crushed eyeballs had left a pile of fluid.

    Although its body wasn¡¯t frozen by the Domain of Perpetual Ice, it couldn¡¯t prevent these fluids from flowing out. And now, Huo Yuhao used the Ice Explosion Technique to blow that frozen fluid apart.

    The explosive force of this direct explosion was naturally iparable to the explosive force when the Ice Explosion Technique was injected into a corpse. However, a portion of the ice exploded inside the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s eye sockets! In addition, it happened very suddenly.

    The Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s body suddenly rose up as it screamed in pain. The intense pain caused it to lose its cool and judgement.

    The Darkgolden Terrorws turned into four meter-long des of light that stabbed into the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s body.

    This ten thousand year Silvermoon Wolf King was very powerful. It seemed to possess something like an automatic defensive soul tool when the Darkgolden Terrorws stabbed into its body. The seven-colored radiance that had once appeared from it shed again. It was different from the time it tried to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. This time, Huo Yuhao only felt that his Darkgolden Terrorws had stopped seven times. After seven roars were heard, he finally managed to strike the Silvermoon Wolf King.

    As these seven roars were released, seven different forms ¨C water ripples, mes, tough ramparts, a rapid whirlwind, a light shield, a dark barrier and a lightning web ¨C were adopted. These seven forms represented the seven elements, and greatly diminished the effect of the Darkgolden Terrorws.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t manage to kill the Silvermoon Wolf King even though he had stabbed his ws into the vital area between its chest and belly.

    The three golden wolves behind Huo Yuhao had recovered by now, and they burst towards him.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and his entire body seemed to swell. His gaze remained calm. It was as if he had predicted this. His left hand drummed against his chest, and a blinding golden light started to spread from his body. It turned into a golden barrier two meters in diameter. The three golden wolves couldn¡¯t prate this golden barrier with their attacks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire spine had already turned a blinding azure-green. This was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton¡¯s strongest attack, the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath!

    From Rank 30 to Rank 40, the greatest transformation that had urred was that he no longer had to rely on the Haodong Power to support his strongest few soul skills.

    Although Huo Yuhao was now spent, and his soul power was almostpletely depleted, he still appeared very ferocious as the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath was unleashed. The four hundred thousand year soul ring caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest strike to make a clean sweep through the Silvermoon Wolf King.

    His Destiny Soul Gaze had destroyed the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s eyes, and his Darkgolden Terrorws had torn its seven-elements defense apart. The Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath now dealt the fatal blow. This was the power of Huo Yuhao, the Eyes of Asura.

    Huo Yuhao jumped forward, and his right hand¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws stabbed into the frozen Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s neck. He flung the Silvermoon Wolf King into the air forcefully after that, then leapt forward and used the ss 5 soul thruster behind his back to increase his speed. He chased after the frozen Silvermoon Wolf King and brought it to an abyss at the bottom of a cliff. The golden wolves thaty in ambush at the sides of the cliff were still affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Enfeeblement, and could only watch helplessly as that ball of golden light shot away.

    Even at this point, the three golden wolves still couldn¡¯t prate the golden light barrier.

    A pair of wings from a flying-type soul tool pped open, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s body stopped falling, before rapidly flying into the distance.

    No matter how strong metal-type soul beasts were in the Jing Yang Mountain Range, they couldn¡¯t change the fact that they couldn¡¯t fly. They watched helplessly as Huo Yuhao turned into a ball of golden light and disappeared into the horizon. Theyer of golden light around him also diminished, and a dim mistsurged out from him. The vapor engulfed his entire body, and his aura disappeared as it did so.

    The three golden wolves roared furiously, and burst out running towards the foot of the mountain. However, it was impossible for them to chase Huo Yuhao. After a few minutes, the trail of mist had already disappeared into the clouds between the mountains.

    ¡­...

    Huo Yuhao finally let out a long breath of relief after he finished nourishing his soul power with a ss 6 Milk Bottle.

    Everything had seemed to be under his control. However, he had spent more than ten seconds gliding through the air after activating his flying soul tool.. He had done that so he could use all his remaining soul power to support his Imitation as a means of concealing himself.

    Even though he had now restored almost half of his soul power using the Milk Bottle, he still felt fatigued.

    While this battle was a little risky for Huo Yuhao, it was still within his projections. It was only the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s abilities that were beyond his expectations. However, he used his immense explosive strength to counteract the slight deviation in his n.

    It was very difficult to find a suitable spiritual-type soul beast for himself. Since he had found one, he couldn¡¯t let it go. He had asked Ju Zi and Ke Ke to leave first so that he could unleash his full abilities. Two facts had let him keep his life. The first was his location. Since he was high on a mountain, it gave him an opportunity to fly into the air to shake off his enemies.

    If he had stayed the ground, he would have needed to gain some altitude after using a flight soul tool. With the golden wolves¡¯ leaping abilities, they would have been able to attack him three times each. That was equivalent to nine strikes, since there were three golden wolves!

    However, he had been on top of the mountain. When he jumped from the top of the mountain, the golden wolves lost their ability to pursue him. Time was very precious at that point. After Huo Yuhao used all his strength to kill the Silvermoon Wolf King, every second was very critical.

    The other reason was that he had another soul tool on his chest, which was there before he left Shrek Academy.

    This soul tool was rted to Jing Hongchen¡¯s trip to Shrek Academy. Jing Hongchen had been forced to leave behind a soul tool when threatened by Elder Mu. Eventually, he left a ss 9 soul tool behind, Hongchen¡¯s Blessing.

    Hongchen¡¯s Blessing could do two things. First, it had a defensive capability that could be automatically initiated. The scarlet-golden light barrier that Huo Yuhao had used to defend against the golden wolves¡¯ attacks earlier was a sign that Hongchen¡¯s Yearning had been initiated. The other thing it could do was the bright golden light barrier that Huo Yuhao had activated at the end, an Invincible Barrier thatsted fifteen seconds. This Invincible Barrier could withstand an offensive force three times Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength.

    While the three golden wolves were very strong, they weren¡¯t three times stronger than Huo Yuhao. This allowed him to escape after he killed the Silvermoon Wolf King. Without this ss 9 soul tool, Huo Yuhao would¡¯ve been torn apart by the four wolves. The best result he could¡¯ve achieved was to kill one of them.

    Huo Yuhao had kept his cool and stayed behind because he had the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. He eventually achieved his goal, too. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered by soul beasts as he flew through the sky with his Imitation skill in ce.

    In addition, it was veryte at night. If it were daytime, he would have been more likely to show some ws.

    Although the battle had ended very quickly, Huo Yuhao was spent. Not only was his soul power greatly depleted, but his own spiritual power and energy were also mostly expended. Huo Yuhao was certain that he wouldn¡¯t have been calm enough to win this fight without the tough training that he had gone through in the Ultimate Soldier n.

    He was even sweating profusely at this moment. The conditions in the Jing Yang Mountain Range couldn¡¯t be judged based on his experience in the Great Star Dou Forest. He needed to be more cautious in the future.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t being too bold, either. He could have escaped, even though he might not have killed the Silvermoon Wolf King, since he had the fifteen seconds of protection from the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing¡¯s Invincible Barrier. His life was never in danger. Huo Yuhao still treasured his life.

    Huo Yuhao managed to direct his flying-type soul tool out of the main branch of the Jing Yang Mountain Range as he nourished his soul power with the Milk Bottle. However, he was getting more and more exhausted. More importantly, a ck soul ring started to surface from the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s body.

    The soul ring that surfaced after a soul beast perished only remained for a certain period of time. If there was too much of a dy, the soul ring would dissipate on its own.

    Huo Yuhao had expended a lot of effort to get this soul ring, so he couldn¡¯t waste it. He controlled the flying-type soul tool and slowly descended towards the branched trail beneath him. He needed to find a ce to absorb his fourth soul ring. At the same time, he needed to regain some of his energy.

    The tremendous depletion of his second mental sea meant he had lost his ability to use the Eye of Destiny temporarily. He needed at least a day to fully recover.

    Huo Yuhao was still in a good mood after all that had happened. He had obtained his fourth soul ring, which meant that his abilities could be enhanced further. He had been unable to improve recently because of the bottleneck in his cultivation. After absorbing this soul ring, he could reach Rank 41, and Rank 42 was not out of the question. He could be an official Soul Ancestor!

    ¡­...

    Huo Yuhao found a secluded area along the branched trail of the mountain range, and used his Spiritual Detection to scan his surroundings. After he confirmed that there was nothing that could threaten him within a two-kilometer radius, he quietly sat down on arge mountain rock.

    As a golden light shed, he first flung out a golden wolf¡¯s corpse. This golden wolf was killed by him previously. It had had a cultivation of around a thousand years.

    Huo Yuhao pressed his right hand against the golden wolf¡¯s corpse and muttered something under his breath. He was speaking in a weirdnguage, but his body started to shine with weird streaks of light.

    The light then changed, starting from his eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes turned grey, and were filled with a sense of death.

    The greyish light circted, and his right hand was slowly coated in ayer of blurry, greyish light. The greyish color was slowly injected into the head of the golden wolf¡¯s corpse, and a weird scene appeared.

    The dead golden wolf started to tremble slightly. Its fur gradually stood on end, and its huge body slowly crawled to its feet. However, its brownish-yellow eyes had turned grey, just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s. It was a terrifying scene to watch.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand, and his index finger touched the golden wolf¡¯s forehead lightly. The golden wolf¡¯s body trembled a little, and the greyish color in its eyes turned into jumping, greyish mes.

    ¡°Protect me and you won¡¯te to harm.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was deep and captivating. The golden wolf nodded its head in a very human manner after hearing his words. After that, it jumped away and disappeared into the forest.

    Huo Yuhao breathed out and revealed a delighted look. This was his real secret. Even in Shrek Academy, no one knew about it. It was necromancy that came from the Divine Law of Necromancy, taught to him by Cmity Necromancer Electrolux.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power cultivation broke the Rank 40 barrier, Electrolux told him that he could start cultivating necromancy.

    Huo Yuhao was a little doubtful about necromancy at the start, but he soon epted it under Electrolux¡¯s guidance.

    Electrolux told Huo Yuhao that he had a story that belonged to him. However, this story was very long, and he was unwilling to tell it to Huo Yuhao at that point in time. His memory had only been partially restored, and he needed it to beplete before he could be clearer about things.

    However, he was certain about one thing. Necromancy would never affect Huo Yuhao¡¯s will. Any skill could be used for good or bad purposes. Necromancy was very powerful and magical, and waspletely different from the soul rings, soul power, soul skills, and soul bones in this world. It was an independent yet immense force. However, it could be practiced through abination of soul power and incantations. This was a profound skill that had been derived by Electrolux after being fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body for many years.

    Huo Yuhao decided to ept Electrolux¡¯s teachings after a period of consideration. As he entered the world of necromancy, he slowly felt the charm of it.

    True necromancy was far superior to the evil soul skills that the Envoy of the Death God had used. Necromancy involved research on souls, especially those after death.

    Electrolux told Huo Yuhao that the first necromancer in his original world learned the art for the sake of reviving his dead wife. Although he wasn¡¯t able to revive his wife, her soul was resurrected, and he managed to live with his wife¡¯s soul until he himself perished.

    Huo Yuhao could only grasp very little, as his cultivation was too low. However, he had managed to develop his foundation in necromancy over the past two years. Right now, he had used necromancy to make the golden wolf his bodyguard temporarily. Although it wouldn¡¯t be for long, it would be long enough for him to absorb his fourth soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a determined look as he ced the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s corpse on the ground. He was certain that even an eight-ringed Soul Douluo couldn¡¯t deal with a Silvermoon Wolf King easily under normal conditions. The Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s fighting strength was immense, and its spiritual power was also greater than that of most ordinary soul beasts. More frighteningly, it could enve other wolf-type soul beasts. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t unleashed his explosive killing power at the very start, along with his powerful soul skills, he wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against the Silvermoon Wolf King.

    Huo Yuhao was very certain that the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor was unable to resist the golden wolves¡¯ attacks, and that he truly needed Hongchen¡¯s Blessing to protect himself. He wasn¡¯t capable of dealing with three golden wolves at his current cultivation level.

    And the Silvermoon Wolf King was even stronger than them. It had a seven-elements defense that made it very resolute. If he hadn¡¯t used the Destiny Soul Gaze at the start to critically injure the Silvermoon Wolf King and affect its spiritual powers, the battle wouldn¡¯t have ended so easily.

    However, all that was in the past. Huo Yuhao had seeded, and the most important thing that he had to do now was absorb his fourth soul ring.

    His gentle soul power rose, and the Mysterious Heaven Technique circted normally. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power gradually guided the ck soul ring hovering over the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s corpse towards him.

    It was a ten-thousand year soul ring, but this soul ring wasn¡¯t just an ordinary ck. Seven types of light subtly shed within it, and Huo Yuhao could clearly sense the undtions of the seven elements.

    Back when he was absorbing his third soul ring from the Purplespirit Wolf, Huo Yuhao had been quite embarrassed, although he wasn¡¯t afraid at all. That was because Elder Mu had been guarding out in front of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion for him.

    Right now, he was absorbing a ten-thousand year soul ring again. However, he was doing it by a trail out in the Jing Yang Mountain Range.

    As the ck soul ring entered his body, there were only two words to describe Huo Yuhao¡¯s feelings ¨C blown away.

    When the ck soul ring fused with his body, Huo Yuhao felt as if his entire body was about to blow apart. His entire person shook tremendously, and ayer of seven-colored light shone from his body to a diameter of three meters before dimming. Huo Yuhao¡¯s face also turned pale.

    He never expected the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s aura to be so domineering. This might did note from the immense spiritual power at the core of the soul ring, but from the strength of the elements within it.

    Water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness and thunder, which were only achieved after ten thousand years of cultivation. The seven elements contained their own abilities, but they were all unleashed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body in that instant.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s will was already very strong. However, he felt as if his entire body was about to explode when the frightening force blew apart. It wasn¡¯t afortable feeling at all!

    However, he could only endure!

    While enduring it was pure torment to Huo Yuhao, he could reap great benefits if he managed to sessfully pass this test

    His soul power circted fully, and started to ept the soul ring. At the same time, two waves of force were released inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Silvermoon Wolf King was infringing on the territory of the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress was going to retaliate!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned azure-green at this instant, a color that originated from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton.

    An intense azure light spread to every corner of his body. A chilly aura instantly repressed the manic explosive force. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s aura was also released at this moment, and repressed the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s soul ring.

    While the Silvermoon Wolf King was very powerful, how could itpare to a four-hundred thousand year soul beast that was one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts and Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the Ice Empress?

    The all-engulfing, frightening will and deste aura of the Ice Empress instantly repressed the manic struggle.

    However, the Silvermoon Wolf King was an arrogant creature. It wouldn¡¯t submit even under such circumstances. Since it couldn¡¯t match up in terms of soul power, it activated its dominant spiritual power. However, once it did so, it collided with a spiritual barrier.

    The Skydream Iceworm was not as hot-tempered as the Ice Empress, but the Silvermoon Wolf King had crossed its bottom line.

    Huo Yuhao had expended a lot of effort to kill this soul beast. He was fatigued now and couldn¡¯t be counted on to absorb the soul ring. After remaining silent for so long, the Skydream Iceworm decided that it had to do something¡­ and so the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s spiritual power didn¡¯t work.

    In terms of species, the Iceworms couldn¡¯tpare to the Silverwolves. They weren¡¯t even on the same level. However, the Silvermoon Wolf King wasn¡¯t anywhere near as old as the Skydream Iceworm!

    Even in the Great Star Dou Forest, Skydream Iceworms were treated as treasures by the other hundred-thousand year soul beasts. No soul beasts in the world couldpare to Skydream Iceworms in terms of spiritual power. The only weakness of the Skydream Iceworms was that they didn¡¯t have any offensive abilities.

    However, they were immensely strong in terms of defense.

    The fusion process became much easier with the help of the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm. The ck fourth soul ring was slowly imprinted onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul and body after a brief period of torment.

    Not only this, but the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress also took this opportunity to further fuse their powers into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The origin power released by the Ice Empress¡¯ skeleton slowlybined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Not only did this enhance his soul power, it also made his body tougher.

    The Skydream Iceworm used his own spiritual power to restore Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea and second mental sea. At the same time, it expanded the size of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea.

    The leap from a soul elder to a soul ancestor was very important for every soul master. This signified that they had progressed from the beginner stage to the intermediate stage. Even though such an appraisal couldn¡¯t be used on someone as talented as Huo Yuhao, his abilities did indeed improve by another level. Perhaps it was because the Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s soul ring was strong enough, or the Ice Empress and Skydream¡¯s powers were too great, but after fusing with his fourth soul ring, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power crossed Rank 41 and reached Rank 42. This was a delightful surprise for Huo Yuhao, whose cultivation speed had slowed down greatly.

    ¡­...

    It was already daybreak when he opened his eyes. The trail was foggy, and he was unable to see the sunrise, so he couldn¡¯t cultivate his Purple Demon Eyes today.

    Huo Yuhao jumped up and stretched. An immense force surged through his entire body, which was a very refreshing feeling. His body also became much more flexible. The increase in his soul power caused his overall abilities to jump by twenty percent. While he still couldn¡¯t use the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath twice with his current abilities, he could at least unleash the Domain of Perpetual Ice another time.

    ¡°I wonder how much time has passed.¡± With his previous experience of how long it took him to absorb soul rings, Huo Yuhao was uncertain whether it was the second, third, or even the fourth morning.

    His mind wavered, and a golden light shone from his eyes. One white, one purple, and two ck soul rings rose from his feet. His Spiritual Detection was unleashed, and Huo Yuhao was delighted to feel that it had been enhanced once again. He was now able to increase his detection to a six-hundred meter radius. If he changed his detection to make it unidirectional, he could double the distance!

    The Silvermoon Wolf King¡¯s corpse was as stiff as ever. The ice imbuing it couldn¡¯t be melted so easily.

    Huo Yuhao put the corpse away in his storage-type soul tool, and his four soul rings also disappeared. His trip to the Jing Yang Mountain Range wasn¡¯t a waste after all. He wondered what his fourth soul ring¡¯s ability was.

    As he thought about it, the four soul rings that had disappeared earlier surfaced once again. The ck fourth soul ring lit up brightly, and a soul skill activated.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned after it was disyed. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he should be happy or worried.

    He naturally expected the seven-colored, seven-elements defense of the Silvermoon Wolf King. It was an impressive defensive skill!

    However, that was not what he had obtained. It wasn¡¯t a defensive-type soul skill. Rather, it was¡­

 Chapter 166: Fatal Injury!

    Huo Yuhao stood still, dazed momentarily. He shook his head andughed uncontrobly. Forget it, it wasn¡¯t really a bad thing, anyways he could still continue to cultivate with this fourth soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition had been almost fully restored by this point, and his second mental sea could once again unleash the immense power of the Destiny Soul Gaze.

    He wondered how Ju Zi and Ke Ke were doing. He had to meet up with them soon.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the sky while thinking. He wanted to proceed towards the outside of these branching mountains. He could tell that this branching trail wasn¡¯t the same one they¡¯d passed when they entered the main trail. It should be a neighboring trail.

    A loud boom suddenly sounded and Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks as he heard it.

    He looked in the direction the sound came from with a puzzled expression. It seemed to be from the main trail, but the loud boom wasn¡¯t unleashed by a soul beast¡¯s soul skill. The explosive, metallic smell seemed to be reminiscent of a soul engineer.

    Were they¡­?

    Huo Yuhao immediately changed directions without thinking. He didn¡¯t even use a flying-type soul tool, instead running in the direction of the sound. As he burst forward, he pointed his finger outwards, and a golden figure caught up to him. Huo Yuhao lifted his hand to pat the necromantic golden wolf. Huo Yuhao extinguished its preserved soul, and put its corpse away in his storage-type soul tool.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke were in a very awkward situation right now. Since they lost contact with Huo Yuhao, they hadn¡¯t been doing too well.

    When Huo Yuhao threw the mechanical legs of the all-terrain exploration soul tool, Ju Zi already knew that she didn¡¯t have a choice. Huo Yuhao was bound to turn the soul tool over. Hence she could only passively control the soul tool to ensure their safety.

    The golden wolves were not as quick as the soul tool when it rolled down the mountain. When it finally stopped rolling, there were no longer any golden wolves chasing after them.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke rushed out of the all-terrain exploration soul tool at the first possible moment to vomit. How could they feel good after rolling almost a kilometer down a mountain in five minutes?

    Then they passed out, they didn¡¯t even crawl back into the all-terrain exploration soul tool

    They were in rather good luck though. No soul beasts found them while they were unconscious. They regained consciousness slowly on the second morning as the sun shone upon them. Next the two of them decided to return to find Huo Yuhao, just after resting for a moment.

    The two of them were in different states of mind, but they remained silent, and didn¡¯t interact with one another. This was especially so for Ju Zi, who experienced therge spectrum of emotions. At times, she was panicked and anxious, at others, she was sad and hot-tempered.

    This was Ke Ke¡¯s first time seeing her disy so many emotions in one go.

    Ke Ke was more straightforwardpared to her. She only thought of Huo Yuhao¡¯s resolute expression and confidence when they were separating.

    Ke Ke could still recall a reverberating sound from the top of the mountain when they were rolling down. Without a doubt, this sound came from the pack of golden wolves Huo Yuhao had attracted! At that moment, she knew that she would never forget Huo Yuhao. They might have only been friends, or she could have developed feelings for him. Regardless, Huo Yuhao left a deep impression on her young heart.

    Although they didn¡¯t interact with each other much, they still silently acknowledged that they had to rescue Huo Yuhao!

    Which was why they rested for only a short while. After their bodies recovered, they immediately controlled the battered all-terrain exploration soul tool to venture deep back into the Jing Yang Mountain Range. They tried to find Huo Yuhao, and had spent thest two days doing so.

    They met many soul beasts over thest two days. However, they were never in real danger since they were ss 5 soul engineers, and even had the all-terrain exploration soul tool to protect them.

    But, when they reached the top of the mountain, all they could find was traces of his battle, they couldn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao.

    They also tried to search for him in the nearby mountains. They refused to believe that Huo Yuhao was dead. Despite this, they didn¡¯t make any progress.

    When they were finally prepared to leave and proceed towards the old rendezvous point, they were attacked by some powerful soul beasts.

    Enemies often crossed each other¡¯s path. They met the same pack of golden wolves that Huo Yuhao shook off the other day.

    Through the death of the Silvermoon Wolf King the three golden wolves were dealt a vicious blow. The Silvermoon Wolf King had been extremely sensitive to the raw materials most suitable for the metal-type wolves¡¯ cultivation. Under its guidance the abilities of the entire wolf pack increased by about twenty percent. This was a staggering figure! This meant that a golden wolf could have a hundred and twenty years of cultivation even if it had only cultivated for a hundred years.

    However, the Silvermoon Wolf King was in by Huo Yuhao just like that. They didn¡¯t even know that the Silvermoon Wolf King was dead yet. Over the past two days, the three golden wolves frantically led the rest of the wolf pack to search for the Silvermoon Wolf King. Even when they met other soul beasts, they would kill them mercilessly. Around the main trail, there were no other soul beasts that couldpete with this wolf pack.

    The three golden wolves were highly intelligent. Upon seeing the damaged metal ball, they didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediately had the whole wolf pack attack. Ju Zi and Ke Ke were quickly embroiled in a tough battle.

    They had many soul tools as they were ss 5 soul engineers, so they still managed to kill many low-level golden wolves.

    However, their soul power was limited! They didn¡¯t dare to use flying-type soul tools in broad daylight either. They also didn¡¯t possess an Imitation-like soul skill that Huo Yuhao had. If they entered the air, they were bound to be attacked by soul beasts from all directions. Moreover, the three golden wolves could leap more than ten meters high, and they certainly wouldn¡¯t give them an opportunity to escape.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The huge cannon in Ke Ke¡¯s hands fired at a leaping golden wolf king, sparks shed on the golden wolf¡¯s king body, and it was sent flying away more than ten meters, temporarily incapacitated.

    This was Ke Ke¡¯s Wind Lightning Cannon. Possessing the speed of wind and the crackle of thunder, it was extremely powerful. It was especially useful against these metal-type soul beasts.

    However, it also greatly depleted Ke Ke¡¯s soul power. These golden wolves were just too defensively overbearing. Even the ordinary wolves were only critically injured when struck. As for the golden wolf kings, they were only numbed temporarily.

    The more advanced students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy all had their own specializations in weaponized soul tool research. Like how Ke Ke chose heavy cannons and Ju Zi chose tangerines. They usedpletely different types of soul tools

    Ju Zi flung countless tangerines at the wolf pack. Intense balls of light would suddenly shine before piercing screams sounded. The lights touched the golden wolves¡¯ bodies, and tremendous explosions followed.

    There were many ss 5 soul tools. However, Ju Zi¡¯s problem was with her body. She wasn¡¯t nearly as physically tough as Huo Yuhao. Even Ke Ke was far inferior to Huo Yuhao. But that¡¯s why Ju Zi chased the advantage of quantity over quality.

    The two of them worked in cohesion. One was responsible for resisting the wolf pack, while the other one focused on attacking them. This managed to put them in a rtivelyfortable position against the wolf pack. However, they weren¡¯t hopeful for their chances.

    This wolf pack was very strong, even without the Silvermoon Wolf King. How did Huo Yuhao manage to resist them? More importantly, how were they going to escape now?

    ¡°Ke Ke, we can¡¯t go on like this much longer. Our soul power won¡¯tst!¡± Ju Zi shouted as she resisted the wolf pack. Her eyes still revealed a sense ofposure.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Ke Ke asked anxiously.

    Ju Zi replied decisively, ¡°We¡¯ll break out of this trap. Then we return to the all-terrain exploration soul tool. I¡¯ll control it while you¡¯ll set up the cannons to open a path for us, and we¡¯ll force our way out.¡±

    Ke Ke hesitated. ¡°Can we run faster than the wolf pack?¡±

    Ju Zi said in a deep voice, ¡°Did you forget how we escaped thest time? We can still use that trick if we make it to the top of the mountain in front of us.¡±

    Ke Ke¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± They erupted with force and made the wolf pack retreat. They both looked extremely spent. At this point, Ju Zi¡¯s fifth soul ring shone and released two tangerines with purple skins. She threw one towards Ke Ke, and stuffed the other in her mouth. Then they squeezed their way into the all-terrain soul tool.

    Ju Zi scattered may tangerine soul bombs, keeping the golden wolves at bay. Ju Zi had already started controlling the all-terrain exploration soul tool to move at its fastest speeds.

    The six mechanical legs stood up and supported the distorted metal ball. The legs took big steps as they rushed up the closest mountain.

    Ke Ke¡¯s heavy cannons were positioned in the front windows. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with conserving her soul power now. While the purple tangerine Ju Zi gave her was very sour, it managed to restore her soul power by about thirty percent. It was the strongest ability of Ju Zi¡¯s food-type martial soul.

    Three sts fired from the Wind Lightning Cannon towards the wolf pack, and a piercing hum loosed from the all-terrain exploration soul tool as Ju Zi filled it with her soul power. Its six mechanical legs began moving rapidly, bursting out towards the front.

    Ju Zi made the right choice. The sudden changes left the Golden Wolves shocked, and unable to react in time. Two of the three Golden Wolf Kings were stunned already, and they managed to brush past them easily.

    However, thest Golden Wolf King was still in peak condition, and its pressure erupted forth.

    The hair on its back stood on end, and shed with an intense golden glow. It faced the sky and roared furiously then its body swelled, and its muscles bulged in an exaggerated manner. It started to chase after the all-terrain exploration soul tool like a bolt of lightning.

    The all-terrain exploration soul tool was extremely swift with its top speeds engaged. However, it still needed some time to elerate to full speed.

    The Golden Wolves might have lost their long-range offensive abilities, but their strength, speed and defense were still fearsome.

    The Golden Wolf King hurtled forward. It lowered its head and rammed it into the all-terrain exploration soul tool.

    If Huo Yuhao were around, he could use his Spiritual Detection to sense the changes in their surroundings and react quickly by attacking behind them. However, Ju Zi and Ke Ke weren¡¯t Huo Yuhao, let alone the fact that they were exhausted. In addition, Ke Ke had also depleted a lot of her energy trying to carve out an escape route just now. Ju Zi still activated a defensive barrier, but the Golden Wolf King also still crashed against it.

    The all-terrain exploration soul tool could definitely withstand one all-out strike from a ss 6 soul engineer. However, its defensive barrier was only ss 5 right now, since it was dependent on the user¡¯s cultivation.

    The Golden Wolf King¡¯s fierce attack overcame the ss 5 soul tool barrier instantly. Its ws grazed against the metal ball maniacally, and its head struck the side of the all-terrain exploration soul tool heavily.

    The all-terrain exploration soul tool was indeed durable. Although struck off bnce, the Golden Wolf King¡¯s attack only left a dent, and couldn¡¯t put a hole in the soul tool.

    However, this was still fatal for Ju Zi and Ke Ke.

    The imbnced all-terrain exploration soul tool fell forward, its forward eleration dropping significantly. When Ju Zi managed to stabilize it, the wolf pack had already caught up. Their method of attacking was very simple. They followed the Golden Wolf King¡¯s example and knocked against the soul tool heavily. However, they were aiming for the six mechanical legs instead.

    The legs of this soul tool were constructed using special materials, and were rather durable. However, they had still been slightly damaged over the past few days, most notably on the day when they rolled down a mountain. Although they could still go without breaking, they couldn¡¯t ensure bnce anymore!

    The soul tool copsed and started rolling, much to Ke Ke and Ju Zi¡¯s dismay. The Golden Wolves rushed up to w at the soul tool. Their bodies engulfed the whole soul tool, and their teeth and ws made annoying, scratching noises as they grazed against the metal soul tool. Dents and scratches started appearing all over the surface of the soul tool.

    Although the Golden Wolves were temporarily dyed by the highly resistant metal exterior, Ju Zi and Ke Ke couldn¡¯t make the all-terrain exploration soul tool stand anymore.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡± A huge w print suddenly appeared on the all-terrain exploration soul tool, visible even from the inside.

    The frightening strength behind it and reverberating bang revealed that this was the work of the Golden Wolf King. To make matters worse, the other Golden Wolf Kings were also rushing over. It was only a matter of time before the all-terrain exploration soul tool was torn to pieces.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke looked at one another. They could see the destion in the other¡¯s eyes, and face.

    They no longer had a chance. They didn¡¯t dare to open the crystal ss door anymore either, as the Golden Wolves would certainly exploit the opportunity to force their way into the soul tool.

    If death happened instantly, they might perish before they felt afraid. Looking at it like that, it wasn¡¯t too scary. The truly frightening thing was waiting for death when they looked at the scene of carnage around them. The scratching sounds made by the sharp ws grazing against the metal surface of the soul tool caused Ju Zi and Ke Ke to shudder in fear.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that we¡¯d die here today.¡± Ju Zi sighed. Her eyes weren¡¯t filled with fear, but indignation.

    ¡°Daddy, your little Ju Zi can¡¯t avenge you anymore. Our n can never be fulfilled. I¡¯ve always prided myself on my intelligence, but I¡¯m meeting with such a gruesome end. Daddy, can I still taste your cooking when I reach the other world? Daddy, mommy, I¡¯ve missed you. I¡¯ming.¡±

    As she spoke, Ju Zi shut her eyes. Two streams of tears rolling down her cheeks.

    She was different from Ke Ke. Ke Ke didn¡¯t despair, and instead revealed her unyielding spirit. Many soul tools rapidly appeared in front of her. She took their formation arrays apart before connecting them in a special way.

    ¡°Come at me bastards! I¡¯ll risk it all to fight it out with you. If you want to eat my flesh, I¡¯ll blow you apart!¡± She connected the formation arrays, and used an energy-gathering formation at the core. She slowly formed a special structure that may have looked messy, but still released a frightening aura.

    Ju Zi heard Ke Ke¡¯s words and knew what she was doing right now, but she didn¡¯t stop her. At the end of their lives, perishing alongside the Golden Wolves wasn¡¯t such a bad ending after all.

    However, the situation outside the all-terrain exploration soul tool seemed to change instantly. A Golden Wolf leapt towards the soul tool, but its eyes were nk, and its body rigid. Unfortunately, none of the Golden Wolves noticed it, they were all too busy frantically attacking the all-terrain exploration soul tool.

    ¡°Bang.¡± The stiff Golden Wolf struck another Golden Wolf, which in turn made that wolf roar in fury. Before it could react further, a terrifying explosion urred.

    The booming explosion made ice scatter, and at least twenty Golden Wolves were caught in the crossfire. The six or seven closest to the epicenter Golden Wolves werepletely blown apart. Those struck by the ensuing shockwave were also critically injured.

    A figure exploited this opportunity to strike. This figure moved briskly. As it shed, it moved behind a Golden Wolf that had been caught in the explosion and stabbed his dark golden ws into the wolf¡¯s neck. Then it flung the Golden Wolf to its left hand.

    Four soul rings¡ªone white, one purple and two ck¡ªshone. Thest ck soul ring in particr shone extremely brightly.

    This figure was none other than Huo Yuhao, who rushed over and managed to reach them at this most critical moment.

    His eyes had turned bright silver. His fourth soul ring shed, and in his eyes a seven-colored whirlpool seemed to appear. He levelled his gaze at one of the three Golden Wolf Kings.

    That Golden Wolf King lowered its head subconsciously and stared at him. A weird scene suddenly came about.

    A one foot high, seven-colored whirlpool surfaced above the Golden Wolf King. It revolved in an awkward manner before prating through the Golden Wolf¡¯s skull into its body. The Golden Wolf King¡¯s body stiffened up instantly, bing motionless. Its blood-red eyes turned a silver shade like Huo Yuhao¡¯s, so too did the whirlpool-like radianceing from its body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became normal again a momentter. A strong killing aura exuding from his body. Huo Yuhao carried a deep enmity with this pack of Golden Wolves that had threatened his life earlier. Now they were even threatening Ke Ke and Ju Zi¡¯s lives.

    His Eye of Destiny opened, and a purplish-golden light shed before disappearing. Another Golden Wolf King¡¯s body stiffened up instantly. It didn¡¯t nearly possess the same spiritual powers the Silvermoon Wolf King did. It couldn¡¯t even resist when faced against the might of the Destiny Soul Gaze. It blew apart after its body turned rigid, and fresh blood scattered everywhere. It was killed instantaneously.

    One Golden Wolf King was controlled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul skill, and another Golden Wolf King was killed by the Destiny Soul Gaze. Apart from them, one Golden Wolf King remained. The remainder of the Golden Wolves were mostly blown away during the previous explosion.

    Huo Yuhao threw the Golden Wolf¡¯s corpse in his hand away, and the Ice Explosion Technique revealed its might. Once more a terrifying explosive force shook the entire area.

    The previous Golden Wolf¡¯s corpse was maintained by Huo Yuhao. Generally speaking, a soul beast¡¯s soul power would dissipate within an hour after death, past that it wouldn¡¯t be a good bomb for the Ice Explosion Technique. However, Huo Yuhao used necromancy to control that Golden Wolf corpse, and thus retained its soul power. This soul power was only released after Huo Yuhao extinguished its soul, which made it useful in the present situation.

    There were only forty Golden Wolves still capable of fighting now. Thest of the Golden Wolf Kings howled, bearing a hateful look in its eyes. It leapt towards Huo Yuhao.

    Unexpectedly, a pair of wolf ws forcefully struck its body as it leapt forward. These frightening wolf ws stabbed into its body through its nks before they eventually pulled back. The front of the Golden Wolf King was torn to shreds. Its internal organs and fresh blood scattered everywhere.

    It was the Golden Wolf King controlled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul skill that unleashed the attack. Appearing to have gone mad, it attacked the rest of the Golden Wolves after it killed this Golden Wolf King.

    Yes! This was the soul skill Huo Yuhao had obtained from the Silvermoon Wolf King, Spiritual Confusion.

    This was an ability that the Silvermoon Wolf King didn¡¯t even possess. Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, but the Silvermoon Wolf King wasn¡¯t exactly considered a spirit-type soul beast. It only used its spiritual power to control different elements for its own purposes. It was more of a multi-elemental soul beast that couldn¡¯t use too powerful soul skills.

    That was why its soul ring transformed when itbined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. The eventual result of that transformation was this soul skill. Huo Yuhao had named it Spiritual Confusion.

    It could only be used on one target at a time, but as long as the target¡¯s spiritual power wasn¡¯t at least a third of the user, it was guaranteed to descend into confusion. While confused, it would go mad and attack everything around it. However, if its spiritual power was greater than a third of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power then the target would be spiritually attacked. The effectiveness would vary ording to the target¡¯s spiritual cultivation, but its spiritual power would undoubtedly fall, and it would be struck by vertigo for while.

    If Mass Enfeeblement was Huo Yuhao¡¯s crowd control soul skill, then this Spiritual Confusion could be considered a single target spiritual control skill.

    This was his first time using Spiritual Confusion, and it achieved unparalleled effects immediately.

    Thest remaining Golden Wolf King went crazy and started killing its own species. This diminished the fighting will and morale of the remaining Golden Wolves, hence they all fled in fear.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with the insane Golden Wolf King. He turned around and dashed towards the all-terrain exploration soul tool. He was unsure how Ju Zi and Ke Ke were holding up.

    At this point, the door of the all-terrain exploration soul tool opened, and thedies crawled out in fear and confusion.

    Ju Zi shouted, ¡°Yuhao, run! Ke Ke used all her soul tools to create a self-detonation device.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the scene. He clearly sensed an internal, terrifying force within the all-terrain exploration soul tool, rising quickly.

    At this terrifying prospect, he only showed his manliness even further. He didn¡¯t turn to escape, but rushed towards Ju Zi and Ke Ke. He could tell that they werepletely spent in terms of soul power and couldn¡¯t escape the imminent st radius.

    Seeing them all the way out here, Huo Yuhao knew they came to find him. How could he leave them in danger when they hadn¡¯t given up on him?

    He burst towards them, uncaring of any repercussions. He huddled them in his embrace before activating his ss 5 soul thruster. Then, he picked a direction and charged.

    Less than two seconds after he charged out, the all-terrain exploration soul tool behind him turned scarlet-red. Following this change, a reverberating explosion boomed within the Jing Yang Mountain Range.

    ¡°Boom boom boom¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao still had the help of his Spiritual Detection, with it he could manage to grasp the exact timing of the explosion. He tugged his arms inwards and pulled Ju Zi and Ke Ke towards his body, sheltering them. Hongchen¡¯s Blessing was activated, and the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor was unleashed, instantly increasing his defensive ability to the greatest level.

    Huo Yuhao only felt a wave of heat sweeping him up from behind. He felt his body and everything else seemed to flip suddenly. A sweet and fishy taste rose up from his throat as the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing and Ice Empress¡¯ Armor were crushed.

    Everything before his eyes turned ck, and he lost consciousness.

    The frightening explosion Ke Ke created was too powerful. She had used all the formation arrays in her soul tool arsenal. She truly wanted to drag as many Golden Wolves to the grave along with them.

    It was toote to reverse the explosion when she and Ju Zi figured out that the situation outside changed.

    Everyone thirsted for survival. When they realized that the danger outside was vanquished, they frantically tried to escape.

    Ke Ke and Ju Zi weren¡¯t struck directly by the explosive force, and thus they could still see what was going on. They could tell that the surrounding air had been visibly distorted. Next, a stifling force swept past them. However, it was nothingpared to the shockwave that Huo Yuhao protected them from.

    The Golden Wolf King still in a confused state was instantly obliterated by the explosive force, even its corpse ceased to exist.

    The ss 5 soul thruster had propelled Huo Yuhao and the girls more than a hundred meters in two seconds. That was why they were only struck by a shockwave from the explosion.

    Huo Yuhao vomited blood all over the twodies.

    Just after, the three of them copsed to the ground together.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke almost fainted from this, but they hung on and opened their eyes wide.

    They were certain that Huo Yuhao would have escaped unscathed if he had only just listened to Ju Zi¡¯s words and fled immediately.

    Ju Zi was still fine mentally. She was only worried and concerned for Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety. However, Ke Ke was filled with regret. If she wasn¡¯t so impulsive and observed the situation outside, none of this would¡¯ve happened! The Golden Wolves did nothing to her, but she was almost killed by her own bomb in the end¡­

    As she thought this, Ke Ke felt like her heart had been stabbed with a de.

    Fresh blood flowed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose. He¡¯d turned extremely pale.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke struggled as they climbed out of his embrace. When they looked back into the distance, they were stunned.

    Nothing was left of the all-terrain exploration soul tool. It was the ground-zero of an explosion more than five hundred meters in diameter. A huge hole fifteen meters deep had formed where it used to be. Even the corpses of the Golden Wolves had all disappeared. A mist of soil and flesh descended, carrying a bloody smell,nding only tens of meters away from the center of the explosion.

    After a momentary daze, they turned their attention to Huo Yuhao¡ªunconscious on the ground.

    They were distraught at the sight.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely covered in blood. His back, thighs and calves were gushing blood. There was shrapnel stuck in his muscles everywhere.

    ¡°Oh no! How did it end up like this, why did it end up this way¡­?¡± Ke Ke eximed,pletely frantic.

    Ju Zi raged at her. ¡°Calm down and shut up! We need to calm ourselves.¡± As she spoke, she quickly squatted beside Huo Yuhao to check his breathing and whether or not he was alive. After that, she went to measure his pulse.

    While Huo Yuhao¡¯s pulse was very weak, it was still rhythmic.

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath. She knew she had to be cool headed now to save Huo Yuhao¡¯s life.

    ¡°Ke Ke, protect us. I¡¯ll save him.¡± While she spoke, she had already retrieved her storage-type soul tool¡ªan orange-red bracelet¡ªand gave it to Ke Ke. Inside this bracelet were many soul tools, all of which were created by Ju Zi herself.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ke Ke had also finally calmed down by now, and received the bracelet from Ju Zi. Then she took out a Milk Bottle, and restored her soul power. She also took out the soul tools from Ju Zi¡¯s storage-type soul tool and set up a defensive formation.

    Ju Zi had no energy to bother with Ke Ke or her surroundings. Although Huo Yuhao was still alive, his life power was diminishing quickly. He could be in fatal peril any second now.

    She didn¡¯t care about all the shrapnel still in his body. They couldn¡¯t be pulled out yet, because that would lead to greater blood loss. She had to stabilize Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition first.

    As she thought of what to do, Ju Zi took out a needle and string from another storage bracelet on her other hand. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else, only Huo Yuhao¡¯s life mattered now.

    Ju Zi¡¯s hands were trembling as she attempted to thread the needle. Her mental energy and soul power were greatly exhausted, also adding her anxiety to the mix, and she could conclude she was unstable.

    She suddenly lifted her left hand and bit down on her own wrist forcefully. She left a deep wound, and used the intense pain to stabilize her mindset before quickly threading the needle sessfully this time. After that, she started to stitch up Huo Yuhao¡¯s wounds.

    Her stitching started from his ruptured capiries before she proceeded to his muscles and skin. To reduce Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood loss, she could only keep pressure on his wounds with her body-weight. Her clothes were quickly stained with Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood.

    Stitching up wounds required meticulous care. For someone like Ju Zi whose forte was carving detailed formations, this wasn¡¯t hard to pull off. Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood loss was finally being stoppered.

    Even so, he still looked very weak and pale.

    Ju Zi felt heating from the ces stained with Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood. Concentrated bursts of warmth entered her body, and left her feeling veryfortable. This also let her restore her energy quickly.

    Ju Zi immediately recognized this as a problem. She couldn¡¯t let him waste his blood¡¯s power because of her. Just¡­ what power does he have in his blood?

 Chapter 167: Bite

    Ju Zi removed Huo Yuhao¡¯s torn clothing as Ke Ke watched her from afar. After that, she lifted him up and leaned him against a huge tree. She rubbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood onto the parts of his body that weren¡¯t injured.

    Ju Zi was already breathing heavily at this point. The depletion of her energy left her extremely fatigued, and she felt she might faint at anytime. However, she was closely monitoring Huo Yuhao¡¯s heartbeat at this moment. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s heartbeat was very slow, it was still beating. This was also herst shred of hope.

    Ju Zi judged that Huo Yuhao had lost almost half of his blood from his injuries. This would be fatal for a normal person, but she could also sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s life power was very strong. Even though he was critically injured, his heart was still beating resolutely.

    ¡°How is he?¡± Ke Ke walked over and asked after her soul power had been restored by the Milk Bottle. She passed a Milk Bottle to Ju Zi as well.

    Ju Ziughed bitterly and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. A normal person should have caved in under such injuries. But he¡¯s still alive. I¡¯ve stitched his wounds, but the shrapnel is still not out. Let¡¯s see whether he can survive beyond today. I¡¯m only scared that he¡¯ll suffer from an infection. The shrapnel should be unclean. However, he¡¯s lost too much blood; everything depends on him now.¡±

    Ke Ke stripped off her outerwear and covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood-stained body. She looked at Ju Zi andughed bitterly, ¡°Sister Ju Zi, are you repaying your benefactor with your own body?¡±

    Ju Zi turned red, and her cheeks turned rosy. ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. His blood has a special strength that is very beneficial for one¡¯s body. I¡¯m returning the blood that stained me to heal his body.¡±

    Ke Ke squatted down and looked at Huo Yuhao. She said, ¡°We both owe him our lives. Especially me. If I hadn¡¯t been so reckless, he wouldn¡¯t be in this state.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°How can you be med? We were both in danger. I didn¡¯t even realize that he had arrived. But you¡¯re right. We owe him our lives.¡±

    Ke Ke focused and stood up. She said, ¡°Sister Ju Zi, take a rest. I¡¯ll protect the both of you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ju Zi eded to her request and sat down close to Huo Yuhao.

    Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s back was covered in blood, he wasn¡¯t hurt in front. There wasn¡¯t a single piece of fat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s well-developed body. Hongchen¡¯s Yearning had been reabsorbed into his chest as well.

    If not for this ss 9 soul tool that produced an Invincible Barrier that was almost three times stronger than his own body, the three of them would have been blown to pieces.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was a little cold, Ju Zi was using her body to warm him up. When her eyes shut, she fell asleep almost instantly. However, she wore a peaceful look on her face.

    Only one man had held a ce in her heart ever since she was young ¨C her father. Her father had filled her childhood with fantastic memories, but had perished in war. Right now, someone else had unwittingly entered her heart. Even though he was injured, Ju Zi felt at ease as she hugged him. It was as if she had found a shelter to hide away from all her trials and tribtions.

    After her close brush with death, she was in a weird state of mind. This weird state of mind was also extremely immersive.

    Ju Zi was right. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s injuries were inflicted on someone else, that person would have been dead by now. The shrapnel wasn¡¯t from the all terrain exploration soul tool. The powerful shockwave was kept out by the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. What really tore his skin and muscles were the soul tools on his body that blew apart in the explosion.

    His life hung by a thread as he was protected by the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing and the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. Ju Zi was right when she had tried to limit his blood loss. What she didn¡¯t know was that he wasn¡¯t destined to die once she stabilized his injuries.

    How would Huo Yuhao, who had fused with the immense life power of Life Gold, die so easily? The strength within his blood came from the life power of Life Gold! This immense life power wasn¡¯t just in his blood, but was spread out all through his body, from his bones to his internal organs.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life power started to return as he healed. The immense life power started to stimte his bone marrow and increase the rate at which he created new blood. His energy was slowly restored, and his internal organs were being healed. It was treatment from the inside out.

    ...

    Ke Ke didn¡¯t dare to sleep. Although she was exhausted, she had to hold on for their safety.

    The sun in the sky rose higher and higher. The warm sunlight shone down on her and left her slightly hazy. After taking a small bite of some food, she restored her energy and chased away a few soul beasts who didn¡¯t have high cultivations.

    She also came to check on Huo Yuhao and Ju Zi from time to time. She discovered that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was slowly getting hotter and hotter, as if he had developed a fever. However, his temperature was still within an eptable range. His pulse wasn¡¯t any weaker, either.

    Ke Ke waspletely clueless about healing. She didn¡¯t know what to do, and thus could only wait.

    Ke Ke was on the verge of copse when Ju Zi awoke from her sleep. Although her soul power had recovered, her mental energy was almost depleted since she had to be wary of soul beasts the whole time.

    ¡°Ke Ke, take a break. Let me take over for you,¡± Ju Zi said to Ke Ke, who was muddle-headed by now.

    Ke Ke stood up and rushed over to them, asking, ¡°How is he?¡±

    Ju Zi furrowed her brow and revealed a stunned look in her eyes. ¡°His pulse is vibrant, and not as weak as before. Although his body temperature is higher than average, it¡¯s not too high. His breathing is also stable. He doesn¡¯t even seem like he was critically injured.¡±

    Ke Ke looked at Ju Zi in a daze. ¡°Are you saying he¡¯s in a much better condition now?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded her head, ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable! How is this possible? He lost almost half his blood, and even sustained critical injuries. There¡¯s still shrapnel in his body. However, his pulse is beating normally. It¡¯s only been ten to twelve hours.¡±

    Ke Ke said, ¡°Take a look at his back.¡±

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke carefully ced Huo Yuhao on a nket that they set out. She also changed into clean clothing before taking off the outerwear Ke Ke had put on Huo Yuhao.

    The pieces of shrapnel were still very horrifying, as if Huo Yuhao had grown spikes on his back. However, Ju Zi and Ke Ke were more shocked that none of his wounds had been infected. Although Ju Zi had rubbed some medicine on him, that had just been medicine for the treatment ofmon injuries.

    ¡°Is he human?¡± Ke Ke couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Ju Ziughed bitterly. ¡°I thought of a quote. Shrek only ept monsters, and not ordinary people. It seems like he really is a monster. Even a soul beast can¡¯tpare to his self-healing ability.¡±

    Ke Ke asked, ¡°Should we remove the shrapnel?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°No, let¡¯s allow him to recover more. With his current healing speed, he should be awake soon. We can help him remove the shrapnel then.¡±

    As they spoke till here, the two of them looked at each other before heaving sighs of relief.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°It seems like we will have to spend the night here. Ke Ke, hold on for a while more. Let¡¯s pitch a tent to keep out the wind and rain. The mountains will also be colder at night. Let¡¯s take turns to keep watch at night.¡±

    Ke Ke hesitated for a while. ¡°The tent is for one person. So I¡¯m going to be with him in one tent?¡±

    Ju Zi snapped, ¡°I didn¡¯t even care when I tried to save him just now. What¡¯re you scared of? Furthermore, we can also watch him at a close distance. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t reveal this to anyone. You must also keep this secret for me.¡±

    Ke Ke took a look at her and replied after a moment, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it as if he¡¯s my younger brother.¡±

    Ju Zi suddenly thought of something. ¡°He¡¯s not that young either¡­¡±

    The two of them were efficient. After Ju Zi had ten to twelve hours of rest, her body had already recovered. After she pitched the tent, Ke Ke went inside with Huo Yuhao andid down beside him. She was so exhausted that she passed out instantly.

    Ju Zi was the one on guard duty now. She was feeling much better now. She adjusted her soul tool defense line before adding some chemical items that had the effect of chasing soul beasts away.

    Ju Zi discovered that her body felt much better, and even more vibrant. Not only was her fatigue gone, but she was filled with energy. Even her soul power seemed to have been enhanced.

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was her reward for being nice.

    That was exactly the case. The Life Gold¡¯s life power helped Huo Yuhao heal. There was also some external flow of the immense life aura when Ju Zi was stained with some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fresh blood. This allowed the Life¡¯s Gold¡¯s aura to nourish her body and let her feel more refreshed. Ke Ke was also likely to benefit as shey beside Huo Yuhao now.

    ¡­¡­

    The sky was slowly turning dark. Ju Zi sat in front of the tent and watched her surroundings. Her emotions started to rise as she sat there on guard duty.

    ¡°Daddy, is he your reincarnation, sent here to lessen my pain?¡± Ju Zi sighed slightly. She had always been concealing her inner thoughts with her innocent look. However, she was actually someone who was icy-cold at heart.

    She only thought of revenge. For this, she didn¡¯t mind being pretentious, and became a youngdy that no one would be wary of.

    She was aware that Zimu had always been chasing her. However, she didn¡¯t give him a straight answer all this while because her n didn¡¯t allow her to date. She had a goal, and this goal was an important part of her n for revenge.

    However, the calm in her heart changed when she tasted Huo Yuhao¡¯s cooking. It was a change that caused her to panic inside.

    Ju Zi had never expected to eat something that was as delicious as her father¡¯s cooking. But Huo Yuhao had managed to whip up food that resembled her father¡¯s cooking. Her cold heart opened slightly at that moment.

    She was an orphan, like him. She had no other yearnings in her life. It was revenge that kept her going.

    However, his appearance caused a change in her heart. Her ideals didn¡¯t change, but someone had managed to creep into her heart. Could she still not be bothered by everything and face her future with a calm attitude with this person around?

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t know. She didn¡¯t know at all.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, why did you have toe into my world?¡± Ju Zi sighed.

    ¡­¡­

    When Huo Yuhao woke up from his sleep, it was already light again.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive?¡± That was his first thought. He subconsciously initiated the cirction of his soul power.

    His soul power had already been restored, but the cirction of it wasn¡¯t very smooth. His passageways and back were filled with a piercing pain.

    ¡°Ah!¡± he groaned slightly, and opened his eyes.

    The first thing he saw was a beautiful face. The smooth and tenderplexion of that face gave a refreshing feeling even though the tent was slightly dim. He had never seen such a refreshing beauty.

    Her eyes were shut as shey beside him. Huo Yuhao immediately realized that he wasn¡¯t wearing anything except for a nket.

    ¡°Ju Zi,¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    Ju Zi was jolted awake. She had only just fallen asleep after Ke Ke took over her guard duty.

    Herrge eyes opened, and her eyshes perked up. Huo Yuhao was rather swept away by her appearance.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Ju Zi asked, surprised.

    Huo Yuhao tried to prop himself up, but he felt an intense pain in his back. He groaned, andid back down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, your injuries are very serious,¡± Ju Zi said hurriedly.

    ¡°What happened to me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Ju Zi rted what had happened after the explosion, except for the part where she carried him naked.

    ¡°The explosion was too powerful. Ke Ke¡¯s soul tools are indeed very powerful!¡± Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Ke Ke has suffered great losses this time. Her soul tools took two years to create and assemble, with their formation arrays joined together. They were also extremely valuable. How could the explosion not be strong? No one else could bear to do that. The amount of resources that were wasted was too much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°How am I now? The shrapnel on my back has to be removed eventually.¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°I was afraid that you¡¯d lost too much blood and didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly. If you think you¡¯re fine now, I¡¯ll help you remove the shrapnel. However, you must do it slowly at the start. Try to minimize your blood loss. After all, you¡¯re critically injured.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Huo Yuhao had sensed his own body condition earlier. Apart from some blockages in his passageways, he wasn¡¯t in too much trouble.

    Ju Zi stared at him as if he were a freak, then nodded slightly. She said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to start then. It¡¯ll be painful, but you¡¯ll have to bear the pain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Come on.¡± What kind of pain had he not endured before? Pain? How could itpare to the fusion of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton? How could itpare to his fusion with the Darkgolden Terrorws?

    ...

    Ju Zi was very careful with her actions. She didn¡¯t pull the shrapnel out forcefully. She retrieved an orange-red carving de and slowly opened his wounds. After that, she tried to pluck the pieces of shrapnel out.

    She soon discovered that it was much more rxing helping Huo Yuhao treat his injuries when he was awake.

    When she helped Huo Yuhao to pluck out the first piece of shrapnel, he immediately used his soul power to seal the blood vessels in that location. After she stitched his wound, Huo Yuhao rxed his control over that location and stopped the bleeding.

    Ju Zi managed to remove most of the shrapnel quickly as they worked together.

    ¡°Rest for a while.¡± Huo Yuhao retrieved a clean towel from his storage-type soul tool and passed it to Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi¡¯s forehead was already brimming with perspiration. She let out a fragrance that was very characteristic of a youngdy.

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help butugh bitterly. ¡°Your willpower is too scary. I don¡¯t think making you my opponent in the future is a good thing. You¡¯re fine, but I¡¯m the one who¡¯s not okay.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had had to bear a lot of pain as the many pieces of shrapnel were plucked from his body. However, he appeared fine to her. He never once screamed. Ju Zi was even more impressed with him among the mix of emotions that she felt.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Although your will is strong, your wounds will still take some time to heal. Sleep for a while more. I also need to take a rest. When my energy is restored, I¡¯ll help you remove the rest of the shrapnel.¡± As she spoke, she took a nce at thergest piece of shrapnel.

    This piece of shrapnel was triangr, and was close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, below his left shoulder. It was very deep into his muscles. Ju Zi was not sure how to handle it. She couldn¡¯t use a carving de to guide the piece of shrapnel out; she would need to pluck it out directly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and closed his eyes. The Mysterious Heaven Technique kept on circting. It had a good healing effect, and his wounds slowly healed with its help. Huo Yuhao also managed to unblock some of his passageways, and his body began to recover at an even faster speed.

    After resting for two hours, Ju Zi helped Huo Yuhao remove the remaining pieces of shrapnel. Soon, most of the shrapnel had been removed, with the exception of one final piece.

    Ju Zi looked at Huo Yuhao and was even more impressed with him. His forehead was also perspiring, but he still wore a smile. She had never seen someone as resolute as him.

    ¡°Rest a while more before thest piece,¡± Ju Zi told him.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s thest piece, let¡¯s take it out. I also want to rx, otherwise I¡¯ll keep thinking of it. Don¡¯t worry, I can take it. It¡¯s better to suffer now thanter.¡±

    This piece cut into at least three of his passageways. Although it wasn¡¯t the main passageway, it greatly affected the cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. In addition, the wound brought him great pain if he moved even slightly.

    Ju Zi hesitated for a while before nodding her head as she grit her teeth.

    ¡°This piece is deep. If it¡¯s too painful, just bite my arm.¡± As she spoke, she pulled up the sleeve covering her left arm and extended her slender arm in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao only grabbed her wrist after hesitating for a moment. Her wrist was soft and tender. The Raiment of Light¡¯s projection was undoubtedly the most ravishing beauty that Huo Yuhao had ever seen, but Ju Zi had the bestplexion. Although she wasn¡¯t as pretty as the Raiment of Light¡¯s projection, and was even slightly inferior to Jiang Nannan, she was still a beauty like Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao had the best figure, while Ju Zi had the bestplexion.

    There was a sense of gentleness as he felt her tender skin. It was an indescribable feeling.

    ¡°I¡¯m about to start.¡± Ju Zi didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart had fluttered slightly. Her right hand held onto the exposed part of the piece of shrapnel, and she looked nervous.

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and rxed his back muscles. It would be much easier if he wasn¡¯t tense.

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath and stuffed her left hand into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. ¡°You saved my life. Let me bear this pain with you!¡± she shouted softly, and plucked the piece of shrapnel out forcefully.

    Fresh blood shot out as the shrapnel was pulled out. Huo Yuhao¡¯s whole body tensed up, and he bit Ju Zi¡¯s arm under the intense pain.

    When he first met her Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect that his desire to bite Ju Zi¡¯s smooth skin would be fulfilled under these circumstances.

    Panting heavily, Ju Zi pressed a clean towel against Huo Yuhao¡¯s wounds.

    Compared to the pains she felt in her heart, the pain in her hand was nothing. She actually felt like she was going to let Huo Yuhao die.

    Although reluctant to do so, Huo Yuhao ceased biting into her hand. A bite mark was left behind, along with some redness on her skin, but only some redness as the skin wasn¡¯t pierced.

    Ju Zi retracted her arm and started speaking rapidly, ¡°Quick seal your blood vessels! How are you feeling? Are your passageways damaged?¡±

    Huo Yuhao spoke while circting his soul power, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. I can just use my soul power to recover. However, a few passageways arepletely damaged, and I need time to heal them.

    Ju Zi let out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. At least it¡¯s not too serious. You somehow managed to drag yourself back from the dead, you freak. It only took you a day and night to recover this far from your critical injuries.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯tpliment me like that when I¡¯m in such unbearable pain.¡±

    Ju Ziughed. ¡°Pain? I can¡¯t tell from your expression.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately disyed an exaggerated expression, ¡°I¡¯m tolerating the pain! Think about it. My entire back is stitched up right now. Why wouldn¡¯t I feel pain?¡±

    Ju Zi shuddered a little. That¡¯s right! Huo Yuhao¡¯s back was almost entirely full of stitches. With a little more than a hundred wounds his back was almost entirely covered in stitches by now. The same for his legs, really just his entire body seemed to have been ravaged by injuries. Only some of the parts not carrying soul tools appeared much better off.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as Ju Zi fell silent, ¡°I¡¯m fine actually. I¡¯ve experienced more painful things than this before. Let¡¯s leave the mountain range after I rest a bit. The all-terrain exploration soul tool has been destroyed, so we have to end our experiments here. What about you though, is your hand in pain from my bite?¡±

    Ju Zi retorted, ¡°Am I that weak to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Yeah. It seems like your skin will tear the moment I touch it.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s face turned red. She took out a tangerine to stuff in his mouth, ¡°Go and rest. I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± As she spoke, she escaped from the tent. The age gap between her and Huo Yuhao seemed non-existent when confronted with his maturity which exceeded the norms for his age.

    The lingering fragrance left Huo Yuhao in a trance, but he soon recovered from it. His heart was upied by someone else already. Although Ju Zi was a ravishing, attractive beauty, she definitely couldn¡¯tpare to the Raiment of Light¡¯s projection so deeply imprinted in his heart.

    With the pieces of shrapnel removed from his back, and a period of rest, he could prop himself up.

    His back wasn¡¯t just simply in pain now. It was miserable and numb, the blood cirction in his back didn¡¯t seem to be running smoothly either. Fortunately, most of his injuries were concentrated on his muscles. The cirction blockages in his passageways were mainly caused by some blood clots.

    Huo Yuhao had lied about being in such a dire situation before. In fact, he was very afraid right now. If he was just a little slower or didn¡¯t have the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing would have died! Furthermore, the impact almost wreaked havoc on his spiritual sea. Skydream, the Ice Empress and Electroluxbined their strengths to unleash a spiritual barrier that protected his head. That exined why his back and legs were injured, but his head wasn¡¯t.

    His body¡¯s damage could be easily healed by the Life¡¯s Gold life power, not to mention that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton would protect his internal organs. However, a blow to his head could kill him. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have survived this time with luck alone.

    He struggled to sit cross-legged, and even perspired from the constant pain. He focused, and circted his power. The Mysterious Heaven Technique slowly circting.

    After his reaching Rank 40 soul power, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fully experience the transformations to his body. This was especially so with the advancements in his soul skills and the enhancement of his spiritual power. It was important to know that almost all of his soul skills would improve as his cultivation increased. That being the case, his soul power would skyrocket after each new added soul ring. Over the past two years, his foundation remained untouched while his cultivation speed dipped considerably. His cultivation so far could be described as slow but steady.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique overcame all obstructions and slowly filled his body, nourishing him. It stimted the Life¡¯s Gold life power to heal his body as well. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao divided part of his soul power to start removing the blood clots in his passageways. Then he used soul power to adjust his damaged passageways, moving them back into position and reconnecting them.

    He¡¯d entered a fairly stable state to recover quickly.

    The trio was rather fortunate. They stayed in this ce for two days, but the strongest soul beast they had encountered was only a thousand year soul beast.

    Huo Yuhao recovered at an rming rate. On the third morning, he walked out of the tent. He faced the rising sun in the east and started to cultivate.

    Ke Ke smiled as she said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m going to call you a monster in the future. You¡¯re more of a soul beast than real soul beasts!¡± There was a sense of affection in her tone.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. That¡¯ll reveal my background as a student from Shrek Academy, and I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten that we¡¯re a strongpetitor to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. If you push me to the metaphorical wolves, I may end up dead.¡±

    Ke Ke rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Forget it. You¡¯re a Soul Elder, and you¡¯re unphased by Soul Kings like us. You¡¯re afraid?¡±

    Huo Yuhao corrected, ¡°I¡¯m an official Soul Ancestor now!¡±

    Ju Zi put the tent away into her storage-type soul tool and said, ¡°Alright, stop bickering. Let¡¯s leave quickly. I¡¯m more concerned about when this freak will be able to cook for us again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still quite far from aplete recovery. However, since he could move freely, it was best to leave the Jing Yang Mountain Range as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if they ran into any strong soul beasts again, they would end up in danger.

    Huo Yuhaoughed again and replied, ¡°I can cook anytime. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    They could only rely on themselves to leave since the all-terrain exploration soul tool was destroyed. Although Huo Yuhao told them he could walk all by himself, Ju Zi and Ke Ke still put his hands around their shoulders as they dragged him out of the mountains.

    Ke Ke wore a gloomy expression while they walked, ¡°Blegh, Ju Zi. Will I be held ountable for destroying official academy property? The academy will spare me from paying for the soul tools, right? My savings will evaporate! You should know that I exchanged my schrship money all for precious metals. But now I¡¯m broke! Isn¡¯t it tragic for a ss 5 soul engineer not to have any soul tools?¡±

    Ju Zi snapped, ¡°You still have the cheek to mention this? Just be poor. It¡¯s better to be poor than to be a walking debt time bomb.¡±

    Ke Ke revealed a dismal look. ¡°Sister Ju Zi, lend me some money. Sister~¡±

    As she spoke, she couldn¡¯t help but turn to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao started to break out in a sweat as he saw Ke Ke¡¯s suddenly gentle gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me! I don¡¯t have any money. I was working while studying when I was at Shrek Academy. My soul tools all belong to Shrek Academy. I owe the academy a lot of money right now too.¡±

    Ju Zi pursed her lips and said, ¡°Shrek is so cunning. They have no intention of making you repay your debts. They¡¯re doing everything possible to tie you down. Am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to be tied down. I¡¯ll let you know that I¡¯m an orphan. In my darkest hour, eldest senior brother and Teacher Xiao Ya brought me to Shrek Academy. Everything that I own now was given to me by the academy and the Tang Sect. My life naturally belongs to them, and this will never change.¡±

    Ju Zi looked at Huo Yuhao and said seriously, ¡°What if¡­ I tell you that I can make the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy do even more for you than Shrek Academy ever did, would you stay here? You can list whatever conditions you want.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, but he turned serious. Saying in a deep voice, ¡°Senior Ju Zi, please don¡¯t speak of such things again. I don¡¯t want to lose a friend like you.¡±

    Ju Ziughed bitterly. ¡°Although I expected this, it was still worth a try. But you were right. You¡¯re from Shrek. It¡¯s better if you keep a lower profile in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. He previously felt a sense of crisis from Ju Zi, but was relieved to feel it vanish. He could subtly feel that this was because Ju Zi¡¯s mentality changed.

    They sessfully managed to leave the Jing Yang Mountain Range. This mountain range wasn¡¯tparable to the Great Star Dou Forest. Showcasing this, when they reached the branching trail again, the concentration of soul beasts dropped significantly. Ju Zi used some soul tools to scare most of the remainder away, and they managed to leave the mountain range rather easily.

    In an area unlikely to be threatened by soul beasts, they found a suitable ce to set up a campsite. They rested here.

 Chapter 168: Return, Captured

    Huo Yuhao served as their chef, just as Ju Zi requested. Ke Ke was responsible for hunting, while Ju Zi took care of them. Apart from cooking, Huo Yuhao only used his time to cultivate and recover.

    Three days passed in a sh.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s potentially fatal injuries managed topletely heal within six days. Even his cultivation increased slightly. The soul power increase was negligible, but his overall abilities and soul skills were enhanced considerably, including his spiritual power.

    Dawn.

    The moist morning dew made the day especially refreshing as one breathed in nature. Huo Yuhao exhaled, and white gases revolved around his body before entering through his nostrils. He felt especially refreshed.

    His back injury hadpletely recovered now. More shockingly, the scars on his back had started to vanish. His skin was getting smoother and smoother by the day. After some time, all his scars would likely disappear, which only made Ju Zi and Ke Ke more intrigued.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly tell them that he¡¯d absorbed Life Gold before. He acted foolish and ignorant in the face of their suspicions.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right arm and a light shed in his eyes. He mimicked a grabbing motion, and a gust of chilly air spread out. Gigantic Darkgolden Terrorws appeared, an estimated six meter-long w projection swept through the air. A piercing sound was heard, and ck tears were created, as if the air had been slit open.

    A dark-golden radiance shed before disappearing. Huo Yuhao looked at his right hand, satisfied.

    His Darkgolden Terrorws had been enhanced when he had be a Soul Ancestor. Not only had his Terrorws berger, but now they were more tangible. The pain he¡¯d experienced absorbing the Darkgolden Terrorws wasn¡¯t for nothing! The Darkgolden Terrorws became Huo Yuhao¡¯s favorite skill. The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, when paired with the Darkgolden Terrorws, allowed him immense closebat abilities as a control-type soul master.

    His Eye of Destiny also evolved. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure how much it evolved, but the sealed spiritual power left in his body by the Skydream Iceworm had been substantially absorbed again. His Spiritual Sea and second mental sea also expanded. His Spiritual Detection could now scan a radius of up to seven hundred meters, and his one-directional detection now reached more than a thousand two hundred meters.

    The greater his cultivation, the more Huo Yuhao could sense the dominance of the million year soul ring given to him by the Skydream Iceworm. It possessed four soul skills, which were the best of the best, and became the foundation for his Spirit Eyes. Although the subsequent three soul rings gave him Imitation, Enfeeblement and Spiritual Confusion, the practicality of these three skills couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Skydream¡¯s million year soul ring.

    His soul skills experienced a change in quality as his soul power reached Rank 40. Huo Yuhao simply possessed too many powerful soul skills, but if not for the fact that some of his soul skills could only be unleashed using his spiritual power, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to unleash half them using his soul power before he reached this stage. After his soul power increased, he managed to get some relief in this aspect.

    Huo Yuhao wished that Wang Dong was here. He only realized how important Wang Dong was after leaving Shrek Academy. Wang Dong already passed Rank 50 and be a soul king. His twin martial souls made his soul power extremely vigorous, and if the two of them used their Haodong Power and four martial soul fusion skills, Huo Yuhao had confidence they could face off against a seven-ringed soul sage.

    Huo Yuhao started missing Wang Dong as he thought of him. He looked in the direction of Shrek Academy and seemed a little out of sorts.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You miss Shrek?¡± Ju Zi¡¯s voice sounded.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at her and smiled. ¡°A little. I miss my partner.¡±

    ¡°A girl?¡± Ju Zi asked a sensitive question.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head.

    Ju Zi walked beside him and looked in the direction of Shrek too. She said slowly, ¡°Yuhao, I don¡¯t want to meet you in battle in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao spoke in a dreary tone, ¡°You¡¯re a girl. Must you go to war?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°What¡¯s war got to do with gender? Don¡¯t tell me that the enemy will be merciful just because I¡¯m a female? I¡¯ve told you before that avenging my parents is my only motivation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. ¡°Is there only hatred in your life?¡±

    Ju Zi hesitated for a while before shifting her gaze away from his body. However, she was still confident when she said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent. He revealed a pensive look of regret on his face, ¡°I¡¯m not able to change your mentality, and I may not be qualified to even attempt to do so. Because I have the same hatred in my heart.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s voice turned a little weird, ¡°What if we meet on the battlefield?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent for a while before he replied, ¡°I¡¯ll spare you three times before killing you.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled. Her smile was very bright. ¡°Are you that confident? How do you know that I won¡¯t be the one sparing you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled too. ¡°You want me to beg for mercy?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head. ¡°If you try to beg for mercy, I¡¯ll kill you immediately. I don¡¯t want you to bend your knees. That¡¯s not the Huo Yuhao that I know.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Such a day won¡¯te.¡±

    ¡°I know that.¡± Ju Zi smiled. ¡°If we meet on the battlefield and yound in my hands, I¡¯ll spare you four times before killing you. I even gave you one more chance than you gave me. Aren¡¯t I magnanimous?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You want topete in this too? We don¡¯t even know what''s going to happen. Let¡¯s return to the academy. I came here to learn how to make soul tools, this is wasting too much time!¡±

    As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the tent to pack his stuff.

    Ju Zi revealed a dreary look in her eyes as she watched his back. She

    muttered to herself, ¡°Will it really not happen soon? Battlefield, battlefield!¡±

    She suddenly shouted, ¡°Yuhao, prepare a meal for us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao regained hisposure and revealed a smile. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t know what to say when he looked at the three students in front of him.

    ¡°Not even some shattered pieces were left behind?¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her head and said, ¡°No¡­¡±

    They had only returned an hour earlier. But the all-terrain exploration soul

    tool had beenpletely destroyed. Thus, they didn¡¯t even bother to neaten themselves up and they came to find Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen was silent for a while. He became depressed as he said, ¡°Do you know how valuable that all-terrain exploration soul tool was? The academy spent a lot of time money and effort on it. If not for the fact that more than one-third of its formation arrays were created by me, do you think the three of you would have had the chance to experiment with it? Are you sure that nothing, especially the formation arrays, was left in the mountain range?¡±

    Ju Zi was certain as she replied, ¡°Teacher, nothing was left. Everything was blown to pieces. The huge crater is still there.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen scratched his forehead and nced at Huo Yuhao. He snapped, ¡°Huo Yuhao! Tell me why I¡¯m facing so much trouble since you came.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    Ke Ke puffed out her chest and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, you can¡¯t me them for this matter. I caused all the problems this time. I will stand up for my mistakes. If I didn¡¯t connect the formation arrays together out of desperation, all this wouldn¡¯t have happened. But if not for Yuhao, both Sister Ju Zi and I would¡¯ve perished. If you want to punish someone, punish me. Regardless, I¡¯m broke, so there¡¯s nothing much I can be punished for.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t help butugh in the face of Ke Ke¡¯s petnce and determination.

    ¡°Enough, enough. Don¡¯t try to team up together against me. Go wash yourselves up before changing into clean clothes. I smell the stink on your bodies. Scram.¡±

    Ke Keughed impishly and leapt towards Xuan Ziwen. She grabbed his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Teacher Xuan, you¡¯re really nice.¡± After she finished speaking, she grabbed Ju Zi and ran off.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he realized that Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face turned red. He was even blushing!

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, are you okay?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Xuan Ziwen lifted his leg and kicked his butt. He said embarrassedly, ¡°Get lost.¡±

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke were waiting outside. Ju Zi continued to say, ¡°Teacher Xuan is really nice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her voice and said, ¡°With his attitude it shows that he¡¯s going to tank this matter for us. The all-terrain exploration soul tool waspletely destroyed! He¡¯s really too nice taking responsibility for such a serious matter like this.¡±

    Ke Keughed, ¡°Why do you think I rewarded him with a kiss? Teacher Xuan is really cute when his face turns red like that. While he looks quite old, I think he¡¯s still a virgin. I¡¯ve never heard any gossip about him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless. He thought to himself, ¡°That was a reward? She was clearly seducing Teacher Xuan!¡±

    ¡°Alrightdies, you two should rest. I¡¯m going to shower. I think that there¡¯s some lice on my body. I¡¯ll see the both of you tomorrow.¡±

    After speaking, Huo Yuhao returned to his dormitory with haste.

    He took a shower and changed his clothes, after his shower he felt really refreshed. Then he sat cross-legged on his bed. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection, and he started to cultivate.

    After leaving for so many days, he should pay a visit to his second senior brother now that he¡¯d returned. He also wondered what He Caitou had been learning all this while.

    However, Huo Yuhao was surprised to find out that He Caitou still hadn¡¯t returned even though it was veryte in the afternoon. Anxious, he rushed to ask some of the other Shrek students learning at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy with them. Through them, he found out that He Caitou managed to make his way into the Illustrious Virtue Hall and earned his right to cultivate while learning there.

    Huo Yuhao was delighted and surprised. His mastery of soul tools had been increasing over the past two years, but he knew that he was still inferior to his second senior brother. After all, he too had much to learn and a dedicated focus on researching and creating soul tools like He Caitou. However, He Caitou had identified his direction from the beginning, which was to research stationary soul tools. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao shared his research findings with He Caitou. He Caitou was even catching up to Fan Yu in terms of his knowledge and research on stationary soul tools.

    Teacher Fan Yu appeared to have gotten into the Illustrious Virtue Hall as well, and was learning there with He Caitou.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt pressure after his surprise faded away. His second senior brother had already entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall, but he¡¯d only just discovered his path.

    However, his experience in the Jing Yang Mountain Range did allow him to reflect on his progress in the Ultimate Soldier n over the past two years. He detected some problems, and needed to rectify them right now. At the same time, he needed to modify his soul tools.

    His fatigue disappeared after a night of rest.

    Huo Yuhao walked out of his dorm room after his routine morning cultivation. He was mentally prepared to reach theboratory early and try to create the soul tools he had in mind.

    He was very cheerful after figuring out that he wanted to pursue a closebat route. He believed that he would improve even faster with this newfound sense of direction.

    However, he stopped once he walked out of his dorm room.

    ¡°It¡¯s him. Capture him.¡± A pale Wang Shaojie was standing not far away. He was pointing his finger at Huo Yuhao. With him were six middle-aged men who looked to be somewhere between thirty to forty years old. They all wore the same vest. They immediately unleashed their martial souls¡ªTwo Soul Emperors and four Soul Kings.

    The leader walked up to Huo Yuhao and revealed a writ to him. He said coldly, ¡°Royal Stewards. You¡¯re Huo Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that he was in trouble. Although he was unafraid of them, it was impossible to conceal his full powers if he wanted to deal with them. He would also need to kill some or all of them to escape. His mind moved quickly as he calcted the pros and cons of retaliating.

    Their leader said coldly, ¡°You stand used of assaulting a member of the imperial family. You need toe with us to assist in our investigation.¡± He revealed golden handcuffs as he spoke. His soul power was very strong. Should he dare to resist, the six Royal Stewards would team up to attack him.

    He didn¡¯t expect that he would have to face Wang Shaojie after being gone for so long. While he looked strong and developed, he was actually a petty person at heart.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and extended his hands. ¡°I¡¯m an exchange student from Shrek Academy. Please help me inform my teachers. Otherwise, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to bear the responsibility of your actions.¡±

 Chapter 169: The Crown Prince

    ¡°Kacha, kacha.¡± Golden handcuffs closed around Huo Yuhao¡¯s wrists. A strong restraining force came from the handcuffs. It was obvious that the handcuffs were also a soul tool, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt that his soul power had been sealed.

    Wang Shaojie walked in front of Huo Yuhao, his eyes held a tant viciousness. He grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s head and punched his stomach hard.

    Huo Yuhao bent at the waist. The intense painbined with cramps caused him to furrow his brows. A cold light shed in his eyes.

    If he wasn¡¯t considering the bigger picture he would''ve turned violent. Did they really think these ss 6 handcuffs could stop him?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you great at fighting? I¡¯ll let you taste the pleasure of Sun Moon¡¯s Ten Great Tortures. Take him away.¡± Wang Shaojie revealed a delighted look on his face. He finally got his revenge.

    He awakened only three days prior, but he still vividly recalled the pain that Huo Yuhao had inflicted on him. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t sustain heavy injuries apart from an asional trance that he would fall into.

    After recuperating for two days, he felt much better. Only now he heard that Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi and Ke Ke had returned.

    Xuan Ziwen had settled this matter already, and the imperial family willingly dropped the matter. They didn¡¯t care much since Wang Shaojie wasn¡¯t critically injured. However, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t expect Wang Shaojie himself to be so vengeful, and not heed his advice. He still summoned the Royal Stewards over. They didn¡¯t dare to make a move in his dormitory, instead waiting for Huo Yuhao to leave the room before capturing him.

    Wang Shaojie hoped that Huo Yuhao would resist, because if he dared to attack the Royal Stewards no one would say anything if they killed him. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t act rashly. His wise choice left Wang Shaojie greatly disappointed.

    Their leader stopped Wang Shaojie from hitting Huo Yuhao further. He said in a deep voice, ¡°You can¡¯t do this here. I¡¯ll bring him back and deal with him. Don¡¯t forget where we are.¡±

    Wang Shaojie rubbed his palms together as he said, ¡°Yes, elder cousin. You must be harsh on him, allow me to apany you in this.¡±

    The leader shook his head and replied, ¡°No, you can¡¯t. It¡¯s better if you remain in the academy. In this way, you can deny any involvement in this matter. You¡¯re not young anymore, why can¡¯t you use your brain? Xuan Ziwen already pleaded for this guy¡¯s case, and the matter was settled. Do you really want to get in trouble for getting involved? Just act like you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. We know what to do.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Shaojie was a little unconvinced, but he still agreed. After all, he wasn¡¯t actually that dumb. After scanning his surroundings and ascertaining that no one was around, he scurried off.

    Their leader came in front of Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you can only me your bad luck. You dared to touch a member of the imperial family? You¡¯re from Shrek, aren¡¯t you? We¡¯ll have a nice little talk when we get back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could clearly sense his ill intentions from the tone of his voice. He knew that this person was much more powerful than Wang Shaojie. In his hands, he would probably suffer. But he had no urge to resist what maye.

    ¡°I just hope that you won¡¯t regret doing this.¡±

    One of the soul kings pped Huo Yuhao¡¯s face and said coldly, ¡°You dare to be rude in front of the Royal Stewards? I guess you¡¯re sick of living. Captain, you can just hand him to me when we get back.¡±

    The leader waved him off and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll talk when we get back.¡±

    Two soul kings roughly pushed Huo Yuhao forward, and he cooperated with them, following along obediently. While he appeared indifferent, he wasn¡¯t panicked at all.

    The Royal Stewards were primarily in charge of supervising the members of the imperial family, and everything that happened in the imperial pce. Normally they didn¡¯t interfere with matters outside of the imperial affairs. They were directly ountable to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial n after all. This captain of the Royal Stewards was called Xu Mochen. His father was a prince that controlled part of the imperial n. Xu Mochen possessed a great deal of authority, and was also a direct descendant of the imperial family. Wang Shaojie was from a branch family of the imperial family, and he was only able to invite Xu Mochen to handle this, because he had ties with him.

    Xu Mochen didn¡¯t just be the captain of the Royal Stewards with his family connections, as his cultivation was rather good. Furthermore, he was a soul master who specialized in soul tools, but he wasn¡¯t a soul engineer. His cultivation was strong because he possessed a very powerful martial soul inherited through the bloodline of direct descendants to the imperial family. He was one of the best among the Royal Stewards.

    Xu Mochen was cautious when he realized that Huo Yuhao was very calm. After all, Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy.

    When Wang Shaojie had found him, he had said that he was ambushed by a youth from Shrek Academy. He imed that the youth was a spiritual-type soul master, and that he couldn¡¯t unleash his powers since he was ambushed. He also mentioned that Huo Yuhao only had three soul rings.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation was very influential in every empire. Xu Mochen had merely been curious when he made this trip. He wanted to see how outstanding a Shrek Academy student was. If not, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered with Wang Shaojie¡¯s matter.

    Huo Yuhao appeared very young indeed. However, Xu Mochen could sense that he wasn¡¯t that simple. He didn¡¯t panic, not even in front of so many people. Although he did make some threats, he didn¡¯t curse after he was hit by Wang Shaojie. He was very calm andposed. This surely meant that he had some form of backer.

    As he thought till here, he developed another idea. He instructed one of his subordinates, ¡°Go and inform the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that we have a student called Huo Yuhao assisting us with an investigation.¡±

    His subordinate was a little puzzled. However, he didn¡¯t dare to question his orders, and went about doing what he was told.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s always nice to make friends with intellectuals. How should I address you?¡±

    Xu Mochenughed. ¡°Young man, it seems like you¡¯re not anxious at all! However, you don¡¯t belong to the Sun Moon Empire. No matter who your backer is, I can¡¯t return empty-handed this time. You touched a member of the imperial family, and I must teach you a lesson for doing so. Let¡¯s see whether your backer will get here quickly enough. If your backer arriveste though, don¡¯t me me if things get out of hand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued to wear a smile on his face. ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re not that close to Wang Shaojie. It seems he¡¯s not that important to the imperial family either. Why should you seek trouble for yourself? I¡¯m not from the Sun Moon Empire, but I¡¯m a very hot potato. It¡¯s not toote to turn back.¡±

    Xu Mochen¡¯s expression turned abyssmal, and a vicious look shed in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me what to do. Take him away. I want to see what kind of trouble I¡¯ll get into.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speak out further, and listened to Xu Mochen. He walked out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and got onto a luxurious horse-drawn cart. Then they proceeded towards the city center.

    ¡°What? Huo Yuhao was taken by the Royal Stewards?¡± Lin Jiayi was anxious when he heard the news.

    ¡°Bang!¡± He smashed his table. ¡°Nonsense! The Royal Stewards dare to make an arrest in the academy without consulting us? What nonsense is this?¡±

    The member of the Royal Stewards was unbothered by Lin Jiayi¡¯s rage, like Wang Shaojie or Xu Mochen he was also a direct descendant or from a branch family of the imperial family. He snorted, ¡°If you dare, you can talk to our captain. Anyway, I¡¯ve already consulted with you, as ordered.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.

    Lin Jiayi didn¡¯t stop him. Huo Yuhao had already been captured; thus, there there was no point in messing with the messenger. He stood behind his desk and pondered for a brief moment. After that, he walked out of his office.

    Jing Hongchen had once told him how important Huo Yuhao was. Informing him not to allow Huo Yuhao to suffer from any indignation or harm, apart from preventing him to learn anything substantial in the academy. It hasn¡¯t been easy for him. He was a little enraged when he found out that Xuan Ziwen had sent Huo Yuhao out for training without informing him. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao returned safely.

    But who knew that he would be captured the day after he returned? Wang Shaojie must be fooling around!

    Lin Jiayi was a ss 8 soul engineer, but he couldn¡¯t offend the Royal Stewards. After all, the Royal Stewards members all hadplicated backgrounds. That was why he quickly rushed to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. He had to report this to Jing Hongchen right away. He knew that Jing Hongchen¡¯s precious grandchildren were involved in this exchange.

    ¡°What? Huo Yuhao has been captured by the Royal Stewards?¡± Ju Zi eximed.

    Ke Ke nodded and revealed a fearful expression. ¡°It must be Wang Shaojie¡¯s doing. I heard about it from an imperial family member in a lower grade. It¡¯s true. Ju Zi, what do we do?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light, ¡°Royal Stewards? It would be Xu Mochen. Hmph, just a Xu Mochen. I¡¯m going to make a trip.¡± As she spoke, she had already rushed out like a gust of wind. She immediately unleashed her flying-type soul tool and flew into the sky, leaving the dormitory. She flew towards the central area of the academy.

    Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Jing Hongchen was admiring the hundred thousand year soul embryo quietly. He already had nine rings, and didn¡¯t need it for himself, but his grandson needed it! Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were extremely precious to him. He had evem organized the exchange so that they could learn something from Shrek Academy. After all, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy couldn¡¯tpare to Shrek Academy in terms of nurturing soul masters.

    ¡°Hallmaster.¡± Lin Jiayi rushed in hurriedly.

    ¡°Rascal! Why didn¡¯t you knock!?¡± Jing Hongchen was furious.

    Lin Jiayi knelt down on one knee frantically. ¡°Hallmaster, Huo Yuhao has been captured by the Royal Stewards.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Royal Stewards? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Lin Jiayi was aware of the conflict between Huo Yuhao and Wang Shaojie. He was aware that Huo Yuhao had knocked Wang Shaojie out for several days with his spiritual-type soul skill. Xuan Ziwen had approached him regarding this matter.

    Lin Jiayi recounted everything to Jing Hongchen immediately.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression turned extremely dismal after hearing his words. ¡°Are the Royal Stewards trying to rebel? How dare they arrest someone in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! Who¡¯s backing them? I will deal with them on behalf of His Majesty. Let¡¯s go!¡± He walked out of the room as he finished speaking..

    Lin Jiayi warned him, ¡°Hallmaster, I¡¯m afraid that you must hurry. The Royal Stewards have resorted to underhanded methods. I fear that Huo Yuhao might already¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± A cold light shed in Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes. He was obviously furious. He wasn¡¯t concerned about Huo Yuhao¡¯s life, but it was imperative that nothing happen to a Shrek exchange student in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. This would most certainly get his grandchildren into trouble. He didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao was a brilliant soul engineer. He only insisted that Huo Yuhao join the exchange because he needed someone as coteral against his grandchildren here in the academy.

    At the same time, he was well-aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s significance to Shrek Academy. He had an Ultimate martial soul, and twin martial souls on top of that! Jing Hongchen coveted him. However, he had learned that he couldn¡¯t buy Huo Yuhao when he first met Huo Yuhao beside Elder Mu.

    ¡°If something really happens to Huo Yuhao¡­¡± Jing Hongchen was afraid to imagine any further. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of whether his grandchildren would return. He was afraid that all of Shrek Academy might turn violent and sh with the Sun Moon Empire. They might even attack the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    He had been to Shrek Academy before. There was an abundance of powerful individuals there! Even the Body Sect had been forced to retreat, and he had been forced to leave a ss 9 soul tool behind before he was allowed to return.

    On the surface, he wasn¡¯t willing to admit his fear of Shrek Academy. However, he was truly terrified of them. Shrek Academy had a long history! They didn¡¯t earn their name as the top academy on the continent for nothing. Shrek Academy possessed great sway within the three empires of the Douluo Continent, and even the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly when it came to them.

    ¡­¡­

    Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce..

    Ju Zi retracted her wings and descended around a thousand meters away from the imperial pce. She had no choice but to do so, as flying above the Radiant City was prohibited, especially in the central region. The Soul Engineer Guards stopped her in the air and demanded that shend immediately.

    Ju Zi retrieved a dark gold writ. There was a ming dragon carved onto it.

    The Soul Engineer Guards immediately knelt when they saw this writ and bowed respectfully.

    Ju Zi ignored them, and quickly ran towards the imperial pce.

    ¡°Nothing must happen to him. Nothing must happen to him.¡±

    She was well-aware of the Royal Stewards¡¯ underhanded tactics. Even though he had just been arrested, Huo Yuhao was unlikely toe out unharmed.

    She held the ming dragon writ in her hand as she ran. When she reached the gates of the imperial pce, no one dared to stop her. All the guards knelt and bowed to her, showing how powerful her writ was.

    This eight-wed ming dragon writ had great significance. She was allowed free ess to practically the entire imperial pce.

    She passed the main pavilion of the imperial pce and started to run towards the internal regions of the imperial pce with the speed of great familiarity. She kept on holding the writ so that she wouldn¡¯t be stopped or questioned, moving as fast as possible.

    She reached a certain pavilion after running for almost ten minutes. Her pace only slowed when she reached this pavilion.

    The guards at the door didn¡¯t kneel upon seeing her. One of them smiled as he approached her, saying, ¡°Miss Ju Zi, you¡¯re here. His Highness is reading in the study room.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thanks. I need to see His Highness.¡±

    ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± The guard didn¡¯t dare to dy her, and immediately guided Ju Zi inside. Ju Zi also put the eight-wed ming dragon writ away.

    The guard brought her to a study room in a side pavilion to the left, immediately reporting news of her arrival.

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath and tried her best to calm down. She knew that she was about to meet someone as intelligent as herself. If she wasn¡¯t prudent, she was bound to give herself away.

    ¡°Ju Zi is here? Ask her toe in. Didn¡¯t I instruct you to let her in when shees? There¡¯s no need to inform me at all.¡±

    The gate of the side pavilion opened, and an attendant rushed out frantically. He bowed towards Ju Zi respectfully, and gestured for her to enter the pavilion.

    Ju Zi took small steps into this side pavilion.

    The pavilion was elegantly decorated, but didn¡¯t lose its sense of simplicity. There were many eight-wed ming dragon patterns on the decorations and furniture. There was a young man in white seated behind the study table. He looked at her with a gentle gaze.

    This young man seemed to be in histe twenties.

    His attire was very simple, and his eyes were full of energy. Although he wasn¡¯t very handsome, he had the aura of an authoritative figure. His tanned skin revealed a healthy glow.

    ¡°Greetings to Your Highness.¡± Ju Zi hurried a few steps forward and knelt.

    The youth in white waved her off, and a gentle strand of soul power lifted her. ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to be so formal in front of me. Your heartbeat is irregr. Did something happen?¡±

    Ju Zi had been anxious before she entered, but was much calmer now. She said in a deep voice, ¡°Your Highness, an opportunity has arisen. We need to seize it.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The youth in white was curious as he asked, ¡°What opportunity?¡±

    Ju Zi answered, ¡°It¡¯s like this: one of my fellow students under Teacher Xuan is Wang Shaojie, a young man from a branch family of the imperial family. He was involved in a fight with a Shrek Academy exchange student several days ago.. Not long ago, Teacher Xuan sent me and Ke Ke to experiment on the all-terrain exploration soul tool with this exchange student. From my observations, this Shrek student is extraordinary.¡±

    The prince appeared to be interested. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Ju Zi answered, ¡°This person has twin martial souls. There¡¯s never been anyone with twin martial souls in the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡± The young man in white gestured for Ju Zi to continue.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°From what I know, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen are also involved in the exchange of students with Shrek. You should know their importance to the Hallmaster. This exchange student also holds a simrly important position in Shrek. Wang Shaojie called for the Royal Stewards this morning, and arrested this exchange student. If the Hallmaster is to learn of this¡­¡±

    The prince immediatelyprehended what she was saying. ¡°It¡¯s not a simple matter if the Hallmaster is involved. And your idea is?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°The Hallmaster holds an important position in the Sun Moon Empire. Many imperial family members want to get close to him, but His Majesty once ordered that no imperial family member should have any contact with the Illustrious Virtue Hall. No one dares to go against this edict.¡±

    The princenodded and said, ¡°I am under the same restrictions.¡±

    Ju Zi continued to speak, ¡°The Royal Stewards have been too brazen over these past few years. Regardless of the fact that a Shrek Academy exchange student is involved, they should¡¯ve informed us before making an arrest. The Hallmaster should be enraged. While it¡¯s not convenient for you to pay a visit to the Hallmaster, I believe that the Hallmaster will remember you if you can settle this matter before it blows up.¡±

    The prince revealed a look of approval. ¡°Very good, Ju Zi. You¡¯re getting smarter and smarter. Your observation is very keen this time around. Come on, follow me to find the Royal Stewards. Their captain is Xu Mochen, am I right? This rascal is getting too arrogant. It¡¯s time to deal with him.¡±

    Ju Zi quickly walked behind the prince. The sound of wheels rotating could be heard, and the young man was pushed out.

    Yes, this young man was seated in a wheelchair. He had practically no legs at all.

    While he might be a cripple, he was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi met Xu Tianran after her parents died and she became a vagabond. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t crippled back then. He adopted her and sent her to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to study.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t let Xu Tianran down. Her cultivation grew quickly as she cultivated tirelessly. Xu Tianran trusted her a lot due to their special rtionship, while Ju Zi was also very loyal towards him.

    When Xu Tianran was ambushed, Ju Zi took two stabs in her back to protect him, and was almost killed. Although it was a huge blow to Xu Tianran, Ju Zi became his confidante. He trusted Ju Zipletely, and was also aware of Ju Zi¡¯s deep hatred towards the Star Luo Empire. He had always admired Ju Zi¡¯sposure and decisiveness.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s position in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family was very stable. It was almost a certainty that he would seed the throne. However, he became a cripple after that surprise ambush, which caused his status in the imperial family to fall. After all, such a thing would have a great impact on any ruler of an empire.

    However, Xu Tianran remained resolute and bore the pain, using all sorts of methods to dispel everyone¡¯s doubts. He even tracked down the mastermind behind the ambush, who turned out to be one of his brothers.

    No one knew how Xu Tianran managed to track him down, but this brother of his was cut to pieces in his own pce. That entire pce was washed with blood.

    From then on, no one dared to doubt him because of his condition. He managed to preserve his position of Crown Prince.

    Over the past few years, the emperor¡¯s physical condition had been deteriorating, and he was often bedridden. The brothers of Xu Tianran who were qualified to be the Sun Moon Emperor¡¯s sessor started to make their moves. They even brought up the issue of his disability.

    However, Xu Tianran was very calm, and never acted against them. No one dared to underestimate him, however. He was still the favorite to seed the throne.

    Ju Zi wheeled Xu Tianran out of his pavilion, and his guards quickly followed.

    The Royal Stewards¡¯ headquarters was in the imperial pce. Although it was merely in a corner of the pce, the location demonstrated its pertinence to the imperial family.

    ¡°Ju Zi, how¡¯s your cultivation?¡± Xu Tianran asked gently.

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°My progress has been slow. After I became a ss 5 soul engineer, my mastery seems to have reached a bottleneck. My soul power increases very slowly, and taking medicine doesn¡¯t seem to help. Although my research of soul tools continues to see improvements, my soul power has stagnated. I¡¯m confident of making it into the Illustrious Virtue Hall, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll need three to five years before I can be a ss 6 soul engineer. It will take even longer as I progress.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ju Zi. Do you know something? I like your honesty. There¡¯s hardly anyone who¡¯s as honest as you around me, no matter how close they are to me.¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her head and said, ¡°You gave me my life, and everything that I have. I¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran shrugged and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not bring that up. You repaid the favor when you took two knives meant me. Ju Zi, my father¡¯s condition has been deteriorating. I don¡¯t think he has much longer to live. If you think that your development as a soul engineer is too slow, I hope that you can consider leaving the academy to help me. Didn¡¯t you always want revenge? I¡¯ll let you join the military. I¡¯ll slowly transfer the trump card I have in the military to you and let you strut your stuff.¡±

    ¡°What? You can¡¯t do that. Your Highness, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not up to it,¡± Ju Zi said hurriedly. An anxious look appeared in her eyes. However, a tinge of happiness also shed through the depths of her eyes in that instant.

    Xu Tianran patted the hand that she had ced on the wheelchair and sighed. ¡°How can I lead the military in this condition? The military is a force that every emperor must be able to control. You¡¯re the person I trust the most. I¡¯d be relieved to hand the military to you.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°You¡¯re onlycking in terms of your aura. But your intelligence and military knowledge are great. You¡¯re also well-versed in soul tools. I trust youpletely. I¡¯ll gradually let you enter the core circle of my military forces. I¡¯ll tell them that you¡¯ll be my wife, the wife of the Crown Prince, as well as the future Empress.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Ju Zi eximed and stopped pushing the wheelchair. Although she was anxious to save Huo Yuhao, she couldn¡¯t reveal her intention.

    She knelt down in front of the wheelchair.¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m not worthy!¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and caressed her head. He said, ¡°How are you not fit? In my heart, this has nothing to do with the bigger picture or to enable me to seed the throne. I need to have a wife. But this person must be someone I can trust. You are aware of my condition, and you¡¯re also the only person I trustpletely. I¡¯ll give you a proper status and authority. Your only role is to help me stabilize my throne. I¡¯ll give you the strength to seek your vengeance, and the encouragement to go ahead with your revenge. I¡¯ve no intentions other than to rule the entire continent. I¡¯ll make the Sun Moon Empire glorious, and the continent will depend on us once again.¡± As he spoke these words, his calm gaze became passionate.

    Ju Zi bit her lower lip lightly. She was probably the only one who understood Xu Tianran in this world. The injuries he had sustained hadn¡¯t just effected his legs; his manly capabilities were affected too. Ju Zi had waited for a long time for this day. Without Xu Tianran, how could she exact revenge? However, she was truly loyal to Xu Tianran, too.

    It was just that Xu Tianran didn¡¯t know that someone else had appeared in Ju Zi¡¯s heart over the past half month.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s rush over. Otherwise, the Royal Stewards will really cause a huge headache for everyone.¡± Xu Tianran extended his hand to lift Ju Zi up. Ju Zi was grateful, and moved behind him again. She pushed his wheelchair along quickly.

    ...

    The Royal Stewards¡¯ office was in the imperial city. Although it was in a corner, it was quiterge.

    Those who could be Royal Stewards were basically rted to the imperial family. However, not many of them were direct descendants of the imperial family. Direct descendants usually had better options, especially the sons of the current emperor. Besides Xu Tianran, the rest were also given titles as princes. Even those who didn¡¯t qualify to fight for the throne had their ownnd, and those who were qualified had their private mansions in the Radiant City.

    Xu Mochen¡¯s background was one of the best of the Royal Stewards. He controlled the entire organization.

    ...

    ¡°Go in.¡± One of the Soul Kings pushed Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao stumbled and almost fell, but he managed to enter the office.

    The ce was nicely and elegantly decorated. It was constructed like a pce hall.

    Xu Mochen shot some looks at his subordinates and said, ¡°Bring him to the interrogation room. Grill him about how he harmed a member of the imperial family.¡±

    One of Xu Mochen¡¯s subordinates rubbed his palms together and said, ¡°Captain, leave it to me.¡± He dragged Huo Yuhao to the back, apanied by the others.

    Huo Yuhao was still handcuffed, and didn¡¯t resist. He didn¡¯t utter a word, and let them push him.

    The interrogation room naturally wasn¡¯t a good ce to be. It was in the backyard and, appeared to be a simple room. But when the door opened, a bloody smell wafted out.

    Huo Yuhao was pushed into this room. There were all types of torture equipment in the interrogation room. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even recognize many of them.

    ¡°Tie him to the Dragoncarving Pir.¡± One of the soul emperors gestured, and two soul kings immediately brought Huo Yuhao in front of a steel rack.

    This steel rack looked a little weird. It had the shape of a cross, with many holes in it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s handcuffs were separated, but this didn¡¯t affect the restraint on his soul power. The two Soul Kings tied him to the cross directly.

    The rack was extremely cold, and reeked of blood.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils started to shrink.

    Although the handcuffs could restrain his soul power, they couldn¡¯t restrain his spiritual power. His Spiritual Detection might be more difficult to use without the support of his soul power, but he was still able to detect up to a certain range.

    He instantly understood what this rack was supposed to do. There were metal spikes in each of the holes. These spikes were three inches long, and were positioned at very precise spots. These spots weren¡¯t located at a person¡¯s vital areas. It meant that the person controlling this rack could nail Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body to the rack without killing him instantly.

    ¡°Young fellow, I suggest that you be honest. Tell us everything you need to tell us.¡± The soul emperor who had issued the order sat behind a table and looked at Huo Yuhao apathetically. The rest also stood to the side. Someone took a pen and paper and was about to record the details of the interrogation. Xu Mochen didn¡¯t enter the interrogation room. No one knew where he had gone.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    The soul emperor said coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t know? Tell us how you harmed Wang Shaojie and caused him to sustain critical injuries. If you deny it, don¡¯t me us for torturing you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, and wore a mocking look on his face. ¡°If I tell you what you demand just like this, wouldn¡¯t that just give you a better reason to torture me? Since you¡¯re going to torture me anyway, why do I have to give you a better reason to do so? I¡¯m going to give you a suggestion: don¡¯t touch me. Otherwise, you¡¯ll suffer.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t anxious or afraid of these people. He just didn¡¯t want to make things any worse. He had heard Xu Mochen instructing his subordinate to inform the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy of his arrest. He believed that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Illustrious Virtue Hall had to protect him. Otherwise, they couldn¡¯t bear the results.

    ¡°It seems like you won¡¯t open your mouth unless we show you what we¡¯re capable of. Number Four, show him the might of the Dragoncarving Pir. Let him feel what it¡¯s like to have your skin torn and repeatedly cut.¡±

    The youngest soul king came up to the Dragoncarving Pir andughed creepily.

    ¡°Second brother, is it time to start? I¡¯ve not heard someone screaming on this rack for a long time. The sttering of blood is a beautiful sight, indeed. Eighty-one spikes piercing different parts of the body before turning and moving in ce. It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly and said coldly, ¡°Have you really considered it carefully?¡±

    The soul king was hostile. ¡°Young fellow, you still dare to threaten us in the interrogation room?

    Number fourughed viciously, and his right hand grabbed hold of the switch behind him. He pressed it down, and a piercing, rumbling sound filled the room. The spikes started to extend from the holes on the Dragoncarving Pir.

 Chapter 170: Injury! Death! A Human Heart

    The Dragoncarving Pir was a vicious tool. The spikes didn¡¯t pierce out instantly. Rather, they poked out slowly, prating one¡¯s skin bit by bit. It was a torture tool designed to prolong the victim¡¯s suffering.

    However, they didn¡¯t hear Huo Yuhao screaming. Ayer of golden-red light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body the moment the spikes touched him. The spikes were stopped and prevented from piercing his skin.

    The sudden appearance of the golden-red light caused the Royal Stewards to be shocked. They unleashed their martial souls immediately.

    ¡°Impossible. How can he still use a soul skill even after he¡¯s been cuffed by the Dragonbinding Seal? Wait, it¡¯s a soul tool.¡±

    Second Brother revealed an appalled look on his face.

    Although he wasn¡¯t a soul engineer, he was still familiar with soul tools since he was a member of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family. The Dragonbinding Seal was very effective in restraining a soul master. If Huo Yuhao was able to activate his soul tool even though his soul power was restrained by the Dragonbinding Seal, this meant that his soul tool¡¯s ss was higher than the Dragonbinding Seal. The Dragonbinding Seal was already a ss 6 soul tool. What ss was Huo Yuhao¡¯s defensive soul tool?

    Even at this point, these arrogant Royal Stewards didn¡¯t realize anything was amiss. Their eyes brightened, and greed started to fill them.

    Even if Huo Yuhao only possessed a ss 7 defensive soul tool, it would be worth a huge price on the market. If they divided the money, they would still benefit greatly. While they were Royal Stewards, their sry wasn¡¯t that high. In addition, they weren''t direct descendants of the imperial family, which made their statuses very awkward in the imperial city. They obtained all their money through ill-gotten gains as Royal Stewards.

    ¡°You still dare to resist.¡± Second Brother snorted, ¡°Even if your defensive soul tool is superior than the Dragonbinding Seal in terms of ss, your soul power is limited. I want to see how long you can hold on. When your soul power is depleted, the spikes will pierce through your body forcefully. You¡¯ll be torn apart instantly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. One could be spared because of Heaven¡¯s misdoings, but one couldn¡¯t live because of his own sins! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble, but they were too underhanded. If he allowed them to torture him, he might not survive until help arrived. It seemed like he had to take care of them first.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had already turned golden as he pondered in his mind.

    As a spiritual-type soul master, how could he be so easily controlled by others? Hongchen¡¯s Blessingpletely restrained the Dragonbinding Seal. This meant that this ss 6 soul tool could restrict him even less. Furthermore, the main skills of his Spirit Eyes were realized through spiritual power. In this way, it waspletely possible for him to use the soul skills of his Spirit Eyes. It was even easier for him to break free from the Dragoncarving Pir.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his immense physical strength. He couldn¡¯t allow his soul power to continue depleting. With the Imitation skill, the Royal Stewards couldn¡¯t tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings were shining. His fourth soul ring had already lit up now.

    Just as he was about to use the Spiritual Confusion to create an opportunity for himself, the golden light in his eyes disappeared. Even the golden-red light barrier around him was retracted.

    He groaned, and the spikes pierced through his body. Blood sttered immediately. Not only this, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s struggle caused the healing wounds on his back to tear apart once again. He was instantly covered in blood.

    Second Brother was stunned for a moment, while Old Four couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. ¡°I thought you were very tough. It seems like you¡¯re as useless as we initially thought you were! We¡¯ve done you in.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tolerated the intense pain that came from his back. There was a look of jocrity in his eyes right now.

    ¡°Who¡¯s going to stop me?¡± A deep, furious roar sounded at this point, causing the entire ce to shake from the echoes.

    The few people in the interrogation room were stunned. Following this, a loud boom sounded, and the door was kicked open.

    The gloomy-looking Jing Hongchen barged in with Lin Jiayi.

    When Jing Hongchen saw Huo Yuhao, his pupils shrank.

    ¡°Old fellow, who do you think you are? How dare you cause trouble here.¡± Old Four was too arrogant, and didn¡¯t bother to think about who it was that had just barged in.

    However, Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes were already filled with killing intent before he had even finished speaking. He made a pulling motion with his right hand, and a powerful suction force dragged Old Four over.

    Seeing that things weren''t going right, Second Brother leapt towards Jing Hongchen along with the other Royal Stewards.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Jing Hongchen roared, and a gust of milky-white gas blew the five of them away. His nine soul rings also appeared at this point.

    ¡°Titled Douluo.¡± Second Brother eximed. Although he was in physical pain, as he hit a corner of the wall, he was more affected by the shock that he had just experienced.

    The Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯tpare to the Star Luo Empire in terms of the quantity of their Titled Douluo. Titled Douluo were highly-regarded in every empire. No matter how arrogant the Royal Stewards were, they didn¡¯t dare to offend a Titled Douluo!

    Lin Jiayi had rushed to Huo Yuhao by now and stopped the Dragoncarving Pir immediately. He was shocked as he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s bloody body. He quickly retrieved a small white jade vase from his storage-type soul tool. After a moment of hesitation, he took out an azure-green pill and stuffed it into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. After that, he released Huo Yuhao from the Dragoncarving Pir.

    Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow. If their statuses were different, he would¡¯ve killed them all. However, they were Royal Stewards, and had close ties with the imperial family. He couldn¡¯t go all-out against them.

    He took up a few steps towards Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°How are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked a little pale, but his calm demeanor left Jing Hongchen ufortable. Jing Hongchen wished he would kicked up a fuss. A chill rose in Jing Hongchen¡¯s heart as he watched Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t think that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would be unable to protect its own students.¡± While Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sound very forceful, his words struck right at Jing Hongchen¡¯s heart.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s wrath was stirred, and he unwittingly clenched his fist tightly. His obstinate and self-opinionated personality had always been his weak point. This wasn¡¯t a conclusion derived by Huo Yuhao. Rather, this was the verdict of Shrek Academy after they had studied him for years.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return before we speak. The academy will give you a satisfactory exnation regarding this matter.¡± Jing Hongchen suppressed his fury before turning away. Lin Jiayi hurriedly slung Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm over his shoulder and led him out of the interrogation room.

    The pill Lin Jiayi had fed Huo Yuhao was indeed extraordinary. A warm feeling quickly engulfed Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body. He could clearly sense the reduction in pain as the warmth circted his body. The wounds that were bleeding quickly healed, and even his soul power was restored.

    However, a voice sounded from outside before Jing Hongchen could walk out of the interrogation room. ¡°The Crown Prince arrives.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was stunned. He was confused as he stopped in his tracks. Although he wasn¡¯t involved in court politics, he was still aware of the princes¡¯ powers. The Royal Stewards weren¡¯t under the Crown Prince, but were supported by the Third Prince. The prince that controlled the imperial n, who was also Xu Mochen¡¯s father, was the Third Prince¡¯s strongest supporter.

    ¡°Go back into the interrogation room.¡± Xu Tianran said slowly.

    ¡°Greetings to Your Highness.¡± Xu Mochen couldn¡¯t remain silent anymore.

    Xu Mochen knew that things had gone wrong when Jing Hongchen had barged in. How could he not recognize the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall? Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t exaggerate his importance. Xu Mochen could roughly guess what it meant for Jing Hongchen toe here personally.

    However, he didn¡¯t reveal himself. He didn¡¯t enter the interrogation room because he wanted to leave a way out for himself. Jing Hongchen hade too suddenly, and he couldn¡¯t count on his subordinates to have recorded anything substantial. He just hoped that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t harmed too badly. Otherwise, it would be very troublesome for him. He was just going to act like he was ignorant. Without enough of a handle on him, Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t touch him easily. After all, he believed he was standing on the side of reason.

    But who knew that the Crown Prince Xu Tianran would arrive before Jing Hongchen had even left.

    He could ignore Jing Hongchen, but he definitely couldn¡¯t ignore Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran looked at Xu Mochen with a gentle gaze in his eyes and said, ¡°Mochen, rise. We¡¯re all from the same family. You don¡¯t have to be so ceremonious. I heard from Ju Zi that you arrested her ssmate. Can you give me some face and let him go?¡±

    Xu Mochen would never underestimate Xu Tianran because he was being so courteous. On the contrary, he was aware of Xu Tianran¡¯s methods. When the Second Prince had tried to assassinate Xu Tianran, he had failed, and only left him with a disability.

    After Xu Tianran returned, he erupted in fury after enduring for a while. He had captured the Second Prince and his charges in one fell swoop. Eventually, the Second Prince had died a horrible death, and Xu Tianran reaffirmed his position as the Crown Prince even though he was disabled. This showed how frightening Xu Tianran was.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem.¡± Xu Mochen wasn¡¯t qualified to bicker with Xu Tianran. Even his master, the Third Prince, wouldn¡¯t dare to do so. Unless his father was around, Xu Tianran would never bow down to anyone.

    Xu Mochen was cursing Wang Shaojie in his heart now. Not only did the arrest attract the attention of the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, it drove the Crown Prince to pay a visit in person! This wasn¡¯t looking likely to be resolved easily.

    The door of the interrogation room opened. A gloomy-looking Jing Hongchen walked out, with Lin Jiayi and Huo Yuhao following behind him.

    When Ju Zi saw Huo Yuhao covered in blood, her footsteps stiffened slightly and her expression tensed up. However, she tried her best to restrain her emotions. She understood Xu Tianran. If she came off as overly passionate towards Huo Yuhao, then Huo Yuhao was likely to get in trouble. Ju Zi was more than well-aware that in Xu Tianran¡¯s mind, she belonged to him.

    ¡°Greetings to Your Highness,¡± Jing Hongchen called out, but only nodded his head. What was his status? In the Sun Moon Empire, he was equivalent to a Grand Advisor. Even the current emperor treated him with respect, and wouldn¡¯t demand that he stick to formalities.

    Xu Tianran bowed slightly seated in his wheelchair, ¡°Greetings, Hallmaster. I¡¯m disabled, and it¡¯s slightly inconvenient for me to fully pay my respects. Please forgive me for this.¡±

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t expect Xu Tianran to be so formal. He knew a little about Xu Tianran, and regarded him very highly. Not only was he ambitious, but he had ways to get things done too. If he seeded the throne, he was bound to bring prosperity to the Sun Moon Empire.

    However, a surprise attack left the Crown Prince disabled. This made Jing Hongchen a little hesitant. Even with his prominent position in the Sun Moon Empire, the price to pay for supporting the wrong side was very hefty. That was why he decided to watch from the sidelines. Whoever seeded the throne in the end would need his support regardless. All he needed to do was wait.

    ¡°Crown Prince, you don¡¯t have to be so ceremonious.¡± Jing Hongchen gestured.

    Xu Tianran was concerned as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°Hallmaster, I heard from Ju Zi that her ssmate was arrested by the Royal Stewards. Which was why I rushed over. The Royal Stewards have be too brazen. They even dare to arrest a student from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. From your expression, I can tell that they didn¡¯t even inform you before doing so.¡±

    Although Xu Tianran¡¯s words sounded very peaceful, they caused Xu Mochen to curse in his heart. The back of his shirt was drenched in perspiration from stress.

    Jing Hongchen had already been provoked once by Huo Yuhao earlier. Now hearing the Crown Prince¡¯s words, his expression turned even gloomier.

    He answered coldly, ¡°You¡¯re right. No one seems to respect the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy nowadays. Your Highness, I shouldn¡¯tment on such matters since I don¡¯t belong in the imperial pce. However, I think that there might be an overdue reorganization of the Royal Stewards in order.¡±

    While he was speaking, Second Brother, Old Four and the rest had walked out from the interrogation room. When they saw Xu Tianran, and listened to how he addressed Jing Hongchen, they realized that they were in big trouble. They didn¡¯t dare to speak out, just from the sheer terror.

    Xu Tianran nodded his head slightly. ¡°Hallmaster, I¡¯ve not been strict enough on them. I¡¯ll give you an answer for this now.¡± As he spoke, he pointed at Second Brother and the rest, then he said, ¡°Kill them.¡±

    Two very simple words, but they carried a strong murderous intent and aura. A figure appeared from behind Xu Tianran. It rushed towards Second Brother and the others like a specter.

    Even Jing Hongchen flinched at the strong killing intent being exuded. In the next moment, that figure had already returned behind Xu Tianran.

    The figure belonged to a very feeble seeming elder. He only wore the standard attire of a pce attendant. Initially no one had noticed him. His thin figure looked as if he could copse at any time.

    Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Five groans sounded, starting from Second Brother. One Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings copsed. A stream of blood flowing from each of their foreheads, like their foreheads had been struck.

    ¡°Shadow Douluo, Xue Chen?¡± Jing Hongchen was stunned as he looked towards the feeble elder in disbelief.

    Xu Mochen was stunned as well. He didn¡¯t expect that the Crown Prince was so merciless. Before giving him a chance to exin, his fivepetent subordinates were killed.

    It¡¯s important to know that Soul Kings were crucial to an empire. It wasn¡¯t a small matter to kill five of them in one go, as it was likely to cause amotion in the imperial court. But this Crown Prince did it like it was nothing. A chill ran down Xu Mochen¡¯s spine. In addition, he only now found out that there was a Titled Douluo under the Crown Prince!

    The elder slowly lifted his head and smiled at Jing Hongchen, ¡°Hallmaster, it¡¯s been a while. I didn¡¯t expect that you would remember me.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s shock had already disappeared by then. He smiled and replied, ¡°How can I not remember you? When you became a Titled Douluo, I was still stagnant at the Soul Douluo level. I didn¡¯t expect that after more than ten years you¡¯d enter the imperial city.¡±

    Xue Chen answered him, ¡°This is not the ce to speak. I¡¯ll pay you a visit when we return. We can catch up then.¡± After he finished speaking, he lowered his head behind Xu Tianran again. He looked just like a loyal servant.

    The ground was long since stained red with fresh blood. However, Xu Tianran didn¡¯t even nce at the mess. He smiled at Jing Hongchen. ¡°Hallmaster, are you satisfied with this answer?¡±

    Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow and bowed to him slightly. He said, ¡°This is an internal matter. I don¡¯t dare toment. My student is gravely injured, so if Your Highness has no other instructions for me, I shall return first.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded his head slightly and said, ¡°Please do, Hallmaster. In my eyes, you¡¯ll always be a respected elder. You don¡¯t have to be so formal with me.¡±

    Jing Hongchen nodded and walked out. Lin Jiayi followed behind him, supporting Huo Yuhao.

    Xu Tianran turned his head to look at Xu Mochen now. He said, ¡°Mochen! At times, you will have to pay the price for standing on the wrong side. Please tell uncle that. Let¡¯s go.¡± After he finished, he gestured behind him, and Ju Zi immediately pushed his wheelchair to the exit. His servants followed. After what Xue Chen had done earlier, who dared to underestimate the servants of Xu Tianran?

    Ju Zi heaved a sigh of relief. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s grave injuries broke her heart, given Jing Hongchen¡¯s reaction, she reckoned that he should be fine.

    Jing Hongchen would¡¯ve gone berserk if Huo Yuhao had died at the hands of the Royal Stewards. No one in the Sun Moon Empire would have been able to stop him, not that anyone was likely to interfere in this matter.

    However, Ju Zi was secretly impressed with the Crown Prince. He¡¯d settled the matter decisively, and exploited Jing Hongchen¡¯s presence to get rid of fivepetent cronies under the Third Prince. He even dealt a harsh blow to Xu Mochen. He sold Jing Hongchen a favor and dragged him into the situation.

    It didn¡¯t matter whether Jing Hongchen admitted or denied anything. Things would still sound the same when this matter spread. Everyone would believe that the Crown Prince had killed a few people because he wanted to appease the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Ju Zi was relieved that Xu Tianran didn¡¯t pay too much attention to Huo Yuhao. It might¡¯ve been because of his injuries, but this was what Ju Zi wanted. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao might be at risk in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao was clear-headed throughout the whole ordeal. He had stopped using Hongchen¡¯s Blessing because he could sense Jing Hongchening.

    He made a judgment call in that instant, considering his options. Right now, there was no one to prove that he¡¯d done some tampering on his own. What was this level of physical pain to him anyway? With the Life¡¯s Gold protection, he didn¡¯t perish even with those injuries in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. These bodily injuries were nothing to him. They may seem horrible, but they really weren¡¯t that serious. He would only need a day or two to recover.

    However, this matter wouldn¡¯t be resolved so easily. Jing Hongchen had to give him an exnation, since he was an exchange student and more importantly, the closed-door disciple of Elder Mu.

    Jing Hongchen was in low spirits now. He felt like he¡¯d been set up. Of course, he thought this had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. It was the Crown Prince¡¯s trap.

    If not for the fact that he knew that the Royal Stewards weren¡¯t under the Crown Prince¡¯s management, he might¡¯ve thought that all of this was a scheme set up by Xu Tianran, baiting him into this matter.

    He had no choice but to appear given Huo Yuhao¡¯s importance to Shrek Academy. But he immediately ran into a conundrum after acting.

    Huo Yuhao was fine. He hadn¡¯t sustained internal injuries even though he was mutted on the outside. But Jing Hongchen was still dragged down. He was clearly aware of the Crown Prince¡¯s intentions.

    The Third Prince was the closestpetitor to the Crown Prince, since he had the support of the prince that controlled the imperial n. After this matter, the Third Prince was likely to have been angered even though he didn¡¯t dare to say anything. What a Xu Tianran! It was no wonder that Jing Hongchen had regarded highly him in the past. Even while he was disabled, he remained a determined person. He didn¡¯t lose his sharpness due to his disability.

    Jing Hongchen turned back to look at Huo Yuhao, and he became even more depressed. Huo Yuhao was quite an actor, and Jing Hongchen still had to settle his matter. Even as the Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t think it was wise to use underhanded methods to deal this. However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to give a proper exnation either.

    Huo Yuhao was soon sent to the academy¡¯s infirmary, and Jing Hongchen called for Fan Yu.

    Come to think of it, Fan Yu hadn¡¯t seen Huo Yuhao for a long time. When he saw Huo Yuhao lying on a bed in the infirmary covered in blood, his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He was dumbstruck, and his blood boiled. He was about to turn violent.

    ¡°Teacher Fan Yu, don¡¯t be agitated. Huo Yuhao is fine. He¡¯s only sustained superficial wounds. Jiayi, exin the situation to Teacher Fan Yu,¡± Jing Hongchen said gently.

    Fan Yu¡¯s eyes burned with fury and he interrupted, ¡°There¡¯s no need to exin anything. Hallmaster, I only want to ask you one thing. If Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were to sustain such injuries in Shrek Academy, how would you react? I won¡¯t say anymore. You should know what to do.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned and left. He didn¡¯t even look at Huo Yuhao again.

    Jing Hongchen was stunned as he watched Fan Yu walking away. He was puzzled ¨C Fan Yu was leaving just like that? He didn¡¯t even bother to listen to an exnation or check up on Huo Yuhao. What was going on?

    He didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had used his Spiritual Detection to share what he thought with Fan Yu just as Fan Yu was about to erupt. Huo Yuhao also told Fan Yu that he was fine.

    Fan Yu¡¯s fury wasn¡¯t a pretense. However, he had already calmed down when he spoke to Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°Hallmaster, what do we do?¡± Lin Jiayi asked anxiously.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression was extremely grim now, ¡°It¡¯s all Wang Shaojie¡¯s fault. How dare he lead an outsider to make an arrest in the academy. Expel him immediately, and kick him out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Lin Jiayi hesitated. ¡°But we don¡¯t have proof that he was the one who did it¡­¡±

    Jing Hongchen was a little vulgar as he interrupted, ¡°Why do I need any proof to expel a student? Follow my instructions.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Jiayi was petrified. He was an intelligent person, since he was able to be the teaching director. He could subtly sense something from Jing Hongchen¡¯s words. It seemed like Jing Hongchen had made a decision on the empire¡¯s current situation!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s wounds were quickly dealt with. When Jing Hongchen came to him, it was undeniable that Huo Yuhao was gravely injured. He didn¡¯t seem to be putting on a show. Jing Hongchen also didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had torn the wounds on his back deliberately, which made him appear to be in a worse state. However, Huo Yuhao had controlled his soul power well, and only torn the skin on the surface of his wounds. His muscles had still managed to heal. Besides some loss of blood, he wasn¡¯t in much danger.

    The few healing-type soul masters from the academy helped him stitch his wounds and used healing-type soul skills to aid his recovery. His injuries stabilized very quickly.

    ¡°How¡¯s his condition?¡± Jing Hongchen asked a doctor.

    ¡°He¡¯s not too hurt. He just lost too much blood. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know what caused such injuries. It¡¯s veryplicated, and it¡¯s impossible for it to have been inflicted by any type of weapon or tool that I know of. We gave him some medicine that boosts blood production. This young man is very fit. I think he¡¯ll recover within ten to fifteen days.¡±

    Jing Hongchen nodded, and he couldn¡¯t help but think of what Fan Yu had said before he had left. If his grandchildren were in this state, what would he do?

    ¡°Wake him up. I have something to say to him.¡± Jing Hongchen instructed.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The doctor took out a small bottle and ced it under Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose.

    Huo Yuhao was already awake. But as he inhaled, a burning yet refreshing feeling surged through his nose. He was joltedpletely awake. He sneezed before opening his eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m Jing Hongchen.¡± Jing Hongchen stepped beside the bed where someone had already ced a chair for him. Right now, he wore a friendly look as he watched Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Greetings, Hallmaster.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was a little hoarse, and he sounded slightly weak too. It was like he was out of breath.

    Jing Hongchen pondered for a moment before he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened today. The academy didn¡¯t do our job well to protect you. The perpetrators who arrested and tortured you have already been punished. The academy will also toughen up our management, and we¡¯ll not let anyone harm you again. I hope that you can forgive us. I extend my apologies to you on behalf of the academy.¡±

    What a man! No wonder Elder Mu alwaysmented that he was an adaptable person, though he was one who had a hot temper.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and said, ¡°Hallmaster, you¡¯re not the one who harmed me. You don¡¯t have to apologize for this. In addition, the mastermind of the perpetrators was the one who appeared outside the interrogation room after the incident. He instructed those five guys to torture me. I didn¡¯t expect this to happen either. With the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s current status, I didn¡¯t think that anyone would be brazen enough to arrest someone in the academy. My injuries are nothing. They¡¯re nothing for a soul master like me.¡±

    ¡°However, I hope to learn something from this exchange. I¡¯ve been in the academy for some time, but I¡¯ve learned nothing apart from some basic theories. I¡¯ll lose more time because of this dy.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was secretly hateful. Huo Yuhao might be young, but he was scheming. He was using words to corner Jing Hongchen. However, Jing Hongchen had no choice but to bear it if he wanted his grandchildren to be safe at Shrek Academy.

    After pondering for a moment, Jing Hongchen said, ¡°The captain of the Royal Stewards, Xu Mochen, is the son of a prince in the imperial n. I have no authority over him, but I¡¯ll make him apologize to you personally. The academy has to bear some of the responsibility for this incident too. From now onwards, you can bring back all the materials you use for creating soul tools from the academy. However, this doesn¡¯t include blueprints or formation arrays. You don¡¯t have to be tested either. When you recover, ask Xuan Ziwen to bring you into the Illustrious Virtue Hall. This will help you in your progress and increase your knowledge. Although Elder Mu has passed away, he¡¯s always been the elder that I¡¯ve respected the most. If anyone dares to provoke you in the academy, you must tell me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a look of gratitude as he realized that his target was about to be fulfilled. ¡°Thank you Hallmaster for granting me this opportunity. I won¡¯t let you down. I¡¯ll be studious.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was irked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s sincere expression. He squeezed out a smile and stood up before saying, ¡°Alright, rest well then. I¡¯ll ask them to give you the best medicine for your treatment.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head respectfully.

    s, he didn¡¯t suffer for nothing. Hehe.

    After his wounds were taken care of, Huo Yuhao was sent to a ward in the infirmary to rest. He was given the best care due to Jing Hongchen¡¯s concern over his condition. Even his meals were much better. Although they weren¡¯t as good as Shrek Academy¡¯s meals, he was well-nourished.

    Although he didn¡¯t lose as much blood as the previous time, Huo Yuhao was still tired, as he had tried to make the act as real as possible. The stinging pain in his back was greatly relieved with the help of medicine, but he became groggy from it.

    At this point, the door opened slowly, and someone walked in.

    Huo Yuhao was very alert, and he unleashed his Spiritual Detection. However, he became relieved once again. It was Ke Ke.

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao.¡± Ke Ke came to his bedside and called to him.

    Huo Yuhao was very fatigued at this point. He didn¡¯t want to scam Ke Ke either, thus he decided to pretend that he was sleeping.

    Ke Ke was furious as she muttered to herself, ¡°The bastards from the Royal Stewards are too vicious. He¡¯s covered in so many bandage. He must be critically injured! His old injuries haven¡¯t even recovered. I really want to teach them a lesson. I want to castrate all of them and make them eunuchs.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was amused, but he held in hisughter. Ke Ke was a very direct person, and wasn¡¯t scheming at all. She was a gooddy.

    Ke Ke lowered her head and ce her face in front of Huo Yuhao to look at him. She blew a gust of air towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, and he almost couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore.

    Ke Ke lifted her hand to touch Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. She sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a little small. Otherwise, I¡¯d be interested in you.¡± As she spoke, she even pinched his face.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart pumped faster! What did she mean when she said she might be interested in him¡­?

    Ke Ke was in a momentary daze. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was not about to wake up, she silently left.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid she¡¯d continue to wait. He was almost on the verge of sleeping, but was jolted awake by her words.

    The door opened again at this moment.

    Why was she back? Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed.

    However, he soon realized that something was amiss. The choking voice that he heard didn¡¯t belong to Ke Ke.

    A figure came to his side and caressed his hair. Huo Yuhao was annoyed as he thought, ¡°Why do they like to touch my hair? How can they vite a man¡¯s hair so easily?¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m sorry. I implicated you. If I didn¡¯t bring them to deal with you, you wouldn¡¯t have conflicted with Wang Shaojie. You¡¯re injured again, even though you just recovered. It¡¯s my fault.¡±

    Warm tears fell onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, but they were soon wiped off by a tender and smooth hand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart fluttered a little.

    His bed wasn¡¯t huge. There wasn¡¯t any excess space after heid on the bed. However, Ju Zi stillid beside him on her side and ced her head on his shoulders. She sobbed gently.

    Huo Yuhao was even more afraid to move at this point. Ju Zi was a mystery to him. It was only now that he realized everything after he saw Ju Zi with the Crown Prince. While her background was pitiful, she had someone to back her. No wonder she had mentioned meeting him in battle in the future.

 Chapter 171: Lets Not Meet Anymore

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s feelings for Ju Zi wereplicated. He was guarded against her, he pitied her, and he liked her too¡ªparticrly when she was taking care of him. He had to admit that in his heart, he saw traces of Ma Xiaotao in Ju Zi. However, Ma Xiaotao was a bad-tempered and straight-talking big sister, while Ju Zi was a warm and quiet older (but younger than Ma Xiaotao) sister.

    Through their interactions, he gradually realized that Ju Zi had stopped trying to cover up who she really was in front of him. Huo Yuhao could see that this girl¡¯s heart was filled with hatred. Her innate kindness was still there, but it was deeply concealed.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know that when I first ate your grilled meat, I waspletely taken by its taste. Your food reminded me of my father again. I once said that if I were to marry and love someone with all my heart, I would love someone who was a talented chef like my father.

    ¡°While you are much younger than me, I¡¯m not afraid to admit that I like you. However, I kept this feeling in the depths of my heart, because there is no future between us. Regardless of age, experience, or anything else, there is no way we can be together.

    ¡°I can tell that you are akin to a prodigy in Shrek Academy. With only four rings, you are able to face off against a Soul Emperor. Furthermore, soul beasts with tens of thousands of years of cultivation could not resist you. You are the most distinguished soul master I have seen. In the future, you will be a powerful entity on the continent. However, do you know that you have a weakness, too? Looking at you objectively and coldly, I can see it better. Your problem is that you are too outstanding, and even if you try your best to hide it, how can you conceal your vast potential as a genius? Sometimes, you have to wait for the waves to quiet down. A step back may give you the peace you want. This is what I want to tell you. If you can do that, then your path in the future will be even more brilliant.

    ¡°I hope this is thest time I will cry. Soon, I will leave the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. I don¡¯t know if we will ever meet again in the future, but I hope not. Because I don¡¯t want to face you on the battlefield. I just hope that you can live a good, peaceful, and happy life. Find someone you love and marry her. Have pretty and adorable kids. A normal life. I know that this peace is impossible for you, but I still wish it for you. How I want to be that woman! But s, I can¡¯t!

    ¡°I have to go.¡± Ju Zi turned her back to him. ¡°Despite our short time together, I still want to give you a present.¡±

    Here, she became quiet. Every single one of her words was imprinted on Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, particrly that line ¡°a good, peaceful, and happy life¡±. It almost made Huo Yuhao cry. He did not dare to open his eyes, because he did not know how he should face her. His breathing became rougher and deeper.

    He suddenly felt a fresh and clear gush of air. It was clear, but warm and moist, too. Ju Zi¡¯s supple lipsnded on his face as she kissed him gently. That kiss brimmed with warmth, as well as an indescribable sadness.

    When her lips left his face, tears rolled uncontrobly from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. At that moment, Ju Zi had left an imprint of herself on Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Even if it was not love, it was a permanent mark.

    Ju Zi wiped her tears, looked at Huo Yuhao and said softly, ¡°This is my first kiss. I wanted to kiss your lips, but I did not obtain your consent. Hence, I decided to kiss your face. Leave your first kiss for your fated girl. I¡¯m going, don¡¯t let me see you again.¡±

    He gently wriggled his body while Ju Zi stood up. Her upper teeth bit down on her lower lip as she tried hard not to cry. Turning her back to him, she dashed out of the ward.

    The moment she entered, she knew that Huo Yuhao was awake. Huo Yuhao had a special trait. Even though he did not know it, the top of his ears would be stuck tightly to his head when he was awake. When he was meditating or sleeping, there would be a slight gap.

    Even Wang Dong had not noticed this change. However, Ju Zi, who had been taking care of him for the past few days, noticed.

    He could hear the doors closing. Huo Yuhao slowly opened his teary eyes, and suddenly realized how helpless he was. He wanted very much, from the bottom of his heart, to help her. However, he knew that it was impossible.

    Her enemy was his country. Her path was the opposite of the one he wanted to take. He could not ask her to abandon her vision and force her to be with him. If she did, would she still be Ju Zi?

    ¡°Sister Ju Zi, don¡¯t you know that I want you to have a peaceful and normal life, too?¡± Huo Yuhao sighed as he calmed himself.

    He could still clearly remember that when he was in Shrek Academy, there was a special lesson on psychology in the Ultimate Soldier n. Their teacher had taught them that those who wanted to achieve great things must be cold and unfeeling. Great emotional turbulence would affect one¡¯s chances of sess.

    Huo Yuhao tried to control his emotions. While he thought that he did a good job, as did his teachers, it was apparent that he was not there yet.

    Who could be truly emotionless? Furthermore, he was not even 15. Most people of this age would undergo mood swings and emotional instability. After all, thoughts of love and romance would start setting in, further upsetting one¡¯s emotional stability.

    He took a few deep breaths and finally, he was able to calm himself down. Losing control of his emotions could not help him solve anything. His solution for himself was simple. In his heart, he told himself that the only way to change the world would be to further strengthen himself. Only then could he control everything.

    With this thought in mind, Huo Yuhao slowly fell asleep. Tonight, he would not cultivate.

    ¡­...

    The next day, at noon, Huo Yuhao received news from Ke Ke that Ju Zi had withdrawn from school. No one knew where she went.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was mentally prepared, he was still stunned for almost 15 minutes. Slowly, he came back to his senses.

    ¡°Stop being shocked! Where do you think she went?¡± Ke Ke asked in a depressed tone.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think she is working for her vision.¡±

    ¡­...

    Huo Yuhao recovered quickly. Three dayster, he left the ward and returned to his dormitory to rest. In reality, his wounds were almost fully recovered.

    He did not give much more thought to Ju Zi. Instead, he devoted all his energy to cultivation. With Jing Hongchen¡¯s tricks, he could soon study in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. That was his objective.

    To avoid arousing Jing Hongchen¡¯s suspicion, Huo Yuhao cultivated in the dormitory for five days before he went to look for Xuan Ziwen. He told his teacher that his wounds hadpletely healed, and he could now study in Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Xuan Ziwen looked at the youth before him. While it had only been a few days, for some reason, Huo Yuhao looked more mature all of a sudden. This feeling was strange and indescribable. However, he knew that he was right.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know that, from a national perspective, I don¡¯t want to bring you inside? The Hallmaster has underestimated your intelligence,¡± Xuan Ziwen frowned as he shook his head.

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, you are not a politician, but only a researcher. I believe that I can help you further refine your research. After all, I remember our promise at the start. You must remember it too!¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed. ¡°Of course I remember it! Okay, don¡¯t forget that the Hall is not like here. Your every word and action will be under surveince. Listen more, study more, look more, think more, and talk less. Try not to interact so much with the other Shreks. Stay by my side, and you will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Huo Yuhao said respectfully.

    ¡°Come with me,¡± Xuan Ziwen told him, standing up and bringing Huo Yuhao out.

    In theb, Zi Mu took a look at the youth apanying Teacher Xuan and seemed shocked. Ke Ke, however, was excited. She seemed happier than the time she had first entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    ...

    Illustrious Virtue Hall was the core of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary building. Once he entered, however, Huo Yuhao realized that the Hall was much bigger than he had first thought.

    Illustrious Virtue Hall, like the extravagant auction hall of the Star Luo Empire, were both underground. However, in terms of size, they were simply iparable.

    After he entered the ordinary-looking building that was no greater than five hundred square meters in size, Xuan Ziwen brought him through three checkpoints, each guarded by a soul master and a soul tool.

    When he entered the interior of the building, Huo Yuhao could see twenty elevators that formed the shape of an arch. Every single elevator looked metallic, and could fit more than ten people.

    Xuan Ziwen brought Huo Yuhao into the first elevator and scanned his ID card on a soul tool. Then, he gripped the metal pole in the center of the elevator and inserted his soul power. Slowly, the elevator descended.

    The entire process took two minutes toplete. Huo Yuhao took note of the depth of their descent. To his surprise, it was more than a hundred meters!

    As they descended, the interior of the elevator waspletely sealed, and he could not see what was outside. A small white strip of light illuminated the interior of the elevator.

    Xuan Ziwen did not say or exin anything to him. Just as he had said earlier, he wanted Huo Yuhao to listen more, see more, think more, and not ask more.

    The metallic doors of the elevator slowly opened.Xuan Ziwen looked at Huo Yuhao and nodded before he led the way out.

    It was a world madepletely out of metal. While it was still in the shape of an arch, all one could see was metal. After he exited the elevator and walked through a corridor of average length, the area inside widened.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and could not help but exim under his breath, ¡°Ah¡­¡± .

    The scene before him was too shocking. He stood in a wide and spacious hall that he was unable to see the end of. Countlessboratory tables were neatly arranged, extending into the distance. When he looked at them horizontally, there had to be more than fifty tables.

    Each table was five meters by three meters! Stretching into the distance in front of him, there were more tables than he could count. People were working around each table. This humongous hall, including its dome, was about twenty meters high and it was likewise covered with metal. A strong metallic smell and a low metallic hum invaded Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses.

    Was this Illustrious Virtue Hall?! This was a factory for soul tools! Furthermore, soul tools manufactured by the Illustrious Virtue Hall could not be of low quality. Those working here were probably the true elites of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Xuan Ziwen said in a low voice, ¡°The area we are standing at right now is not under surveince. After we go down, everywhere is under visual and audio surveince. This is the manufacturing hub of Illustrious Virtue Hall. I don¡¯t know how big it is, but it should be at least half the size of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy above. There are five thousand tables, with some hidden in the shadows. As some research has yet tomence, around one-third of the space here is empty. However, the elites of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Illustrious Virtue Hall are all present. One can say that the most powerful soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire are here.¡±

    ¡°Some of them are interns from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. They will only work here for a short time before they continue their studies. In Illustrious Virtue Hall, research is conducted in the form of small groups. Every group has a different number of members. Normally, they will have more than five tables to work at. Other than the public research spaces, there are some secretbs. Those who can work in the secretbs must be at least Rank 8 and above. Notice the badge on each of their chests. The badges of Illustrious Virtue Hall are different from the outside world. The background is the sun and moon, and stars dot the sky. Each star represents a single rank.¡±

    As he said that, Xuan Ziwen took out an eight-starred badge and ced it on his chest.

    ¡°Once one reaches Rank 9, one will have reached the highest and most powerful level in our country. They will be offered maximum protection. In Illustrious Virtue Hall right now, including the Hallmaster, there are four Rank 9 soul engineers. The Hallmaster is the youngest. Everyone doing research here could be said to be a disciple of one of the four most powerful soul engineers, including me and you. My teacher is one of the four.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had been in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for quite some time, but he could clearly sense that he was learning more today than the rest of his days herebined. As he listened to Xuan Ziwen, he did not dare to open his mouth. All he did was memorize what he said and nod along.

    Xuan Ziwen was pleased with his response. He smiled slightly and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. We can descend. You will be given your own table, and I will give you a topic to research. If you have questions, ask me directly. I know you can use your spiritual power to send messages. I have faith that you will do well.¡±

    Under Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance, the two of them walked for ten minutes before they reached an empty table. Xuan Ziwen took out an ID card and a Rank 5 soul engineer badge. He fixed the badge to Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest, and scanned the ID card against a machine by the side of the table. Then, he used his own ID card as further verification.

    ¡°Keep this card. The next time you enter, as well as when you use Table No. 1238, you will need this card.¡±

    After he scanned his card, the many buttons under the table lit up. Looking at them carefully, there were at least fifty of them. Every single button had a small logo, and each of them was colored differently.

    Through Xuan Ziwen¡¯s exnations, Huo Yuhao discovered that each of these buttons was linked to a different material. Once he pressed it, the corresponding material would appear. ording to the rarity and cost of the material, a different amount of the material would appear. Each table was rationed a certain amount.

    For example, each table could only use a hundred grams of mithril.

    Huo Yuhao made some mental calctions. No wonder Jing Hongchen was so generous when he said that he could take all of the experimental metals. There were limits, however this satisfied him enough already. He started to study the icons, and asked Xuan Ziwen some questions. He had seen at least ten types of rare metals that he had never heard of before.

    Xuan Ziwen tossed a manual at him and said, ¡°This is your first day here. Familiarize yourself with the various functions of the table. There are clear instructions in the manual. For a distinguished soul engineer, a good table will help you a lot in your research. I have to go and do my own research. If you need me, use your ID card to ess Secret Research Zone 1. Find a guard, and ask the guard to look for me. However, I will only give you one opportunity per day to ask me questions.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao replied respectfully.

    Xuan Ziwen appeared exceptionally cool as he said that. With that, he walked into the darkness, and soon, he was covered by it.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s sharp eyesight, he noticed that Xuan Ziwen had walked to the end and stopped in a pitch-ck corridor. There, two ck shadows appeared and spoke to him before he disappeared. Secret Research Zone 1 should be over there.

    He had finally entered Illustrious Virtue Hall. While it was unlike what he had imagined, Huo Yuhao was still pleasantly surprised. Here, he could naturally learn more things, and it was no doubt the best ce for him to find his own path.

    He did not rush to operate a soul tool. Instead, he sat by his table and studied the manual carefully.

    ¡­

    Huo Yuhao did not know that in a room in the depths of Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen was observing his every move quietly.

    Lin Jiayi stood next to Jing Hongchen and said, ¡°His recovery was quicker than most normal people, but if we take into consideration the medicine I gave him that day, it should be normal. Hallmaster, are you really going to let him study here? You know Teacher Xuan¡¯s personality. Once he starts his research, he will forget about eating and even sleeping. I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    Jing Hongchen waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, we have to let him learn some things. If not, how can we answer to Shrek Academy? He is but a three-ringed soul master with the powers of a Rank 4 soul engineer. Let him learn. The might of a single person cannot change a war, right? This could have been dyed, if not for the bastards from the Royal Stewards. Send someone to observe his actions. As long as they seem normal, leave him alone. Also, take note of the type of soul tools he makes.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lin Jiayi acknowledged.

    Jing Hongchen stood up and left. Every single day, he bore the heavy responsibility of research. As the youngest Rank 9 soul engineer, his research affected the progress of the empire.

    Yesterday, he had epted the Crown Prince¡¯s invitation for an evening banquet. Before he went, he had to finish the tasks at hand.

    ¡­...

    The tiny manual scared Huo Yuhao. Only now did he realize the significance of the table before him.

    The ordinary-looking table was full of different functions. The table before him had all the functions of the big manufacturing tools in Shrek Academy. The table contained abrasives, pressurized equipment, and high-temperature manufacturing tools. One could say that with the right materials, it was not impossible to manufacture Rank 7 and Rank 8 soul tools from this table.

    Huo Yuhao spent the entire day reading the manual and trying out the functions of the table. However, no one knew that he had used his spiritual power to scan the table.

    Lunch and dinner would be sent to the table by assistants. From his observations, Huo Yuhao realized that some soul engineers did not even bother to eat. They had yet to touch their lunch even at dinnertime. Under these circumstances, the assistants would remind them to eat.

    ...

    When thepletely exhausted Huo Yuhao left the Illustrious Virtue Hall with Xuan Ziwen, the sky outside was almostpletely dark.

    ¡°So, how do you feel?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked with a smile.

    Huo Yuhao blurted out, ¡°Time seems to pass quicker inside!¡±

    Xuan Ziwen looked at him in surprise and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! You integrate fast, it¡¯s not easy for one to obtain such a feeling. I thought that you might even find it boring.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid I won¡¯t have enough time. Teacher Xuan, I shall head back to rest.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°Go, you will enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall by yourself tomorrow. Use your ID card. Once you are inside, you will be scanned to ascertain your identity. I¡¯m your guarantor. If anything happens, I will be implicated too.¡± As he said that, his gaze seemed to deepen.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, please don¡¯t worry. I will not cause trouble for you.¡± Huo Yuhao said respectfully.

    Back in his dorm room, Huo Yuhao carefully used his Spiritual Detection to sense if there were any surveince soul tools in his room. After he was sure that there were none, he began to draw on a piece of paper.

    The table¡¯s make-up was tooplicated. He spent almost 4 hoursing up with a rough outline. Tonight, he could only aplish so much. There were at least 10 formation arrays in the table. Each of them alone did not appear to be veryplicated, but they were all tightly interconnected. He had never even heard of some of them.

    For example, three Grade 3 formation arrays were used to assist a Grade 4 formation array. Together, they could be used as a Grade 5 formation array with a reduced cost. To him, this was a valuable experience indeed!

    He was not just recording the formation arrays in the research table. To Huo Yuhao, this was a learning process.

    The next day, Huo Yuhao met He Caitou as they were eating breakfast. Both of them had gotten permission to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall, but while He Caitou had passed the examination, he was still an intern. He had special teachers guiding his research inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, unlike Huo Yuhao, who had nothing but a table and his wits.

    However, He Caitou admired Huo Yuhao. While he had teachers who offered him guidance, they did not allow him to touch the table. Compared to Huo Yuhao, he was in a more miserable state.

    The two of them shared the same thought. Only after they entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall did they realize how big the world of soul engineers was. Only then did they know how terrifying the research of the Sun Moon Empire was.

    For a long period afterward, the two of them devoted all their attention to research, and studied tirelessly as they tried to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

    Lin Jiayi, the teacher in charge of the exchange students from Shrek Academy, soon lost interest in Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao¡¯s research appeared directionless. Every day, all he did was make a small, delicate but simple metal object. He rarely used any formation arrays. Most of the time, he would just sit there and do nothing. asionally, he would ask Xuan Ziwen some questions, but they were all superficial andpletely unlike those posed by high-level soul engineers.

    However, He Caitou had caught his attention. He Caitou appeared exceptionally talented in making soul tools. He learned quickly, and his research seemed to have gained steam. Every day, he was making progress.

    This was the strategy that He Caitou and Huo Yuhao came up with. While He Caitou was better than Huo Yuhao in terms of soul tools, it was not a significant difference. With him as his cover, Huo Yuhao could use his vast spiritual power to learn even more stuff here.

    Do nothing? If Lin Jiayi knew what he was doing, he would probably p himself.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s version of ¡®doing nothing¡¯ was to use his spiritual detection to sense what everyone else around him was researching, particrly those soul engineers who appeared to be making soul tools that could also be weapons.

    His n was simple. By detecting them and then recording them, he could then do careful research and analysis on his own. If he ran into something he didn¡¯t know, he would ask Xuan Ziwen. Superficially, he appeared to be doing nothing. In reality, his progress was terrifying. The small items he made were not so simple once he brought them back to his dorm. With his Life Guardian, Huo Yuhao would take more time to finish making these objects, but under total secrecy.

    After half a year, the ten exchange students from Shrek Academy, as well as their teacher, all appeared very normal, including Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Among the ten of them, six had entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall to study. The other four obtained permission to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall for three days a week. In terms of their overall abilities with soul tools, they all progressed differently. Of course, they could note into contact with the most important research. Even so, after this batch of exchange students returned, Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department would improve greatly.

    Of course, this was just a superficial appraisal. Half a month earlier, as the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had lowered their guard, Fan Yu had finally found a chance to send a batch of Huo Yuhao¡¯s pictures back. These pictures were extremely valuable. To Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, this was worth more than a hundred thousand year soul beast! With these pictures, they could cut a hundred years off their research.

    Huo Yuhao still had the ability of a ss 6 soul engineer, but he was now one that even Xuan Ziwen recognized.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s progress shocked even Xuan Ziwen. In the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, his understanding of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul engineering abilities was the mostplete.

    After he chose the path of a closebat soul engineer, Huo Yuhao felt like a tiny canoe in the middle of the ocean looking in the direction of a lighthouse. Not even Xuan Ziwen understood his true progress in soul tools.

    ¡°Woo¡­¡± Huo Yuhao exhaled as he stretched. Happily, he looked at the tiny silver piece of metal in his hands. The metal was irregrly-shaped, and itsplicated shape was formed from many different types of metal. Huo Yuhao had spent more than ten days making it. Today, he was finally sessful. This also meant that his soul thruster, which he had designed and made for himself, wasplete.

    By picking the path of a closebat soul engineer, Huo Yuhao¡¯s first priority was not to increase his attack or his defenses. Instead, he needed to increase his speed.

    Compared to a normal soul ancestor, he was much more powerful. He had 3 times more soul skills than a normal soul ancestor. Regardless of whether it was in terms of attack, defense or control, he had powerful soul skills in each. Coupled with his Eye of Destiny, his closebat abilities had reached a level of strength that, even against a soul king or soul emperor, once he had drawn close enough to them, they might not be able to resist his attacks.

    However, his only weakness was in terms of his speed. He had domain-type control soul skills, as well as attack soul skills that could affect an area. However, these were not his specialty, and he could not change them so easily. No one could be strong in all aspects. When Huo Yuhao chose to specialize as a closebat soul engineer, he gave up his domain attacks and his ability to attack from a distance. Hence, he needed to increase his speed.

    Compared to a regr four-ringed soul ancestor, even an agility-type four-ringed soul ancestor, he was at least as fast, if not faster. However, if he faced a soul king who specialized in speed, then his weakness would be exposed. Hence, he would need control type soul skills to limit his opponent, and his disadvantage in speed meant that his originally-explosive power would be affected. Hence, a soul thruster was his priority.

    Over the past half a year, Huo Yuhao spend half his time on research that would benefit his soul thruster. He spent the other half of his time on research intobining the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden tools and soul tools. In both aspects, he had obtained exceptional results.

    After hepleted this item in his hand, it meant that his Grade 6 soul tool, which he had made himself, wasplete. All he needed to do was assemble it.

    The more he researched soul tools, the better he understood Ma Rulong¡¯s words. A powerful soul engineer would only use his own soul tools, because he knew what he needed.

    He took in a deep breath and smiled contentedly. To him, this was not just thepletion of a Grade 6 soul tool. More importantly, the manufacturing of this soul tool allowed him to put what he had learned over the past half year into practice. This allowed him to further solidify his fundamentals. These profound principles and theories from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were all good supporting theories for him to make even more soul tools in the future. He believed his improvement would be exponential in the next two years.

    However, the only thing that he felt helpless about was the increase in his soul power. In the past half year, his soul power had reached Rank 43. Yet, he felt as if he were progressing at a slower rate. At this speed, he would only be a Rank 50 soul king by the time the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament rolled around. This meant that he had fallen behind his friends.

    However, he still had a positive outlook. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that these two and a half years he would be spending in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were important to raising his abilities as a soul engineer. He had his own ns for increasing his soul power.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was looking contentedly at the item in his hand, he suddenly felt an odd feeling.

    This did note from him, but instead, from his Eye of Destiny. He could feel that the Eye of Destiny was numbing him, and a sense of danger crept up in his heart.

    Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao leapt to the side and tumbled off his seat. He curled up under the table as he released his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, and his Hongchen¡¯s Blessing could be triggered at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡± Four explosions sounded inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall. The terrifying explosions instantly caused a destructive shockwave.

 Chapter 172: Ambush, and the Mysterious Metallic Man

    Four separate bursts of light appeared in four different directions; they all appeared in locations that were densely packed with researchers.

    The explosion came too suddenly, resulting in the soul engineers near them having almost no chance to react. At least a hundred soul engineers were immediately vaporized by the explosions. Hundreds of tables were ripped apart by the terrifying explosion, and bits of metal flew everywhere like a horrifying wave of shrapnel. Cries of pain mixed with the smell of blood. Under the terrifying explosion, these shot everywhere.

    The terrifying explosion even caused the ground to shake. In the huge underground facility, over one-third of all personnel were either injured or killed.

    Huo Yuhao was a rtively new entrant, as he had been in there for less than half a year. Hence, his table was located near the periphery, and not at the center of the explosion.

    Even so, the powerful shockwave from the explosions pushed him and his table back by over 10 meters.

    The survival instincts of the soul engineers manifested themselves at this moment. One-third of all soul engineers were affected, but only a few hundred were killed, mainly from the initial st. Every soul engineer from the Illustrious Virtue Hall activated their protective soul tools, which helped to mitigate the effects of the explosion. While many were severely injured, the number of deaths was still under control.

    After the explosion, ck shadows emerged from the ground. These people were d entirely in ck, and were extremely agile. When they appeared, they started a killing spree in all four directions.

    Looking from the sky, one would discover that a hole about 10 meters wide had appeared at the location of each of the explosions. These men in ck emerged from these holes. Not only were they prepared, but they were also very powerful. Immediately, they turned the ce into a ughterhouse.

    While Huo Yuhao hid underneath his table, his spiritual detection was still active. He never expected that a ce like the Illustrious Virtue Hall, which possessed such tight security and defenses, would be attacked. The power of these people was beyond his imagination.

    Among them, none seemed to be below the level of a Soul Sage. The moment they appeared, they revealed their martial soul true bodies and started a wild massacre.

    It would be hard to assemble a team like this, even in Shrek Academy!

    Quickly, Huo Yuhao discovered something. Because these men in ck were so powerful, they inadvertently revealed their weaknesses.

    When Huo Yuhao triangted his spiritual detection on the right shoulder of one of the men in ck, the man¡¯s power suddenly increased 10 times. He was then able to pulverize a Grade 5 soul engineer who was just about to fire a soul tool at him. At this moment, Huo Yuhao understood their origins.

    Body Sect. They were from the Body Sect. However, why would they suddenly attacking the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? And the Illustrious Virtue Hall?

    Were they mad?

    However, regardless of what he thought right now, there was no way he could leave. These people from the Body Sect did not care about anything else. The moment they entered, they started their killing spree without a second thought.

    After a short while, hundreds of soul engineersy in pools of blood on the floor. While the soul engineers had started to counter-attack, the people from the Body Sect were more powerful than they had expected. Among them, there were at least 10 of them with the power of a Titled Douluo. How could their soul tools resist?

    Furthermore, all these people wanted to do was destroy. In their hands, the precious tables were ripped apart like scrap. After a short while, the cost of the damage they had done was unthinkable.

    However, Huo Yuhao took sce in the knowledge that He Caitou and Teacher Fan Yu were both not there. They had followed a bunch of students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy out to test their soul tools. If not, he would not be able to just hide there.

    However, he could not do this forever. Who knew when men the from Body Sect woulde over to his table? While Huo Yuhao was confident in his own abilities, his opponents were Soul Sages! A Soul Sage from the Body Sect was more powerful than a Soul Sage from other ces. He could not beat them.

    Damn it! If they came, how could I escape?

    As he thought about that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s two hands had already turned into the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincers. His right hand released his Darkgolden Terrorw as he tapped the floor underneath him forcefully.

    While the floor was covered with a metalyer about 17 centimeters thick, it was soon torn apart by his sharp Darkgolden Terrorw. Using both of his hands, he dug furiously at the ground underneath him. Soon, he made an indent. Huo Yuhao then used his strength to tilt his table. Coordinating with his Darkgolden Terrorw, the table soon fell over t on the ground, covering the indent in the ground that he had dug. Unless someone flipped this table over, they would be unable to discover his presence.

    Huo Yuhaoy in the hole in the ground, unmoving. He breathed through a tiny slit between the table and the ground. He used his Spiritual Detection to sense the situation outside.

    As the most powerful research facility for soul tools on the continent, the Illustrious Virtue Hall was not so easily defeated. After a short moment of panic, a piercing rm sounded, and the Hall¡¯s counterattack began.

    A huge soul tool appeared from the domed ceiling. This soul tool was in the shape of a screw, and about 5 meters long. At its thickest, it was about 2 meters wide, and a purplish-blue light started to swirl around it. Then, from its pointy end, it began to shoot rays of purple light at the Body Sect invaders, as if it had eyes.

    When it started, the Body Sect invaders treated it as if it were nothing. They tried to resist it using their powerful soul power. However, they soon realized that something was amiss.

    The purple light which came from the roof gave off a terrifying current. While they were able to avoid being injured by the current, they were unable to shake off the paralysis the current caused. A Titled Douluo was struck by at least 10 rays of purple light, causing him to be pinned to the ground.

    The soul engineers, who had been on the verge of retreat before this, vigorously counterattacked. Soon, the Body Sect began to take casualties too.

    At this moment, a figure dashed through the sky and was soon suspended in mid-air. Pursued by countless rays of purple light, his boy shone like an illusory shadow. However, not a single ray of purple couldnd on him.

    Then, the domed ceiling turned green. Under the terrifying green light, all of the soul tools on the domed ceiling melted.

    ¡°Go.¡± The figure stabilized himself in mid-air and waved his hands. Instantly, the green liquid started to fly in the direction of the soul engineers.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be poisoned, how dare you!¡± A voice resounded. A film of red light suddenly started to spread as it blocked the green liquid.

    From the depths of the Hall, dozens of figures zoomed out. Leading them was Jing Hongchen.

    When Jing Hongchen saw the carnage underneath him, his eyes almost popped out of his head in rage. Since the establishment of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, it had never experienced carnage like this before. Everywhere he looked, he could see the corpses of soul engineers.

    On a battlefield, he was confident in his ability to destroy the Body Sect invaders with his soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, their attack came too suddenly. Furthermore, the Illustrious Virtue Hall was a few hundred meters underground. Not only did outsiders not know of its location, but they shouldn¡¯t even know how to prate it! Who could have thought that the Body Sect would chose the dumbest, but most effective, way? They dug a tunnel from an unknown location, and then attacked its most vulnerable spot and broke through its defenses.

    The ck-robed man in mid-air appeared to not have heard Jing Hongchen¡¯s words as he said coldly, ¡°Kill!¡±

    The ck-robed man who had just destroyed arge amount soul tools was naturally the leader of the Body Sect, Du Busi. However, since he had brought the ck-robed men here, he would not reveal his identity, even if everyone knew who he was.

    Jing Hongchen also roared in rage. ¡°Spare no one!¡± As he said that, a powerful red light shot out from his body. Behind him, a metallic light that resembled red lotuses spun rapidly and came together. In a split second, thousands of slender, red rods were aimed at the sky.

    A red helmet appeared on Jing Hongchen¡¯s head, a metallic mask covered his face, and countless rays of red light flew rapidly towards the leader of the Body Sect.

    The other powerful members of the Illustrious Virtue Hall who apanied Jing Hongchen revealed their soul tools as well. They attacked the Body Sect vigorously as both sides shed head-on. Instantly, soul power brimmed in the underground space, rocking it with the sounds of explosions.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart thumping rapidly in his chest. This was the first time he had seen something like this.

    Why did the Body Sect attack the Illustrious Virtue Hall so brazenly? Could it be for the benefit of the three countries on the Douluo Continent? Impossible! ording to what teacher had said, the Body Sect only cared about its own interests. Everything it did was for its own interests. Right now, they had made themselves enemies of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. What benefits could they reap?

    Huo Yuhao wracked his brain, but he couldn¡¯t think a reason for it. All he cared about right now was his own safety.

    Three rays of light from soul tools had alreadynded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s table. Every single one of them was capable of dissolving metal, leaving the table heavily damaged. Once the table waspletely destroyed, he would have nowhere to hide. In a fight between so many powerful cultivators, if he was exposed he would be torn to pieces.

    What could he do? Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know¡­ Right now, all he could do was dig deeper into the ground beneath him and fully expand his spiritual detection, praying that he would remain safe from the shes above.

    However, the battles between soul powers was too powerful, already causing a strong soul power storm. Under these circumstances, his spiritual power would be torn to shreds when exploring. After he tried unsessfully to probe the outside world with his spiritual power, resulting in him bleeding from the mouth and nose, he gave up.

    He wouldn¡¯t die here; that would be too frustrating. It would be better for him to go out. However, if he did go out, which side should he help?

    If not for already being directly in the midst of it, Huo Yuhao would steer clear of this cesspool. It would be good for the Body Sect to kill more members of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, as this would dy the impending war. However, he was directly involved right now! If he died here, it would be a tragic.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual detection picking something up. As he could not explore outside, he used his spiritual detection to sense the earth underneath instead, and pick the best spot to dig.

    As his power increased, his spiritual detection also became more powerful. Even though he was buried in dirt, he could sense everything within a certain radius. Just now, he felt the powerful spiritual power crushing him since he began digging rx temporarily.

    This made Huo Yuhao think of something as he probed.

    Indeed, just as he¡¯d predicted, there was a tunnel about five meters long underneath him. The tunnel was extremely narrow, and only one person could crawl through it at any one time. Evidently, it was new.

    ¡°Excellent, if I can enter this tunnel, then I won¡¯t be attacked. Furthermore, the air cirction in this tunnel should be okay. Breathing won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Happily, Huo Yuhao used all his strength to continue digging underneath him.

    Boom! His table was struck by a soul cannon shell, sending it flying into the air. Some shattered metal pieces were blocked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. By now, he¡¯d already dug two meters, and he extended his body. His left hand using an Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, and his right hand had the Darkgolden Terrorw. Using every ounce of his strength, he smashed forward, and finally breached into the tunnel.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dy, not even for even a second. He wriggled, and dropped into the tunnel.

    Indeed, when he dropped into it, he felt the previous sense of danger dropping drastically. Huo Yuhao sighed in relief. However, he couldn¡¯t stay here for long. Above him, a battle raged. What if it caused the tunnel to copse? Once he got his bearings, he discovered that this tunnel stretched far into the depths of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Naturally, there would be more powerful Illustrious Virtue Hall soul engineers there. It would probably be safer.

    Unfortunately this tunnel was not tall enough, and he could only advance by crawling forward. First, he had to leave the danger zone. Anything else was of secondary importance.

    When he entered the depths of the tunnel, the sounds of the explosions outside began to soften. Huo Yuhao sighed in relief. He¡¯d managed to dodge this bullet. In the end he still did not know who would be crowned victor.

    This ce was a few hundred meters deep. Regardless who it was, they wouldn¡¯t use their most powerful attacks. If the entire underground facility copsed, even a Titled Douluo won¡¯t be able to carry the weight of a few hundred meters of earth! Huo Yuhao savagely thought, that the best oue would be for both sides to be severely injured in this battle.

    When he advanced forward, he felt the air clearing up. Could it be an exit?

    The moment he thought about the word ¡®exit¡¯, he tightened up. Now he realized that this tunnel was evidently not dug by the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡­

    Could it be that the attack of the Body Sect was only a diversion to capture Jing Hongchen¡¯s attention? Could their true target actually be through this tunnel, which he had coincidentally ventured into? Were they after some precious soul tool from the Illustrious Virtue Hall? Or¡­ Huo Yuhao trembled. He thought of a possibility, which was also one of his objectives in this expedition. Even though it seemed impossible to him, he had to consider it. If the objectives of Body Sect were identical to his own, then everything would be easier to exin.

    Embryo, the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo. They were after that.

    When he thought about the three red hundred thousand year soul rings around Du Busi, everything became clear to Huo Yuhao.

    He personally witnessed the highlight of the Star Luo Auction held in Star Luo City being awarded to the highest bidder.

    He also knew that someone said that they were willing to purchase the item for 100 million golden soul coins. After this was announced, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy never rested. Even when they came over as exchange students, many people were still coveting that item. But the defenses of the Illustrious Virtue Hall were too powerful, and no one knew where the embryo was hidden.

    100 million golden soul coins. An astronomical sum. This was aside from the immeasurable value of the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo.

    Huo Yuhao heard Elder Mu say that in the past one hundred years, very few hundred thousand year soul beasts had been killed, particrly within the Great Star Dou Forest. The soul beasts became more powerful, and word went around that the killing of a hundred thousand year soul beast would have terrible consequences on its killers.

    However, a hundred thousand year soul beast could bring a Titled Douluo''s strength to another level. Not only did its soul ring and soul bone provide soul skills, but the overall strength increase it gave a soul master was much more terrifying. It could be said that as long as a soul master''s ninth soul ring was a hundred thousand year one, he would definitely be able to be a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo.

    Even Du Busi, who had three hundred thousand year soul rings, may not be able to reach the level of a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo. Of course, at his level, there were some negative consequences attached with increasing his power using soul rings. Which was why he did not dare to face off against Elder Mu.

    What bravery, Body Sect! They dared to rob the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Only after they made their preparations, of course. After all, they were only a sect, and not a whole country. If the Illustrious Virtue Hall wanted revenge, they still had to find them first. Furthermore, they took steps to conceal their identities, meaning that no one could say for sure they were responsible.

    After he had discovered their goal, what should he do? Huo Yuhao was put in a difficult spot, because the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo was part of the reason for his journey too!

    Elder Mu had spoken with him about this, and because Huo Yuhao himself had his Spiritual Detection and Imitation, Elder Mu told him that if he was given the chance, he should make a go for it. Of course, the pre-condition was that he had to ensure his own safety. Even if he were discovered, his opponents would not hurt him. At most, they would send him back¡­

    When Huo Yuhao came to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he abandoned this idea. The defenses of the Illustrious Virtue Hall were tight, and it was equipped with thetest and most powerful soul tools. It was impossible for him to enter undetected. Perhaps he could sneak in easily, but he could not get rid of the defenses.

    Who could predict the arrival of the Body Sect? They unleashed a vigorous attack, and then sent someone to sneak in and steal it. This n was surely formted over a long time. Evidently, the Body Sect was not confident of destroying the Illustrious Virtue Hall in one blow. Attacking them head-on like this was only a diversion; their true objective was past this tunnel.

    So¡­ should he head over, or not?

    Huo Yuhao knew that whoever the Body Sect sent to infiltrate the Illustrious Virtue Hall must be someone that Du Busi viewed as extremely important and powerful. Someone he couldn¡¯t beat easily. However, would Huo Yuhao just abandon it so easily? This was a rare chance!

    Faced with the Body Sect¡¯s powerhouse, his only advantage was his familiarity with soul tools.

    Time waited for no man. Without giving much thought to it, Huo Yuhao decided, No!

    Compared to the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo, his life was far more important. Furthermore, he already had a million year soul ring and a hundred thousand year soul ring. He shouldn¡¯t be too greedy, as it would lead to catastrophic consequences. Could he betray the trust of Brother Skydream, the Ice Empress, and Electrolux?

    When he thought through it, Huo Yuhao calmed down quickly. But he still couldn¡¯t allow the Body Sect to get the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo. If it remained here, he at least had a chance to get it. If the Body Sect took it, he would have no such chance.

    He had to find a way to contact the Hallmaster.

    Just as he thought about any way to contact Jing Hongchen, a violent vibration could be felt.

    The entire building appeared to have started trembling. A boom sounded where Huo Yuhao had been, and a chunk of the tunnel copsed. Thick mud and dust came straight towards him.

    Oh no! The color drained from Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. The battle outside was too ferocious, causing the tunnel to copse. Furthermore, the entire underground facility was trembling violently, and the surrounding earth and mud were on the brink of copsing.

    No matter what dangery at the end of the tunnel, it was better than being buried alive! Heaven toyed with humans. Huo Yuhao did not even take a second before he ran into the depths of the tunnel.

    Just as he ran out, the tunnel behind him copsed. It was impossible for him to exit the way he hade unless he wanted to be buried alive.

    He did not know whether he shouldugh or cry, but Huo Yuhao only had one option right now. Taking a deep breath, he thought, Since heaven wills it, I shall try and obtain salvation through peril.

    After he moved ahead a bit, the tunnel in front of him suddenly started to twist and turn. This confused Huo Yuhao. While he had never been to the mysterious parts of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, he could tell from the tunnel that the intruder had done his nning. Even underground, he was able to urately sense the shape of the earth. How could the secrets of whaty underneath the Illustrious Virtue Hall be leaked?

    -----------

    The underground base underneath the Illustrious Virtue Hall...

    A fierce explosion and tremors forced both sides to stop. All of them realized that if the ce copsed, no one would make it out alive.

    ¡°Du Busi, why?¡± Jing Hongchen asked through gritted teeth. Suddenly, he sensed something. Immediately, he trembled in rage as he cursed in anger, ¡°Bastard, you dare to¡­!¡± As he said that, he ran toward the interior of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. He suddenly recalled where exactly therge explosion came from.

    However, how could the Body Sect members, who were so close to their goal, allow him to interfere? A terrifying green storm descended from the sky. Du Busi, who did not fear tapping into his origin soul power, vanished. A countless number of terrifying figures flew towards the powerful members of Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    They evidently wanted to kill Jing Hongchen. Hence, they disregarded the attacks of the other soul engineers.

    Helpless, Jing Hongchen could only retaliate. With his Grade 9 soul tool, his power matched that of Du Busi, who was likely the only Transcendent Douluo on the continent. With Rank 99 soul power, if he did not fear the copse of this underground world, more than one-third of the soul engineers would have already perished.

    The battle resumed as both sides resumed their intense fight. Yet, the number of casualties did not increase much. After all, they did not fight with all their strength, but instead focused on defending! Du Busi¡¯s aim was to pin down the powerful soul engineers of Illustrious Virtue Hall and create a chance for his people.

    ------

    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao left the tunnel and went into another one.

    Soul tool lights shed from both sides of the tunnel, indicating that the structure was unstable.

    This should be the interior part of Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, where was the person who came in before him?

    As Huo Yuhao ascended, he cloaked himself in ayer of fog. After some deliberation, he also changed his form.

    Hidden in the fog, he put on a face mask to make himself look ordinary. Then, using Imitation, he transformed into Du Busi!

    One must say that his control over his spiritual power was extremely precise. Not only did his stature and appearance resemble Du Busi, but he even conjured a ck robe that looked like the one Du Busi was wearing. In short, he looked like Du Busi without his veil.

    His heart pounded quickly. However, since he was there, there was no chance for escape.

    As he thought, he slowed his steps and expanded his Spiritual Detection, probing out in front of him.

    After he walked forward a bit longer, he felt a tug in his heart. He quickly entered a tunnel to his left, where a metallic ck door stood open. Inside it was an extremely spaciousb.

    Right now, theb waspletely empty. From the energy he sensed, he could tell that many of the powerful Illustrious Virtue Hall members had rushed out from here.

    Since he was here, Huo Yuhao had to explore. He dispelled the fog around him and put on a veil. He then entered the vastb.

    Theb was indeedrge, round and at least 100 meters wide and 30 meters high. When Huo Yuhao entered, a huge object immediately caught his attention.

    It was a huge man made out of steel. It was at least 15 meters tall, and its huge frame was almostpletely made of steel. From its appearance, it looked simple, but the frame of its body wasplete. Its chest was propped open and inside there was a chair-like object.

    Huo Yuhao did not just look at it with his eyes. He even made a sweep of it with his spiritual detection. After he swept it, he retreated quickly, and almost fell down.

    He found thousands of formation arrays on the metallic man¡¯s body. He had almost never felt such precise formation arrays before. Even more terrifying, he could sense a horrifying power in the body of the metallic man. This belonged to the metal itself. Yet, how could he fully understand it in such a short time?

    What¡­ what exactly is it?

    Huo Yuhao paused, and then walked forward quickly, stopping in front of the metallic man. The closer he got, the bigger it appeared to him. Before the metallic man, he felt like an ant.

    He tried to use his Darkgolden Terrorw to sh at the metallic man. Sparks flew, but all that he did was leave a white scar on the metal. Huo Yuhao did not use his powerful soul power, but normally, not even gold or silver could resist his ws. This metal man was incredibly resilient!

    This was the highest level of research in Illustrious Virtue Hall. Could they be developing the metallic man for war?

    He raised his head to look at the opening in the metallic man¡¯s chest. The control chamber should be there. As he thought about how he controlled the all-terrain exploration soul tool, he realized how insignificant it waspared to the metallic man. This confirmed his suspicion that this metallic man was extremely important to Illustrious Virtue Hall, and that it was at the highest level of research for them in terms of soul tools.

    However, how could he take it away? This was too huge, and it was not something Huo Yuhao could store with his storage-type soul tool.

    If he couldn¡¯t take it away, he had to destroy it. At the very least, he could inflict some damage on Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, it was too strong, and with his power, there was no way he could do that in such a short time.

    As Huo Yuhao agonized over it, he directed his Spiritual Detection from the metallic man to the area around him.

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s that?¡±

    There was scaffolding at various heights around the metallic man. They were made so that its creators could further refine it. Near Huo Yuhao, there was a low metallic tform. Some of the items on this tform were connected to the metallic man.

    His body shed, and he arrived before the tform, the connected items in front of him.

    There was an item that was slightlyrger than a palm, which resembled a mirror. A silvery-white ornamentalyer surrounded it. Formation arrays were engraved on top of it. At its center, there was a huge sapphire that protruding. The sapphire was originally light-blue, but six rays of starlight now shone on it with an oddly hypnotic light.

    ¡°Could¡­ could this be a starlight sapphire?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s face changed color. ¡°What arge starlight sapphire!¡±

    Starlight sapphire was a mystical sapphire that contained a massive amount of energy. It contained mysterious spatial energy, and was a good material to make space-type soul tools. cing one piece the size of a thumbnail into a storage-type soul tool could increase its storage space by almost a cubic meter.

    Starlight sapphire was valuable because there were very little of it. There were even fewerrge pieces, which were extremely precious.

    No one had ever seen or heard of a piece asrge as the one before him! How could Huo Yuhao not be surprised? At the same time, he pondered its uses.

    Could that be all? Huo Yuhao thumbed the huge starlight sapphire and lifted it, along with the metallic formation it was iid into. He used his Mysterious Heaven Technique and slowly inserted a bit of his soul power into it.

    A powerful sensation started to spread from the starlight sapphire. Huo Yuhao felt his soul power leaving him rapidly. In a matter of seconds, almost a third of it was gone.

    At this moment, he suddenly realized that the top of the metallic man¡¯s head had started to glow blue in tandem with the light emitted from the starlight sapphire.

    A ray of blue light from the starlight sapphire shone out, and started to spread. The metallic man¡¯s head gave off a simr light. When the two lights met each other, a bright blue glow suddenly illuminated the entireb.

    The odd distortion in space shocked Huo Yuhao once more. However, all he could do was stand there, unmoving.

    Fortunately, the blue light did notst too long. When the light faded, Huo Yuhao discovered to his surprise that the metallic man had disappeared.

 Chapter 173: Its, Its Actually Her...

    This was indeed a storage-type soul tool! It had to be the biggest storage-type soul tool there was! As he saw the sapphire, Huo Yuhao was both delighted and shocked.

    He didn¡¯t expect his luck to be so good, he had actually obtained such a treasure! He could sense that this metallic man had some capabilities, even though it was only halfplete. Furthermore, there were many formation arrays in this metallic man. It wasn¡¯t beneficial just for him in his research of soul tools. He believed that he could match up to the top-ranked soul engineers in Illustrious Virtue Hall if he managed topletely understand this metallic man. Of course, he would still need a lot of time. But possessing this metallic man meant that he practically owned a soul tool encyclopedia from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    He quickly put the storage-type soul tool away in his own storage-type soul tool before leaving.

    He had no mood to think about the hundred-thousand year soul embryo at this moment. This metallic man was much more important than the hundred-thousand year soul embryo. He was only thinking of how he should leave this ce.

    After rushing out of the tunnel, Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and his heart started to beat faster and faster.

    The booms outside seemed to have be softer. The battle between the two parties appeared to have dropped in intensity.

    What should he do? Should he still take that tunnel? He had no choice. Even if he had to dig after entering the tunnel, he still had a slim chance. With the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and Darkgolden Terrorws, he was capable of digging another tunnel. If he managed to dig until he reached the rest of the tunnels in the underground base that the Body Sect members had gone into, he could escape.

    Huo Yuhao sped up as he considered his options. He rushed towards the opening of the tunnel that he had entered earlier.

    At this point, a ck figure shed past with an rming speed.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the other party shouted. An intense purplish light shone, and a frightening, suppressive force caused Huo Yuhao to nearly suffocate.

    Two yellow, two purple, and four ck soul rings appeared on the person¡¯s body. He was a Soul Douluo with a pair of thick arms. At this moment, his arms had already turned into a pair ofrge pincers.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was deep and frail. He also removed the veil from his face.

    The other party was stunned upon seeing the old and frail face that Huo Yuhao had created for himself with his Imitation, and knelt down on one knee, ¡°Greetings, sect master.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very nervous now. He knew that he had imitated the right person.

    The other party¡¯s martial soul and dress revealed his identity as a warrior of the Body Sect. He was a Soul Douluo-ranked expert who possessed a Body Soul - his Arms were his Body Soul! How powerful was he? Did he dig the tunnel with his arms?

    ¡°Get your hands on it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked him.

    ¡°Yes, we did.¡± The Soul Douluo appeared very excited. He presented something to Huo Yuhao with both hands.

    It was a white tray. There was a woodendle on it with hundreds of gemstones of all colors. A ball of white gas was trembling slightly on this woodendle.

    Huo Yuhao hadst seen this item at the Starlight Auctionce. How could he forget this top-ranked finale item!? Although he didn¡¯t know how the other party got their hands on it, he was certain that it was a hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo. The Godsealing Altar was definitely real.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. He snatched the Godsealing Altar from the other party. He set it in front of him and took a good look at it before nodding and saying, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve contributed greatly this time. You¡¯ll be greatly rewarded when we return. Go on, leave quickly.¡±

    As he spoke, he put the Godsealing Altar away in his own storage-type soul tool.

    However, he immediately realized that he¡¯d failed. His storage-type soul tool couldn¡¯t contain the Godsealing Altar. Huo Yuhao almost pped himself. How could he forget this? If the sses of soul tools were too far apart, the storage-type soul tool wouldn¡¯t be able to contain a higher-ss soul tool!

    At this point, reverberating booms could be heard from the outside again. The man in ck in front of Huo Yuhao stood up quickly, looking very shocked. He pointed his finger at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°You, you¡¯re not the sect master?!¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°What gibberish are you spouting?¡±

    The man in ck turned fierce. ¡°I sensed the sect master¡¯s aura on the outside. You¡¯re an imitation! Go and die!¡±

    His right arm had already turned into a huge, purple fist as he spoke. He punched straight towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. That instantaneous, explosive force caused the entire tunnel to distort slightly.

    He used his other hand to reach towards the hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo.

    When the other party imed that he wasn¡¯t the sect master, Huo Yuhao knew that things had gone wrong. His abilities were far inferior to this Soul Douluo¡¯s. His life was in grave danger now that he had been discovered!

    At this critical moment, Huo Yuhao disyed what he had learned from the Ultimate Soldier n. He did the only thing that was right.

    Ayer of scarlet-gold light surfaced on his body. It was the fifteen-second Invincible Barrier from the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. His defensive strength increased threefold with this Invincible Barrier.

    He also unleashed the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, though the diamond crystals didn¡¯t release any glow under the disguise of his Imitation.

    As he unleashed both his defensive capabilities, he used the hundred-thousand year soul embryo to receive the other party¡¯s frightening fist. However, the other party didn¡¯t seem to take any heed as he continued to reach his hand over.

    A hundred-thousand year soul ring and soul bone were a treasure to every soul master. This Soul Douluo never expected that someone would allow this treasure to be damaged after obtaining it.

    He reckoned that Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation must be of a certain standard, or Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have dared to trick him. That¡¯s why he unleashed his entire strength with this punch. It was almost impossible to retract his fist.

    However, the hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo was their main target! Whether it was the hundred million gold coin reward, the soul beast embryo itself, or the ss 9 Godsealing Altar that contained it, they were all valuable treasures. However, he was anxious because Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to care.

    His left hand reached for his right hand at this moment rather than grabbing towards Huo Yuhao.

    The Body Sect had expended a lot of effort for this n. They had spent almost two years on their advanced preparations. They had also done their own research on the Godsealing Altar.

    The Godsealing Altar could seal life within it. However, the target must lose all ability to struggle before it could be sealed. Once the target was sealed, even a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t break out. It was normally used to seal some powerful soul beasts that had lost their fighting strength, but it was used, if rarely, on soul masters.

    However, the Godsealing Altar wasn¡¯tpletely wless. The seal was sustained by drawing from the trapped person¡¯s soul power. That¡¯s why it was very powerful internally, but was unable to exert any significant external defensive strength. A certain amount of force could cause this ss 9 soul tool to crack. That was why the Godsealing Altar was also known to be soft on the outside, but tough on the inside.

    Huo Yuhao naturally had some understanding of the Godsealing Altar. That was why he made such a choice. After obtaining the huge experimental metallic man, he just wanted to leave this ce safely. He wasn¡¯t that interested in the hundred- thousand year soul beast embryo, either. He couldn¡¯t absorb a hundred-thousand year soul ring with his current abilities. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even know what this soul beast¡¯s type was! That was why he¡¯d rather release this soul beast, which also happened to be the only way he could resist the other party¡¯s attack. Otherwise, even Hongchen¡¯s Blessing couldn¡¯t withstand the other party¡¯s attack, considering the gap in their cultivations.

    Survival was his only goal now.

    The Soul Douluo who was chosen to carry out this critical task was indeed very powerful. He still managed to achieve his goal even though he changed his move at thest moment. His left hand managed to grab hold of his right hand. His body stiffened up, and his right fist stopped right in front of the Godsealing Altar.

    However, it had taken all of his energy to do this. After all, he hadpletely unleashed his right fist. He knew that Huo Yuhao would exploit this opportunity to attack him, but he was fairly confident of his own defensive strength. However, something unexpected happened.

    Huo Yuhao attacked him, but he used the Godsealing Altar to attack him.

    Huo Yuhao could sense where the other party¡¯s fist had stopped using his Spiritual Detection. He smashed the Godsealing Altar towards the other party¡¯s fist. He used all his strength this time, and the strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer waspletely unleashed.

    Bang!

    Kacha-!

    The Godsealing Altar was smashed against the Soul Douluo¡¯s clenched fist. A crack appeared on this dazzling ss 9 soul tool as a piercing, cracking sound echoed out.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± the Soul Douluo roared furiously. He wanted to snatch the Godsealing Altar back.

    However, the temperature in the entire tunnel suddenly dropped. A streak of white gas drilled its way out of the crack on the Godsealing Altar.

    Huo Yuhao let go of the Godsealing Altar and quickly retreated. The Soul Douluo opened his arms and grabbed towards that streak of white gas.

    A woman¡¯s voice, sounding very aloof and furious, eximed, ¡°Despicable humans! Go and die! All of you can go and die!¡±

    In the next instant, both Huo Yuhao and the eight-ringed Soul Douluo saw everything turn white in front of them.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see the Soul Douluo, but he could tell that the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing¡¯s Invincible Barrier had stalled. His circting soul power weakened, and a piercing, cracking sound shook the air in the next moment. A frightening chill surged towards him from every direction, and engulfed his body.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t felt cold for a long time due to his Ultimate Ice. However, he was feeling chilly at this moment. His body and spirit were about to be frozen, and his body turned rigid.

    At this point, a surprised voice sounded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, ¡°It¡¯s-it¡¯s actually her¡­ How is this possible? How is this possible?¡±

    A refreshing gust of air was released from the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Scorpion¡¯s skeleton to tackle the chill. Huo Yuhao¡¯s frozen blood started to circte normally once again. The Ultimate Ice continued to protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s body during this chill, and kept him from beingpletely frozen.

    However, Huo Yuhao could sense that even the Ultimate Ice seemed inferior to the chill that was sweeping over him.

    He had always thought that his Ultimate Ice brought about the most extreme chill, but this sudden change caused his understanding to be revised.

    When he reopened his eyes, he was shocked by what he saw.

    The entire tunnel had be narrower. There was now ayer of crystalline ice about a foot thick covering the inside of the tunnel. The Soul Douluo had been turned into an ice sculpture. He was motionless as he stood in front of Huo Yuhao. The Godsealing Altar was also frozen after it dropped to the ground.

    The tunnel had turnedpletely dark now. The soul tools that were used to increase visibility had lost their effect. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything.

    ¡°Ice Empress, what¡¯s going on? What did you mean just now?¡± The shocked voice he had heard hade from the Ice Empress.

    The Ice Empress sounded very appalled. ¡°That¡¯s-that¡¯s the aura of the Snow Empress!¡±

    ¡°Snow Empress!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body jerked, and he almost lost his voice. ¡°Are you saying that the hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo sealed within the Godsealing Altar belongs to the leader of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress, who also happens to be ranked third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the Snow Empress¡¯ aura.¡± The Ice Empress sounded more certain now. ¡°In the continent, only the Snow Empress possesses an aura even chillier than mine. That voice also belonged to the Snow Empress. I¡¯m certain that it¡¯s the Snow Empress.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t believe it as he asked, ¡°But, is that even possible? Isn¡¯t the Snow Empress¡¯ cultivation close to seven hundred thousand years? If a soul beast wants to turn into a human, it has to make a choice at the hundred thousand-year mark. Since the Snow Empress has already existed for seven hundred thousand years, how can she be reborn into a human? Could it be someone else from the same species?¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°It¡¯s impossible. The Snow Empress is special. She¡¯s an Icesky Snow Lady that was given life after receiving the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. How can a normal Snow Lady be more powerful than me? It¡¯s definitely the Snow Empress. Although I don¡¯t know how she did it, I¡¯m certain that it¡¯s her.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Whether it is or it isn¡¯t the Snow Empress, we have to leave this ce quickly. This is not the time to consider it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was jolted to his senses. Yes! He wasn¡¯t out of danger yet!

    He quickly walked towards the Soul Douluo. A cold light shed in his eyes, and he said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± As he spoke, he stretched out his right index finger, and his Darkgolden Terrorw pierced through the ice, puncturing the Soul Douluo¡¯s forehead.

    There was still a possibility of revival after being frozen under extreme conditions. However, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t survive if he remained here and was captured by Illustrious Virtue Hall. It might even reveal his tracks. It wasn¡¯t time for him to be merciful right now.

    He bent over and picked up the damaged Godsealing Altar, putting it away in his storage-type soul tool. Although it was damaged, it was still a ss 9 soul tool! It was still extremely valuable in terms of research and materials.

    The fighting noises outside abruptly became even louder. Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before returning to the previous tunnel.

    The tunnel hadn¡¯t caved in, and Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to sense the changes in the soil above the tunnel. He quickly advanced, and soon arrived at the copsed spot. He used his Spiritual Detection to check the situation above, and was greeted with a delightful surprise. From where he was, it was only three meters to the surface. The top was also covered by a steel board, helping to conceal the situation beneath it. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer decisively, and started to dig upwards. He quickly dug his way up to the board.

    The metal board above made jerking noises, and Huo Yuhao leapt up and stuck his body to it.

    The air here was extremely polluted, and the smell of stinking soil made it hard to breathe. His Spiritual Detection enabled him to locate a ce to conceal himself as he moved along the steel board. His Darkgolden Terrorws tore it apart, and he silently made his way underneath aboratory desk.

    He was now quite close to the main hall of Illustrious Virtue Hall. After calming his breathing for a moment, he observed the situation in front of him carefully.

    The entire underground base had already been reduced to a huge mess. Less than a fifth of theboratory desks were in good condition. The losses Illustrious Virtue Hall had suffered couldn¡¯t just be measured in terms of money.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression was very pale. Streaks of red light were continually being released from his body.

    Du Busi remained in mid-air. However, their targets were no longer each other. Rather, it was the swaying and shing white figure in the air.

    Streaks and streams of frozen white gas were being released from this figure. However, Du Busi and Jing Hongchen¡¯s dominant attacks prevented this white gas from spreading.

    Besides Du Busi and Jing Hongchen, the rest of the people from both sides had stopped fighting at this point. They watched this fight between the three powerful parties as they clearly separated into two different sides.

    Huo Yuhao managed to catch a clear glimpse of the white figure. It was a young girl that seemed to be only two or three years old. Her chubby body was covered in a snow-white, cotton skirt.

    She roared viciously and tried to break out of the encirclement. Many people from the Body Sect and Illustrious Virtue Hall had already turned into ice sculptures, obviously her doing.

    ¡°Is that really the Snow Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the Ice Empress.

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°It should be. After the Snow Empress was reborn as a human, she should have turned into a human embryo. She must be trying to give up her rebirth and return to her original form. However, she doesn¡¯t seem to possess even a third of her normal strength. Otherwise, these humans wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her no matter how strong they were!¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°It¡¯s normal for her powers to fall after being trapped in the Godsealing Altar for so long. Furthermore, she has experienced a rebirth into a human.¡±

    ¡°No, I have to help her!¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ determination shocked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, ¡°Ice Empress, don¡¯t be reckless. The situation is very messy now. How can we help her?¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°The Snow Empress saved me before. Now that she¡¯s in trouble, I have to help her. Don¡¯t worry, I have my own way. I won¡¯t endanger you. Don¡¯t move. I¡¯llmunicate with her.¡±

    The Ice Empress was slowly released, and the golden-red, four-hundred thousand year soul ring appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Imitation concealed its light.

    A huge image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion slowly surfaced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. If he stripped, this image would seem to be alive. The image moved slightly on his back, and a weird light shot out from the Ice Empress¡¯ crystal-yellow eyes. A streak of strange aura was also exuded.

    -----

    Du Busi was very depressed right now. He had never expected things to go this badly. They were fully prepared for this sneak attack, and had even practiced it countless times. It was supposed to be wless. But who knew that the sealed hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo would escape, and be so powerful?

    Neither the Body Sect or Illustrious Virtue Hall dared to use their most destructive weapons to attack. If the ce copsed, no one would survive.

    But the soul beast embryo was too difficult to deal with. Its body temperature was too low. It was both Du Busi and Jing Hongchen¡¯s first time seeing something like this. Its Ultimate Ice managed to neutralize all their attacks. Even Du Busi¡¯s notoriously lethal poison couldn¡¯t prate the frozen gas.

    In addition, Du Busi had to be wary of Jing Hongchen even when he dealt with the soul beast embryo. While the two of them seemed to be teaming up, the suspended battle would erupt again once the soul beast embryo appeared to be on the verge of caving in.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ body was covered by ayer of frozen gas. Thisyer of frozen gas was in a ball shape with a diameter of two meters. However, this ball of frozen gas could even freeze light, and was the Snow Empress¡¯ best protection.

    Du Busi reached out with his right hand, and formed a huge hand of dark-green light. This energy palm reached out for the Snow Empress. Jing Hongchen coordinated with him, and a long, frightening red rainbow appeared in the air. This rainbow whipped towards the Snow Empress. A two-pronged attack from front and back was unleashed against the Snow Empress.

    The air in the underground base started to distort furiously. Slits started to appear in the air as the two of them unleashed their power to stop the Snow Empress.

    They weren¡¯t entirely sure how the Snow Empress had managed to garner such power, but at this moment of crisis, the most crucial thing was to capture her first. The enmity between the two of them could wait until they had dealt with this hundred-thousand year soul beast.

    The frozen ball of gas suddenly turned rigid. Initially, it was quite flexible, but it didn¡¯t manage to avoid Du Busi¡¯s huge hand of soul energy. The dark-green light engulfed and restrained the frozen ball of gas within it.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s scarlet rainbow also whipped the ball of gas, causing it to distort drastically. The ball of gas seemed to be critically damaged.

    Du Busi was ted. He could sense that the ball of gas was not as cold as before, and it was also on the verge of copsing. He suddenly shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡± Since he had achieved his goal, it was imperative for him to leave quickly.

    Jing Hongchenughed coldly and gestured with his right hand. The soul engineers from Illustrious Virtue Hall immediatelyunched a ferocious attack against the Body Sect.

    The rainbow that had struck the ball of gas disappeared. However, something small was now floating in mid-air, looking like a crystal ball. It was very smooth and bright, and had many holes in it. A magical scarlet-red light shed up inside it at this point.

    Ommmmmm! A deafening hum suddenly shook the air. Even Du Busi stiffened up when he heard this hum. Following this, a thin streak of red light shot out from the scarlet-red crystal ball. This red light engulfed the dark-green light that had restrained the ball of gas.

    Du Busi¡¯s soul power was quickly dissipated by that ray of scarlet light. The Snow Empress was freed before Du Busi could drag her away.

    Du Busi was enraged. Just as he was about to pull himself together, an indescribable sense of crisis suddenly swept over him.

    At the Ultimate Douluo level, one was almost godly. An Ultimate Douluo was extremely perceptive, and even had the ability to predict the future.

    Du Busi didn¡¯t hesitate, and quickly let go of the idea of taking the Snow Empress. His figure shed, and he returned to the ground. A dark-green light supported his body and blocked off the attacks from the Illustrious Virtue Hall soul engineers. It also extended out to protect all the Body Sect members.

    A deste voice echoed throughout the entire ce, overshadowing all other sounds.

    In the air, the frozen ball of gas was still rigid as it was covered by the red light.

    ¡°Despicable humans. All of you will pay the price for hunting soul beasts one day. Even if I die, I won¡¯t fulfill your greed! All of you can go and die!¡±

    When she reached the end of her words, the Snow Empress was already screeching. Her terrifying soul power undtions caused the air around her to distort violently.

    ¡°This is not good!¡± Jing Hongchen eximed, ¡°Quickly, stop her!¡± As he shouted, he didn¡¯t conserve his powers any further. Multiple blurs of red light continued to appear in mid-air.

    They turned into barriers of light that engulfed the frozen gas. The rest of the Illustrious Virtue Hall members imitated him and added even moreyers of defensive barriers around the frozen gas.

    The regretful Du Busi watched the frozen gas sphere. Under hismand, the Body Sect members were quickly retreating into the underground holes that they hade from.

    Ommmmm¡­!

    Boom!

    Tremors struck the entire ce as terrifying explosive booms rang out. The Snow Empress unleashed her full power, turning into a frightening explosive force that swept the entire ce.

    If the magnitude of this explosion had to be described, Jing Hongchen was certain that it was as powerful as a legendary ss 10 explosive soul tool.

    Theyers of defensive barriers werepletely destroyed by the explosion. The immense force blew the entire underground base apart.

    Fortunately, there were manyyers of powerful defensive barriers. More than twelve ss 9 soul tools greatly weakened the strength of the explosion. When the shockwave surged through the underground base, the underground base still did not copse.

    Countless cracks appeared within the underground base, however, and many sections of it were caving in. A cold aura filled the air, and everyone shivered from the biting chill.

    What a powerful hundred-thousand year soul beast! Even after turning into a human embryo, she still possessed such frightening strength! How unfortunate that it didn¡¯t matter anymore. She had self-imploded, and not even a soul bone was left of her.

    The Body Sect also suffered from the shockwave of the explosion. However, Du Busi bore the entire impact of the shockwave alone, spitting out dark-green blood as he warded it from his sect members.

    The Body Sect consisted of only soul masters. They weren¡¯t like Illustrious Virtue Hall. There were many ss 9 soul engineers helping Jing Hongchen, but Du Busi used his own strength to bear the impact of the shockwave, which also alleviated the impact on the underground base.

    The rest of the Body Sect managed to retreat, along with the corpses of theirrades, because Du Busi resisted the explosion for them.

    Du Busi was a little indignant when he looked at Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen also spat out some blood at this point. As their gazes met, Du Busi revealed a mocking look in his eyes. He reached out his right hand and gave the other man a thumbs-down. He only left after swaying his thumb slightly.

    ¡°Chase them!¡± Jing Hongchen shouted, infuriated. He quickly turned into a streak of flowing light and pursued the Body Sect. The rest of the Illustrious Virtue Hall defenders also acted quickly.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao had remained motionless underneath theboratory desk the whole time. The impact of the shockwave was almost entirely resisted by the Illustrious Virtue Hall members. He wasn¡¯t struck by the shockwave to any real extent.

    However, he couldn¡¯t move right now even if he wanted to. An extreme chill had entered his body through his back and circted throughout his entire body. Almost every part of his body was on the brink of being frozen.

    No one had seen a clear fluid descending from the sky when the Snow Empress caused the explosion. This liquid flowed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s back and seeped into his body. The frightening explosive force had concealed everything.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Ultimate Ice immediately protected him from the cold as it seeped into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. She even used her own strength to restrict that chill as it flowed below his navel region. This also relieved Huo Yuhao from the freezing pain.

    The Ice Empress was anxious as she called out, ¡°Snow Lady, Snow Lady, how are you?!¡±

    A weak woman¡¯s voice replied, ¡°Ice, why are you here? You¡¯re even in a human¡¯s body.¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice was resonating in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual world.

    Huo Yuhao felt weird at this point. ¡°This must be the fourth one. Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, Elder Yi. Now there¡¯s the Snow Empress¡­¡±

    The Ice Empress was anxious. ¡°Don¡¯t ask so many questions right now. You¡¯re only left with this little origin power now. How is your condition? Can you recover?¡±

    The Snow Empress said grievously, ¡°If not for your call, I would have infused my origin power into that explosion. In that way, I could drag more down with me. Do you think I can recover? I don¡¯t even have my body now. This little bit of origin power will slowly dissipate.¡±

    The Ice Empress asked anxiously, ¡°Snow Lady, what happened? Why did you be a hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo? No wonder I had a familiar feeling when I saw that Godsealing Altar at the Starlight Auction house. You¡¯re the one that was sealed inside the altar.¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we in the same boat? If I¡¯m not wrong, you only ran into a bottleneck in these recent few years. Before I chose rebirth as a human, I tried to find you and hoped to help you. But you¡¯d already disappeared. Even those from your species didn¡¯t know where you¡¯d gone.¡±

    The Ice Empressughed bitterly. ¡°Even if you had helped me, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to pass that stage. I know myself well. When potential reaches its limit, external help won¡¯t be useful. That¡¯s why I chose this path.¡±

    ¡°Snow Empress, how are you? Do you still remember me?¡± Skydream Iceworm was a little awkward.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Snow Empress was evidently stunned. ¡°There¡¯s still a soul beast¡¯s aura here? Why are the two of you in a human¡¯s world? This aura is very familiar. It¡¯s a spiritual power that¡¯s tremendous, but not dangerous. What is it?¡± She evidently couldn¡¯t recall the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Ice Empress snapped, ¡°It¡¯s that fortunate Skydream Iceworm. It managed to advance in its sleep, and overcame bottleneck after bottleneck. Its cultivation even superseded mine.¡±

    The Snow Empress perked up. ¡°Oh, I remember. I remember that you chased after it before. Didn¡¯t you say that it went missing? Why¡¯re the two of you together now?¡±

    Skydream chortled and said, ¡°Snow Empress, you¡¯re right that we¡¯re together!¡±

    ¡°Scram and shut up!¡± the Ice Empress raged.

 Chapter 174: Snow Empress

    Volume 19, Chapter 174.1: Snow Empress

    Huo Yuhao was like a bystander now. He sensed the three of them talking in his Spiritual Sea and found it very weird.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s underground base was a mess. Besides the Illustrious Virtue Hall members who chased after the Body Sect, those with lesser cultivations remained to help those who had been injured.

    Huo Yuhao was among those who needed help. He was brought to a safer ce after he was verified to be alive. He also acted like he was unconscious, and was thus temporarily safe.

    ¡°Snow Lady, let me help you to gather your origin power first. Maybe you¡¯ll have a chance at recovery.¡± The Ice Empress wanted to use Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power to help the Snow Empress shrink the transparent fluid that was the manifestation of the Snow Empress¡¯ origin power.

    However, the Ice Empress soon realized that something was amiss. That was because she couldn¡¯t control Huo Yuhao¡¯s internal strength like she could before.

    ¡°Yuhao, do something. Come and help.¡± The Ice Empress snapped.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Ice Empress, I¡¯m not doing nothing! I¡¯m just scared that the Snow Empress will misunderstand if I just suddenly appear.¡±

    The Snow Empress did misunderstand. She sensed Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura and asked in shock, ¡°Ice, you¡¯re residing in a human¡¯s body? How did your dignity fall to this stage? What happened? It¡¯s you. You¡¯re the one who smashed the Godsealing Altar and released me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was annoyed. ¡°But you took advantage of my kindness and froze me too. Without the Ice Empress¡¯ strength, I would¡¯ve be a real ice sculpture.¡±

    The Snow Empress was furious, ¡°You humans are all evil. I don¡¯t need your help.¡±

    The Ice Empress sighed. She knew that no one could change the Snow Empress¡¯ mind when she got angry. The only way was to rify things first.

    She tried her best to exin how she had met Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm, as well as how the Skydream Iceworm had convinced her to be Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s emotions were evidently surging. Huo Yuhao also took this opportunity to gather the Snow Empress¡¯ remaining origin power into a small, transparent pearl using his Ultimate Ice soul power under the Ice Empress¡¯ guidance. He stabilized this pearl below his navel.

    It seemed like the Ice Empress was simr to Electrolux then. She was only left with this origin sense. She had fared better than Electrolux in the sense that her origin sense wasplete and wasn¡¯t in pieces. However, the Snow Empress couldn¡¯tpare to Electrolux in terms of her divine sense. Without the protection of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, her origin power would¡¯ve dissipated.

    ¡°Ice, I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d choose such a path.¡± The Snow Empress sighed after hearing the Ice Empress out. She had also calmed down significantly.

    The Ice Empressughed bitterly. ¡°I had no choice! If not because I was desperate, I wouldn¡¯t have entrusted my fate to someone else. Right now, I can only do my best to help Yuhao. I hope that he can reach that stage one day.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°Skydream.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here. I¡¯m here.¡± The Skydream Iceworm appeared eagerly once again.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°I never thought you¡¯d be so loyal. You found a path to sess, but you never forgot Ice. Solely based on this, Ice is fortunate to follow you. You must take good care of her in the future.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t rush to answer.

    ¡°Snow Lady, what do you mean?¡± The Ice Empress asked, ¡°Snow Lady, are you unwilling to walk the same path as me?¡±

    The Snow Empressughed bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to. I can¡¯t. Your situation is different from mine. I¡¯ve already decided to be reborn as a human. My own strength is suppressed within my origin power. If my rebirth is sessful, this strength will slowly be released from my human body and turn into my human strength. Now that a part of this strength is still present, do you think this human can ept this shrunken origin power of mine?¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, Skydream was the one who reserved a spot for you and allowed you to undergo fusion. But do I have a ce here? If I stay, I¡¯ll only be a time bomb. Once I detonate, the two of you will also die, along with this human.¡±

    ¡°Without my original body, my origin power is in an unstable state. It can blow apart at any time.¡±

    After the Snow Empress listened to the Ice Empress, she was actually tempted. She had to admit that Skydream¡¯s path was a good opportunity for soul beasts like them who had no choice. Once Huo Yuhao became a god, they might be released. However, she was in a different situation from the Ice Empress. There was no ce for her here. If she underwent fusion, everyone would die.

    The Ice Empress was speechless. Yes! She had guided the Snow Empress here, but how could she help her? She could also sense that the Snow Empress¡¯ origin power was very unstable. The Snow Empress had lost the ability to control her own origin power. If something went wrong, disaster might ensue!

    ¡°Skydream, what do we do? Think of a way.¡± The Ice Empress couldn¡¯t help but ask the Skydream Iceworm.

    ¡°Me¡­?¡± The Skydream Icewormughed bitterly. ¡°What idea could I possibly have? Although my cultivation seems to better than yours, my capabilities are extremely inferior to the two of you. The two of you can also clearly sense the condition of Yuhao¡¯s body. His potential is slowly being developed, but it¡¯s impossible for him to bear the Snow Empress¡¯ origin power.¡±

    ¡°Is there not even a single solution?¡± The Ice Empress asked anxiously.

    Skydream said, ¡°If the Snow Empress could control her own power and follow us in sealing the parts that Yuhao can¡¯t absorb, she could be your martial soul¡¯s second soul ring, and there¡¯s a possibility of retaining her intelligence. However, the Snow Empress is above your level. If she fuses into a martial soul that you form, there¡¯ll be a conflict. That¡¯ll be a very serious matter. Furthermore, the Snow Empress can¡¯t control her own origin power now.¡±

    ¡°If I retract my power and let the Snow Lady rece me, is it possible?¡± The Ice Empress asked tly.

    Skydream became annoyed. ¡°Do you think this is a game? Do you think giving up your position is so easy? Your strength has already fused with my ice martial soul. Without Yuhao¡¯s agreement, you can¡¯t retract your power. Even if you could, it would only cause the ice martial soul to be crushed. Everyone will perish together.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ voice became much gentler, ¡°Ice, don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯ve lived in this world for hundred thousands of years. I¡¯ve lived even longer than you. When I was first born, there weren¡¯t even humans around yet. Is death really that scary? I don¡¯t think so. Maybe it¡¯s just a new beginning. If there¡¯s a next life, I hope we can be of different genders. I¡¯ll marry you then. It¡¯s time to say goodbye, Ice.¡±

    As she spoke, the Snow Lady¡¯s origin power struggled slightly beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s navel. It started to swim like a fish. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power couldn¡¯t restrict it as it tried to escape his body.

    The Skydream Iceworm was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Ice Empress, you and the Snow Empress¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The Ice Empress screamed, and her voice already sounded like she was sobbing. ¡°Snow Empress, don¡¯t go. We¡¯ll think of another way.¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed. ¡°I have to go. I don¡¯t know how long I can suppress this origin power anymore. After I leave, all of you should leave this ce quickly. Once my origin power blows apart, it¡¯ll be even more terrifying than what happened earlier. Ice, Skydream is a nice chap. Be nicer to him.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go.¡± Elder Yi¡¯s voice sounded at this moment. He finally spoke.

    ¡°Elder Yi.¡± The Ice Empress seemed to have found her savior, ¡°Elder Yi, help the Snow Lady. If you can help her survive, I¡¯ll do anything.¡±

    Electrolux smiled as he said, ¡°Even if it means giving up your spirit?¡±

    The Ice Empress was in a momentary daze. After that, she said determinedly, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Electrolux was silent for a moment before he replied, ¡°I seem to have seen something. Reveal yourselves in the Spiritual Sea. Yuhao still needs to make a decision. After all, we¡¯re in his body.¡±

    Amidst an intense undtion of spiritual power, Huo Yuhao peered into his own mind. A boundless, golden ocean drifted into his vision ¨C he had arrived beside his Spiritual Sea.

    The Ice Empress turned into an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, while the Skydream Iceworm was still the huge worm that had ten, shing golden soul rings on it.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked by the Snow Empress¡¯ appearance.

    She looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenage girl. Her long, white hair flowed freely to her legs, and her sky-blue eyes were very clear. It was as if she could see through everything in the world. Her slender figure was wless, and her long white dress wasn¡¯t adorned with any essories. However, she still looked very elegant and ravishing.

    Even though she was only left with a shred of her origin power, the Snow Empress paid very meticulous attention to her appearance. She stood out above themon crowd and had a proud demeanor.

    Huo Yuhao had revealed his original appearance in his Spiritual Sea, but his body had ayer of dim gold that wasn¡¯t found on the Ice Empress or the others.

    Electrolux¡¯s figure slowly surfaced. He wore a long, golden robe that had rose patterns on it. His white hair and beard revealed the vicissitudes of life that he had been through, and he carried a sense of simplicity and profundity.

    When the Snow Empress saw him for the first time, her body jerked. Huo Yuhao could sense an agitation in her origin power.

    Chapter 174.2: Snow Empress

    Electrolux also looked at the Snow Empress and said with a calm gaze, ¡°You have one of the most powerful spiritual senses I¡¯ve seen sinceing to this world. Although that worm has a greater cultivation than you, he can¡¯tpare to you in terms of his spiritual sense. Your spiritual sense is also very pure, which is a very rare thing. No wonder you¡¯re the Icesky Snow Lady.¡±

    The Snow Empress was aloof as she looked back at Electrolux, ¡°Human, you don¡¯t have to say such useless things to me. You¡¯re very powerful.¡±

    Electrolux smiled, and the wrinkles on his face became very obvious. ¡°You can sense my power because you¡¯re on a different level. Although I was only left with a shred of my divine sense when I came to this world, it still exists. Although your level isn¡¯t low, it has remained stagnant at that level. After all, one¡¯s spiritual and divine sense don¡¯t belong in the same category.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ spirit jerked a little. ¡°Are you the split consciousness of a god?¡±

    Electrolux shook his head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m just a human who didn¡¯t want to be a god. In my previous world, bing a god signified eternal death. It seems to be different in this world. It¡¯s a pity that I no longer possess the foundation to be a god.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your matter. Your situation is actually very simple. After you lost your body, your immense spiritual sense no longer has a body to house it. Your spiritual power can no longer contain your origin power, and it¡¯ll eventually blow apart. There doesn¡¯t seem to be a ce in Yuhao¡¯s body that can contain you, because he is still not strong enough right now. While it isn¡¯t possible to contain you now, that doesn¡¯t mean that it will be impossible in the future. That¡¯s why I¡¯m willing to help you. I¡¯m also helping myself, the worm, and the scorpion.

    ¡°With your strength, it¡¯ll be much easier for Yuhao to advance in the future.¡±

    The Snow Empress replied, ¡°If I¡¯m going to live, I¡¯d rather return to nature than live so pathetically.¡±

    Electrolux smiled. ¡°No one¡¯s asking you to live pathetically. I¡¯ve already thought about your future. But the time isn¡¯t ripe. You need to preserve your powers and prevent them from dissipating. Your intelligence will exist with your spiritual sense.¡±

    ¡°My future?¡± The Snow Empress was a little confused, and looked at Electrolux with a new sense of curiosity.

    Electrolux nodded, and his lips moved as if he were saying something, but Skydream, the Ice Empress, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hear him.

    The Snow Empress listened very carefully. After a long while, her confusion turned into shock. ¡°Is that really possible?¡± she asked, and everyone could hear her.

    Electrolux answered in a deep voice. ¡°I never exaggerate things. I¡¯m seventy percent confident that it can be realized. Furthermore, it¡¯s only your origin power that will need to be sealed. Your spiritual sense and intelligence can remain in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea just like the worm and the scorpion, which will allow you to consolidate your spiritual sense and help you familiarize yourself with this ce. When Yuhao¡¯s cultivation reaches seven rings, it¡¯ll be a great opportunity to evolve.¡±

    ¡°Snow Lady, I beg you. Please stay here.¡± The Ice Empress pestered the Snow Empress, and used her long scorpion tail to caress the Snow Empress¡¯ slender thigh.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Stay here.¡± The Skydream Iceworm followed her to the Snow Empress¡¯ side. However, he was smacked by the Ice Empress¡¯ pincer before he could get close to the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Empress turned to Huo Yuhao, and her icy-blue eyes bore aplicated look.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao knew what he should do. He stared at the Snow Empress with a sincere look on his face and said, ¡°Greetings, Snow Empress! Although I don¡¯t know what Elder Yi said to you, I really hope that you can stay. I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll fulfill your wish in the future, but I¡¯ll do my best to. You¡¯re the darling of nature, you can¡¯t just die. I¡¯ll treat you like a friend, partner, and even kin, just like how I treat Skydream and the Ice Empress.¡±

    If the Snow Empress stayed, it would be very beneficial to him. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what Elder Yi said to the Snow Empress, he had clearly heard the word ¡®evolve¡¯. Furthermore, his control over his body would be stronger as his abilities increased. Even the powerful spirits that existed in his body couldn¡¯t forcefully control his body anymore.

    Before the Snow Empress had turned into a human embryo, she had nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation! Even though she had blown her own body apart, her main strength was sealed within her origin. It would certainly be very useful for him in the future. In addition, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress appeared to very close, the Ice Empress would be delighted if the Snow Empress stayed.

    Her desire to survive eventually trumped her pride. The Snow Empress nced at the Ice Empress¡¯ hopeful eyes and nodded, albeit with a little hesitation.

    The Ice Empress quickly changed the topic. ¡°Snow Lady, how did you manage to do it? With your seven-hundred thousand years of cultivation, you can¡¯t possibly be reborn as a human! Above a hundred-thousand years of cultivation, our strength can¡¯t be restricted just by sealing it. Even if we¡¯re willing to give up our strength, we won¡¯t be able to do it! How did you seed?¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°I encountered a hundred-thousand year Snow Lotus. The Snow Lotus can¡¯t unlock one¡¯s spiritual intelligence, but it contains the purest essence of heaven and earth. I used it to seal my origin, which allowed me to be reborn as a human. But who knew that I would be so unfortunate as to meet a human that had snuck into the Extreme North? He exploited the opportunity to seal me in that vicious Godsealing Altar.¡±

    The Ice Empress was enlightened. ¡°I see. No wonder you chose this path. It¡¯s a pity¡­¡±

    Electrolux spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Snow Lady, your spiritual sense is too unstable because your sealed origin power is too immense. We must begin quickly.¡±

    Although the Snow Empress was very proud, she wouldn¡¯t dy after she made her choice. She nodded and answered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you, then.¡±

    Electrolux drifted to the Snow Empress and reached his right hand forward. The Spiritual Sea beside them started to surge as Huo Yuhao entered a trance. Countless golden spots formed a light that was as bright as the stars, gathering towards Electrolux.

    A long, golden staff slowly took form. Huo Yuhao felt a sudden and intense weakness as it condensed in Electrolux¡¯s hand.

    Electrolux was in a different situation than the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress. When he fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he was only left with a shred of his divine sense. He needed to rely on Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength every time he wanted to exhibit any form of ability. Under such circumstances, the power that he wanted to use must be within Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability to handle.

    The formation of this staff had undoubtedly drained Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power.

    Electrolux¡¯s aura changed when the golden staff entered his hands. An indescribable sense of purity and elegance made him seem like a god that had descended.

    A deep chant soundedout, Electrolux was reciting mystical words. At the start, his voice was very deep. However, it gradually started to echo in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea.

    His mighty voice made him appear even more majestic. Skydream and the Ice Empress didn¡¯t move from where they were. The Snow Empress had already shut her eyes, and appeared to be sensing something.

    Huo Yuhao was the only one in pain. He felt weaker and weaker. To his horror, he discovered that his boundless Spiritual Sea was shrinking at an rming rate. His spiritual power was also decreasing significantly.

    He initially felt that he already overestimated Elder Yi. But now he realized that Elder Yi was far stronger than he had thought. Huo Yuhao made such this judgment after witnessing the Ice Empress, Snow Empress, and Skydream Iceworm¡¯s reactions.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ pride quickly disappeared as Elder Yi recited his incantations. What reced it was a sense of solemnity and esteem.

    How powerful would Elder Yi be if he wasn¡¯t just a shred of divine sense? Perhaps even a Transcendent Douluo would be inferior to him!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s belief grew despite the weakness he felt. He had realized how small he was during the fight between Illustrious Virtue Hall and the Body Sect. He wasn¡¯t at a level where he could get involved in such an intense fight. He couldn¡¯t even use his Spiritual Detection in such circumstances.

    He might be one of the best among others of his same age, but he was still very far from the true elites.

    Elder Yi¡¯s voice was very deep right from the start. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sea started to shake as Elder Yi continued to chat. In his Spiritual Sea, both bright and dim rays of light intersected. Huo Yuhao fell to a half-conscious state from the drain on his spiritual strength.

    At this point, a huge golden vertical eye slowly opened in his Spiritual Sea. A golden beam of light turned into a strong ray shining directly on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He was jolted awake by the strong light.

    Elder Yi¡¯s voice was blocked out by the light. The golden beam also started to emit brilliant spots that lit up his Spiritual Sea.

    This was the feeling that came from the Eye of Destiny¡¯s second mental sea. The power of destiny was keeping Huo Yuhao conscious.

    He still felt weak, but he managed to stay conscious. Huo Yuhao realized that Elder Yi wasn¡¯t just chanting anymore.

    Electrolux wielded the golden staff in his hand, a ball of transparent golden light glowing blindingly above it. Strange runes slowly formed on the sphere. Every time a mysterious rune was formed, it would detach from the globe, drift towards the Snow Empress, and imprint onto her forehead. While the rune slowly fused into the Snow Empress¡¯ forehead, a second rune would slowly take form before drifting towards her again. This process carried on very smoothly.

    Chapter 174.3: Snow Empress

    Huo Yuhao gradually felt the weakness disappear. Electrolux seemed to have finally gathered enough strength, and the golden runes began to appear faster and faster. The Snow Lady was gradually engulfed in ayer of golden light, while her divine sense was magically stabilized.

    Huo Yuhao could sense that the transparent pearl below his navel was now encased in ayer of gold energy, the entirety of the pearl¡¯s strength restrained by it.

    It was a very strange feeling. It was as if a force on the brink of copse had been frozen in that state. The Snow Empress¡¯ expression had also be calmer. Her aloof demeanor was much gentler now.

    Something weird seemed to have been etched into Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, and he slowly shut his eyes. He didn¡¯t know what had enabled him to be enlightened, but he slowly became immersed in his Spiritual Sea and entered a deep meditative state.

    ¡­¡­

    Within the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Jing Hongchen grit his teeth as he stood in the underground base. Everything in front of him was simply too startling.

    The entire underground base was aplete mess. Less than a third of the costlyboratory desks were still in working order; the rest had beenpletely destroyed, leaving all sorts of rare metals strewn about. The underground base was in tatters.

    Jing Hongchen was most depressed by the fact that the underground base was beginning to show signs of instability as a result of the intense battle that had ensued earlier. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t beyond salvaging. He immediately instructed his people to solidify and stabilize the base¡¯s foundations before they did anything else.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall had never been hit so badly before. The material damages it had sustained would be astronomically costly, and then there was the lives they¡¯d lost. The Illustrious Virtue Hall didn¡¯t even belong to him; it was the soul tool research base for the entire Sun Moon Empire! It also had to bear the responsibility of developing advanced soul tools. Even with his current status in the Sun Moon Empire, he¡¯d still be held responsible for such a grave matter. He was bound to receive pressure from the imperial family for this.

    ¡°Body Sect¡­Body Sect!¡± Jing Hongchen was enraged. His attempt to pursue them hadn¡¯t achieved anything. Halfway through one of the tunnels, Du Busi had copsed the tunnel behind him while they were chasing them, which had allowed the Body Sect the chance to flee the area.

    Jing Hongchen immediatelymanded the military to lock down the entire city. However, he knew that this wouldn¡¯t work. With the Body Sect¡¯s abilities, how would the military be able to stop them?

    ¡°Hallmaster.¡± Lin Jiayi¡¯s voice trembled as he walked up to Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen lowered his head to look at him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Jing Hongchen attempted to calm down.

    Lin Jiayi lowered his head and answered, ¡°The warehouse is still fine¡ªwe didn¡¯t really lose anything. All of the advanced soul tools in storage are intact.¡±

    Jing Hongchen heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Lin Jiayi¡¯s words; at least there was still some good news. It seemed that the Body Sect¡¯s target had been the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo, and that they¡¯d employed their entire sect tounch a surprise attack on them. Jing Hongchen was determined to take revenge.

    ¡°However¡­¡± Lin Jiayi¡¯s next word caused Jing Hongchen to tense up.

    He red at Lin Jiayi, ¡°¡®However¡¯ what? Don¡¯t stutter, speak clearly.¡±

    Lin Jiayi grit his teeth. His voice trembled as he said, ¡°However, Test Subject 1 is missing¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jing Hongchen felt as if his vision had suddenly gone dark. His body shook, and he almost toppled to the ground. Lin Jiayi quickly moved to support him.

    Jing Hongchen felt as if the sky had just copsed. He was panicking, and was extremely upset now.

    ¡°Repeat what you just said.¡± Even Jing Hongchen¡¯s voice was trembling this time.

    Lin Jiayi¡¯s voice continued to tremble as he said, ¡°Test Subject 1 is missing.¡±

    Jing Hongchen cursed, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and then copsed into Lin Jiayi¡¯s arms.

    What was Test Subject 1? It was the pinnacle of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research on soul tools! Even though it was only halfplete, it was the essence of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s research on soul tools over the past few thousand years!

    Jing Hongchen face had be pale and his eyes were now full of fear as he looked at Lin Jiayi. He could get away with the fact that the Illustrious Virtue Hall had suffered a great amount of damage in this incident, but he couldn¡¯t bear the consequences brought about by the theft of Test Subject 1. This was something that threatened the entire empire¡¯s safety!

    He took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. After a moment, he asked, ¡°Who else knows about this?¡±

    Lin Jiayi shook his head hurriedly and said, ¡°I personally went to Laboratory 1 to check. I sealed the door to theb and changed the door¡¯s passcode the moment I discovered that it was missing. I immediately came to report it to you.¡±

    Jing Hongchen finally managed to calm himself down and said, ¡°Good job. No one else can know about this.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Jiayi hurriedly answered. Jing Hongchen¡¯s face was currently half-red and half-white. His hatred towards the Body Sect had reached a peak. His only hope right now was that Test Subject 1 was too difficult for anyone to use¡ªthat its technology was too advanced. If it were to be stripped apart, the explosive device within it would immediately detonate. This was a theft prevention n they¡¯d implemented, and right now, it seemed that doing so had been the right choice.

    Even so, the metals they¡¯d lost were still extremely valuable. Fortunately, the Illustrious Virtue Hall was greatly autonomous. So long as this matter wasn¡¯t exposed, there was still a chance that they could resolve it quietly.

    Jing Hongchen forced his body to straighten up, somehow managing to maintain his cool despite the critical situation.

    ¡°Lin Jiayi, instruct everyone who was present today to keep their mouths sealed. Anyone that dares to leak news of the incident will be executed, no exceptions.

    ¡°Send people to every single auction houses, including those in the empire. Have them monitor any and all higher-level auctions. If Test Subject 1 is discovered, retrieve it at all costs.

    ¡°Finally, use the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s name to send a mission out to all mercenaries and assassins: Kill anyone from the Body Sect and you¡¯ll be heavily rewarded.¡±

    Jing Hongchen paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Besides the injured Illustrious Virtue Hall disciples, all remaining Illustrious Virtue Hall members are to aid in restoring our underground base. Help me inform the elders that we¡¯ll need them to beef up the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s defenses as well. No further ws will be epted. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lin Jiayi answered hurriedly. He was relieved that Jing Hongchen had regained his reason.

    Jing Hongchen seemed to have thought of something, and asked anxiously, ¡°How¡¯re the exchange students from Shrek Academy? Especially Huo Yuhao. Were any of them hurt?¡±

    Lin Jiayi knew that Jing Hongchen would ask him this question, thus had done his homework beforehand.

    ¡°Fan Yu and He Caitou are currently out for an experiment, thus they weren¡¯t in the underground base. Most of the rest were also outside of the experimentation zone; the initial explosion didn¡¯t affect them. They were all very sly, and managed to swiftly retreat to a safe ce where they didn¡¯t have to participate in the battle. Some of them are injured, but their injuries aren¡¯t serious. Huo Yuhao is one of them. Our healing-type soul engineers have already checked on him. Even though he¡¯s unconscious, he isn¡¯t critically injured. He must¡¯ve suffered a concussion; he just needs some time to recover.¡±

    Jing Hongchen heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. If anything had happened to the Shrek students, it would¡¯ve caused even more trouble. They have to be well taken care of¡ªnothing can happen to them.¡±

    Lin Jiayi hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Hallmaster, do you think it¡¯s possible that this attack was some sort of collusion between Shrek Academy and the Body Sect? How else could the Body Sect urately know the position of our underground base¡ªespecially where Test Subject 1 and the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo were? They even managed to release the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo. I¡¯m afraid that there¡¯s a mole!¡±

    Jing Hongchen red at him and said, ¡°Idiot. Don¡¯t I know that? However, Shrek wasn¡¯t involved. Is your brain empty? Does anyone from Shrek Academy know where our hundred thousand year soul beast embryo is? None of them can even enter the core region of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Furthermore, we have Huo Yuhao with us. Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t be so stupid. They might mock us for this incident, but it wasn¡¯t their doing. And do you really think that they¡¯re that close to the Body Sect?

    ¡°Alright, quickly pass down my instructions. We need to minimize the effects of this incident. I¡¯ll head to the pce immediately; It seems that I need to pay the Crown Prince a visit after all. It¡¯s really heaven¡¯s will!¡± Once he¡¯d finished speaking, Jing Hongchen quickly walked away.

    Even though the Illustrious Virtue Hall was doing its best to suppress the news, how could such a huge matter be concealed?

    The matter had been made known to the entire continent after just a few days. Although the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s officials didn¡¯t reveal who the perpetrators had been, the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s murderous mission towards the Body Sect clearly indicated who the mastermind behind the attack had been.

    The entire continent shook from the news, and the other empires were jubnt at the news. Even though they didn¡¯t know how much damage the Illustrious Virtue Hall had suffered, it was a good thing for them no matter what!

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor was enraged when he learned about the matter, and his physical condition worsened as a result. Jing Hongchen was severely punished as a result: his Dukedom was revoked. If not for Xu Tianran, his punishment would¡¯ve been even more severe.

    The prices of advanced soul tools on the continent dropped significantly following this, while the prices of rare metals soared. The exchange of rare metals suddenly became much more prevalent.

 Chapter 175: Crisis During the Interrogation

    The Body Sect didn¡¯t remain quiet for long. They strongly condemned the indiscriminately murderous mission issued by the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and also firmly stated that they had nothing to do with the incident. They then stated that whoever dared to exact revenge on them would have to bear the consequences of their actions.

    However, regardless of what the Body Sect said, their standing on the continent had increased greatly. They now seemed even more powerful than Shrek Academy or the Illustrious Virtuous Hall, and appeared to be the top power on the continent.

    Huo Yuhao only learned of these things when he woke up. He slept for four days straight before finally waking up in the infirmary. It hadn¡¯t been an act; he¡¯d truly been asleep the entire time.

    However, when he woke up, Huo Yuhao felt an odd sensation. It was as if a door in his spiritual world had been opened, as his mind was unusually clearpared to before. His understanding of previously-blurry profound concepts of Necromancy had also improved greatly.

    Electrolux was asleep when he woke up, as was the Snow Empress. The Ice Empress and Skydream told Huo Yuhao that the Snow Empress¡¯ seal had beenpleted, but that her power could only be unsealed once Huo Yuhao had achieved the level of a Soul Sage. In her sleep, the Snow Empress was trying to regain her spiritual awareness.

    Everything else appeared to be normal. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t be stronger because of the Snow Empress¡¯ sessful sealing, but he looked forward to the moment that he would ¡®evolve¡¯ like Electrolux had said. How would the Snow Empress fuse with him? What would the evolution reject? If not for the fact that Electrolux was asleep, he would¡¯ve demanded an answer.

    The internal chaos within the Illustrious Virtue Hall had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. However, he was still extremely worried when he woke up. After all, the huge starlight sapphire storage-type soul tool and the giant metal figure were both still inside his storage-type soul tool! He didn¡¯t even have to think to know their significance to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. They¡¯d definitely spare no effort to find them.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely worried that they¡¯d search everyone¡¯s storage-type soul tools. If that happened, there was nowhere he could hide them.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Can I return to my dormitory?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the doctor on duty.

    The doctor checked his body, nodded his head, and said, ¡°It seems you really are fine. Strange, your brain doesn¡¯t appear to have suffered any trauma, so why were you out for so long?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grimaced and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Teacher, can I ask what happened that day? How could anyone have the guts to attack the Illustrious Virtue Hall?¡±

    ¡°Shh.¡± The doctor quickly shushed him and ced a finger to his lips. He then said in a low voice, ¡°We can¡¯t discuss it. The Hallmaster has issued a gag-order. The entire school is feeling jittery, and none of the students or teachers are permitted to leave the school right now.

    ¡°Everyone has to undergo interrogation. If not for the fact that you were unconscious, you would¡¯ve been interrogated too. I¡¯ll inform my superiors now that you¡¯ve recovered from your wounds. You can only return to your dormitory once you¡¯ve been questioned. Wait here, I¡¯ll go inform someone.¡±

    The thing he feared the most hade true. Huo Yuhao became noticeably more tense.

    What can I do? As Huo Yuhao tensed up, his brain began to spin rapidly.

    ¡°The interrogation could be either light or severe,¡± Huo Yuhao told himself, ¡°I have to consider the worst-case scenario.¡± At that moment, he took note of his surroundings and then acted immediately.

    The doctor soon returned with a strict-looking teacher in tow. Huo Yuhao thought he recognized from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    ¡°Your name is Huo Yuhao?¡± The teacher asked coldly as he took out a register.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from Shrek Academy?¡± The teacher continued.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°On the day that the Illustrious Virtue Hall was attacked, what did you see? What were you doing?¡± When the teacher asked this question, he waved his hand at the doctor, signalling for him to leave them.

    After some thought, Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°That day, I was in the middle of making a soul tool. Just as I finished up one of theponent, there was a huge explosion. I¡¯m a spirit-type soul master, thus I have a very astute sense of danger. The moment I sensed that something was amiss, I immediately hid underneath the table. I heard an explosion from outside, while the following terrifying soul power shockwave prevented me from venturing outside. After the battle outside had quieted down, I snuck a peak, and then ran to the side of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Then, I felt a strong force strike me, then I cked out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was able to avoid lying as he answered. What he¡¯d said was the truth of the matter. While he didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d survived the battle, he did knew that there were surveince type soul tools in the underground facility of the Illustrious Virtue hall. There was no point in arousing the other¡¯s suspicions for a few meaningless details.

    After he heard what Huo Yuhao had said, the teacher nodded his head and said, ¡°Anything else? For example, did you discover anything special?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head with a nk look on his face.

    In the Ultimate Soldier n, they had undergone intensive interrogation training. When he answered these questions, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart rate and tone were all perfectly normal. Even his eyes didn¡¯t give him away.

    The teacher stared at him carefully for a while before slowly shaking his head. He took out a metal stick from the storage-type soul tool on his wrist, and then said, ¡°I have to do aplete sweep of you. Please put all of your soul tools into a storage-type soul tool. When you¡¯re done, pass them to me. You can¡¯t leave anything out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned dark and he replied, ¡°Sorry, teacher, but I have a right to my privacy. I can¡¯t let you search them. I¡¯m an exchange student from Shrek Academy. Even if I¡¯m just an ordinary student here, you have no right to search me.¡±

    The teacher chuckled coldly and replied, ¡°No right? Don¡¯t forget our school¡¯s name: ¡®The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡¯ We fall under direct imperial jurisdiction. As such, all of our students have sworn loyalty to the imperial family, and our management is semi-military. This is a personal order from His Majesty. Anyone who refuses to be interrogated and searched shall be dealt with as a traitor. I don¡¯t care where you¡¯re from, but since you were in our school at the time of the incident, you must be searched thoroughly. The fact that we didn¡¯t search you while you were recovering is already a gesture to preserve your dignity.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned red, and he said angrily, ¡°Fine, go ahead and search. Please tell Hallmaster Jing Hongchen that I will report this incident to Shrek Academy. You can only pray that your students will not undergo such treatment at my school!¡±

    As he said that, he ced all his soul tools, including Hongchen¡¯s Blessing, into his belt storage-type soul, which was an imitation of the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, and the storage-type tool on his wrist. Then, he passed them to the teacher.

    When he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s threat, the teacher¡¯s face softened as he sighed. He said, ¡°Please don¡¯t be too angry. We have no choice here. Even if a prince is in the academy, he¡¯ll be interrogated and searched, too.¡±

    As he said that, he carefully searched Huo Yuhao using the metal stick. Then, he did a sweep of the bed Huo Yuhao slept on just now to ascertain that he had no soul tools concealed there. Only then did he take the few soul tools from Huo Yuhao to search them.

    It was easy to search a storage-type soul tool. All he needed to do was direct his spiritual power inside. Of course, more advanced storage-type soul tools could be sealed by their owner¡¯s spiritual power. But Huo Yuhao could not make one at his current level.

    ¡°Eh? Why do you have a Rank 9 soul tool on you?¡± Hongchen¡¯s Blessing quickly caught the teacher¡¯s attention.

    Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. ¡°Go and ask Hallmaster Jing Hongchen.¡±

    The teacher took Hongchen¡¯s Blessing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s storage-type soul tool and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± As he said that, he took out a soul tool that had left an indelible mark on Huo Yuhao¡¯s memory.

    A pair of golden handcuffs¡­ Huo Yuhao held his hands out in front of him and said, ¡°You can cuff me and seal my soul power.¡±

    The teacher looked at him suspiciously, but still cuffed Huo Yuhao immediately.

    Huo Yuhao said coldly, ¡°Now I¡¯m unable to resist. Good. Now, please ask Hallmaster Jing Hongchen to escort me out. I won¡¯t go with you. I¡¯ll report all unfair treatment to Shrek Academy. Also, please return to me the items that you have checked.¡±

    The teacher never expected Huo Yuhao to be so difficult. If he were not an exchange student, he would have pped him and dragged him away. However, Huo Yuhao had a unique identity. Before he came, Lin Jiayi had specifically told him to be careful of his attitude regarding Huo Yuhao and avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

    After he pondered it for a while, he said, ¡°Wait here.¡± With that, he turned and left.

    Huo Yuhao held his storage-type soul tools, and a faint smile crossed his face. He walked slowly to the edge of the wall and made a gesture, as if he were picking something out of thin air. Then, he put it away in his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges belt.

    That¡¯s right. He had brazenly ced the map he drew of Illustrious Virtue Hall, as well as the starlight sapphire storage-type tool, on the floor.

    His Imitation soul skill had been activated the whole time. However, he did not conjure anything, but instead used it to conceal the starlight sapphire and the map, which he had ced on the floor.

    Who knew that he would hide the item on the floor in in view? The teacher would definitely not search the corners of the room like a madman.

    Huo Yuhao liked these handcuffs. Their ability to seal his soul power was powerful, indeed. He could not use any of his soul power. However, as a spirit-type soul master, especially one who possessed a second spiritual sea, he could use his spiritual power as a recement for his soul power when he wanted to use a soul skill.

    This referred to his Spirit Eyes, and would not work with his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Hence, he continued to use Imitation. At the same time, he used his spiritual power to open his storage-type soul tool to put the items away. With the handcuffs, his opponents would not worry about him.

    His Hongchen¡¯s Blessing was a decoy for his opponent. It was possible that Jing Hongchen would take this Rank 9 soul tool back. However,pared to the metal man and the map, it was hardly worth anything. Furthermore, Jing Hongchen might not even take it away.

    The reason he did not leave with his opponent was that once he left the range of his power, the items would be exposed! With him as the center, Imitation would only work in a five-meter range.

    Imitation, which appeared to have no offensive abilities, could be described as a divine skill. Even if his opponents knew that he had this ability, its many uses would leave them careless.

    Soon, the teacher was back, along with Lin Jiayi.

    ¡°Eh, Yuhao, who cuffed you?¡± When Lin Jiayi saw the golden handcuffs on Huo Yuhao, he asked that question despite knowing the answer perfectly well.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Please ask this teacher here.¡±

    Lin Jiayi looked at the teacher, vexed, and said, ¡°What an outrage! Uncuff him immediately!¡±

    The teacher nodded and went over to uncuff Huo Yuhao. However, Huo Yuhao shimmered to the side and withdrew his hands, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t! Director Lin, your arrival is timely indeed. I am an exchange student from Shrek Academy, not a convict. Earlier, I was already arrested once. After I discussed the incident with Hallmaster Jing Hongchen, I decided to bear the humiliation. And what a humiliation it was! Why did I do it? For the friendship between our two schools, of course. However, I can¡¯t take this humiliation. What right do you have to search me? Why do you treat me like a convict? If you can¡¯t give me an answer, I shall keep the handcuffs on and save the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy the worry that I am out to harm you guys.¡±

    Lin Jiayi had an ugly expression on his face. He did not expect Huo Yuhao to be so difficult. He coughed and said, ¡°Yuhao, please understand our dilemma. Days ago, you were attacked with us as a bunch of men in ck attacked our Illustrious Virtue Hall. We suffered heavy losses, and even the principal was punished by His Majesty. We have no choice but to do a thorough investigation. Furthermore, we found a Rank 9 soul tool that is evidently from Illustrious Virtue Hall. As long as you can answer for it clearly and properly, we will not trouble you any further.¡±

 Chapter 176: Extortion and Sparring

    Huo Yuhao looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, which were brimming with rage, and said angrily, ¡°Does this mean you don¡¯t trust me?¡±

    Lin Jiayi spread his hands open and made a helpless gesture. He said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. However, reality states otherwise, and that is what we must deal with. Don¡¯t worry, I will inform Teacher Fan Yu. However, you must exin yourself clearly right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded coldly and said, ¡°Right, since you don¡¯t want ¡®face¡¯, there¡¯s no need for me to cover up for you. Let¡¯s go. Bring me to the Hallmaster, and I shall exin it in front of him.¡±

    Lin Jiayi was helpless before Huo Yuhao. Jing Hongchen had told him of his importance many times. Furthermore, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were still at Shrek Academy. While he already had Hongchen¡¯s Blessing as evidence, he could not truly lose his temper at Huo Yuhao or do anything drastic to him! All he suspected was a possible connection between Huo Yuhao and the surprise attack by the Body Sect.

    ¡°Alright, I shall bring you to the Hallmaster.¡± In the end, Lin Jiayi decided to let Jing Hongchen take care of Huo Yuhao.

    First, this was because his status was too sensitive. Second, Jing Hongchen had been in a foul mood recently. He had been heavily punished by the imperial family, and that was before news of the loss of Test Subject 1 leaked out.

    Right now, in Lab No. 1, some of Jing Hongchen¡¯s confidantes were trying to rebuild Test Subject 1. With their experience, their progress was rather quick. However, the once-vast resources of Illustrious Virtue Hall had been greatly reduced.

    In cuffs, Huo Yuhao walked out of the infirmary with his back straight and head held high. A cold smile was stered on his face. His self-righteous appearance made Lin Jiayi¡¯s heart pound. However, the Rank 9 soul tool, Hongchen¡¯s Blessing, was not something that Shrek Academy could have produced. Furthermore, there were still traces of Jing Hongchen¡¯s aura on it. Those traces could not be faked. Lin Jiayi would never believe that Jing Hongchen would gift a Rank 9 soul tool to an outsider!

    He also could not imagine that the revolutionary Test Subject 1 of the Illustrious Virtue Hall was currently located in the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges around Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist. Right now, the teenager¡¯s face was both rxed and infuriated.

    ---

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s office was no longer in Virtuous Illustrious Hall out of safety considerations, since the underground facility had not yet been fully reinforced. While the new location was not suited for work, Jing Hongchen had no mood to carry out research on soul tools at the moment.

    When Huo Yuhao followed Lin Jiayi into Jing Hongchen¡¯s office, he was resting with his eyes closed. In just the span of a few days, the Hallmaster, who previously looked impable, appeared to have aged ten years. His face appeared much colder, too.

    ¡°What happened?¡± When he saw Lin Jiayi bringing Huo Yuhao into his office in handcuffs, a suspicious look crossed Jing Hongchen¡¯s face.

    Lin Jiayi said respectfully, ¡°Hallmaster, this was what happened. Today, Huo Yuhao woke up in the infirmary and per regtions, we interrogated him and searched him. While nothing appeared to be amiss, we found a Rank 9 soul tool on him that belonged to you. Hence, our suspicions were aroused, and we decided to let you decide his fate.¡±

    ¡°A Rank 9 soul tool that belonged to me?¡± Jing Hongchen paused momentarily. Then, his eyes fell on the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing that Lin Jiayi passed him.

    When he saw the round soul tool, along with Huo Yuhao smiling coldly, Jing Hongchen felt as if he had been pped before a crowd by one of his own people.

    ¡°Did he not tell you how this Rank 9 soul tool came about?¡± Jing Hongchen asked in a voice that was a few octaves higher than his normal one, ring at Lin Jiayi.

    When Lin Jiayi saw his face, he knew that something was amiss. He said apologetically, ¡°Yuhao did not want to say, but instead demanded that we bring him to you for interrogation.¡±

    Jing Hongchen mmed his table and cursed, ¡°Bastard, what did I tell you? Not only is he an exchange student from Shrek Academy, but he is also a closed door disciple of the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the Dragon God Douluo, Elder Mu! Elder Mu is a senior whom I respect. This Hongchen¡¯s Blessing was something I personally passed to him when I was still with him. How can you interrogate Huo Yuhao like any other person?! Is your brain damaged?!¡±

    Lin Jiayi was stunned by the scolding. The Hallmaster had given it away, a Rank 9 soul tool!

    However, as a confidante of Jing Hongchen, he understood what was going on from his tone when he mentioned Elder Mu, the Dragon God Douluo. Thest time he met Elder Mu, it was in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in Shrek Academy. Could it be¡­

    ¡°Heh¡­ so that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s all my fault. Hallmaster, I am wrong. I was too brash, but there are really too many things going around recently. Furthermore, I did not dare to act rashly since it was so important! Yuhao, it¡¯s all my fault, please forgive me, please forgive me!¡±

    As he said that, Lin Jiayi walked in front of Huo Yuhao to apologize.

    Huo Yuhao stared at him coldly and said, ¡°Director Lin, what mistake did you make? You were doing it for the good of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°After all, this is not the first time I¡¯ve had to wear these handcuffs. What a pity Shrek Academy does not have them!¡±

    An ugly looked crossed Jing Hongchen¡¯s face. Thest time, he was forced by Huo Yuhao to grant him permission to study in Illustrious Virtue Hall. Over the past few months, he¡¯d heard that Huo Yuhao had used up all of the rare metals that were allocated to him. This time, as Huo Yuhao had been treated unfairly, he would have to make it up to him again.

    However, there was really not much he could do. After all, his precious granddaughter and grandson were exchange students at Shrek Academy. A smile crossed his face as he walked in front of Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°This is a mistake theymitted in the line of duty, and it is a mistake on my part, too. I will personally un-cuff you. How about this? I shall double your allotment of precious metals every month from now on. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not dare to continue maintaining this fa?ade. Who knew what high-level soul tools capable of detecting the contents of storage-type soul tools the Hallmaster possessed? If his secret was discovered, he had too much to lose.

    Immediately, his face softened as he said, ¡°Please, Hallmaster.¡± As he said that, he extended his arms.

    Jing Hongchen took the key from Lin Jiayi and personally un-cuffed him while saying, ¡°Jiayi, please remember that you must give Yuhao special treatment. If a problem like this emerges again, you can forget about being a teaching director.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Lin Jiayi could only chuckle bitterly in his heart. Why was it so difficult to deal with this rascal? He really had to be more careful next time.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If there¡¯s no other matter, Hallmaster, I shall head back. Today is thest day of the month, so there¡¯s no need for you to double my allotment for this month.¡± In the outside world, the monthly allotment of the Illustrious Virtue Hall was no small sum. Some of the materials could not even be sold on the market.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s facial muscles twitched as he said, ¡°It has to be counted.¡±

    With that, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Then I shall leave.¡± As he said that, he turned to walk out, his tension finally starting to rx. Just because he could control his heartbeat did not mean that he was rxed! Instead, he was worried sick. If he could not pass this round, he would be in deep trouble.

    He made it to the door of the office and was just about to leave when he heard Jing Hongchen say suddenly, ¡°Wait a moment.¡±

    Oh, no. Huo Yuhao felt his pores constricting. He was struck by fear! He almost dropped everything and ran.

    Fortunately, he was very mature for his age, probably more mature than some adults. Could he actually run away? Not only was Jing Hongchen a Rank 9 soul engineer, but he was also a Titled Douluo. How could he escape?

    All he could do was turn around and ask, ¡°Do you have a request, Hallmaster?¡±

    Jing Hongchen fell silent for a while, and then said, ¡°Yuhao, if I remember correctly, you were part of the main team in thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Not the main team. I was only a stand-in.¡±

    The corners of Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes twitched. A stand-in? A stand-in beat my grandson and granddaughter? Was this not a p on his face? However, he could not react. He coughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s like this. The incidents a few days ago have affected me greatly. The reason our facility was invaded and we suffered such heavy losses was that our soul engineers did not have a lot of battle experience against soul masters. Normally, they are surrounded by other soul engineers, and hence they will only battle other soul engineers. So I¡¯ve had an idea.¡±

    When he heard that, Huo Yuhao calmed down, thinking, Whatever you say, it¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t search me.

    He walked back into Jing Hongchen¡¯s office and asked obligingly, ¡°What idea did you have, Hallmaster?¡±

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°Shrek Academy is the premier academy on the continent, particrly for soul masters. Our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is the best school on the continent in terms of soul engineering. You were able to represent Shrek Academy previously, which demonstrates your ability in battling other soul masters. Hence, with you as the lead, I want to let the soul masters and soul engineers in our school spar. This will let our students understand how soul masters fight. Don¡¯t worry, I will only pick opponents whose ages are simr to yours. At best, they would be Rank 5 soul engineers. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I am not interested.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Jing Hongchen asked, curious. ¡°This is a good chance to increase yourbat experience!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°I have enoughbat experience, and I don¡¯t need anymore. Hallmaster, please ask someone else. I¡¯m here to study, not to fight.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s face instantly turned foul as he said, ¡°Fine, state your conditions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°You understand me so well.¡±

    Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s change in attitude, and didn¡¯t know if he should cry orugh. However, he could not deny that this young man was exceptional indeed. Compared to his grandson and granddaughter, he did not think that Huo Yuhao was better than them in terms of battling abilities. However, his people skills surpassed theirspletely.

    ¡°Just state your conditions, but you can¡¯t ask for more allotments. Our school¡¯s budget is rather tight,¡± Jing Hongchen forewarned Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Hallmaster, is this eptable to you? You aren¡¯t a stingy person, and I can assure you that in these spars, I will neither severely injure nor kill anyone. If I win, all I want is a prize. I am willing to take on challengers who are ss 6 and below. If I win, you must give me a kilogram of precious metal. I choose the type. What do you think?¡±

    A kilogram of precious metal for a single victory? This condition was indeed not harsh. After all, many precious metals had high densities, and a small chunk would easily weight one kilogram.

    After some thought, Jing Hongchen said, ¡°Okay, we shall proceed as you wish. If you lose, I don¡¯t want anything from you. Just don¡¯t ask me for anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao puffed up his chest and said, ¡°Of course, of course. As long as you keep your promise, I am willing to battle as many rounds as you want. I am very poor, and can only be rich through this. Oh right, I almost forgot. Shouldn¡¯t you return the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing to me?¡± As he said that, he extended a hand to Jing Hongchen.

    Jing Hongchen really did not want to give it to him. However, when he looked at the greedy and upromising young boy before him, he found it hard to reject him. After all, he did not bring up that embarrassing incident. Furthermore, as a Titled Douluo and the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, how could he take back something he had already given out? Elder Mu was generous indeed. He had given Huo Yuhao Shrek Academy¡¯s only ss 9 soul tool.

    Jing Hongchen returned the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing to Huo Yuhao. He had a new level of understanding of Huo Yuhao¡¯s position in Shrek Academy. If they could afford to give him a ss 9 soul tool, his importance could not be understated!

    ¡°Thank you, Hallmaster. Let me know after you setup the location for the spar. If you decide to sell tickets to outsiders, you don¡¯t need to worry about me asking for a cut.¡±

    Jing Hongchen almost kicked him out of his office as he chided, ¡°Get out!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed as he walked out.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Just when he reached the exit, he was called back by Jing Hongchen again.

    Huo Yuhao stopped, turned his head and asked, ¡°Hallmaster, didn¡¯t you ask me to get out? Is there something else?¡± In his heart, he thought, ¡°Are you trying to scare me to death? There¡¯s no end to this!¡±

    Jing Hongchen said seriously, ¡°Yuhao, if you are willing toe over, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy will double whatever Shrek Academy offers you. Think about it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He could see the sincerity in Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes. However, they had different aims, and there was no chance this could work! He shook his head gently and said, ¡°Thank you for this recognition. However, I can¡¯t.¡± Right after he said that, he finally managed to leave Jing Hongchen¡¯s office. This time, a look of disappointment crossed Jing Hongchen¡¯s face, but he did not hold him back.

    ¡°Hallmaster, I think it¡¯s a good idea to sell tickets. In our school, no one actuallycks money. Recently, not only has Huo Yuhao been extorting us, but our expenditures have gone up too. Do you¡­?¡± Lin Jiayi asked probingly.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes shone as he nodded and said, ¡°You make the arrangements.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Jiayi was full of admiration for Jing Hongchen. This time, despite the incident and the fact that Jing Hongchen was forced by circumstances, he still had the future development of the school in his mind. By allowing Huo Yuhao topete with their students, it superficially seemed to be giving in to Huo Yuhao¡¯s demands. However, in reality, if the spar was properly organized, they could divert the students¡¯ attention and increase their understanding of soul masters. Not only could it increase their experience against soul masters, but they could further understand Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities and prepare for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, which would be held in the Sun Moon Empire. There were many benefits to this arrangement, and making money was just one of them.

    After Huo Yuhao returned to his dormitory, he plonked down on his bed immediately. The psychological pressure was too much to bear. Even then, his heart continued to thump loudly against his chest, as if it wanted to break out from his chest.

    Right after he woke up from his sleep, he was faced with an immense challenge. In the end, he was able to turn the situation around. He could more or less guess the reason why Jing Hongchen wanted him to spar with soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but he still agreed to it. He needed to obtain more precious metals, and he needed a chance to release his pent-up emotions.

    Ever since he had entered the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he had been in a state of constant alertness. Regardless of whether it was in his studies or his secret drawing of the map, he was under immense pressure, further exacerbated by this incident.

    The Ultimate Soldier n had special psychology lessons. His teacher taught him that once his mental pressure reached a certain level, he would need to find a suitable location to vent. If not, it would create psychological problems, especially for someone of his age.

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock.¡± Someone was knocking on his door.

    Huo Yuhao stretched out on his bed. In doing so, he allowed himself to calm down. Only then did he walk to his door to open it. Just as he expected, Fan Yu and He Caitou were outside.

    When they noticed that he was fine, they evidently became calmer. Quickly, they entered his room. He Caitou closed the door behind him.

    ¡°Little Junior, you almost scared teacher and me to death! I heard from other members of our academy that the situation that day was extremely dangerous. You were out for a few days. While the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy allowed us to pay you a visit, we could not tell what was wrong. Luckily, you are fine.¡± While the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were all ranked, He Caitou was still willing to call Huo Yuhao ¡®Little Junior¡¯. After all, only the two of them were soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how I was knocked unconscious. It was really dangerous that day. The Body Sect was too powerful, and they appeared to be very familiar with the interior of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. As the attack came too suddenly, the Illustrious Virtue Hall suffered heavy casualties.¡±

    Then, he recounted the incident of that day simply. However, he did not talk about him entering the interiors of the Illustrious Virtue Hall through the tunnel.

    Huo Yuhao had his considerations too. The metal man was extremely important, and it was best for as few people as possible to know about it. It might not be a good idea to tell Teacher Fan Yu and Second Senior. Furthermore, he was also afraid that it would expose his connection to the Snow Lady. All he said was that the Snow Lady blew up and nothing else. As for the metal man, he decided to tell no one before he returned to Shrek Academy. He would say everything back at Shrek Academy.

    After he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s recounting of the events, Fan Yu frowned and said, ¡°Something is wrong here. The price of a hundred thousand year soul beast embryo rivals that of entire cities, but one could only benefit two soul masters at most, and that¡¯s under the condition that the soul ring and the soul bone are separated. This attack by the Body Sect was almost lethal to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and their losses cannot be calcted. At the same time, they now have a vendetta against the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Is it really worth sacrificing so much for this treasure? After all, the Body Sect does not need money. I don¡¯t think they are doing it for the 100 million golden soul coins.¡±

    He Caitou said, ¡°Teacher, regardless of what their reasons were, it doesn¡¯t hurt us. The more the Illustrious Virtue Hall loses, the more the Sun Moon Empire loses. Perhaps it¡¯ll dy the onset of war.¡± When He Caitou talked about the future war, an odd light shone in his eyes. When he mentioned the Sun Moon Empire, it was as if it did not concern him.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. Did Second Senior really manage to emerge from the shadow of hate? Or was the hate buried in an even deeper ce? He did not want anything back, all he wanted was to destroy! Ever since he met Ju Zi, Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of the hatred in humans¡¯ hearts had increased.

    From Ke Ke, he asionally heard some news about Ju Zi. She seemed to have joined the military, but he did not know what her role was. All he knew was that she went with the military to West Sea of the Sun Moon Empire, where she battled against oceanic soul beasts. Since then, she had not returned.

    Fan Yu nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, but as students of Shrek we are in a precarious position. It¡¯s best for us to understand the ties between the two sides. Yuhao, with your analysis, what do you think is going on?¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that his teacher was testing him by asking this question. He replied after a moment of silence, ¡°The Body Sect attacked suddenly, but they came entirely in ck and their faces were masked. They did not reveal their identities. By doing so, while the Illustrious Virtue Hall could guess who did it, the Body Sect could deny their allegations, as they had no solid proof. After keeping silent for so many years, the Body Sect¡¯s sudden action could only have a few objectives.¡±

    ¡°First, many might have forgotten the Body Sect because they¡¯ve remained low-profile for too long. They¡¯re trying to enhance their reputation. The Sun Moon Empire and Illustrious Virtue Hall will try to keep their true losses a secret after this incident, but things will always leak out. Once the truth is known, it will be very beneficial for the Body Sect¡¯s reputation. At the very least, they have shown how powerful they can be.

    ¡°Secondly, Elder Mu once mentioned that the Body Sect¡¯s priority is always profit, they aren¡¯t really concerned about good or evil. They were extremely invested and meticulous in this ambush, so there must have been huge profits involved. On the surface, it seems like it might be because of the hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo and the hundred-million gold soul coin reward. But those who are sharp know that the huge reward has something to do with the Star Luo Empire. Everyone, including the Sun Moon Empire, might focus on the Star Luo Empire. But in truth, the Body Sect might have other areas of interest, just like you mentioned. It might not be the Star Luo Empire behind it all. After all, the Star Luo Empire has sacrificed too much in this matter, and it would be too obvious. I don¡¯t think that the Star Luo Empire is ready to engage the Sun Moon Empire in a war.¡±

    Elder Mu and Fan Yu were both his teachers. He spoke of Elder Mu this way to prevent confusion.

    ¡°The Star Luo Empire is under the greatest immediate threat from the Sun Moon Empire among the three empires on the continent. But they aren¡¯t the only ones in conflict with the Sun Moon Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire also faces threats from the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Fan Yu listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis carefully. He revealed a slight smile on his face as he heard all this, and nodded agreement. But he didn¡¯t appraise Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis. He instead nodded and said, ¡°What do you think about Jing Hongchen¡¯s proposition for you to spar with the academy¡¯s soul engineers?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered honestly, ¡°I admire him for maintaining his cool in such a messy situation. He¡¯s able to kill many birds with one stone by asking me to spar with his students. First, he can turn the academy¡¯s attention to something beside their losses, and allow himself more time to rebuild Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s underground base. In addition, he must have realized that the academy¡¯s studentsck any real experience against soul masters. Many of them don¡¯t even know the fighting styles of soul masters with a powerful martial soul.

    ¡°Illustrious Virtue Hall isn¡¯t inferior to the Body Sect in terms of overall ability. They might even be better. But aside from the fact that their truly powerful soul tools couldn¡¯t be used in an underground base, the soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall are indeed disappointing in terms of their adaptability, coordination, fighting spirit, and performance in many areas. This might have to do with the fact that they ce most of their focus on soul tool research. The Hallmaster might be using me to wake them up. At the same time, he wants to let them witness a soul master with a powerful martial soul, and his fighting style.¡±

    Fan Yu chortled and told him, ¡°You¡¯re not humble at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Teacher, didn¡¯t you say that being overly modest is very hypocritical?¡±

    Fan Yu agreed. ¡°You¡¯re right. After some observation, their academy¡¯s soul engineers are much more advanced in terms of soul toolspared to us, but their focus on live experience is greatly inferior to our academy. The Hallmaster evidently recognizes this point. Illustrious Virtue Hall can have a huge impact in a war, but when ites to a battle between elites within a restricted area, Illustrious Virtue Hall doesn¡¯t have the confidence to defeat Shrek Academy or the Body Sect. What¡¯re you nning to do for this sparringpetition?¡±

    Hearing this question, He Caitou was also interested. He watched Huo Yuhao alertly, waiting for his reply.

    A light shed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m representing Shrek and the Tang Sect! I can¡¯t lose on purpose. I shall let them witness Shrek¡¯s abilities if they want to. I¡¯ll leave a deep impression on all of them this time! They¡¯ll never forget who I am!¡±

    He Caitouughed loudly andmented happily, ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re awesome!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled in reply and said, ¡°Since the Hallmaster promised me a kilogram of rare metal for every round I win, I can¡¯t disappoint him, can I?¡±

    ------

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s Teaching Director Lin Jiayi was very efficient. This was especially so after a major incident just happened in Illustrious Virtue Hall, and the entire academy was engulfed in a tense atmosphere.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s instructions were quickly carried out. News of Huo Yuhao¡¯s sparringpetition with the academy¡¯s soul engineers quickly reached the entire academy.

    The doors of every teaching block and dormitory room were pasted with posters of thistest announcement.

    The sparringpetition was to be conducted in the academy¡¯s Soul Tool Experimentation Area. The academy demanded that all its students watch thepetition unless they had something special going on. Those with four rings of cultivation and above could sign up topete. The limit was a ss 6 soul engineer or a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Everypeting student had to purchase a ticket to watch thepetition. If thepeting students could defeat Huo Yuhao, they were qualified to enter Illustrious Virtue Hall, and would also be rewarded with a hundred-thousand gold soul coins. In addition, Jing Hongchen would personally make a soul tool for them. But if they lost, they wouldn¡¯t be given materials to create soul tools for a month.

    It was pertinent to note that those materials were actually paid for by the students. The forfeit was literally a fine of their own money!

    The rules for the sparringpetition were very simple. Beating Huo Yuhao was the only goal. After each round, Huo Yuhao would be given sufficient time to rest based on his physical condition. The entire sparringpetition would be held over three days.

    Once the announcement was made, there were more students who signed up topete than expected. Everyone was young, and no onecked passion. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy lost to Shrek Academy in practically every meeting of the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. For most of the students, this was a fantastic opportunity to regain glory for their academy!

    But not everyone was qualified to represent the academy in tournaments. They also wanted to know how capable Huo Yuhao was, since he had represented Shrek Academy before. Furthermore, the omnipresent conflict between soul masters and soul engineers, as well as the rewards for victory, were also contributing factors to therge turnout.

    More than three hundred students had signed up in less than a day. Lin Jiayi and his teachers were kept busy. After reporting the situation to Jing Hongchen, they made a decision to increase the requirement to Soul Kings and above. This way, the number of students signing up topete dropped drastically.

    ------

    This matter also garnered a huge reaction from the Shrek exchange students. They only found out about it as the announcement was made. The youngest and seemingly weakest exchange student, Huo Yuhao, had represented the academy in the previous Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    As Shrek Academy had always been the winners of the tournament, the academy didn¡¯t publicize their victory too much. They only made one announcement after they became champions, but they didn¡¯t reveal the students who had participated. This was to keep unneeded fame from influencing their studies and cultivation. Very few people from Shrek actually knew who had participated in the tournament.

    After learning that Huo Yuhao was going to spar with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s soul engineers without using soul tools, the rest of the exchange students offered to help him. They even told him that they were willing to join in the sparring.

    Huo Yuhao epted their help, but they couldn¡¯t spar, because they were all soul engineers.

    ------

    Two dayster, at dawn...

    Ye Xiaosheng came to fetch Huo Yuhao at his door. ¡°Yuhao, how''re your preparations going? Brother Sheng supports you. This is a huge matter. You must do your best for Shrek¡¯s glory!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Thanks, Brother Sheng. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Ye Xiaoshengughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve prepared the stuff. They¡¯ll be shocked today. You don¡¯t know how arrogant they are. They im that they won¡¯t even let you win one round. They even say they¡¯ll step on Shrek.

    ¡°They say that you¡¯re here to deliver presents to them, and asked the academy to prepare more rewards. It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯tpete. Otherwise, I¡¯d teach them a good lesson.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°Brother Sheng, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you teach them a lesson. Oh right, how¡¯s the situation regarding that matter?¡± As he spoke, he lifted his right hand and rubbed a few of his fingers together.

    Ye Xiaosheng immediately understood what he meant. He replied with a grin, ¡°Many started wagering after we opened the te. I have to admit that these students are very confident in their own people. More than half of them bet that you won¡¯tst ten rounds... I wonder if their brains are empty.

    ¡°Only a quarter of them bet that you can¡¯tst more than twenty rounds. The rest bet than you can¡¯t win fifty rounds in three days, they just did it for the odds. Based on what we¡¯ve discussed, rare metals can be used as stakes. We¡¯ve received more than two thousand kilos of rare metals, and five hundred-thousand gold soul coins. These students sure are wealthy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°That is indeed quite a lot of rare metals, but not that many gold soul coins. But it¡¯s okay. I believe more and more people will bet after today.¡±

    As the two of them were talking, Fan Yu, He Caitou, and the rest of Shrek¡¯s students also arrived.

    Fan Yu looked at Huo Yuhao and asked directly, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

 Chapter 177: The Tang Sect Completely Dominates Throughout All Eternity

    Chapter 177.1: The Tang Sect Completely Dominates Throughout All Eternity

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t lose Shrek¡¯s face. I believe that I¡¯ll leave a ck mark in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s history in the next three days.¡±

    Fan Yuughed as he admonished him, ¡°Don¡¯t be toocent either. With the current stakes, we won¡¯t be able to pay our debts if you lose within ten rounds. We¡¯ll need to request arge amount directly from the academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Teacher, you¡¯ve given so much effort to nurture me. Aren¡¯t you confident in me?¡±

    Fan Yu smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m just warning you not to be careless. A lion only beats the rabbit by using all his strength.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Fan Yu seriously and acknowledged his words.

    The Soul Tool Experimentation Area was thergest building in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and could hold more than ten thousand people. It had a simr architectural to the Shrek Academy¡¯s Beast Dueling Arena. There was a huge arena in the building, and was surrounded by seats that extended nearly all the way to back of the building. It was normally used by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s students for their tests,petitions, and experimenting onrge soul tools. Between the spectators¡¯ seats and the central arena, there was a linked defense system that was made up of many defensive soul tools. This linked defense system demonstrated how advanced the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was in terms of their soul tools. They just needed a sufficiently strong soul master to control the entire defense system. The only prerequisite for the soul master was that his soul power had to be at a certain standard.

    Although it was only morning, the entire Soul Tool Experimentation Area was full. There were close to twelve thousand teachers and students present, including some from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    It wasn¡¯t just the students who wanted to see the differences between how soul masters and soul engineers fought; even the teachers were curious. The academy had suspended lessons for three days for the sake of this sparringpetition.

    Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t attended, as there were too many things that he needed to see to. Lin Jiayi, on the other hand, was responsible for hosting thepetition. To Jing Hongchen, it didn¡¯t matter how long Huo Yuhao managed tost in thepetition. No matter what, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was bound to benefit from it. The camaraderie between their students would increase, and they would also learn more about the differences between soul masters and soul engineers. It would be an exciting lesson for the students.

    Due to ack of seats, the students who arrivedte had to sit among the aisles, or stand in-between the rows. Fortunately, the arena wasrge enough to amodate everyone.

    As the referee, Lin Jiayi also made a lot of deliberations. He finally chose to invite Xuan Ziwen, firstly because of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s teacher-student rtionship with Huo Yuhao, and secondly because of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s abilities. Initially, Lin Jiayi thought that Xuan Ziwen would decline his offer. However, Xuan Ziwen agreed readily after listening to his proposition. His reasoning was also very simple: He wanted to see how strong his student was in terms of fighting strength as a soul master.

    When Huo Yuhao first came, he¡¯d personally taught a lesson to a few ss 5 soul engineers!

    Xuan Ziwen also knew that the students were making their own private bets. The odds were three to one that he couldn¡¯t survive ten rounds, two to one that he couldn¡¯t survive twenty rounds, and thirty to a hundred that he couldn¡¯t survive fifty rounds.

    Those who offered such odds were clearly confident that Huo Yuhao could win fifty consecutive rounds! Why were Shrek Academy¡¯s students so confident? It¡¯s important to know that Huo Yuhao only had four rings. Even if he rested between rounds, he still needed to fight for a long period of time.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wasn¡¯t a small academy either. Even if the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s students didn¡¯t participate, Huo Yuhao was bound to copse from three days of intense fighting. And once he lost one round, he might not have the ability to carry on further.

    ¡°Alright, please quiet down.¡± Lin Jiayi¡¯s imposing voice resonated throughout the entire arena through a sound-amplifying soul tool. The excited students who were engaged in discussions immediately started to quiet down and turn their attention to him.

    Lin Jiayi continued, ¡°For the purpose of strengthening our exchange and interaction, the academy has decided to organize this sparringpetition. Shrek is sending out Huo Yuhao, an exchange student who oncepeted in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I hope that all of you will do your best to observe thispetition, even if you aren¡¯t involved in it. Try your best to sense the differences between soul masters and soul engineers, as well as deepen your own understanding of them. The referee for this friendly exchange will be Teacher Xuan Ziwen, and I¡¯ll be the host. Let¡¯s wee Shrek Academy¡¯s Huo Yuhao onto the stage.¡±

    A tunnel at the side of the arena opened slowly, and students wearing the dark-green uniform of Shrek emerged alongside Teacher Fan Yu.

    There was a hugemotion, because Shrek Academy¡¯s ten exchange students had all appeared at this point. Most of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students had never seen Huo Yuhao before, thus they had to guess who among them was the one who dared to challenge the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students all by himself.

    Rumors often spread the fastest. For example, news of Huo Yuhao¡¯s conflict with the academy¡¯s ss 5 soul engineers and his four-ringed cultivation had already spread like wildfire. Based on these rumours, he sounded capable of representing Shrek Academy in the sparringpetition.

    Lin Jiayi was also stunned. There weren¡¯t too many rules, since this was just a friendly exchange, and was why he hadn¡¯tmunicated too much with Fan Yu beforehand. After all, it was only Huo Yuhao who waspeting. Why had the Shrek Academy exchange students changed into Shrek Academy¡¯s uniform? It was clear that they were drawing a line between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! Were they deliberately causing trouble?

    Lin Jiayi had never thought of this before thepetition began. After all, this was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s territory. There were only eleven Shrek Academy personnel here; what trouble could they possibly cause? Would they really dare to cause trouble? However, it was a littlete for him to realize that something was amiss.

    Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t been provided a sound-amplifying soul tool. All the emceeing was to be done by Lin Jiayi, which was also an arrangement that he¡¯d made. If he sensed that something was amiss, he was prepared to ask the irrelevant personnel to leave the arena and immediately begin thepetition.

    However, what he was worried about happened before he even had the chance to open his mouth.

    Fan Yu walked straight over to the resting area, but the other nine students didn¡¯t follow suit. The nine of them divided into three groups and then quickly got into team formations.

    There were four to Huo Yuhao¡¯s left and four to his right, while He Caitou stood behind him.

    Afterwards, three scrolls drifted into view for all of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering students to see.

    The scroll disyed by the students on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left held a string of words that said, ¡°Shrek. Number One! In! The! World! Invincible!¡±

    The scroll disyed by the students on his right said, ¡°Tang Sect! Complete! Dominance! Throughout! All! Eternity!¡±

    He Caitou stood behind Huo Yuhao and lifted a horizontal scroll that said, ¡°Come fight us if you¡¯re unconvinced!¡±

    A huge uproar ensued after the three scrolls were presented. The nine students in the formation quickly revolved around Huo Yuhao and allowed the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to clearly see who Huo Yuhao was.

    A huge uproar erupted, with some students even wanting to fire their soul tools towards the arena. Expletives rang out across the entire ce.

    ¡°Silence, silence!¡± Lin Jiayi roared furiously, ¡°Teachers, please restrain your students. Thepetition is about to begin. Irrelevant personnel, please remove yourselves from the arena.¡±

    He felt extremely depressed! He hadn¡¯t expect the Shrek Academy students to pull such a stunt. Weren¡¯t they simply creating a ruckus on purpose? There were only eleven of them, and only Huo Yuhao waspeting. Why were they trying to cause such a ruckus? Weren¡¯t they creating trouble out of nothing?

    However, things had already happened; the entire atmosphere of thepetition was already starting to change. The entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was bursting with emotion now, and the students who¡¯d been seated had all stood up. Things seemed to be going out of control.

    However, Huo Yuhao appeared unbothered. He even lifted his right hand and slowly turned his thumb to point towards the ground.

    Even though he didn¡¯t mutter a word, his provocation was clear: He was signaling for the other students to challenge him if they were unconvinced!

    Arrogant; he was too arrogant!

    Fortunately, the teachers managed to control their students well. The students were quickly restrained by the teachers. Furthermore, the entrance of the first Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s student helped stabilize the situation.

    ¡°Kill him! Send this Shrek country bumpkin back home!¡±

    ¡°Long live the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, long live the Sun Moon Empire! Humiliation like this can only be washed away with blood!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be the girlfriend of whoever beats him!¡±

    All the spectators were causing a racket. But there were also those who remained silent, like Ke Ke and Zi Mu.

    Xuan Ziwen had originally had five students. Ke Ke and Zi Mu had entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall when Huo Yuhao did, while Ju Zi had stopped her studies to join the military, and Wang Shaojie had been expelled.

    Thus, there were only three students left out of the original five.

    Since Huo Yuhao was the main character in thispetition, Ke Ke and Zi Mu also had toe.

    Chapter 177.2: The Tang Sect Completely Dominates Throughout All Eternity

    Ke Ke was worried, an she said, ¡°Huo Yuhao is too arrogant. Just what does he aim to aplish? He¡¯s really made things serious, won¡¯t he have a tough time in the academy when this is all over?¡±

    Zi Mu said softly, ¡°Keep your voice down. We¡¯ll get into trouble if the others hear this. I think Yuhao is doing this on purpose. He just wants to study in the Illustrious Virtue Hall normally. The ordinary students won¡¯t get chances to see him. Not to mention, he¡¯s also an exchange student. If anything happens to him when he¡¯s in the academy, the academy can¡¯t ount for it either. He¡¯s doing this to humiliate the academy, and I don¡¯t know why Hallmaster agreed to allow this.¡±

    Ke Ke nced at him and asked, ¡°Did you register too?¡±

    Zi Mu shook his head and answered, ¡°I won¡¯t humiliate myself.¡±

    Ke Ke twisted her lips andmented, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you were so self-aware! Didn¡¯t you work very hard over the past half year? Why aren¡¯t you confident in yourself?¡±

    Zi Muughed and replied, ¡°Confidence rises with one¡¯s abilities. While I don¡¯t want to expose too much of mine right now¡­ I¡¯ll beat him one day. But I can admit that I¡¯m not his match at present. Although my improvement over the past half year has been significant, didn¡¯t he increase his number of rings from three to four? While I don¡¯t understand why a twin martial soul, soul master, is so strong, I know that I¡¯m not his match. I simply need to work harder from now on. Is there news from Ju Zi?¡±

    Ke Ke shook her head and said, ¡°No! Don¡¯t think about her anymore. Didn¡¯t she reject you before leaving?¡±

    Zi Mu chortled. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to forget someone you love. Moreover, you¡¯ll always have a chance if you work hard enough.¡±

    Ke Ke¡¯s attention was drawn to the arena, and she said, ¡°Thepetition is about to begin.¡±

    Themotion in the spectators¡¯ stand didn¡¯t seem to affect Huo Yuhao¡¯s concentration. He didn¡¯t even take a look at Xuan Ziwen¡¯s displeased expression before moving to one side of the arena. He closed his eyes and waited.

    As a soul master, he greatly desired to fight. When he was immersed in soul tool creation every day and was under a lot of pressure in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he had a strong urge to vent this built-up pressure. Today was the best opportunity for him to let loose.

    He wanted to win thispetition and reap the great rewards to prepare for his future research in soul tools. The future of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect was his greatest motivation.

    He was only fifteen years old, but he was shouldering a lot of responsibilities. He needed to vent his emotions. He also had another intention¡ªhelp the Tang Sect gain momentum. Bei Bei had discussed this with Huo Yuhao a couple of times. They reckoned that the Tang Sect¡¯s future development couldn¡¯t be separated from soul tools. But, relying on Huo Yuhao and He Caitou wasn¡¯t going to be enough.

    Where could one find plenty of talented soul engineers? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering academy. Huo Yuhao wanted to leave a deep impression through thispetition. At the very least, he wanted all the students to know about him, whether they liked him or not. Rather than being ignorant to his existence, their knowledge of him would be for the best. Furthermore, his arrogance actually contained a deeper meaning behind it.

    ¡°The first round is about to begin. Everyone, please remain silent and give both parties a peacefulpetition¡¯s atmosphere. Whoever makes noises will be punished ording to the school¡¯s rules and regtions.¡± Lin Jiayi¡¯s stern voice reverberated all throughout the surroundings. This would help to contain the slightly messy situation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent was a youth, one who looked to be eighteen or neen years old. The badge on his chest revealed that he was a ss 5 soul engineer. However, he definitely seemed a little nervous now.

    While Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous actions had provoked the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they also put a lot of pressure on thepeting students. If they won, they would be treated as the heroes of the academy. But if they lost, they would be sinners! This was even more evident so for the first student to spar with Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s ss 5 soul engineer, Xia Xuanchen.¡± The nervous youth reported his name as he looked at Huo Yuhao. The entire arena was now silent. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on them.

    ¡°Shrek. Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao said indifferently.

    Xuan Ziwen was unhappy when he looked at Huo Yuhao. He said in a deep voice, ¡°This is just for sparring, a friendlypetition. Both parties must try to avoid severely hurting each other during the process.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could sense Teacher Xuan staring at him and understood his intention. He nodded and replied, ¡°Noted.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen also nodded. By now, he¡¯d calmed down slightly, and slowly became excited. If he could defeat Huo Yuhao, would his ss belle treat him nicer? Maybe he could even enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall directly. This was a great opportunity for him!

    Xuan Ziwen heaved a sigh of relief after receiving Huo Yuhao¡¯s acknowledgement. He was afraid that Huo Yuhao would harm the academy¡¯s students in thispetition. A huge problem would arise if that happened. But, for now, it seemed like he had no such intentions.

    ¡°Bothpetitors, please approach the waiting areas.¡± Xuan Ziwen said loudly. The Soul Tool Experimentation Area had already been marked out yesterday. The waiting areas on both sides were separated by about a hundred and fifty meters. It was also a way for soul engineers to fully unleash their long-range capabilities. But, from what they¡¯d agreed on earlier, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t use any soul tools apart from the Milk Bottle.

    Xia Xuanchen turned around and walked away. He only felt his surging blood rushing through his veins. He couldn¡¯t wait.

    Huo Yuhao was different from him. He walked backwards and revealed a smirk of contempt. His first opponent really didn¡¯t seem too impressive! Although they were just sparring, he was careless enough to show his opponent his back. He didn¡¯t have any wariness towards his opponent. It seemed like Jing Hongchen was right, and organizing a sparringpetition was necessary for these ordinary students from the academy.

    Xuan Ziwen also noticed this problem. That was why when both parties reached their waiting areas, he immediately shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Xia Xuanchen turned around frantically when he heard Xuan Ziwen¡¯s sudden shout.

    This was anyone¡¯s natural reaction. However, he wasted two seconds before he could fully turn around and ready his attack. Huo Yuhao burst forth like a panther in these two seconds. He leapt up, and seemed to be flying. When Xia Xuanchen finally reacted, the distance between the two of them had been reduced to a hundred meters already.

    Xia Xuanchen disyed his abilities as an elite student of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy even though he was shocked. He lifted his arms and two metal barrels appeared, with metal nging sounds ringing out. His metal barrels were different from ordinary soul tool cannons and soul rays. Theypletely covered his arms, giving off the feeling that he had lost his arms and grown soul cannons in their ce.

    Two different balls of light suddenly shot out. The left soul tool cannon fired a ball of yellow light, while the right fired a ball of red light. The speeds of the lights were also different, with the yellow light being markedly faster than the red. Before the lights were fired, a beep was heard from Xia Xuanchen¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection had already been activated back when they were preparing for the match. His greatest advantage in this sparringpetition was that he was also a soul engineer, even though he waspeting as a soul master. Thus, he was very familiar with them. However, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s soul engineers knew nothing about his fighting strategies.

    Hence Huo Yuhao could immediately recognized the different effects of the balls of light. The yellow light came from a ss 5 shock cannon; a domain-type offensive soul tool. When their shots exploded at a high velocity, they would cause intense shockwaves. Opponents who weren¡¯t skilled enough could easily be torn apart by the shockwaves. Even if the opponent could resist them, his movements would be greatly stalled. It was a rather effective ss 5 soul tool, although it was very difficult to create.

    The red light, on the other hand, came from the high-powered soul cannon on his other arm. It only had one effect¡ªdestroying the opponent. It would lock onto an opponent through the opponent¡¯s soul power, allowing the cannon to track one¡¯s opponent.

    Thebination of the shock cannon and high-powered soul cannon was effective and powerful. Evidently, Xia Xuanchen had prepared well.

    While thisbination was effective, Huo Yuhao had expected it. When the soul cannons were fired, Huo Yuhao suddenly changed directions. He moved in a diagonal direction now. It was impressive, and when the shock cannon fired out the ball of yellow light, Huo Yuhao was no longer within the area covered by it.

    The ball of red light that came shortly after that. However, it also changed directions quickly, and was in hot pursuit of Huo Yuhao.

    But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even look at it. He changed directions again and burst towards Xia Xuanchen. They were only fifty meters apart now.

    Wasn¡¯t he scared of the high-powered soul cannon? At this point, everyone was puzzled with Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions.

    Chapter 177.3: The Tang Sect Completely Dominates Throughout All Eternity

    Even Soul Emperors would find it ufortable to deal with high-powered soul cannons. Even a ss 5 protective soul barrier couldn¡¯t resist the elevated temperatures from a high-powered soul cannon.

    However, Huo Yuhao acted like it was air. He continued to dash forward and didn¡¯t bother with the assaulting from the high-powered soul cannon. He quickly closed the gap between him and Xia Xuanchen.

    The homing red light finally arrived, but Huo Yuhao stopped in the air just as it was about to hit him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure turned blurry in that instant, and in the next, the high-powered soul cannon¡¯s attack brushed past Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    How was that possible? Xia Xuanchen had clearly locked onto him! He was perplexed. A momentter, a loud boom was heard as an orange-red light engulfed the area behind Huo Yuhao. The tremendous explosive force catalyzed the formation of a mushroom cloud in the Soul Tool Experimentation Area.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was covered in ayer of diamond crystals. The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. Intense shockwaves generated by the explosion propelled his body forward at a faster speed. His speed instantly soared, and he quickly arrived in front of Xia Xuanchen.

    Everything came too abruptly for Xia Xuanchen. He could only unleash his ss 5 protective soul barrier and frantically retreat.

    However, a ss 5 protective soul barrier waspletely useless against the Darkgolden Terrorws. It was instantly torn apart, and Huo Yuhao destroyed his two soul cannons. Even so, Xia Xuanchen was not physically hurt in the process. The des of the terrorws touched Xia Xuanchen¡¯s shoulders slightly, and their cold aura caused goosebumps to rise.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Armor disappeared. Even so, his calm and emotionless voice caused Xia Xuanchen to feel an extreme chill through his entire body.

    Xia Xuanchen was indignant as he eximed, ¡°I haven¡¯t unleashed all my soul tools¡­!¡±

    Piak-¡ª Huo Yuhao retracted his terrorws and pped Xia Xuanchen, who spun twice and fell to the floor.

    Huo Yuhao said coldly, ¡°If this were a battlefield, you¡¯d already be a corpse. Will your enemies care whether you¡¯ve used all your soul tools?¡±

    Xia Xuanchen was dumbfounded as he sat on the floor. One of his hands was on his cheeks that were just pped. He seemed to lose his awareness.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger at the spectators. Following that, he made one revolution before cing his finger on his lips. He was asking everyone to remain quiet. After that, he shouted, ¡°Next!¡±

    It was only at this point that the academy¡¯s teachers and students reacted. Amotion ensued once more.

    The first round ended not long after it starting. Approximately ten seconds had passed¡­ It seemed like Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even do anything. He only burst forward and pped before he emerged victorious. He didn¡¯t use any dazzling soul skills, and the spectators didn¡¯t even see his soul rings. But, he had won! He won cleanly.

    Did he really win that easily? It might appear very simple or easy, but was that really the case?

    Only Xuan Ziwen witnessed everything clearly as the referee. Firstly, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t wasted any time. When Xuan Ziwen signaled the start of thepetition, he was dissatisfied with Xia Xuanchen, and thus didn¡¯t wait for him to turn around or prepare. However, Huo Yuhao burst forward like a fired cannon shell. Undoubtedly, Huo Yuhao was ready.

    Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t too surprised when Huo Yuhao used the Darkgolden Terrorws to tear apart the protective soul barrier and ovee Xia Xuanchen. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction when the shock cannon was fired that shocked him. His direction changed immediately when the yellow light appeared, allowing him to dodge it effectively. How did he predict it like that? Furthermore, he had even managed to prevent the high-powered soul cannon from locking him onto him properly, and exploited the shockwave to increase his speed. If all of that was within his calctions, he was indeed to be feared.

    ¡°Do you need to rest?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, let¡¯s continue.¡±

    Their gazes met, and Huo Yuhao could tell that Xuan Ziwen was deep in thought. Xuan Ziwen could see Huo Yuhao¡¯s stubbornness in his Spirit Eyes, and sensed the strongpetitive will in his body.

    ¡°Silence!¡± A voice that sounded like rumbling thunder resonated through the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena. This voice greatly eclipsed themotion that had ensued from Xia Xuanchen¡¯s defeat. Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but look into the air.

    Jing Hongchen floated in mid-air without using any flying-type soul tools. He was also looking at Huo Yuhao.

    Lin Jiayi had sent someone to report to Jing Hongchen when he realized that the situation was getting out of control. After all, the teachers in the audience were all very strong, and he couldn¡¯t really control those from the Illustrious Virtue Hall either.

    Jing Hongchen ced his hands behind his back, and his awe-inspiring gaze swept the ce. He said coldly, ¡°Are all of you only this good? Besides cursing, what else can you do? It¡¯s better to prove yourself using your abilities, not your mouth. If you¡¯re capable, beat him. If you¡¯re not, then shut up. The purpose of this sparring contest is to show the gap between him and all of you. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re invincible just because you¡¯ve learned how to use some advanced soul tools. This brat from Shrek Academy is only fifteen years old. Failure isn¡¯t scary. The scary thing is inability to ept one¡¯s defeat and remaining ignorant of your failure. If all of you can only whine, when will the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy ever beat Shrek Academy in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament?¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s reputation was extremely prominent in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. His appearance silenced crowd instantly.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. Jing Hongchen was indeed a hero of his generation. He used him to motivate these students, which was something that he didn¡¯t want. However, he couldn¡¯t stop him. Jing Hongchen hade much earlier than expected!

    Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Thepetition shall continue.¡± As he spoke, his figure shed, and he flew towards the main spectators¡¯ stand.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. Forget it, he couldn¡¯t realize his wish. The real reason why he¡¯d been so arrogant and provoked the crowd, was because he wanted to leave the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    He had learned enough theoretical knowledge over the past half year. Although Xuan Ziwen never brought him out for any practical experiments, he was now extremely well-versed theoretically. Huo Yuhaobined his own practice and the path that he¡¯d discovered to make significant progress in his study of soul tools.

    Don¡¯t misunderstand, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t intend to leave the academy quickly because he thought that there was nothing left for him to learn. It was because of the Iron Man, which was like a time bomb! He was certain that it was the core essence of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research. With his current theoretical knowledge, he could easily be a top-ranked soul engineer if he couldprehend the Iron Manpletely. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if he had to learn on his own. It wasn¡¯t meaningless to remain in the academy¡ªit was dangerous.

    That was why Huo Yuhao pretended to be very arrogant. On the surface, it seemed as if he was trying to obtain more rare metals as he invited more opponents to challenge him. But in truth, he wanted to incur everyone¡¯s wrath and end this exchange as soon as possible.

    However, Jing Hongchen¡¯s appearance forced him to change his ns. After all, he couldn¡¯t make it too obvious. Otherwise, it would attract the suspicions of others.

    The second student sparring with Huo Yuhao entered the arena after being signaled by Xuan Ziwen. Compared to the previouspetitor, this student looked much more stable. After he entered the arena, he stopped in his waiting area and watched Huo Yuhao with a vibrant look in his eyes. He seemed like a volcano that could erupt any time.

    Huo Yuhao acknowledged him mentally. This fight was highly unlikely to be as easy as the previous one. However, the stronger his opponent, the greater his fighting spirit.

    He squinted his eyes and looked at this opponent before returning to his waiting area.

    Xuan Ziwen observed both parties and calmed himself down.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Grade 6 student, Wan Yijun. Please advise me!¡± The youth who looked older than twenty years shouted. His voice rumbled, and was full of a vigorous aura. His figure wasn¡¯t exactly huge, but he looked very sturdy.

    Huo Yuhao also lifted his hand and shouted, ¡°Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao. Please advise me!¡±

    ¡°Begin!¡± Xuan Zimen gestured suddenly and retreated rapidly.

    Huo Yuhao burst forth just like before. The only difference was that a golden light now shone from him as he leapt up. Four white soul rings rose from his feet, one was especially bright.

    Wan Yijun had already made sufficient preparations. When Xuan Ziwen signaled the start of the fight, he backed away quickly and two streaks of light shot out from beneath his feet. The lights pushed his body off the ground. More than ten soul tools appeared on his arms, shoulders, chest and other areas.

    However, he was stunned when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s white soul rings. This was weird¡­ White soul rings? What was going on?

 Chapter 178: Specter Na Na

    Both soul masters and engineers knew what white meant ¨C a ten-year soul ring!

    Even for the worst possible soul master, it was impossible to have only ten-year soul rings with a four-ring cultivation.

    Wan Yijun had the same thought, too. He was subconsciously stunned.

    However, Wan Yijun was much more agile than Xia Xuanchen, though both of them were Soul Kings and ss 5 soul engineers.

    While he was still in a daze, his arms had already lifted. More than ten streaks of colored light shot in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    Compared to other empires¡¯ soul engineers, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s superiority was demonstrated through this simple probing attack. Unleashing streaks of soul rays was something that almost all ss 5 soul engineers could do. However, Wan Yijun¡¯s soul rays contained four different elements. This wasn¡¯t something that everyone could do.

    Wan Yijun had two yellow and three purple soul rings. The lights from his five soul rings intersected where a soul tool was shining brightly behind his back, evidently gathering energy. His five soul rings also all contained auxiliary-type soul skills that helped to enhance his soul power. He couldst longer in battle through his energy-gathering soul tool. He also retreated quickly as the soul thruster beneath his feet sent him backward, widening the gap between him and Huo Yuhao.

    This series of adaptations impressed all the academy¡¯s students, teachers, and even Xuan Ziwen. As a ss 5 soul engineer, this was already the best he could do.

    However, those who wereplimenting Wan Yijun mentally were promptly shocked in the next moment.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dodge Wan Yijun¡¯s soul rays. He continued to hurtle forward, and the soul rays seemed to avoid him on purpose. They brushed past his body,

    none striking him.

    Soul rays were faster than soul cannons, but they were less powerful. However, they were very urate! With Wan Yijun¡¯s abilities, it wasn¡¯t possible for him topletely miss his target like this.

    Wan Yijun¡¯s soul thruster was beneath his feet, he instead used his flying-type soul tool to hover in mid-air. Although he couldn¡¯t fly too high due to the restrictions that were in ce, the flying-type soul tool still managed to help him change directions at will.

    However, he had only just risen into the air, he had yet to gather speed. He was moving much slower than Huo Yuhao. The gap between the two of them had been reduced to a hundred meters.

    Wan Yijun was also appalled that none of his soul rays hit Huo Yuhao. He even thought that he was seeing things. He tried to fire his soul rays once again, and expended a lot of his soul power doing so. He used the soul rays to form a web that engulfed Huo Yuhao. His goal was very simple ¨C dy his opponent. In that way, he could unleash a barrage of attacks at his foe. He could then employ some of his soul tools that were more powerful.

    However, he was immediately shocked again. It wasn¡¯t just him who was seeing things, all the spectators were seeing things, too!

    Huo Yuhao had used his Spiritual Interference to avoid the soul rays previously. This time, he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

    Using his Spiritual Detection as a guide, he slipped through the seemingly imprable web like a streak of smoke. He could find even the slightest gap and slip through it before advancing forward, still increasing his speed.

    Wan Yijun had no choice but to take a breather, as the depletion of his soul power was too great¡­ and he discovered that Huo Yuhao was only thirty meters away from him! How was this possible?! No matter how calm he appeared, Wan Yijun was still frightened at this point. He couldn¡¯t bother to attack anymore. He quickly fled using his flying-type soul tool. His entire body turned to one side and flew in that direction.

    He didn¡¯t forget to fling out more than ten soul bombs, however. These bombs weren¡¯t too powerful, so their shockwaves wouldn¡¯t affect the user.

    They could be detonated using a little soul power, but they couldn¡¯t be underestimated, as there were a lot of them. Wan Yijun was only buying time for himself.

    Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao stopped. His left foot stomped on the ground, and he leapt up high. This leap allowed him to reach more than ten meters in the air, avoiding all the soul bombs. He then drew his limbs together in mid-air, and something appeared in his right hand.

    It was a short spear, around three feet long. The spear was sharp at both ends, the center as thick as a pigeon¡¯s egg. The bright silver spear exuded a metallic glow.

    Huo Yuhao straightened his gaze, spinning through a half-turn in mid-air. After that, he threw out the short spear in his hand.

    When the spear left his hand, a screeching sound suddenly rose. The spear caught up to Wan Yijun instantly.

    Wasn¡¯t he not supposed to use soul tools? This was the first thought in Wan Yijun¡¯s mind as he felt the threat, unleashing his ss 5 protective soul barrier.

    Wan Yijun jerked when the short spear stabbed straight through the protective soul barrier. His soul barrier turned extremely bright, before being crushed by the spear. Wan Yijun fell from the air as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

    What was shocking was that the short spear didn¡¯t stab into him. It changed directions as soon as it touched Wan Yijun¡¯s body, and instead pierced through the wing of his flying-type soul tool. He was nailed to the ground as his body fell to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao quickly arrived atop Wan Yijun in a sh of motion.

    Wan Yijun¡¯s fighting will didn¡¯t disappear even after he fell from mid-air. He wanted to resist, but he was helpless. When the spear pierced his flying-type soul tool, he felt a wave of indescribable tyranny smash through his body. He couldn¡¯t even control his body anymore, and his martial soul was forced to retract.

    If he described this feeling to Zi Mu, Zi Mu would certainly understand, as he had been through it before. That was also why he didn¡¯t bother to resist Huo Yuhao anymore.

    What was in the spear? It contained a powerful fighting skill taught by Elder Mu that was abination of spiritual power and soul power ¨C the Sovereign''s Descent.

    That¡¯s right, the Sovereign''s Descent couldn¡¯t be used in a long-range attack. However, that didn¡¯t include weapons. When Huo Yuhao threw the spear out, he infused his spiritual and soul power into the throw.

    He wouldn¡¯t get the throw wrong. He used the Tang Sect¡¯s methods to change the spear¡¯s direction, since he couldn¡¯t kill here. Even Xuan Ziwen wouldn¡¯t give Wan Yijun a hand, because no one believed that his spear could ovee a ss 5 protective soul barrier. He wasn¡¯t even using a soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao chose the Tang Sect when he was still cultivating in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion as a soul master. In terms of soul tools, he chose the closebat route. As hebined both together, he slowly formed a path that belonged to him.

    He had created this spear for the sake of thispetition. It wasn¡¯t a true weapon, but was very suitable for sparring purposes. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think that he could beat a ss 5 or 6 soul engineer in terms of speed if they had soul thrusters or flying-type soul tools. However, it was different if he attacked from long-range.

    He used his left hand to pull the spear out and pointed its tip at Wan Yijun¡¯s neck. After that, he lifted his right hand and stretched out two fingers.

    Second opponent down!

    He used very little time in these two rounds. While he held his short spear and walked back towards the waiting area, Wan Yijun struggled to crawl up from the ground. There was aplicated look in his eyes.

    He knew that he had lost. However, he didn¡¯t know how Huo Yuhao had won after he was struck by the Sovereign¡¯s Descent. His fighting will had beenpletely crushed.

    Jing Hongchen watched this fight seriously from the main spectator stand. Although he appeared calm, he was troubled internally.

    Those who were chosen to spar were the academy¡¯s elites. Initially, students from Illustrious Virtue Hall were restricted frompeting. However, Huo Yuhao had asked for ss 6 soul engineers from Illustrious Virtue Hall to be included in thepetition. They were going topete the next day.

    Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t shocked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance, but by the way he had beaten his opponent. It was undeniable that Huo Yuhao was capable, since he had represented Shrek Academy in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. But he only had a four-ringed cultivation! Even though he had twin martial souls, it wasn¡¯t easy to beat a ss 5 soul engineer. However, Huo Yuhao waspletely beyond Jing Hongchen¡¯s imagination.

    He had already won twice, even though he hadn¡¯t used too many soul skills. No one even understood how he had gained victory in this round.

    Jing Hongchen had been observing Wan Yijun¡¯s performance throughout this match. Although Wan Yijun wasn¡¯t shockingly good, he had performed rtively well. At least he was much more outstanding than Xia Xuanchen.

    However, he didn¡¯tst much longer than Xia Xuanchen, even so! Huo Yuhao was just too ridiculous!

    Huo Yuhao was walking towards Xuan Ziwen. He passed him the short spear.

    Xuan Ziwen understood his intentions. He injected his soul power to analyze the spear. After that, he mentioned over the sound-amplifying soul tool, ¡°Huo Yuhao is only using an ordinary weapon. It¡¯s not a soul tool. Do you need to rest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He sat cross-legged beside Xuan Ziwen. He quickly entered deep meditation as everyone watched him.

    While the throw appeared very simple, he had used the powers of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, Spiritual Detection and the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapon skills. This undoubtedly expended his spiritual and soul power. He needed to keep himself in the best possible condition for the many remaining fights.

    Jing Hongchen said to Lin Jiayi softly, ¡°Send a ss 5 closebat soul engineer in the next round. Choose someone defensively strong.¡±

    Lin Jiayi acknowledged his instructions and nodded his head. He immediately left to carry them out.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rest for too long. After just ten minutes, he leapt up and nodded towards Xuan Ziwen. Following that, he walked to the waiting area.

    Two rounds had ended, and themotion and noises from the crowd had died off. More and more students were puzzled when they looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Was this what a soul master was supposed to be like? Was this a soul master¡¯s fighting style? But he didn¡¯t even use a single soul skill!

    So soul masters were that strong¡­ Weren¡¯t soul masters of the same level not supposed to be a match for soul engineers? But why were these soul engineers¡¯ attacks ineffective against Huo Yuhao?

    Some intelligent students were pondering in their minds. What Jing Hongchen wanted them to see was finally realized. Huo Yuhao wanted to at least influence their mindsets, because he hadn¡¯t been able to seed in the other aspects of his n.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯ting out of this with nothing. Firstly, he won rare metals and some gold soul coins. Next, he¡¯d managed to boost Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. And most importantly, he had managed to fuse the results of his Ultimate Soldier n¡¯s training and his experiences with developing soul tools over the past six months.

    This was also a fusion of his paths as a soul master and soul engineer.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t use soul tools here, it didn¡¯t affect his thinking. The usages of different soul tools under different conditions surfaced in his mind, and his immense spiritual power ensured that he had enough thinking capabilities throughout the fights.

    The third student to spar with him had already entered by now. It was a female student this time.

    This female student couldn¡¯t be considered very pretty, but she had a healthyplexion. She had a slender figure, and was around a hundred eighty centimeters tall. However, her figure still seemed very proportionate. There was a sharp look in her eyes. She stared at Huo Yuhao, and there appeared to be sparksing from her eyes.

    A Female soul engineer?

    Huo Yuhao had sensed a heavy pressure from this youngdy. This female soul engineer was definitely stronger than the other two soul engineers earlier. Huo Yuhao had likely met a real match.

    The youngdy rose while watching Huo Yuhao, and tied her long, dark-red hair up into a ponytail. She looked much neater this way. Her yellow uniform also made her look more valiant and formidable.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Grade 6. Active Control Soul Tool Department, Na Na. Please advise.¡±

    ¡°Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao. Please advise.¡±

    Active Control Soul Tool Department? Huo Yuhao was bbergasted when he heard her. As a soul engineer, he knew what that meant. He took lessons on it when he was still in Shrek Academy.

    The Active Control Soul Tool Department consisted of special closebat-type soul masters who strengthened themselves by using soul tools. They didn¡¯t know how to create soul tools at all, but they were very familiar with all kinds of soul tools. They used soul tools to increase their fighting strength and survivability.

    Currently, Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department were exploring how to train in this aspect. The Soul Tool Department would provide soul tools and guidance for the Martial Soul Department¡¯s elite soul masters. As Wang Yan put it, this was the future developmental direction of all soul masters.

    Soul masters that could create soul tools and soul masters that could use soul tools shouldn¡¯t necessarily be divided into different learning and cultivation paths. This was something Wang Yan had mentioned as he studied in the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This was also affirmed by the Soul Tool Department. Even Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei¡¯er from the Martial Soul Department were moved by those words.

    The Active Control Soul Tool Department signified that her fighting strength wasn¡¯t just in soul tools. Her martial soul was bound to be powerful too. While there were very few powerful martial souls in the Sun Moon Empire, it didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t exist.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Na Na. Let¡¯s go, Na Na!¡± Some spectating students stood up and chanted Na Na¡¯s name. She was apparently very popr among the student poption.

    Na Na didn¡¯t seem to hear the cheering. She focused her gaze on Huo Yuhao.

    She too, was very curious about him. One reason why she was so curious about him was because he might be an opponent in future Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournaments.

    Na Na wasn¡¯t part of the back up team in thest edition of the tournament, but she had managed to excel based on her own capabilities in the academy. After she managed to be a Soul King at the age of seventeen, she was finally confirmed as a member in the next tournament. She wouldpete along with the Hongchen siblings.

    Since Na Na didn¡¯t know how to create soul tools, she was definitely not as familiar with them as normal soul engineers. However, she was much stronger in herbination of soul tools and martial souls than most soul engineers. Furthermore, students from the Active Control Soul Tool Department truly lived to fight. With the academy backing them, they were always exposed to the newest and most suitablebative soul tools. They could also ce more attention on fighting, rather than being distracted by the creation of soul tools.

    She was one of the best among all the Soul Kings in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. She was far stronger than both Xia Xuanchen and Wan Yijun. Her soul power had reached Rank 54 already. In the next two years, she aimed to reach Rank 60, and be a Soul Emperor before the tournament.

    After learning that there was an opportunity to spar with a student from Shrek, she was one of the first few to sign up. Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrogance roused her fighting spirit, but she didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao was very strong. After all, he was only a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. She could certainly defeat him!

    Xuan Ziwen nodded in his heart as he observed the intensepetitive spirit from both sides. This round was bound to be more intense than the previous two rounds.

    He also knew who Na Na was. That was because the academy had once asked him to create soul tools specially for Na Na. Although she couldn¡¯t enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall because she belonged to the Active Control Soul Tool Department, she was still highly valued by the academy.

    ¡°Begin!¡± As Xuan Ziwen shouted, the third round of sparring began.

    Both contestants acted immediately. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only swift attacker now. Na Na immediately burst towards Huo Yuhao, unlike the two soul engineers before her.

    A closebat soul engineer? Huo Yuhao was shocked. He also chose the closebat path. While Na Na didn¡¯t know how to create soul tools, she was adept at using them. She was very likely to be strong too.

    Two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring drifted up from Na Na¡¯s feet. Her entire body transformed as her martial soul was unleashed.

    She looked a little illusory now. Her entire body looked very surreal. However, her speed soared as her martial soul was unleashed. She wasn¡¯t any slower than Huo Yuhao.

    Agility-type? This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s second judgment of her. She was indeed an active control soul engineer who didn¡¯t lose her abilities as a soul master. With her speed and destructive soul tools, she must be capable of high-frequency attacks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess and judgment were absolutely on point. Lin Jiayi wanted to find a ss 5 closebat soul engineer that was defensively strong after being instructed to by Jing Hongchen, but Na Na happened to be third on the list. She wouldn¡¯t agree to being substituted no matter what, and with her position in the academy, Lin Jiayi couldn¡¯t persuade her either. Furthermore, Lin Jiayi really wanted to see how she would fare against Huo Yuhao. They were likely to be opponents in the near future! That was why he didn¡¯t substitute her.

    The hundred and fifty meter gap between them was quickly reduced. They were almost in front of each other.

    Both of them burst towards each other from the start. It was only when they were finally ten meters apart that the situation changed.

    A streak of fiery-red light shed from Na Na¡¯s body. It was a de only one foot and two inches in length. She grabbed the hilt of the very weird looking de.

    This de was different from ordinary des. It was as wide as palm, and seemed blunt. There were elegant flower patterns carved on it, but Huo Yuhao was unable to tell what materials had been used to make it.

    The de was dark-red, but an almost two foot long scarlet-red radiance shed on its surface, which appeared to be very unstable. It was like a me, one that chose its target carefully.

    After unleashing this de, the surrounding air heated up. Na Na¡¯s surreal-looking body turned even more illusory as the heat caused the air around her to ripple.

    The de instantly turned into a rainbow and the de light extended from two feet to ten feet. Na Na disappeared amidst the de light as she unleashed its power. Her bodybined with the de and she shed at Huo Yuhao. At that moment, the de light was like the rising sun. Regardless of whether it was her speed, strength, soul master type, or soul tool, she had reached the peak of a ss 5 soul engineer.

    When Na Na started her attack, Huo Yuhao started moving. A dark-golden light shone brightly and his Darkgolden Terrorws appeared. He stomped to cease all forward momentum. He stabilized himself in ce, choosing not to advance further.

    The ten-foot-long scarlet-red de light was extremely terrifying within that patch of red air. However, the scarlet-red light was concealed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws as they appeared.

    They appeared as five enormous dark-golden de lights. The huge terrorws exuded a terrifying killing aura that nearly covered twenty feet. When they came out, they swept aside everything in their path. Huo Yuhao was like a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear in human form. His right arm was dyedpletely dark-gold.

    Both parties weren¡¯t using any flowery skills against each other when they collided. On one side, there was abination of woman and weapon aided by a powerful soul tool. On the other side, there was the frightening offense of a person equipped with the Darkgolden Terrorws, a rare external soul bone from the overbearing Darkgolden Terrorw Bear.

    When these parties collided, a metallic nging sound rung out. It sounded like gold and steel had struck each other head on.

    Following that, the illusory figure was thrown more than ten meters away.

    As this figure was flung back, it unleashed a golden light barrier. This light barrier forcefully dispelled those dark-gold de lights that pestered Na Na so, but it was also crushed instantly.

    Na Na was the one who was flung. While her soul tools were strong, they weren¡¯t destructive enough topete with the Darkgolden Terrorws.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even use all his strength, when he unleashed the Darkgolden Terrorws, as he didn¡¯t want to harm her. Otherwise, given his current cultivation, it would¡¯ve been much more powerful had he injected all of his soul power into them.

    However, Na Na¡¯s soul tool was of great quality. Only a few ws appeared after it was struck. But the automatic defensive soul tool barrier on her body had beenpletely destroyed.

    The students supporting Na Na cheered when her scarlet-red de light appear. However, their cheers were stuck in their throats shortly afterwards, and they were devastated. Na Na, who gave off an extremely powerful seeming gaze, was forced back in one blow. It was evident that she was at a disadvantage.

    Na Na¡¯s illusory figure suddenly became a little more realistic. She lifted her head as shended on the ground, and her eyes met Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    She saw the intensepetitive will in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    Did I just lose to him in a direct confrontation? Na Na was very indignant. However, she managed to keep her cool even under such circumstances. Her body shed, and she once more burst towards Huo Yuhao. She increased her speed again, then her first and second soul rings shed sequentially.

    Na Na¡¯s figure divided into three, all of them illusory. These three figures separated from one another once they were less than five meters away from Huo Yuhao, before swiftly gathering in towards Huo Yuhao at the center. Three scarlet-red light streaks shot toward Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao grinned. He acted just as the Na Na figures grouped together. His body also turned illusory like Na Na¡¯s, but the illusionary aspect came from the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

    In this fight, many of the spectators couldn¡¯t even see what was going on clearly. They could only see Huo Yuhao shuttling between the three figures, and hear nging or knocking noises resonated continuously.

    Sitting in the main spectator stand, Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression turned serious. He naturally knew who Na Na was. He¡¯d been the one to grant approval for her topete in the next Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    However, he saw her inferioritypared to Huo Yuhao after just a short bout fighting him.

    In terms of absolute speed; Na Na was quicker than Huo Yuhao with the enhancements from her first and second soul skills. However, she was only fast. She wasn¡¯t nearly as urate as Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track allowed him to appear at the weaker areas in Na Na¡¯s onught. While it seemed like Na Na had encircled him, he was the one attacking her incessantly with his Darkgolden Terrorws.

    Na Na¡¯s first soul skill increased her speed and made her body more illusory, which meant she would suffer less harm when she was attacked. Her second soul skill allowed her to form doppelgangers. With these abilities and her powerful closebat type soul tool, she was fighting like an agility-type soul master with the strength of an assault-type.

    The doppelgangers weren¡¯t real; they were just her second soul skill. They didn¡¯t possess any offensive strength. They purely used speed to create illusions. These three figures were actually just the one person.

    But how could her doppelgangers trick Huo Yuhao, and his spiritual detection? Huo Yuhao could take the initiative easily even if he used less effort than her. While they appeared to be on par with one another, Na Na was actually being suppressed, and was at a disadvantage. This was clear from how rxed Huo Yuhao was¡ªhe didn¡¯t even use his left hand, instead cing it behind his back.

    Na Na was panicked as the battle dragged on. She no longer underestimated Huo Yuhao.

    Did he really just be a Soul Ancestor? ording to the academy¡¯s information, he should be more inclined towards a control-type soul master!

    However, she suffered every time she collided with him even though he was just a Soul Ancestor. The Scarletme de she was using, was a brilliant ss 5 closebat soul tool. It contained a scarlet me, which had a temperature of one thousand degrees Celsius. She tested it once on a wild beast, and the wild beast had been instantly cooked as she shed it with the de. However, the scarlet mes were dissipated before they even touching Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. They couldn¡¯t affect him in the slightest. This also meant that it waspletely ineffective against Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Clink!¡± A crisp sound resonated. Na Na was forced back again. Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength numbed her right hand.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. He stopped Na Na just as she was about to burst towards him again.

    ¡°What?¡± Na Na stared at him warily.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This isn¡¯t fair for you. I suggest you change your weapon. I have twin martial souls. My first martial soul is spiritual-type, while my second martial soul is ice-type. Using fire-type or ice-type soul tools against me won¡¯t be very effective.¡±

    Na Na was confused. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with burning light. ¡°Your closebat strength is impressive. But I can also tell that you haven¡¯t given your all yet. Since this is the case, I want to spar with you in your best condition. That¡¯s the point of sparring, isn¡¯t it? You would¡¯ve already lost if I simply wanted to defeat you.¡±

    Na Na snorted furiously. ¡°Don¡¯t be so arrogant. Let¡¯s go again.¡± As she spoke, she burst towards Huo Yuhao again. But she didn¡¯t use her second soul skill this time. She only used her first soul skill to increase her speed.

    Although she was unconvinced, her soul tool had already changed while she made her move. The Scarletme de disappeared, reced by a green de.

    She seemed to fancy des. Huo Yuhao was under greater pressure when this de appeared.

    It was also a ss 5 soul tool, but it was a wind-type soul tool. The de unleashed six wind des towards Huo Yuhao, which came from different directions. Huo Yuhao found it tough to navigate even though he had both the spiritual detection and the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

    Na Na inched closer to him. She wielded her ¡®Swift de¡¯, and six more wind des attacked from different directions towards Huo Yuhao. She also got closer to Huo Yuhao with the speed boost from the de. She wasn¡¯t shing the de anymore, instead she stabbed it towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    He lifted both his hands, they were instantly covered in diamond ice crystals. He retracted his Darkgolden Terrorws and switched to the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer with Mysterious Jade Hands. He did something else too, something weird. His left hand grabbed forward towards the Swift de, while his right arm started to makerge revolutions like a huge windmill.

    Something even weirder happened. As he revolved his right arm, the six wind des seemed to be attracted by something, and changed their direction. They all shed towards a corner of the arena, leaving several marks. While his left hand touched the Swift de.

    Both of their bodies jerked. But the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer couldn¡¯tpare to the Darkgolden Terrorws. Even though he managed to block the Swift de, there wasn¡¯t enough strength. Huo Yuhao¡¯s staggered two steps back. However, Na Na was forced back too.

    How did he deflect the wind des? Na Na was shocked once again. But the des were still useful, or at least they were better than the Scarletme de.

    Her attacks began anew after her discoveries. She kept on wielding the Swift de as she surrounded Huo Yuhao with attacks. Her assault continued swiftly.

 Chapter 179: An Avenging Spirit in Front of a Necromancer?

    At the start, Huo Yuhao could still urately judge and adapt using his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. But Na Na was getting faster and faster. The wind des unleashed from her Swift de were also increasing. A new batch of wind des would appear before he had a chance to dispel the previous batch. The entire ce was filled with green lights, and Huo Yuhao had disappeared within them.

    Huo Yuhao had no choice but to unleash his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, as he was under immense pressure. The diamond ice crystals resisted the wind des, piercingly sharp noises were released when both powers shed. Huo Yuhao seemed to be at more and more at a disadvantage.

    But Na Na was also a little anxious. Huo Yuhao¡¯s defensive soul skills were very strong, and her wind des had a negligible effect on him. The Swift de was much inferior to the Scarletme de in terms of offensive strength, and could be blocked by Huo Yuhao using just his hands. They were stuck in a stalemate. Na Na didn¡¯t really have much of an advantage.

    ¡°If this is all you¡¯re capable of, you¡¯re going to lose,¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded in her ears. Following that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s footsteps became a little messy, and his speed increased slightly. His Darkgolden Terrorws appeared again. However, he wasn¡¯t just resisting the Swift de this time. Rather, he was also attacking Na Na.

    Na Na¡¯s momentum was such that she couldn¡¯t dodge when Huo Yuhao positioned his terrorws right at a specific position that she had to cross. She shed with them heavily, using her de to block their attack.

    However, it wasn¡¯t just a simple meeting of des this time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrorws closed up, and his body was about to ram into Na Na. The two of them were approaching each other rapidly.

    Oh no! Na Na¡¯s third soul ring lit up as she reacted, and her body turned illusory. Huo Yuhao brushed past her, and there was no impact between the two of them.

    This was Na Na¡¯s third soul skill, Spectre Possession. She could turn her body into a spectre, and not be struck by anything physical, but only for a second. It was a life-saving technique. She couldn¡¯t attack as this soul skill was unleashed, which was why Na Na hadn¡¯t used it before.

    But she couldn¡¯t hold back this skill any longer. When their paths crossed, her fourth soul ring also lit up. Her shadow detached from her body as she paled,and it suddenlynded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao was engulfed by ayer of ck gas. He couldn¡¯t move even though he struggled mightily.

    Na Na suddenly turned back and burst towards him with the Swift de. She shed the de towards his neck. This was the effect of her fourth soul skill, Avenging Spirit!

    Her soul skill had a powerful restraining effect, but it had a lot of restrictions. It was operated using her spiritual power. But if the opponent couldn¡¯t be restricted, she would suffer from the bacsh.

    I¡¯ve won! Na Na said to herself in her heart. However, she abruptly realized that something was amiss when she saw the look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He was too calm. He didn¡¯t seem to be restrained...

    Huo Yuhao was a little amused at this point. In his mind, Elder Yi remarked, ¡°She must be tired of living, using an Avenging Spirit in front of a necromancer!¡±

    As Na Na realized something was wrong, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned grey, and an indescribable fear instantly engulfed Na Na. Following this, Huo Yuhao seemed to mutter something. The Avenging Spirit surrounding Huo Yuhao¡¯s body instantly disappeared, seeming to fuse into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    No bacsh urred. Na Na only felt a sense of emptiness, and staggered a little, but she still managed to react. Her fifth soul ring lit up, and she reached out with her left hand. A small and short white dagger that was only five inches long was flung towards Huo Yuhao at lightning speed.

    This was Na Na¡¯s trump card. She finally used it as she was in deep peril. It was a ss 6 closebat soul tool, the Blinkknife.

    The throwing knife didn¡¯t make a sound, but it instantly reached Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had been too careless. When he used Elder Yi¡¯s necromancy to deal with the Avenging Spirit, he had the ability to restrain Na Na¡¯s martial soul through their soul connection, and had done so. That¡¯s why Na Na¡¯s fifth soul skill wasn¡¯t really unleashed.

    However, the Blinkknife still reached him.

    The knife was hidden in a storage ring on Na Na¡¯s left hand. It possessed a tremendous destructive strength. In this critical situation, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to lift his hand to block the knife.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer didn¡¯tpletely resist the Blinkknife. His palm was instantly pierced. However, the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and Mysterious Jade Hands¡¯ defensive strength managed to buy Huo Yuhao some time. He lifted his hand as he looked backward. The Blinkknife almost kissed Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as it flew past him. It turned into a streak of white light as it went on by, and only stopped when it hit the defensive barrier around the arena.

    Huo Yuhao broke out in a cold sweat, even though it was a sudden change. He was too careless, and had almost been killed by the Blinkknife!

    Fresh blood flowed from his left hand. His expression also turned colder. He shrugged his left hand and sealed the blood on it, then continued to attack Na Na.

    Na Na was indeed resilient. She couldn¡¯t get closer to control the Blinkknife without the help of her martial soul. Otherwise, she believed that she would¡¯ve won. Even so, she continued to wield the Swift de and shed at Huo Yuhao.

    But Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was extremely cold now.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­! A series of booms rang out in front of Na Na. Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood also contained soul power! He used his own blood to unleash the Ice Explosion Technique, and forced Na Na back with a series of explosions, and the Swift de was also torn from her hand. She couldn¡¯t resist the explosions in such a condition.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t chase after her. He only shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±

    Na Na¡¯s body suddenly jerked, and she was actually frozen in ce. She was horrified. She couldn¡¯t understand why her body didn¡¯t listen to her.

    ¡°You¡¯re so intent on killing me? We¡¯re only sparring,¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly. He slowly ced the Darkgolden Terrorws in front of Na Na. The wound on his left hand had already been sealed by ice, and stopped bleeding.

    Na Na couldn¡¯t calm down at this point. This situation that she couldn¡¯tprehend left her extremely afraid.

    ¡°I¡¯ve won.¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t above hitting a woman, but the killing spirit that he restrained wouldn¡¯t be unleashed at this point.

    Electrolux taught him that there were different regions in a person¡¯s spirit, even though it was aplete entity. He had also taught Huo Yuhao the different capabilities of a human¡¯s body.

    Na Na¡¯s Avenging Spirit aimed to restrain a person¡¯s movements, which was why it now controlled Na Na¡¯s own movements. After her Avenging Spirit was snatched using necromancy, Huo Yuhao easily found the characteristic of her spirit, which was why he could restrain her now. If Huo Yuhao destroyed this part of her spirit, she might be paralyzed. Without her spirit, she would be unable to move.

    He rxed his will and released his control on Na Na before turning around. He walked back towards the waiting area. His energy had been greatly depleted in this battle.

    Na Na chased after him and shouted, ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    If it were somewhere else, others might misunderstand her words. But no one could sense the fear in Na Na¡¯s heart at this moment. When Huo Yuhao had controlled her body, she felt as if she lost something important.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been attacking me.¡±

    She wanted to question him further, but she realized that she once again couldn¡¯t move. She could only watch as Huo Yuhao walked away.

    Her fear grew stronger. She couldn¡¯t sense Huo Yuhao unleashing any undtions of soul power. The force that was restraining her seemed toe from inside her. This also meant that she wasn¡¯t being restrained by one of his soul skills. After she thought of how her Avenging Spirit had disappeared earlier, she roughly guessed that it was a side effect that was more scary than a direct bacsh.

    While the Avenging Spirit was powerful, it became her nightmare once it met a worthy opponent!

    The restraint on Na Na was only removed when Huo Yuhao reached the waiting area, leaving her trembling. At this point, she didn¡¯t dare pester him anymore. As she thought of howpletely helpless she was in front of him, that she could only let him do what he wanted, she wanted to kill him!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think about it too much. He was furious, as Na Na had almost killed him. He decided to punish her since she hadn¡¯t treated this as a sparring match. He was going to keep this spirit with him, and he would only return it to her after some time.

    ¡°Do you need a break?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice was gentle.

    He had seen Na Na¡¯s actions, but had been toote to stop her. They had shed at such close range that even the Hallmaster of Illustrious Virtue Hall wouldn¡¯t have been able to separate the two of them if he was the referee.

    Xuan Ziwen was surprised when Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright, I can keep going.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xuan Ziwen was stunned and asked, ¡°Are you certain?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Although he was curious as to why Huo Yuhao had chosen not to rest, Xuan Ziwen still respected his choice and called for the fourthpetitor.

    The fourthpetitor was nearly two meters tall. He was extremely burly, and his shoulders were very broad, which caused him to appear very tough.

    The moment he entered the waiting area, he lifted his right hand and hooked his index finger towards Huo Yuhao. He then extended his thumb and wriggled them together in front of Huo Yuhao condescendingly.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help butugh as they saw him doing this, the depressing atmosphere turning rapturous again as they did so. This student evidently wanted to repay Huo Yuhao tit for tat as he tackled Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrogance with his own haughtiness.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look towards Xuan Ziwen and then asked, ¡°Teacher Xuan, can we start?¡±

    ¡°Alright. The match begins!¡± Xuan Ziwen only realized that both parties had forgotten to name themselves after he¡¯d announced the start of the match; he¡¯d made a mistake. However, he soon witnessed the end of this round.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent immediately moved as soon as the round began. A heavy soul shield appeared in his hands, followed by thick armor on his body.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t burst forward like he had in the previous three rounds this time. Instead, his golden Spirit Eyes gained a purple hue, and a ray of golden-purple mes were unleashed from them a momentter. Even Xuan Ziwen felt his surroundings light up a little.

    A momentter, the previously-conceited student groaned and then copsed to the ground, along with his soul shield and armor.

    Huo Yuhao wriggled his wrist, after which the short spear that had appeared earlier appeared in his palm. He twisted his head towards Xuan Ziwen and asked, ¡°Teacher Xuan, are you confident in my uracy? I should be able to hit my target urately within one hundred and fifty meters.¡±

    It¡¯s over?

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t conceal the shock in his eyes. He hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type soul skills to be effective over such a long distance. Furthermore, his opponent had been a five-ringed Soul King! Yet, he hadn¡¯t been able to resist at all. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to throw his spear; this student wasn¡¯t likely to get up anytime soon.

    ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡± Xuan Ziwen said with a little difficulty.

    The surroundingmotion instantly turned to silence. Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, and then extended four fingers.

    He¡¯d not onlypleted, but had won four rounds in less than an hour. Aside from his battle with Na Na, he¡¯d overwhelmed all of his opponents up to this point.

    Jing Hongchen was a little restless as he sat in the main spectator stand. He¡¯d discovered that, to his horror, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type martial soul was actually extremely powerful. A ss 5 soul engineer had been knocked out in a single blow, even though he was a hundred and fifty meters away. Who could challenge him? In the Soul Tool Department, there wasn¡¯t any student who specialized in dealing with spiritual-type soul skills. After all, spiritual-type soul masters were quite rare.

    Based on this soul skill, it was evident that Huo Yuhao had been holding back in the previous rounds of thepetition. The rest definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to bear this spiritual-type attack of his.

    Huo Yuhao chose to rest afterpleting the fourth round. He sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

    He¡¯d wanted to go for one more round in order to deplete more of his energy. This had been to allow his spiritual and soul power to recover together as he meditated.

    The first few students to challenge Huo Yuhao had been the best of the ss 5 soul engineers. Thus, theter rounds of thepetition were even easier for Huo Yuhao.

    After resting for a short while, Huo Yuhao continued with thepetition. Hepletely dominated, and won seventeen rounds in the morning. He only stopped to rest when noon approached. No further cheers were heard from the spectators.

    The most shocking thing was that the skills he was using seemed very simple¡ªapart from his Spiritual Shock¡ªbut even the spectators couldn¡¯t tell how these simple skills were able to achieve such powerful and shocking effects.

    Seventeen consecutive rounds! Huo Yuhao had benefited greatly at this stage. Not only had he won seventeen kilos of rare metal, but he¡¯d also received the stakes wagered upon earlier.

    After stopping for a quick lunch, he didn¡¯t leave the Soul Tool Experimentation Area. He found a resting ce and quickly restored his energy and power beneath the protection of the other Shrek students.

    Huo Yuhao was still a human, not a God. He¡¯d fought for seventeen rounds straight against the elite ss 5 soul engineers of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy at this point. His opponents had watched his previous rounds and tried to adapt to his changes. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting strategy had also changed. He¡¯d thought of as many ways as possible to achieve victory without exposing too much of his abilities since he couldn¡¯t use soul tools.

    He was already fatigued after a long morning of battling. However, this fatigue was refreshing in a sense. The feeling of venting left Huo Yuhao very refreshed. He also felt that his soul power had increased during his deep meditation.

    Lin Jiayi had mentioned that he would only be facing ss 5 soul engineers today. Tomorrow, he would face the ss 6 soul engineers. As for the third day, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would give Huo Yuhao the authority to choose who he wanted to challenge from the Illustrious Virtue Hall as a form of reward for him. After all, challenging the higher-level soul engineers would be a valuable experience for Huo Yuhao. He would also be able to use his soul tools on the third day.

    Fan Yu sat to one side and watched Huo Yuhao. He revealed a slight smile andforting look on his face.

    Although he couldn¡¯t say that the Ultimate Soldier n had seeded yet, he was clearly aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance in the battles today. This was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, where the most talented soul engineers in the continent resided. And yet, even these soul engineers with higher cultivations than him weren¡¯t able to beat him. He was only fifteen years old! Besides the fact that his soul power increased very slowly, Huo Yuhao was almost perfect.

    Huo Yuhao had two hours to rest in the afternoon. After these two hours passed and Huo Yuhao re-appeared in the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena, he was already full of energy again.

    However, he was still a bit fatigued from the morning full of sparring. The time he took rest between each opponent increased with each. Finally, he defeated thirteen morepetitors, and ended the day with a total of thirty victories.

    When it was close to dark, the students from the Sun Moon Academy walked out of the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena with serious looks on their faces. The looks in their eyes was a little heavy.

    Fifteen years old; this was merely a fifteen year-old soul master from Shrek Academy. He¡¯d somehow defeated thirty ss 5 soul engineers, including more than seventy percent of the Grade 6 students, without any soul tools.

    This also meant that practically no one could defeat him, apart from those in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. This was a humiliation. Tomorrow, the ss 6 soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall were going topete. But¡­ could they really win?

    The effect that Jing Hongchen wanted to see had been realized, albeit a little too heavily. Not all the students¡¯ fighting spirits had been motivated. A few of the students were in low spirits and doubted soul tools after witnessing Huo Yuhao¡¯s strong showing. This wasn¡¯t something that Jing Hongchen had wanted to see.

    ¡°We¡¯re rich, we¡¯re rich! Hahaha¡­¡± Ye Xiaoshengughed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s room.

    Currently, Fan Yu, He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, and Ye Xiaosheng were all standing around. Huo Yuhao had just finished dinner and was about to copse. If not for the Life Gold¡¯s life power that enabled him to recover faster than an ordinary person, he wouldn¡¯t have been able tost until now.

    The Life Gold¡¯s power was indeed quite great. The wound on his left hand had already fully recovered despite the fact that it had only been a day.

    Huo Yuhao leaned on his bed and felt very refreshed as his body rxed. ¡°Brother Sheng, how much did we profit?¡±

    Ye Xiaosheng chortled. ¡°The odds that you wouldn¡¯t clear ten rounds were three to one. Most people wagered on this. Their bets took up more than half of our total bets. With just these alone, we¡¯d already earned quite a lot. Then there¡¯s the odds that you wouldn¡¯t clear twenty rounds, which were one to one. Those¡¯re also in our pockets now. The remaining twenty percent of the wagers are on you not being able to clear fifty rounds. Even if you don¡¯t clear fifty rounds, we¡¯ll only have to pay twenty percent of what we have. We¡¯ve profited a lot, no matter what happens. I believe that the rare metals we¡¯ve won are equivalent to a year of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s production of these metals as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and then said, ¡°Brother Sheng, don¡¯t be too delighted. Tomorrow, several people will bet on me not being able to clear fifty rounds.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ surely not?¡± Ye Xiaosheng was stunned for a moment.

    He Caitou added, ¡°Why not? Brother Sheng, think about it. The most talented soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire are enrolled in this academy. And then there¡¯s the Illustrious Virtue Hall. They¡¯re definitely wealthier than we think they are. Little junior, do you remember the soul tool produced by the Illustrious Virtue Hall that we saw in the Starlight Auction house? It was extremely costly! It was already extremely tough to survive thirty rounds. Why don¡¯t we cancel betting for tomorrow?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, let the betting continue. Otherwise, it¡¯ll affect my fighting spirit. From the odds, we¡¯ll only lose our profits if I eventually lose and they increase their wager. Moreover, I may not lose. I¡¯ll give it my all tomorrow.¡±

    Ye Xiaosheng¡¯s lips twisted a little, and heughed bitterly, ¡°Talking to the both of you dampens my spirit. I shall not talk to the both of you anymore. Teacher Fan Yu, I¡¯m leaving first! You¡¯re already so ferocious today, but it¡¯s still not your¡­ gosh!¡± Ye Xiaosheng was depressed as he walked out with his hands on his forehead.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but think of how he had asked them to call him Brother Sheng as he left. They grinned as that thought crossed their minds.

    Fan Yu stood up and said, ¡°Yuhao, take a break. I don¡¯t have many instructions for you. Give it your best tomorrow, but safetyes first. You should know how important you are to Shrek.¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher. I won¡¯t be careless again.¡± Huo Yuhao sat up straight on his bed and wanted to send them off. However, he was stopped by Fan Yu and He Caitou. After that, the two of them left on their own.

    Huo Yuhao dragged himself up and forced himself into a cross-legged position. He couldn¡¯t just sleep. Otherwise, his efforts for the day would be wasted. It was only through restoring his energy in his cultivation state could he assimte the gains he had made during the sparring today.

    The doorbell suddenly rang. As he was too tired, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash his Spiritual Detection. He assumed that it was either Fan Yu or He Caitou, and so took in a deep breath and walked to the door.

    However, it was neither of them. Rather, it was a youngdy with a well-proportioned figure. She was Na Na, the Soul King from the Active Control Soul Tool Department who he had defeated today.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows, but he wasn¡¯t too wary of her. Part of Na Na¡¯s spirit was still under his control. If he wanted to, he could restrict her movements and even harm her.

    Na Na furrowed her brows as she said, ¡°Can Ie in?¡± Although she wasn¡¯t that ravishing, her bravery gave her a sense of charm. This charm greatly entuated her well-proportioned figure.

    Huo Yuhao opened the door wide and gestured for her to enter.

    Na Na entered the room, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t close the door. It was toote, and it wasn¡¯t too appropriate for the two of them to be together in the same room, thus it was better for the door to be left ajar.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Huo Yuhao was too tired, and went to take a seat on a chair at the side.

    Na Na retorted, ¡°I should be the one asking you that! What did you do to my body? How did you manage to control it?¡± She was filled with hatred as she demanded an answer.

    After she lost to Huo Yuhao, the matter had been bothering her, she only came to talk to him after the entirepetition was over. She didn¡¯t approach him as there were others with him, but only came to his room after Fan Yu and He Caitou had left.

    Huo Yuhao answered indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. If there¡¯s nothing else, please excuse yourself. I still need to spar tomorrow.¡±

    Na Na was enraged. ¡°You don¡¯t have the guts to admit it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s brows lifted and he said coldly, ¡°What did I do? You¡¯re the one who unleashed your Avenging Spirit. You¡¯re also the one who tried to kill me. It¡¯s a joke that you¡¯re interrogating me now. Please see yourself out.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Na Na wanted to erupt, but she held it in. She bit her lips until they were red, ¡°What exactly do you want? I can feel that my Avenging Spirit has been restrained by you. Return my spirit to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned by her sensitive judgement.

    Na Na continued to say, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not your doing. If my spirit was dissipated or destroyed by you, I would¡¯ve been critically injured. But I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that my body is not under my control. You must¡¯ve done something to my spirit. Return it to me!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and answered, ¡°Alright, even if I did so, why should I return it to you? You almost killed me. What right do you have toment on my actions?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ I¡¯ll report you to the academy.¡± Na Na was furious.

    Huo Yuhao pointed towards the door, ¡°If you wish. But someone must believe you. Even if someone believes your words, what evidence do you have? To soul masters, our spirit is a magical thing. Even a Titled Douluo can¡¯t im to bepletely familiarized with one¡¯s spirit. Moreover, no one can test that your spirit is with me.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s expression changed. As she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm look, she slowly walked to the door.

    Huo Yuhao sniggered to himself. Since he was scared by her in the morning, he had to make her pay for it. However, his heart still softened. He would return her spirit to her once thepetition was over.

    Na Na walked very slowly. When she reached the door, she stopped in her tracks. She didn¡¯t leave, but shut the door.

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯re you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao stood up from his seat. Even though he was tired, his soul power was still in its peak condition. Furthermore, Na Na was still under his control.

    Na Na turned around, and two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks. Her body shuddered slightly, and her entire figure seemed to be illusory. Her clothing slipped off her body, revealing her naked figure.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect her to do that.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at her. Her figure was wless. All women craved a body like hers.

    Undoubtedly, Na Na was blessed in this area. There was no fat on her body, and her skin was extremely smooth and tender. Although her skin wasn¡¯tpletely snow-white, there was a healthy sense to it.

    Her slender waist was springy, and her wless curves extended all the way down. As she wasn¡¯t facing Huo Yuhao directly, he couldn¡¯t see everything. But he could still see her perky buttocks.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t stand looking any further. At his age, one was supposed to be extremely curious but unclear about the matters of the heart. He had once sensed feminine beauty from Ma Xiaotao, but he was very young then. That was why he wasn¡¯t as tempted. But he had developed biologically over the past two years.

    He panicked a little and turned around. After that, he said, ¡°Put your clothes on. What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    Na Na was teary-eyed as she said, ¡°I know that you¡¯re an elite student from Shrek. I don¡¯t have anything valuable to exchange for my spirit. I can only use my body. I¡¯ve never been touched by a guy. If you promise to return my spirit, I¡¯ll give my body to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected something like this. He didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry.

    He was a little anxious as he said, ¡°Put your clothes on and get out immediately. When the sparring is done, I¡¯ll return your spirit.¡±

    Na Na was stunned for a moment, and only reacted after a while. Huo Yuhao seemed to be scared of her current self, and looked rather pathetic. He wasn¡¯t as arrogant as he was earlier under everyone¡¯s gazes.

    Due to his outstanding performance during the sparringpetition, many students now treated him as a target. In their eyes, Huo Yuhao was a powerful soul master. But Na Na now realized that he was still a fifteen-year-old youth. It seemed like she was reading too much into things.

    She blushed a little before hurriedly dressing herself.

    Huo Yuhao was indeed awkward. He felt his nose getting hot as if it were about to bleed. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t dare to use his Spiritual Detection to tell whether she was done. After all, he would still be able to see her body!

    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Na Na replied softly.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief at this point. He turned back to confirm that Na Na was indeed dressed before turning his whole body around. His face heated up, and his nose was as hot as before. He tried to resist his nosebleed. Even though Huo Yuhao tried his best to cover his nose, Na Na still managed to see it.

    Na Na broke out intoughter.

    ¡°Quickly leave.¡± Huo Yuhao snapped. He was trying to expel the erotic scene from his mind.

    Na Na was evidently not as furious as before. ¡°You¡¯ll really return my spirit? Why not now? Why must it be after the end of thepetition?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s because I want to guarantee that you won¡¯t find trouble with me in the next two days. Quickly leave.¡± Even he felt that his reply was a little incoherent.

    Na Na took a deep look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I hope that you can fulfill your promise. Anyway, I¡¯ve nothing that I can use to exchange for it. If you back out and want my body again, just tell me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his nose heating up even more, and there seemed to be blood flowing out of it.

    Na Na opened the door before turning back to look at him. She smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t seem that annoying now. Better than that arrogant self in the morning.¡±

 Chapter 180: A Sovereign-like Victory

    Bang! Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help it as he shut the door to his room. After that, he quickly ran to the washroom to clean his face.

    Na Na couldn¡¯t help butugh as she stood outside his room. It seemed like dealing with him was just this simple! She had been overthinking things. How bad could such an innocent young man be?

    Suddenly, her body jerked. Since he can restrain my spirit, it means that he can also¡­ As she thought of this point, she started to be excited. She turned around and wanted to knock on his door again.

    She lifted her hands, and her breathing became a little rapid. She muttered to herself, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, don¡¯t be anxious. I¡¯ll find him when thepetition ends. I hope that he can really do it.¡± As she spoke, she clenched her fists tightly. However, the excitement on her face couldn¡¯t be concealed.

    Huo Yuhao sat on his bed for half an hour before he entered his meditative state. He wondered whether he was the one punishing Na Na, or if she was the one punishing him!

    ------

    Morning. Huo Yuhao awoke from his meditation.

    He was filled with energy. He opened his windows, and clear air flowed into his room, refreshing him.

    After a night of rest, his energy had been restored, and he was in his best condition. His soul power circted, and streaks of white gas rose from his body before he inhaled them again. Huo Yuhao was delighted to discover that his overnight cultivation was equivalent to ten days of normal cultivation. It seemed like sufficient pressure was beneficial to his cultivation.

    I should be under greater pressure today! Let ite then.

    The golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes shone at this moment as the first ray of sunlight shone down. A dim purple appeared in the sky, and Huo Yuhao used his Purple Demon Eyes to absorb this color.

    The Soul Tool Experimentation Arena was just as packed as yesterday, but it was much quieter and more peaceful today. Many of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students sacrificed sleep to watch thepetition, and hadn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s rest. Huo Yuhao had shocked them too much with the difference between a soul master and soul engineer¡¯s fighting styles. It was also their first time witnessing the abilities of a powerful soul master. They now understood why Shrek Academy was so dominant on the continent.

    The increased use of soul tools represented progress, but soul masters had been around for many generations. It would take a long time before soul tools could suppress soul masters in a battle. At the very least, soul engineers couldn¡¯t do it now.

    The ss 6 soul engineers from Illustrious Virtue Hall were going topete today. Could Huo Yuhao maintain his winning streak?

    Wagers were still being epted, but there was only one choice. The odds were still five to one. However, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students didn¡¯t think they had a chance to win.

    Jing Hongchen also arrived at the main spectator stand early. He had been greatly affected by thepetition yesterday. Huo Yuhao was only fifteen years old, but was shockingly rich with actualbat experience. Although he didn¡¯t think Huo Yuhao was that strong, there wasn¡¯t anyone the same age that could match up to him. Were his grandchildren even that capable at his age?

    Perhaps the only problem with Huo Yuhao was that his soul power increased very slowly. This was something that Jing Hongchen was slightlyforted by. Otherwise, he would need toe up with ways of dealing with the young man before he became a serious danger to the empire.

    After a period of set-up and resolution, the matter regarding the attack on the base of Illustrious Virtue Hall was finally suppressed¡­ but it had also forced Jing Hongchen to join the Crown Prince¡¯s side. With his support, the Crown Prince had now gained an absolute advantage. The two remainingpeting princes lost ground immediately. The Sun Moon Empire Emperor¡¯s condition was worsening, and no one knew how much longer he would live.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s only wish was to restore Test Subject One. After all, it was iplete. No one besides him knew the password to activate it. Without the password, it was only a stack of rare metals. While dismantling the stack of metal and selling it would definitely be valuable, it was still better than exposing Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s greatest secrets.

    A dim light shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a faint glow on his face. He was much calmer when he arrived at the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena for the second time in two days. He also didn¡¯t provoke anyone today, as he just wanted to use this sparringpetition to enhance himself. Since he couldn¡¯t leave, he would use these two years to be even stronger.

    In yesterday¡¯spetition, he had intended to suppress his skills to prevent being exposed. But after a night of cultivation, this intention had already disappeared. That¡¯s because he believed that he could only benefit if he gave his all to the fight. There were still two and a half years left until the next Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Shouldn¡¯t he be trying to be stronger and more capable in these two and a half years? Moreover, most of his capabilities couldn¡¯t be understood by mere visual observation.

    To ensure greater improvement, Huo Yuhao set his mind to not to hold back in today¡¯spetition, he wanted to go all-out. In addition, he also knew that hispetitors today were the elites. The ss 6 soul engineers weren¡¯t just one ss above ss 5 soul engineers, they were all from Illustrious Virtue Hall. Their understanding of soul tools and excellence in soul tool production was far superior to the students that he sparred with yesterday.

    Huo Yuhao was unsure of how many of them he could beat today, but he was determined to give his all.

    The referee was still Xuan Ziwen. As he watched Huo Yuhao, he felt slightly envious.

    He was young once. When he was young, he was also an outstanding talent. However, he seemed tock somethingpared to Huo Yuhao. Hecked the sharpness, as well as the stability to wield that sharpness. His student was only fifteen! However, why did he feel as if he were interacting with someone of the same age throughout their entire exchange? What price did the young man pay to attain such maturity?

    Xuan Ziwen smiled as he asked, ¡°Yuhao, how was your restst night?¡±

    The first thing that popped up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was Na Na¡¯s body. He forced a smile and replied, ¡°It was rather good.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°That¡¯s great. Today, your opponents are going to be stronger. After discussing things with the Hallmaster yesterday, we¡¯ve agreed to let you use soul tools today. After all, you only have four soul rings. If you¡¯re restricted too much, it¡¯ll be unfair. This isn¡¯t the academy¡¯s style. Do your best to strut your stuff today and unleash your full abilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m allowed to use soul tools? The Hallmaster must be interested in how Ibine soul tools with my martial souls.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied ¡°I don¡¯t know that about that. If you¡¯re absolutely confident in yourself, you don¡¯t have to use them.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Why not? It¡¯s nothing anyway. Since we¡¯re sparring, I have to live up to the meaning of it. I just hope that mypetitors don¡¯t disappoint me today.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen looked at him with a meaningful gaze and said, ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed. Go and prepare yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and shut his eyes. He focused, and circted his Mysterious Heaven Technique. He quickly adjusted his body to its best condition.

    In truth, he didn¡¯t think that he could beat twenty-six ss 6 soul engineers from Illustrious Virtue Hall. It was unrealistic to think that he could defeat all of them in one day unless his Light of Destiny could be used continuously. That might give him a glimmer of hope.

    But Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words gave him hope again. If he could use soul tools, it was a different matter! In terms of soul tools, Xuan Ziwen recognized his abilities in soul tool use and production, even though his soul power wasn¡¯t up to par yet. This also meant that he wasn¡¯t that inferior to the soul engineers from Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Perhaps this was the first test he had to take after choosing the closebat path. Huo Yuhao started to be excited as hispetitive will was piqued. Fighting was the best way to test his abilities. He became extremely focused now.

    After getting approval from Jing Hongchen, Xuan Ziwen returned back to the stage.

    Lin Jiayi was still the emcee for the sparring today. His voice boomed out through the sound-amplifying soul tool. ¡°Teachers and students, today is the second day of the sparring against Shrek Academy! It will still be Huo Yuhaopeting on behalf of Shrek! After yesterday¡¯spetition, I¡¯m sure all of you have witnessed the difference in fighting style between a soul master and a soul engineer! I hope that all of you can use this chance to discover your own problems, and enhance your real-life experience with soul masters! At the same time, I hope that all of you can work hard and be like Huo Yuhao, achieving glory for your academy!¡±

    ¡°Today, we¡¯ll be sending out ss 6 soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. We have twenty of them with us today. We¡¯ll carry out as many rounds as we can until dinnertime. Thepetition¡¯s about to start. Please observe carefully, and reference what you see with your own abilities. If you can learn something from this, this sparringpetition will be a sess. Due to the gap in cultivation, Huo Yuhao will be allowed to use his own soul tools today. All of you must also carefully watch how hebines his martial souls with soul tools. This is especially pertinent for students from the Active Control Soul Tool Department. Alright, thepetition¡¯s going to start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still the center of attention, but he wasn¡¯t treated like an enemy anymore. Whether it was in the world of soul masters or soul engineers, one¡¯s abilities were the most important. Huo Yuhao had already proven that he had true ability by being able to win thirty consecutive rounds against ss 5 soul engineers. Those with true ability were always respected, even in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Many of the other students were wondering how far Huo Yuhao could progress as he faced the ss 6 soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Many continued to wager today, but very few wagered on Huo Yuhao. It was just like how Huo Yuhaocked self-confidence. No one believed that he could win all the way against the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s ss 6 soul engineers. At least, he couldn¡¯t win twenty consecutive rounds.

    But there were exceptions. For example, Ke Ke wagered ten kilos of rare metal on Huo Yuhao. Besides her, another female student also bet on Huo Yuhao. She was Na Na.

    Even Na Na didn¡¯t understand why she did that. She wasn¡¯t exactly wealthy, and thus she only staked a hundred gold soul coins.

    Xuan Ziwen gestured for the first Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s ss 6 soul engineer to enter.

    He was a youth that looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was burly. His short hair was brown, and he had a tannedplexion. It was obvious that he was somehow rted to the imperial family. His arms were slightly longer than normal, and were thick. As he slowly walked into the Soul Tool Experimentation Area, his aura had already swept over Huo Yuhao. But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t fearful. He watched his opponent calmly, and was ready to enter his fighting mode.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall. Shen Musu.¡±

    ¡°Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen looked at both parties. He lifted his right arm before mming it down, ¡°Thepetition begins.¡±

    As he proimed the start of the match, both parties made their move. Shen Musu burst forward just like Huo Yuhao. The gap between them was shrinking quickly.

    Shen Musu¡¯s hands were held at his side as he burst forward. He held a long dagger in each hand. These two daggers were the same ¨C they were four inches long, their hilts were thick and their des were wide.

    A dirt-yellow radiance was released. As his soul power was unleashed, there was an overwhelming sense of power.

    Earth-type, closebat soul tool!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash any soul tools. He acted the same way he had yesterday. There was helmet on Shen Musu¡¯s head with a colorless ruby mounted on it. This ruby shone weakly under the sun.

    There were bound to be heavy sparks in this sh between two closebat soul engineers.

    Both parties were getting closer and closer to each other. Shen Musu shouted, and his third soul ring started to shine. Ayer of purplish light engulfed his body, and his aura became even more overwhelming.

    He stopped suddenly before leaping forward. He shed his daggers towards Huo Yuhao.

    The yellow daggers didn¡¯t seem to release any force. The air around Shen Musu¡¯s center also started to distort.

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes. His toes touched the ground, and he sprang up from the ground in a swifter mannerpared to Shen Musu. The Darkgolden Terrorws appeared once again.

    Just as both parties were getting closer and closer to each other, a wing pped open from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. After that, he dodged to one side, avoiding Shen Musu¡¯s daggers. This happened instantly, and his Darkgolden Terrorws had already wed towards Shen Musu¡¯s shoulder.

    He used this half of his flying-type soul tool to disce his position. The wing of the flying-type soul tool even shed before disappearing. He must possess immacte control!

    Even a ss 6 protective soul barrier couldn¡¯t resist the destructive force of the Darkgolden Terrorws.

    But Shen Musu wasn¡¯t an easy target to deal with. He didn¡¯t panic. His sixth soul ring suddenly lit up, and a Boulder Armor surfaced in front of his body.

    The appearance of the Boulder Armor greatly increased his weight. He immediatelynded back on the ground as he was dragged down by the increased weight. He even bore the attack of the terrorws.

    Several rocks were peeled off from the armor as a screech was heard. But Shen Musu wasn¡¯t hurt. Huo Yuhao was surprised that Shen Musu¡¯s daggers continued to sh down in the same trajectory. They stabbed into the ground.

    ¡°Bang¡± A deep rumbling sound was heard, and Huo Yuhao felt a huge rocking motion beneath his feet. This rocking motion sent his body flying through the air. Following that, countless sharp spikes shot out from Shen Musu¡¯s body.

    These spikes were shot upwards to a height of three meters. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly avoid them. He was in great danger now.

    Lin Jiayi had pondered carefully before sending Shen Musu out to spar first. Shen Musu¡¯s helmet had a protective effect against spiritual power, and was designed to withstand attacks like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, while his martial soul was a Boulder, which wasn¡¯t easily curbed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. In addition, it was especially useful in closebat. Shen Musu was both offensively and defensively resolute. He was one of the best among the ss 6 soul engineers in the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    However, they had still underestimated Huo Yuhao.

    When he was jerked into the air, Huo Yuhao could already sense the undtion from the ground. His Spiritual Detection urately sensed the surge of his opponent¡¯s soul power.

    Huo Yuhao could sense an immense force from the yellow daggers. Perhaps their speed couldn¡¯t increase by much, but their aura gave off an irresistible feeling.

    Huo Yuhao had to be decisive under such a circumstance.

    That was why he unleashed the Ice Empress Armor as he was sent flying. He tried to reduce the impact on him. Following that, everyone could see his body lighting up.

    An azure-green radiance surged from his backbone. He opened his arms wide and braced his chest. An indescribable, mighty aura was exuded from his body.

    No soul rings lit up yet. But one could see the air around Huo Yuhao distorting. After this, an azure-green beam of light shot out from his belly.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was at Shen Musu¡¯s side. Shen Musu couldn¡¯t dodge this strike. He was struck directly.

    The heavy impact propelled Huo Yuhao¡¯s body upwards. He avoided the spikes that came towards him, whereas Shen Musu¡¯s body had turned azure-green.

    One of the soul skills of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton, the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath!

    Huo Yuhao had had two choices. Either he unleashed theplete version of the Darkgolden Terrorws, or he used the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath. He made his decision quickly.

    These two skills expended roughly the same amount of energy and power, but the Darkgolden Terrorws were half a beat slower than the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath, as he needed to wield his arm.

    Huo Yuhao tapped into the impact generated by the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath to make a revolution in mid-air. When his body unfolded again, his right hand was already out. Theplete Darkgolden Terrows! He swept it toward his opponent, who was frozen still.

    Shen Musu¡¯s Boulder Armor was his sixth soul skill, and was even a ten thousand year soul skill! But Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath was a four hundred thousand year soul skill. While Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t unleash its full strength, he had no trouble freezing Shen Musu on the spot.

    ¡°Stop.¡± A golden barrel lit up in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s hands. A cannon shell uratelynded on Shen Musu¡¯s body and turned into a golden light barrier that protected him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrorws didn¡¯t really strike him. They disappeared as a light projection shed. His toes touched the golden light barrier, and hended on the ground after he deflected himself into the air.

    Xuan Ziwen was astonished. How¡¯s he able to retract his attack so easily after unleashing it so furiously? How good is his control?

    He didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t retract his terrorws if he unleashed theplete version. But it was another matter if he used Imitation to imitate his terrorws!

    He was going to face a series of tough battles today. Why would he waste his soul power? He could decide victory with the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath. Since Xuan Ziwen intervened, it meant that he had won.

    After ten seconds, Shen Musu¡¯s Boulder Armor was crushed, and his face turned pale. He staggered and almost copsed to the ground. Ayer of golden light shed continuously on his body. It was evident that some protective soul tool had been activated.

    In truth, it was impossible for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath to ovee Shen Musu¡¯s Boulder Armor and ss 6 protective soul barrier.

    While Shen Musu¡¯s armor was able to Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, it also restricted his own strength at a critical moment. After the armor was frozen, he couldn¡¯t break free even if he wanted to. Huo Yuhao then used the Darkgolden Terrorws to force Xuan Ziwen into intervening. Shen Musu could only concede defeat.

    Shen Musu¡¯s brows furrowed as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He was also shivering because of the extreme chill he had felt earlier, ¡°You¡¯ve won. But I¡¯m not convinced.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°I know that, I can sense it. Your daggers are indeed powerful, and aren¡¯t easy to deal with. If I¡¯m not wrong, the spikes were supposed toe at me relentlessly after they forced me to divulge my ws. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t give you the opportunity to unleash your full fighting strength. Let¡¯s hope I have another opportunity to spar with you again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also much more courteous against a worthy opponent. He was indeed impressed by Shen Musu¡¯s abilities.

    Shen Musu nodded at Huo Yuhao before turning around. He told himself that he needed to ce a protective soul barrier outside the Boulder Armor the next time he sparred with Huo Yuhao. In that way, his defense would be even greater.

    Yet another victory? Anothermotion ensued. This fight had been very short, and the spectators¡¯ stand was very far away. It was difficult to make out small events.

    While Huo Yuhao seemed to win the fight quickly, it wasn¡¯t easy for him. He won because of his Ultimate Ice. The Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath froze his opponent¡¯s earth-type ten-thousand year soul skill. In addition, he had also tricked Xuan Ziwen. Even if he had really used theplete Darkgolden Terrorws, he might not even have been able to crush the Boulder Armor.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the ground and meditated as he returned to the waiting area. Although the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath had depleted some of his soul power, he had no problem continuing.

    However, he realized how powerful the ss 6 soul engineers were after fighting Shen Musu. Although he was confident of going against them, he might lose if his focus and energy weren¡¯t at their best.

    After fifteen minutes, Huo Yuhao leapt up and nodded towards Xuan Ziwen.

    The second soul engineer from the Illustrious Virtue Hall was an ordinary-looking woman with an average figure. She looked to be almost thirty years old.

    ¡°Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Ziyan.¡± This woman was the most concise among those who hadpeted against Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Shrek, Huo Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao was also concise.

    ¡°Thepetition begins!¡±

    Huo Yuhao burst forward as usual¡­ but this time, he let everyone witness his top speed.

    As he burst forward, four semi-circr soul tools appeared behind his back. They revealed four nozzles as they flipped out. The four nozzles started to spurt fire backwards. Four streaks of mes shot out, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s body burst forward like a shooting star.

    Those with keen eyes realized that Huo Yuhao was now covered by ayer of diamond ice crystals as the four streaks of bright mes shot out. He had no choice, as without the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor¡¯s protection his body couldn¡¯t tolerate the incredible thrusting force or the wind resistance.

    However, Huo Yuhao managed to reach a frightening speed with the explosive thrusting force. He covered a hundred and fifty meters almost instantly, arriving right in front of Jing Ziyan with a terrifying aura.

    Jing Ziyan was very calm when she appeared. But when Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed soared and he burst straight towards her, she was slightly surprised.

    Huo Yuhao gave off a feeling like he was a powerful soul beast now. The Sovereign''s Descent seemed almost unstoppable as Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed increased dramatically.

    What greeted Jing Ziyan was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist. It was covered by diamond ice crystals andbined both the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer and the Mysterious Jade Hands.

    He didn¡¯t use the Darkgolden Terrorws because he couldn¡¯tbine both the Sovereign''s Descent and Darkgolden Terrorws perfectly at such a high speed.

    But he still managed to control the speed, strength, intent, energy, angle, and timing of this fist precisely. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s true ability, as he unleashed an ultimate strike!

    Jing Ziyan drifted back instantly, and ayer of intense golden light shone from her body. It was an Invincible Barrier that couldst for three seconds. Not only that, but ayer of thick purplish fog also surged up from her body. More urately speaking, her entire body seemed to change into a ball of fog. Following this, her fifth soul ring lit up.

    She was much stronger than Shen Musu. She had two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings ¨C the perfectbination of soul rings for a Soul Emperor. Huo Yuhao had felt a sense of crisis, thus he unleashed such a powerful attack.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist struck the Invincible Barrier heavily. The collision caused the lights in the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena to dim a little. Did the weather change?

    The resolute Invincible Barrier started to crack after Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist struck it. This crack started to extend, with his fist at the center of it. But it still looked like it had managed to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s strike.

    But did it really manage to resist his strike?

    The purplish fog instantly gathered within the Invincible Barrier and re-adopted human form. Jing Ziyan looked pale.

    Yes, the Invincible Barrier could withstand Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out strike. However, it couldn¡¯t resist the intent of his Sovereign''s Descent. Jing Ziyan was forced back into her human form by this intent, and was even spiritually impacted.

    Kacha! The Invincible Barrier brokepletely.

    A purplish light shed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes before disappearing.

    Jing Ziyan groaned. The back of her head seemed to have hit by something extremely strong. Fresh blood started to flow from her nose.

    In the next instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws were already in front of her. However, he stopped one inch away from her, and watched her as she copsed to the ground.

    She didn¡¯t pass out. She covered her head with her hands and groaned in pain. More blood started to flow out of her eyes, ears, and mouth.

    Huo Yuhao braced his chest as he let his Darkgolden Terrorws down. The entire ce went silent at this point. He was just like a sovereign as he stood there.

    ¡°Tyrannical! He only has four rings?¡± Jing Hongchen muttered these words. Right now, he was in a daze.

    Absolute speed, absolute strength, and absolute dominance.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even give Jing Ziyan a chance to counterattack before he ended the battle.

    He returned to the waiting area without uttering a word. He sat where he was originally and started to meditate. Only Xuan Ziwen noticed that he was breathing heavily, and his right arm was trembling slightly. It seemed as if he could copse.

    That strike¡­

    Huo Yuhao must have had suffered a huge price to unleash such a powerful strike.

    It wasn¡¯t a speed that a ss 5 or ss 6 soul engineer could reach. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s standard in soul tool production, he couldn¡¯t possibly create a ss 7 soul thruster. But he had used four ss 6 soul thrusters, allowing him to reach a speed equivalent to that of a ss 7 soul thruster.

    The impact on his body was very heavy at such a high speed. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t held back at all when he struck the Invincible Barrier. It was no surprise to him that he felt as if he was going to copse.

    It was also no wonder Jing Ziyan lost to him!

    Xuan Ziwen was very familiar with Jing Ziyan. That¡¯s because Jing Ziyan was his junior, and was once touted as a genius. The reason why she was only a ss 6 soul engineer now was because she got too greedy. She had researched all types of soul tools without choosing a path for herself. That was why she stagnated as a ss 6 soul engineer. But she still managed to enter Illustrious Virtue Hall, a testament to her talent. She was recognized as the Queen of ss 6 soul engineers in Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Illustrious Virtue Hall sent out Shen Musu and Jing Ziyan first in a bid to regain the face they had lost yesterday. However, both of them had now lost to Huo Yuhao. They even lost very quickly.

    Xuan Ziwen was shocked to realize that Huo Yuhao had quickly entered a stable meditative state and stopped trembling after a while. Everything seemed to be calm again. The huge burden and pressure that he was under earlier seemed to have disappeared. His aura and soul power undtions returned to normal once again.

    Yes, this was how quickly Huo Yuhao could heal. The immense life power of the Life Gold ensured that his body was very tough. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve died when he saved Ju Zi and Ke Ke. The Ultimate Soldier n had proceeded smoothly because of his ability to fight continuously for long periods of time.

 Chapter 181: The Sword Fanatic Ji Juechen

    After another fifteen minutes, Huo Yuhao leaped up energetically and nodded his head at Xuan Ziwen. He was signaling that he was ready to continue.

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t help but wish that there was a metal that was as resistant as Huo Yuhao after he saw how energetic andpetitive Huo Yuhao was.

    The third ss 6 soul engineer appeared. He was a male soul engineer, and appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His long, ck hair was tied behind his head. He also seemed a little pale, but was extremely charming. However, his eyescked energy, and even his movements felt very slow and lethargic.

    Among all the guys that Huo Yuhao had ever met, only Wang Dong could match him in terms of looks. However, Wang Dong¡¯s beauty carried a sense of tenderness, while this guy¡¯s beauty was built on his aloofness. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t sense any emotions from this guy.

    He held a short-sword in his hand that was around four inches in length. The sword was entirely ck, and had a simple pattern. Nothing seemed very special about it. It even slightly resembled a rod used to control a stove fire.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s got goosebumps when he first saw him. Jing Ziyan already posed a danger to him, but this guy appeared to be even more dangerous than her.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was still activated , but it seemed to lose its effect on this guy. He couldn¡¯t even sense this guy¡¯s soul power.

    ¡°Ji Juechen.¡± Jing Ziyan¡¯s introduction was already extremely concise. But his introduction was even more so.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head as he looked at him.

    But Huo Yuhao was surprised when Ji Juechen suddenly said, ¡°I signed up at thest minute because of your fist. I found something that I¡¯ve been looking for in your fist. Please allow me to sense it. Thanks.¡±

    As he spoke, he held his sword with both hands and slowly bowed towards Huo Yuhao. His eyes started to emit a bright light that was filled with passion. Right now, it seemed like only the sword existed in his eyes.

    Two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings rose from his feet.

    When Huo Yuhao saw the look in his eyes, he only had one thought ¨C this guy is crazy. However, his expression turned extremely serious in the next moment. Sometimes, a madman was scarier than ordinary people.

    ¡°Can you wait an hour for me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes were already focused on his sword, but he shouted, ¡°Please!¡±

    Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and straightened his body. He entered his meditative state once again.

    Neither of them were speaking softly. Those with sensitive hearing could listen in on their conversation. Although Xuan Ziwen was the referee, he didn¡¯t speak as he stood to one side. He also thought that Ji Juechen was a madman. Even the academy and the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s students thought the same way.

    Ji Juechen was an anomaly in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Firstly, he wasn¡¯t a soul engineer. But neither was he purely a soul master. However, he was the chief disciple in the Active Control Soul Tool Department.

    His martial soul was a Sword. But it was just an ordinary sword that didn¡¯t possess any powerful capabilities. His innate soul power was only Rank 3, and he could barely cultivate.

    However, he fell in love with his sword after his martial soul awakened when he was six. There was nothing except his sword in his eyes. He unleashed his martial soul to cultivate tirelessly every day. No one knew how he managed to increase his soul power. When he was eight, his soul power reached Rank 10. He entered an area filled with soul beasts alone with his sword and only escaped three dayster covered in blood. He obtained a hundred year soul ring from a soul beast that he had personally killed. He obtained a soul skill that helped to enhance his soul power like a soul engineer.

    The average soul power of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s students was above that of Shrek. That was because most of them consumed all types of medicine to increase their soul power. This was extremely effective before they reached seven-ringed cultivations. But at least ny-five percent of them couldn¡¯t reach seven rings because they consumed all these medicines. Reaching ss 5 or ss 6 was already very sufficient for these soul engineers.

    However, Ji Juechen was different from everyone here. He didn¡¯t consume any medicine. He only remained here to challenge others, since there were many strong soul engineers in the academy.

    His sword was a piece of Extraterrestrial Meteoric Steel. After obtaining it, he used his own methods to grind and shape this Extraterrestrial Meteoric Steel. After more than ten years, it finally developed the shape of a sword. Using external materials as one¡¯s weapon seemed to be the job of a soul engineer, but he did it anyway.

    In the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he was definitely the odd one out. Jing Hongchen had given him special permission to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall. As the chief disciple of the Active Control Soul Tool Department, he had the right to choose his opponents. However, he was only allowed one challenge every month, because Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t want the Illustrious Virtue Hall and the academy¡¯s daily operations to be disrupted

    The students and even the teachers gave him a nickname because of his trait - Sword Fanatic! Sword Fanatic Ji Juechen.

    No one was willing to interact with him in the academy. That was because he was very silent apart from the challenges he issued. He only cared about his sword. He would even talk to his sword at times. He only responded to those who challenged him.

    He didn¡¯te yesterday because such a sparringpetition was meaningless to him. But Jing Ziyan was one of the few friends he had. Jing Ziyan had even defeated him before. She told him that there was a youth from Shrek Academy who was very strong and dragged him to watch today¡¯spetition. Indeed, she had lost. But Ji Juechen decided to sign up when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist strike.

    This wasn¡¯t allowed. But Ji Juechen barged his way in. The fourth person who was supposed topete didn¡¯t dare to resist when he saw the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword.

    Ji Juechen also sat down and ced his sword across his legs. He pressed his hands on his sword before entering a meditative state too.

    The two of them faced each other with a hundred and fifty meter gap between them. The entire Soul Tool Experimentation Area went silent.

    A few in the spectators¡¯ stands who knew about Ji Juechen were even gloating. To them, a wicked person would always be afflicted by a simr personality. Ji Juechen was rumored to have defeated a ss 7 soul engineer! Huo Yuhao was in trouble as he faced Ji Juechen.

    Jing Hongchen looked pensive. What did Ji Juechen mean when he referred to Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist?

    As he shut his eyes, he recalled Huo Yuhao¡¯s frightening fist. He couldn¡¯t help but exim in his heart. No wonder he¡¯s the disciple of the Dragon Douluo Elder Mu! Although the Dragon Douluo has passed away, he left behind someone who could be an Ultimate Douluo. This young man is going to be something in the future. It¡¯s a pity he can¡¯t be of use to me. Without this exchange, our next encounters¡¯ going to be different.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light as he thought till here. Shrek Academy¡¯s position on the continent was very prominent. Shrek Academy had yed an important role during the war thousands of years ago. If not for their help at the critical moment, everything would be different now. While the Crown Prince was disabled, he was much more powerful than the other princes. Since he¡¯d decided to aid the Crown Prince, he needed to do all he could to remove any obstacles.

    ¡°Jiayi, control the crowd.¡± After sensing somemotion from the spectators, Jing Hongchen furrowed his brows.

    Lin Jiayi quickly picked up the sound-amplifying soul tool and said, ¡°Silence. Please give thepetitors a quiet environment.¡±

    ¡°This spar is likely to be very exciting. Teachers, please maintain order.¡±

    One hour wasn¡¯t short. Ayer of white gas drifted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he sat there. This white gas was formed from the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    Xuan Ziwen sensed a refreshing coldness from this white gas. He was also wondering who would win between Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen. If their cultivations were simr, Huo Yuhao would likely be the victor. Huo Yuhao¡¯s twin martial souls gave him a huge advantage. Furthermore, he had demonstrated his immense closebat abilities in the previous rounds. Xuan Ziwen had seen Ji Juechen¡¯s sword before, and was amazed by it. But it was different from the amazement he experienced when he watched Huo Yuhao. Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t flexible enough, as he only had his sword. He didn¡¯t even possess any long-range capabilities. The soul engineers who beaten him had tried their best to widen the gap with him. They used long-range soul tools to deplete his soul power before beating him. But only those who beat him in closebat won his respect. For example, Jing Ziyan was one of them. She was once his target, but he lost to her eventually.

    Perhaps they were both affected by the air around them, but their eyes opened at the same time. As their gazes met, they leapt up concurrently.

    At this point, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t need to announce the start of the round.

    They didn¡¯t burst towards each other immediately. They stared at each other from a hundred fifty meters away, and stood in their positions quietly.

    An invisible pressure started to bear down in the Soul Tool Experimentation Area. Ji Juechen wielded his sword with both hands, and his six soul rings surfaced. A streak of sharp aura shot out from his body. His entire person seemed to fuse with his sword at this instant.

    Fusing his soul into his sword. This was Ji Juechen¡¯s cultivation method. His martial soul was convertedpletely into force, and wasn¡¯t a physical entity. It had fusedpletely with his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword. He was the sword, and the sword was him. They were inseparable.

    That sharp aura originated from his swift and fierce sword intent.

    The Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword let out a slight roar as he injected his soul power into it. The tip of the sword seemed to be shaking slightly. Ji Juechen¡¯s aura surged. Once this sword was unleashed, there was bound to be trouble.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move as much as him. He stood there quietly, and his arms were wide open to his sides. He slowly clenched his fists. Distorted rays of light started to shoot out from his body.

    White, yellow, purple, ck and red. Five different colored soul rings intersected and shed on his body. It wasn¡¯t possible to differentiate which were real and which were fake.

    An azure-green radiance shot out from his backbone. His clothes couldn¡¯t conceal the intense light. Azure-green light also extended from his left arm, while his right arm dimmed. It was wreathed with a dark-golden radiance.

    A bright golden light shone from his eyes, revealing his dominant aura. There was a purple sparkle amidst the golden light.

    Huo Yuhao enhanced his soul power, soul bones, and soul rings to their highest level in the face of a strong opponent. The hour of meditation allowed him to unleash his full potential at this point.

    Against Ji Juechen, he had many ways to deal with him. But he wouldn¡¯t use his own soul skills. That was because he could clearly sense that this battle with Ji Juechen was his best opportunity to increase his mastery of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent that he had inherited from Elder Mu.

    Ji Juechen mentioned that he wanted to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist that he had used against Jing Ziyan. He wanted nothing else but the fist. Ji Juechen also revealed his sword intent in front of Huo Yuhao without holding back. They were going to decide this duel using the simplest method. They were alsopeting in the simplest of things.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was much inferior to Ji Juechen¡¯s. His aura wasn¡¯t as condensed as his opponent¡¯s. Against the sharp sword intent, he was easily brushed aside. Ji Juechen¡¯s aura also ballooned and put a lot of pressure on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s left leg made half a step to his left. Just as the sole of his foot was about tond on the ground, a muffled sound was heard. Following that, an frightening intent erupted from his body. This intent was extremely strong, and resisted the sword intent that was already closing in on him. Huo Yuhao managed to counteract the situation immediately.

    An illusory light projection also appeared behind Huo Yuhao, and an illusory image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion surfaced subtly on his back. That¡¯s right, Huo Yuhao used the soul beast aura from the four hundred thousand year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion to make his aura even stronger, and resisted the swift and fierce sword intent.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s body jerked slightly, but the look in his eyes became more resolute. His six soul rings shed, and he held his sword with both hands. The tip of the sword was pointed toward the ground, and that side of his body was slightly forward. His legs were still. He was facing Huo Yuhaoterally.

    His sword intent transformed once again. It turned from swift and fierce to vicious. His powerful aura shrank and shed with the aura that Huo Yuhao had unleashed. It managed to force Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura into retreating slightly.

    Intent! Fist intent! I need my own intent, not the Ice Empress¡¯ intent.

    Huo Yuhao felt something in his mind breaking apart in the face of this tremendous pressure. A sobering effect caused him to be jolted awake at this instant.

    The few powerful beings who were slumbering in Huo Yuhao''s spiritual sea woke up at the same time. They were shocked as they saw the golden ocean that surged. The immense spiritual power released a bright golden light, and the entire spiritual sea was transforming greatly.

    ¡°Ice Empress, give me protection.¡± The Skydream Iceworm spoke, and golden light rings started to spread out from his body.

    One of his nine golden light rings was crushed. After that, it consolidated again to form an entity that resembled a golden sun. This golden sun directly flew above Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea and seemed topletelybust. Golden light expanded in all directions.

    The Ice Empress also revealed her original formed in the spiritual sea. She lifted her pincers, and a dim azure-green light projection was revealed. She and the Skydream Iceworm were engulfed within this projection. No matter how ferocious Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was, it couldn¡¯t impact them.

    Electrolux appeared beside them silently. As he saw thebusting golden sun above the spiritual sea, he revealed a slight smile on his face.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the change to be so quick and vast. Good, good, good!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm also appeared to be very excited. His chubby figure twisted as he was protected by the Ice Empress. The remaining eight golden soul rings on his body also shed with waves of golden light.

    A beautiful, white figure shed into being for a moment. This figure seemed to mutter a sound before disappearing.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t clear on everything that was happening in his spiritual world. He was in a very special state now. He could only feel his soul power and spiritual power that was unleashed under the control of his mindbining at a terrifying speed.

    A great teacher could provide shortcuts for his students. In this world, there was hardly anyone who was a better teacher than Elder Mu; former Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Ultimate Douluo and Dragon Douluo.

    The Sovereign''s Descent was the reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul and spiritual power hadbined.

    Elder Mu once told Huo Yuhao that the Sovereign''s Descent was a path on its own. Itbined one¡¯s spiritual and soul power; it was a special path that involved creating one¡¯s own soul skill. To an ordinary soul master, he could only cultivate it when he became a seven-ringed Soul Douluo. It was only then that his spiritual power couldplement his soul power. However, this wasn¡¯t necessarily the case for Huo Yuhao. He was a spiritual-type soul master. But Elder Mu could only guide him to this path. He had to decide how he wanted to walk this path, and to what extent he wanted to walk it.

    Huo Yuhao used his talent and hard work to control the Sovereign''s Descent before Elder Mu passed on. Elder Mu was veryforted by this, but he told Huo Yuhao thatbining one¡¯s soul and spiritual power was very rare on the continent. Even he did not know how far Huo Yuhao could progress down this path. He hoped that Huo Yuhao would seize every opportunity to improve. When he could make the Sovereign''s Descent one of his soul skills, he would be one of the best soul masters.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao was in a magical fusion state. The tremendous pressure he was under unlocked his potential and caused him to improve significantly. His Eye of Destiny had already opened on its own. Fortunately, ayer of intense light was already shining around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, thus, no one could see what he looked like. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve been exposed.

    Ji Juechen continued to face Huo Yuhaoterally. Right now, he was extremely shocked. Only he knew how frightening Huo Yuhao was at this point.

    He had already reached his limit as he unleashed his sword intent at Huo Yuhao, but it was like moths flying into a fire, and also resembled waves hitting an immovable boulder. His sword intent couldn¡¯t touch Huo Yuhao at all.

    Ji Juechen knew he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. His method of using his aura to take Huo Yuhao down waspletely useless now. If he waited any longer, his confidence would copse first.

    Ji Juechen suddenly lifted his head, and there seemed to be two bolts of lightning in his eyes that were targeted at Huo Yuhao.

    In the next instant, his entire body became like a queer streak of light. He stuck close to the ground as he approached Huo Yuhao.

    It was a light ray that glided across the ground. It was extremely fast. Without the help of any soul tool, this was the fastest speed a six-ringed Soul Emperor could reach. Even an agility-type soul master couldn¡¯tpare to him at this point.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s upper body seemed slightly slowerpared to this light.

    He held his sword with both hands and turned his body slightly. The short sword swept out. While his action seemed very simple, he was very dangerous as he performed it. His action was very slow, but it waspleted in one go.

    As the Extraterrestial Meteoric Sword slowly swept forward, a huge depression that was several meters wide was formed. This depression extended with Ji Juechen as he moved, bing deeper and deeper.

    When Ji Juechen¡¯s body shot out, he seemed to be guided by the air around him. Huo Yuhao also moved at this moment.

    He took a step forward with his left leg, but didn¡¯t burst out like Ji Juechen. When his left legnded on the ground, the entire Soul Tool Experimentation Area resonated with a deep rumbling sound. Xuan Ziwen lost his bnce, and almost fell down.

    Huo Yuhao made a half-turn. He didn¡¯t have a sword, but he had his fist. He didn¡¯t use any soul skill or his Darkgolden Terrorws. He relied solely on his right fist.

    However, his right fist had turnedpletely golden at this moment. It was a gold that looked condensed, heavy, all-engulfing, andpletely dominant.

    The two of them seemed to have practiced together. When the pitch-ck sword finished its sweep, Huo Yuhaopleted his turn. His golden fist collided with the tip of the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword.

    Xuan Ziwen staggered back two steps, shocked. When the fist and sword collided, he felt the surrounding air copse as everything became distorted and unreal. Even though it was only for an instant, he knew he wasn¡¯t seeing things.

    Jing Hongchen had already stood up from his seat in the main spectators stand. He was stunned when he realized that he couldn¡¯t understand the true meaning behind the collision. The impact force wasn¡¯t too impressive, but he could sense that it wasn¡¯t just a simple collision, an immense aura had been released. While there weren¡¯t any shy soul skills shown, there was something unclear and iprehensible to him in it.

    A second after the collision, a reverberating boom sounded out.

    BOOM!

    Fissures appeared in the ground, which started to copse. The fissures extended out from the two fighters for almost thirty meters.

    Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen were also thrown back. Ji Juechen held on tightly to his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword. The area between his thumb and index finger started bleeding profusely.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire right arm was covered in blood. He was thrown back twice as far as Ji Juechen. Afternding, he staggered another seven to eight steps before stabilizing himself.

    Did he lose? Many of the spectators wondered.

    From the verbal abuse on the first day, to the thirty consecutive victories, to today¡¯s defeat of Shen Musu and Jing Ziyan, the students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had no choice but to admit that Huo Yuhao was very powerful. They wondered who was strong enough to defeat him. Now, they seemed to have gotten an answer.

    But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t as frantic as they thought he would be. He didn¡¯t move after he stabilized his body. Although he was breathing rather heavily, his eyes were still filled with golden light. As he lifted his right hand, he quietly looked at his bright golden fist. He didn¡¯t utter a word.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t move after hended on the ground. He wasn¡¯t forced as far back as Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t stagger or spit out blood, either. However, his gaze wasn¡¯t as sharp as before. He even seemed like he was in a trance. He didn¡¯t even appear to realize that his blood was seeping down his sword from where the skin had split on his hand.

    The two of them just stood where they were, neither showing an intent to take action. If not for the fact that the ground between them had cracked almost two meters deep, it would¡¯ve looked like nothing had happened.

    Xuan Ziwen slowly recovered from his shock. He was the closest to the two of them, and thus had felt it the most. He had clearly sensed an immense force appear in his mind, threatening to tear his spirit apart. That was why he retreated in shock. He was a little fearful at this point, even though he was an six-ringed Soul Emperor and a ss 8 soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen weren¡¯t powerful enough to give him such a feeling. This meant that it didn¡¯t originate from soul power or pure spiritual power. It was a strange force that Xuan Ziwen had never experienced before, which shocked him the most.

    The golden color on Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist slowly disappeared. At this point, it was possible to see several wounds on his right arm. Once the golden light disappeared, fresh blood could be seen flowing. His entire right arm was stained blood-red.

    But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t bothered by it. He pressed down on his right arm with his left hand, and the blood flow stopped. He sealed his right arm with ice before sitting down. He shut his eyes and started to meditate.

    Jing Hongchen said something to Lin Jiayi softly. Lin Jiayi stood up quickly and rushed to find Xuan Ziwen. He whispered, ¡°Teacher Xuan, who¡¯s the winner? Did Huo Yuhao lose?¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed bitterly. ¡°Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t judge who the winner is.¡±

    At this moment, Ji Juechen¡¯s body trembled a little. After that, he lifted his head and looked over. His face was abnormally pale, but he had an unprecedented look of excitement in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    After he admitted his loss, he looked at Huo Yuhao once before staggering away. He couldn¡¯t walk straight, and almost fell down as he left the Soul Tool Experimentation Area. He only managed to leave with Jing Ziyan¡¯s support.

    Ji Juechen lost? How did he lose? The students in the spectator stands started whispering to one another.

    At this point, Teacher Fan Yu walked briskly into the Soul Tool Experimentation Area. He approached Lin Jiayi and Xuan Ziwen and said, ¡°The sparring has to end here.¡±

    Lin Jiayi was a little stunned before he asked, ¡°What? Why?¡±

    Fan Yu pointed at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You¡¯re also a ss 8 soul engineer and a Soul Douluo. Didn¡¯t you realize that Huo Yuhao has entered a deep meditative state?¡±

    After Huo Yuhao sat down, he immediately entered deep meditation. As he sat there, he was as still as a sculpture.

    ¡°Conscientious State of Deep Meditation?¡± Xuan Ziwen eximed softly.

    Fan Yu was a little helpless as heughed bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. This kid can¡¯t bepared to an ordinary soul master. Apologies for causing such trouble. Please help me tell the Hallmaster that the sparring has to cease here. I believe that the Hallmaster has roughly achieved his goals for thispetition. But I need to borrow this ground for a while. Yuhao can¡¯t be disturbed during his deep meditation. I¡¯ll stay here to watch over him.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and replied, ¡°I know about this. I¡¯m his teacher now. I¡¯ll stay with you to watch over him. Director Lin, I¡¯ll need you to deal with Hallmaster.¡±

    Lin Jiayi furrowed his brow, but still nodded. He quickly returned to the main spectator stand. Nothing was going ording to n. Who could have expected Huo Yuhao to experience such changes? He had even entered deep meditation!

    Jing Hongchen was also puzzled after receiving this news. However, a tinge of worry rose in his mind after a while. On the surface, he had managed to achieve everything he had in mind for this sparringpetition. From the teachers¡¯ feedback, the students¡¯ reaction to thepetition was very positive. They were all discussing how they could better defeat soul masters, and how they could deal with soul masters. It was expected that the students would be more motivated to cultivate after this sparringpetition was over.

    But how much did Huo Yuhao benefit? He must have gained some considerable improvement after shing with Ji Juechen, which was why he had entered the Conscientious State of Deep Meditation.

    Jing Hongchen was a little annoyed as he shook his head. Whatever it was, his grandchildren were still in Shrek Academy. No matter how much he wanted to deal with Huo Yuhao, he still had to consider the safety of his grandchildren. He could onlyfort himself that Huo Yuhao was still young, and wouldn¡¯t affect the future of the empire. Since he could achieve such progress at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, what could Jing Hongchen¡¯s grandchildren achieve at Shrek Academy?

    Jing Hongchen felt better after he thought through this point. He quickly instructed Lin Jiayi to announce the end of the sparringpetition. Huo Yuhao had ended thepetition with thirty-three consecutive victories. No Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy student had managed to beat him. But the rest of the sparring couldn¡¯t continue. The students who had wagered on him losing before the fiftieth round got their money back.

    ------

    After one day, Jing Hongchen received good news. After Ji Juechen left, he had also entered deep meditation. He was in the same Conscientious State of Deep Meditation as Huo Yuhao. At least he had managed to save some face for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    But no one expected Huo Yuhao to remain in his meditative state for as long as he did.

    When Fan Yu and Xuan Ziwen decided to protect Huo Yuhao, they asked someone toy the foundation for a huge tent to be pitched. However, Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t woken up from his deep meditation after seven days. His entire body was already covered in dust.

    The two teachers had no choice to pitch a huge tent around Huo Yuhao without affecting his meditative state.

 Chapter 182: Boundless Ocean

    Xuan Ziwen was in a better state. When he was tired, he could return to rest and eat, but Fan Yu couldn¡¯t. To ensure Huo Yuhao¡¯s absolute safety, he remained at his side at all times. He even slept and ate there. Only asionally did he allow He Caitou and the rest of Shrek¡¯s students to help him keep watch so that he could settle some personal stuff.

    Since he was born in the Shrek Academy, Fan Yu was even more aware of what deep meditation meant. That was why he wasn¡¯t anxious from the start. The cirction of blood and bodily functions would decrease significantly as a soul master entered deep meditation. It was even possible for the meditation tost for a month. Such situations had urred in Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard. The longer the period of deep meditation, the more beneficial it was to a soul master.

    However, Fan Yu was a little unsettled when one month passed but Huo Yuhao was still in his deep meditation.

    The injury to Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm had already recovered. When ayer of thin ice fell off from it, all his wounds had healed, and no scars remained.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became a little cold and stiff as time passed. His soul power cirction, breathing and heartbeat became almost undetectable.

    Has he lost control? Fan Yu was worried. Because of this matter, he quickly wrote a letter and instructed Ye Xiaosheng to rush back to Shrek Academy using a flying-type soul tool to pass this letter to Elder Xuan. In his letter, he detailed the entire process of how Huo Yuhao had entered this state.

    After that, Elder Xuan came¡­

    However, he didn¡¯t rm the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He silently snuck in in the middle of the night. It was easy for him to escape detection since he was a Rank 98 Ultimate Douluo.

    After inspecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, Elder Xuan was surprised as he told Fan Yu, ¡°He¡¯s fine, but the level of his deep meditation is very high¡­ I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll need more time before it ends.¡± Elder Xuan had seen something simr with Elder Mu before. He instructed Fan Yu to watch Huo Yuhao carefully. This deep meditation was bound to be beneficial to Huo Yuhao¡¯s future progress.

    To avoid attracting unnecessary trouble, Elder Xuan quickly returned to Shrek Academy after inspecting Huo Yuhao. Fan Yu continued to wait for six months¡­

    Darkness. Everything was covered in darkness.

    A spot of golden light suddenly appeared amidst the darkness, bringing a precious glow into the dark.

    The golden light spread, and the entire world seemed to light up. The golden light slowly formed a shape of a ball.

    It was a golden sun, but it was only left with itsst remaining twilight. After the brightest light shone, the golden glow started to diminish greatly.

    However, the entire world seemed to have been lit up by its golden light, and started to coruscate with a bright light.

    It was a sea, a sea that was extremely vast. The color of the seawater was a dim gold. The gentle light moved with a rhythm thatplemented the ripples on the water¡¯s surface, which sparkled.

    The sun suddenly blew apart and changed into a ball of fireworks that erupted in the sky. However, the sky didn¡¯t be dimmer because of this. A huge golden vertical eye reced it and watched over the sea in ce of it. A sovereign-like aura instantly calmed the entire sea.

    Someone slowly drifted up from the calm water¡¯s surface.

    It was a naked youth. His skin waspletely golden. When he appeared, the vertical eye in the sky shone with a streak of golden light. This golden light lifted his body gently from the water¡¯s surface.

    This person slowly stood up straight as he was covered in the light emitted from the vertical eye. He slowly opened his eyes.

    When he opened his eyes, the boundless golden ocean started to dim, whereas the brightest light in the world shone right in front of him.

    ¡°Where, where is this¡­?¡± He eximed in puzzlement.

    ¡°This is your spiritual sea.¡± Another figure appeared. He appeared out of nowhere in front of this youth. He was Electrolux. And this youth who was shining with golden light was naturally Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was still in a trance. ¡°Spiritual sea? My spiritual sea? This is a real sea!¡±

    His memories were restored quickly, but he couldn¡¯t help but exim again. Initially, his spiritual sea was only like a small pond. This small pond had, over time, grown to a size of ake.

    At this point, his spiritual sea truly resembled a sea.

    Electrolux smiled as he said, ¡°You should thank the big worm. When your level increased, he provided you with sufficient, pure spiritual power. That allowed your spiritual power to transform smoothly.¡±

    ¡°Brother Skydream? Where¡¯s Brother Skydream?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯szy voice sounded. ¡°Ugh¡­ I used to be the one who was veryfortable in my sleep. But I¡¯ve been watching you sleepfortably this time while I couldn''t sleep.¡±

    A huge figure that was almost a hundred meters in length surfaced from the seawater. His polished body squirmed a little before he drifted into the air. He was like a small mountain. However, there were still seven golden rings of light on his body.

    ¡°Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao was surprised. His mind fluttered a little before he appeared in front of the Skydream Iceworm.

    Skydream squirmed a little and said, ¡°Don¡¯t fawn over me, I¡¯ll be embarrassed.¡±

    An indignant voice sounded after that. ¡°Bullshit, you¡¯re so thick-skinned. How can you possibly be embarrassed?¡± Another huge figure surfaced from the seawater.

    Diamond ice crystals and an azure-green tail. It was the Ice Empress.

    At this point, the Ice Empress¡¯ body length had also increased to thirty meters. Her huge pincers were on disy, and she had a majestic aura. However, her appearance didn¡¯t cause a huge uproar in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised as he asked, ¡°Ice Empress, Brother Skydream, why have your bodies gotten so big?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm chortled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because your spiritual sea has transformed. That¡¯s why the strength we can unleash here has also increased.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wore a bitter smile on his face as he looked at the Ice Empress, Skydream Iceworm and Electrolux. He said, ¡°Guys, you must tell me what happened. I¡¯m confused. I only remember myself entering deep meditation after I sparred with Ji Juechen. After that, I seemed to have been thinking before I entered a state of darkness. It persisted until I awoke.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Let Elder Yi tell you. After all, he used to be human. His words will be clearer to you.¡±

    Electrolux said, ¡°urately speaking, your spiritual power underwent a transformation. No one could have helped you with that. You could only count on yourself. Furthermore, one¡¯s cultivation of his spirit and spiritual power is a unique experience. It¡¯s never the same for everyone. That¡¯s why I can only tell you what transformations you experience.¡±

    ¡°As you can see, your Spiritual Sea has expanded into the size of an ocean. For such an extent of spiritual power, I call it Boundless Ocean. From the start, your spiritual power has reached a level that makes it recyble and therefore ceaseless. Although you aren¡¯t at a very high level yet, you¡¯ll likely experience further progress. I think it¡¯s possible to say that you have reached an important step in your spiritual cultivation.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really concur with the opinions of the worm, scorpion and Snow Lady in the past. Although I believed that you¡¯ll have many opportunities under my guidance, it¡¯s still a littlete when you started embarking on the right path of cultivation. I started to cultivate necromancy when I was five years old and built a solid foundation for myself. But after this experience, I can say that bing a God isn¡¯t a dream with this boundless spiritual foundation. After all, your main martial soul is spiritual-type. All your spiritual-type soul skills will enhance greatly due to the transformation of your Spiritual Sea. Look at the sky.¡± As he said, Electrolux pointed his finger at the huge vertical eye.

    Huo Yuhao was moved. He was stunned to realize that he seemed to be looking at himself when he peered at the vertical eye.

    ¡°After your Spiritual Sea transformed, your spirit has also achieved progress. The second mental sea of the Eye of Destiny haspleted its connection with your first mental sea. This also means that you can directly tap on your Spiritual Sea to support the use of your Eye of Destiny in the future. You can even use the Light of Destiny more often. I estimate that it¡¯s increased to around three times a day. Whereas the restorative abilities of your spiritual power will be five times stronger now. In this way, you can use your spiritual-type soul skills more freely now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was overwhelmed by delight. Although he knew that he would achieve significant enhancement after his deep meditation, he didn¡¯t expect it to be so drastic. It¡¯s even a little unbelievable. Although the increase was only in the spiritual aspect and had nothing to do with his soul power, he slowly started to realize as he cultivated his spiritual power that his spiritual and soul powers were just forces presented in different ways. It¡¯s just like when he used the Spirit Eyes. If he unleashed more of his spiritual power, he could conserve his soul power. Right now, he felt that he could primarily use his spiritual power to unleash his spiritual-type soul skills with his soul power as a guide.

    Huo Yuhao looked at Skydream Iceworm with a passionate gaze, ¡°Brother Skydream, thanks.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s chubby body twisted a little and he said, ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. We¡¯re benefiting from each other. I should even be thanking you. You¡¯ve also given me, the Ice Empress and the Snow Lady hope. The Snow Lady is in a sealed state. To prevent her sealed origin power from leaking, she can¡¯te out to meet you. But she conveyed her thoughts ¨C she¡¯s excited at your progress. She also hopes that you¡¯ll soon be capable enough to ept her strength. When that happens, you¡¯ll be truly strong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Brother Skydream, have I absorb three of your sealed spiritual powers?¡±

    Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Yes! Initially, I thought that one of them will be enough. But I didn¡¯t expect your increase to be so significant. You depleted two of them before you achieved some form of stability. It¡¯s no longer up to me whether you can unseal the spiritual powers in the future. You can also decide yourself. As your abilities increase, your control of your Spiritual Sea will also increase. This increase is also very beneficial for your body. But I¡¯ve to say that the increase is most significant at the start. You¡¯ll realize that it won¡¯t be so drastic in the future. However, you¡¯ll need some time to adapt and consolidate when you leave. Fortunately, you have the Life Gold. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Trouble? What trouble?¡± Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°As your Spiritual Sea improves and your cultivation level increases, your soul power will also be enhanced. However, your second martial soul is my Ultimate Ice. It increases at a different speed from the Spirit Eyes, which will cause some burden on your body. Your soul power will be slightly unstable because of that. You¡¯ll need to cultivate patiently for a period of time after you leave, so that you can consolidate your abilities. But I also have good news for you. The problem that you envisioned earlier has also been resolved. We can start when you need it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. Thanks, Ice Empress.¡±

    Electrolux said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for you to leave. You¡¯ve been meditating for too long. They¡¯re right. Once you leave, you¡¯ll need some time to adapt and readjust. No matter what your body condition is, you can¡¯t be too impatient. With the immense life power from the Life Gold, a slow recovery is your best choice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head. He lifted his hand to scratch his head and asked, ¡°But how do I leave this enhanced Spiritual Sea?¡±

    Electrolux snapped, ¡°This is your spiritual world. You can control everything easily.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple!¡± Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as heughed. After waving to Electrolux, the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm, he reopened his eyes.

    It was time to wake up.

    Fan Yu sat cross-legged opposite Huo Yuhao. He was getting used to waiting after half a year. Every day, he stayed with Huo Yuhao to meditate. At times, He Caitou would rece him. Besides He Caitou, he wasn¡¯t assured of anyone else.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fan Yu¡¯s gaze shed as he watched Huo Yuhao. He seemed to have moved. Am I seeing things?

 Chapter 183: The Transformation That Occurred After Seclusion!

    Fan Yu thought that he was seeing things when Huo Yuhao¡¯s body slightly moved. After all, he had waited too long. It was half a year! Huo Yuhao had sat there without moving for half a year.

    However, Fan Yu soon realized that he wasn¡¯t seeing things. That¡¯s because he saw the dust on him falling to the ground.

    He had sat there for half a year. No one dared to touch him either for fear of disrupting his cultivation. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just covered in dust. He was coated with an oxideyer.

    He was like a y figure.

    Fan Yu stood up hurriedly and took a few steps forward. He stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao indeed moved. His body slightly trembled and dust kept on falling from him. The oxideyer on him also started to crack.

    Fan Yu was a little nervous. He retrieved a jade bottle. It was his first time seeing someone enter deep meditation for half a year. Elder Xuan once instructed him not to offer Huo Yuhao any food or water immediately after he awoke. He had to consume the medicinal fluid contained within this bottle to strengthen himself first as his body was at its weakest condition at this point.

    His body starting to tremble more violently. He seemed to be trying to open his eyes but didn¡¯t have the strength to.

    Fan Yu didn¡¯t dare to touch him. He could only hold his breath and watch. Huo Yuhao had grown much thinner after half a year such that he resembled a branch. After all, his body wasn¡¯t nourished as he sat there. He could only deplete his body reserves like a wild beast that hibernated.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became still after a while. Not only was Fan Yu astonished, he was also extremely anxious and didn¡¯t know what to do. Huo Yuhao let out a slight groan.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± He groaned, and his body shook suddenly. The oxideyer on his body cracked and he finally opened his eyes.

    Even though only a slit was formed, and dust flew around his body, the tent suddenly surfaced with ayer of weird light.

    That was a dim golden color. Fan Yu only heard a buzzing sound in his mind that resonated.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body moved again and he finally managed to lift his head slightly. Fan Yu managed to see his eyes now.

    Beautiful eyes! Amidst the clear golden, his eyes emitted a gentle light. Although it was just a pair of eyes, Fan Yu felt as if he was looking at an ocean.

    Fan Yu waspletely shocked. He couldn¡¯t help it as he said, ¡°Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved slightly. His lips had already stuck together after such a long time. He struggled a little before tearing them apart. Ayer of dry skin was peeled off and revealed his flesh.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao shut his eyes after muttering one word. His body also fell to the side like he was a statue.

    Fan Yu couldn¡¯t let him fall and quickly supported him. He could sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s rigidity, but his cold body had developed some warmth by now.

    Fan Yu rushed to break the jade bottle. He carefully poured the fluid into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. While Huo Yuhao was very weak now, his mind was clear. He struggled as he swallowed the fluid that reeked of a heavy medicinal smell.

    The fluid quickly circted around his body. A wave of heat swept and caused Huo Yuhao to feel much better.

    In fact, he had already awoken when his body first jerked. It was just that he was in a tormented state then.

    Huo Yuhao felt extremely weak when his mind returned to his body. He was so weak that he couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. His body was pitch-dark, and he couldn¡¯t even see a shred of soul power. The blood in his passageways was circting at an unbelievably slow speed. His muscles were also as stiff as a rock.

    Deep meditation should have increased my abilities! However, why am I in such a pathetic state? Huo Yuhao felt very helpless now. It wasn¡¯t his first time entering deep meditation for a long time. Thest time he did so was in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. As he recalled now, the deep meditation that he did in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion didn¡¯t cause any burden on his body. It was possibly because of the Golden Tree. With the nourishment of the Golden Tree, the internal courtyard disciples that underwent deep meditation didn¡¯t experience such a problem.

    Fan Yu also didn¡¯t dare to pour his soul power into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body to help him readjust. He knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities had increased after seeing the expression in his eyes. It was just that his body wasn¡¯t in good condition right now, but he could only rely on himself to readjust. Any external interference might lead to problems since his body was very weak.

    He carried Huo Yuhao as this wasn¡¯t a suitable ce for him to recuperate. Fan Yu carried him and left the ce.

    ¡°Teacher¡­¡­immerse¡­hot water¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved slightly. After consuming the medicinal fluid, a warm feeling soon engulfed his body. He managed to restore some of his energy and muttered a few words.

    Fan Yu immediately understood what he meant. He quickly brought him back to his dormitory room and filled his bathtub with hot water. After that, he ced Huo Yuhao inside the bathtub without stripping him. It was only his head that was out of the water.

    His body was soaked in the warm water and the oxideyer was slowly broken down. After a while, the water had already turned ck. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to soften as he soaked in the warm water.

    Fan Yu changed the water before removing his torn and tattered clothes. Huo Yuhao was immersed in the water again.

    With the medicine circting and warm water soaking his body, Huo Yuhao felt much morefortable. His body wasn¡¯t as stiff as before and he sat more rxedly.

    The water was changed five times. After an hour, Fan Yu fed Huo Yuhao another bottle of medicine again. This enabled him to lie straight in the bathtub and his breathing became more and more normal.

    Fan Yu was also soaked in perspiration and snapped, ¡°Rascal, you deep meditated for half a year. I was almost killed by the fatigue from taking care of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could open his eyes now. The golden in his eyes had dissipated and was restored to ck.

    ¡°Teacher, thank you.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was shaking slightly. Tears also started to stream from his eyes.

    After half a year, Fan Yu appeared to have gone through a lot and his beard had grown in a disheveled manner. He seemed to have grown much older.

    Fan Yu chortled and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just whining. I¡¯m pleased since you¡¯re awake. How are you? Do you feel better?

    Huo Yuhao sobbed as he said, ¡°I¡¯m much better.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little hungry.¡±

    ¡°Hungry? Even if you¡¯re, you¡¯ve to bear the hunger. Elder Xuan said that you can¡¯t eat anything for three days after you awake from your deep meditation. You can only consume some medicinal fluid and you can drink a little water tomorrow. You can only start a liquid diet after three days.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m not that weak right?¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°Look at yourself. You¡¯re almost a bag of bones now.¡±

    Indeed, it was clear to see that Huo Yuhao had grown much thinner after the dirt on his body was scrubbed off. Fortunately, he was initially very developed. Even though he had be much thinner, it only made his muscle definition clearer. While he still couldn¡¯t use his strength, his body wasn¡¯t as stiff as before.

    Fan Yu helped Huo Yuhao to clean his body. He lifted him out of the bathtub before drying him and putting him onto his bed.

    ¡°Alright, have a good sleep. I¡¯m relieved that you¡¯re awake. I¡¯ll also go and take a bath.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hang on any further and immediately entered deep sleep after Fan Yu left.

    Fan Yu wasn¡¯t lying to him. In the next three days, he wasn¡¯t given any food. He was only offered some water and medicine. In the meantime, Fan Yu only told He Caitou about this. He didn¡¯t tell anyone else that Huo Yuhao had awoken.

    Huo Yuhao could finally sit up after three days. He sat cross-legged as he meditated. His soul power also slowly restored.

    Huo Yuhao immediately discovered that there was coagtion in his passageways. Not only did his cultivation not improve, it even seemed to have fallen. Fortunately, he already had four rings. At that level, he just needed to smoothen out his passageways before his cultivation could restore.

    He took even longer to recover than what he expected. When he returned to his dormitory room secretly, it was already six monthster.

    After he smoothened out his passageways, he discovered that his body was different from before. The half a year¡¯s worth of deep meditation wasn¡¯t wasted. Although his soul power didn¡¯t increase temporarily and only restored to half its peak six months ago, he realized that his passageways, muscles, bones and even fluid were all coated with ayer of dim golden. This golden aura was simr to his Spiritual Sea.

    This also meant that his Boundless Ocean hadbined with his body once. The most evident change of thisbination was that his soul power cirction had been boosted.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was the Ultimate Ice, the burden on his body was quite huge. Furthermore, it was much purer than ordinary soul power. That¡¯s why his soul power cirction was greatly restricted during his cultivation process. This was also the reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation increased very slowly even though he had a stable foundation.

    After his body was baptized by the Boundless Ocean, he seemed to have be a new person. Not only was his life power extremely great because of the Life Gold¡¯s nourishment, he was also more resilient now. In this way, his cultivation speed during meditation increased as he circted his soul power. Although it wasn¡¯tparable to the cultivation speed of a normal soul master, this enhancement was sufficient to reduce the time taken for him to reach Rank 50 by a third with his twin martial souls and hard work!

    Aspared to the changes in his body, Huo Yuhao was most pleased with the increment in his spiritual power and the progress of his spiritual sea. He didn¡¯t need to deliberately use his soul power anymore; his spiritual power was able to detect any movement around him up to a diameter of fifty meters. Once he used his Spiritual Detection, this diameter increased to eight hundred meters. If he used it unidirectionally, he could detect up to three kilometers away. Even the slightest of things could be detected, which allowed him to reach the Totality stage of the Purple Demon Eyes.

    Huo Yuhao also discovered that three out of his four soul rings became much darker in color. The only exception was his hundred year soul ring which still remained white. The other three turned ck. ording to his judgement, they had all passed forty thousand years. This was evidently the benefit of absorbing thirty percent of Skydream¡¯s spiritual origin.

    The Skydream Iceworm knew that his body couldn¡¯t withstand it if his soul rings were too high of a level. Otherwise, the three seals that were unsealed were powerful enough to increase three soul rings to the hundred thousand year level.

    After half a year had passed, the crisis in the Illustrious Virtue Hall had already been averted. When Huo Yuhao found Xuan Ziwen and was brought into the Illustrious Virtue Hall again, he received a lot of attention in the underground base. However, he became much more low-profile than before. He silently walked towards a newboratory desk that he was assigned to and started to create and research on soul tools. To the others, he didn¡¯t seem much different from how he was half a year ago. However, trouble still came¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao left the Illustrious Virtue Hall after hepleted one day of research. As he walked towards the dormitory, he thought over what he had gleaned today. He realized that his mental calctions and analytical ability had improved after his spiritual sea transformed. His understanding of soul tools had also deepened after his knowledge was enhanced. This was definitely good news. Even though he couldn¡¯t research on the metallic man now, consolidating his capabilities as a soul engineer was much more beneficial for his future research.

    When he was about to enter the dormitory, he was rmed by something. Huo Yuhao¡¯s left toes pointed to the ground and he stopped. He turned his body towards another direction.

    ¡°Ji Juechen?¡±

    From the dark and quiet corner, Ji Juechen walked out slowly as he held the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword. He appeared as cool and aloof as ever. Aspared to half a year ago, his aura seemed to be much sharper now.

    ¡°You can tell that it¡¯s me?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed slightly and said, ¡°Your sword intent is unique.¡±

    Ji Juechen nodded his head at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Ji Juechen replied, ¡°After that day, I entered deep meditation once I returned. My understanding of my sword has deepened because of you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m thanking you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°You also entered deep meditation? I¡¯ll have to congratte you then. You don¡¯t have to thank me though. I only just awoke from my deep meditation. Come to think about it, it¡¯s fate. We both benefited greatly from that fight.¡±

    Ji Juechen revealed a look of annoyance apart from his usual indifference, ¡°My deep meditation onlysted for a month, but yourssted for half a year. Today, I shall see how much you¡¯ve improved after half a year.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao neither rejected his proposition nor asked any questions. There wasn¡¯t any meaning in talking too much with someone like Ji Juechen. Furthermore, Ji Juechen was already grabbing his sword with both hands. It seemed like he didn¡¯t care whether Huo Yuhao was going to follow along with his suggestion.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t prepare. He watched Ji Juechen with his sparkling eyes as he walked step by step towards him.

    A weird scene was revealed. Every time Huo Yuhao made a step, anotheryer of golden would be coated on his body. His eyes sparkled with golden too. He would even leave golden footprints everywhere he went.

    Ji Juechen was indeed different from how he was half a year ago. His sword intent wasn¡¯t all-engulfing anymore. It manifested only as a streak now, but this streak was much fiercer and vicious than before. It was an extremely strong sword intent now, as if it was a dragon.

    However, this streak of sword intent couldn¡¯t stop Huo Yuhao. It was only destroyed.

    Ji Juechen hadn¡¯t even stabbed out his sword even when Huo Yuhao reached him. When the both of them were only two meters apart, Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks. Right now, his entire person had already turned golden. There wasn¡¯t any aura that came from him. No one would feel pressured as they stood beside him.

    However, Ji Juechen¡¯s forehead was already filled with perspiration. Beads of his perspiration started to stream down his cheeks. His hands that were holding onto the sword started to tremble slightly.

    Huo Yuhao ced his hands behind his back and said, ¡°You¡¯re on the right path. You¡¯re focused, and your entire life has been dedicated to your sword. You¡¯ll achieve great sess if you continue on like this. In terms of focus, even I¡¯m not your match. However, I have an advantage in terms of talent and fortune. I have a great teacher. You¡¯ll have to chase me your entire life if you want to defeat me.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao lowered his hands again. He turned and left. Every time he took a step, the golden on his body would dim a little.

    When he reached where he''d stood originally, all the golden light had dissipated from his body. He slowly walked into the dormitory block.

    When Huo Yuhao disappeared, Ji Juechen groaned. He stuck the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword in the ground and was perspiring profusely. His sword intent disappeared instantly.

    The two of them didn¡¯t physically sh. However, there was an intense sh between their intents.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s sword was all about its sword intent. Once he suppressed his opponent, his opponent would be easily defeated no matter how strong he was. While his seven-ringed cultivation was superior to Huo Yuhao and he even attained the Martial Soul True Body, he still lost to Huo Yuhao because he couldn¡¯t suppress him in terms of his aura.

    When Huo Yuhao walked towards him, he could clearly sense that he was like an imposing sovereign. Every step he took made him even more imposing. The sovereign-like aura managed to defeat his sword intent on the spiritual level. He couldn¡¯t strike with his sword even when Huo Yuhao reached him. Huo Yuhao managed to use his spiritual power to suppress and control him. Huo Yuhao was aware of that, thus he ced his hands behind his back.

    Ji Juechen knew that he had lost as Huo Yuhao stared at him silently. He even lost by a greater margin than the previous time. Huo Yuhao was far ahead of him in the pursuit of the intent that he desired.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to chase me your entire life if you want to defeat me.¡± This sentence was stuck in Ji Juechen¡¯s head. His body started to tremble slightly as he thought of it.

    He stood there quietly for fifteen minutes. When he lifted his head up again, a determined look filled his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m on the right path. Even if I¡¯ve to chase my entire life, I¡¯ll do so. He¡¯s the target that I¡¯m finding.¡± After he finished speaking, an excited me rose in his eyes. He took a deep look at where Huo Yuhao disappeared from. After that, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shake his head slightly as he entered the dormitory block. It wasn¡¯t a rxed encounter previously. He also realized that Ji Juechen had found a way of fusing his spiritual mind, sword intent and soul power. Although it¡¯s different from the Descent of the Sovereign, it was still unique. If he continued like this, he might be able to produce another Descent of the Sovereign.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t appear to be very strong in terms of his talent. Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that, but Ji Juechen managed to carve out a path for himself using his own hard work, determination and resolve. Even the increase in his soul power might have something to do with his own cultivation method. Otherwise, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to reach this level at such an age.

    If they went all out to fight, Huo Yuhao knew that it¡¯s unlikely for him to emerge victorious. The gap in their cultivations was too great. Furthermore, Ji Juechen¡¯s sword was extremely swift and fierce. However, Ji Juechen was chasing something from him that was different. That¡¯s why he conceded defeat twice. It seemed like he needed to work even harder. While he didn¡¯t seem to be sacrificing lesser than Ji Juechen, he was pursuing more goals than him. This meant that he had to work even harder so that he wouldn¡¯t disappoint his unique talents!

    ¡°It¡¯s still not over?¡± Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows as he looked in the forward direction.

    ¡°Your senses are very acute.¡± A faint voice sounded. Ady walked out from the corner. It was Na Na, who once begged Huo Yuhao to return her spirit in his room.

    Huo Yuhao knew why she came. He was a little apologetic as he said, ¡°Sorry, I was in a special situation earlier.¡±

    ¡°Follow me. I¡¯ll return your spirit now.¡±

    After hearing his words, Na Na appeared much more relieved. For some reason, she trusted him. It might be because of his embarrassment the other time. Na Na¡¯s face turned hot as she thought of that incident. After she pondered over the matter, she realized she was too desperate. It was just that¡­¡­

    Just as her thoughts were a little messy, she followed Huo Yuhao into his room.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask her to sit down as a form of polite gesture. He was still reeling from that incident! He was awkward as he saw Na Na again.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Your spirit was indeed sealed by me. My martial soul is spiritual-type and your soul skill has some form of spirituality in it. That¡¯s why I could repress it. Try to use your Avenging Spirit less frequently in the future. While it¡¯s powerful, you¡¯ll be in deep trouble if your opponent curbs you. After all, it¡¯s not going to be a simple sparring when you fight outside after you graduate.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Na Na nodded her head and seemed very obedient.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want her to stay for too long either, in case he was reminded of what he shouldn¡¯t have seen. He shut his eyes and muttered an incantation. His right hand pressed against his head before a small ball of golden light was released from his forehead under the guidance of his index finger.

    ¡°Focus, rx, don¡¯t resist.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    Na Na quickly rxed her body and shut her eyes. She waited quietly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s index finger pointed forward and the ball of golden light was shot towards her forehead. She jerked suddenly and couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Ayer of golden extent extended from her head down to her toes before it rose all the way to her head again.

    Huo Yuhao retracted his right hand and took a careful look at her. Elder Yi was the one who taught him such a method to return her spirit, but it was his first time using it. He was also a little anxious.

    Fortunately, Na Na recovered quickly. When she opened her eyes again, a golden glow shed across her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s done?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Na Na nodded her head hurriedly and was excited, ¡°My spirit feels much more condensed and even my martial soul has been enhanced. Thanks. How did you do it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment and replied, ¡°This is my secret. I can¡¯t tell you.¡± He couldn¡¯t tell Na Na that her spirit was kept within his spiritual sea for some time, thus it managed to transform along with his spiritual power and gained an increase as he reached the level of the Boundless Ocean.

    Na Na didn¡¯t probe further. However, she looked at Huo Yuhao in a different way now.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve returned your spirit back to you. If there¡¯s nothing else, go back and rest early. You must meditate and cultivate when you get back so that you can stabilize your spirit.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Na Na acknowledged his words before leaving the room.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows slightly. After all, he returned her spirit back readily. However, she didn¡¯t even say a word of goodbye to him. Even so, it was still a good thing that she left. He finally managed to settle this matter.

    However, he was quickly wide-eyed.

    That¡¯s because Na Na didn¡¯t leave the room as she got to the door. She shut the door that he had intentionally left ajar and even locked it. Huo Yuhao could clearly recall that she stripped naked in that position!

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao was frantic as he reached in front of Na Na and grabbed her shoulder.

    Na Na shook her body and stepped to her side. Huo Yuhao grabbed hold onto nothing. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t Na Na¡¯s match in terms of speed, since she was an agile-type Soul King from the Active Control Soul Tool Department. Her Spectre was also very effective in increasing her speed.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was rmed and was ready to take action, Na Na did something unexpected.

    As she avoided him, she quickly copsed to her knees. Huo Yuhao missed as he tried to grab her hand.

    ¡°What, what are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao retreated two steps quickly and was shocked as he looked at Na Na.

    Na Na¡¯s eyes turned red, ¡°Huo Yuhao, please help me.¡±

    ¡°Get up first.¡± Huo Yuhao turned away and wouldn¡¯t ept her behavior.

    Na Na shook her head forcefully. She also started to tear, ¡°Let me kneel as I speak. I¡­¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao said decisively, ¡°If you continue acting like this, I¡¯ll chase you out.¡± As he said, he quickly walked to the door.

    ¡°No!¡± Na Na grabbed hold onto his legs and stuck her body to them. She sobbed while speaking, ¡°Don¡¯t chase me out. I¡¯ll stand up to speak.¡±

    As she spoke, she stood up as she used Huo Yuhao as her support. She lowered her head in tears, as if she hadmitted a mistake.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart softened and he pointed to a chair on the side, ¡°Take a seat.¡±

    Na Na walked towards the chair obediently and softly said, ¡°Can you listen to my story?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°Will you leave if I don¡¯t let you tell me?

    Na Na blushed and said, ¡°I came from a noble family. My father is a baron from the Sun Moon Empire, considered as the lowest among all nobilities. Although we don¡¯t havend, we have some estates and shops. We¡¯re quite well-off. My father¡¯s innate martial soul has no soul power, thus he couldn¡¯t be a soul master.¡±

    ¡°My parents met because of a coincidence. My father was out on a leisure travel and bumped into my mother, who was critically injured after hunting soul beasts. My mother fainted when she saw my father. He saved her and helped her to escape danger. However, he had no choice but to bring her back because her injuries were too serious.¡±

    ¡°She recuperated for a month before she fully recovered. My father¡¯s meticulous care touched her. On the day she was supposed to leave, he made her stay and expressed his love for her. However, she told him that she¡¯s an inauspicious character. Making her stay will only cause harm to him. He was stubborn and told her he wasn¡¯t afraid. He wasn¡¯t a superstitious person.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s look in her eyes became obscure as he recounted the memories of the past. Huo Yuhao was also listening seriously to her.

    ¡°My mother was moved after interacting with him for a month and sensing his meticulous care towards her. After hesitating, she decided to stay. Their rtionship blossomed, and they eventually got married three monthster. After a year, I was born.¡±

    ¡°While my father is a nobility, he¡¯s a kind person. He¡¯s very nice to all our tenants. After my mother married him, she stayed at home. Before I was six, we led a happy life. It was until someone¡­¡±

    Na Na¡¯s tears flowed again as she reached this point.

    ¡°I was six then. One day, my mother told my father that she was going out. I was still small and pestered my mom to follow her. I only found outter that she went hunting for soul beasts. Her soul power had reached a bottleneck and she needed a soul ring to achieve a breakthrough. My mother was born ordinary and her cultivation was self-achieved. When she was small, she attended an elementary soul master academy and learned some simple knowledge. She didn¡¯t continue her education after that as she was broke. However, she managed to reach Rank 40 based on her own abilities when I was six years old and she became a Soul Ancestor. For an ordinary person, that was a very rare thing.¡±

    ¡°My father encouraged my mother, but she was gone for half a year. She returned with a dismal look on her face after half a year. My father was too delighted then and didn¡¯t realize anything amiss. She managed to obtain her soul ring. My martial soul also awakened then. Like my mother, my martial soul was a Spectre.¡±

    ¡°Not long after she returned, a bunch of strangers came to our house one day. I don¡¯t know what they say to her, but she left with them. My father tried to stop them, but he couldn¡¯t. From that day on, it became a nightmare for my family. My mother kept on leaving the house and she left for a long time each time she left the house. She always appeared very dismal when she returned, but her abilities kept getting stronger and stronger. I was sent to a soul master academy to study. At the start, I wasn¡¯t clear about what was going on at home. However, I realized some valuable items were missing from my home when I returned one day. My father seemed much older and my other rarely came home.¡±

    ¡°I asked him what happened. However, he didn¡¯t say anything and only sighed. I tried to ask my mother, but I didn¡¯t even see her. When I was twelve, someone came to the academy to tell me that my father had passed away.¡±

    As she spoke till here, Na Na was almost inaudible from the crying. Huo Yuhao also couldn¡¯t grasp what she was saying. He stood up and passed her some tissue.

    After a moment, Na Na finally managed to calm down. She continued, ¡°I ran home like a maniac, but it was toote. He died with his eyes opened. Even though he had passed away, his eyes were still filled with a look of disbelief. It was as if he had seen something he couldn¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°Who? Who killed daddy? There was an obvious fatal wound on his chest. Who¡¯s so cruel enough to kill daddy? I kept on shouting ¡®Daddy, Daddy!¡¯, but he couldn¡¯t hear me. He didn¡¯t wake up. What about mummy? Where did my mother go to? He¡¯s dead, but she¡¯s not around.¡±

 Chapter 184: The Holy Ghost Church

    ¡°Mommy returned right at that moment. I can still clearly remember that her face was exceptionally pale as she stumbled over to daddy¡¯s corpse, before she leapt forward onto his body. She was still muttering under her breath, ¡®I told you that I would bring you misfortune, I would bring you misfortune! Why did you have to choose an ominous woman like me? I hope I will be forgiven in another world.¡¯

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even able to call out to her before she took out a small knife and viciously stabbed herself in the chest,¡± Na Na¡¯s voice was shaking. ¡°Mommy¡¯s blood sttered all over daddy. She turned back towards me and raised her hand to touch me, but she seemed to lose all her strength, and she copsed on daddy just like that.

    ¡°I was bawling at first, but all of a sudden I couldn¡¯t cry anymore. My daddy left me and my mother killed herself before my very eyes in one day ¨C I felt as if the entire world was going to crumble around me.¡±

    She paused for a while, and her eyes seemed to grow ck. ¡°A stranger appeared right at that moment. He said insidiously, ¡®You think you can escape by doing this? Death is nothing before us, and we can still inflict suffering upon you even after death.¡¯

    ¡°After that, I felt a unique forceing from his body, and something seemed to fly out from both mommy and daddy¡¯s bodies. The man patted me on the head and said I would have to follow him if I wanted to see my parents again. I was still in a daze, and I followed him muddleheadedly. Another group of strangers took my parents¡¯ corpses away and buried them when I left.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s breathing became a little rushed, as if she couldn¡¯t continue the story. She was still struggling with her emotions, and her body quivered faintly.

    Huo Yuhao walked over and patted her on the shoulder, hinting to her to that she should calm herself down.

    Na Na suddenly hugged him across the waist. ¡°I¡¯m afraid, I¡¯m truly afraid. I don¡¯t know if telling you all this is the right thing to do. Perhaps I am a person of misfortune like my mother, I¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao growled, ¡°Fortune is rtive. Everything is fabricated and empty when juxtaposed with destiny. Wake up.¡± His eyes sparkled with golden light as he spoke, and he fired a subtle strike of Spiritual Shock into Na Na¡¯s head.

    Na Na shivered from the cold, and her body quivered violently as she let go of him.

    ¡°I¡­ I must have entered that nightmare again. It must be.¡± She nced at Huo Yuhao with a bitter smile on her face, before nodding in his direction and saying, ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t recall how many times I¡¯ve had the same dream, and I jolt awake with tears streaming down my face every time. I can¡¯t take this torture anymore ¨C if you¡¯re not willing to help me, I will take my own life someday. I won¡¯t be able to see my parents again in another world, but I can¡¯t be bothered anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°You have to tell me how I can help you, or what you need me to do.¡±

    Na Na grew silent. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty or impatient either, as he could feel that Na Na¡¯s emotions were running wild, and her mind was conflicted.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Huo Yuhao. I already regret this, as I cannot drag you down for selfish reasons. I can tell that you¡¯re a good person.¡± She yed the ssic Samaritan card before she stood up and walked towards the door.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Huo Yuhao blocked her path in sh, and Na Na looked up at him with a ghastly pale face.

    Huo Yuhao patted her on the shoulder again and said, ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re not trying to loosen the reins so you can grasp them better. Tell me what happened afterwards ¨C what is the identity of these strangers?¡±

    Na Na slowly answered, ¡°They call themselves the Holy Ghost Church, and they are an extremely mysterious and secretive organization. They told me that they had imprisoned my parents¡¯ spirits after they took me away, before they deliberately released daddy and mommy¡¯s spirits for me to see. Daddy and mommy were in so much, too much pain! They told me that I would have to be obedient and listen to them if I wanted my parents to rest in peace. Otherwise, they would trap my parents¡¯ spirits forever, and they would never be reincarnated.¡±

    ¡°Spiritual imprisonment?¡± Huo Yuhao was taken aback. Electrolux had imparted part of his knowledge of Necromancy to Huo Yuhao, so he understood something about spirits. Imprisoning the spirits of the deceased was simr to a Necromancer¡¯s ways. Pure Necromancy was used to investigate the spirit¡¯s secrets, but these people weren¡¯t that simple.

    Na Na nodded her head vigorously and said, ¡°You must understand now why I was so frightened when you sealed my spirit ¨C I was afraid that I would end up like my parents, and someone else would control my spirit, and I would never be reincarnated.

    ¡°I had no choice but to obey their demands. They sent me into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and I joined the academy and started my lessons without any prior assessment. They told me that I would join their ranks officially once my cultivation reached a certain level. They would release my parents¡¯ spirits when that day came, so that they could be reborn.

    ¡°In order to put my mind at ease, they let me see my parents¡¯ spirits once every two months. I lose all courage to defy them every time I see my parents¡¯ agony, so I can only follow their instructions. Thankfully, they haven¡¯t requested anything of me since, and only asked that I train hard, while giving me an assessment from time to time.

    ¡°Once, I came close to the ce where my parents¡¯ spirits were imprisoned when others weren¡¯t paying attention, and I heard their voices. I only found out then how my family was ruined. My mother met these people from the Holy Ghost Church when she was hunting soul beasts at a ce where soul beasts gathered. They wanted mommy to join them because mommy¡¯s martial soul was unique, but mommy decisively rejected the offer. My family¡¯s nightmare began from that day onwards, and mommy herself didn¡¯t know how she ended up under their control. She was forced to join the Holy Ghost Church, and they wouldpel her toplete various tasks for them involuntarily. Mommy broke her shackles from time to time because of her love for daddy, so they ordered her to murder my father. My mother was extremely distraught after she killed him, to the point where she finally broke free from their grasp, and eventuallymitted suicide over my father¡¯s corpse. Mommy said that the thing she regretted the most was not being able to rescue me, so that I didn¡¯t have to care about them anymore, and I could be rid of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s control once and for all. Otherwise, I would only be their tool for the rest of my life.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s lips trembled incessantly from the emotional strain, and her tears flowed uncontrobly. ¡°However, how can I just walk away? I am filled with so much hatred when I see the suffering that my parents¡¯ spirits go through even after death ¨C I hate myself for not being able to save them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had always thought that his own background was tragic enough, but his past couldn¡¯t match up to Na Na¡¯s misfortune. If everything that she said was true, she was like a puppet under someone else¡¯s control, while her parents were dead and yet their spirits were still being tortured even after death.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°How do you want me to help you?¡± There was determination and decisiveness in his voice already.

    Na Na lowered her head, but didn¡¯t make a sound.

    ¡°Tell me. I can feel that everything you¡¯ve said is true.¡± Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, and his vast spiritual sea would be aplete waste if he couldn¡¯t even tell truth from lies.

    Na Na muttered. ¡°I was too hasty and impulsive, and I shouldn¡¯t have sought you out. The Holy Ghost Church is so powerful, and I don¡¯t even know what is it they do exactly. I¡¯m afraid of pulling you down into the mud by boldly asking you for help.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You never thought about asking the academy for help? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is one of the best academies within the entire Sun Moon Empire, and Illustrious Virtue Hall is widely revered and respected.¡±

    Na Na growled, ¡°How can I not have considered that? The only problem is that my considerations are useless, because they are in cahoots. I am very sure that Illustrious Virtue Hall has something going on with the Holy Ghost Church, because I remember seeing a masked elder from the Holy Ghost Church walking into Illustrious Virtue Hallte at night with my own eyes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s brow creased even more when she said this. The issue was moreplicated and troublesome than he had thought, and figuring out itsplexities wasn¡¯t going to be easy at all.

    Na Na suddenly raised her head and stared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes with a resolute and determined look. ¡°I hate the Holy Ghost Church, and I hate this academy, and I even hate this country with all its hidden corruption. I am willing to serve you and be your ve, Huo Yuhao, if you can help me release my parents¡¯ spirits. I am willing to do anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to serve me or be my ve.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s body froze, and she muttered grievously, ¡°Then you can just pretend I was never here.¡± With that, she turned around and started walking out once more.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed her hurriedly and said, ¡°I said I don¡¯t need you to serve me, but I didn¡¯t say I¡¯m not willing to help you! You¡¯re an orphan just like me, so I can empathize with your feelings. I don¡¯t dare to guarantee sess, but I will do everything I can. However, you have to tell me everything you know about the Holy Ghost Church first.¡±

    Na Na¡¯s voice trembled as she said, ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re really willing to help me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh. ¡°I actually want to ask ¨C why should you trust me?¡±

    Na Na stared at him with her swollen eyes. ¡°I trust you because of your previous embarrassment, and because of my instincts. I can no longer take this stifled life ¨C there is nothing left for me in this world, anyway. I will take any opportunity, no matter how slim it may be! I know many people who are much stronger than you are, but not a single one of them knows much about spiritual power. I know that they won¡¯t be able to help me, even if they want to. But you¡¯re different ¨C you controlled my spirit with extreme ease when I used the Avenging Spirit, but you didn¡¯t hurt my spirit after so many days, and you instead strengthened my spirit. Your ability to manipte and control spirits is the strongest of anyone that I am acquainted with.¡±

    ¡°This is the reason why I considered asking you for help. I don¡¯t have anything to bribe you with, except everything that I am. I will honor my word ¨C I am willing to do anything for you if you can help rescue my parents¡¯ spirits and take them away from their suffering.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to promise me anything and I don¡¯t want desire anything from you either. All I hope for it to help your parents¡¯ spirits rest in peace.¡± His eyes warmed up as he spoke, because he suddenly thought about his mother ¨C if his mother were alive, how happy would she have been to see that he was a Soul Ancestor and was part of the Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard?

    He thought about that man. Mother, I will fulfill the wish you never uttered ¨C I will avenge you!

    Na Na said, ¡°ording to my understanding, the Holy Ghost Church is an enigmatic and mysterious organization. The only entity that I have been constantly interacting with is only a part of them. There should be able more than twenty people inside Radiant City. However, there should only be about three or four core members, and the rest are just outer members. However, these outer members are no lower than Soul Ancestors in cultivation.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s strange is that the Holy Ghost Church is inside the Sun Moon Empire, but there aren¡¯t many soul engineers while most of them are soul masters. The strongest core member that I have seen before is roughly as powerful as a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Even though he only has seven rings, he gives me a feeling that there¡¯s more to him than that.¡±

    ¡°This seven-ringed Soul Sage is addressed as Elder within this group. He is always wearing a ck bva whenever I see him, and only his eyes can be seen. The other core members are referred to as Holy Ghost Disciples. The outer members are referred to as Holy Servants, and I am also considered a Holy Servant at this point in time. I have to mask my appearance every time I approach them, and that means that us Holy Servants won¡¯t be able to recognize one another even if we meet each other on a normal day. Only the Elder knows how we look like, and the Elder has mentioned to me before that he will request to the Main Altar once I obtain six soul rings for me to be a Holy Ghost Disciple, and augment my spirit at the same time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao interrupted and asked, ¡°Augmenting your spirit?¡±

    Na Na shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what spirit augmentation means. I asked the Elder before, and he said it¡¯s some powerful divine ritual that would make us Holy Servants incredibly powerful.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since they call themselves a church, what is their church¡¯s mission?¡±

    Na Na replied, ¡°Their church mission is very vague and abstract. It is, ¡®Let holy light shine upon the world, let the Holy Spirit descend amongst humankind.¡¯ The Elder remarked that my parents¡¯ spirits would be released once my spirit was augmented. However, I can feel that I will no longer be myself if I actually go through that ritual. I will be like how I faced you before this, and my spirit will be arrested. I¡¯m not strong enough for them at the moment, so they haven¡¯t done anything to me yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Does this mean that the others Holy Servants¡¯ situations are like you? Are they all people that the Holy Ghost Church is trying to nurture and prepare?¡±

    Na Na shook her head once more. ¡°I have no idea. The Elder and the Holy Ghost Disciples strictly prohibit us Holy Servants from interacting with each other outside.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head slightly. He became more familiar with them, but this Holy Ghost Church was truly secretive and mysterious as Na Na didn¡¯t know much about them even though she was a part of this organization.

    ¡°Where are your parents¡¯ spirits sealed?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Na Na answered, ¡°They are sealed within that group¡¯s Holy Altar. That ce is very sinister, and I can feel the chills every time I go there. Not only my parents¡¯ spirits are sealed there ¨C there appears to be many spirits contained within.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°So you want to bring me to this Holy Altar and let me save your parents¡¯ spirits. Am I right?¡±

    Na Na nodded repeatedly and said, ¡°Yes. I have seen my parents¡¯ spirits there, but I can¡¯t get too close to that ce. The closer I get, the more my spirit feels like it¡¯s being torn to pieces. Can you do it¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao contemted momentarily and answered, ¡°I can only say that I will try my best. The only thing is ¨C can I get close to this Holy Altar?¡±

    Na Na said hurriedly, ¡°My status amongst the Holy Servants is rtively high because my cultivation level is almost at Rank 60, and I am considered preemptively as a Holy Ghost Disciple. Furthermore, they know that I don¡¯t have the ability to release my parents¡¯ spirits, so they aren¡¯t that wary around me. The Elder has recently returned to the Main Altar, and there are only two Holy Ghost Disciples guarding this Side Altar. The day that I can return to visit my parents¡¯ spirits is almost upon us, and they won¡¯t raise their guard towards me as most Holy Servants are in a simr situation. If you can pretend and make yourself up into a Holy Servant, we have a good chance of slipping in. If that doesn¡¯t work¡­¡±

    Na Na¡¯s eyes flowed with sharp coldness. ¡°You have the power to defeat the Sword Fanatic Ji Juechen, and you have me. We may yet stand a chance against two six-ringed Holy Ghost Disciples.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head faintly and said, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s discuss the n of execution.¡± A substantial part of why he decided to help Na Na was because of what she had been through, and the rest was because of this mysterious Holy Ghost Church. They were a cult that consisted mostly of soul masters, while there was something nefarious going on between them and the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and even that was as mysterious as ever. ording to Na Na¡¯s description, the Side Altar¡¯s Elders had at least seven soul rings, so that meant the main leader of this sect should be a powerful Titled Douluo. Any sect with a Titled Douluo could be consideredrge. Their movements and everything they did were just so dark and underhanded ¨C he had to report this back to the academy, but he would do some scouting first.

    He was an Ultimate Soldier born from the Ultimate Soldier n, and he was trained to fight a lonely battle anyway. There were times where his prowess wasn¡¯t just disyed in terms of fighting strength.

    Three Dayster.

    A tall and slender figure sauntered into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Her dark-red long hair wasbed into a neat ponytail, and her ck warrior robe masked the elegance of her slender and harmonized figure.

    The sentries responsible for guarding the main door nced at her when she stepped him, and let her through with a grin on their faces. Everybody recognized this popr girl ¨C Na Na of the Active Control Soul Tool Department! Rumor had it that her prowess was enough to represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the next season¡¯s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and she was currently bathed in the limelight within academy.

    Most students weren¡¯t allowed to enter and leave the academy as they wished, and they would require special permission from at least a director-level teacher. However, it was clear that Na Na was an exception, and she had long been given the permission to enter and leave the academy whenever she wanted.

    Na Na¡¯s footsteps became conspicuously faster when she departed the academy. She took a few turns before her eyes darted around at her surroundings and she slunk into a dark corner.

    A tall and burly shadow separated from her body. This person had tanned skin, a gleaming bald head, and shoulders so wide that it felt like he could carry the sky on his shoulders ¨C it was He Caitou.

    Na Na exhaled a sigh of relief and muttered, ¡°This¡­ This is just too incredible. You aren¡¯t expending too much soul power, are you, Yuhao?¡±

    Another voice came from a dark spot deflected from her body. ¡°I¡¯m not. Let¡¯s deal with this as quickly as we can and return.¡±

    Na Na wasn¡¯t the only person that came out from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy ¨C Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were also with her. Today was the day when Na Na was allowed to visit her parents¡¯ spirits, and Huo Yuhao requested He Caitou¡¯s help for safety reasons, so that they would seed on their first try.

    The quality changes of his spiritual sea improved some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type soul skills in the long run, and that included the mighty Imitation. He relied upon his powerful spiritual power to forcefully disguise himself and even He Caitou¡¯s form as Na Na¡¯s shadow. Only upon closer inspection would one realize that Na Na¡¯s shadow asionally becameyered, but that nuance was undetectable under normal circumstances. Cover and concealment was an important part of the Ultimate Soldier n, and Huo Yuhao could use this ability for a prolonged period of time with his immense spiritual sea.

    He Caitou gave Na Na a thumbs-up, and he didn¡¯t interact with Huo Yuhao at all before he quickly vanished into the darkness.

    Na Na took a deep breath and tried her best to calm her excited emotions, before she came out from the darkness and continued on to her original destination.

    The Radiant City was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s capital, and it was an extremely vast patch ofnd. The giant city without walls was bustling and they were in the early evening when thenterns were first lit.

    Na Na proceeded quickly, and she was familiar with the path. She was more than a meter and eighty centimeters tall and that gave her exceptionally long and slender legs. She was just walking, but her light footsteps made her seem like she was riding the wind and made her movement seem as fast as lightning.

    Even with her speed, her brisk walk took more than thirty minutes before she began to slow down. She stared at an unassuming building quite a distance away from her as she mumbled under her breath, ¡°We¡¯re here. That courtyard, about three hundred meters ahead ¨C the interior structure with the ck ceiling.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s void rang out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have me.¡±

    There were many different tall buildings and structures in Radiant City that one wouldn¡¯t see elsewhere. They came from the widespread use of soul tools, and the Sun Moon Empire was the leading country in terms of architecture across the entire continent.

    Na Na arrived at another corner of a street. This time, she wore a white headdress with she wore another conical bamboo hat that draped around her head, before she quickly proceeded towards the location she just described.

    This courtyard appeared especially dull and in amongst the various structures around it. Na Na raised her hand and tapped lightly on the door a total of five times, three long ones and two short.

    A crack opened in the door, and Na Na zipped in through the crack in a sh.

    The person that came forward to open the door was a youth fully dressed in ck, and he was wearing the same conical bamboo hat.

    It was like an entirely different world inside the courtyard. The courtyard was like abyrinth, and various nts were grown all around, while courtyard seemed a lot bigger than it did from the outside. Sprawling vines climbed over all sorts of nts and blocked off vision from above. This was a very typical arrangement inside the Radiant City, as there just too many skyscrapers and nobody wanted to expose their privacies, and so they used these nts to prevent people higher up in these skyscrapers from seeing them.

    The man in the conical bamboo hat nodded subtly at Na Na before he moved to one side. Na Na returned the gesture, and she followed a small path towards the structure with a ck and circr top in the center of the courtyard.

    This structure was roughly a hundred square meters in surface area, and it wasn¡¯t considered extremely spacious. The door was open, and Na Na opened her stride and stepped in.

    There two individuals d in white inside the room. They were not wearing conical bamboo hat, and they were all wearing bvas that matched the color of their clothes. They both watched Na Na step into the room and one of them raised an arm to stop her before he made a gesture towards her.

    Na Na raised her hand and retrieved a circr token, and handed it over. It was a token that waspletely ck, and there seemed to be two skulls faintly engraved on its surface.

    She deliberately deepened her voice and said, ¡°Long live the Holy Emperor, and may the Holy Lady remain eternally young.¡±

    The two white-robed individuals quickly bowed down, and they also deliberately deepened their voice before they repeated Na Na¡¯s words. ¡°Long live the Holy Emperor, May the Sacred Lady have eternal beauty.¡±

    One of them said, ¡°Sir, both the Great Holy Ghost and the Second Holy Ghost are here. Do you want to go down right now?

    ¡°Yes.¡± Na Na nodded her head.

    The man returned the medallion back to her and made a gesture that signaled for her to proceed.

    Na Na ventured deeper into the room. The room was arranged very simply and seemed like a normal family, and it didn¡¯t have any special ornaments or decorations. Na Na came before a table and pressed down hard on its surface. The table¡¯s four legs immediately sank into the ground, and sounds of gears crackling could be heard as an opening that was roughly one square meter cracked open on the surface. Thin traces of light could be seening from within.

    Na Na entered swiftly and followed the vertical tunnel all the way down. The tunnel was about five meters deep, and she arrived into a vast hall that was much bigger and more spaciouspared to what was above it, and it was at least three hundred square meters in surface area. However, it appeared a little sinister and barren.

    There were two people seated at a table in the innermost region of the hall, and they were both dressed in white and wore bvas as well. However, there were silver patterns that ran through their white clothes, and they were enjoying a sumptuous and exquisite feast that wasid out across the table at this moment. Their bvas were pushed up to their nose.

    Na Na took a few quick steps forward and said respectfully, ¡°Greetings, Great Holy Ghost and Second Holy Ghost.¡±

    The rtively more well-built man seated on the left said with a muffled voice, ¡°You¡¯re here already? Go in yourself, there¡¯s nothing much to see. You should work harder so that you can officially be one of us, and everything will be resolved.¡±

    Na Na answered respectfully, ¡°Thank you for pointers, Great Holy Ghost.¡± With that, she started walking towards a small door beside the two Holy Ghost Disciples.

    Right when she was about to approach the small door, the Second Holy Ghost sitting on the other side suddenly eximed, ¡°Wait!¡±

    Na Na felt her heart skip a beat, but she still asked with a calm expression on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Second Holy Ghost?¡±

    The Second Holy Ghost lowered his voice and said, ¡°I think I smell a stranger in the midst.¡±

    The Great Holy Ghost snapped, ¡°Enough. Have you had too much to drink? Do you really think you have a dog¡¯s nose?¡±

    The Second Holy Ghost got to his feet and moved his nose vigorously. He suddenly shouted, ¡°No! There¡¯s a stranger inside. Seal the holy altar, big brother.¡± His body shed forward as he spoke, and he reached out with his right arm explosively and actually extended itself by more than a meter as he came right for Na Na.

    Na Na retreated in shock as if she had no idea what to do or what was going on. She was still shouting, ¡°Save me, Great Holy Ghost! I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±

    The Great Holy Ghost seemed to trust his brother far more than he trusted Na Na. He leapt forward and blocked off the tiny door, while the two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose up at the same time.

    However, a sphere of golden light glimmered beside him without warning right at this moment and mmed toward his head. The Great Holy Ghost shrieked in surprise when the golden sphere appeared, and he immediately transformed into a ball of smoke and dodged away into the distance.

    The golden fist bashed into space, and the entire underground hall seemed to shudder violently in response. The Great Holy Ghost¡¯s body reappeared ten meters away, but he eximed agonizingly as he vomited out a pool of blood before he crumpled to the ground. Even though that fist didn¡¯t hit its target, it still managed to wound him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure revealed himself from the darkness. He had prepared for this moment for a long time, and this was the first time he officiallyunched his Sovereign¡¯s Descent after his spirit¡¯s quality change ¨C however, it didn¡¯t obliterate his opponent like he had expected.

    Na Na stopped pretending on the other side. A streak of scarlet red light surged into the sky like a whip and shed towards the Second Holy Ghost¡¯s ink-ck right w.

    ¡°ng!¡± The Second Holy Ghost actually used his own right hand to take on the Scarletme de, which was a ss 5 soul tool. Six soul rings appeared on his body, and all six of them started to burn before they transformed into ck fire that enveloped his body inside. The Second Holy Ghost¡¯s body jerked violently within the ck mes, and the clothes on his body immediately crumbled into pieces while his body grew to over three meters tall. All the flesh on his body werepletely gone, and he transformed into a tremendous ck skeleton.

    Huo Yuhao stared at the spiritual fire dancing around in the Second Holy Ghost¡¯s eyes and he growled, ¡°An evil soul master?¡±

    The Great Holy Ghost leapt to his feet on the other side. He roared into the sky as he stomped the floor with his right foot, and the wall inside hall cracked open just like that. The first two soul rings on his body began to incinerate like those of the Second Holy Ghost, and six skeletons stumbled out from the cracks in the wall before they coordinated with the Second Holy Ghost and pounced at Huo Yuhao and Na Na.

    Huo Yuhao grunted indifferently. Evil soul masters were like nightmares for normal soul masters, but Huo Yuhao was different ¨C he possessed the power of Necromancy. Evil soul masters that mainly yed around with spirits were actually easier for him to handle.

    A golden vertical eye cracked open on his forehead. Huo Yuhao had no intention to hold back against these evil soul masters, and radiant golden light flickered in his golden eye before the Second Holy Ghost at the vanguard crumpled onto the ground with a stumble.

    One could clearly see a green ball of me exploding forth from his skeletal head, before it transformed into a circle of green light and dissipated into the air.

    The colossal ck skeleton crashed onto the ground ¨C one-hit knockout!

    The ability to control spirits and immediately incinerate his soul rings was a unique evil soul master skill, and the Second Holy Ghost used this ability to raise his power to that of a seven-ringed martial soul true body. His physical body was so strong and tough that even ss 6 soul tools couldn¡¯t fight against it. He possessed immense strength and was also incredibly quick.

    It was a pity that Huo Yuhao was his opponent. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need to collide against the powerful skeleton at all ¨C instead, he used the Spiritual Shock with his Eye of Destiny and targeted his opponent¡¯s soul. The Second Holy Ghost was probably superior to Huo Yuhao in terms of battle prowess, but he paled inparison to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. This was without taking into ount Huo Yuhao¡¯s knowledge regarding Necromancy, and the fact that he had understood a whole lot more about human spirits.

    His eyes turned gray, and Huo Yuhao started chanting a curse under his breath. Na Na rushed forward to block the six skeletons, and Huo Yuhao took this chance to draw a punctuation in the sky before he pressed it forward ferociously.

    The formless punctuation swiftly turned gray and immediately expanded in the sky. One could see spot after spot of green drifting in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction in the next moment.

    Huo Yuhao growled, ¡°Coagte!¡± The green light specks quickly coagted to form an eerie green me that waltzed incessantly before him.

    Huo Yuhao eximed coldly, ¡°Let me cleanse you of your sins!¡± Intense brilliance erupted from the Eye of Destiny on his forehead, and a single pir of golden light glowed as the eerie green me immediately turned golden. Agonizing and harrowing howls could be heard resonating through the entire underground cavern, and the eerie green me waspletely consumed by the golden luster in no time. It was converted into a tiny speck of golden me that descended upon Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertip.

    The Great Holy Ghost turned pale with fright. ¡°You¡­ You burned his spirit! How is that possible? Are you¡­ are you also an evil soul master? We are the Holy Ghost Sect, our Holy Emperor¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get your chance to talk.¡± Huo Yuhao swung his right hand and the speck of golden me flew out,nding upon therge ck skeleton. He pounced forward in a sh as he shed ferociously with his aplete version of his right hand¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw and dashed three skeletons called out by the Great Holy Ghost into dust. Na Na took care of two more, and thest one was no longer a threat.

    The Great Holy Ghost was ovee with fear at this point. He could feel that the powers that Huo Yuhao had disyed were simr to his own, but there was something that this person possessed that was vastly different from them.

    ¡°Go to hell, both of you.¡± All six of the Great Holy Ghost¡¯s six soul rings burned up at the same time, and his entire body erupted with ayer of white me.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and pulled Na Na behind him as he sted the remaining skeleton into pieces with an Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    Evil soul masters typically had an extremely formidable and explosive skill ¨C he couldn¡¯t put Na Na in harm¡¯s way.

    The white mes that surged from the Great Holy Ghost¡¯s body seemed to contain harrowing and shrill howls that belonged to vengeful spirits. A small door exploded open in the next moment, before an overbearing and rippling wave of terrifying power poured forth from within that small door. Both Na Na and Huo Yuhao felt their bodies tighten even at with their cultivation level as they stumbled backwards.

    They could see sphere after sphere of transparent light of varying colors flying out from the small door. There seemed to be a human face on every single sphere, except these faces were violently twisting and contorting.

 Chapter 185: Purification? Master!

    There was a g in the Great Holy Ghost¡¯s hand. He appeared very fierce as he looked at Huo Yuhao and Na Na. ¡°I shall let you feel what¡¯s it like to be devoured by thousands of souls. Your spirits will be torn apart and your bodies will be my puppets. Die.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was horrified. Was this the Myriad Soul Banner that Elder Yi mentioned?

    Elder Yi had once mentioned that a necromancers¡¯ control of undead creatures was restricted to a specific domain due to their limited spiritual power. However, they could use tools to enhance their control and transformation of spirits. The Myriad Soul Banner was such a tool. He mentioned that an extremely cultivated Myriad Soul Banner could contain tens of thousands of spirits. Against enemies, the avenging spirits could bemanded tounchrge-scale attacks. All living matter affected by these avenging spirits would be carriers of these spirits. They would quickly be roped in as part of their Undead Legion. Once the bodies of these undead creatures were destroyed, their spirits would return to the banner and they would continue to devour the spirits of the living to evolve. It was rumored that they were as resistant as Gods when they evolved to their most highest form.

    However, the Myriad Soul Banner was a tool that offended the heavens. Once a necromancer managed to sessfully create it, he would definitely suffer the scourge of the heavens. It was like the negative repercussions of the Light of Destiny¡ªit was only a matter of time before he was jinxed.

    Was this evil soul master so strong that he could possess a Myriad Soul Banner?

    While he was shocked, Huo Yuhao still naturally wouldn¡¯t allow these avenging spirits to attack him. A ring of formless spiritual ripples spread; it was Spiritual Interference. The avenging spirits were instantly affected by his spiritual power, and they descended into chaos as they flew like headless flies. Their pathetic cries resonated throughout the underground hall.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s astonishment was soon reced byposure. Through Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Interference, he realized that there weren¡¯t that many of these avenging spirits, at most four or five hundred of them. In addition, each of them was very weak individually. They werepletely different from the powerful avenging spirits that Electrolux described, which couldn¡¯t be ovee simply with his Spiritual Interference.

    The Great Holy Ghost didn¡¯t expect that the Holy Ghost g would be rendered ineffective. This g didn¡¯t belong to him, it was the most important treasure of the elder from the Sub-Altar. Not only was it a ss 7 soul tool, but it also had to be used by an evil soul master skilled at controlling spirits. In the Sub-Altar, only he and that elder could control it. It was left in the Sub-Altar as a precaution. The elder once said that the Holy Ghost g was sufficient as long as the opponent wasn¡¯t an eight-ringed soul douluo. In addition, the Great Holy Ghost was equipped with powerful evil soul skills.

    When he controlled this g, he didn¡¯t use any soul skills. He only burned his six soul rings using a special method that belonged to evil soul masters. This provided him with enough spiritual power to control the g. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out fresh blood into the air, which instantly turned into a blood-red avenging spirit in the air.

    The avenging spirit blew apart as it flew into the air, staining arge portion of the other avenging spirits. Suddenly, the powers of the avenging spirits soared, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference couldn¡¯t fend them off any longer.

    However, Huo Yuhao was already muttering an incantation when these amped avenging spirits appeared. His golden eyes turned grey, even his Eye of Destiny. Behind him, an elderly-looking figure subtly appeared, and there seemed to be an ancient voice chanting along with him.

    If he were alone, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to attack and get rid of the Great Holy Ghost before snatching his g. The crisis would be averted as simple as that. However, Na Na was behind him.

    The avenging spirits had be extremely ferocious under the Great Holy Ghost¡¯smand. He couldn¡¯t ensure her safety in the slightest if he rushed forward to attack. Dealing with these avenging spirits first was essential.

    Huo Yuhao pointed toward the sky with his right index finger and shouted mightily, ¡°Purify these stained spirits.¡± A ring of white light was released from the Eye of Destiny. His boundless spiritual sea started to surge with waves, and his immense spiritual power was unleashed under the guidance of his incantation. The spiritual power was converted into a purifying force.

    The blood-red lights from the bodies of the avenging spirits disappeared as the white light passed. They were forced to stay still in the air.

    As the white light spread to every corner of the underground hall, all of the vicious avenging spirits were dyed white.

    When that Light of Purification reached the Great Holy Ghost, he let out a pathetic scream. ck smoke rose ceaselessly from his body.

    He shouted pathetically, ¡°This, this is a force that destroys spirits! Who, who are you? Only the Holy Emperor possesses such strength! You¡¯re also an evil soul master, you¡¯re also¡­ but why did you¡­?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t continue any further as he spoke till here. That was because a huge figure had already arrived in front of him. His neck was grabbed by ck, bony ws, and he was lifted up. It was an attack from the converted Second Holy Ghost¡¯s skull.

    However, the eyes of the ck skull were dancing with dim-golden mes. They were a type of spiritual fire that carried a shred of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual awareness. The Second Holy Ghost had beenpletely purified, and submitted to Huo Yuhao.

    The avenging spirits in mid-air appeared to be very weird. They weren¡¯t nearly as ferocious as before, and they slowly formed corporeal faces.

    ¡°Tell me, what kind of organization is the Holy Ghost Church? Where is the Main Altar?¡± The ck skull lifted the Great Holy Ghost in front of Huo Yuhao. After being cleansed by the Light of Purification, the Great Holy Ghost¡¯s cultivation had fallen to half its original level.

    The Great Holy Ghost was in a daze as he looked at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Holy Son? Are you the reincarnation of the Holy Son? Holy Son, you should find the Holy Emperor. He¡¯ll help us rule this world! Only those with holy powers like us are qualified to rule!¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°Answer my question.¡±

    The Great Holy Ghost revealed a weird smile on his face. ¡°Holy Son, the Holy Emperor will find you one day. When that happens, it may be the best opportunity for us Holy Ghosts to rule. Long live the Holy Emperor!¡± As he spoke, his eyes dimmed, and his entire body turned into ash, which easily escaped the w¡¯s grasp before dispersing into the air. There wasn¡¯t even a corpse left. Everything was very strange. The Holy Ghost g also fell in front of Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao picked the g up, but quickly crushed it with his soul power.

    Na Na was dumbfounded. Although she knew that Huo Yuhao was very strong, she had already gone feeble long ago when she heard the cries of the avenging spirits, and couldn¡¯t exert any soul power herself. At that point in time, she had thought that everything was over, and despaired. However, she was shocked by what followed.

    He turned the tide right in front of her. She wasn¡¯t even clear on how he had managed to pull it off. The crisis was destroyed, the Great Holy Ghost was dead, and the skull converted from the Second Holy Ghost was being controlled by him.

    Everything changed too suddenly.

    ¡°Na Na.¡± Na Na was jolted to her senses after Huo Yuhao shouted her name.

    ¡°Quickly, find your parents. You don¡¯t have much time. The evil stains on these avenging spirits have been cleansed under my Purification Spell. Once they¡¯repletely cleansed, they will be purified and rise to the heavens. If you have anything to say to them, tell them quickly. I¡¯ll be waiting for you outside.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao was already headed outside, and quickly escaped. It was very weird, as the Holy Servants didn¡¯t react even though themotion inside the underground hall was quite loud.

    After leaving the underground hall, Huo Yuhao bumped into eight of them. Their abilities were greatly inferior to Na Na¡¯s. They copsed under Huo Yuhao¡¯s surprise attack, they didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    ¡°The Great Holy Ghost and Second Holy Ghost are both dead, while the Sub-Altar has been destroyed. The spirits of your loved ones are being purified. If all of you still want to see them again, quickly go inside.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stripped off their headgear, revealing young and pale-looking faces.

    Huo Yuhao was enraged as he saw their dazed looks. ¡°If I wanted to harm you, you¡¯d already be dead. Why haven¡¯t you gone inside yet? If you miss this opportunity, you¡¯ll never see your loved ones again. This is your best, and only, opportunity to leave this evil organization and free yourselves from their restraints.¡± He added some spiritual power into his shouting, which jolted these Holy Servants to their senses. They rushed into the underground hall.

    After letting out a breath, Huo Yuhao slowly walked out of the ordinary-looking room.

    He shut his eyes as he leaned on the wall outside. A wave of weakness encroaching upon his body from his spent spiritual power.

    I didn¡¯t expect this Holy Ghost Church to be formed by evil soul masters. No wonder they¡¯re so mysterious. Weren¡¯t evil soul masters supposed to operate by themselves?

    He suddenly tensed up. He was reminded of what his teacher, the Dragon Douluo Mu En had said to him before. When Ma Xiaotao went missing, Shrek Academy was attacked by a bunch of soul masters of unknown background. There were many evil soul masters among them! Were those people rted to the Holy Ghost Church?

    The elder from the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Sub-Altar wasn¡¯t here today, or Huo Yuhao might be the one fleeing. However, it was a pity that Huo Yuhao was unable to obtain anything very useful from the Great Holy Ghost. The man¡¯s spirit was destroyed as hemitted suicide.

    However, he managed to fulfil Na Na¡¯s wish. At least he did something good. He had to report what he had learned regarding the Holy Ghost Church to the academyter. If this church was helmed by evil soul masters, they might be even more dangerous than the Body Sect.

    The two six-ringed Soul Emperors he had met were stronger than the Envoy of the Death God that he had fought before. If he hadn¡¯t gained the upper hand right from the beginning, and used the Eye of Destiny to destroy the spirit of the Second Holy Ghost, he would¡¯ve been in huge trouble. If these two evil soul masters were ced in the outside world, they were bound to cause great harm without anyone repressing them. The hundreds of avenging spirits were a testament to that, they represented hundreds of stolen lives! This was even under the circumstance that the Holy Ghost Church was trying to remain mysterious and low-profile, and thus they didn¡¯t go too far with their actions. The harm that evil soul masters could bring was too terrifying. Shrek¡¯s Guardians had to do something about this.

    A crying howl could be heard from the tunnel leading out of the room. Evidently, the Holy Servants had found the spirits of their loved ones.

    After thinking for a moment, Huo Yuhao left the courtyard quietly before sneaking back a few minutester. He returned to his original position to wait.

    Na Na was the first to exit the tunnel. Her headgear was already off, and her eyes were red and swollen from the crying. She approached Huo Yuhao before kneeling down. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was already prepared to lift her back up.

    ¡°Na Na, don¡¯t be like this. My condolences. I guess your parents¡¯ spirits have attained salvation and found peace.¡±

    Na Na nodded her head slightly, ¡°Thank you, Master. You have fulfilled my greatest wish.¡±

    ¡°What master?¡± Huo Yuhao was in a daze.

    Na Na looked at him with a resolute look in her eyes. ¡°I mentioned that I¡¯d serve you if you managed to save my parents¡¯ spirits. You did so, and you even purified their spirits. I have no more worries. I can only repay this gratitude with my life. If you¡¯re going to reject my offer, I won¡¯t have any further yearnings in this world. I can only choose to leave this world forever.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He wanted to rebut her, but nothing came out of his mouth when he saw her determined look.

    More and more figures with pale faces and swollen, red eyes also started to appear behind Na Na. They kneeled down at the same time, ¡°We don¡¯t know how to repay you. We¡¯re willing to follow you for life and serve you with our spirits.¡±

    Their predicaments were simr to Na Na¡¯s. After seeing that the spirits of their loved ones were finally free from the restraints of the Holy Ghost Church, they had the same feeling towards him as Na Na did, even though they didn¡¯t know him.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Na Naughed bitterly. ¡°Master, I didn¡¯t want it to be like this either. However, we¡¯ve been enved for too long. In addition, almost all of us are orphans. We no longer have any rtives in this world. If you don¡¯t want to ept us, we won¡¯t know what to do. I can¡¯t return to the academy. Master, give us instructions, even if it¡¯s just pointing out a path for us. There are four Soul Ancestors and four Soul Kings among the eight of us. Four of us are even soul engineers. If you won¡¯t ept us, we¡¯re unlikely to escape the pursuit of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°What makes all of you think that I can ept all of you? I¡¯m just a student!¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re from Shrek,¡± Na Na said with determination.

    Huo Yuhao spoke after considering his options for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way. I won¡¯t decline your requests. If you¡¯re willing, you can follow me. In that case, I shall issue all of you a token. Leave Radiant City and go directly to Shrek Academy to find someone called Bei Bei. He¡¯ll make the arrangements. However, all of you can¡¯t enroll into Shrek Academy. If you¡¯re willing, you can join my sect, which is called the Tang Sect. The headquarters of the sect is currently located in Shrek City. If you can reach there safely, I can guarantee your safety. You don¡¯t have to be loyal to me. Once you join my sect, we¡¯ll be fellow sect members.¡±

    Na Na was delighted, but she continued to address him in the same way. Her body turned slightly illusory, and she escaped Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. She was adamant on kneeling. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    The other eight were also delighted as they bowed respectfully. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    By saving their family members¡¯ spirits, Huo Yuhao had also released them from the Holy Ghost Church. In addition, he had pointed out a path for them to take. For people like them who had pitiful backgrounds, they were immensely grateful towards him. They called him ¡®Master¡¯ with sincerity, and many of them were even tearing up. They could finally start anew!

    This was also a good thing for Huo Yuhao. After Bei Bei¡¯s attempts to find Tang Ya were futile, he decided to rebuild the Tang Sect in Shrek City.

    After all, that was within Shrek Academy¡¯s territory, and they were still studying in the academy. It was much easier for them to take care of matters. Right now, the sectcked manpower. However, it was very difficult to recruit anyone in Shrek City. After all, the graduates from Shrek Academy didn¡¯t join any sect easily. The Tang Sect also didn¡¯t have many resources.

    However, Bei Bei was given a huge privilege by the academy, as he was Elder Mu¡¯s descendant, and also one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters that had entered the Tang Sect. They were given a small plot ofnd in Shrek City, as well as financial help to rebuild the Tang Sect. Although the location was a little isted, it was also very peaceful. Most importantly, it was in Shrek City!

    These people in front of Huo Yuhao had rather good cultivations. There were even soul engineers, which the Tang Sect sorelycked. They were a big reason Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t decline their requests.

    He said, ¡°Time is tight. Strip and dump your clothes here before leaving immediately. In about an hour, this ce will be nothing more than t ground. Try your best not to leave any traces behind. The faster you go, the better you''ll be. Do all of you have flying-type soul tools?¡±

    Including Na Na, five of them had flying-type soul tools. After thinking for a moment, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°In this case, those with flying-type soul tools will rush after leaving Radiant City. After flying a certain distance, Na Na will gather the flying-type soul tools and bring them back to fetch the rest. This will hasten your escape. After all, the Holy Ghost Church isn¡¯t God. It won¡¯t be easy for them to chase all of you.¡± As he spoke, he retrieved a token and gave it to Na Na.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Na Na stood up with the other eight. Her sorrow had diminished slightly by now. There was a glow on her face that revealed her determination to start her life over. Everything was a new beginning from now on.

    She wouldn¡¯t have returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy regardless of whether she seeded or failed in this matter. She had brought all her stuff in her storage-type soul tool. After bowing once towards Huo Yuhao, she stripped off the Holy Ghost Church uniform, as did the other eight, before leaving quickly.

    Huo Yuhao had used his Imitation to imitate the Great Holy Ghost when he had left earlier. Now, he imitated the look of the Second Holy Ghost to sneak out of the courtyard before escaping quickly.

    ---

    An hourter, he met He Caitou at a secluded corner hundreds of meters away from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°Second senior, how is it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    He Caitou chortled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s settled. Nothing will go wrong, since we have the urate location established by your Spiritual Detection. In two hours, dazzling fireworks will be seen above Radiant City. I controlled the impact by choosing a prative stationary soul cannon shell. It won¡¯t affect the surroundings. What about your girl?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°She¡¯s left. The matter has been settled, but she won¡¯t stay in the academy. I asked her to take some of the Holy Disciples I freed and find eldest senior. I think I managed to get some manpower for the Tang Sect.¡±

    He Caitou asked, ¡°Then how do we return? We¡¯re not going to climb walls, are we? There are soul tools everywhere. The security is rather tight.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Second senior, it seems like you haven¡¯t fullyprehended the magical effect of my Imitation! I will imitate Na Na¡¯s appearance, and you¡¯ll be my shadow. As long as you don¡¯t deviate more than ten meters from me, no one will be able to tell. We¡¯ll just walk through the front door.¡±

    ¡°What the¡­ it can even work like this? I don¡¯t recall it being so strong!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It is the benefit of being a spiritual-type soul master. Our soul skills will be enhanced along with our spiritual power.¡± Although it wasn¡¯t the whole truth, he wasn¡¯t wrong, either. Without the backing of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual power that had fused with him, his Imitation wouldn¡¯t have reached such a high level. He Caitou was only witnessing a small portion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s enhanced soul skill now.

    After a minute, Huo Yuhao Imitated Na Na before openly entering the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The guards were not suspicious at all. Furthermore, it now seemed that Na Na had returned to the academy! In this way, it would be even more difficult for the Holy Ghost Church to track Na Na down, giving her and the others more time to escape.

    After returning to his dorm room, Huo Yuhao immediately recorded everything that he had experienced today, before passing the report to Fan Yu.

    Fan Yu was also shocked by the appearance of the Holy Ghost Church. He immediately thought of a way to get word of this out. If Illustrious Virtue Hall and Holy Ghost Church were colluding, it meant that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was working with with an organization formed by evil soul masters!

    The strength of evil soul masters was something that had long been established on the continent. Furthermore, these evil soul masters were certain to cause widespread civilian deaths the moment they acted.

    Just as Huo Yuhao and Fan Yu were discussing this matter, a muffled thump came from afar. It was the sound of He Caitou¡¯s stationary soul tool going off. No traces of the ¡®dirty¡¯ Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Sub-Altar would be left over.

    Huo Yuhao had benefited greatly from this experience. Besides earning the loyalty of Na Na and the Holy Servants, he had also managed to obtain the ck skull from the Second Holy Ghost. This ck skull would be pretty useful in fights.

    The undead aura from the ck skull had beenpletely purified by Huo Yuhao after he returned. He preserved the Second Holy Ghost¡¯s resolute defense and controlled it through his spirit after purification. Huo Yuhao even made it seem a little divine. Huo Yuhao left a shred of his spiritual aura within the ck skull¡¯s spiritual fire so he could control it with his thoughts. Although it couldn¡¯t unleash any skills, it was still a powerful assistive force that could match up to a Soul Emperor in a fight.

    The Second Holy Ghost waspletely under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control now. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel bad at all using him as a secret weapon, considering the evil acts that the Holy Ghost Church hadmitted. He had used others, and was now being used heartlessly himself!

    ------

    When news about the Holy Ghost Church reached Shrek Academy, there was quite a huge uproar. Shrek¡¯s Guardians acted immediately. They started to seek out the Holy Ghost Church throughout the continent, especially in the Sun Moon Empire.

    However, the Church hid well. No trace of them could be found. This Church didn¡¯t seem to even exist at all, as if they had vanished into thin air.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was very peaceful after the destruction of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Sub-Altar, or at least that was what it seemed like on the surface. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou observed things around them, but didn¡¯t notice anything amiss.

    Bei Bei passed them news that Na Na and the rest had arrived safely, and had joined the Tang Sect. They became the first batch of disciples of the Tang Sect, apart from the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    ------

    Half a year passed very quickly. Huo Yuhao was now almost at the end of his second academic year in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. More urately speaking, he had been here for more than a year and nine months.

    There was one thing that was simr between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy. Vacation time! They started a littleter herepared to Shrek Academy, but it alsosted for a month.

    Huo Yuhao was in deep meditation during thisst break. He finally had some time off this academic year. Of course, he didn¡¯t n on resting. He came here to learn; he didn¡¯t want to waste any time. There were very few in the academy who had the same mindset as him.

    He had raised his profile extremely high during the sparringpetition, but his studies continued smoothly after he went through half a year of deep meditation, and kept a low-profile afterward. Huo Yuhao worked hard to learn about soul tools. As he cultivated, he researched the profundity of soul tools. He spent his days fruitfully, even though they were mundane.

    As the days passed, Huo Yuhao also matured physically. He was now seventeen years old, and his body was very developed now. He wasn¡¯t especially burly, but he had a build that was filled with vigor and vitality.

    It was very difficult to imagine a seventeen-year-old youth possessing a demeanor as calm andposed demeanor as him. This was greatly connected to his cultivation of the Sovereign''s Descent. He also tried to keep the look in his eyes moderated under normal circumstances.

    His cultivation speed had increased after his spiritual power nourished his body in deep meditation. He managed to reach Rank 43, and his cultivation speed seemed to increase along with his abilities. This was extremely good news for Huo Yuhao!

    However, he didn¡¯t manage to be a five-ringed Soul King. Jing Hongchen was relieved after hearing this. After all, the three years between the ages of fifteen and eighteen were very important for a genius soul master. These three years were critical in establishing his foundation. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had ryed news that their cultivations had reached Rank 60, bing Soul Emperors. They were also ss 6 soul engineers.

    Jing Hongchen admired Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting capabilities. He had even beaten a six-ringed Soul Emperor, even though he only had four rings. However, a Soul Emperor was a Soul Emperor. If everyone had the same talent, a six-ringed Soul Emperor wouldpletely dominate a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao could challenge his grandchildren. The potential of a genius would fall as time passed. If Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t reach Rank 60 before he was twenty years old, Jing Hongchen wouldn¡¯t call him a genius anymore.

    ------

    ¡°Little junior!¡± a rough voice sounded from outside his room.

    ¡°Second senior, why are you here?¡± Huo Yuhao opened the door and looked at the excited He Caitou standing outside.

    He Caitou wore a mysterious look on his face. ¡°Little junior, I have a surprise for you.¡±

    ¡°Surprise? For me? What new stationary soul tool have you sessfully researched?¡± Huo Yuhao looked back at him in surprise.

    He Caitou snapped, ¡°Oh no, oh no! You¡¯re getting dumb. Your life is only about the dormitory and Illustrious Virtue Hall. Aren¡¯t you tired? You should rx when it¡¯s time to do so. You¡¯ll feel better then. You¡¯re always so tense, which is not a good thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was slightly moved, as he had heard something simr from someone else before. It wasn¡¯t his first time. As he thought of that person, there was a slight change in the look in his eyes. Ever since he came to the Sun Moon Empire, he had received letters from eldest senior and others of hispatriots. However, the person who was supposed to be sending him letters didn¡¯t write any for him.

    Wang Dong, how are you? Huo Yuhao was a little down as he thought of Wang Dong. Surely he hasn¡¯t forgotten me after so long?

    ¡°Hey, little junior, I¡¯m talking to you. Focus.¡± He Caitou was displeased as he shook Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly invited him in. He softly said, ¡°Have you made progress on the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s matter?¡±

    He Caitou rolled his eyes and didn¡¯t even bother entering the room. He stood at the door, and his towering figure made him seem like some sort of guardian.

    ¡°That bullshit organization has gone missing. I wonder if you were hallucinating. Otherwise, they¡¯re covering themselves very well. Alright, follow me. Let¡¯s go to the gate for a moment.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll skip that. I¡¯m busy with my formation array, and I¡¯m at a critical point. I¡¯m about to finish.¡± Huo Yuhao declined He Caitou¡¯s proposition.

    He Caitou was furious. ¡°Have my words fallen on deaf ears? Quick, you¡¯ll regret it if you don¡¯t go.¡±

    As he spoke, He Caitou dragged Huo Yuhao out and forcefully ran him away.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly annoyed, but he couldn¡¯t bear to reject He Caitou¡¯s good intentions. He naturally believed that his second senior wouldn¡¯t harm him. However, he wasn¡¯t in any sort of mood to receive any surprise.

    He didn¡¯t reckon that there would be any surprises for him, apart from achieving a breakthrough in his cultivation. This was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, not Shrek Academy.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao was dragged to a vast field by He Caitou.

    ¡°Second senior, you don¡¯t have to drag me. I¡¯ll follow you.¡± Huo Yuhao had no choice but topromise.

    He Caitou stopped and looked at him with a weird expression. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t force it, either. I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t go. If you regret it, don¡¯t me me.¡± As he spoke, he released Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and turned away.

    Huo Yuhao quickly rushed over and tried to cate him, ¡°Second senior, don¡¯t be angry! I¡¯ll follow you. You¡¯re right, I should change my brain. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be a formation array.¡±

    He Caitouughed and replied, ¡°Rascal, do you think I¡¯m angry with you? I just find it regretful for someone else.¡±

    Just as they were conversing, they bumped into two familiar faces.

    ¡°Aiyo, what are the two of you doing?¡± a middle-aged and harmless-looking Jing Ziyan asked as she smiled at Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Ji Juechen was beside her.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial expression was a little stiff as he saw the both of them. He nced at He Caitou and seemed to be asking him something. Second senior, surely this isn¡¯t the surprise you have for me?

    If there was someone that Huo Yuhao feared the most in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, it wasn¡¯t Jing Hongchen, but the two of them.

    Ever since Huo Yuhao awoke from his deep meditation, he was targeted by Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan, who were indignant after losing to him. The two of them were always together. When they had nothing to do, they woulde and approach Huo Yuhao to spar.

    It was fine if it happened only once or twice. However, they went overboard. How could Huo Yuhao not be vexed? Neither of them cared about where they were. There were a few asions when they disrupted him just as he had some inspiration on figuring out how to create formation arrays.

    On one asion, Huo Yuhao had used the Sovereign''s Descent a little too strongly, as he was enraged. He gave Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan a good whacking, as they didn¡¯t use any other soul skills or tap into their soul power to repress him.

    After that incident, the two of them stopped for a few days. However, they returned not long after. Ji Juechen even told Huo Yuhao that his understanding of sword intent became deeper after he was whacked by him!

 Chapter 186: The Absolutely Surprising Radiant Butterfly Goddess

    That was why the two of them continued to find Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and thus he decided to hide from them. After all, they couldn¡¯t possibly spar inside Illustrious Virtue Hall. As a result, Huo Yuhao often remained in Illustrious Virtue Hall untilte at night before returning to his dorm room, avoiding trouble.

    However, they were still some of the few friends that Huo Yuhao had at the academy. Of course, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t admit to this.

    Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen were also very picky. He Caitou did tell them that he wanted to team up with Huo Yuhao to fight them, but they wouldn¡¯t ept it. They were only interested in sparring with Huo Yuhao, who was skilled in closebat and possessed the Sovereign¡¯s Descent.

    He Caitou shook his head at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t the two of them. How are they surprises? They¡¯re more of a shock. Guys, we¡¯ve things to deal with today. He can¡¯t entertain you.¡± As he spoke, he quickly dragged Huo Yuhao away.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t wait to get away from them. He followed He Caitou willingly this time.

    However, Jing Ziyan shifted and grinned as she blocked them. Ji Juechen was even more ruthless. He brandished his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword.

    Jing Ziyan smiled as she said, ¡°It¡¯s fate that we meet. Yuhao, we haven¡¯t looked for you in days. Since we¡¯ve met, let¡¯s spar. I¡¯ve recently gained some enlightenment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial muscles twitched a little, and he said, ¡°I seemed to have fought the both of you two days ago. You call that days? Can¡¯t you give me some breathing space? I concede defeat.¡±

    Ji Juechen pointed his sword at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Defeat me. Then I¡¯ll give you breathing space.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao red. ¡°Ji Juechen, do you really think I¡¯m scared of you? Don¡¯t make me beat you until you¡¯re half-dead.¡±

    Jing Ziyan chortled, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take care of him. Don¡¯t give me face. You can whack him first. If you¡¯ve sufficient energy after that, you can also whack me.¡±

    He Caitou rolled his eyes and wanted to pull Huo Yuhao away. He said, ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re really stupid! If we can¡¯t deal with them, why don¡¯t we just run away!? Let¡¯s go.¡± As he spoke, he grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist and lifted him up. He made a half turn, and his thick arms flung Huo Yuhao into the air.

    They had great chemistry. Huo Yuhao flipped in mid-air and initiated his soul thrusters.

    A blinding light shone from his back before the two of them burst towards the academy¡¯s gate. At this point, he ignored the academy¡¯s rule that no soul tools could be used in non-experimentation areas.

    Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan didn¡¯t expect He Caitou to do this, and thus they were slow to react. However, they weren¡¯t ones to give up. They quickly chased after them. Both of them were Soul Emperors, and they teamed up well with each other too.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t have a soul thruster. However, that was fine, since Jing Ziyan had one!

    Jing Ziyan quickly climbed onto his back, and her ss 6 soul thruster was immediately activated. The sudden thrusting force propelled both of them towards Huo Yuhao.

    Ji Juechen had made significant improvements over the past half year too. He was still able to hold onto his sword with both hands, even under such a circumstance. He unleashed his swift and vicious sword intent. Evidently, they didn¡¯t really care about the school rules, either!

    Huo Yuhao fled. While he used ss 5 soul thrusters, there were several of them! The four ss 5 soul thrusters on his back could change direction based on the control of his intent and muscles. Not only were they very explosive, but they were also very adaptable.

    He was almost out of the gate. At such a high speed, even the guards at the academy¡¯s gate couldn¡¯t stop him, and could only watch as he escaped out the gate. However, the academy¡¯s rm rang soon after that.

    Huo Yuhao was a little lost after he exited the gate. That was because he didn¡¯t know where to go. So what if he fled? At this speed, it was arduous for him to continue escaping! Furthermore, it was easier to spar than flee! He Caitou had evidentlye up with a bad idea.

    After they burst out of the gate, Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen also followed suit. Just as Huo Yuhao decreased his speed and was ready to turn back, a crisp voice that carried a sense of furious and vicious killing intent rose up. ¡°Who dares to hurt him?!¡±

    A ball of intense golden light mixed with a dazzling blue blew apart like fireworks. It instantly changed into countless streaks of light that prated through the air, forcefully blocking Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent was initially targeted towards Huo Yuhao. However, he disyed his strength as he came under attack.

    His vicious sword intent soared, and a streak of ck sword light was unleashed. The further this sword light flew, the bigger it grew. There was even a subtle draconic roaring from it.

    As the streaks of golden light met the immense sword intent, they were swept away. However, a strange scene appeared. The golden lights that were brushed aside didn¡¯t disperse, but stuck onto the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword. After Ji Juechen¡¯s sword managed to sweep all the des away, a bluish-gold ball of light a foot wide was already attached to the back of it. Following that, a tremendous boom rang out as an aura of light was released.

    Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were sent flying as the wave of gold struck them. The intense aura of light spread, and the shockwave threw them off-bnce as they were struck. Naturally, they stopped their pursuit of Huo Yuhao.

    Where was Huo Yuhao now? He seemed to have been struck by a soul skill that turned him to stone. He stood therepletely motionless, and his Spirit Eyes were fixed in a certain direction¡­ the direction the golden lights came from.

    A dazzling bluish-gold light shone in the air, looking even more dazzling in the sunlight. A figure with medium-long, pinkish-blue hair that flowed past his shoulders and a charming appearance was standing there. Although only his side profile could be seen, Huo Yuhao could sense his aloofness.

    A pair of blue wings pped open behind his face. A halo that shed with aplementary golden light pattern subtly appeared above the wings. It was like a small sun that bore down on the wings. One yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings shone.

    Ji Juechen had another nickname in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. His first nickname was ¡°Handsome Man¡±. However, he was too cold as a person, and hardly smiled at anyone or anything. The female students in the academy always nagged him for wasting his looks. However, this person that had surfaced was definitely not inferior to Ji Juechen in terms of his appearance.

    He was equally as handsome, but possessed a different aura. This slender youth was not as cold than Ji Juechen, as he carried a slight sense of gentility. His skin was also slightly whiter and smoother, the look in his eyes more vibrant. It didn¡¯t possess the sharpness that Ji Juechen had, but there was a sense of elegance there instead. Compared to Ji Juechen, his looks were better able to attract the attention of girls.

    Jing Ziyan wasn¡¯t one to care about handsome guys, but she was astonished by how handsome he was. Ji Juechen squinted his eyes because of the light and aura that other party exuded. His sword intent also became more intense.

    He possessed a pair of wings with golden stripes, and had such a charming face. He even helped Huo Yuhao block off Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen¡¯s pursuit. Yes, he was the surprise that He Caitou had mentioned.

    ¡°Wang Dong.¡± Huo Yuhao finally recovered from his daze. He was confused, and his eyes even turned blurry from the tears that had suddenly surfaced.

    He increased his speed without using his soul thrusters and burst forward. He leapt forward and hugged this brother of his that had travelled so far to visit him.

    Wang Dong was also emotional as he was hugged by Huo Yuhao from the side. However, he kept his cool. ¡°Huo Yuhao, let¡¯s deal with the enemy first.¡±

    Enemy? Huo Yuhao was momentarily dazed. He twisted his head to look at the wary Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan. A teasing look also appeared on his face. Since he was always annoyed by the two of them, he was going to teach them a good lesson today.

    ¡°Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, haven¡¯t the two of you always been very depressed that you can¡¯t team up to fight me? Today, your opportunity is here. This is my brother, his name is Wang Dong. Let¡¯s fight two-on-two here. We won¡¯t use any soul tools. Are you up for it?¡±

    Jing Ziyanughed and replied, ¡°Of course! He¡¯s also from Shrek, right? Very well, let¡¯s fight for the glory of our academies.¡±

    Ji Juechen was as simple and direct as ever. Perhaps it was because he had met someone that could rival him in terms of looks, but he stared at Wang Dong with a burning look in his eyes. As he lifted his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword, his sword intent soared, and he shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Come on!¡±

    Ji Juechen was extraordinary even among the most extraordinary soul masters. The rarity of his cultivation method ¨C giving up soul skills and honing his fighting skills ¨C wasparable to twin martial souls. However, that was also because he used all his soul skills to enhance his soul power like a soul engineer, which was used toplement his fighting skills.

    He was practically the strongest person in terms of closebat that Huo Yuhao had ever met.

    Huo Yuhao tapped into his understanding of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent to beat him in terms of intent. However, he was definitely at a disadvantage in a real fight due to the gap in their soul powers.

    Huo Yuhao tapped into his understanding of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent to beat him in terms of intent. However, he was definitely at a disadvantage in a real fight with the gap in their soul powers. However, Ji Juechen never took advantage of him. He restrained his soul power when they sparred so that they would almost be on the same level. He focused on challenging him in terms of their sword and fist intent. This was the reason why Huo Yuhao beat him every time.

    It wasn¡¯t that Wang Dong¡¯s true abilities were superior to Ji Juechen¡¯s. It was just that his appearance caused Ji Juechen to feel a weird pressure, especially when Huo Yuhao stood beside him. There was something different in their auras, as if they were two different mas with different prities. They attracted, fused, and became aplete entity.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dongnded on solid ground at this moment. Huo Yuhao grabbed onto Wang Dong¡¯s right hand with his left. The two of them looked at each other, and an indescribable rapport rose in their hearts. Their soul power circted, and their Haodong Power was connected again at longst after two years of wait. As the vigorous Haodong Power circted through their bodies, they could sense the surprise they brought to each other.

    Jing Ziyan grinned. ¡°Why are you two lovebirds holding hands? It¡¯s so embarrassing. Don¡¯t waste resources.¡±

    Wang Dong was stunned for a moment. ¡°What about wasting resources?¡±

    Jing Ziyan smiled and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many good guys left. If the two of you get together and stay together, what will us girls do?¡±

    Wang Dong blushed from her words. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shed, and he blocked Jing Ziyan¡¯s subtle approach.

    Jing Ziyan was inching step by step towards them as she spoke. Huo Yuhao understood her very well. She wasn¡¯t a nice person to make an enemy out of¡ªshe wasn¡¯t one to care about rules.

    Indeed, a thickyer of purplish fog rose from Jing Ziyan¡¯s body after Huo Yuhao stood in front of Wang Dong. She was engulfed by the fog.

    Huo Yuhao was very familiar with her fighting style. Diamond ice crystals quickly covered his body.

    As expected, a ck figure crawled its way out of the purplish fog. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t its target. This figure moved in an arc and aimed straight for Wang Dong¡¯s ribs.

    It was a quick move, but Jing Ziyan¡¯s attempt to cause confusion was meaningless to Huo Yuhao, because he had Spiritual Detection. However, she still continued to practice it religiously every time they sparred. He was a little annoyed by that.

    Thick purplish fog instantly swallowed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Jing Ziyan¡¯s fighting style was simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s. They focused a lot on control and assault. She might not have twin martial souls, but she was a soul engineer¡ªa closebat soul engineer. She used her martial soul to control, and her soul tools to attack. Although she had only be a ss 6 soul engineer at the age of thirty, she was the best among all the ss 6 soul engineers Huo Yuhao knew in terms of fighting capabilities. Of course, this was excluding Ji Juechen as a soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao reached his left hand towards the ck figure, and his entire body shone with light. An azure light shimmered, suddenly shooting out from his body, causing the surrounding temperature to drop.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s first soul skill was called Illusory Fog, while her second soul skill was called Condensed Fog. The main effect of the Illusory Fog was to confuse and block the opponent¡¯s vision. It could also cause the opponent to be disoriented. The Condensed Fog was very thick, and affected speed and judgment. They were both pretty effective mass control-type soul skills, and she unleashed them at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t let her gain an edge over Wang Dong, allowing his spiritual sea to reach an unprecedentedly excited state. Hispetitive will was greater than usual for these practice matches. He attacked boldly from the get-go.

    The Domain of Perpetual Ice activated.

    Everything in a thirty square meter area was turned azure-green. Jing Ziyan¡¯s fogpletely condensed. Even the soul power within the tiniest particle of fog solidified in an instant. The fog disappeared as it fell. However, just as Huo Yuhao was familiar with their abilities, they were also familiar with his. Before the azure light shone, ayer of golden light was preemptively released from Jing Ziyan¡¯s body. It was a ss 6 protective soul barrier.

    Even though there was ayer of frost on the protective soul barrier that depleted Jing Ziyan¡¯s soul power at an rming rate, it didn¡¯t freeze. She created several ck figures which attacked towards Huo Yuhao at the same time, then retreated with haste.

    Huo Yuhao urately caught the ck figure bursting towards Wang Dong. That was Jing Ziyan¡¯s closebat soul tool, the Explosive Nine-Tailed Whip.

    This soul tool had a special ability. It would vibrate at a high frequency when it collided with something. Anything that was struck by it would face a powerful explosion. If struck against a person, their body would be blown to pieces, provided, without any defensive tools. However, this Explosive Nine-Tailed Whip was very effective at oveing soul masters¡¯ defensive soul skills and soul engineers¡¯ protective soul barriers.

    Huo Yuhao had once resisted it using his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor and suffered quite a bit. The explosion that he had faced was powerful, and when it happened his skin and muscles were wounded.

    Jing Ziyan was a little shocked when she saw Huo Yuhao reaching for the Explosive Nine-Tailed Whip. Usually, Huo Yuhao used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to avoid it.

    He used his left hand, covered with diamond ice crystals, to grab the whip, and a tremendous explosion rang out. However, Huo Yuhao still managed to grab hold of the whip tightly. He didn¡¯t rx his grip at all. Only a portion of the diamond ice crystals blew apart, barely revealing the skin underneath.

    The depletion of Jing Ziyan¡¯s soul power was still great because she had unleashed her ss 6 protective soul barrier within the Domain of Perpetual Ice. She couldn¡¯t sustain it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain-type soul skill wouldst for some time, especially under the support of the Haodong Power.

    Presently, Wang Dong¡¯s palms were pressed against Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. His arms had turnedpletely golden.

    The auxiliary capabilities of the Golden Light Left Arm Bone and Broken Devil of Light Right Arm Bone werepletely brought forth at this point. Not only did Huo Yuhao receive the usual support of Haodong Power, but the restoration of his soul power was also faster by a few timespared to the past.

    However, they were fighting two on two. Just as Jing Ziyan was about to give up on her Explosive Nine-Tailed Whip to escape from the Domain of Perpetual Ice, Ji Juechen¡¯s Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword entered the fray.

    It was a very simple¡­ sh.

    Ji Juechen slid towards Huo Yuhao as if he were on an icy surface. His greatest strength was focusing his sword intent no matter the situation. Before his attack even arrived, his vicious sword intent had already soared. Even Wang Dong could sense the sharp aura within that threatened to slice him in two.

    Spiritual Detection connected their minds long ago.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong grinned at almost the same time. Following that, a dazzling scene that hadn¡¯t appeared for two years was presented.

    Wang Dong switched positions to hug Huo Yuhao, his entire body clinging to his back.

    Jing Ziyan was stunned as she saw this scene. Are the two of them really together like that? This¡­ However, she was soon shocked.

    When Wang Dong¡¯s wings pped open behind his back, everyone entered a momentary trance.

    They were fighting outside the academy¡¯s gate, which attracted some attention. Fortunately, it was the holidays, so there weren¡¯t too many onlookers. The main spectators were the guards at the gate. These guards hated those who disregarded school rules, but they kept silent after seeing Ji Juechen¡¯s terrifying sword intent and the light from Wang Dong¡¯s Butterfly Goddess sh.

    In front, it was Huo Yuhao whose Spirit Eyes shone with a dim golden light.

    At the back, it was Wang Dong, who unleashed his Radiant Butterfly Goddess and his dazzling pair of wings.

    After they hugged and unleashed their martial souls, the area within a hundred meter radius lit up. A special light shone from their bodies.

    Ji Juechen felt something. He was stunned to realize that the target that he¡¯d locked onto earlier disappeared. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were definitely still standing there, but they gave him the feeling that they had turned illusory. His vicious sword intent also stalled. Even his speed was slowed for half a second.

    A weird light encased the surroundings. It was a magical light that alternated between blue, purple and gold. An intense aura of light exuded from it, mixed with several strange undtions of soul power.

    A huge light projection appeared behind Wang Dong. Theplete, charming, and resplendent, Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    The illusory projection of a huge vertical eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao. This vertical eye waspletely bright gold, but emitted a dim sh of purple.

    In the air, these two projections seemed to fuse together. The projection of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes darkened, and eventually turned bluish-purple as the gold faded.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess started tobust as she got closer to the Spirit Eyes. She burned with a bluish-gold me.

    Eventually, the fusionpleted, it seemed extremely long, yet it was fast. The projections of their martial souls finally fused above Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    Now Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s fused Haodong Power erupted. Thebusting Radiant Butterfly Goddess pped her dazzling wings and hugged the Spirit Eyes¡¯ projection. Her projection disappeared, while the bluish-purple Spirit Eyes shone ridiculously bright.

    The dazzling, bluish-gold light me shone brightly above the Spirit Eyes¡¯ projection. It suddenly fell from the air and protected Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    The huge Spirit Eyes appeared very deep. On a closer look, it seemed to contain a boundless world. At this moment, a beam of light that was abination of blue, purple, and gold shot out.

    It shot straight, and everything that crossed its path became nothingness. That instant of brightness seemed tost an eternity. The tri-colored beam of light left a blurred trail behind as it shot forward.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s sword contained a forward-moving, indestructible sword intent. That was why his attack would never change, even if his sword left his hand.

    Huo Yuhao was too familiar with him. Along with the unparalleled detection capabilities of his Spiritual Detection, that bright light extended more than five meters in width and hundred meters in length. It extended all the way until it hit the walls of the academy.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s figure was swallowed by the tri-colored light. His forward-moving momentum didn¡¯t change, but his sword intent was destroyed.

    The light dispersed, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong re-appeared in Jing Ziyan¡¯s view again. But, with Jing Ziyan bbergasted, she forgot to unleash her next attack even though the Domain of Perpetual Ice had disappeared.

    She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. What did I just see? A blue, purple and gold beam of light that was five meters wide, three meters tall and a hundred meters long? My god! What soul skill is this? Even a seven or eight-ringed soul master could only match that power after they unleashed their Martial Soul True Body!

    She was even more shocked that the tri-colored light left a gully that was almost five meters wide, shining with a bright-golden color.

    A patch of gold had also formed on the wall of the academy. Furthermore, the wall, built with stainless steel, was melting at rming speeds. A wide opening was revealed as a result of that. The golden fluid that was formed after the wall melted was also very strange.

    Ji Juechen stopped less than five meters away from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He was still holding his sword, as if he wanted to strike. However, his sword looked a little out of shape. A strange glow was subtly revealed on its surface.

    ¡°What soul skill is this? No, it should be a martial fusion soul skill!¡± Jing Ziyan eximed. She hadpletely forgotten that it was a two-on-two fight.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked. Ji Juechen was even more shocked than her. He felt that the streak of light was ten times the size of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent. The terrifying spiritual shock caused his sword intent to copse. In addition, there was even the intense aura of light from it. He felt as if his sword had gone soft, almost as if the extremely tough Extraterrestrial Meteoric Steel was cotton now. His soul power fell by almost half, and he was stuck in some kind of spiritual confusion. His thoughts were paralyzed, he couldn¡¯t move.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong¡¯s hand, and they smiled as they looked at each other. They said simultaneously, ¡°A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.¡±

    Jing Ziyan muttered repeatedly, ¡°Golden Road, damned Golden Road.¡±

    After being immobilized for three seconds, Ji Juechen¡¯s body shook a little, and he finally regained his ability to move. However, there was still ayer of gold on his body. When he moved, his clothing looked like it was about to melt off.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t remain behind, he shook his body and vanished. Theyer of gold evaporated, and only his voice was left echoing in the air.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯ll never be done with you in my entire life.¡±

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s shock slowly disappeared. She scratched her head in a very manly manner and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re a treasure that keeps giving! I¡¯m honored to have you as a target to chase. Juechen¡¯s right. We¡¯ll never be done with you in our entire lives.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°This exchange will be ending a few months after the holidays are over, and I¡¯ll return to Shrek. Follow me to Shrek if you can. There are many people over there you can pester if you want.¡±

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s eyes brightened, and she said, ¡°Right, that¡¯s a great idea. In fact, I¡¯m getting more and more interested in Shrek Academy after knowing you. No, I must seek approval from the Hallmaster to be in the next batch of exchange students right away.¡± As she spoke, she turned and ran off while Huo Yuhao watched her in shock. She disappeared very quickly.

    Huo Yuhao almost cursed, ¡°Those rascals, surely they won¡¯t actually follow us back to Shrek?¡±

    Wang Dong nced at Huo Yuhao and smiled. ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on? You didn¡¯t seem like enemies.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°They¡¯re fanatics. They¡¯re always pestering me to spar with them. Today¡¯s another of my ¡®lucky¡¯ days¡­ Second brother, you¡¯ve given me a huge surprise!¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao suddenly turned around and hugged Wang Dong tightly once again.

    ¡°My brother, I¡¯m delighted to see you again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s direct and emotional words caused Wang Dong to tear up slightly. He hugged him back and muttered, ¡°Me too.¡±

    He Caitou stood there and was a little annoyed as he said, ¡°The two of you can continue being intimate, I guess. I¡¯ll return first. We¡¯ll eat togetherter. I¡¯ll inform Teacher Fan Yu for now.¡±

    In fact, Wang Dong was barred from entering the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy when he came by this morning. He said that he was from Shrek and asked someone to help look for the exchange students. He had managed to locate He Caitou, who easily recognized him. He Caitou was surprised, and decided to give Huo Yuhao a surprise as well.

    It was only now that the guards standing at the academy¡¯s gates walked over. There were four of them. Their leader was brief as he said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Student Huo, you¡¯ve breached the school rules today! Come with us to make a statement.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rxed his hug with Wang Dong. But, before he even said anything, he was interrupted by Wang Dong. ¡°Why don¡¯t you chase after the other two? Why¡¯re you finding fault with us? Do you think we¡¯re easy targets for bullying just because we¡¯re from Shrek? We can make a statement if you want. However, you¡¯ll need to fight us first!¡±

    While he was very gentle when he was with Huo Yuhao, he was actually still very arrogant, just like when he had first met Huo Yuhao. He was extremely displeased, as his reunion with Huo Yuhao was being disrupted.

    The guards were a little annoyed. ¡°We won¡¯t fight. We¡¯re not sandbags. Don¡¯t put us in a spot. Student Huo, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re not giving you face. However, the damages are too obvious. If the academy asks, we can¡¯t ount for them!¡± As he spoke, he pointed to the results of the Golden Road.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person. In addition, why would he be calctive against these guards? He was apologetic as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll pay for the repairs needed for the walls and road.¡±

    ¡°However, it¡¯s not exactly my fault. Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan provoked us first. You have seen everything. They were the ones chasing me. Please tell the truth when you report this to the academy. I¡¯ll record a statement to help out.¡±

    The guards were relieved with Huo Yuhao¡¯s cooperation. They got a better impression of him from that.

    As guards of the academy, they naturally possessed some strength of their own. They at least had the required level of cultivation. But it was their first time seeing something as dazzling as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s martial fusion soul skill. They respected the two of them more because of that.

    Within a few minutes, the statement was done. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that the guards made a lot of stuff up to push the problems onto Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong werepletely absolved of me. They weren¡¯t really all that loyal to the academy. One of them was impressed by Huo Yuhao, while another approved of him because Huo Yuhao had demonstrated his respect towards them by willingly recording a statement. They even made an exception, and allowed Huo Yuhao to bring Wang Dong into the academy.

    Wang Dong caught too much attention. If it were anyone else standing beside him, they would bepletely overshadowed. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t overshadowed by Wang Dong. Even though his looks were inferior to Wang Dong¡¯s, his aura wasn¡¯t. To the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students, his mature and elegant aura demonstrated his strength.

    Fortunately, the academy was on a short break, and thus there were very few students left in the academy. Otherwise, Wang Dong would have attracted far more attention.

    As Huo Yuhao walked, he sized up Wang Dong.

    Wang Dong nced at him and said, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoplimented, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten more handsome after two years. I feel so embarrassed standing beside you! Didn¡¯t you see? There were a few female students looking this way just now. Their eyes couldn¡¯t leave you.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled and said, ¡°This is called natural beauty. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t despise you for having boorish looks.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s for describing women. However, I think it should be fine for you to impersonate one if you put on some makeup! Now that your hair is so long, you do seem more feminine.¡±

 Chapter 187: I Trust Youve Been Well Since Weve Last Met, and Love at First Sight

    Wang Dong¡¯s voice sounded a little strange as he asked, ¡°Do you think my hair looks better longer or shorter?¡±

    ¡°Of course it looks better longer.¡± Huo Yuohao blurted almost instantaneously. When Wang Dong asked that question, Huo Yuhao recalled the time when they had unleashed the Raiment of Light together. The flowing long hair that resembled tidal waves gave Huo Yuhao an overly strong impression.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯sckadaisical eyes and asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. He sighed and said, ¡°I was thinking about the fourth martial soul fusion skill that we used during thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, our Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light. Do you still remember? Do you remember the shadows that we projected? How nice would it have been if you were a girl! You would have been stunning. I feel like you were the blueprint for the figures that we conjured, except I have no clue why you became a female.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face blushed faintly, and he said with a bashful voice, ¡°So what if I was a girl? What does that have to do with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still reminiscing on the enchanting scene that was still vivid in his memory. He didn¡¯t pay attention to the change in Wang Dong¡¯s voice as he chuckled, ¡°Of course it has something to do with me! The pavilion closest to the water enjoys the first moonlight. It¡¯s better that I benefit from this, and not outsiders.¡±

    Wang Dongughed and said, ¡°If you really think that way, I¡¯ll introduce my sister to you after we finish this exchange program. She looks just like me, and she looks very simr to my projection during our Raiment of Light!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! You¡¯re such a good bro.¡± He hugged Wang Dong across the shoulder as he spoke, and passionate warmth flowed uncontrobly from his eyes.

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were so big on physical appearance as well. Is it that important for someone to be good-looking?¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and snapped back, ¡°Those that ask that question are either extremely good-looking or terribly ugly. Those whock good looks alsock self-confidence, and maybe theyck the bravery to try. And those like you are just arrogant.¡±

    ¡°Physical appearance is the first thing people notice when they first meet each other. How many people can get to know each other? That level of interaction requires time. Physical appearance is a way of choosing who to interact with ¨C of course, looks aren¡¯t absolute, but every person knows what he or she wants. This is probably why ¡®love at first sight¡¯ exists.¡±

    Wang Dong nced at him and said, ¡°Your theory is very persuasive. It seems like you¡¯ve been getting your fill of girls inside the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy ¨C with abilities like yours, I¡¯m sure many girls have a crush on you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± Huo Yuhao ced his index finger on his mouth. They were back at the dormitory, and Huo Yuhao opened the door before he dragged Wang Dong inside.

    ¡°You really do!¡± Wang Dong said, amused.

    Huo Yuhao closed the door, pulled over a chair and pressed Wang Dong down into it. ¡°Sit down. I know you are a clean freak, and I stay here alone, so it¡¯s a little messy ¨C I¡¯m going to clean up.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Am I really that particr?¡± Wang Dong chuckled.

    Huo Yuhao gave a serious nod in his direction, but he couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud as he said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Wang Dong was furious. ¡°Then go ahead and clean up by yourself. Can¡¯t believe I was going to help you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s alright. I can do it myself.¡± He went to work as he spoke.

    He was the only one living here, just like he had said. He was also an exchange student, so teachers didn¡¯te to inspect the cleanliness of his dorm room. There wasn¡¯t much clothing and whatnot in the room, but it was strewn with all sorts of materials for forging soul tools, to the point where there wasn¡¯t much space to walk.

    He was concerned about Wang Dong¡¯s religious preference for cleanliness, so he hurriedly packed up his room. Thankfully, storage-type soul tools existed in this world, so cleaning up wasn¡¯t that difficult.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°I can tell from the situation of your dorm room that you have been rather hardworking over these past two years. Your spiritual power is also much more powerful, and even your soul power contains tinges of spiritual power.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same for you? I can feel that you¡¯ve reached the threshold.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong nodded his head faintly, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about all that. You haven¡¯t answered my question when we were still outside. We haven¡¯t met for two years ¨C do you really have something going on with the girls here? And do you still want me to introduce you to my sister?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°Something did happen, but it¡¯s not what you think.¡±

    He continued talking as he cleaned up his room. ¡°I was assigned to aboratory when I first arrived, and several students were also part of it. I had a senior, and her name was Ju Zi.¡±

    When he brought up her name, the deepest recesses of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit quivered involuntarily. Even though he was well-aware that the two of them were like two parallel lines, he couldn¡¯t deny that the young girl that that nted her first kiss on his cheek left quite an impression in his memory.

    ¡°Ju Zi?¡± Wang Dong softly repeated her name as he watched the subtle changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The two of them had been apart for more than two years, but he knew Huo Yuhao too well. He could tell from Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice that this girl had left a deep mark in his heart. Wang Dong hismelf wasn¡¯t like the proud youth that he was two years ago, and had be much more mature. He didn¡¯t interrupt, but quietly listened to Huo Yuhao because he could feel that even though two years had passed, time hadn¡¯t ced a wedge in his rtionship with Huo Yuhao. Otherwise, why would Huo Yuhao confide in him just like that?

    ¡°Yes, her name was Ju Zi. She was very pretty, and herplexion was stunning. That was the first impression that she gave me. However, she was just so mysterious, and even now, I don¡¯t even know where she¡¯s gone, or what secrets she had.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°She said that she was leaving, and she wanted to give me a present for our transient acquaintance.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotional voice paused momentarily. Wang Dong was listening intently, and the bottom of his eyes started bing moist. ¡°This girl was so pitiable. No wonder you have such chemistry with her ¨C there are many simrities in your backgrounds and experiences. What present did she leave for you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao whispered, ¡°She kissed my cheek. She said that was the first kiss that she had given, but she said she couldn¡¯t kiss my lips without my permission. She said she hoped that I would leave my first kiss for the girl of my dreams.¡±

    Wang Dong trembled, and a strange light pulsed from his eyes.

    ¡°She was so nice to you! Always thinking about you. Since you were clearheaded back then, why didn¡¯t you consider getting together with her? I think age isn¡¯t a problem for us soul masters at all. She¡¯s so kind, and so pitiful ¨C did you not feel anything for her, not even a little bit?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and stared at the ground. His brief acquaintance with Ju Zi was long gone, but he could vividly remember every detail.

    ¡°I thought I would be moved as well. In fact, I did feel something for her ¨C but I realized that all I felt for Ju Zi waspassion and sympathy, and a little bit of pity. I want to thank her, because she helped me understand what a romantic rtionship means. Wang Dong¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Dong responded, confused. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared into his eyes and said, ¡°I want to say something, but you cannotugh at me.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°When we used the Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light for the first time, the projection that we conjured was heavily imprinted into my mind. Ju Zi moved me, so I finally understood what I felt inside. It may sound a little ridiculous, but I¡¯m afraid I fell in love, at first sight, with the projection that we created.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes flowed with his memories. ¡°When Ju Zi kissed me that day, I was truly touched, and I thought I was beginning to feel something for her. However, just when I wanted to ask her to stay, the projection from the Raiment of Light surfaced in my mind. I knew then that the projection had been upying my heart this whole time, even though she was only a virtual entity. However, she dominated the space in my heart that was reserved for love, and I can no longer amodate anything else. It was Ju Zi who helped me reconcile the feelings in my heart. Even if our lives hadn¡¯t been two parallel lines, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to ept her.¡±

    Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao in shock, and he seemed to phase out a little.

    Huo Yuhao recovered and said with a smile on his face, ¡°You¡¯re a true brother, you didn¡¯tugh at me. Now that I think about it, it does sound a little incredulous. Sometimes, rationality and the human heart cannot be controlled. So, if you have a sister that looks just like our projection, I may indeed feel something for her! Of course, that¡¯s assuming she can ept me, and I can like her as well. How about you? Have you been getting any action at Shrek? I remember that Xiao Hongchen¡¯s sister, oh, Meng Hongchen, crushed on you at some point!¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t open his mouth. He shook his head lightly, stood up, walked toward the dorm room¡¯s window and opened it.

    Fresh air immediately billowed into the room, and the dense and poignant smell of metal dissipated.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, are you alright?¡± Huo Yuhao hurried came next to him. He had a feeling that something wasn¡¯t right with Wang Dong¡¯s emotions when he finished recounting his story with Ju Zi.

    Wang Dong stared out the window, and a warm smile appeared on his face. ¡°Your feeling is right, I have reached the bottleneck at Rank 60. However, I need a suitable soul ring. You¡¯re my best buddy ¨C I am here to visit you, and I am also here to ask you to follow me back home for a little while, because suitable soul beasts for me only exist near my home. You can keep mepany, so let¡¯s go together. You can return before the end of your school holidays, and we can meet again back at Shrek three monthster. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. ¡°You mean, you want me to follow you back home? To find a soul ring?¡±

    Wang Dong spun around and stared at him with his big, powdery blue eyes. ¡°Can you do that for me? We haven¡¯t seen each other for so long, and I don¡¯t want to part with you just like that. If I leave just like that, it will be another few months before we meet again. Furthermore, there will probably be more things and tasks waiting for you when you return to Shrek.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Huo Yuhao agreed without hesitation.

    Wang Dong smiled. This smile actually dazzled and stunned Huo Yuhao ¨C it could be because Wang Dong had let his hair grow long, but in that moment, Huo Yuhao felt like the young girl projected during their first Raiment of Light had appeared before his eyes once again.

    ¡°You¡¯re so crazy about cultivation. I¡¯m honored to have someone like you apany me!¡± Wang Dong giggled as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°They aren¡¯t mutually exclusive. Do you actually think my cultivation speed will slow down when we are together? I understand a lot more about the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, and I can take this chance and time to tell you all about it.¡±

    The smile on Wang Dong¡¯s face turned into a look of resentment. ¡°Enough about that. Is there anything else on your mind besides cultivation? My sister may not like you if you keep on like this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oh yes, will I be able to see your sister if I follow you back home?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head. ¡°No, you won¡¯t. My sister is travelling outside. You¡¯ll have to wait until we return to Shrek; you may get a chance then. My sister says she wants to try for Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard in the next academic year.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oh. We¡¯ll meet when the timees, then.¡±

    Wang Dong shot him a look and said, ¡°You don¡¯t seem so eager.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, ¡°What¡¯s the point of being eager? What makes you think that my appearance will definitely attract your sister? Furthermore, your sister doesn¡¯t have the camaraderie and affinity that we share. We¡¯ll see where destiny leads us.¡±

    Wang Dong continued pursuing the issue. ¡°Does that mean that if my sister looks like our projection from the Raiment of Light, and she has camaraderie and affinity with you, you will be moved?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Of course. Alright, let¡¯s not talk about these frivolous things. How have things been in the academy over these two years?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Everything¡¯s normal. The Soul Tool Department is developing rapidly, and the Soul Engineering Institution is almostplete. Students from the Soul Tool Department have begun going through individual assessments sincest year ¨C their assessments regarding martial souls are a lot easier than those of the Martial Soul Department, while they are more focused on understanding of soul tools. Oh, the materials regarding soul tools that you sent back to the academy have been impactful, except I haven¡¯t seen the Soul Tool Department create any simr soul tools yet. Dean Yan keeps saying that the Soul Tool Department has been eating too much of the budget over these past two years.¡±

    ¡°The Tang Sect has been officially established! However, eldest senior brother and third senior brother are the only ones who have been working at it. Oh, both of them broke through Rank 60, and fourth senior sister and fifth senior sister are a few ranks away, but I don¡¯t think they can break through before thepetition. How about you? I can feel that your improvement in soul power isn¡¯t that big.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°My spiritual power has improved quite a bit, but my soul power improvements have paled inparison. However, I know how to boost it when we return to the academy. You have been improving exponentially! You actually caught up with the others, and have surpassed even fourth senior sister and fifth senior sister.¡±

    Wang Dongughed and said, ¡°Our twin martial souls have an advantageter on in the cultivation process. I have been cultivating with you the whole time before this, and our Haodong power isn¡¯t something that normal soul masters possess.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°How much has the Tang Sect developed at this point?¡± He was extremely concerned about the Tang Sect. This sentiment didn¡¯t arise just because he practiced the Tang Sect Secret Techniques ¨C it was also because Bei Bei and Xiao Ya took him to Shrek Academy so that he could join the Tang Sect. It could be said that his entire life had changed ever since that moment, and both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect were very important to him, while he could even be leaning towards the Tang Sect.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°The framework has been established. We have enough space, but weck the manpower. The people that you sent back have been pretty handy ¨C eldest senior brother remarked that they are powerful and extremely hardworking, especially the girl called Na Na. Both eldest senior brother and third senior brother like her a lot! What¡¯s your rtionship with this girl anyway?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop your weirdness. Na Na has also had a tough life, and if she can remain at the Tang Sect like she is now, then it will be a pretty good home for her.¡± He briefly exined how he had met Na Na and the entire process to Wang Dong, and Wang Dong listened while he furrowed his eyebrows continuously.

    ¡°So, the information regarding the Holy Ghost Church came to us because of her. I¡¯ve participated in the Guardians¡¯ operations several times over the years, but I never once saw a trace of that Holy Ghost Church. They have been hiding themselves too well ¨C furthermore, if they don¡¯tmit a crime, it¡¯s hard us for us to track them down.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°The fox will always reveal its tail. Let¡¯s continue discussing Tang Sect.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Once the framework was established, eldest senior brother gathered us around for a discussion. We had a consensus that the Tang Sect¡¯s development would have to start from our finances and resources. No sect would be able to expand and develop without enough money and a source of ie. Furthermore, we are just starting out, and our foundations are still thin. We will have to use soul tools to support our finances ¨C the blueprints that you sent back to eldest senior brother are under development after eldest senior brother discussed the matter with the Soul Tool Department¡¯s two Deans. The first batch received extremely high praise after it was released, especially the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon ¨C we received our first purchase order, and we¡¯re to manufacture forty Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and set them up within Shrek City.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon is based on our Tang Sect¡¯s Zhuge Divine Crossbow, except I added some soul tool principles into the formation arrays. It¡¯s pros are that it¡¯s powerful and easy to control, while it can coverrge areas. However, it¡¯s weaknesses are equally conspicuous ¨C the cannon shells are extremely expensive to make. We will have to use stationary soul cannon shells so that we can achieve the goal of allowing normal citizens to operate the soul tool. Highly explosive shells are the preferred choice. This isn¡¯t a small investment!¡±

    Wang Dong said proudly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about all that. Firstly, the academy won¡¯t throw themselves into war. Secondly, Shrek has many centuries of foundations, and can be considered incredibly wealthy. This bit of money won¡¯t be a problem. Eldest senior brother treasures the blueprints that you sent back ¨C he separated the manufacturing process into several parts, before he took everything back and assembled it himself. He¡¯s extremely careful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°He is indeed meticulous. The Tang Sect will definitely grow exponentially more powerful with his leadership.¡±

    Wang Dong heaved a sigh and said, ¡°But he isn¡¯t happy at all. The smile on his face has disappeared ever since teacher Xiao Ya vanished, and he has be a lot skinnier. He¡¯s almost twenty, but he looks a lot older than he actually is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rubbed the corners of his eyes and said, ¡°That¡¯s a big problem, indeed. Teacher Xiao Ya has been gone for so long, yet we have had no news of her whatsoever. Something must have happened to her ¨C if not, she would have returned to find us.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face changed a little and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that in front of him. Third senior brother mentioned that before and told him to keep an open mind, and that if it just can¡¯t work out he can find another person. Eldest senior brother¡¯s temperament is so gentle, yet he almost fell out with third senior brother ¨C they are best buddies!¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s help him search for her once we return. I know hopes are slim, but we still have to try our best. Where exactly are you, teacher Xiao Ya! You have to be alive. If not¡­¡±

    They had spent two years away from each other, and there were just too many things to talk about. They discussed the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, and their topic eventually changed to their own cultivation. The sky turned gray as they continued chatting away.

    A knock on the door interrupted their conversation ¨C it was He Caitou and Fan Yu.

    They were enjoying their school holidays, and the exchange students from Shrek didn¡¯t create much trouble or disturbance over the past two years, so the teachers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy weren¡¯t that strict with them anymore. The four of them left the academy that night, found a nice restaurant and ate a delicious meal.

    Huo Yuhao asked Fan Yu for permission to let him and Wang Dong train in the outside world for a little while.

    He initially thought Fan Yu wouldn¡¯t agree so easily, or he would perhaps reduce the time they were allowed to spend outside. He didn¡¯t expect Fan Yu to agree to his request without hesitation, and Fan Yu even told him that he didn¡¯t have to be too worried abouting back on time. The exchange program was reaching its end anyway, and Huo Yuhao was due to return to Shrek in another three months after the holidays. However, he still had toe back so that he could officiallyplete the exchange program and finish the necessary paperwork.

    Fan Yu had always doted on Huo Yuhao. Teachers would typically be worried about their students¡¯ck of effort, but their rtionship was theplete opposite; Fan Yu thought that this student of his was just too hardworking. Over the past two years inside the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Huo Yuhao had sent back several thousand soul tool blueprints ¨C that was without discussing the other things he had done. It could be said that Huo Yuhao had produced every soul tool they could recognize and had seen before on his blueprints.

    Even though that didn¡¯t include the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s treasured and exotic soul tools, Huo Yuhao¡¯s contributions were enough to advance Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department¡¯s research by at least a hundred years.

    Elder Xuan had mentioned before in one of his reply letters that Huo Yuhao was already considered a true hero within Shrek, and nobody could rival his contributions to the academy. He had proposed to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion that Huo Yuhao be given a seat on the council, and that motion had subsequently passed. Even though he wasn¡¯t back at the academy yet, Huo Yuhao was already a part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He was equal to Fan Yu, who was the Soul Tool Department¡¯s vice-Dean, in terms of status within the academy ¨C he was perhaps even higher.

    Fan Yu was a ss 8 soul engineer, and he naturally understood how difficult it was to design formation arrays and create blueprints, even though Huo Yuhao had a spiritual-type martial soul, and thus enjoyed a considerable advantage. However, he could only design and innovate, at night as he had to forge soul tools and conduct research in the day. It could be said that it was considered fortunate if Huo Yuhao could enjoy four to six hours of rest every day, and those hours were spent in meditation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power didn¡¯t improve much over the past two years. Fan Yu knew him too well, and he could sense that Huo Yuhao was drastically different, to the point where even Fan Yu felt a little confused and dumbfounded when Huo Yuhao talked about some principles and concepts regarding soul tools. Xuan Ziwen once said that Huo Yuhao would be a ss 7 soul engineer if he had enough soul power.

    How would Jing Hongchen of the Illustrious Virtue Hall feel, if he had known that this exchange program brought him so much trouble?

    This was the very reason why Fan Yu agreed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s request to travel outside with Wang Dong without hesitation. His only wish was for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to rx a little bit, so that his tightened nerves over these few years could also rx a little. Huo Yuhao had entered Shrek Academy when he was eleven, and now he was seventeen, but Huo Yuhao had aplished feats of research and study that normal individuals couldn¡¯t do in twenty years. Not only was Huo Yuhao a genius, but he was also a hardworking student who possessed unwavering determination and fighting spirit.

    Dinner ended in this jovial atmosphere. The sky was already dark by the time they walked out of the restaurant.

    Fan Yu asked, ¡°Have you found a ce to stay, Wang Dong?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°No. I came to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as soon as I reached Radiant City.¡±

    Fan Yu frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯ste, so I don¡¯t think the academy will allow you inside. It won¡¯t be easy to find a ce to stay now.¡±

    He Caitou chuckled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, teacher. With little junior around, the guards will never detect him. Let Wang Dong stay with him overnight.¡±

    Fan Yu was stunned momentarily. His main focus was soul tool research, so he was more familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s mastery with soul tools.

    Huo Yuhaoughed along and nced at Wang Dong. ¡°My Imitation has improved a lot. Take a look, teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even release his martial soul, but the air beside him contorted subtly as he spoke ¨C and Wang Dong vanished into thin air.

    Fan Yu was astonished. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s your Imitation? How did you make him disappear?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t make him vanish into thin air, I simply transformed him into my shadow. Simply put, I used spiritual power to tweak the refraction of light so that people can¡¯t see him. However, the effective range is limited, and he can¡¯t be touched, because he will be discovered otherwise.¡±

    Fan Yu said, ¡°That¡¯s incredible enough. It¡¯s like the art of stealth!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Maybe not, because his aura is still there. An adversary that¡¯s powerful enough can detect Wang Dong¡¯s existence just by perceiving his surroundings ¨C however, this is definitely enough to deceive the guards.¡±

    The four of them returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and Wang Dong wentpletely undetected. They returned to the dorm, and Huo Yuhao withdrew his soul skill.

    They closed the door, but the excitement on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was still there. Today could be considered his happiest day over the past two years, and he threw his soul tool research that he toiled over from day to day to the back of his mind.

    ¡°Wang Dong, do you feel like we have returned to the days inside our dormitory at Shrek Academy?¡±

    Wang Dong turned back towards him. The sky waspletely dark at this point, and Huo Yuhao only switched on a single light on the wall, so the room was a little dimly lit. Two pairs of eyes stared at each other, but Wang Dong seemed to be subtly avoiding his gaze for some reason.

    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, we should sleep soon. We will leave early in the morning tomorrow ¨C my home is quite far away.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°You can bathe first. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to sleep on the same bed as me tonight.¡±

    Wang Dong glowered, ¡°In your dreams, nobody¡¯s going to sleep on the same bed as you tonight. You¡¯re sleeping on the floor and I¡¯m sleeping on the bed. Do you even know how to treat your guests?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, you. I wonder who was it that bawled and cried when I left back then, and insisted that we sleep on the same bed that night? What, have you forgotten over the past two years?¡±

    Wang Dong blushed and said, ¡°Nonsense! Nobody was bawling or crying. Move over, I want to sleep alone anyway. We are grown up, what would people say if they saw two grown men sleeping on the same bed?¡± He dashed into the bathroom to bathe as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao mumbled under his breath exasperatedly, ¡°Has his mysophobia gotten worse?¡± Still, he was truly ted that Wang Dong hade to visit him today, so he would amodate him no matter what requests he had. He didn¡¯tck nkets and mattresses, and he pulled one from his storage-type soul tool that they typically used when travelling outside and spread it out next to the bed. He arranged his own bed, changed the bedsheets, the pillowcase, and the quilt, and made everything clean and smooth.

    Wang Dong took a long time in the shower. He was dirty and unkempt from his long journey here, and Huo Yuhao also knew that he was a clean freak. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry, so hey down on the mattress on the floor, but he suddenly thought of something when he leaned back.

    Why did they have to sleep? It had been a long time since they¡¯dst met. Wasn¡¯t it a good idea for them to cultivate with the Haodong power at night?

    Wang Dong finished bathing at this moment. He was holding a blue towel in his hands that he had clearly brought himself while he used it to dry his damp blue hair.

    ¡°Eh, you are so quick!¡± Wang Dong exuded a clean and crisp smell after changing into clean clothes as he sauntered over next to the bed. His pajamas were loose and rxed, and everything just seemed sofortable.

    Huo Yuhao was still lying down on the ground as he said, ¡°I regretted it immediately after making the bed for you. Why do we have to sleep? We should be cultivating with the Haodong power. Your soul power has reached the Rank 60 bottleneck, and you¡¯re much stronger than I am. You should guide me in cultivation, and I think my cultivation speed will increase greatly.¡±

    Wang Dong slid down from the edge of the bed and sat down beside Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao subconsciously turned around and said, ¡°You should sit on top. This is a mattress I typically use when I¡¯m travelling outside, so it isn¡¯t that clean. I changed everything on the bed, and I set them out in the sun a few days ago.¡±

    He finished talking, but he realized that there was something wrong with Wang Dong¡¯s eyes, so he asked subconsciously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Wang Dong raised his hand and rubbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. ¡°Promise me that we won¡¯t cultivate tonight, and we¡¯ll get a good night¡¯s worth of sleep. Aren¡¯t you happy that I¡¯m here? I hope you can carry this excitement into your sleep, and I¡¯m too exhausted as well. There are two people who I know that look much older than their actual age ¨C one is Bei Bei, who lost teacher Xiao Ya, and then there¡¯s you. You have been exhausting and exerting yourself too much, and it¡¯s not good if you don¡¯t give yourself time to rest. There is no limit for soul power cultivation and soul tool research, and you will copse sooner orter if you don¡¯t give yourself enough rest and rxation. This is also a reason why I came to find you, and why I asked you to apany me home ¨C I hope that you can take a break. Who knows, that might even be beneficial for your cultivation.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s hand was extremely warm as he ced it on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and it feltfortable for Huo Yuhao. More importantly, Huo Yuhao could feel the deep-seated concern and worry in Wang Dong¡¯s words.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you and we won¡¯t cultivate today. We¡¯ll get a good night¡¯s rest ¨C I¡¯m going to bathe.¡± Huo Yuhao leapt to his feet as he spoke and strode into the bathroom.

    Huo Yuhao leaned against the wall once he shut the door, and tears poured forth uncontrobly as he forcibly suppressed himself so that he didn¡¯t bawl out loud.

    Yes! Only he knew the immense pressure that he carried on his shoulders. He had entered a half-crazed state ever since Elder Mu had died, and had put too much pressure on himself. He seemed no different from anybody else on typical days, but the pressure that he felt was just so tiring and exhausting.

    Wang Dong¡¯s arrival and his words of constion finally released the tension in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. The tightly-wound knot inside Huo Yuhao was finally melted and softened by the warmth of kinship and love.

    Even men cried, but they repressed their emotions deep within their heart when there was a heavy burden on their shoulders because they didn¡¯t want others to see their weakness. Huo Yuhao was still a youth, he wasn¡¯t truly a grown man yet. However, he was precocious and had matured a lot quicker than normal people did.

    He bawled for a moment longer before he stepped under the shower and took off his clothes. He let the warm water rinse and course over his body, as both his physical and mental fatigue seemed to dampen and dissolve as the warm water trickled down.

 Chapter 188: How Could It Be Her?

    Wang Dong was already stretched out on the bed. The dry and cool smell from the nket being basked in the sun helped him rx. He took a deep breath, and he felt as if he could smell a scent that belonged uniquely to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Silly boy. We aren¡¯t that young anymore, I will definitely help you rx. However, do you know what it means for me to take you back home?¡± he muttered under his breath, and couldn¡¯t help but blush. Fortunately, the sky was dark and helped him cover up, so it wasn¡¯t so obvious.

    Huo Yuhao took a little longer than Wang Dong in the shower. When he came out from the bathroom with a clean body and mind, he realized that Wang Dong had already fallen asleep. He¡¯s sleeping so soundly. He must have been tired after journeying for the entire day.

    He pulled up Wang Dong¡¯s nket gently andid back on his own mattress. He ced his hands behind his head, and suddenly realized that quietly listening to Wang Dong¡¯s rhythmic breathing was actually very rxing.

    He recalled something that Xuan Ziwen had remarked about him some time ago: ¡°Daydreaming must be the most luxurious thing for you on normal days, eh?¡±

    Yes! Daydreaming was a form of luxury for him. If not for Wang Dong¡¯s arrival, how could he just beying here and listening to Wang Dong¡¯s breathing? Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen in love with this peace and tranquility.

    He unknowingly drifted into dreand while he counted Wang Dong¡¯s breaths. The corner of his mouth was curled upwards, and there was a faint smile on his face from beginning to end.

    One was sleeping on the bed, while the other was sleeping on the floor. These two youths had the same calm and bnced breathing, and all this became the night¡¯s rhythm.

    Huo Yuhao was still fast asleep when he suddenly felt something press down on his back. He shifted subconsciously, and the pressure on his back moved along with him.

    He opened his eyes in a daze before he discovered, to his surprise, that sunlight was already flooding the entire room.

    ¡°Eh? What time is it?¡±

    The answer came from the pressure on his back. ¡°The sun is already burning your butt, and you¡¯re asking about the time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still lying on the mattress as he forced out a smile and said, ¡°All I know is that if you continue sitting on my back, my shit is going to be squeezed out.¡±

    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re so disgusting. I wouldn¡¯t sit on others even if they wanted me to.¡± Wang Dong stood up proudly to hide his embarrassment and went into the bathroom to wash up.

    Huo Yuhao reached behind and stroked his back as he muttered under his breath, ¡°His butt is quite big. It didn¡¯t feel so frightening when he sat on me.¡± He leapt off the mattress and suddenly realized that his brain was a little dizzy. He bathed himself in the sunlight that poured in through the window, and his entire body just felt sozy.

    This must be what it feels like to rx.

    He stood up, but he immediately copsed back onto the mattress. His nket wasn¡¯t folded up yet and there was a fragrant and crisp smell emanating from it.

    ¡°Ugh. If only I could sleep like this and wake up naturally every day. Oh, wait, I was woken up by someone sitting on my back.¡± Huo Yuhao mumbled to himself, and he couldn¡¯t help butugh at his own words.

    They bathed in session and ate a meal that wasn¡¯t really breakfast or lunch, before they leisurely sauntered out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Nobody could really stop Huo Yuhao if he wanted to leave. Furthermore, Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t suspect him much ¨C he only walked between theboratory and the dormitory every day, he never strolled around the ce, and he never really asked much of his teachers, either. What was there to doubt and suspect from his orderly behavior?

    The two of them proceeded out into the city once they left the academy. Wang Dong heaved a sigh of admiration as they walked and said, ¡°I have to say the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City is magnificent and wonderfully constructed. This Radiant City is quite unlike any other country I have seen. Soul tools are already pervasive among their citizens!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage, and it¡¯s also because they have many precious minerals. Has eldest senior brother received the rare metals that I sent back?¡±

    Wang Dong nodded. ¡°We have given half to the academy and kept the remaining half for the Tang Sect, ording to your instructions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Oh, yes, I haven¡¯t asked you yet ¨C where exactly is your home? We have known each other for so long, but I have never heard you bring up anything about your home. You only bring up your sister from time to time.¡±

    Wang Dong grinned mysteriously and said, ¡°My home is hidden away in the clouds. You¡¯ll know when you reach it.¡±

    ¡°Hidden away in the clouds?¡± Huo Yuhao repeated, amused. ¡°Are you trying to be mysterious?¡±

    Radiant City was big, but the two of them chatted happily and didn¡¯t really feel the passage of time. They finally left the Radiant City, and Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Dong urged him. He didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    ¡°Wait. Come help me.¡± Huo Yuhao grasped Wang Dong¡¯s slender and tender hands that resembled those of a girl, and connected them through the Haodong power. Wang Dong immediately felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection extending outward.

    His awe made him forget to continue asking questions. He realized, to his surprise, that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could cover a much greater area than before ¨C so much more! He could control his Spiritual Detection to incredible precision at a whim, and he could detect the most minute detail.

    With Wang Dong¡¯s aid, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power could reach more than three thousand meters in a single direction. He gradually turned his head, and his Spirit Eyes scanned the Radiant City like radar. He gradually withdrew his spiritual power only after he confirmed that nothing was amiss.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Dong asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let me help you equip this.¡± He took out a soul tool from his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges while he spoke.

    It was a blue soul tool that was shaped like a fan. It wasn¡¯t that big, and it wouldn¡¯t protrude from either side if attached to one¡¯s back. The metal buckle could control its size, and it stretched from the shoulder and under the armpit to secure the item, while there was even a piece of leather on the area attached to the user¡¯s back.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? A flying-type soul tool?¡± Wang Dong asked in surprise.

    ¡°Yes. I made this just for you ¨C it¡¯s a ss 6 flying-type soul tool, and you can use it right now. I won¡¯t exin the principles to you, because you won¡¯t understand anyway. This item will allow you to change directions smoothly and agilely in the sky, and all you have to do is control the handle attached to the shoulder. When you¡¯re more familiar with it, you can even infuse soul power into it to control it. It flies extremely quickly, and is also very nimble. Even ss 6 soul engineers from the Illustrious Virtue Hall may not be able to achieve this standard.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t resist, and put the soul tool on with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help.

    He infused soul power into the fan-like soul tool, and a pair of folded wings sprang out from both sides. Each wing had three sections, and every section grew from the center and gradually extended outwards. There was a small opening at the end of each wing section¨C this tiny flying-type soul tool actually had a total of six openings.

    Huo Yuhao gave Wang Dong a brief exnation on how to use this soul tool. He had initially thought that Wang Dong was still a Soul King, so he had pieced six small ss 5 soul tools together when was forging this item, so a Soul King would be able to control it. His own soul power wasn¡¯t inferior to that of a Soul King, so he had a simr model for himself, except it was white.

    Wang Dong gave it a simple try, and immediately fell in love with his present. He used his soul power to control it nimbly, and it wasn¡¯t difficult at all to grasp this soul tool¡¯s controls. It didn¡¯t take long before he was extremelyfortable with it.

    Even though his Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings let him fly, it was far slower than this flying-type soul tool, and they weren¡¯t suitable for prolonged flying, either. The flying-type soul tool produced by Shrek¡¯s Soul Tool Department that he had used on his way here was a little heavy and clumsy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s product not only boosted his flying speed, but his model¡¯s agility and ease of control was much, much better. It was definitely the optimal item for travelling long distances.

    ¡°It¡¯s impressive.¡± Wang Dong gave Huo Yuhao a satisfied nod.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I only hope that you don¡¯t reject soul tools like you did before.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s expression changed a little and he said, ¡°Oh, I have to remind you that my family doesn¡¯t really approve of soul tools, so you shouldn¡¯t use them in front of them if you can help it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°So, your dislike for soul tools came from your family. Alright, I¡¯ll remember that.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then. Let me try this new thing¡¯s flying prowess.¡± Wang Dong was still a youth, after all, and he had just obtained an exquisite flying-type soul tool. He was as excited as a little child that had just received a gift, and couldn¡¯t wait to try it out.

    Huo Yuhao stopped him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. I have something else for you.¡± His face grew solemn as he spoke, and he scanned his surroundings subconsciously once more before he reached for something around his waist and produced a tiny ring.

    The ring was entirely silver-white, and there were finely-drawn, simple patterns on its surface.

    Wang Dong stared at the ring, shocked. ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re giving me a ring?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°What are you thinking? It¡¯s not a normal ring, it¡¯s a storage-type soul tool.¡±

    Wang Dong said unbendingly, ¡°It¡¯s still a ring.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little taken back by his stubbornness. ¡°Alright, take out the things inside.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong looked down at the ring, and carefully ced it on his left hand¡¯s middle finger. The ring was a little big, and just when he frowned in response, the ring contracted when he infused soul power to extract the item contained inside. It closed around the base of his finger nicely.

    Wang Dong was shaken by the item in his hands before he had a chance to gape at the soul tool.

    It was an entity that was slightly bigger than his palm, simr to a round breastte. It was ornamented with silver-white decorations around the item, and there was an enormous jewel that resembled the shape of a magnifying ss at the very center.

    This jewel was pale-blue in color, and there were six sparkling lines across its surface. The peculiar hues gave people a dazzling and dizzying feeling, while the riveting radiance was extremely lifelike as sunlight shone upon it, reflecting ayer of blue back on Wang Dong¡¯s face.

    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s so beautiful!¡± Wang Dong¡¯s eyes were filled with pleasant surprise. When he raised his head and looked at Yuhao, his eyes werepletely different ¨C it was a look that made Huo Yuhao feel something weird in his heart.

    ¡°When¡­ when you did you find out?¡± Wang Dong stammered shakily.

    Huo Yuhao was perplexed. ¡°Find out what? Help me keep this item for now. You have to be extremely careful, and you can¡¯t let anyone see it. This is a starlight sapphire, and it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a starlight sapphire this huge. It is also known as a Spatial Jewel, and it¡¯s possibly thergest storage-type soul tool in the world. Don¡¯t ever attempt to take out the item stored inside, and return it to me after we return to Shrek.¡±

    Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao with wide eyes. ¡°Does that mean this thing isn¡¯t for me?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused. ¡°Of course not. The flying-type soul tool is my gift to you.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯s face flushed red, and the look in his eyes suddenly became extremely vicious. ¡°Go and die. You wait¡­¡± With that, he returned the dazzling starlight sapphire to the ring and sprang into the air. He unleashed as much soul power as he could, and transformed into a beam of light as he soared into the sky.

    ¡°Hey! Wait for me! Where¡¯s your humanity? This is the attitude you give me when I just gave you a present?!¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what was happening at all as he surged into the sky in pursuit.

    Wang Dong was actually flying with all his might. Huo Yuhao was still much weaker than Wang Dong in terms of soul power. His dense volume of soul power ensured that he could use his flying-type soul tool for a prolonged period of time, but his explosiveness couldn¡¯tpare to Wang Dong. He could never achieve Wang Dong¡¯s burst of speed when raised to the maximum, and thus he had a really tough time chasing his friend.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding was that they were supposed to fly towards the east and enter the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders. However, Wang Dong wasn¡¯t changing directions at all as he flew straight towards the north. Huo Yuhao had started only one step behind, but Wang Dong had already be a tiny ck dot in front of him.

    Why is he throwing such a tantrum?! Huo Yuhao was exasperated. He would be happy to give any normal item to Wang Dong, but the starlight sapphire contained a tremendous secret! That item was considered top-secret even inside Illustrious Virtue Hall, and could be considered an enormous treasure trove. If he could decrypt and understand it thoroughly, he would be able to learn thousands of years¡¯ worth of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s soul tool techniques and knowledge! He thought it would be safer to let Wang Dong take it back to Shrek than keep it with him, but who knew that Wang Dong would misunderstand him? Wang Dong wasn¡¯t avaricious, so why would he have such a vigorous and exaggerated reaction?

    Wang Dong couldn¡¯t really tell where he was going anymore. He didn¡¯t know why he was so flustered and angry as he continued soaring hysterically through the sky, and neither did he know how long he flew ¨C all he could feel was that things were moving beneath him with blinding speed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying-type soul tool was at least three times faster than Wang Dong¡¯s original one, and the soul power required to operate it was only about twenty percent more. He had no clue how far he had gone after flying for a good two hours.

    He had consumed too much soul power, and it was time to rest. Wang Dong¡¯s emotions had settled down quite a bit after flying so frenziedly, so he slowed down and waited for Huo Yuhao to catch up. He was soaring through the sky, but he kept looking back to ensure that Huo Yuhao was still following him in the distance before he continued on his course ¨C he didn¡¯t want Huo Yuhao to lose track of him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale. He could feel that even though his soul power rivaled a Soul King¡¯s, he was almost depleted. Furthermore, he was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. Wang Dong also had twin martial souls, and so had much more soul power than other soul masters of the same level. Huo Yuhao had already used the milk bottle twice to replenish his soul power during the chase, and he was trying his best. His estimation was that they had flown between four hundred and five hundred kilometers within two hours ¨C if they were flying towards Shrek Academy, they would¡¯ve reached their destination after another four hours.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao caught up to Wang Dong in midair, but his breathing and aura was unbnced, so he couldn¡¯t really talk.

    They had been flying too quickly, so the air resistance billowed against them from the front to the point that they had to use soul power to protect themselves. Wang Dong¡¯s method was simple ¨C he released his martial soul, and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings closed up in front of him, naturally protecting his body. He only had to open up a small crack so that he could see the way forward. Huo Yuhao had to use his protective soul barrier or the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor to continuously fend off the wind resistance.

    His soul power had gradually diminished towards the end, so he had had no choice but to reduce his protective mechanisms for fear of losing Wang Dong. The surging wind blew against him until his face turned ghastly white. He was only able to tell the direction they were going with his Spiritual Detection because he couldn¡¯t open his eyes in the strong winds.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Wang Dong continued watching him, piqued, but his heart was aching.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shuddered in the sky, and his eyes suddenly closed before he plummeted straight down towards the ground.

    Wang Dong was terrified and he screamed, ¡°Yuhao!¡± He plummeted down and released his flying-type soul tool¡¯s maximum capacity. He transformed into a beam of flowing light and immediately caught up with the free-falling Huo Yuhao, hugging him tightly as he felt great regret fill his heart. What am I doing? He only asking me to take care of something, and he even gave me a present. How can I do this to him? His life as an exchange student in the sinister Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy over the past two years has been hard enough. How can I make even more trouble for him ?

    He continued hugging Huo Yuhao, and quickly channeled his remaining soul power into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as they gradually drifted down. It didn¡¯t take long before they both descended to the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me, Yuhao! How are you feeling? It¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s all my fault! I shouldn¡¯t have taken off like that! Nothing can happen to you!¡± Wang Dong could no longer be bothered about where they were, and he could no longer be bothered about his religious preference for cleanliness. He sat down on the ground and let Huo Yuhao rest on his thigh as he continued infusing soul power into him. He was so anxious and worried that his eyes turned red.

    The truth was that he became a little irrational from excessive concern. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s personality, how could he ce himself in such a perilous and dire situation? He did consume a lot of soul power, but it was impossible that he didn¡¯t have enough energy left to drift down to the ground. He wanted to scare Wang Dong and wait for him toe, and then he would flick his head to vent his own frustration.

    However, Huo Yuhao felt an unnatural feeling offort and ease in Wang Dong¡¯s embrace. Wang Dong¡¯s clean and crisp aura, and this unbelievably fortable¡± pillow behind his head meant Huo Yuhao could no longer bear to tease Wang Dong.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I have just consumed too much soul power. Next time, just tell me if you are unhappy about something ¨C don¡¯t do that again!¡± Huo Yuhao forced his eyes open and muttered feebly. ¡°Let me rest for a while. Stop giving me soul power, you should rest too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Wang Dong hurriedly agreed, and his obedient manner was starkly different from how he had behaved earlier.

    Huo Yuhaoughed a little inside as he continued lyingzily on Wang Dong¡¯s thigh. He felt a cathartic tion when he rxed after flying frantically for such a long time. Perhaps he was just too exhausted, but he didn¡¯t feel that resting on Wang Dong¡¯s thigh was inappropriate.

    This resting and daydreaming feeling is so enjoyable! He thought back to Wang Dong¡¯s speech the previous night, and he felt extremely at ease at this moment. His tightly-wound emotions were smoothed and doused once again, and he unwittingly dozed off just like that.

    Wang Dong watched Yuhao¡¯s look of exhaustion and began to feel apologetic as he stroked andbed his hair, which was messy from all that wind, while he began to survey their surroundings.

    They were in a hilly region, and there were small hills high and low all around them. These hills were barren, and it felt like they were in a desert. However, the hills were blocking his view, so he couldn¡¯t see too far away. There was a gigantic mountain not far from them, which had blocked Wang Dong¡¯s view even from the air, and made him decide to stop. He couldn¡¯t just keep flying aimlessly; he didn¡¯t know where he would end up if he kept going.

    The temperature was conspicuously colder than Radiant City. This meant they were near the northern regions, and that also meant they were quite a distance away from their original destination.

    He raised his hand and stared at the silver ring on his left hand. Wang Dong shook his head and smiled faintly ¨C he was picking bones from an egg. Forget it. I¡¯ll return the blue jewel to him, but I¡¯m keeping the ring. He can¡¯t force it out of my hands ¨C hmph!

    ...

    Huo Yuhao was still fast asleep, and Wang Dong was thinking about his own things while they both gradually regained their soul power. Suddenly, the earth seemed to tremble, and faint sounds of thunder could be heard in the distance.

    Wang Dong was momentarily stunned. Was it going to rain? But, how could thunder cause the ground to shake?

    Huo Yuhao was still sleeping soundly when he was jolted awake, and he sprang up, giving Wang Dong a shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    Huo Yuhao ced his index finger on his lips as he began to listen intently. The Ultimate Soldier n¡¯s training enabled him to maintain his vignce under any circumstances, even when he was fast asleep. This wasn¡¯t something that could change easily.

    The rolling thunder apanied by the tremors in the ground appeared once more, it was clearer than the previous instance, and it continued for a longer time.

    ¡°Those are soul cannons.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately stood up and pulled Wang Dong up from the ground. He had recovered some soul power in his deep sleep, and instantly connected with Wang Dong¡¯s soul power, their Haodong power beginning to circte swiftly.

    Their chemistry was just too impressive. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to call it out, but Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone glowed with golden light as all the elements of light swiftly congregated toward him before they were quickly converted into soul power and infused into their Haodong power. Huo Yuhao retrieved two milk bottles that were filled to the brim with soul power, took one for himself, and gave the other to Wang Dong. They replenished their soul power as fast they could.

    No matter what was happening, it was best for them to face it in their optimal state.

    The rolling thunder continued to boom, and the sounds gradually became louder, as if they wereing closer and closer to them.

    Huo Yuhao immediately made a calm but precise judgment. He raised a finger toward a side of the mountain in the distance and said, ¡°The sounds areing from that direction. I can judge from the scale that there are at least fifty soul cannons over ss 4 firing at the same time. However, the booms are shifting constantly, and it is likely that the person using the soul cannons is running for his or her life.¡±

    He looked up at the sky in that direction. A speck of golden light appeared on his forehead before it stretched into a vertical line and gradually opened up ¨C his Eye of Destiny had been activated.

    The Eye of Destiny gazed into the horizon, and Huo Yuhao said with astonishment, ¡°Wow, there are more than ten thousand people¡¯s auras over there.¡±

    Wang Dong nced at him with a strange look and said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re bing more and more like a monster. You can see even that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to at first, but my spiritual power was greatly boosted once again, and my Eye of Destiny evolved. The Eye of Destiny¡¯s second mental sea was seamlessly connected with my body¡¯s spiritual sea, so my spiritual power can move around in between them. I have also further developed the Eye of Destiny¡¯s abilities.¡±

    They had a tacit understanding, and neither party talked about the game of catch they had just yed. The episode was over, and it wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway. Wang Dong corrected his emotions and mentality, and Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the unforgiving kind or the kind to bear grudges.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. No matter who they are, this is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s business. Let them fight amongst themselves.¡± Wang Dong said indifferently.

    The Sun Moon Empire was now part of the Douluo Continent, but the tectonic te collision several thousand years ago still proved that they were outsiders, which led the three empires that originally belonged to the Douluo Continent to reject them. This was also one of the main reasons why the Sun Moon Empire harbored thoughts of invasion.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty ¨C they¡¯re still quite far away. With our speed, they cannot possibly catch up to us. I want to let you feel how mystical and incredible the Eye of Destiny is.¡±

    ¡°Eh? How can I do that?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s curiosity was piqued.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Close your eyes. I will share my Spiritual Detection with you.¡±

    ¡°That far? Isn¡¯t that out of your range? Oh wait, your Eye of Destiny can boost the Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills.¡± Wang Dong finally understood what Huo Yuhao wanted to do. The sounds that wereing from the other side felt like they were only five kilometers away ¨C could he still use Spiritual Detection at that kind of distance?

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hands. They had recovered about sixty percent of their strength through their Haodong power and the milk bottles.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, and the Eye of Destiny on his forehead gradually opened and gazed far beyond the horizon. Ayer of soothing golden radiance emanated from it, which permeated outwards before it slowly condensed into a pale beam of golden light that fired into the distance.

    Spiritual Detection Sharing with everything he had in the Eye of Destiny.

    Huo Yuhao could do it alone, but he was limited by his soul power, and he couldn¡¯t afford to expend a lot of it, and thus he would normally never use this ability so extravagantly. However, he currently had a good partner in Wang Dong beside him, so he wasn¡¯t worried about expending too much soul power, and he was also trying to show off.

    The Eye of Destiny operated continuously.

    Wang Dong felt as if uncountable images surfaced in his mind. These images were flying past with blinding speed, to the point where everything seemed blurry. Their speed gradually eased, and he realized that he could see the clouds and mist in the sky. His perspective was from the sky roughly two hundred meters above the ground, and he could see everything very clearly as he looked down.

    There were throngs of people in the distance. Just as Huo Yuhao had said, there were at least ten thousand pursuing soldiers. His vision became closer, but it became a lot slower, which probably meant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was reaching its limit.

    Wang Dong whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t force it.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged. This was the first time he was using Spiritual Detection at such an incredible distance, and he didn¡¯t expect the effects to be this good. Even though his soul power and spiritual power were being consumed at rming rates, probing at such a far distance made the consumption worth it. Reconnaissance duties were at the top of his responsibilities from his training in the Ultimate Soldier n.

    They could see with a lot more rity as their vision became closer and closer.

    There were two batches of people. There were about a hundred people running in front, and they were extremely quick. All of them had soul tools, but not a single person was using a flying-type soul tool.

    This group¡¯s cultivation levels seemed decent, and Huo Yuhao could tell from the glow of their soul rings that they all had at least three rings. However, the soul tools they were using were more mixed up and uneven. They continued to run while they unleashed their soul tools¡¯ abilities from time to time to fend off their enemies.

    However, the biggest problem that low-level soul engineers faced when using soul tools was the effective range of their attacks. Even soul cannons that didn¡¯t lock on to their targets couldn¡¯t reach over five hundred meters before they became ss 4 soul engineers.

    The army chasing them from behind were neat and orderly. They didn¡¯t advance that quickly, but they extended in two wings that resembled an enormous pincer as they gradually mped down on the group of people in front of them.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong quickly understood why people in the first group didn¡¯t use flying-type soul tools ¨C there were soul engineers amongst the group chasing them, and there were quite a few of them as well.

    There wasn¡¯t much difference in the soul engineers¡¯ standards. However, in a situation like this, the group with the great army reinforcing them had the absolute advantage, and this was especially so as there were more than two thousand cavalry within the army. This made their pursuit much faster and deadlier.

    The soul engineers amidst the pursuing party were meant to assert control. They didn¡¯te to close, and only fired their own attacks from time to time. Both parties had activated their protective soul barriers, and nobody let their guard down. At this point, anybody who used a flying-type soul tool would immediately be the main target.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a war between soul engineers on such a scale.¡± Huo Yuhao was immensely curious, but the escaping party was running right towards them, and maintaining his Spiritual Detection at such a great distance took a toll on him as well.

    Just when he was about to withdraw his Eye of Destiny and Spiritual Detection, his body suddenly shuddered, and his eyes froze upon a certain location.

    Wang Dong could naturally see what Huo Yuhao saw. The people that had caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention were two young girls among the escaping group. One of them was wearing a white warrior robe, while the other carried an enormous cannon and wore a blue warrior robe.

    ¡°How can it be them?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Wang Dong asked suspiciously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Do you remember Ju Zi and Ke Ke that I told you about? They are amongst the escaping group.¡± Huo Yuhao closed his Eye of Destiny as he spoke.

    ¡°What should we do? I¡¯ll let you decide.¡± Wang Dong appeared especially calm. If he were alone with Huo Yuhao, he would probably throw a tantrum, but he disyed absolute trust and respect for hispanion in crucial moments such as this.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes squinted as he stared at Wang Dong. ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous.¡±

    Wang Dong smiled and said, ¡°Have I ever been afraid of danger when I¡¯m with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°I will never let you get hurt for as long as I¡¯m alive. Let¡¯s go.¡± He grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hands as he spoke, and they ran forward while they activated the flying-type soul tools on their backs. Six pirs of soul power burst out from each of their backs and propelled them explosively into the air, and they rose from the ground and immediately flew forward.

    Huo Yuhao deliberately controlled his movements, and they only flew at about five meters above the ground. The soldiers pursuing from both nks were starting to close up, and the escaping party took the opportunity before they were about to be surrounded to break through the gap in front of them. Huo Yuhao could see from a distance that Ju Zi and Ke Ke were at the vanguard of the escaping party.

    This group of soul engineers discovered their frantic flight, and Ke Ke almost immediately raised the heavy cannon in her hands. If there were enemies blocking them off in front under such dire circumstances, their chances of survival would be even slimmer.

    At this moment, a voice surfaced in both Ju Zi and Ke Ke¡¯s minds.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Huo Yuhao!¡±

    Five simple words caused both young girls to shudder violently. Ke Ke¡¯s eyes were filled with pleasant surprise as she shouted, ¡°He¡¯s friendly, he¡¯s here to help us!¡±

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t speak. She bit down lightly on her lower lip, and there was an inscrutable expression in her eyes. How can it be him?

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong quickly closed the distance. Their flying-type soul tools slowed, and they graduallynded beside Ju Zi and Ke Ke.

    ¡°Stop running ¨C your enemies havepletely surrounded you.¡± This was the first thing that Huo Yuhao said when he touched the ground. At this moment, the group of soul engineers led by Ju Zi and Ke Ke had escaped onto a hill.

    ¡°How are you here?¡± Ju Zi didn¡¯t even look at Wang Dong, who was much more good-looking than Huo Yuhao was. Huo Yuhao was the only person in her eyes.

    They hadn¡¯t seen each other for more than a year. Ju Zi was still so beautiful, except herplexion was a little darker than before. She appeared a lot healthier than she used to be, while her demeanor had a tinge of valiance.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Perhaps this is our fate. What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°These are the soldiers rebelling against the empire. A duke in the north has rebelled, and he wants to establish his own country. We are here to quell the rebellion.¡±

    This was their fate! Wang Dong had finally met Ju Zi! Heh, heh, heh¡­

 Chapter 189: Mantra Amidst the Void

    Huo Yuhao was a little amused as he said, ¡°This is how you¡¯re quelling the rebellion? You¡¯re being chased like a stray dog.¡±

    Ke Ke was displeased as she said, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t point out our mistake first thing after you arrive. Let me tell you, they¡¯re falling for the trap. What¡¯s this minor encirclement? These hundred thousand people are the main force of the enemy, and they have fallen into our bigger trap. Our people will arrive in less than an hour. When that timees, they can only dream about escaping.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snorted. ¡°Do you think you canst for an hour and have thestugh?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I underestimated the number of enemies. I lso didn¡¯t expect them to be so determined in their pursuit. They even sent a hundred soul engineers to deal with us. We¡¯re in trouble now, and we¡¯re getting worn down. Let¡¯s leave quickly.¡±

    ¡°With your abilities, you should be able to break free from the encirclement without any soul engineers pestering you.¡±

    Wang Dong was observing Ju Zi all this while. He admitted that she was indeed ravishing. Her skin was especially tender. It was different from his skin; her skin seemed to have ayer of moisture on it. After hearing Ju Zi¡¯s words, he said coldly, ¡°If we wanted to leave, we wouldn¡¯t have rushed in before the enemy set their trap.¡±

    A dim light shed. Huo Yuhao revealed an icy-cold light on his face. ¡°Sister Ju Zi, tell me the sses of the soul engineers among the troops that are pursuing you. Appraise them ording to the standards of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Ju Zi also revealed her fearsomeness and capability as a soul engineeringmander. She repressed her emotions and said, ¡°They are all ss 4 soul engineers. Their leader should be a ss 5 soul engineer. Their soul tools are mainly ss 4, and there are less than five ss 5 soul tools. We destroyed a few earlier. The total should be around eighty now.¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao asked again, ¡°Without the interference of these soul engineers, how long can your troopsst?¡±

    Before Ju Zi could say anything, Ke Ke said, ¡°Our soul power has been greatly depleted. On average, less than thirty percent of our soul power remains. We don¡¯t have stationary soul tools to back us up either. Under such a circumstance, our troops can only survive for fifteen minutes even without the soul engineers¡¯ interference.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I understand. Ju Zi, continue tomand your troops. Use the top of this mountain as a barrier to protect yourselves. From now on, we only have one strategy ¨C hang on until the reinforcements arrive. Are you certain that there will be reinforcements?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely certain,¡± Ju Zi replied, ¡°I devised this strategy. We have thirty thousand troops waiting in ambush. This small group of soul engineers is here to bait the enemy to venture deeper in. The enemy is still unaware that our reinforcements have arrived. I gave a signal earlier. In less than an hour, our troops will reach us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s continue with your strategy. With the current condition that you¡¯re in, it¡¯ll be hard for you to fight your way out. You can only hold your ground to have any chance of escaping.¡±

    A young soul engineer to one side of Ju Zi was furious. ¡°Hold our ground? How do we do that? Our soul power is almost depleted. There are soul engineers in the enemy¡¯s camp that are targeting us. Even before our protective barriers fail, the enemy¡¯s troops will reach us!¡± At this point, the enemy¡¯s troops were already gathering towards this side rapidly. They would reach them in around fifteen minutes.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Leave those soul engineers to us. Ke Ke, hand these out to everyone before the enemyes.¡±

    As he spoke, he continuously pped his waist before performing a flinging action. Soul tools flew out of his waist andnded in the hands of the soul engineers.

    They were all ss 4 Milk Bottles.

    After receiving a Milk Bottle, Ke Ke couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Huo Yuhao, why do you have so many Milk Bottles with you? Are you bing a nanny?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned ck. Ju Zi and Wang Dong couldn¡¯t help butugh even though the atmosphere was tense.

    ¡°What nanny? Milk Bottles are the most valuable among all soul tools in the same ss. When I¡¯m free, I make some of them to exchange for some money. At the same time, I can use them. When you finish using them, you still have to pay me. The rent will be calcted separately. Wang Dong, let¡¯s go.¡±

    As he spoke, he pulled Wang Dong by the hand. He peered into the sky and roared, before bursting towards the enemy soul engineers that had just arrived and surrounded the bottom of the mountain.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Ju Zi called, but both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were already gone.

    The youth who had rebutted Huo Yuhao earlier said, ¡°There are more than eighty soul engineers! Are they courting death?¡±

    Ju Zi was instantly enraged, ¡°Shut up! Courting death? Are you daring enough to do what they¡¯re doing?!¡±

    For some reason, she felt her blood boiling when Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hand and burst down the mountain slope using their flying-type soul tools to face the enemy¡¯s soul engineers.

    Why was Shrek Academy¡¯s Ultimate Soldier n devised? The goal of the Ultimate Soldier n was to have a single individual that could change the oue of a war.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was about to experience his first battle!

    It was always crucial to take down the leader first. Undoubtedly, the soul engineers were the core of the enemy¡¯s troops. It was only by getting rid of these soul engineers that the enemy¡¯s long-range threat could be eliminated. This would buy more time for the soul engineers at the top of the mountain.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with determination. He wasn¡¯t afraid just because they were outnumbered. Wang Dong wore a frighteningly calm look in his eyes. He was so calm that he even appeared a little cold. As the two of them flew forward, they were like two eagles. They instantly reached the enemy using their geographical advantage. The soul engineers were evidently unprepared, as they only unleashed their soul tools and were ready to attack at this point.

    A distorted ripple was released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. He and Wang Dong had to end the fight quickly. His Spiritual Interference was activated at the very start.

    After his spiritual power was enhanced, his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills were also enhanced. Under the effect of the powerful Spiritual Interference, these soul engineers who on average had four or five soul rings and a weak soul power foundation started to see things. They unleashed their soul tools slower, and were unable to identify their targets clearly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the front, you¡¯ll take the back.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shed, and he moved in front of Wang Dong. Wang Dong grabbed hold of his waist. Their bodies were tightly pressed against each other, and the rapid cirction of Haodong Power was maintained. Wang Dong¡¯s arms shed with a golden light, which appeared like a golden belt around Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist.

    Huo Yuhao asserted his authority the moment he surfaced. He waved his right hand forward quickly, and his Darkgolden Terrorws expanded in the air. A dark-golden light that was almost six meters in length shed through the air before dissipating. At least five soul engineers were cut into pieces instantly. Blood sprayed everywhere.

    At this point, an intense azure light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Following that, the azure light started to expand outwards, and then shed before retracting instantly. The corpses were all frozen into ice cubes, and the soul tool cannons that had fired towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were solidified as the Domain of Perpetual Ice was unleashed.

    Countless streaks of golden light shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The Butterfly Goddess sh was unleashed. With the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, each Butterfly Goddess sh seemed to have eyes. They urately struck the corpses that had be ice cubes, and newer, smaller ice cubes stained with blood flew in all directions.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his left hand up high, and an icy-azure light shed. Countless booms instantly echoed from all directions.

    Anything that was ice or covered in ice was about to be detonated by the Ice Explosion Technique. Even though all of the corpses weren¡¯t contacted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand, they still exploded. It was just that these explosive forces weren¡¯tparable to the explosions that Huo Yuhao caused directly.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect these series of ice explosions to cause enough damage. He performed this action so that both he and Wang Dong had an opportunity to get closer.

    As the pieces of ice were sted in all directions, he dragged Wang Dong in front of him with his right hand. He hugged him from the back tightly.

    At this moment, Wang Dong felt as if Huo Yuhao wanted to fuse with his body forcefully. However, a strong thrusting force propelled both of them forward before he could even react. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul thrusters.

    From using the Darkgolden Terrorws to carve out a path, to the Ice Explosion Technique, to his coordination with Wang Dong, and then to his Spiritual Interference, Huo Yuhao was using all of this to make this burst forward.

    Wang Dong was facing Huo Yuhao. He could clearly see the gold in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. On his forehead, the Eye of Destiny opened. Wang Dong knew what Huo Yuhao was going to do.

    He was using a ss 6 soul thruster! After Huo Yuhao modified it, the powerful thrusting force sent them straight into the bunch of soul engineers.

    Wang Dong¡¯s wings were alreadypletely open by now. His first soul skill, the Guillotine Wings, had be the de of Asura. As the soul thruster propelled them forward rapidly, his de left corpses behind wherever it passed. Even soul tools were shed and destroyed.

    As they burst forward in this manner, they had already forced their way into the center of the formation formed by over eighty soul engineers.

    The soul engineers now reacted. A few closebat soul engineers quickly rushed towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, trying their best to stop them. The rest of the soul engineers also retrieved their closebat soul tools and readied themselves to attack.

    However, would they really have an opportunity to do so?

    If Huo Yuhao gave them such an opportunity, he wasn¡¯t fit to be called an Ultimate Soldier. He wouldn¡¯t make such a choice, either.

    On the mountaintop, Ju Zi observed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s situation as shemanded her troops to absorb the soul power in the ss 4 Milk Bottles quickly. If anything happened to them, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to rush over to help them. Even if that meant death, she was willing to die with Huo Yuhao. He had risked his life for her once again.

    At this point, her mind drifted with the memories that she shared with Huo Yuhao, and she couldn¡¯t remain calm.

    It was also at this point that she witnessed an unforgettable scene.

    Wang Dong¡¯s wings disappeared, and the dazzling bluish-gold light also faded. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhaonded on the ground. At this point, there was a pitch-ck hammer in his hand. It was his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.

    A blinding light was released.

    It was an indescribable light of illusion. Everything around seemed to have disappeared. What remained was only an illusory figure. This figure looked very strange. It was transparent, but its appearance couldn¡¯t be made out. It formed a heart shape with its hands.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment. The illusory figure that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had formed also experienced a change. Its eyes brightened.

    Its eyes were much brighter, it appeared illusory and transparent at the same time. It was a pair of eyes that couldn¡¯t be described with words. The bright gold within them seemed to have arisen after gathering the starlight in the sky. The strange golden glow caused the surrounding lights to dim as it appeared.

    A strange vertical eye slowly opened on that illusory figure¡¯s forehead. Golden light shone in the dark space. A bright golden hammer subtly appeared out of thin air. It was shattered above the illusory figure and converted into countless smaller hammers. After that, these hammers also turned into golden lights. In the next instant, a golden halo spread out from the forehead of the illusory figure.

    Thebination of the Spirit Eyes and Clear Sky Hammer: Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest!

    Everything seemed to have slowed down. However, web-like cracks started to appear in the air as the golden lights passed. Space itself seemed to be on the verge of copse. The intersecting cracks quickly separated the soul engineers.

    The golden halo extended almost a hundred meters outward before it faded away. The small hammer also mysteriously disappeared. However, the soul engineers that were ready to attack stood in ce like statues. Whether they were ss 4 or ss 5 soul engineers, they weren¡¯t moving.

    ¡°St!¡± Seven streaks of bloody light blew apart near where Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were. The heads of seven men had been blown apart! Their corpses copsed to the ground instantly.

    This series of explosions seemed to be contagious. The bloody lights expanded quickly, and the heads of the soul engineers that were still intact all started to blow apart, one by one. There were no exceptions.

 Chapter 190: Martial Soul True Body

    This weird yet frightening scene could be clearly seen from the sky. The heads that blew apart resembled blood-red flowers. While they dazzled, they withered instantly. As they withered, it also meant that the lives of the soul engineers were about to end.

    What skill did they use? There were several soul engineers! Each of them was at least a Soul Ancestor. However, they were all instantly killed by this strange yet terrifying soul skill.

    Both parties were in shock as they watched the blood that flowed and the heads that were blown apart.

    The youth that had rebutted Huo Yuhao earlier turned pale from fright. His mind waspletely nk now. The only thought that he had was how was it possible for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to possess such frightening abilities even though they were so young. What skill were they using?

    ¡°Is it a martial fusion soul skill?¡± Ke Ke muttered.

    Ju Zi bit her lips and watched as the two of them rushed over. She was thankful at this moment.

    They had seeded. There were more than eighty soul engineers! However, these soul engineers were all quickly killed! None of them survived. Not only was the greatest strength of the enemy eliminated, but the enemy was also intimidated. The troops that had surrounded the mountain were now advancing at a slower pace. This was especially so for the troops on the side of the soul engineers that were killed.

    Is that his real strength? The strength that he unleashed with his partner? Shrek Academy is deservedly the best academy on the continent!

    Huo Yuhao, you¡¯ve saved me once again. Why is fate making a fool of me? Why am I seeing you again?

    Tears streamed uncontrobly down Ju Zi¡¯s cheeks.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong quickly made their way up to the mountaintop. They didn¡¯t utter a sound, but instead immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand and Wang Dong¡¯s left hand met. The Haodong Power circted, and Golden Light Left Arm Bone was activated as they quickly restored their soul power. They also held onto Milk Bottles with their other hand to replenish their soul power.

    At this moment, they fully demonstrated the difference between their martial souls and the martial souls of the soul engineers around them. They were consuming the same ss 4 Milk Bottles, but they managed to finish absorbing the soul power within them in half a minute. The two of them quickly took out more Milk Bottles and continued to absorb more soul power.

    It wasn¡¯t sufficient to just absorb the soul power in the Milk Bottles. One¡¯s body had to be strong enough to withstand the high rate of absorption. Otherwise, side effects might arise from absorbing it too quickly.

    Ju Zi¡¯s gaze turned cold as she shouted at the soul engineers around her, ¡°What are all of you looking at? Take your positions and be ready for battle. Do you think the enemy will stop attacking us just because their soul engineers are dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The soul engineers who were low on morale earlier started to be excited. They used the terrain to find suitable offensive spots. They were defensively prepared.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s abilities didn¡¯t just defeat the enemy¡¯s soul engineers. They also boosted the morale of the soul engineers that Ju Zimanded.

    When they realized that it would be very difficult for them to escape, and they were surrounded by the enemy¡¯s troops, their morale was very low. They knew that their own troops would trap the enemy and get rid of them. However, just as Huo Yuhao had mentioned, how long could they survive? They couldn¡¯t.

    But Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s dominant performance ignited their hopes again. No one would want to die if they could survive. Moreover, the two of them who had just performed a miracle were on their side. If they were able to kill more than eighty soul engineers, the rest of the ordinary soldiers were nothing to them.

    Their morale was high with such a belief, and the Milk Bottles to support them.

    Ju Zi and Ke Ke looked at each other, and they both heaved a sigh of relief. They knew that their chances of survival had been greatly boosted.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t look at Huo Yuhao again. She was afraid of affecting her emotions. She started tomand her troops calmly and adjusted their positions. She also peered into the distance. Their reinforcements should be arriving soon!

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. He was also astonished by such a scene. After all, it was his first time killing so many people at one go. Even though this was the battlefield, it still impacted him. He could maintain hisposure during the battle. However, some emotional fluctuations were inevitable after the battle. He still remembered that Elder Mu had told him that he needed to step onto a battlefield if he wanted to realize the Ultimate Soldier n. Today, he had stepped onto a battlefield. Against the thousands of enemy troops, he had to protect his partner and save someone who was once his friend. The pressure didn¡¯t make him anxious, but fearful. It was a fear amidst excitement.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong weren¡¯t superior to the over eighty soul engineers just because they hadpleted their move. This was the result of Huo Yuhao¡¯s perfect grasp and control of the enemy¡¯s mindset and condition. The psychological lessons of the Ultimate Soldier n wereing into use now.

    His Spiritual Detection had allowed him to tell that the enemy soul engineers were rxed after they hadpleted their encirclement. Furthermore, they were also depleted after their long pursuit. They didn¡¯t expect anyone from Ju Zi¡¯s camp to rush out to attack them so suddenly under such a circumstance.

    Huo Yuhao had exploited the enemy¡¯scency. He and Wang Dong rushed towards them at an rming speed. When the soul engineers reacted, they were already able to unleash their strongest fighting strength.

    These calctions had formed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind instantly. His instant-kill strike with Wang Dong was also built on his precise calctions. The enemy¡¯s troops were tired and hurt. Along with Ju Zi¡¯s intelligence, he had urately estimated their enemy¡¯s abilities. This had allowed them to seed.

    Of course, their martial fusion soul skill was very powerful! As their abilities continued to improve, their martial fusion soul skills grew along with their cultivations. This was the scariest part of their martial fusion soul skills.

    For an ordinary soul master, the might of his soul skills was restricted by his cultivation and control. In addition, the age of his soul rings was also an important factor. However, a martial fusion soul skill would grow more powerful as one¡¯s cultivation increased regardless of who he was. Of course, that was not including Huo Yuhao¡¯s extraordinary situation.

    Huo Yuhao was a Soul Ancestor, while Wang Dong was a Soul Emperor. Theirbined martial fusion soul skill couldn¡¯t even be resisted by a seven-ringed Soul Sage! Furthermore, the Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest they had unleashed earlier had been a spiritual power attack using a soul skill. The true meaning behind it was like the long-range attack version of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent. It was even formed by thebination of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s power.

    The Spiritual Tempest exhibited a terrifying lethality. Those ss 4 and ss 5 soul engineers had enhanced their soul power using medicine, thus their foundations weren¡¯t stable. They also weren¡¯t supported by stable spiritual power. All of them were struck once by Huo Yuhao¡¯splete Spiritual Shock mixed with the explosive force of the Clear Sky Hammer.

    This strike was fast yet effective. The greatest threat was wiped out in one blow.

    After remaining silent for a while, the enemies attacked again. However, their morale was greatly affected. This was especially so for those who had seen the soul engineers being wiped out. They moved extremely slowly.

    Unfortunately, not everyone from the enemy¡¯s troops had witnessed what had happened. Some of the soldiers that came from different directions burst up the mountain quickly.

    The sounds of soul cannons and soul rays being fired echoed repeatedly. With the Milk Bottles and their high morale, Ju Zi and her group resisted the enemy¡¯s advance to the greatest of their abilities.

    Lights could be seen shining from the mountaintop from afar. They reached all the way to the enemy¡¯s camp, and caused intense explosive booms.

    A soul engineer¡¯s lethality on the battlefield couldn¡¯t be matched by soul masters at the same level. This was especially so against ordinary soldiers.

    Soul cannon shellsnded amongst the enemy¡¯s troops and blew apart, releasing balls of intense light. The soldiers werepletely blown apart. Blood spurted, and flesh was strewn all over the ce.

    The explosive strength of a ss 4 soul cannon could cause massive destruction within a hundred square meters radius. Every st was sufficient to kill tens of soldiers. While soul rays were weaker, they were more urate. As theyplemented the soul cannons, the death toll of the enemy rose beyond five hundred in a matter of minutes. However, the repeated attacks also depleted the soul power of the soul engineers.

    The arrows the soldiers used were useless against these soul engineers. They couldn¡¯t do anything against the soul engineers once physical protective soul barriers were used to block them.

    The enemy¡¯s first wave of attacks was held off. Those on the mountaintop cheered.

    Ju Zi¡¯s calmmand was very effective. She held the fort with Ke Ke at the center. They would rush to whichever side was under threat. They were both ss 6 soul engineers, the strongest after Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong on the battlefield.

    If their soul power were fully replenished, these hundred soul engineers could even hold off tens of thousands of soldiers. This was a massacre. However, that was because the enemy didn¡¯t have any tools that could ovee their soul tools, and had already lost the soul engineers that could have repressed them.

    Previously, they had been harrassed by the enemy soul engineers. This had diverted too much of their attention, which diminished the effect of their soul tools on the enemy.

    Suddenly, someone eximed in surprise, ¡°Look! Our reinforcements have arrived!¡±

    Ju Zi gazed into the distance, and indeed, troops drifted into her view from afar. They were closing in from all directions. The sounds of killing resonated and shook the skies. Her strategy ¨C bait the enemy before ambushing them ¨C had finally seeded!

    The enemy was caught at a loss, as they were surrounded by an evenrger army of soldiers. However, a bright yellow g was lifted high in the enemy¡¯s camp at this moment.

    A man leapt up and stood steadily on a huge steed. He waved the g in the air, and his voice reverberated throughout the battlefield.

    ¡°Men under the Glorious Lord, listen up! I¡¯m the eldest son of the Glorious Lord and the heir to his position, General Zhao Yang of the duchy. I¡¯ll lead everyone out of this danger. Themander of the troops at the top of the mountain is the fianc¨¦e of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Crown Prince. If we catch her, the enemy troops will immediately surrender; they won¡¯t dare to touch us. This is our only way out!¡±

    As he spoke, the man leapt onto another huge steed. Holding the bright yellow g high, he burst straight towards the mountaintop.

    This General Zhao Yang wasn¡¯t supposed tomand the troops in this expedition. His younger cousin was supposed to bemanding the troops. He specially came to hold the fort for his younger cousin. Seeing that the situation had gone awry, he had no choice but to personally attack. He quickly retrieved his golden helmet and armor from his storage-type soul tool. As he buckled his armor on and prepared to fight, he also used his actions and voice to boost his troops¡¯ morale. He had the aura of a general. Of course, his sound-amplifying soul tool yed a big part too.

    The soul engineers on the mountaintop were cheering after they noticed that their reinforcements had arrived. However, they also heard the general¡¯s words.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to Ju Zi.

    They weren¡¯t stunned right now, but they were in utter disbelief. They didn¡¯t expect that the personmanding them and fighting alongside them at the frontline was the fianc¨¦e of the current Crown Prince.

    Ju Zi had never revealed her identity to them. Ever since she had joined the military, she had worked her way up the ranks as a ss 6 soul engineer. She also didn¡¯t know how this news was leaked, and how the other party knew her true identity.

    She was the one who had devised the n to trap the enemy! She had dared to take such a risk despite her status. These soul engineers felt that there was something choking their hearts.

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light. She knew that there must be a spy close to the Crown Prince. Otherwise, her identity wouldn¡¯t have been exposed so quickly.

    She took a deep breath and looked at the soul engineers around her. She said in a deep voice, ¡°He¡¯s right. I¡¯m the fianc¨¦e of the Crown Prince. However, I¡¯m also a warrior of the empire. Today, I¡¯ll live and die with all of you. The reinforcements are in front of us. We must fight for our survival. We must win, and we must hang on until our reinforcements arrive!¡±

    As she spoke, she led the charge towards Zhao Yang.

    Ke Ke shouted, ¡°What are all of you doing? The enemy is here. Even the Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e is willing to give her all for us. Are we going to let them hurt her?¡±

    ¡°Protect the Crown Prince¡¯s wife with our lives!¡± One young soul engineer shouted with all his might as he lifted his soul cannon. His eyes spurted with fire as he fired the soul cannon towards the enemy troops.

    Their morale was lifted to an unprecedented level. They were doing it for Ju Zi¡¯s bravery and their hopes of survival.

    It was just that none of them noticed that Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had already opened their eyes at this point.

    They looked at each other, and Wang Dong said softly, ¡°Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that. However, this sort of exins why she¡¯s so mysterious. No matter what, I owe her a favor today. As for the rest, let¡¯s just wait until the future.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded his head slightly. ¡°Do whatever you want.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. Even though he was surrounded by enemy troops, he realized that he wasn¡¯t nervous at all. It was because he had a brother and a partner that was willing to live and die with him beside him right now.

    Under Zhao Yang¡¯s call, the frantic rebel troops finally found their release. While the troops on the mountaintop needed to survive, so did they! They knew the consequences of being trapped by the empire¡¯s troops. To survive, they needed to give their all.

    The intensity of their attacks soared. The heavily-armored soldiers quickly reached the mountain slope with the help of steeds. They even gave up their weapons, instead choosing to lift giant shields that were each carried by two soldiers up the mountain slope.

    After all, this mountain slope was less than two hundred meters high. The mountain didn¡¯t have any particr geographical advantage either. The troops were about topletely surround the soul engineers on the mountaintop.

    Although soul cannons were very powerful, they depleted one¡¯s soul power greatly. A ss 4 Milk Bottle couldn¡¯tst long. Moreover, Ju Zi and the others were also injured and fatigued! At this time, they relied on their will and courage to sustain themselves.

    The giant shields couldn¡¯t resist the attacks of ss 4 and above soul cannons. However, the destructiveness of the soul cannons was greatly reduced by the giant shields. The enemy troops were slowly making their way up the mountain.

    ¡°Move. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zhao Yang shouted. He was thirty-six this year. He was in the prime of his life. The Glorious Lord had rebelled and wanted to create a duchy because of Zhao Yang. If not for the fact that Zhao Yang was ambitious and the Glorious Lord¡¯s territories were like fortresses, why would the aging Glorious Lord who wasn¡¯t even a soul master make such a decisive call??

    Zhao Yang was a genius. Although he was a part of the Sun Moon Empire, he had never liked soul tools. He was more interested in developing his own abilities. He had inherited his mother genes and possessed a rather strong martial soul, the Violent Goldbear. He was already a Soul Sage even though he was just thirty-six years old. In terms of abilities, he was always the strongest among everyone under the Glorious Lord.

    The Glorious Lord was responsible for guarding the northern region of the Sun Moon Empire. His sudden uprising caused the empire to be caught at a loss. His exnation was also very simple. He just wanted to set up a duchy, and was even willing to double his tribute to the empire. He just hoped to receive its recognition.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor was gued with illness, and had lost the sharpness he had once had. He didn¡¯t rush to use military force against the Glorious Lord, as he was afraid of the reactions such an action might provoke from the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire.

    However, the Crown Prince continued to take a hard stance, andbeled him as a rebel that needed to be killed. That was the only way to intimidate the empire¡¯s nobility that had been conferrednd in the empire.

    Eventually, the Crown Prince managed to obtain the Emperor¡¯s recognition with the help of Jing Hongchen and a branch of direct descendants. The military, mainlyposed of his own troops, was also sent out to quell the rebellion. Ju Zi, who had been in many wars and even fought against the soul masters in the Western Sea, also joined in the fight against the rebels. She had earned enough merit to be the leader of a small group of soul engineers.

    Her position couldn¡¯t be underestimated. In the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military, there were four divisions of soul engineers. Each division consisted of roughly a thousand soul engineers. These four thousand soul engineers were the cornerstone of the Sun Moon Empire. To be able tomand a hundred of these soul engineers, Ju Zi¡¯s position wasparable to a leader of an infantry division. If the hundred soul engineers were suitably utilized, they could change the oue of a war.

    Ju Zi also realized why there was a group of soul engineers chasing them after listening to Zhao Yang. Those soul engineers were probably the final remaining trump card of the Glorious Lord. Now that they had been destroyed, they were likely to achieve victory if they could hold out. The rebel troops were unlikely to have any further chips that they could use.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s thinking was also very simple. After the empire adamantly rejected their tribute,beled them as rebels and even brought the military in against them, he realized that setting up a duchy in the Sun Moon Empire was a foolish thing. The Glorious Lord¡¯s camp was a mess now. The reason why they had gone all-out today and sent out their soul engineers as well as the entire army was because they wanted to capture Ju Zi, who they had discovered was the Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e from insider information.

    He had never thought of hurting Ju Zi. He just wanted to capture her alive and use her as a chip to negotiate with the Sun Moon Empire. He naturally knew that Xu Tianran was in charge. He had already thought of an escape n for himself. His demands weren¡¯t too unreasonable either. He was willing to surrender and give up his military power. All he asked for was to keep hisnd and wealth.

    However, all this was only possible if he could capture Ju Zi. Otherwise, there wasn¡¯t any way that he could negotiate with the empire.

    The empire¡¯s military had also discovered Zhao Yang¡¯s intentions. The surrounding troops quickly rushed over to Ju Zi¡¯s aid. Right now, it was a battle of time for both parties.

    As Zhao Yang shouted, he stuck the bright yellow g into the ground and exploited the reactionary stic force of the gpole to shoot himself forward to the top of the mountain.

    As he burst forward, he snatched a spear from a soldier beside him and flung it forward. That long spear flew up towards the mountaintop like a bolt of lightning. It managed to restrain arge amount of the firepower that came from the top of the mountain.

    Zhao Yang didn¡¯t possess some kind of sub-standard martial soul. He was a true seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    He shouted suddenly, and he stripped his armor off his body. His body ballooned in size, and his height immediately soared to more than two meters and twenty centimeters. His developed muscles split his shirt apart. Two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings suddenly rose from his feet.

    The morale of the Glorious Lord¡¯s army soared when they saw his seven soul rings shing. They followed their general as they dashed up the mountain.

    The immense pressure caused the soul engineers at the top of the mountain to start yielding. The enemy troops didn¡¯t seem to care about their lives as they rushed up the mountain. The soul cannons and soul rays were unable toprehensively repress the enemy troops anymore. There were already a few soldiers who had made it to the top of the mountain, and a few closebat soul engineers were starting to fight them.

    Zhao Yan managed to spot Ju Zi in her white warrior robe, continuously throwing out orange soul bombs.

    Ju Zi naturally spotted him too. She looked a little pale at this point. Her soul power had been depleted too much, and she waspletely spent now.

    The reinforcements were charging over. They were already killing their way towards them from the back of the rebels, but there were too many soldiers from the Glorious Lord¡¯s army. It was impossible to kill them all in one shot.

    Zhao Yang was too quick. When he was around fifty meters away from the top of the mountain, he started to receive a barrage of attacks from the soul engineers. However, he was very strong, holding a giant shield in each hand. As he blocked the attacks, his speed didn¡¯t decrease.

    ¡°Let me do it.¡± Ke Ke shouted, and her Heavy Lightning Cannon aimed towards Zhao Yang. She poured in all her soul power, and an intense bolt of lightning gathered at the barrel of the cannon.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s senses were very urate as a Soul Sage. He could sense the imminent threat, and quickly flung his shields towards the top of the mountain. They were aimed towards Ke Ke. At the same time, his first and third soul rings lit up brightly.

    A golden glow surfaced on his skin. Not only that, but he was expanding greatly in size. His developed muscles made him seem like a real Stormbear.

    His first soul skill was the Golden Body, and his third soul skill was Berserk.

    The Violent Goldbear possessed a little of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s lineage. It was also one of the strongest among all the bear-type martial souls. It was adept at defense and offense, and possessed great strength as well.

    Ke Ke grit her teeth and ignored the two huge shields that he flung at her. She fired the Heavy Lightning Cannon!

    A bluish-purple soul cannon shell a foot wide was fired towards Zhao Yang. Bolts of lightning shed, and the air started to distort. The soldiers didn¡¯t even have to contact the bolts of lightning before they died; as the lightning passed them, they were instantly turned to ash.

    Zhao Yang snorted and reached out his right hand to his side. He grabbed hold of a heavily-armored soldier before flinging him upwards.

    He had unleashed his defensive soul skills to confuse Ke Ke. Why would he try to resist the ss 5 Heavy Lightning Cannon with his body?

    A tremendous boom rocked the air, and many soldiers were instantly blown apart. A ball of bluish-purple light exploded in the air, and a powerful shockwave threw hundreds of people off their feet. As the lightning shed, the soldiers in the vicinity of the explosion were all turned to ash at the same time, or sent flying limply into the air.

    Zhao Yang didn¡¯t retreat even in the face of the shockwave, resisting the shockwave forcefully. However, he was also stunned to discover that Ke Ke was still alive even after he flung the shields at her.

    Two figures had appeared in front of her. The two giant shields were held steadily in the hands of a young man.

    The teenager simply stood there, but he brought immense pressure down on Zhao Yang. This pressure didn¡¯te from his abilities, but from his spirit.

    Zhao Yang had once been to Radiant City around six years before, and met Xu Tianran there. At that time, Xu Tianran had left a deep impression in his mind. Right now, this youth exuded an aura that was exactly the same as Xu Tianran then, but even more impressive.

    Who was he?

    Zhao Yang was on the other side of the mountain previously, and hadn¡¯t seen his group of soul engineers being wiped out. When the news reached him, the empire¡¯s army had already arrived. Zhao Yang didn¡¯t know that there were two strong individuals on Ju Zi¡¯s side that had wiped out his entire group of soul engineers.

    Yes, the person who had caught the two shields was Huo Yuhao.

    The shields were heavy, and flung with great force. However, they were thrown upwards, and their force was reduced with the distance. Moreover, Huo Yuhao had Wang Dong beside him. As theybined their Haodong Power and he unleashed his Ultimate martial soul, it was easy for him to catch the pair of shields.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Pincers grabbed hold of the two shields steadily. Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. He knew that he couldn¡¯t hold back at this point, or they wouldn¡¯t survive.

    Four white soul rings rose from his feet. The soul engineers around him were shocked. Those were all ten-year soul rings?

    Huo Yuhao flung the two shields back towards the enemy troops. His right hand covered his forehead, and he shut his eyes. A strange-looking ring of white started to rise from his head into the sky. Only Wang Dong, who had moved behind him and was pressing his hands against his back, knew that Huo Yuhao was covering his forehead to cover the light that came from the Eye of Destiny.

    The white halo rose around ten meters before it started to spread over its surroundings. After that, the halo descended again.

    The white halo rolled almost a hundred meters down the mountain. As it washed past the rebel troops, they all copsed like cut wheat. After that, they rolled down the hill weakly.

    Only Zhao Yang was left on the battlefield now!

    That white halo also touched Zhao Yang, who felt a wave of weakness spreading through his entire body. He circted his soul power at an intense rate before he managed to maintain his fighting will and keep from being affected by this weakness.

    What soul skill was that? It wasn¡¯t a mass attack, but a mass control-type soul skill! Enfeeblement¡­ it was so strong that the soldiers couldn¡¯t even lift their own armor after being affected by it. Is he a control-type soul master?

    He was shocked as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He couldn¡¯t understand how a four-ringed Soul Ancestor with only four ten-year soul rings was able to unleash a soul skill that could incapacitate thousands of soldiers, sending them rolling and falling down the hill. Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack managed to make some breathing room for Ju Zi and the others.

    The empire¡¯s army was not to be trifled with. It wasn¡¯t just Ju Zi and her team of soul engineers that were involved in this war, there were more than five teams involved. This was the greatest number of troops that Xu Tianran could activate, he wanted to aplish this mission in one go. This was also a very important matter in his overall n.

    The senior management in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military knew of Ju Zi¡¯s identity, but were helpless, as she was adamant on leading her troops personally. After all, she was representing the Crown Prince. Furthermore, she was only his fianc¨¦e, and they were yet to be married.

    While they eded to her wishes, they still had to protect her! The Crown Prince¡¯s direct descendants knew that no one was supposed to touch her except the Crown Prince, and she was also his most trusted confidante. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have chosen her as his wife. She was even going to be his official wife, and the future Empress!

    That was why the other four teams of soul engineers were part of the reinforcements that arrived. They came using flying-type soul tools and threw automatic soul bombs downwards, blowing the rebel troops apart. This helped to alleviate the pressure on those atop the hill.

    Zhao Yang knew that his chances were getting slimmer and slimmer. He could only rely on himself now. He needed to capture Ju Zi! Otherwise, the Crown Prince would never spare him. Time wasn¡¯t going to wait for him!

    He thumped his chest and let out a furious roar. His fifth soul ring also started to shine brightly.

    The soul engineers on the mountaintop lost their other targets after Huo Yuhao used Enfeeblement, so they were going to focus all their attacks on Zhao Yang. However, his roar caused all of them, apart from Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Ju Zi, to copse to the ground.

    Even Huo Yuhao and the other two were a little dizzy as they were affected by his roar. A buzzing sound rang continually in their ears as they staggered. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time experiencing such an sonic soul skill. He was a little lost at this moment. When he used his Spiritual Detection, he had only sensed Zhao Yang¡¯s soul power surging toward his head.

    Zhao Yang took this chance to advance. He didn¡¯t go straight for Ju Zi, but went after Huo Yuhao instead. He was clearly aware of how scary a control-type soul master was on a battlefield. If he wanted to capture Ju Zi, he had to settle Huo Yuhao first. As a seven-ringed Soul Sage, he realized that Huo Yuhao must have a way of concealing the colors of his soul rings after his momentary shock from experiencing his Enfeeblement earlier. But that wasn¡¯t the important thing. The important issue was that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly be stronger than him, since he was so young. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have an escape route now!

    Seeing that he was getting closer to Huo Yuhao, he reached out his huge hand and struck towards the younger man, and a gust of foul wind swept across the stones. As he was using too much strength, Zhao Yang left two deep footprints in the rocks on the hill.

    However, he looked into a pair of golden eyes at this moment. That gold was turning purplish-gold at a frightening speed.

 Chapter 191: Goddess of Light

    Zhao Yang was indeed a strong Soul Sage, and had great senses. When he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm yet icy-cold eyes, he knew that his roar earlier hadn¡¯t affected him for long. Furthermore, his sense of crisis also rose. Without any hesitation, he used his strongest soul skill.

    His pitch-ck seventh soul ring suddenly lit up. Just as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes unleashed the Spiritual Shock that had fused with the purplish-gold light of the Purple Demon Eyes, Zhao Yang¡¯s size ballooned once again. He reached almost five meters tall, and bright golden fur covered his entire body. Apart from his face that still remained mostly human, the rest of him turned into a huge bear.

    Yes, this was the change after a soul master obtained seven rings. This was also the divide between an intermediate-level soul master and an advanced-level soul master: Martial Soul True Body!

    When a soul master reached a seven-ringed cultivation, his martial soul would change regardless of the age of his soul rings. Their martial souls would trulybine with their bodies, and could now exhibit the Martial Soul True Body.

    Once their Martial Soul True Body was activated, their entire body would turn into the form of the martial soul, and their powers would soar. The power of their original soul skills could possibly double. After reaching the Soul Sage level, a soul engineer would find it very difficult to defeat a soul master unless he had special soul tools.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s martial soul resisted half the effect of the Spiritual Shock. His head only rocked backward slightly, and he regained his awareness after some momentary confusion. Whether it was his body or his spiritual power, they were enhanced greatly along with his martial soul.

    However, his palm still struck air because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one fighting. A pair of dazzling bluish-gold wings pped open behind him and pulled him backward. He shifted back by five meters and avoided his opponent¡¯s attack.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was cold, yet calm. This was his first time fighting a Soul Sage and a Martial Soul True Body. It was even a critical moment. However, he wasn¡¯t anxious. Rather, he was excited.

    He cultivated tirelessly so that he could challenge his limits and fight others who were strong. If he were alone, he would never be able to beat a seven-ringed Soul Sage, no matter how strong his twin martial souls were and what soul tools he had. However, he had Wang Dong with him now.

    Huo Yuhao shouted, ¡°Get out of the way! Ju Zi, stay back.¡± As he spoke, his eyes shone with bright golden light. A pair of hands were also wrapped around his waist.

    Another shocking scene appeared once again. The bluish-golden wings folded together in front of him, and the golden light that Huo Yuhao emitted became even brighter.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence was exhibited once again.

    A blue, purple, and gold tri-colored light was converted into a unique ray. This ray of light appeared on a path that Zhao Yang had to cross. Even a Soul Sage couldn¡¯t avoid this attack, as Huo Yuhao had his Spiritual Detection up to pre-empt him.

    The terrifying part of the Golden Road wasn¡¯t its offensive strength, but its ability to seal one¡¯s soul skills. Aren¡¯t you using your Martial Soul True Body? Then I shall seal it. A Soul Sage was much weaker without his Martial Soul True Body.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s shining golden body was engulfed by the Golden Road. He only felt a wave of scorching heat circting through his entire body.

    When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong teamed up to fight Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen, they didn¡¯t unleash the Golden Road fully. After all, they were only sparring. Right now, Zhao Yang was the first to experience theplete version of the Golden Road after Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s abilities had increased.

    An astonishing scene was instantly revealed.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s pace dipped considerably, and the golden hair on his body was melting at an rming speed. The golden light that was shining from his body also became much brighter.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. After this series of battles, he was also greatly spent. However, he had no intention of resting at this point. If Zhao Yang was allowed to unleash his full abilities, everyone on the mountaintop would die!

    ¡°Wang Dong, it¡¯s up to you now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    After they unleashed the Golden Road, they switched positions. Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong¡¯s right hand, and Wang Dong detached from his back. Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand to guide Wang Dong¡¯s movements. Wang Dong performed a remarkable dance move ¨C he made a hundred and eighty degree turn on one foot.

    Wang Dong immediately shifted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s backside to his front. Countless streaks of light around their bodies shot out once again. The lights were blinding, and no one dared to look straight at them.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this instant.

    The bluish-gold wings started to expand quickly. Instantly, they were already twice their original size.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess initially had front and back wings only. However, there was an extra emerald middle wing now. It was smooth, bright, and translucent. A thick aura of life exuded from it, the essence of itposed of light and water. This aura of lifeplemented the aura of light.

    The dazzling butterfly wings opened wide. The tri-colored light seemed to shine with other colors now. There seemed to be countless beads of water on the wings reflecting the light. As the light shone,yers of frosty gas were released from the figure¡¯s feet, entuating the elegance of her slender figure.

    As the frost spread, her surroundings seemed to turn into a world of ice and snow. The icy chill also catalyzed shocking changes in Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s fused body. A tall, thin figure appeared in the tri-colored light.

    It was ady, a youngdy that seemed to have matured. She was more than one meter and eighty centimeters tall. Her slender figure was also very captivating.

    She had long, pinkish-blue hair that flowed all the way down to her legs, but her eyes were bright-gold. Even ¡®perfect¡¯ was insufficient to describe her captivating figure. Her ravishing beauty overshadowed all the women present.

    Every streak of lightplemented every curve of her body. No one could describe how they felt when they first saw her. However, everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to her the moment she appeared.

    She moved in the next moment. Her slender figure reached into the air, and her tri-colored wings beat to propel her upwards.

    Thick icy fog spread from her legs, turning into streaks that surrounded her body as they rose.

    A ray of sunlight fell from the sky and shot straight towards her.

    A golden halo served as a foil for the birth of a goddess in the light.

    She danced in the air. Every step she took was gentle and perfect. Her captivating looks were filled with the sparkle of life and hope. Her wings were a perfect embellishment. As she soaked in the warmth of the light, she danced to the Raiment of Light.

    She danced alone within the icy fog as she faced the frightening Violent Goldbear. Her tri-colored wings extended and retracted, underlining her elegance.

    On her forehead, a subtle golden rune appeared. However, no one could see it as she danced faster and faster.

    As the golden rune shed, it emitted a gentle glow. The intense undtions of spiritual energy caused her to enter a magical state.

    Yes! This was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯sst soul fusion skill - A Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light!

    Thedy formed by the Raiment of Light was the same as the one during the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    Everyone was stunned when they witnessed her ravishing beauty.

    Ju Zi was always very confident in her appearance. However, she lowered her head unwittingly at this point. She felt slightly inferior.

    Huo Yuhao was willing to call thisdy the Goddess of Light. Her beauty was wless. Her hair didn¡¯t sway in the wind, and her pinkish-blue eyes carried a gentle light. Her snow-white skin that was immersed in the light appeared very enthralling as it was covered by the pair of dazzling wings behind her.

    Zhao Yang struggled to escape from the Golden Road, and was able to maintain his Martial Soul True Body. But even he was stunned when he saw her.

    If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used so many skills through his Eye of Destiny and had sufficient soul power remaining, his best choice would have been to unleash the ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer, after Zhao Yang was attacked by the Golden Road. However, his energy was depleted, and he couldn¡¯t sustain any more fusion skills. That was why he passed the reins to Wang Dong.

    This was their second time exhibiting the Raiment of Light. Huo Yuhao was even more shocked now. Even though he had fused with Wang Dong in this fusion skill, he could see it clearly.

    The Goddess of Light moved her feet slightly before she reached Zhao Yang.

    Zhao Yang¡¯s mind waspletely clear at this point. He sighed in his heart, and was even tempted to bow to her. However, he could only throw everything to the back of his mind for the sake of his own survival.

    He roared furiously and his huge bear-like palm swung towards the Goddess of Light.

    The Goddess of Light suddenly said, ¡°You¡¯re reluctant to bask in sorrow, yet you desire to apany it for life. Start afresh, and advance!¡±

    The Goddess of Light smiled and raised her index finger to intercept the Violent Goldbear¡¯s huge palm.

    ¡°No¡ª!¡± The soul engineers atop the mountain and the soldiers rushing up the mountain all shouted simultaneously. None of them wanted such a perfect goddess to perish like this! Even Zhao Yang¡¯s bear palm slowed slightly. However, he still struck with full force; if he didn¡¯t kill Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, he¡¯d die instead.

    The instant that the huge bear palm and delicate finger collided, the Goddess of Light¡¯s index finger suddenly turned a strange color.

    It was still golden, but it was now somewhat translucent. Her entire right hand seemed to have suddenly be a golden crystal. It was such a beautiful scene that it was even suffocating for those looking at it.

    This crystal-like finger managed to resist the huge bear palm.

    ¡°St!¡±

    Blood spurted out from the back of the bear palm. Zhao Yang screamed in pain. A hole was formed in the middle of his palm by the crystal finger.

    The Goddess of Light brushed her left wing and viciously struck the Violent Goldbear in the waist. He staggered a few steps to the side after he was hit, and a wound that was three feet wide and several inches deep was formed.

    The Goddess of Light¡¯s right hand was extremely strong. Her finger contained the soul skill of Wang Dong¡¯s Broken Devil of Light Right Arm Bone! All its power was focused on a single point. After the enhancement of the Raiment of Light, this destructive finger was the strongest strike Wang Dong could muster with his current abilities. Zhao Yang was in deep trouble as he tried to withstand the attack.

    As the Goddess of Light¡¯s wing struck Zhao Yang aside, a cluster of golden light was released from her body, engulfing him.

    Something weird urred. The blood that had spurted out from Zhao Yang¡¯s palm seemed to have frozen, andnded on the ground with a thud. Zhao Yang¡¯s body also turned rigid. There seemed to be ayer of frost covering his body.

    After this, the Goddess of Light struck out with her left hand. Her left hand was also golden, but the glow from it was different from the transparent gold that was emitted from her right hand. It resembled golden res that burned, and these golden res were icy-cold.

    The golden light fog was the product of Wang Dong¡¯s soul power and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice. It fused the power of light and Ultimate Ice. Her left hand was the fusion of Wang Dong¡¯s Golden Light Left Arm Bone and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. It seemed to be drifting in the air, but it was the strongest strike of the Goddess of Light after their abilities had improved.

    The tremendous pain caused the Violent Goldbear¡¯s eyes to turn blood-red. He turned around, and his body shone with bright golden light. His sixth soul ring shed, and a gigantic projection of a giant bear instantly appeared behind his back.

    This gigantic projection burst forward, and his left arm doubled in size once again. His hair also turned dark-golden.

    This was Zhao Yang¡¯s strongest offensive soul skill ¨C the Darkgolden Terrorpalm. This palm tapped into the shred of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s lineage in the Violent Goldbear. As it was used by his Martial Soul True Body, it was also his most destructive skill.

    Golden res were already burning. The Goddess of Light¡¯s aura changed again. The Sovereign¡¯s Descent turned her sanctity into superiority, as if she were a queen that overlooked the mortal world. Her entire body turned illusory at this point. Only the golden res on her left arm still remained as bright and blinding as ever.

    At this instant, everyone watching this fight was praying in their hearts. They were praying for the goddess in their hearts.

    No one hoped that Zhao Yang would win.

    ¡°St!¡±

    Just as both parties were about to sh, Zhao Yang¡¯s left hand blew apart. The intense pain instantly diminished the might of his Darkgolden Terrorpalm.

    His right hand had been infused with the aura of Ultimate Ice after it had encountered the Broken Devil of Light. The Domain of Perpetual Ice had also frozen his palm further.

    It seemed like Zhao Yang had used his Martial Soul True Body to resist the Domain of Perpetual Ice. However, his blood cirction fell by a third of its original rate. His movements seemed to have stalled slightly too. The wound on his right hand was also frozen up to a few inches.

    Anything that was ice could be detonated by the Ice Explosion Technique. Even though the Ice Explosion Technique didn¡¯t mix with Zhao Yang¡¯s soul power, the pain was still tremendous as his palm suddenly blew apart. The impact on him was huge.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The Darkgolden Terrorpalm and the Goddess of Light¡¯s left palm collided.

    The Goddess of Light flew back like a broken kite. Her body was still in the air, but the light shining from her dimmed. As her figure shed, she was separated back into Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, and they crashed to the ground. They were both bleeding profusely; they were evidently badly injured.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong in front of him just as they were about tond on the ground, protecting him from the fall. He crashed into the ground heavily, and slid for more than ten meters before he stopped. An intense pain engulfed his entire body. He cked out immediately.

    The Violent Goldbear quietly stood where he was. Golden res slowly but steadily spread across his entire arm before they proliferated to the rest of his body.

    When his entire body was covered by golden res, a shing golden sun seemed to have appeared at the top of the mountain. This golden sun shone extremely brightly.

    Everyone subconsciously shut their eyes. They were at a loss, and didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    When the golden lights finally dimmed, and everything returned to normal, they realized that the Violet Goldbear had disappeared. Only a patch of ash was left behind.

    Radiant re, Ultimate Ice, Raiment of Light, Sovereign¡¯s Descent!

    Everything had ended. Zhao Yang¡¯s death also signified that the rebel troops had been defeated. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops killed all the enemy soldiers as they rushed up the mountain. Surrender wasn¡¯t a choice anymore; all of them were mercilessly killed.

    Perhaps they were motivated by the Goddess of Light, but the empire¡¯s soldiers on the battlefield were ebullient, as if they had taken stimnts.

    Theirmander had briefed them that the Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e was stuck at the top of the mountain before they attacked, and that they were here to save her. They had witnessed the battle between the Goddess of Light and the Violet Goldbear, and finally emerged victorious.

    Not all the soldiers knew who Ju Zi was. They thought that the Goddess of Light was the Crown Prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e! Fighting for the Crown Prince¡¯s wife motivated all of them. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect that the Raiment of Light would be able to increase the morale of the soldiers so effectively. The figure of the Goddess of Light was deeply imprinted in the heart of every soldier.

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao. How are you?¡±

    Although Wang Dong was also injured, his cultivation was higher than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Huo Yuhao had unleashed the Sovereign¡¯s Descent with all his might in thest strike, sapping all his spiritual power. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had borne all the impact of the Violet Goldbear¡¯s attack. That was why Wang Dong wasn¡¯t critically injured.

    Fresh blood flowed out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose. His entire face was very pale, and his breathing was very weak.

    Wang Dong regretted his willfulness. If not for his impulsiveness, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been brought to this battlefield and met such a strong enemy!

    When he lifted Huo Yuhao up, his palms were totally covered in blood. He lowered his head as he looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. His eyes turned red instantly.

    The entire mountain was covered in rocks, and waspletely barren. The ground was extremely hard, and filled with rocks of uneven sizes.

    When the two of them were struck by the Darkgolden Terrorpalm, they were already spent. They had no soul power to unleash any soul skills or use any soul tools to protect themselves.

    The flying-type soul tool behind Huo Yuhao was crushed by the heavy impact and frictional force. The back of his shirt was covered in blood and broken pieces of the soul tool. His entire back had been grazed by the rocks as he slid after crashing to the ground, leaving bloody wounds behind.

    He had left a foot-wide trail of blood behind him.

    Wang Dong felt as if there was a heavy rock on his chest, and the heartache made it difficult for him to breathe. He didn¡¯t have much soul power left, but he was trying his best to pour his soul power into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He was squeezing every drop of soul power he had into Huo Yuhao.

    Ju Zi also rushed over at this point. She was much calmer than Wang Dong. After all, she had experienced such a situation before. She retrieved a medicinal bottle and shouted to Wang Dong, ¡°Lie him down on your legs. There¡¯s no point in crying. Saving him is the important thing now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice was trembling. He took in a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He allowed his tears to stream down. He sat on the ground first beforeying Huo Yuhao down carefully on his legs.

    Ju Zi passed the medicinal bottle to him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll clean the wounds while you scatter the powder on them. It¡¯ll help stop the bleeding.¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°Let me clean the wounds.¡± He had calmed down at this point. Compared to Ju Zi, he was familiar with Huo Yuhao. He knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s recuperative abilities were very strong. While his injuries were critical, he wasn¡¯t in any real danger. He was unwilling to let someone else treat Huo Yuhao, as he didn¡¯t trust her.

    Ju Zi was furious. ¡°Are you going to fight me on this?¡±

    Wang Dong lifted his head and red at her. He shouted, ¡°Let me do it!¡±

    Ju Zi was shocked when she heard him. She was surprised that Wang Dong¡¯s voice was crisper and even more harmonious than her own.

    For some reason, she didn¡¯t persist. Wang Dong¡¯s hands were already moving swiftly, and his ten fingers shone with dim golden light, disying his great dexterity. He managed to quickly remove all the dirt from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back and stitched up his wounds. Then the bleeding was stopped.

    Ju Zi was silent as she opened the medicinal bottle and scattered the powder on Huo Yuhao¡¯s wounds. There was one thing inmon between her and Wang Dong. They were both crying. Wang Dong had to wipe his tears off several times with his sleeves to keep his vision from blurring. However, some of his tears still dripped onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s mangled body.

    Different scenes yed out in their minds. Ju Zi thought of how Huo Yuhao had saved her in the Jing Yang Mountain Ranges, and how he looked when he was grilling meat, whereas Wang Dong recalled how Huo Yuhao had pulled him into his arms just after the Raiment of Light ended. As the two of them crashed to the ground, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with resolve even though he was in pain. He did his best to prevent them from switching positions, bearing the brunt of the attack himself with his body.

    The war had ended, the rebel troops were exterminated. The empire¡¯s armypleted the encirclement, with the mountain that Huo Yuhao and the rest were on at the center. Right now, the soul engineers remained standing even though they were all extremely fatigued. None of them sat down to rest. They all looked in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction, who was pale and unconscious on the ground. They were watching Wang Dong as he treated Huo Yuhao.

    All of them knew that they would have died on the battlefield if not for the two of them. They were their benefactors!

    Wang Dong and Ju Zi finallypleted their treatment of Huo Yuhao. They looked into each other¡¯s eyes and saw relief within them.

    Ju Zi moved over to, and squatted down beside, Wang Dong. She whispered something in his ear.

    Wang Dong¡¯s body stiffened up, and he twisted his head to look at Ju Zi. Finally, he nodded his head determinedly.

    Ju Zi shut her eyes and took in a deep breath. She said, ¡°I know.¡±

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t look at her again, but lifted Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms onto his shoulders before carefully lifting him.

    When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he discovered that he was in a huge tent. He was in a prone position. Then he saw a handsome sleeping face with tear stains beside him.

    Intense, prickling pain could be felt on his back, causing Huo Yuhao to recall everything that had happened earlier.

    He revealed a self-deprecating smile on his face. Who did my back offend? Why is it always the thing that gets hurt? It seems like I¡¯ll have to create something to protect my back the next time I create soul tools.

    He shut his eyes, and the battle that had ensued earlier reyed itself in his mind. As he recalled what had happened, he soon realized that something went wrong.

    They were very fortunate to have won. After the Goddess of Light struck, they were out of fighting strength. They were only able to win because Zhao Yang wasn¡¯t familiar with them. Their martial soul fusion skill and soul skills yed very important roles.

    However, they could have won easily. That was because Huo Yuhao was also a ss 6 soul engineer, in addition to being a soul master! However, he forgot about his identity as a soul engineer when he teamed up with Wang Dong in that battle. He made a huge mistake.

    ¡°It seems like I¡¯m still a soul master at heart!¡± Huo Yuhao sighed.

    He also realized hisck of abilitiespared to an advanced-level soul master. Huo Yuhao had always believed that he could challenge a seven-ringed Soul Sage if he could beat a six-ringed Soul Emperor. However, this battle was a huge blow to him. He knew he¡¯d been arrogant as ofte because he was too used to winning.

    Yes, he had beaten many five-ringed and six-ringed soul masters in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. However, they were soul engineers, and not soul masters. Soul engineers were indeed explosive and destructive. However, Teacher Wang Yan¡¯s words were the most urate. In the future, the strongest soul masters would be equipped with the best soul tools. That was the only way he could truly be strong.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Academy had also realized this point. That was why Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had appeared. The higher-level opponents he had beaten were either soul engineers or soul masters. In reality, he was abination of soul master and soul engineer, which gave him an advantage. To put it into perspective, would he able to defeat his eldest and third senior if they were equipped with the best soul tools?

    I¡¯m only a Soul Ancestor!

    Huo Yuhao repeated these words three times in his mind. The arrogance that was ming in his mind disappeared. He also started to calm down.

    It was important for one to bnce their psychological mindset. This was especially important for those constantly under pressure. In this he did well.

    Huo Yuhao was grateful towards Elder Yi. If he hadn¡¯t allowed him to keep the Ominous Soul-Devouring Knife, enabling him to exhibit the Life Guardian¡¯s de and fuse with the immense power of the Life Gold, he would have been stripped of his skin several times over, even if he didn¡¯t die.

    His injuries weren¡¯t as serious nowpared to the other time, but they weren¡¯t light either. Huo Yuhao had borne most of the impact from Zhao Yang¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorpalm, hurting his internal organs. The final crash had also inflicted some pretty serious injuries. It had been some time after the battle ended, and he still felt intense pain in his back. However, his passageways and internal organs were healing well. This was the effect of his immense life power.

    He extended one hand and touched Wang Dong¡¯s hand. Huo Yuhao slowly initiated his soul power and poured it into Wang Dong¡¯s body. Wang Dong¡¯s body jerked slightly as their Haodong Power circted.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you awake?¡± Wang Dong lifted his head, but he was still a little hazy.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at him, ¡°I can¡¯t sleep forever, now can I? Did you cry?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Dong waspletely awake now, and replied loudly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Alright, alright, of course you didn¡¯t. You¡¯re a man though. A man can bleed but not cry. Don¡¯t cry so much in the future. Don¡¯t you know that I am stubborn? How can I be killed off so easily?¡±

    Wang Dong rolled his eyes at him, ¡°You¡¯re already in this state. What¡¯s there to brag about? How are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Of course I¡¯m suffering.¡±

    Wang Dong revealed a look of heartache. ¡°Why were you so foolish to bear the attack by yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you bear this pain. Look at your tender and delicate skin. Mine¡¯s all old and thickpared to your skin. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. But you look quite fatigued. Let¡¯s circte our power.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong nodded and initiated the Haodong Power toplement Huo Yuhao¡¯s circting soul power.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re a little too weird like this. Get up.¡± As he spoke, he shifted a little to the side. However, he identally strained the wounds on his back, and was suddenly struck by immense pain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move. I can do it myself.¡± Wang Dong stopped him. He didn¡¯t think too much, andid beside Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was prone and his head was to one side. Wang Dong had no choice but to lie on his side since this ce was narrow. He grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands and initiated his soul power.

    Huo Yuhao suddenlyughed.

    Wang Dong sensed the aura from him, and a dim red glow appeared on his face. ¡°What¡¯re youughing at?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Nothing. I just think it¡¯s a little weird that we¡¯re looking at each other like this.¡±

    Wang Dong, ¡°What¡¯s weird? I¡¯m not even despising your small eyes yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°I¡¯m not looking down on your long eyshes either. But they¡¯re so long that they¡¯re going to brush across my face.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Wang Dong¡¯s eyes opened wider, and he was in a daze as he stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t get back at him, but only said furiously, ¡°On ount of your injuries, I won¡¯t beat you. Circte your soul power quickly. You¡¯re already in this state, and you¡¯re still joking.¡±

    ¡°I can only speak like this with you.¡± Huo Yuhao said leisurely. As he spoke, he shut his eyes and circted his soul power.

    Wang Dong made a clown face at him before shutting his eyes too. He circted his soul powers too.

    Neither of them realized that someone was watching quietly from a slit in the opening of the tent¡­

    Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao cultivated all the way until night fell. Huo Yuhao managed to recover significantly via his shocking recuperative abilities. While his injuries weren¡¯tpletely healed, he was at least able to move now. It was just that he couldn¡¯t move around too actively.

    When he saw Ju Zi again, Huo Yuhao could sense that she was exhausted. She came with Ke Ke and even brought a huge box of food.

    Eight dishes, one soup, two piping bowls of rice. The dishes were very exquisite, and didn¡¯t seem that they could be whipped up from the mushmonly found in the military.

    ¡°How¡¯s your body?¡± Ju Zi asked Huo Yuhao. For some reason, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that she was concealing her emotions. There seemed to be a veil covering her body.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I can move freely. Do you still think there¡¯s anything wrong with my body?¡±

 Chapter 192: In the Depths of the Clouds

    Ju Zi nced at Wang Dong beside Huo Yuhao and nodded. ¡°As long as you¡¯re alright. You should eat while the food¡¯s hot, it¡¯s not nice when it cools off. It¡¯s gettingte¡ªI¡¯ll visit again tomorrow. The higher ups in the military wanted to thank you personally, but I considered your identity and rejected them for you. It avoids unnecessary trouble this way.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Huo Yuhao replied sincerely, ¡°We only fought to help you and Ke Ke, not for the Sun Moon Empire to quell this rebellion. It¡¯s best that we don¡¯t meet them.¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Yes. Enjoy your meal, we¡¯ll take our leave first.¡± She forced a smile at Huo Yuhao before she made for the exit with a heavy heart.

    Ke Ke tugged at Ju Zi¡¯s sleeves, but she just shot her a re. Ke Ke was typically straightforward and casual, but she seemed a little meek as she stuck her tongue out and followed Ju Zi away.

    Huo Yuhao watched their shadows disappear into the distance. He was a little confused as he muttered, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it feel like we saved them, but like we offended them instead?¡±

    Wang Dong smiled and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell? She really likes you, and feels very conflicted. However, she¡¯s the prince¡¯s consort, so you must be careful. Don¡¯t drag me down with you if something happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Eat, eat. Stop spouting nonsense.¡± He felt a little down when he saw the expression on Ju Zi¡¯s face, and he almost wanted to stop her to ask about it. However, he remembered that Ju Zi was the Crown Prince¡¯s fiancee, and their paths ahead were destined to never intersect, so he had to swallow his emotions. It was better this way, so that he wouldn¡¯t cause any trouble when he was supposed to let go and didn¡¯t. This sentiment was simr to what Ju Zi had said when she sobbed beside his bed, ¡°We should never meet again.¡± Both he and Ju Zi recognized the unsurmountable rift between them, and they understood it was best that they didn¡¯t interact too much.

    The food was delicious, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were a little astounded. Four meats and four vegetables dishes, and they were all warm. It definitely wouldn¡¯t have been easy for them to put together a meal as sumptuous as this within their military camp. The soup was thick and rich, and Huo Yuhao knew with his experience in cooking that this was a taste that could only be achieved after prepping the food for an entire day.

    Wang Dong found the food delectable, but Huo Yuhao could taste more than that. Even though Ju Zi didn¡¯t say anything to him, Huo Yuhao could taste many different things in this meal¡ªout of the eight dishes, three were sour, and sour to varying degrees; two were sweet, and the rest were bitter, spicy, and salty.

    He could taste a mix of five different vors in a simple meal, with an emphasis on sourness and sweetness. She was the daughter of a renowned chef, so she was surely able to make these dishes the way she intended.

    There was a simrlyrge tent not far from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Ke Ke stared at Ju Zi with a confused look on her face. ¡°Why are you acting so weird today, Ju Zi? Are you¡­?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head softly.

    Ke Ke dashed to the entrance and poked her head outside. She made sure that nobody was nearby before she darted back beside Ju Zi and whispered, ¡°Have you really fallen for Huo Yuhao?¡±

    Ju Zi nced at her, but she still said nothing. However, Ke Ke knew the answer from the look in Ju Zi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Since you like him, why did you leave back then? Why did you have to agree to marry the prince?¡±

    Ju Zi answered inly, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. There are some things that I cannot decide¡ªmy life has been drastically changed ever since my parents passed away. Emotions like these shouldn¡¯t even be appearing in me.¡±

    Ke Ke red at her and said, ¡°Then why did you work so hard to make his food?¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to repay him for saving my life.¡±

    Ke Ke raised her voice a little and said, ¡°No, that¡¯s absolutely untrue. It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve seen you so focused. When you were cooking for him, your entire aura felt different¡ªit wasn¡¯t just focus in your eyes, I saw warmth and tenderness!¡±

    Ju Zi shuddered. ¡°You¡¯re talking too loud! Do you want the entire camp to hear you?¡±

    Ke Ke softened and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself, Ju Zi. What¡¯s the point?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled, but there was a tinge of sadness in all that beauty. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand. Did you really think I¡¯m suitable for him? Have you forgotten that I¡¯m older than him by a few years? What kind of person is he, and what kind of person am I? You already know my status¡ªI¡¯m just one of the prince¡¯s chess pieces, and a chess piece that will bepletely destroyed until it can¡¯t be used. All I can do is y my part as a chess piece. Do I have to drag him into this mess?¡±

    Ke Ke leaned in beside her ear. ¡°But you can run away!¡±

    Ju Zi smiled again, but her smile was now one of despondence. ¡°You still don¡¯t understand. Feelings cannot bring you happiness just from wishful thinking. Perhaps he has good feelings about me, but I can tell that someone else is already in his heart. That¡¯s not something that I can just force myself into, and that is the crux of the issue. Even if I¡¯m willing to give my all for them, they must ept me too. Furthermore, how can I do that? I will have vengeance for the death of my parents¡ªwhen they passed away that day, I swore that revenge would be the only thing motivating me to live for the rest of my life.¡±

    Ke Ke grew silent for a while, then said, ¡°You¡¯re too extreme. Besides, how do you know he has someone else? Did he tell you that?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to tell me, I just know. You don¡¯t need to care about this anymore¡ªI don¡¯t want to see him anymore. Send them away when they recover from their injuries. It¡¯ste, you should go and rest.¡±

    ¡°Ju Zi¡­¡± Ke Ke was about to keep going.

    ¡°That¡¯s an order!¡± Ju Zi said decisively, ¡°Go and rest.¡±

    Ke Ke heaved a sigh. She could clearly see that Ju Zi¡¯s eyes were filled with tears, but she didn¡¯t say anything more, instead she came to Ju Zi and hugged her softly before she turned around and left.

    Only when Ke Ke left did the tears welling up in Ju Zi¡¯s eyes trickle down like pearls cut from a ne; they slid down her soft and tender cheeks.

    So, this is how it feels to truly love someone. Why, why did you have toe into my life? I would¡¯ve rather died at Zhao Yang¡¯s hands than see you again¡ªdid you know that?

    Ju Zi was shouting internally. Even though she knew very well that this was against her interests she was still reying the various experiences she had from when they were still together in her mind.

    She could vividly remember the determination in Wang Dong¡¯s eyes when he answered her question. Even though it was just a heavy nod, it hadpletely severed that onest strand of hope and desire that she was so vehemently in denial of but had always been there from beginning to end.

    The night went by in silence.

    In the early morning, when the sun first peeked out from the eastern horizon, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were standing outside their tent. They faced eastwards as they inhaled and exhaled the dawn¡¯s purple energy.

    The Purple Demon Eyes relied on consistent umtion. Huo Yuhao revealed the strongest characteristics of his body; over just one night of cultivation, the flourishing life energy in his body had caused the wounds on his back to scab over. He was in a daze for a day and a night from when he was injured before he awoke, and that meant that only two days had gone by. His regenerative ability could only be called unprecedented, utterly extraordinary, and never to be duplicated.

    The purple energy dissipated as Wang Dong asked, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m not veryfortable here. We are ultimately in someone else¡¯s territory. Can you walk?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s not a good idea to remain here for long, as I¡¯m unwilling to interact with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military too. I will be fine¡ªit¡¯s a pity that my flying-type soul tool is broken. If not, activating and controlling it wouldn¡¯t have been a problem.¡±

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°When do we leave?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I will bid my farewells to Ju Zi and Ke Ke after breakfast, and then we¡¯ll leave.¡±

    Wang Dong studied Huo Yuhao¡¯s face solemnly. He could tell that there wasn¡¯t a forced look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes at all, and the smile on his face became wider as he said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Ke Ke delivered breakfast this time. It was much simplerpared to the previous night¡¯s feast, consisting of steamed buns, salted vegetables, porridge, and sauced meat. The meal was simple, but sufficient.

    ¡°We only have this stuff left in the camp.¡± Ke Ke said a little apologetically.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°We aren¡¯t privilegedmoners used to living like royalty. A full stomach is enough for us. When I was young, I couldn¡¯t even find bread to fill my stomach sometimes. How can I be picky with a fragrant and enormous white steamed bun?¡± He started munching on a steamed bun that was almost the size of his palm as he spoke.

    Formidable life energy was one thing, but life energy also needed replenishment, and food was the optimal choice for that.

    Wang Dong had a lot gentler eating mannerismspared to Huo Yuhao. He pushed more food in front of Huo Yuhao, spread open a steamed bun, and ced the marinated meat inside before he ate.

    Ke Ke sat to one side. She seemed to have already eaten breakfast, so she didn¡¯t touch the food at all, but Ke Ke didn¡¯t leave either.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong quickly devoured the meal. ¡°I¡¯m full now. Ke Ke, is Ju Zi free? My injuries are much better now, and we have some things to do. I wish to bid her farewell.¡±

    Ke Ke frowned and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Yuhao. She¡¯s very busy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a while, then said, ¡°She doesn¡¯t even have time for a goodbye?¡±

    Ke Ke¡¯s eyes seemed apologetic as she stood up and said, ¡°Come with me, Yuhao. I have something to tell you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wang Dong is my best friend. There is nothing you can¡¯t say in front of him.¡±

    Ke Ke lowered her voice and said, ¡°No, this is something that only you should hear.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at Wang Dong, and Wang Dong said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, go ahead. Everyone has his or her own secrets, and I don¡¯t want to know them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up and followed Ke Ke outside.

    Ke Ke didn¡¯t slow down aftering out of the tent, and she walked ten meters out of the military camp before she stopped.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is Ju Zi in some kind of trouble?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Ke Ke shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. You saved our lives, and we should be repaying you in kind. But Ju Zi¡¯s emotions are unstable, so she wants me to pass on her gratitude, and she has requested that I escort the two of you out when you want to leave. She doesn¡¯t want to see you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao already understood this sentiment. He heaved a sigh inside and said, ¡°So be it, then. Can you help me pass a message to her as well? Tell her to take care of herself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± There was a strange look in Ke Ke¡¯s eyes as she stared at him.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°What else can there be?¡±

    Ke Ke lowered her voice and said, ¡°Do you not know how Ju Zi feels about you? I don¡¯t believe that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quivered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to say.¡±

    Ke Ke¡¯s eyes were overflowing with displeasure. ¡°Why are the two of you acting like that? It doesn¡¯t have to be this way.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Ke Ke, you have to understand nobody can decide other people¡¯s fates, everyone¡¯s fate is in their own hands. I only saw the path that Ju Zi has chosen with more rity after meeting you guys again. The two of us are destined to be two parallel lines.¡±

    Ke Ke asked, ¡°Ju Zi said you like somebody else. Is that true?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°I like somebody else?¡± The Goddess of Light¡¯s image surfaced in his mind, and he paused before he replied, ¡°You can say that, I guess.¡±

    Tears seemed to well up in Ke Ke¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ju Zi¡¯s life is so tough, Yuhao. I really want to help her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ke Ke. There are some things that you can¡¯t help with even if you want to. Ju Zi has made her decision, and nobody can help her. Furthermore, feelings can¡¯t be forced...I admit that I like her, but that¡¯s all it is; plus, she is now the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s prince¡¯s fiancee.¡±

    Ke Ke grew silent. She felt as if she had matured a lot in this instant, and she could sense the exasperation in Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.

    ¡°Do you know that Ju Zi joined the military the day the two of you separated? She has relied on her status as a soul engineer to reach where she is today. She didn¡¯t rely on the crown prince¡¯s influence and power; she made her own way, and had consistently umted exemry aplishments. She is incredibly talented at strategy and battle tactics, and she¡¯s currently the soul engineer regiment¡¯s number-one staff officer cum team leader. She will probably receive a promotion after this victory. She¡¯s a general on the battlefield with impable nning and calctions, and the dire situation we were in was because of a spy within our camp. However, I can tell that she isn¡¯t happy at all. She is reserved, and she hides her unhappiness well, but I can tell. I only discovered Ju Zi¡¯s background after joining the military¡­ It was the crown prince who rescued her back then, and it was also the crown prince who sent her into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Her future is bleak.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared into Ke Ke¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    Ke Ke shook her head nkly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either, all I wanted to do was to tell you everything about her. Promise me, Yuhao ¨C if you guys meet again in the future, and she is in need, will you please help her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°You¡¯re a kind and caring girl, Ke Ke. Ju Zi is lucky to have a friend like you. The two of you will always be my friends, just like this time, when we came to you without second thoughts. When you guys are in danger or trouble, I will definitely help you if I¡¯m around. However, I want you to pass a message to Ju Zi ¨C the Sun Moon Empire is ambitious, and she has also been blinded by vengeance and hatred. I do not wish for the day toe when we meet on the battlefield. If she¡¯s willing, the Tang Sect will always be open to her. Even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince can¡¯t reach or threaten her inside Shrek City.¡±

    Ke Ke¡¯s eyes sparkled as she nodded lightly. She knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was already extremely satisfactory.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuhao. I will pass your message to her. The only thing is that her stubbornness and obstinacy has taken root deep inside her, and I can only slowly influence her from the side.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°The Tang Sect will always wee you too. If you guys are willing to give everything up and join us, I can cook for you too. I can make all the delicious food that you guys love to eat.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ke Ke answered heartily as she swallowed despite herself. She had been overthinking the entire morning, and hadn¡¯t eaten breakfast.

    Ke Ke sent Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong out of the camp discreetly, and avoided attracting anyone¡¯s attention. If not for Ju Zi¡¯s status as the crown prince¡¯s fiancee, the military would have tried everything to keep Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong at whatever cost after their formidable disy of abilities in front of everyone. Such powerful soul masters would be an unstoppable force on the battlefield if they joined the army. They were powerful enough to kill mighty Soul Sages ¨C how incredible was that?

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t report Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s identity as students from Shrek Academy, and she only said that they were her ssmates from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. She was the crown prince¡¯s consort, so she held everyone back, and didn¡¯t allow them to disturb Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

    A pair of pretty eyes gazed far into the horizon from an observatory tower that was almost thirty meters high and watched as two figures walked out of the camp and gradually disappeared into the distance. Her vision was blurry as tears dripped from her eyes, and her red lips twitched as she mouthed, ¡°Take care.¡± She didn¡¯t make a real sound at all.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn¡¯t hurry along after leaving the military camp. After all, the wounds on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back had yet topletely recover, and they were afraid of tearing them open again. However, he had another idea ¨C he attached soul thrusters to his feet and skated forward, while Wang Dong followed closely by his side, so their movement speed wasn¡¯t that slow.

    They had requested a map from Ke Ke before they left. They wouldn¡¯t get lost again, and they proceeded east as they went straight for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s eastern border, connected to the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Not being able to use flying-type soul tools was ultimately more troublesome. They travelled for a day, but realized that their movement was simply too slow. They decided to find a ce to rest, while Huo Yuhao used the materials that he carried with him to forge another soul tool.

    It took him two days to recreate another soul tool that was identical to the one before, and Huo Yuhao recovered from his injuriespletely in that time.

    They returned to their path, and they could finally soar through the skies. Their speed was greatly boosted as they quickly rocketed across the border and entered the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory.

    Wang Dong became the navigator once they entered the Heavenly Soul Empire. They flew deep into the Heavenly Soul Empire with the help of the map, and it seemed like their destination was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital, Heaven Dou City.

    ¡°Wang Dong, is your home actually inside Heaven Dou City?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Dong leaned against a tree to rest after eating some roasted meat that Huo Yuhao had made when they stopped to rest.

    Wang Dong shook his head and chortled, ¡°I told you before, my home is hidden somewhere deep in the clouds. Where are the clouds in Heaven Dou City? You¡¯ll know if you just follow me. However, my house is indeed not far from Heaven Dou City.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s my first time visiting your house. Do I have to buy something for your family? You still haven¡¯t told me what it is that your family actually does, even now. Are you even a bro?! You can¡¯t possibly be waiting for me to embarrass myself, can you?¡±

    Wang Dong giggled and said, ¡°Yes! You guessed even that. You have some standards, after all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said angrily, ¡°What¡¯s in it for you if I embarrass myself? I¡¯m your friend, and it will look bad for you if I embarrass myself. Furthermore, you still have to introduce your sister to me. If I leave a terrible impression on your family members, how will I continue mixing with them in the future?¡±

    Wang Dongughed and said, ¡°Oh, please. Don¡¯t worry, my family members are friendly, and they don¡¯t really have many traditional formalities. All you have to do is be there. However, my sister is the pearl of the family. I talked about you when Ist returned home, and I think they will evaluate you a little while you¡¯re there. You should keep your spirits up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Definitely. I¡¯m not that bad.¡±

    Wang Dong said seriously, ¡°Yuhao, if you want to marry my sister in the future, your performance must be ster, as my family members are extremely picky. I gave you a ¡®vination¡¯, so don¡¯t be afraid or show weakness when the timees. My family members are also soul masters, so I imagine they will also test your abilities and your fighting strength. Of course, they are more concerned about your personality.¡±

    Huo Yuhao became more confused the more Wang Dong talked. He wanted to ask more questions, but Wang Dong refused to say anything more, so he decided to stop, as they would be arriving soon anyway.

    They flew through the sky at an amazing speed. Huo Yuhao was quite a distance away from Wang Dong in cultivation level, but his soul power was incredibly resilient. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to chase Wang Dong for so long back then. The two of them rested for a while every two hours and strolled for a bit to recover their soul power before they continued to fly. They were taught a painful lesson when they met Ju Zi, so they maintained their soul power at seventy percent as they flew so that they would have enough to face any unexpected circumstances.

    Just as Wang Dong had remarked, his house was inside the Heavenly Soul Empire, and it wasn¡¯t far from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital, Heaven Dou City.

    An enormous mountain appeared in the distance. This peak was majestic, and the mountain¡¯s topography seemed steep and perilous. From a distance, the mountain appeared to have three sides that stretched upward vertically, as if they had been carved by a knife. Only one side was rtively tter, but that was only rtive to the other three sides. Normal people would have a very difficult time climbing this mountain. Only the rtively gentler slope hadyers of vegetation growing along its surface.

    The surrounding mountains meandered around this steeply sloped peak. However, even the tallest of the surrounding mountains only reached halfway up this kingly summit. An ocean of clouds drifted above the range of mountains, but an onlooker could only see the part of this peak that was below the sea of clouds; one would have to rise above the clouds to see what was above.

    ¡°We must be here. Truly hidden somewhere in the clouds!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in awe. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to guess that they were nearing Wang Dong¡¯s home with a sight as spectacr as this. However, what was up with this family? They actually built their home on a peak as steep as this!

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao had evere across something as magnificent as this. Furthermore, Wang Dong¡¯s home was also there!

    Wang Dong giggled and said, ¡°Bingo! Let¡¯s fly up. Do you think your flying-type soul tool can go that far up?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem. The only thing is that we will consume more and more soul power the higher we go. Why don¡¯t we fly to the mountain¡¯s waist, and then climb up? It¡¯ll be safer that way.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then. Time to go home!¡± He shouted thest four words excitedly.

    They unleashed their soul power and surged straight towards the steepest peak in the mountains. The distance was truly hard to gauge; it seemed from a distance that they were quite near, but it took them fifteen minutes just to reach it. Huo Yuhao could feel the immense pressure from the towering peak bing stronger as they got closer. Its majesty and how tall it was made it seem like a sky pir connecting the heavens to the earth.

    They arrived on a smooth slope, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong withdrew the flying-type soul tools on their backs. Huo Yuhao looked around, feeling as if the clouds were right above his head, and he could touch them if he reached up.

    Even this ce was probably two thousand meters above sea level, and he still had no idea how high this peak actually was above the ocean of clouds.

    He couldn¡¯t wait to reach the top and look down at the all the tiny mountains below him. Huo Yuhao felt a rising tion in his heart, and couldn¡¯t resist howling into the sky.

    This howl echoed through the clouds, and even caused the surrounding mists to quiver and dissipate. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes unwittingly turned golden as he gazed at the shifting clouds, and he sat down subconsciously. He seemed to grasp something at this moment, and his spiritual sea was faintly stimted ¨C it started to imitate the ocean of clouds drifting around.

    The boundless spiritual sea could also be an ocean of clouds!

    He sat there with his legs crossed as he stared into the distance with sparkling eyes. His entire body stopped moving.

    Wang Dongnded on the mountain one step after Huo Yuhao did, and he immediately detected Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden transformation. Others would probably urge Huo Yuhao to hurry up the mountain, but not him. He was too familiar with Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong immediately realized after observing the look in his eyes and the soul power rippling through his body that something was happening to Huo Yuhao.

    Sudden enlightenment? Is this the sudden enlightenment that our teacher talked about?

    Wang Dong vividly remembered that Elder Mu had once said soul masters could gain more from a single moment of sudden enlightenment than from ten years of toiling cultivation. Such a thing wouldn¡¯t boost your cultivation ¨C it pushed the boundaries back. For spiritual-type soul masters like Huo Yuhao, pushing one¡¯s boundaries and widening the ambit was slightly more important.

    Why was he able to use Sovereign¡¯s Descent to suppress Ji Juechen? Because the Sovereign¡¯s Descent was in a far higher realm than Ji Juechen¡¯s self-invented sword mantra.

    Huo Yuhao had a great teacher, but Elder Mu didn¡¯t guide him ording to his own path. Instead, he had helped Huo Yuhao search for the path that was most suitable for him. And at this moment, he was experiencing sudden enlightenment. Wang Dong was a little exasperated, but he was more than happy for him. He would never risk disturbing or interrupting Huo Yuhao in a time like this, as one would never know when the next sudden enlightenment woulde if he missed this opportunity.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings unfolded, and Wang Dong turned around before he pped his wings and flew through theyer of clouds. He turned back around after a moment, sat down beside Huo Yuhao, and followed his gaze, staring far off into the ocean of clouds.

    After another moment, gray figures emerged soundlessly from within the clouds, and they formed a circle around Huo Yuhao at a distance when Wang Dong signaled to them. Every one of them looked high-spirited, and were between twenty-five to thirty-five years old. All of their eyes sparkled, and over twenty of them quickly formed a strict and orderly formation.

    Wang Dong whispered, ¡°Remain here to protect him. Don¡¯t let anybody or anything disturb him, do you understand? I¡¯m going to visit my eldest uncle and second uncle.¡±

    All the grey-cloaked figures bowed toward him respectfully, and didn¡¯t make a single sound as they faced outward, their backs to Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Dong nced at Huo Yuhao one more time, and then soared away through the clouds only after he ensured that Huo Yuhao was all right.

    Huo Yuhao himself didn¡¯t know what kind of state he was currently in. All he could feel was that his mind was aplete nk, while his spiritual sea rippled faintly and rhythmically. His spiritual sea was originally liquid, but a golden mist now began to evaporate from its surface. The mist was pale and thin, but it imitated the ocean of clouds before him and gradually took its form.

    The sea was boundless, and had no end. The transformation in his spiritual power wasn¡¯t as vigorous as thest qualitative change, but it gave Huo Yuhao a different sensation. His sudden enlightenment was best described with two words: transformation and conversion.

    He had always been using his spiritual power directly. Spiritual power had always been a force that was simr in nature to soul power to him. However, he now began to grasp another form of spiritual power at this moment as he experienced a fundamental change in his understanding of it.

    Spiritual power was different from soul power. Spiritual power was at a higher level, but it couldn¡¯t be used directly and activated like soul power could. The cirction of spiritual power was also empirically different from soul power cirction ¨C soul power emphasized absorbing the vitality of heaven and earth for personal use, and it was a force that was born from a martial soul. On the other hand, spiritual power was a representation of the power of one¡¯s spirit. It was something that every living thing possessed, and it was also one of the most empirical and original forces, while also the foundation for one¡¯s ability to activate soul power.

    His spiritual sea was converted into vapor from liquid form. The transformation wasn¡¯t that great, because it seemed aqueous anyway. However, this transformation process was invaluable for Huo Yuhao. It meant that he would gradually have more control over his spiritual power, and he could better grasp the fusion between his spiritual power and his soul skills. This didn¡¯t just represent using Sovereign¡¯s Descent to merge them together. He would obtain a deeper understanding on a spiritual level, so that he could have more control over everything.

    Wang Dong returned after about an hour to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. Just when he was preparing himself to wait for as long as he needed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shifted, and the golden light in his eyes slowly receded.

    Is it over? So fast? Wang Dong didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao was in a meditative state for almost half a year because of his spirit¡¯s qualitative change, so he didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had already gone through a qualitative change. This sudden enlightenment only helped him better understand his spiritual power.

    Ayer of pale white mist rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The winds billowing through the mountains were strong, but they couldn¡¯t touch this misting from his body. The white mist slowly drifted upwards, and gradually took the form a clean and white flower above his head.

    Huo Yuhao raised his head and took in a deep breath. The enormous white flower reverted to a misty sphere and flowed in through his nose.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly roared into the sky. Theyer of misty golden light flowed out from his body in that instant ¨C yes, from his entire body, and not just his head.

    During the process of the golden light mist¡¯s eruption, Wang Dong and the grey-cloaked figures on guard could feel their spirits go dim, as everything around them became murky and blurry.

    Huo Yuhao withdrew his mind and heart, while his eyes flowed with divine light. The Eye of Destiny on his forehead opened, and the permeating golden light mist instantly transformed into specks of flowing light as they returned to his body.

    He raised his head and gazed at the rolling clouds above him. He opened his eyes wide, as a purple-gold radiance flickered once and disappeared. Light didn¡¯te out this time, but his Spirit Eyes were now a different color. A tremendous whirlpool appeared in the ocean of clouds in the distance and spun vigorously. The whirlpool caused the clouds and mist around it to surge through the sky, and went on for about ten seconds before it was swallowed by the sprawling ocean of clouds once more.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao reoriented himself, and there was only tion in his eyes. This sudden enlightenment undoubtedly gave him more control over his spiritual power, and that would be beneficial for his cultivation. Having more control over his spirit meant he would have better control over using his spiritual power to manipte soul power, and better control naturally meant a faster cultivation speed.

    When he suddenly discovered the grey-cloaked people around him, he immediately felt everyone staring at him as if he were a monster. It was clear that they had no clue what had just transpired.

    Not even Wang Dong, who was beside Huo Yuhao, knew what had happened.

    ¡°Are you alright, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s voice lowered the rm and guard that Huo Yuhao had just raised.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. I think I suddenly understood something ¨C I think this is what our teacher referred to as sudden enlightenment,¡± Huo Yuhao scratched his head as he spoke with a little embarrassment.

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel ashamed saying that? Your sudden enlightenment is fine, but you made me so worried! Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take very long.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I have to grasp the opportunity when ites my way. Sorry, sorry. Are these your family members?¡± He pointed at the grey-cloaked people around them as he spoke.

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± He turned towards the grey-cloaked people and said, ¡°Thank you, everyone. You can go back now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The grey-cloaked individuals finally spoke, their voices were organized and uniform. Nobody asked any questions, and it was obvious that they were extremely respectful toward Wang Dong. They leapt into the sky and vanished among the clouds.

 Chapter 193.1: Two Uncles?

    Volume 22: The Clear Sky Sect, Chapter 193.1: Two Uncles?

    Huo Yuhao was astonished by their speed and realized that they were all probably at least Soul Kings. Their movements were elegant, and their figures were agile, which meant that they probably had rtively high cultivation levels. Furthermore, they hadn¡¯t flown using formless soul power, which was essentially the trademark of a soul engineer.

    Wang Dong smiled and said, ¡°Leave your questions forter. You¡¯ll learn everything once you reach my home. Let¡¯s go.¡± Once he¡¯d finished speaking he took the lead and began scaling the steep mountain path.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to wait, so he followed closely behind him. The moment they entered theyer of clouds, Wang Dong suddenly grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Let me show you where to go, it¡¯s easy to get lost in the fog. This is one of my family¡¯s defense mechanisms¡ªone misstep and you¡¯ll plummet from the mountain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that I don¡¯t really need my eyes to see where I¡¯m going.¡±

    Wang Dongughed alongside him and said, ¡°You can try to use your Spiritual Detection, but even it isn¡¯t omnipotent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was immediately unconvinced when he heard Wang Dong¡¯s remark. He¡¯d just experienced another epiphany regarding his spiritual power, thus he was extremely confident in himself. He immediately released his Spiritual Detection and attempted to perceive his surroundings.

    His first attempt almost made him jump out of his skin. He quickly realized, to his intense shock, that his surroundings werepletely empty to his Spiritual Detection¡ªhe couldn¡¯t feel anything at all! He couldn¡¯t even feel himself and Wang Dong; it was as if they were simply levitating in the clouds. However, they were quite obviously standing on solid ground atop the mountain!

    Astounded, Huo Yuhao hurriedly strengthened his Spiritual Detection and activated his Eye of Destiny. He¡¯d never made a mistake since he¡¯d obtained the Spiritual Detection soul skill, thus he refused to believe that his Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t even take on the clouds surrounding them.

    However, he only became more bewildered when he activated his Eye of Destiny¡ªhe still couldn¡¯t detect a single thing! The only thing that had changed was the color of the clouds around him.

    The clouds turned golden when he gazed at them with his Eye of Destiny, and he felt as if he couldn¡¯t grasp their destinies. No matter how much he attempted to extend his Spiritual Detection, he still wasn¡¯t able to see anything. The clouds gave him a feeling of endlessness and infinity.

    ¡°How can this be?¡± Huo Yuhao muttered, astonished.

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Dong replied, dragging him forwards, to which Huo Yuhao could only stumble and follow behind him when he did so. The path wasn¡¯t smooth, as it was made of only stone and rock, and the trail wasn¡¯t clear at all. Huo Yuhao would really have had a problem without his Spiritual Detection if Wang Dong hadn¡¯t been there to guide him.

    ¡°Can we fly across? The clouds around your house are quite sinister.¡±

    Wang Dong chortled and said, ¡°We could. In fact, only the clouds around the main peak have this special effect. However, a special bird-type soul beast known as the Killer in the Clouds inhabits these clouds. Many of them are ten thousand year soul beasts, and they travel in groups. As such, it¡¯s not that easy to fly across.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I suddenly regret following you here. Can you even call this a home? It¡¯s a lion¡¯s den!¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Watch what you say. You¡¯ll have a tough time if eldest uncle and second uncle hear that.¡±

    ¡°Eldest uncle, second uncle?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise, ¡°You have two fathers?¡±

    ¡°Pui! You¡¯re the one with two fathers. Actually¡­¡± His voice became a little sullen, ¡°I don¡¯t know where my father is. Eldest uncle and second uncle are my father¡¯s elder brothers. I¡¯ve never seen my father or mother before. Both eldest uncle and second uncle have told me that my father and mother are out there, somewhere far away. However, when I grew up, I could guess that my parents were¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed Wang Dong¡¯s hands when he heard the gloom in his voice. ¡°I¡¯m sure that uncle and auntie will be fine, Wang Dong. Don¡¯t think like that!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Dong answered softly. He had originally been in a jovial mood to return home, but it seemed to have been greatly affected by this.

    ¡­¡­

    The path in front of them finally cleared up, and the surrounding clouds that had constantly hovered over their heads were now beneath their feet.

    Standing atop a sea of clouds brought about apletely new feeling, and a strange light continuously sparkled in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    Wang Dong stared at him speechlessly. Is he going to have another epiphany?

    Unfortunately, epiphanies didn¡¯t appear so easily. Huo Yuhao simply gaped at the magnificent spectacle in front of him before quickly returning to normal. He then looked up, only to find himself looking at a castle.

    Indeed, roughly three hundred meters above his head stood a majestic castle. It was nestled atop the mountain summit¡¯s, high above the ocean of clouds.

    The greyish castle felt ancient, and gave of a feeling of standing on top of the world. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t fathom how a castle such as this had been constructed amongst the rolling clouds and on a peak as steep as this.

    Previously, he¡¯d been awed by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City¡¯s construction. It could be said that those structures were representative of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technological advancements, and that they were also a symbol of how powerful the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools were.

    The tremendous castle on the mountaintop could only be described as a miracle. Soul tools had been developed to a point where they could change an entire nation, but constructing a castle such as this one on a such a steep mountain was nearly impossible. And yet, the truthy before his very eyes, leaving Huo Yuhao no choice but to believe it.

    Wang Dong continued to lead them up the mountaintop. Several hundred meters wasn¡¯t much to them, so it didn¡¯t take long before they reached the summit and stood before the mystical castle.

    The mountain winds were stronger and sharper on the mountaintop, and carried a dense amount of moisture. However, no matter how powerful the winds were, the castle stood proudly atop the summit with ease.

    The castle¡¯s gate was shaped like an arch, and had three words embedded on it: Clear Sky Castle.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know why, but he felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this name.

    ¡°After you.¡± Wang Dong gestured towards Huo Yuhao. A proud grin appeared on his face as he observed the astonished look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t want to admit this, I have to admit that I¡¯m quite stupefied. My man¡ªyou¡¯ve given me such a pleasant surprise!¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°You¡¯re the first person that I¡¯ve taken home. We don¡¯t usually have guests around here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snickered and said, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that your house doesn¡¯t have guests because of the frightening ocean of clouds surrounding it.¡±

    ¡°Who says that we don¡¯t have guests?!¡± At that moment, a clear and deep voice resounded from within the castle.

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback as a tall figure emerged from the castle.

    The arriving figure was an extremely muscr and well-built middle-aged man. He had a head full of short, prickly hair that resembled steel needles, and a very grand appearance. He had tough, chiseled facial features, while his eyes were brownish-yellow and flickered faintly with golden light. His long grey robe couldn¡¯t mask his bulging muscles. When Huo Yuhao saw him, he could instantly feel a formidable and intimidating pressure from him.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes were fixated on Huo Yuhao from the moment he appeared. The pressure that came from this man wasn¡¯t just from his aura; it was also apanied by a frightening spiritual pressure. Huo Yuhao felt as if this immense power was about to trample all over him, and tidal waves appeared inside of his spiritual sea.

    Skydream and the Ice Empress had been in a deep sleep inside of his spiritual sea, but they were immediately jolted awake. They were both clueless and terrified, but the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was disyed at this moment.

    His eyes turned golden from the shock, and his body began to emanate a blurry goldenyer of mist that enveloped him within¡ªit was as if he¡¯d be a man made from gold in the blink of an eye. What was even more peculiar was that one could faintly see rippling brown streaks of air rushing against him, akin to the raging tide mming into the shore. However, the golden radiance around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body made him as stable as a boulder. Even though his body was quivering faintly, ultimately, he was able to resist the pressure.

    The pressure didn¡¯tst very long, and was over after two to three seconds. However, two to three seconds was enough for Huo Yuhao to break out into a cold sweat. He was acutely aware that he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist that level of intense pressure for even a minute with his current level of spiritual power.

    What kind of power could produce such tremendous spiritual pressure? Huo Yuhao felt petrified as he stared at the middle-aged man before him, and a look of respect appeared on his face.

    Wang Dong red angrily at the middle-aged man and said, ¡°What are you doing, second uncle? We¡¯ve only just returned, yet you¡¯re already bullying my friend!¡±

    The middle-aged man chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s his fault for saying that our family doesn¡¯t have any guests. Little fe, it¡¯s not because our ce doesn¡¯t receive guests, it¡¯s because there aren¡¯t many people worthy of entering Clear Sky Castle. Hmm¡­ with your level of spiritual power at your age, you are indeed worthy. Back in the day¡­ Ahem, when I had your level of spiritual power, I was already¡­ Alright, enough talk. Come in.¡±

    Huo Yuhao respectfully said, ¡°Greetings, uncle.¡± He could tell from the middle-aged man¡¯s voice that he wasn¡¯t nearly as young as he looked.

    Wang Dong said, ¡°This is my second uncle. You can address him as such.¡±

    The middle-aged man shot Huo Yuhao a look and said, ¡°It might be too early for you to call me second uncle, little fe. My surname is Tai, and you can address me as uncle.¡±

    (TL: This section may sound a little strange because English isn¡¯t as nuanced as Chinese in terms of nicknames and addressing family members. This trantion is in order to remain faithful to the original text.)

    Wang Dong stared at the middle-aged man indignantly, but his second uncle didn¡¯t pay any heed to him as he went back inside the castle.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any hostility at all from this ¡®Uncle Tai.¡¯ However, he could feel the man¡¯s great arrogance, and that ¡®Uncle Tai¡¯ hadn¡¯tpletely epted him yet.

 Chapter 193.2: Two Uncles?

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Wang Dong. Let¡¯s listen to him.¡±

    Wang Dong murmured unhappily, ¡°They just don¡¯t trust me. Hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as you treat me like a brother. I¡¯m sure I will be nice to your family. Take me around the castle, and then we¡¯ll find a ce to stay.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong took Huo Yuhao into the castle.

    There weren¡¯t many extravagant decorations or ornaments inside the castle. Everything was mainly ck or grey in color, with asional traces of green. There were two flights of stairs on each side, and leading to higher levels. The castle¡¯s structure wasn¡¯tplicated, having only three levels, but every level covered a great deal of space.

    Wang Dong introduced things to Huo Yuhao. ¡°The people from my sect reside in the Clear Sky Castle. The second level is for hosting guests, and is also where the sect¡¯s elders stay. Eldest uncle, second uncle, and me stay on the third level. Oh yes, my sister also stays on the third level.¡±

    ¡°Sect? Clear Sky Castle? Clear Sky Sect!¡± Huo Yuhao shuddered. He finally understood why the name felt so familiar. Yes! Clear Sky ¨C doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s the Clear Sky Sect?

    He had seen the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s information in detail before in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s archives. In Shrek Academy¡¯s collection of information regarding sects, the Clear Sky Sect was ranked at the forefront, along with the Body Sect. It was clear that they were a powerful sect.

    ording to the archives¡¯ introduction, the Clear Sky Sect had been around even before Shrek Academy. It was an ancient sect that had existed for at least ten thousand years, with a history even longer than the Body Sect. Ten thousand years ago, the Clear Sky Sect was touted as the number-one tool soul sect, and even the reputable Seven Treasures zed Sect was inferior to them. Huo Yuhao had never even imagined that his best buddy was from the Clear Sky Sect. Since that was the case, Wang Dong¡¯s second martial soul must be the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s principal martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer!

    ording to the records, the leader of Shrek Academy¡¯s first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, who was also the Tang Sect¡¯s founder, Tang San, came from the Clear Sky Sect. His father was known as the Clearsky Douluo, and was extremely powerful! Tang San also had twin martial souls, and one of them... was the Clear Sky Hammer!

    However, Shrek Academy¡¯s archives also recorded that the Clear Sky Sect had gradually disappeared about a thousand years ago. It was said that people from the sect were no longer seen on the Continent, and were thought to be gradually approaching extinction. However, not only was the Clear Sky Sect still around, but they also possessed this miraculous castle deep in the clouds.

    Wang Dong looked him, amused, and said, ¡°You only guessed that now? You¡¯re slow enough.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°You¡¯ve never given me any hints at all, so how could I have guessed that? You¡¯re from such a powerful sect that¡¯s been around for a long time ¨C I feel very pressured! We -¡±

    Wang Dong interrupted him unhappily and said, ¡°Why are you like all the rest? Are statuses and whatnot that important to us?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright that I¡¯m just a pathetic loser. If you don¡¯t think that¡¯s important, then it¡¯s not important.¡±

    Wang Dong giggled and said, ¡°Pathetic loser doesn¡¯t sound nice at all. You should stop using those two words in the future. Let¡¯s go, you¡¯re staying on the second floor.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop saying it.¡±

    ---

    People d in grey cloaks asionally walked past them as they walked through the castle. Huo Yuhao could tell from their auras and their soul power fluctuations that the grey-cloaked individuals that he had encountered earlier were at the lowest level. Several grey-cloaked individuals possessed power that was unimaginably great; they were at least Soul Sages. The Clear Sky Sect truly has many hidden greats and mighty beings! However, how can they live in such a steep and perilous mountain range? Huo Yuhao had been full of questions ever since he had entered Clear Sky Castle.

    Wang Dong took Huo Yuhao to the second level, and arranged a room for him.

    The room couldn¡¯t be considered big or spacious. The bed frame, tables, chairs, and even the wardrobes were made of stone. The furniture was extremely simple.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that around here, conditions are a little simple and modest. I hope you don¡¯t mind!¡± Wang Dong said apologetically.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to get all polite with me. It¡¯s an honor to stay in the Clear Sky Sect, a ce hidden deep in the clouds. You should go meet your family since you¡¯ve just returned. You don¡¯t have to worry about me, I want to rest for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll send you a bedsheet and a nket in a while,¡± Wang Dong said as he turned and left.

    Huo Yuhao started to inspect his room once Wang Dong left. The room was about twenty square meters, and had its own bathroom, with a water basin filled with clear water. Huo Yuhao reached out to scoop out some water to wash his face, but he got a shock when ced his hands in the water.

    The water was freezing. Even with his Ultimate Ice, he still shivered from the cold, and a lot of the water spilled out of his hands.

    It¡¯s so cold! What kind of water is this? Huo Yuhao hesitated, but sshed the clear water on his face anyway. A clean coldness that seemed to reach into his bones instantly coursed through his entire body, and his entire being was energized and invigorated. He shivered from the cold once more, and felt as if the fatigue and exhaustion in his body were being washed away; it just felt unbelievablyfortable. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was also excited by this ssh of cold water, and her enormous tattoo soon shimmered on his back. Huo Yuhao was astonished at what was happening ¨C his golden-red soul ring rose from his feet and immediately reflected off the walls as it caused the entire room to turn golden.

    ------

    On the Clear Sky Castle¡¯s third level...

    Wang Dong pouted as he stepped into arge room with a look of displeasure. His second uncle was sitting in the room, while another middle-aged man sat in the main seat.

    The middle-aged man in the main seat had a head full of long green hair that was draped over his broad shoulders. His eyes were green as well, and though seemingly simple, they carried a special, indescribable quality when he blinked from time to time. It felt as if he had trouble suppressing the immense power contained in his body.

    He was d in a white warrior robe that covered his tall and sturdy frame. He was currently conversing with the other middle-aged man, who had short ck hair that resembled steel needles.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, eldest uncle, second uncle? He¡¯s a guest from a farawaynd. What was that, second uncle? What if you¡¯ve scared him?¡± Wang Dong began speaking furiously as soon as he walked into the room.

    The short-haired manughed heartily and said, ¡°Xiao Dong¡¯er, you haven¡¯t been home for so long, yet you¡¯re already throwing your temper around at eldest uncle and me, that¡¯s not right. As for your friend, if he couldn¡¯t even pass my test, he wouldn¡¯t have been worthy to enter Clear Sky Castle. He does have some standards, but he¡¯s still far from our Xiao Dong.¡±

    Wang Dong immediately disputed his words unhappily. ¡°What? You guys don¡¯t understand him at all. Huo Yuhao is very outstanding ¨C he also has twin martial souls, and his second martial soul is one of Ultimate Ice. I thought I said this before when I came back thest time? Are you guys still doubting my choice?¡±

    The man in white on the main seat smiled faintly. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t fool around, Xiao Dong. It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t trust your choice. We still have to look out for you, right? Besides, your second uncle didn¡¯t overdo it, no?¡±

    Suddenly, both of their faces changed, and surprise flowed from their eyes as they nced at each other. The man in white asked Wang Dong, ¡°What room did you arrange for your friend to stay in?¡±

    Wang Dong said, ¡°The Icejade Chamber! I said before that he has an Ultimate Ice martial soul ¨C that ce will be beneficial for his cultivation.¡±

    The short-haired man¡¯s eyes sparkled. He squinted faintly and contemted for a moment before he said, ¡°How much do you know about this friend of yours, Xiao Dong? How much do you know of his identity?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I told you everything I knowst time. You interrogated me as if you wanted to know his ancestors eight generations before him. What else can I keep from you?¡±

    The short-haired man said, ¡°Your friend is very sophisticated. Do you know that he has a hundred-thousand year soul ring? Furthermore, it¡¯s not just any hundred thousand year soul ring. If I¡¯m not wrong, that soul probably had about four-hundred thousand years of cultivation. Can a Soul Ancestor that¡¯s a little over Rank 40 possess a soul ring like that? This is the first time I¡¯vee across something as peculiar as this.¡±

    ¡°Four-hundred thousand years?¡± It was Wang Dong¡¯s turn to be surprised. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. I know Huo Yuhao harbors certain secrets, and he can probably guess that I have some of my own. We have a tacit understanding, and we don¡¯t normally interrogate each other about them. But how can he have a four-hundred thousand year soul ring? Are you sure you¡¯re correct, second uncle?¡±

    The man in white said, ¡°Even if your second uncle is wrong, can it be that I¡¯m also wrong? It is four-hundred thousand years. Perhaps he was stimted by the coldness of the Icejade Chamber, so he released his martial soul. This martial soul may only have one ring, but that ring does indeed have four-hundred thousand years of cultivation.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s only a youth that¡¯s not even twenty years of age, and he¡¯s barely above Rank 40. There is only one exnation for how he can possess a four-hundred thousand year soul ring, and that is a four-hundred thousand year soul beast was sacrificed. Furthermore, the soul beast would have to suppress its own soul power and form a seal within his body, so that he could fuse itself with him. You really do know how to choose!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s eyes were full of doubt and surprise. ¡°But, eldest uncle and second uncle, I am very sure that Yuhao is true and sincere to me. He has never known my identity, and he knows nothing even at this point. He will do nothing to harm me, so what if he has a four-hundred thousand year soul ring? I¡­¡±

    The man in white waved his hand and interrupted him. ¡°You have to listen, Xiao Dong. Your parents made us responsible for taking care of you, so we must be responsible. We can¡¯t let you be with such a mysterious person ¨C at least, we have to be sure of his abilities. Alright, you don¡¯t have to bother yourself with this anymore. I will handle it with your second uncle. Your cultivation has reached a bottleneck, so second uncle will escort you to the Ascension Chamber to find a suitable soul ringter.¡±

 Chapter 193.3: Two Uncles?

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t seem like he was afraid of his second uncle at all. However, he was much more respectful towards his eldest uncle. He said urgently, ¡°You can¡¯t hurt him, eldest uncle, second uncle! Yuhao doesn¡¯t have any ulterior motives with me. You can test him, but you absolutely cannot hurt him. Otherwise, I will refuse to continue living!¡±

    Wang Dong disyed acute determination and strength when he uttered thatst sentence.

    The man in white, ¡°eldest uncle¡±, said inly, ¡°I will handle things with your second uncle. We really won¡¯t do anything to him¡ªeven if we discover that he does have ulterior motives, we¡¯ll probably just teach him a lesson and throw him out. You¡¯ve just returned from a long trip, go and get some rest. I will discuss how to test that little fe with your second uncle. He¡¯ll have to pass our assessments if he wants to be with our little Dong¡¯er¡ªif he doesn¡¯t, it¡¯s impossible, and your rtionship is not worth mentioning.¡±

    His eyes flickered with azure light, and his tone was equally determined. However, the pressure emanating from his body rendered Wang Dong speechless, and all he could do was leave with a look of dissatisfaction.

    The short-haired man watched Wang Dong leave, and when he was gone he turned towards the man in white. ¡°Big brother, it seems like Xiao Dong really has something for the guy. But this fe¡¯s identity is unknown, and he possesses such special powers¡ªwe should just throw him off Clear Sky Peak. His looks are so average, how can be a match for Xiao Dong?¡±

    The man in white red at him and said, ¡°How old are you? How can you still be so reckless? Can¡¯t you tell that Xiao Dong really does truly like him? It doesn¡¯t really matter what abilities he has¡ªhis personality and thoughts are more important. Can a normal person be a match for Xiao Dong?¡±

    The short-haired man seemed afraid of his big brother, and said hurriedly, ¡°What should we do then, big brother? I¡¯ve tested his abilities¡ªhis cultivation isn¡¯t high, but his foundations are solid. His cultivation feels continuous, nigh endless even. Furthermore, he cultivates the Mysterious Heaven Technique, and I can¡¯t detect any other techniques on him. However, what surprises me the most is his spiritual power. I wanted to teach him a lesson with a show of strength, but this guy was actually able to fuse his spiritual power with his soul power to resist my pressure, and eventually seeded in doing so. The level of his spiritual power is quite impressive.¡±

    The man in white nodded and said, ¡°Our assessments will have to focus more on his nature and personality, not just on his abilities. We¡¯ll have to discuss this carefully.¡±

    ¡­

    Huo Yuhao had no idea that unwittingly releasing his Ice Empress Jade Scorpion would bring so much trouble. He washed his face, and walked over to the room¡¯s only window, casting his gaze outwards.

    The window frame was shaped in an arch, and there was ayer of crystal-like ss covering it. The rolling clouds outside that fell into his eyes made him feel like he was in a saintly paradise. Their beauty stunned and dazzled him. He thought about when he released his spiritual power to resist the pressure from that ¡°second uncle¡± earlier, and Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual improvements.

    He leapt onto the stone bed and sat down with his legs crossed. He would have to consolidate his gains today with meditation, so that he could securely remember these improvements.

    He¡¯d only just sat down when the Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang out in his mind. ¡°Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s wrong, Ice Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.

    The Ice Empress muttered solemnly, ¡°That person is very powerful and extremely frightening.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Are you referring to Wang Dong¡¯s second uncle?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Ice Empress continued, ¡°His aura frightens me, and even Skydream. I am sure that his martial soul isn¡¯t a spiritual-type one, but his spiritual power has reached a level of consolidation and coalescence¡ªhigher than yours. That¡¯s not all, I couldn¡¯t feel his cultivation in the slightest, which means that he¡¯s probably stronger than I was at my peak. He is at least as strong as that Elder Xuan from Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He could tell that the short-haired man was extremely powerful, but had never expected that even the Ice Empress would hold him in such high regard.

    The Skydream Iceworm chimed in. ¡°Ice Empress is right. That person is mighty indeed¡ªeven though his spiritual power isn¡¯t as vast as my former spiritual powers, his level of coalescence and consolidation is superior. I could also sense that his spiritual power contained intense brutality, a tinge of invasiveness and hostility. It also had an aura as if it were high above everything. If he were a soul beast, he would definitely be ranked amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and probably amongst the top five. However, he¡¯s definitely a human, not a soul beast. Of all the humans that I¡¯ve seen, only Elder Mu¡¯s spiritual power was superior to his. And this person¡¯s soul power seems far more terrifying than his spiritual power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Clear Sky Sect has more than ten thousand years of history. Ten thousand years isn¡¯t much for soul beasts, but ten thousand years is extremely long to humans. Wouldn¡¯t you say it¡¯s normal for the Clear Sky Sect to have such substance? After all, the Clear Sky Sect used to be as reputable as the Body Sect, and was perhaps even more famed at some points. The fact that Wang Dong¡¯s family is mighty is not a bad thing¡ªso why do I feel like you guys are worried about me?¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°I¡¯m not worried¡ªI just feel that he is extremely dangerous. With power like that, he can probably discover my existence if he tried. I felt that Elder Mu could probably sense my existence, except he didn¡¯t mention it to you. Perhaps he didn¡¯t do so because he guessed my intentions, but Skydream¡¯s spiritual power was stronger, so he remained undetected.¡±

    ¡°He can detect your presence?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard her words. The Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Elder Yi, and even the Snow Lady were his biggest secrets, and they were secrets that people simply couldn¡¯t know. He instantly started to feel nervous.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt cold, and even the soul power circting through his body slowed down, almost as if there were some resistance.

    ¡°Eh? Why do I feel cold?¡± Ever since he had fused with Ice Empress, he no longer knew what it felt like to be cold. But this was already the second time today that he¡¯d felt chilly.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Wang Dong is truly nice to you. The water that you just used to wash your face is a kind of spring water, and if I¡¯m not wrong, it should be a Frozen Spring. Something that¡¯s born from absorbing the cold between heaven and earth, so even though it¡¯s water, its coldness can rival the Manifold Mysterious Ice in the core regions of the Extreme North. However, it contains much more energy of heaven and earth¡ªyou must have felt invigorated when you washed your face just now. However, this isn¡¯t a luxury that anyone can have¡ªif someone else had been in your shoes, he or she would¡¯ve been frozen solid from a single touch. The stone bed beneath you is even more impressive. It should be made from the jade essence of a piece of Frigid Jade, and that is rarely seen even in the core regions of the Extreme North. This is the first time that I¡¯ve seen a piece asrge as this.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen jade essence like this before, during my first hibernation and my first transmutation. However, that piece of jade essence cracked, and the liquid within flowed onto my body, so I entered my first hibernation. The fact that I have lived for so many years is strongly rted to that ten-thousand year jade essence. You should guide these icy energies into your body and merge them with your soul power. Cultivating while sitting on something like this will probably resolve the Ultimate Ice martial soul¡¯s speed problems most effectively.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Then your worries¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to be worried about.¡± Electrolux¡¯s elderly voice could be heard. ¡°That person harbors no hostility at all against Yuhao. I could feel his aura of justice and righteousness. The most he will do is chase you away because of the number of secrets that you have. My guess is that he will continue testing you, and all you have to do is face them properly. The only thing you can¡¯t reveal is what I¡¯ve taught you, Necromancy¡ªeverything else is usable. That person¡¯s spiritual level is higher than the bug¡¯s estimation, and is very unique.¡±

    ¡°High to what kind of level?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked curiously.

    However, Electrolux didn¡¯t respond, it was as if he¡¯d returned to his deep slumber.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer able tomunicate with the two soul beasts at this moment, because the chillsing from beneath him were increasing in intensity. He needed to focus everything he had on circting his soul power to resist the cold.

    The chill didn¡¯t rush into him all at once. Instead, it diffused into his body gradually. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel much of anything at the start because of his Ultimate Ice martial soul, but this cold was different from his own.

    Ultimate Ice was the most powerful ice-type existence, but the cold diffusing into his body was like the pure and pristine origin energy of heaven and earth, which belonged to no one. It wasn¡¯t invasive, but it was fundamentally different from the Ultimate Ice¡¯s nature.

    Simply put, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was like a weapon, but the chill from this bed made of Frigid Jade essence was more akin to a delicacy made from the origin energy of heaven and earth¡ªexcept this delicious food¡¯s temperature was a little on the low side, to the point where Huo Yuhao had to channel every ounce of his strength to fuse his soul power with this extremely cold and pure energy, and eventually guide it to fuse with his own martial soul.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang out again in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether that person is a threat to you or not. This opportunity is too great for you to let it slip by¡ªwith this bed made of Frigid Jade essence, no ice-type force would rebel, and it can calm the fires in your heart. You will never run the risk of going mad. If I had this manifold Frigid Jade essence back then, breaking through the bottleneck to four hundred thousand years wouldn¡¯t have been a problem. Pay attention, Yuhao. I¡¯m going to open a seal, and release some of the power that I have suppressed in your body. I will use the cold of this bed and its mystical properties to interact with you. Use your soul power to protect your meridians.¡±

 Chapter 194.1: Manifold Frigid Jade Essence Bed

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao felt a little fearful as he channeled the Mysterious Heaven Technique to the best of his ability and absorbed the pure cold energy into his body.

    The thin streaks of cold energy merged with Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power under the influence of his Mysterious Heaven Technique. His Ice Empress martial soul was released once again and his dark red four hundred thousand year soul ring glowed with four lines of golden light, smearing the entire room with golden-red light.

    Huo Yuhao could see faint ice-blue mist rising from beneath him as the golden-red light shone. The Frigid Jade Essence Bed gradually became transparent, while the ice-blue colors were lustrous and glossy like jade. One could see subtle trickles of thick liquid sloshing around within, as if the entire thing was one delicious treat. Anybody looking it would have the urge to pounce on the jade essence bed to take a bite.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power continuously directed the icy energy, and his body suddenly quivered like he¡¯d been shocked. He quickly jumped to his feet and took off his clothes and soul tools in a jiffy, tossing them aside before he returned to the Frigid Jade Essence Bed.

    Huo Yuhao realized that the cold energy released by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed was like the power of heaven and earth. The Ice Empress¡¯ energies within his body were also bing stronger from the stimtion by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed¡¯s cold air. If this continued, his clothes would be destroyed, and even soul tools forged with precious metals would be unable to resist. He would be devastated if his soul tools were damaged because of this. This was the reason why he took everything off. While he was shedding his soul tools, he suddenly recalled something that rendered him speechless. Ever since he was inspected by Jing Hongchen, he had never carried the ss 9 protective soul tool, Hongchen¡¯s Blessing¡ªhe realized he wouldn¡¯t have been injured by Zhao Yang if he had had that soul tool with him. Toiling to cultivate and researching every single day must have addled my brain. Wang Dong is right¡ªI have to learn how to rx when it¡¯s time to rx.

    There wasn¡¯t a thread of clothing left on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and his body emitted an explosive power. His muscles were not the overlyrge and stiff kind¡ªthe lines of his body were smooth, and his muscle details were perfect, his shoulders were broad, and his back was wide. His skin seemed to radiate jade-like hues. He was channeling every inch of energy in his body, and his vast life energy couldn¡¯t be covered as a result.

    At this moment, the gigantic Ice Jade Empress Scorpion tattoo shimmered on his back, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s skeleton exuded a vigorous azure-green aura. His Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone flickered with azure light, and this light intertwined with the golden-red radiance that wasing from his four hundred thousand year soul ring, as well as with the colors released by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. The entire room was filled with these brilliant colors.

    The enormous Ice Jade Empress Scorpion tattoo seemed toe alive at this point. A pair of golden eyes seemed to flicker across its long tail¡¯s azure radiance, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire skeleton glowed with a faint green light. One could see that the azure light was bing stronger with every flicker.

    The truth was, with his continuous training and improvements, along with the immense life energy from merging with the Life Gold, Huo Yuhao could¡¯ve absorbed part of the powers sealed away by the Ice Empress to boost his own cultivation a long time ago.

    The reason why he hadn¡¯t done so was because he had discussed it with the Ice Empress, and they had decided that consolidating his foundations was more important. It was also better for him to conceal his own abilities¡ªyes, conceal!

    As an exchange student at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, every student from Shrek Academy had undergone strict investigations and interrogations when they first arrived¡ªincluding himself. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s teachers naturally paid more attention to him as he was a special student with twin martial souls, and also because his performance in thest season¡¯s Continental Competition was ster.

    Under such circumstances, Huo Yuhao would have received much more attention if he had revealed even stronger abilities¡ªthere was even a possibility that the Sun Moon Empire would attempt to destroy him at all costs. In the end, he was on their turf!

    When Huo Yuhao had first arrived, he had forced his cultivation down to three soul rings. Even though his soul power allowed him to have four, he only had three ¨C the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy immediately rxed after discovering this fact during their investigations. This was in spite of him attaining his fourth soul ring at Jingyang Mountain, and thus bing a Soul Ancestor; he didn¡¯t attract much attention anymore.

    Huo Yuhao dared to give his all in the exchangepetition because he wanted to infuriate the academy¡¯s students so that the exchangepetition would end more quickly, but also because he was clear that Jing Hongchen wouldn¡¯t be too wary of him because of his soul power, no matter how highly he might regard his abilities.

    His Ultimate martial soul wasn¡¯t that great for cultivation. In the history of the Continent, Ultimate martial souls were rare, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t exist. However, the number of people who had been able to seed and been able to be a Titled Douluo were few and far between ¨C why? Because it was difficult for Ultimate martial souls to advance.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s current age was a soul master¡¯s golden age for cultivation. His body would grow much more slowly after he reached twenty years of age, to the point where his body might stop growing altogether. The fusion between his martial soul and his body would slow, and every soul master¡¯s cultivation speed would stabilize in this phase.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had only improved by about four to five ranks in his two years at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. With a speed like that, and even though he was still young, he would definitely be unable to reach Rank 50 at this rate by the time he was twenty years old.

    Ultimate martial souls would only truly reveal their frightening aspects after reaching seven rings, and only then would they not be affected by their Ultimate nature¡¯s slow cultivation speed. However, it was much harder to advance from Rank 50 to Rank 60 than it was to advance from Rank 40 to Rank 50. Jing Hongchen even did the math for him once ¨C by his calctions, Huo Yuhao would need another eight years to reach Rank 60, and it would take some luck for him to reach Rank 70. Huo Yuhao was a prodigy, but Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao prodigious enough to poach him at all costs.

    Huo Yuhao had made Jing Hongchen nervous before when he had suddenly entered deep meditation for six months after the exchangepetition. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation didn¡¯t improve at all when he surfaced from the deep meditation, and Jing Hongchen had stopped focusing much attention on Huo Yuhao since that moment.

    If Jing Hongchen knew that there were several formidable powers sealed within his body, he would have had a different opinion.

    At this point, both Jing Hongchen and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy stopped paying much attention to the exchange students from Shrek Academy. From their perspective, only He Caitou, who had broken through Rank 60, was worth their attention. But He Caitou had always disyed integrity and honesty when he was doing research and forging soul tools, and he had never revealed his abilities at all, so over time, the academy began to rx.

    Huo Yuhao believed he should wait until he returned to Shrek Academy before opening the Ice Empress¡¯ seal to boost his soul power. At that point, his progress would skyrocket. He would give the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy a ¡°pleasant surprise¡± during the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    However, destiny wouldn¡¯t change ording to someone¡¯s will. The opportunity before him was simply too good to let go. The Ice Empress couldn¡¯t resist any longer, and thus released her seal, so that she could fuse part of her power with Huo Yuhao.

    She had been waiting too long for this day.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ seal wasn¡¯t solid, and she would actually have to resolidify it every now and then. However, this process consumed her origin power. She wasn¡¯t like the Skydream Iceworm; her spiritual power couldn¡¯t evenpare to his. When she had merged with Huo Yuhao and be Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul, all the power that was sealed away belonged to Huo Yuhao, though they were the ones responsible for helping him seal it away. Releasing part of that power would greatly reduce the pressure on the seal.

    This Frigid Jade Essence Bed would greatly boost the fusion effects and the safety of the process. How could she let this opportunity slip by?

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood what the Ice Empress was thinking, so he epted her suggestion. The truth was that Wang Dong¡¯s ascension to Rank 60 gave him a lot of pressure. When they were cultivating together, he could clearly feel that seventy percent of the Haodong power came from Wang Dong, and he was pretty much ripping Wang Dong off. Even under such circumstances, his cultivation speed was still iparable to Wang Dong¡¯s. In terms of personal ability, Huo Yuhao would no longer be a match for Wang Dong the moment Wang Dong got his sixth soul ring. Wang Dong also had twin martial souls, and both of his martial souls were top-tier entities.

    They were best buddies, so how could he be willing to have such an enormous rift between Wang Dong and himself? This was especially so after he entered the Clear Sky Castle today, and he was greatly affected by the fact that Wang Dong¡¯s second uncle made it clear that he wasn¡¯t worthy of being Wang Dong¡¯s friend, even though didn¡¯t say it explicitly. Huo Yuhao¡¯s experiences as a child made him stubborn and unbending, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else at this point.

    Dense soul power rippled and sizzled, and this caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura to transform. The iciness, the power, and the primal energy that came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion were all slowly rising within this tiny room.

 Chapter 194.2: Manifold Frigid Jade Essence Bed

    Circle after circle of green light rippled out from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s tattoo. This radiance merged with the icy-blue energying from the Frigid Jade Essence Bed beneath him before it followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance and was absorbed into his body.

    Huo Yuhao could feel that his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton was starting to swell painfully, bing increasingly agonizing as Ice Empress¡¯ aura was continuously released.

    However, he was as tough and resilient as ever. Back in the icy regions of the Extreme North, he had suffered inhuman pain to merge with the Ice Empress, and the pain he was feeling now wasn¡¯t even enough to make him frown.

    Huo Yuhao very quickly felt what the Ice Empress meant when she said that the Frigid Jade Essence Bed was a perfect opportunity for him. Huo Yuhao discovered that when the icy energy from the Frigid Jade Essence Bed was absorbed into his body when his own Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton was swelling painfully, the Frigid Jade Essence Bed¡¯s power would seep through his body, bringing waves of smooth, coolfort with it. It greatly reduced his physical suffering, and even his mind felt felt the cool waves stimting his spirit and making him especially focused and alert.

    The soul power ripples were bing more and more vigorous. Wave after wave of soul power flowed from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton and fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s own soul power.

    The reason why his bones were swelling painfully was because the Ice Empress¡¯ power was sealed inside them, and releasing this power meant that it had to be push outwards.

    The pain was still in a endurable range, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s already thick soul power was stably and rhythmically circting inside his body under the control of his formidable spiritual power. After one day, he could feel that his cultivation had increased by a level that was higher than he could have achieved if he had cultivated for ten days under normal circumstances.

    The energy released by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed seemed to be affected by the Ice Empress¡¯ energy, and it poured out with even more vigor than before. When it fused with the Ice Empress¡¯ power and they integrated with one another, it caused the Ice Empress¡¯ power to be even purer, and there was an intricate transformation that not even Huo Yuhao could perceive clearly.

    Tiny cracks were starting to appear on the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton. These cracks were only on the surface, but Huo Yuhao felt as if his azure-green skeleton was shedding its skin, and the Ice Empress¡¯ power was sealed beneath thisyer.

    The temperature in the room was declining at a rapid speed, and ayer of frost quickly appeared on the room¡¯s walls. The frost gradually became thicker, and the temperature continued to drop. Even the window was covered by the frost, and the mystical ocean of clouds outside could no longer be seen.

    ------

    On the third level of Clear Sky Castle...

    The man in white was sitting there quietly, and he furrowed his eyebrows. The short-haired man was sitting not far from him, and there was a thoughtful look on his face.

    ¡°This fe does have some balls! He recognizes the good stuff. Not even we have used the Frigid Jade Essence Bed before ¨C he¡¯s lucky!¡± The short-haired man¡¯s emotions appeared to be very rxed.

    The man in white nced at him and said, ¡°Would you have waited for so long if you had the ability to use it?¡±

    The short-haired man chuckled and said, ¡°Who knows? That thing is still useful to us, more or less.¡±

    The man in white muttered, ¡°What else can you see from his behavior?¡±

    The short-haired man replied, ¡°What else? Avarice. He made use of the good stuff as soon as he saw it. He¡¯s not a good guy.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong,¡± the man in white responded.

    ¡°Eh?¡± The short-haired man stared at this elder brother, confused.

    The man in white said, ¡°What you can see is just what it appears to be. I am certain that the first soul ring of this youth¡¯s second martial soul was attained by the sacrifice of a four-hundred thousand year soul beast. Furthermore, this soul beast that was sacrificed found a way to infuse its own power into his body and make a seal to contain it. Can you not feel howplete his four-hundred thousand year soul ring is? His Ultimate Ice martial soul came from that as well.¡±

    The short-haired man said, ¡°What does that have to do with his greed?¡±

    The man in white said, ¡°This isn¡¯t greed, it¡¯s trust. If that were you, and you¡¯d been thrown into a ce where everything could threaten your safety, and you suddenly discovered something that could raise your own cultivation level, but the process of using it would cause your own power to flow outward and attract the attention of outsiders, what would you do?¡±

    The short-haired man replied almost instantly, ¡°I would find a way to take it away, and find a safe ce before I started cultivating.¡±

    The man in white agreed, ¡°At least you¡¯re not that stupid, and your many years of life haven¡¯t been wasted.¡±

    The short-haired man was annoyed and asked, ¡°Do you not feel good if you don¡¯t insult me, brother?¡±

    The man in white smiled and replied ¡°Let me finish. Huo Yuhao is definitely aware that using the Frigid Jade Essence Bed for cultivation will unleash his aura and his power. The reason why he¡¯s still doing it is because of his trust in Wang Dong. Even though he¡¯s inside Clear Sky Castle, he trusts that Wang Dong can keep him safe, and thus he is going ahead with his cultivation. Of course ¨C there¡¯s another reason, and that should be because the aura sealed in his body was triggered by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. He has discovered this serendipitous opportunity.¡±

    The short-haired man dismissed thatment and said, ¡°So what if he trusts Wang Dong? Our Xiao Dong has always been trustworthy.¡±

    The man in white shot him a re and said, ¡°Shut up! You should think more about things. Is your mind filled with alcohol? Or has your life been too smooth-sailing over the years?¡±

    The short-haired man appeared afraid of his elder brother. Even though he was a bit unconvinced of his brother¡¯s intimidation, he didn¡¯t dare utter another word.

    The man in white exined, ¡°Trust in others is a kind of virtue, especially when one is willing to trust anotherpletely, even when one¡¯s safety can be threatened at any moment. This proves that the other person is held in high regard in this person¡¯s heart. Dong¡¯er¡¯s father told us once that we shouldn¡¯t interfere too much in Dong¡¯er¡¯s life, and to let him make his own choices. All we have to do is ensure the general direction is right. Therefore, we only have to pay attention to three things about Huo Yuhao ¨C his mentality, his ability, and his attitude towards Xiao Dong. Judging from his cultivation, his attitude towards Xiao Dong is satisfactory. Of course, we still have to investigate further. Tell everyone that no matter what happens on the second level, nobody is to disturb him. Since he trusts us, then we have to show him how generous the Clear Sky Sect can be. I want to see just how much our Frigid Jade Essence Bed can do for this youth.¡±

    ------

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power on normal days could be described as a fine and small stream that flowed gradually, then the soul power that was currently flowing through his body was like a thousand streams that flowed endlessly into the sea. The surging soul power flowed into his core continuously, and the speed of cirction being guided by the Mysterious Heaven Technique was ten times faster than typical days.

    No matter how resilient Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways were, he was starting to feel a swelling pain. However, he approved of the Ice Empress¡¯ judgment more and more, and increasingly felt that opening the seal here was a great idea.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was at an extremely high level, and that enabled him to infuse his spiritual power into his flourishing soul power. He managed to guide and control the surging soul power impably, so that it wouldn¡¯t bounce around uncontrobly. The purity provided by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed also protected his passageways. The energy released from the jade essence was unbearably cold, but it was gentle and tender. It was like a gentle young girl softly caressing his painfully swelling passageways and bones, in direct contrast to the Ice Empress¡¯ soul power, which was vigorous, ferocious, and barged around. It greatly reduced the pain that Huo Yuhao had to endure, and it greatly reduced the burden on his body during the fusion process, so that the Ice Empress¡¯ seal could be opened even wider¡­

    Huo Yuhao could feel after these few hours that his soul power had broken through Rank 46, and he was entering Rank 47. At his current speed, his soul power, that crawled like a snail on typical days, would be able to break into Rank 50, give or take.

    The origin energy of heaven and earth contained in the Frigid Jade Essence Bed was simply too vast. However, the rate of outflow appeared to have an upper limit, and wouldn¡¯t increase over time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice martial soul was within these boundaries, so the opening of the seal was extremely stable under its influence.

    If this normal circumstance was allowed to continue, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t experience any danger at all during this opening of the seal, and his cultivation would rise by an enormous amount. The Ice Empress¡¯ sealed power was Ultimate Ice, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power would rise to about Rank 50 within the limits of endurance that his body could take.

    However, just as Huo Yuhao could feel his power rising and just as he was controlling the cirction of soul power, his heart skipped a beat.

    A peculiar power seemed to have been awakened inside his body. Ayer of cold energy that was even more powerful than before erupted from within him.

    A golden pearl started spinning around rapidly in his core before it started hysterically consuming the surging soul power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The Frigid Jade Essence Bed below Huo Yuhao burst out with cold energy because of this, and its outflow at least doubled.

    What¡¯s happening? Huo Yuhao was taken aback. Within his spiritual sea, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who was focusing all her energy on controlling the seal¡¯s opening, was equally astonished, and she even screamed in shock inside his spiritual sea.

    The golden pearl that was rotating with blinding speed had a powerful drawing power, and it seemed to sweep everything away as it consumed the soul power within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, the power released from the seal by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, and the origin energy of heaven and earth from the Frigid Jade Essence Bed.

    A trembling woman¡¯s voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, ¡°Oh no, my sealed origin has been triggered! How can this be?¡±

 Chapter 194.3: Manifold Frigid Jade Essence Bed

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Electrolux¡¯s elderly voice rang out. All four powerful beings in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea who were typically in deep slumber all woke up, and everyone started to panic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic everyone, let¡¯s think of solutions.¡± Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He was extremelyposed at this moment, and even though he didn¡¯t know what was going on, he immediately used his soul power to forcefully control the turbulent soul power within his body. He still didn¡¯t know how to resist the powerful gravitational force, but he could at least dy the hysterical absorption speed.

    The Ice Empress recovered after Huo Yuhao¡¯s reminder, and she tried her best to close her seal within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    However, the suction force was simply too strong, to the point where the Ice Empress¡¯ attempts to control it were futile. She was slowing the absorption speed, but there was no way she could close her seal.

    The vast origin energy of heaven and earth contained in the Icejade Bed beneath him was being extracted rapidly, and it was getting faster. The golden pearl was spinning at such a speed that Huo Yuhao really couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore. He could see that his core was still swelling, and the vast energies being swallowed away were causing it to growrger.

    Electrolux contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°I think I understand. Snow Lady, I will help you suppress it. The sealed origin power seems to have been ignited by the origin energy of heaven and earth contained in the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. We¡¯re in big trouble now.¡±

    ¡°Ignited what?¡± The Snow Lady asked, confused. She was the golden pearl¡¯s owner, but she had no idea what was happening.

    Electrolux lowered his voice and said, ¡°There is no question ¨C both you and the Ice Empress are the most powerful ice-type soul beasts in the world, and your powers are very close to the upper limits of coldness. Once coldness reaches its upper limit, it¡¯s theoretically possible for a qualitative change to happen, and the Ultimate Ice will be converted into Ultimate Fire. The coldest energies will be converted into frightening, scorching energies.¡±

    ¡°What? How is that possible? I have never felt something like this before.¡± Within Huo Yuhao¡¯s turbulent spiritual sea, the Snow Lady looked at Electrolux with a face of disbelief.

    The Ice Empress was focusing all her attention on controlling the seal, so she couldn¡¯t speak. However, she was looking at Electrolux with the same inconceivable and unfathomable expression.

    Electrolux said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t exist if you haven¡¯t felt it before, that¡¯s only because your cultivations are too low. Grasping the transmutation of Ultimate types from one extremity to another can only be controlled by divine sense. I once possessed part of that power, but what I had was the conversion of extreme light into extreme darkness, and hence came the name Divine Law of Necromancy.¡±

    ¡°What do we do now then?¡± the Snow Lady asked urgently. ¡°Part of my consciousness and origin power are sealed inside the snow pearl, and I have no way of controlling the violence within it. If this is allowed to continue, it will reach a size so big that it will detonate. At that point, us and even the mountain range around us will be ttened by the terrifying force.¡±

    Electroluxughed bitterly and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do even though I know what¡¯s going on. Your strength is considered sufficiently powerful in this world, and when this power undergoes a transmutation, it are alsopressed to the highest possible level. It is so intricate andpact that it can trigger the pr extremes. Because your reincarnation wasn¡¯t sessful, and your body was damaged, you weren¡¯t able to control andpress your power. I used a special curse and borrowed Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power to seal yourpressed power. When Yuhao can control this spiritual power by himself one day, then he will be able to absorb a little of your vastpressed power that¡¯s sealed away. Even though much will leak away, at least it won¡¯t trigger an explosion.

    ¡°Even I couldn¡¯t predict today¡¯s circumstance ¨C I never expected that something else in this world shared the same origin power as you. The origin energy of heaven and earth contained within the jade essence is very simr to yours. Your control of the extremelypressed and sealed origin power has always been unstable because you left your consciousness. It was stimted by the outer world¡¯s origin energy of heaven and earth, so it would naturally hope to absorb this immense power into itself. It began to react violently under such circumstances, and the pr extreme has urred. It has be like a bomb, and it¡¯s rapidly swelling as it absorbs, so the extreme coldness is starting to transmute into the opposite extreme, and this power will expand even more. This explosion will have the terrifying power of a divine being, and both me and you guys will¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was worried. He had wracked his brains and done everything he could to merge with Huo Yuhao, and had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. This sudden cmity stunned thezy bug as he said, ¡°Stop saying that, Elder Yi! You have to think of a solution! There must be a solution, right?¡±

    Electrolux forced augh and shook his head. ¡°Would I still be waiting here if I had a solution? We¡¯re all in the same boat, and even though I am only left with part of my divine sense, I have recovered some memories with the aid of Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. I am also unwilling to die if I can live. However, this bomb created from the conversion of one extremity to another is not something I can control, and neither is it something you guys can change. I have no solutions anymore, and all I can do is wait for death toe.¡±

    Both the Snow Lady and the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s auras changed once Electrolux said those words. The Ice Empress was still trying her best to control the power flowing from her seal, but even she shuddered and nearly lost control of its vast strength.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Snow Empress,¡± the Ice Empress eximed. She could see that virtual light erupting with blinding brilliance, and ring after ring of azure-green that looked like mes rose from her body. The power leaking out from the seal was temporarily held back, and Huo Yuhao felt as if the snow pearl in his core was now spinning a little slower.

    The Snow Empress was only left with her divine sense, and there was nothing she could do at this moment. She said fearfully, ¡°Why are you doing this? Even if you ignite your own origin power, you can¡¯t stop all of this. Fate has yed us ¨C we are destined to perish here together.¡±

    This disaster hade too suddenly, and it was something that nobody was able to predict. At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea entered a deathly and despondent silence. The snow pearl in his core was expanding rapidly, and there was a possibility that it could explode at any time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were wide open, and he shouted inside the spiritual sea, ¡°My fate belongs to me and not to the heavens! We cannot give up! Elder Yi, Snow Empress, Ice Empress, brother Skydream ¨C I believe that nothing is impossible in this world, and we cannot give up if we have even a thread of a chance. We have simply too many things we have yet to do. There is only one motivation for your decisions to be with me, and that¡¯s to live on! I beg all of you, in such a time of cmity, we cannot sit back and watch as disaster falls upon us. Even if the things we do may be futile, we have to try everything we can to fight for our lives! Come ¨C release all your powers! Even if we die, we will die a spectacr and glorified death. I don¡¯t believe ourbined strengths will be unable to suppress the snow pearl!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rekindled everyone¡¯s spirits. The Skydream Iceworm was the first to agree with his speech, and said, ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t just keep waiting like this. Our fates are ours, and not determined by the heavens ¨C we¡¯ll fight to the end! Elder Yi, you¡¯re at the highest level amongst us. I will release all of my spiritual origin for you to manipte. If it¡¯s possible, you can erase my consciousness to obtain more power. All I wish is that you can help Ice Empress survive.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s fleshy body trembled violently, and his frame swelled explosively. He became like a giant vessel drifting on Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, as the golden circles on his body radiated and expanded outwards. Immense spiritual fluctuations instantly quieted Huo Yuhao¡¯s turbulent and torrential spiritual sea.

    The Ice Empress was still burning her origin power, and she stared at the Skydream Iceworm with her crystal yellow eyes. ¡°Skydream, you¡­¡±

    Something that resembled a human appeared around the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s eyes. He said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more, Ice Empress. The truth is that I have lived for more than a million years, but if there¡¯s anything left in this world for me to love or to remember, it is you. When I was tortured by those brutes back in the Great Star Dou Forest all those years ago, I thought about dying together with them many times. With the strength of my spiritual origin, I was able to greatly reduce their cultivation even if I didn¡¯t kill them. However, I didn¡¯t want to die just like that ¨C I was thinking about you, and you have always been inside my heart.

    ¡°We are not from the same race, and our races can even be said to be natural enemies. However, I was deeply enchanted by your beautiful body when I first met you. Perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯m more intelligent than other Iceworms, but I¡¯ve never forgotten about you ever since that day. And then, finally, we were together. Even if you may not ept me, to feel your aura every day was my life¡¯s greatest fortune. Ever since I picked you up from the Extreme North with Yuhao, I have been very happy, much happier than I was in the past million years of my life ¨C and the reason was because I had you beside me.

    ¡°I can feel that you like the Snow Empress. Even though your genders are the same, your love has always been given to her. But I don¡¯t care, because I¡¯m happy enough that I get to feel your existence every single day. Inside Yuhao¡¯s body, even if you may hate me, we can¡¯t be separated.

    ¡°Perhaps this may be thest thing I can say to you, and maybe we won¡¯t even seed. However, I am even happier at this moment because I am able to offer you thest of my power and my consciousness. Ice Empress, please don¡¯t scold me when I utter myst sentence if you can help it?

    ¡°I love you.¡±

 Chapter 195.1: A Combined Effort

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice echoed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. But Electrolux, the Snow Lady and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t interrupt him even though it was at such a critical moment. Tears rolled from both Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady¡¯s eyes. True love shows itself in a life or death situation. The Skydream Iceworm was willing to give up his life for the Ice Empress! His love for her was pure and devout.

    The Skydream Iceworm gazed at the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion after he finished speaking. When the Ice Empress didn¡¯t rebut him, his face revealed aforted smile, and his size grew once again. The golden rings around his body detached from him and flew off. All seven rings rapidly gathered in the air and flew close to Electrolux.

    The seven golden rings formed a staff in the air, unleashing an indescribable and terrifying coercive spiritual force. It turned from dark-gold to orange-gold. Finally, itnded in Electrolux¡¯s hands.

    As he held onto the staff, filled with the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual origin, Electrolux¡¯s eyes also shone brightly. ¡°Alright, Skydream. No matter whether we survive or not, I won¡¯t ever call you a worm again. You are fit to be my partner, and my friend. Let¡¯s fight it out together. Hahaha, I haven¡¯t been so emotional in a long time. Let¡¯s get wild for once.¡±

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s gaze moved with the staff. As she looked at Electrolux, the blinding azure-green light on her body burned more intensely.

    There seemed to be something more to the look in her eyespared to before. The reflection of the Snow Empress seemed to have disappeared entirely from her crystal-yellow eyes.

    An unprecedented, gentle voice echoed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, ¡°Skydream, I¡¯m willing to listen to what you said just now again if we survive. I won¡¯t even scold you.¡±

    The rtionships between soul beasts weren¡¯t nearly asplex as the rtionships between humans, but they were equally as deep, if not more.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s determined words, Skydream¡¯s noble sacrifice, the Ice Empress¡¯ change in feelings, the Snow Empress¡¯ deep affection and Electrolux¡¯s intense passion; five different strengths from five different beings ignited at this moment.

    Boom! A wild and terrifying aura was unleashed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Just like the Skydream Iceworm said, the only person who could stop this tragedy from happening was Electrolux. Someone who possessed remnants of their divine sense and experiences that the others didn¡¯t have, definitely not Huo Yuhao, the owner of this body.

    Huo Yuhao handed control of his body to Electrolux. They could only survive if they worked together.

    It wasn¡¯t only him. The four hundred thousand year Ice Empress and the seven hundred thousand year Snow Empress also used their life auras. Five different strengths were now under Electrolux¡¯s full control.

    The wild and terrifying aura contained the strength of Huo Yuhao, the Snow Empress, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and the spiritual power of the Skydream Iceworm.

    Their strength was now under the control of the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, who had existed for countless years and once reached the level of god, even though he was only left with remnants of his divine sense now.

    The entire Clear Sky Castle shook as these five different strengths were unleashed. After theybined, a surging aura shot into the sky.

    Even though this aura didn¡¯t possess any destructive energy, all the soul masters below the level of a Titled Douluo in Clear Sky Castle were dismayed by the aura. Their faces turned pale, and they fell weakly to the ground, unaware of what was happening.

    From afar, five auras of different colors were quickly rising above the Clear Sky Castle.

    The five different auras; represented by Huo Yuhao¡¯s whitish-gold, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s bright gold, the Snow Lady¡¯s white, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s azure-green and Electrolux¡¯s grey.

    The five auras undted tremendously in the air. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was the smallest, but it was in the center surrounded by the other four. The other auras exuded their might, and their terrifying strength soared further and further. The sea of clouds around Clear Sky Peak started to change intensely under the effect of these suppressive auras. They dispersed rapidly, and the sea of clouds started to expand.

    The middle-aged man in white and the short-haired middle-aged man, who were observing Huo Yuhao, rushed out of the room immediately. However, they stopped suddenly after they did.

    The short-haired man was horrified and said, ¡°What¡ªwhat force is this? How is this possible? How can he possess such overwhelming auras in his tiny body?¡±

    The man in white pressed his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. There are actually four different auras hidden within his body, and they¡¯re all very powerful. Something¡¯s not right. Why have the auras in his body be so wild? This is not good. They must be out of control.¡±

    ¡°Quickly!¡±

    As he spoke, he lifted the short-haired man by the shoulder. He carried his burly body that was at least two hundred pounds like he was lifting a de of grass. He leapt off the third floor, turning into a streak of light thatnded on the second floor in an instant. He stared at the room with Huo Yuhao in it.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones here. At least ten middle-aged or elderly men were with them in the hallway on the second floor. However, none of them dared to get close to the room.

    ¡°Sect master.¡± All these people bowed and greeted the man in white.

    The most elderly-looking man said to the man in white, ¡°Sect master, what¡¯s going on? Why is there such great undtions of energy in our Clear Sky Sect? What auras are those? Why do I feel like there are a few Transcendent Soul Beasts among us?¡±

    The man in white¡¯s eyes shed with green light. He replied, ¡°Elder Tang, evacuate the members of our sect along with a few of the elders. Ask them to flee as far as possible from Clear Sky Peak. Something¡¯s not right, but even we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on yet.¡±

    ¡°Sect master, what about you and second sect master¡­?¡± Elder Tang was curious.

    The man replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, don¡¯t you trust our abilities? We can only strut our stuff when all of you leave. Oh yes, bring Wang Dong with you too. He should be in his room.¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t handle this force; it¡¯s too strong.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The elders of the Clear Sky Sect didn¡¯t hesitate any longer, and proceeded to carry out his instructions.

    Wang Dong was undoubtedly the most frantic among everyone in the Clear Sky Sect. That was because he was the only one, apart from the sect master and second sect master, who knew where the auras wereing from.

    When the terrifying auras appeared, Wang Dong and the others whose cultivations weren¡¯t high enough were repressed. But he possessed martial soul fusion skills with Huo Yuhao, and thus he was naturally familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s capabilities. He didn¡¯t recognize the power of Electrolux or the Snow Empress, but he could recognize Skydream and the Ice Empress¡¯ aura! He immediately knew Huo Yuhao was in trouble.

    Although he knew that his eldest and second uncle would test Huo Yuhao, he was also aware that they knew their limits, and wouldn¡¯t overstep any boundaries. Furthermore, the auras that Huo Yuhao had unleashed wasn¡¯t just the aura of his martial soul and soul rings that he could normally control. They were on an entirely different level. Wang Dong was especially petrified as he sensed the wildnessing from these auras. It was an extremely terrifying feeling.

    What exactly happened? Why did Yuhao experience such frightening changes?

    Wang Dong was perplexed. He struggled to walk out of his room, but the suppressive force was too strong. He even unleashed his martial soul, and his soul rings started to sh, but he couldn¡¯t use any of his strength.

    This suppression was simr to the suppression that Huo Yuhao had experienced from the second sect master when he had first arrived at Clear Sky Castle¡ªit was on a spiritual level. One couldn¡¯t resist it using soul power.

    ¡°No! I must take a look.¡± Wang Dong roared furiously. He leaned on the wall beside him to prop himself up. He was very stubborn. On his forehead, the illusory projection of a golden trident subtly appeared and shed with dim light.

    When the image of the golden trident appeared, the pressure on him dropped a little. He finally managed to rush out and bumped into the elders who hurried over.

    ¡°Grand Elder, what¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Dong asked Elder Tang anxiously.

    Elder Tang was stunned that Wang Dong could leave the room with his own strength. ¡°We¡¯re also unsure. The sect master has instructed us to evacuate the members of the sect. He wants you to leave too. Come on, follow us.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not leaving. Something has happened to Yuhao!¡± Wang Dong wanted to rush past them, but he was stopped by the Grand Elder.

 Chapter 195.2: A Combined Effort

    Elder Tang was very strong, and was also very familiar with Wang Dong; he knew how stubborn Wang Dong was even though he looked very mild. He struck Wang Dong¡¯s neck, he groaned, and copsed in his arms.

    Elder Tang gestured and said, ¡°Everyone, quickly follow me. We must evacuate immediately. Elders, help the disciples who can¡¯t move.¡±

    Very soon, the entire Clear Sky Castle was evacuated. Arge number of people rushed out of the castle towards the bottom of the mountain peak.

    The fog that normally surrounded Clear Sky Peak had scattered due to the terrifying auras. This made it easier for everyone who was evacuating¡ªas it was possible for them to see where they were escaping.

    Both the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master and second sect master furrowed their brows outside Huo Yuhao¡¯s room.

    The second sect master snapped, ¡°Is he trying to show us how strong he is? Are we the ones testing him, or is he the one testing us instead?¡±

    The sect master red at him and said, ¡°Why are you saying all this right now? We must enter. Although I¡¯m unsure why he¡¯s released so many powerful, out of control auras, how can we ount to Wang Dong if we don¡¯t help him settle this problem? Furthermore, the terrifying strength that he¡¯s unleashed won¡¯t just implicate Clear Sky Castle. I¡¯m afraid Clear Sky Peak and the surrounding mountain peaks will all be doomed if things go wrong.¡±

    The second sect master nodded his head and replied, ¡°Right. Even if we want to blow him apart, we can¡¯t do it here. Elder brother, let me do it.¡±

    As he spoke, he had already taken a step forward and came in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s room. He pressed against the door with his right hand, and ayer of intense yellow light surfaced on his palm. The door was turned to ash before it even managed to creak.

    However, an extremely chilly aura gushed out of the room when the door disappeared. A gust of cold aura at least ten times stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice when he unleashed it in his normal state.

    ¡°It¡¯s really cold!¡± The second sect master shouted. Ayer of intense yellow light spread from his body and resisted the surging chill. However, he eventually couldn¡¯t curb it like that, and his soul rings started to rise from his feet.

    If Huo Yuhao were conscious, he would certainly have been shocked. That was because seven of the second sect master¡¯s soul rings were ck, and thest two were blood-red. He had seven ten thousand year soul rings and two hundred thousand year.

    Among all the powerhouses Huo Yuhao had met before, only Du Busi couldpare to him.

    Although the door was open, a wall of ice drifted into the eyes of the two sect masters. The second sect master struck out with his palm, and yellow light shed.

    However, the wall of ice didn¡¯t break apart like he¡¯d expected. Slight cracks appeared on the surface of the wall, but nothing else happened after that.

    ¡°What?¡± The second sect master eximed softly, and then he wanted to strike with his fist. However, the sect master stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

    ¡°Idiot! You can¡¯t disturb him like that at this point. What if you cause an explosion?¡± As he spoke, he had already pulled his brother away. His eyes shone with green light. He extended his own right hand as he shouted softly.

    Dark-green scales instantly covered his right arm, but he didn¡¯t unleash his martial soul. The scales exuded an elegant glow, and his entire arm turned abnormally thick. An overwhelming might that wasn¡¯t inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s auras was released from his body.

    His fingertips turned into sharp ws, and he wed at the wall of ice, which instantly turned green. His palm then formed a concave shape, then he retracted it, and the wall of ice was flung to one side.

    As the wall of ice was taken apart, the frightening aura behind it gushed out. The sect master was very impressive. Against the terrifying suppression that could even disperse the fog around Clear Sky Peak, his eyes brightened like two green suns. He managed to withstand the suppressive auras just like this.

    He let out a deep draconic roar. Fine green scales started to appear on his skin.

    When the suppressive auras attacked his body, it was pushed to both sides. It was like he was a sharp de that cut it in two.

    The sect master¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to Huo Yuhao, sitting cross-legged on the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. Even though he was experienced and knowledgeable, he was still stunned when he saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was naked¡ªhis body was covered by five different auras of five different colors. The area below his navel was the most brightly illuminated. Thick, golden light and an icy-blue halo were shing in an unstable manner. Huo Yuhao had a tormented look on his face.

    His backbone shed with azure-green light. A dark-red soul ring spun around his body as it moved up and down rhythmically.

    His eyes were shut, but a vertical eye was open on his forehead. The vertical eye released a greyish-white light, and intense spiritual undtions. Using his immense spiritual power, he¡¯d managed to control theplex auras that were being released from his body so far.

    The sect master strode into the room and came before Huo Yuhao as he split the suppressive auras. The second sect master followed him in. He was under less pressure with the sect master in front of him. A denseyer of hair was now covering his body, making him seem like a gori. He was much tenserpared to the sect master.

    ¡°Elder brother, what do we do? Do we bring him out?¡±

    The sect master shook his head and said, ¡°If you want Wang Dong to fight you with his life at stake, you can do so. Can¡¯t you tell that he is very concerned about this young man? We don¡¯t have to rush. Let¡¯s wait awhile. Although the auras are dangerous, they aren¡¯tpletely out of hand yet. The sum of the strength between these auras is already beyond my cultivation. I want to see exactly how much more bizarre this young man can get.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that the two of them were watching him close by. He was in extreme pain now. He had experienced something simr to this before when he fused with the Ice Empress. However, the pain he was suffering this time surpassed that previous experience.

    He felt very bloated in the area below his navel. The snow pearl was absorbing his strength continuously, and had ballooned in size. Furthermore, the aura that it unleashed became more and more dangerous. Just like Electrolux had said, this snow pearl was like a ticking bomb. After it was lit, it couldn¡¯t be stopped. Although it was being suppressed by the various strengths in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, it kept on growing. This meant that it would only be a matter of time before it exploded.

    Huo Yuhao had already relinquished control of his spiritual sea to Electrolux. At such a critical moment, they were doomed to perish if they didn¡¯t trust one another.

    Electrolux didn¡¯t rush to act after epting everyone¡¯s strength. He held the staff and started to ponder.

    The Snow Lady drifted beside him and watched him anxiously. The Ice Empress¡¯ aura became weaker and weaker. How long could she survive as she burned her spiritual origin power? However, she was the one who had suggested this fusion, so even though she didn¡¯t mention it, she was filled with regret. She was willing to risk everything to dy the explosion of the snow pearl.

    Dim lights shed, and Electrolux seemed to have made a decision. He turned to the Snow Empress.

    ¡°Snow Lady, I¡¯ve thought things over carefully now. Since things have reached this stage, there¡¯s only one way that will ensure everyone¡¯s survival. However, you¡¯ll suffer the most in the entire process.¡±

    The Snow Empress replied without any hesitation. ¡°Tell me what it is. No matter what method you propose, I¡¯m willing to go along with it if can save Ice and Skydream. However, I need to know what you¡¯re nning to do.¡±

    Electrolux nodded and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to tell you. The snow pearl belongs to you and is the source of your origin energy. Although you shrunk it greatly and things are improving, we can¡¯t deny that you are the closest to its strength. Under such a circumstance, you have to be the one drawing it out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before we think of other ways.¡±

    The Snow Empress revealed a weird glow in her eyes and nodded her head slightly. She replied, ¡°I get it. Please give me a boost into the sky after I draw the snow pill out. I estimate that I¡¯ll need to be at least three thousand meters away before the explosion won¡¯t have any impact on all of you. Please start now.¡±

    Electrolux said, ¡°No, you¡¯re misunderstanding. I¡¯m not sacrificing you. Drawing the snow pearl out is only the first step. After that, I will tap into Skydream¡¯s, the Ice Empress¡¯s, Huo Yuhao¡¯s and my own strength toplete the re-fusion with the snow pearl.¡±

    ¡°Re-fusion? With such a violent snow pearl? How is that possible? You¡¯ll kill us all! I¡¯d rather die alone than drag all of you down with me. I was the one who caused the problem. Let me be the one to handle the consequences.¡± The Snow Empress said decisively. As the third strongest among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, her pride wouldn¡¯t allow her to implicate her partners at such a critical moment.¡±

    Electrolux said in a deep voice, ¡°No, we have to do this. I am eighty percent confident in seeding. The remaining twenty percent is not the probability of failure but¡­¡±

    He paused for a moment.

    The Snow Empress was anxious as she said, ¡°You¡¯re still being so mysterious at a time like this? Tell me quickly! ¡®But¡¯ what?¡±

 Chapter 195.3: A Combined Effort

    Electrolux said, ¡°But losing your intelligence and memories, or rather only preserving part of your intelligence and memories.¡±

    The Snow Empress was in a daze. She evidently hadn¡¯t expected such a result. She gazed deeply at the Ice Empress and said, ¡°This is already a better result than death. However, I want you to promise that you¡¯re confident of pulling it off. Otherwise, I¡¯d rather die when my snow pearl is drawn out.¡±

    Electrolux said, ¡°This is the only way. It¡¯s not that I want you to sacrifice yourself. I can¡¯t make you do so. After you leave Yuhao¡¯s body, the snow pearl will blow apart immediately. That¡¯s why we need to re-seal it immediately, along with your spiritual sense. Through some incantations and ourbined strength, we can control the violent force and transform it. My confidence was initially less than thirty percent, but two strong individuals have appeared outside. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll help us. With their help, I¡¯m much more confident. I doubt there¡¯s anyone more proficient than me in the field of souls. However, I can¡¯t guarantee absolute safety. Furthermore, you¡¯ll be in a lot of pain. More importantly, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll be even if we seed, since this is the first time we¡¯ve faced such a situation.¡±

    The Snow Empress was furious. ¡°Since it¡¯s the only way, why are you talking so much crap? If you dy any further, we¡¯ll all be dead.¡±

    Electrolux said indifferently, ¡°Since you¡¯ve chosen to pass everything to me, you need to trust me unconditionally. I know when the best time will be. The more violent your snow pearl is, the more confusing its strength will be when it¡¯s drawn out. This confusion is the perfect opportunity for you to strike. That¡¯s why we have to wait. Be prepared, and follow the instructions of my divine sense.¡±

    At this moment, Electrolux released an unprecedented suppressive force. The five gusts of aura were one now, and it wasn¡¯t a power of necromancy, filled with an aura of death. It was an extremely pure and holy aura of light.

    Electrolux turned ming white in the spiritual sea. Intense golden fires started to burn on his body. He revealed a faint smile on his face.

    Electrolux¡¯s smile revealed a sense of holiness as he looked at the Ice Empress, than the staff in his hand, and then the Snow Empress. He thought to himself, ¡°I really miss them! I didn¡¯t expect myself to be so indecisive. I hope that remnants of my divine sense still remain somewhere in some other world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s stomach was already three times bigger now, as if he were a pregnant woman in her tenth month. The intense pain made him feel as if his internal organs were burning. It was the aura of Ultimate Ice, but it released soul power undtions that were burning. His consciousness was already bing more and more unclear as Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire intersected.

    At this point, Electrolux¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Snow Empress let¡¯s begin.¡±

    In the spiritual sea, a streak of golden light shot out of the staff in his hand,nding urately on the Snow Empress and dying her golden. Under Electrolux¡¯s guidance, she turned into a streak of golden light that moved downwards rapidly. She followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways and quickly arrived at the area below his navel.

    It was very weird, but the aura that even the Ice Empress couldn¡¯t suppress started to be sluggish after it encountered the Snow Empress. It seemed to hesitate.

    The Snow Empress revealed a determined look in her eye. She leapt straight towards the snow pearl.

    In the room, the sect master and second sect master could sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was turning more and more violent. Just as they were starting to tense up in fear, a voice resonated in their heads.

    ¡°If the two of you don¡¯t want to perish with us, you need to help us.¡± An elderly-sounding voice jolted the two sect masters. Following this, a figure that was burning ming-white appeared in front of them.

    Electrolux¡¯s body exuded a concentrated aura of life. The burning light element ring up stunned both elders.

    Electrolux said in a deep voice, ¡°I know both of you are confused about my background. I can only tell you that I¡¯m from another world. My divine sense managed to fuse with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body due to a chance encounter. I¡¯m sure both of you are familiar with the words ¡®divine sense¡¯. I can sense the aura of divine sense from your bodies. Although they don¡¯t belong to of you, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not wrong. Both of you should be able to sense the aura of light from me. In that world, those who possess such a pure aura of light are called Children of Light. Only those with the purest hearts closest to the light element can possess it. In your world, you call it the Ultimate Light. I have no time to talk. Huo Yuhao is now in critical danger. A force that has been hidden in his body has been activated by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed, and it¡¯s about to blow. I¡¯ll use my strength to suppress this force and try to stabilize it again, but I¡¯ll need your assistance. Are you willing to help me?¡±

    Electrolux sounded very sincere when he asked for their help. As the second sect master was hesitating, the sect master nodded his head resolutely.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll help you. Second brother, let¡¯s prepare.¡±

    Electroluxughed. ¡°It seems like my gamble has paid off. Your righteousness will be an important reason why we¡¯ll survive. Gentlemen, please help me suppress this force.¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed the golden staff forward. He chanted incantations repeatedly, and the staff then pointed directly to the area below Huo Yuhao¡¯s navel.

    A frantic aura suddenly appeared. The ice in the room instantly melted, and then the pool of water it had formed also evaporated. A scorching aura overwhelmed everything.

    A bead that was shing golden-red and icy-blue made its way out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. When it appeared, rifts started to form on his stomach. However, he rxed, and suddenly opened his eyes.

    Azure-green light re-appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He sped his hands and started to chantplex incantations.

    Blood-curdling screams sounded when the bead left his body. That was the voice of the Snow Empress. Small white figures subtly appeared around the bead, which was shining extremely brightly.

    However, the staff was pressed against it at this moment. Not only this, but two golden res flew out from Electrolux¡¯s eyes andnded on the bead, which was filled with frightening strength.

    While the two golden res seemed very small, the figures of the sect master and second sect master jerked when they appeared. They were both shocked.

    Azure-green and dark brown light rose from the two sect masters. The sect master¡¯s soul rings were only slightly different from the second sect master ¨C he had six ck and three red soul rings.

    Different light projections also appeared behind the two sect masters.

    There was a huge green dragon behind the sect master. The dragon roared, and a greenish force rippled from him like water. This suppressed the force that was expanding outwards from the bead.

    A gigantic, illusory human figure appeared behind the second sect master. This figure¡¯s arms were especially long, and he was pounding his chest. Dark brown soul power rose with the sect master¡¯s aura and helped to repress the explosive force of the snow pearl.

    It was very weird, but the snow pearl suddenly became very still when Electrolux¡¯s two golden resnded on it. His figure also turned illusory and transparent in the air. However, he was still chanting his incantations, and his voice became louder and louder.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ screams stopped. At this moment, she seemed to understand something. Her petite figure was on the snow pearl, and she gazed deeply at Electrolux. She bent her waist and bowed to him respectfully. After that, she turned into a streak of flowing light and entered the snow pearl.

    While the forces inside the snow pearl were extremely violent, they could not be released while being suppressed by three strong beings. They could only sh between golden-red and golden-blue.

    The two sect masters were indeed very strong. When they teamed up, theypletely suppressed the snow pearl and prevented it from blowing apart.

    ¡°Do we send it out?¡± the sect master asked Electrolux.

    Electrolux waved the staff at him and chanted his incantations more resoundingly. He lifted the staff up high in the air and then slowly and steadily outlined the shape of golden runes. Huo Yuhao also lifted his right hand as he chanted on the other side. His index finger turned illusory in the air. He seemed to be imitating Electrolux¡¯s actions.

    Electrolux revealed aforted look in his eyes. The golden runes he created started to drift towards the snow pearl, and rapidly fused with them.

    Strangely, the snow pearl seemed to transform after the runes were fused in. The power inside it was still as violent as ever, but it didn¡¯t try to burst out of the pearl.

    There was much less pressure on the sect master and second sect master now, but they didn¡¯t dare rx. No one knew if the violent energy would run wild again!

 Chapter 196: Divine Flame Reconstruction

    Rune after rune was fused into the snow pearl, making the snow pearl less and less agitated. However, it was still slowly growing, inch by inch.

    When it had first appeared, it was only the size of an infant¡¯s fist. Now however, it was as big as an apple, and was slowly growing to the size of a watermelon. Its regr spherical shape had also be more and more irregr. Something seemed to be squirming inside.

    Electrolux wore a slight smile on his face, but his body was bing more illusory by the moment.

    The snow pearl slowly showed a strange scene. Something seemed to be moving underneath the golden, transparent film. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like a human embryo.

    ¡°Yuhao, blood!¡± Electrolux shouted.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide and spat out fresh blood, whichnded on the snow pearl. Suddenly, the force within the embryo seemed to stabilize and calm down. It slowly turned into a ball of golden light that flew towards Huo Yuhao. The two sect masters stopped restricting it, because Electrolux gestured at them not to do so.

    Thest golden rune also flew out of Electrolux¡¯s hand andnded urately on the snow pearl, which had absorbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood and slowly turned milky-white. As golden light shed, the snow pearl drifted in front of Huo Yuhao.

    The staff in Electrolux¡¯s hand turned into a golden streak of light, which flew out and went into Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. Small, golden whirlpools appeared within the Eye of Destiny. Then a golden light expanded, and easily engulfed the snow pearl embryo. As lights shed, the snow pearl disappeared.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body jerked. Blood seeped out of his pores. His face became even paler. He was subjected to the rebound from immense forces. When everything ended, he was about to sumb to his injuries.

    Electrolux smiled, ¡°Although the remnants of my divine senses can¡¯t store all my past memories, I know that you¡¯re not my only disciple. However, you are very outstanding, and I¡¯m very pleased with you. You must remember never to be extreme. If one¡¯s heart is upright, they will be upright. No matter what strength it is, it¡¯ll only be used for appropriate purposes in the hands of the just.¡±

    ¡°Teacher,e back inside quickly!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed anxiously. He wanted to move towards Electrolux, but he immediately copsed after he got off the Frigid Jade Essence Bed.

    Electrolux sighed, ¡°You¡¯re a fool. Have I taught you for nothing? Can¡¯t you feel what strength I¡¯m using to help the Snow Empress be reborn as an embryo? It¡¯s just a pity that she doesn¡¯t have a body. Otherwise, I could have given her a real rebirth. Like I mentioned earlier, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯ll be, lose or gain, after I do this. At least you are all safe. The Snow Empress will also be tightly bound to you.¡±

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Tears streamed down from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. Even though his internal organs were on fire and blood was seeping out of his pores, he still struggled to crawl towards Electrolux.

    Of course he knew what strength Electrolux was using. The two golden res had yed decisive roles; they were the mes of Electrolux¡¯s divine sense! The remnants of his divine sense had been the fuel for the mes.

    The Cmity Necromancer had used thest of his divine sense to save them. However, he didn¡¯t inform anyone before doing this.

    Electrolux smiled and said, ¡°If you reach that stage one day, this world might really possess conditions that permit the existence of gods. You might find the remnants of my divine sense somewhere, or use the delicate connection that we have to restore the me of my divine sense. I¡¯ll be waiting for that day. Don¡¯t be sad. To me, it¡¯s not my first time dying. What¡¯s so scary about death? Didn¡¯t we just create a new form of life? I¡¯m very happy. Gentlemen, please help me.¡±

    Hisst sentence was directed at the two sect masters. The sect master lifted Huo Yuhao up from the ground. Before Huo Yuhao could catch a glimpse of what he did next, he passed out.

    ¡°The strength of a god? You used the strength of a god just now?¡± The second sect master couldn¡¯t help but ask. At this point, everything in the room had returned to normal. Only, now the Frigid Jade Essence Bed had lost its original icy qualities and be a rock.

    Electrolux nodded slightly. ¡°I can also feel the auras of gods from your bodies. There¡¯s also a sense of righteousness. I don¡¯t have much time to speak anymore. Gentlemen, please trust my judgment. My disciple is kind and sincere. He¡¯ll be a good partner. Don¡¯t put him in a hard spot anymore, and help mefort him. You can tell him how he can ¡®resurrect¡¯ me from your perspectives.¡±

    Electrolux smiled as he spoke till here and slowly drifted to the window. He looked far away with his elderly gaze. The sea of clouds around Clear Sky Peak was slowly being restored after being scattered by the terrifying auras earlier.

    He revealed a slight smile as he saw this magnificent view. This was probably thest time he would gaze upon this world.

    The room was very quiet. Everything was returning to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.

    The sect master and second sect master were looking silently at his golden figure, it was slowly dimming. A look of respect was revealed in their eyes. Although they had only interacted with him for a short period of time, they knew that he had just sacrificed his life to save Huo Yuhao.

    Electrolux was gazing into the distance, but his gaze turned dimmer and dimmer. He eventually turned into a spot of golden light that drifted towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. It entered his head and disappeared.

    A strange-looking, greyish soul ring slowly rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. When this soul ring appeared, Electrolux¡¯s figure shed for an instant before disappearing. When his visage shed, his eyes were no longer shining.

    The second sect master was shocked as he asked, ¡°This soul ring is grey?¡±

    The sect master sighed and looked at Huo Yuhao in his arms. He said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know the kind of experiences that divine sense from another world has gone through, I could sense the pure light and the vicissitudes of life from him. It¡¯s really this brat¡¯s fortune to have such a teacher! This grey soul ring is possibly thest shred of strength that his teacher left behind for him.¡±

    The second sect master revealed an upset look on his face and muttered, ¡°Elder brother, I miss our past life. However, we still can¡¯t return to those days.¡±

    The sect master smiled and said, ¡°There are both losses and gains. We¡¯re already quite fortunate. In fact, I¡¯m actually eager to see what kind of existence we¡¯ve just created. The force that erupted in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body should belong to a soul beast, which is possibly a strong being that sealed their own powers. The seal must have encountered some kind of problem, thus leading to the risks earlier. It¡¯s really our responsibility.¡± As he spoke, he pointed to the dim Frigid Jade Essence Bed.

    The second sect master snapped, ¡°This is also considered out responsibility? We didn¡¯t let him cultivate here, and one of our treasures was destroyed. If not for Wang Dong, I¡¯d make himpensate us for it.¡±

    ¡°Haha.¡± The sect masterughed loudly and said, ¡°Alright, what¡¯s there to be calctive about? Go and tell everyone to return since the problem has been resolved.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a deep sleep. He only felt that he¡¯d lost something important. Pain, sorrow and other emotions engulfed him in his dreams.

    As he was struggling to wake from his dream, a streak of light appeared in front of him. An elegant and ravishing beauty in a long blue dress appeared and snuggled beside him. Her hair and eyes were pinkish-blue, and she wore a look of anguish in her eyes.

    What? Is that the Goddess of Light?

    Huo Yuhao wanted to grab hold of her, but he realized that he couldn¡¯t do anything. The sorrow that he felt also slowly faded as the Goddess of Light appeared.

    The Goddess of Light brought positivity into his mind and allowed him to rx in his sleep. There seemed to be a gentle singing voiceforting his sorrowful spirit.

    After some time, Huo Yuhao woke from his sleep. When he awoke, he first felt the tremendous changes to his spiritual sea.

    At least two-thirds of his vast spiritual sea had dried up. A strong feeling of weakness made it difficult for him to even open his eyes. His passageways were aching greatly too. His soul power was still there, but its cirction was very messy. If not for the purity of his Mysterious Heaven Technique, he would have been in great danger of losing control of what was left over.

    His body was in an even worse condition than it had been when he had helped Ju Zi. Back then, he had only suffered external injuries. However, he¡¯d sustained internal injuries this time, including injuries to his spirit and mind.

    But the pain that came from his body made it difficult for him to think. The only thing he could do now was slowly recover from his injuries.

    He struggled to summon his spiritual power to control the cirction of his soul power. However, he almost fell unconscious a few times throughout even this simple process. Although he couldn¡¯t think deeply, he could still remember everything he had lost. That was why he still remained resolute and continued to forcibly control his soul power.

    His Mysterious Heaven Technique and soul power eventually managed to circte normally, and everything slowly returned to peak conditions. His passageways weren¡¯t too critically damaged, and there was even another wave of thick spiritual energy fused within his body that coordinated with the cirction of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    The rxation of his body also helped him gradually recover his spiritual energy. However, Huo Yuhao was appalled to discover that his spiritual sea had been damaged to such arge extent. It was like his spiritual reservoir had shrunk to one-third its original size, causing his spiritual power to decrease greatly. Fortunately, his understanding of spiritual power still existed, and his control hadn¡¯t faltered. As he worked hard to control and stimte his spiritual sea, it managed to restore its cirction. The weakness that he felt also gradually faded away. He could also sense his Eye of Destiny, where his second mental sea was.

    His Eye of Destiny was the only part of his body that was unhurt. He heaved a sigh of relief because of this. If even his Eye of Destiny was hurt, his cultivation would probably fall by at least thirty percent.

    Huo Yuhao slowly discovered something strange. It wasn¡¯t entirely bad news everywhere. A ball of golden light was floating in his Eye of Destiny. A golden embryo was gestating within this ball of light. It seemed to be unable to prate theyer of film ande out.

    He could also clearly sense that the part of his spiritual power that had disappeared seemed to be in this golden embryo. The strange golden embryo seemed to be closely linked to him.

    This feeling was very weird. It was like another him was developing in his body. But this other self didn¡¯t just possess his aura; it also possessed an aura that he was familiar with.

    His spiritual sea was empty. He could only subtly sense two spiritual imprints in it, but they seemed to have been greatly hurt, and had entered a deep sleep.

    Two? Why were there only two left?

    In fact, Huo Yuhao¡¯s chanting had been guided by Electrolux, who was also chanting incantations. At that point in time, he had been under Electrolux¡¯s control. He had entered a half-conscious state, and remembered very little of what happened.

    I¡¯m not dead! This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first reaction after he could slowly control his spiritual sea. However, he was extremely mournful when he realized that there were only two spiritual imprints asleep in his spiritual sea. He didn¡¯t know who they were, but the two that had disappeared were probably¡­

    As he thought till here, Huo Yuhao only felt that he waspletely engulfed in sorrow. He felt extreme heartache.

    At this point, a streak of golden light shot out of his Eye of Destiny andnded in his spiritual sea. The golden light shone, and a familiar aura spread. Its appearance caught immediately Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention.

 Chapter 197.1: Snow Empress Spirit

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao was surprised as he shouted. This aura was very familiar¡ªit belonged to Elder Yi!

    The Eye of Destiny shot out a golden beam of light. Electrolux¡¯s dim golden figure appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao, you should be fully awake when you see this. We were really lucky this time. I¡¯m d to tell you that we¡¯ve seeded. We have created a special energy body in your Eye of Destiny that has never before existed in your world. I believe you can sense its presence.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know when I decided to pass down all my research on necromancy to you? It was when your other teacher, the Dragon Douluo Elder Mu, passed away. Your sorrow at that time touched me, and I truly saw you as my disciple. Right now, I have no choice but to leave you. Although I don¡¯t want to tell you the truth, there are some things that you have to bear.¡±

    ¡°It was purely an ident that the snow pearlbusted. No one should bear responsibility for that incident. However, it has also led to this extreme fusion. This is probably fate, or a result of the end of those remnants of my divine sense. I burned my own divine sense and sealed you, the Snow Empress and a shred of my divine sense into a single entity.¡±

    ¡°I used the life power of the embryo in the snow pearl to create a special life form that won¡¯t disappear even though it doesn¡¯t have a true body. To a certain extent, it¡¯s abination between the Snow Empress¡¯ spiritual sense and her strength, as well as your blood. This life form doesn¡¯t have a physical body, but it will have the same effect as your soul rings. It might even be stronger than your soul rings. Even I¡¯m not sure how many of your soul rings it¡¯ll equal after it¡¯spleted. Since we created it together, let¡¯s give it a name. Let¡¯s call it Spirit. Even though I believe Spirit will appear again in this world in the future, the Snow Empress will still be of the highest level. It will be another ability that you can use apart from soul rings and soul bones. It can rece your soul rings, but it definitely won¡¯t be the same as a soul ring.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certain that at least half of the Snow Empress¡¯ spiritual sense dissipated during the fusion process. Furthermore, her body will likely be stuck at a very young age during the process of rebirth. She¡¯ll also be extremely submissive towards you. That¡¯s because I used a contract to shape her to be that way during the fusion process. She will listen to you. When Mu En left, he left a present for you. Consider this Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit my gift to you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be saddened from of my departure. To me, this can be considered a form of release. When you reach my level one day, you¡¯ll discover that the meaning of life is beyond just death. I¡¯ve seen too many deaths in my life. I¡¯ve also resurrected others before. To me, this is just a transformation of my soul. Furthermore, I won¡¯t be leaving you entirely. When I fused with you, a part of my divine sense assimted with you. Before I leave, I will remove the seal on the part of my divine sense that assimted with you.¡±

    ¡°It could be said that you now possess a third martial soul. Call this martial soul the Divine Law of Necromancy. Take it as a remembrance of my existence. If you be a god one day, I believe that you can use it to find the rest of my divine sense in some other ce. You can even resurrect my divine sense and create a new me. Don¡¯t be shocked by that. There¡¯s nothing impossible in this world. If you¡¯re capable enough, you¡¯ll be able to seed.¡±

    ¡°After a round of transformation, the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit will need to incubate. It might be a few days, but it could also be a few months. Your spiritual sea was critically damaged from her formation. You¡¯ll need a long time to recover, but don¡¯t be impatient. Your spiritual origin wasn¡¯t affected. When Skydream and the Ice Empress wake up, you¡¯ll seed.¡±

    ¡°Your soul power should be at Rank 50 now. After this transformation, both the Ice Empress and Skydream will be asleep for quite some time. You¡¯ll need to rely on your own strength from now on. I believe that you¡¯ll be able to reach that level. I don¡¯t dare to call myself a god, but I hope that my disciple will be able to. You¡¯ll be my greatest pride if you manage to do so.¡±

    ¡°Kid, the strong must be brave and tough, and they never cry. Crying is a sign of weakness.¡±

    ¡°I hope that you can ept everything calmly. Finally, I used thest bit of strength from my divine sense to release my memories with all of you before I left.¡±

    ¡°If there are still remnants of my divine sense in other ces, they¡¯ll be informed. I¡¯m waiting for you to find them. If you want to see me earlier, you must remember to work hard at your cultivation. Goodbye, Yuhao.¡±

    His voice ended here, and his golden figure also slowly faded away. His smiling face was thest thing to disappear.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. He started tearing up in his spiritual sea.

    How could he not have realized that Electrolux died to save all of them? At that point in time, Skydream, the Ice Empress and the Snow Lady were all prepared to die. However, the only one to eventually sacrifice their life was Electrolux.

    Huo Yuhao bawled sorrowfully, but he couldn¡¯t see Electrolux anymore. Only his memories continued to fuse with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. They included the creation of the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, and the incantations and experiences that he hadprehended in his lifetime.

    If it were possible, Huo Yuhao was willing to be the one who died instead. However, he was very clear that none would survive if he didn¡¯t, since he was their host. But how could he consider everything logically at this point? His heart was only filled with intense anguish.

    He cried until everything turned dark¡ªhe lost consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao dreamed the same dream as before. In this dream, the Goddess of Light brought him positivity again andforted him.

    When Huo Yuhao awoke from his dream, his spiritual sea had already been restored. Aside from the decrease in its size, everything had returned to normal. However, the four spiritual imprints that had once made his spiritual sea extremely lively were no longer there.

    His entire spiritual sea was quiet and deste now.

    His soul power circted normally again. Just like Electrolux had said, it was a sess, and his soul power had finally reached the bottleneck at Rank 50. He needed another soul ring to be a Soul King. The Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit embryo was only connected to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s martial soul, and didn¡¯t affect his Spirit Eyes.

    When he opened his eyes, the first thing Huo Yuhao saw was long, pinkish-blue hair. His body jerked slightly, and he shouted ¡°Goddess of Light!¡± unwittingly.

    However, he soon realized that it wasn¡¯t her. That was because the familiar aura that he felt belonged to his good brother, Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were evidently not as bright as they had been when he first came to Clear Sky Castle. When he saw Wang Dong, he became less mncholic. This was the second time Wang Dong had been by his bedside in recent times. Wang Dong must be very worried about his condition, as usual.

    ¡°Wang Dong, don¡¯t sleep here. Go to your room to sleep.¡± Huo Yuhao shook Wang Dong¡¯s shoulder slightly and woke him up.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Dong groaned and lifted his head. He opened his blurry eyes.

    ¡°Ah! Yuhao, you¡¯re awake. You scared me.¡± Wang Dong was jolted awake when he saw Huo Yuhao sitting up. He grabbed onto his hand and spoke agitatedly.

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve brought so much trouble to you and everyone else.¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I heard from eldest and second uncle. The changes in your body were caused by the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. It¡¯s my fault. If I didn¡¯t bring you here and you didn¡¯t stay in this room, none of that would have happened.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°No, how can I me you? No one could have seen thising. Go and rest. I need some quiet time. Alright?¡±

    Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao. He remained silent for a while before asking, ¡°Yuhao, although I don¡¯t know what happened, I can sense that you¡¯ve lost someone important. You were weeping and crying sorrowfully in your sleep. I wiped your tears several times. Can you tell me what happened?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a momentary daze before he eventually shook his head. ¡°Wang Dong, it¡¯s better not to know some things. I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t tell you. You¡¯re right though¡ªI did lose someone important to me. He was an important elder.¡±

    As he spoke, tears flowed down Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks.

    Wang Dong said hurriedly, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t probe anymore. Don¡¯t be sad. I¡¯ll leave now. However, you must promise me to get better. You can¡¯t live in sorrow anymore. You¡¯re a big man, how can you let yourself drown in your sorrows?¡±

 Chapter 197.2: Snow Empress Spirit

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head in agreement. However, how could he express the pain in his heart with mere words? How could the pain be dispelled with just a few sentences?

    Wang Dong moved forward to hug him before turning and leaving. Huo Yuhao¡¯s pain diminished a little as he felt Wang Dong¡¯s sympathy.

    He stood up and came to his bedside. He gazed at the sea of clouds that was drifting slowly by and clenched his fists tightly.

    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll get stronger and restore your divine sense too! I¡¯ll work hard!¡± He clenched his lips tightly, and Electrolux¡¯s voice and smile surfaced in his mind.

    Slowly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned greyish-white. His demeanor also changed. As a dim light shed, he exuded a special aura ¨C it was cold and emotionless.

    A greyish soul ring slowly rose from his feet. Compared to an ordinary soul ring, this greyish soul ring was almost fifty percentrger. Behind him, a dim light projection also slowly surfaced. It had the appearance of Electrolux.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s greyish-white eyes slowly turnedpletely white. He looked terrifying. As he turned to face the blurry, illusory projection, his white eyes started to tear up.

    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll make you clearer and enable your necromancy to prosper in this world. I will use necromancy to resist evil and my strength to reduce the sorrow in this world.¡±

    ---

    One dayter. Huo Yuhao walked out of his room calmly.

    Wang Dong rushed over immediately as soon he received word.

    ¡°Yuhao, how are you?¡± Wang Dong looked at his eyes and was stunned to see him smiling. However, the look in his eyes waspletely different. It was much less brighter, and he seemed more mature. It felt as if he had grown older by five years.

    When Elder Mu passed away, Huo Yuhao had been on the verge of going crazy. He had buried himself in his cultivation as a way to cope with his grief. This time, he was much more mature. Wang Dong couldn¡¯t sense any sorrow from him. He was only very determined and unyielding.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°Can you find something for me to eat? It feels as if I haven¡¯t eaten since I came to your house. I¡¯m starving.¡±

    Wang Dong was relieved. He said encouragingly, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve thought it out. Sorrow is a show of weakness. I¡¯ll be more resolute in facing things that can¡¯t be reversed. One day, I will turn all the sorrow that I¡¯ve once felt into joy.¡±

    Wang Dong was surprised. ¡°Although I don¡¯t think this is appropriate, I have to say that you¡¯ve grown up.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve grown up, but I know I¡¯m very hungry now.¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll bring you to eat.¡±

    The food in Clear Sky Castle was much simpler than Huo Yuhao had expected. There weren¡¯t any delicacies or particrly valuable food items. There was only an aromatic and tasty bowl of mushroom soup which left a deep impression in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Wang Dong said that the mushrooms had been boiled in chicken soup, after which they were ground up and mixed with the soup. He also said that they drank this soup every day.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t discover anything wrong with Huo Yuhao as they consumed their meal, and was finallypletely relieved.

    Huo Yuhao rubbed his stomach satisfactorily and asked Wang Dong, ¡°Wang Dong, have you obtained your soul ring? How long was I unconscious for?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I wasn¡¯t able to rx because of the state you were in! I¡¯m relieved now that you¡¯re fine. You can¡¯t scare me like this anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong seriously and said, ¡°Wang Dong, I have a secret, but I¡¯m not telling you. Will you be mad?¡±

    Wang Dongughed mysteriously and replied, ¡°I also have my own secret that I¡¯m not telling you! Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re still young. I believe that your secret won¡¯t remain a secret forever. Furthermore, I won¡¯t me you even if it remains a secret forever!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also a little dizzy as he heard those words. ¡°Why do you sound like you¡¯re mouthing a tongue twister? Let¡¯s not force each other. I will tell you one day if I think that you should know about it. I promise you that you¡¯ll be the first to hear about it when I¡¯m willing to tell someone.¡±

    Wang Dongughed. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll make that a promise. You have to stay in my house for a few more days. We¡¯ll go after I get my soul ring, okay? After this matter, my eldest and second uncles aren¡¯t interested in testing you anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Do you need me to follow you to obtain your soul ring?¡±

    Wang Dong shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can go alone. It¡¯ll take at least a day, and at most three days. It¡¯s very close to my house too. That ce is a forbidden ground of the Clear Sky Sect. Otherwise, I¡¯d let you go with me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll cultivate here while I wait for you. You must be aware of your own safety.¡±

    Wang Dong nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°When are you setting off?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Tomorrow morning.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What about our cultivation? While this matter has dealt me some harm, it has also increased my soul power. My cultivation has also reached a bottleneck. However, I¡¯ll only add a soul ring after we return to Shrek.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Dong was shocked. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had been increasing very slowly over these few years, and the other six among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had widened the gap with him. Wang Dong was surprised to find out that Yuhao had reached Rank 50. After all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had beengging behind all this time. Even though he had a rich array of fighting styles, he would be unable to catch his partners when they became seven-ringed Soul Sages. But if he was a Soul King now, he was maintaining the gap he had with the rest of them.

    ¡°It increased that much?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. I¡¯m really embarrassed to have destroyed such a treasure. However, you know how poor I am. Besides my body, I don¡¯t know how topensate the sect for it.¡±

    Wang Dong chuckled and said, ¡°Then you can pay with your body.¡±

    Huo Yuhao alsoughed. He was in much better spirits now. ¡°Alright! Then I shall sell my body to you. Just don¡¯t resell me.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t bear to.¡± Wang Dong replied almost instinctively. However, he blushed immediately after saying this and quickly changed the topic, ¡°Yuhao, I won¡¯t be cultivating with you tonight.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little stunned and said, ¡°If we cultivate for one night, you¡¯ll be able to reach your peak state. Won¡¯t it be more beneficial for you tomorrow?¡±

    Wang Dong was a little coy and shook his head, ¡°No. I want to rx and have a good sleep tonight. I won¡¯t cultivate tonight.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t force him either and replied, ¡°Alright.¡±

    The two of them returned to their own rooms and didn¡¯t talk for the whole night. The next morning, Wang Dong left Clear Sky Castle after bidding goodbye to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao sent him off along with the two sect masters.

    After Wang Dong disappeared, the sect master tapped Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Young man, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao answered respectfully.

    The two sect masters brought Huo Yuhao back to Clear Sky Castle and led him directly to the hall on the third floor.

    ¡°Take a seat.¡± The sect master pointed to a stone chair.

    Huo Yuhao sat down cautiously and said, ¡°Sect master, second sect master, I¡¯m really sorry. I brought so much trouble to the both of you. I¡¯ll think of a way to repay you for the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. I¡¯m sorry.¡± As he spoke, he stood up and bowed to the two sect masters.

    The two sect masters didn¡¯t stop him. After he sat down, the sect master smiled and said, ¡°Although the Frigid Jade Essence Bed was very valuable, it wasn¡¯t very useful to our sect. You don¡¯t have topensate us. We didn¡¯t call you here today to ask for yourpensation, either.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re only conversing leisurely today. Tell us how you know Wang Dong and what he¡¯s normally like. We¡¯re very interested in knowing more.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he looked at the both of them. He asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he rte his experiences in the academy to you?¡±

    The sect master chortled and said, ¡°Young people are naturally different from how we hope they are. He doesn¡¯t bother to talk to me much. He onlyes back a few days a year! Moreover, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a different set of things to say from him. We¡¯re also interested in learning more about his life from your perspective. We are indeed quite lonely in this castle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought the two sect masters had called him over to talk about the incident that had happened the other day. He hadn¡¯t expected them to ask about Wang Dong instead.

    He nodded and said, ¡°I met Wang Dong in the academy. We entered the academy together. When we first met, there was a slight dispute. Come to think of it, it¡¯s really fate that we met. We were even put in the same dorm room.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± the two sect masters eximed in unison, giving Huo Yuhao a shock.

 Chapter 197.3: Snow Empress Spirit

    The second sect master asked in shock, ¡°The two of you live in the same dorm room? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be individual?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he replied, ¡°Of course we stay in the same room.¡±

    The two sect masters¡¯ expression changed. The second sect master asked anxiously, ¡°How many beds are there in the room?¡±

    Huo Yuhao even more confused as he answered, ¡°Of course there are two beds. Although we¡¯re guys, we can¡¯t possibly sleep together.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The two sect masters heaved a sigh of relief and looked at each other. They could each see the look of helpless mirth on the other¡¯s face¡­

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t understand at all. ¡°Sect masters, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The sect master forced a smile and replied, ¡°Nothing. Wang Dong has been a clean freak since he was young. We had thought that he lived alone. We didn¡¯t expect that the two of you would be staying in the same room. He must have brought you a lot of trouble.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s true that he¡¯s a clean freak. However, he¡¯s also veryzy. Aside from his own bed, he doesn¡¯t tidy up the room at all. I¡¯m the one who tidies up the ce every morning.¡±

    He recounted how they met each other and became ssmates, as well as how they were sent topete together in the academy¡¯s tournament. He also rted everything that had happened after that, and the close friendship that they shared.

    The two sect masters listened to him attentively. Apart from the initial interruption, they didn¡¯t disrupt him anymore, obviously very interested in what he had to say.

    Huo Yuhao was also recalling everything that had happened as he recounted everything to them. He was also very excited, especially when he talked about their experience in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. He was very animated as he described everything, especially when he got to the four martial fusion soul skills that they shared.

    The two sect masters also rxed the more they listened to him. They weren¡¯t just smiling or nodding their heads slightly as they listened to him now. Their gazes appeared much gentler, too. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mention how he had saved Wang Dong, but the two sect masters could tell a lot of things from his expression, behavior, and tone.

    Time passed very quickly, and it was soon noontime. The two sect masters dragged Huo Yuhao out for lunch, after which he continued speaking for another two hours. He only stopped when they returned to Clear Sky Castle. In the meantime, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t talk about himself at all. He only recounted everything that had happened between him and Wang Dong.

    ¡°That is roughly what has happened.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke until his throat was dry. However, he could sense that the two elders¡¯ attitude towards him had changed after he told them everything. They appeared much closer to him, and this was proven clearly from the way they spoke to him.

    The sect master smiled as he said, ¡°Yuhao, your experiences with Wang Dong are very enriching! No wonder the two of you have such a close rtionship.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It¡¯s my fortune to have Wang Dong as my good brother.¡±

    The sect master gestured and said, ¡°You should stop calling us sect masters. My surname is Niu and my full name is Niu Tian. My second brother¡¯s surname is Tai and his full name is Tai Tan. You can call us uncles.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. If they were other people, he would have stormed off from the cautious and scornful way they treated him before. However, they were Wang Dong¡¯s elders. He had no choice but to tolerate them. But now it seemed that he had finally earned their recognition.

    ¡°Yes, Uncle Niu.¡± Huo Yuhao answered hurriedly.

    Niu Tian said in a deep voice, ¡°Yuhao, both second brother and I saw what happened to you that day. There must be more than one immense force in your body. That teacher of yours¡­ it¡¯s a pity.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned slightly pale, and he revealed a deep sorrow in his eyes. ¡°He did it to save me. I¡¯m sorry, uncles. I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±

    Niu Tian nodded and said, ¡°Everyone has their own secrets. We won¡¯t probe either. However, you were critically injured that day. I can feel that the pressure on you was very heavy. How are you now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°My body is already fine, but my spiritual sea was damaged, and has shrunk a little. I will try to restore it through cultivation.¡±

    Niu Tian was shocked. ¡°Your spiritual sea was damaged?¡±

    Tai Tan was much more direct. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t tell lies in front of honest people. If your spiritual sea was damaged, how could you be sitting here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and replied, ¡°My spiritual sea was indeed damaged! However, my spiritual origin is fine, although my spiritual powers have dropped a little.¡±

    Tai Tan was doubtful. ¡°Your spiritual sea and spiritual origin belong together. Don¡¯t tell me you can separate them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t. However, the damage to my spiritual sea didn¡¯t affect my spiritual origin.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Can I take a look at your spiritual sea? I have no other intention but to see whether I can heal it.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks, Uncle Niu.¡± Huo Yuhao knew that they weren¡¯tpletely confident in him. After all, even Wang Dong didn¡¯t know his secret.

    Niu Tian stood up and came before Huo Yuhao. He pressed his right hand on his forehead.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist, and rxed. With the abilities of these two sect masters, he couldn¡¯t resist if they wanted to harm him, anyway. They were at Elder Xuan¡¯s level, and the Clear Sky Sect was once the top soul master sect on the continent.

    Niu Tian¡¯s eyes slowly turned green. Huo Yuhao only sensed a gentle aura surging into his mind. That gentle aura moved down his body. At the same time, a warm feeling circted around his body. Huo Yuhao felt veryfortable, and his passageways even started to heal at a faster rate.

    That gentle aura then ascended and slowly entered his spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. He could sense that the aura was being manifested as a wave of green gas. He couldn¡¯t tell whether it was spiritual or soul power.

    When that green gas entered his spiritual sea, it started to drift and move about inside. It didn¡¯t start any waves in his spiritual sea.

    Green lights surged and started to spread in the spiritual sea. He only felt a refreshing chilling from his forehead. His entire spiritual world seemed to have been cleansed. His damaged spiritual sea was slowing recovering under the effect of this magical force. His spiritual power was also increasing. This was an extremely magical and delightful feeling. It felt a little like when he saw the sea of clouds appearing above Clear Sky Peak.

    After some time, the refreshing chill faded away, and Huo Yuhao was surprised to discover that the damage to his spiritual sea had been restored. Although it wasn¡¯t restored to the level of the Boundless Ocean, its capacity had returned to normal. This also meant that his spiritual power could return to its peak state through continuous deep meditation, which would only take a few months. From his initial estimates, he had thought that it would take more than three years to recover, given the level of damage to his spiritual sea.

    He opened his eyes and appeared much more vibrant than before.

    Niu Tian was still standing in front and smiling at him.

    ¡°Thanks, Uncle Niu.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up and bowed towards him respectfully. This time, he waspletely won over. He didn¡¯t think anyone would have been able to heal the damage to his spiritual sea, with the possible exception of Elder Mu, if he were still alive. However, the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master was able to do so. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, he was on the same level as Du Busi.

    Niu Tian smiled and said, ¡°Yuhao, your spiritual power is a lot stronger than I thought. Furthermore, I can also sense that your control over your spiritual power is very good. This is a good thing. No wonder Wang Dong said that you are talented! I could also sense the presence of a second mental sea in your spiritual sea. When your spiritual sea was damaged, your spiritual origin was automatically protected by your second mental sea. When everything ended, your spiritual origin returned to your spiritual sea. I¡¯m afraid you didn¡¯t even realize this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said respectfully, ¡°Uncle Niu, your spiritual power is indeed very strong. You can sense so much just by exploring a bit. I indeed didn¡¯t know what happened then.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Yuhao, I have a request. I hope that you can agree to it.¡±

    ¡°Tell me. As long as I can do it, I will do it.¡± Huo Yuhao truly respected him. His control over his strength disyed his abilities as a truly powerful individual. Furthermore, Niu Tian was only making this request after treating him, and didn¡¯t use the treatment to exchange for his help. Huo Yuhao respected him even more for that.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°I could sense that your teacher sealed the strength of a very powerful soul beast within you, and even helped it develop the form of an embryo. It is also an existence of pure strength. I want to know what exactly this embryo will be, as well as the changes it will experience in the future. I have a feeling that this is the first time something like this has appeared on the continent. That¡¯s why I hope you can tell me what you feel if the embryo in your second mental sea changes in any way. Of course, I can also help you if you get into any sort of trouble. At least, I won¡¯t let you be harmed. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°However, I¡¯ll be leaving here soon. After Wang Dong returns, we¡¯ll leave. You¡­

 Chapter 198.1: The Spirit is Born, Orange Treasure

    Niu Tian smiled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I just need to know how you feel about the process. The empires on the continent know about this problem, but no one is controlling it, they aren¡¯t able to. After all, the empirespete with one another, and soul masters are powerful weapons in their arsenal. Who would be willing to give them up? We hope to find something to rece soul rings, or to reduce our need for soul masters. If we can do either, it¡¯ll be very beneficial for the ecological bnce of the continent and the continuation of soul masters.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was awed. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. I¡¯ve also considered this problem. Our teachers at Shrek Academy have also taught us about this¡ªwe need to avoid killing soul beasts unnecessarily, and only kill those that are suitable for us. However, soul beasts are innately aggressive. Once they are attacked, they will retaliate. Alright, I promise you. If the soul beast embryo changes, I will report the changes to you. However, please keep this a secret for me too.¡±

    Niu Tian nodded satisfactorily and said, ¡°You can be assured of that. We don¡¯t even leave Clear Sky Castle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up and said, ¡°It iste. I shall not disturb either of you any longer. Uncle Niu, thanks for healing me. If I was left to recuperate on my own, it would¡¯ve taken me more than just a few years.¡±

    Niu Tian waved his hand and said, ¡°Go. The path of cultivation lies in perseverance.¡±

    Huo Yuhao returned to his room. Niu Tian turned around to face Tai Tan and said, ¡°Second brother, what do you think?¡±

    He replied, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. He is indeed extraordinary after all. Furthermore, I can tell that his brotherly ties with Wang Dong are real. However, he¡¯s quite dumb.¡±

    Niu Tianughed. ¡°You can¡¯t me him either. First impressions count. In addition, he¡¯s still young. I sensed his spiritual sea just now. It¡¯s really quite impressive! Before it was damaged, it had reached the level of a hundred thousand year soul beast. His control of it is also very strong. The only thing was that his own abilities hadn¡¯t reached that level yet, thus he was unable to fully use his spiritual power.¡±

    Tai Tan said, ¡°Wang Dong is really brazen. He actually¡­¡±

    Niu Tian gestured and said, ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no point in telling him about it now. I also believe that Wang Dong knows his limits. Besides, no one can really get close to him. Did you forget?¡± As he spoke, he pointed to his forehead.

    Tai Tan seemed to be reminded of something. ¡°Oh yes! Ipletely forgot about that. Huo Yuhao has passed the first round. However, we¡¯ll need to observe him more.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Let¡¯s not interfere in Wang Dong¡¯s matters too much. Yuhao¡¯s abilities are decent indeed. If he develops further like this, it wouldn¡¯t take him long to catch up to Wang Dong. For them to exhibit four martial fusion soul skills, it¡¯s already a form of fate.¡±

    Niu Tian¡¯s expression suddenly changed while they spoke. He was stunned as he said, ¡°This fast? Second brother, go quickly. Yuhao¡¯s soul beast embryo is about to be born.¡±

    As he spoke, he was already bursting out.

    Yes! Not long after Huo Yuhao returned to his room and started to cultivate, he felt an intense dizzy feeling swarming his mind. He started to stagger, and quickly sat on his bed before focusing his spiritual power to see what was going on.

    Within his spiritual sea; spiritual power was surging, and a wave of strange aura was undting.

    The second mental sea, the Eye of Destiny! Huo Yuhao soon found the origin of this weird aura. He discovered that the Snow Empress¡¯ embryo was squirming in his Eye of Destiny. A human infant subtly appeared and extended its hands and legs, wanting to break free from the restraint of the embryo. The Snow Empress¡¯ embryo¡¯s movement sparked the surge of spiritual power in his second mental sea. His spiritual sea resonated strongly with his second mental sea at this point.

    It was¡­ about toe out?

    Huo Yuhao was feeling very ufortable with regards to Spirit. That was because Spirit was a special lifeform created by him, the Ice Empress, Skydream, the Snow Empress and the deceased Electrolux.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that his spiritual power was greatly affected as Spirit moved. It was as if all his focus and attention werepletely drawn away by it.

    From the memories Electrolux left behind for him, this was mainly due to the contract that they had. They were also rted by blood. The formation of Spirit was aplished from the shrinkage of the Snow Empress¡¯ immense origin power and spiritual sense, as well as Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood and spiritual power, which were all fused by the me of Electrolux¡¯s divine sense.

    Electrolux told Huo Yuhao through the experiences that he left for him that he could use Contract Magic on soul beasts. But it was up to him to learn how, and under what conditions. Simply put, the greater the gap between a soul master and a soul beast, the higher the possibility of fulfilling the contract. Huo Yuhao had to find out whether the soul beasts could retain some level of intelligence and abilities on his own, as well as if they could be the soul rings of soul masters.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ situation was very special. Due to her strength and the terrifying changes involved, the me of Electrolux¡¯s divine sense had been extinguished. Electrolux had also told Huo Yuhao that he could fulfil the contract with his current spiritual power.

    That was why Huo Yuhao felt extremely excited even though he was ufortable. He was also very curious.

    The movements of the embryo became even more intense. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power started to gather towards his second mental sea, and the embryo seemed to feed on his spiritual power, it was engulfing and swallowing it.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly had a strange feeling. If this embryo was going to keep on like this, he would be the one unable to sustain it! It wasn¡¯t easy for him to umte his spiritual power. If it sucked all his spiritual power away like this every day, he could only keep himself in a half-conscious state all the time. This was the case even after the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master helped him restore his spiritual sea. Otherwise, it would have been even more unbearable for him.

    The Eye of Destiny suddenly opened, and a dim golden light formed by spiritual power started to revolve around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It made him seem like a solid gold statue.

    Niu Tian and Tai Tan had already silently made their way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s room, but neither of them made any sound to disturb him. They were eager as they watched him, and worried. They would definitely help him if something went wrong.

    Eventually, the immense suction force stopped after the embryo absorbed more than sixty percent of Huo Yuhao¡¯s current spiritual power. He was stunned to discover that the embryo in his second mental sea had suddenly calmed down. An orange-gold halo expanded from his body, and then something shocking happened.

    Initially, the embryo was sucking up his spiritual power. However, his spiritual power was quickly restored when this orange-gold halo expanded. His entire spiritual sea seemed to be experiencing a high tide. It rose higher and higher as the halo swept past. He also developed a more acute feeling for his spiritual sea.

    His spiritual power reached its peak state after several halos swept across his spiritual sea, enhancing it even past its peak state. His spiritual sea was bing more and more well nourished under the illumination of the halo.

    She¡¯s noting out? She¡¯s only helping me cultivate my spiritual power? Huo Yuhao was a little perplexed. However, he hoped that his spiritual power would continue to be restored like this. With the current pace, he could reach the Boundless state that he was in before the snow pearlbusted.

    Time passed second by second. As the halo expanded, the orange color of the embryo also became increasingly intense. Huo Yuhao waspletely unable to see what was going on in the embryo anymore. It was like an orange-gold egg now, and stopped transforming into other things. It stabilized on this egg-like form and seemed to have solidified.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea continued to be nourished more and more. A dimyer of orange surrounded it now, and the Boundless Ocean was back. He even felt that his spiritual power was a bit stronger than before, as if it were probing its way into the next level. It didn¡¯t just cause waves in his spiritual sea; it wasbining with his soul power too. As they fused together, he seemed to understand the level that uncle Niu Tian was in. Although it was still very far away, he appeared to have seen the gateway to this level through this opportunity.

 Chapter 198.2: The Spirit is Born, Orange Treasure

    Suddenly, a strong orange-gold light spread from the embryo. Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual sea surging at that instant. The world of his sensations had turnedpletely orange-gold by this point.

    Niu Tian and Tai Tan only saw a ring of blinding orange-gold light spreading from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny, which turned the entire room the same color. When this light reached them, the power slightly suppressed them.

    Ding! A melodious and crisp chiming sound came from the Eye of Destiny. Huo Yuhao regained his awareness immediately, and clearly felt a crack appearing on the egg-shaped embryo, shaking his spiritual sea.

    Following this, a second crack surfaced. Slight creaking sounds resonated continuously as cracks spread in a turtle-like pattern on the embryo¡¯s shell.

    Pop! A small and tender snow-white hand extended from the eggshell. As the hand flipped over, it grabbed onto a broken piece of egg shell before more cracking sounds could be heard.

    The light that shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also faded away, and he returned to his normal state quickly. However, he continued to hear crackling sounds in his second mental sea. Of course, he was the only one who could hear them.

    The tender white hand reached out again after a while. Every time it reached out, it would grab a piece of the shell before pulling it back in. The cracking sounds would be heard again and again as the cycle repeated¡­

    Huo Yuhao focused his attention on the hand. For some reason, he felt closely connected to it.

    Not only did it look snow-white, it even seemed translucent, like milk. It tempted one to bite it, as if it were made of almond beancurd.

    The orange-gold egg shell became smaller and smaller, and the small being in the shell was revealed. She was a small infant, herplexion as tender and white as her chubby hand. She looked just like a month-old baby, her tiny face extremely chubby. Dim orange-gold light shone from her body. As she munched on the eggshell, she would even asionally smile sweetly. Her dimples made her look even cuter.

    Her eyes were a deep blue, as moving as a vast ocean at its deepest end. Pure and deep were descriptive words that shouldn¡¯t appear together, but they described her eyes perfectly. Her silvery-white hair had slight curls. Even though she was very young, she had a sense of elegance.

    ¡°Snow Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao called to her with his spiritual power.

    The infant girl¡¯s actions slowed for half a second. After that, she quickly stuffed a piece of eggshell into her mouth. Her deep blue eyes revealed a slight look of confusion and pensiveness. She was extremely cute, and Huo Yuhao was very tempted to pinch her chubby cheeks.

    ¡°Snow Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao called out again. After that, he immediately gathered his spiritual power and projected a form of himself into his second mental sea in front of the girl.

    She continued to chew on the eggshell as she watched Huo Yuhao, her eyes wide open. Her long eyshes were deep blue, and they seemed to be fanning the air as she blinked her eyes.

    ¡°Snow Empress, do you still remember me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked again.

    She continued munching on the eggshell.

    ¡°Snow Empress, I¡¯m Huo Yuhao! Do you still remember me? The Ice Empress and Skydream are also here.¡±

    Ka, ka, ka.

    ¡°How¡¯re you feeling? What form are you in now?¡±

    Ka, ka, ka.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Ka, ka, ka.

    Huo Yuhao realized that he couldn¡¯t probe any further. She was evidently more interested in the eggshell. She was also moving her hands more quickly, as if she were afraid that Huo Yuhao would snatch them away from her. She finished eating the eggshell rapidly.

    What do I do? Huo Yuhao was at a loss. She was very cute, but he was shocked by the way she ate. That was because the eggshell evidently contained highly condensed spiritual power! He even suspected that she would try to feast on his spiritual power after finishing the eggshell. After that¡­ ¡°When is she going to be full?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± she shouted at him suddenly.

    He was stunned to find out that he could understand her even though she wasn¡¯t speaking anynguage he knew. She called him¡­

    ¡°Daddy!¡±

    He was stunned. He was still very young, but she had called him daddy. Moreover, he felt as if she were throwing a tantrum, which melted his heart.

    ¡°Are... are you calling me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked a silly question.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± (Daddy¡­)

    ¡°I¡­¡± He waspletely lost ,and didn¡¯t know how to respond. She was a cute, infant version of the Snow Empress. Was she still the same third strongest soul beast on the continent?

    At this point, she seemed a little annoyed. She floated into the air and flew down towards him. He grabbed hold of her subconsciously, and felt an affectionate aura circting through his body. His body was dyed with ayer of orange-gold.

    Sheughed and pounded his chest with her hands. She seemed to be ying with him.

    Looking at her from such a close distance, he could feel the irresistible cuteness radiating from her.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± (Daddy, I want to go out.)

    After sending him this message, she squirmed out from his arms, and a small, fitting undergarment appeared on her body. As she flew forward, she revealed her tiny butt from the back.

    Before he could even react, his spiritual sea started to surge tremendously. Following this, her figure shed, and she disappeared.

    She can leave? He was stunned, and quickly tried to return to his original body. He opened his eyes.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya, yi yi ya ya!¡± He heard her furious cries as he regained his awareness. As he opened his eyes, he saw a green barrier inside the room. She was engulfed in a ball of orange-gold light. She couldn¡¯t break out no matter how hard she tried, and was evidently furious.

    ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s going on?¡± While she couldn¡¯t break free, she caused both Niu Tian and Tai Tan to be a little panicky.

    They only saw his third eye shining brightly before she flew out of it.

    She was really too cute, and the two sect masters were very curious. However, she was very hostile when she saw the two of them. As she shrieked, she started a huge snowstorm in the room¡­

    Yes, she had started a snowstorm. At this point, the temperature in the room outside the green light had fallen by about fifty degrees. The entire room was covered in snow. Frost had also formed on Niu Tian and Tai Tan¡¯s bodies. If Niu Tian hadn¡¯t been quick enough to trap her... They didn¡¯t know what else she was capable of. They could sense an intense hostility from her.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya, yi yi ya ya!¡± (Daddy, they¡¯re bad guys! Beat them up!)

    She was enraged as she flew and sat on his shoulder. She even extended her finger to point at Niu Tian¡¯s nose and twisted her lips. However, her tender, red lips made her seem very good-looking.

    Huo Yuhao was amused as he said, ¡°Snow Lady, I shall call you Snow Lady. They aren¡¯t enemies.¡±

    The Snow Lady was stunned for a moment, and then appeared to be very unhappy.

    Niu Tianughed. ¡°Yuhao, ask her to retract her powers. Look at the mess she made.¡±

    Huo Yuhao possessed the Ultimate Ice, and thus he wasn¡¯t sensitive to extreme cold. At this moment, Niu Tian also retracted his soul power, and Huo Yuhao watched as the entire room turned into a world of snow.

    ¡°Snow Lady.¡± Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he looked at her, but he couldn¡¯t say anything to scold her. At this point, she did something that made them all cringe.

    She lowered her head in indignation and poked herself with her index fingers. She wore a look of indignation, as if they had dared say she had done something wrong.

    ¡°Alright, alright. She didn¡¯t do it intentionally! She¡¯s still so young. How can we me her?¡±

    Tai Tan, who was initially very wary of Huo Yuhao, appeared very fatherly now. He stepped in front of Huo Yuhao and looked at the Snow Lady up close beforeughing foolishly.

    As a huge and burly person who was more than two meters tall, he didn¡¯t think of how he looked when heughed.

    The Snow Lady suddenly lifted her head as he got closer to her. Her deep blue eyes revealed a strange and distorted deep blue glow. The light shed, and Tai Tan was turned into an ice sculpture.

 Chapter 198.3: The Spirit is Born, Orange Treasure

    ¡°Snow Lady!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed and picked her up as they retreated to the side of the room. He wasn¡¯t afraid of her harming Tai Tan, because he could sense the link between their powers when she made her move. However, her abilities were inferior to his by default. This meant that the abilities she unleashed would never surpass his own capabilities.

    Indeed, Tai Tan managed to break free from the ice as Huo Yuhao backed off. The broken pieces of ice fell onto the ground, and he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he looked at her. He said helplessly, ¡°Little fellow, I¡¯ve no intention of harming you!¡±

    Against such a small kid, what could they possibly do? They couldn¡¯t hit or scold her.

    ¡°Idiot. She was scared off by your ugly mug.¡± Niu Tian pulled Tai Tan behind him.

    Tai Tan was very displeased. ¡°Elder brother, my abilities are indeed inferior to yours. However, our appearances are around the same¡ªthey are nothing special. Why don¡¯t you say you¡¯re the one who scared her?¡±

    Niu Tian red at him and said, ¡°Neither of us should be going over and scaring her.¡±

    They didn¡¯t act like they were the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect masters from their cautious behavior. At this moment, Huo Yuhao also recovered from his shock. He lifted his hand and touched the Snow Lady¡¯s shoulder.

    She was evidently very attached to him. As he extended his hand, she immediately wrapped her hand around his finger andughed non-stop.

    He could sense that she wasn¡¯t a solid entity. While her hand was soft and gentle, it didn¡¯t feel like a human hand. However, she didn¡¯t seem like she was made purely of energy. It was an unclear feeling. She was like a special existence between a solid entity and energy.

    ¡°Yuhao, this is the life that all of you created? She was originally a soul beast?¡± Niu Tian asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Teacher said that the Snow Lady was an Icesky Snow Lady formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. She¡¯s a special type of soul beast, and might not even be considered a soul beast. In fact, I also don¡¯t know what made her.¡±

    ¡°Icesky Snow Lady?¡± Both Niu Tian and Tai Tan were shocked as they heard his words. They looked at each other before they said in unison, ¡°Snow Empress?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he replied, ¡°So you know her.¡±

    Tai Tan lost his voice as he said, ¡°How could we not know her? She¡¯s one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts of the Douluo Continent, and has lived for six or seven hundred thousand years. She¡¯s one of the most powerful soul beasts. She has turned into this? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that some things couldn¡¯t be concealed forever. After pondering for a moment, he recounted how he had discovered the Snow Empress¡¯ embryo and managed to absorb it into his body by sealing it with the help of his teacher. However, he didn¡¯t reveal his secrets regarding Skydream and the Ice Empress.

    After listening to his recounting of events, the two sect masters were in disbelief. Surely this wasn¡¯t luck, since he almost lost his life because of it, but the Snow Empress¡¯ strength had helped him greatly! Subconsciously, they reckoned that the enhancement of his martial soul was due to the Snow Empress. In addition, there was still the infant Snow Lady now.

    Niu Tian pointed at the Snow Lady and asked, ¡°Did your teacher mention what kind of life form the current Snow Empress is?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and shook his head. He replied, ¡°He didn¡¯t know what kind of life form the Snow Empress¡¯ strength would be after this all developed. He only told me that the newborn Snow Empress would be tightly connected to me. That¡¯s because arge amount of my spiritual power and blood are fused into her body. With that, a contract, and the Snow Empress¡¯ original strength and spiritual sense, this new life form was born. He called her Spirit. The Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit.¡±

    Spirit was an entirely new existence not only to these two sect masters, but also to the entire Douluo Continent.

    Interrupting their conversation, the Snow Lady started to shriek again. Her crisp voice sounded very anxious, and drew their attention.

    Only Huo Yuhao could understand what she was saying.

    ¡°What about me not wanting you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, perplexed. The Snow Lady had mentioned that her daddy didn¡¯t want her anymore.

    The Snow Lady drifted from his shoulder, and tears flowed from her huge eyes. She stared at him before saying ¡°yi yi ya ya¡± again.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely confused. ¡°No ce for you? What do you mean? Can you be a bit clearer?¡±

    She was pointed at him while she sobbed before starting to draw circles in the air.

    He was suddenly enlightened. ¡°Are you talking about soul rings? You want something to do with my soul rings?¡±

    She nodded her head hurriedly, and her silvery-white hair swayed slightly. Her chubby face also trembled a little¡ªit was extremely cute.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that there¡¯s no empty soul ring spot for you to control?¡± He started to understand what she was saying. However, how was she going to control his soul rings? He waspletely clueless.

    ¡°Snow Lady, hear me out. My cultivation is currently Rank 50. Logically speaking, there should be space for a soul ring! How is there no ce for you?¡±

    She shook her head and started to ¡°yi yi ya ya¡± again.

    ¡°What? One is not enough?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned as he said, ¡°Are you saying that your powers will fall if there aren¡¯t sufficient soul ring spots for you? You need my powers to ensure the growth and stability of your powers?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya.¡±

    ¡°But I already have four soul rings! I can¡¯t possibly sacrifice them. I have no choice either!¡± Huo Yuhao was put in a spot.

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Tai Tan couldn¡¯t help but mutter. ¡°Rascal, you really are dumb! Others couldn¡¯t do anything if they were in such a situation, but you have twin martial souls. Don¡¯t tell me that your second martial soul also has four soul rings. You can¡¯t be that much of a fool!¡±

    As the saying goes, ¡®The one in the situation is confused, but the onlooker sees clear.¡¯ Tai Tan¡¯s words enlightened Huo Yuhao immediately. Yes! His Spirit Eyes only had one spot for a soul ring, but his Ice Empress still had many spots! He only had one soul ring on his Ice Empress martial soul. Furthermore, his Ice Empress wouldn¡¯t ostracize the powers of the Snow Lady. They were both ice-type, andplemented each other. However, he was curious as to why the Snow Empress wanted to live among his soul rings. Would he have to add soul rings in these positions in the future? What would the rtionship between Spirit and him be like after she took up those spots?

    As he was troubled by these doubts, he quickly unleashed his second martial soul.

    An extreme chill was released from his body. The immense aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was exuded amidst the glow of a hundred thousand year soul ring.

    The two sect masters focused their gazes, looking at the blood-red soul ring with four streaks of golden patterns. The Snow Lady was also in a slight daze. As she looked at Huo Yuhao, she seemed to be sensing something.

    After a brief moment, she cheered. Her body shrank slightly before she flew towards Huo Yuhao as an orange-gold ball of light.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to catch her, but the ball of light prated his body cleanly.

    His body turned rigid, and started to tremble tremendously. An intense orange-gold glow was emitted from his body, and even his eyes turned orange.

    A vigorous undtion of soul power surged from his body. The blood-red soul ring started to move three times faster.

    An orange-gold ring appeared without warning and moved rhythmically along with the red soul ring.

    Orange-gold soul ring? That little fellow turned into a soul ring? Niu Tian and Tai Tan were feeling down at this point. Although the Snow Lady wasn¡¯t very friendly towards the both of them, she was still very cute! No one could resist her. Moreover, she hadn¡¯t really harmed them.

    However, since when could a soul master possess an orange-gold soul ring? What was going on?

    Before their shock and disappointment faded away, another orange-gold ring appeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It queued behind the previous soul ring and moved along with it. The intensity of the light from both soul rings were the same. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura also became stronger and stronger.

    Tai Tan was confused as he asked, ¡°Elder brother, what¡¯s going on? Why are there two soul rings?¡±

    Niu Tian replied, ¡°How would I know? However, didn¡¯t the brat just say that one soul ring spot wasn¡¯t enough for her? I¡¯m wondering what she¡¯s trying to do.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what kind of effect her soul rings can achieve.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and the two sect masters hadpletely different sensations. As the Snow Lady fused into his body, he slowly understood the form and secret behind this Snow Lady.

    She was indeed a life form¡ªone birthed from different strengths under the effect of Electrolux¡¯s contract spell. She could even be considered a true living soul ring. If soul rings were alive, they could be more proactive.

    While the Snow Lady had a physical body, she was also made of energy. No matter how great her strength was, it would still be depleted continuously. That was why she needed to rely on Huo Yuhao to restore her strength regardless of the presence of a contract. She might also need him to develop greater strength.

 Chapter 199.1: Orange Soul Ring

    However, the Snow Lady was still a being of the Douluo Continent. Although she was a new existence, she couldn¡¯tpletely transcend this world¡¯sws. That was why she had to fuse with a soul master and his abilities even though she was alive on her own.

    If it were someone else, they would only have one soul ring spot to contain the Snow Lady. In that case, the Snow Lady would lose a portion of her strength. Simply speaking, it was just like how a soul master absorbed a soul ring from a soul beast. The soul master couldn¡¯t possibly obtain all the soul skills it had, and would only absorb one that was suitable for himself. But the Snow Lady was a living body, and thus naturally hoped to retain all her powers. However, she couldn¡¯t do this alone, and needed Huo Yuhao to help her fulfil this wish. That was why she needed to take up many spots.

    The conditions she formed under were too unique, he couldn¡¯t possibly replicate her. Even if Huo Yuhao could use the Contract Magic left behind by Electrolux, it still wouldn¡¯te close to making another Spirit like the Snow Empress. Besides, soul masters wouldn¡¯t have the necessary spiritual power to ept as many Spirits as they want, or soul rings, for that matter. It was already unbelievable for a soul beast¡¯s power to bepressed several times over withoutbusting. And even then, there was still a need for a strong entity to sacrifice their divine sense. How could Huo Yuhao possibly replicate this?

    From one perspective, the Snow Empress¡¯ strength would be restricted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. From another viewpoint, she had managed to disy her strength.

    After a third and fourth orange-gold soul ring appeared, the four soul rings moved along with the Ice Empress¡¯ blood-red soul ring. Atst, Huo Yuhao had officially be a Soul King. He had even added four soul rings in one go. However, he felt very helpless, as he couldn¡¯t control these four new soul rings. They could only be controlled by the Snow Lady.

    The surging undtions of his soul and spiritual power started to calm down. The fusion process between the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit and Huo Yuhao was much simpler than expected. He didn¡¯t even feel any impact; he only felt greater strength being imbued into his body.

    In just this short period of time, he clearly sensed his body being influenced by the four new soul rings. Not only did his soul power increase a notch, but his bones, passageways and spiritual power were all enhanced.

    The enhancement to a soul master after adding four soul rings was great. Huo Yuhao¡¯s current soul power wasparable to a Soul Emperor.

    Although he felt that he couldn¡¯t control his four new soul rings, the strength that they each gave him was equivalent to a thirty thousand year soul ring. This was still in the midst of the fusion, which restricted the limits of his tolerance. The Snow Lady evidently still had a lot of strength left. She was pleased after taking up the four spots. The growth potential of these soul rings was immense. It was just that Huo Yuhao was slightly displeased that the Snow Lady forcefully snatched four spots and didn¡¯t even offer him a single soul skill.

    This little fellow is too domineering. What about my Ice Empress in the future!? I¡¯ve lost four soul skills just like that¡ªit¡¯ll undoubtedly reduce my advantage of having twin martial souls.

    However, he couldn¡¯t bear to admonish her. He also believed the Ice Empress wouldn¡¯t say anything if she were awake. No matter what form the Snow Empress took, it was still her strength!

    One red and four orange soul rings surrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as they moved. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s wild and barren aura disappeared. It was reced with an elegant and peaceful aura that no one would find unusual.

    He didn¡¯t feel that he had be much stronger, but the two sect masters could sense the difference in his body. With their cultivations, they felt a sense of danger from him, a sense of danger they hadn¡¯t felt before.

    ¡°Ke ke ke!¡± As a crisp and clearugh sounded, a small and swift orange-gold figure crawled out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. It was the Snow Lady.

    The two sect masters were surprised when they saw her appearing again. Tai Tan said, ¡°Kid, didn¡¯t she turn into your soul rings?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered this question on behalf of the Snow Lady. Heughed bitterly, ¡°She didn¡¯t turn into soul rings, but marked her territory in my body. The soul rings were just ces for her to contain and consolidate her strength. She could use these four soul rings to restore her energy that was depleted. Technically, they aren¡¯t really soul rings, and have nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya.¡± The Snow Lady seemed to sense the annoyance in his voice and shook her head at him unhappily. The orange-gold light from her body became stronger and stronger. Huo Yuhao immediately sensed her intentions.

    Following this, the first of his four new soul rings lit up. The Snow Lady lifted her hand and pointed and Tai Tan. Suddenly, a deep blue light shot out from her finger. This deep blue light started to disperse as it shot out, engulfing Tai Tanpletely.

    Tai Tan turned into an ice sculpture again. He couldn¡¯t resist it this time either.

    ¡°Ke ke ke.¡± She chuckled and starting pping.

    This time Tai Tan was struggling even more, but his movements were much slower.

    ¡°It¡¯s freezing me to death. Little fellow, are you using me as an experiment? This is too absurd. Be careful, or I¡¯m going to smack your butt.¡± Tai Tan shivered as he tried to break out of the ice.

    ¡°I understand now!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted, giving the two sect masters a scare.

    ¡°Rascal, what are you shouting for? Just because I can¡¯t bear to whack her doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t bear to whack you.¡± Tai Tan red at Huo Yuhao furiously.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even seem to hear his threat, and said agitatedly, ¡°I understand the secret behind Spirit. Although the Snow Lady has taken up four soul rings, they also represents four of her abilities. The secret lies in the storage of her strength within these soul rings, and that she can use them to restore her strength. All these have nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so happy if they have nothing to do with you?¡± Tai Tan asked doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It means that the depletion of my soul and spiritual power will be very small when she unleashes her abilities. Furthermore, I don¡¯t have to control them either! During this period of time, I can use other skills toplement her powers. We can even coordinate through our spiritual senses.¡±

    The two sect masters were very powerful, and they immediately understood what he meant.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°In that case, there¡¯s now two of you with her around?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that exaggerated. However, I believe that she can increase my fighting strength by thirty percent if she¡¯s there to assist me or aid me in my offense. However, we need to be more familiar with each other before she¡¯ll be able to help me effectively.¡±

    Niu Tian was also surprised and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Since she¡¯s connected to you and has her own thoughts, she can even leave your body to unleash her abilities.¡±

    ¡°This Spirit is much superior to soul rings. Just like we thought, she might be able to change the rtionship between soul beasts and soul masters, as well as change the cultivation of all soul masters on the continent! What you have to do next is familiarize yourself with her and discover her special characteristics. You¡¯ll definitely also need to practice how to coordinate with her.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded emphatically, he was filled with excitement. When a new form of life or energy was discovered, there were too many things to explore.

    As he looked at the Snow Lady on his shoulder, he felt his heart soften. He sighed to himself. Who would have expected the leader of the Three Heavenly Kings in the Extreme North to end up like this?

    The five soul rings¡ªone red and four orange¡ªsurrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He was filled with confidence due to the unprecedented strength he had obtained.

    ¡°Snow Lady, can you return?¡± He said to the Snow Lady.

    She nodded, and her face rippled with a tender glow. She turned into a streak of orange-gold light that disappeared into his Eye of Destiny.

    She was different from the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm. When she entered his body, it was likeing home. She moved freely in his second mental sea and spiritual sea. She could go anywhere she wanted. He could sense where she was, but he couldn¡¯t control her. However, he could contact her if he wanted to. They were telepathically connected in a rtionship like a father and daughter.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t let her return! Call her out for me to see. She¡¯s too cute. I¡¯m tempted to remove a few soul rings to make one just like her.¡± Tai Tan looked indignantly at Huo Yuhao as he twisted his hands.

    Niu Tian red at his brother, ¡°You want to be an ice sculpture forever? Continue with your bullshit then. Let¡¯s go, Yuhao needs to rest. You¡¯ll see her again when he manages to coordinate with her.¡±

    As he spoke, he forcefully dragged his brother away.

 Chapter 199.2: Orange Soul Ring

    Huo Yuhao indeed had to sense the changes in his body carefully after truly fusing with the Snow Lady¡¯s Spirit. After sending off the two sect masters, he quickly returned to his bed and sat cross-legged. He focused his mind and circted his soul power.

    After hebined his consciousness and the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power, he suddenly felt very clear. Due to his fusion with the Snow Empress, the problems with his spiritual sea had already been resolved. His spiritual power had risen instead of fallen. His entire spiritual sea was back in its Boundless Ocean state.

    The Snow Lady swam in his spiritual sea, asionally exuding orange-gold light.

    Huo Yuhao could sense that a part of the origin energy of heaven and earth would fuse into the Snow Lady¡¯s body as he cultivated, nourishing her. This outpouring of energy wouldn¡¯t affect his cultivation speed. On the contrary, the speeds he cultivated at the Mysterious Heaven Technique were faster with her presence. Apart from the portion of the energy the Snow Lady absorbed, his own cultivation speed increased significantly.

    Furthermore, he had be a Soul King after gaining a fifth soul ring. Although his soul power was still a little rigid in his body, its overall cirction surged more and more.

    The inside of his body waspletely engulfed in gold. It wasn¡¯t just from the Mysterious Heaven Technique, but also his spiritual power. He could sense that his body was changing drastically under the effect of his immense soul and spiritual power. It was as if he was evolving.

    He wasn¡¯t sure how long this wouldst, but he hoped that it wouldst forever. As his body evolved, his tolerance level would also increase. His spiritual sea felt as if it was growing due to the Snow Lady¡¯s spiritual power, but that feeling would disappear as his body got stronger.

    After fusing with the Snow Lady¡¯s Spirit, there was only one word to describe Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition¡ªmetamorphosis.

    Huo Yuhao spent an entire day in deep meditation. When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright.

    The metamorphosis of his body was still ongoing, but its speed had dropped significantly. He jumped off from his bed and stretched.

    He only heard his bones cracking softly, and he was stunned to find out that he had grown taller. There were even lesser striations on his developed muscles, but the changes to his skin were far more astonishing.

    He had obtained a healthy, bronzeplexion after years of tireless cultivation. Although thisplexion made him seem very masculine, he had neglected skin care due to his hectic schedule of cultivation, which made his skin seem rough.

    After one day and night of cultivation, he was stunned to realize that hisplexion had whitened a little. Although he was still bronze, there was ayer of dim light beneath his skin. This made the surface of his skin appear finer and smoother. The signs of aging that had umted had all disappeared.

    Am I seeing things? This was his first reaction.

    He rushed to the washroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He was stunned. He couldn¡¯t even believe that he was the person in the mirror.

    It was still the same Huo Yuhao. However, his body and face seemed to have experienced some slight but weird changes. It was these slight changes that had caused his appearance to change.

    The lines on his face had be more obvious, and they were now filled with a masculine aura. In his eyes, his calm gaze revealed a sense of dignity. His skin was indeed smooth, but it was different from a young girl¡¯s skin. His skin was filled with a healthy, masculine aura. At least to him, he felt that he had be more handsome after this change.

    He faced the mirror and couldn¡¯t help but ask himself, ¡°Is, is this still me?¡±

    This shouldn¡¯t be changes that urred because of the increase in my cultivation. He finally understood. The Snow Lady was the reason why his appearance experienced such drastic changes.

    She even called me daddy, but she doesn¡¯t look like me at all. I seemed to have changed because of her.

    As he thought of this point, he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Since when could a daughter change their father¡¯s appearance? However, such a thing had happened to him. Had she despised her father because he was too ugly?

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh in the end. As he thought of something, lights shed, and the Snow Lady crawled out. However, she didn¡¯t crawl out of his Eye of Destiny, but his chest.

    Evidently, it wasn¡¯t only his body that was evolving. The Snow Lady was also bing more and more familiar with him.

    Compared to the day before, the Snow Lady seemed to have grown slightly. She was still an infant, but she was even cuter now. When she saw his reflection in the mirror, she starting chuckling and pping.

    He was a little shy as he said, ¡°Little fellow, did you despise me because I was ugly?¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head, but her deep blue eyes revealed herughing intent. He wanted to hug her, but she turned into a streak of flowing light. In this state, she could change at anytime, so he grabbed onto nothing as he tried to catch her.

    As she opened her mouth, she sucked water from the tap in the washroom and spat it onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    While he possessed the Ultimate Ice, he still shivered as he was struck by the cold water! Sheughed cheekily and escaped. She seemed very delighted as she flew around.

    Huo Yuhao had absolutely no idea how to deal with her. Seeing that she was so happy, he also became more rxed. He suddenly thought of what it would be like if he really had a daughter!

    As he thought of it, he unwittingly thought of that figure deeply imprinted in his mind. Wang Dong, is your twin sister fertile?

    His face blushed, and his heart rate increased. After all, he was only seventeen years old, and was still exploring his emotions. He didn¡¯t realize this when he was cultivating normally. However, romantic feelings had started to develop in him after he met Ju Zi and saw the Goddess of Light.

    ¡°Oh? The two sect masters are here.¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned to discover that he could sense presences outside even without using his Spiritual Detection. He even knew who they were.

    Before the two of them could knock on the door, he took the initiative to open the door himself.

    Niu Tian smiled as he asked, ¡°Your cultivation has ended?¡± As he looked at Huo Yuhao, he was slightly surprised. ¡°Yuhao, why do I feel like you¡¯re different from yesterday?¡±

    Huo Yuhao invited both of them in and said, ¡°Uncle Niu, I feel the same way. It seems like my body has been changing under the Snow Lady¡¯s influence after I fused with her. I¡¯m not clear on how much it¡¯ll change. However, my body and spiritual power have be stronger. My telepathy with her has also grown. Even my skin and appearance have changed slightly.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Niu Tian nodded and pressed his hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. A gentle soul power was poured into his body, which seemed to cleanse him as it circted one round through his passageways.

    He only felt a sense of warmth engulfing his body. It was extremelyfortable.

    ¡°Yuhao, your Spirit is impressive!¡± Niu Tianplimented with a shocked look on his face.

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he looked at him

    Niu Tian took a look at Tai Tan, but realized that he was staring at the Snow Lady and wasn¡¯t paying attention to them. He sighed in his heart, ¡°It seems like we¡¯re too lonely.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, I took a look at the condition of your body just now. You should know, that there are different bottlenecks at different stages of a soul master¡¯s cultivation. Once he breaks through these bottlenecks, his cultivation will improve significantly. One of the greatest stages is between the sixth and seventh ring. The soul master¡¯s martial soul willpletely awaken its strength, and they¡¯ll gain a Martial Soul True Body.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. He naturally knew about this.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°I sensed your body just now, and discovered that your physical tenacity is already close to a soul master who possesses a Martial Soul True Body.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. Because he was a genius from Shrek Academy, he wouldn¡¯t dismiss Niu Tian¡¯s words as simple numbers.

    He was only Rank 50, but he had twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul. Even so, he was only Rank 50, miles away from Rank 70.

    He and Wang Dong had fought a seven-ringed Soul Sage, Zhao Yang, previously. While he possessed the Violet Goldbear, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s martial souls were stronger than his. However, they only managed to beat him after unleashing all of their abilities¡ªcontinuously using their martial soul fusion skills and Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent. Why was this the case? That was because Zhao Yang possessed a Martial Soul True Body.

    Simply put, Huo Yuhao could possibly match up to Zhao Yang if he was at Rank 69. However, he was on an entirely different level since he gained a seventh soul ring that allowed him to use his Martial Soul True Body. No matter how talented Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were, they had to be very careful against someone who possessed a Martial Soul True Body. They had to team up to put up any resistance at all.

 Chapter 199.3: Orange Soul Ring

    How could Huo Yuhao not be shocked after hearing Niu Tian tell him that his physical tenacity was close to that a soul master that possessed a Martial Soul True Body? It was like a thousand year soul beast possessing the body of a ten thousand year soul beast!

    Niu Tian smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I never exaggerate. This is my honest opinion. Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean you possess the abilities of a Martial Soul True Body. It¡¯s just that your body can withstand the impact of a Soul Sage¡¯s soul power. This will be very beneficial for your cultivation. Didn¡¯t you realize that your Ultimate martial soul¡¯s effect on your cultivation speed has evidently weakened during your cultivation process?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as he scratched his head and answered, ¡°I went into a meditative state as if I were asleep not long after I cultivated yesterday due to the metamorphosis I experienced. I didn¡¯t feel much.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°That¡¯s normal. Your powers have increased rather significantly this time! One¡¯s appearance stems from his mind. Don¡¯t look down on these minor changes to your appearance. Your body must evolve a little before your appearance changes. Let me give you an example.

    ¡°In the world of soul beasts, most soul beasts¡¯ cultivations can be recognized through their appearance. For example, some soul beasts will increase in size when they move into the thousand year level. For those whose blood lineage is pure and powerful, they will experience less major changes during the process of evolution. That¡¯s because their bodies are already close to perfection. Humans are like that. That¡¯s why our appearances don¡¯t really change as our cultivation improves. When you develop a new appearance because of your cultivation, it suggests that your body has experienced a drastic change. The change you¡¯re experiencing is indeed beneficial, and it¡¯s a change that was sparked from a great enhancement in your powers. I can confirm that you¡¯ll be a seven-ringed Soul Sage before you¡¯re thirty years old. When that happens, the abilities of your twin martial souls and Ultimate martial soul will be fully realized, and you¡¯ll be a truly strong individual. You¡¯ll be a Titled Douluo before you¡¯re forty.

    ¡°In the continent, a forty-year-old Titled Douluo isn¡¯t considered very young. However, I¡¯ve not heard of anyone with an Ultimate martial soul who has be a Titled Douluo before the age of forty. This is the benefit from this evolution.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t basking in delight from the appraisal that Niu Tian was giving him. On the contrary, he asked thoughtfully, ¡°Uncle Niu, does this also mean that there are others who evolve in other aspects due to unwanted changes that urred because of their cultivation?¡±

    Niu Tian nodded and said, ¡°There are many cultivation methods in our world. There are also various forms of each method. You have heard of the Body Sect, they experience changes like you¡¯ve experienced. That¡¯s also a reason why they are so powerful. Their evolution is the second awakening of their Body Souls. Although I¡¯m unsure what kind of secret technique they use toplete it, those who undergo the second awakening will experience a significant increase in their abilities. Even their soul rings will evolve and change, along with their martial souls. That¡¯s why the perfect ratio of soul rings is different for Body Sect members. The soul masters from the Body Sect can evenpare to evil soul masters in terms of individual fighting strength.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was impressed by this, and asked, ¡°Uncle Niu, can evil soul masters be influenced by changes in their cultivation?¡±

    Niu Tian replied, ¡°Of course. Furthermore, evil soul masters are likely to be the affected the most. Most evil martial souls aren¡¯t innately evil. This is also the same for soul masters. They¡¯re only categorized as evil soul masters due to the special evolutionary characteristics of their martial souls. For example, the cultivation of some martial souls requires fresh blood, while some require one to constantly kill. Once those with such martial souls start to be greedy, they will sink further and further into depravity. When that happens, they will be evil soul masters.

    ¡°As their cultivation increases, they will develop a vicious aura. Their demeanor and personalities will also start to change due to that influence. That¡¯s why it¡¯s very easy to tell when one is really an evil soul master. Their vicious auras are usually tainted with a dark green. With your detection abilities, you can be more aware in the future; once you see a dark-green color shing across a soul master¡¯s face, it¡¯s almost certain that he¡¯s an evil soul master.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. Niu Tian¡¯s guidance had deepened his understanding of martial souls. He was much more impressed by this Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master.

    ¡°Are the two of you done? Yuhao, bring her to me. She¡¯s making me dizzy from all the flying.¡± Tai Tan was a little displeased as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Uncle Tai, you really like Snow Lady! Snow Lady,e.¡± He gestured to her.

    She turned into a streak of orange flowing light and came back to Huo Yuhao. She grabbed his hand before sitting on his arm. She felt like a real person this time, and was no longer the untouchable energy body that she had previously. Her smooth skin was tightly pressed against his arm. It was extremelyfortable.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but peck her cheek. Her delicate skin and the aromatic milky scent that came from her left him content despite himself.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady was a little unhappy as she waved her fist at Huo Yuhao before rubbing her face.

    Huo Yuhao was amused as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you call me daddy? Am I that dirty?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± the Snow Lady shouted again. He understood what she was saying this time. Her reply was very simple ¨C she said that she was being molested!

    When Tai Tan saw Huo Yuhao kissing the Snow Lady on the cheek, he couldn¡¯t help bute over and ask, ¡°Snow Lady, give granddaddy a kiss too. I¡¯ll give you whatever you want. How about that?¡± He subconsciously assumed his seniority as he addressed her.

    The Snow Lady could understand his words. She twisted her head and looked at Tai Tan¡¯s obsequious smile. She pointed at him and screamed, ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡±

    A blue light shed, and Tai Tan was turned into an ice sculpture once again.

    Niu Tian asked, ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh. Before Tai Tan broke out from the ice, he whispered, ¡°She said ¡®pervert¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Niu Tianughed loudly, scaring the Snow Lady. She quickly crawled her way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms.

    Tai Tan soon broke free from the ice, and was furious. ¡°Little girl, this is unfair. He kissed you, but you only rubbed your face. Why did you freeze me? Is it my fault that I¡¯m ugly?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya! Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady crawled out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms and shouted at Tai Tan while pointing at him.

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Tai Tan asked Huo Yuhao to trante it for him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned a little weird, as if he were suppressing something.

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Tai Tan continued to probe.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Uncle Tai, do you really want to know? You can¡¯t get angry!¡±

    Tai Tan lifted his chest and said, ¡°Am I that easily infuriated?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°She¡¯s roughly trying to say that it¡¯s not your fault that you¡¯re ugly, but it¡¯s your fault that you¡¯re scaring others¡­¡±

    Tai Tan¡¯s face stiffened. Niu Tian had just stoppedughing, but he started to chuckle after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. He rested one arm on Tai Tan¡¯s shoulder and used his other arm to hold his stomach. He wanted to say something, but he couldn¡¯t because he wasughing.

    Tai Tan stared fiercely at the Snow Lady. After keeping it in for half a day, his face waspletely red. However, he didn¡¯t erupt in anger, and only shouted, ¡°I give her to you!¡±

    The Snow Lady stuck her tongue out at him. She appeared unbothered as sheid in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. She was so cute that Niu Tian¡¯s eyes were shining brightly.

    Tai Tan turned to Niu Tian. ¡°Elder brother, I can¡¯t take it anymore. No, we need to think of a way. I must create a Spirit, too. This is too interesting. I didn¡¯t know martial souls could be so fun.¡±

    Niu Tian snapped, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s so easy to create one? Can you just get rid of your soul rings just like that? Furthermore, this Spirit is formed from a soul beast. Where can you find such a pretty, human-form soul beast like the Snow Lady? If you find a tiger or lion, your Spirit will look just like them. We helped Yuhao test the various characteristics of this Spirit out of urgency. We can start with the junior disciples and see if it¡¯s possible to add a Spirit. As for yourself, forget it.¡±

    Tai Tan was a little indignant as he said, ¡°If I had known that, I wouldn¡¯t have asked Wang Dong to get his fifth soul ring. Isn¡¯t a Spirit better?¡±

    Niu Tian red at him, and a strong aura was suddenly released. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so easy! This Spirit is very magical! Do you think it¡¯s so easy to create one like her? Yuhao, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s test how useful your little orange baby is in a live fight. Let¡¯s also see what other changes she can bring.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Huo Yuhao agreed. It was definitely a good thing that the two sect masters were willing to test how good his Spirit was. With their level of control over their soul power, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about getting hurt.

    Tai Tan seemed a little devious as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°Kid, I can¡¯t bear to hurt this little wretch. As her father, you need to tolerate the hits for her! Hehehe!¡±

 Chapter 200.1: Perfect Complement, Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice

    Huo Yuhao felt a chill run down his spine. He beamed as he said, ¡°Uncle Tai, surely you won¡¯t bully me, right?¡±

    Tai Tan said righteously, ¡°Will anyone care about seniority on the battlefield? When you hunt for soul beasts, do the ten thousand year soul beasts show mercy on you just because you¡¯re young? To be the best among the best, you must be able to face any form of difficulty. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    A deep blue light shed past, and someone became an ice sculpture again¡­ The Snow Lady was delighted as she flew above Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. As she messed with his hair, she grinned at Tai Tan¡¯s ice sculpture.

    Huo Yuhao tried to control hisughter before turning around and fleeing.

    As the broken ice hit the ground, Tai Tan couldn¡¯t help but shout out, ¡°Little wretch, watch out!¡±

    ------

    Clear Sky Peak. Peak of the mountain.

    It couldn¡¯t be felt in Clear Sky Castle, but the moist, chilly wind was immediately obvious once someone stepped outside. Clear Sky Castle was constructed from some unknown material that warded away the chill and the damp, both of which were evident and ufortable after leaving thefort of those walls.

    Of course, this was nothing for Huo Yuhao, who had his Ultimate Ice. He was in fact used to fighting in such a cold environment.

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t seem to feel cold after leaving the castle, either. The orange-gold light from her body shone even more brightly in the chilling wind. The gentle light entuated her small figure. Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to her at this moment.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Yuhao, attack me. Do your best. I¡¯ll try to retaliate ordingly.¡±

    ¡°No! Elder brother, let me do it!¡± Tai Tan wasn¡¯t going to stand on ceremony. After being frozen by the Snow Lady several times, he was furious.

    Niu Tian nced at him and said, ¡°You can do it too, but there¡¯s a condition. You can¡¯t use your martial soul. You can only use your own strength.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Tai Tan agreed without any hesitation. With his cultivation, he was still very strong even if he didn¡¯t use his martial soul. Most Soul Sages and Soul Douluo wouldn¡¯t have a fighting chance against him, even without his martial soul.

    Niu Tian turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I heard Wang Dong say that you¡¯re also a soul engineer. You can unleash everything against Tai Tan. Don¡¯t worry about hurting him. You can only develop her potential by giving your all. Tai Tan won¡¯t hurt you for real, either. I¡¯ll be watching him from the side.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks, Uncle Niu.¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very worried. If the two of them wanted to harm him, they didn¡¯t have to do this. They could just attack him.

    Tai Tan stretched out, and his attention moved from Huo Yuhao to the Snow Lady. He extended his right index finger and hooked it at her in a provocative gesture.

    She wasn¡¯t provoked. She only stuck her tongue out at him and made a clown face.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time fighting with the Snow Lady. He wasn¡¯t tense, but excited. He took in a deep breath, and his aura suddenly changed.

    Ayer of dim golden light was released, engulfing his entire body. His spiritual energy was greatly enhanced.

    Niu Tian looked and nodded his head. Thebination of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual and soul power was known to him as fighting will. Without a doubt, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting will was way beyond that of most people. He didn¡¯t appear afraid at all, even though he was up against Tai Tan. On the contrary, his fighting will grew even stronger. He was worthplimenting just based on this point.

    ¡°Come on, kid,¡± Tai Tan gestured at Yuhao. His arms were at his sides, and his dark-yellow eyes held a strong fighting intent. At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had returned to the moment he first saw Tai Tan when he entered the Clear Sky Castle. Even though Tai Tan didn¡¯t unleash his martial soul, the spiritual suppression that he unleashed was bearing down on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao released golden light, along with his Spirit Eyes. In front of Niu Tian and Tai Tan, there was nothing for him to hide. One white and three ck soul rings surfaced on his body.

    What drew the two elders¡¯ attention wasn¡¯t the three ck soul rings, but the white one. With their abilities, they could tell that it wasn¡¯t just a ten-year soul ring. However, they couldn¡¯t tell what level it actually was.

    The orange-gold Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit was enough to astonish them. However, neither of them had thought that Huo Yuhao had another strange soul ring on him!

    Tan Tian¡¯s aura rxed a little in his surprise. Huo Yuhao exploited this opportunity to burst out like a bolt of lightning. He used all his strength right from the start.

    As he recalled what Wang Dong had said, he didn¡¯t use soul tools, using his own capabilities as a soul master to fight. He was like a vigorous panther as he leapt forward. The golden light from his body became more and more intense as he advanced. He drew back his right fist forcefully, like a sun shining brighter and brighter.

    At this moment, he managed to ovee Tai Tan¡¯s spiritual suppression and burst towards him like a golden meteor.

    ¡°Nice move!¡± Tai Tan shouted.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist was simple and direct, but it was filled with his understanding of spiritual power and the Sovereign¡¯s Descent. This was also his first time unleashing a strike with all his might after his body had undergone its metamorphosis, a peak disy of his fighting strength.

    BOOM¡­! This shocking fist stopped at Tai Tan¡¯s right hand, the scarlet-gold blow struck the blocking first hard.

    His target was his chest, but Tai Tan¡¯s right hand was waiting for him there.

    The golden light surged. The instantaneous explosive force was even converted into a golden halo that spread out around him. The surrounding air started to distort wildly.

    However, the golden halo didn¡¯t sweep past Tai Tan¡¯s body. All the explosive force was dissipated before it reached him.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if he had collided against a mountain that couldn¡¯t be crossed. his attack dissipating even as he struck it.

    Tai Tan smirked, ¡°Good fist, interesting! Come again!¡± As he spoke, he moved his right arm, and Huo Yuhao was flung away. However, he wasn¡¯t hurt.

    Huo Yuhao spun his body in the air and broke his fall as hended on the ground. The golden light around his body weakened as he looked at Tai Tan. However, the light from his eyes became stronger and stronger.

    His third eye slowly opened. A strange, golden streak of light shot out and hit Tai Tandirectly.

    Tai Tan shook slightly, and revealed an appalled look in his eyes. A golden skull now floated above his head.

    The evolved Destiny Soul Gaze.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used this Destiny Soul Gaze during his time in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy under Elder Mu¡¯s direct instructions. However, he wasn¡¯t too wary against Wang Dong¡¯s elder, and finally used this special ability again.

    Niu Tian was shocked when he saw this. He looked at Tai Tan, and they could both sense what this streak of light was.

    After the Destiny Soul Gaze, a streak of white light shot out from the Eye of Destiny. Mass Enfeeblement - Single Target Version£¡

    The rise in his spiritual power increased Huo Yuhao¡¯s control of his soul skills along with it. This was his first time converting a mass control-type skill into a single-target control-type soul skill. He didn¡¯t expect it to seed. However, he sensed that he needed to open his Eye of Destiny before he couldplete this skill, given his current spiritual power and his control over it. He couldn¡¯t do it just based on his Spirit Eyes.

    In addition to the golden skull above his head, there was now anotheryer of blurry white light around Tai Tan¡¯s body. Even his strong suppression had be weaker, and his aura fell.

    However, he wasn¡¯t bothered, and smirked at Huo Yuhao before hooking his finger at him.

    Huo Yuhao moved and switched his martial soul. One red and four orange soul rings suddenly rose up around him. His entire aura changed. The chilly wind at the peak of the mountain suddenly became harsher. The wind wasn¡¯t blowing stronger, but its temperature had dipped even further.

    Tai Tan shut his eyes before shouting, ¡°Open!¡±

    He didn¡¯t really do anything, but the white light around his body scattered.

    This was the gap between their abilities. Even though he hadn¡¯t unleashed his martial soul, his soul and spiritual power were still beyond the control of Huo Yuhao¡¯s control-type soul skill. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement was strong, but it didn¡¯t have much of an effect due to the gap in their cultivations.

    However, the Destiny Soul Gaze revealed its strength at this point. While Enfeeblement was ovee, the golden skull still continued to hover above Tai Tan.

    Huo Yuhao burst towards Tai Tan again. His eyes were now covered by ayer of azure-green light.

    Diamond ice crystals engulfed his entire body ¨C it was the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. His Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer had also been unleashed. An extreme chill was released from his body.

    Since he couldn¡¯t threaten his opponent using pure fighting techniques, he needed to change his fighting methods.

    As he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his figure suddenly turned illusory. Tai Tan and Niu Tian revealed smiles on their faces when they saw the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. It was like they had seen something they were very familiar with.

 Chapter 200.2: Perfect Complement, Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice

    Under cover of the illusion, Huo Yuhao sneaked his way up to Tai Tan¡¯s side. He leapt up suddenly and used his right hand to strike Tai Tan¡¯s shoulder.

    Tai Tan chortled and allowed Huo Yuhao to strike him. He jerked his left arm and struck at Huo Yuhao. From the look of it, both parties were going to suffer in this collision. However, Huo Yuhao knew that he was the only one that was going to be hurt if he was hit.

    However, an azure-green light shone extremely brightly at the instant Huo Yuhao drew closer, and an extreme chill spread out - the Domain of Perpetual Ice!

    Even though Tai Tan¡¯s cultivation was very high, he still shivered as he was subjected to Ultimate Ice soul skills inside the Domain. Sharp des appeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand - the Darkgolden Terrorws!

    Against Tai Tan, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to hold back, and used theplete version of the Darkgolden Terrorws immediately. He had been saving this attack for a long time. The huge ws reached out over ten meters, and the dark-golden light they emitted seemed like they wanted to cut heaven and earth apart.

    Tai Tan was shocked. As he panicked, he lifted his left arm to block.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but exim. He only had one goal in challenging Tai Tan. He would be pleased as long as he could force Tai Tan¡¯s martial soul out. However, the man didn¡¯t unleash his martial soul even under such a situation. On the other hand, he used his body to block the Darkgolden Terrorws¡¯ sure-kill technique.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s words soon stuck in his mouth. As the lights of the w shed by, they left five marks on the ground. The loud boom caused the mountain peak to shake slightly.

    And what about Tai Tan? He was standing there as if nothing had happened. There were only a few tears on his shirt¡­

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re going to have to pay me for this shirt!¡± Tai Tanughed.

    Seeing that he was fine, Huo Yuhao immediately unleashed his next attack. Azure-green light engulfed his body, and a streak of icy blue light that used his backbone as a cross-section shot out. Tapping into the Domain of Perpetual Ice, this azure beam absorbed all the moisture in the air as it struck at Tai Tan.

    Tai Tan staggered a little as he was stunned once again.

    However, the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath didn¡¯t cause any harm to him. It didn¡¯t even manage to restrict him. Tai Tan was still fine as he stood where he was.

    Huo Yuhao was getting a little dejected. He was using all the methods at his disposal. He didn¡¯t use Spiritual Shock because he knew that he was only going to trouble himself if he used it, given the huge gap in their spiritual powers.

    Unless he used soul tools, he didn¡¯t have any stronger capabilities to continue fighting. At this point, he realized that his skills were useless in front of a truly strong individual. It wasn¡¯t that they were lousy; it was that his cultivation was stillcking.

    However, it wasn¡¯t all bad news. In this series of attacks, Huo Yuhao could sense the changes in this cultivation after he gained his fifth soul ring. The depletion of his soul power when using soul skills had dropped significantly. Even after using all his previous attacks, he had only expended about twenty percent of his soul power, even though every skill he used was rather strong. He had even used the Eye of Destiny! In the past, that alone would have used up half of his soul power!

    However, nothing seemed to affect Tai Tan at all.

    ¡°Is that all you got, kid? There¡¯s nothing else?¡± Tai Tan brushed the icing off his body and looked at his torn sleeves before nodding to himself. After the series of attacks, he had a deeper understanding of Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation. The soul skills that he used at the end weren¡¯t too impressive to him, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice couldn¡¯t threaten him. He had been shocked the most by Huo Yuhao¡¯s first fist. The fist hadbined his spiritual power, aura, and soul power together, leaving a deep impression on Tai Tan. From that fist alone, Tai Tan could confirm that Wang Dong wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s match.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m too lousypared to you.¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± At this point, the Snow Lady¡¯s voice rose. She drifted over in front of Huo Yuhao, unconvinced as she pointed her finger at herself.

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Are you saying there¡¯s still you? Where did you go just now?¡±

    The Snow Lady made another small action that made Tai Tan cringe. She lowered her head and pointed her two index fingers to the front, wearing an indignant look on her face.

    Huo Yuhao rushed tofort her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We are too far behind Uncle Tai. It¡¯s normal that we¡¯re losing.¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± yhe Snow Lady shouted again. Even Tai Tan could tell that she wasn¡¯t pleased from her voice.

    ¡°What is she saying?¡± Tai Tan asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao tranted, ¡°She asked me to try again.¡±

    Tai Tan chortled and said, ¡°Come on, try again! Oh yes, I was too bothered with assessing your abilities, and forgot to whack you to vent my anger.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help, butugh. While Tai Tan¡¯s temper seemed very short, he was in fact quite cute.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the Snow Lady and said, ¡°I shall depend on you, then?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady lifted her chest, and her white robe shook slightly. If one didn¡¯t know that she was a Spirit, he might think that her arms and legs were getting cold from being exposed.

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes and quickly connected his mind with hers. He was sensing her opinion.

    A stunned look shed across his eyes. In the next moment, the Snow Lady had already lifted her right hand.

    She looked very amusing as she lifted her right arm, especially when she extended her little fingers to point into the sky. Her deep blue eyes appeared very serious, but there was only one word to describe her ¨C too cute!

    Tai Tan felt that he had great affinity with her. No matter how he looked at her, he absolutely adored her. Furthermore, he liked her the more she pranked him.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± the Snow Lady shouted, and a magical scene urred.

    Azure-green light expanded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was the Domain of Perpetual Ice. At the same time, an intense orange-gold light shot out from the Snow Lady¡¯s body. The second out of the four orange-gold soul rings on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to shine very brightly.

    The temperature in the air dropped significantly, and it seemed to have fallen below negative twenty degrees Celsius. Furthermore, this new temperature covered all of Clear Sky Peak.

    The mountaintop became a world of ice and snow. Heavy snow raged under the effect of the strong winds. The three of them even lost track of where the others were.

    Even Tai Tan and Niu Tian needed to circte their soul power to resist the cold under such conditions. Tai Tan was shocked to find out that he couldn¡¯t pinpoint Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    At this level, one didn¡¯t need his eyes to know his opponent¡¯s position. He could feel it. However, he couldn¡¯t sense anything in this brutal snowstorm. It was as if his senses were sealed.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao realized what the greatest strength of the Snow Lady was ¨C her ability toplement him perfectly.

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t just bring him soul skills. She could use her soul skills to assist Huo Yuhao, supplementing his abilities precisely.

    There was a secret spell in Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard that allowed one to coordinate several soul skills with their body. However, the effects of the soul skills were additional. The Snow Lady¡¯s help enabled Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities to multiply all by herself.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation, he could maintain the Domain of Perpetual Ice within a region that spanned several dozen meters in diameter. However, he couldn¡¯t cover asrge an area as she did now, or reduce the temperature so drastically. After hepleted this Domain with the Snow Lady, he was shocked to find out that the depletion of his soul power was much less than he had expected.

    All the clouds and air around this mountain peak had be a part of his strength. They were continuously converted into chilly wind and sharp snowkes under the effects of this powerful Domain.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if he really were controlling ice and snow.

    This was the second of the four soul skills that the Snow Lady brought him, the Frigid Dance of Ice and Snow. Combined with his Domain of Perpetual Ice, it was called the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    This was a new Domain formed by thebination of the two Domains. Not only was it very strong, but it also helped Huo Yuhao greatly in conserving his soul power.

    Not only could this Domain restrict his opponent, it could also enhance the Ice Empress¡¯ soul skills and conceal his location. Even Tai Tan couldn¡¯t detect where he was.

    Huo Yuhao made some estimates. ording to the current strength of the Domain, he could hold it for about ten minutes. The domain also covered a region more than five hundred meters in diameter. This was a true Domain-type soul skill! Huo Yuhao was already pleased with the help of one soul skill, but in this Domain, his abilities increased significantly!

    Of course, he also understood that the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was so strong right now because of its close connection with the local environment.

 Chapter 200.3: Perfect Complement, Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice

    The surrounding clouds were the best terrain for his domain, as they were filled with water. If this were a dry and humid ce, his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice¡¯s strength would¡¯ve been greatly reduced.

    Currently, Huo Yuhao was akin to one of the thousands of snowkes in his domain¨Che¡¯dpletely assimted himself into it.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya.¡± The Snow Lady¡¯s voice echoed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. She¡¯d asked for him to act ording to her instructions.

    Although the Snow Empress was newly-created, her presence seemed to be simr to a martial soul fusion, which he was experienced at doing with Wang Dong.

    Huo Yuhao opened his mind and followed her will; he wanted to see what abilities she¡¯d show him.

    When the Snow Lady moved, his body moved alongside hers. Huo Yuhao immediately felt his body be lighter and felt himself drift into the air like a snowke. His movements alsoplemented the dancing snowkes that filled the air.

    Huo Yuhao gradually felt like he was bing one with heaven in this snowy-white world. A momentter, he also began to feel a strange force gathering in his left hand.

    This force didn¡¯t originate from his body, but rather from the chill in the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands would be very smooth and shiny when he used the Mysterious Jade Hands, while his palm would be covered in ayer of diamond-like ice crystals when he used the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. At this moment, both the Mysterious Jade Hands and the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer had been activated. However, they were present in a special form.

    Not only was Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand as smooth and shiny as jade, but it was also as white as snow. It was as if it had been carved from a precious piece of white jade.

    Tai Tan remained where he was while using his soul power to resist the extreme cold attempting to invade his body. As he spread his senses, he tried to figure out where Huo Yuhao was.

    If he¡¯d only admired Huo Yuhao before, then he waspletely astonished now. His spiritual sense could be ranked amongst the top ten on the continent, yet he couldn¡¯t even catch a glimpse of Huo Yuhao in this domain. It was as if he¡¯dpletely assimted himself into this world of ice and snow.

    The delicate snowkes in the air continued to incessantly unleash strong attacks. Amidst the cold, they created sparks as they flitted past Tai Tan; they were evidently very powerful

    Niu Tian was equally shocked. He¡¯d been brothers with Tai Tan for many years, and had previously been standing very close to him. Even though he couldn¡¯t tell where Tai Tan was in the domain, he knew for sure that Tai Tan hadn¡¯t moved. He took a few steps until he was beside Tai Tan. Only then could he make out the vague silhouette of his brother.

    Suddenly, the raging snowstorm stopped in an indescribable manner. The instant that it did, it was as if time and space had frozen. Every single snowke froze in midair, while the chilly wind immediately came to a halt.

    This happened so abruptly that both Niu Tian and Tai Tan were momentarily shocked.

    Without any warning, the snowkes were crushed, and their power disappeared, the powdery ice in the sky blurring their vision once again. The chill in the snowkes seemed to have disappeared too, and the air suddenly felt much warmer.

    ¡°Be careful, this is the Gentleness Amidst Warmth, Snowless cier!¡± Niu Tian suddenly shouted.

    Tai Tan was petrified. Something serious must have been happened since Niu Tian had warned him. After all, he had acute senses too. When his sense of crisis appeared, he lifted his right arm and to move it through the air.

    Suddenly, he felt his right arm rapidly cooling down. He groaned and then swept it in front of him yet again. As his vision cleared up, he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s body being pushed aside. The moment that he did, he lost all feeling in his right arm.

    The extreme chill seemed to have caused the temperature in Tai Tan¡¯s arm to hit absolute zero. Even with his cultivation and by activating all of his soul power was he able to slowly defrost his frozen arm. It wasn¡¯t just his blood that had been frozen; the soul and spiritual power in his arm had also solidified. It was as if his entire arm had ceased to exist. His shoulder seemed to be joined to a block of ice.

    Huo Yuhao appeared twenty meters away. When he did, he seemed to magically squeeze his way out of a snowke.

    An orangish-gold light drifted behind him, followed by a strange scene: The orangish-gold light on the Snow Lady¡¯s body began to brighten, and her body instantly elongated. In a matter of moments, she¡¯d turned into a youngdy who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

    Her eyes were still deep-blue, but her ravishing beauty reminded one of the Snow Empress. Although she still looked somewhat innocent, the sense of elegance that belonged to the Icesky Snow Lady was present.

    Everything happened nearly instantly. When Tai Tan saw Huo Yuhao and the transformed Snow Lady, Huo Yuhao had already lifted his right hand high into the air.

    The now-older Snow Empress also lifted her right arm. Her figure seemed to fuse with Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and a deep blue sword that seemed to be entirely made up of ice crystals appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    Before Niu Tian and Tai Tan could take a clear look at the sword, Huo Yuhao had already swung it. A deep blue light appeared and created a fan-like projection that gradually grew lighter as it extended until it was finally white. As the frightening sword light swept through the air, turtle-like patterns appeared. It was as if the air was frozen and then cut apart.

    ¡°Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword!¡± Niu Tian said almost immediately.

    The Snow Lady detached from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as soon as he swung the sword. She then pointed her left hand at Tai Tan, while Huo Yuhao subconsciously lifted his left hand. However, he realized that something was amiss and immediately eximed, ¡°Snow Lady, we can¡¯t do that!¡±

    The Snow Lady hesitated for a moment, then turned back to face him.

    ¡°Bam!¡± A loud boom came from Tai Tan¡¯s direction, who¡¯d lifted his left arm to try and resist the now-white sword light. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sword had also disappeared once he¡¯d created the sword light.

    Tai Tan¡¯s body expanded to twice its size as he readied himself, and ck hair that shone with a metallic glow engulfed his body. His burly body was immediately filled with a terrifying yet dominant aura, while his right arm began to defrost at an astonishing speed.

    However, he was still turned into an ice sculpture the moment that the deep blue sword light struck him, despite the fact that he¡¯d unleashed his martial soul. He took a full second break free from the ice.

    This second was incredibly important¡ªthis was the second after Tai Tan had unleashed his martial soul! As a Transcendent Douluo, his abilities were obviously immense. However, he¡¯d been stopped by Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit for an entire second!

    ¡°Impressive!¡± Tai Tan didn¡¯t attack Huo Yuhao. At the moment, he didn¡¯t have any intention of attacking him. Rather, he waspletely shocked.

    The Snow Lady shrunk down and returned to her infant state as she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side; she was evidently fatigued. She appeared to be unhappy as she looked at Huo Yuhao, and even used her hand to mess up his hair.

    ¡°Uncle Tai isn¡¯t an enemy!¡± Huo Yuhao said seriously, ¡°How could we hurt him?¡±

    Tai Tan almost spat blood when he heard him. What¡¯s going on? Hurt me? Am I the Titled Douluo, or is he the Titled Douluo?

    Tai Tan was unhappy and shouted, ¡°Rascal, show me what else you¡¯ve got!¡±

    ¡°Use what? You¡¯ve already lost.¡± Niu Tian kicked Tai Tan¡¯s butt, causing him to reel.

    ¡°How did I lose?¡± Tai Tan turned and red at him, but seemed to realize something very quickly. His face turned red. ¡°It was subconscious, it was subconscious!¡±

    Niu Tian snapped, ¡°Do you always have to be a sore loser? If you lost, you lost. There¡¯s no need to make up excuses. Furthermore, your loss was justified. Soul skills must have been unleashed repeatedly when the Snow Lady pointed at you. That strike could have even hurt you. You must have also released your martial soul because you felt a sense of crisis. Am I right? Otherwise, what subconscious feeling are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°That seems to be the case.¡± Tai Tan was honest and didn¡¯t deny it.

    Niu Tian looked at Huo Yuhao, ¡°How did you do it? How do you feel? Is there anything that you haven¡¯t used? If I¡¯m not wrong, the two of you have only used three soul skills. There should still be one left.¡± The Snow Lady had added four soul rings to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°For some unknown reason, the Snow Lady can¡¯t unleash her fourth soul skill. She can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on either.¡±

    Niu Tian gestured towards him, and he immediately walked over.

    After taking a deep look at Huo Yuhao, Niu Tian said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°I¡¯ve got to say that you¡¯re definitely capable of surviving on your own now. The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques are impressive! I didn¡¯t expect that the Three Ultimate Techniques, which made the Snow Empress famous, would be transferred to your body through this Spirit. Even though they¡¯ve been divided into four soul rings, any soul skill formed from the essence of the Snow Empress¡¯ seven hundred thousand year cultivation is bound to be vastly superior to that of an ordinary ten thousand year soul skill. Moreover, she perfectlyplements your abilities.¡±

    ¡°The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Niu Tian. He¡¯d heard the names of every soul skill he unleashed when Niu Tian shouted them previously. He didn¡¯t know what they were, thus wanted to use this time to find out.

    ¡°Oh. It seems that Shrek Academy didn¡¯t fully exin the situation regarding the Ten Great Savage Beasts.¡± Niu Tian replied.

 Chapter 201.1: Empress Sword, Empress Palm, Empress Chill!

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°In the Extreme North, there are three strong soul beasts known as the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North. You should know this. They are the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress and the Titan Snow Devil King. Among the three of them, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress are also among the Ten Great Savage Beasts and are some of the strongest soul beasts around. Your Ice Empress came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. You should be clear about its abilities. The Snow Empress is even more legendary than the Ice Empress. There¡¯s a sentence that¡¯smonly used to describe the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques -Sword and Palm sends the sky into a Chill, the Empress¡¯ Sword, Palm, and Chill¡±

    ¡°Empress¡¯ Chill is the domain-type skill that you teamed up with her to unleash. However, I can tell that this skill has undergone some transformations after it fused with your Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. It¡¯s be stronger. Otherwise, it would be impossible for you to possess such a strong domain-type soul skill with your current cultivation. The domain-type skill that¡¯s called the Emperss¡¯ Chill is also known as the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. ording to legend, the Snow Empress can change the region in the Extreme North that¡¯s most suitable for her to fight in into her domain. As snowkes dance in the air, that domain bes a forbidden ground. Even sunlight can¡¯tpare to it.¡±

    ¡°The Empress¡¯ Palm was the palm you used on Tai Tan previously. There are many stories surrounding the Empress¡¯ Palm. It is said that no one is immune to it. The only way to survive it is to avoid getting struck by it. While it¡¯s very strong, it¡¯s limited by the fact that it has to strike the opponent before its power can be unleashed. The name of this Empress¡¯ Palm is called Snowless cier. The strike that you used toplement the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice is very strong. It seemed topress the entire domain into it. It was also my first time experiencing the power of the Snowless cier. If the Snow Empress was the one using it, I don¡¯t think we could have avoided it even if we tried our best.¡±

    ¡°The Empress¡¯ Sword was thest skill you used. Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword. There¡¯s no sword that canpare to it ¨C it¡¯s really very strong. Even Tai Tan had to unleash his martial soul before he could resist that strike. However, he was still frozen in ce. I think it¡¯s also very difficult for a Soul Emperor to resist this strike of yours. With these three soul skills, I believe you¡¯ve managed to unleash the capabilities of ice to their fullest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao repeated what Niu Tian had said andmitted it to memory. ¡°Sword and Palm sends the sky into a Chill, the Empress¡¯ Sword, Palm, and Chill¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques were very domineering! However, the Snow Empress had added four soul rings to his body. What did thest orange-gold soul ring represent?

    Huo Yuhao knew how strong the three soul skills he had used were. Their powers were greater than all the ice-type soul skills he possessed. Not only this, but he also felt that the Ice Empress¡¯ soul skills were much stronger with the help of the Snow Lady. It was like how the Eye of Destiny enhanced the Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills.

    Even the two sect masters were awed. This time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s reward was greater than expected. Evidently, thepletion of the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit seemed to be better than if he had absorbed the Snow Empress and removed the seal on her before absorbing her soul bone.

    In both cases, he would obtain four soul skills. Although the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit took up four soul ring spots, her assistive abilities were far superior to any soul skills! Moreover, the Snow Lady looked like she would grow along with him. If there came a day that he could be a Transcendent Douluo, the Snow Empress might possibly be perfectly resurrected.

    Tai Tan only managed to force the chill out his body at this point. His right arm was slowly regaining feeling.

    ¡°That gust of cold was indeed powerful, and it went all the way to my heart. If I didn¡¯t seal my blood flow, I would have been in deep trouble.¡± While Tai Tan was very short-tempered, he was a very direct and steady person.

    Niu Tian replied, ¡°It¡¯s because of your fighting habits. You try to resist every attack forcefully because your body is resilient. Now you¡¯ve suffered. If this were the real Snow Empress, you would have been in real trouble even if you didn¡¯t die from the strike.¡±

    Tai Tan chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯m facing Huo Yuhao. If it were the Snow Empress, I wouldn¡¯t let her hit me so easily! Honestly speaking, I¡¯d really like to spar with the Snow Empress after seeing the Three Ultimate Techniques. I want to see who¡¯s stronger.¡±

    Niu Tian said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve mastered the soul skills that the Snow Lady bestowed on you. You need to practice more andbine them with your own abilities so that you can fully unleash them. Continue to practice here. We¡¯ll return first.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Tai Tan said suddenly. From his face, it seemed like he was unconvinced. ¡°Yuhao, what was the skill that she wanted to use just now? Since it wasn¡¯t added to you, it should be your own soul skill. I¡¯d like to know what soul skill you possess that can harm me, such that you stopped her. Am I so weak to you?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao felt a little awkward as he scratched his head. As he looked at Tai Tan¡¯s eyes, he knew that it wasn¡¯t an option to lie. He could only answer honestly, ¡°She wanted to use my Ice Explosion Technique. Your body and your arm would have been frozen by the Unparalleled Chill and Snowless cier respectively. I used the Snowless cier with my left hand, which is fused with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Left Arm Bone and contains the Ice Explosion Technique. She wanted to blow you apart from the inside and outside. The Ice Explosion Technique has a special trait that¡¯s simr to the Snowless cier- they can only be fully unleashed when they contact their target. That¡¯s why the soul power in your arm was assimted into the Ice Explosion Technique, which means that your soul power would have been used in the explosion. Along with the absolute zero temperature of the Unparalleled Chill, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    The more Tai Tan heard his words, the more shocked he was. His eyes also widened as he looked at the Snow Lady. Even his mouth was wide open.

    ¡°I¡­ little wretch, you¡¯re too vicious.¡± Tai Tan¡¯s saliva was about to flow out. He only shut his mouth at this point.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s reply to him was very simple. She lowered her head instantly and extended her index fingers before pressing them together while showing an indignant look. It was like she was telling him to punish her because she did something wrong.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Tai Tan felt a gust of breath rising to his chest as he saw her, but he forced it down. He had to bear it no matter how ufortable it was. He couldn¡¯t possibly lose his temper in front of her!

    As Niu Tian held in hisughter in one side, he was also shocked. This Ice Explosion Technique was impressive! Both he and Tai Tan knew what kind of soul skill it was, just like how the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques were very representative of the Snow Lady. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s lineage also had their symbolic soul skills. While the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s lineage had more soul skills than the Icesky Snow Lady¡¯s lineage, the Ice Explosion Technique was undoubtedly the strongest among all those that Huo Yuhao had mastered to this point. Once one was infected by it, they would have to bear the bacsh of the explosion of their own soul power no matter how strong they were. No matter how strong one¡¯s defenses were , there was no way to defend against an internal explosion of one¡¯s own soul power!

    If it was only the Ice Explosion Technique, Niu Tian and Tai Tan wouldn¡¯t be afraid, given their cultivations. That was because the Ice Explosion Technique couldn¡¯t ovee the external defenses of their soul power. If they couldn¡¯t be frozen, the Ice Explosion Technique couldn¡¯t be poured into their bodies.

    However, when the Ice Explosion Technique fused with the Empress¡¯ Palm and Snowless cier¡­ it would be very difficult for them to neutralize it! There was only one way to deal with it ¨C prevent Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand from hitting them.

    It would be very easy to avoid being struck by his hand now that they knew this secret. However, no one else in the world knew about it!

    Tai Tan red at the Snow Lady for a long time, but he couldn¡¯t spout anything harsh. His expression turned dismal, and he finally said, ¡°You¡¯ve won!¡±

    After he finished speaking, he turned around with a snort and walked back towards Clear Sky Castle.

    Huo Yuhao was a little worried as he watched Tai Tan leave. He didn¡¯t pursue him though. Tai Tan couldn¡¯t bear to deal with the Snow Lady, but that didn¡¯t mean that he wouldn¡¯t whack him! He looked at Niu Tian as if he were asking for help and said, ¡°Uncle Niu, Uncle Tai¡­¡±

    Niu Tian chortled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine. He¡¯s just a little frustrated. It¡¯s a little strange though. He seems to have some kind of affinity with the Snow Lady. If it were someone else, he would have raged. Things will be fine when his anger dissipates.¡±

    As he spoke, a fart that sounded like rumbling thunder came from the direction of Clear Sky Castle¡­ Someone was rubbing his stomach, and muttering rxedly to himself, ¡°It feels so much better to let it out¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face stiffened. Is this how he vents his frustration? The Snow Lady was even more direct. She held onto her nose and quickly crawled her way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Niu Tian also twisted his lips and patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine. However, the powers of the Ice Explosion Technique and Snowless cier are indeed great. You can use thatbination as your killer move in the future. However, don¡¯t tell anyone about this secret. After all, it¡¯s obvious that it can only work at close-range.¡±

 Chapter 201.2: Empress Sword, Empress Palm, Empress Chill!

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Niu Tian was slightly stunned, and smiled. ¡°Alright, take some time to figure things out.¡± After he finished speaking, he also returned to Clear Sky Castle. When he reached the gate, he left the gate open for some time before he entered. After that, Niu Tian¡¯s furious groans resonated from inside the castle. ¡°Tai Tan,e out. Your fart is too smelly. I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finallyughed. These two sect masters were really interesting, and they were really warm at heart. Huo Yuhao felt very good as they slowly epted him. Although Tai Tan was fierce towards him, he didn¡¯t use any attacks or restrictive soul skills against him during their sparring. He had acted like a target board and allowed Huo Yuhao to attack him! Otherwise, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to use any of his soul skills, given Tai Tan¡¯s cultivation. I must work hard and improve my coordination with the Snow Lady.

    He checked his condition, starting with his remaining soul power. Even after the series of explosions, he still had more than half of his soul power left. His recovery was also rather quick. The chilly wind on Clear Sky Peak seemed to be a force that he could absorb. His soul power restorative abilities had increased by twenty percentpared to normal. Without a doubt, these were benefits brought about by the Snow Lady. As long as he was near a cold or moist environment, his restorative abilities would be greatly enhanced.

    Furthermore, he could clearly sense that the Snowless cier didn¡¯t deplete his soul power, but instead enabled its recovery. It was as if the attack was unleashed after he had absorbed all the strength in the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. It was an unbelievably strong soul skill! Not only did the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit help to increase his fighting strength, but she also increased his ability tost in a fight.

    Huo Yuhao found a spot at the top of the mountain and sat cross-legged on the ground. He entered deep meditation. He needed to calm himself down to think about how he should betterbine his own abilities with the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques. In addition, he also pondered how he should use and control the changes the Snow Lady had brought to him.

    There was one thing he was certain of. If the battlefield was in the Extreme North, he was able to fight a seven-ringed Soul Sage with a Martial Soul True Body, given the Snow Lady¡¯s immense strength.

    Through this thinking process, Huo Yuhao immersed himself in a meditative state. It was very strange, but the wind and fog would disappear as they drifted in front of him. There was ayer of orange covering his body.

    The Snow Lady seemed to adore this environment. She sat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, and even adopted a cross-legged position. As she sat there quietly, she looked like a ceramic doll. Only the subtle orange-gold light shining from her revealed how different she was.

    Huo Yuhao was immersed in his cultivation for two consecutive days. Niu Tian and Tai Tan didn¡¯t bother him either, as they allowed him toprehend on his own.

    Huo Yuhao rarely returned to his room. He spent most of his time on the mountain peak, looking at the sea of clouds and reminiscing over his teacher who had passed away. He also sensed the changes in his body. This carried on until¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± A bright bluish-gold light appeared in the sky. Huo Yuhao subconsciously lifted his head to look at it, and saw Wang Dong descending from the sky towards him.

    Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and said, ¡°Why did you return from the sky? Can you fly so high using your martial soul? Conservative estimates put the Clear Sky Peak at three thousand meters high! Even a Titled Douluo can¡¯t fly so high in the air. It might be possible if a Titled Douluo used a ss 9 flying-type soul tool. The higher the sky, the thinner the air. Soul masters need to breathe as they regte their soul power. Even if your martial soul has wings, you can¡¯t possibly fly so high.¡±

    Wang Dongughed mysteriously. ¡°This is a secret of the Clear Sky Sect. I can¡¯t tell you unless you¡¯re one of us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t joined the Tang Sect, I could¡¯ve joined the Clear Sky Sect. However, I evidently can¡¯t join your sect now.¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°That doesn¡¯t have to be the case. There might be some other way in the future. Let¡¯s not talk about that though. Did you miss me these few days I was gone?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Why would I miss you? You¡¯re not even a girl. If you introduce your sister to me, I might miss her instead.¡±

    Wang Dong snorted. ¡°Look at how you choose lust over friendship.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled. ¡°So what? What benefits have you gained from this trip?¡±

    Wang Dong straightened both his index and middle fingers. ¡°Settled!¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What soul skill?¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°It¡¯s a secret. You¡¯ll know when you return from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. You just need to know that it¡¯s very strong.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed mysteriously and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t tell me. I also have a secret, but I¡¯m not sure whether you¡¯re interested in listening to it.¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡± Wang Dong was curious as he looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao mimicked his words. ¡°You¡¯ll know when I return from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. You just need to know that it¡¯s very strong.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Wang Dong snorted furiously. ¡°I went all the way to the Sun Moon Empire to find you. Did you think it was easy? You¡¯re still ying such a trick on me? Are you still human?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao found it very amusing when he saw Wang Dong putting his hands on his waist with a displeased look. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll show you. Snow Lady,e out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao called, and an orange-gold light suddenly shed. The Snow Lady flew out, and her white undergarment moved slightly. She floated between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong while facing thetter.

    When the Snow Lady appeared, Wang Dong was stunned. As he saw her, the look in his eyes became gentler.

    ¡°Wow, what a cutedy. What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Dong asked as he reached out to touch her.

    ¡°No.¡± Huo Yuhao warned him. After what had happened to Tai Tan, he was afraid that she would hurt Wang Dong. She wasn¡¯t harmless! Even if she didn¡¯t use soul skills along with Huo Yuhao, she was stillparable to a Soul King on her own. She was even at the level of a Soul King with the Ultimate Ice.

    However, Huo Yuhao was astonished to discover that the Snow Lady wasn¡¯t resistant towards Wang Dong. She allowed him to touch her delicate face. After that, she crawled her way into his arms and allowed him to carry her.

    She took one second to win Wang Dong over. Wang Dong looked like a girl from the way he looked at her. ¡°She¡¯s too cute. Her skin is so smooth! It¡¯s very nice to touch. Give me a kiss.¡± As he spoke, he ced her in front of his lips and pecked her cheek.

    The Snow Ladyughed and didn¡¯t resist. She returned his kiss. Wang Dong twisted his head suddenly and allowed her to peck his cheek. He also said very sternly, ¡°You can¡¯t kiss there. Men and women can¡¯t be in such close contact.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was amused. ¡°You¡¯ve already hugged and kissed her before you told her that men and women can¡¯t be in such close contact. What¡¯s going on, Snow Lady? You¡¯re so young but you¡¯ve already set your eyes on handsome guys? You don¡¯t even want your daddy now?¡±

    ¡°Daddy? You¡¯re her daddy?¡± Wang Dong¡¯s eyes widened, and he shot Huo Yuhao a weird look. If Huo Yuhao had to describe this look, he would say that it was aggressive.

    ¡°Why are you so agitated? It¡¯s just her way of referring to me. Snow Lady,e back.¡± Huo Yuhao was slightly jealous. He was a little unhappy seeing how close the Snow Lady and Wang Dong were.

    Wang Dong let go of her and allowed her to fly back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. After that, he took a step in front of him and stared at him furiously. His voice was trembling as he asked, ¡°When did you have a daughter? Tell me!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Wang Dong?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, confused.

    Wang Dong grabbed his cor, ¡°Tell me, is it¡­ is it because of Ju Zi? You are letting me and my sister down!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled. ¡°What nonsense are you bbering about? What does this have to do with your sister or Ju Zi? Didn¡¯t you hear what I called her?¡±

    ¡°Snow Lady?¡± Wang Dong was stunned.

    Huo Yuhao now recognized a problem. Although he had been very honest to the sect masters, there were many things he hadn¡¯t told Wang Dong. He was a little apologetic right now. ¡°There are some things that I need to tell you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯s face turned a little pale, and he took two steps back. ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to you. Don¡¯t tell me.¡± After he finished speaking, he ran towards Clear Sky Castle.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Huo Yuhao felt like he was going nk. Why was Wang Dong so abnormal? He couldn¡¯t just let Wang Dong run away, however, and thus he pursued him. The Snow Lady offered him help. She pointed forward, and a streak of deep blue light shed. The gate of Clear Sky Castle was frozen shut.

    Wang Dong seemed to have realized something. He stopped and looked at Huo Yuhao before ncing at the Snow Lady. He said, ¡°Alright, tell me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly came in front of him and exined everything between him and the Snow Empress, as well as his teacher. He even recounted how he had met the Ice Empress in the Extreme North. He only excluded the secret regarding the Skydream Iceworm.

 Chapter 201.3: Empress Sword, Empress Palm, Empress Chill!

    Wang Dong was shocked as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnations. ¡°Are you saying that your second martial soul isn¡¯t innate? It only became your second martial soul after you fused with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion? And two of the Three Heavenly Kings are in your body? Heavens! So it¡¯s like that! You¡¯ve been keeping it a secret for a long time!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Wang Dong, don¡¯t be angry. Think about it. If you were me, could you tell this secret to anyone? I¡¯m scared of being dissected. Everything else aside, just the soul bones I possess are already very valuable.¡±

    Wang Dong calmed down. ¡°I¡¯m not angry!¡± he refuted immediately.

    ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯re just like the weather in April ¨C changing all the time! Were you fooling me just now?¡±

    ¡°What can you do if I¡¯m fooling around with you?¡± Wang Dong answered righteously.

    ¡°You win!¡± Huo Yuhao was suddenly reminded of the helplessness Tai Tan felt when he faced the Snow Lady.

    ¡°Spirit, interesting. I didn¡¯t know that soul masters could possess such a Spirit apart from soul rings and soul bones. Yuhao, are you confident in your ability to create another one?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Theoretically speaking, it¡¯s possible, and it won¡¯t be as dangerous as the Snow Lady. After all, the strength of the Snow Empress was too great. In addition, it happened because of some misfortune. Even so, one will have to pay a huge price in terms of his spiritual power if he wants to fuse with a Spirit. From my calctions, it will be more difficult to fuse and contract a Spirit the stronger it is. Do you want to try?¡±

    Wang Dong was eager as he replied, ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t forget that I have twin martial souls too! If you can fuse with a seven hundred thousand year Snow Empress, why can¡¯t I fuse with a Spirit that¡¯s of lower cultivation and suits me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°When do you n on doing so?¡±

    Wang Dong asked, ¡°When will you be absolutely confident?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about absolute confidence, because I¡¯ve never tried controlling the fusion of a Spirit. It¡¯s a pity that teacher¡­¡± His words trailed off, and he looked a little down.

    Wang Dong patted his shoulder. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t be sad. Didn¡¯t my eldest and second uncle mention that your teacher went off peacefully? Furthermore, he has already left an indelible mark on the continent by creating a Spirit. What you should be doing is carrying on his legacy. I don¡¯t mind being your test subject. I don¡¯t think you can create a Spirit as strong as the Snow Empress. While it was dangerous then, it created you and the Snow Lady. Perhaps the Spirit that you create for me will only take up one soul ring? After the next Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament,e to the Clear Sky Sect again! We have many disciples that can help you with the experiment andplete it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded agreementand said, ¡°We need to try first.¡±

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°I¡¯ll tell eldest and second uncle when I return. I¡¯ll ask them not to add soul rings for the disciples who are at their bottlenecks. We¡¯ll find some soul beasts who are dying. Many of them die because they can¡¯t break through their bottlenecks. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be that difficult to find some.¡±

    Soul beasts¡¯ bottlenecks didn¡¯t just ur when they were at the hundred thousand year level. For lower-level soul beasts, every hundred years represented a barrier they had to cross. This barrier would then continue to every thousand years, and slowly advance to ten thousand years before reaching a hundred thousand years. For every hundred thousand years, the difficulty of improving would escte. Otherwise, those soul beasts who had existed for a long time would all be at the hundred thousand year level.

    Huo Yuhao wasforted. ¡°If we can use such a method to resolve the dilemma between soul masters and soul beasts, it¡¯ll be very good. Even if this can¡¯t resolve the dilemmapletely, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll alleviate the situation.¡±

    Wang Dong had returned after sessfully obtaining his sixth soul ring. This also meant that they were going to leave Clear Sky Castle. After bidding farewell to Niu Tian and Tai Tan, the two of them descended from Clear Sky Peak. They proceeded south, and finally bade goodbye to each other at the center between the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy.

    They weren¡¯t so reluctant to separate this timepared to the previous time. After all, Huo Yuhao only had a few months left in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. After those few months, he would return to Shrek.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt that Wang Dong was acting very mysteriously when they separated. He was even a little coy, and watched him with a weird expression.

    However, he didn¡¯t think about it too much, and told most of his secrets to Wang Dong. To him, it was a form of release. Just like the two sect masters had said, he was able to survive on his own with the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit. As long as he continued to work hard, his abilities would increase faster and faster.

    After he gathered all five soul rings for his second martial soul, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had also managed to increase. His cultivation speed was also increasing during this period of time. Although he couldn¡¯tpare to Wang Dong yet, the influence his Ultimate martial soul had on his cultivation had dropped after he had obtained the Snow Lady.

    After turning back to look at Wang Dong as he left, Huo Yuhao activated his flying-type soul tool and flew back to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Before leaving, he had one more important thing to do. Thest few months would be very important.

    Wang Dong looked back just as Huo Yuhao did. He turned back to look into the distance, and a red glow appeared on his face. ¡°He really is a fool!¡±

    As he spoke, he retrieved a pouch and recalled what Niu Tian had said to him before he left the Clear Sky Sect.

    ¡°Wang Dong, both of us think that Huo Yuhao is a decent young man. He¡¯s much more mature than most others of the same age, and his feelings for you are true. However, whether both of you can reach that stage will depend on your affinities. If both of you reach that stage one day, give him this pouch. I didn¡¯t make it. It was personally made by your biological father. Your father said that someone is only fit to be with you if they canplete what¡¯s stated in the pouch.¡±

    ¡°When will my father return? Why can¡¯t I remember his appearance?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, either. However, I¡¯m certain that your parents wille back when you set up a family.¡±

    ¡°Then I shall do it earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t. You can¡¯t y with your lifelong happiness. Keep the pouch. Remember not to peek at it. Your father sealed it with his spiritual power. You won¡¯t be able to see the contents.¡±

    As he shook the blue pouch, Wang Dong was curious. What¡¯s inside this pouch? Why must Yuhao see it? What does my father want?

    As he thought to that point, he was evidently unhappy. My parents have never returned to see me, but they¡¯re still meddling in my affairs. Hmph!

    Although he thought this way, he still put the pouch away carefully.

    I wonder whether I can give this pouch to him when he returns from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? As he thought up to that point, his ears started to turn red.

    ------

    When Huo Yuhao returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Lin Jiayi heaved a sigh of relief. He was initially anxious because Huo Yuhao had been gone for a long time without returning. After Huo Yuhao returned, he reported it to Jing Hongchen.

    Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t had the mood to deal with matters in the academy recently. Thepetition for the throne had reached a critical moment. Although the Crown Prince held a big advantage, his disadvantage was also very obvious. As a cripple, he would damage the reputation of the empire! Hispetitors attacked this point, and all the while, the Emperor¡¯s physical condition was getting worse and worse.

    That was why Jing Hongchen¡¯s only wish at this point was for the student exchange to bepleted smoothly and safely. He didn¡¯t want to pull any tricks at this moment, as he needed to wait until matters regarding the Crown Prince were settled. He didn¡¯t make his choices easily, but he had to obtain final victory once he made his decision.

    After returning to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Huo Yuhao started living a peaceful life. However, the pace of his life was evidently faster. Xuan Ziwen noticed this, since he was Huo Yuhao¡¯s teacher.

    Huo Yuhao usually used ordinary metals when he researched and created soul tools. He couldn¡¯t really bear to use the rare metals he had obtained from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, Xuan Ziwen now saw that Huo Yuhao was starting to use all types of rare metals when creating soul tools. He even requested his teacher¡¯s help to create some alloys.

    He busied himself with creating soul tools, and even did some simple experiments. Even with Xuan Ziwen¡¯s understanding of soul tools, he didn¡¯t understand what Huo Yuhao was doing all this for. He could subtly sense that Huo Yuhao was creating something simr to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, which had shocked him previously. However, this soul tool was much moreplex.

    Xuan Ziwen did ask him once, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s only reply was always a smile. He didn¡¯t evade him, but he alwayspleted the most criticalponents in his room. Xuan Ziwen could only see the essoryponents of the soul tool he was creating. Although he did develop some formation arrays, they weren¡¯t much to look at, since Xuan Ziwen was the one who had taught them to Huo Yuhao.

    Just like that, time passed day by day.

    For an entire four months, Huo Yuhao seemed to bepletely immersed in his work, and didn¡¯t interact with others at all. He was busy creating and researching soul tools every day. Besides that, he would meditate. He hopped between theboratory and his dorm room every day, going nowhere else. He spoke very little, and even Fan Yu reckoned he was going to do something big. However, Fan Yu didn¡¯t probe. This was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. It wasn¡¯t toote to wait until they returned to Shrek. He had absolute confidence in this student of his.

 Chapter 202.1: Human-shaped Soul Tool

    ¡°Teacher Xuan.¡± Xuan Ziwen was doing his routine inspection in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. When he walked past Huo Yuhao¡¯s table, he was stopped.

    He revealed a smile on his face and said, ¡°Yuhao, you haven¡¯t proactively talked to me in more than a month. You finally have something to ask me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao appeared fatigued, but there was a vibrant look in his eyes. ¡°Teacher Xuan, can I make a trip to your officeter tonight? Our exchange is about to end and I have some things to tell you.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was stunned for a moment. Yes! The exchange was indeed about to end.

    Although he hadn¡¯t interacted much with Huo Yuhao over the past few months, he could tell how persistent Huo Yuhao was in his research and creation of soul tools. Furthermore, he was also a very outstanding soul master. Which teacher wouldn¡¯t like a student that was like him?

    ¡°Alright.¡± He didn¡¯t even hesitate, and agreed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s request immediately.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and was filled with confidence. It was only noon, but he tidied up hisboratory desk a bit. After scanning his surroundings, he bade goodbye to Xuan Ziwen and left theboratory. He was going to leave in another two days. Before he left, he had to settle that important matter.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finally found you. Let¡¯s see where you can run.¡± As he left the Illustrious Virtue Hall, however, Huo Yuhao ran into trouble.

    Jing Ziyan seemed to harbor ill-intentions as she looked at him. Not far from her, a cool-looking Ji Juechen was wielding his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword while ncing at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Guys, I don¡¯t want to fight today. I¡¯m very tired. I haven¡¯t rested in months. Can the two of you let me off this time?¡±

    Jing Ziyan snorted and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t rested in months? We haven¡¯t found trouble with you in months. You said you had important stuff to settle the other time. Didn¡¯t we let you off then? After that, you¡¯ve avoided us for such a long time. We finally found you today. Don¡¯t try to make excuses for yourself this time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was helpless as he replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to pester me either. I won¡¯t have a chance to spar with you again. I¡¯m going back in two days. I promise the both of you that I¡¯ll spar with you onest time before I leave.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to leave?¡± Jing Ziyan¡¯s aggressive look disappeared, and she looked at Huo Yuhao doubtfully. Ji Juechen also put down his sword and watched Huo Yuhao intently.

    ¡°Yes, our exchange is going to end. In two days, I¡¯ll be returning to Shrek Academy. Although the two of you are annoying, I¡¯ve regarded you as my friends. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not being perfunctory. Before I leave, I¡¯ll teach both of you a good lesson.¡± Huo Yuhao said seriously.

    Jing Ziyan furrowed her brow, while Ji Juechen turned around and left. He stopped harassing him. Jing Ziyan nced at Huo Yuhao before following Ji Juechen away.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Huo Yuhao said furiously, ¡°You don¡¯t even say anything to me? At least give me a sending off.¡±

    However, Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen didn¡¯t bother with him. They quickened their footsteps, as if they had something important to attend to.

    ¡°Two heartless people.¡± Huo Yuhao snapped. He was stunned to find out that he was a little reluctant to leave after two years in this ce. Even though this was an enemy camp, he had had many memorable moments here.

    Teacher Xuan, Ke Ke, Zi Mu and the two of them. There was also Ju Zi.

    Even though he spent all his effort on cultivating and learning tirelessly in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, which was the rival of Shrek Academy, he still had some feelings for this ce after two years. He wouldn¡¯t miss the academy, but the people.

    After he returned to his room, he didn¡¯t meditate. He copsed onto his bed and shut his eyes before he fell into a deep sleep.

    He had been very exhausted over the past few months. He needed a good rest.

    Hepletely cked out as he slept. It was only when he heard a knock on his door that he woke up.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± He rubbed his eyes and forced himself up from his bed. He was a little lethargic. He knew that it was because he had over-rxed his body.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± An unpleasant yet familiar voice sounded.

    Huo Yuhao was jolted awake. He cursed when he saw the sky outside. He quickly crawled out of his bed and opened the door.

    Indeed, it was Xuan Ziwen who was standing outside.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m sorry. I overslept.¡± Huo Yuhao invited him in awkwardly.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t appear too angry. On the contrary, he was a little stunned and asked, ¡°You? Overslept?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao was apologetic as he nodded his head.

    Xuan Ziwen took a deep look at him and didn¡¯t know what he was feeling. Although he was Huo Yuhao¡¯s teacher, he had only truly imparted knowledge of soul tools to him for about half a year. This didn¡¯t even include some of the core knowledge in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. However, he had passed on one of the most important theories regarding soul tools to Huo Yuhao. He had once told him that his cultivation depended on him alone. It would all depend on his own learning and research.

    In the time that passed, Huo Yuhao would also approach him with a bunch of questions almost every day. Apart from some confidential stuff, he answered all of his queries. Half a year passed like that, and Huo Yuhao started asking fewer and fewer questions. From the tens of questions a day at the start, it slowly became a few a day before it became one question every few days. In the past few months, Huo Yuhao hadpletely stopped asking questions.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t doubt his talent. However, he didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao could be a top-ranked soul engineer. The reason was very simple ¨C his martial soul was too strong.

    As a strong soul master, the cultivation and use of his martial soul had been deeply ingrained in his bones. Xuan Ziwen could also tell that his passion for soul tools wasn¡¯tparable to his passion for martial souls even though he liked researching soul tools.

    Everyone¡¯s energy was limited. The higher one¡¯s cultivation was, the more one had to focus onprehending and understanding more advanced knowledge. Since Huo Yuhao possessed twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul, how could he possibly put most of his energy into researching soul tools?

    However, Xuan Ziwen was still very curious about him. More urately speaking, he was curious about his research. He had been monitoring the direction of Huo Yuhao¡¯s research ever since he came up with the Zhuge Divine crossbow. However, Huo Yuhao was very good at concealing his work. Even with Xuan Ziwen¡¯s abilities in soul tools, he couldn¡¯t tell what Huo Yuhao was up to.

    The two year exchange was about to end, and Huo Yuhao was about to return to Shrek Academy. Xuan Ziwen felt a little lost. As he wasn¡¯t from the Sun Moon Empire, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t possess any ill-feelings towards Huo Yuhao. The only thing in this world that could arouse his interest were soul tools. He actually admired Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent in the aspect of soul tools. Even though he knew it was impossible, he still hoped that Huo Yuhao would develop in this area.

    ¡°Tell me, why did you ask to see me?¡± Xuan Ziwen looked at him and asked while standing where he was. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to find a ce to sit. It was just that Huo Yuhao¡¯s room was too messy. There were all types of metal essories strewn on the floor. It was much messier than the time Wang Dong had visited. Even his bed wasn¡¯t spared.

    Huo Yuhao used his legs to make a path before removing the clutter from a chair. ¡°Teacher Xuan, take a seat.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t seem so untidy normally! Why is your room so messy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I have no choice. I can only work on some things in my room if I want to keep them as secrets.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s interest was aroused. He smiled and asked, ¡°You wanted to see me today so that you could show me your secret work?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then freshened himself uppletely. He circted his spiritual power, and the lights in his Spirit Eyes shed slightly.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, do you still remember our bet?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°Of course I do. Why? Can youe up with ten items of that level? I am a man of my word. If you can, I will follow you wherever you want.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t. However, I hope that you can give me pointers on two of my products. They are also the essence of my hard work after I came to the academy. At the same time, I hope that they can be of use to you.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes brightened, and he sat up straight. ¡°Are you saying that you invented two new types of soul tools? Quick, let me see them.¡± His passion for soul tools made him forget everything instantly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I can show you one of my two final products. I wish to take a look at my second product again. But I can¡¯t show you the first product here because this ce is too small, and it¡¯s also my secret. If you want to see it, we need to use a special method.¡±

    ¡°What special method?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked doubtfully.

 Chapter 202.2: Human-shaped Soul Tool

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I will send the image directly to your mind with my spiritual power.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was astonished as he asked, ¡°You can do that?¡± Although he knew that Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, he was aware that he would need immense spiritual power to to transfer an image with it.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I can do it, but I¡¯ll need you to trust me before I can show you the image in your mind.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied without hesitation. ¡°What are we waiting for then? Let¡¯s start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was the one who was stunned now. ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯ll need you to open your mind if I¡¯m to do this. Aren¡¯t you afraid¡­?¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? I¡¯ve been your teacher for two years. If I don¡¯t understand your character by now, I¡¯m not fit to be your teacher! Let¡¯s cut the crap and start!¡±

    As he spoke, he¡¯d already shut his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with a look of respect. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t open his spiritual sea for anyone.

    Dim golden light shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and the golden light became more and more intense. He was standing right in front of Xuan Ziwen. The entire room started to shine with strange and distorted spiritual undtions. Dim golden halos started to ripple outwards with Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as the center. Even his body gradually glowed with a dimyer of gold.

    After fusing with the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, his spiritual power had ascended to another level. Even he didn¡¯t know what level. However, he could use new abilities.

    Two streaks of golden lights shot out from his eyes. These lights appeared gentle, but they caused the room to be filled with a strange aura.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s body jerked a little. He only a felt a strong force surging into his spiritual sea, and he wanted to resist it subconsciously. However, he could resist this urge as an eight-ringed Soul Douluo and a soul engineer. Even so, his guard wasn¡¯tpletely down. He retracted his spiritual power to shield his spiritual origin.

    A human¡¯s spiritual power would slowly increase along with his soul power. After all, great strength could only be controlled by a high enough spiritual power.

    Xuan Ziwen was greatly invested in soul tool research. and spent most of his day thinking. That was why his spiritual power was stronger than most soul engineers of the same ss. However, he was shocked to discover that the spiritual power surging into his body wasn¡¯t any weaker than his own. Its spiritual aura managed to assimte with him after encountering his spiritual aura.

    Xuan Ziwen clearly felt that he was under a great, all-around pressure after Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power entered his spiritual sea. This also meant that he would be very passive if Huo Yuhao attacked him.

    However, this was only an ¡°if¡±. Just as Xuan Ziwen was shocked, an image suddenly appeared in his mind.

    At the start, it was just a single, simple image. However, it was soon joined by others, and formed a projection.

    It was a barrennd surrounded by mountain rocks. The exact location couldn¡¯t be discerned from the projection. The surroundings were very quiet, and he was looking at the barrennd from the sky. There was only one person here¡ªHuo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was standing on top of a small hill, peering into the sky.

    Xuan Ziwen was shocked to realize that there was a third eye on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead.

    He thought that he was seeing things initially, and quickly gathered his spiritual power for rity. However, he then noticed the vertical eye shining with a golden light. It seemed like it was looking at him.

    A third eye? Don¡¯t tell me that his Spirit Eyes experienced a second awakening, just like the Body Sect? Even though he was a powerful soul engineer with eight rings, his knowledge on this aspect of soul masters was limited.

    Before he could form any concrete thoughts, the projection changed again. Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand, revealing a huge blue sapphire ring on his index finger. Six dazzling strips of starlight were shining on the surface of the ring.

    Starlight Sapphire! Good stuff! Even though this piece was only as big as a fingernail, it could contain ten cubic meters of items if it was used as a storage-type soul tool. Xuan Ziwen immediately thought of soul tools when he saw such top-ranked materials.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand at this point, and the six strips of starlight started to spread. As blue light shed, something huge was presented in front of him.

    Upon seeing this object, Xuan Ziwen was unable to think about anything else. His entire body started to tremble violently, as if he¡¯d been struck by lightning.

    What is that? It was a dark grey metallic man, and it looked quite simple. He was around three and a half meters in height, and waspletely human in shape. The dark grey surface wasn¡¯t decorated with anything, but the lines on his body were very smooth.

    A human-shaped soul tool? This was why Xuan Ziwen was shocked.

    One of the most important research topics of the Illustrious Virtue Hall was human-shaped soul tools. That was because their development in this area had reached a huge bottleneck. There were many beneficial effects to human-shaped soul tools, but there were even more problems that existed. As one of the pioneers of this research category, Xuan Ziwen understood these problems clearly.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had whipped out a human-shaped soul tool in front of him... that actually looked presentable. How could he not be shocked? He even suspected that Huo Yuhao had stolen a peek at the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s confidential secrets. He couldn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao had sessfully created a human-shaped soul tool. The reason was very simple¡ªthe size!

    Human-shaped soul tools weren¡¯t just an armor for soul masters. They were controlled internally, allowing them to move freely just like the all-terrain exploration soul tool that Huo Yuhao had controlled before. Which enabled them to attack and defend.

    All this required arge number of formation arrays to bebined, and a strong soul master to control the finished product.

    This human-shaped soul tool was too small. It was only three and a half meters tall. How many formation arrays could it contain? It probably couldn¡¯t even perform simple flexible movements like a person.

    In the projection, Huo Yuhao walked slowly to the human-shaped soul tool. He activated it, and it started to experience changes from the head down. Its headpiece was removed, and its neck revealed a straight vertical line that extended all the way to its lower body. After that, it started to crack through the middle, revealing a hollow interior.

    Xuan Ziwen was even more confident of his judgment after seeing the empty space. Huo Yuhao wanted to step into the soul tool and control it from the inside.

    Xuan Ziwen rxed a little. To him, this human-shaped soul tool would probably be controlled by Huo Yuhao from the inside, as if it were a huge suit of armor. It was very different from the real internal control he had thought of.

    Huo Yuhao indeed entered the soul tool, and the soul tool closed up, sealing him inside. After that, Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t observing from the sky anymore. He had two different perspectives now¡ªone was close-range observation, and the other was from inside the soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms weren¡¯t ced in the hollow arms of the soul tool. Instead, there were a few control joysticks and a series of buttons in front of him.

    Xuan Ziwen then saw Huo Yuhao lifting a joystick from the inside of the soul tool. After that, the back of the soul tool started to crack open, revealing two huge pairs of wings. After pressing a few buttons, twelve streaks of light shot out from the wings. The thrusting force of the wings propelled the metallic man into the sky.

    He was moving very quickly, reaching a standard that ordinary ss 7 soul engineers couldn¡¯t even achieve. Gosh! Has this kid created twelve ss 6 soul thrusters to increase the speed? The bnce is also so good? Furthermore, the air resistance against him is greatly reduced with the protection of the metal shell.

    It¡¯s also very flexible, and can perform actions in the air.

    How is this possible? Why are the soul tool¡¯s arms moving when his arms are only controlling the joysticks? Don¡¯t tell me this is really a human-shaped soul tool. No, that¡¯s impossible. I don¡¯t believe it!

    After flying for in the sky a while, the human-shaped soul toolnded on the ground. This time, itnded on tter terrain.

    Xuan Ziwen was still looking at it from two perspectives. Inside the soul tool, he saw Huo Yuhao sitting cross-legged.

    The soul tool was three and a half meters tall, and its back was more than a meter wide. It was evidently a tight fit to sit inside it like that, but it was manageable.

    Is he proving to me that¡­? Xuan Ziwen soon understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s intention.

    After that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands moved faster and faster. The joysticks and buttons flickered under his control.

    The human-shaped soul tool moved.

    At the start, he was only simply walking forward. Following this, he leapt, rolled, turned around, and even did a cartwheel.

 Chapter 202.3: Human-shaped Soul Tool

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s control was a little rough at the start. But the movements of this metallic man became increasingly smooth as he familiarized himself with the controls.

    Although this metallic man¡¯s movements were still a little dyed, and deviated slightly from how a real human moved, it was pertinent to note that it was being controlled by Huo Yuhao using joysticks and buttons! His ability to maintain bnce had already shocked Xuan Ziwen.

    Time passed second after second. The metallic man only stopped ten minutester. Finally, it adopted a half-squat position before straightening.

    Following this, Huo Yuhao inserted his arms and legs into the empty sides of the metallic man¡¯s interior. The control panel that was initially in front of him was retracted to the side of his waist. The soul tool started to move again.

    Through his two spiritual perspectives, Xuan Ziwen could see that the metallic man was now being controlled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and limbs. It boasted a far greater flexibility now.

    When Huo Yuhao controlled it and used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Xuan Ziwen felt like he was being strangled. He was bing extremely emotional.

    He saw the results from the outside, and watched how he did it from the inside. The human-form soul tool didn¡¯t use any offensive soul tools throughout the entire process, but it greatly moved Xuan Ziwen.

    The projection started to turn blurry. Everything seemed to return to normal, and the spiritual power that had surged into Xuan Ziwen¡¯s spiritual sea slowly faded away.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± When Xuan Ziwen recovered from the projection Huo Yuhao had showed him, he shouted without a care. He already stood up at this point, and there was strong undtions of soul power surging from his body. The rare metals that were strewn on the ground started to scatter in the air, and even Huo Yuhao staggered a few steps back before he managed to stabilize himself.

    Xuan Ziwen was perspiring, and his eyes were red. He was like apetitive bull, one that was staring at Huo Yuhao, and he said word by word, ¡°This. Is. Impossible! Tell me that it¡¯s not real!¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at him calmly and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, you¡¯re a ss 8 soul engineer and you shouldn¡¯t be that far off from a ss 9 soul engineer. Can¡¯t you tell if it¡¯s real or not? Even if it was only a projection, that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t have the ability to produce it in reality.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and asked, ¡°How did you create those images? And how did you divide them into different perspectives too?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I refuse to answer your questions. They involve secrets regarding my soul skills.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath and was a little anxious as he walked up and down in the room. He didn¡¯t even care as he kicked the rare metals that were strewn about.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have expected this result. He sat in the chair that Xuan Ziwen was just using and waited calmly.

    In the dorm room, one of them was pacing up and down frantically, while the other remained seated calmly. Neither of them made any other moves.

    Time passed second after second. Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t stop perspiring, and in fact started to sweat even more. It started to drip from his jaw, while the back of his shirt was already soaked.

    He waspletely immersed in his thoughts now. His mind was circting quickly as he pondered.

    This carried on for fifteen minutes before Xuan Ziwen suddenly stopped. He turned around to face Huo Yuhao suddenly, and the beads of perspiration on his face were flung off by the sudden turn.

    ¡°How many formation arrays did you use?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice was trembling.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Thirty-two.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. How can it be so few? Did you know¡­ you didn¡¯t know!¡± Xuan Ziwen was muttering to himself as he stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m only a at most ss 6 soul engineer.

    ¡°How many formation arrays did you think I¡¯d use toplete this soul tool? Furthermore, you saw its size, internal structure and physical form. Without adding any offensive tools, there¡¯s only a handful of ces that can contain formation arrays. How many formation arrays did you think there would be?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°Then how did you manage to make it move, and even make it fly, without pouring in soul power?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hide the truth. He said almost naturally, ¡°Milk Bottles! I added twelve ss 6 Milk Bottles. While the soul power in the Milk Bottles bes vtile, it happens much slowerpared to other soul tools. Theoretically speaking, it can maintain flight for two hours without using my own soul power as long as these twelve Milk Bottles are filled with soul power beforehand. Otherwise, I can engage in an intense fight for ten minutes, but that will include other offensive soul tools. I won¡¯t talk much about the internal design. This is a stupid design because only soul masters can control this soul tool. After all, Milk Bottles are only replenished by soul masters.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen stared at Huo Yuhao. ¡°How did you know that I was researching soul power outflow prevention in Milk Bottles?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Xuan Ziwen was now the one who was stunned. ¡°Then why did you use Milk Bottles to provide power for this human-form soul tool?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at him anxiously and replied, ¡°It was the only method I could think of. Teacher Xuan, have you really found a way to prevent the outflow of soul power? That¡¯s great!¡± If Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t lying, the practicality of his human-form soul tool would be greatly enhanced.

    Xuan Ziwen changed the topic instantly and said, ¡°That¡¯s not the main point. The main point is, how did you manage to bnce the human-form soul tool? Doesn¡¯t every joint have to be controlled using formation arrays? There¡¯s also the linkage and coordination between the arrays. Problems will definitely arise. Did you think about all these problems?

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I thought of them! Not everything requires formation arrays.¡±

    ¡°Then what did you use?¡± Xuan Ziwen probed.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Sorry! Teacher Xuan, I can¡¯t tell you. That¡¯s a secret.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen turned gloomy. Huo Yuhao answered his questions at the start, but imed that it was a secret when he got to the critical questions. He was obviously ying with him!

    With Xuan Ziwen¡¯s proficiency in soul tools, he wanted to use his Milk Bottle form on human-form soul tools after they developed one. However, the human-form soul tools in the Illustrious Virtue Hall were toorge. If he only used Milk Bottles, he wouldn¡¯t be able to create ss 9 Milk Bottles. Even if he could use ss 8 Milk Bottles, he needed more than ten of them to ensure the experiment ran smoothly. And then it would only be able to work normally for an hour. This also meant that more than ten eight-ringed Soul Douluos had to follow the soul tool to make it move before it could work properly. In addition, Xuan Ziwen was certain that the soul tool couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao¡¯s metallic man in terms of flexibility.

    Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t concerned about Huo Yuhao¡¯s craftsmanship. The metallic man might have many problems. He found five to six problems that couldn¡¯t be resolved right away. However, the key thing was his concept!

    He had only used thirty-two formation arrays before he managed to make the metallic man move. It was practical, and didn¡¯t require Huo Yuhao to use his soul power to make it move. At least it could be used to escape.

    Xuan Ziwen was puzzled by all this. He started to be very restless.

    ¡°Impressive! Huo Yuhao, you are impressive.¡± Xuan Ziwen looked at him and was filled with emotions. He knew that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t lying. That human-form soul tool couldn¡¯t have been created by him alone.

    Theplex structure that it possessed couldn¡¯t have beenpleted in just two years. It must be rted to his sect. How should Xuan Ziwen go about asking him then?

    Xuan Ziwen knew that this was all Huo Yuhao¡¯s grand ploy to attract him. On the surface, he said that he didn¡¯t have ten new creations. However, he came up with a product that represented the essence of the research that Xuan Ziwen had always been invested in. How could he not be interested?

    Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Yuhao, tell me if this is agreeable. I don¡¯t want your detailed production method. I just want to know the concept and ideas behind this human-form soul tool. I¡¯ll trade for them with the Sealed Milk Bottle form that I justpleted. You need to know that this form will change the whole development of soul tools. I haven¡¯t reported it to the Hall yet. But once more data is collected, I believe this form will be one of the most important bits of research in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Do you want to make a trade?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little hesitant now on this. As a ss 6 soul engineer, he knew that Xuan Ziwen was right. The appearance of Sealed Milk Bottles was bound to change the world of soul tools! Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t find it so difficult to control soul tools anymore. Although the price of Sealed Milk Bottles was bound to be astronomical, they could solve the huge power problem when used on human-form soul tools. Even though this didn¡¯t solve the root of the problem, it wasn¡¯tpletely out of the question to create huge Milk Bottles for Test Subject 1. Thinking about it gave Huo Yuhao the chills.

 Chapter 203: Devils Frown

    However, this hesitation only appeared in his mind for a moment before he rejected the proposition. Because while the importance of the Sealed Milk Bottles was high, he needed Xuan Ziwen. He was too proficient in soul tool research.

    ¡°Do you want to exchange?¡± Xuan Ziwen was a little anxious. ¡°Do you think my research is inferior to yours? I can tell that your human-shaped soul tool is iplete, it¡¯s only a prototype. If you let me work on it, I can make it aplete human-shaped soul tool in less than three years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Of course I hope that you can finish it. But I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll just want this soul tool. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m showing you two products today.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you saying that you have another item that can reach that level of research?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°They belong to different categories. However, this second item is also the essence of all my hard work. You were right just now. The human-shaped soul tool is only half done. If I want toplete it, I¡¯ll still need to experiment and innovate. However, the second item I¡¯m showing you ispleted.¡±

    ¡°Take it out then.¡± Xuan Ziwen said hurriedly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and lifted his right hand. The Starlight Sapphire ring that Xuan Ziwen had seen in the projection was on Huo Yuhao¡¯s index finger.

    When Xuan Ziwen saw the ring, his eyes shed with greed. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s creativity was too important to him, and he quickly retracted his greed and channeled positive energy into his heart.

    The item that Huo Yuhao retrieved was quite huge, and extremely heavy. Even with his cultivation and physical strength, it was still terribly strenuous for him to lift this item.

    It was a gigantic stationary soul cannon shell!

    When this soul cannon shell appeared, Xuan Ziwen took a few steps back, as if he had seen a ghost. Compared to the excitement when he saw the human-shaped soul tool, he was fearful now.

    Yes, fearful.

    This cannon shell was entirely fiery-red. It looked very dazzling, and carved on it were manyplex patterns. However, these patterns didn¡¯t belong to its formation arrays. There were some that even Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t recognize even though he was a ss 8 soul engineer.

    The front of the cannon shell was conical, while the back was circr¡ªthe standard structure. On its body was a dim white halo. Xuan Ziwen was fearful when he saw this halo.

    Such a soul cannon shell that was more than a meter in length and a foot in diameter would require at least a ss 8 stationary soul cannon to fire it. Theoretically speaking, this was a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell.

    Even in the Sun Moon Empire where extremely powerful soul tools existed, ss 7 and above stationary soul cannon shells were considered resources to be tapped on in the event of a war. They were very lethal and even more rare. Although a stationary soul cannon shell was very powerful, the amount of raw materials needed to construct it was also terrifying. It was also veryplex to craft such a cannon shell, making the rate of failure extremely high.

    If one failed in crafting, it was different from when one failed at making other soul tools. That was because the likeliest consequence of failure was an explosion!

    No matter the ss of a soul engineer, they couldn¡¯t escape death if an explosion urred as they constructed a stationary soul cannon shell of the same ss. That was why most soul engineers were unwilling to create high-level soul cannon shells. Even if one was willing to create one, they had to be extremely careful and focused.

    Currently, the three strongest ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells that Xuan Ziwen knew of were hidden in the most tightly-guarded area of the Sun Moon Empire, the arsenal. Even with Jing Hongchen¡¯s status as the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, he could only deploy the use of one soul cannon shell. Only those at the highest level in the empire were clear on how many ss 7 and ss 8 stationary soul cannon shells they had.

    That was why Xuan Ziwen hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to take out a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell. It didn¡¯t matter what element the power of this cannon shell was categorized under, it was able to take down the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. No wonder Huo Yuhao was daring enough to show him his human-shaped soul tool. He possessed such a lethal weapon.

    Disregarding safety, there were at least seven or eight ways of detonating a stationary soul cannon shell. It didn¡¯t just have to be fired using a stationary soul cannon.

    Xuan Ziwen was shocked as he asked, ¡°You, you made this?¡± Even he couldn¡¯t be sure that he could create a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell. He wouldn¡¯t try either. Although he was very invested in his research, he still treasured his life a lot.

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and smiled. ¡°Teacher Xuan, do you think this is just a shell?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen groaned, ¡°Are you questioning my professional knowledge? You can fake the appearance, but not the aura. A soul tool above ss 7 has a spirit and aura of its own. The aura of this soul cannon shell is very strange, yet powerful. I even suspect that it could be ss 9. But how is that possible?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Nothing is impossible. This is the essence of my hard work, though it wasn¡¯tpletely created by me. If it were only me, I wouldn¡¯t even havepleted the design or the entire blueprint of this soul cannon shell. I obtained some help from my sect. Don¡¯t worry, you can analyze it. I¡¯m more pleased with it than my human-shaped soul tool.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao lifted the cannon shell from the ground and took a few steps back before letting him get closer.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. He took a few quick steps forward and observed it seriously. He also used his hands to touch it.

    He trembled when he touched the cannon shell at first. As he lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao, he was appalled as he said, ¡°What a strong and inauspicious aura. It¡¯s vtile. If this thing detonated, it would take countless lives! Aren¡¯t you afraid of causing mass destruction by creating such a lethal weapon?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly and replied, ¡°Does that stop the Illustrious Virtue Hall from producing such weapons? A truly powerful weapon can be used to ensure peace. That¡¯s because no one dares to attack or start a war against someone with such weapons. The lethality of a weapon isn¡¯t scary; it¡¯s the people who use it that are scary.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t say anything else. He only looked at the cannon shell seriously.

    The cannon shell was entirely fiery-red, and the white halo it exuded had weird undtions of spiritual energy. It was almost like it was alive. Very soon, Xuan Ziwen was drawn to an image on the cannon shell.

    It was a blooming lotus flower. It didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with the formation arrays, but it was an exquisite carving nheless. The lotus flower was ck, and was a nice contrast to the fiery-red cannon shell. This also made it more obvious. The center of this lotus flower wasn¡¯t the pistil, but an image of a ck skull. The eerie and inauspicious aura was also the strongest at this point.

    Xuan Ziwen lightly caressed the carving patterns. He seemed to be slightly intoxicated, and he cautiously tapped it lightly with his finger. He didn¡¯t dare to exert too much force, and didn¡¯t have any intention of disassembling it.

    Every stationary soul cannon shell had a self-destruct mechanism. An attempt to disassemble it would only lead to a detonation. Xuan Ziwen was clearly aware of this.

    After fifteen minutes, Xuan Ziwen stood straight and said honestly, ¡°I can¡¯t tell how you created it.¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s gaze changed. It was a gaze that suggested they were on equal standing. They weren¡¯t interacting as teacher and student anymore.

    ¡°It seems like I underestimated your soul engineering talent. You¡¯ve really given me a huge surprise!¡±

    Huo Yuhao extended two of his fingers and said, ¡°It¡¯s two surprises. I gave this soul cannon shell a name¡ªthe Devil¡¯s Frown. I hope that it will never appear on a battlefield.¡±

    ¡°I hope so too.¡± Xuan Ziwen concurred with him. Through his previous observation, he had realized that this cannon shell was different from any other cannon shell that he had ever seen before. It was apletely new existence to him. He couldn¡¯t discern its internal structure through its echoes. This was an entirely new type of stationary soul cannon shell. He had no way of judging its power, but he could tell that the spiritual and inauspicious aura that came from it wasn¡¯t false. It was at least a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell.

    ¡°Is it ss 8 or 9?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s breathing was evidently very quick.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before replying, ¡°If you were to fire it at a building, then it¡¯ll at most be ssified as ss 8. However, I can tell you that it¡¯s undoubtedly a ss 9 soul tool if you fire it at an army. To create it, I researched it for more than a year. After that, I kept on carrying out small-scale experiments and some other basic experiments. I only assembled it after I returned from my holiday.¡±

    ¡°You were busy with this over the past few months?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I can make a second. I can tell you honestly that there are some things in this cannon shell that you won¡¯t understand. Or rather, I don¡¯t think any soul engineer will understand, including a ss 9 soul engineers.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen revealed a bitter smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve got to say that you moved me. These two surprises are indeed too huge for me to take in all at once. I need to consider first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Of course you can. The Tang Sect¡¯s doors will always be open to you. If you¡¯re willing to join, you can choose whatever position you want. I can reveal some stuff to you too. Ten thousand years ago, the Tang Sect was prosperous under the leadership of its first sect master. He eventually cultivated into godhood and created a legend in the continent. The sect¡¯s development was based on hidden weapons back then. It was only when soul tools appeared that hidden weapons met their decline. My research alles from the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons. Ibined their designs with soul tools. By fusing the ingenuity of hidden weapons into soul tools, I can create many magical things.

    I can also tell you honestly that these two items are the product of targeted research. My proficiency as a soul engineer will neverpare to yours. If you be a part of the Tang Sect, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do this better than me.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Keep this soul cannon shell hidden and never take it out again. I¡¯m leaving.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and left. He didn¡¯t even look back.

    Huo Yuhao put the Devil¡¯s Frown away and heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. In fact, it was also only a halfpleted product. The true core wasn¡¯tplete, as it was tooplex. With his current cultivation, he couldn¡¯t possiblyplete it. He needed to wait till he obtained seven rings first. It wasn¡¯t easy to make a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell!

    Why was Xuan Ziwen unable to tell? That was because Huo Yuhao had fused the necromancy that Electrolux had imparted to him into this Devil¡¯s Frown. He incorporated a magic that didn¡¯t exist in this world into the soul tool. Even if Jing Hongchen were here, he would also be unable to tell. In fact, it was only useful for scaring people right now.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t lying. If it were trulypleted, its power could easilypare to a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell in a war, and might even be stronger. However, there wasn¡¯t any way to test its effects. As with any weapon¡ªthe only way of knowing its power was to use it. Otherwise, no one would understand its true power.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in the least bit worried even though Xuan Ziwen had left. He knew that Xuan Ziwen was already tempted. How would he not be attracted given his love of soul tools? His designs and creativity could expedite Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research by at least ten years. Along with Xuan Ziwen¡¯s own creativity, soul tools might be walking towards a new era.

    After consuming a simple dinner, Huo Yuhao continued on to sleep. Even though it was only a halfpleted item, he had still expended a lot of energy to make it! He was very fatigued now.

    He slept all the way till daybreak.

    He opened the window and breathed in the cool morning dew. He felt very refreshed after that. Rxing at times was a good feeling. He looked at the marble-white sky and purple rose in his eyes again. His cultivation of the Purple Demon Eyes had never stopped in all these years.

 Chapter 204.1: The Sword Fanatics Domain: Solitude

    I¡¯m going home soon. It¡¯s been two and a half years ¨C eldest senior brother, third senior brother, fourth senior sister, fifth senior sister, are you guys doing fine? And Wang Dong, please wait for me and second senior brother. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters will be reunited once again. How nice would it have been if you were still alive, teacher! I haven¡¯t let you down, and I have never cked for a single second over these two years. I have finally contributed to the academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. You will see ¨C one day, our mastery of soul tools will surpass the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hurry for breakfast after he finished cultivating his Purple Demon Eyes, but instead returned to his bed and meditated for another two hours. Continuous deep sleep calmed his spiritual sea too much, and his body needed a certain level of adjustment.

    His soul power had improved at an impressive speed over this period of time. However, even a normal soul master¡¯s cultivation speed would slow down after reaching Rank 50, let alone his.

    He washed up after two hours and had his breakfast at the canteen. Huo Yuhao was just about to look for Fan Yu and his second senior brother, but he met someone he didn¡¯t want to see.

    Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen seemed a little strange today. They wore grave and solemn expressions on their faces, as if they were about to face something important and substantial. They came up to Huo Yuhao and blocked his path.

    Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°You two are just too impatient. Why do you look so grave? You just want to fight, right? Name a ce. I will definitely give you guys some excitement before I leave.¡±

    Jing Ziyan was normally the one who spoke, but it was Ji Juechen who opened his mouth today. ¡°The Soul Practice Arena. Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, he turned around with his giant sword and started to walk.

    Jing Ziyan nced deeply at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°We will be serious today.¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched, and he replied, ¡°When are you guys not serious? Are you trying to say you¡¯ve been showing me mercy this whole time? Let¡¯s go then, let¡¯s finish the battle as quickly as possible. I still have to pack my things.¡±

    Jing Ziyan nodded and followed behind Ji Juechen.

    ---

    They seemed to have arranged things with the Soul Practice Arena, and the teachers in charge of this ce didn¡¯t stop them, and allowed the three of them inside.

    ¡°How much?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen answered, ¡°One hundred gold soul coins for two hours.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need two hours against the two of you.¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes sparkled, and he said, ¡°Don¡¯t becent. The truth is that I didn¡¯t give my all when we battled each other before this. The reason for that was because I didn¡¯t want to take advantage of you because my soul power was stronger. However, that also meant that I wasn¡¯t able to unleash my full potential and abilities. I will give my all today, and if you feel like you can¡¯t take it, you can admit defeat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished, and said, ¡°We¡¯re fighting for real?¡± He knew that Ji Juechen had suppressed his soul power when they had fought before this. Jing Ziyan didn¡¯t do so, but she rarely used soul tools at all when they battled. All she used were her soul skills.

    Ji Juechen nodded, and Jing Ziyan was already equipping her soul tools on the other side. It was clear that the two of them wanted to have ast practice battle with Huo Yuhao before he left where they gave everything they had.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes also grew serious. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Ji Juechen said, ¡°Do you need to adjust yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Have you paid for me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jie Juechen was momentarily stunned.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The entry fee! The one hundred gold soul coins.¡±

    ¡°......¡±

    ¡°Have you paid for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The chill in the Ji Juechen¡¯s voice grew sharper.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Huo Yuhao seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

    Ji Juechen nodded towards Jing Ziyan and said, ¡°You first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly said, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is exciting enough. Let¡¯s have a bet, and our stakes shall be money. What do you think?

    Jing Ziyan snapped, ¡°Are you that broke?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied simply, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How much do you want to bet?¡± Ji Juechen said angrily. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to win?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Ji Juechen grunted coldly. ¡°I¡¯lly down everything I have.¡±

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to be taken aback. ¡°Are you sure? How much do you have?¡±

    Ji Juechen muttered, ¡°More than you think.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned towards Jing Ziyan, and Jing Ziyan nodded at him. ¡°How can I sit this one out?¡±

    ¡°I think it isn¡¯t fair for you guys,¡± Huo Yuhao said a little disapprovingly, ¡°I don¡¯t have much if you guys beat me, but I am taking both of your money if I win.¡±

    Jing Ziyan said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. We don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°But I am unwilling to rip you guys off,¡± Huo Yuhao said seriously. ¡°How about I take the two of you on together? It¡¯s fairer that way.¡±

    Silence!

    ¡°Back, back. Don¡¯t you know we have to distance ourselves?¡± Huo Yuhao waved towards them as he moved back to his own corner.

    ¡°You¡¯re being serious?¡± Ji Juechen muttered coldly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys being serious, too? Do you guys think that you¡¯re the only ones who have been holding back?¡±

    Ji Juechen took a deep breath and said, ¡°Alright. Together, Ziyan.¡±

    Jing Ziyan didn¡¯t expect Ji Juechen to agree to Huo Yuhao¡¯s idea of two-versus-one. This was totally unexpected and didn¡¯t match Ji Juechen¡¯s typical arrogance.

    ¡°Juechen, you¡­¡±

    Ji Juechen spoke inly. ¡°Since the decision has been made, we have to be clear.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Jing Ziyan¡¯s eyes immediately grew solemn.

    Jing Ziyan had ayer of armor on her body at this moment. This armor was light purple in color, but it wasn¡¯t full-body armor, and only protected her chest, shoulders, elbows, and knees.

    Ji Juechen still had that cool and ruthless demeanor as he walked up beside Ziyan. His eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao.

    There was a faint smile at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips. It felt as if he were looking down on them, and it also felt as if he werepletely indifferent as he slowly stepped back.

    ¡°I will use soul tools, since you guys are, too. However, we won¡¯t use long-range soul tools. Is that eptable?¡±

    Jing Ziyan answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stopped moving backwards, and one soul tool after another quickly appeared on his body. The soul tools on his body looked covert and hidden, and their colors leaned toward gray, and it was hard to determine their shapes and sizes from a distance. They didn¡¯t seem very big.

    Jing Ziyan knew that Huo Yuhao typically used soul thrusters when in closebat battles, but she didn¡¯t know what other soul tools Huo Yuhao would use this time.

    ¡°Come!¡± Huo Yuhao invited them.

    Jing Ziyan began to move. Her body exploded with purple fog, which enveloped both Ji Juechen and herself. The purple fog grew denser, and eventually covered the entire area.

    Huo Yuhao was familiar with her soul skills, and this was her first one ¨C Illusory Fog.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty to leap into action. Instead, he stared at the purple fog with sparkling eyes. From his perspective, Jing Ziyan¡¯s threat level was nowhere close to Ji Juechen. Jing Ziyan¡¯s offensive abilities were strong, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately determine the oue of battle even if they hit him. It was different for Ji Juechen, and if his Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword erupted, a single strike could determine the victor of this battle.

    Something happened that astonished Huo Yuhao, and he realized that he had lost his perception and sensation of Ji Juechen.

    The typical sharpness of Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent disappeared, and Ji Juechen himself vanished. It felt as if he had disappeared inside the purple fog. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was formidable, but he couldn¡¯t detect Ji Juechen at all ¨C from Ji Juechen¡¯s perspective, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had failed.

    If this battle had happened before thest school holiday, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting strength would have been affected by his astonishment. However, an idea now shed in his mind.

    Huo Yuhao made his move. The four soul thrusters on his back sparkled at the same time, and his entire body curled up faintly above the ground before heunched himself forward like a cannonball, right towards the dense purple Illusory Fog.

    Ayer of icy armor covered his entire body as he moved : the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. The crystal ice protecting his body didn¡¯t affect his soul tools under the intricate control of his spiritual power.

    A sphere of purple light suddenly appeared before Huo Yuhao. This sphere was only about the size of a fist, and fog surged around and within it, as if the sphere itself was made of fog.

    ¡°Fierce! Using your killer move from the get-go.¡± Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback. This was Jing Ziyan¡¯s sixth soul skill, Fog Bomb.

    Huo Yuhao reached forward with his right hand, grabbing directly for the Fog Bomb. However, the Fog Bomb suddenly withdrew, and the surrounding purple fog became more intense as it barreled towards Huo Yuhao.

    Green light exploded, and his Domain of Perpetual Ice was activated. It was the best solution against the fog.

    However, a series of explosions and crackling sounds could be heard. The fog that was being frozen began to tremble violently, and an enormous propulsion force then surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    She¡¯s detonating her own Fog Bomb, just to maintain the Illusory Fog?

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curled into a faint smile. Too bad ¨C my Domain of Perpetual Ice can be maintained for much longer than before.

    The fog covered everything, but countless snowkes could now be seen within it, while the temperature began to plummet once more. All of a sudden, all of the purple fog began to explode outwards. The fog became like goose feathers in the process of the explosion before it gradually dissipated, while the original spot where the fog had condensed became as clear as crystal.

    The green light on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was gone, and Jing Ziyan had a look of shock and surprise on her face as she lunged towards him from five meters away. She didn¡¯t understand how Huo Yuhao had broken through the premeditated andbined maniption of her Illusory Fog and Fog Bomb. She thought that she could lock onto Huo Yuhao in that moment, but... Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t looking at her at all, his eyes were fixed on the other side.

    Ji Juechen was just standing there quietly. His entire body seemed to be covered with a pale-grayyer, and he no longer felt like a person to Huo Yuhao. Instead, the current Ji Juechen was like a statue ¨C a stone statue, and his aura had vanished just like that. However, Huo Yuhao could feel an intense urgency and dangering from this statue in his spiritual sea.

    Impressive, Ji Juechen. Have you evolved again?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t advance, but retreated instead. A powerful beam of light erupted from his chest ¨C it was another soul thruster, and it drove his body backwards explosively in an instant.

 Chapter 204.2: The Sword Fanatics Domain: Solitude

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s body shed forward in an attempt to block him. However, how could Huo Yuhao give her this opportunity? He swiped with his right hand, and the Darkgolden Terrorws shed out.

    However, he was surprised then Jing Ziyan¡¯s body exploded with a sphere of brilliant purple light, and two crescent des appeared in each of her hands. That purple radiance was a ss 6 protective soul barrier, and she took the hit from Huo Yuhao directly, even though Huo Yuhao had unleashed aplete version of his Darkgolden Terrorw!

    All this just to stop me from retreating?

    ¡°Pshhhh!¡± The Darkgolden Terrorw swiped down violently. Suddenly, Jing Ziyan¡¯s entire body transformed into fog and dissipated. Her ss 6 soul barrier had just been baiting him, while the dissipated fog began to condense once more, and enveloped Huo Yuhao inside. The sticky feeling made him feel like he hadnded in an enormous web, and his speed plummeted.

    Even though Jing Ziyan¡¯s soul tools dropped to the ground because of the transformation, she had still managed to achieve her original goal. The soul tools on her body weren¡¯t meant to confuse Huo Yuhao, but she had had to drop them because Huo Yuhao broke through her fog too quickly, faster than she had expected.

    Impressive ¨C Fog Transformation and Condensed Fog!

    The radiance in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest receded, and he didn¡¯t continue using his soul thruster too stubbornly. His feet touched the ground, and an intenseyer of golden light burst from his body.

    The thick and sticky Condensed Fog was shaken off, and was no longer able to touch his body. This fog was formed by Jing Ziyan¡¯s own body, and was the most powerful aspect of her martial soul; it could be said that she was halfway to a Martial Soul True Body! However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent and the level of his spiritual power meant she wasn¡¯t able to use it directly on him.

    Huo Yuhao made a peculiar and slow gesture. His left hand gradually pushed forward into the purple mist, while he raised his right hand. There was a flourishing golden luster on both of his palms, and his Spirit Eyes erupted with golden light.

    The dense fog began to tremble violently under the churning effect of his palms, as if it were about to break free from Jing Ziyan¡¯s control.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, Ziyan.¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and spoke as an intense chill burst from his body. The temperature plummeted, and quickly dissipated therge area of fog before him.

    Huo Yuhao had already used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice once just now, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal too much, and he withdrew it as soon as it was released. Jing Ziyan was powerful in her fog form, but Huo Yuhao would definitely wound her deeply if he used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice once more, possibly to the point where she couldn¡¯t return to human form.

    The fog condensed once more, and Jing Ziyan reverted to her human form. However, the immense roiling force on the fog still took effect on her body, as she spun around rapidly a few times on the spot, stumbled, and almost fell before she managed to barely regain her bnce.

    At this moment, Ji Juechen made his move.

    Jing Ziyan had managed to achieve her goal of dying Huo Yuhao after all.

    A streak of gray light swept out like a whip. There wasn¡¯t a single undtion of soul power when it first appeared, and not even a single trace of anything at all. It was just a pale gray light that didn¡¯t seem to have any substance at all.

    However, a thin ck line followed wherever this light reached; this was clearly the appearance of space being shed apart.

    Huo Yuhao had been monitoring Ji Juechen from the beginning. From the moment Ji Juechen made his move, Huo Yuhao drifted lightly into the sky and fluttered backwards like a snowke. This time, he didn¡¯t use any soul tools.

    Thick golden hues congregated in his left palm, and a pale orange shadow flickered behind his back. His left hand crystallized like suet white jade under the cocoon of the golden luster.

    Huo Yuhao pushed out with his palm lightly and undramatically, blocking off the gray streak that had arrived before him.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s eyes were frozen open, as she was afraid she would miss something. The golden streak and the gray light separated once they touched.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body drifted through the air as if he were a leaf and slowly fell to the ground.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s body appeared in his original location. His expression was calm like a statue, but the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword in his hands had turned white.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­

    A series of crackling sounds could be heard as the snowy-white Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword shattered just like that, and disintegrated into a million pieces that drifted away on the wind.

    Huo Yuhaonded on the ground twenty meters away and stared at his opponent.

    Ji Juechen said nothing. The Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword had been by his side for more than twenty years, and yet he didn¡¯t show any emotions as the sword disintegrated into a million pieces.

    The battle didn¡¯t stop there. He suddenly raised his right hand into the air and pointed towards Huo Yuhao in the distance. A streak of gray sword energy exploded into being, and rapidly grew in size as it barreled through the air, eventually transforming into a sword shadow three meters long as it surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and shed out with a simr light sword, while dark blue light flickered once, then disappeared.

    The sword lights looked vast, but were actually as thin as paper. However, the thin swords still collided directly with each other in the sky with absolute precision.

    A shrill ring could be heard as a thin ck line appeared in the sky, extending and sealing shut in an instant.

    Boom!

    A deafening sound was released right after the ck line vanished, and terrifying shockwaves rippled out in all directions.

    Ji Juechen immediately slid backwards, his feet actually plowing two deep grooves in the tough ground. On the other side, Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t that much better. His entire body was tossed into the air, but he drifted and turned in the sky like a snowke as he used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and dispersed most of the impact before hended on the ground stably.

    He nted his feet on the ground, his eyes were fixed on Ji Juechen in the distance.

    ¡°You have actually grasped the secrets of merging spiritual power and soul power. You have lived up to the name of being a sword fanatic! If I¡¯m not wrong, that was your Domain! What is it called?¡±

    Ji Juechen said inly, ¡°It¡¯s called Solitude. It¡¯s notplete ¨C otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t need Ziyan to hold you back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The truth is it¡¯s still a contest between the two of us. Your fighting style is just too unique, and there¡¯s no way you can work together with other people. You didn¡¯t have to do that ¨C even if Ziyan hadn¡¯t held me back, I would still want to test your Domain¡¯s power.¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°What¡¯s that sword of yours called? I can feel a solitary arrogance within the extreme cold ¨C and from that palm, as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The sword is called Unparalleled Chill, and the palm is called Snowless cier. Both are soul skills that I¡¯ve recently mastered.¡±

    Ji Juechen said inly, ¡°I lost.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, you haven¡¯t lost. This battle isn¡¯t over ¨C you integrated spiritual power and soul power, and that move you invented where you convert sword intent into physical form hasn¡¯t beenpletely unleashed yet. My Unparalleled Chill can¡¯t be used continuously, and it takes a heavy toll on my soul power. Therefore, the oue of this battle is still undecided.¡±

    Ji Juechen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m very clear about whether I¡¯ve lost or not. You didn¡¯t use your Sovereign¡¯s Descent ¨C furthermore, you already held back against Ziyan. Your Domain has changed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Your perception is sharp! If my future opponents were like you, I don¡¯t think there¡¯d be a ce for me in the world anymore.¡±

    Ji Juechen asked, ¡°Will you always be at Shrek Academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°For now, yes. At least, I will be there until the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.¡±

    ¡°Alright. All the best.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Jing Ziyan came up to Ji Juechen and gave Huo Yuhao another deep nce. ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll just let you be when you go back to Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Doe if you have the ability to do so. That¡¯s my turf, and Shrek Academy¡¯s soul masters are much stronger than I am. When the timees, you guys probably won¡¯t know who to challenge.¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes sparkled as he said, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not lying to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered with a stunned look on his face. ¡°Are you guys really thinking of going?¡±

    Jing Ziyanughed and said, ¡°We just might.¡± With that, she grabbed Ji Juechen and left the arena.

    Huo Yuhao watched them walk away, andughed as well. He mumbled under his breath, ¡°I can¡¯t wait for the two of you to go. If the two of you really go, I will definitely find a way to convince you guys to stay!¡±

    He stared at the Soul Practice Arena and puffed out a steamy breath. He raised his right hand, and a single gash could be seen in the center of his palm.

    ¡°Such powerful sword intent. You really haven¡¯t lost, Juechen. Do you know that my Enfeeblement and Chaos arepletely useless against you? The determination that you have that is as solid as a sword spells disaster for control-type soul masters. I still haven¡¯t perfected the fusion of my Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques and my Sovereign¡¯s Descent!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have that many friends in this ce, but he still decided to find someone. This time, he could seek him out without worrying too much.

    ------

    ¡°What? You want to see the Hallmaster?¡± Lin Jiayi stared at the youth before him, and a look of astonishment came over his eyes.

    Over two years of exchange studies were about to end. Shrek Academy¡¯s students were obedient and orderly, and there were quite a few prodigies amongst their ranks. However, his impression of this youth before him was the strongest ¨C back during the exchange students¡¯ contest, he had actually gone into deep meditation for half a year, but his cultivation hadn¡¯t improved a single bit.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Is that alright? We¡¯re leaving soon. I want to express my gratitude to the Hallmaster before I leave, and there are some things I wish to discuss with him.¡±

    It was immensely difficult for normal students to see the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, to the point where it was almost impossible. What status did the Hallmaster have? He held a position in the Sun Moon Empire where he was above everyone else, and below only a single person.

    However, this student was different. His status was special, to the point where Lin Jiayi didn¡¯t dare to reject him without a good reason.

 Chapter 204.3: The Sword Fanatics Domain: Solitude

    ¡°Alright. Please wait a while, I¡¯ll find out if the Hallmaster has time to see you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao sat to one side and tilted his head down until his chin was almost touching his chest, putting on a serious and obedient look.

    Lin Jiayi picked up an internal voice-projecting soul tool and used a special soul power undtion to send a message outwards.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Jing Hongchen¡¯s voice could be heard on the other end of the receiver.

    ¡°Eh? Huo Yuhao wants to see me? Okay, bring him in.¡± Jing Hongchen quickly epted Huo Yuhao¡¯s request. The truth be told, he was curious as to what exactly this youth from Shrek Academy wanted with him. Can it be that he wants to join the Illustrious Virtue Hall? No, that¡¯s impossible!

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s mood dropped when he thought about this.

    Lin Jiayi escorted Huo Yuhao to Jing Hongchen¡¯s office.

    ¡°Greetings, Hallmaster.¡± Huo Yuhao came forward and greeted him politely.

    Jing Hongchen smiled and said, ¡°Please, have a seat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sit down, but he remained standing as he said, ¡°I have something I wish to discuss with you in private. Is that possible?¡±

    Jing Hongchen was stunned momentarily before he waved towards Lin Jiayi.

    The corner of Lin Jiayi¡¯s mouth twitched. The Hallmaster is just so nice towards this conniving fe. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate, and quickly retreated from the room before hetched the door behind him.

    ¡°You can speak now.¡± Jing Hongchen scrutinized the youth before him. Huo Yuhao had be a whole lot taller over the past two years, and he was quite the young man now. He was well-built, his shoulders were broad and his back was wide. His arms were big, his waist was small, and Jing Hongchen even realized, to his surprise, that Huo Yuhao seemed to have a special quality that wasn¡¯t there before. Huo Yuhao¡¯s rtively normal facial features were calm and determined, and he had some of the charisma that was inherently held by mature men¡ªhis sparkling eyes were especially riveting, and gave people a strong impression.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve been at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for more than two years. Over these two years, I have received a lot of and help from you, Hallmaster, and I have improved exponentially in my mastery of forging and using soul tools. Our exchange program is about to end, and I wish to give you a personal present to express my gratitude.¡±

    ¡°You want to give me a present?¡± Jing Hongchen¡¯s curiosity was piqued. Not a single student had ever done this before, and honestly, nobody dared to. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that Huo Yuhao wanted to see him to gift a present.

    Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao, amused. He said, ¡°Your present might not be that easy to ept, eh?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly shook his head and said, ¡°Of course not. This is purely to express my gratitude. It¡¯s a soul tool that I crafted myself. I hope you¡¯ll like it.¡±

    He touched his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges as he spoke and retrieved a ck metal box before he ced it before Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°Hallmaster, this is just a model, and it¡¯s intended as a souvenir for you. I have already installed the gears and buttons, and if you want to use it, it¡¯s like this¡­¡± He demonstrated how to use the soul tool in front of Jing Hongchen.

    Had Xuan Ziwen been here, he would have realized that the metal box Huo Yuhao was giving Jing Hongchen was identical to the one Huo Yuhao had shown him long ago when he was first stunned with awe and astonishment at Huo Yuhao¡­ Jing Hongchen took the metal box and made a few nces at it. This soul tool seemed a little crude, and there was nothing intricate or exquisite about it at all. He used his soul power to probe the inside of the soul tool, and discovered that there was only a simple energy-gathering formation array inside.

    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± He felt a little contemptuous, but he didn¡¯t show it.

    Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully and said, ¡°Then I shall take my leave. Farewell, Hallmaster.¡± He turned around as he spoke and didn¡¯t stay any longer.

    Huo Yuhao left, and the corner of Jing Hongchen¡¯s mouth curled into a mischievous smile. Is he trying to tell me that he hadn¡¯t learned anything much, so he¡¯s giving me this toy to mock me for being unwilling to teach him real knowledge? He is quite bold, indeed. And he still taught me to use this rickety object that can¡¯t even be considered a ss 1 soul tool?

    As these thoughts spun in his head, he subconsciously followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s simple instructions to operate the soul tool as he pointed it at the wall and pressed the button.

    From Jing Hongchen¡¯s perspective, this was probably just a soul ray, and it wouldn¡¯t be that powerful either. When he used his soul power to inspect the item, he had noticed that the energy-gathering formation array had soul power stored inside; it was probably Huo Yuhao who had infused his own soul power inside, and he hadn¡¯t used it yet.

    A series of howling sounds could be heard, and gave Jing Hongchen a shock.

    Several pop sounds could be heard from the wall immediately afterwards. Jing Hongchen nced subconsciously at the ck box in his hands before he quickly came out from behind his desk. At this moment, the doorbell rang.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Jing Hongchen stopped in his tracks.

    Lin Jiayi came in from outside and said, ¡°Do you have any instructions, Hallmaster?¡±

    Jing Hongchen saw that it was Lin Jiayi, and he continued walking to the wall on the opposite side and quickly found the small metal arrows that had drilledpletely into the wall.

    He picked up the ck box and infused some soul power inside. He pressed the button once more, and another series of shooting sounds could be heard. A shadow shed by before the same popping sounds could be heard from the wall.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes filled with bewilderment. He suddenly understood something, and immediately said to Lin Jiayi, ¡°Go find Huo Yuhao and bring him back here.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Jiayi didn¡¯t dare to probe as he turned and ran to call Huo Yuhao back.

    How did the soul tool activate its formation arrays? How did it shoot out the arrows? It¡¯s not a soul ray, it¡¯s more like the model of a stationary soul tool. What¡¯s more frightening is that this soul tool doesn¡¯t need soul power to activate it, and I can simply press a button to use it after infusing soul power. How is this automatic setup crafted?

    Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t wait any longer, and started to take the ck box apart to see. However, he had only made the first move before a series of nging sounds could be heard from inside the box.

    A self-destruct mechanism! What a guy! Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t have to look to know that the soul tool¡¯s internal gears and setup were now dysfunctional.

    Huo Yuhao had just left, so calling him back wasn¡¯t that difficult. This was especially so when he was walking slowly anyway, as if he had no intention of walking too far away.

    It didn¡¯t take long before he was standing before Jing Hongchen once more.

    Jing Hongchen lowered his voice and said, ¡°Tell me, what are your intentions?¡¯

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask Lin Jiayi to leave, and he stared at Jing Hongchen with a confused look and asked, ¡°What intentions?¡±

    Jing Hongchen felt his heart skip a beat. You do know how to act!

    ¡°This.¡± He shook the ck box in his hands.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned momentarily and said, ¡°I have no motives at all. That¡¯s just a souvenir for you. Eh, why is it broken?¡± Rattling sounds could be heard from the ck box when Jing Hongchen shook it, and it was clear that its inner mechanisms had been destroyed.

    Huo Yuhao seemed perplexed, and he looked hurt as he said, ¡°Hallmaster, even if you look down on this thing I made, I only wanted to give it to you as a souvenir. You didn¡¯t have to break it.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was almost fooled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotional sentiments. This fe was just too good at acting. ¡°Enough. Stop pretending. Name a price. I want the overall structure of the automatic mechanism.¡± With his level of perception, he could naturally see the unique and special effects of this ck box¡¯s internal automatic mechanisms.

    Huo Yuhao seemed lost as he said, ¡°What automatic mechanisms? I just casually made this thing, and I¡¯ve already given it to you!¡±

    He¡¯s still pretending? Jing Hongchen felt as if all his patience was gone. ¡°I am referring to the inner workings of this ck box. Draw it out¡ªif that¡¯s alright, I¡¯m willing to pay you for it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s the case.¡± Huo Yuhao looked like he just had a revtion. ¡°But, Hallmaster, I have put a lot of effort into this research. It¡¯s not going to be cheap if I¡¯m to sell it!¡±

    Jing Hongchen snapped, ¡°Name your price. Do I look like a stingy person?¡±

    Huo Yuhao extended one hand and opened all five fingers. He thought for a while before he retracted two fingers, and left his index, middle, and fourth finger extended.

    ¡°Three will do. I will exchange this with you for three ss 9 soul tools.¡±

    His tone was casual and natural, as if he were just casually requesting three sacks of rice from Jing Hongchen.

    Lin Jiayi almost vomited blood. What? Three ss 9 soul tools? What does he think ss 9 soul tools are? A ss 9 soul engineer would have to put in so much blood and sweat, and materials as well, toplete a ss 9 soul tool. Does he really want to exchange this rickety old box for three ss 9 soul tools?

    The flesh on Jing Hongchen¡¯s face froze, and the faint smile on his face immediately vanished into thin air. ¡°You¡¯re trying to rip me off?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I just feel like my research is precious and worth this price. Furthermore, we can still negotiate the price, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his other hand sincerely and pressed down his extended fourth finger on the other hand. ¡°Two will do. What do you think?¡±

    Jing Hongchen was infuriated. ¡°No way. Your automatic mechanisms are quite valuable, but how can your researchpare to a ss 9 soul tool?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°A ss 9 soul cannon shell will do¡ªI¡¯m not picky.¡±

    Scram¡­ The word came to the edge of Jing Hongchen¡¯s mouth and he almost blurted it out. He suddenly recalled how this rascal had tried to rip him off back during the exchangepetition. It was obvious that Huo Yuhao had intentionally brought this soul tool for him to see, and he would wait for a high price before he was willing to sell it.

    The truth was that Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t that furious. He felt a little fortunate actually¡ªat least, Huo Yuhao let him see this soul tool after all, and he didn¡¯t take it back directly to Shrek Academy; he hadn¡¯t bypassed him altogether. This automatic mechanism would be very effective if it was installed in stationary soul tools. Furthermore, its principles could bebined with other soul tools, and there would perhaps be other wondrous effects. This form of automation meant even normal citizens could use soul tools that were charged beforehand! He had also heard from Xuan Ziwen they were likely to achieve a breakthrough in their research with Sealed Milk Bottles.

    If this automatic mechanism wasbined with exemry soul tools and Sealed Milk Bottles¡­

 Chapter 205.1: Extortion

    If this automatic mechanism isbined with outstanding soul tools and Sealed Milk Bottles, then we will be able to assemble an army that isn¡¯tposed of soul masters, but they will still be able to use soul tools ¨C isn¡¯t that the dream? Even if this future is costly, it will be worth it. If the prince can have an army like that, then there will be no contest at all for the throne. The throne will be practically be in his pocket, and his own status in the empire will rise to another level. He will leave a heavy mark in history that will be remembered for eternity.

    Jing Hongchen was excited as these thoughts ran through his head, and he forced his temper down. He frowned and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, your invention is indeed impressive, and it will be beneficial for the development of stationary soul tools. However, you have to understand that this is a rtively simple structure, and it still needs continual refinement and improvement, while we are the ones who have to do these things ourselves. Therefore, even though I am willing to offer quite a bit for this, it can¡¯t be too outrageous. Name a price or a condition that everyone can ept ¨C if not, there is nothing left to negotiate.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grew silent. After an entire minute, he seemed a little pained as he said, ¡°Alright. Since you are so sincere, Hallmaster, then I will tell you my bottom line.¡±

    He raised his left hand again as he spoke, and he pressed down the index finger on his right hand. He left a long and straight middle finger¡­ Jing Hongchen stared at the ring middle finger and went quiet for a few seconds before he recovered. He was indignant as he shouted, ¡°Scram!¡±

    Lin Jiayi¡¯s expression was a little ck. If Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t been here, he would have probably stepped forward to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson himself.

    Huo Yuhao seemed as if he didn¡¯t feel the fury at all. He chortled and said, ¡°Business shouldn¡¯t ruin personal rtionships. Don¡¯t be angry ¨C I even left this for you as a souvenir. Can you see how generous I am? Farewell, then. You just destroyed my heartfelt gift, and you just scolded me. I have decided to raise my price again to three ss 9 soul tools, and that¡¯s the final and non-negotiable offer. You can sleep on that.¡±

    With that, he turned around and walked out with a casual gait.

    Jing Hongchen wanted to stop him, but he was too proud to open his mouth. He stared at the ck box in his hands, and the thoughts that came to him before this surfaced once more.

    Milk Bottles connected to energy-gathering soul tools, and activated with a unique automatic mechanism. A ss 4 Milk Bottle¡¯s stored soul power would probably be enough to fire dozens of soul rays. On the battlefield¡­ ¡°Call him back.¡± Jing Hongchen ultimately asked Lin Jiayi, agonized.

    Up to now, Lin Jiayi still wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. However, he could see the grief and indignation on Jing Hongchen¡¯s face, and he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Hallmaster, you¡¯re too nice and forgiving to this fellow. Why don¡¯t I go teach him a lesson?¡±

    ¡°I told you to call him back. Can you understand simple words?¡± Jing Hongchen shouted, and scared Lin Jiayi so much that he scampered away immediately.

    After another minute, Huo Yuhao was standing before Jing Hongchen yet again.

    ¡°Sit down.¡± Jing Hongchen pointed at the chair in front of his desk before he turned to Lin Jiayi and said, ¡°Pour a cup of water for him, and then you can leave the room.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Jiayi didn¡¯t dare to say anything more, and he poured a clear ss of water for Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t decline this time, and he sat down in front of Jing Hongchen. He picked up the ss of water and nced at Lin Jiayi as he was exiting the room while asking Jing Hongchen, ¡°This ss of water isn¡¯t poisoned, is it, Hallmaster?¡±

    Jing Hongchen had a hard time suppressing his anger, and he erupted once more. ¡°You¡­¡± He almost pped Huo Yuhao across the face ¨C he really wanted to murder this young man!

    ¡°No.¡± He considered the importance of that automatic mechanism, and ultimately restrained himself and answered with a calm look on his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t drink the water, and ced the ss back on the table as he spoke. Huo Yuhao looked like he still didn¡¯t trust him, and Jing Hongchen¡¯s face was starting to flush.

    ¡°The seller always starts with a high price, but the buyer will always go on the lower side. Name a price that I can ept.¡± Jing Hongchen tried to be direct as he could. He didn¡¯t want to continue being entangled with this dude.

    ¡°I named my price, didn¡¯t I? I want three ss 9 soul tools. I can¡¯t go any lower.¡± Huo Yuhao stuck out three fingers once more. For some reason, Jing Hongchen felt as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s middle finger was especially ring.

    ¡°You know that¡¯s not possible,¡± Jing Hongchen muttered coldly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then you can go.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Then why did you call me back? We¡¯ve been through this several times already.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up and started walking out as he spoke, as if he wasn¡¯t afraid of anything at all.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Jing Hongchen could feel his organs exploding with rage. ¡°Come back!¡± He shouted once more, stopping Huo Yuhao in his tracks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t as evil as it appeared to be. The truth was that he admired Jing Hongchen, and he admired his teacher, the Dragon God Douluo Elder Mu¡¯s judgment of Jing Hongchen. Elder Mu held Jing Hongchen in high regard ¨C Elder Mu said Jing Hongchen was a ruthless, ambitious, and formidable character, and the only problem was the kinks in his personality. Honor was a little too important to him, and he was headstrong and irritable at the same time. How could one judge something calmly and fairly if one got angry, and that meant others would have a chance to take advantage of him. Otherwise, why would Huo Yuhao y dirty like this for no reason?

    ¡°Three ss 9 soul tools is impossible. I admit that your innovation is exceptional, but you have to understand that the problems I¡¯ve just pointed out are also true. How about I name a price for you instead? One ss 8 soul tool, and five million gold soul coins. How about that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head vigorously. ¡°No, no. That¡¯s the product of my blood and sweat, and I can¡¯t just sell it for such a low price. I want ss 9 soul tools ¨C ss 8 soul tools are meaningless.¡±

    ¡°No ¨C ss 9 soul tools are strategically important to the Sun Moon Empire. How can we just casually give them out?"

    Huo Yuhao patted himself on the chest and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right, Hallmaster. When you were inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion all those years ago, my teacher asked you for one, and he didn¡¯t even give anything in return, and you just took one out without much hesitation. You just gave him the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing, and I¡¯m still benefiting from it.¡±

    Veins popped out all over Jing Hongchen¡¯s forehead. This boy just wanted to touch a sore spot ¨C the situation back then was different, and he probably wouldn¡¯t have returned with his life if he hadn¡¯t given that gift. However, he was rendered speechless by Huo Yuhao¡¯s assertion, and the redness of his face began to turn green from all that restraint.

    ¡°No means no! Two ss 8 soul tools!¡± Jing Hongchen growled, and he suddenly stood up and nted his hands on the desk, as if he were going to devour him.

    Huo Yuhao decided to stop talking, as if he was afraid of Jing Hongchen, but he still shook his head adamantly and determinedly.

    ¡°What do you want? Besides ss 9 soul tools, what else do you want?¡± Jing Hongchen returned to his seat, and his temper cooled a little.

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°Hallmaster, creativity and innovation have no price. The soul tool I have crafted may be simple and rickety, but I believe that my invention is extremely valuable, and that¡¯s the reason why I have named such an outrageous price. Calm down ¨C alright, I don¡¯t want ss 9 soul tools anymore, and I know you hate to part with them. Do you think this will work?¡±

    What do you mean I hate to part with them? I can¡¯t just give them away. Jing Hongchen had just calmed himself down, but his anger was already starting to erupt once again.

    ¡°You can also give me materials for ss 9 soul tools that are equal in value. You should know that Shrek Academy stillcks precious and exotic materials.¡± Huo Yuhao attempted another tactful inquisition.

    Jing Hongchen thought to himself that this fe had finally revealed his fox tail. This must be your real motive, eh?

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Jing Hongchen lowered his voice and said, ¡°There are many different kinds of exotic materials, and their values are hard to gauge.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I only want a few things ¨C let me know if it¡¯s alright! Five thousand kilograms of Purplegold Bronze, five thousand kilograms of Skyspirit Silver, one thousand pieces of Underworld Crystals that are each at least ten centimeters long, and one hundred kilograms of Extraterrestrial Meteoric Steel. I want five hundred kilograms of Starmoon Alloy that¡¯s authentically crafted by the Illustrious Virtue Hall. I also want the excellent Sun Essence Gold that I saw the other time, and then I want one hundred and eighty pieces of Silver Dragonscale. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have these things! I¡¯ve seen the academy¡¯s history, and the academy has hunted and killed a Silver Dragon before. A single Silver Dragon probably has millions of scales, and I only want a hundred and eighty ¨C that¡¯s not even one percent, so don¡¯t be stingy, please?¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s face turned a shade darker after every item Huo Yuhao listed. His face was now ck with traces of green, and even the green contained shades of purple. He was absolutely at the brink of erupting with rage and fury.

    The things that Huo Yuhao requested were all the best rare and exotic metals. Thest few requests were especially so ¨C the Sun Essence Gold and Starmoon Alloy were all considered extremely precious and invaluable materials, and they were all used to construct ss 9 soul tool formation arrays. Even one kilogram was incredibly expensive, let alone several hundred kilograms.

    ¡°Are you trying to clean out the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s warehouse?¡± Jing Hongchen stood up yet again without thinking. He shook the ck box Huo Yuhao had given him earlier vigorously and said, ¡°You want to exchange this broken thing that¡¯s made of steel for so many things? You must be daydreaming. Even greedy and avaricious people aren¡¯t as outrageous as you. Take your toy and get out of here ¨C don¡¯t let me see you again.¡± He tossed the ck box at Huo Yuhao as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t leave this time. He grabbed the ck box and chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Hallmaster! We can still discuss the price. Furthermore, I am only asking for things that are equivalent in value to three ss 9 soul tools, and I haven¡¯t even raised the price even though you¡¯ve mocked my design time and time again. These things are probably equivalent in total value to three ss 9 soul tools ¨C I¡¯m not bullshitting you!¡±

    ¡°Who promised to give you precious metals that are equivalent in value to three ss 9 soul tools?¡± Jing Hongchen red at him.

    Huo Yuhao replied with a grieving and wronged look on his face. ¡°Then we can negotiate further. Which one do you think is too much? Can we lower the requested amounts?¡±

 Chapter 205.2: Extortion

    Jing Hongchen roared, ¡°Everything is too much ¨C and that one hundred and eighty Silver Dragonscales? We hunted the Silver Dragon more than three thousand years ago, the materials that are left are exceptionally precious and invaluable. How many scales were kept until today? I don¡¯t even think there are a hundred dragonscales left! Not even I have the authority to use them directly! Even I have to obtain the royal family¡¯s permission!¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied evenly, ¡°But Hallmaster, you control the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and your authority is below one man and above everyone else. Not even you can make this decision? I don¡¯t believe that. I know the Silver Dragonscale¡¯s reputation, and it¡¯s something I need. We can take away ten percent of that, but you have to give me ny percent. We can deduct a little from the rest; I think even fifty percent is fine.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes sparkled with cold light as he stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s seemingly magnanimous and generous attitude. He really wanted to grind this bastard into dust, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to get his hands on this design if he did so. Furthermore, his grandchildren were still in Shrek Academy!

    He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his emotions as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°We will reduce everything that you want to ten percent of the original offer, while the Silver Dragonscales are out of the question. Then we have a deal.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately shook his head and said, ¡°Your bargaining is too ruthless. Who shaves off ny percent from the start? No, no. We can take away ten percent at most, and I definitely want the Silver Dragonscale. You can just give me eighty pieces.¡±

    ¡°Bastard! Do you think it¡¯s easy for me to ount for the outflow of so many resources?¡±

    ¡°But your authority is beneath only one person and above everyone else!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Twenty percent. I will give you five pieces of Silver Dragonscale, and that¡¯s the most I can do. This is my price ¨C if you don¡¯t want it, then scram.¡± Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He felt as if he would go insane if he continued to tangle himself with this guy.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Make that eighty percent. Is that alright?¡±

    ¡°Twenty percent!¡± Jing Hongchen roared.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re not being very nice. Aren¡¯t we both supposed topromise, until weplete the deal at fifty percent?¡±

    ¡°Get lost, get lost. Scram. Get out of here!¡± Jing Hongchen mmed his palm onto the table, and the wooden desk copsed to the ground with a boom.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. He frowned as he stared at Jing Hongchen, who was currently like an erupting volcano, and he said nothing as he turned and left.

    Jing Hongchen could feel his blood rushing up, and he nearly vomited blood. He could feel his soul power was a little disorganized and disoriented as well.

    An inscrutable expression shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He nced at the ck box in his hands as he stepped out of Jing Hongchen¡¯s office, and he wasn¡¯t hasty or hurried at all. From the start, he knew that his negotiations with Jing Hongchen wouldn¡¯t be sessful on the first try. He wouldn¡¯t give up until he got what he wanted.

    He took his time, but there wasn¡¯t much time left.

    He returned to the dormitory by himself, and nobody came to call him this time.

    A day quickly passed, and Shrek Academy¡¯s exchange program finally came to an end.

    For formality''s sake, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy conducted a farewell ceremony, and Jing Hongchen himself was present.

    Fan Yu led the group from Shrek Academy, while Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, Ye Xiaosheng, and the other students stood in single file. Everybody had switched back to Shrek Academy¡¯s uniforms, which meant they were about to leave this ce and return to their own school.

    Jing Hongchen made a speech that brimmed with warmth during this farewell ceremony. His expression didn¡¯t change much and he seemed extremely calm, as if he had forgotten how upset he was when he met with Huo Yuhao the previous day. He would nce at Huo Yuhao and sh a smile from time to time, as if he were exceptionally pleased with him.

    Huo Yuhao was a little surprised that his two brazen-faced and shameless friends didn¡¯t show up to send him off, and that made him a little sad.

    ¡°The prince is here!¡± somebody called out, and the clinking sounds of armor could be heard as soldiers poured in from outside.

    These soldiers wore silver armor, and they looked well-built and formidable ¨C everyone recognized them at a nce as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Guard.

    A group of soldiers in light armor followed behind the silver-armored soldiers. They were all more than thirty years old, and their mannerisms were grave and solemn. There were about fifty of them, give or take, but the Shrek Academy students¡¯ eyes widened a little once they appeared on the scene.

    They were soul engineers, military soul engineers! The armor on their bodies was clearly soul armor, and their equipment was uniform and systemic, yet unnaturally exquisite ¨C one would never doubt the formidability of this toon¡¯s fighting strength.

    The crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, somehow swaggered as he rolled into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great field with a bunch of guards escorting him.

    Jing Hongchen hurriedly led a group of teachers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to greet him.

    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Jing Hongchen bowed respectfully, while the other teachers fell to one knee.

    Xu Tianran smiled faintly and nodded lightly towards Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes squinted a little, and he nodded in return before walking behind Xu Tianran¡¯s wheelchair and pushing him onto the field and before the group from Shrek Academy.

    There was a look of shock in Fan Yu¡¯s eyes. What¡¯s the crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire trying to do, bringing such arge group of soldiers?

    ¡°Let me introduce you, teacher Fan Yu ¨C this is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s heir to the throne, the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, crown prince.¡± Fan Yu bowed lightly. He wasn¡¯t a citizen from the Sun Moon Empire, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be too formal when he paid his respects.

    Xu Tianran gave a warm and amicable smile and said, ¡°Let us do away with the formalities, teacher Fan Yu. I have yearned to visit your academy for a long time, but it¡¯s a pity that I haven¡¯t been able to. I will make a personal visit when I get the chance. I heard from Hallmaster Hongchen that your academy¡¯s exchange program has ended, so I am here on behalf of the Sun Moon Empire to send everyone off. I hope that the Sun Moon Empire and your academy can have more exchange programs, and we can use these programs to improve our rtions and camaraderie.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, your Highness.¡± He¡¯s here to send us off? Fan Yu was even more astounded at this point. The farewell ceremony was already ending, and he didn¡¯t want to dally any longer, so he said, ¡°Thank you, your Highness, and thank you, Hallmaster, for sending us off. It¡¯s gettingte, and I am about to get on the road with my students. Are you travelling with us, Hallmaster Hongchen?¡±

    The exchange students from both sides would be at Mapleleaf City again, just like they were at the start, and Jing Hongchen would definitely follow along himself in the interest of ensuring their safety.

    Jing Hongchen nodded and said, ¡°I will send everyone a little further, then. Do give me a moment, teacher Fan Yu, I have some things to convey to the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Yu didn¡¯t know what Jing Hongchen was going to do, and he didn¡¯t think too much about it. The exchange program had been long, and was now already over, while Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had yet to return. He wasn¡¯t afraid of Jing Hongchen doing something to them.

    He immediately brought the students over to one side.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had been fixed on Jing Hongchen and the crown prince this whole time. Only he could faintly guess what the crown prince¡¯s purpose was in personally sending them off.

    Jing Hongchen and Xu Tianran whispered a few sentences to each other, and Jing Hongchen seemed to take something from Xu Tianran¡¯s hands. Xu Tianran departed while his guards escorted him, and he expressed his warmth and regards to Fan Yu and the Shrek Academy students once more before he left. At least in terms of appearance, people would easily have a good impression of this crown prince.

    ¡°Come here, Huo Yuhao.¡± Jing Hongchen stepped forward and waved towards Huo Yuhao.

    Here we go! Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat, and he shot a nce at Fan Yu to show that everything was fine as he walked briskly up before Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°Hallmaster.¡± He nevercked politeness or courtesy.

    There was aplicated expression in Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes as he stared at the youth before him. ¡°Fifty percent, just like you said. Thirty Silver Dragonscales ¨C this is the most I could get, and there is nothing more I can do. If you think the price is right, hand the design over to me.¡±

    He reached out to Huo Yuhao with his right hand as he spoke. There was a Starlight Sapphire ring in the center of his palm, which was was muchrger than his own, while the patterns were also clearer. The ring itself was probably worth several million gold soul coins due to its rarity.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t push his limits, and put the ring on his finger as he said, ¡°Deal.¡± He touched his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges as he spoke and retrieved a small box before that he then handed to Jing Hongchen.

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t dare to be careless, and quickly opened the box to check. There was a scroll of paper inside, and the drawings on it were extremelyplex and intricate. Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyes were powerful, and he could already confirm that this was the real deal from one look at the papers. Their content immediately gave him a sense of rity and enlightenment.

    I finally have it! Both Huo Yuhao and Jing Hongchen had the exact same feeling in their hearts.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to verify its contents?¡± Jing Hongchen stared at Huo Yuhao, amused.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I trust you. If you still try to deceive me or y games with me at this point, then you¡¯re not the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Am I right?¡±

    Jing Hongchen grunted coldly and said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you like that yesterday? Do you know how difficult it was for me to convince the crown prince for this many resources?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°But you convinced him in the end, no? Below one man, and above everyone else!¡±

    Jing Hongchenughed along with him, and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. He heaved a sigh and said, ¡°If only you were my disciple! Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll send you guys off.¡±

    Fan Yu and He Caitou had no idea what Jing Hongchen had said to Huo Yuhao. Jing Hongchen led several teachers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and released their flying-type soul tools. They escorted Huo Yuhao and the others while everyone soared into the sky and flew towards the east.

    The students from Shrek Academy were all eager and excited as they traveled ¨C they were finally returning home to Shrek Academy! The caution and wariness they had had in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy hadn¡¯t been easy, but these two years of study had exposed them to the most advanced concepts and principles regarding the forging of soul tools. Every student took away much from this experience, but how much they absorbed and how much they actually learned depended on the effort they had put in.

 Chapter 205.3: Extortion

    Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t speak much on the road, and he just silently channeled his flying-type soul tool. Huo Yuhao quietly checked the contents inside his Starlight Sapphire ring.

    He could only describe what he saw as dazzling and dizzying. The truth was that he hadn¡¯t expected Jing Hongchen to take out so much in the end ¨C the Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s automatic mechanism was good, but it wasn¡¯t worth even twenty percent of these precious materials, and Huo Yuhao was satisfied enough with his hoard. If Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t sought him out today, he would have looked for Jing Hongchen anyway to agree to his offer. He hadn¡¯t expected to receive such a pleasant surprise. However, Huo Yuhao felt a little wary of Jing Hongchen¡¯s generosity.

    After several hours, Jing Hongchen guided them to the spot that both parties had agreed on a long time ago.

    Jing Hongchen brought the group to the ground. The people from Shrek Academy were already there on the other side.

    The people that came forward toplete the exchange were Yan Shaozhe from Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, apanied by Xian Lin¡¯er of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Both Deans were notable individuals, and their presence indicated how much emphasis they ced on this exchange. However, they were the only two who were here; the others behind them were the exchange students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t look that different from before. In the end, they had already grown up before the exchange program had begun. Huo Yuhao, however, had still been in his adolescence.

    The siblings seemed more calm and stable, and they stared at the Huo Yuhao the moment he appeared.

    Huo Yuhao wore a faint smile on his face, and he appeared as casual and indifferent as ever.

    ¡°We meet again, Hallmaster Hongchen.¡± Yan Shaozhe came forward with a bright smile on his face. Even though he was talking to Jing Hongchen, he was looking at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s frame had changed quite a bit, and even his aura was very different from before, but Yan Shaozhe would definitely not recognize the wrong person.

    His demeanor is more withdrawn, and his eyes are more in and undramatic ¨C this fe has improved so much!

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression was a lot warmer than Yan Shaozhe¡¯s. She understood the contributions Huo Yuhao hade made to Shrek Academy over these two years better than Yan Shaozhe. She could even say that he had relied entirely upon himself to advance Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department by more than a thousand years.

    Jing Hongchen would never know that Huo Yuhao had refined and perfected much of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s soul tool blueprints using his spiritual power, and had passed them on to the Soul Tool Department for research and manufacture. The Soul Tool Department had improved by leaps and bounds over the past two years, and Huo Yuhao could be considered Shrek Academy¡¯s hero.

    ¡°Greetings, Dean Yan. Your mor is the same as usual.¡± Jing Hongchen smiled as he stepped forward to shake hands with Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er. The two sneaky Deans were all smiles, and people who didn¡¯t know what was going on would definitely think they were the best of friends.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and said, ¡°I have brought your grandchildren back in one piece, Hallmaster. They have improved a lot over the past two years. They are hardworking, and their desire to learn is impressive ¨C I am very satisfied, and I hope we can have more exchange programs like this in the future.¡±

    Jing Hongchen chuckled and said, ¡°We can discuss things when we return, and see whether this exchange program can be a regr thing. If it turns out to be the case, I¡¯m sure it will be very beneficial to both our academies¡¯ development.¡±

    ¡°Then we shall wait for your good news.¡± Yan Shaozhe released Jing Hongchen¡¯s hand, and the two of them greeted each other with smiles on their faces before they gestured to their respective students.

    Fan Yu quickly brought Huo Yuhao and the others behind the two Deans. Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the others acted simrly, and everyone switched positions.

    Only the students knew what they had learned and how much they had taken away from more than two years of exchange learning. At this moment, the exchange program had finallye to an end.

    ¡°Farewell!¡± Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t want to remain any longer, and he greeted the two Deans one more time before he unleashed his flying-type soul tool along with his students, and they all soared into the sky over the city and far into the distance. They weren¡¯t afraid of attracting the attention of others.

    Yan Shaozhe watched them disappear over the horizon before he withdrew his gaze. He surveyed the students that had justpleted the exchange program and said, ¡°Wee home, children¡­¡±

    It was just a simple sentence, but the students from the Soul Tool Department could feel a surge of warmth in their hearts, and everyone¡¯s eyes began to swell with tears. Yes! It¡¯s time to go home.

    Huo Yuhao stepped briskly beside Yan Shaozhe and whispered, ¡°I have some things to tell you, Dean Yan.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± In terms of seniority, they were both Elder Mu¡¯s disciples, and Huo Yuao could even be considered his little junior brother. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had gone through so much toil, and had given so much blood and sweat to the academy over the past two years. Yan Shaozhe was acutely aware of the amount of precious resources and whatnot that Huo Yuhao had sent back to Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Take everyone to have a meal in the hotel over there, Fan Yu. We¡¯re not in a hurry like Jing Hongchen, and we can hit the road after everyone has eaten.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Yu was now the Soul Tool Department¡¯s vice-Dean, and he was also a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. His status was very different from before.

    After everyone left, and only Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er remained, Yan Shaozhe said amiably, ¡°You can speak now, Yuhao.¡±

    Gentle spiritual undtions appeared, and Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯t seen doing anything at all as ayer of spiritual power that the naked eye couldn¡¯t detect enveloped the three of them. Even if someone was right beside them, that person wouldn¡¯t be able to hear their discussion.

    He was a Transcendent Douluo, after all. Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, and he knew that even he couldn¡¯t manipte his spiritual power as precisely as Dean Yan could.

    ¡°Dean Yan, Dean Xian, it¡¯s like this: I think the Illustrious Virtue Hall might be harboring some evil intentions against us, and they might attack us on the way back.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Does Jing Hongchen have no shame at all?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er asked skeptically.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°He has too much pride. I sold him a design on the way back and asked for an exorbitant price. I quoted many precious metals to him, and he seemed very unwilling back then. However, he still agreed before we left, and we didn¡¯t negotiate any further. I think he might want to ambush me on the way back to take those things back.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe asked curiously, ¡°How much precious metal did you extort from him, exactly? He¡¯s the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he doesn¡¯t even have that bit of magnanimity? Plus, the design you sold him, will it¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and whispered something, and Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression immediately grew strange.

    Yan Shaozhe forced down the urge tough and said, ¡°You¡¯re bing more and more evil, young man. What if you make him so angry that he decides to act on it? Come, let me see your harvest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took out the Starlight Sapphire ring on his finger. He didn¡¯t give it to Yan Shaozhe, but passed it to Xian Lin¡¯er instead. Xian Lin¡¯er was ultimately more familiar with the precious metals used to forge soul tools.

    Xian Lin¡¯er took the ring and briefly scanned its contents with her spiritual power. A look of astonishment came over her face, and she stared at Huo Yuhao with incredulous eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t empty the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s secret warehouse, did you, Yuhao? This¡­ this is too much! Oh my god! The value of these items almost can¡¯t be calcted with money. No wonder that you think they want to attack you. If I were on the other end of the deal, even I might not be able to resist making a move against you.¡±

    ¡°Let me see.¡± Yan Shaozhe took the ring from Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s hands. Even though he didn¡¯t know much about precious metals, he still had the ability to recognize certain things. He infused his spiritual power into the ring, and could immediately feel dense undtions of energy, and a tremendous volume of light.

    ¡°Well done!¡± Yan Shaozhe handed the ring back to Huo Yuhao, and he could no longer hide the smile on his face.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to find out how the Hallmaster¡¯s face will look once he uses your design to craft things. Hahahaha!¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er snapped, ¡°Stopughing. Right now, the most important thing is to ensure the children¡¯s safe return home. It¡¯s alright if Jing Hongchen does nothing, but once he does, then it will be a heavy attack, and an operation that he will only execute if he¡¯s confident of sess. At that time, his target may not only be Yuhao; it might include the both of us, and he might make sure that we never return to Shrek Academy. This will be good news for the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled inly and said, ¡°Whether he has the ability to do so remains to be seen. What suggestions do you have, Yuhao?¡±

    A person with Yan Shaozhe¡¯s status from another academy would never seek a student¡¯s opinion this way. The way his question was phrased practically meant Huo Yuhao had been lifted to almost the same status as himself. He was trying to solicit Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion, and this wasn¡¯t just simply asking a question.

    Huo Yuhao contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°I think we should split up. I am their target, and you two might be their targets as well. This means that everything they do will be targeted towards us, and they need to eliminate us with a single strike, so I doubt they will split up themselves. In the end, the others don¡¯t really mean much to them. If we split up, our party will have three people and we will be a lot more mobile than before. If we travel with the other students, we have to watch out for them and protect them, which might put us in more danger.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll follow your idea. We are aware of everything you¡¯ve done for the academy, Yuhao. Xian Lin¡¯er raised this to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and the Elders have all approved to give you a seat in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Even though you¡¯ll only have thest seat, you are the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in history.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He had never expected the academy to ord and bestow such glory upon him. ¡°Dean Yan, I¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°You can call me senior brother from now on. We can¡¯t mix up the hierarchy ¨C otherwise, our teacher¡¯s spirit in the afterlife will not forgive me. It must have been tiring and exhausting for you over these past two years.¡±

 Chapter 206.1: Scorpion Tiger Douluo

    Huo Yuhao shook his head vigorously, but he couldn¡¯t hide the excitement on his face. Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! That¡¯s the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! Not in his wildest dreams did he ever think he could enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion so quickly.

    The truth was that when the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s Elders were discussing this issue of allowing Huo Yuhao into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, nobody questioned the decision, even though Huo Yuhao was only seventeen years old.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entry into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had nothing to do with Elder Mu. This happened because of his contributions to the academy, and he was rewarded ordingly.

    One thousand three hundred and seventy-six blueprints ¨C this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s contribution to the academy. This meant he had sent the academy the blueprints to construct one thousand three hundred and seventy-six different soul tools. These blueprints had given the Soul Tool Department a great boost.

    Shrek Academy didn¡¯tck for money. The most important limiting factor for the three native empires of the Douluo Continent to developing soul tools was theck of precious metals. Shrek Academy¡¯s situation in this aspect wasparatively better, and one reason for that was because of their financial power, while another was because of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner structure.

    Shrek Academy bore the weight of Shrek City on its shoulders. They had their own powerful trade association, which had already reached into the Sun Moon Empire. Precious metals had substantial strategic importance and were difficult to purchase, but that didn¡¯t mean nothing could be done.

    Over the past two years, as Huo Yuhao continuously had sent back blueprints, Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department had seen exponential advancements. Even though they still couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Huo Yuhao had managed to help them save a lot of time and effort in research.

    The blueprints that Huo Yuhao had toiled and wracked his brains to draw were now in the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and the original drafts were safely stored away. They had be a part of Shrek Academy¡¯s history that would be there for a long time toe, and Huo Yuhao had been written into the academy¡¯s history as a hero.

    Xian Lin¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°You deserve this, Yuhao. It¡¯s better if only you know about this, and we haven¡¯t announced it to the academy yet. For one, we can protect you this way, and another reason is because you¡¯re still a student at the academy. You will officially graduate from the inner courtyard after the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned momentarily, and protested, ¡°But I haven¡¯tpleted my reconnaissance tasks.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe chortled and said, ¡°What you have done carries ten times more worth than those reconnaissance tasks. Our teacher talked to me about your future path before he passed away ¨C the academy cannot hold you back, and we can only support you and be something that you can fall back on. The Tang Sect has been established, no? That should be your tform for further development. However, you still have to win the championship during the bigpetition, and we strongly believe you have the ability to do so. You haven¡¯t overlooked your cultivation while you¡¯ve been toiling over soul tools, have you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said confidently, ¡°I already have five soul rings.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe looked astonished as he said, ¡°Five? You already have five soul rings? So fast?¡±

    For normal students, reaching Rank 50 at the age of seventeen was considered extremely fast. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was a soul master with an Ultimate martial soul. Cultivation was far more difficult for Ultimate martial souls, but he still managed to reach Rank 50 in just a little over two years! This was a great pleasant surprise for Yan Shaozhe.

    Xian Lin¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°I think you can almost be the academy¡¯s mascot now, Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a little monster! You¡¯re the one among all the students that I¡¯ve seen that fits that description the best.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We should grab something to eat too before we start travelling. Returning to Shrek Academy safely is the most important thing right now.¡±

    Yes, returning to Shrek Academy safely was of the utmost importance!

    They had a simple lunch, and Fan Yu followed Yan Shaozhe¡¯s instructions to take He Caitou, Ye Xiaosheng, and the other students to travel ahead. Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er took Huo Yuhao and rested for a while longer before they sauntered out of Mapleleaf city and walked towards Shrek Academy. They took their time and walked slowly, so that they could distance themselves from the group in front of them.

    ¡°If we are ambushed, you will protect Huo Yuhao and I will take the offensive.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er said to Yan Shaozhe.

    Yan Shaozhe frowned and said, ¡°Lin¡¯er! The older you get, the more stubborn and hardheaded you be. You still want to fight me over something like this?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°You think I¡¯m old? Take a look at yourself.¡±

    ¡°Ahem. In front of the child?¡± Yan Shaozhe muttered awkwardly.

    Xian Lin¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°What child? Yuhao is your junior brother, and that means we all belong in the same generation. Age should never affect seniority in the hierarchy.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t out-talk you. You can take the offensive, then. I will support you from the side, is that alright?¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s ck-bellied attitude would always be greatly affected in front of Xian Lin¡¯er.

    Xian Lin¡¯ier said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I haven¡¯t been active for a long time. I hope Jing Hongchen sends a powerful force to ambush us, so that I¡¯m not all excited for nothing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt amused as he listened from the side. The two Deans didn¡¯t seem nervous at all; this was the result of solid foundations and abilities. He had never even seen them in battle before. He didn¡¯t know who Jing Hongchen would send after them ¨C powerful soul masters? Long-range cannons? With the two Deans¡¯ perception of danger, long-range cannons would probably not be a threat at all unless ss 9 stationary cannon shells were used. Furthermore, that would be too conspicuous. The Illustrious Virtue Hall wouldn¡¯t want to antagonize Shrek Academy, at least not on the surface. Both parties didn¡¯t have any deep-seated grudges or conflicts. Jing Hongchen would probably give everything he had if this were the Body Sect, but this was Shrek Academy.

    After another hour or two, Yan Shaozhe nced at the sky and said, ¡°It¡¯s about right. Let¡¯s pick up the pace.¡±

    The three of them unleashed their flying-type soul tools and soared into the sky toward Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao felt much more rxed andfortable flying with his Deans. He didn¡¯t have to deal with air resistance, as Yan Shaozhe released his soul power and enveloped the three of them inside it. The propulsion force was released by their flying-type soul tools at the same time, and they flew at a breakneck speed. Both Deans were Titled Douluo; they would be back at Shrek Academy in less than four hours.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself that he couldn¡¯t let himself be a burden in the battle that was toe.

    ---

    Time continued to pass, and they came closer and closer to Shrek Academy. They were deep inside the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory after another hour.

    ¡°Are they noting at all? If that¡¯s the case, we will have wasted our efforts,¡± Xian Lin¡¯er said with a tinge of regret in her voice.

    Yan Shaozhe snapped, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Returning to Shrek Academy safely is the most important thing. You have never corrected your belligerence, Lin¡¯er.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er rolled her eyes at him and said, ¡°Have you forgotten my title?¡±

    Yan Shaozheughed and said, ¡°How can I forget? You¡¯re the Valkyrie Douluo. You¡¯re the only person that dares to call yourself that. The Valkyrie that soared through the skies left such vivid memories for many back in the day.¡±

    ¡°Just not with you, yes?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er grunted.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Lin¡¯er. We are both people with families, and you¡¯re still so merciless and unforgiving. We¡¯re already so old ¨C why can¡¯t we just live harmoniously with each other?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er turned around and muttered, ¡°Can¡¯t be bothered with you anymore.¡±

    Their expressions suddenly changed while they chatted. Huo Yuhao could feel two frightening soul power undtions rippling nearby, and he automatically gazed into the distance.

    The weather was clear today, and the skies were blue for endless kilometers ahead. However, at this moment, the skies had transformed in the distance, and a tremendous patch of dark clouds was drifting toward them rapidly ¨C the dark clouds seemed to be expanding continuously, and it felt like they were bearing down on them and threatening to overwhelm everything.

    Xian Lin¡¯er grunted coldly, and stepped out of Yan Shaozhe¡¯s protective circle with a single movement. Her flying-type soul tool slowed in the sky, and she hovered in midair.

    ¡°Stay behind me,¡± Yan Shaozhe said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°All you have to do is watch.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

    The dense and gloomy clouds wereing faster and faster, and they were able to see exactly how vast they were when they got closer. The dark clouds gradually took form in the sky, and actually transformed into the appearance of an enormous tiger¡¯s head. A thick voice that resembled rolling thunder could be heard, saying, ¡°Do you still remember your old friend, Yan Shaozhe?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes squinted faintly. ¡°You¡¯re still alive, Zhang Peng! Are you preparing to let me finish you today?¡±

    ¡°Your mouth is still so dirty, Yan Shaozhe! I want to see who will finish who today!¡±

    The vast dark clouds in the shape of a tiger¡¯s head released a deafening roar, and terrifying pressure erupted in the next moment that barreled toward the three of them like a tidal wave.

    Xian Lin¡¯er made her move at this moment. She howled into the sky, and soared upwards in a sh. Scorching green mes burst from her body. Xian Lin¡¯er body was growingrger, and it didn¡¯t take more than a few seconds before she was more than five meters tall, and a set of green armor appeared on her.

    This suit of armor covered her entire body like scales. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s actual age, but he could tell from her conversation with Yan Shaozhe that she must be quite old. But as he watched Xian Lin¡¯er release her armor, and two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings rose from beneath her feet, her erged frame made her seem younger, as if she were a young girl in her twenties. She had a valiant and heroic demeanor that was full of fighting will.

    ¡°The Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er?¡± The deep voice suddenly became a little strange. ¡°I thought the two of you broke up? How are you still with Yan Shaozhe, this hypocrite, this false gentleman?¡±

 Chapter 206.2: Scorpion Tiger Douluo

    ¡°Enough bullshit.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er was infuriated, as he¡¯d touched a sore spot. She reached into the sky with her right hand and a pir of green mes erupted, following which a pike appeared in her hands.

    A soul tool! Huo Yuhao instantly realized that the pike was a soul tool, and a closebat soul tool at that.

    It was a ss 8 closebat soul tool!

    Xian Lin¡¯er pointed the pike forwards, and a deafening draconic roar burst forth from her mouth. Green mes instantly exploded from her, transforming into an enormous dragon head before barreling towards the dark clouds.

    Arge mass of dark clouds vanished within the green mes; the green dragon head held an absolute advantage.

    ¡°¡®The Valkyrie Soaring Through the Skies¡¯¡ªimpressive.¡± A deep voice growled. As the dark clouds dissipated, a human figure appeared in their ce. He curled his right hand into a fist and then sent it barrelling through the sky.

    The dragon head quickly dissipated amidst several violent booms. When it did, Xian Lin¡¯er gazed into her adversary¡¯s eyes in the distance.

    Her adversary was an elderly man dressed in ck who was standing on a patch of dark clouds. His skin was extremely tanned, while one of his eyebrows was, peculiarly, a bit higher than the other. Arge ¡®King¡¯ character was written in ck on his forehead. He had a small, stocky frame that didn¡¯t match up with his voice, and looked tinypared to Xian Lin¡¯er, who was currently more than five meters tall.

    ¡°You still dare to appear in the world, Zhang Peng? Have you already forgotten how Elder Mu showed you mercy back then?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er pointed her pike at him as she angrily asked.

    The elderly man lowered his voice and replied, ¡°Of course I remember. Elder Mu gave me a chance, and I will always remember the favor and mercy he showed me. I didn¡¯t reveal myself to the world the entire time that Elder Mu was alive, but now that Elder Mu has passed, that vow no longer applies. That favor has taken away so many years of freedom from me¡ªnobody else will ever restrain me like that again. Of course I¡¯m going to show myself to the world once more. I won¡¯t harm you or Yan Shaozhe because we were once acquainted¡ªthe two of you can go. However, you have to leave that little fe behind.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and said, ¡°Zhang Peng, you seem to get more and more messed up the older you get. You¡¯re actually in cahoots with the Sun Moon Empire; seems like you¡¯ve found a nice boss.¡±

    The ck-robed elderly man retorted angrily, ¡°Nonsense, nonsense! I don¡¯t know anything about the Sun Moon Empire, nor anything about the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Hand him over! The two of you can piss off.¡±

    A chilly light flickered in Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re being overconfident and unrealistic? I want to see just how you n on chasing us away.¡± She roared into the sky once she¡¯d finished speaking, and her body shed through the air like a green lightning bolt. She appeared before the elderly man in an instant, and thrust her pike towards him. A deafening boom cracked through the sky like thunder, followed by the tremendous shadow of a green dragon, which flickered once before disappearing behind her back as the tip of the pike arrived before the elderly man.

    The elderly man ced his hands together in front of his chest, causing a ck sphere to immediately appear in the center of his palms as two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings swiftly rose from his feet. His nine soul rings glowed alternately, while the ck sphere blocked the tip of Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s pike.

    Space seemed to implode in that moment, at which point Huo Yuhao felt momentarily dazed and the sky suddenly turned dark.

    Xian Lin¡¯er and the ck-robed elderly man had now be embroiled in battle.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s fists were his weapons. Dense ck fog appeared with every strike he delivered. On the other hand, Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s fighting style was a lot more savage and wild: Loud dragon roars could be heard every time she stabbed out with her pike and repeatedly forced Zhang Peng backwards in the sky.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Watch closely, Yuhao. A battle of this level is hard toe by, and will be extremely beneficial towards your cultivation. The man in ck is called Zhang Peng, and his title is ¡®Scorpion Tiger¡¯. He¡¯s an evil soul master who¡¯s martial soul requires him to continuously consume animal blood to sustain and evolve itself. He¡¯s not that badpared to most evil soul masters though. Our teacher caught him some time ago, but since his martial soul¡¯s evil aura wasn¡¯t that dense, and since he¡¯d never harmed anyone else before, our teacher let him go. It¡¯s been many years since then, thus he¡¯s probably a Transcendent Douluo now. He¡¯s extremely difficult to deal with. Right now, he¡¯s just testing Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s abilities; he¡¯s yet to reveal his abilities as an evil soul master. However, he¡¯s managed to be a Transcendent Douluo solely because his martial soul wasn¡¯t that evil. A Transcendent Douluo who was also a pure evil soul master would be a lot harder to deal with.¡±

    Zhang Peng, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, was pushed back continuously, but he didn¡¯t seem disoriented or panicky at all. The only thing he felt was a little astonished as he passively defended himself against Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s hysterical onught.

    Xian Lin¡¯er cultivates both her martial soul and soul tools. She¡¯s probably still quite far from Yan Shaozhe in terms of fighting ability, but since when did her offensive abilities be so powerful? Could it be that¡­?

    How could Huo Yuhao let this opportunity go? He immediately voiced the doubts in his mind, ¡°Dean Yan, the gigantic dragon conjured behind Dean Xian should be her martial soul, right? Her body has be so huge, and it looks a bit like she¡¯s using her Martial Soul True Body. Yet, her martial soul seems like a dragon. What¡¯s going on?¡± There was no way that he could address Yan Shaozhe as his senior brother, as Yan Shaozhe was more than a hundred years old. Thus, he respectfully addressed him as ¡°Dean Yan¡±.

    Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°All seven-ringed soul masters have a Martial Soul True Body. However, Martial Soul True Bodies can be mutable. Through years of research within the academy, we¡¯ve discovered another method of unleashing our Martial Soul True Body once we be Transcendent Douluos. Even though this won¡¯t increase its power, we¡¯ll be able to maintain human form in battle. For soul masters that are more adept at closebat, being able to keep their human form can be quite beneficial. We call this battle technique ¡®True Body Possession¡¯.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart tingle after hearing Yan Shaozhe¡¯s exnation. His martial souls were the Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Even he himself had no idea what his Martial Soul True Body would be like once he broke through to rank 70. Would he transform into a scorpion for battle? As for his Spirit Eyes, would he actually be a pair of eyes? Only time would tell.

    ¡°Dean Yan, are seven-ringed soul masters entirely unable to use the True Body Possession battle technique?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°Not necessarily. However, using the True Body Possession technique will divide a soul master¡¯s concentration, thus the soul master must be extremely adept at manipting their spirit. They¡¯ll have to figure out the proper fusion between soul power and spiritual power, as well as the issues brought about by using the True Body Possession technique after revealing their Martial Soul True Body. Even if they¡¯re able to achieve this, the duration that it can be maintained in battle will be reduced by two-thirdspared to using one¡¯s Martial Soul True Body.

    ¡°It¡¯s strenuous and unrewarding. You¡¯re a spiritual-type soul master, so spiritual maniption won¡¯t be a problem for you, but it remains to be seen how well you¡¯re able to manipte your spirit. Even if you can sessfully use the True Body Possession technique, it might weaken your abilities, and the benefits might not make up for the losses. You¡¯ll understand more when your cultivation reaches that stage and you can see for yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think too much about the issue of True Body Possession. His cultivation was still low, and his situation was drastically different from that of a normal soul master¡¯s. His spiritual power was far stronger than anyone else at the same level, and he had twin martial souls, one of which being Ultimate Ice. Furthermore, the Snow Empress¡¯ soul had also miraculously appeared, and he¡¯d obtained four powerful soul skills just like that¡ªeven if one couldn¡¯t be used.

    This was the reason that Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that, once his cultivation reached rank 70, his situation would be even more different than a normal soul master¡¯s. As such, he also felt that this True Body Possession technique might actually be useful for him after all.

    The battle raging in the sky continued to be even more violent and epic. Xian Lin¡¯er lived up to her name as the Valkyrie as she spiraled and waltzed through the sky. The sky crackled vigorously every time she struck with her pike, green mes transforming into air ripples that expanded outwards. As things continued, she repeatedly forced Zhang Peng back, and it felt as if Zhang Peng was barely holding on.

    ¡°Dean Yan, Dean Xian¡¯s martial soul¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe pped his forehead and said, ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you. Lin¡¯er¡¯s martial soul is very unique; it¡¯s considered a mutant martial soul, thus that means she¡¯s probably the only one in the entire world with her martial soul. She¡¯s named her martial soul the ¡®Greenme Dragon¡¯. If you think that her martial soul is a fire-type martial soul, then you¡¯re extremely wrong. Her mutant Greenme Dragon martial soul is actually wind-type. The green mes that you see are actually made up of extremelypressed air that¡¯s constantly reverberating. They¡¯re exceptionally destructive, and can cause disintegration.¡±

    ¡°Disintegration?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at the green mes in curious astonishment. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn¡¯t tell that her martial soul was a wind-type martial soul.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°Disintegration refers to the explosive power brought about when the winds are sopressed that their energies expand outwards once the winds erupt. Under such circumstances, anything that the winds touch will be damaged by this explosive power, and in turn will disintegrate. The explosiveness is possibly superior to the Fire Dragon martial soul, which is the reason that Lin¡¯er is adept at frontal battles and breaking through lines. However, you can¡¯t underestimate Zhang Peng, as he hasn¡¯t revealed his true abilities yet. Even though he¡¯s only considered a half-evil soul master, he¡¯s still an evil soul master; he¡¯s still quite difficult to deal with.¡±

    Zhang Peng finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore as Xian Lin¡¯er continued to force him back. The dark clouds suddenly contracted into the sky, and he roared as he punched out with both fists. A deep and coarse tiger roar echoed through the air, while the sound waves and air ripples knocked Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s three continuous strikes away. Zhang Peng¡¯s body rapidly expanded, and he instantly transformed into an enormous ck tiger¡ªhis Martial Soul True Body.

    The giant ck tiger was more than fifteen meters long, while his tail was raised high into the air and now had a hook that flickered with dark light on the end. The dark clouds in the sky were now beneath his feet, and his purple eyes were bursting with hostility. He opened his mouth and roared, the intense sound waves permeating the skies as endless echoes reverberated through the air. Dark shadows were repeatedly released from the dark clouds beneath him, and they transformed respectively into soul beasts of all shapes and sizes as they wailed and howled shrilly and then pounced towards Xian Lin¡¯er.

 Chapter 206.3: Scorpion Tiger Douluo

    ¡°Zhang Peng isunching his powerful moves. That¡¯s his Scorpion Tiger Martial Soul True Body. The Scorpion Tiger is born from an exceptionally powerful soul beast known as the Darkdemon Evil Tiger. However, it¡¯s considered a subspecies, as it¡¯s not as dark. Even though it¡¯s not as formidable as the Darkdemon Evil Tiger, it also requires regr consumption of soul beast blood and spirit to sustain itself and evolve. What he¡¯s releasing now are the spirits of soul beasts that he has absorbed and his own beast souls that are formed through the fusion of spiritual power and soul power. This is Zhang Peng¡¯s signature move, and it¡¯s incredibly hard to deal with. Beast souls are highly resistant to physical attacks, while they¡¯re also equipped with both physical and spiritual offensive capabilities. The user, Zhang Peng, can also integrate himself into any beast soul for a sudden ambush at any time.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s live analysis gave Huo Yuhao a deeper understanding of this Scorpion Tiger Douluo. He felt a tingling in his heart as he watched the beast souls in the sky. For him, the status of Titled Douluo was still very far away, and he still had a long way to go to reach that level. However, he was most unafraid of spiritual attacks ¨C after all, he was a student of the Cmity Necromancer, and the Divine Law of Necromancy had been imparted to him. In some sense, he was a necromancer himself, and it couldn¡¯t get any easier for him to be an evil soul master if he wanted to. Of course, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t see himself that way, and neither did he want to be an evil soul master. What he wanted to do was kill evil soul masters.

    Xian Lin¡¯er could no longer maintain her previous advantage once Zhang Peng released his beast souls. The pike in her hands danced through the sky, and her onught continued like tidal waves, but the beast souls were exceptionally difficult to deal with. They were beast souls that Zhang Peng had cultivated over many years, and they also had his spiritual imprints. There were twelve main beast souls, and these twelve main beast souls made up Zhang Peng¡¯s eighth soul skill ¨C the Twelve Beast Envoys.

    The Twelve Beast Envoys all had cultivations equivalent to an eight-ringed soul master. Even though they didn¡¯t threaten Xian Lin¡¯er, they had no problem entangling her. If these main beast souls were attacked, they could absorb the other normal beast souls around them to replenish themselves. Zhang Peng looked on from the side in his Scorpion Tiger form, and his body gradually became incorporeal while the dark clouds beneath his feet began to expand once more and permeate the entire battlefield.

    Huo Yuhao was under the protection of Yan Shaozhe¡¯s soul power, so he couldn¡¯t feel how powerful the soul power undtions were outside. However, half the sky had turned ck at this point, and green lightning flickered incessantly from time to time. It was even appropriate to describe the skies as filled with cmities and natural disasters.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes suddenly looked in another direction, and he muttered, ¡°Why hide yourself if you¡¯re here? Come out. I knew that Zhang Peng himself wouldn¡¯t have the confidence to take on both me and Xian Lin¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°You live up to your name as the disciple of the Dragon God Douluo. Impressive senses.¡± An old voice rang out in the sky, and a crack suddenly opened in the air as a human shadow stepped out from within.

    He was also an elderly man, but his appearance was much betterpared to Zhang Peng. This elderly man was tall, and the silver hair on his head wasbed as neatly as could be. His face was rosy like an infant¡¯s, and his long eyebrows draped down from either side of his face as he ced his hands behind his back. He levitated in midair just like that, and didn¡¯t release a single ripple of soul power at all. The soul power undtions released from the battle between Zhang Peng and Xian Lin¡¯er dissipated when they came within ten meters away of him, and were unable to reach him at all.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face became serious and solemn. It wasn¡¯t because this elderly man directly mentioned Elder Mu when he appeared ¨C it was also because he didn¡¯t recognize this elderly man at all.

    With Yan Shaozhe¡¯s age and his status as Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, he had seen most of Titled Douluo who had a reputation on the Continent. He could feel extreme danger and peril from this elderly man, but he couldn¡¯t recognize him at all.

    The elderly man smiled when he saw Yan Shaozhe¡¯s wary eyes and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t left the mountain for quite some time, and most of my friends are probably gone by now. Even Elder Mu has passed away ¨C what a waste. I¡¯m here today for you, actually. I want to see whether Elder Mu¡¯s disciple has inherited his abilities. My name is Long Xiaoyao, although I¡¯m not sure if you remember me.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao? Yan Shaozhe shuddered when he heard this name, and a person¡¯s figure surfaced in his mind. He blurted out, ¡°You, you are the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao? You¡¯re still alive?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and said, ¡°Yes! I¡¯m so old, but I¡¯m still alive. It¡¯s a pity that Mu En has passed before me.¡± A deep sentiment of grievance flowed within his eyes when he said this. Huo Yuhao was hovering beside Yan Shaozhe, and he could tell that this elderly man¡¯s emotions were not false.

    The rxed expression on Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face vanishedpletely. Not in his wildest dreams did he expect such a powerful being to be amongst the group that Jing Hongchen found to ambush them.

    Who was Long Xiaoyao? He was the Darkness Holy Dragon, who shared a reputation with Elder Mu back in the day as the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White!

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, and the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s martial soul was the Darkness Holy Dragon. The Darkness Holy Dragon and Elder Mu¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon were the extremes of darkness and light among dragon-type martial souls, and their cultivation levels had rivaled one another back in the day. For some reason, Long Xiaoyao had suddenly vanished from the earth; Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t even been born when Long Xiaoyao disappeared from the Continent. It was natural that he had never seen this powerful individual before.

    Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the emotions in his heart. He bowed respectfully and said, ¡°Greetings, senior Long. I never thought I¡¯d be able to actually meet you one day.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°It was me who didn¡¯t dare to see Mu En! I have let him down too much, and I wouldn¡¯t show myself to the world easily if not for the fact that he has passed away. But I am full of regret now that he¡¯s really gone ¨C I¡¯ve never really had the courage to stand before him to apologize¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe felt a tingling in his heart and said, ¡°I remember teacher saying that the two of you were really good friends back in the day. Even though you have a Darkness Dragon martial soul, you are upright and inspoken by nature. Today¡­¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said, ¡°Mu En didn¡¯t tell you about what happened between us back then. He¡¯s just trying to save me some face ¨C forget it, forget it. I will leave you with your lives today out of respect for Mu En.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t understand why Long Xiaoyao would appear here as their enemy. However, he could tell from Long Xiaoyao¡¯s demeanor that he seemed to have some hidden trouble that he couldn¡¯t talk about. His eyes squinted a little, and he forced augh as he said, ¡°Senior Long, are you really going to bully the young?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao said, ¡°Somebody has entrusted this task to me, and I have to do it since I¡¯ve promised him. I owe someone a huge favor, so I have no choice but to let myself be used by this person. How about we do it this way ¨C you shall take three attacks from me, hand over the ring in that little fe¡¯s hands, and then you all can leave. I will let the two of you live. However, that girl will have to remain.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe became extremely worried. ¡°Senior Long, we¡­¡±

    Long Xiaoyao raised his hand, the air around them suddenly twisted vigorously, and Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t voice the rest of his sentence. His eyes became chilly, and ayer of blue light sparkled beneath his pupils. ¡°My decision has been made. There is nothing more to be said ¨C watch out.¡±

    As he spoke, Long Xiaoyao raised his right hand without even releasing his martial soul and pointed in Yan Shaozhe¡¯s direction.

    Yan Shaozhe ced Huo Yuhao behind him in a sh, and ayer of extremely dense white light erupted from his body. Crisp phoenix calls resonated across the skies, and a golden phoenix hovered behind his back.

    Yan Shaozhe formed a circle with his arms as he pushed out with both palms. The phoenix calls became incredibly shrill, and even though Huo Yuhao was under Yan Shaozhe¡¯s protection, he still felt as if his spirit was about to be torn to pieces. The Eye of Destiny was automatically activated, and he released his spiritual power and covered himself with ayer of golden light; only then could he stabilize and reorient himself.

    If the sky was an enormous balloon, then Long Xiaoyao¡¯s finger seemed to have popped this balloon.

    A gigantic ck hole that was three meters in diameter appeared without warning before Yan Shaozhe. It was like a monster with its mouth wide open, and it was about to swallow both Yan Shaozhe and Huo Yuhao whole.

    White radiance burst forth from Yan Shaozhe¡¯s palms and surged into the ck hole. A series of seventeen explosive sounds crackled through the sky, and his body trembled continuously from the force as he retreated one thousand meters away in an instant.

    ¡°Radiant Phoenix ¨C not bad, not bad. No wonder you could be Mu En¡¯s direct disciple.¡± Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t pursue, but nodded towards Yan Shaozhe instead.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expression was unbelievably solemn at this point. One could fake his or her name, but one definitely couldn¡¯t fake his or her cultivation. The Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s cultivation was definitely in the same realm as his teacher, and even the Body Sect¡¯s leader Du Busi, who was also an Ultimate Douluo, was probably inferior to him.

    ¡°Two more times.¡± Long Xiaoyao muttered.

    ¡°Bullying us youngsters is no big deal at all.¡± At this moment, a crisp voice that tinged with anger could be heard. Long Xiaoyao was about tounch another attack, but he was stunned momentarily.

    Huo Yuhao stepped out from behind Yan Shaozhe, and there was grief and indignation in his eyes. He red at Long Xiaoyao and said, ¡°You are not worthy of speaking my teacher¡¯s name ¨C you¡¯re not even worthy of being my teacher¡¯s friend. You don¡¯t need to pretend with those three attacks of yours. You will never get the ring back even if you kill me today. Even if I have to send it into a different dimension, I will never give it you.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t expected Jing Hongchen to be able to find such a powerful individual, and Huo Yuhao also didn¡¯t expect he would bring such trouble for Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er. He could tell from Yan Shaozhe¡¯s tone that they were facing a formidable being of the same generation as Elder Mu, and his cultivation was probably simr to Elder Mu¡¯s as well. Such a terrifying existence wasn¡¯t something that they could defend themselves against. When Long Xiaoyao kept bringing up Elder Mu¡¯s name time and time again and after he forced back Yan Shaozhe, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and he blurted everything out in a bitter rage.

 Chapter 207.1: Wagered Fight

    ¡°Little Junior, don¡¯t spout nonsense. Elder Long is on the same level as teacher was, and possesses the Darkness Dragon. His title is the Dragon Emperor. He is possibly thest remaining top-ranked soul master who has contributed greatly to society.¡± Yan Shaozhe was anxious as he spoke.

    ¡°Little Junior? Are you Mu En¡¯s disciple too?¡± Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t react to Huo Yuhao¡¯s cursing. On the contrary, he was surprised by his identity.

    Huo Yuhao straightened his chest and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I am teacher¡¯s closed-door disciple. You¡¯re at least two hundred years older than me. But if you were the same age as me, you wouldn¡¯t be my match, and if teacher were still alive, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be daring enough to attack anyone from Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t being impulsive. He could tell that this Dragon Emperor Douluo wasn¡¯t willing to attack both of them. Yan Shaozhe was a Transcendent Douluo. If Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t care and attacked him, it was still eptable. But what about Huo Yuhao? He wasn¡¯t even twenty years old, while Long Xiaoyao was an Ultimate Douluo that had lived for more than two hundred years. Would he really directly attack him? In addition, he was also an old friend of Elder Mu.

    That was why Huo Yuhao exploited the opportunity as Long Xiaoyao attacked to reveal himself. He roared furiously and blocked in front of Yan Shaozhe with his body.

    Long Xiaoyao squinted his eyes and focused his attention on Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye, ¡°Third eye. A very special martial soul and feeling. You im that I¡¯m bullying the weak. Fine. What if you attack me then? I¡¯ll only use Rank 50 soul power just like you. If you can make me move even slightly from where I¡¯m standing, I¡¯ll take it as your win. I won¡¯t demand that ring on your finger either. I didn¡¯t expect Mu En to ept another disciple just before he passed away. I¡¯m curious as to what he saw in you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t expected anything like this either. He thought of something, and he nodded to Huo Yuhao.

    It was evidently better for Huo Yuhao to fight instead of him. With the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s identity, there was no way he would harm someone so much younger than him. Even if he lost, he just had to surrender the materials they had extorted from Jing Hongchen. Furthermore, he believed that Huo Yuhao was the best at creating miracles. He had twin martial souls and an Ultimate Martial Soul. If the Dragon Emperor Douluo used the same rank of soul power, he might actually have a chance¡­

    At least this also gave them an opportunity to dy.

    Why did they departter? Not only was he trying to widen their gap with the other students, but they were also waiting for reinforcements! When Huo Yuhao mentioned that they might be ambushed, he had already let out a secret signal. Reinforcements were likely to be on their way.

    Huo Yuhao pointed to the ground and said, ¡°Let¡¯s fight down there.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao was amused, and startedughing. ¡°I forgot. You can¡¯t fly.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go down then.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was slightly worried as he saw ck fog surging not far from where they were. Although he trusted Xian Lin¡¯er, it was possible that the other party had invited another Titled Douluo, since they could even snag the help of Long Xiaoyao. If there was another Titled Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er would be in trouble. After hearing Long Xiaoyao, it was evident that he had no intention of letting her off!

    Huo Yuhao was smart, and could tell Yan Shaozhe¡¯s intention from his eyes. He thought of something and said, ¡°Elder Long, let¡¯s make a bet. What do you think?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao chortled and said, ¡°Bet? To me, that¡¯s a rather new word. Tell me about it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I believe that the fight between Dean Xian Lin¡¯er and the Scorpion Tiger Douluo should be at a stalemate now. Right?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao nodded and replied, You¡¯re right. In that duel, it¡¯s highly likely that they will both end up critically injured.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You can also tell that I¡¯m only Rank 50, just a five-ringed Soul King. What do you think will happen if I join in their fight?

    Long Xiaoyaoughed, ¡°Little fellow, you¡¯re really confident! Do you really think that you can participate in a fight between Transcendent Douluo?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed too, but hisughter was a little sly. This piqued Long Xiaoyao¡¯s interest further. ¡°This is what I want to bet with you. I¡¯m confident that I can help Dean Xian win this fight in less than a minute after I join it. Do you dare to bet with me?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression finally changed, and he took a serious look at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°Little fellow, you¡¯re betting with your life here. I can¡¯t see how you have any chance of winning. Furthermore, you can¡¯t y any tricks in front of me. You can¡¯t even depend on Yan Shaozhe.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said arrogantly, ¡°I¡¯m using my own strength. I don¡¯t need anybody¡¯s help. Do you dare to bet with me? I don¡¯t have any outrageous requests. Just if I win, please ensure that the three of us can return to the academy safely. Of course, our previous arrangement won¡¯t change. If I can¡¯t force you to move within three strikes, I¡¯ll return the ring to you.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and said, ¡°Little fellow, you¡¯re kidnapping me! However, how can I not follow along with you even though I know you¡¯re setting a trap for me? I haven¡¯t seen something so interesting in years. Alright, let me see how you can end their fight in less than a minute.¡±

    As he spoke, the Dragon Emperor Douluo leaped up, and appeared thousands of meters away. At his level of cultivation, he was no different from a god. He could control space and his soul power at will.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Yan Shaozhe said softly, ¡°Do you have confidence?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

    Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t say anything more. If it were any other student, Yan Shaozhe would have thought that they were too conceited. However, Huo Yuhao was different. He had created too many miracles. Before he¡¯d even obtained three rings, he had managed to turn the tables in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. His abilities were very strong.

    The flying-type soul tool behind his back shed brightly and dragged his body into the air under his immacte control. He started to make deep, chanting noises. They were noises that followed a special frequency and rhythm. Both Yan Shaozhe and Long Xiaoyao couldn¡¯t understand what he was chanting.

    Dim white light started to shine in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and when his eyes turnedpletely white, the sky turned bright.

    The sun had looked very dim as it was covered by the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s gloomy clouds. However, it now became more and more intense under Huo Yuhao¡¯s incantations.

    Yan Shaozhe felt it the most since he was the closest to Huo Yuhao. He could sense a magical, attractive forceing from his body. It was drawing the light element in the air to his body.

    Yan Shaozhe was also of the light-type and was from the same origin as Elder Mu¡¯s lineage. Although he wasn¡¯t a Radiant Holy Dragon, instead a Radiant Phoenix, his sensation towards the light element was still very strong.

    After the light elements gathered around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, they formed a strange resonation and started transforming. Amidst the deep chanting, these white lights started to turn into a different kind of element that even Yan Shaozhe was unable to discern.

    He lifted his right hand, and his body started to light up. The Eye of Destiny also turned white, and an illusory light projection was formed by the white lights behind his back. It was Electrolux!

    Teacher, it¡¯s great to see you again.

    Even though Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see what was behind him, he could sense it through his Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°Bestow me strength¡ªsunlight!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted into the sky.

    A magical scene appeared. The sun seemed to have heard his call. A strong ray of white light descended from the sky andnded on his body. Electrolux¡¯s figure fused into his body, and the white light was deflected toward the soul beasts in the distance.

    Their pathetic screams sounded instantly. It was as if countless soul beasts were being massacred, and screams reverberated through the air.

    The soul beasts that surrounded Xian Lin¡¯er disappeared and revealed the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s original body.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng was appalled. He felt a clear tremor in his heart. The soul beasts that he¡¯d taken so much effort to gather instantly broke free from his control and fled in all directions.

    If Xian Lin¡¯er couldn¡¯t exploit an opportunity like this, she wasn¡¯t fit to be called a Valkyrie.

    A huge green dragon suddenly surfaced in mid-air. Xian Lin¡¯er let out a sonorous dragon roar. She stepped on the green dragon and pointed her pike forward. It instantly changed into a green bolt of lightning that struck towards Zhang Peng.

    However, Zhang Peng was still a Transcendent Douluo. He didn¡¯t panic even in such a situation. As his figure quickly retreated, his ninth soul ring shed. His Scorpion Tiger True Body started to expand, then changed into countless ck figures that flew around. At least a third of these ck figures were vaporized when the green bolt of lightning passed by them. When Zhang Peng appeared again, he was already a thousand meters away. His face was pale. As he groaned, he spat out fresh blood.

    However, he didn¡¯t turn his attention back to Xian Lin¡¯er. Rather, he turned towards the source of that terrifying aura. He saw the white light around Huo Yuhao dissipating, as Huo Yuhao returned to Yan Shaozhe¡¯s side.

 Chapter 207.2: Wagered Fight

    ¡°What, what strength is this?¡± The Scorpion Tiger Douluo waspletely horrified. He felt that the strength that made him terrified wasn¡¯t very strong and couldn¡¯t cause any harm. However, the element that it contained was very scary. It caused his beast soul to be engulfed in fear instantly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is the strength of light. Light is used to remove darkness.¡±

    Zhang Peng shouted, ¡°Rubbish. What do you know about the strength of light? Even if it¡¯s light, it can¡¯t make my beast soul terrified.¡± He didn¡¯t mention that he was extremely fearful.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t exin anything. Facts spoke louder than words. Without a doubt,, he won the bet he made with the Dragon Emperor Douluo.

    As he made a step out, Long Xiaoyao had arrived in front of Huo Yuhao. This time, he was more focused as he looked at him.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just the strength of light. It seems to be a special force that can frighten spirits. I¡¯ve lost. I¡¯ll uphold the agreement and spare the three of you. However, can you tell me what the force you just used is called? Even Mu En doesn¡¯t seem to possess it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly lie in front of the Dragon Emperor Douluo and said subconsciously, ¡°It¡¯s a purification force.¡±

    Yes, it was a purification force ¨C the jinx of all spirits. No matter what spirit, it would be fearful and dissipate in the face of a purification force once it lost its original body.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation, he couldn¡¯t threaten the Scorpion Tiger Douluo and other Transcendent Douluo even if he unleashed the purification force. However, this purification force caused all beast souls to subconsciously feel fear. No matter how weak the purification force was, it still contained the aura of purification! Once a beast soul encountered this aura, it would cause irreversible harm. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao even borrowed the strength of sunlight and this purification force wasn¡¯t too insignificant. It was possible for him to harm one or two soul beasts.

    Like teacher, like disciple. Electrolux¡¯s proficiency in necromancy was undoubted. Why? It was because he was a light-type necromancer! Furthermore, he possessed the purest power of light.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t light-type, but his spiritual powers were great. He could seed as he temporarily controlled the power of light under Electrolux¡¯s incantations.

    ¡°Purification force. What an impressive purification force. I didn¡¯t expect that you had such a talent. However, you don¡¯t seem to be light-type.¡± Long Xiaoyao revealed a weird look of admiration in his eyes.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo didn¡¯t get closer, but Xian Lin¡¯er didn¡¯t pursue him. She quickly returned to Yan Shaozhe¡¯s side and took a look at Long Xiaoyao. Her eyes were also filled with terror.

    Although she had been involved with fighting Zhang Peng earlier, she could clearly see when Long Xiaoyao appeared. She could also hear Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words. At that point in time, her heart sank. The Dragon Emperor Douluo was too reputable.

    However, no one would have expected such a change. She managed to win the Scorpion Tiger Douluo with the help of Huo Yuhao and he was even hurt. Xian Lin¡¯er believed that she and Yan Shaozhe could resist the Dragon Emperor Douluo even if they couldn¡¯t win him.

    Huo Yuhao asked Long Xiaoyao, ¡°One can¡¯t use the strength of light if one¡¯s not of light-type? Whose rule is that?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao chortled and said, ¡°Interesting. Interesting. The noises that you made from your mouth. They should be gathering the powers of the light element. It¡¯s my first time seeing something like this. Let¡¯s go, little fellow. Show me how much more you can surprise me.¡± As he said this, he already flew downwards.

    Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er heaved a sigh of relief. They understood that this meant that they had passed this barrier. Even if Huo Yuhao lost his bet, he would only lose the materials. Their lives wouldn¡¯t be in danger.

    As he turned to the two deans, Huo Yuhao appeared apologetic. ¡°Sorry, Dean Yuan and Dean Xian. I didn¡¯t expect to give the both of you so much trouble. I¡­¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe waved his hand and said, ¡°No, what wille wille. Even if it¡¯s not this time, the Dragon Emperor Douluo will appear sooner orter. It¡¯s also better to meet him earlier ¨C at least we¡¯ll have more time to prepare. You¡¯ve already surprised us. Don¡¯t push yourself too hardter. While the rare metals are precious, they aren¡¯t essential. We¡¯ll have the chance to obtain them again. This Dragon Emperor Douluo is at least credible. Just do your best. He won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head and the three of them flew down together.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo came beside Long Xiaoyan and said, ¡°Dragon Emperor, this¡­¡±

    Long Xiaoyao nced at him and stopped him from speaking any further.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll follow your instructions.¡± Zhang Peng retreated a few steps and looked at Huo Yuhao. His eyes shed, as if he was thinking of something.

    Long Xiaoyo looked at Huo Yuhao and smiled. He said, ¡°Come on, little fellow. I¡¯ll let you strike three times. Just unleash all your abilities. I won¡¯t retaliate. As long as you can make me move even slightly or make me summon the strength of my martial soul, I¡¯ll concede defeat. How about that? I¡¯ll only use soul power of the same rank to defend.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and slowly shut his eyes.

    From the sound of it, he seemed to be at an advantage. The Dragon Emperor Douluo was only going to use his Soul King-level soul power and wouldn¡¯t even retaliate. In fact, Huo Yuhao knew how terrifying the abilities of such transcendent individuals were after he faced Tai Tan. Even if he didn¡¯t use higher-ranked soul powers, his body was still at the level of an Ultimate Douluo! His spiritual powers were the same too. They couldn¡¯t be weakened.

    That was why Huo Yuhao knew that his Spirit Eyes¡¯ spiritual-type soul skills were useless against him. He could only use his soul skills to force him to move.

    Xian Lin¡¯er seemed to be asking Yan Shaozhe something with her eyes. Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°Trust him. This kid knows what to do. He must have some basis before he dared to bet with the Dragon Emperor Douluo. If he told you that he could have helped you to defeat the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, would you have believed him?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°Whatever it is, we have to protect this kid. Elder Mu was right. He¡¯s Shrek¡¯s future hope. In a few years, he will be a Dragon God Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I won¡¯t let anyone harm my little junior. Teacher entrusted him to me.¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s gaze became very determined.

    After Elder Mu passed away, his character had changed greatly over these few years. After the Soul Tool Department experienced a rise, he also developed several changes.

    Huo Yuhao stood there quietly and started to experience changes. He quickly turned into an entire entity as he stood there calmly.

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo nodded his head. Huo Yuhaobined with the heaven. While he was still young, he managed to reach such a level. Elder Mu had indeed nurtured an outstanding disciple! Although his soul power rank was a little weak, he seemed to be walking a different cultivation path. He was first increasing his spirituality before he increased his soul power.

    A dimyer of golden light surfaced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The golden light wasn¡¯t very strong, but the four Titled Douluos¡¯ eyes brightened when they saw it.

    They all had keen eyes and could tell what it was. This was a sign of an external manifestation of spiritual powers. It was their first time seeing a Soul King doing something like this.

    They were even more shocked after this. The golden lights on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to be thicker and thicker, while his aura kept on bing stronger and stronger. Ayer of golden fog started to rise above his body. He was umting his powers frically. His soul powers werepressed as they fused with his spiritual powers.

    He¡¯s trying to do it in one shot! The Dragon Emperor Douluo thought to himself.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened and focused in the direction of Long Xiaoyao.

    Suddenly, Long Xiaoyao felt his hair standing on his back.

    How¡¯s this possible? How is he making me feel threatened? Long Xiaoyao was shocked.

    Huo Yuhao moved. At this instant, he moved. Behind him, four ss 6 soul thrusters released an unprecedentedly strong light. He was like a golden meteor that was crashing down towards Long Xiaoyan. He didn¡¯t use any soul skill and purely used force. His right fist was targeted towards Long Xiaoyan¡¯s chest.

    Long Xiaoyao remained rooted to the ground. He only lifted his left hand quietly to face Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    ¡°Piak!¡± The fist and palm collided. Amidst a deep, rumbling sound, the golden light around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became stronger. The suppressive force was about to take down his opponent.

    Ayer of dim silvery light shed across Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes. He remained where he was without moving, but he didn¡¯t retaliate either. He allowed the intense golden lights to impact his body. He didn¡¯t move a single inch.

    ¡°Sovereign¡¯s Descent. I didn¡¯t expect Brother Mu¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent to have been imparted to you. You¡¯re fit to be his disciple just based on this fist.¡±

 Chapter 207.3: Wagered Fight

    Long Xiaoyao approved of Huo Yuhao from the bottom of his heart. He was impressed by the spirit that Huo Yuhao demonstrated in his fist. Whether it was hisprehension of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, thebination of his soul and spiritual powers or hispetitive will, he had reached the highest level of a Soul King. Even Dragon God Douluo Mu En couldn¡¯tpare to him at this age.

    Huo Yuhao retracted his fist and drifted down. He did something no one imagined. As he retracted his fist, he made a sideways flip and did a handstand. At the same time, a strong chill was released from his body. It felt like a tornado that was initiated by a snowstorm and windstorm.

    His index finger was pressing against the ground and he started to revolve quickly with his finger as the center. Ayer of orangey-gold light surfaced on his body. An extreme chill engulfed him and the Dragon Emperor Douluo.

    ¡°Ultimate Ice?¡± Long Xiaoyao was stunned as he said.

    As Huo Yuhao flipped his left hand, the snow and windstorm that was expanding outwards stopped. Only his palm was gently struck towards Long Xiaoyao¡¯s belly. He was using a capturing technique from Tang Sect, but he changed from a grabbing motion to a pping motion.

    Long Xiaoyao instantly felt an indescribable chill prating his palm. There was even an intense and special aura within this chill.

    Things were not looking good. Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t think Huo Yuhao was capable of unleashing such a palm. At this point, Huo Yuhao exerted a force from his right hand. As he flipped over, a streak of deep blue sword light was shot out of his right hand. It was aimed towards the center between Long Xiaoyao¡¯s legs.

    Long Xiaoyao held a respectable status and naturally had to keep to his words. As he sparred with Huo Yuhao, he only used Rank 50 soul power. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowless cier wouldn¡¯t be able to ovee his defense no matter how strong it was.

    The Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master Niu Tian once mentioned that the only way from remaining unharmed from the Snowless cier was to avoid it.

    In terms of cultivation, Long Xiaoyao was superior to Tai Tan. However, Tai Tan wasn¡¯t restricted by his soul powers then, but his arm was still frozen by Huo Yuhao. Due to the current environment that they were in and the sudden use of the domain, this palm was weaker than the previous time. However, it was only slightly weaker! Long Xiaoyao¡¯s entire right arm lost feeling.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show any mercy to this Dragon Douluo. He was about to unleash his Ice Explosion Technique, while the Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword was also initiated at this point.

    Even though he only had three strikes, Huo Yuhao unleashed his fighting strength to its fullest within those three strikes.

    No matter how strong the Dragon Douluo was, he was still a guy. When some parts of his body were attacked, he would subconsciously protect them.

    Simply put, most would rather lose their arm than their lower body if they had to choose. Long Xiaoyao also had such a feeling subconsciously. However, the explosive force that came from his arm also left him extremely astonished.

    Between victory and his safety, he chose thetter.

    Ayer of pitch-ck dragon scales covered Long Xiaoyao¡¯s right arm. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Explosion Technique was segregated by the dragon scales that appeared. At the same time, a gust of icy fog was also released from the Dragon Douluo¡¯s right palm. That extreme chill was forced out from his arm using his immense soul power.

    Even with Long Xiaoyao¡¯s abilities, he still needed to give his all to force out the Snowless cier. Against the Unparalleled Chill, he could only retreat.

    A streak of chill swept past and a deep blue sword light shot into the sky. It created a light projection that resembled an icy screen in the air. Huo Yuhao had already retreated at this point.

    Long Xiaoyao looked a little dismal. Even if it was anyone else, he wouldn¡¯t feelfortable as a sharp sword swept past and left a chilly feeling.

    He didn¡¯t just move. He even unleashed his martial soul. He lost this round even more ridiculously than before.

    Evidently, he didn¡¯t understand Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. Simrly, it was also because Huo Yuhao was strong enough that he could make the Dragon Emperor Douluo lose this bet.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face surged with a patch of red. As he shrieked, he spat out fresh blood. His blood carried a gust of chill. After copsing to the ground, the region up to a diameter of ten meters around him was frozen by ayer of ice.

    The three strikes that he unleashed weren¡¯t that simple. He had to unleash his Sovereign¡¯s Descent to the full of his abilities and force Long Xiaoyao to react using his spiritual powers.

    Following this, he used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. As he revolved, he unleashed the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice so that it aided his attack. The strength of the domain was greatly enhanced even though he only unleashed it for an instant. After that, it was forcefully stopped.

    Just this alone caused a heavy burden on his body. The Snowless cier and Unparalleled Chill that followed impacted Huo Yuhao greatly even though he had the help of the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit! After the three strikes were unleashed, his passageways were also hurt due to the impact of immense soul powers that coursed through them. After spitting out blood, he felt much better.

    Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er didn¡¯t clearly see what Huo Yuhao did. It seemed like the Dragon Emperor Douluo moved after he unleashed his palm and a streak of sword light shed. It was unbelievable. Their first reaction was that the Dragon Douluo was giving Huo Yuhao a chance.

    However, the Dragon Emperor Douluo spat out a gust of frozen air after that. It was evident that this gust of air was poured into his body by Huo Yuhao. Did he really give Huo Yuhao a chance?

    Long Xiaoyan¡¯s expression was very dismal. After losing to a kid, he was in low spirits. He nodded his head slightly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve won. Ultimate Ice. Heh, you actually have an Ultimate martial soul. No wonder Mu En wanted to ept you as his disciple even though he was dying. It¡¯s a pity. I should¡¯ve discovered you earlier. All of you can go now. I won¡¯t put you in a spot anymore on your journey back.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Elder.¡± At this point, no one dared to mock the Dragon Emperor Douluo. Although he lost, he was under a lot of restrictions. He was also an Ultimate Douluo. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao might not have been able to make him move if he didn¡¯t target a spot that left Long Xiaoyao terrified.

    At this point, Long Xiaoyao lifted his head and looked into the distance. Six figures appeared on the horizon and they quickly arrived.

    Their leader was the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuannded right in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Zhang Peng started to turn dismal when he saw so many people arriving. He wasmenting the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be in such an awkward situation if the Dragon Emperor Douluo wasn¡¯t overconfident and they brought more reinforcements. They weren¡¯t able to keep Xian Lin¡¯er and Yan Shaozhe here today.

    Elder Xuan straightaway noticed Long Xiaoyao. He focused his gaze. This person is really strong.

    ¡°Little Xuan, long time no see.¡± Long Xiaoyao had already recovered from his loss and faced Elder Xuan. He appeared a little lost.

    ¡°You are¡­¡± Elder Xuan was also shocked. In his memory, Long Xiaoyao was very unfamiliar. There weren¡¯t many who would call him in this way either.

    ¡°I am Long Xiaoyao.¡± Long Xiaoyao smiled as he said.

    ¡°Long Xiaoyao? Long Xiaoyao!¡± Elder Xuan reacted. It wasn¡¯t only him. The rest who followed him from Shrek Academy were also shocked.

    ¡°You, you are alive?¡±

    Elder Xuan was probably the only one left in Shrek Academy that knew about the enmity between Long Xiaoyao and Elder Mu. That happened more than a hundred years ago. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t expect that he could still see this Dragon Emperor Douluo after a hundred years and after Elder Mu had passed away.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, ¡°Yes! Mu En¡¯s gone, but I¡¯m still alive. I¡¯m still alive! Haha, hahahaha!¡± Hisughter was filled with sorrow. As he was encircled by the six top-ranked Titled Douluos, he flew up into the air and escaped.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo didn¡¯t dare to dy and quickly followed beside him.

    Everyone from Shrek looked at Elder Xuan and seemed to be asking him something using their eyes. Elder Xuan lightly shook his head and watched as Long Xiaoyao left. He appeared unprecedentedly serious at this point.

    If the Dragon Emperor Douluo wanted to leave, how many people could actually stop him? Even Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t.

    Yan Shaozhe came beside Elder Xuan and said softly, ¡°Elder Xuan¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head at him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s return.¡± He didn¡¯t want to speak too much and wore a pensive look on his face. Ever since he reced Elder Mu as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, his clothes weren¡¯t as dirty anymore and he wasn¡¯t as shabby-looking too. However, he still had his wine gourd with him.

    As Elder Xuan spoke, he grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms with one hand and lifted into the air without using a flying-type soul tool. He used his soul power to propel his body into the air.

    Gentle soul power was poured into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and alleviated the pain in his passageways. Elder Xuan was a little stunned as he nced at him. It was evident that he was shocked that Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had reached Rank 50.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao was a little agitated as he called. He was touched from the bottom of his heart. To wee his safe return, Elder Xuan came personally and even brought a few elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This demonstrated how close they were.

    After hearing his call, Elder Xuan revealed a smile on his face, ¡°Obedient kid. You¡¯ve done well. We all know about your contribution to the academy and we¡¯ll always recognize it.¡±

 Chapter 208.1: Twin Holy Dragons of Black and White

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, this isn¡¯t considered any contribution. Without the academy, there¡¯s no me. Elder Xuan, how are you?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled upon seeing the deep affection in his eyes, and replied, ¡°I¡¯m good. Yourpatriots are also fine. Tell me what went on today. I didn¡¯t expect that the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao was still alive¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao recounted how he had extorted Jing Hongchen, and how he had expected the journey back not to be a smooth one after he managed to reach an agreement with him. He also exined how he had met Long Xiaoyao and Zhang Peng along the way, as well as how he made the bet with Long Xiaoyao.

    After hearing his ount, Elder Xuan was stunned. He was clearly aware of the cultivation of an Ultimate Douluo. Even though Huo Yuhao was given a huge advantage in the bet, it was still a miracle that he could win a bet against Long Xiaoyao, given his age!

    However, Elder Xuan also couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brow. The reappearance of the Dragon Emperor Douluo, as well as his standing opposite Shrek, was definitely not good news.

    After sighing, Elder Xuan muttered to himself, ¡°Elder Mu! Only after you left did I realize how heavy the responsibility of the Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is.

    ¡°It would be great if you were still around. It¡¯s not just all sorts of evil spirits that have appeared. Even your old friend, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, has re-surfaced.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, what conflict did the Dragon Emperor Douluo have with teacher?¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°They have a deep-seated conflict with each other. They aren¡¯t just opponents and friends; they were love rivals too.¡± As he spoke, Elder Xuan unleashed his ss 8 flying-type soul tool and increased his flying speed sharply. He reduced the depletion of his soul power, and his soul power protected both him and Huo Yuhao. He had a reminiscing look in his eyes.

    ¡°Elder Mu came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon bloodline that has been around for tens of thousands of years. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon can transform into a Radiant Holy Dragon and be the best martial soul in the world. Elder Mu was one who benefited from this transformation. When he was six years old, hepleted the awakening of his martial soul and was greatly nurtured by his family.

    ¡°Shrek Academy shares close rtionships with many soul master aristocrats on the continent. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons are naturally included. The legacy of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons has been passed down for ages. One of the founders of Shrek Academy was one of them. Tens of thousands of years ago, they were once attacked, and it almost led to the destruction of their legacy. Although this legacy was indeed passed down, there weren¡¯t many who can inherit it. In every generation, there is only one person who inherits the legacy. The leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons came to our academy and suggested that Elder Mu be admitted to the academy earlier. The academy agreed after weighing things. That¡¯s why Elder Mu entered the academy when he was only eight years old. At that point, his soul power had already reached Rank 20. No one has been able to break his record since then.

    ¡°Ten yearster, Elder Mu captained Team Shrek in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. At that point, Elder Mu had reached Rank 69 even though he was just eighteen years old. He was only one step away from breaking the bottleneck and obtaining a Martial Soul True Body.¡±

    This was undoubtedly a shocking acheivement. Even though the current Shrek Seven Monsters were very outstanding, and three of them even had twin martial souls, none of them were at Elder Mu¡¯s standard. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were only at Rank 63 and Rank 64! Furthermore, they were already twenty years old!

    Elder Xuan continued, ¡°During that tournament, Elder Mu met Long Xiaoyao and another young woman soul master for the first time. Elder Mu¡¯s martial soul was the Radiant Holy Dragon, while Long Xiaoyao¡¯s martial soul coincidentally directly conflicted with his. Long Xiaoyao possessed the Darkness Holy Dragon, which is also a martial soul that forms after a transformation. It was always very difficult to tell whether light or darkness would win. The two of them could only fight using their cultivation. At that point, Elder Mu¡¯s soul power was slightly superior, and he defeated Long Xiaoyao in the finals.

    ¡°At that point in time, the only female soul master that could match up to the both of them was called Ye Xishui. She was ravishing, and her abilities were also very strong. After that fight, the three of them learned to respect one another. Eventually, Elder Mu led Shrek Academy to victory. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s academy were the runners-up, while Ye Xishui¡¯s team was among the top four.

    ¡°After the tournament, I¡¯m not sure what happened after they graduated from their respective academies. I only know that Elder Mu, Long Xiaoyao, and Ye Xishui bumped into each other after he graduated. The three of them slowly became close friends after they challenged one another. They sparred, cultivated, and traveled the continent together.

    ¡°They were budding young talents at that point in time, and they were also verypetitive. Each of them hoped to trump the other two in his or her ability. Although they were close friends, they were also closepetitors. They did some things that shocked the world of soul masters then, and their abilities improved significantly. Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao also developed feelings for Ye Xishui. Perhaps it was because they were friends, or maybe it was because both of them wanted topletely beat the other party before they confessed their feelings, but neither of them confessed to Ye Xishui. In the blink of an eye, ten years passed, and they became eight-ringed Soul Douluos. They were even on their way to bing Titled Douluos before they were thirty years old. At that point, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao couldn¡¯t control their feelings anymore. However, they were very close, and didn¡¯t want to hurt each other. But they didn¡¯t want to give up either. That¡¯s why they gave the final choice to Ye Xishui.

    ¡°That day, they went to find Ye Xishui together and confessed at the same time. Ye Xishui was asked to choose between the both of them. However, she had feelings for both of them. Their cultivations and personalities were simr, so there wasn¡¯t any way for her to choose. That¡¯s why Ye Xishui proposed that they fight a yearter, and she would date the winner.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he asked, ¡°Matters of the heart can be decided in this manner?¡±

    Elder Xuan nced at him with a meaningful look in his eyes and replied, ¡°You might get into such a situation one day. This matter even motivated a tradition in Shrek Academy.¡±

    ¡°Who won the fight a yearter?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Xuan answered, ¡°No one.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused as he looked at him.

    Elder Xuan sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯s because neither of them went.

    After they separated that day, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao pondered over the matter deeply. Eventually, their yearning for love didn¡¯t win over their rationality. They were both aware that their cultivations were too simr. If they went all-out, both parties would only be hurt. However, they were friends and even brothers. That¡¯s why they both made a logical and self-proimed wise decision ¨C giving up!

    ¡°However, they each didn¡¯t expect the other to make the same choice. Theirmon choice also hurt Ye Xishui.

    ¡°Ye Xishui waited at the rendezvous spot for three days, but neither of them appeared. She was a very proud person, and stormed off in a fury.

    ¡°Both Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao believed that Ye Xishui was with the other person. They decided to focus on their cultivation after moping for a period of time. They didn¡¯t look for each other because they didn¡¯t want to be reminded of their sad past. In the blink of an eye, ten more years passed. Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao formed their own families. At this point, Ye Xishui came to Shrek Academy suddenly to find Elder Mu. They were all Titled Douluo at that point in time.

    ¡°Elder Mu was engulfed by emotions as he saw Ye Xishui again and didn¡¯t know what to say. However, he didn¡¯t expect Ye Xishui to suggest a challenge. Although he was confused, he had no choice, and was forced by her to ept the challenge.

    ¡°When they broke up eleven years ago, Ye Xishui¡¯s cultivation was inferior to both Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s. However, she was now extremely strong after she returned to find Elder Mu. Elder Mu was almost on the brink of losing as he fought her. However, he had a solid foundation, and emerged victorious using his Sovereign¡¯s Descent. He was shocked to realize that Ye Xishui¡¯s martial soul now carried an evil aura. Elder Mu¡¯s teacher, who was also my grandmaster, was the Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion then. He pointed out that Ye Xishui had be an evil soul master. He wanted to make her stay and cripple her cultivation.

    ¡°Even though Elder Mu had a family, Ye Xishui was still a very memorable person from his past. He pleaded on her behalf and hoped that grandmaster could let her go. However, the grandmaster didn¡¯t listen to Elder Mu¡¯s pleas, as he believed that she was too dangerous given her cultivation. He kept her in Shrek Academy, but didn¡¯t do anything to her because of Elder Mu.

    ¡°However, nobody knew that a bunch of evil soul masters would appear a few dayster. They were led by an extremely strong evil soul master, and fought against my grandmaster. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the strongest evil soul master was dealt a lethal blow. The only downside was that Ye Xishui was rescued.¡±

 Chapter 208.2: Twin Holy Dragons of Black and White

    ¡°Before Ye Xishui left, she gave Elder Mu a hateful look. From then on, Elder Mu became very depressed. He didn¡¯t understand why Ye Xishui became like that. Not only did she be an evil soul master, but she was even mixed in with a bunch of evil soul masters. Furthermore, my grandmaster was critically hurt, which broke thest bit of fancy Elder Mu had towards her.

    ¡°Elder Mu apanied my grandmaster until he recovered from his injuries. After that, he was very eager to find Long Xiaoyao to get to the bottom of why Ye Xishui ended up in this state.

    ¡°At that point in time, he was filled with rage.

    ¡°When Elder Mu found him, the anger that he had suppressed erupted. Before Long Xiaoyao could even exin, he already attacked him. The battle between the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White resulted in a slight victory for Elder Mu, but their cultivations were still around the same. On ount of their brotherly ties, Elder Mu decided to spare Long Xiaoyao.

    ¡°After the fight, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao talked about what had happened over the past ten years. They were shocked to realize that they had both made the same decision. Elder Mu also understood why Ye Xishui came to Shrek Academy to challenge him. They both understood her character, and they felt very guilty towards her. My grandmaster was hurt because of Ye Xishui. Although he regained his health, he was never able to recoverpletely.

    ¡°After Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao discussed things, they decided to find Ye Xishui. Regardless of what had happened, they needed to rify things with her. That was how the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White re-surfaced in the continent. They were both Titled Douluos then, and they possessed immense abilities and martial souls. Their reputations rose, and that was how their Twin Holy Dragons title were established. That was also how they became known as the Dragon God Douluo and the Dragon Emperor Douluo.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt like he was returning to the past as Elder Xuan rted this story. He couldpletely imagine the two Titled Douluo causing an uproar on the continent. When can I be a Titled Douluo? That was basically the dream of every soul master.

    Huo Yuhao was dragged back to reality as he sighed. Elder Xuan looked a little upset, ¡°They searched the continent for years, and finally found her. They almost couldn¡¯t recognize her when they found her. She was only thirty-some years old, but her hair was greyish-white, as if she were a forty or fifty-year-old woman. Not only did she appear much more haggard, but she was also engulfed by a very sharp and vicious evil aura.

    ¡°Grandmaster¡¯s worry was realized. Ye Xishui¡¯s abilities were way beyond the expectations of Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao. When she saw the two of them again, she immediately attacked them. The shocking Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White were on the losing end after they were attacked by her. Even when theybined their powers, they still seemed a littlecking. They were horrified to find out that Ye Xishui¡¯s abilities had already reached the level of a Transcendent Douluo. The abilities of a transcendent evil soul master were unimaginable! The two of them were no match for her at all.

    ¡°They were eventually defeated badly, and critically hurt. However, she didn¡¯t kill them. She interrogated them and demanded to know why they had humiliated her. Ye Xishui was a very proud person. She believed they had both abandoned her. The humiliation she felt caused the change in her.

    ¡°Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyaoughed bitterly as they looked at each other. They recounted what they had thought then. Ye Xishui didn¡¯t believe them at the start, but they were already on the verge of death then, and couldn¡¯t possibly lie. Ye Xishui¡¯s emotions changed drastically, and she saved the both of them. After twenty years apart, the three of them sat together once again. However, their friendship wasn¡¯t as close as before.

    ¡°Ye Xishui told them that the person who went to save her at Shrek Academy was her husband. After her husband returned, he died from his injuries. Before her husband died, he poured half of his cultivation into her, which pushed her to bing a Transcendent Douluo-level evil soul master.

    ¡°Elder Mu didn¡¯t expect things to reach such a stage, and was stunned for a moment. Abination of factors caused the initial misunderstanding to evolve into such a state. This was something none of them could have expected.

    ¡°Long Xiaoyao asked Ye Xishui why she became an evil soul master. She told them that she was enraged when neither of them came and decided to cultivate tirelessly before seeking them out to avenge her humiliation. However, she went mad because she was too impatient. At that point in time, she met her future husband, who was a powerful evil soul master. His name was Zhong Li. After he saved her, he forced her to have a rtionship with him and guided his evil powers into her martial soul. This caused a transformation in Ye Xishui¡¯s martial soul, and she became an evil soul master. She hated Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao, but she also hated her husband. She believed that the three of them had ruined her life, when in fact, everything that happened to her was because of her pride.

    ¡°Since things had reached such a stage, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t know what to do. Ye Xishui wasn¡¯t the same person as before, and their feelings for her had changed. She didn¡¯t kill them, but made them take an oath ¨C from that point on, they could no longer call each other brothers. Ten yearster, they had to fight to the death at the exact ce where they were supposed to fight before. Only one could survive. Otherwise, she would kill their entire families.

    ¡°As they had no choice, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao took this oath. Although they could tell that Ye Xishui¡¯s personality had changed, their guilt and past feelings for Ye Xishui forced them to ede to her request. Elder Mu told me that both he and Long Xiaoyao med each other then. If neither of them had given up, things wouldn¡¯t have reached that stage.

    ¡°Ten yearster, the Twin Holy Dragons met again. They fought intensely under Ye Xishui¡¯s eyes. Eventually, both of them were critically hurt. However, something strange happened to Ye Xishui then. She didn¡¯t look as old and haggard as before, but as ravishing as how she looked in the past. Since neither of them could kill the other, she set another fight ten yearster. This carried on and on, and both Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao were already a hundred years old after a few decades. They had be Transcendent Douluo too. At that point, Ye Xishui disappeared. She sent news that this fight would be theirst, and only one would survive. Otherwise, she would destroy the entire continent.

    ¡°Ye Xishui was already at Rank 98 then. Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao weren¡¯t her match. The two of them realized that Ye Xishui had seen through their ploy ¨C critically hurting one another without killing each other in their fights.

    ¡°After a hundred years, the Twin Holy Dragons¡¯ feelings for her had deepened once again. Elder Mu told me that Ye Xishui was the only woman he had ever truly loved in his life. This was also the same for Long Xiaoyao. In fact, both of them were powerful enough to deploy people to kill Ye Xishui. However, they didn¡¯t do so. Ye Xishui also understood their feelings for her. In thest message she sent them, she told them that she had already put down the hatred she had for them. However, she could only be with the winner. This was also theirst punishment.

    ¡°The person who won could marry her. At that point in time, Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s wives had already passed away.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed again as he stopped speaking for a minute.

    Huo Yuhao asked hurriedly, ¡°Who was the eventual winner?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°There wasn¡¯t any winner. They didn¡¯t fight thatst battle. Before it could take ce, Elder Mu and Du Busi¡¯s brother fought very intensely, and he was irreversibly hurt in the process. That fight took ce the day before he was to fight Long Xiaoyao. ording to Elder Mu, Du Busi¡¯s brother was sent there by Long Xiaoyao. After he was hurt so badly, Elder Mu took many years to restore his vitality. However, he couldn¡¯t return to his glory days as the Radiant Holy Dragon, and became just like how you knew him. From then on, Long Xiaoyao never appeared again. Elder Mu believed that he was together with Ye Xishui.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was furious. ¡°Long Xiaoyao was so despicable? He still dares to call teacher his brother?¡±

    Elder Xuan replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s hard to judge something like this. I guess only Long Xiaoyao knows what happened. I didn¡¯t expect that he would reappear after a hundred years. I don¡¯t know if Ye Xishui is still alive. Evil soul masters are unlikely to live past two hundred years old. I¡¯m afraid that he might have been influenced by her and be an evil soul master as well. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s going to be a disaster.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think he has. When I fought him just now and used teacher¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent, I shed with his spiritual power. I could tell that it was as vast as the starry sky. However, there weren¡¯t any characteristics of an evil soul master within it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was very sensitive even though his cultivation wasn¡¯t high. Furthermore, he was also a necromancer. He firmly believed that his senses weren¡¯t wrong.

 Chapter 208.3: Twin Holy Dragons of Black and White

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°That¡¯s great. However, Long Xiaoyao was obviously here on behalf of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. There was also the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng. This is very unusual. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s from the Heavenly Soul Empire, he shouldn¡¯t be mixing with those from the Sun Moon Empire. If he¡¯s really being used by the Sun Moon Empire, it means huge trouble.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of a possibility. ¡°Elder Xuan, do you think that the Dragon Emperor Douluo has something to do with the Holy Ghost Church that we discovered? Perhaps it was even created by the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Impossible. I noticed that Long Xiaoyao still cares about his brotherly ties with Elder Mu. Otherwise, all of you would have perished long before we reached you. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone capable of challenging the Dragon Emperor Douluo in a duel. Not even Du Busi can match up to him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I feel like this Dragon Emperor Douluo is one who cherishes promises. He came for the rare and valuable materials I snagged. However, he decided to give up after he lost. Can we exploit this aspect of his personality¡­?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and replied, ¡°The Dragon Emperor Douluo has been around for two hundred years. He won¡¯t be that easy to deal with. However, I¡¯m certain that he won¡¯t attack Shrek Academy. Initially, he received grandmaster¡¯s guidance when he was acquainted with Elder Mu, and also spent some time in Shrek Academy. The academy can be considered his benefactor. As long as he doesn¡¯t be an evil soul master, I won¡¯t think he¡¯s one to repay kindness with ingratitude.¡±

    After ascertaining the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s background, Huo Yuhao felt a little heavy hearted, like time and tide waited for no man. He was a very long way aways from the abilities of the truly strong individuals. After Elder Mu passed, Shrek¡¯s strongest individual was now Elder Xuan. With Elder Xuan¡¯s Rank 98 abilities as a Transcendent Douluo, he was strong enough to terrorize almost anyone. However, Du Busi¡¯s and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s appearances shook Shrek Academy¡¯s stability greatly.

    Huo Yuhao desired to contribute his strength to ensure the safety of the academy! However, he knew that he wasn¡¯t strong enough. The only way he could reach that level was to cultivate tirelessly.

    ¡­¡­

    Shrek City slowly came into view. Huo Yuhao also focused his thoughts, as he was about to return home. This weing feeling also alleviated the anxiety that he¡¯d felt. He clenched his fists as he saw the majestic city wall in the distance.

    He still had a long way to go, but he needed to take it steadily, step by step. A storm was brewing on the continent, and the only thing he could do was be more powerful. It was only a few months until the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament. This time, the tournament was going to be held in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Without a doubt, this was going to be another intense tournament. He and hispatriots were going to be the main forces of Shrek Academy this time, and they were even going topete as Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Everything started long ago defending Shrek¡¯s glory.

    Under Elder Xuan¡¯s leadership, their groupnded a few miles away from Shrek City. The defenses of Shrek City were pretty resolute. Even those from the city didn¡¯t dare to fly above it, lest it leads to misunderstandings, and this also applied to Shrek Academy members. As soul tools developed, all sorts of defense-type soul tools had been installed in Shrek City and Shrek Academy.

    The few miles that they had to walk was nothing to their group. When Huo Yuhao saw the gate to Shrek Academy, he started to tear up.

    To him, this wasn¡¯t just an academy that had educated and nurtured him. It was his home!

    When he had left the Duke¡¯s Mansion, he had told himself that he was an orphan from that point onwards. His mother had passed away, and he could only rely on himself. Shrek Academy was the ce that had given him warmth, nurtured him into a talent, given him strength, and made him one of the best among those of the same age. He missed Shrek and everyone from Shrek right now.

    ¡°Everyone can return to rest. Yuhao, you can stay in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion temporarily. I¡¯ll arrange a ce for you to live after the activities end in a few days. The dormitory that you had on the Sea God¡¯s Ind has been allocated to someone else,¡± Elder Xuan told Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Activities? What activities?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused.

    Yan Shaozhe could tell what he was thinking, and smiled. ¡°Silly kid, have you forgotten? It¡¯s time for the inner courtyard test for the outer courtyard students.¡±

    Huo Yuhao only remembered that after Yan Shaozhe mentioned it.

    There was an entrance test for Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard every year. It was targeted towards students of the senior grades in the outer courtyard. There were also other talented students from other academies that wanted to enter Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard. They could use this chance to join the test with rmendations from their academies. If they passed, they could be a part of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard.

    However, it was very difficult for students from other academies to pass this test, as Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department was the best on the continent. If there were even one or two students from other academies that passed, it was considered very good. Most of the time, no outside students would make it in.

    When Huo Yuhao first entered Shrek Academy, he had once wondered when it would be his turn to take the test to enter the inner courtyard. However, he was already a part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion now, even though he was only seventeen years old.

    ¡°Dean Yan, do you want me to take the test too?¡± Huo Yuhao said almost immediately. He was itching to take the test.

    Yan Shaozhe gave him a weird expression andughed, ¡°Why? Do you want to strut your abilities in front of the rest of the students? You can if you want to.¡±

    As he said this, Elder Xuan and the other elders couldn¡¯t help butugh. They had watched Huo Yuhao grow up. Huo Yuhao was Elder Mu¡¯s closed-door disciple, and a core figure among the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. If he couldn¡¯t pass the test, the Ultimate Soldier n would be considered a failure.

    Huo Yuhao turned red, and weakly retorted, ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m only worried that the other students will find it unfair if I don¡¯t take the test¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan was amused as he replied, ¡°Enough, you don¡¯t have to take any tests. The fact that you can win a bet against the Dragon Emperor Douluo already proves that you¡¯ve passed the test. If I used that as a standard, no student would be able to pass the test, apart from you. There¡¯ll be another test for you, and it¡¯ll be more difficult than the inner courtyard test. You¡¯ll be in trouble then.¡±

    ¡°Another test for me? What is it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s smile grew. ¡°You¡¯ll know when you know. Are you returning with us to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No. I¡¯d like to tour the academy since I¡¯ve not been back for so long.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Elder Xuan nodded and replied, ¡°Yourpatriots should know that you¡¯re back. Bei Bei and the rest are waiting for you at the Tang Sect. After you tour the academy, you can go and find them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    After passing a few more instructions to Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan disappeared as a streak of light. The rest of the elders and the two deans also left. After returning to the academy, they didn¡¯t have to worry about Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety anymore.

    Eldest senior and the rest are waiting for me at the Tang Sect? Then I should return to the Tang Sect first.

    As he thought of that point, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t enter the academy, instead making his way into Shrek City.

    At this point, a figure sprinted out from Shrek Academy, moving quite rapidly. As he turned around, this figure had already reached in front of him.

    It was a woman with a tall and slender figure. She wore a white warrior¡¯s robe with silver strappings. Her hair was covered by a bandana, and she wore a veil.

    It was early spring now, and the fields around Shrek Academy were t. The winds also blew stronger during this period of time, and thus it was verymon fordies to be wearing veils.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had met this woman before.

    At this point, the bandana on the youngdy¡¯s hair was blown off by the wind, and flew towards Huo Yuhao.

    He grabbed hold of the bandana subconsciously. At this instant, his entire body stiffened, and he couldn¡¯t shift his gaze away from that young woman.

    As the bandana was blown off, the youngdy¡¯s pinkish-blue hair swayed with the wind as she made an exmation of surprise. Her hair covered her entire back until it reached her hips, concealing the shape of her butt.

    As she turned back, her frantic-looking pinkish-blue eyes met Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze.

    The moment that their eyes met, Huo Yuhao felt that his spirit had left his body. The familiarity he felt, the beautiful gaze and the excitement that came from the bottom of his heart made it difficult for him to control his emotions.

    He almost blurted out three words immediately¡ªGoddess of Light!

    Yes! Why was she so familiar to Huo Yuhao? She looked exactly like the Goddess of Light! Huo Yuhao almost went up to pull down her veil.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao discovered that his voice was trembling.

    The youngdy only panicked for an instant. She subconsciously used one hand to grab hold of her hair and extended her other hand towards Huo Yuhao.

    Her hand was white and long, and seemed very familiar. Indeed, she looked exactly the same as the Goddess of Light! Huo Yuhao felt his spirit screaming.

    ¡°Give it back.¡± The youngdy¡¯s voice was very pleasing to the ears, as if birds were singing.

    Huo Yuhao returned her bandana subconsciously. Before he had a chance to open his mouth, the youngdy ran away with the bandana. Ayer of golden light was subtly released from her body. By the time Huo Yuhao was able to react, he was only left with the memory of a delicate figure.

 Chapter 209.1: Wang Qiuer

    Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Huo Yuhao could vividly remember that the handkerchief was embroidered with those three words.

    Can it be that she is¡­ He didn¡¯t hesitate any longer as he applied strength beneath his feet. His body flickered as he pursued the shadow in the distance ¨C this young girl was heading towards Shrek City, wasn¡¯t she?

    The young girl was extremely quick, as if she were a startled little bird. Huo Yuhao had been momentarily stunned before this, and now could only barely see the young girl¡¯s silhouette in the distance.

    She¡¯s so fast ¨C she must be a five-ringed Soul King, at least. She might be a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er? Wang Dong! Can she be the twin sister that Wang Dong spoke of?

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t slow, but there was still a bit of anxiety in his heart, as he wasn¡¯t sure if he should just chase her like that. He knew who she was, but she didn¡¯t know him ¨C wouldn¡¯t that be a little brash?

    However, he could clearly feel the palpitations in his heart after just one nce at her elegance and gracefulness. This feeling was identical to when he had first used the Raiment of Light with Wang Dong, and he had seen the Goddess of Light.

    Wang Dong didn¡¯t lie to me ¨C his sister actually looks identical to the Goddess of Light! Too beautiful, simply too beautiful! I can¡¯t give up. It should be alright to at least catch up to her and ask her if she¡¯s Wang Dong sister. It won¡¯t be so brash, given my rtionship with Wang Dong...

    Huo Yuhao convinced himself with that, and gave all he had in this pursuit, with no further hesitation on his part.

    The distance between Shrek Academy¡¯s gate and Shrek City¡¯s gate wasn¡¯t that far, and it took a lot of effort for him to close the distance between himself and her shadow. She slowed down and entered the city.

    Huo Yuhao arrived at the gate ten secondster, and had no choice but to slow down here. This was Shrek Academy¡¯s territory, but most of the people that lived here were ultimately normal citizens, and travelling with the speed of a Soul King was inappropriate.

    He stepped briskly into Shrek City. Throngs of people flooded the streets, and life was bustling as usual. He looked around, but could no longer see the girl anymore.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead creased. Even if he activated his Spiritual Detection within the throngs of people, it would be difficult to find just one person in the crowd, as his Spiritual Detection was not normal vision. He couldn¡¯t see faces through Spiritual Detection, and he hadn¡¯t locked onto the girl¡¯s aura before this.

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head, and felt extremely frustrated and disappointed ¨C perhaps they just weren¡¯t fated. However, he wasn¡¯t that dejected, as he was about to see his buddies very soon.

    More than two years had gone by, and he didn¡¯t know how everyone was doing now. I wonder if eldest senior brother and third senior brother are alright? And fourth senior sister, fifth senior sister. Is Wang Dong at the academy, or at the Tang Sect? I¡¯ll return to the Tang Sect before anything else.

    He retrieved a map from his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. Bei Bei had given it to him, and there were detailed directions to the Tang Sect within Shrek City drawn on it.

    The Tang Sect took up quite a lot of space. Even though they were in a rtively isted area inside the city, Shrek City¡¯snd was extremely valuable, and the fact that they could own a patch ofnd like that represented the academy¡¯s special treatment towards them.

    He lengthened his strides and wove his way through the city. He hadn¡¯t been back here for a long time, and Shrek City appeared as thriving and flourishing as it had always been. There were many people walking around in the city, and the shops and stores by the street seemed exceptionally popr. Shrek City was an important trade center within the Douluo Continent, and Shrek City¡¯s prosperity had always been Shrek Academy¡¯s most important source of wealth. Otherwise, how could Shrek Academy support the Soul Tool Department¡¯s research?

    ---

    Huo Yuhao was moving towards the Tang Sect while a pair of pretty eyes gazed at him from a shop not too far away. This pair of eyes watched him as he disappeared at the end of the street, before the person stepped out from the shop.

    She patted herself on her firm and supple chest, as if she were congratting herself on avoiding him sessfully. The young girl¡¯s eyes flowed with mysterious amusement as she walked towards another street.

    ---

    This would be Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time at the Tang Sect, and he could only follow the lines on the map, so he wasted a lot of time looking for it. It took an entire hour before Huo Yuhao found the Tang Sect.

    He could see the Tang Sect¡¯s outer walls in the distance. The vermilion walls were more than twenty feet tall, and they extended at least a hundred meters down the street.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s main gate was thirty feet tall. There was a giant inscribed board hanging from the top, with ¡°Tang Sect¡± stamped boldly upon it. When Huo Yuhao saw the signature beneath the inscribed board, his emotions surged, and a wave of sentiment washed over him.

    Mu En!

    Elder Mu was actually the one that had written these two words before he passed. Huo Yuhao reminisced about Elder Mu when he saw these two words, and he thought about another teacher that had just passed away as deep grief and sorrow welled up in his eyes.

    ¡°Teacher,¡± he whispered under his breath, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s body quivered faintly.

    At this moment, the Tang Sect¡¯s main gate opened, and a woman stepped out to face Huo Yuhao directly.

    ¡°Na Na?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in pleasant surprise as he saw this person. The young girl before him was the girl he had saved from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the girl with a Spectre martial soul, Na Na!

    Na Na was also pleasantly surprised when she saw him, and she took two quick steps forward and went down on one knee. ¡°Master!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished, and swiftly stepped to one side so he could avoid her greeting. ¡°What are you doing, Na Na? Get up!¡±

    Na Na refused to get up, and she shook her head vigorously as the rims of her eyes began to turn red.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward as he grabbed her arm and brought her to her feet. ¡°Are you alright, Na Na? Don¡¯t cry!¡±

    Na Na wiped the trickling tears from her face, and gazed deep into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°I will never forget how you remade me, and how you¡¯ve given me another life. I only discovered what happiness is when I came to the Tang Sect. Master, you helped my parents¡¯ spirits rest in peace, and you¡¯ve given me a whole new life. I will be your servant and your ve for the rest of my life to repay you for your grace.¡±

    Na Na¡¯splexion seemed a lot better than thest time. Her pale skin was tinged with rosy hues, and her body was brimming with youthful vitality, while her mental state was also drastically different from before.

    Huo Yuhao realized what was going on, and he chuckled as he said, ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t happy at the Tang Sect when I saw you cry. Don¡¯t talk about grace and whatnot in the future, alright? You¡¯re actually older than me by a little bit, so you can just address me by my name and I will do the same. You¡¯re a part of the Tang Sect now, and that means we¡¯re friends.¡±

    ¡°How can I do that?¡± Na Na rejected him decisively, and said, ¡°A servant must respect her master, how can I address my master by his name? I will honor the things that I¡¯ve said. You¡¯re not trying to test me now, are you, master?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°You think too much, Na Na. Listen to me ¨C if you insist on seeing me as your master, that means you will never forget the past. If that¡¯s the case, then you can never be truly happy. Do you understand? I did not help you out back then because I wanted you to be my servant. I helped you because I truly wanted to help someone whose background and life experience were simr to mine! My childhood experiences are simr to yours, I¡¯ve also lost my beloved mother. Our lives are connected, so how can I be your master? Forget what happened ¨C since this is a new beginning, it¡¯s better that you forget about the past! You have joined the Tang Sect, and you have contributed to building it up once more, and that¡¯s already the best you can do for me!¡±

    Na Na wanted to say something else, but she caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s determined eyes and swallowed her words.

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re still calling me that?¡± Huo Yuhao pulled a long face.

    ¡°Yuhao,¡± Na Na said awkwardly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Are you off for some official business? You should go ahead and do your thing. Are my senior brothers and sisters around?¡±

    Na Na nodded and replied, ¡°Mister Bei is here. You should go inside, sir.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me sir!¡± Huo Yuhao reminded Na Na again and waved goodbye to her before he quickly stepped into the Tang Sect. He was just too eager to meet his buddies.

    A sweet smile shed across Na Na¡¯s face as she walked through the gate. She mumbled under her breath, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to call you that, then I¡¯ll just call you that in my heart. I have recognized you as my master, then you shall be my master. This is something that will never change. You can¡¯t take it away from me.¡±

    She turned around and departed happily after she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t see a sprawling courtyard when he stepped in. The front courtyard was small, and there were rooms on both sides. They were unornamented, and there wasn¡¯t much decoration; the feel of everything was quite different from what he saw outside. Most of the space was used to build rooms.

    Two white-shirted youths came forward when he walked in and blocked his path.

    One of the youths, who was about twenty years of age, asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I want toe home.¡±

    ¡°Come home?¡± The youth was momentarily stunned.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m also a part of our Tang Sect. Bei Bei is my eldest senior brother. Is he around?¡±

    The two white-shirted youths were both pleasantly surprised when they heard his words. The youth that spoke before this said, ¡°So you¡¯re our sixth senior brother! Eldest senior brother is here ¨C let me take you inside.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said humbly, ¡°I¡¯m not as old as you guys are, you don¡¯t have to call me senior brother. Just address me by my name.¡±

    The youth chuckled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way, sixth senior brother. Eldest senior brother says we have to follow the chronological hierarchy of seniority after joining the sect. Furthermore, we are only disciples in name, and we will only be official disciples after passing the sect¡¯s assessment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a tingling in his heart. It seems like eldest senior brother has established rules within the sect! That¡¯s a good thing. He didn¡¯t say anything else, and followed the young man into a second courtyard.

 Chapter 209.2: Wang Qiuer

    The second courtyard was a lot more spacious, at least three hundred meters across, and there were still rooms on both sides, with a towering structure in front. An inscribed board hung from the top, which read ¡°Conference Hall¡±.

    Huo Yuhao could hearughtering from the Conference Hall before he even reached it, and he could no longer hold back the passion and warmth in his heart as he darted forward and rushed inside.

    There were three people inside the hall. One of them was He Caitou, who had gone back earlier than Huo Yuhao, and was the oneughing. There were two young men standing opposite him.

    The person on the left was at least a meter and ny centimeters tall. His shoulders were broad, and he looked as majestic as could be. His tall, muscr appearance gave people the feeling he was as stalwart and steady as a mountain.

    The person on the right wore a long, flowing robe, and there was a faint smile on his handsome face. His eyes were deep, while his long hair draped over his shoulders. He was more elegant and valiant-looking than the other person, but there was an added tinge of schrliness.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, second senior brother, third senior brother!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed and leapt forward.

    The person on the left was Xu Sanshi, and the person on the right was Bei Bei. They saw Huo Yuhao barrel into the room, and were ecstatic as they hurried forward along with He Caitou. The four of them shared a warm hug.

    They couldn¡¯t calm their excitement for a long time, and it took a while before everybody could restrain themselves.

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao with that faint smile on his face and said, ¡°You¡¯ve finally returned, little junior brother. It¡¯s been two and a half years! A total of two and a half years!!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously and replied, ¡°I know, right? Two and a half years! I have longed to return home for such a long time, but the exchange program took so long to end! I¡¯ve missed everyone so much, eldest senior brother! Is everyone doing alright?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°We are extremely good. How is it? The Tang Sect is starting to take shape. How does it feel?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said sincerely, ¡°Thank you for your troubles, eldest senior brother and third senior brother. I didn¡¯t expect us to be able to have our own territory in just two years. Even though it¡¯s still iplete, it¡¯s indeed starting to take shape.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°We are waiting for you to take the reins. You have to bear this mantle of taking care of the Tang Sect in the future.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He tossed his head from side to side and said, ¡°No, no. How can I do that? It should be you guys who take charge.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed heartily and said, ¡°What did I say? I knew this fe would shirk his responsibility. Who would want to fight with you for this tiring job?¡±

    Bei Bei pulled a long face and said, ¡°Little junior brother, the Tang Sect¡¯s development in the future will be mainly focused on soul tools, and both He Caitou and you are soul engineers.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I will try my best to help the Tang Sect. However, only you can be the Tang Sect¡¯s overall director. I can be responsible for the forging of soul tools and rted technology, but I know nothing about coordinating and managing a sect!¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°I know nothing either. We will learn if we experiment a few times. Alright, you¡¯ve just returned from a long journey, so let¡¯s not talk about all this. Sit down and take a break.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao answered happily and sat down, his heart still excited.

    He finally had time to survey the Conference Hall¡¯syout. Theyout was simple and unadorned, with green tiles lining the floor, while the furniture was the color of red dates, and exuded a minimalistic and unornamented feel as well. There was a long table in the middle, with twenty chairs on either side. The main seat was in the north, facing the south.

    He Caitou said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, how far has the Tang Sect developed? Tell me and little junior brother about it, eh?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and answered, ¡°The Tang Sect is developing rapidly, and its speed has exceeded my personal estimations. The blueprints that little junior brother sent back were the catalysts.¡±

    The blueprints that Huo Yuhao had recorded in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had all been sent back to Bei Bei, and Bei Bei had replicated each one of them before he handed them over to the academy. Now, Shrek Academy had blueprints of all the soul tools that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy possessed. However, several models of soul tools that Huo Yuhao had designed and invented himself were only avable to the Tang Sect. This decision was made after Bei Bei discussed it with Huo Yuhao via letters, and after they exined their reasons to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    In the end, the Tang Sect would need funds if they wanted to expand. They would only be able to gather more talents and prodigies if they had funds, so that they could flourish and develop properly.

    Shrek Academy had be the Tang Sect¡¯s greatest support and backup. The Academy had provided them with money in advance, and they nominated students who had graduated from both the outer and inner courtyard, but didn¡¯t have a sect. If these students were willing, they could join the Tang Sect.

    They were just starting out, so there were very few students who wanted to join the Tang Sect. However, following the speedy advancement of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, the Tang Sect would be one of the best ces to go in the near future. This was also an opportunity that Bei Bei had grasped with his sharp insight.

    An academy was an academy, after all. Academies could nurture prodigies and talents, but they couldn¡¯t really keep them. This was especially so for students who graduated from the outer courtyard, who could only leave after their six years of studies if they couldn¡¯t make the cut for the inner courtyard. However, sects were different, and disciples could stay at a sect for a lifetime once they were a part of it. As long as the sect was powerful enough, and they could provide conducive environments for cultivation and financial stability, then they would be able to keep these talents and prodigies indefinitely.

    Because of this fact, Shrek Academy had devised a n to establish their own sect before Elder Mu passed away.

    However, Shrek Academy was simply too popr. Establishing a Shrek Sect wasn¡¯t realistic at all, and would definitely attract disputes and trouble. The Tang Sect was different ¨C it had a long history, and an intimate connection with Shrek Academy, so using Shrek Academy as support to recreate the Tang Sect was not a bad choice.

    What Bei Bei regretted most was that he wasn¡¯t able to confirm everything back in the day, so he was never able to ry the good news to Tang Ya, and he wanted to make sure everything was confirmed and in ce before he could give her a pleasant surprise. However, he had never expected Tang Ya to disappear without a trace once she departed.

    ¡°The Tang Sect will be divided mainly into the inner hall and the outer hall. Our inner hall and outer hall are different from the Academy¡¯s inner and outer courtyards ¨C the inner hall is responsible for administrative matters, management, manufacturing soul tools, etcetera, while the outer hall is responsible for foreign policy and handling worldly affairs. For example, the outer hall will be responsible for corporatemunications, battles, and whatnot. The inner hall has more than thirty people, and in addition to some veteran craftsmen, the outer hall has almost one hundred people. We can produce ten of your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons every month, and this is already the fastest we can go. Orders are all from Shrek City and the academy.¡±

    ¡°Sanshi is in charge of the outer hall. We are still in the early phases, and we have taken in some students from the outer courtyard, but not a single student from Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard is willing to join us. However, I believe that everything will be fine as the Tang Sect bes increasingly stronger.¡±

    Bei Bei thus exined the Tang Sect¡¯s organizational structure, as well as the inner hall and the outer hall¡¯s branches, to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Forge imitated the Illustrious Virtue Hall in some senses. Even if they weren¡¯tpletely underground, half of the workshop was belowground, and some keyponents werepleted in the basement, while normalponents were produced in the foundry aboveground.

    The only soul tool that the Tang Sect was currently producing was the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, along with some cannon shells. However, they would need at least two years to meet the purchase orders from Shrek City and Shrek Academy.

    ¡°I wanted to wait for your return to discuss this with you, Yuhao. Do you think we can export the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon? If we can export it, then we will immediately see an increase in the volume of sales. Manpower isn¡¯t really a problem, and the academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department has been trying internships and field work at our ce, and we can pay them in return for their aid in creating formation arrays and misceneousponents.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, I think it¡¯s better if we hold off on exporting the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. If the budget allows, we can increase production and store some inventory. We will discuss the exporting issue when I return from the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°With the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon¡¯s unique characteristics, I¡¯m sure both the Sun Moon Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire will be extremely interested if we show it to them. Manufacturing Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons is extremelyplicated, but it doesn¡¯t require too much precious metal to make them. Cannon shells alone contribute to most of our revenue. I¡¯ve already discussed it with the academy, and the Soul Tool Department will open a special district for us to hire more skilled craftsmen so that we can mass produce soul cannon shells. The stationary cannon shells will be shifted back to Shrek City for storage. We will only sell those below ss 4 to the outside world, which we can mass produce.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You can make this decision yourself, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°When I first test-fired your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, both Xu Sanshi and I were shocked. We had the feeling that it would have been difficult even for us to emerge unscathed if we had been the targets. However, the Tang Sect¡¯s production cannot be so limited. We will need more funds if we want to develop better, so reaping a profit from wars and conflicts is a must.¡±

    A look of anxiety shed in his eyes. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has be more overbearing and dominant over the past two years. Even though they are still fighting for the throne internally, the crown prince that has the advantage seems to be from the hardline faction, so war might be inevitable if he eventually ascends to the throne.¡±

    ¡°The guy with no legs?¡± He Caitou asked with a hint of astonishment.

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. This Xu Tianran is exceptionally impressive ¨C he has the courage and the wits, and he¡¯s from the pro-war hardline faction. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t sent back those blueprints, we would still be clueless that the three native empires of the Douluo Continent have beengging so far behind them in soul tool development. They will rely on advanced soul tools and masses of soul engineers, and I think neither the Star Luo Empire nor the Heavenly Soul Empire can defend themselves if the Sun Moon Empire eventuallyunches an invasion.¡±

 Chapter 209.3: Wang Qiuer

    Xu Sanshi added, ¡°At that time, our Zhuge Divine Crossbow will be extremely useful.¡±

    He Caitoughed and agreed, ¡°Definitely. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon that our little junior brother has designedbines the Tang Sect¡¯s Zhuge Divine Crossbow¡¯s gear mechanisms with soul power consumption. It¡¯s simr in strength to a ss 5 stationary soul cannon, but it can be fired repeatedly while it doesn¡¯t expend much soul power at all. Normal people can operate the crossbow if it has been charged with soul power beforehand, and that is a characteristic that no other soul tool has. The cannons will be extremely formidable if there are enough of them.¡±

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon Huo Yuhao had designed wasn¡¯t that mighty in terms of power and force. However, it could use many different types of stationary soul cannon shells, and its most frightening aspect was the same one that he had shown to Jing Hongchen ¨C he drew upon the Tang Sect¡¯s machine-type hidden weapon, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, and its automatic mechanisms. It was exceptionally simple and convenient to operate, to the point where even Soul Grandmasters could operate it.

    If Huo Yuhao could use that Sealed Milk Bottle that Xuan Ziwen had designed, then the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon could be directly operated by normal soldiers, and they would only have to switch Milk Bottles after firing for a period of time.

    Of course, because the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon was a stationary soul tool, there was a corresponding high demand for stationary soul cannon shells. The item itself was quiterge so it could store more cannon shells, and thus it was more suitable for defense, and wasn¡¯t as effective when used offensively.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, I have made some refinements and improvements to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. We can add these changes in to our next batch, and I have drawn detailed blueprints. I have several other designs that we can try producing as well.¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°Alright. There¡¯s no rush ¨C you¡¯ve just returned, and yet all we talk about are these things. We¡¯re going to participate in the bigpetition again after a few months, are you confident? I promised Elder Xuan that we will definitely win, and only then did he allow us to focus on the Tang Sect instead of on our cultivation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re the team leader. This question should be directed at you!¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Are you trying to shirk your responsibilities again? I will checkter whether you¡¯ve overlooked your cultivation over the past two years while you worked on soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, but said nothing. He Caitou chimed in from the side and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t see what happened, eldest senior brother! Back in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Huo Yuhao faced off against the academy¡¯s elites himself, and he practically walked over them. The championship will definitely be ours ¨C we took the trophy five years ago, and it will be no different this time.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°We can¡¯t be toocent. We have many adversaries, and thepetition will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. I believe the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy will be determined andmitted to take the crown as well. We might not be able to take it down as smoothly as you think.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°You¡¯re worrying over nothing. You¡¯ll see what I can do when the timees ¨C if it¡¯s a single-elimination match, I think I alone will probably be enough.¡±

    Bei Bei shot a re at him and said, ¡°Enough about thepetition. You should deal with Nannan first before anything else.¡±

    Xu Sanshi crumpled like a deting balloon and plopped onto the ground when he heard Nannan¡¯s name, and he suddenly looked a little sullen and dejected.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oh yes. Where are fourth senior sister and fifth senior sister? Where¡¯s Wang Dong?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°You only just remembered? They¡¯re all busy, and you will see them very soon. There¡¯s an important activity in the inner courtyard today, and it should have been conducted earlier, but eldest senior sister postponed it continuously to wait for you and He Caitou to return. The date was fixed only when we confirmed you were on your way back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that the ¡°eldest senior sister¡± Bei Bei referred to was Zhang Lexuan. She was truly the most powerful student of the inner courtyard, and she was already part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°What activity?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Bei Bei replied mysteriously, ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you for now, so that you will be even more pleasantly surprised afterwards. You only need to know that this is the most important activity in the entire history of the inner courtyard. We will tell you when the activity is about to start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at the mysterious and secretive expressions on Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s faces, and then at the look of befuddlement on his second senior brother¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, and he had no idea what this activity could be about.

    ¡°Will Wang Dong return in time to participate?¡± Huo Yuhao asked once more. He couldn¡¯t help but think about the young girl he had encountered when he brought up Wang Dong¡¯s name. He wanted to ask Bei Bei about her, but he figured that Wang Dong¡¯s sister had probably just arrived at the academy to participate in the entry examination, and she probably wasn¡¯t officially part of the academy yet. Eldest senior brother had been at the Tang Sect this whole time, so he probably didn¡¯t know much either. Of course, he wasn¡¯t sure whether it was simply because he was embarrassed about asking in the first ce.

    ¡°Ah, he will definitely make it back in time.¡± Bei Beiughed again as the tinge of mystery in his smile seemed to be thicker.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Eldest senior brother, third senior brother... Second senior brother and I will talk about some of the blueprints that we have brought back with us. We shall discuss which soul tools are most appropriate for production to benefit the Tang Sect. Let¡¯s also talk about our expansion issues.¡± Huo Yuhao retrieved the invaluable Starlight Sapphire ring from his finger as he spoke. It was his own ring, and not the one that Jing Hongchen had given him. He had exchanged precious metals for this in Radiant City, and it wasn¡¯t easy ¨C all the good stuff was stored inside.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Bei Bei¡¯s expression grew serious.

    Xu Sanshi was staring at him at this moment, and he passed an inquisitive look to Bei Bei. The corner of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth curled into a faint smile, and he responded with a slight shake of his head. Xu Sanshi made a disdainful gesture before he turned back towards Huo Yuhao with a piteous look as Huo Yuhaoid the blueprints out across the table.

    Huo Yuhao immediately became extremely focused when soul tools were concerned. The ¡°activity¡± that he was just talking about was thrown to the back of his mind, and he quickly entered the zone as he began to exin his principles and concepts.

    He Caitou chipped in and added things from time to time. He Caitou¡¯s mastery of soul tools was actually far superior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, but he had had no choice but to mask it a little when he was at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Their research directions were different ¨C Huo Yuhao researched closebat soul tools that were more suitable for himself, and he investigated certain concepts regarding thebination of the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons and soul tools, while He Caitou was responsible for designing and experimenting with forging these soul tools. They didn¡¯t seem like they interacted much at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but they actually coordinated with each other through letters. They had applied the Ultimate Solder ns¡¯ methods of infiltration and pration to their exchange studies.

    Time quickly passed, and the sky turned dark. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou decided to remain at the Tang Sect that night, and the four of them workedte into the night. They only went to rest when they finalized the Tang Sect¡¯s general direction for the next couple of years.

    ---

    The night passed by peacefully. The next morning, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi took Huo Yuhao and He Caitou to the Tang Sect¡¯s foundry. The two of them made some adjustments to the foundry based on their own experiences, and they gave a few suggestions based on the ns they had devised.

    The foundry was bound to be expanded, and the safest ce to expand into was Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. ording to the suggestions they had put forth the previous day, they would immediately build an underground warehouse beneath the Tang Sect to store precious soul tools.

    He Caitou would be the person in charge of the Tang Sect¡¯s branch in Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, and he would be responsible for the supervision and forging of soul tools. The advanced stationary soul cannon shells that he had been investigating over the past two years were about to enter the experimental and production phase.

    Huo Yuhao had to remain at Shrek Academy to finish his studies while he continued designing soul tools with He Caitou. Of course, this wouldn¡¯t take too long. Huo Yuhao had been waiting for one person to return, and if that person did show up, then he would be released from designing soul tools and could focus on his own closebat soul tools. Furthermore, there were more important things for him to aplish after graduation, but all those were stories forter.

    ---

    Another day passed by as they hustled along. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou quickly became familiar with the Tang Sect¡¯s various tasks and administration. The foundry had gone through drastic changes after the addition of two professional high-level soul engineers, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou tweaked and adjusted some machines used to forge soul tools, and they crafted some machines themselves. The various precious metals Huo Yuhao had sent back were put to use, and the Tang Sect hidden with Shrek City¡¯s walls was starting to look like a machine opearting at top speed.

    ---

    ¡°Take a break, little junior brother.¡± Bei Bei came into the foundry and interrupted Huo Yuhao, who was still working away.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother,¡± Huo Yuhao chortled as he surveyed the dirt and stains on his body, ¡°I can¡¯t sit around idly! I really want to make up for the past two years as I watch the Tang Sect be more prosperous every day.¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°Your contributions to the sect cannot be estimated this way. An influential and powerful sect is not established overnight. Also, do you remember the activity I told you about the other day? It will be held tomorrow, so you shouldn¡¯t stay at the Tang Sect tonight, and you should follow me to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Sanshi and Caitou will tag along, so that it¡¯s easier for us to attend the event tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t really have much of an opinion about his eldest senior brother¡¯s instructions, and he acknowledged them with a nod of his head before returning to his work.

    They were going to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament in a few months. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi seemed as rxed as they could be on the surface, but everybody knew that thispetition under their leadership was exceptionally important to them and the academy. This was especially true since thepetition was going to be hosted in the Radiant City, which would demand a lot more from them.

 Chapter 210: The Sea Gods Fate on the Sea Gods Island?

    <strong>Chapter 210: The Sea God''s Fate on the Sea God''s Ind?</strong>

    Huo Yuhao wanted to get the Tang Sect on track in one month, and wanted to get the n that they¡¯d devised the previous day underway. He also wanted to establish the Tang Sect¡¯s subdivisions so that he could focus on closed-door cultivation without any distractions. Furthermore, there was one more important thing to do before the bigpetition: obtain his Spirit Eyes¡¯ fifth soul ring.

    The quality of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest was better than the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Jing Yang Mountain Range. As such, he was confident that he could find a suitable one if he spent enough time on the endeavor.

    He didn¡¯t care too much about the activity that his eldest senior brother had mentioned, and the young girl that he¡¯d encountered that day had been thrown to the back of his head.

    Huo Yuhao had always had one dream, which was to make the Tang Sect flourish and return to its original glory and splendor¡ªthis wasn¡¯t just because he was part of the Tang Sect and the sect¡¯s Secret Techniques had been imparted to him, but because he felt an attachment to the Tang Sect. His dream was also because of Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya was the first person who Huo Yuhao had ever called teacher, and even though Bei Bei had probably guided him more than Tang Ya, both her and Bei Bei shared a special ce in his heart.

    He¡¯d met them when he was in the most difficult and painful of times back in the day, and they had been the ones to bring Huo Yuhao to Shrek Academy, who¡¯d in turn taught him the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques. Huo Yuhao would never forget that day, and it was from that day onwards that his life had been turned around.

    Huo Yuhao had felt as agonizing and terrible as Bei Bei when Tang Ya disappeared. However, how could he disy his own grief when Bei Bei was already so sad?

    Even now, there was still no news from Tang Ya. Huo Yuhao could tell that his eldest senior brother¡¯s eyes always held a dash of faint anguish even when he was smiling. More than two years had gone by, and Bei Bei seemed a lot more mature for his age¡ªonly he knew the amount of agony and torment he¡¯d beennguishing in over the past two years.

    The only thing that Huo Yuhao could do for Tang Ya since he couldn¡¯t find her was attempt to aplish her dream for her. This was the same dream that everyone in the Tang Sect shared: To restore its glory and splendor. Bei Bei had stayed strong and emerged from the initial pain and suffering because of this target. No matter how important his personal cultivation was, Huo Yuhao would always prioritize the Tang Sect, and was willing to sacrifice and dy his cultivation without hesitation or regret.

    Huo Yuhao could tell that Bei Bei had lost weight, but he didn¡¯t know how to console him, so all he could do was give everything he had for the Tang Sect. All he hoped for was that he could alleviate his eldest senior brother¡¯s burden and suffering with everything that he was doing.

    When Bei Bei came to visit Huo Yuhao in the foundry a second time, he saw Huo Yuhao carving a formation array with intense concentration in the distance.

    The youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in its history was currently sitting on a wooden stool at the foundry¡¯s entrance. His clothes had been stained with all sorts of dirt and grease, and his hair was messy and unkempt¡ªbut there was only focus in his unnaturally sparkly eyes.

    Little junior brother has grown up. A gratified and pleased smile could be seen on Bei Bei¡¯s face, but something sparkly and translucent quickly appeared at the corners of his eyes.

    Where are you, Xiao Ya? You¡¯re still alive, aren¡¯t you? The Tang Sect is on the right track; I¡¯ll search for you once I fulfill the promise I made. I¡¯ll search for you for an entire year if that¡¯s what it takes. I¡¯ll search for you for my entire lifetime if that¡¯s what it takes! I won¡¯t stop until the day I meet you, and if I never find you, then we¡¯ll meet again on my path to find you, even if that means it¡¯s in another world.

    He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the roiling emotions in his heart. He was the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother; he never wanted to let his junior brothers and sisters see his fragile and vulnerable side¡ªat least not on the surface¡ªand he would never want his negativity or grief to affect them. He tried his best even though he knew that it wasn¡¯t entirely possible.

    Bei Bei walked up to Huo Yuhao and said softly, "Why are you still here, little junior brother? Go and wash up and change your clothes. We¡¯ll be heading back to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion soon.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged with his mouth, but his hands didn¡¯t slow down at all. Bei Bei could clearly see the carving knife in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands waltzing and dancing with nimbleness and agility. Huo Yuhao was incredibly quick and impably precise with the carving knife; metal fragments continuously drifted to the ground, while an intricate and exquisite formation array gradually appeared in his hands.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t hurry him, as he knew that soul engineers had to be very focused when they crafted soul tools, and that they were most afraid of being disturbed. He simply stood there and quietly watched Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had truly grown up. He was a lot taller and more robust than he¡¯d been two years ago, so much so that his steadiness and calmness sometimes made Bei Bei feel as if he were looking at Xu Sanshi instead.

    They hadn¡¯t stopped exchanging letters over the past two years. Even though Huo Yuhao had never mentioned his own hurdles and difficulties in his letters, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been Bei Bei¡¯s only source of information.

    However, what made Bei Bei astonished was that he couldn¡¯t feel a single ounce of exhaustion from Huo Yuhao; there was only flourishing energy and vitality, as if Huo Yuhao was a perpetually moving machine that didn¡¯t feel fatigue.

    Bei Bei was actually quite worried about Huo Yuhao¡¯s state. However, he thought about the activity that was about to begin, and that worry and anxiety naturally dissipated. The corner of his mouth curved into a mischievous smile. Today will be an exceptionally exciting day.

    Fifteen minutes passed before Huo Yuhao finallypleted the formation array in his hands. He quickly stood up and walked into the foundry, then passed the formation array to a worker from the Tang Sect. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

    ¡°You¡¯re here, eldest senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly greeted Bei Bei when he saw his eldest senior brother standing there.

    Bei Bei said exasperatedly, ¡°My dear little junior brother, you¡¯re treating me like the air around you! I¡¯ve been here for quite some time, and you even answered me when I called you earlier!¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head in embarrassment. He felt like he would always be the teenager of before in front of his eldest senior brother.

    ¡°You¡¯re too focused. You¡¯ve just returned little junior brother. You can¡¯t tire yourself out like this. Everybody would feel pained to see you copse from fatigue, and the academy wouldn¡¯t forgive us either. Let¡¯s go. Go and wash up and then change into some clean clothes. We¡¯re heading back to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly went to take a bath before changing into a clean set of Shrek Academy¡¯s uniform.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou were waiting for him when he finished.

    Xu Sanshi whistled when he watched a clean and refreshed Huo Yuhao walk out and said, ¡°Not bad, sixth junior brother. After two years of not seeing each other, you¡¯ve be a real man.¡±

    He Caitou snapped, ¡°What kind of appraisal is that? Are you saying that little junior brother wasn¡¯t a real man before?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°What I mean is that it¡¯s time for sixth junior brother to find a girl.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s face turned red, but it seemed like he¡¯d suddenly thought of something. He nced at Bei Bei as if he were asking for help and said, ¡°Me¡­ how about me?¡±

    Bei Beiughed. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. It¡¯ll all be up to your own ability. However, I think that you should have some more self-confidence. If you¡¯re a little more thick-skinned, you¡¯ll have a greater chance of sess.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± He Caitou¡¯s blushing cheeks weren¡¯t that obvious because of his tanned skin. However, upon closer inspection, one would see that he¡¯d be as purple as an eggnt.

    Huo Yuhao was both taken aback and curious when he saw the bashful look on his second senior brother¡¯s face. He walked up to his third senior brother and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Eldest senior brother, third senior brother¡­ what¡¯s going on with second senior brother? You guys are talking in riddles.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s about the activity tomorrow. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll talk about it on the way. If we don¡¯t, we won¡¯t make it to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in time for dinner.¡±

    The four of them left the Tang Sect and proceeded along the streets of Shrek City. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were more familiar with the road, thus they led the pack. It was obvious that they spent a lot less time walking,pared to Huo Yuhao when he¡¯d tried to find his way here on his own.

    ¡°What activity is it, exactly?¡± Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t really thought too much about it at first, but after witnessing He Caitou¡¯s conspicuously unnatural state, his youthful curiosity had been piqued.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Let me tell you a joke, little junior brother. As there¡¯s four of us, it¡¯s quite rtable.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with tomorrow¡¯s activity?¡± Huo Yuhao asked skeptically.

    Xu Sanshi replied, ¡°Nothing at all!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°Can you not see, little junior brother, that he¡¯s trying to change the topic and talk about other things? He doesn¡¯t want to tell you!¡±

    Xu Sanshi sincerely said, ¡°It¡¯s for your own good. Can¡¯t you see that He Caitou has be stifled and taciturn? I believe that you¡¯ll be like him if you know what the activity is about. It¡¯s not my fault that the two of you are still virgins.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with being virgins?¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that something was amiss.

    Bei Bei said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on virgins. I¡¯m also a virgin.¡±

    ¡°Ahem! Actually, me too¡­ at least, I¡¯m one in spirit.¡± Xu Sanshi immediately tried to exin himself.

    Bei Bei muttered contemptuously, ¡°You? Would Nannan reject you like she does if you were still a virgin? You still have the shame tough at others¡ªI want to see how you pass this hurdle tomorrow.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was utterly destroyed by Bei Bei¡¯s words, and his face immediately turned gloomy and depressed.

    Huo Yuhao yed the good samaritan in the end and hurriedly said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you about to tell us a joke, second senior brother? Come on and tell us.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s personality didn¡¯t have many merits, but his skin was really thick. If not, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep at it with Jiang Nannan for so long without giving up. He suddenly became invigorated when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s question.

    ¡°This joke¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut it,¡± Bei Bei abruptly interrupted Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°we¡¯re about to have dinner; keep your disgusting joke to yourself so that you don¡¯t affect everyone¡¯s appetites. Let me tell you, I¡¯m the host for today. If you antagonize me, I¡¯m going to stir things up even if you can pass that hurdle with Nannan.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Bei Bei, are you even human?¡±

    Bei Bei leisurely continued, ¡°We have to treat other humans like humans, but it¡¯s hard to say for those things crawling on the ground.¡±

    ¡°Who are you referring to by ¡®things crawling on the ground¡¯?!¡± Xu Sanshi infuriatingly replied.

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°Some tortoise, of course. I wasn¡¯t talking about you¡ªthere are people who pick up money from the ground¡ªbut I never thought there¡¯d be people who insulted themselves.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Xu Sanshi was about to lunge at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t seem to care as he muttered to himself, ¡°I think that some people don¡¯t even need to think about tomorrow¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fate at the Sea God¡¯s Lake anymore.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Xu Sanshi stopped in his tracks resentfully. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m a magnanimous and amodating person, so I won¡¯t fuss with you. But seriously, you have to help me tomorrow! If I fail one more time, I¡¯ll lose all my confidence.¡±

    Bei Bei rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Your skin is thicker than the city wall¡ªis it really possible for you to lose your confidence? I¡¯m not sure who that wasst night, but that person told me that he would never stop until he got what he wanted, no matter what he had to do. However, I¡¯m quite curious¡ªwhat did you do to Nannan all those years ago? You¡¯ve been nice and decent to her over the past two years, yet why won¡¯t she ept you? I¡¯ve asked her privately before, but she still wouldn¡¯t tell me anything.¡±

    Xu Sanshi replied solemnly, ¡°Then, I can¡¯t say anything either. Otherwise I won¡¯t have a chance at all.¡±

    The smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face became wider as he watched his brothers bicker and banter. It feels great to be home! Eldest senior brother and third senior brother are still the same. However¡­ He suddenly realized something, and cut into the conversation from the side. ¡°Eldest senior brother, what¡¯s this ¡®Sea God¡¯s Fate on the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯ that you just mentioned?¡±

    Bei Bei chuckled and replied, ¡°That¡¯s tomorrow¡¯s activity. You¡¯ll have to work hard, little junior brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled a long face and said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me what the activity is about, eldest senior brother! How can I work hard?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chimed in. ¡°Two words are enough to describe it: Blind date!¡±

    ¡°Blind date?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What blind date?¡±

    Xu Sanshi replied, ¡°You don¡¯t understand? It means finding a girl for yourself! Do you understand now?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression creased into a frown as he said, ¡°How could the academy host an activity like that? Furthermore, it¡¯s even hosted in our inner courtyard.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°This is a traditional event in the academy. There¡¯s only one aim, and that¡¯s to keep the goodies within the family. You should know that the inner courtyard students are the true elites of the academy, and that there are rarely more than one hundred students in the inner courtyard; it¡¯s usually fifty to sixty. The inner courtyard are also responsible as the Guardians, while everyone has to work hard and cultivate as well. This is the reason why everyone is rtively familiar with each other, and why we hardly have the chance to interact with the outside world for a sufficient period of time. The inner courtyard¡¯s students aren¡¯t limited by age, thus the academy has noticed that many students are youths who havee of age yet haven¡¯t found themselves a suitable partner.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when the academy started to host this event, but there will be a Sea God¡¯s Fate every year. Typically, the event will be hosted before the new batch of inner courtyard students take their assessments so that original inner courtyard students can have blind dates on Sea God¡¯s Lake. Everybody is able to put their abilities up on disy however they want to at the Sea God¡¯s Fate, and they can go ahead and chase their crush or whoever they like. As long as the other party agrees, these two can then attempt to start interacting andmunicating with each other. We are all students from the inner courtyard. As such, everyone has simr experiences and abilities, so it¡¯s natural for many of us to find a match. The truth is that the Sea God¡¯s Fate has brought many couples in the academy together.¡±

 Chapter 211.1: The Blind Date at the Sea Gods Fate

    Huo Yuhao had never expected the activity that Bei Bei was talking about to be a blind date, thus his heart unwittingly began to beat faster. Will that Wang Qiu¡¯er be attending this blind date too?

    He was experienced in terms of battle, but he was like a nk piece of paper when it came to rtionships. He actually became exactly what that Xu Sanshi had described earlier, as he descended into silence and began to blush.

    Xu Sanshi walked up next to Huo Yuhao and wrapped his arm around Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao, it¡¯s easy to get girls! I¡¯ll teach you three moves: Be courageous, be meticulous,, and be thick-skinned. We¡¯re all adults at this point, and the academy has given us permission. If you see someone that you like, just go ahead and chase her. Remember that we aren¡¯t inferior to anyone, and good luck!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded, but the Goddess of Light¡¯s image echoed in his mind. The first person that popped into his mind when he thought about girls was the woman of his dreams, and asionally the feeling of awe he¡¯d felt when he saw Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s elegance and gracefulness.

    ¡°When will Wang Dong be back, eldest senior brother?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Bei Bei. It¡¯d be nice if Wang Dong was around. Wang Qiu¡¯er should be his twin sister, thus he should be able to give me some pointers.

    Bei Bei exchanged a look with Xu Sanshi and then said, ¡°He should be back in time to participate in the event, as it¡¯ll be hosted tomorrow night. Eldest senior sister and I will be hosting the hosts of the Sea God¡¯s Fate, thus we¡¯ll exin the rules to you tomorrow during the day. This event belongs to the inner courtyard¡¯s students, and is a good chance for everyone to interact with one another. The teachers will make guest appearances and watch from the side, but they will not interfere. You don¡¯t have to worry, little junior brother, because we have prepared for bashful people like you and Caitou, and I guarantee that you will be eased into the event when the timees. Furthermore, you have to remember that being together with the person you like isn¡¯t that easy, as there are far fewer girls in the inner courtyard than guys! There will be a contest of abilities when the timees, so you have to be mentally prepared for that!¡±

    We still have to fight during the blind date? Huo Yuhao exchanged a look with He Caitou. There was a tinge of eagerness in all his anxiety, but he also felt a little distressed and awkward.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, can I choose not participate in this event?¡± Huo Yuhao asked feebly.

    Bei Bei replied firmly, ¡°No way! You¡¯re part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and you¡¯re part of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters! You will ruin our reputation if you don¡¯t participate! Furthermore, you won¡¯t have this fantastic opportunity whenever you want it. Even though it¡¯s hosted every year, if you don¡¯t make a move on the girl you like, then perhaps she¡¯ll be someone else¡¯s girl the following year. You can¡¯t let this opportunity go, as it may nevere back to you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao watched Bei Bei¡¯s sincere and honest expression, but Huo Yuhao felt as if there were butterflies in his stomach. He started to hope for Wang Dong¡¯s return in his mind again. Wang Dong was much more experienced than he was with things like this.

    ---

    They departed Shrek City, and it didn¡¯t take long before they returned to Shrek Academy.

    Sea God¡¯s Ind hadn¡¯t changed much. Even before he stepped on the ind, Huo Yuhao could feel that there were quite a few people in boats hustling about on theke.

    Bei Bei told him that they were making preparations for tomorrow¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fate.

    ¡°Let¡¯s grab a bite to eat. I¡¯m famished.¡± Xu Sanshi patted his stomach and strode towards the canteen the moment he stepped on the ind.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when they arrived at the canteen.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s canteen was bustling. He could see about thirty students eating when he surveyed the ce, and the food seemed a lot more sumptuous than before. What made him even more surprised was that there were two barrels of red wine by the side, which students could drink if they wanted to.

    ¡°What¡¯s this, eldest senior brother? The academy allows alcohol now?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in shock.

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Fate will be hosted tomorrow, and tonight is called Singles Night. Have you realized that the people eating are all guys, and there isn¡¯t a single girl? Everybody has been frustrated and nervous during their day-to-day cultivation, and most of the students in the inner courtyard are already adults. Having a little wine is nothing, and this is expressly permitted by the academy so that everyone can rx a little. It isn¡¯t allowed on typical days. Come, let¡¯s have a drink!¡±

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao had ever tasted wine. He savored the delicious food prepared by the academy¡¯s top-tier chefs and sipped on dark red wine the color of a rose. He gazed into the night above the Sea God¡¯s Lake in the distance, and he suddenly felt a little surreal.

    The wine tasted a little sour when it entered his mouth, and it smelled like ripe apricots. He didn¡¯t feel much when he had the first mouthful, but the crisp fragrance of the wooden barrel and the wine¡¯s various aromas came back as an aftertaste, and Huo Yuhao instantly felt his face starting to heat up. He had never been tipsy before in his entire life, and he felt as if his entire body had been submerged in the savory wine.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao?¡± A deep and slightly unfamiliar voice rang out from behind him.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and stared at the person who had called out his name. His eyes were rxed and a little dazed before this, but they instantly became as sharp as could be.

    This person was a tall young man, slightly taller than Huo Yuhao, with broad shoulders and a wide back. His short golden hair was especially neat and clean, but his face seemed a little gloomy and overcast, and he was staring at Huo Yuhao with cold eyes. He was also holding a cup of wine in his hand, and his pupils sparkled with a chilly light.

    ¡°Dai Huabin,¡± Huo Yuhao called out the other person¡¯s name calmly.

    They hadn¡¯t seen each other for more than two years, but the hatred in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart had never disappeared, not even for a single moment. He had gotten better at hiding this hatred at the bottom of his heart. At least, now wasn¡¯t the time to take his revenge.

    Dai Huabin walked up beside Huo Yuhao and looked towards the vast mist-covered Sea God¡¯s Lake. He sipped his wine and his eyes narrowed as he asked, ¡°When did you return?¡±

    Huo Yuhao drank his wine in simr fashion and replied, ¡°I came back a few days ago.¡±

    Dai Huabin asked, ¡°Are you participating in tomorrow¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fate?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Dai Huabin said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to participate at first, as Zhu Lu hasn¡¯t entered the inner courtyard yet. However, since you¡¯re going to participate, I¡¯ll participate as well. Shall we make a bet?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was clean and decisive.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid?¡± Dai Huabin raised an eyebrow, and the glow in his eyes became stronger than before.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards him, and his eyes were still as limpid as before. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you want to bet with me?¡± Dai Huabin¡¯s tone was overbearing and menacing.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Because you¡¯re not worthy.¡± He was smiling, but the chill in his eyes was filled with provocation.

    Dai Huabin was silent, and his cheeks tensed up. The cup of wine in his hands remained unnaturally stable, however.

    Huo Yuhao thought he was going to attack, but Dai Huabin regained hisposure and muttered coldly, ¡°We¡¯ll see if I¡¯m worthy enough at the Sea God¡¯s Fate tomorrow.¡± With that, he turned around and strode away.

    Huo Yuhao was a little surprised as he watched Dai Huabin walk away. His words were meant to infuriate Dai Huabin. The hatred and vengeance between the two of them was irreconcble, but this was Shrek Academy, after all, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t just murder him here even if he had the ability to do so. Therefore, he had to trick Dai Huabin into making a mistake, and when Dai Huabin did something outrageous when he was angry¡­ well, the oue would be hard to say.

    However, Dai Huabin disyed his calm andposed side, and he wasn¡¯t as impulsive as he was back then. He actually restrained himself even when Huo Yuhao tried to provoke him. He turned and left just like that, something that would have been unimaginable for Huo Yuhao if they were in the past.

    He¡¯s grown up too!, Huo Yuhao thought to himself. He stared at Dai Huabin, and couldn¡¯t help but think about Dai Yueheng, who he had fought along side by side before. Dai Yueheng had already left the academy, and he was probably fighting on the battlefield with the White Tiger Duke. In terms of blood rtions, they were both Huo Yuhao¡¯s older brothers.

    Brothers, what a strange thing to call them. Huo Yuhaoughed at himself.

    Xu Sanshi came beside Huo Yuhao, and he drained the wine in his cup as he asked, ¡°What did that Dai Huabin fellow want with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°He says we shall meet at the Sea God¡¯s Fate tomorrow.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Seems like he wants to stir up trouble for you! Huo Yuhao, you can¡¯t becent. Dai Huabin has improved rapidly over the past two years.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao nced at Xu Sanshi, surprised. He knew that his third senior brother had always thought highly of himself, so he didn¡¯t expect Xu Sanshi to give such a high evaluation of Dai Huabin.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Your batch has many prodigies and talents, indeed. You, Wang Dong, and even Xiao Xiao have entered the inner courtyard, and several students jumped levels to enter the inner courtyard as well.¡±

    ¡°Several? Who else besides Dai Huabin?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Xu Sanshi replied, ¡°There are three others. The Seven Treasures zed Pagoda¡¯s auxiliary-type soul master Ning Tian, the Red Dragon assault-type soul master Wu Feng, and the Rubberdon defense-type soul master Xie Huanyue. Yea, isn¡¯t that him over there?¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes, and saw Xie Huanyue.

    Xie Huanyue was much tallerpared to a few years ago, but his body seemed to have grown even pudgier, while his looks were quite different as well. After all, everyone had gone through puberty. Dai Huabin walked up next to him and said something to him, and Xie Huanyue¡¯s eyes coincidentally turned towards Huo Yuhao.

    Their eyes met, and Huo Yuhao raised the wine ss in his hands as a gesture. He didn¡¯t have any vengeance or hatred with Xie Huanyue, after all.

    Xie Huanyue responded with a nod.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Did you expect the few of them to be able to join the inner courtyard?¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°They must have broken through Rank 50?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and replied, ¡°They can be described as extraordinary prodigies even within Shrek Academy, just like you and Wang Dong. Even though they don¡¯t have twin martial souls, their martial souls are exceptionally powerful. This is especially so for Dai Huabin, and his performance in the past few years has been rather dazzling and stunning.¡±

 Chapter 211.2: The Blind Date at the Sea Gods Fate

    ¡°His soul power should¡¯ve exceeded Rank 50 by now. You have to realize that he¡¯s been studying in the outer courtyard this whole time, and that he doesn¡¯t have the advantage of twin martial souls like Wang Dong does. At his current rate of progression, he¡¯ll definitely breach Rank 60 within the next two years. Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, even Nannan and Xiao Xiao might not be as fast as him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m slower too.¡±

    Xu Sanshi quickly snapped back, ¡°You¡¯re a freak, how could you be the same as the others? You shouldn¡¯t talk about yourself like that. Even though I don¡¯t think that Dai Huabin is stronger than you, his potential and talent are possibly superior to senior Dai Yueheng¡¯s. You should watch out in case he tries to stir up trouble with you tomorrow, as it¡¯s rted to a major turning point in your life.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Third senior brother, you sound like you¡¯re trying to say that I¡¯ll definitely find the person that I like tomorrow."

    Xu Sanshiughed along with him and said, ¡°You¡¯ll find her as long as you¡¯re not a stupid fool.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao was feeling a little distressed again, he could still clearly feel Xu Sanshi¡¯s concern.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s have a few more drinks. It¡¯s rare for the academy to give us wine, and pretty good wine at that. This brew is probably at least ten years old, and has been oxidized beforehand. These two barrels are quite expensive! Look at Bei Bei, that useless fe.¡±

    Bei Bei was currently chatting with He Caitou on the other side. They were both sitting right next to a barrel of wine as if they were guarding it, and Bei Bei was downing wine very quickly¡ªhe¡¯d finish his ss in two or three mouthfuls before refilling it and continuing. He Caitou was quiterge, but even he wasn¡¯t drinking as fast as Bei Bei.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s frowned slightly and said, ¡°Bei Bei has been quite depressed these past two years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head slightly; of course he knew what Xu Sanshi was trying to say.

    Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh and said, ¡°It¡¯s so difficult to find a single person in this wide, vast world of ours. Even though we all know that something has probably happened to Xiao Ya, he refuses to believe it. I¡¯ve already seen him drinking by himselfte into the night several times. He looks tough on the surface, but his heart is actually extremely fragile; Xiao Ya is just too important to him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gradually clenched his fists. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya will be alright.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°We¡¯ll all pray for her.¡±

    They walked up to Bei Bei and He Caitou after they¡¯d finished speaking. Bei Bei¡¯s eyes were already covered withyer of haziness, and he smiled when he saw Huo Yuhao. He patted Huo Yuhao lightly on the shoulder and then finished the cup of wine he was holding with a single gulp. ¡°Yuhao, you have to remember my words: Treasure the people around you.

    ¡°You will only truly feel the impact of their loss in your bones when you¡¯ve actually lost them. I won¡¯t drink anymore; I don¡¯t want you to see my fragile side. I¡¯m leaving!¡± He waved to the three of them once he¡¯d finished and then turned to walk away, staggering from side to side as he did so.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to chase after him, but Xu Sanshi held him back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t. Nothing that we say to him will be as good as letting him have some alone time. All that we can say has been said; he doesn¡¯t want to get drunk and copse before us, which means that he¡¯s trying to protect hisst ounce of dignity.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had known Bei Bei longer than everyone else present, thus he was undoubtedly the one that understood him best.

    Huo Yuhao turned back around; he truly didn¡¯t wish to see his eldest senior brother like this. As the circles around his eyes began to turn red, he thought, Is this love? If the girl that I like were to suddenly leave my side one day, would I be like him?

    Bei Bei¡¯s loneliness affected everyone¡¯s mood in the end, and the Singles Night ended like that. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stay with his senior brothers, as his dorm on Sea God¡¯s Ind had been assigned to someone else. As such, he could only stay in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion for now.

    He sauntered towards the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, when he saw the towering Golden Tree, tears began to involuntarily trickle down his cheeks. He wasn¡¯t just feeling sad for Bei Beiing back here made him think about Elder Mu, who¡¯d passed away.

    He knelt on the ground in the direction of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and kowtowed towards the tall ancient tree three times in a row.

    ¡°I¡¯m home, teacher. I miss you so much.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even manage to finish his sentence before beginning to sob uncontrobly.

    This ce was his real home; only here could he feelpletely rxed. Two and a half years had gone by, and he¡¯d finally been able to see the Sea God¡¯s Ind once more. He was finally able to see the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and Golden Tree again.

    Huo Yuhao cried for a good fifteen minutes, as if he was releasing all the pent-up emotions that he¡¯d umted over the past two and a half years.

    Elder Mu was gone, Electrolux¡¯s divine sense had dissipated into nothingness, Teacher Xiao Ya was missing, and Ma Xiaotao had vanished. These were all people he was extremely close to.

    He had been extraordinarily tough on himself back in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He¡¯d rarely slept properly; most nights had been spent drawing blueprints or cultivating.

    More than two years had gone by since he left. Huo Yuhao had grown up, and was now much more mature. But no matter what, he was still only seventeen years old. Most people at his age were still in their adolescence, and their mentalities were still immature such that they still had to rely on their parents. And yet, Huo Yuhao had been carrying so much more on his shoulders all by himself.

    Elder Xuan quietly stood a ways away from Huo Yuhao, raising the wine bottle in his hands from time to time to take a sip. However, he didn¡¯t step forward to console Huo Yuhao, as an emotional catharsis such as this wasn¡¯t exactly a bad thing for him. Instead, this was a chance for Huo Yuhao to finally release his pent-up emotions.

    Elder Mu, Elder Mu¡­ you took in two exceptional disciples during your final years!

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes were full of gratification.

    In the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion not far from him, a pair of clear yet icy-blue eyes were staring at Huo Yuhao, who was still bawling on the ground. This person wanted to dash out andfort Huo Yuhao, but the two people beside this person held them back.

    ¡°Do you want to waste all of your past efforts?¡±

    ¡°Control yourself. Crying isn¡¯t a bad thing for him. Men shed tears too, but they don¡¯te easily. I think that there¡¯s too much pressure on his shoulders.¡±

    ¡°But, he¡¯s in so much pain, and his cries are so sorrowful. I¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop looking. Your tears areing out too. Everything will be alright tomorrow. Look, Elder Xuan is here. He¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s a powerful Soul King after all, will crying really do him any harm?¡±

    Huo Yuhao cried until even he felt a bit dizzy and disoriented. He didn¡¯t know when he returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and couldn¡¯t remember how he¡¯d entered his room. He simply copsed onto his bed and fell asleep the moment that he entered the room.

    Pale golden rays cascaded in through the walls of Huo Yuhao¡¯s room. They became specks of golden light that descended onto his body; it was as if they were warmly and gently caressing andforting him.

    Huo Yuhao was still in dreand, but he began to feel warm. His tightly knit eyebrows gradually rxed, and he began to sleep even more soundly.

    When he woke up from his deep sleep, his entire body feltnguid and rxed, and he felt an unspeakable amount offort and contentment. His fatigue hadpletely disappeared, which was in stark contrast to his lethargic sleep back at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Hey back down on the bed and closed his eyes. The corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile¡ªthe feeling of being home was just too good.

    He hugged his nket that was filled with the smell of sunlight and turned on his side, seeming to feel even morefortable. Sunlight was already flooding into the room, but he didn¡¯t want to get up at all.

    He continued to doze. By the time he woke up, he felt a wave of freshness and coolness. There was just one thing that didn¡¯t feelfortable¡ªhis stomach.

    Why am I so hungry?

    He quickly sat up on the bed, and then rubbed his sleepy eyes and dragged himself to the window to check the sky outside. Just this one look gave him a shock. The sun is leaning towards the west! Midday has already passed?! Did I really sleep that long?

    The first thought that came to mind was that he hadn¡¯t even cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes. However, it didn¡¯t seem like there was much to do today anyway.

    I¡¯ve finally returned home. I should just rest for a day.

    He was in exceptional spirits after a good night¡¯s sleep, and left the room after changing his clothes.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion nevercked food; Huo Yuhao quickly found some fruit and other light refreshments before he proceeded towards the Sea God¡¯s Ind¡¯s dormitory area. He wanted to find his senior brothers and find out what today¡¯s arrangement were.

    Right¡ªthere¡¯s that Sea God¡¯s Fate thing tonight! Huo Yuhao pped himself on the forehead. He¡¯d slept so long that his mind had be a little blurry and had nearly forgotten about it.

    I¡¯m sure eldest senior brother will tell me the rules now.

    When he arrived at Bei Bei¡¯s dorm room, both Xu Sanshi and He Caitou were already there.

    The inner courtyard¡¯s living conditions were a lot better than the students in the outer courtyard; several two-story buildings had been erected unevenly on the Sea God¡¯s Ind, each of which could host two students. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi naturally took one of these buildings, while He Caitou¡¯s situation was simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s in that he had nowhere to go. However, he couldn¡¯t sleep in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, thus he¡¯d decided to sleep at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s ce. The ce was spacious anyway¡ªhousing an extra person wasn¡¯t a problem.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, second senior brother, third senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted his senior brothers respectively.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t just wake up, did you, little junior brother?¡± Bei Bei asked with a smile on his face. He seemed to have recovered fromst night. The dejection and moodiness from the previous day waspletely gone.

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as he replied, ¡°Yeah, I just woke up. I haven¡¯t had such afortable sleep in a long time. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m home, but I felt much more rxed in my sleep.¡±

    He Caitou nodded his head as if he rted deeply to thisment and said, ¡°I had that feeling as wellst night¡¯s sleep was great. Sleeping is so much morefortable than meditation!¡±

    Xu Sanshi rolled his eyes and said, ¡°You had a greatfortable sleep, but the two of us sure suffered. Your snoring was so loud that we thought the ceiling was going to copse.¡±

    Bei Bei heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I have to thank Caitou after all. At least I temporarily forgot about Xiao Ya amidst his thunderous snoring.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ are you two even human? Was it that bad?¡± He Caitou angrily eximed.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi nodded in unison. It was clear that the two of them had truly suffered a lotst night¡­

    Huo Yuhao tried to hold back hisughter from the side. The days he spent with his senior brothers were always greatly pleasing and gratifying.

 Chapter 211.3: The Blind Date at the Sea Gods

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Caitou, considering how loud you snore, should you pay the doctor a visit? Even if Xiao Xiao does walk away with you during the Sea God¡¯s Fate, you¡¯ll both have quite a hard time. Who in their right mind could stand having a sleepless night every day?¡±

    He Caitou lowered his voice and said, ¡°I can meditate; I won¡¯t snore if I don¡¯t sleep. Are you telling me that you actually sleep every single night?¡±

    ¡°Eh, that makes sense.¡± They were soul masters, thus they didn¡¯t spend that many days sleeping. Generally, most of their nights were spent meditating.

    Huo Yuhao attempted to help his second senior brother and asked, ¡°What are the rules for today¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fate, eldest senior brother? How many people will be participating?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°You¡¯ve asked the right person. Nobody but me and eldest senior sister know the exact number of participants tonight¡ªnot even the teachers are aware. We benefit from being the insiders. As such, I¡¯ll exin the key events to you guys in order to ensure that none of you run into any problems before the confessions.¡±

    Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Huo Yuhao all began to listen intently to Bei Bei¡¯s exnation. In the end, this event would be a major turning point in their lives.

    Xu Sanshi and He Caitou both had a target in mind, while Huo Yuhao seemed to desire the girl of his dreams. However, the three of them had something inmon: They didn¡¯t have absolute confidence.

    There was no need to mention Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, as they¡¯d always been a resentful couple. Even though Jiang Nannan showed some concern to Xu Sanshi from time to time, she was generally cold towards him, while her speech was typically serious and direct.

    He Caitou¡¯s rtionship with Xiao Xiao wasparatively better, as they¡¯d been rtively well-acquainted since the beginning. However, Xiao Xiao had still been young back then. He Caitou was exceptionally diffident about these things, thus he¡¯d never proposed any sort of official rtionship between them. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao had then left the academy for two years, thus he was afraid that Xiao Xiao had forgotten all about him¡ªhow could he have even a thread of confidence?

    As for Huo Yuhao, he hadn¡¯t known a thing about romance when he left Shrek Academy on the exchange program. He hadn¡¯t had a chance to think much about it, as he was still mired in grief from his teacher¡¯s passing.

    However, the number of girls that he interacted with began to increase proportionately with his age, thus he began to gain an inkling about love and romance, especially during his interaction with Ju Zi. The Goddess of Light that had been conjured by the Raiment of Light had simply been too beautiful, and this feeling of ¡®love at first sight¡¯ had taken root deep inside his heart. However, the Goddess of Light herself was virtual¡ªshe wasn¡¯t real. If not for that glimpse of beauty and enchantment on the day he¡¯d returned, Huo Yuhao probably wouldn¡¯t have had any fantasies about the Sea God¡¯s Fate at all. However, since he had, things were different now: ¡®Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯¡ªthe name of Wang Dong¡¯s twin sister that he¡¯d mentioned¡ªwas starting to ferment in his mind. An unknown eagerness had appeared in his heart towards tonight¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fate.

    Bei Bei continued, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Fate is one of the most important internal activities within Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy is known as the number-one academy in the Continent, and we aren¡¯t called that for nothing. As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all aware, the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples are all extraordinarily elite soul masters; their abilities are formidable, so it¡¯s natural that they have high rtionship standards. As such, it isn¡¯t that easy for them to find a suitable partner in the outside world. This is the reason for the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. We¡¯re trying to give the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples, who typically devote their concentration and focus to cultivation, a chance to mingle with and get to know each other.¡±

    ¡°Get to the point.¡± Xu Sanshi said a little impatiently.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient, you have to let me exin properly. Neither He Caitou nor our little junior brother have participated in this event before. Even though this is a blind date, we are an academy after all, and the number one academy on the Continent at that. This even isn¡¯t as simple as a blind date¡ªthe Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date is also a tform to test the abilities of the inner courtyard¡¯s disciples. Obtaining approval from the girl of your dreams isn¡¯t that simple; everyone will have to pass through multiple trials before they¡¯ll gain the chance to confess. If they can¡¯t even pass this hurdle, then they won¡¯t even get a chance to confess. Of course, luck is also involved; if you¡¯re lucky enough, you might be able to enter the final part. When both parties are happy with each other, then you might just be able to walk away with said girl of your dreams.¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s still considered an assessment, that means that it goes both ways¡ªthe men and women will both be assessed. The only difference is that there have always been fewer girls who participate in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, thus the assessment will naturally be more difficult for the guys.

    ¡°The event is separated into five segments. There are a total of fifty-six single inner courtyard disciples participating in the event including the three of you. That number also includes Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, and Ning Tian, who entered the inner courtyard not too long ago.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister and I will be the hosts for this event. The first segment will be the Entry Phase. This event is known as ¡®The Sea God¡¯s Fate on the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯, which literally means that this event will be hosted atop the Sea God¡¯s Late. Theke will be decorated with lights, but there won¡¯t be a stage or anything of the like. When the timees, the only things that you guys will have to stand on will be water lilies.¡±

    ¡°Water lilies?¡± He Caitou¡¯s face instantly darkened. Water lilies were aquatic nts enormous leaves more than one meter in diameter. The leaves edges then curved upwards, thus they could hold some weight on the water¡¯s surface. However, water lilies could only hold the weight of a six or seven year-old kid without capsizing; grown adults were a bit too dense and heavy for water lilies.

    He Caitou¡¯s frame was at an extreme disadvantage under these circumstances and rules. He weighed more than a hundred and twenty kilograms, and his muscles werepact and knotted together. As he was a food-type soul master, even though his soul power had reached the level of Soul Emperor, controlling and manipting his weight wasn¡¯t his forte.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Will people from the Soul Tool Department be allowed to use their soul tools during the Sea God¡¯s Fate?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Naturally, so neither you nor He Caitou should worry too much. Even if you have to make one now, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be difficult to create something to aid the two of you in floating atop the water.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s expression lightened somewhat as he nodded his head.

    Bei Bei then spoke in a serious tone, ¡°There¡¯s one thing that you have be careful about, Caitou. No matter what sort of shape the soul tool you create ends up having, you have to make sure that it¡¯s agile and nimble. This will be vital.¡±

    ¡°All male and female students will be provided with a leaf from a water lily as tools to float on during the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date; everything else will be up to them. Anybody that falls into the water during any segment will be immediately forfeit, and will no longer be allowed to participate in the activity.¡±

    He Caitou asked, ¡°Eldest senior brother, can we attack each other?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°In some segments. You¡¯ll understand if you just keep listening.

    ¡°Of the fifty-six students from the inner courtyard participating in Sea God¡¯s Fate, thirty-nine are male, while seventeen are female. The first segment is called ¡®Mutual Feelings¡¯. While the name sounds nice, it¡¯s actually quite difficult. The seventeen female students will be standing in a row one hundred meters away from the guys, and will all be wearing bamboo hats with veils covering their faces so that you¡¯re not able to see their appearances. Simply put, this round requires teamwork from the male students¡ªall thirty-nine of you will be able to attempt to use your own respective powers tounch attacks at the girls. You can attack one, or you can attack multiple. The goal is simply to lift the veils covering their faces. How can you choose a girlfriend if you can¡¯t even see what they look like, eh?

    ¡°This round is also meant as a way for everyone to disy their skills and abilities. There¡¯s no doubt that the more bamboo hats a guy can remove, the stronger he is. The girls aren¡¯t allowed to help each other during this segment, nor can they retaliate against the guys. They can only passively defend and do their best to stop the bamboo hat from being removed from their heads. If a girl drops into the water during this round, she will also be forfeit. However, the guys generally know what they should and shouldn¡¯t do during the first round¡ªif all the girls fell into the water, who would there be to matchmake with?¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed from the side and said, ¡°There¡¯s so many guys yet so few girls! Who could bear to chase even a single girl into the water? Anyone that does that will incur everyone¡¯s wrath.¡±

    Huo Yuhao noticed that Bei Bei¡¯s words seemed to contain another meaning. ¡°Eldest senior brother, that also means the guys will have to cross a hundred meters across theke¡¯s surface in order to attack, right? We¡¯ll also have to cross the same distance after we attack, right?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. The difference in martial souls and how advantageous and disadvantageous they are in this segment will be obvious. All thirty-nine of you will draw lots to decide the order in which you¡¯ll attack, and are allowed to give up the first round when your turn hase. In the end, not all martial souls are able to attack through the air, and not all martial souls canunch an attack and manage to return to their original spot safely. However, male students that choose to give up will be pushed to the back in the second round. The more bamboo hats that you can lift in the first round, the earlier that you¡¯ll start in the second round. Following this, the earlier that you start the second round, the more girls that there will be, and the more choices you¡¯ll have.

    ¡°Let me exin the second round¡­¡±

    Bei Bei continued to exin the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date¡¯s rules and the various details to the three of them. As he was one of the hosts, he was extremely clear regarding the entire event and its itinerary. This exnation took up their entire afternoon.

    The sun dipped over the western horizon when Bei Bei finally stood up and said, ¡°The three of you should grab something to eat. I¡¯ll go and find eldest senior sister to confirm the itinerary. Remember, don¡¯t bete. Everyone already knows where to go. Good luck, everyone! Especially Caitou and little junior brother.¡±

    Xu Sanshi retorted unhappily, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wishing me good luck?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Does it matter if I do? Is this the first time that you¡¯ve participated in Sea God¡¯s Fate? Don¡¯t get your hopes up. It doesn¡¯t matter because you¡¯re shameless anyway; if you can continue with your incessant entangling, maybe one day, Nannan will be so upset with your entanglement that she epts you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi jumped up angrily and said, ¡°What? Don¡¯t get my hopes up? I¡¯ll definitely seed this time!¡±

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t even look at him as he waved towards Caitou and Huo Yuhao. ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±

 Chapter 212.1: Mutual Feelings

    ¡°What kind of attitude is this?¡± Xu Sanshi was angry, but he didn¡¯t pursue the matter. It was only when Bei Bei disappeared that he muttered to himself, ¡°On ount of Tang Ya, I won¡¯t hold it against you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, when she returns, I will deal with you. Let¡¯s eat. I¡¯m going turn my anger into appetite.¡±

    He Caitou chortled, ¡°Be careful of gaining weight. You¡¯ll be unable to stand properly on the water lily.¡±

    Xu Sanshi snapped, ¡°Gain weight? Worry about yourself first. Don¡¯t forget that I have experience! In addition, my martial soul is a water-type! Hehe!¡±

    He Caitou stood up and walked beside Xu Sanshi, grabbing hold of his shoulders. He said softly, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re more experienced than me even though you¡¯ve lost every fight that you¡¯ve been in! Teach me a few tricks, please!¡±

    Xu Sanshi turned gloomy. ¡°What do you mean, I lose every fight? I, I have reasons for that! If not for what happened, hmph, I would have won Nannan¡¯s heart over...¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned over and chortled, ¡°Third senior, what happened then? We¡¯re very curious as to how you offended fourth senior!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you!¡± Xu Sanshi was very determined not to say. ¡°Nannan told me not to ever see her again if I dare to divulge what happened. Don¡¯t get me in trouble!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and eat.¡±

    The three of them ate their meal together in the canteen. To He Caitou and Huo Yuhao, this Sea God''s Fate was very new and interesting. However, they weren¡¯t really nervous. After all, they were experienced. After their experiences in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, their ability to deal with psychological pressure had grown tremendously. In addition, they also had the training from the Ultimate Soldier n. Although they weren¡¯tpletely immune, they wouldn¡¯t be anxious easily.

    ------

    The sky slowly turned dark. Perhaps it was because of the Sea God''s Fate, but Sea God¡¯s Ind revealed an enchanting aura.

    On the ind, Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard students wore their red uniforms as they started to gather in the ce where the Sea God''s Fate was going tomence.

    As the Soul Tool Department had only developed recently, the inner courtyard students were mainly from the Martial Soul Department. They demonstrated their abilities and quickly gathered by thekeside.

    They were all male students; there weren¡¯t any women there at all. As the pitch-ck mist above theke spread, it was difficult to see anything clearly.

    At this point, a huge boat came toward the ind from the distance. The boat was all lit up, and the inner courtyard students could see that it was thergest ferry on Sea God¡¯s Lake. Right now, it was filled with people.

    Huo Yuhao had great eyesight, and could see who was the ferry carried clearly. He saw six or seven elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo, Fan Yu, and other few people who he wasn¡¯t familiar with, but seemed like teachers he had once known, were also there.

    Those who had previously participated in the Sea God''s Fate knew what was going on. Those who were experiencing this for the first time were filled with expectation.

    Their daily lives, learning, and cultivation in the academy were very dry and boring. Holding such an activity meant that the young men were being given an opportunity to show off, and potentially earn themselves a date.

    The ferry stopped in the middle of theke. At this point, a ray of light shot out from theke, which then separated into seventeen individual rays.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± The male students were all in awe.

    The seventeen rays of light were dim gold, and on top each of them was a youngdy in a white dress. All seventeen white dresses were the same. They also wore the same bamboo hats on their heads, and their faces were covered by identical white veils.

    They looked like fairies under the illumination of the golden light. Their appearance was dazzling.

    They were all quietly lined up in a row, facing the shore. The male students were all very eager by now.

    At this point, two stronger rays of light also appeared, and two figures surfaced.

    On the left was Bei Bei, who was wearing a long white robe. On the right was the Shrek Academy inner courtyard¡¯s eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, who was decked out in a light yellow dress.

    After not seeing her for two years, Huo Yuhao discovered that she hadn¡¯t changed at all. Time hadn¡¯t seemed to leave a mark on her body, she was still as sweet and beautiful as before, with a light smile on her face.

    Bei Bei¡¯s voice resonated. ¡°Sea God¡¯s Fate above Sea God¡¯s Lake! One day to pick your love! Wee all to thekeside of Sea God¡¯s Lake on this beautiful night! The annual Sea God''s Fate will be starting soon! As the emcee of today¡¯s prestigious event, I¡¯ll like to wish all inner courtyard students good luck in finding your partner on behalf of myself and eldest senior sister. At the same time, I¡¯d like to wee the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the teachers who are observing today¡¯s event! On behalf of the students, I¡¯d like to sincerely thank all of you. Without your patience in nurturing and helping us, we wouldn¡¯t have achieved what we have today!¡± After he finished speaking, he ced his right hand on his chest and turned to the ferry before bowing in an expression of gratitude.

    Elder Xuan smiled and nodded at Bei Bei, signaling to him that he could continue.

    It was a simple opening speech, but it generated rapturous apuse. The male students were also cheering loudly. Those who already had a partner in mind were even more eager.

    ¡°All you young men, please make your preparations. There will be thirty-nine beams of light appearing from theketer. Those who are closest to our Sea God¡¯s Fairies will be first to participate in the first segment, while the students at the back might not be able to obtain suitable rankings in the first segment. That¡¯s why it¡¯s important to be alert. No matter what method you use, you must find a spot on the water lilies illuminated by the beams of light. However, you must notnd in the water. Those who do will be disqualified.¡±

    His exnation was very clear. Most of the young men were already raring to go.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to sense something. As he turned, he saw Dai Huabin throwing a look at him. Dai Huabin¡¯s gaze was cold and fierce. Huo Yuhao smiled; he wasn¡¯t bothered.

    ¡°Everyone be prepared. Three, two, one.¡± On the other side, Bei Bei was already counting down.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Thirty-nine beams of light shot out from theke. These thirty-nine beams of light formed three neat rows, each row five meters away from the next. They were spread out proportionately on theke surface a hundred meters away from the female students, and around two hundred meters away from the shore.

    As Bei Bei shouted, everyone on the shore started to act.

    Those who had an obvious advantage were the soul masters with flying-type martial souls. Fortunately, only four out of the thirty-nine male students unleashed their martial souls. They flew into the air and rushed swiftly towards the center of theke.

    Their soul rings shone brightly, and were very clear above theke under the night sky.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head to watch, and was in awe. They were indeed seniors from the inner courtyard. Out of the four, two of them were seven-ringed Soul Sages, and had two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings ¨C the bestbination of soul rings that could normally be achieved. The other two had six rings, and their six rings were also the optimalbination of colors. As the four of them charged forward, they turned into four streaks of light.

    The rest of the students also showed off their moves. The shore started to shine brightly with soul rings. It was like a huge batch of fireworks had been released!

    Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and Xu Sanshi were naturally unwilling tog behind. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou acted at the same time. The two of them lifted off the ground, and their soul thrusters were activated. The strong thrusting force propelled them forward fast enough to surpass their seniors, even though they had lower cultivations.

    The explosive speed of their soul thrusters was great, but they couldn¡¯tst long. Otherwise, their soul power would be greatly depleted, and the soul thrusters wouldn¡¯t be able to take it, either. It was possible to travel two hundred meters in the air, but not on the ground. On the one hand, the depletion was too great. On the other hand, there wasn¡¯t sufficient space, and it was difficult to control their movements at that speed.

    So Huo Yuhao and He Caitou used their flying-type soul tools as they activated their soul thrusters, lighting them up. Although their martial souls couldn¡¯t fly, there wasn¡¯t much difference from using their flying-type soul tools instead. They zipped straight towards the center of theke.

    However, they were using external forces to help them fly, and needed some time to pour in their soul power and control their soul tools. Although they were very quick, they didn¡¯t end up in advantageous spotspared to the other inner courtyard students, who had unleashed all sorts of moves.

    As Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were closing in on the thirty-nine streaks of light, someone had alreadynded on a water lily in the first row.

    The water lilies were very obvious on theke surface. The lilies looked fresh and invigorating under the illumination of the strong lights below them. They were azure-green, like jade floating on the water¡¯s surface. They appeared very enchanting floating in the background of the surrounding white lights.

 Chapter 212.2: Mutual Feelings

    Xu Sanshi used a different method than all of them. He wasn¡¯t anxious at all, and moved leisurely at the back. He unleashed his six soul rings¡ªtwo yellow, two purple and two ck. He nced in front of him. Seeing that the students in front of him were about to arrive, he suddenly leapt up and unleashed his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle. As the shield struck the water¡¯s surface, it skipped over the water. This repeated three times, and it traveled seventy to eighty meters forward. At this point, he was still at the back, while the four students who could fly had alreadynded on water lilies. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou also found spots in the first row.

    A delighted smile appeared on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face. His fourth soul ring lit up, and the student who hadnded in the first spot on the first row turned stiff. In the next instant, their positions were switched. Xu Sanshi lifted his body andnded lightly on the first water lily. The student who was disced ended up inst ce, behind everyone.

    Xu Sanshi was generous enough to choose a senior who had a martial soul that allowed him to fly. Although he was unfortunate to have been disced, he didn¡¯t actually fall into the water. As he burst forward again, he could only tragically find a spot in the third row.

    ¡°Xu Sanshi, you idiot!¡± This seven-ringed Soul Sage was around thirty years old. Currently, he looked very dismal. Not only was his position snatched, but he couldn¡¯t even find a spot in the second row. While he was depressed, he couldn¡¯t do anything to Xu Sanshi. ording to the rules of the Sea God¡¯s Fate, one¡¯s position couldn¡¯t be changed once theynded on a water lily.

    Xu Sanshi turned around and greeted the seven-ringed Soul Sage, ¡°Senior, apologies for the offense. Who asked you to take up such a fantastic spot? Don¡¯t worry, I only have eyes for one person. Everyone knows who she is. No one can snatch her from me! Otherwise, I will really get angry.¡±

    All the inner courtyard students started to burst out inughter after seeing his clown-like expression.

    While Xu Sanshi was considered a junior of the inner courtyard, he had risen extremely fast along with Bei Bei. He was also a very friendly person; almost everyone knew who he was, and how he¡¯d been rejected by Jiang Nannan again and again. The Soul Sage who was feeling down started tough. ¡°You wait and see. Even if Nannan chooses you, I¡¯m going to challenge you for her.¡±

    ¡°Surely not?¡±

    ¡°Are you serious? Eldest senior sister, someone¡¯s threatening me. Furthermore, he should be your biggest fan if I don¡¯t remember incorrectly! Are you going to discipline him?¡± Xu Sanshi wore an exaggerated expression as he eximed towards Zhang Lexuan.

    Zhang Lexuanughed and said, ¡°Sanshi, stop fooling around.¡± As she spoke, everyone on theke could hear her clearly. But her voice wasn¡¯t piercing; she just sounded like she was talking to everyone.

    When the male students heard her, they started to stand straight. It was as if they were afraid of leaving a bad impression in her mind.

    In the inner courtyard, Zhang Lexuan had absolute authority among the students. Not only was she strong, but her personality was also very nice. She was never stingy in helping the other students. She was gentle, virtuous and was the goddess in many of the students¡¯ hearts! As she opened her mouth, even Xu Sanshi stopped speaking, and wore an obsequious smile on his face.

    Zhang Lexuan was amused as she said, ¡°Although Sanshi yed tricks, he¡¯s only doing this for his happiness. Furthermore, all of you have the right to do anything you want. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re not as cunning as him. This is only the first segment. We¡¯ll need all of you to cooperate. Don¡¯t end up not even seeing thedies¡¯ faces. If that happens, you¡¯re going to suffer at the back. Bei Bei, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Bei Bei acknowledged her words and said, ¡°Sea God¡¯s Fate above Sea God¡¯s Lake. It¡¯s time for the annual Sea God¡¯s Fate. I believe everyone has been waiting for a long time. There are five segments to this blind date. Everyone please be prepared. Let me reiterate again¡ªif you drop into the water, you will be disqualified.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan added, ¡°We¡¯ll judge the prettiest Sea God¡¯s Fairy and the luckiest male student. However, you need to lift the veils of the fairies first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stepped onto the water lily. The load-bearing capacity of the water lily was rather impressive. As long as he gathered his soul power, he should be able to stand steadily on the water lily given his cultivation. However, the prerequisite was that he didn¡¯t move unnecessarily or wildly.

    He wasn¡¯t listening to Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei seriously at this point. He only activated his Spiritual Detection to count the number of people.

    ¡°Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine. Thirty-nine! But where¡¯s Wang Dong? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s not included in the thirty-nine of us? Why isn¡¯t he here? This is a great opportunity. With his looks, he could surely find a nicedy if he wanted to. What a pity.¡±

    He had been looking for Wang Dong when he had arrived just now, and Bei Bei told him that Wang Dong would definitely make it. However, apparently things hadn¡¯t gone ording to n. The thirty-nine spots were all upied. Even if Wang Dong arrived, he no longer had a spot!

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin the first segment¡ªMutual Feelings. From the left side of the first row, every male student is given a chance to demonstrate his full abilities. However, don¡¯t be too showy. Otherwise, I can only close one eye if the female students choose to attack you.¡± Zhang Lexuan smiled as she spoke.

    Xu Sanshi was already rubbing his palms. He was in the first spot, and thus he would naturally be the first to perform in this segment.

    ¡°Sanshi, are you ready?¡± Bei Bei queried.

    Xu Sanshi signaled that he was ready, and Bei Bei said, ¡°Without further ado, let¡¯s begin. Xu Sanshi, all the best. Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t burst across the water using his shield this time. Instead, he leapt up high before he flung his shield out, and itnded on the water¡¯s surface.

    Xu Sanshinded on the shield. Then he pped his palms, and the shield started to glide over the water like a small boat. It left behind two lines of water, starting to close the distance towards the female students.

    ¡°Nice!¡± There were already cheersing from the male students. There was a reason why Xu Sanshi moved forward with this method. By using the shield to bear his weight, he could conserve his soul power. Furthermore, he could advance forward more steadily. If he used his shield to strike the water¡¯s surface before rebounding just like before, he would only have one chance to show himself when he reached the female students even though he could continue to advance.

    Xu Sanshi had put in some effort to get first ce! Since he was first in this segment, he wouldn¡¯t give up this opportunity to show off.

    ¡°Nannan, I¡¯ming!¡± As he shouted, the shield increased its speed, until he was bursting towards the female students rapidly.

    When he was around ten meters away, he used his palms to control the shield and made it stop. He used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon immactely.

    He wasn¡¯t anxious at all, and observed each of thedies seriously from left to right.

    As he looked, he mumbled, ¡°That isn¡¯t her¡ªshe¡¯s too fat. That isn¡¯t her either¡ªtoo thin. Hmm, this one has a good figure! However, she¡¯s slightlyrger than Nannan. No, no.¡±

    A sharp voice suddenly resonated from among the female students, ¡°Xu Sanshi, if you wanted to be thrown into the water, just say so.¡±

    ¡°Oops! I was wrong.¡± Xu Sanshi shut his mouth immediately. In this short period of time, he had already locked onto his target. The shield moved once again, propelling his body towards the female student third from the right.

    That female student moved slightly. Xu Sanshi was getting close to her¡ªhe was now less than ten meters from her.

    He pointed his toes on his shield before he jumped straight towards the water lily that the she was standing on.

    She evidently couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She pointed her toes toward the center of the water lily, which could bear the greatest load, and propelled her entire body upwards. She lifted her right leg up high, so high that her toes were above her head. He legs formed a straight line, and her white dress was lifted up.

    ¡°Ooh, oooh!¡± The other male students started to whistle. However, they were disappointed when they realized that she was wearing long pants underneath her dress.

    She mmed her leg down towards Xu Sanshi.

    While the rules stated that a female student couldn¡¯t directly attack in the first segment, they did allow a female student to counterattack if a male student came too close to their water lily. That was why most male students would choose to attack from a distance in this segment. If the female students were confident in their looks, they wouldn¡¯t resist too much. Who wouldn¡¯t want to reveal their beauty?

    It was very rare for someone to be attacked directly like Xu Sanshi was.

    Xu Sanshi did something unexpected as the leg came crashing down towards him. He didn¡¯t block or dodge the attack.

    He allowed her leg to sh down onto his shoulder.

    Xu Sanshi squatted down in mid-air, neutralizing some of the impact of the attack. His toes were already pressing down on her water lily. The water lily was tilted towards one side and theke water was about to submerge it. However, Xu Sanshi started to surge with ayer of ck light, which seemed to support him all on its own. The water lily suddenly stabilized. When he sped his hands together, he had already grabbed onto the ankle that had struck his shoulder.

 Chapter 212.3: Mutual Feelings

    Chapter 212.3: Mutual Feelings

    That female student hadn¡¯t expected Xu Sanshi to receive her attack without dodging. While she hadn¡¯t use any soul skills, she had still exhibited her great strength. When she shed down onto Xu Sanshi¡¯s shoulder, a deep groan was heard. Xu Sanshi tolerated the pain.

    Xu Sanshi lifted her leg and said affectionately, ¡°Nannan, I love you. I won¡¯t retaliate even if you scold or hit me.¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± The female student roared furiously and retracted her right leg. Xu Sanshi was originally holding her leg tightly, but he let go at this moment. As she fell backward, her center of gravity changed.

    However, she was pretty impressive. Her other leg seemed to be stuck to the water lily. As she stretched backward, her hands pressed against the water lily before she flipped over.

    It was water below the lily, and Xu Sanshi was also standing on top of it. This wasn¡¯t considered a tough move onnd, but one had to possess immacte control in order to perform this move on water.

    While she managed to flip over, her bamboo hat fell. Xu Sanshi¡¯s figure shed before he jumped up from the water lily. He avoided the scissor kick that the female student unleashed towards him, and his right hand reached for her veil and pulled at it. In the end, he got both the hat and the veil.

    Xu Sanshi was already standing on the shield by this time. He smiled as he looked at thedy. ¡°I only have eyes for you. Nannan, I love you.¡± As he spoke, his shield had already carved a path and guided him back to his original position.

    Yes, it was Jiang Nannan standing on the lily third from the right.

    Her purplish hair rested on her shoulder and her face had turned slightly red from anger. After two years, Jiang Nannan had developed much better than ever. Her ravishing looks were entuated by the dim golden light around her. Her slender figure was almost perfect, and her eyes were filled with fury as she red at Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi was extremely familiar with her. While there was some gap between their cultivations, that gap wasn¡¯t toorge.

    This was the Sea God¡¯s Fate. After Jiang Nannan sensed Xu Sanshi approaching her, she was anxious and nervous.

    After that, Xu Sanshi predicted almost all her moves on the water lily. That was how he¡¯d managed to gain that upper hand over her. Jiang Nannan still didn¡¯t know that Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t just familiar with her movements. He had even cheated.

    After not seeing him for two and a half years, Jiang Nannan had forgotten how she had a sixth junior with very strong Spiritual Detection! With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current spiritual power, a hundred meters was nothing. With his help and judgment, it wasn¡¯t difficult at all for Xu Sanshi to remove Jiang Nannan¡¯s veil and hat.

    ¡°Nice one, Sanshi.¡±

    All the male students cheered seeing that Xu Sanshi had managed to take off Jiang Nannan¡¯s veil and hat. Some of the weaker students almost fell off of their water lilies because they were too excited and couldn¡¯t control themselves.

    Xu Sanshi turned around and sped his fist and palm towards everyone. He said delightedly, ¡°I was just lucky. Seniors, juniors, I wish all of you good luck! There are many of us in this segment. We must try to take off thedies¡¯ hats and veils.¡± As he spoke, he ced the hat that he had taken off from Jiang Nannan in front of him and took in a deep breath. He was reveling in joy. Fortunately, it was dark, and Jiang Nannan was some distance away from him, so she couldn¡¯t see his delighted expression. Otherwise, she might really erupt in anger.

    The first segment was a demonstration of one¡¯s capabilities. Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t seemed to use any soul skills just now, but he still managed to seed. He also put on a steady performance. The elders and teachers on the ferry nodded their heads in approval. Even Elder Xuan was smiling happily.

    Xu Sanshi sped his fist and palm together and looked evidently pleased. He had the right to be pleased too. All the female students were wearing the same dress, hat and veil. They looked practically the same to everyone. But Xu Sanshi was able to identify Jiang Nannan among all the seventeen female students on this pitch-ck night. He wasn¡¯t just familiar with her.

    After seeing Xu Sanshi¡¯s high-profile performance, Zhang Lexuan revealed a grin on her face. She looked at Bei Bei, who was smiling and looking at Xu Sanshi. It was evident that he was already used to his style.

    ¡°Ye Liu, it¡¯s your turn now.¡± Zhang Lexuan said.

    There were many participants in the Sea God¡¯s Fate, and there were even four more segments. Although all of them were talented soul masters, and their cultivations weren¡¯t weak, it wasn¡¯t easy trying to bnce themselves on the water lilies. They had to seize their time well.

    Ye Liu was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. After hearing Zhang Lexuan calling his name, he immediately nodded to acknowledge her before lifting his body into the air.

    A pair of beautiful, white wings were unleashed behind his back. His figure was very proportionate. When his wings pped, he flew towards the seventeen female students elegantly.

    Jiang Nannan had regained her calm by now. She didn¡¯t look at Xu Sanshi, but turned her attention to Huo Yuhao. She shot him an angry look. It was evident that she had now discovered his role in this. How was Xu Sanshi able to take off her hat and veil so easily on his own?

    Huo Yuhao only smiled back.

    A hundred meters was a very short distance to fly. Ye Liu drifted in the air and was about to reach thedies. His wings started to p in the direction of the water¡¯s surface and his seven soul rings shone brightly.

    Suddenly, strong winds started to rage above the Sea God¡¯s Lake. As his wings pped, the winds gave rise to a huge wave that approached the female students.

    Ye Liu revealed a delighted smile on his face. If thedies were hit by his wave, they were all bound to be drenched. Not only would it be easy to identify them then, but it would also be a feast for his eyes!

    However, at this point, someone in the center shouted, ¡°Ye Liu, you¡¯re shameless!¡± Then she lifted her right hand, she struck outward with her palm. Seven soul rings also rose from her feet, and a surging wave of fire was unleashed. This fire instantly turned into a sea of fire, resisting the water that came their way. The wave was resisted just like that.

    Mist started to rise; the surging wave had been vaporized instantly.

    Huo Yuhao heard a senior muttering softly, ¡°Impressive. This is the Golden Crow Primordial Fire. I didn¡¯t expect Wu Ming to be involved in this blind date too!¡±

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what the Golden Crow Primordial Fire was, he could sense the intense heat from the golden-red mes. It was evenparable to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes.

    Next to the student that had unleashed the Golden Crow Primordial Fire, another female student shouted furiously, ¡°What a pervert. Eldest senior sister, I¡¯m making a move.¡±

    A streak of golden light shot into the sky like a dragon that wasshing forward. Ye Liu was already shocked when he saw the Golden Crow Primordial Fire. His martial soul was a Swan, and he was an auxiliary-type soul master. ording to the rules, thedies couldn¡¯t directly attack him. That was why he had been so daring. However, he was shocked now that he was attacked by two of them.

    His wings pped, and he was about to retreat. However, the golden light started to extend upwards and formed golden rings that tried to pull him down.

    ¡°Sister Ruoruo, I was wrong! Please be merciful!¡± Ye Liu screamed pathetically and gave up resistance. This pair of female students curbed his abilities, and he had no recourse against them.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Spirit Eyes, and realized that the golden light that shot into the sky was actually a golden rope. It was his first time seeing such a martial soul. However, he could tell that it was from a control-type soul master.

    This female student had eight soul rings¡ªtwo yellow, two purple and four ck. No wonder Ye Liu had begged for mercy. However, she had no intention of showing him any. As the golden rope tightened, he was wrapped up like a dumpling. She pulled with her right hand, and Ye Liu was dragged down from the air, crashing into the water.

    The golden light retracted and disappeared with the soul rings. Besides these two female students who had unleashed their powers, another female student pressed her hands down, and the surgingke water calmed. Only a dim blue light subtly shed past.

    Ye Liu was already freed when he dropped into the water. He popped up from the water¡¯s surface and shouted towards Zhang Lexuan with a depressed look on his face, ¡°Eldest senior sister, I thought they couldn¡¯t retaliate in the first segment!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan snorted and replied, ¡°What was your purpose in making that wave? Didn¡¯t Ruoruo mention it just now? Your intention was a perverted one, which means that you¡¯ve flouted the rules. Swim back to shore by yourself. You¡¯re disqualified.¡±

    Ye Liu was indignant, but he couldn¡¯t say anything more in front of Zhang Lexuan. He could only swim back to shore.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at He Caitou, who was also looking back at him. The two of them swallowed their saliva at the same time.

    This blind date is a little intense! Are thesedies really here for a blind date?

    He Caitou said softly, ¡°Didn¡¯t eldest senior brother mention that the first segment was very safe? Why don¡¯t I feel that way?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so either. The senior over there is so fierce, and she even has eight rings. Second senior, I¡¯m a little scared!¡±

    He Caitouughed softly, ¡°Scared my foot! Maybe somedies are into you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned to the senior on the other side who was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and asked, ¡°Senior, who were those two seniors just now? You seem to know them.¡±

 Chapter 213.1: Snow Ladys Charm

    Chapter 213.1: Snow Lady''s Charm

    This senior beside him also seemed very presentable. He was tall and standing straight. But right now, he was also smiling bitterly, just like the rest of them.

    ¡°How can I possibly not know them? The one who unleashed the Golden Crow Primordial Fire is called Wu Ming. Her nickname is the Golden Crow Holy Lady. Of course, we think she should be called ¡®spinster¡¯ instead of ¡®holydy¡¯. She¡¯s already thirty, but hasn¡¯t gotten a partner yet. It¡¯s not that she¡¯s ugly, but it¡¯s because she¡¯s too hot-tempered. Her temper is just like Ma Xiaotao¡¯s. With her around, tonight¡¯s blind date is bound to be very exciting.

    ¡°The one who unleashed the Dazzling Golden Rope is Han Ruoruo. She¡¯s very close to eldest senior sister. Among all the female students in the inner courtyard, she¡¯s only inferior to eldest senior sister in terms of her cultivation. Can¡¯t you tell that she¡¯s already a Soul Douluo? There are no eight-ringed male students today. Although she¡¯s not so hot-tempered, she¡¯s still a very proud person. She¡¯s not weak at all! She¡¯s not one to be offended easily, however, and will sometimes stand in as a teacher. I didn¡¯t expect her to be here today. This is very exciting! Her nickname is Golden Fairy. Perhaps she and Wu Ming are so close because they both have the word ¡®golden¡¯ in their nicknames...¡±

    ¡°Dazzling Golden Rope? It sounds like a very powerful tool soul!¡± Huo Yuhao probed.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s recognized as the best in the inner courtyard. How could it not be powerful? You¡¯ve seen their positions, right? If you¡¯re capable, go and take their hatster. Everyone will be in awe of you then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± There were a few men coaxing him already.

    ¡°Seniors, it¡¯s better if all of you do so instead.¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t going to fall for their tricks.

    After this brief encounter in the first segment, he was starting to think that the inner courtyard seniors were very unpredictable! All those who strutted their stuff would be considered powerful individuals in the outside world. There was hardly anyone of their same age that couldpare to them.

    Perhaps Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming had shocked the male students, but the next few male students started to behave appropriately, and stayed as far away as possible from the both of them. They targeted thedies around the outside instead.

    However, either thosedies were too defensively strong, or the next few male students were too hesitant. No one seeded for the next five rounds.

    There were thirty-nine male students divided into three rows of thirteen. More than half of the first row had already taken their turns.

    Zhang Lexuanughed as she said, ¡°Hey, are all of you croakers? Why are all of you going to the side? For love, you must be willing to go all-out. Otherwise, how can you win the heart of thedy you love?¡±

    Under her encouragement, the next few men performed much better. Although they were still a littlecking, they performed much better than before. Two hats were taken down, which revealed the faces of two pleasantdies.

    Out of the seventeen female students, three of them now had their faces exposed.

    When it came to the senior before Huo Yuhao, he gave Huo Yuhao a victory sign before he embarked on his turn. He leapt out from his spot. After their previous interaction, Huo Yuhao had learned that this senior had a very domineering name. He was called Chu Qingtian.

    His six soul rings shed brightly as his toes touched the water¡¯s surface. He moved frighteningly fast. Under the illumination of his soul rings, it was possible to spot brownish-yellow hairs sprouting from his body.

    Panther-type martial soul?

    Huo Yuhao was slightly impressed.

    At this point, Chu Qingtian had already burst out in front of the female students. He went straight towards Han Ruoruo, who had unleashed the Dazzling Golden Rope earlier. As he made this move, he invited the cheers of the other male students.

    Chu Qingtian¡¯s figure shed, and he reached her side in an instant. As he extended his hand, he grabbed at Han Ruoruo¡¯s veil.

    ¡°You¡¯re daring!¡± Han Ruoruo snorted and lifted her right hand, trying to block him.

    But Chu Qingtian didn¡¯t sh with her directly. Given that their cultivations were very far apart, it wasn¡¯t wise for him to do so. His third soul ring started to shine, and countless bolts of electricity started to surround him. As the bolts of electricity shed, he suddenly disappeared. It was as if he had fused with the electricity.

    ¡°What?¡± Han Ruoruo eximed in confusion. Her Dazzling Golden Rope appeared instantly, and turned into golden rings that surrounded her. The shing electricity was extinguished by her golden light.

    However, she wasn¡¯t the only target of the shing bolts of electricity, they scattered in all directions. Some of them even flew towards the Golden Crow Holy Lady, Wu Ming.

    Wu Ming subconsciously lifted her hand, and ayer of golden-red fire spread. It formed a barrier around her.

    At this point, arger bolt of electricity jerked, and seemed to solidify. It managed to prate the defensiveyer mounted by the Golden Crow Primordial Fire. A hand extended from the bolt of electricity and pulled Wu Ming¡¯s hat down.

    Wu Ming was surrounded by her Golden Crow Primordial Fire. As her hat was pulled, it was turned into ashes by the fire, revealing her face.

    Although Chu Qingtian did tell Huo Yuhao that this Golden Crow Holy Lady was already more than thirty, she looked like she was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Although she wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Jiang Nannan, she was still very pretty, and could be considered a beauty.

    Wu Ming hadn¡¯t expected him to make a move on her. When she tried to retaliate, Chu Qingtian roared and turned into electricity once again. He once again changed into a bolt of lightning that shed as he moved a hundred meters away from her andnded on his water lily.

    ¡°Senior Wu, thanks for letting me seed.¡±

    Wu Ming touched her face, but didn¡¯t react. Instead, her face turned red. However, the male students couldn¡¯t see her blushing due to the golden lights around her.

    Han Ruoruoughed softly and said something to Wu Ming. Wu Ming lowered her head, as if she were thinking of something.

    ¡°Good one!¡± The male students cheered. The Golden Crow Holy Lady¡¯s hat had been taken down. Chu Qingtian instantly became the man of the moment. He only had six rings, but he managed to pull down Wu Ming¡¯s hat after attacking Han Ruoruo. His bravery and speed were indeed deserving ofpliments.

    Zhang Lexuan also threw him an approving look. She smiled and said, ¡°Wu Ming, don¡¯t forget what you promised everyone.¡±

    Wu Ming blushed and pouted yfully, ¡°I know!¡±

    Chu Qingtian retracted his smile and said to Huo Yuhao softly, ¡°Why do I feel like something¡¯s not right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gasped, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Senior, you were really fast just now! Did you fuse your soul skill into your lightning?¡±

    Chu Qingtian didn¡¯t hide the truth, and nodded. He said, ¡°My martial soul is a Berserk Lightning Panther. Usually, soul masters with lightning abilities use them to attack. However, I don¡¯t do so. Instead, I use them to increase my speed. I can fuse into lightning and increase my speed significantly. That¡¯s why everyone calls me the Demonic Berserk Lightning Panther. In terms of abilities, I can¡¯tpare to those two. However, no one is faster than me in the inner courtyard.¡±

    There weren¡¯t any weaklings in the inner courtyard! Huo Yuhao deeply understood this sentence once again.

    ¡°My friend, you¡¯ve got to try your best too!¡± Chu Qingtian said to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned and asked, ¡°Me? Try my best for what?¡±

    Chu Qingtian was speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve just entered the inner courtyard, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°I was granted special permission to enter the inner courtyard.¡±

    Chu Qingtian said, ¡°I can tell just by looking at your age. Don¡¯t be worried, it¡¯s your turn!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao just now realized that it was his turn. As he turned around to look at Bei Bei, Bei Bei gestured encouragingly towards him.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, don¡¯t be nervous. Just do your best!¡± Zhang Lexuan smiled as she encouraged him. At the same time, she turned to the female students and said, ¡°This is the youngest out of all the male students today. Don¡¯t be merciful on him though!¡±

    Feminineughter resonated, and Wu Ming started tough. ¡°Little fellow, why are you here when you are so young? Come on, try taking down Sister Ruoruo¡¯s hat. She likes younger boys.¡±

    ¡°Ming¡¯er, do you want to die?¡± Han Ruoruo said coquettishly. She also drewughter from the rest of the young women.

    Huo Yuhao was a little awkward now. He was at a loss, as he didn¡¯t know whether to go or not. After all, this was his first experience.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Yuhao, do your best.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words and stepped out from his water lily.

    He was different from the rest of the male students. The rest of them burst forward immediately, but he didn¡¯t. He even looked a little slow. He took a step forward and stepped onto the water. He floated above the surface and started to walk towards the female students.

    The students on both sides that wereughing cheekily and ready to watch a good show started to quiet down. They were stunned as they watched this junior of theirs.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements weren¡¯t quick, but they were steady. He maintained a stable rhythm as he advanced over the water, not even causing a ripple. It was like he was part of the water.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t directly stand on the water, of course. That was only achievable by a flying-type soul master with at least a seven-ringed cultivation, and naturally he didn¡¯t have seven rings yet.

    As he walked on the water, he left a trail of ice behind him. With his control over his soul power, he was able to walk freely on top of the ice. At the same time, this didn¡¯t deplete his soul power too much. This was the Ultimate Ice!

    Although Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t fast, a hundred meters wasn¡¯t a long distance either. He only stopped when he was around fifteen meters from the young women.

 Chapter 213.2: Snow Ladys Charm

    Chapter 213.2: Snow Lady''s Charm

    The female students were able to clearly make out his appearance once he got closer.

    They could tell that while Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t old, he seemed very mature¡ªeven more so than most of the male students earlier. His eyes were also exceedingly clear. Although he wasn¡¯t particrly handsome, there was a certain aura surrounding him.

    ¡°Snow Lady,e on out,¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly called out.

    Suddenly, a streak of orangish-gold light emerged from his body.

    Amidst the pitch-ck darkness of night, the lights from soul rings were already very dazzling. However, this orangish-gold light was even more dazzling.

    When this orangish-gold light appeared, the beams of light beneath the female students seemed to dim inparison.

    After a moment, the Snow Lady drifted in front of Huo Yuhao. Still engulfed in the orangish-gold light, she turned to look at Huo Yuhao and rubbed her eyes sleepily with her small, white hands. She was evidently not fully awake yet.

    ¡°Wow, even a kid¡¯s here for a blind date?¡± An unknown female student eximed.

    Han Ruoruo said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, that¡¯s no ordinary kid.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was telepathically connected to the Snow Lady and caressed her head. When the Snow Lady saw the surrounding lights, she blinked and was instantly jolted awake. A look of excitement had appeared in her deep blue eyes.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady shouted.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t open his mouth to speak. Rather, he directlymunicated with her through his mind.

    ¡°Zha zha ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady shouted again, then flew towards thedies. Her first target was Han Ruoruo, who stood in the center.

    She had snow-white skin, a feeling of delicateness, and was adorably chubby. Her big, beautiful eyes even seemed capable of reflecting the stars in the sky.

    Back when she¡¯d been in the Clear Sky Sect, even the two sect masters hadn¡¯t been able to resist her charms. These youngdies were no exception.

    ¡°Wow, so cute! Come on over,e on over!¡± Wu Ming was the first to gesture towards the Snow Lady.

    ¡°Hehe~¡± The Snow Ladyughed mischievously, but continued towards Han Ruoruo.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya?¡± She said to Han Ruoruo before extending her arms, as if she was asking for a hug.

    Women all had maternal instincts¡ªespecially Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo, who were over thirty years old. Their maternal instincts had kicked in the moment they saw the cute Snow Lady!

    Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t even hesitate before opening her arms wide and hugging the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s body was fresh and cool, and her skin was soft and stic. Han Ruoruo couldn¡¯t help but let out afortable sigh. Hugging the Snow Lady felt so great.

    Even though Han Ruoruo knew that she wasn¡¯t an ordinary kid, she couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dress her in warmer clothes? Her body feels so cold.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I can¡¯t decide what she wears.¡± The Snow Lady created her own clothes; it wasn¡¯t something that Huo Yuhao could decide. Furthermore, the Snow Lady was a Spirit converted from the Icesky Snow Lady. Of course her body was cold¡­

    The Snow Lady gave Han Ruoruo a hug and then crawled out from her arms. She turned to look at Huo Yuhao before turning to look at Han Ruoruo with a pitiful expression on her face and lifted her pinkie to point at the hat above Han Ruoruo¡¯s head and eximed once again.

    After that, she lowered her head and wore an indignant look on her face. She pointed her two index fingers in front of her; she was the picture of cuteness.

    No matter how tough Han Ruoruo was, she instantly became gentle in front of the Snow Lady. Although she couldn¡¯t understand what the Snow Lady was saying, she understood what she was trying to convey through her actions.

    ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t be sad. I¡¯ll take it off.¡± Once she¡¯d finished speaking, she lifted her hand and took off her hat. Her appearance was exposed immediately.

    Han Ruoruo appeared much younger than her age and was a beauty. Her eyes were pitch-ck and her face was thin, but at this moment, her eyes were full of gentleness as she reached out in front of the Snow Lady.

    After Han Ruoruo removed her hat, the Snow Ladyughed and pecked her cheek. She then flipped around and made her way towards a female student off to Han Ruoruo¡¯s side.

    She proceeded to do the same as before: She pointed at the female student¡¯s hat and eximed pitifully. Afterwards, she lowered her head and pointed her index fingers in front of her.

    At this point, it wasn¡¯t just the female students who were stunned. The elders, teachers, and male students were all stunned as they watched this strange scene.

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes widened, while Zhang Lexuan was moved¡ªher eyes were filled with a sense of gentleness. Without a doubt, she would¡¯ve made the same choice as Han Ruoruo if she¡¯d been in her ce.

    The second hat was removed just like that as another female student revealed their appearance. Huo Yuhao was surprised to find out that he knew this female student; she was the ice-type soul master that had fought alongside him in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Ling Luochen.

    The Snow Ladyughed cheekily and gave her a peck too. Ling Luochen seemed to be in a daze as she looked at the Snow Lady. She then looked at Huo Yuhao again, her gaze filled with doubt, as if she was asking Huo Yuhao, What¡¯s going on!

    The Snow Lady¡¯s charm was invincible. She used the same method on three more female students, seeding every time. Three more female students had their appearances exposed, just like that.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised to find out that he knew two of them.

    Xiao Xiao was beside Ling Luochen. After two and a half years, Xiao Xiao¡¯s appearance had changed drastically; she was much better-looking than before. As she was only a little older than Huo Yuhao, she¡¯d still seemed very undeveloped two years ago. However, she was a head taller now, although her figure was rtively still the same. This was the ssic post-puberty look. Her ravishing looks had also became even prettier as she developed.

    She¡¯d sumbed under the Snow Lady¡¯s charm and had even stretched out her arms to hug her a second time, but the Snow Lady had avoided her. When she had, she¡¯d almost fallen into the water because of her carelessness. She was only saved by the Snow Lady, who gave her a helping hand.

    The other female student Huo Yuhao recognized wasn¡¯t a close friend. She had long, scarlet hair and a cool expression. She was Wu Feng, who possessed the Red Dragon.

    Wu Feng had naturally possessed a slender figure, but it was devilish now. Her curves were definitely the most exaggerated amongst the seventeen female students. Her figure was simr to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s figure from before.

    She appeared a little stunned as she looked at the Snow Lady. When she turned to look at Huo Yuhao, she appeared as unfriendly as ever. Even though she was quite hot-tempered, even she¡¯d evidently be gentler when her gaze met the Snow Lady¡¯s deep blue eyes.

    Five female students had already fallen for the Snow Lady¡¯s charm; the first eleven male students couldn¡¯t evenpare to Huo Yuhao when it came to the number of hats he¡¯d removed!

    ¡°Snow Lady,e back.¡± Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t wanted to take down this many hats. It was embarrassing! So many people were currently looking at the pair of them. He had to at least give the other male students a chance. If he took down all of the hats, he¡¯d certainly steal the limelight. However, he was still bound to be everyone¡¯s target.

    The Snow Ladyughed and flipped through the air as she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She then sat on his shoulder and started to y with his hair.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and bowed towards the female students, ¡°Seniors, apologies for the offense.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re Huo Yuhao, right? What¡¯s with this littledy? You owe us an exnation!¡± Wu Ming couldn¡¯t help but ask. Everyone looked at him eagerly, regardless of whether their hats had been taken off or not.

    Huo Yuhao smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°Today is the Sea God¡¯s Fate; I can¡¯t possibly dy everyone now. I¡¯ll exin everything once the event ends. I can only say that all of you can possibly own someone like the Snow Lady in the future, if you¡¯re willing.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished speaking, he slowly retreated across the water. He only turned around after retreating a few steps. He lightly crossed the water¡¯s surface as he quickly returned to the water lily that he was on previously.

    All the male students¡¯ gazes followed him back. They could also see the Snow Lady clearly as he got closer.

    Chu Qingtian gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up as she said, ¡°My friend, you¡¯re quite impressive! You took off five hats easily. In my opinion, you would have been able to take off all their hats if you wanted to! You¡¯re too strong. Furthermore, you didn¡¯t just take off their hats, you also left a good impression on all of them. No wonder you were able to enter the inner courtyard at such a young age. Impressive!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and didn¡¯t send the Snow Lady back inside of him. He said to Chu Qingtian, ¡°I was just ying tricks brother Chu.¡±

    Chu Qingtian alsoughed. ¡°ying tricks? I want to y tricks just like you, but I¡¯d need that cute little girl that you have! What is she exactly?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t beat around the bush this time. He could clearly tell that the male students were all eager to hear his exnation. He replied, ¡°She¡¯s a Spirit. How do I put this¡­ she¡¯s a special life that I created because of a twist of fate. She¡¯s like a body of energy thatbined with my spiritual mind, and who¡¯s slightly connected to me by blood. Simply put, she¡¯s another form of soul ring that possesses life. She¡¯s my partner.¡±

    After he said this, everyone became shocked. They were all talented students from Shrek Academy, and most of them were from the Martial Soul Department; their understanding of a soul master¡¯s capabilities were all very deep. However, none of them knew that soul masters could possess such a life existence. The Snow Lady was an existence that soul rings couldn¡¯tpare to!

 Chapter 213.3: Snow Ladys Charm

    Chu Qingtian couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°We can have a Spirit like her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Theoretically speaking, yes. Brother Chu, let¡¯s focus on the event first. Afterward, I¡¯ll exin the details regarding the Snow Lady properly. Seniors, you can join in if you¡¯re interested in knowing more.¡±

    He had sent the Snow Lady out on purpose. With his capabilities, there were many other ways for him to take their hats off. Why did he specifically choose the Snow Lady? He wanted to disy this Spirit to all the inner courtyard students, as well as the elders.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s formation was aplete ident. However, only Huo Yuhao knew the process of her formation, and only he couldplete the sealed incantation Electrolux had left behind. The existence of a Spirit was undoubtedly more useful than soul rings for a soul master. However, it wasn¡¯t easy to create a Spirit. Firstly, it was too difficult to find a soul beast that was willing to be sealed and fused. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think that he was capable of doing this, and thus he¡¯d need external help. Shrek Academy was undoubtedly the best choice for him.

    Through repeated experiments, Huo Yuhao discovered that the Snow Lady was thirty percent more useful to him when she was outside of his body. That was because the Snow Lady was an intelligent life form, and her fighting intelligence was inherited from the Snow Empress. On the outside, she could aid Huo Yuhao in battle, and enhance his soul power. If she wasn¡¯t unleashed, Huo Yuhao could only use a few of the soul skills she had bestowed him.

    Against Long Xiaoyao, he naturally couldn¡¯t unleash the Snow Lady. What if the Darkness Holy Dragon tried to abduct her? However, Huo Yuhao was ready to start his research on Spirits when he returned to Shrek Academy. It was going to be an important for the development of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department. Personally, he also hoped to help Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters obtain their own Spirits! With the help of Spirits, their abilities would rise a whole level.

    Indeed, the Snow Lady¡¯s appearance shocked everyone, just like Huo Yuhao expected. She immediately became everyone¡¯s focal point.

    Bei Bei gazed deeply at Huo Yuhao and gave a thumbs-up to him in his heart. Although he didn¡¯t know what kind of existence the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit was, he subtly sensed that Huo Yuhao had done something impressive again!

    ¡°Caitou, you¡¯re up next. We have to expedite the first segment!¡± Bei Bei said to He Caitou.

    ¡°Alright.¡± He Caitou acknowledged his words. He had already thought of his strategy. Everyone¡¯s gaze shifted from the Snow Lady to He Caitou at this point.

    He Caitou then did something that no one expected. He kneeled down on one knee, facing the seventeen female students.

    His eyes were also shining brightly at this point. He was one of the few present whose attention wasn¡¯t fully captured by the Snow Lady.

    He was truly thankful towards Huo Yuhao! The reason for his gratitude was very simple¡ªHuo Yuhao had taken off Xiao Xiao¡¯s hat. After two and a half years, he finally saw Xiao Xiao again.

    The saying goes, ¡°Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.¡± He Caitou was even more mesmerized by her looks after more than two years apart. Right now, his heart was beating twice as fast. His face had also turned red, as he was nervous. However, he was too tan, and thus it couldn¡¯t be seen. Otherwise, he could even incur the wrath of a bull.

    ¡°Caitou, what are you doing? You shouldn¡¯t confess in this segment.¡± Bei Bei reminded him as he saw him on one knee.

    ¡°I¡¯m not confessing! Aren¡¯t we supposed to take their hats off first?¡± As He Caitou spoke, he lifted his right hand. Everyone saw a streak of ck light shing past, and a huge soul cannon appeared on his shoulder.

    This soul cannon was entirely ck. A slight silvery, metallic powder shed on its surface. It unleashed a terrifying aura when it appeared. Even though they weren¡¯t facing it directly, the surrounding male students could clearly feel a chill down their spines.

    For a soul tool to possess such a pressing aura and bring about such a sense of danger, it must be at a certain level. Soul engineers believed that these soul tools were bestowed with life. For such soul tools, they were at least ss 7. This meant that the soul tool on He Caitou¡¯s shoulder right now was also at least ss 7, possibly higher.

    This huge soul cannon was more than two meters in length and a foot wide. Itplemented He Caitou¡¯s burly figure well as he ced it on his shoulder.

    When it appeared, the huge soul cannon catalyzed something weird above the Sea God¡¯s Lake. In response, the female students¡¯ soul rings started to shine brightly.

    In an instant, yellow, purple and ck soul rings shone brightly across theke.

    When they were faced with a dominant ss 7 soul cannon, the female students unleashed their martial souls as they sensed the dangersing from it.

    Huo Yuhao was observing carefully from the other side of theke. As these female students unleashed their martial souls, he made a shocking discovery. The soul ringbination of the female student second from the left was very special and familiar.

    One yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings. This meant that her fourth soul ring was already at the ten thousand year level. Wasn¡¯t this simr to Wang Dong¡¯s soul ringbination?

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart started to race. In his mind, the beautiful face from that day surfaced in his mind. He immediately wondered whether Wang Qiu¡¯er had managed to enter the inner courtyard and join the Sea God¡¯s Fate. If that was the case, it was possible that her soul ringbination was simr to Wang Dong¡¯s!

    As he thought that, his gaze focused on that female student. But just when he was about to observe her more closely, He Caitou¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move and raise your hands. This is a ss 7 stationary soul cannon, filled with a ss 7 explosive incendiary device. It¡¯s strong enough to cover a region up to a thousand meters in diameter. Once I fire it, I can guarantee that at least a third of the Sea God¡¯s Lake water will be vaporized. Your water lilies won¡¯t be spared. Everyone take your hats off.¡±

    He Caitou sounded very dominant when he shouted this. Afterward, the onlookers were frozen in ce, including the teachers.

    Elder Xuan twisted his lips, and Fan Yu had already stood up. He cursed at He Caitou, ¡°Idiot, this is a blind date! Do you think this is the battlefield? Put your stationary soul cannon away.¡±

    Chu Qingtian looked past Huo Yuhao at He Caitou. He opened his mouth wide and said, ¡°My friend, are you here for a blind date, or are you here to crash the party?¡±

    He Caitou was stunned, ¡°Is this not allowed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Second senior, this is a blind date. Why did you take out such a strong soul tool?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s facial muscles were also cramping. He hadn¡¯t expected He Caitou to pull such a stunt.

    He wasn¡¯t just going on a blind date; he was forcing thedies¡­

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh. He quickly asked He Caitou to put his soul cannon away. He Caitou was still confused, and muttered, ¡°Can¡¯t I use any attack in the first segment? Take off the hats with my attacks! I haven¡¯t even attacked yet. I only threatened them.¡±

    ¡°He Caitou, you can¡¯t go overboard. Even though you¡¯re a soul engineer and you¡¯re allowed to exhibit your abilities, aren¡¯t you afraid of hurting thesedies?¡± Zhang Lexuan was also speechless, but she was also amused. As she looked at He Caitou, she could tell that he wasn¡¯t looking for trouble on purpose.

    ¡°Oh, I see! I won¡¯t use my stationary soul cannon. However, what should I use now?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan managed to control herughter. ¡°How would I know what a soul engineer is supposed to use? Go closer and try not to drop into the water. Attack thedies without hurting them, and try to snatch their hats. Do you understand?¡±

    He Caitou nodded and mumbled, ¡°Right, you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s clear with their words.¡±

    ¡°Eldest senior brother wasn¡¯t even clear. He told me we could use any attack.¡±

    Bei Bei turned ck, and turned his head away. His expression also seemed to be telling everyone that he didn¡¯t know He Caitou.

    On the other side, Xu Sanshi was alreadyughing profusely. He thought to himself, ¡°Bei Bei, you brought this upon yourself¡­¡±

    ¡°He Caitou, please begin. Take advantage of the time you have left.¡± Zhang Lexuan reminded him once again. More than fifteen minutes had passed since the first segment had started, but they weren¡¯t even one-third finished. If it continued like this, the blind date would carry on into the night.

    ¡°Alright.¡± He Caitou stopped being sarcastic. As he pointed his toes on the water lily, the center of the lily submerged into the water, and he almost tore it apart. However, He Caitou only managed to lift himself two meters into the air. He seemed a little clumsy.

    However, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense a change in his aura.

    Only he knew that this second senior of his wasn¡¯t clumsy. He only appeared to be so. He must have done that just now on purpose. However, no one knew what his intention was.

    What was He Caitou¡¯s intention? It was a simple one. He was too nervous, and needed to calm down. Of course he knew that he couldn¡¯t use a ss 7 soul tool. But that was also a way of demonstrating his abilities! He didn¡¯t care about the opinions of others, except he cared greatly about Xiao Xiao¡¯s view of him!

 Chapter 214.1: Love at First Sight, Love at Second Sight

    What could he do by leaping two meters into the air? He Caitou immediately gave them an answer!

    The soul thruster behind his back erupted with strong light, propelling him forward with bedazzling speed. He wasn¡¯t surging forward with this rapid motion, but diagonally upwards instead.

    He was already in midair when two enormous wings from a flying-type soul tool extended behind his back. The radiance of soul power burst forth, and he appeared in the sky above the female students in no time.

    The wings began to change shape at this moment. They shifted forward speedily, and became like the surface of an umbre as they circled around He Caitou¡¯s chest. Light was released downwards, a little weaker than before. He Caitou used this propulsive force to hover in the sky, and his nimble maniptions were extremely impressive.

    ¡°Watch out, everyone.¡± He Caitou¡¯s hands began to move as he spoke.

    He was tall and robust, so he was dense and clumsy to a certain extent. However, his hands disyed unnatural agility as ck metal lumps flew out from his hands and dropped directly into the water. There were several hundred of them.

    What are those? Every single young woman thought at the same time.

    With He Caitou¡¯s previous performance, the girls saw him as someone who was both straightforward and extremely reckless. They subconsciously assumed those things to be some powerful explosives, and even if they weren¡¯t familiar with soul engineers, they knew that they shouldn¡¯te into contact with the things soul engineers tossed out.

    Almost all the young women reacted the same way ¨C everyone leapt up.

    Seventeen figures soared into the sky, while the ck metal lumps dropped into the water one after another. But¡­ nothing happened.

    He Caitou chuckled, and he pointed downwards with his finger. A single beam of light tunneled into the water, and a magical scene appeared immediately afterwards.

    The water¡¯s surface suddenly lit up, and several hundred pirs of light burst out from underneath the water piercing through theke¡¯s surface, instantly covering all seventeen girls.

    What attack is this? The girls weren¡¯t sure. However, they didn¡¯t feel threatened at all.

    The speed of light was indescribably fast. Some girls who reacted fast enough unleashed their defensive soul skills, while other girls who didn¡¯t feel threatened at all were struck by the beam of light while they were still shocked and surprised.

    The pirs of light didn¡¯t represent any threat at all, and didn¡¯t do anything to their bodies. However, there was a gentle repulsion force.

    Three hats! Of the seventeen girls, besides those whose hats had already been lifted, three more bamboo hats were blown away!

    ¡°He¡¯s such a liar! He was pretending before this!..¡± Han Ruoruo was the sharpest, and she reacted at the first possible moment. He Caitou had been setting this up ever since he had pretended to want to use a ss 7 soul tool against them from the beginning. This was the reason why he made the girls leap into the air at the same time as he threw out those metal balls, instead of defending themselves against the soul tools he had tossed out.

    He had managed to achieve his goal! Even though nobody knew how he did it, the pirs of light carrying an air flow were shot out from beneath the water.

    He Caitou chortled in midair, and another soul cannon appeared on his shoulder. Before the girls could react, he fired his cannon. This cannon didn¡¯t have a specific target. Instead, he relied on the powerful recoil to fly backwards rapidly. This soul cannon was used as a soul thruster, and not only was it extremely quick, but it could be used to fly backwards, so there was no need for a soul thruster to be strapped around his chest like Huo Yuhao had.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who had improved in the two and a half years at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He Caitou didn¡¯t reveal much from day to day, but his skill with soul tools was one of the highest among all the students.

    ¡°He Caitou!¡± Fan Yu shouted angrily. The cannon shell He Caitou fired was coincidentallyunched in their direction, and even though itnded in the water several meters away from the boat, it still caused an eruption of water and mist.

    Qian Duoduoughed heartily and said, ¡°This fe is bing more and more mischievous. He must have been influenced by Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s face was already starting to turn ck from anger at what He Caitou was doing. Then he heard Qian Duoduo¡¯s loud and bright voice, and his face turned even cker. He red at He Caitou with even more vengeful eyes.

    Xu Sanshi felt even more lost and wronged. This, this isn¡¯t my fault at all, but I¡¯m still med anyway! Caitou has been with Yuhao over the past two years ¨C what¡¯s that got to do with me?

    He Caitou returned steadily to his leaf, the recklessness and clumsiness from before having disappeared entirely. He chuckled as he dropped down and waved at the girls before him, but his eyes were fixed on Xiao Xiao from beginning to end.

    Xiao Xiao was initially a little astonished when He Caitou made his move. She met his passionate gaze, and her face began to heat up, so she lowered her head. However, a bald ck head began to sway in her mind, and she felt as if she could see the same person from four years ago on the stage during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, the same person who gave everything he had. Two years have gone by ¨C how has he be even darker than before?

    If He Caitou knew what Xiao Xiao was thinking, he would definitely reply with tears trickling down his face, Dear, it¡¯s nighttime! Won¡¯t we all be a little darker than usual¡­?

    No matter how Huo Yuhao and He Caitou had aplished this feat, the two of them managed to remove eight bamboo hats in total. Of the seventeen girls, less than a third still had their hats on, but this included the second girl from the left that Huo Yuhao had been watching from the beginning. The bamboo hat on her head still seemed as stable as ever.

    The rest of the first segment was much faster than before. The male students came out one by one, and everyone disyed their skills and abilities. Some people tried to y cheap tricks, but perhaps He Caitou had given the girls too strong an impression, and it didn¡¯t end well for them. It didn¡¯t take long before two more dropped into the water, and after the first segment, only thirty-six male students were left from the original thirty-nine.

    There were three more girls who still had their bamboo hats on. One of them was the girl that had caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention, the one who had a hundred year soul ring, and a thousand year soul ring right afterwards. This was greatly disappointing, as he would be able to judge better if he could see her appearance.

    After the first segment, the inner courtyard¡¯s students were roused, and their emotionspletely worked up. Huo Yuhao was in the first row, and he could acutely feel the eyes all around him; everyone had passionate and fiery gazes.

    Most of the guys were watching the girls of their dreams. Of the girls that had already revealed themselves, Jiang Nannan was still the prettiest, and her enchanting looks almost made everyone else look bad. However, everyone knew the perennial entanglement between Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, so most of the guys didn¡¯t think about her at all. In the end, Jiang Nannan had never showed feeling to any other guy, including Xu Sanshi.

    They were going to switch positions next. They would be rearranged ording to the number of bamboo hats they had removed in the previous round. Huo Yuhao was mercilessly ced first with his tally of five bamboo hats.

    Bei Bei raised his voice and said, ¡°We are moving into the second segment. After the first round of getting to know each other, the next round is for the girls to express who they like. Therefore, the second segment is called Love at First Sight. The rules are simple ¨C every girl will receive a switch, which is used to control the soulmp beneath them. They will turn on theirmps for the guys, and the guys will continue into the subsequent segment as long as they have at least onemp lit. If a guy doesn¡¯t have a singlemp at all, then he will have to regrettably remove himself for the evening.¡±

    Huo Yuhao vividly remembered that Bei Bei had told them that the second segment was the shortest. However, it was an important test for the guys ¨C no matter how powerful you were, or how outstanding you thought you were, you would immediately forfeit if not a single girl kept hermp on for you. There were many more guys than girls after all, so this segment was meant to simplify the situation.

    Huo Yuhao was at the front, and he was the first person to face this important assessment.

    ¡°Please give it some serious thought, Sea God¡¯s Fairies. You will have one minute ¨C you have to be sure! Let me emphasize once more, if you don¡¯t leave yourmp on for any of the thirty-six guys, then that also means that you are giving up this Blind Date, and you will have to leave this area of the Sea God¡¯s Lake.¡±

    The girls naturally had their own ns. They seemed exceptionally calm as they stood out there above theke, and nobody knew if they already had someone they liked.

    One minute quickly passed, and Bei Bei continued the event at Zhang Lexuan¡¯s signal.

    ¡°Alright, the second segment, Love at First Sight, shall begin. First, the Sea God¡¯s Fairies will leave theirmps on for Huo Yuhao. During this second segment, leaving yourmps on for him doesn¡¯t mean you will have to choose him in the end. You can give him a chance as long as you have a good impression of him, and you can also give yourself this chance. I trust that he will pay attention to the girls who leave theirmps on for him. Begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t nervous. He stared at the seventeen girls in the distance, and could clearly feel his heartbeat speeding up. His mind was aplete nk at this moment, and no matter how good his judgment normally was, he had no idea how many girls would leave theirmps on for him.

    ¡°Three, two, one.¡± Bei Bei began his countdown, and suddenly a single goldenmp was extinguished.

    Huo Yuhao focused his eyes on the one who extinguished themp. Wasn¡¯t that Wu Feng?

    There was an indifferent look on Wu Feng¡¯s face as she raised her chin haughtily in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

 Chapter 214.2: Love at First Sight, Love at Second Sight

    Bei Bei smiled as he said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s over. Sixteen lights remain. Good start, Yuhao!¡±

    Huo Yuhao only noticed themp that had been extinguished. He suddenly realized that the other sixteen girls, including Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming, had actually kept theirmps on for him, which was something he had never expected would happen.

    It was clear that during the Love at First Sight segment, both the Snow Lady and his own exemry performance had given the girls a good impression, and only Wu Feng had extinguished hermp vengefully.

    ¡°Next, we have He Caitou. Get ready, Sea God¡¯s Fairies.¡± Bei Bei continued with the segment, seeing that Huo Yuhao had passed.

    Huo Yuhao could feel his second senior brother immediately getting nervous not far from him. He Caitou¡¯s eyes were wide open, he nced towards Xiao Xiao from time to time, and hisrge fists were clenched tight. Beads of sweat even trickled down from his temples.

    This was only the second segment, but this segment was enough to prove whether Xiao Xiao had a good feeling about him.

    ¡°Begin.¡±

    Along with Bei Bei¡¯s exmation, Huo Yuhao felt as if his eyes had gone dark as manymps were immediately extinguished.

    He Caitou¡¯s situation waspletely the opposite from Huo Yuhao. The aiming he did with the ss 7 stationary soul cannon took many points from him, while his tall and robust frame along with his dark skin didn¡¯t really fit the girls¡¯ idea of beauty.

    ¡°Don¡¯t extinguish everything, please!¡± He Caitou howled softly under his breath.

    Fortunately, twomps remained after most of themps were extinguished.

    Onemp belonged to the enchanting Jiang Nannan, who shed a faint smile in He Caitou¡¯s direction with a tinge of encouragement in her eyes. However, whether He Caitou could see it from so far away was another story altogether.

    He Caitou felt his entire body turn soft and weak, and his shirt waspletely drenched with sweat. This moment was like a desperate life or death fight to him.

    The othermp that remained besides Jiang Nannan¡¯smp belonged to Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao¡¯s head was lowered at this moment, and she didn¡¯t look up at He Caitou, but even at this distance, Huo Yuhao could see that there were two dashes of red across her pretty face.

    ¡°Nannan has such a strong sense of loyalty!¡± He Caitou couldn¡¯t but exim in admiration.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you praise Xiao Xiao, second senior brother?¡±

    He Caitou wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m nervous, Yuhao. What should I do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m nervous too¡­ I would rather fight an epic battle instead. Truth be told, this event is really making our hearts beat faster. I¡¯m a little better, as I don¡¯t really have a target, and you¡¯re feeling more anxious and nervous because you do. Rx, second senior brother, I can tell that Xiao Xiao¡¯s face is blushing, and that means she¡¯s probably embarrassed. That¡¯s still a good thing in the end, and at least she has kept hermp on for you. That means you still stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Caitou nodded his head vigorously. It was clear that Xiao Xiao keeping hermp on for him had greatly boosted his self-confidence.

    The event continued, and the girls were exceptionally cruel and savage. Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady managed to obtain sixteenmps, but the people who came after him didn¡¯t even get a third of themps, even though their situations weren¡¯t as bad as He Caitou¡¯s. Very quickly, it was Xu Sanshi¡¯s turn.

    Xu Sanshi was thest in the first row, and the two rows behind him were almost entirelyprised of guys that hadn¡¯t achieved anything at all in the first round.

    He Caitou was nervous on his first appearance at the Sea God¡¯s Fate, but Xu Sanshi was equally as nervous. He stared passionately in Jiang Nannan¡¯s direction, and it didn¡¯t matter to him if all other sixteenmps were extinguished as long as Jiang Nannan kept hermp on for him.

    ¡°Xu Sanshi, Love at First Sight. Begin.¡±

    ¡°Ding, ding, ding¡­¡± Perhaps the girls knew that this guy¡¯s only target was Jiang Nannan, or perhaps it was because he had yed dirty in the first segment, but the speed at which themps were extinguished was even faster than He Caitou.

    Themps quickly disappeared until two remained ¨C one was Xiao Xiao, and the other was Jiang Nannan.

    Just when Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face, Jiang Nannan decisively pressed the button in her hands with a swoosh, and the pale goldenmp underneath her was immediately extinguished. The onlymp that remained belonged to Xiao Xiao.

    The smile on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face froze, and his face turned ghastly pale. He even shuddered a little.

    ¡°You¡¯re so cruel, Nannan!¡± Xu Sanshi shouted agonizingly, but he stabilized himself in the end.

    On the other side, He Caitou asked Huo Yuhao nervously, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao! Why did Xiao Xiao leave hermp on for third senior brother? What¡¯s this about?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless momentarily, then said, ¡°Second senior brother, you¡¯re confused because you¡¯re too concerned and you think too much. Why do you think fourth senior sister left hermp on for you before this? Naturally, it¡¯s because we are one family, and we should support each other. It¡¯s the same for Xiao Xiao. Do you think she can bear to watch everyone extinguish theirmps for second senior brother?¡±

    He Caitou was relieved, but he still muttered under his breath, ¡°Sanshi is a little more handsome than I am, this¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned back around and decided not to bother with this guy who spouted nonsense anymore.

    Xu Sanshi barely passed this round, but the guys at the back weren¡¯t nearly as lucky. There were too many guys and too few girls, after all ¨C there were more than twice as many guys, and this situation meant that there were bound to be many guys who would be made to forfeit at this stage.

    Themps continued to be extinguished, and when Love at First Sight finally came to an end, there were only twenty-four male students who remained. The second round alone wiped out a third of the male students.

    What made Huo Yuhao a little surprised was that manymps were extinguished for Dai Huabin, but Wu Feng ultimately kept hermp on for him so that he could remain for the next round. When he saw this, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they were in cahoots from the beginning.

    Xie Huanyue¡¯s situation was a lot worse. When he left the scene, he was still shouting, ¡°Fatties have no rights! Fatties have no rights after all!¡± Not a singlemp was kept on for him.

    The second round hade to an end. The twenty-four male students were rearranged once more, this time into a single row, as there were not that many left, and they faced the seventeen girls in the distance directly.

    Zhang Lexuan was the one who spoke this time.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone has obtained a little understanding of each other after the past two rounds. We shall now proceed into the third segment ¨C Love at Second Sight. This time, the girls have to pay attention ¨C you won¡¯t be able to choose as casually as you did in the second round. Once you make your choice, you will have to be responsible for it. Every guy will have one minute to introduce themselves, and you guys wille to me once you¡¯ve finished your introduction to tell me the number of the Sea God¡¯s Fairy that you like. Once all the introductions areplete, the girls will go through another selection round, but this selection will represent your final choice. Every girl can only choose once, and you can¡¯t regret your choice. Once this selection is over, we will begin the fourth segment.¡±

    ¡°All guys, pay attention. You¡¯re allowed to disy the ability that you think is the most powerful while you¡¯re introducing yourself, and you can also introduce your own cultivation levels and whatnot, as long as you feel that your introduction will be enough to attract the girl you like. I will switch up the order this time, and it will be decided by drawing lots so that we can be fair.¡±

    Bei Bei stepped onto a water lily leaf and gradually floated towards the male students. He was holding some numbered sticks in his hands, and he carried out the lot drawing from left to right.

    The girls on the other side weren¡¯t idling around either. Each of them now had a number on their chest, while they also switched positions.

    The girl that Huo Yuhao was watching who still had the bamboo hat on her head had the number ¡°two¡±.

    The lot drawing of quickly ended. Huo Yuhao¡¯s luck was average; he was number eleven, and his position was towards the middle.

    The first few and thest few in the third segment were at a disadvantage. The first few to go out wouldn¡¯t have experience, while it was easy for the girls to be fatigued and tired towards the end.

    Chu Qingtian, the six-ringed agility-type Soul Emperor that had been standing beside Huo Yuhao during the first round, was the first to go.

    Zhang Lexuan announced, ¡°Alright, the third segment, Love at Second Sight, shall begin. Do put on a good show, boys. This is your best chance to attract the Sea God¡¯s Fairies¡¯ attention ¨C don¡¯t let this opportunity slip from your grasp.¡±

    ¡°The student with the first numbered stick, step out. Remember, your performance will take ce along theke¡¯s surface between the guys and the girls. The rules are the same, and you will be considered forfeit if you drop into the water.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, eldest senior sister.¡± Chu Qingtian acknowledged, and he wasted no time at all as he soared into the sky. Lightning circled around his body, and he arrived on the water¡¯s surface in a sh.

    ¡°Greetings, Sea God¡¯s Fairies. My name is Chu Qingtian.¡± He announced his name when he was still in the air. Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings sparkled at the same time.

    He rotated once in the sky, and his third soul ring lit up. Countless streaks of lightning flickered, and his body immediately disappeared while only sounds remained in midair.

    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-seven years old, and my martial soul is the Berserk Lightning Panther. I¡¯m an agility-type Soul Emperor, and my soul power stands at Rank 67. I am confident to say that I¡¯m one of the fastest amongst the inner courtyard¡¯s students. Even though I¡¯m not exceptionally outstanding, I have a sincere heart. I have already made my decision before my participation in the Sea God¡¯s Fate today, and if any Sea God¡¯s Fairy is willing to take me in, I willy down my heart and follow you for eternity.¡±

    The lightning bolts crackling through the sky suddenly congregated as he spoke, and came together to form an enormous heart-shaped lightning bolt.

    His body flickered, and he leapt out from the heart-shaped lightning bolt. He blew softly, and the heart-shaped lightning bolt flew towards the girls in the distance before it eventually dissipated in the air. He twisted in the sky and came before Zhang Lexuan with another sh of lightning, swiftly writing down the number of the girl that he liked on a piece of paper in her hands. Afterwards, he jumped back into the air and returned to his water lily leaf.

    Chu Qingtian had disyed his speed and control throughout the entire process. His movements were like the rolling clouds and flowing water, and there weren¡¯t any kinks, drags or drops at all. Exactly one minute had passed when he returned to his water lily leaf.

 Chapter 214.3: Love at First Sight, Love at Second Sight

    His face wasn¡¯t red when he reached his leaf, nor was he out of breath. He turned around and then bowed slightly towards the girls with his right hand across his chest.

    Of course, not all the girls approved of his performance, but despite this, Han Ruouruo whispered to Wu Ming, ¡°This fe is so generous with his love, he¡¯ll definitelyy down his heart forever if you¡¯re willing to take him in. Ming¡¯er, you have to be sure!¡±

    Wu Ming blushed faintly and said, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. You just had to bet with me! Hmph.¡±

    Chu Qingtian had no idea what was happening on the girl¡¯s side, thus he just stood there proudly and figured that his performance had been pretty good.

    The second student came forward: Dai Huabin had been the one to draw the second stick.

    Dai Huabin wasn¡¯t as fast as Chu Qingtian, so he decided to rely on his ability to maneuver his body to ultimately reach the girl¡¯s side.

    He released a deafening roar and a powerfulyer of white light erupted from his body as he used the White Tiger¡¯s Shield. White fur appeared all over his body while his frame simultaneously became quite robust. His body then soared forwards with a sh of white light.

    The White Tiger¡¯s Shield transformed into ayer of white light that covered his body and allowed him to barely drift across the water¡¯s surface. He was nowhere near as elegant as Chu Qingtian had been, but everyone present was intelligent; they could tell that attacking on water wasn¡¯t his forte. He was a battle soul master¡ªhis strengthsy in head-to-head battle.

    ¡°Hello everyone, my name is Dai Huabin. I¡¯m seventeen years old and am a Rank 57 assault-type Soul King. My martial soul is the White Tiger. That¡¯s it, thank you.¡± Once he finished his sentence, he simply spun back around and leapt back onto his water lily leaf. He didn¡¯t even report a number to Zhang Lexuan; this meant that there wasn¡¯t a girl that he liked in particr. His performance couldn¡¯t even bepared on the level as Chu Qingtian¡¯s¡ªit was too outrageously simple.

    Huo Yuhao shot a nce towards Dai Huabin, only to realize that Dai Huabin was also looking at him. There was vigorous belligerence in his ice-cold eyes.

    Huo Yuhao knew that Dai Huabin did have someone in his heart, and that that person was Zhu Lu, who he could unleash the martial soul fusion skill, Netherworld White Tiger, with. He¡¯s probably only participating in the Sea God¡¯s Fate today because he wants to stir up trouble with me.

    However, even though Dai Huabin¡¯s introduction was simple, the girls¡¯ reactions weren¡¯t.

    Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Ning Tian and Wu Feng had entered the academy quite recently, so the inner courtyard¡¯s older students weren¡¯t that familiar with them.

    The few seemingly simple numbers that he¡¯d said had made him the center of attraction. He was seventeen years old, Rank 57, and his martial soul was the White Tiger. Everyone present was a talented soul master, so they naturally understood what these numbers meant. With his current cultivation, he was very likely to reach Rank 60 before he turned twenty, and prodigious soul masters who could reach Rank 60 before the age of twenty were ultimately bound to formidable Titled Douluo, as well as probably eventually be Transcendent Douluo.

    One¡¯s ability was one of the most important considerations for the inner courtyard¡¯s girls in their search for a partner. It wouldn¡¯t be very good if their future husbands¡¯ cultivations ended up inferior to their own.

    After Dai Huabin, several other people disyed their abilities. Some showed their dazzling soul skills, while others simply walked across the water, but everyone¡¯s performances were spectacr. They were all roughly between twenty-five and thirty-five in age, and most of them were Soul Emperors and Soul Sages.

    He Caitou was number nine, while Huo Yuhao was number eleven. Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t as fortunate; he was number twenty-four, which meant that he¡¯d be thest to introduce himself.

    Soon, He Caitou¡¯s turn arrived.

    ¡°Next.¡± Zhang Lexuan¡¯s tender and alluring voice echoed across theke¡¯s surface.

    He Caitou cleared his throat and took a deep breath. He then forcefully suppressed his excited emotions, but didn¡¯t make another astonishing or bewildering performance like before. He tapped lightly on his leaf with the tip of his foot, and ayer of light immediately appeared around his body. He looked a little like the Dai Huabin had, and he used this protective barrier to drift across the water¡¯s surface. However, this wasn¡¯t a soul skill, it was a protective soul barrier.

    As he floated within the protective soul barrier, the soul thruster behind him released a faint glow as it propelled his tall, muscr body towards the girls¡¯ side. Once he reached them, he spoke in a loud voice,

    ¡°My name is He Caitou. It¡¯s a very silly name.

    ¡°I might look a little old, but I¡¯m actually only neen.

    ¡°Teacher saved my life and brought me here to Shrek Academy. It¡¯s thanks to him that I have a chance to stand here today.

    ¡°I¡¯m a soul engineer, and am a Rank 62 auxiliary-type Soul Emperor.

    ¡°I¡¯m only here for one person. I¡¯m extremely nervous, but I know that if I don¡¯t confess now, I won¡¯t ever be able to forgive myself. I¡¯m here, Xiao Xiao. I like you. I¡¯ve never liked a person the way that I like you in my entire life. I lost my family a long time ago, and I¡¯ve even lost most of my memories of them. However, it¡¯s clear to me that someone will always be the most important person in my heart¡­ and that person is you. I truly like you.¡±

    Simple, direct, and straightforward. This was the solution that He Caitou hade up with.

    His head remained lowered from the beginning to the end of his speech. He didn¡¯t dare to look at Xiao Xiao, but his voice was determined and his fists were clenched tight. However, his dark face was a little red and swollen, and there were enormous beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

    The entireke became quiet once he finished speaking. Of the nine students that had gone up, only He Caitou had confessed his feelings for a girl in his introduction. He¡¯d insisted on this choice, and had no regrets.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re going to hit us.¡± A sudden voice jolted He Caitou, who¡¯d been moving forwards due to his soul thruster and his head lowered this entire time. He looked up and immediately realized that he was about to run into Han Ruoruo.

    ¡°Ah! Sorry, sorry.¡± He hurriedly shut off his soul thruster, his body swaying a little when he did so. Fortunately, he¡¯d released a protective soul barrier so that he wouldn¡¯t fall into the water with it active. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been quite hard to say the results.

    Han Ruoruo stared at his daft and clumsy action, and for some reason, she felt a wave of envy and admiration surge from her heart. She smiled towards him and said, ¡°Keep it up, big boy.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± He Caitou subconsciously acknowledged, before quickly recovering and staring deeply into Han Ruoruo¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t know it, but this simple sentence would end up saving her life in the future.

    He Caitou nced carefully towards Xiao Xiao. However, Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t dare to look at him; her head was lowered and her tiny hands were tied into a knot before her. If she were to stick out her two index fingers right now, her actions would probably appear identical to the little Snow Lady.

    What should I do? What should I do? This is so embarrassing! Xiao Xiao¡¯s mind was aplete mess right now.

    ¡°Ahem, one minute is up.¡± Bei Bei reminded He Caitou from a distance.

    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± He Caitou cut a sorry figure as he activated his soul thruster once more and retreated back the way he¡¯de.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°So that means you¡¯ve chosen Xiao Xiao, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± He Caitou nodded repeatedly before frantically turning around and returning to his leaf.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao,¡± Han Ruoruo called out softly.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Xiao Xiao looked up. Her pretty white face had as red as a tomato. If He Caitou was here to see it up close, he would¡¯ve definitely said, ¡°I love to eat tomatoes.¡±

    Han Ruoruo giggled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, little sister. Girls have to be more courageous, especially when faced with good fortune like this! We have to be brave and grasp it firmly in our hands. The truth is that that tall, dark guy¡­ his looks are definitely not worthy of you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The redness on Xiao Xiao¡¯s face receded, and a little displeasure had appeared in her eyes. She wanted to dispute Han Ruoruo, but Han Ruoruo continued before she could.

    ¡°Even though his looks aren¡¯t worthy of you, I can feel that his feelings are true. He¡¯s persistent, and if a person like him has recognized the girl of his dreams, then his heart will never change. You¡¯ll definitely be happy if you follow him.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Certain words were at the edge of Xiao Xiao¡¯s mouth, but she swallowed them down in the end and lowered her head embarrassingly. However this time, there was a tinge of sweetness in her eyes.

    The tenth student introduced himself, while Huo Yuhao looked at the sweaty He Caitou and gave him a thumbs-up. Huo Yuhao eximed in admiration, ¡°That couldn¡¯t have been better, second senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Was my performance really alright?¡± He Caitou stared at Huo Yuhao anxiously.

    Huo Yuhao nodded heavily and said, ¡°At least you¡¯ve spoken your mind, and let Xiao Xiao know about the feelings you have for her. No matter what the oue is, the fact that you were able to say all these things in front of so many people means that you¡¯ve already seeded.¡±

    As He Caitou gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from his face he said, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. It¡¯s almost your turn, little junior brother. Good luck! Which girl have you set your sights on?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shifted subconsciously to the second veiled girl, but he shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was a lot calmer and moreposed than before after the previous few segments. Controlling one¡¯s emotions was a lesson that the Ultimate Soldier n had taught him, and his self-control had continuously improved as he grew older.

    He Caitou had taken the same lessons, but he was too close to the issue, thus he couldn¡¯t control his emotions well, as this was simply too important to him.

    Huo Yuhao actually envied his second senior brother. He thought to himself, If that¡¯s Wang Dong¡¯s sister¡­ and she looks just like the Goddess of Light¡­ will I have an epic romance where I give her everything I have?

    Just as he began to specte about this in his mind, He Caitou suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s your turn, Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao was jolted back to reality. One minute had already passed. The student before him hadpleted his self-introduction in the Love at Second Sight, and was currently returning to his own water lily leaf.

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn, Yuhao.¡± Indeed, Bei Bei¡¯s call could also be heard.

 Chapter 215.1: Theres a Scoundrel, How Great!

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. His mind was calm, so his performance would be smooth,posed, and natural. He tapped lightly on his leaf with the tips of his toes, and his entire body soared into the sky. He was light as a feather, as if there were no gravity or resistance to his movements at all, and the little Snow Lady on his shoulders didn¡¯t even quiver a bit.

    He drifted five to six meters forward before he tapped on the water¡¯s surface with the tip of his foot. Chilly air condensed into a patch of ice and supported his body as he glided forward.

    ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯ll be seventeen this year. I am both a control-type and assault-type Soul King, and I¡¯m also a ss 6 soul engineer.¡±

    Once he stopped here, the girls before him all showed expressions of surprise. The Golden Crow Holy Lady was the most short-tempered, and she couldn¡¯t control herself as she raised her hand and said, ¡°Wait, wait. Eldest senior sister, there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand¡ªcan I ask him a question?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan replied, ¡°Just one. There won¡¯t be a next one.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Ming answered happily, then asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Are you deliberately giving yourself so many titles to attract the girls? Both control-type and assault-type? How is that separated? Are you telling me you have two martial souls? And you¡¯re a ss 6 soul engineer on top of that? You¡¯re only seventeen this year¡ªare you a fighter that can do everything?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Greetings, senor sister. I do have two martial souls. My main martial soul is control-type, while my secondary martial soul is assault-type. I¡¯m part of the Soul Tool Department at the same time, so I¡¯m also a soul engineer. I¡¯ve just returned a few days ago from my exchange program at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Wu Ming was stunned momentarily, and asked in astonishment, ¡°Twin martial souls?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had quite a reputation in the outer courtyard, but he didn¡¯t have much in the inner courtyard. Furthermore, he had been away from the academy for more than two years, and those people who had initially had an impression of him would have forgotten. The words ¡°twin martial souls¡± were uttered once more, and several girls¡¯ eyes sparkled, especially the younger ones.

    The inner courtyard¡¯s students were very clear on what having twin martial souls implied. If a soul master with twin martial souls could be a Titled Douluo, and obtain enough soul rings for his or her second martial soul, then this person would be able to challenge a formidable Transcendent Douluo at Rank 91. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s twin martial souls were control-type and assault-type respectively, so one wasplementary to the other.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°Continue, Yuhao. You have thirty seconds left.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded in her direction and said, ¡°All of you must be a little tired after standing for so long. Everyone should know what the Snow Lady can do¡ªso let me help everyone rx a little.¡±

    As his voice dropped, the Snow Lady was telepathically connected to him, and she flew out at once. Orange-gold light flickered as she came before the girls. ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡¯¡± She called as the orange-gold light became even denser than before.

    Huo Yuhao shed his own soul rings as well.

    One red and four orange soul rings rose up from beneath his feet. The blood-red soul ring that had four golden lines and the four orange-gold soul rings that followed closely behind it immediately became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention. Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire aura skyrocketed, and he truly became like a sovereign ruler descending upon the world amidst the sparkling and dazzling soul rings.

    Everybody began to scream and exim in awe and bewilderment. Both the guys and the girls, both Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei, and even the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the various teachers all had their eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao.

    Orange soul rings? What is happening?

    Shrek Academy was most meticulous with martial soul research, but in all their history of soul masters, which included evil soul masters, the Body Sect and all the other powerful soul masters, nobody had ever seen an orange soul ring before. Furthermore, there was a blood-red hundred thousand year soul ring before the four orange soul rings.

    The various opponents Huo Yuhao had faced in the outer courtyard were less surprised. They knew that Huo Yuhao possessed Imitation, and these five soul rings were probably conjured via said Imitation to please the crowd.

    However, just when Huo Yuhao released his fifth soul ring, he chanted under his breath, ¡°The fist and palm will freeze the heavens.¡±

    The tiny Snow Lady pointed into the sky, and her fat little cheeks became as solemn as could be.

    Snowkes drifted from the sky. They weren¡¯t so obvious in the beginning, but it didn¡¯t take long before voluminous snowkes descended from the heavens.

    These snowkes separated into seventeen batches and circled around the girls, eventually congregating beneath their feet. The girls could immediately feel as if they were standing on solid ground, and ayer of thick solid ice with a diameter of over a meter instantly appeared beneath them. They no longer needed to use soul power to make themselves lighter, and they felt a lot more rxed than before.

    The Snow Lady giggled and flipped back onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Such formidable powers of control! The admiration and awe in the girls¡¯ eyes grew stronger, except for Wu Feng, whose expression turned even darker than before.

    This control of snow didn¡¯t belong to Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t manipte anything at all¡ªthe Snow Lady was the one who had done everything. She was the Icesky Snow Lady, and also the Snow Empress, who was ranked number three amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts. Who else in the world couldpare to her ability to control snow?

    Huo Yuhao bowed slightly in an extremely elegant gesture before he slid back and returned to his original position, where he descended back onto his water lily leaf.

    He had further disyed the power of his Spirit. He believed that after the Blind Date, the academy would probably seek him out very quickly. If he could obtain the support of both the academy and his inner courtyard¡¯s seniors, then the research and experimentation with Spirits could begin.

    Back in the Clear Sky Sect, the sect leader, Niu Tian, had said something that greatly moved Huo Yuhao. The growth of soul beasts would never catch up to human soul masters. No matter how few soul masters there were, they would still umte power continuously. Even if every soul master had four rings on average, that meant every soul master had to hunt and kill four soul beasts, while these soul beasts ranged from ten years to more than a hundred thousand years old. If this was allowed to continue indefinitely, perhaps the world wouldn¡¯t have soul beasts with high cultivations anymore, and it was even possible that soul beasts could be extinct. The existence of Spirits still couldn¡¯t resolve this problem, but it could alleviate it to some extent, and it could reduce the intensity of the conflict. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how far he could reach, but he was still willing to put in effort to try, so that he could make his own contribution in the conflict between soul masters and soul beasts.

    There was no doubt that he didn¡¯t really see the Sea God¡¯s Fate as a Blind Date event anymore; his cultivation was more important. The only thing he was looking forward to was the girl who had disyed her second soul ring as a thousand year soul ring. However, Huo Yuhao knew that his hopes only stood at thirty percent. Furthermore, even if that girl was indeed Wang Dong¡¯s sister, and she had the Goddess of Light¡¯s appearance, would she actually like him? How was he going to interact with her? He was truly a little lost.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy didn¡¯t have that astounding emotion that He Caitou possessed. However, he did show impressive abilities, and even though five rings was the lowest existence amongst the inner courtyard¡¯s students, he had twin martial souls. Furthermore, he had a Spirit, which was a very peculiar thing to have. Almost all the girls had developed an interest in him for one reason or another, and Huo Yuhao left a strong impression on each and every one of them.

    Love at Second Sight continued, and every male student treasured this self-introduction phase to the best of their ability. After this round, they would only have to go through the fourth round before they could advance into thest round. Whether the girls chose them in the fourth round would determine everything, and everybody had to try their best to disy and introduce themselves.

    Everybody here was a soul master after all, and the mostmonce method of performance was their strength.

    Finally, it was Xu Sanshi¡¯s turn.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t look so well, and it was clear that he had been greatly affected when Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t leave hermp on for him.

    Jiang Nannan frowned faintly and turned around. She didn¡¯t look at Xu Sanshi, who was gliding in her direction.

    Xu Sanshi gradually came to a spot ten meters away from her and stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, Nannan. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve confessed to you. My brothers are always asking me, ¡®how do I chase a girl?¡¯ I tell them that you have to be courageous, meticulous, and your skin must be thick¡ªthis is especially true for the part about being thick-skinned, you really need to have that. If you can put your ego down and fight for her, there will always be a chance of sess.¡±

    The male students began tough softly when they heard his words. However, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯tugh, and his face was exceptionally serious.

    ¡°Nannan, I¡¯ve liked you ever since I first met you. I know that I gave you a bad impression all those years ago, but we¡¯ve known each other for so long¡ªfrom kids to teenagers, and all the way till now. I trust that you can see how I treat you. I can tell you that I will give everything I have for you¡ªeven my life, if I have to. I know that perhaps your answer today will be the same as always, but I still have to try as I always have, and I will never let the opportunity go even if I only have a single thread of a chance. Nannan, can you open up your heart and give me a little gap, so that I can give you love and passionate warmth?¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s confession wasn¡¯t that passionate, and it felt a little in. However, one could tell that he was repressing something in that in attitude. His eyes were determined and persistent, and there were deep-seated sentiments and emotions hidden deep within his eyes.

    Jiang Nannan finally turned around. When their gazes met, Jiang Nannan realized to her surprise that two rows of tears were sliding down the corners of Xu Sanshi¡¯s calm face, and his eyes were starting to turn red.

 Chapter 215.2: Theres a Scoundrel, How Great!

    In this moment, Jiang Nannan quivered, and anything that was said couldn¡¯tpare to the shock she felt when Xu Sanshi shed those tears in front of everyone.

    She definitely knew how Xu Sanshi had been to her over these years. She also knew that what Xu Sanshi said to her wasn¡¯t just for fun, and that he would actually give his life for her¡ªbut why did she care so much about what had happened in the past? Was what happened back then worth the fuss and dispute? However, that time left an impression in her that was far too deep.

    It had been more than a minute since Xu Sanshi had left his original spot, but nobody hurried him.

    No matter how this segment of the Sea God¡¯s Fate was supposed to be arranged, everyone was willing to wait for this scene of true emotion and feeling. Everybody¡¯s eyes were fixed on Jiang Nannan, who was ten meters in front of Xu Sanshi.

    Jiang Nannan bit down on her lower lip, and stared at Xu Sanshi¡¯s tear-filled face. She stared at his face that was as calm as ever, and there were several times when she wanted to speak, but nothing came out in the end.

    ¡°I understand now.¡± Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t wait for too long. A sad smile broke out on his face, and he extended his arms to either side while his entire body fell backwards, as if he had lost all strength and bnce.

    Even as he was falling backwards, his gaze was fixed upon Jiang Nannan from beginning to end. Tears flowed from his face, and there was too much love, unwillingness, and grief in his eyes.

    Kerplunk!

    Xu Sanshi dropped into the water and water sshed everywhere. Xu Sanshi and his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle disappeared in a streak of lightning. His fall into the water meant he was out of this event, and his tears never stopped flowing even as he copsed into the water.

    Men had tears, but they didn¡¯te easy; they came from the deepest of heartaches.

    Xu Sanshi had known Jiang Nannan for six years, all the way till today. Xu Sanshi had been chasing her for six years without giving up, and he had been confessing to her continuously. However, all he got was rejection, as he had made a mistake six years ago that left a dark shadow in Jiang Nannan¡¯s heart that just wouldn¡¯t go away.

    He had put in too much effort over the past six years, but he had been rejected from beginning to end.

    Xu Sanshi had always been waiting. He had always been waiting for the clouds to part and for the sun to shine through the heavens, but the answer was always ¡°no¡±. He was still rejected.

    Jiang Nannan stared with ck eyes as Xu Sanshi plummeted into the water, and her soul seemed to have departed her body. She felt her legs go weak, and she crumpled back onto the water lily. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao had frozen her leaf into ice, she would have probably fallen into the water as well.

    ¡°Bastard, bastard, bastard!¡± Jiang Nannan suddenly started to bawl, and she seemed to have lost herself as tears cascaded like a waterfall down her face.

    ¡°Why? Why are you always teasing me? Why? I¡¯ve rejected you so many times, but why don¡¯t you give up? You¡¯re a big man now, why are you crying? Why do you have to cry?¡±

    Everyone fell silent as they watched Jiang Nannan¡¯s cries and her tears. The girls around her wanted to console her, but they didn¡¯t even know where to start. In the end, nobody knew what exactly had happened between her and Xu Sanshi.

    Jiang Nannany down on the water lily, and her voice became a little hoarse¡ªher heart was also filled with countless stifled passions and emotions.

    She stared at the gleaming reflection on theke¡¯s surface. She suddenly muttered with a trembling voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you go, you little shit¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi had shown her meticulous care and concern over the past six years. He had ced himself in peril and risked his life for her countless times¡ªhe had defended her against formidable enemies, and protected her against the dangers of the world. She was also a human made from flesh and bone, and how could she not be aware of all this? However, there was no way she could ept him, and that was because the dark shadow in her heart ever since that moment was engraved too deeply within her.

    However, today, just now, when she saw the typically jocr and whimsical fe calmly shed tears for her, she could no longer control the repressed feelings and emotions in her heart.

    Her emotions crumbled, and she finally lost control over herself. In that moment when she watched Xu Sanshi fall into the water, she felt as if she were about to lose him forever. She felt overwhelming helplessness and panic in that moment, and she almost feel hopelessness rising in her heart.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you go, you little shit¡­¡±

    Jiang Nannan sobbed weakly, but the hopelessness in her heart only became stronger. She finally understood¡ªshe understood that she could never lose that scoundrel that hounded and annoyed her every day.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± The sound of water moving suddenly appeared in the cold ice beneath Jiang Nannan, and a head emerged from the surface.

    Jiang Nannan immediately stopped mumbling and nced over with a pair of dazed and blurry eyes.

    He wiped the water from his face with his hands. His eyes were red and swollen, but there was a deep and warm smile on his face. ¡°The little shit is here.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was momentarily stunned as she stared at the impish smile on that pesky fe¡¯s face¡ªbut she didn¡¯t find it annoying and contemptuous anymore.

    She went from helplessness to getting everything back, and the emotions in her heart erupted like a volcano. She suddenly leapt forward and plunged into the water as she forced that bastard back into the water.

    ¡°Damn you, damn you!¡±

    Xu Sanshi said nothing at all, as he was pressed underwater and just blowing bubbles.

    But those were bubbles of happiness.

    The girls gawked with astonished eyes and ck jaws. The girl closest to Jiang Nannan felt tears well up in her eyes as she said, ¡°Too passionate and touching! It¡¯s so nice to have your own little shit.¡±

    Xu Sanshi hugged Jiang Nannan tightly in his arms, and it took some effort for him to resurface from beneath the water. Both of them were already drenched at this point.

    They gazed into each other¡¯s eyes in the water. Xu Sanshi gently pushed away the purple hair on Jiang Nannan¡¯s forehead that was covering her eyes.

    ¡°You were the one who called me back! You have to be responsible.¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s face instantly blushed, and she lowered her head and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you even if you need a lifetime to think about it.¡± Xu Sanshi hugged her tightly in his arms once more as he spoke. Jiang Nannan feebly tried to resist, but then buried her head in his shoulder and didn¡¯t want to lift her head anymore.

    ¡°p, p, p¡­¡± Everyone began to p. Both the guys and the girls used thunderous apuse to bless and celebrate the lovebirds before them.

    Xu Sanshi raised his left hand and waved his fist in the air. He turned around and looked towards Huo Yuhao, and gave him a thumbs-up.

    Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t a god, and everything he had done couldn¡¯t have been a pretense. How could he return at the crucial moment? There was only one reason¡ªhe had the aid of Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Huo Yuhao hadmunicated Jiang Nannan¡¯s reaction, and even her voice, to him through Spiritual Detection. Xu Sanshi¡¯s hopelessness was converted into bewildering exhration, and he returned to Jiang Nannan¡¯s side in the nick of time and finally took her hand and won her over. If he had missed this opportunity, or if Jiang Nannan eventually recovered her rationality, he would probably have to put in effort to try again yet another time. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could have the same passion as before after today¡¯s deep hopelessness.

    Therefore, there was only heartfelt gratitude for Huo Yuhao at this moment. What did brotherhood mean? This was what it meant to be brothers, to aid each other in times of need.

    Huo Yuhao shed a faint smile. His blood was riled up too as he watched Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan¡¯s embrace in the water. He could feel that his emotions were also rippling vigorously, and desire began to rise from his heart.

    Bei Bei was the host, but he turned around and away from everyone. Tears could be seen in his eyes as well, and there was a deep longing for the person he loved at this moment. Where are you, Xiao Ya?

    ¡°Hey, you two are spoiling the rules. This is just the third segment, but the two of you can go directly into thest segment.¡± Zhang Lexuan smiled as she spoke.

    Xu Sanshiughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, eldest senior sister. I will apologize to youter, but we¡¯ll make a move first.¡± He didn¡¯t intend to let everyone see what Jiang Nannan was like drenched, so the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle transformed into a dense ck streak that enveloped the two of them and glided toward the shore on the other side.

    Zhang Lexuan waved as she smiled. ¡°Bless the two of you¡ªdo remember your confession to Jiang Nannan before this.¡±

    ¡°Definitely.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s voice echoed in the distance.

    Zhang Lexuan nced at Bei Bei, who still had his back turned, and she whispered, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and tilted his head upwards slightly. When he turned back around, a faint smile had returned to his face, but Zhang Lexuan could vividly see the dash of despondence in the deepest recesses of his eyes.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s body froze momentarily, but she quickly returned to normal. She smiled and said, ¡°We shall begin the fourth segment soon. We have been through Mutual Feelings, Love at First Sight, and Love at Second Sight. It¡¯s time to keep your love for three lifetimes, so the fourth segment is called Three Lifetimes of Fate.¡±

    ¡°The girls will take turns to introduce themselves in this segment, and they will choose the man that they like, and proceed to his side. The guys will be separated after this, so this allows for the charming guys to attract more than one girl. After this round, if one or several guys aren¡¯t selected, then I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to leave the event. Those that remain will proceed to the final segment.¡±

    There was no question that more guys would be forfeited in the fourth segment. Jiang Nannan had left the seventeen-strong lineup, and sixteen girls remained. Even if every girl chose a different guy, there could only be sixteen people who could remain out of the twenty-three male students. The girls had the initiative during the fourth segment of the Sea God¡¯s Fate, and this was in line with themon saying, dies first¡±.

    ¡°You may begin. A point to note for the three girls who still have your conical bamboo hats¡ªwhen you introduce yourselvester on, you may choose to take down your hats to reveal your appearance. If you still don¡¯t reveal yourselves or if you only give clues, then in the final segment, and unless the guys choose one of you, then you can¡¯t remove your bamboo hats till the end of the event. Now, can the girl with the first number tag introduce herself and make her choice?¡±

 Chapter 215.3: Theres a Scoundrel, How Great!

    The girl with the first number tag tapped lightly on the water lily. There was firm ice beneath her feet, so there was a lot of strength in this push, and she drifted into the sky as if gravity wasn¡¯t acting on her. She spun around in ce after shended back on the water¡¯s surface, and ayer of white soul power rippled forward, prssing down on the surface of the water and stably lifting her into the air.

    Two yellow, two purple, and three ck soul rings hummed in rhythm.

    This young woman looked to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She wasn¡¯t that pretty, but she had an extremely gentle face, and seemed as amiable as could be. She didn¡¯t use any soul skills at all, relying purely upon control of her soul power to hover above the water¡¯s surface. It seemed easy and simple, but it was exceptionally difficult to control, and all the guys gave her a round of apuse and calls of awe and admiration.

    Huo Yuhao also eximed his admiration. At least with his current cultivation, there was no way he could achieve that no matter how good he was at controlling his soul power.

    ¡°My name is Hua Yao, and my martial soul is the Lotus. I¡¯m a control-type Soul Sage, and I am thirty-one years old. I wish to find a gentle and mild-natured man as my partner, while being in and simple is the life I wish for.¡±

    It was a simple introduction, but it gave people a fantastic impression. She was already thirty-one years old, but such an age gap wasn¡¯t really a problem in higher-level soul masters.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and asked, ¡°So, who do you choose?¡±

    Hua Yao blushed faintly, and her figure started to drift forward.

    The fourth segment, the Three Lifetimes of Fate, wasn¡¯t as simple as Zhang Lexuan had just described. The girls faced a tough choice in this segment. Since they were going before the guys, they had to make sure they didn¡¯t fall into the water. The water couldn¡¯t take any weight at all, so it was hard to say whether they couldst until the end of this segment and into thest one. Whether the guys that the girls chose would be courteous and chivalrous enough to give them their water lilies also represented their choices in the final segment.

    Hua Yao quickly came before the male students, and surveyed the people before her. Her eyes finallynded on a male student that looked around thirty years of age.

    This man was tall and slender, his appearance quite typical, but he looked steady andposed. His performance in every round had been normal and orderly, and he hadn¡¯t disyed anything too special. Huo Yuhao could only remember that he had seven soul rings.

    Hua Yao came before this man in a sh, and she greeted him subtly. The other men suddenly eximed and erupted in apuse. Somebody was getting lucky today!

    The guy seemed a little surprised, but a delighted smile quickly appeared on his face. He said nothing at all, but he tapped lightly on the water lily, and he drifted three meters backwards as he made a courteous gesture to invite her onto his water lily.

    Hua Yao didn¡¯t dally around, and quicklynded on the water lily. She blushed a little as she nodded. The interaction between the two of them was done inplete silence, and the man was hovering in midair simr to the way Hua Yao had a while ago. However, right at this moment, a lotus flower suddenly appeared beneath his feet. The petals bloomed and took the weight of his body.

    Hua Yao had mentioned before this that her martial soul was the Lotus.

    They exchanged a smile, and there was a feeling as if nothing needed to be said, and everything was embodied in the silence.

    The inner courtyard¡¯s students didn¡¯t interact much from day to day ,but bing acquainted was natural. Everyone was too embarrassed to express their feelings on normal days, so the Sea God¡¯s Fate was the best tform to do so.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°Gu Fan, your little dinghy is about to be a ship!¡±

    Gu Fan didn¡¯t talk much, and he bowed slightly in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s direction, but there was no masking the excitement in his eyes.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Alright, will the next girl please step up?¡±

    The girl with the second number tag was the one Huo Yuhao had been watching this whole time. Huo Yuhao immediately tensed up at Zhang Lexuan¡¯s announcement. This girl was still wearing her bamboo hat! What choice would she make?

    The young woman soared into the sky, ayer of golden light enveloping her. Something that stunned everyone happened: she didn¡¯t say a word, nor did she take off her bamboo hat. She just flew directly towards the male students.

    Zhang Lexuan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°This girl seems a little unfamiliar. Are you not going to remove the bamboo hat and introduce yourself? Don¡¯t forget what I told you earlier.¡±

    The young woman shook her head faintly in midair. She still said nothing as she drifted towards the men. She seemed as light as a feather, and flew ten meters before she tapped lightly on the water¡¯s surface and began to fly forward once more. She covered a hundred meters in simr fashion.

    One yellow, two purple, and three ck soul rings appeared. This was abination that was better than the typical optimalbination of soul rings, and was enough to attract the men. This was especially true since this youngdy hadn¡¯t revealed her appearance from the beginning of the event until now, nor had she spoken a single word, making her seem even more mysterious.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fists were clenched tightly. His eyes were unmoving as he stared at the second girl, and he constantly asked himself, Will she choose me? Will she choose me?

    She wasing nearer and nearer. Everyone looked on as she came up before the men, and didn¡¯t pause for a moment as she actually descended towards Huo Yuhao. The golden light suddenly disappeared around her, and she withdrew her soul rings as it seemed she was about to jump into the water.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even react in time. The tiny Snow Lady on his shoulders pointed a finger, and fired a dark-blue ray of light onto the water lily. A piece of hardened ice that was a meter in diameter appeared beneath the girl¡¯s feet and took her weight. There was no doubt that Huo Yuhao had the greatest advantage in this segment.

    ¡°You¡­¡± There was a tinge of pleasant surprise in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, but he seemed more hesitant and uncertain.

    The girl turned around slightly, and her flowing powdery-blue hair fell in front of her. Her hair flowed down from her shoulders like tidal waves as she let it out from the veil.

    She still refused to speak, and she didn¡¯t even open her mouth. However, this simple hint made Huo Yuhao shudder violently. His spection had finally been affirmed. The girl didn¡¯t speak, but perhaps that was because she was embarrassed. She didn¡¯t reveal her appearance, perhaps because she didn¡¯t want to attract the other men. In the end, if she was truly as beautiful as the Goddess of Light, then she would have been the most enchanting and alluring girl in this entire event.

    She must be Wang Dong¡¯s sister, Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate any longer after this. He was no longer the blurred and confused teenager from before, and the warm passion merged with the figure that was imprinted in the deepest parts of his soul. Everyone took the initiative to express their feelings, so how could he have no reaction at all?

    Huo Yuhao floated up from the water lily and shifted backwards,nding on the water¡¯s surface behind him as he gestured at the girl to say, ¡°Please.¡± In this moment, his heart¡¯s decision had been made, and whether he would end up with Wang Qiu¡¯er in the end, she had given him a chance, and he would have to try to grasp the opportunity. She was his best buddy¡¯s twin sister, and she had the same appearance as the girl of his dreams! Was there anything more perfect than this? Even if his heart couldn¡¯tpletely ept this, out of all the women here today, only this ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er¡±, who had yet to reveal her appearance, attracted him.

    The young woman jumped forward gently andnded on the water lily before Huo Yuhao. She nodded in his direction, but still said nothing.

    The water beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet was frozen into ice. He stared at the young girl several meters in front of him, wrapped in a long dress and still wearing her conical bamboo hat. He didn¡¯t know why, but a strong sense of familiarity rose from his heart and made him even more emotional. Why, why does she give me such a strong sense of familiarity? However, this sense of familiarity didn¡¯t feel the same as when he had first met Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, so his perception was extremely sharp, and he was one to trust his feelings and instincts. This was especially so after he had obtained the Eye of Destiny, and his senses became even keener.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°Looks like Huo Yuhao has a lot of chemistry with this mysterious girl! Did you guys arrange this beforehand? We will find out in the final segment! Let¡¯s carry on.¡±

    Several other girls came out after this, and everyone chose the guy that they liked. Nobody decided to give up their rights.

    It was finally Xiao Xiao¡¯s turn.

    Xiao Xiao looked up and stared ahead. The blush on her cheeks was still there, and her eyes even had a tinge of hesitation.

    Not far from her, Wu Mingughed and said, ¡°Listen to me, Xiao Xiao. Never miss the best opportunity because you feel embarrassed. If you ept a man at the moment he loves you the most, then you willpletely capture his heart. He will love you for a lifetime, and he will take even better care of you because he is grateful."

    Han Ruoruoughed as well, and said, ¡°Ming¡¯er, seems like you know this quite well. Why haven¡¯t you captured one yet?¡±

    Wu Ming seemed rather vexed as she said, ¡°There aren¡¯t any suitable ones.¡±

    Xiao Xiao nodded in their direction, and her embarrassed eyes finally flowed with toughness and determination. ¡°Thank you, senior sisters.¡±

    She zoomed forward as she spoke.

    Her movements were nothing like the women that had gone before her. She flew out, and five soul rings immediately appeared on her body: two yellow, two purple, and one ck. There was no question that she was rtively weaker than the otherdies. She was a five-ringed Soul King, and she was undoubtedly unable to levitate and hover in the air without external forces.

    However, Xiao Xiao had her own abilities. Just when she wasing to the end of her trajectory, an enormous cauldron appeared beneath her, shended lightly on it, and paused on top of it. A strange scene urred immediately afterwards, as she actually vanished along with the huge cauldron, and reappeared thirty meters further along.

 Chapter 216.1: The Fate of Three Lifetimes

    This shing repeated three times, and she arrived in front of the male students.

    ¡°Plop!¡± At this point, the sound of water sshing rang out. He Caitou was too nervous, and tore his water lily. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick. He gathered his soul power instantly and pressed down with both his hands. With the powers of the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, he exerted a force and managed to propel himself into the air just before he fell into the water.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a move. A huge cauldron suddenly appeared beside He Caitou.

    Xiao Xiao was a little anxious as she said, ¡°Come up.¡± Once someone dropped into the water, he or she would be eliminated! At this point, she didn¡¯t bother with being embarrassed anymore. As lights shed again, she had brought her cauldron in front of He Caitou.

    He Caitou pressed his hands lightly against the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. He lifted himself up andnded on the cauldron. As he was too agitated, his lips were actually trembling slightly.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao¡­¡± He Caitou blurted out softly.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Xiao Xiao lowered her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll treat you well.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°I really like you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    No matter what He Caitou said, Xiao Xiao replied with only one word. She lowered her head and did not dare to look at him. After two and a half years of separation, they were finally standing together. Their passionate hearts were getting closer and closer to each other.

    Zhang Lexuan touched Bei Bei, ¡°You can do it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bei Bei had fully regained control of his emotions. As he looked at Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, as well as He Caitou and Xiao Xiao, he was delighted that they had all found their true loves.

    ¡°The Fate of Three Lifetimes on the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron! Caitou, you must grab your opportunity well!¡± Bei Bei¡¯s called out.

    He Caitou shouted, ¡°Eldest senior, I¡¯ll grab hold of this opportunity! No one else will choose me! Seniors and juniors, don¡¯t choose me anymore! I already have a date!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± He Caitou¡¯s confession attracted a lot ofughter, and the atmosphere became much more rxed.

    Xiao Xiao was still shy. As she reached her hand out, she pped He Caitou¡¯s neck and said softly, ¡°You¡¯re like ck charcoal. Who else is as stupid as me to choose you? You¡¯re too full of yourself.¡±

    He Caitou chortled, ¡°It¡¯s not painful. p me again, I¡¯m scared that I¡¯m dreaming!¡±

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t p him, but instead lightly caressed the spot she had just pped. She said softly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you willing to see me in your dream?¡±

    He Caitou touched his bald head, ¡°I¡¯m willing, of course I¡¯m willing! However, what do I do when I wake up if this is a dream?¡±

    Xiao Xiao finally smiled. ¡°If this is a dream, you can sit down then.¡±

    The fourth segment was still ongoing.

    Anotherdy appeared. Thisdy wore a hat and veil just like the number two student in front of Huo Yuhao.

    As she appeared, she waved her right hand, and a streak of light appeared above the water¡¯s surface. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were very sharp, and he was stunned to realize that it was a shuttle-type soul tool.

    That female student drifted onto the soul tool and stood on it steadily. Her figure glided slowly towards the male students.

    As she glided, she also removed her hat and revealed her charming looks.

    Thisdy looked like she was seventeen or eighteen years old. Not only was she very pretty, but her figure was also very proportionate. She revealed an apologetic look on her face and said, ¡°My name is Ning Tian. As I¡¯m an auxiliary-type soul master, I can only use the strength of my soul tool to keep my bnce on the water. I am Rank 54, an auxiliary-type Soul King. My martial soul is the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda.¡±

    Although she was hinting that she had no strength to float above the water¡¯s surface, no one thought that her abilities were weak. There weren¡¯t any weaklings in the inner courtyard. Furthermore, she also looked very young. When she mentioned her martial soul, the men were enlightened.

    The number one auxiliary-type martial soul on the continent, the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda! Of course she was qualified to enter the inner courtyard. Even though she had no fighting abilities, she was definitely one of the strongest auxiliary-type soul masters around.

    Huo Yuhao was also enlightened. No wonder she had looked so familiar at first sight. She was actually Ning Tian. After so many years, Ning Tian¡¯s figure and looks had developed so drastically that he hadn¡¯t recognized her. Compared to before, she felt much simpler now. There was also a refined aura about her within the simplicity, which made others feel good about her.

    ¡°As an auxiliary-type soul master, I need someone strong to protect me. That¡¯s why I¡¯m choosing someone who can protect me. I believe I can help him reach the peak of the continent.¡± She wore a smile on her face as she spoke, and glided up before the male students.

    No one doubted her words. There were many willing participants in the inner courtyard who wanted to protect her! With the aid of the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, their abilities were bound to rise at least by forty percent. Once her Seven Treasures zed Pagoda rose to be a Nine Treasures zed Pagoda, she would have the power to change the oue of a battle single-handedly.

    The eyes of the young men started to heat up. Even Dai Huabin¡¯s gaze shed a little as he heard her words.

    Among the female students of the same grade, Ning Tian was the only one who could attract him. She was even more attractive than Zhu Lu. However, he possessed a martial soul fusion skill with Zhu Lu, and they were very close. He couldn¡¯t choose his wife, and he hadn¡¯te here today to find a girlfriend. However, he was tempted as he looked at Ning Tian gliding over.

    Ning Tian went straight for her target.

    Huo Yuhao was still thinking about his impression of Ning Tian from before. However, his eyes very quickly widened. That was because he discovered that she was approaching him. Surely not? Surely¡­

    Before he even finished thinking those words, she was already close in front of him. She nodded towards him slightly, as if she didn¡¯t see the number two female student that was already in front of him.

    ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re the person who can protect me. I¡¯m willing to follow you with the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. Can you give me a piece of ice?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in shock as their eyes met. Ning Tian was a little shy, but the look in her eyes was very resolute. Yes, Huo Yuhao was her choice, not because she liked him, but because he was strong enough.

    As she possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, Ning Tian was nurtured as the heir to the sect master since childhood. She was outstanding in all aspects. However, she knew that she needed a strong protector before she could reach the peak of this world, even though she had the strongest auxiliary-type martial soul. Choosing her partner was also the best chance for her to pick this protector. She only had one shot at this, and thus she needed to choose the best person that she could recognize.

    After two and a half years, Huo Yuhao had shocked everyone with his skills. He was already a Soul King. Although his rank wasn¡¯t very high, he had twin martial souls! Furthermore, Ning Tian also knew that he didn¡¯t just possess twin martial souls, he even possessed the Ultimate Ice. He also had the Snow Lady, and was even a ss 6 soul engineer. Most inner courtyard students weren¡¯t too interested in soul tools. However, Ning Tian had a different perspective. Since she had no fighting abilities, she could use soul tools to attack. Due to her understanding of soul tools, she understood that a ss 6 soul engineer was very strong.

    She was interested in Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. As for feelings, she believed that they could be nurtured. She was also confident of attracting Huo Yuhao with her talents. Being very self-confident, she still chose Huo Yuhao even though the number two female student had already approached him earlier.

    Before Huo Yuhao could even react, the Snow Lady pointed with her finger and created a patch of ice in front of Ning Tian. After doing this, she even pped her hands. She started to giggle. She gave off the feeling that everything was fine.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ning Tian smiled elegantly and lifted the sides of her dress with both hands. She descended onto the patch of ice.

    Two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring started to rise from her feet. As she lifted her right hand, a streak of bright light appeared in her palm. A seven-story pagoda shing with dazzling lights appeared on her palm. As her soul rings drifted up, they eventually surrounded the pagoda. Under the illumination of her soul rings, the pagoda became brighter and brighter.

    Ning Tian said softly, ¡°This zed Pagoda has seven stories. Strength, speed, soul, defense, attack.¡±

    Suddenly, a weird scene appeared. The pagoda flew up and expanded, as her five soul rings shone in session. Five streaks of rainbow light were also released, andnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, engulfing him. In the dark night, he was covered by a rich array of colors.

    Instantly, he felt his cultivation soaring. It wasn¡¯t just his cultivation; his strength, speed, soul power, and other aspects were enhanced as well!

 Chapter 216.2: The Fate of Three Lifetimes

    Huo Yuhao seemed to hear someone saying to him, ¡°Five auxiliary skills unleashed at the same time. This is the Scattered Heart of Five Apertures. Not only has her cultivation increased to that of a Soul King, but her control of the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda has also reached that level.¡±

    ¡°This?¡± The lights around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body retracted, but the enhancements remained. He even felt like he had be a Soul Emperor.

    Ning Tian smiled and replied, ¡°You used your soul skills just now. Perhaps you became a little tired. I helped you recover. When I reach Rank 60, I can even perform elemental enhancements. Which means I can enhance your ice element to be even more ultimate.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoplimented, ¡°Your Seven Treasures zed Pagoda is indeed very strong.¡±

    Ning Tian smiled without saying anything. From the start, she didn¡¯t even look at the number two female student beside her. When she unleashed her five soul skills, she only had one intention¡ªto attract Huo Yuhao with her abilities. Without a doubt, his fighting abilities and survivability would increase greatly if he had support from a Seven Treasures zed Pagoda to help him on the battlefield.

    The five soul skills she had just unleashed were strength enhancement, agility enhancement, soul power enhancement, defensive enhancement and offensive enhancement.

    The simplest way to appraise her enhancements on Huo Yuhao was that she raised him from a Soul King into a Soul Emperor.

    This was too exaggerated of an increase! It clearly showed how strong she was. Her Seven Treasures zed Pagoda wasn¡¯t called the number one auxiliary-type martial soul on the continent for nothing.

    Although Ning Tian didn¡¯t look at the number two female student, she was secretly monitoring her all this while. It would be normal if she became sarcastic or antagonistic, but this female student had no reaction. She was so peaceful that Ning Tian found it weird. She only stood there from the start till the end, watching coldly.

    The fourth segment continued. After two more female students, it was finally the Golden Crow Holy Lady¡¯s turn.

    As she drifted out, her pair of golden wings pped open behind her. The Golden Crow was a bird, a type of firebird rumored to be a close rtive of phoenixes. Wu Ming¡¯s Golden Crow Primordial Fire wasn¡¯t at the level of the Ultimate Fire, but it was close.

    As her wings pped, she had already flown into the air.

    ¡°My name is Wu Ming, and I¡¯ll be thirty-two this year. Everyone calls me the Golden Crow Holy Lady. I know that some people im that I¡¯m what is leftover of the leftovers. I¡¯ve no choice since I¡¯m old. I¡¯m just going to choose someone. Whoever rejects me is going to die!¡±

    As she spoke, she dived down from the air. The bright-golden mes behind her formed a dazzling trail.

    In the blink of an eye, she had already arrived in front of the male students.

    Please don¡¯t let it be me! This was themon thought in everyone¡¯s mind.

    Wu Ming wasn¡¯t ugly, and her cultivation was very high. Her age wasn¡¯t too big of a problem either. They were afraid of her temper! With her fiery temper, she was even more notorious than Ma Xiaotao. After all, she had entered the inner courtyard earlier. In addition, she was verypetitive, so no one would have it good if they were together with her. Generally speaking, ordinary guys were more interested in gentledies.

    Wu Ming stopped in the air, and everyone started to be fearful. Then she moved suddenly. Her figure drifted down, and shended in front of someone. As her wings pped open, they pointed towards the water lily that one guy was standing on.

    Chu Qingtian was shocked when he saw Wu Ming. Honestly speaking, Wu Ming did appear slightly ravishing, illuminated by the golden mes in this dark night as she was. However, Chu Qingtian was perplexed as to why she appeared before him.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Give space on the water lily to me. Are you not a man?¡± Wu Ming shouted.

    ¡°Oh, oh.¡± Chu Qingtian retreated in shock and gave her the water lily.

    Wu Ming was pleased with this reaction. At least he¡¯s willing to give it up! However, Chu Qingtian dropped straight into theke water when shended on the water lily.

    ¡°Ssh!¡± Ripples were formed, and water scattered everywhere.

    The male students were also shocked, and someone muttered, ¡°Decisive! Strong.¡±

    ¡°Chu! Qing! Tian!¡± Wu Ming raged, and her palm struck toward theke water in front of her.

    A palm formed by golden mes struck the water, vaporizing arge volume of it.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Chu Qingtian had only just resurfaced from the water at this point, but he was pped back into the water by this palm. Fortunately, he was an agility-type soul master. When he was struck back into theke water, he was jolted awake. As lightning shed, he flew out of the water and several tens of meters into the air. He managed to avoid the palm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t attack me! It was unintentional!¡± Chu Qingtian shouted. He didn¡¯t flee. Although he was confident in his speed, he didn¡¯t run. He didn¡¯t want to be chased by the Golden Crow Holy Lady for the rest of his life! He had witnessed how strong Wu Ming was before. Once, she had chased a soul beast into the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest after it ambushed her. If a human blocked her, she would kill him. If a soul beast blocked her, she would kill it.

    ¡°Am I that scary? Why did you have to jump into the water?¡± Wu Ming ced her hands on her hips and straightened her body. As she thought of the indignation she suffered, her eyes started to tear up.

    She had liked guys before; she was also a normaldy! However, every guy that she had ever confessed to ran away from her in fear. As Chu Qingtian jumped into the water, she felt extremely slighted, and tears started to stream down her face. He was more willing to give up his opportunity in this blind date rather than be with her.

    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t misunderstand me. I was just too surprised, and didn¡¯t realize that it was water underneath me!¡± Chu Qingtian tried to exin.

    ¡°Surprised?¡± Wu Ming was stunned, and her tears stopped flowing.

    Although Chu Qingtian was drenched, he still looked at her with a deep gaze, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to choose me! You also saw how He Caitou reacted. Didn¡¯t he say that one of his legs fell into the water because he was scared of Xiao Xiao? It was because he was too excited, that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t control himself! I¡¯m in a simr situation, but my surprise was more intense. That¡¯s why I fell into the water. This shows how much more I like you!¡±

    ¡°What? Is that really so?¡± Wu Ming was in a daze from his flowery words.

    Chu Qingtian nodded his head resolutely. ¡°Of course. Think about what I said when I exhibited myself. In fact, I¡¯m a person with no self-confidence. That¡¯s why I said I¡¯d be willing as long as someone was willing to ept me. However, everyone has someone he or she likes no matter how inferior he or she feels! Maybe you don¡¯t remember, but there was once a batch of inner courtyard students went into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts. That time, your courage and strength deeply attracted me. Although you¡¯re ady, you¡¯re a true hero in my eyes. I can still clearly remember how you stood in front of me when I was attacked by soul beasts. From that moment on, your figure has been deeply carved into my mind.¡±

    As he spoke till here, he lowered his head slightly and sighed. He said, ¡°However, I know that an outstandingdy like you will only choose the best. Why would you choose someone as ordinary as me? Besides speed, I¡¯ve nothing outstanding. I¡¯m not handsome either. That¡¯s why I could only watch you from one side. I didn¡¯t even have the courage to confess to you.¡±

    ¡°It was only today that I acted impulsively in the first segment when I confirmed your position. That was why I didn¡¯t hesitate to take your hat.¡±

    ¡°In fact, I didn¡¯t expect to have any fate with you today. I never hoped that you¡¯d choose me. I only took your hat to take one more look at you on this blind date. Think about it, how can I not be agitated after my dreams have turned into reality? Eldest senior sister, please give me a chance to stand on the water lily again. If the rules don¡¯t allow it, then heaven must be ying a trick on me!¡± After he finished speaking, he revealed a sad look on his face.

    Wu Ming looked at him in a daze. ¡°Are you for real? You¡¯ve always liked me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chu Qingtian nodded vigorously.

    At this point, most of the male students had a discriminatory look in their eyes. Is this guy pulling out a surprise? Surely not. This is more like a shock. However, his acting is impable and he¡¯s smooth. Wu Ming¡¯s been tricked by him.

    There weren¡¯t many male students who believed Chu Qingtian¡¯s words. Even Huo Yuhao was in doubt. His Spiritual Detection was activated most of the time. That was how he could sense that Chu Qingtian¡¯s spiritual undtions were very intense when he spoke just now. However, it wasn¡¯t intense because his feelings were passionate. Rather, it was because he was very ufortable. His hands were also moving continuously behind his back, revealing the turmoil in his spiritual state. That was why his words weren¡¯t so credible.

    Wu Ming turned around suddenly and looked in the direction of Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei. Her eyes were tearing up as she said, ¡°Eldest senior sister, there¡¯s finally someone who likes me. Please, I beg of you.¡±

    Chu Qingtian¡¯s words weren¡¯tpletely from the bottom of his heart. He had been observing her for some time, but not in a romantic way. However, he couldn¡¯t reject her in such a situation as he saw her tearing up. In addition, he didn¡¯t really dare to reject her. That was why he said what he did. He was even tricked by himself.

 Chapter 216.3: The Fate of Three Lifetimes

    Wu Ming turned around and begged Zhang Lexuan with a hopeful yet sorrowful expression on her face. As Chu Qingtian saw the tears flowing down her cheeks, he felt greatly moved. He suddenly saw that she wasn¡¯t as scary as he had thought. The slight resistance he had had in his heart disappeared quickly.

    Zhang Lexuan sighed. In fact, everyone could tell that Chu Qingtian¡¯s wordscked sincerity even though they sounded wless. But how could she reject Wu Ming, especially with those tears streaming down her face?

    ¡°Ming¡¯er, you should know that the rules can¡¯t be broken. If I make this an exception for you, it won¡¯t be fair for everyone else. However, we know that there¡¯s always a single exception made in the Sea God¡¯s Fate. If everyone is willing to let you use this exception, then I think we can do it if everyone is moved by your feelings. However, I can let you make a new choice if someone proposes otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, eldest senior sister.¡± Wu Ming¡¯s voice suddenly turned excited, and she thanked Zhang Lexuan. After that, she turned her attention to all the female students and said, ¡°Today, I hope to leave with Chu Qingtian. I¡¯m a direct person, so I won¡¯t say anything else. I hope that all of you will give me this chance. I¡¯ll remember this favor. If there¡¯s anything you need, just tell me.¡±

    As Bei Bei looked at Wu Ming, he muttered, ¡°Sister Wu Ming is so steady! If she were a guy, she¡¯d be really impressive.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nced at him and said, ¡°Stop with the sarcasm. Do you really think Wu Ming can¡¯t hear the insincerity in Chu Qingtian¡¯s words? Don¡¯t judge her by her fierce appearance. In fact, very few know about her equally fierce intelligence. She doesn¡¯t want to be hurt again, and wants to fight for another chance for herself. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t expose him. Let¡¯s see what Chu Qingtian¡¯s going to do. If he brings Ming¡¯er back today and hurts her in the future, I won¡¯t let him go.¡±

    Bei Bei turned fearful. In that instant, he clearly felt the seriousness in her words, and didn¡¯t even dare to look at her.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister, you should also find a guy.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan shot him a cold look. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Bei Bei shut his mouth immediately and lowered his head. He even looked quite guilty. ¡°Sister, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°It was my choice. What has it got to do with you? Since I made that choice years ago, I won¡¯t change it. Alright, let¡¯s get back to official business.¡±

    No one doubted Wu Ming¡¯s words. Whether it was because the male students were scared of her, or the female students shared a good rtionship with her or wanted her to owe them a favor, they granted her the perfect ending she always wanted.

    ¡°Alright. Since there are no objections, we shall grant this exception to Chu Qingtian.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, eldest senior sister.¡± Chu Qingtian was drenched as he leapt up from the water.

    Wu Ming gestured towards him, and hended on the water lily. The water lily had a diameter of one meter, and thus it was fine for two people to stand on it together. It was just that they would have to stand rather close to each other.

    Chu Qingtian smelled a refreshing scent as he stood beside Wu Ming. It was the smell of a quiltying in the sun. It wasfortable, clean and refreshing.

    Wu Ming took a look at him and said softly, ¡°If you¡¯re lying to me, I¡¯m going to castrate you.¡±

    Chu Qingtian¡¯s butt clenched, and he shook his head vigorously. ¡°Of course not!¡±

    Wu Ming lifted his hand and softly ced it on his back. Suddenly, a warm flow started to engulf his body. His drenched clothing quickly dried up, but he wasn¡¯t burned by the heat. Wu Ming¡¯s control of the Golden Crow Primordial Fire had reached a high level.

    Wu Ming said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll try to be with gentler with you. Okay?¡±

    Chu Qingtian nodded his head. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m not gentle enough now?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ this¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll really be gentler with you.¡± Wu Ming spoke with certainty.

    From Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan to Hua Yao and Gu Fan to He Caitou and Xiao Xiao to Chu Qingtian and Wu Ming now, there were already a few couples who had established their mutual feelings for each other.

    The fourth segment, Destined In Three Lives, continued.

    After Wu Ming, it was Han Ruoruo¡¯s turn.

    After Han Ruoruo appeared, she pointed with her toes and glided out in front of the male students. There was a look of hesitation in her eyes.

    ¡°My name is Han Ruoruo. I¡¯m sure all of you know about me. I¡¯m older than Wu Ming. I¡¯m probably the oldest student in the inner courtyard. Due to my cultivation, I dyed finding a partner. In fact, I don¡¯t know how to choose one today. To me, fighting has always been easier than finding a guy. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know how to choose. Eldest senior sister, can I change my form in this segment? If someone likes me, I hope you can stand up and tell me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll leave today¡¯s blind date.¡±

    Although Han Ruoruo called Zhang Lexuan her eldest senior sister, she was older than her. Even Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t know how to reject her at this moment.

    Thus, she nodded and said, ¡°Are there any male students who like Ruoruo? If there are, please stand up and fight for your own happiness. No one willugh at you. They¡¯ll only wish you the best.¡±

    Indeed, Han Ruoruo wasn¡¯t young. There weren¡¯t many male students who were close to her in terms of age. Moreover, everyone knew that Han Ruoruo was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. In the inner courtyard, there wasn¡¯t anyone whose cultivation was higher than her apart from Zhang Lexuan.

    Everyone felt proud of themselves for bing a member of the inner courtyard. But it wasn¡¯t a pleasant thing for a guy¡¯s cultivation to be lower than his partner¡¯s. This was also the same problem that Wu Ming faced. That was why it wasn¡¯t easy for them to find a suitable partner. At times, being too outstanding wasn¡¯t exactly a good thing for a woman.

    No male students stepped up. Currently, they had all chosen to remain silent for various reasons. In the end, no one chose Han Ruoruo.

    She revealed a self-mocking and helpless smile on her face and sighed in her heart. Just as she was about to leave, a voice came from afar.

    ¡°I wonder if I make the cut?¡±

    This voice didn¡¯te from any of the male students. Instead, it came from the ferry. Following this, a figure leapt out from the ferry. He wasn¡¯t too quick. He had two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings, which rose from his feet. Streaks of flowing light shed and turned into dim patterns which supported him in the air. He appeared at the crowd of male students as his figure shed a few times.

    He was a middle-aged man who looked like he was forty years old. He had six soul rings, which revealed his cultivation as a Soul Emperor. He was charming, and had a refined demeanor. His deep eyes revealed a wise look. His martial soul was very special. Upon closer examination, people could tell that it was a long stick that emanated the light patterns. There were dragon patterns on it. The Coiled Dragon Stick.

    Huo Yuhao, He Caitou and Bei Bei were the first to be shocked when they saw this man. They recognized him, especially Huo Yuhao. That was because this middle-aged man was once their ss teacher, and he was the teacher that had led them to victory in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Wang Yan!

    When they returned from the tournament, he was given the opportunity to carry out martial soul research in the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Huo Yuhao had only seen him very infrequently since then, and hadn¡¯t expected him to show up today.

    ¡°Teacher Wang Yan.¡± Han Ruoruo was also stunned when she saw him. She hadn¡¯t expected that no student would confess to her, but a teacher would.

    In terms of age, Wang Yan was indeed very suitable for her. However, he was a teacher! Furthermore, Wang Yan¡¯s cultivation was only at six rings.

    Today¡¯s blind date was destined to be extraordinary!

    Wang Yan looked at Han Ruoruo calmly. ¡°How are you, Ruoruo? I know that I¡¯m being a little out of the blue. However, I also know that this is my only chance. I¡¯m not young either¡ªI¡¯m already forty.¡±

    ¡°I dedicated my life to researching martial souls. I know that my cultivation isn¡¯t high, and I¡¯m not fit to be with you. However, just like Lexuan said, one shouldn¡¯t be embarrassed about fighting for their own happiness. That¡¯s why I¡¯m willing to walk out and confess my admiration for you.¡±

    Han Ruoruo was in a daze as she looked at him and said, ¡°You, you¡¯re into me?¡±

    Although Wang Yan¡¯s gaze was very calm, he possessed a form of sincerity that Chu Qingtian hadn¡¯t had before. He nodded slightly. ¡°It started about three years ago. I had just brought the team back from the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. When I encountered problems in my martial soul research, I asked Dean Yan to find a few inner courtyard students to help me with my research. You were one of them. Those two months that we researched soul tools and martial souls together, was probably the time that I was least focused on research in my whole life.¡±

    ¡°I was captured by your sweet temper. However, I didn¡¯t know if that feeling was love, even though I¡¯m so old.¡±

    ¡°You left after two months. When you left, I felt that you had taken something from me along with you. It was onlyter that I realized¡ªit was my heart.¡±

 Chapter 217: Theres a Nice Show to Watch

    ¡°I know that we¡¯re not suitable for each other. In the inner courtyard, you¡¯re considered a blessing. You were close to your eighth ring then. At that point in time, I only had five rings. Regardless of whether it was our cultivation or our future, they were too far apart. Moreover, we¡¯re teacher and student. To conceal my feelings, I invested all my time and effort into martial soul research and tried to forget about you.¡±

    ¡°However, I couldn¡¯t just forget you when love truly came. There was a point in time when I was especially despondent, and even looked down on myself. I was already trying my best to carry out my research, but I found myself thinking of you whenever there was a quiet moment. Your look and your smile when you were researching martial souls with me tugged at my heartstrings all the time. I had the temptation to look for you more than once. Nevertheless, my own feelings of inferiority stopped me.¡±

    ¡°It was only a year ago that I started to be more introspective with my feelings, but I knew that my opportunities were slowly slipping away. To keep pace with you, I tried my best to strengthen my cultivation as I continued my martial soul research. I hoped to catch up to you. It was only this way that I couldplement you. Not long afterward, I reached Rank 60, and I¡¯m now at Rank 64. Although I¡¯m still very far away from you, I really don¡¯t want to give up on today¡¯s opportunity. At the very least, I want to confess to you. Even if I fail in my pursuit, I won¡¯t regret that I tried.¡±

    ¡°I had actually hoped you find a partner in this blind date, and secretly wished you all the best in your endeavor. However, they can¡¯t appreciate you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m being impulsive now. Maybe I¡¯ll be expelled from the academy tomorrow, but I won¡¯t regret my decision.¡±

    As he spoke till here, he stopped. After that, he watched Han Ruoruo¡¯s lost look, and seemed to muster his courage, and he said, ¡°Ruoruo, can you give me a chance?¡±

    Han Ruoruo looked at Wang Yan, who stared back at her. It seemed as if she could see into the depths of his eyes.

    They weren¡¯t young anymore. Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t hesitate too much. She smiled and seemed as luxuriant as a fresh flower. Her beaming smile was extremely moving in this beautiful night.

    She drifted down towards Wang Yan and extended her right hand. She said softly, ¡°I think my happiness is here.¡±

    The normally gentle Wang Yan couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore. He was agitated as he grabbed her hands and said in the most determined way possible, ¡°I¡¯ll be faithful to you.¡±

    Han Ruoruo looked at his agitated look and said, ¡°You should¡¯ve told me earlier. I might have agreed.¡±

    Wang Yan was still agitated, ¡°It¡¯s not toote. It¡¯s still not toote. Even though I can¡¯t be a Titled Douluo, I¡¯ll still have sixty years. Sixty years is equivalent to more than two hundred thousand days. I¡¯ll treasure every moment with you. Ruoruo, thank you.¡±

    Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t say anything more. As she grabbed hold of Wang Yan¡¯s hand, she turned to everyone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I won¡¯t participate in this Sea God¡¯s Fate any further. Lexuan, take it that I¡¯ve been eliminated. We¡¯ll make a move first.¡±

    At this point, an elderly voice sounded. ¡°Wang Yan, the elders and I have the same thoughts. We¡¯ll take it that we didn¡¯t see what just happened. However, we¡¯ll expel you if you don¡¯t invite us to your wedding dinner.¡±

    Wang Yan was delighted. ¡°Thank you Elder Xuan and elders of the pavilion. I¡¯ll be with Shrek forever. Even if you expel me, I still won¡¯t leave.¡±

    Han Ruoruo and Wang Yan smiled as they looked at each other. Their bodies lifted into the air at the same time. The teacher-student love that blossomed between the both of them seemed very agreeable.

    ¡°I wish the both of you all the best.¡± Zhang Lexuan felt a little disappointed, but her voice was still as sweet as ever.

    After entering the fourth segment, things seemed to have be more intense! Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo both found partners. This was far beyond everyone¡¯s expectations.

    After Han Ruoruo, Wu Feng actually chose Dai Huabin. She didn¡¯t even say anything. But, as she was proceeding towards Dai Huabin, she red at Huo Yuhao.

    Another female student who still had her hat also revealed her looks.

    When it came to Ling Luochen¡¯s turn, another shocking scene appeared.

    Ling Luochen¡¯s actions were very gentle as she left the water lily. However, she moved very simrly to Huo Yuhao when he walked towards the female students earlier. As she walked step by step on the water¡¯s surface, she formed patches of ice beneath her feet. She slowly came in front of the male students. However, she didn¡¯t introduce herself.

    After scanning the male students around her, her gaze finallynded on Huo Yuhao. She lifted her legs again and walked towards Huo Yuhao before stopping.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be in a daze.

    Ling Luochen was even cooler than Wu Ming. She said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know about me. I took a look and realized you¡¯repatible. If you don¡¯t mind the gap between us, we can get together.¡±

    Huo Yuhao almost frothed at the mouth. He didn¡¯t expect her to choose him.

    In terms of age, Ling Luochen was indeed not much older than him. During the previous tournament, Ling Luochen was part of the main team, and she was almost twenty years old then. She was now around twenty-four, while Huo Yuhao was only seventeen. Their age gap was approximately seven years.

    Was Ling Luochen really as cold as her voice? Her eyes were shing, and she even seemed lost in her own world. There was a dimyer of pink on her face.

    Three female students had already chosen Huo Yuhao.

    The students in the inner courtyard were on average between twenty and thirty years old. Only slightly more than ten percent of them were above thirty years old. The rest, such as Huo Yuhao, were less than thirty.

    Guys and girls at this age were already pretty rational. That was why it was rare for many female students to choose one male student. Comparatively, the inner courtyard seemed to have more girls than guys now. The overall abilities of the female students were greater than the male students. Besides some of the graduates, there weren¡¯t any eight-ringed male students in the academy right now. However, there was more than one female student with eight soul rings. Furthermore, there were even more male students than female students in today¡¯spetition. In thest segment, it was very unlikely for many female students to choose the same male student. Besides Huo Yuhao, there was only one other handsome-looking, seven-ringed male student was chosen by two female students.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect himself to be so popr as he looked at the threedies in front of him. Perhaps he¡¯d spent too much time with Wang Dong, and thus he didn¡¯t have confidence in his own appearance. However, who would have expected threedies to choose him today? He was most captivated by the youngdy with the pinkish-blue hair, but Ning Tian and Ling Luochen were undoubtedly very outstanding students too!

    The fourth segment ended. Following this, was the fifth segment, which was thest segment.

    At this point, there were much fewer people left on this blind date. Jiang Nannan and Han Ruoruo had left, so there were only fifteen female students left. Three of them had chosen Huo Yuhao, and two of them had chosen another male student. As a result, there were three less male students aspared to the female students. Including Huo Yuhao, He Caitou and Dai Huabin, there were only twelve of them.

    ¡­¡­

    On the shore, Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi were hiding behind a huge rock as they watched the rest of the students on theke.

    The two of them had just dried their clothing using apletely different method from Wu Ming. They wrung the water from their clothes directly. Naturally, Xu Sanshi was the one who did this, as he possessed the Xuanwu Shield. Of course, he also exploited this opportunity to meticulously and seriously admire Jiang Nannan¡¯s body. Xu Sanshi was still thinking that her figure was perfect! It was practically wless.

    ¡°Nannan, why are we still looking at them? We should find a ce to get intimate. After chasing you for so many years, I finally won your heart. It wasn¡¯t easy.¡±

    Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at him and said softly ¡°Shut up. Don¡¯t talk to me about winning my heart or getting intimate. Get further away from me. I¡¯m warning you¡ªdon¡¯t touch me.¡±

    Xu Sanshi opened his eyes wide. ¡°Nannan, didn¡¯t you promise me?¡±

    ¡°What did I promise you?¡± Jiang Nannan was amused as she looked at him.

    ¡°To be my girlfriend!¡±

    ¡°Did I promise you that?¡± Jiang Nannan replied almost naturally.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you jump into my arms just now? Wasn¡¯t that your stamp of approval?¡± Xu Sanshi continued to argue.

    Jiang Nannan snorted and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t promise you anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re refusing to acknowledge it?¡± Xu Sanshi was shocked as he looked at her.

    Jiang Nannanughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that an innate characteristic of ady? Moreover, I truly didn¡¯t say anything!¡±

    Xu Sanshi lowered his head and revealed an indignant look on his face. He was mimicking the Snow Lady, ¡°What do I have to do before you¡¯ll be my girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°Let me test you again.¡± Jiang Nannan said naturally.

    ¡°How long will the test take?¡± Xu Sanshi looked even more indignant now.

    ¡°Perhaps another three to five years.¡± Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t even think it through.

    Xu Sanshi was about to stand up as he said, ¡°What? Three to five years? I should just jump back into the water.¡±

    Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t stop him either. ¡°Go on. You won¡¯t drown with your martial soul. If you jump back in, you won¡¯t even have a chance to take the test.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t do it anymore. Test me then.¡± Xu Sanshi said with a brazen face and got closer to Jiang Nannan. He whispered, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you give me some reward, even during the test? For example, we can hold hands, hug, and kiss asionally. How will I have the strength to undergo the test if I don¡¯t have any motivation?¡±

    Jiang Nannan said seriously, ¡°You can try if you dare.¡±

    ¡°I-!¡± Xu Sanshi was both sad and angry! He felt that he had returned to the start. She was only treating him slightly better now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you hold my hand.¡± Jiang Nannan used the carrot and stick approach.

    ¡°Really?¡± Xu Sanshi was delighted. It was better than nothing! At least others could tell their rtionship! Furthermore, his heartbeat raced when he thought of Jiang Nannan¡¯s white and delicate hands.

    ¡°Three times a month. Ten minutes each time.¡± Jiang Nannan immediately added.

    Xu Sanshi was shocked as he looked at her. He asked, ¡°Have you been influenced by Bei Bei?¡±

    ¡°Eldest senior brother? Of course not! The seniors in the inner courtyard told me not to treat guys too well. They won¡¯t know how to treasure you if you treat them too well.¡±

    ¡°Heaven! Earth! I¡­¡±

    Jiang Nannan gestured for him to keep silent. ¡°Lower your volume. Thest segment is about to start. We¡¯re about to witness a nice show.¡±

    Xu Sanshi grabbed her hand and looked at her passionately, ¡°Let¡¯s start with the ten minutes.¡±

    Jiang Nannan struggled for a while, but she didn¡¯t use too much force. She struggled, but didn¡¯t let go. Xu Sanshi¡¯s palm was wide and strong, and it was also very warm.

    ¡°Did you just say that there was a nice show to watch? What show?¡±

    Jiang Nannan lowered her voice ¡°Haven¡¯t you realized that one person is missing from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters today?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Wang Dong?¡± Xu Sanshi asked.

    Jiang Nannan smiled and replied, ¡°Take a look. In fact, no one¡¯s missing.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Bei Bei recited, ¡°After the Destined in Three Lives, we¡¯re about to start the fifth segment. This segment is called Eternal Love.¡±

    ¡°In this segment, the choice lies in the male students¡¯ hands after the female students made their choices in the previous event. They can choose the female student they want. If you choose a female student that chose you and no onepetes with you, congrattions. However, we¡¯ll enter a Bride Kidnapping segment if you have apetitor. Among all the segments, thisst segment is where a lot of things change. It¡¯s also the most important and critical moment to demonstrate your abilities and charm. That¡¯s why you should make your preparations now.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan followed with, ¡°The rules for thisst segment are as such: If a male student chooses a female student that didn¡¯t choose him, the female student has a chance to issue a challenge to him. If he loses the challenge, he has to leave. He can only choose again if he wins the challenge. Of course, he can make a new choice if the female student that he chooses takes pity on him and lets him off. If the female student that he re-chooses has already chosen another male student, he has to request the opinion of that male student. If the other male student also chooses this female student, the two male students willpete with each other. The loser will be knocked out of thepetition, and the winner will have a chance to confess to the female student again.¡±

 Chapter 218.1: You Are My Fool

    Zhang Lexuan continued saying, ¡°If multiple female students chose the same male student, the male student will choose one of them. In that case, the other female students can also issue challenges. Right here, I have to emphasize that I¡¯ll try to make the challenges equal on all levels.¡±

    ¡°It sounds a littleplex, but you¡¯ll understand after this segment begins. Bei Bei and I will control the proceedings of the Bride Kidnapping segment. We¡¯ll begin ording to the female students¡¯ numbers. Gu Fan, you¡¯ll be the first to choose. Please hold the hand of thedy you¡¯re choosing.¡±

    Gu Fan was still standing on the Lotus that Hua Yao had unleashed. He smiled and said, ¡°When the Lotus Fairy appeared in front of me, I had already made my choice. I¡¯ve found my fate in this Sea God¡¯s Fate. Hua Yao is my only choice. I also want to thank her for giving me this opportunity to meet and know her. I¡¯ll treasure it.¡±

    After hearing Gu Fan¡¯s words, Hua Yao revealed a smile on her face. She extended her right hand, and the Lotus brought him forward in front of Hua Yao. He held her hand.

    Bei Beiughed, ¡°Let us congratte this couple. Our first hand-holding in our Eternal Love segment is sessful. If any guy wishes to ¡®kidnap the bride¡¯, you can express your wish to do so now.¡± Since there were no female students fighting for Gu Fan, only the male students were given a chance to ¡®kidnap the bride¡¯.

    Although Xu Sanshi and Nannan were the first pair and Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo were the second pair, Gu Fan and Hua Yao were technically the true first pair of the event.

    The sess rate of the Sea God¡¯s Fate wasn¡¯t considered very high. However, this year¡¯s edition of the blind date was turning out to be abnormally sessful. Including He Caitou and Xiao Xiao, as well as Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian, there were at least five couples that had gotten together. Moreover, the rest of the female students roughly knew their choices. As the emcees, Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei felt very emotional, with a great sense of aplishment.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake was silent. After around ten seconds, Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan shouted in unison, ¡°Congrattions, Gu Fan and Hua Yao, onpleting the Eternal Love. May the affinity that you¡¯ve found in this Sea God¡¯s Fate follow the two of you forever.¡±

    ps and cheers sounded at the same time. Hua Yao also ascended on her own lotus flower as everyone watched. As the lotus flower drifted outwards, they glided away on theke. Petals started to fall and dance in the air amidst pinkish-red lights.

    As both of them turned towards them, they waved to everyone as they slowly disappeared. Their affinity started at this moment.

    ¡°Yuhao, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Bei Bei turned to look at Huo Yuhao.

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao was a little caught by surprise. He had just recalled that there was a youngdy with pinkish-blue hair that was only behind Hua Yao. It was his turn.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°As Huo Yuhao was chosen by three female students, these three female students will be given an opportunity to express their will to him now. Let¡¯s start from the left.¡±

    The order was: Ling Luochen, Ning Tian, and the number twody.

    Ling Luochen said, ¡°If you like me, choose me. Don¡¯t choose me if you don¡¯t like me.¡±

    ¡°However, I¡¯ll issue a challenge if you don¡¯t choose me. I at least want to know how much you¡¯ve improved over these few years.¡±

    Everyone was stunned by her words¡ªwas this really a confession? Why does she sound fiercer than Wu Ming? Don¡¯t choose me if you don¡¯t like me? She still wants to challenge him even though she doesn¡¯t want to force him?

    It was Ning Tian¡¯s turn. Ning Tian smiled and said, ¡°My Seven Treasures zed Pagoda and I are willing to stay by your side. I¡¯m willing to be your woman.¡±

    Finally, it was the number twody¡¯s turn to speak. She was the only mysteriousdy who hadn¡¯t revealed her looks yet, and so, no one had been able to form any impression of her. She had been wearing her hat ever since all the female students had gathered. However, no one suspected anything, since Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei were her guarantors.

    She hesitated for a moment before doing something unexpected.

    One yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings rose from her feet. As her soul rings rose, a pair of huge butterfly wings pped open behind her back amidst astonished exmations.

    Dazzling bluish-gold light illuminated the water¡¯s surface.

    It was a pair of blue wings divided into front and back. As they pped, they engulfed her entire body. Above her wings, golden spots formed a huge, dazzling bluish-gold halo that spread outwards.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth was already wide open on the shore.

    On theke surface, He Caitou almost fell into the water even though he was on the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    What about Huo Yuhao? He was extremely focused on her actions.

    Even Ning Tian was stunned.

    It wasn¡¯t just Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou who recognized this pair of wings. Ning Tian, Wu Feng and Dai Huabin also recognized this pair of wings.

    Radiant Butterfly Goddess! The Radiant Butterfly Goddess who had snatched all the glory with Huo Yuhao in the first grade! However, didn¡¯t the Radiant Butterfly Goddess belong to Wang Dong?

    Huo Yuhao was overwhelmed. Even though the number twody didn¡¯t say anything, her pinkish-blue hair and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings told Huo Yuhao everything he needed to know.

    It was the same martial soul as Wang Dong! Who else could it be? He knew how rare the Radiant Butterfly Goddess was. Without a doubt, thisdy was Wang Dong¡¯s twin sister, Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    She was using such a method to emphasize her identity. She was afraid that Huo Yuhao would make the wrong choice. However, why hadn¡¯t she spoken from the start till now?

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you can make your choice now.¡± Zhang Lexuan said.

    Huo Yuhao said without any hesitation, ¡°I choose the number twody.¡±

    After he finished, he turned to Ling Luochen and Ning Tian and said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to be chosen by the two of you. However, I already have someone that I can¡¯t forget in my heart. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ling Luochen¡¯s expression turned pale. However, she didn¡¯t show too many emotions. She only said, ¡°I told you that I¡¯ll issue a challenge.¡±

    What else could Huo Yuhao do apart from smiling bitterly?

    Ning Tian¡¯s expression was a little dismal. She hadn¡¯t expected to lose to someone who had never even revealed herself from the start till now. With her observation skills, she could tell that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t originally certain who thisdy was, and he had certainly never seen what she looked like before. However, he only made his choice after she unleashed the same Radiant Butterfly Goddess as Wang Dong.

    Since her youth, she had been a genius who possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda and was the future of the Seven Treasures zed Sect. She chose Huo Yuhao because she could see his potential and coveted his twin martial souls and Ultimate martial soul, as well as his identity as a member of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. To her, it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to reject her after she showed that she was willing to help him and lower her status just to follow by his side. Moreover, she had already demonstrated how strong her Seven Treasures zed Pagoda was. With his talent, it was impossible for him not to sense how strong she was.

    However, he didn¡¯t hesitate to choose someone else when it came time to do so. Such a blow was unprecedented for Ning Tian. She started to turn gloomy.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t choose me?¡± Ning Tian gnashed her teeth in anger.

    Huo Yuhao said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ayer of mist formed around Ning Tian¡¯s eyes, and her voice was trembling. ¡°I want to issue a challenge too.¡±

    Only those who were familiar with her knew that she was really furious at this point.

    Who would have thought that such a scene would ur after the blissful union that had just happened a moment earlier? However, this was also why the Sea God¡¯s Fate¡¯sst segment was so unpredictable. Toplete this segment, one must be strong enough, apart from having enough luck.

    What else could Huo Yuhao do apart from smiling bitterly once more?

    At this point, another voice sounded. ¡°I want to ¡®kidnap the bride¡¯. I want to choose the number twody too.¡±

    Who was this? Everyone turned around and saw a sly and evil-looking youth.

    It was Dai Huabin. It was his time for some action.

    In the history of the Sea God¡¯s Fate, it wasmon for Bride Kidnapping to happen. However, it was very rare to see a situation like this¡ªthree people issuing a challenge at the same time. Many who were unfamiliar with Huo Yuhao were wondering exactly how charming he was to cause this.

    Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan stared at each other and found it very strange. However, Zhang Lexuan demonstrated her leadership at this moment.

    ¡°ording to the rules, all of you can issue challenges. However, they have to be conducted under fair circumstances. Firstly, I want to know who you want to challenge.¡±

    Ling Luochen said, ¡°I want to challenge Huo Yuhao. I believe he won¡¯t mind my higher cultivation. His martial soul can suppress mine. This mitigates the differences in our cultivation.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan turned to Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Do you concur?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered honestly, ¡°Yes.¡± He was eager to take Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hat. Although he had seen her face before this, he was shocked when it had happened back then too. Today, she wasn¡¯t going to run away. He still remembered the rapid rise of his heartbeat when he first saw her. He never had such a feeling in his entire feeling.

 Chapter 218.2: You Are My Fool

    After all, the Goddess of Light was ethereal, but Wang Qiu¡¯er was a real person. He was really shocked. When he had seen the Goddess of Light for the first time, he had felt that it was love at first sight. However, a change had urred at this moment.

    He didn¡¯t want to hurt Ling Luochen and Ning Tian, but Elder Mu had told him before that a man must be decisive in terms of his rtionships. Otherwise, he would only cause more pain. Rejection was a better choice for the other party.

    That was why Huo Yuhao had rejected both Ling Luochen and Ning Tian after confirming the identity of the number twody, so as to make them give uppletely. It wasn¡¯t just a form of respect to them; it also helped to prevent further misunderstandings.

    If people weren¡¯t steadier in terms of rtionships, they might be stuck in them forever.

    After Huo Yuhao heard the story of the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White and Ye Xishui from Elder Xuan on the way back, he understood this point even more. That was why he didn¡¯t hesitate to make his choice.

    However, trouble still arrived.

    He knew that he had hurt Ling Luochen, even though she looked very calm. What else could he say? Since she wanted to challenge him, his only choice was to ept her challenge. If he lost, he might as well be a bachelor.

    Zhang Lexuan turned to Ning Tian and said, ¡°Ning Tian, you¡¯re an auxiliary-type soul master, even though you¡¯re on a different level. You¡¯re challenging him with?¡±

    Ning Tian took in a deep breath and looked into the sky. She suppressed her tears. When she looked at Huo Yuhao again, there was only a sharp, intense lighting from her eyes.

    ¡°I want to challenge the both of them. I¡¯m an auxiliary-type soul master, thus I hope to find a partner to carry out a two-versus-two fight. My partner has to be of a five-ringed cultivation, too. That¡¯s why I hope to find two five-ringed soul masters to make it three of us. Since one of them has five rings and the other has six rings, I guess it¡¯s fair.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and asked, ¡°Who are your partners then?¡±

    Ning Tian said without any hesitation, ¡°Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze shifted slightly. Wu Feng was waiting for him here, meaning that she wouldn¡¯t choose Dai Huabin easily!

    Wu Ming said loudly, ¡°I¡¯ll find Xie Huanyue. He should be by the shore.¡± As she spoke, her figure shed, and she stepped onto the water¡¯s surface before proceeding to the shore.

    A man beside Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°My friend, is that a self-ridiculing soul skill you have?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan also looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, are you fine with this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded again, ¡°I am.¡± He could tell that Ning Tian was being sincere when she chose him, whereas Dai Huabin and Wu Feng were probably just finding trouble with him. He was also secretly enraged. If they wanted toe for him, then so be it!

    As the challenge involved the number two female student, Zhang Lexuan turned to ask her, ¡°Number two female student, do you ept this challenge?¡±

    She finally opened her mouth and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t agree.¡± When her voice sounded for the first time, it was very captivating and pleasant. She was like an oriole that cleared everyone¡¯s mind.

    After hearing her voice, Huo Yuhao felt a strong sense of familiarity. He was certain that he had heard this voice before.

    That day, he had unintentionally taken Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s veil. She had spoken to him then, saying ¡°Give it back.¡± Her voice had been captivating, like singing birds, leaving a deep impression in his mind.

    Huo Yuhao remembered it clearly, because he had watched her closely. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice sounded a little lower than this youngdy¡¯s voice, which was smoother. Had he recognized the wrong person? However, he clearly remembered the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings and the pinkish-blue hair! I must have recalled wrongly!, Huo Yuhao told himself.

    ¡°What is your reason for not epting?¡± Zhang Lexuan continued asking.

    At this point, this mysterious female student was under everyone¡¯s scrutiny. Rejecting the challenge? That could disqualify her, unless she could give a logical reason. Was she going to give up? After all, she hadn¡¯t spoken since the start, and no one knew her character.

    Her voice was as pleasant as ever. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have to go through all that trouble. I can team up with Huo Yuhao, and we can fight the five of them.¡±

    As she said this, the entire ce went silent.

    She was being too impulsive. Furthermore, she was too arrogant and self-confident!

    Even though four of them had five rings and only Ling Luochen had six rings, all five of them were from the inner courtyard! They hadn¡¯t made their way to this point by relying on medicine, either!

    Among the five of them, Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda was undoubtedly the strongest. However, the rest of their martial souls were definitely not weak. Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger, Wu Feng¡¯s Red Dragon, Xie Huanyue¡¯s Rubberdon, and Ling Luochen¡¯s ice element, all of them were considered top-ranked martial souls in the outside world. Although they were some way off from the best, they certainly possessed the foundations to be Titled Douluos!

    Two against five ¨C this Wang Qiu¡¯er was too arrogant! Zhang Lexuan also thought that she was being too proud. Furthermore, her words weren¡¯t very good for uniting the students. Seeing that Wu Feng and Xie Huanyue weren¡¯t here at the moment, Ning Tian and Dai Huabin¡¯s expressions changed.

    Ning Tian turned pale, while Dai Huabin was angry. There was a fierce look in his eyes.

    ¡°Number two female student, this doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate. You must bear in mind that we have to unite the students,¡± Zhang Lexuan advised.

    The number two female student was silent for awhile before she said slowly, ¡°Eldest senior sister, today¡¯s my important day. I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for too long. There are many seniors around. I¡¯d like to ask them how they feel when there are stumbling blocks in their way just as they are about to get together with their loved one.

    ¡°Does this unite them? Furthermore, I¡¯m confident of winning.¡±

    She started to talk more and more. Huo Yuhao felt a greater sense of familiarity as he listened to her, especially when she talked about her loved one. Huo Yuhao was bbergasted. She likes me? However, when did we interact if she¡¯s Wang Dong¡¯s sister? We¡¯ve never interacted before! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t believe that a ravishing beauty had fallen in love with him at first sight.

    Her words resonated with many of the people present. Indeed, her words were very strong. However, there were five of them trying to ¡°kidnap the bride¡±, and they had formed a team!

    ¡°Sister, I support you. All the best!¡± Wu Ming shouted suddenly, almost scaring Chu Qingtian into the water.

    ¡°Thank you, senior!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t know how to respond to her words. Yes! They had made a mutual choice, but they had encountered so many people trying to kidnap the bride. It was possible to understand Ling Luochen and Ning Tian. After all, they had chosen Huo Yuhao, too! However, Dai Huabin was obviously causing trouble. He hadn¡¯t even seen the number two female student before. Why was he trying to kidnap the bride? Nobody present was familiar with the number two female student.

    Zhang Lexuan could clearly remember that Bei Bei was this number two female student¡¯s guarantor when she had joined the Sea God¡¯s Fate. When Bei Bei told her that she was a new student, Zhang Lexuan trusted him and didn¡¯t probe further.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked Bei Bei in a low voice.

    Bei Bei smiled. ¡°Let them fight.¡±1

    ¡°Two versus five?¡± Zhang Lexuan was a little hesitant.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Have you forgotten? Huo Yuhao is just like you. As a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, do you think he was only capable of winning over the elders just because he was Elder Mu¡¯s disciple? Among the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, his cultivation is the lowest. However, he has the strongest abilities.¡±

    As Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei discussed the situation, Wu Feng brought Xie Huanyue back with her. They immediately gathered beside Ning Tian, along with Dai Huabin.

    Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice. ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you willing to fight two versus five?¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow.

    At this point, the number two female student suddenly moved. As she took a step outward, drifted forward, andnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s water lily. She reached out to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    Thisdy is so daring! The blind date isn¡¯t even over, but she¡¯s holding his hand?, was what most were thinking.

    However, Huo Yuhao felt like he was struck by lightning, and his body shook violently. There was a shocked look in his eyes.

    ¡°You, you, you¡­!¡± His voice changed as he repeated it three times. As the main force in the Ultimate Soldier n and one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, he had been through a lot. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t lose his cool easily. It showed how intensely shocked he was right now.

    Yes, his mind was a nk right now. Everything around him seemed to disappear. Only the number two female student remained.

    Her smooth, white hand had felt so familiar when she had grabbed ahold of his. Even though his eyes were shut, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the familiarity.

    Her touch brought a gentle and warm soul power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was like a bee seeing a fresh flower. It instantlybined with her soul power and turned into an enormous river surging through his body. It quicklypleted a cirction before flowing into the number two female student¡¯s body. At this moment, ayer of dim golden light appeared on each of them.

    The number two female student lowered her voice and said, ¡°What do you mean by ¡®you¡¯? Fourth senior said that third senior was her rascal, so you¡¯re my fool! You¡¯re too foolish! You¡¯re such a fool!¡±

    1. https://imgur/rMXwYbT

 Chapter 218.3: You Are My Fool

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Yes! The surging soul power that was flowing through his body was the Haodong Power! It was the foundation of theirpatible martial soul fusion skills. Furthermore, martial soul fusion required a process! In this world, there was only one person who could produce the Haodong Power with him. In this world, there was only one person whose hands felt so familiar to him.

    Instantly, countless memories resurfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°You are?¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from this dormitory, too. On ount that you tidied up this dorm room, I¡¯ll let you stay with me temporarily. However, I have a few rules that you need to remember. First, you can¡¯t bring anyone home. Secondly, you¡¯re not allowed to annoy me with your naked self. Thirdly, you¡¯re not allowed to snore when you sleep at night. Fourthly, you must not disturb me. Last but not least, you¡¯ll be in charge of hygiene in the dormitory, but you can¡¯t touch my mattress. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Why do I have to listen to you?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to me, I¡¯ll chase you out! If you don¡¯t believe me, try me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do exactly that! Let¡¯s go out.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know your name yet.¡±

    ¡°Before you ask for someone else¡¯s name, shouldn¡¯t you give your own name first?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Wang Dong.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Very nice, I think your name is going to disappear from Shrek Academy. Let¡¯s go, fool.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Wang Dong replied, ¡°Although you can¡¯t sense my aura, I could sense the closeness of your aura when you shared your Spiritual Detection with me for the first time. My aura doesn¡¯t spread because there¡¯s a force in my body restricting it. You can only sense my aura if you get close to me. Do you want to try?¡±

    ¡°Get close to you? How do I do that?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in a silly manner.

    Wang Dong snapped, ¡°Fool! You can just hug me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I see! You can just tell me directly. Do we remove our clothing?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Dong was frightened.

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Come on, then.¡±

    ¡°How does it feel?¡±

    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s ratherfortable.¡±

    ¡°Fool. Am I doing this to make youfortable? I¡¯m asking you to sense the aura of my martial soul.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ I forgot. Let¡¯s hug for a while more. I¡¯ll try to sense your aura.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, wake up.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯re you standing so close to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Aiyo. Wang Dong, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯re you asking me? Why were you sleeping in my bed yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me. See, didn¡¯t you sleep too?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°To hug!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ Huo Yuhao, I didn¡¯t think that you were such a person. Do you believe that I¡¯ll whack you?¡±

    ¡°What are you thinking of? Fool, did you forget how we managed to fuse our martial souls? Now that our soul power can fuse, the simplest way of initiating our martial soul fusion is by repeating what happened yesterday!¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t exin clearly before you hugged me. Are you embarrassing me on purpose?¡±

    ¡°Who knew that you had such a dirty mindset? What can two men do? Come on, let¡¯s continue cultivating after we finish.¡±

    ¡°This is the wild. Surely we won¡¯t just sleep like yesterday?¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯re in a different situation. Why are you so pushy like a woman? Let me do it.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, get up.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you sayst night that we¡¯d stop hugging each other to sleep?¡±

    ¡°Did I say that?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ I¡¯m going all-out against you.¡±

    ¡°You, you take a look¡­¡±

    ¡°What do I look at¡­¡±

    ¡°Is this caused by your Radiant Butterfly Goddess?¡±

    ¡°No, definitely not. Although my martial soul is golden, it¡¯s either bright-gold or bluish-gold. It¡¯s never this kind of dim gold. This color seems to resemble your Spirit Eyes!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go down and take a look.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    These scenes from the past shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He had never forgotten the first time he met this proud youth who had short pinkish-blue hair.

    He couldn¡¯t forget the first time they had tried activating the Haodong Power.

    He couldn¡¯t forget the martial fusion soul skill, The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    He couldn¡¯t forget how they had fought shoulder to shoulder in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    He also couldn¡¯t forget the Raiment of Light that had appeared on thepetition stage during the final round.

    ¡®He¡¯ was actually a ¡®she¡¯. I¡¯m such a fool! I¡¯m really too stupid. I¡¯m the biggest fool ever!

    He recalled how Wang Dong had never bathed in their dorm room, and was never seen washing his face or changing his clothes.

    He recalled how that handsome face didn¡¯t seem to fit the looks of a guy.

    He recalled how they had shared the same bed on the night before he left.

    He recalled the softness and gentleness when they hugged.

    He recalled every scene and every second they had spent together.

    Now that he thought of it, there seemed to be so many loopholes. Too many of them¡­

    However, I¡¯m such a fool. I only realized the truth after he held my hand on this blind date.

    There was no Wang Qiu¡¯er in this world. There was only Wang Dong, or rather, Wang Dong¡¯er. The Raiment of Light was actually her grown-up appearance. The ravishing beauty that was imprinted in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was her all along!

    I¡¯m such a fool, a fool that can¡¯t be saved. However, she still gave me a chance.

    Brotherly love? Screw that brotherly love. I seemed to have found the romance that I¡¯m willing to sacrifice everything for!

    No one would have expected him to be thinking of so many things as they saw his dazed look. He understood so many things because their hands met.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands started to sweat. She also didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. She was actually more worried that he wouldn¡¯t ept the truth. If that was the case, everything would have gone down the drain. Even she didn¡¯t know whether he could ept this truth.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong with you? Let¡¯s fight.¡± Dai Huabin shouted, jolting Huo Yuhao back to his senses.

    His eyes filled with color again, an unprecedented color.

    He looked much more determined as he held the smooth, small hand of the girl beside him. He didn¡¯t bother with Dai Huabin. Instead, he turned around and said to Wang Dong seriously, ¡°I was really such a fool, a fool that can¡¯t be saved. However, I¡¯m also a stubborn and serious fool. If you don¡¯t want this fool, this fool will be very sad and be tormented for life. If you keep this fool, he¡¯ll protect you for life!¡±

    Tears flowed down her face. She had expended a lot of effort, and finally used the Sea God¡¯s Fate to reveal her greatest secret. She had been very anxious, shy, fearful, and worried. But at this moment, all these emotions disappeared as Huo Yuhao confessed to her. What was left was only the sweetness in the shyness that she felt.

    He¡¯s epted my identity as ady.

    In fact, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao both knew that there were differences in the behavior of men and women, even though Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t discovered her identity. Furthermore, Wang Dong had started to be more feminine as she grew up. Although Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell, he had still had his doubts.

    Especially after they showed the Raiment of Light, Huo Yuhao¡¯s doubts grew stronger and stronger. However, his focus was diverted by other serious matters, and he didn¡¯t uncover this secret.

    When Huo Yuhao grabbed hold of Wang Dong¡¯s hand and felt the surge of Haodong Power between them, the secret was revealed. The epiphany that followed made everything seemed so logical. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to ept the truth; he was onlying to terms with his own feelings. The conflict and doubts he¡¯d had about Wang Dong were converted into romance.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you haven¡¯t taken my challenge yet!¡± Wu Feng was angry after realizing that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t bothered with the rest of them, and continued to confess to Wang Dong.

    It wasn¡¯t Wu Feng¡¯s first time being shocked today. She only had one reason foring to the Sea God¡¯s Fate today ¨C she wanted topete against Huo Yuhao!

    When Wu Feng saw Ning Tian walking towards Huo Yuhao and saying what she said, she was astonished. She hadn¡¯t expected Ning Tian to choose Huo Yuhao. She was dealt a huge blow at that point in time, and was even more emotionally struck than when she lost to him. No one noticed how pale she was at that point, and her eyes had even carried a look of destion.

    It was only when Huo Yuhao tactfully rejected Ning Tian that Wu Feng felt the strength that she had loste back. In that instant, she med him less. He didn¡¯t choose Ning Tian! It was a good thing for her.

    However, this relief didn¡¯tst very long. When Wu Feng found Xie Huanyue, she had already awoken. She suddenly wondered why Ning Tian had chosen him. Was he that outstanding?

 Chapter 219.1: Complete Suppression

    Wu Feng asked herself hysterically, Is it simply because Huo Yuhao is stronger than me? No! He might not be stronger than I am. Intense envy and the abnormal feelings she harbored towards Ning Tian erupted once more, and the hatred she felt towards Huo Yuhao was elevated to an unprecedented level.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s emotions were a lot steadier than hers. From beginning to end, his hatred for Huo Yuhao had never declined. He had been losing to someone ever since he had entered the academy, someone whose cultivation was clearly far inferior to his, and that someone was Huo Yuhao!

    From his perspective, Huo Yuhao had taken the glory that should have belonged to him. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament¡¯s championship should have been his. He deeply believed that if he worked hard enough, he would definitely do better than Huo Yuhao, and he should have been the one to join the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Dai Yueheng had reminded him more than once that Huo Yuhao was outstanding in many different aspects. However, it was because of this that his stubbornness and dissatisfaction grew even stronger.

    He had been cultivating as hard as he could over the past few years. All he wanted to do was have another battle with Huo Yuhao, and use the oue to prove that he was stronger than Huo Yuhao was. However, Huo Yuhao had been gone from the academy for over two years, and only just returned several days ago. He had waited for this day for too long!

    When Huo Yuhao confessed to Wang Dong, Dai Huabin was unnaturally calm. Why? He wasughing coldly inside! A confession was good, because that meant Huo Yuhao cared for this unbridled and arrogant girl with the number two tag. That meant defeating Huo Yuhao during the Sea God¡¯s Fate was the best choice, as this would greatly humiliate him even if it wouldn¡¯t break his spirit. It was equivalent to him stealing Huo Yuhao¡¯s girlfriend!

    A peculiar excitement appeared in Dai Huabin when these thoughts surfaced in his head. He really wanted Huo Yuhao¡¯s feelings for the girl with the number two tag to be even deeper. That way, Huo Yuhao would definitely feel a lot more pain and agony when his girl was stolen.

    Huo Yuhao finally reoriented himself, and he grasped Wang Dong¡¯s hands tightly. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin. On theke?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s voice echoed from a distance. ¡°The Bride Kidnapping doesn¡¯t have to happen on theke¡¯s surface. There are fewer people on your team, Yuhao, so you guys can choose the location for your battle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need, let¡¯s just do it on the Sea God¡¯s Lake. The Sea God¡¯s Fate has fulfilled the two of us, and I hope this romantic and fateful meeting to be as perfect as it can be.¡± His answer was calm, but the five people standing before him suddenly felt very different at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura seemed to transform, and rise rapidly. This wasn¡¯t because of his soul power. It was an imposing demeanor that was hard to describe. It was vast and broad, and even though it wasn¡¯t that sharp, it brought immensely powerful pressure.

    Ning Tian¡¯s face changed. She knew that she had underestimated Huo Yuhao in the end. However, they were two against five. Did the two of them really have the confidence to defeat five people who were simr in cultivation? She was sure now that Huo Yuhao definitely knew the girl with the number two tag.

    Huo Yuhao held Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand with his right hand, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He tapped softly on the water lily with the tip of his foot, and propelled both Wang Dong¡¯er and himself into the air. His movements weren¡¯t fast, but there was an unnatural harmony within his movements, even as ayer of light gradually shimmered into view about him.

    The little Snow Lady on his shoulder flew out with a whoosh, hovering above his head.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er... should I call you that?¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er answered softly. She was full of sweetness and warmth in her heart, but she was still as shy and bashful as ever. In the end, the two of them had been calling each other ¡°brothers¡± for so many years, and she wasn¡¯t very used to the sudden change in how they addressed each other. This still required a process no matter how willing she was in her heart.

    ¡°We will definitely win. Help me fly.¡± Huo Yuhao moved in front of her as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er hugged him across the waist, and the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings extended out to either side of them. They dipped slightly before flying forwards in the air.

    Dai Huabin and his impromptu began to move at the same time.

    Ning Tian asked Ling Luochen, ¡°Senior sister, can you control how high they can fly?¡±

    Ling Luochen shot a cold look at her and said, ¡°Do you really think Huo Yuhao is going to use his advantage in flight to fight us? He won¡¯t. What you guys should watch out for are his powerful offensive and control abilities. Let¡¯s go.¡± She took point as she spoke and stepped lightly on the water¡¯s surface. Every step became a patch of thin ice as she pursued Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Intense cold began to spread from her body.

    Ning Tian frowned. During her time in the outer courtyard, she had always been the absolute leader of her ss, and she had always been the brains. Ling Luochen refused to listen to her, and this made her a little ufortable. However, she had to win today¡¯s battle. From her perspective, she had to cleanse the humiliation that Huo Yuhao had given her. No matter how displeased she was with Ling Luochen, she still released her martial soul, the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, as soon as possible. The soul tool shaped like a shuttle beneath her feet rotated, and she received a rapid speed boost as she followed behind Ling Luochen.

    Wu Feng was very tight with Ning Tian, and she was also in the same ss as Xie Huanyue and Dai Huabin. They had cooperated together many times, and the four of them naturally had a lot more chemistry when they moved together.

    ¡°Senior sister, give us a ce to stand,¡± Ning Tian growled softly.

    Fighting on theke¡¯s surface wasn¡¯t their forte. In the end, not a single one of them had seven rings, and none of them had martial souls that could fly. They could float on the water¡¯s surface for a short period of time, but they would never have the same convenience as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s butterfly wings if they had to spend a prolonged time above the water¡¯s surface.

    Ling Luochen grunted coldly and replied, ¡°Do I need you to teach me?¡±

    The six soul rings on her body rose as she spoke, and a dense chill immediately caused the air temperature to plummet.

    A long and slender Ice Staff took form in her hands. Her forward momentum paused in the very center between the camps of the men and women.

    Intense chill permeated out from beneath Ling Luochen¡¯s feet in all directions. Large patches of tough ice could be seen condensing below her, spreading far into the distance.

    She didn¡¯t use any other soul skills besides her Icy Staff, and she relied on her control of her own ice element to aplish all this.

    Ning Tian was still astonished, even though Ling Luochen had just rebuffed her. She knew that Ling Luochen was part of the team that had brought home the championship in thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. However, she only understood that everyone with a reputation in Shrek actually had substance when she saw this disy of power with her own eyes. Ling Luochen had deep and dense soul power, and along with her maniption of her element, these were traits that the other four of them just couldn¡¯t match up to.

    However, the four of them also showed the qualities that had allowed them to enter the inner courtyard.

    Ning Tiannded her shuttle-type soul tool behind Ling Luochen. Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and Wu Feng all went forward and formed a row in front of Ling Luochen. Dai Huabin was in the center, while Wu Feng and Xie Huanyue stood at his sides. Everyone released their martial souls. The five of them formed a mini battle team that consisted of two assault-type, one defense-type, one control-type, and one auxiliary-type soul master.

    Except for the fact that they didn¡¯t have an agility-type soul master that was adept in speed, this impromptu soul masterbination could be considered as perfect as it could be. This was especially true since their main control-type soul master was extremely formidable, while their auxiliary-type soul master possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda.

    Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda began to take effect at the first possible moment. A single streak of soul power was attached to Ling Luochen¡¯s body, which greatly sped up the freezing process. Four different amplifications ¨C speed, power, strength, and defense ¨C were unleashed, and were added to the other three people. Colorful hues waltzed through the sky as an aura where five seemed to integrate as one began to permeate their surroundings.

    Just as Ling Luochen had said, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn¡¯t fly high into the sky. They stopped at a distance of about one hundred meters away. They didn¡¯tunch an attack, and were just waiting in silence.

    Huo Yuhao watched as Ling Luochen¡¯s frozen area of effect reached a diameter of one hundred meters. Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice could be heard from a distance away as he said, ¡°Are you guys ready?¡±

    It was a simple question, but it was filled with immense self-confidence, and it was clear that his tone implied. We won¡¯t attack because we¡¯re waiting for you to get ready. I¡¯lle when you are.

    Dai Huabin roared angrily, ¡°Huo Yuhao! You will have a showdown with me, face-to-face, if you¡¯re a man!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly and retorted, ¡°Have you ever won?¡±

    Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and he released a deafening tiger roar into the sky as he unleashed his soul skills.

    His frame began to swell, and radiant white light emerged from within his body. His body erged to more than two meters tall in a sh, his tightly bulging muscles were covered with ayer of white fur. The ck patterns along his body were charged with a fearsome aura as

    his first, second, and third soul skills ¡ª White Tiger¡¯s Shield, White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation ¡ª were used at the same time. With Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda amplifying him at the same time, he gave off a ferocious, formidable, and intimidating aura that flowed outwards.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er made their move. The wings behind Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back fluttered, and she carried Huo Yuhao through the air as they descended and drifted to the other end of the icy surface. They held hands as they stepped forward side by side. They didn¡¯t elerate, and they didn¡¯t charge forward, they were just sauntering along the surface of the ice.

    The tiny Snow Lady hovered beside Huo Yuhao, and her orange-golden luster became increasingly obvious. Right at that moment, a strange thing urred on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

 Chapter 219.2: Complete Suppression

    One white and three ck soul rings gradually rose from beneath his feet and circled around his body rhythmically. This was abination that shouldn¡¯t happen on soul masters, but it existed now, and was just so miraculous.

    However, the soul rings immediately changed the second they appeared, bing one red and four orange soul rings that sparkled and glowed.

    These twobinations alternated while the colors intertwined, which gave everyone a strange and peculiar feeling.

    ¡°He has twin martial souls ¨C he¡¯s switching his martial souls around.¡± Ling Luochen¡¯s icy-cold voice carried a tinge of surprise, but there was more caution.

    She had fought beside Huo Yuhao before, so she understood how powerful Huo Yuhao was. Back then, this youth hadn¡¯t even had his third soul ring, yet he had disyed exceptional ability during a top-tierpetition, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and his contribution had been imperative to the team¡¯s im on the championship, while today he was a Soul King after five years. She had chosen Huo Yuhao today, which had seemed a little impulsive, but it was a cathartic release of all the feelings that had been umting at the bottom of her heart.

    When the bigpetition ended back in the day, Ling Luochen had actually felt a little despondent because she had found someone who was also ice-type, but was far more talented than she was ¨C and that was Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice gave her an overly strong impression. She knew that in the near future, there would be nobody in the academy, and perhaps the entire Continent, that could challenge him in terms of ice-type abilities.

    There was a yearning in her heart, and she desired to be on the samepetition stage or battlefield as him once more. Her own powers would be greatly boosted with his presence ¨C the sensation of controlling Ultimate Ice was just too magical. Ling Luochen deeply believed that if she could cultivate together with Huo Yuhao, her cultivation speed would be much faster than it was now.

    There was an obvious distinction between a soul master and a normal person¡¯s reasoning, and that was in romantic rtionships. Why did Shrek Academy want to host the Sea God¡¯s Fate? The reason was because the academy¡¯s students were too arrogant, and if others wanted to win them over, these people had to be on the same level of cultivation at the very least. The students¡¯ targets were people who would eventually be Titled Douluo, with both partiesplementing each other to reach this goal was what they desired most. Furthermore, only soul masters who had abilities that could impress them had a chance of winning their heart.

    Ling Luochen was no different, and her starting point was simr to Ning Tian in this regard. However, Ning Tian¡¯s mind for utility was purer, while Ling Luochen¡¯s heart had containedplex feelings towards Huo Yuhao for five years.

    Today, her heart was finally moved when she saw the seventeen-year-old Huo Yuhao. She could feel as if there were an aura inside his body that was calling out to her, and subconsciously attracting her soul power. That attraction was just too alluring to her, and even though Huo Yuhao was seven years younger than she was, Ling Luochen still walked out. It was a pity that all she got was a tactful rejection.

    Ling Luochen didn¡¯t have revenge or vengeance in mind when she proposed this challenge. She wanted to see the level of ice abilities that this youth, the one who was just so alluring to her, had reached five years after they first met.

    Dai Huabin hammered his chest heavily. His extremely muscr body grew explosively in size again, and he charged towards Huo Yuhao as he roared furiously. His feet made deep grooves in the tough ice beneath his feet in that explosive moment, and his body carried intense whitish-golden light as he surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled, and there was no anxiety at all before Dai Huabin. Dai Huabin was seventeen years old, and he had broken through Rank 50, and was even nearing Rank 60. But so what? Even without that hatred in his heart, Dai Huabin was second to Dai Yueheng in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    Dai Huabin was perhaps more talented, but his obstinate and egotistical personality would eventually be the greatest hurdle in his future path.

    Huo Yuhao acted like he didn¡¯t even see Dai Huabin¡¯s lunge, and his soul rings switched back to one white and three ck soul rings. The ck soul ring in the third position suddenly erupted with light, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned white. Two pale-white beams of light burst from his eyes, but their target wasn¡¯t Dai Huabin ¨C they went for the people behind him.

    The white light didn¡¯t hit anyone, instead halting in midair. Its position was in the middle of Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue and Ling Luochen and Ning Tian behind them.

    The white radiance instantly transformed into a glowing white sphere, and a circle of white light expanded outwards from that position, urately and steadily enveloping all five of them inside.

    Mass Enfeeblement!

    An elder on the ferry couldn¡¯t help butment in admiration. ¡°Such formidable control of his spirit.¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly, Elder Xuan, spiritual control soul skills should be released from the user. How is he able to use his soul skill from a fixed location so far away?¡±

    Elder Xuan chuckled and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say it? Spiritual control. This is perhaps because his spiritual power has reached an impressive level, and he has an incredible ability to control it, so he¡¯s able to use the soul skill like that. This fellow has improved once more, his spiritual power¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes sparkled continuously. Everything that Huo Yuhao had done for the Soul Tool Department over the past two years had fallen into his eyes, and while he was pleased, he was also a little worried. He was worried that Huo Yuhao had ced too much focus on soul tools that he ended up dying or overlooking his cultivation. However, it seemed like he didn¡¯t need to worry at all¡­

    Dai Huabin and the others immediately felt an intense weakness spreading over their bodies as Mass Enfeeblement worked its magic. Ling Luochen and Ning Tian were slightly better, as they were engaged in battle solely through releasing their soul power to use soul skills. However, Xie Huanyue, Dai Huabin, and Wu Feng were closebat soul masters, and thus the weakness felt a lot more acute to them.

    The sudden weakness that Ning Tian felt greatly reduced the amplification provided by the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, and it even swayed their will to fight to a certain extent. Dai Huabin was pouncing forward, but his movement speed was reduced by at least thirty percent.

    Huo Yuhao made his move at this moment. He grabbed Wang Dong, and the two of them shone brilliantly as they shed out. They gained a lot of speed, and an intense golden light fell on Wang Dong¡¯s body at the same time. Faced with their converging attack, Huo Yuhao made an extremely calm judgment.

    His eyes were suddenly tainted with a strange golden color, and one could see upon closer inspection that there was a golden whirlpool deep within each of his Spirit Eyes.

    Two golden beams of light shot out, targeting Dai Huabin.

    The speed of light was unimaginably quick, and it was impossible for Dai Huabin to evade this attack even if he wanted to, unless he had a skill like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to predict the attack.

    Did he? Of course not. Therefore, he could only face it head-on.

    Dai Huabin roared into the sky as his second soul ring lit up. At this moment, a surprising four of his five soul rings were operating at the same time.

    A dense white beam exploded from his mouth straight towards the two golden beams.

    He wanted to intercept them in midair ¨C this was his second soul skill, White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave.

    When the white and golden lights shed in the sky, Dai Huabin was momentarily stunned, as he couldn¡¯t feel any force or impact at all. His White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave sted far into the distance, while the two golden beams from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes struck his body.

    Spiritual power was different from soul power. He had made an erroneous judgment, and so he took a direct hit from Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul skill, Spiritual Confusion.

    A golden whirlpool that was half a foot high suddenly appeared above Dai Huabin¡¯s head. Dai Huabin immediately felt an acute dizziness fill up his entire head, as if it were about to wreak havoc in his mind. Everything before him became blurry, and he felt as if he were starting to lose control of his own body.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t typically use Spiritual Confusion. This wasn¡¯t because this soul skill wasn¡¯t very good ¨C that was because this soul skill¡¯s single-target controlling effects were too powerful, and it was too easy for others to remember. At least, he never used this soul skill whenever he had his practice battles with Ji Juechen. But he was outnumbered in this battle, and so Dai Huabin finally became his b rat¡±.

    From everyone else¡¯s perspective, Dai Huabin seemed to stop involuntarily in his tracks, as if he couldn¡¯t control himself anymore after he was struck by the golden light from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and he appeared to be spinning in circles on the spot.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s were still flying forward, and they seemed to brush past his shoulders as they went straight for Wu Feng.

    Xie Huanyue¡¯s reactions were quick. He had rushed in horizontally from the side when Dai Huabin first disyed a loss of control. When he saw that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were going for Wu Feng, the soul rings on his body lit up. His pudgy body suddenly plopped onto the ground, and a tremendous bouncing force propelled his body in Wu Feng¡¯s direction immediately afterwards.

    It was five versus two, and Ling Luochen¡¯s soul skill had also found its target at this moment. She had discerned Huo Yuhao¡¯s location, and sheunched multiple soul skills at the same time.

    Ayer of icy armor descended on Dai Huabin¡¯s body and boosted his defensive abilities. An Ice Prison was activated with urate prejudgment, but it didn¡¯t go for Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong¡¯er ¨C instead, it went for Wu Feng.

    This Ice Prison was more than ten meters in diameter, and it was formed from twenty-four thick ice pirs. The ice pirs tunneled from the surface and immediately provided powerful protection and control.

    Ling Luochen was exceptionally level-headed. She knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s control-type soul skill against Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t be maintained for a prolonged period of time. She was a control-type soul master, and she had to first ensure that they weren¡¯t a man down under such situations. Furthermore, she had a deep-seated fear of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, and she knew that she couldn¡¯t possibly restrain Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 219.3: Complete Suppression

    Wu Feng didn¡¯t like the Ice Prison that was covering her. Her Red Dragon was a fire-type martial soul, and thus she had a natural-born rejection towards the ice element. However, she was still in awe and admiration of Ling Luochen¡¯s urate control. No matter how disdainful she felt towards Huo Yuhao, she knew that facing the two of them alone would heap immense pressure on her. Xie Huanyue was about to arrive, and Dai Huabin wouldn¡¯t be halted for too long. At this moment, she chose to store power and prepare.

    Dark-red mes engulfed her entire body. Her second and third soul rings flickered at the same time¡ªDragonfury and Dragonarmor were unleashed. Wu Feng disyed her strength as an inner courtyard disciple with her control over her soul skills, and she handled both skills at the same time without even touching the Ice Prison.

    However, the mighty attack that everyone had expected Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er tounch against the Ice Prison didn¡¯t appear at all.

    Right when the Ice Prison shimmered into view, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er abruptly stopped in their tracks.

    Regardless of whether Wang Dong¡¯er was a guy or girl, how could the people before them rival the chemistry and tacit understanding she shared with Huo Yuhao?

    She returned behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back once more when he turned around, pressed her hands on his back, and immediately began to infuse Haodong power into his body.

    Huo Yuhao was facing Xie Huanyue, who sprang towards them at this moment.

    Xie Huanyue was a defense-type soul master, and his original aim was to prevent Huo Yuhao¡¯s assault against Wu Feng. However, he suddenly had a feeling that Huo Yuhao¡¯s target from beginning to end wasn¡¯t Wu Feng¡ªit was him! It felt like Ling Luochen¡¯s Ice Prison had also been considered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s calctions and predictions¡­!

    Dai Huabin finally recovered from the powerful controlling effects of Spiritual Confusion. He still felt a little dizzy, and there seemed to be many elements of various types undting around his body.

    At this moment, a blinding ray of light and terrifying pressure restored his senses. What he saw was a golden fist.

    Xie Huanyue had alreadyunched himself through the air, but he couldn¡¯t change directions anymore, even though he had realized that something was amiss.

    In this crucial moment, his fourth and fifth soul rings sparkled at the same time. A blurry light covered his body, and his skin became as dark as coal, while his entire frame became like an enormous ball of flesh as he barreled forward.

    The light projection of a giant elephant appeared behind him.

    His fourth soul skill, Elephant Fog, and his fifth soul skill, Elephant Hide.

    Elephant Fog ensnared the enemy after shing against any of their attacks. It would sweep towards the opponent and make them feel like they were mired in a swamp. It was hard to break out of it, and the fog would greatly reduce the force of an attack.

    Elephant Hide caused the surface of his skin to be gtinous and rubbery, and increased his defensive capabilities a hundred percent. Colliding with his opponent would produce a powerful stic force that would bounce them away.

    Xie Huanyue¡¯s martial soul was the Rubberdon, and one could say that these two soul skills were Xie Huanyue¡¯s strongest defensive abilities. He used both of them at the same time, representing how fearful he was towards Huo Yuhao.

    Xie Huanyue could see that Huo Yuhao had turnedpletely golden. Right now, Huo Yuhao looked like a golden statue, and he emanated a fearsome aura that burst forward, making Xie Huanyue tremble with terror.

    What, what is this soul skill?

    A golden fist punched straight towards Xie Huanyue exactly when Dai Huabin recovered from Spiritual Confusion.

    Even time seemed to stop when the golden fist mmed against Xie Huanyue¡¯s body. In the next moment, the Elephant Fog around Xie Huanyue¡¯s body whisked outwards and attempted to ensnare the golden fist.

    However, the Elephant Fog dissipated, crushed in the eruption of golden light. The Elephant Hide¡¯s tremendous stic force from the collision also seemed to disappearpletely.

    Xie Huanyue¡¯s body was hurled backwards at a speed faster than he¡¯d charged out, and he mmed right into Dai Huabin in the distance.

    The surface of Xie Huanyue¡¯s body appeared to be covered by ayer of golden foil, and golden light glowed continuously.

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t just sit back. He extended his tiger paws in front of him and attempted to catch Xie Huanyue. However, he felt a frightening pressure pass into his body the moment he caught Xie Huanyue. It was so stifling that it was nigh suffocating, like a supreme ruler had descended upon the world. His mind and spirit were shaken as Xie Huanyue crashed into his chest, and the two of them were thrown back several meters from the force before they stabilized themselves.

    Fresh blood was pouring out from Xie Huanyue¡¯s mouth and nose. The fatso¡¯s face was ghastly pale, and his body was shaking badly. He stared at Dai Huabin and said, ¡°So¡­ so powerful! My defenses have been broken!¡±

    This was the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, charged with Haodong power, so how could it be as simple as just breaking through his defenses? The Sovereign¡¯s Descent had left a deep andsting mark in Xie Huanyue¡¯s spiritual sea¡ªso the next time he faced Huo Yuhao, this spiritual imprint would greatly disrupt his nerves and his mind.

    Dai Huabin was also ovee with a haze of terror, but he still pounced towards Huo Yuhao like there was no turning back.

    He was as familiar as could be with how powerful Xie Huanyue¡¯s guard was. Not even he had the confidence to break through Xie Huanyue¡¯s defenses. Even though Xie Huanyue was slightly weaker in terms of fighting power, his defensive capabilities were publicly recognized as the strongest amongst the others of his age group, and yet, he couldn¡¯t even take a single punch from Huo Yuhao.

    Furthermore, this was also under the amplifying effects of the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda!

    Xie Huanyue was shoved off, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong took two steps back before they regained their bnce. The powerful impact still took effect on them in the end, the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda¡¯s amplification effects were indeed formidable. If Huo Yuhao hadunched that attack by himself, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to make Xie Huanyue lose all ability to fight. However, he wasn¡¯t alone in this battle today; he had the support of the Haodong power!

    No matter how strong the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda¡¯s supportive power was, it couldn¡¯tpare to a martial soul fusion ability with one hundred-percentpatibility¡­ and there was also Mass Enfeeblement at work!

    Butterfly wings extended to the side, andrge patches of golden light burst from behind them; the Light of the Butterfly Goddess. The Ice Prison from before was gone; it had vanished under the touch of a tender, tiny hand.

    Huo Yuhao made his move on one side, while the little Snow Lady had flown in the opposite direction and touched the Ice Prison lightly.

    The Ice Prison melted almost instantaneously. Ling Luochen realized, to her intense fear and surprise, that the connection with her soul skill was immediately severed when the little Snow Lady touched the Ice Prison.

    The Light of the Butterfly Goddess wrapped around the little Snow Lady and swept towards the defenseless Wu Feng.

    Only several breaths had passed since the beginning of the battle till now. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er first weakened their opponents, before they separated, controlled, and divided the three closebat opponents and eventually took one of them down. Their momentum continued, and their coordination could be said to be miraculous and seamless ¡ª nothing was wasted at all, and their judgments were incredibly precise.

    After he punched Xie Huanyue away, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look at Dai Huabin, who was charging towards him. His eyes were staring straight at Ning Tian behind Ling Luochen.

    Two purplish-golden rays of light flickered in his eyes. Ning Tian grunted coldly, the connection between the Seven Treasure zed Pagoda and herpanions had immediately been severed.

    Spiritual Shock!

    Every student from the inner courtyard had impressive fighting prowess. However, they were far more inferior than Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had been through so many life and death situations, and he¡¯d paid with blood and sweat to gather fighting experience from the battles Juechen and Jing Ziyan had forced him to participate in. From his perspective, raw numbers would never be an advantage. Being able to maximize one¡¯s potential, and being able to unleash one¡¯s abilities to the highest possible level were advantages!

    The tiny Snow Lady began to fly backwards. She was just so petite, and the way she raised her right arm was truly a littleical. This was especially so when she extended a tiny finger that was no longer than a caterpir as she pointed up at the sky. Her dark blue eyes flowed with seriousness, but no matter what state she was in, her appearance could only be described with one word: cute.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± the tiny Snow Lady called out, and a mystical scene urred.

    Azure green light immediately shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body¡ªthe Domain of Perpetual Ice. At the same time, the little Snow Lady¡¯s body erupted with an orange-gold luster, and the second orange-gold soul ring on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body sparkled vigorously.

    The ice and snow were released from beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet. A blizzard began to spread instantly, a temperature that was more than twenty degrees below zero swept forward along with the blizzard.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice, and the Snow Empress¡¯ Snowy Dance of the Brilliant Sun werebined: the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    The next soul skill that Ling Luochen released was immediately consumed by the snow and ice that loomed over the sky. The intense chill that appeared within a split-secondpletely suppressed the Red Dragon¡¯s heated mes that had burst out from Wu Feng¡¯s body. The scene in front of Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes immediately became nothing but white snow and ice, and the extreme cold caused his speed to plummet.

    The group of elders on the ferry were already standing up.

    ¡°Is this a domain ability?¡±

    The other students from the inner courtyard in the distance who were participating in the Blind Date looked on as their faces became a little ck. That terrifying world of snow and ice had a diameter of more than a hundred meters, and everyone could vividly feel its chill in their heart and soul.

    Is this really something that a five-ringed Soul King can aplish? Everyone had the same thought in mind.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake began to transform. It had only been affected by Ling Luochen¡¯s ice element at first, which formed ayer of ice more than one hundred meters in diameter on theke¡¯s surface. However, more than half of the entire Sea God¡¯s Lake was now starting to freeze over, and an eerie chill permeated the skies.

    There was only astonishment in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes. When she turned towards Bei Bei, she could see the same bewilderment and astonishment in his eyes. It was clear that not even Bei Bei knew that his little junior brother was this powerful.

    A golden hammer flew out under the cover of snow and ice. All five of their opponents were trying to resist the intense coldness coating the area, but everyone froze at the same time.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest. This martial soul fusion skill became even more terrifying under the cover of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Nobody could see what was happening inside the domain; not even Elder Xuan could see through it. Unless he forcefully broke through it, everything within its area of effect was part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s world.

 Chapter 220.1: Goddess By My Side

    Fortunately, the Snowy Dance of Ice and Snow didn¡¯tst for a long time, so it didn¡¯t freeze the entirety of Sea God¡¯s Lake. The violent wind and snowstorm slowly stopped.

    The original battlefield had turned a dazzling white. A foot of ice had already umted in that short period of time, and the chill caused the internal temperature of the entire academy to drop!

    Huo Yuhao stood where he was as he held Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand. Not far from them stood five ice sculptures of different forms.

    As he turned around, Huo Yuhao faced Wang Dong¡¯er and said softly, ¡°I¡¯d like to see you. Can I?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong agreed.

    After the fight, their tense feelings had disappeared, and the Haodong Power that circted in their bodies had guided them.

    Even though he was facing a strong opponent, Huo Yuhao was still very resolute. His hands trembled slightly as he touched the hat and veil.

    He felt his heart beating faster and faster. His intense yearning was mixed with anxiety.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s reaction was greater than his. She lowered her head slightly and twiddled her fingers in front of her. She wasn¡¯t anywhere near as full of energy as she was when she had called for a two-versus-five fight.

    Huo Yuhao eventually stopped. He didn¡¯t pull down the hat. He whispered something before Wang Dong¡¯er nodded her head.

    In the next moment, Huo Yuhao held her hand as they glided backward.

    Countless streaks of lights exploded like fireworks, shooting out from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s bodies as their center, blinding everyone. Amidst the lights, Wang Dong¡¯er was pulled into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms, and their bodiesbined into one entity.

    The golden-bluish wings started to expand at a frightening speed, their size doubling instantly.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings were normally separated into top and bottom, but there was another jade-colored middle wing right now. It was smooth, transparent, and brightly-colored, releasing a thick aura of life. The true meaning of life was light and water, and this life auraplemented the aura of light.

    The dazzling butterfly wings opened wide. Blue, gold, and green lights colored the world around them. Above the wings, there seemed to be countless beads of water refracting what light was present. As the lights shone,yers andyers of frost were released from the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ feet, making her slender figure look extremely elegant.

    As the frost spread, the snowkes on the ground were guided into the air, where they started to dance. As the freezing chill spread, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fused bodies started to transform in a shocking manner. A slender figure started to surface from the tri-colored glow.

    The hat and veil melted away within the golden lights, leaving only a youngdy behind. She was more than one hundred eighty centimeters tall, and her slender figure extremely captivating!

    Her long hair was pinkish-blue, and flowed all the way down to her feet. Her eyes were bright-gold, and her slender figure was wless ¨C no words could describe how proportionate her enchanting figure was. Her ravishing looks were superior to all of thedies present. Every streak of light and curve of her body were perfectlyplementary. No one could describe how they felt when they first saw her. However, she definitely had everyone¡¯s full attention!

    She moved in the next moment. She stepped forward with her left leg and rose into the air. The orange-gold Snow Ladynded on her shoulder as she gestured, and the tri-colored wings behind her back propelled her body into the air as she started to dance.

    Thick mist started to spread from her legs upward, changing into streaks that surrounded her body as they spun around her.

    The dark sky suddenly cracked open, and a streak of golden sunlight descended,nding on her body. Suddenly, the surrounding ice and snow were illuminated by a golden glow. A golden halo engulfed her, like a goddess that undergoing a rebirth within the light.

    She started dancing in the air. Every step she took was gentle and perfect. Her enchanting looks were filled with the light of life and hope, her wings greatly entuating her body and movements. The Raiment of Light surfaced as she was surrounded by the warmth of the light.

    Her wings extended and retracted continuously, adding to her otherworldly elegance.

    A subtle golden rune appeared on her forehead, clearer than thest time. It seemed to be the image of a golden trident.

    Her golden eyes were gentle, her smooth white face slightly rosy. Her figure shed, and was somehow in front of an ice sculpture. As she touched the sculpture, it started to melt.

    The ice covering the Sea God¡¯s Lake had turned into her stage. As everyone watched in a daze, her dazzling wings beat as she danced in the air. Five ice sculptures melted one by one.

    Ling Luochen, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue and Dai Huabin had not lost consciousness. They had been lost in the Snowy Dance of Ice and Snow, and the Spiritual Tempest. However, they didn¡¯tpletely lose consciousness.

    As the ice melted, a warm feeling engulfed their bodies and quickened their blood. They also saw the ravishing figure and the long, pinkish-blue hair.

    Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light.

    They were also dazed. No matter how negative they felt, their emotions slowly calmed down within this aura that was abination of cold, life, and light.

    As the tri-colored wings retracted, the Raiment of Light finally returned to its original spot.

    It separated and became two different people again.

    Huo Yuhao was still Huo Yuhao, but thedy beside him no longer had her hat on.

    She was evidently a smaller version of the Goddess of Light.

    As her long, pinkish-blue hair flowed behind her, her eyes started to roll. She was embarrassed, and didn¡¯t dare to look at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was also in a daze. Although he knew that it was Wang Dong¡¯er in front of him, he still didn¡¯t believe it.

    Wang Dong and Wang Dong¡¯er looked so simr, but he felt as if he couldn¡¯t find Wang Dong. Wang Dong¡¯er was an immature version of the Goddess of Light. So, my goddess has always been by my side from the start to now...

    ¡°There¡¯s a disguise technique in my family that enabled me to change my voice and alter my facial lines. I could even develop an Adam¡¯s apple. Although the changes aren¡¯t too drastic, they make it difficult for others to recognize me.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was very soft, but Huo Yuhao could still hear her clearly.

    No wonder she was so different!

    ¡°You... you concealed the truth from me for so long!¡± Huo Yuhao grinned.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say sorry. I was a fool,¡± Huo Yuhao said gently as he held her hands, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m your fool? Don¡¯t regret your choice!¡±

    ¡°Let me think about it again. You already have Ju Zi!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er shot back.

    ¡°Nonsense! We¡¯re only good friends!¡± Huo Yuhao replied resolutely.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her head. Her gaze was slightly stiff as she stared at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course! When we first exhibited the Raiment of Light, I was already captivated by the Goddess of Light¡¯s figure. No one else could enter my heart after that.¡± After pausing for a moment, Huo Yuhao looked at her seriously, ¡°Right now, my goddess is by my side.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er finally smiled. Her smile seemed as gorgeous as blooming flowers.

    She had expended a lot of effort just for today.

    After more than two years apart, she had recognized her feelings for him. She had even tried to forget him. However, she realized that she couldn¡¯t do so.

    That was why she went to find him and brought him back to the Clear Sky Sect, hoping that her rtives would approve of him. When she met Ju Zi along the way, she felt threatened.

    After returning to the academy, she began her set-up. She revealed her identity to Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao, hoping to receive their help. She had wanted to wait until the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament before she revealed everything to Huo Yuhao. However, she realized after their separation that she couldn¡¯t wait any longer. She was most troubled by the fact that Huo Yuhao might not develop feelings for her if he didn¡¯t know that she was actually ady, no matter how close they were.

    Now that everything had settled, he turned out to not be aplete fool, and her hard work had finally paid off.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly seemed to think of something. As he turned and looked into the distance, the entire Sea God¡¯s Lake waspletely silent. However, everyone¡¯s attention was focused on him. He was slightly embarrassed.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister, eldest senior, can we go now? The Bride Kidnapping should have ended, right?¡± Huo Yuhao shouted towards Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan. He normally called Bei Bei eldest senior, while Zhang Lexuan was often referred to as eldest senior sister by everyone else. When he called out to both of them together, it sounded weird.

    Everyone only recovered from their shock after hearing his voice.

 Chapter 220.2: Goddess By My Side

    The truth was that no one knew how Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had won. They hadn¡¯t been able to sense anything, as everything within the domain was under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. The original two-versus-five fight ended in an overwhelming victory, but everyone wasn¡¯t focused on the victory. They were more captivated by Wang Dong¡¯er, as she was too beautiful. Not only were the male students wide-eyed in shock, but the female students were also intoxicated by her beauty.

    ¡°Can we still ¡®kidnap the bride¡¯ now?¡± some male student said weakly, his words reflecting what most of the male students were thinking. If they had known that she was so pretty, Huo Yuhao would have had many morepetitors today!

    Zhang Lexuan red at the male student who spoke. ¡°Cut your crap. Moreover, you¡¯ll need to challenge both of them to ¡®kidnap the bride¡¯. Do you have any confidence of beating them? The Bride Kidnapping segment is over! I hereby announce that Huo Yuhao and¡­¡± she abruptly stopped at this point. Bei Bei hurriedly reminded her of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s name. ¡°Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er have gotten together sessfully in the Eternal Love segment. I wish them a blissful future!¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er sped palms and fists towards everyone. They looked at each other and smiled before gliding back to the shore.

    Huo Yuhao had been astonishing in today¡¯s blind date. It was also his first time demonstrating his abilities and the strength of the Ultimate Ice in front of the inner courtyard students. But he prsonally was even more shocked to discover Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s true identity.

    The biggestmotion was happening on the ferry right now. The elders and teachers on the ferry had already disembarked. They had no choice ¨C the ferry couldn¡¯t move since theke water had been frozen.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes were shining as he asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, should we ask Huo Yuhao about his Spirit now?¡± They were all top-ranked soul masters, and could tell the benefits that a Spirit could bring. Moreover, Huo Yuhao¡¯s four orange-gold soul rings were too shocking. Whether it was a Spirit or the orange-gold soul rings, they had never appeared before. They would feel very ufortable if they didn¡¯t ask Huo Yuhao clearly about these new existences.

    Elder Xuan snapped, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be annoying! They¡¯ve just be a couple, let them be intimate for a while. Tomorrow morning, you cane to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and we¡¯ll ask him together. Wang Dong¡¯er is really secretive! However, Huo Yuhao is really just a blockhead. They stayed in the same room for so long, but he never discovered her identity. Hahaha!¡±

    Elder Lin smiled and said, ¡°Those two children are really interesting. Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain was very strong. I seemed to see orange-gold rings lighting up when he unleashed the domain just now. Was that a domain-type soul skill?¡±

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. He already has a domain-type soul skill, but it¡¯s not so strong, and can¡¯t cover such a huge region. It seems like this fellow has encountered something miraculous again. I believe this domain is rted to his Spirit. Since everyone¡¯s so interested in his Spirit, I shall specifically call for a conference in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion tomorrow and allow him to participate. Since he¡¯s also a special member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, it¡¯s time for everyone to meet him.¡±

    All the elders nodded their heads. While they were old, they were still very curious. Moreover, this concerned the future development of Shrek Academy.

    ¡­¡­

    They returned to shore, Huo Yuhao still holding Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand tightly. He had too many things to say to her.

    Huo Yuhao grinned as he asked, ¡°Dong¡¯er, is that what I should call you from now on?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her head and said softly, ¡°Yes. Should we leave after the entire event is over?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s enough just looking at you.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen enough of me?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was amused.

    Huo Yuhao changed his words. ¡°Never in this lifetime.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled. There weren¡¯t any outsiders now, and she became less shy. She dared to look into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes now.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m sorry. I hid my identity intentionally from you previously because¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao interrupted her, ¡°I understand. I¡¯m actually very d!¡±

    ¡°d?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was perplexed as she looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m d. If you came in as a female student, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter your life! You¡¯re too pretty, so you¡¯d have captured the attention of others easily. You wouldn¡¯t have stayed in the same dorm room as me, and we¡¯d have had no chance of building up our feelings. We wouldn¡¯t even have our martial fusion soul skills. Naturally, what happened today wouldn¡¯t have happened either!¡±

    ¡°Shall we return to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao was bubbling with joy now. His eyes didn¡¯t deviate from Wang Dong¡¯er at all, as if he couldn¡¯t get enough of looking at her.

    As they walked towards the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er, I now understand why you did all those weird things you did when you first entered the academy. For example, you mysteriously went to bathe on your own and you¡¯d get angry with me after I slept with you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so bad. Why do you have to mention all of this¡­?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er blushed and smacked him.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth! Do you still remember? When we first managed to create the Golden Road, we fainted because we expended too much energy and werete for ss on the second day. We were punished by Teacher Zhou, and she even shouted at us through the window asking whether we were dating. She probably won¡¯t expect the both of us to be dating now.¡±

    As she recalled what had happened that day, Wang Dong¡¯er revealed a slight smile on her face. ¡°Of course I remember. You were such a fool then. You fought so hard every day and made the ss fight with you. Thinking about it, I believe many students from our ss will be able to enter the inner courtyard when they reach the sixth grade apart from us and fifth senior.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°It must be the good fortune rubbing on us from being ss monitors!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed too. ¡°Stop bragging!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oh yes, you don¡¯t have a twin sister, am I right?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Why are you asking such a stupid question at this point? Of course not. Why would I have a twin sister?¡±

    Huo Yuhao mocked, ¡°So you were matchmaking yourself then.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed. ¡°Who asked you to be such a wooden block?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed, ¡°Yes! I should have thought of it earlier, especially since I saw you that day. Did you remove your veil intentionally for me to see, or did you intentionally leave your name Wang Qiu¡¯er behind to draw me to the Sea God¡¯s Fate?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned. ¡°What veil? What Wang Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°What? Why are you trying to conceal things from me at this point? I met you that day when I returned to the academy. You were already dressed like a girl then. You also wore a veil, which you dropped when you walked past me. I caught hold of it. When I took a look at it, it was embroidered with the words ¡®Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯ on it. You snatched it back before running away. I failed to chase you. When I reached Shrek City, I lost track of you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was confused. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Since you returned, I never met you before today! I only peeked at you when you were crying outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. What Wang Qiu¡¯er? I don¡¯t know!¡±

    ¡°What? That wasn¡¯t you?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. He was sure that Wang Dong¡¯er had no need to lie to him anymore at this point. However, the incident that day was definitely real. What was going on?

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt that something was amiss. ¡°Yuhao, think about it carefully again. Are you sure you saw someone that looked like me? There was no difference at all?¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows and tried his best to recall what had happened that day. His Spirit Eyes were very sharp, his spiritual power was immense and his memory was impable.

    As he tried to recall more detail, he said, ¡°She did seem a little different, now that you mention it. She looked a bit older than you, and she was slightly taller than you. Her voice also sounded a little different. However, I only had a short nce at her then, and didn¡¯t interact much with her. The feeling she gave me was also very familiar though, but it was slightly different from the familiar feeling that you give me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was shocked as she watched Huo Yuhao, and asked, ¡°There¡¯s actually someone who looks just like me? How is that possible?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know either! However, she should be from the academy, since she walked out from the academy that day. Perhaps she¡¯s from another academy and trying to get into the inner courtyard just like you mentioned? Dong¡¯er, are you sure that you don¡¯t have a twin sister?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied without any hesitation, ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure. I never ever had a sister! I¡¯ll go and ask tomorrow. If she tried to enter the inner courtyard, there must be a record.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Huo Yuhao was also very doubtful now. In his memory, Wang Qiu¡¯er was too simr to Wang Dong¡¯er. The differences between them were almost negligible. Even after acute observation, it was still very difficult for him to differentiate them.

    ¡°I understand now!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed suddenly.

    ¡°What do you understand?¡± Wang Dong asked hurriedly.

 Chapter 220.3: Goddess By My Side

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I understand why I feel so familiar to her. Compared to her, you¡¯re evidently two or three years younger. She¡¯s more like the Goddess of Light that we exhibited! This also means that you¡¯ll look exactly like her in another two years. She¡¯s practically your sister¡ªthe two of you look too alike.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and the Wang Qiu¡¯er he saw were actually two different people. This was too weird, especially since Huo Yuhao realized this after Wang Dong just became Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Fortunately, we have the Haodong Power. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be difficult to tell you apart from Wang Qiu¡¯er if you stood next to each other.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er caressed his forehead and said, ¡°You seem like you¡¯re speaking the truth. Are you sure you weren¡¯t running a fever that day and hallucinating?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head andughed. ¡°That might be possible. Perhaps I just missed my goddess too much. Furthermore, you kept saying that you had a twin sister. That¡¯s why I might have imagined it. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Whether or not she exists, I only need my Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    They had returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion as they spoke. After entering, Huo Yuhaoughed softly. ¡°Are we staying over in your room or my room tonight?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed. ¡°You, what are you talking about? We can¡¯t live together. We can only do it after we marry¡­¡±

    Her face was as red as an apple. Huo Yuhao lowered his head and was about to kiss her, but she dodged him. ¡°Keep your distance.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. I¡¯m saying that we should cultivate together! Did you see how much faster our cultivation speed was with Haodong Power? Since you saw that, am I supposed to still cultivate on my own?¡±

    Wang Dong was filled with caution, but she was evidently delighted. ¡°We can¡¯t do that either. Who knows if you¡¯re getting up to something? Go back to your room and sleep.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked very pitiful. ¡°But I still have a lot left to say to you!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk tomorrow. Aren¡¯t you tired from this whole event? I felt your rapid heartbeat just now. To ensure my safety, I¡¯ll return to my room first.¡± As she spoke, she quickly fled.

    Huo Yuhaoughed as he pursued her. Because he used his soul thrusters, he managed to block off Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s path.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see where you can run to!¡± Huo Yuhao widened his arms and looked at her delightedly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stopped in her tracks, and the smile on her face faded. She walked slowly towards Huo Yuhao and grabbed his waist lightly before leaning on his chest.

    Her body was very soft, seemingly even softer than before. Huo Yuhao hugged her subconsciously, and his heartbeat started to increase rapidly.

    It wasn¡¯t his first time hugging Wang Dong¡¯er. When the two of them unleashed their martial fusion soul skills, he would often hug her. However, he was never as agitated as how he was now. It wasn¡¯t his good brother in his arms now, but¡­

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m really happy right now. Did you know that? I was really ufortable then. I was scared that you wouldn¡¯t choose me. What would I have done if you didn¡¯t choose me? I don¡¯t know. Before you made your choice, my mind waspletely empty. After all, Ning Tian and Senior Ling are both very outstanding. They¡¯d have helped you a lot too if they were together with you. At that point in time, you didn¡¯t know it was me either.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to remove my hat on several asions, but I didn¡¯t want to garner your recognition with just my looks. I also didn¡¯t want my appearance to bring you trouble in the blind date. Everything¡¯s been settled now. However, I know that we¡¯ll need some time to ept our new identities. I don¡¯t know if my feelings for you are more brotherly or romantic. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s even more uncertain for you. Can we start over again? Give us some time.¡±

    After hearing Wang Dong¡¯s murmuring voice, Huo Yuhao grabbed onto her arms and pulled her closer. It was as if he wanted to fuse her into his body.

    ¡°Are you angry?¡± Wang Dong asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No! You¡¯re right. In this world, you understand me the best. It¡¯s true that we need some time for our feelings to change.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know if my feelings for you are brotherly or more romantic. However¡­¡±

    ¡°However what?¡± Wang Dong was a little nervous as she struggled out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. She was staring at him.

    A smile surfaced across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. ¡°However, don¡¯t you think that I¡¯m a lecher by reminding me of this in this position?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re a lecher. A big lecher.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she turned around and ran away. However, Huo Yuhao was prepared. He pulled her back and hugged her again.

    As he hugged her tiny waist, Huo Yuhao said softly, ¡°You dared to call me a fool. You¡¯re also very foolish! Don¡¯t you understand me? Without your consent, I won¡¯t vite you! I can wait.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little domineering. ¡°Of course you can wait. Even if you have to wait for your entire life, you must still wait! Take this.¡± As she spoke, she suddenly turned around and gave Huo Yuhao something.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little perplexed as he looked at the pouch in his hand.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is either. My eldest uncle gave it to me. He said¡­¡± She blushed and lowered her head, ¡°He said that I should give to this pouch to you if I think you¡¯re the right guy¡­ I haven¡¯t seen what¡¯s inside it yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t understand. Why did the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master give him a pouch? He subconsciously wanted to open it.

    However, he was stopped by Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°You can¡¯t open it directly. My eldest uncle sealed it with his spiritual power. If you force it open, it¡¯ll destroy everything in it. Otherwise, I would have taken a peek at it. You need your spiritual power to reach a certain standard first before you can open it and see the contents.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tried to pour his spiritual power in, and felt a great obstruction force. Huo Yuhao was awed by Niu Tian¡¯s cultivation once again after realizing that he was able to use his spiritual power on such a small pouch. He wouldn¡¯t be able to ovee this spiritual seal with his current standard, and thus he couldn¡¯t take a look at its contents. He would only have a chance to open the pouch when he became a Soul Emperor, if his spiritual power continued to grow at its current speed.

    ¡°Alright, Dong¡¯er. I have a question for you.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was confused as she looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Why is your hair so messy?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed, ¡°Fool. I braided my hair in the morning, but it was blown into a mess by the wind. That¡¯s why it¡¯s like this.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er waved goodbye to him.

    Huo Yuhao became depressed. ¡°We really can¡¯t cultivate together?¡±

    ¡°No. Let¡¯s wait to calm down first.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er smiled. As they looked at each other, their gazes met. On this miraculous night, they couldn¡¯t control their feelings. However, the change in their rtionship seemed to have added ayer between them. Whether it was Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong¡¯er, they could clearly sense it. They knew that they were deeply imprinted in each other¡¯s hearts, but they needed time to ept the change in their rtionship.

    As he watched Wang Dong¡¯er leave, Huo Yuhao looked a little lost. He returned to his room with his pouch. He felt his heart beating faster and faster. Just like what had happened on the Sea God¡¯s Lake, he recalled everything that he had experienced with Wang Dong.

    Things had changed tonight. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t cultivate, and his mind was filled with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure. For some reason, her ravishing figure kept on pacing up and down as he entered his dreams.

    In the morning, the warm sunlight prated his room and shone on his body. Perhaps he had been thinking too muchst night, but he was feeling veryzy right now.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er.¡± He muttered and turned over in his bed.

    Bang, bang, bang. The sound of knocking on the door rang out, jolting the half-asleep Huo Yuhao awake.

    As he flipped his body around, he sat up. He subconsciously shouted, ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡±

    He took a few steps forward to open the door. However, it wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er standing outside. It was someone with an elderly-looking face.

    Yan Shaozhe was amused as he looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Young man, you¡¯re really a young man. You must have been through a lotst night.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Dean Yan.¡±

    Yan Shaozheughed slightly. ¡°Congrattions! Surely you didn¡¯t expect Wang Dong to be a girl, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned and replied, ¡°From your tone, it seems like you knew about it?¡±

    Yan Shaozheughed, ¡°Of course I knew. Elder Mu also knew about it. That¡¯s why I mentioned that soul masters have a lot to learn. There¡¯s a book in the library that specifically introduces rare martial souls. If you have time, you can borrow it to read. It records the Radiant Butterfly Goddess in detail. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess is extremely ravishing, and it only appears on a female soul master. That¡¯s why we knew she was a girl from the moment she entered the academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you tell me? That, and why did you still let me stay in the same room as her?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that Wang Dong¡¯er is from the Clear Sky Sect, and is the most probable sessor to the sect. Our academy has a close rtionship with the Clear Sky Sect. Why would we expose her? Let¡¯s go, many people are waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Waiting for me?¡± Huo Yuhao still felt slightly in a daze. He hadn¡¯t had a good restst night.

 Chapter 221.1: Heir to the Sea Gods Pavilion

    Yan Shaozhe snapped, ¡°Of course we¡¯re waiting for you. Didn¡¯t you disy everything yesterday because you wanted all of us to know? Go and wash up, I¡¯ll be waiting for you on the first level. Elder Xuan called a conference specifically for you today. All the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion will be there. Think about how you¡¯re going to introduce Spirit to them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered. He¡¯d been too focused on Wang Dong¡¯erst night, and forgot this matter from before. Now, he was immediately jolted awake and acknowledged Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words. He quickly went to wash up.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and shook his head as he looked at Huo Yuhao. However, he didn¡¯t hide the tant look of admiration on his face. He seemed to have been reminded of something. He sighed, then he turned and left.

    After washing up, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered to eat breakfast, and quickly rushed down. Just like Yan Shaozhe had said, both sides of the long table were now seated with elders. With Elder Xuan sitting in the main seat.

    Ever since Elder Xuan became the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he had stopped acting so sloppily. He was now dressed simply, and his hair was properlybed. There was a gentle, smiling light in his eyes.

    ¡°Apologies, elders, for making all of you wait.¡± Huo Yuhao rushed over and lowered his head in guilt.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°It should¡¯ve been a good night for you. You and Dong¡¯er are finally together, but we didn¡¯t sleep wellst night. We were yed with like little kids that don¡¯t know anything about this world. You should know that you¡¯re a part of us now after special permission was granted to you. You broke the age record to be a part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    After hearing Elder Xuan mentioning Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, the elders all started to smile. Huo Yuhao lifted his head up at this moment and saw Teacher Fan Yu and Zhang Lexuan, as well as a few familiar elders. As they saw him looking over, they nodded to acknowledge him.

    The vice-dean of the Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo,ughed. ¡°Huo Yuhao,e over here. Sit beside me.¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed to an empty seat next to him, and even shot Yan Shaozhe a provocative look.

    Yan Shaozhe was unmoved as he turned his attention elsewhere, as if he didn¡¯t care about Qian Duoduo¡¯s attempt to assert his authority over him.

    Huo Yuhao rushed beside Qian Duoduo and sat down. Zhang Lexuan was opposite to him. The two of them were seated close to the main seat.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Shaozhe, host the conference. Let Yuhao settle down first. I don¡¯t think he can exin clearly given how anxious he looks.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Shaozhe acknowledged his words respectfully and replied, ¡°Elders, we called for this conference today because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s unprecedented orange soul rings and the special abilities he demonstrated yesterday. At the same time, there are some things we need all of you to decide together.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe repeated a list of important matters to tend to. After a simple discussion, the elders made their decisions. The conference was proceeding very smoothly and efficiently thus far.

    Huo Yuhao was still a little flustered at this point, as he was technically considered of equal standing to these various elders. Fortunately, he was spiritually strong. After a short period of tension, he finally calmed down and forgot all about Wang Dong¡¯er temporarily. He thought about what he wanted to say.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you ready? Can you introduce your special soul rings to us now?¡± After they finalized the other matters he had addressed earlier, Yan Shaozhe turned his attention to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao stood up immediately and said, ¡°Dean Yan, Elder Xuan and elders, let me demonstrate my abilities to all of you again.¡±

    He stood up from his seat and came to a spacious spot to one side of the long table. With but a thought, the Snow Lady crawled out from his body.

    When she looked at everyone in front of her, her beautiful, deep blue eyes blinked. She wasn¡¯t afraid of strangers, but was slightly curious as she lifted her hand to point in Elder Xuan¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned and quickly tried to stop her from pointing. He was afraid that she would harm Elder Xuan. After all, she was very unpredictable. Even Uncle Tai Tan was once taken advantage of by her.

    ¡°I call her the Snow Lady. My orange-gold soul rings came from her. If we have to categorize her kind, I call her Spirit. She¡¯s a special existence that¡¯s independent of soul rings, soul bones and martial souls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first sentence immediately attracted the attention of the elders. As they looked at the Snow Lady from such a close distance, the elders started to reveal benevolent looks in their eyes.

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Talking about Spirits, I need to start from the beginning. That¡¯s because this is rted to a secret that I¡¯ve kept for a long time. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never told anyone about it in the past. Only Elder Mu knew a little, but he didn¡¯t know the full story either. To tell the truth, there was another teacher in my spiritual sea.¡±

    As he said this, he shocked everyone present. While the elders weren¡¯t young, their curiosity was greater than most youths. This was especially because there was hardly anything in this world that could arouse it anymore.

    When Huo Yuhao decided to develop Spirits, he knew that he couldn¡¯t conceal the secret regarding Electrolux anymore. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t recount everything in enough detail or exin the history of his seal.

    ¡°Before I entered the academy, I left my original family when my soul power reached Rank 10. I headed toward the Great Star Dou Forest on my own. Around the perimeter of the Great Star Dou Forest, I met eldest senior Bei Bei and Teacher Xiao Ya, who has already left the academy.¡±

    ¡°After that, I went into the forest on my own. On the way, I was attacked by a soul beast. It was a ten year soul beast, and I was fortunate enough to kill it. However, I was critically injured too. But then, the sky turned dreary, and a special strength entered my spiritual sea. After that, I was rescued by Bei Bei and Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Huo Yuhao told the truth about Electrolux¡¯s background. Aside from the Skydream Iceworm, he recounted everything. He also mentioned how Electrolux had guided him in his spiritual cultivation and passed on some skills to him.

    Of course, he only talked about how Electrolux was a light-type entity. He didn¡¯t mention anything about necromancy. He was certain that the elders would call him an evil soul master if he mentioned Electrolux¡¯s title as the Cmity Necromancer and told them that Electrolux had passed down necromancy to him. He didn¡¯t want that to happen. He only imed that Electrolux was a spiritual and light-type archmage.

    After he finished imparting Electrolux¡¯s background, Huo Yuhao started to talk about the Snow Empress¡¯ Embryo that was auctioned during thest edition of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, as well as how the Body Sect had attacked the Illustrious Virtue Hall. That was how he had managed to fuse with the Snow Empress¡¯ Embryo, and how Electrolux had helped to seal the Snow Empress.

    After that, he talked about how he and Wang Dong¡¯er went to the Clear Sky Sect, and how he met with danger on the Frigid Jade Essence Bed. He also detailed how Electrolux had burned thest shred of his divine sense to help him fuse with the Snow Empress, which gave birth to this Spirit.

    Even with the elders¡¯ wealth of experience, they were stunned after hearing his unbelievable stories. Whether it was the remnants of a powerful archmage¡¯s divine sense, the fusion process between the Snow Empress and Huo Yuhao or the appearance of the Spirit, it was beyond the knowledge of ordinary soul masters.

    ¡°This was how I came to possess the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit. I call her the Snow Lady. Her look now should resemble an Icesky Snow Lady¡¯s appearance when they¡¯re younger. Her abilities are closely rted to mine, but she has her own independent thinking. She can coordinate with me in a fight, as well as use my soul power and her spiritual power. From a certain standpoint, she¡¯s apletely independent lifeform. With my help, her fighting abilities are able to increase significantly. Perhaps it¡¯s because the Snow Empress is too strong. There¡¯s also Teacher Electrolux¡¯s divine sense that hebusted. After she fused with me, four soul rings were created. At that point in time, Clear Sky sect master Niu Tian mentioned that it was because the Snow Empress¡¯ strength needed to take up several soul ring spots, and she had many powerful soul skills that could be bestowed upon me. I¡¯m able to tap into the powers of three of these four soul rings now. However, I still have no idea how to activate the power of thest soul ring.¡±

    ¡°After possessing the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, I thought about it carefully. Our situation was very special¡ªwe encountered the sudden change after the Snow Empress¡¯ strength was sealed. However, what if soul masters fused with the spiritual imprint and soul power of a normal soul beast? It won¡¯t be so dangerous. If the soul beasts are willing, I¡¯m seventy percent confident ofpleting the seal and creating another Spirit. If the soul master¡¯s cultivation is below mine, my confidence will be even higher.¡±

    He stopped speaking here. Then he signaled, and the Snow Lady made one revolution around the elders. She stopped for a moment in front of every elder and allowed them to sense how magical she was.

    Finally, the Snow Lady returned to his shoulder. She remained as excited and curious as ever. Evidently, she was more than willing to stay outside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body instead of sleeping inside of it.

 Chapter 221.2: Heir to the Sea Gods Pavilion

    The elders were silent. The things Huo Yuhao had just recounted were too special. Their eye shone brighter and brighter. Their heartbeats also became faster and faster as they realized how special of an existence a Spirit was. Huo Yuhao and Electrolux had created it together, and Huo Yuhao was the only one who could seal the pact. This also meant that Spirits could exist in Shrek Academy if the situation was controlled well. This was an extremely miraculous thing to soul masters.

    While Spirits were still reliant on soul rings, they possessed their own intelligence that soul rings couldn¡¯tpare to. Moreover, Spirits had a special characteristic that soul rings didn¡¯t have ¨C if the soul beasts were willing, the tolerance of a soul master would greatly increase during the fusion process. For example, would Huo Yuhao be able to fuse the seven hundred thousand year Icesky Snow Lady into a soul ring, even with Electrolux¡¯s divine sense, if the Snow Empress wasn¡¯t willing? Arge portion of the Snow empress¡¯ strength was still umted in his body under the Snow Lady¡¯s control. As his cultivation increased, he would be able to absorb this strength. This was undoubtedly very beneficial for a soul master¡¯s cultivation.

    If this spread, Spirits were bound to be themon target of all soul masters on the continent! They could possibly change the entire situation in the world of soul masters, even with the appearance of soul tools.

    Elder Xuan looked at the elders, who looked very pensive, and asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°What preparations do other soul masters need to make if they want to fuse with a Spirit? How many Spirits can one soul master have? What are the difficulties in the fusion process?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had thought of these problems for a long time. He replied without hesitation, ¡°Firstly, a soul master must have an empty soul ring spot if he wants to fuse with a Spirit ¨C that¡¯s absolutely necessary. If the Spirit he is fusing with is within his tolerance limit, he can fuse with it normally. However, he needs to consider the problem of insufficient soul ring spots if the Spirit¡¯s cultivation is way above his. This was what happened to me ¨C four empty soul ring spots were taken up by the Snow Lady. Of course, this was because the Snow Empress was too strong.¡±

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, ¡°However, most soul masters only have one empty soul ring spot.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s why I believe that it¡¯s better for one to be a seven-ringed Soul Sage first. In that way, their tolerance will be better, and they can fuse with stronger Spirits. Soul beasts of higher cultivations are also more intelligent. They will be more helpful after the fusion.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, there¡¯s one more special situation where there is more than one soul ring spot ¨C twin martial souls.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes brightened and he said, ¡°That makes sense. Twin martial souls are normally divided into the main and essory martial soul. A soul master with twin martial souls won¡¯t add rings to his essory martial soul so easily.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Exactly, this was what happened to me. Twin martial souls are very rare in other ces, but in our academy, it¡¯s not just me that has twin martial souls. That¡¯s why we can let soul masters with twin martial souls try out stronger Spirits. However, the soul beasts must be willing first, and elders are also required to protect them during the fusion process to ensure their safety.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and replied, ¡°Continue.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°As for how many Spirits one can fuse with, I believe that one is the most appropriate. Spirits can greatly increase the abilities of a soul master, and they can also coordinate with soul masters using their intelligence. However, the absorption of a soul master¡¯s spiritual power by a Spirit when it first develops is very terrifying. I¡¯m a spiritual-type soul master, but my spiritual power was almost sucked dry by the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit. If not for a fortunate encounter, I would have needed at least three years to fully recover.¡±

    ¡°Although most soul beasts won¡¯t absorb as much spiritual power as the Snow Empress, they must be able to do so to some extent. That¡¯s why I believe that soul masters must have sufficiently strong spiritual power first before they fuse with a Spirit. Their spiritual power will likely be over-drafted after fusing with a single soul beast, so it would be very dangerous for them to fuse with more. However, this will require multiple tests and sufficient experience. If the fused Spirit is weak, it might be possible to fuse with more than one soul beast. However, I¡¯m not sure if the soul beasts will sh if there are more than one of them. After all, every Spirit possesses its own intelligence. That¡¯s why I believe a decently strong andpatible Spirit is the best choice a soul master can make.¡±

    Huo Yuhao waspletely in the mood after seeing the elders focused on his description. He said in a deep voice, ¡°The biggest problem still lies in soul beasts if we want to try the fusion of Spirits. I¡¯m fairly certain about one point ¨C the difference between Spirits and soul rings mean that the soul beasts have to be willing. It¡¯s very difficult to make them willing. Most soul beasts hate humans. It¡¯ll only be those that are old and weak that are willing to fuse in order to extend their lives. It¡¯ll be very difficult to find such soul beasts. That¡¯s why we need the academy to think of a solution.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°This is indeed a pressing problem. Although we have our own soul beasts, they are different from humans. Even for the most intelligent soul beasts, their way of thinking is very different from humans. It¡¯s very difficult to convince them. However, it¡¯s still worth a try. Only the most outstanding soul masters can try fusing with a Spirit. Shaozhe.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Shaozhe stood up.

    Elder Xuan said in a deep voice, ¡°From now on, the academy will carry out code-red secret research on Spirits. You need to coordinate with Yuhao. If you need special help, you can request it from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Safety muste first. After finding suitable soul beasts, you¡¯ll need to pick the best among those in the inner courtyard. They must be willing to try the fusion. This must be carried out immediately.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan suddenly opened her mouth. ¡°Elder Xuan, do you think there¡¯s a possibility that we can contact the core circle of the Great Star Dou Forest and negotiate with them? It¡¯s not easy to find an old soul beast, but if it¡¯s from their side¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head, and the other elders also furrowed their brows.

    ¡°Lexuan, your idea is very good, but it¡¯s a little wild. We¡¯ve been enemies for quite some time, and things haven¡¯t cooled down even after so many years. It won¡¯t be easy to discuss it with them. They won¡¯t give us a chance.¡±

    ¡°We can only count on ourselves regarding his matter. We can¡¯t take the risk. If those fellows from the Great Star Dou Forest discover the existence of Spirits, their misunderstandings might deepen. Shrek City is too close to the forest. Don¡¯t forget the wave of soul beasts then. We have to research and experiment, but it has to be done very prudently.

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The rest of the elders agreed with Elder Xuan. Only Huo Yuhao was slightly moved after hearing Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words. He understood what she was trying to say ¨C she meant that the academy could negotiate with the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. The strongest savage beasts were as intelligent as humans. If they were willing to try, it would be much more convenient for their research of Spirits.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t help butment even though it was a little inappropriate, ¡°Elder Xuan, elders, I think eldest senior sister has a point. If we make progress in our research, it could be an opportunity to dispel our hatred with the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest! If we seed in our research, we can negotiate with them, and we wouldn¡¯t need to hunt soul beasts in the future. We can work with the older soul beasts. They can live longer, and both parties will benefit from this deal. No matter what their style of thinking is, I think it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll reject such a proposition.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed and looked at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°Young people are indeed very rash! However, your thinking is not mature enough. Why did I ask you how many Spirits one person can possess? If a soul master can only fuse with one Spirit like you say, how many soul rings does a soul master need? Nine. Do you think those top-ranked soul beasts from the Star Dou Forest would give us a chance to negotiate knowing that they¡¯d be offering us greater strength to hunt even more soul beasts and add even more soul rings?¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s words left Huo Yuhao in a daze. Yes! He had been too focused on the benefits for soul beasts, but soul masters didn¡¯t need Spirits. Without soul rings, how was a soul master¡¯s cultivation going to increase? Just like Elder Xuan had mentioned, he was too focused on things on the surface.

    This time, Zhang Lexuan also nodded silently and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. He knew that Spirits couldn¡¯t possibly rece soul rings, at least with the knowledge that he had.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to think too much now either. Whatever it is, this Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit was formed under very special circumstances. We don¡¯t know what a Spirit will look like if it¡¯s formed for ordinary soul masters. If we discover that Spirits can rece soul rings after further research, it¡¯ll definitely improve the rtionship between soul masters and soul beasts.¡±

 Chapter 221.3: Heir to the Sea Gods Pavilion

    ¡°I suggest that you work towards a single direction. If the strength of a Spirit can be sealed during the fusion process, a soul master can add another soul skill when he reaches the next bottleneck and undergo a second fusion. If this continues, a Spirit can add many soul skills to a soul master. Our hunting of soul beasts can naturally be greatly reduced like that. You¡¯ve already proved that a soul master can obtain many soul rings from one Spirit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in awe. Elder Xuan was indeed deserving of his title as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He managed to point out a clear path for Huo Yuhao using simple words. Huo Yuhao was sorelycking in terms of experience.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I will do my best. In addition, I¡¯m willing to contribute the Pact-Sealing Spell to the academy.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± As Huo Yuhao spoke, everyone was stunned. All the elders had a shocked look in their eyes. As they looked at each other, they could see the amazement in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Elder Xuan had been ready to dismiss the meeting, but after hearing his words, he sat down again and said, ¡°Yuhao, you have to think this over carefully.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression was very serious as he said this. All the elders focused their attention on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao replied with a sincere look on his face. ¡°Elder Xuan, elders, I¡¯ve thought over this carefully. I¡¯m an orphan with no family. Everything that I have now was given to me by the academy. I would not be where I am today if the academy didn¡¯t nurture me. I received the best education and care here. It¡¯s also here that I felt familial warmth. The results of the research will be very beneficial in settling the conflict between soul masters and soul beasts. If it really seeds, it¡¯ll definitely alleviate the dispute between us and soul beasts. How can I do this alone? I don¡¯t only wish to offer the academy the Pact-Sealing Spell. I also hope that the academy can develop Spirits and make it a future developmental path for all soul masters.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, you have to understand that it¡¯ll no longer be yours once you give it up. Furthermore, have you thought of how valuable it is? I can tell you that it¡¯s priceless. The academy canplete it for you, but we can¡¯t repay you for such valuable research. I¡¯ll feel ufortable! You¡¯ve already contributed countless valuable blueprints for soul tools to the academy. How can we still take something so valuable from you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Elder Xuan, I don¡¯t know what to say. However, I believe that it¡¯s a good thing for the academy to control the method of developing Spirits. If it¡¯s only in my hands, it might be a bad thing for me. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t just hope to give it to the academy. I further wish that the academy can announce it to the world in the near future. The research of Spirits will bepleted by the academy, and not by me alone. I can avoid a lot of trouble this way! The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is about to begin in a few months. I¡¯m going topete in it with the team, and I¡¯ll need to use my Spirit then. If any outsiders know that I control the sole method of their creation, it might be very dangerous for me. I still want to contribute more to the academy and the Tang Sect. I¡¯m sure you and the other elders won¡¯t watch as I put myself in a perilous spot, right? The academy can take this burden for me.¡±

    All the elders started to smile as he sounded very rxed with his words. However, they couldn¡¯t hide their admiration for him.

    Before Huo Yuhao had proposed to give the spell to the school, none of the elders had asked him to hand his research over. Why? It was too valuable!

    Just like Elder Xuan had mentioned, Spirits were priceless in the eyes of soul masters. With such a secret, Huo Yuhao could be a master of his time no matter where he went. Even though what he said was true, how difficult would it be to find a strong backer with such valuable research?

    Elder Xuan looked at all the elders and asked, ¡°What do all of you think? I can only say that the academy did nurture Yuhao, but the contributions that he has made to the academy have far superseded what the academy has given him. Right now, he still wants to offer such valuable research to the academy. Truthfully, I feel very pressured as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!¡± After he finished speaking, Elder Xuan also couldn¡¯t help but smile. However, he seemed veryforted as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    All the elders were also silent at this point. For such valuable research, it was really too much to take it for nothing. However, what could the academy give Huo Yuhao? He didn¡¯tck for anything now, since he possessed an Ultimate martial soul and was an advanced-level soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao thought of something quickly and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, we can do it this way. I¡¯ll give this research to the academy, and I¡¯ll give it directly to my benefactor, Teacher Mu En. I¡¯ll represent Elder Mu as the previous Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and pass this information down to the academy. Since teacher has already passed away, the academy should naturally inherit everything that he¡¯s left behind. I¡¯m sure this works, right?¡±

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just self-deceiving? Alright, you don¡¯t have to say anything more. I¡¯ll ept your gift on behalf of the academy. However, this research will always be recognized as yours inside the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion even though we¡¯ll im it to be the academy¡¯s research to the outside world. Furthermore, I¡¯ll confirm you as the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion with my current identity as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Does anyone have any objection?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? This also meant that Huo Yuhao would seed Elder Xuan when he left his position as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion held the highest authority in Shrek Academy!

    ¡°Elder Xuan, you shouldn¡¯t do this. I¡¯m not qualified¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said anxiously.

    Considering how old Elder Xuan was, he only had at most twenty years left as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The person who was most likely to seed his position as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe was also more than a hundred years old. It was going to be Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn a few decades after him. Huo Yuhao would only be fifty or sixty years old then.

    Elder Xuan smiled and answered, ¡°Why would you not be qualified? Ask all the elders about your contributions to the academy and whether they think you¡¯re qualified. I¡¯m sure that no one around has contributed to the academy more than you. Even in terms of reward, you should be getting more than anyone. Furthermore, I haven¡¯t told you one thing. When Elder Mu was still around, he already confirmed you as the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. I didn¡¯t announce it because you were still too young. However, you forced my hand this time!¡±

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously took a look at Zhang Lexuan. He had always thought that she would be the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. She wasn¡¯t recognized as the top talent in the inner courtyard for nothing. Although she had just passed thirty, she already had eight rings. She wasn¡¯t far from a Titled Douluo either. Why were the internal courtyard students so submissive towards her? It wasn¡¯t because she was pretty, but because she was truly capable!

    Elder Xuan smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at Lexuan. Lexuan will be nurtured as a substitute Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. While the position of the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is very important, he doesn¡¯t have the right to decide everything.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan smiled at Huo Yuhao, but her expression didn¡¯t seem to change at all. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual senses were very acute. He could sense that there was indeed no change in her emotions.

    ¡°Does anyone have any objections?¡± Elder Xuan turned to the elders.

    There were none.

    Huo Yuhao had already demonstrated his abilities in the Sea God¡¯s Fate. As he teamed up with Wang Dong¡¯er, they managed to suppress five inner courtyard students. Even though there was some kind of elemental suppression, the elders still recognized his abilities.

    Twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul. He was a true talent. He even treated the academy as his family and gave such an important research to the academy. Even the strict elders couldn¡¯t find any fault with him.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Alright, since there are no alternative propositions, we shall vote. Those who agree with me, please raise your hand.¡±

    Besides Huo Yuhao, the rest of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s members raised their right hands. This meant that Elder Xuan¡¯s proposition had their unanimous approval. From the start, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just a simple member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Although his identity wasn¡¯t announced outside of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, his position in the academy was still enhanced significantly.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, you can pass your research to me directly after you record it. I¡¯ll keep it in the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion as a code-red secret document. Whoever wants to read it in the future must seek permission through a conference first.¡±

    All the elders agreed with Elder Xuan¡¯s suggestion. This research was too important, while the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was the most tightly-guarded ce in the academy. It was the most appropriate ce to store the research.

    Huo Yuhao nodded immediately and felt more relieved. He only had one feeling at this point ¨C it was good to have a family. With the academy around, he wasn¡¯t alone. He had been under alot of pressure because this research was too valuable! It was undoubtedly the best choice to pass it to the academy.

    ¡°Dismissed.¡± Elder Xuan dismissed the conference.

    Huo Yuhao stood up hurriedly and watched as the elders left. He only left after them.

 Chapter 222.1: Two Goddesses?

    Yan Shaozhe was thest to leave. He patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said, ¡°Yuhao, you should take this time to find suitable soul beasts. We can start our trials once you do. You have to be prepared, we have to try our best to prevent any dangers. Even though I can imagine the inner courtyard¡¯s students will be enthusiastic, this is ultimately just a trial.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head seriously. The danger with contracting Spirits was self-evident, and the most important part would be the soul master¡¯s spiritual power that the pact would absorb when it was being formed. They would have to be extremely careful.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt something at this moment, and he nced sideways. He saw Wang Dong¡¯er, who was looking around as she walked in his direction from the staircase.

    Huo Yuhao felt a wave of warmth course over his body when he saw her, and his gaze met those huge powdery-blue eyes as he pointed outside.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion wasn¡¯t a ce for billing and cooing. The elders¡¯ senses were extremely powerful, and they would probably be aware of any disturbance, no matter how minor.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded in understanding, and tiptoed out of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion first.

    Yan Shaozhe was naturally aware of this, and he smiled as he said, ¡°Go. Wang Dong¡¯er is powerful, she¡¯s the future heir to the Clear Sky Sect, and that¡¯s enough to match you. You have to be good to her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao blushed a little, and he nodded hurriedly before bidding farewell and stepping outside.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was waiting at the entrance. She wore a long light-blue dress today, which matched her flowing blue hair. Her exceptional beauty caused the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s originally enchanting scenery to lose its splendor. She was like the brilliant and riveting sun, and even just standing there, she could dim all the light in the world.

    ¡°You¡¯re just so pretty, Dong¡¯er,¡± Huo Yuhao blurted out in admiration.

    Wang Dong¡¯er rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Did you only realize that today?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Of course not, except you¡¯ve been calling yourself a guy before this, so how could I have such reveries? It¡¯s different now.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er took out a small cloth bag from somewhere. The outeryer was white, and it was clean and spotless.

    Huo Yuhao took the bag, and realized it was warm. He opened it and saw two steamed buns inside, along with two deshelled eggs. The eggs were from a bird-type soul beast, withpletely transparent egg-whites, looking like frozen water crystals. They were extremely nutritious, while the two steamed buns had vegetables and pieces of meat inside.

    ¡°Go ahead. I know you haven¡¯t eaten yet,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er whispered.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t restrain himself, and he picked up an egg and popped it into his mouth. What he ate wasn¡¯t important; it was the thought that was important. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s scrupulousness made him warm all over, and whatever he ate tasted as delicious as could be.

    They gobbled down the food in a few mouthfuls, and drank some water from a waterskin Wang Dong¡¯er handed him. Huo Yuhao immediately felt better and more rxed with food in his stomach.

    ¡°You¡¯re so nice, Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re so stupid?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said indifferently, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m stupid, as long as you don¡¯t turn your back on me because of that.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I won¡¯t. Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er grasped his hand and started walking away.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, confused at the sudden switch.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°We are going to look for that Wang Qiu¡¯er! I asked about it when I woke up this morning. Today is the reporting day for the new batch of inner courtyard students who have just passed the examination, so she will definitely show up if she managed to pass the assessment.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ You still remember that? I¡¯d already forgotten about it.¡± Huo Yuhao actually had forgotten about it; Wang Dong¡¯er was all that was in his mindst night. He had then been called out early in the morning for a conference, so he couldn¡¯t really be bothered about anything else.

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°You can¡¯t just forget about something like that. We have to figure it out before anything else.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally followed her, and the two of them walked on. Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her voice and asked as they strolled along, ¡°You guys were talking about Spirits during the conference held inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded as he answered. ¡°I discussed and detailed the identity of Spirits during the conference, and I gave the Spirit Pact Sealing Spell to the academy.¡±

    ¡°You passed it on to the academy?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was taken aback, but she quickly recovered and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s better if you pass it to the academy. Our academy is trustworthy, and I think it will help lift the pressure off your shoulders.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a look of pleasant surprise. ¡°You¡¯re really the roundworm inside my stomach! How did you know that was what I thought, too?¡±

    ¡°Psh, you¡¯re so disgusting. You¡¯re the roundworm!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er smiled radiantly, and the dimples on her face bloomed like flowers. Her bright smile was filled with pride.

    Huo Yuhao gasped in amazement ¡°This is chemistry! What more can a husband ask for in his wife?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife?¡±

    ¡°Who do you think?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    They were bickering, but their hands had been tightly wound around each other from the beginning to the end. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t slept properlyst night, but neither had Wang Dong¡¯er. After the night, they still felt a little unfamiliar with their current statuses, but they were starting to get closer to the chemistry that they used to have. Their bodies were bing closer, and so were their hearts. The feeling where the results flowed naturally when circumstances were right seemed to have arrived.

    The new inner courtyard students were supposed to report to the outer courtyard rather than the inner courtyard. In the end, only those students whose identities had been confirmed could be brought into the inner courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t need the ferry. They soared into the sky, and the wings of Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess extended outwards while Huo Yuhao stepped on theke¡¯s surface and pushed off from it to propel them forward.

    What made him a little surprised was that the ice formed fromst night¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice hadn¡¯t meltedpletely, and the two of them crossed the Sea God¡¯s Lake in no time. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression became a little dull.

    They were just starting out in their rtionship, so their thoughts and senses were the most sensitive. Wang Dong¡¯er immediately detected the change in his emotions and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Do you still remember when we met her on the shore? She flew across Sea God¡¯s Lake from the inner courtyard just like that, and now we have the same ability. She¡¯s been missing for such a long time. There¡¯re still no news about her.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression grew a little sullen when she heard Huo Yuhao mention Ma Xiaotao. She sighed and said, ¡°Yes! I wonder how she¡¯s doing. I¡¯m afraid she¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand to signal her to stop talking. He had the same intense anxiety and worry in his heart, but he truly didn¡¯t want to hear about that possibility.

    Wang Dong¡¯er knew where the new inner courtyard students were supposed to report, and she brought Huo Yuhao to the outer courtyard¡¯s senior grade school block, where they proceeded straight to arge ssroom.

    It was already lesson time. The outer courtyard looked extremely tranquil, and most of the students were currently taking lessons. However, there were some who were still outside.

    There was a ss currently having a sparring session in Shrek za. As Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er held hands and walked across the za, the students that were only twelve or thirteen years old stared and ogled Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°Wow, she¡¯s so pretty! She¡¯s so pretty! Guys, look!¡±

    ¡°Eh, why are they holding hands? They must be seniors.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s just so beautiful. The color of her hair is so nice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could naturally hear their discussions, and he chuckled as he said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, I think you should wear a veil over your face the next time youe out. You¡¯re already so stunning and enchanting inside the academy. If we go outside, we might even attract some trouble.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed and said, ¡°You¡¯ll be around even if there¡¯s trouble, no? What, you don¡¯t like that I¡¯m so pretty?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at the mischievous smile on her face, and he really wanted to kiss her.

    ¡°Stop right there! I¡¯m talking about the two of you!¡± A deep and serious voice suddenly rang out, which actually shocked both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. When they looked up, they could see a teacher that was about fifty years old blocking their way, and he was currently ring at them with a draconian expression.

    ¡°Greetings, teacher. What¡¯s the problem?¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked politely.

    The male teacher pointed at their connected hands and lowered his voice as he said, ¡°What year are you from? What ss are you from? Look at you guys, what is this? We¡¯re still inside the academy, and this is the example you want to set for the younger students? What if you teach them the wrong things? I will report this to the teachers, so that you will be punished ordingly.¡±

    ¡°Uh!¡± Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were rooted to the spot. They were still bickering like lovebirds before this, and hadn¡¯t noticed this point at all. Yes! Most of the outer courtyard¡¯s students were still kids.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly released Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand and bowed respectfully to the teacher before he wore an apologetic look and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher. We are in the wrong, and we promise that this won¡¯t happen again in the future. Please forgive us.¡±

    The teacher¡¯s dark and gloomy face regained some color as he said, ¡°You guys are too brazen. This is Shrek Academy, and I imagine it¡¯s not your first or second day at the academy judging by your age. How can you be so unruly? You have to be punished. Tell me, what ss are you two from? Send someone to find your teacher, and only then can you leave. Your teacher will bring you back.¡±

    Perhaps it was because of teacher Zhou Yi, but even though this male teacher was strict and unforgiving, Huo Yuhao could feel an unspeakable closeness. Furthermore, this teacher was right. He didn¡¯t talk further about punishment after Huo Yuhao¡¯s apology, so that meant he was cold on the outside, but warm on the inside.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er hadn¡¯t had any lessons in the outer courtyard since thest bigpetition. They felt extremely nostalgic when they suddenly ¡°felt¡± the outer courtyard once again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er touched Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°I¡¯ll go?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, and made a gesture with his chin. Wang Dong¡¯er immediately understood, and she bowed lightly to the male teacher before she walked away briskly.

    The male teacher noticed that their attitudes were not bad, and his temper had calmed down considerably. He shouted at the students watching the show from the side. ¡°What are you looking at?! Continue sparring! Don¡¯t let me catch anyone cking off!¡±

 Chapter 222.2: Two Goddesses?

    <strong>Chapter 222.2: Two Goddesses?</strong>

    The young students were clearly afraid of him, and everyone began to get back to work, with only a handful still casting curious gazes over from time to time.

    Huo Yuhao asked politely, ¡°May I know your name, teacher?¡±

    The male teacher said with a deep voice, ¡°My name is Zheng Zhan.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, teacher Zheng. I¡¯m really sorry about what just happened, and I promise we will never do it again. My name is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Zheng Zhan nodded to acknowledge his name, and said earnestly, ¡°All you teenagers! Once you reach adolescence, it¡¯s natural for guys and girls to feel good about each other. However, you have to remember this is an academy, and while us teachers can¡¯t control how you develop after graduation, you need to watch your behavior and your words when you¡¯re still inside the academy. Furthermore, it¡¯s not an easy task to join Shrek Academy. You need to work hard when you¡¯re here; you can¡¯t waste your youth. Even if you can¡¯t join the inner courtyard, you should at least aim to graduate smoothly from the outer courtyard. I can understand youths dating each other, but you guys need to have moderation, and you can¡¯t overdo it. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded guiltily as Zheng Zhan chided him. Zheng Zhan¡¯s words whipped him until his face started to blush, but he began to have an even better impression of this teacher.

    ¡°Oh, yes, you haven¡¯t told me which ss you¡¯re from. Judging by your age, you should in Year 5, give or take. Let me think, which teachers are in charge of Year 5¡¯s sses?...¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself, sir. I¡¯m from teacher Zhou Yi¡¯s ss.¡±

    ¡°Oh, teacher Zhou!¡± Zheng Zhan carried on naturally, but then his eyes widened in the next moment, while his voice seemed to be an octave higher. ¡°What? You¡¯re from Zhou Yi¡¯s ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes! What¡¯s the matter?¡± It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to be a little confused.

    Zheng Zhan said with a worried look on his face. ¡°You silly boy, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? If you had told me you were from Zhou Yi¡¯s ss, I wouldn¡¯t have asked you to go find her. Aren¡¯t you digging your own grave? Do you not know about olddy Zhou¡¯s temper? If she gets angry, she may just expel the two of you! Oh man, you should really have told me earlier! Tsk...¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt more heat rush to his head as he saw Zheng Zhan¡¯s troubled look, and his nose began to feel a little sour. This teacher is so cute! We¡¯ve never met before, and he¡¯s already so concerned when he learned that I¡¯m teacher Zhou¡¯s student. However, teacher Zhou¡¯s terrifying reputation¡­ seems like it¡¯s still quite well-known...

    Zheng Zhan suddenly seemed like he had found a solution, and said seriously, ¡°Seems like you guys arete today. I will be a good Samaritan. When Zhou Yi arrives, don¡¯t speak. I¡¯ll tell her that I was the one who got the two of you to do some official business. That girl of yours won¡¯t spill the beans, will she? What did you say your name was? Huo Yuhao, right? What¡¯s the girl¡¯s name? I should at least know your names.¡±

    ¡°Her name is Wang Dong¡¯er. Actually, teacher Zheng-¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to exin, but teacher Zhou and Wang Dong¡¯er arrived right at that time. Zhou Yi still had the same elderly made-up face, while Wang Dong¡¯er followed beside her. There was a mischievous smile on her face.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s deafening voice could already be heard before she even reached them. ¡°Who? Who is it? I want to see which blind man dares to detain my students.¡±

    Zheng Zhan was dumbfounded. He turned towards Huo Yuhao and forced augh as he said, ¡°I think that girl has spilled the beans!¡±

    There was no need to mention the intimacy Huo Yuhao felt when he saw Zhou Yi, and he hurriedly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, teacher Zheng. It¡¯s alright.¡± He darted out as he spoke and came in front of Zhou Yi before he bowed deeply. His voice was quivering faintly as he said, ¡°Teacher Zhou.¡±

    Zhou Yi halted abruptly. She seemed to be ovee with astonishment, and tears glimmered in her eyes. However, Zhou Yi was Zhou Yi after all, and the way she expressed intimacy and affection was different from normal people. She raised her leg and immediately kicked Huo Yuhao on the side of his thigh.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you still know toe back!? You didn¡¯t visit me even when you returned! I wouldn¡¯t have known at all if I didn¡¯t hear it from Fan Yu. And you, Wang Dong, you¡¯ve deceived me! So, you¡¯re a girl, and you¡¯re so pretty! You two people, what am I supposed to say about the two of you? Eh?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s eyes turned red as they listened to Zhou Yi¡¯s fierce and furious speech, and tears poured from their eyes. They would never forget the two years they had spent under Zhou Yi¡¯s guidance. Zhou Yi was strict, but she was also really nice to them. Everything felt so familiar when they listened to her voice. This was especially true for Huo Yuhao, as it had been two years since he hadst seen Zhou Yi. He reminisced about the old days nostalgically, and his emotions were all tumbling over themselves inside him.

    However, teacher Zheng didn¡¯t know what they were feeling inside. He could only see Zhou Yi kick Huo Yuhao, so he briskly came forward and said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, teacher Zhou. Calm down, calm down.¡±

    Zhou Yi was slightly taken aback as she turned towards Zheng Zhan and asked confusedly, ¡°What¡¯s the situation, teacher Zheng? Were you the one who detained my students?¡±

    Zheng Zhan forced augh and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t! This¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know how to exin.

    Huo Yuhao said hurriedly, ¡°We were the ones at fault, teacher Zhou. We¡¯ve already apologized to teacher Zheng, and obtained his forgiveness.¡±

    Zhou Yi turned back towards Huo Yuhao. She was exceptionally high-spirited at this moment, so she nodded in Zheng Zhan¡¯s direction as she said, ¡°Thank you, then. Can I take these two kids away?¡±

    Zheng Zhan came beside Zhou Yi and spoke softly in earnest. ¡°Teacher Zhou, you should restrain your temper a little. You can¡¯t keep doing this. These kids toil so much from day do day in their cultivation, so you shouldn¡¯t be too fierce towards them. This may cause reverse psychology and incur rebellious behavior, and that¡¯s not good.¡±

    Everyone knew that Zhou Yi¡¯s sses had the highest expulsion and quitting rates. However, her ss also produced the best and the most prodigious students. There was hardly anybody else who agreed with her pedagogy and teaching method.

    Zhou Yi finally realized that Zheng Zhan misunderstood her, and she snapped, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my temper? Am I not being nice to them? That¡¯s a gesture of affection, teacher Zheng! Have you not heard of the saying that beating and scolding are signs of love and intimacy? They won¡¯t seed if we don¡¯t beat them! This is for their own good!¡±

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Zheng Zhan¡¯s expression became a little dark. He replied solemnly, ¡°If you keep doing this teacher Zhou, then I¡¯m going to have to bring it up to the academy.¡±

    Zhou Yi realized that this teacher was really about to get angry. She smiled hastily and said, ¡°Alright, teacher Zheng, don¡¯t be so serious. I¡¯m just fooling around. These two are my students from years ago, and they¡¯re here to visit me. They¡¯re now students from the inner courtyard, I haven¡¯t seen them for a long time, and I¡¯m just too happy.¡±

    ¡°Students from the inner courtyard?¡± Zheng Zhan felt his heart skip a beat. When he turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong once more, his expression was different from before. What did inner courtyard students mean to Shrek Academy? Sometimes even the teachers from the outer courtyard had a lower status than the inner courtyard students. They weren¡¯t allowed to set foot on Sea God¡¯s Ind without express permission, after all.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right, teacher Zhou.¡± Zheng Zhan suddenly thought of something, and immediately continued, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the new batch of students who¡¯ve just entered the inner courtyard. I didn¡¯t see the two of them, they look very unfamiliar to me.¡±

    Zhou Yi was a little exasperated as she watched teacher Zheng¡¯s serious and solemn look. She exined, ¡°They didn¡¯t join the inner courtyard this year, they entered the inner courtyard two years ago! They were reserve team members representing Shrek Academy inst season¡¯s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and they are members of this season¡¯s official team. They are also outstanding prodigies from the inner courtyard who have been through special training!¡±

    Zheng Zhan finally understood after listening to her exnation. A look of envy came across his eyes as he said, ¡°So they are the exemry students that you¡¯ve brought up, teacher Zhou!¡±

    Zhou Yi chortled and said, ¡°Are you still going to report me to the academy?¡±

    Zheng Zhanughed along and replied, ¡°Of course not. But they are really so young!¡±

    There was only pride in Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could be said to be the most outstanding students that she had ever taken on. Even though she wasn¡¯t one to brag, she was all joy and smiles when she saw her two lovely students. There wasn¡¯t a trace of her typical strictness and usual monster-like attitude.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll take our leave first, Teacher Zheng. I haven¡¯t seen them in a long time, and we¡¯re going to have a chat.¡± Zhou Yi gestured towards Zheng Zhan and started to bring Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong away.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong bowed towards teacher Zheng respectfully. Huo Yuhao said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Zheng. What happened today will never happen again. Sorry!¡±

    Zhou Yi had heard about the situation from Wang Dong before this. She stopped and turned back as she said, ¡°Actually, their circumstances are rtively unique. If those little people have something to say, you can tell them this...¡± She whispered something to Zheng Zhan after this, and then she brought Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong away.

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s eyes became a littleckadaisical, and he only recovered after a long while.

    He returned to his own students. ¡°What are you looking at? How¡¯s your training going? Did you see those two seniors just now? They are your seniors from the inner courtyard! Do you know why they¡¯re holding hands? That¡¯s not because they¡¯re trying to break the academy¡¯s rules, I misunderstood them earlier. They¡¯re holding hands because they¡¯re cultivating ¨C they¡¯re cultivating every single possible second. The two of them can use martial soul fusion skills, and only when they¡¯re bodies are in physical contact can they unleash their full power. The two of them are always vignt and prepared, and this is something every one of you should learn from them!¡±

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were quite a distance away. Otherwise, they would have probably blushed from Teacher Zheng¡¯s speech.

    They entered the senior grade school block, and Huo Yuhao asked Zhou Yi, ¡°How are the students from our ss doing, Teacher Zhou?¡±

    Zhou Yi answered, ¡°They¡¯re doing pretty fine. However, ever since the two of you left, ss 2 has been stronger than us in terms of overall strength. Mu Jin was extremely proud of that for a long time. However, Dai Huabin and the others are in the inner courtyard now, so ss 1 has be the strongest again. I heard the two of you gave them a good beating yesterday? That¡¯s great! You¡¯ve vented my anger for me!¡±

 Chapter 222.3: Two Goddesses?

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong began to smile as they listened to Zhou Yi¡¯s familiar tone. This was the teacher Zhou they liked the most!

    ¡°Oh, yes! Teacher Zhou, the new inner courtyard students are supposed to report to this school block, right? We want to take a look. Can we find youter?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked.

    Zhou Yi answered, ¡°Let me take you there to avoid both of you being detained by other teachers again. Tsk, the two of you¡­ do you really have to be so intimate all the time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er instantly blushed and exchanged a look. They didn¡¯t dare to hold hands in the academy anymore.

    Zhou Yi was much more familiar with the senior grade school block than they were. They twisted and turned around the corridors, and Zhou Yi brought them to their destination.

    Huo Yuhao could already hear voices before they reached the room that new inner courtyard students were supposed to report to.

    ¡°You can¡¯t wear a veil like that. If I remember correctly, you were like that during the assessment. You had a rmendation letter back then, so we didn¡¯t say much. However, you¡¯re about to join the academy soon, are you really going to wear that veil around every single day? Even if you have some troubles deep in your heart that you can¡¯t discuss, the teachers responsible for registering you have to know so that we can record it. This is our duty and responsibility. If you refuse to take down your veil, then I¡¯m sorry, you can¡¯t be allowed to join the academy.¡±

    ¡°Do I really have to take it down?¡± An enchanting voice could be heard, and Huo Yuhao trembled when he heard it. A look of astonishment flowed from his eyes. Isn¡¯t this the voice I heard the other day? He picked up his pace and walked forward quickly.

    When Huo Yuhao sessfully took Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand during the Sea God¡¯s Fate, Huo Yuhao thought that the Wang Qiu¡¯er that he had met was just an illusion and his hallucination, or it was just Wang Dong¡¯er deliberately fooling around with him. However, the voice that fell into his ears now was just so real and true.

    ¡°Ah!¡± He gasped in surprise before they even walked into the room.

    Wang Dong tugged on Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeve and whispered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you in such a hurry?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°The voice I just heard was extremely familiar. It was just like that Wang Qiu¡¯er I met the other day.¡±

    They arrived at the room as they spoke. The room¡¯s door was open, and they could see what was happening inside.

    The first thing they saw were long locks of powdery-blue hair. Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were stunned on the spot when the flowing hair fell into their eyes.

    She had a lengthy white dress, long light-blue hair, and her profile appeared identical to Wang Dong¡¯er, except she was a little taller.

    Most of the people in the room were teachers at this moment, and there were about four to five of them. Their eyes seemed a littleckluster as they stared at the young woman.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Zhou Yi were at the door, and the teachers could naturally see them. When they turned to look at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face, high-pitched gasps of surprise could be heard yet again. The young girl with wave-like hair turned around at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er felt as if they had been struck by lightning. They stood there with sluggish eyes, their expressionspletely frozen.

    The long-haired girl who had turned around also had a pair of huge blue eyes¡­ and her gorgeous looks were identical to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s. Besides the fact that she was slightly taller and more well-developed, there were hardly any differences between her and Wang Dong¡¯er at all!

    The young woman was also shocked speechless when she saw Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao. She even raised her hands to rub her eyes, before she fixed her gaze upon Wang Dong¡¯er once more.

    The two girls hollered at the same time, ¡°Why do you look exactly like me?!¡±

    Yes, they were the same ¨C exactly the same. Furthermore, their beauty was unrivaled. All the teachers in the room were ovee with amazement as they stared dumbly.

    Zhou Yi¡¯s eyes moved between Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Wang Dong, is that your sister?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head stiffly. Her mind was aplete nk as she said, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have a sister! It¡¯s just me...¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was the first to reorient herself, and she shook her head decisively. ¡°I don¡¯t have a younger sister, either. But how do we look so alike?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°You two look alike, and even your names are extremely simr. Nice to meet you ¨C do you remember me?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at Huo Yuhao, and a strange look shed in the depths of her eyes. She muttered coldly ¡°So you¡¯re the lecher. What did you want to do when you chased me that day?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face froze. Did he just be a sexual predator?

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, Wang Qiu¡¯er. I thought you were Dong¡¯er when I saw you the other day, and I recognized the wrong person, so I decided to follow you. I lost you when we reached the city.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly, ¡°What else do you want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped his eyes around to Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Dong¡¯er had recovered by now, but seemed like she was deep in thought.

    ¡°Nothing. Sorry to disturb you,¡± Huo Yuhao replied to Wang Qiu¡¯er before he dragged Wang Dong¡¯er out of the room.

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right, Yuhao.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er looked up and stared at Huo Yuhao with pondering eyes.

    Huo Yuhao frowned faintly and said, ¡°Yes, something¡¯s not right. How can the two of you look so simr? It¡¯s unbelievable that the two of you aren¡¯t siblings. Why don¡¯t you send a letter to Uncle Niu and Uncle Tai, and ask them if you actually do have a sister?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t have a sister. When I looked at her just now, I felt like something was off. It¡¯s not a feeling caused by blood rtions. Her soul power undtions are vastly different from mine, and I can feel that her blood essence is exceptionally vigorous, possibly stronger than mine. However, she¡¯s not light-type like me. Except for our looks, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any other simrity between the two of us.¡±

    Zhou Yi had a skeptical expression as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Dong¡¯er, I remember you¡¯ve always been dressed like a guy. Perhaps Wang Qiu¡¯er made herself up to match your appearance? But what is her motive, then?¡±

    All three of them were clueless, and nobody knew what was going on.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction was slightly faster. He contemted momentarily and said, ¡°How about I go look for Dean Yan, and ask him to investigate her identity and background, along with her martial soul and her examination situation. It¡¯s truly difficult to believe that two people in the world can look so alike, but not be rted by blood.¡±

    Zhou Yi snorted, ¡°You can¡¯t be so sure. The Douluo Continent is vast, and there are all sorts of miracles and strange things. It¡¯s not as if two people who look so alike but are not rted by blood have never been seen before. You two keep your cool. We will analyze this in more detail, and if we don¡¯t find anything amiss, then you two don¡¯t have to entangle yourselves with her anymore, you can treat her like a normal student. If she does have a motive, she will give the game away at some point.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all we can do. Yuhao, you haven¡¯t seen teacher Zhou for so long, you should stay and apany her. I¡¯ll go look for Dean Yan. It¡¯s a good opportunity for me topare her abilities and mine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded as he replied, ¡°Alright!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er walked away briskly, and Huo Yuhao turned back towards Wang Qiu¡¯er in the room, who was wearing her veil again and carrying on with the registration.

    It was possible for two people who were not rted by blood to look alike, but such identical appearances were truly extraordinary and unbelievable.

    Huo Yuhao took his doubts away and followed Zhou Yi back to her office. He had no choice but to push his misgivings to the back to his mind as he sat down with teacher Zhou. He began to describe his various encounters over the past two years after they were separated from each other. Fan Yu had probably conveyed Huo Yuhao¡¯s general situation to Zhou Yi, but he still recounted his life in detail to her, while he also asked about his ssmates from before.

    Too many things had happened to him over the past two years, and it took a long time for him to recount everything.

    They were still talking when Wang Dong¡¯er returned.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up hurriedly when he saw her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°I got the information. We are indeed different.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave her some space to sit down. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face was a little lost, and it was clear that she had run into a conundrum.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Zhou Yi asked.

    Wang Dong¡¯er answered, ¡°Her name is Wang Qiu¡¯er, and she¡¯s neen years old, so she¡¯s slightly older than I am. She only has one martial soul, but it¡¯s an extremely rare pureblood dragon-type martial soul. Furthermore, it¡¯s a martial soul that¡¯s rarely seen even amongst dragon-type martial souls: the Golden Dragon.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Zhou Yi eximed in astonishment at the same time, ¡°The Ancestor of Strength, the Golden Dragon?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Zhou Yi were even more bewildered.

    Gold and Silver had special meanings amongst top-tier soul beasts. Silver represented multiple elements, or that one possessed a formidable element. Such soul beasts could evolve, or they possessed a powerful innate ability. It was simr to the Silvermoon Wolf King that Huo Yuhao hade across back then.

    On the other hand, Gold represented extreme bodily strength and power. Silver soul beasts were already extremely rare, but Golden soul beasts were even more umon and exotic. It was hard toe by even a single one for many years, and some people had already imed that Golden soul beasts were long extinct.

    There wasn¡¯t a single Golden soul beast amongst the known Ten Great Savage Beasts in the world of soul beasts. Amongst the known Golden soul beasts, the most reputable one was definitely this Golden Dragon.

    Legend had it that the Dragon God had two children: one was the Golden Dragon who controlled strength and power, while the other was the Silver Dragon who controlled elementalws and rules. The two of them had inherited a portion of the Dragon God¡¯s powers.

    Over the passage of time, the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon gave birth to offspring, and their descendants gradually formed the entire Dragon race¡­

 Chapter 223.1: Intimacy

    Dragons were almost extinct today, and few people alive had actually seen a real dragon on the Douluo Continent. However, the legends and chronicles had always been there.

    The dragons who descended directly from the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon were the rarest amongst the dragons, but they were touted as the most pure-blooded species, and also known as the strongest of the dragons.

    Elder Mu¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon was only a subspecies of the Silver Dragon, a dragon that controlled the power of light.

    The Golden Dragon didn¡¯t have the all-inclusive elemental prowess that the Silver Dragon did, but the Golden Dragon possessed a strange power that could break through all things, and this was how its title, Ancestor of Strength, came about.

    Wang Dong¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were already considered exceptionally rare. However, even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was inferior whenpared to the Golden Dragon. This was because the Golden Dragon was also an Ultimate martial soul, and its Ultimate factor was Strength. Ultimate Strength was more powerful than a single Ultimate Element in the end.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er could guess that Wang Qiu¡¯er was probably quite powerful, as she was able to join the inner courtyard as a student from another academy, but they hadn¡¯t expected her to be that powerful. Even though she didn¡¯t have twin martial souls, her martial soul was the strongest among all the martial souls that both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had ever seen.

    Zhou Yi was full of admiration as she said, ¡°So someone on the Continent actually inherited the Golden Dragon martial soul!¡± She was a teacher from Shrek Academy, so she had the same intense longing for the Golden Dragon. If she hadn¡¯t been in front of her two students, she would have probably gone to check it out herself.

    Huo Yuhao quickly calmed down and said to Wang Dong, ¡°In that case, her martial soul has nothing to do with you. We should just treat her like a normal student.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pouted and said, ¡°But...she looks just like me, what if you recognize the wrong person?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said consolingly, ¡°It will be fine as long as that doesn¡¯t happen. We have the Haodong power, and we will feel it the moment we touch each other. No matter how powerful Wang Qiu¡¯er is, she doesn¡¯t share martial soul fusion skills with me, and she doesn¡¯t have our Haodong power. Don¡¯t think too much. We have to work a little harder now, we¡¯re not far from the start of thepetition.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded, she knew that Huo Yuhao was right. Wang Qiu¡¯er looked exactly like her, but even something was miraculous as this didn¡¯t prove anything. However, she still felt as if something was amiss from beginning to end. She could confirm that she wasn¡¯t rted to Wang Qiu¡¯er by blood, but ever since she firstid eyes on her, and especially when she saw her eyes, Wang Dong¡¯er still had that familiar feeling.

    They chatted idly with Zhou Yi for a while longer before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er bid their farewells. They had to pick up the pace when it came to their cultivation, and Huo Yuhao also had to swiftly conclude the situation with the Spirits and hand the entire issue over to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    On their way back to the Sea God¡¯s Ind, Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°Yuhao... what you said yesterday was right. She does look more like the Goddess of Light in the Raiment of Light than I do. Do you think she¡¯s been sent by the heavens to steal you from me? Did you not say that the Goddess of Light was the image you fell in love at first sight with?¡±

    Huo Yuhao caressed her flowing hair, and he said in amusement, ¡°Stop thinking about it. Have I not said this before? The goddess is right beside me. She will never be you, no matter how identical the two of you look. There¡¯s nothing at all between me and her... but we have been living together ever since we joined the academy. I¡¯ve hugged you to sleep before, so you can¡¯t recant!¡±

    ¡°Psh! Hugged you to sleep, that sounds disgusting! I don¡¯t care, you have to stay away from her next time, alright?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er spoke with a look of stubbornness and determination.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Alright, alright! I can promise you that. You¡¯re quite possessive, huh... but that proves you care about me! From today onwards, we should move back in together. Of course, we¡¯ll only be cultivating, and only then can we be together at all times. That should work, eh?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought about it for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re really agreeing to that?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at her in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of the differences between guys and girls anymore?¡±

    A radiant smile shed across Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face. ¡°We¡¯ll only be cultivating together. Furthermore, even if you want to do something mean to me, you might not even be able to take me down. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re just a Soul King, while I¡¯m a Soul Emperor.¡±

    ¡°This¡­ are you trying to be a bully?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I want to bully you. I can¡¯t do that?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er spoke with a sweet smile on her face. They were now by the shore, and she grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. The Haodong power began to circte, and the two of them soared into the sky as they flew towards the Sea God¡¯s Ind at theke¡¯s center.

    ---

    There was a pair of pretty eyes staring ckly at their shadows in midair not far from where they left the ground. There was a clear look of confusion in those eyes. ¡°How can this be? Why is there a girl that looks exactly like me? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The owner of these enchanting eyes was Wang Qiu¡¯er. She had justpleted her registration, and she watched Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er hold hands as they flew away. She frowned faintly and walked towards the shore. It was also time for her to enter the Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    ------

    Huo Yuhao returned directly to his room once they reached the Sea God¡¯s Ind, and began to write down the steps to create Spirits, along with the Pact Sealing Spell. This was the most important thing at hand to him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t disturb him, and cultivated by herself to one side.

    Huo Yuhao took an entire day to pen down the method of creating Spirits, and added ¡°to be verified¡± at the end. There hadn¡¯t been enough experiments or trials on Spirits yet, and it couldn¡¯t be pushed out as the norm. There was far too much to do; refining, perfecting, and making the creation process as safe as it could be wasn¡¯t something that could be done in a year or two. No matter how wealthy Shrek Academy was and how many resources they possessed, there was still a lot of work to be done. The hardestponent to settle was searching for soul beasts in their declining years for negotiation and discussions.

    It was already difficult to find old soul beasts, and it was even harder to find intelligent ones. Shrek Academy would have to find old soul beasts with intelligence, and those with a mentality that leaned towards a fear of death, because only then would they choose the path of a Spirit.

    The most troublesome part about creating a Spirit pact was that these soul beasts had to volunteer, and they had to be entirely agreeable. The Spirit pact would transcend soul rings, and the soul beast¡¯s eptance was probably the most important part of that process.

    Huo Yuhao recorded everything down, then sought out Yan Shaozhe and showed it to him before anything else. He described everything in detail, and went over it several times before he rearranged his draft and handed it over to Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan immediately sealed the final draft into the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. ording to Elder Xuan, the Library of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was well-fortified, and Shrek Academy would probably have ceased to exist if this ce was broken into.

    It waste into the night by the time everything was settled. Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s vitality and endurance, he could still feel intense exhaustion and fatigue.

    Staying inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was convenient. After he finished the job with Elder Xuan, he returned to his room directly.

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er was not yet asleep, but neither was she cultivating. Instead, she was quietly waiting for him by the table. There were four exquisite dishesid out there, along with a bowl of porridge.

    ¡°You¡¯re back! Let me heat it up.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er immediately stood up and started to pour the food into boxes.

    Huo Yuhao stepped forward hurriedly and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need, I like to eat cold food. I¡¯m sorry, Dong¡¯er, it¡¯s my fault for beingte, you must have been waiting anxiously for a long time. You should go ahead and rest first. If something like this happens again, you don¡¯t have to wait for me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked up and stared at Huo Yuhao with a slightly dazed look. She could tell that he was a little exhausted, but his eyes were still filled with warmth, and his gaze was just so serene and tender. She told herself in her heart, This man is mine! Why do I love waiting for him, and why do I enjoy the feeling of waiting for him to return so much?

    Huo Yuhao stared into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s blue eyes, and pulled her back down onto her seat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What are you thinking about? Are you still thinking about that Wang Qiu¡¯er?¡± He filled a bowl of porridge for Wang Dong¡¯er as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er hurriedly pushed it back to him. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten. You should eat quickly; fortunately, the porridge is still warm. You should teach me how to cook! That way, I don¡¯t have to find food for you from the canteen, and I can make a meal for you myself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head without hesitation. ¡°No.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was perplexed as she eximed, ¡°Why not? Sentimental attachment?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her white and pale hands and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to worry about any day-to-day things at all; I want you to live like a queen. I should be the one cooking for you every day! I will take care of you, I will shower you with love, and I will stay by your side for eternity.¡±

    He said all this while he was still eating. However, the way he said was so natural, as if everything had long been engraved into his bones, and he was simply expressing everything matter-of-factly.

    Faint tears began to well up in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s charming eyes. ¡°You¡¯re so good to me, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Why are you crying when I¡¯m being nice to you? Stop crying. It¡¯s useless to just say these things. I will prove my words with actions.¡± He flexed his lean right arm as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re still a Soul King.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This has nothing to do with strength, mentality is the key!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about all that. The Sea God¡¯s Fate concluded soon after we left. He Caitou and Xiao Xiao finally got together! They didn¡¯t have it easy, and the truth is that I could tell fifth senior sister was conflicted inside, but she chose him in the end. What¡¯s inside is far more important than appearance! Second senior brother may be a little ugly, and he¡¯s a little too dark-skinned, but he¡¯s truly very good to her.¡±

 Chapter 223.2: Intimacy

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Yes¡ªwhat¡¯s inside is absolutely more important than your beauty. I¡¯ll still love you even if you be ugly in the future.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er rebuked him. ¡°You¡¯re the one that¡¯s going to get ugly.¡± Even though her tone sounded angry, there was only sweetness and warmth in her eyes.

    There wasn¡¯t much light in the room. She rested her cheeks in her hands and nted her elbows on the table while she watched Huo Yuhao eat.

    ¡°I investigated Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s situation a little more. Her soul power is around Rank 60, which is quite impressive, considering she isn¡¯t even twenty yet. She doesn¡¯t have her sixth soul ring yet, and I¡¯ve heard from vice-Dean Cai that the inner courtyard will organize a soul beast hunt soon, where they¡¯ll gather all the inner courtyard students at a bottleneck and venture into the Great Star Dou Forest. I imagine she will be participating¡ªdon¡¯t you need your fifth soul ring for your Spirit Eyes? Let¡¯s tag along.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at her suspiciously and said, ¡°Tag along? What for? Do you still want to spy on her?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said determinedly, ¡°I still feel like there¡¯s something wrong with her, but I can¡¯t put my finger on it. Maybe it¡¯s just because we look too alike¡ªwe¡¯re almost carbon copies! It wouldn¡¯t hurt to monitor her for a little bit longer, and I also want to see how she¡¯s like as a person.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s me who has to go anyway. You don¡¯t even need a soul ring, why do you want to go?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°I have to protect you! We have martial soul fusion skills, so we¡¯ll be a lot safer that way. Furthermore, you¡¯re a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion now, and you¡¯re the future heir of the academy. Shouldn¡¯t we be protecting you with everything we have? I¡¯m going to risk my own safety to protect you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had finished two bowls of porridge by now. ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s always nice to have a pretty girl to protect me. We can go, but it¡¯s not easy to find a soul beast suitable for my Spirit Eyes! You know how difficult it¡¯s always been to find spiritual-type soul beasts in the past, and I think we might just waste our time. My Ultimate Ice martial soul has five soul rings now, and if I can¡¯t find a suitable spiritual-type soul ring, my Ice Jade Empress Scorpion might just be my main martial soul, so I¡¯ll have to try my luck with my Spirit Eyes to find a suitable soul ring.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. However, we still have to try. Thepetition will be upon us in a few months, and another soul ring is anotheryer of protection.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wiped his mouth, and swiftly put the bowls and tes back inside the lunchbox. He made an ¡°after you¡± gesture to Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°Wifey,e onto the bed to rest.¡±

    ¡°Psh! Go and take a shower.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er pped his hand away, and evaded him as quickly as she could. Her pretty face was blushing.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled and said, ¡°Take a shower? I¡¯ll be clean then, and we can¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped, ¡°Then we¡¯ll cultivate! I¡¯m warning you, if you dare to mess around, don¡¯t me me for whates next. Hmph.¡± She waved her little fist in front of Huo Yuhao as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was full of exasperation. ¡°Why should I bathe if we want to cultivate¡­? We¡¯re not going to hug each other to sleep, anyway. The truth is, we¡¯ve never slept together ever since that night before I left for the exchange program. Didn¡¯t you say that I should learn how to rx? I think there¡¯s nothing more rxing than hugging you to sleep. Do you think we¡­?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face ckened, and she snapped her head around before she strode towards the door and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Sorry, I messed up.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed her as she was slowly walking away, and gave her a warm smile as he said, ¡°Alright, alright. You should get ready on the bed first, and I¡¯ll take a shower now, and then we¡¯ll cultivate. Cultivation is too important, and every ounce of soul power that we gather will be imperative for our victory during thepetition.¡±

    He suddenly acted like he had a strong sense of justice, and Wang Dong¡¯er reached out and pinched him on the waist. Huo Yuhao flinched from the pain and hurriedly went ahead to the bathroom.

    Guys bathed a lot faster than girls, and a wet Huo Yuhao was back on the bed after a few minutes.

    He was always teasing Wang Dong¡¯er, but he didn¡¯t dare to be a nuisance physically. He sat across from her, obedient and well-behaved, and they ced their palms against each other while the Haodong power began to circte.

    Wang Dong¡¯s soul bones flickered with golden light, catalyzing their soul power recovery.

    They were a little unsettled in the beginning. In the end, this was the first time they had cultivated on the same bed after their rtionship status had changed.

    But the gentle Haodong power gradually became stronger, and they had no choice but to fix their state of mind and focus on cultivation. It didn¡¯t take long before they finally entered meditation.

    ¡­¡­

    Dawn was breaking, and the sun peeked out from the eastern horizon in the distance. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er opened their eyes at almost the same time.

    Soul power surged within their bodies, and they were both pleasantly surprised when they felt the progress in their cultivation. Ever since Huo Yuhao fused with the Snow Empress, the repression he felt from his Ultimate Ice¡¯s cultivation speed became less and less obvious. His cultivation speed was also greatly boosted with the help of the Haodong power.

    Huo Yuhao got off the bed first with a faint smile on his face, and he gestured politely to Wang Dong¡¯er to follow suit.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was smiling too and leapt off the bed before they walked towards the window together.

    They stared towards the east as they waited patiently for the dash of purple to arrive. They listened to the symphony of bird calls and the other peaceful sounds of nature that pulsed with life and vitality, and they felt the tranquility of this moment.

    The crisp fragrance of nts and vegetation wafted in, and the clean and fresh feelings seemed to lift their spirits.

    Howfortable!

    When the sun rose in the east, the pinch of purple came as it always did. Their eyes sparkled as they absorbed the purple energy, and purple hues glimmered in their eyes.

    One could tell the clear difference in the level of their Purple Demon Eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became like purple crystals, while Wang Dong¡¯s light-blue eyes were only masked with a faint purpleyer. The difference in their martial souls meant there would be quite a gap in their mastery of the Tang Sect Secret Techniques.

    They took a deep breath at the same time and gradually exhaled. Their routine Purple Demon Eyes cultivation came to an end.

    They were both revitalized and in high spirits after a night of cultivation. This wasn¡¯t just because of the increase in soul power¡ªthey had rediscovered their mutual feelings of familiarity. The unfamiliarity and that invisible barrier brought about by Wang Dong¡¯s change in gender gradually disappeared, and their friendship was slowly and imperceptibly converting to a romantic rtionship.

    ¡°Do you have anything to do today?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I¡¯ve settled the materials regarding Spirits yesterday, and Elder Xuan has stored it away in the Library. I think I¡¯m going to focus on cultivating over the next few days to prepare for the bigpetition.¡±

    They didn¡¯t really feel any pressure at all when they talked about thepetition. They were so much strongerpared to five years ago, and others of the same age group would have a very tough time challenging them and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had imed the championship five years ago, so it was natural that they didn¡¯t think anybody could threaten their dominance today.

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought for a moment, then said, ¡°We should register for the hunting expedition. If not, they may leave us behind, still in the dark.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said amusingly, ¡°You¡¯re still thinking about that? Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you. Let¡¯s look for eldest senior brother and the others afterwards¡ªI met him yesterday, and he said that everyone is here now, and we should temporarilyy our responsibilities in the Tang Sect aside. Everyone shoulde together to train and practice our coordination, as we have a lot more soul skills now than before.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    They washed up and got some breakfast before they arrived in the outer courtyard once more. They would have to look for the Martial Soul Department¡¯s vice-Dean Cai Mei¡¯er for registration, as she was in charge of the expedition, and her office was in the outer courtyard¡¯s Martial Soul Department.

    ¡°What? You guys want to participate in this hunting expedition?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er looked astonished as she stared at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Dean Cai, I have serendipitously obtained a fifth soul ring for my secondary martial soul, but my main martial soul still only has four soul rings. I am mainly a spiritual-type soul master, so I want to take this chance to add a fifth soul ring. This will be extremely beneficial for us during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and she began to contemte the matter.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little surprised. He didn¡¯t think his request was outrageous at all¡ªit was just him and Wang Dong¡¯er, and he was confident that they wouldn¡¯t be a burden to the group.

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°Dean Cai, does this expedition have a restriction on the number of people who are allowed to participate?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no limit. However, it¡¯s a bit troublesome if you two want to go, I can¡¯t make this decision. Don¡¯t forget, Yuhao, Elder Xuan has officially announced that you¡¯re the heir to the position of Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, your status is now drastically different from before. No matter what activity you wish to participate in, we have to ensure your safety before anything else.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally realized what was going on¡ªso, Dean Cai was actually feeling conflicted about that.

    ¡°Dean Cai, there will be so many people moving together, and everyone is a member of the inner courtyard. There shouldn¡¯t much risk or danger.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er answered, ¡°You¡¯re wrong¡ªit¡¯s dangerous because of the fact that you guys are all students from the inner courtyard. If everyone were from the outer courtyard, we would only be hunting soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Peripheral Regions. There would be a low chance for things to go awry as long there were teachers who were powerful enough leading the group. However, it¡¯s different for you guys. All of you are five-ringed and six-ringed, and all of you have high standards for soul rings. We¡¯ll have to venture deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest to find suitable soul rings for you guys, and under such circumstances, even the teachers-in-charge cannot guarantee absolute safety for everyone. The further we go into the Great Star Dou Forest, the more perilous it gets¡ªI¡¯m sure you¡¯re both aware of that.¡±

 Chapter 223.3: Intimacy

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. The academy was concerned for his safety, so it was hard for him to object to that. However, he actually needed a soul ring, and Wang Dong¡¯er still wanted to monitor and investigate Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Cai Mei¡¯er pondered momentarily before saying, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it this way. I will report this to Elder Xuan after I return to the Sea God¡¯s Ind, and it should be fine as long as Elder Xuan agrees. Lexuan is leading this group, but if the two of you do participate in the end, we might have to add one or two more teachers to tag along.¡±

    They left Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s office, and Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help butugh andment, ¡°See, you¡¯re now a VIP. The academy is making a big fuss about this, but it¡¯s not about me! It¡¯s clear that this is all about you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed along and said, ¡°Don¡¯t undervalue yourself. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re also the heir to the Clear Sky Sect, and the academy must ensure your safety as well. Dean Cai is trying to guard against surprises. We have been to the Great Star Dou Forest many times, and if we don¡¯t meet hundred-thousand year soul beasts, we will definitely be able to escape with our lives with our current cultivation.¡±

    They returned to the Sea God¡¯s Ind, where they went straight to Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s dorm.

    They could hear the cacophony ofughter and banter as soon as they walked through the door.

    ¡°You have to treat everyone, Caitou. I wonder how a pretty flower like Xiao Xiao could have chosen you.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s heartyughter could be heard.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t back down at all. ¡°That¡¯s right, a pretty flower like Nannan has chosen to nt herself on a pile of shit like you. You shouldn¡¯t have walked away with him that day, Nannan! Look at him ¨C he¡¯s so proud and happy that his eyes have almost grown to the top of his head.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was sprawled out inside the living room, while He Caitou was sitting on a chair not far from him, bickering with him. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were cleaning up the room on the other side, and they casually ignored the banter as they whispered into each other¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Second senior brother, third senior brother. Fourth senior sister, fifth senior sister!¡± Huo Yuhao called out the moment he walked in.

    All four of them looked over, but the first person they looked at was Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er evaded everyone¡¯s gazes and hid behind Huo Yuhao. ¡°What are you looking at? Have you never seen me before?¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed out loud and said, ¡°We¡¯ve seen you before, but we only recognize Wang Dong, and not Wang Dong¡¯er. Where¡¯s this prettydy from? Come on out, let me tease you a little¡­ Aiyo!¡±

    ¡°Your skin must be itchy,¡± Jiang Nannan said as she withdrew the duster she had just whipped across Xu Sanshi¡¯s back.

    Xu Sanshi hurriedly smiled at her and said, ¡°Wang Dong has lied to us for so long, don¡¯t you think she deserves to be teased? I don¡¯t mean anything else, you¡¯re the only one I love in this entire world.¡±

    ¡°Get lost.¡± Jiang Nannan kicked him angrily, and then circled behind Huo Yuhao and dragged Wang Dong¡¯er out.

    ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful, Dong¡¯er. Everyone will fall in love with you when they see you! Why are you hiding?¡± Jiang Nannanughed as she spoke softly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her head and said, ¡°You¡¯re mocking me too, fourth senior sister.¡±

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°The truth has been revealed, and the two of you are truly fated. Love will be victorious in the end. What a fantastic oue! You have to be nice to our Dong¡¯er, Yuhao. She¡¯s so pretty... if you are not nice to her, she might just run away, and you¡¯re going to regret that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could onlyugh along foolishly, and say nothing. No answer was better than him just keeping quiet and giving his silent consent.

    Bei Bei¡¯s voice could be heard from upstairs at this moment. ¡°That must be Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er! Alright, everyone¡¯s here.¡±

    Bei Bei came down from upstairs. He was still dressed like he had always been, and one couldn¡¯t tell anything was different from his expression. However, everybody else¡¯s expressions changed a little, and the three couples toned down their intimacy and affection.

    There was still no news about Xiao Ya, even today. Everyone knew how painful Bei Bei¡¯s heartache was, so nobody wanted to provoke him or upset him in that way.

    Bei Bei walked down the stairs and came before everyone. ¡°It¡¯s been more than two years, and we¡¯re all finally back together again. It hasn¡¯t been easy! We have a few more months before the next season¡¯spetition will begin. I know we are all very confident, but we cannot be toocent and careless. We have to look down on our opponents as part of our strategy, but we have to be careful with our battle tactics. Come, let¡¯s find a ce to exercise a little. Everyone will take this chance to show each other how we have improved over the years.¡±

    Xu Sanshi jumped to his feet and said, ¡°I¡¯m with Huo Yuhao and Nannan! You can pick the rest however you like.¡±

    These two equally reputable prodigies would lead one team respectively during every one of their sparring sessions. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t forget to make the first move to gain the upper hand. Eeveryone had seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy of prowess during Sea God¡¯s Fate, and his Spirit Eyes naturally provided extremely formidable support. The presence or absence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s support would determine which side would win the fight.

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°You think you¡¯re clever? Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll talk about itter.¡±

    The inner courtyard students had a ce set aside specifically for sparring; they didn¡¯t have to go to the outer courtyard. They couldn¡¯t be vying with the outer courtyard students for a sparring venue.

    The inner courtyard¡¯s venue for practice battles was located on a hill that was roughly a hundred meters high, near the eastern side of the Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    The top of this hill seemed like it had been shaved and ttened. Besides the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion itself, this was the highest location in the entire Sea God¡¯s Ind. There was a patch of t irregrnd on the hilltop that was about a hundred meters in diameter. Tough but uneven granite of stunning durability wasid out over the ground. It was connected to the hill itself, and thus the flooring was exceptionally tough.

    The inner courtyard had its own rules. If the inner courtyard¡¯s Sparring Arena was damaged or destroyed, whoever did it would be responsible for getting more granite and repairing it. For this reason, the inner courtyard students were quite careful when they sparred in this area, and they typically only came to this ce to test out or demonstrate new soul skills. Everyone would rather leave the city if they wanted to spar properly.

    When the seven of them climbed up to the inner courtyard¡¯s Sparring Arena, they realized to their surprise that were already people there, even though people rarely came here.

    There were four of them, and everyone knew one another.

    Two people were having a practice battle. More urately, one was chasing the other, while the other was trying to escape.

    ¡°Hey, are you even a man? All you know how to do is run! Can you fight me head-on?¡± Wu Ming eximed as she raised her hand and fired off a stream of Golden Crow Primordial Fire. A pir of fire swept across the entire arena, and lightning sparkled as it nimbly evaded this attack¡­

    Chu Qingtian¡¯s voice could be heard in response. ¡°You want to talk about reason, eh? You¡¯re an assault-type soul master, and your Golden Crow Primordial Fire is not far from Ultimate Fire. I¡¯m an agility-type soul master, so how can I face you head-on? If I make a go for it, then it won¡¯t be a practice battle anymore, but suicide. You can¡¯t murder your own husband, can you?¡±

    ¡°What husband? Are we married?¡±

    The sparring pair were Chu Qingtian and Wu Ming. After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er left the other day, the two of them also sessfullypleted thest segment, Eternal Love. With Wu Ming around, who would want to fight her for her man? That person would have been asking for trouble.

    Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo were spectating on the other side. They watched Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian, and they smiled faintly from time to time while they asionally nced at each other, at which point their smiles would be a little warmer. It was apparent that they were having a good time together.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, senior sister Han!¡± Bei Bei took the lead as he greeted them both.

    Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo naturally saw them as well, and they both stood up to greet everyone.

    Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t have an obvious reaction, but Wang Yan began to feel a bit surreal. He knew the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters too well, after all, and the entire process of him courting and wooing Han Ruoruo had fallen into these little fes¡¯ eyes.

    But Wang Yan quickly returned to normal, however, and he asked with a subtle smile on his face, ¡°Why are you guys here?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Thepetition is going to start, and everyone is here. We should take this chance to spar and practice, so we can all see how we have improved over the years. We can also take this chance to train our coordination and teamwork.¡±

    Wang Yan had a look of revtion on his face as he said, ¡°Yes! Time really flies. It¡¯s been five years in the blink of an eye, and everyone has grown up. I still remember Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were only this tall during thestpetition.¡± He gestured with his hand to show height as he spoke, and he turned towards Wang Dong¡¯er. ¡°I have only just found out that you are a girl, and you¡¯re so pretty. Did you know about this before, Yuhao, and you¡¯ve been hiding it from us? Puppy love is not right.¡±

    Huo Yuhao blushed and forced augh as he said, ¡°I¡¯m also a victim!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shot a re in his direction and whispered, ¡°How are you the victim?¡±

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re the victim!¡± Huo Yuhao changed tack as quickly as he could.

    Beside Wang Yan, Han Ruoruo was amused by their bickering as sheughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the Spirit that you¡¯re supposed to exin to everyone, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, senior sister. I¡¯ve already reported the business with Spirits in detail to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and I believe it won¡¯t take long before the inner courtyard disciples will be setting up for trials and experimentation. However, how it¡¯s going to be carried out exactly is still up to the academy. Dean Yan is directly responsible for this.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°That¡¯s going to be a new topic for our curriculum. Dean Yan has told me to look for him tonight about this matter. That was an impressive innovation, Yuhao!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°That has nothing to do with me, it¡¯s the academy¡¯s research. I¡¯m just the first guinea pig.¡± He had already thought this through. Since he had announced that he would give everything to do with Spirits to the academy, then the way he discussed it would also have to change. He would rather ord all research credit to the academy as a way of him giving back to the academy.

    Wang Yan stared deeply into his eyes. He was the vice-head of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Research Institute, and was extremely clear about what direction the academy¡¯s research had taken in recent years. However, he didn¡¯t question how Huo Yuhao had exined things.

    On the other side, Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian stopped when they saw everyone. Chu Qingtian seemed like he was drenched with sweat, and he wore an expression as if he had been liberated while he walked over with Wu Ming.

 Chapter 224: Fighting Intent Surges During the Meeting of the Seven Monsters

    When Wu Ming saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, her eyes brightened. ¡°Oh, you two are here! You¡¯re here to practice for thepetition, right? Come,e,e! Spar with me! I had a good time watching that fight on the Sea God¡¯s Lake! Let me experience the strength of your ice-type domain at close range. How about it?¡±

    Han Ruoruo was a little annoyed as she said, ¡°Ming¡¯er, they just arrived. Can¡¯t you act more like a senior?¡±

    Wu Ming just answered excitedly, ¡°Sister Ruoruo, you don¡¯t know how great they were that day, even though they are young, they¡¯re worthy of respect! You should know Ling Luochen, if I¡¯m not wrong. Under Ling Luochen¡¯s leadership, one Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings fought them. Guess what happened? Total suppression. The two of them suppressed the other five, who had no chance at all. They overwhelmed them right from the start. Between them, one¡¯s a Soul King and the other¡¯s a Soul Emperor. Tell me, how can I not spar with them?¡±

    Han Ruoruo hadn¡¯t stayed long enough to watch Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fight that day, but she had heard about what had ensued in that particr fight. And listening to Wu Ming¡¯s detailed description, she was also quite shocked.

    Wang Yan was very familiar with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. But he hadn¡¯t mentioned them to her, even though he had been confiding a lot in Han Ruoruo over the past few days.

    At this moment, Han Ruoruo demonstrated how sweet-tempered she was. She turned her attention to Wang Yan and gave him a probing look.

    After two days of interaction, Wang Yan¡¯s love for Han Ruoruo had grown to an all time high. Why did he like Han Ruoruo in the first ce? Through all these years, he had definitely had his chances to find a partner. However, his requirements were very demanding. The greatest thing he liked about Han Ruoruo was the chemistry between them. He could understand what she was thinking with just the look in her eyes, or a simple gesture.

    Wang Yanughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine to let them spar. Why don¡¯t all of you join? I don¡¯t think you know each other well. Let me give all of you a chance to officially get to know one another.¡±

    ¡°The seven of them are Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er. They entered the inner courtyardter than the three of you. However, they hold a title that I¡¯m sure will make the three of you surprised. They were given the title of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters by the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This title will remain with them for life.¡±

    As Wang Yan said this, Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian were all shocked. They looked at the seven of them with a differently now.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters for life? What did that mean? The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion always adopted the principles of fairness and justice, and these seven were awarded such a prestigious title. Before the seven of them came around, this title had only belonged to the mainpeting members of the academy that took part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament each time around. After the tournament was over, these members could retain this title for five years before it was taken back before the next edition of the tournament.

    Thus, they were extremely shocked when they heard from Wang Yan that the seven of them had been given this title for life.

    Chu Qingtian was still fine with it, but Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming were once members of a team that had participated in the tournament. They were once holders of that same title, and thus they were well aware of how valuable this title was.

    Wu Ming was a very direct person, so she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What did they do? The academy¡­¡±

    Wang Yan was very proud, and he replied, ¡°Five years ago, they were all substitutes for the tournament. But before the tournament, something terrible happened. In a tragic event, one of the official team members was killed while pursuing an evil soul master. The rest were also injured to varying extents. Eventually, only Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Dai Yuehengpeted with injuries. Besides the three of them, it was only Bei Bei and the other six.¡±

    Wu Ming lost her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that they won the tournament even though they were just fifteen years old then?¡±

    Han Ruoruo was calm as she replied, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, our academy was the champion during thest edition of the tournament, as always.¡±

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°She¡¯s right. During that tournament, they yed the part of the main team, where not only did they obtain victory through their own abilities during the earlier rounds of the tournament, but they even gritted their teeth and emerged as the eventual champions in theter stages of the tournament. They didn¡¯t give up, and upheld our glory. They went through a lot, and brought home the title of champions. I was their teacher back then. The difficulties they went through can¡¯t be described with words.¡±

    After Huo Yuhao and the rest heard his words, they looked at each other, and their eyes once again burned with reminiscent passion. It was as if they had returned to the tournament and teamed up with one another once again. They had given their best in every round. Even when they sustained critical injuries, they still gave everything they had for Shrek¡¯s glory! It was too memorable!

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°When they obtained the title of champions, they were all hurt to varying extents. Some of them were even gravely injured. However, Shrek¡¯s glory was preserved. Eventually, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion decided to award them the title of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters for life when they returned to the academy, after a conference was held. This matter is only known internally, but this glory belongs to them forever. If I don¡¯t remember wrongly, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Huo Yuhao were only twelve back then. Huo Yuhao only even had two rings then, but the three of them possess twin martial souls. That was why they were selected by the academy.¡±

    Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo looked at each other and saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. Those three hadpeted in the tournament at the age of twelve! Wasn¡¯t that a record? Furthermore, they didn¡¯t sound like they were sent topete as substitutes. They reallypeted!

    Wu Ming spoke up, ¡°Teacher Wang, I should seek more advice from the few of them after what you¡¯ve mentioned. Let¡¯s see how strong they are.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled and replied, ¡°I would also like to see how much they¡¯ve grown after five years. I won¡¯t be leading the team in the uing tournament, so I can only see their abilities now.

    ¡°Bei Bei, what do you guys think?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s our honor to receive your guidance. Teacher Wang, how do you think this sparring should be carried out?¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Wang Yan said, ¡°In terms of raw ability, Ruoruo and Wu Ming have a definite advantage over you guys. Don¡¯t think that the seven of you have an advantage just because you outnumber them. Ruoruo is a control-type Soul Douluo, and her control abilities are extremely strong. Let¡¯s do it this way. Ruoruo, Wu Ming, Qingtian, the three of you can fight together. Bei Bei, the seven of you can team up together. What do you think?¡±

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°Senior Han is also fighting? That puts a lot of pressure on us!¡±

    Han Ruoruo was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t some lowly soul master, but a tried and true Soul Douluo from the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy! She wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage even against any ordinary Titled Douluo. Among the inner courtyard students, Han Ruoruo was the strongest apart from Zhang Lexuan. She was even recognized as the best at control in the inner courtyard. She had oncepeted in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with Zhang Lexuan, and her current status in the academy was definitely not inferior to Wang Yan, an inner courtyard teacher.

    The strongest among the current Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was only a six-ringed Soul Emperor. While it was seven versus three, the opposing party had a Soul Douluo, a Soul Sage, and a Soul Emperor. They weren¡¯t easy opponents to deal with!

    Wang Yan smiled and said, ¡°How can we test how your cultivations have improved without any pressure? It¡¯s only a spar. Why? Are you iming that you¡¯re really weaker?¡±

    Bei Beiughed and turned to hispatriots. He saw the burning will topete in their eyes. Wang Yan¡¯s words hadn¡¯t been just to shock Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Chu Qingtian. At the same time, they had reminded Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters of their memories together.

    Eight-ringed Soul Douluo? Does that mean we can¡¯t win against them?

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s give it a try. Seniors, please show mercy on us.¡± Bei Bei said to Wang Yan as he smiled.

    Wang Yan replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be the referee then. Remember to stop when I call for it.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The seven of them acknowledged his words politely at the same time, demonstrating their respect for Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan turned to Han Ruoruo, and she nodded at him. From the look in her eyes, he could tell that she understood him.

    Wu Ming was already raring to go. ¡°Come on,e on, let¡¯s fight.¡±

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Although it¡¯s only a spar, it must be slightly formal. Please retreat to either side of the arena. I¡¯ll give both parties three minutes to discuss your team strategy before the sparring begins.¡±

    Wu Ming wanted to say something else, but she was stopped by Han Ruoruo. She dragged Chu Qingtian with her as they moved back. Chu Qingtian¡¯s lethargic look seemed to have disappeared at this point. He was a little eager now, too. It was evident that his prior lethargy had been an act. However, Wu Ming was too excited now, and didn¡¯t notice his change.

    Both parties retreated to their positions. Bei Bei and the rest moved to the left of the arena. Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Chu Qingtian retreated to the right of the arena.

    Bei Bei immediately arranged a set-up as he looked at hispatriots.

    ¡°Sanshi, the two of us will be at the front. Nannan will react from one side. He Caitou will be located in the center to send out long-range attacks. Xiao Xiao, you¡¯ll be in charge of helping the rest and providing control along with Yuhao. Dong¡¯er, you¡¯ll team up with Yuhao to react to any changes. Yuhao, you¡¯ll be the main controller. You¡¯ll guide us all in the arena. Does everyone understand the n?¡±

    Even though it had been two years since they hadst teamed up together, their chemistry hadn¡¯t waned. This was especially evident as they were all eager to fight together. The young and inexperienced oftencked fear. Against a senior who was a Soul Douluo, it wasn¡¯t embarrassing even if they lost! Moreover, they were more likely to show their true abilities under pressure. Challenging Han Ruoruo and the other two was much more beneficial for them than fighting each other, and they could also practice all together.

    As they spoke, the seven of them were already lining up in their formation.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were in front. Jiang Nannan was to the right and slightly behind them. He Caitou was in the middle further behind. Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong formed one line with Huo Yuhao in the center. He was already holding Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand at this point.

    This wasn¡¯t a very neat formation, but they looked mighty as they stood in their positions.

    When Han Ruoruo and the other two turned their attention to the seven of them, they didn¡¯t see seven people, but a single entity. It was aplete unit.

    Wu Ming was already ready to fight, and she leapt excitedly to the front. Chu Qingtian followed beside and slightly behind her, doing what Jiang Nannan did. This was the mostmon spot adopted by an agility-type soul master. Han Ruoruo stood at the back. The three of them formed a simple, yet effective formation.

    Seeing that both parties were ready, Wang Yan shouted, ¡°Both parties, please get ready.¡±

    Suddenly, the soul rings from both parties started to rise. Blinding light started to illuminate their surroundings, and intense undtions of soul power caused the air above the Sparring Arena to distort.

    At this point, the differences in their cultivations became evident. While there were only three people on Han Ruoruo¡¯s side, their aura was far more overwhelming.

    Han Ruoruo only stood silently in ce, but she gave everyone the feeling that she was the anchor of the team. Her eyes started to shine brightly. She didn¡¯t look at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, but turned her attention directly to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao only felt a strong spiritual pressure approaching him. He could clearly tell that Han Ruoruo was locking onto him.

    Yes, she was locking onto him. She wasn¡¯t locking onto him using a soul skill, just with her spirit. Only a control-type soul master who was at least a Soul Sage could perform such a Spiritual Lock.

    Under the effect of this Spiritual Lock? she was able to urately predict her opponent¡¯s moves and exert immense spiritual pressure on her opponent¡¯s spiritual sea. This helped her suppress her opponent. When there was a huge gap in cultivation, the effect of her Spiritual Lock was even greater. Not only did it restrict her opponents, but she could even enhance the results of her own abilities.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t without any limitations. Once she used her Spiritual Lock, it also meant that her main target was Huo Yuhao. He would be her sole priority.

    A control-type soul master against a control-type soul master. When one side was outnumbered, it was best for them to target the control-type soul master on the opposing side first. As a top-ranked student in the inner courtyard, Han Ruoruo¡¯s abilities were undoubtedly outstanding.

    However, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been specially promoted to membership in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion if he were that easy to deal with.

 Chapter 225.1: Golden Crow True Body

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with golden light as he faced the immense spiritual pressure ced on him by Han Ruoruo. Ayer of golden light soon engulfed his entire body.

    When the golden light shone, a dim golden fog also rose from his body.

    ¡°What?¡± Han Ruoruo eximed slightly. She was stunned to discover that her Spiritual Lock had lost its effect, or rather, it had been isted. She hadn¡¯t expected such a thing to ur, especially considering that she had eight rings and was facing a five-ringed opponent.

    ¡°Ming¡¯er, be careful. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual cultivation isn¡¯t below mine. How could his spiritual power be so strong?¡±

    Just as Han Ruoruo was bing perplexed, Wang Yan watched as both parties unleashed their martial souls. He shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Both parties acted immediately. Wu Ming was the fastest. As she tipped her toes to the ground, she leapt forward. Her Golden Crow Primordial Fire was unleashed, and intense sparks started to illuminate the entire arena. Han Ruoruo and Chu Qingtian werepletely concealed by the sparks.

    As she shouted and burst forward, she pointed her right hand toward the sky. Her fourth soul ring shone brightly, and a ruby ball of light the size of a longan shot into the sky.

    This ball of light was very small when it appeared, but it grew continuously as it ascended. When it was thirty meters from the ground, it had already grown to the size of a head. After this, it started to crash down towards Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters like a meteorite.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were mostly unfamiliar with Wu Ming¡¯s soul skills. Xu Sanshi took a step forward and lifted his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle up high, preparing to resist Wu Ming¡¯s attack.

    Ripples spread out across the pitch-ck shield. Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Huo Yuhao was an ice-type, while Xu Sanshi was truly water-type. His defense didn¡¯t just possess the resilience of his shield, but also the gentleness of water. At least in terms of element, his shield wasn¡¯t inferior to the Golden Crow Primordial Fire.

    However, something weird suddenly urred. The scarlet-red fireball that was moving extremely quickly stopped in the air just as it was about to crash against the shield. After that, it made a turn and glided past it. It seemed to sweep past Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, and started to crash down towards He Caitou at the center of the formation.

    Her control over this soul skill was immacte. If Wu Ming only attacked with brute force, how would she be able to reign with terror in the inner courtyard? She was truly capable.

    Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, he could only judge that Wu Ming was controlling her soul skill. However, he didn¡¯t know what transformation was going to happen to her soul skill.

    Wu Ming revealed a smile on her face. Her fourth soul skill was called the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring. Once it blew apart in the center of the opponents¡¯ formation, it would cause a tremendous impact and scorching effect. Even if it couldn¡¯t harm them, it could at least destroy their formation and separate them. Once their formation was disrupted, they could be dealt with individually using Han Ruoruo¡¯s control.

    In such a perilous situation, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were indeed quite frantic. After all, the seven of them hadn¡¯t teamed up with one another for more than two years. All seven of them wanted to attack at the same time, but they werecking slightly in chemistry.

    However, thisck of cooperation could be made up for using their capabilities.

    Xiao Xiao shouted, ¡°Let me handle it!¡±

    Chemistry was built on trust. When she shouted this, the rest of the six didn¡¯t bother with the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring and continued to burst forward.

    A ball of ck light appeared just as the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring crashed down. It was a huge cauldron.

    The cauldron was around one-and-a-half meters high, one-and-a-half meters across, and it was as heavy as a mountain.

    From the looks of it, the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring was going to crash into this cauldron. Its strength was undoubtedly going to be contained by it.

    However, Wu Ming controlled her soul skill again.

    The crashing Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring moved three inchesterally before it continued to descend.

    This was the second shift of her soul skill. As a Soul Sage from Shrek Academy, Wu Ming¡¯s spiritual power was superior to most other ordinary Soul Sages.

    However, her smile froze just as she revealed it on her face.

    The cauldron divided into threeponents just as the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring moved. Wu Ming¡¯s control was limited, and so, her ringnded in one of the cauldrons.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t judge how Wu Ming was going to control her soul skill, but he could urately grasp the timing of her actions.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron divided at that timing, and the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Ring was caught in one of them.

    A loud boom resonated from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and the entire cauldron turned golden-red. But no heat seeped out because Xiao Xiao contained Wu Ming¡¯s soul skillpletely. It wasn¡¯t just one cauldron that turned red; all three changed color at the same time. The attack¡¯s was distributed evenly across all three cauldrons. Although Wu Ming¡¯s cultivation was far superior to Xiao Xiao¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t easy for her to ovee the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s expression changed slightly before it returned to normal. As long as the Threeelives Soulcrush Cauldron wasn¡¯t destroyed, only her soul power would be depleted. She wouldn¡¯t be hurt.

    She was dyed for a moment, however, and thus was now slightly behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. She pointed her fingers at the three cauldrons, and they started to revolve rapidly. The golden-red color emanating from the cauldrons also started to quickly disappear.

    Wu Ming¡¯s name was built on her offense. She was shocked that her fourth soul skill was resisted so easily. However, she didn¡¯t stop given her wealth of experience.

    As she lifted her right hand, her second soul ring started to shine brightly. A golden-red me started to dance above her palm. In the next instant, an intense golden-red spark started to burn around her body, bathing the entire Sparring Arena in a golden-red light.

    This was Wu Ming¡¯s second soul skill¡ªGolden Crow Primordial Fire Combustion!

    Both parties were now only a hundred meters apart. After the initial attack, the gap between both parties had been pulled closer.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t rush forward recklessly. They maintained their formation with the rest behind them. From the side, Jiang Nannan had vanished directly behind Xu Sanshi. She couldn¡¯t be located anymore.

    On their side, the agility-type soul master had disappeared behind their defense-type soul master. On their opponent¡¯s side, Chu Qingtian also hid behind Wu Ming.

    Wu Ming sped her hands in front of her. Since her soul skills wouldn¡¯t work, she changed her strategy. A beam of golden-red fire instantly shot out from her hands. This beam of fire was almost a meter across, and shot straight towards Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. It was a direct confrontation.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao finally made his move. He quickly took a step forward,ing beside He Caitou. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi moved to either side of him.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they didn¡¯t need to rely on sound to warn one another. The entire process proceeded smoothly, and their cohesion was great.

    An azure-green light started to shine from Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and belly. In the next moment, a huge beam of azure-green light shot out towards Wu Ming¡¯s first soul skill, the Golden Crow Primordial Fire.

    While it was only Wu Ming¡¯s first soul skill, it was enhanced by her second soul skill. As both soul skillsplemented each other, the air seemed to be scorched as the golden-red beam of fire passed. The air started to distort, and revealed ripple-like patterns.

    However, this was theplete opposite of what was happening on Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. The azure-green beam of light caused all the heat to be reced with a chill. His attack shed directly with the Golden Crow Primordial Fire.

    It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    This was once Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest soul skills, and it was still very effective now. Under the effect of his Haodong Power and with help from Wang Dong¡¯er, the depletion of his soul power was negligible.

    The contrasting beams of light shed together in the air. This was also the first direct sh of abilities.

    Dense fog started to diffuse from the center of the collision. A piercing sound reverberated, and the two beams of light were destroyed at the same time. Neither party gained an advantage.

    ¡°Impressive. It earns its name as the Ultimate Ice!¡± Wu Ming shouted as she jumped up high. A pair of golden-red wings pped open behind her back. Her martial soul was the Golden Crow, and possessed flying abilities. It wasn¡¯t a soul skill or soul tool.

    The Golden Crow Primordial Fire continued to be unleashed. As she flew into the air, a streak of dim-golden light also shed across. It was unleashed quickly beneath her feet towards Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡ªHan Ruoruo had finally acted.

    When Han Ruoruo made her move, all seven of her foes turned serious. She was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, the strongest opponent they had ever faced.

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s first soul ring lit up, and the streak of golden light that came from it was like a golden line that stretched into infinity. It was like a spiritual snake that slithered forward. After it shed beneath Wu Ming¡¯s feet, it reached Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi in the next moment. This was Han Ruoruo¡¯s control-type tool soul, the Dazzling Golden Rope.

    The Dazzling Golden Rope was like living matter, and started to quiver towards both sides. At the same time, two golden rings arced out towards Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

    Bei Bei pressed his hands down, and two Thunderous Dragon ws were unleashed.

 Chapter 225.2: Golden Crow True Body

    Amidst reverberating booms, two huge w prints were left behind on the graniteyering the ground as the Thunderous Dragon ws struck. However, the Dazzling Golden Rope twisted slightly before it managed to circle around them. It seemed to have eyes. At the same time, its speed didn¡¯t drop at all as it continued to loop towards Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

    Huo Yuhao made a move again. He didn¡¯t know how strong a control-type Soul Douluo was, but he was certain that this sparring would end if he allowed Han Ruoruo to gain the upper hand.

    A purple light shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. Han Ruoruo¡¯s body jerked slightly, and she took a step back. Her Dazzling Golden Rope was also retracted, and arced out in a huge golden ring in the air.

    Yes, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock ¨C one of the few offensive soul skills of his Spirit Eyes.

    A main control-type soul master against another main control-type soul master. Huo Yuhao managed to gain a slight advantage over Han Ruoruo as she was caught off-guard.

    However, her spiritual power was indeed strong. Although she was a little lost for a moment, her eyes then started to shine brightly.

    A dim silvery glow shot out of her eyes, engulfing her entire body. It was yet another embodiment of her spiritual power, although it was a different color. When thisyer of silvery spiritual power flowed out, Huo Yuhao felt as if she were unstoppable.

    However, he had still managed to buy some time for the rest. As Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden Rope was restricted, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters unleashed their full powers.

    Xu Sanshi was the first to make a move. He took a big step forward, and his shield lit up with a weird ck glow. In the next instant, he flew into the air. Wu Ming was about to unleash a strike towards him when he suddenly disappeared. Xu Sanshi was disced to her position.

    Mysterious Underworld Discement. This was the soul skill that stole the limelight during thest edition of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    The most unique trait of this Mysterious Underworld Discement was its element of surprise. If caught off-guard by it, it was impossible to break free once one was locked on. That was why it became one of Xu Sanshi¡¯s strongest soul skill as a defense-type soul master. For defense-type soul masters, this was a divine skill. At certain times, the Mysterious Underworld Discement could change the oue of a situation entirely. Unless the opponent¡¯s soul and spiritual power werepletely overwhelming his, his Mysterious Underworld Discement would never fail.

    Even though Wu Ming was a Soul Sage, Xu Sanshi was a Soul Emperor! He wouldn¡¯t have any confidence if he used it against Han Ruoruo, but it shouldn¡¯t be resisted easily by Wu Ming, considering her cultivation.

    As he was disced, Xu Sanshi faced Chu Qingtian.

    Chu Qingtian saw a sly smile on his face before gloomy clouds starting to appear.

    The shield formed a Shield Wall. Following this, a huge illusory projection of a Xuanwu surfaced. In the next instant, the Shield Wall had converted into the shape of a turtle shell. It had a diameter of over ten meters, and it started to crash down towards Chu Qingtian.

    The terrifying thing was that Chu Qingtian felt as if there were a ck whirlpool in the center of the shield. A strong suction force was unleashed from this whirlpool, dragging his body towards it, and causing his speed to fall tremendously.

    Right now, more than one of Xu Sanshi¡¯s soul rings had lit up. Besides his second soul ring, his pitch-ck fifth soul ring was also shining.

    His fifth soul skill was called Turtle God¡¯s Strike. This soul skill was different in that it couldn¡¯t be used on its own. This also meant that Xu Sanshi¡¯s fifth soul skill was ineffective if it was used without any other soul skills. It needed to coordinate with his second skill. He could onlyplete this blow by using the soul power needed to unleash these two soul skills at once.

    However, it was also because of this that this blow was very strong. If not for the fact that Xu Sanshi had the Xuanwu¡¯s blood lineage in his martial soul, it couldn¡¯t have been so strong.

    Wu Ming was also in a crisis on the other side.

    When Xu Sanshi struck, Bei Bei also burst forward. However, he turned back immediately after bursting a few meters out. Jiang Nannan did almost exactly the same thing as him, whereas Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Xiao Xiao and He Caitoupleted an arc-shaped formation.

    When Wu Ming was disced, she was alreadypletely surrounded by the six of them.

    Wu Ming was in a daze as she was encircled. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were familiar with such a strategy and coordination. Their chemistry hadn¡¯t seem to fall even after more than two years.

    Huo Yuhao struck her just as Wu Mingnded. He unleashed theplete version of the Darkgolden Terrorws supported by the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer.

    Xiao Xiao changed to her second martial soul, the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. Even though it only had one soul ring, her soul power was much superior to before. The pleasant sounds of the flute caused Wu Ming to feel dizzy, and her speed dropped significantly.

    Bei Bei let out a huge amount of electricity. As the Vigorous Thunderbolt was unleashed, it turned into an electric web that engulfed her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pped her wings, and the Light of the Butterfly Goddess flowed towards Wu Ming. A huge amount of golden light started to flood her body.

    Four out of the six attacked. Only Jiang Nannan and He Caitou remained where they were. Jiang Nannan was waiting for an opportunity, whereas He Caitou was lifting a heavy cannon to his shoulder. His target was Han Ruoruo. An intense red light shed, and a huge ball of red light shot out into the air towards Han Ruoruo.

    This was a ss 6 high-power cannon shell. This kind of high-power cannon shell was extremely explosive and fiery. It could only be fired by a ss 6 high-power soul cannon, and even then, it could only be fired three times consecutively. The ss 6 high-powered soul cannon could only be used again after a two hour cooldown period, otherwise it might overheat and explode. Its offensive strength was one of the best among ss 6 soul tools.

    Moreover, He Caitou still had Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to guide him. He didn¡¯t need to worry about his uracy.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were spiritually connected at this point. Xu Sanshi had flown out and used his strong domain-type soul skill. He didn¡¯t just want to stop Chu Qingtian; he also wanted to trap Han Ruoruo. Along with He Caitou¡¯s cannon shell, their aim was not to kill or hurt their opponents. Rather, they wanted to dy Han Ruoruo and Chu Qingtian¡¯s assistance to Wu Ming.

    On the other side, the four of them teamed up to attack Wu Ming. However, Wu Ming wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.

    At such a critical moment, Wu Ming demonstrated her outstanding abilities.

    Her seventh soul ring lit up at this point. Instantly, she turned into a fiery golden-reddy. She let out a sonorous whistle, and her wings pped to propel her upwards. She shed with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws.

    As reverberating booms sounded, the granite under Wu Ming¡¯s feet started to crack. However, she had first managed to resist the dy that the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute had imposed on her as she unleashed her Golden Crow True Body. Bei Bei¡¯s Vigorous Thunderbolt was also resisted by the Golden Crow True Body.

    As the Light of the Butterfly Goddessnded on the Golden Crow True Body, it caused huge ripples to surface. However, it couldn¡¯t force Wu Ming back. Only the Darkgolden Terrorws had some effect on her.

    Yes, this was her Martial Soul True Body! A powerful skill that only a Soul Sage possessed.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had once faced Zhao Yang¡¯s Martial Soul True Body. His Violet Goldbear had left a deep impression on them. But at this point, they realized the true terror of a Martial Soul True Body as Wu Ming unleashed her Golden Crow True Body.

    Wu Ming¡¯s aura soared, and her scorching Golden Crow Primordial Fire forced Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan to retreat a few steps.

    Even as she withstood the attacks of several soul skills, she wasn''t at a disadvantage. Although she was surrounded, she seemed to be counterattacking.

    ¡°Open up!¡± Wu Ming shouted as she revealed her strong side. Her third soul ring lit up, and she pressed her hands downward.

    She was about to unleash her third soul skill, the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Explosion. It was a soul skill that caused immense destruction, and was most suitable to be used when one was trapped.

    However, Jiang Nannan started to act at this point.

    As she leapt into the air, she had already arrived behind Wu Ming. A dark-golden glow lit up on her body.

    Wu Ming was very confident in her Golden Crow True Body, and thus didn¡¯t bother with Jiang Nannan at all. She believed that she wouldn¡¯t be hurt even if Jiang Nannan struck her, since she only possessed a five-ringed cultivation. As her Golden Crow Primordial Fire Explosion was about to erupt, the six of them were definitely going to be blown apart. Their encirclement would also be ovee, and it would be time to chase victory once she was freed.

    However, Wu Ming felt something amiss as Jiang Nannan stuck close to her.

    The heat from the Golden Crow Primordial Fire was useless against Jiang Nannan. She didn¡¯t attack either, but only stuck close to Wu Ming. Her hands and even legs were wrapped around her. The dark-golden glow turned into an intense bright gold. After this, Wu Ming¡¯s third soul ring was extinguished. The Golden Crow Primordial Fire Explosion wasn¡¯t unleashed¡­

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s fourth and fifth soul rings shone. Yes, it was the result of her fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body, and her fifth soul skill, Soft Bone Lock.

    The defensive strength of the Invincible Golden Body had increased greatly, but it still onlysted for a few seconds. As her cultivation increased, it was currently able tost for seven seconds. The Soft Bone Lock could also seal all non-Martial Soul True Body soul skills once the opponent was locked on, at the cost of her mobility.

 Chapter 225.3: Golden Crow True Body

    Due to the gap in their abilities, Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t possibly stay on Wu Ming forever. After all, the Golden Crow Primordial Fire would burn her once her Invincible Golden Body disappeared.

    As a result, the Golden Crow Primordial Fire Combustion and Golden Crow Primordial Fire Explosion that Wu Ming was going to unleash were sealed even though her Martial Soul True Body was still on disy. Jiang Nannan was fighting for this little bit of time for the rest.

    An orange-gold figure flew out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at this point. In the next moment, Huo Yuhao arrived in front of Wu Ming. He gently tapped her shoulder. At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s third soul ring and the second of his four orange-gold soul rings lit up.

    Jiang Nannan disappeared as Huo Yuhao tapped Wu Ming¡¯s shoulder. Her third soul skill helped her to escape after she bought enough time for Huo Yuhao.

    His palm was gentle, as well as smooth and spotless.

    As his palm struck Wu Ming¡¯s shoulder, her entire body started to tremble. The Golden Crow Primordial Fire that had broken free from the restraint of the Soft Bone Lock was instantly extinguished, as if a basin of ice water had been poured over it. Wu Ming¡¯s body also froze. The golden-red faded from her body, and her Golden Crow True Body seemed to have been dissipated by Huo Yuhao¡¯s gentle palm.

    Empress¡¯ Palm! Snowless cier.

    Niu Tian had once mentioned that the only way to avoid the Snowless cier was to avoid being struck by it. The Empress¡¯ Palm had to make contact before it could take effect.

    Considering his status as the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect master, his appraisal of the Snow Empress¡¯ Snow cier showed how strong it was.

    Sword and Palm sends the sky into a Chill, the Empress¡¯ Sword, Palm, and Chill. Among these three soul skills, the Empress¡¯ Palm was ranked second. However, it was the strongest among the three in terms of its direct offensive strength. After fusing with the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, Huo Yuhao no longer possessed Ultimate Ice, but Ultimate Ice and Snow. Among all cold-type soul masters, no one couldpare to him.

    Even without the enhancement of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowless cier still managed to achieve a temperature of absolute zero. While the Golden Crow True Body was very strong, the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowless cier was still exhibited as it struck at such a close distance.

    Wu Ming felt her shoulder turning numb as it was hit. In the next moment, she discovered that her soul power seemed to have solidified. Her Martial Soul True Body disintegrated instantly, and her entire right arm went numb. A lukewarm feeling started to gush from her shoulder to the rest of her body.

    Yes, it was a lukewarm feeling. However, it gave her chills! Reversal!

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm wasn¡¯t enhanced by the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, it still managed to surprisingly turn the chill into a warm feeling.

    After Huo Yuhao struck Wu Ming, he also felt something amiss, and pressed his palm down again. As the warm flow returned to his body, both he and the Snow Lady started to shine with bright orange light.

    The attack was absorbed back into Huo Yuhao. Not only was his soul power restored, but even the Snow Lady benefited greatly.

    Wu Ming unleashed her Golden Crow Primordial Fire once again, but her face had turned pale-white.

    She didn¡¯t know if she would have survived if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t absorbed the warm flow in time. However, she knew that it had been gushing towards her heart.

    What soul skill was that?

    Wu Ming was stunned. The rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters didn¡¯t continue to attack her after they were informed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. However, the sparring still continued.

    Just as Wu Ming was struck by the Snowless cier, Xu Sanshi also ran into trouble¡­

    Chu Qingtian couldn¡¯t handle the Turtle God¡¯s Strike, and was forced back. However, there was still Han Ruoruo behind him.

    Han Ruoruo lifted her hand as she faced the Turtle God¡¯s Strike and He Caitou¡¯s high-power cannon shell. A golden ring light was unleashed with her body in the center.

    She didn¡¯t rush to save Wu Ming, as she knew Wu Ming well, and had absolute confidence in her. Han Ruoruo believed that Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters couldn¡¯t defeat Wu Ming easily since she had unleashed her Martial Soul True Body, even if they encircled her. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t have to bother helping them defeat her either.

    The golden ring looked very simple, as if it were a thick arm. It had a diameter of around five meters. However, a shocking scene appeared when the golden ring collided with the Turtle God¡¯s Strike and He Caitou¡¯s high-power cannon shell.

    ¡°Boom, boom¡­¡±

    Two loud booms sounded at the same time. The first to blow apart was the high-power cannon shell. He Caitou chose to fire at this timing in order to coordinate with Xu Sanshi. As an advanced-level soul engineer, he had great awareness. In addition, he had Huo Yuhao¡¯s help.

    However, the golden ring appeared to be impregnable.

    The terrifying impact generated by the high-power cannon shell affected the entire Sparring Arena. A mushroom fog rose over the entire arena, but Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t move a single step. The golden ring only shook slightly before it collided with the Turtle God¡¯s Strike.

    The Turtle God¡¯s Strike was abination of two soul skills, and was even unleashed by Xu Sanshi, who possessed the Xuanwu¡¯s blood lineage. As it collided with the golden ring, it created an intense whirlpool that generated a suction force. This whirlpool wasn¡¯t simple ¨C the suction force could continuously deplete the opponent¡¯s soul power.

    However, the golden ring suddenly divided into three when the Turtle God¡¯s Strike collided with it. They intersected and connected together. As a buzz sounded, they started to be pulled in three different directions.

    The instant they collided, and as the boom from their collision reverberated, the Turtle God¡¯s Strike was ovee and converted into countless projections of shields. Eventually, it returned to Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield.

    Xu Sanshi cursed, but before he could react further, a streak of golden light had already entangled him. No matter how he tried to struggle and resist with his shield, the Dazzling Golden Rope still dragged him down. He was restrained like a dumpling.

    Chu Qingtian couldn¡¯t give up such a perfect opportunity. He snuck up behind Xu Sanshi, and a panther projection formed by lightning shone brightly before striking Xu Sanshi¡¯s body forcefully. Suddenly, Xu Sanshi¡¯s body started to sh with lightning. He appeared to be convulsing.

    As Han Ruoruo flung her right hand, Xu Sanshi was thrown forward. Wang Yan made his judgment ¨C Xu Sanshi had been eliminated.

    This was the first time the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ attack had ever been stopped once the Mysterious Underworld Discement was used. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t stand a chance against Han Ruoruo. The rest also started to feel that the Dazzling Golden Rope was going to be difficult to deal with.

    The rope could loosen, tighten, whip and block. When it tangled, it was flexible. However, it seemed indestructible when it tightened.

    Han Ruoruo controlled her martial soul very well. Xu Sanshi was defeated before he could unleash his full strength. Although that was partly due to the fact that Han Ruoruo¡¯s martial soul was very effective at curbing Xu Sanshi, it was also undeniable that the gap in their cultivations yed a huge part in his defeat.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were stunned, but Han Ruoruo was also shocked. She had defeated Xu Sanshi in the shortest time possible. However, she was appalled to discover that the rest of the six were rushing towards her, while Wu Ming didn¡¯t move from her spot. What did it mean for the six of them to turn their backs on her? It meant that she had been defeated.

    So quickly? Ming¡¯er only just showed her Golden Crow True Body! At the same time as she was puzzled, she also became warier. Her eyes turned fiercer, and she snorted. The Dazzling Golden Rope struck forward towards the six of them. She was aiming for Huo Yuhao.

    He Caitou, who was in front of the rest, suddenly stopped. A crisp, nging sound rang out as he stood firmly rooted to the ground.

    A circr metal disc appeared beneath his feet. The bottom of the disc was conical, and stabbed right into the granite below. He Caitou stood above this disc. Following this, arge number of soul tools started tobine with his body. In a matter of seconds, he had be a metal monster with countless barrels pointing outwards, all aimed at Han Ruoruo.

    Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, who had the greatest abilities? In terms of explosiveness, it wasn¡¯t Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao or Wang Dong¡¯er. It was He Caitou.

    He Caitou was already a ss 7 soul engineer, which was equivalent to a Soul Sage! Although a ss 7 soul engineer was still some way off from a Soul Sage¡¯s Martial Soul True Body, the gap was still within the same level.

    After five years, He Caitou once again used a soul tool fort strategy. However, it was on a different levelpared to five years ago.

    He lifted a huge, heavy dark-gold cannon that was more than two-and-a-half meters long onto his shoulder. He used the rest of his soul tools to support the weight of this cannon. When the cannon was unleashed, even Han Ruoruo felt a chill down her spine.

 Chapter 226.1: Dazzling Golden True Body

    Other than this heavy cannon, He Caitou looked just like a steel porcupine, as uncountable cannon barrels emerged all over his body. He was practically a metal monster! He Caitou¡¯s entire body waspletely covered by this soul tool fortress.

    He Caitou and Huo Yuhao were the only soul engineers among the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Huo Yuhao was both a soul engineer and a soul master, while He Caitou was a pure soul engineer. Most of the time, Huo Yuhao was far too outstanding, to the point where he would steal all the limelight away from He Caitou. However, He Caitou had been working hard this whole time, and had been able to casually focus on his own cultivation and research with Huo Yuhao¡¯s halo masking him. His improvements and advancements with soul tools over the past two years in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were definitelyparable to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    The other five immediately separated, and He Caitou was all by himself as his body flickered before countless beams of light erupted and went straight for Han Ruoruo.

    Wang Yan was the referee, but even his jaw hung ck at this moment. This explosive attack from He Caitou is way too powerful!

    Han Ruoruo could feel the imminent threat from her opponent acutely. She finally chose to avoid meeting this force head-on, and opted to evade this attack instead. The Dazzling Golden Rope that was soaring forward suddenly changed direction and plummeted downwards before it nted itself steadily onto the ground, while Han Ruoruo¡¯s shook her body subtly before she propelled herself away.

    One could see from a distance that there was an enormous pir of light surging forward like a shooting star somewhere high up on the Sea God¡¯s Ind. This was the effect of He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fortress being used at full power. Juxtaposed with the disturbance caused by his explosive shell, the academy was finally riled up.

    Everybody else began to move when He Caitouunched this attack. Xiao Xiao began to blow her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute once more, and one soul ring sparkled on her body as light rippled outward. However, these circles weren¡¯t targeting Han Ruoruo, they were going for the Berserk Lightning Panther, Chu Qingtian, who was evading the attack on one side and currently watching He Caitou with a look of astonishment.

    Chu Qingtian had truly been frightened. He was part of the Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, but this was the first time he had seen a high-level soul engineer¡¯s prowess.

    Another person slunk out when He Caitou fired his attack¡­ Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan was an agility-type soul master, and her lean and slender thighs pushed off the ground and jumped more than ten meters horizontally. She arrived next to Chu Qingtian after another bounce.

    Chu Qingtian was also an agility-type soul master, and he was even known as the fastest person in the inner courtyard, so his reaction wasn¡¯t slow at all. Even though Jiang Nannan had a weaker cultivation, he had already seen the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ prowess, and he didn¡¯t dare to becent at all. His body image shed as he attempted to escape the battlefield. He was still confident in his own speed.

    However, a dash of golden light suddenly flickered across his eyes right at this moment, and another streak of white light shed by immediately afterwards. His mind was instantly thrown into aplete nk, while everything around him became blurry. The sky around him seemed like it was spinning round and round, and his body had only just left the ground before he touched down once more.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul ring was sparkling; it was his Spirit Eyes¡¯ fourth soul skill, Spiritual Confusion!

    All Jiang Nannan needed was this little bit of time. Han Ruoruo had been forced away by He Caitou¡¯s assault, who had been positioned towards her right side. This forced Han Rourou to dodge towards the left, while Chu Qingtian was already on the right. This meant Han Rourou and Chu Qingtian were separated the moment He Caitouunched his attack.

    Han Ruoruo knew that he was in trouble, but it was toote to help him. On the other side, Jiang Nannan had arrived right next to Chu Qingtian.

    She nted her right foot on Chu Qingtian¡¯s abdomen and kicked Chu Qingtian¡¯s body until his back arched upwards. Jiang Nannan grabbed Chu Qingtian¡¯s shoulder immediately afterwards, while her soft and tender waist flipped backwards, tossing Chu Qingtian heavily onto the ground.

    There was no need to see what happened next. Their cultivations were simr enough, and Chu Qingtian was disoriented because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion. Jiang Nannan threw another right kick before she used Waist Bow and threw him into the air.

    He Caitou¡¯s soul tool fortress rapidly turned towards him, terrifying Chu Qingtian, who had just recovered his senses.

    Fortunately, this was just a practice battle. He Caitou¡¯s petrifying cannon barrels flickered once before they returned to normal.

    Han Ruoruo had been forced backwards, but she responded immediately. Another golden soul ring sparkled as her elegant figure bounced off the ground, and circles of light waved outward. While she defended herself in every possible way, her Dazzling Golden Rope snaked with lightning speed towards Jiang Nannan and Chu Qingtian.

    Providing aid to theirpatriots was the most important role of control-type soul masters.

    However, Huo Yuhao was also the main control-type soul master of his team. How could he give her this chance?

    He channeled his Spiritual Confusion as he reached out with his right hand, and Wang Dong¡¯er slid into his embrace. She hadn¡¯t been doing much throughout the entire battle.

    An enormous eye with a vertical pupil and tinged with incredibly beautiful colors instantly appeared on the battlefield.

    This vertical eye¡¯s brilliance was far too illustrious, to the point where Han Ruoruo couldn¡¯t ignore it. The rm in her heart paused her forward momentum momentarily, and a golden road immediately stretched out before her. If she hadn¡¯t stopped in her tracks, then that golden road would have shone directly upon her.

    The three-colored radiance flickered, and the dazzling Golden Road sprawled horizontally in front of her eyes.

    The Golden Road didn¡¯t touch Han Ruoruo at all... but it struck her Dazzling Golden Rope!

    The Dazzling Golden Rope¡¯s forward movement ceased, and it grew soft and ck, as if it had lost all vitality. It couldn¡¯tplete its rescue mission for Chu Qingtian. Thus, Wang Yan had already ruled Chu Qingtian out of the battle at this point. If He Caitou hadn¡¯t shown mercy, this Berserk Lightning Panther would have been cooked.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters chose to divide and conquer even when they were seven versus three against a Soul Emperor, a Soul Sage, and a Soul Douluo, and their n seeded.

    Even Han Ruoruo was unable to save her tworades in time. Even though Xu Sanshi had been kicked out, this exchange of one for two was worth it for Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Han Ruoruo paused and stared at the five of them who were still maintaining theirplete formation, and didn¡¯t prevent Jiang Nannan from jumping back to rejoin them.

    She nodded softly and said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder the academy granted you all the title of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters for life. We were not nearly as powerful as you guys when we were your age. However, you guys are still young. Let me teach you a lesson.¡±

    She made this statement very casually, and there wasn¡¯t a tinge of outrageousness or arrogance in it at all. It felt as if it was a simple statement of fact, but immense pressure began to rise in the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ hearts at this moment.

    Han Ruoruo raised both arms at the same time, and silver light burst forth from her eyes again. The Dazzling Golden Rope spun around her petite frame rapidly, and began to dance.

    The light became increasingly blurry, and Huo Yuhao realized to his shock that his Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t reach her anymore, it couldn¡¯t pierce those golden circles. Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden Rope was charged with spiritual undtions; this was an effect obtained by fusing spiritual power and soul power together.

    He Caitou¡¯s dark golden cannon barrel sparkled, and golden lights spurted continually. However, he had lost Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection lock-on, and thus wasn¡¯t so confident in his shot¡¯s uracy anymore.

    He was a ss 7 soul engineer, but he was ultimately still a Soul Emperor. The heavy cannon on his shoulder was a ss 7 soul tool, but one more st would consume too much of his soul power, possibly more than it had in the previous strike.

    A pale silver light covered Han Ruoruo¡¯s body, and she stared at Huo Yuhao meaningfully before she vanished entirely, along with the mix of gold and silver lights.

    Countless Dazzling Golden Ropes that were both gold and silver erupted in all directions when she disappeared, nketing the entire battlefield in an instant.

    Circles of the same colors rapidly appeared on the ground, and bore towards Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters with blinding speed.

    The Dazzling Golden True Body! Faced with the pressure of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Han Ruoruo had finally used her martial soul true body.

    This was also a martial soul true body, but the feeling she gave the six of them was vastly different from before. What was different? There was no longer a single target!

    Wu Ming¡¯s martial soul true body was charged with high-temperature Golden Crow Primordial Fire, but her original body was still there. However, Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden True Body was simr to Chu Qingtian¡¯s Lightning Transformation; she transformed into innumerable Dazzling Golden Ropes, how were they supposed to assault them?

    Bei Bei was the first to suffer.

    Bei Bei nted his right foot heavily onto the ground when he realized things were going wrong, then he activated his Thunderous Dragon Head toward the ground. Large patches of lightning spread across the ground as he attempted to impede the Dazzling Golden True Body¡¯s advance.

    However, his attack waspletely futile. The Dazzling Golden True Body didn¡¯t even pause for a moment amongst the flickering streaks of lightning, and it continued to surge forward. A gold and silver circle of light soundlessly appeared beneath Bei Bei¡¯s feet, and a gold and silver beam of light rose into the sky immediately afterwards, sending Bei Bei flying through the air.

    All his soul power and his soul skills were sealed once he was struck. He waspletely wrapped up by the Dazzling Golden Rope once he was tossed into the sky.

    Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t just use her Dazzling Golden True Body. She was their senior sister, and the arrogance and pride in her heart was triggered when Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters disyed their prowess. She had also used her eighth and most powerful soul skill: Golden Skysurge.

    This was an incredibly powerful domain-like soul skill that could be used on a group of targets or a single target!

 Chapter 226.2: Dazzling Golden True Body

    Jiang Nannan almost instantly followed Bei Bei¡¯s footsteps, and was hurled into the air.

    Xiao Xiao had alreadyid down her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and attempted to shake off Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden True Body. However, her actions were to no avail as well, and both her and her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron were sent into the sky.

    Han Ruoruo had erupted with her seventh and eighth soul skills at the same time. She was a powerful Soul Douluo after all, and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters didn¡¯t stand a chance if she purely used her strength to overpower them.

    Huo Yuhao had felt troubleing the moment she made her move. He still couldn¡¯t find out where she was, since Han Ruoruo¡¯s spiritual power wasparable to his, and her soul power so much stronger, in addition to the fact that she was using her martial soul true body. Huo Yuhao needed a cultivation of at least seven soul rings to suppress her with spiritual power; anything else was impossible.

    He stretched his arms into a circle and hugged Wang Dong¡¯er while his eyes lit up at the same time. Another pair of huge dark blue eyes sparkled along with his.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s petite frame instantly erged, and the Snow Empress¡¯ virtual projection appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. The Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯s water around the Sea God¡¯s Ind began to ripple torrentially immediately afterwards.

    The air grew moist as enormous snowkes drifted down from the sky. Huo Yuhao gradually masked his own figure among all those snowkes.

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice had finally descended upon the world once more!

    This was the fusion between the Ice Empress¡¯ Domain of Perpetual Ice and the Snow Empress¡¯ Snowy Dance of the Brilliant Sun. Both were incredibly powerful soul skills.

    The temperature across the entire battleground began to plummet. Wu Ming had already backed out of the battlefield, and was already back to normal, but her expression changed in an instant.

    This was because she was a fire-type soul master, and her perception of this extreme chill was far more conspicuous. She could clearly feel how low the battlefield¡¯s temperature had dropped.

    Bei Bei, Xiao Xiao, and Jiang Nannan had been thrown out of the circle after they were tossed into the air one after another. This was a practice battle after all, and Han Ruoruo definitely didn¡¯t want to hurt them.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er vanished amongst the tremendous patches of ice and frost, and even He Caitou disappeared as well. The ground was covered with gold and silver circles of light in the same instant.

    Streak after streak of dual-colored light surged up from the ground and stirred the waltzing snowkes in the sky in an attempt to find the three of them. However, just like how Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t determine Han Ruoruo¡¯s location, Han Ruoruo couldn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao either within his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Wu Ming¡¯s expression was a little sullen. She knew that she had already lost to Huo Yuhao in terms of their elements, the palm she took before this was based on this fact. Her Golden Crow Primordial Fire was strong, but it was nowhere near as extreme as Huo Yuhao¡¯s ice and snow. Her element had been overpowered, and the formidable chill from that simple-looking strike had defeated her.

    ¡°Go, Ruoruo!¡± While Wu Ming¡¯s despondence was extremely ephemeral, her mentality was very strong, and she immediately began to cheer for Han Ruoruo.

    The gold and silver circles started to transform on the ground. They gradually dissipated, and everything changed into horizontal patterns of light. These patterns began to ripple immediately afterwards, and they swept up into the sky like tidal waves. The turbulent ice and snow was stirred up even more vigorously, and the air was filled with dense, extremely powerful soul power undtions.

    The ice and snow that were originally concentrated inside the Sparring Arena were whipped into pieces, and they gradually drifted into the air outside. Han Ruoruo had unleashed her sixth soul skill, Golden Wave. This was an area-of-effect control-type soul skill, and its main function was to dispel.

    She naturally couldn¡¯t dispel Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain, but she could still dispel the ice and snow that Huo Yuhao had formed inside this domain with his soul power.

    The situation immediately descended into an impasse.

    It was alright if she couldn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao, as Han Ruoruo had absolute confidence that he would be the first to drop if this impasse was allowed to continue. He was still a Soul King after all, and their cultivations were ultimately still a world apart.

    Furthermore, Han Ruoruo¡¯s Golden Wave meant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s snowkes were also within the area of effect. This practicebat would be over the moment she discovered Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°We¡¯ve lost, senior sister.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attempt to keep this up, and his voice resonated through the air.

    It was almost like an instant reaction to opportunity. Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden True Body immediately pinpointed his location when his voice rang out, and her Golden Wave transformed back into the Golden Skysurge and barreled towards them.

    However, a dark blue streak flickered once in midair, and a crack was forcefully shed through her Golden Skysurge. Three snowkes rapidly drifted down outside the Sparring Arena as they revealed their human forms: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and He Caitou.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale, and it was apparent that this was caused by expending too much soul power. The ice and snow swiftly disappeared from the mountaintop, while the gold and silver colors receded, and Han Ruoruo stood all by herself in center of the Sparring Arena.

    However, she didn¡¯t have the look of tion that she was supposed to have after victory; there was only astonishment.

    ¡°You¡­ you can break through my Golden Skysurge?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s sword naturally wasn¡¯t able to break through, but this was only because there was a tremendous gap between their cultivations. Han Ruoruo was absolutely certain that her Golden Skysurge wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand Huo Yuhao¡¯s dark blue sword radiance if they had the same cultivation. That sword had possessed both extreme chill and incredible sharpness.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I did no such thing. You¡¯re too powerful, senior sister.¡±

    Yes, Han Ruoruo was too powerful. She had almost defeated Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters with a single strike.

    Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Chu Qingtian were still shaken by the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ prowess. However, the seven of them seemed a little dull¡­ they had been defeated, in the end.

    This was what a gap in ability and cultivation meant, and perhaps also what a gap in battle experience meant. Han Ruoruo had been one versus six, but they had had no chance at all. Wu Ming was only knocked out because her element was countered, and she wasn¡¯t familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities.

    The Sparring Arena¡¯s temperature had dropped from all the ice and snow strewn across the ground. The teachers that came from elsewhere to watch were both stunned and ck-jawed. They came over to emphasize the importance of safety, and they inspected the grounds to ensure that they hadn¡¯t been overly damaged before they walked away.

    Xu Sanshi grumbled, ¡°Senior sister Han, you¡¯re too brutal. I didn¡¯t even get to use my abilities before I was thrown out of the fight.¡±

    Han Ruoruo snapped, ¡°You didn¡¯t get to use your abilities? You managed to swap Ming¡¯er away. What¡¯s up with you, Ming¡¯er? You couldn¡¯t evenst a little while longer?¡±

    Wu Ming was even more despondent than Xu Sanshi was. ¡°I couldn¡¯t take it, Ruoruo! I don¡¯t even know what soul skill Huo Yuhao used when he hit me with his palm, but my martial soul true body was instantly dispelled. If he hadn¡¯t withdrawn his soul power in time, I might have been severely wounded. His Ultimate Ice is powerful¡­ his elementpletely overpowered mine.¡±

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s gaze changed a little when she turned towards Huo Yuhao once more. Han Ruoruo hadn¡¯t felt at allfortable inside his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice either. She was fettered by the low temperature and extreme chill even under the effects of her Dazzling Golden True Body. The snowkes that descended from the sky possessed formidable offensive strength at the same time, and she had consumed a lot of soul power. The stunning sword that sliced open her Golden Skysurge at the end also left an exceptionally strong impression.

    ¡°Stopining, everyone.¡± Wang Yan came over with a smile on his face. ¡°This practicebat was short, but it was spectacr. Bei Bei, Yuhao, you guys lost the fight, but you guys were still glorious in defeat. You guys have to know that Ruoruo is considered one of the strongest among the inner courtyard¡¯s students, and the gap in cultivation isn¡¯t something that can be plugged with numbers.

    ¡°This was a practice battle after all, so it¡¯s natural for everyone to feel a little restrained. You guys have already adjusted extremely well. It seems like the two years that the few of you have spent apart didn¡¯t diminish your chemistry and your tacit understandings. In fact, it was Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Qingtian who werecking rapport. Ruoruo, you underestimated your opponents from the very beginning, right?¡±

    Han Ruoruo blushed a little when she met Wang Yan¡¯s intense gaze, and nodded slightly. She had indeed underestimated her adversaries; the gap in their cultivations was simply too great, and she possessed a martial soul true body while they didn¡¯t, which meant a world of difference. Otherwise, assault-type soul masters would never make the first move in a group battle; it was always the control-type soul masters who unleashed their soul skills first. If she had had a better coordination or chemistry with Wu Ming, then Wu Ming wouldn¡¯t havended herself in that awkward situation.

    Wang Yan chuckled and said, ¡°And you, Qingtian, you weren¡¯t able to disy your full power, and your reactions were a little slow. If you had used your Lightning Transformation the moment Ming¡¯er was swapped away by that Mysterious Underworld Discement, she might have been able to escape the soul skills that came afterwards.¡±

    Chu Qingtian nodded as Wu Ming shot a fierce re in his direction. It was clear that she wasn¡¯t very pleased with his performance.

    Wang Yan turned towards Wu Ming and said, ¡°Actually, you did a good job. A fight between soul masters means both sides must try their best to suppress each other by maximizing their respective strengths and fortes. However, you have to be clear about what¡¯s up with your opponents. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice isn¡¯t a secret, and I know you wanted to fight against it in your heart. The fact that it can be described as an Ultimate element already proves his elemental advantage. However, I didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be able to break your martial soul true body. Still, your defeat isn¡¯t unfair at all. Even though you¡¯re a Soul Sage, it¡¯s not easy to defend yourself against six people barraging you at the same time. The only problem was with your mentality. You must have thought that the others wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to you if you unleashed your martial soul true body, so breaking through their siege wouldn¡¯t be too difficult, and you could possibly turn the tables on them instead. If you had opted to break through their encirclement instead of facing them head-on, you might have had a different oue.¡±

 Chapter 226.3: Dazzling Golden True Body

    Wu Ming was initially astonished as she listened to Wang Yan¡¯s analysis, but this quickly transformed into admiration and respect. She had felt that it wasn¡¯t worth it when Han Ruoruo walked away with Wang Yan that day. Wang Yan was a teacher, but he only had six rings, and he was more than forty years old. It was hard to say whether he could be a Titled Douluo in his lifetime. In contrast, Han Ruoruo had already be a powerful Soul Douluo at the age of a little more than thirty, so she was bound to be a Titled Douluo in the future. There was an immense distance between their power and potential.

    But she had to admit that Wang Yan¡¯s observation skills, his perception of people, and his ability to judge abilities were exceptional as she continued listening to his analysis. He was almost able to describe her exact mentality and thoughts.

    Wang Yan turned towards Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters after he was done with the three of them. ¡°You guys did alright just now, and your teamwork was a lot better inparison. However, there were many problems as well. Bei Bei, Sanshi, have you guys tried your best?¡±

    Bei Bei exchanged a look with Xu Sanshi. Wang Yan hadn¡¯t given them pointers in a long time, and he hit the right note in his first statement.

    Wu Ming¡¯s eyes widened, and she eximed, ¡°Ah, you guys dared to hold back in a practice battle against us?¡±

    Bei Bei pulled a long face and replied, ¡°How can we hold anything back, teacher Wang? Aren¡¯t you clear about our abilities?¡±

    Wang Yan smiled and said, ¡°You are also clear about whether you held back or not. Let¡¯s not talk about the fact that your martial souls can mutate, the things you two did on the battlefield were far from the level that your abilities can normally achieve. The two of you have the most experience, and have the highest cultivation amongst the seven of you. Your element might not be as strong as Yuhao¡¯s, but the chemistry between the two of you isparable to that between Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Sanshi used the Mysterious Underworld Discement during the previous battle, but what about you, Bei Bei? You were treading water from beginning to end. If I¡¯m not wrong, Sanshi had the ability to break free when he was entangled. Even though your cultivation is a world apart from Ruoruo¡¯s, you shouldn¡¯t have lost so easily. I¡¯m fairly certain that you have other moves you didn¡¯t use.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were chided until they could only exchange foolish looks with one another. They really had to respect and admire Wang Yan!

    Wang Yan smiled and said, ¡°Let me guess what you guys were thinking. I believe you guys wanted to see how everyone has improved, and how their chemistry is like. Not giving your all is also reasonable, as this is a practicebat, after all. I can understand that there are some abilities that are difficult to control once you guys use them, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re way too perceptive, teacher Wang,¡± Xu Sanshi spoke sincerely.

    Wang Yanughed and replied, ¡°I can only see clearer than most. I¡¯m not sure why the two of you decided to tread water, but you guys didn¡¯t put in as much effort as Yuhao did in terms of cooperating with the team.

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn, Xiao Xiao. Your performance wasn¡¯t good except for the moment when you blocked Wu Ming¡¯s attack by disying impressive controlling capabilities. Your cooperation with the rest was the most insufficient of the entire team. It¡¯s clear that you felt like there was nothing much to do during theter parts of the battle, and you hadn¡¯tpletely integrated into the group, so you didn¡¯t unleash your abilities properly. Therefore, the seven of you practicing together is the right thing to do.¡±

    ¡°Yes, teacher Wang.¡± Xiao Xiao responded with a red tinge in her cheeks. She had toiled in her cultivation over the years, and she had learned so much from Elder Xuan. But duringst season¡¯s bigpetition, her abilities weren¡¯t strong enough and so she didn¡¯t have much chemistry or teamwork with her team in the first ce. And over the past few years, she had been focusing on increasing her own strength. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was their main control-type soul master, and he wasn¡¯t familiar with her abilities either, so Xiao Xiao was a lot more ineffective with Huo Yuhao at the helm.

    Wang Yan turned towards He Caitou with a faint smile. ¡°Caitou, both you and Nannan have given me the most pleasant of surprises. It¡¯s clear that you have achieved great sess with soul tools, and I am certain that you have other even more powerful abilities, but you didn¡¯t channel all your energy for safety reasons.¡±

    Han Ruoruo chimed in and said, ¡°Yes, he made me feel very threatened. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have used Golden Skysurge directly after using my Dazzling Golden True Body.¡±

    He Caitou smiled sheepishly, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Wang Yan then turned towards Jiang Nannan. ¡°Nannan, your abilities are bing a lot more mature. Even though you¡¯re not a Soul Emperor yet, you are no longer just an agility-type soul master on the battlefield, you are also aplishing certain controlling functions and capabilities. The person who had the best performance was actually you, and not Yuhao. The reason is because everyone has a different role in a team, and you fulfilled your role exceptionally well.¡±

    Jiang Nannan shed a faint smile, and her enchanting beauty made Xu Sanshi exim out loud¡­

    Wang Yan finally looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, but he heaved a faint sigh instead of anything else.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You can speak easy, teacher Wang. I can take it. I know my performance wasn¡¯t good just now.¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not sighing because your performance wasn¡¯t good, I¡¯m sighing because I¡¯m full of awe and admiration.

    ¡°Your abilities are just too incredible. I never thought that you would improve to such a level after five years. Even though your performance did have its blemishes, it can be considered quite excellent on the whole. There are a few issues you have to pay attention to. If I¡¯m not wrong, your Domain will also affect your teammates, and the most you can do is prevent them from being injured inside, but it will greatly restrict them and their ability to use their own skills. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have used that Domain sote in the battle, correct?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. Niu Tian told him back then that his Domain was good, but it had an all-around impact, and that extreme chill would affect everything within the domain. He could protect the people inside, but the people under his protection would be restricted to some extent, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to exercise their own abilities.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°I¡¯ve considered that you guys haven¡¯t worked together for a long time, and everyone isn¡¯t that familiar with each other¡¯s soul skills yet, so your performance can still be considered good. This was especially true when you attempted to suppress Ruoruo in the beginning, and you proved the advantage of having spiritual control. You were also holding back, because I vaguely remember that you have a third eye...¡±

    Wang Yan turned to Wang Dong¡¯er afterwards and said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, I want to remind you that you are ranked number three in terms of cultivation amongst the entire team. You¡¯re a Soul Emperor, and even though you have the advantage of a martial soul fusion with Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re not his appendage. During the practicebat, you didn¡¯t really use your own abilities at all besides providing support for Huo Yuhao. You also have twin martial souls, and I¡¯m absolutely certain that your six soul skills are not useless. Furthermore, you still have your soul bones, and their attached abilities. You should have been able to aplish much more. Perhaps you wish to assist Yuhao, but please don¡¯t attach yourself to him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er smiled at each other as they listened to Wang Yan¡¯sments. Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°You¡¯ve finally said something wrong, teacher Wang. That is hard toe by indeed.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Yan was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood what was going on. There was a look of revtion on his face as he said, ¡°I understand now. You guys were doing all that on purpose? Is Wang Dong¡¯er supposed toe out only for killer moves and final blows?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled once more, but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Chu Qingtian felt even more incredulous as they listened to Wang Yan¡¯s analysis. These Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had already shaken them up during the previous sparring session... and yet, they hadn¡¯t given everything they had. What level would they reach if they were allowed to exercise all their abilities properly?

    Wang Yan said, ¡°Alright, you guys can continue to practice. I trust that you guys can do better. Ruoruo, Wu Ming, Qingtian, let¡¯s give the ce over to them. We¡¯ve been here for quite a while.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Han Ruoruo nodded agreement. Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian didn¡¯t object either, and they bid their farewells to Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters before they departed the Sparring Arena.

    They hadn¡¯t walked too far when Han Ruouruo whispered to Wang Yan, ¡°You said they were all holding back. If they had better teamwork and could exercise all their abilities properly, would they be able to defeat me?¡±

    Wang Yanughed and stole a glimpse at her. ¡°It¡¯s not like you tock self-confidence! They will probably need another five years to defeat you. At the very least, most of them have to have their martial soul true bodies before they can aplish that feat. Defeating you is not possible at the moment. I did point out that they were holding back, but they were also holding back because you were simply too powerful, and you suppressed them to the point where they couldn¡¯t really exercise their strengths. The gap between your cultivations is simply too great.

    ¡°Everything I said before was mainly to give them more confidence.¡±

    Wu Ming slid in from the side and said, ¡°Teacher Wang, why didn¡¯t you ask Huo Yuhao about that palm of his? I still don¡¯t understand it even now.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled and replied, ¡°That palm is extremely sophisticated. When he reached out with that palm, I could feel that even time itself seemed freeze. He was even able to dispel your martial soul true body... what level of power is that? That means he must be heavily restricted by something. If I¡¯m not wrong, distance is one of the things restricting him, and that palm of his can only take effect within a certain distance. You have to flex your own strengths if you wish to fight against him, and you will be able to use your martial soul true body to the best of its ability if you use your Golden Crow Primordial Fire at long range. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation, I don¡¯t think he can beat you yet if it¡¯s one-on-one.¡±

    Han Ruoruo thought of something and said, ¡°One-on-one? What if it¡¯s two-versus-one? If Wang Dong¡¯er is added to the mix¡­¡±

    Wang Yan shook his head and said, ¡°That, I don¡¯t know. All I can tell you is that during thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, one of them only had three rings, while the other was only had two, and they still managed to unleash four martial soul fusion skills during their final battle.¡±

 Chapter 227.1: Two Women Fighting For Glory

    ¡°What? Four?!¡± Han Ruoruo and the others eximed at almost the same time.

    Wang Yan nodded and said, ¡°Four, indeed. They both have twin martial souls, and my surprise and awe back then was even stronger than yours is now. ording to my knowledge, they might be the first pair of soul masters who both have twin martial souls and martial soul fusion skills, and that¡¯s probably how the miraculous four fusion skills came about. The skill that blocked Ruoruo¡¯s path forward was one of their four martial soul fusion skills, called The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence. Their three other martial soul fusion skills are equally powerful¡­ oh, Wu Ming, didn¡¯t you say that they transformed into Wang Dong¡¯er, who was bathed in golden light, during the Sea God¡¯s Fate? That¡¯s also one of their fusion skills.¡±

    Han Ruoruo heaved a faint sigh after listening to Wang Yan¡¯s exnation and she said, ¡°I¡¯m finally convinced.¡±

    Wang Yan smiled and smoothly sped her hands within his. ¡°You don¡¯t have to think badly of yourself. They have a very long road ahead of them to reach your level. Furthermore, it¡¯s easy to envy someone exceptional, and this may even affect them in the end. I just hope that all will be well during the nextpetition.¡±

    Han Ruoruo reacted in shock. ¡°Will they even have a problem during the nextpetition with their current standards? I¡¯ve interacted with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen before. Even though I don¡¯t know what level they can reach with their soul tools, and their soul master abilities are not bad, they are far inferior in terms of fighting strength.¡±

    Wang Yan¡¯s eyes were ovee with a look of solemnity as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°This season is different from the previous one. Some things might be changed. The academy is waiting for more urate information.¡±

    Wang Yan and the others departed, while Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters began their post-mortem and discussed the salient points and shorings from the practice battle as they disyed their various soul skills to each other.

    They didn¡¯t spar against one another anymore, and everyone just respectively demonstrated their soul skills and improved fighting styles over the past two years so that everyone knew and could see them clearly. Afterwards, they spent another two hours rehearsing and working on their teamwork and cooperation.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, teamwork andmand had never really been a problem. They worked all the way to lunchtime before they stopped, and it was clear that everyone was now much more familiar with one another than before.

    Bei Bei immediately made the decision that everyone would proceed to the Sparring Arena to practice in the morning from today onwards, and practice their own respective cultivations in the afternoon and at night.

    ¡­...

    That night, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er received news about their registration to participate in the hunting party heading towards the Great Star Dou Forest. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion allowed their participation in the end, but two more people were added to lead the group in addition to Zhang Lexuan. One was Han Ruoruo, who had just crossed paths with Huo Yuhao, and the other was the Martial Soul Department¡¯s vice-Dean, Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Cai Mei¡¯er naturally became the operation¡¯s mainmander.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er immediately received the name list for this operation after they asked for it.

    Cai Mei¡¯er, Zhang Lexuan, and Han Ruoruo were heading the operation. They didn¡¯t require soul rings, and their main responsibility was to protect the other inner courtyard students. One was a Titled Douluo, and the two others were Soul Douluos. They were leading a team of advanced students on a hunting expedition; perhaps only Shrek Academy could make this such a smooth operation.

    There were two guys on the name list that required new soul rings that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t recognize, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was also on the list. There were four members from the inner courtyard who needed soul rings, and in addition to Wang Dong¡¯er who was just tagging along, the entire group wasprised of eight people.

    Their departure time was the morning the day after the next.

    ¡­...

    On the second day, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters continued to rehearse and practice their formation and their teamwork. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the morning on the third day, and they were early as they waited outside the academy¡¯s main gate.

    It didn¡¯t take long before the students from the inner courtyard who were participating in this expedition gathered.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still dressed like she had always been: a long veil covered her extraordinary beauty, and her blue wave-like hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head. She wore a pale green warrior¡¯s robe that formed an amusing colorbination with her hair; there was a bit too much contrast between the colors.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was d in a white warrior robe, while her long hair wasbed into a rtively moreplicated scorpion braid while she wore a simr veil over her face.

    The two girls¡¯ gazes met when they first saw each other, and it immediately felt as if sparks were going to erupt from the collision. They exchanged one look before they turned back around.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little strange inside. They clearly looked exactly like each other, and they should thus logically be a lot closer and more intimate with each other. He didn¡¯t know why, but Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to marginalize Wang Qiu¡¯er. While this could be exined by the fact that Wang Qiu¡¯er looked more like the Goddess of Light, it was also apparent that Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t being friendly towards Wang Dong¡¯er either, as her eyes were exceptionally cold.

    Cai Mei¡¯er was thest to arrive, wearing a simple grey shirt. She had passed nine decades of life long ago, but she looked like she was only a little more than fifty on the outside. managing to maintain her appearance.

    Huo Yuhao had the least interaction with this vice-Dean. All he knew was that she seemed to have some problems with Dean Xian, but he wasn¡¯t sure about the details.

    Cai Mei¡¯er pped her hands when everyone gathered, and everyone turned to look at her.

    Cai Mei¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°Everyone here is from the inner courtyard, and it¡¯s not the first time we¡¯ve entered the Great Star Dou Forest. We have new participants in our expedition, so we should introduce ourselves to each other. Take turns to brief everyone about your name, your martial soul, your cultivation level, and whatnot so that we can cooperate better in the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    She nodded in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s direction as she finished speaking. Zhang Lexuan responded immediately, going first. ¡°My name is Zhang Lexuan, and I¡¯m an assistant teacher from the inner courtyard and a student at the same time. My martial soul is the Moon, and I¡¯m an assault-type soul master. I¡¯m responsible for leading the team, and I don¡¯t require any soul rings. My soul power is at Rank 86.¡±

    Everyone began to stir when they heard her say ¡°Rank 86¡±. This included Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Han Ruoruo continued immediately after her and said, ¡°Han Ruoruo, assistant teacher and student of the inner courtyard. My martial soul is the Dazzling Golden Rope, and I¡¯m a control-type soul master. I¡¯m the main control soul master for this operation, and I don¡¯t require any soul rings. My soul power is Rank 82.¡±

    After theypleted their introductions, Cai Mei¡¯er interrupted them and said, ¡°I¡¯m just tagging along in this operation. Lexuan and Ruoruo will be doing themanding and whatnot. They have ample experience, so everyone has to listen to them, and nobody is allowed to do anything on their own. This is all for your personal safety, and it¡¯s also for the team¡¯s safety. Our expedition¡¯s destination will be the border of the Greater Star Dou Forest¡¯s Hybrid Region crossing over into the Core Region. We can run into very powerful soul beasts at any time in that area. All right, continue. Your turn, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded when he heard Cai Mei¡¯er point him out. ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m a student from the inner courtyard. I¡¯m both control-type and assault-type, and I have twin martial souls: Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. My soul power is Rank 52, and I need a fifth soul ring for my spiritual-type martial soul, the Spirit Eyes.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued beside him. ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er, student from the inner courtyard. I¡¯m an assault-type soul master, and my martial soul is the Radiant Butterfly Goddess. I¡¯m a Rank 61 Soul Emperor, and I don¡¯t need a soul ring. I can unleash martial soul fusion skills with Huo Yuhao, and I¡¯m here to apany him on this expedition.¡±

    Their introductions were extremely brief, but they didn¡¯t feel ordinary at all to the other students. The other three students in this operation who had participated in the Sea God¡¯s Fate had personally witnessed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s incredible prowess. They were two against five, and everyone was around the same level, and all seven were students from the inner courtyard. Yet, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had won a dominating victory.

    However, they were a little confused about Huo Yuhao¡¯s introduction. He needed a fifth soul ring at Rank 52? What circumstance was that? Could it be that he was adding soul rings to both of his martial souls at the same time? Twin martial souls shouldn¡¯t be cultivated like that. This was Shrek Academy, and there were so many veteran teachers around here. How could they let him make this mistake?

    Another male student said, ¡°My name is Li Yongyue, a student from the inner courtyard. I¡¯m an agility-type Soul King at Rank 60, and I need my sixth soul ring. My martial soul is the Moonde¡­ do you remember me, eldest senior sister? When you unleash your martial soul, I will be naturally amplified.¡± He was probably around twenty-six to twenty-seven years of age, but the admiration he disyed towards Zhang Lexuan represented her status in the inner courtyard as everyone¡¯s eldest senior sister.

    Zhang Lexuan nodded in his direction with a faint smile on her face, but she didn¡¯t say anything and gestured to the other male student to introduce himself.

    ¡°My name is Mo Xuan, and I¡¯m a long-range all-around auxiliary-type Soul King at Rank 60, and I need a sixth soul ring. My martial soul is the Halo. My closebat abilities are weak, so you have to help me out, everyone! Thanks!¡±

    Li Yongyue¡¯s looks were average, and he was the kind that was hard to spot in a throng of people. Mo Xuan seemed a little more shy; he was probably at least twenty-five years old, but his face would blush a little as he spoke.

    A long-range all-around auxiliary-type soul master? This was the first time Huo Yuhao had heard of such a description, and he couldn¡¯t help but throw a few more nces in his direction.

    Cai Mei¡¯er helped alleviate everyone¡¯s doubts. ¡°You guys probably haven¡¯t seen Mo Xuan before. He¡¯s a unique talent that¡¯s being specially nurtured by the inner courtyard. His fighting strength is weak, so Lexuan, you have to pay special attention to protect him. Mo Xuan¡¯s auxiliary abilities cannot be considered outstanding during single and group battles, but he¡¯s the first and only long-range all-around auxiliary-type soul master in the academy¡¯s most recent thousand years of history. His auxiliary prowess on the battlefield isn¡¯t something that normal auxiliary-type soul masters canpare to. You guys will experience it once we¡¯re inside the forest.¡±

    Everyone except Wang Qiu¡¯er hadpleted their introductions, so their eyes all turned towards her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice was a little cold as she said indifferently, ¡°My name is Wang Qiu¡¯er. Assault-type. My martial soul is the Golden Dragon. I¡¯m Rank 60, and I need a sixth soul ring.¡±

    Her speech was the simplest amongst everyone¡¯s introductions, and her eyes were staring into the sky as she spoke. She gave everyone a feeling of arrogance and aloofness.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pouted with displeasure as she saw that look. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil over her face, so nobody could see her reaction.

 Chapter 227.2: Two Women Fighting For Glory

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Alright, everyone has finished their introductions, so let me allocate our formation once we enter the Great Star Dou Forest. I will be scouting the path ahead, and Li Yongyue and Wang Qiu¡¯er are responsible for the left and right nks respectively. Ruoruo will be positioned in the center towards the front right behind me, and she¡¯ll be the main control-type soul master. Mo Xuan will be positioned behind Han Ruoruo, which means you¡¯ll be near the center ¨C do pay attention to cooperate with everyone¡¯s movements. Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re the secondary control for flexibility, and you will be behind Mo Xuan. You¡¯re responsible for providing support for whoever needs help. Wang Dong¡¯er, you¡¯ll be all the way at the back, and you¡¯re responsible for sweeping. Dean Cai will be following behind the group, and she won¡¯t make a move other than as ast resort ¨C we¡¯re all students from the inner courtyard, and it will extremely humiliating if we need a teacher¡¯s help to obtain our own soul rings, so I hope that doesn¡¯t happen. Alright, let¡¯s proceed if nobody has any more questions or objections.¡±

    Nobody had anything to dispute about her arrangement. There was no doubt that the central and anchoring positions were rtively safer ¨C there was no need to mention the center, and Cai Mei¡¯er was all the way at the back.

    There was a deeper meaning to arranging Wang Qiu¡¯er and Li Yongyue on the two nks. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s martial soul was the Golden Dragon, and she stirred up quite some disturbance when she sessfully enrolled in the inner courtyard. She was said to have impressive fighting strength, as the Golden Dragon was the Ancestor of Strength, and thus assigning her to one nk was also a test. Li Yongyue¡¯s strength would also be greatly boosted with Zhang Lexuan around, so assigning him to guard the other nk was the optimal choice. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s positions, along with Mo Xuan¡¯s, were considered protected. The academy still had some bias after all ¨C the truth was, Cai Mei¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have been with them in this operation if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t registered for it.

    Everyone belonged to the inner courtyard. Even if they weren¡¯t that familiar with each other, they would definitely not hold each other back. They got in line with Zhang Lexuan¡¯s formation once they left Shrek City, and went straight for the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Nobody deliberately attempted to disy his or her speed on the way, and the formation was maintained impably under Zhang Lexuan¡¯s deliberate control.

    Just as Cai Mei¡¯er had said, this wasn¡¯t the first time these students were going inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Everyone was extremely familiar was this ce, and nobody really interacted with each other along the way. Everyone just hurried onward.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er beside her from time to time, and even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but throw a few glimpses in her direction.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked very quiet, but one could see from the side that her eyes were exceedingly cold and in, as if she were wearing an outeryer over herself at all times. She could definitely feel Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s stares, but she never once looked back to return her gaze.

    She didn¡¯t release her martial soul when they travelled, she just simply ran along. However, she bounced up with bewildering speed every time she touched the ground with her feet, and one could tell upon closer inspection that there would be a groove in the ground after every step she took, while the ground around her footprint seemed to have cracked. She was dashing forward with pure strength, yet she looked like she was floating. She lived up to her name as the Ancestor of Strength and the owner of the Golden Dragon martial soul.

    Shrek City was quite close to the Great Star Dou Forest. They didn¡¯t unleash their full speed, but still reached the forest before midday.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break and grab something to eat, everyone. Adjust yourselves to your optimum condition and states ¨C we will proceed into the forest after one hour.¡± Zhang Lexuan¡¯s instructions were short and concise.

    They were near the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Peripheral Region. They would be inside the forest once they passed the danger signs that dotted the road.

    Huo Yuhao felt a sense of nostalgia as he stared at a danger sign hanging from a tree not far from him. He could clearly remember what it was like during his first trip here, as that expedition had changed his destiny ¨C he met the Skydream Iceworm, Electrolux, his senior brother Bei Bei and Xiao Ya.

    Following the passage of time, Electrolux was gone, and there was no news about teacher Xiao Ya, while he had grown up as well.

    Everyone came by the roadside. Their cultivations meant they were far from fatigued, but slowing down and rxing still felt good anyway. Zhang Lexuan said to Huo Yuhao with a smile on her face, ¡°I hear from Bei Bei that your culinary skills are exceptional, Yuhao. I remember you selling grilled fish outside the academy a long time ago. What do you think about showing us your skills?¡±

    A thought came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind as he said, ¡°There¡¯s a small river nearby, eldest senior sister.¡± This ce was close to the small stream where he had first met Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°I know. I¡¯m not sure how many days we¡¯ll be spending in there once we head in, and the living conditions are going to be harsh inside ¨C we won¡¯t get good food, and we¡¯ll have to sleep in the open. Everyone should enjoy a good meal before we enter. How about this ¨C Li Yongyue will follow me to catch some fish, and Yuhao will be responsible for preparing and cooking them. Are you two okay with that?¡± She was a lot more familiar with thendscape of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Peripheral Region than Huo Yuhao was.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The two of them acknowledged at once.

    Zhang Lexuan stood up and said, ¡°The others will help Yuhao prepare the firewood needed for the grilled fish. We will get to enjoy our food earlier if we work together.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t hide herself as she followed behind the students. She came forward at this moment, and a faint smile appeared on her face as she watched the students bustle around. She thought to herself, these youngsters are so full of life and energy! It¡¯s nice to be out here to walk around.

    They were all high-level soul masters, so how easy was it for them to collect firewood and catch fish?

    It didn¡¯t take long before Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue returned with more than ten huge fish skewered on vines. It was clear that these two didn¡¯t really know how to cook, and Huo Yuhao immediately returned to the riverside with the fish that they had brought back.

    The first step to grilling fish was to process the fish properly, and then to grill it directly ¨C would that actually work?

    Zhang Lexuan followed Huo Yuhao back to the riverside with a tinge of curiosity as she watched him take the fishes from the vines. He washed them again inside the crystal-clear river as he cut them open, took out their organs, peeled off the scales, and extracted the tendons.

    Extracting fish tendons was a special technique, as most people who steamed fish didn¡¯t do that, so the fish they made would have a strong fishy smell. It wasn¡¯t hard to remove the tendons ¨C one would use a sharp de to cut the fish below the gills before cutting the fish near the tail, and then one would look carefully look for a small white dot on the wound¡¯s cross-section before using the back of the de to tap lightly on the fish¡¯s body. If appropriate strength was applied, it wouldn¡¯t take too many hits before a small white tip that looked like the tip of a needle would emerge, and then one would pinch it and pluck it out, and the tendons on that side would be extracted.

    Every fish had two long tendons, and one would have to follow all these steps to consider even simple preparationsplete.

    Both Zhang Lexuan and Wang Dong¡¯er were watching by the side. They wanted to help, but they were clumsy and confused when they actually tried. Their formidable cultivations were useless at times like these, and they could only sit by and watch.

    Huo Yuhao picked the things he needed from his surroundings. He found some spices and herbs that he was rtively familiar with and picked a pile before he returned to camp. He ced the washed fishes and the herbs onto somerge clean leaves, and Chef Huo finally got to work.

    Perhaps it was because his life had been tough and difficult as a kid, but he always carried his cooking tools with him; bowls,dles, tubs, all sorts of seasonings ¨C he had everything. When he took out all these things from his Starlight Sapphire storage ring, the other students stared unblinkingly.

    Han Ruoruo couldn¡¯t help butugh as she said, ¡°Are you preparing to be a chef in the future, Yuhao? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone ce cooking tools inside a top-tier storage item such as the Starlight Sapphire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I used to be very poor, and it wasn¡¯t easy for me to fill my stomach. It¡¯s be a habit for me to bring these things when Ie out, and even non-soul masters won¡¯t go hungry.¡±

    These simple sentences embodied his childhood experiences. Everybody else was rtively well off, so everyone grew silent for a moment after listening to his words. Even Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him a few times.

    Huo Yuhao was exining with his mouth, but his hands didn¡¯t stop. Heid out two piles with the firewood that everyone had brought back before he lit one pile and nted four thick branches in the ground and hung arge wok over the top. The wok contained clear water that had previously been collected from the small stream.

    He finished setting up the wok on one side, and the grill that he always used, which was supported on both sides, was set up on the other side. He was even more familiar with this thing.

    He applied and stuffed all kinds of seasoning and spices into the fishes¡¯ stomachs. He opened a hole on both sides of the fishes¡¯ bodies before he skewered them with a clean wooden stick and began to grill them.

    He began to ther oil on both sides of the fish. This would give the fish a denser taste, and they wouldn¡¯t burn so easily.

    The fragrant smell of grilled fish wafted over in no time. Everyone retrieved their rations and were sitting around, but they stared at the dry rations in their hands while they smelled the aroma, and suddenly everyone didn¡¯t feel like eating their rations anymore. Only Wang Qiu¡¯er was sitting to one side as she nibbled quietly on her rations. She didn¡¯t even look at Huo Yuhao.

    Zhang Lexuan was also sitting nearby as she watched Huo Yuhao. Her eyes rotated to the other students, and a subtle smile appeared on her face. She was the team leader, and her task was not only tomand and protect her teammates ¨C more importantly, she had to break the ice between this impromptu group and to glue them together, so that everyone would feel closer to each other, and they would feel more like a team. This was the only way she could enhance their chemistry in the fights that were toe, and this was the only way to make them feel more intimate. Her choice to ask Huo Yuhao to grill fish was partially because of this, as a nice meal would easily pull everyone closer together.

    He was closely monitoring the grilling process with his spiritual power, and the first grilled fish was finished in no time. There was no question that seniors had priority, so Huo Yuhao took this first grilled fish to Cai Mei¡¯er.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Cai Mei¡¯er took the fish with a smile on her face as she took a huge bite. The yellowish-golden fish skin was crispy and slightly salty, and there was also a tinge of spiciness. The fish was tender and juicy, and just one bite left a delicious taste behind.

 Chapter 227.3: Two Women Fighting For Glory

    Dean Cai¡¯s face was ovee with astonishment, and she wasn¡¯t stingy with her praise. ¡°Yuhao, you have the standards to be a professional chef! It¡¯s no wonder I remember your business flourishing when you used to sell grilled fish outside the academy¡¯s main gate. This is the best grilled fish I¡¯ve ever eaten.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, but he didn¡¯t continue grilling his fish, and instead walked over to the wok over the other fire. He put some wild vegetables in before he added another can of seasoning. The water was boiling by this time, and his seasonings were only just added when another fragrance permeated the air, and the soup turned a light red color.

    He returned to the grill to continue his grilling. Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue had returned with enormous fish; every single one weighed more than a kilogram, while the biggest ones were around two to two and a half kilograms. There were only a little more than ten fishes, but they were enough to feed everyone here.

    The fish were grilled one after another, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s allocation was simple ¨C he went ording to age, and the eldest came first.

    Zhang Lexuan was naturally the second one in line after Cai Mei¡¯er. Even though Zhang Lexuan jokingly remarked on the fact that she was the second oldest, she was still immensely attracted by the grilled fish¡¯s aroma.

    Han Ruoruo, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan were next.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was almost drooling as she stood beside Huo Yuhao. She watched as the seventh fish was almost ready, and a threatening look flowed from her eyes as she stared at him. Her rosy lips curled upward, as if she were saying, ¡°This one must be mine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao whispered, ¡°Others before self. You have to wait for a while longer, and I will pick arge one for you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grimaced when she heard him say ¡°others before self¡±, but she didn¡¯t stop Huo Yuhao as he walked towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was seated furthest away from the bonfire, and she didn¡¯t interact with the others either. She was just quietly munching on her dried rations, and she only lifted her head subconsciously when Huo Yuhao arrived in front of her.

    ¡°This is for you.¡± Huo Yuhao handed her the fish in his hands. The grilled fish skin was glowing as an alluring aroma wafted through the air.

    ¡°For me? Aren¡¯t you afraid of your little girlfriend bing upset?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t take the fish, but questioned him as she stared into his eyes.

    Their gazes met, and for some reason, Huo Yuhao felt a delicate dizziness in his mind when he stared into those powdery-blue eyes, even though these abstruse eyes were absolutely different from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes. The moment was fleeting, but it was enough to surprise him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took the grilled fish that he handed over as she lowered her head and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Have we met before?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered matter-of-factly, ¡°I think this is our third meeting. If you don¡¯t want your little girlfriend to think you¡¯re flirting with me, you should go back.¡± She took a bite of the grilled fish in her hands as she spoke. She was momentarily stunned when the delicious vor entered her mouth, and a peculiar light flickered across her eyes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still hungry, so Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dally ¨C however, he was starting to believe Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s judgment that Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t simple at all, and she definitely had to have some secret. He involuntarily developed an increased sense of wariness as these thoughts ran through his head.

    He returned to the campfire and picked a bigger fish for Wang Dong¡¯er. She was already waiting eagerly, and soon the grilled fish was finally done.

    ¡°Here you go. Careful, it¡¯s hot.¡± Huo Yuhao passed the grilled fish to Wang Dong¡¯er. A soothing smile unwittingly appeared on his face as he watched her excitement.

    Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t be bothered with her image anymore as she sat right there and began to eat. She was almost burned, but she just kept going on about how tasty the grilled fish was.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled softly. ¡°This fish must be the most delicious one.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued nibbling away at her fish as she asked a little fuzzily, ¡°Why?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s an added spice in this one ¨C a kind that the other fishes don¡¯t have.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was surprised, and said, ¡°You actually hid something from the others? Aren¡¯t you afraid of them calling you stingy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. This spice can only be used when grilling for you, because it¡¯s called fondness.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was slightly taken aback, but she quickly recovered as her cheeks immediately turned rosy. She whispered, ¡°Is it just fondness?¡±

    Huo Yuhao fiddled with the next grilled fish in his hands as he smiled and said, ¡°Loveprises a lot of fondness. The spices next time will taste even richer.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t pursue the matter further as she chomped on the grilled fish in her hands, before she shed a sweet smile at Huo Yuhao. She had already removed her veil at this point, and her enchanting beauty dazed Huo Yuhao to the point where he forgot to flip the grilled fish he was working on, and the fish he made for himself was a little burnt.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s burnt. The taste will be a lot denser, even if that wasn¡¯t what I wanted.¡±

    The grilled fish was rich and fragrant, while the wild vegetable soup was sweet and refreshing. This meal couldn¡¯t be considered nutritious or luxuriant, but it had appeal of the mountains and the wilderness, and with that, in addition to the delicious vor, everyone was happy with it. Some people even fought a little over thest few pieces, and their method naturally came down to rock-paper-scissors. Everyone became a lot closer than before from all this interaction, and only Wang Qiu¡¯er remained quiet and isted.

    In the end, one hour of rest became two hours before they finished up. After the delectable meal, everyone began to meditate while Dean Cai protected them so that they could be at their peak conditions.

    Huo Yuhao would feel a sense of detachment, as if he were separated from the world, every time he entered the lush Great Star Dou Forest. The truth was that the Great Star Dou Forest was like an independent nation ¨C the country of soul beasts.

    Everyone was a high-level soul master, and everyone pushed forward at full speed after entering the Peripheral Region under Zhang Lexuan¡¯s leadership as they ventured toward the deeper regions.

    This time was vastly different from the times Huo Yuhao had entered the forest. Zhang Lexuan was leading the group, and she had no intention of scouting carefully; they just proceeded forward at full speed. Her body glowed with brilliant white light, and the trees and logs on the ground opened up wherever she walked, while her body emanated a powerful aura. The lower-tier soul beasts didn¡¯t dare toe near, and their speed was at least three times faster than when Huo Yuhao and the others werest here.

    This was the meaning of strength; they relied on pure power to force their way forward, while they would rest for fifteen minutes after travelling for two hours. They could tell they were out of the Peripheral Region by judging the strength of the soul beasts around them when the sky gradually turned dark; they were slowly crossing into the Hybrid Region.

    ¡°Maintain the formation, everyone. Pay attention, main control and secondary control.¡± Zhang Lexuan slowed down conspicuously. The soul beasts around them would be mostly thousand year soul beasts once they entered the Hybrid Region, and there would probably also be ten thousand year soul beasts, which were presences that were enough to threaten everyone. Ten thousand year soul beasts were also precisely what everyone hade here for.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up as he gripped Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand subconsciously. The Haodong power circted between them as golden light flowed from his eyes.

    His Spiritual Detection was passed to everyone on the team, and it extended outward with astounding speed, covering a radius of six hundred meters around them in the blink of an eye.

    All the nts and trees, thendscape, and various other parameters quickly surfaced in everyone¡¯s minds.

    Huo Yuhao had no problem assisting seven people at the same time via Spiritual Detection with his current spiritual power, and his detection distance far exceeded his past limits.

    However, other than Wang Dong, everyone was clearly not used to his Spiritual Detection. They couldn¡¯t help but pause in their tracks when Huo Yuhao activated his soul skill, to the point where Huo Yuhao almost mmed into Mo Xuan, who was walking in front of him.

    Everyone tossed their heads backward, and Huo Yuhao immediately became the center of attention. This was especially so for Zhang Lexuan, who was right at the front. Her eyes were filled with astonishment.

    It was needless to say what the effect of such immense scouting power would be like for the team. Zhang Lexuan was team leader, and also an assault-type soul master, and she instantly felt as if the burden on her shoulders was greatly lifted.

    ¡°How¡¯s the consumption, Yuhao?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked immediately.

    Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, ¡°I can recover as we travel. I can maintain this for a very long time as long as I don¡¯t expand the area of effect.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan asked in surprise, ¡°You can expand the area of effect? What¡¯s the limit?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately gave her the numerical details. ¡°I can reach an area of around one thousand five hundred meters in diameter, while my vertical detection limit can reach around three thousand meters. I can increase the precision and rity by a hundred percent. However, I will consume a lot more soul power if I do that, so I can¡¯t keep it up for a long period of time.¡±

    Everyone could be heard drawing cold breaths. This soul skill didn¡¯te with any offensive or defensive capabilities, but it was exceptionally useful for detection and exploration. Having this skill was equivalent to being able to predict dangers, and thus could be considered a super soul skill in the Great Star Dou Forest that was filled with perils.

    Zhang Lexuan said decisively, ¡°Maintaining this area of effect is enough. From now onwards, Huo Yuhao will be the main control and Ruoruo will be switched to secondary control. Any objections?¡±

    Han Ruoruo had known her and coordinated with her for many years, and she answered without hesitation. ¡°No problem.¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused momentarily, but answered, ¡°I¡¯m okay with that.¡±

    Nobody had any disputes about him taking over that role because all but fools could sense his Spiritual Detection¡¯s usefulness

    With Spiritual Detection activated, Zhang Lexuan picked up the pace once more, and they went straight for the inner circle.

    However, once they entered the Hybrid Region, not all the soul beasts in the area would be terrified by her aura.

    They didn¡¯t travel for long before everyone received an rm signal in their minds. Zhang Lexuan immediately halted, and she followed the Spiritual Detection¡¯s guidance and gazed toward a certain direction.

    There was a soul beast crouching on a thick branch about two hundred meters away from them.

 Chapter 228.1: Jade Ocean Spirit Ape

    This soul beast was green all over, and was hard to see it in the green jungle if one didn¡¯t look closely. Furthermore, it was covered by the trees and branches in the two hundred meters between them. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could clearly lock onto its position.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t lock onto all the soul beasts around him after he activated it. However, his Spiritual Detection could reach a heightened level of precision even at a distance, and he could tell if it was hostile towards them from the soul beast¡¯s blood essence, soul power, and spiritual power.

    They hade across quite a few soul beasts before this, but most of them kept their distance and avoided the group. Some disyed hostility, but they were just trying to intimidate the group, and didn¡¯te near at all. The soul beast before them was different. Once it discovered Huo Yuhao¡¯s group, it didn¡¯t evade at all, and swiftly came nearer instead. There was a strong aura of hostility and murderous intent around it.

    There were several typical circumstances with soul beasts like these. First, they could be meeting a belligerent and aggressive soul beast that would attack no matter who its adversaries were. Second, they could encounter a hungry or starving soul beast that had a particr preference for humans. Humans were considered as delicious as meals could get, and these soul beasts would definitely not let go of an opportunity like this. Soul masters were nutritious and extremely beneficial for soul beasts!. A soul master¡¯s tendons, flesh, blood, and veins were perennially nourished by soul power, and the nutrition contained within them was far superior to normal soul beasts. The higher level these soul beasts were, the more interested they would be in high-level soul masters. There were some soul beasts that could directly absorb a soul master¡¯s soul power to boost themselves!

    Thest situation was territory. Some rtively stronger soul beasts would mark out their own territories due to their predatory and dietary needs, and these territories were not restricted to soul beasts! Humans would definitely be assaulted if they trespassed. After all, soul beasts that could mark their own territories were stronger than most of their kind.

    The soul beast in front of them belonged to the third situation, as they hadn¡¯t encountered any other soul beasts in the minutes before they had discovered this one.

    ¡°That looks like a Jade Ocean Spirit Ape, and it¡¯s probably above ten thousand years in cultivation.¡± Huo Yuhao was the owner of the Spiritual Detection, and thus immediately reported this soul beast¡¯s strength.

    The Jade Ocean Spirit Ape was an ape-type soul beast, and it fed upon the venomous Spiritjade Fruits. It was a wood-type soul beast, could control nts within a small radius, and was adept with poisonous attacks. It was a soul beast that was hard to deal with.

    ¡°Does anybody need this?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked immediately. Everyone wanted ten thousand year soul rings, while the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape was aparatively rare soul beast.

    Mo Xuan hesitated momentarily before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it, eldest senior sister. I hope this Jade Ocean Spirit Ape is a little stronger¡­ It would be best if it was twenty thousand years.¡±

    Six-ringed Soul Emperors normally found it challenging to absorb twenty-thousand year soul rings, but students from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard were definitely not normal. They feasted on nutritious and sumptuous meals provided by the canteen every single day, and their bodies were tough and resilient to an extent that normal soul masters couldn¡¯t possiblypare with.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°I guess we¡¯re lucky that we found something we need so quickly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯sing!¡± Huo Yuhao instantly reminded her.

    Zhang Lexuan immediately said, ¡°Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er, you guys are up. Capture it alive, Ruoruo and I will back you up.¡±

    All three of them were slightly taken aback by Zhang Lexuan¡¯smand. Ten-thousand year soul beasts were a piece of cake for their eight-ringed eldest senior sister, and everyone had assumed she was going to take point.

    Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s aura was not far behind everyone, and she subtly nodded her head. Zhang Lexuan could tell that Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t really gelled with the team, and Zhang Lexuan wanted her to be included as quickly as possible. There were already rumors going around in the academy about Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er, the two people who shared almost the same name and who looked almost identical. Nobody would know how they were rted to each other if they didn¡¯t tell.

    The green shadow was bouncing forward rapidly. It jumped directly from tree to tree, and its green radiance grew stronger with every jump. It covered the two hundred meters between them in no time.

    Everyone could clearly see what this ten thousand year soul beast looked like when it got close. The Jade Ocean Spirit Ape was about one and a half meters tall, and it had an extremely lean and muscr body. Its entire body was covered by green fur, and one could feel that its rtively small frame was filled with strength and power. Its eyes were dark green and ferocious, and two enormous fangs protruded from its lips. The ape¡¯s abdominal area swelled continuously as the green light on its body became stronger.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong¡¯er along and left the formation after Zhang Lexuan¡¯smand. Wang Qiu¡¯er followed behind, still maintaining that quiet look.

    Huo Yuhao still shared his Spiritual Detection with her no matter what she was like.

    He had encountered many ten-thousand year soul beasts before, so he naturally wasn¡¯t nervous at all. A dash of orange-gold light flew from his body, and the tiny Snow Lady was already in midair.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was momentarily stunned when she saw the little Snow Lady, and her footsteps became even slower than before. She was even more out of rhythm with the pair in front of her.

    Huo Yuhao had already made his move. A purple-gold light immediately erupted from his eyes and flickered once before the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape that was still bounding forward howled agonizingly, andrge swathes of green fog started to pour from its body.

    ¡°Watch out, that¡¯s its Spiritjade Poison Fog!¡± Zhang Lexuan reminded everyone.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew that this was Spiritjade Poison Fog, and he had already prepared to react. His Spiritual Shock had been fired off precisely. Otherwise, that poisonous fog wouldn¡¯t have beening toward them from a distance, it would have instead spurted directly on top of them!

    The ape¡¯s soul skill was interrupted, and it broke the branch it was hopping on and plummeted from the trees. However, ten-thousand year soul beasts were not that easy to handle, and it recovered a little even as it fell to the ground. It roared into the sky, and opened its mouth once more as another stream of green fog fired out, blowing the denser poison fog from before towards the Shrek students.

    However, a dark blue light resembling a sprawling arch now struck out with lightning speed. The green fog immediately turned into ice and dissipated wherever this light touched, frozen in that very moment, and every piece fluttered to the ground.

    The fog itself was made from very tiny particles, and it contained smoke, mist, and water vapor. No matter how strong the Spirit Ape¡¯s poison element was, the venomous air that its body generated would naturally carry some water particles \\and this meant the fog was ultimately more like mist.

    The tiny Snow Lady¡¯s tiny hand pointed forward; that was the Ultimate Ice Light Beam, and all the water that this light touched instantly became ice crystals. The venomous fog broke apart by itself, and was dispelled by the extreme chill.

    The ape evaded the beam of light in a sh, but its ferocious eyes became a little doubtful and unsettled. The temperature around it was starting to plummet, while its poisonous fog was dispelled in an instant. This made the soul beast, which had a certain level of intelligence, a little afraid.

    Describing the process was slow, but everything happened in a single instant. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er darted forward the moment the Snow Lady fired the beam, and the two of them surged into the sky. The golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes flickered once more as his fourth soul ring sparkled, and a pale golden whirlpool instantly appeared above the Spirit Ape¡¯s head.

    This ten-thousand year soul beast¡¯s spiritual cultivation wasn¡¯t weak, but it was far inferior to Huo Yuhao. Spiritual Confusion immediately took effect on the Spirit Ape, and the dazed and confused soul beast immediately used the same attack.

    Huo Yuhao was holding onto Wang Dong¡¯er with his right hand, but he released her hand as they raced forward. Wang Dong¡¯er telepathically understood his intentions as she grabbed his arm and shifted behind his back before she grabbed his shoulders. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings extended outward, and the brilliant Light of the Butterfly Goddess burst toward the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape.

    This was only Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s second soul skill, but it was bothpletely charged with the power of light and amplified by her Golden Light Left Arm Bone at the same time.

    The Spirit Ape was still struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion, so it couldn¡¯t even evade those golden spheres. It was battered until it began to chitter, and streak after streak of fire ignited on the ground. All the venomous particles that had drifted to the ground before were cleansed by the light.

    However, the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape had to be rtively formidable for it to reign supreme in its territory inside the Hybrid Region. Its green fur radiated with pale colors as most of the attacks that hammered into its body were dispelled. It was continually forced backward from the onught, but it hadn¡¯t really been wounded yet.

    ¡°Eeeee...¡± the Spirit Ape howled furiously as the green light on its body immediately became stronger. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were ten meters away from it at this point, and Wang Dong¡¯ers wings spread apart and beat heavily as she lifted Huo Yuhao back into the sky.

    The dense vegetation on the ground began to radiate with powerful green light, with the Spirit Ape at the center. Green light waves that resembled sharp swords moved outward and shot more than five meters high. They covered almost thirty meters in diameter around the Ape.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was originally following behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. She paused in her tracks when the ape suddenly exploded with light, then took a small step forward with her left leg to nt herself stably before punching out with her right fist.

    Her right fist becamepletely golden when she punched forward, and a deep dragon roar could be heard that caused all the trees around her to tremble.

    The green waves that were pushing forward split open in two as they hit the golden luster, and not a single one struck Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Right when she punched out, the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape in the distance suddenly quivered vigorously. It had finally recovered from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion, and it turned to flee without hesitation.

 Chapter 228.2: Jade Ocean Spirit Ape

    The dense vegetation that had previously burst with surging green light all wilted, as if their vitality had been sucked away.

    Right when the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape was turning to run, a golden patch of light suddenly glowed on the ground in front of it. The golden radiance wasn¡¯t that brilliant, but it was filled with the gentle power of light. There was another golden hexagram on the ground, but it wasn¡¯t very conspicuous, as it was covered by all the vegetation. However, it was quiterge, with a diameter of around three meters, so it extended horizontally across quite arge area.

    The Spirit Ape was escaping in a panic. Even though it saw the golden hexagram, it didn¡¯t feel any threat from it, so it leapt forward in an attempt to jump right over it.

    However, just as it was in midair, the hexagram was triggered. A simr golden pir surged into the sky andpletely enveloped the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape.

    The Spirit Ape was propelled at least three meters into the air by this pir of light. The intense golden light fixed it in ce in the air andpletely immobilized it, while scorching golden mes incinerated its body. The ape howled painfully and desperately as it struggled as hard as it could, andyer afteryer of green soul power undtions flowed from its body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ck fourth soul ring was glowing; this was her fourth soul skill, Hexagram Array.

    The Hexagram Array was remarkably powerful. Anything that it struck would immediately be trapped by the power of light contained within, and would have to withstand intense searing fire from the pir of light. The only way to resist the fire was to continually release soul power, as one couldn¡¯t use any soul skills at all once struck by the Hexagram Array; all one could do was release soul power to fight against it. This would naturally consume a lot of soul power, and the duration was closely rted to the target¡¯s cultivation. However, if the target¡¯s cultivation was within two ranks, the shortest duration of the trap would still be at least three seconds.

    This was a powerful offensive soul skill and a formidable controlling soul skill at the same time. It trapped and hurt the opponent, and it greatly consumed the opponent¡¯s soul power! Truly a forceful and well-rounded soul skill.

    Of course, this soul skill naturally had its weaknesses amidst all of its strengths. There could only be one active Hexagram Array at any one point in time, and the array had a one second dy to take effect after it had been unleashed. The target also had to cross over it for it to take effect. The limitations rendered this powerful soul skill not so excessively terrifying.

    The Jade Ocean Spirit Ape obviously didn¡¯t know that the seemingly unthreatening Hexagram Array would be this potent, or that it would have to fight for dear life inside Wang Dong¡¯s fourth soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had already descended again from the sky, and he had already swapped positions with Wang Dong¡¯er in midair.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s bluish-golden wings becamepletely golden, and plunged from the sky like two giant scythes. Her wings crossed one another continuously as they shed the immobilized Spirit Ape, and it was hurled into the sky once more as it howled in excruciating pain.

    The original Hexagram Array instantly vanished, and another Hexagram Array glowed in the spot where the Spirit Ape wouldnd after it was hurtled away.

    The one second that the Hexagram Array required had already passed when the Spirit Ape crashed heavily to the ground. It was thrown into the air once more, and torched by the fire of light yet again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had rarelyunched attacks ever since she reunited with Huo Yuhao, but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t powerful enough. It simply meant she gave Huo Yuhao more chances to perform. She was willing to be the woman behind his limelight, while the reason why she took the initiative this time was to put on a disy for a certain someone.

    The two Hexagram Arrays that came one after another, in addition to the mighty shing wing-des boosted by her Golden Light Left Arm Bone, severely wounded the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape. The green light that the ape released while it was being scorched within the Hexagram Array was a lot dimmer than before, and two huge gashes crossed both of its shoulders.

    Wang Dong¡¯er eximed as she extended her wings, and she bounced off Huo Yuhao¡¯s palms, which were stretched out to give her a boost. She flew about six or seven meters into the sky, and searing bluish-golden mes lit up on her. In the next moment, her fifth soul ring began to glow and she phased into an elegant and graceful bluish-golden butterfly for a single instant. The area for several hundred meters all around her was painted with bluish-gold hues when she unleashed her attack, as if there were countless bluish-gold butterflies flickering in the sky. Wang Dong¡¯er had already finished her soul skill even as everyone saw a blinding sh.

    This was clearly a shock-type offensive soul skill, but Wang Dong¡¯er was simply too fast. The bluish-gold light only seemed to sh once, and she was behind the Spirit Ape in the next moment.

    The Hexagram Array¡¯s light was instantly withdrawn as the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape plummeted from the sky. It was still trembling vigorously, and everyone could clearly see that it had multiple bluish-golden light patterns stered all over its body¡­ or, one could describe them as wounds.

    ¡°Quickly, Mo Xuan!¡± Zhang Lexuan shouted.

    Mo Xuan wouldn¡¯t let an opportunity like this slip away. He darted out with a sh, and arrived before the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape as Zhang Lexuan followed behind him and gave it a final blow.

    The Spirit Ape¡¯s life force was reaching its end, and it felt as if the power of light was forcibly maintaining itsst breath.

    Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Meteor, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fearsome fifth soul skill. Its offensive power was so strong that even Cai Mei¡¯er, who was watching the battle from the side, reacted in shock. The air was filled with the smell of sunshine that was created after everything was incinerated by the fiery light.

    A ck soul ring rose from the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape¡¯s body, and Mo Xuan immediately sat down cross-legged beside it without hesitation. He began to absorb the soul ring with the guidance of his soul power.

    Everyone naturally surrounded him for protection.

    Zhang Lexuan turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, and then at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had done nothing at all except punching out with that one fist. She frowned delicately and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to criticize you first, Yuhao. You¡¯re the main control-type soul master¡­ how did you lead yourpanions? Why didn¡¯t Wang Qiu¡¯er truly participate in the battle from beginning to end? While it¡¯s true that you and Wang Dong¡¯er were enough to defeat this Jade Ocean Spirit Ape, wouldn¡¯t Qiu¡¯er¡¯s participation have made it a lot easier, and you would have expended a lot less soul power?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t even wait for Huo Yuhao to respond. She eximed unhappily, ¡°We don¡¯t know what she can do, and neither do we know what soul skills she possesses or how powerful she is. What if she drags us down when we delegate something to her and ask her to cooperate? Furthermore, we are also concerned about her safety!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°Do you know what being on a team means, Wang Dong¡¯er? If everyone on the team shares your opinion, then the team will crumble sooner orter. You¡¯re also from the inner courtyard, and you¡¯re Elder Mu¡¯s disciple, don¡¯t you understand simple reason? Our fight has only just begun, and what we need right now is mutual cooperation and understanding. I don¡¯t care about what problems you have with Wang Qiu¡¯er, but you can¡¯t act on them on this expedition, as everyone¡¯s safety is concerned! From now on, you will temporarily stop your coordination with Huo Yuhao. You will stand guard at the back.¡±

    Light shed across Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes, and she wanted to continue arguing, but Huo Yuhao held her back. Huo Yuhao muttered softly, ¡°Eldest senior sister is right. We are a team, and we are one body. It¡¯s my fault, eldest senior sister.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er also calmed down at this moment. She knew that Zhang Lexuan was right, but she said nothing more even though she still felt a little aggrieved and unconvinced.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er, and her voice was clearly harsher. ¡°What about you, Wang Qiu¡¯er? What did you do? Why didn¡¯t you take the initiative to cooperate? It¡¯s understandable why you fell behind in the beginning, but you could have caught up when Wang Dong¡¯er released the first Hexagram Array. Why did you stop? The three of you are working together, do you even have a single inkling of cooperation? You were cowering at the back as you watched yourrades fight. Are you even worthy of bing part of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot her a re and said coldly, ¡°You are not qualified to decide whether I¡¯m part of the inner courtyard or not. Why do I have to fight if the two of them are enough? It would even have been enough if I had been by myself. Furthermore, I have never cowered in the face of an adversary. If you don¡¯t believe that, we can switch positions, and I¡¯ll take point.¡±

    Eldest senior sister¡¯s awe-inspiring aura had been challenged, and the other inner courtyard students were stunned as they looked on, ck-jawed. They had never ever seen anyone talk back to Zhang Lexuan like that.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled inly and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I am actually qualified to decide whether you¡¯re part of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard. I¡¯m part of Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and I have the right to ask to the academy to expel any member from the inner courtyard. What you have done vites school rules, so nobody will protect you. If you are unconvinced about my ability, you can challenge me after the expedition. But I am the team leader for now, and I will give you onest chance. Answer me: are you willing to follow my orders and cooperate with the team?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes turned cold as she listened to Zhang Lexuan, as if she were about to explode. Everyone else was looking at her. Nobody expected that Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was still new, would dare to antagonize their eldest senior sister, who was the team leader. This was the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s inner region, and Zhang Lexuan¡¯s actions were indisputable. She had to ensure that the team had only one voice, and that everyone would listen to hermands and her delegations. That was the only way for her to ensure everyone¡¯s safety.

    The light in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes receded, and she answered inly, ¡°Alright, as you wish. I will listen to your orders.¡±

 Chapter 228.3: Jade Ocean Spirit Ape

    Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t look proud at all, and she muttered solemnly, ¡°You¡¯ve made the right choice. The reason is because this doesn¡¯t just concern your own safety. The entire team¡¯s safety is at stake. I hope you won¡¯t do anything foolish in our subsequent ventures. From now on, you will be cooperating with Huo Yuhao.¡±

    She returned to the formation after speaking these words, and the initial tension and instability was instantly resolved by her timely handling of the situation. She had temporarily severed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s partnership and paired Huo Yuhao with Wang Qiu¡¯er. This move had a deeper meaning, and she wanted to break the ice and the barriers between the two of them through battle and helping each other out. They had just entered the Hybrid Region, and were still far from actual danger. It was better to resolve these issues right now than when the real problems came around, and she targeted both parties at the same time so nobody would feel aggrieved or wronged.

    Wang Dong¡¯er took a few steps back reluctantly. She followed behind Huo Yuhao, but was still quite near. Wang Qiu¡¯er was perhaps deliberately trying to upset her as she walked up to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s original spot. She was standing extremely close to Huo Yuhao, except she wasn¡¯t holding hands with him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nudged Huo Yuhao from behind, and Huo Yuhao hurriedly waved his hands behind her and sped her hands once to tell her to rx and not to worry.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still a little reluctant, but she had to get used to it, as she couldn¡¯t just ignore Zhang Lexuan¡¯s orders.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still quiet like she had always been. She was just standing there and staring into the distance, and herrge blue eyes looked a little empty. Nobody knew what she was thinking about.

    Huo Yuhao was also contemting something... he was thinking about Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s punch from before.

    He had been engaged in battle, but he was still observing and monitoring the entire battlefield through his Spiritual Detection. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s punch had looked as simple as a punch could be, but the power that had erupted in that moment had astonished Huo Yuhao.

    There was a hint of unrivaled power and prestige within that punch. It was apanied by that deep dragon¡¯s roar, which had momentarily dazed Huo Yuhao while he was monitoring the battlefield.

    Furthermore, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s punch was only intended to protect herself, and she didn¡¯t attack the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape directly. The truth was that her punch had quite an effect, as Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the intense fear that rose from the ape, and the ape fled into the trap that he and Wang Dong¡¯er had set up immediately afterwards.

    Pure strength could actually reach a level such as this. Furthermore, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spiritual power had to be quite formidable as well. At least, her ability to fuse spiritual power and soul power was definitely equal to his own, if not better.

    This was the judgment that Huo Yuhao had made about her in this short period of time. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er only made that one attack, and he didn¡¯t have enough information to make even more deductions. He was bing increasingly interested in this Golden Dragon martial soul.

    This Jade Ocean Spirit Ape was only around fifteen thousand years old, so Mo Xuan didn¡¯t have too much difficulty absorbing it. An hour passed before he finally finished absorbing his sixth soul ring, and he leapt to his feet happily.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mo Xuan walked to Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er and thanked them with a grateful look.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er remained silent as Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You¡¯re wee. We¡¯re a team anyway, it¡¯s good that it was suitable for you.¡±

    Mo Xuan nced at him and then at the masked beauties beside him. His face suddenly had an added drop of amusement as he said, ¡°Good luck, brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could obviously see the teasing and mocking expression in his eyes, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

    At this point, Zhang Lexuan called everyone up to keep moving.

    Everyone became more vignt after their encounter with the Jade Ocean Spirit Ape. However, they didn¡¯t feel much pressure with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    They fought back or chased away several unsuitable soul beasts as they moved forward, and ventured deeper and deeper into the Hybrid Region.

    Huo Yuhao could tell from the distance they had traveled that the area they were in had surpassed his previous expeditions into the Great Star Dou Forest. He felt both nervous and excited at the same time, as every soul master wanted to see the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s mysterious ughter Grounds!

    Moving inward from the Hybrid Region would take them into the Core Region, and the ughter Grounds were at the center of the Core Region. They were travelling closer and closer to that area.

    The forest¡¯s Peripheral Region and Hybrid Regions had thergest surface area of the four main regions. The Core Region wasparatively smaller, but the soul beasts residing within the Core Region naturally had incredibly frightening abilities. How could any soul beast enter and live within the Core Region without some ability?

    The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯syout, where the inner regions were more dangerous while the weaker soul beasts resided in the outer regions, was logical. Huo Yuhao could feel the life energy in the air bing increasingly dense as they moved further in, something beneficial for any living being. He could only imagine that the ughter Grounds at the Core Region¡¯s center was probably a paradise, and it was probably the best ce for soul beasts to cultivate.

    The sky had gone dark by now, and it was night time. Roars and howls could be heard from time to time, along with a cacophony of bird calls and insect chirps in the area all around them.

    Zhang Lexuan paused and took a look at the sky through the canopy. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°We should be inside the Core Region¡¯s central areas. It¡¯s not good to move during the night, so we shall rest here today. Huo Yuhao, can you expand your detection area so that we can find a suitable ce to make camp?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his spiritual power and swiftly expanded his Spiritual Detection. The radius reached a thousand meters in an instant, but he stopped at this distance, as expanding it further would require his Eye of Destiny.

    Zhang Lexuan pointed in one direction after a moment, and led everyone there.

    It was a ce that was rtively higher than the area around it, with dense vegetation and tall trees surrounding it.

    Li Yongyue released his martial soul. A moonde shaped like a beautiful crescent and flickering with a chilly light appeared, and it swept around as it unleashed several de rays that cleared away all the undergrowth around this area.

    Just like Zhang Lexuan had said during their pic before this, they would have to take shelter in the open air as they travelled into the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s inner regions. This ce would be their camp tonight. Sleeping in tents was an impossibility, as they had to be ready for any changes or unforeseen circumstances.

    Zhang Lexuan nced around and surveyed her surroundings via Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection before she lowered her voice and said, ¡°There are many soul beasts in the area. However, I could sense during our journey here that there are hardly any powerful soul beasts that have imed this area as part of their territory. Thanks to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, our progress today has been swift, and we have reached such a deep position after just eight hours. We will encounter a lot more trouble from tomorrow onwards, and our forward movement will be much slower. We will have sentries tonight, and everyone will rotate shifts. Those who are resting will meditate where they are. I¡¯ll take first watch, and Ruoruo will go next. Everyone will keep watch for two hours. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er will take the third shift. Wang Dong¡¯er, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan are not suitable for keeping watch, so the three of you will rx and rest.¡±

    Even though Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t feelfortable about not keeping watch with Huo Yuhao throughout the night, she didn¡¯t raise any objections. Her abilities were not suitable for keeping a stealthy watch during the night. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess was too brilliant, too obvious, and she would easily attract soul beasts in the area. She would probably bring great trouble to everyone if she attracted a lot of soul beasts to where their camp was located.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at Huo Yuhao, and realized that Huo Yuhao was also staring at her as their gazes met. Wang Qiu¡¯er snapped her head away, and Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback as he realized that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes were a little different from before¡­ they seemed a little more amiable than they were during the day.

    They absolutely couldn¡¯t start a fire inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Soul beasts were not like typical wild beasts, and there were many soul beasts that had a strong preference for mes and fire. Therefore, enjoying a meal along the way was as normal as it could get.

    Everybody was feeling fortunate about having had a nice meal at lunchtime. Even though they were quite exhausted from their journey, everyone at least had sufficient psychologicalfort and satisfaction.

    They munched on some simple dry rations and drank a few mouthfuls from their water bottles before everyone sat down in their respective spots and began to cultivate.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were different from the rest. They sat facing each other with their palms raised and in contact as they began to circte their Haodong power.

    They were deliberately suppressing it, but their bodies were still shining with pale light. This couldn¡¯t be helped, as soul power cirction during cultivation would always release light to a certain extent.

    Zhang Lexuan was still standing there as she gazed into the horizon. She no longer had Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to support her, so she could only rely on her own abilities to stand guard for now.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sat in a spot not far from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, and her alluring eyes showed thoughtfulness as she watched them with their palms together.

    Everyone was part of the inner courtyard, and they were all extremely qualified and outstanding. They quickly entered meditation even though they were in a perilous area, and not a single one of them couldn¡¯t adapt.

    They swiftly recovered their soul power, and their fatigue was also eased in the process. They would probably need about two hours to return to their peak condition, but they took a longer time to rest to recover from physical fatigue and mental exhaustion, so that everyone would be in an even better state.

    Two hours quickly passed. Han Ruoruo rose when the time was up and took over Zhang Lexuan¡¯s shift.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s arrangements left no room for dispute, and everyone had no choice but to obey. The whole night would be about ten hours long: she took the first two hours, Han Ruoruo took the next two, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er would stand guard for the next two hours. Thest four hours would definitely still fall to her and Han Ruoruo, which was equivalent to the two team leaders bearing most of the responsibility to stand guard for the night.

    The forest appeared tranquil and undisturbed. It was as if they were blessed by the heavens, and four hours passed without encountering any soul beasts passing by.

    Huo Yuhao woke up when his time came. He withdrew his hands that were still pressed against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands, and Wang Dong¡¯er opened her eyes at the same time, before sticking out her tongue. She nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er not far from their position as she gestured at Huo Yuhao to be careful.

    Huo Yuhao gave her a thumbs-up to show that he had no problems, and then he stood up and walked over to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

 Chapter 229.1: The Story Behind the Baked Bread

    Han Ruoruo smiled and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s up to the two of you now. Do warn everyone in time if you discover anything.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Hurry and rest, senior sister,¡± Huo Yuhao answered politely, while Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t respond at all.

    The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was still as cold as she had always been. However, she actually removed her veil at this moment for some reason.

    The forest night wasn¡¯t an absolute darkness where one couldn¡¯t see anything at all. Moonlight cascaded through the canopy and showered onto the forest through the shadows of the trees, and there were some tiny insects around that gave off light as well. The light was weak, but they could still see.

    Huo Yuhao Looked at her profile when he turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er¡­ it was just so familiar and beautiful. If he hadn¡¯t known better, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell whether the person beside him was Wang Qiu¡¯er or Wang Dong¡¯er.

    She¡¯s so pretty!, Huo Yuhao eximed in admiration inside, before he hurriedly turned back around and activated his Spiritual Detection before he shared it with her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced in his direction and muttered, ¡°Your soul skill is good.¡±

    She had a charming voice, but it still sounded a little cold and forced no matter how one heard it.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved some dry rations and asked, ¡°Do you want some?¡± The rations he took out were meat sandwiches he had prepared earlier. Baked bread was food that didn¡¯t spoil easily, and there was some meat packed inside. It was a little dry, but it still tasted alright.

    Huo Yuhao was just being courteous and polite, but he didn¡¯t think that Wang Qiu¡¯er would ask, ¡°Did you make that yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Dong¡¯er is a little picky with her food. I made some braised meat before this, and the baked bread was taken from the canteen. It tastes alright.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him and said, ¡°You¡¯re really good to her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and gestured towards her with the meat sandwich in his hands.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took two pieces from him. Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that her hands were covered with a faint golden aura. Thatyer was dark golden in color, and it was surprisingly inconspicuous in the darkness of the night. She passed the sandwiches back in the next moment.

    ¡°Hand me another two,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly

    Huo Yuhao took the two sandwiches back suspiciously, but he had a revtion once he held them in his hands. The two sandwiches were now warm, and they carried delicate wafts of cooking meat.

    Her soul power can even be used for grilling? Huo Yuhao hurriedly passed her another two sandwiches, while he took a bite from the one already in his hands.

    The sandwich tasted different when it was warm ¨C the braised meat became a lot more tender, while the tendons in the meat were half-melted. The fresh and salty juice that diffused into the bread had been warmed up, and the sandwich truly tasted a lot better than it did when it was cold.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er did the same thing and heated up her own sandwich before she started nibbling away.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have an ability like this! @We don¡¯t have to eat cold rations anymore!¡± Huo Yuhao said with a smile on his face.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have recovered her coldness as she said, ¡°Just this once. Consider this a gesture of appreciation for your grilled fish and soup in the afternoon.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t upset at all. He chuckled and said, ¡°Do you really have to reject everyone and close yourself off like that? We¡¯re teammates now.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snapped her head around and stared into his eyes as she asked, ¡°Do you guys really treat me like your teammates? Then why do I feel a sense of hostility from her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless by her question. The truth was that he could also feel the hostility that Wang Dong¡¯er harbored against Wang Qiu¡¯er. He forced augh and said, ¡°The truth is that I don¡¯t understand it, either. The two of you look too simr, and Dong¡¯er insists that she doesn¡¯t have a twin sister. Perhaps that¡¯s why she¡¯s suspicious of you.¡±

    ¡°I trust that time will serve to prove everything.¡± There was a look of profoundness in his eyes when he uttered thisst sentence.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned back around and continued eating the sandwich in her hands. She said coldly, ¡°I have never had to prove anything to anyone.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already finished the food in his hands by now. He retrieved his water bag and took a few gulps as he smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a good attitude. First, we live in the same world, and you can¡¯t possibly reject and forsake everything in the world. You can¡¯t decide how people look at you. Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you try to fit in? Will being so reticent and aloof bring you happiness?¡±

    ¡°Fit in? Do you really think I can fit in? Ever since I left¡­ I left home, everyone outside has been attracted by my looks. Do you know how many peoplee forward to flirt with me in a single day? I¡¯ve even met some people who would do anything to get to me. I do want to fit in, but the process of fitting in will have to rely on my fists. That is the reason I wear the veil, and it has alleviated much of my troubles.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re too good-looking. Perhaps this is the negative effect of being so blessed with beauty by the heavens. However, I can guarantee that you won¡¯t run into such problems within Shrek Academy.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered disdainfully, ¡°You can only speak for yourself.¡± She suddenly tossed the baked bread in her hands as she said, ¡°It¡¯s disgusting. I¡¯m not eating that anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, before his eyes suddenly became ice-cold in the next moment. Wang Qiu¡¯er felt a slight chill, and turned around subconsciously to look at him. She met Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and his eyes flickered with chilly light as she felt a tidal wave of animosity.

    However, this hostility didn¡¯t continue, and the coldness receded. Huo Yuhao walked over to where she threw the baked bread as he bent down and picked it up. ¡°Do you want to fight?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er raised her chin and stared at Huo Yuhao provocatively.

    Huo Yuhao shot a cold look at her. ¡°I would have if we were elsewhere. Have your family never taught you to treasure your food? Do you know that a small piece of baked bread like this can save a life?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er twitched her lips contemptuously.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Have you ever felt hunger?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered coldly, ¡°Powerful people will never feel hungry.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed scornfully and said, ¡°Powerful people? Have you been a powerful individual since the moment you were born? The only powerful people were your parents back then. You¡¯ve never tasted hunger, so you naturally have no idea how precious food is.¡±

    The truth was that he didn¡¯tugh because he despised Wang Qiu¡¯er, he just couldn¡¯t control himself. He was infuriated when Wang Qiu¡¯er tossed the baked bread onto the ground, as he hated people that didn¡¯t respect and appreciate food the most. Furthermore, it was something he had made himself, so she was throwing away his hard work.

    However, when he picked up the baked bread from the ground, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. Only one bite was taken, but the teeth marks were still there, while all the braised meat was gone. Not even a single bit was left. This girl is really picky with her food! She was just calling the baked bread disgusting.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er puffed up her firm chest that was more developed than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s and said, ¡°How do you know I wasn¡¯t a powerful being when I was born? It¡¯s just a wretched piece of baked bread.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned his head around. He didn¡¯t want to see the coldness and disdain on her face as he gazed into the darkness and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just a piece of baked bread. However, a piece of baked bread like this means the opportunity to continue surviving to me.¡±

    He held onto the baked bread that was just thrown onto the ground as he spoke, and he actually bit down on the bread that Wang Qiu¡¯er had just eaten from and began to chew.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still upset, and she was still wearing that look of contempt, but she was dazed when she saw his actions.

    He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s eating the baked bread that I¡¯ve just eaten from. That was the only thought running through her head.

    And Huo Yuhao? Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was only filled with precious memories.

    ¡°I was only five years old back then, and I was still a skinny little kid. My mother and I had to live under someone else¡¯s roof, and my mother would feed me everyday with her meager sry. My mother still had to wash clothes outside even in the bitter chill of winter, and her hands were covered by wounds and scars.

    ¡°My mother loved me so much. She always told me that I was the only thing that mattered in her life. I still remember that day... the sky had turned dark, and my mother came running in tedly from outside. It was hard to see her smile through all the excruciating toil of her daily life, but she was just so happy that day.

    ¡°Do you know why?¡±

    He turned back around and stared into Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes. At this moment, tears had already welled up in his eyes.

    He took another bite from the piece of baked bread. He munched and chewed vigorously, and his tears trickled down his cheeks uncontrobly.

    ¡°Why?¡± The cold expression on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face had vanished, she was at a loss.

    Huo Yuhao continued chewing on the baked bread as he said with a quivering voice, ¡°The reason was because my mother was working in the kitchen that day, and the chef in the kitchen had given her a piece of baked bread that was fresh from the wok after she had finished. It was still hot and fragrant, and my mother thought about me. I wouldn¡¯t have to eat that cornbread anymore, and I could finally have some bread made from white flour! That was the reason she was so happy and excited!

    ¡°She didn¡¯t want the baked bread to go cold, so she stuffed and hugged the steaming bread in her chest. When she took out the baked bread and handed it to me, her chest had turned red from all that heat. I was still young. I still didn¡¯t know anything back then. All I knew was to nibble on that warm baked bread.¡±

    At this point, Huo Yuhao was sobbing and sniffling.

    He normally wouldn¡¯t reveal his emotions so easily in front of outsiders. However, he began to reminisce about his childhood when Wang Qiu¡¯er heated up the baked bread for him. His mind was filled with images of his mother¡¯s satisfied smile, but his heart was filled with suffocating pain.

    Mom, mom! If only you were still alive. I have the ability to take care of you now, and I have the ability to protect you now!

    Everyone else was still meditating. Huo Yuhao was squatting down as he forcibly suppressed his sobbing sounds in the quiet night as he released the dejection and grief in his heart.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still standing beside him, but she waspletely rooted to the ground at this moment. She had never expected a single piece of baked bread could have a story like that.

 Chapter 229.2: The Story Behind the Baked Bread

    Huo Yuhao was choking a little on the baked bread because of his tears, and his sobbing instantly stopped, and became some unnatural sounds.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er recovered and hurriedly squatted down beside him as she patted his back gently to help him get his breath back.

    It took some effort, but this mouthful finally went down. Huo Yuhao wiped the tears from his face as he lowered his head and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er reached out and snatched the remaining half from his hands. Huo Yuhao snapped back around at her with a look of astonishment and a little bit of anger, but he then realized that the girl was stuffing the entire piece of baked bread into her mouth as if she wanted to swallow it whole. Her tender and pretty cheeks instantly puffed out as she struggled to chew.

    Their gazes met once more, and Huo Yuhaoughed through his tears and sniffling as he watched her swallowing furiously. He handed her the water bag in his hands.

    It wasn¡¯t easy, but Wang Qiu¡¯er finally swallowed the baked bread in her mouth with the help of some water.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er took a deep breath, and she couldn¡¯t help but whisper, ¡°It tastes terrible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not so bad. It¡¯s not terrible to the point where it¡¯s inedible, at least.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snapped, ¡°I¡¯m talking about your saliva.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned momentarily. Right! They had both taken turns to bite into this baked bread, and it could be said that they were swallowing each other¡¯s saliva. There was a little bit of awkwardness amongst all this, and he subconsciously turned to look at Wang Dong¡¯er, who was still meditating, a feeling of guilt surging up from the bottom of his heart.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted contemptuously and said, ¡°Men who are afraid of women are good for nothing. You¡¯re a grown man now, and you¡¯re still sobbing and crying like that. That¡¯s even worse.¡± She handed the water bag back to Huo Yuhao and stood up.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t get angry at all as he put the water bag away. He didn¡¯t follow Wang Qiu¡¯er, but remained where he was. He made a mental note that had to maintain his distance from Wang Qiu¡¯er, and he couldn¡¯t let Wang Dong¡¯er misunderstand.

    However, he swiftly raised his head at this moment. His eyes were still filled with tears, but they suddenly froze as he stared in one particr direction. His Spiritual Detection was initially working in an area around him, but he instantly switched to a particr direction in front of him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was also part of his Spiritual Detection, and she naturally gazed over at the first possible moment. Both of them felt their hearts skip a beat.

    The first feeling that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection gave them was an aura that seemed to nket the entire world: it didn¡¯te from a single soul beast, it was from a group, and one that was charged with power.

    Pair after pair of dark red eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the night, and their muscr bodies didn¡¯t make a sound at all as they traversed the forest. They were like specters of the night as they gradually moved closer.

    Huo Yuhao instantly warned everyone who was still cultivating with his Spiritual Detection. He didn¡¯t make a sound at all, and he made a gesture to Wang Qiu¡¯er to keep quiet at the same time.

    He still didn¡¯t know whether these soul beasts wereing after them, or if they were just passing by. These soul beasts were about eight hundred meters away, and they were gradually pushing forward.

    Everyone woke up one after another. They didn¡¯t need Huo Yuhao to tell them verbally, they could ¡°see¡± the soul beasts that wereing closer through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    At this moment, the students from the inner courtyard disyed their exemry qualities. Nobody made a sound as they swiftly started to move, and they relied on their geographical advantage to find a spot where they could best defend themselves.

    Zhang Lexuan came next to Huo Yuhao swiftly, her pretty eyes sparkling. She didn¡¯t look a single bit like she did when she was meditating.

    She made an inquisitive gesture toward Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao responded with a subtle shake of his head to signal that he didn¡¯t know what these soul beasts were after.

    Zhang Lexuan waved her hands for everyone to maintain their formation.

    There were quite a few soul beasts in this pack, at least a few hundred. Soul beasts that lived in the Hybrid Region had at least a thousand years of cultivation, and several hundred of them would be extremely difficult to deal with. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection told him that there were more than just thousand-year soul beasts among the pack they were facing. It was better not to provoke this pack if they could help it.

    The soul beasts didn¡¯t seem like they had discovered thepany, and were just gradually moving towards the humans¡¯ position.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyebrows knit together. She was a little conflicted at this moment; she felt like these soul beasts weren¡¯ting after them, but the marks they would leave behind if they left this location now would definitely be discovered. However, they would definitely meet up with these soul beasts if they didn¡¯t move away. Such an enormous pack would undoubtedly assault them if they saw them.

    Zhang Lexuan nced at Huo Yuhao subconsciously, but right at this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly used his spiritual power to signal in everyone¡¯s minds, ¡°Prepare for battle!¡±

    Just when he gave out the signal, the soul beasts that seemed like they had no target all suddenly picked up speed, and split into two groups as they nked the Shrek band from both sides. The seven or eight soul beasts that were charging at the front were the leanest and most robust ones.

    They were simply too quick ¨C the forest¡¯splicatedndscape didn¡¯t seem to impede them at all. They separated and nked, and it was obvious that these soul beasts had premeditated their battle strategy. They had clearly discovered thepany way earlier, and treated them like prey.

    Zhang Lexuan growled softly, ¡°Prepare for battle, everyone! Maintain the original formation ¨C these soul beasts are very hard to handle, so everyone is to go straight for the kill! Give your all in this fight! Mo Xuan, unleash your Halo!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Mo Xuan acknowledged as two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose up from his feet. In the next moment, halo after halo rippled from his body, enveloping everyone.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his strength and speed had been amplified in tandem, and his spiritual focus became a little stronger. Mo Xuan had unleashed his first three halos, but the strength of his amplification couldn¡¯t really beplimented, as its effects couldn¡¯t even reach a fifth of Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda.

    The soul beasts arrived right when Mo Xuan activated his halos. The seven or eight burliest soul beasts were in the vanguard.

    Everyone could clearly see that the soul beasts were a bunch of baboons when they came nearer. They were huge and tall, and could even bepared to a normal bear species. Their muscles were tight and bulging, and their lean and mean appearance instilled a sense of fear in people¡¯s hearts. Their faces were ghastly white, in strong contrast to their ck fur. Their blood-red eyes in their white faces were daunting, and this appearance was especially petrifying in the darkness of the night.

    ¡°These are Bloody Baboons. Be careful, everyone ¨C Bloody Baboons have powerful physical strength, and Bloodlust is their innate skill. Bloodlust allows them to immediately boost their offensive and defensive capabilities. Their heads are their vital point, so everyone should go for their heads.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t panic at all as they faced this siege from a pack of high-level soul beasts. She rapidly gave the necessarymands while she released her martial soul at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao was standing behind her, and he could see two yellow, two purple, three ck, and one red soul ring rise from beneath her feet. The pack of Bloody Baboons paused momentarily when her red soul ring appeared, as if they were a little hesitant.

    Bloody Baboons were soul beasts that were extremely hard to deal with. They moved in packs, even as their individual fighting strength was also rtively formidable. They were known as beings who had bronze skin and steel bones. They had strong defensive capabilities, and they had immense strength powerful enough to strangle a tiger to death with their bare hands. They were highly resistant to soul power of any element, and their ck fur, which was as tough as metal, was their best defensive trait. What was even more frightening was their innate skill, Bloodlust: once it was used, their defensive and offensive capabilities would be boosted exponentially, while they would lose the ability to feel pain and would no longer fear death.

    Bloody Baboons were naturally cruel and fierce, and they were also very intelligent. They were clearly trying not to be discovered when they wereing forward slowly. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao could tell through his Spiritual Detection that their blood essences were changing, and he was able to warn everyone to get ready in advance.

    The tallest Bloody Baboon at the very front had a conspicuous lock of golden fur on its forehead. It howled into the sky, more than three meters tall when it stood up straight as it hammered its chests heavily with its fists, which it sounded like deafening drums. A circle of golden light radiated from its body, and the Bloody Baboons around him were covered with a pale goldenyer. Their auras became even more fearsome than before, and the fear that had shed across their eyes before vanished into thin air. Murderous looks exploded from their eyes as they snarled and charged forward.

    Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice and said, ¡°That¡¯s the Baboon King. He¡¯s a fifty-thousand year soul beast! Be careful, everyone ¨C this is Mass Berserk!¡±

    Something glowed behind Zhang Lexuan¡¯s back as she spoke: it was a crescent moon that seemed like it was hanging off a tree as everything lit up after its appearance.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s skin looked pale and translucent under the moonlight. She pointed forward with her right hand, and moonlight immediately erupted from the crescent moon above her. The baboons that came forward first were immediately smashed away wherever the moonlight fell.

    However, the Bloody Baboons¡¯ defensive capabilities were boosted under the effects of Mass Berserk, and they just rolled around on the ground before they got back to their feet, mostly unharmed.

    The group from Shrek Academy had been surrounded at this moment. Large throngs of baboons leapt out from their surroundings, but they didn¡¯te any closer, forming a tight andpact circle around the humans.

    Thepany could tell from their movements that these baboons had between two to three thousand years of cultivation. The Baboon King was undoubtedly the strongest one, and there were several other ten-thousand year baboons beside him. There were also several other ten-thousand year baboons in the packs that had nked them to either side.

 Chapter 229.3: The Story Behind the Baked Bread

    The Baboon King continued hammering his chest. His Mass Berserk continued to spread, and quickly epassed all the baboons around him. However, the baboons were not hasty with their attack, and only pushed forward gradually.

    The air immediately became extremely tense.

    The students from Shrek weren¡¯t panicky or flustered in the least, even though they were facing such a hazardous situation. The Baboon King had fifty thousand years of cultivation, which meant that he was almost equivalent to an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. The humans had two Soul Douluo on their side, and they even had Dean Cai, who was a Titled Douluo, to hold the fort. These Bloody Baboons were difficult to deal with, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to threaten theirpany.

    Han Ruoruo had shifted behind Zhang Lexuan at this moment. Her Dazzling Golden Rope shimmered into view. However, she didn¡¯t attack her enemies, but wrapped the rope once around herpanions¡¯ waists. A powerful control-type soul master didn¡¯t just control his or her enemies, but also had to take care of his or her own people.

    The Baboon King stared at Zhang Lexuan with those ferocious eyes of his, while Zhang Lexuan returned his gaze with a calm expression.

    All of a sudden, the Baboon King roared as he applied strength to his thick and strong lower limbs. His incredibly muscr body immediately barreled towards Zhang Lexuan, while ayer of golden light glimmered on his body. His tremendous forward-moving figure actually appeared faintly surreal and illusory.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s first and third soul rings lit up at the same time. A streak of moonlight first descended on her body, and she waspletely encircled by the radiance, before another beam of moonlight shone on the Baboon King¡¯s body immediately afterwards.

    There was a loud boom, and the Baboon King¡¯s momentum paused, but he still continued his charge at Zhang Lexuan.

    The other baboons charged forward when the Baboon King made his move, and the ten-thousand year Bloody Baboons immediatelyunched their hysterical assault.

    Zhang Lexuan ced her hands in front of her chest. The crescent moon behind her burst with light as streak after streak of moonlight sted down from the sky. She blocked the Baboon King¡¯s forward momentum and four other ten-thousand year baboons at the same time.

    Of course, she wasn¡¯t the only target, and enemies circled in from all sides.

    Two of the ten-thousand year baboons charged toward Huo Yuhao and the others. At this moment, Wang Dong¡¯er was on Huo Yuhao¡¯s right, while Wang Qiu¡¯er was on his left, both of them having removed their veils for the night¡¯s rest.

    The two baboons leapt into the sky at the same time, and one of them went straight for Huo Yuhao. It raised ced its elongated hands above its head and clenched them into fists before mming them straight down.

    Huo Yuhao was young, but he was an experienced fighter. Cold light flickered in his eyes as four soul rings rose from beneath him.

    His eyes instantly turned white as a white light circle spread in all directions: Mass Enfeeblement!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement was also like a halo, but it was far stronger than Mo Xuan¡¯s halos. Almost all the Bloody Baboons slowed down in that instant, and the ferocity of their forward momentum was greatly reduced.

    The Bloody Baboons were adept with physical attacks, while Mass Enfeeblement targeted physical bodies, so it could be considered a counter. Mass Berserk had just taken effect on these baboons, but its effects were immediately countered and offset by Mass Enfeeblement.

    Huo Yuhao was taking care of the whole battlefield, but he chose to advance instead of retreat as he slipped forward in a sh. His body slid just underneath the ten thousand year baboon¡¯s armpits as he pped his right hand toward the other one.

    The Bloody Baboons¡¯ tactic of choice was to meet force with force. The baboon didn¡¯t even bother evading Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack as it swung its arms out and swept them towards Huo Yuhao.

    However, was Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand that easy to fight against? When his right hand pressed against the baboon, the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon was immediately used. He didn¡¯t pull, but pushed instead, and he borrowed the baboon¡¯s own strength to bounce backwards rapidly. Five streams of blood spurted out as that ten thousand year Bloody Baboon howled ferociously.

    A dark golden de glimmered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand; the foot-long de had been buried entirely in the baboon¡¯s body. Its fur was tough, but it was still a far cry from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw.

    Still, this baboon was truly fearsome ¨C its ribs were heinously injured, but it hadn¡¯t lost its ability to fight. It began to roar hysterically on the spot while a dense blood essence erupted from its body. It was about to enter Bloodlust mode.

    Huo Yuhao had singled out one of the two ten-thousand year Bloody Baboons, so the other one naturally went for Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was focused on Huo Yuhao, and she immediately followed up after Huo Yuhaounched his attack. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings stretched out behind her back as the voluminous Light of the Butterfly Goddess burst forward.

    The Light of the Butterfly Goddess wasn¡¯t weak, but it was definitely not strong enough to break through the Bloody Baboon¡¯s defenses. All it could do was hinder the baboon¡¯s forward movement.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er made her move at this moment. A crisp dragon roar could be heard as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body red up with riveting and brilliant golden light.

    She arrived before the baboon in an instant.

    The baboon swung its fist at her without hesitation.

    A stunning scene urred. Wang Qiu¡¯er was such a pretty littledy, but she didn¡¯t use any soul skills at this moment, choosing to meet force with force instead. Her small white fist shed with the baboon¡¯s dustpan-sized fist in the air, just like that.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fist turned golden in an instant. Her eyes were incredibly determined and unwavering, and the Bloody Baboon actually halted in its tracks after colliding with her simple punch.

    Golden light burst out as a shrill cracking sound could be heard. That Bloody Baboon¡¯s arm arched backward in the instant after the collision, but only half of its arm moved. It had such a thick and tough arm, and yet it broke, just like that! The ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon¡¯s forte was meeting force with force, and yet it actually lost the fight, and absolutely so!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have expected this, and she didn¡¯t pause afterunching her fist. She tapped on the ground with the tip of her foot, and her entire body was propelled forward with a boom, as if she were a golden cannon shell!

    The Bloody Baboon wanted to use Bloodlust as it howled in agony, while extending the fingers of its other hand to make a grab at Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was still in midair, but she didn¡¯t dodge or evade the attack, making the exact same grabbing action.

    Behind her, Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t even see how she did it; all she saw was Wang Qiu¡¯er grabbing one of the baboon¡¯s fingers. In the next moment, her forward-moving body suddenly plummeted toward the ground, and she touched down like a five-hundred-kilogram sluice.

    Boom! An even more violent impact could be heard this time, and an intense shockwave erupted from where Wang Qiu¡¯ernded on the ground. She flipped over several other Bloody Baboons that were charging behind her.

    Afterwards, she was still grabbing onto that Bloody Baboon¡¯s finger as she hurled its two-meter tall, muscr, and lean body into the air.

    Yes, she hurled it into the air.

    Boom! The ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon was mmed forcefully into the ground, the force of the impact knocking over two other baboons. Wang Qiu¡¯er released that finger, which was broken until it couldn¡¯t be broken any further, and she raised her right fist as two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul rings rose from her body. Her first purple soul ring sparkled, and she punched out as a dragon head seemed to sh by in midair and integrate itself into this fist¡­ and this fist rained down onto the Bloody Baboon¡¯s tough skull.

    Boom! The Bloody Baboon¡¯s head was driven directly into the ground. Its enormous body was still exuding blood energy as it suddenly stopped, and its legs curved upward before they crashed down heavily once more. The baboon was no longer moving.

    This¡­

    Wang Dong¡¯er held herself in high regard, but even so, she couldn¡¯t help but draw in a cold breath as she watched. So violent! Wang Qiu¡¯er is just so violent! From beginning to end, Wang Qiu¡¯er had relied entirely upon her fearsome and ferocious strength to fight, but this seemingly simple brutality and fighting style actually killed a ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon in such a short period of time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fight was also ending on the other side.

    The Bloody Baboon had just unleashed Bloodlust, but it couldn¡¯t really use it before itnded heavily onto its own kin.

    Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Confusion, and it hit the baboon right at the time when it had raised its Bloodlust to the highest possible level.

    The ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon was experiencing pain, hysteria, weakness, and bloodlust at the same time, and it finally went insane. It began to wave its fists around with all its strength like a windmill, and the first two targets were its partners beside it as it knocked them into the sky.

    It began to whirl its arms around even more crazily in the next moment.

    Huo Yuhao was a member of Shrek Academy, and he naturally had some knowledge about soul beasts in their Bloodlust state. Soul beasts that were under the effects of Bloodlust had their strength greatly amplified, but their intelligence would also be lowered to the minimum; that was the price of Bloodlust. It was easy to imagine how soul beasts would react to Spiritual Confusion when they could no longer maintain their rationality and intelligence.

    It was easy to see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual Confusion were exceptionally effective against Bloody Baboons.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t pursue his target as faint lights flickered. He was a control-type soul master, so his main role was to assert control over the entire battlefield and protect hispanions at the same time, thus eventually achieving victory.

    He turned around after unleashing Spiritual Confusion, and he caught the scene where Wang Qiu¡¯er hurled the other Bloody Baboon into the sky and mmed it into the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth opened so wide a duck egg could probably fit inside. This¡­ isn¡¯t this the girl that snatched the baked bread from me? This strength is a little too terrifying...

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength was rtively formidable, but he knew that he could not reach that level of brutality and explosiveness. But she had managed to do it; the Golden Dragon truly lived up to its name as the Ancestor of Strength! Furthermore, her strength seemed to be even higher than his previous spections. Faced with this fearsome draconic prestige, the savage Bloody Baboons seemed a little afraid toe forward...

 Chapter 230.1: Snatching Soul Ring?

    They were very sessful on this side, but there weren¡¯t many problems on the other side either. Under the light of the moon, Li Yongyue¡¯s Moonde demonstrated the great offensive strength that an agility-type soul master should possess.

    Han Ruoruo had been observing everything. After seeing that things were fine on Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, she turned her attention to the other side. As she unleashed her Dazzling Golden Rope, the strongest few baboons were sent flying away. Only the weaker ones were left behind, but they were still tangled and restrained by the rope. Li Yongyue¡¯s only job was to kill them.

    At the front, the strongest five or six baboons couldn¡¯t inch any closer as they were facing the bright moon in the sky. They roared furiously, but were helpless.

    Zhang Lexuan was calm from the very start. She was also observing everything.

    Dean Cai was missing at this point. Her whereabouts were unknown. But even though she didn¡¯t fight, she was the backbone. Everyone was confident that she was around.

    At this point, arge number of baboons were rushing toward them from all directions. Although they were entrenched atop the slope, it wasn¡¯t a one versus one duel anymore. The pressure on them increased greatly, and Han Ruoruo¡¯s immense fighting strength was demonstrated.

    This time, Han Ruoruo was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s team member. It was also because of her presence that there was a sudden change in the soaring pressure.

    Han Ruoruo pointed up, and her Dazzling Golden Rope shot into the sky, forming a golden halo in the air before it abruptly descended. As the halo descended, no one felt any threat from it. When it finallynded, four baboons were caught within it. The rest of the baboons, including the Bloody Baboon King, were located outside of the halo. The Baboon King had been struck by Zhang Lexuan earlier, and sted out of the region of the halo.

    In the next instant, the bright-golden halo blew apart and unleashed an immense explosive force. This explosive force didn¡¯t possess tremendous destructive abilities. However, its impact was great. Countless baboons were sent flying, and they nocked down the rest of the baboons that were rushing up the slope. Only the four baboons within the halo remained there. The rest of the area was temporarily cleared of baboons.

    Everyone else was highly skilled, so they wouldn¡¯t let such a great opportunity slip. Zhang Lexuan¡¯s fifth soul ring shone brightly, and the crescent in the sky turned golden. Instantly, this crescent started to divide and form equally huge crescents that eventually streaked down.

    Moonfall!

    The golden-yellow crescents turned into reaper¡¯s scythes. Two baboons in the ten-thousand year level were chopped in half as the moonlight crossed them. They didn¡¯t even have a chance to unleash their Bloodlust.

    Zhang Lexuan wasn¡¯t the only one who attacked. Li Yongyue also leapt up, and gestured towards the crescents above Zhang Lexuan. Suddenly, the surface of his Moonde was covered in ayer of golden light. No one saw him using any soul skills. His figure only shed by his target as his Moonde disyed countless forms. In the next instant, one baboon froze in ce, and several fresh wounds appeared on its body before it copsed to the ground.

    The fourth baboon was taken down by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fist. The fight was simpler this time. After the golden halo toppled the other baboons, the Dazzling Golden Rope tangled that baboon. As Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around, she jumped into the air, and her body was covered by a dim-golden light as she punched half the baboon¡¯s body into the ground with hernding. It was unlikely to be alive after the blow.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er became bystanders as these few exchanges urred. The two of them had reunited at this point. As they held hands, the Haodong Power circted, and brought them to their strongest state.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er is very strong.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and replied, ¡°She¡¯s too wild. Turns out she¡¯s one violentdy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned without speaking. He had a deeper impression of Wang Qiu¡¯er eating a baked biscuit.

    An orange-gold light shed, and the Snow Lady came out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Her deep blue eyes blinked as she watched the baboons reorganizing. After that, she turned to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er only interacted briefly before they started to attack. They moved up to the baboon that was pushed into the ground by Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Huo Yuhao pressed his left hand on its body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t idling either. With the support of their Haodong Power, both of them were surging with soul power. Wang Dong¡¯er was a six-ringed Soul Emperor, and her cultivation was one level above Li Yongyue, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Mo Xuan. Her fourth soul ring lit up, and her two hands pointed forward sessively. Hexagram Arrays started to rapidly appear on the ground.

    These Hexagram Arrays were lined up in a specific way. Each array was five meters from the next array, but their colors were varied.

    Apart from one at the front that was golden, the rest shed before disappearing.

    Hexagram Arrays were very restrictive, but only one could be used at a time. However, there was a technique in unleashing this soul skill. Although only one Hexagram Array could be used at a time, the position of multiple arrays could be set up beforehand.

    There wasn¡¯t such a need for such a setup in a duel. However, she could set up multiple arrays ording to the geographical conditions if they were encircled.

    The Baboon King had a fifty-thousand year cultivation. Seeing his own tribe members being massacred, he didn¡¯tmand them to rush up the slope. Instead, he roared furiously, and continued to unleash his Mass Berserk in a bid to neutralize Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement. Following this, he roared three more times.

    Suddenly, the Bloody Baboons started to cry out, and thick blood fog was released from their bodies.

    All the baboons were in a Bloodlust state now! Even Zhang Lexuan¡¯s expression turned serious at this point. It was very difficult to deal with these baboons in their Bloodlust state.

    Zhang Lexuan turned and asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, can your domain avoid harming those on your side?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No. I can only prevent everyone from being attacked, but the low temperature is unavoidable. Eldest senior sister, why don¡¯t Wang Dong and I charge ahead? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too dangerous if we use my domain.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Zhang Lexuan rejected his proposition. He had to be joking. She was supposed to protect Huo Yuhao on this mission. How could she let him subject himself to danger?

    Han Ruoruo said, ¡°Then let¡¯s stick to the original n. Lexuan, we won¡¯t hold back anymore if we really have no choice.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly. Her eight soul rings shone, and a dim silvery fog rose from her feet. Her body was covered by the fog, but she appeared indistinctly beautiful at this moment.

    This was¡­

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. Zhang Lexuan wasn¡¯t using any soul skills now, but what was this silvery fog she had released?

    Through his Spiritual Detection, he could clearly sense Zhang Lexuan¡¯s soul power and aura rising rapidly under the effect of the fog. It felt as if she was umting her strength. The crescent above her head grewrger andrger, and started to expand into a full moon. Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes also shone with silver light at this point.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said softly, ¡°Eldest senior sister seems to be using a secret technique to ignite her own strength. It feels simr to the baboons¡¯ Bloodlust, only without the mania. If her soul power can be likened to water, then it must be boiling right now.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s exnation was very apt, and Huo Yuhao agreed with her assessment. However, this was evidently not the time to be bothered about this. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hold back any further as he faced these strong enemies.

    A dim golden streak of light shone from his forehead. Following this, a weird golden vertical eye slowly opened. When his eye opened, all the surrounding lights seemed to turn dark. Everyone, including the baboons, turned their attention to Huo Yuhao.

    Third eye? He actually has a third eye!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was also looking at Huo Yuhao at this point. She wasn¡¯t stunned, but showed a peculiar look instead. She could clearly sense his aura soaring. In terms of scale, he wasn¡¯t weaker than Zhang Lexuan.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister, we have to capture the king if we want to take all of them down. I¡¯ll help you control the Baboon King. Senior Han, you can control the entire battlefield.¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong¡¯er to him and came beside Zhang Lexuan.

    Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t say anything, and only nodded at him.

    At this point, the congress of baboons started to exhibit their Bloodlust state.

    The baboons started to growrger. Ayer of dark-red light had appeared over their pitch-ck hair. A thick, fishy smell spread out in a nauseating miasma. Their eyes seemed to be dancing with blood-red light. Instantly, the surrounding trees wereyered with a dark-red color that exuded a dangerous aura.

    The Bloody Baboon King roared into the sky. It straightened its body and lifted its thick arms up high. Suddenly, its figure ballooned in size, and every inch of its muscles bulked up massively as its huge fangs grew in length. Even the surrounding air started shaking!

 Chapter 230.2: Snatching Soul Ring?

    The Bloody Baboon King signaled an attack with an earsplitting roar. Its speed soared as it targeted Zhang Lexuan. Evidently, it had a lot of hatred for her. It even understood that Zhang Lexuan was the leader of this team.

    The Baboon King was very different after it entered the Bloodlust state. As it burst forward, it left a blood-red wake behind it.

    Before it, a full moon shone, and a streak of silver light shot down towards the Baboon King.

    The Baboon King red. As it roared furiously, it punched its fist out and forcefully crushed the moonlight that was descending towards it.

    When it unleashed its fist, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that its attack resembled a soul masters¡¯ offense when theybined their spiritual and soul power. It wasn¡¯t a skill, but an innate ability. It was thebination of a Bloody Baboon¡¯s maniacal fighting will and fighting strength as it entered the Bloodlust state.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes shone with silver light. Her first, second, and third soul rings lit up at the same time. The full moon in the air was like a soul tool shooting out soul rays, streaks of moonlight were fired continuously, all targeting the Bloody Baboon King.

    The Baboon King seemed to have gone mad too. Although it was unable to charge forward as quickly as before, it still advanced with solid steps. As it moved forward, it destroyed a streak of moonlight every time it waved its fist. Even when the streaks of moonlight struck it, they only reduced its speed, and couldn¡¯t force it back.

    At this point, all the Bloody Baboons in the Bloodlust state started to attack all-out. Their speed, strength, offense, and defense were all greatly enhanced by their Bloodlust state, and they all rushed up the slope.

    Han Ruoruo was undoubtedly the one under the greatest pressure. Her golden halo was put to use again. However, it couldn¡¯t topple the baboons like before. The baboons could only be pushed back slightly. Following that, more and more baboons continued to rush up the slope.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s performance was the most eye-catching. The baboons¡¯ Bloodlust didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on her. Her fighting style was also very uncouth and violent. Her body waspletely engulfed by golden light. As dragon roars echoed, every baboon that collided with her was flung into the air. She guarded her area so well that it was seemingly impregnable. Not far from her was the baboon corpse that Huo Yuhao had previously grabbed with his left hand.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Array also started to take effect. The Hexagram Array sent two baboons into the air the moment it was activated. They screamed pathetically amidst the fiery light.

    Each Hexagram Array onlysted for about ten seconds before it would change locations and rise again. The magical thing was that the baboon¡¯s Bloodlust state would be lost once they were burned by the fiery light. It was as if they were being cleansed.

    However, everyone was still under great pressure. There were simply too many baboons in the Bloodlust state, attacking ceaselessly. Han Ruoruo¡¯s soul power was also being depleted quickly as she kept on using her golden halo.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao finally acted.

    A white halo that was much stronger than before started to spread from his head. The bodies of the baboons were covered by ayer of pale-white light as the halo passed them, repressing their auras considerably.

    The white light from the Eye of Destiny was retracted. In the next moment, a purplish-gold light surfaced within it. The purplish-gold glow in the Eye of Destiny shed once before disappearing. Suddenly, the Bloody Baboon King screamed in horror. It grabbed onto its head and shrieked in pain.

    Zhang Lexuan exploited this opportunity. Her sixth soul ring suddenly lit up, and it rose into the air before fusing with the full moon.

    The full moon transformed ¨C its original silvery-white color turned dim. Following that, it turnedpletely ck, with a ringlikeyer of silver surrounding it.

    Following this, a silvery halo descended from the sky. Huo Yuhao could feel that it wasn¡¯t actually a silver halo, it was just that the light that it contained was ck, making it nigh-invisible in the darkness.

    As the ck light shed, it struck the Baboon King, who had been hurt by the Eye of Destiny¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    The Baboon King¡¯s body stiffened. Following this, a streak of moonlight shot straight down from the sky and engulfed its body. A frightening explosion ured, and the Baboon King copsed.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection lost its detection abilities in that direction. He only saw moonlight crashing down after the ck light. After that, he couldn¡¯t see clearly. The Bloody Baboon King had already been blown apart and copsed to the ground.

    There was a huge stab wound around half a meter in diameter in the center of the Baboon King¡¯s chest. Its body had been pierced through. More terrifyingly, its hair had turned silver, and was melting at an rming speed.

    What soul skill was this? It was extremely strong. Huo Yuhao suspected that the effect of this strike wouldn¡¯t change much even without the aid of his Spiritual Shock! Zhang Lexuan was extremely strong. At this point, neither Zhang Lexuan nor Han Ruoruo had unleashed their Martial Soul True Bodies.

    Zhang Lexuan remained calm as she looked at the Baboon King that had copsed. In mid-air, the ck moon had turned into a silver moon again. Streaks of bright silver light descended from the sky and flung the baboons into the air.

    If it were any other soul beast tribe, the death of the king would cause arge drop in morale, and might even cause the rest to retreat. However, the baboons were in their Bloodlust state, and were far too bloodthirsty now, their intensity didn¡¯t waver at all.

    ¡°Ruoruo,e on! It¡¯s not early anymore,¡± Zhang Lexuan said calmly.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Han Ruoruo acknowledged. In the next moment, her body also turned bright-golden. Dazzling Golden True Body!

    Countless strips of Dazzling Golden Ropes started to extend in all directions. Following this, the ground turned golden, and Han Ruoruo disappeared. However, the ground of the dense forest was shaking tremendously.

    The baboons seemed to have stepped into a swamp, finding it difficult to move forward. Following this, streaks of golden light shot out from the ground and sent their bodies into the air.

    Golden Skysurge! It was Han Ruoruo¡¯s eighth soul skill.

    At this point, there were around a hundred baboons left. They were all sent into the air by Han Ruoruo¡¯s Golden Skysurge.

    After this, the bright moon in the sky expanded.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s body turned silvery-white. The burning white light illuminated her surroundings. In the sky, the bright moon expanded at a terrifyingly quick speed. It reached more than a hundred meters instantly, and engulfed all the baboons that had been thrown into the air.

    ¡°Moonlight!¡± Li Yongyue eximed.

    Following this, everyone from Shrek Academy felt their surroundings turning blurry-white. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection lost its effect underneath this terrifying white light.

    The gold from the Golden Skysurge and the silvery-white from the Moonlight fused togetherpletely. A bright radiancested for close to five seconds before it faded away.

    Plop, plop, plop, plop¡­ A series of heavy impacts sounded out. When everyone regained their vision, they saw many Bloody Baboon corpses falling from the sky.

    No, they should be called Silvery-white Baboons instead. The hair of every baboon had turned silvery-white, while their bodies were slowly but steadily melting.

    Zhang Lexuan had already returned to her normal state. Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened. This fight didn¡¯t seem to have taken much of a toll on her at all.

    Not a single baboon could move at this point. The surroundings started to turn abnormally quiet. Even the sounds made by birds and bugs ceased to exist. The night turned terrifyingly silent.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pupils shrank. As she looked at Zhang Lexuan, she furrowed her brow. She was considering how far her abilities were from Zhang Lexuan¡¯s.

    This was a Soul Douluo¡¯s ability. Zhang Lexuan had turned into a bright moon with the help of Han Ruoruo¡¯s controlling ability as they faced the Bloody Baboons. As her Moonlight was unleashed, all the baboons were defeated.

    The corpses that Huo Yuhao had prepared using his Ice Explosion Technique were not put to use at all. The fight had already ended before he could pull that move. He had thought that it was going to be a tough fight, but it ended so quickly.

    ¡°The Bloody Baboon King¡¯s cultivation is around fifty thousand years. Is there anyone who needs and can absorb its soul ring? Its Bloodlust is rather effective for closebat soul engineers. The Mass Berserk isn¡¯t too bad, either. Furthermore, it¡¯ll be good for your body if you absorb its soul ring. Your strength, tenacity, and defense will all be enhanced.¡± Zhang Lexuan seemed to have just performed something insignificant. She first overcame the obstacle before exining the use of this Bloody Baboon King.

    Huo Yuhao thought of something and said, ¡°Eldest senior sister, I¡¯m a spiritual-type soul master. Can I absorb this Bloody Baboon King?¡± He was confident in his own physical strength. He had twin martial souls, and now had more than nine soul rings in total. His was much stronger physically than most other Soul Kings. After he fused with the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, his spiritual power also became a part of why his body was so resilient. He had confidence in absorbing a fifty-thousand year soul ring. Moreover, Wang Dong¡¯er could protect him as he did so!

 Chapter 230.3: Snatching Soul Ring?

    The Bloody Baboon King wasn¡¯t dead yet. Its chest was still moving as ity on the ground. However, the silvery-white light was disintegrating its body. The fatal wound on its chest had also turned ck and started to decay, the wound expanding in size. The Baboon King didn¡¯t have long to live.

    After pondering for a moment, Zhang Lexuan replied, ¡°I think it¡¯s possible. Although the spiritual power of the Baboon King isn¡¯t very outstanding, it uses its spiritual power when it initiates its Mass Berserk and Bloodlust. It isn¡¯t easy for your spiritual-type martial soul to find a suitable soul ring. If you think that its Mass Berserk or Bloodlust can help you, you can absorb its soul ring. After all, it can enhance your physical strength.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even think any further, ¡°Give it to me.¡± Indeed, he was very familiar with how difficult it was to find a spiritual-type soul ring. He could ept both the effects of Mass Berserk and Bloodlust. Moreover, this Baboon King¡¯s cultivation was fifty thousand years! He was more than satisfied if his fifth soul ring could be a fifty-thousand year one. It could also make up for some of his deficiencies in terms of soul skills.

    In addition, Huo Yuhao had his own n. After the tournament was over, he had some ns for himself. He still desired to improve his physical strength. Whether it was on the battlefield or exhibiting stronger soul tools, he needed a strong physical body.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was ready to walk towards the Bloody Baboon King, he was stopped by someone.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit you. Give it to me instead.¡± This sudden voice caused great disharmony within the team.

    He was stunned to find out that it was Wang Qiu¡¯er who was blocking him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wore a cold look on her face as she spoke to Huo Yuhao. After finishing her sentence, she immediately walked towards the Bloody Baboon King.

    Snatching a soul ring? This was a despicable act under any circumstance, but they were even teammates.

    A golden light shed. Wang Dong¡¯er pped open her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er and raged, ¡°Do you know what firste first served means? Are we supposed to follow your words just because you said it¡¯s not suitable for him?¡±

    Neither of them were wearing veils at this point. As they shed, everyone was in a daze, since they both had the same appearance.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Get lost! I¡¯ve said it. This soul beast doesn¡¯t suit him.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er also wore a cold look on her face as she retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re great just because you¡¯re strong. I¡¯ll let you fuse with this soul ring, but only if you beat me in a fight.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted, ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± Golden lights started to rise and dragon roars echoed.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± A furious voice sounded. As silver light shed, Zhang Lexuan had already stepped in between bothdies. Her expression was very cold.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s golden light faded, but the arrogance in her eyes didn¡¯t disappear. There was a wintry look in her eyes. Even facing Zhang Lexuan, she had no intention of giving way.

    Zhang Lexuan was cross as she said, ¡°What are the two of you doing? Look at the both of you. What is this? Are you still schoolmates from the same academy? In the Great Star Dou Forest, you¡¯re not just schoolmates, but fellow warriors too! If the two of you continue to bicker, will you still trust each other? Not only are the both of you lookalikes, but you even have simr names. However, you have been at odds since the start. Tell me, what¡¯s going on? I¡¯ll give you a chance to exin yourselves! Tell me now.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er were silent. Wang Dong¡¯er turned her head away while Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her head towards the sky. Both of them were speechless.

    ¡°Tell me! Say something! Whatever problem you have with each other,y it out now. Otherwise, both of you should return to the academy immediately. I¡¯ve led many teams in my time, but I¡¯ve never seen anything like this! What are the two of you nning to do?¡± Zhang Lexuan was furious. The further they went into the forest, the more dangerous it was. Even though she had teamed up with Han Ruoruo to defeat the Bloody Baboons earlier, it had taken their all. Even so, there was still some disharmony within the team. How could they venture further in given this situation?

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°Eldest senior sister, Yuhao said he wanted the soul ring first, but she tried to snatch it from him. How despicable can she get? Am I wrong to stop her?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er groaned, ¡°I told him that this soul beast doesn¡¯t suit him.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er raged, ¡°Are your words final? Do you know how difficult it is for Yuhao to find soul rings given that he¡¯s a spiritual-type soul master? He finally found one that¡¯s suitable, but you want to snatch it from him? I won¡¯t let you.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan also looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er and asked, ¡°When I asked everyone just now, why didn¡¯t you speak up? You only said something after Yuhao made his decision. Exin your actions.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ve said that this soul ring doesn¡¯t suit him. It¡¯s still slightly suitable for me. I¡¯m doing this for his own good.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan replied, ¡°Although you just joined Shrek, your understanding of martial souls should be quite good considering your cultivation. I¡¯m sure you know how rare spiritual-type soul beasts are. To find one that fits Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation is also very difficult. If you can tell me a soul beast that fits him in this forest and point out roughly where it can be located, I¡¯ll allow you to absorb this soul ring.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned to Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Huo Yuhao, do you trust me? If you do, give me this soul ring. I¡¯ll lead the way from now on. It¡¯s not my first time entering the forest. If I¡¯m not remember wrongly, I can bring you somewhere to find a suitable soul ring. Otherwise, you can take my life.¡±

    Her words sounded very serious. As she said this, even Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fury dissipated. Although the Bloody Baboon King¡¯s soul ring was very valuable, it was too much toy down one¡¯s life for it. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Wang Qiu¡¯er to find a suitable soul ring given her abilities. Her words proved that she was confident in helping Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao walked up to Wang Dong¡¯er and grabbed her hands before nodding his head at Wang Qiu¡¯er, ¡°I trust you. You can absorb it, but you¡¯re running out of time.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t waste any more time. She quickly made her way to the Baboon King. Wang Dong¡¯er wanted to say something, but Huo Yuhao gripped her hands tightly, and she held her indignation.

    Zhang Lexuan turned to Huo Yuhao, and he nodded at her. She didn¡¯t say anything else, but followed Wang Qiu¡¯er with the rest. Wang Qiu¡¯er and the Baboon King were surrounded by the rest of the team.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s palm was already resting on the Baboon King¡¯s forehead, and she ended its life. After that, she sat cross-legged, and a ck soul ring drifted up from the Baboon King¡¯s body.

    It was definitely a fifty-thousand year soul ring. When it appeared, the air seemed to be viscous, and a ferocious aura was exuded from it.

    Zhang Lexuan asked, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, are you confident? This fifty-thousand year soul ring is far above your cultivation limit.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and used her actions to provide the answer to the question. As golden light shed, an image of a golden dragon appeared on her back. The size of this golden dragon wasn¡¯t veryrge, but it was clear, and seemed almost alive. Its wings pped open, and it lifted its head proudly. It seemed a little scornful as it looked at the Baboon King before opening its mouth to absorb it. The ck soul ring started to be engulfed by the golden dragon.

    The golden light then returned to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sat there and didn¡¯t move a single inch. A dim golden halo started to emanate from her body. As the golden light surged, it looked like a gentle fog. While her soul power experienced intense undtions, they didn¡¯t seem violent. It was in to see that Wang Qiu¡¯er had suppressed the aura of the Baboon King¡¯s soul ring, as no sign of it leaked out.

    Zhang Lexuan was stunned. She knew that she had to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er in a different light from now on. She had thought that her appraisal of Wang Qiu¡¯er was already very high, but right now it didn¡¯t seem high enough.

    It wasn¡¯t simple to absorb a fifty-thousand year soul ring. At least, Zhang Lexuan wasn¡¯t certain that she could do it before she became a Soul Emperor. Even when she absorbed her hundred-thousand year soul ring, it had been a stroke of fate, and she had had the protection of other, stronger individuals. After that absorption, she had to rest for half a year before she fully recovered.

    Thus, she was stunned to seeing Wang Qiu¡¯er absorbing the soul ring effortlessly. This was evidently not because of her cultivation, but the strength of her body. Her martial soul alsopletely suppressed the Bloody Baboon King. On a spiritual level, the soul ring couldn¡¯t struggle at all. Shepletely overwhelmed the Baboon King toplete this fusion.

    ¡°Everyone, please be careful. The smell of blood is very strong, and might attract other soul beasts.¡± Zhang Lexuan warned the rest, and also gestured for Huo Yuhao to activate his Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao took this chance to get busy. First, he moved the baboon corpses five hundred meters from where they were. The corpses formed a circle that surrounded all of them.

    He took an hour to finish this task. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power was rising quickly the whole time. As her aura grew stronger and stronger, she evidently reached a critical stage in her fusion.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly fatigued, and sat cross-legged before he started to meditate. Wang Dong¡¯er sat opposite him and cultivated with him.

 Chapter 231: Purpleshadow Lion

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything to Zhang Lexuan, he was sharing his Spiritual Detection with her, and though the others didn¡¯t really understand what Huo Yuhao did, Zhang Lexuan could feel it.

    There were more than a hundred Bloody Baboons, each of which was about fifty meters apart. Together, they formed a circle about five hundred meters in diameter. The distance wasn¡¯t that bnced or perfectly even, but it was good enough. These baboons were now frozen corpses, and the smell of fresh blood was a lot weaker than before. Furthermore, they served another purposes.

    Huo Yuhao told Zhang Lexuan before he sat down to cultivate that they could rest here peacefully tonight.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A deafening and furious roar could be heard in the distance. It sounded like rumbling thunder as it echoed out vigorously.

    Everyone was circling Wang Qiu¡¯er and resting at this moment, and they were all in a half-meditative state, which they could get out of at any time. Besides Huo Yuhao, who had yet to recover all his soul power, everyone else had replenished most of their soul power from the battle with the Bloody Baboons.

    Zhang Lexuan sprang to her feet and gazed in the direction of that ear-splitting roar. She could tell from how the sound changed that this soul beast was probably charging right towards them. This night was turning out to be really hectic!

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. He didn¡¯t get to his feet, his eyes turning a bright golden color. He activated Spiritual Detection once more, but he only shared it with Zhang Lexuan in order to save soul power before he focused in a certain direction.

    A purple shadow quickly appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    It was a lion that had purple fur all over its body. It was a little petitepared to typical lion-type soul beasts, and it was only about one and a half meters long, while its shoulders were only about sixty to seventy centimeters above the ground. However, its purple mane was gorgeous, and its fur was a shiny purple color as well. Its entire body shone with faint purple light, and its huge tail swung left and right behind it as its nose quivered subtly, clearly trying to distinguish the scents about.

    This purple lion paused momentarily to assess things, than started to move once more. It moved with incredible speed, and left a series of afterimages behind as it darted forward in a sh. It covered two kilometers in the time needed for one or two breaths, and it wasing exceedingly close to the baboon corpses that Huo Yuhao hadid out around them.

    This purple lion was apparently attracted by the smell of blooding from the Bloody Baboons.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°That¡¯s a Purpleshadow Lion. Watch out, everyone, it¡¯s just too quick. We might have to rely on you now, Ruoruo. Get ready for battle, Yuhao, you¡¯ll have to use your spiritual-type soul skills to impede its speed. This Purpleshadow Lion has at least ten thousand years of cultivation.¡±

    They had just in a bunch of ten-thousand year Bloody Baboons, but Zhang Lexuan hadn¡¯t been as nervous facing the Bloody Baboons as she was now against the Purpleshadow Lion.

    Cultivation yed an important part in distinguishing a soul beast¡¯s strength, and therefore there was a separation between ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, and one hundred thousand years. However, a mere difference in cultivation didn¡¯t represent absolute superiority and strength.

    Why were the Ten Great Savage Beasts so formidable? It wasn¡¯t only because their cultivation levels were exceptionally high, but it was also because they belonged to extremely powerful species. It was also because they contained so much strength in their bloodline that they could live for such a long time.

    The pack of Bloody Baboons wasn¡¯t weak, but even the Baboon King wasn¡¯t as terrifying as this Purpleshadow Lion.

    The Purpleshadow Lion was one of the most frightening species amongst speed-type soul beasts. They were unbelievably quick, and they had a strong preference for eating the hearts of fresh corpses. The lion itself wielded potent venom, and possessed several innate skills.

    If a ten-thousand year Purpleshadow Lion faced off against the pack of Bloody Baboons, it would perhaps be defeated in the end, but it would definitely be able to escape with its life. It would also take the lives of at least a third of the pack. If it was belligerent or determined enough to fight to the end, the Bloody Baboon pack would bepletely vanquished.

    Li Yongyue¡¯s eyes sparkled when he heard Zhang Lexuan mention the Purpleshadow Lion. A ten-thousand year Purpleshadow Lion could be considered a top-quality gain for him if he could absorb it. He knew the fifty-thousand year Bloody Baboon King was too strong, and he didn¡¯t have the ability to absorb it, but he was confident in absorbing this Purpleshadow Lion. It was lower in cultivationpared to the Baboon King, but the speed and offense amplifications were something he needed.

    The only problem was that the Purpleshadow Lion would definitely tear him to pieces if he were to fight it one-on-one.

    The lion halted at around five hundred meters away from the group. There was a ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon¡¯s corpseid out right in front of it.

    The lion raised its front paw and immediately hacked at the baboon¡¯s chest. Its sense of smell was very sensitive, and it was could obviously tell that this Bloody Baboon had just died not too long ago, and its heart was still fresh.

    However, right at this moment, a terrifying aura exploded from the baboon¡¯s corpse.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­!

    A frightening explosion detonated, and the vigorous booming sounds travelled at least ten kilometers away. A deep crater that was five meters deep and more than thirty meters in diameter appeared in the middle of the series of explosions where the Purpleshadow Lion and the baboon¡¯s corpse had been located.

    The lion was indeed quick, and had turned to run when it realized something was amiss. However, no matter how fast it was, it couldn¡¯t be faster than the instantaneous explosion. Its frame had just darted out when it was swept away by the terrifying st, and it hurtled through the air as it ttened countless trees and nts before it finallynded on the ground with a crash.

    The Purpleshadow Lion was a speed-type soul beast, so its defensive capabilities weren¡¯t that great, definitely far inferior to the Bloody Baboon. This explosion had seared and torn through its flesh to the point where its entire body was badly mangled and mutted. Everyone came forward to check it out, but this fearsome ten thousand year Purpleshadow Lion was already dead. This meant it was killed by that Bloody Baboon, and nobody could absorb the soul ring that it produced.

    Li Yongyue¡¯s face was full of regret and a little sad, and everyone¡¯s eyes turned toward Huo Yuhao, who still hadn¡¯t moved from his original position.

    They stared at the enormous crater on the ground, and then at the Purpleshadow Lion¡¯s oue. Everyone drew a cold breath at the same time. What kind of soul skill is this? How can it be so powerful?

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were different when they came back beside him. Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan¡¯s eyes even carried a tinge of admiration and reverence. Li Yongyue had missed the chance to absorb a soul beast suitable for him, but he didn¡¯t disy a single hint of displeasure.

    Han Ruoruo was rtively more familiar with Huo Yuhao because of his rtionship with Wang Yan, and she immediately asked, ¡°What method did you use, Yuhao? How did you trigger such a violent explosion from a few hundred meters away? It was a soul tool, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Certain powerful soul bombs could achieve that. Han Ruoruo had also heard from Wang Yan that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just a soul master, he was also a soul engineer!

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a soul tool. It was my soul skill, called Ice Explosion. This soul skill is quite unique, and can only be used when Ie into contact with the target. I can fuse my soul power with the ice after I freeze the target. Normally, it¡¯s quite difficult to freeze my opponent over, as that requires a long process, unless my opponent is lower in cultivation than I am. However, it¡¯s different for corpses. The Bloody Baboon¡¯s soul power hadn¡¯t dissipated yet after it had just died, so I took this chance to use Ice Explosion to seal their soul power inside, equivalent to me creating a bomb. I used almost all my soul power just now to turn all these corpses into simr bombs.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan had a look of revtion as she said, ¡°No wonder you told me that we can rest here in peace tonight. The force of your Ice Explosion must be rted to the frozen body¡¯s strength, yes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°That Purpleshadow Lion was unlucky because it came up to a ten-thousand year Bloody Baboon. I reckon that a thousand-year baboon¡¯s corpse wouldn¡¯t be able to kill it. But it¡¯s a pity, because that Purpleshadow Lion was quite suitable for senior Li.¡±

    Li Yongyue hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s alright! The Great Star Dou Forest only has soul beasts inside and nothing else, and we can slowly look for more.¡±

    After a day¡¯s worth of interaction, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er had given both him and Mo Xuan a strong andsting impression. It was needless to discuss Wang Qiu¡¯er, her violent and brutal fighting style petrified the both of them. The girl was pretty, but they would only want to look at her in admiration from a distance. She was just too powerful!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy of his all-around abilities awed them both. He had formidable fighting strength, and his ability to control his Spiritual Detection truly broadened their horizons. He had even taken over Han Ruoruo¡¯s position as main control, so it was needless to say how advantageous and superior his martial soul was.

    Li Yongyue naturally wanted to have a good rtionship with a junior like Huo Yuhao. There was no doubt that Huo Yuhao was one of the core students of the inner courtyard¡¯s next generation. And he had two martial souls, as well!

    Han Ruoruo blurted out, ¡°Your Ice Explosion is exceptionally ferocious! I¡¯m nevering close to you if we ever have another practicebat. I imagine it¡¯s not difficult for you to freeze someone over with the power of your Ultimate Ice!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and didn¡¯t exin any further. Ice Explosion wasn¡¯t that powerful if it was triggered without anything else. It was most powerful when he touched his opponent with his left hand, which contained the skill, and when he infused Ice Explosion into his opponent¡¯s body the moment he or she was frozen.

    Doing so was actually rtively difficult. However, ever since Huo Yuhao had inherited the Ice Empress¡¯ three ultimate skills, pairing up the Snowless cier and Ice Explosion had risen to a drastically different level, but he couldn¡¯t use thisbination easily.

    Zhang Lexuan pped and said, ¡°Alright, since we have Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Explosion to protect us, we should all take this chance to rest. Wang Qiu¡¯er will probably need until daybreak to absorb her soul ring, and we will continue on our journey after she¡¯s done. We are quite fortunate, as we have already found two soul rings for absorption within such a short period of time. I hope we will have simr good fortune in the days toe.¡±

    The night indeed passed peacefully with Ice Explosion to protect everyone. Some soul beasts did attempt toe near from time to time, but they didn¡¯t even have to trigger the Ice Explosion, as the beasts scampered away after seeing the Bloody Baboons¡¯ corpses. Not every soul beast was as powerful as the Purpleshadow Lion after al. This was the Hybrid Region¡¯s central area, and there were ten-thousand year soul beasts around, but they were ultimately not the main body. Most of the soul beasts around were only thousand year soul beasts.

    ------

    Daybreak...

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, and he immediately felt some dampness on his body. It was the forest¡¯s morning dew, and the damp and refreshing air was filled with nutrition and life energy.

    Wang Dong¡¯er opposite him naturally opened her eyes at the same time, and they exchanged a smile. Their cultivation before this had yielded impressive results, and Huo Yuhao had almostpletely restored his soul power.

    Wang Dong¡¯er surveyed her surroundings. Wang Qiu¡¯er was still absorbing her soul ring, while the others were still cultivating, and nobody else had woken yet.

    She stood up quietly and sat down beside Huo Yuhao. She used her mouth to gesture at Wang Qiu¡¯er and whispered, ¡°Do you really believe that she can find a more suitable soul ring for you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly and said, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er is a little arrogant and aloof, but do you think she looks like the kind to tell lies? Her arrogance means she can¡¯t even be bothered with telling lies.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°You seem to have a high opinion of her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he sped her tender little hands and brought them before him as he caressed them gently. His hands were warm, and Wang Dong¡¯er felt incrediblyfortable as he rubbed her hands, and she subconsciously leaned her head on his shoulder.

    Wang Dong¡¯er whispered, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to get too close to her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Why not? You¡¯re not confident of yourself anymore?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped, ¡°It¡¯s not about confidence ¨C you¡¯re so ugly, it¡¯s already your good fortune that I¡¯m willing to keep you! Wang Qiu¡¯er is so arrogant, so how can she be interested in you? I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll waste your time and snub yourself out.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed softly and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether she¡¯s interested in me, it¡¯s alright as long as you are.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped her head around and stared into his eyes as she asked, ¡°Then tell me, is she prettier, or am I prettier?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯re the prettier one, of course. All the women in the world are separated into two categories in my eyes: one of them is you, and the other category is where the other women belong. Only you are pretty in my eyes, and no matter how the other girls look like, they will all look the same to me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed. Her huge and pretty eyes were droopy as she grinned, and she wrapped herself around Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. She didn¡¯t bother to hide how she liked all this sweet talk.

    ¡°You have to mean what you say.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could feel the warmth and tenderness beside him, and his heart was unnaturally quiet and peaceful. Soul masters treated the Great Star Dou Forest as a ce of many dangers, but this ce had a taste of paradise to him.

    A light fog permeated the forest. The air was humid, but that also made that life energy even denser. He had the girl he loved by his side, and his heart was just so warm¡­ It was difficult to describe this contentment that he felt, and he just wanted to sit here like this for a few days without having to move an inch.

 Chapter 232.1: Golden Dragon Spear

    Wang Dong¡¯er gave Huo Yuhao this fantastic feeling not because she was pretty, but because their hearts were so close together. Huo Yuhao had only gradually developed this romantic feeling after the Sea God¡¯s Fate, but discovered that he was improving very quickly in this aspect. He was always so happy, and he always felt so fortunate when Wang Dong¡¯er was with him.

    Perhaps Wang Qiu¡¯er looked more like the Goddess of Light, and perhaps she also gave him a strong sense of familiarity. However, she couldn¡¯t bepared to Wang Dong¡¯er at all, who upied all the space in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart at this moment.

    The golden light radiating from Wang Qiu¡¯er not far from them began to recede at this moment, and one soul ring after another began to rise from her body.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings! When her sixth and final soul ring rose up, the golden hues around her hadpletely withdrawn into her body.

    It wasplete!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hadpletely absorbed the fifty-thousand year Bloody Baboon King¡¯s soul ring. The entire process only took roughly six hours; it was an incredible and frightening speed for a Soul Emperor, and yet, she had aplished it so easily!

    Wang Dong¡¯er whispered, ¡°Her body is so ferocious. She can actually absorb a fifty-thousand year soul ring so quickly. Since that¡¯s the case, why does she have two hundred-year and two thousand-year soul rings before that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused to think. Wang Dong¡¯er was just making a casualment, but it made a lot of sense. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon martial soul had to be the reason for her toughness and ferocity, but since that was the case, why did she have two hundred-year soul rings?

    Wang Dong¡¯er could absorb a thousand-year soul ring as her second ring, and the main reason for that was because she had twin martial souls. She had mentioned to Huo Yuhao before that her second martial soul was the Clear Sky Hammer, which greatly strengthened her body and was the reason why she could absorb a thousand-year soul ring as her second ring. Wang Qiu¡¯er only had one martial soul, but it was apparent that her body was probably tougher than his own and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s, too! Did she have some hidden troubles she hadn¡¯t voiced?

    They were observing Wang Qiu¡¯er at the same time. Wang Qiu¡¯er concluded the absorption process and looked over towards them. When her eyes met Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze, she nodded her head faintly, but she didn¡¯t look at Wang Dong¡¯er at all.

    Her action naturally fell into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes, and a look of surprise flowed from her eyes. She snapped her head back around at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Why did she nod at you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hide anything from Wang Dong¡¯er, and he told her about when he gave Wang Qiu¡¯er the meat sandwich, and how he was infuriated after she had tossed the baked bread onto the ground. The only thing he didn¡¯t say was that he and Wang Qiu¡¯er had alternately eaten from the piece of baked bread. Sometimes, white lies could avoid a lot of trouble...

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes seemed to melt after Huo Yuhao told her about the story of the baked bread and of him and his mother. She didn¡¯t care about the others around her, and cuddled deeper into his embrace as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

    ¡°Auntie is so nice. I wonder if I can be as good as she was. However, if the dayes when we are about die from starvation and there¡¯s only one piece of baked bread, then I will definitely eat it.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at the girl in his embrace in faint astonishment.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had closed her eyes by now. She used a voice that only the two of them could hear and said, ¡°Because, I hope you will have me by your side in yourst moments. I don¡¯t wish to see you hurt because of my death, and I want to die after you so that I can take another look at you¡­¡±

    Her gentle words instantly filled every corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. He never thought that a person would express his or her love for another like that. Wang Dong¡¯er made his heart overflow with happiness.

    He subconsciously hugged her even tighter, but his throat seemed to be tied into a knot, and he couldn¡¯t speak a single word.

    Wang Dong¡¯er could feel his excitement, and the feeling of being in his embrace became very real and exceptionally warm.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood not far from them as she stared at them nkly. She felt a sensation that she had never felt before at the break of dawn in this dimly-lit forest. The two of them were leaning against each other, and they seemed to fuse into each other to be one, and what astounded her was the emotions that flowed between them.

    The group woke up from their meditation one after another, and everyone could see the two lovebirds in an embrace. The two of them had their eyes closed at this moment, as if they had fallen asleep.

    Nobody disturbed them. The forest was full of life energy at this moment, and the two of them just sitting there was so harmonious with their surroundings, as if everything was just a masterful painting.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er finally turned her eyes away from them and walked up to Zhang Lexuan.

    ¡°How¡¯s it looking, Qiu¡¯er?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know where to find soul beasts suitable for him, shall I lead the way?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan asked, ¡°Are you very familiar with the Great Star Dou Forest? Where is this ce?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and gazed into the distance, before she turned towards the sun that was gradually rising from beyond the horizon. ¡°I once trained in the Great Star Dou Forest for an entire year. I¡¯ve been to the Peripheral Regions, the Hybrid Regions, and the outer areas of the Core Region.¡±

    ¡°One year, continuously?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked again, surprised. This was the Great Star Dou Forest, the residence of the most famous soul beasts on the Continent! More than half of the Ten Great Savage Beasts resided here, and this was not a ce that could be described as peaceful or quiet.

    Soul masters adventuring into the Great Star Dou Forest were normal, as this ce had the most soul beast species, and the most powerful ones. This ce by itself was almost enough to generate soul rings suitable for every single soul master.

    However, using this ce for training, and this trainingsting for an entire year, was something that was almost unimaginable. It didn¡¯t mean that Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t have the ability, or that she wouldn¡¯t have a problem living in the Peripheral Region with her cultivation. However, encountering soul beasts every single day continuously without a chance to rest or rx was just so insufferable...

    Spending one or two days like this was still reasonable, but wouldn¡¯t one¡¯s mind just copse if this continued for an entire year? Furthermore, higher-level soul beasts might appear in the lower-level regions; anything was possible if one lived there for an entire year. Wang Qiu¡¯er was such a delicate and prettydy, and yet she was able to live in this ce for an entire year... it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the effort she had to put in.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°One year by myself.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath and said, ¡°Your sess hasn¡¯te about without good reason, than. It seems like that you¡¯re probably more familiar with the forest than every one of us here. Which soul beasts are suitable for Yuhao?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er contemted momentarily before she said, ¡°There are several species that fit the description. At least, these species are more suitable for him than the Bloody Baboon. However, these soul beasts almost all live within the Core Region, and every single one is extremely powerful. We¡¯ll have to be very careful.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan pondered for a while. ¡°Alright, you take point.¡± Even though Wang Qiu¡¯er had just joined the academy, she was still part of the inner courtyard. She had to have seen some things if she spoke with such confidence. The Core Region was much more perilous than the Hybrid Region, and there would be a lot more pressure on everyone¡¯s shoulders. However, this team at their strength could definitely venture inside for a little while, and they should be fine as long as they didn¡¯t enter the ughtering Grounds. The truth was that there were hardly any soul masters who had walked into the ughtering Grounds and returned alive.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er finally woke up from their sweet moment. They were a little embarrassed when they noticed everyone¡¯s stares, but when they looked back into each other¡¯s eyes and they saw their own reflections, all that unspoken love and affection returned.

    Zhang Lexuan altered the formation when they got back on the road. Everybody was astounded when they saw that Wang Qiu¡¯er was now standing in front of the group. She had taken over Zhang Lexuan¡¯s position, while Zhang Lexuan took over Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s initial position.

    In terms of martial souls, Zhang Lexuan was an assault-type soul master, but she was most adept with mid-range to long-range attacks, and closebat wasn¡¯t her forte. Not even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate martial soul couldpare with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon in terms of closebat. Of course, the Golden Dragon¡¯s element was pure strength, and the Golden Dragon itself was thus an Ultimate martial soul. If Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s cultivation was the same as Zhang Lexuan¡¯s, she would undoubtedly be the most suitable person to be standing in front.

    Nobody objected to Zhang Lexuan¡¯s new arrangement, and everyone was more careful and vignt when they got back on the road. The previous night¡¯s problems and disturbances gave them personal experience with the Hybrid Region¡¯s dangers and perils, while what they had to do next was to proceed forward and venture deeper into even more hazardous areas.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked in front of the group. She had taken down her veil, and her blue wave-like hair was woven into a ponytail. Everyone looked on in surprise as she retrieved a weapon from her storage-type soul tool.

    A soul master¡¯s best weapon was his or her own martial soul. Soul engineers typically used weapons, but soul masters hardly used any. In the end, weapons weren¡¯t a part of one¡¯s body like a martial soul was, and there would be a negative bacsh if one didn¡¯t haveplete control or coordination with his or her martial soul.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s weapon was a long spear. It was about 3.6 meters long, and had a brilliant golden color that was identical to her martial soul. However, her weapon didn¡¯t contain any metal at all, it seemed to be made from wood. The spear emanated a life energy so dense and strong that the feeling wasparable to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Gold. Even though it wasn¡¯t as strong as the Life Gold¡¯s life energy, it contained a stranger and more peculiar element.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear was different from typical spears. It was sharpened on both ends, and its entire body was like a long and narrow shuttle, while Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands were gripping it in the center.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s icy aura became even sharper when she took out the spear. She stood at the very front of the group and raced forward, and didn¡¯t seem like she had any intention of slowing down.

 Chapter 232.2: Golden Dragon Spear

    Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection and shared it with his teammates, everyone maintaining their formation as they pushed forward.

    They didn¡¯t go very far before they met a pack of soul beasts.

    They were six leopards that were entirely ck.

    Huo Yuhao warned everyone at once through Spiritual Detection, and Wang Qiu¡¯er at the vanguard immediately slowed down as her eyes grew sharper and fiercer.

    Six could only be considered a small pack in the Great Star Dou Forest, and they were far fewer in numberpared to the Bloody Baboons from the previous night. However, this didn¡¯t mean that they were any less dangerous.

    These six ck leopards were known as Ink Leopards, and leopard-type soul beasts were generally adept at speed, especially their short-distance sprinting speed. There were many leopard-type soul beasts that were on the same speed tier as the Purpleshadow Lion, but the main difference was they couldn¡¯t keep it up over long distances.

    Shrek Academy had a special lesson to teach its students about the Ink Leopard. They were a special species of leopard-type soul beasts, as they were more proficient with offense rather than speed.

    The Ink Leopard¡¯s limbs were thicker andrger than most leopard-type soul beasts. Its four paws were as big as a lion or a tiger¡¯s paws, and their paws could extend ws fully a foot long if they desired. Combining this destructive power with its incredible speed, even though speed wasn¡¯t its best attribute, made the Ink Leopard extremely difficult to deal with. The Ink Leopard was considered an exceptionally cunning soul beast, possessing several formidable darkness-type soul skills.

    These six Ink Leopards had clearly discovered them, as the smell of humans was rtively unique within the great forest.

    Everyone could see through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection that the leopards were gradually splitting up and circling thepany in a fan-like formation.

    Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice and said, ¡°Pay attention to defense. Control their speed, Ruoruo.¡±

    Thepany¡¯s formation became a little morepact. They couldn¡¯t allow soul beasts that were proficient in both speed and offense to cut through their ranks. This wasmon sense for soul masters dealing with soul beasts.

    The six leopards quickly came close, but they weren¡¯t quick to attack. They slowed down about a hundred meters away from everyone as they stared with their ice-cold eyes while they gradually shifted horizontally. One hundred meters could be covered in the blink of an eye by speedy soul beasts like them, and they were looking for an opportunity.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly turned around and looked at Zhang Lexuan as she said, ¡°These Ink Leopards are very troublesome. If we engage them in battle, it will never end. These soul beasts are extremely patient, I¡¯ve encountered them before. Let me go out to draw them in, and then we can take them all down at once.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°No, that¡¯s too dangerous.¡± She was clear that the only way to draw the Ink Leopards in was to create an illusion that somebody had broken off from the group, but it would be toote to save that person if it actually happened.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Huo Yuhao can support me. His spiritual-type martial soul can hold at least two of them back in an instant, and that will be enough to save me. There is only one ten thousand year Ink Leopard, and we will slowed down by at least eighty percent if they keep stalking us. I¡¯m confident of this.¡±

    If this came from someone that Zhang Lexuan was familiar with, then she would opt to trust this person without hesitation. But in the end, she wasn¡¯t familiar enough with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Han Ruoruo said, ¡°Let her go. I¡¯ll give her one Dazzling Golden Rope, and even though she can¡¯t move too far from us, we will be a lot closer if we need to save her as long as my Dazzling Golden Rope is in y.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan wasn¡¯t the indecisive kind, and she immediately made up her mind. ¡°Alright. Get ready, everyone. Huo Yuhao, you¡¯ll go to the front and prepare to rescue her at any time. We also need your auxiliary and control abilities if those Ink Leopards gather around us.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao took a few steps forward and stood right next to Wang Qiu¡¯er as he shot her an inquisitive look.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s head was slightly tilted upwards, and there was only arrogance and pride in her charming powdery-blue eyes. She was already moving as she gripped her spear and strode forward.

    A pale, lightless golden line wrapped itself soundlessly around Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist. Han Ruoruo took over her vanguard spot once again, standing beside Huo Yuhao.

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden Rope could reach up to eighty meters with her current cultivation. This was the limit of her control. If this distance was used as a radius, she would be able to reach a hundred and sixty meter-wide circle around her, which was a remarkable range for a control-type soul master. She couldn¡¯t reach as far as Huo Yuhao could, but her controlling abilities were a lot more powerful.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stepped forward steadily, moving further and further away. Huo Yuhao found himself wanting to see what the golden spear in her hands could do.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er moved further and further away.

    The Ink Leopards that were hidden a hundred meters away from them were naturally unaware that they were being monitored by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection this entire time, and they were still concealing themselves. When Wang Qiu¡¯er walked further and further away from the group, everyone could see through Spiritual Detection that these Ink Leopards¡¯ blood flow and soul undtions began to speed up. They were getting ready to pounce!

    ¡°Pay attention, Yuhao.¡± Zhang Lexuan immediately reminded him. She made her own preparations as well. They couldn¡¯t release their soul rings right now, as that would alert the Ink Leopards that something was going on. Han Ruoruo released her martial soul, but hid her soul rings. That was the best she could do, as her soul rings would immediately appear if she used her soul skills.

    ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± Huo Yuhao growled.

    Just as Wang Qiu¡¯er was more than a hundred meters away from everyone, the six Ink Leopards pounced. They felt like they didn¡¯t have a choice, as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s position was just too advantageous for them ¨C she was right in the middle of all of them!

    Six ck shadows burst forward like dark lightning and surged right toward Wang Qiu¡¯er. Their talons swiftly extended as they leapt, and a dark green fog surged out from their bodies. This was Corrosive Mist, an attack that wasn¡¯t that destructive, but known for its continuous strength. This fog would stick to their opponents like a parasite if it touched them, and was one of the Ink Leopard¡¯s innate skills.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s footsteps paused right at that moment. She pointed her spear forward as it slid through her hands, and her right hand swiftly gripped her left. This meant the golden spear in her hands was extended as far forward as it could be.

    A bright dragon roar could be heard in the next moment. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body erupted with golden light and the spear extended forward as a golden beam of light. Wang Qiu¡¯er began to rotate on the spot, and swung her spear in a circle around her. The radiant golden light seemed like a halo that expanded from her body as it quickly created a golden screen.

    Huo Yuhao made his move at the same time, and released his soul skills one after another. Spiritual Shock hit thergest and fastest Ink Leopard that was in front of the others, and the only one in the pack that had ten-thousand years of cultivation.

    His fourth soul ring sparkled, and Spiritual Confusion struck the Ink Leopard right behind the first one.

    He wasn¡¯t worried at all that he wouldn¡¯t have good cordination with Wang Qiu¡¯er with Spiritual Detection active.

    The Ink Leopards pounced forward extremely quickly. The ten-thousand year Ink Leopard lost its bnce when Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill hit it, but its cultivation level meant it wouldn¡¯t be severely wounded after being struck by Spiritual Shock at such a long distance. Still, it felt an intense headache, and it couldn¡¯t avoid the nkness in its mind. It was still rushing forward under such circumstances, however, and it was the first toe in contact with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s golden spear.

    Its body froze at the exact same moment that it came into contact with the golden spear, and its four limbs syed out as its body quivered violently at the same time. The golden spear only swiped across it and it didn¡¯t knock the leopard away, but it left a gaping wound across the leopard¡¯s abdominal region as its internal organs instantly poured out from the wound.

    That ten-thousand year Ink Leopard wasn¡¯t the first to meet its demise. The other leopard that was struck by Spiritual Confusion ended up in the exact same situation, except it was hit in the neck, and was struck by the spear¡¯s actual haft.

    Even though they were a hundred meters away, everyone could hear a ear-splitting crack from that Ink Leopard with at least six thousand years of cultivation. Its neck broke just like that, and its white bones were blown out and flew into the distance before they mmed against arge tree.

    The other four leopards that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attack could see how petrifying this golden spear was. There was no doubting the fear that appeared in their eyes. These humans were a lot more difficult to deal with than they had thought!

    The other four leopards responded ordingly. ck light shed across the skies as the four leopards disappeared, and appeared again one after another as they forcibly rolled on the ground to avoid \ the golden spear¡¯s swing.

    Instant Shift ¨C the Ink Leopard¡¯s innate skill, which could be used within a radius of ten meters. However, it could only be used once a day.

    Thepany didn¡¯t sit around idly, and everyone began to move when Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er attacked.

    Han Ruoruo tapped her foot on the ground as she propelled herself into the sky. A beam of moonlight shone onto her back and became a strong propelling force as she was shot forward like a shooting star. She just had so much coordination and chemistry with Zhang Lexuan.

    The second person behind her wasn¡¯t the agility-type Li Yongyue, it was Huo Yuhao! Four soul thrusters were activated at the same time, explosively raising his speed to the maximum level. Even though he was a beat slower because he had used two soul skills before this, he was still moving forward close behind Han Ruoruo.

    Han Ruoruo had left a Dazzling Golden Rope around Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist so that she could swiftly pull her back if she was in danger. However, she knew now that she probably wouldn¡¯t have to do that, and also realized that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s golden spear was a lot more powerful than they had thought.

 Chapter 232.3: Golden Dragon Spear

    Soul beasts¡¯ bodies were a lot tougher than those of humans. However, the golden spear sliced the ten-thousand year Ink Leopard¡¯s gut right open and then crushed the other thousand-year leopard¡¯s neck. What kind of power was this? How could the other four Ink Leopards dare toe near when faced with a spear that possessed such formidable closebat strength? These leopards were like ghosts haunting them, and they hurtled over because they couldn¡¯t let thegreat cats go.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t pause for a single second after she seeded on her first strike. She dragged the spear along as she darted after another leopard, and a dragon¡¯s roar could be heard once more as everyone saw the faint glimmer of a golden dragon¡¯s projection on her spear. Everything in front of her was lit up in that moment with a radiant golden color as she charged forward.

    The Ink Leopard that she had chosen had no intentions of fighting force with force, and it immediately turned to escape once it rolled on the ground as it gathered as much speed as it could.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er released a shrill cry right at this moment, and the elerating leopard trembled as its speed was impeded for a second before the golden spear pierced through its entire body.

    Everyone could see the virtual golden dragon suddenly materialize a little when the golden spear bore through the leopard¡¯s body, as an enormous dragon¡¯s maw swallowed the entire leopard and caused it to turn golden all over.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body shifted once more as she swept the spear in her hands sideways. The golden Ink Leopard impaled on her spear was hurled like a cannon shell at another leopard that was attempting to run away, while the spear in her hands flew towards the third Ink Leopard as another rousing dragon¡¯s roar was heard.

    Boom!

    Strikingrge bodies like Ink Leopards wasn¡¯t too difficult with Spiritual Detection around. Two leopards collided with each other, and the second one was also tainted golden as golden streaks of lightning danced across its entire body while it twisted and rolled on the ground.

    The golden spear was hurtling forward on the other side. The leopard knew it couldn¡¯t meet force with force, and it nimbly changed directions in the air as it spit out a ck beam of light from its mouth. This was another of their innate skills, called the Divine Light of Darkness. This innate skill was a mid-range offensive skill, and it was extremely powerful, but consumed a lot of soul power. The leopards didn¡¯t want to use theirst resorts, but several didn¡¯t even have the chance to do so!

    It was a pity that its Divine Light of Darkness wasn¡¯t fully expelled from its mouth before the golden spear pierced right through its skull. The same golden maw consumed it as the dragon projection flickered, and this Ink Leopard was nailed to the ground just like that.

    Huo Yuhao and Han Ruoruo faced the final Ink Leopard. How could they have any problems at all against a thousand-year Ink Leopard with their current cultivations?

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s Dazzling Golden Rope arrested and immobilized it in an instant, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorwshed out, and the leopard was immediately eliminated. The chilly air released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also turned the leopard¡¯s Corrosive Mist into dust and dispelled it.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t stop at all on her side. She raced forward to the leopard that had crashed onto the ground after being struck by the hurled leopard corpse. That leopard was still flickering with golden light as it struggled back to its feet, but Wang Qiu¡¯er kicked it right in the head, and there was another cracking sound¡­

    Everyone was still rushing forward at that moment, but they began to slow down.

    Too quick... it was just too quick. The time needed for three breaths had passed from the beginning of the battle to the end, from when the six Ink Leopards pounced forward to the moment when thest leopard was killed. Ink Leopards possessed multiple soul skills, and the fact that they could survive deep within the Hybrid Region meant that they were rtively formidable soul beasts. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er cut through them as easily as a hot knife through butter. This fight wasn¡¯t a showdown¡­ it was just a pure massacre.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er retrieved her golden spear. The spear only had brilliant golden hues; not a single drop of blood clung to it.

    She grasped her spear naturally and sauntered back to the group.

    She had mentioned that she was confident in holding them back, but she was just being humble! It was clear from her performance that even if she were one versus six, the worst oue would be that a few of the leopards would get to escape. Her ferocity and brutal fighting style were present once more throughout the entire battle, and were so overwhelming, while proving to everyone once more how powerful she actually was.

    Even Huo Yuhao was filled with awe and astonishment. He had no idea what the oue would be if he faced off against Wang Qiu¡¯er, and he actually didn¡¯t have any confidence at all.

    Huo Yuhao had been using Spiritual Detection throughout the fight, so he could clearly feel how Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body had transformed during the battle.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s blood essence would surge every time sheunched an attack, and she would unleash a formidable strength that didn¡¯te from soul power. That strength was released explosively every time the dragon roar appeared, and it fused seamlessly with her personal soul power. The golden spear was clearly like a part of her body, and could impably amplify her own strength and soul power. Otherwise, how could she break through the ten-thousand year Ink Leopard¡¯s defenses on the first strike and y it with a single hit?

    Huo Yuhao and Han Ruoruo had contributed to the effort thatid waste to the six leopards in the blink of an eye, but Wang Qiu¡¯er was the main attacker, and her performance was undoubtedly much more outstanding and riveting.

    Li Yongyue had stopped running at this moment. He exchanged a look with Mo Xuan, and the two of them swallowed at almost the same time and muttered, ¡°She¡¯s so powerful.¡±

    It was easy to say what Mo Xuan was thinking, as he was almost a pure auxiliary-type soul master that the academy was nurturing. But Li Yongyue? Fighting was his department; he was an agility-type Soul Emperor, and also part of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard. He was definitely not considered weak, but he didn¡¯t even dare topare himself when he witnessed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s frightening explosive strength, she was just too dominant and intimidating!

    Mo Xuan whispered to Li Yongyue, ¡°Do you think she has any weaknesses at all?¡±

    Li Yongyue contemted for a moment before saying, ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s not that good with ranged attacks. She is extremely strong, so she should be only good in closebat battles.¡±

    Mo Xuan¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°Did you consider her throwing the spear?¡±

    ¡°Ahem, that should be considered a weapon.¡± Li Yongyue was in a daze at this point.

    Mo Xuan patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°I think we should just pray hard that we will never be standing on the other side from her. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had astounded the wholepany twice in two battles, and there was no question that she had left a deep andsting impression in everyone¡¯s minds. She had just obtained her sixth soul ring, but her strength was not something that normal Soul Emperors could possibly have.

    Zhang Lexuan came before Wang Qiu¡¯er and stared at the spear in her hands deeply as she asked, ¡°Do you need to rest?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head quietly. She had just killed five Ink Leopards. It seemed to be something that couldn¡¯t be any more normal to her, and didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to unt or brag at all.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue then.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er turned and was about to leave when Zhang Lexuan suddenly asked, ¡°May I ask if your weapon is rted to your martial soul?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er paused momentarily, then nodded. ¡°It¡¯s passed down from my family, and it¡¯s called the Golden Dragon Spear.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s body quivered, and everyone else heard Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words too, as she didn¡¯t deliberately lower her voice. The Golden Dragon Spear that seemed like it was made from wood, but shone with brilliant golden light¡­ could it have something to do with the Golden Dragon?

    Huo Yuhao blurted out, ¡°Legend has it that the Golden Dragon had forty-nine ribs, but its descendants only had forty-eight. The first generation Golden Dragon¡¯s forty-ninth rib bone is imed to be the key for evolution into the Dragon God. Is this actually the¡­?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and shot him a nce as astonishment flowed from her enchanting eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much. Yes, this spear was forged from the first generation Golden Dragon¡¯s forty-ninth rib.¡±

    Silence.

    Huo Yuhao was also dumbfounded. He actually wanted to say this Golden Dragon Spear couldn¡¯t have been forged from the Golden Dragon¡¯s rib bone, could it? He had learned all those things about the Golden Dragon¡¯s forty-ninth rib bone and whatnot from Wang Yan as a fun fact during his lessons a long time ago, and had only uttered it subconsciously.

    However, he had not imagined that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear could have such an extraordinary origin! It was known that the first generation Golden Dragon¡¯s forty-ninth rib was also touted as the secret to bing the Dragon God!

    ¡°Eh, look at those Ink Leopards...¡± Mo Xuan¡¯s voice broke the silence.

    Everyone noticed that the leopards on the ground that had been impaled and turned golden by the Golden Dragon Spear were quickly drying up and disintegrating. It was as if all the nutrients that they possessed were swiftly dissipating into the air.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly, ¡°That¡¯s nothing. My Golden Dragon Spear has a special effect of absorbing life energy, and every organism that it kills will instantly be converted into nutrients for the Golden Dragon Spear, which will feed a portion of it back to me.¡±

    Silence¡­ Everyone nced at each other, and the same term appeared in their minds. Divine Weapon.

    Zhang Lexuan was the first to recover. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, you shouldn¡¯t use the Golden Dragon Spear so casually in the future. You can¡¯t tell anyone about what it can do.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed indifferent as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. The Golden Dragon Spear is the Dragon God¡¯s pride, and nobody can use it except the person that possesses the Golden Dragon martial soul. The spear will absorb life energy from anything else that touches it. Without my control, everything would be barren within a radius of one hundred meters around it, as it will continuously absorb life energy from all things around it, and nothing material can block the effect. Once it has absorbed enough life energy, the Golden Dragon¡¯s soul within the spear will be triggered, and it will take it far and wide until it finds the person that possesses the Golden Dragon martial soul, or someone with the Golden Dragon¡¯s blood. If the spear reaches a living Golden Dragon, then it will integrate into the dragon as its forty-ninth rib bone and give the Golden Dragon the chance to evolve into the Dragon God.¡±

    Everyone suddenly understood what was going on. It was no wonder she could use this Divine Weapon of a spear so calmly, as there were so many profound secrets and nuances embodied within it. This also meant that there was probably nobody else in the world that could use this weapon besides Wang Qiu¡¯er herself!

 Chapter 233.1: The Three Evil Soul Master Brothers

    After Wang Qiu¡¯er exined the secret behind the Golden Dragon Spear, even Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t think that she had taken advantage of Huo Yuhao by fusing with the Bloody Baboon King¡¯s soul ring. However, Huo Yuhao could tell from the look in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes that she was still unconvinced by Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Just when everyone was about to carry on with their journey, thet all came alert again. They all turned in one direction, alerted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Three figures had entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, but they weren¡¯t soul beasts, they were humans. Without a doubt, they must be soul masters, since they could venture so deep into the Great Star Dou Forest.

    But the group from Shrek didn¡¯t feel any sense of camaraderie even though they had met fellow soul masters. In this forest, it might not be a good thing to meet other soul masters. Everyone who came here was hunting soul beasts to obtain soul rings. Conflicts might arise if they targeted the same soul beasts.

    At this point, Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo demonstrated their rich wealth of experience. A depression was formed in the ground as moonlight shed. Streaks of Dazzling Golden Ropes shed past, and the corpses of the Ink Leopards were dragged into the depression. Moonlight blinked again, and the ground was leveled. The entire process waspleted in a few seconds.

    Huo Yuhao only realized what was happening after a moment. The corpses were buried in order to prevent the other party from deducing the extent of their abilities.

    Just as they finished concealing the Ink Leopards, the three strangers arrived in front of them.

    When Huo Yuhao saw them for the first time, he was slightly stunned. A strong sense of crisis started to fill him.

    They were three elders that looked at least seventy years old. The shocking thing was that they looked exactly the same. They were even dressed the same way.

    They were all very thin, but they had lots of wrinkles on their faces. Their greyish-white hair flowed behind their backs. Their eyes were a dim yellow, and gave off a lifeless feeling. The only special trait about them was that they all had aquiline noses and thin lips.

    They were dressed in a long, greyish robes and each held a walking staff. Their walking staves were entirely ck, and were fully ten feet long. At the top of each staff was a greyish gem the size of a human head.

    Once they appeared, they turned their attention on everyone from Shrek. Their actions were in eerie tandem. They tapped their walking staves on the ground before their bodies drifted forward. They lifted off andnded at the same time. In just a matter of seconds, they had already arrived in front of them.

    Everyone from Shrek went into their previous formation. The only difference was that Zhang Lexuan came up beside Wang Qiu¡¯er and stood side by side with her.

    The elder in the center furrowed his brow slightly and muttered, ¡°A bunch of dolls.¡± His voice was hoarse, as if hisrynx was damaged. It was extremely awful to listen to.

    The elder on the left said, ¡°There seems to be a bloody smell here.¡±

    The elder on the right directly asked them, ¡°Who are you people? Where are all of you from?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly and stepped forward. She bowed slightly and said, ¡°Greetings, elders. We¡¯re from the Moonlight Sect in the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    The elder on the rightmented, ¡°All of you seem young, but you¡¯re able to venture so deep into the Great Star Dou Forest. It seems like your cultivations are not low! Unleash your soul rings for us to see.¡± The three elders weren¡¯t just alike in terms of their appearance and dress. Even their voices were equally awful.

    ¡°Elders, it might be a little overboard to bully us like that.¡± A gentle voice sounded from afar before vice-Dean Cai Mei¡¯er walked forward slowly. She seemed very slow, but her movement was instantaneous. She only took a few steps before she was in front of the rest and stood beside Zhang Lexuan.

    The elder on the right chortled and replied, ¡°See, I was right. These little dolls couldn¡¯t have ventured so far into the forest on their own. They have an elder here. Very well, you shall unleash your martial soul and soul rings for us to see.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯erughed slightly and replied, ¡°The three of you must be qualified before you can make me unleash my martial soul.¡± As she spoke, she lifted her right hand up and pushed it forward.

    The elder on the right red, and his dim yellow eyes brightened. He also lifted his right hand to strike Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Bang! As a deep, muffled sound echoed out, a thick cloud of gas burst forth. This stream of gas shot into the sky and caused the crown of the tree above them to shake tremendously. Countless leaves started to descend from the sky.

    ¡°Wow, an eight-ringed cultivation.¡± The elder on the right was a little stunned as he looked at Cai Mei¡¯er. He twisted his lips and said, ¡°No wonder you dare to act so big in front of me.¡±

    Eight-ringed cultivation? Huo Yuhao observed silently from one side and nodded his head in approval. Whether it was Zhang Lexuan or Cai Mei¡¯er, they had revealed their eight-ringed cultivation to confuse their opponents. However, he was also shocked. The three elders¡¯ ability to tell Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s cultivation meant that their own cultivations were not below eight rings! Three Soul Douluo who appeared hostile¡­ they weren¡¯t going to be easy to deal with...

    Cai Mei¡¯er remained calm. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re also a Soul Douluo. Why do you have to bully us, then? I¡¯m only bringing these kids to obtain some soul rings. The forest is so huge. I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t obstruct the three of you.¡±

    The elder on the rightughed and replied, ¡°Whether you obstruct me is not up to you toment. Let¡¯s do it this way. Help us do something, and we¡¯ll set you free. You should know that it¡¯s impossible for you to deal with the three of us if there¡¯s only one Soul Douluo on your side.¡±

    The elder in the center said, ¡°Yes, all of you can go after you help usplete this task.¡±

    The elder on the left followed with, ¡°It might even be beneficial for all of you. If the soul beasts that you hunt along the way are suitable for you, you can absorb their soul rings after everything is over.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was moved as she said, ¡°Considering your cultivations, I¡¯m afraid what you want us toplete isn¡¯t an easy task. Furthermore, we don¡¯t have many resources with us, and we¡¯re pressed for time.¡±

    The elder on the right said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you have a choice. If you wish to remain here forever, I don¡¯t mind wasting more effort. Furthermore, it¡¯s not far from here.¡±

    The elder in the center said, ¡°Let¡¯s cut the nonsense. Follow us.¡±

    As he spoke, the three elders unleashed their martial souls at the same time.

    Something strange happened. Their right hands that were holding their staves turned greyish and were engulfed by ayer of greyish scales. These scales quickly spread to the rest of their bodies, including their faces. Their staffs even emanated intense greyish light. The gems also lit up, and started to glow with a fresh red color.

    Soul tool! Huo Yuhao already made his judgment when he saw the three staves earlier. They were different from the Golden Dragon Spear. The metallic feeling and undtions that were specific to soul tools couldn¡¯t be concealed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao was even more stunned after realizing they were soul tools. He believed that they were ss 8 soul tools!

    Eight-ringed Soul Douluo who possessed ss 8 soul tools. Were they ss 8 soul engineers? However, they didn¡¯t simply look like soul engineers, considering the intensity of their soul power undtions. More urately speaking, they were more like soul masters equipped with soul tools.

    They were extremely strong triplets. No wonder they were so arrogant and self-confident. This was a demonstration of their immense abilities.

    Cai Mei¡¯er hesitated slightly before nodding. She said, ¡°Alright. However, how can I trust the three of you to keep your promise and release us after weplete this task?¡±

    The voice of the elder on the left became slightly gentler, and he said, ¡°We¡¯ll make a vow then. With our statuses, do you really think we¡¯ll go back on our promise?¡±

    After he finished speaking, the three of them said in unison, ¡°I, Zhong Litian/Zhong Lidi/Zhong Liren hereby swear that we¡¯ll not put these people in front of us in a spot after theyplete our task, and release them. If we betray this vow, let us die horrible deaths.¡±

    The vow sounded very normal and ordinary. There weren¡¯t any problems with it. The only weird thing was that the unified way in which they made their vow, which suggested that they were very used to making it.

    Cai Mei¡¯er stopped hesitating and nodded. She said, ¡°Alright. Will the three of you lead the way for us and tell us about what you want us to do in detail along the way?¡±

    The elder on the right was Zhong Litian, the one in the center was Zhong Liren, and the one on the left was Zhong Lidi. They were named Heaven (tian), Earth (di) and Man (ren). Their surname was also very weird. Cai Mei¡¯er had no recollection of them. They were Soul Douluos, and should be renowned on the continent, but Cai Mei¡¯er had never heard of them. This showed that they deliberately tried not to leave an impression behind them.

    Cai Mei¡¯er nced over at Zhang Lexuan and said, ¡°Everyone, follow them. Maintain the formation. We¡¯ll help the three of themplete their task before we continue to search for soul beasts.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er and Zhang Lexuan¡¯s gazes met, and Zhang Lexuan immediately understood her intention. How would this Shrek Academy team be afraid of three Soul Douluo given their makeup? Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t choose to conflict with the three elders because she wanted to find out their true intentions, and was also waiting to exploit a better opportunity.

    The three elders walked in front in exactly the same way. They retracted their martial souls, and their staves regained their original looks. However, the intense undtions from these ss 8 soul tools still left a deep impression on Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 233.2: The Three Evil Soul Master Brothers

    Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that the most important part of the staves were the gems at the top. The gems were empty, but there seemed to be extremely intricate formation arrays within them. It was just that the strong undtions of soul power released by the formation arrays prevented Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection from looking into them. However, he could still subtly sense that they were simr to Electrolux¡¯s staff.

    The three elders were very quick, but they weren¡¯t too far in front of the rest. When the gap grew, they would stop to wait, and weren¡¯t exactly impatient.

    Cai Mei¡¯er reduced her speed as she led the team. When Zhang Lexuan started to move, she signaled ¡®four¡¯ with her hand. Her instructions were clear ¨C everyone was supposed to maintain their speed at a four-ringed cultivation level.

    Their speed was still quite fast even at this level. The three elders had mentioned that it wasn¡¯t very far, but they still took two hours before reaching their destination.

    The three of them stopped, and Zhong Litian turned back to look at the Shrek group. He gestured for everyone to maintain their silence.

    The three brothers were cautious at this point. They were even slightly tense.

    Cai Mei¡¯er came up beside the three of them and asked softly, ¡°Elders, can you tell us what we¡¯re supposed to do?¡±

    Zhong Litian said softly, ¡°There¡¯s a cave not far from here. There¡¯s a living soul beast inside the cave. We¡¯ll try to draw it outter. What you have to do is to attack it and kill it.¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er was a little doubtful as she asked. The three of themck offensive strength? It can¡¯t be this simple.

    Zhong Litian was certain as he said, ¡°Just like that. That fellow is very cunning. We¡¯re not scared of it, and you don¡¯t have to unleash an all-out attack against it intentionally. Just don¡¯t let it run away. It¡¯s very fast, and can be considered an agility-type soul beast. Form a semicircle first. Liren, go and draw it out.¡±

    Zhong Liren acknowledged his words. He tapped his staff on the ground and passed through the shrubs in front of them.

    Huo Yuhao changed his Spiritual Detection to make it all-around. He also shared it with Cai Mei¡¯er and Zhang Lexuan at the same time.

    Zhong Liren was very quick. After advancing forward for around a kilometer, he started to slow down. His actions also became much more cautious.

    After passing a few trees, he finally stopped. He looked at an ancient tree not far in front of him and slowly lifted his staff.

    The greyish scales engulfed his body once again. A thick greyish radiance also lit up the gem on his staff, which glowed with a projection.

    It seemed to be a soul beast that looked like a rat, but it was madepletely from red light. This projection flew towards the ancient tree quickly and started to dig into the ground several meters away from the tree. It dug all the way to the cave.

    Huo Yuhao, Cai Mei¡¯er, and Zhang Lexuan became nervous as they reached this point. Even Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s self-confidence wavered slightly.

    Why?

    Evil soul masters!

    Zhong Liren¡¯s ability could onlye from an evil soul master. It wasn¡¯t just red, but the color of blood. Huo Yuhao projected the aura of destion exuded by the rat-like soul beast using his Spiritual Detection in their minds. The thick, bloody sense and quivering spirit were characteristics special to evil soul masters. Huo Yuhao finally understood what the ss 8 walking staffs were for. They were used to seal the spirits of soul beasts! Zhong Liren was summoning a soul beast¡¯s spirit to achieve his goal.

    The blood-red light shed before disappearing, and the earth started to shake.

    A furious roar sounded from the cave in front of the ancient tree. A head popped out from the cave.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked when he saw this head. It was a soul beast that he recognized. It had dark golden fur and ferocious-looking eyes. There was also its terrifying aura. It was undoubtedly an extremely strong Darkgolden Terrorw Bear! From the size of its head, Huo Yuhao could tell that it was much stronger than the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear he had met earlier.

    Is this a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear?

    A Darkgolden Terrorw Bear with a ten thousand year cultivation could challenge an ordinary hundred thousand year soul beast. If this was a ten thousand year Terrorw Bear, it was as dangerous as a Titled Douluo.

    The three elders wanted to deal with a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. No wonder they couldn¡¯t kill it on their own.

    After provoking the bear, Zhong Liren retreated swiftly. As he retreated, a frightening light projection shed before disappearing.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear reached out its right arm from the cave. The terrifying dark golden light from it covered more than fifty meters and a hundred-and-fifty-degree region in front of it.

    Wherever the dark golden light passed, all the nts were instantly torn apart. Its sharp and vicious aura even left five streaks of pitch-ck marks in the air ¨C the air had been wed apart by it.

    It was simply too strong.

    This was the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear! A transcendent soul beast that was equally powerful in offense and defense. If Zhong Liren hadn¡¯t retreated quickly, he might not have survived the bear¡¯s attack.

    A surprising scene urred. The bear didn¡¯t rush out of its cave, and only let out a deafening and furious roar.

    Following this, Zhong Liren let out a piercing scream.

    After hearing his piercing scream, Zhong Litian and Zhong Lidi were both delighted. Zhong Lidi couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I want¡­¡±

    Zhong Litian red at him and interrupted his words. After that, he turned to Cai Mei¡¯er and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, my third brother has discovered the soul beast. Let¡¯s go and trap it. Just attack it as much as you want.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was also conflicted at this point. They had met evil soul masters who were all Soul Douluo. She wasn¡¯t thinking of how to kill the three of them, but how to retreat with all the inner courtyard students.

    Even though these three evil soul masters only had eight rings, they were each capable of fighting a Titled Douluo. While these inner courtyard students were outstanding, the powers of evil soul masters weren¡¯t just evil. They were also very difficult to defend against. Since Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t know what their abilities were, she didn¡¯t want to take any risks.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t want to fall out with them at this point, and led the rest as they followed behind. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection as a guide, they knew what to do. A ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear! Its soul ring was a treasure that couldn¡¯t be forgone. Li Yongyue hadn¡¯t added a soul ring, and its soul ring was undoubtedly suitable for him. However, they had to resolve this crisis first.

    Zhong Litian and Zhong Lidi didn¡¯t monitor them too much. They only gestured for them to move to the front faster.

    Very soon, everyone converged with Zhong Liren. Zhong Liren nodded at his two elder brothers, as if he were telling them something. Zhong Litian and Zhong Lidi also exchanged nces.

    Zhong Litian turned to Cai Mei¡¯er and said, ¡°That soul beast is very sly. We¡¯ll do it this wayter. I¡¯ll attack from the front and coordinate with all of you to stop it. My two brothers will ambush it from the back. Once it bursts over, we¡¯ll team up to block it. Do you understand?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded and asked, ¡°What kind of soul beast is it?¡±

    Zhong Litian nced at her and said coldly, ¡°You¡¯ll know when ites over. Rx, I¡¯ll be fighting with you. Your disciples can get ready.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll devise a strategy.¡± Just as she spoke, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear roared furiously again. No, it was actually screaming in pain.

    Cai Mei¡¯er was slightly stunned. In the next moment, she sensed the good news that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection brought.

    The previous changes eventually still kindled Huo Yuhao¡¯s suspicions. It was understandable for three Soul Douluo to be nervous against a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, but why did they need so many people to help them? Capturing the attention of this Darkgolden Terrorw Bear wasn¡¯t going to help them in hunting and killing it! With their abilities, they could easily kill the bear. Why did they have to drag them along?

    What was the reason? Huo Yuhao discovered the reason when he heard the bear screaming in pain.

    At this point, Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren had just left, but they didn¡¯t attack the bear. When it screamed, the two of them stepped back deliberately.

    What about the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear? Its head and arm were still outside, but it didn¡¯t leave the cave as it screamed.

    Huo Yuhao started to explore further into the cave using his Spiritual Detection even at the expense of depleting more soul power. There must be something in the cave that the bear couldn¡¯t give up.

    He saw it very soon. The cave wasn¡¯t very big, and it was also not level. Evidently, the bear had dug it out with its own ws. Inside the cave, there was a huge amount of ck blood. The bear¡¯s legs were actually trembling slightly.

    Within this pool of dark blood, there were two smaller fellows that were less than a meter long, gnawing on their fur. Their eyes weren¡¯t even open yet.

 Chapter 233.3: The Three Evil Soul Master Brothers

    This was actually a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear that had just given birth, and was in a weakened state. It didn¡¯t leave its cave because it was too weak. At the same time, it was also trying to protect its two kids!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart softened when he sensed this. That was because he immediately recalled how his mother had protected him.

    Without a doubt, the three evil soul masters¡¯ target wasn¡¯t just the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. They were targeting its two kids too! With their abilities, no one knew how these two infant Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were going to be exploited if they were captured.

    We have to stop them! The same thought arose in Cai Mei¡¯er, Zhang Lexuan, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s minds.

    At this point, Zhong Litian said, ¡°Watch me. I¡¯m going to make a move.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded and turned around at the same time before gesturing to the group from Shrek.

    Her gesture seemed very simple, but every inner courtyard disciple knew what she meant... all-out attack!

    Undoubtedly, their target wasn¡¯t the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear!

    Zhong Litian¡¯s back was facing everyone. He didn¡¯t seem to realize anything, or perhaps he was too self-confident. He lifted his staff slowly, and greyish scales started to engulf his body once again. His soul rings also drifted into everyone¡¯s view for the first time.

    Everyone was left with a deep impression as they sensed the capabilities of this evil soul master from a close distance. A thick bloody aura swept over them, and everyone felt as if they were surrounded by corpses. The awful smell left them nauseous, and it was even getting difficult to breathe.

    A piercing scream suddenly resonated. This scream was simr to that of the Darkgolden Terrow Bear¡¯s screams earlier. The only difference was that this scream was louder, and sounded more furious. It also seemed to contain a sense of unbearable pain. A huge bloody light projection surfaced from Zhong Litian¡¯s body.

    It was a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. Its terrifying figure was greater than seven meters in height. When it appeared, its aura shook the surrounding trees and nts. However, it wasn¡¯t a solid entity. Its figure was half-transparent, and its frightening aura revealed an indescribable pain. Its spirit was even trembling, distorting, and trying to struggle. However, it couldn¡¯t break free. It could only vent its torment by screaming pathetically.

    When the red Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s spirit started to roar, Huo Yuhao could sense that the body of the bear that had just given birth turned rigid. In the next moment, a hysterical and forlorn roar was released from this female bear. She couldn¡¯t be bothered about her kids in the cave anymore. As her huge palm pressed onto the ground, she exited the cave and started to burst forward rapidly.

    Too despicable!

    Huo Yuhao understood everything soon after. The spirit that Zhong Litian revealed must have had some close connection to the female bear in the cave. It might even have been her partner, and the father of the two infant bears!

    However, why did he do that? The male bear was likely to be stronger considering the strength of its spirit. Since the three of them could kill the male bear, why couldn¡¯t they deal with the female bear?

    Suddenly, a thought shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He was reminded of what Wang Yan had mentioned before.

    There were very few Darkgolden Terrorw Bears. That was why they couldn¡¯t use the strength of their species to rule the world of soul beasts even though they were individually very strong. However, why were there so few of them? Logically speaking, they should be better able to survive considering their immensely strong abilities.

    There was only one reason ¨C their reproductive capabilities. They were bestowed with great strength, but were devoid of reproductive capabilities. Generally speaking, it was very difficult for a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear to find a partner. That was because they would roam the world of soul beasts alone after they matured. They would also be invincible among all soul beasts of the same level. This characteristic was also a reason why it was difficult for them to carry on their lineage.

    Even when a male and female Darkgolden Terrorw Bear met, they had to be interested in each other before they could mate. Wang Yan joked that Darkgolden Terrorw Bears had different aesthetic standardspared to humans. It was very unlikely for two bears of opposing genders to fall for each other. If it was one-sided, violence might be a means to earn the rights to coption. However, a female bear might still be able to resist a male bear even if she couldn¡¯t beat him. Both parties would be hurt as a result. Even if a male bear got his way, he might not be able to carry on his lineage. That was because the male and female beasts might not be sexuallypatible, and thus the male bear¡¯s genes would be unable to be passed down.

    Furthermore, a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s estrus cycle was only once every ten years¡­ Each female bear could only bear one to two kids. Under such a situation, it was very difficult for them to prosper. Once every ten years! It wasn¡¯t even a certainty. Some male bears might not even have their own kids for their entire life. This was the sad truth that Darkgolden Terrorw Bears had to face.

    The sadder thing was that they belonged in the same world as humans. Legend had it that a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s cub could be tamed by humans. If they could be sessfully tamed, the owner would possess terrifying fighting strength. Humans had also been trying their best to find their own cubs.

    It wasn¡¯t just humans either. Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs would treat all females as their mother due to their strong survival abilities and unyielding desire to survive. No matter who they were captured by, they treated them as their kin as long as they were nurtured properly. That was why some highly intelligent creatures would try toy their hands on Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.

    Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were also very proud creatures. When they discovered that they couldn¡¯t ovee their opponent using their own abilities, they would carry out an unthinkable and cruel action¡­ killing their own cubs! They would rather let their kids cubs than let the enemy benefit. This made it even more difficult for the lineage of Darkgolden Terrorw Bears to be passed down.

    When Wang Yan had recounted this, his emotions had flowed. However, Huo Yuhao finally understood the three Zhong Li brothers¡¯ intention when he recalled all this.

    They could certainly ovee the weakened female bear, but their targets were the two cubs. At this point, they were drawing the mother bear out using the male bear before Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren went and kidnapped the two cubs. This would help themplete this task sessfully, while those from Shrek Academy were just cannon fodder.

    Without a doubt, the three brothers had nned this out from the start. The female bear was in a maniacal state right now. As she approached, she would most certainly turn violent when she saw humans. Zhong Litian could also exploit this opportunity to escape. Zhong Litian could tell that there was at least a Soul Douluo among them. After they depleted some of the mother bear¡¯s energy, she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape once the three brothers attacked her. It was a perfect n! While it was a coincidence that the three brothers met them, they wanted to exploit this coincidence to achieve their goals.

    Huo Yuhao figured all this out in an instant. He also activated his Spiritual Detection at the first instant and shared his thoughts with everyone else.

    ¡°Attack now.¡± Cai Mei¡¯er reacted decisively, and didn¡¯t hesitate any further. She lifted her right hand, and a gust of strong wind burst from her hand. It was aimed towards Zhong Litian.

    However, Zhong Litian turned into a waft of green smoke at this moment. He disappeared into the brutal winds, while the bloody male bear turned back. As he roared furiously, he wed towards them with a tormented look in his eyes.

    It was his spiritual power. Although his spiritual power had been enhanced by the evil soul masters, it wasn¡¯t as strong as it was when he was still alive.

    At this point, the female bear had crawled out of her cave and was rushing forward with big steps. Her husband¡¯s voice was too familiar. His tormented screams and her yearning for him overcame her will to protect her kids. The three brothers exploited her feelings. Even though they were despicable, their evil thoughts were very unpredictable.

    Even Cai Mei¡¯er hadn¡¯t expected such a disadvantageous situation. The strength of these two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears was already very great. However, they were still strong enough to deal with these two bears. After all, Cai Mei¡¯er was a Titled Douluo. The missing three brothers were the problem. How long would they take to capture the two cubs? Would mercy be shown when they returned? By then, everyone from Shrek would have been weakened by these two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears. Today¡¯s fight was very perilous.

    What do we do?

    This same thought appeared in everyone¡¯s minds. The first person to react was Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 234.1: Lightning Gods Fury

    After he shared everything with everyone through his Spiritual Detection, he started to act. As his figure shed, he disappeared into the air. At this point, he wasn¡¯t standing beside Wang Dong¡¯er. However, he had already shared his n with everyone. He was going to stop the three brothers and take the two cubs away!

    Wang Dong¡¯er quickly followed him. Huo Yuhao was the most important to her. Furthermore, their abilities were greatly enhanced when they were together.

    However, it was also at this moment that the male bear¡¯s attack arrived. His sharp, bloody ws descended from the sky, and his terrifying aura swept over everyone. The thick, bloody smell was nauseating.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was about to advance, but she sensed the lethal threat and had no choice but to stop. Her wings beat, and she retreated quickly. At this point, Huo Yuhao had disappeared. Even his Spiritual Detection had disappeared.

    Thest information Wang Dong¡¯er received from him was to stay where she was to help the rest and not to follow him. He wanted to use a special method to deal with the three brothers.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was credible, Wang Dong¡¯er was still a little frantic at this point. However, the male bear¡¯s attack was like a dancing, bloody cyclone as it swept towards everyone. Wang Dong¡¯er was also one of its targets, and she couldn¡¯t escape.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who had moved away from the team. As Huo Yuhao moved, someone else also moved. As her slender figure shed, she turned into a golden light projection that was faded into the forest. She moved in the same direction as Huo Yuhao.

    It was Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Cai Mei¡¯er led the team as Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, Wang Dong¡¯er, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan worked together to resist the male bear¡¯s attack.

    The strength of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was explosive. Even though this ten-thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was only left with his spirit, his fighting style didn¡¯t change at all. His terrifying fighting strength erupted and suppressed everyone.

    With Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s cultivation, it wasn¡¯t difficult for her to escape. However, she needed to protect her students! This was especially true for students like Mo Xuan, who didn¡¯t possess any real fighting strength.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother about the fight on the other side right now. He knew that the two bears couldn¡¯t kill them with Dean Cai around. What he had to do now was turn the situation around. It was only this way that his friends could escape from danger.

    Why didn¡¯t he drag Wang Dong¡¯er along? That was because he wasn¡¯t confident. Even with Wang Dong¡¯er, could he possibly challenge three Soul Douluo? He decided to act alone because he would bepletely disregarding any danger.

    As he burst forward, his third eye opened. His soul thrusters and Spiritual Detection were also initiated.

    At this point, he heard a sonorous dragon¡¯s roar.

    It was very unexpected, but it was filled with rage. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered arge area. He immediately turned his head in the direction of the roar. He was appalled to discover that Wang Qiu¡¯er had also separated from the team. Furthermore, her target was the female bear!

    Not good!

    Even though Wang Qiu¡¯er had demonstrated great abilities, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t believe that she could fight a ten-thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear by herself. Even Elder Xuan had once mentioned how strong a ten-thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was. At the ten-thousand year level, it was one of the best among the savage beasts.

    However, it was toote for Huo Yuhao to help Wang Qiu¡¯er at this point. Furthermore, could he even do anything with his current strength?

    It was time to make a decision. Huo Yuhao grit his teeth, and a huge cannon barrel was lifted onto his shoulder. This cannon was dark blue, and there were countless rose patterns on its body.

    If Ke Ke were here, she would definitely recognize it as a Giant Lightning Cannon. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cannon was covered by a mysterious glow. Whether it was the size or the number of formation arrays, Ke Ke¡¯s cannon couldn¡¯tpare to this one.

    This was a Giant Lightning Cannon, but it was also a ss 7 heavy cannon called the Lightning God¡¯s Fury. He Caitou was the one who had developed it.

    Before they set off on this journey, Huo Yuhao had naturally told his partners where he was going. He Caitou passed his Lightning God¡¯s Fury to him, and also gave him threepatible stationary soul cannon shells.

    However, this heavy cannon was different from the one He Caitou had used previously. He Caitou had never used a stationary soul cannon before. This modified ss 7 cannon possessed the strongest offensive strength among all the soul tools that He Caitou possessed. That was why he passed it to Huo Yuhao.

    Intense bolts of lightning were unleashed, and the Lightning God¡¯s Fury revealedyers andyers of bluish-purple halos. Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed didn¡¯t decrease as he burst forward, but his charging of the cannon persisted. The strongest aspect of a stationary soul cannon was that its might didn¡¯t lie in the cannon itself, but the cannon shell. Firing the cannon didn¡¯t expend a lot of soul power. Although it was costly to make, it was undoubtedly more terrifying than a soul cannon that was fired purely using soul power. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to waste his soul power, and thus he chose this cannon.

    Rumbling sounds rolled forth, and Huo Yuhao flew back due to the recoil, knocking into two huge trees. A bolt of bluish-purple lightning shed in the air before disappearing.

    Why did Huo Yuhao charge his cannon while bursting forward earlier? He was flung back to where he wanted to go. He exploited the burst of speed brought about by this recoil.

    He didn¡¯t even bother with the female bear and Wang Qiu¡¯er, who were both on the other side. He did whatever he needed to the best of his abilities

    Huo Yuhao was aware that this cannon couldn¡¯t possibly kill the female bear, but it could at least stall her, given the strength of a ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell. Wang Qiu¡¯er would then be afforded time to escape¡­ At the same time, stalling the female bear would be very helpful for his side. Dealing with the male bear¡¯s spirit and preventing both bears from teaming up together was the key to resolving the problem.

    Huo Yuhao burst forward after he did what he needed to do. The light from his Eye of Destiny shone brightly, andyers of distorted ripples started to appear on his body. He instantly disappeared into the forest.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t slower than Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, an indescribable feeling caused her to stop. At this point, she already saw the hysterical female bear rushing over. In the next instant, she saw something unforgettable.

    A streak of intense, bluish-purple light swept by. It was so bright that the entire forest turned bluish-purple. All the nts and trees were illuminated with the same color.

    Following this, the female bear was swallowed by the bluish-purple light. The terrifying lightning was changed into a shocking beam of light that shot into the sky. Rumbling thunder echoed in three waves, and the immense impact swept the entire area that the bluish-purple light had covered earlier. All the nts and trees were turned into ash by the terrifying impact and destructive force.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er crossed her arms in front of her body, and ayer of thick golden light emanated from her body. However, her body was still flung backward by the force. She flew close to hundred meters before she managed to stabilize her body. However, an intense numbness was running through her body.

    Yes, this was how terrifying a ss 7 stationary soul cannon was. Everything in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er had turned to ash. The female bear was smashed down, and her dark-golden hide had turned charcoal ck. Gusts of thick smoke rose from her fur as she copsed to the ground in pain, lightning crackling around her.

    Even the Sun Moon Empire, which possessed the strongest soul tools, ssified stationary soul cannons that were at ss 7 as weapons of mass destruction. They couldn¡¯t be sold. No one knew how many ss 7 stationary soul cannons the Sun Moon Empire possessed, but they had already be the biggest threat to the rest of the empires on the continent because of them.

    The cannon shell that Huo Yuhao just fired was worth eight hundred thousand gold soul coins. That wasn¡¯t even including the time that He Caitou had spent on developing it. If it were auctioned off, the cannon would be worth more than three million gold soul coins. What if was fired towards an elite team of soldiers? Everything in a three hundred meter radius would be turned to ash. Any soul master below a six-ringed cultivation could forget about escaping. How many people possessed strength as immense as Wang Qiu¡¯er? That was the reason why Huo Yuhao had dared to fire that cannon shell!

 Chapter 234.2: Lightning Gods Fury

    At this point, the air was filled with intense undtions of lightning. The frightening explosive force shocked everyone. Even though the shockwave only generated a surging gust of air when it reached them, this sudden explosion changed the situation for Shrek Academy¡¯s team.

    Huo Yuhao retracted his Spiritual Detection after he fired his cannon. The terrifying bolts of lightning were too much for his spiritual power to handle. The huge explosion sounded behind him, but he continued to dart forward. At this point, he ced the second cannon shell into the Giant Lightning Cannon on his shoulder.

    As the surging gust of air reached him, he initiated his Spiritual Detection again. This time, his target was the cave.

    The three brothers weren¡¯t affected even after the first cannon shell exploded. However, the explosion still caught their attention. Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren drifted towards the cave as they tapped their staves on the ground. Zhong Litian didn¡¯t appear, and no one knew where he was hiding. However, it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess that he had focused most of his energy on everyone from Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s second cannon shell was fired at this time. When the cannon was fired, he revealed his concealed figure. A horrifying bluish-purple radiance was unleashed, and its targets were the two cubs in the cave.

    What were Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren¡¯s cultivations? They were evil Soul Douluo. In a duel, their abilities weren¡¯t inferior to a Titled Douluo. Their spiritual power and senses were very strong. They immediately sensed the threat that wasing.

    At this point, they had already arrived at the cave. Any normal person wouldn¡¯t enter the cave even if he was threatened. However, they couldn¡¯t give up on the two cubs in the cave! The cubs were the most important reason they were here.

    Huo Yuhao had experienced many live fights during his training in the Ultimate Soldier n. Both his situational judgment and understanding of a human¡¯s psychological mindset had reached a high standard.

    Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren made their choice immediately. They only had one choice¡­ defend! They could only defend against the attack unleashed towards the cave and protect the two cubs.

    They lifted their staves at the same time, and bloody light started to spread out again. In such a situation, all they could do was pour out all their soul power. Two beams of sanguine light were converted into a huge, bloody red protective barrier. The entire cave was covered by this barrier.

    Boom!

    If He Caitou knew that someone was trying to resist his ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell directly, he would be ted. Why were stationary soul cannons so powerful? It was because their explosive strength could match the all-out attack of a Rank 80 soul master the moment they were fired!

    While Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren were very strong, evil soul masters were only strong because they were evil. In terms of cultivation, they were still eight-ringed Soul Douluo. They were confident of sess, but were faced with a sudden attack. In a state of panic, they weren¡¯t able to unleash their all-out defense. In addition, they weren¡¯t skilled at defending, either. As the terrifying sounds of crackling lightning echoed out, countless bolts of lightning struck, and the two elders were appalled to discover that the intimidating explosive force had torn apart their defense.

    The bloody barrier dissipated. As lightning shed, the thick protective barrier was forcefully torn apart. The horrifying explosive force also swept the two of them up.

    Lightning was formed by the vital energy of heaven and earth.

    This was what Electrolux had told Huo Yuhao. Any form of undead would be harmed far more greatly than normal, regardless of what element they once were, if they were struck by lightning, because lightning contained the vital energy of heaven and earth.

    When some undead became too strong, they might attract lightning from the sky due to their evil aura. This was called a Lightning Catastrophe.

    Why was Electrolux so strong in his original world? One important reason was that he was an unprecedented light-type necromancer. He used his own body to summon the light element of the undead, thus removing any evil energy from them. In this way, they wouldn¡¯t attract the Lightning Catastrophe.

    Huo Yuhao had guessed some of the abilities that the three evil soul masters possessed. It had to be something rted to summoning soul beasts¡¯ spirits. They were even able to summon the spirit of a ten-thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. If this wasn¡¯t their main ability, they probably weren¡¯t Soul Douluo, but Titled Douluo.

    That was why Huo Yuhao used the Giant Lightning Cannon. The power of lightning was more effective against these two evil soul masters.

    Anyone whose life was under threat would definitely use whatever treasures they had without any hesitation as long as they could protect their life.

    The two brothers weren¡¯t exceptions either. When they realized something was amiss, they immediately unleashed their all.

    A huge number of bloody spirits surged out from their staves and protected their bodies, resisting the power of lightning. At the same time, they also revealed their Martial Soul True Bodies.

    In this state, Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren¡¯s bodies started to distort. The greyish scales became finer, and even their eyes turned blood-red. They turned and curled up into two huge greyish snakes.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s research into martial souls was very advanced. Huo Yuhao could immediately recognize what their martial souls were.

    Underworld Snake, a ssic evil soul master¡¯s martial soul. It had existed for a long time, and was a very strong soul among evil soul masters.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could vaguely recall Elder Mu emphasizing how special an Underworld Snake was. However, he had no time to think about it at this point.

    The beast spirits were immediately destroyed in the face of lightning. However, these beast spirits appeared freer and relieved when they were killed. Even their indignation was dispelled as they were killed. They were like the Avenging Spirits that Huo Yuhao had once cleansed before.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with the remaining cannon shell at this point. He unleashed his Imitation with the enhancement of his Eye of Destiny.

    After his soul power reached Rank 50, all his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills were enhanced. This was his strongest advantage from the million-year Skydream eworm. He had not used Imitation for a long time, not because it wasn¡¯t strong enough, but because he hid it due to the surprises it brought him after it was enhanced. He tried his best not to use it.

    Imitation wasn¡¯t an offensive or defensive soul skill. Compared to the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques, the Darkgolden Terrorws, the Ice Explosion Technique, Spiritual Shock, and other powerful soul skills, it didn¡¯t seem very eye-catching. Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s partners didn¡¯t really pay attention to this soul skill. However, it had be an extremely strong soul skill after it evolved. The only drawback was that his opponents might be prepared if he kept using it.

    As it became stronger, Huo Yuhao could extend its use to a greater region. Right now, the region it could cover was around ten meters in diameter. At the same time, he also possessed a special form of this soul skill that allowed him to carry out continuous assimtion. To put it more aptly, it allowed him to assimte into the environment like a chameleon.

    Environmental assimtion became more and more effective as an environment became moreplex and colorful. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t conceal himself, but he could make it seem as if he were hidden as he imitated his surroundings. However, he could still be discovered through meticulous observation or detected through spiritual power.

    His ability to assimte into the environment was directly rted to his soul power. As his Eye of Destiny was activated, his Imitation had entered its strongest state. So, he appeared to disappear earlier.

    If Huo Yuhao stayedpletely still, it wasn¡¯t possible to spot him with one¡¯s naked eyes. However, any movement would cause a change in the color patterns in the air, which would be detectable if one was sharp enough.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how much further his Imitation could evolve. It was closely rted to the Skydream Iceworm.

    Imitation wasn¡¯t a particrly strong soul skill even in the world of soul beasts, or the Iceworm species wouldn¡¯t be so weak. After all, it was only projecting an illusion, there wasn¡¯t any offensive side to it. In addition, the region that it covered was also limited.

    When the Skydream Iceworm allowed Huo Yuhao to choose Imitation as his second soul skill, there was a reason behind his decision. Even a weak soul skill could be strong through ceaseless cultivation. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t cultivate this soul skill directly. However, he possessed the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual cultivation! As Skydream¡¯s spiritual cultivation continued to fuse with him, it also meant that Imitation was being cultivated, making it stronger and stronger.

 Chapter 234.3: Lightning Gods Fury

    Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren were in extreme pain as they were struck by the cannon shell¡¯s lightning st. While their lives were not in danger, it had taken them a lot of effort to gather all their beast spirits! The deaths of those spirits meant that their abilities were greatly weakened. As a result, the two of them had to use all their soul power to resist so that fewer of their ve-spirits would perish. Naturally, they weren¡¯t able to observe what was going on around them as they fought off the lightning attack!

    Huo Yuhao exploited this opportunity to increase his speed significantly. As his body burst forward, he leapt into the air and entered the cave, leaving a gentle undtion behind.

    As he entered the cave, a thick smell of blood immediately filled his nostrils. He tried to hold his breath and unleashed his Darkgolden Terrorws. He stabbed his ws into the wall of the cave as his body remained in the air.

    Using his Spiritual Detection, he had already figured out theyout of the cave. Otherwise, his judgment wouldn¡¯t have been so urate.

    The cave was around five meters high, and extremely wide. It was just that the ground was covered in bloodstains left behind by the female bear while giving birth to her kids.

    In the corner, two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs not even a meter tall were curled up with their eyes closed. asionally, they would squirm in ce.

    Their fur was pitch-ck, and hadn¡¯t turned dark-golden yet. From the looks of it, they were like two oversized and chubby puppies. At times, they would extend their pinkish-red tongues to lick their lips.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dy any further. His body swayed in the air before he did a forward somersault. At the same time, he had already unleashed his Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit. The Snow Lady pointed to the two cubs, and two deep blue beams of light were shot out. The cubs were engulfed by these beams of light, and were enclosed inside two blocks of ice.

    While mature Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were huge, their cubs were very small inparison, just like the cubs of any other soul beast.

    Huo Yuhao drifted down, his hands were covered in blue light. He touched the bodies of the two frozen cubs, and they instantly disappeared, swept inside his Starlight Sapphire ring.

    Spatial-type soul tools couldn¡¯t contain living beings; there was no air inside, so they would suffocate. Another reason was that it might lead to spatial instability, damaging the space inside the soul tool, which would lead to damage to the soul tool itself.

    But Huo Yuhao currently had no other choice. He tapped into the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit¡¯s low temperature to freeze the two cubs temporarily. With the strength of Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, they wouldn¡¯t die quickly. After that, they were stored inside his ring before he brought them away. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy for him to escape with these two cubs!

    He didn¡¯t touch the ground throughout the entire process. As he smacked his right hand down, he used the power of his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to push himself back before he exerted force on the wall with his toes. He propelled himself forward and rushed for the exit.

    However, his ws stabbed into the wall when he was just a couple steps from the exit. He also stuck his body to the wall like an octopus, and his Imitation activated again. He seemed to have disappeared, and waspletely traceless in the dark cave.

    Whoosh! A figure entered the cave¡­ it was Zhong Lidi. His figure was covered by a thick, bloody radiance. Right now, the strong evil soul master¡¯s appearance was quite unpresentable.

    Even with his cultivation, it was still a horrible thing to be struck by a ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell off-guard. His long robe was torn and tattered, revealing his skin in many areas. His hair was also standing on end. While his staff was still shining, it was no longer as bright as before. The gem at the top of his staff had even cracked slightly.

    Zhong Lidi¡¯s expression was extremely ghastly, and he even appeared to be on the verge of crying. When he unleashed bright, bloody light to illuminate the entire cave, his face turned even more dismal.

    ¡°Liren, someone has beaten us to it! Bastard!¡± Zhong Lidi shouted in fury. His figure shed as he rushed out of the cave. An eight-ringed Soul Douluo was able to fly temporarily.

    Zhong Liren¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°That cannon shell earlier must have been at least ss 7. Don¡¯t tell me that there are Sun Moon Empire people here? They can¡¯t be missing! The female bear was even guarding the cave earlier! How could they have disappeared just like that? Can they fly?¡±

    Huo Yuhao waspletely still as he stuck himself to the wall. He was even holding his breath. He was clear that he would be a dead man if he moved in front of these two evil soul masters. Unless it waspletely safe, he wouldn¡¯t move recklessly.

    As he maintained his continuous Imitation, Zhong Lidi returned again. As he returned, a huge number of beast spirits were released from his staff. They quickly filled the cave.

    Vicious!, Huo Yuhao cursed.

    As the spirits flew out, a tiger-type beast spirit came straight towards Huo Yuhao. His Imitation was indeed strong, and could even imitate the surrounding aura. However, these beast spirits had acute senses. From the change in the tiger-type beast spirit¡¯s energy, Huo Yuhao could subtly feel that it had discovered something in his direction.

    What should he do? He had two choices now: bet on his luck that the beast spirit wouldn¡¯t discover him, or act decisively and take the initiative to escape the cave.

    If he had no luck, this cave would be his burial ground. However, Zhong Liren was guarding the cave outside if he went for thetter option.

    At this point, a deafening roar came from outside the cave. Following this, the ground started to shake. A ferocious, mighty aura could be felt even from inside the cave.

    Yes, the female Darkgolden Terroww Bear had given up on finding her mate and returned!

    Zhong Lidi¡¯s expression changed. Even with their cultivation level, they couldn¡¯t underestimate this ten-thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. When the three of them had encircled the male Darkgolden Terrorw Bear earlier, they had needed three days to kill him. Although this female bear was in a weakened state now, she might be very explosive if she was provoked.

    Zhong Lidi scanned the cave once more, then immediately rushed out, worried about Zhong Liren.

    The tiger-type beast spirit that was closing in on Huo Yuhao was pulled back into the staff.

    Huo Yuhao was intelligent. When he heard the female bear roaring, he gave up his n of escaping. He reaped the rewards of his patience ¨C Zhong Lidi was finally gone.

    However, he couldn¡¯t escape, either. The fight outside had already begun.

    The sh of soul powers caused the ground to shake amidst deafening booms. Intense shockwaves struck the cave and caused echoes to ring out within it.

    Although Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see with his eyes, he still had his Spiritual Detection! As he activated his Spiritual Detection, he sensed what was going on outside and tried to find an opportunity to escape.

    The female bear had indeed returned. Her lower body was covered in bloodstains while her upper body was charred. Evidently, she was in great pain after being struck by the cannon shell earlier. However, why did she forsake her mate and return?

    The three brothers had no intention of letting her off. Not only was she strong, but her spirit was also quite valuable.

    On the other side, the male bear¡¯s spirit had managed to tackle almost the entire team from Shrek! This included Cai Mei¡¯er, who was a Titled Douluo!

    The three brothers had drawn the female bear away so that they could capture the cubs. However, they hadn¡¯t expected to fail. Now that the female bear had returned, Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren vented their anger on her.

    They released many spirits from their staves. At the same time, their bodies also formed greyish light projections. These projections floated in mid-air and looked like balls of greyish fog. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing such martial souls.

    After turning into fog, Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren¡¯s speed soared rapidly. As their figures shed, they separated to either side, avoiding the female bear¡¯s ws. The spirits also started to swarm the bear.

    At this point, a streak of golden light shone from the female bear¡¯s back. The bright light was filled with the might of a king, and a terrifying aura was unleashed. It felt very real, and exuded golden patterns as it spread.

    After being influenced by this aura, the bear¡¯s eyes shone brightly with golden light, and her own aura soared. The spirits that swarmed her started to disperse as they let out pathetic screams. Although they weren¡¯tpletely destroyed, their powers were weakened considerably.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zhong Liren shouted, his facial muscles distorted greatly due to his fury.

    Undoubtedly, the force that had dispersed the spirits didn¡¯te from the female bear. But since it hade, the strength of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was bound to increase greatly. More importantly, the three brothers had lost many of their spirits today! They were extremely furious!

    A golden figure flipped up onto the bear¡¯s back and stood on her wide shoulders.

    When Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to sense this person¡¯s presence, he was so shocked that he almost muttered a sound.

    That person was Wang Qiu¡¯er, wielding the Golden Dragon Spear!

 Chapter 235.1: Rescuing and Escaping

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face was as cold as ever as she raised the Golden Dragon Spear high above her head. She released the powerful golden aura from before, riveting golden light radiating from her body. The cutting aura was like the sharp edge of a de as it forced therge mass of beast souls back.

    What¡¯s going on? Huo Yuhao was astonished and amazed and doubtful at the same time. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected that Wang Qiu¡¯er could form an alliance with this female Darkgolden Terrorw Bear in battle. It seemed like she didn¡¯t intend to block the bear when she charged in its direction, and was trying to direct it instead. What kind of ability was this? It was simply too terrifying! Did that mean that someone who possessed the Golden Dragon martial soul had the ability tomand Darkgolden Terrorw Bears? The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s existence was actuallyparable to the Golden Dragon in terms of lineage!

    Right when Huo Yuhao was still feeling shocked, the female bear stomped her enormous paws as she charged towards the three brothers. Her body erupted with intense dark golden light as her fur stood on end. Her talons extended from her paws, and huge ws that were at least two meters long flickered with chilly light. Her ws crossed each other through the air as countless de shadows shed by and reached every corner in a hundred-meter radius around her.

    The beast souls were highly resistant to physical attacks, but the bear¡¯s attacks were simply too sharp, and the beast souls were weakened wherever the des crossed.

    The three brothers immediately felt an agonizing heartache. They had already lost many beast souls when they came to hunt and y the male bear, but the male bear¡¯s addition had made up for their losses in the end. This continuous battering caused them great suffering, as every beast soul was ultimately part of their strength and fighting ability.

    Two grey clouds moved out in an instant, and the beast souls retreated along with them to the periphery. Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren red at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was still sitting on the female bear¡¯s shoulders. The bear couldn¡¯t have broken through their siege so easily if it hadn¡¯t been for her!

    The bear didn¡¯t care about all this at this moment as she strode towards herir. There was nothing more important to her than her cubs.

    All of a sudden, a scarlet-golden beam of light arrived on the scene in a sh, and a majestic scarlet-gold lion intercepted her.

    This mighty lion seemed like it was sculpted from scarlet-red crystal, and it flickered with brilliant colors. Even the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s fearsome aura was weakened the moment it appeared.

    A beast soul ¨C this was actually a beast soul! However, it was so much more powerful and formidable than the other beast souls.

    Huo Yuhao had wanted to find an opportunity to escape, but this lion¡¯s appearance made him settle down once again.

    This¡­ this looks like the Scarletgolden Lion!

    The Scarletgolden Lion¡¯s status amongst soul beasts was a little inferior to the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. However, it could be considered a subspecies of Golden soul beasts, and was a mutated form of the Golden Lion King. A Scarletgolden Lion¡¯s power wasparable to a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear if both soul beasts had simr cultivation levels. At least, it had enough strength to fight against the bear.

    The Scarletgolden Lion was just a beast soul, but one could tell from its aura that it had possessed at least thirty thousand years of cultivation. Of all the soul beasts that Huo Yuhao had seen, besides the several mighty ones that had more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation, this Scarletgolden Lion was probably the strongest one in terms of fighting ability.

    The Scarletgolden Lion roared into the sky the moment it appeared. Its muscr body that seemed almost material proved how drastically different it was from normal beast souls.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear paused momentarily, but anything that prevented her from protecting her children was considered an enemy at this moment.

    Sheshed out ferociously with her right w, and it was a Darkgolden Terrorw that contained every ounce of her strength.

    The colossal w seemed like it was going to tear the sky apart as it descended from the sky and pped down fiercely.

    The lion wasn¡¯t weak, and it shook its head as arge spherical light projection emanated from its head and immediately expanded to a diameter of more than ten meters ¨C this light projection was actually the erged image of its own head.

    ng! The bear¡¯s w was bounced back after the sharp collision, and an intense tremor almost shook Huo Yuhao off of the cave wall.

    The lion¡¯s radiance dimmed for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, and it roared ferociously once more.

    This lion could actually take a hit from her! It lived up to its name as an entity that wasparable to the Darkgolden Terrorw!

    Huo Yuhao had been observing the brothers¡¯ beast souls this whole time. He realized that most of these beast souls could only use spiritual attacks, and they used spiritual power to get through to their opponents. However, there were several rtively formidable ones that retained the ability to attack with soul power, and this Scarletgolden Lion was undoubtedly the best of the best in this category. Huo Yuhao even felt that this lion probably still had almost as much strength as it had when it was still alive.

    Another sphere of gray fog separated from the lion while Huo Yuhao was still feeling astounded. It transformed into a shadow riding on the Scarletgolden Lion¡¯s back: the eldest of the brothers, Zhong Litian!

    Zhong Litian¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t much better than those of his brothers. He had never thought that his n could be ruined like that, at the hands of a young woman!

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zhong Litian eximed as he raised the staff in his hands. The lion charged forward ferociously, and it engaged in battle with the bear as he levitated in midair and gazed at Wang Qiu¡¯er in the distance.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Someone that wants your life.¡± Her six soul rings sparkled brilliantly as she spoke.

    Zhong Litian snapped his head around at Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren. ¡°Have we seeded?¡±

    Zhong Lidi¡¯s face was ck as he replied, ¡°All gone, there¡¯s nothing left. It seems like thispany isn¡¯t that easy to deal with. What should be do?¡±

    Zhong Litian¡¯s eyes narrowed as a savage aura burst from his body. He said coldly, ¡°Release our origin beast souls. Every single one of them has to die. We won¡¯t have to worry about getting what we want as long as they¡¯re dead.¡±

    Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren began to move right when his voice dropped, and two beams of light glowed from their bodies. The jewels at the tips of their staves erupted with brilliant and blinding light.

    Zhong Lidi unleashed a fearsome tiger. This tiger exuded dark green light; it was a Netherworld Ghost Tiger, which was also an entity that stood at the top of the world of soul beasts. Its body looked even more illusory than normal beast souls, but it charged the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear the moment it made a move, and gave the Scarletgolden Lion more chances to attack.

    Zhong Liren unleashed a ferocious leopard that shone with brown light. Its skin was also brown, with patterns like golden coins all over its body. It was the smallest of the three origin beast souls, but it vanished into the air the moment it appeared, and a brown streak shed by in the next moment. The fur on the bear¡¯s back flew into the sky as part of it was shaved off. Even though she wasn¡¯t hurt, the intense pain made her even more hysterical and crazed than before.

    Huo Yuhao saw the brothers¡¯ abilities as evil soul masters with more rity now after observing them. Their main strength was their enved beast souls, which were separated into various categories. The strongest of those souls were probably the origin beast souls that they had just released, and each of them probably only had one, while all the others were just normal beast souls.

    The female bear was already weak, and she was immediately at a disadvantage and beaten back as the three origin soul beasts joined up and assaulted her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er made her move right at this moment.

    She swung the Golden Dragon Spear in her hands and pierced in a certain direction without warning. An indescribable and shrill tearing sound could be heard, and a ck gash appeared in the air from this single strike.

    A brown shadow flickered once and an infuriated roar was heard immediately afterwards. She had actually captured the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor¡¯s movements, and wounded it with just one attack!

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s action also immediately triggered the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor¡¯s wrath. A streak of brown light instantly circled and flickered around the bear crazily.

    The spear in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands waltzed continuously. Even though she could urately predict and grasp the opportunity to defend against the leopard¡¯s attacks every time and she was able to hold on with her own fearsome strength, she only had six rings.

    It was not difficult to imagine how powerful these beast souls were since they were these three brothers¡¯ origin beast souls. Their soul skills were all meant to amplify their beast souls, and their martial soul true bodies in the fog made them incredibly fast, while most physical attacks simply couldn¡¯t hurt them at all. The three brothers separated in three directions as circle after circle of light expanded and continuously amplified their origin beast souls.

    The truth was that the three brothers had no choice but to release their origin beast souls. They would never use their origin beast souls under normal circumstances, as these origin beast souls were tied to their own spirits even though they were extremely powerful. They would also be wounded if any harm came to their origin soul beasts.

    But Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren had lost too many beast souls. When Zhong Litian witnessed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities, he became a little worried about the other members from Shrek Academy, and so he opted to give everything he had so that he could defeat and kill both the female Darkgolden Terrorw Bear and Wang Qiu¡¯er as quickly as possible. Afterwards, he would take care of the other members from Shrek, as they were absolutely unwilling to let go of the male Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s beast soul.

 Chapter 235.2: Rescuing and Escaping

    Wang Qiu¡¯er and the female Darkgolden Terrorw Bear were starting to look a little desperate and unable to keep up under the circumstances.

    The Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor would produce a mighty impact every time it appeared, and it was so strong and terrifying that Wang Qiu¡¯er was starting to lose her bnce. Her six soul rings sparkled continuously as she amplified herself, and she tried to retaliate forcefully with her Golden Dragon Spear. The fight became increasingly tiring for her, and if not for the fact that the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor was afraid of the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s frightening draconic majesty, she would have probably fallen a long time ago.

    The female bear¡¯s situation was even more dire. Sheshed out ferociously with her razor-sharp ws, but she couldn¡¯t fend off the two incredibly formidable beast souls. She was weakened from the start, and she had also taken a hit from the stationary soul cannon shell, so she was far from her peak condition. Dark golden fur flew into the sky as wounds that went down to the bone appeared on her body continuously.

    They can¡¯t hold on for much longer! Huo Yuhao called out in his mind. He could see with Spiritual Detection that the battle on the other side was still ongoing. The male Darkgolden Terrorw Bear beast soul was exceptionally powerful, and it could stillunch its own menacing attacks despite being outnumbered and besieged. Cai Mei¡¯er was a Titled Douluo, but she had to be a little more reserved in her battle in the interest of her students¡¯ safety. They were weakening it continuously, but they would still need a while longer before they could hurry over, while Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s situation had be urgently perilous.

    How can I save her? Thoughts and ideas spun in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as he raced to find a solution. They were three eight-ringed evil soul masters, and he had no chance if he fought them face-to-face. He could just continue hiding himself like he was, but the three brothers would proceed to the other battlefield once they took care of Wang Qiu¡¯er and the female bear. Huo Yuhao would then be safe and he could rendezvous with hispanions. However, this thought never once urred to him, and he never considered deserting hispanion, even though he had only met Wang Qiu¡¯er a few times before.

    ng! Wang Qiu¡¯er collided once more with the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor¡¯s sudden attack. She wasn¡¯t able to maintain her bnce this time, and fell off the female bear¡¯s back, while her Golden Dragon Spear stabbed into the air at nothing at all. She was immediately in extreme danger.

    The female bear¡¯s enormous body was covering her as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes suddenly sparkled with strange light. Right when she was in immense peril, she swung her Golden Dragon Spear horizontally as she grabbed the fur on the female bear¡¯s back. An intense hostility erupted from her body, and a formless aura surged into the sky.

    The female bear seemed to have been acutely provoked in some way, and she knocked the Scarletgolden Lion and the Netherworld Ghost Tiger away with two continuous paw swipes, while her body seemed to swell a little. Berserk! This was the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s frightening soul skill. But her body was already extremely weak at this point, so how could she maximize and unleash this soul skill¡¯s true power?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still grabbing onto her fur with her right hand, while circle after circle of golden light expanded outward like spinning tops. A dash of grief flickered in her eyes, and she muttered, ¡°I will avenge you.¡±

    The bear released intense dark golden light, and these colors flowed through Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s palm and into her body¡­

    Right at this moment, both Wang Qiu¡¯er and the three brothers suddenly felt as if the weather had turned cold, and an exceedingly sharp aura erupted without warning in the next second.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er, the three brothers, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, and the three beast souls that were locked in a bitter fight all developed palpitations in the moment when this razor-sharp aura emerged. This felt a frightening pressure from a superior being, as if both heaven and earth were about to copse.

    This chill didn¡¯t just appear in the air, it surfaced in their hearts. That petrifying chilly feeling, along with that boundless majestic intimidation, immediately made everyone on the battlefield feel a horrifying, surging pressure from the air.

    The reactions of the three brothers were very quick. They immediately responded when they realized something was wrong, and they called their origin soul beasts back at the first possible moment. What was more important than protecting themselves?

    The sky turned dark and gloomy without warning in the next moment, and a strong gust of wind swept across the earth as countless snowkes danced through the sky, while everyone¡¯s vision became extremely blurry.

    The terrifying blizzard instantly caused the temperature to plummet, and the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯sndscape seemed to have transformedpletely.

    The three brothers¡¯ eyes flowed with suspicion and uncertainty. Their main powers as evil soul masters originated from their beast souls, and they had in innumerable soul beasts during their lives. They were also exceptionally sensitive towards soul beasts¡¯ auras.

    They could clearly feel that this terrifying pressure came from a soul beast. However, they had never seen such a mighty and formidable ice-type soul beast within the Great Star Dou Forest in all their days. This ce wasn¡¯t the Extreme North! Still, this aura of Ultimate Ice and snow told them that they were in the presence of a soul beast that was ranked among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    The three brothers were initially separated, and they realized in the next moment that they were lost. What astounded them even more was that they couldn¡¯t even feel each other¡¯s presence anymore. The ice and snow had sealed off their powerful senses, and the snowkes sliced against their bodies constantly like sharp des, attempting to tear them into pieces. This Ultimate ice and frost was starting to consume their soul power!

    The radiance on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s right hand receded the moment this flurry of ice and snow appeared, and she felt a spiritual connection in the next moment.

    It¡¯s him!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately understood where all this ice and snow came from, and a shadow arrived next to her in the next moment. This person tugged on her hand and whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Quickly!¡±

    Yes, the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Chill of the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques fused with his own Domain of Perpetual Ice!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just release the domain¡¯s power, he Imitated the Snow Empress¡¯ aura as well. He relied on the domain¡¯s concealment to swiftlye to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s side. How could he just watch Wang Qiu¡¯er meet her demise?

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice¡¯s area of effect wasn¡¯t thatrge. However, arresting his opponents¡¯ senses within the domain was the most important thing to Huo Yuhao at this moment. However, he was clear that the three brothers wouldn¡¯t be controlled like this for long, and they would soar into the sky when they realized that they couldn¡¯t find their way around inside the domain. The domain¡¯s strength would gradually decline the further up they went until the point where it vanished, so Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t have much time.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at the female Darkgolden Terrorw Bear as if she couldn¡¯t bear to leave her behind. Her eyes sparkled as she soared into the air, and Huo Yuhao reacted with astonishment as her Golden Dragon Spear shone with brilliant golden light before it drilled right through the back of the female bear¡¯s brain.

    The female bear fell to the ground in the next moment, andrge patches of dark golden light immediately surged through the Golden Dragon Spear and into Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao truly experienced Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s formidable strength at this moment. The girl dragged him along when she leapt into the air, not burdened by his weight at all. That strength gave Huo Yuhao a feeling that he had no chance of fighting against it at all.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered coldly, ¡°I would rather she die at my hands than end up in those three bastards¡¯ hands and be a tortured soul.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao tugged on her once more. They used the domain as cover as they briskly proceeded towards the others from Shrek Academy.

    However, Huo Yuhao suddenly paused in his tracks at this moment.

    The three brothers were controlled for a far shorter time than he had thought they would be. They had already soared into the sky, and they now flew directly towards a location that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er would definitely pass on their way back to meet up with the others.

    Huo Yuhao hesitated momentarily before he pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er in the other direction. He couldn¡¯t shift the domain ording to his own movements at this moment; he could only maintain the domain at its original location. He pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er as he raced out of the domain and they began to run for their lives.

    ¡°Over there!¡± Someone shouted, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt his breath shorten as he could feel a terrifying aura behind him. It was clear that they had been discovered, it was exceedingly difficult to run away from the grasp of a group of Soul Douluo!

    Huo Yuhao had his own ns and preparations since he came out to save Wang Qiu¡¯er. The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was originally intended for him to meet up with Wang Qiu¡¯er before anything else.

    He pounced forward explosively, and let go of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as he tapped his foot on the ground and his body spun around in midair. The heavy cannon that had left a deep andsting impression in Zhong Lidi and Zhong Liren¡¯s minds appeared once more, and a horrifying bluish-purple light erupted while Huo Yuhao was sent hurtling backward by the incredibly powerful recoil.

    He disyed his impable calction skills at this moment. His body crashed into Wang Qiu¡¯er as he was sent flying backwards. Wang Qiu¡¯er subconsciously hugged him around the waist as they were blown backwards at breakneck speed, while the terrifying ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell flew directly towards the brothers who were pursuing them.

    The sky was tainted bluish-purple by the deafening and violent explosions. Fan Yu had favored Huo Yuhao, and he had seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s potential for the Soul Tool Department back then. His Spiritual Detectionbined with stationary soul cannons unleashed their fearsome power once more.

    This cannon shell was fired right at a spot that the three brothers would cross on their way to him under Huo Yuhao¡¯s urate calctions. It gave the three evil Soul Douluo the feeling that they had walked right into the cannon shell. Explosions shook the forest, and even Soul Duoluo couldn¡¯t just disregard a ss 7 stationary soul cannon¡¯s might. Huo Yuhao took this opportunity and dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er along as they disappeared into the forest.

 Chapter 235.3: Rescuing and Escaping

    The three brothers struggled out from the explosion¡¯s aftershocks after a few seconds, their faces were as ck as could be. Zhong Litian was raging as he said, ¡°Bastard! They¡¯ve killed that Darkgolden Terrorw Bear sow, too! Liren, go after those two little rascals. Lidi, go check out that bear and see if her beast soul is still intact. I¡¯ll go back for the male bear¡¯s beast soul.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhong Liren transformed into a cloud as he raced in pursuit of Wang Qiu¡¯er and Huo Yuhao. He activated his senses to the highest possible level as his Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor followed closely behind him.

    Huo Yuhao had borrowed the cannon¡¯s recoil to propel himself backward. He had crashed into Wang Qiu¡¯er, and had meant for her to use this force to escape as quickly as they could. However, when their momentum was about toe to an end, he realized something wasn¡¯t right.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body wasn¡¯t as tough as her strength made it seem. Rather, it was exceptionally soft and tender. Huo Yuhao had hugged Wang Dong¡¯er before, and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body was a little bouncier, and the faint fragrance that a girl had would enchant him.

    Huo Yuhao felt a lot different as he came into contact with Wang Qiu¡¯er at such a close distance. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was actually much softer than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body, and her aroma wasn¡¯t the fresh fragrance that young girls normally had. Instead, she smelled like... sunlight? It was equally fragrant, but it apletely different style altogether.

    Theynded onto the ground at the same time, and didn¡¯t even bother saying a word to each other as they turned around to run. They realized that they couldn¡¯t meet up with theirpanions anymore, and the only thing they could do was run, as the brothers¡¯ reach covered the entire region. They no longer had that Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s aid, and their only oue was death if this Soul Douluo caught up with them.

    They turned around to run. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s right foot pushed off heavily against the ground, and a crack like an explosion was audible as she pulled Huo Yuhao along, and the two of them surged forward as if they were riding the clouds.

    This strength is just so fearsome!, Huo Yuhao was thought, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. Right when their momentum was slowing down, he activated the soul thrusters on his back as he held onto her and raced forward once more. Their coordination was seamless.

    The two of them relied on this coordination as they meandered through the forest with lightning speed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment was as urate as ever, and they avoided all the vegetation as much as they could while they pushed forward frantically.

    ¡°Let¡¯s split up.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly blurted.

    Huo Yuhao snapped around towards her and said solemnly, ¡°No. Those evil soul masters have beast souls, and us splitting up will be equally futile. We can only run faster if we work together, and we will have a higher chance of survival.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at him as she asked, ¡°Why did youe to save me? Can¡¯t you tell that your girlfriend doesn¡¯t like me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gazed straight ahead as they continued coordinating to push forward. He gave a very natural answer, ¡°We¡¯re schoolmates, how can I just let you die?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mouth twitched, and she said arrogantly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have died.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°Is your pride more important, or is your life more important? Let¡¯s not talk about all that and focus on running away.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned back around at him and took a deep breath before she said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Heheh,¡± Huo Yuhao chuckled. He couldn¡¯t rx even for a little bit, and all his focus and concentration was on blitzing forward. He didn¡¯t pay attention to something that Wang Qiu¡¯er mumbled under her breath.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°Nothing. That bastard seems to have caught up.¡±

    Yes, Zhong Liren had caught up with them.

    It didn¡¯t take them very long to run several kilometers away, but Zhong Liren still caught up with them in the end. He was just so much stronger than Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er in terms of cultivation.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly moved as she pushed Huo Yuhao away heavily with her right hand before she turned around and thrust her Golden Dragon Spear into the air.

    ¡°Ding!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was tossed away with the crisp sound of a collision, and the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor revealed itself. Not even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection could capture its ambush!

    That¡¯s it! Huo Yuhao grit his teeth as he nted his foot on a tall tree in front of him, turning around and charging back.

    Zhong Liren and that Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor were just too quick, to the point where they had no chance of escaping. Under such circumstances, their only chance to survive was to fight with everything they had.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body erupted once more with intense chill when he turned back around. A golden vertical eye opened on his forehead at the same time, and his Spiritual Detection received a great boost. He shared his Spiritual Detection with Wang Qiu¡¯er as they were finally able to capture the leopard¡¯s movements.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand andshed out with his Darkgolden Terrorw. He collided with the leopard in midair with a shrill nging sound, but the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor was forced to stop in midair.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was extremely ferocious as her Golden Dragon Spear transformed into a golden lightning bolt and arrived before the leopard.

    With Spiritual Detection, their cooperation was as seamless as if Wang Qiu¡¯er had been working together with Huo Yuhao for many years.

    The Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor was formidable, but it was still a little fearful of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear. Its body suddenly became illusory when the brilliant golden light was about to hit, and all Wang Qiu¡¯er struck was a shadow.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul thrusters activated as they propelled him back to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s position. He didn¡¯t use the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. The domain was mighty, but it also limited their movement and freedom. This was especially true since this domain didn¡¯t distinguish between friends and enemies, so Wang Qiu¡¯er would also be affected inside this domain. Huo Yuhao believed that the domain would end up affecting their abilities and autonomy, and it would be over for them as long as Zhong Liren had some patience, or if he had some attack that covered an area

    Zhong Liren was only one beat behind the leopard, and his poisonous gaze seemed like it was piercing right into Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s souls. The Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor appeared next to him, and even though it was a beast soul, its brown body continuously emanated an intense pressure.

    ¡°Run! Why aren¡¯t you guys running anymore? You think you can outrun my Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor with your speed? I originally believed that we had sustained heavy losses, but now my mind has changed. A Darkgolden Terrorw soul bone¡­ very good, that soul bone shall be mine! You guys have such power at such a young age, and it seems like your identities and experiences are quite extraordinary. It¡¯s a pity, because today will be the day you die. I will torture the two of you and listen to your agonizing wails for seven days before I¡¯ll let the two of you die, to make up for my losses!¡±

    Zhong Liren had reverted back from his martial soul true body as he spoke. He was only faced with two young soul masters, and he didn¡¯t believe he would need his martial soul true body to fight. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were already dead in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled as he took a deep breath. He knew that this would probably be the most difficult battle of his life, and possibly even hisst battle. His fighting will wasn¡¯t weakened at all in the face of such a mighty adversary. Instead, it was slowly rising, and he felt stronger the more powerful his opponent was. This was the profundity of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent! Ayer of golden light gradually shimmered on his body, and he subconsciously grasped Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as he infused his soul power into her.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er eximed softly.

    Huo Yuhao was also momentarily stunned, and he interrupted the process. What am I doing? She¡¯s Wang Qiu¡¯er, not Wang Dong¡¯er. She doesn¡¯t have any martial soul fusion skills with me.

    However, right when he was withdrawing his soul power, an intense pulling force emerged in his body, and a powerful stream of soul power that was charged with arrogance flowed swiftly into his body.

    Intense golden light immediately erupted from both of their bodies.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew ck, and he would have shouted out loud if they weren¡¯t facing a powerful enemy.

    This is not possible!

    Yes, his soul power had fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power, just like that, through that instant of connection. This fusion was something that he had never felt before.

    He wouldn¡¯t have been too surprised if he had fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power to produce something like the Haodong power that he shared with Wang Dong¡¯er, and all he would have suspected was whether Wang Qiu¡¯er was rted to Wang Dong¡¯er by blood.

    However, their soul power fusion was nothing of the sort. The first thing that fused when their soul power touched wasn¡¯t the soul power itself, it was the spiritual power contained within their respective soul powers! Their spiritual power was fused to such an extent that Huo Yuhao felt as if he was Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was him in that instant.

    Spiritual power guided Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power to fuse with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power as he had that momentary befuddlement, and theypleted a process that should have taken a much longer time to finish.

    Huo Yuhao was absolutely sure that his martial soul fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er was a hundred percentpatible. That instance of connection charged his entire body with strength.

    Ayer of golden dragon scales started to appear over Huo Yuhao¡¯s body after their martial souls¡¯ connection, very different from his martial soul fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er. He could feel that his strength was climbing exponentially, and even his spiritual power felt the same way. Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have fused with himpletely.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a lot calmer inparison to Huo Yuhao¡¯s astonishment. She gripped Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands tightly, and she raised her Golden Dragon Spear with her left hand, which shone with intense golden light and pierced straight toward Zhong Liren.

    Zhong Liren was equally astounded as he saw their martial souls fuse, and his expression became a little more solemn than before.

    He hadn¡¯t seen Huo Yuhao release his soul rings yet, but he could tell from his soul power undtions that Huo Yuhao was just a five-ringed Soul King, and Wang Qiu¡¯er only had six rings.

 Chapter 236.1: Martial Soul Fusion, Dragon Cry of Destiny

    Their martial souls seemed powerful, but that was nothingpared to his eight-ringed self. This was especially so because Zhong Liren was an evil soul master, and had the strength to challenge even a normal Titled Douluo.

    However, Zhong Liren began to feel that something was amiss from the moment their hands sped together. Their auras were starting to rise exponentially, and the blinding golden light bursting from their bodies was tinged with faint dragon roars.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes had be entirely golden at this point. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny was golden, but his own eyes had be dark blue in color, a hue that was filled with a chilling eeriness.

    How could this aura belong to two people who only had five and six soul rings? Their soul power undtions were close to, or had already reached that of a seven-ringed Soul Sage!

    Huo Yuhao quickly calmed down after his momentary shock. He was very experienced with martial soul fusion, and he swiftly analyzed their martial soul fusion¡¯s strengths and weaknesses.

    Rtive to his martial soul fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er, their current fusion greatly amplified each other in terms of both strength and soul power, to the point where it exceeded his connection with Wang Dong¡¯er through the Haodong power. However, he had no idea what kind of martial soul fusion skills he would create with Wang Qiu¡¯er, but there could only be two. He was also positive that these martial soul fusion skills would absolutely be assault-based. He had four martial soul fusion skills with Wang Dong¡¯er, and that was considered a lot more versatile.

    Huo Yuhao analyzed the pros and cons, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. However, he was sure that his fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t that far off from his fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er. This was an unexpected surprise, his confidence to survive this ordeal was greatly boosted with this martial soul fusion, as Zhong Liren had lost many beast souls during his previous battle!

    Zhong Liren grunted coldly and raised his staff into the air as a horde of beast souls swarmed out in an instant, pouncing right towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. His Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor vanished soundlessly into the air¡­ or rather, it disappeared within the mass of beast souls.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, and a dark blue longsword appeared in his palms.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    Initially, he would have to adjust his soul power and wait for a while after he unleashed his Empress¡¯ Sword for a single strike, while this move consumed much of his soul power. However, his martial soul fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er allowed him to nearly solidify his Empress¡¯ Sword to the point where it was almost physically material.

    Three beams of light erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s three eyes at the same time. His Light of Destiny felt as if it was going to absorb all light around it, and his purplish-golden Spiritual Shock struck Zhong Liren at almost the same time.

    Zhong Liren had already been wary of the vertical eye on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, hence he had been preparing to defend himself against it this entire time.

    His body transformed into gray mist as these three beams appeared, as he released his martial soul true body yet again.

    However, he didn¡¯t understand Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities at all.

    His transformation into mist could weaken normal attacks against him greatly, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s three beams of light weren¡¯t normal attacks at all.

    Zhong Liren¡¯s mist was formidable, but it defended against physical attacks in the end, and could partially protect him against soul power attacks at most. However, there was no way he could defend himself against spiritual attacks.

    The Light of Destiny was the first to reach him, and it instantly tainted his gray mist golden. His martial soul true body froze in an instant. He didn¡¯t feel like he was hit at all, but an intense insecurity and uneasiness surfaced in his heart.

    The two streaks of Spiritual Shock came immediately afterwards.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was his strongest ability. His martial soul was fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s at this moment, and this spiritual power amplification caused his spiritual power to rise by yet another level. Those two purplish-golden beams of light were almost material.

    Zhong Liren was momentarily dazed when he was struck by the Light of Destiny, and his descent into bad fortune immediately took effect. He felt as if two tremendous hammers had crashed against the deepest parts of his spirit while he was in his weakest state. He released a stifled grunt, and was directly knocked out of his martial soul true body form. He changed back into human form and plummeted onto the ground as his mind became temporarily empty and nk.

    Zhong Liren¡¯s spirit had sustained an acute shock, and this meant his control over his beast souls was hindered. The beast souls lunging towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er became disorganized and chaotic.

    Huo Yuhao was clear that this was a fight to the death, so he didn¡¯t hold back at all. The vertical eye on his forehead flickered with brilliant light before the light receded.

    The beast souls that were in front of them interacted with this light when it appeared, and every single one was dispelled. The aura was so brilliant that everything else around it dimmed for a moment.

    It was a spectacr sight. Intense golden lights were surrounded and orbited by specks of purple-colored starlight, and only shed once before Zhong Liren howled agonizingly. He was an eight-rined Soul Douluo, and he had already suffered a shock before this; he arched his head backwards and ced his hands on his skull in pain.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had connected a second Spiritual Shock to his first one. However, this was different from the first, as his second strike came from his Eye of Destiny.

    He was amplified by his martial soul fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Huo Yuhao had explosively unleashed his overloaded spiritual power. The Eye of Destiny closed by itself after this hit, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned ghastly pale.

    He had used Spiritual Shock two times in a row and at such intensity, it caused an acute negative bacsh to his spiritual sea.

    However, reality proved that his method was effective. Zhong Liren took the second hit from Spiritual Shock, and he could no longer control his beast souls. The swarming beast souls immediately became disorganized and aimless as they scattered in all directions, alleviating much of the pressure on Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear swung out and glowed with endless golden light as every single beast soul was forced back. Her Golden Dragon Spear released a spear light that was almost a meter long because of the martial soul fusion, and there was a feeling like she represented a force of justice so strong that no unholy beings dared toe near. The Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor ambushed her from the darkness, but even it was repelled, and the two of them only took several steps back this time.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Empress¡¯ Sword. He supported Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s efforts with streak after streak of sword light, and he began to chant a curse that was impossible to discern before peculiar spiritual undtions began to ripple from his body.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er continued shing around with her Golden Dragon Spear as she turned around towards him. Her eyes were filled with astonishment ¨C she could clearly feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual undtions were extremely sinister, and so strong that they seemed to resonate with her very soul.

    The dark blue light receded, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Sword vanished at the same time, while his eyes were reced with a dash of gray. It was a color filled with barrenness and emptiness, but this grayness only shed once and disappeared before his eyes sparkled and turned white. This was a hue that was charged with a saintly aura, and his incantations became hastier and more hurried. The beast souls that were already disorganized in the sky gradually slowed down as they heard this chant, and every single one turned their eyes toward him.

    The beast souls¡¯ eyes no longer seemed hysterical or violent. Instead, their eyes were filled with an indescribable delight, and this included even that Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor, which slowed down and no longer attacked. It was different from the other beast souls, as the Leopard Emperor still retained some of its original willpower, and its eyes sparkled with uncertainty and doubt.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao was doing, but he could tell that this was advantageous for them. Right at this moment, Zhong Liren recovered on the other side.

    Two Spiritual Shocks, one after another, and the bad luck that gued his body affected him severely, and blood was pourng from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Wounds on a spiritual level were much more frightening than physical wounds, and Zhong Liren had never expected a youngster like Huo Yuhao to possess such incredible power. He had been wary and vignt, but he was still struck anyway.

    He had recovered by now, and he immediately felt something was wrong. He nced at Huo Yuhao while his body glowed with a greyyer of light. This was a type of spiritual protection barrier, and it was typically used when capturing beast souls to prevent a bacsh, but he still activated it at this moment.

    Zhong Liren¡¯s eyes met Huo Yuhao¡¯s white eyes, and he suddenly felt his spirit quiver as an intensely ominous feeling rose from his heart.

    ¡°Shit.¡± He immediately raised the staff the in his hands subconsciously, and relied on his powerful senses to withdraw all the beast souls that he had released as fast as he could.

    Perhaps he was affected by bad luck, but he was just that one instant too slow.

    A circle of pure white light rippled from Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. A strange chittering could be heard from the beast souls wherever this light reached.

    This white radiance brushed past their bodies, but it didn¡¯t harm them at all. These beast souls were originally blood-colored, but they quickly turned white before they turned pale and dissipated into the air.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was paper pale at this point. He stumbled backwards, and would have crumbled to the ground if Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t been holding onto him.

    The only beast soul that wasn¡¯t purified from the white light was Zhong Liren¡¯s origin beast soul, the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor.

    However, the Ghostshadow Leopard Emperor began to exuderge amounts of brown mist as the white light shone upon it, and it howled painfully as it was drawn back into Zhong Liren¡¯s staff.

    Zhong Liren howled agonizingly as well, and vomited a huge pool of blood. There was only fear in his eyes as he stared at Huo Yuhao, as if he were staring at the devil.

 Chapter 236.2: Martial Soul Fusion, Dragon Cry of Destiny

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re also an evil soul master! How is that possible? How can you purify the power of spirits? Who are you? Are you the Holy Son?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in such a feeble state that he couldn¡¯t really talk anymore. What he had unleashed was the Light of Purification that he had inherited from Electrolux¡¯s Necromancy.

    The previous two strikes were meant to give him time, and the Light of Destiny was to curse the opponent with bad fortune¡­ which was also equivalent to bestowing good fortune upon himself.

    If the beasts had been under Zhong Liren¡¯s control, his Light of Destiny probably wouldn¡¯t have worked. In the end, the gap in their cultivations was still huge, and Huo Yuhao definitely didn¡¯t have an advantage even in terms of spiritual power.

    He had seeded, relying on the fact that his opponent didn¡¯t really understand his abilities, and exerting himself far beyond his usual standards. He had relied on his boosted spiritual power from the fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er to forcibly cleanse the great majority of Zhong Liren¡¯s beast souls.

    There had been multiple ten-thousand year beast souls among that group. If he hadn¡¯t been sessful, there would have been no way he or Wang Qiu¡¯er could defend themselves against frightening attacks from so many beast souls.

    The Light of Destiny¡¯s judgement had aided him yet again. Zhong Liren waspletely rooted to the spot in fright at this moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m not an evil soul master. I¡¯ve been sent by the heavens to take care of evil soul masters like you.¡± Huo Yuhao forcibly stabilized himself, and tried his best to keep his bnce with the spiritual power that Wang Qiu¡¯er was sending over. He couldn¡¯t disy any weakness at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er raised the Golden Dragon Spear high into the air; the spearhead burst with golden light and her six soul rings sparkled alternately.

    The identical golden light on both their bodies suddenly became intense, and she turned sideways and leaned into Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace.

    A miraculous scene happened. Peculiar lights began to contort the moment their bodies were stered together, and everything within a hundred meters around them became golden in color, while an enormous golden vertical eye hovered in midair. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to disintegrate into a million golden beams that swept onto Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body. Every single beam would leave a brilliant and colorful streak on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body, while a suit of armor gradually appeared on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body wherever they passed.

    The chest te appeared first. Radiant ice crystal patterns shimmered on the chest te, and began to extend all around her. What was even more peculiar was that a vertical eye actually emerged on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forehead: it was the Eye of Destiny, identical to the one that belonged to Huo Yuhao. The eye sparkled with golden light, and one could tell upon closer inspection that the golden vertical eye¡¯s lights belonged to Huo Yuhao.

    The golden armor with ice crystal patterns swiftly covered Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s entire body, and her aura climbed exponentially. Bright dragon roars could be heard continuously as a projection of a golden dragon began circling around her body. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was imprinted on her back, and this picture was identical to the tattoo that usually appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, where the scorpion¡¯s tail reached her hip.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was like a war goddess as she stood there d in armor. She pointed her Golden Dragon Spear forward, and the tremendous golden vertical eye in the sky descended as a beam of golden light. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body grewrger by about thirty percent under the golden light¡¯s radiance, while the golden dragon orbiting her immediately became almost material. Wang Qiu¡¯er tapped on the ground with her foot as dragon roars rang out, and she left a series of afterimages behind as she rushed Zhong Liren.

    Her Golden Dragon Spear stabbed out in the middle of a deafening dragon¡¯s roar. The golden radiance suddenly withdrew as sheshed out, and the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s tip became an elegant and transparent rose-gold color as space split like two lines of water as the spear tore through the air, arriving before Zhong Liren in the blink of an eye.

    There was only one thought in Zhong Liren¡¯s head at this moment, after he had suffered great losses and the psychological impact of the Light of Purification: these two youngsters were here to ruin everything that he had!

    The Light of Purification was like a cmity to him. Furthermore, he was still gued with the Light of Destiny that had brought him great misfortune. Then there was this martial soul fusion skill that looked as formidable as a king! All this came together to fill Zhong Liren¡¯s heart with fear. Even evil soul masters feared death. He had lost so many beast souls in this ordeal, and his strength had been massively reduced.

    He didn¡¯t dare to meet Wang Qiu¡¯er with force anymore. Zhong Liren transformed into a ball of mist in a sh, and he bolted into the distance at lightning speed as he released his martial soul true body. He was admittedly incredibly quick in this mist form.

    The spear¡¯s rose-gold light gradually receded, and the armor on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body slowly broke down and reverted into flowing streaks of light. The space around her began to contort as these streaks transformed back into Huo Yuhao once more.

    Huo Yuhao trembled when he reappeared, and began to fall. Wang Qiu¡¯er hurriedly went to support him and whispered, ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Zhong Liren had been frightened away, but the truth was that Huo Yuhao was now extremely weak, and had overdrafted his spirit and soul power. He had practically raced against time with his three strikes of Spiritual Shock. To him, spiritual power consumption wasn¡¯t a problem, but the problem was how quickly he used it in session. Three continuous instances drew too much from his spiritual sea, to the point where a crack seemed like it was going to appear, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s own spirit had sustained a powerful impact.

    He had greatly amplified Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities when he transformed into that armor, and there was no doubt that this was a martial soul fusion skill that they had yet to give a name to. However, could they face off against an eight-ringed Soul Douluo with just that martial soul fusion skill?

    The answer was no. Huo Yuhao was too weak at this point, and their martial soul fusion skill¡¯s amplification wasn¡¯t as powerful as it looked on the outside. Wang Qiu¡¯er contributed most of it. Furthermore, they realized that their soul power was consumed at an rming rate when they unleashed this martial soul fusion skill. That single transformation and strike had consumed roughly thirty percent of their soul power!

    This meant that they could only use this martial soul fusion skill three times, and they would revert to normal after three strikes. Zhong Liren didn¡¯t have his beast souls to assist him, but he could probably take three hits with his cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had astonished him too much, and his underestimation from the start became overestimation in the end, and he let this opportunity to kill them slip away.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Huo Yuhao spoke softly as he closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t know if Zhong Liren would suddenly think it through and make his way back here, so leaving this ce was something they absolutely had to do.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er acknowledged. She carried Huo Yuhao and lengthened her stride as she sped in a certain direction. What made Huo Yuhao angsty was that he was a man, but Wang Qiu¡¯er was carrying him on her shoulders. This girl was just too strong, to the point where he felt as light as a feather. The ride wasn¡¯t that turbulent, and Huo Yuhao was gradually recovering, but he still didn¡¯t feel so good inside.

    He tried his best to stabilize his spiritual sea. His spirit had been wounded to a certain degree, and he would need about half a month to return to normal.

    Zhong Liren is gone. I wonder how Wang Dong¡¯er and the others are doing? Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and tried to picture Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s image suddenly surfaced from the deepest parts of his mind.

    Their martial soul fusion was the most substantial reason why they managed to scare Zhong Liren away before. Without their martial soul fusion and without Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s support and amplification, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have received such an intense negative bacsh, while his two Spiritual Shocks wouldn¡¯t have been so powerful. The final move that made Zhong Liren turn tail and run was their martial soul fusion skill.

    How can my martial soul fuse with hers? Even though this fusion is different from my fusion with Dong¡¯er, she¡¯s still a little too simr to Dong¡¯er. They look so alike, and they can both fuse their martial souls with mine.

    Huo Yuhao had never heard of a soul master who was able to undergo martial soul fusion with two other soul masters at the same time from all his lessons at Shrek Academy. There was no question that he had invented something new once again.

    Thoughts were spinning in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and Wang Qiu¡¯er felt the same way. She had always believed that she was the strongest amongst all the students in Shrek Academy that were around her level, and she included all the students from the inner courtyard who had less than seven rings in this analysis.

    However, Huo Yuhao had executed three Spiritual Shocks in a row, and triggered the Halo of Purification with an incantation. Her mentality had changed a little because of these things.

    Would I be able to take those three Spiritual Shocks if I were Zhong Liren? Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t know the answer to that. However, she realized that Huo Yuhao was far more powerful than she had thought. He was still a distance away from her in terms of soul power, and only had five soul rings, but despite all that, his overall abilities weren¡¯t weak at all.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t forgotten about those three stationary soul cannon shells, and she had personally witnessed the immense power that two of those shells possessed. At least, she understood that while she had mighty offensive capabilities, there was no way she couldunch an attack at that degree of strength.

    ---

    Wang Qiu¡¯er ran five kilometers in one go. They encountered some soul beasts along the way, but these soul beasts didn¡¯t attack them, scampering away to avoid the two of them. Perhaps they were frightened away by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s intimidating aura...

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take a break. Put me down.¡± Huo Yuhao had recovered some of his spiritual power, and the intense headache had receded.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er put him down as she grabbed her Golden Dragon Spear and surveyed her surroundings with razor-sharp eyes to make sure that this location was safe.

    Huo Yuhaoid down on the ground and exhaled deeply. It didn¡¯t feel so good to be carried on someone¡¯s shoulders, after all.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, can you still find the way back? We have to rendezvous with ourpanions. Thepany will be in trouble if the three brothers decide to gang up on them.¡±

 Chapter 236.3: Martial Soul Fusion, Dragon Cry of Destiny

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned and nced at him as she said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t make a difference even if we meet up with the others in your current state. You should try to recover first. Plus, I can¡¯t remember the way back, so we can only find our way slowly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew that her words made a lot of sense, and nodded while sitting down cross-legged and beginning to replenish his soul power.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood by his side and protected him.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t consumed that much soul power, so it didn¡¯t take long for him to recover. However, his spiritual wound had to be nurtured slowly. Huo Yuhao managed topletely stabilize his spiritual sea and regain all his soul power, and he leapt to his feet at once.

    ¡°Do you need to rest?¡± he asked Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, then. Let¡¯s get back to the others as fast as we can.¡± He immediately began racing in the direction that they came from as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er caught up to him quickly.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you in such a hurry to return to the others because of thepany, or because of her?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly asked as they ran.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew which ¡°her¡± she was referring to, and he shot an astonished nce at Wang Qiu¡¯er. This question totally didn¡¯t conform with her typical style!

    ¡°A little bit of both. I want to get back for thepany, and also for Dong¡¯er. These two things aren¡¯t mutually exclusive,¡± Huo Yuhao answered.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er pursued the issue and said, ¡°The main reason is still her, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er changed tack and said, ¡°Let¡¯s give it a name.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t used to her style of suddenly changing topics, and was momentarily at a loss as he said, ¡°Give what a name?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°Let¡¯s give our martial soul fusion skill a name.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally realized what she was referring to and said, ¡°Ah, yes. We should give it a name. I didn¡¯t expect the two of us to have a martial soul fusion skill, and our martial souls fused after the first time our soul powers came into contact. That¡¯s unimaginable.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied coldly, ¡°What¡¯s so unimaginable about that? Are you telling me that only you and her can have martial soul fusion skills?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless as he said, ¡°And yet you tell me that Dong¡¯er feels hostile toward you; aren¡¯t you the same toward her? I really don¡¯t understand. The two of you look so simr, but you guys aren¡¯t more intimate because of that. Instead, the two of you start antagonizing each other. You girls, what are you thinking about?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes became a little more tender as she gazed into the distance and said, ¡°You will understand one day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head in exasperation. The two of them quieted down and continued on their way.

    After a few minutes, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Our martial soul fusion skill can be called the Dragon Roar of Destiny, how about that? I originally thought that my twin martial souls would create two martial soul fusion skills with you, but I didn¡¯t expect all three martial souls to fuse together. I can feel that our fusion skill is more powerful than any one of my four fusion skills with Dong¡¯er. However, just one instance consumes too much soul power, and Zhong Liren escaped too quickly, so we didn¡¯t get to test its true strength.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered the name that Huo Yuhao had suggested over and over again. ¡°Dragon Roar of Destiny, Dragon Roar of Destiny¡­ Can it be that this is my destiny? I didn¡¯t think¡­¡±

    She finally paused when she said those words, as if she realized she had said something she wasn¡¯t supposed to say.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think about what?¡± Huo Yuhao continued asking.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s just call it the Dragon Roar of Destiny. The reason why we consume so much soul power is because every strike after our fusion carries a peculiar power, and I¡¯m willing to call that judgment Destiny¡¯s Judgment. The effects will be extremely terrifying if someone is struck by Destiny¡¯s Judgement. That evil soul master has eight soul rings, but I know that we would probably have taken half his life away if I had managed to stab him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked suspiciously, ¡°Destiny¡¯s Judgment? That may be the effect that my Eye of Destiny carries. But how different is it when it¡¯s used along with your attacks?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly, ¡°I can feel it. That power of judgement is awakened by the Dragon Roar of Destiny, and its effects will remain on the target for eternity if it strikes someone. Furthermore, it can only be misfortune.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath.

    Misfortune for the rest of one¡¯s life¡­ no wonder Wang Qiu¡¯er thinks that Destiny¡¯s Judgement is exceedingly formidable when used with her Golden Dragon Spear! Having to live with terribly bad luck for the rest of one¡¯s life is more painful than death! If Zhong Liren hadn¡¯t run away fast enough, he would probably have been the first person to have a taste of a lifetime of misfortune!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°The truth is that I don¡¯t think we only have one martial soul fusion skill. The Dragon Roar of Destiny can work in reverse. If you have enough spiritual power, you can be the main attacking strength. That way, I will transform into armor on your body, and I will amplify all your abilities while passing some of my own to you. I believe your attacks would also contain Destiny¡¯s Judgment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a strange look and said, ¡°How do you know all this? We have never experimented before!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him, but there was a tinge of doubt in her eyes. ¡°You also possess an Ultimate martial soul. Do you not know about Ultimate innate skills?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Ultimate innate skills? What¡¯s that?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed like she had a revtion as she said, ¡°I understand now. Your Ultimate innate skill is the extreme cold from your ice element. It seems like your martial soul is still slightly inferior to mine. We who possess Ultimate martial souls will normally have innate skills like soul beasts sometimes do. Your Ultimate innate skill must be the pure and extreme cold. Or, you haven¡¯t unlocked it yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was even more confused. ¡°Your ability to immediately understand the profundities of our martial soul fusion is rted to your Ultimate innate skill?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°I have three innate skills: Golden Dragon¡¯s Pride, Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception, and the¡­¡± She stopped talking, and didn¡¯t reveal herst innate skill.

    ¡°With Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception, I possess an almost three-dimensional perception. It¡¯s a little bit difficult to understand when I talk about it, but simply put, it just means that I can perceive some things that you¡¯re unable to see, and I will develop a deep understanding of the things that I perceive.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already seen what the Golden Dragon¡¯s Pride is and what it does. It relies on the energies of the Golden Dragon¡¯s lineage, and I am able to temporarily control a single soul beast when I¡¯m using Golden Dragon¡¯s Pride. I can maintain it for a certain period of time as long as I don¡¯t attack it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°Even a soul beast at the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s level can be controlled through Golden Dragon¡¯s Pride?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°I know you would doubt me if I didn¡¯t exin this to you. Please keep my secret.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately agreed. He had a lot of secrets himself, and Wang Qiu¡¯er telling him about it meant she had decided to trust him. Their rtionship had clearly be a lot more intimate after this battle. It wasn¡¯t just because the strange martial soul fusion between them had urred. More importantly, Huo Yuhao had reached out to save her, and that melted the iciness in her heart, so they could be even closer.

    Their intimacy was developing purely as friends, and there wasn¡¯t anything else.

    They both had exceptional memories. Huo Yuhao had Spiritual Detection, while Wang Qiu¡¯er had her Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception. As they darted through the forest, they actually managed to follow their original path as they gradually came back to where they hadst shed with the three brothers.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Huo Yuhao called out to Wang Qiu¡¯er, and paused in his tracks.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped when she heard his voice, and gave him an inquiring look.

    ¡°Help me use Spiritual Detection to search for them. I have a feeling we are very close.¡± He grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er naturally as he spoke, as if he were grabbing Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands on a normal day.

    They had already done this not too long ago. However, Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat when he sped Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands once more. He turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er subconsciously and realized that she was staring right back at him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s looked almost identical, but there were many things about them that were vastly different. For example, their hands were very distinct.

    They both had slim and tender hands, but Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands were always so cold and icy, and she gave him a feeling as if he had to take care of her. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands were warm, possibly even warmer than Huo Yuhao¡¯s own hands, and he felt as if he were holding onto a gentle oven and being warmed up.

    Huo Yuhao found it hard to imagine that these warm, tender, and petite hands could possess such frightening explosive power, and this feeling intensified the more he held on to her.

    They had held hands before, when they were fighting Zhong Liren. However, they had been facing a powerful enemy, and they didn¡¯t have time to think about all this; all they thought about was how to give everything they had to defeat their adversary. At this moment, Huo Yuhao only wanted to borrow Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength to boost his Spiritual Detection¡¯s strength, but there was an indescribable feeling that rose from his heart when they actually held hands once more.

    Huo Yuhao almost let go of her hand subconsciously. He already had Dong¡¯er, so how could he lead other girls on? Even though he was true to his conscience, he didn¡¯t want other girls to misunderstand. Perhaps he was just thinking too much, but he wanted to prevent anything that could affect his rtionship with Dong¡¯er.

    However, just when he wanted to let go, Wang Qiu¡¯er grabbed his hand tighter and infused her fearsome Golden Dragon¡¯s soul power into his body. Their soul power immediately fused, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were instantly amplified.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think so much. Let¡¯s find them as soon as possible,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered coldly, as if she could see into Huo Yuhao¡¯s inner thoughts.

    Huo Yuhao felt a blushe over his face. Perhaps he really was thinking too much...

 Chapter 237.1: Three-way Fusion Skill of the Three Wolf-apes

    The Eye of Destiny opened again, and Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection once again.

    With Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s help, his spiritual powers were greatly enhanced. During the process of detection his senses continued to extend three kilometers past his previous limit.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned slowly, and his vertical eye shone with golden light. The light illuminated everything.

    He didn¡¯t harbor any hopes of finding hispanions directly. However, obtaining clues would make it easier for him to track them down.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze fixed in a certain direction.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao lifted his feet and dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er along with him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had no intention of letting go of his hand. When their martial souls fused together, their speed greatly increased.

    Huo Yuhao continued to use his Spiritual Detection to search for clues, and finally found the ce that they originally fought at.

    The female bear¡¯s corpse had disappeared, but there were stillrge patches of bloodstains and marks on the ground. When they followed the trail back to the ce where they had been separated from the rest, they didn¡¯t find the Shrek team there.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er furrowed her brow and said, ¡°What do we do now? We don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve gone, and the forest is so huge. Why don¡¯t we find a suitable soul beast for you first? With our strength, we should be able to handle things.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. His eyes were filled with golden light, as if he was searching for something. Very soon, his gaze fixed on arge tree not far away. He walked quickly up to the tree and squatted down to take a closer look at it.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had just joined Shrek Academy, and hadn¡¯t been influenced by Shrek Academy¡¯s culture yet. Huo Yuhao was different. He had been in the academy for a long time, and even gone through the Ultimate Soldier n! He naturally recognized some of Shrek Academy¡¯s specific markings.

    After heaving a sigh of relief, Huo Yuhao stood straight and said, ¡°They¡¯re alright. The three brothers should have left. This marking was left by eldest senior sister, which indicates that they¡¯re safe. They went in that direction to find us.¡± As he spoke, he pointed ahead.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and didn¡¯t say anything more.

    The two of them continued on their way. On the way, Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to look for more markings left behind by Zhang Lexuan. His luck was pretty good, as he kept finding them.

    At this point, the sun was already high in the sky, it had just hit noon.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t borrow Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength anymore, and thus he no longer held her hand. The two of them didn¡¯t speak to each other along the way, and barely had any interaction. Huo Yuhao walked in front, while Wang Qiu¡¯er followed silently behind him. Everything seemed very simple and calm.

    ------

    At this point, they were slowly venturing deep into the Hybrid Region. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move quickly. Whenever he discovered a strong soul beast, he would wait cautiously. He tried his best to avoid fighting.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er followed behind him, concealing her surprise. Zhang Lexuan had led the team earlier, and thus Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t had a chance to lead. However, only the two of them were left now. He demonstrated his rich wealth of experience andposure by exploiting the terrain, using his Spiritual Detection well, and demonstrating his familiarity with the habits of various types of soul beasts.

    They rarely fought along the way. Most of the time, he avoided the aggressive soul beasts using his Spiritual Detection. Although it was also slightly rted to the fact that there were only the two of them, it was mostly because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s control.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest for awhile before eating.¡± After walking for almost four hours, it was already close to evening. Apart from fighting, the two of them were rushing to locate the rest of the team the whole day. They were naturally fatigued, so Huo Yuhao suggested they rest for a while.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot him a look and said, ¡°I thought you were a machine who doesn¡¯t know what being tired is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little apologetic as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just anxious to find the rest in case they¡¯re worried about us.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er found a spot on higher ground for them to rest at. Huo Yuhao took out some dry rations and water for her from his storage-type soul tool.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took the baked bun from him and heated it up with her palm before returning it to him. After that, she also started to eat.

    This was her second time eating his food. This time, she didn¡¯t waste any of it. Although she didn¡¯t eat quickly, she still managed to consume two baked buns.

    Huo Yuhao ate four of them. Since he was still growing, he naturally ate more.

    After drinking some water, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± He didn¡¯t tell Wang Qiu¡¯er where he was going, and ran into the forest.

    She was slightly stunned, and was in a daze as she watched him leave. She ced her spear on her legs and caressed its haft softly. Her eyes shed with light as she was lost in thought.

    Is he going to return? For some reason, she thought of this even though she shouldn¡¯t need to. She didn¡¯t even know why she was doing this. However, she was afraid when she imagined that Huo Yuhao might not return.

    Fear was an emotion that had never appeared in her heart before!

    Fortunately, this fear didn¡¯tst for long. Huo Yuhao returned after a while, and he seemed to be carrying something in his clothes.

    ¡°Come, eat this.¡± Huo Yuhao squatted down in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er. He took out a bunch of purple fruit.

    The fruit looked extremely plump, and each was the size of a kid¡¯s fist. The juices from the fruit seeped from their skins. Even though it was evening and the sunlight was getting dim, the juices could still be seen glistening on them.

    Seeing that Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a daze, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°We can¡¯t always eat dry rations. This type of purple fruit tastes pretty nice. They taste sweet and sour, and are also quite nutritious. I discovered them when I used my Spiritual Detection earlier.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to only recover from her daze at this moment. She took one of the fruits and bit into it. She tasted a very strong sourness when she took the first bite. She felt that her teeth were going to fall off, and groaned slightly. She shot Huo Yuhao a protesting look as she lifted her head.

    Huo Yuhao continued to smile as he looked at her. There was a look of eagerness in his eyes.

    Indeed, her look disappeared in a moment. The taste of this purple fruit was very weird. It was very sour as it first entered one¡¯s mouth, but this sour taste soon disappeared. What reced it was a refreshingly sweet taste. As the juices entered one¡¯s stomach, the refreshing feeling helped wash away one¡¯s fatigue.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The teacher who taught us about nutrition told us that the taste of this purple fruit is like life, there¡¯s always a sour and sweet part to it. How is it? It¡¯s pretty good, right?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er red at him and answered, ¡°I¡¯m actually a carnivore. As long as there¡¯s meat, I¡¯m okay.¡± Although she said this, he reached out both her hands to grab two more fruits from Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeves. She took half of what he had plucked.

    Huo Yuhao smiled but didn¡¯t mock her. He sat to one side and started to eat. He left some at the end before wrapping it up.

    ¡°For her?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked.

    ¡°Yes. Dong¡¯er hasn¡¯t had these purple fruits before. It¡¯s a pity that these were the only ones that were ripe. Otherwise, we could share them with everyone.¡± Huo Yuhao answered. How could he forget Wang Dong¡¯er as he tasted such a delicacy?

    At this point, a streak of golden light suddenly shed. A sudden threat surfaced. Huo Yuhao moved his body subconsciously.

    He heard a puffing sound, and the handkerchief used to wrap the fruits was torn open by the streak of golden light. After that, the bag of fruits burst open as the golden light scattered, and the fruits were turned into juice before scattering on the ground.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao was furious as he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    She lifted her head and said arrogantly, ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to share what I¡¯ve eaten with the rest.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re crazy.¡± Huo Yuhao clenched his fist. As he looked at the juice on the ground, he had the impulse to fight her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said proudly, ¡°If you¡¯re unconvinced, you can try. However, you won¡¯t get the fruits back even if you beat me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and red at her. After a while, he said, ¡°When we return to the academy, I¡¯ll challenge you.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he turned around and left. He stopped resting and continued on with the journey. Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had gone through thick and thin with him earlier, actually did such an unreasonable thing. His impression of her dipped significantly. However, they were in the Great Star Dou Forest, and it wasn¡¯t the ce for him to rage.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er revealed a slightly lonely look in her eyes as she watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. She clenched her lips as she nced at the juice on the ground. She lifted her Golden Dragon Spear and chased after him.

    After this confrontation, they spoke even less to each other. Huo Yuhao explored the way seriously in front, while Wang Qiu¡¯er followed silently behind him.

    ------

    The sky was gradually getting darker.

    The Great Star Dou Forest was much more dangerous at night. Many soul beasts would appear during the night, while to humans, nighttime was the time when they would feel tired.

 Chapter 237.2: Three-way Fusion Skill of the Three Wolf-apes

    From the markings left behind, they shouldn¡¯t be too far from the rest of the team. However, they couldn¡¯t verify this conjecture. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had also discovered that the rest of the group hadn¡¯t ventured deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest, but were moving up and down within the Hybrid Region. Evidently, they were looking for him and Wang Qiu¡¯er. In addition, their anxiety was evident from the markings they left behind as they searched for them. If they slowed down a little right now, Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er would be able to catch up to them.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired!¡± As the sky gradually turned dark, Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly shouted from behind him.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at her.

    After two more hours of rushing, he had finally calmed down. He walked back to Wang Qiu¡¯er and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s rest. The others should be looking for us. They should be resting as night falls. We can rest for two hours before moving off again. We must find them tonight. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be much more difficult to find them when they move off again tomorrow morning.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    The two of them sat down, and Huo Yuhao retrieved some dry rations for her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er asked, ¡°I damaged your fruits, but you¡¯re still giving me dry rations?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stuffed the rations into her hands and replied, ¡°We¡¯re not kids anymore. Don¡¯t throw a tantrum again.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned by his words. Even though she was older than him, she felt like she was being lectured by an elder brother at this point.

    She couldn¡¯t help but clench her fists as she looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s profile. She wanted to ask him what right he had to lecture her-! However, she couldn¡¯t spit the words out, and only heated up the dry rations quietly before giving him some.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°After you finish eating, carry on with your deep meditation. You¡¯ve never really rested properly today. I can meditate after you recover.¡±

    As he spoke, he took the dry rations and walked to one side. His Spiritual Detection was still activated as he surveyed his surroundings for any potential threats.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er felt a little regretful as she consumed the dry rations. She regretted her impulsiveness, and could sense that her rtionship with Huo Yuhao had grown more distant because of what she had done earlier.

    There hadn¡¯t been any reason for it. She had just done what she wanted to do.

    Her eyes were filled with a proud yet stubborn look. She even had the urge to throw the baked bun in her hand away before telling Huo Yuhao that she didn¡¯t need him to show her any mercy or lecture her.

    However, she was reminded of his teary look when she lifted her right hand. He was crying as he recounted the story of his mother and the baked bun.

    The pride in her eyes disappeared, and she stuffed the baked bun back into her mouth again. Her proud gaze slowly faded, and she seemed slightly lost.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded. Following this, he shared his Spiritual Detection with her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s lost gaze focused once again. She lifted her Golden Dragon Spear as she jumped up.

    She had also discovered the presence of a threat without Huo Yuhao¡¯s verbal warning. Three pitch-ck wolf-type soul beasts wereing in their direction at an rming speed.

    These soul beasts were all more than five meters long, and around one and a half meters at the shoulder. They were the size of huge soul beasts such as tigers and lions! It was very rare for wolf-type soul beasts to be so huge.

    ¡°Mutants!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. A white halo had already spread from his body. It was the halo of Enfeeblement.

    The only reason why wolf-type soul beasts could be so huge was because they were mutants. They were even very strong mutants.

    Mutant soul beasts were a very important research topic in the academy. They were like mutated martial souls. After the mutation, they could be stronger or weaker. These three wolf-type soul beasts were evidently some of the stronger ones.

    Their cultivations couldn¡¯t even be clearly distinguished before they arrived in front of Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement was unleashed appropriately as it engulfed these three huge wolves.

    The three wolves weren¡¯t shocked by his Mass Enfeeblement. Rather, they seemed to have been provoked instead. A huge wolf at the front roared, and ayer of purple light started to rise from its burly body. It lifted its ws and stood just like that.

    Huo Yuhao was frightened. That was because the wolf looked like a human as it stood in that way. Only its head resembled that of a wolf. The protruding muscles on its body were filled with explosive strength.

    The unknown was scary. The three wolves discovered them just as Huo Yuhao sensed their presence through his Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao could clearly tell that they had found them by sniffing them out.

    The other two wolves also stood up, resembling the first wolf.

    ¡°They are mutants between wolves and apes,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said calmly.

    Huo Yuhao was enlightened ¨C no wonder their physiology is so special. Undoubtedly, these three soul beasts must havee from the same mother. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t look so simr.

    As he thought of this, Huo Yuhao suddenly realized something. The two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs were still frozen. Huo Yuhao had forgotten about them after his fight Zhong Liren, and he had since been focused on rendezvousing with the rest of his teammates.

    However, it wasn¡¯t a good time to release them now.

    These three wolf-apes didn¡¯t rush to attack them. They first circled around them slowly. Not only did they possess physically strong bodies, but their intelligence was also rather high.

    This was also a very knotty situation for Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Such opponents were very difficult to deal with.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er stood back to back. They didn¡¯t stretch out their hands to fuse their martial souls. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection engulfed the entire battlefield, and ayer of golden light also covered his entire body.

    These three huge wolves were at least at the ten-thousand year level. They couldn¡¯t afford to be careless.

    Suddenly, the wolf at the front moved, his body shing slightly. Following this, a thick aura of darkness was released from its body. Purplish-ck bubbles started to spread and approach Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°A darkness-type soul skill!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted. Seeing that the purplish-ck bubbles spreading towards her and Huo Yuhao, she stomped her right foot on the ground, and a terrifying golden wave was unleashed.

    In terms of strength, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s control was very strong. As she stomped, the immense quake avoided Huo Yuhao and didn¡¯t impact him at all.

    Some purplish-ck bubbles were destroyed by this quake, but they still continued to force their way forward.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her Golden Dragon Spear, and a sonorous dragon roar sounded. Her six soul rings - two yellow, two purple and two ck - rose from her feet. Her first soul ring started to shine brightly, and ayer of thick golden light instantly covered every part of her body.

    This was her first soul skill, the Golden Dragon Body.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t say anything to Huo Yuhao as she stomped her foot before she burst forward. She targeted the wolf-ape standing at the front. Her spear carried a piercing whizzing sound as it struck towards the wolf-apes¡¯ eyes.

    Just as she attacked, the other two wolf-apes also moved at the same time. They didn¡¯t try to aid their partner, but leapt towards Huo Yuhao. Evidently, they wanted to kill Huo Yuhao first by outnumbering him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone, and he leapt forward as he used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, following Wang Qiu¡¯er. In this direction, the bubbles that had spread all over had been dissipated by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon soul power.

    He turned in mid-air, and ayer of diamond ice crystals covered his body. It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. His orange soul rings also rose from his feet.

    A de light that carried an ultimate chill shed before disappearing. The light projection that was formed engulfed the wolf-apes that had burst over. Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword!

    This sword didn¡¯t move smoothly. When Huo Yuhao wielded it, his wrist jerked slightly. This caused the sword to move in a beautiful arc. The chilly aura of his Ultimate Ice struck the throats of the two wolf-apes. This slowed them down.

    The three wolf-apes were very cunning. However, Huo Yuhao also had his own n of attack.

    After teaming up with Wang Qiu¡¯er for a few fights, he had a deeper understanding and greater confidence in her. If she couldn¡¯t take care of the wolf-ape in a duel, then they had no chance in a two versus three fight. That was why Huo Yuhao¡¯s goal was very simple: stall these two wolf-apes in front of him and buy some time for Wang Qiu¡¯er. While they shared a tense rtionship, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to abandon her as they facedmon enemies.

    The two wolf-apes stopped in mid-air. They seemed to have developed the same feeling, that if they proceeded any further, their throats would be hit by the terrifying chill. Even though they hadn¡¯t been struck by it yet, they were already shivering.

    However, a surprising situation urred. As his Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword stopped the two wolf-apes, they suddenly disappeared at the same time, the instant they stopped in front of his chilly sword light.

 Chapter 237.3: Three-way Fusion Skill of the Three Wolf-apes

    Shit!, Huo Yuhao cursed in his heart. His Spiritual Detection could predict his opponent¡¯s moves, but he couldn¡¯t predict what their soul skills were. Both he and Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t have a sufficient understanding of these three wolf-apes. He didn¡¯t expect these wolf-apes to be able to unleash a skill like Instant Teleportation.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate as he pressed his toes against the ground before flipping his body over in the air.

    Indeed, the two wolf-apes didn¡¯t just avoid his Empress Sword with their Instant Teleportation. They evennded behind him and started to encircle Wang Qiu¡¯er along with the other wolf-ape.

    At this point, it was three wolf-apes against Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had stabbed the middle wolf-ape with her spear earlier, but it was too quick. It had retreated instantly, and widened its gap with the Golden Dragon Spear. At the same time, its body swayed, and two illusory doubles of it formed. This soul skill reminded Wang Qiu¡¯er of Spectre Wolves. Undoubtedly, these few wolf-apes must have some kind of blood rtion to Spectre Wolves.

    The two spectres leapt forward and resisted Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack. She kept on swinging her spear, creating countless streaks of spear light. Perhaps she had been holding in her anger after her falling out with Huo Yuhao, but right now, she vented all her anger. The two spectral wolves that leapt towards her were torn to pieces.

    However, the other two wolf-apes that had teleported behind her and the wolf-ape in front of her all leapt at her at the same time. They all released an intense, purplish-ck glow from their bodies.

    They first unleashed purplish-ck projections that were roughly the same size as them. Three projections rushed out at the same time and burst towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er roared into the sky, and a golden dragon projection appeared. She started tobust like a small sun. It was her second soul skill, Dragon¡¯s Strength!

    As her figure spun around, she stabbed her spear into the ground, and her fourth soul ring lit up. Her dragon roars were even more spirited. The head of the projection started to expand and swallowed Wang Qiu¡¯er. Following this, a frightening explosion urred.

    Boom! Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting style was always so forceful. The tremendous explosion caused the three projections to be blown to pieces. Everything within a ten-meter radius was blown to pieces.

    However, the three wolf-apes were too cunning. As the explosion happened, their bodies disappeared at the same time. They couldn¡¯t withstand the explosive force of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fourth soul skill, the Golden Dragon¡¯s Explosion. When they appeared again, they were divided once again. This time, they were encircling Huo Yuhao!

    The three wolf-apesbined into one entity, and purplish-ck halos started to light up from their feet. The three purplish-ck halos that lit up started to expand in size. When theybined together, Huo Yuhao was trapped.

    Instantly, Huo Yuhao felt that he was restrained by an immense strength. He tried to activate his soul power, but it stiffened up. An indescribable, terrifying wave of pressure dragged him down from the air.

    At this point, the three wolf-apes had almost turned a transparent purplish-ck. A formidable, purplish-ck fog started to rise. The intersecting halos shone brightly and trapped Huo Yuhao firmly within.

    This wasn¡¯t good!

    Was this the legendary three-way martial soul fusion skill?

    There were two types of martial soul fusion skills. The first type was formed when many soul masters exhibited theirpatible martial souls at the same time. While this kind of soul skill could be considered a martial soul fusion skill, they were enhanced only because the soul mastersplemented one another. Real martial soul fusion skills were like Huo Yuhao with Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Their martial souls fused within their bodies, generating huge strength and causing transformations. This kind of transformation usually only urred with two people at one time.

    Shrek Academy had a record of a three-way martial soul fusion skill. It was formed by the Golden Iron Triangle, which consisted of Liu Erlong, the Grandmaster and the Four-Eyed Eaglecat Flounders; Shrek Academy¡¯s founder. It was called the Golden Holy Dragon¡¯s Call.

    That wasn¡¯t a Golden Dragon, but a Golden Holy Dragon, which was light-type. It was different from Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was pure strength-type. It could be considered an enhancement of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. The Grandmaster had been a descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Due to their three-way martial soul fusion skill, they were called the Golden Iron Triangle.

    However, there had been no further urrences of a three-way martial soul fusion skills in Shrek Academy¡¯s history apart from the three of them. This showed how difficult it was for such an urrence and to achievepatibility.

    At this moment, this legendary ability was used by these three soul beasts. Furthermore, they used this martial soul fusion skill very aptly and trapped Huo Yuhao, who waspletely unprepared for this.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao only felt that it was very difficult to breathe. The immense pressurepletely suppressed his spiritual and soul power. Even the Eye of Destiny was suppressed until it couldn¡¯t open.

    As the three of thembined into one entity, their powers increased exponentially! As a dark purplish radiance rose from the ground, Huo Yuhao felt that his body was about to dissolve.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only shocked one. Wang Qiu¡¯er was equally stunned. She was as unfamiliar with these three wolf-apes as he was. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was in danger, she didn¡¯t hesitate as she threw her Golden Dragon Spear out.

    Amidst a piercing whizz, the spear carried the golden dragon projection and tore through space beforending on one wolf-ape¡¯s body.

    However, that wolf-ape only nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er. There was a scornful look in its eyes. Yes, it was a scornful look!

    ng! The spear rebounded as if it had struck an indestructible wall. It didn¡¯t cause any harm to the wolf-ape, while the dark purplish radiance had already risen from the ground.

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted, and an unprecedented, intense golden light rose from her body. Her eyes turned blood-red as her sixth soul ring was activated. Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust!

    At this point, she was already shining like a small sun. No one could see her figure clearly anymore.

    A ball of orange-gold light separated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was the Snow Lady.

    She wore a solemn expression on her face. As her figure shed, she appeared behind Huo Yuhao. She rapidly grewrger andrger, and regained the original look of the Snow Empress. As she pointed one hand into the sky and one hand to the ground, an orange-gold glow started to expand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was engulfed within it.

    However, the Snow Lady¡¯s strength belonged to Huo Yuhao. She normally absorbed her strength from him. But there was an even greater strength suppressing him! Although she had given it her all already, it was only barely effective for Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He knew that it was impossible for him to retreat this time. However, he wasn¡¯t afraid at this point. With the Snow Lady¡¯s help, he had managed to suppress the rising dark-purplish radiance. He was also able to exhibit some of his abilities at this moment.

    He first unleashed the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. At this point, the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques couldn¡¯t be used, as the Snow Lady was giving her all to resist the three-way martial fusion soul skill. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened. His damaged spiritual origin was mobilized.

    His terrifying spiritual power started tobine with his soul power at a rapid rate. The aura of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent started to soar. He wanted to use his cultivation to resist the martial fusion soul skill with the Snow Empress¡¯ help. He believed that Wang Qiu¡¯er wouldn¡¯t let these three wolf-apes off after they had used such a powerful skill if he could survive their attack.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was determined to fight his way out of this, a golden projection suddenly appeared in front of him. Following this, this figure went into his arms. Their foreheads met, and he could smell her breath. A vigorous strength engulfed every part of his body.

    The bright gold turned into thick scales that covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and head first. Following this, they extended to every part of his body.

    An indescribable, tremendous strength circted through his entire body. The terrifying suppression from before seemed unable to stop him at this point.

    Huo Yuhao was covered by a suit of golden armor. There was a huge image of a golden dragon head on his chest. His entire head was covered by a helmet, which also had the appearance of a dragon¡¯s head. The dragon scales engulfed his body perfectly, absolutely no skin was exposed.

    Huo Yuhao roared as an unprecedented force filled him. The Snow Lady returned to his body immediately. Before Huo Yuhao could react, his new armor had already unleashed ayer of intense golden light as a defense. The suppressive force was resisted, and dragon roars didn¡¯t just echo in the outside world; they also sounded repeatedly in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. He could clearly recall that he was looking at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes with their foreheads touching when the dragon scales engulfed his body.

    Her eyes weren¡¯t turquoise at that moment anymore, but a clear gold. It was the purest and most primitive type of gold that could illuminate the depths of everyone¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 238: Sharing Life and Death Together

    At this point, the three wolf-apes¡¯ martial soul fusion skill waspleted. The dark-purplish radiance changed into a three-part beam of light that shot into the sky. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body waspletely engulfed.

    Instantly, Huo Yuhao felt as if the horrifying pressure that was suppressing his body was about to tear him apart. At this point, he finally understood. If Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t rushed here in time, he would still be suppressed even if he activated his Sovereign¡¯s Descent to its fullest and had the Snow Lady¡¯s help! These three wolf-apes were much stronger than he had expected. Their martial soul fusion skill was scary beyond his imagination!

    The Golden Dragon Armor started to let out piercing, grinding sounds. It was extremely awful, but it sounded like Wang Qiu¡¯er was struggling unyieldingly to him.

    The dark-purplish world seemed to have been there for all eternity. The wolf-apes revealed vicious looks in their eyes. They had used this skill to kill many soul beasts and soul masters in the past. Even though their cultivations were only at ten thousand years, this three-way martial soul fusion skill was their strongest weapon. Along with their Instant Teleportation, they formed a team that couldn¡¯t be ovee!

    The dark-purplish color faded from the wolf-apes¡¯ bodies. Just like Huo Yuhao had expected, their bodies entered a temporary state of weakness as they ended this martial soul fusion skill. They still had to be wary of Wang Qiu¡¯er, and thus they were prepared to escape once they finished their martial soul fusion skill. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er had used some method to get herself involved in their soul skill earlier. Soul beasts were soul beasts, after all. No matter how cunning they were, their intelligence wasn¡¯t as high as humans. They believed that their soul skill would be able to kill Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, and they would have their corpses to feast on after that. While there wasn¡¯t much to go around, the taste of human corpses was still better than that of soul beasts. This was especially true if the corpses¡¯ soul power hadn¡¯tpletely dissipated.

    Just as the three wolf-apes were rxing, one of them stiffened up suddenly and lowered its head. It was looking at its chest. Five sharp des were stabbed inside it, exuding a dark-golden light. Following this, a sonorous dragon roar reverberated. The wolf-ape¡¯s body was blown apart, and there was a huge hole in its chest. It screamed pathetically, not expecting such a sudden change just as it was expecting to feast on human corpses.

    The other two wolf-apes realized that things were going wrong. However, a bright-golden figure had already appeared in front of them just as the ground shook with a deep rumbling sound.

    In the middle of the dragon¡¯s roar, two bright purple-gold lights shot out. They struck the wolf-apes¡¯ heads at the same time, and the two wolf-apes stood frozen in ce.

    Yes, it was Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er who burst out just before the three-way martial soul fusion skill was about to end. They exhibited their own martial soul fusion skill, the Dragon Roar of Destiny

    Using Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Armor, they managed to resist the strength of the three-way martial soul fusion skill.

    At this point, the Golden Dragon Armor was already covered with rusty stains, and there were even cracks in many parts of it. Golden fluid seeped out from these cracks.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just use his own abilities at this point; he also possessed the great strength of the Golden Dragon! His soul power had increased until it was equivalent to Rank 70.

    This frightening strength greatly enhanced his speed, too! As he pointed his toes toward the ground, he moved and arrived in front of a wolf-ape who had been struck by his Spiritual Shock.

    These three wolf-apes had defeated many opponents before now, but they finally slipped up today. They were in a weakened state, and thus were controlled before they could recover. It was destined to be a tragedy for them.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand reached out for the wolf-ape and grabbed its chest hair before flinging it away towards the next wolf-ape.

    While these three wolf-apes were soul beasts, they had grown up together since they were born. With their highlypatible three-way martial soul fusion skill, it was easy to tell how close they were to one another.

    Seeing that its brother was flung towards it, it subconsciously lifted its ws to grab hold of him.

    However, it saw the look in its brother¡¯s eyes that warned him to escape!

    But it was toote. The conclusion was already decided as a frightening boom sounded. As the two wolf-apes collided, a deafening and earth-shaking explosion erupted.

    The Snowless cier had long since killed the second wolf-ape, while the ultimate chill enabled it to be converted into the sacrificial offering of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Explosion Technique. Huo Yuhao unleashed both the Snowless cier and Ice Explosion Technique amidst the Dragon Roar of Destiny, which led to such a shocking situation.

    It proved that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities would stun the entire continent when he reached a seven-ringed cultivation. All of his soul skills would be enhanced as his cultivation increased.

    Afterpleting thisst strike, Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs turned to jelly, and he couldn¡¯t help but fall to his knees. He was exhausted. Although the Golden Dragon Armor helped him resist much of the attack from the three-way martial soul fusion skill, his soul power was also depleted in the process. Thest few bursts hadpletely exhausted his soul and spiritual power. Even the ability to judge of the Dragon Roar of Destiny wasn¡¯t activated before the three wolf-apes were killed.

    Golden light dripped from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body like fluid and slowly took form, reforming into Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    All this while, Huo Yuhao had always seen a tough Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, her appearance had changed at this moment. Her clothes were torn, and her face was pale. Fresh blood also flowed out from her nose, and her eyes looked very dull. Her body turned soft, and she fell into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er.¡± Huo Yuhao called and quickly grabbed hold of her. At this moment, he was no longer as furious as he was before. Huo Yuhao believed that Wang Qiu¡¯er would have been capable of killing the three wolf-apes if he suffered from the three-way martial soul fusion skill alone. However, he would have most likely perished.

    At that point, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t choose her own safety but rushed to the core position of their martial soul fusion skill. Using the Dragon Roar of Destiny, she resisted the attack by turning into armor. She must have absorbed almost seventy percent of the attacks made by the wolf-apes¡¯ attack!

    Huo Yuhao was touched by her actions. She had saved his life. He finally addressed her less formally at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er struggled to open her eyes and muttered, ¡°You saved me once. I¡¯m returning that favor. I don¡¯t owe you anymore.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything, you don¡¯t owe me anything. Don¡¯t talk. Rest.¡± As they were able to unleash their martial soul fusion skill together, Huo Yuhao could sense that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s life power was depleting quickly at this point. Her body was also exuding a weird, dim golden glow. There was a wound on her body that was bleeding heavily. If this continued, she would die from blood loss!

    He had to adapt, and couldn¡¯t watch as she died. He took in a deep breath and said softly, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, I might vite you. However, your injuries are too serious, and I need to treat you now. Otherwise, your life will be in danger. Forgive me.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he bit the tip of his tongue. The intense, prickling pain jolted him awake. He ced Wang Qiu¡¯er on the ground. As she eximed softly, he tore her clothes around her waist, where thergest wound was.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was already stained red with blood. Her blood was a little weird. There was a little dim gold mixed with the fresh-red blood.

    Seeing that the wound that was almost an inch deep and four inches long, Huo Yuhao sealed her blood vessels before retrieving the emergency kit that the academy prepared for all of its students. He took out a needle and started to stitch up her wound.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was indeed very tough. It was even slightly difficult to prick the needle into her skin. This resistance meant it was easy to make mistakes. If he were an ordinary doctor, this might have been very challenging. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was a soul engineer. With the help of his Spiritual Detection, he poured his soul power into the needle before pouring some of the strength of his Ultimate Ice into her wound. This reduced her blood loss and the pain that she felt.

    As he stitched her wounds up, Huo Yuhao also slightly activated the Domain of Perpetual Ice. He used its ultimate chill to dy Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s blood loss. He was stitching up her wound very quickly, and soon it was closedpletely.

    After the wound was dealt with, Huo Yuhao quickly shifted to the other side. This time, it was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s right thigh. When Huo Yuhao was ready to tear her clothing, he stopped slightly. He lifted his head to look at her.

    At this point, her eyes were alreadypletely closed. It seemed as if she hadpletely handed herself over to be treated by Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao grit his teeth and tore her clothing apart forcefully. A shocking wound was revealed on her thigh.

    Her white thighs were smooth, long, and very gentle to the touch. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart quivered slightly, and he lifted his left arm before biting down onto it. The prickling pain enabled him to focus again.

    He stitched her up again.

    Using his Spiritual Detection as a guide, he kept dealing with the most serious wounds as he treated Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s torn and tattered clothing was slowly turned into cloth fragments. Less and less of her body remained covered.

    Her figure was perfect! When Huo Yuhao finished treating herst wound, he was dazed as he looked at her. Right now, she was almostpletely naked. She was only covered in certain private areas. Her turquoise hair was messily swept to one side, and her pale-looking face made her look weak.

    Something¡¯s not right!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s daze onlysted for an instant. He immediately realized something was amiss.

    For a single youngdy liker her, she should be feeling shy that her body was almostpletely exposed to a guy that she barely knew. She shouldn¡¯t be immobile as sheid on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao rushed to press Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pulse and slowly poured his soul power into her.

    He soon discovered the problem. Wang Qiu¡¯er had lost too much blood, and her life force was still dropping. She seemed to be very reliant on her blood. Even though her wounds had been stitched up and the blood loss had been stopped, her life force was still failing. Her condition even seemed to have been aggravated.

    At this point, the sky had turnedpletely dark. The sky above the forest seemed to have been suppressed. Large patches of gloomy clouds drifted over. Bolts of lightning shed, and thunder rumbled. It seemed like it was about to rain.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t a professional doctor! He had done his best to stitch up whatever wounds there were, but he was now at a loss as to how to deal with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s injuries. He couldn¡¯t treat her blood loss with his soul power.

    Blood, life force?

    Suddenly, he thought of something. He focused slightly before retrieving a set of his clothing from his storage-type soul tool. After that, he quickly removed the cloth fragments and cleaned her body with a towel and clean water. After that, he dressed her up with his own clothing.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s figure was extremely slender. His clothes seemed a little loose, but they still fit on her body.

    Afterpleting all this, Huo Yuhao discovered that he was perspiring profusely. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of his fatigue, or because of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s tempting figure.

    He carried her to a spot at a higher elevation. He retrieved his portable tent before cing her inside. Only her head was left outside of the tent. He sat cross-legged in front of the tent and helped her head onto his thighs.

    As he took in a deep breath, Huo Yuhao retrieved his White Tiger Dagger. As he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pale-looking face, he cut his left wrist.

    Blood shone. Huo Yuhao used his right hand to open Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mouth and ced his left wrist over it. His blood started to drip into her mouth.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life power was too strong. Ten seconds after he opened this wound, it started to heal by itself.

    Yes, there was only one method he could think of that could save Wang Qiu¡¯er. He wanted to use his blood, which contained the immense life power of the Life Gold, to restore her life power and blood formation abilities.

    As his blood clotted, Huo Yuhao immediately cut his wrist again to release more. He continued to drip blood into her mouth.

    Just like that, he fed her his blood and continued to cut his wrist every time the blood flow stopped. His surging life power slowly circted through her body.

 Chapter 239.1: I Trust Him

    Thunder continued to rumble through the sky. However, oddly, it wasn¡¯t raining at all.

    Huo Yuhao continued to repeat his actions like a machine, despite his body being on the verge of copse.

    Even though he¡¯d suffered less from the martial soul fusion skill, he¡¯d still almost entirely exhausted his soul power when he used everything he had at the end. Furthermore, he¡¯d treated Wang Qiu¡¯er and used his blood as medicine for her; his body was truly about to burn out.

    When he felt that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s life power had finally stopped depleting, and was beginning to recover, he finally rxed. As soon as he did so, an intense wave of fatigue and weakness engulfed his body. Even though this was the Great Star Dou Forest, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered to care anymore. After holding on for so long, he finally copsed. He was still holding his White Tiger Dagger tightly, his other wrist marred with countless cuts.

    Once he passed out, they both maintained weird postures. Huo Yuhaoy t on the ground, while Wang Qiu¡¯erid in the tent. However, her head was still resting on his legs, her mouth still stained with some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood.

    The two of them fell into a deep sleep just like that. Perhaps they were blessed, but no soul beasts attacked them in their weakened states. Not far from them, the soul rings released from the wolf-apes¡¯ corpses slowly started to dissipate as time passed.

    An hourter¡­

    ¡°It should¡¯vee from this direction. I¡¯m very sensitive to sounds. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m right.¡± Li Yongyue said confidently.

    They quickly made their way through the forest. Li Yongyue led the team and waved his Moonde continuously, carving a path forward for them.

    Zhang Lexuan was right behind Li Yongyue. Behind her were Han Ruoruo, Wang Dong¡¯er, Mo Xuan, and the pale-faced Dean Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Just like Huo Yuhao had expected, they¡¯d fought with the male Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. In order to protect everyone, Cai Mei¡¯er hadn¡¯t dared to overuse her powers. Right when they¡¯d been about to end the fight, Zhong Litian and Zhong Liren had suddenly intervened. As such, Cai Mei¡¯er had retracted her powers just before they killed the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear.

    Another epic fight had ensued! Cai Mei¡¯er had demonstrated great abilities, resulting in Zhong Litian and Zhong Lidi being unable to gain the upper hand as they were resisted by everyone from Shrek Academy. After all, some of their energy had been depleted earlier from using their beast spirits.

    However, when Zhong Liren appeared, even Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s heart sank. She knew that it would be very difficult topletely retreat.

    However, Zhong Liren said something to Zhong Litian that changed his expression. The three brothers attacked them for awhile, then fled. Their crisis had been averted in this way.

    They roughly knew what Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had gone to do; Zhong Liren¡¯s expression had changed when he returned. Evidently, it had something to do with the both of them.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er alone was fine. After all, she was a new student of the academy. However, Huo Yuhao was different! He wasn¡¯t just a part of the inner courtyard. He was also part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! If something happened to him, Cai Mei¡¯er couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of problems it would cause when they returned to the academy. Huo Yuhao was the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! He was definitely the future hope of the academy.

    Right now, none of them dared to dy any further. They immediately started looking for Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, but weren¡¯t able to find them. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er werepletely missing.

    They couldn¡¯t even be bothered to rest. Cai Mei¡¯er also joined the team and used her fastest speed to search for the two of them. They also left markings behind just in case.

    However, right as they¡¯d been about to rest for the night, a loud sound had surprised all of them from afar. The tremendous explosion had sounded extremely clear, even though it came from afar.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was extremely anxious; Huo Yuhao¡¯s disappearance made her feel as if her heart had left with him. After hearing the explosion, she couldn¡¯t help but rush towards it. Zhang Lexuan wanted to stop her, but Wang Dong nearly attacked her in retaliation. Left with no other option, Cai Mei¡¯er could only try and trace the source of the explosion.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression was extremely pale at this point. Her big turquoise eyes were filled with anxiety, and she could even be seen tearing up from time to time.

    She only sensed how strong her enemies were after fighting the evil soul masters. After Huo Yuhao left, she¡¯d heard a few booms, but didn¡¯t know other news about him. Even though she was confident in him, she knew that he couldn¡¯t defeat an eight-ringed evil soul master with his current cultivation! How could she not be anxious?

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er confidently told everyone that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in any danger. Due to their martial fusion soul skill, the two of them were already slightly connected. If something had really happened to Huo Yuhao, she¡¯d definitely feel it. Even though she¡¯d had a few scares along the way, the situation that she¡¯d feared most hadn¡¯t ured.

    Her senses had naturally been aroused by the reverberating booms because Huo Yuhao had once fired cannon shells using the Lightning God¡¯s Fury.

    They searched for close to two hours, but the geography of the forest was simply tooplex, thus they had to walk around some small canyons. They only got close to their target because of Li Yongyue¡¯s memory.

    Yuhao, is it you? Wang Dong¡¯er thought in her heart, her tears starting to flow. She¡¯d gone through a tough fight, and had been searching for him for an entire day. Furthermore, the sky was alreadypletely dark now. Her feminine fragility left her unable to withstand any further disappointment.

    Yuhao, nothing must happen to you!

    After passing through a patch of forest, Li Yongyue was surprised and shouted, ¡°There¡¯s a tent there!¡±

    Before he could continue, a streak of golden light had already rushed forward from behind him. Wang Dong¡¯er barrelled past him as she beat her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings and flew in the direction of the tent.

    The golden light looked extremely bright in the pitch-dark night. Wang Dong¡¯er burst forward with all her strength; at this point, she felt as if she¡¯d expended all of her energy.

    Tent, it¡¯s a tent. It¡¯s his tent!

    Wang Dong¡¯er was able to immediately recognize Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. Since he could use his tent, that meant that he should fine. The surprise jolted her fatigued body. She pped her wings with renewed vigor and reached above the tent within a few seconds.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er shouted anxiously. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with the fact that this was the Great Star Dou Forest that was filled with soul beasts at the moment.

    However, she stopped shouting after an instant. Since the golden-blue light from her wings was illuminating her surroundings, everything below her was visible for her to see. She saw him lying on the ground with a pale expression on his face, as well as Wang Qiu¡¯er lying on hisp.

    They¡¯re together? This was the first thought that shed through Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s mind. However, she was instantly jolted from her daze. She retracted her wings and quickly descended, then came up to Huo Yuhao and pressed her hand to his chest.

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt dizzy when she felt his heart beating, and became less tense. She was panting.

    He¡¯s alright, he¡¯s alright. He¡¯s still alive! Tears started to flow down her face uncontrobly and she started to bawl as she leapt onto his body.

    Her cries scared everyone who arrived after her. Cai Mei¡¯er was naturally the most anxious. When she arrived beside Wang Qiu¡¯er, it was almost as if she¡¯d used an Instant Shift. She grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and read his pulse. When she confirmed its presence, she heaved a sigh of relief.

    Even though she normally had a good temper, she snapped, ¡°Dong¡¯er, why are you crying? You almost scared me to death.¡± She was extremely relieved now that they¡¯d found Huo Yuhao. Everything would be much easier so long as Huo Yuhao was alive.

    After speaking, she quickly retrieved a bottle of medicine and poured out two white pills before stuffing one into both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mouths.

    Zhang Lexuan demonstrated her leadership skills at this point. She didn¡¯t crowd around Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, but rather instructed everyone else to spread out to guard the tent against any potential soul beasts.

    After a simple observation, everyone discovered the corpses on the ground and the bloodstained fragments of cloth that belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s clothing.

    Everyone was shocked to see the three wolf-ape corpses. They¡¯d never seen such soul beasts before. When they looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s bloodstained clothing again, their expressions turned even weirder. Wang Qiu¡¯er was in the tent, but her clothing was outside. What exactly was going on?

    Wang Dong¡¯er vented by crying before calming down. Once she¡¯d calmed down, she hurriedly stood up and let Cai Mei¡¯er treat Huo Yuhao.

    Right now, she was more concerned about Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s situation. Wang Qiu¡¯er continued to look better and better as sheid on Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs; her face expression was very calm.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was in a daze, and felt bitter in her heart. From the looks of it, they¡¯ve been together ever since they separated from the team. Why did Huo Yuhao choose to fight with her instead of me? Why didn¡¯t he bring me along?

 Chapter 239.2: I Trust Him

    Girls were much more meticulous than guys, especially those that had just fallen in love. Wang Dong¡¯er discriminated against Wang Qiu¡¯er and her identical looks. Right now, this discrimination grew even deeper.

    She lowered her head subconsciously, and her body turned slightly rigid. That was because she saw Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s bloodstained clothing strewn all over her ce.

    Those fragments were once part of her clothing? Then she¡¯s¡­

    As she thought till here, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She walked in front of the test and took a peek.

    As she peeked in, she bit her lower lip with her teeth and her face turned even paler.

    Han Ruoruo was also beside the tent. She was a control-type soul master, so naturally she couldn¡¯t be guarding the perimeter. She clearly saw what Wang Dong¡¯er did. She rushed up a few steps and whispered, ¡°Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t think blindly. The matter was critical, and he had to adapt. It seems that they¡¯ve gone through more than one fight. I believe those fights were quite intense too. Wang Qiu¡¯er must have suffered injuries. Look at how bloody her clothing is. A normal person would have died from such extreme blood loss.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head slightly and nced at Huo Yuhao before she replied, ¡°Sister Ruoruo, I¡¯m not thinking blindly. I believe in Yuhao. He¡¯s not that kind of person.¡±

    Han Ruoruo looked into her eyes and was stunned to realize that she wore a clear and serious expression as she said that. Her light blue eyes were extremely beautiful.

    She couldn¡¯t help but caress the younger woman¡¯s head and smile, ¡°Huo Yuhao is really lucky to have such a girlfriend like you. If I were a guy, I would¡¯ve given up everything to challenge him for you. However, you need to watch your man at times. While Yuhao isn¡¯t some handsome bloke, his talents cannot be matched by most people. There are many girls that he¡¯ll attract.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and looked at Huo Yuhao. She said gently, ¡°I trust him.¡±

    Han Ruoruo hugged her and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Wang Dong¡¯er squatted down beside Huo Yuhao again and said to Cai Mei¡¯er softly. ¡°Dean Cai, how¡¯s Yuhao?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er waspletely rxed at this point, and replied, ¡°He¡¯s fine. His body is just a little weak, and his soul power has almost beenpletely exhausted. However, there aren¡¯t really any injuries on him. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems. He just needs some time to rest before he¡¯ll recover.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er twisted her head to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. She said, ¡°Take a look at her too.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned. Even though she wasn¡¯t with the team earlier, she knew about the conflict between Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. For Wang Dong¡¯er to spout such words revealed her kindness.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er came to Wang Qiu¡¯er and shifted her further into the tent, away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs. After that, she crawled into the tent and lifted Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved her own portable tent and moved Huo Yuhao inside so that he could sleep morefortably. After finishing this, she also felt a wave of fatigue.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s exmation shocked everyone.

    Wang Dong¡¯er rushed into the tent to find out what was going on.

    She only heard Cai Mei¡¯er shouting, ¡°Her injuries are serious. These wounds were all fatal! But they were stitched up well, and the blood loss was stopped in time. Her body signs are normal. Fortunately, the wounds are no longer fatal, even though her injuries are still serious.¡±

    After some time, Cai Mei¡¯er exited the tent. She said, ¡°They indeed met strong enemies. However, I don¡¯t know if that was the work of those evil soul masters. This ce is quite far from where we were. I¡¯m guessing that these dead soul beasts should have fought them. Wang Qiu¡¯er suffered several deadly wounds. Fortunately, her blood loss was stopped in time, and she managed to preserve her life. Furthermore, there seems to be a strong life power in her body that¡¯s supporting her recovery, and she¡¯s very tough physically. With sufficient rest, she can recover. She¡¯s been changed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothing. I guess he helped stitch up her wounds. This kid is really meticulous. He¡¯s indeed a soul engineer, the wounds were bound nicely. Dong¡¯er, he had to adapt given the situation. Don¡¯t think too much into it.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head slightly and smiled, ¡°I overthought things when I saw them before, but I¡¯m fine now. I trust Yuhao. He¡¯s not that kind of person.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er smiled before she said, ¡°Alright. Guys, take this opportunity to rest. I¡¯ll guard this ce tonight. Today has really been taxing on all of us.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and replied, ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re around, and everyone¡¯s safe.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er answered, ¡°The most important thing is that everyone¡¯s safe. Lexuan, you¡¯re tired, too. Go and rest.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan acknowledged her words and replied, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take over for you in two hours.¡±

    Everyone surrounded the two tents and sat down before entering their cultivation states. Wang Dong¡¯er guarded Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. She didn¡¯t look at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s tent anymore. In her heart, she was really not bothered by what she had seen earlier.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a cleverdy. The greatest strength of an intelligent woman was that she wouldn¡¯t find problems for herself. She knew that many things must have happened between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er throughout the day, and they must have gone through many intense fights. However, she was just delighted that he had managed to survive. Furthermore, she had spoken from the bottom of her heart just now. Since she understood Huo Yuhao, she trusted himpletely. With this trust, she naturally didn¡¯t need to think too much. She also didn¡¯t want to know what had happened between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er earlier. As long as he was fine, she was satisfied.

    It was inevitable for women to feel jealous. However, the smart and confident ones were more resistant in this aspect.

    For some reason, Wang Dong¡¯er felt more open-minded following a temporary heartache after she saw Wang Qiu¡¯er in Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes.

    She knew that she had been very mindful of Wang Qiu¡¯er earlier because they looked identical. She had the appearance of the Goddess of Light that Huo Yuhao had fallen in love with at first sight.

    However, there could only be one Goddess of Light, which was the one developed from her martial soul fusion skill with Huo Yuhao. Was appearance really so important? If that was the case, the equally ravishing Ju Zi would have captured Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart before he knew about her identity as the Goddess of Light. However, he still remained very prim and proper with her.

    He didn¡¯t start anything with her. After two and a half years, his heart was still with Wang Dong¡¯er. What did she have to worry about?

    It had to be the intense jealousy, or perhaps even the difort that enabled her to resolve her dilemma. She didn¡¯t suspect anything, and even epted Wang Qiu¡¯er now. At least, she didn¡¯t feel the same hostility towards Qiu¡¯er that she had before.

    Wang Dong¡¯er also slowly entered deep meditation with her newfound eptance. A slight undtion of the aura of light surrounded the tent and made the temperature inside it warmer.

    They were finally rid of troubles. This night was especially peaceful.

    In the meantime, Cai Mei¡¯er, Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo took turns standing guard. They didn¡¯t wake anyone else up.

    ------

    When Huo Yuhao woke up from his deep sleep, he felt extremely sore, and had a splitting headache. His soul power had only recovered by thirty percent, but he was no longer as weak as before.

    As he opened his eyes, he was a little lost as he looked at the dim blue ceiling of the tent. Where, where am I?

    He didn¡¯t want to move because of his aches, but the scent in the tent reminded him of someone, because it was too familiar.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted almost immediately, and struggled to sit up.

    Even though he didn¡¯t have any injuries, he was still very dizzy as he sat up. He almost fell back down.

    The curtains to the tent opened, and a surprised face peeked in. ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re finally awake!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er bent her waist and entered the tent. She was secretly delighted. Yuhao called my name first after he awoke.

    After seeing Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even think, and reached out for her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was also stunned by his passion. However, she hugged him back with even more force after she froze momentarily.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, do you know something? I¡¯m really scared.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered softly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned. She felt a little weird. I should be the one who¡¯s scared, right?

    ¡°I was scared that I wouldn¡¯t see you again. I was almost on the verge of death twice, but I managed to survive in the end. Dong¡¯er, I really missed you.¡± As he spoke, he hugged her even tighter.

    No matter what strong enemies he faced, he had always managed to maintain hisposure. However, he was filled with an indescribable sense of happiness and bliss when he saw Wang Dong¡¯er again after narrowly avoiding death. He also recited his deepest feelings to her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smacked his shoulder, ¡°Idiot, why did you take that risk? Why didn¡¯t you stay with the rest of us? Why didn¡¯t you bring me along?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t answer her questions. That was because he knew that she knew the answer.

    The two of them hugged tightly just like that and felt each other¡¯s heartbeat. Their hearts were finally together after they reunited and established their rtionship. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, the figure that belonged to Goddess of Light now finally andpletely belonged to her.

 Chapter 239.3: I Trust Him

    Some timeter...

    ¡°It¡¯s been some time. How¡¯s Yuhao¡¯s body?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s voice sounded outside after a cough.

    Wang Dong¡¯er recalled that there were others outside, and her face started to blush, while her ears turned red, too. She quickly let go of him and nced at Huo Yuhao with a displeased look on her face.

    Huo Yuhao reached forward subconsciously and poked her.

    Her skin was soft and delicate, like almond beancurd. Her fresh scent was calming, and Huo Yuhao felt intoxicated at this moment. If not for the fact that there were many people waiting for him outside, he would have kissed her countless times¡­

    When the two of them exited the tent, everyone else was amused as they surrounded the two of them.

    They were both blushing at this point.

    Wang Dong¡¯er turned around and leaned on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. She pounded him lightly a few times.

    A guy was more thick-skinned. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was red, he soon recovered from the embarrassment and said, ¡°Dean Cai, eldest senior sister, sister Ruoruo, Yongyue, Mo Xuan. It¡¯s great that all of you are fine.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er smiled and asked, ¡°How¡¯s your body?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m still a little weak. Yesterday¡¯s fight was too intense. If not for Qiu¡¯er¡¯s help, we would¡¯ve died. Yes, how is she? Is she alright?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er replied, ¡°She¡¯s still sleeping. Fortunately, her life wasn¡¯t in danger after you treated her. She¡¯s indeed the possessor of the Golden Dragon. She is recovering quickly even though she¡¯s suffered critical injuries. There have been no rpses, either. What happened to the both of you yesterday?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still a little afraid as he thought of yesterday¡¯s experience.

    They had been extremely unlucky. Firstly, they had met the three evil soul masters. After that, they met the three mutant soul beasts. Their misfortune wasn¡¯t normal.

    He recounted how he had acted alone after he realized something was wrong using his Spiritual Detection, and how he and Wang Qiu¡¯er had contended with and trapped Zhong Liren. He also repeated what had happened to them after that. He told them almost everything that had happened, but concealed two things. First, he didn¡¯t talk about his Light of Purification. He wove a lie and said he used his Spiritual Shock twice consecutively, managing to destroy Zhong Liren¡¯s beast spirits.

    When he talked about how he teamed up with Wang Qiu¡¯er, he also hid the fact that he had unleashed a martial soul fusion skill with her. This martial soul fusion skill wasn¡¯t really anything worth concealing. However, he decided to conceal it as he recalled what he and Wang Qiu¡¯er had experienced yesterday, and when he saw the worried and even terrified Wang Dong¡¯er.

    For the same reason, he also hid how he had used his own blood to save Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s life. The former two lies could still be exposed by Wang Qiu¡¯er, but he was afraid of thest lie. After all, only he knew about it. The cuts on his wrist had also been healed by the immense life power of his Life Gold after one night of rest.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, everyone was shocked even though they hadn¡¯t experienced it themselves. A three-way martial soul fusion skill was too dangerous.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was slightly dazed after hearing his words. After Huo Yuhao recounted how Wang Qiu¡¯er had saved him, and how it had led to her grave injuries, the look Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes changed. Her eyes were moving, as if she was thinking of something. However, she subconsciously clenched Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm tightly.

    After listening to Huo Yuhao, Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned. ¡°The two of you were too brazen. Even with your exceptional talents, he was an eight-ringed evil soul master! Even in a duel, I wasn¡¯t able to capture him! However, the two of you thwarted his ns. What about the two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs that you talked about? Let them out! Don¡¯t freeze them to death.¡±

    Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words and released the two cubs from his storage-type soul tool.

    They were still frozen, but Huo Yuhao could sense their thriving life through his Spiritual Detection. His Ultimate Ice wasn¡¯t just used to hurt. It had a preservation effect which was rather strong, too.

    Huo Yuhao pressed both hands on the two cubs and slowly retracted his ultimate ice-type aura. He also slightly activated his soul power and used his Mysterious Heaven Technique to increase their blood flow cirction.

    The two cubs stood there in a daze, but they remained immobile. Since Huo Yuhao dared to freeze them, it meant that he had considered this aspect. In the Ultimate Soldier n, he had taken a special lesson on cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

    Thump and exert pressure before agitating with soul power. With the control of his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao restored the two cubs perfectly. Finally, they started to breathe after ten minutes. Their chests could also be seen rising and falling.

    These two cubs looked very cute. They had just been born, and hadn¡¯t even opened their eyes yet.

    Cai Mei¡¯er said, ¡°Yuhao, what do you n to do with them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If the academy needs them, we can bring them back. I believe the Beast Dueling Area should need them. After all, Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs are very difficult to capture.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. She nodded and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s bring them back to the academy first. However, I don¡¯t think the Beast Dueling Area is suitable for them. With the current situation in the academy¡¯s Beast Dueling Area, the two of them might frighten the rest of the ordinary soul beasts when they develop after a few months.¡±

    After hearing Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er looked at each other. They were reminded of the time when Huo Yuhao released the aura of a hundred-thousand year soul beast and frightened the entire Beast Dueling Area. They were both amused at this point.

    Zhang Lexuan interrupted, ¡°Let¡¯s raise them in the inner courtyard first. Everyone will take care of them if they¡¯re in the inner courtyard.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°We can only do it this way.¡±

    The two cubs slowly recovered, and even started to cry. Their cries sounded rather pathetic, just like infants that were bawling.

    Everyone present was the best in Shrek Academy, but none of them had helped raise Darkgolden Terrorw Bears before! They looked at each other and didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Huo Yuhao had a bright idea and said, ¡°The two of them must be hungry. Ah, it¡¯s a pity that their mother has been killed. Her corpse must have been taken by those vicious evil soul masters too. Dean Cai, do you know what Darkgolden Terrorw Bears eat?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was stumped by this question.

    She didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, ¡°Mature Darkgolden Terrorw Bears eat meat, but such young cubs should feed on milk, right?¡±

    Milk¡­

    A few guys lowered their heads, as they were afraid of causing misunderstandings if they looked at thedies. There were many more guys thandies on their team! Besides Dean Cai, they couldn¡¯t offend Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo either! There was also Wang Qiu¡¯er, whose fighting abilities had been witnessed by everyone before.

    At this moment, a weak voice sounded, ¡°No, they don¡¯t feed on milk. They consume meat from the moment they¡¯re born. Their first meal should be their mother¡¯s centa and umbilical cord. For such strong soul beasts, they are born with teeth.¡±

    They ate meat from the moment they were born! They were indeed very strong!

    Everyone turned to the direction where the voice came from. They saw Wang Qiu¡¯er struggling as she exited her tent.

    Her face was very pale, and she looked dismal. However, that was understandable, given that she had suffered such grave injuries! She was able to stand up after just one night, which demonstrated how tough she was.

    Meat? If they consumed meat, then it was much easier.

    Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan volunteered to go get meat. The three wolf-apes were extremelyrge, and packed with meat.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked slowly over to the rest of them. Zhang Lexuan walked up to support her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took a look at her and said softly, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan shook her head and replied, ¡°We should be the ones thanking you. If you and Yuhao hadn¡¯t drawn the evil soul masters away, we would have been in trouble. Can you walk? If you can¡¯t, don¡¯t force yourself.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just a little weak.¡±

    As she spoke, she turned her attention to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was also looking at her with a concerned expression.

    Yesterday¡¯s fight had dispelled any conflict between the two of them. When Wang Qiu¡¯er awoke, she discovered that her clothing had been changed. Undoubtedly, it belonged to Huo Yuhao. His aura was even on it. After that, she recalled what had happened yesterday.

    Huo Yuhao thought that no one would know about him feeding blood to her, but it still surfaced in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mind. She hadn¡¯t revealed thest ability of the three innate abilities bestowed upon her by her Golden Dragon. It was that she could record everything that happened after she was unconscious in her mind. Right now, the cold look in her eyes had be much less prevalent.

    Wang Dong¡¯er let go of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm and walked towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao was frightened and hurriedly said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you¡­¡±

 Chapter 240.1: Three Completely Identical Soul Bones

    Wang Dong¡¯er turned around and rolled her eyes at him. That sassiness was so enchanting it was suffocating. ¡°Are you that unconfident in me? I have absolute faith in you, though. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask everyone.¡± She smiled faintly after she spoke, and continued walking towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stopped walking in before Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes seemed like they had melted before this, but they were instantly sealed in ice once more as she stared coldly at Wang Dong¡¯er and remained silent.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was also staring back at her. She gradually bent down and bowed like that at Wang Qiu¡¯er in front of everyone¡¯s watchful eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er. I am apologizing to you sincerely for how unreasonable I was before this and how I¡¯ve antagonized you. Everything was my fault, and I hope you can forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Huo Yuhao drew in a cold breath as he thought to himself, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, what game are you trying to y?

    Huo Yuhao had known how arrogant and prideful Wang Dong¡¯er was ever since the first day they had met. Even though this pride was rarely disyed as they grew older, it was still deeply imprinted into her bones. Yet, she was willing to bow toward Wang Qiu¡¯er for forgiveness at this moment, willing to bow to a girl that she had perceived with so much hostility before. What was happening?

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who was astounded. Everyone in Shrek Academy shared the same surprise, but only Cai Mei¡¯er gave Wang Dong¡¯er her silent approval. This girl is indeed smart!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at the bowing Wang Dong¡¯er and was equally shocked. She was momentarily stunned before she said, ¡°You¡¯ve never done anything to me, and you don¡¯t need to ask me for forgiveness. If you are doing this because I saved his life, then it¡¯s even more unnecessary. He saved me before, and I was just returning the favor.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said sincerely, ¡°No. I¡¯ve always been rejecting you in my heart, and I¡¯m apologizing to you because of that. This has nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. Of course, you saved his life, and I am extremely thankful for what you did, as his girlfriend. If there¡¯s anything you need us to do in the future, we will help you out to the best of our ability, no matter what.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er waved her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, let bygones be bygones. I¡¯ve said this already, he doesn¡¯t owe me anything.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er came up beside her and touched her arm as she said softly, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to listen, I can tell you our story, and then you will understand why I harbored that hostility against you before this. Let me escort you back to rest.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hesitated for a moment before nodding softly.

    Huo Yuhao looked on with ck jaw and stunned eyes as Wang Dong¡¯er helped Wang Qiu¡¯er back into his tent, and even sealed the tent¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Han Ruoruo came up beside him and giggled. ¡°So? Are you nervous? Does it feel exciting?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m absolutely nervous, but excitement¡­ maybe a little too overwhelming. The two of them¡­¡±

    Han Ruoruoughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s what you get for flirting with girls everywhere. You¡¯re not satisfied with Dong¡¯er, and you end up flirting with Qiu¡¯er as well! Dong¡¯er really has a big heart! When we were searching for the two of you yesterday, you were lying on the ground so unmorously, while Wang Qiu¡¯er was lying on your thighs. Her clothes had been torn to pieces, and she was wearing your clothes. If Dong¡¯er had been someone else, that person would probably have been infuriated. Do you know what she said?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s curiosity was immediately piqued. ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Han Ruoruo said, ¡°Dong¡¯er said she trusts you. The truth is that I could tell that she was extremely sad because you were hurt, and because you were with Wang Qiu¡¯er. I could read the look in her eyes, she would rather she herself be the one that was heinously wounded rather than see you with another woman in your most difficult of times. She must be feeling very dejected inside. This isn¡¯t about envy or jealousy, this is about her not being able to help you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew solemn. Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er! How can I love you to return the affection you have for me?

    Han Ruoruo whispered, ¡°Hey! You haven¡¯t actually done anything to betray Dong¡¯er, have you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately tossed his head from side to side without hesitation. ¡°Absolutely not! She¡¯s the only girl in my heart. No matter how much Wang Qiu¡¯er looks like her, Dong¡¯er will always be Dong¡¯er in my heart, and Qiu¡¯er will always be Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Han Ruoruoughed and said, ¡°Heh, righteous words! It seems like Dong¡¯er¡¯s decision to trust you isn¡¯t wrong. In the end, you have to treat Dong¡¯er as nicely as you can, and even I won¡¯t let this go if you don¡¯t. Dong¡¯er is such a good girl!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded in vigorous agreement.

    An exmation could be heard not far from where they were.

    This was the Great Star Dou Forest, and danger could arrive at any moment. Han Ruoruo was still talking to Huo Yuhao in the previous moment, but a golden beam of light stretched out in the next and immediately wrapped around Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan, who were not too far away.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s good news!¡± Li Yongyue shouted.

    Mo Xuan turned around with a look of excitement. ¡°We¡¯ve discovered soul bones! Real soul bones! It¡¯s a left thigh bone.¡±

    He raised a shiny purple thigh bone into the air as he spoke and waved it in the sky. A dark purple color released brilliant shadows as it sparkled.

    Mo Xuan and Li Yongyue had been going through the wolf-apes¡¯ corpses for the two little Darkgolden Terrorw Bears when they discovered intense soul power undtions. They were both elites from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, and they immediately realized what was going on. They followed the soul power undtions and quickly discovered this wolf-ape¡¯s left thigh bone.

    Soul bones were extremely rare treasures, much more valuablepared to soul rings. The three wolf-apes were mutants, but they were still soul beasts with at least ten thousand years of cultivation. Every soul bone had a single soul skill, except for hundred thousand year soul bones, but soul beasts would always produce stronger soul bones the more powerful they were. Even a single soul bone like that had immeasurable value.

    Li Yongyue handed the soul bone to Cai Mei¡¯er after returning to thepany, and everyone¡¯s eyes zed over.

    This left thigh bone was emanating a faint purplish-ck light, and there were hints of silver light flickering within.

    Huo Yuhao was the most surprised when he saw it. He realized, to his intense surprise, that this left thigh bone wasn¡¯t a darkness-type. The soul bone was releasing purplish-ck colors, but there was a stronger aura on top of that, and it belonged to spatial undtions. This meant that the left thigh bone¡¯s element was in line with the three wolf-ape¡¯s spatial element. He thought about their Instant Teleportation ability, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart began to palpitate. If this soul bone contained that ability¡­ a thought crossed his mind when he thought about this, and he said, ¡°What about the other two? Have you checked them out, seniors?¡± Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were the youngest in thepany, so everyone else was a senior to them.

    Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan immediately understood what he was trying to say. They exchanged a look and said, ¡°We can¡¯t be that lucky, can we?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied meaningfully, ¡°Three-way martial soul fusion skill!¡±

    They didn¡¯t need Cai Mei¡¯er to instruct them, and they eximed at almost the same time as they separately pounced on the other two carcasses. Huo Yuhao had already blown one of them into smithereens before this.

    ¡°Yes! There¡¯s actually another one!¡± Li Yongyue was the first to dere the good news. He didn¡¯t have to check the other carcass, but instead found the second soul bone among the bloody parts in the vegetation. Furthermore, it was another left thigh bone, identical to the previous one.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Mo Xuan eximed excitedly, ¡°I also have one. This is just great, it¡¯s a left thigh bone too!¡±

    After another moment, three identical soul bones that released purplish-ck auras and flickering with silver light appeared before Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Cai Mei¡¯er was full of awe as she stared at these three identical soul bones. Even though she wasn¡¯t like Huo Yuhao, and hadn¡¯t guessed the soul skills that these soul bones contained, she knew that these identical soul bones could be fused together to forge an entirely new soul bone. Three together would be a lot more valuable than they were alone, and even she couldn¡¯t value these three bones. Furthermore, there was no need to give that estimate.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Cai Mei¡¯er called out.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly acknowledged. He was starting to feel waves of weakness once more, especially about what Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er were whispering in the tent on the other side. That gave him a lot of psychological pressure, and the distraction made him even weaker.

    Cai Mei¡¯er passed the three soul bones to him and said, ¡°Keep them.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was taken aback. ¡°What are you doing, Dean Cai? These soul bones belong to everyone. How can you give them all to me?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°This is not a group prize. They belong to you and Wang Qiu¡¯er. You two were the ones that killed those wolf-apes. We didn¡¯t do a single thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly tried to dispute her words. ¡°But if not for your protection and the help of thepany, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to venture so deep into the Great Star Dou Forest! Naturally-¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er stuffed the three soul bones into his hands. ¡°Stop talking about all that. If not for you and Qiu¡¯er, I¡¯m not even sure what the final oue would have been like. The two of you are the academy¡¯s prized students, so these three soul bones belong to you in the first ce.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then said, ¡°How about this. I¡¯ll keep one soul bone, and I¡¯ll give one to Wang Qiu¡¯er. We will donate the remaining one to the academy.¡±

    It could be said that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had risked their lives to kill the three wolf-apes to obtain these soul bones, but Huo Yuhao knew better than to be selfish and take everything for himself. It was better with Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo, but Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan had a look of envy on their faces.

    Cai Mei¡¯er hesitated for a while before she nodded and said, ¡°Alright. You can keep them for now, and you can donate thest one directly to the Martial Soul Department after we return to the academy. You don¡¯t have to give it to me.¡±

 Chapter 240.2: Three Completely Identical Soul Bones

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words before he put the three soul bones away. He had something to eat before he drank a few gulps of water and returned to the tent.

    Cai Mei¡¯er had already made her decision ¨C everyone was to stay here for an entire day so that everyone could adjust themselves and rest up, and everyone was to wait for Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er to recover before continuing on their journey. There was nothing more important than her students¡¯ safety.

    Cai Mei¡¯er was a little hasty to return to the academy after what had just happened so that she could report this issue with the three brothers to Shrek¡¯s Guardians. The three brothers¡¯ existence was an unimaginable threat to the world of soul masters, and they would definitely ascend to be Titled Douluo in the future. In addition to their abilities to manipte and imprison beast souls, they were likely to be a great cmity for the world of soul masters.

    This was the reason Cai Mei¡¯er had decided to join the operation initially. She was going to try her best to help Huo Yuhao and Li Yongyue obtain soul rings suitable for them before they returned to Shrek Academy as quickly as possible. Her students had been tested too many times on this expedition.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao was sitting cross-legged in his tent. He would have long gone into meditation by now if it had just been a normal day, but he was a little unsettled because Wang Dong¡¯er still hadn¡¯t returned. He kept thinking to himself ¨C what will Wang Dong¡¯er say to Wang Qiu¡¯er? What will Wang Qiu¡¯er say to Wang Dong¡¯er?

    He had avoided rying some key facts when he had recounted his experience the previous day. What if Wang Qiu¡¯er spills the beans? What will Dong¡¯er think?

    There so manyplicated and intertwined emotions. How could he enter meditation like that?

    ---

    On the other side, inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent...

    ¡°¡­during the Sea God¡¯s Fate on Sea God¡¯s Lake. It was so beautiful! Did you know? I was so nervous back then.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er vividly described her experiences with Huo Yuhao and what the two of them had gone through.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was lying on her side and listening to Wang Dong¡¯er. She didn¡¯t talk much, but she was listening very intently.

    ¡°What were you nervous about?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly asked.

    Wang Dong¡¯er answered, ¡°How could I not be nervous? That fool had been with me for so many years, but he never knew that I was a girl. If he had known that I was a girl, who knows what he would have thought back then? What if, what if he felt that I had been lying to him this whole time? What if he didn¡¯t like me? There were so many people back then, so how could I not be nervous? However, it was still quite exciting.¡±

    ¡°What happened next?¡±

    ¡°And then¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er recounted the events on the Sea God¡¯s Lake in detail, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expressions would change at crucial parts.

    ¡°So, now you know. Our Raiment of Light was originally meant to be how I looked when I grew up, and he calls it the Goddess of Light. You look so much like me, and I was afraid that he only remembered this look, and not the person. This was the reason why I developed such intense hostility when I first met you¡­ in the end, you look more like the Goddess of Light than I do.

    ¡°I only thought it out yesterday. If he only liked me because of my looks, then what meaning is there in his affection? Furthermore, I have faith in him, I should have faith in him. Will it not look like I¡¯m insecure and I don¡¯t have any self-confidence otherwise? Therefore, I am truly sorry, and I am apologizing sincerely for all my childishness before this.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes changed a little as she stared at Wang Dong¡¯er. Her eyebrows knitted, and emotions began to shift in her eyes. Only she knew what she was thinking.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°Are you willing to forgive me, Qiu¡¯er? Even though I have no clue why we look so alike, this is a form of fate in the end. I am sure that I don¡¯t have a sister that¡¯s living outside. However, we look so alike, and our names are so simr... why don¡¯t we address each other as sister from now on?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered coldly, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. There¡¯s nothing for me to forgive, and neither are we sisters. If you have nothing else to tell me, I want to rest.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was slightly taken aback. She hadn¡¯t expected Wang Qiu¡¯er to be so cold, she had apologized sincerely with all her heart, but Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to ept it at all. However, she no longer harbored any hostility against Wang Qiu¡¯er, and so she stood up and said, ¡°Alright. Even if we¡¯re not sisters, we¡¯re still schoolmates, and that¡¯s a fact that you can¡¯t change. You should have a good rest and take care of your body. I will take good care of Huo Yuhao, and thank you once more for saving him.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for Wang Qiu¡¯er to rebutt her, but pulled open the tent and slipped out before she closed it from the outside.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes suddenly became a little lost as she stared at the closed veil. She mumbled to herself, ¡°Did shee to show her dominance? Does she really think that he belongs to her already?¡±

    ¡°One hundred and seventeen cuts.¡± She suddenly blurted out a number. When she said this number, this girl that was always so tough and cold suddenly softened, and her eyes turned red as tears welled up in her eyes. Her tears finally trickled down her pale but incredibly beautiful face.

    ¡°I have his blood in my veins now. Huo Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er came out of the tent and greeted herpanions with a faint smile on her face before she arrived at Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. When she lifted the veil and climbed in, she was met with Huo Yuhao¡¯s suspicious and doubtful eyes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°I am just wondering why you went to look for Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er answered, ¡°I was apologizing to her! I¡¯ve thought it through. I don¡¯t have enough confidence in myself, and that¡¯s why I subconsciously developed this hostility towards her. However, I finally understood after you guys came back. I am so pretty... how can I be insecure, and how can I not have confidence in myself? You should be the one that should be insecure. Wang Qiu¡¯er also doesn¡¯t have anything for you at all.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ you don¡¯t have to make it sound so hurtful.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered as he pulled a long face. The truth was that he didn¡¯t have much confidence in his looks, at least inparison to Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er spoke matter-of-factly, ¡°Am I wrong? Stop trying to dispute it, this is the truth. You should hurry up and cultivate. I¡¯ll help you, so that you can recover as quickly as possible. Truth be told, I don¡¯t want to stay in this Great Star Dou Forest for a second longer.¡±

    Her eyes suddenly turned red as she said this. She stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s feeble face, and she couldn¡¯t resist anymore as she slid gently into his embrace.

    Her soft body fell into his arms, and that faint fragrance that belonged to a young girl filled every corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart and soul. It¡¯s so nice to have someone be concerned about you!

    Huo Yuhao hugged her tightly and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dong¡¯er. I will never make you so worried in the future.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied softly, ¡°You may not find yourself in such a dire situation anymore with your talent and your abilities. Your abilities determine your responsibility, and I know I can¡¯t stop you from doing some things that you must. However, I¡¯m not a fragile porcin vase! My only wish is that you will bring me along when you have to face danger and peril, and we will face them together. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged softly. He knew that it was unlikely that he would do so, but he still chose white lies and kind words during this heartwarming moment, as he couldn¡¯t bear to see her sad, not even a little bit.

    They rested for the entire day. Huo Yuhao recoveredpletely, and besides his spirit that still needed nurturing and repairing, everything else was back to normal.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s recovery speed was equally impressive, possibly even more impressive than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. It was as if they were in apetition to see who could recover the fastest.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er grasped her Golden Dragon Spear and stood in front of thepany, everyone was under the illusion that this girl had not been injured before. Whether or not she had recovered from her injuries, they couldn¡¯t tell from the outside anymore.

    They cleaned the campsite and packed up. It was time to move out again, and only Huo Yuhao and Li Yongyue needed more soul rings.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze met Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s when they saw each other again, and he nodded in her direction with a faint smile on his face. Wang Qiu¡¯er was expressionless, but she wasn¡¯t as cold as she had been before this, and she responded with a nod before she walked up to the vanguard.

    ¡°Stay in the center, Qiu¡¯er. Your injuries¡­¡± Zhang Lexuan spoke up concernedly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. You need me to lead the way. I will stick closer to everyone.¡± She still insisted that she had to lead the way, but one could tell from her tone that she hadn¡¯t fully recovered from her injuries.

    The formation didn¡¯t change, except Cai Mei¡¯er was now openly anchoring thepany at the back, so the group¡¯s overall strength had be a lot stronger.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er still took the lead as they resumed their journey. However, she was conspicuously slower than the past few days, and nobody urged her to go faster. They ventured deeper into the Hybrid Region, and were moving closer and closer to the Core Region, so slowing down wasn¡¯t a bad idea.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection once more, and he continued with his responsibilities as the main control soul master.

    They had encountered many perils and dangers during this expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest, but this adventure had sufficiently tested the students¡¯ abilities.

    It was needless to discuss Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo. They were the oldest here, and they were no longer in the same age group as their juniors. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were undoubtedly the most outstanding ones among the others.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities seemed to be stronger, but everyone knew that they would have died without Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. For example, when they were faced with the three brothers, the situation would have been drastically different if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t risked his life to steal the two baby Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.

    Those two little fellows were also part of thepany at this moment. However, they were treated very nicely. Huo Yuhao was carrying them both, one in each arm.

 Chapter 240.3: Three Completely Identical Soul Bones

    It was a strange story. These two little bears ate enough meat and began to sleep, and they only woke up the next morning. They went to look for Huo Yuhao when they woke up, and climbed all over him as each one hugged one of his legs and just wouldn¡¯t let go. Their eyes that were like yellow beans rolling around in their sockets, and they were as stubborn as could be.

    Everybody thought that these two little bears treated Huo Yuhao like their father. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to take responsibility for taking care of them, and he became the temporary ¡°bear nanny¡±. He carried a bear in each arm, but it was a little inconvenient even though it wasn¡¯t tiring. How could carrying two little bearspare to holding Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand?

    The little bears had ck fur at the start, but their fur was already tinged with dark golden colors. They were extremely strong, but they didn¡¯t do anything at all when they were in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace. They were meaty and pudgy, and it didn¡¯t feel that bad to carry them around.

    Their luck finally turned for the better as they ventured deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest. They met the asional soul beast on their journey in, some rtively powerful. However, most of them weren¡¯t aggressive, and Huo Yuhao directed everyone to deliberately evade those soul beasts with Spiritual Detection. They didn¡¯t encounter much trouble along the way.

    ---

    They travelled for six hours, and it was almost midday before everyone stopped to rest.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still at the front, and her face had be a little pale. She was still quite a ways away from her peak condition.

    Wang Dong¡¯er took the initiative to pass her the rations that Huo Yuhao and she had brought. Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t reject it, and she had a few bites before she began to rest on the ground with her legs crossed.

    Huo Yuhao remained on the spot and scanned the vegetation around him as a contemtive look appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°What can you see?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er came beside him with a smile on her face.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The vegetation here is denser than before. Furthermore, I can tell that it is quite old, far more primitive than the vegetation outside. This ce is truly uninhabited and untainted by humans! If I¡¯m not wrong, we should be extremely close to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region. Am I right?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded approvingly and said, ¡°Yes, we are nearing the Core Region¡¯s outer areas. We will be heading inside the Core Region if we move forward, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s most dangerous region. The fearsome beasts residing within the ughtering Grounds will asionally roam the Core Region, and that¡¯s why everyone has to be as careful as you guys can be. Qiu¡¯er is doing a good job leading the way, and we are moving faster than I thought. We will reach the Core Region within two hours. Look at this Snakedragon Orchid, it¡¯s at least a few thousand years old, and it definitely won¡¯t appear in the rtively deeper areas. The reason for that is because low-tier soul beasts are very drawn to the Snakedragon Orchid, and they will all definitely be eaten. The fact that they¡¯re still around in these parts proves that nobody here needs them, while the soul beasts that need them don¡¯t dare toe into this region.¡±

    Everyone except for Wang Qiu¡¯er took turns resting and standing guard after they finished their meals. They rested for an especially long time, as their subsequent journey would be even harder than before. Everyone took about an hour to return to their peak condition before Cai Mei¡¯er gave the order to continue.

    ---

    The vegetation became denser and more obvious the deeper they went. Because of the towering ancient trees, some of the canopies were sopact that it felt like nighttime, while the life energy in the air became conspicuously thicker. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that the energy of Heaven and Earth was vaster here; any soul master would boost their cultivation to the best possible state if they could cultivate in this ce for a sufficient period of time. It was a pity that nobody chose this area to cultivate, as it was simply too dangerous.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er began to slow down even more than before. She scanned the nts and vegetation around her from time to time, as if she were looking for something.

    Huo Yuhao hugged the two little bears as he raised Spiritual Detection to thergest possible area without using his Eye of Destiny.

    ¡°Woo, woo!¡± One of the small bears rubbed itself against his chest and moaned as if it were trying to be sassy. It was sleeping extremely soundly.

    Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated with these two fellows. He was almost convinced that they shouldn¡¯t be Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, but pigs.

    During their midday rest, the two bears finished the same amount of food as everyone elsebined. Fortunately, thepany had brought along the Wolf-Ape¡¯s meat that had been processed properly for the bears. The two bears climbed unmorously all over Huo Yuhao once they finished their meal, and started drooling as they fell sound asleep again. It felt as if they were trying to rely on Huo Yuhao as much as they could. It was fortunate that their saliva didn¡¯t smell strange, or not even Wang Dong¡¯er would want toe near him.

    Huo Yuhao had been observing their transformations this whole time. He had to admit that it wasn¡¯t just luck that Darkgolden Terrorw Bears reached the apex of the soul beast hierarchy.

    These two bears were born not too long ago, but their rate of growth outstripped that of humans. They began to take longer and more drawn-out breaths after just one day, and managed to open their eyes, while their strength increased continuously. Furthermore, the immense life energy in their bodies nourished their bodies like a spouting geyser.

    ording to Shrek Academy¡¯s records, Darkgolden Terrorw Bears grew up the fastest during their first year. They would grow to about two meters tall after their first year, and would possess fearsome fighting strength. They would enter a teau in growth afterwards, and their growth speed would be normal. However, they wereplete carnivores, and their abilities would be boosted in tandem with the strength of the soul beasts they consumed.

    A Darkgolden Terrorw Bear with three thousand years of cultivation was often not even a thousand years old, because it relied on consuming other soul beasts to boost its own strength. Naturally, the prerequisite was that they didn¡¯t meet any soul beasts more powerful than they were, as there were hardly any mighty soul beasts that would just let them grow up.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t thought about how he was going to settle these two fellows. He was probably going to let them live in Shrek Academy, and perhaps they could even be Shrek Academy¡¯s secret weapons. Of course, that meant they had to be obedient enough.

    The two bears slept even better and more deeply than before once they officially entered the Core Region. If their parents had been alive, this would have been the ce where they should have resided. They were definitely morefortable in this ce, and these fellow¡¯s life energies were greatly boosted as they were baptized by the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region and the ample life energy contained within.

    There were far fewer soul beasts in the Core Region,pared to the Hybrid Region. The soul beasts that could inhabit the Core Region were almost all top-tier ones, and most of these soul beasts either lived alone or with a small family. These soul beasts were typically formidable and arrogant at the same time, and hardly any would choose to live in a group.

    Several rtively powerful soul beasts would mark their own territories within the Core Region, and both humans and soul beasts that dared to enter their territory would be deemed enemies and assaulted instantly.

    This was the reason why most soul beasts rarely entered the Core Region unless they believed they were powerful enough, as they could easily find themselves in fatal trouble.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er continued in for roughly an hour before she switched directions. She didn¡¯t move deeper into the Core Region anymore, and started moving horizontally.

    The area of the Core Region was far smaller than the Hybrid Region. With thispany¡¯s abilities, they wouldn¡¯t even need half a day to reach the ughtering Grounds if they ran with all they had.

    This was naturally just a hypothetical situation, and would only happen in theory. The humans that dared to try this all became part of the forest¡¯s nutrients.

    A deep and angry roar rang out in the distance. Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately halted in her tracks and listened intently.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had yet to reach where this roar came from, so nobody could see anything through it.

    A bright chirp followed immediately afterward. This chirp was a lot sharper and shriller than the previous roar.

    Huo Yuhao did a quick calction and said, ¡°Fifteen degrees to the left in front of us. They¡¯re about four to five kilometers away.¡±

    The two soul beasts¡¯ roaring and chirping became more frequent and frustrated as he spoke.

    A look of delight came over Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face. ¡°We¡¯re lucky! I think we¡¯ve found what we¡¯re looking for. The soul beast making those shrill chirping sounds is our target. I am confident that my ears haven¡¯t failed me, and I also believe that it¡¯s in conflict with another extremely formidable soul beast. This opportunity is just too advantageous for us.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan turned around and looked at Cai Mei¡¯er. The team¡¯s leadership naturally shifted to her with a Title Duoluo around in thepany.

    Cai Mei¡¯er said, ¡°Let¡¯s not be hasty, we will keep our distance for now. Their battle has yet to begin. We will wait for a while longer so that we don¡¯t get caught in the fray.¡±

    She walked in front of thepany as she spoke while her eyes closed into a squint in the direction of those sounds, and she began to listen intently.

    Boom... The battle had finally begun, and the vigorous explosion could still be clearly heard even though it came from over four kilometers away. What was strange was that this sound didn¡¯t trigger any hysteria or panic in the area around them. The soul beasts that could live within the Core Region were not the kind to scurry away in fright.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­ A series of deep rumbles could be heard.

    Huo Yuhao nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who wasn¡¯t far from his position. Huo Yuhao knew that he could reach that distance with his Spiritual Detection if he fused his martial soul with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s martial soul, and if he also used his Eye of Destiny.

 Chapter 241.1: Skyshaking Roar and Silverbrave Beast

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also sensed his thoughts and nced at him, seemingly asking him if he¡¯d really expose their martial soul fusion.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t decide. Even though Wang Dong¡¯er was extremely magnanimous, he also understood her very well. Although she¡¯d been convinced, was she really not bothered? As a normal girl, how could she not be? She simply didn¡¯t want to put him in a bad position, thus she acted like she wasn¡¯t. This was heart wrenching for her! Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t want anything else to affect his rtionship with Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The noises of battle became louder and louder. Fortunately, the echoes that they heard ryed that the two unknown soul beasts weren¡¯t moving around much as they fought.

    Cai Mei¡¯er shut her eyes and listened quietly. After a brief moment, she said, ¡°They have roughly between thirty thousand and thirty-five thousand years of cultivation; they¡¯re at least second-grade soul beasts.¡±

    Soul beasts weren¡¯t distinctly separated into grades. It was more-so just an appraisal of their innate abilities. Simply put, Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were a clear example of first-grade soul beasts, whereas second-grade soul beasts were still pretty outstanding despite not being the strongest.

    The wolf-apes that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had met earlier had possessed great fighting strength. However, they were only truly strong because of their three-way martial soul fusion skill. Solely based on their individual abilities, they were only barely second-grade, even with their Instant Teleportation factored in.

    Since Cai Mei¡¯er had imed that these two soul beasts were second-grade, and that they also possessed thirty to thirty-five thousand year cultivations, it meant that their cultivations were equivalent to experienced Soul Sages from the inner courtyard.

    Even though soul beasts with cultivations from ten thousand to ny thousand years were collectively categorized as ten thousand year soul beasts, there was still a huge gap in their cultivations. The ten thousandth, thirty thousandth, fifty thousandth, and seventy thousandth year all represented barriers that soul beasts had to cross. Their abilities also improved significantly when they did so. If these two soul beasts managed to reach fifty thousand years of cultivation, they¡¯d be equivalent in strength to Soul Douluos. Furthermore, soul beasts were physically stronger than humans. As such, even a Soul Douluo would find it difficult to challenge them.

    Cai Mei¡¯er said, ¡°Let¡¯s not rush. If I¡¯m not wrong, this is probably a fight for territory. Such a fight will usuallyst for quite some time. However, it¡¯s not a life-and-death battle; they¡¯ll probably hold back. We¡¯ll dead over when they¡¯ve depleted more of their strength.¡±

    They could handle the two soul beasts, but this was still the Core Region of the Great Star Dou Forest. Who knew if a hundred thousand year soul beast would suddenly fall from the sky? If something like that happened, they might all die! That was why it was imperative that they ensure everyone was in top condition.

    Since they were waiting, everyone quickly adjusted their condition.

    Wang Dong¡¯er walked up to Wang Qiu¡¯er and smiled at her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er thought to herself, Why¡¯re you smiling at me? She said coldly, ¡°Is something the matter?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I just wanted to thank you for helping Yuhao find a suitable soul ring. I would also like to apologize for being rude towards you in the past.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted and said, ¡°Can¡¯t he thank me himself? Are you saying that he needs you to thank me instead?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t bothered by her words. She simply chortled and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er naturally stopped talking to her as well. She nced at Huo Yuhao again, who was standing a short distance away.

    Currently, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have the time to thank her. He¡¯d unleashed his Spiritual Detection and was trying to detect any movement around him. As the team¡¯s main control-type soul master, he¡¯d been the busiest person since entering the Core Region.

    The two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs were a little clingy. Although Huo Yuhao had put them down, they were now sleeping veryfortably while hugging his thighs.

    Huo Yuhao was helpless to do anything about it. When he foughtter on, he¡¯d have no choice but to treat them as burdens.

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao said to Cai Mei¡¯er, ¡°Dean Cai, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I take out a slightlyrger soul tool here, right?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned for a moment. Even though she was the dean of the Martial Soul Department, she didn¡¯t know much about soul tools.

    ¡°What do you want to take out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced down and said, ¡°These two fellows are too clingy; it won¡¯t be convenient if I bring both of them along for the fightter on. We can¡¯t freeze them again either. Even if they can recover from it, it¡¯ll still be harmful to them. I¡¯d like to put them inside a soul tool and prevent them from running about when they wake up. At the same time, the soul tool will also protect them.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as you¡¯re sure that the soul tool is safe enough. It¡¯s also very dangerous for them to be here. Any soul beast that sees them will definitely attack and eat them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let them get too far away from me.¡±

    Once he¡¯d finished speaking, he took a few steps to the side and lifted his left hand towards a slightly spacious area. His Starlight Sapphire ring shone brightly, and a dim blue light spread through the air. Following this, something huge appeared in front of everyone.

    It was a huge ball-shaped entity with eight long legs. The ball-shaped entity was two meters in diameter, and had a very strange metallic luster on its golden body.

    What¡¯s this? Everyone present was stunned by its appearance; they¡¯d never seen a soul tool of this scale before.

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°This is called an all-terrain exploration soul tool. I learned how to use it in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Our academy has the blueprint for it too. However, I also made one for myself, and added some stuff that I¡¯ve personally researched to it.¡±

    He grabbed the two cubs and walked towards the all-terrain exploration soul tool after he¡¯d finished exining.

    When he looked at it, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but think of Ju Zi and Ke Ke. All three of them had sat in a simr soul tool to explore the Jing Yang Mountain Range before!

    This all-terrain exploration soul tool had beenpleted by Huo Yuhao and included some of the elements of the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons. Not only did that mean it less formation arrays were required, but it also meant that it was more flexible when controlled. Huo Yuhao had also used the best materials he had to create it. It was now at the standard of a ss 6 soul tool, with its defense close to that of a ss 7 soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao leapt into the soul tool and the opening closed behind him. When he poured his soul power into it, the soul tool stood up, its legs extending and retracting a few times. A barrier then shone around it as he continued to pour his soul power into it.

    Everyone present was curious when they saw this interesting soul tool. They¡¯d seen soul tools used to carry people before, but this was the first time they¡¯d seen a soul tool that bothpletely covered a soul master and appeared mobile.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice resonated from the soul tool, ¡°When this fight is over, whoever¡¯s interested in the all-terrain exploration soul tool cane try it out. It can hold three people.¡±

    It was evidently not suitable for them to try it out right now. After all, they were soul masters. It would be easier for them to show off their abilities outside of it.

    The soul tool¡¯s legs started to move under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. It only took a few steps for it to reach the spot where Huo Yuhao had been initially. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection hadn¡¯t been affected at all; he was still using it from inside.

    Cai Mei¡¯er sighed in her heart. It seems like the era of soul tools is about to arrive!

    In fact, both she and Yan Shaozhe had known that soul tools were bound toe into the limelight as advancements and developments continued to be made. However, that didn¡¯t mean they were willing to be reced by soul tools. This was also what many soul masters thought. Soul engineers were simply going to be more and more powerful as soul tools evolved. In the near future, the world might belong to soul engineers. As for pure soul masters like them? They were likely to be eliminated.

    Before the Sun Moon Continent had arrived, the Douluo Continent had measured an empire¡¯s strength based on the number of soul masters and Titled Douluos it had.

    However, the use of soul masters on a battlefield had diminished greatly as soul engineers demonstrated their power. Long-range soul tools were particrly problematic for soul masters. No matter how strong a soul master was, he couldn¡¯t deal with long-range attacks if they were too overwhelming. This was the key difference between cold weapons and firearms.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire, Dou Ling Empire, and Star Luo Empires were all very strong. Yet, why had their progress in developing soul tools been so slow over thest few thousand years? Was it because their resources weren¡¯t as vast as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s? The Sun Moon Empire was around the same size as the Star Luo Empire. Furthermore, resources could be bought even if they couldn¡¯t be snatched!

    In reality, the three empires hadgged behind the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tool development because their respected soul masters had mounted too much pressure and affected the development of soul tools and engineers in their respective empires.

    This had also been the case for Shrek Academy. It was like a small empire that held an enormously respectable position on the continent. If Elder Mu hadn¡¯t decided that Shrek Academy should start putting more focus on its Soul Tool Department before he passed away, the development of soul tools in the academy was likely to have stalled even longer.

 Chapter 241.2: Skyshaking Roar and Silverbrave Beast

    As she thought of all this, Cai Mei¡¯er had to admit that Elder Mu had foresight. Perhaps it really was time for soul masters to make way.

    Everyone was observing the ball-shaped glowing entity, and Wang Dong¡¯er even walked forward to knock on it curiously.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Don¡¯t knock, don¡¯t knock. It might be angry.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s an iron blotch. How can it get angry?¡±

    As she was speaking, a series of nging noises sounded. Metal barrels started to flip out from the soul tool and pointed towards Wang Dong¡¯er. Undtions of soul power could be felt clearly from every barrel.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was shocked, and jumped backward subconsciously. The instantaneous feeling of being locked on even caused her to unleash her martial soul.

    The formerly shiny, spotless soul tool seemed to have instantly turned into a porcupine. There were close to a hundred metal barrels on it, of all different sizes and colors. Evidently, they were used for different purposes.

    The most eye-catching of them all was an extremelyrge soul cannon. This soul cannon had a diameter of around twenty centimeters. The base of the barrel was semi-circr, like a small hat attached to the top of the soul vehicle. The barrel could rotate on its own, and brought the greatest pressure to Wang Dong¡¯er.

    This soul tool wasn¡¯t created by Huo Yuhao. He wasn¡¯t so good. This had been a gift from Xuan Ziwen before he left.

    These barrels were installed by Xuan Ziwen. The one at the highest point was a stationary soul cannon. It wasn¡¯t veryrge, and even tapped into the size of the all-terrain exploration vehicle to resist the recoil as it was fired. In terms of structure, it could be considered a ss 6 stationary soul cannon. However, it could fire ss 8 and below stationary soul cannon shells as it was stabilized by its base. Of course, those cannon shells had to be avable first!

    After obtaining this soul tool, Huo Yuhao made some modifications to it, mainly in terms of its movement. He simplified a few things and added some elements to it, making it more flexible.

    Xuan Ziwen had told Huo Yuhao that such brand-new stationary soul cannons were thetest research product of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Their offensive strength could evenpare to the soul fort strategies used by ss 6 soul engineers. These new soul forts were even mobile, and were notable because soul engineers could greatly increase their survivability inside them.

    In the end, it was very difficult to research true robots. Thus, the Illustrious Virtue Hall became less demanding, and tried their best toplete this all-terrain exploration soul tool. They even gave it a new name ¨C all-terrain self-driving fort.

    When Xuan Ziwen passed it to Huo Yuhao, the all-terrain self-driving fort had already been pushed to its production phase.

    After production, the use of certain rare materials would decline. The overall quality would drop to the level of a ss 5 soul tool. However, the fighting strength of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers would still be enhanced if they were equipped with these forts.

    Fortunately, Xuan Ziwen had told Huo Yuhao about it. Even after the quality of the materials used dropped, these forts were still very expensive. They couldn¡¯t be mass-produced as of yet.

    Everyone from Shrek was stunned when they saw the ¡°porcupine¡±. It really resembled a porcupine!

    Huo Yuhao told them, ¡°This all-terrain exploration soul tool has be an all-terrain self-driving fort after it was modified. In the near future, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers will be equipped with vehicles like this.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯erughed bitterly. ¡°Yuhao, are you trying to tell me something?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was impressed. Dean Cai is indeed smart! She can tell that I¡¯m trying to hint at something.

    ¡°Dean Cai, I wish to propose to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion that all the academy¡¯s students learn how to use soul tools after we return. They don¡¯t have to learn how to create soul tools, but they must at least know how to use them. If possible, we can start with the inner courtyard. I hope that you can help me with this.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯erughed helplessly. ¡°I knew that you didn¡¯t show this soul tool off for no reason. Let¡¯s talk when we return. I¡¯ll need to discuss it with Shaozhe. However, I think you¡¯ll need to convince Elder Xuan first.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao also knew that he couldn¡¯t be impatient. He should wait until they returned first. However, he couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°Dean Cai, we¡¯ve actually been holding to a misconception.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned.

    After pondering for a while, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°All this while, our academy and the three empires on the continent have been progressing very slowly in terms of soul tool development. It¡¯s greatly rted to the reluctance of soul masters to ept the rise of soul tools. However, soul masters are the ones who can truly unleash the full power of soul tools. Soul engineers aren¡¯t called that because they can produce soul tools. I believe that anyone who can use soul tools can be considered a soul engineer. A soul engineer will be better than a soul master if they both use the same soul tool for the first time. That¡¯s because he¡¯s more familiar with soul tools in general. However, I¡¯m absolutely certain that soul masters will have a greater advantage given enough practice and familiarization. This also means that I believe that every soul master can be an outstanding soul engineer, whereas soul engineers might not necessarily be able to unlock the full potential of soul tools on their own.

    ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve always reckoned that our Ultimate Soldier n is a test of this theory. I¡¯ve alreadye up with a conclusion. So¡­¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er waspletely moved at this point. She couldn¡¯t help but interrupt Huo Yuhao, ¡°Are you saying that soul masters will be much stronger if we fight using soul tools?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I mean. I¡¯m very sure of that. I believe that the future trend will be soul masters equipped with custom-made soul tools along with their own martial souls. Our academy is the best academy on the continent. Why don¡¯t we kickstart this trend? Soul tools aren¡¯t monsters. They are only weapons that we use! They are like Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded, and looked pensive. ¡°Yuhao, I have to admit that you¡¯ve moved me. After we return, we must discuss this in detail. This concerns the future development path of the academy. I seem to have a rough idea of what you mean.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said respectfully, ¡°Dean Cai, thanks for supporting me.¡± He was a person who knew his limits. At this point, Cai Mei¡¯er was already receptive to his suggestion. If he nagged any further, she might be annoyed.

    At this point, a deafening roar sounded from afar. The soundwaves were so strong that everyone subconsciously covered their ears and retreated a few steps.

    ¡°A Skyshaking Roar?¡± Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned. She finally realized what one of the two soul beasts that were fighting was.

    ¡°It should be the Skyshaking Roar. It has also unleashed its strongest innate ability. Let¡¯s go.¡± Cai Mei¡¯er addressed the others, then quickly dashed forward.

    Zhang Lexuan quickly took up her previous position and covered everyone¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his soul tool forwards. The rest followed beside him, moving quickly towards the two soul beasts.

    Even if it was the Great Star Dou Forest, a few kilometers wasn¡¯t too far for them.

    The Skyshaking Roar had shocked all of them earlier. They were still several kilometers away! The roar was so deafening that their ears were still ringing. As they got closer, they were practically being attacked by the soundwaves. It had to be the Skyshaking Roar.

    The sh between the two soul beasts continued. They were fighting more and more intensely. Finally, Huo Yuhao was able to detect them.

    The soul power undtions from these two soul beasts were very strong, such that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t cover their entire bodies with his Spiritual Detection. He could only observe from nearby.

    The forms of the two soul beasts also surfaced in everyone¡¯s minds.

    One of them resembled a lion. Since he was seeing it through his Spiritual Detection, the color of the lion¡¯s hair couldn¡¯t be distinguished. In terms of appearance, it looked like a small lion. It was only a meter long, its shoulder height below sixty centimeters. However, it was fast, and emitted the deep, furious roars they had heard.

    That¡¯s right, this soul beast was the Skyshaking Roar, the origin of that deafening roar!

    While it was small, its voice was unbelievably loud, and could easily qualify as a deadly weapon. All the flora within a three hundred-meter radius of the area where the two soul beasts were fighting had disappeared. More urately speaking, it had been shredded into powder by the deafening roar!

    The strongest innate ability of the Skyshaking Roar was the same as its name. Even a hundred-thousand year soul beast would find it difficult to deal with this soul skill. The frightening soundwaves couldn¡¯t be resisted just by covering one¡¯s ears. The soundwaves were both domain-type attacks and a domain-type control skill.

    Even if one could handle the destructive power of these soundwaves, their hearing would still be greatly affected. The ringing that ensued could introduce severe vertigo. It was an extremely strong ability thatbined both control and offense, and it was precisely because of this ability that the Skyshaking Roar was considered a second-grade soul beast!

 Chapter 241.3: Skyshaking Roar and Silverbrave Beast

    The Skyshaking Roar¡¯s opponent wasn¡¯t ordinary, either. The Skyshaking Roar wasn¡¯t huge, but its opponent was even smaller. It resembled a dog, but its limbs were extremely thick, and its shape was a little weird. There wasn¡¯t any hair on its body, and it was covered with scales. Huo Yuhao could sense soul power undtionsing from its scales using his Spiritual Detection, but didn¡¯t know the purpose of it. While it was small, it looked very fierce. Its face was long and ugly, while its fangs poked out past its lips.

    What soul beast is this? A huge question mark appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He had never seen such a soul beast before!

    Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned as she said, ¡°Eh? Is this a Silverbrave Beast?¡±

    After hearing the words ¡°Silverbrave Beast¡±, Huo Yuhao was lost. Even Zhang Lexuan was doubtful. Evidently, she didn¡¯t know anything about this soul beast either.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at Cai Mei¡¯er and nodded. She said, ¡°It is a Silverbrave Beast.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er was stunned, and lost her voice as she asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Silverbrave Beast extinct? Why is it still present in the Great Star Dou Forest? If it¡¯s the Silverbrave Beast, it can¡¯t easily be killed by the Skyshaking Roar. The situation is bound to change again. Let¡¯s not get close to it. Yuhao, continue to monitor them.¡±

    After she whispered her instructions, she led the rest of them to hide behind a huge tree.

    Zhang Lexuan asked, ¡°What kind of soul beast is the Silverbrave Beast? The academy doesn¡¯t seem to have taught us about it in the curriculum.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, it isn¡¯t taught. While the academy does teach you about ancient existences and extinct soul beasts, it will only choose those that are representative. We usually won¡¯t talk about the other extinct soul beasts. After all, they don¡¯t have any real meaning. The Silverbrave Beast is also rarely found in ancient collections. It has been extinct for a long time! It is simr to the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, in that it has poor reproductive capabilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still in the all-terrain self-driving fort, but he could hear Cai Mei¡¯er clearly. An extinct soul beast? The Skyshaking Roar was evidently not the choice Wang Qiu¡¯er had in mind for him. This meant that she had found the Silverbrave Beast for him.

    Cai Mei¡¯er continued. ¡°Strictly speaking, the Silverbrave Beast is only considered a third-grade soul beast. However, it possesses an extremely strong innate soul skill which bumps them up to second-grade. Qiu¡¯er, you¡¯ve seen it before?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and answered, ¡°Yes. I even suffered under its hands. If not for my fortune, I would have¡­ That¡¯s why it left a deep impression in my mind. The Silverbrave Beast is an agile twin elemental soul beast. While its twin elements aren¡¯t particrly strong, its innate soul skill is extremely powerful. If one is careless, they will suffer greatly under its hands.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°Seems like Huo Yuhao¡¯s luck is great today! These two soul beasts are great choices. Yongyue, while you are an agility-type soul master, the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s all-around control and fighting talents will be very beneficial for your future development if you fuse with it. What do you think?¡±

    Li Yongyue was already getting excited. When he discovered the Skyshaking Roar, he was already moved. That was because he could roughly guess that its soul skill wasn¡¯t suitable for Huo Yuhao. The Skyshaking Roar only appeared in the Core Region! Without Dean Cai apanying them, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy for him to encounter it. Although his martial soul wasn¡¯t fullypatible with it, the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s abilities couldpensate for this shortfall.

    He nodded without any hesitation as he agreed wholeheartedly!

    Han Ruoruo asked, ¡°Dean Cai, what¡¯s the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s soul skill? Tell us.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er replied, ¡°I definitely meant to tell all of you, or I wouldn¡¯t have stopped you. The Silverbrave Beast¡¯s innate soul skill is called Inscription, an extremely strong ability. It¡¯s able to inscribe its opponent¡¯s soul skill and store it in its mind. When it needs it, it can use it. The most terrifying thing is that this Silverbrave Beast¡¯s Inscription ispletely done through its divine energy, and thus it won¡¯t be affected by anything. When it unleashes its Inscription, it¡¯ll only be restricted by its own cultivation. The power of its soul skill is able to be unleashedpletely.

    ¡°Let me give an example. If the Silverbrave Beast were fight against us, it would be able to inscribe Ruoruo¡¯s Golden Skysurge and use it against her. If its cultivation were the same as Ruoruo¡¯s, the strength of its Golden Skysurge wouldn¡¯t be any different from Ruoruo¡¯s Golden Skysurge. If its cultivation were above hers, then the strength of its Golden Skysurge would actually be better! Against the Silverbrave Beast, it¡¯smon to see your own soul skills used against you, and you¡¯ll be caught off-guard. That¡¯s why I hope none of you use your fourth or above soul skills when you fightter, to prevent its Inscription from seeding.¡±

    After hearing Cai Mei¡¯er¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao felt his heart rate increasing. This Inscription was too powerful! This also meant that he could obtain this powerful soul skill if he managed to obtain the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s soul ring. He could do the same thing as it then!

    As he thought until this point, he quickly asked, ¡°Dean Cai, what is its Inscription limited by?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er looked at the huge metallic ball and nodded in her heart. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t lose hisposure because he was excited, but thought of a question instead.

    ¡°There are indeed restrictions. It can only be used to inscribe one soul skill at a time. This also means that the Silverbrave Beast has to unleash the soul skill that it inscribed before it can inscribe another soul skill. ording to historical records, there are also a limited number of times that it can use its Inscription. However, no one knows how many times that is. The only certainty is that it won¡¯t be below three.¡±

    That¡¯s enough!, Huo Yuhao eximed in his heart.

    Of course its Inscription had limitations. If the opponent wasn¡¯t strong enough, the ability that was inscribed wouldn¡¯t be outstanding anyway. It would be useless in a fight then.

    However, humans were different from soul beasts! The Silverbrave Beast had to fight other soul beasts before it couldplete an inscription. However, soul masters couldmunicate with their partners and inscribe their soul skills. The situation was different.

    Huo Yuhao grew more excited as he thought of this. If he used it well, it could bring about surprising effects on his opponents.

    Cai Mei¡¯er added, ¡°The Silverbrave Beast¡¯s Inscription isn¡¯t effective on everything. Unless its cultivation reaches a hundred thousand years, it won¡¯t be able to inscribe the soul skills of a hundred-thousand year soul beast. Of course, this problem won¡¯t exist once you be a Titled Douluo, if you manage to obtain this soul skill. You should really thank Qiu¡¯er! This is a huge gift. No one knows whether a second Silverbrave Beast will appear on the continent ever again.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°There should be more than one in the Great Star Dou Forest, but they are very rare. They all live in the Core Region. I¡¯ve seen them twice nearby. There should be more than one.¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er revealed a smile on her face and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t wish to see soul beasts go extinct even though there¡¯s conflict between us and them. If the proposition on Spirits that Huo Yuhao mentioned can be realized in the future¡­¡±

    As she spoke until this point, she paused for a moment and looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er. She said, ¡°Regarding Spirits, you¡¯ll know when you return to the academy. They will be tested on the inner courtyard students first.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er revealed a stunned look on her face and said, ¡°The academy has found something to rece soul rings?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not the time to talk about that now. Although it isn¡¯t aplete substitution, it can possibly mediate our rtionship with soul beasts if it seeds. It¡¯s about time. Let¡¯s get ready to fight.¡±

    On the other side, the intensity of the fight between the two soul beasts had reached its peak. Even though they were around two kilometers away, they could still sense waves of soul power undtionsing from afar.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was slightly astonished at this point. Recing soul rings? What kind of ability is that? It sounds like it¡¯s rted to Yuhao...

    However, the main mission for everyone now was to take care of these two soul beasts. No one would bother answering her questions.

    Cai Mei¡¯er whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll move forwardter. Lexuan, bring Li Yongyue along with you and make a roundabout through the left. Ruoruo, proceed from the right to cut off their escape route. Yuhao, can Mo Xuan enter your soul tool? You, Dong¡¯er, and Qiu¡¯er will be responsible for the left side.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Huo Yuhao opened the vehicle, and Mo Xuan got in.

    Mo Xuan was filled with curiosity when he entered the self-driving fort.

    Huo Yuhao turned to smile at him and said, ¡°Brother Mo, I can teach you how to control it in the future if you are interested. The most attractive part about changing from a soul master to a soul engineer is that it can make someone like you, who isn¡¯t very offensively inclined, much stronger.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m interested. I¡¯m very interested!¡± Mo Xuan replied without any hesitation. There was a burning look in his eyes.

    When Huo Yuhao spoke to Cai Mei¡¯er earlier, she wasn¡¯t the only one who was moved. Mo Xuan was the one who was the most agitated.

    As an auxiliary-type soul master, he was protected on the battlefield by the rest of his teammates. When he saw the countless barrels that appeared on the self-driving fort earlier, he waspletely roused. If there was something like this to protect him, he would no longer be a burden to the rest of his teammates on the battlefield!

 Chapter 242.1: Fifth Soul Ring!

    While Mo Xuan wasn¡¯t a soul engineer, he was still clear about some of the principles of soul tools. He clearly knew that soul tools could be controlled using soul power. However, he joined the Martial Soul Department first, and was also highly valued by that department. Even though he was interested in soul tools, he never dared to show his interest. But Huo Yuhao¡¯s words struck a chord with him. With such an opportunity, he epted Huo Yuhao¡¯s offer without any hesitation.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly moved when he saw the burning look in Mo Xuan¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you when we return. You can be the pilot for my n.¡±

    Even though he was talking to Mo Xuan, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t slow in his actions. He poured in soul power with his left hand and controlled the soul tool with his right hand. The self-driving fort started to move flexibly, its legs unobstructed on most surfaces. Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er followed behind him, quickly getting into position.

    Defeating the two soul beasts wasn¡¯t a problem. They only had to be wary of the two soul beasts escaping.

    Very soon, the encirclement waspleted with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    The Skyshaking Roar had gained the upper hand near the end of the battle as it roared. While it wasn¡¯t veryrge, its strength was as terrifying as its voice. Its ws left deep marks no matter where itnded.

    Boom! The Silverbrave Beast flew into the air as it was struck by the Skyshaking Roar. It broke two trees before falling to the ground.

    As the Skyshaking Roar howled, its eyes filled with ferocity, and its body turned into a streak of flowing light. It opened its mouth wide and revealed its terrifying fangs before leaping towards the Silverbrave Beast, going straight for the throat. If it managed to strike the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s throat, the Beast was likely to die.

    At this point, the Silverbrave Beast flipped around and leapt up. However, its body was a little unstable, and there was blood flowing from its nose. Evidently, it was gravely injured.

    However, it still maintained a calm expression, and even revealed a brutal look on its face.

    A strange light shone from its body as the Skyshaking Roar arrived before it. A dim, illusory projection shed behind its back. If Huo Yuhao were closer, he would have discovered that the projection that shed behind the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s back actually had the same appearance as it did!

    ¡°Cut off all hearing!¡± Huo Yuhao immediately warned everyone using his Spiritual Detection. Following this, a furious roar reverberated out.

    It was different this time. Huo Yuhao was already within a kilometer of the two soul beasts. When the furious roar sounded, an unprecedented soundwave was unleashed, creating an extremely immense force.

    Huo Yuhao had his self-driving fort squat down before activating a ss 6 protective soul barrier. He also immediately unleashed his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor and blocked for the two cubs, as well as Mo Xuan.

    The sound traveled rapidly. Even though Huo Yuhao had predicted what was going to happen, the soundwave arrived just as hepleted all his actions.

    The soundwave wreaked havoc for close to five seconds before it ended. Everyone covered their ears and tried to find cover. Only the three who had at least eight soul rings used their own strength to resist the soundwave.

    Huo Yuhao and the others in the fort were still fine. The fort took most of the impact, and Huo Yuhao only sensed his soul power dropping significantly. However, he, Mo Xuan, and the two cubs weren¡¯t harmed at all, since the fort protected them. Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er took cover behind the fort. Although they were affected by the soundwave, they weren¡¯t directly exposed to it. Their cultivations weren¡¯t weak, either, and they only turned a bit pale.

    The Skyshaking Roar was indeed an extremely strong control-type and destructive soul skill! However, this Skyshaking Roar was released by the Silverbrave Beast!

    Undoubtedly, the ten-thousand year Skyshaking Roar was unfamiliar with the ten-thousand year Silverbrave Beast. It had even thought that it had gained the upper hand, and hadn¡¯t expected its own ability to be used against it. Caught off-guard, it was struck by the soundwave.

    The Skyshaking Roar was extremely domineering when it unleashed its roar at its opponents. However, it suffered greatly as it was struck by its own soul skill.

    The terrifying soundwave sent its body flying into the air. More importantly, its body was paralyzed as it was hit by the soundwave. It couldn¡¯t even control its body right now, much less retaliate.

    The Silverbrave Beast had endured for the entire fight for this opportunity. It instantly changed into a streak of silver light before making a half turn in the air. The tail that it had been concealing shot out from behind its body like a sharp, pointed hammer. It stabbed into the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s wide-open mouth and prated through its head.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Huo Yuhao gave the order. Through his Spiritual Detection, everyone could be instructed at the same time.

    The Skyshaking Roar had already suffered a lethal blow. If the Silverbrave Beast attacked any further, they wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain its soul ring! There wasn¡¯t any time left!

    Everyone from Shrek Academy attacked at this point.

    The all-terrain self-driving fort stood up quickly and burst forward. The six soul cannons with thergest calibers started to exude intense red lights.

    These six cannons were extremely destructive, high-explosive soul cannons. Their effective range was more than five hundred meters.

    In the next moment, the six cannons were fired at the same time. Six huge cannon shells formed by soul power cut through the air and went straight for the Silverbrave Beast under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    While he couldn¡¯t use soul skills that came from the fourth ring and above, he could use soul tools! No matter how powerful the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s Inscription was, it couldn¡¯t possibly inscribe the abilities of his soul tools.

    The rest of the group was faster than Huo Yuhao, but his six high-explosive cannon shells were the first to hit.

    The Silverbrave Beast had stabbed through the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s head. As it moved its long tail, it first destroyed the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s vocal cords. Without its Skyshaking Roar, its abilities fell greatly. It couldn¡¯t retaliate even if it wanted to.

    The Silverbrave Beast was also extremely cunning. It broke its opponent¡¯s vocal cords, scared that its opponent would retaliate. After breaking its vocal cords, it immediately retracted its long tail.

    Indeed, the ten-thousand year Skyshaking Roar recovered immediately. It closed its mouth and tried to roar again. However, a pool of fresh blood shot out from the area behind its back where it was stabbed before it copsed to the ground.

    The Silverbrave Beast wanted to attack again and take it down. However, it was then engulfed by a sense of crisis. It screamed before turning around and running away.

    Six high-explosive cannon shells were about to hit it!

    Huo Yuhao had made precise calctions as he fired the six cannon shells. These cannon shells weren¡¯t used to harm the Silverbrave Beast, but rather to restrict it.

    The six shells encircled the Silverbrave Beast as theynded on the ground. They also separated the Skyshaking Roar and the Silverbrave Beast.

    Six loud booms went off in session. Terrifying soul power shockwaves swept the entire ce.

    The Skyshaking Roar was blown away by the explosions. It flew towards Li Yongyue and Zhang Lexuan. Huo Yuhao had calcted even this precisely. Whether it was Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, or Cai Mei¡¯er, they were impressed by his judgment and control.

    The Silverbrave Beast was already fatigued. As it faced the explosions, it could only passively endure them.

    However, it was indeed very sly. Seeing that it couldn¡¯t escape, it started to dig into the ground and covered its body with soil. Even though the explosive strength of the cannon shells was very great, they didn¡¯t fully impact the Silverbrave Beast.

    To everyone from Shrek Academy, this restriction was sufficient. The encirclement had beenpleted.

    Li Yongyue used his Moonde to end the Skyshaking Roar¡¯s life. A ck soul ring rose from its body, and Li Yongyue grew extremely excited. He lifted his right hand above his head and gave a thumbs up to Huo Yuhao.

    On the other side, Han Ruoruo was the first to attack after the explosions. Her Dazzling Golden Rope was not to be trifled with. Golden rings descended from the sky andpletely cut off any escape route. It was impossible for the Silverbrave Beast to escape anymore.

    It was simple from this point onwards. The fatigued and hurt Silverbrave Beast was no longer anyone¡¯s match. Although it tried to use its Inscription, it was useless, as no one used their powerful soul skills. Within five minutes, Huo Yuhao leapt out from the fort and killed it while it was under the control of the Dazzling Golden Rope using his Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword, before the Silverbrave Beast couldplete its Inscription.

    They were prepared, but the Silverbrave Beast wasn¡¯t. It was also injured after fighting the Skyshaking Roar. There weren¡¯t any loopholes, everyone from Shrek Academy coordinated very well.

    It wasn¡¯t Han Ruoruo or Huo Yuhao who were most effective against the Silverbrave Beast. After all, Han Ruoruo¡¯s control-type soul skill could still be replicated, so Huo Yuhao had been attacking using soul cannons from the fort.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was the reason why the Silverbrave Beast was taken down so quickly.

 Chapter 242.2: Fifth Soul Ring!

    To Wang Qiu¡¯er, soul skills weren¡¯t that important. Her Golden Dragon Spear couldn¡¯t be Inscribed! She used pure strength and fighting techniques to attack the Silverbrave Beast, and sessfully took it down.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± After killing the Silverbrave Beast, Huo Yuhao gave a thumbs-up to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied, ¡°This is only an exchange. I¡¯m only fulfilling my promise. There¡¯s nothing to thank me for.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I have to thank you no matter what.¡± After he finished speaking, she nodded, and Huo Yuhao sat down cross-legged on the ground, starting the process of guiding the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s ck soul ring into his body.

    This was the Core Region of the Great Star Dou Forest. The faster he absorbed the soul ring, the better. Neither he nor Li Yongyue dyed, and they both started their absorption.

    Although they might absorb soul skills that they didn¡¯t want, that was unlikely to happen.

    The Silverbrave Beast and Skyshaking Roar weren¡¯t soul beasts that were bnced in all aspects. They each possessed a single strong innate ability. For soul masters, they were most likely to absorb the strongest ability of a soul beast before they absorbed any other soul skills.

    Li Yongyue and the Skyshaking Roar weren¡¯tpletelypatible, and thus it was unlikely for him to absorb weaker soul skills due to higherpatibility. As for Huo Yuhao, the Inscription was the most suitable for him. Moreover, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was great. This meant that he had some form of control during the absorption process, and didn¡¯t have to rely on luck. He could guide the greatest force to fuse with his body, and it wouldn¡¯t be too huge of a problem for him, either.

    Protection! Everyone gathered to protect the two who were absorbing their soul rings. Mo Xuan and the two cubs didn¡¯t leave the soul tool fort, it was the safest ce for them.

    During the absorption process, the difference in physical strength was slowly revealed.

    In terms of cultivation, Li Yongyue was ten ranks higher than Huo Yuhao, and absorbing his sixth soul ring. However, there was an insurmountable gap between their physical strengths.

    The two soul beasts had both possessed around thirty-thousand year cultivations. Huo Yuhao only took two hours to absorb his soul ring, but Li Yongyue took close to six hours before he seeded.

    Fortunately, the Core Region had its benefits. They didn¡¯t know if they were in the territory of the Silverbrave Beast or the Skyshaking Roar, but even after the two soul beasts died, no other soul beasts came into the area. Although they took quite a while to absorb the soul rings, they didn¡¯t run into any trouble.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes finally obtained their fifth soul ring. From this moment onwards, he could be truly called a Soul King!

    After the absorption was over, Cai Mei¡¯er quickly issued orders to everyone before the two of them could even test out their new soul skills. Retreat!

    Even though she was a Titled Douluo, she was still on tenterhooks, as they were in the Core Region of the forest. Right now, the sky was turning dark. Cai Mei¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to spend the night in the Core Region. No matter what, it was better for them to retreat to the Hybrid Region first!

    They were very fortunate this time,pared to the misfortune that befell them earlier. Not only did they sessfully find suitable soul beasts to kill, but they also didn¡¯t meet with too much trouble as they retreated!

    They ran until midnight, only stopping after they were deep in the Hybrid Region. They met a few soul beasts along the way, but they didn¡¯t pose any threat to them.

    They rested for the night and carried on the next morning, moving as quickly as possible away from the Core Region. They took less than two days to leave the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ---

    ¡°Ah! We¡¯re finally out!¡± Li Yongyue eximed.

    After rushing out of the forest and seeing the vast expanse of grass, everyone from Shrek Academy felt as if they had returned to the real world.

    Yes, they were finally out after their ordeals of the past few days! Everyone that needed soul rings had also sessfully obtained their soul rings.

    Everyone was relieved as their bodies released the tension they had been holding. Even Cai Mei¡¯er had the same feeling. Although luck had been on their side, their journey hadn¡¯t beenpletely smooth! It was a miracle that the entire team was able to sessfully retreat after facing off against the Zhong brothers!

    Cai Mei¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get too rxed, either. It¡¯s not toote to celebrate when we return to the academy. Let¡¯s rush back to the academy before it gets dark. The earlier we return, the earlier we can rx.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± everyone acknowledged her words, their voices filled with delight.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. His cultivation had increased significantly over these past few years. Whether it was his abilities as a soul master or a soul engineer, he had made significant improvements. However, he had realized how he wascking in many aspects during this journey through the Great Star Dou Forest. Luckily, they hadn¡¯t met an extremely strong soul beast in the Core Region. If they had run into a hundred-thousand year soul beast, it would have been a crisis that the entire team would have had to face together.

    In the near future, their requirements for soul rings would be stricter as their cultivation grew. However, he wouldn¡¯t have the help of a strong team every time. His abilities were stillcking!

    After a brief moment of disappointment, Huo Yuhao started to be excited. Although he had faced numerous threats on this journey, he had benefited greatly too. Like he had anticipated, his fifth soul skill was the Silverbrave Beast¡¯s Inscription.

    Not only this, but he even brought back two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs! These two cubs were still very clingy. In addition, they had grown much bigger after just a few days. Their hair was pitch-ck, and they no longer had any trouble walking. They were indeed first-grade, top-ranked soul beasts! They would soon possess fighting strength.

    They even treated Huo Yuhao as their father. When others got close to them, they would bare their teeth. Not only could he get close to them, but they were also greatly reliant on him.

    Besides the two cubs, Huo Yuhao had also obtained three soul bones. These soul bones came from the owners of the three-way martial soul fusion skill, the three wolf-apes.

    He already knew what he wanted to do with these three soul bones. He was going to keep one for himself and give the other to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Thest one would be donated to the academy. If Dong¡¯er wanted one, he would give her his soul bone. If she didn¡¯t want the soul bone, he would keep it for his own use. After all, an additional soul bone could increase the abilities of soul masters. Huo Yuhao was especially excited to see the wolf-ape¡¯s Instant Teleportation in the soul bone. No matter when this skill appeared, it was regarded as a divine skill! It was like possessing another life!

    ---

    Everyone moved extremely quickly as they rushed back to the academy. Before the sun set, they finally saw the familiar city and gate to the academy.

    ¡°Ah! We¡¯re finally back.¡± Li Yongyue shouted as if he were venting! Following this, he started to chuckle. He was very satisfied with what he had gained on this journey! As an agility-type soul master, the Skyshaking Roar was an explosive soul skill. Furthermore, the soul skill had some degree of control ability. It would definitely affect his future development!

    Comparatively speaking, Wang Qiu¡¯er and Mo Xuan¡¯s soul rings were lousier. Mo Xuan¡¯s soul ring was slightly better then Qiu¡¯er¡¯s. After all, he used his skills at long range, and they covered a huge area. As for Wang Qiu¡¯er, her Bloodlust seemed slightly weaker. The only impressive thing was probably the Bloody Baboon King¡¯s fifty-thousand year cultivation. After all, she had obtained a fifty-thousand year soul ring!

    Everyone rushed into Shrek Academy, except for Wang Qiu¡¯er and Cai Mei¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a little confused as she watched the rest of them. She seemed to be thinking about something.

    Cai Mei¡¯er came up beside her. She smiled and asked, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong? Do you think they are too attached to the school? I believe it¡¯ll happen to you one day. The academy is like everyone¡¯s home. From now on, this will be your home. Isn¡¯t it a celebratory asion, now that we¡¯ve returned from somewhere dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded her head slightly and followed Cai Mei¡¯er into the academy.

    Everyone was still eager as they arrived at the shore of Sea God¡¯s Lake. After that, they exhibited their respective moves and rushed in the direction of Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand. Before he lifted off towards Sea God¡¯s Ind, he twisted his head to nce at Wang Qiu¡¯er. He also gave her a thumbs-up. After that, he flew off with Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings spread wide. Huo Yuhao lifted his arms and was carried along. His toes brushed past the water¡¯s surface and formed patches of ice. As they looked into each other¡¯s eyes, they could see their own reflections. Comfortable and at ease at returning home, they proceeded towards Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er only lifted off after they were far away from her. She also proceeded toward Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Cai Mei¡¯er smiled as she saw how eager they were. However, for her, this mission wasn¡¯t over yet. She still had to report everything what had happened to the academy. This was especially true since they had gained many surprising rewards during this journey. There were many things she couldn¡¯t dy in reporting!

    Afternding on Sea God¡¯s Ind, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er rushed to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. They were still living there, and the academy didn¡¯t n to change that. They were also quite happy to continue staying there. After all, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was constructed using the Golden Tree¡¯s trunk. The vital energy of heaven and earth was quite nourishing in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and extremely beneficial to their cultivation.

 Chapter 242.3: Fifth Soul Ring!

    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± After entering his room, Wang Dong¡¯er turned around and leapt into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. She hugged his waist tightly.

    Huo Yuhao grinned from ear to ear. He was really exhausted too,and about to fall asleep.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest for awhile.¡± Huo Yuhao hugged her and sat by the bedside. Wang Dong¡¯er naturally sat on his thighs and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her hands were hugging him very tightly.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t entertain any ill-intentions even though he was hugging her. There was only pure love, as if he was softly hugging his most valuable treasure.

    ¡°Yuhao, we are finally home. It¡¯d be great if we could live here forever!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er sighed.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°If you are willing, I can live here with you the rest of our lives.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her head to look at him before falling back into his arms. However, Huo Yuhao was captivated by her sweet nce. He hugged her even tighter.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, what about these two fellows? They¡¯re too clingy. They can¡¯t live in the Beast Dueling Area, either. It seems like they¡¯ll have to stick with me for some time. However, I can¡¯t remain here forever, we still have many things to do. What should I do?¡± As he looked at the two unhappy cubs who he had ced on the ground to hug Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao felt very helpless.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er replied softly.

    Huo Yuhao reached out with one of his hands and gestured to the two cubs. Suddenly, they started to leap towards him. They used his hand as a support and were fighting to take up a good spot. It was an amusing scene. Who would expect these two cute fellows would be the most terrifying of soul beasts in the future?

    ¡°When the two of you are older, I¡¯ll send you back into the Great Star Dou Forest. You belong there!¡± Huo Yuhao was touched in the softest region of his heart, perhaps because the two cubs were too cute. He actually wanted to send these two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears back, even though they were priceless treasures to other soul masters.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, do you think it¡¯s a good idea for me to send them back?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er replied.

    Huo Yuhao smiled satisfactorily. ¡°I knew you would agree with me. Do you know that you are extremely kind? It¡¯s my fortune to be together with you. During this period of time, I¡¯ve finally adapted. Every day, a different sense of bliss will appear in my heart, and it¡¯s all because of you.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s touching, romantic words didn¡¯t earn him a reply.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his head. All he saw was her eyshes sticking to the bottom of her eyes. Wang Dong¡¯er was like an obedient cat snugly tucked into his arms. She was sleeping veryfortably. One side of her delicate red lips was even stained by saliva. It seemed she was drooling...

    Huo Yuhao was filled with remorse as he saw her like that. He carefully ced her on the bed so that she could sleep morefortably. However, she flipped and hugged his waist tightly. She wouldn¡¯t let him go.

    Hoot hoot! The two cubs were shouting unhappily. They seemed to be ming Wang Dong¡¯er for snatching their ces.

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°The two of you will sleep on the floor. Do you know what it means to see no evil?¡±

    As he spoke, he used his legs to pull the nket up, and covered Wang Dong¡¯er and himself. He reached out his arm as a pillow for her and slightly adjusted her posture so that she could sleep morefortably.

    Her petite figure was tucked into his arms. Huo Yuhao was touched, and gently caressed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s delicate face. He even pecked her forehead with a kiss before shutting his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t notice her eyshes moving slightly just as his breathing slowed down. She even grinned at one corner of her mouth.

    ------

    Completely knocked out, they slept all the way until noon the next day.

    Huo Yuhao was the first to awaken. He had never felt that sleeping was sofortable before. There was even a soft boulder in his arms¡­

    Wait, boulder?

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes subconsciously, and saw something that caused his heart to race.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still in his arms, but their positions had changedpared to the night before.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s slender legs were wrapped around his right leg. Her left hand was wrapped around his neck, and her entire body was clinging to him. Her powdery-blue hair was behind her back. As sunlight poked through the window, it exuded a mysterious yet dazzling radiance.

    Her sleeping posture was slightly inappropriate, which caused her shirt to be messed up. Half her shoulder was revealing her soft and smooth skin. Her vicle wasn¡¯t very obvious, but it was beautiful, forming a round arc.

    Further below? He couldn¡¯t see anything further below!

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously swallowed his saliva. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s legs were wrapped around his leg, which was equivalent to her putting one of her legs in between his legs!

    Not only were her legs slender, but they were also perfectly round and springy. Furthermore, he even felt a part of her body that was particrly mysterious, but attractive. Even though she was still dressed, Huo Yuhao was a raging youth! His body started to react to this stimulus¡­

    What am I doing? I¡¯m too shameless! Huo Yuhao was embarrassed as he shifted to adjust a certain part of his body.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er moved along with him. Her thighs stroked him gently as she moved. Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs tightened up, and he was joltedpletely awake. He could clearly sense a part of his body growing in size.

    I can¡¯t do this! Huo Yuhao cursed himself and pinched his waist with his right hand. An intense pain engulfed his entire body, and he finally repressed his urges.

    I can¡¯t continue doing this! But I¡¯m not a saint, either! Dong¡¯er, you¡¯re forcing me tomit a crime! I must kill this thought. As he thought this, he slowly pulled Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s shirt up to tidy it.

    However, the round arc started to be clearer and clearer as he tried to pull her shirt up. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s cleavage was revealed.

    Huo Yuhao was mesmerized by her cleavage and he kept on staring at it. He wanted to retract his gaze, but he couldn¡¯t.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes opened at this moment.

    She inched closer and took a look at Huo Yuhao.

    What did she see? She saw a dazed expression, saliva that was drooling out, and a lecherous gulp. She also saw the hand that was tugging at her shirt.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pupils shrank.

    In the next moment, Huo Yuhao was struck by an immense force, and flew off of the bed.

    Fortunately, Wang Dong¡¯er could tell that it was Huo Yuhao, and she held back a little with her kick.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little weak as he muttered, ¡°Misunderstanding¡­¡± It was as if he had been caught red-handed!

    Hoot hoot! Two screams sounded at the same time. Huo Yuhao had fallen from the bed, but he didn¡¯t feel any pain. It was as if something soft had broken his fall.

    When he rolled off of whatever that was under him, he saw the two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs looking at him indignantly. They were on the verge of crying.

    They were innocently hurt! If they were mature enough, they would definitelyment the fact that Huo Yuhao had implicated them.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, listen to my exnation.¡± Huo Yuhao crawled up from the floor hurriedly. He picked the two cubs up and tried to pacify them as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯er anxiously.

    Wang Dong¡¯er also jumped up from the bed at this moment. She rolled her eyes at him and said softly, ¡°Idiot.¡± As she said this, she turned around and left. She didn¡¯t even close the door behind her.

    This¡­ I feel so maligned! I didn¡¯t do anything! I even pinched myself. See, my waist is all bruised. Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t misunderstand¡­

    Huo Yuhao felt extremely unlucky at this moment. He couldn¡¯t possibly vent his frustration. This was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! If he said anything, the elders would know that he had slept with Wang Dong¡¯er the entire night.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s white, round, and smooth cleavage was really¡­

    As he recalled this, Huo Yuhao started to feel less maligned. Even though it was a misunderstanding, he still saw it.

    Hehe, he saw it and even remembered it!

    The two cubs were easily satisfied after Huo Yuhao gave them some nice meat. After they finished eating, they immediately went to sleep. Huo Yuhao only managed to get away after doing this. He locked his door and quickly went to find Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Knock, knock, knock. Three knocks upon her door. Huo Yuhao adjusted his mindset until he looked very honest. Evidently, he was ready to ept any punishment.

    The door opened. Wang Dong¡¯er looked very attractive after she had washed up and changed her clothes. Even though he saw her every day, he was still in a daze when he saw her again. He subconsciously said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you''e really beautiful.¡±

 Chapter 243.1: Representing the Tang Sect to Fight?

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t try to change the topic. So how?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I told you that was a misunderstanding? Don¡¯t you trust my character?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wanted to smile, but straightened her expression. ¡°I only believe what I see.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was helpless as he said, ¡°About that, what do you think I should do? I¡¯ll do whatever you want me to do.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted and said, ¡°Come in.¡± As she spoke, she dragged him into her room before locking the door. There were some things that shouldn¡¯t be said outside. Her room was also pretty soundproof.

    As she looked at Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er almost burst outughing. This helpless-looking guy was really the guy that she liked?

    ¡°Huo Yuhao!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Huo Yuhao almost greeted her formally, and he acknowledged her words cautiously.

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought her words over before saying, ¡°Owing to your performancest night, I decided that you are my man from today onwards. I¡¯ll be responsible for you. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s tone varied greatly as he muttered this one word. He looked at Wang Dong¡¯er in a daze and didn¡¯t understand.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was furious, ¡°What? You¡¯ve hugged, touched, and slept with me. Are you going to shirk your responsibility? You¡¯re my man from now on. You can¡¯t look, like, or even touch otherdies. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao seemed to have understood her point.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was pleased as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll treat you very well. I¡¯ll feed you and give you water every day. You can also follow me. However, you need to listen to me. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re keeping a dog instead?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er chuckled. ¡°Yes, I am. You are the dog.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry?¡± the look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned clearer.

    Wang Dong¡¯er straightened her expression once again. ¡°Who said I¡¯m not? I¡¯m very angry!¡±

    ¡°Are you?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed. He was no longer as cautious as before. He wasn¡¯t a fool, either. Although love could make one foolish, he couldn¡¯t possibly be relegated to the level of a dog!

    ¡°Yes! What, what are you going to do? Don¡¯t mess around!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was shocked to realize that a certain dog was walking towards her. This dog had also turned vicious.

    ¡°Nice! Wang Dong¡¯er, how dare you trick me! See how I¡¯m going to deal with you!¡±

    ¡°Stop ying around, I¡¯m going to shout!¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not scared of embarrassment, then shout all you want. No one wille and save you even if you shout until you lose your voice! I have a legendary soul skill called Hungry Tiger Pouncing on its Prey!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    In the next moment, the bed became the battlefield. Huo Yuhao was given a good kick by Wang Dong¡¯er, and he flew back onto the wall before sliding down.

    As she was frightened, Wang Dong¡¯er had kicked him forcefully. Huo Yuhao almost lost consciousness.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you alright?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was frightened and rushed to his side. She caressed his chest with an anxious look on her face. ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional. Who asked you to be so naughty¡­?¡±

    ¡°I was naughty¡­?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened, and he looked at her as if she had reversed the truth. Who was the one scaring me? I was so afraid that my heart was beating extremely quickly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t make it. My stomach is aching from your kick.¡± Huo Yuhao leaned on Wang Dong¡¯er and refused to get up.

    Wang Dong¡¯er became even more anxious, ¡°What do we do? Do I carry you to the infirmary?¡±

    ¡°No need. You have medicine with you. Give me some.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded even weaker.

    ¡°What medicine?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice suddenly turned weird. ¡°Magical medicine.¡± After he finished speaking, he suddenly hugged Wang Dong¡¯er and tried to kiss her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a Soul Emperor, and her reactions were quick. When Huo Yuhao moved, she reacted immediately, and subconsciously turned around. However, it didn¡¯t work. Her lips still met his.

    When their lips met, they both froze in ce.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t nned on kissing Wang Dong¡¯er on the lips! It was idental¡­

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s lips were soft and refreshing. When their lips met, Huo Yuhao felt his soul shaking. He couldn¡¯t describe that feeling with words. Their pupils dted at the same time, and they maintained this position for several seconds.

    ¡°Oo¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er reacted first. She quickly moved back, and her face could be seen blushing red like an apple.

    Huo Yuhao remained where he was, and even licked his lips.

    ¡°You!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er pursed her lips. It was hard to tell if she was furious or being coquettish.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t deliberate¡­¡± Huo Yuhao muttered almost immediately. However, he wanted to p himself after he spoke. Even if it wasn¡¯t idental, he still took advantage of her.

    Indeed, Wang Dong¡¯er raised her brows and said furiously, ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, listen to me¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t give him a chance to defend himself, and dragged him to the door of her room. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even struggle, and was thrown out in a matter of seconds.

    Bang! The door mmed shut. Wang Dong¡¯er leaned on the door after she closed it and held her face with her hands. She stomped on the ground with her right foot, ¡°This idiot, he stole my first kiss just like that. So unromantic.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was locked out, and could only scratch his head helplessly. He probably couldn¡¯t enter her room anymore. However, he could tell that she wasn¡¯t really angry. He was prepared to whip up some delicacies beforeing back to coax her.

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao!¡± At this moment, an anxious voice sounded. Huo Yuhao turned around and saw vice-Dean Cai Mei¡¯er walking towards him.

    ¡°No wonder I couldn¡¯t find you. So you came here to find Dong¡¯er. Quick, follow me!¡± Cai Mei¡¯er approached him and dragged him away immediately.

    Huo Yuhao was confused. ¡°Dean Cai, what¡¯s going on? What happened?¡±

    Cai Mei¡¯er replied, ¡°You¡¯ll know after you follow me. After we returned yesterday, I reported our findings to Elder Xuan. He was very concerned about your suggestion for soul masters to learn how to use soul tools, and asked you to report to him. Elder Song, Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er are all there. We¡¯ll discuss it first before bringing the matter up in the Conference in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Go and prepare.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. This was an important matter that he was pushing for. If he seeded, it would be very beneficial for Shrek Academy¡¯s future development.

    The two of them came to the first level of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Indeed, Elder Xuan was seated at the conference room table with his wine gourd beside him. However, it was evident that he hadn¡¯t drunk anything today. While he was old, he was still full of energy.

    Elder Song, Xian Lin¡¯er, Yan Shaozhe, Huo Yuhao and Cai Mei¡¯er sat in the other seats. They constituted slightly less than half of a proper Conference of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Everyone smiled kindly when they saw Huo Yuhao. Elder Xuan asked, ¡°Yuhao, did you get enough rest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was blushing slightly. Of course he had slept well. He had hugged Wang Dong¡¯er to sleep!

    ¡°It was rather good. Thank you for your concern, Elder Xuan.¡±

    As he spoke, he took his seat along with Cai Mei¡¯er. Cai Mei¡¯er sat one seat from Yan Shaozhe, whereas Huo Yuhao sat one seat from her.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Mei¡¯er has already told me about what happened. It seems like there¡¯s really going to be a huge change in the world of soul masters on the continent! First it was the Holy Ghost Church. Then the Dragon Emperor Long Xiaoyao appeared. Now it¡¯s the three evil soul masters¡¯ turn. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re going to face more trouble in the future. But let¡¯s forget about that for now, we¡¯ll talk about it in the next conference. These evil soul masters can¡¯t be resisted by ordinary Shrek Guardians anymore. We¡¯ll have to deal with the matter prudently. Yuhao, tell me about your suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words. ¡°In fact, this suggestion wasn¡¯t initially made by me, but Teacher Wang Yan. The future development of the world of soul masters is bound to involve strong soul masters developing soul tools to their fullest. I¡¯m an experimental product of Teacher Wang. After years of learning about soul tools and increasing my cultivation, I discovered that the abilities of soul masters and soul tools are not mutually exclusive.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is able to attract so many people to be soul engineers mainly because soul engineers aren¡¯t restricted by martial souls. As long as they have soul power, they can use soul tools and be soul engineers. It¡¯s precisely this idea that has made our idea seem deviant, too.¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, soul masters without strong martial souls can be considered soul engineers if they use soul tools. However, they are just basic soul engineers. They aren¡¯t strong. They won¡¯t be able to unleash the full power of their soul tools. In fact, it¡¯s not only us that took a roundabout way, even the Sun Moon Empire did the same thing. They are too focused on soul tools, and have neglected the influence of a soul master on soul tools. Our Ultimate Soldier n has indeed made some breakthroughs, but we are unable to distinguish them clearly yet.¡±

 Chapter 243.2: Representing the Tang Sect to Fight?

    ¡°What¡¯s Shrek¡¯s greatest advantage? It¡¯s that we have the best soul master educational system and the best soul masters. Like I mentioned earlier, soul masters and soul engineers are not mutually exclusive.

    ¡°Let me give a simple example. Imagine we have a ss 4 soul cannon with a firing range of three hundred meters in the hands of both an ordinary soul master and a member of our academy. The effect of this soul tool will be different for both sides. An ordinary soul master will try to increase his soul power and soul skills in order to continue using this soul cannon. Their abilities will be more and more negligible as a result, and they¡¯ll need to rely on the soul cannon to attack. However, how can their judgment, senses, agility, and strengthpare to our soul masters?¡±

    ¡°If I were an agility-type soul master carrying the same soul cannon, I could kill my opponent, who wouldn¡¯t be able to put up any resistance. He won¡¯t even be able to lock onto me. If I were a control-type soul master, I could control the situation and close the distance while finding the most appropriate opportunity to attack. If I were an assault-type soul master, I could use the firepower of the soul cannon to suppress my opponent, and use my physically strong body to fight. If my opponent is at the same level of cultivation, how could he possibly beat me?

    ¡°That¡¯s why ordinary soul masters will be much inferior to our soul masters if both sides use the same soul tools and are at the same level of cultivation. There¡¯s an even wider gap in terms of the potential to grow even stronger.¡±

    As he concluded, Huo Yuhao stood up and said, ¡°Everyone, please take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, he stood up and retreated a few steps. He lifted his right hand and revealed his Starlight Sapphire ring.

    A streak of blue light shed, and an entirely grey, three-and-a-half-meter-tall metallic man was presented in front of everyone.

    Although this metallic man looked a little simple, Dean Xian Lin¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but jump up from her seat when it appeared. She lost her voice as she said, ¡°Human-shaped soul tool!...¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and pointed at it with his right hand. The center of the soul tool cracked open, revealing an empty space.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was already very eager. She raced up in front of the metallic man and was appalled as she looked it over. ¡°Yuhao, this is from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I invented this myself. It contains some of Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques. If Imanded such a soul tool, I could attack up to one kilometer away, and its speed can be increased to the maximum using my twelve ss 6 soul thrusters. It can fly at a high altitude for some time, too! I even installed enough Milk Bottles to provide it with independent soul power. Even if I deplete my own soul power, the Milk Bottles can sustain the fighting strength of a Soul Emperor for some time. However, all this isn¡¯t the most important thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stepped forward in front of the human-shaped soul tool. He stepped inside of it, and it closed up. Under his control, the metallic man took a step forward.

    ¡°The most important thing is that it has the potential to be enhanced further. This is the future development path of soul tools. A suitable soul master using a suitable soul tool that can exhibit all types of fighting skills will be the future trend. Human-shaped soul tools won¡¯t be left out. However, some problems will arise as human-shaped soul tools develop.

    ¡°Soul tools aren¡¯t everything on their own. The more unique they are, the greater their requirements on the person controlling them. Simply put, if a medicinally-boosted five-ringed Soul King controlled this metallic man, he would directly lose his fighting ability and even his life from the instantaneous thrusting force when it flies at high altitudes. However, this won¡¯t happen to me. I can even use my spiritual power to lock onto my target, and tap into my various soul skills to aid it,plementing it to unleash greater fighting strength. Even if it is damaged, I can still fight on the battlefield, since I¡¯m a strong soul master in my own right.¡±

    As he finished, Huo Yuhao exited the metallic man from the nging metal doors. He returned to the table and said respectfully, ¡°Elders, my final conclusion is that soul tools are only weapons that can be used by soul masters. They are external items. Their presence won¡¯t affect a soul master¡¯s status. On the contrary, they might even make us stronger. Think about it. If our soul masters were equipped with the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s soul tools, we¡¯d be invincible. However, can they do the same thing? No. That¡¯s because theyck the most basic thing. Soul tools can be created and enhanced through research, but what about strong soul masters? Who has a foundation like Shrek Academy?!¡±

    As he reached thisst sentence, his voice was determined and resolute. Everyone was moved by his words. Even Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes changed continuously.

    The strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s speech was that he evaluated soul tools from the perspective of soul masters, and at the same time addressed their greatest worry.

    Yan Shaozhe asked, ¡°Yuhao, I have a question. ording to what you say, I¡¯d like to know how long it¡¯ll take for a soul master to learn how to use these various soul tools?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, ¡°If you¡¯re talking about controlling different categories of soul tools, it¡¯ll take two to three years.¡±

    After hearing his reply, Yan Shaozhe heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that that wasn¡¯t a very long time. However, his eyes brightened when Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°However, I think that¡¯s too long. In my opinion, I think it¡¯s easy for soul masters to use soul tools. However, being eclectic isn¡¯t a good choice. That¡¯s because different soul masters are bound to have different soul tools that suit them. It¡¯s like how soul engineers have to choose their future path when they develop soul tools. When soul masters use soul tools, they should also make their own choices.

    ¡°For example, assault-type soul masters are most suited to use this human-shaped soul tool in front of me. That¡¯s because their bodies are very strong and more tolerant. Their fighting strength will greatly increase when using such a soul tool. This is especially so for five-ringed Soul Kings and six-ringed Soul Emperors, as they¡¯ll directly gain the ability to fly over long distances. The effect of this on the battlefield will be immense!

    ¡°For auxiliary-type soul masters, they¡¯ll need other soul tools. First, soul tools that suit them need to be sufficiently offensive. Then they¡¯ll also need soul tools that they can use to defend themselves. The size of the soul tools will be bigger than this metallic man in front of us, and will be able to guarantee their survival on the battlefield.

    ¡°For agility-type soul masters, soul thrusters would suit them. Their speed would be greatly increased. Along with closebat soul tools, they¡¯ll be very strong. From this, we can conclude that the best thing would be for every soul master to have a custom-made soul tool, and only use that category of soul tool. It¡¯ll then take only a month or two to be familiar with and control one specific category of soul tools. For deeper familiarization, it¡¯ll depend on one¡¯s intelligence and learning speed.¡±

    All the elders couldn¡¯t help but nod as they listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation. Elder Xuan revealed aforted look, reassured by these words.

    ¡°Everyone, what do you think about Yuhao¡¯s proposal?¡± Elder Xuan asked.

    Elder Song sighed slightly andmented, ¡°In the future, our world will belong to young people like them. The difference in our thinking actually led to such a huge discrepancy in our ideas. However, I must admit that I¡¯m convinced.¡±

    Elder Xuan and looked at Yan Shaozhe before saying, ¡°Shaozhe, what about you?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Elder Xuan, Elder Song, everyone else. After hearing Yuhao¡¯s words, I have a lot of feelings. I¡¯m most shocked not by this metallic man, but his analysis of Shrek¡¯s advantage. All this while, my biggest mistake was to look at others¡¯ advantages, and I forgot about our own advantages. Yuhao has also convinced me. I reckon that we can try his method out. We can add two more lessons for the Martial Soul Department¡¯s outer courtyard students, introduction to soul tools, and use of soul tools. The younger students can start interacting with soul tools during their learning process. The inner courtyard disciples can be equipped with custom-made soul tools, like Yuhao suggested. In this way, our Shrek Guardians will undoubtedly be stronger. Lin¡¯er, I¡¯ll need you to be in charge of educating the Martial Soul Department¡¯s inner courtyard students on using soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Of course¡± Xian Lin¡¯er looked at Yan Shaozhe with a slightly weird expression. But that was no surprise; in her heart, Yan Shaozhe was a stubborn old man! Who would have expected him to ept Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestion?

    Although Huo Yuhao had only mentioned the advantages to the Martial Soul Department, his proposal would also make the Soul Tool Department more important in Shrek Academy!

 Chapter 243.3: Representing the Tang Sect to Fight?

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple either. One or two months is a very short time. After everyone discovers a suitable category of soul tool, they will need time to study and understand it. They will also need to learn how to use soul tools without affecting their own abilities. This is very important.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao and Shaozhe are already responsible for the research of Spirits. Lin¡¯er, you shall be in charge of this matter. You can test it out in the inner courtyard first. The extra two lessons that Shaozhe mentioned can be directly implemented in the outer courtyard.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er answered unhappily, ¡°Elder Xuan, this is a little unfair.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Elder Xuan was a little puzzled as he looked at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s so unfair?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er replied, ¡°Yuhao is also one of us. I can tell you for sure that no one in the Soul Tool Department can make this human-shaped soul tool like him. I can¡¯t, either. This proposition was also made by him. We can leave the matter about Spirits and let him help me first.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t do that.¡± Yan Shaozhe replied without hesitation. ¡°Lin¡¯er, you should know how important Spirits are to the future world of soul masters. There are different degrees of importance. We need you to helm things over at the Soul Tool Department!¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er snorted and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear Huo Yuhao? What¡¯s the future development trend? Spirits are a new discovery, but we don¡¯t know if they can really rece soul rings in the future. We still need to carry out more experiments. Allowing our inner courtyard students to use soul tools and increasing their fighting strength is more important.

    ¡°You¡­ can¡¯t put it this way. Spirits are the future.¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expression turned gloomy.

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Alright, the two of you squabble every time you meet. We shall leave it like that temporarily. Lin¡¯er, you can find Yuhao if you need help in the area of soul tools. Furthermore, isn¡¯t He Caitou here too? ording to Fan Yu, He Caitou¡¯s research ability in terms of soul tools is not inferior to Yuhao.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Yan Shaozhe finally quieted down after Elder Xuan persuaded them both.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned gloomy. He had found more problems for himself! There was another matter that he had to monitor now¡­ there were too many things he had to settle right now!

    ¡°Elder Xuan, what do we do about the two Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs I brought back?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°They are your private property and have nothing to do with the academy. You can decide yourself.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at Elder Xuan. What was going on? Did Elder Xuan¡¯s words mean that the academy didn¡¯t want the two cubs? They were Darkgolden Terrorw Bears!

    Elder Xuan was amused and said, ¡°What? Is there a problem? They really are your private property. Take good care of them. As one of the top soul beasts, they can grow very quickly in the future with sufficient nutrition. They might be very helpful to you in the future.¡±

    ¡°Also, I heard from Mei¡¯er that you obtained three soul bones. Those three soul bones were obtained by you and Wang Qiu¡¯er, so they naturally belong to the two of you. You can decide how you want to divide them. However, tell me how you feel about Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Undoubtedly, Elder Xuan was slightly biased towards him. Theoretically speaking, he couldn¡¯t have achieved such gains without the entire team following him deep into the forest. But at this point, Elder Xuan deviated from the topic.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t reject his offer either. After pondering for a while, he said, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er is indeed very strong. Her Golden Dragon is one of the strongest martial souls I¡¯ve ever seen. I already think that I¡¯m very strong and have an advantage in terms of my twin martial souls. However, I don¡¯t have any confidence of beating her in a duel.¡±

    ¡°In terms of personality, she¡¯s ady who¡¯s cold on the outside, but warm on the inside, even though she¡¯s unwilling to get close to anyone. Without her help, I would¡¯ve been gravely injured even if I survived. She has unlimited potential.¡±

    Elder Xuan squinted and said, ¡°This means you think she¡¯s credible even though she¡¯s just entered the inner courtyard?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded without any hesitation.

    Elder Xuan nodded slightly and appeared pensive. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll end things here today. All of you can return. Lin¡¯er, return and prepare for what was proposed today. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll confirm things during the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion conference. Yuhao, call the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. I have something to tell all of you.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words respectfully.

    ------

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were usually in the inner courtyard. Even though their cultivations weren¡¯t low, the inner courtyard was responsible for nurturing elite students like them. There were things to learn at every level. That¡¯s why they only gathered at the Tang Sect on the weekends.

    Huo Yuhao found them very easily. When he finally approached Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s door anxiously, her door directly opened on its own.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, who was decked in the inner courtyard¡¯s red uniform, looked fiery. She was stunned when she saw Huo Yuhao in front of her door, and almost punched him.

    ¡°Surely you haven¡¯t been standing here all this while?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said honestly, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve been standing here as a punishment so that I can earn your forgiveness.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped, ¡°Nonsense. I heard Dean Cai dragging you away. Your lies are not good enough.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Elder Xuan is looking for us. He seems to have something important to tell us.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er acknowledged his words before she closed the door to her room. After that, she followed Huo Yuhao to the first level of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    As they walked, Huo Yuhao said softly, ¡°Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Are you still angry?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°How angry?¡±

    ¡°Very angry!¡±

    ¡°What can I do to appease you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    ¡°Can two wrongs make a right?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared furiously at him as she stopped. However, she was greeted with Huo Yuhao¡¯s burning gaze. He was even looking at her lips!

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er ced her hands on her hips and was about to erupt.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly twisted his head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Elder Xuan is waiting for us.¡± After he finished speaking, he quickened his footsteps as they proceeded downstairs.

    Wang Dong¡¯er mimicked a whacking action as she looked at him before following after him. She even pinched his waist a few times.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er had all arrived. However, they were not qualified to sit at the table. They lined up in a row and stood in front of Elder Xuan.

    As a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao could sit. However, how could he sit when the rest of them were standing?

    Elder Xuanplimented them in his heart as he looked at these vibrant youths. They had grown much faster than he had expected. Undoubtedly, they were going to be the future pirs of Shrek Academy. This future wasing quickly, too.

    ¡°Alright, all of you are present. I called all of you here because I have something important to discuss with all of you.¡± Elder Xuan lifted his wine gourd and took a sip. As long as it wasn¡¯t some formal gathering, he would drink. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t act like a beggar now.

    Bei Bei said respectfully, ¡°Elder Xuan, please enlighten us.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°It¡¯s less than three months to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I believe all of you should be quite ready?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°Yes. We were going to report to you too. After Yuhao and Caitou returned, we practiced many times together. When are you free? You can check out our progress.¡±

    Elder Xuan observed the seven of them. When Bei Bei said this, all seven of them revealed their self-confidence. Their confidence naturally originated from their abilities.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to check on the seven of you yet. I called all of you here today because I wanted to brief all of you regarding the tournament. Not long ago, we received news that¡¯s not good for the academy¡­ however, it¡¯s an opportunity for all of you. The new edition of the tournament will be held in the Sun Moon Empire. Undoubtedly, all of you will be under great pressure, since you will bepeting on the home ground of our mainpetitor. The Sun Moon Empire discussed some changes to the tournament system with the three empires earlier. They sought the opinion of the various academies and sects regarding their proposed changes.¡±

    ¡°Change to the system?¡± Bei Bei¡¯s gaze turned cold. Aspeting members of the top academy on the continent, changes in the system were likely to neutralize some of Shrek Academy¡¯s advantages. No wonder Elder Xuan said that this wasn¡¯t a good thing for the academy.

    Elder Xuan, ¡°Yes, changing the tournament system. First, they want to change the qualification requirements. The age restriction doesn¡¯t change, the upper limit will still be twenty years old. However, they¡¯ve expanded it to include all sects. This means that the tournament will now be renamed to the Continental Soul Master Youth Tournament. The number of teams will greatly increase. If this change is approved, there will be twice the number ofpeting teams.¡±

    Attracting sects to participate? What was the purpose of doing so? All seven of them were stunned, but they couldn¡¯t tell what the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s goal was.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, is it likely for it to be approved?¡±

    Elder Xuan said without any hesitation, ¡°Very likely! When this change was suggested, it received the support of many sects, especially the stronger sects. The tournament is a good way to showcase themselves to the masses. To these sects, it¡¯s a good way to advertise themselves, so they were quite willing. For example, the Body Sect is confident in bing champions.¡±

 Chapter 244.1: Qiuer, Im Not One Who Picks on Others

    After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s words, everyone went silent. If sects were allowed to participate in the tournament, they might no longer be odds-on to be the champions anymore. Just like Elder Xuan had said, there would be a lot of trouble if the Body Sect alsopeted in the tournament, not to mention the rest of the sects on the continent. The Body Sect wasn¡¯t the only capable sect. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, the Clear Sky Sect was not inferior to the Body Sect.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Elder Xuan, it¡¯ll be much more difficult for us in this tournament. You called for us because you want us to up our training intensity over the next few months?¡±

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and replied, ¡°No matter how the system changes, I¡¯m confident in all of you. In thest tournament, the seven of you brought back the title of champions even under such unfortunate circumstances. Five years on, the seven of you are even better than before. So what if the other sectspete? Although this spells more trouble, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll emerge as champions. However, have the seven of you ever considered the fact that a change in the system will be beneficial for you even if it¡¯s a bad thing for the academy? The seven of you belong to the same sect.¡±

    After hearing his words, everyone was stunned. As members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, they naturally treated themselves as part of Shrek Academy. They were the mainpeting members of the academy. However, Elder Xuan¡¯s words made it sound a little different!

    Xu Sanshi was stunned as he asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, are you saying that you are allowing us topete in the tournament as part of the Tang Sect¡­?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not approving anything. It depends on whether the seven of you are willing.¡±

    Their expressions changed as they looked at one another.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°If the seven of youpete as part of the Tang Sect, the academy will send another team topete. All of you will still be recognized as Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. This means that everyone will still know that you are from Shrek Academy even though you are representing the Tang Sect. In this way, it¡¯s equivalent to our academy sending two teams out. This is double insurance for the academy.¡±

    Bei Bei hesitated, ¡°However, if we win, the legacy of Shrek Academy¡¯s glory in the tournament will¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°When Elder Mu passed away, he once told me that glory can¡¯t be your restraint. What¡¯s a little glorypared to the better development of the academy and your futures? Don¡¯t tell me that Shrek Academy will stop being the top academy on the continent just because we are not champions?¡± As he spoke till here, there was a look of pride in his eyes.

    Bei Bei pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°If we represent the Tang Sect, we¡¯ll still face some problems. For example, we don¡¯t have any substitutes. In addition, can the academy send a suitable team in our ce?¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°You look down on the academy too much. I was still hesitating over this matter. However, didn¡¯t Yuhao tell all of you that there¡¯s a new talent in the academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said immediately, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. If the seven of you represent the Tang Sect, Wang Qiu¡¯er will assume the role of team leader to represent Shrek Academy. There are still other outstanding students below the age of twenty in our academy. Although they aren¡¯t as good as the seven of you, they aren¡¯t that much inferior. I¡¯ll give you a few days to think about it. Let¡¯s make it three days. Within three days, you must give me a definite answer.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Bei Bei acknowledged his words. From the way he clenched his fist, it was evident that he wasn¡¯t calm. He was even slightly agitated.

    After bidding Elder Xuan goodbye, everyone gathered at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s dormitory.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Guys, what should we do? Should we represent Shrek or the Tang Sect?¡±

    He Caitou said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with both. To me, there¡¯s not much difference. Elder Xuan was right. No matter who we represent, everyone will know that we¡¯re from Shrek. If we represent the Tang Sect, it¡¯s equivalent to Shrek sending two teams for the tournament.¡±

    Jiang Nannan furrowed her brow and said, ¡°I¡¯m only worried. If we represent the Tang Sect, it¡¯ll be very difficult for Shrek Academy to be champions. Whether they lose to us or others, it¡¯ll represent the end of Shrek¡¯s glory in the tournament. We fought so hard to preserve this glory during thest tournament. If we lose it just like that, I¡¯ll be very indignant. While Elder Xuan appeared to be very calm about the matter, the influence of this glory will impact Shrek greatly!¡±

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t mutter a word. She rarely opened her mouth during discussions.

    Bei Bei turned his attention towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, ¡°What about the two of you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°I feel that we should represent the Tang Sect. In terms of selfish motives, I want to do this for Teacher Xiao Ya and do my best to help the Tang Sect prosper. Disregarding selfish considerations, we can¡¯t rely on the academy forever. We need to make a name for ourselves too. As for the academy¡¯s glory, I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be any conflict even if we represent the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°No conflict?¡± Bei Bei was puzzled as he looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao whispered something, and everyone¡¯s gazes turned perplexed.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little shameless? Will themittee allow this?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but say. She looked at Huo Yuhao with a weird look on her face.

    Huo Yuhao asked confusedly, ¡°How is it shameless? We¡¯re only showcasing our identities. No matter how the system changes, there shouldn¡¯t be any special restrictions in this aspect.¡±

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi looked at each other. Bei Bei was relieved, while Xu Sanshi pped his hands and said, ¡°Sixth junior, you¡¯re impressive. I didn¡¯t expect you to inherit eldest senior¡¯s slyness. Impressive.¡±

    Bei Bei snapped and kicked, ¡°Get lost. How am I sly?¡±

    Xu Sanshi avoided his kick and said, ¡°How dare you kick me? Be careful, or I won¡¯t give my best during the tournament.¡±

    Bei Bei snorted and replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll send Nannan up to deal with the most troublesome opponent around.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Xu Sanshi opened his eyes wide and was filled with condemnation.

    Bei Bei acted like he didn¡¯t see anything and said, ¡°I think that little junior¡¯s suggestion is very good. Since this is the case, we¡¯ve solved our greatest problem. I also agree that we should represent the Tang Sect topete.¡±

    Undoubtedly, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Huo Yuhao were the core of this team. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t say anything, but he appeared to be fine with the suggestion. Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei had already agreed, and thus there was technically a conclusion already.

    Bei Bei took in a deep breath and said seriously, ¡°Then let¡¯s do our best for the Tang Sect¡¯s glory in this tournament.¡±

    As he spoke, he reached out with his right hand.

    Everyone reached out their right hands and they stacked their hands together. A strong camaraderie surrounded the dormitory hall they were in.

    ¡°Yuhao, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s tell Elder Xuan what we think. The academy can also prepare.¡± Bei Bei told Huo Yuhao, and they prepared to leave the dormitory.

    After leaving, Bei Bei hugged Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Thank you.¡± He knew that everyone would have hesitated without Huo Yuhao¡¯s support, since they were clearly aware that they were all members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Among the seven of them, Bei Bei was undoubtedly the most eager to represent the Tang Sect. It was all for the Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya had been missing for close to five years, and there had been no news of her yet. What was the probability that she was still alive? Although Bei Bei had never mentioned it over the past five years, he knew the internal pressure that he felt. He just wanted to do something for the Tang Ya now, and he also prayed every day in the hopes that she was still alive.

    Undoubtedly, the modified Continental Soul Master Youth Tournament was a good way to find Tang Ya. If the Tang Sect eventually emerged as champions, Tang Ya would learn of the good news, and perhaps she would return. Even if they couldn¡¯t find her, Bei Bei¡¯s promise to her could still be fulfilled.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and said, ¡°Eldest senior, I would have died in the Great Star Dou Forest if not for you and Teacher Xiao Ya. The two of you are my benefactors. I was also given the chance to enter Shrek Academy because of the Tang Sect. Although I¡¯m a Shrek Academy student, I¡¯m also a part of the Tang Sect. Without affecting the academy¡¯s glory, I¡¯m willing to fight for the Tang Sect¡¯s glory and Teacher Xiao Ya. When we emerge as champions, she¡¯ll know about it and return.¡±

    Bei Bei said with confidence, ¡°Yes. Xiao Ya will be back. I will wait for her for my entire life.¡±

    After receiving their report, Elder Xuan looked as if he knew this was going to happen. He only instructed them to make their preparations. When the change to the system was confirmed, he would inform them about the registration method again.

    After exiting the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Bei Bei seemed to recall something. He asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Oh yes, a few people were here to find you yesterday. They came to the academy directly. Since you weren¡¯t around, the academy wasn¡¯t able to host them. They came directly to me. I asked them to proceed to the Tang Sect first. If you are not in a rush, you can go and find them first. They seem toe from the Sun Moon Empire. Na Na knows them too.¡±

    After hearing Bei Bei¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was ted. It was good news! He immediately guessed who was here to find him.

    ¡°Eldest senior, was it a soul engineer named Xuan Ziwen who was here to find me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked immediately.

 Chapter 244.2: Qiuer, Im Not One Who Picks on Others

    Bei Bei thought for a moment before replying, ¡°I think there was such a person. I was busy with other things then, and didn¡¯t bother to converse with them properly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. ¡°It¡¯s good if it¡¯s Teacher Xuan. Eldest senior, he¡¯s a ss 8 soul engineer! He¡¯s also a chief researcher in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. If he¡¯s willing to join the Tang Sect, our reputation in soul tools will soon grow in the continent!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s going on?¡± Bei Bei was interested after hearing his words.

    Huo Yuhao recounted his bet with Xuan Ziwen, and how he had attracted him to join the Tang Sect.

    After hearing his exnation, Bei Bei finally understood, and was also surprised. Undoubtedly, it was very difficult to find someone of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s caliber! Huo Yuhao was greatly strengthening the sect by poaching someone as capable as him.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s great. No, I must go with you. Oh, wait, the seven of us should go together. Teacher Xuan is very important. We need to show our respect for him.¡± Bei Bei said decisively.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, did you mention that there were a few of them? Besides Teacher Xuan, who else is here?¡±

    Bei Beiughed, ¡°Why are you asking me? If you don¡¯t know, why would I know? Don¡¯t think about it. You¡¯ll know when we see them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words, and the two returned to the dormitory to brief the rest before proceeding to the Tang Sect. They had great freedom in the academy. They only needed to consult their teachers when they had any queries. There weren¡¯t any rules restricting their freedom.

    ---

    The seven of them rushed over to the Tang Sect. After entering the courtyard, Huo Yuhao saw two familiar figures. He was stunned as he saw them, and mumbled, ¡°The two of you really can¡¯t be shaken off!¡±

    Bei Bei stared at him and asked, ¡°Yuhao, what do you mean?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I have to say this about these two! Eldest senior, you don¡¯t know how much they pestered me. Why are they here with Teacher Xuan to find me?¡±

    The two individuals that Huo Yuhao mentioned were sparring as Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei entered the courtyard, but they stopped when the two of them entered. As they saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s annoyed look, they revealed smiles on their face.

    These two were Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan, Huo Yuhao¡¯s old foes when he was at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! Huo Yuhao certainly didn¡¯t expect the two of them to be here in Shrek City.

    Jing Ziyan ced her hands on her waist and taunted him, ¡°Why Huo Yuhao, why don¡¯t you wee us? You¡¯re acting tough just because we¡¯re in your territory? If you¡¯re unconvinced, why don¡¯t you fight us?¡±

    Seeing these two pests, Huo Yuhao ced his hands on his waist and answered, ¡°Okay! Are the two of you challenging the seven of us, or are we whacking the two of you?¡±

    Jing Ziyan was joking, but Ji Juechen took it for real! He had found another pitch-ck iron sword. He pointed it forward, and his aura soared. He wasn¡¯t called a sword fanatic for nothing.

    As they felt the sharp and vicious sword intent, the rest of the seven were stunned. What was going on? Were they enemies?

    ¡°Stop fooling around. Let¡¯s clear things up before sparring.¡± Huo Yuhao looked helpless as he approached them. After that, he turned to the rest behind him and said, ¡°Let me introduce you guys. These two guys are Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen. They are my ¡°good pals¡± from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡­¡±

    Jing Ziyan grinned when she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s introduction. When he said ¡®good pals¡¯, he sounded extremely furious!

    ¡°They are my seniors and juniors in the Tang Sect. Surely the two of you didn¡¯te all the way from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to Shrek City to fight me, right?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what the two of them were up to.

    Ji Juechen shook his head immediately.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. That¡¯s right, they couldn¡¯t possibly travel thousands of kilometers to fight him.

    However, Jing Ziyan followed with, ¡°We came here to fight many, many rounds with you!¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Huo Yuhao almost choked on his saliva. ¡°Many rounds? Don¡¯t you need to study?¡±

    Ji Juechen replied, ¡°We¡¯ve quit the academy.¡±

    Jing Ziyan said seriously, ¡°When you were about to leave, we discussed and agreed that we learned more from sparring with you than anything we¡¯ve learned from the academy. We are both more like soul masters. That¡¯s why we believe this ce might be more suitable for us, and why we¡¯re here. We don¡¯t really have anything over there that we¡¯ll miss anyway. You can just give us a roof over our heads and fight us every day. You can also choose not to fight us, but we¡¯ll stick to you wherever you go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he stared at them. It was quite miraculous that they could actually pester him to such a standard!

    Ji Juechen waved his sword and said, ¡°Since we¡¯ve cleared things up, can we fight now?¡±

    The rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, including Wang Dong¡¯er, had no intention of helping Huo Yuhao. They all moved to one side to watch the show that was about to start. Wang Dong¡¯er whispered to the rest in a bid to exin Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan¡¯s background.

    Just as everyone was ready to watch the sparring, a voices sounded out from the gate. ¡°Huo Yuhao,e out.¡±

    This voice was very familiar. Huo Yuhao was stunned for another moment. He signaled to Ji Juechen before walking out.

    It was Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was standing outside.

    Huo Yuhao was at a loss for words as he asked her, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, why are you here?¡±

    She replied, ¡°Why can¡¯t Ie? Are there terrifying beasts in the Tang Sect? I went to the inner courtyard to find you, but I heard you were out. I guessed that you returned to the Tang Sect, so I came to find you. Dean Cai told me that the three soul bones can be shared between the two of us. What do you n to do with them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I have something to deal with over here. Come in first. We¡¯ll talk about the soul bonester. Since you want them, I can give them all to you.¡± As he spoke, he ushered Wang Qiu¡¯er inside.

    Jing Ziyan rubbed her eyes as she saw Wang Qiu¡¯er entering. After that, she turned to the other side and asked, ¡°Twins?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied, ¡°No.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er also answered, ¡°We are not twins.¡±

    They were both so ravishing, and were even lookalikes. Even Ji Juechen couldn¡¯t help but take more nces at the two of them.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao,e.¡± Ji Juechen lifted his sword again. After he had stopped sparring, he had felt his improvement stalling. This also made him more certain that giving up his education at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to find Huo Yuhao was the correct decision.

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Come, whate? Don¡¯t you see that I have guests? Also, where¡¯s Teacher Xuan?¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes were already filled with the light ofpetition, and couldn¡¯t be bothered. ¡°Let¡¯s fight first.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his de, and a vicious sword intent was released. At this point, his soul power seemed different from before. It surfaced as a dim silver, and even his eyes shone with silver light. It was evident that his powers had improved.

    Ji Juechen said, ¡°Yuhao, I developed a deeper understanding of sword intent, which I have named Dragonyer. Come on.¡±

    ¡°Dragonyer?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned weird, and he immediately twisted his head to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. He muttered, ¡°I¡¯m not someone who picks on others, but someone has named his ability Dragonyer. Qiu¡¯er, can you ept that?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er coordinated with him and snorted, ¡°Of course not. Let me fight him instead.¡±

    As she spoke, she took a step forward. She let out a deep roar, and the entirety of Tang Sect seemed to shake momentarily. Following this, a strongpetitive will rose from her.

    She didn¡¯t have any sword or fist intent, but only possessed an unprecedented and domineering fighting will. Her deep dragon roar shook the air, and intense golden light started to surround her entire body inyers.

    The rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters widened their eyes as they looked at her. This works? Yuhao still dares to say that he¡¯s not a picky person? What is considered picky then? He passed on his hatred too easily.

    Ji Juechen was also stunned when his opponent suddenly changed. However, he recovered very quickly. To him, it didn¡¯t matter who his opponent was. The key was that his opponent was able to give him pressure. He couldn¡¯t find someone like that in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Otherwise, why would he travel all the way here?

    It was easy to tell whether one was capable after they made their first move. Qiu¡¯er only stepped forward, but she immediately repressed Ji Juechen¡¯s aura. This simple action already left him very impressed.

    Ji Juechen squinted his eyes, but the sword intent that he had unleashed suddenly turned gentle.

    While Huo Yuhao had passed on the trouble to Wang Qiu¡¯er, he didn¡¯t cease observing Ji Juechen. As his sword intent changed, his expression also changed slightly.

    This¡­ is he pulling off a reversal? No, it isn¡¯t at that standard yet. How does he hide it? A hidden sword intent is the most terrifying weapon. I didn¡¯t expect his improvement to be so great. He has already understood sword intent to such a standard.

 Chapter 244.3: Qiuer, Im Not One Who Picks on Others

    It seemed like it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to deal with Ji Juechen. After all, he was focused only on swords, while Huo Yuhao had to learn many things. Perhaps he could beat him in overall abilities, but it would be increasingly difficult for him to tackle Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent with just his own fist.

    At this point, Wang Qiu¡¯er moved. She didn¡¯t care about his sword intent or whatever tricks he had up his sleeve. In her eyes, her opponents would only meet with one result: destruction!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er burst towards Ji Juechen like a golden shooting star. Her right fist also turnedpletely golden, and she attacked without using any flowery skills.

    Ji Juechen held his sword with both his hands. He made half a step with his left leg and thrust forward. As this sword pierced out, the silver light around him was sucked into the sword, eventually gathering at the tip. The moment it stabbed out, the surrounding air seemed to ovep.

    As a boom sounded, her fist and his sword collided, and an explosion rang out.

    No one had expected Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fist to change at thest moment.

    Yes, it changed. Her fist turned into a palm. She tore through space just like that, and avoided Ji Juechen¡¯s sword. Her right palm struck the de instead.

    Her body turned as the sword aimed for her vitals. The vicious sword intent that shot out struck the wall and caused a huge explosion, blowing apart a hole at least three meters wide. Ji Juechen¡¯s sword also started to crack at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er crushed his sword with her palm. As she made a turn, her left fist punched straight towards Ji Juechen!

    Ji Juechen subconsciously lifted his hands to block. Another boom sounded, and Ji Juechen flew back like a broken sack, mming into the wall.

    Two strikes! From the start to the end, Wang Qiu¡¯er only unleashed two strikes. The fight ended just like that.

    As she stood straight, a gust of violent wind seemed to blow beside her. Her sleeves and hair were blown backward, and the golden light around her body was withdrawn.

    She was extremely strong! Everyone was stunned as they watched the fight.

    Jing Ziyan was the most shocked. She understood Ji Juechen¡¯s abilities the best. After he gained a deeper understanding of sword intent, his own sword intent seemed to have undergone a huge transformation. However, he lost so pathetically to Wang Qiu¡¯er, even more pathetically than the first time he had fought Huo Yuhao. She also only had six soul rings, just like him!

    Was this Shrek Academy¡¯s ability?

    Only Huo Yuhao could tell that Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t win easily, even though she appeared to be very rxed. She seemed to have transcended space and avoided Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent. Her sleeves and hair were not blown back because she was trying to act cool. She was trying to neutralize the shockwave from Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent.

    She stood there for five seconds before the wind around her calmed down and disappeared. She was slightly stunned as she looked at Ji Juechen, who had formed a human-shaped hole in the wall. She nodded at him and said, ¡°Bring a better sword next time.¡±

    Ji Juechen was covered in dust now, and even looked slightly pathetic. However, his eyes were especially bright. He looked back at Qiu¡¯er and nodded.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around to look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Find me after you return to the inner courtyard.¡± After she finished speaking, she didn¡¯t bother with the others and left just like that, as if she had just done something insignificant.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s facial muscles were cramping slightly as she muttered, ¡°This, this is too much. Huo Yuhao, where did you find thatdy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao ced his hands behind his back and said carefreely, ¡°Those from the Tang Sect are all of this standard. Don¡¯t bother finding me in the future. Have you seen? These are my seniors. What are your ns?¡±

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t bother with the dust on his body, and nodded at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°Staying!¡±

    Jing Ziyan also said, ¡°We¡¯re definitely going to stay here. Give us a ce to stay and eat. That¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°You can¡¯t stay. The Tang Sect doesn¡¯t ept outsiders. You will only be fed and given a ce to stay if you join us.¡±

    Cough cough! Bei Bei coughed twice and hurriedly walked over. He said, ¡°Since the two of you havee from afar, you can stay as long as you want. Of course, our doors will always be open to you. We are not as pathetic as little junior described us. Our sect has our own Martial Soul Department. I believe both of you know about the glory of the Tang Sect from thousands of years ago. We¡¯re rebuilding the Tang Sect because we want to regain that glory again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately added on, ¡°Eldest senior, we can¡¯t just ept anyone! Their abilities are a bit weak. Furthermore, we won¡¯t ept outsiders. Once they learn from our sect, they can¡¯t leave easily. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to get back what they¡¯ve learned.¡±

    Jing Ziyan red and asked, ¡°Huo Yuhao, who¡¯s weak?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I¡¯m talking about you. Can you beat me? I¡¯m ranked sixth in the Tang Sect, but you can¡¯t even best me. Aren¡¯t you weak?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    As the two of them bickered, Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes shed for a moment before he nodded and said, ¡°We¡¯re staying. We won¡¯t go.¡±

    Jing Ziyan snorted and said, ¡°We¡¯ll stay. When we learn the Tang Sect Secret Techniques, we¡¯ll deal with you again.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re wee anytime. Alright, we are all Tang Sect brothers and sisters now. Let me introduce you.¡±

    He introduced all his seniors to them. Ji Juechen was still a little stunned, and only nodded at everyone. However, Jing Ziyan made up for what he wascking, greeting everyone properly.

    Bei Bei secretly gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up. They could obviously tell that the two of them had rather strong abilities. While Wang Qiu¡¯er won beautifully, did Ji Juechen actually lose so heavily? Change his sword, and it would be difficult to tell.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Ji, have you been unable to find a suitable sword?¡±

    Ji Juechen nodded.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Try this.¡± As he spoke, he took out a sword from his storage-type soul tool and offered it to Ji Juechen.

    There was a reason why Ji Juechen was called a sword fanatic. When he saw swords, he had the same reaction as Xu Sanshi when he saw beauties. His eyes immediately brightened, and he was filled with passion. He received the sword without any hesitation.

    Once the sword entered his hand, he immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s a good sword, thank you.¡±

    This sword¡¯s de surfaces were two different colors; one was ck, and the other was white. Wasn¡¯t this the Judgment Sword that had sparked the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao during thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament?

    Elder Mu had eventually given this Judgment Sword to Huo Yuhao. But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use swords, and thus he took this opportunity to give it to Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen poured his soul power into the sword as he held it. A stunned look arose on his face. Thebination of light and darkness was something he had never experienced before, but it was present in this sword. It was a truly strong sword!

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This sword is a closebat soul tool. It¡¯s also the strongest closebat soul tool that I¡¯ve ever seen. It¡¯s called the Judgment Sword. It caused huge problems for us during thest tournament. I¡¯m giving it to you now because I hope that you can unleash its full power. It doesn¡¯t have many requirements of its user, and possesses great strength. I can feel that even the person who molded this sword was unable to unleash its full power. Just to reim this sword, Jing Hongchen came to Shrek Academy personally. From this, I¡¯m sure you can tell how great it is.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Ji Juechen thanked him for the second time, which showed how much he liked this sword. ¡°A room for me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Okay. However, the two of you will need to shoulder some responsibility since you¡¯ve joined Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ji Juechen was startled for a moment.

    Huo Yuhao wore a serious expression on his face as he said, ¡°At least you¡¯ll need to be responsible for your own actions. Fix the wall.¡±

    He was right. Two of the walls had been damaged. The courtyard of the Tang Sect was now exposed.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s expression stiffened, and he looked at Jing Ziyan as if he were begging for help.

    Jing Ziyan was also in a daze. She snapped, ¡°Why are you looking at me? You¡¯re a big man. You want me to fix the wall for you? Do you still have face?¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s expression turned bitter, and he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Where are the bricks?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twitched, and he tried his best not tough, ¡°I¡¯ll find some for you.¡±

    Jiang Nannanmented as she saw what happened, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t bully an honest person. I¡¯ll arrange your living quarters. Regarding the wall, let the few of them think about it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Ji Juechen felt as if he had met his benefactor.

    Xu Sanshi was a little worried as he saw Ji Juechen¡¯s handsome looks and felt his naturally woody aura. He rushed to say, ¡°I¡¯ll go too, I¡¯ll go too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless as he said, ¡°None of you saw how they tortured me in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! I¡¯m just exacting a little revenge on them.¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan brought Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen away to their living quarters.

    Bei Bei watched as they left and didn¡¯t hide his delight anymore, ¡°Little junior, it seems like the Tang Sect is bing more and more prosperous! Those two aren¡¯t ordinary.¡±

 Chapter 245: The Tang Sect Grows Stronger

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°They¡¯re both fanatics. All of you are in for some trouble in the future. However, they¡¯re also very direct people. They¡¯ll be happy as long as you spar with them. I never expected Juechen¡¯s sword intent to reach such a standard. He¡¯s indeed very focused! Eldest senior, let¡¯s find Teacher Xuan quickly. He¡¯ll be pivotal in the future development of soul tools in the Tang Sect!¡±

    When they found Xuan Ziwen, he was beside the soul tool forge at the back of the Tang Sect. In addition, he didn¡¯t look like a ss 8 soul engineer.

    He was dressed very simply, and there were even oil stains on his clothes. As he squatted outside the forge and watched the workers forging the soul tools, his gaze never even moved slightly.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan!¡± Huo Yuhao called out.

    Xuan Ziwen continued to squat as he turned around to look. He waved his hand before turning his attention back to the soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao quickly walked towards him before squatting down as he reached him, ¡°Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t peek! They¡¯re our secrets.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen snapped, ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. What procedures are needed to join the sect? Tell me quick. Did you know that waiting for you here the past few days was equivalent to wasting my life?¡±

    Bei Bei was in a daze. This guy is even more direct than the previous two. Evidently, his passion was for soul tools. For people like Xuan Ziwen and Ji Juechen, who could be so devoted to a single thing, they were either lunatics or geniuses among geniuses!

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew that Xuan Ziwen wanted to join the Tang Sect since he had volunteered toe on his own. He shot a look at Bei Bei immediately.

    Bei Bei still didn¡¯t understand, and quickly walked up to him before squatting down beside Xuan Ziwen. He said, ¡°Hello Teacher Xuan, I am currently the eldest senior of the Tang Sect. Wee to the Tang Sect. Let¡¯s do it this way; you¡¯ll be our deputy sect master from now on. You¡¯ll be in charge of soul tools.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t bothered about such things. Otherwise, why would he leave the Illustrious Virtue Hall?

    ¡°Oh, alright. Yuhao, give it to me.¡± As he spoke, he gestured to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew what he wanted, ¡°Do you want the earliest set of information regarding the Tang Sect¡¯s secret weapons or do you want them with my research?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°The earliest set please. If I see your research, my train of thought might be disrupted. Oh, leave that metallic man with me, too. Can I enter now?¡± Although he was a soul tool fanatic, he was more in touch with the worldpared to Ji Juechen. Otherwise, he would have rushed into the forge already.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Guys, bring oneplete Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon for Teacher Xuan to study. Eldest senior, give one set of the hidden weapon manuals to Teacher Xuan.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bei Bei retrieved a set of hidden weapon manuals for Xuan Ziwen. ¡°Teacher Xuan, let us arrange your living quarters.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s gaze was fixated on the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon that came out from the forge. His eyes brightened. ¡°No rush, no rush. Go and get busy. You don¡¯t have to bother with me. Yuhao, don¡¯t leave today. I¡¯ll find you tonight for a talk.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao tugged Bei Bei and gestured to the rest of them before leaving. He understood Xuan Ziwen. He lost his sense of time once he entered his research state.

    When they returned to the meeting hall, Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi had also returned. Their expressions were very weird. After Ji Juechen received the Judgment Sword, he took it and went into retreat. Jing Ziyan also went to rest.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Youngest junior, it¡¯s not really a good idea to leave Teacher Xuan there on his own, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior. He came to the Tang Sect for proper reasons. Just let him do what he wants.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was a little worried. ¡°Yuhao, surely he¡¯s not here to steal confidential information before leaving, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°He¡¯s not that kind of person. He¡¯s only interested in soul tools. At least before he fullypletes his research into soul tools, he won¡¯t do anything. The Tang Sect is different from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. The Illustrious Virtue Hall is already the best ce to create soul tools on the continent. Everything there is advanced. However, we¡¯ve only just gained traction here, although we have developed things in a new direction. To Elder Xuan, this is the ce that will bring him a greater sense of achievement. That¡¯s why he chose toe over. There are many possibilities tobine the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons and soul tools; it¡¯s practically impossible to calcte all of them. Under such a circumstance, he won¡¯t leave anytime soon. I can also vouch for his character.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°If you doubt someone, don¡¯t use him. If you use him, don¡¯t doubt him. Teacher Xuan is already the deputy sect master of the Tang Sect. Everyone, please make sure not to spout such words in the future. Yuhao, what do you think we should do to coordinate with him?¡±

    Yuhao thought for a moment and said, ¡°Give him the rare materials that I brought back. Eldest senior, does our sect have money?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°We have some money. The academy is very supportive of us, and paid us beforehand when they ordered the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. They also offered a good price.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said without any hesitation, ¡°Then let¡¯s think of a way to exchange our money for rare metals. In this way, I¡¯ll ask teacher Xuan whether he has any special needs before I make a list of them. After that, we can think of ways to obtain what he needs.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed. ¡°Why do I feel that your friends made a bad choice in befriending you? You¡¯re obviously squeezing whatever value you can from them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wore a maligned look on his face, ¡°What? I¡¯m just catering to their interests.¡±

    He Caitou stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to Teacher Xuan¡¯s side to take a look. I only listened to how Yuhaoplimented his capabilities, but didn¡¯t have a chance to consult him. Now that we¡¯re on the same side, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony anymore.¡± After he finished speaking, he eagerly turned around and left.

    Although Fan Yu and Xuan Ziwen were both ss 8 soul engineers, there were still big gaps in terms of their experience and thinking. He Caitou was quite pleased to see Xuan Ziwen here. Furthermore, he was also a ss 7 soul engineer himself, and was very familiar with the Tang Sect. With him around, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research would also be expedited.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, let¡¯s stay in the Tang Sect tonight and return tomorrow. Oh wait, I can¡¯t. I still have to make a return trip. I also have a present for the Tang Sect.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled even wider as he observed his juniors. As he looked at the sky outside, he muttered to himself, ¡°Xiao Ya, if you¡¯re still around, you¡¯d be very delighted to see the improvements the Tang Sect has made.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Are you feeling emotional again? Don¡¯t be like a girl,¡± Xu Sanshi taunted him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with girls?¡± Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were both displeased as they stared at Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi coughed. ¡°Girls are great! Girls are gentle, passionate, and sentimental. However, guys are different.¡±

    Jiang Nannan stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go find a gentle and passionate guy!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t! My wife, I was wrong.¡± Xu Sanshi was deservedly the owner of the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. He greatly encapsted the true meaning of a turtle, adaptable!

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife? Watch your mouth.¡± After Jiang Nannan had established her rtionship with Xu Sanshi, she stated that their status would develop ording to the situation. Xu Sanshi had to be tested frequently. He was tormented and happy at the same time. In fact, he was even a bit of a masochist.

    Bei Bei also stood up and added, ¡°Sanshi, let¡¯s go and workout. I¡¯ve not whacked you in ages. I¡¯m itching to do so.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stopped cajoling Jiang Nannan and started tough coldly. ¡°It¡¯s still too early to tell who will lose. Nannan, let¡¯s whack him together.¡±

    Bei Bei wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be disadvantaged like that and immediately said, ¡°Two versus two, who¡¯s scared of who? Xiao Xiao, pair up with me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Xiao was very obedient, and immediately agreed.

    ------

    Two hourster, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er saw how pathetic two of them were when they brought the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear cubs back.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were fine, but Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei looked pitiful. A bruise had even swelled up on Bei Bei¡¯s forehead, and he was attending to it.

    Xu Sanshi was in an even worse state, as half of his face was swollen.

    Xu Sanshi was furious as he imed, ¡°Bei Bei, are you still human? We agreed not to hit one another¡¯s faces, but you still did so. It was definitely deliberate.¡±

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°Deliberate? Didn¡¯t you do the same? Look at my head. Look how bad you hit it. The bruise is so big. You arepletely inhumane. How can I show myself to others anymore?¡±

    ¡°Stop quarreling, stop quarreling! Seniors, we are back.¡± Huo Yuhao saw the two of them the moment he entered. He almost burst out inughter, and rushed over to mediate.

    ¡°Oh, Yuhao. You¡¯ve brought the two cubs back?¡± Xu Sanshi saw the two cubs immediately. His eyes brightened as he said, ¡°Dog meat hotpot, right? Our diet will change tonight! Yuhao¡¯s cooking is unrivalled! I¡¯ll not pick on you anymore. Yuhao, let me give you a hand. Tell me how you want to kill them, cut their bellies or throats?¡±

    As he spoke, Xu Sanshi had already wandered over. He was even salivating.

    Huo Yuhao said helplessly, ¡°Third senior, they can¡¯t be eaten! They are treasures given to the Tang Sect.¡±

    Perhaps they felt that Xu Sanshi was going to harm them, but the two cubs started to roar furiously at him.

    Xu Sanshi was startled as he eximed, ¡°These two are really like bears, even though they aren¡¯t mature yet!¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°What do you mean they are like bears? They are bears, Darkgolden Terrorw Bears! They are the biggest reward from our trip to the Great Star Dou Forest!¡±

    Everyone had already gathered at this point. Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t help but touch them as they saw how cute they were.

    However, these two cubs were very aggressive even though they were still young. They were ready to bite back at whoever got close to them.

    Xu Sanshi was the most domineering. He used each of his hands to grab the thick skin at the cubs¡¯ necks and pick them up.

    ¡°They¡¯re pretty strong! I¡¯ve not eaten the meat of Darkgolden Terrorw Bears before. I¡¯ll make the both of you into hotpot if you continue to throw tantrums.¡±

    Perhaps they understood his threat. As he picked them up, they immediately toned down, and whimpered non-stop.

    ¡°Piak!¡± Jiang Nannan pped Xu Sanshi¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯ve hurt them.¡± As she spoke, she snatched one of the cubs.

    It was weird, but they seemed to understand humans. The cub immediately submitted to Jiang Nannan as itpared her to the ¡®bad guy¡¯ Xu Sanshi. It didn¡¯t continue to bite her, and only stared at Xu Sanshi with an unfriendly look in its eyes.

    Xiao Xiao also took this opportunity to snatch the other cub.

    Bei Bei was in a bit of a daze, and whispered to Huo Yuhao, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t you go with the others from the academy? Even if there are rewards, shouldn¡¯t they belong to the academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Elder Xuan gave us these two cubs. Although they¡¯re still small, they might be the Tang Sect¡¯s secret weapons if we tame them well.¡±

    Bei Bei nced at the two of them andughed bitterly. ¡°Little junior, do you think Darkgolden Terrorw Bears are so easy to tame?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied helplessly, ¡°I don¡¯t know either! At least they have yet to exhibit their destructiveness. I¡¯ll ask the teachers from the Beast Dueling Area when I return to the academy and see how I can control them.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded, ¡°You can only do it this way. Settle them down first. I¡¯ve asked someone to buy dinner from the restaurant outside. Let¡¯s take it as a celebration since we have three new members.¡±

    ¡°Great! I¡¯ll inform them. However, I don¡¯t know how deep Ji Juechen¡¯s closed-door cultivation will be.¡±

    ---

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s conjecture was right. Ji Juechen was very deep in his closed-door cultivation, and didn¡¯t attend the celebration dinner.

    The dinner was sumptuous. In order to host Xuan Ziwen and Jing Ziyan better, Huo Yuhao even grilled some fish personally.

    This wasn¡¯t just a celebration dinner. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters hadn¡¯t gathered together for quite some time. They enjoyed a full meal, and spontaneously decided to stay at the Tang Sect tonight.

    After the dinner, Xuan Ziwen called Huo Yuhao to his room...

 Chapter 246.1: The Soul Tool Hall is Formed

    Xuan Ziwen scratched his head as he sat on the sofa. He had also drank quite a lot, as he was hosted by Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters earlier.

    Huo Yuhao poured a cup of water for him. Xuan Ziwen received the cup and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°I should be the one thanking you. You gave up your privileges at the Illustrious Virtue Hall toe to the Tang Sect. I¡¯m very grateful to you.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen waved his hand and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be grateful. I¡¯m only pursuing what I like. Other things are less important. Before I left the Illustrious Virtue Hall, I submitted my Sealed Milk Bottle research. At least I managed to fulfil my responsibility to the Illustrious Virtue Hall.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Teacher Xuan managed toplete his research for the Sealed Milk Bottle! Undoubtedly, the Illustrious Virtue Hall would benefit greatly from this.

    However, he didn¡¯t say anything much. He could sense that Xuan Ziwen was still very attached to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. It was logical that he would repay them.

    Xuan Ziwen looked at Huo Yuhao calmly and smiled. ¡°You indeed didn¡¯t disappoint me. I decided toe to the Tang Sect not because I was drawn by what you showed me. There are other reasons.¡±

    As he spoke until here, he revealed a slightly disappointed look on his face, ¡°There have been great changes in the Sun Moon Empire in thest two years. Jing Hongchen is about to go to war.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°He must be on Xu Tianran¡¯s side.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was stunned, and he asked, ¡°You know?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. In fact, he was one of the causes. How would he not know?

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°As the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen¡¯s status in the Sun Moon Empire is extremely high. He¡¯s like an advisor. His involvement in the imminent war means that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy will be dragged in, too. Even though the Crown Prince was at an advantage, the throne was the sole target of some people. They would either seed or die trying. Why would they give up so easily? The Illustrious Virtue Hall will no longer give me a quiet research environment.¡±

    ¡°More importantly, the Crown Prince has always been very active. Once he seeds to the throne, a huge war will start in the near future. I¡¯m only a soul engineer researcher. I don¡¯t want to be involved with and stuck in a war. I don¡¯t want to be ambushed by the Body Sect again, either. My research requires stability. I¡¯m not willing to rely on anyone either, even if it¡¯s on Jing Hongchen. I hate politics.

    ¡°The Tang Sect¡¯s atmosphere is very good and rxed. Shrek City also holds a special position on the continent. I think I¡¯m liking it here already.¡± As he spoke to this point, Xuan Ziwen revealed a smile on his face.

    Huo Yuhao smiled too. ¡°We¡¯re more d that you¡¯re here. Maybe we¡¯ll be involved in a war in the future. However, no one will force you to do anything. It¡¯s fine if you do what you like in the Tang Sect. We¡¯ll do our best to handle external matters.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±

    He stopped for a moment at this point and looked at Huo Yuhao. After a brief moment of silence, he said, ¡°Yuhao, have you thought of a future?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, and didn¡¯t understand what Xuan Ziwen meant.

    Xuan Ziwen looked at him seriously and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you are tooplex? No one is omnipotent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao finally understood what he meant, and nodded. ¡°Yes, I understand. However, I don¡¯t wish to give up on being both a soul master and soul engineer. I just proposed to Shrek Academy today that soul masters should be taught how to use soul tools.¡± He exined his proposition to Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, but it¡¯s different from your situation. You aren¡¯t just using soul tools; you are learning and developing them. You have even reached a deep level. I know it¡¯s very difficult for you to give up everything now. However, everyone¡¯s energy is limited. No one can be a master of all trades. You¡¯ll need to make a choice.

    ¡°You are talented in the aspect of soul tools. You have be a ss 6 soul engineer, even though you are still so young. You are even on the verge of reaching ss 7. I am almost certain that you will be at least a ss 9 soul engineer if you continue to work hard. You won¡¯t take more than twenty years, either. You might even be the youngest ss 9 soul engineer ever! However, I am also almost certain that every step from ss 7 onwards will be extremely difficult. I¡¯ve been a ss 8 soul engineer for eight years, and I¡¯m only just approaching ss 9. My cultivation is still sorelycking.¡±

    ¡°If you want to be a ss 9 soul engineer, you¡¯ll be restricted by time in terms of your soul master capabilities. With your talent, it won¡¯t be long before you be a Titled Douluo. However, it¡¯ll be very difficult to develop further if you invest your time in soul tools. Although a Titled Douluo ss 9 soul engineer is very strong, and you might even choose to be a ss 10 soul engineer, do you want that?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen stood up and stepped forward slowly. ¡°Your previous performance was too outstanding, and concealed some problems. However, these problems still exist. I saw everything that you¡¯ve done in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Kid, you are too tired.¡±

    His words seemed to touch Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul. His body shuddered slightly.

    Xuan Ziwen walked up to him and patted his shoulder. He said, ¡°I invested all my energy in soul tools. As an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, I don¡¯t even remember what my soul skills are. However, I had plenty of time to think. What about you? Do you have plenty of time? You don¡¯t. You don¡¯t even have time to think. In your case, you might not even reach your peak in both aspects. The worst case scenario is that you¡¯ll copse.

    ¡°You¡¯re already a Soul King. It¡¯s time for you to choose. From the fighting style that you always use, I can tell that you see yourself more as a soul master deep in your heart, and not a soul engineer. Am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I also think that you are more suitable to be a soul master. Compared to your talent as a soul engineer, your twin martial souls are undoubtedly more outstanding in the world of soul masters. Tapping into your greatest advantages is the correct path you should choose.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°However, I can¡¯t forgo certain things.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen walked in front of him and patted his shoulder, ¡°I won¡¯t make you forget them. Your research into soul tools will not be wasted, either, because you¡¯ll understand them better. The person on the spot is baffled, while the onlooker sees clearly. How did you propose to Shrek Academy? Why have you be lost when ites to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze, and asked, ¡°Are you suggesting that I should stop researching soul tools, and only use them?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re only half right. I¡¯m not asking you to stop researching, but to stop developing soul tools. With your foundational knowledge of soul tools, it¡¯s fine if youe up new concepts when inspiration arrives. However, don¡¯t expend too much of your energy in this area. Since you have be a Soul King, you¡¯ll need to expend more energy and effort in the future cultivation of your martial souls. If you want to be one of the best on the continent, you have to be focused. At least eighty percent of your time needs to be spent on that most important aspect.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s gaze started to turn passionate as he spoke until this point. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m trying to persuade you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was slightly moved, but he didn¡¯t mutter a word.

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ll be the person to design your soul tools in the future, when you reach the peak of the continent. The stronger and moreplex the soul tools are, the stronger a soul master has to be in order to use them. There¡¯s one thing about you that moves me the most¡­ your knowledge. You are correct, the strongest individuals on the continent in the future will be the best soul masters equipped with the strongest soul tools. After seeing your human-shaped soul tool, my conception has changed slightly. Purely creating patterns and concepts of certain soul tools can no longer satiate my desire in the area of soul tools anymore. What I really want is to create the strongest soul tool in the world and create the ultimatebination of soul masters and soul engineers; the Ultimate Soldier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes wide as he heard the words ¡®Ultimate Soldier¡¯. This was too coincidental!

    Xuan Ziwen looked at him with a burning gaze and said, ¡°This is also another reason why I was so willing toe here. Traditional soul masters don¡¯t ept soul tools and don¡¯t understand them. Soul masters at the peak of the continent will not be my test subjects. However, you are different. You possess the outstanding talent of a soul master, and you are enrolled in the best soul master academy. Your passion for soul tools is also very great, and you have a deep foundation there, too. Are you willing to be my test subject?¡±

    Hui Yuhaoughed and bowed to Xuan Ziwen respectfully. ¡°Teacher, it would be my honor!¡±

    Xuan Ziwen rubbed his hands and said, ¡°Alright then, take out all your new inventions over these past few years! I¡¯m very eager!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to research on your own, in case you were affected by my research?¡±

 Chapter 246.2: The Soul Tool Hall is Formed

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I sounded very noble in front of others when I said that? Do you really think that I¡¯d be unaffected? It¡¯s an embarrassing thing for a teacher to ask his student for his research products.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twisted a little. He didn¡¯t expect Teacher Xuan to have such a side to him.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give them to you now. However, there¡¯s a lot of content. It¡¯s not early, either.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and asked, ¡°What? Are you nning to sleep tonight? It¡¯s a waste of time to sleep on such a beautiful night. Cut the crap and hurry up.¡±

    To Huo Yuhao, he had no choice but to burn the midnight oil. However, Xuan Ziwen was very eager. As they discussed more about soul tools, Huo Yuhao also entered the same zone. They didn¡¯t sleep for the entire night.

    ------

    When the first ray of sunlight shone into the Tang Sect the next morning, the entire the Tang Sect was dyed with ayer of dim gold.

    A youth was standing not far away from the Tang Sect, pacing up and down. There was a slightly nervous expression on his face, but it looked more like enthusiasm.

    ¡°Am I too early?¡± The youth muttered to himself. ¡°Let me wait for a while.¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his head to look at the sky. His eagerness was evident.

    Finally, he couldn¡¯t take it any further as the sun rose further. He walked a few steps to the gate before knocking with the door pper.

    Even though the Tang Sect had made significant developments in soul tools, they still used the most traditional and ancient gate.

    Knock, knock, knock. The crisp sound of the pper rang out.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the door was opened. A youth in white poked his head out.

    ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± The Tang Sect disciples were divided into official disciples and disciples-in-name. Official disciples didn¡¯t have any specific regtions for their attire, but disciples-in-name had to wear white warrior robes. They looked very neat and tidy.

    The youth outside replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking for Huo Yuhao. Is he around?¡±

    The Tang Sect¡¯s disciple-in-name nodded and answered, ¡°Senior Huo is around.¡±

    The youth was jolted, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to inform him that Mo Xuan is looking for him.¡± In order to garner more respect from this disciple-in-name, he added, ¡°I¡¯m from Shrek.¡±

    Indeed, the disciple-in-name started to act more prudently. ¡°Please wait a minute. I¡¯ll inform him now.¡±

    While Huo Yuhao was still young, the Tang Sect was founded by the seven of them. The disciples that had entered the sectter all called him ¡®senior¡¯, apart from some special situations.

    The youth who was pacing up and down outside the gate was Mo Xuan, who had entered and risked his life in the Great Star Dou Forest with Huo Yuhao not long ago. He was one of the inner courtyard disciples valued and nurtured by Shrek Academy.

    Ever since he had returned, he had not felt calm. The all-terrain self-driving fort had left an extremely deep impression in his mind.

    On the way back to the academy, Huo Yuhao had taught him a few control methods. Mo Xuan also tried them out himself. It was his first time feeling that he didn¡¯t need anyone to protect him.

    In fact, even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how important Mo Xuan was to Shrek Academy.

    In terms of abilities, an advanced student from the outer courtyard was able to easily defeat Mo Xuan. However, his abilities were too special.

    At that point in time, Zhang Lexuan and Cai Mei¡¯er had only briefly mentioned how his auxiliary capabilities could be unleashed at long range. However, they didn¡¯t specifically state how great that range was. Even Huo Yuhao had neglected this point.

    With Mo Xuan¡¯s fighting strength, or rather, theck thereof, how did he manage to enter Shrek Academy? Apart from Huo Yuhao, who had entered the academy by pulling strings, he had been the one who passed the test the most easily. He only had one ring then, and had only exhibited one soul skill before he was admitted by the academy.

    He only demonstrated an ordinary enhancement soul skill, which was called Halo. How strong could his soul ring be? Its effect was naturally very average. However, it covered a circle a kilometer wide!

    This also meant that Mo Xuan could enhance everyone within this area if he was willing to. What kind of concept was that?

    The enhancement was very negligible if only one person was enhanced that way. However, what if there were ten thousand people? If a certain aspect of everyone¡¯s abilities were enhanced by ten percent, it would make for frightening numbers.

    As a result, he was greatly valued by the academy as soon as he exhibited his first soul skill. Not only was he directly admitted to the academy, but he was even immediately nurtured as a core disciple of the outer courtyard.

    Over the years, Mo Xuan¡¯s cultivation had increased steadily under the special care of Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers. Although he couldn¡¯tpare to some other students of the same age from the inner courtyard, the rate of increase of his cultivation was faster than other soul masters outside of the academy. His innate talent was also slowly realized under such circumstances.

    Every soul ring he added would increase the region that he could cover with his Halo. It was terrifying! After he obtained six soul rings, his soul skills could be used within a circle that spanned six kilometers!

    Shrek Academy had once formed a research group to discuss his special martial soul further. Their conclusion was that Mo Xuan¡¯s martial soul had mutated, and created something that couldn¡¯t be duplicated. When he exhibited his soul skill, the Halo that he unleashed would resonate with the various elements in the air before assimting them. His Halo would be turned into a domain-type ability that was very weak, but covered a huge area.

    If he fought in a war, how much would the overall abilities of those on his side increase?

    Mo Xuan¡¯s Halo¡¯s enhancement effect was very ordinary to soul masters. It couldn¡¯tpare to an outstanding tool soul like the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. However, his strength became more and more evident when there were more and more people around. His martial soul was born for war.

    As a result, Shrek Academy didn¡¯t value him any less than Huo Yuhao. They had even decided to allow him to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion when he gained eight rings.

    However, Mo Xuan had his own ideas after he was valued by the academy.

    He was still a youth, a passionate youth! As a soul master in Shrek Academy, how could he possibly not yearn to fight?

    Whenever he went out to train with his partners, he was always protected. He would practically do nothing as his partners went out to fight and kill. He could only unleash his Halo that wasn¡¯t too effective for his partners.

    Mo Xuan often imagined how he would charge his way into the enemies¡¯ fortresses along with the other inner courtyard students. However, could he do so? No, he couldn¡¯t. Among soul masters at the same level, he was one of the weakest. He didn¡¯t even possess any fighting soul skills. How could he charge into enemy territory? How could he fight his enemies?

    This was the biggest pain that Mo Xuan held in his heart.

    However, he saw a glimmer of hope when he was in the Great Star Dou Forest, something that could change his life.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words moved him greatly. The shock that he received from learning about the all-terrain soul fort was also unprecedented.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance, he had released a soul ray with a button and chopped down a thick tree. At that point in time, Mo Xuan was so excited that he almost screamed. This was the first attack that he had ever unleashed as a soul master.

    Soul tools. Yes, I can try soul tools! Soul tools wouldn¡¯t sh with his Halo, either.

    After being back for two days, his heart felt as if it were being scratched by a cat¡¯s ws. He spent the entire night without sleep. Finally, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. In the morning, he went to find Huo Yuhao with ck rings around his eyes, but he found out that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in the academy.

    Mo Xuan knew that Huo Yuhao and the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were from the Tang Sect. He also found out the exact location of the Tang Sect from the other inner courtyard students before he made his way over. However, he didn¡¯t inform Cai Mei¡¯er about his intentions. After all, he didn¡¯t know how the academy would react if they found out he wanted to learn about soul tools. What if they weren¡¯t agreeable?

    Mo Xuan had always been very grateful towards the academy for nurturing him. However, it was always his dream to be a warrior on the battlefield! Eventually, his dream trumped his rationality, which was why he was here. He first wanted to ask Huo Yuhao whether he could be a soul engineer, and what kind of soul engineer he could be.

    Just as Mo Xuan was formting his approach, Huo Yuhao walked out. Huo Yuhao also had ck rings around his eyes, which were also slightly red.

    ¡°Senior Mo Xuan, what you are here for? Pleasee in.¡± Huo Yuhao was confused by Mo Xuan¡¯s sudden appearance. If he were in his normal state, he might have been able to guess. However, he was too tired now. The entire night of discussion had turned his voice slightly hoarse.

    Mo Xuan was a little embarrassed as he said, ¡°Yuhao, apologies foring so suddenly. If the Tang Sect isn¡¯t convenient, we can speak outside.¡±

    Huo Yuhao dragged him in andughed, ¡°What¡¯s there to be inconvenient? There is no difference between the Tang Sect and the academy. Senior Mo Xuan, you don¡¯t have to be so formal. Come on, let¡¯s talk inside. Ah¡ª¡ª¡± As he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but yawn.

 Chapter 246.3: The Soul Tool Hall is Formed

    Mo Xuan was a little stunned as he looked at the younger student. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You didn¡¯t rest wellst night?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I didn¡¯t rest at all. I was discussing soul tools with a teacher until morning. Senior Mo Xuan, it seems like you didn¡¯t sleep well either?¡±

    Mo Xuanughed bitterly too. ¡°My mind was filled with soul tools! You gave me a huge biscuit, and this biscuit is absolutely delicious.¡±

    Although Huo Yuhao was a little lost, he quickly understood after he heard Mo Xuan¡¯s words. ¡°Senior Mo Xuan, you want to learn how to use soul tools, am I right? That¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯ve already suggested it to the academy, and Elder Xuan, Dean Yan, and Dean Xian have all approved it. The academy is about to start teaching everyone how to use soul tools.¡±

    Mo Xuan¡¯s eyes lit up. He knew he hadn¡¯t made a wasted trip after hearing this news!

    As Huo Yuhao spoke, he walked into the hall. It was still early. Even if everyone was up, they were still washing up and having breakfast. The front courtyard was very quiet.

    Huo Yuhao offered Mo Xuan a seat and poured him a cup of water. After that, he said, ¡°Senior Mo Xuan, you can ask me anything you want. As long as I know, I will answer you.¡± Although he was tired, he had a good impression of Mo Xuan, and was willing to give him a hand.

    Mo Xuan also said without any hesitation, ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to keep calling me senior either. I feel very embarrassed in front of you. As a senior, I¡¯m not that capable. If you treat me as a friend, you can call me directly by my name.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Alright then. Mo Xuan, you can ask me anything if you have any doubts.¡±

    Mo Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, can you tell me what level I¡¯ll be able to reach if I start learning about soul tools now? You should know that my martial soul is slightly special. When I exhibit my soul skills, I don¡¯t really need to control them, since they¡¯re all domain-type soul skills. I¡¯ve also learned many things in the academy, but I¡¯m restricted by my martial soul. This knowledge only serves to enrich me. I want to be a soul engineer. I want to be like all of you, fighting against our enemies and not hiding behind everyone¡¯s backs.¡± When he reached thisst sentence, he sounded much more agitated.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before asking, ¡°Senior Mo Xuan, how old are you now?¡±

    Mo Xuan said, ¡°Twenty-five.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You are already pretty old if you want to start learning about soul tools. All the aspects of knowledge regarding the creation of soul tools are veryplex. You need to have a strong foundation first. It¡¯s very difficult.¡±

    Mo Xuan was anxious after hearing his words, ¡°However, didn¡¯t you tell me that¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hand to interrupt him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious. Let me finish speaking. You are indeed a little too old to learn about creating soul tools. However, it¡¯s not toote for you to start using them. For soul masters like the two of us, using and creating soul tools arepletely different things. My suggestion earlier was for you to try using soul tools to protect yourself and increase your fighting strength.¡±

    Mo Xuan continued to probe, ¡°What standard can I reach if I only choose to use them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If you are just using them, I rmend you use all-terrain soul forts because of your situation. Not only will they help you raise an all-around defense, but they are also very strong, since they are quiterge. With sufficient Milk Bottles, you¡¯ll greatly enhance your survivability and fighting stamina on the battlefield.¡±

    After Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research of Sealed Milk Bottles waspleted, many soul tools could be greatly transformed. This was especially applicable for soul tools that were sizable. Even though it would take some time to charge them, they could be used for a long time without worrying about when the soul power in the Milk Bottles would be depleted. Furthermore, a soul master wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the depletion of their own strength.

    With the appearance of such Milk Bottles and the Tang Sect¡¯s techniques, it was no longer a dream for ordinary people to use soul tools in the future.

    Mo Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Does this also mean that my fighting strength will increase as such soul tools be stronger? How long will it take me to learn how to use them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You¡¯ll need at least a month to learn basic control of them. If you want to master them, you¡¯ll need at least three months. Controlling soul tools is a matter of practice. You are a Soul Emperor, meaning that you¡¯ll have sufficient time to practice every day.¡±

    Mo Xuan pped his hands in excitement and said, ¡°Great, I¡¯ll learn how to control this all-terrain self-driving fort then. After I return, which teacher from the Soul Tool Department should I find to help me with my learning?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stumped by this question, and replied helplessly, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to learn all this in the academy now. The academy can only start from the basics, so that you can learn how to use a greater variety of soul tools in the future. Furthermore, the all-terrain self-driving fort was the product of my research on all-terrain exploration soul tools when I was in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. I made refinements and eventually came up with it. There should only be one of it in existence here.¡±

    Mo Xuan was in a daze. ¡°One only? Can you sell it to me then? I know it¡¯s not going to be cheap, but I¡¯ll try my best toe up with the money.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mo Xuan. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to sell it to you, but because there¡¯s still a lot of confidentiality surrounding the techniques that were used in the creation of this soul tool. We must keep it a secret. In addition, there¡¯s still further research and development to be done. It¡¯s a first model for us. If we give it to you, we won¡¯t have anything to work with anymore. Let me drop you a suggestion; I¡¯ll give you priority to get one when Tang Sect starts to mass produce it in the future.¡±

    Mo Xuan was filled with disappointment. ¡°How long will I have to wait? I still have to learn how to use it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t answer this question. Xuan Ziwen was the only one who could answer how long it would take to produce this soul tool. There were many materials involved in making an all-terrain self-driving fort. There were even a few problems regarding its production that had to be rectified in various aspects. Furthermore, mass production would also reduce the quality of an all-terrain self-driving fort, since cheaper materials would be used for production. In addition, all this could only bepleted after continuous tests. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t give him an exact time.

    Mo Xuan furrowed his brow upon seeing how Huo Yuhao was being put in a spot. He was like a helpless person drifting in the ocean right now, who had found a life buoy; but the life buoy belonged to someone else, and he couldn¡¯t use it.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Actually, you can strengthen your foundation by starting to learn how to use basic soul tools first.¡±

    Mo Xuan replied, ¡°I understand what you mean. I¡¯ll learn how to use basic soul tools. However, your self-driving fort is too attractive. I¡¯m already too eager. Yuhao, do you think this could work¡­?¡±

    He paused for a moment at this point, as if he were very determined. He said, ¡°Let me join the Tang Sect. In this way, I¡¯ll also have the responsibility of guarding the Tang Sect¡¯s secrets. I can also learn about the self-driving fort at the same time. Will this work?¡±

    Huo Yuhao jumped in shock. ¡°Mo Xuan, are you certain? Although we¡¯ve just been re-established, we are still a sect. It¡¯s easy to enter a sect, but it¡¯ll be slightly more troublesome if you want to leave.¡±

    Mo Xuan said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve chosen to join the sect, why would I want to leave? However, will the Tang Sect be willing to ept a trashy person like me, who has no fighting strength?¡±

    ¡°Trashy? Stop kidding. There are no trashy characters in our inner courtyard. If you are willing to join the Tang Sect, I¡¯ll wee you with open arms and legs!¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted, and his fatigue seemed to have disappeared. Although he didn¡¯t know the effective range of Mo Xuan¡¯s Halo, he guessed that it must be very strong given how greatly the academy valued him. Strong soul masters would also be very useful for his future ns!

    Mo Xuan asked, ¡°After joining the Tang Sect, does that mean that I can¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head immediately. ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t have to only use it in the Tang Sect either. I¡¯m the only one in Tang Sect who knows how to use it. When we are in the inner courtyard, I can teach you.¡±

    Mo Xuan was ted, and said, ¡°That would be great! I¡¯ll learn it first! When youe up with a better one in the future, you must sell me one!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled. ¡°You¡¯re part of the Tang Sect too, now. Don¡¯t mention anything about selling. I¡¯ll make it a priority to construct one for you first.¡±

    Mo Xuan answered eagerly, ¡°That¡¯s a deal! What kind of administrative procedures will I need to go through to join the Tang Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll call eldest senior first.¡±

    ---

    ¡°What? You dragged someone else over? Inner courtyard too? Mo Xuan, why does he sound so familiar? Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s the one that can enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion when he obtains eight rings? Yuhao, how did you do it?¡± Bei Bei spoke extremely quickly. He looked at Huo Yuhao as if he were looking at a freak.

    It had only been a few days! Huo Yuhao had brought several members into the sect. They included Na Na, the soul engineers who were victimized by the Holy Ghost Church, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, the two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, and even the chief researcher of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. What could he not do?

    After one more night, another member came knocking on the door. He was even one of the future members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    Bei Bei had been in the academy for a long time already, and was even Elder Mu¡¯s descendant. He naturally understood more about the situation in the inner courtyard then Huo Yuhao, so he naturally knew more about Mo Xuan than Huo Yuhao.

    Seeing that Bei Bei was shocked, Huo Yuhao touched his nose and said, ¡°Eldest senior, I really didn¡¯t do anything. Mo Xuan was just attracted by my all-terrain self-driving fort. However, you know that this thing can¡¯t spread. I didn¡¯t say anything before he offered to join the Tang Sect. Can¡¯t he do so?¡±

 Chapter 247.1:The Continuously Strengthening Tang Sect

    ¡°Yes! Of course! Of course!¡± Bei Bei confirmed his decision thrice. ¡°Yuhao, do you know what Mo Xuan¡¯s nickname in the inner courtyard is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. However, he could make a rough guess, especially after Bei Bei pointed out that Mo Xuan could enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the future.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°His nickname was given to him by Dean Yan. He¡¯s called the War Controller.¡±

    War Controller! What a domineering name!

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°He¡¯s so strong? I¡¯ve been enhanced by his Halo before. To be honest, its effect isn¡¯t that great.¡±

    Bei Beiughed coldly and said, ¡°For soul masters of our standards, his enhancement isn¡¯t that great. However, have you ever considered the cumtive effect if thousands of soul masters were enhanced at the same time? The overall strength of an entire army can soar instantly. Whether it¡¯s in terms of speed, strength, or defense, they¡¯ll all be greatly enhanced. If abilities like Bloodlust were used to supplement it further, can you imagine how a battle will turn out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°What? His Halo can enhance thousands of people at the same time? That is so unreal!¡±

    Bei Bei replied firmly, ¡°It¡¯s so strong precisely because it¡¯s unreal.¡± He exined what he knew about Mo Xuan¡¯s Halo to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Mo Xuan¡¯s abilities are a secret even in the inner courtyard. I heard about them from my grandfather. Even he was very impressed with Mo Xuan¡¯s abilities, and decided that Xuan should join the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the future.¡±

    After Bei Bei mentioned Elder Mu, Huo Yuhao was even more astonished. For Elder Mu to be impressed, Mo Xuan¡¯s Halo must be very strong indeed!

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s not make him wait. Heaven is really helping us!¡±

    There wasn¡¯t anyplicated process involved in joining Tang Sect. In fact, it was even much simpler, as Bei Bei was worried about dying Mo Xuan¡¯s admission into the sect.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to join the Tang Sect and observe the rules of the sect. The sect¡¯s glory will be my glory, and the sect¡¯s humiliation will be my humiliation. I¡¯m willing to use my life to protect the sect. If I vite any of its rules, let me die a horrible death.¡±

    ¡°The swear-in ceremony is over. Wee to the Tang Sect, Mo Xuan.¡±

    Bei Bei opened his arms wide open and gave Mo Xuan a big hug.

    As Mo Xuan hugged him back, he smiled. ¡°Bei Bei, I should call you eldest senior in the future too.¡± In terms of age, he wasn¡¯t much older than Bei Bei.

    Bei Beiughed. ¡°You won¡¯t have to call me soon. You are also an official disciple. You can call me by my name. Yuhao, don¡¯t hide your all-terrain self-driving fort anymore. Teach Mo Xuan after you return.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°I¡¯ll do that. However, I want to sleep first. I spent the entire night discussing soul tools with Teacher Xuan. He has gone to meditate, and I¡¯m extremely exhausted now.¡±

    Mo Xuan smiled and said, ¡°No rush, no rush. We can talk about it after we return to the inner courtyard. You can tell me if the Tang Sect needs any help. After all, I¡¯m now a part of the Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei retrieved a script and said, ¡°Mo Xuan, this script records some of our Tang Sect abilities. You can start practicing them. I know that you don¡¯t have any offensive soul skills. However, our Tang Sect techniques are not much inferior to soul skills if you practice them well.¡±

    Mo Xuan received the copied script and looked at it. There were only four huge words on it, ¡°Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.¡±

    This was the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record without the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation, but it recorded the cultivation methods of the other Tang Sect Secret Techniques.

    Bei Bei said seriously, ¡°Memorize it before returning it to me. These are our secret techniques. Without our approval, you cannot spread them to anyone else. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to take back your powers.¡±

    Mo Xuan turned serious too. ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    After sending Mo Xuan off, Huo Yuhao heard something loud resonating from the Sparring Arena. There seemed to be someone cheering loudly.

    ¡°Eldest senior, who¡¯s at the Sparring Arena?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°Caitou and Xiao Xiao. Nannan has lessons today and returned to the inner courtyard before daybreak. Sanshi didn¡¯t leave, and Dong¡¯er is around too. They¡¯re also likely to be there. Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I was looking for Dong¡¯er too.¡± Although he was exhausted from staying up the entire night, he wouldn¡¯t go to sleep immediately. He needed to meditate to recover first. Cultivating with Wang Dong¡¯er was naturally going to make his restoration faster.

    After discussing things with Xuan Ziwenst night, Huo Yuhao felt that the burden on his shoulders had been lightened. Just like Xuan Ziwen had said, he couldn¡¯t reach the peaks of both a soul master and soul engineer. He didn¡¯t need to be a powerful soul engineer, he just needed to be a soul master who used soul tools. At least in the aspect of soul tools, Huo Yuhao knew that it was an unknown whether he could surpass Xuan Ziwen even if he gave his all to do so.

    It was difficult to make such a choice, but he didn¡¯t need to ponder any further once he made it. He could put more of his energy into cultivating his twin martial souls and researching Spirits. Along with Xuan Ziwen¡¯s various experiments, this was the more meaningful and valuable choice.

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao felt the undtions of soul power the moment they entered the Sparring Arena. They saw that it was surrounded by Tang Sect disciples.

    After years of development, the Tang Sect was no longer as sparse as before. Besides Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, there was still Na Na and the young soul engineers that came with her. Bei Bei had also recruited some graduates from the outer courtyard. Of course, there were disciples from the inner courtyard, too. Mo Xuan was a good example.

    Besides these official disciples, there were still some students and disciples in name that hade from Shrek City. They mainly cultivated and helped in the development of soul tools. The structure of the entire Tang Sect was bing more and moreplete. All of this was mainly settled by Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. They weren¡¯t just strong in their cultivations; they were also very talented in management! Along with Shrek Academy¡¯s secret support, the Tang Sect¡¯s development was proceeding quickly.

    They also had their own source of ie after they sold some secretly-developed soul tools. After some experiments, Shrek Academy also affirmed the utility of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon designed by Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The demand for the cannon thus soared greatly, giving a healthy financial boost to their development.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s arrival was also bound to greatly improve the Tang Sect. Xuan Ziwen told Huo Yuhaost night that he could start using his Sealed Milk Bottle. Although he left the method of developing the Sealed Milk Bottle with the Illustrious Virtue Hall, he was the only one who really understood its true meaning. The night wasn¡¯t wasted, as Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao confirmed the n that they couldbine the Sealed Milk Bottle and Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon.

    Once this n was realized, the cannon would be the strongest soul tool that could be used by an ordinary person. Even though it could only be fired a limited number of times, it could still be used for a long period of time as long as there were enough Milk Bottles to charge it.

    What better ce was there for them than Shrek Academy to charge these Milk Bottles? There were many strong soul masters in the academy!

    After Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen made their calctions, they concluded that ss 4 Sealed Milk Bottles had the best value, mostly because ss 5 and above Sealed Milk Bottles required costly, rare metals. ss 4 Sealed Milk Bottles required cheaper, more standard materials. One ss 4 Sealed Milk Bottle would power five shots of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. Of course, the prerequisite was that the cannon shell couldn¡¯t be above ss 3. However, this was already enough!

    There were different sses of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, too. Consideration of this also led to the formation of problems. The most ordinary cannons could only fire up to a distance of one kilometer, and only used ss 3 and below stationary soul cannon shells.

    Intermediate-level cannons could fire ss 5 and below stationary soul cannon shells up to a distance of three kilometers. As for advanced-level cannons, they could fire ss 7 and below stationary soul cannon shells. Of course, these cannons were also at least ss 7.

    Currently, the Tang Sect was developing low- and intermediate-level Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. They weren¡¯t considering advanced-level cannons yet. After all, the cost of developing such cannons was too high. Furthermore, their cannons could fire anywhere from six to eighteen cannon shells at once. Although the cost of such cannons wasn¡¯t low, they were eptable to most ordinary sects. The cost was even less of a concern for Shrek Academy. However, the stationary soul cannon shells could only be used once. They were expended the moment they were fired, and needed to be replenished. Even if they were replenished by ss 3 stationary soul cannon shells, firing eighteen shells at one go was equivalent to spending three thousand gold coins!

    That was why advanced-level Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons would be developed in the future, but not inrge quantities. If the supply of cannon shells couldn¡¯t match the demand, what was the use of these cannons?

    After discussing it with Huo Yuhao, Xuan Ziwen was more confident in some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s strange ideas. There were many things that caught his eye and aroused his curiosity. However, Xuan Ziwen realized that there were many things that he wanted to do after discussing things all night.

    After his discussion with Huo Yuhao, Xuan Ziwen decided toplete the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon first. There were two reasons. First, thepletion of the cannon would undoubtedly profit the Tang Sect greatly. Secondly, with more money, they could invest more in their future research funds!

 Chapter 247.2: The Continuously Strengthening Tang Sect

    Another reason was Xuan Ziwen¡¯s own problems. He had only just started learning how to develop Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapons. The contents involved were different from the formation arrays of soul tools that he had researched before. He needed time to adapt and experiment. It was naturally a good thing to start with something as simple as the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon.

    As a result, Xuan Ziwen set two goals for himself. First, he wanted toplete the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon andbine it with his Sealed Milk Bottle. Second, he wanted to design and produce more economical low-level stationary soul cannon shells, a crucial matter.

    Huo Yuhao directly told him that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons would be more popr if cheaper and more powerful cannon shells were produced. When that happened, he would have more money to carry out other activities!

    ---

    In the Sparring Arena, there was a fight going on. The two parties involved were Jing Ziyan and Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi was standing in the center of the Sparring Arena. He flipped the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle into the air, which resisted Jing Ziyan¡¯s attack. No matter how magical Jing Ziyan¡¯s fog was, she couldn¡¯t force him from his spot.

    Huo Yuhao pped his hand to his forehead and said, ¡°They really can¡¯t take a break! It¡¯s so early in the morning, but they are already fighting.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled, ¡°This is a good thing. It¡¯s a form of motivation for everyone. If you don¡¯t want to lose, you¡¯ll have to work hard. Am I wrong?¡±

    Those who were watching the fight weren¡¯t just the ordinary disciples. Wang Dong¡¯er and Ji Juechen were present, too.

    Ji Juechen was watching the fight quietly, the Judgment Sword behind his back. He was still using his original sheath for it, which looked slightly unsuitable.

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao walked over. Ji Juechen looked at Huo Yuhao, and his eyes brightened. However, Huo Yuhao immediately said before he even opened his mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t find me for anything. I didn¡¯t sleepst night; I was discussing soul tools with Teacher Xuan. My mind isn¡¯t in the right state now, and my fighting strength is at a low point. Even if you defeat me in this state, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s honorable for you, right? How¡¯s my third senior?¡±

    Ji Juechen replied without any hesitation, ¡°Impressive!¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Jing Ziyan both had six rings. As an agility-type soul master, she didn¡¯t stand a chance against the defense-type Xu Sanshi. The sparring had been going on for more than ten minutes already. Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t moved a single inch, and only defended against Jing Ziyan¡¯s attacks. If this continued, Jing Ziyan¡¯s smoke power was bound to run out.

    Ji Juechen appeared to be in good spirits, a passionate gaze in his eyes at this moment. Aftering to Shrek City, he became more and more satisfied with his decision. If he had nevere to Shrek City, he would never known how strong soul masters could be. They were at the same level, but Ji Juechen knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s seniors weren¡¯t easy to deal with. Using Xu Sanshi as an example, he had no confidence of breaking through the ck Turtle defense using his sword intent. Furthermore, he could also tell that Xu Sanshi was holding back slightly. Of course, Jing Ziyan was holding back, too. But overall, Xu Sanshi still had an advantage over her.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Of course he¡¯s impressive. My eldest senior is also very impressive. He even mentioned that we should all help to improve one another in the future.¡±

    Bei Bei red at him. Rascal, he sold me out the moment we arrived. He smiled before saying to Ji Juechen, ¡°Brother Ji, your sheath isn¡¯t very suitable. I¡¯ll get the Soul Tool Hall to make you a new one when we return.¡±

    Ji Juechen nodded and said, ¡°Thanks. I would like to challenge you.¡±

    Bei Bei knew that he couldn¡¯t escape. He naturally wouldn¡¯t shrink away from the challenge, either. Even though Ji Juechen had lost to Wang Qiu¡¯er yesterday, Bei Bei could tell how strong he was. With his sharp eyes, he could also tell that Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t win the fight easily, either. Just like Wang Qiu¡¯er had mentioned, the oue might bepletely different if Ji Juechen had changed his sword.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait for them to finish fighting,¡± Bei Bei agreed readily. He was also getting a little itchy.

    Xu Sanshi was very cooperative. As he stood in his spot, he shouted suddenly, ¡°Sister Jing, I¡¯m exhausted. Let¡¯s stop now, okay? It¡¯s not easy being your sandbag! Have you had your fill?¡±

    The purple fog consolidated and revealed Jing Ziyan¡¯s figure. She was panting heavily, and perspiration had already formed on her forehead. On the contrary, Xu Sanshi appeared to be very calm, and didn¡¯t look tired at all.

    Jing Ziyan snapped, ¡°You are such a dishonest fellow. Why aren¡¯t you attacking?¡±

    Perhaps it was because Jiang Nannan was not present, and thus Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but flirt a little when he saw ady.

    ¡°Hey, Sister Jing, how am I dishonest? People call me an honest, reliable guy. I¡¯m holding a shield. How am I supposed to retaliate? I¡¯m getting whacked so pitifully by you. I¡¯m conceding defeat.¡±

    Jing Ziyan rolled her eyes at him and retracted her martial soul. She said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s end it for today. I¡¯ll challenge you again when we return.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled and replied, ¡°Great! I¡¯ll be ready to fight you anytime.¡±

    In fact, Jing Ziyan had put a lot of pressure on him. After sparring with Huo Yuhao, Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t the only who had improved. Jing Ziyan¡¯s martial soul was already very strange. Furthermore, her actual fighting abilities were getting stronger and stronger. Her attacks were quite incisive.

    Xu Sanshi only defended and didn¡¯t attack. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t, but rather because he knew that he would give her an opportunity to exploit if he did so. In that way, it would be difficult to predict the victor. This was only sparring, and not a life-and-death battle. That¡¯s why he decided to defend all the way and created the stalemate.

    Jing Ziyan and Xu Sanshi stepped down. Ji Juechen drew his Judgment Sword, ¡°Bei Bei, it¡¯s our turn.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and gestured for him to enter the arena first. The two of them walked towards the center of the arena.

    Xu Sanshi smiled, ¡°Please be gentle. Don¡¯t destroy the ce any further. Brother Ji, do your best. Destroy him.¡±

    Jing Ziyan revealed a weird look in her eyes and asked confusedly, ¡°Why are you cheering Juechen on, and not Bei Bei?¡±

    Xu Sanshi retracted his smile and appeared mncholic. ¡°I have an enmity with him, thus I can¡¯t cheer him on. I can¡¯t wait for Brother Ji to give him a good whacking.¡±

    Jing Ziyan snapped, ¡°I don¡¯t understand the messy rtionships between guys.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯erughed as they stood at one side.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said softly, ¡°Yuhao, go and rest. Didn¡¯t you stay awake the entire night?¡± She knew that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t slept at all. Otherwise, he would have found her to cultivate together.

    However, she hadn¡¯t gone and disrupted him, either. She prepared breakfast for him at the canteen when she woke up. When Mo Xuan came to find him earlier, Huo Yuhao had already consumed his breakfast.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯ll rest when this fight finishes, but you¡¯ll need to apany me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er understood that he wanted to cultivate with her.

    However, someone objected immediately. Xu Sanshi twisted his head and said in shock, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you agreed?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned, and asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t I agree?¡±

    Xu Sanshi appeared depressed as he said, ¡°Why? The Heavens, you are really unfair towards me...¡±

    Not only was Jing Ziyan confused by his words, but even Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er werepletely lost. They didn¡¯t know what he was doing.

    Jing Ziyan asked doubtfully, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xu Sanshi was both sad and furious as he replied, ¡°We are both dating, but why is Nannan so cold towards me? Yuhao is younger than me, and he¡¯s not as developed as me. He¡¯s also not as handsome as me! However, Dong¡¯er agreed to his advances in broad daylight. I¡¯m pitiful. It¡¯s difficult for me to even hold Nannan¡¯s hand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were instantly annoyed. Wang Dong¡¯er said furiously, ¡°Third senior, your thinking is too dirty. I¡¯m returning with Yuhao to cultivateter. We have twin martial souls, thus it¡¯s much easier for us if we cultivate together.¡±

    Xu Sanshi appeared as if he understood what she meant, and replied, ¡°I understand, I understand. Ah, the sun shines brightly outside while the two of you draw the curtains andy under the nket in the room. Why don¡¯t I have such a good life?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wanted to exin further, but Huo Yuhao pulled her away. For such a matter, it would be more and more ambiguous the more they tried to exin themselves. Xu Sanshi was obviously mocking them. The best thing to do was to ignore him.

    Jing Ziyan looked at Xu Sanshi deeply, and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Xu Sanshi was puzzled as he looked at the three of them, as he realized no one was bothering with him anymore. Huo Yuhao was holding Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand as he turned towards the arena. Only Jing Ziyan was watching him with a burning gaze in her eyes.

    Xu Sanshi was confused as he asked, ¡°What are you looking at me for? Sister Jing, I¡¯m already taken, even though I have to admit that you are pretty. No matter how harsh Nannan is towards me, my feelings for her are real. You¡¯vee toote. We can¡¯t be together in this lifetime. Let¡¯s see whether we are destined to be together in other lifetimes.¡±

    Jing Ziyan sighed suddenly and gave a regretful look. She shook her head and turned her gaze towards the arena.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned, and asked, ¡°Why are you sighing? What¡¯s wrong with me? Do you think it¡¯s a pity that I already have a girlfriend?¡±

    Jing Ziyan turned her attention towards him again and said seriously, ¡°When I sparred with you earlier, I still thought that you were quite strong, and that you have a bright future. However, I realized there¡¯s something wrong with a part of your body after everything that you¡¯ve just said.¡±

    As she spoke, she lifted her finger to point at Xu Sanshi¡¯s forehead.

    Xu Sanshi replied furiously, ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong with my brain?¡±

 Chapter 247.3: The Continuously Strengthening Tang Sect

    Jing Ziyan said, ¡°You are so narcissistic, of course there¡¯s something wrong with your brain! What kind of dirty stuff do you have in your brain? Stay far away from me in the future! Don¡¯t infect me.¡± As she spoke, she even shifted a few steps away from Xu Sanshi.

    Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were watching what was going on in the arena, their shoulders were twitching slightly as they hid theirughter.

    A wicked person would be afflicted by a simr personality. Xu Sanshi was mocking everyone, but Jing Ziyan gave him a taste of his own medicine.

    Xu Sanshi was in a daze as he stood there. After a while, his lips started to twitch and he flung his head to one side. ¡°A strong person doesn¡¯t need anyone to understand him.¡±

    As they were conversing, the fight between Bei Bei and Ji Juechen began.

    The two of them were standing in the Sparring Arena, separated by fifty meters. Their soul rings rose at around the same time.

    While Bei Bei appeared gentle and refined most of the time, he turned serious when he was going to fight. Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose from his feet. He also looked slightly bigger. Bluish-purple electricity surrounded his body, and dragon scales started to surface on his skin.

    As his cultivation increased, the scales didn¡¯t just cover his arms anymore.

    The left side of his face waspletely covered in scales, and his right arm ballooned in size. As the scales spread, they quickly engulfed his entire body. His shirt was almost torn apart as he grew in size.

    As electricity sparkled, Bei Bei seemed to be filled with boundless strength. He slowly lifted his right w in front of his chest, and his eyes turned bluish-purple. As electricity revolved around his body, the space around him also started to distort. It became very difficult to tell where his actual position was.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s fighting style never changed. He grabbed the hilt of his Judgment Sword with both hands and slowly lifted it up.

    Initially, this sword was used by Ma Rulong against Ma Xiaotao during the tournament. Its power had activated Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil firepletely, causing her to eventually be ovee. The results were tragic.

    Right now, the situation appeared to be different, as the Judgment Sword was in Ji Juechen¡¯s hands.

    The auras of darkness and light surged out from this sword at the same time. The sharp sword intent from Ji Juechen¡¯s body rose andbined with the aura of darkness and light.

    A strong sense of danger caused Huo Yuhao and the rest to turn serious.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected Ji Juechen to activate both the strength of darkness and light from the Judgment Sword at the same time. He didn¡¯t n to use the skills that came with this Judgment Sword, but intended tobine the strength contained within the sword with his sword intent. Huo Yuhao had to admit that Ji Juechen was indeed a madman in terms of cultivation.

    The words ¡®madman¡¯ and ¡®genius¡¯ were usually synonyms. At least, that was the case for Ji Juechen.

    The sword radiance that shot into the sky was unpredictable. It extended more than ten feet into the air, and was much stronger than Ji Juechen¡¯s original sword intent. This was the strength of a ss 8 soul tool!

    However, darkness and light were opposing forces. When they appeared at the same time, they were bound to conflict with each other. If one party gained the upper hand, it was bound to swallow the other party.

    The powers of darkness and light covered different sides of the Judgment Sword. To ensure the bnce of the sword, the strengths of both forces were equal. At this point, they were activated by Ji Juechen and there was no conflict between them. However, it was more dangerous like that.

    The powers of darkness and light were about to cause an explosion.

    At this point, ayer of silver light shot out from the sword tip. It squeezed in between the powers of darkness and light, segregating both forces. The unstable sword intent a moment ago slowly started to stabilize. The sword radiance also started to turn golden, silver and ck. The sword radiance changed into a tri-colored de in the air.

    Only one day had passed! Ji Juechen had actually understood the Judgment Sword to such an extent. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected this to happen.

    He had passed the Judgment Sword to Ji Juechen because he had thought that Ji Juechen was more suited for it. As for Huo Yuhao, using a ss 8 soul tool would greatly restrict his freedom, as he had various other abilities.

    Elder Mu had once told Huo Yuhao that the Judgment Sword wasn¡¯t ordinary. Although it was a ss 8 soul tool, its brilliance wasn¡¯t inferior to ss 9 soul tools. Otherwise, why would Jing Hongchen make a sudden trip to Shrek Academy to demand the sword back?

    At this moment, the Judgment Sword gave off a different feeling in Ji Juechen¡¯s hands. The pure sword intent segregated the forces of darkness and light. However, these two forces were attracted to it like it was a ma. The two forces wanted to overwhelm the opposing force, but this only served to consolidate Ji Juechen¡¯s sword radiance.

    Ji Juechen was like a stone statue as he stood there quietly. Only the sword radiance was unleashed. At this instant, Bei Bei felt a great sense of danger. He knew that the might of that sword was going to be extremely great once it was unleashed.

    Solitary Sword Domain!

    When he had faced Wang Qiu¡¯er yesterday, Ji Juechen didn¡¯t use his strongest offensive ability, as he was unfamiliar with his opponent. Once he entered his domain state, his spirit, energy and mind would fuse together. It was impossible for him to show any mercy then. That was why he had used his evolved Dragonyer sword intent. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er had been much stronger than he had expected, and thus he suffered greatly at her hands.

    However, he wasn¡¯t going to hold back today. As the eldest senior of the sect, Bei Bei¡¯s abilities were immense. Ji Juechen had just received his Judgment Sword, and thus he was raring to go. He was giving his all the moment he appeared!

    Thest time Huo Yuhao had faced this domain, Ji Juechen had needed Jing Ziyan to help protect him. That was because incubating the domain required time. But this time, he used the domain immediately, as if he wasn¡¯t afraid of being disrupted by his opponent.

    Bei Bei moved!

    Just as Ji Juechen settled into ce, Bei Bei initiated his attack.

    Bei Bei¡¯s abilities had been increasing steadily over these past few years. His fighting will had been affected by Tang Ya¡¯s disappearance, and there were changespared to the past. He had slowly infused his yearning for Tang Ya and his internal sorrow into his fighting strategy,plementing it with his soul skills. Although it didn¡¯t involve a fusion of spiritual and soul power as great as the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, his ownprehension was getting better and better. He was slowly seeing the path that belonged to him alone.

    Bei Bei stomped on the ground with his right leg, and his body shot forward like a bolt of lightning. In the air, he waved his right hand in Ji Juechen¡¯s direction. His Thunderous Dragon w erged in the air and swept towards Ji Juechen.

    Even though his Dragon w was formed using soul power and lightning, it still projected a vivid form in the air. When it was about to hit Ji Juechen, the size of the w was just at the right size to envelop Ji Juechenpletely.

    At this point, the electricity surrounding Bei Bei¡¯s body retracted. However, his scales turned bluish-purple. A bright bluish-purple light that undted slightly emanated from beneath his feet. He also let out a deep dragon¡¯s roar.

    It was very easy to tell if one was strong. Although Bei Bei had only unleashed his first soul skill, his control and judgment left Jing Ziyan extremely impressed.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s Solitary Sword Domain needed to have some umtion before it could be unleashed. However, he had reached a level where he could unleash an attack without umting very long.

    Undoubtedly, his domain would be stronger if the umtion was greater. Bei Bei sensed this threat, and thus he immediately made his move. If it were any other soul master, he might dy because of Ji Juechen¡¯s weirdness. But every second of dy would strengthen the Solitary Sword Domain.

    With Ji Juechen¡¯s current cultivation, he could umte his strength for fifteen seconds straight. Once these fifteen seconds were over, he would have gathered his entire cultivation into one strike. After this strike, he would lose all fighting strength. However, even a Titled Douluo would find it difficult to deal with such a strike.

    When Huo Yuhao had faced this domain in the past, Ji Juechen hadn¡¯t made it so extreme yet. After modification, he had carved out an extreme path for himself, and developed an extreme attack. He had turned all his strength into a single attack. He wanted an explosive strength that was lethal.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t give him the full fifteen seconds. To be urate, the Thunderous Dragon w reached him after only two seconds had passed.

    The Solitary Sword Domain was unleashed!

    The radiance on the Judgment Sword dimmed. The original tri-colored sword radiance was covered by a dimyer of grey. As the sword radiance swept out, it converted into a streak of flowing light that dragged Ji Juechen¡¯s body along.

    The Thunderous Dragon w couldn¡¯t stop it from moving forward. In Bei Bei¡¯s eyes, Ji Juechen had disappeared at this moment. What was left was only a sword de without any aura, shining with a tri-colored glow.

    Shit! Bei Bei cursed in his heart. It was his first time seeing such a sword intent. However, he was much more acute than others. When Ji Juechen¡¯s sword swept out, he knew that he couldn¡¯t resist it head-on. However, it was impossible to dodge it!

    When Ji Juechen¡¯s sword was unleashed, itpletely locked onto Bei Bei. The sword radiance pursued Bei Bei, so fast that it couldn¡¯t be avoided.

 Chapter 248.1: Old and New Battle Teams, and New Rules

    At this time, Bei Bei fully revealed his powers as the eldest brother of the Tang Sect.

    His body, which had been charging forward, suddenly froze and became illusory. With his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he suddenly moved to the side.

    Even though the sword light summoned by the sword fanatic was extremely fast, Bei Bei¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track had reached a new level. In an instant, the sword light shed past him, and the move that should have struck him was slowed by a single beat.

    Within this small amount of time, Bei Bei¡¯s eyes glowed with light. With a clear draconic roar, the five soul rings around his body shone with a brilliant radiance. His thick right arm swung out as he struck the sword light from behind.

    In an instant, the dragon scales all over Bei Bei¡¯s body started to change. They turned a brilliant shade of gold, and each bolt of lightning brimmed with bright energy.

    He waved his right dragon w, which disappeared into the sky. When it re-appeared, there was a second golden dragon w in the sky, which shed head-on with the sharp sword light.

    Bei Bei, however, took this time to quickly retreat.

    Crackle! It was as if lightning bolts from the nine heavens had struck the earth. The brilliant golden light turned into countless sparks of electricity.

    Bei Bei¡¯s golden dragon w in the sky was unable to block the terrifying sword light, and was sted apart. However, the speed of the sword light dropped rapidly, too. Following that, the countless rays of electric light that had been blown apart quickly congregated together, enveloping Ji Juechen and disying the might of thunder and electricity.

    While Ji Juechen was using his domain, he was still a soul master, not a rock. The power of his domain was unable to resist Bei Bei¡¯s attack. He paused, but his remaining sword intent exploded out in that instant, blocking the golden lightning around him.

    ¡°Good!¡± Bei Bei bellowed. While he had moved back earlier, he suddenly changed course again and charged forward once again. A golden halo suddenly shone from his body, and as it shone forth, his entire body was basked in a brilliant golden nimbus. No one could even see his body within the golden light as he charged toward Ji Juechen mercilessly.

    Ji Juechen did not show any sign of fear. He gripped his Judgement Sword tightly and swung it upward. The Dragonying Sword Intent quickly assembled, and another sharp sword light shed toward Bei Bei. His attacks were always so simple and straightforward.

    The ball of golden light that was Bei Bei started to change too. It took the form of a huge dragon head, which was obviously his fourth soul skill, Thunderous Dragon Head. However, his Thunderous Dragon Head was different from before.

    Boom! A powerful explosion sounded, and a ball of golden lightning started to spread from the point of their sh. It extended outward for more than 30 meters, and in that area, the air was sizzling with electricity. Countless arcs of golden lightning crackled and buzzed. Some of them even started to resemble liquid, while some ball-shaped lightning clusters shook violently.

    Tyrannical Emperor¡¯s Thunderous Domain! This was Bei Bei¡¯s powerful domain after he evolved his Radiant Holy Dragon!

    The electricity crackled for a few more seconds before it slowly died down.They could slowly make out the figures of Bei Bei and Ji Juechen.

    Bei Bei had a newyer of purplish-blue dragon scales all over him. The golden light around his body quickly faded away, and around seven to eight meters in front of him, Ji Juechen stood with his sword in hand. While his grip was still stable, his body trembled non-stop. The clothes on his body were more or less destroyed.

    The side which represented light still shone brightly on his Judgement Sword, giving off a thick, bright aura. A drop of blood trickled down from the corner of Ji Juechen¡¯s mouth. However, there was no sign of pain on his face. All there was, was a look of deep contemtion.

    Bei Bei nodded his head at Ji Juechen and said, ¡°Brother Ji, your sword intent is powerful indeed. What¡¯s the first move called?¡±

    Ji Juechen appeared to have been jolted awake as he responded, ¡°It¡¯s a domain I came up with. It¡¯s called the Solitary Domain. I lost.¡±

    While he liked to fight, he knew when he had lost and when he had won.

    When Bei Bei used his Thunderous Dragon Head and attacked with his Tyrannical Emperor¡¯s Thunderous Domain, he had used seven moves rapidly. However, the power of these seven moves was devoured by the powerful domain. Had Bei Bei not shown mercy, there was no way he would still be alive.

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°No, you did not lose. Instead, in terms of innovation, I¡¯ve lost. Brother Ji, after you familiarize yourself with your Judgement Sword, it will be hard for me to defeat you. Your sword can limit my power.¡±

    Regardless of whether it was Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi or Wang Dong¡¯er, they all knew that Bei Bei was not lying.

    While Ji Juechen had lost once more, his domain was able to directly force Bei Bei to use his most powerful Radiant Holy Dragon. If not, Bei Bei may not have been able to retreat intact from that attack.

    While Bei Bei had won, Ji Juechen¡¯s Judgment Sword had absorbed arge amount of light type soul power from Bei Bei. Ji Juechen was still not very sure how could he use his soul tool sword. If he knew, even if Bei Bei had won, it would not have been so easy.

    Ji Juechen said, ¡°Thank you for your guidance, I¡¯ll spend more thought on it.¡± With that, he nodded at Bei Bei and turned to leave. He would not dilly-dally; this was not his style.

    Jing Ziyan rushed up to him and asked, ¡°Juechen, are you injured?¡±

    Ji Juechen shook his head. When he looked at Jing Ziyan, a smile crossed his face. Then, he stopped and turned to look at Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er and said seriously, ¡°Coming to the Tang Sect is the best decision I¡¯ve ever made. In the future, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll continue to trouble you.¡±

    As he said that, he bowed to everyone and then left, gripping his Judgement Sword tightly.

    Xu Sanshi looked at Ji Juechen¡¯s disappearing figure as he mumbled to himself, ¡°Everyone says I¡¯m crazy, but that guy is crazier than I am. In his eyes, nothing is more important than his sword.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°That¡¯s why he is so scary. His choice is a special path. He specializes in one thing and one thing only, and that¡¯s his sword. He doesn¡¯t even add a single soul skill to it. However, because of this, he¡¯ll be able to reach a level none of us could in the future.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, slightly unimpressed, ¡°So what? His way of cultivation is too inflexible. Furthermore, while he has a lot of explosive power, he can¡¯t maintain it for long. As long as we fight him by targeting his weaknesses, he can¡¯t disy the full extent of his powers.¡±

    Bei Beiughed. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to be the most powerful in any one area. Everyone has his or her own path, and we must respect his choice. Furthermore, don¡¯t you think that his presence can help us train?¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth twitched, and he said, ¡°That¡¯s for you only. You were forced into a corner like a dog, and had to use your Radiant Holy Dragon. Shameful, shameful indeed.¡±

    Bei Bei said unkindly, ¡°You yourself said that his explosive power is strong. Had I not used the Radiant Holy Dragon, there was no way for me to beat him. Next time, you try to fight him after you¡¯ve been targeted by his sword intent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said from the side, ¡°Big Senior, Third Senior, I¡¯ll go and train with Wong Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s love for the sword had moved Huo Yuhao greatly. He felt a sense of urgency, as Ji Juechen was improving too quickly. Huo Yuhao feared that if he did not improve as quickly, he would be left behind.

    An odd smile appeared on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Go, go, stay safe¡­¡±

    Without waiting for him to finish, Bei Bei interrupted him, ¡°Nothing good cane from his mouth. Yuhao, Dong¡¯er, ignore him and go. Today, we aren¡¯t returning to the academy. Remember toe back for dinner.¡±

    After they bade their Big Senior and Third Senior farewell, Huo Yuhao dragged Wang Dong¡¯er back into their room.

    Wang Dong¡¯er appeared deep in thought. Huo Yuhao took off his coat, sat down by the bed and said, ¡°What are you thinking of, Dong¡¯er?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°What do you think of Ji Juechen, as well as Big Senior¡¯s and Third Senior¡¯s analysis?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Both Big Senior and Third Senior are right. However, they don¡¯t understand him well enough. In reality, Ji Juechen¡¯s stamina is decent. However, when he faces powerful opponents, he likes to use his most powerful attack first. Hence, this affects Big Senior¡¯s analysis of him. If he changes his battling style, he¡¯ll still be just as powerful. However, his weakness is that he is not flexible enough. If we target his weaknesses, there are ways to beat him. For example, there¡¯s a trick to beat the domain he used just now.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°Think about it, if I run away the moment he uses his domain, what will happen? The moment he tries to use his domain, his entire body will enter a certain state. He has to lock in on an opponent and slowly umte energy. Looking at things today, it is clear that his opponent must attack him first. Only then can he use his domain. If his opponent doesn¡¯t attack, he will continue to umte energy and after a while, his power will be extremely strong. However, if I run away from the start, his domain power would be maximized. However, even after he umtes all that energy, how powerful can his attack be? Let¡¯s not talk about anything else, but if I escape with a flying-type soul tool, I can clear three kilometers in 15 seconds. No matter how powerful his domain is, he can¡¯t attack someone three kilometers away.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed, ¡°Your n is tricky indeed!¡±

    Editor¡¯s Note: Three kilometers/two miles in 15 seconds is 720 kph (500~ mph). Or 150 meters/second. About this fast.

 Chapter 248.2: Old and New Battle Teams, and New Rules

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°He probably went back to do more closed-door cultivation, I¡¯ll remind himter. Actually, he really should change his fighting style. He is powerful enough in this aspect, but he needs to choose when he should unleash his power. For example, if he can immobilize his opponent at the start of the fight, or even cause them to lose their ability to move, and then umte and release his energy, I believe the effects will be vastly different. A mere second or two of umtion would greatly injure his opponent.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think he needs a partner? For example, if he partners with you, he can start umting energy from the start. Then, you¡¯ll be in charge of pinning the enemy down and preventing him from running away. When he umtes enough energy, you can use your Spiritual Shock to make your opponent lose control. Doing so will ensure that Ji Juechen¡¯s Solitary Domain will be deadly.¡±

    When he heard what Wang Dong¡¯er had said, Huo Yuhao was stunned. Then, his eyes lit up and he jumped up. He rushed toward Wang Dong¡¯er and hugged her tightly as he spun her around.

    Wang Dong¡¯er gasped in shock. She blushed as she tapped his shoulder and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao put her down and said excitedly, ¡°The bystander has the best perspective! You are right! I am a control-type soul master, and his style of attacking is extremely offensive and even deadly. If we can work together, we can fight those who are above our level. I canplement his weakness, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded.

    Huo Yuhao wrung his hands and said, ¡°I have always viewed him as an opponent, but I have never imagined that we could cooperate like this. With his sure-kill attack, we can even incorporate him into our team. He¡¯ll be in charge of delivering the killing blow while we can help to control our opponent from the start. With his Solitary Domain as our coup de grace, there are so many different ways to attack. For example, the moment he starts to umte energy, but before he has enough to release it, Third Senior can use his Mysterious Underworld Discement to transport our most powerful enemy over. Then, he can unleash his deadly attack. Hehe.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pupils shone brightly as she said, ¡°Right, this can work too. However, he is overage. If not, he could have joined us for this Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is fine, he¡¯s now part of the Tang Sect. After all, apetition is just apetition. What is more important is the future of our Tang Sect. Looking at it now, it isn¡¯t a bad thing for him and Jing Ziyan to tag along. Come, Dong¡¯er, let¡¯s take the time to cultivate. You all are six-ringed, and I need to get my sixth ring as fast as I can.¡±

    With that, he took off his shoes and climbed onto his bed. He sat cross-legged and waited for Wang Dong¡¯er to join him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned sullen as she stood by the bed and asked, ¡°Wait, I haven¡¯t had the chance to ask you something yet. Yesterday, why did Wang Qiu¡¯er look for you? How do you n to split the soul bones with her after you return to the inner courtyard? Why do I feel that there¡¯s something off about the way she treats you!?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He smiled bitterly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted and said, ¡°We are both women, and I can tell that when she looks at others, her gaze is icy cold. However, when she looks at you, her gaze will be gentle. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Elder Brother and the rest. They all noticed it too. I think Wang Qiu¡¯er likes you.¡±

    Cough cough! Huo Yuhao put on an angelic expression and said with a smile, ¡°My dear Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t you believe me? I only have you in my heart.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted and said, ¡°I believe you. However, I still need to remind you. After all, she¡¯s so pretty, and after a while, you¡¯ll develop feelings for her. To prevent something like this from happening, you should avoid her as much as you can in the future. Give her the three soul bones so she won¡¯t have a reason to keep looking for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said with a smile, ¡°Why do I feel that you are cute when you get jealous? Furthermore, there¡¯s no reason for you to get jealous.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned red, and she tugged her ear as she said, ¡°Who¡¯s the one getting jealous?! Is there a reason for me to get jealous?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in the wrong!¡± Huo Yuhao said with a bitter look on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s cultivate, if not, I¡¯ll sleep.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted, and only then did she take off her shoes and climb onto the bed. After she sat down, she noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears were turning red. While keeping a poker face, she leaned over to give his ear a rub.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled bitterly. ¡°Troublees to find me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°You have to promise me to interact with her less.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll interact with her less,¡± Huo Yuhao replied without hesitation.

    ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked suspiciously.

    Huo Yuhao bellowed instantly, ¡°May heaven be my witness as I swear this to you from the bottom of my heart. If not, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, I believe you.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er ced her hand over his mouth.

    Huo Yuhao instantly pulled her hand off and pulled her into his embrace. Having Wang Dong¡¯er, with her light fragrance, in his arms was toofortable. This even made his blood go wild.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s promise to interact less with Wang Qiu¡¯er was genuine. How could he not know how special Wang Dong¡¯er was to him? While he could not be certain that Wang Qiu¡¯er liked him, his heart was already full of Dong¡¯er. Regardless of how simr the two of them were, they were still separate people. Huo Yuhao would never hurt his beloved Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er,¡± Huo Yuhao said quietly.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er replied.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I suddenly feel that Third Senior is right. Today¡¯s weather is fine. Why don¡¯t we pull the curtains open and sleep for a while? Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s fine for us to rx too? I¡¯ll hug you to sleep, and I promise I won¡¯t touch anywhere I¡¯m not supposed to, alright?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er wriggled free from Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, blushing. She raised her hands and said, ¡°Let¡¯s cultivate!¡±

    While she was willing to lie in his embrace, they were not yet married! It was fine if they cultivated together in the day, but if they fell asleep together and were discovered, it would be very embarrassing! Furthermore, thest time they fell asleep together was because they were drowsy. She was still unwilling to sleep with Huo Yuhao. After all, she was just a seventeen year-old girl. Her sense of restraint and shame was more than enough to let her rational side take over.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her face, which was both blushing and filled with determination, and was stunned. ¡°Dong¡¯er, you are so pretty.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er did not give him anymore chances as she said, ¡°Cultivate! Look at you, your eyes are red.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s cultivate.¡± Haplessly, Huo Yuhao raised his hands.

    Their palms came into contact with each other as they closed their eyes. The Haodong Power flowed through both of them.

    Light-type soul energy entered them and started to flow like a great river. This energy made all the pores in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body open up. It was extremelyforting.

    He still felt the best next to Wang Dong¡¯er! He could not help but think about the time when he fused his martial soul with Wang Qiu¡¯er. Perhaps that fusion could increase his powers to a greater extent, but Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forceful cultivation would make their fused martial souls extremely violent. Not only would they injure their opponents, but they would also injure themselves.

    As their soul power flowed and the Haodong Power kicked in, Huo Yuhao was able to catch some of the subtler changes. After the challenge of the Great Star Dou Forest, his overall strength had increased, including his control over his soul power. As the pressure increased, a soul master would be more be motivated to improve too.

    A day passed by quickly, and the Tang Sect became busier. Xuan Ziwen¡¯s inclusion changed the dynamics of the sect. Under his guidance, the Soul Tool Hall was bing more efficient. Of course, money was spent like water. While Xuan Ziwen personally made many exquisite tools for making soul tools, materials were still required. Huo Yuhao had brought many types of precious metals back, but theycked ordinary metals, which had to be bought.

    Xuan Ziwen was the go-to guy for making soul tools. However, he was no master of economics. After a single day, Bei Bei seemed extremely worn-out and flustered. Even so, he tried to fulfill all of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s requests. If the Tang Sect wanted to continue bettering itself, the Soul Tool Hall had to get its act together. This was not the time to save money. To purchase enough materials, he had to borrow a lot of money from the main businesses of Shrek City.

    They would never doubt the honor of the Tang Sect, as Bei Bei also brought with him the guarantee from Shrek Academy. Hence, the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall was finally able to take off. ording to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s n, the Soul Tool Hall¡¯s next step was expansion. Only by getting enough space could they continue to recruit people. Of course, they had to recruit experienced soul engineers! Only then could the Soul Tool Hall of the Tang Sect really take off!

    As for this point, thanks to themunication between Bei Bei and He Caitou, the path for Xuan Ziwen to teach at Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department was cleared. While others might not know how powerful Xuan Ziwen was, how could Fan Yu and He Caitou, both of whom had visited the Illustrious Virtue Hall, not know? As a ss 8 soul engineer, Fan Yu was clear about the difference between Xuan Ziwen and himself. If not for the fact that Xuan Ziwen¡¯s cultivation was not yet at the level of a Titled Douluo, he would have long since ascended to the level of a Rank 9 soul engineer. For him to instruct the Soul Tool Department was a privilege that money could not buy!

 Chapter 248.3: Old and New Battle Teams, and New Rules

    Going forward, all Soul Tool Department students, and even some teachers, were all assigned over to the Tang Sect. To demonstrate the sincerity of the Soul Tool Department, they even brought some money over and gave some ordinary metals to be used as materials for the students to use for practical lessons.

    Undoubtedly, Xuan Ziwen had brought about aplete overhaul of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall. Here, he was the undisputed leader!

    Not long after after Bei Bei discussed things with hisrades, and they decided to thank Xuan Ziwen for his contributions to the Tang Sect by changing the name of the Soul Tool Hall to Xuan Hall, which would be personally led by him.

    These were all formalities. With Xuan Ziwen, the foundation of the Tang Sect was secure.

    ------

    Dawn...

    In the morning, Bei Bei woke Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er up. Last night, only the three of them had stayed in the Tang Sect to rest. While Bei Bei tried to fulfill all of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s requests, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had cultivated for the entire day.

    ¡°Elder Brother, why did you wake us up so early?¡± Just as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er finished their cultivation on a good note, Bei Bei arrived. Right now, the sky was barely bright. It was very early.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°It is not I who called you. Teacher Xuan wants us to go with him early, and I suspect it has something to do with the new tournament. It¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll represent the Tang Sect for this tournament. Let¡¯s go and eat first. After breakfast, we¡¯ll head back. Everyone else is waiting for us back in the inner courtyard.¡±

    The three of them had breakfast, then left the Tang Sect for Shrek Academy.

    This was the benefit of being nearby. After a while, they were back in the inner courtyard. The other four members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were already waiting for them on the path back to Shrek Academy. After they linked up, they headed as a group toward the Sea God Pavilion.

    When they reached the Sea God Pavilion, many people were already waiting there. They knew all of them.

    Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, and Cai Mei¡¯er stood at the front. Next to them, there was a line of students. Not only were there disciples of the inner courtyard, but there were also a few from the outer courtyard. However, Huo Yuhao was familiar with all of them.

    Among these students, Wang Qiu¡¯er stood at the front. Next to Wang Qiu¡¯er stood Dai Huabing, Ning Tian, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng, Xie Xuanyue, Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo. In total, there were ten of them.

    Among them, Wang Qiu¡¯er, Dai Huabing, Ning Tian, Wu Feng and Xie Xuanyue were inner courtyard disciples. The other five of them were outer courtyard disciples. Other than Zhu Lu, the other four of them were from Huo Yuhao¡¯s ss. How could they not know each other?

    As he looked at them, they naturally looked back.

    Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo looked at Huo Yuhao rather normally. However, when their gazes fell on Wang Dong¡¯er, they couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. Their gazes flitted between the two of them, and expressions of shock crossed their faces. Some of them, including Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen, even looked excited. No one knew what they were thinking.

    Bei Bei brought everyone before the three elders and lined everyone up smartly before bowing.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Good, everyone is here. Let us begin.¡±

    As he said that, his gaze fell onto Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, and he said, ¡°Yesterday, we received a formal notice from the organizingmittee of the tournament that the rules of the tournament have been finalized and confirmed by all four countries on the continent. Hence, I can now tell you that the sects will take part in the new tournament. If you want to change your minds, this is yourst chance.¡±

    Bei Bei turned to look at hisrades. Everyone had a look of resolve in their eyes.

    Bei Bei turned back and said respectfully to Elder Xuan, ¡°Elder Xuan, Dean Yan, Dean Cai, we¡¯ve decided that we are willing to represent the Tang Sect in this tournament.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Good. Since you¡¯ve decided, I wish you all the best. However, I must remind you that as you are representing the Tang Sect, you won¡¯t receive any assistance in the tournament from the Academy. Your substitutes can only be chosen from the Tang Sect. You will bepletely self-reliant, and your victory, or your loss, will have nothing to do with the Academy.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the seven of them replied in unison. Naturally, they understood that Elder Xuan was not trying to absolve himself of responsibilities. Instead, he wanted to them to enter thepetition properly.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Next, I¡¯ll tell you about the specifics of thepetition. Remember, thispetition is unlike those that took ce before it. As the tournament seeks to attract sects, there will be an explosive increase in the number of teams taking part. Hence,petition will be stiff. After research by the Sun Moon Empire, they decided to set the following rules...

    ¡°The new tournament will be named the ¡®Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯. As there are many teams taking part in it, there will be elimination rounds until only 32 teams are left. The top 32 teams will be divided into four groups. The top two teams from each group will enter the top eight. Then, the progression will be preliminary rounds, group matches and finally, the final match. All rounds will have individual elimination and groupponents.

    ¡°In each round, every participating team can send out seven participants, and only seven. Once the name list has been confirmed, it cannot be changed. First, there¡¯ll be individual elimination rounds. The two opposing teams will each send apetitor. Once thepetitor defeats their opponent, they will continue to fight until they lose, or the participant may choose to forgo the match voluntarily. A victory will you one point, and the winning team from the individual elimination round will be awarded 2 points. After the individual elimination round, we¡¯ll progress to the seven-on-seven group round. The participants will still be the seven who took part in the individual elimination, with no rest in between. Even if a team has injured participants and cannot send seven members, there will be no recements. The winning team from the group round will earn 5 points. In the preliminary rounds, the team with the higher number of points will win.¡±

    When they heard the rules of thepetition, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters fell into deep thought.

    Elder Xuan continued, ¡°I believe that you have realized that in the new rules, what is important is individual prowess. The individual elimination round is extremely important. If you can win all the points from the individual elimination round, then you¡¯ll win the match without having to enter the group round. Hence, the order of deployment is extremely important. So you¡¯ll need to go back and do some research, and find what suits you best.¡±

    Here, Elder Xuan turned his gaze to the side, looking at Wang Qiu¡¯er and the rest, and said, ¡°Standing before you are those who took part in thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. I can tell you that because of their exceptional performance then, they brought glory to the academy, and were bestowed the title of ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯. In this match, they will still participate, but not on behalf of the school. As for the ten of you, you will represent the school as either members of the main team, or as substitutes. I hope you won¡¯t let the school down and obtain good results. Shaozhe!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± answered Yan Shaozhe. He took a step forward and said, ¡°The new team will be headed by Wang Qiu¡¯er. The main team members include Dai Huabing, Ning Tian, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng, Xie Xuanyue, and Cao Jinxuan. The recement team members are Zhou Sichen, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo. Due to the special nature of thispetition, the school will not send lower-leveled participants, so as to give ourselves a fighting chance.¡±

    Only then did Huo Yuhao and the rest know that the ten of them who were called might not even have known why were they summoned.

    Indeed, after they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s exnation, as well as Yan Shaozhe¡¯s announcement, their faces all changed.

    Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen, and the Lan Sisters were all excited. For them to represent Shrek Academy was an unimaginable honor! Even though it was because Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters could not take part, it was still an excellent opportunity that they should endeavor to seize.

    However, the others wore uglier expressions.

    As a student of the inner courtyard, Dai Huabing and Ning Tian had some news about it. From their perspective, they should naturally represent the Academy. After all, they fell within the age range, and could be said to be the best among their peers.

    However, they had never expected the Academy to pick a girl who resembled Wang Dong¡¯er to be their captain.

    Among them, Dai Huabing and Ning Tian, both of whom were hoping to be captain, wore ugly expressions on their faces. Ning Tian¡¯s expression was not as bad, as she looked only slightly unnatural. Of course, this was also because of her rtionship with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Dai Huabing¡¯s face, however, was as ck as a pot. He was never apt at concealing his emotions, and hence, he clenched his fists tightly.

    ¡°If there¡¯s no other matter, it shall be set as such. From today onward, all of you will undergo special training,¡± said Yan Shaozhe.

    ¡°Sir!¡± Dai Huabing took a step forward.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Yan Shaozhe arched his eyebrows slightly as he looked at this talented, albeit hot-headed, student.

    Dai Huabing said, ¡°Dean Yan, may I ask what the criteria was for the selection of our new captain?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled slightly and said, ¡°Strength, of course. Wang Qiu¡¯er just joined the inner courtyard as a disciple this year, and she is an assault-type soul emperor. Among you, she is the strongest, and hence, she¡¯ll be your captain.¡±

    Dai Huabing protested, ¡°Rank doesn¡¯t represent everything.¡± As he said that, he nced over at Huo Yuhao.

    He was right. Huo Yuhao was proof of his point. He did not know how many times had he proven it to others.

    Yan Shaozhe said coldly, ¡°Go back to your spot.¡±

    In front of the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, Dai Huabing did not dare to say anything else no matter how displeased he was. All he could do was fall back in line.

 Chapter 249.1: Powerful Wang Donger

    Yan Shaozhe said in a low voice, ¡°To familiarize everyone with the new rules, as well as to assess everyone¡¯s skill, we shall now have a match between the old and the new team. As the new team has just been formed, they still need some time to learn to work together. Hence, we¡¯ll only have the individual elimination round for today. The first team to bepletely eliminated loses. As there is a strength disparity between the two teams, the new team can send 10 members.¡±

    Individual elimination? Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were emotionless.

    The new team, including Wang Qiu¡¯er, looked extremely excited to try it out.

    Evidently, they did not believe that the old team was better than them.

    ¡°This match will be held at Soul Duelling Area. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    A ferry was already waiting for them at the Sea God Pavilion. Everyone boarded the ferry as it headed in the direction of the outer courtyard for the Soul Duelling Area. It was a bigger ce, and hence, they could better demonstrate their powers there.

    Dai Huabing stared intensely at Huo Yuhao across from him, a light swirling in his pupils. While he was confident in his own abilities, he had never beaten Huo Yuhao once in all these years. In particr, during the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, the group of them were still unable to beat Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. They had barely stood a chance back then. It was a huge blow to his confidence.

    While he tried to convince himself that it was because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s martial soul fusion skill, he did not know if he could have beaten them even if he used the martial soul fusion skill he had with Zhu Lu.

    Once again, another chance had presented itself to him. This time, they would bepeting in an individual elimination round. There would be no martial soul fusion skills. Could he beat Yuhao in a one-on-one fight?

    Huo Yuhao sat opposite him, but he did not look at Dai Huabing. Naturally, he would not concern himself with what he was thinking. With respect to this mortal enemy of his who had killed his mother, hate would always surface in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart whenever he saw him, no matter how much calmer he had be. He feared that he could not control this emotion, and might kill him in the Academy.

    I¡¯m a five-ringed soul king, mother, can you see it? I¡¯m already a soul king. In the future, I¡¯ll head to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion and avenge you. I¡¯ll make those who caused us to suffer so much pay for what they did.

    With this thought in his mind, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes zed over slightly. However, he was still looking straight ahead, but in the direction of Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er gently pinched his hand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body froze, and then he regained his senses.

    ¡°Are you that engrossed?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked him half-jokingly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m thinking of other things.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and looked at the clear surface of theke. ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Cao Jinxuan chortled, ¡°ss monitor, why don¡¯t you introduce to us this beauty next to you? Hello, beautiful, I¡¯m Cao Jinxuan. I used to be the ss monitor¡¯s ssmate.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at him coolly and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to introduce? Don¡¯t you recognize me after I changed my hairstyle?¡±

    After she said that, the four people from the ss were all stunned. Why did this voice sound so familiar, as well as its tone?

    Cao Jinxuan¡¯s pupils contracted as he exchanged a look with Zhou Sichen. Then, they eximed in unison, ¡°Wang Dong?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stifled augh and said, ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    Cao Jinxuan stared in shock and said, ¡°You, you, you are a woman? And you resemble our captain exactly! What is going on, what the heck is going on? ss monitor, ss monitor, tell us now, what is going on? What¡¯s your deal?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°She dressed up like a boy!¡±

    Zhou Sichen pointed at Huo Yuhao and then at Wang Dong¡¯er. ¡°Dressing up like a boy? So the two of you cohabited together in the past! Did you know about this? Heavens The two of you were living together at such a young age. Heavens!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stood up suddenly, her face flushed red with anger. She said, ¡°What do you mean by living together at such a young age? At that time, I was still a male student. We, we didn¡¯t live together.¡±

    Zhou Sichen chortled and said, ¡°Right, right, you did not live together. All you did was sleep in the same room together.¡±

    With that, everyone around them could not help but smile.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Zhou Sichen, if you have the guts, go up firstter. If I don¡¯t beat you to a pulp, my surname is not Wang!¡±

    Zhou Sichen did not fall for her trick. He immediately adopted a serious tone and said, ¡°It is not I who decides when I should go upter. I¡¯ll listen to my captain.¡±

    ¡°Eh, in that case, you¡¯ll go up first.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s clear voice drifted over.

    ¡°Er¡­ captain?¡± Zhou Sichen looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er in shock.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er ignored him. No one knew why she suddenly decided to help Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression changed immediately. ¡°Very good. In the matchter, I want to be the first to fight, senior brother.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and nodded.

    Zhou Sichen looked crestfallen as he mumbled to himself. ¡°How can I forget that she resembles our captain exactly? They must be sisters. I¡¯m a fool! Cao Jinxuan, it¡¯s all your fault. You coerced me into this! ss monitor, I¡¯ve been wronged!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was the ss monitor back then. He was evidently not calling for Huo Yuhao here.

    ---

    As the spectacle concluded, the ferry reached the shore of theke, and everyone leapt out onto the shore. Led by Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, and Cai Mei¡¯er, they headed toward the Soul-Dueling Arena. Zhou Sichen¡¯s expression looked as repressed as an eggnt.

    Preparations had already beenpleted in the Soul-Dueling Arena. It was quiet inside. The only spectators for the individual elimination round would be Elder Xuan and the two deans. Naturally, they would act as the judges.

    Elder Xuan and Cai Mei¡¯er stood at the side. Yan Shaozhe said to both teams, ¡°You will each take the north and south sides. The captains will decide the order of battle. After a while, send your first teammate out. I¡¯ll be the judge. You have ten minutes.¡±

    The two sides stood at opposite ends. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters naturally said nothing. After some thinking, Bei Bei started to split them into teams. Like he had said earlier, Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to go.

    The other side was more boisterous.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be the firstter,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said as she pointed at Zhou Sichen.

    Zhou Sichen had a bitter expression on his face as he said, ¡°Captain, we are going up against them! If we want to confuse them, you should send someone with the ability to rival Wang Dong¡¯er. I don¡¯t think I can do that!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°What good is a dishonest person? Since I¡¯ve promised them, you¡¯ll be the first to go. Do you have any more questions?¡±

    Zhou Sichen was normally a person with little self-control. However, upon noticing how domineering Wang Qiu¡¯er was, he said nothing.

    However, just because he kept silent did not mean the rest had no objections.

    Dai Huabin snorted coldly and said, ¡°As the captain, how can you deploy your teammates without seeking our approval first? Is this how you want to win? To me, I think you want us to lose deliberately because you have good ties with them.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er red at him. Suddenly, Dai Huabin felt his heart constricting. It was as if a terrifying beast was staring him down.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand you. This is a spar, and the objective is to get everyone to know each other. Is there any problem in sending a particr person out first? Is an intra-academy spar so important? What we want is to beat them in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. If you can¡¯t respect mymand, you¡¯re free to quit.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Dai Huabin was on the verge of exploding from rage. However, Zhu Lu, who was at his side, pulled him back.

    Everyone had be older, and they were no longer as impulsive as Dai Huabin was. His impulsiveness had ended his studies in ss 1. While he was treated well in ss 2, he was still weaker than Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, even though it was only by a bit. Zhu Lu knew how important this tournament was to Dai Huabin. Hence, he could not be allowed to do anything rash or impulsive now.

    Dai Huabin said nothing. However, Wu Feng said mysteriously, ¡°Captain, your resemnce to Wang Dong¡¯er is uncanny. Are you sisters?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes turned cold and she said, ¡°I¡¯ll only say it once. I¡¯m not rted to her by blood. We are opponents. Other than that, we have no other ties. Is that clear?¡±

    Wu Feng red at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Can¡¯t you talk nicely?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and faced Wu Feng. In that instant, a powerful energy surged from her body.

    Wu Feng had a dragon-type martial soul. However, in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er, she could not calm herself even if she released her martial soul.

    She took a step back in shock, looking at Wang Qiu¡¯er in apletely different light. ¡°Superior suppression, how is that possible? What¡¯s your martial soul?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er ignored her. She turned her head to look at Zhou Sichen and said, ¡°Go, don¡¯t worry about winning or losing. Just try your best.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Zhou Sichen replied in agreement. He turned and walked toward the arena. At this moment, he suddenly felt that Wang Qiu¡¯er was even scarier than Wang Dong¡¯er! Dai Huabin and Wu Feng were no weaklings, but she was still able to dominate both of them. No wonder the school made her captain. It was best not to get on her bad side!

    He quickly walked out to the center of the arena. From the other side, Wang Dong¡¯er also appeared.

 Chapter 249.2: Powerful Wang Donger

    Zhou Sichen wore a pained expression as he said, ¡°ss monitor, please show mercy! Don¡¯t damage my handsome face, my life¡¯s happiness depends on it!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. I feel that your face is a let-down for all humanity! Let me do some cosmetic surgery for you...¡±

    Yan Shaozhe, who was standing at the center of the arena, said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s start.¡± With that, he slowly took a few steps back.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan were ssmates. However, they had not trained together for quite some time already. They no longer knew each other well, and their memories of each other were stuck in the past.

    The moment Yan Shaozhe said ¡®start¡¯, Zhou Sichen immediately released his martial soul.

    A thick Treasure Bible hung in mid-air. The light emitted by the Treasure Bible was much more powerful than in the past. Two yellow and two purple rings spun around the thick book, Zhou Sichen was now a four-ringed soul ancestor! However, his soul power was already at Rank 48, and he wasn¡¯t far away from bing a soul king. In ss 1, he was considered exceptional.

    Just as he was releasing the Treasure Bible, Wang Dong¡¯er moved. She did not rush to release her martial soul, but instead she leapt up and dashed toward Zhou Sichen.

    As Zhou Sichen released his Treasure Bible, he was also retreating quickly. While he was an Assault System Battle Soul Master, his strategy was in summoning. His Treasure Bible¡¯s specialty was that as it obtained soul rings, it could trap in soul beasts within it. While he could only personally obtain a single soul skill from the soul beast, he could also summon the soul beast with its own characteristic soul skill. This was the advantage of his Treasure Bible. Few Assault System Battle Soul Master had such a summoning ability, and his Treasure Bible was one of the best.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was fast, but Zhou Sichen was no sluggard. They were all taught how to run by Zhou Yi. Zhou Sichen retreated quickly, but his Treasure Bible was already open. His first soul ring started to shine.

    A ray of yellow light appeared, dropping from the Treasure Bible onto the ground in front of him. A huge bear materialized and blocked Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s path. This was Zhou Sichen¡¯s first soul skill, where he summoned the Earthen Bear.

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued to charge forward. When the Earthen Bear appeared, it immediately raised its paws and mmed them ferociously down.

    Zhou Sichen did not call on it to hit Wang Dong¡¯er. He was clear that with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s agility, the Earthen Bear could not strike her. All he wanted to do was slow her down.

    The Earthen Bear¡¯s paws hit the ground, and a loud st sounded. A powerful earthquake headed toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Just as the Earthen Bear¡¯s paws hit the ground, Wang Dong¡¯er leapt up. Her battle experience could easily rival Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    In mid-air, bright blue and gold light started to shine. The wings of the Radiant Butterfly Goddessfortably spread open from her back, allowing her to soar upward immediately. In mid-air, they suddenly pped, and picked up speed as she flew above the Earthen Bear¡¯s head, heading straight for Zhou Sichen.

    Zhou Sichen did not waste any time. After he called upon the Earthen Bear, his second, third, and fourth soul rings all started to shine with light.

    He summoned the ming Demon Tiger, the Bramble Forest, and the Netherworld Python. The three soul skills were released almost simultaneously.

    Zhou Sichen¡¯s way of summoning soul skills had its own restriction. Chiefly, he could only release one soul skill once. For example, there could only be one Earthen Bear, he could not summon Earthen Bears non-stop. Only when it died could he call upon another one.

    The ming Demon Tiger roared, and a huge ball of fire flew from its mouth as it bombarded Wang Dong¡¯er in mid-flight. Zhou Sichen disappeared into the Bramble Forest.

    In just a few seconds, the Bramble Forest was already twenty meters wide. It had grown to a huge size, and its brambles extended out extremely quickly. Soon, it was as tall as a single person. The brambles on it came for Wang Dong¡¯er like a huge wave, with some of them creeping across the ground before shooting upward. Looking at it, as long as Wang Dong¡¯er approached it, the thorny vines would strike her!

    Protected by the Bramble Forest, Zhou Sichen was no longer visible. His intentions were clear: he knew that he was no match for Wang Dong¡¯er, who was a soul emperor. All he could do was slowly wear her down. This was an individual elimination round, and the winner had to have the stamina to continue. However, a soul master¡¯s cultivation was limited.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded his head from the sidelines. Zhou Sichen was a student with a very clear mind. He could maximize his own strengths, and he was not scared of depleting his soul power. The key was to make his opponent deplete her soul energy, too!

    Wang Dong¡¯er, still suspended in mid-air, extended her wings further. As her second soul ring started to shine, the entire sky became basked in golden light. She carpet-bombed the Bramble Forest with her Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

    The ming Demon Tiger¡¯s fireballs continued to fire up at her. Also, while there many brambles, they were not powerful. The Light of the Butterfly Goddess was able to block many of them, and the rest were blocked by Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s defensive soul power.

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted, and suddenly back-flipped. She no longer flew ahead, but instead descended toward the Earthen Bear, which was slowly standing up.

    Her body turned sharply, and the points of her wings made straight for the Earthen Bear¡¯s shoulder. At the same time, she mmed her palms together, and a huge ball of light flew out, aimed straight at the ming Demon Tiger.

    The Earthen Bear was controlled by Zhou Sichen. As he noticed Wang Dong¡¯ering, he did not hesitate to instruct the bear to strike her with its paws.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er was a soul emperor! The difference in power was shown at this moment.

    Blue and golden light shed. Wang Dong¡¯ernded on the ground, and the Earthen Bear behind her froze. Two huge wounds, one blue and one golden, extended from the shoulders of the Earthen Bear all the way to its back legs, criss-crossing in the center of its back. Before the razor-sharp butterfly wings, its defensive abilities were evidently insufficient.

    Wang Dong¡¯er elerated at this moment. The ball of light headed toward the ming Demon Tiger exploded and turned into countless sharp des, trapping the tiger within them. While this was only her third soul skill, it was supported by her ss 60 soul power. Every single knife brimmed with sufficient destructive energy. The ming Demon Tiger was torn apart.

    Among the four soul skills summoned, two had been destroyed.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er did not charge toward the Bramble Forest. Instead, her wings changed.

    Her wings, which were blue like the ocean at first, suddenly shone with golden light. Following that, a golden fire started to burn at the tips of her wings. As the fire zed, it spread to every corner of her wings, eventually cloaking Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body in ayer of golden light. The bright golden fire was as bright as daylight.

    Wang Dong¡¯er struck as she charged straight for the Bramble Forest.

    Zhou Sichen did not try to summon his two soul skills again, as he was very clear that there was no way they could stop her. Hence, he decided to save his soul energy for hisst two soul skills.

    The Netherworld Python hid in the Bramble Forest, which was now thirty meters across, and continuing to expand.

    As Wang Dong¡¯er approached, the huge Bramble Forest started to curl up and try to entangle her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted coldly, and her form turned ethereal.

    Tang Sect Secret Technique, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

    Her butterfly wings, shining with golden fire, became as breathtaking as the Raiment of Light whenbined with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Her powdery-blue hair flew in the wind behind her, and her two wings were like two ming scythes shing in a sideways motion.

    The moment the resilient brambles touched her ming wings, they retreated. With her Guillotine Wings, Wang Dong¡¯er charged into the Bramble Forest like abine harvester. Anywhere she touched, brambles would be sent flying. The golden fire started to spread in the bramble forest. It was an extremely powerful attack!

    Zhou Sichen was depressed, this was a superior form of suppression! He believed that if he were a six-ringed soul emperor, it would not be so easy for Wang Dong¡¯er to charge into his Bramble Forest. However, before Wang Dong¡¯er, the Bramble Forest was far too weak. In particr, the fire on her wings was a natural trump card against his forest.

    The only thing he could do was wear her down. Zhou Sichen tried to replenish his bramble forest while changing positions, preventing her from finding him. At the same time, the huge Netherworld Python slowly crept toward her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fire derived its power from its golden radiance. She was also using her Spiritual Power to track Zhou Sichen down. However, Zhou Sichen was crafty indeed. He replenished the brambles as quickly as she destroyed them.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded tacitly at his actions. If she did not want to use a high-level soul skill, the only way for her to defeat Zhou Sichen was to wear him down until he ran out of soul power! If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s see who¡¯ll be worn down first!

    At this moment, an illusory silhouette suddenly appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯er. The silhouette was half-transparent, but huge. It wrapped itself around Wang Dong¡¯er and constricted even her Guillotine Wings. While its resilient body crackled under the heat from her fire, it was able to buy some time for Zhou Sichen.

 Chapter 249.3: The Powerful Wang Donger

    Sess! Zhou Sichen rejoiced in his heart. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Zhou Sichen directed his Bramble Forest to head straight for her. If he could score a victory due to her carelessness, it would be glorious indeed!

    However, while dreams may be nice, they were rarely real.

    Just as Zhou Sichen tried to swamp Wang Dong¡¯er with a huge amount of brambles in the hopes of suppressing her utterly and forcing her to acknowledge defeat, a powerful soul energy started to shake.

    A ray of golden light about thirty meters long suddenly surged forth. The Netherworld Python was cleansed by this golden light, and all the surrounding brambles were reduced to dust.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fourth and fifth soul rings shone intermittently. The moment the Hexagram Array kicked in, Wang Dong¡¯er, who was above it, started to change too. She pointed out with her right hand, and the Hexagram Array suddenly flew up. A giant golden pir of light a hundred meters long, swept out. The terrifying power reduced the rest of the brambles to dust. Even Zhou Sichen was swept up by the bright golden light.

    Immobilized by the light, there was no way he could move anymore. He tried to raise his hands to admit defeat.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul skill, Hexagram Control. This was not the full extent of her power, but instead, she just borrowed some power from the Hexagram Array. If she released this power herself, its magnitude would be different. Of course, the way she released this power allowed her to save some soul power.

    When the golden light dissipated, Zhou Sicheny on the ground with a pained expression on his face. The Fire of Light had drained his soul power. If Wang Dong¡¯er had not retracted her power in time, his clothes might have been burned off.

    Yan Shaozhe said with a smile, ¡°Sichen¡¯s performance was decent. Go, send the next one.¡±

    Zhou Sichen rejoiced. It was not a bad thing to leave a good impression on his dean. He quickly bowed to Yan Shaozhe, gave a thumbs-up to Wang Dong¡¯er, and headed back to his team¡¯s corner.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at her teammates, pointed with her ring hand, and said, ¡°Your turn.¡± The rest of them looked at her and realized that she was choosing at random. The next teammate she wanted to send out was one of the Lan Sisters, Lan Susu.

    Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were both soul ancestors. They were Control System Battle Soul Masters, and their martial souls were their hair. However, the reason they were selected as substitutes for the main team was because of their martial soul fusion skill. In a one-on-one fight, how could they fight Wang Dong¡¯er?

    Evidently, they could not, as they were quickly defeated by Wang Dong¡¯er after they were sent to battle her one by one.

    Three to zero. The Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had a score of three.

    ¡°You.¡± The fourth person Wang Qiu¡¯er pointed to was Xie Xuanyue.

    Compared to the Lan Sisters, Xie Xuanyue was much more powerful. After all, in terms of cultivation, he was considered one of the most powerful alongside Dai Huabing and Ning Tian when he first joined the Academy. At that time, Huo Yuhao had not yet shown his skills.

    When Xie Xuanyue went up, the tides of the battle changed. While he was eventually defeated, he was able to deplete a huge amount of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s soul energy.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er,e back. We¡¯ll admit defeat this round and switch you out.¡± After Wang Qiu¡¯er sent out her fifth teammate, Ning Tian, Bei Bei recalled Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s performance had been excellent as she had managed to win four battles consecutively.

    ¡°Caitou.¡± Bei Bei made a gesture at He Caitou.

    He Caitou strode onto the arena. His big bald head was unique indeed. Furthermore, he had left a deep impression on everyone during the Sea God¡¯s Fate. On that day, Ning Tian had been another participant at the blind date. In the end, she lost¡­

    Ning Tian was an auxiliary-type soul master, but she was a clever girl. While Wang Qiu¡¯er picked her without knowing her power, she nevertheless strode up. While she could not fight with her martial soul, she could use soul tools. The Seven Treasures zed Sect¡¯s use of soul tools was different and superior to other sects.

    However, Bei Bei was experienced and cunning too. During the Sea God¡¯s Fate, he had already seen Ning Tian use her soul tool before. Coupled with his understanding of her Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, he decided to send out his most experienced soul engineer.

    ¡°Admit defeat,¡± He Caitou said unkindly.

    Ning Tian snorted coldly and said, ¡°How do you know I¡¯ll lose before we even fight?¡± As she said that, a pair of wings extended behind her back, and light burst out from them. This carried her petite body into the air. It was a flying-type soul tool.

    Not only that, Ning Tian¡¯s entire body became weaponized.

    A soul cannon positioned itself on her shoulder, and many soul tools turned into armor all over her body. Her soul power congregated, and the soul cannon sted in He Caitou¡¯s direction.

    He Caitou looked on helplessly. He lifted his right hand, and a white light shed past. The cannon shell Ning Tian had released exploded in mid-air.

    Then, He Caitou¡¯s pupils started to shrink.

    Like a transformer, metallic sounds resonated from He Caitou¡¯s body. He seemed to have imnted himself in the ground as countless thick cannons appeared all over his body. They locked in on Ning Tian, who looked like a target in the sky¡­

    Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, who was the strongest?

    If one asked Huo Yuhao, he would reply that under certain conditions, when the distance between thebatants was more than two hundred meters, his second senior was the strongest.

    He Caitou¡¯s research specialized in Soul Tool Fortresses and Stationary Soul Cannons. His aim was to inflict the greatest amount of damage possible. As the rest had yet to reach the seven-ringed soul sage level, He Caitou, as a soul engineer, was undoubtedly the most powerful.

    Of course, he only had an advantage if he was sufficiently far away. Once other soul masters approached him, his advantage would be nullified. In other words, if Bei Bei fought He Caitou and they were two hundred meters apart, He Caitou might beat him. However, if they were only a hundred meters apart, no one knew who would win. If they were only fifty meters apart, then Bei Bei had a higher chance of winning.

    For Ning Tian, while her style was auxiliary-type, she was battling as a soul engineer. Against He Caitou, the top soul engineer of Shrek Academy, how could she stand a chance?

    He Caitou released a barrage of highly-concentrated attacks against her. Just as he was about to follow up, Yan Shaozhe stopped him. Ning Tian was defeated.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood by the side. Other than her, everyone else on her team wore ugly expressions on their faces.

    From the start of thepetition, while they had superiority in terms of numbers, they had already lost five rounds. On the other side, only Wang Dong¡¯er had forfeited a match. He Caitou¡¯s powerful soul tools stunned everyone.

    On Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s side, only Dai Huabing, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng, and Cao Jinxuan were left.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned to look at her teammates and sighed in her heart. The disparity in strength was vast indeed! Huo Yuhao¡¯s team still brimmed with energy. It would be extremely difficult for them to win this spar. Even so, she could not allow her team¡¯s morale to bepletely depleted. She had to raise their spirits.

    At this point, Wang Qiu¡¯er said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ll go up next.¡±

    With that, she strode to the center of the arena.

    As they watched Wang Qiu¡¯er stride out, Dai Huabin and the rest who had yet to battle were stunned. From their perspective, they thought that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s arrangements had been random, and that they would be thest to be deployed. They never expected this to happen.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared, He Caitou¡¯s rxed expression turned serious. That day, he had personally witnessed how Wang Qiu¡¯er had defeated Ji Juechen. While it could be said to be due to Ji Juechen¡¯s choice of weapon, it was sufficient to show how powerful she was.

    During dinner that night, everyone tried to inquire about Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s powers. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had given them short descriptions. Now, as she approached him, he naturally became more alert.

    When Yan Shaozhe saw Wang Qiu¡¯er striding out, he nodded silently in his heart. This girl was not one with all brawn and no brain. Choosing to fight now was evidently her way of boosting morale.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at He Caitou and then nodded at Yan Shaozhe to indicate that she was ready.

    Yan Shaozhe announced, ¡°Start!¡±

    To ensure that thepetition was fair, He Caitou, who was a soul engineer, had to retrieve all his soul tools after thest round. Hence, he needed to release his soul tools once again in the new round.

    The moment Yan Shaozhe said ¡®start¡¯, Wang Qiu¡¯er sprang into action. Blinding golden light shone from her body. She stomped down onto the ground with her right foot, and the ground burst with a heart-chilling sound as if a huge dragon had just trod on it. Within a two meter radius, the ground copsedpletely. Cracks extended out for more than ten meters.

    With that stomp, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body flew into the sky like a bolt of lightning. Her speed was so fast that others could barely see her.

    Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan opened their mouths in shock. They did not follow Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s airborne body, but instead looked at the ground she had just stomped on.

    Zhou Sichen mumbled to himself, ¡°Is, is she still human? The amount of strength required to aplish that feat is incredible! It¡¯s beyond horrifying!¡±

    Cao Jinxuan¡¯s voice trembled, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s terrifying, indeed! When she released her energy, she did not even release her martial soul!¡±

 Chapter 250.1Huo Yuhao VS Wang Qiuer

    He Caitou could feel the fear, too.

    While the Soul Duelling Arena wasrge, bothbatants had to keep an initial distance of a hundred meters from each other. If the distance was toorge, it would cause thepetition to drag out. It was also unfair to soul masters who did not specialize in long-range attacks.

    He Caitou tried to use his Soul Tool Fortress like before, attempting to suppress Wang Qiu¡¯er with a powerful bombardment. However, he soon realized that Wang Qiu¡¯er was already in front of him. He had never expected her to move at such a terrifying speed.

    However, he was trained under the Ultimate Soldier n too. He was shocked, but he reacted quickly.

    He immediately abandoned his n to use his Soul Tool Fortress. A powerful ray of light shot out from his chest, and at the same time, he quickly retreated. At the same time, he raised his arms, and six cannons flipped out. A powerful st of soul power went straight for Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Creating distance, suppression with firepower. This was the mostmon fighting style of soul engineers.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was exceptional even by the standards of Shrek Academy.

    Faced with He Caitou¡¯s attack, she didn''t even try to dodge. She lifted her right hand and was instantly wielding her Golden Dragon Spear. Shepletely ignored the lines of soul power that wereing for her. She shrieked a battle cry, and a powerful golden light enveloped her body. The shadow of a golden dragon shed behind her, and then disappeared. Following that, with a clear dragon¡¯s roar, the Golden Dragon Spear turned into a bolt of golden lightning as it was hurled toward He Caitou.

    Screw me! He Caitou¡¯s face drained of color. That day, when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were discussing Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities, they had both mentioned her weapon, which was almost as powerful as a Divine Weapon!

    The moment that golden lightning appeared, He Caitou felt the hairs on his body standing up. He released a powerful ss 7 protective soul barrier almost instantly. At the same time, he felt his body hurtling toward the ground. He fired two thick cannons, which he had just released from his shoulder, instantly. Two high-explosive cannon shells flew straight toward the golden bolt of lightning.

    Even so, He Caitou did not rx. Another white cannon shell blew up in mid-air, from which a round protective shield with a diameter of three meters appeared. This was another ss 7 protective soul barrier that was released in the form of a cannon shell, allowing it to be ced at any corner of the battleground. It was a special soul tool He Caitou could also use for his own defense.

    With a boom, the two cannon shells split apart. However, while they were powerful, they could notpare to the Golden Dragon Spear. The bolt of lightning pierced through theyers of fire as it hit the round protective shield.

    White ripples appeared on the round protective shield. After it was deployed, this shield could exist in mid-air for as long as 30 seconds. While it was not a stationary soul tool, it was still one of the top ss 7 soul tools in existence, called the Protective Angel Cannon Shield. If it was used well, its role in saving one¡¯s teammates during a battle was remarkable.

    However, the Protective Angel Cannon Shield was breaking apart now.

    The Golden Dragon Spear stopped, and the shape of a golden dragon shed on top of the spear. The dragon¡¯s roar became louder and louder. Following that, it pierced through the Protective Angel Cannon Shield. The Golden Dragon Spear did not slow down as it continued on its path toward He Caitou at an even faster speed.

    What shocked everyone was the fact that Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly stopped. She seemed to be mumbling to herself, as if she were praying to the heavens.

    He Caitou, however, sighed in relief.

    While the Golden Dragon Spear was powerful, he could feel, at that moment, that its deadliness was gone. The Golden Dragon Spear no longer exerted any pressure on him. The Protective Angel Cannon and his two high-explosive rounds had diminished much of its power.

    As he noticed that the golden ray of lightning was almost in front of him, He Caitou changed too. A pair of hammers appeared in his hands.

    It was even Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing He Caitou using a closebat soul tool. However, he had to admit that these hammers fit He Caitou well.

    The hammers were only about 50 cm long, but their heads were more than half of the length, their entire bodies crackling with electricity. They were the Thunderous Warhammers, ss 6 soul tools!

    With He Caitou¡¯s physique, it was no issue for him to wield these hammers. Even though he had a food-type martial soul, he had studied the Tang Sect Secret Techniques too! His special favorite was the Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique.

    At this moment, as the Golden Dragon Spear approached him, He Caitou turned his body vigorously, his two hammers were like a shooting star and moon. He smashed them at the Golden Dragon Spear. He believed firmly that with the explosive thunder power in his two Thunderous Warhammers, as well as his ss 7 protective soul barrier, there was no problem in him meeting the Golden Dragon Spear head-on.

    He Caitou¡¯s reaction could not be described as bad. Even the other six Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters could not find any fault with it. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was no ordinary girl! Even Huo Yuhao, who understood her best, did not expect her to have such a fighting style.

    ng! The sharp sound of metal hitting metal resounded in everyone¡¯s ears. He Caitou¡¯s hammers smashed into the Golden Dragon Spear.

    While the Golden Dragon Spear was powerful, the intense golden light that it gave off was able to reduce much of the warhammers¡¯ thunder. Bits of the golden light even crept onto them.

    The Golden Dragon Spear that was already severely weakened was still capable of forcing He Caitou to take three steps back. However, this was thest of its strength. Smashed away by the hammers, it flew into the air.

    He Caitou, however, stared in shock as he noticed that the golden light that shed from the Golden Dragon Spear had been sent flying into the air. A silhouette appeared next to the spear in mid-air, as if the sky had torn open to get her there, and grabbed onto it. Then, she came crashing down from the sky as she tried to smash He Caitou from above.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was in the distance, had disappeared. A goddess of war, wielding the Golden Dragon Spear, had appeared before He Caitou.

    Her Golden Dragon Spear can teleport her? Huo Yuhao watched with his mouth agape. He could not help but think about how Wang Qiu¡¯er had appeared before him and helped him with his three-in-one martial soul fusion skill.

    With such limited time, He Caitou could not react in any other way. He lifted his two warhammers as he tried to mp onto Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear.

    Boom!

    Instantly, He Caitou felt as if he had been hit by a mountain. While he was confident in his own abilities, and was a soul emperor, he was still far from Wang Qiu¡¯er in terms of raw strength.

    Everyone who was watching the fight could clearly see He Caitou¡¯s knees buckle and sink down. His entire body appeared to be absorbed by the ground, as the electricity from his Thunderous Warhammers turned golden.

    He Caitou felt that his arms no longer belonged to him. Wang Qiu¡¯er used the rebound of her strike to leap back into the air. As she was about tond, she turned around in mid-air and her spear reached out, pointing itself straight at He Caitou¡¯s throat.

    Resist? He Caitou could not even lift his arms, much less resist. His joints were immobilized by the massive force that had crashed down on them. How could he resist?

    The spear¡¯s tip stopped just an inch away from his throat. He Caitou opened his eyes wide in shock. He could feel that there was a force at the tip of the spear that was absorbing his soul. It was an ominous feeling that told him that he was only inches away from death.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er wins.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice stopped everything. From Shrek¡¯s side, Xiao Xiao was already running at full speed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stuck her spear into the ground. She walked forward and chopped down on He Caitou¡¯s arms. Only then did theye down.. they had been dislocated.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er then tugged at his arms forcefully. Ka! Ka! Instantly, she jerked his arms back in ce. The sudden wave of pain made He Caitou sweat, but he was able to regain control over his arms.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± He Caitou said with a bitter smile.

    In terms of power, he was not that far from Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er had used her advantages to their fullest.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er approached He Caitou, Huo Yuhao had already closed his eyes. In closebat, He Caitou stood no chance against Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Caitou, are you okay?¡± Xiao Xiao ran up to him and grabbed his arm, her face full of concern.

    He Caitou chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, only a dislocation. Wang Qiu¡¯er helped me put it back in ce. Powerful indeed! I lost this round fair and square.¡± He gave her a thumbs-up. While he lost, he was not depressed. He pulled himself out from the ground and returned to his corner with Xiao Xiao. Only Xiao Xiao could feel that even now, He Caitou¡¯s arms were still trembling, a testament to how powerful Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack had been.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er beat He Caitou, her teammates¡¯ faces showed a variety of expressions.

    The one with the biggest change was Dai Huabing.

    When he saw Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear crash against the Thunderous Warhammers, forcing He Caitou into the ground, Dai Huabing¡¯s throat tightened as he swallowed. He did not know what the result would have been had he faced her spear himself!

 Chapter 250.2Huo Yuhao VS Wang Qiuer

    One could say that this was their first victory. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s power made all of her teammates lose their doubts about her. The explosiveness and length of the battle caused it to be over in the blink of an eye.

    Bei Bei looked at his team and tapped Huo Yuhao lightly on the shoulder and said, ¡°Go, Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Why me, elder brother?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Bei Bei with an innocent face.

    Bei Bei said naturally, ¡°You understand her best! Furthermore, when you asked us to help you take care of Ji Juechen, did we reject you? Go, it¡¯s time to let them see how powerful you¡¯ve be. You can do it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at hispatriots as if he was imploring them to do something. However, they all pretended that they did not see him, even Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Helplessly and unwillingly, Huo Yuhao walked out.

    He did not want to face Wang Qiu¡¯er, not just because of how powerful she was, but also because of the weird rtionship the two of them had! He did not know how he should face her.

    For the other members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, the only ones who stood a chance against Wang Qiu¡¯er were Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. While Wang Dong¡¯er was also a soul emperor, she had already fought, and He Caitou had lost. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao, both of whom had yet to reach six rings, were obviously weaker than Wang Qiu¡¯er. This was why Bei Bei sent Huo Yuhao out.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er noticed that it was Huo Yuhao who walked out, her expression changed. Then, she flicked her wrist and pulled her Golden Dragon Spear out of the ground, pointing its tip right at Huo Yuhao.

    From afar, Elder Xuan and Cai Mei¡¯er nodded. Huo Yuhao versus Wang Qiu¡¯er. This was a fight worth watching.

    One wielded the power of Ultimate Ice and was a twin-souled soul master. The other one was one with an Ultimate Strength martial soul. A match between the two of them would naturally be interesting. Even Elder Xuan wanted to see who was the most powerful of the two. After all, only when their strengths were simr could they use the full might of their powers.

    When he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes betrayed a tinge of helplessness. He nodded at her and said, ¡°Please be merciful.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted. She slowly raised her Golden Dragon Spear, and her eyes red up. There was no way she would be showing mercy!

    Yan Shaozhe looked at the two of them, and a smile crept across his face. He said, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t actually draw blood. Start!¡±

    The moment he said that, Wang Qiu¡¯er started to move. Like before, her left leg stomped down forcefully on the ground, leaving a deep crevice. Her body was already barrelling straight toward Huo Yuhao.

    When he saw the hole she left behind, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s heart ached. We need money to repair the grounds again. With the power of this girl, what materials must we use to prevent her from leaving any more holes?

    Huo Yuhao had no desire to pit his speed against Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s. With her powerful force, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s short-term explosiveness allowed her speed to exceed that of a seven-ringed soul sage.

    As he watched Wang Qiu¡¯er, cloaked in gold, hurtling toward him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned sharp.

    An orange-golden silhouette appeared behind him, and the adorable Snow Lady appeared once again. She twiddled her index fingers habitually as she looked innocently at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was rushing toward her at high speed.

    Huo Yuhao did not retreat. An intenseyer of gold light shone from his body, and his eyes suddenly turned bright.

    Can it be? Does he want to meet her head-on? Everyone eximed in their hearts. They could not help but admire Huo Yuhao¡¯s bravery.

    At this time, the soul rings on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to shine.

    A white halo expanded. It was Enfeeblement. As a control-type soul master, it was impossible for him to sh head-on with her without first attempting to weaken her.

    After Enfeeblement, he used Spiritual Confusion on Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao was cunning indeed. When he used Enfeeblement, it was still traceable. As she noticed that a white halo was approaching her, Wang Qiu¡¯er gathered her soul power, and with the power of the bloodline of the Golden Dragon, she was able to reduce its power by more than 80%.

    However, at this moment, her rampage stopped. She was still 30 to 40 meters away from Huo Yuhao. Just as her legs touched the ground and she was ready to charge forward once again, Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Confusion on her. This control of time was perfect for him, but terrible for Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    She was instantly befuddled. This caused her to lean to one side with each step she took. While each step she took still caused a boom to sound, her addled mental state caused her to lose her center of gravity. Her body leaned to one side, and she was already rushing toward that side. The effects of this off-kilter dash were mitigated considerably by her power. Had she been an ordinary soul master, her legs would have been broken by the amount of force she was using.

    At this time, Huo Yuhao used his third soul skill. Two rays of purplish-gold light shot out from his eyes. This was Spiritual Shock.

    As a spiritual-type attack, you could not block it even if you knew what it was.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s head snapped back due to the Spiritual Shock. Just as she was about to resume control over her body, she lost it once more as she fell to the ground.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao moved. Like her, he pushed off with his left leg. While he was not as intense as Wang Qiu¡¯er, the explosiveness of his speed wasparable to hers. This was because he still had four soul thrusters behind him.

    His entire body shone with bright, golden light. Huo Yuhao was already flying toward Wang Qiu¡¯er at lightning speed. He punched out with his right fist and sent her flying.

    Timing and soul skill control. Huo Yuhao did all this perfectly.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but fear for Wang Qiu¡¯er. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s control-type abilities, he was at an absolute advantage!

    However, just as everyone thought Huo Yuhao had won with his punch, Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had been sent flying down, suddenly turned her body in mid-air. She faced Huo Yuhao, and her left fist went flying toward him. Her body was suspended in a nted position in mid-air.

    Of course, she did not break free from gravity. What supported her body was the Golden Dragon Spear in her right hand.

    It turned out that Wang Qiu¡¯er was able to break free from the Spiritual Shock. Then, she quickly steadied her body as she punched Huo Yuhao back.

    When Huo Yuhao attacked, he had never expected himself to win immediately. If he could do that, Wang Qiu¡¯er would not be Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, he was shocked at how quickly she was able to free herself from his Spiritual Shock. This girl¡¯s spiritual resistance was strong indeed!

    As their fists matched, a low explosion could be heard in mid-air. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was sent flying. Wang Qiu¡¯er smiled. They wereparing raw strength, and she had a Ultimate Strength martial soul.

    However, while Huo Yuhao was sent flying, Wang Qiu¡¯er did not pursue him. Golden light shone from both of their bodies as they shed against each other. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear, which she had used to barely maintain her bnce, emerged from the ground first. Her body turned, and shended on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body flew, and the Snow Lady, who had been following him, changed. Her deep blue eyes were like a boundless ocean. Her small form expanded, and she reverted to her Snow Empress form.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was shocked as she looked at Snow Empress¡¯ deep eyes. In the next instant, what appeared before her was an endless patch of ice and snow.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Chill merged with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice. The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    It was not wise to sh head-on with the pure power of the Golden Dragon. Huo Yuhao knew that he had no chance in a head-on collision. To beat Wang Qiu¡¯er, he had to maximize his own advantages. Bei Bei had correct before. Among everyone present, he knew Wang Qiu¡¯er best.

    The spectators could feel a sudden drop in temperature. Even though the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice only enveloped a radius of about 50 meters, the chill it emitted could be felt in the entire arena. This was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was not high enough. As he became more powerful, he would be able to control the chill to an extent whereby it would not leak out. Not only would this save soul power, but its power would also be stronger in the affected area.

    Large patches of snow started to dance in the air, and Huo Yuhao disappeared amidst the snow. Countless snowkes, shaped like knives, encircled Wang Qiu¡¯er, and under the extreme cold, started to attack her.

    She stood at her original spot, unmoving. She did not even try to find Huo Yuhao. Wielding her Golden Dragon Spear, she appeared extremely calm. She closed her eyes as she sensed the changes around her.

    A rather thinyer of golden light appeared from her body and enveloped her within it. However, this seemingly thinyer of light was able to block the snowkes that came at her like little knives.

    Standing in the center of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power was being massively depleted as well. No matter how powerful she was, in the face of this domain, Huo Yuhao was able tobine his power with that of nature to attack her.

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice worked better in colder and wetter ces. While Shrek Academy was not particrly cold, the presence of Sea God¡¯s Lake nearby ensured a sufficient amount of environmental humidity.

 Chapter 250.3Huo Yuhao VS Wang Qiuer

    If someone could see the conditions of Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power, they would discover that both were dropping.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s dropped because she was resisting the power of the domain, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s dropped because he was releasing his power.

    Inparison, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power depletion was less. After all, he was the one releasing his power. Furthermore, in an extremely cold environment, his soul power would recover faster than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s. With the assistance of the Snow Lady, while his cultivation could notpare to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s, his domain was more taxing on her than him.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still a five-ringed soul king, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was a six-ringed soul emperor. If they both had Ultimate Strength martial souls, both of them would have simr soul power. However, if they continued to deplete their soul power like this, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s depletion was slower, there was still a big difference between his soul power and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s. No one knew who would be the first to run out of soul power.

    Huo Yuhao released his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice not just to deplete his opponent¡¯s strength. It was also because he knew he could not go against Wang Qiu¡¯er head-on. They had been through thick and thin together, and he didn¡¯t even want to fight her from the start. The other reason was that he was searching for an opportunity as well. In the domain, Wang Qiu¡¯er would be severely affected. This was equivalent to sealing her Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception, while Huo Yuhao could sense her changes at any time.

    Huo Yuhao just needed Wang Qiu¡¯er to slip up by a bit, and he would have a chance at defeating her. Hence, he waited.

    Even if he did not do that, and he lost to Wang Qiu¡¯er, she would be unable to fight another round because the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice would have depleted her soul power. As a control-type soul master, Huo Yuhao¡¯s technique in this regard was considered exceptional.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared to have fallen into Huo Yuhao¡¯s trap. She stood there, unmoving. Her entire body was like a statue, and her Golden Dragon Spear touched the surface of the ground silently without a single movement.

    Under this condition, Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared to be full of weaknesses. However, the more she appeared as such, the more Huo Yuhao dared not touch her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in no rush, much less Huo Yuhao. When he released his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, he also felt the change in his domain. He was not too familiar with it yet, and hence he could not use all its strength here. This was an excellent chance for him to sense its changes.

    They stood there, frozen. The spectators on both sides felt ufortable. The longer the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Icested, the more the temperature dropped. After a while, the temperature in the entire arena dropped to -20 degrees Celsius. Icicles started to form on the structures of the soul-dueling arena. The other students were forced to use their soul power to resist the cold.

    Xu Sanshi asked, ¡°Is Yuhao fighting or dating!? Why is he not doing anything?¡±

    Bei Bei looked at him sideways and said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± As he said that, he motioned toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Xu Sanshi smirked, ¡°Nothing, nothing, if Yuhao dares to dump you, Dong¡¯er, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll beat him until all his teeth drop to the ground.¡± He originally wanted to make a joke, but after Jiang Nannan, who was next to him, touched his waist, Xu Sanshi changed tactics immediately.

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted inughter and said, ¡°Well done, fourth sister. Look after him well so that he¡¯ll stop spouting nonsense outside every day. Third brother is a Casanova, so you really should keep an eye on him.¡±

    Jiang Nannan snorted, ¡°If he dares, let him run. If he runs, then he doesn¡¯t need toe back anymore. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately turned to her and smiled, saying, ¡°Run? Where can I run to? No matter how fast I run, I can¡¯t run away from my Nannan¡¯s palm! If you tug me gently, I¡¯lle back to your side and ept whatever punishment you want to dish out, right?¡±

    Jiang Nannan said angrily, ¡°Stop trying to use your glib tongue here, don¡¯t stir shit between Yuhao and Dong¡¯er, is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Sanshi agreed immediately.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was not anxious, as she could understand what Huo Yuhao was thinking. He wanted to wear her down. However, she was still ufortable with the fact that Huo Yuhao was not fighting Wang Qiu¡¯er directly. What kind of ce did she have in his heart?

    Time-wise, Huo Yuhao had released his domain for quite some time. If he continued in this way, he may not be able to sustain it for long.

    Wang Dong¡¯er understood Huo Yuhao best. Just when she made this prediction, Huo Yuhao, who was hidden in the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, started to move.

    Like a snowke, Huo Yuhao gradually approached Wang Qiu¡¯er. In this domain, he was the master. Naturally, all signs of him would be covered by the domain.

    Huo Yuhao reached out with his palms. At this moment, they took on different colors. His left hand was icy-blue, and his right hand was icy-white. Lightly, they came down on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s back.

    His soul power could not sustain the domain for long. Defeat and victoryy in this move. If he won, that would be ideal. If he lost, he would have depleted her soul power, and that was still good.

    When he saw Wang Qiu¡¯er before him, Huo Yuhao paused momentarily. However, he was about to ce his left hand on her back. He could see that his left hand had beenpletely covered by crystalline diamonds, which gave off a dark, mysterious blue light.

    However, at this moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er moved.

    That was right. In the domain, Wang Qiu¡¯er could not sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s presence at all. This was the power of the domain. However, as someone with the Golden Dragon martial soul, how weak could her intuition be? In the face of threats, even if she could not sense anything, she could at least sense danger!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear, which was in her right hand, pierced outward and shielded her entire back with light. As the spear released its light, a huge dragon roared, and an ear-shattering dragon roar rang out, causing the snowkes around them to disappear.

    However, this was still within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. His Spiritual Detection had always been centered on Wang Qiu¡¯er. When she pulled out her spear, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had already moved.

    With his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shed past. His entire body was like a snowke as he dodged Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear. His left hand continued on its trajectory toward her, but he now aimed for her waist.

    Instantly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed was maximized. As Wang Qiu¡¯er had wielded her Golden Dragon Spear with all her soul power, her reaction was slow by half a beat.

    With the coverage of his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao¡¯s timing was impable.

    It hit! Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand tapped on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist. An extreme chill was shot into her body, and the strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer assaulted her. A powerful energy pushed Wang Qiu¡¯er away the moment his hand made contact with her body. Not only that, but Ice Explosion also entered her body along with the Ultimate Ice. This caused the blood near Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist to freeze over.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was powerful indeed. For normal people, the waist was a weak point. It was where humans got their strength from. Once the waist was hurt, one could soon be rendered immobile.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er continued to stand there without moving. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm made contact with her waist, he was actually unable to push her away. When his right hand touched her waist, he suddenly felt that it was as hard as steel. The Ice Explosion and Ultimate Ice had been delivered into her body, but his palm was already bouncing back. In that short time, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body spun around.

    The Golden Dragon Spear was gone! Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear had disappeared from her right hand. Her dazzling spear light had disappeared too.

    Oh no! I¡¯ve been tricked! Huo Yuhao instantly deduced that something was wrong.

    However, at this moment, his wealth of experience in battling came into y too. Had it been anyone else, they would have tried to create distance the moment they realized they had been tricked. However, Huo Yuhao understood that it was no longer possible for him to do so. He had personally witnessed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s speed and strength in closebat. Even with the cover of his domain, he could not run away. If he lost his momentum, he might not even be able to parry her next blow. One must realize that much of his soul power had been depleted.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao did not run. His right hand came out as fast as a bolt of lightning as he tried to p Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s shoulder. He had to hit where it would hurt the most. At the same time, he covered himself with the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. An intense emerald light shed as he quickly released the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath immediately afterward.

    In terms of reaction speed, Huo Yuhao could be said to have done all this perfectly. He could also feel that his earlier palm strike had not beenpletely useless. The Ice Explosion had already been inserted. However, he hesitated, and did not let it explode at the first possible instant, as he did not know if she could handle the power of the Ice Explosion. If it really blew up in her waist, the damage would be extraordinary.

    Huo Yuhao did so much, but Wang Qiu¡¯er just did a very simple action. From the moment she acted, her entire action was one smooth movement. She stabbed out with the Golden Dragon Spear in her right hand, and then she let go of immediately. The moment Huo Yuhao tapped her waist, her body froze momentarily. Then, she prepared to punch out.

    While resisting the domain, Wang Qiu¡¯er released her first soul skill, Golden Dragon Body, to ensure Huo Yuhao took the bait. When she was hit, she did not reinforce her body. Only by doing this could she truly confuse Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

 Chapter 251.1: All You Know How to Do is Bully Me!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura suddenly changed when she twisted her waist for that punch, and Huo Yuhao felt as if he were really facing an actual Golden Dragon in that moment. The enormous fist arrived before him, driven by an unrivaled and frighteningly huge strength. This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s punch!

    They were about the same height. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s frame was long and slender, and her fistpletely covered Huo Yuhao, even temporarily dispelling his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. The power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain couldn¡¯t even conceal his body at that moment.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how terrifying Wang Qiu¡¯er was at this instant.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath even felt a little stifled from that formidable draconic force, as if it was repressed within his body and he had no way of releasing it. The fist hadn¡¯t even reached him, but he already felt as if his body were about to break apart from that immense pressure. This was absolutely a matter of life and death!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes began to sparkle underneath all that pressure. His abilities were typically increasingly more explosive and ferocious when he was facing great pressure.

    Not even Wang Qiu¡¯er expected Huo Yuhao to respond in this manner in a circumstance like this.

    She couldn¡¯t even evade his attack; it simply wasn¡¯t possible. She dodged Huo Yuhao¡¯s right palm when she twisted her body and punched out, but an immense gravitational power emerged from the center of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist at this moment. His right arm trembled at the same time, and his shoulder dislocated just like that, making his arm a few inches longer. Huo Yuhao wanted to rely on that minute difference to strike Wang Qiu¡¯er before she could hit him!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gave her all in this punch. She was as dominant as she could be, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist¡¯s gravitational force was strong, but it couldn¡¯t move her at all. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s aim wasn¡¯t to use the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to pull Wang Qiu¡¯er over. He wanted to use that suction force so that his fist couldnd on her body before her fist could reach him!

    The suction force and dislocation werepleted seamlessly. He raised his left hand at the same time and guarded his chest with his palm.

    Thwack! Huo Yuhao¡¯s dislocated right arm was ultimately one step ahead. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with the minor details in such a dire situation. His right palm that was being pulled forward by his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon touched Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s chest on her left side.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura had been raised to its peak condition, but her body now quivered strongly, and her aura immediately plummeted as her entire body froze.

    The Empress¡¯ Palm ¨C Snowless cier!

    Yes, that seemingly harmless and floating palm embodied the Snow Empress¡¯ most powerful strike.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still too careless after she tricked Huo Yuhao. She had not expected Huo Yuhao to be able to dislocate his shoulder at will; she had not expected him to pull his palm forward with such a unique method, and she had not expected that his palm strike would contain such an effect.

    It¡¯s so bouncy¡­ was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first reaction before he was tossed into the air¡­

    Boom¡­! Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heavy right fist hammered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s left palm before mming into his chest and sending him flying a hundred meters into the distance. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice domain was immediately dispelled at the same time.

    Boom! Huo Yuhao crashed violently to the ground, and almost vomited a mouthful of blood. He realized to his surprise that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s seemingly fearsome fist contained more propulsion force than explosive impact, which meant she was showing him mercy after all! If she hadn¡¯t held back, her fist would still be weakened by his Snowless cier, but she would have still heinously wounded him. He would have vomited several mouthfuls of blood, and several bones would have been broken. Huo Yuhao would still have won, but he would have had to pay a heavy price for that victory.

    The snowkes dissipated, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was revealed. She was just standing there, motionless. Her face was as ck as could be, and nobody knew whether it was because she had been struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowless cier, or because some fellow had identally touched one of her sensitive parts.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up as he rubbed his chest.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s looked over, and his eyes showed doubt.

    Even he couldn¡¯t determine who had won this round with the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice blocking his vision.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I won. I froze her over.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t even be bothered with regting his breathing as he spoke, and he quickly walked towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Are you kidding me? The Snowless ciernded directly on her chest! Her heart would have been frozen over in an instant no matter how powerful or how strong she is. Her life will be in danger if I don¡¯t help her out of this.

    Huo Yuhao walked briskly up to Wang Qiu¡¯er. He discovered that Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t lost consciousness. At the very least, her eyes were still flowing with sharp hostility and murderous rage, but she was just standing there, and couldn¡¯t move at all. She was naturally immobile as her heart had been frozen. Any attempt at moving around would cause her veins to explode, and she would die.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that he had messed up. He realized to his surprise that he had frozen Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart... which meant that he had to start from her heart when withdrawing his Snowless cier¡¯s intense coldness. That also meant¡­

    What do I do?

    Everyone¡¯s looking. Do I just go up and rub a few times? That¡¯s not very appropriate¡­

    This clearly wasn¡¯t the time for contemtion. He grabbed his right arm with his left hand and fixed his dislocated arm before he retrieved a ss 6 Milk Bottle and speedily absorbed soul power from it. He forced a smile as he said to Wang Qiu¡¯er, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for that to happen. You seemed like you were going to kill me, so I had to use everything I had. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t think it would have been so coincidental. That¡­ that was an emergency, so you can just pretend nothing happened after this. Why don¡¯t you close your eyes? I¡¯m going to start healing you. I¡¯m extremely worried, and it is my duty to help you, so I¡¯m just healing you! I don¡¯t mean anything else.¡±

    Snowkes appeared once more as he spoke. However, it wasn¡¯t the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice anymore, it was just the Empress¡¯ Chill.

    The tiny Snow Lady glowed with orangish-golden light as she fluttered behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. She pointed into the sky with her little finger, and the snowkes around her immediately started rippling as they enveloped both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s bodies.

    He didn¡¯t dare to heal Wang Qiu¡¯er like that in front of Wang Dong¡¯er, so he had no choice but to provide some cover for himself¡­ Of course, Huo Yuhao would definitely exin this as an attempt to protect Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s reputation.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er around her waist as the flurry of snowkes concealed them. He dispelled the Ice Explosion before he pressed his right hand on her left chest as he rubbed gently, and he gradually withdrew his Snowless cier¡¯s savage and formidable chill.

    He wasn¡¯t having any indecent thoughts at all. She was frozen! It was still bouncy before this, but it suddenly felt as hard as a rock.

    The Snowless cier¡¯s effects were excessively powerful, and it wasn¡¯t as easy to withdraw as the Ice Explosion was. This was especially so when it had taken effect on the heart, and taking it back was a slow and gradual process.

    Huo Yuhao gradually began to feel that the blood in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was finally starting to flow and smoothen out. Her physique was just so formidable, and her heart stopping for a short period of time wouldn¡¯t threaten her life. However, he started to feel as if something was wrong, and the hard rock in his hands slowly became a soft and springy steamed bun¡­

    ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± Huo Yuhao tried his best to make himself sound calm, and his movements began to slow. He realized that there seemed to be a little protrusion shifting around beneath his palm.

    ¡°Is it nice to touch?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered coldly.

    ¡°It feels pretty good after thawing it.¡± Huo Yuhao carefully shifted his hands away, but his answer was sincere.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er screamed at the top of her voice. ¡°Huo! Yu! Hao!¡±

    Her leg swung through the air like a whip.

    Huo Yuhao hurtled through the air like a cannonball. He seemed to fly a little further than he did before.

    The snowkes disappeared. The tiny Snow Lady was still hovering in the air, and she seemed a little dazed. Her eyes followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s body through the air, and only then did she turn around and hurriedly chase after him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was just standing there, her enchanting frame was quivering as tears welled up in her eyes. She screamed once more, ¡°All you know how to do is bully me!¡± She nted her right foot on the ground after this exmation, and she made another crater in the Soul Dueling Arena before her entire body transformed into a golden lightning streak as she disappeared in a sh.

    Huo Yuhao was flung from that kick to a ce not far from hispanions. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s kick wasn¡¯t as controlled as before, and even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms managed to block it in time, he was kicked until he couldn¡¯t take his next breath, and his eyes turned ck as he fainted and copsed on the ground just like that.

    Silence. The entire field was silent.

    The same thought surfaced in everyone¡¯s minds when they heard Wang Qiu¡¯er near-hysterical exmation.

    All you know how to do is bully me!?

    What did he to do her?

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er darted forward and came beside Huo Yuhao. She didn¡¯t touch his body, but grasped his hands and checked his condition and vitals.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s kick was heavy, but she wasn¡¯t trying to kill him. Huo Yuhao had just fainted on the ground, and he wasn¡¯t severely injured.

    Yan Shaozhe was a little speechless with this oue, and he swiftly came before Huo Yuhao. ¡°How is it? Is he alright?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression was as calm as ever. ¡°He¡¯s fine. The impact was overly forceful, and he fainted from the sudden impact. He should recover after resting for a little while.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe tilted his head and said, ¡°Today¡¯s practicebat will end here. You guys can take him back to rest right now.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, Dean Yan.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er began to carry Huo Yuhao over her shoulders. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou wanted to help, but she shook her head and rejected them all. Huo Yuhao was slung over her back, his hands naturally hanging ck in front of her. Wang Dong¡¯er grit her teeth and strode out of the Soul Dueling Arena with a calm expression on her face.

 Chapter 251.2: All You Know How to Do is Bully Me!

    Her pretty eyes gradually turned red only after she left through the Soul Dueling Arena¡¯s main gate. Tears began to well up in her eyes as the thought of what had just transpired spun around in her head continuously. Even though she didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened, she had interacted with Wang Qiu¡¯er many times, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s ice-cold personality gave everyone a strong andsting impression. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was nowhere near as cold and indifferent then, and that was especially so when she screamed thosest words. Wang Dong¡¯er felt as if there was a heavy hammer pounding on her chest.

    Yuhao, you¡­

    Tears trickled down her cheeks soundlessly, and Wang Dong¡¯er picked up her pace as she hugged Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs tightly. She didn¡¯t want herpanions to see her fragile side. No matter how much faith she had in Huo Yuhao, she had seen everything with her own eyes, and it would only mean he wasn¡¯t in her heart if she still didn¡¯t have any ill-feelings about this. It was only because he meant too much to her that her heartache was so intense.

    A girl¡¯s thoughts would be vastly different from a guy once her thoughts started getting into a blind alley. Wang Dong¡¯er felt as if it wasn¡¯t impossible that Huo Yuhao had feelings for Wang Qiu¡¯er. In the end, Wang Qiu¡¯er looked more like the Goddess of Light than she did, and Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t inferior to her in terms of looks, figure, or abilities. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t have any advantage over Wang Qiu¡¯er except for the time that she had spent together with him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er deeply believed that Huo Yuhao liked her. However, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t like someone else at the same time? Her second uncle had remarked before that men were generally capable of generous affection. But, but I can¡¯t ept that! I have to be the only person in my lover¡¯s heart...

    She began to sob even more uncontrobly as she continued to think in this direction. There was no way she could ept sharing a lover with someone else. Huo Yuhao was still unconscious, or, if he had known what Wang Dong¡¯er was thinking, he would have told her exasperatedly, ¡°My dear, you¡¯re thinking too much.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er carried Huo Yuhao all the way back to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before she ced him down on the bed. She took his outer clothes off and helped him wipe his face, and took care of him so that he could sleep morefortably.

    Wang Dong¡¯er took a chair and sat silently beside him. Her tears were no longer flowing, but her expression was still as dark as ever, and the image of Huo Yuhao interacting with Wang Qiu¡¯er echoed continuously in her mind.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s heart became increasingly confused and disorganized the more she thought about it, because she was sure that Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao drastically differently from how she looked at other people. Even though her eyes couldn¡¯t be described as passionate, at least they weren¡¯t as cold as they usually were.

    She thought back to when she had found them inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and when Wang Qiu¡¯er was lying on Huo Yuhao¡¯s thigh. Did they develop true feelings for each other through suffering? She hadn¡¯t thought much about it then because she chose to trust him. But what about today? What did Wang Qiu¡¯er mean when she eximed like that? Why did Huo Yuhao choose to conceal them by releasing his domain once more? What happened between them when he did that?

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face became paler as she continued to think. At this moment, Huo Yuhao waspletely submerged within his spiritual world.

    ---

    What a brutal kick! I just wanted to save her! Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts were full of exasperation and frustration.

    He didn¡¯t sleep for too long after fainting. However, he was unable to directly control his body when he woke up, and he realized to his surprise that his consciousness had entered his spiritual sea.

    His spiritual sea¡¯s vastness was far greater than before, his boundless spiritual sea torrential as tidal waves surged around it, while dense spiritual power undtions circted like currents.

    He had also showed mercy when he fought Wang Qiu¡¯er. Otherwise, the oue would have been entirely different if he had used his Eye of Destiny with all his controlling abilities at the beginning.

    He didn¡¯t know when he could truly wake up. Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er! Why did you have to shout like that? Your scream will bring me great trouble.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that Wang Dong¡¯er was thinking in all the wrong directions, but he was absolutely certain that everyone would misunderstand because of her exmation. More importantly, he actually did touch somewhere that he wasn¡¯t supposed to touch, and he couldn¡¯t me Wang Qiu¡¯er for that.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wronged!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his lungs within his spiritual sea.

    He really hadn¡¯t meant for that to happen. He had felt immense pressure from her, as Wang Qiu¡¯er was the strongest person he had ever faced among others of the same age. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were also powerful, but their strength was very different from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s style.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was the kind to achieve victory with a single strike, just like when he battled Ji Juechen. How different could the two of them be? The reason why she was terrifying was because of her explosive power. The frightening offensive force generated from the collision after her explosive attack made Huo Yuhao numb just thinking about it. This wasn¡¯t a sensation that Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi could give him!

    He didn¡¯t know what Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attitude toward him was like during this battle. She had saved him at thest minute inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t develop any negative thoughts about her no matter what happened, as she had saved his life. This was the reason he decided to grind her down with his domain, so that neither of them would be hurt no matter who emerged victorious.

    He had never expected Wang Qiu¡¯er to erupt in that fashion, and that instance of explosive anger made Huo Yuhao feel as if his life was in danger.

    It was instinctive for him to give everything he had under such circumstances, and he never thought that he would identally touch Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart with his Snowless cier. This was a bitter misunderstanding.

    The Snowless cier was extremely powerful once it took effect on Huo Yuhao¡¯s target. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t saved her, Wang Qiu¡¯er would have been done for. He had had no choice but to save her, and he couldn¡¯t waste a single second. So, he had saved her, but the deed brought great trouble upon himself. But what other choice did he have? Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s flying kick made Huo Yuhao feel so aggrieved, and the real reason why he fainted was because of what she had shouted. There was almost no way for him to remedy this misunderstanding.

    ¡°How am I going to exin this to Dong¡¯er?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at the vast spiritual sea before him with a bitter look on his face.

    He really didn¡¯t know what to say. Do I have to tell Wang Dong¡¯er the truth, that I touched Wang Qiu¡¯er somewhere I really shouldn¡¯t have? In that case, wouldn¡¯t Dong¡¯er be infuriated? However, how else do I exin it if I don¡¯t tell her the truth?

    ¡°What outrageous acts have youmitted now, you rascal? Why do you look so despondent?¡± azy voice suddenly rang out from all directions at that moment.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mncholic frown immediately froze when he heard this voice. In the next moment, an indescribable tion erupted from his eyes. ¡°Brother Skydream, brother Skydream! Where are you?¡±

    He leapt to his feet, and controlled his consciousness to form a body as he flew into the space above his spiritual sea. He didn¡¯t care about anything else as he shouted as loudly as he could.

    Yes! Thatzy voice belonged to the Skydream Iceworm.

    Skydream and Iceworm and the Ice Empress had been hibernating ever since the Snow Empress entered the state of prity that day, sending Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea into turmoil, and forcing Electrolux to burn his own divine sense to save the others. A long time had passed since then, and he hadn¡¯t heard anything from either of them.

    Huo Yuhao had attempted to awaken them countless times. However, he couldn¡¯t feel the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm¡¯s auras inside his spiritual sea anymore. His initial despondence and sorrow immediately vanished when he heard Skydream¡¯s voice at this moment. Skydream was not just a friend and apanion to him, the Iceworm was also his savior, and he wouldn¡¯t be here today if he hadn¡¯t merged with the Skydream Iceworm back then. His martial soul had be increasingly powerful with Skydream¡¯s help, and he had obtained four million-year soul skills and a second martial soul, which allowed him to merge with both the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress afterward. The reason why Electrolux¡¯s divine sense entered his mind was also because Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion with the Skydream Iceworm had produced intense spiritual undtions which had attracted his remnant.

    Skydream¡¯s position in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was extremely high and respected. He truly treated Skydream like his own brother. Skydream had truly changed his destiny, even though the Iceworm was just a little toozy.

    ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m still alive. Why are you crying?¡± Skydream¡¯s voice was tinged with deep emotions. Specks of golden light gradually rose up from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea immediately afterwards, andbined to form Skydream¡¯s frame once more. However, the golden halo around his body hadpletely vanished.

    Huo Yuhao only realized that the face that he had conjured with his consciousness was flowing with tears when Skydream mentioned it.

    Huo Yuhao flew up before the Skydream Iceworm in a sh, and opened his arms wide before hugging the pudgy body while he leaned forcefully against the immense but soft frame.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, teacher Electrolux has¡­¡± Huo Yuhao began to bawl when he thought about all the unfortunate things that had happened.

    Skydream heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I know. Electrolux is truly a human that deserves our respect. Both the Ice Empress and I thought he was going to draw upon our strength toplete that ritual back then, but who could expect that he actually immted himself in the end? He was the one that saved us all¡­¡±

    Skydream Iceworm also began toment and sigh with despair and regret at this point.

    Huo Yuhao sobbed for a quite a long while before he recovered. He raised his head and said, ¡°How have you been, brother Skydream? You should be fine by now. The halo around your body¡­¡±

    A human face appeared on Skydream¡¯s head, and he made a human-like expression of exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve fusedpletely with you. Even though my spiritual origin is still sealed away, it¡¯s beenpletely submerged into your spiritual sea. This body is all that I have left, and this is only a projection of my consciousness. More urately put, I am only a guest taking up residence in your body at this point, and you can chase me out anytime you want if you wish it. Of course, that also means it¡¯s over for me if that happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied angrily, ¡°Can you not make hypothetical spections? That will never happen!¡±

 Chapter 251.3: All You Know How to Do is Bully Me!

    Skydream chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all right, it¡¯s all right. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll die even if I leave your spiritual sea now. Electrolux¡¯s ritual is truly miraculous, and it¡¯s made certain transformations to both the Ice Empress and me.¡±

    ¡°Transformations?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at him with a confused look.

    Skydream chided him, ¡°Have you grown stupid? Spirits! Are you trying to say that both the Ice Empress and I are not fusing our strengths and our spiritual imprints with you willingly? The truth is that wepleted the spirit seal that day too. However, we are different from the Snow Empress in a way that our process was even more sessful. The reason is because we fused together a long time ago, and we were already a part of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened and his jaw grew ck. ¡°Brother Skydream, are you saying that you¡¯ve also be my spirit? Does that mean you can leave my body to fight?¡±

    Skydream chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not very good at fighting, although I do can take a stroll outside. I¡¯m not entirely your spirit yet, and I will only be one after a certain degree of conversion. Fortunately, I was smart enough back then to let you absorb Imitation. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be able to release your martial soul when I fully convert into your spirit.¡±

    A thought crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind and he said, ¡°Is that because the soul ring you attached to my body will be different from normal situations after you change into a million-year spirit?¡±

    Skydream nodded and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have a soul ring for you, as my soul ring has long be part of your body. However, once I change to a spirit, the soul ring will also change to a certain extent. It will be different from the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit. There¡¯s no way for me to tell what it will look like, but you¡¯ll find out when it happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°What else needs to be done before you can change into a Spirit? Do you want to be a spirit, Skydream? Please don¡¯t force yourself if you don¡¯t want that.¡±

    The human face that Skydream had conjured made an annoyed look as he said, ¡°Of course I do, you idiot! I will never be able to go outside if I remain like this, and I can only stay inside you. I can finally get out of here when I be a spirit. My memories and my intelligence were preserved during that ritual back then. I am extremely willing to be a spirit! Nothing much will happen to you when I be a spirit, because I¡¯m not that adept with fighting in the first ce. The most I can do is help you use some of the abilities that I have given you when necessary. The ritual is simple, all you have to do is sign the pact and it will be done.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be so courteous anymore, then. However, teacher mentioned before that I can¡¯t assimte too many spirits, as it will consume too much of my spiritual power. You won¡¯t suck me dry, will you?¡±

    Skydream replied angrily, ¡°Why did I choose a fool like you all those years ago? I¡¯ve already said that the ritual has beenpleted, and all that¡¯s left is the pact! Everything that needs to be absorbed has already been absorbed! Furthermore, my situation and the Ice Empress¡¯ situation is different from the Snow Empress, as we were the first to have fused with you. This is the reason why wepleted the fusion long ago, and we have provided our own spiritual power to integrate into your own, so we don¡¯t need your spiritual power anymore. Otherwise, we would have separated your spirit into pieces when you fused with the Snow Empress back then. Quickly now, give me that pact, so I can go outside and roam the world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t reject Skydream¡¯s request, and immediately began to chant the Pact Sealing Spell that Electrolux had imparted to him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s torrential and tumultuous spiritual sea gradually began to calm during his incantation. Skydream said no more, and just levitated silently in midair.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly turned golden as he raised his right hand, and drew runes in the sky continuously that drifted towards Skydream.

    Skydream gradually closed his eyes. His enormous frame became a little smaller with every rune thatnded on his body. Gentle spiritual power circted through his body, and his aura was slowly undergoing mystical transformations.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were the most acute, and the first thing he felt was separation. Skydream was being converted to his vassal spirit, and that meant Skydream was separating himself from his own spiritual origin. It also meant that Skydream was officially leaving his spiritual origin to Huo Yuhao.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s virtual body was growing smaller, but it was also bing more material, and his life energy was bing increasingly dense.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s two supreme treasures were his spiritual origin that he had bestowed upon Huo Yuhao, and his life origin imprint formed by a million years¡¯ worth of life energy. At this moment, his life origin imprint seemed like it was being awakened as the pact took effect. He continually released immense amounts of life energy, which continuously fused with Huo Yuhao. The ripples gradually made Skydream¡¯s body even more solid and material.

    Huo Yuhao finally released the final rune sessfully, and the pact wasplete.

    Skydream¡¯s frame had be small enough to fit on a palm, and he suddenly soared into the sky as a white streak of light. His tiny golden eyes were filled with excitement.

    There was a golden imprint on his forehead, looking just like a vertical eye. It was the pact that bound him to Huo Yuhao.

    Just like Skydream had said before, there was a huge rift betweenpleting the process with the Snow Empress back then andpleting the process with Skydream at this moment. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any abnormal undtions in his spiritual power or his soul power; the pact was alreadypleted. Skydream had officially be Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit from this moment onwards...Huo Yuhao¡¯s second spirit!

    Whoosh! Skydream¡¯s body shed and disappeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea just like that. Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness returned to his physical body, and he subconsciously opened his eyes.

    ---

    It was alreadypletely dark outside. Wang Dong¡¯er was gone, and Huo Yuhao was the only person left in the room. The chair that Wang Dong¡¯er had sat on while she was watching over him was still beside his bed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had left when the sky turned dark. Huo Yuhao had still been asleep, but his vitals had returned to normal, and everything seemed fine. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know how to face him when he woke up, so she chose to run away from this problem. From her perspective, everything might be different when she woke up the next morning, or everyone would just forget about what had happened before. Perhaps Huo Yuhao would give her a reasonable exnation. Despondence and grief was exhausting, and Wang Dong¡¯er had fallen into a deep sleep once she returned to her room.

    ¡°Brother Skydream!¡± Huo Yuhao swiftly sat up on his bed and called out softly.

    ¡°Hehe, you can¡¯t find me, you can¡¯t find me!¡± Skydream¡¯s voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Have you forgotten the Spiritual Detection you gave me?¡± He activated Spiritual Detection at once and surveyed the entire room.

    ¡°You¡¯re cheating!¡± Skydream¡¯s exasperated and unconvinced voice could be heard once more. Huo Yuhao finally found him using Spiritual Detection ¨C Skydream was on his body, but hidden in the folds of his clothes.

    He lifted Skydream from the folds of his clothes. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry when he saw the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s appearance.

    Skydream was like an absolute miniature version of his former body. He was a bit over six inches long, and only as thick as a pinkie finger. His entire body was translucent, like white jade, and his subtle movements gave off a faint aroma.

    Skydream¡¯s frame was extremely tiny, but the life energy that he released gave Huo Yuhao the feeling that he had obtained another piece of Life Gold. Skydream¡¯s tiny golden eyes were like yellow diamonds in the night sky as they sparkled brilliantly.

    ¡°Skydream, why do I feel like your spirit is different from the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit?¡± Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully.

    The Skydream Iceworm answered proudly, ¡°Of course it is. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m a million year soul beast, and I fused with your body a long time ago. I have retained my intelligence in its entirety, and I am now an independent entity, while I do not need to absorb your strength to maintain myself anymore. Come,e,e!¡± His tiny frame started wiggling in Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao looked on in shock as a streak of light emerged from his storage-type soul tool and rushed in Skydream¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao would have forgotten about it if Skydream hadn¡¯t drawn it out. Wasn¡¯t this theyer of skin that Skydream had shed after they fused inside the Great Star Dou Forest back in the day? They had relied on this skin to restrain the Ice Empress before they convinced her to fuse with him.

    Skydream¡¯s shed skin glowed with a faint white radiance, and gently covered his body as he continued to wriggle.

    Skydream opened his mouth and bit down on the center of the skin. His body shone with a faintyer of white and golden light as he gradually merged with the shed skin.

    The light on the skin became more intense, and it began to shrink... just like what had happened to Skydream in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. The skin slowly stered to and fused with Skydream¡¯s body.

    ¡°I understand!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly eximed, his eyes as wide as ever while he stared at the Skydream Iceworm. His eyes were filled with incredulity; Skydream was almost undergoing a reincarnation, and that meant that the life origin imprint that he had integrated into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body all those years ago was being extracted to fuse with Skydream¡¯s shed skin and form a brand-new Skydream Iceworm. Skydream was making himself a brand-new body, and would be able to survive independently even if he didn¡¯t return to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He could even survive easily in a ce far away from Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°How is this possible? You¡¯re creating life, brother Skydream!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed with wide eyes and a ck jaw.

    The skin finally minimizedpletely, and fused seamlessly with Skydream.

 Chapter 252: The Second Spirit

    Skydream tossed his head from side to side. ¡°Create life? That¡¯s not possible, and neither am I the Creator. How do I put it? I can call this pseudo life creation, I guess...

    ¡°My life origin imprint has been preserved extremely well. Under such circumstances, I can be considered independent afterpleting the pact with you. The Snow Empress¡¯ life imprint integrated with her embryo when she was converting to it, and her life imprint ultimately dissipated with her divine sense when the pr reversal happened, a situation that will definitely arise when human soul masters assimte spirits. I¡¯m different, as I haD already fused with you beforehand, and I was a lot more powerful than you were back then, so my life origin imprint was excellently preserved. It is the reason why I can rely on my own life energy to absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth to sustain my own life energy after existing independently from our pact. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that I can create life.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to rely on your strength anymore, but I still have to rely on this pact between us. My body will crumble without this pact, and that also means that everyone will still perish if you die: me, the Snow Empress, and the Ice Empress, who has yet to awaken. I¡¯m different from them because I can leave your body for a short period of time, and I don¡¯t have to return to your body on normal days, although these are only the main differences. Of course, I have more autonomy. Even though I¡¯ve given my spiritual imprint to you and I can no longer unleash all those spiritual-type abilities by myself, my life energy has given me another way to help you. I¡¯m a million-year spirit, and also the only-million year spirit on the entire Continent. I can¡¯t be entirely useless, can I?¡±

    Skydream was feeling a little proud at this moment.

    ¡°Release your martial soul and take a look.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed his instructions and released his Spirit Eyes.

    He was the only person in the room, so there was no need to hide the color of his soul rings.

    Five soul rings appeared one after another ¨C one white, and four ck soul rings.

    His Imitation had be a ten thousand-year soul skill when he absorbed Skydream¡¯s spiritual power.

    However, Huo Yuhao had no attention for his four ck soul rings. His eyes were immediately fixed upon his first white million-year soul ring.

    This white soul ring was clean like jade under normal circumstances, and was not much different from a ten-year soul ring, and it wouldn¡¯t disy golden patterns like the Ice Empress¡¯s soul ring.

    However, the white soul ring was now different.

    A soul ring was a virtual projection of light shaped like a circle. Light was transparent, and only varied in terms of color and how bright it was.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his first soul ring was no longer made of light.

    The white soul ring drifted into the sky, and Huo Yuhao could immediately feel that his four spiritual-type soul skills could be unleashed at any time. However, this white soul ring seemed like it had be entirely material.

    He raised his hand subconsciously and attempted to touch it.

    His hand would go through his other soul rings, as how could one touch light? However, Huo Yuhao felt warmth on his fingertips when he touched his first soul ring.

    Yes, that was a real sensation... the white ring had be tangible and solid, and felt like it was sculpted from jade. Huo Yuhao touched it gently, and he could feel as if his own spiritual power was being caressed.

    Skydream jumped lightly and flew up before Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. ¡°The soul ring has be solid! This is the power of my million-year spirit. Watch carefully!¡±

    Skydream¡¯s body contorted as he spoke, and hended on the solidified soul ring. His body immediately turned golden as he started circling around the solidified soul ring.

    Circle after circle of golden light began encircling the first soul ring, and the soul ring actually turned golden in the blink of an eye.

    The soul ring drifted into the air and paused for a moment above Huo Yuhao¡¯s head before floating forwards, and a goldenyer of light covered the entire soul ring, transforming into a golden shield that was about half a meter in diameter as it hovered in front of Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°A shield?¡± Huo Yuhao asked with astonishment.

    ¡°Life Reflecting Shield! This is my spirit¡¯s ability. What do you think? The name is really cool, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Sounds pretty normal,¡± Huo Yuhao answered truthfully.

    ¡°Normal?¡± Skydream¡¯s voice became several pitches higher. ¡°You actually think it sounds normal? Do you know that my Life Reflecting Shield uses my own life energy as its foundations, and it¡¯spleted by using your spiritual sea as a framework. It can reflect any physical and spiritual attack!. If your opponent is weaker than you are, everything will be reflected, and the attack will be partially reflected even if your opponent is stronger than you are. You have to take everything else, but the Life Reflecting Shield will absorb and dispel part of the attack, and my life energy will take the hit. The strike will never touch you unless my life energy can¡¯t take it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened. This wasn¡¯t just better than normal, that was a godly skill that could protect his life! However, Huo Yuhao immediately thought about a few issues, and hurriedly asked, ¡°Brother Skydream, what¡¯s the surface area that this shield can cover? How many times can I use it in one day? If my opponent¡¯s attack is too strong, will you get hurt?¡±

    Skydream was satisfied with Huo Yuhao¡¯s questions, and he said happily, ¡°You do have a conscience after all, and you¡¯re concerned about me! You can use this shield as many times as you want in theory, but in reality I rmend that you not use this shield more than three times in a day. It isn¡¯t because I¡¯m afraid that too much of my life energy will be expended, it¡¯s actually because this skill uses your spiritual sea as its framework. I am expending life energy when using it, but you will be consuming spiritual power. If you use it too much or inappropriately, you might even damage your spiritual origin. Three times a day is the most reasonable number.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have to think too much about what happens when the opponent¡¯s attack is too powerful. If your opponent¡¯s strike is so powerful that it can obliterate my immense life energy in its entirety, what chance do you have left to live? We will just die together. The consumption of my life energy is rted to the reflection. Do you still remember your Life Guardian de? It can absorb other physical beings¡¯ life energy, while my Life Reflecting Shield can absorb any living being¡¯s life energy. More urately put, when my Life Reflecting Shield reflects the opponent¡¯s attack, the reflected attack will definitely take effect on his or her body and cause harm, which will be converted into life energy to replenish my own. This means that consumption is not a big deal for me unless the opponent is way too powerful. My life energy can also be replenished through you, or if I eat something for restoration. Of course, I only eat good things, and I have been eying and craving that grilled fish of yours. Make a few for me to try when it¡¯s convenient.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was racing. ¡°The grilled fish is easy. What about the area of effect?¡±

    Skydream answered mildly, ¡°Only in front of you. Were you hoping that I could provide a three-hundred and sixty degree protective barrier for you?¡±

    ¡°No, no. Frontal protection is enough.¡± Huo Yuhao stared at the shield before him, in awe at his good fortune. He had always beencking in terms of defense. The Ice Empress¡¯ Armor was no longer enough to satisfy his defensive needs, and this was especially true since the Ice Empress was still in hibernation, so his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor couldn¡¯t evolve any further. He hadn¡¯t dared to meet force with force when he faced off against Wang Qiu¡¯er, but simr circumstances in the future would be a lot different now that he had this Life Reflecting Shield.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do against soul tools. I can only block soul masters¡¯ attacks,¡± Skydream added thoughtfully.

    ¡°You can¡¯t block soul tools? But soul tools are also released by soul masters¡¯ soul power!¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.

    Skydream shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said before that this is a Life Reflecting Shield, and I can only rely on the sensation on my life energy to reflect attacks to ensure uracy. Soul tools are fired through metalponents, and there¡¯s no way I can sense that. The defensive capability is still there, but there¡¯s no way I can reflect that attack. This is especially true for those stationary soul tools, and my defensive capabilities will probably be worse than normal against them. Therefore, you should try to avoid using this skill when you¡¯re dealing with soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged. He was already extremely satisfied despite that limitation. In the end, a soul skill couldn¡¯t be all-powerful, as wouldn¡¯t one be invincible if that was possible? Skydream¡¯s soul skill was already a great boost to his defensive capabilities!

    Skydream yawned, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m going to sleep now, don¡¯t disturb me.¡± His body stretched as he spoke,nding on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand as he spoke. He wrapped himself five times around Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth finger, transforming into a multi-spiralled jade ring. If one didn¡¯t know what it was and perceived it with the naked eye, nobody would be able to tell that this was actually a life form.

    Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated and at a loss as he stared at Skydream. He decided to pick this ce¡­ Huo Yuhao was still wearing his Starlight Sapphire storage-type soul tool on his middle finger on the same hand. He was now wearing two rings on the same hand, and he was starting to look like a parvenu.

    ¡°Can you find another ce to rest, brother Skydream? Why don¡¯t you return to my spiritual sea to sleep?¡± Huo Yuhao probed.

    ¡°No! I¡¯m not going back there, it¡¯s so boring inside. I will not go back unless you can wake her up. Furthermore, I need to absorb nutrients from heaven and earth to sustain my life energy in my semi-life form state. Are you asking me to absorb your life energy from within your spiritual sea?¡±

    When Skydream mentioned the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, ¡°How is the Ice Empress, brother Skydream? Is she alright?¡±

    Skydream sounded a little gloomy as he said, ¡°She¡¯s all right, but she expended too much energy when she burned her origin back then, so she needs a longer time in hibernation to recover. If youe across any ice-type herbs or whatnot, you should eat more of them, as that will help her recover. Oh, I miss her so much! I am going to find her in my dreams, so you better not disturb me. When you want to use the Life Reflecting Shield, just release your martial soul and channel soul power into my body. I will release the shield naturally.¡±

    ¡°Alright. You can go ahead and sleep, and I¡¯ll get something delicious for you to eat afterwards.¡± Huo Yuhao stared a little helplessly at Skydream . He had lived for a million years, but he had probably spent more than nine-hundred and ny-nine thousand years sleeping.

    ¡°Eh, wait a minute.¡± Skydream was just about to fall asleep when he abruptly sprang up from Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger and hovered before him. His tiny golden eyes were full of doubt and confusion as he silently levitated above Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand, as if he were trying to sense something.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother Skydream?¡±

    Skydream shook his head and signaled for to him to be quiet.

    Skydream¡¯s tiny eyes sparkled with faint golden light, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were naturally released in the next moment. Huo Yuhao felt the waves in his spiritual sea be tumultuous as waves of spiritual power were released one after another, while Skydream¡¯s body gradually turned golden in color. Skydream could still use Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, as they were connected through the pact after he had changed into a spirit.

    But this deployment was different from before. Skydream was using his own strength before this, but he could only use Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength now, and Huo Yuhao could immediately stop the process if he wasn¡¯t willing.

    Skydream drifted forward after he turned golden andnded on the Starlight Sapphire ring on the middle finger of Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand.

    He flew into the air once more after a short moment. His voice sounded solemn as he said, ¡°Why do you have a spiritual imprint in your ring, Yuhao? No, this should be a spiritual seal, and it¡¯s extremely powerful as well. Do you know that it¡¯s dangerous for you if others¡¯ spiritual imprints remain attached to you? They can spy on you, and they can even trigger some things in your body to cause you harm. Maybe they will even choose the most important checkpoints of your cultivation to disrupt you. Quickly, take it out. I will help you dispel that spiritual seal.¡±

    ¡°Spiritual seal? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any,¡± Huo Yuhao answered in shock. His spiritual power was formidable, and there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know if someone had left a spiritual seal on any of his possessions.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought about something. He realized what was going on, and he said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re referring to. There is no need to worry, brother Skydream.¡±

    He raised his left hand as he spoke. The Starlight Sapphire ring flickered with blue light, and a tiny pouch appeared in his hands ¨C it was the one Wang Dong¡¯er had handed to him back then.

    Skydream¡¯s head swayed faintly, and he immediately nodded and said, ¡°Yes, this is the one. What¡¯s this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect leader asked Wang Dong¡¯er to pass it to me. It¡¯s a pouch, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s written inside. Uncle Niu Tian added a seal so that Wang Dong¡¯er wouldn¡¯t take a sneak peek at its contents, but I can¡¯t open it yet because my cultivation isn¡¯t high enough. I reckon it probably contains some words of encouragement.¡±

    Skydream insisted on his opinion and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing for you to have someone else¡¯s spiritual seal on you. Let me help you open it.¡±

 Chapter 253.1: Yearning Heartbroken Grass

    Huo Yuhao contemted momentarily, and he figured that opening the pouch wouldn¡¯t hurt, and there was no harm in taking a look. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you, then. But I can¡¯t open it with my spiritual power. Brother Skydream, don¡¯t you need to borrow my spiritual power?¡±

    Skydream said proudly, ¡°It¡¯s not because you don¡¯t have enough spiritual power to open it, it¡¯s because your spiritual power control isn¡¯t there yet. This spiritual seal can¡¯t stump me.¡±

    Skydream¡¯s body bounced lightly as he spoke, and hended on the pouch as his translucent body flickered with golden light.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes glowed at the same time, and a radiant golden light gradually flowed out along with his spiritual power.

    He could feel that his spiritual power was undergoing peculiar transformations as it was channeled into Skydream.

    That¡¯s¡­ Compression!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power began topress under Skydream¡¯s direction. Skydream had given his spiritual origin to Huo Yuhao, but he still had the most substantial spiritual imprint, one that had been baptized by a million years of life. Unless the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux came back to life, there was nobody else in the world that couldpare to Skydream in terms of spiritual power maniption.

    Yes, this was a form of spiritual power maniption. Spiritual power was an energy that originated from the spirit world, and was presented as far more abstract and illusorypared to soul power. The effects that spiritual power could achieve often couldn¡¯t bepared to soul power on the same level. The energy that belonged to the spiritual realm and soul power were like two parallel lines that did not intersect.

    If soul masters were to choose which power they wanted to boost, almost all soul masters would choose soul power. This didn¡¯t mean soul power was stronger than spiritual power, it was because soul power was a lot easier to control and manipte than spiritual power.

    A soul master had to rely on his spiritual power to control his soul power, while going deeper and manipting spiritual power directly was an extremely high-level ability. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power control was mainly present in two forms. The first was his Sovereign¡¯s Descent that Dragon God Douluo Mu En had imparted to him, where he would delicately fuse spiritual power and soul power. He would produce immense fighting strength after fusing both energies when he was in a unique spiritual state. The other form referred to his multiple soul skills.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power at this point was strong enough for his Spiritual Detection to reach a six-hundred meter radius around him, and he could reach more than three kilometers if he used it in a single direction. However, what if he didn¡¯t have Spiritual Detection as a soul skill? How far could he sense if he just used pure spiritual power? That would be a question of his control over his spiritual power.

    Why were Huo Yuhao¡¯s attacks more powerful, and all his Spirit Eyes soul skills amplified, when he released his Eye of Destiny? The Eye of Destiny actually gave him better control over his spiritual power, and also had that mystical power of destiny.

    Exemry spiritual control required more than just formidable spiritual power. One also had to continually practice using it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power control was unrivaled among other soul masters of his level, but he was way too far below Skydream¡¯s standard.

    Thepressed spiritual power gradually flowed into the pouch. Huo Yuhao felt as if Skydream were using his spiritual power to form a key, and Skydream was soundlessly and discreetly opening the door in front of him.

    The pouch¡¯s spiritual seal was exceedingly tough. Skydream went deeper in his attempt to open it, and Huo Yuhao realized that the Iceworm had underestimated the spiritual seal¡¯s strength. The seal was extremely solid, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to open it even if he was a Soul Emperor if he used his current cultivation level as an estimate. He would probably require his martial soul true body to have enough control to open this pouch by himself.

    However, the seal couldn¡¯t stump Skydream. Thepressed spiritual power became increasingly focused under Skydream¡¯s control and gradually drilled into the seal, unraveling it from the inside.

    This was a great opportunity for Huo Yuhao. Skydream was controlling his spiritual power after all, and this meant that Huo Yuhao could clearly feel the entire maniption process. This was greatly beneficial to learn how to manipte spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao began to feel a little dizzy from time to time as spiritual power continued flowing out. He could feel that his spiritual sea¡¯s level was plummeting, but he wasn¡¯t worried at all. Skydream had aplete understanding of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, and he naturally wouldn¡¯t do something that he wasn¡¯t confident of, and would never hurt Yuhao, either.

    An hour passed, then a soft ding sound could be heard as the pouch¡¯s mouth emanated a strange golden light. This golden light transformed into a green streak before it disintegrated into fine specks and gradually vanished into the air.

    The golden light on Skydream¡¯s body disappeared along with the lights. He grunted and said, ¡°The seal was strong, but it couldn¡¯t stump me. Don¡¯t be too hasty to look at the pouch, Huo Yuhao; you should meditate as soon as possible. Wait for your spirit to recover before anything else. If you don¡¯t recover from this extent of spiritual power consumption as soon as possible, it will affect your spiritual sea¡¯s volume.¡±

    He returned to the fourth finger on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand as he spoke, and transformed back into a jade ring.

    Huo Yuhao had intended to meditate even if Skydream hadn¡¯t reminded him. He had be a little dizzy, and his vision even became a little blurry from all the spiritual power consumption.

    Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down as he focused his eyes and looked inwards. The dizziness and fatigue helped him enter his meditative state even faster than he normally did, and his consciousness became more focused, while his spiritual sea gradually returned to its usual calm.

    The pouch shone with faint light, which gradually grew pale as itid silently on the bed beside Huo Yuhao.

    The pain in Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and between his ribs was taken care of by his powerful regenerative abilities by the time he woke up from meditation, while more than half of his spiritual power had been restored.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and gradually opened his eyes. Soul power naturally circted around his body, and the gentle, flowing undtions became smooth and flourishing. His body had been growing physically while his cultivation had increased over time. Due to the shock from his martial soul fusions with both Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er, and his spiritual sea reaching the Boundless Ocean level that nourished his body, he was now increasingly resistant to his Ultimate martial soul¡¯s negative effects, so his cultivation speed was now conspicuously faster than before.

    He nced at the sky outside. The sky was dark blue, night was about to recede, and dawn wasing.

    Sigh¡­ Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions had naturally calmed down after a night of meditation, and his initial pleasant surprise from Skydream¡¯s awakening had subsided. He felt calm and at peace, which also meant he naturally thought about the troubles that he was about to face.

    How am I going to exin yesterday¡¯s situation to Dong¡¯er? It feels like there¡¯s no way I can exin this properly. No matter how unintentional it was, the truth is that I still touched her in the end. Will Dong¡¯er forgive me? Should I lie? Should I craft a white lie?

    Huo Yuhao began to feel stuck at this mental barrier once more. He cared too much about Dong¡¯er, and that was the reason why he didn¡¯t want any blemish or wedge to exist between their feelings in their rtionship.

    What should I do? Huo Yuhao stood up and opened the window, fresh air flooding the room through the opening.

    He immediately felt his spirits lift after the cold morning wind coursed over his body.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m just going to tell her the truth. It¡¯s still better than meing up with a lie, as a lie will need countless other lies to cover up for it. Furthermore, I don¡¯t even know how to exin it to Wang Qiu¡¯er. It will weigh on my conscience if I craft lies, and I will be feeling this guilt for a long time toe. It¡¯s better to have a short period of suffering than a long one. I will exin it to Dong¡¯er, and I will tell her everything about the situation before I will attempt to ask her for forgiveness. Once I smooth things out with Dong¡¯er, I will find an opportunity to apologize to Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    The positive energy of honesty gained the upper hand in the end. Very often, lies could solve problems temporarily, but they were usually unable to solve problems permanently. Lies would pile up day after day, and the day woulde when all these lies would erupt, and it would be very difficult to remedy the situation once that day arrived.

    Huo Yuhao made up his mind, and was no longer despondent. He hadn¡¯t done anything wrong in theory. If Dong¡¯er was still unsatisfied, perhaps he would just touch her a few times too!

    A strange smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he thought about this, and his heart began to beat faster. Dong¡¯er isn¡¯t as developed as Wang Qiu¡¯er. I wonder how it will feel¡­

    ¡°Ahem! That¡¯s way too far. How can you be so indecent and wretched, Huo Yuhao? How can you have these thoughts in your mind?¡± He pped himself lightly across the face, and pulled back his wandering mind. There would always be a path to take when the time came, and there was a solution to everything. He could probably fix a few sumptuous meals for Dong¡¯er, and he could say some nice and sweet things to her, and this whole thing would blow over.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and nced at the extra ring on his left hand that Skydream had formed, making sure thatst night wasn¡¯t a dream, and his mood immediately became better. Skydream was awake now, he had changed himself into a spirit, and he had given Huo Yuhao another soul skill. The bigpetition wasing soon, so this was as good as good news could get!

    Huo Yuhao had his own ns for the future. However, he had never told anyone about them; not even Wang Dong¡¯er knew about them. No matter what happened in the future, this season¡¯spetition was the most important task he had to face at the moment.

    ¡°Oh, yes. I have yet to see what¡¯s inside the pouch.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately recalled the pouch that had been opened the previous night when he looked at Skydream¡¯s ring, and hurriedly returned to his bed.

    The pouch was still lying silently on the bed, and Huo Yuhao bent down to pick it up. The truth was that he was quite curious about its contents. Niu Tian, the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect leader, had asked Wang Dong¡¯er to pass this pouch to him, but the pouch had been sealed. On the surface, it seemed as if Niu Tian didn¡¯t want Wang Dong¡¯er to see this pouch¡¯s contents. What can it be that Dong¡¯er can¡¯t see, but I can?

    If he hadn¡¯t interacted with Niu Tian and Tai Tan, he would have concluded they were trying to mess around with him. However, he had met the two sect leaders before, so he erased that thought from his mind.

 Chapter 253.2: Yearning Heartbroken Grass

    Huo Yuhao reached into the pouch after opening it. There was an ancient-looking parchment inside, which turned out to be extremelyrge after he unfolded it. It was almost twice the size of normal letter-writing paper. The parchment¡¯s edges weren¡¯t regr, and it looked as if it had been made without being properly cut, which made it appear more primitive and ancient.

    The parchment had two sections. The first part seemed like a letter, while the second part looked like a map.

    Huo Yuhao sat down beside his bed in confusion. He took a look at the letter¡¯s contents. His face immediately turned ghastly pale after that one look, and his hands even began to shake.

    Yuhao, I trust that you¡¯ll have the ability toplete this task when you can see this letter. I hesitated one too many times before I decided to pass this responsibility to you.

    I told Dong¡¯er when I gave this pouch to her that she can only give this pouch to you when she¡¯s sure that you will be her future husband, and only when she knows that you¡¯re worth all her heart and all her love. It seems like you¡¯ve already done that, so both my younger brother and I wish you two all the best. However, there¡¯s something I have to tell you, as this concerns your future with Dong¡¯er.

    Dong¡¯er was born within the Clear Sky Sect, and her physique has been extremely weak ever since she was born. My younger brother and I, as well as her parents, tried everything we could to strengthen her body, but all our attempts were futile. We suddenly discovered when she was three years old that she had a strange, very unique disease. You should know that a human¡¯s martial soul is still dormant at the age of three, and it will only awaken at the age of six. However, Dong¡¯er¡¯s martial soul was strangely awakened when she was three years old, and two appeared at the same time. Her physique was congenitally weak, and the premature awakening of her martial souls took an immense toll on her body. This episode created an enormous hidden wound.

    You will notice upon close inspection that a golden trident-like pattern will appear on her forehead when she¡¯s stretching the limits of her body and her abilities. That pattern is a seal that her father put on her to suppress the hidden wounds in her body. Her parents are roaming the world in order to find exotic herbs and medicines to remedy her disease. That¡¯s the reason why they¡¯re often not at the Clear Sky Sect, while my brother and I take care of her. Her father mentioned to me that the seal can only suppress her internal wounds until she turns twenty, and if they still can¡¯t fix her injuries by the age of twenty, then she might¡­

    Huo Yuhao began to feel the weight of this letter as he read these words. He felt as if arge hand was tightly wound around his heart, and the heartache was almost suffocating.

    He couldn¡¯t wait to read the rest of the letter¡¯s contents.

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s parents finally found a herb that could fix Dong¡¯er¡¯s internal wounds during one of their perennial attempts. The only problem was that this herb is too challenging to retrieve, as the criteria were too difficult to satisfy. This herb can only be retrieved by a man that loves her, and this man has to use his blood to retrieve this herb. Forcefully plucking this nt will damage it, and it will lose its medicinal effects. It has a very apt name... it¡¯s called Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    We¡¯ve tried every method we could think of to retrieve it, but every attempt ended up being fruitless. In order to retain thisst strand of hope, we could only swallow it down and wait for the person that loves Dong¡¯er to appear. When Dong¡¯er passes this pouch to you, she will be deeply in love with you, and will no longer holding anything back. I don¡¯t know how you feel about Dong¡¯er, as she has been always been a girl dressed like a guy before this. However, if you do open this pouch, and when you read this letter, ask yourself whether your love for Dong¡¯er is deep enough and focused enough. I implore you as Dong¡¯er¡¯s senior that you retrieve that herb for her. This is for your future happiness, and also for Dong¡¯er¡¯s life...

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s parents are always outside searching for substitute medicines, but Dong¡¯er is seventeen years old now. She¡¯s nearing twenty, and her parents haven¡¯t returned¡­ hope is gradually slipping away. Therefore, both Titan and I were exceptionally delighted when we first saw you, as you have given us real hope. This was the reason we tested you in the all the ways that we did, so that we could assess whether your mentality would allow you to be Dong¡¯er¡¯s savior. We were quite satisfied with the oue¡­ at least, we saw many virtues on you before you left. Dong¡¯er has made a great choice, and you¡¯re a man that is worthy of her. However, Dong¡¯er¡¯s life is starting to count down, and I plead that you retrieve that Yearning Heartbroken Grass, so that Dong¡¯er¡¯s hidden injury can be fixed.

    The reason why there¡¯s a seal on this letter is because Dong¡¯er doesn¡¯t know about all this. We wanted to let her grow up happily, so we have never told her about this. We love her too much, and our only hope is that she can grow up peacefully and happily. Yuhao, I sincerely plead that you do not tell her the truth before you bring back that Yearning Heartbroken Grass. Even if you don¡¯t sessfullyplete this task in the end, we hope that she will be happy and peaceful in herst days.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands clenched unwittingly at this point. He had not expected that Dong¡¯er had such a fatal injury, and that she only had a little more than two years left to live! This was something that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t ept, no matter what! He grit his teeth and forced his tears back, as he knew that he had to be strong at times like these. He knew that even if he was left with a single thread of hope, he had to bring back the herb that could save Dong¡¯er¡¯s life.

    He bit down hard on his lower lip and left a deep bite mark. He was stimted by the pain, and refocused his attention as he continued reading the parchment.

    The map below depicts where the Yearning Heartbroken Grass is located. This is a ce filled with danger and peril, and it¡¯s also a ce inhabited by soul beasts, while the exact location where the Yearning Heartbroken Grass grows is even more hazardous. There is a detailed introduction of the nts that grow in the area below the map. You have to try and find a book when you reach it that Dong¡¯er¡¯s father personally left it behind. The book details all sorts of herbs and poisonous nts and their differences, and it will also guide you to find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. There are detailed instructions and signs on the map that will lead you to where the book is hidden. You have to find the book first before you search for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. Also, please remember not to venture too far inside. That ce is charged with the origin energy of heaven and earth, and these herbs and poisonous nts have been living there for far too long, to the point where some have evolved into nt-type soul beasts. These soul beasts will bring great danger and trouble to you.

    Please go, if you truly love Dong¡¯er. We will await your good news. Do take care of yourself.

    Niu Tian had signed off beneath the text.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t care about anything else as he read thest sentence. He sprang to his feet and surveyed his surroundings, and there was only one thought in his head. I have to go, right now! I have to help Dong¡¯er find that life-saving herb!

    He didn¡¯t want to dally around for another second as he thought about this. He originally wanted to leave a note for Dong¡¯er before he took off, but his mind was a mess, and he recalled that Niu Tian had mentioned in the letter that he couldn¡¯t tell Dong¡¯er about this matter, at least not before he found that Yearning Heartbroken Grass. He was irrational and more confused because he simply cared too much for her. Under these circumstances, he only took a few clean sets of clothes before he raced out of the room.

    Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks when he arrived at the staircase. He took a deep look at Dong¡¯er¡¯s room. It¡¯s still early. I¡¯m sure Dong¡¯er is still sleeping or cultivating.

    Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er. I will pay any price to bring back that life-saving herb for you!

    Huo Yuhao quickly darted down the stairs. He widened his stride once he exited the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and he ran as fast as he could towards the academy¡¯s main gate. He was just so worried, and it felt as if Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s life would be in danger with every moment that he dyed.

    Right as he flew down towards thekeshore and soared towards the outer courtyard, a pair of astonished eyes watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s frustrated and urgent behavior from a ce not too far away.

    Where¡¯s he off to? The pair of huge blue eyes flowed with doubt and suspicion. Hmph! That bastard. That day he, he¡­ I can¡¯t let him off the hook! I¡¯m going to follow him.

    The owner of this pair of blue eyes flew into the sky while these thoughts ran through her mind. She raced across theke in pursuit of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t wish to stick around for a moment longer. He immediately soared into the sky once he left Shrek Academy, and he extended the flying-type soul tool behind his back while he infused it with soul power. The soul tool propelled his body into the air, and he started flying into the distance.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao! Come down right now!¡± an exmation rang out behind him.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. However, he had already raced more than ten meters away, and he quickly controlled his flying-type soul tool to turn around. He looked back and saw a figure with flowing blue hair drifting toward him.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted in surprise. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s image filled every corner of his mind at this moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your Dong¡¯er. Tell me, what should we do about what happened yesterday?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said angrily.

    Huo Yuhao only realized that Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t the one pursuing him. It was Wang Qiu¡¯er, who he had taken advantage of the previous day.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er. Yesterday was all my fault. However, I have something important to do right now. I will take all punishment and ept whatever you want to do to me when Ie back. I need to go.¡± He turned back around as he spoke, and his flying-type soul tool erupted with light once more. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with the entanglement between Wang Qiu¡¯er and himself. There was nothing more important than finding the herb that could save Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s life!

 Chapter 253.3: Yearning Heartbroken Grass

    Wang Qiu¡¯er could clearly see his frustrated and worried look. A thought crossed her mind as she stomped her right foot on the ground, and her body bolted forward.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was unrivaled amongst others of the same level in terms of explosiveness over short distances. Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying-type soul tool still had an eleration process, and he was only just speeding up before Wang Qiu¡¯er arrived behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess around, Wang Qiu¡¯er. I really have something important to do!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed angrily.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was equally furious. ¡°I¡¯m messing around? Stop finding excuses for yourself. You took advantage of me yesterday. You¡¯re going to let it go just like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had to drop back to the ground because of her forceful pressure. He shook his body vigorously and broke free from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s grip.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, I really have something very urgent to attend to. I¡¯ve already said that you can do anything you want to me when I return. Is that not enough?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was solemn and intense.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was momentarily stunned. This was the first time she had seen Huo Yuhao like this, and she asked doubtfully, ¡°Even the color of your face has changed. What¡¯s up?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was truly discolored. His face was pale and tinged with green ¨C his expression was as dark as it could get.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°This has nothing to do with you. There¡¯s a ce that I have to go to, and I have to go right now. I can¡¯t dy for another second. That¡¯s it.¡± He turned around and prepared to leave as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er blocked his path in a sh. ¡°You can¡¯t leave unless you exin it to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, and his next words were squeezed out from between gritted teeth. ¡°My patience has its limits, Wang Qiu¡¯er. Don¡¯t think there¡¯s nothing I can do against you.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and said, ¡°You have the confidence to defeat me? Come, try it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. He knew that he couldn¡¯t fight Wang Qiu¡¯er right now, as he had to retain his strength to search for that medicine to help Dong¡¯er. He took a deep breath and suppressed the wrath in his heart, and he tried his best to make his voice gentler. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll exin. A friend of mine is severely injured, and I need to find an herb to save her life ¨C to save her life, do you understand? I must find this herb, and her life might be in danger for every second that I waste, and if I¡¯m toote... So, I beg you ¨C please step aside and let me go, right now!¡±

    He was close to shouting when he got to thest two words.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was slightly taken aback when she listened to his exnation. She frowned and said, ¡°Will it be dangerous?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said decisively, ¡°I have to go even if I have to venture into the depths of Hell. I¡¯ve already exined it to you, so please don¡¯t stop me any longer. Otherwise, I will no longer treat you as a friend.¡± He began to move once more as he spoke.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er blocked him yet again with a sh.

    Huo Yuhao was truly infuriated this time, and he immediately unleashed his Spirit Eyes, while his Eye of Destiny appeared at almost the same time. He knew that he would have to use his Eye of Destiny to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me. I¡¯m not trying to stop you from saving her ¨C let me go with you. You will have a greater chance with one more person tagging along. Give me one of those flying things.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er exined.

    Huo Yuhao was almost about to fire off his Spiritual Shock, but he paused as he stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes, which were full of sincerity. He didn¡¯t think too much about it, and said, ¡°Alright then.¡± He took out a reserve flying-type soul tool and passed it to Wang Qiu¡¯er as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took the soul tool, then she asked a little embarrassingly, ¡°This¡­ how do I wear this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless. This girl doesn¡¯t know a thing about soul tools! He was far too worried, but he couldn¡¯t afford to piss off this girl before him. He had taken advantage of her yesterday, and that gave him a guilty conscience. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t entirely confident of defeating Wang Qiu¡¯er if they actually fought.

    He felt a little helpless as he stepped forward and helped Wang Qiu¡¯er put the flying-type soul tool on as he briefed her on how to use it. With that, he soared into the sky and infused as much soul power into his own flying-type soul tool as he could before he raced towards the east as fast as he could.

    Huo Yuhao felt a lot better once he was surging through the air. He wasn¡¯t that concerned about Wang Qiu¡¯er not being able to catch up ¨C it would actually be better if she couldn¡¯t, as that would save him a lot of trouble. Even if she could, she would be of great help with her abilities. The only thing in his mind was to reach his destination as quickly as possible, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else.

    This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s first time interacting with soul tools. However, one had to admit that she was very adaptable ¨C she was a little unstable when she first took off, but she quickly mastered the flying-type soul tool¡¯s controls. Huo Yuhao had already be a small ck dot on the horizon at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a Soul Emperor after all, and she was a lot stronger than Huo Yuhao in terms of cultivation. She figured out the important parts before she began to speed up as much as she could, and she determined Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction of flight as she swiftly pursued him.

    There wasn¡¯t much cover in the sky, and Huo Yuhao had no intention of concealing his movements. Wang Qiu¡¯er flew through the air for a while before she gradually closed the distance.

    ¡°This soul tool is quite interesting ¨C it can actually fly through the air at such rapid speed. Interesting, interesting.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression was filled with curiosity, and she continuously felt the transformations in her flying-type soul tool as she sped through the air.

    Huo Yuhao was flying in front, but he didn¡¯t have to turn back to look. He activated Spiritual Detection and immediately sensed Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had already caught up with him.

    You¡¯re quite adaptable, huh? Follow me, then.

    He didn¡¯t bother with Wang Qiu¡¯er anymore as he began to study the map.

    The map clearly marked out the geographical rtionship between Shrek Academy and his destination. The destination was within the Heavenly Soul Empire, and he had to travel east from Shrek Academy all the way to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Heaven Dou City, and then he would have to continue northeast. There was a ce there where soul beasts resided, called the Setting Sun Forest.

    The Setting Sun Forest paled inparison to the Great Star Dou Forest, and it was inferior both in reputation and in surface area. However, this was still a forest inhabited by soul beasts. His final destination was located right within this Setting Sun Forest.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem like he had to rest at all. He used a Milk Bottle to replenish his soul power, while he channeled as much as he could. Wang Qiu¡¯er behind him had voluminous soul power, and she relied on her impressive cultivation to finally catch up to Huo Yuhao after two hours.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you have to rest?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er snapped. They were flying at such breakneck speed that speech was extremely difficult, and they had to release soul power to protect their faces before they could speak.

    Huo Yuhao nced at her and handed her a Milk Bottle. ¡°You can gradually channel soul power inside, and soul power will bounce back to you. You just have to absorb that, and you can replenish your soul power.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had no experience with flying-type soul tools, but neither was she averse to using them. She took the Milk Bottle and attempted to use it in the way Huo Yuhao had described, and she suddenly felt a clean and pure energy flow into her body, and her soul power was swiftly restored.

    ¡°This¡­ this can restore soul power? Your soul tool research has reached this level?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked with a look of astonishment.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in the mood to exin anything else, so he snapped, ¡°Even if you¡¯ve never tasted pork, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve at least seen a pig before. Do you not know about Milk Bottles?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and said, ¡°All I can see is a pig flying in the sky.¡±

    Huo Yuhao extended two fingers and said, ¡°Two pigs.¡±

    ¡°You! You¡¯re the pig!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face flushed red.

    Huo Yuhao stopped talking because he had to conserve energy and focus on flying; Shrek Academy was quite far away from Heaven Dou City. They continued flying for another two hours, but then began to feel a little fatigued, even though they had Milk Bottles to replenish their soul power.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er realized that he was ignoring her and shot him a re. She grunted coldly and said, ¡°Who is it exactly that you¡¯re trying to save?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er nudged him.

    They were flying rapidly through the air, and Huo Yuhao was startled and almost lost his bnce. He red at her and said, ¡°Just do it if you want to kill me. Can you stop spouting nonsense? I¡¯m getting frustrated!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was just about to erupt, but she held herself back for some reason. She grunted again, but said nothing more.

    ------

    The sky was already bright at this moment. It was a new day, and two very important people were suddenly missing from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard.

    ¡°Yuhao? I haven¡¯t seen him. Didn¡¯t you send him backst night?¡± Bei Bei stared in confusion at the frustrated Wang Dong¡¯er before him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had woken up early in the morning, and gone to Huo Yuhao¡¯s room to see how he was recovering, while she also hoped to listen to his exnation about what had happened the previous day.

    But to her surprise, Huo Yuhao¡¯s room was empty when she arrived. His bed was messy, while he himself was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°He¡¯s not in his room, eldest senior brother. I¡¯ve already searched around the inner courtyard, he¡¯s nowhere to be seen.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was worried. She was sad, but she was more concerned with Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety. Huo Yuhao had disappeared without a trace, and he didn¡¯t leave a note or anything behind ¨C how could she not be worried?

    Xu Sanshi saidzily, ¡°Perhaps Huo Yuhao feels like there¡¯s no way he can ount to you for what happened yesterday, and so he ran away. Could he have eloped with Wang Qiu¡¯er? Hehe.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was infuriated. ¡°If you spout any more nonsense, third senior brother, our friendship is over.¡±

    Bei Bei red at Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°Stop making things worse. Little junior brother should have said something to Dong¡¯er even if he¡¯s out on official business. He has left without a trace, and that¡¯s quite problematic. Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er. How about this: I¡¯ll look for Elder Xuan, and I¡¯ll ask him if he¡¯s assigned Yuhao anything, and then we¡¯ll search carefully inside the academy for him. It¡¯s still very early in the morning, so he can¡¯t have gotten far.¡±

 Chapter 254.1: Invading a Territory?

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t dare to be sarcastic after looking at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s worried expression. He hurriedly got up from the sofa and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving too. Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er, Yuhao knows what he¡¯s doing. He must¡¯ve had something urgente up if he left in such a hurry.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s words reminded Wang Dong¡¯er. Perhaps Elder Xuan has assigned him something?

    The group appeared before Elder Xuan a few minutester.

    ¡°Mission? No, I haven¡¯t assigned him with anything. Didn¡¯t you guyse back together yesterday? What¡¯s wrong? Has Huo Yuhao vanished?¡± Elder Xuan was equally astonished. It was quite a big deal for Shrek Academy if a student went missing, and this was especially rming because Huo Yuhao was a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Huo Yuhao could be said to be Shrek Academy¡¯s future cornerstone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you guys look.¡± The entire academy began to move with Elder Xuan¡¯s announcement, and everyone started to look for Huo Yuhao.

    ------

    Two hourster, inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion...

    ¡°Nothing¡ªwe¡¯ve searched everywhere. He¡¯s not in the academy. I¡¯ve sent people over to Shrek City, and nobody¡¯s seen Huo Yuhao recently.¡± Elder Xuan lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Six of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were gathered at this moment. Huo Yuhao had gone missing, and this was a big deal to everybody.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes descended on Wang Dong¡¯er as he said, ¡°Did he say anything to you yesterday, Dong¡¯er? What did he do?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er had been worried for the entire morning, and her eyes were long since red. Huo Yuhao was still nowhere to be seen even though they had been searching for more than two hours, and she couldn¡¯t be any more worried than she already was. She was just anxious in the beginning, and then she was incensed, but all that was left in her heart right now was nervousness. She was even thinking that she wouldn¡¯t pursue anything about what had happened between him and Wang Qiu¡¯er yesterday if he could just return safely. What a kind-hearted girl!

    She tossed her head from side to side and said, ¡°He was still asleep when I escorted him back to rest. However, his vitals had returned to normal. I¡­ I should have stayed by his side. This is all my fault, all my fault!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was starting to break, and she was about to cry.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. There¡¯s something odd about all this. We have discovered from our preliminary investigations that Huo Yuhao isn¡¯t the only person that has gone missing. Someone else has disappeared.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone was astounded. Was it possible that this other person was the key to finding Huo Yuhao?

    Elder Xuan nced at Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°The other missing person is Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt as if a lightning bolt struck down on her when she heard that name. Her eyes turned ck, then she stumbled forward, and would have fallen if Jiang Nannan hadn¡¯t been supporting her. Huo Yuhao had gone missing, and he had actually gone missing at the same time as Wang Qiu¡¯er. They, they¡­

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to follow that train of thought.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes widened as he muttered softly under his breath, ¡°Was I right? Maybe they really eloped.¡±

    Bei Bei kicked him and whispered, ¡°Shut your filthy mouth! Huo Yuhao isn¡¯t an unountable person. I think something is wrong.¡±

    Elder Xuan stared at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face, which had lost all color. ¡°Bei Bei is right, I think something is wrong. Have you guys considered the possibility that Wang Qiu¡¯er has kidnapped him?¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s words were like a lifeline to Wang Dong¡¯er, and she immediately recovered as she stared at Elder Xuan with widened eyes.

    Elder Xuan said ponderously, ¡°I¡¯ve found it a little strange ever since she joined the academy because she simply looked too much like Dong¡¯er. In fact, they look almost identical, and their names are equally simr. Dong¡¯er is also positive that they are not rted by blood, while Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s martial soul is of Ultimate strength, something that I have never seen before. All these factors raised my suspicions. However, she has relied on her own abilities to join the inner courtyard, so we cannot reject her. Furthermore, her abilities are quite formidable.

    ¡°My suspicions were greatly ayed ever since your hunting expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. However, something must be wrong, since she vanished along with Huo Yuhao at the same time. Even though outsiders are unaware of how important Huo Yuhao is to Shrek, he has participated in the tournament before, and his twin martial souls are no secret to anyone. It¡¯s not impossible that one of our rivals has sent Wang Qiu¡¯er to us with Huo Yuhao as the target. Don¡¯t panic, everyone, I have already gathered all the academy¡¯s teachers, and we will head out to search for him. I hope that Huo Yuhao is safe. You guys can start moving and head elsewhere to look for him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going right now.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t wait any longer as she turned around and disappeared in a sh.

    Everyone bid their farewells to Elder Xuan and departed one after another, until only Bei Bei remained.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going?¡± Elder Xuan turned towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei frowned and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, do you really believe that Wang Qiu¡¯er has kidnapped him? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right. Shrek wouldn¡¯t be the number one academy on the Continent if someone could kidnap him from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Nobody knows how senior sister Xiaotao left all those years ago, but we were under attack from powerful enemies back then, and our academy was emptied out as a result. However, you were here with the other elders inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to hold down the fort. How could you guys let Wang Qiu¡¯er, who¡¯s just a Soul Emperor, kidnap him?¡±

    Elder Xuan tilted his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re still coolheaded. The others¡¯ minds were a mess. You¡¯re right¡­ it¡¯s unlikely that Wang Qiu¡¯er has kidnapped him. However, you saw how dejected Dong¡¯er was just now, and I had to find a way to stabilize her before anything else could be done. We don¡¯t know why Huo Yuhao has decided to leave, and we don¡¯t even know if he left together with Wang Qiu¡¯er. But we can¡¯t have any internal problems. I did feel him leave after I got up in the morning. He left by himself, but it felt as if he was in a hurry. I didn¡¯t think much about it back then, but it seems he must have run into something. Think carefully, has anything important happened to Huo Yuhao recently?¡±

    Nobody would ever think, not even in their wildest dreams, that Huo Yuhao¡¯s emergency originated from the pouch that Wang Dong¡¯er had given him.

    ¡­¡­

    Inside Clear Sky Castle...

    ¡°Eh?¡± Niu Tian was tasting the fragrant wine in his cup when his eyes suddenly froze.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Tiu Tian nced at him curiously.

    Niu Tian frowned and said, ¡°That¡¯s strange! How has the seal been opened so quickly? That¡¯s really strange.¡±

    Tiu Tian was also surprised as he said, ¡°Are you referring to that pouch that you gave her? It¡¯s probably Huo Yuhao if it¡¯s been opened.¡±

    Niu Tian nodded, but he shook his head immediately afterwards and said, ¡°It¡¯s not strange that Dong¡¯er has given the pouch to him. Could you not tell when they returned thest time? Dong¡¯er¡¯s heart is locked onto that fellow. What I find strange is, how does Yuhao have the ability to open that spiritual seal? Does that mean he sought someone else¡¯s help to open it?¡±

    Tiu Tian drank a mouthful of wine and said, ¡°If it¡¯s open, then so be it. He will have to face our final test whether or not he found someone else to help him open it. In the end, the assessment doesn¡¯t just test his abilities. More importantly, it tests his love for Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°I¡¯m not worried that he found someone to help open the seal, nor am I worried that he¡¯s found someone to help him find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. What I¡¯m worried about is that he may have opened the seal by ident, and if that¡¯s the case, that ce is simply too dangerous for him with his current cultivation. I¡¯m afraid something might happen to him.¡±

    Tiu Tian was a little confused. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. That fellow is quite intelligent. Can he not retreat and run away if he realizes something is amiss? Besides, can your spiritual seal really be opened by ident? I think we should be more concerned about this fellow showing the letter¡¯s contents to Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Niu Tian heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Forget it. We weren¡¯t the ones who came up with this test, anyway. Since the test has already begun, we will submit to fate.¡±

    ¡°Fate?¡± Tiu Tian gazed at the distant sky through the window, and an understanding smile appeared on his face.

    Niu Tian was momentarily stunned as he watched his brother¡¯s expression. Then he seemed to understand as well, and he smiled faintly as he stared at the clear blue skies outside. ¡°Yes! Fate.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er flew for five hours, and the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Heaven Dou City was finally peeking out over the horizon.

    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s take a break!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er eximed softly.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded and glided downwards.

    They had been travelling for full speed for five hours, and he was so exhausted that all his strength seemed to have left his body. Soul power could be replenished with a Milk Bottle, but he had to rely on soul power and his own body to defend against the air resistance from high-speed flight. His body was sore from five hours of flight, and he felt as if his entire skeleton was falling apart. He wouldn¡¯t be able to take it anymore if he didn¡¯t rest.

    They found a small patch of open ground andnded. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was as calm as water. He withdrew the flying-type soul tool behind his back, crossed his legs, sat down on the ground, and immediately began to meditate.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you going to eat?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er could clearly see that there was something wrong with Huo Yuhao¡¯s current behavior. The frustration and worry that seemed toe from his bones had made him a little irrational.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too hungry. You go ahead.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s storage-type soul tool always carried some food and water; this was one of the Ultimate Soldier n¡¯s main requirements.

    He handed some food and water to Wang Qiu¡¯er before he immediately continued to meditate.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t push further, and she took the food and water and began to eat. She quietly stared at the cross-legged youth sitting before her as she ate.

    Am I going to venture with him into another world of soul beasts? It¡¯s only me and him this time. What does he want, exactly? The Setting Sun Forest? How can thatpare to the Great Star Dou Forest? The quality of soul beasts in that area is far inferior to the even Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Hybrid Region. Perhaps we won¡¯t find a single hundred thousand year soul beast over there.

 Chapter 254.2: Invading a Territory?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er silently criticized Huo Yuhao in her mind as she watched him. This guy has such average looks. Wang Dong¡¯er is so pretty, so why is she so interested in him? But he doesn¡¯t look so good today. He¡¯s frowning even when he¡¯s meditating.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had really thought that Huo Yuhao told her everything he did because he wanted to avoid her when she first stopped him at the academy. However, she was starting to understand that Huo Yuhao had probably actually run into something urgent. She had never seen him so worried and anxious, not even when they faced off against the three evil brothers in the Great Star Dou Forest. Which friend of his was injured that made him so distraught?

    Could it be Wang Dong¡¯er? But Wang Dong¡¯er looked fine.

    Every girl was born with a tendency to probe into others¡¯ secrets and be nosy, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was no exception. She stared at Huo Yuhao, who was still meditating, and thoughts ran wild in her head. It didn¡¯t take long before she consumed all the rations in her hands.

    ¡°This tastes terrible!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er finished her food, but she couldn¡¯t help but mutter and criticize it under her breath. She thought to herself that this was a far cry from what he had made before. He makes really delicious food, though. Perhaps that¡¯s why Wang Dong¡¯er likes him so much?

    Huo Yuhao meditated for two hours. He recovered some energy, and his heart was a little calmer than before. He knew that he wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind, and he kept telling himself to calm down after he finished meditating.

    The greater the danger he had to face, the calmer he had to be. Emotional disturbances would only make things worse and harder to deal with in the long run.

    That was one of the Ultimate Soldier n¡¯s defining principles, and Huo Yuhao bore it in mind. He wouldn¡¯t have lost so much self-control if it hadn¡¯t been Wang Dong¡¯er who was in mortal peril, because he was just too concerned about her safety. Wang Dong¡¯er was simply too important to him, and it wasn¡¯t an easy task for him to ease his nerves in the face of this threat.

    Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er. Even if I have to face all the dangers in the world, I will help you get that herb and I will bring it back!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty to get back on his way, and he fetched some food and water before he began to eat by himself. He wanted to be in his best condition to search for that herb.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er watched Huo Yuhao quietly consume his food, and she couldn¡¯t help but frown. This guy looks quite interesting when he¡¯s deep in thought.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you have anything to say to me? I¡¯m here to help you,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er spoke up, displeased.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, I will first apologize about what happened yesterday. Even though it was an ident, I will not deny away my responsibility, it was my fault. I didn¡¯t correctly judge how strong your attack was, which eventually led to¡­ it was just my fault. However, what I have to do now is exceedingly important to me, more important than my life. Therefore, I will be extremely grateful if you truly want to help me and I will owe you a favor. If you just want to watch the show, or if you want to cause trouble for me, then I beg you¡­ you can do anything you want to me and I¡¯ll take it, but only after I¡¯vepleted this task. Thank you.¡±

    He stood up as he spoke, and bowed courteously toward Wang Qiu¡¯er at the end.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows knitted. She felt a little awkward. This guy was the one who took advantage of me! Why do I suddenly feel like I am the one who is letting him down?

    ¡°We¡¯ll settle this when we get back!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er wanted to put on a strong front even though she felt differently inside.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her seriously and said, ¡°Then you¡¯re willing to help me?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m already here. Am I supposed to just watch? The Setting Sun Forest shouldn¡¯t have many powerful soul beasts, and we shouldn¡¯t run into any danger if we team up. The key question is, what exactly are you looking for? Looking for something inside a forest isn¡¯t easy. Do you have a target?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirits were lifted when Wang Qiu¡¯er said she was willing to help him. He couldn¡¯t be bothered by his awkward rtionship with her at a time like this. When Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s life hung in the bnce, all he wanted to do was acquire that herb no matter what price he had to pay. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities were formidable, and they shared a martial soul fusion skill, the Dragon Roar of Destiny. Their martial soul fusion had even fended off that triple martial soul fusion. Ultimately, this expedition was a lot more likely to seed with her around.

    ¡°I have a map, and this map has the rough location of what I need to find. We just have to search around for a bit when we get there, and that should be enough. Qiu¡¯er¡­ let¡¯s not hurry into the Setting Sun Forest. I still have the three left leg bones that we picked up fromst time. Why don¡¯t we absorb one piece each, so that we can further boost our strength?¡±

    He retrieved two wolf-ape left leg bones from his storage-type soul tool as he spoke.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t object. One of these things belonged to her anyway, and she took one before she sat down with her legs crossed.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ll protect you. You can go first.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er made sure she was sitting properly cross-legged. She waved her right hand, and a golden streak of soul power enveloped the left leg bone.

    The left leg bone was entirely purplish-ck in color, and it flickered with pale silver light. A deep dragon roar could be heard as the soul power on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body trembled, and a goldenyer of light and epassed and permeated the entire bone immediately afterwards.

    Ding! A faint chiming sound could be heard, and the left leg bone transformed into a flowing purplish-ck beam of light that drifted toward Wang Qiu¡¯er. It followed her golden soul power, and she directed it into her left leg before it disappeared.

    Purplish-ck light circled twice around Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s left leg before it vanished, and her body began to shine with golden light once again. Huo Yuhao was standing guard for her, but even he could feel an immense pressureing from her.

    What a powerful martial soul!

    Even though the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was also an Ultimate martial soul, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was still a little inferior to the Golden Dragon in terms of strength. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon martial soul was probably at a higher level than the Dragon God Douluo¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon and the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s Darkness Holy Dragon, which meant that it was probably the purest inheritance of dragon-type martial souls. Who knew how powerful she would be if she could be a Titled Douluo one day?

    Huo Yuhao took out the map and began to study it. The map wasn¡¯tplicated, and there were clear instructions about where he had to enter the Setting Sun Forest from. His destination was quite close to the forest¡¯s center, and there were several other important ces that were marked out in detail.

    He had to find that book that recorded the various herbs and venomous nts before he could search for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s formidable body was on full disy throughout the absorption process¡­ for fifteen minutes! She actually only took fifteen minutes toplete the absorption process!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth hung ck with astonishment when she leapt off the ground and onto her feet. That¡¯s incredibly fast! She¡¯s absorbing a soul bone, and it¡¯s a soul bone produced by a ten-thousand year soul beast. How can this process be so easy for her?

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er gestured at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask any more questions. He sat down with his legged crossed and began his own fusion.

    Huo Yuhao had absorbed three soul bones before this. He had fused with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso, which included all the chest and rib bones, and was possibly his strongest soul bone. He had the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, which contained the mighty Ice Explosion, and he also had the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone, which carried the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s formidable power.

    All three soul bones were rare and exotic. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was starting to fuse with his fourth soul bone.

    This soul bone didn¡¯t exceed Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation. Furthermore, his body was far stronger than it was all those years ago. But his fusion process wasn¡¯t as quick as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s. He finished absorbing it after one hour.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if his body was a lot lighter than before when he jumped up from the ground, and his left leg felt exceptionally strong. He bounced on his feet, and he realized that his jumping strength had been greatly boosted.

    ¡°Have you tried its soul skill?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s try it together.¡±

    They infused soul power into their respective Wolf-Ape Left Leg Bones at almost the same time. Silver light immediately flickered on their legs, and their bodies vanished into thin air in the next moment before they reappeared at their original locations.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had a look of a pleasant surprise in their eyes. It was just as Huo Yuhao had hoped! The soul skill that they had obtained was Instant Shift!

    A soul skill like Instant Shift was like a life-saving trump card for any soul master. Even though the soul skills carried by soul bones could only be used for a fixed number of instances, this was already good enough to give them both a delighted surprise. Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er would have never obtained this soul skill from their martial soul fusion skills, as Instant Shift was known as a top-tier agility-type soul skill, and neither of them were agility-type soul masters. Of all the soul masters that Huo Yuhao knew, only Jiang Nannan possessed this ability.

    Huo Yuhao immediately attempted it once more. Silver light flickered beneath his feet, and he reappeared ten meters away.

    ¡°The maximum distance is ten meters. It¡¯s a little shorter than those wolf-apes!¡± Huo Yuhao had chosen a distance that was further away, but the Instant Shift had ended at ten meters. It was clear that this was its maximum range.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared beside him in a sh. ¡°That¡¯s good enough, so you should be content. Ten meters may seem like a very short distance, but it¡¯s usually enough to turn the tables of a battlefield. Eh, why do I feel something peculiar when I¡¯m next to you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao also realized that his left leg began to warm up when Wang Qiu¡¯er came next to him, as if Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s left leg had be a ma and was pulling on his own left leg.

 Chapter 254.3: Invading a Territory?

    They were both veteran soul masters, and they channeled their soul power subconsciously at the same time.

    Something strange happened next. Two silver streaks of light burst out from their left legs, and then intertwined together as they enveloped their bodies. They both disappeared at the same time for an instant, and their bodies instantly switched positions in the next moment.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er with an astonished look on his face.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said decisively, ¡°Let¡¯s try again further away.¡± She raced out as she spoke, and ran about a hundred meters away as she gestured toward Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao released his soul power and activated his left leg bone as he attempted to establish a connection with Wang Qiu¡¯er on the other side. However, he realized that he couldn¡¯t feel anything at all, and nothing changed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er came ten meters closer, and Huo Yuhao continued to try. Nothing was different from before.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t hasty either, and she slowly shifted forward bit by bit.

    Finally, when she was about fifty meters away from him, silver light exploded from their bodies at the same time, and Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately appeared before Huo Yuhao. This wasn¡¯t the Instant Shift carried by their left leg bones anymore, as Instant Shift only had a range of ten meters. This ma-like force between them increased its range by by five hundred percent, and this was achieved with just Huo Yuhao pulling Wang Qiu¡¯er to his side. This effect was simr to Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Netherworld Discement after his Shield of the Xuanming Turtle evolved into the Xuanwu Shield, except Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Netherworld Discement could target opponents weaker than he was. Huo Yuhao could only use this with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    They exchanged a look, and they thought about the countless possibilities. They already had a martial soul fusion skill, and this special effect carried by their left leg bones was a cherry on the cake for them. In addition to their new Instant Shift ability¡­ both of them felt as if they had struck a jackpot.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°This ability probably originates from the three Wolf-Apes¡¯ triple martial soul fusion skill. Even though that triple martial soul fusion cannot be passed down through their soul bones, this ability is still quite impressive. I don¡¯t want thest soul bone, but you can¡¯t give it to the wrong person. This is very important for the both of us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conceal his intentions. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I want to give it to Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot him a re and grunted as she said, ¡°Whatever. I don¡¯t want it. Just make sure she doesn¡¯t cause me any trouble.¡±

    A sorrowful look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Cause you any trouble? Dong¡¯er has to live for that to happen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re going to the Setting Sun Forest.¡± It was nearly noon at this point.

    The sun was high in the sky, and it radiated scorching warmth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er agreed. Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when she began to cooperate, and they activated their flying-type soul tools before they soared into the sky once more.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t acting hastily anymore, and he flew together with Wang Qiu¡¯er as they followed the map¡¯s markings and traveled towards the Setting Sun Forest.

    They hadn¡¯t flown for long, however, before Huo Yuhao suddenly felt something and gazed into the horizon, while he slowed down at the same time.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked confusedly.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing here.¡± Huo Yuhao answered.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er followed his gaze. Indeed, there was a group of people flying towards them in the distance from where Heaven Dou City was located.

    They were in a fan-like formation, and their formation gradually changed in the sky and formed a semicircle that wrapped toward the two of them.

    ¡°Enemies?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked confusedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Perhaps not. They should be from the Heavenly Soul Empire. This is my fault for being so careless. We¡¯re very close to Heaven Dou City, and we are just flying through the air without attempting to conceal our movements. I think we have attracted the sentries¡¯ attention.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mouth twitched, and she said, ¡°We¡¯re just flying in the sky. What does that have to do with them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless. ¡°Ever since we¡¯ve had flying-type soul tools, every nation¡¯sws and control has be a lot stricter than before, and this is especially so for the airspace above or around cities. Heaven Dou City is the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital city. Think about it, if someone flew over the royal pce and tossed down a powerful stationary soul cannon shell, what would happen?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°Is that actually preventable? If we fly high enough, to a height where they can¡¯t see us anymore before we toss the bomb, they can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±

    This was the first time a smile had appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face ever since they left Shrek Academy. ¡°This proves how little you know about soul tools! It¡¯s not as easy as you make it seem. Let¡¯s not talk about how difficult it is to be precise when we¡¯re too high in the sky. With current soul tool technology, flying-type soul tools have a limit to how high they can fly, rarely can one fly higher than one kilometer above the ground at this point. Any telescopic soul tool on the ground that¡¯s watching the skies will be able to discover someone flying around, and night-vision telescopic soul tools can monitor the airspace at night.¡±

    The group had surrounded them while they talked. There were ten soul engineers, and everyone wore standardized flying-type soul tools. They weren¡¯t flying very fast, so it wouldn¡¯t be impossible if Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er wanted to shake them off. He wanted to get to the Setting Sun Forest as fast as possible, but he also didn¡¯t want to bring unnecessary trouble upon himself. If they were suspected to be spying upon Heaven Dou City, and thus attracted the attention of powerful individuals in the Heavenly Soul Empire, then there would be real trouble for him. The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s national strength couldn¡¯tpare to the Star Luo Empire, but they were still a nation with a long history, and solid foundations.

    The soul engineers didn¡¯t attack as they came up, they just surrounded the two of them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash any offensive soul tools, and he raised both hands to show that he meant no ill.

    These soul engineers from the Heavenly Soul Empire were all wearing leather armor, which was clearly intended to lessen the weight they had to carry. The person leading the group was a girl with a cold look on her face, appearing both elegant and noble. The flying-type soul tool behind her released pale blue light.

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you fly around inside our capital city¡¯s airspace? You¡¯re looking down on my country. Follow me.¡± Her cold voice felt extremely charming and nice to hear, but the contents were a little unpleasant.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback as he stared at the young girl before him confusedly. ¡°You¡­ are you Mu Xue?¡±

    The ice-cold young girl was also momentarily stunned. She stared at Huo Yuhao with the same doubtful look and asked, ¡°How do you know my name?¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief once she confirmed his spection. ¡°Have you forgotten, Mu Xue? We¡¯ve met before inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Back then, Uncle Mo was the one leading the group, and you guys were inside the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts. My name is Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Mu Xue scrutinized Huo Yuhao for a moment longer. A look of revtion came over her face as she said, ¡°Oh, yes, I remember now. You¡¯re that student from the Star Luo National Academy, Huo Yuhao, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s me.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded his head. Back then, he, Wang Dong¡¯er and Xiao Xiao, had entered the Great Star Dou Forest under Elder Xuan¡¯s protection when they met Mo Feiyun and hispany. This girl, Mu Xue, had also been part of thepany, along with another pretty girl named Wei Na. The two of them had left a fairly strong impression in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Mu Xue¡¯s face suddenly turned cold. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop trying to worm your way through into being friends with me. Follow me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. ¡°Follow you? For what?¡±

    Mu Xue¡¯s voice was ice-cold. ¡°You have trespassed into my capital city¡¯s airspace. You know that, so why do you still ask me that question? Even though we¡¯ve met before, today¡¯s situation is very different, and our private rtionship cannot interfere with my duty. Let¡¯s go.¡± She came up with the other soul engineers as she spoke.

    She turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er as they moved up.

    It wasn¡¯t just her; all the other soul engineers were also focused on Wang Qiu¡¯er. This wasn¡¯t because they had realized how powerful Wang Qiu¡¯er was, it was because Wang Qiu¡¯er was simply too beautiful.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked more like the Goddess of Light than Wang Dong¡¯er did. There wasn¡¯t any cover in the sky at this moment, and sunlight shone upon her body and made her flowing blue hair shine with pale golden light. Her enchanting beauty was nearly suffocating.

    Mu Xue had always been confident about her looks, and this was especially so because her martial soul¡¯s unique quality was different from normal people. However, she felt a little inferior before Wang Qiu¡¯er. She paled inparison in terms of looks and aura, and even in terms of her figure.

    Huo Yuhao frowned as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mu Xue. I¡¯m in a hurry, and today¡¯s matter is just a misunderstanding. I have somewhere I need to be, and I identally trespassed in the Heaven Dou City¡¯s airspace. I am sincerely sorry that this happened, but time is of the essence. I can¡¯t dy any longer.¡±

    Mu Xue also lowered her voice. ¡°You don¡¯t get to make that decision. Are you resisting arrest? You have to know that we have the authority to shoot you down since you¡¯ve trespassed over our airspace. I¡¯ll bring you back to the city because we have been acquainted, and we¡¯ll investigate to make sure that there¡¯s nothing wrong with the two of you, and then we¡¯ll let you go. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be just and follow official procedures.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated as he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really don¡¯t have the time.¡±

    Mu Xue¡¯s face turned ck as she shouted angrily, ¡°Take them down!¡± The nine other soul engineers immediately began to move upon hearing her orders, and each of them took out a soul tool from behind their backs.

    These soul tools were about half a meter long, and there was a thick cannon barrel at the front with an opening that was roughly thirty centimeters in diameter. Nine cannon barrels were trained on Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er at the same time.

    As a ss 6 soul engineer, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be more familiar with this soul tool. These were soul paralysis rays, and they were enhanced versions. Even five-ringed or six-ringed soul masters would be immediately paralyzed and immobilized if these rays hit them. Of course, that meant these paralysis rays had to hit them first!

 Chapter 255.1: The Setting Sun Forest

    These soul engineers didn¡¯t show any mercy at all, and all nine soul paralysis rays fired at nearly the same time. One could tell that they had a lot of practice, as their shots didn¡¯t just target them, but also blocked off their paths of escape.

    Huo Yuhao was also a soul engineer, and he could be considered one of the most outstanding soul engineers of Shrek Academy¡¯s younger generation. Huo Yuhao would have let himself down if he was so easily taken down by these ss 4 soul paralysis rays.

    A yellow light suddenly expanded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and enveloped the two of them: a ss 6 soul barrier!

    Nine beams of lightnded on the barrier and created ripple after ripple, but the soul barrier didn¡¯t so much as tremble. Huo Yuhao knew that they had no choice but to fight.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything, Qiu¡¯er.¡± Huo Yuhao instructed Wang Qiu¡¯er as his eyes suddenly lit up.

    The air within thirty meters of them seemed to contort, and the nine soul engineers¡¯ second shots all missed, while three of them were identally struck by theirpanions and fell from the sky.

    Light erupted from behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as he activated his soul thrusters explosively and crashed against two other soul engineers. He had never been afraid of meeting force with force with anyone at his level, except for Wang Qiu¡¯er. Furthermore, these soul engineers were just four-ringed Soul Ancestors, and they weren¡¯t even powerful Soul Ancestors.

    He forcefully knocked these two soul engineers out of the air, and golden light flickered in his eyes as he turned towards Mu Xue, who was about to make a move.

    Mu Xue suddenly felt an intense dizziness in her head, and immediately lost her bnce. They were high up in the sky, and losing control meant she could no longer hover, so she plummeted towards the ground.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and save her!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the soul engineers before they could fire off a third wave of soul paralysis rays as he dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er off and turned around to run.

    Three of the soul engineers were struck by their own paralysis rays and plunged limply through the air. Mu Xue was struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion and temporarily lost control of her body. The other two that were sent hurtling through the air were rtively stronger than the others, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t damage their flying-type soul tools, so they could still move around. The remaining four soul engineers were able to rescue their fallenrades, but that also meant they couldn¡¯t pursue Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er anymore.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head lightly as he watched the falling soul engineers and theirrades who were attempting to rescue them. He controlled his flying-type soul tool and positioned himself urately behind Wang Qiu¡¯er before he pressed his hands against her back and activated the soul thrusters. Searing white mes extended from behind his back, and Huo Yuhao pushed Wang Qiu¡¯er forward as they rocketed through the air. They raced for several hundred meters before he turned around as he held Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand and they immediatelypleted their martial soul fusion. He pushed his flying-type soul tool to the highest possible speed, and the two of them transformed into a ray of light as they disappeared over the horizon.

    By the time the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s team of soul engineers finally settled down, the two of them had already be two ck dots in the distance. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er hadpletely vanished from their field of view when they managed to gather themselves.

    ¡°Bastards!¡± Mu Xue¡¯s fists were tightly clenched, her pretty face all tensed up.

    ¡°What should we do, team leader? Do we report to our superiors and request reinforcements? These two are difficult to deal with,¡± one of the soul engineers whispered to Mu Xue.

    The fury on Mu Xue¡¯s face vanished and she answered coldly, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can tell from their behavior that they don¡¯t mean any harm. Otherwise, do you think we¡¯d still be hovering in midair? Let¡¯s go back. I will report this to our superiors.¡± She was still rational. If Huo Yuhao had really wanted to hurt them, he definitely would¡¯ve had something else up his sleeves if he could release a ss 6 protective barrier. It was unlikely that any of them would have survived this ordeal if Huo Yuhao had unleashed his true abilities.

    ---

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t struggle as Huo Yuhao grasped her hand. She was being pulled along, and this meant she was positioned slightly behind him, and could clearly see Huo Yuhao¡¯s profile.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was still scrunched up like before, and his expression was still as ck as ever. However, he was a lot calmer than he was when he had left the academy.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er felt the cirction of soul power between their bodies, and their soul power was intertwined and even flourished. Her eyes were a little lost and vacant.

    This feeling¡­

    Theirbined efforts had raised their ss 6 flying-type soul tools¡¯ flight speed to the highest possible level, and Heaven Dou City was now far behind them.

    An enormous forest gradually came into view in the distance. They were about to reach their destination ording to the map¡¯s instructions.

    It wasmon knowledge that soul masters shouldn¡¯t fly above a ce inhabited by soul beasts, as it made them easy targets. Huo Yuhao dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er along and quickly descended from the sky, and naturally let go of her hand once theynded on the ground.

    ¡°Have you not seen enough after staring at me for so long? Have I recently be more handsome?¡± Huo Yuhao turned around and smiled at Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill those people? They were so unreasonable. You didn¡¯t let me fight, either.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed exasperatedly. ¡°They were just executing their duties, and they had no intention of hurting us. How could I kill them? Furthermore, we did trespass into a city¡¯s airspace, so we were in the wrong.¡±

    ¡°Is this the ce?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t pursue the matter, instead changing the topic. Her eyes turned towards the vast forest in front of them.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and retrieved the map. He had already determined their direction while they were still flying, and the forest had a jagged patch at this location, which was easy to find when they were looking down from high in the sky. It was a lot easier to follow the map and venture into the forest after finding this prominent geographical feature.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was the first to move, and she widened her stride towards the forest.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly caught up with her. ¡°ording to the map¡¯s markings, the ce we are looking for is full of dangers.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er tilted her mouth indifferently and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a tiny Setting Sun Forest, how dangerous can it be? Don¡¯t forget that I lived in the Great Star Dou Forest by myself for a year.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had nothing else to say. She was incredibly powerful, after all. However, he activated his Spiritual Detection at once and shared it with her before they proceeded.

    The reason why those soul engineers had lost their ability to aim was due to Spiritual Interference, a soul skill of his that had been continuously evolving. It was also a soul skill that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used for a long time. The logic was the same as when he used Imitation when he faced the three evil soul master brothers in the Great Star Dou Forest: not using this soul skill didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t good. He had to hide it because it was far too powerful.

    Spiritual Interference wasn¡¯t as brutal or forceful as Spiritual Shock. However, there wouldn¡¯t be any negative bacsh, and he could use it continuously. This soul skill was a nightmare for most soul masters, and could cover an increasinglyrger area as Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation increased over time. Huo Yuhao could currently cover a radius of fifty meters at this point, and he could reach one hundred meters if he was focusing on a smaller target area, and he could reach two hundred meters if he used his Eye of Destiny. This was the reason why Huo Yuhao had been so calm andposed when the soul engineers had surrounded them.

    Huo Yuhao had once remarked to Skydream that Skydream had changed his entire life, and that statement was absolutely true. He could only have today¡¯s sess and his exemry aplishments with the abilities and help that Skydream had given him. Otherwise, he probably wouldn¡¯t even have passed Shrek Academy¡¯s freshman examination.

    The Setting Sun Forest¡¯s vegetation was a little sparsepared to the Great Star Dou Forest, and the nt species were slightly different as well. The main reason for this was due to their distinct geographical locations.

    The Great Star Dou Forest was located in the Continent¡¯s central regions, and the temperature there was pleasant. The temperature within the Great Star Dou Forest remained between twenty to thirty degrees celsius year-round, while winter was almost nonexistent, and ice and snow were rarities.

    The Setting Sun Forest was more than a thousand kilometers north of the Great Star Dou Forest. If they travelled far enough north, they would enter the Extreme North, and so this forest¡¯s temperature was much lower than the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s. Under such circumstances, coniferous trees were the main nt species found in this area, as they were more suitable for living in below-average temperatures. There were also some subtropical nts in the area as well.

    There were not that many species in this forestpared to the Great Star Dou Forest, and therefore it appeared to beparatively scarce. However, the nts that could survive in a ce like this would naturally have superior survival capabilities.

    They stepped into the Setting Sun Forest, and they hadn¡¯t even taken that many steps before soul beasts appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. These soul beasts were pitifully weak, Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t even have to release their auras, and the soul beasts were already scampering away. There was no need to talk about these soul beasts attacking them.

    ¡°They¡¯re all ten-year soul beasts. This ce is terribly barren and infertile,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You can¡¯tpare this ce to the Great Star Dou Forest. In the end, the Great Star Dou Forest is one of the most prominent ces in the entire Continent, and the Core Region¡¯s ughtering Grounds isparable to the core regions of the Extreme North. Those spots, along with three other extremely dangerous ces, are known collectively as the Five Great Forbidden Regions.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°There should only be three. The other two only appeared because of our collision with the Sun Moon Continent. Don¡¯t you want to speed up?¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s pick up the pace.¡± They didn¡¯t feel any threatening presences within the Setting Sun Forest, and Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. The two of them quickened their pace and ventured deeper into the Setting Sun Forest.

    The vegetation here wasn¡¯t as dense as the Great Star Dou Forest, so their movements were unimpeded. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was anxious and worried, so he was moving forward at sixty percent of his maximum speed, while Wang Qiu¡¯er followed closely beside him. The two of them had a tacit understanding, and they didn¡¯t hold each other¡¯s hands anymore. They were both exceptional individuals among everyone else at the same level, even before they had their martial soul fusion skill.

 Chapter 255.2: The Setting Sun Forest

    Soul masters would only truly enter the realm of high-level soul masters when they got their seventh soul ring. For people like Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, who were both prodigious soul masters with Ultimate martial souls, their respective strengths wereparable to that of a seven-ringed soul master.

    They were deep within the Setting Sun Forest after racing forward for about two hours, and the vegetation became increasingly dense the further they went. However, what made Huo Yuhao surprised was that they had already gone deep into the Setting Sun Forest, yet he still hadn¡¯t detected any powerful soul beasts with Spiritual Detection. They rarely came across any thousand-year soul beasts, let alone ten-thousand year soul beasts.

    The asional thousand-year soul beast that dared toe near with malicious intentions were chased away in fright when Wang Qiu¡¯er released a little bit of her aura. They hadn¡¯t had a single fight after traveling for two hours, an experience thatcould even be described as unimaginable.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Huo Yuhao had regained hisposure after fusing with the soul bone before this. Wang Dong¡¯er still had more than two years before her injury would take her life, and this matter wasn¡¯t that urgent. Huo Yuhao had also seen how incredibly powerful Niu Tian and Titan were with his own eyes, and if a powerful individual like Niu Tian said that this ce was filled with dangers, then it couldn¡¯t be false.

    Even though they hadn¡¯t encountered any trouble with soul beasts on their journey thus far, Huo Yuhao still decided to take a break after travelling for a certain duration of time so that they could recover to their optimal states before they pushed forward. He had been inside many ces inhabited by soul beasts, and his experience told him that maintaining his best condition was the number-onew of survival. His abilities were rtively formidable, but they still paled inparison to a world filled with soul beasts.

    They found a ce that was higher than the areas around it so that they could conveniently survey their surroundings, and make it harder for them to get ambushed. They rested while munching on their rations at the same time.

    ¡°How far are we?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Not far. The sky is still bright, so it¡¯s easy to tell the direction. We will probably be nearing our destination within two hours.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°Yuhao, I don¡¯t know why, but I feel as if something is not right.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished, and he had always been impressed by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s senses. She had the Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception, which was probably more sensitive and at a higher level than his Spiritual Detection. After all, Spiritual Detection could only detect tangible things and real things, while Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Perception had some irvoyant abilities.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? When did it begin?¡± He hurriedly pursued the issue.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered, ¡°I can¡¯t quite put a finger on it. There¡¯s this unsettling feeling in my heart, and it¡¯s there even though it¡¯s not serious. It began a few moments ago... it seems like the Setting Sun Forest does have some abnormal entities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Can you tell where this unsettling feeling ising from?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him and said, ¡°It¡¯sing from the direction we are moving towards. This is the reason why I asked how far we are from our destination. I¡¯m getting this ominous feeling even when we¡¯re still two hours away, and that means this unsettling feeling will be an rming and perilous feeling if we continue forward. I suggest we turn back.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attitude was extremely solemn when she uttered these words.

    Huo Yuhao went silent and began to contemte. This was the first time since he had met her that this girl had shown such subtle fear. Yes, she¡¯s right. We still have two more hours to go, and her Golden Dragon Perception is already sensing danger. How perilous will the dangers we face on this expedition be?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t push him, and returned to silently eating her rations.

    Huo Yuhao gobbled his rations in a few mouthfuls, and he drank some water before he started to rest. He didn¡¯t meditate, as resting like this could also help him recover his expended soul power, and he could also prepare himself.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows knitted slightly. She couldn¡¯t tell what decision Huo Yuhao had made from his expression, but she was sure that he was considering her words. This fellow had always been quiteposed.

    Fifteen minutes went by.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes once more, and Wang Qiu¡¯er opened her eyes at the same time, as if she had felt something, and looked in his direction.

    ¡°Go back.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered calmly.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er stood up, and a rare smile appeared on her face. ¡°Composure is a virtue.¡± She turned around towards where they hade as she spoke.

    She took but a few steps before she unwittingly stopped in her tracks and turned back. Huo Yuhao was not there anymore, but he wasn¡¯t behind her. He was moving forward in the opposite direction, which meant he was going towards their initial destination.

    ¡°Hey! Did you not say that we¡¯re going back?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted. She sounded a little mncholic.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop moving as he said, ¡°You can go back by yourself. You didn¡¯t have to apany me on this dangerous adventure in the first ce. Mind your own safety on the way back ¨C goodbye.¡± He began to pick up the pace and sped deeper into the Setting Sun Forest as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was rooted to the spot. She could feel an unprecedented aura from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and she felt as if his frame had be a lot bigger than before in that instant. She felt as if nothing could stop him on his path forward.

    Who is he trying to save that¡¯s making him so stubborn and persistent? Family, perhaps? But he doesn¡¯t have any family, all he has left are his enemies. A strange look flickered across her eyes, as if she had just recalled something. Wang Qiu¡¯er rubbed her fist and finally stomped on the ground as sheunched herself in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a lot faster than Huo Yuhao in terms of short distance explosiveness, and she caught up with him in no time.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Huo Yuhao said without even turning back.

    ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s tone didn¡¯t sound very pleasant.

    Huo Yuhao said solemnly, ¡°That you can chase me down means you are now my friend in my heart.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sounded a little depressed as she said, ¡°So you haven¡¯t been treating me like a friend this whole time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°No. I¡¯m talking about a good friend that is deserving of my trust. We haven¡¯t known each other for that long, after all.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! What makes you think I¡¯m not trying to drag you back?¡± There was a tinge of threat in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°You¡¯d be doing it for my own good even if you attempted to drag me back. Of course, I would resist.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grew quiet, but she had already arrived beside Huo Yuhao, and was looking sideways in his direction.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and gave her a doubtful look. He met her radiant and piercing gaze, and he immediately felt a little embarrassed. ¡°You staring at me at such a close distance gives me a lot of pressure.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°It¡¯s really very dangerous! Is it truly worth it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly, and his eyes turned diagonally upwards to the sky. He spoke with a calm voice, almost as if this was a matter of fact. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about losing her and what would be of me. I realized that my entire world would turn gray, and I would no longer have any vitality. Perhaps, I might even lose the will to live. That¡¯s when I realized, to my surprise, that her life had be more important than my own.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes grew ck. Her big blue eyes flowed with incredulity.

    ¡°How¡­ how is that possible? How can someone else¡¯s life be more important than your own? Is there something wrong with your brain?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave her a doubtful look and said, ¡°Why are you agitated? We will always have someone whose life is more important than our own. If my mother was still alive, her life would be more important than mine in much the same manner.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s powerful body started to quiver faintly. She lowered her head and muttered under her breath, ¡°A¡­ a sentiment like this actually exists, where other people¡¯s lives are more important than your own? But only the strongest will survive, and we should do anything we can do continue living, whatever the means. We only live once, and we won¡¯t get this life back once it¡¯s gone.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered inly, ¡°You¡¯re right, we only live once. What you¡¯re talking about is thew of the jungle, but not thew of humanity. Humans have flesh, blood, and emotions. We are not soul beasts, and neither are we animals. We are humans. If everyone attempts to survive by doing anything he or she can whatever the means, and if everyone views his or her own benefits and interests as more important than anything else, how different would we be from wild beasts? The main thing that distinguishes us from beasts is our emotions and our sentiments, and the fact that we know how to love.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes werepletely nk. Her eyes weren¡¯t just nk, it felt as if she was in a daze, and her emotions began to destabilize.

    Huo Yuhao had no idea why she was how she was, but he thought about it for a while and understood how she felt. Perhaps she encountered one too many dangers during that year she was living inside the Great Star Dou Forest by herself, and those dangers gave her this desire to survive.

    He tried his best to make his tone a little gentler as he said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think so much. Everyone has their own ways to live. Perhaps the reason why you haven¡¯t experienced what I¡¯m talking about is because you haven¡¯t truly loved someone before. Think about it: our parents gave birth to us and raised us since we were born. How much suffering, effort, sweat, and tears did they have to put in? Did they want anything from us? No. Parental love is unconditional and selfless. Even though I lived in poverty as a kid, and I¡¯ve never had a father, my mother¡¯s love for me was no less than what other parents had for their own children.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly raised her head vigorously and said angrily, ¡°Nonsense! My parents never took care of me. They abandoned me from the day I was born, and they left me to live in a foreign environment. Do you know how much pain and suffering I¡¯ve been through to survive? Have you experienced the istion, the helplessness, the panic that nobody is around to help you, that you can just die at any moment? I only love myself!¡± She was almost growling when she reached thest sentence.

 Chapter 255.3: The Setting Sun Forest

    Huo Yuhao was astonished by the intensity of her reaction, but he could also rte to that dejection in her heart. The resentment was faint, and only surfaced from time to time, but it was acute and extreme.

    This¡­ What experiences has she been through? So much resentment has umted in the deepest recesses of her heart, to the point where it¡¯s almost impossible to believe.

    Strangely, they both grew silent. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to console Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t seem like she could control her emotions, but she didn¡¯t attempt to express them anymore. That faintly discernible resentment vanished along with their words.

    They continued forward as Huo Yuhao tried his best to determine their location, and a soul tool meant for that purpose appeared in his hands. It was already a challenge to determine the four cardinal directions inside the dense forest, but Huo Yuhao relied on what the Ultimate Soldier n had taught him, and he was sure he was on the right track.

    ---

    An hour passed before Huo Yuhao made a gesture and immediately stopped walking.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take another break. How do you feel?¡± he turned and asked Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s emotions had settled down by now, but her charming face was as cold as ever. She shot a cold nce at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I am now absolutely certain that the ce you¡¯re heading towards is the source of the danger.¡±

    ¡°You already feel danger? But have you realized that there seem to be fewer and fewer soul beasts the further we go?¡± Huo Yuhao frowned as he informed her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and said, ¡°That¡¯s what is most terrifying. Soul beasts inhabit this area, yet they cannot live here, even though they¡¯re extremely adaptable. That shows how dangerous this area is. I think it won¡¯t take long before we will encounter these dangers first-hand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a calm look and said, ¡°It¡¯s not toote to change your mind.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. Let me ask you, Huo Yuhao¡­ Is Wang Dong¡¯er the person that you are willing to throw your life away to save?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao nced at her, astonished.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er continued, ¡°I have been thinking about it, and I figured that only she is worth it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Mypanions are also worth risking my life for.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er pressed on, ¡°And this time? Is it her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head lightly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes froze momentarily, and she grew silent for a few seconds. ¡°I knew it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s rest a little more. Did you not say that danger is about toe?¡± He didn¡¯t continue Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s topic because he realized that her eyes had be a little peculiar, to the point where her aura had changed.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t say anything else as she casually found a ce to sit down. They sat opposite each other quietly while they rested.

    This break was rtively shorter, as they hadn¡¯t travelled for too long before this. Huo Yuhao stood up again after fifteen minutes and gazed forward into the distance.

    It was afternoon at this point, and there was still some time before evening. However, the temperature was starting to decline, and there was a crisp and cool feeling within the forest.

    There were far too few soul beasts within the Setting Sun Forest at this moment. At least, Huo Yuhao drew this conclusion from his observations as they proceeded in that direction.

    This sentiment hadn¡¯t been that intense when he had entered the Great Star Dou Forest. There were many soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest, and innumerable mighty entities among them. However, the Setting Sun Forest¡¯sndscape seemed to reflect the seriousness of the damage that soul masters had inflicted on the world of soul beasts. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be long before the Setting Sun Forest became just a normal forest.

    However, human soul masters needed to hunt and kill soul beasts to obtain soul rings if they wanted to increase their cultivation.

    This necessity would always lead to conflict and disharmony, unless all the soul beasts in the world went extinct one day. If that day dide, there would no longer be any soul masters, either.

    It was apparent that they would have to emphasize their research into spirits. However, even if their research was sessful, the most they could do was reduce the need for soul beasts. The truth was that spirits still required soul beasts as a foundation.

    These thoughts shed by one after another in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He was a gifted student from Shrek Academy, and he was clear on the fact that this conflict would erupt in the near future. It could take ten years, a hundred years, or a thousand years, but the human world would be adversely affected if soul beasts went extinct. After another millennium, the soul master profession would be ancient history, and would no longer exist.

    Forget it. I¡¯m not going to think about all that for now. No matter what happens in the future, obtaining that herb for Dong¡¯er is the most important task at hand.

    They raised their guard as they continued forward, as peril could descend upon them at any time. Wang Qiu¡¯er retrieved her Golden Dragon Spear, and Huo Yuhao stretched his Spiritual Detection to its limits, focusing in one direction from time to time.

    They moved forward for another fifteen minutes. Even Huo Yuhao felt a little unsettled at this point, and he had an ominous feeling that something was here that made him feel a little stifled and pressured.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er murmured, ¡°Wait.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately halted in his tracks and turned towards her. ¡°I also think something is amiss. How are you feeling, Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er surveyed her surroundings as she lowered her voice and said, ¡°Have you realized that the light around us is a lot weaker than before?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao had been using Spiritual Detection this whole time, but his Spiritual Detection was mainly focused on soul beasts that could appear, and other sources of danger that could attack them in some way. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s reminder made him realize that this ce was a lot dimmer than before.

    ¡°Can it be because the sky is getting dark?¡± He rarely came to the northern regions, so he didn¡¯t know much about the weather in these parts.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s still afternoon. Even if we go further north, there can¡¯t be so little light. Furthermore, there are no clouds blocking the sun, and you can see the trees¡¯ shadows on the ground. Furthermore, we areparing the sunlight now to how it was fifteen minutes ago. How can the sky turn dark within such a short period of time? There is only one possibility that can cause the light to dim and weaken... the air.¡±

    ¡°Air?¡± Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°Don¡¯t you have Spiritual Detection? Concentrate it on a rtively small area and focus on what¡¯s inside, observe and see how the air is changing in that space, and then jump up into the sky and perceive how different the air is up there from how it is down here. You should be able to discover something.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Huo Yuhao answered slowly.

    Huo Yuhao immediately focused his attention and used Spiritual Detection on the air in front of him. He discovered something different the moment he concentrated.

    Even his Spirit Eyes found it difficult to distinguish the fine dust that was drifting around through the air. These dust particles were pale white. They weren¡¯t thick and dense, but they were floating stably. They were inside a tremendous forest, and the air inside the forest should be a lot better than the outside world. These dust particles clearly wouldn¡¯t be here under normal circumstances.

    Huo Yuhao jumped into the air and activated his flying-type soul tool. His body was propelled upwards as he surged into the sky.

    He pierced ten meters above the canopy, and his vision instantly lit up, as if he had just broken through some barrier, everything around him very bright and clear.

    Huo Yuhao was still using Spiritual Detection, and he immediately discovered that the fine particles disappearedpletely once he was out of the forest.

    He looked down toward the Setting Sun Forest beneath him, but his naked eye couldn¡¯t distinguish anything.

    A thought shed by in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. He continued channeling his flying-type soul tool so that he could fly even higher up.

    Huo Yuhao looked down once more when he went even higher, and he could finally see what was going on.

    The Setting Sun Forest looked extremely calm, but there seemed to be a faint and thin fog floating around inside the forest. What made him even more astounded was the fact that this fog gradually dissipated and vanished where they came from, but it was a lot denser in the ce they were heading towards. It felt as if a patch of cloud had descended on the forest, and even the vegetation was blurry and obscured. These clouds weren¡¯t just white, as he could even see multi-colored hues in the distance.

    What¡­ what is this?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have too much time to think. He immediately returned to the forest and ryed his discoveries to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes grew a little ck as she stared at his eyes, but she immediately recovered as she blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s a miasma, this should be a miasma!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Miasma?¡± He only had a fuzzy understanding of the term.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°A miasma is a kind of venomous gas that gradually arises from decaying and dposing vegetation and animals that are not taken care of, and if there isn¡¯t any wind or rain to blow it away. I¡¯ve seen this before inside the Great Star Dou Forest, but I¡¯ve never seen it like the way you describe it. It covers such an enormous surface area, and it even contains specks of various colors.

    ¡°Different miasmas have different toxic effects. A lighter miasma will cause dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea, while a heavier miasma can be fatal. It seems like the danger that I sensed before this is rted to this miasma. The only thing is, where is this immense miasmaing from? Toxic miasma is not to be trifled with, and it¡¯s not something that we can resist with just our soul power. What do we do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°It seems like it¡¯s not just because of soul masters hunting that there are so few soul beasts inside the Setting Sun Forest. This phenomena must also be closely connected to this miasma. Qiu¡¯er, you should turn back. It¡¯s too dangerous here, and there¡¯s no need for you to apany me to face this peril.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes widened as she said, ¡°We have encountered a situation that normal human ability cannot fend off, and you still haven¡¯t changed your mind? Will you still go inside if you know that you will nevere out alive?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I have a solution for this. Even though this solution isn¡¯t perfect, it will increase our chances of venturing deeper within. However, it¡¯s quite dangerous. I must go inside for Dong¡¯er, and I will never have the courage to go inside again if I back down today. Go back, Qiu¡¯er. Let me prepare.¡±

    There was miasma in the air around them, but it was still rtively weak and thin. Their physiques were quite formidable, and it wasn¡¯t difficult for them to resist the miasma at this point. This was the reason why Huo Yuhao had no intention of turning back.

    Huo Yuhao released his all-terrain self-driving fort onto the open ground beside him and got to work.

 Chapter 256.1: Ice and Fire Destroy the Poisonous Miasma

    Wang Qiu¡¯er naturally stayed with him. She followed him beside his all-terrain self-driving fort and said, ¡°Are you going to use this toy to barge through the miasma? That¡¯s entirely impossible! The toxic fog inside is too dense, and you can¡¯t even determine the right direction to go. Even if you can do so, you¡¯ll still need to breathe when you go inside! There won¡¯t be much for us to breathe in the depths of the miasma, so what are you going to do? When that happens, will you even be able to escape? Furthermore, I am confident that certain toxic miasmas are extremely corrosive, so metal will gradually be dysfunctional, and could even melt. You think this thing of yours can fend off all the miasma? Stop dreaming!¡±

    Huo Yuhao made no reply as he continued working on his all-terrain self-driving fort. It was just as Wang Qiu¡¯er had said, he was attempting to make the self-driving fort more airtight.

    Huo Yuhao was very familiar with this soul tool. The Starlight Sapphire ring¡¯s immense space meant he could bring along a lot of materials, so he took less than an hour toplete the adjustments to make the all-terrain self-driving fort more airtight.

    Huo Yuhao went inside to try it out, using Spiritual Detection to scan every single detail andponent. He made sure that the internal regions werepletely airtight before he came out, and began to work on something else on the outside. From Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s perspective, Huo Yuhao was incessantly stripping things off the self-driving fort before he added something else in their ce in a manner that seemed overlyplicated.

    Another two hours passed before he finished refining his all-terrain self-driving fort, and the sky was started to turn dark.

    He began to retrieve soul tool after soul tool from his Starlight Sapphire storage ring, andid them all out neatly on the ground.

    He took out sixteen Milk Bottles, and some stationary soul cannon shells. These shells were marked with various patterns and markings, forty-six of them altogether. Huo Yuhao picked out nine shells that had red markings and put the other shells away before he took out another normal storage-type ring and put it on his right hand¡¯s middle finger. He ced those nine shells inside this ring.

    It was clear that he was sorting his inventory and his equipment. He checked his sixteen Milk Bottles and discovered that some of them weren¡¯t stored to the brim with soul power, so he immediately began to infuse soul power into these half-full Milk Bottles eventuallypletely filling every single one. Every single Milk Bottle would be imperative to the subsequent operation, and every single ss 6 Milk Bottle couldpletely restore his soul power over a period of time.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked on as Huo Yuhaopleted his tasks seriously, and her expression changed continuously.

    There was only one thought in her mind. She was still throwing around the statement that Huo Yuhao had just said to her before this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about losing her and what would be of me, and I realized that my entire world would turn gray, and I would no longer have any vitality. Perhaps, I might even lose the will to live. That was when I realized to my surprise that her life has be more important than my own.¡±

    She was so important in his heart, and he would risk his own life to break through this miasmic world for her. A person could actually give so much for another person. Why? How is that possible?

    She silently watched Huo Yuhao finish everything he was doing as she immersed herself within theseplicated emotions. The sky had already turned dark when he finished up with his Milk Bottles.

    Huo Yuhao only made some time to rest at this moment. He raised his head and nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er before he heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and replied, ¡°Why should I leave? I want to see how a fool is going to kill himself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled when he heard ¡°fool¡±, as the images of Wang Dong¡¯er and himself on the Sea God¡¯s Lake surfaced in his mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a fool. I should be an idiot,¡± Huo Yuhao chuckled in reply.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was taken aback. ¡°Is there something wrong with your brain?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°She was the one that said that. She told me before that I¡¯m an idiot, and I¡¯m her idiot. No matter what, this idiot has to be idiotic one more time. The sky is getting dark, you should leave at first light tomorrow. If you wish, you can wait for me outside the Setting Sun Forest, and you can go back without me if I¡¯m not out within three days. However, please don¡¯t tell anyone about what happened to me. Just let them believe that I¡¯ve disappeared.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s emotions erupted once more, and she began to shout at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Idiot! You truly are an idiot, and there¡¯s nothing that can save you from your idiocy. Is it worth it? Is it really worth it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mince words as he replied decisively, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s worth it. I have to try, no matter how much danger and peril I have to put myself through, so that Dong¡¯er may continue to live. At the very least, I have to figure out the true mysteries contained within this ce, and I will not give up even if there is but one sliver of hope. How can I look on with open eyes as Dong¡¯er passes into the void from her hidden wound? How can I look on as my entire world turns gray? I can¡¯t let that happen.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er bit down on her lower lip. ¡°Idiot, idiot! Idiot!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother with her any longer, and he collected some rtively drier branches from around him and began to make a campfire.

    Huo Yuhao had no qualms about starting a fire here, as there weren¡¯t many soul beasts left in this area of the Setting Sun Forest. He was quietly observing how the faint miasma in the air reacted to his campfire at the same time.

    Heated rations were still tastier than cold ones. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to cook food from the things around him, as the nts and vegetation around him had been immersed in this miasma for an incredibly long time, and they probably contained all contained toxins to some degree. He made some thick soup from the rations and food that he had brought along with him and began to eat.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s emotions had exploded for a moment, but she swiftly returned to normal. She came over to his side and began to eat as well.

    Night inside the Setting Sun Forest was a lot colder than inside the Great Star Dou Forest. There wasn¡¯t much wind, but the environment¡¯s eerie cold and humidity was still exceedingly ufortable.

    Fortunately, they had this campfire. The two of them sat around the campfire and sipped on their warm soup, and this helped them dispel the chill.

    Gulp¡­ Huo Yuhao finished the soup in his bowl and stretched outfortably. He got to his feet and surveyed the area with Spiritual Detection to make sure there were no dangers or threats around them before sitting back on the ground.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sipped her soup in small mouthfuls. She was very serious in this endeavor, as if she was holding some precious treasure in her hands.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, at which time of day is this miasma the thickest? When is it the thinnest?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered coldly, ¡°It¡¯s thickest in the morning, and it¡¯s thinnest at midday.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into a squint. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s probably because the morning is a lot more humid than the rest of the day. The umted moisture throughout the night probably makes it easier for this miasma to travel. Sunlight is strongest at midday, and the moisture within all this miasma will partially evaporate under direct sunlight. It will thin without the help of voluminous water vapor. Is that correct?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, and he seemed like he was starting to meditate beside the campfire.

    ¡°Hey! What are you going on and on about?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er sounded a little upset.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes once more. He heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I¡¯m serious, Qiu¡¯er. You should leave at first light tomorrow.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and said, ¡°What makes you think you can tell me what to do? Do you think you are the only one that is allowed to do idiotic things?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°But there¡¯s no need for that. It¡¯s too dangerous, and I am not even ten percent confident in seeding. I¡¯ll have to rely on guesswork, trial, and error for many things.¡±

    ¡°Stop beating around the bush. Say it, what¡¯s your n, exactly? Since I have already followed you this far, do you think I can just look on while you venture into danger and peril all by yourself? Who do you think I am?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice was ice-cold. Even though her tone was cold, her words were warmer than even the campfire before him when they fell into his ears.

    Helpings hands in one¡¯s direst moment were usually the most precious things one could ever have.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to help, then I think our chances of sess will be raised to thirty percent. If this toxic miasma is the only threat in this ce, then I have an eighty percent chance of escaping with my life at least. The only thing I¡¯m worried about right now is if there are other dangers besides this toxic miasma.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was astounded when she heard his words. ¡°Are you being blindly optimistic? Why do you think you have an eighty percent chance of escaping with your life?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m not as familiar with forests inhabited by soul beasts or with miasma as you are, but my judgment and decision-making skills are still quite reliable. The person that imparted this map to me is a senior, and I am positive that he harbors no malicious intent. This is the reason why he added a seal on the map when he gave it to me, so that I would onlye here to find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass to save Dong¡¯er¡¯s life when I was strong enough. I opened this seal by chance, and before I have obtained the necessary strength.

    However, the records suggest that not every area on the way to my destination is covered by this toxic miasma. Otherwise, I may not even have the confidence of retrieving what I¡¯m looking for even if I were a Titled Douluo. This miasma greatly hinders my Spiritual Detection, so how else could I find what I need to find? I trust that this task that this senior has given to me isn¡¯t that difficult to aplish.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°These are but your conjectures.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°We have to hypothesize boldly, but we have to prove it conscientiously and carefully. Furthermore, I have other safeguards. You¡¯ve already said that this miasma is strongest during the early morning, and it will weaken at midday. That means there is no doubt that we should move forward at midday. Furthermore, since the warmth from sunlight impedes the miasma, why don¡¯t we create something hot so that we can weaken the miasma around us?¡±

 Chapter 256.2: Ice and Fire Destroy the Poisonous Miasma

    ¡°I¡¯ve been observing it using Spiritual Detection ever since I started the campfire, and I realized that the miasma has no way of resisting fire, and clearly vanishes around this campfire. It¡¯s apparent that mes are fatal to this miasma. I don¡¯t have any fire-type abilities, but some of the soul tools that I carry around can create some fire, and are proving extremely effective. I¡¯ve already attached these soul tools to the all-terrain self-propelling fort, and I¡¯ve made the fort even more airtight than before, along with some other changes that will be imperative to keeping us alive.

    ¡°Also, my second martial soul possesses Ultimate Ice. Perhaps ice won¡¯t have the same effect on the miasma as fire does, but the miasma carries miniscule toxins that will be greatly weakened under exceedingly cold temperatures. Furthermore, my Ultimate Ice can affect the water vapor that makes up the fog. The miasma will also be weakened without water vapor to help it permeate.

    ¡°I¡¯vebined all this with the prepared safeguards to keep us alive. Even if we can¡¯t venture too deep inside, we will have no problem breaking out, since all we have to do is prevent the miasma from corroding our flying-type soul tools. That being the case, we will have no problem escaping from here.¡±

    The incredulity in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes grew stronger and stronger as she listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis. She was truly astonished¡­ she had just been daydreaming beside him during this short period of time, but he had alreadye up with so many solutions to deal with the problem. Everything he said made perfect sense. Rational judgment told her that not everywhere within this miasma was dangerous, and they also had ice and fire to handle the problem. The danger from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s point of view seemed to diminish.

    Huo Yuhao chortled as he stared at the astonished look on her face. ¡°Do you suddenly feel that I am smart and powerful?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snapped, ¡°Enough nonsense. Hurry up and rest. We¡¯ll get moving tomorrow.¡±

    They began to meditate beside the campfire. The miasma was undeniably dangerous, but it also formed a protective dome around them. There were so few soul beasts in the area that they weren¡¯t threatened at all.

    The night passed without any other words.

    ------

    Huo Yuhao activated his flying-type soul tool at first light and soared into the sky to monitor the surrounding miasma.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words were urate. The miasma in the morning was conspicuously denser, and he could see faint white fog around their location. However, the miasma around these parts was not that toxic, and dissipated or disintegrated when it came near the campfire.

    Huo Yuhao adjusted his altitude from time to time so that he could better monitor the situation, and he recorded everything that he saw. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless about anything that concerned his and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s safety, especially anything that would have an impact on whether he could retrieve the Yearning Heartbroken Grass or not.

    The sun rose fully as he continued to observe and calcte. Huo Yuhao continuouslymunicated his observations to Wang Qiu¡¯er, and they patiently waited for midday to arrive.

    Finally, it was almost time. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er ate some more, had their fill of water, and set off in their peak condition.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were as cold as ice as he stared at the thinning miasma in the air.

    The weather was good today; the sun was radiant as it loomed over the earth, and there wasn¡¯t a single cloud to be seen. Truthfully, it wasn¡¯t what Huo Yuhao had wanted most. What he wanted most was heavy rain and a thunderstorm!

    The miasma would be weakened to arger extent if a heavy downpour came down upon the Setting Sun Forest. Unfortunately, this was still the dry season, and storms were few and far between in the northern regions to begin with. The scorching sunpletely dashed his hopes.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be setting off soon, Qiu¡¯er.¡± Huo Yuhao turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression was equally cold and stoic, but there was a tinge of excitement beneath her eyes. This was the first time she had encountered a situation like this, where Huo Yuhao¡¯s intricate andprehensive n resolved the various dangers and threats. She was filled with curiosity and excitement against a natural phenomenon such as this, and the mystery of the unknown and uncertain dangers was extremely stimting to her.

    Huo Yuhao extended the flying-type soul tool behind his back, and reached out for Wang Qiu¡¯er with his left hand.

    Their lives were at stake, and it was necessary to conserve as much soul power as they could with every step they took so that they could maintain themselves at their peak conditions. Their martial soul fusion would have a substantial part to y in this endeavor, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything lesser at a time like this.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him and hmphed, but eventually slipped her left hand into his palm.

    Their hands sped together, and their soul power naturally interacted, flourishing soul power undtions rippling out. Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky as he grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand, and channeled soul power into her before they both soared into the sky.

    They surged out of the Setting Sun Forest and continued to climb higher and higher. Their ss 6 flying-type soul tools propelled them up, and they quickly reached several hundred meters in the sky. However, Huo Yuhao showed no signs of stopping as he continued flying upward with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The miasma beneath them covered a tremendous area, which Huo Yuhao had roughly gauged beforehand. The strongest part of the miasma permeated to about three hundred meters above-ground, and these were the parts that had hints of color. The miasma here looked exceptionally beautiful, but was also exceedingly dangerous.

    They climbed to about seven hundred meters before Huo Yuhao stabilized his altitude. They were currently high enough to avoid the miasma¡¯s toxicity, and he took another nce at it before he pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er along and flew towards the ce where the miasma was the thickest.

    Never once did he consider using the all terrain self-propelling fort to move forward on the ground toward their destination. The miasma on the ground would be increasingly thick, which meant that it would also be more corrosive. This would take a continuous toll on the fort¡¯s protective barrier and his soul power, whereas using their flying-type soul tools expended a lot less.

    More importantly, his Spiritual Detection would be greatly impeded as they went deeper into the thick miasma. This meant that it would be impossible for him to determine direction and proceed toward his destination as fast as he could.

    It was different in the sky. Discerning direction in the air was convenient, and he was almost sure that the ce where the miasma was the densest was likely where he had to go. The ce where exotic things existed were undoubtedly unique, and this toxic miasma could be considered one of this ce¡¯s unique features.

    Even if using flying-type soul tools consumed more soul power than moving along the ground with his all-terrain self-propelling fort, Huo Yuhao would still choose the sky because it was a lot faster, and they could reach the skies above their destination in no time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s subsequent n could be executed as fast as possible, and this meant he would be conserving soul power.

    The area they wereing from was in the toxic miasma¡¯s outer regions. They were flying as fast as they could through the sky, and it took but a few minutes before they reached the sky above the area where the miasma was most dense.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Wang Qiu¡¯er with his right hand as he raised his left hand into the air. A beam of light sparkled from his ring, and a stationary soul cannon about one and a half meters long appeared in his hands. He held the cannon stably on his shoulder, and let go of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand for a moment. He swung his wrist, and the storage ring on his left hand immediately produced two stationary soul cannon shells in his hands ¨C these were the cannon shells with red markings that he had picked out the previous day.

    Huo Yuhao ced one shell into the barrel and held onto the other one as he activated Spiritual Detection. He was looking down from the sky, and the area he could cover was naturally greater than usual, while there was nothing obstructing his vision.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er controlled her flying-type soul tool and flew behind him while she tilted herself backward, so that she wouldn¡¯t affect his flying-type soul tool¡¯s stability as she grabbed his shoulders with both hands at the same time. Their martial souls began to fuse, greatly boosting Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t pause at all, swinging his right hand and tossing the cannon shell in it down. It fell away rapidly, while he quickly supported the stationary soul cannon with his right hand and locked onto the shell with his Spiritual Detection. Just as te cannon shell was about to pierce through the thick miasma, Huo Yuhao fired his soul cannon.

    Boom! The tremendous recoil pushed Huo Yuhao several meters through the air as a brilliant red beam erupted from his soul cannon. The cannon shell barreled forward at devastating speed, and went straight for the other cannon shell that Huo Yuhao had tossed out earlier.

    The shell fired by the stationary soul cannon naturally flew a lot faster than the one that was in freefall through the air. Huo Yuhao had used Spiritual Detection to lock onto his target, and his uracy wasparable to ruler measurements. A red streak of light unerringly struck the cannon shell that had just plunged into the thick miasma.

    Boom, boom, boom! A series of explosions could be heard, and the thick miasma was immediately tainted fiery-red. The entire miasmic cloud began to tremble violently and tumultuously as sparks flew in all directions.

    The stationary cannon shell that Huo Yuhao had used was a ss 5 explosive incendiary bomb. It wasn¡¯t as powerful as the Giant Lightning Cannon that he had used before, but it had an extremelyrge area of effect. The explosion would also generate a terrifying amount of intense heat, whose waves would permeate in all directions. A single ss 5 explosive incendiary bomb could cover a radius of at least a hundred meters, and was exceptionally violent!

    Huo Yuhao opted to use two shells, and made it so that these two shells would collide and detonate in the air for an even more explosive impact, which would cause even more damage to the miasmic cloud. On the other hand, detonating the cannon shell on the ground might damage the herb that he was supposed to retrieve. He wanted to obliterate the miasma, not this magical herb!

    His calctions could be said to be impable and precise, and he executed his n as perfectly as could be.

 Chapter 256.3: Ice and Fire Destroy the Poisonous Miasma

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conserve his stationary soul cannon shells, and fired another two more, one after another without hesitation. More frightening explosions rippled through the air.

    The first explosion had already cleared away arge amount of the toxic clouds, and the second explosion detonated at a position slightly below the first one. Their vision immediately became clearer when the second explosion went off.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao swiftly stored his stationary soul cannon before reaching back with his right hand and grabbing Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s arm, and they plunged towards the ground.

    The stationary soul cannon had opened a path, but it couldn¡¯t be maintained for too long. Once the high temperature dissipated, the thick miasma in the surroundings would immediately start to condense once more. Four ss 5 stationary soul cannon shells had opened this path, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t waste such a great opportunity.

    Their bodies plummeted rapidly, and they quickly dove toward the thick miasma. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er could clearly see that the surrounding miasma was starting to close up at an rming speed. The miasma was just too thick and dense, to the point where it seemed to materialize in the sky as it copsed in on the hole.

    The vegetation beneath them was conspicuously different from the nts in the Setting Sun Forest¡¯s outer regions. Many of these nts were dotted with colors, but this spectacle didn¡¯t represent anything good at all. Colorful nts often meant acute venom; this wasmon knowledge they had learned at Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely calm at this moment. He pushed his Spiritual Detection to itsrgest possible range and meticulously monitored everything that was happening around him. It was clear that there was no way out once he and Wang Qiu¡¯er submerged themselves in the toxic cloud, and they could only move forward. They only had this one chance. If they backed out, they would no longer have the ability to delve into this mysterious miasmic world a second time.

    They barreled through several hundred meters in the blink of an eye. They were just about to hit the ground when Wang Qiu¡¯er went ahead and punched downward. Golden light erupted amidst a deep dragon roar as fearsome strengthpressed the air around them until it began to crackle shrilly. Wang Qiu¡¯er created a deep crater in the ground as explosions continued to ring out, and the colorful nts on the ground, and the liquids within them, were sent flying in all directions.

    Theynded stably on the ground, and Huo Yuhao activated his ss 6 protective soul barrier immediately, enveloping them both, and swiftly began to survey his surroundings.

    The world around them was so colorful that everything felt like rainbows. The multicolored nts on the ground covered every single piece of ground, and not a single inch of soil could be seen. There were hardly any trees or woods in this area, which was probably because of the corrosive power of the nts¡¯ toxins.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a little surprised as she observed, ¡°Strange... the miasma on the ground isn¡¯t as dense as it is in the sky...¡±

    This was true. They were in the miasma¡¯s core regions, and the miasmic clouds here were tinged with the colors of the rainbow. However, it was only present as a faint mist here, and even though it hindered their vision to a certain extent, it wasn¡¯t enough to block their line of sightpletely. The miasma was undoubtedly a lot thinner than the thick and toxic clouds in the sky above them.

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°Clouds and mist always permeate and drift away upward. I already noticed this, as even though the miasma is dense in these parts, it¡¯s obvious that it¡¯s drifting upward, so the miasma on the ground probably isn¡¯t as toxic as it is above us. However, these multicolored miasmic clouds are still extremely dangerous. I can already feel the miasma corroding my protective barrier, even though it¡¯s energy-based.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already determined the right direction when they were in the sky. He pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er and immediately proceeded towards their destination.

    They were very careful as they pushed forward. Cold energy condensed beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet, and ayer of frost appeared on the ground with every step that he took so that he could block off the nts they were walking on.

    The soul protective barrier could clear away the nts in front of them, but it couldn¡¯t do anything against the nts beneath their feet, so Huo Yuhao had to resort to this clumsy method. There was no doubt that this consumed soul power, but it was safer than otherwise. He was not about to let himselfe into contact with any of these venomous nts or the multicolored miasma, as he had no idea how toxic these things could be. It would be almost impossible to retreat if something happened to him right here, or if a hole opened in his protective barrier.

    They began to see some things that made their skin crawl as they pushed forward. Enormous bones and skeletons would appear on the ground from time to time, and those bones were also as multicolored the miasma around them. Clearly, these weren¡¯t nts, but the remains of soul beasts that had perished from the poison.

    Crack! A sound could be heard from not too far away, which startled them both. They concentrated their soul power at almost the same time as they gazed in the direction the sound came from.

    Arge skeleton began to lean sideways. The bones beneath it had clearly be fragile and brittle from the corrosion, and the skeleton crashed to the ground with a loud boom in the next moment, exploding into a million broken pieces. The brilliant colors above them became even denser than before.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er both drew cold breaths as they looked on. They could see that the venom was so toxic that it could corrode bones, to the point where these bones became fragile, and eventually disintegrated. It was not hard to imagine the number of soul beasts that were buried underneath these multicolored nts.

    A soul beast¡¯s skeleton was the toughest part of its body, and some were even used by humans as special materials. One of the items that best represented this was undoubtedly the Golden Dragon Spear in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands. It felt as if everything in this miasmic world was being corroded. This toxic cloud was just too overwhelmingly poisonous!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered, ¡°These remains have be nutrients for the toxic miasma. The miasma continuously murders other living beings, and even the birds flying through the skies above have be victims. This cycle has made the miasma stronger and stronger. Perhaps, after millennia, the entire Setting Sun Forest will be a toxic and miasmic forest. That¡¯s just¡­ too horrifying.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows were tightly knit together as he began to pick up the pace. He had realized that the colors outside his soul protective barrier were bing denser as the multicolored miasma began to stick to his barrier. He could withdraw his protective barrier to shake off the toxic miasma, but that would mean he and Wang Qiu¡¯er would be exposed to it.

    The toxic miasma was exceedingly corrosive, and Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his soul power was being consumed at an rming speed. This was definitely not something that he wanted to see, so he had no choice but to push forward more quickly than before. When they reached a point where both he and Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t take it anymore, he would use an explosive incendiary bomb to open a path like before, and they would then use their flying-type soul tools to escape from this toxic world. It was the only way to stay alive.

    The world around them was full of brilliant colors as they continued forward. The map wasn¡¯t useful anymore at this point. Huo Yuhao could still use the map to roughly determine their location before they came in, but he could only rely on luck and continual Spiritual Detection to find his destination once they were inside.

    Huo Yuhao would activate Spiritual Detection to sweep in a single direction every few minutes. This method was a little clumsy, but it was still effective. In addition to his exemry memory, it made sure they were not walking around in circles.

    An hour quickly passed. Huo Yuhao had already expended his first Milk Bottle. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one that actually used the Milk Bottle, as he had to focus his energy on his Spiritual Detection. Their soul power was connected, so replenishing Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power meant Huo Yuhao was also replenishing his own.

    Huo Yuhao began to narrow down his destination after the hour of exploration. However, the miasmic clouds outside were starting to put more and more pressure on him, to the point where the multicolored miasmapletely blocked off his vision outside the protective barrier. He also had to strengthen his protective barrier continuously to maintain its integrity.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Huo Yuhao whispered as he immediately pulled on Wang Qiu¡¯er. She was already in his embrace before she could even react.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still carefully perceiving everything around her, and this sudden change startled her. A dense masculine aura smacked her in the face, and she even felt a little dizzy, as if she had been struck by the toxic miasma outside.

    An incredibly cold aura emanated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body in the next moment, and this aura crossed over Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body and permeated outside.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done it!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s delighted voice could be heard, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was shocked awake as Huo Yuhao released her from his embrace at the same time.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned to look, and saw that the multicolored radiance had been reced by icy-blue colors in a five-meter radius around them. Voluminous rainbow-colored particles had been blown into the air, and the dense miasmic particles that were originally stered on the soul protective barrier vanished at the same time.

    This is¡­

    The Domain of Perpetual Ice. Huo Yuhao had used his Domain of Perpetual Ice to freeze the water vapor within the toxic miasma, and he controlled these frozen particles to push outward so that his barrier was a little cleaner.

    This method was a little dubious, and it felt as if he was drinking poison to quench his thirst. In the end, the Domain of Perpetual Ice consumed a lot of soul power, and Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have decided on this method if not for the fact that his protective barrier was reaching the end of its life.

    Huo Yuhao withdrew his barrier at this moment and released it against immediately afterwards. His soul power consumption was instantly restored to the optimal level. Huo Yuhao also took this opportunity to take a breather.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er forcibly suppressed her palpitating heartbeat as she suggested calmly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you use your third eye to probe around? We may consume a lot more soul power if we continue going around in circles.¡±

    She didn¡¯t need Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation to understand that the embrace happened because he didn¡¯t want her to get hurt because of his soul skill. Bringing their bodies into close contact meant that Huo Yuhao could use their martial soul fusion to unleash his soul skill beyond her body, and it was clearly the best choice at the moment. But¡­ but this guy still hugged me in the end!

 Chapter 257.1: Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes

    The truth was that Huo Yuhao also had butterflies in his stomach. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was a lot softer and more tender than he had imagined. Of course, that tenderness onlysted for a second before it became rock-hard. He was afraid that Wang Qiu¡¯er would suddenly erupt, but her calm words made him extremely relieved. What an intelligent girl! Huo Yuhao was full of awe and admiration inside.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and closed his eyes, and golden light flickered on his forehead as he slowly opened his Eye of Destiny. He stopped moving forward and remained where he was. The extreme chill brought about by his Domain of Perpetual Ice could be maintained for quite a while, and that slowed down the toxic miasma¡¯s assault.

    His initial judgment was correct, ice and fire were exceedingly damaging and controlling towards the miasmic clouds. It was a pity that he was far from strong enough. If he had been a Titled Douluo, he could possibly channel his Domain of Perpetual Ice with all his might to create an enormous blizzard and actually obliterate some of this miasma. If he kept sweeping across this area for a prolonged period of time, he wouldn¡¯t need very long to clean out all the miasma in this area. If he could find the origin of all this, thisrge naturally-urring disastrousnd would no longer consume life.

    Faint light continued to flicker as Huo Yuhao¡¯s face flowed with a subtle chill. The Eye of Destiny on his forehead glowed with golden light, and his martial soul fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er boosted his Eye of Destiny¡¯s power exponentially.

    His martial soul fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er also gave him an all-around boost, but Wang Qiu¡¯er gave him an explosive amplification, and this was mainly presented in his strength and his spiritual power. This boost was extremely pure, just like their martial soul fusion.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er could be considered a general boost, while his martial soul fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er could be considered a specific boost. The amplification direction was different, so each had their own effects. At this moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s explosive effects were more effective for this attempt at stretching the limits of his Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao channeled his Eye of Destiny with all his might, and a powerful golden beam of light fired out from his vertical eye. This golden beam was deep and profound, and even Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to stare directly at his brilliant golden eye.

    Scenes shed by in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, and his head also began to swivel as he searched his surroundings. Even Huo Yuhao himself was astonished by the distance he could reach with Spiritual Detection. He realized, to his surprise, that he could reach far past his normal limit of five kilometers. His soul power was consumed at an rming rate, but the vast distance that he could reach undoubtedly saved him a lot of time.

    This amplification is so powerful, it feels even stronger than it was inside the Great Star Dou Forest. This thought crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and his eyes grew ck in the next moment. The golden light disappeared, and his vertical eye closed up before it vanished with another flicker of golden light.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked softly, and she seemed a little fatigued as well. In the end, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one expending spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled as he replied, ¡°I think I have found the direction leading to our target! The miasma over there is different. I think it¡¯s more toxic, and I can see that the miasmic clouds beyond that patch are conspicuously lower than before. It¡¯s likely to be the valley that we¡¯re looking for. Let¡¯s go, quickly!¡±

    He grasped Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as he spoke and raced in the direction he had just identified.

    They were naturally moving a lot faster than before now that they had a proper target. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conserve any soul power, and raised his protective barrier to the highest possible level to keep all the miasma outside as they pushed forward as fast as they could.

    His Spiritual Detection had reached more than seven kilometers, and his target was right at the end of that range.

    This ce was filled with deadly venom, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er only needed fifteen minutes to rush seven kilometers.

    The second Milk Bottle was already in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hands, and a different world from before swiftly appeared in the distance in front of them.

    Everything was bluish-green, and just so astounding and eerie.

    Cyan hues nketed the earth, while the nts that grew around them coveredrge patches of earth in a seemingly messy and disorganized manner of teals, aquas, and turquoises. Faint blue-green mist floated up from them before gradually beginning to expand outwards.

    ¡°What kind of nt is that?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to venture forward blindly, and he halted in his tracks as astonishment flowed from his eyes.

    These blue-green nts extended to either side of them. They weren¡¯t that tall, about half a meter tall, and every single nt had nine strangely shaped leaves. These leaves resembled human hands, but each one had seven fingers, while some of the rtivelyrger ones had nine fingers. There were enormous cyan flowers located at the tips of every leaf, and the mists were being released from therge flowers¡¯ stamens. The mist gradually expanded in all directions before flowing into the multicolored miasma.

    The cyan hues they let off were a substantial part of the multicolored miasma.

    Huo Yuhao gazed far into the distance, and could see with his formidable vision that huge patches of miasmic clouds were gathered behind these bluish-green nts. These miasmic clouds were gradually flowing towards the ground, but their densities wereparable to what they had encountered in the sky before this.

    It was no wonder he couldn¡¯t see this when he was still in the sky, as the densest miasmic clouds were sinking down in this area. There was no question that the ce the miasmic clouds were sinking into was a mountain valley.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at the bluish-green nts before them, as if she were trying to distinguish something. Huo Yuhao quickly retrieved a bright silvery piece of metal from his storage ring and threw it towards the blue-green nts in the distance.

    It was a piece of tinum, a metal which had a very high resistance to corrosion.

    The tinum piece hurtled through the multicolored miasma and quickly became tainted with various colors. However, astounding and terrifying transformations began to happen to it when it reached the space above the bluish-green mists in the sky.

    The tinum began to emanate dense streams of green mist when it came into contact with the toxic green clouds, and then its volume began to diminish at breakneck speed. Half of the tinum had disappeared by the time it hit the ground, and it only took about three breaths before that tough and corrosion-resistant metal vanished into thin air.

    ¡°This¡­ this corrosion is so strong.¡± Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath. He felt as if his legs were filled with lead, and he didn¡¯t dare to take another step forward. He could tell from how the tinum was corroded that this acidic mist was not something that his ss 6 protective barrier could defend against.

    Could he fly past it from above? However, the cyan mist reached an incredible height, and looked like it formed a dome that loomed over the valley. What exactly is this? How can it be so horrifyingly toxic and acidic?

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a soul tool as thoughts spun around in his head, and fired a soul ray at the green mist in the distance.

    A red beam of light surged forward and left a fiery radiance behind in the air. This was a soul meray, and even though it was just a ss 3 soul tool, it was extremely effective at burning things up.

    The rainbow-colored miasma surged and dissipated when it came into contact with the me. However, once this me ray reached the green mists beyond, the multicolored miasma had a lot more green inside, and it became conspicuously more resistant to the mes.

    When the mes reached the green mists, the scene that Huo Yuhao absolutely didn¡¯t want to see urred. The toxic green clouds suddenly became a lot stronger than before after the mes incinerated it. The green clouds all around them surged with lightning speed as they poured back along the cleared path burned by the me, right towards where Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were standing.

    ¡°Run!¡± Huo Yuhao dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er as he turned around to run without hesitation. He knew very well that he couldn¡¯t let a single ounce of that green mist touch his body, or they would both remain here as fertilizer!

    They turned and ran in the opposite direction. Huo Yuhao brought out the stationary soul cannon from before as he ran, and the green toxic mist chased them down from behind as if it had a life of its own. The bluish-green mist was moving even faster than their running speed, and he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate or dy for even a single second.

    He fired twice, and the poisonous clouds in the air exploded to open up a path for them. Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er as they soared into the sky, while he unleashed his Domain of Perpetual Ice to its highest defensive capability as he pulled her into his embrace. He activated his flying-type soul tool, and the four soul thrusters behind his back erupted at the same time, raising his speed to the highest possible level and driving him through the air. The green clouds loomed behind them, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er soared through the hole within the poisonous clouds in the air that they had just opened up before the green clouds could reach them.

    Huo Yuhao flew eight hundred meters into the sky in one go before he dared to slow down. His forehead had already broken out in a cold sweat.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t done anything at all. Besidespleting his martial soul fusion for him, she was just following him around.

    Huo Yuhao hugged her for a longer duration than before this time, and there seemed to be an extra something in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s otherwise calm expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s too frightening. The green toxic mist isn¡¯t afraid of fire, and it can even retaliate.¡± Huo Yuhao released Wang Qiu¡¯er from his embrace, and only then did he realize that the girl hadn¡¯t even opened her flying-type soul tool. Her pretty eyes seemed like they were deep in thought.

    ¡°Hey, open your flying-type soul tool. My soul power has been consumed until there¡¯s almost nothing left,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly reminded her.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er acknowledged as she infused soul power into the flying-type soul tool behind her, and she worked together with Huo Yuhao to stabilize herself in midair.

    Huo Yuhao nced downwards. What he saw was a torrential green mushroom cloud, which had surged five hundred meters into the air before it gradually receded. The multicolored miasmic clouds were assimted once they came into contact with this green cloud, as if the miasmic clouds for several kilometers around them had been riled up with this explosion. It felt as if the toxic clouds had been infuriated.

    ¡°Why do I feel like these poisonous clouds have a life of their own? I am absolutely certain that my target is located in the valley behind those poisonous green clouds.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows were tightly knit together.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly lowered her voice and said, ¡°I remember now. I know what those green nts are.¡±

 Chapter 257.2: Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes

    Huo Yuhao was pleasantly surprised as he said, ¡°What is it?¡± He had to understand what these toxic things were so that he could devise a n to fight against them.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied, ¡°That looked like the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. ¡°Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes? What¡¯s that?¡± He had learned about many nts during his lessons at Shrek Academy, as some soul beasts existed as nts, but he had never heard of this one.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at him with solemn eyes and said, ¡°You are right about one thing; these poisonous clouds do have life, and this life originates from those flowers.¡±

    A thought crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind as he asked, ¡°Are you saying that these bluish-green flowers are nt-type soul beasts?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°At least some of them are.

    ¡°The Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes is one of the most poisonous nts in the world. Its toxins contain acute corrosive acid, and it¡¯s known as the number-one corrosive toxin, while also containing an extremely powerful neurological poison. Coming into contact with it will cause the physical body to decay, and one will also have to withstand intense pain and suffering. However, this flower is also very rare and precious, and it¡¯s possibly every nt-type soul master¡¯s dream. If nt-type soul masters can find a Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes that has already be a nt-type soul beast, and assimte it as their own soul ring, then that soul master will possess the flower¡¯s intense venom. You¡¯ve already seen how powerful that poison can be.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened, and his jaw hung ck. ¡°Are you telling me that this area that is at least a kilometer wide and possibly stretches around the entire valley is filled with these Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes soul beasts? There are so many of them, yet they can still be considered an endangered species?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows were locked together as she said, ¡°I am also very surprised at this fact, and that¡¯s also why I didn¡¯t tell you about it in the beginning. ording to what I remember, the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes likes to live in groups, but their reproductive capabilities are terrible. They have strict requirements for their environment, and they have to absorb immense amounts of nutrients to sustain themselves during their growth process. Not all the flowers that we just saw have evolved into soul beasts, but most of them have alreadypleted the evolution process. Otherwise, how could they control so much of the bluish-green toxic clouds to attack us?

    ¡°I think you noticed that some of their leaves were shaped like human hands with nine fingers. This species is known as the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Nine Absolutes, and that means they have evolved to be nt-type soul beasts. Furthermore, this flower also belongs to a superior level in the world of nts, and has at least ten thousand years of cultivation when they evolve into soul beasts. That also means that there are possibly hundreds or thousands of Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Nine Absolutes among the nts we saw. Let¡¯s not discuss us, even a group of Titled Douluo would be in a hurry to get away from here. The ten-thousand year Jade Phosphorous Exotic Flowers channel something called the Jade Phosphorus Poison Cloud, and every nt releasing their poisonous clouds at the same time is a power that¡¯s nearly invincible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath as he heard Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s exnation. Huo Yuhao had always believed ever since he got that letter from Niu Tian that this task was aplishable, since Niu Tian had given it to him. Even though it was possibly overwhelmingly challenging, he should at least have a chance of sess.

    However, after listening to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s exnation of how frightening the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Nine Absolutes was, he understood that his chances were as slim as they could get. He would undoubtedly be fertilizer for the these flowers if he pushed forward forcibly.

    There were countless nt-type soul beasts around this ce... top-tier nt-type soul beasts! They could also work together, and they couldunch an attack with a colossal area of effect, as if they were an army. They could be said to have no loopholes at all.

    How could he have even a sliver of chance under such circumstances? Huo Yuhao grew silent, and even his eyes began to dim and grow solemn. He could no longer see any hope at all.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes flowed with struggle and conflict as she stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s dejected and defeated face, as if she were hesitant about something.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I will remember this ce. Let¡¯s retreat and rest up.¡± He had already used two Milk Bottles, and even though he still had several incendiary cannon shells, they would bepletely useless against the Jade Phosphorous Poison Cloud, and fire even seemed to make these clouds stronger. If they pushed forward blindly, they would be simply sending themselves to certain death. He wasn¡¯t afraid of death if he had to do so to save Dong¡¯er, but he couldn¡¯t just die for nothing.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as he spoke, and turned around and flew away from the valley. He flew out of the area covered by the miasmic clouds before they descended back into the Setting Sun Forest.

    Huo Yuhao took the two empty Milk Bottles from Wang Qiu¡¯er once they were on the ground, and then gradually infused soul power into each Milk Bottle while he silently contemted.

    His mental state wasn¡¯t in the right condition at the moment, and there was no way he could make it better. He was faced with an impossible situation, and there was practically no way he could move forward. As intelligent as he was, Huo Yuhao began to feel as if he was at his wit¡¯s end, and he had exhausted everything he had.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er just stood there as she watched his dark and gloomy expression. Her tensed brows began to smooth out as she heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m wrong tobel the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes as rare and precious. Venomous flowers as powerful as this are extremely rare even deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, and there are hardly more than three that appear at the same time even if they do. They require too much from their surroundings, and that means it¡¯s very difficult for them to evolve into soul beasts. So many Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Seven Absolutes existing in this area only proves one thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked up at her and asked, ¡°What does it prove?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°It proves that the valley behind them truly contains some exotic treasure, and I¡¯m certain that, whatever it is, there¡¯s a lot of it. Perhaps the valley has an environment that¡¯s extremely beneficial for growth, and that has provided enough nutrients for these flowers.

    ¡°I observed carefully when you pulled me through the air before this. I realized that the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes dots the area surrounding the valley, but not a single one grows near the edge of the valley. That means there should be something inside the valley that¡¯s countering them and holding them back, such that they don¡¯t dare to spread inside the valley. The miasmic clouds that we faced before this probablye from these flowers ¨C such an enormous volume of these flowers has led to the death of many soul beasts, while the vegetation all around has been corroded. The forest¡¯s unique location and environment also means that it¡¯s a lot easier for this miasma to form, and this umtion over the years has resulted in the level of miasma that we see now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°That also means that my judgment is correct. The herb that can save Dong¡¯er must be located within that valley. However, we still have no way of crossing over to the other side. The Jade Phosphorus Flowers of the Seven Absolutes, and the Jade Phosphorus Flowers of the Nine Absolutes that they have evolved into, aren¡¯t something we can fight against. The Jade Phosphorous Poison Cloud is probably so dense that the clouds will dispel my ss 6 soul protective barrier immediately once they touch it. If that happens, the two of us will melt into liquid in the blink of an eye.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to make it sound so disgusting. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying that everything in the world has a weakness? The flowers are strong, but there must be something in the world that can counter it. For example, such a thing exists in that valley. Furthermore, I also know one such weakness.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback as he said urgently, ¡°You¡­ why haven¡¯t you told me before?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°You are the one who wants to save Wang Dong¡¯er, not me. I would have told you if you hadn¡¯t been so mncholic.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, and emotions undted in his eyes for a moment. ¡°Please tell me, Qiu¡¯er. I¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er interrupted him roughly and said, ¡°Sure, I can tell you. But only if you kneel down and beg me to.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned once more, and then he was instantly infuriated. ¡°Are you crazy?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at him with an extremely noble and cold look. ¡°I¡¯m not crazy, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s crazy. So what if you can pierce through the Jade Phosphorus Poison Clouds? Can you predict the dangers that you will face afterwards? Since you¡¯ve already decided to die, what use do you have for dignity? Kneel and beg me, and I will tell you. Otherwise, scram back to the academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gradually calmed down, and he heaved a faint sigh. ¡°Does this really have to happen, Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly, but said nothing.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and gazed at the miasmic clouds in the distance. ¡°I have already exined so much to you. Why do you still not understand?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t even look at him as she turned around and began walking in the direction that led out of the Setting Sun Forest. She was very sure that Huo Yuhao had no chance of finding that herb and surviving through the ordeal at the same time.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Huo Yuhao called out to her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and nced at him coldly. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her deeply and said, ¡°Since it has to happen, then so be it.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression rxed a little. Is this guy finally going to cooperate with me? However, for some reason, there was a thread of disappointment deep within her heart. In the end, one¡¯s own life was more important...

    However, herrge blue eyes suddenly began to widen just when that thought appeared in her mind¡­ because as she looked on, Huo Yuhao¡¯s tall figure knelt grandly on the ground in her direction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was still as calm as ever... yes, he was kneeling on the ground. This was the first time that he had knelt down in front of someone other than his mother.

    Men would never kneel without a good reason, but he was full of determination as his knees touched the ground.

    ¡°I beg you, Qiu¡¯er, tell me what the Jade Phosphorous Exotic Flowers¡¯ weakness is. Thank you.¡± His voice was still as calm as before, but this calm was heartbreaking. Every single word pierced Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart as if they were sharp des.

    He¡­ he¡¯s actually kneeling down. He¡¯s actually kneeling down before me! He has relinquished a man¡¯s dignity just to save her. Why? How can this happen? Why?!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er felt as if her face was growing cold, and she touched her cheeks subconsciously, and felt tears.

    I¡¯m crying... I¡¯m actually crying! Are my tears flowing for him? No, why would I cry for him? Why?

    Her lips were trembling, and she continued to quiver as tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes. She rushed to his side and grabbed his cor before she lifted him up from the ground and hurled him heavily against a thick and tall tree beside them.

    Boom! Therge tree shuddered as leaves drifted down onto the ground. They fluttered all around the two of them, and it felt as if they were being bathed in a rain of greenery.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was still calm andposed. Tears continued to trickle down Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face, and her emotions immediately erupted.

    ¡°Are you trying to protest against me?!¡± she shouted at him hysterically.

    Huo Yuhao said nothing. He stared at her with a faint smile on his face, and his smile was just so calm and in in that moment¡­

 Chapter 257.3: Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes

    ¡°Why? Why do you have to give so much for her? Is she worth it?¡±

    He was still smiling faintly, and he still didn¡¯t make a sound. He had already shown his heart from the moment he knelt down in front of her. He had to go, no matter what he had to face.

    ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er continued to shout. ¡°Just go, and go to your death. The Jade Phosphorous Flowers fear the cold!. If you channel your domain to the strongest possible level, even those Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Nine Absolutes will be afraid of you. Go, you bastard! I will not follow you to a certain death, you can go by yourself if you want to die for her! You will never return, ever!¡±

    She tossed him heavily into the distance as she spoke, and he flew for dozens of meters before finally mming into a tree.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a word from beginning to end, he was just quietly staring at her with a faint smile on his face. He still wore the same smile even when he got to his feet after crashing into the enormous tree, which had snapped in two from the impact.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He finally opened his mouth, and said words that couldn¡¯t get any simpler as he strode towards the miasmic clouds.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t follow him this time.

    Huo Yuhao paused after a few steps and turned back around. He looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was still rooted to the ground, her shoulders still quivering.

    ¡°You¡¯re a nice girl, Qiu¡¯er. We will always be friends whether I return from this expedition dead or alive.¡± He left this statement for her and gave her a radiant smile before he turned back around. He didn¡¯t stop or slow down this time as he widened his stride and walked away. His steps were determined and unwavering.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly eximed and hurled her right fist violently. She hammered heavily on therge tree that she had just tossed Huo Yuhao against.

    The tree was thick enough for a person to ce his or her arms around, but the broken half of the tree flew backwards into the distance and mmed against anotherrge tree before it broke apart into smithereens. Her punch was just too strong and ferocious.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er bit down on her lower lip as she copsed to the ground, and tears flowed down her face uncontrobly. ¡°Why? How can there be a fool, an idiot like him? Why is he willing to give his life for a girl? He¡¯s still going to do it even though he knows he¡¯s going to die! Has he really gone crazy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s faint smile surfaced repeatedly before her eyes... that despicable smile! The final image stopped at the moment he knelt down before her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er knew that she would never forget this moment, when he knelt down in front of her for another woman. She would remember this for the rest of her life.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao! You¡­ you¡¯re such a bastard!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction as he departed the scene. Intense golden light erupted from her body, and every inch within ten meters around her glowed with golden luster.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t that far away, so he could still hear her voice. That faint smile appeared on his mouth once more, but he didn¡¯t turn back around.

    I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er. Perhaps this is the best ending. After all, I am the only person that should be here for this dangerous endeavor.

    So, the Jade Phosphorous Seven Exotic Flower was not afraid of fire, but it was afraid of extreme cold. No wonder uncle Niu Tian had figured that he had the ability to venture into this ce.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that Niu Tian had decided to give that pouch to Wang Dong¡¯er because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snow Empress Spirit. He had both Ultimate ice and snow, and extreme chill was a natural counter to the toxic miasma all around him. Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to be strong enough. Niu Tian had never expected that Huo Yuhao had Skydream Iceworm, and that Skydream was strong enough to break the spiritual seal. This ended up with Huo Yuhaoing into the Setting Sun Forest prematurely.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t moved too far before he found a rtively t ce to sit down. He began to meditate to restore his soul power, while he filled the final two empty Milk Bottles at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, and began to devise and refine the n in his mind. It was impossible to make his n entirely seamless and without loopholes, but he had to make sure to prevent all dangers that could possibly appear.

    Today¡¯s adventure wasn¡¯t aplete waste, as he had managed to figure some things out, while also discovering that the Jade Phosphorous Flowers were the true originators of the toxic miasma. This information was imperative to his operation and what he was about to do.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have given up on him, and didn¡¯t follow him. Huo Yuhao had had a peculiar sentiment when he knelt down; he had wanted to show his determination to her, but he had also wanted to consolidate this determination for himself. Furthermore, he had be a lot calmer and more rational than before.

    He had thought it through. He didn¡¯t have to find the herb on this expedition, and the mentality of paying with his life even if he was unsessful was irresponsible. What he had to do was do everything he could and whatever was necessary to obtain that herb.

    It wasn¡¯t embarrassing to ask for help. If he couldn¡¯t do it by himself, then he would have to ask the academy for help. Shrek Academy¡¯s abilities meant there was definitely something they could do against all this miasma. Furthermore, the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Nine Absolutes would be extremely beneficial for the academy¡¯s nt-type soul masters.

    ording to Niu Tian, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hidden injury would only be triggered at the age of twenty, while she was currently only seventeen years old. Niu Tian would never use Dong¡¯er¡¯s life as a joke, so this time estimation should be urate. That also meant that he had more than two years left.

    On the other hand, if Skydream hadn¡¯t helped him open that spiritual seal, he would never have opened that seal by himself to see everything that he had seen until after at least another year. That also meant that this endeavor wasn¡¯t that urgent.

    Huo Yuhao gradually realized all this after he encountered the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Seven Absolutes. The worry, the anxiety, and even the feeling of valiant sacrifice settled down after he thought everything through. What he had to do now was everything he could to probe the valley¡¯s secrets. Obtaining sufficient and valuable information was enough.

    If he didn¡¯t have the strength to find this herb, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to rely on his own abilities to retreat safely so that he could go back with his life. He would then find another opportunity toe back here to retrieve the herb when his chances were boosted to the highest possible level, and that oue was what he really wanted.

    The reason why he said all that he did to Wang Qiu¡¯er was because he really didn¡¯t want to owe her this favor. Huo Yuhao could faintly feel something from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s emotions and her attitude¡­ However, he already had Dong¡¯er, and he couldn¡¯t touch Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s feelings at all, and this was especially true because they were in a perilous ce. Even though he knew that his operation would be a lot easier if he had Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s help, he didn¡¯t dare to ask her for more help.

    He knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to owe her this favor. Therefore, he would rather she leave his side than allow her to continue on this hazardous adventure with him. Huo Yuhao had still perceived Wang Qiu¡¯er as just his friend before this, and when they pushed through the poisonous clouds, he had unleashed his abilities while hugging her at the same time. However, she had subconsciously leaned into his shoulder, and it was then that Huo Yuhao realized something wasn¡¯t right. I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er¡­

    ---

    Midday had just passed, and Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t about to wait until the following day. He recharged both Milk Bottles and used another hour to rest so that he could be at his optimum condition.

    This was the hottest time of the day, so the miasmic clouds weren¡¯t any stronger than before. Huo Yuhao checked his inventory and equipment once more before he activated his flying-type soul tool and soared into the sky, and back towards the ce locked in his memory.

    Huo Yuhao had Spiritual Detection to urately determine his location, and he quickly found the ce where the dense multicolored clouds sank downward, and where bluish-green lights shone faintly.

    He didn¡¯t plunge through the toxic clouds here. Instead, he hovered in midair about one kilometer from his destination.

    ¡°This is about right. I won¡¯t touch those Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds.¡± Huo Yuhao mumbled under his breath, and the stationary soul cannon was back on his shoulder in the next moment.

    His method was no different from before, and he tossed one shell before he fired another one from his shoulder immediately afterwards. Two incendiary explosive bombs collided in midair, and the subsequent explosion created an enormous hole in the miasmic clouds.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fire another two rounds with the experience from before, as he had enough understanding and judgment about the poison clouds¡¯ thickness and strength. He didn¡¯t have to waste his cannon shells, as those things, would be critical to protecting his life when he broke out from this ce.

    Huo Yuhao plummeted towards the ground as soon as the hole appeared.

    Right at this moment, a golden light erupted beside him without warning and dove down through the sky along with him.

    The owner of this golden light was burning up with pale golden mes, and the faint miasma dissipated and vanished when it came into contact with these mes.

    ¡°You¡­ why have you followed me?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was full of exasperation.

    There was no question that Wang Qiu¡¯er was the owner of this golden light. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used Spiritual Detection at all so that he could conserve soul power, which was why he had no idea that Wang Qiu¡¯er had followed behind him, and that she had picked this ¡°opportune¡± moment. They were both barreling through the poisonous clouds, and there was no way he could reject her participation anymore.

 Chapter 258.1: Paradise on Earth

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pretty face seemed like it was covered with ayer of frost. ¡°Do I look like someone who doesn¡¯t finish what I start?¡± She grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand authoritatively as she spoke, and the two of them initiated their martial soul fusion.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh. He wasn¡¯t willing to receive too much help from her so that he could prevent their feelings from developing. However, he was still relieved when Wang Qiu¡¯er did catch up with him. His exploration attempt would be a lot more rxed than before with her around, and he would also be a lot safer than otherwise.

    His soul protective barrier enveloped Wang Qiu¡¯er within it, so she stopped releasing her golden mes to defend herself, and the two of themnded on the ground as if they had been together the whole time.

    They were back in that rainbow-colored world, but they were a lot more familiar with their surroundings from their previous experience. Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er along the moment theynded and ran towards the edge of the ravine where the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes was growing.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you breaking through the middle? Have you forgotten its location?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked confusedly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You said it before, I don¡¯t know what unforeseen dangers I may face over there, so I can¡¯t just break through the middle. It will be toote if I run into any contingencies and I have to deal with them on the spot. Furthermore, I also want to test the extent to which these Jade Phosphorous Flowers are afraid of the cold.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him coldly, and that noble and aloof feeling made Huo Yuhao feel as if he was being looked down on.

    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t afraid of dying. Why don¡¯t you just throw your life in and get it over with? So, you¡¯re afraid of dying after all. I guess I overestimated you before.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Why would we want to die if we can live? That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s not bicker. We are consuming soul power. Take the Milk Bottle, and I¡¯ll have a go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave a Milk Bottle to Wang Qiu¡¯er just in case she needed it, and the two of them stopped about thirty meters away from the Jade Phosphorous Flowers.

    The Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds produced by these flowers were still gathered together, but they didn¡¯t permeate too far outside, and only loomed over the valley.

    Their mentality had been greatly affected after their initial astonishment when they first saw these flowers, but Huo Yuhao began to feel something different now that he was back here for the second time.

    ¡°It¡¯s too neat... Qiu¡¯er, don¡¯t you feel like these flowers are arranged too neatly? Why do I feel like someone did this?¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was momentarily stunned, and couldn¡¯t be bothered with bickering anymore. ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem like it...¡±

    Huo Yuhao flipped his right hand, and a water bag appeared in his hands. He released Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand, and she naturally shifted behind his back as she pressed her right palm against his back so that they could maintain their martial soul fusion.

    Huo Yuhao opened the water bottle and poured out the water from inside. The water that was poured out was immediately frozen in midair by his Ultimate Ice soul power, and arge sphere of ice quickly appeared before him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked on as Huo Yuhao did all this, a strange feeling surfacing in her heart. This guy seems to trust me a lot, I¡¯m pressing against a vital point on his back! If I channel my soul power, I can break his nerves and end his life. He¡¯s not afraid of that? Hmph¡­ why should I even kill him? Killing him will dirty my hands, Wang Qiu¡¯er thought to herself arrogantly.

    The sphere of ice was roughly a foot in diameter. Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand was holding it up, and gradually turned icy-blue, while the temperature within his protective barrier began to plummet.

    Huo Yuhao shook his wrist, and the enormous ball of ice flew out as it spun through the air. Huo Yuhao was a disciple of the Tang Sect, and he had great control over his fingers and wrists. He was using one of the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapon techniques as he hurled the ball of ice, which emanated an icy-blue radiance as it flew straight out.

    The multicolored miasma was extremely powerful, and immediately seemed like it was about to attach itself to the sphere of ice once it appeared. However, this sphere of ice contained Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, so how could the miasma attach itself to it so easily? The multicolored particles were blown in all directions wherever this sphere of extreme chill went, and it was clear that the toxic miasma was severely affected after the water vapor inside was frozen.

    The sphere pierced through the multicolored miasma, and it finally arrived at the bluish-green Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds. Just as Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had spected before, these poison clouds were controlled by those flowers that had evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Nine Absolutes, which were nt-type soul beasts. Large patches of poison clouds were stirred up once this sphere of ice plunged into them, and the bluish-green mist poured forward.

    However, every kind of poison mist or gas had a unique characteristic¡­ they definitely contained some water within them. Pure smoke or mist dissipated extremely quickly, and there was no way it could drift through the air for a prolonged period of time, and it would be blown away by the wind.

    Once the poison clouds approached the sphere of ice, Huo Yuhao could see that the poison mist was pouring forward into the chill from his Ultimate Ice, while it producedrge volumes of bluish-green particles that drifted in all directions. The area that the poison clouds covered would then increase for an instant, but then quickly thin.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s experiment clearly wasn¡¯t as simple as tossing the sphere through the clouds, and he raised his left hand as he clenched it tightly.

    Boom!

    The ball of ice immediately exploded, and the Ice Explosion that Huo Yuhao had infused into it unleashed its full force. A violent explosive force immediately caused the sphere to dissipate into countless ice particles that flew in all directions, while the shockwaves swept towards the Jade Phosphorous Flowers around them.

    Huo Yuhao was already using his Spiritual Detection to meticulously observe how the flowers reacted.

    The flowers surrounding the vigorous explosion began to sway and tremble like tidal waves, but they were a lot tougher than Huo Yuhao had expected. He had infused Ice Explosion into that sphere of ice, but he wasn¡¯t able to blow away even a single petal, and he only managed to make them sway and shake, while their bodies were undamaged.

    A strange scene urred just when Huo Yuhao was feeling a little disappointed.

    The bluish-green flowers quickly closed up, as if they were children who were drawing their nkets over themselves because they were afraid of the cold. The flowers ten meters around the explosion closed up, and the poison clouds in that region became a lot thinner than before.

    ¡°They are afraid of the cold!¡± Huo Yuhao was ted. A thought surfaced in his mind as orange-gold light radiated, and the tiny Snow Lady came out from the middle of his eyebrows and hovered next to him.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly told the Snow Lady not to leave his soul protective barrier through his mind, so that she wouldn¡¯t be hurt by the poisonous clouds outside.

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady¡¯s big dark-blue eyes flowed with indifference and contempt. She pointed at the poison clouds outside before she waved her tiny and tender little fingers at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of poison?¡±

    ¡°Yi yi ya ya!¡± The Snow Lady gave him an affirmative answer before she flew out of the protective barrier.

    Huo Yuhao was just feeling a little worried as the orange-gold light on her body began to sparkle. Intense chills billowed from her body as the humid miasma in the air began to transform subtly. Large patches of multicolored miasma swiftly began to dissipate as if they had encountered something terrifying, and uncountable multicolored particles drifted to the ground while the air around them cleared up.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were stunned on the spot. The toxic clouds that they had so feared were like nothing before the little Snow Lady. What was going on?

    ¡°Idiot. Ultimate Ice is the best counter to all the toxins in the world. Didn¡¯t you know that? Useless!¡± Skydream¡¯szy voice appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Where would I ever know that from¡­?

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched as he spoke in his mind, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier, brother Skydream?¡±

    ¡°I just woke up.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The Snow Lady turned around in midair and flew back, while the orange-gold light radiating from her body wrapped back around to envelop Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er inside. The poisonous clouds around them were instantly dispelled, and there wasn¡¯t much left to threaten them at all.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards Wang Qiu¡¯er as he forced augh and said, ¡°It seems like Ultimate Ice can counter acute poison after all.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°Seems like it. If that¡¯s the case, then Ultimate Fire can probably counter toxins as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about all that. Let¡¯s take a look and see if we can venture deeper into the valley.¡±

    They began to walk toward the Jade Phosphorous Flowers while the Snow Lady protected them. The intense chill from the Snow Lady¡¯s body was a lot stronger than the sphere of ice from before, and both the multicolored miasma and the Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds had no way of fending her off. The flowers closed up one by one as the extreme chill assaulted them, while the surrounding poison clouds dissipated continuously, and could no longer threaten the two of them.

    Ultimate Ice can beat all toxins¡­ how did I not know that¡­? It¡¯s no wonder uncle Niu Tian wasn¡¯t worried about sending me here at all...

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s confidence was greatly boosted with this discovery. He lowered his voice and growled, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as they soared into the sky. The Jade Phosphorous Flowers were extremely poisonous, and were naturally untouchable, but they had their flying-type soul tools. The little Snow Ladynded on Huo Yuhao, and the orange-gold light that she released became their best defense.

    Huo Yuhao was afraid that the speed at which the Snow Lady¡¯s chill took effect was limited, so they didn¡¯t fly very quickly. However, the mass of Jade Phosphorous flowers wasn¡¯t that wide, and it didn¡¯t take long before they pierced through the ravine of death and arrived next to the edge of the valley.

    The edge of the valley was extremely steep, like it had been cut off by a knife. Multicolored miasma was still concentrated within the Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds, and they blocked Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision to arge extent.

    Huo Yuhao exchanged a look with Wang Qiu¡¯er. They had discovered that Ultimate Ice was a natural counter to acute poison, so the ominous and perilous feeling in her mind was greatly reduced.

    ¡°Let¡¯s fly down?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er gestured downwards.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I know that.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er rolled her eyes, and her Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her hands with a sh of golden light.

    Huo Yuhao carried her as they jumped into the air. The Snow Lady was still clearing the way for them as they controlled their flying-type soul tools and gradually descended into the valley.

 Chapter 258.2: Paradise on Earth

    They swiftly entered the multicolored poison clouds. The Ultimate Ice was extremely effective at clearing the path ahead, and not a single ounce of the poison cloud broke through to their defenses.

    This is fantastic! Huo Yuhao was ecstatic. His adventurous and explorative heart was piqued once more, and he could tell from the current situation that he had a much better chance of finding that mystical herb.

    The multicolored miasma here was thick, just like it was in the sky. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see anything at all, and he couldn¡¯t even detect anything with his Spiritual Detection. However, he still left his Spiritual Detection activated, channeling soul power into his protective barrier at the same time, so that he could avoid all possible threats and dangers.

    What happened next proved that Huo Yuhao¡¯s meticulousness was warranted.

    A ck shadow suddenly appeared soundlessly within his Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect, and swept towards them at an rming speed.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Huo Yuhao growled.

    Hovering in midair at this moment was undoubtedly the most dangerous thing they could do. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to conserve soul power as he swung his right hand out and instantly shed through the dense mist with his Darkgolden Terrorw. His right hand shed through the air with lightning speed, using theplete version of his Darkgolden Terrorw.

    The Snow Lady and Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind were connected, and that meant they had exceptional chemistry with one another. She blew in the direction of the attack, and cold energy burst ahead of them. Large patches of poison clouds dissipated and cleared up their vision.

    It was a dark-blue vine dotted with rainbow-colored patterns. It was as thick as a human thigh, and whipped towards them like an enormous python.

    However, the Darkgolden Terrorw was the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s signature move, and Huo Yuhao gave everything he had with this strike. A dark golden streak of light shed by, and the thick vine was immediately cut into a million pieces as it drifted away in the wind.

    Huo Yuhao raised his voice and reminded Wang Qiu¡¯er, ¡°It¡¯s clear that there are precious and exotic things here that are extremely beneficial for nt growth. This should a ce inhabited by many nt-type soul beasts, and they are extremely powerful. Be careful.¡±

    Several other thick vines swept towards them at this moment. The rainbow colors on these vines were clearly caused by the toxic miasma, and the fact that they werepletely fine meant they probably contained acute venom as well.

    ¡°You control our descent. Let me try!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted as she thrust her Golden Dragon Spear forward while she grabbed the other end of it, so that her Golden Dragon Spear could reach the maximum area of effect.

    She was the Golden Dragon after all, and she was always dominant and fearsome.

    Perhaps she had been stifled for too long after dealing with the poison clouds for two days, or perhaps this was a cathartic release of her fury towards Huo Yuhao, but her strike was exceptionally ferocious.

    She was using her Golden Dragon Spear like a il. A thick blue vine whipped towards her, and Wang Qiu¡¯er swung her Golden Dragon Spear towards it like a lightning bolt. A boom could be heard as she smashed the vine into the distance.

    Vines were typically quite flexible and stic, and the front parts would still whip forward even if the vine itself was struck.

    However, the vine didn¡¯t react this way as it was struck by the Golden Dragon Spear. The vine flickered with golden light and rippled back into the distance, breaking apart into pieces as it flew through the air. Light circled around the Golden Dragon Spear, and Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s life energy had be a little stronger than before.

    The Golden Dragon Spear lived up to its name as a god¡¯s weapon. It could absorb life energy from its target. Huo Yuhao felt faintly terrified in his heart, and he was consoling himself on his good fortune when he managed to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er that day.

    Bam, bam, bam! The Golden Dragon Spear waltzed through the sky, every strike urately struck the dark-blue vines that were whipping toward them, and every single vine eventually disintegrated into pieces.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t seem like she was under any pressure at all, even though more vines continued to appear. Golden light continued to flicker around her as she protected Huo Yuhao and herself impably.

    Huo Yuhao controlled their descent, but he didn¡¯t dare to move too quickly, as he didn¡¯t know what awaited them at the bottom. He extended his Spiritual Detection in the direction of those flying vines and attempted to find their source.

    He quickly discovered where these vines came from ¨C they were all growing on the cliff, and some of these vines even reached a hundred feet long. They could feel Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s presence, so theyunched their own attacks. Furthermore, the number of vines growing on the cliff walls increased the further down they went.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go further down.¡± The vines are limited in length after all, I can just fly along the cliff wall.

    Huo Yuhao took Wang Qiu¡¯er along as they dropped tens of meters deeper into the valley. The aggressive dark-blue vines that were attacking them eventually disappeared, and it was clear that the two of them had exceeded the vines¡¯ attack range.

    An agile mind was enough to help them avoid some problems.

    They descended a lot faster than before without the blue vines attacking them, and split the clouds open as they pushed ahead. They dropped about three hundred meters before the poison clouds around them suddenly cleared out, and their blocked vision instantly became became clear.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly controlled their momentum and hovered in midair. It was a lot easier to run into problems if they were attacked when their senses suddenly changed.

    However, his entire body froze right when he stopped in midair, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was equally stunned.

    They had been extremely careful and vignt ever since the day they entered the Setting Sun Forest, and kept their guards up against any possible dangers that could appear.

    They knew that their expedition wouldn¡¯t be smooth-sailing or rxed when they discovered the toxic miasma.

    The multicolored miasma, the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Seven Absolutes, the Jade Phosphorous Poison Clouds, and the venomous vines growing from the valley¡¯s walls¡­ every single entity could have been fatal. This ce was protected by so many fatal poisons, so what kind of sinister ce was this?

    But, but¡­

    What was before Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er now far exceeded their expectations. They had pierced through the multicolored poison clouds, and what they breathed in was an unprecedented fresh air full of life energy. The ce they were looking at wasn¡¯t sinister at all, it felt like heaven on earth!

    The air waspletely covered by the rainbow-colored clouds, and the rainbow colors shone and reflected over the valley, making it appear extremely enchanting.

    The valley walls in the distance were full of the dark-blue vines that had ambushed them just now, and the entire wall looked like it was made from sapphires that flickered with a faint rainbow-colored luster.

    The valley couldn¡¯t be consideredrge, but many different nts were growing within it, while there were just too many colors to count as they gazed across it. There were so many beautiful flowers, and each was prettier than thest, bearing all sorts of fruits. Many nts shone with varying degrees of light, and one could tell even with the naked eye that these nts were exotic and extraordinary.

    The most astonishing thing was theke in the middle of these nts. Theke was clearly separated into two parts. One side was icy-blue in color and it exuded a faint white air, while the other side was fiery-red, and the light above this side was slightly distorted. One part was blue and the other was red, and these two parts were like colossal jewels engraved into the ground. The waters evaporating from thiske permeated the dense life energy from theke all over the valley.

    Ever since Huo Yuhao became a soul master, he had to absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth whenever he had to train using his Mysterious Heaven Technique. However, he had never encountered a ce with vital energy as strong as the paradise that he was in right now.

    Not even Clear Sky Peak couldpare to this ce. Huo Yuhao had only felt this overwhelming vital energy from the Frigid Jade Essence Bed that was now broken. However, the Frigid Jade Essence Bed had only contained pure cold and iciness, while this mystical world that they were in contained almost every single element, and also vast amounts of life energy.

    Their eyes grew ck from their awe and astonishment. Everything before their eyes was just too enchanting and pristine!

    ¡°This¡­ this is a paradise!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice was trembling. Her body shone with faint golden mist, as if were she responding to and reciprocating with the thick life energy within this valley.

    ¡°I am certain that there is nowhere else on the Douluo Continent that is as suitable for nt growth as this ce is. The life energy in this ce is at least five times that of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region. How can there be such a ce on the Continent? It¡¯s possible that someone is protecting this ce, too...¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had the same opinion as Huo Yuhao did. Neither of them believed that the Jade Phosphorous Flowers outside had grown out by themselves. Their arrangement was just too neat.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration and said, ¡°You do need formidable power to protect a paradise such as this. This ce is just too beautiful. Why does theke have two different colors? What is it, exactly? Do you know?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not an encyclopedia. How can I possibly know everything? Let¡¯s go down. There are no more miasmic clouds here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°But I feel like this ce is even more dangerous than before. Have you not felt that most of the nts here have evolved into nt-type soul beasts because the life energy in this ce is overwhelmingly dense?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was momentarily stunned, and gazed downwards carefully. Many nts had begun to sway because they had appeared, and some had even turned in their direction, while other nts shone more intensely.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked, ¡°We can¡¯t just turn back, since we¡¯re already here.¡±

    The greatest disadvantage that nt-type soul beasts hadpared to animal soul beasts was mobility. Many nts couldn¡¯t move around, and were just rooted to the spot, so their attack and control range was limited to an area with their bodies at the center. This was like the vines that they had encountered on the cliff walls ¨C they couldn¡¯t reach beyond their maximum length and distance to attack the two of them.

    However, nt-type soul beasts were extremely formidable in the range that they could reach, and were possibly stronger than animal soul beasts in this respect. This was the reason why even exceptionally powerful animal soul beasts wouldn¡¯t want toe to a ce where many nt-type soul beasts were gathered.

    Huo Yuhao took out his map and looked at the map¡¯s lower part.

    The map that Niu Tian had drawn was separated into two parts. The first part depicted the Setting Sun Forest and the valley¡¯s rough location within the forest, while the second, more simplified part depicted the location of the book that he had described in his letter.

 Chapter 258.3: Paradise on Earth

    Niu Tian had repeatedly reminded him in the letter that Huo Yuhao had to find the book before he began his search for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely clear about this. From prior experience, he deeply believed that everything that Niu Tian had said in the letter was important. They were already inside the valley, so the most important thing for them was to find the book that detailed the nts inside and their characteristics.

    Huo Yuhao scrutinized the simplified map in his hands while he carefully matched it against thendscape beneath him.

    This map was a little too simple, drawn with lines to create a minimal outline. However, Huo Yuhao quickly found the things that were marked out, and the lines did draw the dual-coloredke. He continued to match thendscape against his map as he drifted forward with his flying-type soul tool so that he could match their location with what was drawn on the map.

    The map was simple, but the markings were clear, and Huo Yuhao quickly found his target. ording to the map¡¯s instructions, his target was located at the shore where theke¡¯s blue and red parts intersected. There was a flower drawn at that rough location on the map to show that the book was there.

    They were in the air, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes made it extremely easy for him to directly lock onto a nt beneath him.

    It was an enormous light-pink flower that didn¡¯t have any leaves. Its stem was almost ten feet long, and its flower was huge, its diameter more than three feet across. Every single petal was almost transparent as if they were water crystals, and the light-pink flower swayed along with the mist in the air. It grew on the shore next to where theke¡¯s red and blue water joined.

    Huo Yuhao paid attention to it because it was simply too enchanting and riveting. Its body was also located where the two bodies of water joined, and another reason was because there were no other nts within a hundred feet of it! This nt therefore stood out in a valley that was filled with nts...

    Huo Yuhao studied it, and realized that there were other nts with simr characteristics, and also other nts with no other nts in a radius around them. These nts shared the same traits: they were either extremely peculiar, or they were just otherworldly beautiful, and they shone with varying degrees of light.

    ¡°That enormous flower should be what we¡¯re looking for,¡± Huo Yuhao said to Wang Qiu¡¯er, and he directed her with Spiritual Detection so that she could also locate their target.

    ¡°Do you know what flower that is?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. At least, I have never seen something like that inside the Great Star Dou Forest. However, I have a feeling that the nts contain more energy the closer they are to the dual-coloredke. nts like this one, that are next to theke and upy such a huge territory, have probably evolved into soul beasts, and nt-type soul beasts are more formidable than animal-type soul beasts in the range that they can control. Are you sure the book is located there? What have you discovered?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head as he forced a smile. He had already channeled Spiritual Detection to the highest possible level to detect a single spot when he found this enormous flower. The light-pink flower seemed to emanate a pale light mist that blocked off his spiritual power entirely, while it was obvious that the book was nowhere to be found in the open ground around it. The book would probably have been dposed by this humid environment if it had been ced on the ground just like that.

    ¡°It seems like we have to go closer to investigate.¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°Let me go. Cover me.¡±

    She was just about to move, but Huo Yuhao pulled her back and said, ¡°Did you not say that these nts are typically afraid of heat and cold? Let me go, you cover me. Don¡¯t worry, I will be extremely careful.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot a re in his direction, but she didn¡¯t dispute his words. She was confident that she wasn¡¯t inferior to Huo Yuhao in terms of fighting strength, but she knew that she wasn¡¯t as versatile as he was. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was adept with soul tools, and he was definitely a lot better than she was at running for his life.

    Huo Yuhao gradually descended through the air towards thatrge light pink flower. He had raised his vignce to the highest possible level. His right hand¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw was extended, while the soul thruster on his chest was charged as much as it could be. He could immediately escape if something were to go wrong.

    Diamond crystals transformed into armor and enveloped his entire body, and his entire body began to sparkle under the brilliant lights. Huo Yuhao also released a little of his Domain of Perpetual Ice, and maintained the area of effect at one meter around him while he continuously emanated extremely chilly energy.

    The valley¡¯s nts seemed exceptionally calm as he drifted down through the air, and not a single nt attempted to attack him. Huo Yuhao chose tond on the edge of the empty space around that enormous flower.

    Huo Yuhao was just telling himself that his defenses were raised to the highest possible level, when a faint aroma suddenly wafted into his nostrils.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment before he felt goosebumps break out all over his body in the next moment. How could I have forgotten about that? I calcted everything, but I failed to realize that the fragrance from these nts can also be an attack.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously stopped breathing as he ced his Darkgolden Terrorw before his chest, while he channeled the soul power within his body with all his might in an attempt to force out the aroma that he had just inhaled. His Ultimate Ice was extremely effective as a counter to most toxins, after all. Huo Yuhao was astonished at this moment, but he wasn¡¯t panicky at all.

    However, another situation that exceeded his expectations happened again. The smell immediately integrated with his body once it entered, and he couldn¡¯t force it out because he simply couldn¡¯t find it within his body.

    What made Huo Yuhao even more astonished was that the aroma refreshed his mind, and he felt like his tensed nerves were rxed before this brain became clear and smooth. Even though he had only inhaled a miniscule amount, it was enough to make him feel as if his body and soul had been rinsed by clean water, and he felt an indescribablefort over his entire body. This was the first time he had experienced this sensation ever since he had entered the Setting Sun Forest.

    What¡¯s going on? Why am I having such sensations? Does this mean that therge flower¡¯s aroma isn¡¯t harmful or poisonous?

    Huo Yuhao was about to experiment further by inhaling a little bit more when the pink flower suddenly lit up.

    A pinkyer of light with the nt at the center appeared, and it reached about a hundred feet in diameter as it epassed all the open ground around it, and Huo Yuhao as well.

    Huo Yuhao began to half-squat. He didn¡¯t run away immediately, as he had to try his best to understand more and experience more about this ce, or this expedition would be wasted. Furthermore, even though he wasn¡¯t yet considered a top-tier soul master, he had his twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul, so his fighting strength wasparable to most seven-ringed Soul Sages. Huo Yuhao was also rtively confident in his own abilities.

    What surprised him was that he didn¡¯t feel very different after that pink light appeared. He took a small breath, and he felt as if the aroma was bing denser. The sensations he felt in his body were even better than before, and that smooth andforting feeling made him feel better at controlling and manipting his soul power.

    Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, and he could immediately tell that the aroma had a rejuvenating effect. The aroma was energizing, and made him feel exceptionallyfortable at the same time, to the point where he felt at peace, and his state of mind was lifted to an unprecedented level.

    However, those weren¡¯t things that Huo Yuhao wanted. He began to move once he could tell that the pink light dome didn¡¯t cause him any harm, and orange-gold light flickered as the little Snow Lady appeared on his shoulder.

    The Snow Lady was even more flexible with her control of Ultimate Ice, and she didn¡¯t need to consume too much of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. The Snow Lady raised her little finger under Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction, and a icy-blue streak of light fired towards one of the enormous flower¡¯s petals.

    The streak of light struck the flower petal, and it was immediately converted into a circle of icy-blue light that expanded outward. Ultimate Ice wasn¡¯t a joke, and this temperature that was more than a hundred degrees below zero was absolutely fatal for nts. The enormous pink flower quivered, and its purple stamen rippled as a pink light immediately rippled from its body.

    This light was a lot denser than the dome around them, and Huo Yuhao could feel a sense of majesty in all this.

    The giant pink flower shook faintly in the next moment, and the chilly energy carried by the Snow Lady¡¯s attack vanished. A fiery-red streak fired out from behind it. However, it wasn¡¯t going for Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady. Instead, it transformed into a fiery-red flower that was simr in structure to the original flower, but was one-tenth the size.

    How strange! This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had seen anything like this, and it was truly miraculous. There was no question that this enormous pink flower was a nt-type soul beast, but the surprising thing was that its offensive capabilities weren¡¯t that strong.

    The fiery-red light didn¡¯te from its own body, it came from the red part of the dual-coloredke behind it!

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao began to feel as if something wasn¡¯t right. Even though he had the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor protecting him, the air around him had be exceedingly dense, while the temperature changes were very intense. He was located at the intersection between theke¡¯s two parts, and this feeling was most obvious in this region. The blueke water was cold, while the redke water was a lot warmer. These two bodies seemed to be in conflict, but there was nothing one side could do to the other.

    If it hadn¡¯t been for his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, Huo Yuhao would have been affected by the temperature in this ce with his current cultivation. This was especially true as the dense vital energy in the air around him didn¡¯t seem very weing to him. He attempted to absorb a little bit of it, but was immediately impeded by the temperature shocks caused by the dual-coloredke. It felt as if these two varying temperatures had already integrated into the vital energy of heaven and earth, and that energy was now especially violent and aggressive.

    But Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t just give up just like that. The Snow Lady raised her little hands under Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction, and another icy-blue ray of light fired out toward that enormous flower.

 Chapter 259: You You

    This time, the fiery-red flower that was levitating in front of the enormous pink flower began to move. It rotated in the air and absorbed the icy-blue beam. The beam disappeared, while the fiery-red flower merely dimmed a little.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t that powerful, but it was still Ultimate Ice. It was absorbed and dispelled so easily, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine what the red water¡¯s temperature was like. It had to be a temperature produced by Ultimate Fire!

    Therge pink flower seemed to have been infuriated at this moment, and every single petal began to tremble before they started to sway rhythmically, and they shifted as if they were lifting something upwards.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth hung ck as he looked on in fright. Flower after flower that resembled the one that had just appeared were created from the redke water and positioned behind this huge pink flower. There were thousands of them, and they congregated behind therge pink flower in throngs and masses.

    This fellow can actually control the strangeke water...

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t imagined he would end up facing off against so many entities that originated from Ultimate Fire, and he was almost ready to tuck tail and run without any hesitation at all. However, an amicable female voice could be heard right at this moment.

    ¡°Human, it¡¯s your good fortune that you can make it here, but I will no longer show you mercy if you continue to provoke me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s charged soul thrusters were prepared to erupt before he suddenly stopped everything. He stared at the giant pink flower before him with ck eyes and his jaw half-open as he mumbled, ¡°You¡­ you can talk?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had encountered soul beasts who could talk before, but it was the first time he had seen nts who could talk.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er came up beside Huo Yuhao with a sh of golden light and grabbed his hand. Her face was full of anxiety as she muttered, ¡°That¡¯s a hundred-thousand year nt-type soul beast. Prepare to run!¡±

    Yes, one hundred thousand years! Typically, only hundred-thousand year soul beasts could speak the humannguage. The Cerberus that he had seen before could speak the humannguage, and this peculiar giant flower before him also could. This meant the flower was likely to be a hundred-thousand year nt-type soul beast.

    No matter how much confidence Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had in their abilities, they would never consider themselves strong enough to fight a hundred-thousand year soul beast.

    A hundred-thousand year soul beast wasparable to a powerful Titled Douluo, and certain especially formidable hundred-thousand year soul beasts could challenge a Transcendent Douluo. They had actually run into an unassable problem!

    ¡°I¡¯m not a hundred-thousand year soul beast.¡± The giant pink flower¡¯s petals began to open and close, and her voice was just so friendly and warm that the two of them felt extremelyfortable listening to her.

    ¡°Yes, you have an aura simr to the ice well... no wonder you could break through the Jade Phosphorous Flowers outside to reach this ce.¡± Therge flower muttered under her breath, and there seemed to be a hint of excitement in her voice.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power waspletely interjoined. They nced at each other, and they could see the astonishment in each other¡¯s eyes. This flower was clearly a hundred-thousand year soul beast, yet she imed that she wasn¡¯t. Furthermore, her voice sounded warm and amicable, and it didn¡¯t seem like she harbored any intention of attacking them.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely intelligent, and immediately tried to probe the flower. ¡°Greetings, senior. We¡¯ve found our way here by ident, and we don¡¯t know where this ce is. We didn¡¯t want to provoke or offend you, and I hope that you can forgive us.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what happened! It¡¯s nothing much, I can forgive you.¡± It was easy to talk to this giant pink flower, and the fiery-red flowers that were floating in the sky returned to the red side of theke and disappeared as she spoke. The pressure that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had faced before vanished in an instant.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t lower his guard even though it was easy to talk to thisrge pink flower. He asked once more, ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t know where we are. Since you can speak the humannguage, why do you say that you¡¯re not a hundred-thousand year soul beast?¡±

    Therge pink flower replied, ¡°This ce is called the Icefire Yin Yang Well. That person says that this ce is one of the world¡¯s Three Great Cornucopias. Since the two of you are here by ident, then please leave as quickly as you can. You are lucky to have met me. If you had run into the other short-tempered fellows, they would probably have killed you on the spot as fertilizer. However, I haven¡¯t seen humans for a long time, and I¡¯m very happy to see you guys here today. Quick, talk to me, and I might even consider giving you some benefits.¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched, because he realized to his surprise that this amiable enormous pink flower actually liked to nag!

    ¡°Alright! Let me apany you in conversation, then. The empty space around you should be considered safe, right? I haven¡¯t asked yet, senior, what is your name?¡±

    Therge flower tilted as if it were a human head that was deep in thought. ¡°That person says that I¡¯m a medicinal herb, and he calls me the Delicate Silk Immortal. You can call me You You.. yes, that name sounds good. Does it sound good?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it sounds really good.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly followed therge flower¡¯s conversation. He was thinking about something else. This flower was known as the Delicate Silk Immortal, so she should also be a medicinal herb? An immortal herb, and a herb that had already evolved into a nt-type soul beast...

    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me yet, senior. Why do you say that you¡¯re not a hundred-thousand year soul beast?¡± Huo Yuhao immediately fired off another question.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal giggled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because I haven¡¯t lived to a hundred thousand years of age. I¡¯m only ten thousand years old. Actually, I¡¯m a little more than ten thousand years old, but I can¡¯t really remember anymore.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er beside Huo Yuhao blurted out, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How can you be only ten thousand years old? If you¡¯re just ten thousand years old, it¡¯d be impossible for you to have enough consciousness and intelligence to evolve into a nt-type soul beast. Furthermore, you can already speak!¡±

    You You spoke with obvious pride. ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t know this, but even though I¡¯m not a hundred-thousand year soul beast, my abilities have reached that level. The Icefire Yin Yang Well nourishes us, so the nts that live here grow ten times faster than the nts in the outside world. That is the reason why I¡¯m just ten thousand years old, but I¡¯m equivalent to a hundred-thousand year nt. You humans are quite stupid, eh.¡±

    Astonishment! You You made it sound so casual, but both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were full of surprise and awe as they heard this.

    One day spent in this ce was equivalent to ten days in the outside world. nt-type soul beasts could grow ten times faster than if they were outside ¨C what a terrifying number! That also meant that there were probably a lot more nt-type soul beasts in this ce than they had initially thought, and they were probably far more frightening at the same time. It was just as the Delicate Silk Immortal had said, that it was their good fortune that they came to her before going anywhere else. No ¨C Niu Tian¡¯s guidance in his letter had saved them, because if they had gone somewhere else and encountered another short-tempered and aggressive hundred-thousand year nt-type soul beast, they would probably have been dead by now.

    ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you guys talking anymore? Say something, guys. Chat with me, quickly! If not, I may decide to stop protecting you. Without my protection, even the nts and the Icefire Yin Yang Well¡¯s aura will harm you.¡±

    Thoughts spun in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and he quickly came to a decision. He bowed respectfully towards the Delicate Silk Immortal and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, You You, I¡¯ve lied to you, and I am now apologizing to you. The truth is that we didn¡¯te here by ident, and we¡¯re here for a purpose. Someone wants me toe here to find a book. Have you seen this book?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s enormous flower suddenly began to sway vigorously from side to side. ¡°Ah, ah, ah! So you have been sent by that person. It¡¯s actually him! How is he? I haven¡¯t seen him for so long, and he doesn¡¯t oftene back to see everyone. Tsk, tsk.¡±

    Truthfully, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know who ¡°he¡± was referring to. Was it referring to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s father or Niu Tian?

    ¡°He¡­ he should be alright. Is that book really with you?¡± Huo Yuhao continued to probe.

    ¡°Yes, yes. It is.¡± The purple stamen in the flower¡¯s center began to sway rhythmically, and an ancient book that was crafted from some unknown material drifted into view.

    Huo Yuhao was ted! Every single one of uncle Niu Tian¡¯s words have turned out to be true. I just didn¡¯t expect this book to be protected by a hundred-thousand year nt-type soul beast. That¡¯s incredible! Is the Clear Sky Sect actually that powerful?

    Huo Yuhao still didn¡¯t know what other nts there were inside this ce, but he was absolutely certain that this valley was filled with exotic entities and resources. Any nt here grew ten times faster than they normally would... what kind of principle was that?

    ¡°Can you give it to me, You You? Thank you.¡± Huo Yuhao began to feel excited as he realized that he could possibly retrieve the medicinal herb that could save Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s life.

    ¡°No can do. I¡¯ve been protecting it for ten thousand years, so how can I give it to you so easily?¡± You You¡¯s answer made it sound as if she couldn¡¯t bear to part with that book.

    ¡°Ten¡­ ten thousand years?!¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned on the spot. He suddenly realized that the person that had left this book behind, the person that You You was speaking of, wasn¡¯t Niu Tian, and neither was it Dong¡¯er¡¯s father. Who could that be? Ten thousand years! He left this book here for ten thousand years? That¡¯s almost impossible to believe...

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s been ten thousand years. That person said that this book can only be given to his descendant, or to someone with the right destiny. Furthermore, his descendants have to undergo a test before they can im this book. You have to do two things if you want this book: you have to prove that you¡¯re his descendant, and then you have to pass the test. Only then can you take it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked confusedly, ¡°How can I prove that?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice became a little solemn as she said, ¡°It¡¯s quite dangerous if you want to prove yourself. If you are unsessful, then you might die; that¡¯s the rule he left behind. He said that this ce is almost like heaven on earth, and we can never let evil humans know about this ce. Those that are pretending to be his descendants will have to die. I will definitely not kill you, but it¡¯s hard to say the same about the other guys. Are you sure you want to prove that you¡¯re his descendant?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat. He understood that the Delicate Silk Immortal was speaking the truth. nt-type soul beasts could be in every corner of this ce, and he probably wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to run if they all attacked him at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm andposure paid off at this moment. He pondered momentarily before he said, ¡°You You, can you tell me how I can prove that I¡¯m his descendant? Someone directed me here, but I do not know whether I am his descendant. I don¡¯t wish to die, so can you tell me how I can prove that I¡¯m his descendant? This way, I will be surer of myself.¡±

    ¡°Yes, alright. You have to eat an herb to test if you¡¯re his descendant. If you survive after ingesting it, that proves that you¡¯re his descendant, and if you die, that means you¡¯re not.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao had never expected the test to be like that. There weren¡¯t any hints or clues at all! It would be truly regrettable if he died from rashly eating some herb.

    ¡°What herb is it?¡± Huo Yuhao pressed the issue.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal shook herrge flower and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. If you decide to take this test, then I will bring it to you.¡±

    ¡°No! You can¡¯t do it.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er eximed almost without hesitation, and she grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm while she stared at him anxiously.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to her, and his eyes were full ofplicated emotions. ¡°It¡¯s likely that I will seed, Qiu¡¯er. Even though I don¡¯t know what this thing about descendants is about, and I don¡¯t know who the person who left this book behind ten thousand years ago was, I know that obtaining this book is the only way I can find the medicinal herb to save Dong¡¯er¡¯s life. Uncle Niu Tian directed me here, and I trust that he won¡¯t harm me. He must think that I¡¯m a descendant of the person that left this book behind, and so he has assigned this task to me. Therefore, I am fifty percent certain that I will be fine.¡±

    ¡°No! Absolutely not.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words were decisive. ¡°Fifty percent? The other fifty percent will cost you your life, don¡¯t you know that? Do you think it¡¯s worth it for you to die just like that? I can tell you that every single nt in this ce is sophisticated, and I have studied nt-type soul beasts before. However, I do not recognize more than two-thirds of the nts in this ce. Your chances of survival don¡¯t even stand at fifty percent, I don¡¯t even think you have a thirty percent chance to survive. If you die, I¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly realized that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to be listening to her. His eyes seemed a little vacant, and he was looking up diagonally into the sky, as if he were thinking about something.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was thinking, and he was thinking about Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The Wang Dong that he knew surfaced continuously in his mind, to the point when Wang Dong became Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong was his arrogant dormmate, and then became his best buddy. They cultivated together, studied together, and teacher Zhou Yi scolded them when they werete together¡­

    They fought side by side in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and they fought with everything they had to defend Shrek¡¯s honor and glory¡­

    At the Sea God¡¯s Fate on Sea God¡¯s Lake, the Raiment of Light had been heavily imprinted in the deepest parts of his heart.

    The truth was that he had felt that something wasn¡¯t right with Wang Dong a long time ago, and had wanted to test her gender when they met again. However, he didn¡¯t have to investigate anything, and she revealed her gender to him during the Sea God¡¯s Fate.

 Chapter 260.1: Polychoria

    Mutual Feelings, Love at First Sight, Love at Second Sight, Destined in Three Lives, Eternal Love!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t forget about everything that had happened that day, and how beautiful she was. She¡¯s the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s little princess, but she still chose me without any regrets orints...

    He could never forget the nights that he had shared with her, every night when they stayed together beneath the same roof, the same window, and every night when they cultivated together¡­

    Huo Yuhao was absolutely certain that Wang Dong¡¯er would give everything she had for him, too. He could feel the love she had for him, she had be a lot gentler than before, and her love for him drove this personality change. Everything fell into his eyes.

    He could clearly remember that Wang Dong¡¯er had shyly told him when she gave him the pouch that her first uncle had told her she could only give the pouch to him when she waspletely sure that he was the one. This meant she was giving her entire life to him.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Tears trickled down Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks. His eyes were full of the memories he had of her.

    I miss you so much, Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked identical to Wang Dong¡¯er, and she was standing right next to him. However, he felt as if Dong¡¯er was so far away from him, as if she were on the other side of the world. He really wanted to take her into his embrace at this moment.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned as she watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears roll down his face. This wasn¡¯t the first time she had seen him cry, but for some reason, she felt her heart grow cold this time. It¡¯s obvious that his tears aren¡¯t flowing for me¡­ is he thinking about her?

    Is she really that good? But we look exactly the same! Why? Why is this happening?

    Huo Yuhao suppressed his emotions and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he softly pulled away Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s arm that was holding on to his own.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, my chances of survival aren¡¯t great.¡± Huo Yuhao began to speak, his expression once again calm andposed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was delighted. She was about to say something before Huo Yuhao turned towards the Delicate Silk Immortal and said, ¡°You You, will I be able to leave this ce in peace if I decide not to try?¡±

    You You said, ¡°Yes. As long as you don¡¯t touch anything else in this ce, and you¡¯re not afraid of the intense poisons outside, then you can leave as and when you want to.¡± There was no question that she had a lot of self-confidence in her speech. It was still hard to say exactly how many hidden dangers there were inside this valley. At the very least, You You was confident enough that she wasn¡¯t afraid of Huo Yuhao bringing outsiders into the ce. Perhaps there were more hundred-thousand year nt-type soul beasts in this ce then everywhere else on the Continentbined.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and told her, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    He turned around and stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er returned his gaze with aplicated expression in her eyes and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head gently, but his eyes were still welling up with tears.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took the initiative to grab his hand. Even though the Delicate Silk Immortal had said she wouldn¡¯t stop them from leaving, there were still many other dangers in this ce, and it was still a lot safer for them to maintain their martial soul fusion.

    However, just when Wang Qiu¡¯er began to infuse her soul power into Huo Yuhao, she realized that her soul power didn¡¯t connect with his.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him in surprise. Huo Yuhao¡¯s wrist suddenly flipped around at this moment, and he used the Tang Sect¡¯s Arresting Technique to urately pinch Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s carpal vein as he injected soul power into her. Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately felt as if half her body had be extremely numb.

    Huo Yuhao then raised his right palm and sliced down onto her neck. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pretty eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao with a look of incredulity, but her body still crumpled downwards like a rag doll. Not in her wildest dreams did she expect Huo Yuhao to attack her!

    Huo Yuhao pulled gently and supported her waist with his right hand as he carefully ced her t on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao was very apologetic as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er. I know you won¡¯t let me make this choice if I don¡¯t do this to you. Yes, you¡¯re right; it¡¯s very likely that I will fail this test. However, if I don¡¯t even have the courage to try it, I will be letting Dong¡¯er down.¡±

    His expression became extremely rxed when he uttered thest few words. Huo Yuhao gazed into the horizon and said, ¡°We are bound to do crazy things from time to time in our lives. Dong¡¯er, my only hope is that I can see you again.¡±

    ¡°Whew¡­ you¡¯re such an idiot!¡± Skydream¡¯s voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, and he frowned faintly as he replied, ¡°Are you going to stop me too, brother Skydream? I¡­¡±

    Skydream said inly, ¡°That¡¯s enough, you don¡¯t have to say anything more. Just do it. Why would I stop you? If the Ice Empress were the one that was injured, I wouldn¡¯t cower away, either! Furthermore, you¡¯re underestimating how strong your body is. Don¡¯t forget that your body has absorbed Life Gold before, and you possess Ultimate Ice as well. You went through so much suffering when you fused with the Ice Empress back then, and the circumstances were so difficult, but you did it anyway. Your willpower is far superior to that of the average person, and I don¡¯t believe you will die just from eating some herb.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°What if it¡¯s poison?¡±

    Skydream grunted and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be perfect if it¡¯s poison. Do you know the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s identity? She¡¯s so high up in the hierarchy that she can be considered above the other immortal-level herbs. I think most of the other nt-type soul beasts within the valley will listen to hermand. I am also a soul beast, and I can feel that she doesn¡¯t harbor any hostility against you. What¡¯s more important is that the Delicate Silk Immortal possesses formidable resistance against poison. The reason why there aren¡¯t any other nts growing around her is because she is the natural counter to all toxins. With her beside you, all you have to do is breathe vigorously even if you¡¯ve been poisoned. It would be quite hard to die from it even if you wanted to.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew a little ck. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that earlier? If I could have exined to that to her, then I wouldn¡¯t have had to knock her unconscious. When she wakes up, I¡­¡±

    Skydream¡¯s tone was a little arrogant as he said, ¡°I just woke up.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you win.¡±

    He had been so sure he was going to die, but that negative thought was immediately converted into absolute confidence after he listened to Skydream¡¯s constions. Yes! How can an herb kill me? I don¡¯t believe that.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts stopped here as he stepped before the Delicate Silk Immortal. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Please give me that herb. I am willing to undergo this assessment.¡±

    ¡°Hehe! That¡¯s great! You¡¯re so courageous. Let me think, what should I give you?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was clearly quite ecstatic, and her enormous pink blossom was tossing from side to side.

    Huo Yuhao immediately became despondent. What¡¯s happening? Has she not decided upon the herb way before this? Why is she making an impromptu decision? This Delicate Silk Immortal is so entric¡­!

    The Delicate Silk Immortal seemed to detect the changes in his emotions. She spoke with a scolding voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve been alive for far too long, so it¡¯s normal that my memory isn¡¯t fantastic. Let me take a look at you.¡±

    A purple beam of light floated out from her stamen as she spoke andnded on Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao maintained his vignce, but the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s ability arrived with no warning, and he couldn¡¯t detect anything with his Spiritual Detection, either. This meant the Delicate Silk Immortal was stronger than he was in every possible way, and if he wanted to stop it, he could only meet force with force, because he had no chance of avoiding it.

    Fortunately, the purple beam didn¡¯t contain any hostility at all. The Delicate Silk Immortal withdrew it after a while and muttered to herself, ¡°So, that¡¯s the case. Let me give you this.¡±

    Another purple beam shot out from her stamen as she spoke. This purple beam fired into the distance, and reached one hundred meters across the valley before itnded in a patch of vegetation.

    The purple beam paused momentarily before it was withdrawn. Huo Yuhao had powerful eyes, and he could instantly tell that there was a single nt at the other end of it now.

    This herb was entirely unassuming, and its entire body was bluish-green. What was strange was that the nt had three snowy-white leaves in the center, and there were several drops of water in the middle of these leaves, as if they were the remnants of the morning¡¯s dew.

    Huo Yuhao knew nothing about this herb. He had no idea what it was, and the herb was quickly brought before him under the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s guidance.

    It was impossible for Huo Yuhao not to be nervous. This herb could be mortally dangerous to him, after all! Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes focused as he stared at the herb. ¡°You You, how should I consume it?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal answered, ¡°First, let me ask you a question. You¡¯vee to the Icefire Yin Yang Well today, and no matter who told you about it, you must have a reason for being here. What are you doing here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m here in search of a magical herb, called the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. I need it to save someone¡¯s life.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°Yes, that must be it. I knew nobody would attempt to go through all those poison clouds for no reason at all. Lift your head and open your mouth.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. It was impossible for him not to be hesitant about something that concerned his life or death. However, the thought that Dong¡¯er could copse in front of him and there would be nothing he could do about it shed across his mind, and whatever hesitation he had before vanished into thin air. He gradually raised his head and opened his mouth, his eyes even more determined now.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal controlled the herb and slowly brought it before Huo Yuhao. She tilted the nt, and the transparent dewdrop-like water droplets on its leaves immediately flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    Huo Yuhao felt a sweet taste flow down his throat, and a crisp aroma that refreshed his heart and mind immediately filled every corner of his body.

    Is this poisonous? Why does it taste so good? Huo Yuhao was still thinking to himself when he realized to his surprise that the herb was rapidly wilting away after the dewdrop-like liquid flowed into his mouth. The nt became a pile of dust in no time, and all it left behind were a few seed-like pods.

    Purple light shed, and these tiny seeds flew far away into the distance. Nobody knew what the Delicate Silk Immortal had in mind for them.

    There¡¯s no reaction at all? Huo Yuhao immediately channeled and circted his soul power after ingesting those droplets as he protected his internal organs.

 Chapter 260.2: Polychoria

    Huo Yuhao discovered that the liquid worked simrly to the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s fragrance. It was extremely easy absorb it, and the liquid immediately became part of him once he ingested it, so there was no way he could separate it with his soul power. He didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. Instead, clean and refreshing sensations coursed over his entire body, feeling veryfortable.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to dy. He sat down cross-legged and quietly felt all the delicate changes that were happening to his body.

    It didn¡¯t take long before the thing he was waiting for arrived.

    The refreshing sensations extended across his entire body at first, but that feeling gradually started to withdraw and follow his veins through his limbs as they travelled upward towards his head.

    This poison targets the head? Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat. The brain was the most intricate part of the human body, and it was also the most important part, as the spiritual sea was located inside the brain. If toxins damaged the brain, even if he survived the ordeal, he could lose his rationality and his ability to think.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his soul power, and his soul power immediately congregated into seven defensive lines at breakneck speed. These defensive lines webbed over his body in an attempt to block that fresh and chilly feeling from pushing up into his head. He reached downward with his spiritual power at the same time andbined it with his soul power, so that he could make use of the Sovereign Descent¡¯s mystical effects.

    From Huo Yuhao¡¯s perspective, fusing his soul power and his spiritual power provided an all-round defense, and was probably enough to barricade that peculiar herb¡¯s effects.

    However, Huo Yuhao realized he was wrong when the refreshing sensation surged up into his head. The herb¡¯s effects didn¡¯t travel along his passageways like his soul power did! The sensation had integrated into his veins, and it circted through his body along with his blood!

    Huo Yuhao reacted quickly once he discovered this, and he swiftly sealed off his veins and passageways.

    This response was effective. His veins stopped circting, and since the herb¡¯s effects were sealed within his veins, they also stopped flowing through his body.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh of relief, but he quickly realized that he was just being daft. How long could he seal off his veins and passageways? Completely sealing off his veins meant that he was stopping his heart from beating. Even though he was a powerful Soul King, he could probably only keep this up for several minutes before he would die from theck of oxygen.

    If the herb¡¯s effects were concentrated in one ce, he could let blood from his body into that area so that he could expel the toxin from his body. However, the problem was that the herb¡¯s effects were pouring in from every single part of his body! That meant that there was no way he couldpletely expel the toxin from his body unless he drained every single ounce of blood that he had.

    What kind of herb is this? It¡¯s so fierce and formidable. Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind began to work at lightning speed as countless thoughts surfaced in his mind in an attempt to find a solution. However, his efforts were was futile; he couldn¡¯t find an appropriate response for this problem.

    He had now kept his veins sealed for a little too long, and he began to feel weak and suffocated. He couldn¡¯t keep this up for much longer.

    That¡¯s it¡­ looks like I can only take the hit.

    Huo Yuhao recalled what Skydream had just said to him, that toxins were useless as long as he was around the Delicate Silk Immortal. Since that was the case, then it was possible that the Delicate Silk Immortal hadn¡¯t given him poison. If so, then what could possibly happen to him if the herb¡¯s effects integrated with his body? He could only truly feel how it would affect his body through the integration process.

    It was better to try it than to let himself die from suffocation. With that in mind, Huo Yuhao gradually withdrew his spiritual power back into his spiritual sea, before slowly reopening his veins so that his blood could flow once more.

    The refreshing feelings appeared as soon as his veins were released. The sensations continued flowing upward through his veins, and slowly congregated towards his head.

    Huo Yuhao concentrated all his attention on the flow of these sensations. The clean and refreshing feeling quickly reached across his chest, but didn¡¯t attack his heart in any way as it continued travelling upward, just as he had suspected.

    The sensations swiftly crossed his neck. Even though Huo Yuhao was controlling the speed of his blood flow, the refreshing feeling was bound to continue upward as it flowed along with his blood. The sensations rushed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, but they didn¡¯tunch an attack against his spiritual sea or against his brain ¨C they just exploded.

    This eruption made Huo Yuhao momentarily confused and hysterical. He felt a cold and clean-feeling wave burst across his brain, and there was an indescribable restrictive feeling about everything. The sensations then began to congregate towards his eyes as if they were all rivers flowing into an ocean.

    Oh no! Huo Yuhao lost hisposure as he suddenly considered a possibility. What did the Delicate Silk Immortal discover when she surveyed his body? She was trying to inspect his martial soul! His martial soul was his Spirit Eyes, so the Delicate Silk Immortal picked an herb that specifically targeted his Spirit Eyes.

    The intensely refreshing feeling hadpletely covered his eyes at this moment. Huo Yuhao felt as if his Spirit Eyes were being continuously rinsed by a peculiar force, as if something was being continuously injected inside them. What confused him was the fact that he didn¡¯t feel any agonizing sensations at all, and though he tried everything to make this feeling disappear, nothing worked. He couldn¡¯t do anything even when he sealed off his veins and blood flow.

    Does she want to obliterate my Spirit Eyes? That was what Huo Yuhao was most afraid of. However, he was already stuck in this situation, and the only thing he could do was channel his soul and spiritual power, and do all he could to protect his Spirit Eyes.

    His Spirit Eyes were neither fragile nor weak. They were his main martial soul, and had been cultivated constantly through the Purple Demon Eyes, so they could in fact be considered powerful and formidable. Simply put, even if Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were stabbed by normal metal, it was unlikely they would be hurt.

    Spiritual power circted around and through his Spirit Eyes. The refreshing sensation¡¯s backflow and absorption seemed extremely quick, and the feelings gradually disappeared. Huo Yuhao became increasingly nervous. He was most afraid that this peculiar force would erupt again after integrating into his body, andpletely destroy his Spirit Eyes.

    The clean and fresh feeling slowly became fiery warmth. His eyes felt as if they were being bathed in lukewarm water, and his soul power and spiritual power became supplements for absorbing the herb¡¯s effects. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any pain, nor did he experience the eruption that he was expecting. Instead, he could feel an unprecedented degree offort in his eyes. The energy that had been injected into his eyes was nourishing his Spirit Eyes, and every pulse of absorption made him feel incrediblyfortable.

    This¡­ is this actually a harmful herb? Doubt finally surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Can it be that I am that person¡¯s chosen one, the person that the Delicate Silk Immortal speaks of? It seems like my judgment was correct. Uncle Niu Tian dared to send me here, and that means I should be able to pass the assessment in front of me.

    His anxieety slowly faded, and he began to regain hisposure. Huo Yuhao continued channeling his soul power and spiritual power as he began to catalyze his absorption of the herb¡¯s medicinal effects.

    The girl that he had knocked unconscious came to right at this moment.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er possessed the Golden Dragon martial soul, and her physical capabilities were extremely powerful, and Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used that much force when he sliced down on her neck. It didn¡¯t take too long before she naturally recovered by herself.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t be bothered with being angry when she saw Huo Yuhao sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. She didn¡¯t even have to think to guess what he had done.

    ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er cursed under her breath, herrge pinkish-blue eyes full of worry and anxiety. She targeted the Delicate Silk Immortal in the next moment, and pointed the Golden Dragon Spear in her hands as she eximed, ¡°What¡­ what did you give him?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal giggled and said, ¡°I have given him something good, of course. But I won¡¯t give it to you even if you want it.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Listen¡­ if something happens to him, I will make sure you die right where you are even if I have to pay with my life. I may even destroy everything else in this ce. You¡¯d better pray that nothing happens to him.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was a little surprised as she said, ¡°You sound like you have a lot of self-confidence. Where is your confidenceing from?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked up at the sky as she gradually raised the Golden Dragon Spear in her hands. Her body became a little translucent, and a strange energy flowed from her body in the next moment.

    She was shining with a faint scarlet-gold light. This light wasn¡¯t intense, and neither were there any soul power undtions. However, the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s enormous flower trembled when this scarlet-golden light appeared, and even the nts around them started to quiver faintly.

    ¡°You¡­ how can you possess a power like that? You, you¡­¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice was no longer smooth, as if she had suddenly recalled something.

    The scarlet-gold light was withdrawn as Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Tell me what you¡¯ve given him, and whether he will be alright. I will make sure everyone else will die with him if he dies.¡±

    ¡°Calm down. I didn¡¯t give him anything bad,¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal exined hurriedly, as if she were a little fearful of Wang Qiu¡¯er now.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t give him anything bad?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked doubtfully.

    ¡°No!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal continued, ¡°That person left this rule behind all those years ago, and this rule is targeted at the people whoe to this ce in search of medicine and herbs to save someone¡¯s life. The truth is that there isn¡¯t a fixed herb for all these adventurers, and I choose the herb on a case-by-case basis. First, I have to be sure that the adventurer is here to save a life, and then I have to see whether the adventurer has the courage to consume the herb that I¡¯ll eventually give him. If the adventurer decides to consume this herb, that proves he or she has the courage, and this adventurer is willing to sacrifice his or her own life to save someone else. I will approve of a person like this, and this adventurer will be worthy of undergoing the subsequent assessment.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes grew vacant as her jaw hung ck. ¡°This¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± She turned back towards Huo Yuhao, where she saw a scarlet-gold sphere hovering above his head, while scarlet-gold light threads gradually wove and integrated themselves into his eyes.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°That person said that this is a test of a person¡¯s personality, and a person cannot be evil if he or she is willing to sacrifice his or her life for someone else. Yes, he¡¯s courageous enough, and I¡¯ve given him a mystical herb that¡¯s extremely suitable for him, and he should be thanking me. Please don¡¯t use that ability that you just showed me. Even though it¡¯s likely that we won¡¯t be able to resist it, you will definitely die along with us.¡±

 Chapter 260.3: Polycoria

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly and said, ¡°Why would I fight you to the death if you hadn¡¯t threatened us? This guy is so foolish, but he has his fool¡¯s luck. The person that you speak of is a real bastard...¡±

    Somewhere deep within the clouds in some unknown ce, that person unwittingly sneezed¡­

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was a little displeased as she said, ¡°You are not allowed to speak ill of him, he¡¯s a very good person. He could have destroyed us all when he first came here, but he didn¡¯t, and he even gave us a general n so that we could use the Icefire Yin Yang Well¡¯s effects to grow as quickly as we could. He¡¯s our savior! Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t help him at all!¡±

    Huo Yuhao did profit from his misfortune, after all. The refreshing feeling in his eyes gradually disappeared. He felt as if his spiritual power had been boosted, and that this transformation was qualitative rather than quantitative.

    The water inside his spiritual sea was originally golden, but there was now a blurry purpleyer of light hovering above it. Both colors merged together to be a beautiful hue of purple-gold.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire spiritual sea was now in his grasp when he willed it so, and even Skydream, who had transformed into a ring on his finger, had a faint purpleyer encircling him.

    The vertical eye above his spiritual sea that represented the Eye of Destiny didn¡¯t change much. That also meant that the herb had only affected his Spirit Eyes.

    Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes after thest of the herb¡¯s effects had been assimted. He realized to his intense shock that the world had be entirely different when he perceived it again.

    The world around him seemed to be a lot more colorful than before. His eyes could detect the most delicate and intricate changes in his surroundings, and he could see the peculiarities of every detail even when he didn¡¯t release his martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky above him. What he saw wasn¡¯t those rainbow-colored poison clouds. Instead, he saw countless minute particles, and he could distinguish each particle¡¯s color even though he was quite far from them.

    Huo Yuhao turned back towards the Delicate Silk Immortal, and he realized that he could see the vast life energy circting inside her. This life energy was a faint pink color, and it wove continually between her petals, stamen, and neck. He could even see what the energy undtions were like in theke behind her.

    Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eyes ¨C he subconsciously wanted to try and see how his body would react with his Spirit Eyes activated ¨C and he discovered that time began to slow.

    Huo Yuhao scrutinized everything with his Spirit Eyes. Not only did everything be a lot clearer than before, but everything seemed to also slow down. This sensation was just too strange, to the point where he almost couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.

    What he had just ingested wasn¡¯t a harmful herb, it was a mystical herb that was exceedingly beneficial for his Spirit Eyes!

    This feeling clearly represented the Purple Demon Eyes¡¯ highest level!

    Of the Purple Demon Eye¡¯s four different realms, Huo Yuhao had already reached the third realm. However, he had now ferociously broken through the third realm to reach the final realm, Mustard Seed. The ability to see even the smallest details represented the highest possible realm. Furthermore, his spiritual power also began to evolve along with his Spirit Eyes.

    Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection, as this was the soul skill that he used most often. When he did, he could see faint purplish-golden light radiating outwards, with his Spirit Eyes at the center. Everything that this purple light reached was presented in his mind as clear as could be, and he could now use Spiritual Detection on the Delicate Silk Immortal where it had failed utterly before.

    This¡­ is this a crystallization of spiritual power? It¡¯s a qualitative change, it really is!

    ¡°This isn¡¯t an actual crystallization of your spiritual power ¨C true crystallization should mean your spiritual power should have both form and substance, and I never reached that level even when I was at the pinnacle of my cultivation. My spiritual power is extremely vast, as I have umted it for a million years. If I had reached the realm where my spiritual power had both form and substance, heh, those bastards in the Great Star Dou Forest would have scampered away.¡± Skydream¡¯s voice was clearly a little excited. He was the happiest one when he witnessed the transformations urring within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes and to his spiritual power. Skydream was Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit, and that meant Skydream was a direct beneficiary of all of this, too!

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked mentally, ¡°Brother Skydream ¨C what realm am I in now?¡±

    Skydream answered, ¡°I think you¡¯ve already entered the metaphysical realm, even though you¡¯re just at the beginner level. However, this realm is an important checkpoint that ny-nine percent of spiritual-type soul masters and soul beasts absolutely have to cross. I originally imagined that it would have been quite impressive if you could reach that realm within ten years, but who knew? You have skyrocketed to this realm after eating that thing. You will understand when you listen to my exnation...

    ¡°When your spiritual power has form but no substance, you can even use spiritual power to suppress your Ultimate Ice soul power, and you can envelop your soul power when you cultivate so that it will no longer affect your body. Your cultivation speed will no longer be affected by Ultimate Ice, not in the least. Your cultivation speed after this can even surpass that of normal soul masters, while every single spiritual-type soul skill that you possess has undergone a qualitative change as well.

    ¡°You can absorb another portion of the spiritual origin that I¡¯ve sealed away in your spiritual sea. I will help you with that when we return, so that you canpletely consolidate your position in this realm.

    ¡°When you have cultivated long enough that you¡¯ve reached the pinnacle of this realm, then you can attempt to break through into the realm where your spiritual power has both form and substance. Once you¡¯ve reached that stage, nobody else in the world can challenge you in terms of spiritual power!¡±

    This pleasant surprise was simply too great. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had been strengthened exponentially, while his overall abilities had also risen by an entire level. Even though his soul power wasn¡¯t boosted at all, his spiritual power had changed qualitatively to the point where he had reached the metaphysical realm, and that meant improvements in his soul power weren¡¯t that far away.

    ¡°Hey, hey...are you alright?¡± An extremely displeased voice suddenly jolted Huo Yuhao awake from his pleasant surprise.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had seen him open his eyes, and then she realized that he was just smiling foolishly to himself. Wang Qiu¡¯er was startled when his eyes began to shine with a faint purplish-golden light that began to extend outwards, because she had a feeling as though she waspletely naked and exposed to a certain someone¡¯s vision. The feeling of being stripped naked didn¡¯t feel so good, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils had also began to undergo some peculiar transformations.

    His pupils were originally pure ck in color, but there now seemed to be another pupil within them ¨C this pupil was purple, and the two pupils in a single eye became purple and gold when he released his Spirit Eyes. Everything looked extremely strange and peculiar.

    ¡°This is¡­ is this your body soul¡¯s second awakening?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°My body soul¡¯s second awakening? I don¡¯t think so...¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er handed him a mirror. ¡°Look at your eyes! Why would there be such a tremendous transformation if your body soul hasn¡¯t been awakened for the second time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also ovee with astonishment when he took the mirror and stared at his own pupils.

    I have four pupils now! I¡­ I actually have polycoria! This is the White Tiger Duke¡¯s iconic polycoria!

    Back in the day, he had been despised as the runt of the litter because he didn¡¯t have polycoria, and the others in the duke¡¯s mansion looked down on him for that. His martial soul had mutated because of the genes that his mother had passed down to him, and this made everyone treat him like a useless piece of trash.

    If¡­ if I had been born with polycoria, and inherited the White Tiger Duke¡¯s White Tiger martial soul, the duke¡¯s wife would have never dared to treat my mother like she did, no matter how outrageous she was. Oh heavens, do you know how unfair you were to me and my mother? Why did you have to torment us like that?

    Huo Yuhao felt countless emotions rush to his head as these thoughts ran through his mind. His Spirit Eyes had evolved, and it was likely that his martial soul had been awakened for the second time, so he should be happy. However, he couldn¡¯t feel happy at all, and his mother¡¯s image filled every corner of his mind.

    ¡°Eh, are you so touched and grateful that you¡¯ve been ovee with astonishment?¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao gradually calmed his emotions, but his eyes were still full of sullenness and grief.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wanted to get him back for knocking her unconscious after he woke up. However, she could see the dejection in his eyes, and she swallowed everything that she wanted to say.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er touched his shoulder gently.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and got to his feet. ¡°My Spirit Eyes and my spiritual power have undergone some transformations after I absorbed that herb. You¡¯re right, it¡¯s possible that this is the second awakening of my Spirit Eyes, but I can¡¯t be sure at the moment.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°You should really thank You You.¡± She immediately repeated everything that You You had said to her before this.

    This was the test? Huo Yuhao was no longer that little resentful and vengeful youth that he had been when he first departed from the Duke¡¯s mansion. His grief was fleeting, and he quickly recovered from it.

    ¡°You You, if I hadn¡¯t taken that herb and I decided to leave with Wang Qiu¡¯er, what would you have done?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t directly express his gratitude, and asked this question instead.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal heaved a sigh. ¡°Why are you so smart? A question like this hurts our rtionship. If you hadn¡¯t taken the herb, that would only mean that you¡¯re not determined and you¡¯re extremely selfish. How would a person like this not tell anyone else about this ce? Even though we are confident in being self-sufficient and of defending ourselves, there are just too many humans, and we can¡¯t be sure if we can protect our home in the end. ording to that person, we can do what we want to you. If you had the ability to break through from here, then you should be allowed to leave.¡±

 Chapter 261.1: The Blazing Delicate Apricots Test

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was taken aback, and her eyes immediately grew sharp. She understood now, the Delicate Silk Immortal had made thing very clear. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t chosen to risk his life to ingest that herb, they would probably have faced an all-out assault from the nt-type soul beasts around the Icefire Yin Yang Well. There was no need to discuss the other nts around them, as the hundred-thousand year Delicate Silk Immortal herself wasn¡¯t a force that they could deal with. In other words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s impulsiveness had actually saved their lives!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was calm. His spiritual sea had been boosted once more, and his mind had be more transparent and clearer than before. That oue was something that he had guessed would happen, so it didn¡¯te as a surprise to him.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°It seems like I¡¯ve been blessed with a fortuitous opportunity among all the dangers and perils. That means, You You, I don¡¯t have to thank you. What I want to know is, what test will I have to go through after this? What test will I have toplete to obtain that book?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal puffed indignantly and said, ¡°You should still thank me. Look, the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew I chose for you is sopatible with you. Even though the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew can¡¯t be considered the best magical herb around here, it¡¯s still ranked amongst the immortal herbs, and it¡¯s also one of the most appropriate herbs for you in this ce. Furthermore, it¡¯s the easiest to absorb. I didn¡¯t let you feel any pain or suffering at all!¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°But I¡¯ve sustained a lot of emotional pain. Alright, thank you, then. You can tell me about the test I have to go through now.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was satisfied as she said, ¡°That¡¯s better. The test before this has proven that your personality is trustworthy. That means, the subsequent test will be about your abilities. You can¡¯t protect this book even if you have it if you¡¯re not strong enough, yes? Therefore, ording to what that person said, you have to disy sufficient ability before you can take this book. You will have to fight against a soul beast suitable for your level to prove that you have sufficient strength. Thisbat¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, can you get to the point?¡± Huo Yuhao had no choice but to interrupt the Delicate Silk Immortal, as she was just too long-winded. If he were to let her continue like this, he would probably start feeling dizzy by the time there was a conclusion.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal grunted and said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been easy for me to find someone to talk to, and you¡¯re not going to let me talk more? Do you have any courtesy left in you? Hmph, I will choose a strong one for you, then. Ah Jiao, Ah Jiao, are you there? Please answer me if you are!¡±

    Ah Jiao? Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes focused, and a strange event urred. The four pupils in his eyes flickered at the same time, and his dual pupils fused together, with the purple pupil behind and his ck pupil in front. The purple pupil was slightlyrger, and it appeared as if his ck pupil had a purple light around it.

    Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eyes, and purple and ck light sparkled at the same time. If one didn¡¯t inspect them closely, one would only be able to see that his eyes had be entirely purple-golden. He hadn¡¯t released his Purple Demon Eyes, and yet his eyes were already purple-gold.

    ¡°Ah Jiao, Ah Jiao, please answer me! Otherwise, I¡¯m going to disturb you.¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s petals began to p around as she spoke, and a white streak of light appeared from the white part of theke before condensing in the air as ice crystals. The crystals instantly lined up in a formation as they pushed towards the center of the shore on the red side.

    ¡°You¡¯re so irritating, You You, you garrulous thing. You¡¯re interrupting my pleasant dreams again!¡± an intensely displeased voice was finally heard. It was also a female voice. However, her voice was a lot brighter and crisper, and she didn¡¯t have You You¡¯s tenderness. Her voice sounded a little more... valiant?

    A red sphere lit up on the redke¡¯s shore in the distance, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er could finally see where this other enormous talking flower was located.

    This nt waspletely fiery-red. It didn¡¯t really look like a flower, and was instead extremely tall. It was almost ten feet tall, while the open flower was slightly smaller than the Delicate Silk Immortal in diameter, and in the shape of a cabbage. Its entire body seemed like it had been sculpted from red rubies. It glowed once more, and the temperature of the air inside the valley rose a little bit.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were both highly resistant to heat, but they could still feel heatwaves smacking them in the face, and they instinctively channeled their soul power to fight against them.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°Ah Jiao, can¡¯t you see that we have visitors? You shall conduct this assessment. I can lift a burden off my chest if he can pass this test.¡±

    The nt referred to as Ah Jiao answered, ¡°What burden do you have to lift? Isn¡¯t it just about the crystals that we have cultivated for many years? I sincerely hope that nobodyes to visit us.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal giggled and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? We don¡¯t have any use for the crystals even if we keep them. Furthermore, he may not even pass your test. Without that person¡¯s help all those years ago, we would have ceased to exist. Why do you have to be so petty? If you are that unwilling, then I will let Aniseed do it. This will prove that Aniseed is more powerful than you are.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! How is that scoundrel stronger than me? It¡¯s obvious that I¡¯m stronger, so you shut up! Come here, little boy, and let me teach you a lesson. Please bugger off from this ce as soon as you lose.¡±

    The fiery-red nt trembled, and a red beam of light soared from her body into the sky. A strange scene appeared ¨C the dense vegetation in the valley suddenly opened a path as the nts on the ground separated to either side, and a path was created all the way from the Delicate Silk Immortal to where the fiery-red nt was located.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Go, go! Ah Jiao¡¯s temper isn¡¯t so good, and she is known as the zing Delicate Apricot. She¡¯s a fire-type immortal herb, and she¡¯s extremely hot. Furthermore, you will be affected by the zing Sunspring when you¡¯re fighting over there.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°She is a hundred-thousand year soul beast, and I only have five soul rings. She has every advantage possible, doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m just throwing my life away if I carry on with this test?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°Are you stupid? I never said that you have to defeat her. All you have to do is pass the test. Quickly, now! You cannot ask me how you can pass this test, as everyone does it differently. It¡¯s all up to you now!¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t back down at a time like this. Furthermore, for some reason, his other senses had risen to another level after his Spirit Eyes evolved, and he could even detect a little bit of another person¡¯s thoughts and feelings. For instance, he could feel intense worry and anxiety from Wang Qiu¡¯er beside him, while he didn¡¯t feel any hostility or evil intentions from the Delicate Silk Immortal. It felt like thisrge flower and the nts around them no longer harbored any hostility or aggression towards them after he had passed the first test.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally a lot more confident than before with this realization. He nodded in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s direction before he widened his stride and stepped onto the path that the nts had opened.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hurriedly attempted to follow him, but the nts before her immediately closed up and sealed off her path. Voluminous vines swept into the sky and transformed into a barricade that prevented her from moving forward.

    ¡°You can¡¯t go. This is a test that he has to face by himself!¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice rang out.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot a cold re at her and said, ¡°Have you forgotten what I said before this?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ don¡¯t be like that. Okay, okay, I¡¯ll just tell you secretly. No danger wille to him even if he fails the test, as everybody is now treating him like a friend after he passed the personality test. Come, chat with me. The two of you can leave in peace even if he doesn¡¯t pass this test.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at her. She wasn¡¯t afraid that the flower was lying to her, and so she decided to sit down on the spot. However, she didn¡¯t utter a single sound, let alone chat with the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was bing a little bored and dejected. Herrge pink flower began to droop as she muttered under her breath, ¡°You¡¯re not interesting at all. You think you possess¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er fired off another fiery re as golden light erupted and an intimidating look flowed from her pinkish-blue eyes. The nts around her arched backward conspicuously, as if they had been blown back by a gust of strong wind.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said hurriedly, ¡°Alright, alright! Calm down, calm down! I¡¯ll just stop talking...¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hear their conversation, as his attention had been locked entirely onto the zing Delicate Apricot ever since he stepped onto the path created by those nts.

    There was no question that she was a formidable fire-type nt soul beast, and she was a hundred-thousand year soul beast as well. He knew that he was no match for her, but ording to what the Delicate Silk Immortal had said, he didn¡¯t have to defeat her. Since that was the case, then all he could do was give everything he had.

    The Icefire Yin Yang Wellprised twokes, but its surface area wasn¡¯t that big. Huo Yuhao stepped forward steadily and quickly followed the path to where the zing Delicate Apricot was located.

    The zing Delicate Apricot was clearly a lot fiercer than the Delicate Silk Immortal was. Not a single nt grew within two hundred feet around her, and the nts that lived beyond two hundred feet were mostly red, or close to red. There was no question that they were all fire-type nts.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know much about this mystical ce, but he had been observing everything around him ever since he had arrived. He had discovered through his observations that the nts in this mystical cornucopia had their own hierarchy. The nts that were located closer to the Icefire Yin Yang Well were either highly resistant to intense chill or intense heat, or they were extremelypatible with these temperatures. That also meant the nts closer to theke were stronger than the others. The Delicate Silk Immortal and the zing Delicate Apricot grew by thekeshore, and there was no doubt that these two flowers were some of the strongest entities in this ce.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal grew at a location near theke¡¯s intersection, meaning her element was rtively neutral, and she didn¡¯t lean towards ice or fire. However, the zing Delicate Apricot before him was undoubtedly the dominant one among all the fire-type nts, as she took up the central spot on the zing Sunspring¡¯s shore.

 Chapter 261.2: The Blazing Delicate Apricots Test

    All these discoveries were important to Huo Yuhao. At least, it was a start to understanding this ce better.

    He took another step and finally entered that barren patch ofnd. Huo Yuhao immediately felt a wave of intense and scorching heat hit him in the face, and even his clothes began to smell burnt. The air around him was rippling from the heat!

    It¡¯s so hot!

    Huo Yuhao almost instinctively unleashed his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, which covered his entire body. Ultimate Ice was Ultimate Ice after all, and even though Huo Yuhao was still a world away from the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s cultivation and close to the zing Sunspring, he still had enough strength to protect himself in such an environment.

    The zing Delicate Apricot quivered faintly as she said, ¡°Eh? Ultimate Ice. It¡¯s no wonder You You wants me to do it. Little guy, let me see if your Ultimate Ice is stronger, or if my Ultimate Fire is stronger.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and replied, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very fair senior, as our cultivations are not equal in the first ce. Furthermore, you have the zing Sunspring behind you that You You speaks of, so my abilities will be greatly reduced. How could I be a match for you?¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot grunted and said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you extremely courageous when you ingested the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew? Why are you cowering away now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered seriously, ¡°I¡¯m not cowering away. The only thing is that book is extremely important to me, and I absolutely have to pass your test. Therefore, all I¡¯m hoping for is that the test will be more just and fair. I also believe that you¡¯re not the kind to bully weaker individuals.¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot said inly, ¡°Saying all that is useless. My test has been predetermined, and what you shall face is an opponent that is equal to your abilities ¨C Ultimate Fire. However, your opponent will be supported by the zing Sunspring, and you will pass if you defeat your opponent. Otherwise, you can leave.¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot leaned backwards vigorously as she spoke, and a peculiar fiery-red whirlpool suddenly appeared in front of the flower. The whirlpool resembled a colossal whale sucking in water as it drew in arge pool of fiery-red spring water from the zing Sunspring before firing the water into the air in a violent pir.

    The fiery-red pir of water condensed and didn¡¯t fall apart. The air around it began to twist energetically and contort wherever this pir passed, and the temperature within the valley skyrocketed once more.

    ¡°The test has begun!¡± the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s emotionless voice rang out.

    The purplish-golden light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became more intense as he half-crouched, and he made a pose as if he were about to erupt at any moment. His right hand¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorwshed out, and a bluish-green light shone like a wave from his chest.

    The fiery-red pir descended from the sky and came directly for Huo Yuhao.

    The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s voice could be heard once more. ¡°Oh, yes. You¡¯re not allowed to step out of this barren area to avoid damaging the nts around you. You will lose if you step out of this area.¡±

    Huo Yuhao would have cursed at the top of his voice if he could, or if he had the time to curse. He couldn¡¯t step out of this area, and that meant he would have to battle in the second hottest ce within this valley. His Ultimate Ice would be greatly weakened in the process, while the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s intense heat would be greatly amplified. How could he win this fight, even if they had the same cultivation?

    It was a pity that he had no time or space to curse. The searing pir of water bore down on him as his Spirit Eyes stared ahead, and he could clearly feel how frightening this attack was. The zing Sunspring was so hot that even Ma Xiaotao¡¯s transformation into the Darkness Phoenix couldn¡¯tpare to it, This was true Ultimate Fire!

    The red pir of water covered an enormous area, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t intend to meet force with force. He tapped on the ground with his foot, and his entire body sprang into the air like a lightning bolt. He twisted and somersaulted in the sky as he nimbly dodged the pir.

    Some of the zing spring water smeared across his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor, and some of the diamond crystals formed by the armor melted as a result. However, he managed to jump through an opening, and his left hand supported him on the ground as his body turned once more in midair. He tapped on the ground with his foot and changed directions as he leapt through yet another crack in the pir.

    His Spiritual Detection had evolved, and this gave him even greater ability to grasp opportunities. He narrowly but impably evaded the zing Sunspring¡¯s attack.

    However, the scorching spring water didn¡¯t disappear when itnded on the ground. Instead, it congregated together strangely and instantly transformed into a humanoid figure.

    Huo Yuhao had initially believed that he would be facing the zing Delicate Apricot. This was the reason why he was still on guard against her when he leapt through the air. Only now did he realize that his opponent was that fiery-red spring water.

    The spring water congregated into a female human figure, Her features were faint and subtle, while there seemed to be a long red ponytail that draped all the way to her feet. Her figure was stunning, but it was a pity that the temperature emanating from her body was simply too frightening.

    The zing Delicate Apricot released another red beam thatnded on the body the water had formed, and this fiery girl immediately became golden-red. Her hands were lowered to her sides, and she now had a long ming de in each hand. She tapped her foot on the ground and pounced towards Huo Yuhao, raising the two des high above her head and shing out violently.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection allowed him to detect even the smallest details and elemental differences after his Purple Demon Eyes ascended into the Mustard Domain. He looked on speechlessly as countless red specks of elemental fire swiftly congregated toward the firedy¡¯s twin des as she raised her des in the air. The fiery radiance at the tips of her des reached up more than ten feet when she finally shed down... and all of that was the unbelievably searing Ultimate Fire!

    Huo Yuhao was at a great disadvantage because he was forced to fight this firedy within the area designated by the zing Delicate Apricot. The temperature in this ce wasn¡¯t even, and the closer it was to the zing Sunspring, the higher it became¡­ and the closer he was to the zing Delicate Apricot, the hotter it became! Huo Yuhao felt as if the Ultimate Ice within his body was being greatly suppressed and stifled.

    I¡¯m dodging this! Huo Yuhao¡¯s body flickered as he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and he once again relied on the might of his Spiritual Detection to leap through an opening within the pattern of the ming knives. But this time, he retaliated.

    Bluish-green light converged in front of his chest, and an extremely chilly bluish-green pir of light burst out from his chest. Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew ck immediately after he unleashed this attack.

    The zing Sunspring seemed like it had a life of its own, as if it could feel Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. The fiery-red spring water surged into the air, as if something had induced a tidal wave, and an intense heat wave rushed toward him in the next moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath hadn¡¯t even reached the firedy yet, but most of its strength had been dispelled by the scorching heat.

    The firedy seemed like she had just taken steroids, and her frame exploded in size. Her former scarlet-gold color was now almost entirely gold. Her now-golden ming knives crossed, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath was cut into a million pieces.

    How do I fight this? The zing Sunspring can also help it fight?! This¡­ isn¡¯t this cheating? Huo Yuhao was truly exasperated. However, he was the passive one in this test, and he was in no position to determine the test¡¯s criteria.

    The firedy pounced toward him once more in a sh. This time, she wasn¡¯t in a hurry to sh down with her ming knives, and her movements changed right when Huo Yuhao attempted to dodge her using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

    The firedy¡¯s body also became a little illusory. Huo Yuhao wanted to dodge to one side, but she followed his footsteps to the same side before sheid her ming knives in front of him. It felt as if Huo Yuhao was about to m himself into those ming knives.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao finally started to curse. No matter how powerful his Spiritual Detection was, there was no way that the firedy could make the same steps as he did, the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track¡¯s steps¡­?!?

    Huo Yuhao vanished into thin air as his left leg flickered once with golden light, and he reappeared right behind the firedy in the next moment. This was the Instant Teleportation that the wolf-ape¡¯s left leg bone had given him.

    Instant Teleportation was like a legendary skill to most soul masters, and its effects were most obvious when used in closebat.

    Aren¡¯t you trying to weaken my Ultimate Ice? Fine, then I won¡¯t use Ultimate Ice. Huo Yuhao shed out with his right hand after he used Instant Teleportation, and his Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s sharp edges reached out over seven meters. The frightening de seemed to howl as it flickered once when it shed through the air, as if it were about to sever the world itself in two.

    One had to admit thatbining Instant Teleportation and the Darkgolden Terrorw was simply unimaginably powerful. It was hard to avoid this attack even if his opponent could predict it. In the end, Instant Teleportation was just too quick, while the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s area of effect was too vast at the same time.

    The firedy was formed by the searing zing Sunspring, but even though she seemed to possess abilities simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, she was caught off-guard, and even though she could use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and the zing Delicate Apricot was controlling her, she couldn¡¯t evade Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden and explosive attack.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sharp des shed through her in an instant, and the firedy¡¯s body was cut into multiple pieces by the frightening dark golden des.

    Is it over? Huo Yuhao was ecstatic. He had always been absolutely confident of his Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s offensive ability, and even powerful eight-ringed Soul Sages would probably be injured if they took a direct hit from this attack.

    However, something else happened that made his eyes droop and his mouth go ck.

    The firedy was sliced into severalrge pieces. However, these pieces reverted into spring water once they dropped to the ground, and the liquid swiftly congregated once more. The firedy reappeared in the time that Huo Yuhao spent in a daze, and she resumed shing at him with her long ming knives once more. This time, she pounced toward Huo Yuhao as if she loomed over the entire world, and it felt as if the firedy had a life of her own...and she was angry¡­

    Physical attacks are useless? Can they stop cheating like that?

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to panic. He retreated at breakneck speed as he raised his left hand, and a golden light screen immediately transformed into a ripple as he ced it before him.

 Chapter 261.3: The Blazing Delicate Apricots Test

    The golden ripple didn¡¯t cover much, but it wasrge enough to protect Huo Yuhao behind it. The ming knives bore down on it, but they were actually reflected, and the firedy seemed like she was waving her ming knives to sh herself, while her body suddenly grew a little ck.

    The Life Reflecting Shield¡¯s defensive abilities were absolutely outstanding. However, its reflecting effect was definitely nothing much against the firedy, who didn¡¯t have a life of her own. Furthermore, the firedy was emanating Ultimate Fire, so Skydream¡¯s agonizing howls instantly rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    The firedy didn¡¯t have life, so the Life Reflecting Shield¡¯s most prominent feature of absorbing the opponent¡¯s life energy to reflect it back couldn¡¯t take effect at all. This naturally made Skydream extremely annoyed and frustrated.

    I can¡¯t use it anymore, I¡¯ll hurt brother Skydream! Huo Yuhao exasperatedly realized the sorrowful situation he was in. Every single ability he possessed was being weakened as he continued to fight this firedy.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wasn¡¯t willing to be passive, and he wasn¡¯t about to allow the firedy to beat him down. The Life Reflecting Shield didn¡¯t hurt the firedy, but it bought him enough time to make aeback.

    Orange-gold light flickered, and the little Snow Lady emerged behind him.

    The Snow Lady wasn¡¯t used to the searing environment around her, and her tiny eyebrows began to frown as she began to chitter.

    However, Huo Yuhao began to unleash his abilities at this moment. The Ice Empress Jade Scorpion¡¯s five soul rings lit up at the same time ¨C one red, and four orange soul rings sparkled as his Ultimate Ice was channeled to the highest possible level. His fourth soul ring sparkled brilliantly, and the Snow Lady¡¯s figure became a little illusory as the Snow Empress¡¯ arrogance descended upon the world once more.

    In the moment that the Snow Empress¡¯ projection appeared, the firedy in front of her and the zing Delicate Apricot not far from where they were became a little listless.

    The Snow Empress was formed by the Icesky Snow Lady. Even though she didn¡¯t have her original body, she still retained some of the aura of her formidable seven hundred thousand year cultivation!

    Furthermore, the Snow Empress could be considered the strongest entity amongst ice-type soul beasts, and her element was a natural counter to fire. Even though the zing Delicate Apricot was next to the zing Sunspring, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little fear!

    Two figures merged back together in the next moment, and an icy-white beam of light erupted from Huo Yuhao with his body at the center.

    This was the fusion between the Snow Empress¡¯ Snowy Dance of the Brilliant Sun and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice.

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest area control soul skill, had been unleashed!

    Physical attacks were nearly useless against the firedy, and what use was his Spirit Eyes¡¯ spiritual power against something that was just a puppet? Perhaps he could attack the zing Delicate Apricot directly, but if he infuriated her? Furthermore, she was a hundred-thousand year soul beast, so how effective could his spiritual attacks be? Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have the time for that anyway, as the firedy continued to pressure him.

    Huo Yuhao had experimented with his attacks to the point where he was being suppressed on all fronts, so he finally unleashed his trump card.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques were formidable, and they were truly unrivaled among all other snow and ice skills. The icy-blue colors that suddenly erupted immediately dispelled the scorching heat around him, and began to extend outward with lightning speed.

    It was very likely that his Spirit Eyes had undergone a second awakening and qualitative change, which led to a great boost in his spiritual level, and especially his control of spiritual power. Once the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was unleashed, it immediately nketed the firedy as if it loomed over the entire world. Huo Yuhao was like a blooming snow plum flower as he bore down on her from the sky amid the scorching heat. Snowkes flurried as they threatened to consume the firedy, while Huo Yuhao himself was hidden within his domain.

    Huo Yuhao was feeling the full effects of how his spiritual control had been amplified. He felt as if every snowke within his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was under his control, and his spiritual power was like an enormous formless web that connected them all. His domain felt as if it were a part of him and he could control it at whim. The sensation was just too fantastic!

    However, the pressure that Huo Yuhao felt suddenly increased exponentially. The release of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice meant he was no longer just targeting the firedy, he was going against the superheated environment around him. This also meant he was targeting the zing Delicate Apricot and the zing Sunspring.

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice¡¯s mighty strength was limited to less than thirty percent of its original power inside this extreme environment. The scorching heat meant there was hardly any moisture in the air, and the temperature itself was incredibly high. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was consumed continuously, as if it were leaking out of his body.

    The firedy seemed to feel the immense threat borne by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and she began to move the moment Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain was unleashed. However, this wasn¡¯t an attack; she began to move sideways with lightning speed as she darted rapidly towards the zing Delicate Apricot.

    Huo Yuhao naturally directed his domain in pursuit of the firedy. The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was about to touch the firedy. Large amounts of water vapor could be seen evaporating from the firedy¡¯s body, while her scarlet-gold colors swiftly grew dull.

    However, something interfered with Huo Yuhao¡¯s battle once again.

    Boom! The zing Sunspring seemed infuriated, and it exploded as if it were a mother trying to protect her kid. The burning red spring water surged into the sky.

    The zing Sunspring didn¡¯t retaliate against Huo Yuhao. The red spring water surged vertically into the air, but this sudden instance of extremely high temperature was enough to dispel half of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    The domain that was just about to envelop the firedy naturally missed its target, and could only continue forward. The firedy took this opportunity to run behind the zing Delicate Apricot.

    The domain inevitably loomed over the zing Delicate Apricot, and the flower¡¯s body erupted with an intense golden-red light.

    What happened afterwards?

    There was no ¡°afterwards¡±¡­

    The zing Sunspring and the zing Delicate Apricot worked together against the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and the entire domain dissipated to the point where not a single snowke remained.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cheeks were flushed red from the intense heat, and he stumbled backwards.

    Fortunately, the zing Sunspring¡¯s eruption onlysted for a single moment, and the temperature dropped back down once the red spring water returned to the well. However, the firedy came out from behind the zing Delicate Apricot as she shed her twin knives, and raced toward Huo Yuhao mercilessly.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his voice.

    ¡°What?¡± The zing Delicate Apricot sounded rather bored, and answered extremely casually.

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°This is cheating, senior. The zing Sunspring¡¯s eruption can still be exined because it was affected by my Ultimate Ice aura. But how am I to continue with this test if you interfere as well?¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s voice was full of surprise. ¡°What? Cheating? How am I cheating? The zing Sunspring has nothing to do with me. You¡¯re the one who triggered it, yes? The reason why I interfered was because you attacked me too. Your domain wasing towards me, and that domain carried Ultimate Ice, so was I supposed to just let you beat me down? What if you severed my spiritual root? If you can¡¯t pass, then you can¡¯t. Don¡¯t find subjective reasons, and if you can¡¯t pass the test, that means you¡¯re never going to get that book from You You.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was aggrieved. This is too unfair. How am I supposed to fight this?

    The zing Delicate Apricot sounded a little proud and excited as she said, ¡°Quickly, are you going to ept the test? If you do, then continue. Otherwise, please leave us be. We don¡¯t really wee humans in here anyway. I will let you live because of your determination. Oy, look, that little fellow is so mischievous! She¡¯s gone for a bath.¡±

    She was right. While the zing Delicate Apricot and Huo Yuhao were talking, the firedy had actually jumped into the zing Sunspring, and only came back out when the flower called her back. The firedy had recoveredpletely from her weakened aura and energy, and once again sparkled with scarlet-gold light. She seemed like she had been revitalized. That also meant that if Huo Yuhao continued with the battle, he would be facing the firedy once more in her peak condition.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression grew dark. He took a deep breath and said decisively, ¡°I want to try one more time, senior. However, I wish to give everything I have, and it will be a proper defeat even if I lose. Do you mind letting me leave your arena to replenish my soul power, so that I can have a proper and final fight with the firedy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you,¡± the zing Delicate Apricot said, ¡°However, I can¡¯t guarantee that other nts won¡¯t attack you if you leave my arena.¡±

    It was as if she hadn¡¯t said anything at all . He would be affected by the intense heat if he didn¡¯t leave the area around her, and his recovery would be severely impeded, to the point where he could be weakened instead.

    Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao grit his teeth and sat down on the spot. The Ultimate Ice aura around him disappeared, and a faint golden light reced it. The golden radiance was full of spiritual undtions that protected him within. The air around him was so hot that heat waves were rising from the ground, but it didn¡¯t seem like it affected him much at all.

    There was a ss 6 Milk Bottle in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands he used to gradually replenish his soul power. The zing Delicate Apricot seemed like she liked to cheat, but she didn¡¯t take this opportunity to send the firedy to attack him. She let the firedy, who had been restored to her peak condition, stand to one side.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was quite far from the battle, but she could see and hear everything that was happening. There was no question that the zing Delicate Apricot had been hindering Huo Yuhao this entire time even though she had said she wasn¡¯t going to interfere. In addition to the zing Sunspring¡¯s effects, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had been greatly weakened. Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t see a single thread of a chance that Huo Yuhao could emerge victorious despite all his fighting spirit and willpower.

 Chapter 262.1: The Snow Empress Overflowing Tyranny!

    You don¡¯t have a chance if you meet force with force. But what else can you do if you don¡¯t do that? The zing Delicate Apricot has marked off such a tiny area, and the fight has to be carried out within this designated area. How are you going to pass this test, Huo Yuhao? Can you even pass it?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er hoped Huo Yuhao would not continue risking his life for that book. However, there was a hope from deep down in her heart that he would emerge victorious in this battle.

    Huo Yuhao got back to his feet in the blink of an eye, as restoring soul power with a Milk Bottle didn¡¯t require much time. He raised his left hand, and a heavy cannon appeared on his shoulder. This was the same stationary soul cannon that he had used before this, and he swiftly ced a high-power ss 5 stationary shell inside the barrel.

    It was clearly the first time that these nt-type soul beasts had seen soul tools. The zing Delicate Apricot didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao was doing, so she continued to observe curiously.

    Huo Yuhao pointed the cannon towards the firedy. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m ready, senior. If I don¡¯t leave the area you have designated, it means I haven¡¯t lost. Am I right?¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot answered primly, ¡°That¡¯s right! Everything¡¯s fine is you don¡¯t step out. Come,e!¡±

    The firedy dashed forward as she spoke, lunging toward Huo Yuhao with her twin ming knives as heat poured out from her.

    BOOM!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s stationary soul cannon erupted, and a zing red sphere of light burst out from the cannon barrel. He chose the explosive shell not because of its high temperature, but for its violent explosiveness. The zing Delicate Apricot was a hundred-thousand year soul beast, but its territory was only sorge. The force created by a ss 5 explosive high-powered shell under normal circumstances could tten anything within a hundred meters, while the shockwaves could reach from three hundred to five hundred meters away.

    The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s attitude changed drastically the moment that high-power shell was fired. The firedy was thrown backwards by the explosion, and the terrifying explosive energy expanded out instantly.

    The zing Delicate Apricot lived up to her name as a hundred-thousand year soul beast. Ripples began to twist and contort in the air the moment she realized something was wrong, and the frightening explosive force, was refracted in all directions by the contortions in the air, and the shockwaves sted through the sky. At the same time, the zing Delicate Apricot released a scarlet-red light t from herself that formed a dome over her territory. This light absorbed every single ounce of the high-powered shell¡¯s explosive force.

    Huo Yuhao had definitely guessed how the zing Delicate Apricot was going to react since he dared to do this, and his aim was to buy himself enough time. The firedy was blown away, and she needed some time toe back, while the zing Delicate Apricot was preupied with containing the shell¡¯s explosive force. She was caught off-guard, so she couldn¡¯t control the firedy in time¡­ this was his opportunity!

    Four soul thrusters erupted behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to rush towards the firedy hurtling through the air to destroy her while the zing Delicate Apricot was distracted, because he knew that that was an impossible endeavor. The firedy was hurtling towards the zing Sunspring, and she was practically invincible and undying over there, since she was made from the zing Sunspring¡¯s water in the first ce.

    Therefore, the four soul thrusters behind Huo Yuhao began to fire downward. A frightening force instantly propelled his body into the air, and he rocketed high up into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao had already relied on this explosive eleration to reach a height of fifty meters before the zing Delicate Apricot recovered. His flying-type soul tool expanded behind him and brought him even higher into the sky as he flew upward.

    ¡°How¡­ how is that possible? He only has five soul rings¡­ how can he know how to fly?¡± The zing Delicate Apricot was a little dazed. She was confused as to how a five-ringed human could fly through the air at such a high speed.

    You¡¯ve fallen behind!, Huo Yuhao thought to himself. There was no longer an aggrieved look on his face, and a self-confident smile appeared in its ce.

    Huo Yuhao had been probing with his attacks throughout the battle before this, and it was the same even with his domain. He knew very well that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to pass this test. He had absolute confidence to win if the battle had been a fair fight, but he was within the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s area of control, and the zing Sunspring also threatened him. How could he not know that he didn¡¯t stand a single chance at all?

    Therefore, he had been quietly observing this entire time, and made use of his spiritual power having just evolved into the metaphysical realm to observe... and finally, he had found a solution.

    The zing Delicate Apricot looked on as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body flew more than a hundred meters into the air. She could control her attacks to reach that height, but this fight was supposed to be between Huo Yuhao and the firedy. The zing Delicate Apricot could interfere from the side, but directlyshing out against Huo Yuhao was clearly not within the test¡¯s rules.

    Thus, she could only continue watching as Huo Yuhao flew even higher into the sky. She had no idea what he wanted to do.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re cheating. You¡¯ve lost ¨C you¡¯ve gone outside my territory!¡± The zing Delicate Apricot shouted at Huo Yuhao in the sky.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t! How have I left your designated area? I¡¯m flying vertically in the air, but I¡¯m still within your territory. I haven¡¯t stepped out of it. If I don¡¯t fly out of this vertical area, then I haven¡¯t lost. Am I right, senior? This test is still ongoing, you can¡¯t lie to me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao ced another ss 5 explosive shell inside his heavy cannon as he spoke, and he trained the cannon barrel downwards.

    The zing Delicate Apricot immediately burst out with red light, as she was still a little fearful of that fearsome explosive force. It wasn¡¯t much to her, and it definitely wasn¡¯t enough to wound her, but it could destroy thend around her. Land and soil were absolutely important to nts like them, and they were also right next to the zing Sunspring. If the soil and ground around the zing Sunspring was damaged and the hot spring water flowed out, the surrounding nts would be faced with a cmitous disaster. This wasn¡¯t something that she wanted to see.

    Huo Yuhao pulled the trigger right at this moment. A searing red sphere erupted once more, and barreled down towards the ground.

    However, the zing Delicate Apricot was stunned when she realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s wasn¡¯t firing at her. The shell arched through the air andnded in the distance...it was going straight for the Extreme Chill Icespring!

    Intense red light exploded once more as it came into contact with the whiteke water,everything was within the precise calctions of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Just like before, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t trying to make use of the shell¡¯s intense heat ¨C,he wanted to use the bomb¡¯s explosive impact and force!

    The Extreme Chill Icespring almost instantly absorbed the explosive bomb¡¯s heat energy. However, the terrifying explosive force and impact immediately blew a tidal wave out from the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    The freezing water was blown at least thirty meters into the air. Huo Yuhao had deliberately directed his shell at an angle to create this effect, and the Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s water bore down on the zing Sunspring.

    Right at this moment, Huo Yuhao was almost freefalling through the air as an orange-gold light emerged from his body. This sphere was like another cannon shell as it mmed urately against the spring water that had been blown into the air.

    A strange scene urred. The Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s spring water that carried intense cold was bearing down on the zing Sunspring, but most of the water was suddenly frozen in the air.

    Huo Yuhao took this opportunity to descend to about thirty meters above the ground. Bluish-green light erupted from his body, and a tiny figure shining with orange-gold light floated above the Extreme Chill Icespring not far from where he was, opened her little hands, and giggled in his direction.

    A miraculous scene began to unfurl.

    The tiny Snow Lady¡¯s frame was growing bigger with a speed that the naked eye could see, while the airborne Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s water was vanishing at an rming rate. More urately put, the Snow Lady was absorbing the water at an rming rate!

    The Snow Lady had released the Snow Empress¡¯ projection when she unleashed the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice along with Huo Yuhao. However, it was different this time. The Snow Empress¡¯ spirit seemed to be aging. She gradually became a little child, and then a teenage girl, before finally reverting to the Icesky Snow Lady¡¯s original appearance.

    Ice and snow covered her entire body, and was presented as the most beautiful and enchanting dress. Herrge dark-blue eyes were clear and deep, as if she could watch over the entire world. Long hair draped behind her back and became icy-blue in color, and her hair seemed like eternal ciers. Intense cool immediately permeated the skies, and at this moment, the zing Sunpsring¡¯s aura waspletely suppressed by this frightening chill.

    Huo Yuhao was the one that had nned all this, but not even he had expected this to happen. He had determined his battle strategy after his meticulous observations before this. His goal was simple, The zing Delicate Apricot and the firedy are drawing strength from the zing Sunspring, and since this ce is called the Icefire Yin Yang Well, there is no question that other side is an Icespring, since the Sunspring is on this side. The Sunspring weakens me, while the Icespring will greatly amplify my abilities. Therefore, his high-power shell was aimed that way so that he could draw upon the Icespring¡¯s energy, and then he would use his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice again. He would give everything he had to strike down from the air and finish off the firedy with a single strike. He had a chance to determine the oue of this battle when the firedy no longer had the Sunspring¡¯s protection, and if he didn¡¯t let the zing Delicate Apricot interfere.

    Who knew that this peculiar sight would happen once the tiny Snow Lady absorbed the Extreme Chill Icespring? The Snow Lady had grown up, and she had be the actual Icesky Snow Lady. The Snow Empress¡¯ aura was so terrifying that even Huo Yuhao felt his heart quiver in fear, the four orange-gold soul rings on his body sparkling with unprecedented intensity. Huo Yuhao felt the soul power in his body surging torrentially. At this moment, he felt as if he could actually rely on his soul power to fly!

 Chapter 262.2: The Snow Empress Overflowing Tyranny!

    Flying with soul power was something that seven-ringed soul sages did, but he only had five rings! That meant that he temporarily possessed the strength of a soul sage. What was happening? Strange things had been happening over and over again ever since they had entered the Icefire Yin Yang Well!

    The Snow Empress nced at Huo Yuhao. Her eyes were a littleplicated. Her look seemed a little intimate and friendly, but there was also a little bit of contempt and rejection. However, she only gave him a single nce before she turned towards the zing Delicate Apricot beneath her. The Snow Empress snorted coldly as she descended toward the giant flower.

    The Snow Empress raised her hands, and the icy-white water from the Extreme Chill Icespring erupted a hundred meters into the air as it became the Snow Empress¡¯ background. Howling winds billowed above the Icefire Yin Yang Well in the next moment as snowkes waltzed through the air. The entire area around them immediately became enveloped in a whiteness that only snow could produce.

    A dome of light separated the Extreme Chill Icespring under the Snow Empress¡¯ control, and it forcibly suppressed the zing Sunspring beneath it so that the hot spring¡¯s heat waspletely blocked off.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s expression was icy as the Icespring¡¯s aura surged into her body rapidly.

    Huo Yuhao was still hovering in midair, and he felt as if his body were swelling up as the Snow Lady continued to absorb the Icespring¡¯s energy. No matter how much autonomy and consciousness the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit had, she still had to rely on the host that she had signed a contract with. The Snow Empress¡¯ aura continued to rise, but Huo Yuhao was almost reaching his limit. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body reached the point where it might explode from the overwhelming and terrifying Ultimate Ice if this was allowed to continue.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore, Snow Empress!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his lungs. If he died, the Snow Empress would no longer have a host, and she would perish as well.

    The Snow Empress nced at him, but she didn¡¯t seem to hear him as she pointed at him with her right hand. The little Snow Lady¡¯s familiar dark-blue ice burst out, except it was exponentiallyrger than before, and it ended up beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet before it froze into an enormous ice pedestal in midair, supporting his body so that he wouldn¡¯t fall. That ice pedestal hovered there along with the blizzard around them.

    Large amounts of ice and snow were falling to the ground. The nts around the Icespring were still alright, as they liked the cold, but the nts near the Sunspring no longer had the Sunspring¡¯s heat. They were starting to tremble in response to the Ultimate Ice¡¯s extremely low temperature, and most of them began to release their own auras to resist the ice and snow descending from the sky.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if his own blood was freezing, and his body was swelling to the point where it began to crackle. However, there was nothing he could do as the Snow Empress continued to unleash her aura. The gap in their abilities was simply too great.

    The Snow Empress descended from the sky towards the zing Delicate Apricot. The hundred-thousand year immortal herb was absolutely stunned at this moment.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± The zing Delicate Apricot no longer had the Sunspring¡¯s support, and her aura was a lot weaker than before. Furthermore, the Snow Empress was bearing down on her the sky, and the hundred-thousand year nt felt a little stifled.

    This was the true Empress¡¯ Chill, and it had nketed the entire Icefire Yin Yang Well. The toxic miasma in the air was blown high into the sky from all the cold energy, and couldn¡¯te back down.

    The Snow Empress stared coldly at the zing Delicate Apricot and said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you feeling a littlecent before this?¡±

    She waved her right hand through the air as she spoke, and a dark-blue de that seemed like it was going to slice the entire world into pieces flickered before it vanished. The firedy beside the zing Delicate Apricot disappeared into a stream of smoke, and the entire area around the zing Delicate Apricot was swiftly tainted with icy-blue colors.

    ¡°That was just a test, it was a test which that person left behind! You¡­ what are you trying to do? You can¡¯t touch me! You will be condemned and scourged by the heavens!¡± The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s voice was starting to tremble.

    The Snow Empress that had appeared wasn¡¯t the real Snow Empress, but she drew upon the Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s immense origin energy to temporarily possess the strength that she had when she was still alive.

    She had been kidnapped by humans just as she chose to be reborn as a human, and she ended up in Jing Hongchen¡¯s hands before Huo Yuhao rescued her. She experienced the pr reversal afterwards and eventually became Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the grievances and suffocation in her heart. The Snow Empress had once reigned supreme in the Extreme North, but she eventually became a human¡¯s bound spirit! Even though she was grateful to Huo Yuhao for rescuing her, how could she reconcile this with the deep frustration in her heart?

    ¡°Punished? Ha ha ha ha, scourged by the heavens!?¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ voice grew high-pitched and shrill. Even so, her voice was still as enchanting as ever.

    ¡°Punishment! I have been punished six times, and I am where I am today because I had to avoid the seventh time. You dare to speak of punishment to me?! Very well¡­ I will settle your punishment before anything else, then!¡±

    The Snow Empress gradually raised her right hand as she spoke. Her palm seemed like it weighed several tons as the torrential ice and snow in the air began to spin in a clockwise direction. It didn¡¯t take long before a colossal and incredibly frightening tornado of ice and snow formed above the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    The Snowless cier of the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques! If this palm was allowed toe down, it would possess the Snow Empress¡¯ full power! The Snow Empress possessed seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, and she was ranked number three amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts. She was also the leader of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings!

    ¡°No!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal eximed in the distance. She wasn¡¯t the only one that reacted, as more than twenty immortal herbs shone with intense light around the Icefire Yin Yang Well. This light swiftly congregated in the air as an enormous barrier resisting the terrifying tornado of ice and snow that was about to fall from the sky.

    The Snow Empress grunted coldly as she raised her right hand until her palm was pointing towards the sky. It felt as if she were a ruler who was about to descend upon the world as she muttered coldly, ¡°Do you actually think you can stop me?¡±

    ¡°No, Snow Empress!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s hoarse voice rang out.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ body quivered faintly. Even though she had recovered her memory and her powers, she was still Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit after all. She could feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was about to fall apart, so she no longer absorbed the Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s origin energy. She couldn¡¯t entirely resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s will.

    ¡°Shut up! Have you forgotten how they¡¯ve treated you?¡± the Snow Empress asked coldly.

    Huo Yuhao struggled to reply, ¡°This is a paradise for nts, and the heavens have gifted the Douluo Continent with the miraculous Icefire Yin Yang Well. Furthermore, I have to find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass for Dong¡¯er to save her life. I refuse to continue living if she dies. When that happens, you will die, and even the Ice Empress won¡¯t be revived. Don¡¯t hurt them, Snow Empress. They meant no ill toward me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s other words didn¡¯t affect her much, but when he said ¡°Ice Empress¡±, the Snow Empress¡¯ body finally quivered once more before she brought down the palm that had been raised high in the air.

    Herrge and beautiful, but fearsome and murderous eyes were fixed upon the trembling zing Delicate Apricot. ¡°Has he passed the test?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! He has passed the test!¡± The zing Delicate Apricot wasn¡¯t stubborn, and she could only swallow this humiliation in the face of a stronger force. She was facing the Snow Empress directly, and the Snow Empress¡¯ element was a natural counter to her own. The zing Delicate Apricot was almost unable to resist the intense chill any longer.

    The Snow Empress raised her hand and mercilessly reached into the center of the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s flower. It looked as if a beautifuldy was reaching through anotherdy¡¯s neckline before she violently grabbed and rubbed a few times inside. When the Snow Empress withdrew her hand, there was a red and transparent rubbery item in her hand.

    The rubbery object still caused the air around it to contort a little even though it was being suppressed by the Snow Empress¡¯ formidable powers. It was not difficult to imagine how frighteningly hot this object was.

    ¡°You¡­ please don¡¯t take everything! Leave some for me¡­¡± the zing Delicate Apricot pled pathetically.

    ¡°Hmph! You can create a single drop every year with your current cultivation. You can¡¯t do anything with it even if you keep it.¡± The Snow Empress embodied the meaning of unreasonable as she pinched with her right hand, and the red spherical rubbery object immediately froze. An icy-blue shell appeared around it,pletely sealing the heat inside.

    The Snow Empress disappeared from in front of the zing Delicate Apricot in a sh.

    The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s dazzling fiery-red radiance was greatly diminished ¨C perhaps that was because she was freezing from the Snow Empress¡¯ aura, or perhaps she had suffered a painful loss from losing that rubbery object. Her body was still twitching and quivering, as if she were a human reeling from the heartache of losing something precious.

    The Snow Empress arrived before the Delicate Silk Immortal in the next moment. She wasn¡¯t courteous at all as she reached out her hand andmanded, ¡°Give it to me!¡±

    ¡°What¡­ what do you want?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s giant flower immediately closed up and became a giant flower bud, before a tiny purple stamen protruded out and stared at the Snow Empress cautiously.

    The Snow Empress replied coldly, ¡°Huo Yuhao has passed the test. Give the book to me, right now!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll give the book to you, alright?¡± You You immediately chose to submit before the Snow Empress¡¯ fearsome aura.

    The book that was made from some unknown material immediately flew out from her flower¡¯s heart and hovered in front of the Snow Empress. The Empress grabbed the book and grunted coldly as she said, ¡°You¡¯re a good-for-nothing as well. It¡¯s too bad for you that you have something valuable. Give me the Silk Heart.¡±

    ¡°How¡­ how can I do that? It hasn¡¯t been easy to cultivate the Silk Heart. I can¡¯t give you that, can I give you something else?¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ reply was in. ¡°This isn¡¯t a negotiation, I¡¯m ordering you to do it! I can tear your body apart to retrieve it, or you can give it to me yourself! With your current cultivation, you can create another one within ten thousand years!¡±

 Chapter 262.3: The Snow Empress Overflowing Tyranny!

    ¡°What!? What do you mean it can be done within ten thousand years? Ten thousand years is a long time, alright!?¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal retorted.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ughed coldly and said, ¡°You have only been alive for a few days, and you dare to discuss time with me? I have been alive for seven hundred thousand years, and ten thousand years is but one-seventieth of my life. Is that very long to you? I¡¯m going to count to three. One, two¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress raised her right hand as she spoke, and the ice and snow in the air seemed like it was going to condense into another tornado once more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was hysterical. ¡°Don¡¯t do it! I¡¯ll give it to you, alright? However, you cannot harm mypanions. Otherwise, we will fight you to the death even if it will eventually cost us our lives! You may be powerful, but there are many of us, and everyone¡¯sbined efforts, along with the Icefire Yin Yang Well, might be enough to challenge you!¡±

    The Snow Empress was clearly indifferent towards the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s disy of strength. ¡°Give it to me. I will let this go because Huo Yuhao has asked me to. However, if anything happens to him... hmph!¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal looked like she had to bear humiliation so that she could save her own skin. Her pink petals trembled faintly as a sphere of purple light gradually rose from her stamen.

    The purple sphere looked extremely tender, without a trace of any brutal or violent aura. It was a purple pearl about as big as a peach, and looked like a purple water crystal. Ayer of cloud-like radiance could be seen meandering within the translucent pearl, and it looked exceedingly peculiar.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was still unconvinced, and it was clear that she couldn¡¯t bear to part with this pearl. She probed one more time after the pearl floated out, ¡°Can you leave half of it for me?¡±

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t respond, instead directly raising her right hand into the air.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll give it to you...¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal didn¡¯t dare to try anything else, as this concerned the lives of the multiple nts around her, and the purple pearl slowly flew before the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress grunted as she reached out and grasped the pearl before she turned around and said with a cold look on her face, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for the lot of you to grow in a ce like this. In addition to the Icefire Yin Yang Well¡¯s exotica, this will be all.¡±

    The Snow Empress tapped on the ground with her foot, and her enchanting figure soared into the sky dramatically as she flew slowly towards Huo Yuhao. Not a single nt saw that the dark blue color in her eyes was receding rapidly as she surged through the air.

    She quickly arrived at the hard ice that was yet floating in midair. Huo Yuhao had gotten to his feet at this point. The Snow Empress controlled herself and didn¡¯t absorb any more energy from the Extreme Chill Icespring in the end, so he could forcibly control her body. However, the immense origin energy of heaven and earth was still shing within his body and causing him unspeakable suffering.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°Whether this will be good fortune or a disaster for you is up to you. The origin energy of heaven and earth belongs to the Extreme Chill Icepsring . Even though it will temporarily cause damage to your body, it will give you a boost if you can gradually absorb it, and it willpletely change your physique. Here, take these. Remember¡­ don¡¯t bully my infant self!¡±

    She passed the book, the rubbery substance obtained from the zing Delicate Apricot that had been sealed in Ultimate Ice, and the purple sphere from the Delicate Silk Immortal to Huo Yuhao.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ face suddenly blushed at this point, before she red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°And you¡¯re not my father!¡±

    With that, Huo Yuhao looked on with ck eyes and jaw as the extreme chill and iciness in the air suddenly dissipated, and the Snow Empress¡¯ frame shrank rapidly until she reverted to the cute and adorable little Snow Lady in the blink of an eye.

    Where was the aura that looked down on the entire world? The little Snow Lady¡¯s huge eyes were pure and full of innocence.

    The ice and snow in the air disappeared in an instant, and the icyyer covering the zing Sunspring gradually receded, while the tough ice supporting Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was no longer there. He felt as if he were a balloon that had been blown to itsrgest possible size, and he could pop at any moment. No matter how strong and formidable his physical body was, the nerves and passageways throughout his body throbbed with acute pain.

    The little Snow Lady continued to help him as an icy mist condensed beneath Huo Yuhao, supporting him as he gradually descended towards the ground.

    Huo Yuhao grunted the moment he touched the ground and spat out an enormous mouthful of blood vapor.

    Strangely, the blood vapor immediately transformed into icy dust. He was standing within the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s territory, but this blood vapor actually made the scorching environment slightly cooler than before.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body swayed, and he copsed onto the ground, a look of intense pain on his face. The Snow Empress had absorbed too much origin energy from the Extreme Chill Icespring, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and face. These beads of sweat became pearls of ice as they dropped to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was still incredibly clear even though his physical body was in pain. He was extremely clear about the danger that he was in. The problem wasn¡¯t with him, but with the Snow Empress.

    Could the Snow Empress have struck down with her palm, the one that she had threatened both the zing Delicate Apricot and the Delicate Silk Immortal with?

    Huo Yuhao knew very well that the first thing that would have happened if the Snow Empress had swung her palm down was that he would have exploded into a cesspool of blood that would have permeated through the entire valley.

    The Snow Empress had temporarily recovered her consciousness using the immense volume of energy from the Extreme Chill Icespring. However, she was still reliant on Huo Yuhao¡¯s existence even if she came back, as she was still Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit. If Huo Yuhao were a Transcendent Douluo, then perhaps he could have taken this opportunity to help the Snow Empresspletely recover her consciousness, and he could perhaps have helped her recover part of her former strength.

    It was a pity that he just a Soul King at this moment. There was a limit to the amount of energy that his body could sustain and amodate, and if the Snow Empress had been stubborn enough to continue absorbing energy under such circumstances, then both she and Huo Yuhao would have perished together.

    The fearsome aura that the Snow Empress ferociously released was the limit that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body could take. The Snow Empress didn¡¯t have much offensive power after she drifted to the ground, and she was merely using her seven hundred thousand years of cultivation and the terrifying aura that came with it to suppress the nts in the valley.

    What rendered Huo Yuhao speechless was the fact that the leader of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings had been pushing it as she extorted the zing Delicate Apricot and the Delicate Silk Immortal. What would Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress do if the nts teamed up and retaliated against them?

    Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that it wouldn¡¯t have been beyond the Snow Empress to p down with her palm, given her arrogance and pride. During the period when she recovered her consciousness, it was apparent that their pact had be a little shaky. In the end, the Snow Empress was too powerful, and if Electrolux hadn¡¯t burned his own divine sense, this pact wouldn¡¯t have beenpleted in the first ce.

    That was close! Huo Yuhao had never expected that the reason he would have a close shave with death would be the Snow Empress, and not the nts around him.

    The little Snow Lady sat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and even leaned against his head, herrge eyes were staring at the zing Delicate Apricot.

    The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s cabbage-like body quivered. They were all soul beasts, and it was clear that she could feel that this little person was the petrifying Icesky Snow Lady that had just appeared before her.

    ¡°Wah ¨C¡± Huo Yuhao spat out another pool of blood vapor before he began to feel better. The Snow Empress was his spirit, and when she absorbed the Extreme Chill Icespring¡¯s vast origin energy, it had already coursed through her own body, and thus it was already in its purest form. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had also fused with the Life Gold before, and the strength of his veins and passageways were unmatched by even Wang Qiu¡¯er, while he was also highly resistant to Ultimate Ice at the same time.

    He started feeling a lot better once the Icesky Snow Lady disappeared, and also because the environment around him was scorching hot. He forced himself to sit down with his legs crossed.

    However, he couldn¡¯t cultivate even if he wanted to. There was just too much energy contained in his body, and all he could do was sit down and let his own body adjust by itself.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er quietlynded beside Huo Yuhao with a sh of golden light. She was full of awe and astonishment over what happened before this. She had no idea that Huo Yuhao possessed a secret as huge as this, and the Icesky Snow Lady¡¯s aura had stifled her to the point where she found it hard to breathe. Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at the little being perched on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, and a word surfaced in her mind ¨C Spirit!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er could see Huo Yuhao¡¯s ghastly pale face, and she ced her hands on his back to help him recover.

    However, she felt an exceedingly chilly forcesh back at her as soon as she ced her hands on his back. She leapt backwards reflexively, and saw that her entire right hand was already covered with frost.

    ¡°How can there be so much soul power within his body? And it¡¯s all Ultimate Ice. How can his body take it?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at Huo Yuhao in shock, as she hurried used her own soul power to force away the chill in her hand so that she could melt it away.

    The little Snow Lady was also sitting cross-legged on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. A faint icy-blue light radiated from her, intertwined with the orange-gold light surrounding her body.

    Huo Yuhao could feel that the incredibly agonizing chill in his body that was causing his body to swell was gradually flowing into the little Snow Lady. Huo Yuhao instantly felt a lot better with the little Snow Lady sharing the burden.

    Thezy bug that was wrapped around Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger slowly raised his head at this moment. Golden light erupted from his eyes, and he transformed into a streak of light that disappeared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead in a sh.

    Buzzzz... Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled peculiarly. A bluish-greenyer of light gradually shone from his body through his clothes, clearlying from his skeleton.

 Chapter 263.1: Ancestor Tang San

    The turquoise radiance became increasingly intense and illuminated the surrounding area. After being suppressed by the aura of Ultimate Ice, the zing Sunspring that had just broken free from the Extreme Chill Icespring radiated huge waves of heat. It brought about a scorching aura that resisted the chilly intent radiating from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, greatly reducing it.

    When the azure-green radiance expanded to its limit, it started to slowly shrink back and became dimmer.

    As this radiance expanded and retracted, Huo Yuhao felt much less bloated, and finally managed to rx.

    Undoubtedly, this change was brought about by the Skydream Iceworm. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was filled with the vital energy of heaven and earth. Even Skydream didn¡¯t dare to circte his soul power. If something went wrong, the weaker passageways in his body might burst!

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that he was helpless. As a million-year soul beast in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, after Huo Yuhao fused with his spiritual origin hepletely understood every part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t even far-fetched to im that the Skydream Iceworm understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s body better than Huo Yuhao himself.

    It wasn¡¯t possible to circte Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and absorb it because he was already saturated. However, he could use a different method! Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways weren¡¯t the toughest part of his body; that was his soul bones!

    At this point, Skydream activated the power of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton. As a hundred-thousand year soul beast, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton sealed the origin energy of the Ice Empress. The Frigid Jade Essence Bed was originally used to further the fusion, but no one had expected a sudden reversal in the Snow Empress¡¯ soul power that made it perilous. This also caused the Ice Empress to enter a state of hibernation.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had already reached its limit, he couldn¡¯t withstand the strength of the Ultimate Ice anymore. However, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton hadn¡¯t reached its limit yet!

    Under Skydream¡¯s control, a part of the origin energy was absorbed as the radiance expanded and retracted. This helped to neutralize the crisis that Huo Yuhao was facing.

    The blue-green radiance appeared once again, ballooning in size before shrinking. The external zing Sunspring¡¯s frightening heat helped to protect Huo Yuhao at this point. Because of its suppression, the Skydream Iceworm was able to dispel the remaining chill as he helped topress the origin energy of heaven and earth into Yuhao¡¯s skeleton. This made the entire shrinkage process much smoother.

    This carried on several times. After nine consecutive times, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body wasn¡¯t just exuding an turquoise radiance anymore, he had actually turned pale blue. His body was still aching, but at least he was able to move now. He felt much morefortable once he could move his body. However, his soul power had stalled, as it was affected by the origin energy. Only a fifth of it was able to circte, and even then, the cirction was much slower.

    ¡°Yuhao, the skeleton has also reached its limit. It can¡¯tpress any further, otherwise there might be danger. You can only rely on time to continue absorbing this strength. The Snow Empress was a little extreme. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to unleash your full abilities for some time. However, the Extreme Chill Icespring will be very beneficial in waking up the Ice Empress. After all, her spiritual sense will recover faster under the nourishment of the origin energy of pure Ultimate Ice.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was rather exhausted. After all, most of his spiritual origin had fused with Huo Yuhao. Now that he had activated the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton, it was equivalent to him establishing a connection with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power again. He was helping Huo Yuhao now, and wasn¡¯t just controlling on his own power.

    ¡°Thanks, Brother Skydream. I feel much better.¡± Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief and released a gust of white gas from his mouth, releasing a chill into the region that the zing Delicate Apricot upied.

    ¡°zing Delicate Apricot, please open a path. I¡¯ll go over to Youyou¡¯s side.¡± He struggled to stand up and looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er, gesturing to her that he was fine.

    The zing Delicate Apricot wasn¡¯t in a particrly good mood. She couldn¡¯t wait for Huo Yuhao to leave.

    After groaning, she immediately instructed the surrounding nts to open a path for Huo Yuhao to return. She wanted to act up, but she didn¡¯t when she saw the Snow Lady on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. She was traumatized after almost being crushed into powder. It was her first time experiencing such aplete elemental suppression of her abilities.

    Huo Yuhao could walk, but he estimated that his current abilities were only as good as they were when he was at Rank 30. It was difficult for him to even activate flying-type soul tools. His meridians were still aching, too. The surfeit caused great harm to his body and could definitely be called an internal injury.

    At this moment, the air that he was exhaling was extremely cold. He also looked pale, and his body felt very cold. This was the huge price he had to pay for the Snow Empress¡¯ awakening!

    Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face. Ever since the Snow Empress had entered his body, he had suffered greatly. Thest time, it was aplete reversal of the Snow Empress¡¯ strength in his body, causing Electrolux to burn his divine sense in a bid to save him. This time, he almost blew apart. It was a huge headache for him!

    However, this encounter had also enlightened him. Huo Yuhao realized that he could restore the Snow Empress¡¯ memories temporarily if he possessed immense Ultimate Ice soul power. He could even unleash her tremendous abilities. Of course, he couldn¡¯t do it with his current cultivation. The Snow Empress only appeared today when he tapped into the origin energy of heaven and earth from the Extreme Chill Icespring. If he wanted the Snow Empress to really make a move, he needed to have at least seven or eight soul rings. Furthermore, it would at most be the for only one or two attacks.

    However, it was good that there was such a possibility. It was like his eldest senior¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s Awakening, and his third senior¡¯s Xuanwu turtle¡¯s Awakening. It¡¯s just that the Snow Empress¡¯ Awakening was of a more advanced level. In addition, he had no control over her, either. He had to take things slowly. Perhaps the Snow Empress¡¯ memory could be fully restored when he became a Transcendent Douluo in the future...

    As he thought of that, Huo Yuhao turned to look at the Snow Lady on his shoulder. He still believed that she was much better right now, rather than with the Snow Empress¡¯ memories. At least the Snow Lady listened to him. Furthermore, she was very cute! The Snow Empress was too cold, just like Wang Qiu¡¯er¡­

    Wang Qiu¡¯er followed behind him, and her nose started to turn itchy. She looked as if she wanted to sneeze, but she managed to suppress it.

    As she looked at Huo Yuhao, she could sense that he wasn¡¯t feeling well even though she didn¡¯t know what was happening to him. However, she could still feel it due to their martial soul fusion. The frightening Awakened existence had caused great damage to his body!

    However, things became much smoother after he paid the huge price. This was evident from the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s attitude. Who would dare to offend the terrifying existence in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body? It had released an extremely strong aura that could destroy everything here. Even Wang Qiu¡¯er was petrified when she faced the might of the Snow Empress. She had only ever experienced a simr feeling when she¡­

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief as he returned to the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s side. He lowered his head to look at a book in front of him and said to her, ¡°Apologies, You You! I didn¡¯t imagine something like this would happen. Perhaps I was provoked by something in the outside world, and thus the Snow Empress was Awakened.¡±

    The huge, pink flower on the Delicate Silk Immortal was still blooming. However, the scent was less evident. She groaned and said, ¡°Stop shedding crocodile tears. Hmph, return my pill if you are truly apologetic.¡±

    What left Wang Qiu¡¯er and the Delicate Silk Immortal shocked was that Huo Yuhao actually retrieved the pill and nodded as he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll return it to you.¡±

    As he spoke, he actually walked towards the Delicate Silk Immortal and passed her the pill.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re really returning it to me?¡± If the Delicate Silk Immortal could reveal facial expressions, she would be very stunned right now.

    Huo Yuhao said sincerely, ¡°You You, I didn¡¯te here to look for treasure, I¡¯m not looking to obtain anything. I¡¯m only here to retrieve the Yearning Heartbroken Grass for my lover. I hope to receive your help. I¡¯m extremely apologetic for what the Snow Empress did to all of you earlier. I don¡¯t want this to cause a conflict between us. Not only am I returning this pill to you, but I¡¯ll also return what the Snow Empress took from the zing Delicate Apricot. I just hope that there are no more obstructions, and I can search for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was incredulous. ¡°Wait, wait. Huo Yuhao, do you know what you¡¯re saying? You must know that the zing Rubber that Ah Jiao produces is of top-notch quality. A normal zing Delicate Apricot can produce very little of the rubber even after ten thousand years. Such arge quantity of rubber is sufficient to increase the cultivation of fire-type soul masters to the level of the Ultimate Fire. It¡¯s very valuable! My pill is even more impressive. If you have it, all lethal poison will lose its effect within a three hundred square foot region. Even if you are infected by poison and the poison has entered your blood, the poison can be dispelled once you ce the pill in your mouth. They are considered treasures! Priceless treasures! Are you going to give them up just like that?¡±

 Chapter 263.2: Ancestor Tang San

    <strong>Chapter 263.2: Ancestor Tang San</strong>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very calm as he nodded. He said, ¡°To me, the only priceless thing is my lover. I don¡¯t want to have a conflict with all of you because of these external possessions. Take it.¡± As he spoke, he ced the pill directly into the flower of the Delicate Silk Immortal. He let go of the pill and allowed it to roll down.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She didn¡¯t try to stop him at this point. She only felt that something was stuck in her heart, and she also felt a great sense of loss.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal sighed, and her petals started to open. The purplish pill drifted back above her stamen.

    ¡°Ah Jiao, what do you think?¡± she actually asked the zing Delicate Apricot.

    The zing Delicate Apricot also sighed and said, ¡°That person once said that it was easy to find valuable treasures, but difficult to have a lover. Let him pass. He¡¯s probably one of the special humans.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°Alright, I shall let you pass. You¡¯ve passed all the tests that person left behind. Return Ah Jiao¡¯s stuff and you can start reading that book. If you need help, I can help you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted.

    This was the ending he wanted! To him, nothing was more important than Wang Dong¡¯er. He didn¡¯t wish to offend these nt-type soul beasts because of his greed, which would affect his search for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. He wasn¡¯t willing to risk anything.

    He returned to the zing Delicate Apricot excitedly, and passed the zing Rubber back to her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t give it directly to me. Just ce it on the ground. I want to re-absorb it once the Ultimate Ice melts.¡± The zing Delicate Apricot was evidently terrified of the Ultimate Ice left behind by the Snow Empress.

    When she saw Huo Yuhao cing the rubber on the ground without any hesitation, her scarlet-red body swayed a little, and she spoke again, ¡°It¡¯s easy to find valuable treasures, but difficult to have a lover. You are a good person.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned and replied, ¡°Thanks. It¡¯ll really be good if I can leave with the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he returned to the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s domain. He sat down cross-legged and started reading the book.

    This book waspletely snow-white, and the material used to make it was unknown. The book was soft and felt a little like silk, but it seemed tougher than silk. It was also slightly damp to the touch.

    There weren¡¯t any words or title on the cover page. Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and flipped open the first page of this book.

    There weren¡¯t many words on the first page, but those that were there felt very ancient.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that someone can see myst words. If you can pass the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s test, it proves that you are qualified to read this book. This book was left behind by Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, Tang San. It records the difference between the various types of immortal and poisonous nts. There are also some lost Tang Sect methods of using poison. After you learn them, please leave this book behind. You must also use these abilities prudently.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he read this! He didn¡¯t expect that this book recorded the Tang Sect¡¯s ways of using poison!

    He was originally doubtful of the zing Delicate Apricot and Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s words. They weren¡¯t referring to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s father. It seemed like his doubts were right. The person who really left this book behind was Tang San, the founding ancestor of the Tang Sect! He was also the one who had discovered this ce!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s father must have had passed the test too, and found the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. It was just that he couldn¡¯t leave with it, and thus he left behind these words in the book.

    As he thought of this, a few of his doubts were resolved. This was undoubtedly the most appropriate exnation.

    He quickly flipped to the second page.

    ¡°He who has an affinity, hello! I am the founder of the Tang Sect, Tang San.

    ¡°The Icefire Yin Yang Well is a gift from heaven. The Extreme Chill Icespring and zing Sunspring exist together here; Yin and Yangplement each other. It is one of the blessednds. The Douluo Continent as a whole is also a blessednd. After I discovered this ce, I didn¡¯t dare to take it for my own. I found some valuable herbs here along with my partners and re-grafted some of these rare yet valuable nts. Whoever you are, you must rid yourself of greed since you passed my test. You can¡¯t ask for more. You can only take seven types of herbs from this ce.

    ¡°The methods of using poison can save and harm people. Those with ill intentions can destroy lives. That¡¯s why I intentionally left the medicine and poison chapters of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record here. Only those who have passed the test will be able to learn it. Whoever learns this Treasure Record will be considered a part of the Tang Sect, and I hope you¡¯ll look after the sect. If you are unwilling to join the sect, please return the book. You can still obtain the herbs under the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s guidance. If you are willing to join the sect, you can¡¯t leak the chapters either. You can only use them yourself. Exercise caution!

    ¡°Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation, Medicine Chapter.

    ¡°Delicate Silk Immortal ¨C the jinx of a hundred poisons. It has the effect of neutralizing all poison. It can¡¯t dispel poison on its own, but it can curb poisonous substances. Its scent is clear and refreshing. All poison around the Delicate Silk Immortal bes useless. Its scent can neutralize all poison. Its flower is pink, and its petals are¡­

    ¡°Snowworms are another way to refer to top-quality cordyceps. Snowworms are greyish-white in color, and there are ring patterns on them, eight in total, and the central four rings are the most evident. It is thin and long, while its color ranges from light to deep brown. Its cross-section is slightly longer than most cordyceps, and there¡¯s a slightlyrger spore at the top. This spore is bright-yellow on the outside and white on the inside. It is plump and juicy. Not only is itrger than an ordinary cordyceps, its uses are much better too. Just in the Icefire Yin Yang Well¡­

    ¡°Ninth-grade Trogopterus Dung ¨C an invaluable treasure. It¡¯s nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and needs to absorb¡­

    ¡°Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. It possesses huge white flowers in the shape of star anises. The stamen in the center of its flowers shine like ice crystals. It doesn¡¯t possess any scent. It¡¯s located at the center of the Extreme Chill Icespring¡­

    Oh my! Huo Yuhao started to be agitated after just a slight loot at the book. He hadn¡¯t expected to obtain the medicine and poison chapter left behind by Tang San. It wasn¡¯t a problem for him to enter the Tang Sect, since he was already a part of it!

    At this point, the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Hey, have you finished reading the first few pages? Are you willing to join the Tang Sect? If you aren¡¯t, you can¡¯t continue reading. I promised that person¡­!¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head to look at the Delicate Silk Immortal and smiled. He answered, ¡°I¡¯m a disciple of Tang Sect. Of course I¡¯m willing.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re a disciple of Tang Sect? Let me take a look at your Mysterious Jade Hands, then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and lifted his hands. He slowly circted his Mysterious Heaven Technique, and his hands slowly turned the color of jade. As his body condition wasn¡¯t at its peak right now, he couldn¡¯t fully use his Mysterious Jade Hands. However, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to fake the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine. You can continue. After you finish reading, return the book to me. That¡¯s why you¡¯d better memorize it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded, then started to read the book seriously.

    He didn¡¯t read it in order. He quickly found the record rted to the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    ¡°Yearning Heartbroken Grass, also known as the Yearning Heartbroken Red Flower. It looks like a flower, but it¡¯s actually grass. It has a white flower the size of a palm. There are no leaves, and its stem is connected to a ck stone.

    ¡°The Yearning Heartbroken Grass is one of the most valuable herbs. There¡¯s a legend about it too. A long time ago, there was a young man who lived a very simple life. He loved nts and flowers, and he had a whole garden of them. He would spend most of his time with his flowers. Every time his flowers wilted, he would be extremely sorrowful. He would then gather their petals and bury them. He even spent time mourning their loss. His love for flowers touched the Flower God in the heavens, who descended to the mortal world and came to live with him. They had a great time together. However, this didn¡¯tst. The other gods and deities were enraged when they found out about this. They believed that gods and mortals shouldn¡¯t be together, and recalled the Flower God back to the spiritual realm. When the youth lost his lover, he became very depressed and started to neglect his flowers. As a result, his garden became a pitiful sight. One day, a white-haired elder came and told him that his favorite white peony in the garden was the reincarnation of his beloved wife. As long as he destroyed the flower, the Flower God would lose her divine body and could return to the mortal world once again. They would be reunited then. However, he couldn¡¯t forsake his garden. After the elder finished speaking, he turned into a gust of wind and disappeared. The youth was jolted awake and regretted neglecting his flowers. He started to take good care of them again. Although he loved his wife, he couldn¡¯t bear to destroy the white peony. He took even greater care of the flower and shared everything with it. Eventually, he died heartbroken. Before he passed away, he dripped his blood on the flower petals, and the peony instantly turned into grass. The white petals were stained with the youth¡¯s blood. That¡¯s why it¡¯s also called the Yearning Heartbroken Red Flower.

    ¡°The flower isn¡¯t ordinary. When you pluck it, you must think of your lover. After that, you must spit out your blood on the petals. If you have other intentions, you¡¯ll die before you even pluck the flower. After plucking it, the flower will never wilt as long as it¡¯s with its owner. If the flower is forcefully destroyed, the Yearning Heartbroken Red Flower will also lose its medicinal effect. Consuming this grass has the effect of preserving one¡¯s body. One can even extend his lifespan by ten years and greatly increase their soul power.

    ¡°Previously, my wife loved me deeply, and I plucked this flower. She was once a hundred-thousand year Softbone Rabbit who was reborn into a human. To save me in a crisis that followed, she sacrificed her soul ring. I¡¯m grateful to this grass for saving her. Before I left, I returned to the Icefire Yin Yang Well to nt this flower again. It awaits someone who has the affinity to pluck it once more.

    ¡°The Yearning Heartbroken Grass will only work for lovers. Destiny can¡¯t be forced. You must remember that. You must remember that.¡±

 Chapter 263.3: Ancestor Tang San

    The medicine chapter introduced the Yearning Heartbroken Grass more thoroughly than the rest of the immortal grasses. However, Huo Yuhao still felt that it was too short. There were two paragraphs of a touching love story. The first paragraph introduced the possible origin of the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. The other paragraph recorded the love story of Tang San and his wife.

    Tang San¡¯s story touched Huo Yuhao more, as he understood the life of a soul master. When he saw the word ¡®sacrificed¡¯, he felt his blood surging in his body. Their love must have been very deep for Tang San¡¯s wife to sacrifice herself to be a soul ring! Humans could actually get together with soul beasts. Although Tang San only briefly mentioned how the grass was his benefactor, Huo Yuhao knew that the backstory wasn¡¯t so simple. Only Tang San would know how much pain and torment they went through back then.

    After taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao calmed himself down. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s beauty filled his mind at this point.

    Dong¡¯er, I¡¯d also sacrifice myself as a soul ring if I were a soul beast, and protect you forever.

    As he thought until here, he revealed a grin on his face. Her beautiful figure in his mind also became clearer.

    After calming himself down, Huo Yuhao started to quietly flip through the Tang Sect¡¯s record in his hand. In addition to his impressive memory, his spiritual power was also considerable He only flipped through the entire book once, but he managed to memorize all its contents. Then, to make sure he didn¡¯t miss out on certain points, he read it again. After that, he stood up and returned the book to the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    ¡°You You, can you tell me about the various nts that were introduced in the book?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Perhaps it was because Huo Yuhao returned her Delicate Silk Immortal Pill, she agreed to his request readily. Under her guidance, Huo Yuhao managed to learn more about the various magical nts in this Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    No one understood this ce like the Delicate Silk Immortal. She even clearly told Huo Yuhao about some soul nts that weren¡¯t recorded in the book.

    They only stopped when darkness fell.

    ---

    Wang Qiu¡¯er passed the dry rations that she had just heated up to Huo Yuhao without saying a sound. She only lowered her head and started to munch on her food quietly.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and smiled. He said, ¡°Thanks, Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a little startled She lifted her head to look at him, and saw the clear light in his eyes. For some reason, she shivered slightly in her heart when she saw the look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. An ominous feeling started to rise inside her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s senses were not inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, since she possessed the Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception. She suddenly felt that he wasn¡¯t ostracizing her anymore, and didn¡¯t try to keep his distance from her. The look in his eyes was extremely calm and amiable as he looked over. He treated her as a friend now. Yes, he treated her only as a friend now, a good friend one treats with respect. However, this was what made Wang Qiu¡¯er anxious, because he was no longer afraid of what had happened between them.

    After receiving Niu Tian¡¯s letter, Huo Yuhao entered the Setting Sun Forest and came to the Icefire Yin Yang Well, where he finally obtained the mysterious record after going through many ordeals. To him, everything was a test of his heart. He was training his heart throughout the entire process, and his love for Wang Dong¡¯er became deeper and deeper. Huo Yuhao felt that his heart had be clearer after he read about Tang San and Xiao Wu¡¯s love and sacrifice.

    The rity also helped him realize why he was terrified of Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was because the Goddess of Light had left a deep impression in his heart, which made him afraid of her. He was afraid that he would fall in love with her.

    However, this crisis had also helped him recognize his true feelings. In his heart, there was only one person and one Goddess of Light. That person was Wang Dong¡¯er. After recognizing his true feelings, he didn¡¯t need to worry about other things anymore. He could face her normally now.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me for? I didn¡¯t do anything. You managed everything on your own,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Thanks for apanying me here. I will remember this favor. If you need help in the future, you can tell me.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted, ¡°No need. Since you have so much energy to talk nonsense, I suggest that you use it on eating and cultivating. With your current state, I don¡¯t even think you can control a flying-type soul tool.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao was already used to her indifferent attitude, and so wasn¡¯t too bothered by it. He quickly consumed his meal before starting to cultivate.

    Three days! Huo Yuhao took three days to learn of all the nts in the Icefire Yin Yang Well. This ce contained more than two-thirds of the immortal and poisonous grasses recorded in the Hidden Weapons Hundred Separation¡¯s medicine and poison chapters. This ce deserved to be called a blessednd. There were some nts that weren¡¯t recorded in the chapters, but the Delicate Silk Immortal introduced them to Huo Yuhao in detail. With her help, Huo Yuhao managed to turn a special herb into a concoction, and he recorded it at the back of the record.

    ¡°Alright, your memory is astounding. I have taught you everything I know. You are a good student.¡± After a few days of interaction, the Delicate Silk Immortal and Huo Yuhao had also be more familiar with each other. Although she was rather naggy, she was actually quite a peaceful character. She also formed a decent friendship with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded, then turned his head in a certain direction. It was the area where the Yearning Heartbroken Grass grew. He had seen the divine products created by the grass before, but he didn¡¯t rush out after it. He memorized the special characteristics of the surrounding herbs instead.

    ¡°Thanks, You You. Can I start now?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    She replied, ¡°Anytime. As long as you think it¡¯s possible, you can do it. After that, you can take away seven different types of herbs from this ce too. If they have sessfully turned into nt-type soul beasts, you can categorize their finished products based on their medicinal effects. For example, there¡¯s my pill and Ah Jiao¡¯s rubber. These are the rules that Tang San left behind. In fact, the pill and rubber would have been included among the seven if you didn¡¯t return them to us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Is the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew that I¡¯ve eaten included?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s pink flowers swayed a little, and she said, ¡°No. It was used to test you. If you didn¡¯t pass the test, nothing would have followed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately said without hesitation, ¡°I only want to take two things away today, the Yearning Heartbroken Grass and the zing Rubber. As for the other five types, I¡¯lle in the future when I need them.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Why don¡¯t you want my pill? It can neutralize countless poisons; it¡¯s very useful.¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was advertising her own ability.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I¡¯m not going to need it now. I¡¯ll leave these five chances for the future. If my partners or friends need emergency help in the future, it¡¯ll be convenient for me to find suitable herbs here.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal said, ¡°What about the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass? It¡¯s very suitable for you. It¡¯ll greatly increase your cultivation. To be conservative, I expect it to increase your soul power by at least five ranks. It absorbed the extreme cold from the Extreme Chill Icespring and the Frigid Raindew separated from it is more effective than the zing Rubber.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°Ancestor Tang San said that we can¡¯t be greedy. I have already absorbed the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew, and I also obtained the origin energy of heaven and earth absorbed by the Snow Empress from the Extreme Chill Icespring. I can¡¯t take more for myself. The origin energy will take some time to fully digest.¡±

    As he spoke til this point, heughed bitterly. The origin energy absorbed in his body was too immense. It was so immense that even the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton was filled with extremely pure energy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s own body was like a receptacle that waspletely filled. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he might blow apart.

    He had to be extremely cautious in his cultivation right now. He could only activate the cirction of his soul power through his narrow meridians to absorb the origin energy for his own use. His meridians were also under great pressure, to the extent of being internally hurt because he was being continually struck by the origin energy of the Extreme Chill Icespring. It was even difficult for his Life Gold¡¯s immense life power to restore his body. Huo Yuhao felt that the Snow Empress had used his body¡¯s limit as a blueprint when she was absorbing the origin energy earlier.

    However, Huo Yuhao could also sense that once he absorbed more than half of the origin energy, his cultivation would soar. In addition, it would be much easier for him to absorb the remaining origin energy once he reached that stage.

    His Ultimate Ice martial soul was a result of fusing with the Ice Empress. This time, he hadpletely tempered his body into an Ultimate Ice body. This was also the intention of the Snow Empress, and it would be very beneficial for his future development. The Skydream Iceworm told him that he wouldn¡¯t suffer from the repercussions of wielding Ultimate Ice once he managed to absorb all the origin energy. After he absorbed itpletely, it might even help him obtain a Martial Soul True Body. The only problem was that he had no idea how long it would take for him to absorb it all. Furthermore, his cultivation was currently stuck at three rings, as he couldn¡¯t overactivate his soul power. Just as Wang Qiu¡¯er had said, he couldn¡¯t evenmand a flying-type soul tool.

 Chapter 264.1: Raging Hot Blood in the Boundary Between Life and Death

    Chapter 264.1: Raging Hot Blood in the Boundary Between Life and Death

    The Delicate Silk Immortal made a snorting sound and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t want my pill?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°If I need it in the future, I¡¯ll ask for it. Thanks, You You.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal groaned, ¡°Then you should get going. I don¡¯t think you can stay any longer either.¡±

    She was right. He had been gone from Shrek Academy for a week. Although he knew that nothing would happen to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s internal injury, he was still very anxious. In order to be more prepared to obtain the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, he had to make sufficient preparations. He couldn¡¯t be distracted at all. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a second chance if he failed! This was what he was afraid of.

    A dim light shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a focused gleam in his eyes. He sped his hands in front of his chest. Every time the light in his eyes shed, the air would distort slightly.

    He didn¡¯t rush out to pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. He stood up and looked into the distance, in the direction of Shrek Academy.

    Slowly, the calm expression in his eyes started to turn gentle. There was only one figure in it, and he started to smile. He recalled the first time he had met Wang Dong¡¯er.

    She had been extremely arrogant then! She was obviously a girl, but she dressed up like a guy. No wonder so many weird things had happened.

    They had learned and cultivated together. They even possessed martial soul fusion skills and unleashed the Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    They had been together for a long time.

    On the beautiful Sea God¡¯s Lake during the Sea God¡¯s Fate, she finally revealed her identity as a girl. From the Love at First Sight, to Destined in Three Lives, and finally to Eternal Love.

    Dong¡¯er, you have finally be my girlfriend. I was stupid, I was really stupid. It was only then that I was certain you were a girl. It was only then that I realized you weren¡¯t a brother or partner to me but¡­

    Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m very foolish, right? In your heart, I¡¯ve always been very foolish and stupid. However, you fell for me. With your status as the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s young mistress, you must have had many choices. With your ravishing Goddess of Light¡¯s looks, you can attract many guys.

    However, you chose me. You chose my ordinary looks. I was even the worst-looking fellow when we were first admitted to the academy.

    Dong¡¯er, you¡¯ve sacrificed a lot for me. What kind of pressure have you been under? You never told me. Even when Uncle Niu Tian and Tai Tan doubted me, you stood on my side.

    You are my goddess, a goddess that I¡¯ll protect with my life. My body, heart and spirit belong to you. Dong¡¯er, I love you.

    In his mind, the dancing figure of the Raiment of Light surfaced. Huo Yuhao moved as he smiled.

    He walked forward one step at a time. At this point, he seemed to have lost his focus and spirit in his own emotional world. There was a thick sense of love in his eyes.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t standing far away from him. She watched everything quietly. At this moment, she realized that she couldn¡¯t enter Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart like Wang Dong had.

    Her tears started to flow uncontrobly. She was crying in sorrow. Before she had met him, she had never imagined that she would shed tears for a man. However, she was really crying now, and she was even crying for Huo Yuhao.

    In just a short seven days, his life had been in danger several times. However, he managed to survive everything because of his love for Wang Dong¡¯er. His love for her was extremely deep. Why did I meet him sote?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was crying in sorrow. At this moment, she didn¡¯t possess the dominance and toughness of the Golden Dragon anymore. She was only filled with the pain and sorrow of a young girl losing her lover.

    Huo Yuhao continued to walk forward. The Delicate Silk Immortal didn¡¯t help him, but the sentient nts could sense his love, and they all opened a path for him as they pulled away to either side.

    Eventually, he came in front of the pitch-ck stone and the white flower that seemed so vulnerable.

    The white flower was shaped like a peony, but it was much thinner than one. It didn¡¯t have any scent, and wasn¡¯t decorated with anything. There wasn¡¯t even a leaf on it. There was only a patch of blood-red on it. It was color filled with sorrow.

    The Yearning Heartbroken Grass. It bloomed and withered only for love.

    The divine product in the grass was also of a ten-thousand year level, but it didn¡¯t possess its own intelligence or the strength of a soul beast. It wasn¡¯t that it couldn¡¯t evolve. If it chose to evolve, it would be the strongest out of all the grasses. However, it didn¡¯t do so because it was unwilling. It only wanted to protect its stubbornness for love. It was just like the schr and Xiao Wu back then, waiting for the right one toe. Once they decided, they were willing to give their everything. This was the stubbornness for love that the Yearning Heartbroken Grass possessed.

    Huo Yuhao stopped and looked down. He looked at the patch of red on the flower that was shing slightly. Above the patch of red, it really seemed as if fresh blood was flowing.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, wait for me. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Huo Yuhao slowly lifted his head, and a dimyer of golden light started to rise from his body. The weird thing was that the golden light was shaped like a me as it surfaced. It was undting slightly, as if he was burning his own life.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea started to shake tremendously at this moment. The pure undtion of his spiritual mind caused his spiritual sea to turn into a smooth icy ocean. A golden figure started to dance amidst this icy ocean. A thick sense of love started to spread in his heart as the Goddess of Light appeared in his mind.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned to find out that a projection that was identical to Wang Dong¡¯er had appeared behind Huo Yuhao as the golden me rose. Yes, she was certain that the projection was Wang Dong¡¯er, even though they looked very simr.

    Even the demeanor, aura, and look in the projection¡¯s eyes were all simr to Wang Dong¡¯er. She was smiling. It was a gentle smile, as if she were sensing something. She floated behind Huo Yuhao quietly and shone along with the golden me that Huo Yuhao emanated.

    The Skydream Iceworm was the most shocked right now. He crawled out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and turned into a ring. He was stunned to see the projection and muttered to himself, ¡°Concrete-immaterial realm. He has done it! He has focused everything into love. He has actually entered such a realm! His Sovereign¡¯s Descent will cease to exist now. What¡¯s left will only be the Goddess of Light that he hasprehended!¡±

    Yes, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had evolved. He was like Ji Juechen. He had found the path that fused both his spiritual and soul power. It wasn¡¯t the Sovereign¡¯s Descent anymore. The Sovereign¡¯s Descent was created by Elder Mu, but it wasn¡¯t his true path. The Sovereign¡¯s Descent had shown him a smooth road, but at this moment, he had found his own way The name of this path was the same as his lover. It was the Goddess of Light.

    Huo Yuhao turned his right palm around and pped his chest hard.

    ¡°Wa¡ª¡ª¡± Icy-blue blood spewed out of his mouth, and sttered on the surface of the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    Suddenly, the Yearning Heartbroken Grass started to shake. Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden projection also turned dim and disappeared.

    He stared at the divine product in the grass that could give Wang Dong¡¯er life again.

    This pool of blood that he spat out was filled with his love for Wang Dong¡¯er. His palm strike even caused the suppressed origin energy in his body to rage slightly. This origin energy started to course through his meridians.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to have any awareness of all of that. He only widened his eyes and looked at the fresh blood that hadnded on the Yearning Heartbroken Grass¡¯ flower.

    He was in a daze the next moment. That was because he was stunned to discover that his blood had been affected by his origin energy and turned into ice. His blood didn¡¯t fuse with the flower, but turned to ice instead. It stopped seeping into the petals.

    ¡°No¡­ no, this can¡¯t happen!¡± Huo Yuhao panicked. Before this, his face had still been brimming with a smile of love.

    What do I do? What should I do? How has this happened? My blood has actually frozen? No, this can¡¯t happen!...

    Suddenly, he turned around and ran quickly towards the Icefire Yin Yang Well. The nts opened a path for him.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, what are you doing?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal and Wang Qiu¡¯er asked at the same time. That was because they saw Huo Yuhao bursting towards the zing Sunspring. It seemed like Huo Yuhao had failed to pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Grass and turned crazy.

    Huo Yuhao was too quick. By the time Wang Qiu¡¯er managed to react, he was already in front of the zing Sunspring. Without any hesitation, he kneeled down in front of the zing Sunspring. He reached out both his hands into the Sunspring.

 Chapter 264.2: Raging Hot Blood in the Boundary Between Life and Death

    He was like a detonator to a stationary soul cannon, as his body was filled with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice. As his palms entered the spring, there was a sudden explosion in the zing Sunspring. The terrifying aura that raged forth after that even swept all the way over to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Steam started to rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. This was the result as Ultimate Ice shed with Ultimate Fire. Right now, he seemed to be intoxicated, and didn¡¯t appear to feel anything. He cupped some of the spring water in his hands and brought it to his face.

    Mist started to rise from his palms. Even though he had Ultimate Ice to protect his body, he had no intention of protecting himself. Blisters started to surface on his hands. They were like cooked shrimp at this point, burning red.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er! My love for you is pure. I will seed!¡± He knelt down beside the sunspring and lifted his head and hands as the nts all looked at him. Before Wang Qiu¡¯er could grab hold of him, he swallowed the spring water.

    A red gust rose from his head, and ayer of thick icy fog was unleashed from his body. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand was pushed away by thisyer of fog.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop. His face had already turnedpletely red, and he looked like a drunk. However, he still managed to focus and activate the Instant Teleportation from his left leg soul bone.

    A golden light shed, and he teleported all the way back to the ck stone, arriving in front of the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    His eyes had already turned red at this point. However, there was a satisfied smile on his face. However, this look of satisfaction appeared a little weird on his red face. However, it also seemed a little sacred!

    ¡°No, you will die!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er cried. She also activated her Instant Teleportation, but she wasn¡¯t teleported as far as Huo Yuhao. She was toote. She watched as Huo Yuhao pped his chest for the second time.

    She saw him spewing blood from his mouth. His bloodnded on the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    At this instant, time seemed to have stood still. Wang Qiu¡¯er copsed onto the ground, and tears flowed down her face. At this moment, she couldn¡¯t imagine what he had been through. At the same time, she also felt that her heart had broken.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was crying sorrowfully. She was crying sorrowfully with her eyes shut.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were wide open. He was staring at the white flower and his own blood.

    The ice melted. As his blood fused together, it started to seep into the flower. Ayer of pure and holy light shone from the flower and engulfed Huo Yuhao. It was shaking slightly, as if it were struggling. The blood of sorrow on the petal started to fade.

    Even though it looked very delicate, all the flowers surrounding the Icefire Yin Yang Well closed and drooped when it broke free from the ck stone. This included the Delicate Silk Immortal, the zed Delicate Apricot, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and the Wonderloft Chrysanthemum . They were like subjects bowing down to their king.

    The small, white flower drifted quietly in front of Huo Yuhao and stuck closely to his cheek. It was as if it had found its lover, and was exuding a jade glow.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned a little silly. Even though his hands were filled with blisters and looked as if they were melting, and even though blood wasing out of the pores of his body before turning into ice kes, he still smiled in deep satisfaction.

    He opened his mouth and wanted to say something. However, his throat had been scalded by the zing Sunspring water. His voice was very hoarse, but it was possible to tell what he was trying to say by reading his lips.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, I have seeded!¡±

    The white flower stuck closely to his face and didn¡¯t fall off. The glow that came from it was still shing, as if it were soothing his hurt body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook slightly, and he almost fell down. He forcefully twisted his head to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. There was a pleading look on his face.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had just crawled up from the ground. At this moment, she didn¡¯t dare to reject him no matter how aloof and sad she was.

    ¡°Alright, I promise!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er muttered as she cried.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved. Fresh blood flowed from his body. His body was slowly copsing to the ground. Before hepletely copsed, he forced his head to one side so that the Yearning Heartbroken Grass wouldn¡¯t touch the ground. He was afraid of crushing the delicate flower. No, he was afraid of crushing Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hope.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked towards Huo Yuhao slowly.

    His body crashed irregrly to the ground. Fresh blood continued to stream from his mouth and nose. His life was slowly diminishing. The flesh on his hands had mostly melted off, and his bones could almost be seen. An intense chill was surging through his body. It was about to blow him apart.

    He¡¯s, he¡¯s about to die. He¡¯s really about to die?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart was trembling. She turned around suddenly to look at the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    ¡°What can save him, what can save him?¡± She was almost shouting hysterically. As she spoke, she lifted Huo Yuhao up and rushed in front of the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice was also filled with sorrow, ¡°He¡¯s hurt too badly. The spring water that he swallowed has already burned his throat, windpipe and even his heart. He didn¡¯t activate the Ultimate Ice in his body to resist the scorching spring water. Because of this, the blood that he spat out was burning. It¡¯s really blood from his heart! He is the best human I¡¯ve ever seen. His stubbornness towards love isn¡¯t inferior to that of Tang San and Xiao Wu!¡±

    ¡°Stop spouting nonsense now. Can you save him? If he dies, I¡¯ll bury all of you here with him.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face was stained with tears. However, an indescribable force was unleashed from her body at this instant. Her powdery-blue hair quickly turned golden and flew up behind her back. Her sky blue eyes also turned golden. She released an indescribable aura from her body. Golden light rapidly spread from her body, and everything that surrounded her was dyed gold.

    The nts started to tremble in deep fear.

    ¡°Stop, please stop first!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was shuddering as she spoke.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°He dies, I die, everyone dies.¡± The golden light stopped spreading momentarily. Every word from her mouth was very determined. She was so determined that it was terrifying.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was a little stunned as she said, ¡°His, his lover doesn¡¯t seem to be you...¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Is this rted to what I asked? It¡¯s not important whether he loves me. However, I have realized that I love him. Since he can give up his life for her, I can also do the same thing. Do you really have no way of saving him? If you don¡¯t, I have a n. However, all of you will die if I use this n.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal sighed and said, ¡°Initially, there was no way. However, there might be a chance since you love him so much. Unless you can¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Shrek Academy, Sea God¡¯s Lake, Sea God¡¯s Ind, Sea God¡¯s Pavilion...

    The Golden Tree exuded a gentle aura of life. However, there seemed to be something different within this gentle aura of life.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was seated quietly in Huo Yuhao¡¯s room. The window was open, and she could see the thick vegetation outside. But right now, everything seemed grey within her eyes.

    She had been seated here for a day and night. She didn¡¯t move the entire time.

    Over the past ten days, she and her partners hadbed the entire academy and Shrek City. They had even searched a region in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    However, there wasn¡¯t any news of him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes were a little swollen. She had cried a countless number of times.

    When she discovered that he had disappeared with Wang Qiu¡¯er, she had been filled with rage apart from the heart-chilling cold. Did he betray me? No, Yuhao wouldn¡¯t do that. These two thoughts appeared alternately in her mind.

    Niu Tian wouldn¡¯t have expected that the pouch he gave to Wang Dong¡¯er would also be a test for her. The test was tormenting her.

    The initial rage and chill started to change as time passed. Her rage intensified. She couldn¡¯t wait to find him and grab his cor before interrogating him as to why he left, and why he left with Wang Qiu¡¯er. Is it really because I¡¯m not good enough, and she loves you more than I do?

    The rage even caused her to lose her rationality.

    However, what happened after her rage vanished? After her rage vanished, she was only left with fear.

    Before this, she hadn¡¯t expected that she would one day lose Huo Yuhao. However, she really had lost him this time. She had discovered that she couldn¡¯t live without him. Without him, her entire world turned grey and lifeless.

 Chapter 264.3: Raging Hot Blood in the Boundary Between Life and Death

    After the rage subsided, it was reced with an indescribable sense of yearning.

    At this point, Wang Dong¡¯er only had one thought in her head. As long as you return, I won¡¯t probe further. I believe that you love me. Yuhao, pleasee back!

    At that moment, she started crying. She was so heartbroken that she cried for an entire night. When she crawled up the next morning, she continued to look for him.

    It was only yesterday that she felt a little hopeless when she returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Her mindset had changed once again.

    Yuhao,e back. If youe back, I won¡¯t be angry as long as you are well, alive and fine no matter what your choice is. If you still love me, I¡¯m willing to share you with her. Yuhao,e back, pleasee back.! I¡¯m waiting for you! No matter how long it takes, I¡¯ll wait for you...

    As a result, she went back to his room and sat there quietly.

    Bei Bei and the rest came over. Even Yan Shaozhe and Elder Xuan visited her. However, Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t listen to any of their words. She was alreadypletely immersed in her own world. There was only Huo Yuhao there.

    It was only after Huo Yuhao disappeared that she fully understood how deeply she loved him.

    She was scared that Huo Yuhao would be like Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao, leaving without returning.

    Yuhao, will youe back? No matter what you want, I¡¯ll promise it! Anything as long as you return!

    Tears started to flow down her face once again. Wang Dong¡¯er stood up slowly and walked over in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed. She quietly sat down before lying down on it. She hugged his pillow and sniffed the remnants of his scent on it. She was sobbing pitifully.

    So, loving someone is actually so tormenting and unforgettable. Yuhao, Yuhao, do you know that? Where are you exactly? As long as you cane back fine, I¡¯m willing to exchange my life. I just want to see you well, even if we can¡¯t get together.

    ------

    Sunlight shone into the room through the window, projecting the jagged shadows of trees into the room. The refreshing air the outside seeped into the room and gently diffused.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er!¡± At this moment, an anxious voice was calling out distantly

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t move. Right now, she waspletely immersed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s memory.

    The door opened, a purplish figure burst into the room and found Wang Dong¡¯er after scanning the room momentarily.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, quick! Quickly get up! Yuhao, Yuhao is back!¡±

    The word ¡®Yuhao¡¯ was like a bell to Wang Dong¡¯er. She instantly bounced up from the bed, and her emotionless eyes became vibrant again. She was looking at the equally ravishingdy that had rushed into the room.

    Thedy who had rushed into the room was the fourth member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan had an outraged look on her face. Something seemed to have infuriated her.

    ¡°Really, really¡­ is he really back?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was trembling slightly, as was her petite figure.

    Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t stand her haggard look. She wanted to say something, but she stopped herself.

    ¡°Sister Nannan, is he really back? Tell me, tell me!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er grabbed onto her shoulder, and the anxiety in her eyes surged with the tears that flowed down uncontrobly.

    Jiang Nannan was still indignant as she told Wang Dong¡¯er, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s back. However, he came back with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, that scoundrel! I won¡¯t let him off. You treat him so nice, but he went out with Wang Qiu¡¯er. They just returned! I saw them outside the academy before I immediately rushed here to inform you. Dong¡¯er, what are you doing? Don¡¯t go! That scoundrel¡­!¡±

    Before she could finish speaking, Wang Dong¡¯er had already rushed out through the window. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings pped open and carried her in the direction of Shrek Academy¡¯s gate.

    Jiang Nannan sighed and muttered to herself, ¡°More care, more trouble... more care, more trouble! Fortunately, I informed Bei Bei and the rest. Huo Yuhao, you are a bastard! I won¡¯t let you off. Dong¡¯er sacrificed so much for you, but you chose to be with another woman. Hmph!¡±

    As she spoke, she also quickened her footsteps. This was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. She didn¡¯t dare to jump out of the window like Wang Dong¡¯er had. She backtracked along her original route and left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion quickly, heading straight for the gate.

    ------

    Going straight all the way from Shrek Academy¡¯s gate would lead one to the shore of the Sea God¡¯s Lake. Proceeding down the paths that wound along the shore would lead to the inner courtyard. There was also a statue at the end of each of these paths.

    At this moment, a tough-lookingdy was surrounded in front of one of these statues.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, and Xiao Xiao all looked a little unfriendly. The person who was surrounded by them was Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had been missing for ten days. She was carrying someone on her back, and that person was Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked very weird. He seemed to be asleep on her back, and was evidently not d in his own clothing. His drooping hands were also wrapped up. There was a satisfied smile on his face, and there was even a white flower stuck closely to one side of his face. He appeared very strange.

    ¡°Make way!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly.

    Even Bei Bei, who was normally very refined, looked slightly infuriated now. ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, what happened to Yuhao? He went out with you?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right, he went out with me.¡±

    ¡°The two of you, how can the two of you¡­?¡± Xiao Xiao said righteously.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er scoffed, ¡°Why can¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xiao Xiao was so angry that her face turned red. She was about to rush up, but He Caitou pulled her arm back. They knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities were extraordinary. Xiao Xiao was likely to suffer if she attacked like that.

    Xu Sanshi said in a deep voice, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, pass Huo Yuhao to us. What happened to him? Why did you carry him back? Where did the two of you go?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t answer his questions. ¡°Where¡¯s Wang Dong¡¯er? Huo Yuhao is back, but where is she?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to assert your authority over her?¡± Xiao Xiao asked furiously. As she spoke, two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring rose from her feet. A ck cauldron also subtly appeared. She was ready to attack now!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still fearless. Her eyes were extremely focused, and a dangerous aura was being exuded from her body.

    Bei Bei said unkindly, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, Yuhao¡¯s disappearance must be rted to you, even though we don¡¯t know what happened. If you are unwilling to hand him over, don¡¯t me us for being unkind.¡±

    He was a little worried about Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition. With his cultivation, how could he possibly be sleeping on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s back? Something must have happened!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er acted like she didn¡¯t hear his threat. She continued to say coldly, ¡°Where¡¯s Wang Dong¡¯er?¡±

    Bei Bei snorted coldly. His soul rings rose from his feet. He was really angry now. They had been looking for Huo Yuhao for ten days! They had been seeing Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pale face every day. Even he was unhappy with Huo Yuhao, a junior that he had always liked.

    Seeing that Bei Bei had unleashed his soul rings, He Caitou immediately jumped backward, and heavy soul cannons appeared on his shoulders. Xu Sanshi took a step forward and unleashed his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. Although only four of the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were here, their coordination was still decent.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood there without moving and only looked at them coldly. ¡°I won¡¯t fight with all of you. It¡¯ll only hurt him. Call Wang Dong¡¯er over.¡±

    Xu Sanshi snorted furiously. He took a step forward and was about to attack Wang Qiu¡¯er with his shield.

    At this point, a bright blue streak descended from the sky as a hoarse voice called out, ¡°Yuhao, where¡¯s Yuhao?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er descended from the sky andnded several meters in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    After seeing Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er was slightly stunned. Herplexion looked very unhealthy, and it seemed that she had be extremely lifeless. Her body was much thinner, and she even looked a little out of shape. Only ten days had passed! Her life seemed to have diminished.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. She was fixated on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and eximed in sorrow, ¡°Yuhao, what happened to you?¡± As she spoke, she rushed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. She had only taken a nce at him, but had already realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Their connection was very close since they had formed martial soul fusion skills together. However, Wang Dong¡¯er clearly couldn¡¯t feel his powerful martial souls in his body right now.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her hand to block Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned for a moment before looking at her. As their gazes met, Wang Qiu¡¯er saw the look of sadness and heartache in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes, while Wang Dong¡¯er only saw loneliness in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hand him over to you, but you need to hear what I want to say first,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said anxiously, ¡°What, what happened to him? Can you tell me after I¡¯ve taken a look at him?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t die.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er calmed herself down and nodded. She replied, ¡°Alright, tell me.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Bei Bei came up beside Wang Dong¡¯er and interrupted her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body was very weak now. Everyone believed that Wang Qiu¡¯er had nothing good to say. What if Wang Dong¡¯er was provoked?

 Chapter 265.1: Tough Donger

    Volume 27: The New Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament!, Chapter 265.1: Tough Dong''er

    Jiang Nannan also rushed behind Wang Dong¡¯er. Everyone encircled her and treated her like an enemy.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°I won¡¯t hand him over unless you let me say my piece. I want to let all of you know what he did.¡±

    Bei Bei stepped forward and was about to act up, but Wang Dong¡¯er immediately lifted her arms and shook her head at the rest. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Let her speak. I can handle it.¡±

    The sad look in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes became even more intense. However, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to pick on Wang Qiu¡¯er. Huo Yuhao had returned, he had finally returned! Even though she didn¡¯t know how he was, he must be fine since Wang Qiu¡¯er imed that he wouldn¡¯t die.

    It was fine as long as he was alive! It was still better than Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao, who were both still missing. She had already thrown everything else from her mind. As long as Huo Yuhao was safe, she was willing to ept anything that he had with Wang Qiu¡¯er. The ten days of waiting had taught her one thing, that she was willing to do anything in exchange for Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, you are too kind,¡± Bei Bei sighed. However, he didn¡¯t go against her wishes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er revealed a sad smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine since he has returned. I¡¯m satisfied since he¡¯s returned safely. Wang Qiu¡¯er, tell me what you want to say.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er scanned everyone coldly and said, ¡°From your looks, all of you seem to think that I eloped with him? Hmph, all of you are his good friends! Is he really like all of you imagine him to be?¡±

    Everyone was stunned by her words. Yes! They had been thinking about what had happened between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er after they left together.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was also stunned. She saw an outraged look in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°I feel bad for him. In the past ten days, he has almost died three times. However, he pressed on every time. I tried to stop him from taking risks, but he resisted and continued to proceed stubbornly. Do you really think he eloped with me?¡±

    Xu Sanshi furrowed his brow, ¡°Howe you left together? He even left without saying anything!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied, ¡°He left without saying anything because he was anxious. I don¡¯t know how he found out Wang Dong¡¯er was sick.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re the sick one!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er focused her gaze, and a sharp light shed within them. However, she still suppressed her anger.

    ¡°He told me that Wang Dong¡¯er was sick. In addition, he even said that her life was in danger. That day, he left Shrek Academy on his own. I caught him leaving and pursued him, seeing that he was in a rush. However, who knew that I would end up pursuing him for thousands of miles. That¡¯s why I went missing with him.

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected that he could go to this extent for another person. Do you see the flower on his face? He almost sacrificed his life to bring it back. It¡¯s an immortal grass called the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. It can cure her injuries.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned. She didn¡¯t even know that she was sick or injured. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er sounded very convincing. She also didn¡¯t know what to do since Huo Yuhao was in this state.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her hand and unbuttoned Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeves.

    Everyone was shocked when they saw his hands.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands were covered in bandages. The thick bandages were half-stained with fresh blood.

    ¡°Do all of you know how this injury came about? In order to pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Flower, he forced himself to swallow spring water that contained Ultimate Fire to counter the Ultimate Ice in his body. When his hands cupped the water, they were badly burned. His throat, windpipe and even internal organs were greatly burned from the water. He was on the brink of death.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure shook slightly. An unhealthy red appeared on her face, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

    ¡°At that point, he still used his eyes to tell me to bring this Yearning Heartbroken Grass back to treat your injury. If not for the fact that I used an herb to preserve his life, he would have died.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er recounted everything that had happened to the both of them over the past ten days.

    After hearing her ounting of events, everyone¡¯s expressions changed greatly. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were even crying.

    They hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to experience so many ordeals over the past ten days. He had even been on the brink of death several times before he finally managed to pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    When they heard that the Ultimate Ice in his body had raged out and the blood that he spat out had frozen up, leaving him no choice but to swallow the zing Sunspring water, Bei Bei, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes also welled up.

    What kind of love was this? Huo Yuhao used his actions to tell them how much he loved Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stopped crying as she heard more and more of what Wang Qiu¡¯er said. Her body was trembling non-stop, shaking uncontrobly.

    Yuhao, Yuhao, Yuhao¡­

    Her mind was only filled with his name right now. Yuhao, Yuhao, my Yuhao. For me, you actually¡­

    What injury? Why didn¡¯t you tell me? Why didn¡¯t you let me face all this with you? Yuhao.

    At this moment, Wang Dong¡¯er was heartbroken.

    ¡°Wa¡ª¡ª¡± She spat out blood, and a few dropsnded on the Yearning Heartbroken Grass on the side of Huo Yuhao¡¯s face

    The Yearning Heartbroken Grass shook slightly and absorbed the few drops of fresh blood. Following this, a dim red glow emanated from the flower. The red glow formed two rings in the air, which looped over Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    A weird intent was also released by the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. There were no words, but Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters and Wang Qiu¡¯er could understand what it meant.

    It roughly meant Together through Life and Death. The contract of love. If one died, both would die together. The lives of these lovers would be connected. There would be no abandonment, and their love would carry on for eternity.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had formed a strange contract with Huo Yuhao at this moment, with the Yearning Heartbroken Grass as a witness.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned. She could also sense the intent from the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. Her face turned even more dismal and she looked a little lost. She put Huo Yuhao down carefully, right in front of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°He only has you in his heart. Even though we look simr, I was never in his heart. When he plucked the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, I knew that I had fallen in love with this man. I am deeply in love with him. I feel very tormented that I was a stepte. There can never be a second woman in his heart. You must take care of yourself for him. You must take care of him, too. The herb that he consumed will help him to recover slowly. However, I¡¯m not sure whether he will be able to fully recover.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er paused as she finished those words. She took a deep look at Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°You¡¯ve won. In his eyes, I was probably never yourpetitor, and you probably never had anypetitors before. Love him properly.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er received Huo Yuhao carefully. She hugged him as she bowed to Wang Qiu¡¯er. ¡°Thank you.. Thank you for saving his life. If you need my help one day, I¡¯ll do anything to help you.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t say anything. She only turned and walked away.

    It was only when the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters couldn¡¯t see her that her tears started to stream down her face. She quickened her footsteps, as she didn¡¯t want others to see her weakness. However, she was also heartbroken.

    Wang Dong¡¯er hugged Huo Yuhao and felt the weak undtion of his life aura. She lowered her head slowly and pressed her lips to Huo Yuhao¡¯s dry lips.

    Her lips were very cold and slightly moist.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m your wife from now on. No matter whether or not you recover, I¡¯ll always be your wife. I love this contract. As long as you are alive, I¡¯ll wait for you my entire life. If you die, I¡¯ll leave with you. In the other world, I¡¯ll continue to wait on you. Forever and ever. Yuhao, I love you!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was very gentle, but it was the gentleness of her voice that made the rest emotional.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou couldn¡¯t control the tears in their eyes.

    Jiang Nannan leapt into Xu Sanshi¡¯s arms. Xiao Xiao also did the same thing to He Caitou. They were bawling their eyes out.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t cry. There was only a look of gentleness in her big, beautiful eyes.

    She carefully carried Huo Yuhao and turned around slowly as she looked at the rest.

    ¡°Eldest senior, can I trouble you to find some food? I want to eat some food. Third senior, please help me get the best healing-type soul master in the academy. I¡¯ll bring Yuhao back first.¡±

    Even though she still seemed very pale, and her lips were still stained with blood, the look in her eyes shocked the rest of them. She suddenly looked very tough and resolute!

 Chapter 265.2: Tough Donger

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was critically injured, and it was unknown whether he would fully recover.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s work separately!Nannan, Xiao Xiao, follow Dong¡¯er!¡± Bei Bei rubbed off his own tears and started giving out instructions. Wang Dong¡¯er was also in bad shape right now. With Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao following her, they could help her at least.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t reject his suggestion and didn¡¯t rush off, either. She only carried Huo Yuhao and slowly walked over to the shore of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Jiang Nannan understood her intentions and quickly summoned a ferry. They made their way to Sea God¡¯s Ind, before heading into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ---

    After returning to her room, Wang Dong¡¯er started to get busy. She got a clean nket for Huo Yuhao before inviting Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao to leave the room.

    She was trembling slightly as she removed Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes and bandages. After that, she used clean water to wash his entire body before giving him clean clothing. She also re-bandaged his wounds. At this moment, she didn¡¯t care about her own shyness anymore.

    Finally, Wang Dong¡¯er took the Yearning Heartbroken Grass from Huo Yuhao¡¯s face and ced it beside his pillow.

    Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er and a few elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion quickly made their way over. Huo Yuhao¡¯s injuries shocked all of them.

    When they heard that Huo Yuhao had received these injuries for Wang Dong¡¯er, they felt a little helpless. For love, he was willing to go to such an extent?...

    ¡°Where is this rascal Huo Yuhao?¡± Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but curse.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stood up hurriedly and said respectfully, ¡°Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder Xuan was furious as he walked into the room. He quickly came to the bedside and pressed his hand against Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth, sensing his condition.

    He only lifted his hand after a while.

    ¡°He¡¯s in a bad state.¡± Elder Xuan furrowed his brows and couldn¡¯t help but curse, ¡°This rascal, why didn¡¯t he report something like this to the academy? Dong¡¯er, who told him that you were injured? Let me take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, he lifted his hand and pressed it against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s shoulder. After sensing for a brief moment, he revealed a weird look on his face. ¡°There¡¯s no injury, but there¡¯s a weird force in your body. It doesn¡¯t seem like soul power. However, my powers strangely can¡¯t seem to capture it. If we are talking about an internal injury, this must be it.¡±

    ¡°Elder Zhuang, take a look at him.¡± As he spoke, Elder Xuan gestured to another elder. This elder was also a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He cultivated a nt-type martial soul, and was skilled in healing.

    Elder Zhuang came to the bedside and also pressed his hand against Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. Soul rings started to rise from his feet. Two yellow, two purple and five ck rings appeared. He was a Titled Douluo!

    Vibrant-looking green vines spread from his body and moved around Huo Yuhao. Very soon, his entire body was engulfed by the vines.

    An intense life aura was released by the vines as Elder Zhuang¡¯s soul rings lit up. The vines were also shining with different colors of light.

    After a time, Elder Zhuang retracted the vines.

    He gently shook his head and said, ¡°He¡¯s indeed in bad shape. His injuries were very serious. Most importantly, there¡¯s a zing heat in his body that doesn¡¯t belong. It shes with his Ultimate Ice. Apart from his own Ultimate Ice soul power, there¡¯s also origin energy in his body. It¡¯s all very messy. Under such a situation, the Ultimate Ice can¡¯t expel the heat or neutralize it. Furthermore, his internal organs are also badly burned. Honestly speaking, he should have died from such serious injuries. However, there¡¯s a force in his body sustaining his life. He must have eaten some herb that¡¯s helping him recuperate. It¡¯s just that the speed of recuperation is very slow due to the sh between ice and fire in his body.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°What should we do then? Can you treat him?¡±

    Elder Zhuang shook his head and answered, ¡°No. My treatment is mainly carried out by pouring in life power. But his own life power isn¡¯t weak, so there¡¯s no need for that. In addition, we can¡¯t just recklessly treat his injuries. If too much soul power is poured in, the unstable forces in his body might be released, and his life might be in danger. To him, the best treatment is to rest. He¡¯ll wake up when the herb heals the injuries in his body, and he¡¯ll also be able to control the cirction of his soul power when he wakes up. His injuries will also slowly recover then. It¡¯s the same for his hands. It¡¯s better for him to recover on his own.¡±

    Elder Xuan asked, ¡°Will he be able to make a full recovery?¡±

    Elder Zhuang replied, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. It¡¯s too messy. How could his body umte so much origin energy? While it¡¯s good stuff, we can¡¯t have too much of it. Not only is he gravely injured, he seems to have taken too many tonics. Whether or not he can make a full recovery will be up to him, but I¡¯m sure his life isn¡¯t in danger anymore.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed andmented, ¡°This rascal is really worrying! Elder Zhuang, I¡¯ll have to trouble you over the next few days.¡±

    Elder Zhuang nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s the future pir of our academy. I¡¯ll help him recover no matter what. I¡¯ll check on him twice a day from now. As his body¡¯s condition changes, I¡¯ll adjust my treatment ordingly.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and nodded, ¡°That would be great!¡±

    Bei Bei and the rest rushed over at this moment. Bei Bei even brought some food for Wang Dong¡¯er, a bowl of chicken soup. It was nutritious and easily digestible. As the eldest senior, Bei Bei had always been very meticulous.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. Even though Huo Yuhao was critically injured now, she was in a good mood. It was just that her heart was also aching at the same time.

    Whatever it was, Huo Yuhao was finally better. At least he was still alive. He did everything for her, which hadnded him in this state! As Wang Dong¡¯er thought of all this, her tears were filled with happiness even though her heart was still aching at his predicament.

    Tough, she had to be tough. Although she was in pain, she didn¡¯t continue crying. She drank the chicken soup to replenish her own energy. However, her eyes never left Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Xuan left with the elders. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao wanted to stay behind to help Wang Dong¡¯er look after Huo Yuhao, but Wang Dong¡¯er declined their offer. She told them that she could cope on her own.

    Bei Bei was relieved after watching her consume an entire bowl of chicken soup and a te of green vegetables. After all, they were all soul masters, and Wang Dong¡¯er was even a Soul Emperor. Although she hadn¡¯t been taking care of herself over the past few days, she would recover quickly as long as she was willing to eat and watch her body.

    After her meal, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯splexion improved. She dragged a chair to the bedside and sat down cross-legged on it, entering deep meditation.

    If she wanted to take care of Huo Yuhao and help him recover, she had to make sure she was fine herself first.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was also one of the best young soul masters at Shrek Academy right now. If she remained calm andposed, her abilities weren¡¯t inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    Over the past ten days, her internal ordeals and poor health had caused her to be much weaker. After spitting out blood earlier, she was extremely weak right now. After eating, she had to recuperate, too.

    However, it wasn¡¯t always the case that she could enter her deep meditative state at will.

    After ten minutes, she re-opened her eyes. They were filled with tenderness and heartache.

    She was unable to calm herself down enough to enter deep meditation. Once she shut her eyes, she thought of Huo Yuhao. Her ears were also echoing with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words.

    When she recalled how Huo Yuhao drank the boiling water for her, tears would well up in her eyes. Yuhao, you are really silly. You are really silly!

    She couldn¡¯t tolerate her yearning for him. She removed her outer clothes and went over to the bed. She carefully avoided Huo Yuhao¡¯s injured hands andid down beside him. She felt his aura and shut her eyes.

    It was very weird, but she felt much more peaceful as she rested her body against his. It was an unprecedented sense of tranquility. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heartbeat was slightly weak. One had to listen carefully to tell that it was beating. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s tears started to dry up. A satisfied smile surfaced on her face.

    She fell asleep just like that. Very soon, her breathing calmed down.

    She didn¡¯t see the Yearning Heartbroken Grass exuding a dim red light. The gentle red light engulfed their bodies, and its fragrance drifted away and entered their bodies as they inhaled it.

    ---

    Someone else was crying quietly as Wang Dong¡¯er fell asleep in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood in front of her room and looked at the sky outside, which was getting dark. Her tears started to fall again.

    ¡°It¡¯s such a torment loving someone, especially when you know you can¡¯t be with that person. Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao, would you have loved me like you love her if I had met you first? Why didn¡¯t I meet you earlier? Heavens! Why do you have to y such a trick on me? Wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er a guy?¡±

 Chapter 265.3: Tough Donger

    Morning...

    When Wang Dong¡¯er opened her eyes, she was stunned to discover that she had slept from the previous day¡¯s evening to today¡¯s morning. She had not slept so sweetly in a very long time. Although she was still feeling a little fatigued, she felt much refreshed.

    She looked at the man beside her close up. He was still in a deep sleep, and didn¡¯t look like he was about to wake up any time soon. His heartbeat was still very calm.

    Wang Dong¡¯er carefully checked on his condition. After ascertaining that he was fine, she pecked his cheek and got up. After washing up, she began to help Huo Yuhao clean up.

    She washed him up before gently massaging his muscles. After that, she changed him into clean clothes.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t eat anything. Before Elder Xuan left yesterday, he had left a bottle of pills behind. He had asked Wang Dong¡¯er to feed Huo Yuhao. These pills had been created using more than ten types of valuable ingredients, and would be sufficient to replenish his body.

    After Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved the bottle of pills, she ced one of the pills into her mouth before kissing him, and transferred the medicinal fluid into his mouth with her tongue.

    Her face was red. For an inexperienced youngdy like her, this was too embarrassing. However, there was a determined look in her eyes. As she thought of how Huo Yuhao was ready to give up his life for her, she put her embarrassment aside. I¡¯m his future wife, what¡¯s there to be shy about?

    After finishing this, Wang Dong¡¯er went out to eat. After eating, she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and entered deep meditation.

    She finally managed to enter deep meditation this time.

    ---

    She changed Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes twice a day, fed him medicine and massaged him thrice a day. She also washed his body twice a day. When night fell, she stopped meditating and just slept beside him.

    Elder Zhuang came to check on Huo Yuhao twice a day, as promised. Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical condition seemed to be recovering faster than expected. The medicinal effect that was maintaining his life was very strong, and itsted for a long time, too, enabling his internal injuries to heal quickly. Elder Zhuang told Wang Dong¡¯er to talk more to Huo Yuhao so that he would wake up faster. Once he woke up, he could control some of his soul power, and his body would heal even more quickly.

    Night fell, and Wang Dong¡¯er continuedying beside Huo Yuhao.

    She caressed his face and muttered into his eyes, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m Dong¡¯er. I¡¯ve seen the medicinal herb that you brought back. Where did you find out about my injury? Do I really have an internal injury? I didn¡¯t even know! Yuhao, I miss you so much. I really want to hear your voice. You¡¯ll get better. No matter what, I¡¯ll be by your side to take care and wait on you...

    ¡°Will you wake up? You¡¯ve been sleeping for too long. As long as you wake up, I¡¯ll promise you anything. Even if you want to get intimate with me, I won¡¯t object to it. I¡¯ll let you hug me to sleep every night, okay? Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve always wished for? From today onwards, I¡¯ll apany you like that to sleep. I¡¯m already your wife. This is my responsibility!

    ¡°In fact, do you know that I¡¯m very willing to sleep with you? I feel especially safe when I sleep with you. I feel veryfortable...

    ¡°Yuhao, wake up. I really miss you. I really, really miss you.¡±

    As she finished speaking, Wang Dong¡¯er was already sobbing a little

    She opened Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth and looked at his throat. It waspletely scarlet-red, as if his flesh were squirming and growing. The medicinal herb Wang Qiu¡¯er had given him had a very strong healing effect on his injuries.

    Elder Zhuang had alsomented that it was a miracle when he saw it. Perhaps the magical herb¡¯s strength could restore Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice.

    When Wang Dong¡¯er saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s throat, she started wailing. He must be in a lot of pain! He was so deeply in love that he had swallowed boiling water so that he could spit out blood that wasn¡¯t frozen.

    Even Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know when she fell asleep. When she was sleeping, her tear stains were still on her face.

    ---

    The days slowly passed. Wang Dong¡¯er took good care of Huo Yuhao. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. Huo Yuhao was still sleeping.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s injuries had already healed after ten days. Even his burned hands and vocal cords had been restored. His heartbeat also became stronger. Everything was progressing well.

    The tournament was approaching, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t awoken yet.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was crying less and less these days. She became calmer as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body slowly recovered. She was content to wait on him every day. She would talk to him for at least an hour every day and gently called his name to wake him up.

    It was now only a month to the tournament. The rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were stepping up their preparations and cultivations. Without Huo Yuhao as their main control-type soul master, it was going to be an arduous task to be champions in this tournament. The inclusion of sects changed everything. They were going to meet much stronger opponents!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also came to visit Huo Yuhao a few times. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t stop her from doing so. On the contrary, she hosted her very passionately.

    Every time Wang Qiu¡¯er came, she didn¡¯t speak. She only stood by the bedside and looked at Huo Yuhao for a while before leaving silently.

    Wang Dong¡¯er could see the sadness in her eyes. However, some things couldn¡¯t be shared. She pitied Wang Qiu¡¯er, but there was only one Huo Yuhao. He was her man!

    ---

    Another five days passed. Huo Yuhao had been back for half a month, and his injuries had already healed. Only the two waves of soul power were still conflicting in his body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to use her soul power to help him recover. She was worried that it might be counter-effective. She would rather he recovered slowly than take a risk.

    Huo Yuhao had grown slightly fatter after lying down for the past fifteen days. The medicinal effect was pretty good. Wang Dong¡¯er fed him his medicine through her mouth every day before giving him some water. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body stayed in good condition under her care.

    ---

    Evening. It was time for her to speak to him again.

    ¡°Yuhao, did you know? I ate two buns tonight. So many, right? I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll grow fat.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her head as she spoke and looked down at her slim waist.

    ¡°Today¡¯s canteen food was especially delicious. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of myself. For you, I won¡¯t harm my body anymore. When you wake up, I¡¯ll let you see a healthy Dong¡¯er. Will you be very happy because of this? I¡¯ll let you see a prettier Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued speaking with a smile on her face, ¡°Did you know? Sometimes I¡¯m not in a rush for you to wake up. The past few days have been fruitful for me. I love waiting on you. You were the one taking care of me all this while. You were also the one who cleaned our dorm room. It¡¯s my turn now. I know you¡¯ve sacrificed a lot for me over these few years. However, you didn¡¯t know I was a girl back then. You really are a fool! We were living together for such a long time, but you didn¡¯t realize. Come to think of it, I still want to mock you for that.

    ¡°Oh right, eldest senior and the rest have been cultivating tirelessly. However, everything is affected greatly because you¡¯re not around. Furthermore, I can¡¯tpete because you are in this state. I told eldest senior that I¡¯d be staying behind with you, and he agreed to my request. We are all representing the Tang Sect this time. Eldest senior said that Na Na can be our first substitute. She¡¯s quite good. We can also make up our numbers by asking someone else from the sect.

    ¡°It would be great if you could wake up though! Even though you can¡¯tpete, everyone will still be in good spirits with your support.

    ¡°Oh, right. I haven¡¯t fed you your medicine. I¡¯ll talk to you after feeding you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved a bottle and ced a pill into her mouth. As usual, she fed him through her mouth.

    She was used to it after half a month. She used the tip of her tongue to force Huo Yuhao¡¯s teeth open before pressing her tongue against his. It was easier that way.

    Everything progressed very smoothly as usual. However, she felt a slight touch on her tongue as she tried to pull it back.

    She was stunned for a moment. Following this, she understood what was going on and quickly hugged Huo Yuhao. She continued to reach her tongue in and touched the tip of his tongue again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was trembling slightly in agitation. Was he about to wake up?

    However, his tongue had stopped moving. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t garner any reaction even though she used her tongue to touch the tip of his again.

    Was it a false feeling? Wang Dong¡¯er was unconvinced! When she retracted her tongue, she looked slightly disappointed.

    She turned around and gently rubbed at the tears that flowed from her eyes. Yuhao, when are you going to wake up?

    At this point, a weak and hoarse voice sounded behind her, ¡°Again¡­ kiss¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body stiffened. In the next instant, she turned around and saw a pair of dull eyes. However, those eyes were looking at her gently!

 Chapter 266: Waking Up in Comfort

    ¡°Yu-Yuhao¡­ you¡¯re finally awake.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t hide her agitation anymore. Even though had she told herself countless times not to cry when Yuhao woke up, she still couldn¡¯t control herself now that he was actually awake!

    She leapt onto Huo Yuhao and started wailing. She was worried and heartbroken at the same time. At this moment, her tears flowed uncontrobly.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes once again. He was still very, very tired. His injuries were too serious. Even though his external wounds had recovered, the conflicting origin energy and soul power in his body, as well as the zing Sunspring water, greatly influenced his condition.

    Wang Dong¡¯er cried for fifteen minutes, and her tears drenched the front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shirt. She only stopped after that.

    When she lifted her head to look at Huo Yuhao again, she discovered that he had already shut his eyes, and she panicked. She quickly wiped her tears away and called, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao, are you okay?¡±

    Huo Yuhao struggled to open his eyes and forced a slight smile for her. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You must stay true to your words!¡± After a few minutes of rest, he felt slightly better.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned for a moment. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°You said that you were willing to do anything as long as I woke up. You even promised to sleep with me. It¡¯ll be like that forever. You must keep your word.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er broke into augh and said, ¡°You are in this state, but you still remember these things.¡±

    Huo Yuhao alsoughed. ¡°It concerns my happiness. I¡¯m going to sleep a while more.¡± As he spoke, he shut his eyes again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er quicklyy down beside him. She caressed his chest lightly, and used her light-type soul power to absorb the tears from his shirt.

    When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning. He was also much better now. Wang Dong¡¯er was waiting on him as usual. When she washed his body, she started to feel embarrassed again.

    After all, it was a different matter when he was awake!

    She lowered her head and didn¡¯t dare to look at him. She rubbed his body gently.

    ¡°Is the temperature fine?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Do you like my butt so much? You¡¯ve cleaned it six times.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned red, and she quickly put the towel away before covering him with the nket.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er.¡± Seeing Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s embarrassed look, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but call her.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her head, and her face turned even redder.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I want to take my medicine. I¡¯m a little hungry.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er rushed to get the medicine bottle. She ced a pill into her mouth. However, she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s burning eyes when she lifted her head to look at him.

    Huo Yuhao was smiling as he looked at her. His eyes were filled with aforted look.

    When he saw that Wang Dong¡¯er was like a youngdy cleaning up the room and waiting on him, he was touched. This was the perfect life in his heart! A family and a wife that loved him. He might even have a few children in the future.

    As for his wife, one was enough. He couldn¡¯t be like the White Tiger Duke. If not for the White Tiger Duke, his mother wouldn¡¯t have suffered.

    ¡°If you still don¡¯t feed me, you¡¯ll swallow everything.¡± Huo Yuhao was amused as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shut her eyes, and her face turned red. She moved her lips towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth and transferred the medicinal fluid. However, the tip of her tongue was sensitive. When she touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s tongue, she was evidently trying to avoid it.

    Huo Yuhao sucked with his mouth, and his tongue wrapped around Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Hoo hoo!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop sucking. He was sucking gently.

    Wang Dong¡¯er rushed to shut her eyes again. She didn¡¯t dare to struggle, as she was afraid of hurting him.

    They only stopped kissing after their breathing got a little fast.

    When Wang Dong¡¯er sat straight, her nose was already panting. She looked at Huo Yuhao shyly. ¡°You are so naughty. Your tongue can move. This means you can swallow your medicine on your own. You can consume it yourself next time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°That¡¯s not right. You agreed to feed me like this. You can¡¯t go back on your word.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted, ¡°I¡¯ll help you clean your body.¡±

    After helping Huo Yuhao change his clothes, Wang Dong¡¯er helped to massage his muscles.

    As she rubbed his muscles, Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°Yuhao, where did you find out about my internal injury?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed. ¡°Qiu¡¯er is such a bbermouth! She shouldn¡¯t have told you. Dong¡¯er, I¡¯ll follow you back to the Clear Sky Sect when my injury heals. I don¡¯t know if the Yearning Heartbroken Grass can work on your injury. It¡¯s better to let Uncle Niu Tian and Tai Tan look after it.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was doubtful as she looked at Huo Yuhao, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who told you about my internal injury?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯ve already plucked the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. Isn¡¯t everything fine now?¡±

    ¡°Fine?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was confused. Her tears were about to flow again as she looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao panicked. ¡°Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get well. I must get well for you! In fact, I wasn¡¯t seriously injured this time, right¡­¡± His mind wasn¡¯t very clear, as he just woken up. He had to watch his words even if he wanted to weave a lie.

    Wang Dong¡¯er bit her lower lip. ¡°Stop talking. I know everything. Wang Qiu¡¯er told me everything. In fact, I know even if you don¡¯t tell me. Was it the pouch?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s lips twisted slightly, and she clenched her fist. ¡°Eldest uncle! Second uncle! The two of you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt something wrong with the atmosphere, and hurriedly said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t be mistaken! The two of them are doing this for your own good. Not anyone can pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. Only I can do so. It¡¯s only right that I went! It¡¯s fine as long as you are okay.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er rxed and didn¡¯t say anything else. She smiled and said, ¡°They are my uncles. Why would I me them? Alright, you should talk less since you just woke up. Go ahead and rest. I still haven¡¯t informed everyone that you¡¯re awake.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oh. Then you should go and tell eldest senior. They are busy with their cultivation, so don¡¯t ask them toe over. I can¡¯t do anything anyway since I just woke up. Let me recover first.¡±

    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s also my intention. It¡¯s better not to let anyone disturb you. Lie down first. I¡¯ll go and wash your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s been tough on you, Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s what I should be doing. Shut your eyes and rest.¡±

    As she spoke, she took the basin filled with Huo Yuhao¡¯s dirty clothes and went to the bathroom.

    She closed the bathroom door and couldn¡¯t control her emotions anymore. She clenched her fists tightly, and her face turned red from her anger and pain.

    ¡°Eldest uncle, second uncle, why did the two of you do such a thing to Yuhao!? Wasn¡¯t the test at Clear Sky Peak enough?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was intelligent. Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything, she could guess that it was because of the pouch. Even if Huo Yuhao had needed to pluck the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, her uncles should have followed him, given their cultivations. After hearing Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s recounting of events, she knew that the Setting Sun Forest was very dangerous. Before even seeing the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, Huo Yuhao had already met with danger several times!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t stupid. Wang Dong¡¯er knew that he would have known that it was a test. However, this test had been too difficult. What would she have done if Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make it out alive?

    She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. She muttered to herself, ¡°From today onward, I¡¯m no longer the young mistress of the Clear Sky Sect. I¡¯m Huo Yuhao¡¯s wife. I¡¯ll repay Huo Yuhao for everything that he¡¯s done for me with my life.¡±

    After she finished speaking, her facial expression started to calm down. However, she still looked a little cold, ¡°Eldest uncle, second uncle, I¡¯ll deal with the two of you when I return.¡±

    ---

    Two manly guys who were drinking shuddered at the same moment. They even almost spilled their wine¡­

    ---

    Huo Yuhao was feeling very calm now. Although his body was very weak, he was very happy now. He was also feeling very calm.

    He was very satisfied to be alive and able to see Wang Dong¡¯er again. He was also satisfied to pass her the Yearning Heartbroken Grass. At least he was still alive!

    I will get well. Huo Yuhao shut his eyes, and a figure slowly appeared in his mind. It was someone who cut a sad figure.

    Qiu¡¯er! How did she save me? I clearly felt that I was going to die then.

    His doubts and the ravishing figure caused him to open his eyes. He sighed. Huo Yuhao knew that he owed Wang Qiu¡¯er another favor. Without her, he couldn¡¯t have survived. It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t know what method she had used to save him.

    She saved his life, and it wasn¡¯t the first time! Qiu¡¯er, how am I supposed to return this favor?

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and felt an intense paining from his chest. To prevent Wang Dong¡¯er from worrying, he stopped himself from shouting.

    He rxed his body, and his pain slowly lessened. Huo Yuhao focused and inspected his own body.

    When he did, he was stunned. He couldn¡¯t help butugh bitterly. Is this really my body?

    His body wasn¡¯t even in a bad condition. It was messy.

    His passageways were messed up. They were like wool that had formed knots again after being unfurled. The tips couldn¡¯t be found at all.

    He didn¡¯t use his soul power to resist the zing Sunspring water. His throat, windpipe and even internal organs were scorched. With the help of a weird force, his burnt organs had recovered. However, the recovery process became very messy because he didn¡¯t guide it. His organs were stuck together, and his passageways were jumbled up. Different energies were also present in these passageways. There was the heat from the zing Sunspring water, his own soul power and the origin energy that the Snow Empress had brought in. It was messy!

    On the surface, he seemed fine. However, he had only staved off death. The mystical force had protected his important organs so that the various energies within him wouldn¡¯t conflict. Otherwise, he would have died many times over.

    This was terrible. Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s state of mind was still stable, he could onlyugh bitterly to himself now.

    It was precisely because his condition was so messy that Elder Zhuang didn¡¯t dare to treat him. With his current condition, the various forms of energies, the mystical force protecting him and the life aura brought about his Life¡¯s Gold achieved a delicate bnce. This ensured his survival. If he tried to do anything, he might endanger himself. Treatment might instead put his life at risk.

    Elder Zhuang had alreadymunicated with Elder Xuan in secret. Unless a miracle happened, Huo Yuhao would be disabled. Even if he could survive, it would be difficult for him to stand up again. As long as this delicate bnce was maintained, his life would only end when the mystical force disappeared.

    Only Elder Zhuang and Elder Xuan knew about this. Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t bear to tell the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Moreover, Elder Xuan didn¡¯t believe Huo Yuhao would copse just like this. Huo Yuhao was always one to create miracles!

    What should he do? Afterughing bitterly to himself, Huo Yuhao thought of something. Just like Elder Xuan believed, he wasn¡¯t one to bow down to fate.

    Huo Yuhao could also sense the bnce in his body. In fact, he was even clearer than Elder Zhuang about his own body¡¯s condition. He had the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress and the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s strength inside his body, and the origin energy of Ultimate Icepressed into his soul bones. There was also the portion of energy sucked away by the Snow Lady. He would be doomed if everything blew apart.

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao straightened out his thoughts. First, he told himself not to panic. He couldn¡¯t rush to seed.

 Chapter 267.1: Working Hard For the Sake of Recovering

    Despite the fact that he had risked everything to help Wang Dong¡¯er obtain the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, he valued his life like all human beings, particrly since he could only make Dong¡¯er happy if he lived!

    A stable mental state allowed Huo Yuhao to calm down. He examined his body once more, and quickly discovered a source of hope.

    That¡¯s right, at this moment, his body waspletely chaotic. Even the passageways in his hands were all tangled up, and he could not move a single finger. However, there was still one ce that remained intact in him. That was his brain.

    In other words, despite his poor physical state, his mental state was still perfectly intact. Furthermore, after he used the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew, the quality of his mental state had changed too. His Spirit Eyes appeared to be evolving once more. All these were exceptional aplishments!

    In other words, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation may have retarded, and he did not dare to use his own soul power as much, his Spirit Eyes remained the same, and his Spiritual Sea had not changed. In fact, it could be said to have be stronger. His concrete-immaterial realm was further stabilized by his love for Dong¡¯er. This allowed his spirit to ascend to the next level, and he even possessed a unique move where his spiritual power merged with his soul power, the Goddess of Light.

    This was his advantage right now. His spiritual power had awakened within him, and was on the verge of recovery. It remained vibrant. Supported by his spiritual power, he used his Spiritual Detection and the Purple Demon Eyes of his Mustard Seed Domain to sense every change in his body. With his powerful spiritual power as his shield, he could try and heal himself.

    His spiritual power was another form of energy. It was possible for him to use his spiritual power to safeguard his passageways.

    After he cleared his mind, Huo Yuhao did not panic. There was no point in panicking. He had to wait for his recovery to reach its peak before he could do anything. At the same time, as he woke up, the functions of his body started to recover too. Like this, the power of the Life Gold could be felt once again. Its powerful life energy allowed him to continue possessing a powerful life energy. No matter how his recovery went, it would be easier.

    After Bei Bei and the others heard that Huo Yuhao had woken up, they all came to visit him. Elder Xuan came too. However, Elder Xuan instructed that no one would be allowed to disturb Huo Yuhao. Hence, everyone could only visit him once a week. His recovery would bepletely managed by Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhaoy there for three days. In these three days, he did nothing. He quietly enjoyed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s care.

    Indeed, it was a form of enjoyment. While his body could not move and his insides were all messed up, he could look at Wang Dong¡¯er take care of him every day. This filled him with an unspeakable warmth. Particrly at night, when Wang Dong¡¯er, blushing, climbed into bed next to him to sleep wearing only her underwear. This made his spiritual power recover extremely quickly. Perhaps this was the power of love. Of course, this could also be due to his Goddess of Light¡¯s soul-spirit fusion skill.

    Huo Yuhao did not tell Wang Dong¡¯er the truth. He just said that he needed some time to recover. This was good too, because Wang Dong¡¯er did not probe or ask him any more questions. All she did was care for him tirelessly. She did not want to put any pressure on him. To her, no matter what became of Huo Yuhao in the future, no matter whether he could recover or not, she would never leave him.

    ------

    Dawn, three dayster...

    He opened his eyes, and in the depths of his twin pupils, a purple light shed. Everything around him became much clearer, and with each thought that passed through his mind, he felt as if the entire Sea God¡¯s Ind was within his mental grasp.

    It turned out that everything was not as bad as he had thought.

    When she felt the slight change in Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er immediately roused herself. She sat up hurriedly and asked anxiously, ¡°Yuhao, are you fine?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled at her and asked, ¡°Do I look fine? Dong¡¯er, close your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er looked at him suspiciously. Under his insistence, she closed her eyes. Her long eyshes lightly touched the bottoms of her eyes, making her irresistibly alluring.

    In the next instant, Wang Dong¡¯er saw it too. To her shock, she realized that she was looking at the entire Sea God¡¯s Ind as if it were a 3D model. She could even ¡®see¡¯ the colors of the ind, as if she was a pair of eyes in the sky gazing down on the ind.

    No, no, she was not just gazing down. She could see every small detail of the ind. The only thing that she could not see clearly was the area around the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, which seemed to be protected by ayer of golden light. That had to be the power of the Golden Tree...

    Was, was this Spiritual Detection Sharing? Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing?

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened her eyes suddenly. With wide eyes, she looked at Huo Yuhao and said, her voice trembling, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and said, ¡°I said that I¡¯m fine. Your husband is like an indestructible cockroach. This is the result of three days of hard work. Afterward, everything will be better. Eh, I can still do this.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er watched as Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned bright purple. To others, this might have been be slightly unsettling. However, that was not the case for Wang Dong¡¯er. At that moment, there was only excitement and hope in her heart. She could finally see a hope of recovery for him!

    ------

    Elder Xuan drank from a gourd in his room. Ever since he became the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he could not be as degenerate as before. After all, he represented the highest level of Shrek Academy. However, he still liked his life of holding a gourd in one hand and a chicken drumstick in the other. However, he could now only do it within the confines of his room.

    However, no matter how much fine wine he drank these past few days, his mood could not get better. ¡°Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao, what has happened to you? How can I answer to Elder Mu after I die!? This child, really¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan could not voice his discontent in in public. After all, he had done what he did to save the person he loved. He did not know if he would have the courage to do so himself.

    At this point, Elder Xuan¡¯s dusky eyes narrowed. To him, it was as if the entire room had be brighter.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Elder Xuan asked in a low voice. A powerful energy pulsed from his body.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, it¡¯s me,¡± a clear voice replied. Instantly, Elder Xuan felt a warm spirit appear in his room. It did not dare to approach him, but instead stopped at his door. Then, a thinyer of purple started to spread and turned into a smiling face, which looked at him.

    ¡°Eh? This is?¡± Elder Xuan looked at the smiling face in shock. ¡°Yuhao? How, how did you do this?¡±

    Of course, who could the face be other than Huo Yuhao?

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°While my body is weak, I used some herbs that helped to increase my spiritual power when I was helping Dong¡¯er find her Yearning Heartbroken Grass. They allowed my spiritual power to increase exponentially. It is like my Spiritual Eyes has undergone a second evolution. This has allowed my spiritual power to reach the concrete-immaterial realm, and thus, I canmunicate with you from afar. This is a manifestation of my spiritual power. While I¡¯m not yet adept at wielding it, I¡¯m sure time will better it.¡±

    Elder Xuan looked at him dumbfounded and asked, ¡°How¡¯s your body? Your spiritual power can do this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get better.¡±

    Elder Xuan chucked his gourd to the side and said, ¡°I¡¯ll head over right now.¡± As he said that, he flew out of the door. In the blink of an eye, he was outside Huo Yuhao¡¯s room.

    When he looked at Elder Xuan, who was charging toward his room with a face of shock, Huo Yuhao smiled happily. His sessful experimentation told him that his spiritual power had truly reached a new level. It was no longer purely ¡®spiritual¡¯ like before. While it was still metaphysical, and could not attack like his soul power, he could do many things that he could not before.

    For example, his Spiritual Detection could be used formunication like what he had just done with Elder Xuan. At the same time, he felt that his Spiritual Detection¡¯s range was not bad. The Sea God¡¯s Ind was not too big, but its diameter was at least one kilometer. He could already see everything on the ind, as well as parts of Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    Through his Spiritual Detection Sharing, he originally could only use it to instruct others. Now, he could connect directly with the spiritual power of another person. Then, he couldmunicate intentions with the other party. Not only did this fulfil his role as a control-type soul master, but he could also seek others¡¯ opinions. While his body could not move, he could easily talk to anyone on Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Under his body¡¯s present condition, this was a piece of excellent news. With the recovery of his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao became clearer about the condition of his body. He was not afraid that he would not recover. Since he was alive, there must be a reason for it. With spiritual power, while he could not use it to attack anything in the world around him, he could use it to fuse with his soul power inside him and achieve terrifying results. This was an extremely intricate scalpel. Huo Yuhao understood that the only way to heal himself was through himself.

    ¡°Your spiritual power, Yuhao?¡± Elder Xuan looked at him with an indescribable expression in his eyes.

 Chapter 267.2: Working Hard For the Sake of Recovering

    As a ss 98 Transcendent Douluo who was only a step away from bing an Ultimate Douluo, Elder Xuan could do everything that Huo Yuhao had just done. While he was not a spirit-type soul master, he could also force his spiritual power to take a concrete shape. However, he could not let the manifestation of his spiritual power leave his field of view. If he did, he would lose control over it.

    In terms of spiritual power, Huo Yuhao could notpare to Elder Xuan. However, in terms of control of his spiritual power, as well as the quality of his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao had already surpassed him. While he did not know how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power would be if he used it for offense, he knew that Huo Yuhao was not permanently crippled. Furthermore, his spiritual power was still increasing!

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Metaphysical, it has more or less stabilized.¡±

    Elder Xuan asked him immediately, ¡°What about your Spirit Eyes? Have they improved, too?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Elder Xuan mumbled to himself, ¡°Second Awakening, this is the Second Awakening indeed! Your spiritual power could soon be the strongest on the entire continent. While some in the Body Sect have experienced a Second Awakening too, I can be sure that at your level, no one is more powerful than you. This is excellent. How are your wounds?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°My wounds are still problematic. However, I¡¯m confident. For the Academy, for the Tang Sect, for Dong¡¯er and I, I¡¯ll do my best to recover.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t rush it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I won¡¯t, don¡¯t worry. With Dong¡¯er apanying me, I¡¯m in no rush at all.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er gripped his hand lightly and smiled. She wished to take care of him forever. After this incident, their mindset toward their rtionship had experienced a huge change. Their understanding of love way surpassed that of their peers.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°How about this? You use your spiritual power toe up with a healing n for yourself. Elder Zhuang and I will monitor you as you heal yourself. In case something happens, we can at least keep you alive. This will give you a free hand in your own recuperation.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Huo Yuhao epted the offer readily. With two Transcendent Douluo helping his recovery, it would naturally be a lot safer. His condition wasplex indeed.

    Elder Xuan thought for a while, and then said, ¡°Furthermore, don¡¯t tell anyone about the second evolution of your body soul. For now, don¡¯t even tell the other members of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.¡±

    ¡°Is there a need for this secrecy?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°This is a secret weapon. Furthermore, after you have recovered, we need to talk about your punishment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. With a bitter expression, he said, ¡°There¡¯s punishment!?¡±

    Elder Xuan said angrily, ¡°Of course. If everyone behaved as recklessly as you, without a care for the rules, how could we run the Academy? I¡¯m informing you right now that you have been expelled from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. You can make up for your wrong with deeds of merit, and perhaps we¡¯ll consider re-instituting you as a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Furthermore, the rewards from your future research into spirits have been canceled. If you die outside, how can you answer to Elder Mu? You little bastard, you really piss me off.¡±

    Elder Xuan was angry indeed! How could he not be? Who exactly was Huo Yuhao? He was Elder Mu¡¯s designated sessor as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He had also been trained under the Ultimate Soldier n. However, in the face of his emotions, he had forgotten all his obligations and duties. He had risked his life to head to the Setting Sun Forest without even informing the school! It was a miracle that he had returned alive!

    If Huo Yuhao had died outside, the impact on Shrek Academy would have been immeasurable! The blow would have been akin to the entire Academy losing its hope for the future and direction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was filled with regret. He really had not been thinking straight at that point in time...

    ¡°Elder Xuan, don¡¯t be angry. I admit that I was wrong. I¡¯ll ept whatever punishment the Academy imposes on me, just don¡¯t expel me!...¡±

    Elder Xuan snorted coldly and said, ¡°Expulsion? Don¡¯t tempt me. Rest well for now. After youe up with a recovery n, inform me immediately. Elder Zhuang and I will help you.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao replied respectfully.

    ---

    Elder Xuan stomped out angrily. He only smiled slightly when he left the room. It was a weird smile as he mumbled to himself, ¡°A Second Awakening of the body soul and twin martial souls. Was there such a precedent on the continent? I don¡¯t think so. Records, records. Well done, little bastard, you almost made me die from anger...¡±

    ---

    As she watched Elder Xuan leave, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pretty eyes were apologetic. ¡°It¡¯s all because of me. Yuhao¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°What do you mean by that? It¡¯s my fault for not thinking it through. Actually, I enjoy my current life very much! I don¡¯t have to care about anything, I don¡¯t have to do anything, I don¡¯t have to cultivate. I can look at you every single day. This is a blissful life indeed. Come, my Goddess of Light, give me a kiss.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er could not stifle herughter as she said, ¡°You have interesting thoughts, indeed! Lie there and don¡¯t move ande up with your recovery n. When you¡¯re well, I¡¯ll let you kiss me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°As many times as I want?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned red, but when she saw his look of anticipation, she nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gleefully eximed, ¡°Great, then I shall start immediately. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be very, very careful. For my Dong¡¯er, I¡¯ll get well as fast as I can. Eh, wait for me, where should I kiss? Should I kiss your face, or should I kiss your¡­¡±

    ¡°Go away!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er blushed as she walked away.

    As he looked at how adorable she was, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face brimmed with joy. This was a blissful sentiment indeed. If not for the fact that he still had many things to do, it would be an awesome thing if he could just lie here and apany Dong¡¯er! After he finished with his stuff, he nned to travel the world with her. He wanted to see everything there was under the sky, eat all the tasty food there was, and have as many enjoyable experiences as possible. This was now his life¡¯s goal!

    ------

    With this excited mentality, Huo Yuhao started to examine his body once more. With his powerful spiritual energy, he first swept his body, and then examined it region-by-region.

    In his Spiritual Sea, he used his spiritual power to form a model of his body. In this model, he examined all theplicated passageways. For more serious areas, he represented them with deeper colors. For less serious areas, he used lighter colors.

    Howplicated were the passageways of a human? In spite of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, as well as his Sumeru and Mustard Seed Domain Purple Demon Eyes, he still took three whole days toplete this task.

    Then, he shared the model of his body with Elder Xuan and Elder Mu via Spiritual Sharing.

    When the two Transcendent Douluo saw theplete map of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body formed using his metaphysical spiritual power, they could not help but exim in awe. Neither of them could control their spiritual power at Huo Yuhao¡¯s level!

    Then, they used a week¡¯s time to determine the condition of all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways toe up with a recovery n. They considered every tiny detail to great lengths so as to minimize errors.

    After ten days of rest, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had recovered quite a bit. The power of his Life Gold was fully revealed. While his injuries were still there, his body brimmed with life. His self-recovery ability was back, and had started to absorb some of the extremely cold origin energy of heaven and earth. While its speed of absorption was slow, Huo Yuhao carefully observed that there was nothing he could not do. In two years, all of the origin energy of heaven and earth in his body, other than that trapped in his soul bones, would bepletely absorbed.

    Then, it would be a lot easier to heal himself.

    However, Huo Yuhao could not afford any dys. There were only twenty more days until the tournament. In twenty days¡¯ time, he had to recover all his battling abilities.

    Without Tang Ya and Bei Bei, there would be no him. One could say that the Tang Sect had made him. This time, they were fighting for the Tang Sect! How could Huo Yuhao miss it? While he did not say it, he was determined to recover. Only then could he head to the Sun Moon Empire with everyone else. He was not only the center of his team because of his understanding of the Sun Moon Empire, but also their hope for winning.

    Furthermore, if he waited a year, all of the problematic passageways in his body would have fully set. If he wanted to make a change then, it would be much more difficult.

    After his recovery n was finalized, Huo Yuhao started to act.

    His n was simple. He would start small before moving on to the more severe injuries. He would be in charge of the initial stages of his recovery.

    After a careful analysis, Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan, and Elder Mu discovered that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body could be split into three different conditions. Some parts of his body were intact, some parts of it were slightly injured, and some parts of it were severely messed up and badly injured.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao had to first heal his lighter injuries before progressing to the more serious ones.

    His legs and head were perfect. These three parts of his body werepletely uninjured. His hands were slightly injured, as were the passageways in his shoulders. The most problematic part of his body was his torso. That was where the problemsy.

 Chapter 267.3: Working Hard For the Sake of Recovering

    Hence, Huo Yuhao started with the recovery of his hands first.

    He distributed his soul power inside himself, concentrating it on his dantian. Huo Yuhao felt the Extreme Chill Icespring origin energy of heaven and earth brought by the Snow Empress. His cultivation had been reduced to three rings, which meant that he could only use the energy of three rings in battle. But he was still a soul king!

    Huo Yuhao first started to open up the meridians of his lower limbs.

    His powerful spiritual energy slowly entered his dantian and intermingled with his soul power. As his torso passageways were blocked, his soul power had not been able to undergo circr cultivation for a long time, causing them to appear sluggish. However, as Huo Yuhao directed his cultivation, his foundation was strong, and under the guidance of his spiritual energy, it slowly came back to life.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s methodology was simple. First, he allowed his soul power to enter his legs, which helped to gradually open up the rigid passageways in his legs. Then, he made it do a simple cirction from his legs to his central meridians. This cirction allowed his soul power toe back to life.

    While this could not increase his level of cultivation and was not helpful to his absorption of the origin energy of heaven and earth, this allowed his soul power to circte non-stop. Soon, his legs regained their feeling

    After an entire day¡¯s worth of cirction, Huo Yuhao could slowly and awkwardly raise his two legs. Wang Dong¡¯er was so happy that she wept. At the very least, his legs could move! Every energy field in his lower limbs regained its feeling.

    This was only the first day of recovery, and he had already obtained such good results. This made Elder Xuan, Elder Mu, and Wang Dong¡¯er extremely happy.

    Through the cirction of his soul power, Huo Yuhao slowly withdrew the soul power in his legs, and thenbined them with the soul power in his meridians. This allowed him to control more than two-thirds of his soul power.

    Of course, he could not use his soul power straightaway. His passageways were battered by both the extreme chill of the origin energy of heaven and earth and the extreme heat of the zing Sunspring. They were already weak and messed up. All Huo Yuhao was trying to do was establish a foundation in his own body.

    He next started treatment of his arms.

    The passageways in his arms had been moderately injured due to the burns on his hands. Even after some self-recovery, they were still chaotic.

    Inparison, the soul power in his arms could not bepared to that of his dantian. It could not evenpare to his legs. However, Huo Yuhao had one advantage, which was the advantage of the soul bones in his arms. His left arm had the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, and his right arm had the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear''s Right Palm Bone.

    With these two soul bones, while the flesh and skin of his hands were severely injured, the bones in his hands were safe. If not, if his bones had melted, he would have be a true cripple.

    It was not easy to open his meridians and remodel them. Actually, it was a very painful thing to do. However, at this point, Huo Yuhao was not fighting alone.

    They had aplete n for what to do. Under Elder Zhuang¡¯s assistance, Huo Yuhao forced open every single meridian. As blood spurted from his hands and countless wounds appeared, he was able to force them back into their original positions and fuse with his body once more.

    After this was done, Elder Zhuang used his powerful healing soul skills to help Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands recover their vital energy. Then, the elder sent the blood back into his body.

    The pain Huo Yuhao experienced throughout this process was nothing. In only a day¡¯s time, he was able to move his hands again, although, due to the interference from his torso¡¯s damaged nerves, his arms were unable to move for now.

    The start was good. However, what came next was more worrisome.

    ording to the n, the next step was also the most crucial step. They had to first expel the Fire Poison left in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body by the zing Sunspring. Only then could he start the next step of his recovery. Otherwise, if the Fire Poison, which was close to his heart, suddenly kicked in, Huo Yuhao would die.

    How would he take it out?

    They would open his chest to take the poison out.

    ------

    ¡°Yuhao, are you ready?¡± Elder Zhuang asked.

    It was morning, and Wang Dong¡¯er helped Huo Yuhao clean his body. He theny supine on his bed. When she was washing him, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands could not stop trembling. No matter what he said, she could not be mollified.

    The operation today was too important. If it seeded, Huo Yuhao would make aplete recovery. If it failed¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at Elder Zhuang while smiling slightly at Elder Xuan and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Elder Zhuang said, ¡°There can be no error. If there is, you will die.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°There will be no error. I¡¯m sturdy, and I won¡¯t die so easily. Elder Zhuang, Elder Xuan, don¡¯t worry. Get ready to start. Snow Lady!¡±

    At hismand, a ray of orange light appeared from his forehead. Was that not the Snow Lady?

    The Snow Lady was differentpared to before. Initially, she had resembled an infant, but now she had grown up visibly. She looked like a girl who was over two years old. The only thing that remained unchanged were her deep blue eyes.

    ¡°Eeeyaaa! Dad, dad¡­¡± the Snow Lady cried out, shocking everyone.

    She, she could talk, in human speech!

    Huo Yuhao said in surprise, ¡°Snow Lady, you can talk?¡±

    Snow Lady pointed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and said seriously, ¡°Dad, dad, pain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head and said, ¡°Daddy is not in pain. I¡¯ll get better soon. In a while, it¡¯ll all depend on you.¡±

    The Snow Lady nodded her head vigorously and said, ¡°Dad¡­ Dad, no pain, no fear.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Get ready, I¡¯ll guide you.¡±

    The Snow Lady opened her eyes wider and gently nodded her head.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned purple. Ayer of purplish-gold light appeared,pletely enveloping the Snow Lady.

    The Fire Poison from the zing Sunspring was an extreme form of me. To heal it, one would need a very powerful form of ice to protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Furthermore, only a powerful type of ice could draw out the Fire Poison. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was mostly in his torso, and hence, he could not use it. The only way to do so was through the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady floated next to the bed and knelt down next to Huo Yuhao. With her small hand, she slowly touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s bare chest.

    One could see that the center of Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest, particrly the area near his heart, was dark red. The air above this dark red patch of skin twisted and turned.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s left hand was pressed at the location between the dark red skin and Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. The moment her hand touched it, a faint mist appeared. The temperature of the air around it fluctuated quickly. Cold and heat interchanged with each other, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned red and white.

    Everyone held their breath. This moment was too important. Due to the extreme nature of the elements involved, no one could save Huo Yuhao but himself.

    The Snow Lady slowly raised her right hand. A transparent, icy-cold dagger formed in her hand. Its tip was razor-sharp, and it was pointed straight at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Wang Dong¡¯er turned her head away, not daring to look anymore. She clutched her fists tightly and in her mind, all she could think about was how she was responsible for it. Yuhao, Yuhao, you have to live!

    The Snow Lady did not make everyone wait long. Everything was calcted with precision by Huo Yuhao.

    The dagger came down.

    Pu-! The dagger pierced into Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Under the guidance of the Ultimate Ice, the Fire Poison in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body spurted out immediately. A wound about the size of a fist burst open on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. zing hot blood spurted out.

    Elder Xuan and Elder Zhuang were prepared. With his right hand, Elder Xuan was able to direct the ball of burning-hot blood away from the Snow Lady and into a clear blue bottle.

    Elder Zhuang¡¯s hands trembled, and an emerald-green halo surrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. An immensely powerful life energy started to rise, and the energy in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body began to increase exponentially along with it.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s left hand, which was ced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest, started to tremble violently. Most of the Poison was extracted, but some of it became active and rushed toward his heart.

    The activation at this moment had been too intense. Even though Huo Yuhao had been prepared, he still felt an intense heat rising in his heart.

    His biggest problem now was that his Ultimate Ice could not protect him. All he could do was rely on the Snow Lady¡¯s power. This was the most dangerous moment. Once the Fire Poison broke through her defenses, he was a goner.

    At this moment, ayer of emerald-green light started to rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The light was concentrated on a few ribs near Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. The intense Ultimate Ice energy was channeled outward in unison with the Snow Lady¡¯s power. Together, they expelled the Fire Poison from his body.

    After the incident in the Setting Sun Forest, Huo Yuhao had matured. He also did things more seriously. Like he had said, he would not allow an ident. This was because he still had a trump card, which was the million-year soul ring from the Skydream Iceworm.

    Under the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s guidance, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s Ultimate Ice power was thest line of defense. It was able to protect his heart perfectly. At that moment, the extreme chill caused the cirction of blood in his heart to fall to one-tenth of its normal pace, turning Huo Yuhao¡¯s face white. However, the Fire Poison had been expelled.

    While the Fire Poison had been expelled, it was now up to Elder Zhuang to control Huo Yuhao¡¯s massive outflow of blood.

 Chapter 268.1: One Hand

    Elder Zhuang calmly reached out with both hands. Ayer of emerald-green light instantly blocked the fist-sized hole in Yuhao¡¯s chest. Following that, Elder Zhuang¡¯s hands started to move in an orderly manner. One could see countless tiny strands of green light as thin as strands of hair piercing Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    He was deft indeed, the countless strands of green light vibrated non-stop. The wound on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest recovered at an astonishing pace. Not only that, but the meridians around the Fire Poison returned to their original positions in a neat and orderly manner.

    Elder Xuan walked to the side of the bed and pressed down on a particr spot on Huo Yuhao¡¯s abdomen with two hands. A gentle soul power came from his palms and entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, enveloping his internal organs. Only then did Elder Xuan nod slightly at Elder Zhuang.

    Elder Zhuang intoned, ¡°Return to your positions!¡±

    The two elders acted together. The soul power Elder Xuan released vibrated slightly, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body trembled violently. He spat out a mouthful of purplish-red blood.

    The Snow Lady raised her right hand, and a ray of dark-blue light shot out. Instantly, the blood froze into an ice cube, which she held on to.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s hands remained where they were, while Elder Zhuang started to hit Huo Yuhao¡¯s body rapidly with his palms.

    The two elders worked together. Elder Xuan protected Huo Yuhao¡¯s internal organs, while Elder Zhuang helped get his passageways back in order. Throughout this entire process, not only did Huo Yuhao have to endure great pain, but he also had to use his Spiritual Detection to assist the elders in finding the right spots.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had turned around by now. She stood near Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Her beautiful eyes were icy as she continually used a towel to wipe away the filthy blood that came out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth and nose. To calm herself, she appeared to have sealed off her feelings. If not, she probably would not have been able to endure the emotional pain.

    The entire process did not take very long, only around three minutes. However, to the four of them, these three minutes felt like a year!

    Finally, Elder Zhuang stopped. With onest stroke, he let his hands sweep Huo Yuhao¡¯s body from his shoulders all the way to his abdomen. A powerful vital energy reverberated through his body and then slowly rose up through his body from his guts, following the motion of Elder Zhuang¡¯s hands.

    A massive amount of filthy blood spurted out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. This was the clotted blood in his body. Elder Zhuang had just expelled it from him.

    Now, Elder Zhuang¡¯s hands were back on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders. Both he and Elder Xuan sighed in relief. Color seemed to be seeping back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Elder Zhuang¡¯s head steamed. The treatment just now had drained him, too. While the entire process did not require a lot of soul power, it was still extremely stressful for him. He had to organize all of the chaotic passageways in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, ce his organs back into position, and expel his clogged blood.

    This process had to bepleted quickly, as Huo Yuhao might not be able to withstand it. If that happened, his efforts would have been wasted. Furthermore, the longer it took, the more blood Huo Yuhao would lose.

    Huo Yuhao panted and took in great gasps of air. His chest, which had showed no real movement in the past twenty days, started to rise and fall gently.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had already used up many towels. She did not let a single drop of filthy blood stain his body.

    Elder Zhuang turned to look at Elder Xuan and nodded slightly.

    Elder Xuan withdrew his soul power. However, the two elders looked at Huo Yuhao anxiously.

    Now that his organs were back in position and his main passageways had been cleared, the important thing was whether Huo Yuhao¡¯s body could rebuild its circtory system. This included the cirction of his blood and soul power, and whether he could control their cirction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale-white face forced a smile. He had no energy to talk, and his entire body was covered with a denseyer of sweat. His body was wracked with excruciating pain.

    At this moment, the most important issue had been resolved. However, the ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth was still in his body. His own soul power, other than what was below his dantian, was still in a state of chaos. Furthermore, there were countless passageways in his body. Elder Zhuang had only helped him clear up the most important ones. As for the rest, he had to do it himself.

    When he saw that trace of a smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, Elder Xuan finally exhaled in relief. This guy¡¯s life is safe. He will now enter a normal recovery phase.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. He knew that this was not the time for him to rest. His organs and passageways had just returned to their original positions. The vast ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth in his body had finally came under control thanks to Elder Zhuang¡¯s soul energy. If he could not exert control over it immediately, his internal situation would surely regress after a night¡¯s rest. No one knew how long it would then take for his passageways to clear up.

    Thus, Huo Yuhao did not care how weak his passageways were, he immediately tried to connect his spiritual power with the soul power in his dantian. Then, he forced his soul power to circte through his body. He wanted to regain autonomy of his body, so he had to allow his soul energy to flow through his body. Only then could he suppress the origin energy present within him.

    This was a painful process. As his soul energy rose in his body, he had to endure a pain that was akin to being pierced by ten thousand needles. Even more beads of sweat dripped from his body. The mattress underneath him was almostpletely soaked.

    Wang Dong¡¯er continually wiped him down with towels. Elder Zhuang and Elder Xuan observed him carefully from the side.

    A look of admiration slowly appeared in Elder Zhuang¡¯s eyes. He turned to look at Elder Xuan and nodded, saying, ¡°No wonder Elder Mu chose this child. Among all the soul masters I¡¯ve seen, he has the strongest will. He can bear such intense pain, and he did not utter a single word throughout the entire treatment. What ad!¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded too, and said, ¡°Looking at him now makes me relieved. He really is like an indestructible cockroach. As long as he can recover, he¡¯ll be even stronger than before. The origin energy in his body is vast, indeed. If he can absorb all of it, it¡¯ll surely aid his cultivation in the future. For a soul master with an Ultimate soul, this increase would be as fast as a rocket. It seems like he is growing up much faster than we had expected.¡±

    Elder Zhuang chortled, ¡°Just don¡¯t force him to grow up quicker than usual. For him, we should protect him well. He¡¯s our hope for the future! As long as the Academy has him, we have nothing to worry about for the next hundred years.¡±

    Elder Xuan snorted, ¡°If this bastard gives me any more problems in the future, I¡¯ll tie him to the main pir of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion so that he can¡¯t run anywhere.¡± After he said that, he could not help butugh too. Indeed, the deeper the love, the stricter the treatment!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power slowly rose through his body, and his passageways slowly opened up. Under his careful guidance, which was derived from his control over his spiritual power, he inserted the origin energy of Ultimate Ice into his legs as he continued to let his soul power rise through his body.

    Even the naked eye could see that icy-blue energy creeping over his legs. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled slightly, but he was now sweating much less. His legs experienced the greatest change. Whenever sweat appeared, it would freeze over.

    As Huo Yuhao came up with his recovery n, he came to a difficult decision after much analysis. The ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth in his body was way too powerful, to the point where his soul power could not operate as usual with its presence. All his soul power could do was circte through his body at a sluggish pace. Even if his body made aplete recovery, his cultivation would only be at the level of a three-ringed soul master. This was uneptable.

    Even though he was severely injured, he still cared about the tournament. As the main yer of his team, how could he not take part? Hence, he thought of a n, which was to send all the origin energy of heaven and earth into his legs.

    In the human body, the legs took up the greatest space. Blood flowed easily there. Inparison, the most important area for the cirction of soul energy was the torso. By forcing the origin energy of Ultimate Ice into his legs, it was akin to turning his legs into a storage space as hepressed the origin energy into them. Doing so would allow his soul power to circte through the upper half of his body. ording to his estimate, as well as the two elders¡¯ calctions, he could recover up to 70-80% of his cultivation. This would be enough for him to enter the tournament. Furthermore, the normal flow of his soul power would make it easier for him to absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth. It would be absorbed more quickly. This was the most optimal treatment possible.

    However, it was not without its problems. The main problem was that the only way to store the ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth was for him to fill his legs with it. Huo Yuhao would lose control over his legs. Before he could fully absorb the energy, he would not be able to walk or move his legs at all.

    Temporarily, he would be a cripple. Furthermore, the origin energy of Ultimate Ice was noughing matter. If he could not absorb it in time, he might lose control of his legs forever!

    The elders had not wanted him to do this at first. Instead, they had wanted to slowly let his soul power circte through his entire body, which would be a more stable but slower way to absorb the origin energy. It was less risky, and while Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation would drop by quite a bit, it would not affect his body.

    However, doing so would take him a few months to recoverpletely, as he would need to adapt to the origin energy. After his injury, the recovery of his passageways would also be affected by the presence of the origin energy. He would recover much slower, which meant that he would miss the uing tournament!

 Chapter 268.2: One Hand

    Chapter 268.2: One Hand

    Huo Yuhao thus chose his path without any hesitation. He had to take part in the tournament. The only way to do that was to ensure the upper half of his body would not suffer any interference from the origin energy of Ultimate Ice. Only then could he make a swift recovery and take part in the tournament. So what if he could not walk? He believed that with his abilities, he could still y a part!

    What shocked Elder Xuan and Elder Zhuang was the fact that Wang Dong¡¯er did not try to stop him. She said that she would not go against any of his decisions. Her mindset was simple. After this incident, Huo Yuhao and her were one. If Huo Yuhao was fine, then she would be fine. Whatever happened to him, she would apany him. Furthermore, she understood his personality too well. If he did not take part in this tournament, he would regret it for the rest of his life. This was not something that Wang Dong¡¯er wanted to see. Huo Yuhao also promised her that after the tournament, he would retrieve the origin energy of heaven and earth from his legs and let it dissipate through his body. There should be no problem with just storing it there for a few months.

    Atst, Elder Xuan agreed.

    The origin energy of Ultimate Ice flowed continually into his legs. As the soul power from Huo Yuhao¡¯s dantian rose, it soon spread throughout his body, and he could move the origin energy even more quickly. After all, the origin energy was an object without consciousness. Coupled with the fact that Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was Ultimate Ice, it was still possible for him to manipte it.

    After a few minutes passed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs became stranger and stranger. Initially, they were pale-white. Then, they turned light blue. This shade of blue darkened continuously, until finally, they turned dark blue.

    However, at this moment, Huo Yuhao frowned.

    ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Elder Xuan asked in a low voice.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t insert anymore. The passageways in my legs cannot take anymore. There would beplications.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Elder Xuan asked in shock.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Not much, our estimate was correct. Initially, my legs should have been able to take thepressed origin energy of heaven and earth. However, here¡¯s the problem. As I move the origin energy of heaven and earth toward my legs, the part that is in my torso has started to spill out as well. Originally, it was suppressed within my soul bones, but now, some of it has flowed out. My legs can¡¯t take this extra soul power. Furthermore, this origin energy has been dissipated into my most important passageways, and it¡¯ll severely affect my recovery.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°What can we do? If you can¡¯t take it anymore, you should stop. Take your time to recover, and don¡¯t fret so much about thepetition.¡±

    ¡°No, I have to represent the Tang Sect.¡± Huo Yuhao said with certainty. Then, he closed his eyes once more, and he could clearly see that underneath his skin, strands of blue energy were flowing toward his left arm. Since my legs can¡¯t take anymore, I shall give up an arm. The reason why he chose his left arm over his right was because the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone was in his left arm. It would help inpressing and absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth.

    Wang Dong¡¯er covered her face with her hands. She clearly knew that like this, Huo Yuhao could only move his head, his right arm, and his torso! He was like a cripple who had lost three of his limbs. All of this was because of her!

    This time, there was no problem. As all the blue energy flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s left arm, his left arm turned light blue. While it was not as terrifying as his legs, ity t on the bed, unmoving. It looked like it was dead.

    He exhaled and tiredly opened his eyes. He looked at Elder Xuan, Elder Mu, and Wang Dong¡¯er, whose tears clouded her eyes. He forced a smile and said, ¡°See, I seeded. Soon, I¡¯ll make aplete recovery.¡±

    As his soul power flowed through his body, it was able toplete a minor cirction. While he could not make a major cirction without his legs and left arm, this minor cirction allowed him to recover 70% of his cultivation. His chest, where Elder Zhuang had healed his passageways with his soul power and which was nourished by the life energy from the Life Gold, was recovering at an astonishing pace. What he needed to do next was open up all the blocked passageways in his body. This would allow him to regain even more of his cultivation, and feel better.

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao pressed down on the bed with his right hand and struggled to get up. Wang Dong¡¯er rushed over to help him. He shook his head, insisting that he could get up by himself.

    This action, which was nothing to him in the past, now became exceedingly difficult. As he forced his body up bit-by-bit, the huge wound on his chest remained. There was now ayer of blood on its surface.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll represent the Tang Sect in the tournament!¡±

    Elder Xuan huffed and said angrily, ¡°You little bastard!¡± He sighed and turned away.

    Elder Zhuang smiled slightly and said, ¡°Rest well. If you want to take part in the tournament, you must recover. Remember to massage your legs every day. Even though they can¡¯t move, you have to make the origin energy inside them move. This will keep your body supple. Fortunately, it was Ultimate Ice, and not Ultimate Fire. If not, your passageways would have been long gone. Ultimate Ice has preservative properties. A conservative estimate states that your legs will be fine for the next half year. After half a year, no one knows what will happen. Whatever happens, remember that you can¡¯t let it drag on for more than a year. If not, there¡¯ll be huge problems, understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao replied respectfully.

    Elder Zhuang reminded him a few more times before leaving. This treatment had given him much inspiration. For such a special case like Huo Yuhao, he had to quickly record it so that he coulde up with better treatment ns in the future. While three of Huo Yuhao¡¯s limbs could not move, this treatment could still be said to be perfect. At the very least, Huo Yuhao¡¯s life was no longer in danger.

    As she sent Elder Zhuang out, Wang Dong¡¯er asked carefully if there was anything she had to take note of while caring for him. Only then did she return to the room. The moment she entered, she could not help but dash to the side of the bed and jump into his embrace.

    Huo Yuhao used his only movable hand, which was still trembling, to hold her by her slim waist.

    ¡°Silly girl, can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m better now? You should be happy! Don¡¯t cry, this is all thanks to your meticulous care. However, you¡¯ve gotten skinnier. Look at you, you¡¯re a bag of bones. You must stay healthy so that you can care for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er agreed non-stop. However, tears flowed down her cheeks like a broken ne of pearls.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, can I exin something about Qiu¡¯er to you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked. He felt that he should tell Dong¡¯er some things. For example, the fact that they could fuse their martial souls. This would prevent a future misunderstanding from arising.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head vigorously. From his embrace, she sat up and looked at him. They were only inches apart. She said tearfully, ¡°Yuhao, I don¡¯t want to or need to hear any exnation. After today, no matter what happens, I¡¯ll trust youpletely. You¡¯ve already proven to me that you are the one who loves me more than anyone else in the world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could not help butugh. ¡°Saying that will make your parents sad.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°It¡¯s different, how can parental lovepare with how you treat me¡­? Furthermore, after so many years, they have never visited me once.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly changed the topic as he said, ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t cry. Help mey down to rest.¡± The entire treatment had been a test of his will. Had it been anyone else, they would have gone crazy from the pain. However, Huo Yuhao endured it all. Still, he was drained from the whole ordeal.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er helped himy down.

    ------

    From that day on, Huo Yuhao¡¯s recovery was well on-track. With Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help, he spent another three days opening all the blocked passageways in his body. Then, he started to regain his bodily functions. Once the other five of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters learned that he could take part in thepetition, they were all overjoyed. With Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er back, they were truly the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters!

    A wooden wheelchair, made entirely from the Golden Tree, was delivered to Huo Yuhao by Elder Xuan. While Elder Xuan still wore an unpleasant face on his face, and he showed no sign of forgiveness toward Huo Yuhao, thetter still remembered his care and concern for him.

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament drew closer¡­

    ------

    The Tang Sect Conference Hall...

    Led by Bei Bei, the other members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters reached the ce. Other than the seven of them, Xuan Ziwen, who was now the Vice Sect Leader and in charge of soul tool research, Mo Xuan, and Na Na, who was a closebat soul engineer who possessed the Netherworld martial soul, were there too, along with Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and the higher echelons of the Tang Sect.

    The entry of Xuan Ziwen allowed the Tang Sect to develop rapidly, particrly since the Sect was supported by Shrek Academy. Every week, the Soul Tool Department students of Shrek had three days of lessons with the Tang Sect. In the Tang Sect, they were led and supervised by Xuan Ziwen. The underground factory of the Tang Sect hadmenced construction. It was huge, and modeled after the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    The rapid development of the Tang Sect meant that many of its facilities could not keep up, particrly since it was small. Xuan Ziwen proposed an idea, and the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters and Shrek Academy discussed it before they finally agreed to build a huge underground soul tool factory.

    While Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department was expanding, their priority was still teaching. Hence, there was no way they could keep everything secret. Some high-level soul tools could not be manufactured there.

 Chapter 268.3: One Hand

    Shrek Academy decided to help the Tang Sectplete their secret factory after a discussion in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. After all, the Tang Sect was located within Shrek City, like the factory. Its significance to the future development of the Academy could not be understated.

    After a few rounds of discussion, Shrek Academy decided to devote money, manpower, and logistics to thepletion of the underground factory. At the same time, Shrek Academy also bought 49% of the Tang Sect¡¯s shares. This meant that whatever profit the Tang Sect made in the future, 49% of it would go to Shrek Academy. However, the right to choose was still with them. Of course, as the Tang Sect¡¯s biggest shareholder, Shrek Academy would send someone to listen whenever the Tang Sect made an important decision. At the same time, someone from the Tang Sect would also be present at conferences held within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Originally, Bei Bei had nned to use this opportunity to let Huo Yuhao resume his ce in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, Huo Yuhao hinted strongly to Bei Bei that he was against this n.

    The reason for his rejection was simple. He was confident that he could regain his ce in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion through his own merit. For the Tang Sect, this would mean that they would have two representatives at the conference table! Was that not a better thing?

    Atst, Bei Bei was chosen as the representative to take part in the conferences in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were linked intimately, just like that.

    The underground factory was massive. Initially, the construction of the Illustrious Virtue Hall took almost ten years toplete. If the underground factory of the Tang Sect took ten years, it would be too long.

    At this time, the power of Shrek Academy was revealed, shocking even Xuan Ziwen.

    Shrek Academy sent 20 more people to assist with the construction. With the inclusion of this group, Xuan Ziwen was stunned on the day he met them. It was then that he discovered the difference between a soul engineer and a soul master.

    The 20 people sent by Shrek Academy were led by Elder Xuan. They were all earth-type soul masters. Following that, Elder Xuan showed Xuan Ziwen the terrifying might of the Godly Taotie Bull.

    In only one day, a huge underground cavern was excavated by Elder Xuan using his impressive power. Furthermore, he did not actually dig up the ground to be moved elsewhere. All of the soil waspressed into the walls of the hole with his soul power. This caused the cavern to be extremely sturdy, with very strong walls.

    One must know that the process of excavating a cavern was immensely difficult. When the Illustrious Virtue Hall was first built, not only did the builders have to consider the underground situation, but its builders were all ordinary mortals, and they were in no rush for time. Hence, they took nearly half a year to excavate it. Then, they still had to fortify its walls. This took almost another year. Yet Elder Xuan only took a single day to do all of this himself. Once done, Elder Xuan handed the other earth-type soul masters over to Xuan Ziwen as he went off to drink more wine.

    Among these earth-type soul masters with martial souls, three of them were Titled Douluo, six of them were Soul Douluo, and the rest were all at least Soul Emperors. Some of them were teachers, and some of them were students of the inner courtyard. Between them, they only needed twenty days before the Tang Sect¡¯s underground factory waspleted! This included venttion, water supply, and other basic infrastructure. Now, they only had to deal with the instation of soulmps

    What came next was much more difficult. The crucial thing was the construction of the various types of soul tools. This was a huge engineering feat. However, with thepletion of the structure, all they needed to do was manufacture the various soul tools, and the underground factory could start operations. All the auxiliary-type soul tools of the Tang Sect were moved underground.

    Just when Xuan Ziwen was about to draw out the design of the various soul tools from memory, Huo Yuhao, whose body had recovered, came to him, bringing a huge stack of papers.

    While Xuan Ziwen was the top researcher of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, there was no way he could possibly know the construction details of all soul tools. After all, every single soul tool required a lot of research and experimentation before it could bepleted. ording to his original n, he would need at least three to five years toplete his research and development of these auxiliary-type soul tools. This was under the condition that he remembered more than a third of the diagrams for these auxiliary-type soul tools.

    However, Huo Yuhao gave him a huge surprise. When he saw all those extremely detailed diagrams of auxiliary-type soul tools, this super-intelligent ss 8 soul engineer looked at Huo Yuhao with his mouth wide open. After a long moment of disbelief, he said, ¡°Now I know what you learned during your exchange...¡±

    With help from all corners, Xuan Ziwen vowed that in a single year, he would get the underground factory up and moving. In three years¡¯ time, it would reach the level of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Of course, this was under the condition that he had enough resources.

    Huo Yuhao brought all the precious metals he had acquired to Xuan Ziwen. At the same time, the vast riches of Shrek City came into effect. The few businesses controlled by Shrek Academy in Shrek City devoted all their resources to the underground factory. A huge amount of precious metals were bought from each corner of the continent. As a result, over the next few months the prices of precious metals on the continent increased by ten percent!

    ---

    Of course, all this was a side-thought to the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, because they would soon leave for the tournament. The conference right now was theirst before the tournament.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, we¡¯ll leave the underground factory to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xuan Ziwen replied. His head was lowered, and no one knew what he was thinking. Huo Yuhao, who was sitting next to him, could see that Teacher Xuan¡¯s eyes were fire-red and slightly bloodshot. A new Illustrious Virtue Hall would be re-created, with him at its helm. Initially, when this idea was first proposed, Xuan Ziwen was so excited he almost leapt into the air. To a soul engineer, what was more important than making soul tools? Just for this chance, he promised to lecture once a week at Shrek Academy. At this time, he was probably thinking of a way toe up with new diagrams for soul tools.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow. The seven of us will go, along with Na Na. Hence, eight of us will be setting out. Brother Ji, Brother Mo, Sister Ziyan, please guard the Tang Sect. A new batch of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons will be installed in Shrek City. Other than stationary soul cannons, we¡¯ll stop manufacturing other types of soul tools so we can allow for the construction of the factory. We¡¯ll be back in six weeks at the least, and two months at the most. Hence, I trust everyone here to manage the sect in our absence.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Just as Bei Bei finished speaking, there was opposition. The speaker was Jing Ziyan.

    ¡°Sister Ziyan, what problem do you have?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Jing Ziyan looked at Ji Juechen, who was by her side, and said, ¡°We want to go to the tournament too.¡±

    Bei Bei was stunned as he said, ¡°However, aren¡¯t you above the age limit?¡± Both Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen were more than 20 years old, which was the tournament¡¯s age limit.

    Jing Ziyan snorted and said, ¡°So what? There will be many soul masters gathered there. Furthermore, we are both familiar with Radiant City. If we go, we can help you out with some things, and even protect you!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Protect us? I think the two of you are going there to cause trouble.¡± He knew them too well. If they went to Radiant City, they would look for people to fight to improve themselves.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s face turned red, and she said, ¡°So what? It¡¯s such a good chance, we won¡¯t miss it. Furthermore, look at yourself. You need someone to push your wheelchair, right?¡±

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll do it,¡± Ji Juechen said in a straightforward manner. His eyes revealed his determination to everyone.

    The two of them had given Bei Bei a lot of trouble. Since they had joined the Tang Sect, there was not a single moment when they were idle. Sometimes they would be looking for a challenge, and at other times, they would be trying to spar. Everyone tried to hide from them, especially Ji Juechen. As his sword intent became more powerful, even Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi found it hard to beat him.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer scared of the two of them. With his current condition, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan would not fight him!

    Huo Yuhao looked at Bei Bei, who thought for a while, and then said, ¡°Alright, the two of you can follow us. However, I need to make some things clear. The two of you can¡¯t just spend all your time looking for fights. I hope that you two can shoulder the responsibility of looking after Yuhao. His body now faces severe limitations, so I¡¯ll need the two of you to look after him.¡±

    Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan nodded.

    Bei Bei thought it through in a short span of time. If the two of them stayed, there would be no one for them to spar with. They might run over to the Academy and cause trouble. They would be like ticking time-bombs if they were left behind, so it was better to bring them along.

    This time, no teacher was apanying them. They would be doing this by themselves. Shrek Academy could not send powerful soul masters to apany them, and could only let the teacher in charge of the Shrek team protect them discreetly. With Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan, the strength of the team increased. As long as they did not meet Titled Douluo, they should be safe.

    ------

    Shrek Academy, Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Inner Courtyard.

    Boom!

    A golden light shed past like a dragon turning itself mid-flight. It sted Dai Huabin straight-on.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er retrieved her Golden Dragon Spear and stared harshly at him as she said, ¡°With your current condition, you want to beat Huo Yuhao? Even with one hand, he can still take care of you.¡±

    Dai Huabin grit his teeth and climbed up from the ground. There was no rage in his eyes, only pure determination. He roared, ¡°Once more!¡±

 Chapter 269.1: Powerful Spiritual Power

    As he said that, he activated his soul skill once more as he rushed toward Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    It was not just him who was present. Other than Ning Tian, the other team members of Shrek Academy¡¯s team, which included Wu Feng, Xie Xuanyue, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Zhu Lu, were all injured.

    After Wang Qiu¡¯er had returned, Shrek Academy started to conduct special training for this bunch. Since they had no teacher, Wang Qiu¡¯er had be their demonic training instructor over the first few days. Her method was simple and violent; they fought.

    One-on-one sparring, and then, team matches.

    At the start, many of them were unwilling to listen to her. However, after Wang Qiu¡¯er was able to defeat the entire team by herself, they were all convinced.

    In two months, under Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leadership, everyone¡¯sbat ability increased exponentially. In particr, their will to fight had been greatly strengthened. Among them, Dai Huabin and Wu Feng showed the greatest increase. The two of them had a single-minded obsession with Huo Yuhao, and hence, Wang Qiu¡¯er continually used Huo Yuhao to stimte them. She even told them that Huo Yuhao was paralyzed because of his ident, but even so, he only needed one hand, and just one hand, to thrash them. Wu Feng and Dai Huabin were naturally provoked by this statement. They did not believe it!

    Then, they were defeated by Wang Qiu¡¯er, who stood still and used only one hand. From that moment, the two of them started to train like crazy. They seemed to experience no fatigue. Under such torturous training, their cultivation improved tremendously, and they showed improvements in every aspect.

    It was almost time to leave. While they knew that in the face of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, their hopes of victory were still slim, they had undergone two months of hellish training under Wang Qiu¡¯er. This made them much more resilient and determined to fight.

    After she defeated Dai Huabin once more, Wang Qiu¡¯er put away her Golden Dragon Spear and said in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s all for today. Go back and rest, we¡¯ll set off tomorrow.¡±

    When she said that, everyone could not help but sigh in relief. Dai Huabin, whoy on the ground, was gulping in big breaths of air. His body ached all over. However, he still felt a sense of aplishment. He forced himself off the ground and looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s disappearing form. An intensely hot light shed in his eyes.

    ¡°Elder sister, wait,¡± Zhou Sichen said as he ran after Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped, turned her head and looked at him and said, ¡°What?¡±

    Zhou Sichen giggled, ¡°Elder sister, are we leaving with our ss monitor¡¯s team?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face turned cold, and she said, ¡°Do you want to leave with them?¡±

    Zhou Sichen coughed. His perceptive abilities were strong. He instantly felt that there was something amiss about Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s emotions, and he hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, I¡¯m just asking casually. I heard that Huo Yuhao has been severely injured. We want to visit him, but the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is off-limits to us!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted coldly, ¡°He is he, and we are we. We¡¯ll go by ourselves.¡±

    After she said that, she turned to leave without turning her head.

    When he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s disappearing form, Zhou Sichen could not help but feel slightly depressed. In the past few days, whenever they mentioned anything about Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu¡¯er would be extremely temperamental. No one knew why, or what the rtionship between their ss monitor and her was!

    After two months of hell, they both feared and respected Wang Qiu¡¯er. With her powerful skills and abilities, she hadpletely dominated them. However, this elder sister of theirs was too ferocious. Every day, they had to undergo countless torturous training sessions under her. Wang Qiu¡¯er did not show mercy at all! Once, her Golden Dragon Spear had pierced through Dai Huabin¡¯s thigh. Fortunately, he received timely medical treatment, which prevented it from worsening. Of course, they did not know that Wang Qiu¡¯er did not use the terrifying life-absorption skill of the Golden Dragon Spear. If not, that blow would have almost killed him.

    They were about to leave. Zhou Sichen¡¯s eyes slowly betrayed a fanatical gaze. They werepeting on behalf of Shrek Academy! Even though their prospects were dim, and they were facing extremely powerful opponents, he thought of the previous tournament, and how Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and the rest were able to emerge as champions despite only being three-ringed and four-ringed soul masters back then. His heart brimmed with confidence. Miracles are made by men. If my ss monitor can do that in the previous tournament, why can¡¯t we do the same here?

    Pa! Someone tapped his shoulder, jolting Zhou Sichen from his reverie. He turned his head to see Cao Jinxuan looking at him with a half-smile.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Zhou Sichen said in an unpleasant tone.

    Cao Jinxuan sniggered, ¡°I¡¯m looking at someone who¡¯s dreaming. Be more realistic. Try and make your way to the main team before thinking of anything else. What¡¯s the point in having unrealistic dreams? Confidence is built on the foundation of actual abilities.¡±

    ¡°Why is this a dream?¡± Zhou Sichen refused to admit it.

    Cao Jinxuan¡¯s voice changed. All of a sudden, he sounded very simr to Zhou Sichen. ¡°Champion, I must be the champion. Wahaha! What a beautiful thing it is! Beauties, beauties, haha,e to me! My embrace is wide indeed!!¡±

    Zhou Sichen¡¯s eyes widened as he stammered, ¡°What are you¡­ you saying?¡±

    Cao Jinxuan pped his shoulder lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m learning from someone¡¯s sleep talk. I¡¯ll leave first.¡± With that, he turned to leave calmly.

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± An uncontrobleughter sounded from the back. Zhou Sichen turned his head to look and realized that everyone, except Dai Huabin and Wu Feng, who had already left, were looking at him. Their faces were all mirthful. Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo could not control theirughter.

    ¡°Cao Jinxuan, I¡¯m going to beat you up!¡± Zhou Sichen shouted in fury. He turned and wanted to run after him. However, when he turned back, Cao Jinxuan had already disappeared¡­

    -------

    Dawn, Shrek City, the Tang Sect...

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, all of whom were d lightly, and Na Na, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan left through the main door. Xuan Ziwen, who was in charge of looking after the sect in their absence, did not apany them, he was still busy with the secret factory. Under this rather unceremonious atmosphere, the entire group headed toward the west gate of Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao sat in the wheelchair made from the Golden Tree. The wheelchair was extremely simplistic, but Elder Xuan¡¯s craftsmanship was decent. It was simple, but efficient. There was a special cushion near the waist, and the entire wheelchair was made from a few pieces of wood glued together. It was extremely smooth, and one would not get tired of sitting in it.

    One should not underestimate the materials used. The Golden Tree in Shrek Academy was one of thest Golden Trees on the entire continent. While it was not the only one left, it was the biggest. A thousand years ago, the school ruled that no one was allowed to cut the tree down. It was the center and treasure of the Academy.

    The materials that were used to make Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair came from branches of the Golden Tree that fell off naturally, as well as some raw materials from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Its value could not be understated.

    The Golden Tree brimmed with pure and warm light-type energy. Within the smooth glow of the wheelchair, Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs and arm, which he had used to store the Ultimate Ice origin power, would not be damaged as easily. Furthermore, under the nourishing glow of light, his body would recover faster. This was beneficial to his absorption of the origin energy.

    At this moment, Ji Juechen was the one pushing the wheelchair. While Wang Dong¡¯er would normally be the one doing it, Ji Juechen was very stubborn. That day, he had promised to push Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair for him. This morning, he had waited unwaveringly for him at the gate. Wang Dong¡¯er had no choice but to let him do so. She cared for him from the side.

    As she looked at Huo Yuhao, who was seated calmly on the wheelchair with his arm and legs immobile, Jing Ziyan could not help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, look at your state, why are you so insistent on taking part in thepetition?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I still have some energy to spare! Hehe.¡±

    Jing Ziyan sighed and said, ¡°I miss the days when we sparred.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked bewildered as he replied, ¡°I never imagined that Sister Ziyan was a masochist? You like being beaten by me?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Jing Ziyan said in anger, ¡°You heartless bastard, I¡¯m showing you care and concern right now! How dare you make fun of me! Dong¡¯er, keep him in check.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled slightly and said, ¡°He¡¯s already in this state, what else can I do? Sister Ziyan, he¡¯s mentally well, please don¡¯t worry so much.¡±

    Jing Ziyan looked in surprise at this smartss as she nodded and said, ¡°Actually, I was just thinking of when we could fight again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°Actually, even with one hand, I can still give you the thrill of being tortured.¡±

    Jing Ziyan snorted, ¡°I shan¡¯t talk with a cripple anymore.¡± With that, she walked away, leaving a stunned-looking Huo Yuhao behind.

    A huge hand pressed down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, and a low voice sounded, ¡°Get well soon, I¡¯m waiting for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not turn his head around. However, he could feel a rare tinge of emotion in Ji¡¯s voice, which was usually reserved for his sword. A bitter smile emerged on his face as he said, ¡°Brother Ji, don¡¯t you think Dong¡¯er should be the one saying that to me?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed. Ji Juechen¡¯s face froze over. The muscles in his face twitched. Then, he continued pushing the wheelchair silently.

 Chapter 269.2: Powerful Spiritual Power

    In fact, when everyone saw Huo Yuhao on the wheelchair, they all felt waves of intense emotion. Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan could not but exim out loud.

    In the past, Huo Yuhao was youthful and dashing. With what he had learned, he continually created miracle after miracle. He was named as the most powerful genius Shrek Academy had seen in a thousand years. However, right now, he was only a cripple with just one moveable right arm.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was still resolute. No one prevented him from taking part in this tournament. Even his elder brother, Bei Bei, did not try to convince him otherwise. Over the past few days, Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions had been steady, and he seemed much happier than before. Now, he tried to poke fun at others to make the groupugh. He appeared much more rxed.

    Everyone knew that this was his way of letting everyone around him feel better. How could he not be upset that he had been reduced from an able-bodied person to a cripple? However, he never once showed it. Sitting in the golden wheelchair, he was still full of hope.

    Wang Dong¡¯er gently touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand and asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you want some water?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t we drink some before we left? Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m fine, really. When will you guys believe that I¡¯m still capable in spite of my disability?¡±

    Jing Ziyan, who was ahead of him, turned around. Her face showed contempt as she said, ¡°A cripple is a cripple. How can you be capable? Other than Spiritual Detection, what else can you do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Actually, I can do many things. Do you know what it means to turn misfortune into fortune?¡±

    Jing Ziyan wanted to rebut him immediately. However, her words stopped at the tip of her tongue. Her eyes widened, and she stared at shock at what was happening in front of her.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Ji Juechen, all of whom were walking behind her, suddenly disappeared in a sh of light. They appeared to have vanishedpletely.

    ¡°Ah? What¡¯s going on? Where¡¯s Huo Yuhao and the rest?¡± Jing Ziyan eximed in surprise. This caught the attention of the rest. Everyone turned their heads. The three of them were indeed gone.

    At this moment, the air distorted, and Huo Yuhao and the three of them appeared once again. They were walking forward normally. It was as if Jing Ziyan had been momentarily blinded.

    ¡°What trick is this? I don¡¯t recall you having any soul skill that allows you to camouge others!¡± Jing Ziyan eximed in shock.

    Concealing oneself was no big deal. Many soul masters had simr soul skills. However, for Huo Yuhao to conceal two other people along with him, that was rather unbelievable. Group concealment was a powerful soul skill that no one had ever heard of.

    Huo Yuhao looked into the sky, sighed, and said, ¡°This is called skill.¡±

    Jing Ziyan looked at him coolly and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, stop acting big. We¡¯re still friends.¡±

    ¡°Ke! Ke!¡± Huo Yuhao appeared to have choked on his spittle as he coughed non-stop. Wang Dong¡¯er rushed up to him and patted his chest.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re still in the city. Once we leave the city, I¡¯ll show everyone what else can I do. If not, you¡¯ll just treat me as a cripple. I want to contribute to this tournament!¡±

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Little brother, don¡¯t force it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said seriously, ¡°Elder brother, I¡¯m not forcing it. Even with just one arm left, I¡¯m definitely still better than those who can just turn themselves into smoke and fog.¡±

    ¡°What crap! I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll¡­¡± Normally, Jing Ziyan would have charged up at him. However, what could she do now that Huo Yuhao was in this state?

    Huo Yuhao said confidently, ¡°Let¡¯s see once we leave the city.¡±

    By doing so, not only was he trying to improve the atmosphere and not let everyone get distracted by the fact that he was crippled, he was also reminding himself that he had to show off some of his skills. If not, what if everyone really treated him like a cripple? He really wanted topete in the tournament!

    They did not move too quickly, taking an hour to leave Shrek City. They walked out of the west gate and continued headed west, toward the Sun Moon Empire. It was fastest for them to use a flying-type soul tool. Yesterday, they had nned it all out. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Wang Dong¡¯er would fly ahead with Huo Yuhao first. Among them, Wang Dong¡¯er was responsible for helping Huo Yuhao block the iing wind. The rest of them would rely on their flying-type soul tools.

    Furthermore, Xuan Ziwen had made arge flying-type soul tool that could carry many people at once, made to Huo Yuhao¡¯s specifications.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve left the city. Sister Ziyan, let¡¯s spar, let¡¯s spar.¡±

    Ji Juechen, who was pushing his wheelchair from behind, froze. ¡°Yuhao, are you serious?¡±

    While Jing Ziyan was weaker than Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest, she was still a Soul Emperor in her own right! Her martial soul might not be terribly powerful, but whenbined with her soul tools, her battling abilities could not be underestimated. If Huo Yuhao was uninjured, there was a chance that he could still beat her. However, in his current state, movement was difficult, so how could he fight her?

    Huo Yuhao nodded and he looked at Jing Ziyan and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m serious. Sister Ziyan, are you scared?¡±

    Jing Ziyan said unkindly, ¡°Scared of you? How can I be scared of you in this state? I don¡¯t want to bully a cripple!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said angrily, ¡°A temporary cripple, not a cripple! Come, hurry up, don¡¯t waste everyone¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°Has anyone ced bets? I¡¯ll be the bookie,¡± Xu Sanshi rushed forward excitedly, almost bouncing.

    Jiang Nannan followed next to him. When she heard what he said, she pinched his waist hard. ¡°You¡¯re heartless indeed! Yuhao is in this state, and all you can do is stir up even more trouble! Yuhao, stop fooling around. We¡¯ll set off now. We all know you¡¯re capable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Fourth sister, from your words, I know that you don¡¯t expect much from me! Look, I think third brother understands me better.¡±

    In fact, since his recuperation had begun, he had not cultivated with his teammates. All he had been doing was recovering by himself at home. Coupled with the fact that only one of his four limbs could move, it was normal for his teammates to doubt his abilities. This was why he was set on challenging Jing Ziyan. If my teammates don¡¯t trust me, then, what if something goes wrong during thepetition? Even Bei Bei won¡¯t let mepete!

    Jing Ziyan said unpleasantly, ¡°You¡¯re not joking! Dong¡¯er, take good care of him.¡± Shepletely ignored Huo Yuhao¡¯s provocation and turned to leave.

    Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly. Following that, he narrowed his eyes, and a ray of purple light shed from his pupils.

    Just as Jing Ziyan was about to leave, she suddenly realized that the people around her were gone. She felt an immense pressure in her heart as she discovered, to her shock, that her surroundings had turned white. Nothing could be seen, and it resembled the end of the world. She was alone.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Juechen, Bei Bei, where are you?¡± Jing Ziyan called out. At the same time, she released her martial soul. Ayer of fog started to spread from her body, and all six of her soul rings rose. A pair of short knives appeared in her hands.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Ziyan?¡± An extremely familiar shape appeared. It was Ji Juechen.

    When she saw Ji Juechen, she sighed visibly and said, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t I see anyone else?¡±

    Ji Juechen looked at her in confusion and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either! I heard your shouts and came over. You¡¯re right! Where is everybody?¡±

    Jing Ziyan naturally lowered her guard around him. She looked around her suspiciously. At this moment, an icy-cold sensation appeared at her neck, and a cruel, killing intent manifested itself.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s body froze as she stood immobile. She could clearly sense the de that was pressed against her neck. If she moved, she would die.

    At this moment, the blurry scene around her disappeared. They returned to the west gate of Shrek City. Everyone was not far from where she stood. However, they all looked at her in shock.

    The icy-cold feeling disappeared, and a tone of jest sounded, ¡°Ay, it¡¯s so simple! No wonder you don¡¯t want to fight with me. This is why you can¡¯t match me.¡±

    Jing Ziyan turned around to look. She realized that the person next to her was not Ji Juechen, but Huo Yuhao instead. He slowly retracted a dark-golden de that had emerged from his finger. The de was six meters long. Under the bright sunlight, it was exceptionally terrifying.

    ¡°How, how did you do that?¡± Jing Ziyan asked in shock.

    Huo Yuhao looked into the sky and said, ¡°I can¡¯t reveal this secret, no, no, no.¡±

    Jing Ziyan said angrily, ¡°Rubbish, I was ambushed by you. If you have the guts, let¡¯s have a one-on-one fight!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reply shocked her. ¡°Ok.¡±

    As he said that, he lifted his right hand at Jing Ziyan once more. This time, Jing Ziyan did not dare to be careless. She leapt back, and as she did so, her entire body turned into a ball of smoke in mid-air, which slowly started to expand.

    Everyone else who had thought that Huo Yuhao was just joking now looked at him solemnly with varying expressions in their eyes. With only one arm, how could he beat Jing Ziyan?

 Chapter 269.3: Powerful Spiritual Power

    The moment the fight started, Jing Ziyan had disappeared into smoke. However, everyone else could clearly see that Jing Ziyan¡¯s eyes suddenly clouded over, and she released her martial soul while surveying the area around her cautiously. Then, Huo Yuhao made Ji Juechen let go as he turned his wheelchair in her direction. He released his Darkgolden Terrorw and gently ced it on Jing Ziyan¡¯s neck. Throughout the entire process, Jing Ziyan did not even react. What did this mean? This meant that she waspletely under Huo Yuhao¡¯s spell! This was a terrifying and mystical sight, which many refused to believe. However, it had taken ce before their eyes. Jing Ziyan might be confused by the whole thing, but even the other six of the Seven Monsters who understood Huo Yuhao, including Wang Dong¡¯er, did not know how he won.

    Right now, as he faced Jing Ziyan in her smoke form, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned serious. He then turned his head. While facing off against her, he turned his gaze toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked slightly worriedly, ¡°Yuhao?¡±

    At this moment, she realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze had turned warmer. His eyes brimmed with adoration and a warm love. In his eyes, Wang Dong¡¯er could see her own figure. Just by noticing this, Wang Dong¡¯er could clearly sense that her heart was slowly connecting with that of Huo Yuhao. An unspeakably deep bond encircled the two of them.

    Why was Huo Yuhao looking at Wang Dong¡¯er? Everyone was thinking the same thing in their minds. Then, the answer revealed itself.

    The wheelchair under Huo Yuhao started to shine, and a dazzling golden light shed. Thick light-type energy started to permeate his surroundings. Following that, a golden figure started to appear behind him. Huo Yuhao was bathed in a golden light.

    Wasn¡¯t the figure behind him Wang Dong¡¯er? Here, he formed a Wang Dong¡¯er purely from his spiritual power. Her facial expression and the look in her eyes resembled Wang Dong¡¯er perfectly.

    Then, Huo Yuhao gently reached out with his palm, and the projection of Wang Dong¡¯er behind him did the same. The two figures instantly merged into one.

    A terrifying intention was sent flying to the front. The purple clouds which had spread apart slowly came together. It was as if someone was throttling them. Then, they vanished, and Jing Ziyan appeared before everyone with a pale face.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand remained in mid-air, but he did not continue reaching out. An intense golden light started to form in the center of his palm. ¡°Do you still want to continue?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s forehead wasced with sweat. The short knives in her hands were trembling. She could not find the guts to fight Huo Yuhao. This was the first time she had experienced something like this. It was simr to facing Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent. However, while Juechen¡¯s sword intent was in a continual process of betterment, which showed that there were still ws, the intent that Huo Yuhao released appeared perfect to her.

    This intention was usedpletely on her. At this moment, Jing Ziyan felt as if ten thousand tsunami waves were hurtling toward her. Her soul rings lost their functionality in that moment, and she felt her heart being squeezed by a huge hand. This moment of tightness caused her to abandon her soul skill. Before Huo Yuhao, as she looked at his palm, she only felt immense fear.

    What¡­ power is this? Why does it exert such a powerful suppression?

    Furthermore, he had yet to release the energy stored in his hand. What if he did? In terms of spiritual power, this palm seemed capable of shocking heaven and earth, provoking spirits and gods!

    Jing Ziyan had never expected Huo Yuhao, who had lost use three of his four limbs, to still be so strong.

    This palm shocked everyone else present, including Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen looked nkly at Huo Yuhao. ¡°This intent, this ultimate intent, it¡¯s what I¡¯m after.¡±

    As he said that, he rushed toward Huo Yuhao. When he was in front of him, he grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders tightly and said, ¡°Yuhao, how did you¡­ aplish this? Such a perfect intent, how did you do it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯er, who was in the distance and said, ¡°Extreme love forms ultimate intentions. When I was on the verge of death, my heart was filled with Wang Dong¡¯er, and I realized that this was a thought that I possessedpletely by myself. Unlike the Sovereign¡¯s Descent, this is something that belongs to me and me only. Actually, this palm is not as powerful as you think. Its strength lies in my thoughts, which have increased and be stronger. Its existence has almost elevated from the concrete-immaterial realm to the concrete-material realm. However, as my cultivation is too low, I must wait until I¡¯m a seven-ringed soul sage before my spiritual power can match this thought.

    ¡°As ites from love, it manifests into an ultimate intent, the extremity of love. The extremity of your love is stronger than my dedication to my sword intent. Indeed, I never expected that you¡¯d reach what I¡¯ve been after quicker than me.¡± Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes brimmed with an intense passion. There was no envy, simply passion and appreciation.

    Wang Dong¡¯er now looked at Huo Yuhao more gently. Everyone could see how crazy Ji Juechen was over his sword intent. However, his passion for his sword could notpare to Huo Yuhao¡¯s love for her. That simple line was enough to encapste the ocean-like love Huo Yuhao had for Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao did not say that when Wang Dong¡¯er was present, his Goddess of Light¡¯s power would increase by 30%. After all, this required no thought, only a blissful sentiment. Only then could the power of Goddess of Light reach its maximum. If not, wanting to use an illusory spiritual thought to break Jing Ziyan¡¯s Soul Emperor-level soul skill would be impossible.

    Everyone started to crowd around next to Huo Yuhao. Bei Bei said nothing, he just smiled and give Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up.

    He Caitou sighed in admiration, ¡°Little brother, you are our secret weapon indeed!¡±

    Xu Sanshi said pensively, ¡°Your spiritual power has increased exponentially. Not bad, not bad. Hehe, your invisibility ability is derived from your second soul skill, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, but said nothing.

    Jiang Nannan asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s its radius?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a while and replied, ¡°The bigger the radius, the faster my spiritual power will deplete. I can maintain a 50 meter radius for about 10 minutes. For every half meter radius less, I can maintain it for one more minute.¡±

    Xiao Xiao said in shock, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that when our opponents fight us, they won¡¯t be able to see us at all?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that strong, but it can affect their judgment.¡±

    Jing Ziyan then asked, ¡°Just now, what ability did you use to blind me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°Let me keep some secrets to myself. Like this, when we face our enemies, we can surprise them.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Yes, everyone, stop asking. Prepare to depart. Yuhao, you have given us all a big surprise.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Elder brother, if I were useless, why would I still want topete? I don¡¯t wish to be a burden.¡±

    The origin energy of heaven and earth in his body greatly restricted his freedom of movement. It also restricted his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. After all, he could not even move. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skills were meant for closebat. Naturally, in his state, it was greatly weakened. Furthermore, he still needed to use a portion of her soul power to absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth. Hence, the only skill he could rely on was his Spiritual Eyes. As a control-type soul master, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Eyes had undergone a fundamental changepared to before he had left for the Setting Sun Forest. While his soul power was only about 80% of what it had been, his actual fighting abilities were much stronger. His powerful Spiritual Eyes could let him do many things that he previously could not.

    For example, his ability to control Jing Ziyan¡¯s senses was an evolved form of Spiritual Interference. His Spiritual Interference had now almost be a domain! With his Spiritual Eyes martial soul, Huo Yuhao could easily surpass other soul masters of the same level. Furthermore, he still had the power of his soul bone, and he could still use a bit of Ice Empress¡¯ powers.

    The flying-type soul tool was activated. Huo Yuhao¡¯s seat was attached to the soul tool. He released a ss 6 protective soul barrier to prevent his body from being buffeted by the wind. Wang Dong¡¯er was seated next to him, and she carried a flying-type soul tool on her back too. If something went wrong, she could respond instantly.

    Everyone took to the skies simultaneously. Their destination was Radiant City!

    ------

    The theme of the new Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was ¡°Return¡°. This was because a long time ago, this historic tournament only allowed sects to take part. In the past millennia, its scale had decreased, to the point where it only allowed schools to take part.

    This time, the Sun Moon Empire, the tournament¡¯s organizer, suggested the change, and the other countries agreed to it, deciding to restore the original criteria for the tournament. They increased the number of participating sects and changed the rules of the tournament. Doing so massively increased the scale of thepetition.

    In the continent, there were considerably more sects than schools.

    For the schools, by doing well in the tournament, they could make a good name for themselves and recruit more students. This was also good for their future development. The same logic applied to the sects.

    The development of any sect required talents. The more talented an individual was, the more likely it was that they would join a top-notch sect. After the tournament¡¯s rules changed, almost two-thirds of the sects on the continent chose to take part!

 Chapter 270.1: The Competition in Radiant City!

    If the tournamentmittee hadn¡¯t restricted the age of thepetitors to below twenty and demanded that at least five members of each sect had to have at least four rings, there would have been ten times more teamspeting in this tournament thenst time!

    Even with such restrictions, there were still a total of one hundred and seventeen teams, many more thanst time!

    As the wealthiest empire on the Douluo Continent, hosting this tournament was nothing for the Sun Moon Empire. Even so, they took three months to prepare for it. As the biggest city on the continent, Radiant City constructed several hotels and guesthouses to receive guestsing for this grand event. They benefited greatly from businessmening from foreignnds.

    The Sun Moon Empire also invested a lot in this tournament, since they were the top soul engineering empire on the continent. The top prize wasn¡¯t just soul bones anymore; they were soul tools. The winning team could obtain a ss 9 soul tool, while the runner-up and third ce teams would receive ss 8 and ss 7 soul tools respectively.

    The values of these soul tools were much higher than soul bones. This was especially true for the champions. Currently, a ss 9 soul tool was priceless, and only the Sun Moon Empire possessed ss 9 soul tools. At the same time, ss 9 soul tools were also the biggest threat to the other two empires on the continent.

    Everypeting team was itching to obtain the prizes and working hard to perform better in the tournament. This wasn¡¯t just an opportunity for them to gain fame, it was an opportunity for them to profit greatly!

    Modern soul masters had to rely on soul tools in addition to their own cultivation if they wanted to gain greater abilities. However, the astronomical costs of advanced soul tools limited most soul masters. It was impossible to be the best without money.

    ------

    Radiant City, Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce, a backyard garden...

    A wheelchair was moving slowly on the quartzite path in the garden. There were different types of nts nted here, every region of the garden was perfectly designed. There was a small waterfall atop a sculpted hill, an imperial painting of a bouquet of flowers, and huge, tall trees. The entire backyard garden felt like a beautiful forest.

    ¡°How¡¯s my father?¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes were shut. There was a nket on his thighs, and he appeared very rxed.

    Ju Zi was the one pushing his wheelchair.

    Ju Zi was d in a long, yellow dress today, which entuated her delicate white skin. She looked ssy and elegant. She exuded a much more mature aura than before. A wise look shed across her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s nearing his end. The imperial physician said that he often passes out and loses consciousness these days,¡± Ju Zi said softly.

    Xu Tianran continued to close his eyes. It was as if he was unrted to the ailing old man that Ju Zi was talking about.

    ¡°My father has always been very cautious and conscientious. He does not aim to acquire merit, but only hopes to avoid mistakes. He has missed out on great opportunities! When we look back in the future, he will only be regarded as an ordinary emperor. What¡¯s the reaction of the military?¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°They are very calm. Ever since we took control of the garrison, opposition from the military has disappeared. At least two-fifths of the empire¡¯s military is directly under our control now. Out of the other three-fifths of the military, around two-thirds of them are still monitoring the situation, or are loyal only to the emperor. Once you seed the throne, I believe they will join your side. As for thest fifth, they are military officers at the borders. Some of them have been brought over by other princes, while some were your enemies in the past.¡±

    Xu Tianran gave a half smile. His smile was very nice, but for some reason, Ju Zi felt very cold in her heart when she saw this smile. That was because she was clear that Xu Tianran was ready to kill when he revealed such an expression.

    Xu Tianran smiled as he said, ¡°No rush. When I seed the throne, you can make a trip if they are still unwilling to budge.¡±

    Ju Zi shuddered a little, but still nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Xu Tianran turned around and looked at her. He said, ¡°Ju Zi, you don¡¯t have to be so reserved around me. When I seed the throne, the first thing I¡¯ll do is make you my queen. You are always so reserved. Youck the grace of a queen.¡±

    Ju Zi revealed a slight smile on her face and replied, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m not with you because I covet fame or status. I only have two wishes. First, I just want to be with you. Second, I want to destroy the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°Your two wishes wille true. Your performance in the military was better than I had expected. Even the hard-headed old generals are impressed by you. If this continues, you¡¯ll be mymanding general when we start our war against the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Ju Zi knelt down beside Xu Tianran¡¯s wheelchair.

    Xu Tianran used his hand to lift her up and said, ¡°I told you that we don¡¯t have to be so formal with each other. If you hadn¡¯t saved my life, I wouldn¡¯t be here now. I have many subordinates who are more capable than you. However, you are the only one that I feel at ease with.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes were filled with gratitude, Xu Tianran didn¡¯t realize that there was also a feeling of indifference behind them.

    Can I really do what I want in front of you? In the past, there was an official who you owed gratitude towards. However, he was killed in his house after he acted a little more freely than usual. I was the one who carried out the kill order for you.

    Ju Zi understood Xu Tianran¡¯s character very well. He was very ambitious. There was only one goal in his life: to rule the entire Douluo Continent. Furthermore, he was intelligent, had great tolerance, and was quite vicious. Although he was disabled, he had all the qualities needed to seed.

    However, he became colder and more merciless after he lost his legs and his manly ability. Even Ju Zi didn¡¯t dare to get close to him when he revealed his violent and hostile aura sometimes. He wasn¡¯t just an anti-hero; Ju Zi even believed he was a maniac at times. However, he was an extremely intelligent maniac!

    But she wanted revenge, and thus she needed the support of a maniac like him. However, she didn¡¯t want to follow in his footsteps. That was why she acted very cautiously in front of him, concealing her true feelings very well.

    Furthermore, there was another person in her heart along with her true feelings. This person was a youth who had once suffered grave injuries because of her.

    ¡°The preparations for the tournament should be done, right? Did Hallmaster Hongchen report back?¡± Xu Tianran continued asking. Ju Zi had be his most important intelligence officer. There was one thing that Xu Tianran didn¡¯t exaggerate, and that was his trust towards Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°We are already prepared and ready to go. Everything is progressing ording to n.¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°A fine fowl only perches on a fine tree. I hope that they are wiser. Otherwise, it¡¯ll really be a pity. Have Shrek Academy¡¯s team arrived? They are the current reigning champions. If the intelligence is right, it¡¯s the same bunch who became champions the other timepeting this time. If this is the case, it¡¯s likely that they will be champions again! It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯ll be very difficult for me to use them!¡±

    Ju Zi seemed to be jolted. She clearly remembered that Huo Yuhao was part of the team from Shrek.

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°It¡¯s better not to touch Shrek Academy for now. Let them leave. I shall give this face to Shrek. I¡¯ll see what kind of sparks will be created between Shrek Academy and our people. Oh yes, please invite Mister Zhong Li here. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ju Zi stood up and hurried out.

    Xu Tianran shut his eyes again and once more wore the leisurely smile on his face. He seemed like he was napping. The quiet and peacefulfort in the garden was mesmerizing.

    ------

    The group from the Tang Sectnded about a hundred kilometers from Radiant City. If they ventured any further forward, they would enter the borders of Radiant City. As the capital of the greatest soul engineering empire, they might be practice targets of the city¡¯s defense system if they dared to vite the airspace of the city.

    They didn¡¯t meet with any danger on their journey here, and had arrived after only half a day of travel.

    They started a fire for cooking. Although everyone missed Huo Yuhao¡¯s cooking, they couldn¡¯t let a ¡®disabled person¡¯ cook for them. Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong¡¯er took on the responsibility as cooks. As for Jing Ziyan, even though she was also ady¡­ Besides wielding des and spears, she didn¡¯t know anything about cooking! She could only act as an assistant to the three chefs.

    Jiang Nannan was the best at cooking among the three. Although Wang Dong¡¯er had learned from Huo Yuhao for a few days, she didn¡¯t pick up much. Huo Yuhao had heard Xu Sanshi mention that Jiang Nannan was from a poor family. She had thus matured young, and was good at carrying out household chores. It turned out to be true.

    They had prepared sufficiently before they set out for this tournament, bringing quite a lot of ingredients. With Huo Yuhao around, they weren¡¯t worried about the freshness of the ingredients, since he was the owner of Ultimate Ice soul power.

    Huo Yuhao was fed by Wang Dong¡¯er. Of course, she fed him with a spoon, and not through her mouth. After all, there were many people around!

 Chapter 270.2: The Competition in Radiant City!

    Huo Yuhao could only use his right hand. It was difficult for him to eat on his own. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t want him to tax himself, and thus she took over this role. Everyone was envious and jealous when they saw this.

    Xu Sanshi was looking at Huo Yuhao as Wang Dong¡¯er fed her. He whispered to Jiang Nannan, ¡°My love, please feed me too.¡±

    Jiang Nannan snapped, ¡°How old are you?¡±

    ¡°Three¡­¡± Xu Sanshi said bashfully.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Jiang Nannan roared at him and gave him a shock. He quickly escaped and avoided her flying kick.

    On the other side, the same thing happened more intimately due to character differences.

    He Caitou looked at Xiao Xiao with a gentle gaze in his eyes, ¡°Why don¡¯t I feed you too? You are eating too little. Look at you, you are getting thin.¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m not that weak. I can feed myself. Go and eat. You are getting thin.¡±

    Jing Ziyan rolled her eyes as she eavesdropped from the side. Thin? This guy is thin? Isn¡¯t he at least three hundred catties? He¡¯s as big as a mountain, but she calls him thin. How did she bring herself to say that? Those in love really have extremely low intelligence!

    In fact, Jing Ziyan felt very depressed. As the first test subject of Huo Yuhao¡¯s self-created spiritual-soul fusion skill, she was traumatized. Without dealing with this trauma, she knew that she couldn¡¯t challenge him in the future!

    Ji Juechen was even more silent. His eyes never shifted away from the front, and he was in a perpetually pensive state. At times, he would start gesturing with his right hand, as if he were trying to imitate something.

    Everyone enjoyed their lunch in a very rxed mood. They didn¡¯t rush to move off. There were still two days to the registration deadline of the tournament. After entering Radiant City, they had to bepletely wary at all times. Here, they were still able to rx and rest!

    Just as everyone was about to finish their lunch with delicious meat soup, the rapid tter of horse hoofs could be hearding in.

    ---

    Before everyone got up to take a look, the familiar power of Huo Yuhal¡¯s Spiritual Detection was unleashed. An image surfaced in everyone¡¯s minds.

    While Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection presented a detailed image to everyone, it was still unable to project any color. While they were far away, the image in their minds was still very clear.

    It was a cavalry regiment. There were fourteen people in total, and they were all dressed in ck warrior robes. Their steeds weren¡¯t ordinary, either. They were taller than most horses, and more than four meters in length, with a shoulder height around one meter and eighty centimeters. They were extremelyrge and muscr. The strange thing was that these steeds didn¡¯t have hair, only ayer of fine scales. Every steed also had a bulging protrusion on its head.

    Jing Ziyan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Eh, those are Hornscale Horses. They¡¯re really rich!¡±

    Hornscale Horses weren¡¯t rted to normal horses. They were soul beasts. They weren¡¯t good at offense, but their defensive strength was rather high. They possessed two innate soul skills, ckscale Armor and Heavenly Horn Barrier. Such soul beasts usually appeared in herds, because they weren¡¯t good at fighting. That was also why they rarely appeared in soul beasts¡¯ forests. They mainly lived in the grasnds.

    Theirck of fighting strength meant that they werepensated in other areas. Hornscale Horses had great endurance, around three times that of ordinary horses. They were also very quick. When they moved, even at a full gallop, they could also unleash their Heavenly Horn Barrier to protect themselves and reduce wind resistance.

    As they could be tamed by humans, the nobility of the various empires kept them as pets. One Hornscale Horse could be sold for between five thousand and ten thousand gold soul coins. If they were hundred-year Hornscale Horses, they could cost ten times more. It was even more expensive for thousand-year Hornscale Horses. These prices were so astronomical that demand became almost zero. As for those that were at least ten thousand years old¡­ they barely existed at all. They usually couldn¡¯t evolve to that level due to their ancestry. Even though there was a legend that they possessed a shred of the Unicorn bloodline, that little amount of heritage was barely significant. A Unicorn was a Transcendent Soul Beast. Furthermore, Unicorns were rumored to be at the same level as the Divine Giant Dragon, but their existence was also seen as a myth.

    All of the men were riding Hornscale Horses. Their leader, who was an elder, was even riding a hundred-year Hornscale Horse. It wasn¡¯t exaggerated to im that they were rich.

    Hornscale Horses were indeed very quick. In a matter of seconds, the cavalry regiment quickly appeared in front of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had chosen a good spot to rest. The ground was level, but elevated. The view was great, and there were even a few huge trees around. It was very cool as they took shade under the trees. The fragrance from their meat soup also made the entire atmosphere feel more rustic.

    The cavalry regiment quickly discovered them, and the elder lifted his hand, stopping the others behind him. The entire team was evidently very organized. The riders also coordinated well with their horses.

    The elder slowly rode up to them and smiled. He asked, ¡°Greetings all. Are all of you going topete in the tournament?¡±

    Seeing that the other party was being very ceremonious, Bei Bei stood up and walked a few steps forward before replying, ¡°Yes, we are from the Tang Sect. We are going to Radiant City for the tournament.¡±

    ¡°The Tang Sect?¡± The elder was stunned. He didn¡¯t seem to have a deep impression of the sect in his mind. It took him some time before he recalled, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a very ancient sect! We are from the Heavenly Armor Sect. We are also here for the tournament. We are tired from rushing on our journey. May we rest here too? Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t disturb all of you.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°Of course you can. We still have some meat soup that we cooked. If you don¡¯t mind, we can share it with all of you.¡±

    The elderughed and said, ¡°That would be great. Everyone, dismount!¡± As he spoke, he leapt off from his horse first.

    Not only was the size of a hundred-year Hornscale Horse different, but the bump on its head was alsorger, with a patch of brown scales at the center of its forehead. After the elder dismounted, it obediently went to one side to graze. There weren¡¯t many soul beasts that fed on grass. This Hornscale Horse had great endurance, and it wasn¡¯t very troublesome to feed. This was also a reason why the nobility loved them.

    When the elder jumped off from his horse, the rest of the riders also dismounted. Their actions were neat and tidy, even rhythmic. No one made any noise, but they knew their roles. Hornscale Horses were quite intelligent, and didn¡¯t need to be instructed. They walked off on their own to graze, but didn¡¯t venture too far away.

    The riders started to get busy as they camped close to the group from the Tang Sect. Some of them retrieved dry rations, while others grabbed their water pouches. Someone was in charge of starting a fire and cooking. In a while, the smell of their meal drifted over.

    The elder led two youths over and scanned everyone from the Tang Sect. Eventually, he fixed his gaze on Bei Bei. From how Bei Bei had reacted earlier, he could tell that he was the leader of their group. However, he underestimated Tang Sect because of this discovery. This ancient sect doesn¡¯t even have an experienced leader. What¡¯s going on?

    ¡°Young man, how are you? I¡¯m Han Zhanhu from the Heavenly Armor Sect. I¡¯m the leader of my sect. I¡¯ve brought these youths along to gain some experience.¡±

    Jiang Nannan led two youths to get some of the meat soup. These two youths were very cautious. Their faces turned red when they saw Jiang Nannan¡¯s ravishing looks. After that, they didn¡¯t dare to look at her anymore. Jiang Nannan almost burst out inughter when she saw their shy looks. These two youths were really amusing!

    Xu Sanshi was watching carefully from one side. He chortled when he saw their faces turn red, and stopped them monitoring further. They were really inexperienced!

    Bei Bei was already conversing with Han Zhanhu, ¡°I¡¯m the eldest senior of the Tang Sect. Greetings to elder.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s refined appearance was very likable. When Han Zhanhu discovered that he was the leader of the Tang Sect, he was stunned.

    ¡°So you are Master Bei. Apologies for the disrespect.¡± No matter how strong the Tang Sect was now, it was still an ancient sect. Han Zhanhu became more formal with his words. Han Zhanhu had to be a senior figure from the Heavenly Armor Sect. He was a tall and mighty man. His aura was pressing too. As he gestured, he seemed awe-inspiring.

    Huo Yuhao sat on the Golden Tree Wheelchair and observed these people. Although they only just interacted, he managed to make some deductions.

    First, the Heavenly Armor Sect was obviously not from the Sun Moon Empire. That was because they were riding horses. One of the tournament¡¯s stiptions was that thepeting teams needed to have at least five members who had four or more soul rings. Four-ringed soul masters could use flying-type soul tools. If they were from the Sun Moon Empire, it wouldn¡¯t make sense that they didn¡¯t use soul tools. From the Hornscale Horses they rode, it was more likely that they came from the Heavenly Soul Empire. That was because the Heavenly Soul Empire was famous for producing such soul beasts.

    Besides this, Huo Yuhao could also tell that the Heavenly Armor Sect had very strict rules. The young cavaliers were filled with fear and respect as they looked at Han Zhanhu. They were also very organized. In addition, they rarely spoke to one another. Even when they conversed with one another, they whispered. Such a disciplined sect was quite admirable!

 Chapter 270.3: The Competition in Radiant City!

    Bei Bei¡¯s brief conversation with Han Zhanhu verified Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess: the Heavenly Armor Sect indeed came from the Heavenly Soul Empire. The Heavenly Soul Empire was furthest from the Sun Moon Empire. They had been on a long journey for twenty days and were now about to arrive at Radiant City. After briefly greeting the rest, Han Zhanhu thanked the Tang Sect for the meat soup and left with the two youths. The two shy youths stole nces at Jiang Nannan only when they were returning to their own campsite.

    Wang Dong¡¯er squatted down beside Huo Yuhao at this moment and whispered, ¡°They are so shy! From their looks, it seems like they hardly leave their sect. That¡¯s interesting.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°This Heavenly Armor Sect appears quite impressive. Their abilities should be quite decent, seeing how disciplined they are. Elder Han must at least be a Soul Sage. The rest probably possess at least four rings each. A few of them should even have five rings. Their abilities are quite good!¡±

    The first requirement of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was that thepetitors couldn¡¯t be above twenty years of age. It was very rare for one to be a Soul King before he was twenty even through the use of herbs. Through his observation, Huo Yuhao was certain that this Heavenly Armor Sect team could rival a top eight team in the previous edition of the tournament in terms of overall abilities. This showed howpetitive this edition of the tournament would be.

    The team from the Heavenly Armor Sect was eating and resting quietly. Those from the Tang Sect were also enjoying a rare rxed moment. It was noontime, the hottest time of the day. ording to Bei Bei, they should continue their journey after noon passed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted Huo Yuhao from his wheelchair and let him lie down on a mat that sheid on the grass. This was morefortable for him.

    She sat beside him and used her thighs as his pillow.

    Huo Yuhao could smell Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fragrant scent as heid on her soft, springy thighs. Huo Yuhao let out a long breath and reached out his right arm to hug Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s waist. He had blissful look on his face.

    There was a big tree behind Wang Dong¡¯er. She leaned quietly on it. She was also enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. She wasbing Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair and asionally massaged his head to help him rx.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao fell asleep in this sweet andfortable environment.

    The rest of the Tang Sect members all unwittingly surrounded Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er in the center. Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi leaned beside a huge tree. Xu Sanshi wanted to hug her, but Jiang Nannan only allowed him to hold her hand. Things were the opposite for Xiao Xiao and He Caitou - Xiao Xiao¡¯s head was on He Caitou¡¯s muscr arm as she closed her eyes for a brief bit of shut-eye. asionally, He Caitou would watch her with a doting look and caress her long hair. There was a blissful and gentle look in his eyes.

    Ever since he had established his rtionship with Xiao Xiao, He Caitou had pampered her even more. They were together every day. He Caitou didn¡¯t even dare to touch Xiao Xiao¡¯s hands easily. However, she was very nice. Xiao Xiao was like a ceramic doll in his eyes, he was afraid of hurting her. Xiao Xiao took the initiative to get close to him, and He Caitou epted her advances in embarrassment. Every time Xiao Xiao tried to hold his hand, he would look very happy. Xiao Xiao loved his expression every time this happened.

    Bei Bei, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan sat together. They were conversing. From how they kept on ncing at Huo Yuhao, it was evident that they couldn¡¯t forget his immense spiritual power. Ji Juechen looked excited. It was obvious that he had developed some ideas after being inspired by Huo Yuhao today.

    The disciples from the Heavenly Armor Sect didn¡¯t rush to proceed on their journey either. They returned the pot that they had brushed clean and also rested beside the trees after expressing their gratitude once again. It was evident that they were quite exhausted after traveling quickly for twenty days. They didn¡¯t even bother to meditate. Apart from the few who were standing guard, the rest went to sleep.

    Although there were more than twenty people in this forest, as well as several Hornscale Horses, it seemed very quiet at this point in time. It was so peaceful that it looked like material for a beautiful painting.

    ---

    It was a pity that this didn¡¯tst. Just as everyone was enjoying the peace and quiet, a hooting sound came from afar. The piercing howls seemed to get closer and closer. Those who were awake started to look into the distance.

    There were more than ten people, but they were descending from the sky. Their wide flying-type soul tools started to retract as theynded on the ground. Theynded on the side of the Tang Sect¡¯s campsite opposite the Heavenly Armor Sect.

    This group of people wasn¡¯t as disciplined as those from the Heavenly Armor Sect. They made a lot of noise as soon as theynded.

    ¡°I¡¯m beat. I¡¯m beat. This ce isn¡¯t bad. We should rest here.¡±

    ¡°Oh look, there¡¯s quite a number of people here! Look, are those Hornscale Horses? They look great! It¡¯s a pity that they can only gallop on the ground. Compared to flying-type soul tools, they¡¯re much inferior.¡±

    ¡°Eh, they should be country bumpkins who are here topete too. It¡¯s already a feat to ride Hornscale Horses. Guys, let¡¯s rest quickly. Who brought dry rations? I¡¯m a little famished.¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any dry rations. Radiant City is not far from here. We can eat when we reach the city. No one brought dry rations because we are so close to the city! There are many delicacies in Radiant City.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m too famished. Let me have a bite first. Those country bumpkins should have brought food since they came from afar. Let me ask them for some.¡±

    Everyone from the Tang Sect and the Heavenly Armor Sect furrowed their brows as they heard the noises that came from this bunch of soul masters that had justnded. The environment and atmosphere here were very quiet and peaceful, but their arrival disrupted everything.

    These newly-arrived soul masters were d in yellow warrior robes. All of them had flying-type soul tools behind them, which they removed afternding. They were led by two middle-aged men, who were conversing with one another. The noises came from the youths who were under them.

    It was a plump youth who had mentioned that he was famished. With his small nose and small eyes, he looked like a contemptible fellow.

    Since theynded nearer to those from the Tang Sect, he naturally went to ask for food from those from the Tang Sect. This plump youth started to walk towards them.

    ¡°Hey brothers, do you have food? Can you spare some for me?¡± The plump youth looked very slipshod. His hands were on his waist, and he was asking them to be charitable towards him with his eyes.

    No one from the Tang Sect spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was in a deep sleep. Wang Dong¡¯er continued to brush his hair, while Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were still seated together while holding hands. He Caitou was caressing Xiao Xiao¡¯s hair, and Bei Bei and the other few were still engaged in their discussion. No one listened to the plump youth¡¯s words, and he didn¡¯t elicit a response.

    ¡°Hey, are all of you deaf?¡± He shouted unhappily. ¡°Give me some food, or else I¡¯ll deal with all of you! Stop pretending!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er furrowed her brow and twisted her head before saying, ¡°Lower your volume.¡±

    The plump youth looked over as he heard her words. When he saw her, his mouth opened wide. His facial fat jiggled, and his bean-sized eyes shone with a greedy look. He had uneven yellow teeth, and let out intense bad breath. His saliva was even dripping out of his mouth. Even his tone of voice changed.

    ¡°Beauty! Beauty! What a beauty!¡± As he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but walk towards Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°Beauty, my name is Feng Ling. I¡¯m the most outstanding young talent from the Heaven¡¯s Gate. You are, you are too beautiful!¡±

    The bad breath from his mouth was even poisonous. His saliva even caused the nts and grass to fume as itnded on the ground.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wore a cold expression on her face as she saw him walking over. Her gentleness was only for Huo Yuhao. However, she wasn¡¯t a gentle person by nature!

    ¡°Scram!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er shouted.

    Feng Ling red at her. ¡°What? Did you just tell me to scram? Do you know who I am? I¡¯m the young sect leader of the Heaven¡¯s Gate. My father is the current sect leader!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her head slowly, and also lifted her right arm. At this point, a huge figure blocked the view in front of her. A cold aura left Wang Dong¡¯er stunned. In the next moment, she lowered her head again and continued to brush Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair.

    Feng Ling wasn¡¯t tall. He felt a shadow appearing, and Wang Dong¡¯er was blocked just like that. When he lifted his head to look, he saw a cold-looking, handsome face in front of him.

    ¡°Scram.¡± Ji Juechen¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t very loud, but it was very sinister.

    Feng Ling shuddered and felt goosebumps rising on his skin. He subconsciously retreated a few steps.

    ¡°Who, who are you guys?¡± Although Feng Ling was ugly and lecherous, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He had already mentioned his identity as the Heaven¡¯s Gate young sect master, but the person in front of him didn¡¯t seem to care. He was immediately rmed. Furthermore, those who were strong had their own special characteristics. Such a special characteristic was very evident on Ji Juechen. He knew this person wasn¡¯t to be trifled with, and he was also not alone.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t say anything else. He was someone who didn¡¯t like to speak. He lifted his hand and retrieved his Judgment Sword.

    His love for swords was like Huo Yuhao¡¯s love for Wang Dong¡¯er. He never left his sword in his storage-type soul tool. It was always by his side. That was why he was called a Sword Fanatic.

    Seeing that Ji Juechen had retrieved his sword, Feng Ling turned around and fled. ¡°All of you need to watch out!¡± he cursed as he fled.

 Chapter 271.1: Sword Fanatics Sword

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t stand down. He wielded the Judgment Sword and followed Feng Ling towards the rest of the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples. Since when were Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan afraid of anything? They loved trouble! Ji Juechen¡¯spetitiveness came to the surface as he was provoked. Initiating an attack was in line with his personality.

    Jing Ziyan didn¡¯t follow him. She had been greatly agitated by Huo Yuhao earlier, and hadn¡¯t recovered yet. Furthermore, she also felt something from the immense spiritual pressure that Huo Yuhao had brought upon her. She needed some time to digest everything.

    Feng Ling quickly rushed back to his own territory. Everyone from Heaven¡¯s Gate naturally heard his confrontation with the Tang Sect. The entire sect, including the two middle-aged men, gathered immediately.

    Ji Juechen lifted his sword and walked over. Bei Bei wanted to follow him, but he was stopped by Jing Ziyan.

    ¡°Let him have his fill. Otherwise, he¡¯ll vent it all on us.¡±

    Bei Bei immediately sat down. He sighed slightly, and his eyes were filled with empathy for those from Heaven¡¯s Gate.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s lips moved slightly. ¡°What kind of person are you?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and revealed his set of white teeth, ¡°I¡¯m a good guy.¡±

    Jing Ziyan looked over and shrugged her shoulders. Ever since she came to Tang Sect, she had smiled far more often.

    ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± one of the middle-aged men shouted at Ji Juechen as he walked over.

    Ji Juechen was holding the Judgment Sword. As he moved forward, his aura was changing tremendously. It was as if he and his surrounding environment had assimted. However, the environment didn¡¯t assimte with him. On the contrary, he assimted with the environment. Everything surrounding him became extremely quiet. Even the birdsong that could be heard earlier disappeared. The colorful and radiant world turned dim and grey.

    The two middle-aged men started to turn serious.

    Ji Juechen finally stopped. ¡°Either you beat me or I¡¯ll beat you.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his Judgment Sword and grabbed it with both hands. He lifted it high above his head.

    A weird glow extended from the sword hilt. Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings quickly rose from Ji Juechen¡¯s feet. However, these soul rings turned grey in the next moment. His entire body turned grey too.

    Solitary Sword Domain.

    Theyer of grey started to expand at a frightening speed. The surroundings were dyed grey all around him.

    Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes. He was impressed. ¡°Brother Ji¡¯s domain is getting more and moreplete.¡±

    Those from the Heavenly Armor Sect naturally noticed the confrontation that was going on. Han Zhanhu stood up and watched what was happening.

    When he saw Ji Juechen walk towards the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples and unleash six soul rings, his expression changed. Although Ji Juechen looked older than twenty, he was definitely not older than thirty! For him to be a Soul Emperor at that age meant that he was the best among everyone of the same age. When Ji Juechen lifted his Judgment Sword and his soul rings turned grey, Han Zhanhu¡¯s expression also turned serious.

    He must possess great abilities given these strange things I¡¯m seeing. This young man is extraordinary!

    The Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples wouldn¡¯t allow Ji Juechen to bully them, either. They quickly spread out. The two middle-aged men also unleashed their soul rings. Just like Ji Juechen, they were six-ringed Soul Emperors. However, the color of their soul rings was slightly different.

    One of them had three yellow and three purple soul rings, while the other had three yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring. Evidently, it wasn¡¯t their first time teaming up with together. The Soul Emperor with the three yellow and three purple soul rings retreated quickly. At the same time, he lifted a soul cannon to his shoulder. The soul rings on his body shed, and his soul power undtions increased significantly. He was an orthodox soul engineer.

    The other middle-aged man stood in ce without moving. As a nging sound rang out, a thick suit of armor appeared on his body. The pitch-ck armor carried a little silver light. Evidently, it was created using some form of special metal. This armor, including a helmet, covered his body from head to toe. Not only that, but this closebat soul engineer even had a shield in his hand.

    The Heaven¡¯s Gate Sect was a soul engineering sect. Besides these two middle-aged men, the rest also unleashed their soul tools. Feng Ling also wore a suit of armor and carried a shield. Furthermore, his armor seemed stronger than the middle-aged man¡¯s. However, he only had four soul rings. Bearing his shield, he protected himself like a turtle in its shell. It seemed as if he was afraid that no one would know he was fearful of death.

    Boom!¡ª¡ª

    An intense ball of white light was unleashed from the middle-aged man¡¯s soul cannon. The aggressor always possessed the advantage. Ji Juechen appeared in front of them, and his soul rings were the bestbination a Soul Emperor could possibly have. These two middle-aged men from the Heaven¡¯s Gate acted very cautiously. They had unleashed the cannon strike to test Ji Juechen¡¯s abilities. The rest of the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples were spread around them. Although they retrieved their soul tools, they didn¡¯t attack.

    Ji Juechen was alone! He had manypatriots who were resting. When the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples saw his six rings, they were dumbfounded. Most of the people they interacted with only had four rings. There were even those who only had three rings! Just having the soul tools they did was considered quite decent already.

    Ji Juechen stood in ce and shed his Judgment Sword forward. His actions were simple and direct. The Judgment Sword turned ck and urately struck the soul cannon shell.

    The middle-aged man who had fired the cannon was stunned. Not only did Ji Juechen not avoid the cannon shell, he even struck it directly. What was going on? This was a ss 5 soul tool! Its explosive strength was tremendous!

    However, he was stunned in the next moment.

    The pitch-ck sword and burning white cannon shell contrasted each other. However, the cannon shell seemed to stall slightly as it made contact. It seemed to be on the verge of blowing apart, but it was swallowed by the ck that came from the sword in the next instant. None of its energy was released.

    Ji Juechen was very confident. As he stepped forward with his left leg, he continued to sh with his sword.

    The previous ck turned into a blinding brightness. In that instant, his entire person seemed to have turned into a silver sun. The intense brightness blinded the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples temporarily.

    The silver light retracted amidst their groans. The closebat soul engineer holding the shield had already shifted from his position, retreating three meters.

    Ji Juechen stood where he was quietly. His Judgment Sword had lost its glow by now.

    A crisp ng resonated from the soul engineer that retreated. Following this, an astonishing scene appeared.

    A streak of silver light was released from his shield. It expanded like the patterns on a turtle shell. A crackling sound followed as the shield was turned into a pile of debris on the ground. Not only this, but the expanding silver light even appeared on his armor. It started from his helmet all the way down his body. His entire suit of armor cracked and fell off. The weird thing, however, was that he wasn¡¯t hurt at all.

    There were nearly forty people on this empty patch ofnd. However, the entire patch turned eerily silent at this instant. Even the sounds of birds chirping couldn¡¯t be heard in this domain. The greyness seemed to be spreading ceaselessly. Everyone from the Heaven¡¯s Gate was engulfed.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s gaze was as cold as ever. However, he appeared much more disappointed this time. He gently shook his head and turned around. He ced the Judgment Sword on his shoulder and walked back towards the Tang Sect. The grey domain followed him back. He was already very handsome, but in this brief fight, his suaveness had shocked everyone.

    He was a sword fanatic, and only lived for fighting and swords. He wasn¡¯t an executioner. Moreover, that instantaneous control was something that he pursued. In his eyes, the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples weren¡¯t fit enough for him to truly unleash his sword.

    Han Zhanhu was astonished. There was only one thought in his mind ¨C if I were the one standing in front of him, what would I do against his sword?

    Ji Juechen¡¯s fighting method was one of a kind. He was neither a soul master, nor a soul engineer. However, he was very strong, especially in control. If he could tear his opponent¡¯s shield and armor apart, he could definitely tear his opponent¡¯s body apart as well.

    However, he didn¡¯t harm the man. He only threatened him with his sword, and caused everyone from the Heaven¡¯s Gate to freeze in ce.

    Feng Ling was shivering and something wet could be felt at his crotch. Who did I just offend?

    The middle-aged man who unleashed the long-range strike took two steps forward and came up beside his partner. He asked softly, ¡°Senior, are you okay?¡±

    He only saw his senior¡¯s pale face.

 Chapter 271.2: Sword Fanatics Sword

    His body shuddered, and he twisted his head to look at hispatriot. He whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s leave.¡± He quickly removed the remaining parts of his helmet and gestured towards the Heaven¡¯s Gate disciples.

    At this point, everyone from the Heaven¡¯s Gate moved away in a disciplined fashion. They were extremely quick, as if they were scurrying off. The fastest to flee was Feng Ling. His fat seemed to be filled with new strength now.

    Ji Juechen had already returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. He turned to look at Huo Yuhao as if he were asking him something.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Obliteration of darkness, instant brightness. You are really impressive. You¡¯ve merged with your sword!¡±

    A smile was revealed on Ji Juechen¡¯s cold face. It was a rare smile. ¡°If you could move at all, I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯m only stronger than you in terms of my spiritual power. However, the sword intent formed from thebination of your spiritual and soul power is bing more and more sturdy as you slowly grow. If this continues, you¡¯ll be stronger than me, at least in that aspect.¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes brightened. He seemed to understand something, and nodded towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Let me sleep awhile.¡± Huo Yuhao was stillying on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯sp.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Juechen acknowledged his words and returned to his original position.

    ---

    After those from the Heaven¡¯s Gate left, the Heavenly Armor Sect also started to move off. Before they left, Han Zhanhu went over to speak to Bei Bei again. However, his tone of voice was rather different from before. He didn¡¯t dare to underestimate the Tang Sect anymore.

    Those from the Tang Sect also didn¡¯t stay much longer. After Huo Yuhao woke up from his nap, they embarked on their journey again, proceeding towards Radiant City. At the same time, Wang Dong¡¯er dressed like a guy again for safety precautions. As Huo Yuhao was in a wheelchair, they were moving much slower than before. It was already sunset by the time they arrived at Radiant City.

    Among all of them, Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, Wang Dong¡¯er, Na Na, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan had been to Radiant City before. They weren¡¯t unfamiliar with this ce. However, the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were all astonished. Radiant City was thergest city on the continent! When they saw the tall buildings, they were even more shocked. Their expressions also turned more serious.

    All of them came from the three empires of the continent. As the biggest threat on the continent, a thriving Sun Moon Empire put great pressure on the other empires. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how strong the Sun Moon Empire was. They hadn¡¯t seen the truly great soul engineers from the empire yet.

    ording to the information they were given, they had toplete their registration when they reached Radiant City. Although the previous registration had beenpleted, they still had to go through this round of registration to verify their arrival. The empire would then arrange for their temporary residence, as well as provide them with the tournament schedule.

    As they hadpeted in thest edition of the tournament, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were all profoundly moved as they arrived at the city. Compared to the congested streets of Star Luo City, Radiant City looked much more orderly. Although the crowds on the streets had increased, it didn¡¯t feel packed. This was the benefit of a huge city. Soldiers in iron armor patrolled the streets asionally. Every squad was made up of twelve soldiers, all extremely disciplined.

    Although Huo Yuhao had stayed in Radiant City for quite some time, he wasn¡¯t very familiar with the buildings here. He had been extremely invested in soul tools every day, and didn¡¯t have time to stroll around. However, there was someone else who was familiar with the area. Na Na had grown up in this city, and was quite familiar with things around here. She was easily able to lead everyone to the registration area.

    ---

    It was a huge eight-story hotel. It was in the city center, and was called the Ming Yue Hotel. It was entirely silvery-white, and could be seen from a good distance away. Every story was quite high. Even though there were only eight stories, it was still considered an extremely tall building in Radiant City.

    The lobby of the hotel gave off a metallic feel. Its internal decoration was identical to its external decoration,pletely silvery-white. Various streamlined decorations resembled exquisite soul tools and gave one the urge to touch them. The first feeling the hotel gave those entering was that it was simple, yet grand.

    At this moment, there were many people gathered in the lobby. When Huo Yuhao and the others entered, they were immediately greeted by a youngdy in a long silver dress.

    ¡°Greetings. Are all of you here for the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament?¡± The youngdy was tall and slender, and also very beautiful. Her long silver dress fit her body to a tee, and extended all the way to her calves, looking quite elegant. She wore a light smile on her face and seemed very amiable.

    ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± Xu Sanshi was walking in front, and he hurriedly acknowledged her words.

    The youngdy smiled at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll need all of you to wait because many teams have also just arrived. Follow me.¡±

    As she spoke, she led everyone into the lobby. Before they moved off, she subconsciously nced at Huo Yuhao. This is weird. They are here for the tournament! Why did they bring someone in a wheelchair?

    Huo Yuhao appeared to be very calm. He wasn¡¯t affected by the youngdy¡¯s gaze. After everything that he had been through, he was more mature than most adults.

    However, he easily attracted attention as he sat in the wheelchair. As they proceeded to the bar in the lobby, many people appeared stunned when they saw him.

    The other members of the Tang Sect subconsciously surrounded Huo Yuhao, trying to block him from the limelight.

    The bar was at the east side of the hotel and covered a thousand square meters. The bar was filled with white sofas made from genuine leather. They were led to one sofa, and the youngdy left after greeting them. Immediately, a waitress in a short white dress walked over and served them some snacks and drinks. The service was exceptional.

    After the waitress left, Xu Sanshi said to Bei Bei, ¡°Little Bei, don¡¯t you find this an eye opener?¡±

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°Call me eldest senior. What eye opener? Look at you. You are turning lecherous again.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately sat up straight and said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Who doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m the most honest and reliable person? There¡¯s only Nannan in my heart. Besides her, I won¡¯t even take a look at any other girls. Of course, that¡¯s excluding Dong¡¯er, Xiao Xiao, Nan Na, and Sister Ziyan!¡±

    Everyone grinned when they saw his honest expression. Huo Yuhao alsoughed. ¡°Third senior, are you really sure you are talking about yourself? Are you certain about that?¡±

    Xu Sanshi was embarrassed. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t embarrass me! I¡¯m working in that direction. This is all because of Nannan! Although I attracted many girls with my charm in the past because I was too flirtatious, all I can do now is appear less lecherous.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and sighed, ¡°How dare you call yourself charming in front of Brother Ji? Brother Ji! I¡¯m not one who picks on others, but I think that Sanshi has made new discoveries in terms of his soul skills, seeing how brazen his words are. When we settle downter, you must really spar with him to improve your cultivation.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was furious. ¡°Bei Bei, you! Brother Ji, don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. I heard from him yesterday that his Holy Light Dragon has awakened, and he has learned a new move. You should spar with him instead!¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. He only nodded at Bei Bei and said calmly, ¡°Alright.¡± After that, he turned to Xu Sanshi and also nodded at him before saying agreeably, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Both Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were stunned. Bei Bei said helplessly, ¡°Harming others without helping yourself. Is there any point in that?¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed coldly, ¡°What do you think? You were the one who started everything.¡±

    He Caitou was watching the two of them from one side, and was amused. He didn¡¯t make a sound, though. Thedies behind him were also smiling. When Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were together, they always mocked each other less than three sentences after their conversation began.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes as he heard his seniors bickering. It seemed like he was about to sleep again. However, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi quieted down when they saw him shutting his eyes. They knew it represented something.

    Indeed, a weird scene was presented in everyone¡¯s mind at this moment.

    The image that surfaced in their minds was from a high point of view looking down at the hotel lobby. Everyone could be seen. They were presented in colors this time, but the colors were only limited to ck, purple, yellow and white. The number of people was also gradually decreasing.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts rang out in everyone¡¯s minds, ¡°I¡¯ve excluded those without any soul power undtions.¡±

    ck represented a cultivation of at least seven rings, purple represented four or five rings, yellow represented three rings and white represented two rings and below. From the looks of it, there were thirty-four people in ck, two hundred and sixteen people in purple, seventy-eight people in yellow, and less than fifty people in white.

 Chapter 271.3: Sword Fanatics Sword

    Everyone was shocked as they studied everything with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. With Huo Yuhao around, they didn¡¯t need to use their eyes to see. They could just sense all the information!

    There were many teamspeting in this tournament, and these people weren¡¯t all of them. However, there were more than thirty Soul Sages among those who were registering right now. Undoubtedly, they were the teachers and leaders of teams that were here topete in the tournament. It also proved that many sects and academies treated this tournament very seriously. It was important to know that Soul Sages were a big deal everywhere on the continent!

    For this tournament, at least one-fifth of all the outstanding soul masters on the continent would be gathered in Radiant City!

    After briefly observing everyone in the lobby, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection started to change perspective. It was moved upwards, and quickly saw through the main structure of the hotel.

    The Ming Yue Hotel was made using a mixture of reinforced steel and concrete. Some of the more important areas were constructed using extra-high tensile steel.

    There were rooms of varying sizes. The higher up they went, therger the rooms were. Huo Yuhao estimated that there were close to two thousand rooms in this hotel, which itself covered more than fifteen hectares. There were close to two hundred rooms on each story, and more than ten corridors. It was only such a huge hotel that could amodate the number of people attending such arge-scale tournament. All thepeting team¡¯s members were staying in this hotel. Although it seemed a little packed, the hotel could amodate everyone as long as two people shared one room. If it were any other empire, at least three to five hotels would be needed. This fact alone demonstrated how big and powerful the Sun Moon Empire was.

    After ten minutes, Huo Yuhao re-opened his eyes. In these ten minutes, he had used his Spiritual Detection to show his teammates the ranks of the soul masters registering in the lobby, the structure of the hotel, and the condition of the rooms. His Spiritual Detection managed to reach five hundred meters in radius, with him as the center.

    ¡°Oh, a familiar face.¡± Huo Yuhao looked slightly stunned.

    Everyone looked over as they were guided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. There was a group approaching them, and all of them recognized their leader. She was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s princess, Her Imperial Highness Xu Jiujiu, who had given them a lot of trouble in thest tournament.

    They didn¡¯t recognize the others behind her. After all, those who hadpeted in thest tournament were more than twenty now, and had to be reced for this tournament. Xu Jiujiu¡¯s personal visit was shocking enough. However, the bunch of youths following her were evidently top opponents too. They were selected by the Star Luo National Academy, and thus they were naturally the best of the best. The Star Luo National Academy had been one of the top four academies in thest tournament.

    Xu Jiujiu was astonished right now. She was only looking at one person ¨C Huo Yuhao.

    Yes, she only walked over because she saw him. She didn¡¯t expect him to be in such a state.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao?¡± Xu Jiujiu walked in front of everyone. All of them stood up to greet her, with the exception of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he faced Xu Jiujiu. He said, ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was shocked, ¡°I was curious when I saw the wheelchair. I was wondering which team brought along a disabled person. After that, I realized it was you. What happened to you?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu respected Huo Yuhao immensely. In thest tournament, Huo Yuhao had led Shrek Academy to the end even though his cultivation was weak. In the final duel, he had defeated the strongest pairing from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Hongchen siblings, and won the championship.

    At that point in time, the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire had appraised Huo Yuhao highly. After the tournament ended, he even sent someone to investigate Huo Yuhao¡¯s background. He even knew that Huo Yuhao entered the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as an exchange student. The imperial family of the Star Luo Empire had also monitored Huo Yuhao closely, as he developed quickly.

    When they realized Huo Yuhao had entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, they ced more attention on him than ever.

    The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiayin, had once told Xu Jiujiu that Huo Yuhao was Shrek Academy¡¯s future.

    However, he was sitting in a wheelchair now. Was he really the one-of-a-kind talent who possessed twin martial souls, an Ultimate Martial Soul, great fighting abilities, and almost limitless potential?

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s investigations had revealed that Huo Yuhao was from the Star Luo Empire. Although his background was unclear, it was a fact that he was from the Star Luo Empire. While Shrek Academy was huge, it was only an academy. Even if Huo Yuhao took on an extremely important role in the academy in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be at the academy forever, and would have to venture out asionally. That would be the Star Luo Empire¡¯s chance.

    Xu Jiayin had personally instructed her that Huo Yuhao had to be pulled over to the empire once he ventured out from the academy. If he could serve the empire, he would be a pir of the empire in the future! Every one of them knew that Huo Yuhao could be a Transcendent Douluo in the future with his potential.

    Furthermore, he could even reach the level of an Ultimate Douluo.

    What did an Ultimate Douluo represent? A strategic existence!

    Shrek Academy only became an existence that no empire dared to trifle with because of Elder Mu. If a Titled Douluo could obliterate a city, an Ultimate Douluo could change the oue of a war.

    Although there was an unspoken rule that a soul master of a certain level couldn¡¯t attack ordinary people, the threat that a strong soul master brought to his enemies was already quite terrifying.

    Over the past few years, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military had been very active. The Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires were under great pressure. This was especially true for the Star Luo Empire, the second strongest empire on the continent.

    If they could pull Huo Yuhao, and even Shrek Academy, over to their side, the Star Luo Empire would be strong enough to challenge the Sun Moon Empire.

    After thest tournament ended, why did the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s Left Arm Bone end up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands as if it were a gift? It was bait by the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire. It was just that they didn¡¯t have a chance to interact after that.

    Today, Xu Jiujiu was shocked to find out that Huo Yuhao was seated in a wheelchair. His face was pale, which revealed that he was suffering from some kind of sickness. As she had been monitoring Huo Yuhao, she was clear on how important he was to Shrek Academy. He had ended up in such a state even though he was protected by Shrek Academy¡¯s Titled Douluo. What exactly had happened?

    Xu Jiujiu was sharp enough. She could tell that there were indeed problems with Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs. Furthermore, his left arm also seemed very stiff. They were drooping and not in line with his body. He didn¡¯t seem to be acting.

    ¡°Thanks for your concern, Your Highness. I only ran into some problems.¡± Huo Yuhao answered her calmly. Huo Yuhao was impressed by how the Emperor had tried to pull him over to his side. He also had a deep impression of Xu Jiujiu.

    It was a pity that Xu Jiayin and Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had a close rtionship with the White Tiger Duke. It was also precisely because of the White Tiger Duke that Huo Yuhao had his own ns. He couldn¡¯t be pulled over to their side.

    It couldn¡¯t be any small problem since he was in a wheelchair. Xu Jiujiu furrowed her brow, but she couldn¡¯t possibly point this out. She hesitated for a moment. She greeted the rest of his team politely before asking Huo Yuhao, ¡°Since you are already in this state, can you stillpete? Furthermore, all of you are the reigning champions. Why are all of you waiting to register? ording to the rules, the top eight from the previous tournament have registration priority. We justpleted our registration.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°We are not representing Shrek Academy this time.¡±

    As he said this, Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression changed again in astonishment.

    They aren¡¯t representing Shrek Academy? She scanned everyone, and saw theplete lineup from thest tournament! None of them were missing. Why aren¡¯t they representing Shrek Academy? As the princess and leader of the intelligence department, Xu Jiujiu started to overthink things. When she took into ount Huo Yuhao¡¯s body condition, she immediately believed that Shrek Academy was in huge trouble.

    Bei Bei could tell that she was thinking too much from her expression. He hurriedly said, ¡°Your Highness, you are overthinking. We aren¡¯t representing the academy because of the new rules. However, we are still a part of the academy. The academy sent another team over.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was stunned for a moment. Her expression was then restored, and she said in shock, ¡°If all of you aren¡¯t representing the academy, then¡­¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°We are representing the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect?¡± Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t have a deep memory of this ancient sect that had disappeared for years. However, the Tang Sect had once been famous on the continent. That was why she quickly reacted.

    ¡°All of you have joined the Tang Sect?¡± Xu Jiujiu asked.

 Chapter 272.1: Tang Ya

    Bei Bei nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, we are from the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect was down once before, but our goal is to make it great again.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took a deep look at him before studying the rest of them. She nodded and said, ¡°All of you can do it.¡± She wasn¡¯t being merely polite. These people in front of her had managed to be champions during the tournament even though they were only Soul Ancestors and below! Each of them possessed great potential, and they were all top students from Shrek Academy!

    A sect was quite powerful if they had a Titled Douluo holding the reins. While the few of them weren¡¯t very old, they all had the potential to be Titled Douluo in the future!

    After pondering for a moment, Xu Jiujiu immediately said, ¡°The history of the Tang Sect goes back a long way. The first generation Tang Sect leader also contributed greatly to the world of soul masters. If your sect needs the help of the empire in the future, we¡¯ll do anything to help.¡±

    As she spoke, she retrieved a pure gold token and gave it to Bei Bei.

    ¡°If the Tang Sect requires any help from the Star Luo Empire in the future, any one of you can use this token and find me at Star Luo City. I¡¯ll do my best to help, if it¡¯s within my means.¡±

    The token was heavy, and was carved with hollow tulip patterns on the front. On the back, there was an image of a tiger¡¯s head. It represented the imperial family¡¯s remembrance of the White Tiger Dynasty.

    This token had great significance. Bei Bei immediately turned serious and said, ¡°Thank you for this gift, Your Highness. The Tang Sect will always remember our friendship with the Star Luo Empire. I believe we¡¯ll have a chance to work together in the future.¡±

    If the Tang Sect¡¯s development only relied on Shrek Academy, it would mean that they were content to only exercise their influence over a certain region. However, this wasn¡¯t what Bei Bei wanted to see. He had promised Tang Ya that they would be the top sect on the continent! Right now, he was also working hard in this direction. Coborating with the Star Luo Empire was very important to Bei Bei¡¯s ns. He didn¡¯t reject Xu Jiujiu¡¯s offer.

    Xu Jiujiu revealed a smile on her face as Bei Bei epted the token. ¡°I hope that the day we work together wille soon.¡±

    After she said that, she turned her attention to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you nning topete in this state?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°Disabled people also have their rights. Your Highness, you can''t judge people based on their looks!¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s gaze changed slightly, and she smiled, ¡°I can¡¯t sense any bitterness from your voice. It seems like I worried too much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he looked at her. Acute observation! Indeed, he felt very blissful, as he was immersed in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s care every day even though he couldn¡¯t move his arms and legs. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t bitter at all.

    ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t poke fun at a disabled person!¡± Huo Yuhao said helplessly.

    Princess Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯ll wait and see whether I¡¯m really mocking you. If we meet in the tournament, you must show some mercy. Although I never thought that the Star Luo National Academy would be champions, we can¡¯t be eliminated too soon, either! I¡¯ll make a move first!¡±

    After she finished her piece, she left with the bunch of youths behind her.

    As she slowly walked away, Huo Yuhao appeared a little pensive. Bei Bei whispered as he asked, ¡°What did you see?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gently shook his head, ¡°I only feel that I shouldn¡¯t be troubling this famous princess, since I¡¯m not even apetitor.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t too exaggerated to use the word ¡®famous¡¯ to describe Xu Jiujiu. In the Star Luo Empire, she was an authoritative figure that everyone knew. She was also very beautiful, and everyone in the empire loved her.

    Bei Bei nodded slightly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s counter changes with no changes. No matter what goal she has, she won¡¯t be targeting us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, do you remember that I mentioned that the Illustrious Virtue Hall was ambushed by the Body Sect?¡±

    Bei Bei was stunned, ¡°What do you mean? She¡¯s involved?¡±

    Huo Yuhao squinted and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. However, the hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo was auctioned off at the Star Luo City. After that, there was a rumor that someone offered a hundred million gold soul coins to obtain the embryo. Who¡¯s wealthy enough to offer such an astronomical figure? I believe the Sun Moon Empire would have noticed this, too. Whether it¡¯s direct or indirect, the Body Sect¡¯s ambush on the Illustrious Virtue Hall must somehow be rted to the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Bei Bei said softly, ¡°I wonder if the Body Sect will be here for the tournament. They have always been very mysterious. Surely the Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t targeting the Body Sect by allowing sects to take part in the tournament?¡±

    Xu Sanshi groaned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the Sun Moon Empire. This is a renowned tournament that involves the entire continent. The Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t possibly use the tournament to target the Body Sect. Their goal isn¡¯t that simple. However, there must still be a degree of targeting involved. If the Body Sect doesn¡¯te, it shows that they are scared of the empire. I believe it¡¯s still possible that they¡¯lle.¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s expression changed, and she said, ¡°If the Body Sectes, they¡¯ll be a threat to us.¡±

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°It¡¯s not just the Body Sect. There are many strong sects on the continent. We¡¯ll have to take this tournament step by step. Let¡¯s be steadier.¡±

    Bei Beimented, ¡°Indeed. Yuhao, don¡¯tpete unless it¡¯s necessary.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Eldest senior, I have the exact opposite thinking as you. I hope to be the first topete in every round of the tournament.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everyone was shocked when he said this. Wang Dong¡¯er also eximed like ady, even though she was dressed in a man¡¯s attire.

    Bei Bei creased his brow, ¡°Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, listen to me first! The greater the pressure, the more likely my potential can be inspired to fuse with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in my body. Just by cultivating as a means to fuse this energy, I¡¯ll take years. However, I believe it¡¯ll be faster if I¡¯m constantly fighting. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll concede defeat if I can¡¯t take it. With my current cultivation, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to win one round.¡±

    Xu Sanshi smiled and said, ¡°Yuhao, you can¡¯t say that. You are our secret weapon. We shouldn¡¯t use our secret weapon first. Isn¡¯t it good to hide it first?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ll hide some of my abilities. It¡¯s not easy to see through the soul skills that my Spirit Eyes possess.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°No, you can¡¯tpete. You can¡¯t be the first topete, either. No matter how strong your Spirit Eyes are, you can¡¯t move or dodge because of your body. If someone unleashes a long-range strike at you, what can you do? You alreadyck the ability to attack from long-range. Without your entire body to coordinate, you¡¯ll be unable to unleash your potential even with soul tools. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± No one knew Huo Yuhao better than her.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a problem. I have my own ways. Let mepete first in the first elimination round. If I can¡¯t make it, I won¡¯t make such a request again. Furthermore, I guarantee that I¡¯ll only fight three single rounds. Yes?¡±

    Bei Bei looked at Wang Dong¡¯er. In such matters, he needed to seek Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s approval first.

    After pondering for awhile, Wang Dong¡¯er nodded lightly and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you try in the first round. However, your safety takes priority. This is for everyone, and for me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao held her hands and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can¡¯t bear to die. With my current state, it might not be a bad thing.¡±

    Xu Sanshi coughed twice. ¡°The two of you can¡¯t always be so immersed in yourselves. It¡¯s too provocative. Furthermore, Wang Dong¡¯er is now Wang Dong. Aren¡¯t you afraid that others will misunderstand you?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao were stunned. Indeed, a few resting teams shot them weird nces.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pulled her hands from Huo Yuhao¡¯s grasp and said as she nced left and right, ¡°Eh, why aren¡¯t they letting us register yet? Their efficiency is really low.¡±

    Compared to five years ago, all of them had changed greatly. It was very difficult for anyone to recognize them even though they hadpeted in thest tournament. After all, the changes from puberty were substantial.

    This was especially true for Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Xiao Xiao. They weren¡¯t even thirteen when theypetedst time, but they were seventeen now. Xiao Xiao was already a ravishing beauty. While Huo Yuhao was seated in a wheelchair, he was still a tall andrge youth. He was two heads taller than he was five years ago. If Princess Jiujiu hadn''t been monitoring him, she wouldn¡¯t have recognized him. That was why no one came to greet them even though they had been waiting for quite some time. Huo Yuhao noticed a few familiar teams. Of course, he only recognized their leaders. Although these teams had had preparatory squad members during thest tournament, he hadn¡¯t really noticed them too much. Over the past five years, he wasn¡¯t the only one who had changed. They had all been youths. Everyone else had changed greatly too!

 Chapter 272.2: Tang Ya

    After waiting for an hour, they were finally led to the registration area.

    The registration area was at the center of the lobby. There was a long table that faced the doors, and there were ten people in charge of registration.

    There was also a neat row of empty tables to one side. They were instructed to fill in a form.

    Bei Bei was in charge of filling out this form.

    Once he received the form, Bei Bei understood why they had had to wait so long. There were many things that he had to fill out. Detailed information on every official and preparatory squad member had to be written down ¨C their name, age, sect, etc. It took ten minutes just to fill out the form.

    After filling out the form, everyone had to take a photograph at the registration table.

    The camera was a special, auxiliary-type soul tool. It captured everyone¡¯s appearance. After the photographs were taken, they were directly printed on the registration form. This also demonstrated the leading position the Sun Moon Empire possessed in terms of technology.

    After the photography segment was over, they still had to undergo body and physical tests. This was to ensure that everypeting member was twenty years old or younger.

    They were then led into a huge room in the hotel. There was already a queue in this room, but it was much simpler for the Tang Sect there. After all, Na Na was their only preparatory squad member. As they were overage, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan couldn¡¯tpete as preparatory squad members.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t a stranger to the equipment used to measure his body. It was just that he was wondering what kind of result would be produced as he was measured in his current state?

    It was their turn soon. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt petrified. A weird feeling caused him to turn to a corner of the measuring room. When his gazended on someone, he couldn¡¯t shift his eyes anymore.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice cracked as he shouted, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya!¡± This attracted the attention of everyone in the measuring room.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao exmation, Bei Bei¡¯s body trembled violently. After that, he also turned in the same direction.

    There was a youngdy in the corner of the room. She still possessed a slender figure, and was as ravishing as ever. She looked taller than she had been a few years back, but there was an unhealthy paleness to her face. Her sharp eyes seemed to have changed color. There was a hint of dark blue in her beautiful eyes. As she stood in the corner, she seemed to have assimted with the shadows. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s acute senses, no one would have noticed her.

    Yes. She was Tang Ya. Compared to a few years ago before, when she had disappeared, her appearance hadn¡¯t changed much.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body stiffened when he saw her. After that, he started to tremble violently. He even had to grab hold of Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair to stabilize himself.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, Xiao Ya¡­¡± Only those who were familiar with him knew that Bei Bei had had a hard time not finding Tang Ya over these past few years. They hadn¡¯t expected to see her here.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t any less agitated than Bei Bei. To him, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were his benefactors! Furthermore, Tang Ya was the true sect leader of the Tang Sect. After the Tang Sect was re-established, Bei Bei had mentioned that he was only a temporary substitute for her. When she returned, she would be reinstated as the sect leader. Everyone agreed with his proposition too.

    He actually met Tang Ya here. He was extremely emotional right now.

    Tang Ya also looked over. She first saw Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair before she saw Bei Bei. She seemed a little lost, and didn¡¯t move from her position. She gave off the feeling that she had lost her soul.

    Bei Bei moved at this point. He was like a gust of wind right now as he burst towards Tang Ya. How long had it been? Tang Ya had gone missing just after the previous tournament had ended. It was close to five years now! They had turned from teenagers into youths. As he saw Tang Ya again, Bei Bei felt that his heart was about to jump out of his chest. His heart was only filled with his boundless love for her. Right now, he wasn¡¯t as calm as before. There was only Tang Ya in his heart right now.

    He came in front of Tang Ya instantly and grabbed her shoulders forcefully. His voice was trembling as he said, ¡°Xiao Ya, where, where have you been all these years? Did you know how hard a time I¡¯ve had searching for you?¡±

    She was still in a daze even though he had grabbed her. She let him shake her body.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao sensed something amiss. He shouted, ¡°Eldest senior, be careful!¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, he would have been cautious and wary of his surroundings if he were acting normally. However, he was too emotional now. Five years of yearning! His lover who had upied his entire heart had finally appeared. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else.

    At this point, Tang Ya finally moved. She lifted her hands and pressed them against Bei Bei¡¯s chest. It was as if she was resisting him. However, her dark-blue eyes started to light up as she lifted her head in the next moment.

    Bei Bei was stunned. He only felt that he had seen two deep valleys, and he was sucked into these valleys. In the next moment, a huge force struck his chest. He flew backward like a broken kite.

    Fresh blood sprayed from his mouth. His entire body was engulfed by a dark-blue glow, which was swallowing his life power maniacally.

    After Huo Yuhao told Bei Bei to be cautious, the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters acted too. Xu Sanshi was the first to burst out. While he had always bickered with Bei Bei, they actually shared a close rtionship. He unleashed his martial soul as he stepped out.

    It was a pity that Tang Ya¡¯s action was too sudden. Who would have expected her to make a move on Bei Bei? Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement was toote. He leapt up as he saw Bei Bei in the air and cushioned his fall. At the same time, a pitch-ck light engulfed Bei Bei¡¯s body and resisted the vition of the dark-blue glow.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression changed the moment their soul power met. It was very strong. The soul power that Tang Ya had left on Bei Bei¡¯s body was too dense and consolidated, and it even possessed an extremely dominant, corrosive force. Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t gain an advantage over it even with his cultivation. Fortunately, Bei Bei¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t weak. He unleashed his own soul power and strongly resisted the invasive soul power. Tang Ya had only pushed him, she hadn¡¯t unleashed an attack. She had unleashed the soul power that poured into his body, but didn¡¯t directly attack his chest. As a result, Bei Bei¡¯s bones were fine even though he was slightly injured.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, are you crazy?¡± Xu Sanshi shouted at Tang Ya as he tried to resist her soul power.

    At this point, a few men in ck stepped in front of Tang Ya. One of the elders looked in the direction of group representing the Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shuddered as he saw this elder. His expression also turned dismal.

    He recognized him. That was because he was one of the assassins who had intercepted Huo Yuhao¡¯s return to Shrek Academy a few months ago.

    Zhang Peng; Scorpion Tiger Douluo, and half evil soul master. He was a Rank 96 Transcendent Douluo. He wasn¡¯t inferior to Dean Yan Shaozhe in a fight!

    Now he had appeared here, and in front of Tang Ya. What did it mean?

    Furthermore, Tang Ya¡¯s soul power evidently contained the aura of an evil soul master!

    Na Na was very pale right now. There were only three words going through her mind right now ¨C Holy Ghost Church. It was the Holy Ghost Church!

    The rest of the Tang Sect also came up beside Bei Bei. Wang Dong¡¯er pressed her hands on Bei Bei¡¯s shoulders and poured in her pure power of light. Along with Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu soul power, the dark-blue aura was expelled from his body.

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression was extremely pale, and there was fresh blood flowing from his nose. Tang Ya¡¯s strike didn¡¯t just hurt his body; it also broke his heart!

    He didn¡¯t expect Tang Ya to give him such a huge ¡®gift¡¯ after five years without seeing her!

    Zhang Peng wore a cold look as he looked towards everyone from the Tang Sect. He was stunned when he saw Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair. He squinted his eyes and appeared pensive.

    Tang Ya acted like she didn¡¯t see all of them. After hitting Bei Bei, she turned around and left. A few other men in ck followed beside her. Even Zhang Peng did the same thing.

    Bei Bei struggled, but he couldn¡¯t get up! There was also blood in his mouth. His voice was hoarse as he said, ¡°Xiao Ya...¡±

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t stop. She quickly left, as if she hadn¡¯t seen anything. However, there was a slight quiver of emotion in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao arrived beside Bei Bei in his wheelchair, with Ji Juechen¡¯s help. He grabbed onto Bei Bei¡¯s wrist and softly said, ¡°Eldest senior, calm down.¡± His gaze was gentle, and a slight wave of spiritual power engulfed Bei Bei¡¯s head. Yuhao used the gentle and spiritual aura to soothe Bei Bei¡¯s turmoil.

 Chapter 272.3: Tang Ya

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued to pour her soul power into Bei Bei¡¯s body and helped him expel Tang Ya¡¯s soul power from his body. However, it wasn¡¯t to great effect. Tang Ya¡¯s soul power was too domineering, and continued to run riot in Bei Bei¡¯s body, whereas Bei Bei wasn¡¯t able to control his own soul power to resist Tang Ya¡¯s soul power. Just Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s strength alone didn¡¯t seem to be enough.

    Tears started to stream down Bei Bei¡¯s face. He was normally very tough, but his tough exterior was torn down after he saw Tang Ya again.

    Huo Yuhao said softly, ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t be sad. That wasn¡¯t Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s intention. She¡¯s with a bunch of evil soul masters. If I¡¯m not wrong, she must have been abducted by evil soul masters. Do you remember the Holy Ghost Church that I mentioned before? It must be them. She must be under their control. Eldest senior, you are our pir. You must remain strong. It¡¯s only in this way that we can think of a way to save Teacher Xiao Yan from those devils!¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Bei Bei calmed down a little. He was a little lost as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head heartily at him, ¡°If Teacher Xiao Ya were clear-headed, she wouldn¡¯t have done that to you! Eldest senior, you are confused because you are too concerned about her! No matter what it is, we¡¯ve seen Teacher Xiao Ya. It¡¯s better than not knowing where she is. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll do our best to save her.¡±

    Bei Bei was in a daze. As the eldest senior of the sect and one of the most outstanding young talents from Shrek Academy, he managed to regain his focus with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help after momentarily losing control.

    He shut his eyes, and a blue glow was released from his body. Fine scales also started to surface on his skin. The strong side of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was revealed. He expelled the violent soul power with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help.

    The room also descended into chaos from what had happened. Very soon, soul masters from the Sun Moon Empire entered the room to maintain order and interrogate the Tang Sect.

    Xu Sanshi represented the Tang Sect and answered their questions. He only said that there was a misunderstanding which led to a conflict. Whether it was because of Tang Ya or Bei Bei, he didn¡¯t wish to escte this matter.

    They performed their body measurements after this. Although Bei Bei underwent the measurements, his injuries were still quite bad. After he finished his measurements, Xu Sanshi carried him to his room to rest.

    The rest also went through their measurements smoothly. After all, it was just to verify their age. To keep the abilities of thepeting teams a secret, there weren¡¯t any measurements to test their soul power and cultivation. It was different from the tests that Huo Yuhao went through when he first entered the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Huo Yuhao was thest to take his measurements. He was lifted onto the scale by Wang Dong¡¯er. When she did that, everyone¡¯s expression turned weird, including those who were from the Sun Moon Empire. Is this disabled man here topete too?

    ¡°Is there a mistake?¡± The staff in charge of the measurement scale asked Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her brows. She couldn¡¯t stand it when others looked down on Huo Yuhao. However, Huo Yuhao interrupted just before she red up, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a rule that restricts a disabled person frompeting, am I right?¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t¡­ it¡¯s just that there¡¯s a limited quota!¡± The staff answered subconsciously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There are only eight members from our sect, and only one preparatory squad member. There isn¡¯t any wastage. Just take it that I¡¯m here to make up the numbers.¡±

    Since they didn¡¯t vite any rules, the staff didn¡¯t stop them. He activated the measurement scale and helped Huo Yuhao with the test.

    A streak of dim blue light rose from the scale and scanned Huo Yuhao¡¯s calves. It was using his bone age to calcte his actual age. It was one of the most efficient methods.

    However, he was soon stunned. That was because there wasn¡¯t any response from the scale. There wasn¡¯t any feedback after the scan.

    What was going on? After so many tests, this was the first time something like this had happened.

    The output was increased, and the blue light became stronger. Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs were scanned once again.

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he said, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m a cripple. My legs are different. You should scan my right hand. My right hand is the only limb that¡¯s fine.¡± As he spoke, he bent his body forward and extended his right arm beside his leg.

    Indeed, the measuring scale responded to this. It evidently showed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s bone age was seventeen.

    Huo Yuhaopleted the measurements as the staff watched with weird looks in their eyes. Wang Dong¡¯er lifted him back into his wheelchair before pushing him towards the exit.

    After they left, there was a hugemotion in the room.

    ¡°What sect is he from? Why did the sect send a cripple?¡±

    ¡°I think that it¡¯s called the Tang Sect. What kind of sect is the Tang Sect? Has anyone heard of it before?¡±

    ¡°No. It must be a small sect. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so pathetic. He¡¯s really pitiful ¨C losing the use of his legs and left arm even though he¡¯s only seventeen.¡±

    ¡°Because of this, we should respect his courage for choosing topete in this tournament!¡±

    ¡°Hai, can he reallypete in that condition? Is he going to sit in a wheelchair topete?¡±

    All types of discussions were going on right now. Wang Dong¡¯er clenched her lips tightly as she pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair. Her eyes were already tearing up.

    Although Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see behind him, he could sense Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s emotional turmoil. He gently tapped her hand and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is interesting? If I be the eventual champion, won¡¯t their eyes drop out?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er held onto his hand tightly. Huo Yuhao sighed as he felt her icy cold hand. ¡°Dong¡¯er, do you want me to be happy, blissful and always wearing a smile on my face?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned for a moment. She replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°In that case, you must be happy so that I can sense your smile every minute and second. You must smile in the face of everything.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure shuddered a little, and her face turned red. Her voice was trembling slightly, ¡°Yuhao, I¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao tapped her hands again, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We should return to our rooms to rest too. I wonder how eldest senior is. Teacher Xiao Ya has finally appeared, which is a good thing. We should also quickly discuss how we should deal with this matter.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er calmed herself down and pushed Huo Yuhao out of the measurement room.

    ording to the arrangements made by the Sun Moon Empire tournamentmittee, thepeting sects and academies were segregated. For example, Shrek Academy¡¯s team was ranked at the top, and stayed in the best rooms and received the best treatment. This was also the same for all the sects. The more reputable a sect was, the better the treatment they received.

    As for the Tang Sect, those in charge of registration didn¡¯t know that they were the members of the team that won the tournament thest time around. They only knew that the Tang Sect wasn¡¯t reputable, and their members were given the most ordinary rooms. The Tang Sect was at the bottom of the hierarchy.

    The inferior rooms were located at the lower stories of the hotel. The first story consisted of the lobby, the wellness center and a few restaurants etc. The Tang Sect team was assigned rooms on the second story.

    The Ming Yue Hotel was thergest hotel in the Sun Moon Empire. Even their most ordinary rooms were not bad. They were just a little small. Each room was around twenty square meters in size, but there was a toilet in each room. The internal decorations were simple, and there were two single beds in each room.

    Although twenty square meters wasn¡¯t considered very spacious for two people, it wasn¡¯t cramped either. However, all ten contestants from the Tang Sect were squeezed into one room right now. There wasn¡¯t even space for them to walk.

    Bei Bei was lying on the bed. His face was pale, but he was clear-headed. Furthermore, it seemed like he had regained hisposure.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair as they were thest two to enter the room. The rest looked very serious as they surrounded Bei Bei.

    After Huo Yuhao entered, Xiao Xiao and He Caitou moved away, and let Wang Dong¡¯er push Huo Yuhao in front of the bed.

    ¡°Eldest senior, are you feeling better?¡± Huo Yuhao asked concernedly, and extended his right hand to take Bei Bei¡¯s pulse.

    Bei Bei¡¯s injury was quite serious. Tang Ya¡¯s soul power had shaken his internal organs. Although his organs were put back into their original position when they did emergency treatment on him, his vital energy was still greatly affected. But Bei Bei had a strong foundation, and thus he wasn¡¯t seriously ill. Even so, he would have to lie in bed for eight to ten days.

    However, the tournament wouldn¡¯t wait for him to recover. In another three days, the tournament would begin. Before it even started, Huo Yuhao was already crippled, and Bei Bei was already seriously injured. The entire team was in a bad shape right now.

    If Huo Yuhao was the soul and brains of this team, Bei Bei was the backbone. Now, neither of them were in their best state, which affected everyone else.

 Chapter 273: Shadows of the Holy Ghost Church

    Huo Yuhao released Bei Bei¡¯s hand after a while. He looked up at the rest of hispanions and smiled as he said, ¡°What¡¯s happening, everyone? Even though we are in dire straits right now, are we worse offpared to thest bigpetition? Eldest senior brother is quite heavily injured, but fortunately, his origin energy is still intact.

    "What happened during thest bigpetition? What were our cultivations five years ago? I only had two rings, while eldest senior brother, second senior brother, and third senior brother had but four soul rings, even though they were the strongest amongst us. We still made it through, didn¡¯t we? Are we in a better situation now, or were we in a better situation back then? We should return with andslide victory to wee Bei Bei¡¯s return. ording to thepetition¡¯s proceedings, we only have to win five rounds in a row until Bei Bei¡¯s injuries recover. We only have to win two more before he can return to top condition."

    Everyone looked a little better after they listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Bei Bei was lying on the bed as he heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone. It¡¯s my fault for being too careless. I¡¯m not worthy of being your eldest senior brother! From now on, Huo Yuhao will be assumingmand, and he will be the one arranging our battle strategies and tactics.¡±

    Thepany nodded their heads, and nobody had any objections to this arrangement at all. Huo Yuhao was held in high regard within the Tang Sect, as everyone had seen what he had given for the sect.

    Bei Bei lowered his voice and said, ¡°What I¡¯m worried about is the Holy Ghost Church. They are an organization of evil soul masters, yet they cane to this ce as if it¡¯s their right to do so, and they can even participate in the bigpetition. What does this mean?¡±

    A pained look overcame his face after this statement, and his breathing became a little short and rapid. Wang Dong¡¯er hurriedly came forward and released her light-type soul power to stabilize his condition. Bei Bei¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon could evolve into the Radiant Holy Dragon, and that meant he was rtively morepatible with light-type soul power.

    Bei Bei¡¯s condition stabilized a little with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help. He nodded in her direction as a sign of gratitude before he continued. ¡°This means that Yuhao¡¯s spection is right ¨C the Sun Moon Empire are in cahoots with that organization of evil soul masters. Their alliance is simply too terrifying.¡±

    Nobody here was stupid, and everyone grew a little solemn as they listened to Bei Bei speak.

    The Holy Ghost Church had been full of secrets and mystery ever since they appeared until now, and nobody knew how much depth or background they had. The strength that they had ced on public disy was enough to prove how frightening this sect was ¨C it was possible that they were even stronger than the Body Sect.

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, was an Ultimate Douluo, and also possessed the Darkness Holy Dragon martial soul. This person had once shared the same reputation as Elder Mu, and this meant a lot of things ¨C the Holy Ghost Sect became a lot more frightening with Long Xiaoyao holding down the fort. Furthermore, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, had also appeared before. He was a half-evil soul master, and he was also a Rank 96 Transcendent Douluo. He could hold his own against Yan Shaozhe.

    This was all that had been ced on disy for the public to see. Then, how much more did they have hidden from sight and knowledge?

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s most prominent strength was their rapid development in soul tools, and this gave them an astronomical technological advantage against other countries. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage in this respect had be increasingly obvious over time, and the greatest weapon the native three countries had against the Sun Moon Empire were soul masters.

    Every country had several Titled Douluo anchoring things down, and these Titled Douluo were bred for battle. If any one of them could break through into an army¡¯s inner circle that was equipped with soul tools, the destructiveness and bloodshed that these Titled Douluo could cause would be incredibly horrifying.

    ording to the soul masters¡¯ unspoken rules, high-level soul masters were not allowed to attack normal citizens, while those that could use soul tools were also soul masters in some sense. Furthermore, if push came to shove, those unspoken rules would mean nothing, as what was more important than a country¡¯s survival?

    This was the main reason why the Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t been doing much over the years. They had lost their Sun Moon Continent title ever since the Holy War, and they didn¡¯t dare to lose a second time ¨C if they did, the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries that had been threatened by the Sun Moon Empire would never let them go. They would definitely give everything they had to invade the Sun Moon Empire, so that the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t have the breathing space they had all those years ago.

    The impasse between soul masters and soul engineers had led to the current equilibrium. The Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries were collectively stronger than the Sun Moon Empire, as they were three countries against one, after all. On the other hand, the first nation to move against the Sun Moon Empire would undoubtedly sustain the greatest losses, and this was the reason why nobody had done anything. This equilibrium had been maintained throughout the years.

    However, this equilibrium was bing increasingly unstable over time. The Sun Moon Empire had enjoyed rapid development and expansion in recent years, while evidence of their shady alliance with the Holy Ghost Church had also surfaced.

    The Holy Ghost Church had dared toe out in broad daylight ¨C what did this mean? This meant that they were unafraid of being discovered. They were not afraid of being discovered by the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries or by Shrek Academy, as these entities no longer meant anything to them. This probably also meant that the Sun Moon Empire was about to make a move, and they couldn¡¯t control themselves anymore.

    The Holy Ghost Church wasposed entirely of formidable evil soul masters, and these evil soul masters had formed a symbiotic rtionship with the Sun Moon Empire, who were adept with soul tools. If a war broke out, how could the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries defend themselves?

    Ever since the Dragon Emperor Douluo had appeared, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had decided that Shrek Guardians would devote all their energy and attention towards the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s movements, as they couldn¡¯t just let their students and teachers give up their lives for nothing. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had already hosted multiple meetings and conferences to discuss the Holy Ghost Church ¨C what did the appearance of an Ultimate Douluo represent? No matter how much the Tang Sect¡¯s members didn¡¯t want to admit it, they were all extremely clear that the Dragon Emperor Douluo himself could suppress the entire Shrek Academy.

    Elder Xuan was cultivating twice as often as he used to. Huo Yuhao even heard from Xiao Xiao that Elder Xuan almost went insane because he was too hasty. The current Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion wanted to break through and be an Ultimate Douluo as fast as he could, so that he could match up to Long Xiaoyao.

    However, could he really challenge the Dragon God Douluo? Even if Elder Xuan did be an Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo had been at this level for much longer, and it would be an incredibly challenging task for Elder Xuan to defeat him. Elder Xuan had once said that Long Xiaoyao was possibly stronger than the Body Sect¡¯s sect leader, Du Busi. Nobody would dare to argue if someone imed that Long Xiaoyao was the number one individual on the entire continent.

    The atmosphere in the room felt a little stifled. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s appearance was no longer just a problem for the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament ¨C their appearance had affected the entire continent¡¯s political bnce. Shrek Academy was located in the center of the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries, and the Great Star Dou Forest was behind them. However, could Shrek Academy avoid participation if war eventually broke out? That didn¡¯t seem very likely at all.

    Xu Sanshi lowered his voice and said, ¡°If only we had been born twenty years earlier.¡±

    Everybody concurred with his statement. Even though they were all exceedingly outstanding members of the younger generation, they were still too young after all, and that meant their cultivations were still limited. They were still a far, far cry from the powerful individuals that could actually affect the direction of a war.

    Color returned to Bei Bei¡¯s face with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help. He struggled to lift his hand and took out the golden medallion that Princess Jiu Jiu had given him, which he passed to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao ¨C go and look for Princess Jiu Jiu, and tell her what we think. I trust that she is smart enough to understand the gravity of the situation, and then we will continue with our original n. Time is of the essence, so it can¡¯t be helped if we have to be a little hasty.¡±

    They were here to represent the Tang Sect in this season¡¯spetition, but they had other intentions besides simply promoting the sect. A sect¡¯s development was tied to two things: how strong the sect was, and the sect¡¯s finances.

    The Tang Sect couldn¡¯t be considered powerful at all, but Shrek Academy was behind them, and they were located in Shrek City, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about their sect¡¯s safety. That also meant that the most crucial thing they needed so that their sect could develop stably and quickly for a long time toe was money.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s soul tool research and purchasing of all sorts of exotic metals required money, and that meant the Tang Sect would need more friends and allies under such circumstances. Shrek City was powerful, but they were very deep inside the Continent, and that meant it was unlikely that they would participate in a war. Shrek Academy was helping the Tang Sect develop as much as they could, but they couldn¡¯t purchase too many soul tools in the end. However, while Shrek Academy might not need much, other people needed them.

    Thepany was here to participate in thispetition to find people to work with, besides promoting their sect¡¯s name, so that they could sell their products. The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire were the Tang Sect¡¯s optimal targets. They had already met Princess Jiu Jiu as soon as they arrived today, and gotten off to a great start. This was originally a fantastic beginning for the Tang Sect, and Bei Bei had originally wanted to find Princess Jiu Jiu for another round of detailed negotiations after they had obtained a decent result in thepetition. However, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s appearance interrupted their initial ns. On the other hand, and from another perspective, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s existence was beneficial for their efforts to promote the Tang Sect¡¯s products.

    Bei Bei hadn¡¯t been in the right state of mind ever since Tang Ya appeared, but he was still the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother in the end. He immediately decided which path led to the greatest profit and benefit, and rying information about the Holy Ghost Church to the Star Luo Empire would undoubtedly buy them a better friendship and camaraderie with Princess Jiu Jiu. This also meant that pushing out the Tang Sect¡¯s products afterwards would be a lot easier than before. A deeper cooperation wouldn¡¯t be easy, but a good start for their first encounter would be enough.

    Huo Yuhao took the golden medallion and nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over right now. Get some rest, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of him.¡±

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°I¡¯ll be happy if you don¡¯t piss me off.¡±

    Strangely, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t bicker with him and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough ¨C get some sleep. Everyone should return to their rooms to take a break. This room is so small and there¡¯s so many people gathered here, to the point where the air isn¡¯t so good anymore.¡±

    Everyone left Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s room one after another. Bei Bei watched everyone leave before he shut his eyes tiredly, and images of Tang Ya¡¯s nk eyes surfaced over and over again in his mind.

    Xiao Ya¡­

    A faint smile appeared on Bei Bei¡¯s pale face, but nobody knew what he was thinking about at this moment.

    ------

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to find the rooms where the Star Luo National Academy were staying. With Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s status, and in addition to the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s exemry results in the previouspetition, they were arranged in the rtively higher levels. However, they weren¡¯t at the highest level.

    Huo Yuhao held onto the golden medallion, and the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s team members escorted him to Princess Jiu Jiu. The princess was looking a little upset, and she was sitting on the sofa. Her expression returned to normal only when she saw Wang Dong¡¯er push Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair into the room.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Xu Jiujiu nodded at Huo Yuhao as a greeting, but her eyes were a little doubtful.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t answer her question. Instead, he changed the topic and said, ¡°The Star Luo National Academy can only stay in the second-tier rooms. I wonder who¡¯s staying in the first-tier rooms?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s face turned ck as she said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, are you here to piss me off?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Why should I? Compared to you and yourpany, the Tang Sect and I are a lot worse off ¨C we are staying in the worst rooms, and we have received the worst hospitality. I¡¯m here today to tell you something important.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Xu Jiujiu was a little surprised, but she had great temperament andposure, and regained her calmness in no time. The truth was that she was just upset about being assigned to second-tier rooms ¨C she was the princess of the Continent¡¯s second-biggest country, and it wouldn¡¯t have been right if she didn¡¯t feel upset about it. The only difference was that she didn¡¯t express her feelings outwardly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Even though I¡¯m not sure which sects reside in the top-tier rooms, I have seen one of them ¨C this sect is intimately connected to the Star Luo Empire. Even though I¡¯m at Shrek Academy, I¡¯m from the Star Luo Empire after all. This is the reason why I¡¯m here to tell you this piece of information.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu said, ¡°And you¡¯ve discovered what this sect is? Are they the Body Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Of course not ¨C I haven¡¯t seen anyone from the Body Sect. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve heard of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Church?¡±

    Huo Yuhao reacted in surprise, as all he could see in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes was nkness and cluelessness. ording to the intelligence that Shrek Academy had umted, this princess was in charge of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s intelligence works, yet they knew nothing about the Holy Ghost Church. This meant that the Holy Ghost Church were hidden deep, and it was likely that they had only been moving around inside the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you not to know anything about the Holy Ghost Church. That means I haven¡¯te here for nothing,¡± he paused, and his tone became a little solemn, ¡°The Holy Ghost Church have the Sun Moon Empire behind them, and they are a powerful sect that consists of evil soul masters. They possess a Transcendent Douluo, and an Ultimate Douluo as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s statement wasn¡¯t long, but every word crackled in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s ears like fireworks. This calm and casual princess could no longer maintain herposure, and she sprung up from the sofa as if something sharp was poking her buttocks. She eximed in fright, ¡°What did you say?!¡±

 Chapter 274.1: A Big Customer

    Princess Jiu Jiu bounced off the sofa after listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s statement, and she stared at him with eyes ovee with fear.

    The news that Huo Yuhao had just ryed to Princess Jiu Jiu was simply too astounding, and this was the same for the Star Luo Empire, A sect formed by evil soul masters, a sect that possessed an Ultimate Douluo, and a Transcendent Douluo, and a sect that was under the protection of another nation hostile to them. Xu Jiujiu¡¯s typical stability andposure began to waver as she panicked after listening to this piece of incredibly bad news.

    ¡°Are you for real?¡± Princess Jiu Jiu stared at Huo Yuhao as she subconsciously clenched her fists.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°How can I lie about something like this, and how can I even seed in doing so? You can observe when thepetition begins, and you will see things for yourself.¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu¡¯s face changed as she stumbled backwards, and her calves pressed against the sofa. She lost her center of gravity and copsed back onto it.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, just impossible. How can evil soul masters possess a Transcendent Douluo, and even an Ultimate Douluo? That¡¯s absolutely impossible. Have you seen it with your own eyes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that this piece of news was hard to believe. Furthermore, he was practically telling the Star Luo Empire that disaster had befallen them.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Have you ever heard of the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng?¡±

    ¡°Scorpion Tiger Douluo? Are you talking about the half-evil soul master, that Scorpion Tiger Douluo? He¡­ hasn¡¯t he been missing for many years?¡± Princess Jiu Jiu had already reconciled with this piece of news, but she would rather be in denial of what she believed to be true.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The Scorpion Tiger Douluo has already appeared in Radiant City, and we just met him in the measurement room. Furthermore, eldest senior brother has been hurt by people from the Holy Ghost Church, and he¡¯s barely hanging on. I hope that you can calm down, princess, and that you can treat this substantial problem seriously. You have to ry this information back to the Star Luo Empire as quickly as possible, so that the Star Luo Empire can be prepared to respond.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was ady, but the fact that she had such a status within the Star Luo Empire meant she had to have some outstanding qualities. She tried her best to control her emotions after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s reminder, and she nodded her head. ¡°Alright, please go on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire can be considered our mutual enemy. The war hasn¡¯t begun, but anyone can see that the day wille when the Sun Moon Empire cannot hold themselves back anymore. Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church is made up of evil soul masters and can be treated as the collective enemy of all other soul masters in the world. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, is the Transcendent Douluo that I have seen. I obliterated one of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s branches when I was on exchange at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and that episode gave me proof that this sect exists.

    ¡°We were ambushed by the Scorpion Tiger Douluo on our way back to Shrek. I wouldn¡¯t be here today if there hadn¡¯t been powerful individuals from Shrek Academy there with me during that episode. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo wasn¡¯t the strongest one in the force that came to ambush me, however. There was another name that I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard before, princess: the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes became a little ck after she heard that name. She had barely managed to calm herself down before this, and her expression drastically changed once more in the next moment. ¡°The one who possesses the Darkness Holy Dragon, and the one who was once known as one of the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White; the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao? But isn¡¯t he more than two hundred years old if he¡¯s still alive? He hasn¡¯t appeared on the Continent in the past hundred years. This¡­ how is this possible?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I wish that this was all impossible, and that nothing like this had ever happened. However, the truth is right in front of us, and we cannot force ourselves not to believe it. Our academy¡¯s Elder Xuan was there that day, but even Elder Xuan was one generation beneath Long Xiaoyao. I trust that you know that my teacher was the Radiant Holy Dragon of the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White, and he was the Dragon God Douluo. Long Xiaoyao shared a reputation with my teacher when he was still alive, and now that my teacher has passed, nobody in Shrek Academy has the ability to single-handedly hold back the Darkness Holy Dragon. Even though the Dragon Emperor Douluo isn¡¯t an evil soul master, he¡¯s still part of the Holy Ghost Church. Furthermore, he¡¯s not the sect leader, he¡¯s only one of the sect¡¯s elders. There¡¯s someone out there who canmand people like the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Scorpion Tiger Douluo; it¡¯s not hard to imagine how powerful the Holy Ghost Church is.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s face was a little pale. This piece of news was just too important, yet she had had no idea about it before today. This was far too important for the Star Luo Empire.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuhao. Thank you for telling me everything. This is just too important, and I will immediately send someone to verify these things. The empire will not forget this contribution and favor if we find this information to be true, and we will definitely reward you ordingly.¡± Xu Jiujiu¡¯s thoughts were a little messed up and she wasn¡¯t in her right state of mind, but she didn¡¯t forget about her promise. Even though Huo Yuhao was far less valuable in his current crippled state than he had been back then, she could guess that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t remain like this from the look on his face.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t that much of a contribution. From our perspective, the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Ghost Church can possibly be an enemy that we have to face together. Perhaps, that day is inevitable. You should be able to tell from my description, princess, that nobody has the ability to challenge them alone. We can only forge as many alliances as we can in order to have the strength to challenge them.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu nodded her head silently. If the Sun Moon Empire possessed an Ultimate Douluo that had been around for two hundred years, that person alone could be apocalyptic for the Star Luo Empire. An Ultimate Douluo had enough power to take down more than ten Titled Douluo at a whim, and once the Star Luo Empire¡¯s top-level individuals had fallen, there would no longer be anything they could do against the Sun Moon Empire, and they would be rolled over.

    Xu Jiujiu asked, ¡°Do you have other information, Yuhao? If you have other important intel, I can purchase it directly from you. You can ask for any price you want.¡± Her impression of Huo Yuhao was a lot better than before. Just as Bei Bei had said, it would be a lot easier for them to obtain the princess¡¯ trust with the information about the Holy Ghost Church as their main game.

    Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t even consider whether Huo Yuhao was deceiving her. First, he hailed from Shrek Academy. Secondly, this piece of news was simply too astounding. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao mentioned that the Holy Ghost Church had sent people to participate in thepetition, and it would be too easy to expose a lie. Therefore, shepletely believed him. She would immediately send people to obtain evidence once Huo Yuhao left, and then she would ry this information back to her empire.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t have other intel. We¡¯ve only developed these spections after we just realized that the Holy Ghost Church is also participating in thepetition. We¡¯re here to find you because we can¡¯t afford to dy any longer. The Holy Ghost Church dares to parade around in broad daylight, and that goes to show that they¡¯re unafraid of threats from any other force. That also means that the Sun Moon Empire won¡¯t be holding back for much longer.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, this is too important. Let¡¯s do it this way, Yuhao. You guys can return for now, and I will immediately settle this and pass this information back to the empire so that my brother can make a decision. If this is true, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to pay a personal visit to Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, princess. I have something else for you. If you¡¯re interested, our cooperation can begin right away.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gestured to Wang Dong¡¯er behind him as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her left hand. The Starlight Sapphire ring that Huo Yuhao typically wore was now on her left hand, and six streaks of starlight glowed on the ring¡¯s surface.

    Xu Jiujiu was momentarily stunned, and a tinge of vignce immediately appeared in her eyes.

    Right at this moment, a human figure appeared soundlessly behind Xu Jiujiu. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er only discovered her existence when she appeared, and Huo Yuhao hadpletely failed to sense her appearance before this, even with his current spiritual power.

    ¡°A Titled Douluo?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.

    An old woman had appeared behind Xu Jiujiu. She looked like she was at least eighty years old, and her hair was all white. She was d in a flowing red dress that radiated in tandem with her snowy-white hair, but her eyes appeared exceptionally dark and sinister. Greenish-blue light burst from her eyes in all directions, and she unleashed a forceful and stifling aura from the moment she appeared. This aura wasn¡¯t targeted at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Instead, it filled up the entire room.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all in the face of such immense pressure. Faint purple light sparkled in his eyes as gentle spiritual undtions flowed outward and enveloped both him and Wang Dong¡¯er inside.

    ¡°Eh?¡± The old woman gasped in surprise, and there was now a hint of astonishment in her eyes as she stared at Huo Yuhao. She could tell from his soul power undtions that this youth had but five soul rings, give or take, yet he could defend himself against her stifling aura. He didn¡¯t cower away or back off at all, and she couldn¡¯t even lock onto him. How could this be something that a five-ringed Soul King could achieve?

    The olddy increased the pressure in the air after her initial sh of astonishment, and this pressure poured towards Huo Yuhao from all directions.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show any weakness at all, nor did he say a single word. Purple light circted, and a diamond-like radiance gradually began to sparkle in his eyes. The purple lightyer that was protecting them immediately became like the night sky, while stars dotted its surface. This Titled Douluo didn¡¯t stifle Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power at all. Instead, it seemed as if Huo Yuhao was pushing back against her!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting strength paled inparison to when he wasn¡¯t injured. However, his aura hadn¡¯t been weakened at all. Even Elder Xuan had been astounded by his spiritual power, while the old woman was still quite a distance from Elder Xuan¡¯s abilities.

    A virtual golden projection began to glimmer into view behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. It was Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s look in girl¡¯s clothes, and the Goddess of Light immediately caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes to grow gentle and tender as they were filled with overwhelming love. His Goddess of Light¡¯s power was boosted by thirty percent as long as Wang Dong¡¯er was beside him.

 Chapter 274.2: A Big Customer

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, senior,¡± Huo Yuhao sighed calmly.

    The old woman grunted coldly as she took a step forward, and she was just about to attack when Xu Jiujiu reached up to hold her back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Grandma Yi Man. Yuhao is our guest.¡±

    The old woman squinted as she said, ¡°This fellow is a little abnormal, his spiritual power is far stronger than it should be. It¡¯s at a level that a Soul King shouldn¡¯t possess. Let me take him down, Jiujiu, and then you can interrogate him.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu said hurriedly, ¡°Grandma Yi Man, he really is our guest, we can¡¯t treat our guests like that! I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. Grandma Yi Man has been protecting me since I was a child, and she must have felt something dangerous from your storage-type soul tool, and that¡¯s the reason why she¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Since you have no interest in seeing what we have to offer, then we will take our leave so that we can prevent any misunderstandings. Let¡¯s go, Dong¡­ ahem, Wang Dong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nearly forgot that Wang Dong¡¯er was currently dressed in a guy¡¯s clothes, and calling her ¡°Dong¡¯er¡± now would sound extremely weird.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced coldly at Xu Jiujiu before she began to push Huo Yuhao away in his wheelchair.

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression changed, and a hesitant and unsure look shed across her face. The old woman in the red dress gave Xu Jiujiu an inquisitive look.

    Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t hesitate for too long. She walked forward briskly and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. I was being too suspicious and oversensitive. I am deeply apologetic about what just happened, and I hope that the two of you can stay.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu had felt an acutely dangerous aura when Wang Dong¡¯er shed the Starlight Sapphire ring, and the aura dide from that ring. That meant that even the Starlight Sapphire¡¯s quality couldn¡¯t mask the dangerous aura contained within, and the aura immediately flowed out the moment Wang Dong¡¯er infused some soul power inside. That was the reason why both she and the olddy in red had immediately reacted like they had.

    Thoughts ran through her head, and Xu Jiujiu figured that Huo Yuhao had no reason to harm her. It was just as he had said: everyone was standing on the same line, they shared the same enemy, and the enemy of her enemy was her friend. What Huo Yuhao wanted to show her was possibly dangerous, but it was unlikely that it was targeted towards her. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had just given them such important intel, she couldn¡¯t just turn him away just like that. The entire Shrek Academy was behind Huo Yuhao, after all!

    Huo Yuhao gestured to Wang Dong¡¯er to tell her to stop, and turned his head around to look back at Xu Jiujiu. ¡°I just want to remind you, princess, that all kinds of coboration and teamwork has to be built on both parties trusting each other. If you don¡¯t trust me, then there¡¯s no need for any further cooperation, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu stared at this youth who could only move one hand, and she felt as if she were staring at a sly and cunning negotiator. Why is he so difficult to deal with? His words were neither hot nor cold, and neither was he too gentle or too pushy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s controlled and moderated rhythm made her feel as if she were being drawn in. It¡¯s no wonder that Shrek Academy has ced so much emphasis on him! Indeed, it¡¯s not just because of his fighting abilities...

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s thoughts stopped there, and she immediately readjusted herself. A sincere smile appeared on her face as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. I¡¯ll apologize to you one more time... we were wrong about what happened just now. Pleasee back, and we can discuss our cooperation in further detail. What do you think? You¡¯re right to say that cooperation means we have to trust each other. I can tell from the important information that you¡¯ve just ryed to me that you trust us. Don¡¯t worry, we will reciprocate no matter how we decide to cooperate in the future.¡±

    How beautiful was that speech? Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration inside as he gestured towards Wang Dong¡¯er, and only then did Wang Dong¡¯er turn his wheelchair back around.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Show it to her. Don¡¯t worry, princess. We are also here, and you have this Titled Douluo to protect you. If something that can threaten your life shows up, won¡¯t we be burying ourselves, too? I may be in a bad state, but I¡¯m not ready to leave this world yet.¡± A teasing smile appeared on his face as he said that.

    Xu Jiujiu blushed as she made a gesture to Wang Dong¡¯er. She stole a few more nces at her at the same time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still Wang Dong five years ago. Even though she had been extremely stunning back then, she was still a child. Five yearster, she had grown into an extremely ¡°handsome¡± youth with a long and slender figure. Flowing pinkish-blue hair draped behind her back, and she was so ¡°handsome¡± that she didn¡¯t have any imperfections at all. Princess Jiujiu was still full of awe even though she had seen uncountable good-looking men before throughout her entire life. Wang Dong has a face that is so attractive that even girls will be envious of him, and Huo Yuhao just gave him a strange look. Can they be¡­?

    The look in Princess Jiujiu¡¯s eyes became a little strange, and she cursed inside. What a waste! If such a handsome boy swings that way¡­

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know that the princess was silently criticizing them. Wang Dong¡¯er took two steps forward, and she reached out with her left hand toward a rtively spacious spot inside the room.

    This was only a second-tier room, but it was a lot better than the rooms Huo Yuhao and others were staying in. The spacious living room was several hundred square meters in surface area, and there were bedrooms inside that weren¡¯t much smaller. This room was better in terms of both decorations and amenities than their room, and the ce that Huo Yuhao and the others were living in weren¡¯t even on the same scale.

    Brilliant blue light flickered, and arge item appeared before Xu Jiujiu. Even though she sounded very trusting, she still took a few steps back subconsciously so that she could keep her distance from it, while the red-dressed Titled Douluo stood in front of her, prepared to react against anything.

    They quickly saw what the item was. It was a strangely-shaped metal item, and Xu Jiujiu could feel that this was a soul tool. Even though the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul tool research paled inparison to the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire had been cing a lot of effort on soul tool research over the years after they realized the gap between them. The only difference was that theycked top-tier soul engineers, and their research standards were also greatly inferior, so there was no way they could catch up to the Sun Moon Empire. Even so, Xu Jiujiu had seen quite a few soul tools, yet she had never seen nor heard about the thing before her.

    The entire soul tool took up about ten square meters of space. There was a square metal base beneath it, and this base was the thing that took up ten square meters. There was a belt beneath the metal base, and it seemed as if this soul tool could be pushed around. One could tell that it was quite heavy just by looking at it.

    There was a thick cylinder on top of the metal base, located in the center. This cylinder connected the base to another rectangr metal piece above it, and this rectangr metalponent was about two and a half meters long, about one and a half meters wide, and quite t, with eighteen ck holes on one side. It seemed like an enormous metal box, and gave people an extremely peculiar feeling. The metal box¡¯s dark body was nowhere close to being visually appealing.

    ¡°This is¡­?¡± Xu Jiujiu nced at Huo Yuhao with inquisitive eyes.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°This is a weapon that the Tang Sect produces. We have named it the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon.¡±

    ¡°Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon? Is it a soul tool?¡± Princess Jiujiu was clearly unfamiliar with this name.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°More urately put, it¡¯s a stationary soul tool. It can only be considered a ss 4 soul tool, but the effects that it can achieve on the battlefield cannot be matched by normal ss 4 soul tools, the reason being that it¡¯s a stationary soul tool. You should know something about stationary soul tools, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Princess Jiu Jiu nodded and said, ¡°The force of stationary soul tools mainlyes from their shells. The cannon itself can only determine the firing distance and uracy. Does your soul tool fire eighteen shells at the same time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There are different settings. You can fire everything at once, or you can them fire one by one. Our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon has several salient features, please allow me to introduce them to you. Firstly, even though it¡¯s just a ss 4 stationary soul tool, it can reach a distanceparable to a ss 6 soul tool, because it contains some of the Tang Sect¡¯s secret techniques. You can carry out your own field tests after this.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu¡¯s eyes sparkled. A ss 4 soul tool that had the same propulsion force as a ss 6 soul tool! This was quite an impressive invention. It also meant that this soul tool only required a ss 4 soul engineer to operate it, and ss 4 soul engineers were on apletely different levels than ss 6 soul engineers. It wasparable to the gap between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul Emperor. A thousand Soul Ancestors were probably still weaker than a hundred Soul Emperors, and this point alone had already attracted the princess.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon can carry forty-eight shells, and they¡¯re all under the base. It can automatically chamber shells during the firing process, and you will only need to reload the weapon after all forty-eight shells have been fired. Reloading is simple. Wang Dong, please demonstrate for the princess.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er pressed on the cannon¡¯s side with her right hand, and a capo-like holder sprang out. She shook the holder rapidly, and a magazine gradually slid out from beneath the holder¡¯s base. The magazine opened up from behind, and everyone could see the forty-eight soul cannon shells chambered inside.

    Every cannon shell was about a meter long, and every shell was about twenty centimeters in diameter. The entire magazine was withdrawn from the holder, using the four wheels beneath the magazine, so one didn¡¯t need to use too much force to push the magazine around. She quickly pushed the magazine back to its original position, before she closed it and returned the holder to where she took it from and concluded the reloading process. The entire effort took about two minutes.

 Chapter 274.3: A Big Customer

    Xu Jiuiju calcted mentally, A stationary soul cannon that can fire forty-eight rounds before reloading, and a ss 4 soul tool with a ss 6 soul tool¡¯s firing range. Forty-eight continuous rounds packs quite a punch! Just as Huo Yuhao said, this soul tool is definitely a powerful weapon on the battlefield! The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is only equipped with ss 5 stationary soul cannons...

    The biggest difference between a stationary soul cannon and a normal soul cannon was firing range. Normal soul cannons had extremely limited firing range, because the soul cannons were powered purely by soul power, which was converted into force tounch the cannon shells. However, stationary soul cannons were different. They relied on the stationary soul tool tounch their shells.

    A ss 4 soul tool was worth about a hundredth of a ss 6 soul tool.

    Xu Jiujiu calcted continuously in her head, and her eyes began to glow brighter and brighter, beginning to understand more about this metal object¡¯s practical uses and effects.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon that we have devised as of now is more suitable for instation upon city walls to defend the city, or it can be installed to defend fortresses; both uses will be extremely effective. If you wish to equip your army with this item, we wille up with a mobile version.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu immediately proposed the question that she was most concerned about. ¡°So, what about the price? How much is it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This has powerparable to a ss 6 soul tool¡¯s power, so it should be valued like a ss 6 soul tool. Truthfully, it can be considered a ss 6 soul tool, except it doesn¡¯t take as much to use it.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not it. I believe it doesn¡¯t take that many resources to craft it, either. Furthermore, stationary soul tools have always been known to burn holes through our wallets. This cannon can fire forty-eight stationary cannon shells, so every round will bring me a lot of heartache. Yuhao, your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon is a little too expensive. You guys are also from the Star Luo Empire; are you trying to reap profits from war? That means this will no longer be a cooperation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, princess. We are already very sincere. Stationary soul tools are indeed expensive, but they are also most important in the wars that we will have to face in the future. The Tang Sect has always been fair, so this price will never change. The price will be the same even if we are selling to Shrek City. Our sincerity lies in the supply priority we give our clients. If you¡¯re willing toplete the deal, you will be our first client outside Shrek City, and you will receive supply priority from us for one year.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was momentarily stunned. She couldn¡¯t help butugh as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a good businessman, and you even know about supply priority. Do you really believe that this soul tool will receive excessive demand? There must be a limit to the number of soul tools like this we can purchase, because we have to ensure that we have enough cannon shells to make sure that these expensive soul tools can unleash their full potential. Furthermore, we need to have enough soul masters. The truth is that the Star Luo Empire doesn¡¯tck soul masters. Since this soul tool is also considered a ss 6 soul tool, we might as well directly purchase ss 6 stationary soul tools. There are quite a few Soul Emperors within the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    The smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face didn¡¯t change. He wasn¡¯t worried at all. If the princess wasn¡¯t interested in his Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon at all, she wouldn¡¯t be negotiating with him. The harder she haggled, the more interested she was in the soul tool.

    ¡°But can you find a ss 6 stationary soul cannon that can fire forty-eight times continuously? I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult to find one that can fire even three in a row. Both our magazines and our firing mechanisms are exclusive to us, and this soul tooles with a self-destruct mechanism as well, so it can¡¯t be replicated. One Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon can rival the firing efficiency of four ss 6 stationary soul cannons. Of course, we have to admit that this cannon can only be considered a ss 4 soul cannon in terms of material quality, and thus its durability cannotpare to that of a ss 6 stationary soul cannon.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu stared at Huo Yuhao in astonishment. This was the first time she had seen a seller openly discussing the product¡¯s weaknesses and shorings.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Integrity alwayses first for the Tang Sect, no matter who we¡¯re dealing with, and we will never hide any weaknesses or cons that our products have. Furthermore, you could be considered one of our biggest clients.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°Then aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll lowball you? The price you have quoted isn¡¯t considered low at all. Furthermore, from a business perspective, there has never been a rule where the seller will always get the first price that he or she quotes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how other people do their business, but upholding our integrity and providing top-quality products has always been of the utmost importance to the Tang Sect.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu stared deeply into his eyes. There was a look on regret on her face as she said, ¡°That¡¯s a pity. We can only think about this a little more.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried at all. He smiled and said, ¡°Of course. I believe this deal will be a big one if ites through, so it¡¯s natural for you to put in a little more thought, princess. We¡¯ll take our leave, then. We will give this Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon to you, and you will understand after field-testing it that I haven¡¯t exaggerated anything at all. However, if you miss this opportunity today, and if other clients step into the picture, I¡¯m afraid we cannot reserve purchase priority for you anymore. I need to make this clear so that I can absolve myself and so that you won¡¯t hold that against me when it happens.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was very familiar with the art of negotiation. She thought to herself, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll fall for your tricks?¡± She stood up and ced her palms on top of one another on her abdomen. She tilted her head towards Huo Yuhao, and there was no denying her nobility and elegance as a princess. ¡°That¡¯s alright. If we decide that this soul tool is something we need, we will contact the Tang Sect as soon as possible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Okay! There are two things that I wish to remind you about. You can attach Milk Bottles to this soul tool when you want to use it, and you can use it directly. ss 4 Milk Bottles are enough. Otherwise, a soul engineer can use it by infusing soul power from the left side of its base, where the two palm grooves are located. The second thing I wish to remind you about is that I have installed a self-destruct mechanism into this Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon so that we can protect our technology. If anybody attempts to take it apart, then there will be a formidable explosion. Please watch out for that, princess.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took exception to his words and said, ¡°Seems like your sect has ced a lot of emphasis on this soul tool. If you¡¯re worried, you can take it back, and you can send someone into the Star Luo Empire to carry out experiments and field-tests for us. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit too excessive to use Milk Bottles to operate a ss 4 soul tool like this?¡± Milk Bottles were considered one of the most valuable and expensive soul tools amongst those of the same level, and this was the same for all soul tools beneath ss 7.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Perhaps. I have already given this soul tool to you, so how can I take it back? Dong¡¯er, take back our Milk Bottle, and we can bid our farewell to the princess.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er took a few steps towards the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon¡¯s base and pressed on a spot. A metal box sprang out, and Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved a peculiarly-shaped Milk Bottle that resembled a cannon shell and stored it inside her Starlight Sapphire storage ring.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t doing everything very quickly, so Xu Jiujiu could clearly see that she had never seen a Milk Bottle like that before. She could tell from its size that it wasn¡¯t as simple as a typical ss 4 Milk Bottle. This was a soul tool that came attached with a mechanism specifically meant to attach Milk Bottles, and the Milk Bottle had also been specially crafted for this purpose. Was there a need for this? There must be something wrong if things weren¡¯t normal or typical.

    Xu Jiujiu was still escorting them out when she asked subconsciously, ¡°Will the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon have any special effects if it¡¯s is used with a Milk Bottle?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were already at the door, and Princess Jiujiu¡¯s servant opened it for them. Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°There won¡¯t be any special effects, except you don¡¯t need soul masters to operate the soul tool.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Goodbye, then,¡± Xu Jiujiu answered and sent Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er out of the room. She definitely wouldn¡¯t go any further to send them off with her status, and her servant closed the door behind them.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words echoed in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s mind as she muttered under her breath, ¡°You don¡¯t need soul masters to operate the soul tool? What does that mean? You don¡¯t need soul masters to¡­¡± The princess¡¯ body suddenly froze as if a thought burst into her head, and an astonished look came over her face while her face lost all color.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not possible¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t pushing Huo Yuhao very quickly outside, and Huo Yuhao was slowly withdrawing his extended fingers as if he were counting down.

    ¡°Five¡­

    ¡°Four¡­

    ¡°Three¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± A high-pitched exmation echoed through the corridor, and Princess Jiujiu suddenly raced out from her room and blocked their path in a few brisk steps.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at the concerned look on her face with amusement and thought to herself, Huo Yuhao is so cunning¡­

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s breathing was clearly a little rushed as she stared at Huo Yuhao with her charming blue eyes. ¡°You¡­you said that you don¡¯t need soul masters to operate this soul tool! What does that mean?¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed a little nk as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s... what it means.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath. ¡°Are you saying that¡­?¡± For some reason, her heartbeat began to race, and an indescribable premonition coursed through her mind. However, this premonition was just so immense, to the point where she could barely control herself anymore.

 Chapter 275.1: The Art of Negotiating

    ¡°Wait.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his hand to interrupt any further questions from Xu Jiujiu and asked quietly, ¡°Princess, do you think it¡¯s appropriate that we are negotiating this out here?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu bit down on her lower lip as she stared at this innocent and harmless-looking fellow with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. She really wanted to pounce on him and strangle him. This bastard brought up what is perhaps the most important point at thest moment to wake me up. Seriously¡­

    Manyrge sects and reputable academies currently resided in this building, so it was true that this ce wasn¡¯t suitable or appropriate for discussing such top-secret things.

    Those thoughts did run through her head, but it was clear that there was no way she could put them into practice. She calmed herself down and regained her elegant posture andposure as she said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for overlooking that. I invite the two of you toe back, so that we can discuss this deal in further detail. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Of course. It would be even better if you could give us a cup of tea.¡±

    Damn it! She felt resentment bursting in her mind, but she didn¡¯t dare to reveal even a single ounce of it on her face. Her heart was still beating very quickly, and the possibility that had just urred to her was far too important for the Star Luo Empire.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was being discourteous before. I was too pleasantly surprised to see the two of you ¨C pleasee back, and I will personally make some tea for you two of you.¡± She made a gesture for them to kindly proceed back into her room as she spoke.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll have to trouble you, then.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t push around too much. He had to y this just right, as going too far was as bad as not doing enough. He was dealing with a big customer, after all!

    They returned to the princess¡¯ room, and Xu Jiujiu personally brought them two fragrant cups of tea as she invited Wang Dong¡¯er to sit down on the sofa before turning towards Huo Yuhao with an eager look on her face.

    One had to admit that the princess was extremely pretty, and she could be ranked along with Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong¡¯er as a top-tier beauty. If the princess had been staring at someone else with the same look on her face, they might possibly stop at nothing to give the princess whatever she wanted.

    It was a pity then that Wang Dong¡¯er was the only person in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had seen quite a few top-ss beauties. He possessed immense spiritual power, and his mind was steadfast and unwavering. He was naturally unaffected by Xu Jiujiu¡¯s small psychological move.

    ¡°Do you have any questions or doubts, princess? Please ask, and I will tell you everything I can.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was cool and collected, and the sincerity in his eyes was no less than the look in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes.

    The red-dressed old woman felt a twitch at the corner of her mouth as she stood to one side. She thought to herself, The new generation is taking over from the older generation after all, and everyone seems to be as sly as a fox. Jiujiu has met her match today.

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s graceful and charming look finally froze momentarily, and she suppressed the impulsive desire in her heart to strangle this fellow before her as she replied, ¡°I wish to ask about something you said before this. What did you mean when you said that soul masters aren¡¯t needed to operate this soul tool? Are you trying to say that if these Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons have Milk Bottles, normal people can also operate them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Normal people definitely can¡¯t.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s simple statement immediately caused Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes to fill with disappointment. Her eyes quickly turned unfriendly. Is this fellow deliberately trying to mess around with me?

    Xu Jiujiu was on the brink of erupting, and she grit her teeth as she said, ¡°Then what do you mean when soul masters aren¡¯t needed to operate this soul tool?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem ruffled at all. ¡°That just means soul masters aren¡¯t needed to operate this soul tool!¡±

    Xu Jiujiu nted her hands on the desk in front of her and took a deep breath. She didn¡¯t mince her words, pausing slightly as she enunciated each one. ¡°Will you die if you make yourself clearer?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a forced smile on his face and an innocent look as he said, ¡°My words are very clear! It means the Tang Sect¡¯s Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon no longer requires a soul master to operate it after attaching a Milk Bottle to it. Normal people definitely don¡¯t meet the requirements, as they are not strong enough, and they will struggle with reloading and switching magazines. Only soldiers that are rtively stronger can operate this soul tool, and it¡¯s even better if they¡¯ve been trained before. Can you understand my exnation now, princess?¡±

    The redness that was on Xu Jiujiu¡¯s face due to her fury immediately vanished, and she said eagerly, ¡°Are you for real? Even soldiers that are not soul masters can operate a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Of course! Otherwise, how could I im that our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon has excellent value for the money? If not, how could I sell you a ss 4 soul tool for the price of a ss 6 soul tool? Wouldn''t that just be a rip-off?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu leaned against the sofa, and her eyes changed continuously as her brain began to spin with ideas and thoughts. Her fists were clenched slightly from all her intense and riled-up emotions.

    Huo Yuhao picked up his cup of tea and finished it with a gulp. This was good tea, indeed¡­ it was aromatic, and its fragrance lingered in his mouth, while it was fresh and quenched his thirst at the same time.

    Five minutes passed before Xu Jiujiu suddenly stared at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Can you give us a promotional price if we order in bulk?¡± She was extremely clear about the value of ss 6 soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No can do. I¡¯ve said it already, that our product is excellent value for the price, and the price will not change. The price will remain the same whether we¡¯re selling the cannons to you or to other clients, and we will be fair to everyone. The only benefit I can give you, princess, is purchase priority. There¡¯s an upper limit to our production speed, after all.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath and said, ¡°But we can only validate your words after field-testing this soul tool and experimenting with it. Can you reserve purchase priority for us?¡±

    Huo Yuhao contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°You have three days. I hope you can give us a decisive response before thepetition starts.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu said angrily, ¡°We¡¯re inside the Sun Moon Empire, not the Star Luo empire. Where do I find a ce to test it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at the red-dressed old woman beside them and said, ¡°Technology is advanced today, and we can use flying-type soul tools now. It doesn¡¯t seem difficult to return to the Star Luo Empire within a day. Princess, if I wasn¡¯t from the Star Luo Empire myself, I wouldn¡¯t have pleaded with my eldest senior brother time and time again, and perhaps you wouldn¡¯t have been our first big customer. Three days is already the maximum allowance that our sect can give. I hope you can understand. How about this¡­ we will give the Milk Bottles that are specially crafted for our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons to you as an expression of sincerity.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave Wang Dong¡¯er a look as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and passed the Milk Bottle that she had taken back before this to Xu Jiujiu.

    Xu Jiujiu felt a little strange as she held onto the strangely-shaped Milk Bottle that was at least twice as heavy as a normal ss 6 Milk Bottle. The materials used to craft this Milk Bottle didn¡¯t seem ordinary or typical.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Princess, I¡¯ll pass another piece of secret intel to you for free.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re in charge of intelligence. Are you aware that the Illustrious Virtue Hall has devised technology to seal Milk Bottles? That means, the soul power contained within Milk Bottles will no longer leak outside.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu felt her heart skip a beat. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°The Tang Sect has also mastered this technology. The Milk Bottle you¡¯re holding in your hands is sealed, which you will know once you give it a try. The truth is that the cost of crafting one of these Milk Bottles is equivalent to purchasing five Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. With this sealed Milk Bottle, you can reload a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon ten times without switching Milk Bottles. Ten magazines mean you can fire four-hundred and eighty stationary cannon shells in one go. I¡¯m sure you understand what this means.¡±

    ---

    Xu Jiujiu was left sitting motionless on the sofa even after Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er left her room. Her enchanting eyes sparkled with sophisticated light, and ¡°Tang Sect¡± had been deeply imprinted on her.

    All herplicated emotions and thoughts gradually became disappointment and a sense of loss. Bitterness began to surface at the corner of her lips as she said, ¡°We are still so slow, Grandma Yi Man. We are trailing the Sun Moon Empire in soul tool research, and we are evengging behind Shrek Academy. The Tang Sect is undoubtedly representing Shrek Academy. Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, sealed Milk Bottles... impressive indeed!¡±

    The old woman sat down beside her and gently caressed Xu Jiujiu¡¯s flowing hair. ¡°Don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself, child. You¡¯re just a girl, and you have enough burdens on your shoulders. That boy is extraordinary. I studied him closely, and I¡¯ve never seen spiritual power like his in my entire life. His spiritual power is both unique and powerful at the same time, and it¡¯s on an entirely different scale from his soul power. Furthermore, his eyes were calm and collected from beginning to end, no matter what expression he was wearing. Even you are a little inferior to him in this respect. If you can¡¯t have a person like that as a friend, then¡­¡± The olddy squinted a little as a look of hostility and murder shed across her eyes.

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression changed as she eximed, ¡°No, Grandma Yi Man!¡±

    Grandma Yi Man stared at her amusingly and said, ¡°What? You can¡¯t bear to see anything happen to him? He seems a lot younger than you are.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu blushed and leaned into Grandma Yi Man¡¯s embrace disapprovingly. ¡°What are you talking about, Grandma Yi Man? There¡¯s nothing between the two of us. That guy is one of the most outstanding individuals of Shrek Academy¡¯s younger generation, and the academy ces great emphasis on him. My elder brother has already prepared a n to pull him close, and this guy is likely to be the link between us and Shrek Academy. Therefore, we can¡¯t touch him, and we have to protect him.

    ¡°Grandma Yi Man, what do you think about the Holy Ghost Church that he spoke of?¡±

    Yi Man¡¯s face turned ck as she said, ¡°That¡¯s a tough one. If he¡¯s right about the Dragon Emperor Douluo being used by the Holy Ghost Church, then the Star Luo Empire will be in some real trouble. We need to act, and we need to do it now.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu tilted her head and nced at the massive Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon resting on the floor. ¡°Time is of the essence, Grandma Yi Man. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to trouble you this time.¡±

    Yi Man heaved a faint sigh and replied, ¡°What trouble is there? I should do more for the empire while I can still move. I¡¯ll take this back to the empire for field-testing and experiments right away.¡±

 Chapter 275.2: The Art of Negotiating

    ¡°Yes. I trust you the most, and I won¡¯t be able to be at ease unless you¡¯re the one doing it. I can tell from Huo Yuhao representing the Tang Sect to promote their soul tools that Shrek Academy¡¯s inner circle seems to have changed. We have to buck up on our intelligence work.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu had believed from beginning to end that the Tang Sect was chosen by Shrek Academy as their spokesperson, and it was because of this misconstrued understanding that she ced a lot more emphasis on the Tang Sect.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao back into his room, and it was only at this moment that an exhausted look came over Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°Yuhao, why did you keep beating around the bush with Princess Jiujiu?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°That¡¯s so I can give her a stronger impression, and it¡¯s also because I wanted to catalyze this deal and agreement with the Star Luo Empire and finalize it as fast as possible. If the Sun Moon Empireunches an invasion, the Star Luo Empire cannot avoid being the vanguard and bearing the brunt of their attack. Therefore, they feel the most urgency, and I believe they wille to a decision fairly quickly.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°How about the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We can take it a little slower with them. One reason is because we don¡¯t know anybody in these empires¡¯ higher levels with a status like Princess Jiujiu. The second reason is because these empires may not send one of their high-ranking officials to us. Furthermore, our production speed is limited, and we may be hit with overwhelming demand if the Star Luo Empire chooses to take us up on this deal.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er supported him andid him down on the bed. She smiled as she said, ¡°I think you¡¯re bing more and more like a businessman.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°It¡¯s not my wish for that to happen. However, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s appearance has given us too much threat and danger.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er gentlybed and tidied the hair on his forehead and said, ¡°You can rest for a little while. I¡¯ll buy dinner for you, and we should rest early after eating. Are you tired from hustling around all day?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said nothing as he stared at her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed as she felt his piercing gaze. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Ever since I returned after sustaining these injuries, I¡¯ve be the luckiest and most fortunate person in the world.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°Are you trying to say that I wasn¡¯t nice enough to you before this?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ of course not. The truth is that I¡¯ve always been a little lost ever since we established our rtionship during the Sea God¡¯s Fate, as you¡¯ve always been my brother in my heart. I only suddenly discovered how important you were in my heart when I read the letter in the pouch that uncle Niu Tian gave me. I felt a little attracted to you even when you were dressed like a guy, except I wasn¡¯t so sure why I felt that way. I only realized afterwards that your eyes would always be the same no matter what you wear. There¡¯s a big difference between a guy and a girl¡¯s eyes after all. Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er ¨C I will recover very soon.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er nodded her head lightly and said, ¡°You should rest while I grab dinner.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er left the room, and Huo Yuhao was the only person that remained. He didn¡¯t close his eyes to rest, instead silently pondering things in his mind. He was repeatedly consolidating everything that he had seen and heard ever since they had arrived in Radiant City.

    The Sun Moon Empire seems like they really are going to make a move. However, are the Heavenly Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire prepared for that? It¡¯s hard to say, and even if they¡¯ve made their preparations, the Holy Ghost Church entering the fray will undoubtedly cause disarray and mess up their ns. The Sun Moon Empire must have ulterior motives for hosting thispetition. How can we dy as much as possible before the Sun Moon Empire takes action?

    The Tang Sect has just begun our multifaceted expansion. The Tang Sect needs time to expand, and I also need time to recover. Once the war begins, we will need sufficient time to prepare if the Tang Sect wants to make a difference in the war and take this opportunity to expand and be stronger, and if the Tang Sect wishes to help the three native empires of the Douluo Continent against the Sun Moon Empire.

    Yes! We have to devise a n to slow the Sun Moon Empire down and dy their ns for war as much as possible during thispetition. But how do we go about aplishing that?

    The goal had changed, but he couldn¡¯t really think of a proper n, so he could only y things by ear and wait and see. The Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t just targeting the Star Luo Empire and Shrek Academy, and the other big sects, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire could form an alliance.

    Dinner wasn¡¯t very sumptuous, but Wang Dong¡¯er had returned quickly, and it was clear that she was worried about Huo Yuhao. No matter what he ate, everything that entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth was as delicious as ever with Wang Dong¡¯er beside him.

    The night was upon them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to lie in bed and indulge himself in the warmth of Dong¡¯er¡¯spanionship like before, and he immediately started to meditate.

    Wang Dong¡¯er sat beside him and also began to meditate.

    It had been a long time since they had cultivated together with the Haodong power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was filled with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice, and that meant his soul power became extremely cold and icy. This also meant that Wang Dong¡¯er would be adversely affected if they connected through the Haodong power. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs and his left arm¡¯s blood cirction were blocked, so he couldn¡¯tplete a major cirction. He would drag Wang Dong¡¯er down with him, so he might as well cultivate by himself.

    Huo Yuhao had strong foundations in his Mysterious Heaven Technique, and his Mysterious Heaven Technique was also filled with vitality. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was in the Mustard Seed Domain, and he could use his intricate and fine spiritual power with this technique. He released a thread of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice from his left arm and absorbed it with every cirction.

    The reason why he chose his left arm and not his legs was because the origin energy stored inside his left arm wasparatively thinner, and thus easier to extract. He had already managed to absorb some of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice from all the work and effort that he had put in over the past few days. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t finish a major cirction, but his soul power wasn¡¯t increasing any slower at all. The origin energy of heaven and earth had given him a lot of trouble, but it was still pure ice-type energy in the end.

    Huo Yuhao had already made urate predictions about the state of his body. If he followed his current cultivation method, he would need at least three years before he could absorb every ounce of origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body, and this was a conservative estimate where he assumed nothing went wrong. He would undoubtedly break through to be a Soul Emperor once he finished absorbing everything, and if he had enough soul rings, he had the possibility to break through to be a Soul Sage. Three years of being crippled in exchange for speedy improvement ¨C this deal wasn¡¯t that bad or disadvantageous for him in the end.

    After all, neither Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, nor Wang Dong¡¯er could possibly be Soul Sages within three years even if they wanted to.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t that worried about his cultivation. He could only avoid mistakes and problems if he maintained a calm mind during his cultivation. Otherwise, if he went down the wrong path and went insane in his current state, he would face mortal danger.

    The night went by peacefully, and Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao into Bei Bei¡¯s room when dawn arrived after they finished breakfast.

    Bei Bei was strong, and his injuries had stabilized. The only thing was that his wounds were far too severe, so he still had to rest in bed.

    Huo Yuhao recounted the negotiation he had conducted with Xu Jiujiu on the previous day. Bei Bei told him delightedly after listening to his description that Huo Yuhao could decide on other simr issues in the future.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were the only ones who were truly in charge of things. The other members still prioritized their studies within Shrek Academy. He Caitou participated in the Tang Sect¡¯s soul tool production and design, but the others spent most of their time on Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou had taken quite a burden off Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s shoulders ever since they had returned from their exchange program. This was especially so because Huo Yuhao had returned with voluminous blueprints, and even brought back a soul tool expert in Xuan Ziwen. This immediately brought the Tang Sect to another level, and their most important Soul Tool Hall was subsequently perfected. The Tang Sect¡¯s expansion was finally on the right track, and Bei Bei could finally heave a sigh of relief. He hadpletely no worries at all about Huo Yuhao ¨C Huo Yuhao was their designer, and he was extremely familiar with all the Tang Sect¡¯s soul tools. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was meticulous and careful, and rarely made mistakes.

    Xu Sanshi was an all-rounded individual, but he didn¡¯t understand enough about soul tools, while he was too yful at the same time. Bei Bei didn¡¯t feel assured at all about him, so he passedmand to Huo Yuhao after he was wounded. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t have any objections to this at all, and he was even ted about the decision, as he didn¡¯t want even a little bit of this added trouble and responsibility.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, I predict that we will have a response from Princess Jiujiu by tomorrow night at thetest. With her knowledge and her experience, I trust that she won¡¯t pass up this wonderful opportunity. It seems like we will be busy very soon.¡±

    Bei Bei was lying down on the bed. He smiled and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan will be busy, you mean. Your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon managed to tame Teacher Xuan back then, so how can Princess Jiujiu not bend to your will? We can actually lower the price, as the cost of our production is¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head, and a mysterious smile broke out across his face. ¡°Eldest senior brother, we don¡¯t ce excessive emphasis on money, but we can¡¯t afford not to charge a high price for the Tang Sect¡¯s development.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes sparkled. He immediately understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say, and said, ¡°You¡¯re thinking about¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao could tell that his eldest senior brother understood him, and he immediately nodded.

    A knock sounded at this moment. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi were the only people in the room, and everyone thought the Tang Sect¡¯s other members had arrived. Xu Sanshi walked over and pushed open the door, but he was momentarily stunned once he opened the door.

    ¡°Why are you here, eldest senior sister?¡± The eldest senior sister of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, Zhang Lexuan, was standing outside the room. Wang Qiu¡¯er was also with her.

    Zhang Lexuan shot a re at him and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here? I¡¯m the academy¡¯s team leader. Why have you guys been put in a ce like this? Is the Sun Moon Empire unaware that you guys are the champions from the previous tournament?¡±

    Xu Sanshi invited them in as he said angrily, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if they know that or not. Even if they know, what can we do if they pretend that they don¡¯t?¡±

 Chapter 275.3: The Art of Negotiating

    The room wasn¡¯t that big, so Zhang Lexuan immediately saw Bei Bei lying on the bed when she walked in, as well as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er beside him.

    She was aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s circumstances, but her face immediately changed when she saw Bei Bei lying down on the bed. She walked up concernedly and said, ¡°What happened to you, Bei Bei?¡±

    Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, and Wang Dong¡¯er were slightly taken aback as they watched the worry and anxiety in their eldest senior sister¡¯s eyes. Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi exchanged a look, and they immediately felt the peculiarity in each other¡¯s eyes. The concern that their eldest senior sister disyed towards their eldest senior brother seemed a little out of the ordinary.

    Bei Bei forced a smile and said, ¡°Calm down, eldest senior sister. I¡¯m alright.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan seemed to realize that she had lost herposure. She withdrew her emotions a little as she pinched Bei Bei¡¯s wrist to check his injuries.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked in together with Zhang Lexuan. However, she walked up next to Huo Yuhao, and nced down at him before her eyes turned away very naturally, as if she were looking at a stranger.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked on steadily, and sighed to herself. The colder Wang Qiu¡¯er was to Huo Yuhao, the more Wang Dong¡¯er could tell that Huo Yuhao was still very important to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er... why do you do this to yourself?

    Wang Dong¡¯er had thought long and hard when Huo Yuhao disappeared without a trace back then. She was ready and willing to share Huo Yuhao¡¯s love with Wang Qiu¡¯er if she had to, and it was because of this thought that she was a lot less hostile towards her now. This was especially so after she felt the entirety of Huo Yuhao¡¯s love for her. All she felt toward Wang Qiu¡¯er now was sympathy, and not a single hint of envy or jealousy. At this moment, she was being very generous by standing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s other side.

    ¡°How have you been, Qiu¡¯er?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t bother greeting him, but Huo Yuhao had to greet her, as she had saved his life more than once. Furthermore, he had long sensed the feelings that she had for him, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little guilty about them, as he couldn¡¯t help but feel as if he owed her something.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been very well,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er answered coldly. It didn¡¯t seem like she had been ¡°very well¡± from the way she responded...

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what else to say, and he gave her a simple response.

    Zhang Lexuan concluded her scrutiny of Bei Bei¡¯s body with a solemn look on her face.

    ¡°Your organs are almost in different positions, and you¡¯ve been hit with an intense and strange soul power. It¡¯s dark, evil, and eerie. Did you encounter evil soul masters?¡±

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be impressed as they listened to her words. Zhang Lexuan¡¯s analysis was concise, urate, and to the point. She lived up to her name as the inner courtyard¡¯s eldest senior sister.

    Bei Bei nodded as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°I was just about to look for you guys. This matter has to be reported to the academy as quickly as possible, so that the academy can make the necessary preparations. That Holy Ghost Church has appeared¡­¡± He recounted the events from the previous day in detail, and he pointed out the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s existence. However, the Tang Sect members were a little surprised that Bei Bei didn¡¯t mention Tang Ya, and he only talked about how he sensed something was wrong about a soul master that he had run into, and how the other person had managed to ambush and catch him off guard, and how he had thus been injured.

    ¡°This is very important. We have to report it to the academy immediately. You are severely injured, should I send you back to the academy?¡± Zhang Lexuan spoke with a very concerned look on her face.

    Bei Bei forced augh and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re the academy¡¯s representative team leader, so how can you walk away? Furthermore, my condition has stabilized, so I might as well rest and recover here. Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no way I can participate in thepetition. I¡¯ve passedmand over to Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan stared at Bei Bei before she nced at Huo Yuhao on his wheelchair. She couldn¡¯t help but feel a little helpless and exasperated. ¡°You guys! What can I say about the two of you? Bei Bei, you¡¯re not a typically careless person, why did you¡­?¡±

    Bei Bei gave her a look, and Zhang Lexuan was momentarily stunned before she recognized that she seemed to have said too much this time. She stood up and said, ¡°Please rest well. I will report this matter back to the academy at once. Let¡¯s go, Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said nothing, and she didn¡¯t even greet the other Tang Sect members as she followed behind Zhang Lexuan and departed the room.

    The room descended into silence once Zhang Lexuan and Wang Qiu¡¯er left, while Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er all stared at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei felt goosebumps break out over his body from their stares. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked up at the ceiling and heaved a long sigh. ¡°I initially believed that girls would only crush on a person like me ¨C incredibly handsome, romantic and elegant, natural and unrestrained. I never thought that you, Bei Bei, you who has a small nose and tiny eyes, had a secret like this. If you hadn¡¯t been injured such that our eldest senior sister revealed her true feelings as a result, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell. I didn¡¯t know that you and our eldest senior sister had aplicated rtionship.¡±

    An awkward look shed across Bei Bei¡¯s face. ¡°Bullshit. Don¡¯t spout nonsense and taint eldest senior sister¡¯s clean name and reputation.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed coldly and said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m as clueless as the others who don¡¯t know you as well as I do? It¡¯s obvious that the look in her eyes wasn¡¯t right the instant she walked in and realized that you had been injured. When has eldest senior sister ever looked at someone else from the inner courtyard like that? The look in your eyes in that moment seemed like everything that was happening was right and within expectations. This proves that you had already predicted this response from the moment you saw her. Is that not enough to prove the secret rtionship between the two of you? Wow, Bei Bei, you¡¯ve hidden something like this from your best brothers! Even I had no clue about this, that you¡¯ve done something to even our eldest senior sister. Tell us everything, right now! If not, I won¡¯t show you any mercy even though you¡¯re hurt.¡±

    Bei Bei stared at the falsely indignant look on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face, and turned towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, who were also staring at him with a strange looks in their eyes. ¡°Oh, my reputation! Eldest senior sister messed up because she¡¯s too concerned.¡±

    Xu Sanshi leaned in by the bedside with a gossipy look on his face. ¡°Quick, tell us. What¡¯s going on between you and our eldest senior sister? You have always been so dejected and concerned about Xiao Ya, so when did eldest senior sister enter the picture?¡±

    Bei Bei could tell that he couldn¡¯t hide this secret any longer. He adjusted the expression on his face and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you since you guys have already realized something is going on. However, you guys have to keep my secret, as this concerns our eldest senior sister¡¯s name and reputation. Whoever leaks this out will no longer be my brother.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to agree, and without any hesitation at all.

    The corner of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°It¡¯s the same even for my sisters!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, we should always enjoy blessings and endure misfortunes together. Why don¡¯t I call everyone here? Do you think third senior brother can hide something like this from fourth senior sister?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I have chosen terrible friends!¡± Bei Bei eximed in defeat.

    He Caitou, Jiang Nanna, and Xiao Xiao were quickly gathered. Na Na, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan were ultimately not as close to them.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao¡¯s beautiful eyes sparkled when they heard that there was some secret between Bei Bei and their eldest senior sister that they had to know about. This was the ssic gossipy and nosy look, and even the typically simple and straightforward He Caitou was full of surprise.

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone else!¡± Bei Bei eximed painfully.

    ¡°Really, nobody else can know about this.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just let this go? You guys can just pretend you don¡¯t know anything at all.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll say it.¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes seemed like they were about to erupt with fire. Bei Bei felt all the pressure, and he had no choice but to tell them about his story with Zhang Lexuan.

    ¡°Actually, eldest senior sister was arranged to marry me¡­¡± The six other pairs of eyes in the room widened with this one sentence. The apple that Xu Sanshi was holding in his hands dropped and hit He Caitou, who was beside him, on the face. He Caitou clenched his fingers in shock, and his enormous strength left a row of grooves on the bedframe.

    Huo Yuhao felt his body quiver, and he almost slid out of his wheelchair. Wang Dong¡¯er covered her mouth with her hands to keep from eximing out loud.

    Jiang Nannan screamed and gasped in astonishment, while Xiao Xiao grabbed He Caitou¡¯s arm as tightly as she could. It was clear that she was as astounded as everybody else.

    ¡°Arranged marriage?!¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth was open so wide that a goose egg could be stuffed into it.

    Who dared to think that the Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard¡¯s chief disciple, the person that everyone referred to respectfully as ¡°eldest senior sister¡±, the person that joined the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion at the age of thirty to be one of the council members, Zhang Le Xuan, was actually arranged to marry Bei Bei. This could no longer be described as unbelievable, this was simply something that could only exist in fantasies!

    Bei Bei pulled a long face. ¡°Yes, all of you heard that right, and I didn¡¯t say anything wrong. Eldest senior sister was arranged to marry me. It¡¯s a long story, and I¡¯ll have to start from twenty years ago.¡±

    Xu Sanshi pulled over a chair and sat down beside his bed. ¡°That¡¯s alright, we¡¯re not rushing things. You can take your time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at Bei Bei with his eyes wide open and his jaw hanging ck. What he was feeling inside was simr to the awe and astonishment that Princess Jiujiu felt when she discovered that his Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon could be operated by normal soldiers.

    Bei Bei shot a re at Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°My mother passed away on the day I was born due to a difficult birth. My father was too depressed, and he took a nearly impossible task from the Shrek Guardians against Ancestor Xuan¡¯s wishes and departed. He hasn¡¯t returned since, and I became an orphan.

    ¡°My family only had a single son, and my ancestors have ruled that all sons will follow their mother¡¯s surname. My parents¡¯ death adversely affected Ancestor Xuan, and he treated me like his own son during that period of time, as if I were the most important thing in the world.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister was actually brought back by one of the academy¡¯s teachers, and Ancestor Xuan ran into them by ident. Eldest senior sister had a nk look in her eyes back then, as if she had lost her soul and her spirit. She is from one of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s aristocratic families, but they were ambushed and attacked by another aristocratic family, and her entire family was annihted. She had been underneath her bed, as she was ying hide-and-seek with her mother when disaster struck, so she managed to avoid certain death. Her mother crashed onto the ground beside the bed, and even used her own body to cover the bed as she was drawing herst breaths, even cing her hand behind her to cover her daughter¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Ancestor Xuan checked her body after hearing about her circumstances, and he discovered that eldest senior sister had great talent in terms of her martial soul. She had congenitally full soul power, something that was rarely seen, and she also possessed a hundred year soul ring, while she had already broken through to Rank 20. He guessed that our eldest senior sister was the future of her family, and the person that her family wanted to do everything they could to nurture.¡±

 Chapter 276.1: Child Bride...

    ¡°Eldest senior sister was only about eleven or twelve years old, but she knew about Shrek Academy. She knelt down before Ancestor Xuan and begged him to avenge her. Ancestor Xuan was still reeling from my parents¡¯ deaths, so he agreed to her request, and he told her that Shrek Academy would nurture her and unleash her potential. He had one condition, and that was she had to guard Shrek Academy for the rest of her life, and she had to be my bride. Eldest senior sister made the vow without hesitating at all.¡±

    Bei Bei paused for a moment and said, ¡°I think you guys can guess what happened afterwards. Ancestor Xuan avenged her, and eldest senior sister remained at the academy to cultivate as hard as she could, and managed to get where she is today. As I grew up afterwards, Ancestor Xuan began to calm down, and he regretted forcing eldest senior sister to make that vow. He mentioned more than once that eldest senior sister didn¡¯t have to uphold her vow. After all, she¡¯s more than ten years older than I am, and waiting for me isn¡¯t practical or realistic at all.

    ¡°However, eldest senior sister insisted on keeping her vow. She told Ancestor Xuan that she would still be my bride no matter what choice I might make in the future. If I didn¡¯t like her, then she would be single for life, and she wouldmit her entire life to Shrek Academy so that she could repay Ancestor Xuan¡¯s benevolence.¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s face seemed a little unfriendly as she said, ¡°You¡¯ve already had a bride since you were a child, and you still went for Xiao Ya¡­¡±

    Bei Bei forced augh and said, ¡°But I didn¡¯t know about all that! Ancestor Xuan only told me about this vow after I got together with Xiao Ya. I felt everything was just unbelievable. I was only fourteen or fifteen back then, and eldest senior sister was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight, so our ages made us entirely unsuitable for each other. Furthermore, I¡¯m sure you guys are aware of the feelings I have for Xiao Ya. All I could do was argue with Ancestor Xuan, and it was then that I decided to move out of the inner courtyard. Afterwards, Ancestor Xuan implicitly gave me the green light with Xiao Ya because the academy owed the Tang Sect. Ancestor Xuan talked to me about this one more time before he passed away, and he asked me to be nicer to eldest senior sister if I could help it, and he said that he had let her down.

    ¡°I once sought her out so that we could set things straight. There were many talented suitors within the academy who had a crush on her, and I would hate to see her remain single for the rest of her life because of some outrageous vow that she made all those years ago. But eldest senior sister was extremely stubborn, and she said that I didn¡¯t have to take her, but she would never go back on her vow. She waved her sleeve and walked off after that.

    ¡°The truth is that even though I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything wrong, I still feel a little apologetic towards her. However, I have no clue what to do so that she will forgo that vow. Over the years, even though Xiao Ya has never been by my side, there¡¯s no space left in my heart to amodate anyone else.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression was a little awkward, filled with conflict and difficulty.

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°Eldest senior brother, do you not feel anything at all for eldest senior sister?¡±

    Bei Bei answered without hesitation. ¡°Of course I do. She was the one who took care of me as I grew up, and I¡¯ve never had a mother. Eldest senior sister is like a mother or like an elder sister to me, and she¡¯s the second-most important woman to me in my heart after Xiao Ya. The only problem is that this feeling that I have isn¡¯t a romantic one, and there¡¯s only kinship between eldest senior sister and I. You guys have to help me figure this out! What exactly can I do so that I won¡¯t hurt her, yet still give her the great future that she deserves?¡±

    Bei Bei looked around at everyone, eager and hopeful. Everyone¡¯s eyes became a little strange. How could this conundrum be solved?

    Huo Yuhao cleared his throat and noted, ¡°Thepetition ising up in two days. What suggestions do you have, eldest senior brother?¡±

    The corners of Bei Bei¡¯s mouth contorted, and he surveyed the rest, and realized that their eyes were drifting around at everywhere, but him. He snapped, ¡°The lot of you have no loyalty at all!¡±

    He Caitou chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not for outsiders to resolve family issues. How are we supposed to help you with this, eldest senior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei was exasperated. ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s not talk about that anymore. But you guys can¡¯t speak a word about this to anyone, as it concerns our eldest senior sister¡¯s reputation. Tell me, Yuhao, what ns do you have for thepetition?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have an actual n yet, but I have some ideas. Thispetition will have one hundred and sixty-seven participating teams because sects are allowed to participate, and the first few rounds will be elimination rounds, all the way up till thest thirty-two before the group stage begins. The organizationmittee hasn¡¯t dered how the elimination rounds will be carried out for now. Compared to the group stages thate afterwards, we have to clear the elimination rounds before anything else.

    ¡°We are representing the Tang Sect, so we aren¡¯t a seeded team. That also means thepetition¡¯s rules won¡¯t be in our favor. We aren¡¯t sure what teams we¡¯ll run into at this point. If we encounter any formidable sects, we will be faced with quite a challenge. Therefore, we have to hide our abilities as much as possible during the elimination rounds.¡±

    ¡°Hide our abilities?¡± Bei Bei was slightly taken aback. ¡°Aren¡¯t you contradicting yourself, Yuhao? You just talked about how important the elimination rounds are. So why should we hide our abilities?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It¡¯s not contradictory, eldest senior brother. What I¡¯m trying to say is, we have to hide our abilities as much as possible provided we can emerge victorious in the same round. Our appearances are quite differentpared to five years ago, and there are so many more sects in thispetition, so there won¡¯t be many who still recognize and know about us. We can put on some makeup or something to change our appearances a little, so that the people who might recognize us from the previous tournament will no longer recognize us. At least, they won¡¯t be sure that we are who they think we are. If we don¡¯t get too unlucky, and as long as we don¡¯t meet the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the first rounds, it¡¯s unlikely that we¡¯ll be recognized.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes sparkled and said, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. The people that will have an impression of us from the previous tournament will have been the reserve team members, who have be the main team members in this season. Everyone¡¯s be quite different after five years, and after we make some adjustments, and the fact that we are representing the Tang Sect, will be quite effective in hiding our abilities and identities.¡±

    Xu Sanshi frowned and said, ¡°We can change our appearances, but we can¡¯t change our martial souls! How can they not recognize us once we unleash our martial souls?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I mean when I said that we have to do all we can to hide our abilities and identities so that they can¡¯t recognize us. We can do it this way¡­¡±

    Their discussion on battle tactics continued for a little more than two hours, and was concluded so that Bei Bei could get some rest.

    Huo Yuhao and hispanions conducted a few more discussions and drills the following day, and confirmed how the starting rounds were going to be carried out.

    ------

    At the highest level of the Brilliant Delight Hotel...

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood quietly on a spacious semicircr balcony and gazed into the distance. The view was enchanting from this spot, she could see almost half of Radiant City.

    There were only eight simr rooms on the Brilliant Delight Hotel¡¯s highest level. They were known as the Vis in the Sky, and they were exceedingly extravagant and luxurious. It was imed that one night cost three thousand golden soul coins, an exorbitant price. This ce could be said to be the most expensive hotel on the Continent.

    Every Vi had an arched door, as if the room were a castle. There was a hall for hosting guests, a living room, arge conference room, and twenty rooms of different sizes that consisted of bedrooms, gyms, and tearooms. There was a garden in the sky that was more than two hundred square feet in surface area, and there was a swimming pool that was twenty meters on each side at the center of the vi. There was a curved dome above the greenish-blue water, and one would be able to see gentle and faint blue sparkles around the swimming pool at night. Looking up at the dome at night felt as if one were staring at the boundless starry sky, and that beauty was truly enchanting.

    There was even a miniature sparring arena in the vi, which was built with special materials and defense-type soul tools. It could sustain most soul skills beneath a Soul Sage¡¯s rank.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s team had all been astounded when they first entered this vi. Dai Huabin was the Duke¡¯s son, but this was even his first time staying in a hotel as luxurious as this one. Twenty rooms was more than enough for a team that consisted of a little more than a dozen, and it allowed everyone to have their own room. They could order anything they wanted to eat, and everything would be free of charge, courtesy of the hotel.

    This was the best possible arrangement and service for the participating teams, and only eight teams could have this luxury. Shrek Academy¡¯s team stayed in the first Vi in the Sky. The Sun Moon Empire was clearly extremely generous about this, as the first vi wasn¡¯t just the most extravagant one, it also represented the fact that they were the champions from the previous season.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and stared at the luxurious and spacious vi. There was a nk look in her eyes as she muttered under her breath, ¡°Is this the gift for Shrek¡¯s glory? Is this what they achieved from the previous season?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. We wouldn¡¯t be staying here if not for their perfect performancest season! The truth is that they are the ones that are worthy of staying in this ce, and not those cramped and narrow rooms in the lower levels.¡± Zhang Lexuan walked over from not far away. She was holding a delicate wine ss in her hands, and there was some amber-colored aged white wine inside. A faint aroma floated around the ss¡¯ opening but didn¡¯t drift out. The ss was specially crafted by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s chamber ofmerce, and was considered a top-tier wine instrument.

    ¡°Do you want one?¡± Zhang Lexuan asked inly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish for such things to affect my mind.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan sipped on the white wine in her ss. The wine was filled with a thick and rich fruity aroma that was tinged with a little sourness, and the faint taste of pickled plums lingered in her mouth.

    ¡°Sometimes you have to learn how to rx, you¡¯re wound up too tightly. I was like you before, but I realized afterwards that it isn¡¯t the way to go, and it would negatively affect my cultivation. You are a lot worse than I was all those years ago; your emotions are tightly wound, and extremely tense. Something is bound to go wrong if you continue like this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s denial was cold and crisp.

 Chapter 276.2: Child Bride...

    Zhang Lexuan stared at her, amused, and said, ¡°You¡¯re not? I¡¯ve been there and done that, and I¡¯m all too familiar with how you are right now. You¡¯re just like me all those years ago. Ever since you returned with Huo Yuhao, I haven¡¯t seen a smile appear on your face. You¡¯re always daydreaming when you¡¯re not pushing everyone during training. It must be because of Huo Yuhao, am I right?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er froze a little, but remained silent. She didn¡¯t attempt to argue the point.

    Zhang Lexuan said inly, ¡°Do you think you stand a chance?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er still said nothing, but unwittingly clenched her fists.

    ¡°You have no chance, eh? I didn¡¯t expect you to be so much like me. Heh!¡± Zhang Lexuanughed. She seemed to beughing happily, but tears appeared deep within her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Like you?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at her with a doubtful look.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s because we both love someone that we can¡¯t possibly be together with. Perhaps you still have some hope, as you are quite a match for him, after all. But me¡­ heh.¡± She finished the wine in her ss one gulp and began to walk back into the vi.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er watched her subtly trembling and dejected figure and began to follow her subconsciously.

    Zhang Lexuan suddenly paused in her tracks. Her back was still facing Wang Qiu¡¯er as she asked, ¡°Tell me, Qiu¡¯er, do women have to rely on men for life?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered without hesitation, ¡°Of course not!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan turned around, and her eyes became as sharp as ever. ¡°Then you have to show him that you are stronger than he is. Even if you can¡¯t obtain his love, you can¡¯t let him see how fragile you are, and you can¡¯t let him see your weak side. This is thest dignity that we can have.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er focused, and could see Zhang Lexuan¡¯s stubbornness, and even a little craziness in the middle of everything. She nodded her head forcefully and replied, ¡°Yes!¡±

    ------

    Thepetition¡¯s rules were finally announced the following day, and every participating team received some instructions from the organizationmittee.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but frown when he received the instructions. The rules were indeed different, just like Elder Xuan had said.

    ording to thepetition¡¯s rules, the entirepetition would be split into a preliminary segment and a final segment. Teams representing sects and academies would bepeting in the same pools.

    The preliminary segment would consist of elimination rounds, but these elimination rounds seemed a little different. The arena was designated in a spot outside Radiant City, and not right in the city center like they were originally supposed to be. There was a use that caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention. Both the preliminary rounds and the final rounds ced a limit on the arena¡¯s diameter, but a maximum height wasn¡¯t specified.

    This was a very simple instruction sheet, but Huo Yuhao began to feel a lot more rmed than before. What did not setting a maximum height imply? Could there be Soul Sages among the participating students? That was quite impossible, as bing a Soul Emperor was the limit for people at twenty years of age. This also meant that theck of a maximum height meant nothing at all to soul masters, as most of them couldn¡¯t fly, except for some soul masters that possessed martial souls that could. However, this would be drastically different when soul engineers came into the picture.

    Even four-ringed Soul Ancestors soul engineers could soar through the skies as long as they had flying-type soul tools, and they couldunch attacks on the ground from the sky. There was no doubt that this use was extremely beneficial for soul engineers.

    The Douluo Continent was divided into four nations: the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire. The only nation that possessed masses of soul engineers was the Sun Moon Empire, and thispetition rule practically meant they were being openly biased. The Sun Moon Empire was being excessively dominant.

    Of course, the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t dare to be too outrageous. There were other changes to how the elimination rounds¡¯ results would be calcted. Among them, the points would be allocated ording to the number of people left in the team. That implied that if one party could defeat all seven members from another party with just one of their own in the single elimination match, then they would be allocated seven points, as their party would have seven people left, and they wouldn¡¯t even have to go through the group battle afterward. The reason was because the group battle only gave five points, and there was no way the other party could turn the tables around. Of course, it was nigh impossible for one person to defeat seven opponents in a row in apetition like this.

    Therefore, if the team that emerged victorious during the single elimination matches didn¡¯t obtain more than five points, they would have to go through the group battle, and the other side would have a chance to turn it around. Of course, minor scores were also important, and every round¡¯s umted points would be recorded. These minor scores would be decisive if a unique and unforeseen circumstance cropped up.

    For example, if there were one hundred and sixty-seven teams participating in thepetition, and there were only twenty teams who made it through the single elimination rounds during the round of thirty-two, the remaining teams that were needed to fill the slots would be chosen with their minor scores, and these umted scores would be even more important once they entered the round robins. The teams would be ranked ording to their umted points during the group stage. The quarter-finals would revert to an elimination format, while these minor scores would determine the loser¡¯s rankings.

    This change in how the points were calcted was a good thing, and it made the entirepetition system moreplete and organized.

    The change inpetition rules would definitely change how thepetition would unfurl. Knocking sounds could be heard just as Huo Yuhao closed his eyes to ponder.

    Boom, boom, boom! The hurried and forceful knocking clearly announced how frustrated and anxious the arriving party was.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still washing clothes for Huo Yuhao in the bathroom, and she hurriedly came forward and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Jiujiu!¡± the Star Luo Empire¡¯s princess, Xu Jiujiu, could be heard from outside.

    Wang Dong¡¯er turned around and nced at Huo Yuhao. Their gazes met, and their eyes flowed with faint amusement. The princess hadn¡¯t taken too long to give them a response, in the end!

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened the door and invited Princess Jiujiu inside.

    Xu Jiujiu was wearing a flowing pale-gold dress today, and had tied her hair into a bun that brought out her noble and graceful qualities. However, her face seemed a little flushed. Even though she was trying her best to hold it down, there was no way she could hide the dash of excitement in her eyes.

    The red-dressed old woman followed closely behind Xu Jiujiu. Huo Yuhao had sought out Zhang Lexuan to find out more about this old woman. It turned out that she had made a name for herself a long time ago, and people only knew that she was called Yi Man, but nobody knew her surname. Her martial soul was the Cloud Fan, and she was also the Titled Douluo Starcloud! ording to Zhang Lexuan¡¯s information, the Starcloud Douluo hadn¡¯t reached Rank 95, so she wasn¡¯t a Transcendent Douluo yet. Rank 95 wasn¡¯t that easy to breach, and going beyond Rank 95 was a level that was far superior to the one that normal Titled Douluo reached.

    ¡°Greetings, princess. Please, have a seat.¡± Huo Yuhao was sitting on his wheelchair, and he tilted his head towards Xu Jiujiu courteously.

    Xu Jiujiu knew that she had to be as calm as she could be in a time like this, but there was no way she could calm herself down, no matter how hard she tried. The Starcloud Douluo had returned in the morning, and Xu Jiujiu thought she might go crazy when the field-test results were reported to her. What she was feeling inside could no longer be described as astonishment, and she eagerly headed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s room immediately afterwards.

    Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the emotions that were roiling in her heart, and she looked at the youth before her that could only move one arm.

    Huo Yuhao was all smiles, and he seemed as harmless as ever, as if he had no idea what the princess was doing here.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I¡¯m sure you know why I¡¯m here.¡± Princess Jiujiu had seen and experienced many different situations after all, and she ultimately managed to force her emotions back even though she was stirred up inside.

    Huo Yuhao nodded, and he swiftly withdrew the smile on his face. He said angrily, ¡°You must be here because of thepetition¡¯s new rules. The Sun Moon Empire is too outrageous, they didn¡¯t set a height limit for thepetition! This is a rule that¡¯s almost specially created to benefit the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers!¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was slightly taken aback. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Huo Yuhao handed the instructions in his hands to her. Even though Xu Jiujiu was thinking about something else, the bigpetition was still extremely important, and she still had to pay attention to it.

    Xu Jiujiu briefly scanned the instructions and immediately understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say. Her eyebrows locked together as she said, ¡°What do you think we should do?¡±

    Composure took over the indignant look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. ¡°We should collectively protest against it.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu grunted and said, ¡°And you think that will work?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°We still have to try. At least, we have to give them some pressure, so that they won¡¯t add anything else afterwards.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu tiled her head and said, ¡°We¡¯ll discuss thister. We¡¯ve experimented and field-tested your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon and the Milk Bottle that you¡¯ve given us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°How did it go?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu stared at the casual smile on his face¡­ she really wanted to pinch him as hard as she could! She muttered coldly, ¡°Are you very proud?¡±

    Huo Yuhao reacted in shock. ¡°Am I?¡±

    ¡°Then what are you smiling about?¡± Xu Jiujiu answered angrily.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. ¡°Isn¡¯t smiling a form of respect for you, princess? If you¡¯re not willing to see my smile, then I won¡¯t.¡± He withdrew his smile as he spoke, and he put on an upright and solemn look and posture.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xu Jiujiu looked on as this guy in front of her put on a serious and professional look, and she didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. The awkward indignation in her heart dissipated a little.

    ¡°We¡¯ve experimented with and field-tested your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, and that sealed Milk Bottles of yours. They¡¯re very good. Do you think you can give us a discount if we purchase them in bulk?¡± Princess Jiujiu regained herposure in an instant, and she leaned back on the sofa gracefully as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible.¡±

    ¡°Not possible? Do you know how many of these we¡¯re going to purchase?¡± Princess Jiujiu sounded a little more high-pitched than before.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how many you wish to purchase, but I imagine it must be quite an amount. All I know is how much the Tang Sect can produce. As of now, our soul tool manufacturing department is undergoing a second expansion, and much of ourbor has gone toward that endeavor. Therefore, we are very limited in the amount that we can currently produce. Furthermore, even though I feel a little embarrassed to say this, I have another piece of news for you ¨C I¡¯ve just received news from the Tang Sect that the price of our products might be inted by about thirty percent due to resource scarcity and ack of materials. Please forgive me, princess.¡±

 Chapter 276.3: Child Bride...

    ¡°What? Huo Yuhao!¡± Xu Jiujiu was immediately riled up, and she leapt to her feet as her perky chest pumped up and down. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been two days, and you¡¯re ying me already?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shivered all over and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to think of it. You can¡¯t say things like this, princess! I still have to find a wife.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xu Jiujiu felt as if she were going insane ¨C this guy was just too hateful.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was behind Huo Yuhao, and she discreetly pinched him in the back. This bastard ¨C he¡¯s twisting her words, and yet he¡¯s making himself sound so logical, as if he¡¯s right. She was also a girl, and Wang Dong¡¯er was starting to sympathize with Princess Jiujiu. Of course, she was dressed like a guy at the moment, so she couldn¡¯t express anything that resembled a girl¡¯s emotions, so she could only lower her head and force back her amusement.

    The Starcloud Douluo immediately became a little unfriendly. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing? Karma will find you if you go back on your word.¡± It was obvious that her words were hostile and threatening.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh. He forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry ¨C I don¡¯t wish for this to happen either. But you guys also know the Sun Moon Empire has monopolized seventy percent of the Continent¡¯s rare metals, and they¡¯ve prohibited exports. The Tang Sect has just been reestablished, so how can we have any channels or avenues to purchase resources and materials in bulk? Thankfully, Shrek City is developed and wealthy enough. Otherwise, we might not even be able to guarantee delivery and supply of our goods. Theck of resources and materials will undoubtedly lead to a rise in price. There¡¯s nothing I can do about that.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu said angrily, ¡°Enough with that nonsense. The few of you make the decisions within the Tang Sect anyway. Furthermore, do you dare to im that the Tang Sect is not rted to Shrek Academy in any way? How can you guysck materials and resources with Shrek Academy redirecting resources from Shrek City? Furthermore, all you need to craft your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon is some rtively high-density steel.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was responsible for the Star Luo Empire¡¯s intelligence, so she wasn¡¯t that easy to deceive.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then you can find out how many customers we have at the moment. Both the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire are both important business partners for us. You¡¯re right ¨C our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon¡¯s outer body only requires tough steel. But what about its formation arrays? Can we actually craft these formation arrays without rare metals?¡±

    Xu Jiujiuughed coldly and said, ¡°We can¡¯t take apart its formation arrays anyway. It will explode if we do that, so you can say whatever you want about it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Princess, if you keep negotiating with me with such a rejecting attitude, I believe there¡¯s no need for us to continue this negotiation. If we want to be partners, we have to build this partnership on mutual trust and benefit as the foundations. I¡¯m really sorry about the rise in price, but there¡¯s really nothing we can do about that. How about this ¨C you can go back and cool off, and you can calcte how much our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and our sealed Milk Bottles are worth after the intion before we continue any further negotiations.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Xu Jiujiu grunted furiously before she started walking out of the room. She seemed enraged, but she was extremely calm inside ¨C she was clear that she had beenpletely defeated by Huo Yuhao in this negotiation, and there was no other possible oue than amodating his demands if they continued with the negotiation. But she was absolutely unwilling to do that! She believed that Huo Yuhao and the Tang Sect would never give up a customer as big as the Star Luo Empire.

    Right at this moment, knocking sounds could be heard once more, and Princess Jiujiu halted in her tracks as she was walking to the door.

    Wang Dong¡¯er walked over to open the door, and there were two pretty girls and a middle-aged man standing outside.

    The person standing in front of the group was a young girl in a long white dress. She had a certain cold and crisp quality about her, and her features were very attractive. This girl was also mildly surprised when Wang Dong¡¯er opened the door, and her eyes seemed to be searching her memory as she mumbled, ¡°You¡­ Who are you?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°What? Don¡¯t you recognize me, Mu Xue? I¡¯m Wang Dong. We¡¯ve been acquainted for some time.¡±

    Dong¡¯er dressed like a guy was something that most girls couldn¡¯t resist. Even though Wang Dong used to have short hair, her unrivaled good looks were enough to enchant every single girl.

    Mu Xue cleared her throat, and the iciness on her face melted a little. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. When Ist met Huo Yuhao, the girl beside him looked a lot like you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er answered inly, ¡°Her name is Wang Qiu¡¯er, and she¡¯s part of the team representing Shrek Academy. I believe you will meet her soon during thepetition.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s your sister?¡± It was clear that Mu Xue¡¯s eyes sparkled with curiosity and the desire for gossip.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled. ¡°Are you here today to ask me about such things?¡±

    Mu Xue froze, and she shot a faintly resentful look at her as she said, ¡°Can we go inside now? Is Huo Yuhao around? We¡¯ve already conducted experiments and field-tests with the item that he¡¯s given us. We¡¯re here today to talk about bing business partners.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened the door and made a gesture to invite them inside.

    The three of them entered the room, and they ran straight into Princess Jiujiu, who was just standing there. Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t pause on Mu Xue, and she looked beyond her at the second girl behind her.

    This girl was wearing a long yellow dress, and she seemed extremely gentle. Water seemed to meander within her beautiful eyes, and Xu Jiujiu could still feel that subtle tenderness even though she was looking her from afar. This girl was even prettier than Mu Xue.

    ¡°Wei Na?¡± Xu Jiujiu eximed.

    The young girl looked at her and said, ¡°Why are you here, Jiujiu?¡± The yellow-dressed girl¡¯s pleasant voice could be heard as she took a few steps forward. She had a look of pleasant surprise on her face.

    Wei Na and Mu Xue were part of thepany from the Heavenly Soul Empire that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had run into when they were inside the Great Star Dou Forest. The middle-aged man that had apanied them here today was Mo Feiyun, the same man that led the group back then.

    Huo Yuhao turned his wheelchair with one hand, and he smiled at Mo Feiyun. ¡°Greetings, Uncle Mo. It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Mo Feiyun was astonished when he saw the state that Huo Yuhao was in. ¡°Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I was in an ident. I can only move this arm at the moment.¡± He moved his right arm as he spoke.

    Mu Xue and Wei Na looked over when they overheard Huo Yuhao and Mo Feiyun¡¯s conversation. Mu Xue was also momentarily stunned when she saw Huo Yuhao sitting in a wheelchair.

    ¡°You¡­ what happened to you? Why are you like that?¡± It wasn¡¯t too long ago that she had met Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. She had never expected that this energetic and fearsome youth from before would be a cripple when they met again.

    Huo Yuhaoughed mockingly at himself. ¡°Perhaps this is my punishment for trespassing over the airspace of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital city. Greetings, Mu Xue. Hello, Wei Na.¡±

    ¡°Hello.¡± Wei Na stared at Huo Yuhao, and it was clear that her eyes flowed with faint pity and sympathy. It was a terrible thing for a soul master to be able to move only one arm, but he seemed very open-minded about it.

    The organizingmittee had allocated the lowest-tier room to the team from the Tang Sect, and there were now so many people standing around inside that it felt a little packed.

    Huo Yuhao looked at Xu Jiujiu and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going back to think about this, princess? I won¡¯t escort you out, then.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu stared deeply into his eyes. She grunted coldly and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Wei Na in a long time. I¡¯m going to apany her for a little while more.¡± Her eyes gradually became are as she spoke. There was no question that Huo Yuhao had nned this seemingly coincidental encounter.

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood what she was trying to say. Heughed bitterly and said, ¡°Would you believe me if I said this was all a coincidence?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Xu Jiujiu raised her chin.

    ¡°Alright. Then think of it as if I¡¯ve nned it, then,¡± Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°My ce is a little small, everyone. Please have a seat however you like.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little surprised as the person that spoke to him amongst the three of them wasn¡¯t Mu Xue or Mo Feiyun ¨C it was Wei Na, the seemingly fragile and gentle girl.

    She stepped forward with a smile on her face and arrived before Huo Yuhao. ¡°Hello, Yuhao. Can we discuss this in private?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sounded a little helpless. ¡°Look, the room is only so big. I¡¯m afraid that speaking in private will be quite difficult.¡±

    Wei Na said, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I can push you into my room. I¡¯ll send you back once we finish our negotiations.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Two different female voices could be heard eximing at the same time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t one of them ¨C the voices belonged to Mu Xue and Princess Jiujiu. Urgency and hastiness returned to Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes, while Mu Xue¡¯s eyes flowed with vignce and wariness. Wang Dong¡¯er was smiling to one side, and her smile was a little strange and sinister. However, nobody else but Huo Yuhao paid any attention to her.

    Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°Please, everyone. I¡¯m just a cripple.¡±

    Mu Xue grunted and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter ¨C I have to be present. I¡¯ll apany Wei Na for the negotiations, and then I¡¯ll send you back.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s face turned ck as she said, ¡°No way. Can¡¯t you see that we¡¯re discussing official business? I should have priority since I came here first.¡±

    Mu Xue nced at her and said, ¡°You must be the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Princess Jiujiu. If I¡¯m not wrong, you were just about to leave when we arrived. This means that your negotiations are over, and it¡¯s our turn now.¡±

    The two girls stared into each other¡¯s eyes, and intense sparks seemed to fly. Wei Na nced at Huo Yuhao rather apologetically, and then she turned towards Xu Jiujiu.

    Did Huo Yuhao deliberately n this meeting? Actually, he didn¡¯t. Huo Yuhao had guessed Mu Xue¡¯s status, and he had tried to find out more about the Heavenly Soul Empire when he was still at the Tang Sect. The Heavenly Soul Empire also shared a border with the Sun Moon Empire, and their situation wasn¡¯t that much better than the Star Luo Empire, while their national strength was actually far inferior. It was likely that the Heavenly Soul Empire would be in much more danger.

    Huo Yuhao had been investigating further through Shrek City¡¯s intelligence agency when he realized to his surprise that the gentle and beautiful girl, Wei Na, was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s princess. Even though her status still couldn¡¯tpare to Xu Jiujiu¡¯s status in the Star Luo Empire, she was still a princess.

 Chapter 277.1: Regent Concubine

    Huo Yuhao let Na Na observe everyone in the lobby who came to register. She realized there wasn¡¯t anything difficult about Mu Xue and Wei Na. As a result, she sent a letter that came from the Tang Sect, along with a storage-type soul tool containing a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon and Sealed Milk Bottle over.

    No matter how intelligent Huo Yuhao was, he couldn¡¯t possibly manipte time so well that both parties would meet. It might even not be a good thing for them to meet. That was why he was also very helpless.

    Xiu Jiujiu suddenly turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Tell me, what do we do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at both parties, and everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to him. After thinking for a moment, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll need everyone to suffer here in my humble abode for a while. I¡¯m clear on your goals. Let¡¯s do it this way. Since both parties representing the Star Luo Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire are here, we¡¯ll carry out an open discussion. Both of you are Tang Sect clients, and we¡¯ll do our best to be fair. What do the two of you think?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Xu Jiujiu interrupted Huo Yuhao suddenly. At such a timing, she revealed her strong character. ¡°Huo Yuhao, let¡¯s follow the price that we agreed on earlier. However, we¡¯ll need to take priority. I won¡¯t bargain with you either, but this sum of money is too astronomical. If you need it, we can make an exchange with some rare metals totaling to the same value.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. To him, rare metals were better than gold soul coins. What he said before wasn¡¯t a lie. More than seventy percent of the rare metals in the continent had been taken by the Sun Moon Empire and stored for potential use in a war. Even the Illustrious Virtue Hall had to seek approval from the imperial family and military if they wanted to use some for research.

    If the Star Luo Empire could retrieve some rare metals to exchange for the cannons, it would undoubtedly be great for the future development of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to agree at this moment. After everything that he had been through, his mindset had transformed greatly. He was calmer in dealing with things.

    ¡°Priority? Sister Jiujiu.¡± Wei Na called softly.

    Xu Jiujiu twisted her head to look at her and revealed an apologetic look. She said, ¡°Wei Na, I won¡¯t hide it from you since we are all here for a reason. We are under great pressure from the Sun Moon Empire. It concerns the survival of the empire. While we are good sisters, there are some things that I can¡¯t give in to you on.¡±

    Wei Na nodded gently and said, ¡°I understand. Huo Yuhao, the Heavenly Soul Empire is willing to increase our bid by ten percent. We want priority.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a momentary daze. He didn¡¯t expect her to be so decisive. Furthermore, the purchasing price of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon and Sealed Milk Bottle wasn¡¯t small. She actually initiated an increase in her bid. This wasn¡¯t just about how bold she was. It also signified her position in the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Xu Jiujiu was also stunned for a moment. After that, she looked dismal as she said. ¡°Wei Na, you are very good at concealing yourself!¡±

    Wei Na smiled and appeared as gentle as before, ¡°Sister Jiujiu, you are right. There are some things that I can¡¯t help if I¡¯m representing my empire. I just hope this doesn¡¯t affect our rtionship.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu gritted her teeth. In terms of wealth, the Star Luo Empire wasn¡¯t inferior to the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, would the increase in bids stop if they continued like this? After the experiments, she was determined to get these two soul tools that could greatly increase the fighting strength of the empire¡¯s military. What should she do? This was a question that popped up in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s head.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± A cold snort caused the temperature in the room to dip. A strong aura spread from the Starcloud Douluo Yi Man and suppressed the people from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Mo Feiyun, who was standing at the front, subconsciously retreated and unleashed his soul rings as he was pressured. Even though Mo Feiyun was already an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, his face still turned serious against a Titled Douluo.

    Princess Jiujiu was shocked too. Just as she was about to stop the Starcloud Douluo, a cold aura spread from Wei Na¡¯s body. The temperature in the entire room dipped significantly, and a majestic aura surged. The Starcloud Douluo¡¯s expression changed, and she quickly blocked Princess Jiujiu.

    There was one more person beside Wei Na. This person¡¯s body was engulfed by a deep blue cloak, and thus it was difficult to see what she looked like. However, it was possible to tell that she was ady.

    The aura came from her body. It swallowed the aura that the Starcloud Douluo unleashed. How strong was it?

    ¡°Transcendent Douluo?¡± Man Yi¡¯s expression turned dismal. Even she didn¡¯t realize when this person had entered the room. This showed that there was a gap in their cultivations. This gap also signified that she couldn¡¯t challenge this person. There was only one possibility ¨C that person was a Transcendent Douluo. As Wei Na lifted her right hand, the aura retracted, and she sighed. ¡°Sister Jiujiu, do we have to do this? We shouldn¡¯t be opponents.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu also sighed and said, ¡°We were reckless. I apologize. Alright, I¡¯ll follow your raise. We¡¯ll add ten percent to our bid too.¡±

    ¡°Ladies, please don¡¯t do this.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly made his move.

    The twodies looked at him at the same time. They didn¡¯t appear very friendly as they looked at him. Adding another ten percent to their bids made the price of the soul tools even more costly! Whichever empire purchased the soul tools would experience a fall in their wealth.

    ¡°Ladies, please hear me out.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need either of you to raise the price.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s words dissolved some of the enmity between the twodies.

    ¡°The Tang Sect requires money and resources to grow. We don¡¯t belong to any empire, but we don¡¯t want lives to be lost because of a war. We are also part of the continent, and we have amon enemy. I hope that our appearance can help the Star Luo, Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling empires, and not cause a rift. That¡¯s why we won¡¯t raise the price of the soul tools to increase the burden on any empire.¡±

    As he spoke until here, he turned his attention to Xu Jiujiu and said, ¡°Princess Jiujiu, I¡¯m very sorry that the two of you met. I really didn¡¯t know Princess Wei Na wasing. It¡¯s really just a coincidence. Since both of you are here, however, allow me to say thatpeting will only lead to greater problems and allow ourmon enemy to seed. Let¡¯s do it this way. You can use whatever gold soul coins and alloys you have to exchange for the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. With sufficient resources, our production can increase. I promise to supply ten sets of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and Sealed Milk Bottles every month. This number will increase once every month to meet your demands. I¡¯ll give both empires priority. I¡¯ll supply both of your empires before I supply any other partners in the future. That¡¯s because both your empires are our first line of defense against the Sun Moon Empire. I think this is the best way to settle the problem.¡±

    This fellow! The unfriendly look in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes disappeared. Although she wasn¡¯t pleased with this, she appreciated Huo Yuhao¡¯s rejection of a price increase and attempt to resolve their conflict. At least he understood what was important.

    Mu Xue furrowed her brow, ¡°Ten sets, isn¡¯t that too little? Why don''t you set an asking price, and we¡¯ll buy the blueprints for these two soul tools? We¡¯ll try to satisfy your asking price for these two soul tools.¡±

    She was very bold! It seemed like Mu Xue wasn¡¯t ordinary either. Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, but then immediately shook his head and said, ¡°Apologies, it involves secrets of the Tang Sect. We definitely can¡¯t sell our techniques. Ten sets is a conservative estimate. From what I know, each of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Soul Engineering Divisions is equipped with around a hundred long-range cannons. They are around the standard of ss 4 soul cannons. There are less than ten cannons that are of a ss 6 standard. Although I¡¯m not really sure, I believe there are no more than ten such divisions. This also means that it will only take one year for your empires to build up pretty strong defenses given our current rate of supply.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu snorted and said, ¡°How is it so simple? The Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t just about those few soul engineering divisions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Alright, I am really not sure how strong they are. However, what do the two of you think about my proposition? This is the best resolution I can find for now.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu looked at Wei Na, and discovered that Wei Na was looking back at her. After pondering for a while, both princesses nodded their heads without hesitation.

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± Huo Yuhao also revealed a smile on his face. Of course, he was clear that this matter wasn¡¯t just so simple. These two princesses weren¡¯t ordinary people!

    ¡°Let¡¯s sign a contract then.¡± Xu Jiujiu knew exactly not to take things as they were. Wei Na¡¯s actions earlier had already put her on alert.

    They took some time to discuss the details of the contact before they finished, which took around two hours.

    One of the most important uses was that the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires couldn¡¯t contact the Tang Sect privately and go against the contract. Whenever either party purchased soul tools from Tang Sect, they had to inform the other party. The Tang Sect also had to prioritize both empires whenever they were selling new types of soul tools. If the Tang Sect could produce a sufficient number of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and Sealed Milk Bottles, they had to supply both empires as best they could.

 Chapter 277.2: Regent Concubine

    When the room was finally quiet again, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were already filled with fatigue.

    Wang Dong¡¯er carried him to his bed and gave him a simple massage.

    ¡°I¡¯d ratherpete and face a strong opponent than negotiate with them,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er sighed. ¡°You must be very tired, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly and said, ¡°This is what the Tang Sect has to go through in order to develop. Not only have we received our most important order, but we have also developed a greater understanding of the management of both empires at the highest level.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°Do you know what Princess Jiujiu referred to when she mentioned the strength of the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered slightly and said, ¡°I can roughly guess. It should be the advanced-level soul engineers and soul tools. Truly strong soul tools will not be given to the soul engineering teams. Although Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t mention it, I can tell from her expression that it¡¯s something scary.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and revealed a lost look. She said, ¡°Yuhao, do you think a war is reallying? What should we do then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao squinted and said, ¡°We can¡¯t avoid a war. I only want to protect the people around me. If my body has recovered by the time the war starts, then I will¡­¡±

    ------

    To every empire, the tournament was very prestigious. It was held once every five years, and the host would alternate between the four empires. It wasn¡¯t easy to host the tournament.

    Although the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s proposed change to the tournament regtions received resistance from many sects and academies on the continent, it eventually still passed. There was a simple reason why the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t restrict the difficulty of the tournament.

    As soul tools continued to develop, future battles would be a challenge of soul masters and soul engineers¡¯ control of soul tools. If one couldn¡¯t excel in this area, how could he be called an elite?

    Although this was an advantage for the Sun Moon Empire, every rational person had to admit it was true. The Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t wrong.

    Finally, the tournament was about to begin.

    No matter what games were yed between the Sun Moon Empire and the various parties involved in the tournament, the empire decided to hold the tournament in a vast in at the outskirts. This was a good thing for the empire. They could amodate more spectators in this way.

    The lot-drawing ceremony was held on the eve of the tournament. Xu Sanshi was the one who represented the Tang Sect for the lot-drawing ceremony. There were a total of one hundred and sixty-sevenpeting teams. The fortunate team that drew an empty lot didn¡¯t have topete in the first round of the tournament. Xu Sanshi¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t so good, and thus Tang Sect still had topete in the first round. The empire decided to give the empty lot to Shrek Academy, and thus Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s team managed to proceed to the next round. They were awarded twelve full points.

    No one raised any objections to this preferential treatment. After all, Shrek Academy was an established academy in this tournament. This was what they deserved.

    ------

    Morning...

    As the first ray of sunlight shone from the east, the streets of Radiant City were already greeted with a weird scene.

    Soldiers d in silver armor stood in two long parallel rows. They extended from the doors of the Ming Yue Hotel all the way to an unknown destination. The path they formed was also restricted from public ess, and everyone was asked to stay thirty meters away from this path.

    Radiant City could hold more people than Star Luo City, so the empire had activated arge portion of its military to maintain order. This arrangement alone required more than twenty thousand soldiers! There was a very austere aura in the air of the streets.

    ---

    Everyone from the Tang Sect had already prepared in the morning. Bei Bei was in better shape, but he still couldn¡¯t walk. He didn¡¯t have too many instructions regarding today¡¯spetition. However, Huo Yuhao still went to his room in the early morning.

    ¡°Eldest senior, are you feeling better?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the pale-looking Bei Bei.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m much better. With my healing speed, I should be able topete in ten days.¡± Bei Bei smiled as he spoke. He had already regained his elegantposure.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We are going topete. Eldest senior, do you have any instructions for us?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to instruct? I believe in all of you. Go! This time, we are fighting for the Tang Sect¡¯s glory and ourselves! While we are still young, it¡¯s time for us to shine. I¡¯m waiting for all of you to return victorious!¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Huo Yuhao nodded forcefully.

    With Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help, everyone from Tang Sect put on some light makeup. This didn¡¯t change their appearance too much. However, there were slight changes to everyone¡¯s facial features, even on closer observation. Along with their own development, it was difficult for others to tell that they were the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters that had once created miracles in thest tournament. Of course, this would onlyst until they demonstrated their powers in this tournament. After all, they couldn¡¯t conceal their martial souls.

    Huo Yuhao still wanted Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and Na Na to stay and take care of Bei Bei. However, Bei Bei didn¡¯t let him do so. No one wanted to miss such a great event!

    As Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were already more than twenty, they could only tag along as ¡®teachers¡¯. Everyone from the Tang Sect changed into the same warrior robes.

    Their warrior robes were specially designed. There were silver embroidered lines on their white warrior robes, and these lines eventually gathered at the back, forming the words Tang Sect.

    ---

    Although there was a thirty meters restriction on the public, there were still many people who gathered to watch thepeting teams as they exited the hotel.

    When the Tang Sect team appeared, they immediately caused a huge uproar.

    ¡°Eh, look at this. This team is so weird! Why is there someone in a wheelchair? Is he allowed topete in a wheelchair?¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect? It seems like a sect. Has anyone heard of them before?¡±

    ¡°They seem to be an ancient sect. However, I heard that they¡¯ve already copsed. They¡¯ve even sent a team with a cripple. Haha, this is funny! Can a cripple also be considered an elite?¡±

    No one from the Tang Sect bothered with themotion. Since Huo Yuhao dared toe in a wheelchair, he of course expected all this to happen. His abilities were the best way he could shut their mouths.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes as he sat in the wheelchair. However, his spiritual power followed the path and extended forward into the distance. He was sensing the conditions of all the teams that hade topete in this tournament, and sent this information to his teammates.

    Huo Yuhao was already getting used to his disability. He had also discovered that this wasn¡¯t really a bad thing for him. While his abilities were restricted, being disabled also made him more reliant on his spiritual power. Over this short period of time, Huo Yuhao had already begun to grasp many concepts that helped him to evolve his Purple Demon Eyes and the spiritual level of his concrete-immaterial realm. He was starting to use his spiritual-type abilities more and more efficiently.

    There were more than two thousand people from the one hundred and sixty-seven teams. All of them left Radiant City.

    ---

    The tournament venue was on the outskirts of the city. Once they passed the buildings in the city, they could see it from afar.

    Right now, the area was crowded with people, with more than thirty thousand soldiers maintaining order. The crowd was divided into different regions, segregated from the grandeur of the main arena. To the north, there was a high tform made that looked like it could amodate a thousand people.

    The tform was more than ten meters high, and more than a hundred meters across. The wide tform shone with a silvery-white glow, and appeared to be made from metal. Even though it was just a tform, it was an extremely huge one! There weren¡¯t any seams or breaks in it at all.

    The weird thing was that there seemed to be a groove around the tform. There was a transparent barrier stained with dim yellow that rose into the skying out of that groove. The ends of the barrier couldn¡¯t be seen. How high did one¡¯s soul power have to be to support this barrier!?

    Furthermore, it was possible to tell this was different from thest tournament. At least, no one could be struck off the stage and end up as a loser so easily. One had topletely defeat their opponent to win.

    Beside the tform, there were huge soul screens extending a hundred meters from the center of the tournament stage. These soul screens were held in the air by tall scaffolding, and every screen was more than twenty square meters in size. Only the Sun Moon Empire possessed such soul tool techniques!

    There were more than a hundred such screens set up around the tournament stage!

 Chapter 277.3: Regent Concubine

    The resting area was on the east side of the stage, and was divided into two regions. The region closer to the stage was a perg, and could hold close to twenty teams. The rest were just chairs that weren¡¯t shaded. These chairs were lined up in a row to the sides of the perg, slightly behind it.

    From how the Sun Moon Empire hosted this tournament, their attention to detail reflected their superiority. The resting area with the perg was undoubtedly left for the more prestigious academies and sects.

    ---

    After registering at the registration point and providing the administrative details for the tournament, the Tang Sect team was led to a region with all wooden benches. It was even in a dpidated corner.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect looked very gloomy upon being awarded such poor treatment. Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were also furious.

    ¡°This is too much!¡± Xiao Xiao hissed furiously.

    He Caitouforted her by patting her shoulders and smiled, but he didn¡¯t say anything.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is nothing much. I¡¯ll use my abilities to tell them that they are wrong. That¡¯ll be enough, right?¡±

    The sun had already risen at this point. As rays of sunlight shone on everyone from the east, everypetitor seemed to beyered with gold. There were simply too manypeting teams, and it took a whole hour for every team to settle down. The rapturous cheers from the public could also be heard in the distance.

    Huo Yuhao was jolted suddenly, and turned in a certain direction. It was an extremely mysterious team. Zhang Peng was leading them, and there was a group of people behind him. They were all in ck warrior robes, and wore headdresses with veils. These veils concealed their appearances.

    There was ady with an excellent figure behind Zhang Peng. A weird aura wasing from her that seemed as if it were drawing all light towards her. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power got close to her, it was distorted and unable to get within a foot of her. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t use his Spiritual Detection on her.

    Tang Ya was following behind thisdy. Even though Tang Ya was wearing a veil, Huo Yuhao could still tell that it was her.

    The Holy Ghost Church? Huo Yuhao squinted. It was indeed them! The Holy Ghost Church was here topete!

    Teacher Xiao Ya, what should I do if I meet you in the tournament?!

    Who was thedy in front of her? Her abilities were very weird. However, Huo Yuhao found the sense of distortion vaguely familiar for some reason.

    Zhang Peng stopped in his tracks just as he was about to proceed towards the perg. He turned around and faced Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao quickly retracted his spiritual power. Even though his spiritual cultivation was great, his soul power cultivation was still limited. Since Zhang Peng was a Transcendent Douluo, there were many ways he could deal with Huo Yuhao.

    Zhang Peng scanned him with a cold look before he led the men in ck towards the perg.

    Huo Yuhao saw a few familiar faces after this. There was the Star Luo National Academy¡¯s team led by Princess Jiujiu, as well as the team with Mu Xue and Wei Na. They didn¡¯t seem to be from any academy of the Heavenly Soul Empire. From their uniforms, they seemed more likely to havee from a sect. Mo Feiyun was the one leading the team. However, the Transcendent Douluo that had appeared the previous day did not make an appearance.

    Apart from these few teams, there were many unfamiliar faces, especially those sects that had rushed out from the various other empires on the continent. Huo Yuhao knew nothing about them. He could only use his Spiritual Detection to observe and ascertain their cultivations.

    ¡°Look. What is that?¡± Jiang Nannan¡¯s voice caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention.

    Apany of special soldiers were proceeding over quickly from the north of the main stage. These soldiers were wearing golden warrior robes, but they weren¡¯t equipped with any weapons. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision, he could even read their expressions clearly. These golden-clothed guards were all at least thirty years old. They all restrained their expressions, but there were definitely soul power undtionsing from them. There were around five hundred of them, but they didn¡¯t make a sound as they proceeded over. As the sun shone down on them, they glittered, and were almost blinding.

    These soldiers quickly dispersed as they reached the foot of the main stage, surrounding the entire stage. Around fifty of them stood in position without moving. As metal nging sounds were heard, they brandished soul cannons and pointed the cannons outward. The rest of the soldiers also unleashed different types of soul tools and entered a weird formation. At least ten of the heavy cannons caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention. He could tell that they were at least ss 7 soul tools!

    He Caitou told everyone, ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Division. This is one of the true core strengths of the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How many of them are there, second senior?¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled what his and He Caitou¡¯s identities were. He looked over towards He Caitou.

    He Caitou was also looking back at him. He didn¡¯t seem as simple as before anymore. His eyes were shing with a radiant glow.

    ¡°There are only a thousand people in the division. Half of them are here now. They are all at least ss 5 soul engineers, equipped with the best soul tools. Their leader is a ss 9 soul engineer, and only epts orders from the Emperor himself. They are the trump card of all trump cards. Their importance to the imperial family is only inferior to the Imperial Shrine.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Emperor seriously ill? Has he recovered?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    At this point, a group of people arrived. They were escorted by the Soul Engineering Division on chariots and horses to the main stage. There was a small imperial chariot pulled by thirty-two horses. There were also many guards and officials decked in luxurious court wear behind this chariot.

    The chariot stopped in front of the main stage. Two maids pulled open curtains embroidered with silver lotuses, and a wheelchair was pushed out. There was a handsome youth in the wheelchair.

    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned to see that it wasn¡¯t the Emperoring out from the chariot. It was the Crown Prince, Xu Tianran!

    Only the Emperor could sit in such a chariot! Since Xu Tianran dared to sit in this chariot, everyone knew what it signified.

    Following this, Huo Yuhao focused his attention again. He saw that the person pushing the wheelchair was Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi was still as beautiful as ever, herplexion even more delicate now. Compared to before, her beautiful eyes had a more dignified look, and she was extremely elegant, like a queen.

    There was one person walking beside Ju Zi... Jing Hongchen. He was an extremely powerful ss 9 soul engineer who held a respected status in the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°Greetings to Prince Regent and Regentess.¡± Aside from the Soul Engineering Division, all the officials present knelt down and greeted Xu Tianran.

    Regent? It seemed like the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor wasn¡¯t dead yet...

    Regentess? Ju Zi, Ju Zi, she actually¡­ Indescribable emotions filled Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart and made him short of breath. She has married him and be his legitimate wife? Ju Zi, why are you doing this just for revenge?

    A smooth and delicate hand reached out for Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Huo Yuhao turned around and saw Wang Dong¡¯s clear, powdery-blue eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Huo Yuhao gently shook his head.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s great that you are fine.¡± As she said that, she grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sadness slightly dissipated when he felt Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s soft palm. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t love between him and Ju Zi, but they were definitely more than ordinary friends. He would definitely be happy for Ju Zi if she could find a good spouse. However, would she be happy with someone like Xu Tianran?

    Furthermore, Xu Tianran was an aggressive person. Once he ruled the Sun Moon Empire, the war might reallye soon!

    Right now, he couldn¡¯t help but think of what Ju Zi said before; if there was a day that they met on the battlefield...

    Just as Huo Yuhao was overthinking things, Ju Zi had already pushed Xu Tianran into a soul elevator. Jing Hongchen and four elders followed him into the elevator. As the elevator rose, everyone could see the regent. Their cheers started to ring out. This Crown Prince was actually able to win the hearts of the people!

    The officials couldn¡¯t follow him up the elevator. They used the stairs to one side of the main stage to ascend.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s arrival also meant that the tournament was about to begin.

    Ju Zi pushed Xu Tianran to the center of the main stage. She didn¡¯t sit down, but stood beside him. Since she didn¡¯t sit, the officials who were panting after climbing the stairs also didn¡¯t dare to sit, and could only remain standing.

    Xu Tianran nodded at Ju Zi, who then slowly walked forward to a sound amplifying soul tool. Her moving voice soon rang out to everyone.

    ¡°Silence.¡± A low voice sounded, and a strong suppression filled the entire ce. After the voice sounded, everyone felt that everything in front of them had turned dark. Even their breathing sped up. Anymotions disappeared after it spoke. The entire tournament venue turned silent instantly, to the point where even a dropped pin would ring out.

    What abilities did she have? How was she able to exert such terrifying suppression? She had used her own strength to terrorize more than hundred thousand people! Was this really achievable by a soul master?

    Huo Yuhao was horrified, and he blurted out almost instantly, ¡°Darkness Holy Dragon, Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao!¡±

 Chapter 278.1: First Battle

    Others might be unfamiliar with that voice, but he was extremely familiar with it. It sounded old, yet was filled with might. The owner of this voice was the one who had intercepted him back then and left Elder Xuan terrified.

    He was the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao; a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo, and the only one left from the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White.

    He was actually here, and had personally paid a visit to boost the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s presence. Huo Yuhao was now certain that the Holy Ghost Church and Sun Moon Empire were very close with each other.

    Ju Zi cleared her throat at this moment. Her moving voice resonated through the sound-amplifying soul tool, and everyone heard her. If Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice was a demonstration of his strength, Ju Zi¡¯s voice was a demonstration of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s cutting-edge technology.

    ¡°Citizens of the Sun Moon Empire and distinguished guests from afar, I¡¯m here to wee all of you on behalf of the Prince Regent! At the same time, I announce on his behalf that the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament has officially begun!¡±

    Her opening speech was very straightforward. She didn¡¯t ramble about superfluous stuff. That was Xu Tianran¡¯s style. Everything was about one¡¯s abilities. To him, talking more was only a big waste of time.

    ¡°Long live the Prince Regent.¡± The citizens of the Sun Moon Empire knelt down towards Xu Tianran, the likely sessor of the current Emperor.

    Xu Tianran continued to wear a smile on his face as he sat in his wheelchair. He reached out his right hand towards Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi ced her right hand on his palm before sitting beside him as she leaned on him. She wore a light smile on her face.

    Xu Tianran patted her hand and didn¡¯t say anything. He gazed calmly at the tournament stage below.

    ¡°My beloved subjects, take a seat,¡± Xu Tianran said calmly. The officials only dared to sit at this point. Every seat was tagged ording to their statuses in the empire, so they couldn¡¯t sit in the wrong seat.

    The person sitting on the other side of Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t Jing Hongchen. It was a middle-aged man wearing a long ck robe with golden sleeves. This person was expressionless, and had a pale look on his face. The weird thing was that there seemed to be a hazyyer around his face, and it wasn¡¯t possible to see his face clearly. Jing Hongchen was sitting on the other side of Ju Zi.

    ¡°The tournament rules and regtions will be read out now,¡± a sonorous voice sounded. After this, the tournament¡¯s rules and regtions were read out. They were unchanged from the instruction booklets disseminated to every team.

    ---

    After the reading was done, an elder walked up to the sound-amplifying soul tool and said loudly, ¡°First battle of the preliminary round: Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy against the Dragonyer Sect. The members of both teams, please proceed to the waiting area.¡±

    The waiting area was a special region in front of the perg. Seven chairs were ced on each side, and the two rows of chairs were separated by a horizontal distance of twenty meters.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face. No wonder Shrek Academy was given the empty lot. It was on purpose!

    ording to the tournament rules, the first battle should involve the current title holders. Since Shrek Academy was given the empty lot, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would rece their spot, as they were the runners-up of the previous tournament. This was undoubtedly a trick yed by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao saw someone familiar. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were in front, and behind them were five young soul masters that he had never seen before. They directly entered the waiting area.

    The unfortunate Dragonyer Sect also sent seven members into the waiting area. However, Huo Yuhao was surprised that the seven members from the Dragonyer Sect were very confident. They weren¡¯t fearful because their opponents were the runners-up in the previous tournament. They were quite imposing!

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that most sects didn¡¯t look up to academies. After all, the instructors and students in academies were limited by time. Apart from some special cases, the students from academies and disciples from sects were vastly different.

    A disciple remained in their sect for his entire life. For most sects with rich histories and legacies, they had something special about them.

    In the first Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournaments, sects had been included. However, they were subsequently removed for some reason. The Dragonyer Sect was a sect that had a legacy of more than ten thousand years. They came from the Heavenly Soul Empire, and were a traditional soul master sect. They discriminated against soul tools, and were scornful towards the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team. They didn¡¯t think they were going to lose.

    ¡°Referee, please enter the stage. The firstpetitor for each side, please enter the stage too,¡± the elder who was emceeing instructed them.

    Huo Yuhaopared this tournament with thest one. Although he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he was certain that he preferred this edition of the tournament more. It was simpler, less flowery, and more practical for fighting. This was the true meaning of a tournament! It was a way to increase the sparring, interaction, and learning between soul masters and soul engineers.

    The referee was an elder more than fifty years old. It was impossible to tell his cultivation before he unleashed his martial soul. The firstpetitor from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was Meng Hongchen. She was the only one on the team that was inferior to Jing Hongchen, and was the first topete. This showed how much the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wanted to win the first battle. This wasn¡¯t just about victory; it concerned the face of the Sun Moon Empire!

    A young man from the Dragonyer Sect was first topete. He had a somewhat special appearance. His head was a little t, he wasn¡¯t tall, and he looked a little thick. His palms were extremelyrge. As he opened them wide beside his body, they looked like fans.

    At this point, the spectators maintained their silence. They hadn¡¯t recovered from the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s suppression, as only a short period of time had passed.

    ¡°In this individual elimination round, I will decide who¡¯s the winner once either of you loses your fighting strength, or concedes defeat. You must not harm your opponent. Understand?¡± the referee instructed both parties.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The youth representing the Dragonyer Sect appeared full of energy. After acknowledging the referee¡¯s words, he turned around and walked towards his own side. He didn¡¯t even carry out the formalities. ording to the rules, both parties had to be a hundred meters apart from each other before the fight started. This was fairer to some soul masters and soul engineers who were skilled in long-range attacks.

    Meng Hongchen had experienced great transformations and be ady. Her slender figure was proportionate, and she was very charming. Although she wasn¡¯t as good-looking as Wang Dong¡¯er or Jiang Nannan, she was still a beauty. However, the other party didn¡¯t even nce at her before walking away. Meng Hongchen was greatly displeased by his attitude, and a vicious look shed across her eyes. She snorted and turned to the other side of the stage.

    Very soon, both parties were in position.

    The referee lifted his right hand high. When his palm swiped down, the first battle of the tournament began.

    Bang!

    There was a boom that resonated from the youth¡¯s leg just as the referee¡¯s right hand swiped down. The tough, metal floor was dented as he leapt out. His short and stocky body burst towards Meng Hongchen like a fired cannon shell.

    While he appeared to look down on Meng Hongchen, he didn¡¯t truly underestimate her. When a soul master fought against a soul engineer, it was important to close the gap. His soul rings lit up as he burst forward. It was easy to tell that he was an assault-type soul master from the power that he unleashed. The sudden burst of strength allowed his cultivation to temporarily rival that of an agility-type soul master.

    Two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring ¨C the bestbination ¨C lit up on the youth¡¯s body. In this tournament, a five-ringed soul master was considered quite strong. There were only a few six-ringed soul masters and soul engineers from a few outstanding academies.

    The Dragonyer Sect didn¡¯t have a high standing, but they sent a five-ringed Soul King right from the start. This showed how solid their foundation was. The expression of many leaders from the various academies changed when they saw this.

    Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t rush forward, and didn¡¯t even retrieve the soul tool that she always used. She walked forward leisurely, and only an icy-blue halo slowly spread from her feet. Two yellow, two purple and two ck soul rings slowly rose up, and caused the spectating Dragonyer Sect team members to change their expressions.

    As sects weren¡¯t allowed topete in thest tournament, and each edition was five years apart, the Dragonyer Sect knew very little about the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team. They felt that they had bad luck after drawing the previous runners-up, but didn¡¯t think they would lose.

    However, they felt pressured when they saw Meng Hongchen¡¯s soul rings. Six rings of the bestbination! Was that even possible for soul engineers? There was an age limit of twenty years!

    The youth had already reached Meng Hongchen as they were thinking of all this. He was the second strongest member of the Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team. Furthermore, his fighting style was that he would never retreat! Even when he saw Meng Hongchen¡¯s six soul rings, he wasn¡¯t afraid. His first and third soul rings lit up as he charged her.

 Chapter 278.2: First Battle

    ¡°Moo¡ª¡ª¡± The youth let out a low-pitched groan, and his stocky body suddenly ballooned in size. His increase in size wasn¡¯t proportionate; he only stretched horizontally. A pair of thick, twisted and sharp horns poked out from his shoulders. They were almost two feet long. His muscles were about to tear his shirt and reveal his naked, burly body.

    It was his first soul skill, Strength of Barbaric Bull.

    The martial soul of this youth was a Charging Bull. It didn¡¯t sound very impressive, but it was one of the top-ranked bull-type martial souls. Although the Strength of Barbaric Bull only came from his first soul ring, it was quite dominant. Not only was it extremely strong and impactful, but it also made him temporarily lose any sensation of pain, and increased his defensive strength greatly. Among all the strengthening skills that came from first soul rings, the Strength of Barbaric Bull was one of the top three, and was even stronger than Dai Yueheng¡¯s White Tiger¡¯s Shield.

    His eyes turned blood-red at the same. Two streaks of bloody light shot out from his eyes straight towards Meng Hongchen. Meng Hongchen was given a shock.

    Meng Hongchen shuddered in her heart. Not only this, but she also found out that everything around her had seemed to slow down.

    There was even a control-type soul skill?

    It came from the third soul ring of the Charging Bull, re of Barbaric Bull.

    He had locked onto his opponent, allowing him to track her while she tried to dodge his attack. At the same time, he slowed her dodging speed.

    Compared to academies, sects were much better in some areas. For example, their research in some special martial souls was much better. In every sect, there was a certain martial soul that was passed down from generation to generation. After years of legacy, their research on that specific martial soul would have be very profound. This was something that sects couldn¡¯tpare to.

    Simply put, the research of academies only scratched the surface, but the research of sects managed to get to the crux. After countless attempts, they found the most suitable martial soul that they could pass down for generations.

    This was the case for this youth from the Dragonyer Sect. His Strength of Barbaric Bull and re of Barbaric Bull came from soul rings that were the most suitable for the Charging Bull. They were also soul rings that formed the bestbination.

    However, he felt a chill as he burst into the icy-blue region. He actually shivered, and slowed slightly.

    At this point, he was already very close to Meng Hongchen. There wasn¡¯t any time for him to think, and thus he continued his charge towards Meng Hongchen.

    Meng Hongchen smiled and blew gently towards his direction. Her first and third soul rings lit up at the same time, causing the smooth, icy surface beneath their feet to extend.

    The youth¡¯s sharp horns were already in front of Meng Hongchen. It was a coincidence, but his horns were directly in front of Meng Hongchen¡¯s chest because he wasn¡¯t very tall.

    Meng Hongchen looked a little vexed, and in the next instant, she appeared behind the youth.

    His body shed past Meng Hongchen quickly, and he didn¡¯t manage to strike her. However, he managed to stop himself from instantly using his re of Barbaric Bull before he turned around and burst towards Meng Hongchen again.

    However, two Meng Hongchens appeared on the icy surface. His re of Barbaric Bull tried to lock onto both figures, but it lost its effect instantly. He was stunned.

    This was Meng Hongchen¡¯s third soul skill, Ice Reflection. The figure that she reflected looked exactly like her. Through various reflections, she kept on conjuring projections of herself. As a result, she then gave the youth the feeling that three of her had appeared even though his re of Barbaric Bull was still locked onto her body, as she kept on changing her position using her soul skill.

    Another intense chill engulfed his body. The youth revealed a look of horror, and his fifth soul ring lit up without any hesitation.

    It was a pity that it was toote. Compared to five years ago, Meng Hongchen¡¯s Icetoad Venom was even stronger now. Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t simply at Rank 61 now that she possessed six soul rings!

    Ayer of blue spread across the youth¡¯s face. Before his fifth soul ring even lit up, he groaned and trembled before he copsed to the floor.

    All the otherpeting members from the Dragonyer Sect in the waiting area all stood up suddenly. They couldn¡¯t believe the scene in front of them. They didn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    The light from Meng Hongchen¡¯s soul rings retracted, and she lifted her chin arrogantly. She turned to the referee and said, ¡°I¡¯ve won. Nextpetitor please.¡± After saying this, she retrieved a Milk Bottle to restore her soul power. In this individual elimination round, there weren¡¯t any rules that stated she couldn¡¯t use soul tools to aid her recovery.

    The referee rushed to the youth and checked his condition. He nodded at Meng Hongchen after ascertaining that her opponent hadpletely lost his fighting strength.

    ¡°You¡¯ve won, but your martial soul is poison-type. Please help him neutralize the poison to prevent endangering his life.¡± The referee said.

    Meng Hongchen twisted her lips and said, ¡°Referee, have you forgotten? There¡¯s still the team roundter.¡± Yes! ording to the rules, no substitutions could be made in the team round after the individual elimination round was over. This also meant that the members in the waiting area had topete in the team round.

    The referee furrowed his brow and said, ¡°However, his life will be in danger if this continues.¡±

    Meng Hongchen shouted towards the waiting area where the Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team members were, ¡°Promise me that he won¡¯tpete in the team battle, and I¡¯ll help him neutralize the poison.¡±

    Poison!

    The rest of the Dragonyer Sect team only now understood how Meng Hongchen managed to defeat her opponent. They all looked at one another. Eventually, they focused their attention on one person. It was a tall and huge youth, who was also their team leader for this tournament.

    ¡°Please neutralize the poison. He won¡¯tpete in the team roundter.¡± This team leader didn¡¯t hesitate at all, and immediately made his decision. Of course, that was because none of them specialized in neutralizing poison or were healing-type soul masters.

    Meng Hongchen squatted down without hurry and pressed her hand on the youth¡¯s chest. She sucked back her Icetoad Venom.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said to Huo Yuhao softly in the resting area, ¡°Meng Hongchen¡¯s abilities have increased significantly!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°After two years of exchange, they have learned something from Shrek Academy. Did you interact with the two siblings? What standard has Meng Hongchen¡¯s abilities reached?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er twisted her mouth and said, ¡°I did interact quite a fair bit with Meng Hongchen. However, it¡¯s because she harassed me every day. I don¡¯t know what rank her soul power is. She conceals her abilities very well. However, I estimate that her cultivation is above mine. The two of them already had five rings five years ago. I¡¯m sure they are above Rank 65 right now.¡±

    ¡°Harass you?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned weird, ¡°My Dong¡¯er is a male and adykiller! Impressive, impressive. If you meet her, you can trap her with your beauty.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and changed the topic. He said, ¡°As a soul engineer, Meng Hongchen used the methods of soul masters to win the fight. This shows how confident she is in her own cultivation. Her opponent wasn¡¯t weak either. His martial soul and soul skills are quite strong. I used my Spiritual Detection to sense the youth from the Dragonyer Sect. He has invigorating qi. With strengthening skills, he managed to resist Meng Hongchen¡¯s venom for some time. He might have caused some trouble for her if he used his strongest soul skill immediately. These sect teams are indeed quite extraordinary! This edition of the tournament will be quite cracking.¡±

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s dominance cast a shadow over the Dragonyer Sect. The second topete was a thin and tall youth. When he stood in front of Meng Hongchen, he looked at her with a more cautious look.

    The referee repeated the rules again. This Dragonyer Sectpetitor took the initiative to say, ¡°Dragonyer Sect. Feng Sh¨¨n.¡±

    ¡°Feng Sh¨¦n?¡± Meng Hongchen was stunned.

    Feng Shen¡¯s lips moved slightly, and he replied, ¡°It¡¯s Feng Sh¨¨n, not Feng Sh¨¦n.¡±

    Meng Hongchen twisted her lips and said, ¡°It¡¯d be best if you were called Feng Sh¨¦n. It sounds mightier.¡±

    ED: This is rted to tones in CN. Said in the fourth tone (which is said in a higher pitch that falls sharply), Feng Sh¨¨n is just a name. However she misheard it in the second tone (said in a rising tone simr to asking a question) as Feng Sh¨¦n, which literally means ¡®Caution¡¯. Hope that this clears up any confusion.

    A furious look shed across Feng Shen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be too arrogant. Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll win against me just because you won against my vice team-leader.¡±

    Meng Hongchen threw him a scornful look, ¡°I¡¯ll try. I think he had the same thought as you. He didn¡¯t even touch my sleeves before I defeated him.¡± Her self-confidence was one of a kind! She wasn¡¯t depleted from the first battle. Furthermore, she took the opportunity to replenish her soul power as the vice team-leader from the Dragonyer Sect was poisoned. She was basically still in her peak condition right now. Naturally, she wasn¡¯t too bothered by Feng Shen.

    Feng Shen nodded at her and walked towards his position expressionlessly.

    The two of them quickly drew their distance from each other and went to their respective positions.

    Everyone watched as the referee lifted his right hand before swiping it down. The second battle began!

    As the referee¡¯s hand swiped down, a loud eagle call sounded. Following this, a bolt of dim purplish electricity instantly shot into the sky. It was extremely quick, such that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t even capture it.

    It was Feng Shen who had shot into the sky. He was too quick. Two yellow, two purple and one ck soul ring shone on his body. Right now, he had already unleashed his soul rings. A pair of deep blue wings that didn¡¯t seem too wide extended from his arms. His entire body released a strong dim purplish glow. In a matter of seconds, he was already thirty meters high in the air, and was far away from Meng Hongchen.

 Chapter 278.3: First Battle

    ¡°It¡¯s very targeted!¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned as hemented. Feng Shen was using speed to curb Meng Hongchen¡¯s venom. Undoubtedly, he had to be very explosive in terms of his offensive power.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s live experience was rather rich. Seeing that her opponent had burst into the sky, she was also shocked. However, she didn¡¯t panic. Her six soul rings lit up. Her Icevenom Ring and Ice Reflection specialty skills were unleashed concurrently.

    In mid-air, Feng Shen¡¯s wings pped open to both sides. His dim purplish glow started to turn darker, and his first and third soul rings shone concurrently. When his first soul ring lit up, his wings also increased one foot in size. The dim purplish glow became increasingly darker.

    When his third soul ring lit up, the glow from his body became even more intense. Everything within a ten-meter radius turned purple.

    Following this, his fifth soul ring lit up, too. The pitch-ck soul ring expanded out before converting into rings of light that revolved around his body. His body started to distort, and became a little unclear.

    Xu Sanshi, who was sitting beside Huo Yuhao, squinted and said, ¡°He wants to end this battle in one strike!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, ¡°Third senior, what¡¯s your take on this guy¡¯s attack?¡±

    Xu Sanshi replied without any hesitation, ¡°Very strong! From the looks of it, his martial soul should be the Lightning Falcon. The Lightning Falcon has always been recognized as a predator of eagles. It¡¯s an extremely quick martial soul. It¡¯s a third the size of other falcons, but is extremely vicious. It feeds on the internal organs of other falcons. Even an eagle ten times its size is scared of it. It¡¯s not just quick; it¡¯s able to alter its direction at high speed in the air. Among agility-type martial souls, it¡¯s one of the best. Of course, its strengths and weaknesses are evident. I don¡¯t think I need to exin what it¡¯s weakness is with high speed and a quick offense, right?

    Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan said at almost the same time, ¡°Defense!¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°If I were his opponent, he¡¯d collide with my shield and die.¡±

    Jiang Nannan red at him and snapped, ¡°Would it kill you not to boast?¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression turned from arrogant to deep. He was filled with passion as he looked at Jiang Nannan and said, ¡°I won¡¯t die from not boasting. However, I¡¯ll die without you.¡± As he spoke, he held onto Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand and caressed it.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s face turned red. She made a spitting sound before turning her attention back to the stage. However, she didn¡¯t pull her hand back.

    A dim light shed. Huo Yuhao revealed a pensive look on his face. He was also observing how Meng Hongchen was going to resist the Lightning Falcon¡¯s quick offensive strike.

    Just like Feng Shen, Meng Hongchen¡¯s weaknesses and strengths were also very evident. Without a doubt, her strengthy in her venom. Even opponents with a greater cultivation than her might find it difficult to win against her. This was the case with Dai Yueheng back then. However, her offensive and defensive strengths weren¡¯t very impressive even though she was poisonous.

    Back when she only had five rings, her only true offensive soul skill was her fifth soul skill, Icefire Venomdragon¡¯s Corkscrew, and she had relied on her Ice Reflection as her defensive soul skill. When she faced a domain-type, long-range attack, it was difficult for her to counter.

    However, the difference Meng Hongchen had with her opponents was that she wasn¡¯t just a soul master, she was also a soul engineer! Huo Yuhao and the few of them could discern her weaknesses, so she naturally knew what her weaknesses were too, and she relied on soul tools to make up for her weakness. As for what she could do, it wasn¡¯t something that they knew yet. They could only learn by observation.

    Feng Shen took quite a long time to prepare his fifth soul skill. As the glow around his body distorted, it slowly disappeared. The dim purplish glow in mid-air slowly turned dark purple. A purple eagle with three-meter-long wings slowly took form.

    This resembled a Martial Soul True Body! Meng Hongchen could sense that she was being locked on to. She had no way of differentiating whether her opponent¡¯s attack was domain-type or omnidirectional. Under such an unfavorable circumstance, Meng Hongchen still managed to keep herself poised, and appeared very calm. There were no emotions on her face, and no one knew what she was thinking.

    At this point, the purplish figure up in the air finally moved. It formed an arc in the air that came straight towards Meng Hongchen.

    He was too quick, and caused a piercing sonic boom as he was halfway there. This only happened because he was traveling almost at the speed of sound!

    Meng Hongchen instantly understood that his attack would be omnidirectional. However, he was so quick that it was impossible for her to unleash her Ice Reflection. This terrifying speed was beyond herprehension. She¡¯d never even seen a seven-ringed Soul Sage reach that speed before.

    The purplish glow appeared right in front of her as it was unleashed and the sonic boom sounded.

    However, a dim pinkish glow was suddenly released from Meng Hongchen¡¯s chest. This glow changed into a barrier that blocked her body.

    At the most critical moment, she still relied on a soul tool. It was in her nature.

    Boom¡ª¡ª!

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s entire body was swallowed by the frightening purple glow. The tremendous impact caused the metal floor to cave in. Even the icy surface formed by Meng Hongchen¡¯s Ice Reflection started to crack. The strike was truly powerful!

    All the spectators held their breath. This strike was too terrifying! Although they knew soul masters were strong, it was very rare for them to personally witness the supernatural abilities of a soul master. The frightening strength of impact generated balls of cyclones that caused ripples in the defensive light barriers surrounding the stage.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was caught by the purplish glow. For a Soul King to unleash such a strike, he was close to the standard of a Soul Emperor! In fact, another soul master wouldn¡¯t have given Feng Shen so much time to prepare. He had used too much time to umte his power.

    Regarding this, the Dragonyer Sect must have had judged that Meng Hongchen wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to close the gap, and so Feng Shen was instructed to use his strongest attack immediately. Events proved that that they had been right. At least, Feng Shen managed to sessfully unleash his strongest strike.

    However, had he actually won?

    The purple slowly faded away, and two figures appeared in front of everyone. Meng Hongchen was still standing in her initial position,pletely unmoved. Her entire body was engulfed by the dim pinkish light barrier. Feng Shen was ten meters away from her, one of his knees on the floor. His arms that had changed into wings had drooped down, as if they had lost a bone, and he was panting hard.

    Meng Hongchen hadn¡¯t unleashed an Invincible Barrier, but it seemed like the protective barrier that she had used was at least ss 7! If it were ss 6, she couldn¡¯t possibly remain in her position after suffering such a violent attack.

    Plop! Feng Shen copsed to the ground and went unconscious. Afterpleting his strongest strike, his arms were fractured, and he had also suffered from the Icetoad Venom¡¯s poison.

    However, Meng Hongchen also looked to be in bad shape. She didn¡¯t expect her trump card to be revealed to all her opponents. Feng Shen¡¯s attack had been too strong, such that her soul power was depleted by forty percent. She was only able to tap into the bacsh of a ss 7 soul tool to gravely hurt her opponent.

    This was extremely targeted. If Meng Hongchen only had five rings and didn¡¯t have such a strong defensive soul tool, she would have lost.

    ¡°We concede defeat. He won¡¯tpeteter either. Please neutralize his poison,¡± the team leader of the Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team decided immediately.

    Cheers also exploded out at this moment. Meng Hongchen wasn¡¯t just representing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, she was also representing the Sun Moon Empire! Here, she didn¡¯t have anyck of fans, and she had won two fights consecutively! They were cheering for her victory!

    In the seeding rounds, the Dragonyer Sect didn¡¯t have anyone that could curb Meng Hongchen. Four people fell to her poison. However, her own soul power was also being increasingly depleted. After all, this was a fight between two teams. Although her cultivation was greater than Rank 65, her soul power was still limited. If not for the fact that her first two opponents were Soul Kings, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive more than four rounds.

    To prevent her from suffering any injuries, Meng Hongchen conceded defeat when the Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team leader stepped up topete. Eventually, she didn¡¯t manage to defeat the entire Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team.

    Even so, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy demonstrated their worth.

    Their secondpeting member was a Soul King and ss 5 soul engineer. As he fought the team leader of the Dragonyer Sect¡¯s team, he eventually managed to eke out a victory.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy thus became the first side to win the first round of the tournament. They didn¡¯t evenpete in the team round, and managed to advance from the first round with six points.

 Chapter 279.1: A Competing Cripple?

    Since the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy eliminated all their opponents in the individual elimination round, they had obtained the points needed for the team round, ording to the tournament rules. So, they gained eleven points.

    The Tang Sect team members had various feelings after they finished watching this first round of battles.

    Xu Sanshi looked at the calm Huo Yuhao and softly asked, ¡°Yuhao, who do you think is the best equipped to deal with Meng Hongchen if we face the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s me.¡±

    Xu Sanshi thought for a moment before saying, ¡°It can only be you. However, she¡¯s not just about her poison. In my opinion, her improvement in the area of soul tools might even surpass her soul master cultivation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s for sure. After all, this is only the first round. She has been holding back throughout. Even at the end, she didn¡¯t use her sixth soul skill or any offensive soul tools. I estimate her main soul tools are already at ss 7, and she is using a special production method to reduce their usage requirements. She is the granddaughter of Jing Hongchen, after all.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°If we meet them, what do you think our chances are?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Eighty percent chance of winning.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was stunned as he asked, ¡°So confident?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Of course. We have you. You can defeat half their team on your own.¡±

    Xu Sanshi furrowed his brow and said, ¡°No, no. How can I take on half their team?¡±

    Jiang Nannan took a curious look at him and said, ¡°Since when have you learned to be humble?¡±

    Xu Sanshi blinked and said, ¡°What I mean is that I can take on their entire team!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Jiang Nannan snapped at him.

    ¡°There¡¯s a trumpet in the sky. Who blew it?¡± Xiao Xiao lifted her head to look at the sky.

    He Caitou was sniggering to one side.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a chance, I would like to try.¡± a cold voice sounded from afar. Everyone turned in the direction of this voice.

    It was the Sword Fanatic. Ji Juechen¡¯s face was very serious, and his gaze was burning. He seemed like he was about to draw his Judgment Sword to challenge Meng Hongchen to a fight right then and there!

    ------

    The tournament continued. There were too many teams. Even if it was just the first elimination round, there were more than eighty of them. If the schedule wasn¡¯t followed, the nned three days might not even be sufficient toplete the first elimination round.

    There were many exciting performances in the first elimination round. Since it was an elimination round, every team gave their best. Some horrifying scenes even urred. Team after team went up topete.

    Among the familiar teams that Huo Yuhao knew, Wei Na and Mu Xue appeared as part of a sect called the Snowdemon Sect. Wei Na didn¡¯tpete, but Mu Xue demonstrated her extraordinary abilities. She conceded after beating three opponents consecutively. This was to protect herself and keep her avable for the team round. Wei Na wasn¡¯t part of thepeting team. She was only a spectator.

    The fights in the morning stopped at noon. Nine teams had made it to the next round, which also meant that nine teams had been eliminated, and heir journey in this tournament had ended.

    The fights in the afternoon carried on until the evening. A total of twenty-six rounds were fought over the course of the day.

    There were teams that were vastly different in terms of skill level. However, there wasn¡¯t anyone who defeated an entire team on their own. After all, it was difficult to beat seven people consecutively . Even the weaker teams had at least a few four-ringed Soul Ancestors. Different soul masters had different characteristics. The difficulty level of winning seven consecutive fights was very high.

    The Tang Sect team was due topete on the second day. After watching the first day of fights, all the teams came to a simple conclusion. They picked out some opponents that they had to be wary of and analyzed them.

    ---

    The atmosphere in the Ming Yue Hotel became more tense after the first day of fights, as those who had notpeted watched the eliminated teams leave the hotel. Some of the members of these teams had even died tragically during the course of the tournament!

    While the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament could make one famous, it could also take one¡¯s life away¡­

    ---

    The sky was slowly getting dark. After eating their dinner, Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao back to his room.

    Although they hadn¡¯tpeted today, it was still tough on Huo Yuhao. Bei Bei was seriously injured, and thus Yuhao had to take on the responsibility of leading the team. He had to unleash his Spiritual Detection to observe his opponents, and had to draw up his conclusions from an entire day¡¯s worth of fights after returning. His mind was tired.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, let¡¯s get a drink!¡± Huo Yuhao said suddenly.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned as she asked, ¡°Are you not tired?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°I should rx because I¡¯m tired! This was what you taught me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t reject his proposition, ¡°Alright. However, you must rest once we get our drink. We still have topete tomorrow.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Alright!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed him into the soul elevator and took it all the way down to the first story. The sky was alreadypletely dark by now. The hotel was extremely peaceful.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair down to the lobby, where there were very few people. Furthermore, the lighting in the lobby was dimmed at night. Every spot seemed to have its own privacy.

    The two of them sat in a corner. They didn¡¯t drink alcohol, so they ordered two sses of soft drinks.

    As she sat on the sofa and sipped on her sweet drink, Wang Dong¡¯er felt much more rxed. She asked him, ¡°Yuhao, do you want me to carry you to sit on the sofa?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I feel morefortable in a wheelchair.¡± Although his lower limbs couldn¡¯t move, he still had some feeling. He might feel ufortable if he was sitting on something too soft.

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked softly, ¡°Are your legs and left arm fine? It¡¯s been so many days. Have there been any problems?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°Am I so weak? Don¡¯t worry, things will be fine. I know my limits. I feel veryfortable hugging you to sleep every night.¡±

    ¡°Naughty!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er rolled her eyes at him. Even though she was dressed as a guy, they were still flirtatious.

    As she was talking, she looked over to a corner of the lobby. Over there, a figure slowly stood up and walked towards them.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced at Huo Yuhao. There was a reason why he hade down to have a drink at this time?

    This person was getting closer and closer. Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned, and stood up. ¡°Eldest senior sister?¡±

    Was it really Zhang Lexuan? Right now, she was d in deep blue warrior robes. She didn¡¯t appear very clear, as the lighting was too dim.

    Zhang Lexuan nodded at Wang Dong¡¯er. After that, she sat down opposite Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°Eldest senior sister, you left a mark for me to meet you. What¡¯s up? We arepetitors now.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan smiled back and answered, ¡°So be it. Yuhao, what¡¯s your take after watching today¡¯s fights?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°What else can I feel? It¡¯s not going to be easy.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan asked, ¡°Even you don¡¯t have any confidence in winning?¡± Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were no longer the preparatory squad members like they were in the previous tournament. Among the seven members, four were Soul Emperors and three were Soul Kings. All of them also had strong martial souls. In terms of their soul engineering abilities, He Caitou and Huo Yuhao weren¡¯t weaker than the students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, either. Even though Bei Bei was gravely injured and Huo Yuhao was temporarily crippled, theirpetitive abilities weren¡¯t in question. They were still superior to Shrek Academy¡¯s team.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone is really confident. The situation is veryplex. Meng Hongchen almost sank in today¡¯s fight. If not for her strong protective barrier, she would have lost her second fight. The sects are stronger than I had imagined. All of the teams held back on their abilities, since the tournament has only just started. Under such a situation, it¡¯s very hard to tell.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan sighed and said, ¡°Shrek¡¯s pride and glory is likely to end in this tournament. I feel like Elder Xuan shouldn¡¯t have let all of youpete for the Tang Sect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t Wang Qiu¡¯er there? Eldest senior sister, you should know how strong she is. In a duel, I don¡¯t have any confidence of beating her even when I¡¯m at my peak condition.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°If Qiu¡¯er was on the same team as all of you, I¡¯d be fully confident. However, Qiu¡¯er will find it difficult on her own.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to tell. Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting will is much stronger than you imagine. Her abilities are also much stronger than you imagine.¡±

    ¡°Oh? It seems like you understand her very well?¡± Zhang Lexuan looked at Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved slightly. ¡°Eldest senior sister, you are picking trouble here!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan snapped, ¡°What picking trouble? Guys are the ones who always hurt the hearts of women!¡±

    Huo Yuhao could onlyugh bitterly at her words.

    Zhang Lexuan also seemed to realize she had gone slightly overboard, and immediately changed the topic. ¡°Yuhao, I have a few things to tell you. We¡¯ve received news that the Body Sect is also in this tournament.¡±

    ¡°What? The Body Sect is also here?¡± This news was well beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations.

 Chapter 279.2: A Competing Cripple?

    Some time ago, the Body Sect had attacked the Illustrious Virtue Hall and inflicted heavy losses on them. They had also given Huo Yuhao the opportunity to leave with the Snow Lady and the huge human-shaped soul tool. That soul tool had already been given to Xuan Ziwen for research purposes.

    This tournament was being organized by the Sun Moon Empire, but the Body Sect actually had the guts toe here. Weren¡¯t they scared of being trapped in the Sun Moon Empire?

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Not only are they here topete, a few of the senior members of the sect have also snuck into the city secretly. No one knows what they¡¯re plotting. Maybe they¡¯re here to protect their disciples, or they might have ulterior motives. It¡¯s nothing bad for us. I¡¯m telling you this so that you¡¯ll be in the loop. If you meet anyone from the Body Sect, don¡¯t provoke them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The enemy of our enemy is our friend. I understand this logic. Don¡¯t worry. Is there any other news?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Another thing is, please don¡¯t be too conservative in the tournament and in your daily routine. It¡¯s not just us from Shrek Academy who are here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. Zhang Lexuan was very clear with her words. There were also some strong individuals from Shrek Academy who were here. Evidently, they were worried about the Sun Moon Empire!

    ¡°This is good news.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask who was here. Just knowing they were out there was already enough.

    Zhang Lexuan revealed a look of hesitation in her eyes, and asked softly, ¡°Is Bei Bei feeling better?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expressions suddenly turned weird. They already knew about the secret between Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan. As they saw the look of worry that shed across Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes, they had the same thought in their mind. She was still brooding over her promise in the past, but was it really just about the promise?

    ¡°He¡¯s much better. However, he can¡¯tpete for now.¡±

    ¡°Let him rest then. Alright, the two of you should rest early, too. Your team willpete tomorrow, right? I wish you all the best.¡± Zhang Lexuan quickly ended the conversation. She stood up and left after bowing slightly to the both of them.

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed after Zhang Lexuan left. She said, ¡°If anyone from the inner courtyard learns that eldest senior sister has someone in her heart, do you think eldest senior will be in trouble?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed lightly and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Her news came just in time. If the Body Sect has really entered Radiant City in suchrge numbers, it also means that they will try to do something. However, they are in the open this time. Can they even escape? The Sun Moon Empire and Holy Ghost Church are more worrying. I feel like there¡¯s something amiss about this tournament, but I can¡¯t tell what it is yet.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grabbed his hand and said, ¡°You are already exhausted enough. Don¡¯t think so much. In fact, we¡¯re already the reigning champions of the tournament. Even if we don¡¯t win this time, it¡¯s nothing. The future is more important. Do you understand what I mean, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best. If not for Teacher Xiao Ya and eldest senior, I wouldn¡¯t be here today. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter Shrek Academy either and gotten to know you. In my heart, I¡¯ll always be eternally grateful to both of them. Teacher Xiao Ya isn¡¯t in good shape now. It feels like she¡¯s being controlled. Her greatest wish was to rebuild the Tang Sect and reinstate its former glory. I must help eldest senior fulfil her wish!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded slightly and said, ¡°I understand. Let me help you.¡± It was just a few words, but there was an indescribable feeling in them.

    The two of them smiled as they looked at each other. Just as Wang Dong¡¯er was pushing Huo Yuhao back, someone burst out from the side and eximed in surprise, ¡°I¡¯ve finally found you!¡±

    A wind swept across their faces, and Meng Hongchen blocked their path. She was wearing a long, light blue dress. She was excited as she saw Wang Dong¡¯er. No, it was Wang Dong in her eyes. Furthermore, shepletely ignored Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er furrowed her brow. Meng Hongchen had been harassing her for far more than one or two days. Meng Hongchen would find her whenever she had time during the two years of the exchange. She couldn¡¯t avoid her at all, but she couldn¡¯t reveal her true identity, either!

    Meng Hongchen leapt in front of Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t all of you representing Shrek Academy!? I took some time to search for all of you. I knew that you¡¯d be here!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little annoyed. ¡°Is there something you want?¡±

    Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes amorously and said, ¡°Can¡¯t I find you for no reason? I found out that all of you werepeting on behalf of the Tang Sect from the tournament¡¯s organizingmittee. Are you trying to take everyone by surprise or something?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯ve joined a sect and are representing our sect. Is there a problem? It¡¯s not early anymore. If there¡¯s nothing else, go back and rest early. We still need topete tomorrow.¡±

    Meng Hongchen pursed her lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s still early. This is only a preliminary round. With your abilities, what are you so scared of?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er twisted her lips and answered, ¡°Why not? There are sects involved in this edition of the tournament. It¡¯s different from before. You almost lost today too.¡±

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes brightened, and she said, ¡°You were concerned about me?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was speechless by how she interpreted things.

    ¡°I knew that you¡¯ve always been very concerned about me.¡± As she spoke, Meng Hongchen took a step forward and held onto her wrist. She looked very blissful.

    Huo Yuhao coughed. ¡°This, Dong¡­ Wang Dong, I¡¯ll go back first. The two of you can have a chat.¡± Huo Yuhao was amused, but he tried to control hisughter. He pushed his wheelchair along with his one hand.

    ¡°Hey! You, you¡¯re¡­¡± Meng Hongchen only realized there was someone else present at that moment. Following that, she stared at him. ¡°You¡¯re Huo Yuhao? How did you get get into this state?¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and thought to himself. What kind of look is that? You¡¯ve just noticed me now? Heughed bitterly and said, ¡°I got into a sticky situation.¡±

    Meng Hongchen said, ¡°Can youpete in that state? Weren¡¯t you just fine when you returned from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy a few months ago? Why¡­?¡±

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be gossipy anymore.¡± Huo Yuhao was afraid that she might make Wang Dong¡¯er sad if she continued talking. He quickly interrupted her and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you here for Wang Dong? The two of you can chat first. I¡¯m returning to my room to rest. Wang Dong, this is also considered fate. Just apany her for a while.¡± As he spoke, he threw her a look.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little frustrated as she red back at him. ¡°You can¡¯t cope on your own. Let me follow you back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine. I can cope on my own. I¡¯m not that weak. Even with only one hand, I can still take care of myself.¡± As he spoke, he immediately pushed the wheels of his wheelchair towards the soul elevator.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s eyes broke into a smile when she saw how cooperative Huo Yuhao was acting. She muttered softly, ¡°This guy is not that annoying after all. Wang Dong, are you trying to bewitch us?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She wrenched her wrist away, and a fierce look appeared in her eyes. Huo Yuhao hadnded in his current state because of her. She was heartbroken, and kept on convincing herself to be strong so that she could take care of Huo Yuhao. In her heart, there was still guilt, pain, and affection. Meng Hongchen¡¯s words hit her where it hurt the most. How could she not be angry?

    Meng Hongchen was shocked by her reaction. She would have acted up if someone else had dared to react like this to her. However, Wang Dong was different. In her heart, Wang Dong was perfect. In thest tournament, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had teamed up together to create a miracle. His unyielding spirit and handsome looks had greatly moved her heart. Her exchange at Shrek Academy also gave her more time to interact with him. She was fearful when she saw Wang Dong acting up so suddenly.

    Meng Hongchen was a little panicky as she asked, ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry, Wang Dong! Why did you react so greatly? Did I say something wrong?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at her coldly and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao is in his current state because of me.¡±

    Meng Hongchen was jolted awake, and looked apologetic, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know. My grandfather told me to be wary of him. That¡¯s why I said everything out of fear.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned, and she asked, ¡°How did your grandfather appraise him?¡±

    Meng Hongchen replied, ¡°Intelligent, cunning, tolerant, and talented!¡±

    ------

    ¡°Intelligent, cunning, tolerant, and talented? I didn¡¯t expect Jing Hongchen to appraise me so highly!¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as Wang Dong¡¯er recounted her conversation with Meng Hongchen.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little annoyed. ¡°I almost told her I was a girl. You don¡¯t know how torturous it is to be with her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°You are attractive. It¡¯s better not to tell her and continue to act like a guy. Otherwise, you¡¯ll invite a lot of pursuers during the tournament. Watch and see. I believe Qiu¡¯er will cause some trouble.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Speaking of Qiu¡¯er, I haven¡¯t seen her in days. Has she been cultivating?¡±

    Huo Yuhao remained silent for a moment and replied, ¡°She¡¯s a stubborn person. For this tournament, I¡¯m afraid she will¡­¡± His voice trailed off, and he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. With Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯spetitive personality, she only had one goal, even if her teammates weren¡¯t strong enough.

 Chapter 279.3: A Competing Cripple?

    ¡°Come here, my love. Let¡¯s sleep.¡± Huo Yuhao threw all his worries aside and gestured to Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed and asked, ¡°Are you not cultivating anymore?¡±

    Huo Yuhao blinked, then replied, ¡°I feel like skiving today.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°I feel that your mindset has changed greatly after your injuries.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°When I opened my eyes that day and saw you again, I suddenly realized that this world is actually very beautiful. Life is very fragile and valuable. However, it¡¯s short. Itsts less than a hundred years. I want to spend as much time with you as I can and feel your gentleness.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned for a moment. She removed her outer coat and switched off the light before crawling underneath the nket. She got close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s lower limbs and left arm contained the chill of Ultimate Ice, she only stuck close to his upper body.

    Huo Yuhao hugged her soft and petite figure. He kissed her forehead and suddenly said, ¡°What do you think Meng Hongchen would think if she found out that her crush is currently lying in my arms and was even given a peck on her forehead?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her head and looked at him with a mysterious gaze. She muttered, ¡°She would think of¡­ castrating you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s butt clenched, and he felt a chill around his groin.

    ¡­¡­

    It was the second day of the tournament. The atmosphere was still as tense as the first day. After five rounds, six people were already gravely injured, and two people had already died. This showed how intense thepetition was.

    ¡°Next round, The Tang Sect versus the Earthdragon Sect. Both sides, please enter the waiting area. The firstpeting member from each side, pleasee up on stage.¡±

    They were about to fight. Everyone from the Tang Sect became extremely focused. Six people stood up. They were He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na.

    Wang Dong¡¯er went behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and pushed him into the waiting area.

    ¡°What?¡± On the main stage, Xu Tianran focused his gaze. ¡°Why is there someone in a wheelchair?¡±

    No matter how ambitious Xu Tianran was, he was still very young. He was very eager to watch this tournament. He had sat on the main stage all day yesterday and watched all the fights that went on. He also came with Ju Zi and his officials early this next day to watch the second day of fights.

    He was in a wheelchair himself. When he saw someone in a wheelchair going topete, it naturally caught his attention.

    Ju Zi¡¯s attention turned in the direction where Xu Tianran was looking. As she was too far away, she could only roughly see who it was. Furthermore, only Huo Yuhao¡¯s profile could be seen. However, she had a feeling that something was going to happen. It was a feeling that came for no reason.

    All seven of the Tang Sect¡¯speting members entered the waiting area. Xu Sanshi asked, ¡°Yuhao, do you really want to fight?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s the best way of concealing our overall abilities. Even if someone finds out, he won¡¯t know what level your cultivations are at. Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else. Wang Dong¡¯er bit her lips and pushed Huo Yuhao onto the stage.

    All the spectators were already cheering at this moment. A cripple in a wheelchair had actually appeared on the big stage where soul masters and soul engineers exhibited their abilities. This was beyond their expectations.

    Those who had seen Huo Yuhao before were also shocked. They initially thought Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t apetitor, but who knew that he would the first topete? This waspletely unimaginable.

    Even the referee was a little dumbfounded. He quickly walked over and doubtfully asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on, Tang Sect team? Are you sending a cripple topete?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er answered, ¡°Who says he¡¯s a cripple?¡± She hated it when others called Huo Yuhao a cripple.

    The referee thought to himself, ¡°Why is he in a wheelchair if he¡¯s not a cripple? Is this some kind of trick?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just ascertaining whether you are sending him topete first.¡± The referee¡¯s expression also turned gloomy. To qualify as a referee, his cultivation wasn¡¯t weak either. He naturally wasn¡¯t bothered about these young people in front of him. Moreover, the Tang Sect wasn¡¯t that reputable. He didn¡¯t have to show them any face.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m the onepeting. Sorry for troubling you.¡±

    The referee furrowed his brow and didn¡¯t say anything else. He only nodded. On the other side, the Earthdragon Sect team¡¯s firstpeting member had also entered the stage. It was a youth with a very proportionate figure. He was also stunned when he saw Huo Yuhao. He mumbled, ¡°The Tang Sect is really interesting ¨C sending a cripple topete!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er red at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said that he¡¯s not a cripple.¡±

    The youth expressed the inner thoughts of the referee earlier. ¡°If he¡¯s not a cripple, why is he in a wheelchair?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was about to act up, but she was stopped by Huo Yuhao. He smiled and said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you can go first.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er held in her anger and looked at Huo Yuhao concernedly as she lowered her head. Huo Yuhao gave her a reassuring nce before she left the stage.

    The referee said, ¡°Since you should be clear on the tournament rules, I won¡¯t repeat them again. Please retreat to your positions. The fight will begin once I give the signal.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as he nodded at the referee. He pushed his wheelchair with one hand as he proceeded to one side of the stage.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The youth from the Earthdragon Sect shouted.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused as he turned to look at him, ¡°Is something the matter?¡±

    The youth replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to at least report your name?¡±

    ¡°Apologies, I forgot.¡± Huo Yuhao gave an apologetic smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao. What about you?¡±

    ¡°My name is Xu Shenshu. Remember me, as I¡¯m going to defeat you.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around. As his right foot stomped on the ground, he flew several tens of meters away and reached the opposite side of the stage.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed. After this, he turned his wheelchair around and slowly pushed it to his own side.

    Xu Shenshu was indeed inexperienced. He was tantly telling Huo Yuhao that he was an assault-type soul master. Interesting.

    Everyone¡¯s focus was on Huo Yuhao as he pushed his wheelchair. There were very few people who knew he was a part of the champion team in thest tournament. However, it was also these few people who were the important figures to watch in this edition of the tournament.

    Xiao Hongchen furrowed his brow and asked his sister, ¡°Meng, is he really crippled?¡±

    Meng Hongchen nodded and replied, ¡°I think so. Wang Dong¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t have been fake. Wang Dong was very furious then, and almost acted up. If I wasn¡¯t quick to change the topic, he would have thrashed me.¡± As she spoke, she pouted her lips and revealed an indignant look on her face.

    Xiao Hongchen sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity then. I thought of fighting him properly in this tournament. ording to grandpa, he should be my match. It¡¯s really a pity. It¡¯s difficult to find a good match!¡± As he spoke, he ced his hands behind his back and revealed a cold and arrogant look on his face as he looked at the stage.

    Meng Hongchen snorted and said, ¡°It¡¯s better that he¡¯s crippled. It¡¯s less trouble for us. This Earthdragon Sect is also stupid. They must be underestimating the Tang Sect. Can¡¯t they tell that those people in the waiting area are the main ones they have to beat?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen chuckled and said, ¡°This is called karma. Even though they can¡¯t possibly beat us in this tournament, they are still the reigning champions! They¡¯ve actually been underestimated. Oh yes, Meng, you should stop finding Wang Dong. You should know that the two of you are impossible.¡±

    Meng Hongchen said furiously, ¡°Why not? Why not? If he¡¯s willing to join the Sun Moon Empire, can¡¯t we be together? I don¡¯t care. If we meet the Tang Sectter on, you must not hurt him. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take your life.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen revealed a sad look on his face, ¡°Girls always side with outsiders! We must meet them first. ording to my investigation, the Earthdragon Sect isn¡¯t considered weak, even though they aren¡¯t that strong. Let¡¯s see what improvements this bunch from the Tang Sect have made. Why isn¡¯t Bei Bei here?¡±

    Meng Hongchen shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll ask someone to check it out when we return.¡±

    They weren¡¯t the only ones discussing the Tang Sect team. Princess Jiujiu and Princess Wei Na were also focused on Huo Yuhao at this point. They hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to be the first topete on behalf of the Tang Sect. They were also interested to see how much energy he still had after he was crippled.

    Xu Tianran gestured, and a middle-aged man came to him. The middle-aged man bowed and said, ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Go and find out the background of this guy in the wheelchair, and why he¡¯s here topete even though he¡¯s in a wheelchair. If he wins the first round, ask someone to instruct the referee to preserve his life no matter what happens next.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The middle-aged man acknowledged his words and quickly went on his way.

    Ju Zi was in a daze now. She was even on the verge of tearing up.

    It¡¯s him. It¡¯s him. Why is it him?

    When Huo Yuhao turned his wheelchair around, Ju Zi saw his face clearly. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be the one in the wheelchair.

 Chapter 280: The Cute Yet Powerful Snow Lady

    Why is he in a wheelchair? Why? He was fine thest time I saw him. What happened?

    Considering how proud he was, it was definitely impossible for him to act like he was disabled to trick others, unless he was really incapacitated.

    Even though Ju Zi had warned herself many times to forget him, there were some things and people that couldn¡¯t be easily forgotten. Ju Zi hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to be in a wheelchair the next time she saw him.

    Before the tournament had started, she had sent someone to investigate Shrek Academy. However, she hadn¡¯t discovered Huo Yuhao among the students from Shrek. She was still feeling very weird, but her emotions started to flow when she saw Huo Yuhao. If not for Xu Tianran beside her, she would have rushed over to him and demanded an exnation.

    Besides these people, there were two more figures in the perg that trembled slightly when they saw Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair.

    ---

    The referee lifted his hand up high and looked at both parties, especially Huo Yuhao. After ascertaining that they were ready, his right hand swiped down, and he announced the start of the tournament.

    Huo Yuhao moved. However, his soul rings didn¡¯t appear. He only turned the wheels of his wheelchair and moved forward slowly. It was as fast as it was when he went into position earlier.

    On the other side, Xu Shenshu¡¯s aura soared!

    He looked into the sky and roared. After that, he burst out like a cannon shell. His right foot stomped on the ground, and his body lifted into the air. As he was in the air, his bones crackled. Two yellow and three purple soul rings appeared concurrently from his body. His body also grew in size as he unleashed his martial soul.

    Earthdragon Sect! It was exactly as its name suggested. Soul masters of this sect had varied versions of the Earthdragon as their martial soul. As Xu Shenshu¡¯s body expanded in size, his skin also bulged with ayer of ck keratin. Bulges also started to surface from his back. As the bulges burst open, several sharp dorsal fins poked out of his back.

    His martial soul was a Sabertooth Earth Dragon, a pure strength-type martial soul. It was good at both attack and defense. Its weakness was that it wasn¡¯t adept at long-range attacks.

    As his body burst forward, Xu Shenshu¡¯s arms extended to his sides, and he revealed his developed chest muscles. On the outside of his arms, ayer of curved ws poked out.

    His first soul ring lit up. Xu Shenshu¡¯syer of keratin exuded a ck glow at this moment, and his strength seemed to have increased, too. In a few steps, he was less than twenty meters from Huo Yuhao.

    There was only one thought in everyone¡¯s minds right now; they believed he didn¡¯t have to be so ferocious against a disabled person.

    Empathy for the weak. This was almost the same mindset that everyone possessed. Moreover, Huo Yuhao seemed too weak!

    Huo Yuhao stopped pushing his wheelchair forward. After that, an orange glow lit up from his body. A small and petite figure crawled out from his forehead and blocked the way in front of him.

    This figure wasn¡¯t more than three feet tall, and seemed around two years old. She wore a deep blue belly wrap, which entuated her powdery-white skin. Under the illumination of the orange glow, this smalldy looked extremely beautiful.

    Xu Shenshu¡¯s aura was still very scary when he leapt over. However, he was wondering what was going on when he saw the smalldy between him and Huo Yuhao just as he was about to reach him.

    Xu Shenshu was in a daze, and frantically changed directions. He was here topete, not to kill, especially not such a cute littledy. How could he bear to!?

    ¡°Uncle!¡± The youngdy called. Her voice sounded like a baby, and it even sounded a little unclear. He could only roughly hear what she was saying.

    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± Xu Shenshu lost a little of his bnce as he changed directions because of the great power that he exerted. After hearing such a cutedy call to him, he acknowledged her words subconsciously. Her big, beautiful eyes were even filled with a sense of closeness. His heart softened when he saw her.

    After that, he saw her delicate finger pointing towards him. What happened next?

    Xu Shenshu felt a gust of chill engulfing him, and everything turned deep blue in front of him.

    All of this happened instantly. From the Snow Lady¡¯s appearance to Xu Shenshu¡¯s directional change to being called and pointed at by the Snow Lady to the deep blue glow that surfaced in front of Xu Shenshu, everything happened in just a matter of seconds. After that, he was frozen into an ice sculpture and copsed to the ground.

    The Snow Lady turned around and flew back to Huo Yuhao. She sat on his shoulder and called out in delight, ¡°Daddy!¡±

    Every time she called him that, Huo Yuhao would shudder in his heart as he remembered how strong the Snow Empress was. However, he absolutely adored this Snow Lady.

    This was the end?

    The entire grounds went silent.

    No one had expected this result. Absolutely no one. Even the Tang Sect team didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao would unleash the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit the moment he appeared.

    Everyone from the Earthdragon Sect was also dumbfounded. They could have never expected such a result!

    The referee rushed over and checked on Xu Shenshu¡¯s condition. After that, he immediately announced that Huo Yuhao had emerged victorious. The referee¡¯s eyes never left the Snow Lady. He had clearly heard her calling Huo Yuhao her father.

    He had never even heard of anyone bringing their kid topete in the tournament before. Was that really his daughter? No, that was impossible! She was such a small kid, but she was very powerful. Was it his soul skill? However, he didn¡¯t even unleash his martial soul. Or perhaps that was his martial soul?

    Even the referee, who was pretty strong, had his own doubts. The rest of thepetitors were in greater doubt. They were all confused when they saw the Snow Lady. All sorts of guesses started to surface.

    When the Snow Lady came over to Xu Shenshu to help him melt the ice, Xu Shenshu was shivering as he looked at her. ¡°You, you, you¡­¡±

    The Snow Lady unleashed her most lethal weapon ¨C she pointed her two index fingers forward and lowered her head, revealing an indignant look on her face.

    Xu Shenshu¡¯s pupils dted, and he quickly said, ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t cry! Don¡¯t cry, I¡¯ve lost! I¡¯ll leave the stage!¡±

    As he spoke, he started to leave the stage in low spirits. After walking past Huo Yuhao, he shot him a furious look and said, ¡°You are too despicable. How can you bring a kid topete? Aren¡¯t you scared of hurting her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless, ¡°Thanks for your reminder. I¡¯ll keep her safe. Oh, you are a good guy.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to y this card!¡± Xu Shenshu quickly made his way off the stage.

    Victory! The guy in the wheelchair had actually won. From the looks of it, he didn¡¯t do anything either! However, where did the youngdye from?

    No matter how confused the spectators were, the tournament still had to continue. The secondpetitor from the Earthdragon Sect entered the stage. As he looked at the Snow Lady, he cursed in his heart. However, this was a tournament! He kept on telling himself that he couldn¡¯t be bewitched by her. He clearly saw how the Snow Lady had defeated the unwary Xu Shenshu with her finger earlier. She was far more than just cute on the surface!

    Both parties set their distance from each other. As the referee¡¯s hand swiped down, the second fight officially started.

    The secondpeting member was called Feng Jue. His martial soul was also a type of Earthdragon, but it was no longer a strength-type, it was an agility-type. This was also a decision that the Earthdragon Sect made after they saw the fight between Huo Yuhao and Xu Shenshu. The Snow Lady was too cute, and it was difficult for them toy their hands on her. However, Huo Yuhao was the one controlling her. He couldn¡¯t be very mobile, as he was in a wheelchair. As long as he was restrained, the fight would be over.

    Feng Jue¡¯s martial soul was called a Wind Dragon, a type of Earthdragon. As he unleashed his martial soul, green scales started to cover the left side of his body. Two yellow and two purple soul rings were unleashed¡­ he was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor! The first two soul rings shone concurrently, and Feng Jue was like a gust of wind as he rushed towards Huo Yuhao. His hands turned into sharp dragon ws as he stared at the Snow Lady. Once she moved, he would avoid her and deal Huo Yuhao a lethal blow! This was his strategy.

    Seeing that the two parties were closing the distance, the Snow Lady also flew out.

    She¡¯s indeeding!, Feng Jue thought, and immediately reacted. His figure shed, and he quickly leapt to one side. He was trying to make his way around the Snow Lady.

    However, a deep blue ice wall appeared in front of him without any warning.

    At this point, Feng Jue was racing forward at full speed, and it wasn¡¯t possible for him to stop. He shrank his body in panic and reached forward with his dragon ws as he prepared for a collision.

    The spectators who were watching from the side could clearly see that the ice wall was unleashed by the Snow Lady. She mimicked the action of holding the moon, and an ice wall three meters high and one meter thick appeared out of nowhere to block Feng Jue.

    It was actually a meter thick! And it was ice formed from Ultimate Ice too, much tougher than reinforced steel! If he collided with it¡­!

    Bang!

    Feng Jue struck the wall as he burst forward at full speed. His dragon ws were really sharp and managed to pierce through the wall, but his body was also stuck to it.

    The Snow Ladyughed and pointed with her right finger. Another streak of deep blue light struck out and ended the second fight.

    The first two fights were very easy, and the first two members of the Earthdragon Sect had been defeated. The expressions of the rest of the members changed greatly. Not only was there a disabled person, but the Tang Sect had used a cripple to win two consecutive fights. How was the Earthdragon Sect going to cope in the future fights toe? The most depressing thing was that they couldn¡¯t change theirpeting members once they entered the waiting area. The few remaining ones could only watch, and couldn¡¯t do anything to change reality.

    The thirdpeting member from the Earthdragon Sect didn¡¯tst longer than the first two members. Once he entered, he burst towards Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady like the first two. However, he was much more intelligent this time. He attacked the Snow Lady directly.

    However, the Snow Lady made a dancing motion with her hands when he closed to around twenty meters from her. After that, a white ice ring appeared in front of him.

    This Earthdragon Sect member reacted quite quickly. As he flipped his body, he avoided the ice ring. However, the ice ring formed a thick ice pir which blew apart instantly. The crushed ice trapped his body, and he was turned into an ice sculpture after the explosive force disappeared.

    The rest of the Earthdragon Sect team couldn¡¯t keep their cool anymore as the tournament reached this stage. They were truly impressed by the Snow Lady¡¯s fighting strength. It wasn¡¯t just luck, Huo Yuhao was truly strong! No wonder he dared topete even though he was in a wheelchair!

    The Snow Lady flew back in front of Huo Yuhao and sat on his thigh. She grabbed his sleeve, and her eyes were filled with an innocent look. The soul power that she had depleted was instantly restored.

    Huo Yuhao was full of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice, so he let the Snow Lady fight. On the one hand, he could remain mysterious to his opponents. On the other hand, the Snow Lady could absorb origin energy from him if she used up hers. The Snow Lady sucked away the chill on the surface of his skin, but the essential origin energy was absorbed by him. When she returned to his body, they could share this essence.

    Huo Yuhao had thought of this before, but the Snow Lady had sucked away too much origin energy thest time. It was only recently that she had finally managed topletely absorb her share of the origin energy. As her powers greatly increased, she became more telepathically connected to Huo Yuhao, too. That was why she could nowe out to fight.

 Chapter 281.1: Ill Marry Whoever Kills Him!

    After three rounds of battle, Huo Yuhao still felt pretty good. While the amount of cold air the Snow Lady could absorb was limited, this was because Snow Lady was still a part of him. After the cold air was absorbed, the origin energy of Ultimate Ice would form new cold air. He also made his body absorb some of the origin energy when the Snow Lady took away the cold air. While the speed was slow, it was an alternative form of cultivation, and much easier than him trying to absorb it by himself.

    The biggest benefit for thispetition was that Snow Lady could maintain her momentum after she absorbed the cold air from his body. This was why Huo Yuhao said to Wang Dong¡¯er that his temporary paralysis might not be a bad thing.

    The other four members of the Earthdragon Sect could no longer sit still. After the first three members had been frozen into ice sculptures by Ice Lady, Huo Yuhao did not ask them to not take part in the uing group round. However, ording to this tempo, they would soon find themselves unable to take part anyway.

    Among the four remaining members of the Earthdragon Sect, the only female soul master stood up and walked to the stage with a serious expression.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Nan Qiuqiu.¡± The Earthdragon Sect member took the initiative to greet Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Hello,¡± replied Huo Yuhao with a gracious smile.

    Nan Qiuqiu looked at Snow Lady in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms and said, ¡°I know that she is an ability of your martial soul. Hence, I won¡¯t show mercy like myrades.¡± With that, she nodded at Huo Yuhao and turned away.

    ---

    On the main podium, Xu Tianran, who was watching the scene interestedly, turned to Ju Zi and asked, ¡°That should be the captain of the Earthdragon Sect, right?¡±

    Ju Zi replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, Your Highness. She¡¯s called Nan Qiuqiu, and she¡¯s the captain. While the more powerful members of their sect did not take part this time, she¡¯s still one of the most powerful members of their sect. She¡¯s probablypeting to ensure that they don¡¯t do too badly.¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Eh, not bad. While you¡¯re no longer in charge of intelligence anymore, you¡¯re still very well-informed! So, tell me, who do you think will win this round?¡±

    Ju Zi was stunned. Then, she shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Huo Yuhao was a former exchange student in our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He had the same teacher as you. How can you not know his prowess?¡±

    Ju Zi was shocked, but her expression remained calm. She subconsciously looked at the middle-aged man who stood behind Xu Tianran. He had just passed the Prince a piece of paper.

    ¡°I interacted with Huo Yuhao for less than a month, and my knowledge of his abilities is limited. I just knew that he was a four-ringed soul ancestor, but he possessed twin martial souls. Now that he¡¯s in a wheelchair, I don¡¯t know how powerful is he anymore, nor do I know how much progress has he made in the past two years. Hence, I don¡¯t dare to make a judgment.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ then let us see,¡± Xu Tianran smiled.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Ju Zi politely.

    Jing Hongchen, who sat next to Ju Zi, said, ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Xu Tianran looked at him inquisitively.

    Jing Hongchen said solemnly, ¡°We can¡¯t let this person go back. After thepetition, we must make him disappear.¡±

    Xu Tianran looked in shock at Jing Hongchen and asked, ¡°Hallmaster, why are you so interested in him?¡±

    Jing Hongchen said bitterly, ¡°Please don¡¯tugh at me, Your Highness, but this person has made me suffer terribly. Not only is he exceptionally gifted, but he¡¯s almost as crafty as the Devil. He knows how to analyze the situation and make use of limited resources. I¡¯ve only recently heard from my grandson that he¡¯s notpeting on behalf of Shrek Academy, but instead on behalf of the Tang Sect.¡±

    Xu Tianran said interestedly, ¡°What did he do to make you afraid of him?¡± For him to take part in thispetition, he had to be younger than 20 years old. If someone so young could scare the Hallmaster, he must be extraordinary in some way.

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°Huo Yuhao was the champion of Shrek Academy¡¯s team in thest tournament. At that time, he did not even have three rings, and yet was able topete alongside his teammates. Furthermore, he showed off his skills in that tournament. He has twin martial souls, one spirit-type and the other ice-type. Furthermore, his ice-type martial soul is the rare Ultimate Ice. The fact that he canpete twice is a testament to his strength. Furthermore, on his way back to Shrek Academy thest time, he was even able to escape Senior Long¡¯s pursuit.¡±

    Hearing this, Xu Tianran was dumbfounded. ¡°How can this be possible? With his cultivation, how can Senior Long¡­?¡±

    ¡°So this is one who made a bet with Uncle Long.¡± On Xu Tianran¡¯s other side, the person clothed entirely in ck opened his mouth to speak. His voice was weird, and one could not tell his age from his voice. Even his gender was indistinguishable. He looked demonic, and everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at him when they heard his voice.

    ¡°Imperial Tutor, you know about this person?¡± Xu Tianran asked the person in ck.

    From the order of the seating, one could tell that the person in ck was ranked even higher than Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°Yes. Hallmaster Hongchen asked for our help¡­¡±

    ---

    In the arena, Huo Yuhao, who had started to battle, did not know that even in his crippled state, he had still caught the attention of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s leadership. His attention waspletely on his opponent. Nan Qiuqiu from the Earthdragon Sect was no easy opponent.

    As the judge announced the start of thepetition, Nan Qiuqiu released her martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring appeared, showing off her rank as a Soul King, appeared.

    A pink, chestnut-shaped crystal appeared on her forehead as she released her martial soul. Following that, her body started to grow. She seemed to have grown a head taller.

    She pointed into the sky with her ring finger, and bright pink dragon scales started to grow from her fingertip. Unlike the other Earthdragon Sect soul masters, her scales were bright pink. With the growth of her scales, her right hand appeared to have turnedpletely bright pink. A faint pink light shone and instantly burned her entire right sleeve off to reveal an arm covered entirely in scales.

    Then, she pointed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. Her first soul ring lit up, and a ray of pink light shot toward Huo Yuhao. It was able to cross 100 meters in an instant as it appeared before Huo Yuhao.

    This speed was almost as fast as a ray shot by a ss 4 soul engineer!

    Huo Yuhao did not ask the Snow Lady to block it. He had to find out what kind of power this was.

    He raised his right hand too, which was covered with ayer of ice crystals. He made a grabbing motion, and blocked the pink light ray.

    The pink light ray was instantly destroyed. However, Huo Yuhao was deeply shocked. While it did not appear very powerful, since it had just crossed such a wide distance so quickly, its power exceeded his expectations.

    It was not about the offensive power of the ray or its destructive strength. Instead, it was its specialty.

    When the pink light ray came in contact with the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer that was formed from diamond-like ice crystals, Huo Yuhao felt the ice in the center of his palm melt. That was unprecedented!

    As a wielder of Ultimate Ice, he had yet to see anyone whose fire could beat him. Even after Ma Xiaotao formed his Dark Phoenix, Huo Yuhao was unable to judge the effects of its fire on him because they had never fought.

    However, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s ability was not Ultimate Fire! The soul power she released was extremely warm, and yet this soul power was able to melt Ultimate Ice.

    This was¡­

    The only ability this could be was¡­. annihtion? A power which could destroy all other types?

    In the lessons of Shrek Academy, there was a special course that exined all types of soul power to the students. Annihtion was mentioned during that course.

    Annihtion was extremely powerful. After it hit its opponent, it was able to destroy its target based on the target¡¯s type.

    There were two things one had to watch out for when dealing with annihtion-type soul power or attacks. Firstly, it could not be countered by any type. Secondly, after it hit its target, its target¡¯s soul power would be depleted quicker than normal.

    Huo Yuhao could not feel the depletion of his soul power just yet, as he possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul. No matter how powerful annihtion was, it would have to expend a lot of soul power to disintegrate an Ultimate martial soul. If they continued to fight like this, the effects of its second trait would not be as obvious on Huo Yuhao.

    Even so, Huo Yuhao was shocked. The teachers of Shrek Academy had mentioned that Ultimate martial souls were only slightly rarer than Annihtion martial souls. Just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit-type, it was also difficult for them to form soul rings. He had never expected to meet one in this tournament.

    Annihtion-type¡­ Looking at her, could her martial soul be the rarely-seen Rogue Dragon of the First Dragons? That would be bad!

    Other than being Annihtion-type dragons, Rogue Dragons also specialized in long-range attacks!

    Nan Qiuqiu watched Huo Yuhao react to her first soul skill, the Light of Annihtion. A cold smile crossed her face. As Huo Yuhao assessed her abilities, how could she not assess his?

 Chapter 281.2: Ill Marry Whoever Kills Him!

    She had been observing the Snow Lady¡¯s fighting style all this while. To her, Huo Yuhao should be a soul master who could tap into the power of his martial soul. However, this martial soul was exceptionally powerful. The fact that one could not see his soul rings meant that they were being deliberately concealed.

    Her objective in using her Light of Annihtion was simple, she wanted to deplete his soul power. Using the elerated depletion nature of annihtion, she hoped to obtain victory.

    When Huo Yuhao blocked her first Light of Annihtion, she had already sent her second one out. However, her target was no longer Huo Yuhao, but the Snow Lady, who had flown into the air.

    Everyone could see that Snow Lady was an Energy Body. However, to them, Snow Lady should just be a special soul skill of Huo Yuhao, and likely his most powerful soul skill.

    The tiny Snow Lady moved in mid-air. She easily dodged Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Light of Annihtion and then made a face at her.

    Nan Qiuqiu was stunned. While they were 100 meters apart, her Light of Annihtion could move at a stunning speed. How could Huo Yuhao instruct Snow Lady to dodge her Light of Annihtion after he had just blocked another of her attacks? She did not believe that the Snow Lady was capable of independent thought. Like Zhou Sichen¡¯s summoning abilities, she thought that everything Huo Yuhao summoned was controlled by him.

    However, she did not know that while Huo Yuhao could control the Snow Lady, she was a spirit that was one-of-a-kind in the world. She did possess her own life and independent thought!

    Huo Yuhao moved. He pushed his wheelchair at a ¡®stunning¡¯ speed and advanced toward Nan Qiuqiu. At the same time, his Spirit Eyes started to shine. The golden light was not intense, but Nan Qiuqiu instantly felt disoriented. Her third Light of Annihtion missed its target by quite a fair bit, andnded on the light screen far away, creating a ripple.

    Eh, what¡¯s going on? Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s heart missed a beat. She calmed herself down and looked in the direction of Huo Yuhao and Snow Lady. However, what shocked her was the fact that she was now seeing double. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see straight.

    What is this power? Nan Qiuqiu would never believe that her eyes had gone bonkers in such a short time. Doubtless, it was a trick of her opponent! However, what exactly did he do?

    Spiritual Interference was the right answer!

    One of the most powerful attacks that the Skydream Iceworm gave Huo Yuhao was the ability to effectively use Spiritual Interference at a distance. Huo Yuhao released this power, which was already in a weaker form, but it was still sufficiently powerful to make Nan Qiuqiu miss.

    However, as the captain of the Earthdragon Sect, Nan Qiuqiu was no pushover. After she lost concentration momentarily, she quickly regained her senses. Her right hand was still pointed at the sky. This time, she extended three fingers, and her body slowly floated off the ground. She was now about sixty cm off the ground.

    A sharp dragon roar rose from around her body. A blurry pink shape shed behind her back and then disappeared. Following that, a ball of pink light started to congregate around her three fingers. In the blink of an eye, it became as big as a human head.

    Nan Qiuqiu waved her right hand, and the pretty ball of pink light flew into the sky. While she could not see Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady exactly, she could make out their general direction.

    The ball of pink light expanded at an astonishing pace as it flew the sky. Thirty meters away from the ground, it stopped. Then, like a meteor, it came crashing down to the ground.

    Boom!

    An explosion rang out, and balls of pink light exploded all over the ce. Each explosion had a radius of ten meters, and that was not the end. Following that, there were two more sounds of explosions. The sessive chain of explosions caused the radius of the pink light to increase by at least fifty percent.

    Chained Annihtion Explosions! This was Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s third soul skill, a domain attack. In the domain, the target might not necessarily be injured, but they could still be hurt by the explosion. It would cause a soul master¡¯s soul power to deplete at a shocking rate. Nan Qiuqiu liked this soul skill a lot!

    Sadly, no matter how powerful Chained Annihtion Explosions was, it had to hit its target to be effective. Its continual explosions were able to produce so much strong Annihtion-type energy that even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference was momentarily eliminated by it.

    Nan Qiuqiu now realized that the person in the wheelchair was not in the domain of her attack. The power from the explosion had not affected him at all!

    How¡­ how can this be possible? Did he really distort my vision to this extent?

    As she thought about it, she released her second Chained Annihtion Explosions. Nan Qiuqiu had always been resolute. While she missed the first time, Huo Yuhao had revealed his position. This opportunity was too good to let pass!

    At this moment, the Snow Lady wriggled out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. A ray of deep-blue sword radiance turned into a startling rainbow in the sky as it shed out and disappeared. The light of the pink Chained Annihtion Explosions was instantly cut in half in mid-air. While the explosive power of the Chained Annihtion Explosions could still be felt, they all detonated harmlessly in mid-air.

    Huo Yuhao pushed his wheelchair forward without any sign of haste as he advanced. The expression on his face did not change.

    urate and powerful, was how Nan Qiuqiu would describe the power of that sword. She immediately thought of those two words. The little girl¡¯s battling abilities were so strong! Now she understood why her teammates had lost!

    Her expression turned even more serious, and she no longer remained still. The tips of her feet touched the ground, and she turned into a pink ray of light hurtling towards Huo Yuhao. As a wielder of the Rogue Dragon martial soul, did she really specialize in long-range attacks? Just as everyone thought so, she surprised them all!

    Huo Yuhao stopped his wheelchair. As his enemy was approaching him, he naturally did not need to move forward anymore. The Snow Lady flew toward Nan Qiuqiu, but stopped only ten meters away from Huo Yuhao. The eyes of the soul masters spectating the match lit up. Was this the maximum distance she could stay away from Huo Yuhao?

    She lifted her tiny hand, and a round, icy halo appeared on the path that Nan Qiuqiu had to take to reach Huo Yuhao.

    The tip of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s foot touched the surface of the ground as her body twisted unbelievably to the side, and she actually started to move sideways before continuing her charge forward. In mid-air, she formed a ¡®Z¡¯ as she continued toward Huo Yuhao and Snow Lady.

    ¡°Eeeeyaa!¡± the Snow Lady cried out in shock. She lifted her hand and fired a ray of deep-blue light at the approaching Nan Qiuqiu.

    Nan Qiuqiu did not dodge. She lifted her right hand, and her second soul ring shed with light. Her body gave off a pink glow, and the pink in the palm of her hand became even more intense. The blue light disappeared as if it had been eaten by the pink light.

    Annihtion Barrier. It could block everything!

    At the same time, when Nan Qiuqiu straightened her body again, she was only ten meters away from the Snow Lady. She grabbed out with her left hand, and her fourth soul ring started to glow. Instantly, a huge pink dragon w appeared in mid-air as it made a grab at Snow Lady.

    Hand of Annihtion! She even possessed this soul skill! No wonder she was so confident. This was the best soul skill to use against the Snow Lady!

    Hand of Annihtion, like its name would suggest, was a huge hand that brimmed with the power of Annihtion. Once you were caught by it, your soul power would be utterly depleted. With Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s current cultivation, soul masters with fewer than five soul rings would have at least half of their soul power depleted by her once she touched them. It was the best skill to use against an Energy Body like the Snow Lady.

    However, the Snow Lady was controlled by Huo Yuhao. Naturally, she would not give up without a fight. Her cute little face turned icy-cold, and an intimidating look appeared in her deep-blue eyes. She lifted her right hand and cried out in a childish voice. She too thrust a palm out at her opponent. When her tiny palm was sent flying out, the huge Hand of Annihtion had already wrapped itself around her tiny body.

    I win! Surfaced in Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mind.

    Any summoned creature would disintegrate quickly after it was caught by the Hand of Annihtion! While she found the Snow Lady cute, she was still a summoned creature! This was apetition, and nothing was more important than winning!

    However, this thought only stayed in her mind for a short while. In the next instant, the huge pink hand turned icy-blue. Then, it turned into many specks of icy-blue light as it disappeared in mid-air.

    The Snow Lady remained suspended in mid-air. However, her big pretty eyes were closed. She appeared to be sensing something. Huo Yuhao, who was not far from her, had the same expression.

    ¡°Oh!¡± The Snow Lady turned into a ray of blue light and flew back toward Huo Yuhao. She entered through the center of his forehead and disappeared.

    She¡­ resisted it? My Hand of Annihtion could not ovee a summoned creature?

    Nan Qiuqiu stared at the disappearing blue light around Huo Yuhao in shock. She even stopped charging towards him.

    Only she knew that the Hand of Annihtion was not just used to wear her opponent down. At the same time, it had a second, almost god-like ability. It could restore her soul power!

 Chapter 281.3: Ill Marry Whoever Kills Him!

    Around 20% of the soul power that the Hand of Annihtion took away would go back to her. The power of the Hand of Annihtion was built on the basis of strong soul power. As a thousand-year soul skill, it would deplete as much of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s soul power as a ten-thousand year soul skill. However, since it helped to restore her soul power, it was still bearable for her. After all, her enemy would suffer the greater depletion.

    However, she did not regenerate any of her soul power from that blow. This also meant that her soul skill had been broken. It was destroyed by a summoned being. One had to know that the most powerful ability of the Hand of Annihtion was its ability to destroy summoned creatures! This was something Nan Qiuqiu had never imagined could happen.

    ¡°A powerful Hand of Annihtion!¡± Huo Yuhaoplimented Nan Qiuqiu. It was indeed powerful. The palm that the Snow Lady thrust out was one of Ice Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques, Snowless cier! Just as Nan Qiuqiu had expected, her Hand of Annihtion was very adept at fighting summoned creatures. While a spirit was not a summoned being, these two were highly simr. Hence, she was able to constrain the Snow Lady by quite a bit.

    Without Huo Yuhao¡¯s assistance in summoning Snowless cier, she would still be able to resist the Hand of Annihtion. However, the powerful Annihtion in it was something that the Snow Lady could not take. Huo Yuhao feared that in the subsequent battle, she would face more of this Annihtion. Thus, he recalled her.

    Nan Qiuqiu looked coldly at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Your summoned being is the most powerful one I¡¯ve seen, as well as the most agile. Not only can it use its own soul skills, but it can even destroy its natural nemesis, the Hand of Annihtion. This is something inconceivable to me. However, without her, you¡¯ll lose for sure.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Are you bullying a cripple?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu paused momentarily. Only then did she realize her opponent was in a wheelchair. However, she said resolutely, ¡°A cripple? Are you an ordinary cripple? If you couldn¡¯t summon such a powerful being, would you still be in this tournament?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation. ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ve won. Thepetition is not yet over.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s right hand glowed with the Light of Annihtion as she said, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll end it for you.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes betrayed signs of panic as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel shame when you bully a cripple like me?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said harshly, ¡°Don¡¯t waste time! While your summoned being is powerful and is able to destroy my Hand of Annihtion, it took quite a toll on you. I can see that this summoned being has a close tie with you. While it¡¯s powerful, it¡¯ll take quite some time for it to regenerate after it has taken too much damage. There¡¯s no point in you stalling.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grit his teeth and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t your type my exact weakness? I¡¯ll still beat you, though!¡±

    When she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s determined and pained look, a cruel smile crossed Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face as she said, ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll beat me!¡± As she said that, she advanced toward Huo Yuhao slowly, step by step.

    The judge watched the two of them chat. At first, he wanted to remind them to treat the tournament seriously. However, when he saw Nan Qiuqiu approach Huo Yuhao, he stopped. He was also surprised that she was an Annihtion-type soul master.

    Huo Yuhao sat in the wheelchair with an uneasy look in his eye. His right hand gripped the wheels of his wheelchair. While he appeared calm, panic rose in his eyes.

    ¡°You, wait!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    Nan Qiuqiu stopped and said, ¡°What? What else do you want to say? You¡¯re really full of crap.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ve won. I, I still have a trump card.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu grinned. This time, she grinned in joy. She suddenly realized that torturing her opponent psychologically made her very excited. This was akin to telling her opponent, ¡°Resist me! The more you resist, the more excited I am!¡±

    ¡°Well done! I want to see you what your trump card is. I thought you said you could win? So what if you can¡¯t win? Your summoned being is decent, why not join the Earthdragon Sect? I¡¯ve never even heard of your Tang Sect before. The Earthdragon Sect is one of the top sects of the Dou Ling Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said angrily, ¡°Rubbish, how can I join your Earthdragon Sect? Does this mean that if you lose, you¡¯ll join the Tang Sect?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°Yes! If a cripple who has lost his main offensive capability can beat me, that will mean that your Tang Sect is powerful indeed. So what¡¯s wrong with joining you?¡±

    ¡°These are your words? How can I know if you¡¯re trustworthy?¡± Huo Yuhao asked. As he spoke, he slowly pushed his wheelchair back. To Nan Qiuqiu, every single action of his reeked of fear.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll live up to my words!However, you¡¯ll have to live up to yours, too! There¡¯re many benefits to joining the Earthdragon Sect. Let¡¯s stop wasting time and end this!¡± As she said that, the tips of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s feet touched the ground as she charged toward Huo Yuhao. She lifted her right hand, and her fourth soul ring lit up once again. Another Hand of Annihtion appeared. However, this time, it was making a grabbingfor Huo Yuhao!

    The wheelchair¡¯s wheels stopped spinning because Huo Yuhao had lifted his right hand. The look of terror on his face was wiped clean off. What reced it was a smile.

    He raised his right hand and waved it slightly. A huge dark-golden w suddenly appeared. This razor-sharp w was almost 8 meters long, and several times bigger than the Hand of Annihtion. It was terrifyingly sharp, and seemed capable of tearing the world apart. Wherever it touched, the air would be torn into five, long, ck lights. Space itself was being torn apart!

    The Hand of Annihtion was itself annihted instantly. As the dark-golden ws pped downward, they enveloped Nan Qiuqiu entirely.

    Instantly, Nan Qiuqiu, who had thought victory was at hand, was dumbfounded. The terrifying dark-golden w had not reached her, and yet, she could feel that the protectiveyer of soul power around her was being torn apart.

    I¡¯m screwed! Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s brain went nk. At this moment, all she could think about was survival and the smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    At this moment, an emerald light suddenly surrounded Huo Yuhao. Following that, a huge pir of light suddenly shot out from behind him. It aimed itself at Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body, enveloped her, and then moved her back 10 meters. The dark-golden w that seemed only inches away from her body suddenly disappeared. It was forcibly retracted.

    Nan Qiuqiu had now turned into an ice sculpture. Huo Yuhao remained in his wheelchair. To everyone present, he still looked like a cripple.

    Everyone was silent.

    This change in fortunes stunned everyone. No one thought that this youth, who sat in a wheelchair and who had only been battling with his summoned being, was able to attack with so much power. When the dark-golden w appeared, the spectators, who were protected by a barrier from the arena, could still feel a terrifying aura. It was like a ferocious beast had appeared!

    As he looked at the pink light glowing from within the ice sculpture, Huo Yuhao pushed himself up before Nan Qiuqiu. With his right hand, he tapped the ice and said, ¡°Judge, I¡¯ve won.¡±

    Doubtlessly, with the sharpness of his ws, he could have pierced through Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body if he had wished to.

    ¡°Individual elimination Round 4, victory: Tang Sect,¡± announced the judge numbly, staring at Huo Yuhao in shock.

    Yuhao retracted his Darkgolden Terrorw and tapped on the ice sculpture that contained Nan Qiuqiu. At the same time, he hit the ground with his right hand. His entire body and wheelchair flew a few meters into the air.

    The pink light suddenly brightened, and Nan Qiuqiu broke free from the Ultimate Ice. Protected by her Protective Annihtion, the Ultimate Ice did not affect her as much as it did the others, and she had still been able to move. If she was given enough time, she could break out. However, this was because Huo Yuhao controlled the energy he had ced in Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath. He did not want to hurt her.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The judge turned around and blocked Nan Qiuqiu. ¡°The round is over, you¡¯ve lost. Get off now. If you want to fight, you can do it in the team section.¡±

    ¡°I, I didn¡¯t lose. You liar!¡± Thest bit was aimed at Huo Yuhao.

    The judge was perplexed as he said, ¡°He has already shown mercy. If he really smacked you with his ws, you wouldn¡¯t be alive.¡±

    Rage made Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s chest rise and fall vigorously. Of course she knew that Huo Yuhao had shown mercy. However, she could not ept it! How¡­ How terrifying is he? All that earlier was a show. With such a terrifying move, why would he be afraid of her?

    Huo Yuhao smiled at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to honor your word. The Tang Sect wees you. If you learn our Secret Techniques, the Annihtion power of your Rogue Dragon will increase greatly.¡±

    ¡°Pft! Who wants to join your Tang Sect, stop dreaming!¡± Nan Qiuqiu cursed as she walked off the stage.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Trust is all a man has. If you don¡¯t live up to your words, this incident will be in your heart forever. Your progress in cultivation will be harder.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body froze. She turned around and said, ¡°I made a bet with you. If you die, I don¡¯t have to honor it.¡±

    As she said that, she turned to the waiting area and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll marry whoever kills this bastard!¡±

    Her voice was loud indeed. Not only did her teammates hear it, but those in the main podium heard it too!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s conversation with Nan Qiuqiu during the round had been inaudible to them. When she shouted that, a question surfaced in everyone¡¯s mind. What exactly did Huo Yuhao do to her?

 Chapter 282.1: Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was frozen. He had never expected her to have such a bad temper¡­

    While he admired her, he only admired her annihtion-type abilities. This type was too rare, and under some circumstances, it could have unthinkable effects. It could even be useful in making high-level soul tools. Hence, he put on a show, and she fell for his ruse.

    However, she would rather kill him than live up to her promise! My character is too awful. Had it been Dong¡¯er, the results might have been different. After all, her face can charm both guys and girls.

    Indeed, when the fifth member of the Earthdragon Sect jumped onto the arena, the first thing he said to Huo Yuhao, through gritted teeth, was, ¡°Bastard, what did you do to my elder sister? If I don¡¯t kill you, I¡¯m not worthy to be a human!¡± As he said that, he made a rush straight for Huo Yuhao.

    The referee blocked him and said, ¡°The round hasn¡¯t started!¡±

    The fifthpetitor appeared to not have heard him. Instead, he attacked the referee with a soul skill.

    What happened next was totally expected. The young man was immediately sent flying by the eight-ringed Soul Douluo referee.

    ¡°Attacking the referee is a vition of thepetition¡¯s rules. You are out. Next!¡± The referee said emotionlessly and coldly. He was probably the onlypetitor who had dared to attack the referee so far in this tournament. If not for the referee¡¯s status, he would probably have killed him there and then.

    The sixth member of the Earthdragon Sect controlled his emotions. Unlike his predecessor, he was not as brash. Even so, he still gnashed his teeth as he looked at Huo Yuhao. Immediately after the referee dered the start of the round, he rushed toward Huo Yuhao without hesitation.

    Offstage, Nan Qiuqiu sat in the waiting zone. The rage in her eyes gradually disappeared, and instead, was reced by pensive thought.

    Defeat, is my defeat really unjustified? While that guy has a powerful summoned creature, he himself is also powerful in his own right. With his ws, even if I had prepared for them, could I really resist them? What soul skill was that? It was so terrifying! If he¡¯s an ice-type soul master, that soul skill shoulde from a soul bone...

    How much of his soul power was depleted in the previous four rounds? Can our remaining guys defeat him, or even kill him?

    Before she could get an answer, the fifthpetitor had been knocked down. The sixthpetitor rushed onto the arena without waiting for her instructions.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned pale. She knew that the Earthdragon Sect was going to lose for sure. As the captain, she had lost her cool, and now so had her teammates.

    She was a proud maiden, and hence, she had allowed some key members of her team to rest during the elimination round. While the Earthdragon Sect team was not the strongest one that could have been assembled, they still had four Soul Kings. ording to her original estimate, it waspletely possible for them to enter the finals. However, this was just the first round! Also, their opponent had only sent one guy out. She did not even know the level of his cultivation! It was a humiliating defeat!

    However, what else could she do? Defeat was defeat! If the sixth member of her team lost as well, any furtherpetition would be meaningless.

    Reality proved her tragic prediction right. When the Snow Lady appeared once again, as if she had never been touched by the Hand of Annihtion, the result of the fighting was sealed.

    Aided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the Snow Lady revealed the full extent of her power and defeated the sixth member of the Earthdragon Sect, who only had four rings. Right now, Huo Yuhao rivaled Meng Hongchen¡¯s sess from yesterday, as he managed to single-handedly beat six opponents. Of course, he had a much easier timepared to Meng Hongchen, as the wheelchair had made his opponents underestimate him.

    ¡°Keep calm, you must keep calm. Much of his soul power is depleted. Don¡¯t fight him head-on, but instead, slowly wear him down. Only then can you deliver the killing blow, do you understand?¡± Nan Qiuqiu suppressed the uneasy feeling in her heart as she instructed herst teammate.

    ¡°Yes, elder sister. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll win.¡± With that, thest member stepped onto the arena.

    ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Ye, please guide me.¡± Thest member of the Earthdragon Sect looked rather decent. Unlike the previous two members, he was not brash. He even took the initiative to greet Yuhao.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Huo Yuhao!¡± Huo Yuhao replied with a smile. Actually, from start to end, other than the time when he made Nan Qiuqiu fall for his trick, his face was perpetually stered with a smile.

    The twobatants retreated to the edges of the arena. From afar, they watched one another.

    Huo Yuhao clearly understood why Meng Hongchen was unable to hold on until the end. This round-robin style was draining indeed. Furthermore, his opponents were not weak!

    If he were at full strength and not paralyzed, he would naturally not be afraid. After all, he had made a name for himself during his time at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy by taking on many opponents at once.

    However, right now, he could only move his right arm. It was a massive handicap! He could not use many of his abilities. In the previous six rounds, he had used the Snow Lady throughout, and while the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body helped in his regeneration, his soul power was still massively depleted. After all, he had been using his Spiritual Detection the whole time too!

    A faint golden light shed, and Huo Yuhao released the Snow Lady once more. As the referee¡¯s right hand came down, Xiao Ye ran lightly toward Huo Yuhao. As he ran, he also released his martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and one ck. It was the same as Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s, the idealbination for a powerful Soul King.

    ¡°Not an easy opponent!¡± Huo Yuhao mumbled to himself. However, the smile on his face showed no sign of fading.

    Xiao Ye¡¯s martial soul was the Night Dragon. When he was about fifty meters from Huo Yuhao, he suddenly stopped, before releasing a ckyer of light from his body. It instantly swallowed up every single strand of light in the arena. Then, the darkness moved toward Huo Yuhao, about to engulf him!

    Control-type soul master! Huo Yuhao reacted to it instantly. Then, an apologetic smile crossed his face.

    A control-type soul master was normally much more difficult to defeat than an assault-type soul master. Furthermore, if he couldpletely control his opponent, then he would have no difficulty facing multiple opponents.

    However, this control-type Soul King¡¯s power had something to do with darkness. He had to control his opponent¡¯s vision. Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was the Spirit Eyes, but how could his vision be so easily controlled? With his Spiritual Detection, he did not even need his eyes to see! Hence, the audience watched as Huo Yuhao dumbly pushed his wheelchair into the patch of darkness.

    Thepetition ended faster than anyone could have imagined. The darknesssted for no more than ten seconds before it faded. Huo Yuhao remained standing, or rather sitting, onstage. Xiao Ye, however, had fainted, and was lying on the ground unconscious.

    Huo Yuhao turned and smiled at Nan Qiuqiu as he said, ¡°Thanks for going easy on me. The Tang Sect wees you.¡±

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Nan Qiuqiu jumped up from the waiting zone. ¡°He-he probably used some illegal method! If not, how could he defeat Xiao Ye?¡± Xiao Ye was their squad¡¯s main control-type soul master. In terms of cultivation, he was only slightly weaker than her! His Night Dragon was powerful indeed, and it definitely did not just obscure his opponent¡¯s vision with darkness, it had some control elements in it too! In the darkness, Xiao Ye¡¯s full repertoire of powers would be revealed. Nan Qiuqiu had to use her annihtion-type power to ovee his darkness-type power to achieve victory. However, Huo Yuhao was able to beat him in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, he did not even freeze Xiao Ye over.

    This was beyond herprehension!

    The referee looked coldly at Nan Qiuqiu and said, ¡°Silence, thepetition has ended. Between the Tang Sect and the Earthdragon Sect, the Tang Sect has won. It umted 12 out of 12 points. May the two sides please vacate the premises!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu did not hesitate as she rushed into the arena. She did not rush toward Xiao Ye, but instead, she made straight for Huo Yuhao. She had lost,pletely and utterly. This was uneptable to her at such a young age. While she understood that Huo Yuhao was much more powerful, she was still unwilling to admit defeat!

    At this moment, a shadow silently blocked her.

    ¡°Thepetition has ended, what do you want to do?¡± The person who had blocked her was Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Nan Qiuqiu roared in rage, ¡°Scram!¡± As she moved, her palm came toward Wang Dong¡¯er as she released her annihtion-type power.

    Wang Dong¡¯er frowned. She raised her right hand too, and pped over as well. Intense, golden mes rose.

    Peng-!

    The golden mes appeared slightly muted under the Light of Annihtion. However, Nan Qiuqiu stumbled back three, then four steps, and almost fell to the ground.

    ¡°You¡­¡± She raised her head to look over. Then, she saw a dazzlingly handsome ¡°man¡± with light-blue hair pulled back in a ponytail.

    Like all women who first saw Wang Dong¡¯er, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s gaze froze. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s handsome face was like a magical cure. Instantly, her anger, unhappiness, and will to battle dropped by half.

    He¡¯s so handsome! Nan Qiuqiu swallowed a mouthful of spit as she said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Soul Emperor?¡±

    To beat her back with one palm without releasing their martial soul was a feat only Soul Emperors could achieve. However, Wang Dong looked so young! Earlier, ¡°he¡± had been in the waiting zone! Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s heart instantly turned cold.

 Chapter 282.2: Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui

    So-so this was how powerful the Tang Sect was! They actually had Soul Emperors who had yet to take part in thepetition! Is that guy in the wheelchair a Soul Emperor too? If so, this defeat was not without reason!

    I have to join the Tang Sect¡­ However, they are so powerful¡­ If I join the Tang Sect, my life won¡¯t be as painful. Then again, how can I answer to my mother¡­?

    Just as Nan Qiuqiu was having this internal argument, Wang Dong¡¯er came over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and asked in a low voice, ¡°Yuhao, how are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Excellent! Did you see how cool I looked when I beat seven of them?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er covered her smile and said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re very cool. Enough is enough. You almost tricked the other team¡¯s captain into joining us. This is a resounding victory! However, why do you always seem to have some issue with a person called ¡®Qiu¡¯? Is it deliberate?¡±

    ¡°Keke¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said with an awkward look on his face. ¡°As for that, Dong¡¯er, you know¡­ I¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll talk about itter.¡± As she said that, she pushed his wheelchair with one hand as she ced her other hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Their Haodong Power fused and helped Huo Yuhao replenish his soul power.

    After examining his body and ascertaining that he was fine, Wang Dong¡¯er rxed.

    ¡°Qiuqiu, get down now!¡± an angry voice rang out.

    Nan Qiuqiu trembled. She turned around to look, and realized that a pretty woman, who shared a sharp resemnce with her, was speaking to her. However, her face was icy cold.

    Only then did Nan Qiuqiu leave the arena with a dejected look on her face as she made way for the next round.

    ¡°Mom!...¡± Nan Qiuqiu said in a low voice.

    The middle-aged woman said angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®mom¡¯! The Earthdragon Sect has been utterly humiliated because of you! I put you in charge of the tournament, and yet, you did not send a single strong team member out. Instead, our opponent thrashed all seven members of our team with just one guy! You, you, you¡­¡±

    The chest of the woman rose and fell rapidly in her rage.

    Nan Qiuqiu lowered her head and said, ¡°Mom, I know I¡¯m in the wrong. However, they are indeed powerful. The one in the wheelchair is at least a Soul Emperor. The one who blocked me just now is also a Soul Emperor.¡±

    ¡°Soul Emperor?¡± The middle-aged woman paused momentarily, but her face still betrayed an ugly expression. ¡°So what if they¡¯re Soul Emperors? You sent seven people out, but none of you could defeat a single one of them. In some rounds, your teammates lost without any reason. In particr, you, as the captain, not only led your team to defeat, but continued to holler afterward. What kind of behavior is this? This time, when we get back, you shall go to the Dragon Suppressing Cliff and cultivate alone for a year! If you don¡¯t be a Soul Emperor by then, don¡¯t even think ofing out!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu suddenly knelt in front of her mother. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    The middle-aged woman was momentarily stunned. Her eyes betrayed a tinge of heartbreak. Nan Qiuqiu was her daughter, after all! And she was indeed exceptional enough. However, because of how exceptional she was, she had be arrogant. Among her fellow sect members of the same generation, she was the most cherished one of them all. Her seniors liked her, and not only did her peers like her, but they even let her do whatever she wanted. This time, after she made such a huge mistake, the middle-aged woman was determined to take this chance to discipline her. If not, no one knew how she would screw up in the future.

    ¡°Get up! What are you doing in front of all these people?¡± The middle-aged woman shouted. This was the resting zone, and there were many other sects watching this spectacle. From the start, she did not count on the Earthdragon Sect to obtain good results here. Instead, her objective was to show them the world. However, they were eliminated after only the first round! Of course, defeat was just defeat. The more important thing was for them to learn their lessons! She did not find defeat to be particrly humiliating. However, she would not tell these youths these things.

    ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t think I can go back with you. I¡­,¡± Nan Qiuqiu fumbled with her words as she tried to speak with her head bowed. A cunning look shed in her eyes.

    The middle-aged woman was stunned. Then, she bellowed in rage, ¡°You dare to defy my orders? Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m not only your mother, but I¡¯m also the sectmistress of the Earthdragon Sect! You know what the rules of our sect are!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head vigorously, and then lifted her head once more. At this time, tears streamed uncontrobly down her face. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sorry but¡­ but it¡¯s toote. In the round just now, I made a bet with Huo Yuhao and I¡­ I lost myself to him.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± At this point, the middle-aged woman was truly stunned. ¡°What¡­ what are you saying? You lost yourself to a cripple? You¡­ you are really infuriating! Are you going to spend the rest of your life with a cripple? Even if he¡¯s powerful, he¡¯s¡­¡± She could not speak anymore. Her entire face was red.

    What was a tournament inparison to her daughter¡¯s happiness?

    When Nan Qiuqiu heard that, she realized that her mother had misunderstood her. She quickly exined herself, ¡°No, no, mom, it¡¯s not like that. I lost myself, yes, but I lost myself to the Tang Sect. We bet that if I won, he¡¯d join the Earthdragon Sect, but if I lost, I¡¯d join the Tang Sect.¡± As she said that, her voice became softer and softer as she lowered her head once more.

    When the woman recovered from her shock, she asked about the details of the bet once more. Nan Qiuqiu did not dare to hide anything from her as she recounted the entire process once more.

    ¡°Mom, I know I made a mistake, and I fell for his trick. However, if I¡¯m willing to bet, I should honor it. Furthermore, he¡¯s right. If I don¡¯t honor my bet, it¡¯ll be difficult for me to make any sort of breakthrough once my cultivation reaches a bottleneck.¡±

    At this point, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s tears flowed freely.

    The leader of the Earthdragon Sect was stunned. Not only did she lose thepetition, but she had also lost her own daughter, too? As the sect leader, she could certainly forcibly bar her daughter from joining the Tang Sect. However, if she did it would prove problematic for Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s future!

    She inhaled deeply and calmed herself down. She red at Nan Qiuqiu, but at the same time, she pulled her up.

    ¡°Come with me.¡± As she said that, she pulled Nan Qiuqiu toward the resting zone where the Tang Sect sat.

    ------

    Over on the Tang Sect¡¯s side, Huo Yuhao had already told everyone his story about how he had made a bet with Nan Qiuqiu.

    Everyone had an odd expression on their face. In the end, only He Caitou said something honest, ¡°That girl is too silly!¡±

    Xiao Xiao looked at him coldly and said, ¡°She¡¯s just innocent, alright? Yuhao is too devious. He tricked herpletely, so pitiful! However, it¡¯s not a bad thing for our sect to have more girls too. Hehe!¡±

    As they spoke, the woman pulled Nan Qiuqiu over to them.

    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the Tang Sect?¡± The woman asked inly.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect looked at Huo Yuhao. The woman was stunned. Her eyes turned cold. Can this young man in the wheelchair be their leader, as well?

    ¡°Hello senior, what do you seek from us?¡± The woman resembled Nan Qiuqiu, so Huo Yuhao could guess their rtionship. He felt awkward too. He had tricked her daughter over from right under her nose! This was a dishonorable move!

    ¡°You¡¯re called Huo Yuhao, right? I heard about your bet with Qiuqiu. I¡¯m the leader of the Earthdragon Sect, Nan Shuishui, and her mother. State your price, and I¡¯ll buy her back,¡± the woman said inly.

    Nan Qiuqiu coughed, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not amodity¡­¡±

    Nan Shuishui red at her, and she shut up.

    Huo Yuhao said with an awkward smile, ¡°Senior, the Tang Sect does notck money. Just now, in thepetition, you know that words are weapons too. While we did make a bet, there¡¯s no need to treat it so seriously. It¡¯s alright if you take her back.¡± In front of her mother, he could not just tell her to live up to what she had promised in the bet and leave her life behind.

    Nan Shuishui said, ¡°While the Earthdragon Sect is not an influential sect on the continent, it¡¯s still one of the top-ranked sects in the Dou Ling Empire. How can our words count for nothing? Since she made a bet with you, there¡¯s nothing I can say. If you want her to join the Tang Sect, I¡¯m fine with it, on two conditions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. What kind of mother would give her own daughter to the Tang Sect? While he did want to recruit Nan Qiuqiu, he was not confident that it would actually happen. After all, he had made the bet casually. He did not expect the opportunity to truly arise!

    ¡°What are they?¡± Huo Yuhao replied calmly.

    Nan Shuishui said, ¡°First, while my daughter did lose her bet to you, she¡¯s still a disciple of the Earthdragon Sect. There¡¯ll be a price to pay if she wants to leave my sect! For you, I¡¯ll give you a discount! She can join your Tang Sect for a certain period of time. Afterward, if she wishes to stay, she can stay. If not, she is free to return. You can¡¯t stop her.¡±

    ¡°Second, Qiuqiu is a girl. You can¡¯t force her to do things that she doesn¡¯t want to do. Promise me these two things, and I¡¯ll agree to let her leave the Earthdragon Sect. If not, I¡¯d rather she break her promise and remain in the Earthdragon Sect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at his friends. This mother was easy to negotiate with. These two conditions were like nothing.

    ¡°What¡¯s a suitable time frame?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Nan Shuishui thought for a while, and then said, ¡°Three years. If the Tang Sect can allow her to be a Soul Emperor in three years, you can extend the timeframe for another 2 years. However, after 5 years, it¡¯ll be time for her to get married. By that time, we would have lived up to our promise. How about it?¡±

    ¡°I agree!¡± Huo Yuhao replied without hesitation. In these few years, there would be many changes to the continent. The Tang Sect needed talents to grow. With her current cultivation, it would not be difficult to get Nan Qiuqiu to rise to a Soul Emperor in three years. All she had to do was get six rings and rise a few more ranks!

 Chapter 282.3: Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui

    However, Huo Yuhao was confident. In the next five years, the Tang Sect would grow exponentially. He did not dare to say how strong the Tang Sect would be in five years¡¯ time, but it would not be hard to keep Nan Qiuqiu.

    Nan Qiuqiu was stunned. She had not expected her mother to give her up so easily. The two conditions were almost meaningless! Five years! She would soon be a disciple of the Tang Sect for at least five years!

    Nan Shuishui looked Huo Yuhao deep in the eyes, nodded, and said, ¡°Alright, then I shall hand Qiuqiu over to you. As long as you don¡¯t deliberately bully her, it¡¯s alright for you to be slightly strict with her. I¡¯ve spoiled this girl. This time, she has to pay for her own mistakes to learn a lesson. Oh right, where is the Tang Sect? After thispetition, I wish to pay your sect a visit!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°We wee you wholeheartedly. The Tang Sect is located in Shrek City. As long as you are there, it won¡¯t be hard to find us. The Tang Sect has a long history, but it has also had a period of decline. We¡¯re rebuilding the Tang Sect, and we are confident that we¡¯ll turn it into an even more powerful sect.¡±

    ¡°Shrek City?¡± Nan Shuishui¡¯s eyes betrayed a look of shock. She dismissed some of the thoughts she had instantly. She turned her head to look at Nan Qiuqiu and said, ¡°Alright, you¡¯re now part of the Tang Sect! Five years from now, in the next tournament, you make the call as to whether you want to return or not. It¡¯s settled!¡± With that, the sect leader of the Earthdragon Sect turned to leave.

    While Nan Qiuqiu had nned to join the Tang Sect to avoid punishment, she could not help but feel wronged when her mother gave her away so easily. Tears streamed down her face.

    Wang Dong¡¯er approached her and said, ¡°Qiuqiu, the Tang Sect is not a bad ce. By joining the Tang Sect, we promise that it will not affect your future development negatively. We wee you.¡± As she said that, she extended her hand out.

    Ever since Wang Dong¡¯er got together with Huo Yuhao, she decided to give up her cross-dressing charade. Hence, she fell into her role as a girl, but she forgot about the dangerous impact of her cross-dressing.

    When Nan Qiuqiu heard Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s words, she lifted her head to look at her perfectly-formed face. She nodded and not only did she stop her tears from flowing, but she reached out and grabbed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands. Wang Dong¡¯er led her to the resting area.

    ------

    There was nothing wrong with Wang Dong¡¯er holding Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s hand. However, it made someone else immensely jealous.

    ¡°She-she actually dares to hold Wang Dong¡¯s hand. I¡¯ll kill her¡­!¡± Meng Hongchen said with gritted teeth as she walked out of the resting zone.

    ¡°Be calm! Sister, you must be calm!¡± Xiao Hongchen rushed toward to hold her. A helpless look crossed his face. He did not know why his sister would lose a few IQ points everytime Wang Dong was mentioned.

    Nan Shuishui returned to the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s side and sat down. A smile crept across her face as she thought, ¡°Tang Sect. What a sec! Shrek Academy¡¯s Tang Sect. That is the perfect ce to train Qiuqiu!¡±

    The Earthdragon Sect had a mysterious secret technique that originated from its first sect leader more than a thousand years ago. They were able to determine the personality of a person just by looking at his/her face. Just now, she could see the righteousness in the faces of the Tang Sect disciples. If not, as a mother, how could she entrust her daughter to strangers? Furthermore, after she heard that the Tang Sect was in Shrek City, she was even more relieved.

    Among the group of youngsters, at least two of them were Soul Emperors! What did that mean? Before they signed up, Nan Shuishui had deliberately researched past tournaments. Any team with a Soul Emperor would be able to enter the top eight! For them to have soul masters at that level, and for them to establish their sect in Shrek City, how could anyone believe that they had no ties whatsoever with Shrek Academy?

    Due to her assessments, Nan Shuishui had enough assurance to make her decision. She abandoned her n of bringing a few men to kick up a fuss at the Tang Sect. Of course, she would still pay a visit to the Tang Sect! She had to see if her daughter had a future in the sect. All mothers were the same in this aspect. No matter how tough they seemed, their kids could melt their hearts.

    ------

    While thepetition had ended for the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao his team did not return to the hotel. Instead, they stayed to continue watching the tournament. He was waiting to see a particr sect fight.

    Soon, his wait paid off.

    As noon approached, the morning rounds for the second day wereing to an end. Soon, it was thest round.

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect versus Heavenly Capital Academy. Participants, please approach the arena.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was resting with his eyes closed, but when he heard the name ¡®Holy Ghost Sect¡¯, he opened his eyes immediately. He looked toward the resting zone.

    Indeed, he saw a youth d in ck walking out. The tips of his feet touched the ground, and soon, he was in the arena. His attire was exactly the same as Tang Ya¡¯s.

    Holy Ghost Sect, Holy Ghost Church. It was indeed them. They really decided to take part in thepetition!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned serious. He stared intently at the youth in ck.

    Wang Dong¡¯er sat next to him, looking slightly vexed. Right after she asked Nan Qiuqiu to sit down next to her, she realized that something was wrong. She had made the same mistake once more. Nan Qiuqiu finally calmed down and then, she continually asked ¡®him¡¯ about the Tang Sect. Then, she started to ask more personal questions. Undoubtedly, she had her own secret objective! Wang Dong¡¯er had experienced too many of these types of situations already.

    ¡°Wang Dong, where do I stay once I¡¯m at the Tang Sect?¡±

    ¡°What method did Huo Yuhao use to defeat thest member of my Earthdragon Sect?¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, you are really handsome, but your shoulders are slightly narrow. Eh, your feet aren¡¯t big either! What¡¯s your size!?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu blurted out a whole bunch of crap in just a short while.

    The other members of the Tang Sect pretended to not hear. They sat there rigidly, but the mirth in their eyes could not be concealed. Evidently, another girl had be infatuated with Wang Dong¡¯er!

    Nan Qiuqiu was no romantic. However, when she met this handsome young man who had managed to reach Rank 60 before he was 20, how could she not be attracted to him? Perhaps she did not even realize it herself.

    Just like Huo Yuhao said, Wang Dong¡¯er could charm both guys and girls.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention waspletely focused on the tournament. The youth from the Holy Ghost Sect in ck looked in, his face slightly pale. However, when Huo Yuhao cast his Spiritual Detection over him, he felt something eerie.

    The Sun Moon Empire led the continent in terms of soul tools. For such a huge arena, the protective barrier was over five hundred meters high, and its protective abilities were amazing indeed. Hence, Huo Yuhao, with his current spiritual cultivation, had to expend a lot of spiritual power to prate the barrier. However, he had to find out more about the Holy Ghost Sect, so he did not mind making the sacrifice.

    Earlier, when he finished off the Earthdragon Sect, Huo Yuhao had relied on his Spiritual Shock. Unlike before, he could nowpletely control the intensity of his attack. He could render his opponent unconscious without actually hurting him. If he wished, even a Soul Emperor could not resist a blow from his Spiritual Shock. Actually, this was his trump card, and hence, he had only revealed it when he was shrouded in darkness. He would not use it easily.

    Huo Yuhao was not a real cripple. As his spiritual power increased, he realized that his soul power and his body could not match it.

    For example, he would not dare to use his Eye of Destiny to release his Spiritual Shock. If he did so, his brain would be unable to take it, and it might very well explode. As for this problem, he tried to ask Elder Xuan what he should do. Elder Xuan gave him a simple answer. If a soul master wanted to make an all-around improvement, his soul power would serve as his foundation, as well as the most important measure. With a rise in soul power, other aspects of the soul master¡¯s body would increase as well. In the long run, his cultivation would be stronger and stronger. Regardless of whether it pertained to one¡¯s tenacity in terms of spiritual power or soul power, the pre-condition was that one had to have a strong body first!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was indeed more exceptional than other soul masters of his rank. Furthermore, with the vast life energy from the Life Gold and his twin martial souls, his body¡¯s caliber easily rivalled that of a six-ringed Soul Emperor! However, that was his limit, as he still only had five rings.

    Right now, his spiritual power astounded even Elder Xuan. One could only guess the improvement he had experienced in terms of his spiritual power. Elder Xuan told him directly that if he wanted to capitalize on his concrete-material realm spiritual power, he had to reach the stage of a Titled Douluo. Only then could his body reach a level that allowed him to release his spiritual power without reservation.

    Of course, there was a more superficial method. He could also retrieve a powerful soul bone that would allow his Spiritual Sea to stabilize. Like that, when he released his spiritual power, his attack would be more powerful. Of course, he would still be unable to maximize his full strength, and hence, the best way to ovee this problem was to rely on simply increasing his cultivation!

 Chapter 283.1: Team Holy Spirit

    However, he still could not use his immense spiritual power to its fullest extent. Chiefly, he could not use explosive-type abilities. As for Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Interference, Spiritual Sharing, and other pseudo-soul skills, they had all experienced a tremendous increase in power. This was why Huo Yuhao was still the main control-type soul master on the team.

    As a faint light shed, a cold look crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He narrowed his eyes and his spiritual power was locked onto the youth from the Holy Ghost Sect. From his target¡¯s soul power, he could sense that he was a five-ringed Soul King. He could not be said to be strong. However, the eeriness he gave off told Huo Yuhao that he was an evil soul master. There was no other possibility.

    The Heavenly Capital Academy was an old, well-established school. Like the Earthdragon Sect that the Tang Sect had just encountered, it was from the Dou Ling Empire. The first person it sent out was also a youth. He was tall, sturdy, and clearly energetic.

    The judge noted that bothpetitors were in their respective positions. His right hand came down swiftly, and the twopetitors acted at the same time as they charged toward each other.

    The Holy Ghost Sect youth¡¯s body started to shine with a pale, white light. His body seemed to remain normal, but his two hands, under the glow of the light, turned ghastly pale. As he lowered his head, his eyes turned white too.

    What kind of martial soul was this? Even Huo Yuhao could not detect the martial soul this youth released instantly.

    This was the first round of the tournament, and every team wanted to start their first rounds off with a bang. The youth from the Heavenly Capital Academy was not weak either. As he roared loudly, his body emitted a powerful energy.

    Two long knives appeared in his hands. A total of five soul rings, two yellow and three purple, circled around his knives. Without a doubt, they were his martial soul!

    The two sides quickly approached each other. When they were just inches away, the Heavenly Capital Academy youth leapt into the air. The first soul ring around his body started to shine and in mid-air, he sliced down toward the Holy Ghost Sectpetitor in a crescent-shaped arc.

    Yellow jolts of electricity shot out from the des of his knives, and crackling sounds rang out as they arced through the air.

    This martial soul was impressive indeed. On the battlefield, it was more powerful than normal assault-type martial souls! Huo Yuhao silently assessed the situation. At the same time, he began to concentrate harder as he observed how the Holy Ghost Sect youth would react.

    The Holy Ghost Sect youth had five rings too. However, he had the ideal soul ringbination. As he noticed his opponent¡¯s crescent-shaped attacking toward him, his body suddenly twisted oddly. Everyone felt as if he had turned into a shadow, causing his opponent to momentarily lose his target. The crescent-shaped attacknded on the metallic ground, leaving a deep scar behind. At the same time, a ck tornado rose up from the ground. As the tornado shrieked, it charged toward the Heavenly Capital soul master.

    The Heavenly Capital student was still in mid-air. In this position, his strength was maximized. His third soul ring started to shine, and the knives in his hands formed three rays of faint shadow. This time, the three rays, which seemed more powerful than the light from the knives, came rushing out. As the rays of de light flew out, the body of the Heaven Capital Academy youth shone with an intense yellow light. It was as if the sun had descended.

    Triple Sun Moon sh, a powerful thousand-year soul skill!

    Instantly, the tornado that was about to encircle him was sliced to pieces by the knives. The three rays of de light then turned inward, and quickly afterwards, they exploded into countless smaller rays that shot outward.

    Regardless of whether it was in terms of strength, control, or power, this attack had them all. The other teams in the resting zone could not help but nod their heads in approval. This student from the Heavenly Capital Academy was extraordinary, indeed!

    Just when everyone thought that the Holy Ghost Sect youth could not continue this fight anymore, the ck smoke, which had just been sliced apart, suddenly spread outward. Following that, its color became paler, and soon, it turned purple before reforming itself.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, he could hear wailing and crying. From the inside of the thick purple smoke, a purple skull shed and then quickly disappeared.

    It all happened too fast. As it was too fast, almost everyone on-scene could not even react. The Heavenly Capital Academy youth had already been devoured by the purple smoke.

    In the next instance, the smoke retracted itself and turned into an arrow as it flew into the distance. Over there, the Holy Ghost Sect youth¡¯s body reformed as hended on the ground.

    The Heavenly Capital Academy youth re-appeared in mid-air. However, he appeared to have lost control over his body. At that moment, his skin was deathly white. The knives in his hands disappeared, and his body fell from the sky, unmoving.

    Oh shit! Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. He had been using Spiritual Detection to observe thispetition. He had the best view and understanding of this entire fight. The soul of the Heavenly Capital Academy youth had beenpletely devoured. While his body was intact, it was just an empty shell!

    The fourth soul skill! Thebatant from the Holy Ghost Sect had used his fourth soul skill from the smoke. His soul skill was akin to an insect, a very odd insect. It was small and like a needle. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, apanied with the evolution of his Purple Demon Eyes to the Sumeru Realm, he would not have been able to discover it.

    The ck smoke was a manifestation of countless insects from his martial soul. When the ck smoke turned purple, it was because these insects opened their wings, which were purple. Then, their bodies entered a half-energy realm as they forced their way into the head of the youth from the Heavenly Capital Academy. They entered him from his seven orifices. Not only did they devour his soul, but they even ate his brains.

    Such a cruel evil soul master! The Holy Ghost Sect youth, who had just devoured a Soul King, brimmed with energy. His icy-cold eyes betrayed a look of joy.

    Evil soul masters were not only strong, but they were able to improve rapidly at a certain cultivation level. However, after they umted more than five rings, their cultivation would gradually slow down, depending on how powerful their evil martial souls were. The more powerful their evil martial souls were, the faster they would improve. At the same time, they required other forms of assistance. If not, why would they be called ¡®evil soul masters?¡¯

    ¡°Heavenly Capital Academy, dead. Next.¡±

    When they heard the word ¡®dead¡¯, the waiting zone for the Heavenly Capital Academy instantly went into an uproar. Everyone stood up as they stared angrily at the Holy Ghost Sectpetitors.

    The firstpetitor from the Holy Ghost Sect rushed out from the waiting zone. After he ran out, the other members of the Holy Ghost Sect sauntered out. ording to the rules, there should have been six members. However, only three of them walked out. Tang Ya was nowhere to be seen, there were just three cold youths. They all had different physiques. However, their eyes were all icy-cold and treacherous.

    Including the one on stage, there were only four people on their team. This also meant that they were confident in winning thispetition with just four members. What level of confidence was this?

    The Heavenly Capital Academy sent two of its students to retrieve the corpse of their schoolmate. When they lifted his corpse, a huge amount of blood gushed out from his orifices, staining the arena red.

    Over on the Holy Ghost Sect side, a youth licked his lips and mumbled to himself, ¡°What a waste, such fresh blood.¡±

    ¡°How can you kill?¡± The teacher in charge of the Heavenly Capital Academy stood up in rage as he made an angry protest.

    ¡°In previous tournaments, people died too. If you are capable, you can kill us too!¡± a cold, clear voice retorted from the resting zone.

    The Heavenly Capital Academy had no right to enter the pavilion in the resting zone. The face of the teacher in charge changed rapidly. Suddenly, he strode toward the waiting zone.

    ¡°Stop, the teacher in charge can¡¯t enter the waiting zone to direct the battle. If not, you¡¯ll be disqualified.¡± The organizing team of the tournament naturally sent someone out to block him.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to fight. We admit defeat,¡± the teacher said angrily. ¡°This is apetition, not a life-and-death fight. That was pure murder! Everyone can see that it was tant murder! It was not an ident from thepetition. The Heavenly Capital Academy withdraws from thepetition. Everyone get back, we aren¡¯t doing this anymore.¡±

    When they heard the teacher¡¯s words, the remaining members of the Heavenly Capital Academy team sighed in relief. The youth in ck was too mysterious! They had sent their captain out just now, and if even he died under such mysterious circumstances, how would the rest of them fare? Everyone feared death. They were here topete, not to die!

    On the main podium, Xu Tianran frowned and said, ¡°Imperial Tutor, tell your guys not to go overboard. This is just apetition. There are other ces for them to show off their skills where they won¡¯t be subjected to such criticisms.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± the man in ck next to him said inly.

    In just one round, the Holy Ghost Sect was able to scare its opponent off. Likewise, they progressed to the next round with 12 full points. When the youth in ck walked off the arena, he was booed intensely by everyone. His cruel methods not only provoked the other teams in the resting zone, but also earned him the displeasure of the crowd.

    ------

    Huo Yuhao sat there stunned in his wheelchair. His eyes were nk. Slowly, his nk eyes betrayed an incredulous look.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to notice this. ¡°What happened, Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°That voice, did you hear it? From the pavilion in the resting zone,¡± Huo Yuhao said dazedly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er paused for a while, and then said, ¡°I heard it. It sounded familiar. Was that Teacher Tang Ya?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, no. It¡­ it sounded like sister¡¯s voice!¡±

 Chapter 283.2: Team Holy Spirit

    ¡°Sister?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er looked at shock at Huo Yuhao. Then she quickly got over her shock. Huo Yuhao had told her that he was an orphan. She was familiar with his background. There was only one person he would call ¡®sister¡¯.

    ¡°You mean to say that that was Sister Xiaotao¡¯s voice? That¡­ that can¡¯t be real,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said in shock.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at her seriously and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t it be real? If this is true, it would make sense. Sister Xiaotao¡¯s disappearance has something to do with Jing Hongchen. This is undeniable. He probably used some trick when he was observing her, which allowed her to leave so easily. Furthermore, when Sister Xiaotao disappeared, the Academy was under attack, too. Teacher told me that the attackers were a group of evil soul masters. The Holy Ghost Sect is the only sect formed from evil soul masters that I know of. If they captured Sister Xiaotao, then everything would make sense. Sister Xiaotao and Teacher Tang Ya have been captured by them. These bastards¡­!¡±

    As he said that, Huo Yuhao clenched his fists and became more and more emotional. Despite how reasonable his prediction was, he would have never expected to see Ma Xiaotao here until he heard her voice.

    ¡°Thepetitions for the morning end now. For the teams that arepeting in the afternoon, please don¡¯t bete. The teams who have finishedpeting may return to their hotels to rest and prepare for the subsequent rounds.¡±

    Thepetitions for the morning of the second day ended. However, Huo Yuhao could not help but stare at the pavilion in the resting zone.

    He saw the group of ck-clothed Holy Ghost Sect disciples quickly leaving the pavilion. Other than Tang Ya, his gaze instantly fell on a female disciple of the Holy Ghost Sect.

    Like Tang Ya, her face was covered with a veil. Huo Yuhao closed his eyes briefly, and as his spiritual power vibrated, he was able to imnt his own voice into her head.

    ¡°Sister.¡±

    The ck-robed woman paused momentarily. However, she appeared to not have heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice as she continued walking forward with her teammates.

    Evidently, the other youths in ck respected her greatly. She and Tang Ya were in the center as they walked out.

    Huo Yuhao paused momentarily as a look of confusion crossed his eyes. The result of his probe was not what he had expected. Could this mean¡­?

    ¡°Yuhao,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er called him gently.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ---

    Circled by everyone, they also left the resting zone as they proceeded toward the Brilliant Delight Hotel. On their way there, Huo Yuhao fell into deep thought.

    Nan Qiuqiu appeared to have calmed herself down. She was much quieter, but she still kept close to Wang Dong¡¯er. When she saw Wang Dong¡¯er pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair, the expression on her face changed. She harbored no good feelings toward Yuhao. If not for his tricks, she would not be in the Tang Sect.

    After obtaining victory in the first elimination round, they had ample time to rest. Before thepetition started in the morning, the organizing team had announced that the first elimination round wouldst four days because there were just too many teams. This also meant that they had two more days of rest.

    It was not early, so the first thing they did upon returning to the hotel was to head for the cafeteria to eat.

    In terms of dining, there were clear differences. For teams like them who resided on the fourth level, they could only have their meal in themon cafeteria. For teams who resided above the fourth floor, they could order their meals directly, and the hotel would try to fulfill their every request.

    As they sat around the round table, dishes that had already been prepared were quickly served. While their treatment was not as good as the treatment orded to more famous sects and schools, the food was not too shabby either. After all, the Brilliant Delight Hotel was one of the best in Radiant City.

    Xu Sanshi took some food out to send to the injured Bei Bei. Huo Yuhao looked at Nan Qiuqiu, who sat next to Wang Dong¡¯er, lifted the cup of warm water in front of him and said, ¡°Come, let us all raise our cups. Qiuqiu, wee to the Tang Sect. Now, I¡¯ll introduce everyone to you.¡±

    As he said that, Huo Yuhao introduced his teammates to Nan Qiuqiu one-by-one.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mouth twitched as she red at him and said, ¡°Liar.¡±

    An awkward expression crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he said, ¡°You can¡¯t me me for this. At that time, you were too arrogant. I thought that no one would fall for such a trick¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Nan Qiuqiu, who had just regained her calm with much difficulty, was incensed once again.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±

    ¡°Exin this to me clearly before you eat.¡± Nan Qiuqiu stood up suddenly. The anger she had been suppressing on her way here was only suppressed because of Wang Dong¡¯er. However, on the way here, the more she thought about how she had ended up here, the angrier she got. How could she lose herself so easily? In the Tang Sect, she could not enjoy herself as much as she used to in the Earthdragon Sect. She also did not know how the others would treat her. Her panic and rage were all concentrated on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her in pity and said, ¡°Now I finally understand why your mother was so willing to send you over to us.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu was already upset with her mother because of this. When Huo Yuhao said this, this ¡®princess¡¯ was so triggered that she could almost explode. Her soul power was pulsating violently.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er turned her head over to re at her.

    Among everyone from the Tang Sect, Nan Qiuqiu disliked Wang Dong¡¯er the least. Her face contorted with rage, she said, ¡°Forcing me to join the Tang Sect is just a way for you to humiliate me. If you can, kill me now. I¡¯ll rather die than surrender!¡±

    He Caitou said in a stunned voice, ¡°Is it so serious? Sister, we are good people.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s your sister, baldie?¡± Nan Qiuqiu said angrily.

    ¡°How can you say that?¡± Xiao Xiao could take no more. She mmed the table and stood up. A fight was on the verge of breaking out.

    At this moment, Jing Ziyan chortled and stood up. She pressed Xiao Xiao and said, ¡°What are you doing? What are all of you doing? Aren¡¯t you hungry? I¡¯m hungry. Sister Qiuqiu, don¡¯t worry so much. Now that you¡¯re in the Tang Sect, everyone wees you. No one will target you for anything. Sit down and eat. Once we get back, I¡¯ll apany you. Don¡¯t worry, if anyone dares to bully you, I¡¯ll stand up for you. I am like their teacher in charge. They¡¯ll listen to me.¡±

    No one reacted to what Jing Ziyan had just said. Everyone stared at her with an odd gaze. She sounds like a wolf in disguise¡­

    When Nan Qiuqiu looked at Jing Ziyan, who was smiling, the expression on her face changed for the better. Finally, someone was speaking hernguage. Furthermore, now that her mother had allowed her to join the Tang Sect, she knew that her own abilities could not take so many of them on at once. Hence, she decided not to say anything, but instead ate her meal angrily.

    Huo Yuhao looked at Jing Ziyan and then at Ji Juechen, who sat next to her emotionlessly. In his heart, he thought, It¡¯s not a bad decision to let these two train Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s temper.

    No one from the Tang Sect took kindly to Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s temper. Hence, no one bothered her too much. They ate their meal in silence.

    ¡°Where does everyone want to go in the afternoon?¡± Huo Yuhao asked his friends after he wiped his mouth clean with a white cloth.

    Xu Sanshi, who had returned from delivering Bei Bei his meal, said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Haven¡¯t you seen all the teams that you¡¯re interested in?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the most important one, yes. As for the others, there are too many things that can¡¯t be seen clearly now. I rmend that everyone rest in the hotel for now and get ready for the next round.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement with Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestion. They still had quite some buffer time afterward. This would benefit Bei Bei in making a full recovery.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back and rest.¡± Huo Yuhao made the decision after he sought everyone¡¯s opinion.

    Everyone stood up and prepared to leave the cafeteria. A displeased voice sounded, ¡°Eh, wait a moment, where will I stay?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu looked upset as she stared at everyone. She felt as if they had all forgotten about her.

    Before Huo Yuhao could open his mouth, Jing Ziyan walked up to her with a smile and said, ¡°You can stay with me. While our living conditions aren¡¯t ideal, it won¡¯t be too much trouble to have one more person.¡±

    Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan stayed together. Wang Dong¡¯er stayed with Huo Yuhao. Jing Ziyan and Na Na stayed together. If Nan Qiuqiu stayed with them, the three girls would share one room.

    Na Na said, slightly peeved, ¡°Sister Ziyan, what will I do?¡±

    Jing Ziyan said, ¡°It¡¯s fine! If webine two beds, it should be enough for three people to sleep together.¡±

    ¡°What? We have tobine beds?¡± Nan Qiuqiu looked at them in shock. ¡°No, I must have my own room. Get the organizing team to give me my own room.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°Beauty, who do you think we are? We¡¯re just a small, unknown sect. Will the organizing team listen to us? When in Shrek, do as the Shreks do. Since you¡¯ve already joined our sect, stop making so much trouble for us.¡± With Jiang Nannan present, he was much more reserved. Under other circumstances, he would have made fun of her far more mercilessly.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not possible,¡± Nan Qiuqiu said defiantly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°How about this? You can go and rest with the Earthdragon Sect for now. After the tournament ends, we¡¯ll bring you back to the Tang Sect. After all, you signed up as an Earthdragon Sect disciple, and you can¡¯tpete on our behalf.¡±

 Chapter 283.3: Team Holy Spirit

    Nan Qiuqiu red at him and said, ¡°You eliminated the Earthdragon Sect. Do you think we still have rooms?¡±

    ¡°Er¡­ then there¡¯s no choice. Third brother is right. I don¡¯t think the organizing team will give us a new room. How about you pay for your own room?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned green as she said, ¡°Are you pretending to be stupid or are you really stupid? Is there even a hotel with an empty room during the tournament? Furthermore, now that I¡¯m part of the Tang Sect, shouldn¡¯t you arrange for a ce for me to stay?¡±

    Everyone looked at Huo Yuhao with schadenfreude. Xu Sanshi tapped his elbow and said, ¡°Yuhao, you brought this upon yourself. Solve it yourself.¡± With that, he casually walked off with Jiang Nannan.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Nan Qiuqiu, the situation as you see it. The Tang Sect had ten members before you joined. In total, we have five rooms. You can pick any room you want. However, regardless of who you stay with, someone will have to squeeze. So?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she had a n as she said, ¡°Then I shall room with you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at her in shock. ¡°Guys and girls shouldn¡¯t room together, ma¡¯am!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°We¡¯re all soul masters, what¡¯s there to be ashamed of? There¡¯s no need to think so much, I¡¯ll sleep on the sofa. Let¡¯s go, bring me to your room.¡±

    With that, the maiden turned to leave.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her disappearing figure in shock. Then, he turned to Wang Dong¡¯er, who was next to him and said, ¡°Does she wants to room with me, or does she want to room with you? She probably guessed that we¡¯re rooming together. Dong¡¯er, you are really too attractive.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, you are getting smarter.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly flew into a full-on panic mode. ¡°No, no, she can¡¯t room with us. Let¡¯s go.¡± He suddenly realized that with Nan Qiuqiu around as a third wheel, how could he be intimate with Dong¡¯er?

    ---

    When they were back on their floor, Nan Qiuqiu was already waiting for them outside of their door, guided there by Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Qiuqiu, listen to me, we¡¯re all guys. It¡¯s really inconvenient to have a girl like you around. It¡¯s much more normal for you to room with Sister Ziyan or Xiao Xiao. For a youngdy like you, don¡¯t you care about your honor?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu looked at the troubled expression on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face and her heart swooped in delight. ¡°How can I not care about my honor? I¡¯m not sleeping with you. I trust you. Look at you. While you¡¯re strong, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll do anything bad.¡±

    ¡°You, you, you¡­¡± Regardless who it was, all guys would react the same way when their ability in a certain aspect was questioned. Huo Yuhao was so angry he could not say anything for quite some time. With much difficulty, he spurted out, ¡°What about him? He¡¯s normal!¡± He pointed at Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Nan Qiuqiu replied without hesitation, ¡°How can youpare to him? You¡¯re a liar. Anyone can see that Wang Dong is a true gentleman who won¡¯t take advantage of others. Am I right, Wang Dong?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said with a dazzling smile. While she did not want another girl in the room, she found Huo Yuhao¡¯s current state extremely amusing. Her childish desires were piqued as she went along with Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s flow.

    ¡°Open the door,¡± Nan Qiuqiu said as she pointed at it.

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened the door and Nan Qiuqiu walked in first. While the room was not big, it was very clean. Wang Dong¡¯er had cleaned the room herself. After they checked in, she had told the hotel reception that there was no need to clean their room for them. She liked to take care of Huo Yuhao herself.

    Nan Qiuqiu sat on the sofa and said, ¡°Right, I¡¯ll sleep here temporarily. I won¡¯t fight for a spot with a cripple. Eh, why do you two guys share one bed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s room only had one double bed, and not two single beds like most rooms.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said naturally, ¡°So I can take care of him. It¡¯s hard for him to move around.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes gleamed as she sighed in admiration, ¡°Wang Dong, you¡¯re so kind! You treat this despicable, pretentious, and shameless guy so well.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao felt that before he could correct this girl¡¯s bad habits, she would make him die from anger.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Nan Qiuqiu said gleefully. As she looked at Huo Yuhao in this state, she was happy beyond words!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed, and a smile appeared on his face once more as he said, ¡°Wang Dong, carry me onto the bed, I want to rest for a while. I¡¯ve been busy for the entire morning and I¡¯m tired.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said. When she heard that he was tired, her heart ached. Normally, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s resilience, he would not throw the word ¡®tired¡¯ around easily. Immediately, she bent over to lift him from the wheelchair and carry him toward the bed.

    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly said.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked.

    Huo Yuhao stared deeply into her light-blue eyes and said dramatically, ¡°Dong¡¯er, I love you.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er paused momentarily. Soon, she melted in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze as she replied softly, ¡°I love you too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wrapped his only movable right arm around her neck as he lifted his head. Then, he kissed her tender, soft, red lips. After a brief kiss, he let go.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had already gotten used to his sneaky kisses after all this while. She also started to view herself as Huo Yuhao¡¯s wife, and hence, she did not mind being kissed by him. However, because of that dramatic ¡®I love you¡¯, she almostpletely forgot that there was someone else in the room with them.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A piercing scream sounded. It rose a few dozen decibels instantly, and seemed capable of bringing the entire Brilliant Delight Hotel down. Even those on the top floor could hear this scream clearly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was so rmed by the scream that she almost threw Huo Yuhao out of her arms. At this moment, she realized that Nan Qiuqiu was still in the room. At this moment, she was still in disguise as a guy!

    ¡°You, you, you, you two, you two¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu pointed at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er as her red lips trembled. An incredulous look appeared in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her in pity and said calmly, ¡°In this world, there are many types of love that you wouldn¡¯t understand. I was angry just now because you intruded into Dong¡¯er¡¯s and my private space. However, we have thought this through. Since you aren¡¯t afraid of having needles in your eyes and you insist on watching us, then watch away. We don¡¯t care anyway.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong, Wang Dong, you¡¯re actually¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu pointed at Wang Dong¡¯er as her voice trembled more and more.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao, who was smiling helplessly. She continued his charade for him and said, ¡°Qiuqiu, you can¡¯t discount homosexual love. Actually¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Nan Qiuqiu screamed. She turned and ran out of the room. She pulled the door open and disappeared instantly. She did not forget to close the door, but mmed it with such intensity that it made both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er tremble.

    ¡°You''re too naughty,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er carefully ced Huo Yuhao on his bed, and a helpless smile crossed her face.

    Huo Yuhao did not let go of her neck as he chuckled and said, ¡°She pissed me off first. She questioned my ability as a man, that¡¯s unforgivable. Furthermore, I¡¯m helping you solve a problem too! If not, she¡¯ll bother you non-stop.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stifled augh and said, ¡°However, you¡¯re affecting her worldview.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°With her temper, it¡¯s alright to shock her every once in a while. I suspect that she¡¯s going to find Sister Ziyan and the rest, though I wonder if they¡¯ll tell her that you¡¯re a girl.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er bit her lips gently and said, ¡°With Sister Ziyan¡¯s troublemaking personality, what do you think she¡¯ll say? Poor Qiuqiu! She¡¯s right, you are a bad boy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled her into his embrace and said, ¡°So what if I¡¯m bad? I¡¯m your bad boy, and your silly boy, so good! All guys will have to be these two ¡®boys¡¯. Hehe, nap with me.¡±

    ------

    Huo Yuhao did not know what happened to Nan Qiuqiu afterward. After they ate, the pale-faced maiden sat as far from them as possible. All she did was eat. She did, however, appear much more docile. Jing Ziyan could not help but look meaningfully at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The first elimination round of the tournament ended after two days. In total, half of the 167 teams were eliminated. Instantly, the Brilliant Delight Hotel became much emptier.

    Every single team that made it past the first round was assigned new rooms. The Tang Sect was sent to the third floor, which was much more spacious than the second floor. Furthermore, since they passed the first round, the organizing team agreed to their request for one more room. Hence, Nan Qiuqiu was given an additional room.

    Among the 167 teams, there were still 84 left. Shrek Academy did not take part in the first round. In the past few days, Huo Yuhao and the Tang Sect did not see anyone from Shrek Academy. Wang Qiu¡¯er and Dai Huabin seemed to have disappeared.

    ------

    As faint light shed, a cold light appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. His eyes shed with light, and the air around him distorted.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± He swallowed the purple light and cultivated its essence. With this, he ended his morning cultivation.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stood next to him. She was cultivating her Purple Demon Eyes too, but her eyes were much weaker than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. After all, she did not have a martial soul like the Spirit Eyes that was helpful in cultivating her Purple Demon Eyes.

    ¡°Round Two. Shrek Academy will bepeting today, right?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded in confirmation.

 Chapter 284.1: Seven-Man Fusion Skill

    He had an indescribable feeling towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. He was sure that it wasn¡¯t love. He had given all his love to Wang Dong¡¯er. But he couldn¡¯t break away from Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was an affection that seemed to bind their blood together. It was something that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t understand.

    The second elimination round started. As the first elimination round took too long, there wasn¡¯t a break between it and the second elimination round. After the duels ended yesterday, the lot-drawing for the second roundmenced immediately.

    The Tang Sect would bepeting tomorrow. Today, Shrek Academy was going topete. As the legendary team in the tournament, many people were waiting for them topete. In the previous tournament, they had managed to create a miracle even though the circumstances were unfavorable for them. Could they do the same in this tournament? No one knew the answer. The inclusion of sects made the tournament more worth watching, but also made it much more unpredictable.

    After the first round, fifty-six of the remaining eighty-four teams came from sects. That was two-thirds of the teams left in the tournament. This showed how powerful sects were. However, there were some traditional academy teams which were true powerhouses, such as the Star Luo National Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The resting area was much more spacious now. The seats had also been re-arranged. The Tang Sect, which had obtained full twelve points in the first elimination round, was guided to the perg. This was the VIP resting area. Only the strongest teams could rest here.

    ------

    ¡°The second elimination round is about tomence. Everyone, please stay silent. The reigning champions and and winners of all of the previous editions of the tournament, Shrek Academy, will bepeting today.¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens didn¡¯t have a good impression of Shrek Academy. It was because of Shrek Academy that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy always came in second in the tournament. When they heard the words ¡®Shrek Academy¡¯, many of the spectators started booing.

    Huo Yuhao could see many things much more clearly as he entered the VIP resting area. Although the Tang Sect had managed to gain ess into this area due to their impressive performance in the previous round, they could only sit at the sides.

    Shrek¡¯s Academy team was in the center of the VIP resting area. They were next to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Holy Ghost Sect, and other strong teams.

    Huo Yuhao also noticed another team. They were on the other side of the VIP resting area. He had noticed this team on the second day of the tournament. They had seemed to be very average, but their martial souls couldn¡¯t be concealed. They were from the Body Sect. However, they were doing their best to conceal their abilities.

    Apart from these few teams he had taken note of, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he unleashed his Spiritual Detection. Almost every team in this VIP resting area was extraordinary. From what he sensed, there were very fewpeting members that had less than five rings. Most of them were at least Soul Kings. Huo Yuhao was only a Soul King himself. Although his Spiritual Detection was great, his judgment of the aura of those beyond his cultivation wasn¡¯t fully urate. However, it was still good enough for him to tell how strong or weak a team was.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was sitting on a chair at the very front of Shrek Academy¡¯s team. Huo Yuhao discovered that Dai Huabin, Ning Tian, Zhu Lu, Wu Feng and the others behind her appeared very resolute. After not seeing them for some time, they seemed to have matured greatly. At the very least they were less impatient.

    It seemed like the pressure from the tournament wasn¡¯t entirely a bad thing! Huo Yuhao was impressed.

    ¡°Second elimination round. The first fight will be between Shrek Academy and the Heavenly Armor Sect. Both parties, please enter your waiting areas.¡± The voiceing from the main stage announced the beginning of the second elimination round.

    Heavenly Armor Sect? Huo Yuhao felt that this name was very familiar. He immediately recalled how he had met the disciplined Heavenly Armor Sect before they came to Radiant City. They were all riding Hornscale Horses from the Dou Ling Empire. The Heavenly Armor Sect had even left a deep impression on him. He hadn¡¯t expected them to have to face Shrek Academy in the second round.

    Both parties entered their respective waiting areas. As expected, the seven from Shrek Academy were Wang Qiu¡¯er, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, and Cao Jinxuan.

    Zhou Sichen, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo were seated beneath the stage as substitutes. They weren¡¯t able topete today.

    The Heavenly Armor Sect wasn¡¯t in the VIP resting area, they were still in the resting area outside. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection, and immediately sensed Han Zhanhu choosing thepeting members for the Heavenly Armor Sect. He could sense the tense nerves of the Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯speting members.

    Shrek Academy was extremely reputable. They had built that reputation with their ability for thousands of years. The Heavenly Armor Sect was simply too unlucky to have drawn Shrek Academy! After making it through the first round, they had met Shrek Academy in only the second round.

    Han Zhanhu was helpless. Since they had met Shrek Academy, what could they do? They could only go all-out against them. This was the idea that he nted in his disciples¡¯ heads after the lot was drawn. It was a rare opportunity for them to fight Shrek Academy. At least they could have a taste of the abilities and fighting strategies of the top academy on the continent!

    The sevenpeting members from both sides entered the waiting area.

    The referee said loudly, ¡°Individual elimination round. First members from both teams, please enter the stage.¡±

    A muscr youth from the Heavenly Armor Sect jumped onto the stage as the spectators watched. Dai Huabin was the first from Shrek Academy topete.

    ¡°What!?¡± Huo Yuhao gently eximed. As he watched Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s back, the look in his eyes changed.

    ¡°She¡¯s not the first topete? This is unlike her!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er also muttered under her breath.

    Huo Yuhao pped his hand against hers and said, ¡°They¡¯re really smart. It seems like she really values this tournament. To conserve her abilities and fight in a bnced manner, she¡¯s managed to remain patient. It won¡¯t be easy for us either, if we meet them!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°It¡¯s better not to meet them. It¡¯s not good for us to go against one another.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s see how our luck is. If we don¡¯t meet them in the next round, we should be able tost until the finals.¡±

    Dai Huabin was much fitter than before. He entered the stage confidently.

    Both parties greeted each other in front of the referee.

    ¡°Shrek Academy, Dai Huabin.¡±

    ¡°Heavenly Armor Sect, Han Yu.¡±

    The referee repeated the rules of the tournament once more and emphasized that neither of them should intentionally kill their opponent. Otherwise, they would be punished. After that, he let the two of them retreat and prepare for the fight.

    While Dai Huabin appeared very calm, he was actually very anxious.

    He was finally here at the tournament. Even though he was a substitute, he was still finally here! After years of tireless cultivation, he finally had a chance to disy his prowess. Dad, elder brother, wait and see. I¡¯ll definitely show how good I am!

    He bumped his fists together in front of his chest. A strongpetitive intent was exuded from his body. He cracked his knuckles and stared at his opponent. Right now, he was like a famished and ferocious tiger.

    ¡°Match, start!¡± The referee swiped his right hand down.

    Dai Huabin shot out like a ferocious tiger. However, he didn¡¯t unleash his strengthening skills like he always did. He only unleashed his martial soul.

    Two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring, the bestbination. White hair grew from his body, and he expanded in size as he unleashed his White Tiger.

    If someone else had such a cultivation, everyone would be terrified. However, it was apt that Dai Huabin possessed such a martial soul, since he was representing Shrek Academy.

    The youth from the Heavenly Armor Sect didn¡¯t rush forward. Han Yu looked very calm, and also unleashed his own martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring also appeared, once again the bestbination for a Soul King!

    A pitch-ck, hexagonal piece of metal flew out from his body before it condensed to form a hexagonal shield. The shield was dense and heavy, and formed from proportionate pieces of scales.

    After unleashing his martial soul, Han Yu took big strides towards Dai Huabin as his aura continued to soar.

    With a roar, Dai Huabin¡¯s speed increased rapidly. His thick and strong legs unleashed great force. The speed at which he was moving was so fast that an illusory projection seemed to drag along behind him. He mmed his tiger palm towards Han Yu.

    Han Yu did the opposite. As he was bursting forward, he suddenly stomped his left leg and came to an abrupt stop. As he stopped, he unleashed his Heavenly Armor Shield.

    The Heavenly Armor Sect was a family sect. All of its disciples were descendants and rtives, and they possessed almost the same martial soul, the Heavenly Armor Shield!

    Bang¡ª¡ª!

    It was only the first strike, but Dai Huabin demonstrated how powerful he was. Their cultivations were at the same level, and his opponent had used a shield to defend against him, but his palm strike forced Han Yu back more than three meters.

    Han Yu¡¯s feet even made sparks as he slid across the metal surface. Dai Huabin¡¯s sharp tiger ws had left five deep marks on the shield!

 Chapter 284.2: Seven-Man Fusion Skill

    This was a direct collision, a probing attack and defense. Neither party used soul skills. In terms of strength, the winner was clear.

    Dai Huabin didn¡¯t stop moving. At the same time as he struck his opponent, he opened his mouth wide, and a streak of white light shot out of it. It was his second soul skill, White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave!

    A loud boom resonated, and Han Yu retreated once again. His first and second soul rings lit up, and the surface of the Heavenly Armor Shield shone like a mirror. As the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave shone on it and the scales of the armor undted in a weird fashion, many small streaks of white light were reflected away, immediately diverting arge portion of the Wave¡¯s impact. At the same time, the Heavenly Armor Shield shifted, and sixteen hexagonal scales flew out of it towards Dai Huabin. The sides of every scale were like sharp des!

    Defense and counterattack! Han Yu was very steady in front of Dai Huabin. In terms of abilities and psychological mindset, he was excellently trained!

    Dai Huabin acted like he didn¡¯t see the armor scales. He burst forward again, and his first soul ring lit up. Ayer of white surfaced on his body. Just as the shield¡¯s scales were about to cut into him, a white light spread out and deflected all of them away. Although they turned and flew back towards him, Dai Huabin had already reached Han Yu in this short span of time.

    Dai Huabin roared again, and everything in front of Han Yu turned ck. Following this, his tiger palm struck the Heavenly Armor Shield forcefully again.

    Han Yu¡¯s Heavenly Armor Shield was adept at countering long-range energy attacks, just like how it dealt with the White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave earlier. However, it was helpless against such physical attacks. However, he was still a defense-type soul master. Noticing that something was amiss, he immediately squatted down, and the sharp base of the shield stabbed into the metal floor. He leaned the entire shield back and used it to resist Dai Huabin¡¯s attack at an angle. At the same time, his third soul ring lit up.

    The sixteen pieces of shield scales in the air turned fiery red, as if they had been heated in a forge, and flew towards Dai Huabin with a piercing screech. It was Han Yu¡¯s third soul skill, Meteoric Fire Armor!

    He had to attack his enemy at a vital spot. Han Yu was very confident in his thousand-year soul skill, the Meteoric Fire Armor. In his opinion, Dai Huabin would find it difficult to deal with his double-pronged attack even though he was very strong as a closebat soul master.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect Dai Huabin to ignore the Meteoric Fire Armor and continued to reach for the Heavenly Armor Shield with his right palm.

    A terrifying and huge force was exerted on the Shield. It was different from the forceful push earlier. This time, it was an intense jerk that came from Dai Huabin¡¯s tiger palm.

    Han Yu was so shaken that he almost spat blood. He could feel that his shield was about to be crushed. He even heard painful soundsing from the armor scales that formed the shield.

    However, Han Yu was also very excited now. That was because his Meteoric Fire Armor had already reached Dai Huabin. It was impossible for him to resist or dodge at this moment. The sixteen scales had blocked off his escape route. Did he really not realize it?

    Dai Huabin answered his doubt instantly. His white hair released an extremely intense golden light. His body expanded, and his tiger palm seemed to stick to the Heavenly Armor Shield. As he lifted his palm up, he used his right elbow to hit the shield with incredible force.

    Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang¡­

    Boom¡ª¡ª!

    Two different sounds could be heard at the same time. When the scales struck Dai Huabin¡¯s body, they were bounced away again. He didn¡¯t even seem to feel their impacts at all, and resisted the blows easily.

    The tremendous boom that sounded was caused by his right elbow as it struck the shield.

    Han Yu didn¡¯t expect Dai Huabin to use such a method to resist his attack. He waspletely unprepared for this strike.

    The Heavenly Armor Shield was blown apart. Dai Huabin continued to burst forward in a dominant fashion, and mmed into Han Yu¡¯s chest with his shoulder.

    As his shield was crushed, Han Yu¡¯s defense was crippled, and he was bleeding profusely. His arms were in great pain. Everything happened too quickly, and he couldn¡¯t use a stronger soul skill anymore. He also needed time to retract his scales! Right now, he was like a turtle that had lost the protection of its shell. He was in front of Dai Huabin in his weakest state.

    The only thing he could do was raise his soul power and push his palms out towards Dai Huabin.

    Boom¡ª¡ª!

    From the spectators¡¯ view, Han Yu was like a fired cannon shell as he was knocked back. He flew more than ten meters and struck the protective barriers surrounding the stage before he was bounced back to the floor. He couldn¡¯t get up after that.

    Dai Huabin stopped and calmly turned around. He walked back towards the center of the stage.

    From the start until the end, this was a very short fight. Dai Huabin had demonstrated his great fighting strength.

    Han Yu had the same number of soul rings as he did. As a defense-type Soul King above Rank 50, he didn¡¯t even have the chance to unleash his fourth and fifth soul skill before he lost. This was the gap in their abilities! Dai Huabin gave off a very barbaric and ruthless air. Many people were stunned by his performance.

    ---

    ¡°This¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was in shock as she noted, ¡°He has been greatly affected by Qiu¡¯er!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved slightly, ¡°His actualbat ability has greatly increased. Although his fighting style is very simple and violent, he¡¯s much calmer than before. He also aptly used his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded agreement and said, ¡°Yes! However, this is also a good thing. After all, they are representing Shrek. Qiu¡¯er has brought about great change to them.¡±

    ---

    Shrek Academy didn¡¯t slip up against the Heavenly Armor Sect in the second elimination round. They used their dominant abilities and ruthless fighting style to win. Dai Huabin overwhelmed his opponents yet again.

    There were fewer and fewer boos from the spectators. What was the use of boos in front of them, since they were so strong?

    However, Dai Huabin conceded defeat before he fought the thirdpeting member from the Heavenly Armor Sect and left the stage.

    ---

    ¡°Oh, what kind of momentum is this?¡± Xu Sanshi muttered to himself, curious about what was going on.

    Wu Feng was already on the stage, and walking towards the center of it.

    ¡°Dai Huabin can obviously still fight. Why did he concede defeat? Is it because he¡¯s not confident? Impossible! With his character, he won¡¯t know when to stop.¡± Xiao Xiao was also confused.

    Huo Yuhao squinted. ¡°This must be a strategy Qiu¡¯er arranged. She¡¯s training them so that they can get used to the tempo of the tournament. After all, it¡¯s their first time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was right. This was her strategy, helping them gain experience so that they could fight better. It was only through continuous fighting that they could increase their abilities and demonstrate what they had learned over this period of time. This also made them more confident. Otherwise, Wang Qiu¡¯er would have been able to defeat the entire Heavenly Armor Sect on her own.

    Wu Feng¡¯s opponent was also using the Heavenly Armor Shield.

    -----

    ¡°Match, start!¡± As the referee shouted, Wu Feng¡¯s eyes lit up. Burning dragon scales started to surface throughout her entire body. As she leapt out, the air around her started to form ripples from the heated air around her.

    This member from the Heavenly Armor Sect had learned from the lessons of the two previouspetitors, and immediately unleashed his offensive skills.

    He unleashed two soul skills at the same time. His Meteoric Fire Armor was sent flying towards Wu Feng.

    The hot-tempered Wu Feng didn¡¯t choose to directly resist the armor, her petite figure blurring as she dodged the attack. She didn¡¯t move as swiftly as Tang Sect¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but she was quick. Dragon roars could be heard rising from her body. Every time her body twisted, supernatural changes started to ur. From the looks of it, her body only seemed to distort slightly before she dodged the Meteoric Fire Armor scales flying at her. However, her body moved countless times in that instant.

    Huo Yuhao turned his attention to Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was in the waiting area. He had seen such a simr dodging movement from her. Wu Feng must have had been taught by Wang Qiu¡¯er, as they both had dragon-type martial souls. As a possessor of Ultimate Strength, there were many things that Wang Qiu¡¯er could teach Wu Feng. It seemed like Wu Feng had improved as much as Dai Huabin!

    Wu Feng let out a deep dragon¡¯s roar. After dodging the attack, her speed soared again as she burst towards her opponent.

    The youth from the Heavenly Armor Sect was already prepared. Without any hesitation, he unleashed his strongest fourth soul skill. Yes, he was a Soul Ancestor just like the secondpeting member from the sect.

    The outward bulge on the Heavenly Armor Shield turned into an inward bulge. Several streaks of red light started to reflect from the mirrored surfaces of the armor. They were reflected towards a single point, converting into a beam of fire that shot towards Wu Feng.

    Heavenly Armor Needle, a single-target offensive soul skill. It was as strong as a ten-thousand year soul skill. Its prating abilities perfectly demonstrated the strength of the Heavenly Armor Shield!

 Chapter 284.3: Seven-Man Fusion Skill

    The Heavenly Armor Needle was unleashed at the correct moment. It was at the instant when Wu Feng dodged the Meteoric Fire Armor scales, so it was impossible for her to dodge anymore. She hadn¡¯t expected the Meteoric Fire Armor scales to be a trap!

    In fact, Dai Huabin had defeated the Meteoric Fire Armor twice already. No one in the Heavenly Armor Sect was confident in this soul skill anymore. Without a special method, there was no chance of victory against a five-ringed soul master, especially since he was only a four-ringed soul master. The Heavenly Armor Needle was his only chance.

    However, Wu Feng had been through tough training, and was ¡°tortured¡± by Wang Qiu¡¯er mercilessly almost every day. It wasn¡¯t that easy to defeat her. Even though she couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao, her advantage over other soul masters was still very evident.

    As Wu Feng opened her mouth, she spewed mes to counter the Heavenly Armor Needle. Her third soul ring lit up as she slowed the needle down, and she punched out at it.

    The space around Wu Feng distorted furiously and turned dark red. It felt as if she it had copsed after she unleashed her fist. Her entire fist also turned scarlet red.

    Boom!

    A scarlet-red ball of light blew apart. Undtions of terrifying fiery soul power spread for more than ten meters before they dissipated. Intense mes spread everywhere, and the youth from the Heavenly Armor Sect was blown more than ten meters back, his Heavenly Armor Shield cracked.

    While the Heavenly Armor Needle was strong, he only had four rings. Against Wu Feng¡¯s five rings, it wasn¡¯t at all easy for him to achieve victory.

    Wu Feng¡¯s third soul skill, Explosive Dragonmouth, crushed the Heavenly Armor Shield with its immense destructive force, and also forced her opponent into helpless retreat. Shrek Academy won the third round.

    Her next opponent was another four-ringed Soul Ancestor. His martial soul was also the Heavenly Armor Shield. Wu Feng didn¡¯t slip up.

    Just like Dai Huabin, Wu Feng left the stage after she won two consecutive rounds, ending her participation in today¡¯s elimination round.

    By conceding defeat, it meant that Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t progress directly into the next round through the individual elimination round. They had to go through the team round, too.

    ---

    The third from Shrek Academy topete was Xie Huanyue. He also announced his defeat after winning two consecutive rounds.

    Shrek Academy lost three rounds at this stage after sending threepeting members up, whereas six from the Heavenly Armor Sect had been eliminated. They were only left with one member.

    ¡°We admit defeat for the individual elimination round!¡± The youth sitting in front of the entire Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯s team in the waiting area eximed. He was the team leader of their squad, Han Jian.

    There wasn¡¯t much meaning in continuing the individual elimination round. Rather than lose again, it was better for them to risk everything during the team round.

    The fewpeting members of the Heavenly Armor Sect were all injured from the previous few fights, but they would still be able topete in the team round.

    ¡°The individual elimination round is over. Shrek Academy is left with four members. They have four points, while the Heavenly Armor Sect has zero points. After a two minute break, the team round will be conducted. Both parties, please prepare.¡±

    Even though most of the previous teams had only emerged victorious in the team round, many people were still disappointed with Shrek Academy. After all, there were a few teams that managed to qualify after dominating their individual elimination rounds.

    ----

    Right now, the rest of the six members of Shrek Academy¡¯s team were in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er. Twelve eyes were now focused on her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°We¡¯ll fight in the team round like we practiced. Triangr formation. Do all of you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± the rest of them acknowledged her order.

    ---

    After two minutes, the team members from both sides lined up along the center of thepetition stage.

    The referee said, ¡°This will be the same as the individual elimination round. Both teams will retreat to the sides and wait for my order. Anyone who loses his fighting strength will be considered eliminated, and he can¡¯t continue to attack either. We¡¯ll try our best to minimize injuries and deaths. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The team leaders from both sides acknowledged the referee¡¯s words. Right now, Han Jian seemed to be in a daze. It was because Wang Qiu¡¯er was too pretty.

    Although Wang Qiu¡¯er was wearing a white veil right now, her powdery-blue hair, perfect body ratio and bright eyes could still be seen.

    Han Jian felt his heart beating faster even though he had only nced at her. He hurriedly lowered his head and didn¡¯t dare to continue looking at her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t have any expression in her eyes. She took her team members and withdrew to one side of the stage, standing in the forefront. Slightly behind, and to her left and right were Wu Feng and Dai Huabin.

    Zhu Lu was behind Dai Huabin, while Xie Huanyue was behind Wu Feng. Cao Jinxuan and Ning Tian were behind Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was an urate triangr formation formed by the seven of them.

    The Heavenly Armor Sect took on a different formation. They formed an arc, which was very rare in a team fight.

    Even though an arc-shaped formation could be regarded as a half-encirclement, its single line of defense made it very vulnerable to exploitation. Once thepeting members were separated, they would lose. Since they had formed up in this manner, it showed that they had some special fighting method.

    ---

    In the VIP resting area, Huo Yuhao was pensive as he said, ¡°The Heavenly Armor Sect team looks confident. Along with their weird formation and simr martial souls, they must possess some kind of special ability.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was a little worried as she said, ¡°They won¡¯t lose, right? After all, they are representing the academy.¡±

    Shrek Academy¡¯s glory was very important to all of them!

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°All ns are futile against an absolute power. At a certain level of cultivation, using special methods might not be enough to change the situation of a fight. Let¡¯s see. Since the Heavenly Armor Sect is so confident, I¡¯m sure they must have some way ofpeting.¡± His confidence in Shrek Academy arose from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s presence.

    ----

    On the tournament stage, the seven Heavenly Armor Sect team members were lined up neatly. Although some of them looked pale, as they had been injured, they didn¡¯t appear weak. Their gazes were filled with an unyielding desire for victory.

    ¡°Match, start!¡± The referee swiped his right hand down and retreated quickly at the same time.

    On Shrek Academy¡¯s side, seven people moved at the same time. They burst towards their opponents together. Not only were they neatly arranged, but they were also extremely quick!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her right hand. Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose from her feet. Although she was wearing a veil, her moving figure and long, swaying hair still left a deep impression.

    ---

    Xiao Hongchen was in a daze as he looked at the stage. He muttered to himself, ¡°Why do I find this team leader from Shrek so familiar? Have I seen her before? It¡¯d be great if she could take off her veil.¡±

    Meng Hongchen snorted. ¡°You always find pretty girls familiar.¡±

    He coughed quickly. ¡°Give me some face in front of the rest!¡± Xiao Hongchen snapped at his sister.

    ---

    On the tournament stage, once Shrek Academy¡¯s team burst off, the Heavenly Armor Sect team also acted immediately. However, they didn¡¯t burst forward, but only unleashed their Heavenly Armor Shields at the same time.

    Seven shields appeared at the same time. Following this, the seven of them shouted at the same time. Then they threw the shields in their hands out.

    The seven shields flew through the air, and a series of metallic nging sounds rang out. Their seven shields were broken down and converted into hexagonal scales.

    Was this an attack of scales converted from shields? Most people had the same thought.

    However, the expressions of everyone from the Tang Sect changed at this moment. Huo Yuhao blurted out almost instantly, ¡°A seven-man fusion skill?¡±

    As he was speaking, the scales started to gather at the center of the stage. Suddenly, a huge Heavenly Armor Shield was formed and drifting in mid-air. The entire shield exuded a sinister aura. Following this, the hexagonal scales started to turn red, so brightly polished it resembled the surface of a mirror.

    The fourth soul rings of the Heavenly Armor Sect disciples lit up. Every one of them released intense soul power undtions.

    A seven-man fusion skill and martial soul fusion skills werepletely different. More urately speaking, a seven-man fusion skill was formed by oveps. They were usually oveps of identical martial souls, gathering the strength of all these martial souls to unleash an attack. They required the martial souls and soul skills to be the same, so that they could be unleashed together once a sufficient level of coordination was achieved.

    Compared to the qualitative changes of martial soul fusion skills, seven-man fusion skills were slightly weaker. However, it was a killer move for sects that had certain types of martial souls.

    As the seven shields gathered to form a huge shield, unleashing the same type of skill, it was equivalent to abination of seven identical soul skills tied together to form one soul skill. Its strength was incredible!

    Something as magical as this hadn¡¯t appeared in the tournament for ages, as sects had not been allowed topete in earlier editions of the tournament. This was also the reason why the Sun Moon Empire proposed that sects be recognized again.

    Only sects possessed many soul masters with the same martial soul. This was very difficult to find in an academy, and most academies wouldn¡¯t bother trying to develop such a fusion skill, either. Many years had passed, but such a fusion skill had finally appeared in the tournament again after sects were once again allowed topete!

    The entire Shrek team, even Wang Qiu¡¯er, felt a sense of crisis once the Heavenly Armor Shield was fully formed. It was as if a formidable, savage beast had appeared in front of them, and was baring its teeth at them!

 Chapter 285.1: Team Shreks Improvement

    Wang Qiu¡¯er squinted. If one looked carefully, her pupils seemed to have stretched vertically. Not only this, but her first and second soul rings also lit up. Ayer of bright light suddenly shone from her body. A primitive aura that seemed to originate from ferocious, prehistoric beasts flowed out of her. The team members behind her felt the pressure on them dropping.

    Everyone from the Heavenly Sect Armor¡¯s team was horrified. They felt a sense of fear as they watched Wang Qiu¡¯er, who hadn¡¯t evenpeted yet. She was actually capable of taking on their seven-man fusion skill on her own! The most frightening thing was that her aura didn¡¯t pale inparison to theirs.

    All of this happened within a short span of time. After their Heavenly Armor Needles werebined, Han Jian unleashed their terrifying skill just as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura started to soar.

    A thick beam of light shot up from the center of the Heavenly Armor Shield. The spectators outside of the stage only saw the lights dim before a huge patch of ripples appeared on the stage. It seemed like the air had been set on fire!

    A dark-red light shot out through the distorted air. The target of the red light was Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er quickly rushed to the center of the stage. Just as the Heavenly Armor Shield was unleashed, she felt an intense suffocating feeling, like her body was on the verge of melting.

    However, her response was instantaneous. A streak of golden light lit up in front of her body as she let out a sonorous dragon roar. Following this, she stepped on the floor with her right leg. Her Golden Dragon Spear turned into a ball of golden light that resisted the attack of thebined Heavenly Armor Needle.

    Just as Wang Qiu¡¯er burst out, two others from Shrek¡¯s team also unleashed their soul skills.

    Ning Tian mimicked a lifting action with her right hand, and a dazzling rainbow-colored treasure pagoda surfaced above her palm.

    ¡°There are seven levels of this Seven Treasures zed Pagoda. First ¨C speed. Third ¨C strength. Fifth ¨C soul.¡± Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard students were obviously very strong. She used three soul skills at the same time, and they were all used on Wang Qiu¡¯er. The golden light from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was beyond dazzling!

    Everyone had to admit that the number one auxiliary tool soul was the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, and this title had never been snatched away before.

    Besides Ning Tian, Cao Jinxuan also moved. His first and third soul rings lit up.

    A huge illusory projection of a clock surfaced behind Cao Jinxuan. The time on this clock reflected the real time. However, a blinding silver light then lit up on the dial of the clock. Following this, the second hand stopped for a moment before it moved back by a second.

    The entire stage seemed to have paused for an instant after the clock appeared. At this instant, two streams of blood flowed out from Cao Jinxuan¡¯s nostrils. His body shook, and he looked a little dizzy.

    In the air, the Heavenly Armor Needle that was about to reach Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped, and strangely moved back half the distance that it had already travelled. A gap of more than ten meters had been created between it and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Everyone was stunned by this strange scene.

    Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes wide, and he focused his gaze.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had expected this from the start. As the Heavenly Armor Needle moved back, Wang Qiu¡¯er leapt up using this one second of dy. She made a half-turn in the air, and her sonorous dragon roar changed to a piercing pitch. She raised her right arm behind her before she flung her Golden Dragon Spear out. Her target was the beam of red light from the Heavenly Armor Needle.

    Gold and red intersected in the air. The ripples in the air started to undte more thickly. It was like a huge rock had been thrown into ake...

    The red light from the Heavenly Armor Needle continued to shoot forward. However, the streak of golden light tore through it as it did.

    A second streak of red light shed past Wang Qiu¡¯er and collided with the red light from the Heavenly Armor Needle. Although it dissipated instantly, it also stalled the red light from the Heavenly Armor Needle for a slight moment. Following this, the approaching red light converted into a huge dragon head that seemed like it was about to swallow the Heavenly Armor Needle. Even though it was dissipated in the next moment, the light from the Heavenly Armor Needle was also weakened by more than twenty-five percent.

    On the other side of Wang Qiu¡¯er, a huge ball of white light was unleashed, and urately blocked the path of the Heavenly Armor Needle. A series of noises dissipated another quarter of it. When it reached Wang Qiu¡¯er, only a third of its remaining strength was left.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s third soul ring lit up. The golden light that she released was gathered on her right fist instantly, and turned into a golden dragon head. This was her third soul skill, Golden Dragon Head!

    Boom¡ª¡ª!

    Boom¡ª¡ª!

    Two booms sounded at the same time. One of them came from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fist, while the other came from the Heavenly Armor Shield.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped in mid-attack only for a brief moment before her right leg mmed down on the floor again, making an indentation several square meters wide on the metalyered floor. She was like a golden cannon shell as she burst forward.

    On the other side, thebined shield was broken into seven pieces after the Golden Dragon Spear drilled past the Heavenly Armor Needle. The seven pieces revolved in the air, trying tobine once again.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was too fast. Before they could do so, she was already close, and her right hand grabbed onto the Golden Dragon Spear that had flown back to her. She swept the air before her with her spear.

    A golden light shed, and three of the shields were instantly shattered. Three of the Heavenly Armor Sect disciples screamed pathetically. They were gravely injured as their martial souls were destroyed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t seem to stop at all. Her Golden Dragon Spear turned into lights that filled the sky. As these golden lights shone down, the remaining four disciples felt as if Wang Qiu¡¯er was attacking with all her might.

    The four shields didn¡¯t have a chance to rbine before they were forced back. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body shed again before shended beside two of them on the left. On the right side, Xie Huanyue and Dai Huabin had already arrived.

    The Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯s team waspletely dismantled after their fusion skill failed. Team Shrek didn¡¯t go too hard on them, either. They only defeated the Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯s team in the fastest way possible and ended this team fight.

    ---

    Beneath the stage, Han Zhanwu waspletely shocked when he saw this. He couldn¡¯t believe that their fusion skill had been ovee so easily. It was too much.

    To many people, Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one who had done everything on her own. From the first step she took, everything seemed to have been decided. The entire process couldn¡¯t have been any faster. Wang Qiu¡¯er was like a goddess who controlled the entire proceedings, defeating her opponents with the simplest fighting strategy. The Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯s team¡¯s fusion skill seemed very weak. If not for the fact that it was astonishing the moment it was unleashed, everyone would have forgotten about it.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little pensive as she softly said, ¡°They¡¯re much stronger than we thought!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t meet them.¡± He knew better than anyone else, since he was the one with Spiritual Detection. He was also the clearest on what happened in the entire process.

    That¡¯s right. Wang Qiu¡¯er had appeared to be extremely strong throughout the fight. However, she wasn¡¯t the decisive factor. Her two teammates behind her were the decisive factors.

    Why was Wang Qiu¡¯er able to easily defeat her opponents even when they unleashed their fusion skill? It wasn¡¯t because her opponents weren¡¯t strong. It was because the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda was behind her to enhance her strength in all aspects, allowing her cultivation to soar to the level of a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Cao Jinxuan¡¯s Time psing Clock had also reversed their opponents¡¯ skill and created sufficient time for her. It wouldn¡¯t have been easy for Wang Qiu¡¯er to deal with the fusion skill alone, even though she was extremely strong.

    Their coordination right now wasn¡¯t the same as it was when they sparred with Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters earlier. Whether it was their individual fighting strength or team fighting strength, they were much better than before. They were like aplete unit now, and Wang Qiu¡¯er was the core of their unit.

    Huo Yuhao was very familiar with those from Shrek. Whether it was Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, or Ning Tian, they were all talents in the younger generation. However, they possessed a very defining trait of a talent: arrogance! However, it seemed like they had retracted a little bit of their arrogance. It was almost impossible to spot that arrogance anymore. It was also precisely because of this that they coulde together as a unit.

    It was also why Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression had turned serious.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of Wang Qiu¡¯er, he knew that she would give her best if they met in the tournament. They were bound topete against one another in terms of their abilities. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very willing to meet them in the tournament. His team was both familiar with them, and they were very strong. Before Bei Bei recovered, he was even more unwilling to meet Shrek¡¯s team!

 Chapter 285.2: Team Shreks Improvement

    The first fight of the second elimination round ended. Although Shrek Academy didn¡¯t win by andslide, they still demonstrated their strength. This was especially true for Wang Qiu¡¯er. Her performance in the team round caused all the other team leaders to turn dismal. Of course, the expressions of the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s members couldn¡¯t be seen, since they concealed their faces.

    The tournament continued, and the next few fights were very intense. In order to qualify, every team gave their best. There were many casualties in this second elimination round. The bloody smelling off the stage also grew stronger and stronger.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return,¡± Huo Yuhao said to his teammates after looking up at the sky.

    ¡°You are not watching anymore?¡± Xu Sanshi was a little stunned as he nced at Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve seen what we need to. There¡¯s nothing much left to see. No matter who our opponents are, we¡¯ll have to give our all, right? Let¡¯s return to rest.¡± As he spoke, he gestured for Wang Dong¡¯er to push his wheelchair.

    Although Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the oldest among them, he was the stand-in team leader since Bei Bei wasn¡¯t around. No one questioned his words. Everyone stood up and left the venue silently, returning to the Ming Yue Hotel.

    They werepeting tomorrow. Their opponents weren¡¯t well-known, and were from a sect too. They didn¡¯t have any information regarding this sect, and they didn¡¯t notice this sect in the first elimination round either. However, that didn¡¯t mean that their opponents were lousy.

    ------

    After returning to the hotel, Huo Yuhao called his teammates to his room.

    In the the tournament, they had had a meeting room they could use. However, they had to make do with this for this round.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk about tomorrow¡¯s strategy briefly,¡± Huo Yuhao began.

    Xu Sanshiughed, ¡°Are you nning topete first and continue all the way until the end?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head as he smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s different from the previous round. There were manypeting teams then, and we had sufficient time to rest. From this round onwards, the time between each sessive round will be shorter. We must try our best to conserve our fighting strength. After all, we don¡¯t have many substitutes. In fact, we should learn from Shrek¡¯s strategy today. None of them depleted too much of their energy, but they still fought to warm up their bodies. They kept themselves in their best physical condition for the team round. Tomorrow, we shall follow their strategy. Third senior, you¡¯ll fight first tomorrow. What do you think about this arrangement?¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes brightened, and he said, ¡°Great idea! However, don¡¯t you want us to conceal our true abilities?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°You only have two opponents to defeat before you concede defeat. Are you really going to reveal your trump card in those two fights?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Xu Sanshi said proudly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°That¡¯s great! Second senior, you¡¯ll be the second topete. You¡¯ll fight two of them also. Xiao Xiao, you¡¯ll be the third to fight. You¡¯ll only need to fight one. Fourth senior, you¡¯ll fight one person only too. Dong¡¯er will best, and she¡¯ll take care of thest person.¡±

    Na Na looked a little pitifully at Huo Yuhao. After hearing that she had no role, she lowered her head.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Na Na, haven¡¯t you realized that we¡¯ll have to lose a few fights in the individual elimination round with such an arrangement? The final fight will be in the team round. You¡¯ll have your chance then. In the team round, I¡¯ll have to rely on everyone else. I¡¯ll only be the main controller of the team.¡±

    Na Na lifted her head again and subconsciously said, ¡°Master, I have no objections to any of your arrangements.¡±

    After hearing the word ¡°Master¡±, everyone¡¯s expressions turned a little weird.

    Huo Yuhao also felt very helpless. He had corrected her many times, and struggled to get her to call him by his name. However, there were times when she wasn¡¯t careful, and still called him Master. Na Na didn¡¯t find anything wrong with this, since she was very grateful to Huo Yuhao. Not only did Huo Yuhao save her parents¡¯ souls, but he also gave her a new life! He was her benefactor!

    Huo Yuhao coughed and said, ¡°Seniors, please return to rest. Na Na, stay behind.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stood up and patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. He shot him a weird look and softly said, ¡°Yuhao! You must control yourself since you¡¯re already in this state!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er could hear him clearly even though he was trying to speak softly.

    Besidesughing bitterly, what else could Huo Yuhao do? Everyone else left, but they wore weird smiles on their faces.

    Only Wang Dong didn¡¯t smile. She walked to one side and poured a ss of water for Na Na.

    ¡°Thank you, Mistress.¡± Na Na received the ss respectfully.

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt very helpless too, ¡°Sister Na Na, please don¡¯t call me that. I can¡¯t take it. We are senior and junior from the same sect. Yuhao has helped you before, but everything¡¯s already in the past. Don¡¯t tell me that you won¡¯t help us when we are in trouble? Don¡¯t be too bothered¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Na Na acknowledged her words naturally, but it was evident that she didn¡¯t take them in.

    Huo Yuhao knew that there was no point trying to convince her. He didn¡¯t bother doing so. ¡°Na Na, how¡¯s your progress on the matter that I wanted you to investigate?¡±

    Na Na turned serious, and a look of fear shed across her eyes. She nodded gently and replied, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s them, I¡¯m sure of it! I wouldn¡¯t forget their aura even if I turned to ashes. It¡¯s them! It must be them!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Right. You¡¯ve verified my guess. The Holy Ghost Sect is the Holy Ghost Church. Don¡¯t be afraid, everyone will protect you as long as you remain with us. What about the other thing? How¡¯s the contact?¡±

    Na Na said, ¡°I went to three ck markets, and only the biggest one says that there are goods avable. However, the details have to be discussed. Furthermore, their asking price is very high, and they are difficult to deal with.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay if the price is high, as long as the goods are avable. Before the war starts, we must prepare. Continue to maintain contact with them and bargain. After that, set a time to meet. I¡¯ll meet them. Let¡¯s do it this way; continue to contact them a further three times and let them sense our sincerity. After that, purchase some samples.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Na Na acknowledged his words.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You should return to rest, too. Take care of your safety when you are alone at night. If you can¡¯t handle it, ask for help from Sister Ziyan or Brother Ji. After all, they are people who can¡¯t handle loneliness.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Na Na regarded herself as Huo Yuhao¡¯s servant. After acknowledging his words, she turned around and left.

    She closed the door behind her after she left. Wang Dong¡¯er asked curiously, ¡°Who did you ask Na Na to contact? Why don¡¯t I know about it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Have you forgotten that my spiritual power has reached the concrete-immaterial realm? I instructed her a few days ago. Since we are here at the Sun Moon Empire, we can¡¯t leave empty-handed. We¡¯ve found some big clients.

    ¡°At the same time, we are going to purchase some goods.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was intelligent. She immediately thought of something, and asked, ¡°Rare metals? You asked Na Na to search for rare metals for sale on the market?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°My love, you are really intelligent. Come here, I¡¯ll reward you with a kiss.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned red, and she said, ¡°Stop fooling around. Let¡¯s get back to proper business first.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Since you¡¯ve agreed, I¡¯ll wait until we are done with proper business first.¡± Huo Yuhao said with a serious look on his face.

    ¡°Since when did I agree?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked in embarrassment.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°You said that we should get back to proper business first. Naturally, that means that we¡¯ll get to improper business after that.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to proper business. You¡¯re right. I want to buy some rare metals.¡±

    Seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s serious face, Wang Dong¡¯er snapped as she pulled his hand toward her. She bit the back of his hand. However, she bit very gently. This was evident from how Huo Yuhao enjoyed her bite.

    ¡°Can you buy rare metals in the Sun Moon Empire? They¡¯re war resources now.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked doubtfully after she finished biting him.

    Huo Yuhao smiled gently and asked, ¡°Why not? As long as you have the money, nothing is impossible. It¡¯s because rare metals are considered war resources that they¡¯re very expensive. But this also means that selling them is very profitable. Some people will be interested in such profits. Furthermore, they are bound to be authoritative figures. This time, our two clients have epted very expensive deposits. Gold soul coins are only useless, expensive metals. What we need are rare metals that can be continuously converted into wealth. Storing metals is better than storing money. That¡¯s why I n to purchase rare metals. Before we left, eldest senior brought all our liquidated money. That includes the funds we gained by selling the Zhuge Divine Crossbow to the academy. Along with the payments that Princess Jiuju and Princess Wei Na gave us, the money that we have is quite substantial!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little worried, ¡°However, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be very troublesome to purchase rare metals here. What if we don¡¯t get the goods even after paying up? Even if we get the goods, can we return safely?¡±

    Huo Yuhao patted her hand and said, ¡°There¡¯ll always be a solution. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We are done with proper business.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er naturally stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my clothes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t let her go just like this. He pulled with her right hand, and shended on his thigh.

    She didn¡¯t struggle, and only buried her embarrassed head in his arms. She didn¡¯t struggle because she was afraid of hurting him. After all, only his right arm out of his four limbs could move!

    ¡°My love, just a while, alright?¡±

 Chapter 285.3: Team Shreks Improvement

    Ten minutester¡­

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it would only be a light kiss?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it a kiss after I¡¯m satisfied.¡±

    ¡°When will you be satisfied?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m unsure of that¡­¡±

    ------

    After the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament entered its second elimination round, it became more and more intense. The remaining eighty-four teams went all-out against one another. After the first day of the second elimination round, twenty-one teams had already sessfully qualified for the next round. After this sessful qualification, they already had one foot in the round-robin stage.

    That was because forty-two teams would emerge after this second elimination round. Although the next round was still an elimination round, the bottom twenty-one teams had topete with one another in terms of points so that the best ten teams out of these twenty-one teams could be selected for the next round-robin stage. It was already very prestigious for a team to enter the round-robin stage, as it wasn¡¯t an easy feat!

    ------

    The second day of the second elimination round...

    The Tang Sect¡¯s fight was arranged for the afternoon. They didn¡¯t go to the tournament venue in the morning, instead remaining in the hotel to rest. Bei Bei¡¯s injuries seemed to rpse and be more serious. This also cast a shadow on the Tang Sect¡¯s match.

    After eating lunch, they rested for a while, and then embarked on their journey to the venue as it came closer to the time of their fight.

    The resting area was much less crowded, and it no longer felt packed. But the number of spectators continued to rise. Thesest few days of intensepetition had left them more and more excited.

    Huo Yuhao had set their strategy yesterday, and thus he had nothing to tell them today. In the VIP resting area, his attention was drawn to the other teams that were in the area with them. He was surprised to find that he couldn¡¯t ascertain which team was representing the Body Sect.

    The team that he had been monitoring had been eliminated yesterday morning. With the Body Sect¡¯s abilities, it wasn¡¯t possible for them to make such a low-level mistake, so he had to search for a new target to monitor.

    The Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team weren¡¯t there in the afternoon. They hadpeted in the morning, and had already advanced to the next round. Although no one from the Tang Sect watched their fight, they could roughly guess that it didn¡¯tst too long.

    In contrast, Shrek¡¯s team came to the VIP resting area to watch the fights even though they had already qualified for the next round. Undoubtedly, they were here to watch the Tang Sect¡¯s fight.

    Huo Yuhao could sense Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s cold and level gaze looking at him when she sat down.

    He smiled and nodded at her. However, he was greeted by a cold expression. He couldn¡¯t help but touch his nose, feeling that he had been sharply rebuffed by her.

    On the other hand, Wu Feng, Dai Huabin, and the others were watching the Tang Sect very closely. Their expressions weren¡¯t very friendly. It was easy to see their intensepetitive spirit from the look in their eyes.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly. Is there a need for this? We are all from the same academy.

    He was in a good state right now. Of course, he hadn¡¯t forgotten the deep hatred that he concealed in his heart.

    The Holy Ghost Sect didn¡¯te. Huo Yuhao sat where he was and rested his eyes. He circted his Mysterious Heaven Technique and fused with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body. Even though he could only strip off some of the origin energy, it was still better than nothing. Such a continuous fusion was also the safest and most stable method.

    It was finally the Tang Sect¡¯s turn topete after the fourth fight in the afternoon had concluded.

    ¡°Tang Sect versus the Ironsword Sect. Competing members from both teams, please enter the waiting area. The firstpeting member from each team, please enter the stage.¡±

    Everyone from the Tang Sect stood up as the referee called for them. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao in front of everyone and entered the waiting area with the rest.

    Even though Huo Yuhao had defeated all his opponents on his own in the previous round, the Tang Sect was still an unknown sect. The attention they received wasn¡¯t much. The deepest impression the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens had of the Tang Sect was probably Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair.

    Xu Sanshi leapt up and ascended the stage, walking briskly to the center.

    Ironsword Sect. This was an extremely unfamiliar name to the Tang Sect, but they definitely possessed some quality if they were able to pass the first elimination round.

    The firstpeting member from the Ironsword Sect was a youngdy. She had a slender figure and a refreshing appearance. Her long ck hair drooped behind her back. Her charm wasn¡¯t lost amid her beauty and gentleness.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes widened as he saw that his opponent was ady. He subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

    Beneath the stage, Huo Yuhao muttered, ¡°Did this Ironsword Sect research us? How did they know that the best way to deal with third senior was by sending a beautifuldy to fight him?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Jiang Nannan¡¯s cold voice caused Huo Yuhao to shudder. He quickly shut his mouth and prayed as hard as he could for Xu Sanshi.

    After a brief moment, Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression regained its normalcy. He walked to the center of the stage. Before the referee even said anything, he reached his hand over and said, ¡°Beautifuldy, how are you? I¡¯m Xu Sanshi from the Tang Sect. I¡¯m usually called, usually called¡­¡±

    He wanted to tell her about some mighty nickname that he had, but he was as speechless as he usually was when he saw ady.

    Thisdy didn¡¯t expect her opponent to be like this. Seeing his awkward look, she couldn¡¯t help butugh. In terms of looks, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had different styles. However, they were both handsome.

    Thedy reached out with her right hand to shake his hand and said gently, ¡°What are you usually called? I¡¯m Wang Chengxi from the Ironsword Sect. Please have mercy on me, senior.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was still aware that Jiang Nannan was here, and so didn¡¯t grab her hand tightly. However, his face was still filled with a grin. ¡°Of course, of course I¡¯ll have mercy on you. What do you think I should be called? Hmm, let me think. Eternal Defense? What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Eternal Defense?¡± Wang Chengxi was stunned, but she revealed a smile after that, ¡°Great! It sounds impressive.¡±

    ¡°Are the two of you stillpeting?¡± The referee shouted, as he felt that the two of them didn¡¯t care about his presence. He took a step forward and separated them. After that, he skipped the exnation of the rules and pointed to the two sides of the stage.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see youter.¡± Xu Sanshi made a sneaky gesture at Wang Chengxi. He used his right hand to sweep his medium-length hair before turning around suavely.

    Wang Chengxi was still wearing a smile on her face. She was apologetic as she nodded at the referee. After that, she turned around and walked towards her end of the stage.

    Xu Sanshi felt his body turning rigid as he walked towards his side of the stage. He immediately turned in the direction of the cold intent that was being projected towards him. He saw a pair of big, beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Oh shit¡­ I got too immersed!¡± Xu Sanshi shuddered. As he walked to his side of the stage, his expression turned very cool. After that, he gave Jiang Nannan a thumbs-up and softly said, ¡°I was bewitching my opponent earlier so that she would be unable to see my true self.¡±

    Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t say anything. The defensive light barrier was soundproof¡­

    Xu Sanshi turned around in a cool manner. After that, he saw the referee lifting his right hand up before swiping down.

    He stopped fantasizing and quickly rushed in Wang Chengxi¡¯s direction. Dazzling rings started to rise from his legs.

    Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, ck, ck.

    When his six soul rings rose, the spectators around started to exim.

    Six rings. He actually had six rings.

    Even the most clueless spectators knew what six soul rings represented. The abilities of a Soul Emperor!

    It was very rare to find soul masters that were Soul Emperors. Since he was on this stage, it meant that he wasn¡¯t twenty yet. For him to achieve such a cultivation at his current age, it must mean that he was a great talent and a truly strongpetitor in this tournament. A team with at least one Soul Emperor should be able to reach the quarterfinals in this tournament.

    Who would have expected the unknown Tang Sect to possess a Soul Emperor? In the previous round, the five-ringed Huo Yuhao took down seven opponents single-handedly. In this round, the Tang Sect sent a six-ringed Soul Emperor topete first. Everyone saw the Tang Sect differently now!

    Wang Chengxi hadn¡¯t expected the guy flirting with her to be a Soul Emperor. However, her smile didn¡¯t disappear. She took small steps as she advanced towards Xu Sanshi. However, no one could see the coldness in her eyes.

    As she lifted her right hand, a pitch-ck iron sword appeared in the air. Rings of light also appeared on the iron sword. There were two yellow and three purple rings. This was a rather goodbination of soul rings for an ordinary soul master. Furthermore, she was also a Soul King. However, this was nothing in the eyes of a truly strong soul master.

    The two of them got close to each other very quickly. To make amends for his mistake earlier, Xu Sanshi shouted, ¡°This is a duel between sword and shield. Come on.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle and swept it towards Wang Chengxi.

    Wang Chengxi smiled, and she stopped for a moment. After that, she jumped to one side, and her sword shed with a light. Suddenly, a streak of ck sword light was formed and shot towards Xu Sanshi¡¯s shoulder.

    Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t too bothered. His footsteps became faster, and he made a simple turn. At the same time, he pulled his shield back and blocked the sword light.

    A crisp ringing sound rang out as the sword light struck his shield.

 Chapter 286.1: The Other Tournament

    Xu Sanshi leapt forward quickly and pressed his shield forward. He didn¡¯t unleash a soul skill, but instead used his dense soul power and physical strength to knock into Wang Chengxi. He was very sudden, such that Wang Chengxi was unprepared. Her sword was lifted into the air as she was pushed. From the looks of it, she was about to be struck by the shield.

    Wang Chengxi reached her left hand forward. She grabbed her sword with two hands now and pressed it against the shield. She tapped into the forward momentum of the shield to lift her body into the air. Her movements were very elegant. As she exerted strength with her hands, she leapt into the air. At the same time as she passed Xu Sanshi, she flexibly turned her body and reversed direction.

    The sword light from her sword started to shine very brightly. The sharp sword aura engulfed Xu Sanshi¡¯s body from the back.

    She pressed her sword, leaping into the air andunching a counterattack. It was an eye-opener.

    Xu Sanshi turned from the active to the passive party. However, he was very experienced, and had seen many types of situations before. He didn¡¯t panic at all. Wang Chengxi saw things blurring in front of her before Xu Sanshi miraculously used his shield to block his back. All the sword lights were deflected away, and none of them struck him.

    Those who were watching the fight intently noticed that Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield turned along with Wang Chengxi as she leapt into the air, even though he hadn¡¯t turned himself. However, it appeared very abrupt because his shield was scooped up from the bottom.

    Wang Chengxi¡¯s sword lights struck nothing again. However, her smile seemed to be wider. Her sword started to shine very brightly, and ayer of icy-blue started to engulf Xu Sanshi,ing from the third light ring that lit up on the sword.

    The icy-blue glow quickly engulfed Xu Sanshi. At the same time, a ck glow started to spread from the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. It spread out like exhaust gas, dispelling the icy-blue glow. Wang Chengxi was also engulfed by this exhaust gas.

    It was Xu Sanshi¡¯s first soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    The difference this soul skill had from the past was that it now seemed to have its own intelligence. The strongest quake wasn¡¯t unleashed at the first moment, but covered Wang Chengxi¡¯s body instantly. It was only after this that the immense force of the quake was unleashed.

    Wang Chengxi was stunned. She suddenly felt very restrained fighting against Xu Sanshi. Her outstanding fighting experience didn¡¯t seem to be useful here. Even her most confident skill had been seen through by her opponent! Xu Sanshi gave her a lot of pressure as he unleashed his soul skill.

    The fifth soul ring on her sword suddenly lit up. Wang Chengxi grabbed her sword with both hands, and her body started to squirm. She was even calling out softly, ¡°Painful!¡±

    However, who knew that Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t moved at all. The immense force from his Mysterious Underworld Quake was instantly unleashed. Not only that, but a pitch-ck glow shone from his body. The surface area of his shield doubled, and the strength of the Mysterious Underworld Quake suddenly soared.

    Thousand-year soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Force!

    A light shed from Wang Chengxi¡¯s hand. It was destroyed as a tremendous vibration struck her. Her fifth soul ring, which was on the sword, seemed to have beenpletely destroyed, and she was flung away by the strong quaking force. The lights on her sword suddenly turned much dimmer.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t follow up his attack. However, Wang Chengxi could hear him muttering, ¡°Screaming in such pain, but your soul ring is still bright. That was too hypocritical!¡±

    A pale glow was released from Wang Chengxi¡¯s body, which she used to resist the quaking force. As she supported her body with her right hand, she bounced straight back up.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to take care of girls!¡± a whining voice sounded out.

    Xu Sanshi was displeased as he said, ¡°What do you mean, I don¡¯t know how to take care of girls? I¡¯m only protecting myself. Even if I want to take care of girls, I¡¯ll need to prioritize my own life first! Am I right, beauty? Are you still attacking? If you aren¡¯t, you can leave the stage. I don¡¯t want you toin that I¡¯m not taking good care of you.¡±

    Wang Chengxi pursed her small lips and replied, ¡°You haven¡¯t won. If I leave just like this, how can I ount to my sect? Let¡¯s go again!¡±

    As she spoke, she burst towards Xu Sanshi again. This time, she seemed even more elegant, and was also much faster. Her long, ck hair danced with the wind.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t rush forward. He actually retreated one step, then lunged forward. There was a smile on his face.

    He was indeed very fond ofdies. However, they would be in trouble if they thought that he was brainless and tried to harm him.

    Wang Chengxi suddenly leapt into the air when she was five meters away from Xu Sanshi. She made a turn in the air and stabbed out towards him both hands on her sword. Her long swaying hair followed the movements of her body, appearing like a full, ck moon.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t retreat or advance. He stood where he was and focused his gaze on Wang Chengxi¡¯s body. Her fifth soul ring lit up again, and the blinding lights from her sword were very clear. A ck sword light was directly separated from her iron sword. It waspletely ck, but it released an intense silver light. Before the sword was even unleashed, its aura was already cracking the air with its sharpness.

    At the same time, Wang Chengxi¡¯s ck hair started to transform. It grew longer, and turned into ck snakes that whipped towards Xu Sanshi. Not only this, but she also lifted her head suddenly, giving Xu Sanshi a shock.

    While she had appeared very gentle and ravishing earlier, she was now very pale. Two fangs poked out from her mouth, and her eyes werepletely white. Two streaks of pale white light instantly shot from them towards Xu Sanshi. The spectators couldn¡¯t see these two streaks of light clearly, as they were masked by the snakes. They could only see Xu Sanshi¡¯s body being engulfed by countless snakes.

    Sword light, snakes, white lights! Three different attacks were unleashed at the same time!

    Xu Sanshi was astonished as he shouted, ¡°Twin martial souls?!¡± At this point, the white lights from Wang Chengxi¡¯s eyes had already shot towards him.

    Xu Sanshi squatted down and used his shield to protect his entire body. He allowed the two streaks of white light to hit his shield.

    Suddenly, he felt his shield bing heavier, as it had turned into a massive rock! Following this, the countless snakes started to converge towards him from all directions. The sword lights were already in front of him too!

    ---

    Beneath the stage, everyone from the Tang Sect couldn¡¯t help but get nervous. Wang Dong¡¯er eximed at almost the same time as Xu Sanshi, ¡°Twin martial souls?!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head, and his expression didn¡¯t really change.

    ---

    Just when everyone thought Xu Sanshi was in deep trouble, something weird happened. The air distorted, and suddenly Xu Sanshi was disced from his position, and Wang Chengxi reced him in his original position. None of her attacks managed to strike him.

    It was his fourth soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Discement! It was this skill that had created several miracles in thest tournament.

    Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t merciful anymore. A ball of ck light was unleashed from his shield, a snake on its surface. White lights shot out from its blood-red eyes, which reconverted his shield back to its original state. Following this, his shield turned into projections in the air. The snakes that came towards Xu Sanshi were once again forced away by these projections.

    Xu Sanshi followed his shield. His speed soared as he burst forward. He held the main body of his shield and was about to ram into Wang Chengxi!

    At this point, there were five more soul rings on Wang Chengxi¡¯s body. Two were yellow, two were purple and thest one was ck. The two purple soul rings were still shining brightly. As her snakes continued to burst forward, her body also turned soft like cotton. Her skin was even reced by ayer of scales. She retreated quickly.

    Her fifth soul ring also lit up again at the same time. A pale white color covered her eyes once again.

    Medusa! This was Wang Chengxi¡¯s stronger martial soul. Her fifth soul skill was called Medusa¡¯s Gaze.

    It was a pity that she was facing Xu Sanshi. His martial soul wasn¡¯t just simply his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. His shield had undergone a mutation.

    The Xuanwu was abination of a turtle and a snake, and it was the most outstanding water-type martial soul. Her Medusa¡¯s Gaze waspletely curbed by the aura of his shield. As long as it didn¡¯t directly strike Xu Sanshi, it was impossible for her to have any effect on him. Her cultivation was also inferior to his, and he wouldn¡¯t turn to stone just because she gazed at him.

    ¡°Trying to escape?¡± Xu Sanshi snorted coldly. The shield projections in the air started to converge.

    If the Heavenly Armor Sect¡¯s team hadn¡¯t left, they would have been embarrassed by how Xu Sanshi used his shield.

    The shield walls formed by Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle turned into a cage under his control, and Wang Chengxi was trapped within!

    Two streaks of blood-red light shot out from the snake¡¯s eyes on the surface of his shield. As they struck Wang Chengxi¡¯s Medusa¡¯s Gaze, they destroyed it. He was also moving forward again at this point.

    Wang Chengxi¡¯s body jerked back as she retracted all her snakes, but she then burst forward again and collided head-on with him.

    It was a pity that her abilities were still far from his. Her snakes were destroyed, and she waspletely trapped by Xu Sanshi. She groaned in discontent.

    He watched Wang Chengxi from close-range and used his shield to block off her Medusa¡¯s Gaze. Xu Sanshi shook his head in loathing and said, ¡°You look really good, but why do you have to make yourself appear so disgusting? It¡¯s a pity. I almost thought that you had twin martial souls. It seems like that isn¡¯t the case! You are quite smart, but it¡¯s a pity that you met me. Don¡¯t worry, I take good care ofdies. Concede defeat now!¡±

 Chapter 286.2: The Other Tournament

    ¡°No!¡± Wang Chengxi looked at Xu Sanshi stubbornly. She used all her soul power and struggled to escape.

    Xu Sanshi was a little helpless as he shook his head. ck lights were released again, his Mysterious Underworld Quake!

    This time, his Mysterious Underworld Quake was unleashed as his shield was in its shield wall state. The quake was directed inwards instead of out.

    By the time Xu Sanshi withdrew, Wang Chengxi had already regained her original appearence as she copsed softly to the ground.

    Xu Sanshi nodded his head in satisfaction and muttered to himself, ¡°That¡¯s right, you look much better now. You should thank me.¡±

    The referee appeared gloomy as he rushed over and heard his words. Are all young people nowadays so shameless?

    Xu Sanshi turned around in a very showy manner. He extended two fingers towards the others in the waiting area to signal his victory. After that, he suavely turned to his opponents and shouted, ¡°Next!¡±

    The referee couldn¡¯t stand him anymore, and said furiously, ¡°Why are you shouting? Do you think you are me? You are even carrying a speaker-type soul tool. Let me tell you. No one¡¯s voice except mine can be heard within this protective barrier.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xu Sanshi recalled what he had said to Jiang Nannan and was stunned. When he was just about to turn around, two people from the Ironsword Sect hurried over and carried Wang Chengxi away.

    She wasn¡¯t hurt, but she was unconscious after suffering his quake. It was unlikely that she would wake up anytime soon.

    Although Xu Sanshi loved to show himself off, it hadn¡¯t been an easy fight for him. Given that he had to conceal his true abilities, Wang Chengxi¡¯s explosive abilities had put a lot of pressure on him.

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled as she said, ¡°Oh, he¡¯s finally won. Third senior is impressive!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Third senior can¡¯t be stopped by this small wave. However, thatdy was quite scheming.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to possess twin martial souls. Otherwise, how could she bear to promote her soul rings to the same level for both martial souls? That wouldn¡¯t be very good for her future development.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Of course she doesn¡¯t have twin martial souls. They aren¡¯t thatmon.¡±

    Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t thatmon? There are already three of you who have twin martial souls among the seven of us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s because we are from Shrek! Fourth senior, third senior fought very steadily. Don¡¯t put him in a difficult spotter.¡±

    Jiang Nannan let a cold smile onto her face and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t change his bad habit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er looked at each other, and started to pray for Xu Sanshi in their hearts.

    ---

    The secondpeting member of the Ironsword Sect quickly entered the stage. It was a young man this time, who wore a furious look on his face. When he entered the stage, he immediately interrogated Xu Sanshi, ¡°What did you do to our senior?¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked at him sincerely, ¡°To prevent her from harming herself, I let her sleep. Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll wake up within a day.¡±

    The young man was stunned and said, ¡°A day? What about our team round? She¡¯s our team leader! Without her, we¡¯ll...¡±

    Xu Sanshi was shocked.¡°Brother, are you acting in front of me?¡±

    ¡°Acting? What nonsense! I¡¯ll fight it out with you!¡± The young man reacted quickly and burst towards Xu Sanshi.

    It was a pity that he was stopped by the referee in the next moment.

    The referee righteously said, ¡°Although I detest him too, you¡¯ll still need to observe the rules. Stay back.¡±

    Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t going to be merciful on this young man¡­

    There were onlydies, beauties, and small animals in his heart. There wasn¡¯t such a thing as guys. As long as they weren¡¯t his close friends, they were automatically categorized as small animals. He wouldn¡¯t be merciful to them!

    After Wang Chengxi¡¯s defeat, this young man, who was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor,sted less than two minutes before he also lost.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s fighting style was very simple. There weren¡¯t too many flowery tricks, but he managed to use his shield exaltedly, and his soul skills flexibly. To others, he used one soul skill as if he were using three. Everyone could tell that he hadn¡¯t given his all yet.

    However, he conceded defeat after he finished his second fight. He exited the stage and his teammate took over for him.

    The Ironsword Sect¡¯s prowess seemed to have mainlye from Wang Chengxi. After her defeat, it was smooth sailing for the Tang Sect, there wasn¡¯t any real resistance for them. As for the team round, it was an overwhelming victory for them as well. Among the seven of them, He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t even make a move in the team round.

    Xu Sanshi led Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Na Na as they settled the fight in the team round.

    The Tang Sect advanced, and the Ironsword Sect was eliminated.

    Wang Chengxi¡¯s physical body was quite strong, and she woke up after the team round ended. However, there wasn¡¯t any hint of a smile on the face. From the looks of it, she wasn¡¯t any less furious than Nan Qiuqiu, who had lost to the Tang Sect in the previous round.

    Nan Qiuqiu had followed the Tang Sect over to the tournament venue today. However, she remained in the resting area. She hadn¡¯t registered as a member of the Tang Sect, and thus she couldn¡¯tpete. However, she was much more honest now. She sat beside Jing Ziyan and shot clownish looks at everyone from the Tang Sect from time to time.

    Over the past few days, Nan Qiuqiu had spent time with Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen. Her hatred had shifted¡­

    The Tang Sect didn¡¯t meet any strong opponents. After the next round, they would be in the round-robin stage.

    ------

    After their fight ended, they didn¡¯t stay in the resting area. Huo Yuhao and the rest directly returned to their hotel to rest, where they also told Bei Bei about their victory.

    Bei Bei was still in a bad condition. His condition didn¡¯t seem to have improved over the past two days. His injury couldn¡¯t be healed through healing-type soul masters. His body was invaded by an evil aura, so he could only use his own soul power to dispel the evil aura. At the same time, he needed to recover his vital energy.

    Everyone returned to their rooms to rest, while Na Na left the hotel silently, continuing the mission that Huo Yuhao had delegated to her.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er returned to their room and started to cultivate. Huo Yuhao made full use of this time to absorb the origin energy in his body. It was only after night fell that a knock sounded at their door.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was jolted awake by the sounds of knocking on the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Na Na¡¯s voice came back quietly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er crawled out of the bed and walked towards the door before opening it

    Na Na was apologetic as she said, ¡°Mis¡­ Dong¡¯er, sorry for disturbing the both of you at such ate time. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rose. ¡°Dong¡¯er, let her in.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er brought Na Na into the room. Huo Yuhao had already ended his cultivation, and he was sitting by his bedside. His lower limbs still couldn¡¯t move. Even when he was seated, he could only rely on his right hand to shift himself. At this point, he grabbed onto the bed and tried to turn around.

    ¡°Was there any progress?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Na Na.

    She replied, ¡°Master, things aren¡¯t going too well. I¡¯ve contacted some of the ck market sellers over these few days. They aren¡¯t that willing to sell to us. They im that their production is too little and the metals that we want are too precious.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°Is it because of money, or some other reason?¡±

    Na Na said, ¡°I asked, and heard that they are exploiting this tournament to organize an underground tournament. The rewards of this tournament are very substantial. As rare metals are a very important hard currency in the underground world, they are being used as stakes. It will be very difficult for us to buy any of them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was doubtful, ¡°They are organizing their own tournament even as they bet? Isn¡¯t the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament enough for them?¡±

    Na Na said, ¡°Master, there are some things you don¡¯t know. The Sun Moon Empire has a very strictw that prohibits anyone from betting on this tournament. No one is allowed, no matter whether it¡¯s on the surface or in the ck market. Otherwise, punishment will be meted out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned and asked, ¡°Why is this so? I recalled that you could do so in the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Na Na replied, ¡°I heard that the current Prince Regent detests gambling. That¡¯s why the underground ck market has no choice but to organize its own tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Where do they find people topete if everyone¡¯s in the legal tournament? Without sufficientpetitors, the tournament will be meaningless.¡±

    Na Na said, ¡°They aren¡¯t organizing a fighting tournament, but one on creating soul tools. This is the specialty of Radiant City, it doesn¡¯t happen in other empires. The only requirement is that thepetitors have to be under thirty. Soul engineers of any ss canpete. The entire tournament is purely about elimination. The rules of every round seem to be different.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought of something, and asked, ¡°Can you tell me what this tournament is like? Also, what are the rewards and gambling system with regards to this underground tournament?¡±

    Na Na had been living in Radiant City since her youth, and was very familiar with this ce. She was also very good at obtaining such news. She thoroughly recounted the details of the tournament to Huo Yuhao.

    The three biggest ck markets had decided to organize their own tournament and exploit the opportunity of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament to earn profits without angering Xu Tianran. To make it sound nice, they imed that they were furthering the development of soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The tournament wasn¡¯t very strict. The only two requirements were that the soul engineers had to be under thirty, and they had to create ss 4 soul tools in the qualifiers. If they passed, they could advance to the next round, where they could trulypete.

 Chapter 286.3: The Other Tournament

    One could bet on the qualifiers. The bet was very simple: the number of people who could pass the qualifiers. One could bet on an absolute number, or whether it would be an odd or even number of people who qualified. The returns were a few multiples, and varied depending on the selections.

    The qualifiers were being held right now. Creating soul tools wasn¡¯t as quick as a fight, so the soul engineers were given three days for the first round. The future rounds in the tournament would also be elimination rounds, but the topic for each round would change.

    The three ck markets even specially invited a member of the imperial family, a powerful ss 9 soul engineer, to be the chief referee. Twelve ss 7 and above soul engineers were also chosen to be the refereemittee in this tournament, so as to ensure the fairness of the tournament and betting system.

    The things they had to do were simple. They wanted to draw in the ordinary citizens, nobles, and wealthy individuals who wanted to gamble by exploiting the hype of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Their aim was to make as much profit as possible.

    So far, they had been very sessful in this aspect. More than a hundred thousand people had bet in their tournament already, and the amount of money involved was undoubtedly very great.

    To draw sufficient numbers of outstanding soul engineers topete, the rewards of the tournament were all rare metals.

    From the first round, those who qualified for the next round would be rewarded. This even applied to the qualifiers. As the rounds progressed, the rewards would increase.

    Soul engineers could ignore money, but they had to have rare metals. They could create soul tools to earn money, but rare metals might not be avable even if one had money. This was especially true in this tournament, since the rare metals were all being used as rewards for thepetitors.

    There was evenpetition between the three ck markets. That was why there were threepeting venues for the tournament. The winners in each venue wouldpete against one another. When that happened, the wager between the three ck markets would also involve rare metals.

    All this was why Na Na couldn¡¯t obtain any rare metals even though she was willing to offer a high price.

    After listening to Na Na, Huo Yuhao sank deep into thought. He asked, ¡°Na Na, are there any requirements to register for this tournament?¡±

    Na Na shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. One cannot be above thirty years old, and must be confident inpeting in the qualifiers. Finally, there¡¯s a registration fee of a hundred gold soul coins.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression changed, and she said, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking ofpeting. No, it¡¯s too dangerous! This is Radiant City! There are also many powerful soul engineers there.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Won¡¯t it be a pity if I don¡¯tpete since the rewards are so good? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take any risks. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s safe since they dare to organize such a tournament. Thepetitors are all soul engineers, the group of people with the greatest authority in the Sun Moon Empire. If they dare to do anything in the tournament, will the soul engineers tolerate such behavior? Definitely not! That¡¯s why we don¡¯t have to worry about the safety aspect. Furthermore, I won¡¯tpete using my true identity. Your disguise and my Imitation will make it easy for me to scam everyone, won¡¯t it?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er furrowed her brow. ¡°But we still have the tournament!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The underground tournament is mainly held at night. It won¡¯t affect anything. Dong¡¯er, I mustpete in this tournament for the development of the sect. Gambling is a good opportunity for us, but I won¡¯t be assured if I¡¯m cing a bet on someone else. I¡¯m a soul engineer, and this is a good opportunity to test my abilities. At the same time, I can learn a lot of things from others in the same line. I¡¯ll get second senior to follow me.¡±

    He paused for a moment and turned very serious, ¡°Dong¡¯er, the official tournament will help to build the Tang Sect¡¯s reputation, while the underground tournament will help to build the Tang Sect¡¯s future. They are both important!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought for a moment before saying, ¡°You can go if you want, but on two conditions. First, you must seek eldest senior¡¯s approval. Second, I must follow you. However, are you really going topete? Hasn¡¯t it begun already?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Na Na mentioned that there¡¯s still one day left in the qualifiers. It¡¯s not toote. I agree to your conditions. Let¡¯s go and find eldest senior before registering for this tournament!¡±

    At such a time, he was very quick and decisive. Purchasing rare metals was one of his most important goals foring here. It took on a significant meaning for the Tang Sect¡¯s future development and his own improvement in his soul engineering abilities.

    Huo Yuhao asked Wang Dong¡¯er to push him to He Caitou¡¯s room before they went to Bei Bei¡¯s room.

    ------

    An hourter...

    The sky had already turned dark. Perhaps everyone¡¯s energy was depleted because of the tournament in the day, but the night seemed very quiet. There were very few people roaming the streets, and most people had already retired to bed.

    At a street corner around three hundred meters from the Ming Yue Hotel, the light seemed to distort at a pitch-ck corner. Following this, four figures surfaced.

    Huo Yuhao was still in his wheelchair, but his wheelchair was covered by a ck cloth, and his appearance had changed greatly. Compared to before, he was much more handsome, and there were many changes to small details. Even if there were familiar faces around him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him unless they could deduce his identity using the wheelchair he was in.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still dressed like a man. Her appearance was very cold and tough, and she also looked much more ordinary. On the whole, she seemed like an extremely normal and aloof young man.

    The greatest change in He Caitou was his hair. He was wearing a brown wig that helped to cover his bright and shiny bald head. His wig reached his shoulders, and there was a ck mask on his face. Hisplexion was also paler. Along with a thick, ck robe, he seemed very mysterious.

    Na Na¡¯s transformation was the simplest. She put on makeup to look like a maid. Her simple transformation made her look very pitiful. She stood beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair, her deference towards him didn¡¯t need to be faked.

    He Caitou was impressed. ¡°Junior, your Imitation is getting stronger and stronger. We werepletely unrecognizable just now as we left the hotel. No one will suspect us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Second senior, let¡¯s refer to ourselves differently from now on. I¡¯m in a wheelchair, so I¡¯ll have no choice but to take advantage of all of you. We are brothers now, and I¡¯ll call you big brother. You can call me second brother. Dong¡¯er and Na Na are my servants. They¡¯ll call me Master. I¡¯ll call the two of them Little Dong and Little Na.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped and said, ¡°You are intentionally taking advantage of us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°No! Isn¡¯t that just logical? Call me Master.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pursed her lips as she saw his sly look. She snorted, and her voice turned very manly as she said softly, ¡°Mas¡­ Master¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°Be more natural. Come on, one more time.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her hands, as if she wanted to do something. However, she couldn¡¯t bear toy her hands on him seeing that he was in a wheelchair. She turned her head and ignored him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. It isn¡¯t early anymore. Let¡¯s follow the n.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was pushing his wheelchair while Na Na followed to one side, He Caitou walked on the other. The four of them proceeded towards the center of the city as they took advantage of the darkness.

    ------

    There was an underground world everywhere. Whether it was the Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling, Star Luo or Sun Moon Empire, it was all the same. There were many types of underground worlds. The lowest level involved sex, murder, and human trafficking. The higher-ss ones involved arms trafficking, underground political trades, and the sale of rare resources. Whether it was the lowest level underground worlds or the higher-ss ones, they were all controlled by powerful figures. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be any way for them to survive.

    In Radiant City¡¯s Underground World, there were three main organizations. They were the Duskwater Alliance, the Common Alliance, and the Alto Chamber of Commerce.

    The Common Alliance controlled the sex industry in Radiant City, and was probably the shallowest underground power. The Alto Chamber of Commerce controlled assassin and thieves¡¯ associations, as well as some evil powers. They made a living by collecting protection fees andmitting murders and theft, as well as through other illegal means.

    The Duskwater Alliance was more advanced. They sold the most profitable medicines and arms, and trafficked people.

    The Common Alliance and Alto Chamber of Commerce shared a very close rtionship, teaming up together to oppose the Duskwater Alliance. However, they weren¡¯t as well-backed as the Duskwater Alliance. They weren¡¯t very interactive either, and only ensured a peaceful working rtionship through agreements between their backers.

    All three underground organizations were involved in the sale of rare metals. After all, it was a very profitable trade. As long as they were given ess to mining channels, they could obtain rare metals at a low cost. However, these rare metals were in very high demand, and helped them make the most profits.

    For example, there was a rare metal called Soulforging Silver. It could fuse with any type of metal and increase its affinity towards a soul master¡¯s soul power. At the same time, it increased the tensile strength and hardness of the metals it was fused with. It was used in almost all advanced soul tools.

    It was only produced in the Sun Moon Empire, and was produced in average quantities. Around five hundred gold soul coins were needed to mine one kilo of it, but on the market, it was worth around a hundred gold soul coins per hundred grams. This was a two hundred percent profit if it was sold! How could anyone not go crazy over it? Even with the great exploitation of the mining channels, the profits were still very great.

    The profits that could be reaped from Soulforging Silver were only considered average among rare metals. The prices of rarer metals were even more unbelievable!

 Chapter 287: The Newbies Compete

    Such enormous profits were too alluring, and the influence of Radiant City¡¯s three main underground organizations¡¯ reached every corner of the country, so it was natural that they could reap the rewards. Every year gave them immeasurable profits, and this was even under the circumstances where the country monopolized the industry, while ruling rare metals as strategic resources. The country had even prohibited exports!

    The three underground organizations named thispetition the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineer Tournament, and it piggybacked on the reputation of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao decided to choose the strongest underground organization out of the three, because this organization was also being discreetly marginalized and mped down on by the other two: the Duskwater Alliance. He was the only one who knew the rationale behind his decision.

    The Duskwater Alliance¡¯s preliminary rounds were designated to be carried out at a luxurious hotel in the city center. One of the reasons this ce was picked was because this hotel was not far from the Brilliant Delight Hotel, so the participants wouldn¡¯t have to travel too far away. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t that mobile after all, and a long journey would be a burden on him. He couldn¡¯t just let Wang Dong¡¯er push him around inside the city¡­

    The Green Hotel had a unique and characteristic name. It was a little more than a kilometer away from the Brilliant Delight Hotel, and was but two kilometers away from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce, located in a very prime and profitable location. However, people often mispronounced its name, and so people easily misunderstood this ce as the Romantic Love Hotel¡­ and yet, it was because of this fact that it became quite well-known. This property belonged to the Duskwater Alliance, but nobody knew if the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s headquarters were also located here.

    The Green Hotel was built on a smaller scale than the Brilliant Delight Hotel. There were only five levels above the ground, but those who were familiar with this hotel understood that its true substance was beneath the ground!

    ---

    There were four muscr men d in ck warrior robes standing outside the hotel¡¯s main door. They were all more than two meters tall, and they surveyed the throngs of people walking by with ice-cold eyes.

    Huo Yuhao and his group hadn¡¯t evene near when one of them stepped up and blocked their path.

    ¡°The hotel isn¡¯t open for business today. Please leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still sitting in the wheelchair. He smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re here to participate in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineer Tournament.¡±

    The man in ck was stunned for a moment, but his expression then became a little gentler. Soul engineers were held in high regard within the Sun Moon Empirepared to other empires, and offending a soul engineer wasn¡¯t a smart choice even if the other party had a modest rank.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, soul engineer. The preliminary rounds have already begun, and they¡¯re about to end soon. You¡¯re toote.¡± The man in ck spoke with a look of regret on his face, but his expression contained a little more respect than before. Perhaps his change of attitude was also because the mysterious aura from He Caitou affected his state of mind.

    Huo Yuhao also seemed a little rueful. ¡°That¡¯s a pity. I originally believed that I could represent the Duskwater Alliance to participate in the final round, and perhaps help you guys im the championship. How about this? I¡¯ll use a hundred thousand golden soul coins, and I¡¯ll wager that I can pass the preliminary rounds today. There isn¡¯t much time left anyway, so you guys will win arge sum of money even if I don¡¯t. But if I do, it also means that the Duskwater Alliance will have another rtively outstanding soul engineer to participate in the final round. This is a win-win situation for you guys, am I right?¡±

    The man in ck was slightly taken aback. ¡°A hundred thousand golden soul coins,,, are you sure?¡± This underground wagering business wasn¡¯t a secret. The underground organizations wouldn¡¯t be able to host apetition asrge as this without implicit approval from the authorities. Therefore, the man in ck didn¡¯t dodge the question, but he was still astounded by the sum that Huo Yuhao had just quoted. Even aristocratic families were rarely able to quote sums like that, and this guy was betting on himself. Was he not afraid that the Duskwater Alliance would y some dirty tricks to win his money?

    Huo Yuhao nodded seriously and said, ¡°I believe that the Duskwater Alliance will be just. If you can¡¯t make this decision, please bring it to your superiors.¡±

    ¡°Please wait here.¡± The man in ck seemed even more respectful than before. He bowed to Huo Yuhao courteously before he walked briskly back to the Green Hotel¡¯s main door and said something to hispanions before swiftly entering the hotel.

    It didn¡¯t take long before a middle-aged man dressed in a long and elegant white gown stepped out from the Green Hotel¡¯s main door. He immediately saw Huo Yuhao, and he took a few quick steps forward before he smiled radiantly and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my subordinates are too immature. Please follow me, my honored guests.¡± He made a gesture to invite them into the hotel as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was a little surprised at how candid this person was. He nodded in acknowledgement before Wang Dong¡¯er pushed him into the Green Hotel.

    The Green Hotel was quite rustic, indeed. Itsyout was extremely simple, and there was no way one could tell from its appearance that this ce was the number-one location that symbolized the underground organizations¡¯ influence. Furthermore, this was also one of the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s important strongholds!

    The hotel¡¯syout felt smooth and sleek. There were white porcin decorations and ornaments everywhere, and even the flooring and the walls were made of white porcin. White and red were the main colors.

    Wang Dong¡¯er surveyed her surroundings as she pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair. She thought to herself, Are those red decorations foreshadowing fresh blood? What does all this white porcin signify? Fresh blood amongst all the pure whiteness?

    The middle-aged man stopped walking once they entered the hotel and said, ¡°My valued guests, may I know who the one that¡¯s going to participate in thepetition is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°My big brother and I will both join thepetition.¡± He pointed at He Caitou beside him as he spoke.

    The middle-aged man nodded his head and said, ¡°How do I address the two of you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°My big brother is called Tang Si, and I am called Tang Wu.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes sparkled. He could obviously tell that the two of them were patronizing him, and that these definitely weren¡¯t their real names.

    However, he didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯te up with these names at random. The Tang Sect¡¯s original ancestor was named Tang San, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t coin an identical name for himself. Therefore, he came up with Tang Si and Tang Wu.

    The man didn¡¯t pursue the matter any further. Many soul engineers had their own preferences and reservations, and many people were still rtively cautious. Since they were participating in an undergroundpetition, there were quite a few contestants who used fake names. These underground organizations also definitely didn¡¯t keep their hold on these soul engineers based on their names. It was important for these organizations not to probe into these soul engineers¡¯ private information, as these organizations could only keep them here if they provided benefits.

    ¡°Thepetition has already been underway for quite some time, and will end soon. Time is of the essence. Why don¡¯t the two of you verify that you guys are soul engineers first, and I will immediately arrange your entries into thepetition. Also, about the wager that you just mentioned¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand, and Wang Dong¡¯er passed a dark-golden card forward from behind him.

    ¡°This is the Auspicious Gold Bank¡¯s ck gold VIP card that can be used across the Continent. Xiao Na, follow this mister afterwards to ce our bet.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke inly as he raised his right hand, and the middle-aged man saw a sh before his eyes before a short dagger appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand. A white beam of light shot up as a razor-sharp sword aura soared into the air and howled shrilly at the sky.

    He Caitou¡¯s method was even simpler. He raised his hand and unleashed an enormous soul cannon, which he pointed at the middle-aged man.

    Cold sweat erupted from the man¡¯s forehead, and he hurriedly said, ¡°Calm down, guys. You have been verified,pletely verified!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Since you said that we are tight on time, then bring us there as quickly as you can.¡± He gradually withdrew his White Tiger Dagger as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao always carried around the only item that his mother had left him. He was no longer the immature youth that he had been, and he had done some research and investigation into his White Tiger Dagger. He realized that his White Tiger Dagger was a ss 5 closebat soul tool, and it possessed a soul skill called Devour. As long as his opponent¡¯s attack didn¡¯t exceed his White Tiger Dagger¡¯s absorption limits, the dagger could consume the attack and convert it into its own power, which would be released in the next attack.

    Back when he had first entered the Great Star Dou Forest all those years ago, he relied on the White Tiger Dagger¡¯s special characteristics to survive after he was ambushed by that ten-year soul beast.

    The manager wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he escorted Huo Yuhao and the others to some soul elevators in the hotel¡¯s inner regions. He used a soul transmitter to pass a few messages before he directed the four of them into a lift.

    The lift went all the way down, and stopped after about ten seconds. When the lift¡¯s doors opened again, a cacophony of noise could be heard, along with a strong smell of paper and metal that wafted into their faces.

    This scene was drastically different from the main lobby¡¯s simplicity. The shiny magnificence of the hotel¡¯s underground world dazzled everyone. Everything was golden, even the mirrors! It felt as if this underground world was made entirely from gold...

    The manager led them out of the elevator, and they crossed an extravagant circr hall before they entering through a door right in front of them.

    There were two guards standing by the door, who immediately opened therge door when they saw the manager.

    It felt like they had entered another world once they stepped inside. There wasn¡¯t as much light in this ce, and what light there was seemed a lot gentler. However, the sheer size of this ce caused Huo Yuhao to react in astonishment.

    They were inside a circr domed hall, where the hall¡¯s ceiling seemed to be made of uncountable golden lines that were orderly and rhythmically intertwined together. The enormous dome provided enough light for the spacious hall, and rows of seats extended neatly down the aisle, while there were spiraling esctors that led upwards around the seats. There was a circr room hovering at the end of every flight of soul esctors, and there was no way to tell with the naked eye how those rooms were just levitating in midair.

    There were eight sets of these soul esctors and hovering rooms, and forming a circle about the ce.

    There was a circr tform in the center of the hall at least thirty meters in diameter. It wasn¡¯t as spacious as the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯spetition stage, but it was spectacr enough. This was part of the underground world, after all!

    There were numerous metal desks on the stage at the moment, and light flickered from time to time. There were several metal desks around the circr tform, and more than a hundred metal desks on the central tform. Some metal desks were already empty.

    There were row after row of sapphire velvet chairs around thepetition stage, and they were packed with people. However, they were all extremely quiet, and they were intently watching the people hard at work at the metal desks. A conservative estimate would ce the number of people in the audience at more than two thousand, and one could tell from their clothes and their essories that they were all rtively well-to-do.

    Huo Yuhao had discovered from Na Na that only the whales who had wagered more than ten thousand golden soul coins could watch the contest in person. The other normal citizens who had also ced bets could only watch from these underground organizations¡¯ outer betting spots.

    This was just one of thepetition¡¯s multiple regions, and there were already several hundred soul engineers below the age of thirty who were participating in the contest. The ck market¡¯s great contest was alluring indeed!

    ¡°Excuse me, how many people from the Duskwater Alliance are participating in thepetition?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the manager, who was leading the way.

    The middle-aged man replied respectfully, ¡°We have a total of two hundred and sixty-four soul engineers participating in thepetition. We will have two hundred and sixty-six if we include the two of you. Some of these soul engineers have alreadypleted their projects. Today¡¯s contest is only the qualifying round, so we only require participants to craft a ss 3 soul tool in order to pass the assessment. Of course, you have to finish the project within a certain period of time. Look there, every soul engineer¡¯s desk has an hourss. However, only half of the hourss is remaining for thest few soul engineers who joined the contest, and that means you only have about an hour left. I wonder if the two of you will have enough time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, and the corner of his mouth flowed with subtle confidence and pride. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± He was roleying as another person and not himself, so he began to make adjustments to his demeanor and his emotions from this moment onwards.

    ¡°Alright, then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What is this ce used for normally? An auction?¡±

    A wary look shed across the mnager¡¯s eyes. ¡°Have you guys never been to our Golden Hall?¡±

    Huo Yuhao curled the corner of his lip apathetically and said, ¡°Of course not. My family is so rich that¡­¡± He paused after this, and the same wary look came over his eyes. However, the wary look in his eyes made the middle-aged man look a lot more rxed than before.

    The manager smiled faintly, and a tinge of elegance could be seen in his expression. He said confidently, ¡°That¡¯s a real pity, then. This ce is an auction, and it¡¯s thergest auction house in Radiant City. Let me tell you a secret... even people from the royal family have sent people to participate in our top-tier auction! If you have time in the future, you are very wee to participate! You will be treated like honored guests.¡±

    They arrived near the arena¡¯s center as they spoke, but someone blocked their path.

    Two people who were dressed the same way as the manager intercepted them. After some brief conversation, one of the two men that blocked their way said, ¡°The participants can enter, but everyone else has to wait outside. ce your bets immediately.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her eyebrows, but Huo Yuhao waved his hand and said, ¡°Xiao Dong, Xiao Na, the two of you can go outside. Xiao Na will ce the wager. I wonder what the odds are like today?¡±

    The manager replied inly, ¡°If you bet on the exact number of people to qualify and you get it right, you will win ten times your wager. You can also ce multiple bets, and the odds are different for every option.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was surprised. ¡°But we said before this that we were wagering on the two of us being able to qualify.¡±

    The manager said calmly, ¡°That wager is not possible, and this is but a qualifying round. However, the sum that you quoted must be wagered. Otherwise, you guys won¡¯t be allowed to enter thepetition.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily taken aback. ¡°You guys never mentioned that before.¡±

 Chapter 288.1: The Fierce Genius Soul Engineer

    The person that had blocked their path said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s not my problem that you guys arete. Time waits for no man ¨C we¡¯re getting closer and closer to the end of thepetition.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, a very warm smile. ¡°Alright then. Xiao Dong, Xiao Na, you guys can go ahead and follow his instructions. We¡¯ll make the wager. However, I hope you have the courage to stay here until the end, mister. I¡¯m a very stingy person, and you will have to pay with your life if I lose my money.¡±

    The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned. He stared at the warm smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, but for some reason, he began to feel a chill run down his spine. But the sensation onlysted for an instant, and he returned to normal as he said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re in the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s territory. If you have the ability, my life doesn¡¯t mean anything at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Very well. Show us the way.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t feel very assured, but she went ahead with Na Na to make the wager anyway. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou followed the middle-aged man that Huo Yuhao had just threatened to thepetition arena.

    They weren¡¯t qualified to participate in thepetition on stage, so they were brought to two metal desks in the outer corners that belonged to participants that had already finished their part in the contest.

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t even provide materials for crafting soul tools?¡±

    The middle-aged man had just been threatened, so he shot Huo Yuhao a dark look and said, ¡°We did have some originally, but there won¡¯t be any for you because of what you said earlier. You can find your own materials since you guys arete.¡± He turned around to leave after he finished talking, and another elderly man clothed in yellow walked over and stood behind the two of them. The other contestants were in a simr situation.

    ¡°What are the rules?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the old man in yellow.

    The old man pointed to a desk not far from them that was being used for the contest. ¡°There¡¯s an hourss over there ¨C you guys will check the time yourselves. You have to craft a ss 3 soul tool before thest grain of sand drops down in the hourss, and you will qualify for the next round once youplete your soul tool within the stipted time. You will be eliminated if you can¡¯tplete the task. You may begin. I will be here to watch and to ensure that you don¡¯t use finished or half-finished soul tools to cheat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned around toward He Caitou, and then he looked at the metal desk that was well-equipped with crafting tools. He smiled and said, ¡°Big brother, doesn¡¯t this feel familiar?¡±

    He Caitou was wearing a mask. He naturally knew that Huo Yuhao was referring to their days inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he nodded.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Not giving us materials is just so harsh and unkind. I have to make use of what¡¯s around me, I guess.¡±

    He raised his right hand as he spoke. The old man behind him saw a dark-golden sh of light before one of the steel desk¡¯s corners was lopped off. The piece was half a foot thick, and the old man also saw the five sharp des that flickered with dark golden radiance that extended from Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was known as one of the most powerful species in the world of soul beasts. A unique and frightening aura could be felt once Huo Yuhao unleashed his Darkgolden Terrorw.

    Huo Yuhao flicked his w upwards, and the metal piece flew towards He Caitou. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make do with this, big brother.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± He Caitou decided to talk as little as he could, to avoid saying the wrong things. He took the piece of metal and immediately began to work on it with a carving knife from the crafting tools that wereid out on the table.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t wait for the old man to stop him. The sharp des flickered once more, and another piece of steel was cut off, but he took it himself this time.

    ¡°This is a standard desk for crafting soul tools, and every table is worth five thousand golden soul coins!¡± The invigtor was shaken by the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s aura for a little while.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao answered casually before he began to work with his right hand. Five golden des trembled at the same time, and it felt as if they were forming a dark goldenyer of water that undted on the metal desk¡¯s surface. Metal powder and fragments drifted down, but they didn¡¯t scatter all over the ce. They actually spread around him in an orderly fashion.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even looking at the tough steel that he had just retrieved. He turned around towards the invigtor and asked, ¡°Are you a soul engineer as well? What¡¯s your ss?¡±

    The elderly man didn¡¯t answer his question, because he was in aplete daze at the moment, his eyes fixated upon Huo Yuhao¡¯s rhythmic right hand.

    That was a hand that could aplish miracles! Huo Yuhao¡¯s five razor-sharp des continued to move rhythmically, and the irregr piece of steel quickly became rectangr, before strange and peculiar patterns began to appear on its surface. The steel piece was subsequently split into pieces and carved¡­ the entire process was as smooth as a flowing river.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers seemed like they were just faintly quivering, and every movement was just so precise and urate...

    Just as Huo Yuhao had said, the old man in yellow was also a soul engineer, but he was only a ss 3 soul engineer. In the end, breaking through three rings was quite a drastic change for most soul masters, and many people couldn¡¯t breach that barrier, even across an entire lifetime.

    This elderly man was just a ss 3 soul engineer, but his eyes were quite fine. He was part of the Duskwater Alliance, and he had seen multiple high-level soul engineers craft soul tools. What Huo Yuhao was doing at the moment wasparable to those high-level soul engineers. He was smooth, quick, and agile at the same time, and he was working at a speed that was almost impossible to believe.

    From a soul engineer¡¯s perspective, steel was a rtively standard crafting material that was also easy to carve and engrave. However, working at such rapid pace was simply unbelievable, and the old man knew that he couldn¡¯t do anything like Huo Yuhao. The youth before him was going through everything so casually, and he hadn¡¯t even pulled out his carving knife. This youth was just using sharp des from his martial soul, or perhaps from a soul skill, to craft his soul tool.

    The silver-white steel gradually took shape. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use a single crafting toolfrom the table, but an impable metal tube was produced just like that. He quickly assembled, crafted, and inserted the formation arrays.

    Huo Yuhao used the five sharp ws of his Darkgolden Terrorw to cut, drill, slice, chisel, and whatever techniques he had to use to craft his soul tool, and he only used one hand from beginning to end. Of course, there was no way he could use his other hand even if he wanted to, but the old man didn¡¯t know that. The elderly man felt as if he wasn¡¯t watching a contest, but a performance, an incredibly spectacr performance in crafting soul tools.

    This process didn¡¯t continue for too long. Five minutes, after just five minutes, Huo Yuhao¡¯s undting des halted, and his body casually turned around as he signaled to the old man, who had a nk look in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s done!¡±

    The elderly man recovered from his astonishment, and quickly stepped forward to pick up the silver-white soul tool on the desk.

    The silver-white metal tube was long and smooth. It was about a foot long, and there was an arm buckle beneath it, so it was most suitable for use when attached to the arm. The old man carefully infused soul power into the soul tool, and it immediately lit up. The old man gasped, as he could feel that this soul tool was consuming his soul power at an rming rate, to the point where he couldn¡¯t control it anymore. Afterwards, he could feel the formation arrays activating themselves from the soul powerpressed in them. The entire silver-white metal tube sparkled, and intense soul power immediately began to radiate out of it. He realized that there was no way for him to stop it.

    The contest was still ongoing at the moment, and this was the Green Hotel¡¯s Golden Hall! The invigtor didn¡¯t know what would happen if this soul tool was allowed to fire. He went a little hysterical as he eximed, ¡°Quick, make it stop! Why won¡¯t it stop?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not operating it in the right way.¡± He raised his right hand as he spoke, and pressed down gently on the tube¡¯s surface. The charging andpression instantly disappeared, and the entire soul tool powered down.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Your soul power isn¡¯t wasted. The energy-gathering formation array will still maintain its activity for two hours, and you can fire it at anytime you wish.¡±

    The old man wiped the sweat from his brow and stared at Huo Yuhao fearfully. ¡°The soul tool that you have made is¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned and said, ¡°It¡¯s a simplified energy-gathering soul cannon. It should be at least ss 3, but ss 4 soul engineers are typically more suited to operate something like this. It seems like you¡¯re not a ss 4 soul engineer yet. The materials that I have had to retrieve on the spot were a little substandard, so this cannon can only be fired thrice. If you want to y around with it, you¡¯ll have to wait for me toplete the qualifying round. My part of the contest is over; have I passed?¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression was entirely different from before. He handed the soul tool back to Huo Yuhao respectfully and said, ¡°Of course you have passed the qualifying round. You¡¯re the one who has crafted this soul tool, please take it back. The soul engineers get to keep all the soul tools that they make within thispetition. Of course, you can sell your productions to us if you wish.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you then. Just treat it aspensation for damaging the table. That should be enough, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes it¡¯s enough.¡± A ss 3 soul tool was worth about three to five thousand golden soul coins, while Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t destroy the entire table, so repairing the table probably wouldn¡¯t require more than ten golden soul coins. Using a soul tool like this topensate for the damage was more than enough. Furthermore, the crafting abilities Huo Yuhao had just disyedpletely astounded this invigtor.

    The old man asked probingly, ¡°If I may ask, what ss are you in?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°You will know eventually. However, you have to continue with your duties. You haven¡¯t seen the soul tool that my big brother is crafting yet.¡±

    The old man realized that He Caitou¡¯s hands had stopped moving on the other side as well, and he had also crafted another soul tool from the piece cut off from the table. The soul tool that He Caitou had crafted was a broad bracelet, the kind intended for men. The old man quickly went over to check.

    ¡°This¡­ is this a storage-type soul tool? A storage-type soul tool crafted from steel?! Oh, my goodness! That¡¯s such a waste of your abilities.¡± The old man didn¡¯t know what else to say. He discovered after inspecting and testing the soul tool that this broad bracelet had about five cubic liters of storage space, and it absolutely met the criteria as a ss 3 soul tool.

 Chapter 288.2: The Fierce Genius Soul Engineer

    Storage-type soul tools and Milk Bottles were typically considered the mostplicated soul tools among others of the same tier. This storage-type soul tool was made from steel, and that meant it wouldn¡¯t be so durable, but itsplexity and the difficulty of crafting something like this was the same as it would have been if another material had been used. It wasn¡¯t worth much, but the craftmanship was undeniable. If there had been better metal avable, this storage-type soul tool would be considered an exquisite itempared to other ss 3 soul tools.

    Two ss 3 soul tools were crafted within such a short period of time. What did that mean? This meant that these two brothers, who had only joined thepetition when it was nearing its end, were at least ss 4 soul engineers. It was likely that they were even better; could ss 4 soul engineers craft soul tools with such smoothness and agility? The old man knew the answer to this question very well.

    ¡°The two of you have passed the qualifying round, and we will begin the first official round tomorrow. We will directly enter elimination rounds, and every elimination round will cut the total headcount by a third, until a champion is crowned. Here, these are your proofs for passing the qualifying round. The two of you can use them to im your prizes for this round!¡±

    The old man passed over two badges made from pure gold as he spoke. There were numbers on each badge; Huo Yuhao¡¯s number was seventy-one, while He Caitou¡¯s number was seventy-two.

    He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and they departed under the old man¡¯s watchful and respectful gaze.

    ---

    ¡°Eh? How can it be over so quickly? Have they withdrawn from the contest because they know they can¡¯t pass?¡± Some people were annoying and irritating, especially if they were born with a snickering and sneering face. The middle-aged man that was throwing shade at Huo Yuhao before this took the opportunity and popped out of nowhere¡­

    Huo Yuhao smiled and opened his right hand. ¡°I just want to know where I can redeem my prize.¡±

    The middle-aged man noticed the golden badge in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand just as he was mocking him sarcastically. He seemed like a duck that was grasped by the neck, and his voice stuck in his throat.

    ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s impossible! How long did you guys take? You... you guys cheated!¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered solemnly, ¡°You have to be responsible for your words.¡±

    The old man in yellow came over hurriedly at this moment. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, my two honored guests. This is a misunderstanding. Hurry and apologize to them, Great King.¡±

    ¡°Great King? That¡¯s a great name!¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with a faint grin on his face.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look so good, and it appeared to change color again and again. He grunted coldly and turned around to leave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go! There¡¯s something else I want to discuss with you!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly spoke to him.

    Great King was momentarily stunned. He turned around and forcefully suppressed theplicated emotions riling up his mind as he asked, ¡°What else needs to be said?¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I imagine I¡¯m going to lose the wager that I¡¯ve just made. Do you remember what I said to you before this?¡±

    Great King¡¯s face instantly changed. He hadn¡¯t thought too much of it when Huo Yuhao had threatened him before with a smile on his face, as he didn¡¯t believe that this fellow in the wheelchair could pass this round of thepetition. However, the yellow-clothed old man had confirmed that the two brothers had both passed this round within such a short period of time. He was very clear about what this meant; even though he was arrogant, sneering, and sarcastic by nature, he wasn¡¯t a fool. He was sharply aware that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t a person that he could afford to offend, and he himself was only a Soul Elder after all.

    ¡°The contest isn¡¯t over. How¡­ how do you know that you can¡¯t win the wager?¡± Great King¡¯s voice was a little shaky and fearful.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I know I can¡¯t win just by looking at your face. Are you telling me that you haven¡¯t done something to my wager? I remember I saw you walk out before this.¡±

    Great King took a few steps back subconsciously.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head instead as he muttered under his breath, ¡°My best virtue is that I always honor my word.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly looked up as he spoke, and he pushed out his right hand towards Great King.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, sir!¡± The old man called out hastily, but he was toote in the end.

    Boom!

    A flower that resembled some of the red and white decorations around the Green Hotel bloomed, and Great King¡¯s head instantly split open like an exploding watermelon.

    Huo Yuhao was behaving as if he hadn¡¯t done anything at all. He wore a pitiful and regrettable expression on his face as he said, ¡°I hope you can be the king of Great Kings in your next life.¡±

    The sudden incident immediately triggered intense and vigorous gasps of astonishment. This was one of the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s strongholds, and it was unimaginable that anybody would have the courage to murder someone in a ce like this. Furthermore, this murder was executed in such a brutal and barbaric fashion.

    The other guests descended into hysteria, and numerous men dressed in ck quickly surrounded Huo Yuhao. The yellow-clothed invigtor and the manager that led them from the hotel door were also part of this group. It didn¡¯t take long before they surrounded Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, forming a very tight circle around them.

    Huo Yuhao grunted coldly and said inly, ¡°Do all of you wish to die?¡± Huo Yuhao began to chant iprehensibly as he spoke. He Caitou took a step horizontally, and a series of metal nging sounds could be heard as he transformed into a frightening metal fortress. Several hundred soul cannons were coldly pointing all around him, and the aura he released was so terrifying that it immediately caused the thugs that were about to close in on them to retreat in fear.

    ¡°Stop! What¡¯s happening?¡± A deafening shout broke the silence. A human figure descended from the sky immediately afterwards, three yellow and two purple soul rings sparkling as this personnded in the middle of everyone.

    The wings from the soul tool on his back folded up. He drew a cold breath when he witnessed the soul cannon fort that He Caitou had transformed into. He was a ss 5 soul engineer, and he was all too clear as to what he was looking at. He realized that even typical ss 6 soul cannon forts weren¡¯t as formidable as this one in front of him.

    ¡°Calm down, everyone. I¡¯m Chen An, the Golden Great Hall¡¯s supervisor. Can someone tell me what just happened?¡±

    The old man that had watched Huo Yuhao and He Caitou came forward hurriedly and whispered something into Chen An¡¯s ear.

    Chen An¡¯s face turned ck as he turned towards Huo Yuhao, and then his expression changed once more. He saw that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were ghastly grey in color, as if there wasn¡¯t an ounce of life and vitality at all, and he felt as if his spirit was being sucked away when their gazes met. His body trembled vigorously as he took a few steps backwards in horror.

    However, when he looked at Huo Yuhao again, he realized that his eyes had be clear once more, as if everything that he had seen in the previous instant was but a hallucination. A voice suddenly appeared in his head.

    ¡°If you want this ce to be riddled with bodies, so be it. Otherwise, you know what to do.¡±

    This voice disappeared as soon as it appeared. In the next moment, a scene surfaced in his head: Chen An saw the exploding heads of the men in ck around him, and he seemed to descend into a mountain of corpses and an ocean of blood. The headless corpses slowly got to their feet, and swiftly transformed into zombies as they crazily assaulted everyone around them. It didn¡¯t take long before there wasn¡¯t a single other living soul besides the terrifying youth in the wheelchair and the muscr man standing beside him.

    The intense fear caused Chen An¡¯s body to quiver uncontrobly, but the image that surfaced in his mind receded in an instant. His eyes widened, but all he could see were his subordinates¡¯ doubtful gazes, and the youth in the wheelchair that was still staring at him with a pair of bright and clear eyes.

    ¡°You are¡­¡± Chen An blurted.

    Huo Yuhao answered inly, ¡°Great King went after my wager with underhanded methods, and his words were provocative and condescending. Did he bring his own death upon himself?¡±

    Chen An chomped down on the tip of his tongue and instantly cleared his mind. He had outstandingposure, mental quality, and stability to be able to direct the Golden Great Hall, and his expression changed once again. This time, he was a lot more respectful than before.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, my dear guests. Great King vited the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s rules, and he attacked you foolishly. He hasmitted a crime, and he cannot be forgiven. Someone take his body away and feed his corpse to the dogs. Don¡¯t stand around, everyone! Go back and do what you¡¯re supposed to be doing!¡±

    Chen An withdrew the soul rings on his body as he spoke, but he didn¡¯t dare to look Huo Yuhao in the eyes anymore.

    The Duskwater Alliance was an underground organization, and these underground organizations were sometimes much more efficient and versatile with their operationspared to other, more legitimate corporations. Chen An was the Golden Great Hall¡¯s supervisor, and he was also a rtively powerful Soul King. He wielded extraordinary authority and influence in this ce, and he was also the qualifying round¡¯s chief judge. His subordinates began to move right after he finished his sentence, some people moving to keep things in order, while some other people went ahead to clean up the mess.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Great King¡¯s body and the mess around it vanished without a trace.

    Chen An lowered his voice and asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Can we speak somewhere in private?¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was simple and straightforward. ¡°I have two other servants. Can you ask someone to call them over?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for that immediately.¡± Chen An whispered something to one of his subordinates, and that person hurriedly turned around and left.

    ¡°Follow me, my valued guests.¡± Chen An turned around to lead the way as he spoke. Huo Yuhao nodded his head gently, and He Caitou pushed the wheelchair as they followed behind Chen An.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into squints, and his Spiritual Detection swiftly expanded around him and covered almost the entire ce in an instant. There were several rtively formidable auras within the Golden Great Hall, but they were not enough to threaten his life. This was only the qualifying round after all, and high-level soul masters and soul engineers couldn¡¯t be found just anywhere. They weren¡¯t inside Shrek Academy, after all.

    ---

    Chen An led them to a small door at the side and exited the Golden Great Hall. They moved through a magnificent walkway, but they didn¡¯t have to travel for long before Chen An opened another door on the side and invited the two of them in.

    The room was several hundred square meters in surface area, and the walls were covered in solid wood. The room¡¯s golden style andyout was not at odds with this underground world.

    ¡°Please sit,¡± Chen An spoke as he stood beside a luxurious sofa.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. You can just say whatever you want to.¡±

    Chen An¡¯s eyes shifted as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°If I may ask, are you guys from¡­?¡± He paused without finishing his sentence.

 Chapter 288.3: The Fierce Genius Soul Engineer

    Huo Yuhao grunted coldly and said, ¡°Is that something you should be asking?¡± A peculiar aura suddenly emanated from his body, and a contorted white projection subsequently appeared before him.

    Chen An could vaguely tell that the white projection portrayed a human figure, but the room became a lot eerier and more sinister when it appeared. The projection was twisting and contorting vigorously, as if it were struggling against something.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°This is the end of your life. Looks like you had it easy. Go, be purified.¡± White light lit up in his eyes as he spoke, and the twisting light projection immediately paused and became a lot clearer than before.

    ¡°The Great King?!¡± Chen An eximed; the projection looked exactly like King Wan!

    The light projection shone with white light circles as it gradually dissipated, and King Wan¡¯s expression finally became one of peace and eptance as he swiftly vanished into thin air.

    Chen An¡¯s face was ghastly pale at this moment, and his body quivered as well.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Do you want to test me again?¡±

    Chen An wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and he bent down as he replied respectfully, ¡°No, there¡¯s no need.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°You have to keep the two of us being here a secret. You can¡¯t tell anyone at all. Do you understand? The truth is we are here of our own ord, since it¡¯s nice to earn some money while iming some rare metals for ourselves. Of course, you guys can make some money at the same time¡­ we will only survive if we both reap benefits at the same time, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Chen An hurriedly followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s lead.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Then you should give us what we are owed today. We will return for the next round.¡±

    Chen An asked, ¡°Do you need us to do anything else?¡±

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to do anything else. What we eventually achieve in the contest is entirely up to our own abilities. You¡¯ve seen what happened to King Wan. If someone else tries to mess around with me or provoke me, that person¡¯s oue won¡¯t be as easy as what happened to King Wan. I believe most people haven¡¯t had their spirits tortured before. Whoever has to find out will probably remember the sensation on their shattered spiritual imprint for eternity.¡±

    Chen An shivered involuntarily and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will restrain my subordinates to the best of my ability, and I will definitely adhere to your requests. We won¡¯t pass this on within the Duskwater Alliance, and everything will go ording to yourmand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head satisfactorily. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a smart one. Intelligent people tend to live longer.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, sir.¡± Chen An¡¯s expression became a little more rxed, but he was still radiating fear and trepidation.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Alright, my people have returned. We¡¯ll make a move first.¡±

    Knocking sounds could be heard before he finished his sentence. The door opened, and one of Chen An¡¯s subordinates led Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na into the room. Wang Dong¡¯er heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Huo Yuhao in the room.

    Huo Yuhao said to Chen An, ¡°We won¡¯t im our money today, but we will take everything when we return. I can reveal some things to you¡­ my brother and I are both ss 6 soul engineers, and I believe we can be considered some of the very best in this wretched ce. Therefore, you can do whatever you like with the wagers to make your profits, but I want my share. I don¡¯t care about the money, but those hundred thousand golden soul coins are my capital, and you will be responsible for changing my money into rare metals. The more the better.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Chen An acknowledged once more.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er came forward hurriedly to take Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair from He Caitou¡¯s hands, and began to push him outside. Huo Yuhao raised his hand for her to stop when they were almost at the door, and he said without turning around, ¡°Chen An! If everything goes ording to n, and if you do everything properly, I will reward you after this contest is finished. If you¡¯re willing, it¡¯s even possible if you wish to be a part of us. Of course, there¡¯s a price to pay, but the returns that you shall receive will be worth a lot more.¡±

    Chen An was a little taken aback, but he became ted in the next moment as he took a few brisk steps forward and knelt down with one knee beside Huo Yuhao. ¡°Thank you for the link-up, sir!¡±

    ¡°I will find you again before the contest. You will cote the inventory of metals that will be used for rewards in every round, and you will also give me a list of the bets that have been ced.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand once more, and Wang Dong¡¯er pushed him out at once. Chen An escorted him out personally, and he directed them all the way to a set of esctors that brought them back to one of the Green Hotel¡¯s simpler levels.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to send me any further. Remember what I¡¯ve told you. If my father finds out about me¡­ you know the rest. If that happens, then you will be part of my strength.¡±

    ¡°Your wish is mymand. I will definitely follow your orders!¡± Chen An acknowledged hurriedly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao waved his hand, and thepany exited the Green Hotel.

    ---

    Once they were past the main door, He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What were the two of you talking about so mysteriously back there?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it when we get back, brother.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly interrupted He Caitou¡¯s words, and a voice appeared in He Caitou¡¯s head.

    He Caitou felt his heart skip a beat, and he quickly shut his mouth and said nothing more. The four of them gradually disappeared into the night.

    Huo Yuhao relied on his Imitation and brought everyone back into the Brilliant Delight Hotel. His expression became a lot more rxed, and Wang Dong¡¯er helped everyone remove their makeup once they returned to his room.

    He Caitou said, ¡°You can speak now, little junior brother. You actually gave me a scare when youshed out just now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said ponderously, ¡°We didn¡¯t waste our efforts today, and I¡¯ve figured some things out. It¡¯s no wonder that the academy could never find traces of the Holy Ghost Church after they appeared. It seems like they¡¯ve been hiding themselves like that.¡±

    He Caitou was momentarily stunned. ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s likely that the Duskriver Alliance has something to do with the Holy Ghost Church?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°It¡¯s not just likely, they definitely have something to do with the Holy Ghost Church! Actually, their name had already aroused my suspicions. ording to Elder Xuan¡¯s description, one of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s most powerful individuals has a simr name. That¡¯s the reason why I had my suspicions, and the probing that I did before was also because of that. I imitated an evil soul master¡¯s abilities, and that frightened Chen An. You saw how reverent he was to me after that, and it¡¯s obvious that he believes we¡¯re from the Holy Ghost Church. That respect is also for the Holy Ghost Church, and this proves the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s connection with the Holy Ghost Church. It¡¯s no wonder that the Holy Ghost Church hid themselves so well, what with Radiant City¡¯s number-one underground organization covering them. With the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s power and influence, they are definitely one of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s most important branches, if they aren¡¯t part of the Church¡¯s core existence.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s too dangerous for us to continue on in thepetition?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head with a smile on his face. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. This contest is aimed at raking in profits, and it doesn¡¯t mean much to the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s core existence. The church is focused on the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Haven¡¯t you guys seen the people that they¡¯ve sent to participate in the tournament? Their energies aren¡¯t channeled toward the Duskwater Alliance, so it¡¯s natural that they aren¡¯t paying much attention to their events. We are quite safe. Furthermore, the Duskriver Alliance is ultimately one of the church¡¯s branches, and they are just a front for earning money and covering their identities, so the Holy Ghost Church won¡¯t send high-level individuals to watch over the alliance. The Green Hotel is quite important to the Duskriver Alliance, but the hotel¡¯s supervisor is just a Soul King, and he¡¯s not even an evil soul master.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er became a little more relieved as she listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s seamless analysis. She nodded and said, ¡°So, we¡¯re still participating in the subsequent rounds?¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°Of course. We have to get our rare metals from this contest, and we don¡¯t even have to be champions. Isn¡¯t it fun and interesting to stir things up within Radiant City¡¯s underground organizations? Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er, I will make sure that I return safely; not just for myself, but also for you guys.¡±

    He Caitou stood up and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, little junior brother. Your body isn¡¯t in good shape, so you should hurry up and get some rest.¡±

    Na Na also stood up to take her leave.

    Wang Dong¡¯er helped Huo Yuhao onto the bed after everyone left, and she brought some warm water to wash his hands and face. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was overflowing with ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth, so the parts of his body that were immobile didn¡¯t get dirty at all, so there was no need for her to wash those areas.

    ¡°You¡¯re too exhausted, Yuhao.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er slipped into his embrace, and felt the chilly aura emanating from his body as she whispered to him.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The main reason why you don¡¯t want to me to continue on in thepetition is because you¡¯re concerned about me, right? Actually, how can you not tell how safe we are with your intelligence and our abilities?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er agreed softly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I promise you, Dong¡¯er, that I will have a good rest when we go back. I will make sure my body recoverspletely before I set off to do anything else. However, our journey to Radiant City is very important to the academy, to the Tang Sect, and even to how the Continent¡¯s political backdrop is going to turn out over the next few years. I need to be at my best to deal with everything, and it¡¯s worth it even if I get a little tired in the process.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was slightly taken aback. ¡°I understand if you say that you¡¯re doing this for the academy and for the Tang Sect. But aren¡¯t you exaggerating a little about the Continent¡¯s political situation?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I keep feeling as if something¡¯s not right. The Sun Moon Empire has expanded the people allowed to participate in thepetition, and I¡¯ve been feeling a little more stifled than thestpetition, as if something is about to happen. Ever since my spiritual power ascended into the concrete-immaterial realm, I¡¯ve developed a sort of irvoyance. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely carry out some operation during or after thepetition. The only problem is that I can¡¯t tell anything yet at the moment, but I¡¯m sure they will drop clues as the tournament progresses. I¡¯m not sure what we can do for now, but anything that¡¯s not good for the Sun Moon Empire is beneficial for us.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and replied, ¡°But¡­ your body...¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about my body. I have a secret weapon.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned. ¡°Secret weapon? What is it? Why don¡¯t I know about it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned mysteriously and said, ¡°That¡¯s a secret. I¡¯ll tell you if you kiss me ten thousand times.¡±

 Chapter 289.1: Tactical Surrender?

    The second elimination round of the Continental Advanced Youth Soul Master Tournament had ended. Forty-two teams advanced to the third round. Among those forty-two teams, only thirty-two of them could enter the round-robin stage. That would be dependent on their performance in the third elimination round.

    Victory would ensure progression into the round-robin stage. Even if they failed, they still had an opportunity to fight for points in an additional qualifier round. After thest two elimination rounds, some of the weaker teams were showing signs of fatigue even though they had made it through. Their team members were hurt, and there were fewer of them who couldpete, along with other reasons that weakened their chances of progressing in future rounds. These constituted huge problems for them!

    Such problems didn¡¯t exist for the Tang Sect. However, the atmosphere within the sect became tenser after the lot-drawing for the third elimination round waspleted.

    Xu Sanshi lowered his head to look at his right hand, and a weird expression appeared on his face.

    Huo Yuhao patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Third senior, it¡¯s fine. You can¡¯t be med.¡±

    Jiang Nannan looked gloomy. ¡°You still dared to volunteer to draw the lot even though your luck is bad. Hmph!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression was also very weird and serious at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°It¡¯s just Team Sun Moon. Years ago, we also defeated them even though we were just members of the preparatory squad. Don¡¯t tell me that we are scared today even though we¡¯ve improved significantly since five years ago?¡±

    Yes, Xu Sanshi¡¯s luck was pretty bad, as he had managed to draw the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team in the third elimination round. This was only the elimination round, it wasn¡¯t the finals yet! There would still be many rounds and stages after this round. It was going to be tough no matter the oue, which would affect their energy in the future rounds even if they won.

    Fortunately, defeat didn¡¯t mean direct elimination.

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°Yuhao is right. In fact, we can advance through the additional qualifiers. Even if we don¡¯t risk everything against them, we can still enter the round-robin stage. At most, our ranking will be worse, but that¡¯s all.¡±

    Xiao Xiao was displeased. ¡°Do we really have to give up against them? No, we mustn¡¯t!¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned his gaze towards his teammates, and all he saw were their determined faces.

    Jiang Nannan said in a firm voice, ¡°Yes, we must not give up! Even though it¡¯s unwise, we shouldn¡¯t bow down in front of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Although we¡¯re representing the Tang Sect, we are also from Shrek Academy! Shrek Academy never loses to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! It is especially true since we¡¯re representing the Tang Sect in this edition of the tournament, and Shrek might not be able tost all the way until the finals. Yuhao, I wish to fight to protect Shrek¡¯s glory!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing too,¡± Xu Sanshi said dryly as he stopped looking at his hand.

    ¡°Get lost, you unlucky chap!¡± Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes at him.

    Xiao Xiao said determinedly, ¡°I also hope to fight for Shrek and the Tang Sect¡¯s glory.¡±

    He Caitou immediately added, ¡°I¡¯ll give my best as long as everyone is willing.¡±

    Out of the seven of them, four had already expressed their stand. Na Na¡¯s status in Tang Sect couldn¡¯tpare to Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Everyone¡¯s gaze was focused on Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and wanted to say something. However, he was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder. Wang Dong¡¯er took a step forward. She stood in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair.

    ¡°Second senior, third senior, fourth senior, fifth senior. I agree with all of your thinking. However, have you thought of one point? If we go all-out against them, we must treat victory as our goal. In that way, how much fighting strength can we conserve even if we beat the Sun Moon team? We don¡¯t have any substitutes. Eldest senior¡¯s injury hasn¡¯t recovered either. All of you know about Yuhao¡¯s current condition too. Shrek and the Tang Sect¡¯s glory isn¡¯tpletely dependent on this tournament. I would also like to give my all, but what if we sustain more injuries? We might even die if things go awry. We are without Shrek¡¯s halo as protection this time, and we are also arch-enemies with the Sun Moon team. I understand all of your intentions, but I don¡¯t agree that we should go all-out against them at such a time. If we give up on this round, we can still qualify. We¡¯ll also have more time to rest. We¡¯ll be able to fight in the round-robin stage in our best state.¡±

    After she established her rtionship with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er rarely opened her mouth in a discussion. Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were usually more defining. Her sudden speech left everyone a little stunned.

    There were four Soul Emperors and three Soul Kings among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. While Wang Dong¡¯er was the youngest, she was a Soul Emperor that had twin martial souls. No one could neglect her presence!

    Jiang Nannan furrowed her brow and asked, ¡°Dong¡¯er, are we going to give up our glory just like that?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Sister Nannan, true glory lies in being the champions. This is only an elimination round. Even if we give up, no one will underestimate us. This is purely tactical! It¡¯s true that I¡¯m partly selfish, too. I don¡¯t want Yuhao to go all-out against the Sun Moon team right now, while only his right arm can move. I¡¯ve already struggled to ept his decision topete in this tournament. He¡¯s only in this state because of me! I don¡¯t want him to get into any sort of harm again. If all of you choose to fight the Sun Moon team, I¡¯ll have no objections. However, my only request is that I be the first topete!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er revealed a cold and ferocious look in her eyes after she finished herst sentence. All this while, she had beenbelled as Shrek Academy¡¯s genius along with Huo Yuhao! However, Huo Yuhao had been shining too brightly, and made many important contributions to the academy. Along with her tendency to stay away from the limelight, her talents had been concealed.

    Among the four who had suggested that they fight the Sun Moon team, He Caitou was originally not very willing. His thinking was very simr to Wang Dong¡¯er. Furthermore, he also knew that both he and Huo Yuhao had topete in the underground tournament too! Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er came from the same ss. The three of them had passed the academy¡¯s test many years ago and they shared a close rtionship with one another. Right now, Xiao Xiao¡¯s gaze became gentler as she saw how Wang Dong¡¯er stood out for Huo Yuhao.

    As for Xu Sanshi, he only followed Jiang Nannan¡¯s wish. Jiang Nannan was the key figure out of the four of them, and so Wang Dong¡¯er directed all her words to Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan bit her lip lightly, and looked at Wang Dong¡¯er with a stubborn look in her eyes. She eventually sighed and said, ¡°Alright. However, we must never give up if we meet Team Sun Moon again, no matter the circumstance. We must give it our all.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er heaved a sigh of relief, and took two steps forward to hug Jiang Nannan. ¡°Sister Nannan, thanks.¡± Her nose was getting a little runny, and tears almost flowed.

    Jiang Nannan hugged her back and said as she smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t consider the facts thoroughly. There¡¯s no need to thank me. Dong¡¯er, it¡¯d be great if you were a guy.¡±

    Xu Sanshi started coughing tremendously to one side. He was watching Wang Dong¡¯er with a more alert look in his eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao, you let your wife court my wife. Is that very interesting for you?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife? It¡¯s all because of your unlucky hand. From now on, you won¡¯t be allowed to draw lots anymore!¡± Jiang Nannan red at him, and he turned honest-looking and selfless once again.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speak from the start until the end. However, his gaze was filled with softness as he watched Wang Dong¡¯er. Rationally speaking, it wasn¡¯t the best time to fight the Sun Moon team. However, he wasn¡¯t going to object if everyone wanted to go all-out against them.

    ¡°I still need to ask eldest senior regarding this matter before we decide,¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    Bei Bei agreed with Wang Dong¡¯er. After that, Huo Yuhao told the tournament organizingmittee that they had decided to give up the fight during this elimination round.

    ------

    ¡°What? The Tang Sect has given up against us?¡± Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were astonished when they heard the news.

    Xiao Hongchen muttered, ¡°Does this mean we¡¯ve beaten Shrek? They are Shrek Academy¡¯s stronger team! Besides the team leader, the rest of Shrek¡¯s team isn¡¯t that strong this time around!¡±

    Meng Hongchen pursed her lips and said, ¡°Brother, don¡¯t lie to yourself. How are you shameless enough to im that we¡¯ve beaten them without fighting them at all? Aren¡¯t you embarrassed? However, isn¡¯t it a good thing that they¡¯ve given up? If we fight them, we won¡¯t have it easy either. The future rounds will also be closer and closer together, which will affect our chances.¡±

    Xiao Hongchenughed bitterly. ¡°Just let me feel good in my heart, alright? Champions? Are you still thinking of bing the champions right now? Don¡¯t you know that¡­¡± As he spoke to that point, he paused for a moment, and his eyes were filled with resentment.

    Meng Hongchenughed coldly and said, ¡°Why not? Will they necessarily win? I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t beat them if we go all-out. Brother, with yourck of confidence, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ve already¡­¡±

    Xiao Hongchen covered her mouth and stopped her from speaking. ¡°Secret. This is a secret!¡±

    Meng Hongchen groaned at him and said, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t say anything. The Tang Sect didn¡¯t give up because they were scared. Didn¡¯t you realize that they have no substitutes? They are more afraid than us that their abilities will be depleted. That¡¯s why they chose to give up! We¡¯ll win if we face them. Since they conceded defeat once, there¡¯s no way they can beat us again.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen caressed his sister¡¯s head and said, ¡°I¡¯m only praying that you won¡¯t meet Wang Dong. Are you confident that you won¡¯t be merciful on him when you meet him?¡±

 Chapter 289.2: Tactical Surrender?

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s face turned red, and she retorted in embarrassment, ¡°So what? One fight doesn¡¯t say anything. I like him, so what? Compared to him, all other guys are trash!¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was speechless as he touched his nose. He replied, ¡°Your criticism is too broad. I¡¯ll tell grandpa.¡±

    Meng Hongchen snorted at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just add these four words, ¡®of the same age¡¯. Anyway, you are nothingpared to him in my eyes!¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was angry. ¡°It¡¯s hard to keep a woman at home! I¡¯m your biological brother after all. How can you say something like that about me?¡±

    ------

    The third elimination round of the tournament was too tragic, and was beyond the expectations of most people. The fights were very intense, as every team wanted to book their ce in the round-robin stage. In this round, five people were killed, and more than twenty people were seriously injured. On average, every sh betweenpeting teams involved some form of casualty. With regard to the situation, many teams also pointed out their doubts about the referees to the tournament¡¯s organizingmittee.

    The Sun Moon Empire was also vexed over this issue. They could only promise everyone that their referees would try to control the rhythm of the fights in the future rounds so as to reduce the number of casualties.

    Although the Tang Sect conceded defeat in this round, they were able to qualify for the round-robin stage because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s dominant performance in the first elimination round and the stable foundation they had set in the second round. The only downside was that their ranking was quite low.

    ------

    After the third elimination round ended, there was a one-day break before the lot-drawing ceremony for the round-robin stage was held. The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament organized by the underground world also officiallymenced on the same day.

    When Huo Yuhao and the other three arrived at the Green Hotel, Chen An was already at the door to wee them. Now that they had the exact time, they didn¡¯t arrivete.

    ¡°You are here!¡± Chen An looked at Huo Yuhao and hurriedly stepped forward before bowing respectfully.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao snorted, ¡°Have you done what I asked you to do?¡±

    Chen An hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s all prepared. I didn¡¯t reveal that you¡¯re here topete to anyone, either! Follow me to the VIP room to rest first. I¡¯ll pass the materials that I¡¯ve sorted out to you.¡±

    ¡°Please lead the way.¡± Huo Yuhao maintained his cool look.

    Chen An brought them to a room in the basement before instructing his subordinates to serve them fruits and drinks. He retrieved a document before passing it to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao received the document and nced at it before saying, ¡°Exin it to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chen An replied. ¡°This tournament was organized to facilitate the participation of ordinary people by exploiting the massive crowds currently in Radiant City. As a result, we¡¯ve already opened the betting tables, starting from the qualifiers. This round of betting is very simple. As there are too many soul engineers ¨C one hundred and neen! ¨C betting on single individuals can be very troublesome. It¡¯s better to bet on the number of people remaining, or whether there¡¯ll be an odd or even number of people remaining. There are also multiple bets. The smaller the number of multiples, the lower the payout. The greater the number of multiples, the higher the payout. For example, your payout will be one point three times your wager if the number of soul engineers who qualify for the next round is a multiple of two. If you bet directly on the number of soul engineers who qualify, your wager will be multiplied by this number to generate your returns.¡±

    As he spoke, he passed a ck-gold card to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°This is the money from your previous bet. We¡¯ve already generated your payout. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be the only one who knows everything rted to you, and I won¡¯t report to any superiors. However, I need to warn you that I¡¯ll only be the chief referee for the first two rounds. From the third round onwards, there¡¯ll be a more authoritative figure here to referee.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Please tell me about the rewards.¡±

    ¡°Yes! If you pass the qualifiers, your reward will be five thousand gold soul coins. I¡¯ve already added it into your card. The winner of today¡¯s round can choose one of the twenty-eight rare metals that we have on offer as rewards. You can take one kilo of it. If you win in the next round, you can take three kilos. Every round will see an increase. When there are fewer than ten people left, we¡¯ll introduce five very rare metals. We haven¡¯t decided what the detailed quantities will be though.¡±

    ¡°The main show will be our final fight against the other two powers. At that time, all three parties will send their victorious soul engineer topete in the finals. The eventual champion will obtain one percent of our revenue made in this tournament. At the same time, the champion can leave with one hundred kilos of rare metals. He can choose whatever amount of each rare metal to leave with, as long as the final numberes up to one hundred kilos maximum. In addition, he¡¯ll also be rewarded with one kilo each of five special and rare metals. Altogether, it will be worth more than ten million gold soul coins. It¡¯s because of these rewards that many outstanding soul engineers have been drawn to this tournament. Since you and your brother are both ss 6 soul engineers, it¡¯s highly likely that you can win this tournament! I rate the both of you highly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯t bet on a single individual today. What are wepeting in today?¡±

    Chen An looked gloomy. He thought to himself. While you¡¯re a huge figure, isn¡¯t it a little ludicrous that you don¡¯t know what the tournament is about even though you¡¯re here to pit your skills against the others?¡±

    While he thought of this, he didn¡¯t dare to voice it out loud. He hurriedly said, ¡°In this round, soul engineers are required to create a soul tool based on the given topic. The higher the quality, the better it is. As this is the first round, we are providing all the resources ,and all the soul engineers can leave with their created soul tools, but the requirements are a little stricter. There¡¯s a slightly more difficult obstacle to ovee.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little impatient. ¡°Let¡¯s cut the crap. I want to know what this topic is about.¡±

    He was trying to go through the back door. However, Chen An found it normal for him to act in this manner. He hurriedly said, ¡°This round is about the creation of a Milk Bottle. It has to bepleted within six hours. The Milk Bottle must at least be ss 3 and above. Anyone who can¡¯tplete this task will be eliminated.¡±

    It was a ss 3 soul tool, but creating a Milk Bottle was veryplex. It wasparable to an ordinary ss 4 soul tool. It was a much tougher test than the qualifiers.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Interesting. You can leave first. Inform us when the tournament begins.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chen An acknowledged his words and left the room.

    He Caitou was afraid that there were soul tools being used to eavesdrop on them, and only shot Huo Yuhao an inquisitive look. Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts suddenly surfaced in his mind. ¡°I want Chen An to be more convinced that we are from the Holy Ghost Sect. Elder brother, let¡¯s do it this wayter¡­¡±

    ------

    Chen An was the chief referee, and still had to arrange many things for the tournament. He was naturally very busy. His assistant was the one who came to notify Huo Yuhao and He Caitou that the tournament was about to begin.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na remained in the resting area. He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao into the hall.

    They were no longer underestimated by the others now. At the end of the qualifiers, many people were astonished by the killing. Fortunately, it was only the qualifiers, and there weren¡¯t any important figures who came to watch. Otherwise, Chen An couldn¡¯t conceal the truth even if he wanted to.

    Everyone turned their attention away from Huo Yuhao when they saw him, and didn¡¯t dare to look at him. Although they didn¡¯t know how he did it, the way he had casually made a man¡¯s head explode was still too cruel.

    It wasn¡¯t just those VIP gamblers who showed more respect towards Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Even the working staff in the hall became more respectful when they saw the both of them. The Great King¡¯s death had happened only a few days ago. Although they didn¡¯t know who Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were, Chen An had issued a gag order. No one wanted to be the second Great King!

    Under Chen An¡¯s guidance, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were led directly to the middle of a circr stage, a slightly more eye-catching spot. Two metal tables were moved together, and their silvery-white surfaces didn¡¯t reflect any light even under the illumination of the brightmps.

    Apart from the various standard equipment used to create soul tools, there were more than ten different types of metal on the stage. Three of them were rare metals that were suitable for making the formation arrays of a Milk Bottle. The other seven weren¡¯t that rare, but they were still high-level metals thatmanded pretty high prices, and were also present in sufficient quantities. There were more than three kilos of these seven metals, while there was more than one kilo of each of the three rare metals. It was a clear demonstration of the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s wealth.

    He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao behind one of the metal tables before he went to the other one.

    At this point, all the otherpeting soul engineers had already arrived. Chen An had deliberately arranged for the two of them to arrivest. Chen An¡¯s intentions was very kind, he didn¡¯t want them to wait around for others. However, the two of them also became the focus of all the gamblers.

    ¡°Silence! The tournament will officially begin in five minutes! I am the chief referee of this tournament. Let me reiterate the rules once again! To all visitors, no one is allowed to make a sound when the soul engineers are busy creating their soul tools. Anyone who flouts this rule will be kicked out!

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be worried. After this round, all the remaining soul engineers will be allowed topete on the stage in sessive rounds. We can use soul soundproofing barriers to block out any sound then, and all of you will be able to speak freely when that timees. But I¡¯ll need all of you to exercise patience in this round!

    ¡°All soul engineers, please take note! I am going to announce the goal of this round. In this round, all of you will be required to create a soul tool based on a certain topic: you need to create a Milk Bottle that is ss 3 or above! If you can create a ss 4 Milk Bottle, you¡¯ll be exempted from the next round and advance directly to the third round. You will be given six hours for this round! Whoever can¡¯tplete this task will be eliminated! Please get ready!¡±

 Chapter 289.3: Tactical Surrender?

    Five minutes passed very quickly, and the tournament began with another shout from Chen An. The entire hall went silent, and all the soul engineers started to get busy.

    He Caitou looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, we can skip the next round if we make a ss 4 Milk Bottle. Should we try?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Follow the n. We can¡¯t catch too much attention. Chen An is an idiot, he made us the center of attention. We can only earn money if we remain low-profile. If we are in the spotlight, it¡¯s going to be hard to bet!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash his Darkgolden Terrorws this time. He only simply used his right hand to pick up a piece of suitable metal and used the equipment on the table to build the shell of a Milk Bottle. He wasn¡¯t quick, but he was urate. If someone watching wasn¡¯t experienced or skilled enough, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what Huo Yuhao was doing.

    He Caitou proceeded with his work just like Huo Yuhao did. The two of them maintained a steady progression as they created their Milk Bottles.

    For other soul tools, the outer shell was used for protection and decoration. However, it was different for Milk Bottles. Every part of a Milk Bottle was designed to prevent the leakage of soul power, so requirements for making the outer shell were very strict. It had to be fully sealed, and most parts of a Milk Bottle had toe from one entity. They couldn¡¯t be separate parts that were joined together to form an outer shell.

    The standard crafting table that the Duskwater Alliance provided was of decent quality. There was stamping equipment that could shape soul tools, which helped to expedite the process of creating a Milk Bottle.

    Very soon, an outer shell crafted from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s specialty metal, Spiritmagic Bronze, appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the rest of the busy soul engineers and calmly chose a piece of Skyspirit Silver, which was the most valuable and costly among the three types of rare metals. He ced it in front of him and use a cutting-type soul tool to cut four square-shaped pieces of the metal. Every piece was around two hundred grams in weight, and he ced each of the pieces in front of him.

    It wasplex to create a Milk Bottle because the requirements for its internal construction were as fine as the requirements for constructing its outer shell. The primary reason was that two formation arrays were needed. The first one was an energy-gathering formation array, and the other one was a storage-type formation array.

    Huo Yuhao cut four pieces of the Skyspirit Silver for a reason.

    He didn¡¯t use his Darkgolden Terrorws, but retrieved a standard carving knife to hold one piece of the metal in a slot on the carving table. He could only use one hand, and thus it was a little inconvenient for him if he wanted to conceal his true abilities.

    No one saw it, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened as he lowered his head. The entire structure of the piece of Skyspirit Silver was presented in his spiritual mind. His Purple Demon Eyes had reached their most advanced stage, and he could use his spiritual power to disy the finest details in his spiritual world.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly inferior to He Caitou in terms of creating soul tools. Mainly it was because He Caitou¡¯s cultivation was higher. It was also because He Caitou was more focused on specializing in soul toolspared to Huo Yuhao.

    However, that was only true under one condition; if Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use his Spirit Eyes! When Fan Yu decided to ept Huo Yuhao as his disciple, he already knew that Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were an unbelievable martial soul for a soul engineer. It was equally great in terms of creating soul tools or using them!

    After two years of training in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Huo Yuhao was able to fuse his Spirit Eyes and soul tool creation together.

    The texture of the Skyspirit Silver was very fine. More importantly, its texture was very uniform even while it was very tough. It wasn¡¯t like other metals, which differed slightly in different areas. It was also why Skyspirit Silver was the first choice in creating the formation arrays of lower-level soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even bear to use it to create the formation arrays of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon! Huo Yuhao secretly sighed in his heart, and the carving knife in his hand moved.

    While he could only use his right hand, it was very stable. His thumb and index finger were slightly to the front of the carving knife. He used the first joint of his middle finger to press down on the knife, holding it steadily between his three fingers. The bottom of the knife was shaped like a sharp cone. Most carving knives adopted such a structure, which was considered the standard by soul engineers.

    The de of the knife moved gently, and he poured his soul power into it. A dimyer of white light appeared on the surface of the de. One corner of the piece of Skyspirit Silver was cut off. The knife moved in a gentle arc, and an arc-shaped mark was left behind on the piece of Skyspirit Silver.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s three fingers moved slightly and the knife was like a spiritual serpent that surrounded the piece of Skyspirit Silver. It moved up and down, carving off small bits of metal that fell onto the table. They were proportionally spread around the area in which Huo Yuhao was carrying out his work.

    Quick, urate and steady. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem any different from the rest of the soul engineers, but he captured the essence of a true soul engineer. If there was an advanced-level soul engineer watching him, he would be extremely impressed.

    He Caitou adopted a different method from Huo Yuhao. The knife in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand moved very smoothly, and hardly ever stopped in the process of cutting the Skyspirit Silver. On the other hand, He Caitou stopped every time he made a cut. It was as if he needed time to think and judge.

    On a closer look, every pause he made was equally long. Each pause onlysted for an instant. The continuous rhythm made his movements seem even more artistic than Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    This was a rhythm that only an advanced-level soul engineer could achieve. Every advanced-level soul engineer woulde to possess his own rhythm in the process of creating his soul tools. The short pause mustn¡¯t be underestimated. He Caitou wasn¡¯t as urate as Huo Yuhao. He had to rely on his own experience and eyes to make his own judgment and achieve overall control during the process of creating his soul tool. The short pause provided him time to think. Once he attuned to his own rhythm, his spiritual power, soul power, and focus could follow it unerringly.

    A ss 3 Milk Bottle was considered quiteplex among ss 3 soul tools. Even as He Caitou tried to suppress his own rhythm, he only used one hour to form the two formation arrays. The rhythm couldn¡¯t be broken. He couldn¡¯t help it even if he was too quick. He could only try to dy his progress in assembling theponents of his Milk Bottle. As for Huo Yuhao, he was still carving. However, he was already on his third piece of Skyspirit Silver.

    He was very serious at this time. He controlled the details very well, which was a stark contrast to his carefree attitude during the qualifiers.

    He was here today to show his might, hoping to draw out those that he wanted to and test them.

    As a soul engineer, Fan Yu had once told him that he had to respect his work. It was only by respecting his own work that his soul tool could have its own spirituality.

    He Caitou managed to dypleting his tool for two hours. It was only after more than ten soul engineers had submitted their work that he slowlypleted the creation of his Milk Bottle. Huo Yuhao also started to assemble the finalponents of his Milk Bottle at this point.

    Since he was using one hand, he couldn¡¯t be as swift and flexible as when he was using two hands. However, he wasn¡¯t rushed or slow. He made great use of the carving table to aid himself. Finally, he managed toplete the creation of an exquisite green Milk Bottle.

    Huo Yuhao let out a long breath as he lifted his head. He revealed a pleased look on his face. Among all the ss 3 soul tools that he had ever created, he was the most satisfied with this one. He had evenpleted it with an ordinary carving knife. He had carved it very meticulously, and even used some of the slight changes in the stable Skyspirit Silver to achieve his goal. Even though it was only a ss 3 soul tool, Huo Yuhao felt that it was something novel.

    He Caitou smiled as he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Are you done?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao passed his Milk Bottle over to He Caitou. There were referees behind everyone. When the referee behind Huo Yuhao saw what he did, he shot him a look of disapproval. However, he acted like nothing had happened because of Chen An.

    He Caitou ced the Milk Bottle that Huo Yuhao had created beside his own Milk Bottle. Both of them had used the same materials, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle was slightly longer than his. After he touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle, he revealed a stunned look on his face.

    He Caitou was considered an advanced-level soul engineer. In Shrek Academy, he was one of the best. It was important to note that Fan Yu wasn¡¯t a ss 9 soul engineer yet. This meant that ss 8 soul engineers were the strongest in Shrek Academy right now.

    Of course, Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t included. Xuan Ziwen was also a ss 8 soul engineer, but he was different from Fan Yu. He had been the chief researcher of Illustrious Virtue Hall! In terms of his theoretical knowledge and abilities in various areas, he was already at the ss 9 level, it was just that his cultivation wasn¡¯t at that standard yet.

    The higher the ss of a soul engineer, the more demanding the requirements on their soul power when creating soul tools. At Huo Yuhao¡¯s level, he could create ss 6 soul tools due to the fact that his overall soul power was greater than average due to his twin martial souls. As a result, he was considered a ss 6 soul engineer. Even so, he wouldn¡¯t be able to create ss 9 soul tools when he became a ss 8 soul engineer. Without the abilities of a Titled Douluo, there was no way he could create ss 9 soul tools. Acting recklessly would only endanger his own life. Xuan Ziwen had warned Huo Yuhao more than once that he couldn¡¯t overestimate his talents. Many soul engineers had perished at the hands of their own experiments. Huo Yuhao had also be very wary because of that.

 Chapter 290.1: Team Sun Moon

    He Caitou¡¯s first feeling when he grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool was bnce. It was an indescribable sense of harmony. It was as if this wasn¡¯t a soul tool at all, but a piece of metal. Its texture felt very simr to that of solid metal.

    Every part of the Milk Bottle gave him the same feeling. The weight and everything else felt like that. This feeling was too miraculous. He Caitou¡¯s Milk Bottle was much less bncedpared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle, even it was roughly simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle in terms of appearance.

    ¡°Little¡­ second brother, your ss 3 Milk Bottle isn¡¯t a ss 4 soul tool. It¡¯s better than a ss 4 soul tool!¡± He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but rave over Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°I felt very good just now. It seems like the tense atmosphere of this tournament helps me to focus better.¡± There were outsiders around, and thus he naturally couldn¡¯t say that it was his first time testing out the spiritual power obtained from his concrete-immaterial realm by fusing it into the entire production process.

    He Caitou gestured and called for the referees behind them. He passed his and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottles to the referees.

    The two referees held their Milk Bottles separately and said, ¡°I¡¯ll need the two of you to wait. We¡¯ll need the chief referee to test your Milk Bottles out. When he¡¯s done, we¡¯ll verify the results.¡±

    Huo Yuhao signaled for them to leave. He and He Caitou looked at each other and revealed light smiles of confidence.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt that He Caitou¡¯s eyes were very bright today. It might be because such a soul engineering tournament was what he was truly interested in. Huo Yuhao could even sense the excitementing from him.

    Very soon, Chen An walked over. He was holding the Milk Bottles that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou had made. He waspletely astonished at this moment. He arrived in front of Huo Yuhao and asked softly, ¡°Is this your work?¡± He handed the Milk Bottle that Huo Yuhao had made back over to him.

    Huo Yuhao received his Milk Bottle and nodded.

    Chen An took in a deep breath, and his eyes were filled with respect. ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡± His admiration came from the bottom of his heart. He hadn¡¯t respected Huo Yuhao the first time he had demonstrated his evil soul powers, he had only feared him.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, ¡°Have we passed, then?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Chen An answered without any hesitation. ¡°After seeing your work today, I¡¯m more and more confident that you¡¯ll be able topete on behalf of the Duskwater Alliance. However, I won¡¯t submit your Milk Bottle. This is a secret of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Surely you didn¡¯t install a self-destructionponent, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao proudly said, ¡°If I added such aponent, it wouldn¡¯t be perfect, am I right? I¡¯ll give it to you. If you get into trouble because of this in the future, you¡¯ll have to handle the responsibility.¡±

    ¡°You are giving it to me?¡± Chen An was shocked. Even though he knew it was a ss 3 Milk Bottle, he had tested it out, and knew that a ss 4 Milk Bottle was unable to handle the amount of soul power that it could contain! It was able to work like a ss 4 Milk Bottle with the structure of a ss 3 Milk Bottle. It was magical! He was even more shocked by the sealed-in system that the Milk Bottle contained.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had created a Sealed Milk Bottle. It was precisely because of this that he had had toplete two more sealed formation arrayspared to He Caitou. They even had to be separated by an exact distance. They were installed into the Milk Bottle using his acute senses, allowing the Milk Bottle to bepletely sealed.

    Although such a Milk Bottle was expensive, it wasn¡¯t the reason why Chen An was shocked. He was shocked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s technique! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mark the Milk Bottle or install any self-destructionponents. This also meant that he could dismantle this Milk Bottle to research how Huo Yuhao had managed to create it. To him, this was something that couldn¡¯t be bought with money.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Give us the verification that proves we¡¯ve advanced to the next round. We are returning.¡±

    Chen An took in a deep breath. Apart from the admiration in his eyes, there were other emotions as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for your generosity. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do anything you want me to.¡±

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand and said, ¡°Can you get as many rare metals as you can for me? I¡¯m willing to buy them. You should know how soul engineers like us need rare metals. Without sufficient quantities of them, we¡¯ll be unable to carry out some experiments. It isn¡¯t convenient for us to move around outside either.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! I¡¯ll help you gather all types of rare metals!¡± Chen An answered without any hesitation.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and swept the remaining rare metals on the carving table into his Starlight Sapphire storage-type ring. After obtaining the verification from Chen An, He Caitou pushed Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair as they left the stage.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. He also put the remaining rare metals on the table into his storage-type soul tool.

    Before leaving the hall, Huo Yuhao also passed on some instructions to Chen An. He only returned to meet Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na after doing so, before they left the Green Hotel and returned to the Ming Yue Hotel.

    ¡°Little junior, can we trust that person?¡± He Caitou whispered to Huo Yuhao as they were about to reach the Ming Yue Hotel.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems in the short-term. In his heart, he believes that I¡¯m an important figure in the Holy Ghost Church. I¡¯ve also given him a lot of benefits. He won¡¯t do anything harmful to us before those benefits disappear. By helping us, he¡¯ll also stand to gain tremendously, I¡¯ve already proven that to him today. If you were him, what would you do? I believe Chen An is a clever person. Clever people will do clever things. Furthermore, if we take a step back and assume he reports us to the Duskwater Alliance, I¡¯ll discover it once danger arises. It¡¯ll be convenient for us to escape any problems. There won¡¯t be any major obstacles.¡±

    His body stiffened as he finished speaking. His expression also changed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s gaze was fixed on him. Seeing that his body had stiffened up so suddenly, she hurriedly asked, ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I just received a premonition. I suddenly felt very surprised, as if something important was going to happen. Furthermore, it¡¯s something that¡¯s not good for us.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er, He Caitou and Na Na became more alert. They slowed down, and Huo Yuhao also unleashed his Spiritual Detection as he surveyed their surroundings.

    He didn¡¯t discover anything, and everything seemed very normal. However, the sensation didn¡¯t seem to disappear.

    They didn¡¯t discover anything even when they reached their room in the hotel. They weren¡¯t subjected to any ambushes, either.

    He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, are you being too sensitive?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head lightly and replied, ¡°That feeling was very sudden. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, either. However, my premonitions are very urate, considering my spiritual power. Everyone, please rest early. Be careful tonight. If there are any changes, we must inform one another ording to our arrangement.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± He Caitou and Na Na acknowledged his words before returning to their rooms to rest.

    ------

    As if He Caitou¡¯s words were being proven, nothing happened the entire night. The sensation that Huo Yuhao felt also slowly disappeared.

    He washed his face and ate his breakfast. Even he was doubtful at this point, and muttered to himself, ¡°Was I really being too sensitivest night? I don¡¯t feel so suppressed anymore. However, I feel like I¡¯ve forgotten something.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright to be wrong asionally. After all, it wasn¡¯t a good thing, either. I wonder who we¡¯ll be facing in the round-robin stage. It¡¯s the lot-drawing ceremony today. Sister Nannan and third senior have gone for it. I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t let third senior draw the lot this time. Haha!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shuddered when he heard the words ¡®lot-drawing ceremony¡¯. He lost his voice as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me my premonition has something to do with the groupings in the round-robin stage?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned. Just when she was about to open her mouth, she heard a frantic knocking sound.

    After the third elimination round, they had been moved to the fourth story of the hotel, and their rooms were bigger now than they were before. There were also more facilities they had been given ess to.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er walked over to open the door. Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi were standing outside.

    Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but mutter to herself when she saw the both of them, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that Yuhao was spot-on?¡±

    ¡°Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Jiang Nannan was sobbing, and hugged Wang Dong¡¯er. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know why it turned out like this.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was standing to one side and appeared very helpless. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. We can just fight it out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pushed his wheelchair over. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Third senior, fourth senior, how¡¯s the situation for our round-robin stage?¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly. ¡°Not too good¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao was slightly tense. ¡°How bad?¡±

    Xu Sanshi replied, ¡°We are meeting the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy again. In addition, Shrek¡¯s official team is also in the same group as us. The tournament¡¯s organizingmittee must have rigged this. We are even meeting Team Sun Moon in the first fight. This means that we are fighting them for two rounds straight. We¡¯ve already conceded once. What should we do this time?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao lost his voice.

    If there was a team that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to face in this tournament, it wasn¡¯t Team Sun Moon or the mysterious yet powerful Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team. It was Shrek¡¯s team!

 Chapter 290.2: Team Sun Moon

    This had nothing to do with Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was because of Shrek! Elder Xuan had given them special permission topete on behalf of their sect so that they could establish the Tang Sect. The duty of protecting Shrek¡¯s glory had been passed on to the hands of Wang Qiu¡¯er and the rest. If they met Shrek in the tournament, how were they going to deal with this conundrum? If they personally eliminated Shrek, they would forever feel guilty over it.

    This was only the round-robin stage, but they were already in the same group as Shrek Academy. This was the worst news they could possibly receive.

    Jiang Nannan lowered her head. Her eyes were red as she said, ¡°I drew the lot today. I didn¡¯t expect to be so unlucky, too. I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. It¡¯s all my fault.¡±

    After a brief moment of shock, Huo Yuhao calmed down and revealed a reassuring smile on his face. He said, ¡°Fourth senior, don¡¯t put it this way. You¡¯ve drawn a good lot for us! How is it disastrous? I believe it¡¯s the best lot that we could¡¯ve drawn.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was stunned for a moment before sheughed bitterly. ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t have tofort me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°I¡¯m not doing that. I really think so! Think about it. If we¡¯re in the same group as Shrek, we can team up with them. ording to the rules, we¡¯ll never meet before the final. Isn¡¯t that the best situation that we could desire?¡±

    Xu Sanshi was speechless. ¡°Brother, did you hear us carefully? We¡¯re also in the same group as Sun Moon. We¡¯re even facing them first!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Just get rid of them.¡±

    The five simple words that he uttered left the other three in the room stunned. Jiang Nannan¡¯s red eyes slowly revealed a determined look.

    Wang Dong¡¯er squinted and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s just get rid of them. We can even pave the path for Shrek. It¡¯s best that we meet them first. Let¡¯s destroy them!¡±

    Xu Sanshi gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up and said, ¡°You are awe-inspiring!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and didn¡¯t say anything else. Yes! They could just destroy the Sun Moon team. Did they really have to be scared of them? They conceded defeat in thest round for a tactical reason, but this time, they had to fight. Since this was the case, then they should just give it their all. Why should the Tang Sect be afraid of the Sun Moon team?

    ¡°Third senior, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to call everyone here. We¡¯ll bepeting tomorrow, so we need to discuss our strategy.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Sanshi turned around without hesitation and left. In a short span of time, he managed to gather He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, and Na Na, and even Nan Qiuqiu, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s room had been upsized. It wasn¡¯t that packed anymore, even with everyone there.

    Huo Yuhao wore a serious expression and said, ¡°We¡¯ll be facing a strong opponent tomorrow, thus I¡¯ll need to form our strategy today. We must win this fight and try our best to bring them down so that Shrek¡¯s team has a chance against them. First, I hope no one tells eldest senior that we are facing the Sun Moon team. I don¡¯t want him to worry and let him focus on recovering. With his current condition, he can only fight when we reach the quarterfinal. If he worries too much, I¡¯m afraid it might affect his condition.¡±

    Everyone nodded as they agreed with Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°We have only one goal in the individual elimination round: weaken the abilities of our opponents! For Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, let¡¯s not hold back anymore. However, we must also watch our own safety. We only have seven of us left; not even one substitute. Once we lose a member, we¡¯ll find it difficult against them in theter stages even if we win the first fight.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu pursed her lips and said, ¡°If only I couldpete.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°There¡¯s no point in saying that now.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu was angry the moment she saw him. Even though she had joined the Tang Sect to avoid being punished by her mother, she didn¡¯t have a good impression of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother with her and said, ¡°The team round will decide which team will eventually win. However, it¡¯s very important for us to weaken our opponents in the individual elimination round.¡±

    ¡°We need to arrange the order in which wepete carefully.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Jiang Nannan said decisively. She was the one who had drawn the lot, and thus she med herself for it. She had even berated Xu Sanshi in thest round. Right now, she felt extremely guilt-stricken.

    ¡°No, Sister Nannan. Have you forgotten what I said? If we fight the Sun Moon team, I¡¯ll be the one to go first,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said without any hesitation.

    Jiang Nannan furrowed her brow and retorted, ¡°Dong¡¯er, this is not the time to be emotional. Your cultivation is higher, so you should among thest few topete. If youpete first, your energy and power will be greatly depleted. When ites to the team round, we¡¯ll still need to rely on your martial soul fusion skills with Yuhao.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°Fourth senior, listen to me. Choosing topete first isn¡¯t an emotional decision. Xiao and Meng Hongchen are undoubtedly the core of the Sun Moon team. In my opinion, Meng Hongchen¡¯s venom is more difficult to deal with, even though Xiao Hongchen¡¯s abilities are greater. The venom from her Vermilion Clear Icetoad can greatly deplete one¡¯s soul power. Once you are unable to unleash any soul power, you¡¯ll be knocked out. Senior Dai Yueheng lost to her back then even though he was so strong. Once Meng Hongchen enters the stage, which one of you are confident of beating her? Only Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice can curb her.¡±

    ¡°However, Huo Yuhao is our main control soul master. Furthermore, he can¡¯t over-exert his body because of his physical condition. He¡¯s also the one we need to achieve victory in the team round. Considering all this, no one is more suitable than me to fight her.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was curious. ¡°Why is that so?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s because my Fire of Light can curb her venom. At the same time, it¡¯s also because of some special feelings that she has for me. I¡¯m not trying to exploit her feelings, but at least I know she won¡¯t try to kill me. This can tip the bnce in my favor. At the same time, Yuhao can discover her weaknesses even if I lose through his control and detection.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu opened her eyes wide and said, ¡°She-she likes you? She¡¯s really shameless...¡±

    Xu Sanshi pped his forehead and shouted, ¡°Qiuqiu! Your logic is really good. She¡¯s shameless because she likes Wang Dong? Don¡¯t you like him too?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned red, and she turned around, refusing to sreply to Xu Sanshi. Although she was quite willful, she was a very straightforward person, and said anything she wanted to. Over the past few days, she had slowly integrated into the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao knew that it was time for him to express his opinion. He understood Wang Dong¡¯er very well. He knew that she had said all that topete first and handle more of the pressure. Who could be sure that Meng Hongchen would be the first topete from the Sun Moon team? What if she wasn¡¯t the first? Wang Dong¡¯er would still have to face her opponent, and her opponent might even be Xiao Hongchen!

    Both parties were arch-enemies. They couldn¡¯t be surprised by any tactics that the Sun Moon team used.

    ¡°Alright, Dong¡¯er will be the first topete then.¡± Huo Yuhao made his decision. Even though he was gripping the handle of his wheelchair tightly at this point, he still made this difficult decision.

    They were a single entity. He couldn¡¯t leave her behind to fight just because of their rtionship.

    ¡°However, eldest senior has instructed me tomand the entire team in this tournament. Whether it¡¯s Dong¡¯er or anyone else, all of you must listen to my instructions. Whoever I choose topete willpete, and whoever I choose to remain on the bench will remain on the bench. This is so that we can eventually achieve victory. Whoever doesn¡¯t listen to my instructions will notpete anymore. Seniors, Dong¡¯er ,and Na Na, I hope all of you understand where I¡¯ming from. There can only be one voice during the tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sounded very calm now, but he appeared much more awe-inspiring than he had been before. His eyes were filled with a look of determination. Even He Caitou and Xu Sanshi, who were both the oldest, were stunned when they saw the look in his eyes. Right now, they were impressed by his aura.

    He Caitou was the first to express his support. He said, ¡°I agree. There can only be one voice during the tournament. I believe Yuhao will be able to lead us to victory.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡± Xu Sanshi added without any hesitation. They were brothers, but they were also teammates. If their hearts were not in unison against a strong opponent, they would already have lost half the battle!

    The rest didn¡¯t object either. Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze eventuallynded on Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at his burning gaze before ncing at his immobile left arm and lower limbs and then nodded immediately. She knew that Huo Yuhao would do something crazy if something happened to her because she was being stubborn. He hadnded in this state because of her. How could she bear to see him hurt because of her again?

    ------

    Morning. A cool and refreshing air blew through Radiant City under the illumination of the morning sun. It was chilly outside.

    It was the mostfortable season right now. The weather today was especially good. Inhaling the refreshing air along the streets of Radiant City felt very soothing.

    The entire city had been bustling with activity over the past few days. Whether it was day or night, the streets were packed with people.

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament had finally entered the round-robin stage. The confusion and mess from the presence of too many teams had finally ended. In the round-robin stage, more and more strong teams would face off against one another. It was early morning, and a huge crowd had already gathered at the suburbs where the tournament venue was. They were waiting excitedly for the tournament to truly begin!

 Chapter 290.3: Team Sun Moon

    The rules of the round-robin stage weren¡¯t as direct as they were in the elimination rounds. The thirty-two teams that had advanced to the round-robin stage were divided into four groups. The eight teams in each group would face off against each of the rest of the seven teams once.

    On the first day, four matches would be held in the first two groups. On the second day, another four matches would be held in the next two groups. This would continue until all the matches werepleted. The entire round-robin stage wouldst around fourteen days. The top two teams from each group would progress to the quarterfinals.

    Thest eight wouldpete in the quarterfinals, and the victorious four teams would advance to the semifinals. The winners of each semifinal match would then progress to the finals, where the eventual champion would be decided.

    The Tang Sect, Shrek Academy, and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were arranged in the same group. Since the rest of the five teams could make it past the elimination rounds, they were naturally skilled too. Their group was the group of death! Furthermore, the Tang Sect and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were going to face off in the first match of the round-robin stage.

    ---

    ¡°This format isn¡¯t very good for us!¡± Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were walking together to the tournament venue.

    ¡°How is it not good for us? I think it¡¯s pretty advantageous for us! Only one of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy will enter the quarterfinals. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Xiao Hongchen said heartlessly.

    Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes and said, ¡°This is what you want, but not what they want. Do you really think the Tang Sect will give up this time?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was stunned, ¡°Why not? Didn¡¯t they do so in thest round? I think it¡¯s only wise for them to make the same choice. While the rest of the teams aren¡¯t that weak, they shouldn¡¯t be our match, either. Isn¡¯t it good for them to enter the quarterfinal with us before we meet in the final? Of course, the condition is that either we or them have to beat the Holy Ghost Sect. Come to think of it, we haven¡¯t discovered which team is from the Body Sect...¡±

    Meng Hongchen was a little annoyed as she looked at her elder brother and said, ¡°Elder brother, please grow up. Those people from the Tang Secte from Shrek Academy. If you were in their shoes, would you be willing to progress with your arch-enemy, or progress with Shrek Academy by teaming up with them? I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll give up today. Even if they can¡¯t beat us, they¡¯ll try their best to deplete our powers. On the contrary, I think we should concede defeat in this match. As long as we beat Shrek¡¯s team, we can progress. Compared to the Tang Sect, Shrek is weaker.¡±

    ¡°Concede defeat?¡± Xiao Hongchen opened his eyes wide. ¡°Younger sister, is your brain damaged? Are you asking us to concede defeat to the Tang Sect in front of His Majesty and grandpa? Not everyone knows about the Tang Sect¡¯s background, but grandpa knows. They might not even choose to fight us. Even if they do, it¡¯ll be a great opportunity to exact revenge on them. At most, we¡¯ll just reveal our true abilities earlier. Huo Yuhao is crippled right now. If we concede defeat, how can we ever show our face in the empire again?¡±

    ¡°Bro¡­¡± Meng Hongchen wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by Xiao Hongchen.

    Xiao Hongchen looked much more serious all of a sudden. ¡°Meng, I know that you¡¯re smarter than me most of the time. However, do you know why grandpa made me the team leader instead of you?¡±

    Meng Hongchen was stunned.

    Xiao Hongchen said, ¡°We arepeting for glory. At times, it¡¯s not good to be overly rational. We need to have a forward-looking spirit. Have you ever thought what the motivational impact would be on the team if we can defeat the Tang Sect? You don¡¯t have to say anything else. No matter what, we must never give up on this match.¡±

    Meng Hongchen sighed and said, ¡°Elder brother, I know what the benefits of winning are. However, if we lose¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s extremely dangerous to undermine our chances before we even fight? I¡¯ve already made my decision. Since youck fighting spirit, I shall not let youpete first. You¡¯ll be thest. In the individual round, we still can make choices. Our fight with the Tang Sect will be decided in the team round.¡±

    Meng Hongchen sighed and didn¡¯t add anything else. Xiao Hongchen wasn¡¯t wrong, either. At times, a determined mindset was more important than rationality.

    In the previous edition of the tournament, their overall abilities were greater than Shrek Academy¡¯s, and they still lost. After they returned, they tried to summarize the reason why they lost, and they came to a conclusion¡­ belief! Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had been inspired to fight for Shrek¡¯s glory. Along with Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng¡¯s abilities, they eventually defeated the stronger Sun Moon team.

    Xiao Hongchen was still bothered by that defeat. Over the past five years, he had cultivated tirelessly almost every day so that he could avenge his humiliation. He had sacrificed a lot, and no one was clearer about that than Meng Hongchen. That was why she stopped trying to convince him. In her heart, her fighting spirit was also lit.

    The resting area at the side of the tournament stage had been renovated over the past two days, and only the original VIP resting area was left. The resting area was also re-decorated, and the original wooden benches were switched tofortable sofas. After all, there would be at most be eight teams at once in the resting area. It wasn¡¯t packed as tightly as before.

    When Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen brought their team to the tournament venue, they immediately saw the Tang Sect in the resting area.

    Bei Bei was still absent. The rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were all seated. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were shut. It seemed like he was resting his mind, while the rest of them appeared to be very calm.

    Meng Hongchen even suspected that she was wrong when she saw them. Were they really going to give up this match?

    At this point, someone from the Tang Sect stood up and walked towards the Sun Moon team.

    Xiao Hongchen squinted at him and stopped in his tracks.

    Xu Sanshi was the one who had walked over. He walked in front of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time! How are the both of you?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s facial muscles twitched. It¡¯s been a long time? Were you blind over the past few days?

    ¡°Yes! Long time no see.¡± Xiao Hongchen revealed a foxy smile on his face.

    Xu Sanshi sighed and said, ¡°Time passes really quickly! I never expected us to meet five yearster. In the previous round, we decided to surrender because we understand how tough it must be on the both of you. I wonder if you can return the favor today. It¡¯ll be great if we can progress together!¡±

    Xiao Hongchen snorted. ¡°We are not so spineless.¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked very sad. ¡°I hope the few people who died back then are resting in peace now. If I can, I¡¯d like go over to pay my respects. It¡¯s hard to show mercy during the tournament. We¡¯re really not being hostile.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Xiao Hongchen was furious, and almost snapped. However, Xu Sanshi had already turned around and left.

    Meng Hongchen dragged him back, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled. He¡¯s trying to provoke you.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen quickly calmed down. However, his eyes looked very cold, to the point that his expression was almost frightening. ¡°Even if he didn¡¯t remind me, I will never forget our vendetta from the previous tournament!¡±

    ---

    The eight teams who were supposed topete in the morning had already arrived. Shrek¡¯s team was seated beside the Tang Sect. Wang Qiu¡¯er was very close to Huo Yuhao, around three meters apart. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were still shut, and he didn¡¯t move in his wheelchair. It was as if he were asleep.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had seen him when she first arrived. However, she didn¡¯t fix her gaze on him. The cold look on her face was even more intense than before. Her ferocious aura could be felt even if one got slightly close to her.

    ¡°Hi, Qiu¡¯er.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was seated beside Huo Yuhao, and greeted Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er only nodded at Wang Dong¡¯er and didn¡¯t say anything back. Wang Dong¡¯er was dressed like a man now, whereas Wang Qiu¡¯er was wearing a veil. It wasn¡¯t easy to tell they were identical.

    Dai Huabin also looked very cold, not much different from Wang Qiu¡¯er. Zhu Lu and Wu Feng were openly hostile towards the Tang Sect. Xie Huanyue and Ning Tian were expressionless. On the other hand, Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan were winking at Wang Dong¡¯er and Xiao Xiao asionally. The Lan sisters who were substitutes wore smiles on their faces.

    Up on the main stage, Ju Zi pushed Xu Tianran over to the main spot. After tidying up his shirt, she sat down beside him.

    Xu Tianran grabbed her hand and ced it on his thigh. He tapped her hand gently. Ju Zi smiled, and looked very cute.

    Xu Tianran smiled as he said, ¡°Today¡¯s first match is between the Sun Moon team and the Tang Sect. It should be quite interesting.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and asked, ¡°Really? The Sun Moon team will surely win.¡±

    Xu Tianran twisted his head to look at Jing Hongchen and asked, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, what do you think?¡±

    Jing Hongchen furrowed his brow as he replied, ¡°I think it¡¯s difficult to tell. This is only the round-robin stage. Both parties won¡¯t be eliminated even if they lose. It¡¯s difficult to tell whether they¡¯ll give their best. If they do, it¡¯ll also be difficult to tell the oue. The eventual victory will be decided in the team round. For teams like these two which are very close in terms of abilities, the elimination round is only a way to deplete each other¡¯s power and increase their own advantage. It¡¯s a way to ensure greater chances for the team round.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and asked, ¡°Hallmaster Jing, have you arranged a strategy for the Sun Moon team?¡±

    Jing Hongchen returned the smile and answered, ¡°An eagle¡¯s wings will always remain weak if it doesn¡¯t learn how to fly on its own. I let them do whatever they want. My grandson and granddaughter have been working hard over the past few years so that they can defeat the bunch from the Tang Sect in this tournament. I¡¯m also eager to see what¡¯ll go down, even though I hope that they won¡¯t need to give it their all at this stage.¡±

 Chapter 291.1: Wang Dongers Fifth Soul Skill

    Chapter 291.1: Wang Dong''er''s Fifth Soul Skill

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°I¡¯m even more fascinated and interested in this battle after listening to your analysis. Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡±

    The judge had entered the arena by now. He announced the rules of the round robin stage before he added a final announcement. ¡°Group one: the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy versus the Tang Sect. Participants, please enter the waiting area. Will the first contestants of the single elimination phase please step on stage?¡±

    Both teams stood up at almost the same time, with the exception of Huo Yuhao. Their gazes met, and sparks seemed to fly in that instant. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were still closed, as if he were actually sleeping.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes were ice-cold, but her eyes were locked on Huo Yuhao from the beginning to the end. She frowned involuntarily when she noticed that he hadn¡¯t opened his eyes at all. The Tang Sect had forfeited thest round, and she was incredibly displeased with their decision. Will they give this round up as well? No matter what happens, I will lead Shrek Academy into the next round. We have to defeat the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team, and we will also have to defeat the Tang Sect. What should I do if they abandon this round once more?

    Thoughts were still spinning around in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s head while the contestants entered the waiting area.

    Nan Qiuqiu whispered to Jing Ziyan beside her over at the Tang Sect¡¯s camp. ¡°Do you think we can win this round? That¡¯s the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! They came in second ce in the previous round, and I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯ve been second ce for two seasons in a row. They have never lost to anyone else besides the Shrek Academy team.¡±

    Jing Ziyan answered mysteriously, ¡°Does that mean you favor our opponents in this round?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°Of course. We forfeited thest round, but why aren¡¯t we forfeiting this one? It¡¯s better for us if we conserve our strength and our energy to fight the other teams. This is the first round, and if we end up losing this round and we all end up wounded and exhausted, doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re going home?¡±

    Jing Ziyan felt a little speechless. ¡°Does that mean you believe we have the ability to defeat the Shrek Academy team? If we forfeit this round and we lose against Shrek Academy, how do we progress to the next round? Only two teams from each group can progress into the quarter-finals.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu widened her eyes. ¡°What? You think the Tang Sect, a sect without any reputation at all, can progress into the quarter-finals? Are you sure about what you just said? Unless every single one of them is as powerful as you are, how can they progress into the quarter-finals? It¡¯s just not possible. Their most optimal choice should be to try their best to win a few rounds in the group stage, so that they can have a good ranking at the end.¡±

    Jing Ziyan chuckled and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that. How about, let¡¯s have a bet?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu had always been rather stubborn and defiant. ¡°What are we betting on? How¡¯s that going to work?¡±

    Jing Ziyan replied, ¡°We can bet on who emerges victorious in this round. You favor the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team, right? I am betting that the Tang Sect will win this round. If you win, I will take you Radiant City¡¯s mostvish and luxurious hotel for a delicious meal. But if you lose, you have to fight against me one-versus-one over ten different asions, and split over ten different days. Your annihtion element is quite interesting.¡±

    The corner of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mouth twitched, and it was evident that she was reminiscing about a certain unpleasant memory. She deliberated for a little while, and she nodded vigorously as she said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a done deal, then. You can¡¯t cheat, though. I feel like I can already see a sumptuous meal in front of me.¡±

    Jing Ziyan said arrogantly, ¡°I will make this bet with you, in the name of the Tang Sect¡¯s glory. If I lose, so be it, and all I have to do is spend some money to take you out for a meal. It¡¯s a deal, neither of us can cheat.¡±

    Ji Juechen was sitting on Jing Ziyan¡¯s other side, and his mouth twitched, but his eyes were as calm as always. His gaze was fixated on Huo Yuhao. This epic battle will surely inspire me in some way. It¡¯s your show, Yuhao. But how much of your true abilities can you unleash with the state that your body is in?

    ---

    Both teams were inside the waiting area at this point.

    Xiao Hongchen gestured to one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team members, and the youth immediately leapt to his feet and jumped onto thepetition stage. He was big and tall, and his shoulders were extremely broad. His eyes were cool and collected, and he seemed very calm to the people watching him. He could be considered very dignified and rather dashing, with especially wide hands, with long and slender fingers. The audience could tell that he was quite formidable as soon as he got onto thepetition stage.

    Wang Dong¡¯er patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand gently over in the Tang Sect¡¯s camp, and she stood up from her seat.

    Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes as she stood up. His eyes were cold, and could even be described as grim and unfeeling. Huo Yuhao gave a faint nod back to Wang Dong¡¯er, but he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Wang Dong¡¯er tapped on the ground with her foot and drifted onto thepetition stage. The protective soul barriers rose from the ground the moment she stepped onto the stage and separated the contestants from the outside world.

    ¡°It¡¯s Wang Dong!¡± Meng Hongchen was seated inside the waiting area, and she felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water had just sshed over her fighting spirit and extinguished half of it.

    A strange smile broke out across Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face. ¡°Looks like the heavens are on our side, and it was the right decision not to let you take point. If you identally lost to him, we would have had real problems in the subsequent rounds.¡±

    Meng Hongchen bit down on her lower lip and mumbled under her breath, ¡°If only I had known Wang Dong was the first one, then I would have told Shi Xing to have some mercy and notnd any killing blows. It¡¯s toote now! What should I do?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was clearly exasperated, but he didn¡¯t seem surprised by her reaction at all. ¡°Whose side are you on? The question we should be thinking about is whether we can win this round!¡±

    They were quarreling on their side, while Wang Dong¡¯er and the youth from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team walked to the center of the stage.

    ---

    The judge nced at them both as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°This is the first fight of the round robin stage. Be careful, you two, and try your best not to wound or cripple your opponent. I will immediately separate the two of you once I deem one party to be victorious, and neither party is to continue attacking. Otherwise, I will dere the vitor disqualified. Do you understand?¡±

    There were too many people who were either wounded or dead from the elimination rounds, and the organizingmittee had shouldered quite some pressure. It was natural that they would require the judges to be a lot stricter than before.

    The youth from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team nodded and said, ¡°My name is Shi Xing. Remember my name; perhaps it will follow you for the rest of your life.¡± He turned around towards the edge next to his camp as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er frowned and asked the judge, ¡°Are youths nowadays all so ridiculous?¡±

    The corner of the judge¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Prepare for battle. Thispetition relies on fighting strength and abilities, not how powerful your mouth is.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said inly, ¡°Don¡¯t be biased. Otherwise, you will regret it.¡±

    The judge was momentarily stunned. He had been the judge for quite a few rounds during the elimination round, and this was the first time that he was encountering somebody that dared to threaten a judge! This fellow was a little outrageous!

    Wang Dong¡¯er was just about to turn around and return to her own side, but she suddenly saw someone waving to her from the other side... wasn¡¯t that Meng Hongchen? Wang Dong¡¯er nced at her helplessly, and she waved back at the same time before she retreated to her own side.

    Meng Hongchen instantly became excited as she turned towards Xiao Hongchen and said, ¡°Did you see that, brother? He waved to me! Did you see how exasperated and helpless he looked? It¡¯s clear that he doesn¡¯t want to face us in battle. We have to get him into our academy after thepetition, no matter what! I can be with him that way!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re so hopelessly infatuated. I¡¯ve had enough of you. Sit your ass down, you have utterly disgraced the Hongchen family.¡± Xiao Hongchen was practically growling as softly as he could.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes met Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes when she turned back around and walked towards her own camp. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were ice-cold at this moment, as if he was in an entirely different state altogether, and he made a gesture at her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded softly to show that she understood.

    She walked all the way to thepetition stage¡¯s edge before she turned back around once more. However, she could see just as she was turning around that the judge¡¯s arm had already swung downwards to signal that the fight had begun.

    Do you have to be so obviously biased? Wang Dong¡¯er frowned faintly. She wasn¡¯t hasty to charge forward, and her eyes sparkled as a pair of dazzling wings extended from behind her back.

    Enormous blue wings covered her entire back, and she was immediately nketed with a beautiful bluish-goldenyer of light. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings flickered with golden spots, and it felt as if these spots hade alive as a dense aura of light surged into the sky.

    The first person to make a move was Shi Xing, who was representing the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team. He took a step out and dashed forward as his flying-type soul tool extended out behind his body at the same time. It took two elerations before he surged into the sky and flew high into the air. Four streaks of brilliant white light erupted from behind his flying-type soul tool and propelled his body into the sky like a shooting star.

    A ss 4 scarlet-red explosive shell barreled toward Wang Dong¡¯er as he soared through the sky.

    This season was just like thest one, and soul engineers were not allowed to use stationary soul tools. ss 4 explosive shells had a simr reputation to Milk Bottles amongst ss 4 soul tools, and they were extremely powerful. However, a longer time was needed to charge them up. That Shi Xing could control his flying-type soul tool to rise through the air while firing an explosive shell so quickly meant he was quite adept with soul tools.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shifted her mouth indifferently as she pped her wings gently and rose into the sky along with him.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao agreed to let her take the first round was substantially rted to the fact that she could fly. Sects and academies that consisted mostly of soul engineers had a higher win rate in the elimination rounds before this because of the tournament¡¯s new rules. The immense advantage that soul engineers had because they could fly was just too evident.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shot into the sky like an arrow, but a strange scene urred immediately afterwards... the ss 4 explosive shell suddenly changed direction and followed closely behind her!

 Chapter 291.2: Wang Dongers Fifth Soul Skill

    An explosive shell with tracking abilities? Then it¡¯s not a ss 4 shell anymore. But why does its power look like a ss 4 shell? Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain was calcting rapidly in the Tang Sect¡¯s waiting area.

    This round was especially important for the Tang Sect, and Wang Dong¡¯er was the first one to fight. Huo Yuhao was afraid that he would lose his cool and his rationality because he was too concerned, and that he wouldn¡¯t keep his calm to continuemanding his team in the tournament. Therefore, when his eyes were closed before this, he was using one of the skills of necromancy that he had learned from the Cmity Necromancer, Electrolux, which was called the Necromancer¡¯s Silent Heart. This skill allowed him to enter a peculiarly calm state, and the skill also greatly boosted his senses. The only downside was that he would be incapable of any emotions at all over the next day, and he would only use the most rational and reasonable methods to think about things.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s second soul ring sparkled, and a golden light burst forth from the light spots on her wings behind her. The sphere of light immediately collided with the explosive shell hurtling through the air.

    Intense explosions could be heard, and sphere of scorching red light over ten meters in diameter instantly lit up the sky. The violent shockwaves that resulted from the collision caused the air in the sky to twist and contort.

    This was a ss 5 explosive shell after all, and the shell possessed power close to a ss 6 soul tool¡¯s attack. Shi Xing was sophisticated, indeed!

    Shi Xing revealed five soul rings; two yellow and three purple rings, which contrasted with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ringbination was the most optimalbination, and she was also a Soul Emperor. There was quite a gap between their cultivations.

    However, since Shi Xing could unleash a ss 5 explosive shell with tracking abilities within such a short period of time, it was likely that he wasn¡¯t far from his sixth ring even though he only had five rings at the moment.

    The vigorous shockwaves touched Wang Dong¡¯er in the end, and forced her body upwards. On the other side, three more explosive shells whistled through the air and formed a triangr formation in the sky. This formationpletely locked Wang Dong¡¯er in and sealed everything off as she rose up through the air.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t hasty to soar upwards, but neither did she intend to meet these shells head-on. She withdrew her wings, and plummeted down through the air just like that. However, the explosive shells could lock onto her and track her down, and they immediately pursued her as she fell. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t seem like she was about to reduce her speed, and she plunged down right towards the ground. The location that she was going towards was actually where the judge was, and she began to shout as she continued diving through the air, ¡°Watch out, please move away!¡±

    The judge received a rude shock. They were only in the round robin stage, so they couldn¡¯t send that powerful a soul master out to be the judge. He was a seven-ringed Soul Sage, but he still couldn¡¯t take the force of three explosive shells detonating at the same time. What¡¯s this dude from the Tang Sect trying to do? Is he trying to die together with me?

    The judge released his martial soul in his astonishment, and his body moved several dozen meters away in a sh. He was actually an agility-type soul master!

    Wang Dong¡¯er had no intention of letting him go. She expanded her wings again, and switched directions gracefully in the air as she chased after the judge.

    ---

    Back on the rostrum, Xu Tianran said inly, ¡°Relieve that judge of his duties after thepetition. You have to be discerning even if you¡¯re biased. He¡¯s going to disgrace our empire by showing such bias when everyone¡¯s watching. What an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Cold light shed across Ju Zi¡¯s eyes. However, the image of her and Wang Dong¡¯er healing Huo Yuhao together surfaced in her mind at this moment.

    He must know that she¡¯s a girl by now. They¡­ are they together now?

    Ju Zi could feel her heart starting to palpitate as this question appeared in her mind.

    ¡°Why are your hands so cold, Ju Zi?¡± Xu Tianran asked confusedly.

    Ju Zi felt her heart skip a beat and said hurriedly, ¡°The tournament is too exciting. Perhaps I¡¯m just a little nervous.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled, ¡°You can¡¯t be crushing on that youth from the Tang Sect, can you? He¡¯s the most handsome man I¡¯ve ever seen, though. I couldn¡¯t match up to him even if I could walk.¡±

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Are you envious, your Highness?¡±

    Xu Tianran chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯m also a man, how can I not be envious?¡± He was wearing a smile on his face, but the sparkle in his eyes was as cold as ever. He couldn¡¯t please his women, so deep in his heart, he was quite afraid that his women wouldn¡¯t be loyal to him. He couldn¡¯t take it even if it was just emotional disloyalty. However, Ju Zi¡¯s next sentence pacified the fury that was just rising in his heart.

    Ju Zi continued, ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re envious for me, because that means you care about me. However, there¡¯s no need to be envious about a girl, is there?¡±

    ¡°A girl?¡± Xu Tianran was momentarily stunned.

    Ju Zi bent down beside his ear and whispered, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that Wang Dong is a girl? How could a man be that good-looking?¡±

    Xu Tianran was still shocked. ¡°So, she¡¯s a girl. How did you find out?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me to investigate the Tang Sect? My people made that judgment from their intel and observations. She¡¯s not just a girl, I think she¡¯s together with Huo Yuhao. They stay with each other every day, and she¡¯s the one that takes care of him.¡±

    ¡°A girl, huh. She would be very pretty if she were wearing women¡¯s clothes.¡± Xu Tianran murmured to himself. However, his eyes suddenly became cruel and fierce as he spoke.

    If¡­ if I hadn¡¯t lost the ability to be a man, how many beautiful girls like that would I have for myself?

    ¡°You¡¯re hurting me, your Highness!¡± Ju Zi eximed agonizingly.

    Xu Tianran froze, and his eyes quickly returned to normal. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ju Zi grabbed his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, your Highness. Please don¡¯t think too much about that. The empire¡¯s technology is so advanced, it¡¯s just a matter of time before we discover something that can heal your wounds.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Tianran nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s watch thepetition.¡±

    ---

    The scene on stage had changed drastically as they were talking. Wang Dong¡¯er was right about to crash into the ground as she plunged through the air, and the judge was running away as quickly as he could. He wasn¡¯t a seven-ringed Soul Sage for nothing, and it wasn¡¯t that easy for Wang Dong¡¯er to catch up to him even though she was flying through the air.

    The ground was right before her eyes. Wang Dong¡¯er suddenly turned around, and her slender legs tapped lightly on the floor¡¯s surface. She bounced off the ground at the moment the three explosive shells behind her were about to touch her, and she flew back into the sky at lightning speed.

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Three violent explosions rang out at almost the same time. Even though thepetition stage was reinforced by soul tools, it couldn¡¯t take an explosion as forceful as this one. Metal pieces flew in all directions, and intense shockwaves reached every corner of thepetition stage. But those shockwaves only seemed to push Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s away, and helped her rise even faster through the air. Wang Dong¡¯er was covered by a golden light, and the shockwaves didn¡¯t hurt her at all.

    However, a frightening pressure descended from the sky right at that moment.

    Shi Xing naturally wasn¡¯t idle when Wang Dong¡¯er was falling through the sky with three explosive shells on her tail. The attack that he had justunched was meant to preupy her. Xiao Hongchen had already shared his findings regarding the Tang Sect with hispanions before this, and Wang Dong¡¯er was one of the people that they had to pay extra attention to. They were already aware that Wang Dong¡¯er had six rings now.

    Even Shi Xing himself didn¡¯t expect his second round of explosive shells would force Wang Dong¡¯er to tuck tail and run. Distance was extremely important in a fight between soul engineers and soul masters, and soul engineers would reign supreme if there was enough distance between the two parties.

    Shi Xing was decisive, and immediately withdrew the other soul tools that he was about to use to continue his suppression of Wang Dong¡¯er. A fiery-red heavy cannon appeared on his shoulder.

    This heavy cannon was about two meters long, and is barrel about thirty centimeters in diameter. It began to release a dense and searing aura from the moment it appeared. It was made from Scarletsun Steel, and its formation arrays were sculpted from Scarletme Crystals. The most important thing about using crystals to create formation arrays was that one couldn¡¯t afford to make a single mistake or miscalction, and one had to finish everything in one go. Otherwise, there was no way to change anything, as crystals weren¡¯t as malleable as metal.

    Shi Xing began to infuse as much soul power as he could into the cannon. This was clearly a ss 6 Scarletme Cannon, and it was being charged up as high as possible. This charging process was almostplete when Wang Dong¡¯er turned back around and rocketed upwards.

    A cruel look shed across Shi Xing¡¯s eyes. So what if you¡¯re a Soul Emperor? Even Soul Sages won¡¯t dare to meet my Scarletme Cannon¡¯s attack head-on! I wonder how you¡¯re going to dodge this?!

    A miniature metal tube rose discreetly from his left shoulder, and a ruby-red beam fired out andnded directly on Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ---

    Is that¡­ a positioning-type soul tool?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a lot more focused as he sat inside the waiting area. Positioning-type soul tools were typically used for stationary soul tools, as they were more practical, and they were equivalent to the stationary soul tool¡¯s sights. It was apparent that the positioning-type soul tool that Shi Xing was using wasn¡¯t that simple, and the ss 6 Scarletme Cannon¡¯s barrel shone with red light as soon as the ruby light beam fired out from his positioning-type soul tool.

    ---

    It was very taxing for ss 5 soul engineers to operate ss 6 soul tools, and this was still the case even though Shi Xing was nearing his sixth soul ring. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t add any more tracking mechanisms to his ss 6 Scarletme Cannon. However, he did pull a cheap trick to get around this. He used a ss 4 positioning-type soul tool and merged it with his soul cannon, giving his cannon shell a certain ability to track its target. Furthermore, the Scarletme Cannon itself had certain abilities to lock onto its target. It was clear that he intended to smash everything onto Wang Dong¡¯er without further ado, so that he could end the fight right here and now.

    Wang Dong¡¯er could sense the immense pressureing towards her, and suddenly halted in her upwards flight. She spread out her wings, and looked up calmly at the frightening Scarletme Cannon that was still charging up above her.

    She glowed even more intensely, to the point where her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings, which were mainly blue, were nketed with brilliant golden hues!

 Chapter 291.3: Wang Dongers Fifth Soul Skill

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Shi Xing roared and fired off the heavy cannon in his hands, and a frightening scarlet-red beam of fire erupted from the Scarletme Cannon. The mes froze in midair for an instant before they instantly transformed into an enormous fireball that contorted and undted with wave-like patterns before arriving before Wang Dong¡¯er in an eyeblink.

    Every single person in the audience held their breath. The gigantic fireball had swelled to the point where it was almost half again asrge as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body. Could she take the hit? Was she about to be consumed by the fireball?

    Everyone had a very intuitive judgment about beauty. Even though Shi Xing was representing the Sun Moon Empire, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ¡°handsomeness¡± and her good looks gave her quite a number of supporters. Many people subconsciously closed their eyes, as they couldn¡¯t bear to see such a handsome youth perish just like that.

    Only those who kept their eyes open witnessed something that was nothing short of a miracle. Wang Dong¡¯er had no intention of evading the enormous ball of me. Instead, she opened her arms, and her entire body seemed to transform into transparent golden water crystals in that moment. Her fifth soul ring lit up at the same time.

    The tremendous Scarletme cannon shell had already arrived. However, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body was instantly covered by a golden ripple, and she burst with light that seemed like a reflection from the water crystals that enveloped the cannon shell in front of her. The cannon shell¡¯s forward momentum was slowed, and Wang Dong¡¯er actually opened her arms just like that and wrapped them around the huge cannon shell.

    Yes, she hugged it. Furthermore, the incredibly unstable and reactive cannon shell didn¡¯t explode at all¡­

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Even Xu Tianran gasped involuntarily from the rostrum.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes had bepletely golden by now. There was a tinge of mockery in her eyes as she stared at the young man opposite her. ¡°I¡¯m giving it back to you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her hands up into the sky and passed the cannon shell onto her right hand. The cannon shell shone with even more intense light as she raised it high into the air, and the scarlet-red mes were converted into brilliant golden fire. In the next moment, the cannon shell left a zing and dazzling trail as it hurtled back towards Shi Xing.

    Wang Dong¡¯er muttered under her breath as she tossed the enormous cannon shell through the air, ¡°How can you be willing to show me your trump card if I don¡¯t give you enough time?¡±

    The golden colors on her body receded as she threw the huge cannon shell away. Her wings opened behind her, and she chased after the cannon shell towards Shi Xing.

    Shi Xing waspletely rooted to the spot. A million possible oues had surfaced in his mind when he fired off his heavy cannon, and the worst possible oue was that Wang Dong¡¯er had an Invincible Barrier to defend herself against this strike. But even so, he would still have time to continue attacking, and using an Invincible Barrier also consumed soul power. Furthermore, this was equivalent to him erasing one of his opponent¡¯s trump cards... but never in his wildest dreams did he expect the attack that he had charged for so long toe back towards him.

    The golden cannon shell was whistling through the air towards him, and it wasn¡¯t any slower than before. Shi Xing immediately recovered as he pped himself on the chest while he gritted his teeth. A golden barrier instantly rose from his body and shielded his entire body within.

    The person that unleashed an Invincible Barrier wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, it was him!

    Boom!

    A frightening explosion echoed through the sky, a golden flower blooming with riveting and bedazzling beauty.

    Shi Xing was at the center of this explosion, and he could feel that his soul power was being consumed at an excessively rming rate. An Invincible Barrier could only be used once, and it began to make crackling noises, as if it couldn¡¯t withstand the terrifying explosion.

    It took him immense effort before the explosion¡¯s aftershocks finally disappeared. However, his soul power had diminished to less than fifty percent because of this, along with the soul tools he had used before this.

    What made Shi Xing even more terrified was the fact that Wang Dong¡¯er hadpletely vanished from his field of view.

    ¡°Above you, fool!¡± Xiao Hongchen raged from the sidelines. It was a pity that Shi Xing couldn¡¯t hear him at all from within thepetition stage¡¯s protective barrier.

    An enormous golden hexagram hovered above Shi Xing¡¯s head. Just as his eyes were darting around fearfully, arge golden beam descended from the sky and swallowed his entire body.

    Shi Xing¡¯s ss 5 protective soul barrier that he used to protect his body was immediately triggered, but nobody could see him anymore.

    Wang Dong¡¯er dove from high above the sky as she extended her wings, and a golden sphere quickly condensed and took form in front of her.

    ng!

    Shi Xing¡¯s protective soul barrier was ripped to pieces, and another Invincible Barrier rose from his body. However, Shi Xing had less than thirty percent of his soul power left, and he could do little more than watch as another brilliant golden sphere mmed against his second Invincible Barrier. Sharp and shrill sounds could be heard as uncountable golden sparks erupted into the air.

    Shi Xing¡¯s soul power rapidly dwindled, and his eyes were full of despair by now. Wang Dong¡¯er was still very close by, and her wings were fully extended as she descended from the sky like the Goddess of Light. He knew that he had been defeated.

    ¡°I admit defeat!¡± Shi Xing shouted as loud as he could. He had learned of the Tang Sect¡¯s identity from Xiao Hongchen long before this, and knew both parties were mortal enemies. He didn¡¯t want to lose his life here because of any unwarranted stubbornness. Furthermore, there was still a group battle after this, and this wasn¡¯t the time for him to give everything he could. He was the first to fight, so all he had to do was use Milk Bottles to recover his soul power, and he would be back in peak condition when it was time for the group battle.

    Shi Xing felt as if he had lost this battle way too unconvincingly, and because he didn¡¯t know anything about Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s insidious fifth soul skill. He still didn¡¯t know exactly what Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s soul skill had done even now.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes flowed with mockery when she heard him admit defeat, the judge beneath her already hollering at her to stop.

    Wang Dong¡¯er extended her arms to signal that she wasn¡¯t attacking anymore. She withdrew her wings and slowly descended to the ground.

    The golden sphere that she had released continued rubbing against Shi Xing¡¯s Invincible Barrier, but the radiance was getting weaker and weaker. The Butterfly Goddess sh originally had an area of effect, but she had focused it into a single point, giving it an incredible destructive force.

    Shi Xing heaved a sigh of relief as if a huge burden were lifted off his chest. The Invincible Barrier that he was using was the strongest possible type, and he looked on as her attack gradually grew weaker to the point where it could no longer hurt him. His Invincible Barrier was enough to hold on.

    Wang Dong¡¯er drifted to the ground and turned towards the judge. She said mockingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not attacking him anymore. However, if I had been the one that was at a disadvantage, would you have been so worried?¡±

    The judge shot a cold look at her and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try and find out?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her index finger and wiggled it at him. ¡°You won¡¯t get that chance. Can you dere that I have won this fight?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The Tang Sect is victorious in the first single elimination match.¡±

    The judge hadn¡¯t even finished his sentence when an agonizing howl echoed from the sky, and a body plummeted down in the next moment.

    The judge was still a Soul Sage after all, so his reactions were extremely quick. He immediately caught the body falling through the air in a sh of motion.

    Shi Xing¡¯s face was ghastly pale, and he was exhaling much more than he was inhaling, while his life energy was slipping away at a dangerous rate.

    ¡°You¡­ you killed him.¡± The judge turned back towards Wang Dong¡¯er, infuriated.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression seemed as innocent as ever. ¡°Which eye of yours saw that I killed him? I came down in the same moment that he admitted defeat, and I have been by your side this entire time.¡±

    The first match was over, and the protective barriers around thepetition stage naturally receded and disappeared. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen leapt onto stage at almost the same time as they raced over.

    They were also astounded when Shi Xing dropped from the sky for some unknown reason. They could clearly see that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess sh had disappeared before that. Did Shi Xing burn through every ounce of his soul power?

    However, they could immediately tell when they came near that Shi Xing¡¯s circumstance wasn¡¯t as simple as him exhausting all his soul power. The judge caught him before he hit the ground, and even if he didn¡¯t have any soul power left, he would only be exhausted and fatigued. But he wasn¡¯t breathing anymore at the moment, and he was as dead as he could be.

    Xiao Hongchen roared furiously, ¡°Wang Dong! You dare to kill my teammate?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wore the same innocent expression and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone. I have no idea why he¡¯s dead. Are you blind?¡±

    Meng Hongchen hesitated and said, ¡°Brother, can it be that Shi Xing has some hidden problems? It¡¯s true that Wang Dong didn¡¯t do anything to him.¡±

    ¡°Bam!¡± Xiao Hongchen spun around and pped Meng Hongchen across the face. ¡°Shut up! You¡¯ve be so disloyal because of your infatuation. You¡¯re still defending your opponents even at a time like this. Get lost!¡±

    Meng Hongchen felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at Xiao Hongchen¡¯s bloodshot eyes. She felt extremely aggrieved, but she didn¡¯t dare to say anything more. Meng Hongchen lifted her head and nced at Wang Dong¡¯er, before tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned and ran away.

    Xiao Hongchen took Shi Xing¡¯s body from the judge. He red at Wang Dong¡¯er and gritted his teeth. ¡°I will not stop until I draw myst breath.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled faintly and said, ¡°Come, then. Are you up next? Or are you going to keep letting your teammates die?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath, and his outraged expression gradually calmed down. Instead, he said nothing more as he stepped off the stage with Shi Xing¡¯s corpse in his arms.

    Wang Dong¡¯er took out a Milk Bottle as if she were demonstrating a magic trick, and she stood there quietly to replenish her soul power.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had won this battle. She had eliminated her opponent, to the point where he didn¡¯t get to give everything that he had. It could be said that she had won this fight absolutely and perfectly.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ fifth soul skill ¨C the Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession.

    Wang Dong¡¯er could transform herself into a light elemental form for three seconds, and this allowed her to develop an affinity for every other element except the darkness element. This soul skill amplified the force of her other soul skills by one hundred percent, and this also allowed her to strike back at darkness elements with three times the original force.

    Wang Dong¡¯er relied on the Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession¡¯s special characteristic of developing an affinity for other elements to control the enormous fire-type Scarletme Cannon shell. She was then able to throw it back, and thus clinch her victory.

    Shi Xing¡¯s death obviously had something to do with her. Her Butterfly Goddess sh was discreetly charged up with the ability that her Broken Devil of Light right arm bone carried, the Devilbreaking Golden Light, which erupted only in thest second and directly pierced into Shi Xing¡¯s heart. How could he survive an attack like that?

    Wang Dong¡¯er had murdered one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main team members, which meant that she had undoubtedly greatly weakened the opposing team¡¯s overall strength. This was extremely beneficial for the group battle that was toe afterwards, and towards Shrek Academy¡¯s fight against the Sun Moon Empire after today.

 Chapter 292.1: An Astonishing Rainbow Crossing A Hundred Meters

    Xiao Hongchen didn¡¯t take the second fight because of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s words. The next person to fight was a stocky and muscr youth, who looked like a square box when he stepped on stage. His torso very wide, but he was only about a meter and sixty centimeters tall. His thick arms were bigger than some people¡¯s thighs, and his short and needle-like hairplemented his intrepid aura, while his eyes seemed like they were burning with mes. His feet made plonking noises on the ground with every step that he took.

    ¡°Judge.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er spoke up right at this moment.

    ¡°What?¡± the judge replied with an enraged look on his face. His mood was horrible. Even though he was biased in thispetition, one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team members had still lost his life!

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued, ¡°Look at the floor ¨C it¡¯s so badly damaged. How can we continue thepetition like this? Don¡¯t you think we should fix it up a little before anything else?¡±

    That was true. The three explosive shells that had hammered into the ground had created an enormous crater that was more than fifteen meters across. Metal fragments, stone, and gravel were scattered all over the ce, and thepetition stage seemed as wretched as it could be.

    The judge nced coldly at her and said, ¡°Is this the oue you were hoping for when you brought the three explosive shells down to the ground? What a sly little rascal! However, you¡¯re going to be disappointed. I¡¯m the judge for this round, and I have the authority to determine whether thepetition stage should be fixed or not. You can fly, right? How will the flooring affect you? Thepetition is to continue.¡±

    The short and stocky youth had already walked over, and he was getting closer and closer. Wang Dong¡¯er could distinctly hear that his entire skeleton was crackling incessantly.

    ¡°Are your bones going to break? Do you want go back and check it out first?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said to him with a concerned look on her face.

    ¡°Enough nonsense!¡± the short, stocky youth shouted angrily. ¡°You killed Shi Xing, and I will force you to follow him into the grave!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The stocky youth red at her and replied, ¡°My name is Zhou Xinghao.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯srge, pretty blue eyes widened as she said, ¡°Is he your boyfriend or your girlfriend? Why are you so angry? You can eat anything, but you can¡¯t just say anything you want. Which eye of yours saw that I killed him? And you still want to nder me?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ bastard!¡± Zhou Xinghao wasn¡¯t as good with words as Wang Dong¡¯er was, and he darted forward and was about to attack her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er just stood there and didn¡¯t move at all. Her eyes were fixed innocently on the judge instead.

    The judge wanted to be biased towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team, but he couldn¡¯t allow Zhou Xinghao to vite the rules and attack his opponent before the match had even begun. The judge hurriedly stepped in to block Zhou Xinghao, and he put on a serious look as he said, ¡°The round has yet to begin. I will disqualify you if you vite the rules! Go back to your ces and prepare for battle. You can only attack each other once I¡¯ve announced that thepetition has begun.¡±

    Zhou Xinghao huffed and puffed as he red at Wang Dong¡¯er. ¡°I will break you into a million pieces to avenge Shi Xing.¡± With that, he turned around and strode back to his spot.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled at the judge. She was currently dressed like a man, but her good looks still stunned the judge momentarily as he returned her gaze.

    ¡°You¡¯re an honest and fair judge.¡± She walked away slowly after her remark.

    The judge had recovered by now, and he almost vomited blood. What¡¯s he thinking, calling me an honest and fair judge? This fellow¡­

    Huo Yuhao gave Wang Dong¡¯er a thumbs-up from beneath the stage. Wang Dong¡¯er gave him a smile in return as she put the Milk Bottle in her hands away, and turned around to face Zhou Xinghao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth moved as he mouthed something to her. Wang Dong¡¯er tilted her head to signal that she understood. With the chemistry that the two of them had, they could evenmunicate through soundless mouthing.

    The judge wasn¡¯t like before, and he waited for both parties to return to their rightful spots before he raised his right arm into air and swung it down forcefully.

    Zhou Xinghao didn¡¯t fly into the air like Shi Xing had before. As the judge swung his arm down, he raised both arms into the air. A ck ball of light began to light up, and a metal wheel that was more than half a meter in diameter appeared in his hands, which he tossed heavily in front of him.

    The metal wheel dropped to the ground with a heavy plonk, and began to rotate vigorously. Ear-splitting nging sounds could be heard, and the wheel rapidly transformed into arge and wide base.

    Zhou Xinghao leapt onto the base, and at least twelve spots on his body shone with the light of storage-type soul tools.

    This was the soul tool fortress, a ssic opening. However, his soul tool fortress¡¯ base was conspicuously bigger than that of typical forts.

    However, it was it this moment that Zhou Xinghao found himself in a daze. His soul tool fortress was just entering its second assembly phase, and it hadn¡¯t been more than two seconds since he took out the wheel to toss onto the ground¡­ but a mass of golden spheres was already crashing toward him!

    Two seconds ago, Wang Dong¡¯er had made her move right when the judge swung his hand down. She didn¡¯t even release her martial soul, but her entire body shot into the sky like an arrow as she rocketed towards Zhou Xinghao¡¯s position. A powerful ray of light sparkled as she dashed out, and the blinding white light propelled her forward as she rapidly elerated to about a hundred meters per second.

    Thepetition stage was only one hundred meters in diameter. This also meant that one second was all it took for Wang Dong¡¯er to reach her opponent.

    Wang Dong¡¯er only unleashed her Radiant Butterfly Goddess when she was about ten meters away from Zhou Xinghao. Her dazzling wings extended to both sides, and she made use of that forceful propulsion force as she pped down with her wings. Air resistance allowed her to soar upwards, and her entire body shot into the sky just like that. She opened her wings, and was facing Zhou Xinghao as her second soul ring lit up, and her Light of the Butterfly Goddess rained down on Zhou Xinghao like a meteor shower.

    It wasn¡¯t just people from the Sun Moon Empire that knew how to use soul tools. Wang Dong¡¯er had a ss 6 soul engineer with her, and how could Huo Yuhao not help the woman he loved ¡°suit up¡±?

    This was the force that a ss 6 soul thruster could emit within a short period of time. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s cultivation and physique was just enough to sustain the pressure from a soul thruster of this ss.

    The entire process happened way too quickly. The audience could only see a sh across their eyes before two bluish-gold wings stretched out not far from where Zhou Xinghao was, and golden meteors that seemed to eclipse the sun rained down from the sky.

    Zhou Xinghao¡¯s soul tool fortress was still being assembled, and wasn¡¯t operational at all. He had no other choice but to open his ss 5 protective soul barrier at once. He was also a ss 5 soul engineer, and he was a five-ringed Soul King as well. His cultivation was a little weaker than Shi Xing¡¯s hd been, but he was unnaturally talented, and he also possessed incredible strength. Zhou Xinghao had his own unique mastery of soul tool fortresses, and he could control certain immensely powerful and dense soul tools to assemble his very own fortress. He had a nickname within the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy; he was known as Heavy Cannon.

    Zhou Xinghao used his protective soul barrier to defend himself against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s assault. He gritted his teeth as he pushed his soul tools to assemble as fast as he could.

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t continue her onught, instead descending from the sky.

    She folded her wings and raised them high into the sky, before they transformed into two enormous guillotine-like des that shed down from the sky. Her luminous wings seemed to make sparks as they shed through the air, and dazzling golden mes began to burn.

    Zhou Xinghao¡¯s protective soul barrier crackled and quivered amidst shrill and sharp sounds. In the next moment, Zhou Xinghao saw the same light sphere that took Shi Xing¡¯s life erupt before him¡­ and so, he subconsciously unleashed his own Invincible Barrier.

    The Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t even understood how Shi Xing perished before Zhou Xinghao entered the arena. He didn¡¯t want to follow in his good friend¡¯s footsteps!

    ¡°Stupid.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er muttered with a smile on her face, and her footwork changed as she wrapped around behind him. However, she didn¡¯tunch any further attacks.

    Zhou Xinghao¡¯s soul tool fortress was finallyplete amidst a series of metal nging sounds. At this moment, he seemed like arge metal porcupine, and more than a hundred and fifty cannon barrels of various kinds protruded from his body, while he stood upon the metal base like a giant metal monster¡­ and this was under the circumstance that stationary soul tools weren¡¯t allowed! Otherwise, the much bigger stationary soul cannons would make him look even more valiant and fearsome!

    Zhou Xinghao gritted his teeth, as he knew that he had been tricked. Everyone on their team had two Invincible Barriers, but soul power was still needed to use one. The user still had to use about one percent of his or her soul power even if their opponent didn¡¯tunch another attack, while the most importantponent that he required for his soul tool fortress was soul power.

    Zhou Xinghao activated one soul ring after another generously, and he unleashed all his soul skills that amplified his soul power. At the same time, the soul tool fortress began to spin on its base, and snapped around to track Wang Dong¡¯er. Dozens of soul rays fired off, and swung around as if they intended to sh the entire world into pieces.

    However, he still couldn¡¯t see Wang Dong¡¯er anywhere even after hepleted a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. He looked up at the sky instinctively, but there was nothing in the sky.

    ¡°I love to beat fools,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice sounded from behind him.

    Zhou Xinghao couldn¡¯t see, but the audience could. Wang Dong¡¯er had been behind him this entire time. Soul tool fortresses could only cover about a hundred and eighty degrees around the user, because cannons wouldn¡¯t be installed on the user¡¯s back, as the body could rotate. Wang Dong¡¯er picked up on this weakness, and she began to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as the soul tool fort was rotating, and followed Zhou Xinghao¡¯s rotation. She wasn¡¯t too hasty tounch another attack, however.

    Zhou Xinghao had his Invincible Barrier and his ss 5 protective soul barrier, so attacking her opponent would be highly inefficient at this moment. However, both of these barriers required soul power to operate.

    Cold sweat trickled down Zhou Xinghao¡¯s forehead. However, the fact that he could represent the Sun Moon Empire in a tournament like this meant he had some outstanding characteristics. Nobody understood how Shi Xing had died in the previous battle, and he had perished without unleashing his full potential. Zhou Xinghao didn¡¯t want to see himself in a simr situation!

    The soul tool fortress was like a metal porcupine, and a ball of silver light suddenly rose up from its position behind the nape of his neck and instantly exploded above his head.

 Chapter 292.2: An Astonishing Rainbow Crossing A Hundred Meters

    Wang Dong¡¯er could clearly see a silver wave rippling out explosively.

    She was still staying close to the protective barrier behind the fortress, so she was immediately repelled by an immense force. A look of astonishment shed across her pretty face as she extended her wings topensate for the enormous pushing power.

    Huo Yuhao frowned below the stage as he muttered to himself, ¡°A shock bomb! Is he not afraid of the force shattering his own heart?¡±

    Shock bombs were a special type of soul tool. Shock bombs were meant for offensive use, and they could produce powerful shockwaves to strike at opponents within a certain range. What Zhou Xinghao did was use a shock bomb to attack both himself and Wang Dong¡¯er at the same time impartially, so that he could push Wang Dong¡¯er away from him. He intended to hurt Wang Dong¡¯er more, but he also hurt himself in the process.

    ¡°No, his Invincible Barrier hasn¡¯tpletely vanished yet.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately recovered after his momentary surprise. Zhou Xinghao used his own Invincible Barrier to withstand the shock bomb¡¯s effects, and even though he had to consume soul power in the process, this was better than the shock bomb taking effect on his own body. Furthermore, he finally took the opportunity to spin around.

    The several hundred cannon barrels on and around him red blindingly the moment Wang Dong¡¯er appeared in his field of view. At this point, he was no longer just a porcupine, he had turned into a terrifying metal blender!

    All kinds of soul rays and soul cannon shells: explosive shells, incendiary shells, paralysis rays, freezing rays, shock bombs, dposition shells, rupturing bombs, and various other frightening attacks covered an area of twenty meters around Wang Dong¡¯er.

    This metal hurricane that erupted so suddenly seemed to symbolize Zhou Xinghao¡¯s emotions. His expression looked savage and ferocious, and his eyes were bloodshot with rage and fury. His eyes were as wide as they could be, and he wanted to watch his metal hurricane tear Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body to pieces.

    They were so close together, and defense wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s forte, either. This was everything that he had, and it would be extremely difficult for her to escape if she found herself locked in by this all-out assault.

    Meng Hongchen covered her mouth beneath thepetition stage. Several people from the Tang Sect camp stood up with nervous looks on their faces.

    Huo Yuhao had just used his Necromancer¡¯s Silent Heart, so his face was still as cold as before. His brain was still calcting at top speed.

    Right in the moment that her opponent erupted, Wang Dong¡¯er still felt goosebumps all over her body even though she was prepared. He lived up to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s name after all, and their soul tools were very formidable.

    However, right when that metal hurricane was about to rip her to pieces, she vanished into thin air¡­

    Yes, she disappeared without any warning at all.

    ng!

    A powerful force appeared behind his back, and a sharp aura of light forced its way into the soul fort and poured inside. The entire cannon base began to shake with this attack.

    ¡°How can it be!? How can this be Instant Shift?¡± At this moment, Zhou Xinghao was facing his team¡¯s waiting area, staring at Xiao Hongchen with a doubtful look in his eyes.

    They didn¡¯t have to talk about Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul skill, the one that she used to defeat Shi Xing. The Instant Shift that she had just used was clearly not something that she released with her soul rings. How could she possess a skill like that?

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes froze as well. Who would have thought that Wang Dong¡¯er had a trump card like that in a time as crucial as this?

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s dazzling bluish-golden wings shed ferociously at his soul tool fortress. Zhou Xinghao no longer had his Invincible Barrier, and no matter how tough the fort¡¯s metal was, it couldn¡¯t bepared to a Soul Emperor¡¯s attack.

    Two deep gashes appeared behind the soul tool fort. Zhou Xinghao spun around hysterically, but Wang Dong¡¯er kept herself close to him and used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as she followed his rotation. Her wings resembled two heavy des as theyshed out again and again.

    Metal fragments broke apart and flowed out continuously, and soul tool after mighty soul tool was rapidly being damaged.

    Zhou Xinghao wanted to use his remaining Invincible Barrier along with another shock bomb to find yet another opportunity. However, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s use of her Instant Shift made sure that he couldn¡¯t even muster any self-confidence at all. What difference will it make if I pull the same trick again? She can just use Instant Shift to evade everything...

    Zhou Xinghao understood that the key to his defeat was allowing Wang Dong¡¯er toe near him. Her Instant Shift also had a range limit, and his soul tool fortress wasn¡¯t suited for an opponent like her at all.

    ¡°Enough!¡± At this moment, a loud shout tore through the air, and ayer of silver light pushed Wang Dong¡¯er away. The judge stood in front of Zhou Xinghao like a hen that was trying to protect her chicks.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er eximed angrily with a cold look in her eyes. She was already preparing for a killing blow. The soul tool fortress was already cracked and breaking apart, and Zhou Xinghao was about to perish at her hands at any moment.

    The judge lowered his voice and said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the ability to fight back anymore. I¡¯m the judge, and I rule that the Tang Sect is victorious in this round. I have the authority to stop thepetition if one party is no longer able to fight back.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er gradually calmed down. She grunted dispassionately as she gripped her Milk Bottle and walked back to the center of the arena.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t lost yet! Go to hell!¡± Zhou Xinghou roared hysterically, and he arched his body backwards and revealed eight shining silver cannon mouths on his chest. Eight silver rays immediately fired off toward Wang Dong¡¯er with lightning speed in the next moment.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had her back to him, and she had not expected that Zhou Xinghao wouldunch another attack against her when the judge had already ruled this round as her win. Furthermore, the judge did nothing to stop him!

    The truth was that this wasn¡¯t because the judge was biased towards Zhou Xinghao; he also didn¡¯t expect Zhou Xinghou to continue attacking after his ruling. However, he did feel an intense excitement and delight when those eight silver rays flew toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s icy voice suddenly rang out in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s mind. Wang Dong¡¯er always trusted Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Furthermore, she could also hear Zhou Xinghao¡¯s hysterical voice behind her. She lunged forward towards the ground, and her fifth soul ring lit up once more as intense golden light immediately covered her entire body.

    Pop, pop, pop¡­Even though Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s evasion was quick, the soul rays were travelling at breakneck speed, and three rays still hit her back.

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted from the pain as she stumbled a few steps forward from the force. Even though she had the Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession, three holes still appeared on her back, and she felt as if there was some terrifying force that was rapidly causing her body to break apart. If she hadn¡¯t used her Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession in time to defend herself, the rays would have tunneled right through her body.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Several people from the Tang Sect leapt onto thepetition stage in an instant. However, their movements couldn¡¯tpare to how quick another beam of light was.

    That light had a radiant golden color, and was tinged with deep purple hues. This beam seemed material, as if it could pierce through even time and space. Thepetition stage¡¯s protective dome had receded the moment the judge dered that Wang Dong¡¯er was victorious in this round, so there was nothing blocking this beam. Right when Wang Dong¡¯er was lunging forward to lie t on the ground, the purplish-golden light that seemed to tunnel through reality and eternity arrived before Zhou Xinghao.

    Zhou Xinghao howled and released his Invincible Barrier once more. He was excited at this moment; the silver rays that he had just used were forceful dposition rays, and they possessed a special characteristic of breaking apart all kinds of matter. These rays were considered one of the most destructive soul rays. He could imagine Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body breaking apart, and drawing herst breath from the dposition.

    The moment he saw he saw that purplish-golden light appear, he felt as if his spirit was leaving his body, and he used his second Invincible Barrier that he carried around without any hesitation. He deeply believed that whatever his opponent unleashed couldn¡¯t do anything to him with his Invincible Barrier around him, no matter what it was.

    However, a sinister scene appeared on thepetition stage the moment that purplish-golden light struck Zhou Xinghao¡¯s Invincible Barrier.

    The people from the Tang Sect, along with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team who were also rushing onto stage, and everything else that was moving seemed to freeze in that moment, as if time itself seemed to freeze.

    A ray of golden light descended from the sky in the next moment and mmed brutally into Zhou Xinghao¡¯s Invincible Barrier.

    That golden ray disregarded his Invincible Barrier entirely, and it pierced right through it the moment it struck andnded directly onto Zhou Xinghao¡¯s body. A golden light projection that resembled a skeleton immediately flickered above Zhou Xinghao¡¯s body, and his entire body seemed to freeze and go ck.

    The purplish-golden beam drilled right through him, and Zhou Xinghao¡¯s Invincible Barrier broke apart in an instant.

    Boom!

    Zhou Xinghao¡¯s body was still inside his broken and tattered soul tool fortress, and he resembled a bursting balloon as his entire frame exploded violently, starting from his head. Flesh and blood flew in all directions in that moment, and his damaged protective soul barrier was also blown into smithereens. Zhou Xinghao transformed into a tornado of flesh and metal that whirled all over the ce.

    Time returned to normal, and the scene that everyone saw was this horrifying sight.

    Astonished gasps resonated through the entire ce. Jing Hongchen¡¯s face was ck as he stood up on the rostrum, and the petrifying atmosphere that resulted from the explosion that had urred on stage caused even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team to pause as they dashed onto the stage. Even Xiao Hongchen¡¯s footsteps halted momentarily.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes immediately found a person that was sitting down on the other side. That person was Huo Yuhao, who was still sitting in his wheelchair in the waiting area, and hadn¡¯t climbed onto thepetition stage.

    A purplish-golden vertical eye that didn¡¯t seem like it had any life at all was gradually closing up on his forehead. Xiao Hongchen felt a little dizzy even though this vertical eye was in the process of closing up.

    One hundred meters! This attack wasunched from one hundred meters away, and Zhou Xinghao also had his Invincible Barrier to protect him! Despite all that, this strike broke through his Invincible Barrier! What kind of power was required to achieve something like that?

    The Sun Moon Empire team was about to go crazy after their temporary astonishment. All kinds of soul tools were unleashed one after another in that instant as soul rings sparkled alternately. A chaotic brawl was about to ur!

 Chapter 292.3: An Astonishing Rainbow Crossing A Hundred Meters

    The Tang Sect team also began to move. Xu Sanshi¡¯s face was dark and solemn as he stood at the very front, protecting Wang Dong¡¯er behind him. He Caitou was right next to him, and he unleashed an enormous soul tool fortress just like that from nothing at all. His Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon¡¯s sixteen cannon mouths condensed light, and onerge cannon shell after another protruded from the cannon barrels as a terrifying aura permeated the skies. These cannons felt as if they could go off at any moment.

    Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, and Na Na were standing beside them, and they released their martial souls at the same time.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A deafening exmation rang out, and a human figure descended from the sky in the next moment.

    This person was an elderly man d in a long green robe, and hended right next to the judge. This person raised his hand, and a green light screen rose several hundred meters into the sky. This light screen forcibly separated the two opposing parties, and even the pressure that they released was separated.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect camp grew stern, and this was especially true for He Caitou. He was a soul engineer, and he naturally knew what ability the old man before him had just used: that was probably a ss 9 soul tool, and even a Titled Douluo would have trouble breaking through a defensive barrier of that level.

    The old man turned around and knocked the judge off stage with one p, and the judge was dashed to the ground beneath the stage just like that.

    ¡°Stop, everyone! Calm yourselves. My name is Zheng Zhan, and I¡¯m this tournament¡¯s chief judge. Whoever dares to make another move will be immediately disqualified from the tournament!¡±

    The corner of Xiao Hongchen¡¯s mouth twitched. He naturally recognized Zheng Zhan. He was a powerful ss 9 soul engineer, but this man didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with his grandfather, and was instead an important figure from the empire¡¯s Hall of Consecration. This man was as close as one could be to Xiao Hongchen¡¯s grandfather in terms of cultivation, even if he didn¡¯t actually have the same rank, and he was especially adept with defensive soul tools. Zheng Zhan was known as the Unbreakable King, and his title was Unbreakable... the Unbreakable Douluo, Zheng Zhan!

    Xiao Hongchen raised his hand, and the Sun Moon Empire team reluctantly and grudgingly withdrew their respective soul tools. Their eyes looked like they were spitting fire.

    The Tang Sect camp didn¡¯t do much, as Jiang Nannan helped Wang Dong¡¯er up and whispered, ¡°How are you feeling, Dong¡¯er?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er forced a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright, it¡¯s just a little painful.¡±

    It would be strange if she didn¡¯t feel any pain after being struck by those dposition rays, and three ck spots could be seen on her back. If she didn¡¯t have her Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession that greatly weakened the force of those ss 6 dposition rays, she would probably have been heinously injured by now. Even so, she had still consumed more than thirty percent of her soul power before she managed to stabilize her wounds, making sure her bones, ligaments, and her organs weren¡¯t damaged. However, she was a top-tier beauty, and skin damage would infuriate her even more than if her bones and her organs were damaged.

    ¡°We need an exnation, chief judge Zhang.¡± A cold voice rang out from behind the Tang Sect¡¯s people.

    Ji Juechen was pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair, and Jing Ziyan and Nan Qiuqiu stood guard beside them as they walked onto thepetition stage.

    The Tang Sectpany parted to create a path, so that Huo Yuhao coulde all the way out in front. His eyes were so cold at this point that they seemed like they could freeze through everything. Huo Yuhao stared quietly at Zheng Zhan, who was a Titled Douluo and also a ss 9 soul engineer, and his aura seemed to match even Zheng Zhan¡¯s.

    Zheng Zhan said in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯ve seen everything that just happened. This happened because of the judge, and I will immediately relieve him of his duty. I will personally oversee this round until the end.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Huo Yuhao shook his head.

    Zheng Zhan focused his eyes. It had been many years since someone dared to speak to him like that. Strangely, he wasn¡¯t angry at all as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Zhou Xinghao attacked Wang Dong after the oue of this round has been ruled, and he brought his own death upon himself. However, he has already paid for it with his life. This issue is considered resolved. As the chief judge, I will give Wang Dong fifteen minutes to rest before thepetition will continue.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at Zheng Zhan deeply before his eyes turned towards Xiao Hongchen in the distance, but he said nothing. However, his gaze was like a sharp knife. Zheng Zhan thought about the iprehensible and unfathomable purplish-gold beam that just appeared, and even he felt a little numb from Huo Yuhao¡¯s piercing stare.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke inly, and he didn¡¯t push the issue any further. They were inside the Sun Moon Empire, and he wouldn¡¯t have gotten a better exnation or ruling even if thispetition wasn¡¯t in the Sun Moon Empire. Everything could only be resolved on stage.

    Ji Juechen continued pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair as they returned to their waiting area. Huo Yuhao nced at Wang Dong¡¯er quietly as he passed by, and he reached out and grasped her hand. However, his expression was still as cold as before.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced back at him discreetly. She thought to herself, ¡°Thankfully, he used that ability that allows him to keep calm andposed. Otherwise, otherwise¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t even imagine what would have happened.

    ---

    Inside the resting lounge, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes sparkled as she silently stared at Huo Yuhao. Her eyes seemed to glow with something, and her right hand unwittingly gripped her chair¡¯s armrest.

    Only she could feel that the beam that was fired from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny carried a certain crazy sense of exhaustion, and even she felt a little dazed at that moment. She didn¡¯t know if she could take an attack like that had she been the target. If Huo Yuhao was a dragon, then Wang Dong¡¯er was his reverse scale!

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er immediately retrieved her Milk Bottle to replenish her soul power when she returned to the waiting area.

    Huo Yuhao grasped her hand tighter, and Haodong power immediately began to circte through the most important parts of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°The next battle is up to you now, second senior brother.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened her eyes forcefully. ¡°I¡­ I can keep going.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shot a cold look at her and said, ¡°Shut up. You were careless before your adversary, and you weren¡¯t on guard against an enemy that still had the ability to fight. Won¡¯t you be sending yourself to your own death if you go again? I¡¯ve said this before: there can only be one voice in this team. I¡¯m the leader, and you must listen to my orders.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pouted, and tears started welling up in her eyes. Huo Yuhao had never spoken to her with that tone and attitude. That was just so, so annoying!

    He Caitou chortled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er. Let your second senior brother handle this. I will make their heads pop one after another.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded softly. Even though she was a little displeased with Huo Yuhao¡¯s attitude, he was still her man after all, and this wasn¡¯t the time for her to throw a tantrum. That would undoubtedly affect the influence andmand that her boyfriend had as team leader.

    The fifteen minutes of rest were soon over, and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t continue on with the battles. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s next participant that stepped onto thepetition stage was a little shocked.

    Zheng Zhan had been standing at the stage¡¯s center since the moment he arrived. He looked at He Caitou and said, ¡°If you switch, it means that Wang Dong has admitted defeat.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Caitou walked up to the center of the stage and stared at Zheng Zhan as he nodded in acknowledgement.

    Xiao Hongchen almost went insane beneath thepetition stage. The person that he had just sent up was meant to counter Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fighting style, but the Tang Sect switched someone else up! From his perspective, the Tang Sect wanted to conserve strength so that Wang Dong¡¯er coulde back in the group battle. Nobody from his side knew much about Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wounds, but the fact that she was still sitting beside Huo Yuhao meant that her wounds couldn¡¯t be that severe.

    Cunning! That¡¯s just too cunning!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrangement was intended to break up his opponents¡¯ rhythm and momentum anyway, and it wasn¡¯t just because he was upset about Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s carelessness before her adversary.

    Zheng Zhan lowered his voice and said, ¡°Report your names.¡±

    ¡°He Caitou, Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Ping, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.¡±

    Zheng Zhan continued, ¡°Return to your ces, and prepare for the fight. Both of you must listen to my orders during the contest, and I have the authority to punish you ordingly if either one of you decides to continue attacking after I announce this round¡¯s ruling.¡±

    Nobody dared to disregard and underestimate a ss 9 soul engineer¡¯s threats. He Caitou and Xiao Ping nodded before they returned to their respective sides.

    This was the single elimination round¡¯s third match. More urately put, this was the fourth match, because Wang Dong¡¯er gave one up. The current score was two versus one in favor of the Tang Sect. Furthermore, the Tang Sect had ensured their entry into the group battle because of the two points that they had secured.

    He Caitou turned around and stared into the distance as he reached the edge of thepetition stage. He took a step forward with his left leg, and he took a stance as if he were going to charge forward.

    Xiao Ping¡¯s eyes were as sharp and focused as ever on the other side. He was like a cheetah that was winding up.

    Zheng Zhan looked at both parties as he raised his right arm high into the air before he swung it down to signal that the match had begun.

    Xiao Ping¡¯s soul thrusters behind his back glowed the moment Zheng Zhan swung his hand down, and he sted towards He Caitou just like Wang Dong¡¯er got close to Zhou Xinghao.

    Yes, he was a closebat soul engineer, and Xiao Hongchen had initially meant for him to meet Wang Dong¡¯er head-on.

    A long spear appeared in Xiao Ping¡¯s hands as he dashed forward. There were two sharp points on his spear, and they began to shine with intense light as he moved forward. Three soul rings lit up one after another, greatly boosting his soul power.

    He Caitou was in a sprinting stance, and he also began to move when his opponent did. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t use his soul tool fortress and end up at a disadvantage like Zhou Xinghao did.

    He Caitou raised his right hand, and a soul cannon immediately appeared on his right arm. A silver sphere was fired and exploded less than twenty meters out, transforming into a silver web that enveloped Xiao Ping flying toward him.

    Xiao Ping eyes were overflowing with the desire to draw blood, but he still managed to retain hisposure amidst all the bloodlust. A white light erupted from his chest, and his forward-moving body abruptly came to a halt as flourishing soul power undtions rippled from his body. He propelled himself backwards right as armor covered his entire body with a ng.

    This tiny forward and backward movement couldn¡¯t be disregarded. Xiao Ping had forced himself backwards when he was charging forward at lightning speed, the reactive impact wasn¡¯t something that normal people could withstand!

    Yet, it was this reverse propulsion force that gave him a chance to avoid that enormous silver web from trapping him at thest moment. The light web closed up, and Xiao Ping was about to charge forward once more when a violent and shocking explosion erupted. Silver-white shockwaves detonated from where the light web had closed, and forced Xiao Ping to pause as he was getting ready to renew his charge. Xiao Ping¡¯s body unwillingly stopped for an instant!

 Chapter 293.1: The Even-more Terrifying Xiao Hongchen

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he tilted his head as he muttered under his breath, ¡°This fellow from the Tang Sect is not bad indeed! He¡¯sbined a luring and a shock bomb. This can control, repel, and carries offensive effects all at the same time. This is a very innovative soul tool indeed, and it is meant to buy him enough time for something. If his opponent¡¯s reaction is too slow, this soul tool can directly take them down.¡±

    He Caitou immediately made his move at the same time that he fired his luring and shock bomb. He moved in the standard way that soul engineers typically did, and he followed the stage¡¯s edge and rapidly shifted along as he lifted a heavy cannon on his shoulder. Large amounts of rupturing shells burst out and sted towards his opponent, and he activated the flying-type soul tool on his back at the same time, soaring into the sky as he fired off his rupturing shells.

    The shock bomb repelled Xiao Ping, and he disyed his own strengths as a wave of rupturing bombs followed immediately after. Soul thrusters shone on his palms, feet, thighs, and behind his back as soul thrusters of many different sizesplemented the flying-type soul tool on his back and brought his body diagonally into the sky. Xiao Ping surged into the air with incredible speed, and raced towards He Caitou as he evaded those rupturing shells. He pointed the spear in his hands forward, and blinding white light erupted from the spear¡¯s edged tip right towards He Caitou.

    He Caitou had been observing his opponent this entire time. The soul thrusters on Xiao Ping¡¯s body were all hidden within and attached to that armor of his, which covered the most important parts of his body. Xiao Ping wasn¡¯t wearing full-body armor, but a lighter and more flexible style. He disyed how advantageous this agility was as he soared through the air, and all those soul thrusters allowed him to make some movements that seemed to defy naturalws.

    He Caitou shifted three feet horizontally while he was still in the air, and evaded the light beam just like that. The wings behind his back turned down and allowed him to hover in midair. He Caitou switched out the weapon on his shoulder, and a strangely-shaped cannon appeared.

    The back of this cannon was conical, but it was rectangr at the front when he ced it on his shoulder, and there were eighteen cannon mouths split into three rows. Dense and intense bluish-purple light began to shine out from it.

    In the next moment, lightning that seemed to nket the entire world poured towards Xiao Ping.

    ¡°What soul tool is that?¡± Even Zheng Zhan was taken aback. He had immersed himself in soul tools for almost a hundred years, but even he couldn¡¯t recognize He Caitou¡¯s soul tool with all the experience that he had. This meant that He Caitou¡¯s soul tool was self-invented!

    Every lightning streak that this strange cannon fired was as thick as an arm. The most frightening part was that these lightning streaks detonated once they were fired, and each streak split into even more lightning streaks. Eighteen streaks transformed into a web of lightning bolts in an instant and barreled towards his opponent, who was still charging towards him. This web had arge surface area, and there was no way Xiao Ping could dodge this no matter how agile and nimble he was.

    He Caitou had an extremely calm look on his face, and there was some straightforwardness amid all thatposure that had always been there. However, there was nothing straightforward about the soul tool in his hands.

    Xiao Ping was equally astonished by this soul tool that he had never heard of nor seen before. He kept his spear pointed forwards, and his armor glowed all over as ray after ray of light condensed to form a white barrier that protected his body within.

    He Caitou¡¯s pupils contracted. That was a ss 7 protective soul barrier!

    Xiao Ping only had five soul rings, and it was evident that he wasn¡¯t strong enough to use something as powerful as a ss 7 protective soul barrier. The only possibility was that this soul tool had special characteristics that allowed him to operate it.

    This soul tool probably made use of resonance technology and merged many soul barriers at the same time, which allowed it to erupt with such formidable power. It was the only way Xiao Ping could produce defensive capabilities that matched a ss 7 protective soul barrier, as ss 7 was the rank of a Soul Sage!

    Naturally, this was also because Xiao Ping was a closebat soul engineer. If Xiao Ping had been a traditional soul engineer like He Caitou, he wouldn¡¯t use this resonance soul barrier even if he had it, as it would consume far too much soul power. Attaching something like this to himself meant it would be very difficult to use other soul tools, because resonance technology had to be in tandem with the soul power undtions at every spot on his body. There was no way to switch out to other soul tools.

    Xiao Ping released his ss 7 soul barrier and immediately shot forward like an arrow. He didn¡¯t intend to avoid those lightning streaks anymore, charging straight for He Caitou.

    Xiao Ping¡¯s ss 7 soul barrier had impressive defensive capabilities, indeed! The soul barrier repelled every single lightning streak, and Xiao Ping didn¡¯t slow down at all. He was about to arrive before He Caitou at any moment.

    He Caitou could already see the murderousness and sinisterly evil expression in Xiao Ping¡¯s eyes. Zheng Zhan had already risen into the air from ground, and he prepared himself to end this battle as soon as was needed.

    Boom!

    A vigorous explosion erupted between He Caitou and Xiao Ping. Xiao Ping still had his ss 7 soul barrier up, but his entire body was sent hurtling through the air like a bullet. His ss 7 soul barrier broke apart from the impact, and if he hadn¡¯t unleashed his Invincible Barrier, the crackling lightning streaks in the sky would have torn him to pieces.

    He Caitou was still hovering in midair, as if he hadn¡¯t moved at all. A cannon barrel with a mouth about the size of a bowl closed gradually near his chest, still flickering with light.

    He Caitou switched out the soul cannon on his shoulder once more, and a golden-red cannon that was about as thick as an arm and about three meters long appeared on his shoulder. The cannon¡¯s sight swung into ce before his eyes, and he locked onto Xiao Ping in the distance. There was arge burning cigar sticking out from the corner of his mouth, releasing wafts of green smoke. The cigar and the green smokeplemented his doughty look, and he appeared as valiant and fearsome as could be.

    Xiao Hongchen leapt off his chair in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s camp once this long golden-red cannon appeared.

    ¡°A ss 7 stinger cannon! He¡­ how can he have a ss 7 stinger cannon?!¡±

    Stinger cannons were considered the most destructive single-target soul cannons. More urately put, a stinger cannon should be considered a soul ray, and it was only called a cannon because it was just too forceful. Not many soul engineers used stinger cannons because they required manual aim and consumed a lot of soul power. However, stinger cannons had a very long range, and were typically used to assault fortified positions.

    A stinger cannon¡¯s greatest weakness was that it couldn¡¯t lock onto its target, and it couldn¡¯t track its target. However, its power was incredibly frightening. Xiao Ping wouldn¡¯t be able to take a hit from this stinger cannon even if he had his Invincible Barrier activated; the best solution against a stinger cannon was to dodge its attack, exploiting the weakness that it couldn¡¯t lock onto a target.

    But Xiao Ping was hurtling through the air after He Caitou had tossed him away with some unknown method, mming against thepetition stage¡¯s protective barrier and bouncing back. Xiao Ping¡¯s Invincible Barrier could protect him, but it couldn¡¯t help him absorb the impact. Could he react in time to dodge the stinger cannon¡¯s attack?

    Nobody knew the answer to that question.

    Therefore, Zheng Zhan grew hesitant. He knew that stopping He Caitou at this moment would mean that he was dering He Caitou victorious. However, Xiao Ping would have another chance to get back in the game if he dodged this attack.

    Zheng Zhan no longer believed that Xiao Ping had the fighting strength to defeat He Caitou, who had already disyed a ss 7 soul engineer¡¯s prowess. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team was already down two to one; how could he let them lose another point just like that?

    He Caitou naturally didn¡¯t care what the judge was thinking about. He aimed, and he fired, it was that simple for him.

    More than half of the cigar in He Caitou¡¯s mouth disappeared when he fired his stinger cannon, as smoke and ash billowed in all directions. A golden-red beam as thick as a finger cut across the air straight towards Xiao Ping.

    This enormous pressure heralded mortal danger to Xiao Ping. Even though he was still dizzy and concussed from the collision, goosebumps began to break out all over his body, and his hair stood on edge from the sudden pressure, allowing him to recover within the blink of an eye.

    Xiao Ping didn¡¯t have time to look up to see what was happening, and neither did he have the time to make urate judgments. He immediately activated his soul thrusters and attempted to fly out diagonally in an attempt to dodge this attack.

    However, he felt an intense numbness course over this body at this moment. Xiao Ping looked down subconsciously, and saw a tiny needle protruding from his chest, a needle that shone with bluish-purple light. The overwhelming numbness wasing from this needle!

    That¡¯s¡­ did he stick that into me before I opened my Invincible Barrier when my ss 7 soul barrier was sted away?

    But that should be considered a stationary soul tool even though it¡¯s a needle! This was Xiao Ping¡¯s final thought before he watched a golden-red beam swallow that slender needle. The tiny needle was destroyed, and he himself could clearly feel that he had lost something as well.

    A hole no bigger than a thumb appeared in Xiao Ping¡¯s Invincible Barrier and his heart at the same time. His eyes grew ck and were filled with incredulity. Not in his wildest dreams did he expect to die this way.

    A dash of cold light flickered across He Caitou¡¯s eyes, but he quickly returned to his simple and honest look as he withdrew the cannon in his hands and gradually descended from the sky.

    Zheng Zhan caught Xiao Ping as fast as he could when thetter dropped down from the sky. However, Zheng Zhan quickly discovered that Xiao Ping couldn¡¯t be saved, his heart had been shot straight through. How could anybody save him?

    ¡°He¡­ he¡­¡± Xiao Ping¡¯s eyes were full of exasperation. There was nothing else he could say, and he puked out a whole lot of blood before he finally passed into the void.

    Twobat deaths from three battles!

    The audience erupted into furor when Zheng Zhan announced Xiao Ping¡¯s death. They were inside the Sun Moon Empire, and not inside the Star Luo Empire likest season. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team was representing the Sun Moon Empire in thispetition, and three people had perished, one after another, in this round. How could the citizens not be upset?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes betrayed a faint look of surprise despite his ice-cold expression beneath the stage, and he nced at He Caitou on stage.

 Chapter 293.2: The Even-more Terrifying Xiao Hongchen

    He Caitou turned around at this moment, and he nodded calmly at Huo Yuhao before he removed the cigar in his mouth and gave him a smile that seemed to contain a far deeper meaning.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but reminisce on the scene when He Caitou had confided in him back then. Second senior brother, he¡­

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s expression was a little ck. He was a ss 9 soul engineer, but he had failed to prevent another death in a match that he had personally refereed, so there was no way he didn¡¯t feel bad right now. However, he had been faced with a tough choice just now, and the oue proved that he made the wrong one.

    Xiao Hongchen jumped onto thepetition stage with a dark look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m up for the next round.¡±

    On the other side, Huo Yuhao also spoke up from the Tang Sect¡¯s waiting area. ¡°The Tang Sect will abandon the remaining single elimination rounds. We choose to enter the group battle directly.¡±

    Both He Caitou and Xiao Hongchen were taken aback for a moment, and Xiao Hongchen¡¯s expression grew even gloomier than before. He Caitou frowned for a moment before he grabbed a Milk Bottle and leapt off thepetition stage to show that he was absolutely supportive of Huo Yuhao¡¯s decision.

    The Tang Sect had already won three matches. There were seven matches of the single elimination round, and the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t possibly overtake the Tang Sect by more than five points even if they won the remaining matches. The final result had to be determined through the group battle. However, the Sun Moon Empire had already lost two inbat, and Huo Yuhao had in another. Three of the original seven were dead. Substitutes weren¡¯t allowed in this seven-man round, and this meant that the Sun Moon Empire would be at a great disadvantage in the subsequent group battle. The Tang Sect had an absolute advantage if they chose to go straight into the group battle, as they were seven against four.

    Zheng Zhan stared deeply into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes before he lowered his voice and dered, ¡°The single elimination round is over. Both parties can take some time to rest up, and we willmence the group battle after the break. The Tang Sect has umted three points, and the Sun Moon Empire has seven.¡±

    ------

    On the rostrum...

    Xu Tianran¡¯s face became darker and darker, and Jing Hongchen¡¯s eyebrows were also tightly knit together.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s prowess was far stronger than he had imagined. The first two participants were both six-ringed Soul Emperors, and He Caitou had just disyed a ss 7 soul engineer¡¯s strength. It was correct to say that the three members from the Sun Moon Empire werepletely suppressed by their opponents, rather than they didn¡¯t manage to unleash their full capabilities.

    The thing that worried and shocked Jing Hongchen the most was how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s eruption was. Jing Hongchen was a Titled Douluo, and even he felt a little dizzy and lost the moment that purplish-golden light appeared. He had found himself unable to lock onto and determine the peculiar attack that Huo Yuhao had unleashed. What kind of power was that? Even an Invincible Barrier couldn¡¯t stop it! Furthermore, the Tang Sect was in the right during that incident!

    The group battle was about tomence. Even though the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reserve team members weren¡¯t that much weaker than their main team members, there was a rift. Furthermore, his granddaughter and his grandson were also part of this tournament. It was absolutely impossible for Jing Hongchen not to be worried or anxious.

    Xu Tianran asked inly, ¡°Can they win the group battle?¡± He ced a lot of emphasis on this year¡¯s tournament.

    Jing Hongchen took a deep breath and said, ¡°I have faith in those kids. However, I implore that you give me permission to keep those guys from the Tang Sect here forever after the tournament. They will grow up to be real problems in the future if they possess such prowess at such a young age.¡±

    Xu Tianran nced at him and said, ¡°Either you make them submit, or you make them disappear.¡±

    Ju Zi was still sitting beside Xu Tianran, and her eyes shifted a little in response.

    ------

    He Caitou sat down beside Huo Yuhao, but his expression was no different from before.

    Huo Yuhao stared at him and whispered, ¡°Are you alright, second senior brother?¡±

    He Caitou shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m good. Hehe, I¡¯m good.¡± He raised his head as he spoke, and he gazed at the rostrum in the distance with a calm look in his eyes, there at the seat that was high above everyone else.

    The arena and the audience had settled down, and several earth-type soul masters hurried around as they attempted to repair thepetition stage. The group battle was about to start, and even though thepetition stage was a hundred meters in diameter and didn¡¯t look small at all, it couldn¡¯t be considered that spacious if it was to host fourteen people at once. The least that the organizers could do was the repair the stage¡¯s surface.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, you will remain by my sideter, and you¡¯re responsible for protecting me,¡± Huo Yuhao said inly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned. Her eyes darted around at the others, but she lowered her head in the end. She forced herself not to rebuff Huo Yuhao and ask if that was being unfair to the others.

    Huo Yuhao looked at his otherpatriots. ¡°Please follow my guidance from my Spiritual Detection during the group battle after this. We have to win this round, and we can¡¯t afford to sustain any losses or injuries at all.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes once more, but his right hand was still holding onto Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s left hand. Everyone closed their eyes one after another, and they took this opportunity to mentally prepare themselves so that they could maintain their peak condition and go into battle in their best state. The subsequent round was a showdown of life and death to them, and a single misstep could lead to injury, and perhaps even death.

    Fortunately, that powerful soul engineer had taken over as judge, so this round would be a lot safer than otherwise.

    ------

    There weremotions all around the arena. The citizens and aristocratic families alike were all discussing things amongst themselves.

    Those who were more familiar with thepetition rules originally expected that the tournament would be a little calmer after the initial elimination phase ended and the tournament progressed into the round robins. After all, the round robin stage didn¡¯t directly determine the final winner and loser. The point umtion was rted to whether the teams would get to progress into the next round, but one loss didn¡¯t mean that a team would be eliminated right away.

    Who would have thought that the round robin stage that they didn¡¯t expect to be too intense was so epic, and this was only the first round!

    Nobody had ever heard of the Tang Sect before, and they were up against their own country¡¯s Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. The Tang Sect ended up killing three of their own in a row... what exactly was going on?

    The audience¡¯s hearts were with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team, but the disgraceful attack against Wang Dong¡¯er earlier made the audience cheer conspicuously quieter than before. That was such a low blow, and was simply too disgraceful. It was also the reason why most of the audience didn¡¯t feel bad or pity Zhou Xinghao after his head exploded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable strike.

    Nobody expected that the Tang Sect would have andslide victory like that. Those who liked to gamble couldn¡¯t help but feel fortunate that their country prohibited gambling. Otherwise, they would probably have lost everything they had in this round.

    It was the truth! If the Tang Sect eventually defeated the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team, it would be the greatest upset since the start of this tournament!

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel a thread of hope for the group battle that was about tomence. They naturally hoped that the Sun Moon Empire would emerge victorious, but the three consecutive losses before this shook their confidence and their faith. The Tang Sect¡¯s first two participants were actually two six-ringed Soul Emperors!

    For most citizens, Soul Emperors were already considered unassable and highly respectable people that nobody could reach!

    Thepetition stage¡¯s flooring was swiftly repaired. There was no time to re-install the metal boards, but at least that didn¡¯t affect the tournament.

    ------

    ¡°Step on stage, everyone!¡± Zheng Zhan announced with a deep voice.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to stand up, walking behind Huo Yuhao as she slowly pushed his wheelchair forward. The others didn¡¯t overtake them and followed behind, more than enough to prove Huo Yuhao¡¯s status as team leader.

    On the other side, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s four remaining members got to their feet and jumped on stage one after another. Xiao Hongchen was still wearing that solemn and insidious look, and he walked in front of everyone else as he red at Huo Yuhao in the distance. Xiao Hongchen¡¯s fists were tightly clenched, as if he were about to swallow him up.

    This round was seven against four, and those that were truly familiar with the Tang Sect¡¯s team members understood that the Tang Sect practically had an absolute advantage over their opponents. Unless some special circumstances cropped up, it was almost impossible for the Sun Moon Empire to turn the tables. This was also the benefit of killing opponents in the single elimination matches, as it wasn¡¯t difficult to see how much pressure the team would have to sustain with three fewer people.

    Something utterly unexpected happened right at that moment. Xiao Hongchen suddenly raised his hand and said, ¡°Judge, we¡¯re admitting defeat for the group battle.¡±

    Zheng Zhan was momentarily stunned, and he asked again to be sure. ¡°Are you saying that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is admitting defeat in the group battle, which also means that you guys have lost this whole round?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Hongchen was gritting his teeth as he nodded heavily.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled as he sat in his wheelchair. His eyes closed into a squint as he stared back at Xiao Hongchen, and his right hand unwittingly gripped his wheelchair¡¯s armrest tightly.

    Zheng Zhan paused for a little while as he stared into Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Alright, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has admitted defeat in the group battle. The Tang Sect is victorious in this round!¡±

    Zheng Zhan was a nine-ringed Titled Douluo, and his voice traveled to every corner of the arena so that every single person in the audience could hear. There was an immediate uproar.

    ---

    Back on the rostrum, Xu Tianran was also taken aback. Jing Hongchen thought that Xu Tianran was about to erupt in a fit of rage, but Xu Tianran¡¯s face broke into a smile.

    ¡°He knows when to bend and when to give or take. Not bad, Hallmaster Hongchen. Your grandson has improved a lot over the years, and he¡¯s not so headstrong and all about the fists anymore.¡±

    Jing Hongchen lowered his head and forced augh. ¡°He¡¯s humiliated the empire, your Majesty. Please punish him.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and said, ¡°The round robin stage has only just begun, and this round is far from over. The final result hasn¡¯t been revealed, so nobody can say whether he¡¯s disgraced us or not. Furthermore, I¡¯m sure he will learn from this lesson, and he won¡¯t repeat the same mistakes in the following rounds. However, the Tang Sect is quite interesting, and they seem quite powerful. Imperial Tutor, what is the ability that Huo Yuhao used before this?

    The Imperial Tutor was sitting on his other side, and he was d from head to toe in ck. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°I believe it was a spiritual-type attack. His martial soul is a pair of eyes, but that third eye should havee about from some mutation, and it¡¯s likely simr to the Body Sect¡¯s second martial soul awakening. This has allowed him to develop formidable spiritual power. That soul skill is incredibly powerful, and I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s nobody at the same rank as him who can withstand that attack. It would require special soul tools or soul skills that are specifically designed to counter that soul skill if one wished to deal with it, and I believe the Hallmaster is quite adept at things like that. I believe that the Hallmaster¡¯s grandson opted to withdraw temporarily because he hasn¡¯t found a way to deal with that skill, and he wishes to conserve his team¡¯s fighting strength so that they can keep on going in the subsequent rounds. There¡¯ll always be another chance to take revenge.¡±

 Chapter 293.3: The Even-more Terrifying Xiao Hongchen

    Jing Hongchen nodded. His expression seemed a lot better than before with the Imperial Tutor¡¯s affirmation.

    The rostrum was calm and cool, but that didn¡¯t mean the audience shared the sameposure. Retreating without a battle was a cowardly act in their eyes, and the team that represented the empire¡¯s dignity actually admitted defeat, just like that! Shouts and curses echoed throughout the arena, and some impulsive citizens would have rushed forward if there hadn¡¯t been soldiers standing guard all around.

    Xiao Hongchen threw a cold nce in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction after admitting defeat, before jumping down from thepetition stage along with his sister and his two remainingpanions. Nothing else was said.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into slits. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire will be a lot harder to deal with now.¡±

    Xu Sanshi frowned and said, ¡°I wanted to take this chance to cripple them for good. I didn¡¯t expect them to be so frightened.¡±

    Jiang Nannan shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re afraid. Look at Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes... do you see a drop of fear? We would definitely be unable to emerge unscathed even if we met them head-on and beat them in the group battle. We¡¯ve improved since five years ago, but I¡¯m sure our opponents have improved, as well. Don¡¯t forget that the two siblings were already Soul Kings five year ago.¡±

    Xiao Xiao chimed in, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reserve team can¡¯t be that weak. Even though we¡¯ve won this round, we haven¡¯t done much to weaken their overall strength.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    ---

    Everyone got off thepetition stage, and their expressions immediately became a lot more rxed than before. No matter what, they had still managed to defeat the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in front of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crowd. They believed that the Tang Sect¡¯s name would resonate through every single household within the Sun Moon Empire. Of course, the other teams would also begin to ce a lot more emphasis on them...

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± A voice rang out behind them just as they were about to head back to the Brilliant Delight Hotel, and someone blocked their path.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned when he saw this person. ¡°Do you need something, Qiu¡¯er?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er, the Shrek Academy team leader, was the one who had stopped them.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lowered her voice and said, ¡°Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t need your help. We will defeat them all the same.¡± Of course, she knew why the Tang Sect had decided to go all-out in this round. Her voice sounded tough and cold, but her eyes were filled with unbending will.

    Huo Yuhao was still under his own spell, and thus his expression could only be cold as he said inly, ¡°We didn¡¯t mean to help you guys, and we were only helping ourselves. We¡¯ve won the first round, and good luck to you guys.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly as she turned around and left. Nobody saw it, but she was biting down on her rosy lips when she turned back, and her eyes were a little nk and vacant. A thought suddenly surfaced in her mind... Did he do all that for me?

    The round robin stage continued, but the Tang Sect and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team both decided to leave immediately.

    ------

    Everyone returned to their respective rooms to rest once they were back in the hotel. Huo Yuhao followed Wang Dong¡¯er back to their room.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly said, ¡°Take off your clothes.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned, but she quickly recovered and understood that he wanted to see her injuries. But she still pouted and said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re not allowed to use that ice-cold spell anymore. I don¡¯t like you this way.¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll have the ability to direct a battle with you around if I don¡¯t use this ability? I didn¡¯t say it before this, but the truth is that we might not have won the group battle today. If I¡¯m not wrong, Xiao Hongchen¡¯s abilities have broken through into yet another level. I studied his blood cirction and his soul power undtions closely before this, and I believe that my judgment is right.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was dumbfounded. ¡°Are you saying that he¡¯s already¡­ how is that possible? He¡¯s only twenty years old!¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the Illustrious Virtue Hall is excessively wealthy, and they don¡¯tck resources of any kind. It¡¯s not impossible to use exotic herbs and medicine to force out a Soul Sage at the age of twenty. Furthermore, the effects that his abilities have against soul tools are incredibly difficult to deal with. I¡¯m very worried about how Shrek Academy¡¯s team will fare against them. They will never give up theirbat against the Sun Moon Empire with our performance today, and with Shrek Academy¡¯s glory at stake. They will undoubtedly choose to fight until the end, but that¡¯s not something that I wish to see.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought for a moment and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already done what we could. Don¡¯t think too much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be very difficult for Shrek Academy to defeat the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen around. Eh, why haven¡¯t you taken off your clothes yet?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re staring at me like that, how am I supposed to take them off¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were as cold as ever. Wang Dong¡¯er felt as if she were being scrutinized and interrogated by that pair of eyes, and it didn¡¯t feel good at all.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯ll turn around, then. Lie down on the bed after you¡¯ve taken off your clothes, and I¡¯ll help you inspect your body.¡±

    The corner of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Your words sound very strange. You¡¯re not allowed to touch ces you¡¯re not supposed to.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, am I that kind of person?¡± Huo Yuhao answered calmly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted and retorted, ¡°Yes, you are!¡±

    It took five minutes, as Wang Dong¡¯er took her time and reluctantly removed her clothes before sheid face down on the bed, and Huo Yuhao began to inspect the injuries on her back.

    The Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession¡¯s defensive effects were extremely formidable. Even though the dposition rays didn¡¯t have their own element, the Possession withstood the brunt of the attack, and Wang Dong¡¯er merely suffered surface abrasions and scratches. She also wielded the powerful element of light, and this continuously nourished her body and helped her recover.

    Huo Yuhao still wasn¡¯t assured despite all that. He discreetly poked a hole in his own finger as he inspected her wounds, and he squeezed some blood onto her wounds. The Life Gold that he had ingested contained immense life energy, and even though there was little of it left because he had been continuously assimting it, he still had ample life energy. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s recovery naturally elerated because of his blood.

    ¡°Yuhao, the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Competition is happening tomorrow night, right? Lucky for us, it¡¯s on a different day from our own tournament.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was a little panicky and anxious. Even though her rtionship with Huo Yuhao had already been settled, this was the first time that she had revealed her naked body before him. Huo Yuhao was just looking at her back, but she was still a virgin young girl, and it was incredibly embarrassing. She tried her best to talk about other things so that she could distract herself.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were already ck at this point. He felt an intense heartache seeing the three wounds on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back, but even so, her silky and smooth skin, the tender curves of her body, her thin and slender waist, and her perky buttocks were so fatally alluring and beautiful. He felt as if her body was inviting him to make a mistake.

    No spell could enable Huo Yuhao to keep his cool at a time like this. He took deep and forceful breaths again and again so that he could maintain hisposure. It took a lot of effort before his quivering fingers managed to smudge some of his blood onto all three of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°What are you doing, Yuhao? Why do my wounds feel so itchy?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er suddenly shifted her body subtly.

    Huo Yuhao felt his entire body freeze up. Right when Wang Dong¡¯er was shifting her position, two semicircles that were squeezed out from underneath her chest entered his field of view.

    This¡­ the proportion is just so good¡­ even though she can¡¯tpare to Xiaotao, she isn¡¯t that far off...

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er turned around to look at him, and she coincidentally met his eyes that were fixated upon a certain somewhere. She eximed in shock and immediately pulled up the nket to cover her body, and tossed a pillow at him with her other hand.

    ¡°What are you looking at, you idiot!¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t prepared at all, and the pillow almost knocked him dizzy. However, he still maintained his cool because of the spell and he answered calmly, ¡°I¡¯m staring at the most beautiful things in the world.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er poked her head out from underneath the nket and said angrily, ¡°Were they nice to look at?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sounded very serious as he replied, ¡°Yes, they were very nice.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted indignantly and said, ¡°You¡¯re sleeping on the floor today as punishment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly trembled, and his face became ghastly pale as his head tilted back diagonally onto his wheelchair. ¡°I¡¯ve used too much spiritual power. I feel so weak.¡± He closed his eyes as he spoke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was truly startled by his behaviour, and she wrapped the nket around herself as she sat up. However, she quickly realized that a certain shameless fellow had his eyes closed, but his eyshes were still quivering faintly.

    ¡°You feel weak, huh. Then you can sit on your wheelchair and feel weak all you want. I¡¯m going to take a nap, and you can forget about going for lunch after this. Just stay there and feel exhausted.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er muttered coldly, and she rapidly put on her clothes with the nket covering her body before shey downfortably on the bed.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes exasperatedly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be like this either, and this is all because of that spell. Yes, it¡¯s all because of that. The spell will always make me deal with things in the way that¡¯s most beneficial for me. Look like I can¡¯t use this spell anymore. You can¡¯t me me, Dong¡¯er. You can¡¯t punish me like that.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er still sounded a little upset. ¡°You¡¯re still under that spell, so I will not believe a single word you say. Furthermore, dealing with things is one thing, and your eyes looking at things you¡¯re not supposed to is another. If I don¡¯t punish you in some way¡­ hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao droned on and said, ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Dong¡¯er. You¡¯ve always been so gentle and tender in recent days. Why are you like this today? I was just taking a look, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er sat up and stared at Huo Yuhao seriously. ¡°Tell me honestly, Yuhao. Do you like how I am like now, or do you like how gentle and tender I was?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Both seem pretty good. When you¡¯re warm, I feel like I¡¯m about to melt. However, I feel a little more familiar with the way you are now. What¡¯s wrong, Dong¡¯er? Is there something on your mind? If there is, you should tell me, you should never bottle things up in your heart. Have I made you angry somehow?¡±

 Chapter 294: Awaken! Wang Donger

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s turned red. ¡°I was afraid that you couldn¡¯t take it when I first returned to my female identity, and that you¡¯d still treat me like a brother. I tried my best to be gentle and passive. Afterwards, you gave so much for me, and so I wanted to be better to you. That¡¯s the reason why I have always been so gentle, because I¡¯ve always wanted to be nicer to you. But when I saw Qiu¡¯er today, I suddenly felt that the gentle me isn¡¯t really me anymore. If you truly like the way I am when I¡¯m gentle, perhaps you don¡¯t like the way that I am as a person. Therefore, I wanted to try bing myself again. Is that alright?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew focused, and an intense pain snaked up from his chest. Yes! I¡¯ve given so much for Dong¡¯er. But what about her? She has also been giving back to me in silence. She¡¯s changed her own personality for me, that¡¯s an extremely difficult thing to do! It¡¯s no wonder that I¡¯m starting to feel that she¡¯s changed over the past days.

    ¡°Come here, Don¡¯ger.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded a little stifled.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stood up and squatted down beside him.

    Huo Yuhao extended his right arm and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dong¡¯er. It¡¯s me... I have neglected you, and I have neglected your feelings. You don¡¯t have to be so foolish, because you will always be my Dong¡¯er no matter what personality you have. Quick, return to yourself, because what I like the most is a happy you. I will like you if you¡¯re happy, no matter what your personality is. How can you change yourself because of me? I won¡¯t be happy if you toil so much just to be with me!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened her arms and hugged Huo Yuhao as tightly as she could. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, ¡°Yes! It really has been hard for me, especially when you disappeared back then. I thought I was about to lose you, and I didn¡¯t dare to be jealous, I didn¡¯t dare to overthink, and I didn¡¯t dare to be angry at you. I was too afraid of losing you! When you came back to me as if you were already dead, I told myself that I would die with you if you didn¡¯t survive. It was so very vexing, and I shouldn¡¯t have suspected you of anything, I shouldn¡¯t have been jealous in the first ce! I tried my best to keep my spirits up and toughen myself up during that time so that I could take care of you with everything I had. I would have died with you if you had died, and if you were to be crippled forever, then I would take care of you for the rest of your life. It was then that I truly saw myself as your woman.

    ¡°But over the recent weeks and months, there has always been a shadow in my heart... a shadow that originates from Wang Qiu¡¯er, and it¡¯s there even though I know I¡¯m the only one in your heart. However, I can tell from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes that even though she¡¯s cold to you on the outside, the pain she feels in her heart is the same as mine back then, and it¡¯s likely that she feels more agony than I do... because she really likes you. But I can¡¯t give you to her, because I can¡¯t bear to let you go. This is the reason why I¡¯m so conflicted. I want to do my best to be nice to you, to be gentler to you, so that you can enjoy everything that I am. But the deeper I go, the more guilty I get, to the point that I¡¯m losing my self-confidence. I discovered that I¡¯m not the Wang Dong¡¯er that I used to be, and I feel as if I¡¯ve changed, and that I¡¯vepletely be your appendant.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling this way until today, when I finally returned to thepetition stage after such a long time. It was only then that I woke up, and I realized that I¡¯m Wang Dong¡¯er, the only one in the world. Why do I need to have such low self-esteem, why do I need to have such low self-confidence? I¡¯m very pretty, and you love me! There¡¯s no reason at all for me tock self-confidence. I¡¯m Wang Dong¡¯er, and the person that I want you to fall in love with is the real me, and not the person that has be your appendant. Therefore, I wish to be myself again, and I don¡¯t want to be like I used to be. I will do everything I can to lock your heart in forever. Love is selfish, and it can¡¯t be shared! Everything else can be shared, but a lover can¡¯t be shared. No matter how much Wang Qiu¡¯er loves you, I will do everything in my power and everything that I have to protect your love for me! Nobody can take that away from me!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was sobbing uncontrobly at this point. She was still hugging Huo Yuhao as tightly as she could, and she didn¡¯t want to let go for anything else in the world.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had grown ck by now. The necromancy spell made sure that his mind was still calmly analyzing everything before him, but there was nothing he could do about this state no matter how much agony he felt in his heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, Dong¡¯er. I¡¯ve overlooked your feelings, and I wasn¡¯t able to realize your circumstances in time. Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Even though the spell had given Huo Yuhao calm andposure, he didn¡¯t know what he had to say to console her. However, he could clearly feel that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s entire aura and disposition seemed to change as she was cathartically releasing her emotions.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Yuhao. These are all my own problems, and they¡¯ve happened because my mentality has been imbnced. It¡¯s alright now that I¡¯ve thought it through. You¡¯ve sustained such heinous injuries for me, and the fact that you¡¯re still alive is already a miracle! How can you pay attention to so much when your body is in such a state? Don¡¯t worry! I will adjust myself, and I will be back to normal. All you have to do is understand my feelings, and everything will be alright!¡±

    Huo Yuhao caressed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back, though he was careful not to touch her wounds. Wang Dong¡¯er wiped her tears and sat up straight as she stared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes with her face right in front of his.

    ¡°Remember, you can¡¯t use this spell anymore. I don¡¯t like the way you are now. You can sleep on the bed by yourself today.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes were still a little swollen from all that crying as she spoke, but they seemed a little craftier than before.

    Huo Yuhao stared at Wang Dong¡¯er with widened eyes and a ck jaw. ¡°Uh¡­ Dong¡¯er, can I still take that back?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head without hesitation and said, ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s toote to regret. Alright, hurry up and cultivate. You have to recover as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I will always feel this heartache!¡± She picked up Huo Yuhao as she spoke and ced him down on the bed before she covered him with the nket. She sat down by his side and crossed her legs as she started to meditate.

    Huo Yuhao watched Wang Dong¡¯er as she closed her eyes. Her long eyshes were still quivering, and Huo Yuhao knew that there was no way she could calm herself down at a time like this. Dong¡¯er¡­ the truth is that I¡¯m very delighted that you will return to the way that you¡¯ve always been. It¡¯s my fault, because I haven¡¯t shown you enough care and concern. You will be the love of my life no matter how you are, as long as you¡¯re happy.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as he reached out of the nket with his right arm and gently touched Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s kneecap. He closed his eyes and began to channel his soul power.

    Their Haodong power still couldn¡¯t be used during cultivation. Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs and his left arm¡¯s vessels weren¡¯t clear and smooth, and it was too easy to identally divert the ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body. It was too easy to hurt her, and so the Haodong power could only be unleashed on the battlefield when Wang Dong¡¯er was purely supporting him.

    ------

    The round robins¡¯ first matches concluded sessfully. However, nobody could ever forget the first match that was the greatest upset of the entire tournament. The Tang Sect¡¯s name swiftly became the talk of the city, and every street and alley within Radiant City was filled with discussions about them. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s reputation had plummeted, to the point where many citizens began to gather and pace around outside the academy¡¯s main gate.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s first opponent wasn¡¯t that powerful, and they followed the same style during the elimination rounds and eventually emerged victorious. The round robins had just begun, and every subsequent battle was exceedingly important for every participating team. This was especially true for those teams who were defeated in their first match.

    ------

    The second day of the round robins¡¯ first round waspleted. The sky was getting dark, and everyone had returned to Radiant City. Many people decided not to rest up, and the restaurants, hotels, and bars were filled with people.

    People weren¡¯t just talking about the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. They were also talking anther tournament that they could also participate in and benefit from: the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament!

    The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s three participating regions had already produced the name list of those who were progressing into the second round. There were many more things to bet on since the start of the second round.

    Apetition between soul engineers was different from one between soul masters. Apetition between soul engineers wasn¡¯t that intense and epic, since everyone was just crafting soul tools under a fair environment. However, it was a lot more uncertain. This was a ck-marketpetition, and many soul engineers who came forth to participate were concerned about their reputation, and faked their own names. Everyone had a nickname that they used in thispetition, and the citizens could only see the soul engineers¡¯ performances through the information passed down by the three underground organizations.

    The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s second round was going to start tonight. The most alluring wager was the amount of time needed for the first person toplete this round. This wager was separated into different brackets; the shortest bracket was within one hour, and the next bracket was between one to two hours, then two to three hours, and so on. The longest times didn¡¯t have the worst odds. Rather, the middle brackets had the worst odds, and the two extremes had much higher odds.

    For example, the odds for betting that the first person would finish thepetition within one hour had one-to-five odds. The odds for between one to two hours was one-to-three, and the odds for between five to six hours had the lowest odds at five to six.

    The second round had a longer introduction than before. This round would take ten hours, and it would continue from tonight until the following morning. All participating soul engineers from all three undergroundpetitions would have to craft an offensive ss 4 soul tool within ten hours.

    Soul engineers who could craft a ss 5 soul tool would pass automatically without any testing. The soul engineers who could create ss 4 soul tools would have an extra segment for a soul tool showdown, in contrast to the previous round.

    Every soul engineer would have to take his or her soul tool for test-firing inside a Testing Range, and data would be collected after every shot. The five people with the weakest results would be eliminated, while those who couldn¡¯tplete ss 4 soul tools within the stipted time would also be eliminated.

    This round didn¡¯t eliminate that many people, but it was bing a lot more cruel and brutal. Nobody could be sure that his or her soul tool would be stronger or more forceful than someone else¡¯s soul tool of the same ss. Under such circumstances, everyone would naturally try his or her best to create a soul tool that was as strong and forceful as possible. Pressure from the subsequent showdown would give these soul engineers a better chance to unleash their true potential.

    There were many other forms of betting, and the three underground organizations were rtively adept at understanding the psychology of people. They were able to ensure that almost every single gambler had a bet that he or she was satisfied with.

    ------

    Inside the Green Hotel, back inside the simple and unornamented lobby...

    Huo Yuhao andpany arrived on the scene. This time, Chen An was a lot more low-profile than before after Huo Yuhao had instructed him to be so. He didn¡¯te out to wee them personally, instead sending one of his subordinates to meet Huo Yuhao outside before taking them into the guest lounge.

    A set of information and data was quickly sent into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands. This data detailed the soul engineers that had qualified from the previous rounds and their performances, and some remarks about them.

    The contestants¡¯ numbering changed when the tournament entered its main phase. The numbering did mean something in this round: Huo Yuhao¡¯s number was 66, while He Caitou¡¯s number was 88. These were clearly numbers that Chen An had picked out to make them happy.

    Huo Yuhao scanned through the data. The Duskwater Alliance was left with sixty-seven soul engineers who had managed to pass the previous two rounds. A little more than ny had progressed from the qualifying round, which meant that the main phase¡¯s first round had eliminated over thirty people.

    Chen An had made special markings for about a dozen contestants among the sixty-seven. Some markings represented skip-overs, while other markings meant they were suspected of hiding their abilities. These numbers were quickly memorized, as it was important for him to know his rivals in order to win. Huo Yuhao had attracted Chen An through his offers of rewards and his threats of punishment, and in addition to his astonishment at the unique technology of Huo Yuhao¡¯s sealed Milk Bottle, Chen An was utterly convinced of Huo Yuhao¡¯s non-existent identity that he imed to have.

    ¡°Yuhao, I want to watch youpete after this,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said with a smile on her face.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily startled, but then nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell Chen An¡¯s people to arrange it.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared deeply into his eyes as she bent down to his ear and whispered, ¡°Why are you giving in to me like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said, ¡°Am I not helping you recover your personality? You are my queen. The truth is, I¡¯m not sure if this is good or bad for me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so nice to me, tonight¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he was just about to ask her what was happening tonight when the guest room¡¯s door opened. A row of people walked in from outside. There were six of them, and the two walking in front were dressed like soul engineers, each having a soul engineer badge on their chests. However, there seemed to be a mist-likeyer floating over their badges, so that nobody could tell what ss they were.

    The other four people were evidently their bodyguards...

 Chapter 295.1: Ranked Carving Knife

    The two soul engineers who were walking in front seemed cold and tough as they entered the guest lounge. There was a tinge of arrogance in their eyes, and they threw a nce at Huo Yuhao and hispanions before they walked over to one side and sat down.

    I haven¡¯t seen these two before in the tournament. Could they have skipped over the previous two rounds?

    Huo Yuhao nced subconsciously at the name list in his hands. Neither of them were wearing number tags, so he couldn¡¯t confirm their identities.

    The guest room was quiterge. The two soul engineers didn¡¯t bother with Huo Yuhao and hispanions as they found a spot to sit down, and their four bodyguards positioned themselves behind them.

    These two soul engineers immediately attracted Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention. He could tell through Spiritual Detection that the bodyguards standing behind them were soul masters, and they didn¡¯t seem weak at all. It seems like these two soul engineers are quite important people. They look like they¡¯re around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Could they be from the Illustrious Virtue Hall?

    Huo Yuhao tried his best to search his memory. He and He Caitou had spent quite some time inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he had seen most of their members. Naturally, he had seen quite a few high-level soul engineers. However, these two soul engineers were definitely below thirty years old since they were participating in this tournament, and it wasn¡¯t likely that they were high-level soul engineers.

    The guest lounge¡¯s door opened once more as he was calcting and analyzing things. Chen An walked in briskly, and gave Huo Yuhao a nce before he stepped over to the two soul engineers who had just sat down. Chen An said respectfully, ¡°Greetings, my friends. Many thanks to you foring forward to participate in thepetition. These are your number tags.¡± He handed two number tags to the two soul engineers as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were extraordinary, and he could faintly tell that the two number tags read 96 and 98 respectively. These two numbers didn¡¯t appear in the data that was given to him, and that meant that these two soul engineers hadn¡¯t participated in the previous two rounds. Are they people that the Duskwater Alliance has specifically invited to participate?

    ¡°Alright. Let us know when it¡¯s time.¡± The soul engineer with the 96 number tag answered inly before closing his eyes to rest and mentally prepare himself. The soul engineer with the 98 number tag didn¡¯t say anything at all.

    Chen An greeted them once more before he turned around and walked briskly over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s group. He came beside Huo Yuhao and asked respectfully, ¡°Do you have any instructions for me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Arrange seats for these two inside the Golden Hall after this. It¡¯s alright if they¡¯re a little further away, as long as they can see me.¡±

    Chen An was momentarily stunned. He nced between the handsome-looking Wang Dong, and then at the cute-looking Na Na. He thought to himself, He really lives up to his identity as someone from the Holy Ghost Church! This arrangement was strange, and Yuhao actually had one male and one female servant with him. However, he had been utterly convinced after Huo Yuhao revealed the sealed Milk Bottle to him, as the sealed Milk Bottle was the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s newest technological breakthrough, and it was also a top-secret affair. The fact that Huo Yuhao could show it meant he was evidently one of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s core members, and Chen An figured that Huo Yuhao was probably someone that the Holy Ghost Church had sent to the Illustrious Virtue Hall for special nurturing.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll arrange for it at once.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shifted to one side, and he made an inquiring expression. Chen An didn¡¯t make a sound, and he mouthed a soundless response, ¡°The Duskwater Alliance has specially invited these two to participate in thepetition. I¡¯m not sure where they¡¯re from, but my superiors tell me that they¡¯re formidable soul engineers.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a look of revtion on his face. It was clear that the Duskwater Alliance had invited these two to deal with the other contestants from the other two underground organizations. If that was the case, they couldn¡¯t be that weak.

    Chen An didn¡¯t dally around. He turned around and left, and it didn¡¯t take long before some officials came forward to announce that thepetition was about to begin, and that the contestants could enter the arena.

    Wang Dong¡¯er began to push Huo Yuhao outside. However, two bodyguards who were guarding the two soul engineers opened their arms and blocked Huo Yuhao¡¯s path right at this moment.

    ¡°Please wait. Let our masters go first,¡± they muttered coldly at the same time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes widened, and she was about to erupt, but Huo Yuhao smiled and raised his hand as he said, ¡°Alright, let them go first.¡±

    One of the two bodyguards grinned mockingly and said, ¡°Good for you, cripple, that you know what¡¯s up.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t even finished his sentence when a golden beam of light sparkled behind Huo Yuhao like a waterfall. The bodyguard hurriedly channeled his soul power and released his martial soul as he raised his hand to block the golden beam.

    Boom!

    The bodyguard¡¯s body was thrown backwards, and his entire body began to burn up in golden mes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was naturally the one who hadshed out. The Fire of Light from her Golden Light Left Arm Bone immediately covered her opponent¡¯s entire body. The party with a soul bone when both parties had yet to release their martial souls had an absolute advantage over the other side.

    But her attack seemed to have disturbed the ho¡¯s nest, and the two other bodyguards raced forward and gathered with the remaining bodyguard as they all released their martial souls at the same time.

    All three bodyguards had the samebination of soul rings, two yellow and three purple ones. They were all Soul Kings, and it was clear that they had gone through proper training. They protected the bodyguard who was burning up in mes as theybined their auras together and started toward Huo Yuhao and hispanions.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The soul engineer with the 96 number tag shouted. He wasn¡¯t tall or short, and his appearance seemed as typical as could be. However, his eyes were conspicuously cold and gloomy. He walked over with the other soul engineer, and Huo Yuhao watched them in amusement as he sat there in his Golden Tree wheelchair.

    ¡°My subordinates are immature and unruly, and I¡¯m deeply sorry that they have offended you. After you.¡± The soul engineer with the 96 tag squeezed out a smile, and he spoke and gestured at Huo Yuhao courteously.

    Huo Yuhao wore a faint smile on his face as well. ¡°That¡¯s alright. I¡¯m quite sorry about all this. Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er surveyed the other three bodyguards coldly, her eyes filled with indifference and contempt. These three were Soul Kings, but they were still nothing much in her eyes. Wang Dong¡¯er was from Shrek Academy, so how could other normal soul masterspare to her? Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s current cultivation rank was no weaker than Ma Xiaotao¡¯s when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er first met her after they entered the academy.

    ---

    The soul engineer with 98 came up beside the other soul engineer, and they watched Huo Yuhao and hispanions leave the guest lounge. He asked softly, ¡°Big brother, the fellow on the wheelchair seems a little strange.¡±

    96 nodded and said, ¡°His servant seems so gentle and tender, but she possesses such formidable strength. I believe she has six soul rings, at least. Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t have forced him back with a single palm. Her element is light. Are they members of one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯srge families?¡±

    The golden mes that were still burning on that bodyguard had been extinguished by now. However, his face was extremely pale, and soul power seemed to leak from his body, as if he were fighting against something.

    96 walked over to his side and ced one hand on his shoulder. A greyish-white light lit up and swiftly flowed into the bodyguard, and only then did he gradually stop trembling.

    ¡°Nobody is to cause any more trouble after this. Don¡¯t forget our task. Let¡¯s go.¡± The soul engineers departed the guest lounge after that.

    ------

    He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair after they entered the Golden Hall. Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na, under Chen An¡¯s special arrangements, were led by some officials along the arena¡¯s edge and into a dark corner. There were no seats there, but they were in a better position to watch everything that was happening on stage. It was apparent that Chen An¡¯s arrangements were quite thoughtful.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were given ces in a corner once they stepped on stage. Chen An didn¡¯t dare to let Huo Yuhao and He Caitou attract too much attention after what Huo Yuhao said to him thest time!

    ¡°Between one to two hours ¨C we¡¯ve ced three hundred thousand golden soul coins. One-to-three odds, heh.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered to He Caitou.

    He Caitou was wearing a metal mask on his face, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see his expression. But He Caitou nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction, and the two of them interacted with their eyes for a moment before they transferred their attention to the crafting desk in front of them.

    96 and 98 were arranged in the seats that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou werest at. They were wearing long soul engineer robes, but their physical appearances were quite typical, so they wouldn¡¯t draw too much attention to themselves.

    Chen An¡¯s voice quickly rang out across the arena.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I¡¯m pleased to announce that the second round of thepetition¡¯s main phase is about to begin. Please remain silent so that our mighty soul engineers will have a quiet environment to craft their soul tools. There are still too many people in this round, so some soul engineers have toplete their tasks beneath thepetition stage. Therefore, silence is to be maintained throughout the entire process, and anybody who makes a sound will be expelled from the arena. Alright, let me announce this round¡¯s rules¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao perused the information that the Duskwater Alliance had prepared on stage as he listened to Chen An¡¯s announcement.

    There were a lot more materialspared to the previous round. There were ten kinds of rare metals, and more than twenty kinds of normal metals. The only problem was that there were no more than two kilograms of each kind, which meant that the soul engineers couldn¡¯t craft anyrge ss 4 soul tools unless they brought their own materials, no matter what they chose to create. Chen An added one more line after he finished his announcement. ¡°In the interest of fairness, every soul engineer can only use the metals provided by the organizingmittee for crafting. The finished soul tools will be weighed immediately afterpletion so that they can ensure that the contestants didn¡¯t cheat!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was quite pleased with how the Duskwater Alliance did things. They were an underground organization, but they were still able to maintain fairness in their tournament and their rules.

    ¡°Alright. Get ready, all soul engineers. This round begins now, and the countdown has begun! Get into position, referees!¡±

    The timing was closely rted to the bets ced, hence it was extremely important. There were more than ten people responsible for the timing, and there were normal citizens, aristocratic members, soul masters, and soul engineers among them, along with people from other professions who were more or less representative. The Duskwater Alliance was doing their best to make sure that nobody could cheat!

 Chapter 295.2: Ranked Carving Knife

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a hurry as he picked up a silver-white piece of metal and ced it in his soul tool model. He had already activated his Spiritual Detection, and the two soul engineers with the 96 and 98 number tags were his targets. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need his eyes to see, and he could still monitor every single movement that they were making.

    Huo Yuhao was already astonished even though he had just started observing them.

    The two soul engineers were moving very quickly, taking one metal block apiece and getting to work right away.

    Experts could always tell with one look. These two soul engineers were familiar, well-trained, and they moved with rhythm and unnatural calm. They seemed extremelyposed, and their hands were so stable that it was almost frightening. Every movement was exceedingly urate and precise, and they did things just like Huo Yuhao had in the first round that he participated in. They didn¡¯t use the tools provided on the crafting desk, each instead retrieving a carving knife each as they began to do their own carving and engraving.

    Truly formidable soul engineers didn¡¯t really believe in needing tools to help them, they would ratherplete everything on their own.

    What caught Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention were the two carving knives in their hands.

    Number 96 was holding a dark red carving knife. The knife didn¡¯t seem like it was made from metal because it became thinner closer to the de¡¯s edge. Therefore, this carving knife had a gradient that slowly changed from dark red to fiery-red, to light red, and then down to transparency. The de was extremely peculiar, and its entire body seemed to be crafted from some kind of jade.

    There were patches of cloud patterns on one side of the carving knife, and these cloud patterns seemed toe alive when soul power was injected during the carving and engraving process. This made the carving knife¡¯s sharp edges shine faintly withyers of de light. The glow wasn¡¯t intense, and one could only see it upon closer inspection. However, it was because of these lights that the carving knife was especially sharp. The carving knife easily sliced and cut through the tough metal as if it were dicing tofu.

    The carving knife that Number 98 drew out wasn¡¯t ordinary, either. His knife was dark green in color, and a little bigger than hispanion¡¯s. There appeared to be rusty marks on its surface, but it didn¡¯t look to be made of iron. It seemed very old, even ancient, with dragon-shaped engravings on both sides. One could almost hear a dragon¡¯s calls as the carving de was being used, and every cut and move added a greenyer to the metal block¡¯s surface before the green hues rapidly disappeared. There seemed to be wind-type undtions contained within.

    Ranked carving knives? Huo Yuhao was astonished.

    The Carving Knife Leaderboard was the list that soul engineers paid the most attention to, and the list gradually took shape over the years. There were one hundred ranked carving knives, and the list consisted of the most outstanding carving knives on the continent. The list also had an order, but most carving knives were simr in capability and had their own unique characteristics. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was ranked on that list, though it was ranked towards the bottom because it had a unique trait ofshing back at its owner. Ever since the knife became Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de, he had not brought it out topete for a spot among the other ranked carving knives.

    The ranked carving knives were assessed every ten years, and they would bepared with the previous one hundred carving knives on the Continent that were ranked ten years ago. The winners would be added to the list.

    The Carving Knife Leaderboard was extremely authoritative, determined and judged by nine of the most influential and formidable soul engineers. One ss 8 soul engineer from each of the Continent¡¯s three native countries were on thismittee, while the six others were ss 9 soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how dominant the Sun Moon Empire was in the world of soul engineers, and more than seventy of the current ranked carving knives were located inside the Sun Moon Empire.

    It would be foolish to think that one hundred ranked carving knives was already one too many. How many soul engineers were there? Ranked carving knives were priceless treasures to any soul engineer, and it was glorious for any soul engineer to possess one such de.

    The most powerful thing about ranked carving knives was the fact that they had their own unique characteristics, and perhaps even their own sentience, so to speak. This was especially pronounced when creating formation arrays. Ranked carving knives would infuse their own unique attributes into the soul tools that they were used to craft, and these soul tools would possess special capabilities that made them superior to other soul tools of the same ss.

    Certain ranked carving knives made the crafting process a lot easier because they possessed an extraordinary ability to slice through metal. Some ranked carving knives could add elements to soul tools, and the advantage of using such a carving knife was extremely conspicuous in the circumstance that Huo Yuhao and the others were in now. Of course, the more powerful the ranked carving knife, the moreplicated the workmanship required to create it, and the rarer the materials required to craft it. More than thirty percent of the current ranked carving knives were unable to be replicated, while another thirty percent were replicable in theory, but almost impossible to replicate in reality. The form to craft the remaining forty percent had been lost throughout the generations, and one could tell from all this that a ranked carving knife was extremely valuable.

    It was hard to find a ranked carving knife in an auction, even in any of the top-tier auctions on the Continent. Everybody would be fighting for the ranked carving knife if it did appear.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao could already see two ranked carving knives with one nce. He felt a little strange, but he was more annoyed than he was surprised. He really wanted to p himself across the face, as he only remembered when he saw their ranked carving knives that he had one of his own.

    Huo Yuhao had kept his de concealed even when he was on exchange in the Illustrious Virtue Hall all those years ago. He didn¡¯t want people to know he had it, and he wanted to prevent it from being stolen, so he had never used it before. His Life Guardian de had been nourished within his Eye of Destiny this entire time, to the point where he had forgotten that it was even there¡­

    Yes, he had forgotten entirely that he possessed a de as powerful as the Life Guardian de. He only remembered that he had it when he saw the two soul engineers¡¯ ranked carving knives!

    What a tragedy! Huo Yuhao eximed grievingly and indignantly inside. However, he didn¡¯t retrieve his Life Guardian de right away. The de had been nourished within his Eye of Destiny this entire time, and he wasn¡¯t sure what it had be. Taking it out now would only attract unwanted attention. I guess I¡¯ll have to wait until I get back... I¡¯m sorry, my precious darling carving knife!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s exasperation and helplessness didn¡¯t affect his movements. He began to use the most orderly and traditional methods to craft his ss 4 soul tool, as he didn¡¯t want to stand out too much. ording to his original n, He Caitou was the one who had to finish his ss 4 soul tool within one to two hours so that they could win their bet. However, he was immediately rendered speechless as he watched the two men in ck who were using ranked carving knives, because he was about to lose his wager¡­ with their speed, they wouldn¡¯t even need an hour toplete a ss 4 soul tool!

    The truth proved that Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgement was urate. Half an hour passed, and the two soul engineers withdrew their ranked carving knives and submitted their respective soul tools. The countdown was momentarily stopped, and their submission times would be officially counted as long as they passed the test for their soul tools¡¯ force afterwards.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± He Caitou called out softly.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Three hundred thousand golden soul coins! Looks like I was careless.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll see about that in the next round.¡± He Caitou smiled straightforwardly as he continued crafting the soul tool in his hands. However, his speed was conspicuously slower than before.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou submitted their productions along with most of the other soul engineers after about three hours.

    The two soul engineers who were the first to submit their soul tools were already long gone. Their soul tools passed the test with flying colors, and were far stronger than the other typical ss 4 soul tools. There was no doubt that they would progress into the next round.

    Both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s ss 4 soul tools were small soul cannons. The force of their soul cannons was just like the time that they took to craft them, average. They qualified, but they weren¡¯t outstanding at all.

    There were only forty-eight people who remained after this round to participate in the subsequent rounds, and this group included Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, along with Numbers 96 and 98.

    ---

    Chen An met up with Huo Yuhao one more time before they departed the Green Hotel. Chen An told him that the tournament would be a lot morepetitive in the next round, and soul engineers would have to face off against each other one-versus-one. It would be a little antagonistic, but Chen An wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it would be like. Furthermore, he would no longer be the chief judge in the next round, as his superiors would send higher level soul engineers to anchor things down.

    Having a inside man like Chen An was extremely beneficial for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s participation in thepetition, and this slightly alleviated the pain of losing three hundred thousand soul coins. Thankfully, he hadn¡¯t thrown everything into that bet. He hadn¡¯t wanted to attract unwanted attention, but it did seem like a highly rational choice in hindsight.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you hiding your abilities again?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked Huo Yuhao as she pushed him in the wheelchair and they departed the Green Hotel.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so... I feel like a fool now! Three hundred thousand soul coins! That¡¯s just painful. I will have to go back and apologize to everyone.¡±

    He Caitou chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s alright. Just earn back what we¡¯ve lost. If we don¡¯t hide our abilities, we can finish our soul tools within an hour too! We would have gotten our money if we ced our bet directly in that bracket, but we just didn¡¯t dare to do so. The next round ispetitive, right? We¡¯ll see about earning back what we¡¯ve lost during the next round.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and said, ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve gambled before, second senior brother. You seem quite professional with your words.¡±

    He Caitou smiled and nced at Wang Dong¡¯er. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re especially lively and happy today? Did something good happen?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little taken aback. She smiled sweetly and said, ¡°Of course something good happened! But I¡¯m not going to tell you!...¡±

    He Caitou looked at her, and then at Huo Yuhao. He smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°I know what happened.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at him in confusion and asked, ¡°What do you know? That¡¯s not possible! You will never guess it!¡±

 Chapter 295.3: Ranked Carving Knife

    He Caitou said, ¡°How is that impossible? The good thing that you¡¯re talking about, isn¡¯t that the good thing that¡¯s happened between you and Huo Yuhao? Are you expecting? We should help you two arrange your marriage as soon as possible when we return from thepetition before your tummy gets big. Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao. We¡¯ll call eldest senior brother when the timees, and we¡¯ll all join you in your proposal.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still a little lost when He Caitou asked if she was expecting. Towards the end, however, she could tell that something was wrong, and when He Caitou finished the rest of his sentence, her face was flushing red.

    ¡°What!? Don¡¯t talk nonsense! Huo Yuhao and I didn¡¯t do that!¡± She stomped her foot as she spoke, and she gave the wheelchair over to Na Na beside her before she took a few quick steps forward and walked out in front of everyone else.

    Huo Yuhao was justughing throughout the entire conversation, and said nothing at all. Yes! He did feel like Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s liveliness had returned to her, even though that meant she was no longer gentle and soft. It also meant that she was probably a little more quirky and erratic, so it would be a little more difficult to flirt with her. However, Huo Yuhao was especially delighted to see her so happy.

    ---

    Huo Yuhao used Imitation to bring everyone back into the hotel and closed the door to his room. He asked Wang Dong¡¯er to push him over in front of his desk and draw the curtains.

    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s get some rest.¡± The tournament had taken them almost four hours, and it was already veryte. The next match of the round robin was tomorrow, and they didn¡¯t have much time to rest. Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Go and rest, Dong¡¯er. There are some things that I need to handle.¡± He was a little too eager at this point.

    ¡°What do you want to do? Let me apany you.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er pulled a chair over, sat down beside him, and stared at him with a curious look. She had been together with Huo Yuhao for far too long, and she could tell from Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression that he was extremely excited. He had just lost three hundred thousand golden soul coins, so it must be something big.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t keep urging her to rest. He gradually closed his eyes, and a pale goldenyer shone from his skin.

    Gentle spiritual undtions permeated the room with a strange aura. Wang Dong¡¯er smiled faintly as she watched Huo Yuhao with his eyes closed.

    Huo Yuhao was still a Soul King, but no matter how much Wang Dong¡¯er understood about him, she didn¡¯t know how powerful he was now. He¡¯d probably be a true high-level soul master once his body recovered and he was able to move. His spiritual power was just too strong.

    The Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew greatly boosted Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, and had allowed him to ascend into the concrete-immaterial realm. This was his also his true hidden weapon in the big tournament.

    The soft spiritual undtions continued to ripple as a faint golden crack slowly appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. The crack slowly opened up, and a strange vertical eye gradually appeared.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a six-ringed Soul Emperor, but she still felt her entire body quiver and a dizziness surface in her mind when the Eye of Destiny opened up. She didn¡¯t feel bnced on her chair anymore, and had to hurriedly support herself by gripping the table. She focused her attention, calmed herself down, and withdrew her spiritual power so that she wouldn¡¯t be affected.

    What kind of eye is that?! The brilliant golden eye was transparent like a golden crystal, but its pupil was a deep and elegant purple color. Strange but intense spiritual undtions flowed out, and the entire room was quickly filled with an aura of formidable spiritual power.

    A bluish-green light suddenly erupted from the golden eye. The light rays in front of the golden eye became a little twisted when this bluish-green light appeared, as if it were opening a door into another world.

    Bluish-green light flickered, and a carving knife was hovering in front of Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but whisper.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes opened. The Eye of Destiny on his forehead shone with faint golden light, and his eyes were fixed upon his Life Guardian de.

    Yes! It really was, it really was quite beautiful!

    The Life Guardian de had undergone drastic changes over the many years that it had been nourished, and it now looked like a translucent emerald. It wasn¡¯t just transparent, like a crystal; its colors were dense, positive, and even. The green hues were full of life energy, and the entire de was just riveting.

    There were no patterns of any sort on the Life Guardian de. It was so pure that it seemed like it had been naturally formed, and not man-made. The fearsome and ferocious aura that had once belonged to his Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was entirely gone. While rippling with flourishing life energy, the de also possessed peculiar spiritual undtions.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and carefully pinched the Life Guardian de with his thumb and his index finger.

    Ayer of green light immediately shone from within it and stained the entire room a jade-green color. Dense life energy flowed backwards and followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm into his body.

    It was just a small carving knife, but the life energy that it fed back to Huo Yuhao was continuous, and flowed endlessly like a river. He felt as if his life energy was expanding with breakneck speed. Furthermore, this powerful life energy was automatically fighting against the ice-type origin energy in his left arm and his lower limbs, as if it were melting ice into water.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was filled with energy and vitality, to the point where he almost moaned out loud.

    He subconsciously infused his soul power into the carving knife, and a strange sensation surfaced. A blurry green light lit up at the carving knife¡¯s tip, and a foot-long de light protruded from it.

    This de light was slender and shaped like a trapezoid, wide at the start and narrow at the back. Simply put, the carving knife seemed to have expanded.

    Huo Yuhao was holding the carving knife diagonally. The de light appeared and naturally stabbed into the desk before him.

    A strange scene appeared ¨C the table¡¯s entire structure was immediately imprinted in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao could feel that the table had been¡­ annihted.

    Yes, annihted.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao looked on in shock as the wooden table was soundlessly converted into ash and dust. The table slowly crumbled in front of their eyes into dust that drifted down to the floor. The Life Guardian de only flickered once with green light.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her hand, and dense light-type soul power swept out. Her soul power swept up the ash and dust, and she opened the window so that she could throw it outside. Huo Yuhao controlled his Life Guardian de and withdrew the de light, which also put a stop to the enchanting bluish-green light.

    Wang Dong¡¯er cleaned up the mess, and turned around and gazed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°This¡­ what just happened?¡±

    Huo Yuhao mumbled, ¡°This is called the Life Guardian de. Have you heard about ranked carving knives?¡± He immediately briefed Wang Dong¡¯er about the Life Guardian de¡¯s identity. Of course, he skipped some things that were rted to Electrolux.

    ¡°It¡¯s been nourished inside my Eye of Destiny for such a long time that I¡¯d forgotten all about it. I really deserve a beating for that. I never expected that it woulde to possess so much life energy over the years. With this de around, I can feel that my life energy can be permanently maintained at a flourishing level, and even the speed at which my body can absorb the ice-type origin energy has be a lot faster.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing even if it could only help you recover more quickly. But what¡¯s the deal with the table?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought back to something Electrolux once said. ¡°The Life Guardian de was forged from Life Gold. If the de has an element, then its element is life. It can manipte life energy, and this ability is known as Adjudication. It can adjudicate the life energy in all matter. This doesn¡¯t include living matter, and can only take effect against metal and all other sorts of non-living matter. This de can absorb life energy from these non-living things to boost itself, and it can also cause those things to crumble just from absorbing its life energy. Of course, that also means it can give other metals its own life energy. I believe that if themittee redid the Carving Knife Leaderboard, the Life Guardian de would rank among the top ten.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°What do you intend to use it for? For thatpetition? You¡¯ll pay a price for possessing something like this. Won¡¯t you attract a lot of unwanted attention if you have a precious carving knife as ring and riveting as this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, and he proved to Wang Dong¡¯er how powerful he was with his abilities.

    The Eye of Destiny¡¯s light contorted a little, and the bluish-green and transparent carving knife in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands transformed once more, bing a ck carving knife that looked as normal as normal could be.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Imitation? Can you change everything with Imitation?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er stared at him with wide eyes and a ck jaw .

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg. Do you remember? I said I have a hidden weapon, and it¡¯s not this carving knife. It¡¯s a soul skillbination that I¡¯ve invented all by myself. You will see it when we meet an opponent that¡¯s powerful enough.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Help me onto the bed. I want to try using the Life Guardian de to support my cultivation and see if it can help me elerate the absorption of the Ultimate Ice origin energy of heaven and earth inside me. I have a feeling that full recovery is waving to me now.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes flowed with self-confidence. He had this powerful life energy to protect him now, and this allowed him to do what he wanted as he absorbed the ice-type origin energy.

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said delightedly.

    ------

    The next morning...

    The sky around Radiant City was a little dark, and the clouds were hanging low. There seemed to be a heavy and gloomy atmosphere in the air as light drizzles billowed in the sky. The rain carried waves of a crisp chill.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair as they exited the Brilliant Delight Hotel. Na Na held up arge umbre for her and Huo Yuhao, and everyone proceeded towards thepetition grounds. The second match of the round robin was about to begin!

    The Tang Sect was facing off against a sect called the Clearjade Sect. ording to the information that they had, this sect was very special, and they were quite powerful as well!

 Chapter 296.1: The Clearjade Sect

    The Clearjade Sect was as mysterious as the Tang Sect. Since the start of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, their progression through the elimination phase and the round robins¡¯ first match could be considered smooth-sailing. Hardly any of their team members were hurt, and their team leader wore a conical bamboo hat with a veil that draped low over their face. The team leader had not fought yet, and had just beenmanding and directing the battle from their waiting area. The Clearjade Sect only put six people on stage, even during the group battles.

    If not for the fact that their fighting style was very different from normal soul masters, Huo Yuhao would have suspected that they were part of the Body Sect, who had nted themselves within the tournament.

    The Clearjade Sect consisted of soul engineers, and so were naturally all from the Sun Moon Empire. They were based inside Radiant City, and were a highly reputable group.

    The Clearjade Sect¡¯s disciples shared the same path, as closebat soul engineers. They utilized closebat soul tools to boost their own strength, and even some of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s representative team members couldn¡¯t catch up to these guys in terms of closebat techniques. However, the Clearjade Sect couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team with regards to soul tools, as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team had the Illustrious Virtue Hall behind them.

    The Tang Sect versus the Clearjade Sect. This was going to be another epic match to watch!

    The spectator¡¯s grandstand beneath thepetition was packed with people early in the morning due to the Tang Sect¡¯s dominant performance in the previous round. The spectators were already discussing the match among themselves. The Tang Sect was the tournament¡¯s darkest horse at the moment, so they naturally became the main talking point.

    They entered the guest lounge, and the perg blocked off the light drizzle drifting down from the sky. The lounge was equipped with several soul tools that acted as heaters, and warm air wafted towards them once they walked in. The atmosphere was moderately warm and quitefortable.

    The warmth didn¡¯tst long, however, and the Tang Sect¡¯s team members began to feel waves of chillinessing from one side.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team, with Xiao Hongchen at the helm, were staring at them. Their eyes were like icy des, as if they wanted to cut the Tang Sect¡¯s team open.

    Xu Sanshi shifted his mouth disdainfully, and he reached out with both hands and pointed his middle fingers.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes closed into slits, and his right hand made a slicing movement across his neck.

    ¡°Losers,¡± Xu Sanshi grunted contemptuously. He didn¡¯t look at them anymore and sat down with the rest of his team members.

    ---

    The Tang Sect¡¯s match was the first one of the day, since they won theirst one. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team was pushed into the second segment.

    The Shrek Academy team had also arrived. Wang Qiu¡¯er was still the one leading the pack, but their eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, was nowhere to be seen. Nobody knew where she had disappeared to.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er will take the first bout,¡± Huo Yuhao said with a faint smile on his face.

    Everyone looked at him in surprise. Huo Yuhao smiled again and said, ¡°Afterwards, Xiao Xiao will take the next bout. We will fight with our female generals today, and everyone will take two bouts if you can defeat your first opponent. We will request to enter the group battle directly afterwards. We haven¡¯t been fighting enough group battles since the start of the tournament, and our opponents will only get stronger and stronger. We¡¯ll take this opportunity to practice.¡±

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help butugh and smile as they listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. It was clear that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think anything of the Clearjade Sect at all, and he treated them as target practice. His self-confidence came from his abilities. Even though Bei Bei wasn¡¯t there with them, they had still managed to force the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team to admit defeat in the previous round. That oue boosted everyone¡¯s confidence. Everyone came from Shrek Academy, and every single one of them were among the best soul masters of their respective ranks. It was within their rights to have such confidence.

    The Clearjade Sect¡¯s team members arrived at the guest lounge about that time. A man d in a long robe and a conical bamboo hat on his head took point. Or rather, it was difficult to tell whether he was male or female. His clothes were wide and oversized, and big enough to cover his frame. This person looked extremely mysterious.

    Roughly a dozen people followed closely behind him. The main team members were positioned towards the front, while the reserve team members trailed at the back.

    The Clearjade Sect¡¯s team uniform was pale yellow in color. It was very eye-catching.

    The person walking in front of the Clearjade Sect¡¯spany paused for a moment and turned towards Huo Yuhao. Perhaps he could feel the Tang Sect watching them. An eerie and chilly aura rippled towards Huo Yuhao without any warning. The intimidating pressure was filled with a razor-sharp aura, and even the air seemed to tear and crackle faintly, as if it were being torn apart.

    A tall figure stood up in front of Huo Yuhao without waiting for him to react. This person was just standing there, but there was a feeling that he was about to split heaven and earth in half. This person¡¯s eyes focused and immediately dispelled the sharp aura that emanated from the Clearjade Sect¡¯s team leader. Sword intent surged through the air, and the entire guest lounge was immediately charged with hostility and murderous intent.

    There was no question that the Sword Maniac, Ji Juechen, was the person that stood in front of Huo Yuhao.

    They had been here for a long time, but both Jing Ziyan and he hadn¡¯t found anyone else besides Nan Qiuqiu to spar with. They were part of the Tang Sect after all, so they had to try their best to avoid causing trouble for them.

    But somebody was trying to provoke them beneath thepetition stage. Ji Juechen couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore, and the sword intent that had been suppressed for a long time erupted like a geyser.

    A peculiar scene appeared inside the guest lounge: almost all the soul masters inside the guest lounge released their martial souls to fight back against Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent.

    Sword intent continued to surge relentlessly around the room, and everyone felt as if they were about to be struck by this sword maniac in the next moment!

    ¡°Brother Ji.¡± Huo Yuhao gently reminded him exasperatedly.

    ¡°Ji Juechen?!¡± A deafening shout rang out. Did this voice not belong to Xiao Hongchen?

    Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan and the others had been following the Tang Sect before this, but Xiao Hongchen and his sister had been too focused on Huo Yuhao and the others this whole time. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t that familiar with Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan. Xiao Hongchen finally recognized him after Ji Juechen unleashed his signature intimidating sword intent.

    ¡°Ji Juechen! You¡¯ve deserted us and joined the Tang Sect?¡± Xiao Hongchun howled as he gritted his teeth.

    Ji Juechen frowned, but said nothing. Jing Ziyan couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and retorted, ¡°You call that deserting? Can you not make it sound so horrible? We joined a sect after we left the academy. Are you saying that we were sold to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Withdraw your martial souls. Do you want me to disqualify the lot of you?¡± A bright voice broke the tension, and the same person that had acted as judge for the match between the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team and the Tang Sect that day appeared: the ss 9 soul engineer, the Unbreakable Douluo! A powerful aura flowed from his body and forcefully suppressed all the tension and disturbance in the guest lounge.

    Teachers typically didn¡¯t enter the tournament¡¯s guest lounge. Therefore, everyone here was a contestant. Everyone became a lot calmer once the formidable Titled Douluo appeared.

    Everyone withdrew their martial souls. Ji Juechen just nced coldly at Xiao Hongchen before he sat down with Jing Ziyan.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face was frighteningly dark and gloomy. His eyes were closed into slits, and nobody knew what he was thinking about. His ck face was enough to portray the extreme rage and fury that he was feeling right now.

    The Clearjade Sect¡¯s team leader sat down as well, as if nothing had happened at all. He appeared incredibly calm andposed.

    Zheng Zhan surveyed the guest lounge authoritatively before leaving. He stepped on thepetition stage directly; he was the judge today again!

    Huo Yuhao frowned faintly. Is this Titled Douluo, this ss 9 soul engineer, targeting the Tang Sect? It¡¯s him again! But he does seem quite fair¡­

    ---

    Time was up, and Zheng Zhan¡¯s bright and crisp voice travelled to every corner of the arena. ¡°The second match of the round robin... the Tang Sect versus the Clearjade Sect! Contestants, please enter your waiting areas and prepare for battle. The single elimination round¡¯s first contestant can step onto the stage directly.¡±

    Everyone from the Tang Sect stood up one after another. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao, and everyone walked towards their waiting areas.

    Seven people from the Clearjade Sect stood up. Six people surrounded their mysterious team leader as they proceeded towards their waiting area on the other side. The atmosphere immediately became tense and antagonistic once they left the guest lounge.

    Wang Dong¡¯er opened her umbre and sheltered herself and Huo Yuhao against the light drizzle. Huo Yuhao turned his head around and nced in the Clearjade Sect¡¯s direction. The Clearjade Sect¡¯s team leader seemed to be watching him as well, but their gazes couldn¡¯t meet directly due to the veil hanging from his conical bamboo hat. However, Huo Yuhao felt something in his heart.

    Both parties quickly entered their respective waiting areas. There were no archways to shelter them against the rain in the waiting areas, so everyone could only use their umbres. Wang Dong¡¯er passed the umbre to Na Na before tapping on the ground with her foot and drifting gently onto thepetition stage.

    The audience in the distance erupted into a cacophony when she leapt onto the stage. Everyone shouted different things, but they were all jeering her. It was clear that this powerful contestant from the Tang Sect, that had defeated two of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team members, wasn¡¯t wee at all. Even though Wang Dong was still as handsome as ever when dressed like a guy, this still wasn¡¯t enough to offset the contempt the audience felt in their hearts.

    The first contestant from the Clearjade Sect was a short and fierce-looking youth. He wasn¡¯t fat or skinny, but he was only about a meter and sixty centimeters tall. His movements were extremely agile, but he seemed a little indecent.

    Both contestants quickly stood at the center of thepetition stage, which had been repaired earlier, and faced each other.

    Zheng Zhan nced between them both. He wasn¡¯t like other judges, and it felt as if he was trying to remember the tournament¡¯s contestants. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Report your names.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong of the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°You Chen of the Clearjade Sect.¡±

    Zheng Zhan nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys are clear about the tournament rules, so I won¡¯t repeat them again. But remember, this is just apetition, and it¡¯s not a fight to the death. Both of you have been raised by your parents, and you only get to live once. Whoever is out to kill his or her adversary cannot me me for disqualifying you from the tournament. Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 296.2: The Clearjade Sect

    ¡°Understood.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er and You Chen acknowledged at once.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had been observing her opponent ever since he stepped on stage. She could clearly feel the hostility in her opponent¡¯s eyes, and there was no question that this hostility stemmed from the previous round¡¯s result. The Clearjade Sect came from Radiant City after all, and must be friendly towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s team.

    But so what?

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her chin slightly. She was taller than You Chen, and so it seemed like she was looking down on him.

    You Chen shot a cold look at her. He turned around immediately and walked toward the stage¡¯s other edge.

    Wang Dong¡¯er turned around and proceeded to her own side. They widened their stride and arrived at their respective corners while they prepared for battle.

    Zheng Zhan raised his right hand high into the air. Once he could see that both parties were ready and in ce, he swung his arm down forcefully and shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Both of them began to move once his arm went down. Wang Dong¡¯er tapped on the ground with her foot, and she seemed as light as ever as she charged forward. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings extended behind her back, while her soul rings sparkled dazzlingly at the same time. Pale golden light immediately covered her entire body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a lot more careful today after the painful lesson that she had learned from the previous round. She would never give her opponent the chance to ambush her, no matter what.

    You Chen raised his arms from his sides, and two beams of light shed by before a spike-like weapon appeared in each of his hands. Two yellow and three purple soul rings rose from his body at the same time.

    The Clearjade Sect consisted of soul engineers, so Wang Dong¡¯er wouldn¡¯t underestimate her opponent because of his non-optimal soul ringbination.

    You Chen¡¯s body and soul rings suddenly looked a little virtual. He left a trail of afterimages in his wake as he darted forward, and he covered several tens of meters with one step.

    What incredible speed! Surprisingly, he wasn¡¯t a soul engineer that focused on boosting soul power ¨C he was an agility-type soul master.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had ample fighting experience. She was taken by surprise, but that didn¡¯t slow her reactions at all. She tapped her left leg on the ground, and she spun in a circle as if she were about to dance. Her wings transformed into two huge des and sliced towards the spikes in her opponent¡¯s hands, which were clearly soul weapons.

    ¡°Ding, ding!¡± Two bright, crisp sounds could be heard. Two yellow circles rippled through the air, and Wang Dong¡¯er elerated in the next moment as her footwork became incrediblyplex and mystical as she sidestepped You Chen¡¯s attack.

    Those with better vision realized that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings had two small holes in them. She moved fast and tried her best to mask this fact, but it was clear that she was the one at a disadvantage in this collision.

    ¡°Powerful offensive capability. These spikes should make up his entire arsenal of soul tools. This is the mark of a true agility-type soul engineer.¡± Zheng Zhan nodded lightly as he thought to himself. He was quite in awe towards this contestant from the Clearjade Sect, who was developing down a very focused and singr path. Soul masters who wanted to be something had to disy their greatest strengths in their entirety; this was the only way to stand out from the rest, the only way to be stronger.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was also a little astonished. Her wings were tough, and in addition to her quick reactions, enabled her to push away those spikes in the nick of time. Otherwise, her opponent¡¯s spikes would probably have stabbed right into her body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had been defeated in battle before, but this was the first time that her martial soul had been damaged. Martial souls were part of a soul master¡¯s body, and it didn¡¯t matter whether soul masters had beast souls or tool souls. Injuries to a soul master¡¯s martial soul would undoubtedly affected the soul master¡¯s own body. At this moment, the soul power within Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body became a little messy and disorganized.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was full of admiration inside. It was just as Huo Yuhao had said: every single team that could progress into the round robins wasn¡¯t simple at all.

    But this was the only thought that ran through her mind. You Chen was just too fast ¨C his third soul ring lit up when Wang Dong¡¯er sidestepped his attack, and his body seemed to split apart in the next moment as the afterimages that appeared from his incredible speed suddenly became material. His figure split apart into seven identical clones that surrounded Wang Dong¡¯er at the same time. Everything happened way too quickly, and Wang Dong¡¯er had no chance to dodge even if she wanted to. She was surrounded and trapped just like that.

    But Wang Dong¡¯er was a Soul Emperor, and she was a Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy. She wouldn¡¯t be amongst the academy¡¯s next-generation elites if she was stumped by her opponent¡¯s speed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fourth soul ring sparkled when her opponent and his shadows began to surround her. A beautiful yellow halo appeared on the ground with her body in its center. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t move at all as her opponent and his shadows closed in on her, and she just closed her eyes, as if she were using her ears to listen intently to something. She ced her hands together in front of her chest at the same time, and a sphere of light began to condense.

    The seven images arched inwards before they bounced out like lightning bolts. You Chen¡¯s reactions were quick, indeed. Right when his seven images bolted out, a gigantic pir of light that was over two meters tall rose into the sky with Wang Dong¡¯er at its center: her Hexagram Array! This soul skill had formidable offensive and controlling capabilities, but it required her to predict her opponent¡¯s attacks and movements.

    She wasn¡¯t working together with Huo Yuhao for now, but she was still as powerful as she had always been.

    You Chen didn¡¯t seem like he could maintain those seven images for too long. His seven images bolted out and instantly copsed back together, and it was then that he saw a de of light that seemed to eclipse the sun sweep towards him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s third soul skill, the Butterfly Goddess sh.

    Her Butterfly Goddess sh wasn¡¯t a concentrated attack anymore. It was separated into one hundred and eight light des, and they were like an enormous web under Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s control as they rushed towards You Chen.

    You Chen retreated explosively. At a time like this, the only way he could avoid this attack was to move backwards. You Chen possessed incredible speed and outstanding offensive abilities, but his defensive powers weren¡¯t that impressive at all. He wasn¡¯t willing to risk being struck by his opponent. The truth was that You Chen resembled an assassin, and he was most adept with hiding in the darkness and erupting all at once to give his opponent a fatal blow.

    However, this was a tournament after all, and there was no way he could hide himself on thepetition stage. He left another trail of afterimages as he dashed backwards at breakneck speed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t chase him, instead making a simple gesture with her hands, as if she were lifting something.

    You Chen had been monitoring her movements this whole time. Once she raised her hands, he nearly subconsciously bounced away diagonally like a fish.

    A golden pir appeared in the path that he was trying to escape toward ¨C it was another Hexagram Array. You Chen¡¯s reaction was quick, but Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s judgement was extremely urate. This simple movement swept away two of his afterimages and caused You Chen¡¯s body to tremble. His aura seemed a little weaker than before, and then he looked on as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands made another lifting gesture yet again.

    Hexagram Array was a powerful offensive and controlling skill all at once. More importantly, it was a fearsome ability that could be released again and again. Hexagram Array was Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fourth soul skill, and it was a five-thousand year soul skill. It just didn¡¯t look like it on the surface.

    You Chen was taken aback as he watched her lift her hands once more, and he immediately lunged sideways. However, he could see the sly and cunning smile on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face as he pounced horizontally, and her hands suddenly paused in midair. In the next moment, You Chen could only watch as his body mmed into a golden beam that had just soared into the sky.

    A goldenyer immediately erupted from You Chen¡¯s body without hesitation. He didn¡¯t dare let Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Array touch him. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy didn¡¯t have exclusive rights to use the Invincible Barrier; the Clearjade Sect had some too. He was immediately enveloped by her Hexagram Array when he released his Invincible Barrier.

    You Chen couldn¡¯t be bothered with his soul power that was being rapidly drained away. He tapped on the ground with his foot, and unleashed as much speed as he possibly could. This time, he left nine afterimages in his wake as he lunged directly towards Wang Dong¡¯er. He wanted to use what little time his Invincible Barrier provided to give Wang Dong¡¯er a series of his most formidable attacks. This was the only way he had a shot at victory!

    Wang Dong¡¯er began to move when her third Hexagram Array appeared. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings pped vigorously and propelled her into the air. The Light of the Butterfly Goddess burst out like a meteor shower and rained down toward her unbelievably quick opponent.

    At the same time, a heavy cannon appeared in her hands... a soul cannon! The silver-white cannon had very elegant lines, and its barrel was extremelyrge. The entire cannon was about one and a half meters long, and the cannon mouth was a stunning twenty centimeters wide. Wang Dong¡¯er carried it on her shoulders, and it seemed as if there were beauty in the violence.

    You Chen was exceedingly fast, indeed. He tried his best to dodge the attacks of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess as much as he could. With his Invincible Barrier activated, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess naturally couldn¡¯t hurt him, but all those lights could greatly impede his forward momentum. He would be significantly slowed if he allowed even one ray to touch him.

    You Chen could clearly tell from their previous few collisions that this six-ringed Soul Emperor from the Tang Sect was incredibly powerful. Her soul power was more than one ss above his own, and he would definitely lose this battle if he allowed her to regain her bnce. His method was risky business, but it was clear that his Invincible Barrier was hisst chance at victory.

    He wasing closer and closer to Wang Dong¡¯er. He didn¡¯t hesitate any longer, and his fifth soul ring lit up as the two spikes in his hands shone with ghastly white light. The lights extending from the spikes were about half a foot long, and they were incredibly sharp as they whistled through the air.

 Chapter 296.3: The Clearjade Sect

    These were high-frequency osciting des, and they didn¡¯t possess any element at all. This attack relied on high-frequency oscitions for powerful destructive force, and was meant to counter Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession that she had used in the previous round. The Tang Sect wasn¡¯t the only one who was observing and analyzing their opponents ¨C the Tang Sect¡¯s outstanding performance meant every single one of their opponents was also investigating and analyzing them.

    You Chen tapped on the ground with his foot, and nine afterimages followed him as his fifth soul ring lit up, and merged into his body one after another. You Chen¡¯s body seemed to be transparent in this moment, and he appeared to transform into a specter while his speed increased explosively. His Invincible Barrier¡¯s radiance was raised to the highest possible level, and his body seemed to integrate into his spikes as he barreled towards Wang Dong¡¯er like a lightning bolt.

    The Spectral Spear. His martial soul was simr to Na Na¡¯s, but they weren¡¯t entirely the same. Na Na¡¯s martial soul leaned towards avoiding physical attacks, while his martial soul took a different path ¨C he used his martial soul to boost his speed and destructiveness. You Chen¡¯s fifth soul skill was his strongest attack, and even seven-ringed Soul Sages wouldn¡¯t have a good time facing him head-on when he was using a pair of ss 6 soul tools at the same time.

    Vigorous soul power undtions erupted around him in that instant, and the air around him seemed to tear apart as he pierced through it. Thin, delicate cracks appeared continuously around him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was faced with a threat so huge that her life was at stake, but she smiled. Yes, she smiled, and it was a very casual smile.

    Everyone could hear a vigorous explosion in the next moment.

    The heavy cannon on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s shoulder exploded, and intense silver light detonated in midair ¨C it was a shock bomb. No, more urately put, this was abination of a shock bomb and a rupturing bomb. The incredible force from the explosion hindered her opponent and pushed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body backwards like an arrow at the same time.

    The Spectral Spear¡¯s explosive speed was simply too quick. Even though You Chen was pushed back by the shock bomb, he was still a beat faster than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s backward momentum from the soul cannon¡¯s recoil. He was about to catch up to her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled faintly as she retracted the wings behind her back. ck light flickered across her right hand, and a hammer appeared. This hammer was ck all over, but it wasn¡¯t eye-catching at all. However, the entire atmosphere seemed to be a lot more solemn and heavier when this hammer appeared.

    A dark halo arose from beneath Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s feet, and she ced the hammer in front of her in the next moment.

    ¡°Ding!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body elerated once more as she flew backwards amidst the bright ring from the collision. She quivered faintly before returning to normal, while the Spectral Spear¡¯s quickest stab was already over. The Spectral Spear¡¯s speed plummeted, and You Chen could only watch as Wang Dong¡¯er flew out and distanced herself from him.

    This¡­ what kind of ability is that? Twin martial souls? You Chen was dumbfounded, and there was nothing else he could think off. Afterwards, he looked on as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s enchanting body spun halfway when she touched the ground, and she suddenly made a throwing action. The ck hammer in her hands flew out as it rotated through the air and came directly for him. She opened her hands by her sides and made a lifting action at the same time.

    You Chen¡¯s Invincible Barrier was gone, and he had just used his fifth soul skill. This was an awkward moment. He had alreadypleted his previous move, but he wasn¡¯t ready for his next one.

    He knew that there was no way he could win this bout. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to dy for as much time as possible, and to consume as much of this Soul Emperor¡¯s soul power as he could.

    You Chen wanted to evade this attack, but he realized to his intense fear that golden halos had appeared respectively on his left and on his right. These golden halos were two meters in diameter, and there was actually one more behind him. This also meant that he didn¡¯t dare to dodge to his left, right, or backwards in that instant. This moment of hesitation was all it took for that ck hammer to arrive in front of him.

    You Chen had no other choice but raise his spikes and meet this hammer head-on.

    The corner of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s mouth curled into a sneer. ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er isn¡¯t the only one who has strength ¨C I¡¯m strong, too.¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± An intense explosion could be heard, and You Chen¡¯s body could be seen hurtling through the air. The Hexagram Array behind him surged into the sky as he flew backwards, and the array snatched him into its light and shot him up into the sky.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ck hammer returned to her hands. Two sharp spikes were impaled into the ground where You Chen was previously positioned.

    The Clear Sky Hammer, the number-one tool soul in the world!

    The Clear Sky Hammer was a pure strength-type tool soul, and it had been ranked amongst the six most powerful martial souls in the world more than ten thousand years ago. The Clear Sky Hammer was Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s second martial soul, and this was where her true powery.

    You Chen wasn¡¯t the only one who was astounded when he witnessed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer and the ck soul ring that appeared along with it. Huo Yuhao himself was surprised; even he didn¡¯t know that Wang Dong¡¯er had added a soul ring to her second martial soul. She managed to defeat her opponent without using her Clear Sky Hammer¡¯s soul skill.

    This was pure might ¨C this was the might of a Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy!

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhang Zhan appeared before Wang Dong¡¯er in time to stop her from pursuing her opponent. You Chen was entirely under her Hexagram Array¡¯s control, and his soul power was slipping away at an rming rate, while he didn¡¯t seem like he had a chance to struggle out of it. This bout was over.

    ¡°The Tang Sect is victorious in the first round.¡± Zheng Zhan announced this bout¡¯s result justly. He nced at Wang Dong¡¯er with an extra tinge of respect in his eyes.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re from the Clear Sky Sect?¡± Zheng Zhan asked softly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced at him. She had never been friendly at all towards anyone from the Sun Moon Empire. ¡°So, the Sun Moon Empire also knows about the Clear Sky Sect.¡±

    Zheng Zhan could feel her hostility. He felt a little exasperated as he replied, ¡°Why can¡¯t the Sun Moon Empire know about the Clear Sky Sect? I didn¡¯t expect to see the descendant of someone that I¡¯m familiar with. I know somebody from the Clear Sky Sect, and he should be your senior. We¡¯ll talk about this after the tournament.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression became a lot warmer and more rxed when she heard that Zheng Zhan knew someone from the Clear Sky Sect. She nodded her head as she took out a Milk Bottle to replenish her soul power.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s victory in the first bout wasn¡¯t that easy. She was far stronger than her opponent, but she didn¡¯t like You Chen¡¯s abilities at all. You Chen was focused on extreme offensiveness, and the tables would¡¯ve been turned if she¡¯d made even a single mistake and allowed her opponent to ambush her. This was the reason why Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t want to give him any more chances ¨C she was willing to expose her second martial soul to finish the battle as quickly as possible.

    Her Hexagram Array ended, and You Chen crashed to the ground. His entire body was scorched and burnt ck from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Fire of Light, and he was in terribly bad shape. However, he didn¡¯t sustain overwhelmingly serious injuries, and he jumped off the stage after throwing a fearful nce at Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t like his fighting style, but he didn¡¯t like her fighting style either. The Hexagram Arrays that could appear at any position gave him the biggest headaches, and this feeling was aggravated after he was enveloped by one Hexagram Array and had a taste of what it could do ¨C he was in so much pain and agony that he wanted to die. The Hexagram Array possessed the formidable Fire of Light that could burn Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s opponents, and it also contained incredible restrictive capabilities. Finding oneself inside a Hexagram Array was like entering a marsh swamp. You Chen¡¯s cultivation rank was lower than Wang Dong¡¯er in the first ce, and it seemed like an impossible task for him to escape from her Hexagram Array.

    ¡°Next.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er turned towards the Clearjade Sect¡¯s camp, and her eyes swept coldly towards their mysterious team leader. This fellow dared to stare threateningly at Huo Yuhao. She had been bottling up her anger about this for a while now, and she would be more than happy if their team leader would jump on stage to challenge her.

    However, the Clearjade Sect¡¯s team leader seemed exceedingly calm, and even the rest of his team were as such. They didn¡¯t seem very affected by their defeat in the first bout.

    The Clearjade Sect¡¯s team leader sat still and didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t give any instructions at all, but someone else from the Clearjade Sect¡¯s waiting area stood up and jumped on stage with a sh.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned when this person got on the stage. Her opponent¡¯s looks were a little strange ¨C he had his head lowered this whole time, and he hid himself amongst his other team members and was very unassuming. However, it was clear that he could give anyone asting impression.

    This youth had pale white skin, and his face was also ghastly pale and without color at all. His entire frame seemed sickly and ill, and his hair couldn¡¯t be considered long. He used some special hair products tob his hair into a swept-back hairstyle, and his hair seemed shiny and reflective. His eyes were light brown in color, and they looked very cold. His body was a little hunched, and he was very tall but very skinny. His arms were especially long as they swayed faintly by his sides. This youth gave everyone an eerie and chilly feel from the moment he stepped on stage.

    This person wouldn¡¯t have to put on any makeup at all if he was seen in the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s camp.

    Zhang Zhan stared at the youth from the Clearjade Sect. ¡°Report your names.¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er of the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°Adler of the Clearjade Sect.¡± This youth had a strange voice. He was soft-spoken, and his voice was extremely sharp. However, he had a very masculine disposition, which was in contrast to the chilly and eerie aura that emanated from his body.

    ¡°Move back to your corners and prepare for battle.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t in a hurry at all. She was still holding a Milk Bottle in her hands, and she was making use of this short period of time to replenish the soul power that she had expended before. Both contestants retreated to their respective edges and stared at each other across thepetition stage.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s vision wasn¡¯t as sharp as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, but her eyes were still rtively good. She realized to her surprise that Adler¡¯s eyes had be a different color when she gazed at him from afar. His eyes were originally an ice-cold light brown color, but they were nowpletely red, and frighteningly so ¨C it felt as if his eyes had been tainted with fresh blood in an instant.

    ¡°Begin!¡± The Unbreakable Douluo, Zheng Zhan, swung his right hand downwards to announce that the match had begun.

    The contestants moved at the same time. Adler tapped lightly on the ground with his foot, and he soared into the air as if he didn¡¯t have weigh anything at all. A faint red light emerged from his body as wings appeared behind his back ¨C a martial soul that could fly.

 Chapter 297.1: The Vampire Bat

    The wings expanded, and they were evidently very big. However, they seemed to be formed from skin. The color of blood in his eyes became even more intense, and two fangs emerged in his mouth. A thick smell of blood came from him.

    On the main podium, the mysterious Imperial Tutor who sat next to Xu Tianran suddenly eximed, ¡°Eh.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Imperial Tutor? Are you interested in this disciple from the Clearjade Sect?¡± Xu Tianran noticed his reaction, and questioned him immediately.

    The mysterious Imperial Tutor said inly, ¡°His martial soul should be the Vampire Bat. Your Highness, please take a look. His body has been influenced by his martial soul, and while the change does not appear to be very significant, it¡¯s actually rather extraordinary. If we cultivate him well, he¡¯ll be someone with great potential. Xiaofeng.¡±

    When she heard his call, a mysterious person suddenly appeared and stood silently behind him. It was a woman d entirely in a long red robe. While one could not see her face, her body was evidently seductive, as all her feminine curves were brazenly disyed.

    ¡°After thepetition ends, bring this disciple of the Clearjade Sect to me,¡± instructed the Imperial Tutor.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said a soft voice from within the red robes. She took a step back, and disappeared like a puff of smoke.

    Just as they were discussing this intensely, the battle in the arenamenced.

    Wang Dong¡¯er made a decisive decision in the face of her opponent¡¯s flying-type martial soul. This had to be a closebat soul engineer. Compared to her opponent¡¯s jet-ck skin-like wings, her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings were much more beautiful. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s deep-blue wings opened, and with the toes of her feet touching the ground, she slid over to her opponent.

    The two of them flew into the air simultaneously as they circled each other.

    Adler raised his hands. On each of his hands, one could see five bright-red nails. Each nail looked vibrant and slightly wet, as if blood were about to flow out. He roared in a low voice, and his speed increased rapidly in a short time. In mid-air, he made a rush toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Two yellow, two purple, and one ck. This was the ideal soul ringbination for five rings. The third, purple soul ring gave off an intense light as his intense soul power was maximized.

    However, in terms of soul rings, no one couldpare to Wang Dong¡¯er, much less him. Among Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s six soul rings, one was yellow, two were purple, and three were ck. This was superiorpared to the ideal soul ringbination. At this moment, her second soul ring started to sh.

    The two of them chose different battling methods. Wang Dong¡¯er used her Light of the Butterfly Goddess as a huge amount of golden light swamped her opponent. She tried to scout him out with this attack.

    However, Adler¡¯s body increased exponentially in size. His muscles started to throb and grow quickly, and one could feel a powerful energying from his body. He tried to make a rush at Wang Dong¡¯er. He raised his razor-sharp ws in the air. One could hear sharp shrieks.

    Faced with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess, Adler disyed his powerful evasive abilities. His entire body was like a fish in water. With his pair of wings, he dodged rapidly. He was able to fly in the face of the numerous balls of lighting his way without getting hurt.

    Is this the innate reaction speed of bats? Echolocation. Wang Dong¡¯er, a high-flyer from Shrek Academy, was able to make an urate judgment. At this moment, she assessed that her opponent had a rarely-seen and difficult-to-deal-with bat martial soul.

    Adler was soon in front of Wang Dong¡¯er. He reached out with his ws. One of his ws was aimed at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face, while the other one made straight for her heart.

    Those who were close enough could see that his ws gave off an intense red light. One could sense an intense, bloody smell from the sharp aura. If his ws were tond, it would be enough to rip metal apart.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, who was extremely close to him, could see that her opponent¡¯s ¡®ws¡¯ on his nails were from actually finger sleeves he had on. This also meant that her opponent was using a closebat soul tool.

    Is the Tang Sect afraid of closebat? Wang Dong¡¯er did not try to dodge. She used a golden light to protect her body as she sliced out with her left wing.

    While Adler¡¯s arm might be long, it could not be longer than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings! Faced with her razor-sharp wings, Adler roared in a low voice and he tried to grab it with his right w.

    ¡°Peng!¡± It was a head-on sh. This was the result of a sh between two extremely resilient objects.

    The two of them trembled slightly in mid-air. Wang Dong¡¯er did not move, but Adler was sent flying back by two meters. While he tried to control it, everyone could see that he would be at a disadvantage if there were more of such shes. One had to know that he had already tried to maximize his own powers with the help of his third soul ring. This was the difference between a Soul Emperor and a Soul King. Furthermore, Wang Dong¡¯er was a twin-souled Soul Emperor. Her second martial soul gave her an additional soul ring. In terms of soul power strength, even Bei Bei, who was a rank higher than her, might not be as powerful.

    With that one move, she was able to ovee her opponent¡¯s assault. As Wang Dong¡¯er had used one of her butterfly wings, her body naturally descended. However, she fluttered the wing she had just used, and her other wing also rose along with her.

    One could see that a golden blue figure was executing an eye-catching uppercut, enveloping Adler within.

    The bat-like wings behind Adler suddenly opened up. A pair of sharp ws instantly formed countless other w-like shadows. At the same time, the red light on his ws dimmed slightly. Following that, a 30 centimeter-long light shot out from each of his ws as they shed with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s outstretched butterfly wings.

    Small explosions sounded non-stop in mid-air. Wang Dong¡¯er was a dancing Radiant Butterfly Goddess. Her wings were not only fast, but they also moved elegantly. Every time she shed with Adler, she was able to force him back a bit. Gradually, she was in pursuit of him. Evidently, she was using her overwhelming power to push him into submission.

    However, Adler was no weakling either. While he was not as powerful as Wang Dong¡¯er, he chose to sh with her head-on. He looked very stable. While he was in retreat, he still kept his cool. He showed no sign of weakness or defeat.

    In the Tang Sect resting zone, Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°This guy from the Clearjade Sect is not bad! However, he must have some other n in mind for him to do so without changing his fighting style.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, nodded and said, ¡°This will depend on Dong¡¯er.¡± With hisst lesson in mind, he became much more careful now. The protective barrier around the arena was troublesome, but Huo Yuhao could still ovee it. If Wang Dong¡¯er was in danger, he would act immediately, even at the risk of penalties.

    However, as he looked at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s excellent performance in the past two rounds, a smile crept across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Dong¡¯er was right. Earlier, she had suppressed herself too much. Now, even when she dressed up as a guy, she became even prettier.

    In mid-air, the two of them continued to fight without using any soul skills. All they relied on was their reaction speed and battle experience. Gradually, they flew higher and higher into the sky.

    Adler¡¯s disadvantage became more and more pronounced. Suppressed by Wang Dong¡¯er, he found it harder and harder to resist. His third soul skill gradually weakened.

    At this moment, suddenly, Adler let out a terrifying shriek. The second soul ring on his body started to shine brightly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, who was in mid-air, froze in the face of her opponent¡¯s shriek.

    Second soul skill, Terrorshriek.

    Adler appeared to have been waiting for this chance for a long time. His fourth soul ring started to shine, and a blood-red shadow, which resembled his figure almost exactly, appeared from his body as it rushed toward Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body instantly started to shine with a golden light. However, it seemed incapable of resisting the blood-red figure. A blood-red light shed, and the blood-red figure appeared behind her. However, it had already taken her form.

    Following that, Adler¡¯s first soul ring started to shine. He started to chuckle weirdly, making more of a creaking sound. The blood-colored shadow that had flown toward Wang Dong¡¯er started to rise into the sky. Then, it turned into a ball of red light as it flew toward Adler and disappeared into his body.

    Instantly, Adler looked much more powerful. Even his pale-white face had a rosy tinge to it. It was as if he had eaten some sort of supplement. With one move, he was able to keep Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings from pping.

    In all seriousness, Wang Dong¡¯er did not deserve that blow. She had guessed exactly what Xu Sanshi had guessed. However, Adler¡¯s abilities were too mysterious. The sudden explosion of power was too mysterious as well. It seemed capable of oveing all defenses and instantly, he was able to seize it. In particr, his fourth and first soul skills appeared to work in tandem.

    At this moment, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face looked much paler. She felt a strong sense of weakness. However, Adler¡¯s power increased exponentially. They were still locked in closebat, but the tables had turned.

    Adler¡¯s fourth soul skill, Bloodshadow Puppet, and his first soul skill, Bloodsucking.

    These were indeed two soul skills that were linked. His Bloodsucking ability normally required him to be near his opponent, where he could bite them with his fangs. Doing so would allow him to use his opponent¡¯s blood to replenish his own soul power and strength. This was the innate soul skill of a Vampire Bat. Regardless of what soul beast he killed with this ability, he would only receive this soul skill.

    However, his Bloodshadow Puppet was exceptionally powerful. Any form of energy defense was useless against this soul skill. It could only be blocked by physical defenses. Once someone became a target of this, a bit of the essence of one¡¯s blood would be forcibly extracted. Doing so would render the target extremely weak. However, Adler could then use his first soul skill to absorb this essence and replenish his own body. Thisbination was offensive, defensive, and regenerative at the same time. Coupled with his Terrorshriek, he was able to defeat many opponents. At this moment, Wang Dong¡¯er too fell victim to him.

 Chapter 297.2: The Vampire Bat

    Fortunately, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s cultivation was higher than Adler¡¯s. If it were a much weaker opponent, the Bloodshadow Puppet might have sucked him dry.

    As they fought, Wang Dong¡¯er was alreadypletely suppressed by her opponent. However, Adler¡¯s chain moves had yet to end. After he beat her back, his wings suddenly expanded massively. Following that, rays of red light started to appear mysteriously in the sky. They covered the area where he and Wang Dong¡¯er had previously fought. All of the rays of light then turned into sharp des as they shed at Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Empyrean Bloo. This was not a soul skill, but instead an ambush from his pair of ws.

    His sharp ws were a pair of ss 6 soul tools. The Clearjade Sect clearly invested a lot of money in preparation for thispetition.

    The sharp finger sleeves were called Bloody Cuts. With each attack, it would bring out a razor-sharp line of blood that was as thin as a string. In reality, they were lines of energy shot from soul tools. They possessed extremely high cutting abilities.

    This ability was akin tounching a second attack with each attack. In closebat, it was rather exceptional. What was even more terrifying was the fact that the Bloody Cuts were invisible. They could remain obscure until it was time to reveal them. They could remain hidden in the air they had just passed. When it was time, their user could then activate them. After they had been activated, they would be able to attack anything in 10 meters. When they attacked, they brimmed with a powerful offensive ability. They attacked at random, but they would not attack the person using the Bloody Cuts.

    Adler had been cing these around for so long, and the power of the Bloody Cuts was maximized at this moment. Only then did he use this third soul skill to activate this immensely powerful soul tool. The objective was simple: he wanted a quick and simple victory.

    If he had used Bloody Cuts straightaway, he would have surely made more trouble for Wang Dong¡¯er. However, he wasn¡¯t confident of defeating a Soul Emperor as a mere Soul King. Hence, he chose to bide this time as he quietly used his Bloody Cuts to form a Empyrean Bloo. He quietly waited for the right moment, and when it came, he activated them. While the lines of blood would attack at random, Wang Dong¡¯er, who was surrounded by them, would surely be entangled with the many bloody lines and be struck by them. As long as a few couldnd on her, he would be able to ovee her. This method was not only cruel, but also devious. If her defenses were insufficient, she would be cut into mincemeat.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pale face revealed a cold look. Even when she was pushed to her limits, she did not betray any sign of panic.

    Light shed, and she disappeared from where she was. She suddenly moved to 10 meters away. It was the soul skill of her left leg bone, Instant Shift.

    Adler was dumbfounded. As there were too many teams in the tournament, the Clearjade Sect did not notice that Wang Dong¡¯er had already used Instant Shift once before. The Empyrean Bloo¡¯s area of effect was only ten meters across. Even if Wang Dong¡¯er did notpletely escape from it, she already left its most concentrated part.

    Not only that, but Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body started to shine once again with light, blocking some of the bloody lines.

    Protective soul barrier? This was a ss 6 protective soul barrier.

    Adler re-focused his gaze. He once again used his second soul skill, and a terrifying shriek resounded in the air. He rushed toward Wang Dong¡¯er at the speed of lightning. This time, the Bloody Cuts were no longer hidden. His razor-sharp ws held some of the bloody lines as he rushed toward Wand Dong¡¯er.

    The protective soul barrier appeared and disappeared. After it blocked the bloody lines, Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved it. Terrorshriek was no longer effective on her. Her own fourth soul ring started to shine.

    The soul skill that had once caused You Chen so much pain appeared in the sky once more. A huge, six-pointed golden star appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯er. Instantly, the golden light swallowed her entire body. Then, it zapped Adler.

    The Hexagram Array can be used like this? Adler had not thought of this, but his movements were fast too. He quickly retracted his bat wings, and as gravity made his body plummet, he was able to dodge this blow.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her right hand, and a radiant golden fire shone in it. The butterfly wings behind her back started to change too.

    The two front wings and two back wings started to beat without rhythm. She descended as if she were dancing.

    This was a secret technique of the Tang Sect, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. She used this skill in mid-air.

    The two wings behind Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back and legs shone with white light. This made her even faster than before. Instantly, around 18 Wang Dong¡¯ers appeared in the sky. They surrounded Adler. Her pair of wings conjured powerful rays of light, which she sent flying toward her opponent.

    How can this be possible? He was definitely hit by my Bloodshadow Puppet! At least one-third of his blood essence has been absorbed by me. Why does he still have such strong soul power? How much soul power does he have!? Adler was stunned. After a series of attack, he was indeed able to absorb Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s blood essence, and he felt his powers grow. However, the blood essence in his body seemed uncontroble. It stopped regenerating him. Coupled with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s strong counterattack, he quickly sensed that something was wrong.

    His fifth soul ring started to shine as Adler¡¯s n immediately changed. He knew that he might not be able to win this fight. However, even if he could not win, he had to wear her down as much as possible so he could create a chance for his teammate.

    His fifth soul ring was ck. It was a ten-thousand year soul ring, and also his most powerful soul skill. Blood-colored light shed intensely from his body, and he was able to release ayer of intense bloody light. He nned on using brute force to make Wang Dong¡¯er retreat. Following that, the intense bloody light started to rise and burn. Everyone could feel that he was using his most powerful attack.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul ring started to shine too. Her body became as clear as a golden crystal. Goddess of Light Possession was not just a soul skill which could resist many types of elements. At the same time, it would greatly enhance all of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s light-type soul skills! A Hexagram Array five meters wide appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back.

    This sh would determine the winner. They werepeting in terms of pure physical strength.

    However, at this moment, something extraordinary happened.

    The rapidly-increasing bloody light in mid-air suddenly stopped. Then, a hysterical scream emerged from the bloody light. ¡°What¡­ what exactly is in your blood?¡±

    Adler¡¯s voice was filled with terror. From the bloody light, rays of golden light shot out. Instantly, they broke through their blood-colored surroundings.

    It was like a sun was about to emerge from the blood-colored light. A powerful light burst forth from the center, and the bloody light surrounding it started to disintegrate as golden rays pierced through the blood.

    ¡°Oh no.¡± The judge, the Unbreakable Douluo, cried out. His body shed, and he was instantly in the air. Ayer of white light enveloped Adler¡¯s body.

    However, it was toote. He could block attacks from the outside, but how could he block attacks that came from the inside?

    A terrifying explosion burst forth in mid-air. Instantly, blood and flesh flew all over, and the eye-catching golden light remained in mid-air for four to five seconds before it slowly faded. However, Adler was gone without a trace. His flesh and blood had disintegrated under the golden light.

    The captain of the Clearjade Sect who sat in the resting zone suddenly stood up. A powerful energy could be felt from his body, but in the face of the protective barrier, he was helpless.

    In mid-air, Wang Dong¡¯er looked dumbfounded. She did not know why Adler exploded. This had all happened too fast. She quickly retracted her attack.

    The golden light gradually faded until it had diminished into several golden motes. Afterwards, it spread out in all directions, before slowly circling around Wang Dong¡¯er and suddenly surging towards her. When the motes light touched her, they gradually disappeared one-by-one. Color returned to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pale face as they did so.

    This¡­

    Everyone who saw this scene was dumbstruck. What was that golden light? What did Wang Dong¡¯er do? She actually made her opponent explode. She did not seem to have used any powerful soul skill beforehand!

    Her opponents, teammates, and even the leadership of the Sun Moon Empire who were watching from the main podium were allpletely stunned. What had happened? Why did Adler explode?

    ¡°What¡¯s in his blood?¡± The Imperial Tutor mumbled to himself.

    The Prince Regent, Xu Tianran, frowned and said, ¡°Can this person¡¯s blood attack?¡±

    The Imperial Tutor shook his head and said, ¡°No! This isn¡¯t an attack from the blood. Instead, her blood is too unique. It probably has some energy that the Vampire Bat martial soul was unable to devour. In other words, his blood was too nourishing, which caused the body that absorbed it to explode. This doesn¡¯t seem to be a trick from the Tang Sect. Adler probably ingested his blood and then experienced some sort of side effect. Interesting. After thispetition ends, I want to catch Wang Dong to do some research. Maybe I¡¯ll make some sort of discovery. It¡¯s a shame for the little bloodsucking bat though.¡±

    Zheng Zhan stared at Wang Dong¡¯er with a green face. He did not know what to say. No matter what, Adler¡¯s death had something to do with her. What monsters are in the Tang Sect? Why is it that people die whenever they participate? Their opponents were not weak, but they were even more powerful. Wang Dong had already killed someone in twopetitions. What a Soul Emperor.

 Chapter 297.3: The Vampire Bat

    ¡°The round is over. The Tang Sect wins!¡± announced Zheng Zhan.

    With his announcement, the protective barrier over the arena disappeared. Wang Dong¡¯er felt that something was amiss. While this opponent did make quite a lot of trouble for her, she was not a bloodthirsty person, and she did not n on killing her opponent. However, her opponent died just like that. Can it be because he sucked my blood?

    Just as she was pondering this question, there was a sudden sharp scream. A shadow dashed onto the arena like a bolt of ck lightning. A ck light shed, and almost instantly the shadow was in front of Wang Dong¡¯er. A long white hand suddenly appeared, and five thirty-centimeter long dark gold ws shot out as they came shing down toward Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s head.

    With her previous lesson in mind, Wang Dong¡¯er had be far more guarded against her opponents, especially since she had just killed someone. Hence, she did not panic in the face of this sudden attack. With her Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, she quickly retreated out of range.

    Ayer of white light shone, and the two of them were separated. Zheng Zhan had intervened!

    The Unbreakable Douluo was already controlling his temper. Now, in the face of another rule vition, he flew into a rage. A milky-white light appeared and enveloped the ck figure. In a deep voice, he said, ¡°The Clearjade Sect vited the rules by ambushing their opponent! They lose this round!¡±

    As he said that, he waved his right hand, and a powerful, shapeless energy sent the ck-robed person, the captain of the Clearjade Sect, flying off the arena.

    The captain of the Clearjade Sect did not expect that Zheng Zhan would not only block him, but also disqualify him. The moment hended on the ground, he jumped back onto the arena.

    ¡°She killed my brother!¡± a raspy yet feminine voice could be heard from the ck robes. While it sounded in, the killing intent in it was evident.

    A woman? The captain of the Clearjade Sect was actually a woman? So Adler was her brother!

    When Zheng Zhan heard this sentence, his expression softened a bit as he said, ¡°Regardless of your tie with him, his idental death just now cannot be undone. However, you tried to ambush your opponent, and hence, you are disqualified. If you can still take part in the group round, you may fight.¡±

    ¡°She killed my brother,¡± the captain of the Clearjade Sect coldly said once more. With that, she leapt off the arena and sat back down in her spot as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°The Tang Sect wins.¡± Zheng Zhan had to preserve the integrity of his role. Like this, Wang Dong¡¯er had won three rounds. Furthermore, the captain of the Clearjade Sect was defeated just like that.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes narrowed. She stared at the mysterious captain, and then said to Zheng Zhan, ¡°Referee, I concede defeat in the next round. The Tang Sect will send someone else up.¡±

    After two rounds of battling, her soul power was greatly depleted. While she had recovered some of her blood essence, she decided to follow Huo Yuhao¡¯s n. After all, she had fulfilled her role for thispetition thus far.

    ¡°The Tang Sect concedes defeat and wishes to switch out. Can the nextpetitor from both teams pleasee forward?¡± Zheng Zhan announced after he acknowledged Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s defeat.

    Xiao Xiao walked into the arena to wee Wang Dong¡¯er. She gave her a thumbs-up and smiled.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said quietly, ¡°Xiao Xiao, be careful. The Clearjade Sect is mysterious. They use their closebat soul tools to support their martial souls, instead of using their martial souls to support their closebat soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Xiao Xiao replied quietly. Her beautiful eyes showed nothing but confidence. Up until this moment, she had not really participated. In the previous tournament, she had been too weak, and thought that she could not contribute enough for her team. Now, she finally had a chance to engage in a one-on-one fight. She was brimming with fighting spirit.

    ---

    Off the arena, Wang Dong¡¯er instantly returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. In one hand, she clutched a milk bottle, and she held Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand with her other hand. Their Haodong Power fused, and she began the process of gradually recovering her soul power.

    ¡°The opponent¡¯s captain is not someone to trifle with. Afterward, in the group round, you have to be careful of her,¡± said Huo Yuhao in a low voice.

    Wang Dong¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°Yes, I can feel it too. Her energy resembles Adler¡¯s, but it¡¯s much stronger. If I¡¯m not wrong, she should be a Soul Emperor like me. She¡¯s evidently the core of the Clearjade Sect. Now, they¡¯re one man down. Doesn¡¯t she want to kill me? How about I distract her in the group roundter, and the rest of you take care of the other members of their team?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is a good n. Let¡¯s see if she¡¯ll fall for it.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled too, and said, ¡°You have so much confidence in me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Have you forgotten? We¡¯re from Shrek. What¡¯s our motto?¡±

    ¡°Invincible among those of the same level!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said, her smile brimming with pride.

    Huo Yuhao did not reply. He thought in his heart, Also, I¡¯ll always be by your side.

    The third member of the Clearjade Sect was also a girl. Compared to the previous two, she looked more normal. Her face was clear, and she looked pre-pubescent. There was an innocent look about her, and yet she wore a heavy expression on her face. She did not seem to have been affected by Adler¡¯s death.

    ¡°Report your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, Qin Yueyue.¡±

    The twopetitors retreated to their respective corners. The Unbreakable Douluo appeared to have regained his cool as he let the two of them go to their corners.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    With his announcement, the two sides started to move. Xiao Xiao took small but light steps as she rushed toward her opponent. She was neither fast nor slow, but instead, she walked at a controlled pace. She appeared to be in no rush to release her martial soul.

    Qin Yueyue raised her hands in front of her, and as a ray of light shed, a weapon appeared in her palms.

    It was a long chopping knife¡­ one with a long grip.

    The knife was about 3 meters long, and the head of the knife was about a meter wide. The back of the knife was wide, and its de was extremely sharp. The entire knife gave off ayer of green light, and it seemed exceedingly sharp. However, it was wielded by a girl who was no taller than 1.6 meters. It looked like Qin Yueyue¡¯s palms were not big enough to wrap around the handle of her own knife.

    Soul rings started to appear from the top of this long knife. There were five soul rings: two yellow, two purple, and one ck. This was an ideal soul ringbination. Furthermore, the long knife was evidently not a soul tool, but instead, her martial soul. No matter how heavy a tool soul was, it would always weigh nothing to its soul master. No wonder she appeared frail, but was actually able to wield this huge knife.

    Evidently the three members of the Clearjade Sect all had immense fighting potential. Until now, they had yet to send a four-ringed team member out, only all Soul Kings. Their overall strength was immense. They were no weaker than the Sun Moon team that had put so much pressure on the Shrek team in the previous tournament.

    Very few people from the Sun Moon Empire knew much about the Clearjade Sect, much less the teams from the other countries. No one had known that such a powerful sect existed in Radiant City!

    Neitherpetitor moved quickly, and the pace of this battle was unlike the previous one. Soon, they reached the center of the arena.

    When Qin Yueyue was twenty meters away from Xiao Xiao, she suddenly stopped. She turned her body, and the huge knife in her hand shed out towards Xiao Xiao. The first soul ring on the knife started to shine, and a ray of green de light shot out as it cut at Xia Xiao.

    Darkness appeared have lit up in the next moment. A huge cauldron appeared in mid-air without warning, blocking the de light.

    With a ringing of metal, the green light disappeared, and the cauldron stopped moving. Under Xiao Xiao¡¯s feet, the idealbination of five soul rings also rose. Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron!

    When Xiao Xiao released her own martial soul, the judge Zheng Zhan thought, These two girls are so weird. One wields a huge knife, and other a huge cauldron. This will be interesting.

    With her first sh blocked, Qin Yueyue tried to cut out again. Her first soul ring shone, but this time, the de light only carved a solitary line in the ground.

    Xiao Xiao retracted her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. She quickened her footsteps as she rushed toward her opponent.

    In terms of martial souls, Xiao Xiao appeared to be a control-type soul master, or maybe a control-defense type soul master. Her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute added one soul ring, while her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was good at both control and defense. If she wanted to defeat her opponent, she needed to get close to her.

    The green de light was soon in front of Xiao Xiao. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron naturally appeared once more as it moved to block the green de light. However, the de light twisted and made another line in the ground. It actually circumvented her cauldron as it sliced toward Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron moved at that moment, too, touching the ground with one of its feet. As the de light changed directions, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron also rotated on that leg and hit the green de light, shattering it.

    In this short exchange, both sides were able to demonstrate their control over their martial souls. The audience who were far off could not see clearly, but those that were closer could not help but sigh in admiration. Both of them are so strong! This sentiment was shared by everyone watching this match.

 Chapter 298.1: A Fake Martial Soul True Body!

    When Xiao Xiao blocked her opponent¡¯s de light with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, her opponent was only ten meters away. Suddenly, her left hand grabbed the cauldron, and she stepped forward with her left leg. She cried out in a girly voice, and her entire body made one rotation with the tip of her left foot as the axis. She lifted the 1.5-meter-wide and tall cauldron, charged it with a ghastly gale of wind, and threw it in Qin Yueyue¡¯s direction.

    So violent¡­

    Even Huo Yuhao could not help but open his eyes wide in shock. Since when did Xiao Xiao, who was normally so gentle, be so violent?

    Qin Yueyue cried out as she stepped forward with her left leg. She sliced forward with the knife in her hand as she shed at the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with her de. For the first time, the body of her de came into direct contact with the cauldron.

    ng!

    This time, an ear-shattering sound like a bell being struck could be heard. The cauldron¡¯s trajectory was interrupted by the huge knife, and suddenly, it started to drop vertically. Qin Yueyue was sent back three steps by the impact.

    At this moment, Xiao Xiao had already rushed up. She pursued her falling Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron as she pushed forward with her hands. Ayer of ck light rose around her body as the cauldron continued its trajectory to smash into Qin Yueyue.

    The distance was too close, and the cauldron was too big and heavy. It was impossible to even dodge it. Qin Yueyue could only ce her knife horizontally before her as she tried to forcefully block the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    There was a bang as the de of the knife bent slightly, and Qin Yueyue¡¯s entire body was sent flying backwards.

    However, she was no weakling. After she was sent flying back through the air, she lifted the knife high above her head. Her third soul ring started to shine, and as she swung her hands upward, she was already grabbing onto the bottommost portion of the knife. She chopped down with it forcefully.

    Instantly, a de light about ten meters long descended from the sky relentlessly towards Xiao Xiao. It brimmed with a reinvigorated aura that seemed capable of slicing the arena in two.

    Xiao Xiao instantly felt as if there were nowhere for her to hide. The area around her appeared to have been tightly sealed off, but she remained fearless. Her second soul ring started to shine, and she lifted the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron up into the air, blocking the area above her head. The already humongous cauldron grew even bigger, and soon, it was three meters wide. A powerful ck light shone around it once more and enveloped Xiao Xiao.

    ng!

    Another deafening sound. Xiao Xiao¡¯s body bent over slightly, and one could see that half of the green de light had disappeared in the ck light. The rest was blocked by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and disintegrated.

    Following that, Xiao Xiao chucked the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron in her hands out once more. It went after Qin Yueyue, who had justnded unevenly on the ground. Xiao Xiao¡¯s attacks were indeed forceful!

    In the Tang Sect¡¯s waiting zone, Huo Yuhao could not help butugh. ¡°Xiao Xiao is such a mace!¡± Ever since he had returned from his exchange program, he had yet to fight her despite having trained with her many times. As a person, Xiao Xiao was not shy or mboyant. Huo Yuhao had not known that Xiao Xiao, whose style was mainly defense and control, had such a violent battling style. From her battling style, did she not resemble an assault-type soul master? She was indeed a pupil of Elder Xuan!

    A sharp glint shed in Qin Yueyue¡¯s eyes. Xiao Xiao was putting a lot of pressure on her, giving her no respite. She barely managed to stabilize herself before the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron came at her again.

    She stabbed the huge knife into the ground, prating it. Qin Yueyue¡¯s entire body started to shine with a green glow. With that, one could hear a series of metallic noises, and her entire body was quickly covered by a suit of armor.

    It was apletely green full suit of armor, and was looked extremely heavy and thick. Qin Yueyue¡¯s body became extremely sturdy, like a goddess of war. As the armor appeared, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was already in front of her.

    Qin Yueyue used her right hand to push her knife outward. She had no intention of dodging, but instead attempted to face it head-on.

    Boom!

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was sent flying back. Qin Yueyue pulled out her huge knife, and a light shed behind her back. She leapt into the sky, and came shing down at Xiao Xiao with her weapon.

    Such power! Xiao Xiao was startled. The increase in her opponent¡¯s power evidently came from her suit of armor. This should be her closebat soul tool. It was a wonderfulbination. With the power of the armor, she increased the power of her de. Compared to her first two teammates, Qin Yueyue¡¯s abilities were in no way weaker!

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron returned to its original position. Xiao Xiao lifted it up with her hands and once more, it acted as a shield above her head. Despite a deafening ng of impact, she was unable to make Qin Yueyue retreat. Instead, she sank down into the metallic floor of the arena.

    Now that she had the upper hand, Qin Yueyue showed no mercy. She sliced repeatedly and frantically down at Xiao Xiao, as if she had gone crazy. With each strike, an intense de light shone. While Xiao Xiao was able to block her offense with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, she was still forced into a retreat.

    Qin Yueyue¡¯s armor not only increased her strength, but also increased her soul power. As a closebat soul master, she did not need to increase the power of her weapon and hence, her soul tool was this armor.

    While Xiao Xiao was sent into a retreat, her fighting capabilities were slowly being revealed. When she realized that she could not match her opponent in strength, she decided to change her strategy. She started to spin the cauldron in her hand and activated her Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. She stopped trying to fight her opponent head-on, but instead tried to stabilize her position by fighting defensively.

    By activating her martial soul and the soul armor, her opponent was definitely going to be more drained than her. This was the thought going through Xiao Xiao¡¯s mind. Furthermore, she was a twin-souled soul master! While her soul power was not as good as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s, she was one of the top few soul masters with five soul rings. Hence, she was in no rush, and behaved even more calmly than Wang Dong¡¯er had.

    Xu Sanshi, who was watching the match, muttered to himself, ¡°Why does Xiao Xiao resemble a defense-type soul master more than me?¡±

    The first two rounds had ended rather quickly. The third round ended in a defeat for the Clearjade Sect, as its captain had attacked prematurely. The current match was the most intense. The two sides shed with unparalleled ferocity and intensity, exciting everyone in the crowd.

    ng!

    Another blow from the de was deflected by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. A sense of futility surfaced in Qin Yueyue¡¯s mind. She suddenly felt that the cauldron before her was akin to an insurmountable mountain. Even with all her strength, she could not do much to it. It was not a good feeling.

    Oh no, my soul power is being depleted too quickly. Amidst the helplessness, Qin Yueyue suddenly understood that this was because shecked the energy to continue her offense.

    Xiao Xiao had been waiting for this moment all this while. However, she did not try to beat Qin Yueyue back quickly. Instead, she hoped to train herself up and at the same time, conceal her true abilities.

    Xiao Xiao instantly felt Qin Yueyue¡¯s sudden loss in energy. Immediately after Yueyue shed with her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron once more, Xiao Xiao took a step forward. She held onto one side of the cauldron with both arms. Then, she pushed forward with one arm and pulled with the other. She was using a secret technique of the Tang Sect, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

    Instantly, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron started to spin. Qin Yueyue spun along with it as her de was pulled to one side.

    Xiao Xiao cried out, and then her hands went down, and the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron started to expand once more. Its first soul ring started to shine and the huge cauldron dropped to the ground.

    With a huge boom, a vast amount of ck gas started to spread outward. Defenseless, Qin Yueyue was sent flying back from this cloud of ck gas.

    She was, after all, a soul engineer, and even a closebat soul engineer was still no soul master. In terms of soul skills, there was still some distance between her and a real soul master, as she relied more on her soul tools. After such a long fight, Xiao Xiao had yet to use any soul skill. Even Qin Yueyue had forgotten that she was fighting a soul master and not a closebat soul engineer like herself.

    The sudden soul skill hit Qin Yueyue when she least expected it. Thanks to it, her body was sent flying into the air. She could feel a hum in her armor, and she suddenly felt nauseous from this blow. In her heart, she knew that something was amiss, but it was toote.

    Xiao Xiao pushed forward with both hands, sending the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron flying forward. Her second soul ring started to shine. Cauldron Sweep!

    The opportunity was only present for an instant, but Xiao Xiao made full use of it. Qin Yueyue had nowhere to run, and was sent flying by this powerful move. In mid-air, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Xiao Xiao leapt into the air. She grabbed the shrinking cauldron, and her body spun and sent the cauldron flying out. It sliced through the air with a terrifying sound as it made its way toward her opponent.

    ¡°I admit defeat!¡± Qin Yueyue cried out in mid-air.

    A huge figure appeared in mid-air and blocked the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with one palm.

    When he looked at the cauldron, which was still spinning against his palm, Zheng Zhan could not help but sigh in admiration at the Tang Sect¡¯s strength. The Clearjade Sect was not weak, and they even had some unique abilities. However, they had been forced into a tight corner by the Tang Sect. No wonder they were able to beat the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! If this went on, this team would be one of the favorites for the championship title.

    A ck light shed, and the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron disappeared. On his other side, Qin Yueyue fell to the ground, leaning on her knife. While her protective soul tool was able to absorb most of the impact from that blow, her innards were still shaking from the shock.

 Chapter 298.2: A Fake Martial Soul True Body!

    Qin Yueyue knew that if she tried to go on, she could still wear Xiao Xiao down. However, if she did that, she would be unable to participate in the group roundter on. It was the fifth round of the individual round, which also meant that her side had already lost four rounds. The only way to victory was in the group round. Furthermore, this was contingent on at least two victories in the individual round. She had to keep up her fighting abilities, so she conceded defeat.

    ¡°The Tang Sect wins!¡±

    At this moment, in the individual elimination round, the Tang Sect had four points, while their opponent only had one. The Clearjade Sect only had three members left.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, who was sitting next to Huo Yuhao, asked quietly, ¡°Yuhao, shall we give them a chance for the group round?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked her in the eye, smiled, and said, ¡°Of course we have to give them a chance. If not, how will their team captain be satisfied?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er understood what he meant as she replied, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and squeezed her hand. The others of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters smiled slightly. Only Na Na didn¡¯t know. What does she mean by ¡®I understand¡¯?

    Jiang Nannan whispered in a low voice next to her, ¡°Clear all obstacles for the glory of Shrek.¡±

    Now Na Na understood. Her heart was filled with a sense of profound respect. They wanted to clear all obstacles for the team from Shrek Academy! The Clearjade Sect was powerful enough to threaten Shrek Academy. They were trying to weaken it as much as possible.

    The Tang Sect could choose to advance or retreat, they had many options to choose from. However, this was not the case for the Clearjade Sect. Their captain, who had been sitting firmly in her seat, suddenly stood up. She stared coldly at Xiao Xiao and then at the youth next to her.

    The youth stood up too. In a low voice, he conversed with the captain of the Clearjade Sect and then, he stood up and went on-stage.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, Xue Bing.¡±

    ¡°Let the round begin.¡±

    With the Unbreakable Douluo¡¯s announcement, the youth from the Clearjade Sect known as Xue Bing shot forward like an arrow. At the same time, two yellow, three purple, and one ck soul ring rose around his body.

    Soul Emperor!

    Was he actually a six-ringed Soul Emperor? When they noticed their opponent¡¯s Soul Emperor-level cultivation, some in the Tang Sect frowned. If Xue Bing was a Soul Emperor, and if their captain was a Soul Emperor, this meant that their team had two Soul Emperors! In thest tournament, other than Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, there was no other team with thisbination. They had never expected to meet such a team in the pre-trials of the tournament. This meant that while the Clearjade Sect was not as powerful as the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they were not too far off.

    Xiao Xiao looked at her six-ringed opponent, but remained fearless. She maintained her previous tempo as she approached him.

    As Xue Bing rushed toward her, an emerald-green light started to shine from metallic green rings on his body. In total, there were six metal rings. These six metal rings gave off a warm light. As the distance between Xue Bing and Xiao Xiao closed, his body started to undergo a sudden change.

    Layers of green scales started to appear from underneath his skin. When he first released his martial soul, he was able to use his soul power to suppress the change in it, so it only revealed itself now. Not only that, but his also body started to elongate, and as his body arched in mid-air, it extended by more than 10 meters. The six soul rings that surrounded his bucket-thick python-like body started to spin too!

    His first and third soul rings started to shine. His body surged forward as he came smashing down onto Xiao Xiao.

    What kind of martial soul is this? Xiao Xiao looked stunned. This was evidently not a typical martial soul, and her opponent was not yet a Soul Sage. Naturally, he would not be able to reveal his Martial Soul True Body. However, in his current shape, was this not like a Martial Soul True Body? How could this be possible?

    While she was shocked, Xiao Xiao¡¯s movements did not slow. She retreated quickly, and her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron appeared. It suddenly erged as it came crashing down from the sky.

    Xue Bing had no intention of dodging it. Instead, he used his huge python-like body and shed head-on with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    What happened next shocked Xiao Xiao greatly. After her immense cauldron smashed into Xue Bing, it was actually sent flying away. Xue Bing¡¯s body continued to descend onto Xiao Xiao. He opened his mouth to reveal rows of fangs as he tried to swallow her whole.

    That¡¯s right, this is the power of a Martial Soul True Body. As she came from Shrek Academy, Xiao Xiao¡¯s knowledge was wide. From the force of the crash just now, she was able to ascertain her suspicions.

    If it were not a Martial Soul True Body, how could he knock her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron so far away?

    Could her opponent be a seven-ringed Soul Sage instead of a Soul Emperor? How could this be possible? A twenty-year-old seven-ringed Soul Sage! In the entire history of the Douluo Continent, this had never happened before.

    While Xiao Xiao was shocked, her body did not freeze. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, which had disappeared after it was sent flying away, re-appeared next to her. Xiao Xiao¡¯s gaze turned serious, and she stretched her hands apart. Instantly, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron split into three. She was protected in the center by the three copies of the cauldron. At the same time, her fourth soul ring started to shine.

    Each of the three cauldrons started to shine with an intense ck light. Three rays of ck light shot into the sky. They met in mid-air, and then crashed down onto the body of the huge python.

    ¡°Seal!¡± Xiao Xiao made an odd gesture with her hands. Her body started to float upward from the center of the three cauldrons, and shine with dazzling runes. Her thousand-year fourth soul skill gave off an unparalleled aura of power.

    The body of the huge python that descended from the sky was too enormous, so there was no way of dodging it. The moment the green light from its body touched the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s ck light, it disappeared. Following that, an odd scene appeared.

    Xue Bing¡¯s huge body started to shrink quickly as it fell from the sky. The three cauldrons started to move away from each other as they formed the shape of an equteral triangle.

    Xiao Xiao stood near one of the cauldrons. Her hands made an odd heart-like shape.

    When Xue Bing¡¯s bodynded, it was only a third of its previous size. It was still in the shape of a huge snake, but it seemed it had been bound the ck light, and was twisting about intensely.

    Cauldron¡¯s Seal! This was Xiao Xiao¡¯s fourth soul skill, a very powerful control-type soul skill!

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was an ancient martial soul that had been passed down for many generations. In the past, a cauldron was an important symbol of the state. This skill was akin to Cauldron Quake, which Xiao Xiao could activate bybining her first and second soul skills.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s fourth soul skill came from a mystical soul beast. When the soul ring of this soul beast fused with her, an anomaly urred.

    This soul beast was an oddity from the past, known as the Xiezhi. It was a powerful soul beast that brimmed with a severe aura that could suppress evil. However, as pure Xiezhis had long been extinct, this soul beast only had some Xiezhi blood in it. The thousand-year soul beast Xiao Xiao had killed had looked more like a goat.

    However, the Xiezhi blood in this goat-like soul beast was fully brought out in its fusion with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and an anomaly happened. This thousand-year soul skill now had an extremely powerful sealing ability, able to suppress auras and seal all beings. Once a being was sealed, two oues would arise. First, it would be sealed for three seconds. During this time, Xiao Xiao could not attack it, as she had to control the soul skill. However, in those three seconds, the opponent¡¯s soul power would be suppressed by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and at least thirty percent of it would be eroded away. No matter how much more powerful the opponent was, as long as it was not two levels more powerful than Xiao Xiao, her Cauldron¡¯s Seal would work.

    The other situation arose when the opponent was unable to break free from Cauldron¡¯s Seal. The result then would be even more terrifying. After it had been suppressed by Cauldron¡¯s Seal, it would be sealed within the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and only released upon Xiao Xiao¡¯smand.

    Of course, the cauldron could only imprison one being at a time. If it wanted to imprison another, it had to release the first one!

    In other words, this fourth soul skill was Xiao Xiao¡¯s killer move. As she faced off against a more powerful opponent, she finally decided to use it.

    Xue Bing¡¯s martial soul was not a huge python, but instead another primordial lord of the jungle, an anaconda!

    Anacondas normally lived in the depths of jungles and swamps. As it was naturally powerful and could devour even lions and tigers, anyone that got trapped by one would be doomed.

    Xue Bing was indeed a six-ringed Soul Emperor. The reason why he could reveal his Martial Soul True Body was because of the six metal rings that had appeared on his body. They were six ss 5 soul tools, but they belonged to a set. Together, they were powerful enough to activate the hidden strength of a soul master¡¯s martial soul and give rise to an increase in soul power. Xue Bing, who was originally a Soul Emperor, could use the metallic rings to activate his Martial Soul True Body. How could he not delight in it? He had immediately abandoned his original closebat soul tool and decided to cultivate this set of metallic rings wholeheartedly. By using it in this tournament, he hoped to achieve an earth-shattering sess!

    Who knew that he would have the foul luck of meeting Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron¡¯s Seal!

 Chapter 298.3: A Fake Martial Soul True Body!

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s cultivation could notpare to Xue Bing¡¯s and hence, he was only trapped by Cauldron Seal for three seconds. However, in these three seconds, one could clearly see that the power of the anaconda had been severely weakened. This was the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s trademark ability to weaken its target¡¯s soul power.

    With much difficulty, Xue Bing was able to escape from Cauldron Seal. However, as he struggled, he felt a sense of disorientation. This was an inherent result of the suppressive power of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Xiao Xiao knew that her cultivation was not as good as her opponent¡¯s. At this moment, there was no use holding back. The third, second, and first soul rings on her body all started to shine.

    The first to activate was the third soul ring. The split Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons suddenly grew massively, to the point where their diameters exceeded three meters. Following that, the first soul ring kicked into effect. The three cauldrons were simultaneously lifted thirty centimeters off the ground and then, they came crashing down simultaneously.

    As a huge tolling sound rang out, three ck halos of light started to spread, fusing at the center of the three cauldrons¡­ right where Xu Bing, in the shape of an anaconda, was located.

    Xu Bing, who had just regained control of his body, froze as the intense tremor hit him. Following that, he saw three cauldrons, almost as big as three small mountains,ing straight toward him from three different directions.

    The first soul skill of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was Cauldron Quake, the second one was Cauldron Sweep, and the third one was Cauldron¡¯s Might. After the fourth soul skill, Cauldron Seal, was activated, these three soul skills were used almost back-to-back by Xiao Xiao. Her control of her soul skills was godly.

    With Cauldron¡¯s Might, the three Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons attacked. Even as a Soul Emperor, Xue Bing spat out a mouthful of blood after he was hit by the three cauldrons. Evidently, he was rather severely injured.

    At this moment, he saw Xiao Xiao make a face at him as she said, ¡°I admit defeat!¡± With that, she turned and ran off.

    I won? Even if it was a victory, he felt a profound sense of injustice! When Xue Bing returned to his human form, his face was so dark that it was no different than if he had lost. However, the Unbreakable Douluo was already in front of him, and he couldn¡¯t do anything even if he wanted to. He remembered the example of his teammate earlier on.

    Xiao Xiao jumped down from the arena and said, ¡°Yuhao, I didn¡¯t finish my task.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°No, you have done it very well.¡± As he said that, he looked at the arena once more, and then said in a loud clear voice, ¡°Referee, we decide to forgo the individual elimination round and hope we can progress straight into the group round, could you kindly allow it?¡±

    Forgo the individual round? This is the perfect chance to score points! Are they afraid of Xue Bing, who can use his Martial Soul True Body?

    Many observers thought this way too, as they would never have imagined that they would be able to witness such power in a group of soul masters and soul engineers below the age of twenty. This was unbelievable!

    Zheng Zhan nodded and said, ¡°The Tang Sect forgoes the individual round. In the individual elimination round, the Tang Sect earns four points while the Clearjade Sect earns seven points. Both sides are permitted one minute of rest to prepare for the group round.¡±

    Those in the crowd who did not understand thought that the Tang Sect feared their opponent¡¯s Martial Soul True Body. However, those who were more discerning realized that Huo Yuhao had made an excellent decision.

    With Xue Bing¡¯s power, he could possibly win one or two rounds, but was the Tang Sect weaker than the Clearjade Sect? Xu Sanshi had yet to fight, and he had also demonstrated the cultivation of a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Despite Xiao Xiao conceding defeat in the previous round, was it really defeat? She managed to massively drain Xue Bing¡¯s power, and if they moved straight into the group round like this, it would be impossible for Xue Bing to recover all his power. Furthermore, only six members of the Clearjade Sect could participate. Among them, You Chen and Qin Yueyue had lost, and they were both drained. Under these circumstances, the Tang Sect would have aparative advantage in the group round. Five of their team members had yet to take part, and were all fresh.

    Points-wise, it was only a constion for the weaker team. For a team that could dominatepletely in thispetition, it was nothing. When Huo Yuhao said that he wanted to abandon the individual round and move straight into the group round, it was clear that he no longer cared about these points. Coupled with the fact that they had already beaten the team from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they would be able to enter the top eight as long as they could beat the Clearjade Sect.

    One minute was not a lot of time. Soon, the members of both teams went onto the arena. They looked at each other, and the atmosphere instantly turned severe.

    The captain of the Clearjade Sect finally appeared. This was the first time she had appeared since she took part in the tournament. She still donned her mysterious ck robes and covered her face. However, an icy-cold aura was being emitted from her body in the direction of Wang Dong¡¯er. Taking into ount that Adler was her brother, this enmity was set in stone.

    Huo Yuhao poked fun at Wang Dong¡¯er next to him and said, ¡°It appears that your charisma doesn¡¯t always work for you. Look, this female captain doesn¡¯t seem to like you that much!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted and said, ¡°That is because I have yet to use the thirty-six tricks I have up my sleeves! If not, who knows what may happen? After all, I didn¡¯t kill her brother. He drank my blood to replenish himself and then blew up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. He too was curious. Why does Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s blood have such power? In other words, if Adler dared to drink her blood, he should be able to break it down, so why did he die from it?

    The Unbreakable Douluo stood at the center and beckoned both teams forward.

    As they approached each other, the Tang Sect could clearly sense the chilling aura of the captain of the Clearjade Sect.

    Zheng Zhan said in a heavy tone, ¡°Thepetition is about to start. Both of you have many people on your teams and hence, I can¡¯t afford to look after every single one of you. Once again, let me remind you that this is only apetition. You only live once, so please cherish your own lives, as well as the lives of your opponents.¡±

    As he said that, he turned to look at the captain of the Clearjade Sect and said, ¡°It¡¯s regretful that your brother died. At the same time, I wish to apologize to you for failing to protect him. However, he was not killed by Wang Dong¡¯er. I think you know better than me why he exploded.¡±

    The captain of the Clearjade Sect did not respond. She continued to give Wang Dong¡¯er her death stare.

    ¡°Can the participants from both sides please state your names, starting from the Clearjade Sect.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, Qin Yueyue.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, You Chen.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, Chen Jun.¡±

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, Qing Qing.¡±

    ¡°Vice-Captain of the Clearjade Sect, Xue Bing.¡± Xue Bing¡¯s face was pale as he stared at Xiao Xiao. He knew the taste of being hit consecutively by four of Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul skills!

    The Clearjade Sect captain was thest to open her mouth. In her raspy, icy-cold and feminine voice, she said, ¡°Clearjade Sect, Cain.¡±

    Cain? What an odd name. Among the two other members of the Clearjade Sect who had yet to take part, Chen Jun was a tall youth and Qing Qing was a in-looking girl with a nice body.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Wang Dong.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xu Sanshi.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, He Caitou.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Jiang Nannan.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Na Na.¡±

    The seven members of the Tang Sect reported their names. Before the match even began, the tension between the two sides appeared capable of igniting the very air.

    For the Tang Sect, this was one of the strongest teams they had met since they took part in this Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. To them, this was a test, especially for Huo Yuhao as their captain.

    ¡°Both teams, step back.¡±

    The two teams slowly moved back. Wang Dong¡¯er continued pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair, and hence spoke to no one as she walked slowly away. They could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was joining all of them into a singr entity, like a huge that enveloped the entire arena. In the mind of every member of the Tang Sect, they all had a bird¡¯s-eye view of the entire arena.

    When they approached their respective corners of the arena, the two sides started to line up.

    On the Clearjade Sect¡¯s side, Qin Yueyue, who had battled against Xiao Xiao, stood at the forefront. On Qin Yueyue¡¯s left was Chen Jun, and on her right was Qing Qing. Behind her stood the powerful Xue Bing. Cain stepped behind Xue Bing, and You Chen stood behind Cain. Evidently, he was ready to attack with his astounding speed.

    On the Tang Sect¡¯s side, Xu Sanshi, who always yed a defensive role, stood at the front. To his left stood Xiao Xiao, and to his right stood Jiang Nannan. Behind Xu Sanshi was He Caitou, and behind He Caitou was Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao. Na Na stood all the way at the back.

    The two formations both sides took up were not conventional, but they were well-coordinated.

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, looked at both sides. Even with his cultivation, he felt a sense of pressure in his heart. After all, no one knew what the result of thispetition would be. These youngsters were not only exceptionally strong, but devious as well! He could not manage the entire arena by himself. After all, five-ringed and six-ringed soul masters were already considered the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me!

    He forced these thoughts out of his mind and looked at both teams. He raised his left hand and cried out, ¡°Begin!¡± as he chopped down.

    With this, both teams started to move immediately. While the Clearjade Sect only had six people, they were undoubtedly going on the offensive.

    Qin Yueyue, who stood at the front, was now supported by her teammates. Her entire body brimmed with strength as she unleashed her Broadsword martial soul. She advanced rapidly, and almost instantly her entire body was covered with a thickyer of armor.

 Chapter 299.1: Eye of Fear

    When Qing Qing raised her hands, something weird happened. There was a ring on every finger of her hands. All ten rings lit up with a bright glow, making her look like a member of the nouveau riche. Following that, a scepter appeared in her hand, two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring surfacing from it. The first, second, and third soul rings lit up simultaneously. Although her control of her soul skills wasn¡¯t as immacte as Xiao Xiao¡¯s, she could still be considered quite adept!

    Three connected streaks of lightsnded on Qin Yueyue. Her entire body started to shine with green light, and her entire aura immediately changed.

    On the other side of Qin Yueyue, Chen Jun materialized a heavy shield in his hand. The top of the shield was rectangr, while the bottom was a triangr wedge. It reached almost two meters in height, a ssic tower shield. He looked fearsome as he hoisted his shield. Chen Ju¡¯s martial soul was unknown, but it seemed to enhance his strength and soul power. His shield was embedded with four huge gems, which soul engineers could tell formed the formation arrays of his shield.

    Attack, defense, and enhancement! Thebination of these three from the Clearjade Sect was rather strong. Furthermore, they defended the rest of their teammates as they appeared.

    The Tang Sect was advancing less quickly. No one had unleashed any strong abilities. Xu Sanshi walked in front with the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle before him. As he looked at Chen Jun¡¯s shield, he even said, ¡°Aiyo, I¡¯ve finally met someone simr!¡±

    Both parties were less than thirty meters apart now. On the Clearjade Sect¡¯s side, Qin Yueyue lifted her de up high. However, the Tang Sect¡¯s formation broke apart just before she managed to sh her de down. Three went to the left, while four moved to the right, creating a gap in their formation.

    Qin Yueyue stopped her de suddenly and spat out blood in extreme difort. The gap her opponents had created was supposed to be where her dended!

    Just as she stopped, Wang Dong¡¯er used Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair to propel herself into the air. In mid-air, the Goddess of Light¡¯s pair of butterfly wings opened up, and the Light of the Butterfly Goddess shot straight towards the Clearjade Sect like a glowing meteor shower.

    Not only that, but a series of whizzing sounds also resonated out. Streaks and streaks of white light flew into the air under the cover of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, and engulfed their opponents. The Origin of Destruction, He Caitou, finally attacked!

    Apart from He Caitou, the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were most adept in mid or closebat battle. Even Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t an exception. Although he was also a soul engineer, he didn¡¯t specialize in long-range attacks.

    He Caitou had always been researching stationary soul tools, and he had learned how to urately attack his targets from a distance. Although he couldn¡¯t use stationary soul tools in this tournament, he was still very good in terms of long-range and wide area-type attacks.

    While Tang Sect¡¯s movements to their left and right appeared very sudden, it was precisely these movements that immediately messed up the Clearjade Sect¡¯s rhythm. When He Caitou¡¯s wide area attacknded, Qin Yueyue still hadn¡¯t shed out with her de yet.

    Furthermore, He Caitou¡¯s soul tools and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess were guided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. The level of precision was down to the millimeter! Huo Yuhao was even monitoring the formation of their opponents!

    He Caitou wasn¡¯t using a strong soul tool, only a ss 4 stinger cannon. Such soul cannons weren¡¯t able to create explosions that covered huge areas, but the prative power of the attacks from such soul cannons were very high. They could potentially even punch all the way through someone and hit the person behind them!

    The best way to deal with such soul cannons was to avoid them. As long as they were avoided, they were unlikely to cause much damage.

    He Caitou fired sixteen of these cannons. At least one of them was targeted at every Clearjade Sect disciple, and was even aimed at their heads. Their points of contact were precisely calcted using Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, and no mistakes would be made. The remaining ten cannons were aimed at one person, which wasn¡¯t the team leader or Xue Bing. They were aimed at the weakest, but fastest, You Chen!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess seemed to engulf a huge area, but it only had two main targets, Xue Bing and Cain. The Light of the Butterfly Goddess surrounded both of them for only one reason: to affect them so that they couldn¡¯t help You Chen!

    As for the three in front, they couldn¡¯t pose any threat to the Tang Sect, even though they were a goodbination.

    Everything sounded like it took a long time toplete, but in fact, this was all done very quickly. A tremendous boom shook the arena!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess was decently strong. She was a Soul Emperor, but her attack wasn¡¯t considered extremely strong because she unleashed it over toorge of an area. However, they still had to block her attack even if it wasn¡¯t at its best! In contrast, the prative abilities of stinger cannons were much stronger.

    Out of the six Clearjade Sect disciples, Chen Jun, the one with the shield, was the first to make a move.

    He raised his shield into the air and covered himself, Qin Yueyue, and Qing Qing.

    As the tremendous booms sounded out, the three of them stopped in their tracks, but weren¡¯t hurt by the Light of the Butterfly Goddess or the stinger cannons. The intense lights released by his shield blocked all the attacks.

    Xue Bing continued to demonstrate his strong side. As he moved, a dominating aura was released from his body. A strong gust of gas rose into the air and destroyed the stinger cannon shell flying towards him. After that, he also helped Cain block the Light of the Butterfly Goddess. He also quickly revealed his martial soul, as he leapt up and jumped over the three in front of him, bursting straight towards the Tang Sect team.

    Cain raised her right hand gently, and five long, dark-golden nails extended out. She used her nails to scratch the stinger shell, which seemed to be drained as it contacted her nails, and failed to explode, instantly turning into a piece of scrap metal. As for the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, Cain used her nails to destroy it, too!

    However, You Chen wasn¡¯t so lucky. As an agility-type soul master, his role was to stay at the sides andy an ambush for his opponents when the opportunity arose. It was the best way he could unleash his greatest fighting strength. As a result, he was stuck behind as his teammates burst forward. He wanted to take a side route and secretly attack one of Tang Sect¡¯s members. He had no fixed target, but instead was ready to attack whoever was most exposed.

    However, eleven stinger shells were crashing straight towards him under the cover of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess before he even had a chance to move!

    These cannons urately took into ount his trajectory, as well as how he circted his soul power. He felt as if he were running straight into them!

    He wasn¡¯t as powerful as Cain, and was even defeated by Wang Dong¡¯er badly in the first round. After some rest, he had restored around fifty to sixty percent of his power. However, he was taken aback by these eleven cannon shells. Out of pure reflex, he used a few soul skills and managed to deal with them.

    However, a terrifying feeling caused his entire body to shudder. As he lifted his head to look into the sky, You Chen was horrified to see a metal ball with a diameter of around half a meter in the air. This metal ball was facing him like a huge eye, an intense red glow undting on its surface. As he lifted his head, a streak of red light had already shot straight down towards him.

    At the same time, four familiar golden rings appeared around him. The four beams of golden light also rose and instantly locked him in ce, there was no chance of escape.

    A huge figure appeared in mid-air. A white barrier blocked You Chen¡¯s head, and a loud boom rang out a few times before it stopped. You Chen was very pale as he stood very still.

    ¡°Clearjade Sect, You Chen, eliminated.¡± The huge figure was undoubtedly Zheng Zhan. When the streak of red light crashed down, he already knew that You Chen was helpless. In addition, You Chen had already used his Invincible Barrier. Even if he hadn¡¯t used it yet, he might not even be able to block this attack even if he tried to use it.

    He was facing a strong ss 7 soul tool called the Eye of Fear!

    The Eye of Fear was a strange long-distance control-type soul tool. It could only take effect after being fired into the air. How high the Eye of Fear was fired was dependent on the level of the Eye of Fear. Such a soul tool could either be ss 7, 8, or 9. However, the difference in strength between each ss was quiterge.

    A ss 7 Eye of Fear could be fired up to a height of one hundred meters. From there, it could attack up to a distance of three hundred meters. Every ten seconds, it was able to fire a terror ray. A terror ray could dissect, st, prate, dispel, scorch, and corrode, among other effects. How long it couldst depended on the charging capabilities of its energy-gathering formation.

    A ss 8 Eye of Fear could be fired up to three hundred meters up, and remain in the air. It could attack at a distance of up to a thousand meters, and could be fired every fifteen to twenty seconds. It was three times stronger than a ss 7 Eye of Fear. Additionally, it could explode! When it exploded, everything within a two hundred and fifty-meter radius of it would die!

 Chapter 299.2: Eye of Fear

    As for a ss 9 Eye of Fear, one was rumored to exist only in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s secret weapons vault. No one knew how strong it was, as it had never been used in battle.

    Creating a ss 7 Eye of Fear was already veryplicated, as difficult as creating three ordinary ss 7 soul tools. While the offensive abilities of an Eye of Fear were quite strong, it had a great w in that it couldn¡¯t lock onto its target. It was dependent on the aiming of the person who used it. If its target moved, it would be useless. It was very important to predict the movement of one¡¯s opponent in order to use this soul tool well. Conversely, it wasn¡¯t easy to predict the movement of an opponent who had to be dealt with using an Eye of Fear!

    Along with the fact that it was very expensive andplicated to create an Eye of Fear, most ss 7 soul engineers were unwilling to make one.

    Another major w of the Eye of Fear was that it was easily broken. It would break as long as it was urately hit even once, and the strength required wasn¡¯t high. Furthermore, an Eye of Fear couldn¡¯t move once it rose into the air. It had gained a nickname after it was created. It was called the Terrifying Chicken Ribs!

    However, this Terrifying Chicken Ribs managed to kick You Chen out of the team round. Otherwise, he would have been blown apart by its terror ray.

    This attack along, with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s four Hexagram Arrays, was enough to defeat You Chen!

    This was the teamwork of the Tang Sect team. After firing his Eye of Fear into the air, He Caitou revealed a grin. It was like it had nothing to do with him. He had a second, outer helmet on for the moment, and a control button in his hands. The button enabled him to position the Eye of Fear. As for aiming at You Chen, it was something that he didn¡¯t need to worry about. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection helping him, the powers of the Origin of Destruction were bound to be enhanced to the limit by the Eyes of the Asura.

    Boom!

    The huge Anaconda fell from the air and knocked into one side of the wall. Xu Sanshi lunged forward to block before sliding his body back by a meter. He managed to deflect Xue Bing away in that moment, and prevented him from disrupting their formation.

    Xiao Xiao also acted at this point. Her ck Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron instantly grew in size until it reached three meters in diameter. It fell from the sky and crashed down onto the head of the Anaconda True Body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had justpleted her four Hexagram Arrays and returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t move, and remained at Xu Sanshi¡¯s side.

    Na Na shifted, moving behind Xu Sanshi.

    The front three of the Clearjade Sect also adjusted their positions. Qin Yueyue raised her de up high under Qing Qing¡¯s enhancement, and an intense de light shot out, more than thirty feet in length. The armor on her body was also like a burning green sun. Her aura was soaring at an rming speed.

    umtion. She chose to umte her power now. While she only had five rings, the might of her attack would be extremely terrifying afterwards if given time to power it up.

    But the Tang Sect seemed to be unbothered by this.

    A streak of deep blue sword light appeared like a bolt of lightning and struck the Anaconda True Body.

    The Anaconda let out a pathetic scream, and a deep wound surfaced on it. Light shot out in all directions because of this. As Xue Bing activated his Martial Soul True Body, it naturally didn¡¯t possess any blood. However, it was surging with soul power undtions! The sword light that struck it carried the strength of Ultimate Ice. Xue Bing was being suppressed!

    The cute Snow Lady drifted up into the air. As she saw the Anaconda True Body, she seemed very scornful. The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques ¨C Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    The Tang Sect was undoubtedly even more terrifying when they fought as a team. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they easily suppressed their opponents.

    ---

    Zheng Zhan sighed as he watched everything. The Tang Sect is too strong. It seems like the Sun Moon team was right to give up in the team round! Five against seven. They wouldn¡¯t have been able to beat the Tang Sect, considering how strong and coordinated they are¡­

    ---

    At this point, the Clearjade Sect was at aplete disadvantage. They hadn¡¯t given their all yet, but they were already down one member. The rest of them were also being suppressed. Their earlier formation, which was quite strong, was of little value at this point. This left them like headless chickens.

    Cain finally acted. When her team members were all in disastrous situations, she burst out like a shadow. She was extremely quick, far quicker than You Chen. As they saw her figure sh, she was already in the air above the Tang Sect team. As she lifted her hands, ten streaks of dark-golden light shot towards the Snow Lady. Not only that, but she also let out a high-pitched shriek.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡±

    Everyone in the Tang Sect jerked as one, and were slightly dyed as they tried to unleash their abilities.

    Quick! Even Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected Cain to be so ferocious!

    However, the Snow Lady wasn¡¯t afraid. She wasn¡¯t under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. She possessed her own intelligence, and the fighting capabilities of the Snow Empress.

    Against the dark golden rays, her body swayed a little, and she flitted aside like a streak of deep blue light before brushing past them. At the same time, she moved to ce her small palm on Cain¡¯s chest.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques ¨C Empress¡¯ Palm, Snowless cier. She immediately used her killer move.

    The roar might have been effective on the Tang Sect members. However, how could it have any effect on the Snow Lady?

    Cain didn¡¯t continue fighting the Snow Lady. As her attack had no effect, she quickly shifted positions, too fast to be caught.

    This time, she appeared above Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. She wed down at their heads.

    As the team leader of the Clearjade Sect, Cain knew that Huo Yuhao was the onemanding the entire team, even though he seemed like he was the weak link by being in a wheelchair.

    If he was removed, the Tang Sect¡¯s coordination would be messed up. Whatever crisis Zheng Zhan could see, Cain could also see. To win this team round, she had to get rid of the brains behind the Tang Sect.

    Dang, dang!

    Two crisp sounds echoed out. Cain was stunned. Neither Huo Yuhao nor Wang Dong¡¯er had blocked her attack! It was a big shield instead!

    Cain¡¯s fighting style was to immediately shift her position after she attacked. Otherwise, she would be in trouble once she was cornered by the Tang Sect. She didn¡¯t hesitate at all, her figure shing away as she returned to the air. This time, she opened up a pair of dark-golden wings behind her back, driving herself up towards the Eye of Fear above her.

    At this point, the Eye of Fear had only charged for three seconds. She had chosen the perfect time. If she didn¡¯t destroy it immediately, it could pose a threat to her entire team. None of them knew who its next target would be.

    However, the weird thing was that no one from the Tang Sect stopped her. No one even tried.

    After Xu Sanshi blocked Cain¡¯s attack, he moved back in front of the entire team again. His shield was still in front of him, and he watched Qin Yueyue, who was almost done with her power umtion. At this point, she was already targeting him.

    Xu Sanshi had to be ovee first, no matter whether it was because he was a six-ringed Soul Emperor or because he was a defense-type soul master. In their previous shes, neither Xue Bing nor Cain managed to make any headway because of him.

    A weird smile appeared on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face. Jiang Nannan shook her head gently when she saw that smile, and also started to act. She moved with a sh, and leapt forward diagonally. Her target was the Anaconda True Body of Xue Bing!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with divine light. The Snow Lady returned to his side again, but she stopped behind Xu Sanshi¡¯s back. She raised her small and delicate hands. Wang Dong¡¯er could tell that rings and rings of icy-blue light were forming in the center of the Snow Lady¡¯s right hand at a rapid rate. Was she¡­ umting the power of her Snowless cier? What was she doing? The Snowless cier would only have sufficient effect if it struck the opponent directly!

    However, Wang Dong¡¯er was only a little doubtful. She was also drifting in the air under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Streaks and streaks of Hexagram Arrays rose into the air as both parties fought each other. Their target was the Anaconda True Body.

    Xue Bing was unfortunate. He had already been struck once by the Unparalleled Chill as he was careless. Right now, he could only try to maintain his Anaconda True Body. The intense pain and the Ultimate Ice were greatly diminishing his fighting strength.

    While a Martial Soul True Body was strong, his was not a true Martial Soul True Body. As his abilities were diminishing, he also didn¡¯t dare to face Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Arrays directly. He was also afraid to rush forward. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron coordinated with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Arrays to suppress him, preventing him from advancing any further.

    At this point, Cain was already in front of the Eye of Fear. She reached out with her ws, about to destroy it. However, a weird feeling engulfed her body suddenly. Cain only felt the space surrounding her distorting furiously. Her ws found nothing. Following that, she realized a familiar yet frightening streak of green light was crashing down from the sky. Her head was its target!

 Chapter 299.3: Eye of Fear

    How is this possible? Cain was astonished. However, she had no choice but to resist the attack. She wed at the air, creating a dark golden light projection. Her wings also opened to their maximum span behind her.

    However, a cool hand pressed against her back just as she was about to use her strongest defense to resist this attack.

    None of her team had expected such a huge change to ur. They would still have had a chance if Cain managed to destroy the Eye of Fear. However, Cain and Xu Sanshi¡¯s positions were suddenly switched at the perfect moment.

    At this point, Qin Yueyuepleted her umtion and shed down with her de. Her target was now Cain, who was momentarily lost after she switched positions with Xu Sanshi.

    The cool hand contained the Snowless cier!

    Cain knew she was in deep trouble.

    Everything had happened too quickly. The Mysterious Underworld Discement had the same effect as Instant Teleportation. Zheng Zhan thought he was seeing things as everything changed. There was no time to react.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect knew that they had won. As this strike was unleashed, Huo Yuhao alsopleted another attack. Purplish-gold light shed in his eyes before Xue Bing screamed pathetically from afar. He was already weakened, but his Martial Soul True Body was immediately dispelled under the attack of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron immediately divided into three separate cauldrons before the Cauldron Quake was unleashed on him. Xue Bing was locked in ce. At this point, Jiang Nannan was already in front of him, and she kicked him in the chest. He was immediately ovee when Jiang Nannan got close to him.

    Even Huo Yuhao believed that they had won this round. Furthermore, Cain was surely going to be killed under thebined attack of Qin Yueyue and the Snow Lady!

    The Snowless cier could kill a Soul Sage, given enough time to umte. Cain was only a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Thebination of the Mysterious Underworld Discement and the Snow Lady was too strong.

    However, something changed at this moment.

    Cain¡¯s body cracked as she was struck by the Snow Lady¡¯s palm, before being hit by the de lights. She instantly split into three parts, which flew off in three different directions.

    These three figures turned into three dark-golden bats in the air.

    One of the bats turned a deep blue after flying less than three meters. After that, it broke apart. The other two bats quickly flew in two different directions. One of them headed for Huo Yuhao, while the other flew towards Xue Bing, who was being restrained by Jiang Nannan.

    What¡¯s this? Huo Yuhao was also shocked.

    The bat flying towards him had a wingspan of three meters. There was a dark-golden circr ring on its neck, and it screeched as it got close to Huo Yuhao. This screech caused Huo Yuhao to enter a momentary trance.

    Following this, the back of the bat shone with a streak of bloody light. A projection that looked exactly like another bat appeared and plunged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    This skill was sixty to seventy percent simr to the Bloodshadow Human Puppet that Adler had used against Wang Dong¡¯er!

    Although Huo Yuhao was in a momentary trance, his reaction was still very quick. A huge, half-transparent light shield blocked his body.

    The blood-red eyes of the bat seemed to be filled with disdain. Didn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er tell Huo Yuhao that the Bloodshadow Human Puppet was able to ignore any form of defense?

    However, the body of the bat turned rigid in the next instant. The bloody red projection collided with the shield. It didn¡¯t manage to prate through, and even staggered after it struck the shield.

    Milky-white glows surfaced on the shield, and seemed to form a smiley face. Following this, an exact copy of the blood-colored bat projection was deflected away directly towards the dark-golden bat.

    The dark-golden bat screamed in pain before creating a dim golden light projection behind it. This projection changed into spots of golden light that surged towards the shield.

    To both parties, their opponent was using very weird abilities. Neither of them expected the other party to possess such abilities.

    Cain escaped death, but she didn¡¯t feel very well after being attacked repeatedly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and the Snow Lady were still beside Huo Yuhao. The dark-golden bat was stalled for a while after it was hurt by the shield. This momentary dy offered time for Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess sh to cut towards the bat. A huge ball of light instantly changed into a hundred and eight des that surrounded the bat.

    Another strange scene appeared again. The dark-golden bat blew apart again and changed into countless smaller bats that absconded in different directions, managing to escape from the very concentrated attack of the Butterfly Goddess sh.

    However, not all of them managed to escape, as a few of the smaller bats were still killed.

    On the other side, the other dark-golden bat was in a much better situation. The Bloodshadow Human Puppet changed its target to Jiang Nannan, and she had no choice but to escape. Xiao Xiao directly used one of her cauldrons to cover Jiang Nannan, which blocked off the puppet¡¯s attack. However, in doing so Cain also managed to alleviate Xue Bing¡¯s crisis.

    All these changes happened extremely quickly. Qin Yueyue only managed to retract her de after Xue Bing had already been saved.

    However, a streak of red light that exuded a terrifying aura descended from the sky at this moment. This time, its target was Qin Yueyue!

    No matter how capable Cain was, she couldn¡¯t save Qin Yueyue after she was repeatedly attacked and forced to save Xue Bing.

    Zheng Zhan reacted again and blocked the attack for Qin Yueyue. At the same time, he announced her elimination. Two out of the original six members from the Clearjade Sect were eliminated!

    It was the Eye of Fear¡¯s turn to demonstrate its strength again, and after firing, it started to umte its strength again.

    He Caitou also unleashed his attack. Countless soul rays and cannon shells were fired towards Xue Bing and Cain. On the other side, Xu Sanshinded right in between Qing Qing and Chen Jun. This was going to be a sh between shields.

    Boom!

    Their shields collided with a startlingly loud impact.

    While Chen Jun¡¯s shield was much bigger than Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield, he was much inferior in terms of strength. After the collision, he took several steps back, very unsteady on his feet.

    Qing Qing was alert, and quickly retreated. The lights released from her scepter were now directed at Chen Jun.

    Xu Sanshi snorted, and his shield shone with ayer of ck light. His entire body was also dyed ck as his third soul ring shone brightly.

    ¡°Let me deal with these two!¡± With his abilities as a Soul Emperor, it would be very embarrassing if he couldn¡¯t deal with two Soul Kings. He was once regarded, along with Bei Bei, as one of the new-generation Gemini of Shrek Academy!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to attack. He exploited He Caitou¡¯s wide area attack, and all of them gathered together into their formation once again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er reced Xu Sanshi, while Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were at her sides. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao were now behind her. Lastly, Na Na was behind Huo Yuhao now as she pushed his wheelchair in ce of Wang Dong¡¯er. From the start until now, Na Na hadn¡¯t made a single move.

    In fact, Na Na was a little unfamiliar in terms of her abilities and coordination with Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Huo Yuhao¡¯s mission for her was to cover for everyone. If their opponents crept around the back side, her job was to slow them down.

    ¡°What martial soul is that?¡± Na Na asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. He was also unsure what Cain¡¯s martial soul was. However, the result of this team round had already been decided. The only thing was that they hadn¡¯t fully aplished their goal yet. The Clearjade Sect team was definitely stronger than they had expected.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao called out gently.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er nodded gently in reply. Their minds connected, and she understood what he wanted even as he spoke.

    An intense beam of golden light rose from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body. Her upper body bent back, her waist supported her as she formed a bow shape with her body. She grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders with her hands and did a handstand on his body. The rest of the Tang Sect quickly separated to the side.

    The air seemed to freeze at this point. Countless streaks of blinding light started to spew out from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Time seemed to stop at this moment too.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ golden-blue wings expanded rapidly. Almost instantly, their size doubled.

    Originally, she only had front and rear wings, but right now, there was an additional pair of jade-green wings in the middle. They were smooth, shiny, and dazzling. A strong aura of life came from this additional pair of wings, as if they were saying that the true meaning of life was light and water. Their aura of lifeplemented her aura of light.

    As the dazzling wings opened up, blue, golden, and green lights seemed to shine with countless other colors. There seemed to be countless beads of gently rolling water on the wings. They refracted all the light shining from them. Countless streaks of light shone brightly, andyers andyers of frost were released as well, starting from the bottom of her feet. They made her slender figure appear even more elegant.

    As the frost spread, everything around her seemed to turn into a world of ice and snow. As the chilly aura spread, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fused body also started to shockingly transform. Huo Yuhao disappeared, and a slender figure quietly appeared amid the tri-colored glow.

    It was ady, ady that seemed to have already matured, more than a hundred and eighty centimeters tall. Her slender figure was extremely captivating.

    She had long, powdery-blue hair that flowed all the way to her feet. Her eyes were a bright gold, and her figure was beyond perfect. Her ravishing looks made all thedies present pale inparison. Every streak of light and every curve on her bodyplemented the other. No one could describe how they felt when they first saw her. However, everyone¡¯s attention was captured by her the instant she appeared.

 Chapter 300.1: Defeating Clearjade!

    She moved in the next moment. She leapt gently forward with her left leg, and her slender figure was suddenly halfway in the air. Her tri-colored butterfly wings brought her skywards effortlessly.

    Thick icy fog spread from her legs and turned into streaks surrounding her as she rose.

    A ray of sunlight descended from the sky andnded straight on her like a spotlight from the heavens.

    The golden glow entuated her figure even further, and she seemed like a goddess, born amid the light.

    As she danced in the air, every step she took was gentle and perfect. Her moving looks were covered by the glow of life and hope, and her six wings were the best essories she could possibly have. The Raiment of Light was revealed as she was covered by the warm sunshine.

    The ravishing figure started to perform a solitary dance amid the icy fog. Her tri-colored wings extended and retracted, making her elegance even more dazzling.

    A subtle golden talisman silently appeared on her forehead. As light shed from the talisman, it revealed a gentle glow. Intense spiritual undtions caused her to enter a miraculous state.

    Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light!

    Just like in thest round of the tournament in the Star Luo Empire, everyone was astonished when the Goddess of Light appeared. Everyone¡¯s gaze was focused on her. They couldn¡¯t believe that a person could be so beautiful.

    As the dazzling, tri-colored wings opened up, the Goddess of Light took a step forward and seemed to shrink space about her. She advanced several dozen meters and appeared in front of the opponents that had survived the explosion.

    The two remaining dark golden bats gathered together. A light shed, and they formed arger bat. However, this bat had two heads! In fact, it was more urate to say that it had three heads! It was just that one was only left with the stump of a neck, there wasn¡¯t any head left. Evidently, it must have had been struck off by the Snowless cier!

    Everyone from the Tang Sect finally realized what Cain¡¯s martial soul was. It was an extremely rare but top-ranked martial soul, the Darkgolden Three-headed Batking!

    It wasn¡¯t only strong; it was a terrifying martial soul that only appeared after a mutation urred. In the world of soul masters, it was a powerful martial soul that had previously only existed in legends!

    Right now, Cain was definitely in her Martial Soul True Body. Her trump card was simr to Xue Bing. They both used soul tools to forcefully enhance themselves to reach their Martial Soul True Body state. However, they were both spent right now, and it was very difficult for them to maintain their Martial Soul True Bodies anymore. After all, their Martial Soul True Bodies had been forced to manifest. Compared to real Martial Soul True Bodies, they could at most unleash sixty percent of their maximum abilities in such a state.

    However, sixty percent of Cain¡¯s maximum abilities was enough to save her life. Otherwise, thebination of the Snowless cier and Executioner¡¯s de would¡¯ve killed her.

    As the Goddess of Light opened her wings, an extremely chilly aura was released. Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just possess two and three rings like they had thest time they unleashed the Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost in a tournament. They were very strong now!

    Without any warning, a snowstorm was unleashed, with the Goddess of Light at the center of it. Three people were immediately engulfed by this snowstorm, and those on the outside couldn¡¯t see what was happening.

    Yes, it was the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    The Goddess of Light was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯sst martial soul fusion skill because it wasn¡¯t an attack that could only be used one time. They could attack continuously and unleash theirplete fighting strength!

    They weren¡¯t able to maintain such strength or use so much power in the past. However, the Goddess of Light was able to unleash all of their abilities now. It wasn¡¯t their Martial Soul True Body; it was stronger than a Martial Soul True Body!

    The referee, Zheng Zhan, cursed and immediately rushed in the direction of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. As he couldn¡¯t see what was going on, he couldn¡¯t tell what they were up to. It was a dazzling martial soul fusion skill! He didn¡¯t expect them to have such a trick up their sleeves!

    Inside the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Cain and Xue Bing felt as if they had entered an extremely chilly world. They even felt their blood solidifying in the cold. As their bloodflow slowed, they felt the cirction of their soul power also dropping significantly.

    Xue Bing had been thrown onto the floor several times by Jiang Nannan earlier, and could feel his body breaking apart. His soul power was almost depleted after two consecutive fights. Against the extreme cold, he could only forcefully circte his soul power to resist the snowkes that resembled sharp knives.

    Cain was in a better state. However, one of her bat heads had been destroyed. This hurt her martial soul, and she couldn¡¯t recover from this in a day or two like normal. It was just like Xiao Xiao when her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had been crushed; she might even not recoverpletely at all!

    Cain let out a piercing scream. It was her Terrorscream again. She didn¡¯t expect her skill to hurt the Goddess of Light, she was only trying to find her opponent. She didn¡¯t want to rush out blindly. In this snowblind world, she couldn¡¯t possibly get her directions right. She didn¡¯t know where her enemy was, and she still had to protect Xue Bing. Thus, she didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill the two of you,¡± a moving voice sounded. The frost seemed to split, revealing a ravishing figure slowly walking toward them.

    Even though they were in harsh conditions, Xue Bing¡¯s eyes widened in shock when he saw the Goddess of Light. He couldn¡¯t believe that there was someone so perfect in this world.

    The Darkgolden Three-headed Batking¡¯s wings opened wide, and Cain burst towards the Goddess of Light like a bolt of lightning. She knew that their surroundings would return to normal as long as she could defeat the Goddess of Light!

    It was a pity that she was engulfed by a beam of golden and blue light less than five meters after she moved. It was a Hexagram Array that now also carried the Ultimate Ice. Within this Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, the aura that it released was entirely concealed.

    The Darkgolden Three-headed Batking struggled indignantly. Xue Bing also tried to stand up and resist further. However, they were in very weak states right now.

    Outside the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, three huge cauldrons blocked the Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan as he rushed out. One of the cauldrons was stacked on top of the other two cauldrons.

    ¡°Referee, you can¡¯t interfere since victory hasn¡¯t been decided yet,¡± Xiao Xiao spoke out. Right now, they had already gathered on the other side to aid Xu Sanshi in his formation.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Zheng Zhan shouted in fury. He pped his hands, and a wave of dominant soul power swept the cauldrons to one side. However, the terrifying red in the sky appeared once again as he tried to burst towards the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Zheng Zhan turned pale, and he was about to curse.

    Even though he was a Titled Douluo, he couldn¡¯t separate his body like the Darkgolden Three-headed Batking! On the one hand, he couldn¡¯t tell what the situation was like inside the snowstorm. On the other, he was afraid of someone else dying if they were struck by the terrifying ray. He was left with no choice. His figure shed, and he blocked the attack on Qing Qing, also announcing that she had been eliminated.

    Chen Jun was kicked out a few seconds after Qing Qing. Even though his shield had many special skills, he didn¡¯t stand a chance with his inferior cultivation. Xu Sanshi¡¯s Turtle God¡¯s Strike helped him destroy his opponent¡¯s shield directly. If not for Zheng Zhan¡¯s intervention, Chen Jun¡¯s body would also have been crushed.

    As this slight dy happened, the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice on the other side also spread out and began to vanish.

    The Goddess of Light danced. Her wings opened and turned into a streak of flowing light that moved straight towards the Golden Tree wheelchair. At this point, there were two ice sculptures left within the area covered by the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Cain had already regained her original look. She was actually an attractive youngdy with a weirdly paleplexion.

    Xue Bing was in a more tragic state. There was huge wounds on his chest and belly. However, these injuries couldn¡¯t be seen clearly, as he was frozen.

    ¡°Referee, we¡¯ve won.¡± The Goddess of Light turned back into two people as a final light shed. Huo Yuhao was quietly sitting in his wheelchair, while Wang Dong¡¯er was standing in front of him. The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

    Zheng Zhan quickly rushed in front of the two ice sculptures. After a few attempts, he realized he couldn¡¯t melt them free. The two ice sculptures were very hard, and their temperatures were extremely low. He didn¡¯t dare to forcefully break the ice. If he did so, the two of them would die very quickly.

    ¡°Quickly, defrost them.¡± Zheng Zhan quickly came over in front of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao appeared very weak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Referee, my soul power isn¡¯t sufficient, so I can¡¯t melt them. Don¡¯t worry, their lives won¡¯t be in danger, as the temperature of Ultimate Ice is very low. When my soul power recovers, I can help to melt them. Their pulse just has to be restarted before they can regain their life power. In this state, they won¡¯t die even after a year.¡±

    ¡°Life¡­¡± Zheng Zhan was helpless as he looked at Huo Yuhao

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it great that we¡¯ve removed one more strong opponent for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er added, ¡°You should announce that we¡¯ve won.¡±

    Zheng Zhan took in a deep breath. He knew that there were some things that a referee like him couldn¡¯t do. If they didn¡¯t want to melt the two of them, what could he do? It was the Ultimate Ice. No one on the continent would dare to melt these ice sculptures!

    ¡°The Tang Sect wins the team round, and this match! Tang Sect - nine points. Clearjade Sect - seven points!¡±

    Victory! The Tang Sect progressed to the next round!

 Chapter 300.2: Defeating Clearjade!

    ¡°What have you done to our captain and vice-captain?¡± The substitutes for the Clearjade Sect, as well as You Chen, Qin Yueyue, Chen Jun, Qingqing and the rest, surrounded them as they descended from the stage.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°They will be fine. After a few days, I¡¯ll defrost them when my soul power recovers.¡±

    ¡°In a few days? Why does your soul power take so long to recover?¡± Qin Yueyue was furious as she red at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m crippled? It¡¯s already not easy for me topete. Furthermore, I¡¯m the only one who can defrost them. Please be nicer to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll leave them frozen forever.¡±

    Chen Jun said, ¡°How long will it take before you are willing to defrost them? If you take too long, their lives will be in danger.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Three days. I¡¯ll take at most three days before I defrost them. You must give me some time to rest.¡±

    Three days? Won¡¯t they miss the next round if it takes three days? Everyone from the Clearjade Sect looked extremely furious and resentful. However, they were helpless!

    Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen had already arrived at this point. Ji Juechen lifted his Judgment Sword and coolly said, ¡°There¡¯s still another way. If any one of you can beat me in a duel, he can also help to defrost your captain and vice-captain.¡±

    After everyone from the Clearjade Sect heard his words, their eyes brightened.

    Chen Jun asked, ¡°Are you going to stay true to your promise?¡± He was staring at Huo Yuhao instead of Ji Juechen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned weird, and he nodded his head. He said, ¡°Yes. He¡¯s with us. If you can defeat him, I¡¯ll defrost your captain and vice-captain.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s find a ce!¡± everyone from Clearjade Sect shouted quickly.

    Jing Ziyan chuckled and responded, ¡°We don¡¯t have to go to too much trouble. It¡¯s the suburbs, anyway. We just need to move a bit further from the tournament venue. If he loses, Yuhao will defrost them when we return to the Ming Yue Hotel. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    After seeing Ji Juechen off, Jing Ziyan left with everyone from the Clearjade Sect. Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was amused. ¡°It¡¯s my first time hearing Brother Ji speak so much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°He must have been holding it in for too long! Originally, I wanted to freeze those two fellows for a few days and let them off only after they finished their fight with Team Shrek. However, it seems like they won¡¯t even have seven members avable for the fight the day after even if I defrost those two now. Na Na, can you follow them and tell Brother Ji not to kill anyone? We have no enmity with the Clearjade Sect.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Na Na hurried after them.

    ------

    After this fight, the Tang Sect was recognized as a dark horse in this tournament. They managed to emerge victorious in two fights even though their opponents were strong. In addition, no one from their side was injured. This series of results made them one of the favorites to win their group.

    There were a lot of people who were guessing how the Tang Sect would fare against Shrek Academy. However, it was still too early to say. That was because the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were only facing off in thest match of their group.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s schedule was very kind to them. They were going to face Team Sun Moon in their penultimate match. Before that, they didn¡¯t really have any strong opponents. The Clearjade Sect might have potentially hurt their chances, but their encounter with the Tang Sect greatly hampered their abilities.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect returned to the hotel to rest, not staying to watch the rest of the matches. Once they reached the hotel, they received a notification that they were being moved to the second story of the hotel, into an extremely luxurious suite.

    This was undoubtedly the result of their performances in the tournament.

    ¡°Eldest senior, this was what happened.¡± Huo Yuhao recounted the details of their fight to Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Good job. Yuhao, you are even better than me in terms ofmanding the team. Continue to work hard!¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart as he saw that Bei Bei¡¯s face was still as pale as ever. ¡°Eldest senior, your condition doesn¡¯t seem to be improving. The opponents we¡¯ll be meeting in theter stages of the tournament are only going to get stronger and stronger. I¡¯m under a lot of pressure!¡±

    Bei Bei chortled and said, ¡°Since when were you scared of pressure? Don¡¯t think too much, and strive forward. From what you said, our main opponents are Shrek, the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy, the Holy Ghost Sect, and the unknown Body Sect. Apart from these few teams, there are the other traditional powerhouses, as well! None of them will be easy to deal with! This tournament might be the most intensepetition for the past few thousand years! You just need to remember to be steady as you take each step.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. Our advantage is still quite great. However, it¡¯s difficult to judge our opponents¡¯ abilities. As the tournament continues, our opponents will also slowly learn about our trump cards. Their analysis and research of us will be more thorough, and it¡¯ll be increasingly difficult to advance further.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled as he saw the mature look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself. We are representing the Tang Sect this time. This means that we are representing ourselves too! We don¡¯t have to be bothered about our final ranking. I believe our name has spread far and wide from ourst two performances. It won¡¯t be difficult to advance from the round-robin stage. We¡¯ve actually already met our intended goals.¡±

    ¡°In fact, Sanshi and the others drew a good lot this time! If Shrek can advance to the quarterfinals, we¡¯ll meet them in the finals. We won¡¯t have to worry about meeting them earlier. How¡¯re things on their side?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Under Qiu¡¯er¡¯s guidance, their overall abilities have greatly increased. Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities seem to have be stronger too. Their first few opponents in the round-robin stage were quite easy to deal with. They are facing the Clearjade Sect in their next match. We deliberately battered the Clearjade Sect today. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be a threat to Shrek anymore. If they want to advance, we¡¯ll have to see how they fare against the Sun Moon team. It¡¯s a pity that Xiao Hongchen was too cautious, and wasn¡¯t willing to challenge us in the team fight. Otherwise, we would¡¯ve given them a good beating even if we had to pay a hefty price for it.¡±

    Bei Bei chortled and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already tried our best. We don¡¯t have to be too hard on ourselves, either. Yuhao, you still need topete in the underground tournament tomorrow night. Quickly go and rest.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°Eldest senior, rest well too. We¡¯re looking forward to your leadership. The round-robin stage isn¡¯t too tough. You don¡¯t have to worry. However, I¡¯m confident we can be champions if you can recover to lead us again.¡±

    As he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s grin, Bei Bei patted Huo Yuhao on his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Dong¡¯er, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Bei Bei sat up after Wang Dong¡¯er left with Huo Yuhao. His eyes brightened, and he didn¡¯t seem as fatigued as before. He sighed and said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m sorry for putting you under so much pressure. However, I have no choice! Good luck! With you around, the Tang Sect will only be stronger and stronger no matter what happens to me.¡±

    ------

    The Star Luo National Academy resting lounge...

    Princess Jiujiu was quietly sitting in the main seat, the other team members of the academy in the room with her. They had just won in the afternoon and achieved two consecutive victories in theirst two fights.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Tang Sect to still be so strong, even though Huo Yuhao is in a wheelchair and Bei Bei hasn¡¯t appeared. They were still able to defeat their opponents easily even though their opponents consisted of two Soul Emperors and five Soul Kings. They aren¡¯t easy to deal with!¡±

    One young man who was seated just beside Princess Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°Your Highness, they are the champions from thest tournament. It wouldn¡¯t be right if they didn¡¯t perform well. However, don¡¯t worry. Even if we meet them in the quarterfinals, we might not lose to them.¡±

    If the Tang Sect reached the quarterfinals, it was very likely they would meet the runners-up of Star Luo National Academy. Apart from the Star Luo National Academy, the Holy Ghost Sect was also in their group. As a result, the Star Luo National Academy was fighting to finish as runners-up.

    ¡°You are so confident?¡± Princess Jiujiu looked across at him.

    The young man smiled and said, ¡°In fact, every team should be able to tell that the Tang Sect is strong, but their weakness is that they don¡¯t have a preparatory squad. This tournament is very intense. Who can guarantee that none of them will get injured? In my opinion, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be smooth-sailing for them all the way.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu was a little cold as she said, ¡°What about us? Do you think we can make it out of the quarterfinals?¡±

    The young man¡¯s expression turned rigid. ¡°Your Highness, forgive me for being direct. Our opponents in this tournament are very strong. If we can make it out of the round-robin stage, it¡¯s because our group is easy.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu red at him. He remained very calm, and wasn¡¯t suppressed by her aura.

    At this point, someone knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Xu Jiujiu shifted her attention.

    The door opened, and a fearless-looking middle-aged man walked quickly to Xu Jiujiu. He whispered something in her ear.

    ¡°What? Do they really dare to...¡± Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes were filled with astonishment. ¡°Continue to investigate. I want urate information!¡±

    ------

    The weather in Radiant City had turned chilly over the past few days. After sunset, the temperature would drop significantly. Due to a few ore mines being active around Radiant City, the air quality here was worse than other ces on the continent. The air would only clear up after strong winds blew.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked to her sides as she strolled along the streets. ¡°I still prefer the simplicity of Shrek City. The metallic feel here is too strong.¡±

 Chapter 300.3: Defeating Clearjade!

    Huo Yuhao chortled as he sat in his wheelchair and said, ¡°Me too! However, I¡¯ve got to admit that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technological improvements are way beyond everyone else¡¯s. Otherwise, the three empires in the Douluo Continent wouldn¡¯t be so afraid of them.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°Yuhao, how inferior do you think they are inparison to the Sun Moon Empire in terms of technology?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. After all, I¡¯ve no ess to the top secrets of the three empires. Judging from the architectural styles and soul tool developments of the various empires, I believe the three empires are a hundred years behind the Sun Moon Empire. This is even including the fact that the three empires have been catching up over the past three years. There¡¯s actually something that the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t do so well in.¡±

    ¡°What thing?¡± He Caitou was curious.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°They can¡¯t keep their secrets well! Even the Sun Moon Empire might not have noticed it, but their technologies have been leaked quite frequently. The three empires in the three continents only needed a few decades before they managed to steal the technologies of the Sun Moon Empire, empowering their own technological development. Even though they are still inferior, which makes things a little less obvious, they might creep even closer to the Sun Moon Empire if given a few more years.¡±

    He Caitou appeared thoughtful as he nodded agreement and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. At least some of the soul tools produced by the Sun Moon Empire have appeared in auctions in other parts of the continent. They are stricter in their control of rare metals, though.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and said, ¡°They are neglecting the fundamentals and concentrating on the details. While rare metals are rare, what if someone finds substitutes for them? Furthermore, physical force can be used to obtain rare metals. True soul tool technology is very difficult to create. If not for the fact that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s restrictions on ss 7 and above soul tools were slightly stricter, I¡¯m sure their gap with the other empires might be even closer.¡±

    He Caitou furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we doing the same thing too? You are the most invested in it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at He Caitou and asked, ¡°Second senior, I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you a question. Do you still regard yourself as part of the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    He Caitou was stunned, and turned to look at Huo Yuhao. As their gazes met, Huo Yuhao saw the emotions lurking deep in He Caitou¡¯s eyes.

    After remaining silent for a moment, He Caitou said, ¡°Little junior, I don¡¯t want to lie to you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not going to answer your question. You just need to remember that I¡¯ll always be a part of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. That should be enough.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao stopped probing and nodded eptance.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned by their conversation. She had always believed that He Caitou was a simple, honest, and even slightly awkward person. All these were especially obvious when he was with Xiao Xiao. He was always so embarrassed, which gave off a very loveable feeling. However, she could tell from this conversation that he wasn¡¯t that simple of a person! Huo Yuhao also seemed to know something that she did not...

    She squeezed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder gently. She had already thought about it. She was going to ask Huo Yuhao what was going on when they returned from the underground tournament.

    Huo Yuhao looked ahead, his gaze peaceful. He enjoyed the refreshing air. Even though it was slightly polluted, his mind was clearer in this air.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s abilities were slowly being revealed as they proceeded further and further along in the tournament. They were bound to have attracted attention from different parties. They were also being treated more nicely. However, this also meant that their opponents were monitoring them more closely, and were doing their research on them.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very concerned about the Tang Sect¡¯s matches in the tournament. They had drawn an unfavorable lot initially, and met two strong opponents in their first two matches. If they had lost even one person, they would find it very difficult in the sessive matches. However, they had achieved victory in their starting two matches. Huo Yuhao was even a bit stunned by how well they had done. He could even clearly sense that hisrade¡¯s abilities hadn¡¯t beenpletely demonstrated yet, and everyone was still holding back a little. Under such circumstances, it wasn¡¯t going to be a problem even if they met the Holy Ghost Sect. Would the Holy Ghost Sect even be able to threaten them?

    Huo Yuhao was only hoping that Bei Bei would get better. Honestly speaking, he was more willing to be the main control soul master of the team, and not the team leader. He was only ranked sixth among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters in terms of seniority. He had five seniors who were older than him. To some extent, they were more suited tomand the team than him.

    Huo Yuhao was most worried about Shrek¡¯s team right now. The Tang Sect had battered the Clearjade Sect, so they would cease to be a threat. However, the Sun Moon team was still as strong as ever. In order to advance through the round-robin stage, Shrek would have to beat them!

    The Sun Moon team and Shrek¡¯s team were arch-enemies! It was a fight where both parties had to give it their all. No one knew what the result was going to be. While Wang Qiu¡¯er was indeed very strong, she was alone. Could she really lead Shrek to victory against the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy and enter the quarterfinals with the Tang Sect?

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s conscience was clear, and the Tang Sect had done everything they could to help Shrek advance, he was still very worried. He also knew that he wasn¡¯t the only one worried. All his teammates were also worried. In their hearts, Shrek¡¯s glory was as important as the Tang Sect¡¯s glory!

    ---

    They finally reached the Green Hotel. Huo Yuhao was in a bit of a daze, but he soon regained his focus. A proud look appeared in his eyes again, and he lifted his head slightly as he leaned back against his wheelchair¡¯s backrest.

    Chen An was there to receive them at the entrance of the hotel. When he saw the four of them, he quickly rushed up to wee them.

    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Chen An said respectfully.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao snorted. ¡°What¡¯s the situation today?¡±

    Chen An replied, ¡°There are three powerful soul engineers with us here today. Two of them are ss 6 soul engineers, and the other one is a ss 7 soul engineer. They are part of the refereeing team.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at him.

    Chen Anughed bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m ying second fiddle to them. I only managed toe out because I mentioned that I was receiving important guests.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re good.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at him, and his expression became slightly gentler.

    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s like this: I didn¡¯t know what today¡¯s tournament would be like beforehand. The rules were only announced after the betting floor was opened. The forty-eightpetitors in the previous round will be divided into twenty-four groups of two, and one out of the two in each group will be eliminated. They won¡¯t have any restrictions on the soul tools they can create. We¡¯ll provide all types of rare metals and normal metals for the soul engineers to use. However, they have a time limit this time of four hours. After four hours, they must test their soul tools live in front of everyone. A soul engineer can observe his opponent¡¯s soul tool without touching it. If he discovers that his soul tool is too inferior to his opponent¡¯s soul tool, he can choose to concede defeat. If neither parties concedes defeat, they will challenge each other. They will fight with the soul tools that they created, and they won¡¯t be allowed to use any other soul tools or soul skills. The winner will advance.¡±

    As he finished speaking, Chen An paused, then added, ¡°They can kill each other.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips. ¡°They can actually kill each other. So today¡¯s betting te is on the winner?¡±

    Chen An nodded and said, ¡°There are still many other events. For example, you can bet on how many fights there will be and how many people will die. Of course, the main one is on the winner. We¡¯ll be providing the odds based on the results of the previous round. These odds will change based on the wagers until the fights begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He lifted his hand and called Na Na. In front of Chen An, he said, ¡°One minute before the tournament begins, bet one million gold soul coins that I¡¯ll win.¡±

    Chen An was stunned after hearing his words. It was a gamble! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even know who his opponent was going to be, but he bet such arge amount of himself. In addition, he would plunge the odds on him to win if he made such a bet just before today¡¯s round began. Not only was he confident, but he was also very clever.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°I lost the other time, so I need to get some of my money back. Let¡¯s go in.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s number was sixty-six. Chen An told him his opponent was number forty-eight. From what he had judged in the earlier round, his opponent was an outstanding ss 4 soul engineer. He might even be close to a ss 5 soul engineer.

    He Caitou¡¯s number was 88, and his opponent was number 21. He was another ss 4 soul engineer, and was slightly weaker than Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent.

    When they entered the VIP lounge, Huo Yuhao saw the number 96 and 98petitors from earlier seated in the lounge. They were a little earlier today, and they didn¡¯t bring their subordinates with them. They were talking to each other.

    Number 96 smiled and nodded at the four of them when they entered. Huo Yuhao returned the greeting, but the arrogant look on his face didn¡¯t disappear.

    Number 98 was a little colder. He was even scornful as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Chen An sent the four of them into the lounge before he left. After all, there was still other stuff that he had to deal with.

    Wang Dong¡¯er served Huo Yuhao a ss of fruit juice, but he only took one sip. On the other side, number 96 stood up and walked over.

    ¡°How are you, my friend? Can we chat?¡± He bowed slightly and was very formal as he greeted Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Please, take a seat.¡±

    Number 96 sat beside him on the sofa, and asked very naturally, ¡°May I know your name?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My number is 66. I know your number is 96.¡±

 Chapter 301: A Confrontation Of Soul Tools

    96¡¯s eyes shed. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s tant way of telling him that he wasn¡¯t going to reveal his name. He didn¡¯t probe further, but only smiled. ¡°Number 66, what¡¯s your take on today¡¯s fight?¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be excited. ¡°Interesting. Who says soul engineers can¡¯t fight? I think it¡¯s a good idea to fight using your own soul tool.¡±

    Number 96 chortled and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea too.¡±

    ¡°It seems like we have the same thinking. I¡¯ve seen the groups earlier. We won¡¯t meet in this round.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll win.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned sharp.

    ¡°Is that so? We¡¯ll see.¡± 96 smiled and stood up before walking back to his original seat. There was a scornful look on his face. He believed that he had gotten whatever information he needed from this arrogant young man in a wheelchair.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and didn¡¯t even look at the two of them.

    Testing me? You can slowly test all you want.

    ¡°To all distinguished guests, the tournament is about to begin.¡± A staff member came in to inform them.

    Both the number 96 and 98 stood up at the same time. They didn¡¯t give way to each other, but walked briskly out of the lounge together.

    Huo Yuhao snorted, revealing how displeased he was.

    A vicious gaze shed across number 98¡¯s eyes. He was about to act up, but he was stopped by 96, who dragged him out towards the hall.

    ---

    The hall was still as crowded as ever. Today, the central, circr stage was able to hold all thepetitors. Forty-eight carving tables were on the stage, forming multiple arcs.

    Huo Yuhao squinted and scanned the entire ce with his Spiritual Detection. He immediately sensed that the VIP area was full, while themon area in the hall was also packed.

    There were a few changes made to the hall. There had added another tform. The tform was rectangr in shape, and around five meters above the floor. It was fifty meters in length, and almost extended from one side of the hall to the other. However, it was only five meters wide. The entire tform seemed to have been made from metal, and hung in the air using cables.

    Were the soul engineers going to fight on this tform? By restricting the shape of the tform to a rectangle, it was evident that it was there to prevent thepetitors from dodging. Furthermore, those who were wise enough would bear the tform in mind when they made their soul tools.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were brought onto the stage by the staff. Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na remained in one corner.

    This time, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou weren¡¯t arranged side-by-side. There were two rows of carving tables facing one another. Every soul engineer would sit opposite their directpetitor. However, the Duskwater Alliance didn¡¯t exin how they had drawn the lots for this round. This was an underground tournament, and thus there wasn¡¯t any need for exnations.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent was a young man who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. He was extremely ugly, with a broken nose and small eyes. His hair was messy, and slightly yellow. There was even a bald patch in the center of his head. It was very difficult topliment his looks. However, there was an unyielding strength in his eyes. He didn¡¯t look at Huo Yuhao, but instead, his eyes were fixed on the rare metals disyed on the stage.

    There was an additional storage shelf with three differentpartments on every carving table. Eachpartment was filled with all types of metals. The firstpartment contained the ordinary metals, while the other twopartments were filled with rare metals. There were more than thirty types of rare metals!

    With such a wide array of metals avable, it was even possible to create a ss 7 soul tool. To test the abilities of the soul engineers, the Duskwater Alliance was very generous. The soul tools created by the soul engineers would eventually belong to them. The forty-eight soul tools that were going to be created were bound to be quite valuable.

    ------

    Three small circr tforms rose up in front of the stage. There was an elder on each tform.

    The tforms stopped rising after only about one meter. The elder in the center said, ¡°Greetings to all soul engineers and guests. I¡¯m the chief judge of today¡¯s tournament. The tournament is about to start. The countdown will start after I announce themencement of today¡¯s round. The time restriction will be four hours. Within four hours, every soul engineer must try his best to create his own soul tool. There¡¯s only one goal: defeat the person sitting opposite you. The winners will advance to the next round.¡±

    After he finished speaking, all thepeting soul engineers nodded their heads in unison and looked at their opponents.

    From this round onward, the rewards of winning became very ample. Huo Yuhao learned about it from Chen An. The prize for winning this round was two kilograms each of thirty-two types of rare metals. It was equivalent to the amount of rare metals they had onstage.

    For a soul engineer, a wide variety of rare metals was more attractive than gold soul coins. It was rumored that the winners of the next round could take home five kilograms of each rare metal. The variety of rare metals would even be increased to forty! Most of these rare metals were banned from being exported from of the Sun Moon Empire. They were bound to be extremely valuable!

    The soul engineer opposite Huo Yuhao lifted his head and grinned, revealing his yellow crooked teeth. ¡°Brother, how are you? My name is Gao Dalou. Come on, let¡¯s have a goodpetition.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held hisughter as he looked at Gao Dalou. He was indeed very special! However, Huo Yuhao admired his unyielding gaze. He wasn¡¯t one to judge others based on their appearances, especially in apetition. He knew that it wasn¡¯t going to be easy to win against his opponent today.

    ¡°Competitors, please get ready!¡± the chief judge shouted.

    Gao Dalou immediately lowered his head, his gaze sharpening. He stared at a piece of rare metal that he had already polished.

    Huo Yuhao appeared more leisurely. It was as if he wasn¡¯t anxious at all.

    ¡°The match begins. Raise the soundproofing barrier!¡± the chief judge shouted. Twelve eye-catching hoursses were flipped over. When the sand in these hoursses stopped flowing, the countdown would be over. All the soul engineers today were on the same stage, and thus the soundproofing barrier could finally be set up, so the spectators could make noise. It was also the reason why so many people were here today.

    All the soul engineers started to get busy immediately.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s right hand quickly reached out, and a pitch-ck rare metal that shed with spots of silvernded in his palm. He revealed an intoxicated look in his eyes. He was gently rubbing the metal, as if he were caressing the skin of a beautifuldy.

    Huo Yuhao was very interested in him. He reached out for a rare metal at one side of the table, and a piece of dark-red rare metal which weighed about one kilo flew towards him.

    There was a scorching aura about this rare metal as it flew over.

    It was ming Sun Iron, a metal that was only produced deep within volcanoes. It was extremely rare. It ranked as one of the top five rarest metals among the avable thirty-two types of rare metals here.

    The Duskwater Alliance had provided so many rare metals today, and Chen An was no longer part of the refereeing team. Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t keep all of the rare metals to himself. Naturally, he was going to choose some of the rarer metals to create his soul tool!

    His opponent did the same thing. He was holding Silverstar Steel in his hand, which was the most valuable of the thirty-two rare metals present. Its density was quite high, and it had a great affinity for soul power. Any soul power that was poured into it would be doubled. It was the best material used to create an energy-gathering formation array. One kilo of that metal was worth at least a hundred thousand gold soul coins!

    The Duskwater Alliance must have had spent a lot on this tournament. Of course, it was nothingpared to the amount of wagers they collected from the countless people who were betting on this tournament.

    As Huo Yuhao looked at Gao Dalou¡¯s intoxicated look, he thought to himself. Has this guy never seen Silverstar Steel before? It¡¯s my first time seeing someone so intoxicated.

    Gao Dalou didn¡¯t rub it for too long. After about a minute, his expression turned cautious. He carefully held the steel on the carving table in front of him. After that, he retrieved a carving knife from behind his waist with his right hand.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to create his soul tool. He had great spiritual power, and could create his soul tools faster than the other soul engineers. He didn¡¯t want to reveal hisplete abilities, however, and thus he wouldn¡¯t create the strongest soul tool. However, he couldn¡¯t lose, either. So, he observed his opponent. He was waiting to see what his opponent was creating before he thought of a strategy to counter it.

    Gao Dalou didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by Huo Yuhao watching him. After he grabbed his carving knife, he started to work on his soul tool.

    It was easy to tell if one was skilled. Huo Yuhao was stunned when Gao Dalou started to carve.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s carving knife didn¡¯t look eye-catching, but he didn¡¯t seem to use any effort as he cut into the tough Silverstar Steel. After three cuts, he managed to carve out three proportionate areas on the steel.

    There was a name for this carving technique: One de, Three Tremors. Such a skill couldn¡¯t be underestimated. It was only achievable after years of training. Not only must one be urate and wless, but the amount of strength he used must also be bnced. Most ordinary people wouldn¡¯t choose to employ such a technique on Silverstar Steel. If the carving went wrong, the piece of steel would be useless. At least, it couldn¡¯t be used to create the formation array that he had in mind.

    Gao Dalou didn¡¯t stop at all. When he started carving, his carving knife seemed to have a life of its own. He wasn¡¯t very quick, but every movement of his knife was very steady. His small eyes were fixed on the Silverstar Steel, and he didn¡¯t make a single mistake.

    He wasn¡¯t just appreciating it, but also studying the structure of this Silverstar Steel. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t have been so quick.

    Huo Yuhao continued to remain calm. He sat on the chair in front of the carving table and ced the ming Sun Iron down. He was very serious as he looked at Gao Dalou opposite him.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s rhythm and steadiness gave him some inspiration. Only a few words could be used to describe Gao Dalou¡¯s way of creating his soul tool: simple and quaint.

    He made the entire process seem very simple. Every cut was very precise, and no mistakes were made. He didn¡¯t need to carve out a rough shape like most soul engineers before fine-tuning the details. Hepleted everything in one shot.

    He only used fifteen minutes to finish carving. The steel ended up in a rectangr shape with many fine patterns.

    The Silverstar Steel¡¯s spots of silver light entuated his work, and it was quite captivating, even dazzling!

    Gao Dalou seemed to be intoxicated as he looked at the steel. It was like he had seen his lover, and he couldn¡¯t help but caress it a few times.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh slightly when he saw this weird expression.

    Gao Dalou was jolted awake. He lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao. He saw the piece ofplete ming Sun Iron still in front of him.

    ¡°Hey, brother. Aren¡¯t you going to start? Take a look. My first formation array is alreadypleted. We arepetitors!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°No rush. Your method is indeed impressive. It¡¯s really out of the ordinary! Which soul engineering academy did you graduate from?¡±

    Gao Dalou wore a bitter look on his face, ¡°Which soul engineering academy would want me? I can¡¯t even afford the fees. I learned everything on my own at home. I also trained myself in this aspect by using ordinary iron scraps. I¡¯m not afraid of being mocked by you, but I have to admit that it¡¯s my first time seeing so many rare metals. Especially this Silverstar Steel. It¡¯s too... too beautiful! Its affinity with soul power is too magical! If someone could let me use such rare metals forever, I¡¯m willing to sell my life to him! I hope to win some good stuff back from this tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was moved, and he said, ¡°Brother Gao, I¡¯m impressed by your abilities. Let¡¯s continue. There¡¯s a time limit.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, yes. Let¡¯s continue then. Continue to work hard.¡± As he spoke, he immediately got busy again.

    Gao Dalou wasn¡¯t bothered that others thought he was a country bumpkin who had never seen the world before. He chose the best materials¡­

 Chapter 302.1:The Lofty Blood-Coagulating Carving Knife

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but nod in his heart when he saw Gao Dalou using the best materials to create his soul tool. The method he used was very different from most conventional soul engineers, especially in terms of some details in his technique. It was evident that he had his own style. If he were able to study soul tools to such a standard just by his own perceptions, he was undoubtedly a talent!

    After finishing a piece of the outer shell, Gao Dalou suddenly raised his head. He looked at Huo Yuhao, who appeared to be deep in thought, and asked, ¡°Brother, stop looking at me. You can¡¯t tell what I¡¯m making. For a country bumpkin like me, even my formation arrays are created in a slightly different manner than most ordinary soul engineers.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and quickly reacted. His continuous observation made Gao Dalou think that he was monitoring him before creating a soul tool that was targeted at his.

    He smiled, and didn¡¯t exin anything. He stopped monitoring Gao Dalou, and finally started creating his own soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao continued to use the standard carving knife on the carving table. He vised the ming Sun Iron on the carving table and started his carving.

    Compared to Gao Dalou, Huo Yuhao was quick and exact. The carving knife seemed to be alive in his hand, and moved continuously between his fingers. Each and every one of his movements was very urate. If any teachers from soul engineering academies would have seen him, they would reckon that his work was worthy of a textbook example. Iron chippings flew in the air, and aplex formation array slowly took form.

    Huo Yuhao carved bit by bit, unlike Gao Dalou¡¯s ¡®One de, Three Tremors¡¯. However, he was much quicker. In the blink of an eye, he had already made a few cuts. Furthermore, the link between each cut was so precise that it seemed like he had carved everything in one shot.

    In terms of technique, Gao Dalou¡¯s ¡®One de, Three Tremors¡¯ was much more difficult than Huo Yuhao¡¯s method. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s method was stable and urate. It was simpler for him to avoid any mistakes. Furthermore, it was very difficult to ensure the sharpness of his carving knife, since he was using an ordinary one. It was also difficult for him to make sure that it left carving marks on the ming Sun Iron, which was very tough. It might be inferior to a temporary but forceful form of carving, but with the help of his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao managed to match up to Gao Dalou¡¯s technique, and he was even faster.

    Gao Dalou finally finished creating his outer shell. When he looked up at Huo Yuhao again, he was dazed. What did he see? He saw streaks of shadows left behind by Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertips as they danced. He couldn¡¯t see what Yuhao was doing. He only saw fine iron shavings flying out and spreading proportionally to the sides.

    He¡­ he managed to create his formation array so quickly! Isn¡¯t he scared of making mistakes? This was the first thought that appeared in Gao Dalou¡¯s mind.

    He subconsciously looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. As he was born outside the cities, he was more sensitive towards soul tools than most soul engineers in orthodox academies. To a soul engineer, the look in one¡¯s eyes was very important. It was possible to tell many things from someone else¡¯s eyes.

    The look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes was something else! It was clear, but there was a strange obscurity amid the deep focus. When Gao Dalou focused his attention on Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, he felt that he had entered a trance. It was as if his entire soul was about to be drawn away by the depth in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He was so shocked that he had to lower his head before he could regain hisposure.

    When he recovered from the shock, his face was filled with bitterness. He had only gone a few rounds, but he had now met an extremely strong opponent. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy for him to win!...

    Even with the soundproofing barriers, the spectators who were here to watch the tournament still maintained their silence. They turned their attention to thepetitors that they had wagered on.

    Gambling was also a form of knowledge on its own. It was important to do pre-tournament analysis. They were well aware of the special characteristics, as well as the ss, of every soul engineer.

    For a wheelchair-bound soul engineer like Huo Yuhao, it was impossible for him not to garner any attention. There were some who monitored him, and there were also some who tried to bet on him. However, Gao Dalou was more eye-catching than Huo Yuhao. This wasn¡¯t because he was strong, but because of the carving knife that he had.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s carving knife was a family heirloom, evident by the name on the knife. It was a top-notch knife!

    Even though his family had fallen apart, Gao Dalou was secretly protected by some advanced-level soul engineers rted to his family. This helped to ensure the secrecy of his carving knife. However, those who secretly helped him didn¡¯t want him to be a strong soul engineer, so they only helped him in that aspect.

    Due to the presence of his knife, Gao Dalou¡¯s odds were 10:23, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s odds were 5:6. From the odds, it was possible to tell how the gamblers rated the differences in their abilities.

    Of course, there were people who bet heavily on Huo Yuhao before the tournament started, which had some influence on the odds. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao¡¯s odds would be even lower. It was just that no one knew that the so-called ¡®people¡¯ were actually Huo Yuhao himself.

    A dim light shed, and a look of concentration came over Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He finally stopped, and a ball-shaped formation array slowly took form in front of him.

    This formation array was hollow, and looked like an exquisite art piece. The dark-red ming Sun Iron seemed to have been given life, and now shone with a dim red light. A dangerous aura was continuously being released from it, and Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t even put his soul power into it yet.

    He didn¡¯t have three formation arrays like Gao Dalou; he only made one. Following this first step, he started on the other essories. He was extremely quick. Gao Dalou was also very busy as hepleted his final assembly and double-checked everything. In fact, he couldn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao¡¯s work clearly even if he wanted to. While Huo Yuhao had wasted a lot of time at the start, he was very quick now. He was so quick that it was impossible to fully follow his movements. One¡¯s vision would blur just watching him.

    Time passed second by second. The first toplete his soul tool was Number 96, who took two hours. After ncing at the rest of the soul engineers, he handed his final product over.

    The secondpetitor to finish was his opponent. When 96 imed that he had finished his soul tool, his opponent looked at his finished product and conceded defeat. The gap was too obvious, and there was no need topete any further. 96 had created a ss 5 soul tool in only two hours!

    Most of the soul engineers finished their soul tools after about two and a half hours. This was a tournament, and thepetitors didn¡¯t have to create the best soul tools. Since there was a time limit, the best method was to create the strongest soul tool one couldplete within the time limit.

    Gao Dalou finished fifteen minutes before Huo Yuhao, but he didn¡¯t rush to hand up his work. He stood on his side of the tables and watched Huo Yuhao.

    He became more terrified the more he watched. Although he couldn¡¯t tell how Huo Yuhao worked on his soul tool, he still noticed some details.

    Although Gao Dalou¡¯s method was different from most conventional soul engineers, the difference mainlyy in his technique. However, he had never even heard of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool before. What¡¯s the purpose of the rings and metal strings? What¡¯s the use of those restraints? Why does the metal ball have three holes that are proportionately separated? What¡¯s he doing? That isn¡¯t a formation array!

    Gao Dalou was perplexed. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. To him, Huo Yuhao was a mystery. He was even a little curious now... what was Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool used for?

    Huo Yuhao took three and a half hours toplete his soul tool. After he finished assembling everything, he ended up with a soul cannon around forty-two centimeters in length in front of him. The diameter of the barrel was around ten centimeters.

    There seemed to be nothing special about the soul cannon. Furthermore, the most valuable material used to construct this soul tool was only the ming Sun Iron, even though the quality of this soul cannon was pretty good. The rest of the materials were mostly high-density metals. He had actually used very few rare metals!

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Gao Dalou asked.

    ¡°Yes! Brother Gao, you must¡¯ve finished some time ago.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded at Gao Dalou.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hand up our work then,¡± Gao Dalou was curious as he walked up to Huo Yuhao, taking the initiative to push Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop him, and let him do so, cing his soul tool on his thighs.

    Thepleted soul tools had to be handed to the three judges so that they could make their decision.

    Gao Dalou had also created a soul cannon. After all, they had to challenge each other in today¡¯s tournament. An offensive-type soul tool was going to be very useful. Using defensive-type soul tools would most certainly be a pit of soul power.

    ¡°ss 4 shock cannon that can explode. It¡¯s a pretty good soul tool.¡± The three judges gave their appraisal after seeing Gao Dalou¡¯s soul cannon.

    After that, they examined the soul tool that Huo Yuhao handed over.

 Chapter 302.2:The Lofty Blood-Coagulating Carving Knife

    Five minutester...

    One of the examiners coughed in embarrassment. ¡°Little friend, what¡¯s the use of this soul cannon? The structure is a little special!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s also a ss 4 soul tool. It¡¯s considered a high-powered soul cannon. I used a special technique to create it.¡±

    After whispering to one another, the chief judge looked at the other two and said, ¡°Both of you created ss 4 offensive-type soul cannons. It¡¯s very difficult to determine which is better. I suggest that the two of you challenge each other to determine the winner. After all, it¡¯s important that a engineer be able to use a soul tool to fight!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gao Dalou agreed readily. While rare metals were very attractive to him, a soul engineer like Huo Yuhao was also very tempting! Under such a circumstance, he was very willing to test out the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul cannon.

    The chief judge said, ¡°Let me tell you the rules. When the two of you fight each other, you can only use the soul tool that you¡¯ve just created. You can also use your own soul power, but you can¡¯t use any soul skills or any other soul tools. Once you use any other soul tool to defend yourself, it will mean that you¡¯ve lost. Of course, you only have one life. While victory is important, protecting your own life is also very important.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    The chief referee looked at Huo Yuhao and seemed to be suggesting something with his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao also looked at him calmly and said, ¡°I understand, too.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Send them to the Dueling Region.¡± Immediately, a staff member walked over and led the two of them towards the sides of the Duel Region.

    ---

    ¡°Brother Chen, the young man sitting in the wheelchair used an extraordinary method to create his soul tool! Did you see it?¡± the judge on the left asked softly.

    The chief judge replied, ¡°It was indeed quite extraordinary. If I¡¯m not wrong, he must have infused some elements of machinery production into it toplement his formation arrays. His formation array was created using ming Sun Iron. That is indeed the method you would use to create the formation array of a high-powered cannon. However, it was also a little different. There isn¡¯t any catapult formation or energy-gathering formation. Otherwise, his soul tool might even reach the level of a ss 5 soul tool.¡±

    The judge on the right said, ¡°Let¡¯s see the duel first! Gao Dalou isn¡¯t simple either. His carving knife is top-notch. It¡¯s very difficult to tell who¡¯ll win or lose.¡±

    The chief judge smiled and said, ¡°It seems like there are nock of talents on our side.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, we should ask the top brass whether we can pull some people over after the tournament ends. These two we¡¯ve just seen are pretty good. Investigate their backgrounds.¡±

    ---

    After Huo Yuhao and Gao Dalou entered the long and narrow Duel Region, the spectators outside started to be very excited.

    While many soul engineers had handed in their work, the judges had also decided all of the results. Huo Yuhao¡¯s duel against Gao Dalou would be the first of the day!

    While watching the soul engineers create soul tools was a feast for these gamblers¡¯ eyes, it couldn¡¯tpare to a duel! It was the same reason why the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was so popr.

    One was sitting in a wheelchair, while the other had a top-notch carving knife. It was going to be an exciting duel!

    Suddenly, the silent hall started to be very rowdy. Some of the VIP guests that had wagered on Gao Dalou and Huo Yuhao started to call out curses and encouragement.

    Huo Yuhao smiled at Gao Dalou and said, ¡°Brother Gao, I¡¯m called Tang Wu. No matter the result, I¡¯m d to have met you.¡± It was the fake name that he had used to enter the tournament.

    Gao Dalou was excited as he said, ¡°Tang Wu? Brother, I¡¯m very curious about your soul tool. When this ends, let me treat you to a drink and talk about it. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Huo Yuhao grinned.

    The chief judge was also in the Duel Region by now, diagonally above it on a separate tform.

    This was an underground tournament, so as wasmon there were very few rules. There weren¡¯t any restrictions on hurting your opponent. The judges were only here to determine the victor. They wouldn¡¯t bother with casualties.

    ¡°Are both of you ready?¡± the chief judge asked.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Dalou replied loudly. Huo Yuhao nodded.

    ¡°The duel begins! The winner will advance!¡±

    As the judge shouted, Gao Dalou and Huo Yuhao raised their hands at the same time.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s soul cannon was dim silvery-white, constructed using Silverstar Steel. A gentle glow surfaced on it.

    What was the best way to tell if a soul master was using a soul skill? it was to see if they unleashed their martial soul! Their soul power wasn¡¯t restricted by their martial soul, it could be used without unleashing their martial soul. Naturally, Gao Dalou didn¡¯t even unleash his martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul cannon also glowed with a dim red light, mixed with a scorching aura.

    The rowdy noises in the hall started to die down, and the hall went quiet. Everyone was watching them. In such a duel, it was likely that victory would be decided in one or two strikes.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s soul cannon only took a short while to charge. A ball of bright white light carrying a slight silvery glow was fired towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was a shock cannon that could explode. The judges had mentioned it earlier.

    The charge was around thirty centimeters in diameter, and was fired straight at Huo Yuhao.

    In everyone¡¯s opinion, Huo Yuhao should unleash the attack of his own soul tool and allow both cannon charges to collide with each other in the middle before they went all-out against one another.

    Huo Yuhao indeed fired his soul cannon. However, what he did was beyond everyone¡¯s expectations. When the ball of dark-red light ball was fired, it stuck close to the ground as it shot forward. It brushed past Gao Dalou¡¯s charge and flew straight towards him.

    Fierce!

    Both parties were going to be hurt. It was a battle between their fighting strategies!

    Gao Dalou had acted first, and thus his cannon shell would reach Huo Yuhao first. Was Huo Yuhao going to directly resist it?

    Everyone was shocked in the next instant.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair seemed toe alive, and moved rapidly. It managed to dodge the iing charge even within the narrow space.

    The shock cannon had locked onto his position, thus the charge naturally followed him as he moved. Those who were sharp-eyed could tell that Huo Yuhao was using his right hand. His right hand seemed to contain magical powers. He kept on pushing or pulling the protective barriers to either side of him, which allowed his wheelchair to move and urately dodge the charge!

    There was a limit to how far the charge could travel. While it could lock onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s position, its propulsion would die down after some time. When that happened, it could only blow apart uselessly.

    Just before it blew apart, Huo Yuhao mimicked a grabbing action. After that, he flung his right hand out, and his wheelchair also moved back, allowing him to avoid the cannon shell. He only heard a loud boom as the cannon shell blew apart three meters away from him. The immense shockwave pushed him towards Gao Dalou.

    Huo Yuhao had avoided the explosionpletely, the shockwave only affected him slightly. He had also managed to urately dodge the entire attack. Who would have thought that a cripple could use such a method to avoid being struck by a fired charge? Even a normal person might not even be capable of doing that!

    Gao Dalou didn¡¯t even see Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation. The high-powered shot was approaching him, but he wasn¡¯t as capable of dodging as Huo Yuhao was. He fired his cannon again, and this second charge collided with the high-powered burst more than ten meters away from him.

    Boom!

    A scorching flow of wind spread out, engulfing more than twenty meters of the narrow passageway in front of it. Gao Dalou quickly retreated, terrified. He also quickly increased his soul power to resist the powerful shockwave. Even so, he was still flung back, and hit the protective barrier not far away from him.

    Was that really a ss 4 soul tool? It was important to know that the shock cannon charge had some defensive uses, as its intense shockwave could neutralize various types of attacks. To some extent, it was both offensively and defensively inclined, which was was why Gao Dalou had decided to create a shock cannon. However, the high-powered shot from Huo Yuhao was too strong. It must be as strong as a ss 5 high-powered cannon shot!

    On the other side, Huo Yuhao was also shocked.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s shock cannon shell blew apart behind him. To him, the shockwave was nothing. It only propelled his body forward. With the protection of his soul power, he wasn¡¯t affected.

    However, he felt something wrong when the shockwave struck him, a strange feeling spread across his entire body. He felt his heart stopping at that instant. Everything around him seemed to slow down, and his breathing also went still. The ufortable feeling made him feel like a corpse!

    Fortunately, it onlysted for a second before he regained normal movement. Even so, he was interrupted as he tried to charge his high-powered cannon, and had to re-adjust his soul power again.

    How is this possible? How is it possible for a shock cannon to have such an effect! Something must be wrong... With a thought, his opponent¡¯s ck carving knife that had seemed very simple and ordinary surfaced in his thoughts.

 Chapter 302.3:The Lofty Blood-Coagulating Carving Knife

    Since Huo Yuhao was affected by this strange power, he lost the opportunity to bring down Gao Dalou instantly. The impact of the high-powered cannon charge on Gao Dalou had also ended. While Gao Dalou looked a little dirty, he wasn¡¯t hurt. Both of them were astonished when they looked at one another.

    ¡°Is, is that a ss 5 soul tool?¡± Gao Dalou asked with a shocked expression. It seemed like he had forgotten that the two of them were still in a tournament.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°ss 4. A ss 5 offensive-type soul tool can¡¯t be supported with just one formation array. Weren¡¯t you watching me just now?¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s have a private conversation when the tournament ends.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gao Dalou agreed to his request immediately. As his hands moved, the shock cannon was fired once again. Even though he was astonished, it didn¡¯t mean that he was conceding defeat. There were a lot of rare metals at stake!

    Huo Yuhao smiled and lifted his right hand, also firing his soul cannon. However, the cannon chargel didn¡¯t brush past the shock cannon shell this time. With his immense spiritual power, it was easy for him to lock onto his opponent¡¯s discharge. It was literally impossible for him to fail to hit it.

    Both cannon shells left the barrel at the same time. They also met at around the center point between the two of them, and blew apart. Suddenly, an intense spark of energy blurred their vision. A terrifying shock and energy undtion spread out and struck the both of them.

    At this point, Gao Dalou felt that he was in a trance, and everything in front of him had turned blurry. For some reason, he felt that he had deviated from his original position. As he subconsciously turned around, he adjusted his position. When he raised his hand, he fired his cannon again. With his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t need long to charge his cannon even though he couldn¡¯t fire it continuously.

    After that¡­ there wasn¡¯t anything after that.

    Boom!

    Amidst a reverberating boom, Gao Dalou¡¯s body was engulfed by electricity. He felt his entire body turning numb, and a terrifying explosion caused him to be very distressed. He was stuck on one side of the barrier, and his blood seemed to stop flowing. He felt extremely ufortable, and wanted to spit out blood. However, he couldn¡¯t do so.

    What was going on?

    The same thought appeared in everyone¡¯s mind. In their eyes, Gao Dalou made a half turn and flew towards the protective barrier to one side after his cannon charge collided with Huo Yuhao¡¯s cannon charge. As he was only one meter away, he was caught in the explosion of his own ss 4 shock cannon shell. The shock flung him away. Blood still flowed out of his nose and mouth even when he increased his soul power to protect himself. He looked pathetic.

    Fortunately, it was only a ss 4 soul tool. If it was a ss 5, he would have been killed if he didn¡¯t unleash his soul skills and other soul tools to defend himself.

    Huo Yuhao wore a smile on his face. As he saw Gao Dalou sliding to the floor, he turned to the judge and said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to deem me the winner. If I fire one more time, he¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you win,¡± the judge nodded. Although the situation was very weird, the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool was indeed greater than Gao Dalou¡¯s shock cannon. However, Gao Dalou decided to incapacitate himself so that he would lose for some unknown reason. Did he really think he had no chance at all?

    Huo Yuhao turned the wheels of his wheelchair and rolled over in front of Gao Dalou. He smiled and asked, ¡°Brother Gao, are you okay?¡±

    As he was affected by the shock cannon shell, Gao Dalou¡¯s entire body was still shaking. He struggled to prop himself up. ¡°What happened? Why was I struck by my own shock cannon? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Gao Dalou still felt very dizzy even as he exited the Duel Region. He felt as if he was walking through a world of cotton.

    After Huo Yuhao went to im his reward, he asked, ¡°Brother Gao, shall we find a ce to sit?¡±

    Gao Dalouughed bitterly and replied, ¡°Alright, but you¡¯ll have to treat me. I have no money.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as he answered.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was already there by this point. Huo Yuhao instructed Na Na to wait for He Caitou, since he hadn¡¯t finished yet. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair, and they left with Gao Dalou.

    He wasn¡¯t worried about his bet. Chen An was around, and thus nothing would go wrong. Gold soul coins were just numbers to him. Rare metals were more important. However, now was not the time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know about the interaction between Huo Yuhao and Gao Dalou. She was a little curious as he brought his opponent along with him. However, her current appearance was only as Huo Yuhao¡¯s maid, and thus she couldn¡¯t say anything. After the three of them left the hotel, they started walking away from the direction that led to the Ming Yue Hotel.

    ------

    Back in the Golden Hall,

    ¡°Chen An, what¡¯s the background ofpetitor 66? His soul tool is extraordinary!¡± the chief judge asked Chen An. Initially, he had wanted to offer Huo Yuhao money for his soul cannon. It was obviously a ss 4 soul tool, but it had unleashed the strength of a ss 5! Whether it was in terms of the materials used or the time taken for Huo Yuhao to create his soul tool, they were both very impressive. With such a technique, he might even be able topletely alter the method of how soul tools were created.

    Chen An softly said, ¡°Judge Chen, it¡¯s not that I want to remain mum. It¡¯s just that we can¡¯t trifle with him. He¡­¡± As he spoke to this point, he made a gesture.

    The chief judge was shocked. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Chen An leaned up to his ears and whispered a few words.

    ¡°Alright. You can go. Don¡¯t tell anyone what I asked you about.¡± A look of fear shed across the judge¡¯s eyes before he regained his normal appearance.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chen An sniggered to himself. How can I let you get close to Sir Tang Wu? I still need him to help me get rich!

    ------

    Huo Yuhao brought Gao Dalou and Wang Dong¡¯er to find a bar that wasn¡¯t too big.

    While the bar wasn¡¯t huge, there was a hubbub ofughter and shouting. The moment they walked in the door, they were greeted by pandemonium. Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow at this.

    ¡°Little Dong, go and find the manager,¡± Huo Yuhao instructed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pinched his back with some force. After that, she furrowed her brow and walked in. Very soon, a waiter walked out.

    ¡°Is there a private room?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s full,¡± the waiter said without any hesitation as he looked at him in his wheelchair before ncing at the slipshod Gao Dalou. He even wore a slightly disdainful expression and spoke sarcastically. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t being to a bar in this state. Nody will like a cripple.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not true. Cripples have their rights too, especially rich ones.¡± As he gestured, Wang Dong¡¯er retrieved a bag of gold soul coins.

    Huo Yuhao opened the bag and swayed it slightly. Clinking sounds could be hearding from the bag.

    The waiter¡¯s expression changed, and heughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, distinguished guest. I apologize for looking down on you. Although there aren¡¯t any rooms left, there are still two seats avable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took out a gold soul coin and said, ¡°Give me the quietest spot. We¡¯ve got business to discuss.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± The waiter¡¯s expression changed after he received the gold soul coin.

    This wasn¡¯t a dubious setting like the Golden Hall, it was just a bar. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t hold it against a mere waiter. Sometimes, using money was more effective than violence.

    Very soon, the three of them were brought to a booth at a corner of the bar. The booth consisted of seats that were separated by a few wooden benches. There were two long sofas in this booth, and a tea-table. Although this booth looked very ordinary, it was still very quiet.

    ¡°Bring your most expensive liquor.¡± Huo Yuhao instructed the waiter.

    The waiter¡¯s eyes shed, and he replied, ¡°Alright! Please wait a minute. It¡¯ll be here soon!¡±

    Gao Dalou looked after the waiter, who had quickly scurried off, and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Brother Tang, you¡¯ll be cklisted by them like that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°cklisted? They can do it if they want to. Have you forgotten my identity?¡±

    Gao Dalou replied, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s not talk about that now. What was going on just now? Why was I struck by my own shock cannon?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I used a small trick to daze you temporarily. After that, you were confused, and turned in the wrong direction. In such a narrow space, any slight deviation in your sense of direction was sufficient to cause a huge difference in where your attack hit. Your cannon was fired towards the protective barrier next to you, thus you absorbed the entire impact of the explosion. I¡¯m also very curious about something. Why does your shock cannon contain a force even scarier than numbness? Not only can it interrupt a soul skill, but it even caused my blood to stop flowing. Although it onlysted for a second, its impact was quite great. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve taken you down in my first attack.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s question, Gao Dalou hesitated. He lowered his head and didn¡¯t mutter a word.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t probe either. This was undoubtedly his secret.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re unwilling to tell me. Let¡¯s talk about something else. You mentioned that you¡¯ve never studied at an academy before. Since this is the case, it¡¯s quite a miracle that you were able to reach the standard of a ss 5 soul engineer!¡±

    A ss 5 soul engineer was like a five-ringed Soul King. For him to reach such a level through self-learning before he was even thirty, it showed how much talent and hardwork he had put in!

 Chapter 303.1: Liquor, Medium, Icebreaker

    Gao Dalou sighed, ¡°Yes, count me unlucky. When I was young, my father was the one who taught me soul engineering skills. In my entire lineage, there has always only been one son in every generation. We are like a sect, but we don¡¯t have the depth of a sect. My father always believed that he could teach me with everything that he had, thus he didn¡¯t send me to a basic soul engineering academy. However, he passed away for some unknown reason when I was fourteen, and I had just be a ss 3 soul engineer. When we found him, even his internal organs had disappeared. He had died tragically. My father was also very protective of his wealth. He was very worried no matter where he kept his valuables, and usually kept them with him in his storage-type soul tool. Once he died, my family went bankrupt. My mother passed away early. We originally had a few servants, but they left since I couldn¡¯t pay them. Very soon, I became an orphan that lived by myself.¡±

    Gao Dalou sounded very calm. However, the expression on his face revealed that his heart was already dead.

    ¡°After that, I had to give up on my cultivation in order to make a living for myself. I found some chores in the city. Originally, I was a soul engineer, and finding a job wasn¡¯t very difficult. However, I would be cursed every time I suggested that my employer offer me some rare metals for my cultivation. As I was helpless, I could only do some chores that were beyond what I could handle. I earned some money to sustain myself. At the same time, I cultivated using my father¡¯s manual. After more than a decade, I managed to reach the level of a ss 5 soul engineer. However, I¡¯m broke now. At my level, I can¡¯t experiment without sufficient rare metals, and I can¡¯t produce better soul tools either. Ah¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused after he heard Gao Dalou¡¯s recounting of events. It was his first time hearing a ss 5 soul engineer being restricted by poverty. Even though he had other ideas in mind, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Gao, didn¡¯t your soul tools be finished products? With your abilities, you should be able to sell your finished soul tools for decent prices even if the materials are slightly inferior. They should then be enough to fund your cultivation. Since when did soul engineersck money?¡±

    Gao Dalou looked a little embarrassed, ¡°This¡­ honestly speaking, I¡¯m not afraid that you¡¯ll mock me. My entire family has a bad habit. We are stingy. I inherited my father¡¯s stinginess. I can¡¯t bear to sell the soul tools that I¡¯ve created! They are the products of my hard work.¡± He coughed twice as he finished.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved a little. He was a little empathetic after hearing Gao Dalou¡¯s tragic life story. However, he realized that there wasn¡¯t any tragic story that had no reason in this world after hearing about Gao Dalou¡¯s stinginess! Gao Dalou¡¯s poverty was caused by himself! What a stingy soul engineer!

    After pausing for a moment, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What do you n to do from now on?¡±

    Gao Dalou sighed and said, ¡°What else do you want me to do? I¡¯m a ss 5 soul engineer now. I¡¯m different from before. Maybe I¡¯ll find a sect and see if I can get some rare metals to practice with. Brother, I believe you¡¯re at least a ss 5 soul engineer judging from your abilities to create soul tools. Your technique is also quite conventional and orthodox. You should be from a sect. Why not introduce me to your sect? I¡¯ve no other requests; I just need sufficient materials. If I get to keep all my soul tools, I¡¯m willing to even sell my life to the sect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at him deeply and said to Wang Dong¡¯er, ¡°Xiao Dong, tell the waiter that we don¡¯t need the liquor anymore. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er acknowledged his words and tried to hold in herughter as she walked away. She knew that Huo Yuhao was about to con someone again. However, Gao Dalou didn¡¯t look very pitiful. He was actually very scheming!

    ¡°No, no! Don¡¯t go! Brother, we haven¡¯t had a drink yet. Even if they might cklist you, they won¡¯t serve you bad liquor, considering your wealth!¡± Gao Dalou hurriedly said.

    At this point, the waiter had entered and there was a bottle of pink liquor on a tray in his hand. There were also three liquor sses and a bucket of ice.

    ¡°Sir, your liquor is here. Do you want me to open it for you?¡± the waiter asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at Gao Dalou. Gao Dalou said, ¡°Open, open, of course you should open it! Hurry up!¡± As he spoke, he was already swallowing visibly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Brother Gao, liquor will make our hands numb. Overdrinking might even cause them to tremble and affect our state. You must watch out!¡±

    Gao Dalou waspletely unbothered, ¡°No worries. No worries. We can do it asionally.¡±

    The waiter opened the bottle without any hesitation. He added three ice cubes to each ss before pouring the liquor into each ss. After that, he respectfully left.

    Gao Dalou lifted the ss in front of him and took a sip. His face became rapturously intoxicated.

    ¡°Good liquor, this is good liquor! I¡¯ve not had such great rose liquor in some time! It¡¯s delicious. Brother, quickly take a sip.¡± As he spoke, he quickly filled his ss again.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his ss and gently took a sip. The liquor was indeed quite good. A light rose scent entered his throat along with the liquor itself. The scent seemed to evaporate naturally. Very quickly, it diffused through his body. A warm aura also slowly spread out and made him feel extremelyfortable.

    What left Huo Yuhao stunned was that the chill in his body from the origin energy of Ultimate Ice also dropped after he took a sip of the drink.

    Was the alcohol able to help him absorb the origin energy of his Ultimate Ice? With this thought, hepletely downed the ss of liquor.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely stunned at the result.

    The warmth from the alcohol suddenly increased greatly. He felt the flow of his blood getting stronger and stronger. The warmth followed his passageways and rushed towards his left arm and lower limbs. Although it was still inferiorpared to the origin energy of Ultimate Ice, this gush of warmth still neutralized some of the origin energy. It also fused with his blood and soul power.

    This works? Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at this moment.

    Gao Dalou was watching Huo Yuhao as he sipped on his liquor. When he realized Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was changing very weirdly, he was shocked. Although this rose liquor wasn¡¯t cheap, he didn¡¯t have to feel so much pain buying it...

    ¡°Brother Tang, are you okay?¡± Gao Dalou asked carefully.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. He had originally wanted to draw Gao Dalou into the Tang Sect, but he realized that Gao Dalou was actually very cunning, even though he seemed very honest. In addition, he was now much less interested in him as he faced this unexpected surprise.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, call the waiter over.¡± As he was agitated, Huo Yuhao even forgot that he wasn¡¯t supposed to refer to her her that way.

    Although Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know why he was suddenly so excited, she still quickly called the waiter over.

    ¡°Sir, what instructions do you have?¡± the waiter asked respectfully.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Go get me every type of liquor you have here.¡±

    ¡°What? Every type? Sir, we have more than hundred types of liquor, even though our establishment isn¡¯t thatrge! We already have forty different types of wine, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, go quickly then.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao threw his entire bag of money over.

    The waiter was shocked, but a sh of greed crossed his face as he received the bag of cash. He followed with, ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll go now! Please wait for me!¡±

    More than a hundred types of liquor! How much would that cost?

    Not only was Gao Dalou astonished, even Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t understand what Huo Yuhao was doing. Huo Yuhao poured himself another ss of the rose liquor.

    ¡°Indeed so, indeed so!¡± Huo Yuhao was evidently extremely excited. After that, he twisted his head to look at Gao Dalou, ¡°Brother Gao, you can leave first if you have nothing going on. I suddenly remembered I have something important to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Your important thing is drinking, am I right? Brother, how can you be without a buddy when you are drinking. I can¡¯t do anything else, but I can be a top-notch drinking buddy!¡± Gao Dalou couldn¡¯t give up this opportunity to taste so many delicious liquors. He quickly presented himself to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Did you not hear that I only requested a ss of every type of liquor for myself? I didn¡¯t get any for you.¡±

    Gao Dalou turned pale. There were more than hundred types of liquor. How would it feel to drink andpare them? He had never tried it before! It should feel very magical. However, he was being chased away. This¡­

    Gao Dalou only had two hobbies. One was to be a strong soul engineer. The other was to drink.

    ¡°Brother, I take back what I said earlier. Let¡¯s see if this works: I can join your sect. As long as you provide me with materials, the soul tools that I create will belong to the sect. However, please give me at least some money to buy wine. It¡¯s best if I can even find a wife. I¡¯ll follow you if you agree to this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Gao Dalou to misunderstand his actions. He had actually lowered his own asking price of his own ord. What was going on?

    He hadn¡¯t expected Gao Dalou to treat him as a confidant. It was easy to find friends, but not drinking buddies! Gao Dalou waspletely convinced after seeing Huo Yuhao ask for more than a hundred types of liquor in one shot. He was imagining the amount of liquor he could drink every day if he followed Huo Yuhao! Why would he need soul tools then?

 Chapter 303.2: Liquor, Medium, Icebreaker

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s great. I¡¯ll give you a fifty percent cut for every soul tool you create. We¡¯lle up with the materials. You just need to create the soul tools. In addition, I think you¡¯ve also witnessed my special method of creating soul tools. You¡¯ll be able to learn such a method once you join our sect.¡±

    Gao Dalou¡¯s eyes brightened, and he replied, ¡°Of course, of course. Brother Tang, the liquor¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand generously and said, ¡°Little Dong, get the waiter to add one moreplete set.¡±

    Gao Dalou licked his chapped lips and gave him a thumbs-up. ¡°Awesome!¡±

    Very soon, the table was filled with rows of liquor sses.

    ¡°Brother Tang, let¡¯s drink.¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    ¡°Dalou, let¡¯s toast once more! Oh, this liquor isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s strong enough!¡±

    ¡°Great!¡±

    ¡°Fantastic! It¡¯s absolutely fantastic! I¡¯ve never enjoyed liquor like this! Brother Tang, did you notice that the liquors made from wheat are quite light, while those made from grapes contain the lightness of grapes even though they are hard liquors? I feel very pleasant drinking them!¡±

    ¡°Oh, this liquor has the taste of plums. It even tastes a little smoked! It¡¯s quite special...¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned as she watched from the side. These two drunkards didn¡¯t stop at all. They kept on downing ss after ss of liquor. It was her first time seeing Huo Yuhao drinking like this, so she was shocked.

    At the start, Wang Dong¡¯er thought Huo Yuhao was doing this to tempt Gao Dalou. Gao Dalou was basically bought over by the liquor. However, Wang Dong¡¯er noticed something was wrong. Gao Dalou had already been swindled. Why did Yuhao have to continue drinking with him? In a short span of time, both of them had already drank more than thirty sses of liquor!

    There was another person who was even more shocked than Wang Dong¡¯er ¨C the waiter who had deliver the liquor!

    There were more than a hundred types of liquor. Since Huo Yuhao had ordered twoplete sets of liquor, there were more than two hundred sses of liquor. The table couldn¡¯t fit all the sses. Once the sses were empty, they were immediately reced by more sses of different liquors.

    At the start, the waiter thought Huo Yuhao was trying to put on airs, and he would at most taste a few types of liquor.

    However, he saw the two of them downing more than thirty sses on their own as time passed! More than half of them were hard liquors! If they were ordinary people, they would have beenpletely drunk by now. However, the two of them seemed like nothing had happened.

    Even though every ss of liquor had been diluted by ice cubes, they must have consumed more than a liter of hard liquor each after thirty sses!

    ¡°Yu¡­ Master, stop drinking.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er almost addressed him incorrectly in her anxiety. She lifted her hand to grab the liquor ss from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    Huo Yuhao deftly dodged and avoided her hand. He shot a look at her. As he thought of something, he used his Spiritual Detection to tell her what he was thinking.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body stiffened up. After that, her eyes revealed an indescribable look of ecstasy.

    Huo Yuhao gently nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Continue. You¡¯re in a wheelchair anyway. I can push you back anytime.¡±

    Why was Huo Yuhao drinking so much? He wanted to test whether each type of liquor had an effect on fusing his origin energy of Ultimate Ice, or if it was only just the rose liquor. If every type of liquor could do the same thing, it must mean that liquor was very effective for him.

    His conclusion was that liquor was very effective. However, the effect didn¡¯t depend on the value of the liquor, but its strength! The stronger the liquor, the better it was! Every ss of hard liquor was like a catalyst. The origin energy in his body was increasingly being digested by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. For someone who had three immovable limbs, this was like a delicacy!

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao remained clear-headed, as all the alcohol was being used to fuse with his origin energy. He was also getting more and more excited. He could easilyst for three hundred sses without getting drunk!

    Huo Yuhao was amused that Gao Dalou¡¯s tolerance level was actually very impressive. He didn¡¯t feel any soul power undtions from his body, Gao Dalou was just drinking normally. His eyes brightened the more he drank, just like Huo Yuhao. He was getting more and more clear-headed as he drank.

    ¡°Great liquor, this is really great liquor! I haven¡¯t felt so happy in a long time. No, I¡¯ve never felt so happy before! Today, I finally understand what it means when people say ¡®A thousand sses of liquor is too little when drinking with a confidant.¡¯ Brother Tang, I¡¯m very grateful to have met you.¡±

    After drinking his fiftieth ss, Gao Dalou was finally getting a little dizzy. However, the excitement in his eyes only grew.

    ¡°Brother Tang, I¡¯ll follow you in the future. I can get liquor when I¡¯m with you! I don¡¯t even want the percentage cut. I¡¯m fine with just liquor. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°This isn¡¯t much for me. In fact, I even know a sommelier. He¡¯s a true fanatic for delicious liquor! If you meet him, you¡¯ll really know what it is to have a drinking buddy.¡±

    Gao Dalou was stunned, ¡°Is that so? Is there actually someone who can drink better than you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much he can drink, but I¡¯ve never seen him without his liquor ever since I met him. You can find him whenever you want to try, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy. Don¡¯t worry, this liquor god lives very close to my sect.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Drink,e on! Brother Tang, let¡¯s drink! I¡¯ll follow you and the liquor god in the future¡­¡± Gao Dalou was finally getting drunk. Such a drunkard would never be willing to activate his soul power to neutralize the alcohol in his body. He couldn¡¯t bear to! It was important to bear in mind that Gao Dalou was a very stingy person...

    ¡°Brother Tang, didn¡¯t you want to know the special characteristic of my soul tool? Since we are going to be in the same sect, I think it¡¯s fine to tell you. The soul tool that I carry around me has a special characteristic called Blood Coagting. It¡¯s an addedponent to my Blood Coagting Carving Knife¡­ It¡¯s impressive, isn¡¯t it¡­?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if I tell you. That¡¯s because only a descendant of my blood lineage can use this carving knife. I need to use my fresh blood to use this knife every time. Otherwise, it would have been stolen by many people already¡­¡±

    ¡°Fortunately the carving knife can only be used by a descendant of my family. Although its ranking is a little low because of my weak cultivation, it¡¯s the only valuable that my father left me. If anyone else could use it, my Haemagglutination Carving Knife might even make it to the top thirty carving knives.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silently shocked after hearing Gao Dalou¡¯s words. It was a carving knife equal to one of the top thirty top-notch carving knives! No wonder it was so strong. Even the shockwaves generated by the shock cannon were so strong because of the meticulous carvings made by this knife!

    After three more sses, Gao Dalou couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and copsed onto the table.

    Huo Yuhao drank two more sses on his own before smiling slightly. He turned to Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°My dear, I need to pee.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was speechless. ¡°Can¡¯t you use it for your cultivation?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I used alcohol, not water. You are in a guy¡¯s attire anyway. What are you scared of? Send me to the toilet. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to pee my pants.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face turned red. Although she had seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before, she had never done anything like this before! She started stammering, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go home, and you can¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I can¡¯t hold it in anymore.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll look at someone else? My eyes will be dirtied.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er finally found an excuse.

    ¡°That¡¯s true! You can send me to the door. I can go in and settle everything myself.¡± Huo Yuhao changed his words after teasing her. Over these past few days, he had felt tortured as Wang Dong¡¯er regained her sense of self! A lot of his extra welfare had ceased to exist. Since he could only move his right hand, he was helpless against her.

    After returning from the washroom, Huo Yuhao continued to drink. The waiter thought that they were going to stop, seeing that Gao Dalou had already passed out. However, Huo Yuhao was still drinking. He stopped drinking the cheap liquors and started to drink the high-end liquors. He only called the waiter in after he had finished all the hard liquor.

    ¡°Sir, what instructions do you have?¡± The waiter looked in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes and felt like he had seen a ten-thousand year soul beast. This young man was unbelievable!

    Huo Yuhao leisurely said, ¡°You¡¯ve seen my tolerance level. All these liquors can¡¯t satisfy me. Is there anything even stronger?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± The waiter suddenly thought of something, and his eyes brightened. He said, ¡°We still have some distite here. Do you want some?¡±

    ¡°Distite? What¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao waspletely clueless about liquors.

    The waiter replied softly, ¡°Hard liquors are distilled beverages. Apart from some special cases, most hard liquors are purified distites that have been blended and mixed with different vors. After that, they are sold to the general public. This is a secret. I¡¯m only telling you because you have a lot of gold soul coins.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t moved as he asked, ¡°How strong is the distite?¡±

    The waiter chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s twice as strong as the strongest liquor that you¡¯ve drank so far.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart twitched a little, and thought to himself, Aren¡¯t you telling me that the liquors here have been diluted with water and other stuff?

    ¡°Give me some to try first.¡±

    ¡°Alright, wait a minute. However, the price of the distite¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a slightly furious expression, ¡°Since when is money a problem? Tell your boss, as long as the stuff is good, I want it long-term. As long as you have it, I¡¯ll take everything. In my manor, I have an underground wine cer that¡¯s ten thousand square meters!¡±

 Chapter 303.3: Liquor, Medium, Icebreaker

    ¡°What?¡± A ten thousand square-meter wine cer? It¡¯s unheard of! How rich must he be? This is the break boss needs to get rich!

    When the waiter returned, he brought along a shrewd-looking elder who seemed around sixty years old.

    Distite was almost pure alcohol. It could easily be used to light a fire. However, it was extremely good for Huo Yuhao, since it contained no impurities. He immediately made a high bid for all the distite in the bar, and even pre-ordered another batch.

    They left Gao Dalou in the bar. Huo Yuhao left him a note to set their next meeting. The bar would naturally take good care of him, since he was a friend of their newfound rich client.

    Huo Yuhao had already controlled himself¡­ he didn¡¯t steal Gao Dalou¡¯s carving knife.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er returned to the Ming Yue Hotel with more than a hundred kilos of distite, but he didn¡¯t drink it right away. After he returned, he immediately entered a cultivation state as heid down t. He activated all his soul power and cultivated the impurities and remaining alcohol within the liquor.

    ------

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament had reached the round-robin stage, and the Tang Sect finally caught a breather after facing two consecutive tough opponents. They defeated the next four opponents they faced easily. With their immense abilities, they managed to make their way to the top of their group after winning six out of six matches. They had one foot in the quarterfinal.

    Besides the Tang Sect, there was another team in their group that won all their matches... Shrek¡¯s team! In the first five matches of this round-robin stage, they had snatched easy victories. Under Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leadership, and with their extraordinary abilities, they managed to ovee the Clearjade Sect, too. It was also on that same day that the team and vice-team leaders, Cain and Xue Bing, were unfrozen.

    However, the Tang Sect didn¡¯t know that Cain disappeared after the Clearjade Sect was eliminated from the tournament¡­

    ------

    The Tang Sect didn¡¯t depart the venue after they easily won their sixth match. They sat in the VIP resting area, all of them with serious expressions on their faces.

    The next match was the sh of the day. The most established two teams in the history of the tournament were about to fight against one another!

    On one side was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, who had won four out of their first five matches under Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s leadership. On the other side was Shrek, led by Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    For both parties, this fight wasn¡¯t just about the qualifications for the next round. It was a life and death battle, a battle of glory!

    The enmity between both academies was simply too deep. In this round-robin stage, the Sun Moon team had already lost to the Tang Sect. If they lost again, Shrek would advance with the Tang Sect into the quarterfinals. If they won, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy would face off in the next match. The Tang Sect and the Sun Moon team would advance if the Tang Sect won. If the Tang Sect lost, all three teams would be tied on the number of wins, and points would be used to calcte which two teams would advance. While the Tang Sect had maintained a hundred percent record so far, their points weren¡¯t very high because they kept on preparing themselves for the team fights. The point difference between Shrek¡¯s team and the Sun Moon team was almost negligible, and the gap might be widened in this match.

    The Sun Moon team had no other way out, they had to win this match. If they won, they could ensure their spot in the quarterfinals as long as they achieved a huge victory in thest match. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy wanted the Tang Sect and Shrek¡¯s team to fight one another for the other spot!

    It was the same situation for Shrek Academy. As long as they defeated the Sun Moon team, they would definitely qualify with six victories in the bag. Whether they were going to be the winner or runners-up of their group would depend on theirst match with the Tang Sect.

    ---

    Wang Qiu¡¯er slowly stood up. She didn¡¯t walk towards the waiting area. Instead, she turned around and looked at her teammates.

    ¡°Do all of you remember what I mentioned yesterday?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yes!¡± All of Shrek¡¯s team members acknowledged her words. They sounded very excited, and the rest of the teams in the waiting area were drawn to them.

    Not only were the spectators monitoring this match, even the rest of the teams were watching this match very closely! Shrek¡¯s reputation was too well-established. The reputations of both academies meant that this faceoff between both teams was bound to be an extremely intense one!

    Dai Huabin was closest to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Right now, his eyes were burning as he looked at her. It was as if she were his idol, his enthusiasm was bordering on fanaticism!

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Everyone from Shrek recalled what Wang Qiu¡¯er had said yesterday.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Tomorrow, we are going to face the Sun Moon team. Do all of you know why the Tang Sect gave up against them in the earlier round, but fought them in the first match of the round-robin stage? Let me tell you! It¡¯s because the Tang Sect was afraid that we would lose. They did their best to weaken the Sun Moon team and give us a greater chance.

    ¡°Tell me, do we need them to create this fighting chance for us?

    ¡°We came here for Shrek¡¯s glory! If not for the fact that Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters are representing the Tang Sect, we would only be substitutes! During thest tournament, I wasn¡¯t even at Shrek Academy yet! But I heard of their performance. They were only substitutes then! What happened? They brought back the title. Let me ask all of you... do all of you have the heart of a champion?

    ¡°We are members of Shrek, the glory of Shrek, and the radiance of Shrek. Our advancement will not arise because of anyone¡¯s help, but our own abilities. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll tear the skin off whoever dares to look down on us! Do all of you understand? We are not only going to show the Sun Moon team why we are strong; we are also going to show the Tang Sect that they can¡¯t underestimate us! Let¡¯s show them that we are champion material! We¡¯ll win tomorrow¡¯s fight! Shrek...will...win!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s wild words were still ringing in the ears of every member of Shrek¡¯s team. Her voice, which inspired their passion and excitement, raised their fighting spirits to unprecedented levels. So what if it was the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy? So what if it was the Tang Sect? They were representing Shrek Academy ¨C a team that had never lost this tournament before! They were fighting for Shrek¡¯s glory! Right now, they could finally chant this slogan in front of everyone!

    Every time they thought of this, their auras would turn ferocious, and their fighting spirits were fired to the limit!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er saw the fire in everyone¡¯s eyes and nodded. She said evenly, ¡°Follow me.¡± After she finished speaking, she turned around and faced the stage. As she turned, her gaze met Huo Yuhao¡¯s. As their gazes met, Huo Yuhao saw the look of perseverance in her eyes as she led Shrek¡¯s team towards the stage.

    What left everyone from the Tang Sect shocked was that Shrek¡¯s team didn¡¯t send out their standard seven members topete. They switched their personnel in such a crucial match.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in front, while Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, and Cao Jinxuan followed behind. Thest two weren¡¯t Xie Huanyue and Wu Feng. They were Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo!

    In terms of individual abilities, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were only some of the best in the outer courtyard of the academy! They only had four rings, and were only Soul Ancestors, they hadn¡¯t made it into the inner courtyard yet. But Wang Qiu¡¯er had chosen the two of them topete in such an important match, and left out Wu Feng and Xie Huanyue, who were both in the inner courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao was more shocked that Wu Feng didn¡¯t pose any objections, even though she was such a proud character. He couldn¡¯t see any dissatisfaction from her.

    Impressive, Wang Qiu¡¯er!, Huo Yuhaoplimented her in his heart. He had to admit that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leadership skills were very strong, she was able to easily handle her bunch of tough and arrogant characters. He couldn¡¯t im that he was at her level.

    On the other side, everyone from the Sun Moon team also entered the waiting area. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen looked very serious. To the two of them, this was also a life and death battle. Their sh against the Tang Sect had left them depleted, and they now had no choice but to use their substitutes. Even though Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were very strong, the overall ability of the Sun Moon team had dropped.

    Very soon, both parties entered their respective waiting areas. The entire ce also went silent. Xu Tianran had already arrived on the main stage. He was very excited for today¡¯s fight, too. Yesterday, he had personally gone to visit the Sun Moon team, and promised them heavy rewards if they won this match. If they could win this match, Xu Tianran promised them the title. In the quarterfinals, they wouldn¡¯t have to face the Tang Sect. That was because the Tang Sect could only face them in the final, and the Tang Sect¡¯s next opponents included the Holy Ghost Sect!

 Chapter 304.1: Wang Qiuer Makes A Powerful Entrance

    Xu Tianran was indeed the one who had nned the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s participation in this tournament. However, the Holy Ghost Sect was a sect of evil soul masters, formed by disciples of the Holy Ghost Church. It wouldn¡¯t be a good thing if they were allowed to win the tournament, the people would be extremely unhappy. The reason why the Holy Ghost Sect waspeting in this tournament was because they were here to deal with the Tang Sect, Shrek Academy, and even the Body Sect, who had yet to reveal themselves.

    Their main mission was to remove all obstacles for the Sun Moon team. Xu Tianran had personally exined this n to Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. If they met the Holy Ghost Sect in the finals, they would be the champions.

    Since his words were so obvious, it was very easy to tell what he was suggesting to the both of them.

    Both Hongchen siblings knew what Xu Tianran expected. Today¡¯s match was more important to them than thest tournament. After all,st time, they weren¡¯t the core of the Sun Moon team then, even though they had lost to Shrek''s team in the finals. They weren¡¯tmanding their team, either! However, it was different this time. They were representing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Illustrious Virtue Hall, their grandfather and the entire empire. They couldn¡¯t afford to lose today¡¯s match!

    Xiao Hongchen sat down in the waiting area. Even though he knew that the current Shrek''s team didn¡¯t consist of the best talents from Shrek Academy, he was still very nervous. Their performances had been only so-so, and they didn¡¯t really impress anyone that much. The only person worth taking notice of was their team leader. However, there weren¡¯t any Soul Emperors apart from her. Compared to the Tang Sect, their abilities weren¡¯t that impressive.

    However, Xiao Hongchen¡¯s heart felt very heavy today for some reason. It was like how he felt when they faced the Tang Sect. Don¡¯t tell me this team is able to threaten us? If we can¡¯t even beat a second-rate team, then¡­

    As he thought until here, Xiao Hongchen couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist. His fighting spirit soared.

    ¡°Elder brother, calm down,¡± Meng Hongchen said to him.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Hongchen took a look at his younger sister. This time, Wang Dong wasn¡¯t theirpetitor anymore. Meng Hongchen was indeed very normal.

    ¡°Younger sister, let¡¯s do our best today. We must win today.¡±

    Meng Hongchen smiled. She was much more confident than Xiao Hongchen, ¡°Elder brother, this is only Shrek''s second-string team. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll win for sure!¡±

    ------

    The resting area...

    Ever since Wang Qiu¡¯er had left, Huo Yuhao had started to ponder a lot. He suddenly raised his head and said, ¡°I understand now.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was puzzled as she looked at him and asked, ¡°What do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I know why Qiu¡¯er came up with this lineup. Brilliant! The Sun Moon team is definitely in trouble today.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er gently strangled him and said, ¡°Can you not be so mysterious?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°If you let me kiss you, I¡¯ll reveal everything.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to tell me, but be careful tonight¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°What are you going to do tonight? You are not even apanying me to sleep now. Don¡¯t tell me you are going to chase a cripple off the bed? Hmph!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er came up with a scheme, and revealed a captivating smile on her face. ¡°If you can guess what I¡¯m going to do, I¡¯ll sleep with you tonight.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted.

    ¡°Of course not. Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I can watch and find out.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s attitude suddenly changedpletely, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. She was bing more and more like a little witch. I regret this! Why did I let her regain her conscience? However, I kind of enjoy this feeling¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Wang Qiu¡¯er will be the first in the individual elimination round,¡± Huo Yuhao said so softly that only Wang Dong¡¯er and the rest of the people from the Tang Sect could hear him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er will be the first to fight? Everyone was confused. It didn¡¯t make sense! With Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s status as the team leader, she should be the one holding the fort.

    Just as they were full of doubts, Wang Qiu¡¯er had already leapt up onto the stage and walked towards the center.

    On the other side, a tall andrge youth from the Sun Moon team also jumped up onto the stage. He hadn¡¯t appeared when they had fought Tang Sect. Evidently, he was one of the substitutes.

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed Wang Qiu¡¯er. Yuhao, you are brilliant!¡± Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Xu Tianran had an epiphany, ¡°I understand too. In fact, Qiu¡¯er should be the first to fight.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just him who had realized what was going on. He Caitou¡¯s eyes also had a look of revtion as he smiled. It was just that he didn¡¯t utter a sound at all.

    He Caitou and Huo Yuhao were already among the top six in the underground tournament. In the next round, the top three would be decided. It was tonight. If they made the top three, they could represent the Duskwater Alliance in the finals of the tournament between the three different organizations.

    They had earned quite a lot of money in the first few rounds of the tournament. It was a pity, however, that they had only obtained some rare metals. While they had several million gold soul coins, they were useless if they couldn¡¯t be used to purchase rare metals.

    Number 96 and 98 were also in the top six. Huo Yuhao or He Caitou would face at least one of them. Huo Yuhao had met Gao Dalou again, but he hadn¡¯t revealed his true identity. He was making Gao Dalou wait patiently. Huo Yuhao would only bring him back after the tournament ended. He wouldn¡¯t be afraid to reveal his true identity then.

    ¡°Shrek''s team versus the Sun Moon team. First fight of the individual elimination round. Both parties, please report your names.¡± The referee for today was still the Unbreakable Douluo. As he was very fair and left manypeting teams satisfied, this Titled Douluo and ss 9 soul engineer personally refereed some of the more important fights.

    Undoubtedly, there was no fight as important as the one between Shrek''s team and the Sun Moon team!

    Zheng Zhan was also troubled as he looked at the members from both sides. He knew about the enmity between Shrek''s team and the Sun Moon team. This was a life and death battle! Neither party could afford to lose this match.

    ¡°Shrek, Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was still wearing a veil. Her powdery-blue hair flowed behind her back. Although her appearance couldn¡¯t be seen, herrge, beautiful eyes, as well as her captivating figure, still left a deep impression in everyone¡¯s minds.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Ye Canshang.¡± While he was very tall andrge, he didn¡¯t have much flesh on him. He gave everyone the impression that he was a bag of bones. There was even a weird sense of eeriness about him.

    ¡°Both parties, please step back and prepare for the match.¡± Zheng Zhan instructed. He even skipped the part where he was supposed to ask both parties not to hurt the other party. He knew it was futile.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and walked to her position, and Ye Canshang did the same.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood at her position and watched her opponent. She squinted, and revealed a dim, mysterious light in her eyes.

    Ye Canshang was also staring at her. However, he was smirking. His mouth suddenly erged, and he grinned so widely that his lips almost reached his ears. He revealed white teeth and blood-red gums. It was an awful scene.

    If it was any ordinarydy, she would have screamed in fear. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er looked very calm.

    Zheng Zhan lifted his right hand up high and looked at both parties before shouting, ¡°Match, start!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately moved when Zheng Zhan announced the start of the fight. Everyone heard a muffled sounding from the stage.

    The soundproofing barriers around the stage were unidirectional. The noises from outside couldn¡¯t be heard inside, but the noises from the inside could be heard on the outside.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er burst forward like a golden cannon shell as the muffled sound reverberated out.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was very ferocious in the earlier rounds, but she hadn¡¯t gone too overboard. However, she revealed a different aura today.

    Ye Canshang didn¡¯t dy either. Two yellow and three purple soul rings rose from his feet. Following this, a ck light shed on his body. A ck figure separated from his body and appeared in front of him. However, his soul rings were still on his body.

    It was a ck skeleton with an eerie aura. It had the same figure as Ye Canshang.

    As Ye Canshang¡¯s first soul ring shone, the skeleton doubled in size. Its bones also became thicker.

    This was Ye Canshang¡¯s martial soul, Skeleton. It was a skeleton that used his body as a blueprint. It was a very special existence. As a soul engineer, he didn¡¯t need to lift any heavy weapons, he could just rely on his Skeleton! That was why he could handle a much heavier weight in a fight, at least a few times greater than a normal soul engineer. This wasn¡¯t considered very useful for a soul master, but it was very practical for a soul engineer.

    However, his opponent today was Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    After Ye Canshang unleashed his first soul skill, Skeleton Expansion, Wang Qiu¡¯er had already arrived in front of him.

    With the terrifying strength that Wang Qiu¡¯er possessed, she could easily slide one hundred meters through the air.

    A huge golden fist hurtled toward Ye Canshang¡¯s head.

    A dangerous gust of wind swept towards his face!

    Ye Canshang only felt an ufortable feeling in his chest before golden lights shone brightly in front of him.

    What¡¯s this rhythm? It¡¯s too quick. Isn¡¯t she supposed to be an assault-type soul master? Why is she faster than an agility-type soul master?

 Chapter 304.2: Wang Qiuer Makes A Powerful Entrance

    Ye Canshang subconsciously ordered his Skeleton to block his body.

    A pair of thick skeletal palms wed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fist.

    Dodge? Was that even Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s style? Dream on!

    Boom! Her fist crashed against the skeletal ws. The Skeleton wanted to shut its ws, but it couldn¡¯t do so. Cracks started to appear on its hands, and extended from the finger joints down towards the wrist.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er made a half turn in the air, and her right leg chopped down like a whip.

    ¡°She can¡¯t be so quick!¡± Ye Canshang almost spat out blood. His Skeleton wasn¡¯t something that he summoned, but his martial soul! Since his martial soul was injured, he also suffered from the bacsh.

    He didn¡¯t even manage to retrieve a soul cannon before Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leg came crashing down.

    This time, Ye Canshang learned from his earlier mistake, and quickly retracted his martial soul. The broken right hand of his Skeleton disappeared.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leg struck nothing, but it generated a gust of wind. This gust of wind seemed like a raging tornado in a mountain valley on a chilly winter night.

    Ye Canshang¡¯s shirt was drenched with cold sweat in just a short span of time.

    Even as her leg struck nothing, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t retract her power. She directly struck the ground, and used the momentum to bounce back up. She aimed her left knee toward Ye Canshang¡¯s chest.

    Ye Canshang was so depressed right now that he wanted to die. He was a soul engineer. It was a bad thing to be so close to a soul master! Moreover, his opponent was Wang Qiu¡¯er! He wanted to scream and beg her to give him a chance!

    Would she do so?

    Yes... but in his next life.

    Ayer of golden light rose from his body as he used his Invincible Barrier to protect himself.

    Bang! The golden light from the Invincible Barrier undted slightly, and Ye Canshang was scared pale. Was she really going to destroy his Invincible Barrier, too?

    Beneath the stage, Xiao Hongchen was already so furious that he had stood up. He could tell that Ye Canshang had beenpletely suppressed, including his fighting spirit. He no longer had any chance of victory.

    Ye Canshang was still struggling to stay in the fight, however. He quickly unleashed his Skeleton again. Although it was without one hand, it was still equipped with its soul tools.

    As he released his martial soul, and it prepared its soul tools in turn, Wang Qiu¡¯er was attacking the Invincible Barrier like she was pounding a sandbag.

    The Invincible Barrier wasn¡¯tpletely invincible, as it depleted his soul power. It was very useful if he wanted to save his own life, but it wasn¡¯t as good as a protective barrier for defensive purposes. It definitely wasn¡¯t the best choice for him to use it immediately the moment he fought Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    He unleashed his first soul cannon. Ye Canshang chose the most explosive, high-powered cannon shell. He only had one goal, to force Wang Qiu¡¯er away so that he could have some space to demonstrate his abilities! He was on the brink of tears as he felt his soul power depleting. However, what could he do? He could only try his best to deplete her soul power as well.

    Boom!

    A ball of intense golden light was emitted from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body. After that, the high-powered cannon shell blew apart.

    She blew apart the cannon shell with her fist.

    It exploded very close to her, and she was indeed forced back. However, the explosive force also affected the Invincible Barrier!

    Ye Canshang felt his soul power dropping again. After that, he saw Wang Qiu¡¯er returning. Furthermore, the effect of his Invincible Barrier was about to end.

    This time, he saw another streak of golden light in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand. Following this, the streak of golden light pierced through the Invincible Barrier.

    The golden light caused the barrier to be destroyed, and Ye Canshang felt his soul power expendedpletely.

    Zheng Zhan was monitoring their fight. Just as the Invincible Barrier was destroyed, he was already in front of the two of them.

    From the bottom of his heart, he greatly admired Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s violent fighting style. Brilliant! Shepletely disoriented her opponent the moment she struck. It was a pity that her opponent represented the Sun Moon Empire.

    There was likely to be a team fight after this. As the referee, he had to do his best to prevent any bloodshed.

    He struck his palm against the golden light, but he didn¡¯t use too much force. After all, he was a Titled Douluo, and couldn¡¯t overly affect the proceedings. If he depleted Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities too much, it would be very unfair to Shrek''s team.

    However, he quickly retracted his hand when his palm contacted the Golden Dragon Spear. He was horrified!

    He felt the flesh on his palm dissolving when he touched the spear. Although he used his soul power to stop this feeling, he was still stunned.

    His palm was still effective. After all, the spear was struck by the palm of a Titled Douluo. However, it still managed to pierce through Ye Canshang¡¯s shoulder.

    When Ye Canshang saw Zheng Zhan, he felt very relieved. Referee, you came at the right time!

    However, his entire body stiffened when the spear stabbed through his shoulder. His soul power waspletely depleted after he had suffered Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s series of attacks. He didn¡¯t have any excess soul power to resist the power of the Golden Dragon Spear.

    By the time Zheng Zhan reacted and pulled Ye Canshang away, his entire chest cavity had already caved in. There wasn¡¯t a drop of blood on the spear, but golden lights kept on surging towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Devouring! The Life Devouring of the Golden Dragon Spear.

    The life power that she drained replenished her body. Although it didn¡¯t really help to restore her soul power, it was very effective at restoring her energy. Throughout the entire fight, Wang Qiu¡¯er had relied on her Ultimate Strength!

    ¡°You¡­¡± Zheng Zhan red furiously at Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t even look at him. She turned around and walked towards the center of the stage.

    Everyone from the Sun Moon team stood up.

    Someone had just died again. Ye Canshang¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t ordinary! However, he was only able to release a single high-power cannon shell.

    Meng Hongchen jumped onto the stage. They couldn¡¯t be depleted any further. Otherwise, they were going to be like the Tang Sect, with insufficient members topete. If that happened, how were they going to fight in the team round?

    Meng Hongchen was about to be the secondpeting member of the Sun Moon team.

    The Hongchen Siblings had already nned it out. Ye Canshang would be the first topete, and he would test their opponent¡¯s abilities. If the opponent was too strong, Meng Hongchen would be the next to fight. They couldn¡¯t allow their opponents to deplete them any further.

    Meng Hongchen turned tense as she looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was evident that she had also been holding back in the earlier rounds. Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t possibly defeat an elite ss 5 soul engineer of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in such a short span of time, even if she was a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze was still as sharp as ever. It wasn¡¯t any different from before. Her face wasn¡¯t red, and she wasn¡¯t panting. It looked like she hadn¡¯t fought at all. She grabbed the center of her Golden Dragon Spear, the tip of it pointed diagonally towards the ground. She was so icy calm that she seemed like a statue.

    This was the Golden Dragon Lady in her peak state! Her terrifying explosiveness had once defeated Ji Juechen in one strike. How strong was she? Without having any understanding of her, it wasn¡¯t possible for Ye Canshang to resist her attacks. Even as Zheng Zhan intervened, he still died under the hands of the Golden Dragon Spear.

    Huo Yuhao revealed an icy, divine light in his eyes. He folded his hands in front of his chest as he watched the fight. He knew that his guess was right.

    The individual elimination round was a great opportunity for every member of the team to demonstrate his or her abilities. However, the individual elimination round couldn¡¯t decide the final oue unless one team could defeat all seven members of the other team with at most two members. More often than not, the individual elimination round was used to deplete the opponents¡¯ abilities so as to gain an advantage in the team round.

    When Huo Yuhao saw Wang Qiu¡¯er picking Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo to enter the waiting area, he knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er waspletely aware that she couldn¡¯t defeat the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy on her own. Their only chance was in the team round.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess was verified. Why did Wang Qiu¡¯er go first? If she managed to beat three consecutive opponents, she had the right to ask for the team round to start and give up on the rest of the individual fights. With her dominant abilities, she could deplete her opponents¡¯ abilities yet conserve her own fighting strength. In this way, Shrek''s team would have a greater chance of winning, since they had Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, as well as the Lan sisters, who all possessed martial soul fusion skills.

    This was undoubtedly the best strategy. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t think of a better strategy for Shrek''s team. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er had to take on a lot of pressure if they used such a strategy. Not only did she have to fight three people in one shot, but she still had to lead the entire team in the team round. From the start until the end, she would be under a lot of pressure. Could she handle it?

    The Sun Moon team didn¡¯t repeat their mistakes against the Tang Sect. They sent Meng Hongchen in the second individual elimination round. This individual round might have a great impact on the entire tournament. Everyone from the Tang Sect sat up straight and silently waited for this fight to begin.

    Not only did Wang Qiu¡¯er have to defeat Meng Hongchen, but she had to defeat herpletely. It wouldn¡¯t be easy.

    ¡°Match, start!¡±

 Chapter 304.3: Wang Qiuer Makes A Powerful Entrance

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s expression was dismal as he announced the start of the second individual round. Even though he was a Titled Douluo, he couldn¡¯t stop a Soul Emperor from killing someone. This was a humiliation to him!

    Meng Hongchen immediately moved after Zheng Zhan shouted. Learning from her previous lesson, she didn¡¯t immediately unleash her closebat soul tool. Instead, she unleashed her martial soul.

    Ayer of peculiar-looking icy blue engulfed her entire body. Her two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings suddenly lit up, revealing her cultivation as a Soul Emperor.

    All the spectators cheered when they saw her six soul rings. Previously, Wang Qiu¡¯er had shown how dominant she was. Her aura was so suppressive that the spectators couldn¡¯t catch their breath. Right now, Meng Hongchen showed that she wasn¡¯t inferior to Wang Qiu¡¯er, and managed to release everyone from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s domination.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s first and second soul rings shone concurrently, and an icy blue ring suddenly spread from Meng Hongchen¡¯s feet. She had already made her mind up. Isn¡¯t your attack very strong? Alright, I shall use my defense to slowly wear you down. No matter what, you¡¯ll enter the domain of my Icevenom Ring. No matter how strong you are, you¡¯ll still be poisoned if you don¡¯t have the Ultimate Ice like Huo Yuhao. Even if I can¡¯t beat you in this round, you¡¯ll be unable to fight in the team round once my Vermillion Clear Icetoad¡¯s poison acts up in your body. When that happens, the Sun Moon team will win!

    Meng Hongchen was very clear-headed. Against someone like Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was very adept at closebat, she was the best weapon against her.

    However, Meng Hongchen and even Zheng Zhan were stunned when Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t initiate an attack. As a closebat soul master, she didn¡¯t intend to advance. She took a step with her left foot, and her upper body made a a half turn. She lifted her Golden Dragon Spear to her shoulder with her right hand and stretched it out.

    Meng Hongchen suddenly felt an indescribable and terrifying aura around her body. When she looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er again, she saw Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes glowing strangely, and her entire person seemed to turn blurry. The two tips of her spear were emitting blinding golden lights. The golden lights even condensed to form sparks that appeared extremely threatening. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s entire body started to emit blinding golden lights.

    Ayer of golden scales spread from her spear and extended throughout her entire body. Very soon, the scales engulfed every part of her body except her face. Of her six soul rings, the first two were shining brightly.

    Among all the spectators, only Huo Yuhao knew what they were. They were Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s first soul skill, Golden Dragon Body, and her second soul skill, Dragon¡¯s Strength.

    Not only this, but Huo Yuhao also knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er had activated an innate ability of her Golden Dragon, the Golden Dragon¡¯s Pride. She had raised the terrifying strength of her Golden Dragon to its limit, and even activated her Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception. Huo Yuhao used his great spiritual power to sense everything that was going on, and discovered that there was a line connecting Wang Qiu¡¯er and Meng Hongchen at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was like a volcano that was about to erupt right now. Her entire body was covered in intense, golden sparks. As the sparks grew more and more intense, her body was slowly being concealed by them. The golden sparks slowly consolidated to form the appearance of a huge golden dragon head. This golden dragon head let out terrifying roars.

    This¡­

    Even though the entire Sun Moon team knew that Shrek''s team leader was extremely strong, they hadn¡¯t expected her to be THIS strong. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities were beyond what Meng Hongchen had imagined. She only felt that she had trouble breathing now, as if her entire body was being restrained by a tough yet invisible string. The terrifying feeling made her extremely breathless. It was like Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear was going to prate through her body in the next moment.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate any further. She quickly ended her first two soul skills, and an icy-blue suit of armor quickly covered her body. Her entire body was under the protection of this armor. This time, it wasn¡¯t a weapon that appeared in her hands, it was an icy-blue shield.

    It was at least a ss 6 or greater soul tool. Meng Hongchen felt slightly better for a moment, but she was horrified to discover that the golden dragon head formed by the sparks on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was about to change into a true Golden Dragon.

    She had been given too much time to umte her power.

    Meng Hongchen made the wrong call because of what had happened in thest round. She knew why she had made a mistake. This Wang Qiu¡¯er was simply too cunning. She isn¡¯t just strong; she even knew what I was thinking.

    Meng Hongchen clenched her teeth, as she knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er had almost finished umting her power. Once she erupted, it was bound to be a lethal attack.

    Even Zheng Zhan was starting to get nervous. He wondered what effect Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack would bring about. The strength unleashed by the Golden Dragon Spear frightened him. Was it the kind of power that a Soul Emperor could unleash? Her spear wasn¡¯t any form of soul tool, but its strength wasn¡¯t lower than a ss 8 soul tool. No wonder Shrek Academy was the top academy in the world!

    ¡°Hoo...!¡± A low-pitched dragon roar sounded out, and the huge dragon head finally rose. The dazzling golden light formed its body, and its terrifying aura made everyone shudder.

    Meng Hongchen took in a deep breath, andyer uponyer of icy-blue light started to rise from her body. However, they looked very insignificantpared to the glorious and terrifying gold from Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ---

    This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s true ability! Wang Dong¡¯er twisted her head to look at Huo Yuhao. She discovered that Huo Yuhao was watching very intently, but he wasn¡¯t worried at all. He was only relieved.

    ¡°Hmph! Are you happy to see Qiu¡¯er so strong?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked softly.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao subconsciously answered. However, he soon realized something wasn¡¯t right, and quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m happy for Shrek that Qiu¡¯er is so strong. It seems like they really have a chance today. I only hope that the referee will let them sh this one time. Qiu¡¯er¡¯s umtion is simply too scary.¡±

    ---

    A streak of golden light shot out just when the dragon roar was at its most resounding state. The huge Golden Dragon that had already risen into the air chased after the streak of golden light, and a terrifying golden glow instantly illuminated the entire stage. There was only one target.

    ¡°I concede defeat!¡± An unexpected scene urred. Meng Hongchen grabbed her head with both her hands and quickly squatted down. At the same time, she activated her Invincible Barrier. As she screamed at the top of her voice, it was loud enough that she could break all the windows of a house if she were close enough.

    Zheng Zhan was extremely tense. After hearing her scream, he acted immediately. A white barrier rose up and tried to stop the Golden Dragon Spear.

    However, the streak of golden light was too strong, and instantly pierced through the barrier. Its speed didn¡¯t decrease, and it continued to shoot forward.

    The Golden Dragon that followed behind even tore the barrier to pieces.

    However, Zheng Zhan stood in front of Meng Hongchen as it did. He formed a ring with both his hands in front of his chest, and a white shield appeared in the space before him.

    When the streak of golden light was less than three feet from this shield, a hissing sound suddenly echoed through the air. Huge patches of distorted light started to spread with the shield as the center.

    When the Golden Dragon sensed this, a terrifying roar sounded again. The entire stage became a frightening world where white and gold intersected.

    ---

    Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t remain seated anymore. He stood up suddenly and watched the fight anxiously. His expression changed.

    How¡¯s this possible? How can Shrek Academy have such a strongpeting member? He didn¡¯t know how strong Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear was. However, he was very familiar with Zheng Zhan! The first barrier that Zheng Zhan enacted was a ss 7 defensive-type soul tool. It was strong and extremely resilient. It was a type of barrier that only Zheng Zhan possessed, that could resist any weapons that were flung at it.

    However, that ss 7 soul tool could only briefly stop Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack before it was crushed. Right now, Zheng Zhan was using an extremely strong soul tool that he had relied on to be famous, the Divine Unbreakable Shield. It was a ss 9 soul tool! But from the looks of it, it didn¡¯t seem like the shield had gained the upper hand. In terms of quality, it didn¡¯t seem to be better than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s streak of golden light, and the Golden Dragon that apanied it.

    ---

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s face was very pale right now. She knew that if she hadn¡¯t chosen to concede defeat, she would have faced this horrifying strike! Not only would she have been killed, she would have been obliterated!

    The sh between gold and whitested for a few moments before things died down. The streak of golden light also slowly revealed its original form¡­ Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still standing where she was, and as the light faded her figure was slowly revealed. As she moved her right hand, the spear turned into a streak of flowing light and returned to her palm. Her golden scales also faded away.

    Zheng Zhan heaved a sigh of relief and lowered his head to look at the Divine Unbreakable Shield. He was horrified to find a slight indentation in the center of the shield!

 Chapter 305.1: Intimidating Ones Enemies, Entering the Team Fight

    He knew that he had resisted this attack not because of the defensive strength of his Unbreakable Shield, but because of the gap in their cultivations. It also meant the spear was even superior to his shield! It was a weapon that was even stronger than a ss 9 soul tool?!

    ¡°Shrek wins the second individual elimination round!¡± Zheng Zhan announced the result without any hesitation.

    In the waiting area, the other six from Shrek Academy were all standing up. They were extremely excited. Wang Qiu¡¯er had crushed her opponents in two consecutive fights. In the second fight, Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t even manage to attack before she conceded defeat. It was a great morale booster for all of them!

    However, Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and gently shook his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°How depleted do you think Wang Qiu¡¯er is?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was intelligent, and immediately guessed what he was thinking. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have used too much in the first fight. Her first opponent was far weaker than her. However, it¡¯s different for Meng Hongchen. Her Vermilion Clear Icetoad was very difficult to deal with. Qiu¡¯er was obviously targeting her strategy. She only had one goal, to kill her even if the depletion of her soul power was great. However, Meng Hongchen was too cunning, and backed out at thest minute.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°She¡¯s indeed cunning. She only conceded defeat after Qiu¡¯er attacked. She couldn¡¯t stop after she unleashed her attack, and it was more like a duel between her and the Titled Douluo referee. While Meng Hongchen lost this fight, she wasn¡¯t depleted or hurt at all. This isn¡¯t a good thing for Shrekter. I just wonder how depleted Qiu¡¯er is. From the strike just now, I believe at least forty percent of her soul power has been depleted.¡±

    The urate number was actually fifty percent.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood quietly on the stage, a look of regret in her eyes. She had been confident in her attack, but she was duped by her opponent. Although she won, she knew that she had lost to her opponent in terms of tactics. Along with the earlier fight, around sixty percent of her energy had been expended. Even though soul power wasn¡¯t everything for her, who had the Ultimate Strength, the team round would still be affected if she over-exerted herself.

    The Golden Dragon Spear was stabbed into the ground in front of her. Two Milk Bottles appeared in her hands. Rings and rings of soul power were undting around her hands.

    Using two Milk Bottles to restore her soul power?

    Those who noticed this scene were astonished by her. No one dared to use two Milk Bottles of the same ss at once.

    She needed to guide the soul power in the Milk Bottles into her body continuously before it could fuse with her soul power. If she sucked in soul power from two sides at the same time, how should she guide it? Even a Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t do something as crazy as that!

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er did. She was able to do so because of her extremely strong body.

    On the Sun Moon team¡¯s side, Meng Hongchen left the stage and instructed the nextpeting member with a few words. After that, she discussed things with Xiao Hongchen and the other members, and gave something to this member before he got on stage.

    ¡°Both parties, please step forward and report your names.¡± Zheng Zhan was already in the center of the stage. The heartbroken look on his face hadn¡¯t faded away yet. The cost of purchasing rare metals to repair the Unbreakable Shield would be an astronomical figure! How could he not be depressed? It was the main ss 9 soul tool that he used!

    ¡°Shrek, Wang Qiu¡¯er!¡± These three words were destined to be greatly imprinted in everyone¡¯s mind today.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Ding Xiaobu.¡± This young man from the Sun Moon team was quite short. He was a head shorter than Wang Qiu¡¯er, and was extremely skinny. He was like a skinny monkey.

    ¡°Both parties, please step back and get ready to start.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was squeezing the two Milk Bottles with both her hands. She wasn¡¯t walking very quickly, but slowly taking her time. Her soul power was slowly being restored through the Milk Bottles.

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s lips twisted a little. She was stalling for time! However, he didn¡¯t rush her. He had personally blocked her strike earlier on, which was in fact unfair to her. Meng Hongchen had made a tactical surrender. Under normal circumstances, she should have at least used her Invincible Barrier to protect herself, which would deplete some of her soul power too. However, this was the Sun Moon Empire!

    Zheng Zhan had earned his reputation based on his fairness, so now he felt a little guilty. That was why he didn¡¯t hurry Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Ding Xiaobu wasn¡¯t rushed at all. As he slowly walked back, he seemed to be arranging things on his body. As long as he didn¡¯t retrieve any soul tools, no one could stop him from meddling with his own clothing.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took almost a minute to get to her position. She stood straight, turned around and put her Milk Bottles away. Her gaze also started to be more focused. At least on the surface, no one could tell that she was depleted earlier.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Ding Xiaobu moved. After Zheng Zhan announced the start of the fight, he quickly leapt to one side. He was very deft. Behind him, at least fifteen streaks of lights shed. All of them were soul thrusters that had been meticulously ced on his body.

    An agility-type, closebat soul engineer?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also moved. This time, she didn¡¯t unleash all her strength. She pulled the Golden Dragon Spear out of the ground and chased after Ding Xiaobu. She was very quick.

    Ding Xiaobu wasn¡¯t willing to sh with her, however, and started to run in circles. He used the soul thrusters behind him to adjust his speed ¨C sometimes he was quick, sometimes he was slow. He was very agile throughout, and started to y a catching game with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze turned sharper and sharper. She knew that this was a strategy specifically being employed against her. It was obvious that her opponent had seen through her intentions. In addition, she was the strongest member of Shrek¡¯s team. Her opponent was trying his best to deplete her soul power. It was likely that Xiao Hongchen would be the next from the Sun Moon team topete.

    Trying to exhaust me? Wang Qiu¡¯er snorted, and suddenly burst forward as she tipped her toes on the ground. She leapt up instantly, and used her Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception to predict Ding Xiaobu¡¯s movements. She also quickly got into position, and her spear turned into a dazzling golden light that stabbed straight towards Ding Xiaobu¡¯s chest. That instant interception, quickness, uracy and burst of strength was extremely stifling.

    Even though Ding Xiaobu was prepared, his expression changed as he saw the spear heading straight towards his chest.

    Oneyer, twoyers. Twoyers of golden light were released from Ding Xiaobu¡¯s body at the same time.

    The spear stabbed him. However, it only raked across his Invincible Barriers. Ding Xiaobu¡¯s Invincible Barriers retracted, and the spear wasn¡¯t able to prate through two closely-linked Invincible Barriers immediately. Ding Xiaobu exploited the momentum of the spear to jump back. He made a half turn in the air, and his soul thruster propelled him away from Wang Qiu¡¯er again.

    Idiot! Wang Qiu¡¯er realized what the Sun Moon team had given Ding Xiaobu. They had given him their Invincible Barriers!

    However, was it possible to use two at the same time? This was evidently a special method invented by the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Everyone knew how expensive Invincible Barriers were. They gave those who had them a second life! However, even the best Invincible Barriers could onlyst slightly above ten seconds before they broke down.

    Ding Xiaobu used two at the same time, which was equivalent to spending arge sum of gold soul coins! The Sun Moon team was using money to crush Wang Qiu¡¯er and deplete her abilities.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped chasing after him. She knew that she couldn¡¯t ovee his defenses before his Invincible Barriers lost their effect unless she used the Throw of Heaven and Earth like she did earlier.

    She didn¡¯t chase him, but Ding Xiaobu came in to provoke her. He lifted a ck cannon to his shoulder before firing a ck shell at Wang Qiu¡¯er. The shell blew apart in the air and turned into a huge ck web that seemed to be covered in grease.

    Speed, harassment, and Invincible Barriers! These were the three things the Sun Moon team thought of to deal with Wang Qiu¡¯er. What they wanted to do in this fight was to deplete her as much as possible.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er could concede defeat. She had already won two fights. It would be fine for her to concede defeat to conserve her abilities. However, she needed to beat one more person before she could request to end the individual elimination round and start the team round.

    If Wang Qiu¡¯er conceded defeat, Ding Xiaobu would continue to remain onstage. Whatever happened next was likely to disrupt her n.

    More importantly, what kind of person was Wang Qiu¡¯er? For a character as proud as her, how could she allow herself to be led around by the nose by her opponent? The sharp gaze in her eyes shed repeatedly before she raised her spear.

    A red glow shone from her eyes. Following this, the soul power that she unleashed was covered by an additionalyer of red light.

    Ding Xiaobu only felt that his opponent had turned into a prehistoric, ferocious beast. He became slightly tense. As he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er again, he saw that her eyes had turnedpletely blood-red.

    Her original powdery-blue eyes now spread fear. Wang Qiu¡¯er swung the spear in her hands, and two streaks of golden-red light shed out. The ck webing towards her was destroyed.

 Chapter 305.2: Intimidating Ones Enemies, Entering the Team Fight

    Chapter 305.2: Intimidating One''s Enemies, Entering the Team Fight

    In the next instant, Ding Xiaobu activated two more Invincible Barriers. However, he felt like he was flying within the barriers.

    His Invincible Barriers could only keep him from harm, but they couldn¡¯t stabilize him. Under the repeated attacks of the Golden Dragon Spear, he started flying around within his Invincible Barriers.

    ¡°I want to see how many Invincible Barriers you¡¯ve got,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly. As her sixth soul ring lit up, her eyes turned bloodthirsty and shed with red light.

    Ding Xiaobu started to scream. ¡°I, I concede defeat!¡±

    The red lights retracted, and Wang Qiu¡¯er stood up straight as she held her spear. There was a mighty aura around her, and she appeared extremely valiant and heroic!

    Ding Xiaobu crashed onto the ground and started to pant heavily. As he nced at Wang Qiu¡¯er again, his face was filled with fear.

    He was really scared. Wang Qiu¡¯er had only used her first and second soul skills earlier to defeat Ye Canshang. She had also forced Meng Hongchen to concede defeat without even using a single soul skill. However, she had used her sixth soul skill on him!

    At that moment, he felt that he was going to sustain the entire impact of Wang Qiu¡¯er relentless attacks even though he was protected by the Invincible Barriers. As for the referee, Ye Canshang¡¯s death had left him without any confidence.

    Everyone only had one chance to live. No one waspletely unafraid of death, and so Ding Xiaobu had surrendered. Even though he still had five Invincible Barriers he could use, and he had more than eighty percent of his soul power remaining, he was eager to concede defeat.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at him coldly and said, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be so lucky in the team roundter.¡±

    As she spoke, her Golden Dragon Spear had already turned into a streak of golden light and disappeared. She took out two Milk Bottles again before she turned around and walked back towards Zheng Zhan.

    ¡°Referee, we are going to give up on the next few individual elimination rounds. Let¡¯s go straight to the team round.¡± After she finished informing him, she walked straight down from the stage.

    One against three! Meng Hongchen was even among those three! From the looks of it, Wang Qiu¡¯er was invincible. In the eyes of the spectators, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t meet any resistance at all, and beat Ye Canshang, Meng Hongchen and Ding Xiaobu. Among the three, one died, and the other two conceded defeat.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er stepped down from the stage, all the spectators were boiling. However, they weren¡¯t cursing Shrek, but ming the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    They had lost too badly.

    ---

    When Ding Xiaobu walked down from the stage, he was given a tight p.

    Xiao Hongchen knocked him to the ground. The look in his eyes made him seem like he wanted to kill someone. ¡°Idiot! What were you doing? You had so many Invincible Barriers! Why did you concede defeat?¡±

    Ding Xiaobu also acknowledged his cowardice and mumbled, ¡°But, but she used her sixth soul skill. I was scared¡­¡±

    Meng Hongchen said, ¡°What are you scared of? So what if it¡¯s her sixth soul skill? She¡¯s only a Soul Emperor. Do you think that she can destroy two Invincible Barriers in one shot? Even an eight-ringed soul master can¡¯t do it in fifteen seconds. Don¡¯t you know that?¡±

    After being pped by Xiao Hongchen, Ding Xiaobu tolerated the pain and humiliation. However, he reacted when he saw how furious Meng Hongchen was. He red at her and said, ¡°What about you? Why didn¡¯t you try to resist Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack when you faced her? Why did you choose to concede defeat?¡±

    ¡°Me? Was I in the same situation as you? Do you know how much soul power she unleashed?¡± Meng Hongchen got even angrier seeing that he was trying to include her in this.

    Ding Xiaobu snorted. ¡°Yes, her abilities will get even stronger if she manages to umte her power. However, who gave her the time to umte her power?¡± He wasn¡¯t feeling subservient, especially after his humiliating defeat.

    A handsome-looking and refined young man separated Xiao Hongchen and Ding Xiaobu. ¡°Alright, alright! We¡¯re all on the same team. The fights are over. We have to recover in the team round. Do you think we can win by quarreling? What we need now is to work together. We can¡¯t lose the team round.¡± His gaze met Xiao Hongchen¡¯s before he nodded.

    This young man was in the starting seven against the Tang Sect, but he hadn¡¯t managed to fight that day.

    Once he appeared, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s fury calmed down.

    Xiao Hongchen patted Ding Xiaobu¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I was reckless. Let bygones be bygones. However, Xiaobu, you should know what the result will be if we lose the next round. All of you should remember what the Prince Regent mentioned yesterday. There are still six of us left. We can die, but we can¡¯t lose this round.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ding Xiaobu wasn¡¯t very confident. When he saw Xiao Hongchen softening his stance, he immediately nodded like a donkey and stood to one side.

    Xiao Hongchen turned to the young man and said, ¡°It seems like we¡¯ll have to change our strategy for the team round. Lan Xiu, what¡¯s your suggestion?¡±

    Lan Xiu gestured, and all six of them gathered together to discuss their strategy.

    ---

    On the other side, Shrek had a few minutes to adjust their tactics before the team round started.

    ¡°Team leader, how are you?¡± Dai Huabin asked in concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s follow the n.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said.

    Zhu Lu, who was standing behind Dai Huabin, revealed a strange look in her eyes and lowered her head slightly. Her hands were tangled up in front of her body.

    Huo Yuhao was monitoring them throughout. With his spiritual power, it was easy for him to hear what they were discussing. Dai Huabin still knows how to show concern even though he¡¯s such an arrogant character? Qiu¡¯er¡¯s control over them is pretty strong. Or¡­

    A strange thought appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    After Wang Qiu¡¯er finished speaking, she immediately sat down in the waiting area and shut her eyes. She tried her best to suck in the soul power in the Milk Bottles to restore her soul power. Only she knew that she hadn¡¯t won thest three fights easily, even though they had appeared to be a breeze for her. The depletion of her soul power in the fight against Meng Hongchen was especially great.

    However, she had had no choice. She had had to use the quickest method to defeat her opponents and reduce their numbers to increase their own morale. Although she had exerted herself quite heavily, she had managed to fulfill her n.

    She had used up more than sixty percent of her soul power earlier. If not for the fact that Ding Xiaobu was frightened, it might have been an even greater number.

    She needed time to restore her soul power through the Milk Bottles. Although her speed of restoration greatly increased as she used two Milk Bottles at the same time, the burden on her also greatly increased. When Zheng Zhan¡¯s voice resonated from the stage, she had recovered only half of what she had expended.

    She stood up again and opened her eyes. Her dominant aura surged out. At this instant, the aura that she revealed was even more dominant than before. It was so domineering that it almost tore the huge stage apart.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she said softly. Her toes pointed toward the ground, and she changed into a streak of golden light as she ascended to the stage. Behind her, the rest of the team followed her up to the stage.

    ---

    On the other side, the six members from the Sun Moon team also went up on stage. Both parties faced each other as they proceeded towards the center of the stage.

    Zheng Zhan was impressed as he looked at both parties. The youths today are indeed very strong!

    ¡°Both parties, please report your names.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Dai Huabin.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Zhu Lu.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Ning Tian.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Cao Jinxuan.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Lan Susu.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Lan Luoluo.¡±

    Everyone from Shrek sounded very serious.

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Xiao Hongchen.¡±

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Meng Hongchen.¡±

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Lan Xiu.¡±

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Qiu Yi.¡±

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Ye Nongfeng.¡±

    ¡°Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Ding Xiaobu.¡±

    After hearing them report their names, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze turned towards Ding Xiaobu. She looked at him coldly. Ding Xiaobu shuddered a little as she watched him. Had Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pupils turned vertical?

    Just as they were reporting their names, no one noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was already shaking slightly. Following this, a gust of clear wind blew past him. The light around him distorted slightly.

    Even the rest of the members from the Tang Sect didn¡¯t sense anything.

    ¡°Both parties, retreat and prepare for the start of the fight.¡± Zheng Zhan didn¡¯t even instruct them before the fight began. Was there any point? They were arch-enemies, and were unlikely to heed his advice.

    As both parties retreated, they were already fighting through their gazes. When their gazes met, it seemed as if there were countless projections of knives grating against one another, creating sparks.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly felt something. When she turned around to look at the Tang Sect in the waiting area, she saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was looking at her without any expression. There weren¡¯t any emotions on his face.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a little stunned. She squinted, then quickly recovered. She led her team members to their side of the stage.

    As they turned around, Shrek¡¯s team went into their formation. Wang Qiu¡¯er was standing in front of everyone, the core of the entire team. To her left was Dai Huabin, to her right was Lan Susu. Zhu Lu was behind Dai Huabin, while Lan Luoluo was behind Lan Susu. Directly behind Wang Qiu¡¯er was Cao Jinxuan, followed by Ning Xuan. It was the same triangr formation, only with a change in personnel.

 Chapter 305.3: Intimidating Ones Enemies, Entering the Team Fight

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen weren¡¯t the two frontmost members of the Sun Moon team. Instead, up front was the tall and burly man called Qiu Yi. Hisplexion was very tan, and he was more than two meters tall. From the looks of it, he weighed at least a hundred and fifty kilos. His muscr arms were even thicker than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist. As he stood there, he looked like a human bear.

    The Hongchen siblings were standing behind Qiu Yi. Behind the two of them were Lan Xiu and Ye Nongfeng. Ding Xiaobu was the furthest back. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy formed a very weird rhombus-shaped formation.

    A triangr formation versus a rhombus formation. The auras of both teams were already in a state of mutual hostility even before they started fighting.

    ¡°Both parties, please get ready.¡± For some reason, Zheng Zhan started to feel very nervous. However, he was also very excited too. This fight had to be the pinnacle of shes in the younger generation. As the referee, he was also eager to see who would win.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    As Zheng Zhan shouted, this battle of glory and qualification between the top soul master academy and soul engineering academy on the continent started!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her right hand and the Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her palm. After that, she leapt forward and pulled her right hand back. She seemed like she was going to fling her spear.

    On the other side, Qiu Yi felt his goosebumps rising when Wang Qiu¡¯er did this. He roared as he thought about how Wang Qiu¡¯er was going to tear him apart. His hands sped in front of him, and a huge circr shield appeared in his palm.

    This circr shield was silvery-white. It had a protruding circle in the middle, and there were flowery patterns all over it. These patterns released gentle soul power undtions. In the center of the shield was a silvery-white gem asrge as two fists sped together.

    As he unleashed this shield, a wave of silver light shone from the gem as Qiu Yi poured his soul power into it. This silver light engulfed the entire shield, and even all his teammates behind him.

    After that, an icy-blue halo could be seen extending from Qiu Yi¡¯s feet. This halo started to spread until it covered the entire stage.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t just striking a pose. However, she didn¡¯t umte her power this time. In the next instant, her spear turned into a streak of golden light that shot straight towards Qiu Yi. A piercing sound reverberated throughout the entire stage.

    She unleashed her weapon the moment the fight started. What strategy was that?

    She followed her spear. Wang Qiu¡¯er touched her toes to the ground and burst forward like a bolt of lightning. Intense golden soul power was released from her body. Her first and second soul rings lit up, and dragon scales covered her body.

    Her teammates weren¡¯t slow, either. First, four streaks of lightsnded on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body simultaneously, which caused her to shine even brighter. Shrek¡¯s team had Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda,the best auxiliary-type martial soul in the world!

    She was controlling four enhancements at the same time, it was her limit. With her support, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura surged.

    Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo also burst forward at the same time. They divided themselves into two groups and lined up behind Wang Qiu¡¯er. Ning Tian¡¯s right palm was extended to one side of her body. Her Seven Treasures zed Pagoda started to shine, and streaks of flowing light shot out of her hands. A bright silver shuttle around two meters long appeared in front of her. As she stepped onto it, she drifted up a few feet and followed the others.

    Cao Jinxuan also unleashed his martial soul. The magical Time-psing Clock shone brightly behind him. However, he didn¡¯t use any soul skills at this point. His gaze was focused on the entire stage.

    As the golden light shot forward, Qiu Yi shouted and used his shield to block.

    Dang!...

    The golden light was deflected with a loud ringing sound, and returned instantly to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand. Qiu Yi took two steps back as the shield in his hand was struck by the spear, rippling with intense undtions of silver light.

    While Qiu Yi was only a five-ringed Soul King and ss 5 soul engineer, and his shield was a ss 6 soul tool. Among ss 6 defensive-type soul tools, it was one of the best, and qutie rare. It was a foot thick, and weighed more than five hundred kilos. Even so, it suffered under Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear, showing how strong Wang Qiu¡¯er was. It was very difficult to imagine that she possessed such great strength.

    However, the Sun Moon team started to retaliate at this point.

    The icy-blue halo spread further and further. It was the lethal poison of the Vermilion Clear Icetoad! Once this lethal poison spread, Shrek¡¯s fighting abilities were bound to be greatly depleted even if the fight couldn¡¯t be immediately ended. It was one of the most lethal weapons that the Sun Moon team could use.

    Icetoad Venom and Ice Venom Ring. The two teams had already covered more than half the distance between them as Meng Hongchen deployed her soul skills to their fullest. Wang Qiu¡¯er was the first to charge into the world of poison.

    Not only that, but nine balls of silver light also rose behind Qiu Yi¡¯s back. These nine balls of light drifted up into the air and formed an arc. Following this, nine streaks of silver light shot out at the same time. They wove a web of light in the air, blocking Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s path.

    The Golden Dragon Spear swept out and shed against the silver web. However, something strange urred. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength lost its effect for the first time. She was struck back by a strong rebound force.

    Behind the Hongchen siblings, Lan Xiu¡¯s eyes shone with silver light, and her hands were moving rhythmically. The nine balls of silver light revealed they were nine silvery metal balls, each of them asrge as a human¡¯s head.

    Lan Xiu was the Sun Moon team¡¯s main control-type soul master. This was also why Xiao Hongchen was very respectful towards him. A control-type soul engineer was very rare among soul engineers, but Lan Xiu chose this weird cultivation method for himself.

    These nine balls of silver light were called the Nine Glories. Before he started learning soul tools, he was already using the Nine Glories. Initially, they were created for him by his father. However, they were only a set of ss 2 soul tools back then. Lan Xiu had continuously perfected them using his talents and practiced his control of them. It must be said that he could only create such soul tools even though he was a soul engineer.

    The Nine Glories were actually nine separate soul tools. They belonged to a category of soul tools called deflective rays. These rays were special special light waves. They could deflect any type of attack. At the same time, controlling nine soul tools at the same time wasn¡¯t an easy feat. In addition, they had to be coordinated with one another.

    Lan Xiu was a rare spiritual-type soul master. However, his spiritual power was very pure, and couldn¡¯t be unleashed through an intermediary like Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. Without his soul engineering profession, he might even be unable to fight anyone. No one would have bothered to nurture him, either.

    However, things were different now. Based on his extraordinary spiritual power, he had disyed an extraordinary talent in using and controlling soul tools since he was young.

    The nine streaks of silver light intersected in the air and seemed to form a barrier that resisted Shrek''s first wave of attacks.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold Wang Qiu¡¯er. Go and settle the rest!¡± Lan Xiu shouted.

    As Wang Qiu¡¯er was struck back, she lifted her head to look at the nine balls of silver light. She raised her Golden Dragon Spear once again. This time, she aimed at the sky.

    The Nine Glories were also experiencing rapid changes in the air. The nine metal balls gathered together, and nine streaks of silver light shot out, forming a clump of silver light that came crashing down towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er flung her Golden Dragon Spear out, but it was deflected back by the clump of silver light. Following this, Wang Qiu¡¯er punched out with all her strength and struck the clump of silver light. It was destroyed, but she was also forced back more than ten meters. Her distance to the Sun Moon team increased.

    Beneath the stage, the expressions of everyone from the Tang Sect changed when they saw this scene. They are targeting Wang Qiu¡¯er too much. The deflective rays were a huge obstacle to Wang Qiu¡¯er and prevented her from using her strength. This greatly restricted Shrek''s abilities!

    Just as Wang Qiu¡¯er was forced back, another person appeared beside Qiu¡¯er. Rings of light shone from his body and rose. Barrel after barrel quickly took form as these rings of lights fused. This person was Xiao Hongchen!

    Two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings rose from his feet. Seven soul rings. He had seven soul rings! He was a Soul Sage!

    This was the first time in the history of the tournament that a Soul Sage had appeared. Even in the history of Shrek Academy, there had never been a twenty-year-old Soul Sage before. However, Xiao Hongchen had achieved this feat.

    Countless rounds of artillery fire were unleashed. Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and the Lan sisters were all engulfed, unable to advance.

    Ding Xiaobu had already disappeared behind the group and initiated an attack against Shrek''s team. Shrek''s team waspletely suppressed now.

    No one had expected such a situation. The Sun Moon team had been concealing their abilities until now. Xiao Hongchen hadn¡¯t fought at all before, and only revealed his extraordinary gifts at this point!

 Chapter 306.1: An Armor Made of Beautiful Ice Crystals

    It was an honor to be a Soul Sage before the age of twenty! In fact, only Xiao Hongchen knew the price he had paid for this. In the next five years, his cultivation wouldn¡¯t see any further improvements. He made this sacrifice so that he could be a Soul Sage before the tournament! It was very difficult to tell how he might improve in five years¡¯ time. However, he didn¡¯t have any regrets. He wanted to beat all his opponents and reach the highest peak of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament!

    Countless cannon barrels fired off. Meng Hongchen also appeared behind him. She was wearing an icy-blue suit of armor and holding a long blue sword in each of her hands. With the fastest speed she could muster, she burst towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Her earlier surrender was tactical. She was going to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er this time to save her reputation!

    There was another person behind Xiao Hongchen, Ye Nongfeng. At this point, Ye Nongfeng lifted a special soul tool to his shoulder. The back of the soul tool was cylindrical, while the front of it was full of coils. Rings of ring light were undting without any rhythm on these coils and gathering towards the triangr tip of the soul tool.

    Ye Nongfeng¡¯s nickname was the Destroyer. His abilities weren¡¯t that great, and his one-to-onebat abilities were extremely weak. However, he specialized in creating and using all types of unidirectional offensive soul tools. He was willing to sacrifice everything to pursue this extremity. Such a person possessed great strength when used in a team fight, just like the Tang Sect¡¯s Eye of Fear. He also possessed the ability to turn the tables in a fight. He and Qiu Yi were abination: he was in charge of attacking, while Qiu Yi was in charge of defense. They were initially secret weapons that were brought in as substitutes. However, a few of the Sun Moon team¡¯s main team members had been killed by the Tang Sect, so they now had no choice but to fight. They were now revealing their true abilities for the first time!

    ---

    Up on the main stage, the pale-looking Xu Tianran finally smiled. He looked at Jing Hongchen and heaved a sigh of relief. He said, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, you are really good at hiding things! These young people are the future pirs and talents of the empire.¡±

    Jing Hongchen sighed and replied, ¡°My grandson was very stubborn when it came to this tournament. To be honest, he consumed some special medicine to enable himself to cross the Rank 70 barrier and be an advanced-level soul engineer. However, he¡¯ll be affected by that medicine for the next few years. Before he¡¯s twenty-five, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll be unable to make any further improvements.¡±

    Xu Tianran said seriously, ¡°His spirit ismendable. He¡¯s willing to sacrifice for the glory of the country. No matter what happens to the Sun Moon team in the end, he¡¯ll be a pir of our empire in the future.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was relieved after hearing Xu Tianran¡¯s words. He was also very excited right now. As long as his grandson and granddaughter could defeat Shrek''s team in this fight, they would make history for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    ---

    The four who burst forward with Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t panic because their opponents demonstrated great strength. The four of them gathered together, andyers of light started to spread rapidly, forming a huge protective that covered all four of them. This was the Lan sisters¡¯ soul skill, the Hai!

    The four of them maintained their formation and quickly moved towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. With Ning Tian¡¯s enhancement, the Lan sisters¡¯ Hai became very resilient even though they only had four rings. The Hai managed to block all the streaks of lights that were fired towards them. However, it was very difficult for them to advance.

    Xiao Hongchen didn¡¯t panic at all. Lan Xiu and Meng Hongchen were enough to restrain Wang Qiu¡¯er. Not to mention that Wang Qiu¡¯er was depleted from the earlier fights, could she resist the suppression of two ss 6 soul engineers even if she was in her peak state? Lan Xiu was also a ss 6 soul engineer! Otherwise, how could he possibly control the Nine Glories, which were ss 6 soul tools?

    After Wang Qiu¡¯er was forced back, she didn¡¯t continue to fight her way out anymore. She started to shift positions quickly, and avoided the pursuit of the silver lights in the air.

    However, the Nine Glories seemed to be alive under Lan Xiu¡¯s control. The nine streaks of silver light intersected in the air. At times, they formed a cage. At other times, they formed a. Wang Qiu¡¯er was greatly restrained, and couldn¡¯t get close to the Sun Moon team.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er still remained very persistent even though she was greatly suppressed. Her gaze was as cold as ever. Her spear kept on shing, and she asionally lifted her head to observe the Nine Glories.

    She seemed to be waiting for something.

    At this point, Meng Hongchen arrived. Her pair of swords carried streaks of sword light that were unleashed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. In the air, the nine streaks of silver light descended at the same time. Three streaks were aimed towards her right arm, while the other six wove a cage that moved towards her body. They seemed to be trying to pin her to the ground.

    As Meng Hongchen arrived, the Vermilion Clear Icetoad¡¯s poison also started to engulf the entire Shrek team.

    However, ayer of blurry, golden light started to shine from everyone from Shrek''s team. The golden glow didn¡¯t appear to offer any form of defense, but it managed to block out the poison.

    Shrek''s team was prepared, knowing that Meng Hongchen could poison them. Shrek Academy had its own Soul Tool Department too!

    Every member of Shrek''s team was wearing a type of essory known as a istion-type soul tool. It could iste all types of aura from one¡¯s body. Such soul tools were very effective against lethal poisons and polluted gases. They were specially used to resist the abilities of certain special martial souls.

    They could even iste some special elements. Simply put, it could greatly iste the fire elements of an opponent¡¯s attack even though the impact of the attack couldn¡¯t be avoided.

    Of course, there was a price to pay for using such a soul tool. The depletion from using such a soul tool was equivalent to a ss 5 protective soul barrier. Even if one wasn¡¯t attacked, the depletion would still persist. However, the effect was very useful for Shrek''s team right now. They were isting the poison from the Vermilion Clear Icetoad!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood straight, without moving, as she faced a crisis. Against Meng Hongchen¡¯s sword lights, there was only a cold look in her eyes.

    You are still so arrogant at this point? Meng Hongchen was furious now. Although she had conceded defeat earlier for tactical reasons, she wasn¡¯t convinced by Wang Qiu¡¯er at all. They were both Soul Emperors, and she even possessed the abilities of a ss 6 soul engineer. She didn¡¯t think she was inferior to Wang Qiu¡¯er at all!

    At this point, the nine streaks of silver light that were crashing down towards Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped in the air.

    Yes, they stopped. Following this, a weird streak of light appeared above Lan Xiu¡¯s head. It was onlyrge as a palm as it drifted above Lan Xiu, but Lan Xiu seemed very lost, and the Nine Glories that he controlled started to dim.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones with a control-type soul master! Cao Jinxuan¡¯s first and fourth soul rings lit up at the same time.

    Just as the silver lights stalled in the air, Wang Qiu¡¯er exploited the ws that had been exposed. She ducked out of the encirclement of the silver lights. Following that, she stabbed her spear ferociously towards her opponent¡¯s chest.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s ss 6 ice swords couldn¡¯tpare to the Golden Dragon Spear in terms of length! Her sword lights had been unleashed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s vital areas under the assumption that she wouldn¡¯t be attacked by the Golden Dragon Spear.

    Shit, their control-type soul master is up!

    Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t dare to dy any further. The chest portion of her armor cracked open, and a barrel the size of a human head popped out. A beam of intense light shot out towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    This was an extremely powerful ss 6 energy-gathering soul cannon.

    What about Wang Qiu¡¯er? She didn¡¯t even have any intention to dodge, and followed her spear. She was one with her spear. A sonorous dragon roar reverberated across the entire venue as her third soul ring lit up.

    A golden dragon head burst forward from her right hand. It seemed like it wanted to swallow the Golden Dragon Spear.

    Boom!

    The energy-gathering soul cannon charge was instantly destroyed as it was struck by the spear. The indestructible spear continued to shoot forward, its tip was about to reach the cannon¡¯s mouth.

    Meng Hongchen was horrified, and an icy domain shone beneath her feet. This was her third soul skill, Ice Reflection. Within the domain of the Ice Reflection, she could shift her body as if she were using Instant Teleportation. Her first thought right now was to avoid the spear!

    As a light shed, Meng Hongchen shifted three feet to the side. The spear struck nothing, but Wang Qiu¡¯ernded following this. She forcefully stomped her right leg on the ground.

    Boom!

    When her right foot hit the ground, it felt as if a mature elephant hadnded after jumping off a building. Immense soundwaves and quakes affected the shes in the other areas.

    The ground cracked open, and the domain formed by the Ice Reflection was immediately crushed. The spear generated a gust of wind as it swept across. It seemed to form a golden wheel as it shot forward.

    This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting style, extremely strong and forceful!

    ¡°Meng,e back!¡± Xiao Hongchen shouted. He had originally thought that Lan Xiu and Meng Hongchen would be sufficient to deal with Wang Qiu¡¯er. At least, he believed they could suppress her, and after he dealt with the rest of them, this team round would more or less be decided.

 Chapter 306.2: An Armor Made of Beautiful Ice Crystals

    Xiao Hongchen hadn¡¯t expected Shrek¡¯s control-type soul master to break Lan Xiu¡¯s control instantly, severing his connection with his Nine Glories. This changed the entire situation!

    Meng Hongchen also wanted to return, but she had to handle Wang Qiu¡¯er first! Since she couldn¡¯t dodge, she could only sweep her swords and activate the abilities of these two ss 6 soul tools.

    An intense chill spread out from both swords. Two streaks of icy-blue light intersected as they shot towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. While my swords aren¡¯t as long as your spear, my sword lights are faster than you!

    However, Meng Hongchen didn¡¯t understand Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s character. How could she let Meng Hongchen escape with such a good opportunity presented to her?

    The red lights used to deal with Ding Xiaobu earlier appeared again. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes turned blood-red. The golden scales on her body opened up, and her aura changed. The spear continued on its trajectory and seemed topletely ignore the two des.

    You underestimate me too much! Meng Hongchen was furious. She couldn¡¯t dodge at this point. She quickly summoned her soul power. She thought to herself, I¡¯d like to see who¡¯s going to be hurt more!

    Pfft pfft..

    Bang---!

    The two light desnded on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body first. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t even move. The des shed once before dimming after they struck her. Her scales started to tremble violently, and her clothes were also torn in two areas.

    After that, Meng Hongchen flew back.

    A crisp, snapping sound rang out, and her ss 6 swords were broken into four pieces by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear. After that, the spear struck Meng Hongchen in the chest.

    That banging sound was generated from the spear. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fourth soul ring also shone at this point.

    Fourth soul skill ¨C Golden Dragon Explosion! Sixth soul skill ¨C Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust!

    With the help of these two soul skills, Wang Qiu¡¯er was in her peak condition right now. Why did she choose her Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust? It was a decent soul skill for an ordinary soul master, but it was very average for a true, elite soul master. After all, this soul skill could only be used on one person. To most soul masters, using such a soul skill only increased their physical strength by thirty percent. The effect on their soul power wasn¡¯t too pronounced.

    However, it was different for Wang Qiu¡¯er! She possessed Ultimate Strength! How strong would she be if her physical strength increased by another thirty percent? Moreover, she would be in the Bloodlust state of a Golden Dragon. The increase wouldn¡¯t just be thirty percent! In addition, she still had Ning Tian¡¯s Seven Treasures zed Pagoda strengthening her. Her strength had reached a frightening level!

    None of the Sun Moon team understood Wang Qiu¡¯er, which left Meng Hongchen at a huge disadvantage.

    Meng Hongchen spat blood as she flew through the air. She collided with the barrier on the other side of the arena before falling to the ground. Not only were her swords broken, but the protective armor in front of her chest had also cracked. Her arms were hurt, and she was bleeding profusely.

    This attack hurt her internal organs. Meng Hongchen was critically injured!

    ¡°Younger sister!¡± Xiao Hongchen shouted. His eyes turned red, and he burst out. All his barrelsbined to form a huge cannon that was more than half a meter in diameter before it fired towards the Lan sisters¡¯ Hai. At the same time, he rushed towards Meng Hongchen.

    At this point, a strange bolt of white lightning appeared silently in front of Xiao Hongchen. The bolt of lightning targeted Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was still in her original position after she took down Meng Hongchen.

    This bolt of lightning was too sudden. An intense glow quickly engulfed Wang Qiu¡¯er. It was so quick that she didn¡¯t have time to dodge.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body started to shake tremendously, and an astonishing scene appeared. Her powdery-blue hair started to turn pale-white. It lost its glow, and she fell to her knees. She was aging at an rming speed.

    This was¡­

    Apart from Huo Yuhao, the rest of the Tang Sect¡¯s members stood up. He Caitou was the most shocked. This was a soul tool that he and Huo Yuhao had never seen before.

    These were aging rays. It was a new soul tool that the Illustrious Virtue Hall had invented. Once one was struck by these aging rays, their life power would quickly be depleted and they would quickly turn old and frail. In a worst case scenario, they might even die. If their life power wasn¡¯t replenished in time, or wasn¡¯t strong enough, they would die from old age.

    It was a powerful ss 7 soul tool! It was still in the experimental stage, and could only be used on one subject. The person who researched this soul tool was none other than the one using it right now, Ye Nongfeng. He was known as the Destroyer, one of the most extreme talents among the younger generation of Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s disciples. He was only interested in soul tools that could cause annihtion!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forehead and right arm started to show wrinkles.

    After unleashing this attack, Ye Nongfeng also started to look very pale. He was only a ss 5 soul engineer. He had needed to use a Milk Bottle to activate this soul tool. More than eighty percent of his soul power had already been depleted, but his eyes were filled with a look of maniacal excitement. Wang Qiu¡¯er was the first human subject he had used this soul tool on, and its effects were very obvious. This aging ray was invented and designed by him, and some other strong individuals in the Illustrious Virtue Hall then helped him toplete it. Jing Hongchen had deliberately modified this soul tool for him to use as a reward for his pioneering spirit.

    Indeed, it performed a miracle right now.

    ¡°Team leader!¡± the rest of Shrek¡¯s team eximed at this moment. To them, Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t just their team leader, she was their spiritual leader. If Wang Qiu¡¯er copsed, their morale and fighting spirit would be gone.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± The Hai was destroyed. Dai Huabin activated his White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation to resist Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack. Seeing that Wang Qiu¡¯er had descended to such a state, his eyes turned red. He peered into the sky and roared furiously. He used his right hand to pull Zhu Lu into his embrace.

    Instantly, a beam of strong white light shot into the sky. The entire stage turned into a world of ck and white. A huge white tiger appeared from the sky, and seemed to traverse through space, instantly arriving in front of Ye Nongfeng, wing at him!

    At this point, Lan Xiu also recovered from Cao Jinxuan¡¯s Time Lock, and quickly activated his Nine Glories. He was about to stop the attack of the Netherworld White Tiger.

    However, the Netherworld White Tiger was a martial soul fusion skill. It was a skill that two noble families of the Star Luo Empire hadbined to unleash for thousands of years. Their ancestors had even followed the first-generation Sea God, Tang San, into the Divine Realm.

    The Netherworld White Tiger resisted the nine deflection rays. After that, the tiger swept Qiu Yi to one side with its ws. Following that, it shut its ws and furiously attacked Ye Nongfeng until he waspletely crushed. It was only when the Nine Glories struck again that the tiger was forced back. Qiu Yi quickly returned in front of Lan Xiu, and his shield shone with silver light, boosting his defense to its maximum level. The attack of the Netherworld White Tiger had been too sudden, and it came when they were at an advantage. Ye Nongfeng¡¯s death was due to his carelessness!

    On Shrek¡¯s side, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu weren¡¯t the only ones who acted. The Lan sisters also demonstrated their full abilities at this point. They held each other¡¯s hands and burst into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they filled the sky above the stage before descending. They were going straight for Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the Nine Glories.

    This was their fusion skill, Empyreal Net.

    This was the true ability of Shrek¡¯s team. Two martial soul fusion skills were used at the same time, increasing their fighting strength significantly. Of course, the price to pay for using these two fusion skills was also very big. After using them, their soul power would drop significantly. If not for the fact that Wang Qiu¡¯er was struck by the aging ray, they wouldn¡¯t have used their fusion skills.

    At this point, a figure silently crept up behind Wang Qiu¡¯er and stabbed a transparent Draconic Dagger towards the back of her neck.

    Ding Xiaobu, who had disappeared earlier, finally appeared. He had used some method to conceal himself temporarily.

    ¡°Team leader!¡± Cao Jinxuan and Ning Tian shouted at the same time. However, they had discovered it toote. At this point, the dagger was already stabbing towards Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s neck.

    As he looked at the pale, long hair in front of him, Ding Xiaobu¡¯s eyes were filled with excitement. If he could kill Wang Qiu¡¯er, there would be a great reward for him!

    Where was Zheng Zhan? When the Netherworld White Tiger appeared, he was alreadygging. The situation was tooplex. Wang Qiu¡¯er and the Hongchen siblings had taken most of his attention.

    He hadn¡¯t expected a martial soul fusion skill to appear in front of Ye Nongfeng, who had lost most of his fighting strength. When he rushed over, it was already toote. Ding Xiaobu was also exploiting this distraction and attempting to kill Wang Qiu¡¯er!

 Chapter 306.3: An Armor Made of Beautiful Ice Crystals

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was on the verge of death. However, something strange happened. A white, icy flower started to bloom behind the back of her neck.

    As a ding sounded, Ding Xiaobu¡¯s de was deflected away by the flower.

    Following this, a miraculous scene urred. That icy flower rippled with rings of golden light. A weird light distorted the air. The entire stage was dyed golden, with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body the center of it. After this, a huge, golden vertical eye drifted up in mid-air, and gusts of air dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body upward.

    Every gust of air left a dazzling radiance around Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wherever they passed, pieces of armor would appear on her body.

    First, her chest was covered with armor. On this section of the armor, there were bright, flowery patterns. The icy flower kept on extending around her. What was weirder was that a vertical eye also appeared on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forehead. The eye was shining with golden light. On closer inspection, the light from the eye seemed to actually belong to¡­

    The golden armor quickly engulfed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s entire body, her aura soaring. Sonorous dragon roars were ringing out continuously. Her pale-white hair started to regain its glow and powdery-blue color from the roots. An illusory, golden dragon-shaped projection started to revolve around her body. The armor behind her back was carved with the image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. However, her long hair covered half the image. Despite this, the scorpion tail that extended all the way to her hip region could be seen clearly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er slowly stood up straight, like a newly born war goddess. She pointed her spear forward, and the golden vertical eye in the air suddenly turned into a streak of golden light before it descended. Under the illumination of the golden light, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s entire body became thirty percentrger, and the golden dragon that surrounded her also seemed to turn real.

    What was going on?

    After he witnessed the changes to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body, Xiao Hongchen revealed a grim look in his eyes.

    Did she mutate? Is she from the Body Sect, and this is the second awakening of her Body Soul? How is this possible? Her martial soul is already so strong. If this is its second Awakening, itpletely vites thews of nature!

    ¡°Ding Xiaobu, out.¡± Just as Xiao Hongchen was in a daze, Zheng Zhan had already used his Divine Unbreakable Shield to block the golden light that had almost pierced Ding Xiaobu¡¯s chest. This time, he was forced several meters back due to the impact, and knocked into Ding Xiaobu.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er, who waspletely covered in armor, revealed a strange look in her eyes. She had mushroomed in size. She was like a valkyrie that had descended upon the battlefield.

    Just one gaze caused Zheng Zhan to shudder. This aura¡­

    Nine streaks of silver light descended from the sky. The Netherworld White Tiger was deflected away again. It was a fusion skill that could be used continuously in a fight, which was very rare. However, its fighting strength would weaken as time passed if the users¡¯ cultivations weren¡¯t strong enough. After its initial outburst, the Netherworld White Tiger was restrained by Qiu Yi¡¯s ss 7 shield and Lan Xiu¡¯s Nine Glories.

    On the other side, the Hongchen siblings, who were trapped in the Empyreal Net, also demonstrated their strongest abilities.

    ¡°Gua!...¡± Meng Hongchen let out a weird sound. Following this, she grew a sizerger. She seemed to be lifting the sky with her hands before her sixth soul ring lit up. She was going to use her sixth soul skill, which she had never used before.

    She sucked in her gut and grit her teeth. She appeared ferocious now, even though she was bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth.

    Her back arched, and a bulge quickly rose. Layer uponyer of icy-blue light started to rise continuously form her, and a terrifying aura was soaring.

    Xiao Hongchen was much stronger than his sister. A streak of dark-gold light shone from his body. He fell forward and also let out the same sound as his sister before turning into a Three-Legged Golden Toad.

    However, he only maintained the Three-Legged Golden Toad form for a moment before another transformation urred. He changed into a golden powder that quickly disintegrated before gathering together again. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a huge soul fort with countless barrels. Countless streaks of light shot out and resisted the Empyreal Net. There were even a huge number of soul rays that were aimed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er and the rest of Shrek¡¯s team. Ning Tian and Cao Jinxuan were the focus of the greatest firepower. This showed that Xiao Hongchen could tell that the two of them were very important in enhancing Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength.

    Cao Jinxuan and Ning Tian didn¡¯t panic at all. Ning Tian stepped onto her shuttle beforending in front of Cao Jinxuan. Although her shuttle couldn¡¯t fly very high and could only remain three meters above the ground at most, it was still very quick. Following this, ayer of golden light lit up on her body. Invincible Barrier!

    Xiao Hongchen was a seven-ringed Soul Sage and a ss 7 soul engineer. The strength of the soul tools that he unleashed was extremely high. However, he couldn¡¯t ovee an Invincible Barrier used by a five-ringed Soul King! The appearance of soul tools gave many auxiliary-type soul engineers the ability to defend themselves on a battlefield, it wasn¡¯t something only realized in the Sun Moon Empire!

    The Seven Treasures zed Sect had been very invested in soul tools over the past few years. Their aim was to mitigate the defensive weaknesses of their direct disciples.

    With the defense of the Invincible Barrier, Xiao Hongchen couldn¡¯t kill Ning Tian and Cao Jinxuan without using his full strength.

    Compared to the two of them, the Lan sisters weren¡¯t doing too well. The two of them had used quite a lot of strength to unleash the Empyreal Net. However, there was a limit to how much their strength would increase even if they were using a fusion skill. Their control of the Empyreal Net could match up to a Soul Emperor, but they were facing a Soul Sage!

    Their Empyreal Net was quickly dispelled by the soul rays. The Lan sisters looked very pale. In such an intense fight, their inferior cultivations were still limiting factors. No matter what, there was still a gap between the overall abilities of Shrek¡¯s team and the Sun Moon team.

    A simr situation urred for the Netherworld White Tiger. The illusory light from the tiger¡¯s body started to dim. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s fusion skill couldn¡¯tst any longer.

    While it seemed like Shrek had gained an advantage earlier, this advantage was now slowly being eroded by the Sun Moon team.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er moved at this point. She lunged forward with her left leg and her spear in front of Xiao Hongchen. She was very quick. It was very different from earlier when she had used her strength to enhance her abilities.

    Her spear thrust out, and the soul rays that were targeted towards her were destroyed. Her target was the Steel Fortress that Xiao Hongchen had formed!

    At this point, Meng Hongchen erupted after shepleted her preparations. She bent forward and grabbed hold of her ankles. The bulge on her back burst open, and streaks of white, fluid light shot out towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Even though there were only slightly more than ten streaks of these lights, an indescribable, nausea-inducing feeling surfaced when they appeared behind her. Even Xiao Hongchen quickly backed off and increased his distance from his sister.

    This was the Vermilion Clear Icetoad¡¯s sixth soul skill, Corrosive Ice. She condensed her poison into a fluid beforebining it with her soul power. Not only was its impact force great, the intensity of the poison was also extreme. This was Meng Hongchen¡¯s most lethal soul skill. She had tested it once before; one drop of her Corrosive Ice was sufficient to kill a Diamond Mammoth, an extremelyrge soul beast.

    As for humans, even a Soul Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the poison. Five and six-ringed soul masters¡¯ Invincible Barriers would also bepletely corroded upon contact with her poison. More frighteningly, her Corrosive Ice could lock onto its target, and would pursue it. There was no way to avoid it, and it could pursue its target for up to a minute.

    The streaks of fluid that contained massive amounts of poison were targeted towards Wang Qiu¡¯er. Meng Hongchen was critically hurt by her earlier, and hated her immensely. She had used all her strength in this attack. Right now, her face was also very pale. The strength of her Corrosive Ice meant that she had used up almost all of her soul power. Its strength was equivalent to three six-ringed soul skills used by an ordinary soul master!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to sense something, and stopped. When the poisonous fluid was about to touch her, it suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if it had been frozen. It was converted into ice crystals, and the stench of the poison also disappeared.

    Meng Hongchen¡¯s life power seemed to have been sucked dry. Her entire face turned pale-white, and she took two steps back. She lost control of her voice as she said, ¡°Impossible, impossible! How can my Corrosive Ice be frozen?!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Xiao Hongchen, who was clearly aware of his sister¡¯s abilities, was also astonished. He was in his Martial Soul True Body right now. When he realized things were amiss, he changed form once again.

    The greatest strength of his Golden Toad True Body was that it could quickly turn into a soul tool of any form. It was different from using soul skills. When he entered such a state, the soul tools that he agglomerated were no longer restricted by size, only by his own cultivation. It also meant that any soul tool that he formed now was at least ss 7!

 Chapter 307.1: The Last Clash

    As a dark-golden light shed, Xiao Hongchen changed into a single heavy cannon. The body of the cannon was extremely thick, and the barrel was more than a meter in diameter. Intense golden light shot out towards Wang Qiu¡¯er, who wasn¡¯t very far away.

    The poisonous crystals were crushed and scattered in the air, but the golden light was about to reach her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t dodge. Patches of ice flowers condensed in front of her body, which quickly formed ayer of diamond ice crystals. Golden sparks quickly rose from her body. Roaring mightily, the golden dragon around her body instantly grew in size and blocked Xiao Hongchen¡¯s attack.

    As she focused her gaze on him, Wang Qiu¡¯er thrust her spear out again. Golden light shed, and the cannon was crushed. However, the golden light was like a fluid, flowing away to regroup and form another heavy cannon. That cannon was fired at Wang Qiu¡¯er once again.

    At this point, nine streaks of silver light descended and engulfed Wang Qiu¡¯er at the same time. The Nine Glories had unleashed their strength once again.

    The Netherworld White Tiger had already ended. Both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were attacking frantically as they panted in exhaustion. However, their attacks were resisted by Qiu Yi¡¯s shield. Lan Xiu had exploited this opportunity to help Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

    Nine streaks of silver light crashed down. Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her head to look at the sky. It was only at this point that the look in her eyes became clear again.

    A sonorous dragon roar sounded. She trembled, and a frightening force was released from her body. The dragon surrounding her quickly expanded and destroyed the rays that were targeting her. After that, she bent her upper body back and unleashed her spear, hurling it upwards before she straightened her waist and charged towards Xiao Hongchen.

    Her Golden Dragon Spear flew out five meters and changed into nine streaks of golden light.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

    Nine booms sounded at the same time. The Nine Glories instantly turned into broken scrap. Their rays weren¡¯t able to stop the attack from the Golden Dragon Spear!

    Lan Xiu copsed to the ground after his soul tools were destroyed. He had used all his spiritual power on these nine soul tools, so his spiritual power was critically damaged at this point.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s cannon paused for a moment as Cao Jinxuan started to bleed from his eyes and nose. His Time-psing Clock had made an opening for Wang Qiu¡¯er again!

    Boom!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er collided hard with the huge cannon. Xiao Hongchen wasn¡¯t flung back from this collision. When the dark-golden lights dissolved, he was in his normal form and flipped upwards. It seemed like he was trying to trap Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Not far away, the pale Meng Hongchen leapt towards him. She was a streak of white light that collided with her brother.

    It was their martial soul fusion skill, Hongchen¡¯s Yearning!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was restrained by the golden lights that had risen again. However, she released a chill from her body and prevented the golden lights from taking proper form again.

    When Meng Hongchen arrived, both siblings let out an intense golden glow. Their terrifying auras changed into a colorful rising whirlpool. The Hongchen siblings and Wang Qui¡¯er were all in the center of the whirlpool!

    Everyone was stunned by this scene. This was a life-and-death battle! There was no other way of resolving this fight!

    If Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were able to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er, they wouldn¡¯t have a problem defeating the rest of Shrek¡¯s team. If the opposite happened, the Sun Moon team wouldn¡¯t be able to resist Shrek¡¯s team any further, either.

    Everyone subconsciously stopped. All of their gazes were fixed on the whirlpool, which was a mix of gold, red, blue, white, and many other colors. Within the terrifying whirlpool, there was a violent undtion of soul power. Even Zheng Zhan felt a little afraid as he looked at the whirlpool.

    ¡°Why did you help me?¡± Stuck in the whirlpool, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s called out in her mind.

    A gentle voice replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t just helping you; I was helping Shrek, too. Shrek¡¯s glory doesn¡¯t just belong to all of you.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡­¡±

    The whirlpool continued to grow in size. From an initial diameter of three meters, it quickly expanded to ten meters, and was even expanding at an increasing rate. When it reached close to thirty meters in diameter, everyone had to retreat frantically so that they wouldn¡¯t be affected by it.

    What was going on? Who were the victors and losers? Even though many people reckoned that the Hongchen Siblings wouldn¡¯t lose given theirbined seven-ringed and six-ringed abilities, Wang Qiu¡¯er still showed how dominant she was! However, no one knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er was using her martial soul fusion skill right now. It was a fusion skill between her and a certain someone.

    It was the Dragon Roar of Destiny!

    In the center of the whirlpool, a golden vertical eye slowly appeared. It was filled with depth and majesty, and could even see past the mysteries of destiny.

    Countless streaks of golden light were released from that golden vertical eye. The entire whirlpool stopped, and then started to decrease in size at an rming rate.

    In mid-air, a slender figure formed from the golden vertical eye. The golden lights returned to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hand as her spear. Right now, her veil was already crushed. Her ravishing looks were visible in front of everyone at this moment.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    It was such a familiar appearence! Commotion immediately ensued. Why? Why is she onstage? Isn¡¯t she thedy formed from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯s martial soul fusion skill?

    Her ravishing looks were too memorable. Right now, everyone was shocked.

    On the main stage, Jing Hongchen had already lost his cool, and shouted, ¡°Stop the fight!¡± However, it was a pity that his voice couldn¡¯t pass through the barriers.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er changed into a streak of golden-white flowing light before she dashed down. She turned into a huge golden dragon covered in icy armor as she moved.

    This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul skill in her Dragon Roar of Destiny state, Golden Dragon¡¯s Roar!

    Bang!

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!...

    The entire stage was boiling as if it had been struck by a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. A frightening explosive force was being unleashed, with the whirlpool at the center of the explosion.

    The rest of the members from both teams were instantly flung into the air by the horrifying impact of the explosion, smashing into the barriers at the sides. The center of the stage even caved in a few meters.

    Zheng Zhan protected his body using his Divine Unbreakable Shield. He stared at the the core of the explosion. Even he couldn¡¯t intervene in such a confrontation. Any movement of his could potentially affect the result of the fight!

    Young people nowadays are too strong! The explosion that had just urred was probably at a Soul Douluo¡¯s level of power. However, they were only two Soul Emperors and a Soul Sage!

    Debris fell from the sky. The shockwaves from the explosionsted for more than ten seconds before they faded away.

    The soul engineers who maintained the defensive formation around the stage experienced more than a one-third dip in theirbined soul power, but they managed to keep the barriers from being damaged. After all, the explosion was proportionally distributed around the entire stage. If the explosion had been targeted at one point, these barriers might not have been able to resist it.

    The entire stage seemed to have been hammered by a titan. There was a huge depression forty meters in diameter and five meters in depth at the center of the stage now!

    Everyone¡¯s attention was first captured by a golden figure. Wang Qiu¡¯er was standing proudly at the center of the stage in the depression. Right now, her armor had already disappeared, and she had returned to her original size. However, she still looked as beautiful as the Goddess of Light!

    A stream of blood flowed down the edge of her lips. However, this didn¡¯t affect how ravishing she appeared. Right now, she had left a deep and memorable impression in many people¡¯s minds as she stood there like a valkyrie.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were separated to either side of her. Meng Hongchen was down on one knee, and spitting out blood. She seemedpletely out of energy now.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s condition was even worse than hers. He was back in human form. He looked as if he had been knocked down, as there were many wounds on his body, and his limbs were twisted around. It was difficult to tell if he was alive or dead.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er slowly turned around and looked at Lan Xiu and Qiu Yi before coldly asking, ¡°Are we still going to continue this team round?¡±

    Zheng Zhan had no choice but to intervene. He could tell that the Hongchen siblings weren¡¯t in good shape. If he didn¡¯t announce the end of the fight, their lives might be in danger.

    ¡°The team round goes to Shrek¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± A furious voice sounded. The barriers around the stage were removed, and Jing Hongchen burst onto the stage. He arrived beside Xiao Hongchen in the blink of an eye and quickly gave him a pill. After that, he stood up and shouted, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this fight! We need to investigate thoroughly. Do not announce the oue yet!¡±

    After he finished speaking, amotion ensued. While they had lost the team round, everyone had to admit that it was an exciting fight, and extremely intense. But Jing Hongchen¡¯s sudden appearance stalled the announcement of the result of this fight, and left everyone with an ominous feeling.

 Chapter 307.2: The Last Clash

    ¡°Is the Sun Moon Empire trying to be a sore loser?¡± a cold voice sounded. Following this, a streak of light descended from the sky andnded beside Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    It wasn¡¯t an outsider; it was the eldest senior sister of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, Zhang Lexuan.

    Jing Hongchen looked at the tragic state his grandson was in, and waspletely heartbroken! It took only a simple inspection to ascertain that Xiao Hongchen¡¯s internal organs were critically hurt, and his limbs werepletely fractured. It was unknown whether he could even survive, much less recover!

    ¡°I said there¡¯s something wrong with this fight. We need an investigation!¡± Jing Hongchen bellowed, his eyespletely red.

    Zhang Lexuan replied coldly, ¡°Alright, point out the problem if you think there is one. Even though this is the Sun Moon Empire and we¡¯re from Shrek, I believe the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens can see for themselves. What right do you have to doubt our students? Tell me. If you can point out any evidence to prove that we used unfair methods, we¡¯ll concede defeat.¡±

    ---

    Just as they were bickering on the stage, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shuddered slightly. However, he soon regained normalcy. It was just that his expression was a little pale. He coughed gently and used his hand to cover his mouth. He rubbed away a tinge of blood at the edge of his lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er whispered into his ear.

    Huo Yuhao looked over at her and smiled. ¡°I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to hide it from you.¡±

    ¡°You must tell me what happened when we return. What was with Qiu¡¯er¡¯s armor?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked softly.

    ¡°This¡­ I still have a tournament tonight,¡± Huo Yuhao reminded her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er snorted and didn¡¯t continue speaking. However, she grabbed his right hand and transferred some of her soul power to him.

    ---

    Zhang Lexuan wasn¡¯t going to give in. Jing Hongchen wanted to end the fight and treat his grandson¡¯s injuries, but that had to wait now.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s clear things up. Wang Qiu¡¯er, tell me, what¡¯s your background? Why do you look so much like the martial soul fusion skill exhibited by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong? We need an exnation.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯erughed scornfully. ¡°Is there a problem just because I look like her?¡±

    Jing Hongchen coldly replied, ¡°You look identical to a martial soul fusion skill!¡±

    Another voice sounded at this point. ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, you don¡¯t have to find a reason. Qiu¡¯er is only identical to me because we are sisters.¡±

    As this voice sounded, a figure jumped onto the stage and came up beside Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Jing Hongchen was in a daze. He realized at this point that Wang Dong and Wang Qiu¡¯er looked very simr.

    ¡°Sisters?¡± Jing Hongchen muttered. Following this, he was shocked when Wang Dong¡¯er removed the hairband that held her hair together. Her powdery-blue hair flowed down, and she gently rubbed off the camouge on her face and neck, revealing her true appearance.

    Suddenly, an identical pair of faces appeared in front of everyone¡¯s eyes.

    Such a ravishing look actually belonged to two people. Wang Dong and Wang Qiu¡¯er. They¡­

    Meng Hongchen shivered when she saw this. She wanted to say something, but she couldn¡¯t. Her eyes rolled upwards before she copsed to the ground.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said loudly, ¡°My name is Wang Dong¡¯er, and this is my elder sister, Wang Qiu¡¯er. The Raiment of Light that Yuhao and I exhibit is mainly controlled by me. Is there a problem because it looks like me? Are our identical looks a reason to decide the oue of the fight? Hallmaster Hongchen, your grandson and granddaughter lost the fight. You are representing the Sun Moon Empire if you are trying to be a sore loser.¡±

    ¡°The, the two of you¡­¡± Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t expected such a situation. Wang Dong was actually a woman. He still recalled that his own granddaughter seemed to¡­

    ¡°Hallmaster, quickly treat your grandson. He¡¯s critically injured.¡± Zheng Zhan was already beside Jing Hongchen at this point, and whispered in his ear. At this point, Zheng Zhan also seemed very grim. As the referee, he had been humiliated because Jing Hongchen stopped him from announcing the result of the fight! However, Jing Hongchen¡¯s grandchildren were already in such a state. This fight was very important to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he understood this clearly!

    Jing Hongchen shot a vicious re at Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er before he snorted in anger. He raised his hand and wielded a beam of red light, dragging his grandchildren¡¯s bodies to him before flying off.

    Zhang Lexuan immediately turned his attention to Zheng Zhan and said, ¡°Referee, I think it¡¯s time to announce the result.¡±

    Zheng Zhan nodded. After taking a deep look at them, he announced, ¡°The round is over! Shrek Academy wins the team round!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve, we¡¯ve won¡­¡± Ning Tian muttered to herself.

    Dai Huabin hugged Zhu Lu and was filled with excitement and wild joy. The Lan sisters hugged each other and started weeping.

    Cao Jinxuan looked around him and realized there was no one to celebrate with. At this point, Zhou Sichen rushed up to the stage and picked him up.

    ¡°We¡¯ve won! We¡¯ve defeated Sun Moon! We¡¯ve defended Shrek¡¯s glory!¡±

    ---

    In the resting area, everyone from the Tang Sect apart from Huo Yuhao stood up, clenching their fists tightly. At this point, they felt as if they had returned to five years ago when they defeated the Sun Moon team in thest tournament. Yes, Shrek had won! Shrek¡¯s glory had been defended once again!

    It is indeed unfair. Huo Yuhao thought to himself as he sat in his wheelchair. So what? So what if it¡¯s unfair, if I¡¯m doing this for Shrek¡¯s glory? Is it fair that the Sun Moon team is using soul tools specially created for them by the Illustrious Virtue Hall? In this world, there¡¯s no absolute fairness.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Huo Yuhao covered his mouth with his hand and wiped away another patch of blood. He was even more hurt than Wang Qiu¡¯er during the final sh. After all, he had helped her block many attacks. Rather than saying Shrek had won, it was more urate to say that both parties had suffered greatly. If not for the fact that Meng Hongchen¡¯s soul power had been depleted earlier, and she was also injured, thest confrontation between both parties might have even been even worse.

    Huo Yuhao had changed into a suit of armor and relied on Wang Qiu¡¯er to control their fusion skill. Furthermore, he had used his Imitation so there was no way anyone could find out.

    ---

    On the stage, Wang Qiu¡¯er gently copsed onto Zhang Lexuan. However, she revealed a rare smile on her face. She turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao. She didn¡¯t say anything, but she revealed the slightest tinge of gentleness in her weakened state.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled at Wang Dong¡¯er, saying, ¡°Dong¡¯er, thanks.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°We are all from Shrek Academy. Eldest senior sister, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony! Furthermore, I think everyone will believe me if I im to be Qiu¡¯er¡¯s sister. Qiu¡¯er, are you willing to be my elder sister?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned for a moment. A weird look shed across her eyes. ¡°Elder sister?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er realized that she had misunderstood her, and rushed to correct her words. ¡°It¡¯s fine in that way, but not fine in that other way.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a momentary daze, and she revealed a bitter look on her face. ¡°I know. I¡¯d like to rest for a while. Eldest senior sister, let¡¯s return.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhang Lexuan sent Wang Dong¡¯er a deep gaze before helping Wang Qiu¡¯er off the stage.

    ---

    This exciting fight was finally over. Shrek had defeated the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. At this point, they had won six matches along with the Tang Sect. They were going to qualify! Theirst match with the Tang Sect was going to determine their cing in the group.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was spent today. Although it wasn¡¯t obvious, it was clearly evident that she was gravely hurt from how weak she was. Fortunately, Shrek didn¡¯t lose any members. What kind of sparks would be created in their sh with the Tang Sect?

    After the Sun Moon team¡¯s loss, the spectators were feeling down. However, they were most embarrassed by Jing Hongchen¡¯s intervention. Their hatred for Shrek had diminished a little. Of course, it also had to do with Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er. They were both too beautiful! If they were from the Sun Moon Empire, they would have been goddesses in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ---

    Up on the main stage, Prince Regent Xu Tianran¡¯s expression was changing unpredictably. However, this didn¡¯t continue for too long. After a while, he put a smile on his face and said, ¡°Tell the imperial physician to make a trip to the Illustrious Virtue Hall to treat the Hongchen siblings. He must heal them at all costs.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you are very generous,¡± Ju Ziplimented him.

    Xu Tianran smiled at her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s return. Imperial Tutor, I¡¯ll need to rely on you for the remaining rounds of the tournament.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The Imperial Tutor grunted, but Xu Tianran didn¡¯t seem to be bothered. Ju Zi stood up and pushed his wheelchair as he left.

    ¡°Your Highness, do we need to pacify the citizens? I¡¯m afraid today¡¯s defeat¡­¡± Ju Zi said softly as she pushed him along.

    Xu Tianran replied, ¡°What¡¯s there to pacify, since their skills aren¡¯t up to par? Let it die down. The tournament hasn¡¯t ended yet, so I don¡¯t think their attention will dwell too much on this matter. Send someone to investigate Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s background. I still think there¡¯s something wrong. She seems a little too strong. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s martial soul fusion skill can even trouble an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, but Wang Qiu¡¯er is only a six-ringed Soul Emperor. How was she able to win so easily? She was even depleted in the earlier fights. Something must be wrong. Humiliation! It¡¯s a humiliation! If not for the fact that Jing Hongchen is still useful¡­ hmph!¡±

 Chapter 307.3: The Last Clash

    A cold light shed across Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes. He shut his eyes and didn¡¯t speak further. Ju Zi felt a chill run down her spine. He wasn¡¯t being generous! It was only because Jing Hongchen and his Illustrious Virtue Hall were still useful, and thus Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t willing to offend him, so he tolerated the defeat. Xu Tianran was too scary¡­

    ------

    The Ming Yue Hotel...

    Wang Dong¡¯er retracted her left hand and asked curiously, ¡°Tell me, what happened?¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t hide things any further, and revealed how he was able to form a martial soul fusion skill with Wang Qiu¡¯er. He also recounted how he was able to unleash the Dragon Roar of Destiny.

    After hearing his recounting of events, Wang Dong¡¯er was in a daze. It was too much of a coincidence. Not only did Wang Qiu¡¯er look identical to her, but she could also form a fusion skill with Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er snorted furiously and jumped off from the bed.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, I was in the wrong,¡± Huo Yuhao said submissively.

    An amused look shed across Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes, but she ced her hands on her hips before furiously saying, ¡°Do you know why you were in the wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was clever. ¡°I know. I shouldn¡¯t have kept the truth from you. I was only afraid that you¡¯d misunderstand, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t tell you anything. However, my Dong¡¯er is such a magnanimous person. Why would she be bothered about something as trivial as this? I¡¯m the coward who made you angry. I¡¯m in the wrong. I understand my mistake now. Dong¡¯er, forgive me. Don¡¯t worry, my heart is only for you. Honestly speaking, I also felt very weird when I found out I could form a martial soul fusion skill with her. I was even more curious about her background. However, I¡¯m still unable to see anything. I can only feel that she doesn¡¯t have any ill intentions.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯erughed coldly. ¡°Of course she doesn¡¯t have any ill intentions. She only has love for you.¡±

    He promptly broke out coughing at her words.

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought for a moment before saying, ¡°To prevent you from mitting an offense¡¯, I¡¯ll forbid you from interacting with Wang Qiu¡¯er alone. If there¡¯s anything you want to talk to her about, I must be by your side. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Huo Yuhao quickly agreed with a sincere look on his face.

    Wang Dong¡¯er returned to the bed and sat beside him. ¡°Yuhao, you must know that I¡¯m not jealous. It¡¯s just that your body isn¡¯t in good shape, but you are still working so hard. It¡¯s better to be involved in fewer matters. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. You¡¯re right.¡± He could only agree with her now.

    Wang Dong¡¯er sighed and said, ¡°Seeing that you¡¯ve been performing well recently, I wanted to apany you to sleep tonight. However, I¡¯m hurt because you¡¯ve been lying to me for so long. Your punishment will be that you¡¯ll continue to sleep alone on the bed. I¡¯ll sleep on the sofa.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, go and cultivate. You still need topete in the round of six in the soul engineering tournament tonight. I¡¯m afraid your opponent will be difficult to deal with. How¡¯s your injury?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er stopped joking and asked worriedly.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my body is different from a normal person¡¯s. With the immense life power of the Life Gold, this injury is nothing. I¡¯ll be able to recover by tonight. Protect me. I¡¯ll start cultivating now.¡±

    Although Shrek Academy had won the match today, Huo Yuhao seemed to feel more inhibited. He felt that the tournament was getting more and moreplex. However, there weren¡¯t any clues on the surface.

    The Starlight Sapphire ring on his right hand shone, and a porcin jug appeared in his hand. It contained the distite that he had bought from the bar the other day.

    Wang Dong¡¯er retreated to a sofa at the side, watching him.

    After he opened the jug, a strong alcoholic smell drifted out. The distite was very strong, and had not been blended yet. An ordinary person would be drunk after two sips of it.

    A dim icy fog spread out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He ced the jug to one side and quickly stripped, revealing his muscles. The surface of his skin was already covered with icy fog. The image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion surfaced behind his back. It was a sign that he had unleashed his second martial soul.

    He grabbed the jug again and quickly swallowed the distite as if he were a whale. Every time he stopped to breathe, his skin would shine with a dim red glow. It was a stark contrast to the icy fog around him.

    He quickly circted his soul power, and a dim golden glow appeared. His immense spiritual power enabled him to urately circte his soul power, and under that precise control, his soul power started to initiate the catalytic effects of the distite. He circted his soul power ording to the method of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    A streak of azure light shed past his brow. A small yet shiny and transparent azure-green carving de flew out. It surrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and drifted above his head after making a circuit around him. A green aura descended and fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was the Life Guardian¡¯s de!

    With the strong life power of the de and the catalytic effects of the distite, Huo Yuhao started to fuse with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice at a much faster rate. Although he wasn¡¯t able to move, his soul power was increasing at a faster rate than before. In addition, the speed at which he absorbed the origin energy increased as his soul power grew. His confidence in his cultivation also grew as a result.

    Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to be immersed in her thoughts as she looked at Huo Yuhao. She revealed a slight smile on her face. He¡¯s really getting stronger and stronger. Ah, Wang Qiu¡¯er, you are really a huge headache! She¡¯s also so nice to him. I must watch this fool properly¡­

    ------

    Night fell, and four figures appeared in a dark corner as usual.

    He Caitou lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Yuhao, our opponents tonight won¡¯t be easy to deal with. Must we win or¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Second senior, you are Tang Si and I¡¯m Tang Wu now. You should call me second brother. We can¡¯t make any mistakes now. We must win tonight! Use some of your true abilities. The rare metals that we can potentially win tonight can¡¯t be bought with money, and the Tang Sect needs them. After we reach the round of three, we canpete against the other two underground organizations. It¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯t bet with rare metals or it would be even better. Let¡¯s make a huge wager tonight, and win more money first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already amassed more than twenty million gold soul coins after winning his previous rounds. The amount of money he had was enough to equip an army of ten thousand soldiers. However, twenty million gold soul coins was nothing in the world of soul engineers. Soul engineering was a profession that burned a lot of money. Creating a sessful soul tool was very lucrative, but how many soul engineers had a close to hundred percent sess rate like Huo Yuhao? That was why some strong soul engineers often created soul tools of lower sses to exchange for money to sustain their daily expenses. It was also why soul engineering sects were very cautious when they epted disciples, and why the Illustrious Virtue Hall was so respected. Without the support of an empire, there wasn¡¯t any way soul engineers who engaged in elite and advanced research could survive!

    ---

    At the familiar Green Hotel, Chen An was waiting at the entrance since he was no longer a judge. As Huo Yuhao and He Caitou advanced further and further in the tournament, his attitude was bing ever more respectful.

    ¡°Young Tang masters, quick. Let¡¯s enter.¡± Chen An immediately went up to receive Huo Yuhao as soon as he saw him, a fawning look on his face.

    Huo Yuhao passed all his gold soul coins to him and said, ¡°Divide it into two and stake each half on my brother and me.¡±

    ¡°Second master, we¡¯ve not started the lot drawing. You¡­¡± Chen An roughly knew how many gold soul coins Huo Yuhao had. He was a little hesitant, as it would be quite a huge bet. Even the most distinguished guests in the Golden Hall didn¡¯t bet so much. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even know his opponent yet, and thest sixpetitors left were all very strong.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°No worries. If I didn¡¯t even have this little confidence, I wouldn¡¯t be here at all. You can use it to bet. I¡¯m confident.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chen An acknowledged his words respectfully.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush to enter. How¡¯s the matter I asked you to settle?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Chen An appeared to be in a spot and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a little difficult to buy rare metals now. Although we have some channels to purchase rare metals, you must know that the three underground organizations are organizing their own tournament. Rare metals are being used in great amounts in these tournaments, and a huge batch of them is being used as rewards for the participating soul engineers. The control on rare metals has be very strict, so¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. ¡°That¡¯s is your problem. Don¡¯t bother exining it to me. I only want to see the results. If you do this well, I¡¯ll promote you from ss 5 to ss 6, and from five rings to six rings.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Chen An was stunned after hearing his words. He seemed a little doubtful.

    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you believe me?¡± Huo Yuhao nced at him coldly.

    ¡°I believe, I believe!¡± Chen An hurriedly nodded.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Although I¡¯m a domineering person, I¡¯m never stingy towards those who help me. Give me your hand. I¡¯ll let you feel it for a while.¡±

    Chen An was dazed for a moment, and extended his right hand.

    Huo Yuhao used three fingers to feel his pulse. Suddenly, Chen An felt a wave of pure soul power transferring into his body from Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertip. This wave of soul power wasn¡¯t very strong, but it was extremely pure. There didn¡¯t even seem to be any elements present, but it contained vibrant life power.

    Suddenly, Chen An felt the pores on his body opening up. His blood was surging, and he instantly felt much younger. He was even more astonished to realize that his soul power was undting rapidly after the pure soul power entered his body. He could feel his own soul power being enhanced, it was too obvious. In addition, he didn¡¯t sense any evil aura from it!

 Chapter 308: The Soul Engineering Tournaments Round-Of-Six

    However, this wonderful feeling onlysted for three seconds before it disappeared after Huo Yuhao released his hand.

    ¡°This, this¡­ Master Tang, how is it possible?¡± Chen An felt as if everything he had known was a lie. He hadn¡¯t expected that a soul master could help increase the cultivation of a soul engineer. He quickly inspected his body and sensed the changes in his soul power. As he did, he discovered that the enhancement was real. His soul power didn¡¯t stop increasing even after Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger stopped contacting his hand. It was real!

    Chen An was only a soul engineer, and his martial soul wasn¡¯t very outstanding. His cultivation was able to reach ss 5 because he had consumed all sorts of medicine and used soul tools to forcefully stimte his progress. He had thought that he would remain in this ss for the rest of his life. His cultivation hadn¡¯t increased in thest seven years!

    But right now, his soul power had finally experienced an increase after years of dormancy. Furthermore, he was also felt that the impurities in his soul power were being cleansed by the introduction of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. Although the immense life power only surged in his body for a moment before disappearing, it still generated a lot of benefits for him. The feeling of being filled with energy, rushing blood, and youth was too wonderful. At this point, Chen An was looking at Huo Yuhao with a burning passion in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°In this world, no one can understand everything. There are many things that exist even if you don¡¯t think they do. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Yes, I understand!¡± Chen An hurriedly nodded. Wang Dong¡¯er and Na Na furrowed their brow when they saw how submissive he had be. They didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao had done to him that caused his attitude to change greatly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Alright, bring us in. Please carry out my orders as soon as possible. When this tournament ends, I¡¯ll be going into retreat to study soul tools. It¡¯ll be difficult to tell if we¡¯ll ever meet again. Don¡¯t worry about the money. If you can bring the goods, I¡¯ll have the money for you. Of course, you must keep this confidential. Otherwise, don¡¯t expect to obtain any benefits from me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll certainly keep it confidential.¡± Chen An was in an unsteady state right now. To a soul engineer, there was nothing more astonishing and surprising than an increase in his cultivation. This was especially so when the enhancement was extremely pure. Chen An didn¡¯t sense any side effects at all! If he could really be a Soul Emperor, he might be able to be a ss 6 soul engineer. While ss 5 and ss 6 were only one ss apart, the treatment of soul engineers from these two sses varied immensely! How could a Soul King and Soul Emperor be treated the same way? There was also a huge increase in one¡¯s abilities when one advanced from a Soul King to a Soul Emperor. Furthermore, Chen An also recalled that Huo Yuhao had once mentioned that he might consider letting him be an evil soul master if he performed his tasks well. If that was the case, it wasn¡¯t a foregone conclusion for him to be a Soul Sage! To Chen An, this was a great motivation!

    He was determined to take the risk andplete the task Huo Yuhao had asked of him. In this world, there were only eternal benefits. The benefits that Huo Yuhao could bring to him made him extremely determined to take that risk. After being in the Duskwater Alliance for so long, he had many contacts he could use...

    Chen An was very excited as he led Huo Yuhao and the other three into the Golden Hall before he left. Numbers 96 and 98 had not arrived at the resting area yet...

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speak much as he arrived. This was the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s territory, so there was a possibility of being monitored. It was best to remain silent.

    Chen An returned after a while. He bent his waist and whispered something into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears, ¡°Every soul engineer will be given ten hours to create a soul tool today. There aren¡¯t any restrictions on the number of soul tools that can be created. The fights will onlymence early tomorrow morning. There are fewer restrictions now. Apart from the restriction of using any other soul tools, there aren¡¯t any other restrictions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought of something and asked, ¡°This means that I can use soul skills?¡±

    Chen An nodded and replied, ¡°Yes. Apart from testing one¡¯s soul tools, this is also a test of one¡¯s overall abilities. I heard that the grand final between the three organizations will be held in a simr style. Everyone is going topete on a bloody stage. Only one will emerge as the champion out of the ninepetitors in the grand final. Only the first three will be rewarded. I heard that the winner will take home a ss 9 soul tool.¡±

    After hearing the words ¡®ss 9 soul tool¡¯, Huo Yuhao was also shocked. It was too great of a reward. What were ss 9 soul tools? Strategic weapons! In the Sun Moon Empire, how many ss 9 soul tools were sealed inside the military vault? Even ss 9 soul engineers were restricted by the materials they possessed and the difficulty of creating ss 9 soul tools. Generally speaking, there were very few people who had more than three ss 9 soul tools. Of course, Jing Hongchen was an exception, since he was backed by the empire.

    The destructive power of a ss 9 soul tool was even more devastating than a Titled Douluo in terms of a single attack. With a ss 9 soul tool as a reward, the soul engineers whopeted weren¡¯t afraid to risk their lives!

    ¡°You¡¯re good.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged. ¡°Go and get busy. I know what to do. Remember to help me ce the bets.¡±

    Seeing how confident Huo Yuhao was, along with the miraculous scene he experienced earlier, Chen An had already made up his mind. He was going to ce some of his own money on Huo Yuhao. No one would mind more money!

    As Chen An left, Huo Yuhao revealed a slight grin on his face. The task he had set for Chen An wasn¡¯t very difficult. Everything Chen An felt was real. The immense life power came from the Life Guardian de. As for the pure soul power, Huo Yuhao had retrieved it from the origin energy of Ultimate Ice when he cultivated in the morning. He left a shred of it to strengthen Chen An¡¯s conviction. It was quite precious! It was also very helpful to Huo Yuhao¡¯s own enhancement of his soul power.

    After this period of cultivation, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power would increase by leaps and bounds. He was more and more confident that he would be able to walk again soon.

    The door opened. Number 96 and 98 walked in, still decked out in ck. When he saw Huo Yuhao, 98 twisted his mouth and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this! You actually managed to reach this stage. You¡¯d better pray that you don¡¯t meet either of us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to tell who will win or lose. I bet ten million gold soul coins on myself. I wonder if you dare to do that?¡±

    Number 98¡¯s expression changed, ¡°Ten million? I didn¡¯t know you were such a wastrel. You¡¯d better pray that you don¡¯t draw me as yourpetitor.¡±

    Number 96 dragged him away, simply nodding at Huo Yuhao. The two of them walked to one side and sat down.

    Huo Yuhao squinted, thinking of the carving des that the two of them had used, and revealed a smile on his face.

    Wang Dong¡¯er thought to herself after seeing his smile, What¡¯s he up to again? He must be trying to dupe these two fellows.

    96 and 98 came a littlete. They only sat down for a short time before some staff members came to inform them that the tournament was about to begin.

    ------

    They entered the Golden Hall again. 96 and 98 were in the spotlight, while Huo Yuhao naturally caught some attention too, since he was in a wheelchair.

    He had caused some trouble on his first day of the tournament, but his performance had been average in the seeding rounds. There wasn¡¯t anything very special about him. He wasn¡¯t like 96 and 98, who had zed their way into this round. However, Huo Yuhao was able to edge out his opponents every time, and finally reached the round of six. If he won this round, he would be qualified to represent the Duskwater Alliance.

    As there were only six people left, the stage in the hall was also much more spacious. There were three distinct regions, and the carving table in each region had been erged. At the center of the stage were three circr tables. Every table was stacked with rare metals. They were the rewards for the victors today.

    The startling thing was that the Duel Region behind it had been dismantled. There was only the circr stage in the center.

    Huo Yuhao and the rest were brought to a tunnel behind the stage. They didn¡¯t enter through the main door of the hall like before. In addition to the four of them, there were two other young men around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old waiting there, who appeared quite excited. They were alsopetitors in the round of six. ording to the information Chen An had given Huo Yuhao, they were both ss 5 soul engineers. They were the weakest two of the six remainingpetitors.

    On the stage, a handsome young man wearing a dazzling golden shirt walked up to the stage.

    ¡°Greetings to all distinguished guests. I¡¯m the emcee for today¡¯s tournament. You can call me Ajin. I¡¯ll help everyone interpret today¡¯s fights.¡±

    All the spectators got excited when they heard that the match was about to begin. They started to cheer, and whistling could be heard from time to time. They had ced heavy bets on today¡¯s fights, since they could now bet on specific individuals. As for how the six of them would be paired up, it was going to be decided using lot. This lot-drawing would be very important.

    ¡°First, let me introduce all of you to our top six soul engineers. I must reiterate that the information that we released regarding the six of them before the start of the match and the analysis that I¡¯m going to give you now are all based on their performances in the previous rounds. We¡¯ve never asked them what their ss or abilities are. That¡¯s because it¡¯s taboo to talk about such things.¡±

    Ajin¡¯s voice suddenly sounded very high-pitched. ¡°Let¡¯s wee our firstpetitor, whose number is 37, onto the stage.¡±

    A young man slightly to the front in the tunnel behind quickly ascended the stage. He took two to three steps and walked over in front of Ajin, cing both his hands behind his back.

    ¡°He has defeated many strong opponents en route to thest six. He even created a strong yet rare ss 5 soul tool in the previous round. We estimate that he¡¯s a ss 5 soul engineer, and specializes in creating dexterous, offensive-type soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Next, let¡¯s wee our number 85petitor up onto the stage.¡±

    The other young man also quickly went up to the stage. He stood beside 37. His introduction was simr to 37, it wasn¡¯t very special. Those who were sharp could tell that they were the weakest two. They were also given higher odds to win.

    ¡°Third, let¡¯s wee our number 66 soul engineer up on the stage. I¡¯ll need some of my staff members to give him a hand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was pushed onto the stage by two staff members.

    The emcee came to his side and smiled at him before saying, ¡°Although it¡¯s a little inconvenient for him to move, he managed to triumph in every round of this tournament. We don¡¯t know what his limit is, but we estimate him to be a ss 5 soul engineer. From his calm andposed performances, we can roughly tell that he has a strong, yet mysterious amount of potential.

    ¡°Our fourthpetitor today is our number 88 soul engineer. He has been wearing a mask all this while, and has a huge and burly figure.¡±

    He Caitou walked up to the stage and quickly made his way over beside Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°He once demonstrated his strength. We estimate him to be between a ss 5 and ss 6 soul engineer. In fact, I¡¯d like to know why he¡¯s always wearing a mask. Perhaps he¡¯s a familiar, reputable soul engineer in our empire! I rate him highly.¡±

    He Caitou listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions and didn¡¯t mutter a word. After all, he was wearing a mask. His appearance seemed very cold.

    ¡°Our fifthpetitor is our number 98 soul engineer.

    ¡°He is very strong, and even possesses an extremely special, sharp carving de. We believe it to be a top-ranked carving de, and estimate him to be a ss 6 soul engineer. We can confirm that his abilities are ss 6 and above. I don¡¯t think any of the first fourpetitors would like to draw him in this round.

    ¡°Ourstpetitor is our number 96 soul engineer. Just like our number 98petitor, we believe him to be a ss 6 soul engineer. He also possesses a sharp carving de that we believe to be a top-notch carving de. We¡¯ve announced earlier that he and our number 96 soul engineer won¡¯t meet each other in this round since they are the strongest. This is to ensure that we can send our best lineup to the grand final. Let the lot-drawing begin!¡±

 Chapter 309.1: Betting Against the Darkness Green Dragon

    ¡°Let¡¯s draw the lots!.¡±

    When the emcee uttered these four words, 98 deliberately nced at Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair, who was a head shorter than everyone else. His lips moved, and he seemed to be mouthing, ¡°Pray!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled a strange smile. Yes! Pray, but it¡¯s you who has to pray that you won¡¯t be matched with me...

    The lot-drawing process was simple. There was arge crystal ball, and six tiny balls inside with mas on them. There were two mas in each of three different areas inside the crystal ball, and the tiny balls that were drawn to the mas in these respective areas when the crystal ball began to rotate would face each other today.

    The balls with 96 and 98 were already attached to two different regions, which meant the two wouldn¡¯t meet each other in this round. The four other balls were still at the bottom.

    ¡°Alright, I willmence today¡¯s crystal lottery. Spin!¡± The emcee pressed a button beneath the crystal, and the crystal ball gradually started to rotate.

    The four balls at the bottom were gradually tossed into the air as the crystal began to spin faster and faster. The three grooved areas with mas attached to them didn¡¯t move.

    The first ball was quickly sucked away to one of the remaining empty regions.

    ¡°Alright, number 88 into the third region. I have to say that you¡¯re quite fortunate, mysterious soul engineer 88. You¡¯re lucky that you¡¯re not up against the two of them, who we have estimated as powerful ss 6 soul engineers.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s number was the first to be drawn. 98 nced at Huo Yuhao once more, as if he was saying, Your chances of meeting us are a lot higher now.

    Another tiny ball was sucked into one of the regions with a whistle right at this moment. This time, this ball was sucked into the region with 96 inside.

    ¡°37 versus 96, inside the first region.¡±

    37 was instantly ovee with despair. He knew that he had a chance against He Caitou, but he had no chance against 96. 96 was confirmed to be a ss 6 soul engineer, and he possessed a ranked carving knife as well!

    ¡°Alright, the fifth one has been retrieved. 66 versus 98, in the second region.¡±

    Both 98 and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes immediately became a little peculiar. Their gazes met, and Huo Yuhao saw a sardonic smile, while 98 saw a look of exasperation and helplessness.

    There was no suspense with thest draw. 85 versus 88, in the third region. He Caitou was practically given a walkover.

    ¡°Alright, the lottery has beenpleted. Everyone will be given fifteen minutes to ce their bets. Only you who are here will be able to take advantage of this treatment. The opportunity will never return if you let it slip... the fifteen minutes begins now! May I invite the three contesting pairs to move to your respective seats? The next ten hours will be tiring and exhausting, but the ultimate winner can take the rare metals that have been prepared for you at the center of thepetition stage. It¡¯s very difficult to evaluate these metals, because they can¡¯t be purchased on the market. Every winner will win fifty-four different kinds of rare metals, five kilos of each!¡±

    The lottery had beenpleted, and the entire Golden Hall began to hustle and bustle. Everybody had their own guesses and estimations from the lottery, and everyone would undoubtedly have the most confidence making their bets at a time like this. Of course, cing their bets within the allotted fifteen minutes also meant that their odds were a lot lower than before. Even so, the entire ce still descended into chaos, and all thirty-six betting booths were packed with people.

    He Caitou came over to Huo Yuhao and pushed his wheelchair into the second region, while 98 tagged along.

    ¡°You¡¯re finished, little fellow. Your only chance to live is if you admit defeat right now,¡± he continued proudly, ¡°This is what it means to say ¡®God knows what you did¡¯. You¡¯re too arrogant, so you ended up having to face me! Hahahaha!¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at He Caitou. He frowned and said, ¡°Am I that arrogant? 98, are you that confident of gobbling me up?¡±

    98 grunted coldly and replied, ¡°If I can¡¯t beat someone like you, hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Why don¡¯t we ce a bet? This tournament exists for wagering anyway!¡±

    A suspicious look shed across the other soul engineer¡¯s face. ¡°You still dare to wager with me, young man? What are the stakes?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ll take your carving knife. If you lose, then that carving knife will belong to me, and I won¡¯t take your life. See, I¡¯m such a conversationalist, and I¡¯m so amiable and generous.¡±

    ¡°You want my carving knife?¡± 98 wasn¡¯t a fool. He could tell from Huo Yuhao¡¯s smiling face that he wasn¡¯t anxious or worried at all, and he felt rm bells go off in his head. Has he been hiding his abilities this entire time?

    ¡°What about you? Unless you have your own ranked carving knife, you¡¯re not worthy of making this bet with me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have a ranked carving knife, but I have a soul tool. What do you think?¡± He reached inside his pocket and took out a soul tool that resembled a chest te. It was the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing that Jing Hongchen had given him.

    ¡°Take it and let him feel it, brother.¡± Huo Yuhao passed his Hongchen¡¯s Blessing to He Caitou beside him.

    He Caitou¡¯s took Huo Yuhao¡¯s Hongchen¡¯s Blessing and stepped over to 98. They were all soul engineers, so everyone was rtively discerning about soul tools. He Caitou revealed the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing¡¯s formation arrays to 98 for a single look before he infused his soul power into it and released a thread of the soul tool¡¯s aura. He then passed it back to Huo Yuhao.

    98¡¯s eyes grew ck. That was¡­ a miniature formation array?

    Soul tools weren¡¯t necessarily more powerful as they got bigger, and this was especially true with regards to their formation arrays. Smaller soul tools were easier to carry, too. For instance, Hongchen¡¯s Blessing was only several centimeters thick. How could Huo Yuhao carry it with him everywhere he went if the formation arrays inside were too big?

    Creating miniature formation arrays was ten times harder than the same normal-sized formation arrays. Typically, only soul engineers above ss 7 would attempt something like this. 98 had only been given one look at it, but he realized that the soul tool that he had just seen possessed at least five miniature formation arrays, and every single one seemed exceedinglyplex. This soul tool was definitely not a prototype, and was undoubtedly ss 8, at the very least! It also possessed a dense and intense aura. The miniature formation arrays inside were already incredibly valuable by themselves, because every high-level soul engineer crafted formation arrays with their own unique methods. Learning something about these unique methods was priceless to mid-level soul engineers!

    98 hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to wager something as precious as this against him. Of course, he was confident that his ranked carving knife¡¯s value wasn¡¯t inferior to this soul tool.

    Greed began to stir in his heart. His eyes closed into slits as he stared at Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao stared back at him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were calm, and there even a tinge of condescension in them.

    Is this a trick? Has he been hiding his abilities this whole time? He wants to bait me and win my ranked carving knife!

    98 was a little arrogant, but he wasn¡¯t an idiot. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have be the soul engineer that he was today before the age of thirty! He pondered long and hard, and decided that he would reject this wager. Even though his aura would be beaten back because of this, it was better than actually losing his ranked carving knife that was too precious to him.

    However, he noticed a fine detail right at this moment. Huo Yuhao was using his right hand to grip the wheelchair¡¯s armrest, and it seemed a little strong. Even his finger¡¯s joints were a little greenish-white.

    Soul engineers all had good eyes. Otherwise, how could they craft intricate and delicate soul tools? A thought shed through his mind as he stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand, which was still gripping the wheelchair¡¯s armrest tightly. Maybe he doesn¡¯t have the confidence to defeat me at all, and he simply wants to use this wager to beat back my grandeur?

    98 began to scrutinize Huo Yuhao closely when he thought about that possibility. He quickly found another fine detail; Huo Yuhao¡¯s other arm seemed to be quivering, the arm that he had never used before. Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm eyes were flickering with something, and those eyes seemed to betray a little anxiety and discordance. These details weren¡¯t obvious, but 98 managed to pick up on these clues as he observed Yuhao closely.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take the bet.¡± A confident smile surfaced on his face.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°You¡¯re really betting with me? I¡¯mcking a ranked carving knife anyway. Many thanks to you, then!¡±

    98 stared back mischievously and said, ¡°Do you really have the confidence to defeat me? I don¡¯t think so. Since you want to die, little fellow, I will fulfill your wishes today.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered coldly, ¡°We¡¯ll have that bet, then. If you¡¯re not afraid, we can make this bet public, and the Duskwater Alliance can be our witness. Otherwise, what if you lose and you deny that this bet exists?¡±

    98 was full of avarice, and his mind was already made up. No matter how he looked at Huo Yuhao, he felt as if he was trying to put up a strong front. A cold smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Alright, the Duskwater Alliance will witness our wager. They will see how you lose that soul tool to me. You,e here.¡± He reached out and hollered at the emcee on stage not far from where they were.

    Akin walked over hurriedly. He was just an emcee, and he didn¡¯t dare to offend the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers. Soul engineers were the most highly regarded profession in the country!

    ¡°What do you need, sir?¡± Akin sounded a little fawning.

    98 grunted coldly and said, ¡°I want to wager with my opponent, and we are betting on who will be the eventual winner. I want the Duskwater Alliance toy witness to this wager.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Akin¡¯s eyes sparkled. He was the Golden Hall¡¯s top-rated emcee, and he knew all too well what the audience loved to watch. Exciting things were a lot better for the gambling atmosphere, and this was especially true when everyone was still cing their bets!

 Chapter 309.2: Betting Against the Darkness Green Dragon

    Ajin hurriedly made sure he knew everything there was to know about the situation. He immediately picked up his speaker-type soul tool and announced on stage, ¡°Everyone cing your bets, please wait a moment. There¡¯s a minor interlude that I have to tell everyone about so that everyone can make better judgments. Just a few moments ago, 98 and 66, who are both mighty soul engineers, have announced their own wager! 98 will use his own carving knife as the stake, and 66 will use a powerful soul tool as his! We will invite the tournament¡¯s chief judge to assess these two items so that we can confirm their value. Of course, the wager has been announced andpleted, and both parties cannot take anything back anymore.¡±

    98 grabbed the speaker-type soul tool from his hands and said loudly, ¡°My stake is a carving knife. It¡¯s the same one that will be usedter on in thepetition.¡±

    He stuffed the speaker-type soul tool back into Ajin¡¯s hands after this sentence. When he turned around at Huo Yuhao, he could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s head was lowered, and there seemed to be sweat dripping down from his temples.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we let it go, brother?¡± He Caitou whispered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Let it go? No, it¡¯s toote. The announcement has already been made.¡± His ears were pretty good, and 98 could clearly tell what they were going on about.

    At this moment, the three judges that the Duskwater Alliance had sent forth stepped onto thepetition stage. The judges had changed once more because this was the round of six, so the judges that came forward today were all ss 7 soul engineers. These three mighty ss 7 soul engineers had veils draped over their faces, as it was clear that they had some reputation in the outside world, so they were afraid that people familiar with them would recognize them.

    The three judges stepped onto thepetition stage and quickly arrived before them.

    98 directly retrieved his carving knife and handed it over. He wasn¡¯t afraid of people pining after his carving knife, as the world seemed to look on. Furthermore, he had quite a background to back himself up.

    His dark green carving knife was a tad bigger than most carving knives. The de seemed to have rust marks, but they didn¡¯t seem like actual rust. It seemed ancient and unornamented, and there were two dragon-shaped engravings on both sides of the de. It emanated chilly sensations, and even the naked eye could tell that this carving knife was extraordinary.

    The middle judge among the three took the carving knife carefully. He was immediately ovee with a look of astonishment. ¡°This¡­ Darkness Green Dragon?¡±

    98 answered proudly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my Darkness Green Dragon.¡±

    The judge turned around and took Ajin¡¯s speaker-type soul tool. He deepened his voice and said, ¡°98 has chosen his Darkness Green Dragon as his stake. This is a ranked carving knife, the Darkness Green Dragon is ranked 59th on the Carving Knife Leaderboard. It carries darkness and wind elements, and any soul tool that it creates will carry these two elements. It¡¯s three times heavier than typical carving knives, and is well-known for its stability. Using this carving knife with suitable soul tools will create formidable effects, and it will have a ten percent increase in sess rate when forging soul tools above ss 7.¡±

    Yes, this was a formidable ranked carving knife. Ranked carving knives were almost priceless to soul engineers.

    The three judges turned towards Huo Yuhao when they finished introducing 98¡¯s carving knife. Huo Yuhao was grasping his Hongchen¡¯s Blessing as tightly as he could with his right hand, and his eyebrows were tightly knit together, but he didn¡¯t make a sound at all.

    96 came over beside 98 and asked him a few questions inquisitively while he nced at Huo Yuhao from time to time.

    98 whispered some exnations to him with a smile on his face. 96 frowned slightly, and he responded as if he were chiding his friend.

    ¡°What are you betting with?¡± The judge stepped up to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before he over his Hongchen¡¯s Blessing.

    ¡°My teacher gave this to me. Don¡¯t spoil it.¡± The look of reluctance on his face was undeniable as he spoke.

    The leading judge examined the soul tool¡¯s formation arrays as he took Huo Yuhao¡¯s Hongchen¡¯s Blessing. His body trembled as he blurted out, ¡°This is the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Huo Yuhao interrupted him with an angry shout.

    The judge seemed to realize something, and he hurriedly closed his mouth as he continued to inspect the soul tool. The other two judges came over, and all three of them inspected it for a long time as their eyes flowed with astonishment and shock.

    This was a soul tool that Jing Hongchen, the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s Hallmaster, had created himself. Even though they weren¡¯t sure if this was a ss 9 soul tool, they could tell that this was an incredible soul tool from howplex it was and from the materials that were used to craft it.

    The three judges exchanged looks, but 98 was a little impatient. He walked over and said, ¡°Can you make the announcement? You guys can¡¯t be biased. Otherwise, hmph!¡±

    The chief judge nodded. He picked up the speaker-type soul tool and said, ¡°66 has chosen a high-level soul tool as his stake. For some special reasons, we cannot describe this item, but we can attest that its value isparable to the Darkness Green Dragon. Alright, we have finished assessing their stakes, and the Darkness Green Dragon will temporarily be given back to 98 for use in the tournament. This soul tool will be kept with us, and it will be given to the victor after this round. The wager has been established, and the Duskwater Alliance will treat either party that goes back on his word at enemies. We will do our best to make sure that this wager goes through.¡±

    The three judges kept the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing after the announcement and returned to their seats. The judges were sitting on three elevated chairs three meters above the ground, so they could watch everything that was going on with the contestants from their vantage point.

    Ajin took the speaker-type soul tool back and said loudly, ¡°Alright, the interlude is over. I trust that the wager between these two soul engineers has influenced your bets in some way, my dear guests. You have ten minutes left, hurry up and make your bets! The booths will close once time is up.¡±

    The gamblers were indeed a lot livelier after this interlude¡¯s excitement and stimtion.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face seemed to glow with ice-cold light as he hit himself softly on the left shoulder. An amused smile broke out across his face.

    He¡¯s taken the bait in the end!

    He Caitou escorted Huo Yuhao to the second region¡¯s crafting desk before he patted him on the shoulder and returned to his own side.

    98 walked over to his own crafting desk opposite Huo Yuhao. There was a bright smile on his face as he said, ¡°So, this soul tool is from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. It¡¯s quite impressive¡­ looks like you¡¯remitted quite a bit to this gamble.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered coldly, ¡°You still have a chance to regret your words. Otherwise, won¡¯t you be devastated if you lose your ranked carving knife to me?¡±

    98ughed out loud. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure that I¡¯ll be the one that will be devastated after this round. You¡¯re daydreaming if you want me to retract my wager. Weren¡¯t you so arrogant and outrageous before this? Why are you cowering now? Enough bullshit, we¡¯ll see who wins this wager with our abilities. Don¡¯t worry, even though I have absolute confidence that I will win, I will not underestimate you. I will use the soul tools that I¡¯m most adept and familiar with against you today, and I won¡¯t give you a single thread of a chance at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face changed slightly, but he said nothing more. He closed his eyes and began to conserve his energy and mentally prepare himself.

    ---

    The rare metals and the myriad of refined metals that were to be used in this round were sent up. This round was ten hours long, so a lot more metals had been prepared for today. Some were ced on the crafting desks, while a rack specially given to each contestant was ced next to each of them for their own convenience.

    The fifteen minutes allotted for betting quickly passed, and the gamblers returned to their seats one after another. After the lots had been drawn, the audience knew that the most attractive and interesting faceoff would be between the two soul engineers who had made their own individual bet. The other two were conspicuously unbnced, and the odds were pathetically low. The odds for the match between Huo Yuhao and 98 were rtively higher, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s odds were the highest. This was because he was against 98, and nobody could see how he had any advantage at all. Without talking about anything else, the judges estimated him as a ss 5 soul engineer, while 98 was a ss 6 soul engineer. 98 also possessed a ranked carving knife, the Darkness Green Dragon!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s odds were at 1:3, while his opponent¡¯s odds were at 5:4. The other two matchups were more evenly split.

    ¡°Begin!¡± The soundproof barriers rose right after the chief judge¡¯s announcement. The emcee was already outside thepetition stage, and was responsible for narrating today¡¯spetition. He quickly got onto a tall structure outside thepetition stage, and took a seat five meters above the stage. His seat was equipped with a speaker-type soul tool and a telescopic soul tool. The emcee could clearly see what the six soul engineers were doing on stage.

    All six soul engineers began to move once the announcement was made. This round had no limit as to the number of soul tools that each contestant could create. That also meant that every contestant was allowed to create as many as they wanted within the stipted time. The choice that each contestant had to make with regards to the volume and power would be up to them.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were especially focused and serious today. He had the same faith that he would definitely be victorious, but he also understood that 98 wasn¡¯t easy to deal with. The man had a ranked carving knife, and he was also a ss 6 soul engineer, so his standards wereparable to Huo Yuhao¡¯s own abilities. The only thing that guy didn¡¯t have was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, which gave him an advantage.

    A dash of golden light glowed beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He waved his right hand over his forehead, and a green de charged with life energy appeared in his hands: his Life Guardian de! His opponent had a ranked carving knife, so how could Huo Yuhao match up to his opponent if he didn¡¯t use his own?

 Chapter 309.3: Betting Against the Darkness Green Dragon

    Outside thepetition stage, Ajin eximed at almost the same time as Huo Yuhao retrieved his own ranked carving knife. ¡°Wow, wow! Look at that, my dear guests.what has our 66 taken out? It¡¯s a carving knife that¡¯s entirely green in color, and from my perspective, that carving knife looks like it¡¯s been sculpted from a jewel. It¡¯s very eye-catching, and it¡¯s a green color filled with life energy! It¡¯s so beautiful! 66 does have some substance to back him up. It¡¯s no wonder he dares to wager against 98!¡±

    The people that had bet on 98 became a little gloomy once they heard this.

    98 couldn¡¯t hear what was going on outside, but he seemed to feel something when Huo Yuhao took out his Life Guardian de. He looked up, and was momentarily stunned, and his eyes coincidentally met Huo Yuhao¡¯s stare. Their gazes met, and he was met with Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm andposed smile.

    He grunted coldly and muttered, ¡°So that¡¯s the thing you¡¯ve been hiding? Let¡¯s not talk about the fact that your carving knife is not even ranked, and even if it is ranked, it¡¯s more important to see who the user is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t respond at all. He picked up a piece of rare metal known as Multiridged Devilgold and began his own construction.

    This metal had a unique characteristic. This metal always seemed like it had uncountable ridges even when it was first mined, but everything else was as smooth like a mirror. This was how the name Multiridged Devilgold came about.

    Multiridged Devilgold was different from other metals because it was inherently resistant to soul power. Any soul power that was infused into it would be rejected, and it could even produce a reactionary force several times the power of the soul power infused inside. If the soul power infused inside exceeded the range that the Multiridged Devilgold could take, the metal would explode.

    Multiridged Devilgold wasn¡¯t considered very rare because it was still produced in rtivelyrge amounts. It was typically the best choice for crafting defensive soul tools.

    This was especially true when soul engineers wanted to craft formation arrays for a protective soul barrier. The product would possess the Multiridged Devilgold¡¯s natural resistance to energy and soul power oncepleted, an excellent effect.

    The only problem was that Multiridged Devilgod was extremely tough, and at the same time naturally resistant to soul power. This meant it was a lot more difficult to create formation arrays from this metal.

    However, this was no problem at all before Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de. The sharp bluish-green de cut nimbly into the Multiridged Devilgold, and the Life Guardian de absorbed every single ounce of life energy from the metal with every stroke and every part it touched. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s precise control, life energy was only sucked away from the ces that the de actually cut into, and those parts naturally became extremely weak without any life energy at all. Huo Yuhao was engraving and cutting into the Multiridged Devilgold as if he were slicing tofu, and the metal was quickly forged and engraved into a disc-like shape about the size of his palm.

    Ajin knew quite a bit about crafting soul tools, so he couldmentate properly. His jaw hung open as he looked on from his high seat.

    ¡°Oh my heavens! That¡¯s just incredible! Multiridged Devilgold is extremely resistant to soul power, but it¡¯s be as weak as tofu beneath 66¡¯s mystical carving knife.¡±

    98 was also carving and sculpting a rare metal. He was focused on creating his own soul tool, so he no longer looked at Huo Yuhao; all his energy and attention was focused on the soul tool in front of him. His Darkness Green Dragon flickered with faint green light with every stroke, and caused the metal to ripple at the same time.

    ---

    The Golden Hall outside was in an uproarpared to thepetition stage¡¯s silence. Everybody was discussing things vigorously with theirpanions and the people they were familiar with.

    Ten hours was a really long time, and many people started to leave after watching the show for more than two hours. However, they were just getting something to eat, and weren¡¯t actually leaving.

    The Duskwater Alliance¡¯s service was exceedingly good. Food and refreshments were provided outside the Golden Hall, everything free of charge.

    The audience could also redeem nkets free-of-charge, and the sofas that they were given to sit on were spacious and veryfortable for lying down. Even though these sofas couldn¡¯tpare to actual beds, it was much better than sitting up for the next couple of hours.

    The Golden Hall¡¯s lighting became progressively dimmer over time, so thepetition stage¡¯s lighting stayed the strongest.

    Some officials got onto the stage discreetly and delivered some food and drinks to thepeting soul engineers before they slunk away. They even had thick cottonyers beneath their shoes so that they could avoid making too much sound, and could avoid affecting thepetitors.

    ---

    Time continued to pass, and soul tools werepleted one after another. Ajin stepped off his high seat after another period ofmentating to rest as well. It was gettingte, and the gamblers had to rest. They couldn¡¯t absorb any morementating anyway.

    The six people on stage were very focused, and they didn¡¯t want to waste even a single second of time.

    The contestants would signal to the judges after each soul tool waspleted, so that the judges could assess them and confirm that they had beenpleted. These soul engineers could keep their soul tools only after the judges had given their approval, and these soul tools would be used in the face-off afterwards.

    After three hours, 98 had already finished two soul tools, while Huo Yuhao had yet to finish a single one; he was the only person among the six contestants who hadn¡¯t raised his hand yet. Some of the gamblers who weren¡¯t resting and were still very excited, and those who had ced their bets on him, were getting worried. Of course, this was a minority, as only those who could take a high risk would choose to bet on the underdog.

    98pleted four soul tools in six hours. This was an astonishing speed, as all four soul tools were ss 5 soul tools.

    ss 6 soul engineers didn¡¯t have to craft ss 6 soul tools if they were limited by time. Soul engineers would have to consider defending themselves first before anything else in a contest between soul engineers, rather than attacking their adversary. Therefore, one soul tool was clearly not enough forbat, and having a bnced and suitablebination of soul tools was the best choice.

    Six hours went by, but Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t raised his hand a single time. There were many seemingly sophisticatedponents on his crafting desk. Some were formation arrays, while others were parts and essories that the judges couldn¡¯t fathom. Nobody knew what exactly he was doing, and they were perplexed that he still hadn¡¯t finished a single soul tool.

    98 would look up at Huo Yuhao from time to time. His eyes seemed a little doubtful as well. What¡¯s this fellow trying to do? Why doesn¡¯t he have a singlepleted soul tool yet? He must have some ability to boast of if he dares to use that thing as his stake. Is he panicking? No, he must be using some special method or technique. His eyes are very focused, and it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s giving up.

    98 naturally paid more attention to Huo Yuhao as these thoughts ran through his head. His eyes darted to the crafting desk opposite him intermittently, and his hand movements were naturally a little slower than before.

    He quickly discovered that Huo Yuhao was actually crafting one single soul tool. Those parts and essories wereid around the table to form a vague shape. He¡¯s only crafting one soul tool? Is he trying to gamble everything he has on some excessively powerful attack?

    His eyes closed into slits, and he pondered for a moment longer before he began to craft another soul tool. His movements were conspicuously faster than before as metal dust and fragments drifted all over the ce. His eyes flickered with dark and cold light as he thought to himself, You want to ambush me with an extremely powerful soul tool, huh? Then I will foil your ns before you can even execute them properly.

    All six contestants continued crafting their soul tools nervously and hurriedly. They raised their hands again and again, and the gamblers who were resting before began to wake up. The ten hours were almost up, and Huo Yuhao was the only odd one out among the six contestants who hadn¡¯t created a single finished product.

    Eight hours went by. Huo Yuhao had been working anxiously this entire time, but he finally looked up from his work. There was a clear look of fatigue on his face. He had formidable spiritual power, but he had been tensed up and nervous for many hours. He was truly feeling a little exhausted from crafting this soul tool before him.

    There were almost a hundred essories andponentsid out on the crafting desk before him.

    Huo Yuhao had designed this soul tool with the Life Guardian de as its core ever since he remembered that he had the carving knife. This was also the first time that he had attempted to make it, and it was because of this fact that he had to be very careful and meticulous throughout the entire process. Of course, his meticulousness was also highly rted to the soul tool¡¯s inherentplexity.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the hourss next to him. I have one hour left. I guess I have enough time to finish it.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He sat there with his eyes closed so that he could focus his attention, and he channeled soul power across his body to adjust his body¡¯s state and his state of mind.

    His soul power couldn¡¯tplete its cirction because his left arm and his legs were frozen. Therefore, he found it a lot more difficult to adjust his condition and his body¡¯s state. This was also a substantial reason why he felt so exhausted after just ten hours. If he had done this before he was injured, he could continue for two days and two nights without a problem.

    I have to elerate my absorption of the Ultimate Ice origin energy of heaven and earth. Fortunately, I¡¯ve found some methods recently¡­

    Fifteen minutes went by, but Huo Yuhao was still sitting there motionless, and the round was inching towards its end. There were very few people who had ced their bets on him, but these few people were still exceedingly displeased as they watched him, and many of them even started to curse and shout.

    There would be a corresponding doll on the soul engineers¡¯ respective desks for each soul tool that theypleted. At this point, the soul engineer with the most soul tools had six finished products, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t evenpleted one. He wouldn¡¯t even be allowed to enter the faceoff after this if he didn¡¯t have a singlepleted soul tool.

    Everybody looked on as the ten hours slowly ticked down to fifteen minutes...

 Chapter 310.1: The Adjudication Shield

    There were only fifteen minutes remaining in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s round of six.

    Huo Yuhao had just been sitting there with his eyes closed for almost an hour, resting up. He finally opened his eyes, and his eyes sparkled before he got down to work once again.

    A formlessyer of Spiritual Detection nketed his crafting desk, and every single sophisticatedponent seemed like it was numbered. He raised his right hand to draw aponent from the desk¡¯s other end toward him using Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and pressed it down on another part to lock it in before cing them t on the crafting desk. His right hand began to move like a butterfly meandering through flowers, and he was so fast that he left afterimages on his crafting desk.

    The multiple soul toolponents of different shapes and sizes that were made from all sorts of rare metals were being continuously assembled by his right hand. A soul tool gradually took form on his crafting desk.

    ---

    Time continued ticking down. The other five contestants had already finished their work; nobody would dare to risk the final minutes toplete their soul tools. They gave themselves enough of a buffer and reserve time during their crafting process, so all their eyes drifted over to Huo Yuhao at the same time.

    They could see that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have a single doll on his crafting desk at all, meaning he had no finished product. The other five contestants had different expressions on their faces, and even He Caitou¡¯s eyes flickered with a hint of worry. Hongchen¡¯s Blessing is a ss 9 soul tool! What¡¯s he doing? With his Spiritual Detection to guide him, how can he not create a single soul tool after ten hours?

    The hourss had dwindled down to its final minutes, and the fine grains of sand were gradually flowing away. 98 smiled condescendingly; he was entirely confident of winning even if Huo Yuhao could finish crafting the soul tool he was working on. It was easy to make mistakes when working under such tense conditions. Besides, could this soul tool be operational and effective? In other words, could he really seed inpleting it?

    Even if he does seed, I already have a n to counter that. What can he do with just one soul tool?

    Yes, his stake was quite impressive. It looked like a defensive soul tool that¡¯s at least ss 8! Very suitable for me!

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his right hand vigorously, and his soul tool dropped down onto his crafting desk with a ng. His hourss still had a teeny bit of sand.

    The gamblers who ced their bets on him fell back into their respective seats, as if their souls had departed their bodies. Huo Yuhao had finallypleted one soul tool, which meant that there was still a thread of hope. A single thread was better than nothing at all.

    98 frowned from where he sat opposite Huo Yuhao. He could see that Yuhao had forged a very strange-looking soul tool that it was shaped like a shield. The shield¡¯s physical appearance was split into three different parts. There was a protruding center shaped like a sphere and asrge as a human head, whose silver-white metal surface shone with gentle bluish-green light.

    The shield¡¯s outer surface was mostly grey metal, with this protruding hemisphere at its center, and otherwise very unassuming. Its outermost circumference was a pale blue metal, and a lot thinnerpared to its other parts. One would realize upon closer inspection that this shield was crafted by assembling many differentponents together. There were multiple rare metals contained inside, and even an established soul engineer like 98 couldn¡¯t identify them all with one look.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up, contestants. Please stop everything you¡¯re doing. Judges, please step forward to assess their soul tools.¡± Ajin was back on the stage. The soundproofing barrier dropped, and morous noises immediately flooded thepetition stage.

    The three judges were already on stage, and the first person they approached was Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t produced a single soul tool throughout the entire round up until thest moment, and they wanted to make sure whether he was qualified to continue in this round.

    ---

    A few people were sitting inside a guest lounge at the center of a structure hovering in the air above the Golden Hall. There was ady dressed in a long ck robe seated in the middle of everyone, her baggy and oversized robe covering her entire body. One could only tell her gender from the faint lines of her physical frame.

    She was wearing a conical bamboo hat, and a ck veil covered her face. Only her two peculiar bluish-grey eyes were revealed, and they were silently watching everything that was happening outside.

    The guest lounge was very quiet at this moment; everybody was just watching without making a sound.

    ¡°What do you think about 66, Old Three?¡± thedy sitting in the middle asked inly.

    The person she was talking to was an elderly man who looked about sixty years old. His silver-white hair dangled behind his head, and he had a very tough and muscr physique. He wasn¡¯t that young anymore, but his eyes were still exceedingly sharp and pithy.

    ¡°That youth is very sophisticated, vice sect leader. I noticed that he was crafting an extremelyplicatedposite soul tool from the very beginning, but it¡¯s the first time that I¡¯ve seen this production method. There are seventeen formation arrays contained inside. Thergest one is an energy-gathering formation array, and it¡¯s also the one that¡¯s located at the shield¡¯s center. He was the slowest when he was creating that formation array, but I couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary about it. The other sixteen formation arrays should be deflective rays and something of the like. Some are a little different from the rest, and the six formation arrays on the outermost circumference should be deflective rays with reversal capabilities, if my eyes didn¡¯t fail me. That also means that this shield should have absorbing capabilities.¡±

    ¡°Deflection and absorption at the same time? What¡¯s he trying to achieve?¡± The vice-sect leader¡¯s silver-white eyes showed a little doubt and suspicion.

    The elderly man shook his head and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to guess that, either. Even though he¡¯s not considered a very high-level soul engineer, every soul engineer has his or her own innovations and creativity. This soul tool¡¯splexity can bepared to a ss 7 soul tool, and I can tell from the final assembly phase that there are many gears and other structures that I cannot understand. Most of them should be his own inventions. I have to say that this youth is a genius. I wish to take him in under our wing if it¡¯s possible.¡±

    Another elderly man sitting on the vice-sect leader¡¯s other side smiled and remarked, ¡°Even you hold this fellow in high regard? Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll find someone to talk to him after the contest and ask him about his thoughts. Some of my people told me before this that they¡¯ve closely inspected the soul tool that he¡¯s using for their individual wager, and that soul tool is from the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Furthermore, it¡¯s likely that the Hallmaster of the Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen himself, was the one who created it. It¡¯s a ss 8 soul tool at the very least, but it¡¯s actual strength can only be confirmed after proper assessment.¡±

    The vice-sect leader sounded a little surprised. ¡°Can he be Jing Hongchen¡¯s disciple? But I¡¯ve never heard of Jing Hongchen having a crippled disciple. Do you think this fellow can defeat your precious disciple?¡±

    The first elderly man shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Between my two disciples, Huang Zheng is rtively levelheaded and steady, and he does things more stably. He¡¯s the senior brother, and lives up to his status. However, Mo Ke is more talented. But his greatest weakness is that he is easily arrogant and condescending. He¡¯s a little better in front of me, but he¡¯s always arrogant and condescending towards outsiders. I¡¯ve reminded him countless times, but he¡¯s never kicked the habit. I do wish to see him lose to 66 today, and that¡¯s not a bad thing for his future growth and development.¡±

    The vice-sect leader said, ¡°We shall wait and see, then. Second Elder, how are the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s profits looking from this tournament?¡±

    The other elderly man that spoke to the first one replied, ¡°We have gained almost thirty-three percent more than our original projections.¡±

    The vice-sect leader nodded her head and said, ¡°Very well. After this, we will increase our control over the government¡¯s rare metals. You have to send some people when the timees, as these are our sect¡¯s core resources.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Second Elder acknowledged respectfully.

    ---

    The three judges swiftly made their assessments on thepetition stage, and they affirmed that Huo Yuhao had sessfully created a soul tool. However, the judges shared the third elder and the vice-sect leader¡¯s confusion, and they didn¡¯t understand why Huo Yuhao would craft a soul tool like that. This was a defensive soul tool in a fight, which meant that Huo Yuhao would be the passive one taking hits. Did he want to defeat hisponent by grinding down his soul power?

    98 didn¡¯t look so good when he saw that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool was a shield. Initially, he had believed that Huo Yuhao was creating an offensive soul tool with incredible attacking strength. But it seemed like his judgment was wrong, and that meant some of his ns to counter Huo Yuhao were wasted. He had spent four hours creating an Invincible Barrier against Huo Yuhao specifically because of his erroneous judgment.

    All six soul engineers were quickly validated. 98 had sixpleted soul tools, Huo Yuhao had only one, and 96 also had six. He Caitou had five, and the remaining two had four each.

    96 and 98 had a great advantage over the others in terms of the number of soul tools they had created.

    The chief judge took the speaker-type soul tool from Ajin. He announced the number of soul tools that each contestant had finished before he lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pose my routine questions now. The crafting phase is over, and because this is the round of six, every soul tool will have to be field-tested, no matter how each one has turned out. Your soul tools have to be proven in battle to show their strengths and their worth. Let me ask you now ¨C does anyone feel that your soul tools are not enough to fight against your opponent? You have the option to back out now. Otherwise, you are responsible for your own injuries, and even your death once we enter thebat phase.¡±

    There was a lot more tension on thepetition stage once this was said, and the atmosphere felt a lot more antagonistic. Many officials were already on stage to remove the six crafting desks, and they also temporarily removed the rare metals that were intended as prizes. It was clear that this circrpetition stage was where the six soul engineers would fight it out!

 Chapter 310.2: The Adjudication Shield

    Nobody backed out. The prizes were so rich and generous, who didn¡¯t want to give it a shot? Even if someone ended up on the losing end, they could still admit defeat. It was very unlikely for someone to die in a tournament that was focused onparing soul tools.

    ¡°Very well. Since nobody has decided to back out, we shallmence thebat phase. May I invite 96 and 37 to start the first match?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s individual bet with 98, along with the incredible value of their stakes, meant that they would probably be thest to fight. The first match would definitely be between the more unbnced pairs.

    37 fought against 96, and was already at aplete disadvantage in his aura and disposition. There was no suspense at all, and 96 took just five minutes to achieve an overwhelming victory. Then it was He Caitou¡¯s turn against 85.

    He Caitou gradually stepped towards thepetition stage with arge cannon on his shoulders. He had crafted five soul tools ¨C the ck heavy cannon on his shoulder, a round breastte, a shield, a waistte, and a helmet.

    Those were his five different soul tools, and he was well-equipped in terms of both attack and defense. Almost every single contestant chose this direction.

    He Caitou¡¯s opponent was a little simpler inparison. His opponent had a breastte, and one rtively smaller soul cannon on each of his shoulders. He also had a belt-like soul tool around his waist.

    They were inside the Golden Hall¡¯spetition stage after all, and it was a lot smaller than the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯spetition stage. Neither party had much space to move around, and any long-range attacks could reach the other side in no time.

    The three judges returned to their positions, and the chief judge eximed, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Both He Caitou and 85 unleashed their martial souls at almost the same time. He Caitou was very quick, and six soul rings rose up from his feet. On seeing this, the audience erupted into shouts and exmations! He Caitou was a six-ringed Soul Emperor, and this meant that this tall and broad-shouldered man in a mask was likely to be a ss 6 soul engineer as well! The people who had ced their bets on He Caitou began to gasp and exim in joy and delight.

    85 paled inparison. He had two yellow and three purple soul rings; only five soul rings, and he didn¡¯t have the most optimal soul ringbination.

    Both parties chose to unleash the same soul tool initially, a protective soul barrier. Ayer of white light rose up and enveloped their bodies inside. Both soul barriers were ss 5, as they had only had ten hours to craft their soul tools.

    The belt-like soul tool that 85 had around his waist burst with colorful light, and circle after circle of intense light rippled out from it. His soul power undtions began to flourish with lightning speed.

    ¡°Wow! Look, everyone! The soul tool around 85¡¯s waist is an extremely rare energy-gathering soul tool. It can focus and condense the user¡¯s soul power over a short period of time. It¡¯s very difficult to create a soul tool like that, and one has to be very precise in the crafting process! Otherwise, one mistake will cause injuries to the user. I can imagine right now that 85¡¯s subsequent attack will as vigorous and violent as a thunderstorm! With his energy-gathering soul tool¡¯s amplification, his attacks can rival that of a ss 6 soul engineer for a short period of time.¡±

    He Caitou didn¡¯t respond as he watched his opponent¡¯s energy-gathering soul tool. He calmly raised his left arm and blocked his chest, the footlong shield on his left arm beginning to chime faintly and radiate ayer of orangish-yellow light.

    ¡°Eh, look! What a great counter! The shield that 88 has chosen to use should be a soul reflecting shield! This shield is highly resistant and effective against all soul power attacks, or more urately, all kinds of soul rays. The only problem is that I can¡¯t tell what this soul reflecting shield¡¯s ss is...¡±

    The fight begun, and Ajin¡¯s saliva was spewing all over the ce as hementated excitedly on the battle.

    An energy-gathering soul tool could temporarily increase a soul engineer¡¯s offensive ability, but it also consumed a lot more soul power. The user would have to achieve victory as quickly as possible.

    85 felt his heart sink when he saw He Caitou¡¯s six soul rings. He knew that he only had one chance to win.

    Because of this, he didn¡¯t wait for He Caitou to do anything else, and fired off the twin soul cannons on his shoulders. Two different lights sted toward He Caitou.

    The soul cannon on his left shoulder was a brilliant white soul ray. The air around it felt a little strange as this ray surged out, and everyone seemed to see cracks and tears in the air wherever this soul ray passed. The air seemed to be ssy and shatter in its wake.

    The other soul cannon fired a pink sphere of light. This sphere was as big as a fist, but it grew increasinglyrger as it flew through the air.

    Every single contestant who could make it into the round of six had their own unique strengths, and 85 wasn¡¯t an exception!

    Even Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he watched those soul cannons. Both of them were ss 5 soul tools that were rarely seen.

    The soul ray that cracked open the air as it flew was called a splitting shockwave. Even though it was simr to a shock bomb, there was a world of difference between them.

    Shock bombs relied on intense and forceful shockwaves and undtions, but the splitting shockwave resembled uncountable knives and des. Powerful cutting effects would be dished out to the target, and it would cut in very irregr patterns. The splitting shockwave was highly destructive, fierce, and brutal. However, it was very difficult to craft one of these, and it was quite challenging to control it as well. Splitting shockwaves were inherently unstable, and could easily injure their user. Therefore, soul engineers typically didn¡¯t opt for such a soul tool.

    However, 85 seemed very confident, and it was clear that he was very familiar with using simr soul tools.

    The pink sphere on the other side wasn¡¯t much worse, and it was known as an enfeebling cannon. This cannon could be considered a more primitive version of the aging ray which had been used on Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    It was difficult for any energy-based defenses to dispel a enfeebling cannon¡¯s effects, and anybody struck by it would immediately enter a weakened state. This weakened state was a prolonged and continuous one, and the victim would have to rest for a very long time to recover.

    Both soul tools were considered incredibly difficult to craft among ss 5 soul tools. Furthermore, a lot of soul power had to be consumed when using them.

    It was clear that 85 was prepared with his equipment. He had a ss 5 protective soul barrier to defend himself, and his energy-gathering belt boosted his soul power, while his two formidable soul cannons would take care of his opponent. His setup was quite impressive.

    The splitting shockwave was the first to reach He Caitou. It shed with He Caitou¡¯s soul barrier, shrill and ear-piercing sounds ringing out. The audience could see cuts and scars swiftly webbing out across He Caitou¡¯s soul barrier.

    The splitting shockwave¡¯s most frightening characteristic was that it could be fired continuously. As long as the user had enough soul power to sustain his or her attack, this attack could be used continuously and without pause. Of course, this attacking style increased the chances of the soul tool itself breaking apart.

    The enfeebling cannon shell followed immediately afterwards. It was not hard to imagine that He Caitou¡¯s soul barrier would definitely not be able to withstand the splitting shockwaves if he entered a weakened state, and it was likely that that would be instantly sliced and diced into pieces. 85 immediately took the upper hand as he made his first attack.

    But He Caitou wasn¡¯t worried or panicky from beginning to end. He pressed his shield and its orange light, and the orange radiance seemed to materialize as it wrapped around his protective soul barrier and barricaded the splitting shockwave without. The cracks and scars immediately vanished.

    He Caitou¡¯s feet moved as the enfeebling cannon shell came shortly after. He took a step to the left, evading the attack with incredible speed. The fact that hisrge and bulky body could make such agile and nimble dodging movements was astonishing.

    The enfeebling cannon charge was locked onto him, however, and began to follow him as he waltzed around.

    The helmet on He Caitou¡¯s head lit up, a bright silver beam erupting out of it and circling once around his body. The enfeebling cannon charge was pursuing closely behind him, so it was naturally epassed within this beam¡¯s radius, and was instantly scooped up by the silver light.

    ¡°This¡­ is this what¡¯s known as a ss 5 capturing hand? It can capture any powerful energy-based existence, and is primarily used to counter stationary soul cannons. It¡¯s quite a surprise that 88 has created a soul tool like that. It¡¯s a very clever creation.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s capturing hand wrapped around the enfeebling charge, and its lock-on effects were immediately dispelled. He Caitou hurled the cannon charge back out towards 85, wanting to give his opponent a taste of his own medicine. The pink light sphere hurtled straight towards 85 at a speed faster then it had originally beenunched at!

    85 was ovee with shock, but his response was still appropriate. He Caitou¡¯s capturing hand could capture any energy-based entity at a certain speed, but it couldn¡¯t keep any lock-on capabilities. 85 dodged to one side and avoided this cannon shell, but his splitting shockwave paused for a moment because of his movements.

    Right at that moment, a brilliant blue pir of light surged across thepetition stage. This blue pir boomed like a thunderbolt, and the entire Golden Hall seemed to tremble and shiver along with it. There was only a protective dome around thepetition stage; there wasn¡¯t a sound-proofing barrier. Therefore, everybody in the audience could hear the crisp and deafening boom.

    The heavy cannon on He Caitou¡¯s shoulder was finally unleashed, a Lightning Cannon! This was one of He Caitou¡¯s favorite soul tools!

 Chapter 310.3: The Adjudication Shield

    Frightening lightning tore the air open as it thundered towards He Caitou¡¯s opponent. The bluish-purple lighting caused the air to twist and contort, and 85 had just evaded his own enfeebling cannon charge when his face changed.

    ss 6! That¡¯s a ss 6 lightning cannon! My protective soul barrier can¡¯t handle that!

    He hesitated for a single moment before he shouted, ¡°I admit defeat!¡± He did have an option against this attack. He could use his Invincible Barrier to defend himself, but doing so was no different from admitting defeat. Almost every soul engineer above ss 5 was equipped with an Invincible Barrier, but this item was so outrageously expensive that nobody would ever use it unless the circumstance was a matter of life and death. This was especially so when the tournament prohibited using soul tools that were not crafted during the tournament, and this meant using an Invincible Barrier was equivalent to admitting defeat.

    Boom!

    The Lightning Cannon was withdrawn after just one shot. But even so, 85 was immediately thrown backwards from the impact, and his ss 5 protective soul barrier instantly shattered. His soul power was almost entirely smashed away by the impact, and his entire body was burned ck. He puked out a mouthful of blood when he dropped back to the ground.

    Ajin couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°85 loves wealth more than he loves his life! I believe he has an Invincible Barrier with him, but he couldn¡¯t bear to use it. I would have done the same thing if I had been in his shoes. It¡¯s a pity I¡¯m not a soul engineer...¡±

    The battle was over, and victory had been determined. He Caitou was actually quite merciful and generous. Otherwise, if he had unleashed his Lightning Cannon¡¯s strength to its fullest extent, 85 would have been heavily injured, or instantly killed!

    ¡°Thank you for showing me mercy.¡± 85 climbed to his feet and immediately bowed respectfully to He Caitou. Even though he had lost this round, his opponent had instantly stopped attacking after he admitted defeat. He was full of goodwill towards his opponent.

    He Caitou remembered everything that Huo Yuhao had told him. He didn¡¯t make a sound, but nodded in his opponent¡¯s direction before he departed thepetition stage to im his prize.

    ---

    Two matches out of three were over. 96 was very powerful and dominant, and He Caitou¡¯sst ss 6 soul tool was equally strong and impressive. Both of them gave the audience a deep andsting impression.

    Soul engineers typically resolved theirbats very quickly, and rifts in strength and standards were quickly presented in a fight. The highlight of the show was about to begin, and the contestants that had bet against one another were about to fight!

    Everyone in the audience began to take shorter and quicker breaths. Some were pleased and others upset about the result of the previous two matches, but the third and final match had the best odds. This was especially true for those who had ced their bets on Huo Yuhao; every single one of them could feel butterflies in their stomach. Even though they knew their chances of winning their bets were slim, they still had to hold on to that thread of hope until the very end. The odds were one to three¡­ these was considered very good odds, and they would make windfall profits if they won this bet!

    Those who had ced their bets on 98 weren¡¯t worried at all. Six soul tools versus one... unless his opponent had a trump card that ensured his victory, 98¡¯s advantage was just too evident. There was nothing they had to be worried about at all.

    Huo Yuhao smiled,but his smile felt a little chilly. Officials pushed his wheelchair onto thepetition stage, and 98 stepped onto the stage on the other side, fully equipped with his six soul tools.

    Their gazes met, and the corner of 98¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°Do you feel the pressure now, little fellow? Give it up. I won¡¯t kill you, considering you¡¯ve given me such a nice present. I¡¯ll let you keep your life because of that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was ck. ¡°We haven¡¯t even fought yet. How are you so sure that you¡¯ll win? Let me tell you, I have a lot of soul power. Hmph!¡±

    98ughed heartily and said, ¡°That means you want to use that shield of yours to grind me down until I have no soul power left? Do you think that¡¯s realistic? I have at least a hundred ways of breaking through your defenses. You¡¯re so outrageous and arrogant even though you¡¯re sitting on that wheelchair. Now I understand why you are crippled.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a knot form in his heart. Even though he was intentionally showing weakness to his opponent, he still didn¡¯t feel very happy when his opponentbelled him as an outrageous and arrogant cripple.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see during the match. I hope you won¡¯t cry after losing the battle. The Darkness Green Dragon, huh? It¡¯s already mine,¡± Huo Yuhao grunted coldly, but he didn¡¯t seem like he had any substance to back up his words.

    ¡°My Darkness Green Dragon is right here. I¡¯m afraid you can only look at it. Hahaha!¡± 98 waved his right hand, and a dark green light waltzed around his fingertips like a spiritual serpent that hade alive. Huo Yuhao had to admit that 98 was quite aplished with soul tools, and he had his own attainments.

    ¡°Judge!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted.

    All three judges turned towards him confusedly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve already given my stake to you before this. The crafting phase is over, so shouldn¡¯t 98 give his stake to you just like I have? That¡¯s only fair!¡±

    98 felt his face freeze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal. He generously revealed the Darkness Green Dragon in his hands and said, ¡°Take it away, then. It wille back to me in a moment¡¯s time, anyway.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could clearly tell that 98 couldn¡¯t bear to part with his carving knife when the judges took it away.

    All soul engineers at every ss were as intimate with the carving knife they always used as if it were their own child. It was natural that any soul engineer would feel a little out of ce without their favorite carving knife in their possession.

    ---

    They entered thepetition stage and took their sides. They had the soul tools that they had crafted earlier on them.

    Huo Yuhao ced his shield t down on his legs and gently caressed its surface. The unsettled expression on his face gradually disappeared, and he finally disyed a self-confident smile.

    He was absolutely certain that this shield was one of the most sessful soul tools that he had crafted over his entire life, and had named it the Adjudication Shield.

    ¡°Are you guys ready?¡± the judges inquired from their elevated seats.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Both Huo Yuhao and 98 responded at the same time.

    ¡°Alright. Bring up the protective barriers!¡±

    The pale yellow protective barriers rose up and formed a hemisphere that epassed the entirepetition stage. The barriers were there to prevent the soul tools unleashed from damaging the Golden Hall.

    Huo Yuhao raised the shield in his hands. 98 seemed as casual as ever on the other side, and he raised a strange-looking soul cannon with his right hand.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    The round of six¡¯s final match began with the judge¡¯s announcement.

    Huo Yuhao raised his shield in front of him. However, not a single soul ring could be seen on his body.

    On the other side, whistling sounds could be heard beneath 98¡¯s feet as two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose up, one after another. Dense soul power undtions immediately rippled from his body.

    He wasn¡¯t at all hasty to attack. Instead, he took a few steps forward as he ced his soul cannon on his shoulder.

    Of the other six soul tools that he had created, other than his Invincible Barrier, he took the longest to craft this one.

    This soul cannon looked like it was embedded into his shoulder, and it gave the audience the feeling that it was part of his body. This was a quality that an outstanding soul engineer had to possess, and every soul tool he created had to have chemistry with the soul engineer¡¯s body.

    This soul cannon was silver-white in color, and faintly radiated green light. The cannon¡¯s mouth was t and rectangr, and the entire cannon seemed a little peculiar. The ck, t opening began to flicker with light.

    98 channeled his soul power, and a soul tool on his waist behind his back erupted with light. He also had an energy-gathering soul tool, but his energy-gathering soul tool was a little gentler than the one that belonged to 85. At least, the soul power undtions didn¡¯t seem as strong.

    However, once this soul tool was activated, the soul cannon on his shoulder erupted with green light. There appeared to be ck streaks of air circting around the cannon¡¯s mouth.

    Huo Yuhao hid his bodypletely behind his shield. Blue light sparkled on his shield, and a faint wheel of light could be seen that increased the shield¡¯s defensive area of effect. The hemispherical protrusion in the shield¡¯s center didn¡¯t change much, while the silver-white regions at the shield¡¯s center and on its edges shone with rtively more intense white light. The shield had quite an impressive outward appearance to the naked eye.

    However, the gamblers who had ced their bets on Huo Yuhao felt their hopes dwindling to nothing. Could he really grind down his opponent¡¯s soul power with this shield?

    They witnessed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings at this moment. He had two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring. This was the optimal soul ringbination, but he only had five. He was a Soul King, so how he could win a war of attrition against a Soul Emperor? A Soul Emperor¡¯s soul power was at least two or three times more plentiful than a Soul King¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao rarely revealed his soul rings¡¯ true colors to outsiders so that he could hide his identity. He was using Imitation to mask their actual colors!

    98¡¯s soul cannon fired, and a dark red beam stretched through the air, sweeping towards Huo Yuhao.

    ---

    Inside the central guest lounge, the third elder muttered under his breath, ¡°I want to see how this fellow is going to defend himself against Mo Ke¡¯s corrosive dposition cannon. With the Darkness Green Dragon¡¯s amplifications, this corrosive dposition cannon would be considered very powerful even among ss 6 soul tools. It¡¯s very explosive, but its continuous destructiveness is its strongest attribute. No matter what deflective and absorptive effects that shield possesses, it can only take effect on material entities. How is he going to defend himself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao proved how he could defend himself on thepetition stage. He ced his shield in front of him, and began to chant something under his breath. The shield blocked everyone¡¯s vision, and his eyes suddenly turned grey.

    The audience watched as the corrosive dposition beam was about to reach his shield. A grey streak suddenly burst from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and condensed into a sphere of smoky fog that blocked the beam¡¯s forward movement, just like that.

    A series of crackling sounds could be heard as steam rose up from thepetition stage. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move at all, but a ck skeleton suddenly appeared before him. This skeleton seemed to have been called from nowhere, and the gray fog blocked the light beam for one moment before this ck skeleton forcefully intervened.

 Chapter 311.1: Huo Yuhaos Third Martial Soul

    The skeleton quickly turned dark-green. Right after that, it emitted an aching, ttering sound that made it seem as if it could copse at any time.

    As Huo Yuhao continued chanting, streams of grey air continued to surge from his body, flowing into the ck skeleton in front of him. Upon absorbing these streams of air, the skeleton began to totter about. However, it only continued to totter, and not copse.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished upon witnessing this scene.

    Was 66 not nning on using his soul tool to take 98¡¯s attack? Wasn¡¯t he clearly using the power of his martial soul? Was his martial soul a Skeleton? Furthermore, was he summoning a skeleton outside his body? However, why did none of his soul rings light up upon strengthening that skeleton¡¯s defenses?

    While everyone else was dumbstruck, Huo Yuhao himself was somewhat astonished. As he used the necromantic arts his teacher had imparted to him, he felt that it was somewhat ipatible with his Spirit Eyes.

    His spiritual power was rtively strong right now. The moment he felt something was off, he immediately withdrew his Spirit Eyes along with its soul rings. Moreover, he suddenly felt as if something in his mind had shattered. Right after that, he felt a trace of enlightenment, along with arge amount of information that filled his spiritual sea.

    The sudden appearance of so many astonishing things in one¡¯s mind would definitely have struck any other person dumb. However, Huo Yuhao was a person who had cultivated his spiritual power to the concrete-immaterial realm. After a brief moment of astonishment, he immediately used his spiritual power to temporarily seal these pieces of memory-like information in his spiritual sea. At the same time, he continued chanting his spell.

    A strange scene stunned the entire audience. Under the eyes of everyone present, a grey soul ring quietly rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet. Right, a grey soul ring that was filled with a deathly stillness. The instant it appeared, it seemed as if all of the light within the Golden Hall had vanished.

    A tall, faint figure appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Although it was only a silhouette, and its facial features couldn¡¯t be clearly seen, the boundless auraing from it stunned the entire field.

    Practically everyone seated in the centre of the VIP lounge got to their feet at the same time, their expressions that of bewilderment. Even the female vice-founder wasn¡¯t an exception to this. All of them quickly moved to the window, staring at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao felt his senses immediately change the instant the grey soul ring appeared. The various spells of the Divine Law of Necromancy that Cmity Necromancer Electrolux had imparted to him in the past began to appear clearly in his mind. Every single spell appeared like a construct or model, and the originally superfluous spells seemed to shorten. Now, he would be able to cast any of his spells as long as he followed the models within his mind.

    Huo Yuhao raised the shield with his right hand. Due to the brief pause he had, the ck skeleton in front of him had already exploded with a bang and turned into small fragments because of the corrosive dposition cannon. The cannon charge thennded on his Adjudication Shield at practically the same instant.

    Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao put his shield away and ced it on his legs. At this moment, 98 finally saw the deathly grey in his eyes.

    As the person who was on the stage, 98 was the person who could sense the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura the most clearly. This was a choking feeling that made it seem as though his throat was being crushed, and the enormous pressure and deathly stillness made him suffocate somewhat. He could only increase the amount of soul power in his corrosive dposition cannon and hope that it could take Huo Yuhao out.

    After putting his shield down, Huo Yuhao raised his right hand. Gently tapping the air, he began to chant once again. He felt the soul power in his body roil about quickly, and the spiritual power in his mind surged forth in torrents. It felt as though something was simultaneously drawing out the spiritual and soul power in his body.

    Arge, pitch-ck door appeared in front of Huo Yuhao without any prior warning, and the discharge of the corrosive dposition cannon inches away from him fell right into that door.

    Thatrge door seemed as thin as a feather, but the corrosive dposition stopped moving after falling into it, as though it had fallen in quicksand.

    Right after that, a mournful howl rang out from that door. With a wave of his hand, the door that had already fallen to the ground several meters away from him instantly stood upright. A grey figure pounced out from the door, charging straight towards 98!

    This was a metallic-green humanoid with a pair of wings on its back. However, it didn¡¯t have a head.

    This sudden change of events left 98 greatly astonished, yet somewhat fric. He paused the firing of his corrosive dposition cannon for a brief moment, then aimed it at that zombie.

    ¡°Chichi!¡± An ear-piercing shriek mixed with the poison mist caused by the corrosion in the air rang out. However, the headless zombie only paused for a brief moment when facing 98¡¯s attack. Right after that, it charged forward, ignoring the destructive might of the corrosive dposition cannon. His body was tougher than cast iron! This necromantic spell was called the Spectral Gate, and its activation would create a door linked to theherworld, summoning a specter that could aid one inbat.

    ording to the memories that Electrolux had left him, the Spectral Gate could summon a spectre whose strength could range from a three-ringed to a six-ringed orthodox soul master from the Douluo Continent. The specific specter that would be summoned, on the other hand, would be dependent on one¡¯s luck.

    The fact that the headless iron zombie was able to directly take on a corrosive dposition cannon truly astonished Huo Yuhao. However, he didn¡¯t dare to dally around; he quickly released another necromantic spell.

    A transparent grey whip appeared before Huo Yuhao. With a wave, it struck the headless iron zombie.

    Immediately, the headless zombie let out a mournful shriek. A ray of light that was identical to it in texture was drawn out from its body, before merging back into it.

    This was the Death Whip, a weapon which could directly attack an opponent¡¯s soul. If it was used on one¡¯s own summoned spectres, it would raise itsbat strength for a brief period of time.

    After being struck by the Death Whip, a bronze tint appeared on the headless zombie¡¯s skin. It forcefully took another cannon shot, getting within five meters of 98.

    Currently, 98 was truly feeling somewhat panicked. Smacking his chest with his right hand, he instantly released a white soul ring that tossed the rushing headless zombie away.

    Nobody would¡¯ve thought that the Elite Soul Engineering Tournament would end up like this, but nobody could say that Huo Yuhao was breaking the rules, either. After all, the round-of-six permitted the use of soul master abilities! Only, Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were overly strange. These were clearly the skills of an evil soul master! If this wasn¡¯t an underground tournament, some of the orthodox soul engineers there would¡¯ve called him into question.

    However, this was the Duskwater Alliance, and nothing could stop the betting from continuing.

    Huo Yuhao seldom used necromantic magic, but it helped conceal his identity within the Golden Hall. At this moment, the skill with which he used these magics began to improve.

    The headless zombie immediately charged forward again after being pushed back. While it took care of 98, Huo Yuhao began to chant another spell.

    A red ring of light quietly appeared beneath 98, rising into the air. Right after that, a dark-red skull appeared above him, and his movements seemed to slow somewhat.

    This was the Curse of Blood, a necromantic spell that could slow a person down. This spell had another terrifying bit to it; once its target was attacked, the effect of the curse would re up, injuring him even more.

    After casting this spell, Huo Yuhao¡¯s chanting became even more resounding. As his strange chants continued to ring out, the illusory figure of light behind him became even clearer. One could faintly see that this figure was precisely the Divine Law of Necromancy, Cmity Necromancer Electrolux! Naturally, only Huo Yuhao was able to identify him. Everyone else could only see the blurry image of an old man.

    The strength of a necromantic spell was normally proportional to the length of its chant. The longer the chant, the stronger the spell would be.

    An intense sense of crisis enveloped 98. However, he currently had no way of taking Huo Yuhao out. That headless zombie was simply too quick, and not only did it not fear death, it was even as tough as steel. The most he could do with the soul tools he¡¯d crafted during this tournament was push it back, or even injure it somewhat. However, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it out.

    98 also understood that he needed to use a few abilities which were specifically strong against the zombie to take it out. However, how was he to find a soul tool that was specifically strong against it right now?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s strange chanting was like a voodoo curse to him. As his expression kept changing, 98 suddenly rolled on the ground, dodging the headless zombie¡¯s charge. Right after that, a ray of light erupted behind his back. The powerful momentum created by the soul thrusters on his back sent him flying straight towards Huo Yuhao.

    At the same time, he activated a golden Invincible Barrier, and a pitch-ck dagger appeared in his hand.

    This dagger was a corrosive dposition dagger, a closebat ss 4 soul tool. Upon striking one¡¯s target, this dagger would quickly corrode and dpose an opponent¡¯s body and outer defenses, all the way until it pierced its target.

    98 wasn¡¯t just a soul engineer who specialised in long-range attacks; he was somewhat capable in the field of closebat as well!

 Chapter 311.2: Huo Yuhaos Third Martial Soul

    Faced with the headless zombie¡¯s incessant interruptions, he realised that if this continued, he¡¯d be finished if Huo Yuhao used even a single soul skill. As such, he was forced to take a risk out of desperation. ncing at Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair-bound self, he knew that as long as he could get close to thetter and interrupt his mysterious chanting, he¡¯d be able to end the fight. As long his Invincible Barrier was around, the headless zombie wouldn¡¯t be able to injure him either.

    The headless zombie was exceptionally strong and tough, but it didn¡¯t have any abilities beyond these two physical traits. Even though it was chasing ny-eight from behind with all its might, it wasn¡¯t capable of stopping someone who was travelling at full speed using soul thrusters.

    Howrge could the tournament stage be? Almost immediately after using his soul thruster, ny-eight reached Huo Yuhao. He swung his sword qi-filled de downwards, straight at Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    When he did so, he saw a trace of regret flit through Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, before an enormous shield suddenly appeared and blocked his entire line of sight.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡± A dark greenyer of light instantly rose from the shield¡¯s surface. Ny-eight gazed at it expectantly, ready for his corrosive dposing dagger to pierce straight through the shield. To his astonishment however, his dagger was the one that seemed to corrode when it came in contact with the shield; it was if the tip of his knife had been dulled.

    Immediately afterwards, a ring of light lit up on the shield¡¯s surface and sent ny-eight¡¯s body flying like a cannon shell.

    This was a ss 7 soul tool known as the Adjudication Shield. Huo Yuhao had finally finished it after ten hours of hard work and the use of his Life Guardian de.

    Of the three abilities it had, two¡ªreflection and absorption¡ªcould only be used on material objects; they were useless against anything energy based. Itsst ability, on the other hand, was called ¡®Adjudication.¡¯

    Just like its other two abilities, it could only be used on objects.

    However, Adjudication was an ability that had been passed on by the Life Guardian de. If used, it would instantly absorb the life force of any substance it was currently in contact with and destroy it. This ability was capable of affecting any and all soul tools ss 7 and below, and was still somewhat useful against soul tools above ss 7, albeit with reduced effectiveness. This could be considered a godlike ability for soul engineers who specialised in closebat. With this shield in hand, why would Huo Yuhao be afraid of any opponents getting close to him?

    He hadn¡¯t stopped chanting since the start of the battle. Following this brief interlude, Huo Yuhao¡¯s chanting had alreadysted for over ten seconds.

    Finally, his chanting came to an end. When he did, his eyes had been tinted dark purple, and the enormous figure behind him froze momentarily. Immediately afterwards, Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and pointed at ny-eight.

    The moment he did so, a dark purple light covered ny-eight¡¯s skin. Surprisingly, even his Invincible Barrier hadn¡¯t been able to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s necromantic magic. As soon as the dark purple light covered his body, Ny-eight let out a miserable howl despite being inside of his golden Invincible Barrier; he felt as if every inch of his body was melting.

    By channelling all of the soul power in his body, he found that the most he could do was slow the melting.

    Once he¡¯d finished casting this spell, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned somewhat pale. With the experience he¡¯d gained from casting a few spells, he¡¯d discovered that necromantic spells mainly relied on his spiritual power; they didn¡¯t drain much of his soul power.

    However, his specialty was precisely his spiritual power! His current spiritual power wasparable in prowess to that of a Soul Douluo. And yet, even with this level of spiritual power, casting that necromantic spell had instantly cost him nearly a third of his total spiritual power. The strength of his necromantic magic could be seen from this.

    This was Withering, an extremely powerful single-target magic. It directly struck the target¡¯s spiritual ne, in turn igniting the target¡¯s life force. This would create a mysterious elemental transformation that lead to the target melting from within.

    Regardless of how much strength one possessed, one could only use the energy within their body to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Withering. If they were incapable of doing so, they¡¯d wither away and die. Moreover, Witheringsted for a full minute!

    Seeing that the situation wasn¡¯t going too well, the Third Elder, who was seated in the middle of the VIP lounge, couldn¡¯t wait any longer. He stood up and shouted, ¡°Ny-eight admits defeat. Quickly end your skill.¡±

    With a sh of light, the Third Elder then appeared above the stage and floated there.

    Huo Yuhao shivered inwardly; he truly had gone somewhat overboard with his performance today. Fortunately, he¡¯d only used his necromantic abilities.

    ¡°Who are you? What gives you the right to make a decision for him?¡± Huo Yuhao asked indifferently.

    If the Third Elder didn¡¯t care about the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s reputation, he would¡¯ve charged straight towards the soul barrier. Instead, he shouted, ¡°I¡¯m his teacher. I mean what I say! You¡¯d better end your attack right now!¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t insist on continuing. The elder standing in midair had to be at least a Soul Douluo; he was an existence that he couldn¡¯t handle yet.

    He pointed his finger at ny-eight and ended his Withering. Feeling as if his skin had suddenly turned to mud, thetter immediately crumpled. The omnipresent feeling that his skin was melting had filled ny-eight''s heart with fear.

    In reality, the pain he¡¯d felt had just been a false sensation. So long as his soul power didn¡¯t run out, Withering wouldn¡¯t turn him into a withered corpse. That terrifying feeling he¡¯d had was simply one of Withering¡¯s effects. After all, it was mainly an attack directed at his soul.

    Following the death of Electrolux, Huo Yuhao was the only person in the world capable of using necromantic spells. Who in the world could have experience against these sorts of attacks?

    Huo Yuhao looked towards the three stunned referees and proudly stated, ¡°I¡¯ve won. Bring my rewards to me.¡±

    As soon as the the defensive barrier had been lowered, the Third Elder quickly walked over to ny-eight and helped him up. After checking his body over and ensuring that he was unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. When he turned back to Huo Yuhao, his gaze was somewhat astonished.

    The three referees had already stepped onto the stage. However, they didn¡¯t walk towards Huo Yuhao. Instead, they hesitantly looked towards the Third Elder.

    At that moment, another elder stepped onto the stage. This was the person who¡¯d previously been called ¡®Second Elder¡¯ in the VIP lounge.

    ¡°Your subordinates greet the alliance master.¡± The referees all simultaneously bowed towards the Second Elder.

    ¡°Get up. Why haven¡¯t you given our little friend his rewards? Our Duskwater Alliance has always prided itself on its honesty, and would never go back on its word.¡± The Second Elder, who was also the Duskwater Alliance Master, had a stately appearance. Afterbing his white hair behind his head, he put an amiable smile on his face. This,bined with his fluttering white beard, made it so that he gave off a good impression to anyone meeting him for the first time.

    The moment he spoke, the three referees didn¡¯t dare to dally any longer. They quickly walked over to Huo Yuhao and handed over both the Hongchen¡¯s Blessing and the Darkness Green Dragon.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t give it to him! That¡¯s my Darkness Green Dragon!¡± Ny-eight had finally woken up at this point. When he saw what was happening, he immediately got to his feet and charged over.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and pointed it at ny-eight. Thetter¡¯s face immediately became pale, and he ducked to the side.

    Huo Yuhao smirked. ¡°Not anymore. If you¡¯re willing to bet, you also have to be willing to admit defeat. Are you trying to renege on your bet in front of so many people?¡±

    The Third Elder¡¯s face immediately turned somewhat ugly. He grabbed Ny-eight, who was still trying to charge over, and pped him. ¡°Was losing face in front of everyone here not enough? Follow me back.¡±

    With that, he dragged ny-eight off-stage and vanished without a trace.

    The master of the Duskwater Alliance smiled as he stood on the stage. ¡°Hello, young friend. I¡¯m the owner of the Duskwater Alliance. You can call me Nangong Wan.¡±

    Nangong Wan? Huo Yuhao was somewhat astonished when he heard his name; he¡¯d thought that Nangong Wan was a girl¡¯s name.

    ¡°Greetings, alliance master Nangong. I¡¯m delighted to meet you.¡± He¡¯d finally attracted the upper echelon of the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s attention. Although he couldn¡¯t see anything from the surface, the fact that he was speaking so amiably to him after seeing his necromantic magic said a lot about him.

    Nangong Wan didn¡¯t say much more. He turned towards the three referees, ¡°Alright, go ahead and announce the end of the tournament.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The referee loudly announced, ¡°After a heated contest, the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s top three in this year¡¯s Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament have been decided. These three are sixty-six, eighty-eight, and ny-six. Besides the prizes they¡¯ll be receiving today, they¡¯ll also receive the opportunity to represent our Duskwater Alliance in the final tournament against the other two alliances.¡±

    With this, the tournament had finally ended. There were both happy and disappointed people. Some of the gamblers who¡¯d been daring enough to ce bets on Huo Yuhao began to cheer loudly; others, who¡¯d bet on the wrong person, could only hang their heads dejectedly.

    Nangong Wan walked over to Huo Yuhao and smiled. ¡°Young friend, could we have a little chat?¡±

    Huo Yuhao expression became vignt and he said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we have to discuss. I¡¯ve onlye here to win the prize. If you want to have a chat with me,e and so when I¡¯m the overall champion. Now then, ording to the rules of the tournament, I¡¯ll be taking away this shield I¡¯ve made.¡± Even as he spoke, he was already looking towards the prize below the stage with a greedy glint in his eyes.

    Nangong Wan smiled slightly. ¡°Naturally that¡¯s fine. Since younger brother isn¡¯t willing to talk right now, we¡¯ll have a nice chat after you win the overall tournament representing our Duskwater Alliance. There¡¯s something that I¡¯d like to tell you in advance, though. If you win this honor for our Duskwater Alliance, we¡¯ll give you an additional reward on top of the reward from the overall tournament.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± Huo Yuhao answered. At this point, He Caitou had already stepped onto the stage and started pushing his wheelchair forwards so that he could im his prize.

    Nangong Wan squinted as he looked at Huo Yuhao, revealing a somewhat thoughtful expression.

    All of the doors in the Golden Hall were now wide open, allowing the various gamblers to walk out. After watching the tournament for an entire night, everybody felt lethargic.

    Once they¡¯d retrieved their prizes, Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Na Na all walked back to the Qing Se Hotel.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly squinted and said, ¡°Little Dong, take me back towards that pub we went tost time. After taking two hundred and fifty six steps, take a left into the alleyway. Quick.¡±

 Chapter 311.3: Huo Yuhaos Third Martial Soul

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t utter a word. She naturally understood why Huo Yuhao was so nervous, thus she chose not to inquire about the abilities he¡¯d used earlier. She continued forward as per his instructions.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say a word.

    After exactly two hundred and fifty six steps, Wang Dong¡¯er took a sudden left, and was closely followed by He Caitou and Na Na.

    This was a pitch-ck alleyway with no streetmps present. The moment that the four of them were enveloped in the darkness, all traces of them vanished.

    ------

    Qing Se Hotel, Underground, VIP Lounge...

    ¡°Teacher, I was wrong.¡± Ny-eight kneeled in front of the Third Elder with an ashamed look on his face. His expression was filled with regret and pain. Now that he''d lost his ranked carving knife, his soul engineer abilities had decreased by at least twenty percent. The Darkness Green Dragon had been a priceless treasure!

    The Third Elder looked at him calmly and silently. Ny-six was also quietly kneeling next to him with his head lowered.

    Besides the three of them, the Duskwater Alliance Master Nangong Wan, the mysterious vice-founder, and a few other middle-aged men were also present in the VIP lounge.

    ¡°Vice-founder, what did you think of that youth?¡± Nangong Wang asked in a low voice.

    A mysterious glint appeared in the vice-founder¡¯s greyish-blue eyes. ¡°He¡¯s very intriguing. He feels just like what we¡¯ve been looking for.¡±

    Nangong Wan was astonished. ¡°Are you saying that he could be¡­?¡±

    The vice-founder nodded his head slightly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that sort of mysterious feeling. You didn¡¯t notice it, but earlier, his soul rings suddenly changed. He originally had five of them, but they suddenly changed into a single one¡ªa never-before-seen grey soul ring. You have to realize that not even the founder and I can vite the rules of the Douluo Continent. We still have to have the same soul rings as other soul masters. And yet, he¡¯s let us see something that tantly goes against these rules: A gray soul ring, and one that¡¯s very unique at that. This grey soul ring of his let him use at least three different abilities in a row. If every single one of those abilities were soul skills, that grey soul ring is incredibly special. Meaningful... this youth is very meaningful.¡±

    Nangong Wan said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent people to shadow him. Let¡¯s just see where he¡¯s heading for now, and who he¡¯s rted to. Since he¡¯s dared to use these abilities in front of us without any misgivings, he definitely has some kind of power backing him. He definitely has another identity; he¡¯s just using the more ordinary martial soul of his twin martial souls to hide his evil one. Only, we don¡¯t know what his evil martial soul is.¡±

    The vice-founder said, ¡°You did very well today by not inadvertently alerting him. I¡¯ll immediately report this to the founder and see what his decision is.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The moment he said this, a ck-clothed man quickly entered the room and whispered a few words to Nangong Wan.

    ¡°Trash!¡± Nangong Wan said coldly.

    The vice-founder¡¯s eyes twitched.

    Nangong Wang said, somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°My men lost all traces of him after they took a turn into a rather dim alleyway. Go call Chen An over.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The ck-clothed man withdrew, trembling as he did so. After a few moments, Chen An quickly entered into the room and kneeled. ¡°I pay my respects to the alliance master.¡±

    The fact that Chen An had been able to be the manager of the Golden Hall naturally meant that Nangong Wan trusted him deeply. Thetter furrowed his brows. ¡°Tell me everything that you know about sixty-six.¡±

    Chen An¡¯s trust for Huo Yuhao had grown even more after seeing his terrifying power in the tournament earlier. He also knew that the alliance master would have a few inquiries after witnessing the earlier scene, thus he¡¯d prepared a few things to say. He hurriedly replied, ¡°This sixty-six and his brother eighty-eight piqued my interest the moment they walked in¡­¡±

    He then began to describe to Nangong Wan how Huo Yuhao had killed a person in the Golden Hall, and how he¡¯d been betting alongside his participation in thepetition. By telling ny-percent of the full story and throwing in a few fibs, he was able to deftly hide the deeper rtionship between him and Huo Yuhao. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t mention the fact that Huo Yuhao had asked him to help buy a few rare metals.

    After listening to his exnation, Nangong Wan turned towards the vice-founder with a much better expression on his face. ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve seen, this Tang Wu¡¯s main objectives are to make some money and obtain some rare metals. It¡¯ll be easier for us to talk to him if we have something that he wants from us. He¡¯ll definitelye again for the finalpetition. At that time, why don¡¯t I have a chat with him and bring him in?¡±

    The vice-founder nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll observe him in passing on that day. Once I get back, I¡¯ll see what the founder thinks of him. Maybe the founder will evene to take a look at him in person. I hope that he¡¯s the person we¡¯ve been looking for all this time.¡±

    ------

    Brilliant Delight Hotel...

    The door opened noiselessly, and a formless figure quickly entered before quietly shutting the door.

    Only after the day had closed did four figures emerge from within the void. The light surrounding them distorted slightly, after which everything returned to normal.

    He Caitou, Na Na, and Wang Dong¡¯er turned towards Huo Yuhao.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao knew that the three of them were filled with questions. After pondering for a moment, he said, ¡°Do the three of you trust me? If you do, don¡¯t ask. If I wanted to lie to you, I could¡¯ve just told you that I used Imitation to do that, but I didn¡¯t. What I can tell you, however, is that I¡¯m not an evil soul master.¡±

    He Caitou patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and took off his mask, disguise, and coat. ¡°I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m going to rest. Junior brother, you should rest too.¡± He used his actions to show his trust in Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Second brother, this is for you.¡± Huo Yuhao tossed a dark-green bundle towards him.

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes lit up. He didn¡¯t decline and grabbed the Darkness Green Dragon. ¡°Thanks, junior brother.¡± With that, he left the room with a smile on his face.

    Na Na nodded, ¡°Yeah, the sun¡¯s gonna rise soon. I¡¯m tired too. Master, you should get a good rest. Then, I¡¯ll be going.¡± In reality, Na Na knew a few things about Huo Yuhao¡¯s earlier actions because he¡¯d previously helped cleanse her father and mother¡¯s souls. As such, she knew that he was somewhat capable in the field of souls.

    ¡°They¡¯ve left. Close the door.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er helped Huo Yuhao take off his disguise. ¡°Yuhao, I don¡¯t agree.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Her confusing sentence left Huo Yuhao stunned. ¡°What don¡¯t you agree to?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked deeply into his eyes, and a rare unyielding look appeared in her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t agree to you trying to enter the inner ring of the Holy Ghost Church. I can ignore the origins of that power of yours, but you¡¯d better be clear that I will absolutely not agree to you entering the inner ring of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body shook, and he looked towards Wang Dong¡¯er with a stunned expression. ¡°You, how did you know?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair over to his bed, then helped him take off his clothes. After that, she helped him onto the bed andid him down. Afterwards, she took off her coat, buried herself in his nket, and hugged Huo Yuhao tightly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize what you were trying to do at first, but I finally understood after seeing that special ability you used earlier. You weren¡¯t just trying to obtain rare metals by participating in this underground tournament; that¡¯s just one of your objectives. Your true objective is to utilize the rtionship between the Duskwater Alliance and the Holy Ghost Church to sneak in. Am I right? It¡¯s because of that ability of yours that¡¯s simr to that of an evil soul master that you feel so confident. You knew from early on that the people from the Holy Ghost Church wouldn¡¯t do anything to you after they saw your abilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed lightly. ¡°You¡¯re too smart, Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er hugged him tightly and said in an abnormally stern voice, ¡°Therefore, I don¡¯t agree. Even though you have your Imitation, and even though I can help you disguise yourself, don¡¯t you know that there are too many people in the Holy Ghost Church who¡¯re familiar with you? There¡¯s no need to mention anyone else¡ªeven Teacher Xiao Ya can easily recognize you. Do you really think that you can escape from such a powerful organization once your cover¡¯s blown?¡±

    Huo Yuhao became silent for a moment. ¡°Someone has to do it. The most terrifying thing about the Holy Ghost Church isn¡¯t their strength, but the secrets they hold. We don¡¯t know how the Holy Ghost Church is structured, nor how strong they really are. In a situation like this, we¡¯re taking them on blind. The day that the Holy Ghost Church decides to make their appearance, we¡¯ll be faced with the threat of destruction. I can practically guarantee you that they only have two targets¡ªthe Body Sect, and Shrek Academy!

    ¡°The academy has given us so much, thus I want to do something for the academy. Don¡¯t worry. Once I¡¯ve obtained a basic understanding of their inner workings, I¡¯ll get out. You of all people should know that I do things properly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still trying to console Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er fiercely got up and pressed down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, leaving mere inches between her and him as she stared him in the eye. She emphasised each word clearly as she said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve said that you can¡¯t do it, you can¡¯t do it. Your life is mine; it belongs to me, Wang Dong¡¯er. You can go if you want, but only over my dead body!¡±

    As Huo Yuhao gazed into the stubborn and unyielding look in her eyes, he felt her warm body press against his. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body was very soft, and it seemed as though the two of them had fused together as shey on top of him.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and wrapped it around Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s slender waist, sighing gently. ¡°Dong¡¯er, huu¡­¡±

    Without giving him the chance to utter a word, Wang Dong¡¯er domineeringly kissed his lips, locking the words he wanted to say away.

    Huo Yuhao eyes¡¯ widened after feeling Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s slightly awkward kiss, but his lips softly melted into hers immediately afterwards.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes and simply held onto her waist. At this moment, the only thing he wanted to do was enjoy her tenderness.

    Just like this, the two of them continued to tightly hug each other. Their kisssted for a long, long time...

    ¡°Promise me, okay?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er lightly panted as shey on his chest. Her voice had be soft, but now made him want to act tenderly towards her.

    ¡°Okay, I promise.¡± Huo Yuhao sighed lightly. In the end, he¡¯d conceded to her again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er immediately raised her head excitedly. ¡°Really? You¡¯re not allowed to go back on your word.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled at her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er excitedly moved upwards and tightly hugged his neck with a happy expression.

 Chapter 312.1: The World of Specters

    After a moment, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Help me up, Dong¡¯er. I want to cultivate for a while.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had wanted to cultivate in the midst of them having an intimate moment.

    ¡°You¡¯ve tired yourself enough for today. You gave Shrek Academy a hand after our own match, and you participated in another soul tool contest afterwards. You should take a break.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The abilities that I just used were left to me by my teacher. I suddenly feel that another seal has been released in my spiritual sea, and I think that my teacher has left something for me. Otherwise, there was no way I could¡¯ve defeated a ss 6 soul engineer so easily. I need to see what my teacher¡¯s left for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Then, don¡¯t work yourself too hard.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er sat up and then helped Huo Yuhao sit up.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t angry, are you?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er blinked owlishly at him. Her long eyshes were so close to his face that they were subtly brushing it.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°Kiss me and I won¡¯t be.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er immediately kissed him on the cheek without hesitation. Her face turned a little red and she said, ¡°Will that do? I know that my decision will ruin your ns, but you have to understand that I will follow you if something happens to you. I know that you¡¯d risk your own life for me as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao patted her head lovingly, as if he were indulging a child. ¡°I know that.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shifted his numb legs and helped him sit up with his legs crossed. Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and gradually entered meditation.

    He was quite exhausted, but it was actually easier for him to focus his attention because he was. As such, he quickly entered his meditative state.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness submerged into his spiritual sea, he directly opened the partial memories that had been unsealed.

    Memories instantly flooded forth, and slowly merged together with his own. A projection appeared in his spiritual sea at the same time.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao became excited when he saw the projection. Wasn¡¯t this a projection of the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux?

    Electrolux¡¯s white clothes fluttered atop his translucent body, but he wore a faint smile on his face as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He calmly said, ¡°I¡¯m very happy that you¡¯re able to see this, Yuhao. The fact that you can means that your spiritual power has be strong enough for you to absorb what I have to teach you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s excited emotions instantly settled down as if he¡¯d been sshed with cold water. He had no doubt that this was something his teacher had left behind before he¡¯d passed away, and that this was just a projection based on his spiritual imprint, not Electrolux himself.

    Huo Yuhao forced himself to focus, and listened intently to Electrolux¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ve hesitated for a long time, and have debated on whether or not I should pass my necromancy to you. After all, necromancy is considered evil to many people due to its rtion with death, corpses, and spirits. Many humans will naturally develop a sense of fear towards necromancy. I¡¯ve thought long and hard about it, and about you as well. In the end, I¡¯ve decided to teach them to you anyway.

    ¡°Necromancy is only one branch of the magic contained within my world, and it¡¯s not a frightening thing at all. Furthermore, it¡¯s the type of sorcery that¡¯s closest to a human¡¯s origin and essence. Everything about necromancy stems from life. In fact, the first breakthroughs in necromancy were made so that humans could prolong their own life¡ªso that they could fight against thews of nature. However, when humans dove deeper into necromancy, some necromancers went down a different path, choosing to slowly deviate from the original path. They relied on necromancy to strengthen themselves, and proceeded to kill other living beings in order to steal their life energy in order to do so.

    ¡°I was once a mighty necromancer. In the beginning, I possessed the element of light, and was adept with all sorts of light-type magic spells. However, I became filled with vengeance and hatred after certain things happened to me, thus I delved into necromancy by relying on my talents and opened up a whole new path for myself¡ªlight-based necromancy. I won¡¯t tell you the unfortunate events that I¡¯ve had to go through, but before you canpletely receive my teachings on necromancy, you must remember that necromancy is dangerous because of its strength, and because of its forbidden realms. If you descend into the darkness within necromancy, you will be destroyed by it. You can practice necromancy, but your heart must still be shrouded in light. These are the words that I shall imprint into the deepest regions of your soul so that you won¡¯t be blinded by revenge nor hatred no matter where you are. I don¡¯t hope for necromancy to be spread or glorified by your hands; my only wish is that my lineage will continue.

    ¡°I¡¯ve studied and perceived your world closely, and realized that your world is different from my own: In my world, the existence of gods is equivalent to your spirit reaching such an extremely high level that it evolves. When that happens, you will drift illusorily through space, as if your body has been transformed into countless elements, and you won¡¯t be able to control anything about yourself anymore. However, in your world, there seems to be a special energy that takes you to another realm once you reach that level. This is actually bing a god, but it¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t live to see you reach that level. If that day does ur, please keep my necromancy as part of your abilities. That is my greatest wish.

    ¡°My most profound and sophisticated spells have been integrated into your memory. You¡¯ll be able to use them as long as you continue increasing your spiritual power. At first nce, light and necromancy may seem to be at odds with each other, but in truth, all things can be connected together so long as you find something that they have inmon¡ªsomewhere where both things intersect. And that concept is life for light and necromancy.

    ¡°Only when light shines on the world do we have life. Sunlight and water have been the most important things for life and survival since the oldest days of humanity. On the other hand, necromancy studies the power of death. One is about life, while the other is about death. But the truth is, they¡¯re just focused on opposite ends of life. Life and death aren¡¯t mutually exclusive, and under certain circumstances, they¡¯ll even be attracted to each other, and can be alternated between one another.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened quietly to Electrolux¡¯s teachings, and slowly perceived all of theplex and sophisticated necromancies kept within his memories. He felt as if he¡¯d entered another world.

    He¡¯d always wanted to learn more about necromancy from Electrolux. However, Electrolux had only taught him some foundational things before, and even then had barely scratched the surface. It was only at this moment, when the lineage and teachings that Electrolux had left for him were officially unsealed, that he truly understood how unfathomable and mystical necromancy was.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao gradually came to understand what his grey soul ring represented.

    What Electrolux had left for him wasn¡¯t as simple as information and lessons¡ªit also included a necromantic framework that Electrolux had personally created. Huo Yuhao had to use the energy within his own body as the foundation when he used necromancy, followed by his spiritual power to perceive the element of light between heaven and earth. He had to do everything in tandem and in resonance with his life origin to do anything at all.

    Huo Yuhao could no longer use his other martial souls when using necromancy. His grey soul ring represented the necromancy framework that Electrolux had left behind for him, though it wasn¡¯t actually a soul ring.

    However, from a pragmatic perspective, possessing Electrolux¡¯s necromancy teachings was equivalent to having a third martial soul. And yet, it wasn¡¯t a martial soul¡ªit was superior to one. This ¡°martial soul¡± couldn¡¯t be boosted with soul rings, but it would be stronger alongside Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and spiritual power.

    ording to Electrolux¡¯s exnation, a necromancer¡¯s life energy and life force were exceptionally important. Life force was presented as soul power in this world.

    This was because necromancy would cause a negative bacsh tp the necromancer¡¯s own body when practiced. Furthermore, necromancy spells that relied on the power of light required continuous resonance through life. Huo Yuhao possessed Life Gold, so he didn¡¯tck life energy, which in turn was one of the most important reasons why Electrolux had been willing to pass his necromancy on to him. Electrolux had previously told Huo Yuhao that the reason necromancers were considered evil was mostly because necromancers didn¡¯t have enough life energy to continuously practice necromancy, which was why they had to extract life energy from other living beings. This process was cruel and full of bloodshed, thus it was natural that other people would misunderstand.

    ------

    It was midday the following day when Huo Yuhao awoke up from his meditation. He was still a little fatigued despite just waking up. Fortunately, they¡¯d alreadypeted yesterday, so he had an entire day to rest up. Tomorrow was the final round of the round robin section, and the Tang Sect was up against Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Are you alright, Yuhao?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked concernedly. She¡¯d just walked out of the bathroom and seen that Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright, I¡¯m just mentally exhausted. I¡¯ve gained so much. Do you remember when I told you that I had a teacher from another world? The truth is that what you guys saw yesterday and the abilities that I used weren¡¯t those of an evil soul master. They came from this teacher of mine, and he calls it necromancy.¡±

    ¡°Necromancy?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er stared at Huo Yuhao in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called necromancy. Initially, I thought necromancy was no different from an evil soul master¡¯s abilities. To be honest, I¡¯ve always been quite against necromancy, which is why I don¡¯t typically use it. However, I understood a lot more now that I¡¯ve absorbed the memories that my teacher left behind for me. I¡¯ve understood that necromancy, an evil soul master¡¯s abilities, and any force in the world aren¡¯t inherently wrong per se. The only difference lies in whether the use is suitable, and is dependent on the user¡¯s personality and state of mind. These two things form the crux of the issue.¡±

 Chapter 312.2: The World of Specters

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°As long as you remember who you are.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re everything that I am. I¡¯m hungry, dear.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go grab a bite to eat.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao into the canteen. When they entered the canteen, Huo Yuhao was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar figure.

    Bei Bei¡¯s face was still a little pale, but he was nheless sitting alongside everyone else. Huo Yuhao immediately eximed excitedly when he saw him, ¡°Eldest senior brother!¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°How are you feeling? You must be quite exhausted from yesterday. From what I hear, you haven¡¯t even had breakfast yet.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao next to Bei Bei and then sat down next to him.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°How are your wounds, eldest senior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°Both the aura and darkness energy have finally beenpletely expelled. I should be alright once I recover some of my vitality.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Huo Yuhao said animatedly, ¡°I can finally heave a sigh of relief. I¡¯ll be a lot more rxed with you around to lead ourpany of eight.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll be quite difficult for you to rx. We¡¯ll be facing off against Shrek Academy¡¯s team tomorrow. What do you have in mind?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pondered momentarily, before saying, ¡°I was just about to discuss this with everyone. We¡¯re stronger than they are when ites to overall fighting strength, but I want to let theme out on top as we enter the next round just in case. If we do that, their opponents in the quarterfinals will be rtively weaker.¡±

    There would be four different matches in the quarter-finals. Even though the matchups in the quarter-finals had yet to be determined. However, all it took to decide them was a simple lottery, and all four quarter-final matches would consist of the number-one of one group against the number-two of the second group. This also meant that, if the Tang Sect progressed as the second-ce team in their group, they¡¯d be matched against a team that had topped the table in their group. Following this reasoning, there was a one-in-three chance that the Tang Sect woulde up against the Holy Ghost Sect in the quarter-finals.

    However, if Shrek Academy topped the table and entered the quarterfinals, they¡¯d be up against a second-ced team from another group, which would greatly reduce their burden.

    Bei Bei turned to hispanions and said, ¡°Tell me what you guys think.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was the first to speak. ¡°I stand by my words. We belong to Shrek, thus we¡¯re all part of their team. No matter how far we go this time, we¡¯ve already gained the glory and honor that we deserve. However, Shrek Academy¡¯s team has to reach the finals to keep their glory and honor. I agree with Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestion.¡±

    She turned around to face Xu Sanshi after herment.

    Xu Sanshi felt a little helpless. ¡°Why¡¯re you looking at me? Am I not from Shrek Academy as well? I agree with you.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± He Caitou¡¯s answer was a lot simpler.

    ¡°I agree.¡± Xiao Xiao was a little louder than usual, but she fully disyed her determination.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded and chimed in, ¡°I agree.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then. We shall take these few days to adjust our conditions, especially you, Yuhao. Even if I take part in the battle, you¡¯re still the core of the team, as well as Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ mastermind.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s dig in.¡± Bei Bei continued with a smile on his face, as their sumptuous meals were alreadyid out on the dining table.

    ------

    With Bei Bei finally feeling better, everybody was in a good mood today. This meal was especially enjoyable for everyone.

    Bei Bei called Huo Yuhao into his room after the meal.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going with the soul engineer¡¯s tournament, Yuhao?¡± Bei Bei inquired.

    Huo Yuhao nced at Wang Dong¡¯er beside him before briefly recounting their participation in the soul engineer¡¯s tournament. Bei Bei listened quietly to his description; he didn¡¯t even interrupt when Huo Yuhao mentioned necromancy.

    ¡°You want to go undercover?¡± Bei Bei asked doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°I do. But Dong¡¯er thinks that that will be too dangerous, thus she stopped me.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°That¡¯s for the best, because it is too dangerous. I know that you want to find out and investigate what¡¯s going on in their inner circle, but the Holy Ghost Church has already disyed strength beyond what we can deal with. They¡¯re simply too powerful; we don¡¯t stand a chance. Furthermore, mobility is a problem for you, and your wheelchair is too conspicuous. Even if you can put on makeup and change your appearance, it won¡¯t be hard for them to connect the dots if you appear too many times. This is especially true now that we¡¯re likely to fight the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team after this. You shouldn¡¯t attend the grand finals. Rather, since you¡¯ve already raised their suspicions, you should just disappear for now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary, eldest senior brother. The Duskwater Alliance still needs me to fight for them in the soul engineer tournament. Furthermore, they want to rope me into their organization as well, so they won¡¯t use force against me unless it¡¯s as ast resort. I shouldn¡¯t have any problems finishing thest round of the tournament if I respond correctly and adapt to the circumstances. The final prize is a ss 9 soul tool! That¡¯s not something that can be measured with money.¡±

    Bei Bei replied solemnly, ¡°You can¡¯t ce your life on the line for money.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. ¡°I have confidence, eldest senior brother. Second senior brother and Dong¡¯er wille with me when the timees. Even if I don¡¯t consider my life, I still have to take their lives into ount, right?¡±

    Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao with a surprised expression. ¡°Where is this confidence of yoursing from, little junior brother?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Eldest senior brother, I mentioned the things that I did when I was recounting yesterday¡¯s events to you because I don¡¯t wish to hide this from you... I obtained a very unique ability through a miraculous encounter. It can be counted as my third martial soul in a sense, and it has bestowed certain special abilities upon me. This special ability doesn¡¯t belong to our world, which is why I have the confidence to escape with my life whenever I¡¯m in danger. I did intend to take a risk when I went undercover before yesterday, but after consolidating these unique abilitiesst night, I don¡¯t think that I¡¯m taking a risk anymore. Dong¡¯er, I said the same thing to you. If you¡¯re too concerned about me, I can simply take you along with me when I go undercover.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt a little curious when she heard his words. She knew very well that Huo Yuhao would never mess around whenever her life was concerned, which meant that he must be extremely confident if he could make such an endeavor sound so riskless.

    ¡°You promised mest night!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pretty eyebrows knitted up as she stared at Huo Yuhao with indignant eyes.

    Huo Yuhao grasped her hand and said, ¡°Listen to me, Dong¡¯er. I wish to go undercover not just to investigate the Holy Ghost Church, but also to find a way to save teacher Xiao Ya. Nobody but me is more suitable for this job amongst the few of us, and that¡¯s because I¡¯m the only one that has the ability to go undercover in the Holy Ghost Church. Only I have absolute confidence in convincing them that I¡¯m an evil soul master. As for safety, how about this¡ªI¡¯d like you guys to see something.¡±

    A gloomy and cold aura suddenly erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, followed by a peculiar grey soul ring rising from his feet in the next moment.

    This was the first time that Bei Bei had seen Huo Yuhao use necromancy, thus he watched closely with widened eyes as he perceived Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power undtions.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a faint grey color, and he pointed his right index finger outwards as he drew something in the air. A strange grey hexagram appeared and sparkled as it drifted to the ground. Gray light glowed from it the moment after it touched the ground, after which it consumed Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body and he vanished into thin air. Even his wheelchair was gone.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was as close as she could be to Huo Yuhao, and she was also incredibly familiar with his abilities. She could immediately tell that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t using his Imitation or anything else to turn invisible¡ªhe¡¯d actually disappeared for real!

    A dense aura of light rose from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body as her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings extended from her back. She pped her wings gently, and light-type soul power immediately permeated every corner of the room.

    She didn¡¯t feel anything at all; Huo Yuhao was truly no longer present inside of the room!

    How is this possible? Instant Teleportation? Huo Yuhao does have that ability, but that¡¯s one of his soul bone¡¯s abilities. He mentioned before that he can¡¯t use his other soul skills or soul bones when he¡¯s practicing necromancy. How has he done this? He¡¯s disappearedpletely! It¡¯s been more than ten seconds, and he doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s going to appear yet either.

    Just when Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er were beginning to feel more and more dumbfounded, the grey hexagram reappeared on the ground in the same spot. Grey light surged into the air in the next moment, and Huo Yuhao reappeared before the two of them amidst the grey light with a swoosh.

    Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er exchanged a look, both of their gazes full of awe and astonishment.

    Bei Bei was the first to blurt out, ¡°What kind of ability was that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°This ability is a little mystical, but you can consider it something that my otherworldly teacher left behind for me. Eldest senior brother, do you remember the first time I met you and teacher Xiao Ya? I had ventured into the Great Star Dou Forest by myself back then, and when you guys found me, I was unconscious near the roadside. I¡¯m not sure if you remember, but dark clouds hung over the Great Star Dou Forest during that time, and an intense spiritual presence shed through the forest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could tell from Bei Bei¡¯s eyes that he was thinking hard. Bei Bei nodded after a moment and said, ¡°I do remember something like that happening. We immediately followed you when we realized that you were heading towards the Great Star Dou Forest, but you were already unconscious when we found you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Yes! I¡¯d already fainted by then. But before I fainted, someone entered my mind. That person is the teacher that I¡¯m talking about¡ªthe one from another world.¡±

 Chapter 312.3: The World of Specters

    ¡°I¡¯m still unsure even now where my teacher is from, and all I know is that he¡¯s very powerful. He told me that his powers were almost godlike, but his spirit was shattered for some reason, and only a thread of his divine sense arrived on our world. It was coincidental that he entered my mind, and he would awaken from time to time inside my spiritual sea afterwards. Most of the time, he was in deep slumber. He began to impart an ability called necromancy to me.

    ¡°At Dong¡¯er¡¯s home some time afterwards, an energy inside my body was suddenly triggered. My teacher incinerated thest remnants of his divine sense to save me, and he¡¯s now gone forever. However, he was the one that created the Spirit that you guys have seen, and he was the one that showed me how to sign that pact with my Spirit. Otherwise, how could I have innovated and invented this all by myself?¡±

    Bei Bei had a look of revtion on his face. ¡°So that¡¯s the mystical story behind everything. No wonder I¡¯ve always felt as if you had some deep and dark secret... so that¡¯s what happened. What did you mean when you said this was something that your teacher left behind for you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°He said that there are actually many nes in this world. Every ne is a world on its own, and some share the same spacetime with us, while others don¡¯t. Teacher used his own powerful abilities to create a rtively smaller world, which he called a demine. Before this, I used a spatial key that he had left behind to enter the demine that he had opened up. That wasn¡¯t Instant Shift, as I did leave this world entirely. This also means that I can hide inside his demine whenever I¡¯m in danger, and I may even be able to bring some people inside. That world is a very narrow and simple world, but it¡¯s very safe.¡±

    This was the first time that Wang Dong¡¯er or Bei Bei had heard of something like this, and they were astonished beyond measure. They almost found it impossible to ept that there was something so mystical and fantastical in this world, that other nes actually existed, and people could enter those nes by using certain methods.

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked curiously, ¡°Yuhao, does that mean that both eldest senior brother and I can enter that demine you speak of?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°But you guys have to be mentally prepared. The demine that my teacher created has its own rules, and he imed it to be one of the mostplete demines. All that¡¯s inside are my teacher¡¯s specters, and they¡¯ve been nourished inside for thousands of years. Not even he knew how powerful they¡¯d be, and how many there are. The world is very dark and eerie, and it can¡¯t be considered absolutely safe.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. Take me inside to have a look!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was eager to give it a try.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he would have to prove to them that he had the ability to protect himself if he wanted to convince them to give him permission. He nodded and said, ¡°Stand next to me. Let me try.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Bei Bei came up beside his wheelchair.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and began drawing that gray hexagram once more.

    Once they were close enough to him, both Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er could feel a chilly and sinister aura that made their hair stand on end when Huo Yuhao unleashed his third martial soul. It was an aura filled with deathly silence. Bei Bei¡¯s sensations were the deepest, as he had been interacting intimately with an aura of death and darkness in recent days. He thought to himself, Little junior brother¡¯s abilities are actually very simr to that of an evil soul master...

    The hexagram that Huo Yuhao drew this time was a lot bigger than the previous one.

    Gray light burst out as the enormous hexagram gradually descended to the ground. All three of them werepletely enveloped when the intense gray light rose up once more.

    The grey light flickered, and they vanished into thin air.

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Bei Bei felt waves of intense dizziness, and everything around them seemed to twist and contort, as if it were about to be torn apart.

    Right at this moment, an icy-cold streak of air flowed from Huo Yuhao and protected them, separating them from this agonizing sensation.

    This process didn¡¯t take long. They suddenly felt their bodies rx as they arrived inside another world.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Bei Bei regained their senses, and saw that they were being protected by the grey streaksing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao dispelled the grey air, and a cold wind gusted towards them. Wang Dong¡¯er shivered from the cold, and only then did she look around at the world around her.

    This was only Huo Yuhao¡¯s second time inside this demine, and he was as curious as Wang Dong¡¯er and Bei Bei were.

    The lighting was dim in this world. There was a strange-looking sun hovering in the skies above. It was ck all over, and shone with insidious purple light.

    Yes, the light was purple. This purple light wasn¡¯t very strong, and was the reason why it was so dark and dim inside this demine.

    Thendscape was uneven, and not a single nt could be seen even if they gazed into the distance. The ground was ck, and appeared as if it had been painted over with ck ink, while cold and chilly auras surged from all directions.

    There were some hills in front of them, and nothing else could be seen beyond that.

    There was arge door behind them. They seemed to have entered through this door.

    ¡°This¡­ is this really another world?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked, astounded.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°ording to my teacher, this isn¡¯t considered a world. The reason is because this ce only has some ground, but it doesn¡¯t have a sky. Our world is a, and it possessesplete biological chains. We will enter a boundless world as long as we progress into the sky, but this demine is a far cry from our world. There are only undead creatures in this ce. Furthermore, this world has its boundaries, and its boundaries are designated by darkness and nothingness. Any creature in this world will be consumed by that darkness and nothingness if they step into it. I¡¯ve managed to bring us here with the spatial key that my teacher left behind for me, and that refers to thisrge door behind us. We can only return to our own world through this door.¡±

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°What if the undead creatures in this world use this spatial key?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, ¡°They will enter our world. This undead demine that my teacher created was built to make it convenient for him to summon undead creatures. I will use another method to exin, and then you guys will know how powerful my teacher was when he was still alive.¡±

    ¡°My teacher¡¯s full name was ¡®The Divine Law of Necromancy, the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux.¡¯ His rationale for creating this undead demine was to investigate a certain branch of necromancy. ording to thenguage that we speak on the Douluo Continent, he wanted to research a soul skill. He created this ce so that he could perfect his necromancy. After thousands of years of nourishment, there are uncountable powerful undead creatures in this world.¡±

    Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t really understand when Huo Yuhao droned on about magic and sorcery, but it was easier to understand when Huo Yuhao talked about soul skills.

    One single person could create an entire world. Even though it was an iplete demine, this feat was frightening enough. How horrifyingly powerful were his magics and sorceries?

    Huo Yuhao stared at the fearful looks on their faces, and his eyes flowed with a contemting look. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to be afraid, Dong¡¯er, eldest senior brother. Necromancy is powerful, and especially so when it¡¯s practiced at the level that my teacher was at. He was a Demigod, and necromancy at that level bes so powerful that it¡¯s almost impossible to believe. However, my teacher mentioned that no matter how powerful necromancers are, they have to use their own life energy to practice necromancy. My teacher used some special magic rituals to turn himself into a half-human and half-undead lich back then, but his body gradually declined and withered after using some exceptionally powerful spells. He told me that the abilities he imparted to me were only part of his own abilities. Despite that, these abilities are enough to be useful for an entire lifetime.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Can we walk a little further to look around, Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°Of course we can, but we have to be careful. We can encounter undead creatures at any time in this ce.¡± He pushed his own wheelchair as he spoke. He faced therge door behind him, and chanted something under his breath before therge door transformed into a grey streak and entered his palm.

    ¡°Never move more than twenty steps away from me, as I can take care of you guys within this range. This is especially so for Dong¡¯er, because your light-type abilities will be greatly weakened in this ce, because the element of light doesn¡¯t exist in this demine.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was momentarily stunned, and hurriedly released her martial soul.

    Indeed, when her soul rings rose one after another from her feet, her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings that extended from her back turned entirely blue in color. Furthermore, they were dim and lightless, and the golden spots that were supposed to be on their surface became pale yellow patterns.

    Wang Dong¡¯er could clearly feel that her soul power was being consumed at an exponentially greater rate after she released her martial soul. Under such circumstances, she could only rely on her own soul power to use her soul skills, and she couldn¡¯t draw upon any strength from the element of light in the air. Without the element of light, there was no way she could regenerate what she expended.

    ¡°That¡¯s just incredible. It¡¯s true!¡±

    Bei Bei released his martial soul as well, but his situation was a lot better than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s situation. Six soul rings rose from the ground as lightning circted around his body. Fine,pact scales covered his right arm and began to spread all over his body.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel any different in this cepared to our own world. The only difference is that the air seems to tremble and quiver, as if it¡¯s been stimted by my lightning.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s very normal. From an elemental perspective, light and lightning are generally good counters against undead creatures. This ce doesn¡¯t have any light elements, so these undead creatures will be unnaturally powerful. However, there aren¡¯t any restrictions on lighting-type abilities. Therefore, you will fare well against the undead creatures in this ce, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao signaled for Wang Dong¡¯er to continue pushing his wheelchair as he spoke.

    They quickly headed up a nearby hill...

 Chapter 313.1: Qiuer and Dongers Duel

    The ground was very t and smooth in this world. More urately put, this ce didn¡¯t seem like an actual world at all, as there were no nts at all!

    They immediately saw something that made their skins crawl when they reached the top of the hill.

    Once over this hill, tremendous masses of white skeletons turned their heads at almost the exact same moment. Their eyes flickered with bright red spiritual fire, and there were at least several hundred of them!

    The skeletal heads snapped around in unison, and spiritual fires danced about in their empty sockets. The mes glowed faintly in the air ¨C what an absolutely astounding sight!

    Wang Dong¡¯er subconsciously gasped in shock. The throngs of skeletons paused for just one moment before they began charging towards the three of them.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Anything living and breathing is very alluring to undead creatures. They will be able to evolve by an incredible amount if they can consume our flesh and blood. Any undead creature can reach the top of their food chain by evolving continuously. The memories that my teacher left behind for me informed me that there are thirteen different types of undead creatures in this ce. These normal skeletons are the weakest ones.¡±

    ¡°Let me test their strength.¡± Bei Bei took a step forward, and shielded Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er behind him.

    Bei Bei had been nursing his wounds in bed for such a long time, and he was already feeling the itch for action. He hadn¡¯tpletely recovered yet, but he had regained seventy to eighty percent of his strength back. He felt very belligerent as he faced off against these skeletons.

    Seven or eight skeletons quickly arrived before them. Their bodies were their weapons, and one of the skeletons that came forward reached out with its skeletal ws,shing out at Bei Bei¡¯s chest.

    The skeletons¡¯ joints cracked and ttered as they charged forward.

    Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t that much weaker than Bei Bei, but her face was ghastly pale as she looked on. What girl wasn¡¯t afraid of skeletons? This was especially so because they were inside such a dark and gloomy ce, and her own strength was restrained and weakened.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t forget, my teacher left this ce for me. I am this world¡¯s dictator.¡±

    Crack! Bei Bei swung his right arm and smashed the skeleton¡¯s arms in front of him into pieces. He sidestepped and grabbed this skeleton¡¯s ribcage, swung his right hand forcefully, and hurled this skeleton against two other iing ones. Bei Bei¡¯s first soul ring lit up in the next moment, and his Thunderous Dragon wshed out and demolished two other skeletons.

    When these skeletons were blown into smithereens, the spiritual fire that was dancing around in their heads didn¡¯t go out. Instead, they flew into the air and into the distance.

    However, there were some exceptions. The two skeletons that were destroyed by Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon w had their spiritual fires extinguished once they rose into the air.

    ¡°Lightning is formed by the positive energy between heaven and earth, and lightning is extremely destructive against the spirit. These skeletons¡¯ spiritual fires aren¡¯t that strong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pointed his right hand towards the ground as he spoke. The skeletons that Bei Bei had just smashed into pieces began to reassemble at an rming speed. The flickering mes in their eyes gradually became grey in color.

    They didn¡¯t attack Bei Bei anymore. Instead, they turned around and charged towards their ownpanions.

    Huo Yuhao muttered some incantations under his breath in the next moment, and he waved his right arm as a gray streak surged across the sky and whipped against the first dozen skeletons leading the charge.

    These skeletons quivered vigorously before the spiritual fires in their eyes jumped out and into the sky. Their spiritual fires returned to their sockets in the next moment, and these skeletons turned around and lunged towards theirpanions.

    ¡°You can control them, little junior brother?¡± Bei Bei asked, astonished.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°These skeletons¡¯ fighting strengths areparable to that of normal humans, and I can control them without even using any incantations. If I can reach the pinnacle of the necromancy that my teacher left behind for me, then I will truly be this world¡¯s dictator. Even now, these undead creatures can¡¯t hurt me because of the divine sense imprint that my teacher has given me. Do you guys understand now why I¡¯ll be absolutely safe even if I go undercover deep into the Holy Ghost Church? If I run into danger, I can hide in this ce. No matter how powerful those people from the Holy Ghost Church are, they can¡¯t enter the demine that my teacher created to catch me. Even the Ultimate Douluo, the Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao, can¡¯t do so.¡±

    Bei Bei lowered his head subtly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve convinced me, little junior brother. Even though I still don¡¯t wish for you to take this risk, your necromancy is truly mystical and powerful. But you have to remember, evil soul masters have the poorest of reputations in our world, and especially in the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires. The truth is that your necromancy isn¡¯t presented as that much different from the evil soul masters in our world. We don¡¯t think you¡¯re an evil soul master, but that doesn¡¯t mean other people won¡¯t. This probably includes the academy, as well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I know what you mean, eldest senior brother. Don¡¯t worry, unless I¡¯m in a situation that concerns my life and death, Huo Yuhao will only have twin martial souls. Tang Wu is the necromancer, and not me.¡±

    Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re very intelligent. That¡¯s good, as long as you understand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Neither the Tang Sect nor the Shrek Academy can ept evil soul masters.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t make a sound beside them. Huo Yuhao turned towards her and said, ¡°Dong¡¯er¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er interrupted him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say any more, I understand what you mean. I only have one request. If you wish to ce yourself in danger, then you must bring me along with you. I can be anything you want me to. I will be wherever you are.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao answered joyfully. He knew that this was the most that Wang Dong¡¯er was willing to give, and there was no way he could stop her from following him. Wang Dong¡¯er herself was a mighty Soul Emperor, and with his necromancy, it wasn¡¯t likely that they would run into trouble.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± The skeletons that Huo Yuhao were controlling couldn¡¯t hold theirpanions back anymore. Huo Yuhao reopened therge portal, and Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er stuck close to him as they stepped back inside together.

    Grey light shed, and the skeletons that Huo Yuhao was controlling grew ck and stopped moving entirely. The entire undead world grew quiet once more.

    ---

    Light flickered, and Huo Yuhao andpany materialized within Bei Bei¡¯s room.

    Both Bei Bei and Wang Dong¡¯er heaved a sigh of relief.

    Bei Bei forced augh and said, ¡°Feels good to be back. Truthfully, I don¡¯t really like that cold and gloomy ce.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er immediately chimed in. ¡°I dislike that ce even more. The Douluo Continent is so much better because there¡¯s light.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Who wants to be in that ce unless there¡¯s no other choice? Alright, you should rest up, eldest senior brother. We should go back and continue cultivating. I¡¯ve recently discovered some methods to elerate the absorption of the Ultimate Ice origin energy of heaven and earth inside my body. I will aim to recover as quickly as possible, and I will be a lot more confident to go undercover when I¡¯m fully recovered.¡±

    ------

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament had entered the round robins¡¯ final round, and the atmosphere was a lot tenser than during the elimination rounds before this.

    The round robins¡¯ final round would determine the eight teams which would progress into the quarterfinals.

    This was the first tournament that epted participation from sects, so there was a lot more honor and glory involvedpared to past tournaments. The teams that could make it into the quarterfinals from a roster of over one hundred participating teams would have definitely proven how strong they were.

    Nobody would pay attention to the process; everybody was only concerned with the results.

    These next two days wouldplete the round robins¡¯ final matches. There were bound to be many unexpected circumstances in this final showdown.

    However, not every match in this final round would be intense. Some teams that didn¡¯t have a chance of progressing anymore didn¡¯t fight with everything they had, since all they had to do was get their final matches over with. There were some teams that required a victory in the final round to progress into the quarterfinals, however, and their matches were especially intense. This was standard.

    Of course, there were teams in yet another situation . They could already progress no matter what their final result was. How would they perform in their final match?

    The first battle of group one, Shrek Academy¡¯s team versus the Tang Sect. This was one such situation.

    Both teams had won all six of their previous matches. No matter how this final match turned out, they were both going into the quarterfinals. How would their match turn out to be under such circumstances?

    Both teams were going into the quarterfinals, but it was very different to be the first-ced team or the second-ced team in the group stages. Everybody in the audience paid attention to this matchup.

    The entire arena was quiet at this moment. Everyone felt a little dry in their throats and mouths as they stared at what was happening on thepetition stage. This was especially true for the men.

    There were two incredibly beautiful girls facing each other on the stage, and they looked nearly identical.

    Pinkish-blue hair hung behind their backs. One of them had wave-like hair, while the other had smooth and straight hair.

    One was d in the Shrek Academy¡¯s traditional dark green uniform, while the other was in a blue set of robes.

    They were both so breathtakingly stunning, and they appeared at the same time on thepetition stage. They had just admitted that they were sisters in the previous round!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was as dark as it could be inside the waiting area. He regretted everything.

    When he was about to personally go onto thepetition stage to announce that the Tang Sect was giving up this match, Wang Dong¡¯er told him otherwise. She was already dressed like a girl, and she said, ¡°You¡¯re not very mobile. We¡¯re just going to admit defeat, so let me do it for you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stepped onto thepetition stage. However, when the Unbreakable Douluo told the two girls to return to their positions, Wang Dong¡¯er said nothing at all, and stepped back toward her own corner!

 Chapter 313.2: Qiuer and Dongers Duel

    She hasn¡¯t admitted defeat? She actually didn¡¯t admit defeat! What is she trying to do?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er retreated emotionlessly on the other side. It was clear that these two girls were trying to vie for glory and recognition.

    Everybody from the Tang Sect looked at Huo Yuhao. They couldn¡¯t stop this match from going down even if they wanted to, as there was a soundproofing barrier around thepetition stage. Furthermore, the only person who could represent their teams would be the contestant on stage once the match had begun. Nobody could stop this match if Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°This girl!¡± Huo Yuhao was exasperated and nervous. How could he not be anxious? The woman he loved was on one side, while the woman that he was hopelessly muddled with was on the other. The truth was that Huo Yuhao had always felt a little guilty towards Wang Qiu¡¯er, and he didn¡¯t wish to see either girl get hurt.

    He really wanted to pluck Wang Dong¡¯er off thepetition stage,y her over his legs, and spank her perky buttocks.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er on the other side of the stage, and gradually raised her right hand from her side. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes closed into slits, and they didn¡¯t say a word to one another, while their colliding eyes became as sharp as ever.

    The audience didn¡¯t like either team in this matchup, so they didn¡¯t really care who emerged victorious in the end. It didn¡¯t matter to the audience who won and who lost, so this was just a delightful show to them, and this matchup was more about appreciation than anything else.

    ---

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Prince Regent, Xu Tianran, was sitting on the rostrum in silence with a casual look on his face. There was a tinge of surprise in his expression, but there was a deep-seated hatred and vengeance lying in the bottom of his eyes.

    These two beautifuldies actually don¡¯t belong to me. What¡¯s worse is that there¡¯s nothing I can do about it¡­

    Xu Tianran¡¯s heart ached as if a venomous scorpion were stinging him with its tail.

    ---

    ¡°Begin!¡± Zheng Zhan bellowed, and both Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er made their moves.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her right hand from her side, and a dash of ck light sparkled along with a ck soul ring. This was her second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er raised her hand at the same time on the other side. Golden light flickered, and six soul rings rose swiftly from beneath her feet as she gripped her Golden Dragon Spear in both hands.

    They began to make a move against each other in the next moment.

    They didn¡¯t channel their highest possible speed. Both of them made short and brisk steps towards each other, and pinkish-blue hair swayed in the wind as they closed the distance between one another.

    ¡°Watch out.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er eximed softly as her ck ten-thousand year soul ring glowed brilliantly. Her Clear Sky Hammer, which wasn¡¯t that big initially, began to swell, and the hammer¡¯s head became a lot bigger, while its handle became longer. Her Clear Sky Hammer actually transformed into a long-handled battle hammer in an instant.

    The hammer¡¯s head was conical, and almost two feet long. There were ancient patterns on the ck hammerhead, but the thick and concentrated aura it contained was even more frightening.

    Wang Dong¡¯er spun in a semicircle as she raced across thepetition stage and swung her Clear Sky Hammer with both hands from behind her back. Her elegant frame turned back around, and her Clear Sky Hammer made one full rotation in the air. Her Clear Sky Hammer carried a horrifying gust of wind as she mmed it down towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Are they really sisters? Almost everyone in the audience had this same thought as they watched Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fearsome hammer strike.

    It was clear that Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t expected Wang Dong¡¯er to fight her like this. She was never one to show weakness, however, and she raised her Golden Dragon Spear with both hands to block Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hammer.

    ng!

    The sound that erupted made the entirepetition stage tremble. This was a pure and forceful collision of strength!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear was a lot thinner than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer, but her Ultimate Strength¡¯s advantage was immediately ced on full disy as the Clear Sky Hammer bounced back.

    Right when Wang Qiu¡¯er moved to pursue her opponent, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s elegant frame began to waltz like a pretty butterfly. She tapped on the ground with the tip of her left foot, raised her right foot and stepped on her left calf as she spun rapidly in midair. Her Clear Sky Hammer that was thrown backwards carried an aura more intense and ferocious than before as it came back down once more.

    ng!

    Another loud boom rang out. It was clear that Wang Qiu¡¯er had applied more strength this time, to the point where Wang Dong¡¯er was sent stumbling backwards. However, she made another turn as she was propelled backwards, and her hands seemed like they were glued to her Clear Sky Hammer as she used this force to rotate yet again.

    After Wang Qiu¡¯er repelled Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s second hammer for the second time, she pushed with her left hand and swung her right hand forward. Her Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s tip stabbed with lightning speed at Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s chest.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s third hammer strike came down at the same time. She found the most opportune moment as her thick and heavy hammer¡¯s head crashed against the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s tip. This time, Wang Dong¡¯er had the upper hand.

    No matter how strong Wang Qiu¡¯er was, she couldn¡¯t defy thews of nature. She was holding her spear with one hand, and the tip of her spear was extended far in front of her. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to apply strength at all, while Wang Dong¡¯er was hurling her hammer with every ounce of strength she had. The Clear Sky Hammer was known as the strongest tool soul. Wang Dong¡¯er was far inferior to Wang Qiu¡¯er in terms of pure strength, but she managed to unleash her full potential with her Clear Sky Hammer, and by relying on this forceful fighting style.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er withdrew her spear and pressed down with her right hand. She used the impact that her Golden Dragon Spear exerted against the ground and swung her right leg nimbly towards Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s neck.

    Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to have entered a very strange and mystical state. Her legs rotated once more, and her Clear Sky Hammer rained down for the fourth time as she retreated agilely.

    Everybody could tell at this point that Wang Dong¡¯er was executing a special fighting technique, and it wasn¡¯t a soul skill. It was a fighting style created ording to her martial soul¡¯s unique characteristics. Combining these unique fighting styles with martial souls would unleash the martial soul¡¯s full potential!

    Bei Bei was sitting right next to Huo Yuhao. There was only astonishment in his eyes at this time. ¡°This¡­ is this the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique? I didn¡¯t know she had this trick up her sleeve. Such incredible strength!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er could hold her own against Wang Qiu¡¯er, when Wang Qiu¡¯er possessed Ultimate Strength! It was evident how powerful the Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique was!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er squatted down. If she had been facing someone else, she would probably have chosen to dodge this attack, and she would have a better chance that way. However, how could she show any weakness by dodging away when she was facing Wang Dong¡¯er?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er swung her Golden Dragon Spear forward, and pressed the spear against her back while bending down. She blocked this attack with her spear behind her back.

    ng!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was pushed down from the impact, and Wang Dong¡¯er spun around once more from the rebound.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stabbed out with her spear right at this moment, and captured the loopholes in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s movement as she rotated in the air. It was very difficult for Wang Dong¡¯er to dodge this attack because they were very close together.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s footwork suddenly changed in the face of such a disadvantageous situation. She didn¡¯t just spin around anymore, but her elegant frame sidestepped to evade Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack, leaving two afterimages behind her from her movement. This was the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track of the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques!

    Her fifth hammer strike whistled through the air.

    ng, ng, ng, ng¡­

    The Clear Sky Hammer shed continuously against the Golden Dragon Spear. Every collision caused a bright and crisp nging sound, while every ng was sharper and brighter than the previous one. Neither girl used their soul skills; they were just fighting each other with pure strength and fighting techniques.

    The audience was dumbfounded as they looked on.

    These two girls were fighting with such masculine and straightforward styles and techniques. How could they not be shaken?

    Wang Dong¡¯er was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of strength. Every impact with Wang Qiu¡¯er pushed her back a few steps, but her Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique was still as steady as ever. Wang Dong¡¯er also used her Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and didn¡¯t give Wang Qiu¡¯er any chances to counterattack.

    The collisions continued. On the twentieth sh, Wang Dong¡¯er was forced to the edge of thepetition stage. She was probably going to crumble if this was allowed to continue.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stopped trying to find Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s weaknesses and loopholes, and just raised her Golden Dragon Spear to block the Clear Sky Hammer again and again. Wang Qiu¡¯er met force with force, and just blocked each and every one of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hammer strikes.

    Two incredibly beautiful girls who looked identical to each other had burning belligerence in their eyes. Neither one of them was willing to give any quarter at all!

    ng, ng, ng!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique was bing faster and faster. Three more forceful collisions urred when she was several meters from the edge of thepetition stage.

    The edge was right behind her as she continued moving backwards. She would crash against the protective dome if she continued retreating, and that would undoubtedly affect her Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique.

    Everyone sweated for Wang Dong¡¯er. Only Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t share this sentiment. The reason was because Wang Qiu¡¯er could tell that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and her aura didn¡¯t diminish at all from her continuous retreat.

    Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t retreat anymore after the Golden Dragon Spear shed against her Clear Sky Hammer for the twenty-fourth time. Her eyes sparkled right at this moment, and intense golden light erupted from her body as she swung her hammer for the twenty-fifth time.

    If this hammer bounced up like it always had before this, it was bound to m against the protective barrier behind her. However, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s entire body seemed to be golden as she swung her hammer out this time. This was the mark of her raising her soul power to the highest possible level.

    ng!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer was forced up from the impact once more amidst the bright sh, but it was different this time. She didn¡¯t move back anymore, and even though her Clear Sky Hammer was pushed back into the air, she didn¡¯t have to swing it behind her back anymore. Instead, it was Wang Qiu¡¯er who quivered faintly, and it was her who took a half-step backwards.

    Wang Dong¡¯er took a step forward. She spun around in a semicircle in midair and swung her hammer for the twenty-sixth time. Her Clear Sky Hammer shed with the Golden Dragon Spear once more, but it was Wang Qiu¡¯er who took yet another step back this time.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Huo Yuhao was astounded as he watched from beneath the stage. His eyes flowed with incredulity and disbelief.

 Chapter 313.3: Qiuer and Dongers Duel

    Bei Bei pped his hands all of a sudden and said, ¡°What a technique! It seems like Dong¡¯er has mastered her Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique. This technique¡¯s most salient characteristic is its ability to make use of reactionary force. Her attacks seem to be very precarious, but she hasn¡¯t paused for a single moment, because she¡¯s been drawing upon her opponent¡¯s strength to make every strike stronger than thest. When she reached her twenty-fifth strike and couldn¡¯t back away anymore, she channeled all her soul power into one tremendous blow to turn the tables. This fight will depend on how long she can keep her Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique going! The first person who cannot take the collisions anymore will lose this fight!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem excited at all. He didn¡¯t want to see either Wang Dong¡¯er or Wang Qiu¡¯er hurt, and the contest of pure strength they were engaged in was the most precarious kind. One misstep, one ident, would lead to severe injuries.

    ng, ng, ng, ng, ng¡­

    Hammer and spear continued to sh. There were no other tricks or artifice. There was just pure force against pure force. It was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s turn to retreat now, her eyes showing the same astonished look. She knew that Wang Dong¡¯er was strong, but she had always believed that there was still quite a gap between them. But Wang Dong¡¯er chose to meet force with force when strength was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forte. This took her by surprise, but what made her more astonished was that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hammer was getting stronger and stronger.

    There were still things that Wang Qiu¡¯er could do to break force with force, but she wasn¡¯t inclined to do so anymore. She could see the stubbornness in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes, and she wanted to see how far Wang Dong¡¯er could go.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er continued retreating, and by the time Wang Dong¡¯er threw out her forty-eighth strike, Wang Qiu¡¯er had already retreated to the center of thepetition stage.

    Boom!

    The sounds before this had been bright and crisp, but this collision released a deep and loud boom!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s legs sank half a foot into the ground from the hammer. Besides that, with her body as the epicenter,rge web-like cracks began to appear on the metal stage. What astonished everyone even more was that dust began to appear around the stage, which was about a hundred meters in diameter. It meant that the entire stage had sunk into the ground beneath it from this blow!

    This!¡­

    The forty-ninth hammer!

    Boom!

    Smoke and dust surged into the sky, and everyone in the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy¡¯s respective waiting areas stood up at the same time. Everyone¡¯s eyes were filled with fear. The person that took the brunt of that heavy hammer, Wang Qiu¡¯er, left a deep footprint on thepetition stage¡¯s surface!

    Wang Dong¡¯er swung her Clear Sky Hammer for the fiftieth time at this moment. The golden light from her body had be blindingly brilliant, while her hammer¡¯s ck colors were like dark clouds looming over the arena.

    A bright dragon roar rang out from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mouth at this moment. She couldn¡¯t really withstand Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique anymore.

    Golden scales covered her entire body, and Wang Qiu¡¯er stabbed her Golden Dragon Spear into the sky and shed once more with the Clear Sky Hammer.

    Boom!

    After another deafening boom, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s feet left two deep grooves on the ground as she stumbled backwards. Wang Dong¡¯er stumbled backwards in simr fashion, and every step she took left deep footprints on thepetition stage. However, she was still rotating with each step, along with her Clear Sky Hammer.

    There was some distance between them now, and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifty-first hammer couldn¡¯t reach Wang Qiu¡¯er anymore.

    Wang Dong¡¯er swung her enormous hammer downwards, and it carried a fearsome shadow with it as it smashed directly against the floor in front of her.

    Boom, boom, boom!

    A frightening scene appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes.

    Thepetition stage copsed inwards with Wang Dong¡¯er at the epicenter, and a deep crater twenty meters in diameter and more than five meters deep was created in a flurry of stone and gravel. Wang Dong¡¯er drew upon this frightening impact and soared more than ten meters into the sky.

    This strike sent out shockwaves so powerful that Wang Qiu¡¯er was forced a few steps back. What the audience saw was the stage copsing inwards, and this single hammer strike seemed to force the entire stage to sink down by a meter or so. Such terrifying strength!

    The fifty-second hammer!

    Wang Dong¡¯er was in the sky as she heaved her hammer with both hands. She plummeted from the sky and went straight for Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes erupted with brilliant light as she gripped her Golden Dragon Spear with both hands.

    Boom!

    The entire world seemed to change in that moment. All the dust on thepetition stage¡¯s surface billowed outward, and a central vacuum zone was revealed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s graceful body was bounced high into the sky, while Wang Qiu¡¯er was sted against the ground like a cannon shell. One in the sky, and one on the ground.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed a little exhausted and ck-faced, but her eyes were still as bright as ever. Wang Dong¡¯er was thrown up through the air, and a single thread of blood trailed from the corner of her mouth.

    Huo Yuhao was equally ck-faced inside his waiting area. His right hand pressed down hard against his Golden Tree wheelchair, and his body seemed to arch upwards subtly as divine light sparkled in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth moved, and a ripple appeared on the protective dome around thepetition stage. A strange scene urred: a golden ray drilled through the protective barrier into thepetition stage, and it shot up towards Wang Dong¡¯er like a shooting star.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifty-third hammer was still charging up when the golden projection wrapped itself around her.

    The golden projection seemed identical to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s appearance. This wrapping action immediately interrupted her rhythm; her Clear Sky Hammer embodied too much strength at this point, and her hammer flew from her hands toward the ground.

    BOOM!

    Half of thepetition stage copsed just like that. Wang Dong¡¯er made a few quick spins in midair and vomited a small pool of blood. She switched her martial souls as her bluish-golden wings extended out from her back, and only then could she stabilize herself in the sky.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced unhappily towards her waiting area, but she was met with Huo Yuhao¡¯s serious and solemn eyes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt her heart quiver. She knew that Huo Yuhao was truly angry this time.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned deeply as she looked on from the ground, and she also looked towards Huo Yuhao inside his waiting area. She was equally surprised by the ability he was using. Furthermore, what did he want to do by interfering like that?

    ¡°I admit defeat.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s reluctant voice rang out through the air. She extended her wings and gradually descended back down onto the shattered and damagedpetition stage.

    The Unbreakable Douluo wasn¡¯t happy at all. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯sst strike, the one that she couldn¡¯t control, had almostnded on him. Her hammer had been charged more than fifty times, and thatst strike had contained enough strength that even an eight-ringed Soul Douluo wouldn¡¯t dare to meet force with force. He was a nine-ringed Titled Douluo, but he probably wouldn¡¯t have had it easy if he had to defend himself forcefully against such a sudden attack. Fortunately, Wang Dong¡¯er hadn¡¯t locked onto him, and her strike didn¡¯t hit him in the end. Even so, Zheng Zhan¡¯s face was as grey as could be.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er stared back at her.

    Their gazes shed, but Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t say another word as she turned to step off thepetition stage. Wang Qiu¡¯er grasped her Golden Dragon Spear and her eyes closed into slits. She didn¡¯t have it easy winning this round at all. Furthermore, her victory came when Huo Yuhao interfered with the battle.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had the advantage no matter what the situation if they were having a contest of strength, and it was clear that Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body was almost at its limit. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er knew that she would have been injured if Wang Dong¡¯er had thrown a few more strikes at her.

    Such formidable explosive strength! I didn¡¯t know she had this up her sleeve...

    The audience began to p, a sound that echoed like rain as it grew louder and louder. What a spectacr contest! There were no tricks, no drama, nothing strange or sinister. Everything in this fight was pure strength against strength.

    This battle dazzled and mesmerized everybody in the audience. Even though both parties were opponents to the Sun Moon Empire and eventually defeated their home team, the audience couldn¡¯t help but erupt in apuse at this moment. This fight was simply too spectacr and magnificent, as it was one without deceit or artifice. It was a showdown between sisters, and this fight left a deep andsting impression in everyone¡¯s minds.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stepped off thepetition stage and returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She was still grumbling under her breath, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look at her at all, and instead turned towards Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei stood up and said to the Unbreakable Douluo on stage, ¡°The Tang Sect admits defeat for every match in today¡¯s round.¡±

    The entire arena was taken aback once they heard his words. The thunderous apuse quieted down in an instant, and there was no atmosphere whatsoever left in the arena.

    Zhang Zhan was also momentarily stunned. He could tell that Huo Yuhao had interfered to stop the fight, but didn¡¯t know how he had managed that. The protective barrier was so powerful, so how did he use an ability to stop Wang Dong¡¯er from continuing with the fight? This matter had to be pursued¡­

    However, the Tang Sect had admitted defeat for the rest of their matches in this round, so there was no point in getting to the bottom of it right now.

    Bei Bei gave his habitual and ssic schrly smile. ¡°The Tang Sect doesn¡¯t have any reserve team members, and everybody needs to rest. We don¡¯t need to have this showdown with the Shrek Academy anymore since we¡¯ve already qualified for the next round. We admit defeat.¡±

    Zheng Zhan was stunned for a little while once more before he quickly recovered and nodded. ¡°The Tang Sect admits defeat. Shrek Academy is victorious in this round.¡±

    Group one¡¯s final and most important sh was over, just like that.

    The Shrek Academy team had won all seven matches, and they progressed into the quarterfinals at first ce in their group. The Tang Sect won six matches and lost one to follow behind them at second ce. Both teams had officially qualified for the quarterfinals, and whatever matches were left in their group didn¡¯t mean anything anymore.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t feel excited at all because her opponent had admitted defeat. She strode towards the Tang Sect¡¯s waiting area from thepetition stage.

    She took big steps all the way in front of Huo Yuhao before she stopped.

    She lowered her voice and asked him, ¡°Why?¡±

 Chapter 314.1: Lot Drawing for The Round of Eight

    Huo Yuhao stared at her calmly and replied, ¡°Why, what?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er continued, ¡°Why won¡¯t you fight me? Are you not as brave as Dong¡¯er is? What about your Ultimate Ice? What about your formidable spiritual power? Why won¡¯t you dare toe on stage to see who¡¯s the stronger one?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave her a deep stare, and he could see the moisture swirling around at the bottoms of her eyes. He heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Is it that amusing for you to bully a cripple? Do you think I can defeat you in my current state?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura froze and her ferocity was beaten back. She stared at Huo Yuhao in his wheelchair, and her condescending words didn¡¯te out of her mouth in the end.

    She turned towards Wang Dong¡¯er and said, ¡°Nobody has won this fight. If we meet again in the finals, you and I will finish what we started if he can¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t show any weakness at all in her reply.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er departed withrge strides, bearing her Golden Dragon Spear. The Shrek Academy team was walking towards her, and she led them away from thepetition arena.

    Huo Yuhao watched her figure disappear from view before he exhaled deeply and said, ¡°Brother Ji, bring me back to the hotel.¡±

    Ji Juechen was slightly taken aback, and nced subconsciously at Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Dong¡¯er had always been the one responsible for pushing his wheelchair.

    The toughness that Wang Dong¡¯er showed against Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately vanished into thin air. She lowered her voice and whispered, ¡°I know I was wrong, Yuhao. Can you not be angry with me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped around and nced at her as he forced down the boiling rage in his heart. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this when we get back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had to give her face when they were outside, no matter what. He closed his eyes after his reply.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stuck out her tongue and gestured at Ji Juechen, who hurriedly pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair back towards their hotel.

    The others wore strange expressions on their faces. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao gave Wang Dong¡¯er a thumbs-up, and seemed a little amused.

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed and pouted towards them. She gestured in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction with her lips and gave them a pleading look.

    Jiang Nannan covered her mouth and giggled, but then turned away. It didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to help at all.

    ------

    Everyone received news that new rooms had been arranged for them once they returned to the Brilliant Delight Hotel. The teams that had progressed into the quarterfinals were assigned better rooms. The first-ce teams of each group stayed in the top level, while the second-ce teams stayed on the second level.

    Huo Yuhao directly rejected the offer to switch rooms, and he told the officials that he didn¡¯t want any more inconveniences.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair obediently back inside their room.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair all the way inside and bolted the door. She stood beside Huo Yuhao and lowered her head, as if she were a little child who had done something wrong. She ced her tender and smooth hands in front of her and fiddled with her fingers.

    ¡°Let me help you on bed to rest, is that okay?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er whispered.

    ¡°Do you have any strength left in your hands?¡± Huo Yuhao answered coldly, and his eyesnded on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s quivering arms.

    There wasn¡¯t a single ounce of strength left in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands after those intense shes from before.

    ¡°I know I messed up, Yuhao. The truth is, I just wanted to prove that she¡¯s not stronger than me. I didn¡¯t have any other intention. We were just fighting normally, and we wouldn¡¯t have ced our lives on the line.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s exnation made Huo Yuhao even more furious, and the rage that he had been holding back immediately erupted.

    ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er! Listen to me! We are the Tang Sect, and you are part of the Tang Sect¡¯s team! You didn¡¯t listen to instructions and made decisions on your own! How am I tomand and instruct the others from now on? Have you thought about that? Also, I don¡¯t care at all whether you¡¯re stronger than Wang Qiu¡¯er or she¡¯s stronger than you! I¡¯m just concerned about your safety! Do you not know how powerful her Golden Dragon Spear is? You would have been irrevocably injured if you had been struck by her spear! What am I to do if something happens to you? Why do you have to make me worry and make me anxious like that? If you regaining your personality means you¡¯ll be so rebellious, I would rather have that gentle and soft you! At least you won¡¯t make me worry that way!¡±

    ¡°Do you not know that I feel ten times more pain if you were hurt than if it had been my own injuries? You had an exciting time with Wang Qiu¡¯er on stage, huh, but did you know what I was feeling beneath the stage?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stuck out her tongue. She didn¡¯t attempt to dispute him, and she lowered her head and put on a pitiful look as she listened to his chiding.

    There was no question that this was the best solution to deal with Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao raised his voice angrily against her, but the fury in his heart gradually dissipated as he watched her cute and obedient behavior.

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Give me your hands.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er hurriedly gave him both of her hands.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed her right forearm as he looked at her trembling arms, and he channeled his gentle Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power and helped her slowly smooth out and adjust her passageways and nerves.

    Wang Dong¡¯er stared at the serious look on his face and felt the warmth andfort from hisrge hand against her arm. Waves of warm sentiment swelled in her heart as she inched forward and sat down on hisp before leaning into his chest.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s warmth and tenderness melted thest strands of anger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. How could he scold her anymore when she was so soft in his embrace?

    Huo Yuhao continued helping her smooth the passageways in her arms. He suddenly looked up and shouted in the direction of their room door, ¡°Senior brothers and senior sisters, stop listening. Go back, wash up, and get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Dry coughs could be heard from outside their door, and everything quickly quieted down.

    Wang Dong¡¯er blushed and whispered, ¡°Those nasty fellows.¡±

    Huo Yuhao put down her arms for a moment and stroked her cheek so that she was staring into his eyes.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°This is the first and thest time. I don¡¯t want to see something like this happen again.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°I want to punish you.¡±

    ¡°How are you going to punish me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to spank you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so nasty¡­¡±

    ------

    The round robins¡¯ final matches were over. Eight teams progressed into the quarterfinals, and this also meant that the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was entering its final phase.

    The first-ce teams out of the teams that qualified were: Shrek Academy, the Snowdemon Sect, the Holy Ghost Sect, and the Proudsword Sect.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s princess, Wei Na, and Mu Xue were part of the Snowdemon Sect, and they were considered acquaintances. There was nothing to be said about the Holy Ghost Sect. Their mighty evil soul masters never gave their opponents any chance at all, and they hadn¡¯t encountered any particrly strong opponents throughout the entire tournament thus far. Most of their rounds were resolved in the single elimination matches.

    The Proudsword Sect was a rtively reclusive sect, and their performances were extremely low-profile. It felt as if they won every round by a hair¡¯s breadth. They advanced gradually but steadily, and they eventually came out from the round robins with a full score.

    The other quarterfinalists, which consisted of the second-ce teams in the round robins, included the Tang Sect, the Star Luo National Academy, the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

    The Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy was another reputable soul engineering academy based in the Radiant City. They were second only to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in reputation, but they had always been held back by the Sun Moon Academy in past seasons. There were rumors going around that the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy had an unprecedented and irreceable team of prodigy students this season, and it was this team that had brought them into the quarterfinals. They were considered a formidable dark horse.

    Huo Yuhao was connected in some way to the Heavenly Dragon Sect. The Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earthdragon Sect were a pair of rtively withdrawn sects that were both quite reputable amongst the other sects. The Heavenly Dragon Sect wasparatively stronger than the Earthdragon Sect, and their martial souls were all true dragons. This was the reason why the Earthdragon Sect was considered a subsidiary sect of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

    Naturally, the Earthdragon Sect would never admit that. Even though they had a friendly rtionship with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, they had never been willing to concede the Heavenly Dragon Sect¡¯s superiority. The Heavenly Dragon Sect¡¯s impressive fighting strength couldn¡¯t be denied, however. They came out with six victories in the round robins, and the only match they lost was against the Snowdemon Sect, and the reason they came out second in their group. For some reason, they were clearly fooling around during their battle against the Snowdemon Sect, and they didn¡¯t give everything they had.

    The quarterfinalists were finalized. The teams would take two days off, and then the quarterfinals would officially begin. One day was enough to conclude the quarterfinals, and the winning teams would be given another two days to rest before they would enter the semifinals. Two more days would be allocated before the grand finals, and the tournament would then be over.

    Today was the first day of rest before the quarterfinals. All eight teams were up early in the morning to draw lots before the quarterfinals began. This was exceedingly important for every team.

    It didn¡¯t mean that the teams who qualified in second ce weren¡¯t strong at all. For instance, the Tang Sect gave everything away to Shrek Academy, but those with a discerning eye could tell that the Tang Sect was actually stronger than Shrek Academy. In actual fact, the Tang Sect had helped Shrek Academy cripple some of their opponents so that they could qualify sessfully.

    Simrly, the Heavenly Dragon Sect had also qualified as the runners-up in their group. Their true strength had always been a mystery, but there was no doubt that they had incredible prowess. Some of their contestants, who were clearly their main team members, hadn¡¯t even taken part in the tournament yet.

    Whichever team ended up against them wouldn¡¯t have an easy time.

    As for the remaining two second-ce teams, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s representative team and the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s team, how could they be weak if they made it into the quarterfinals?

    The lottery was to be carried out at the Brilliant Delight Hotel. The contestants had to admit that the organizingmittee¡¯s decision to do this wasudable. It was very humane, and allowed the contesting teams more time to rest.

    ------

    All eight quarterfinalist teams were already inside the Brilliant Delight Hotel¡¯s grand banquet hall.

    The eight teams were standing in eight rows. Huo Yuhao was standing in front of the Tang Sect¡¯s team. This spot had originally belonged to Bei Bei, but Huo Yuhao was sitting in his wheelchair, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to see what was going on in front if he was seated to the back.

    Zheng Zhan, who had been the referee for the Tang Sect on many different asions, was sitting on the rostrum. There were several other officials present that the Sun Moon Empire had sent forth especially to organize this tournament.

 Chapter 314.2: Lot Drawing for The Round of Eight

    One of the officials stood up and gathered everyone¡¯s attention. He smiled brightly and said, ¡°First, I would like to congratte every team that¡¯s managed to qualify for the quarterfinals. As you all know, this is the first tournament that sects have been allowed to participate in, and it¡¯s been a lot morepetitive than previous seasons¡­¡±

    This official went on with his formalities for fifteen minutes before finally touching on the topic that everyone was waiting for.

    ¡°Now, we will draw the lots for the quarterfinal matchups. This lottery will not only determine who you will face in the next round, it will also determine the teams that you might face in the subsequent rounds. I trust that the oue of this lottery will be beneficial for your preparations. The rules are as follows...

    ¡°We will invite the four first-ce teams onto the stage, and they will take their turns drawing lots to decide which teams will be in the first group and which teams will be in the second group. Every first-ce team will draw lots against a second-ce team, and the only rule is that the first-ce team cannot be matched against the second-ce team in their same group during the round robins. Who you draw shall be your opponent in the quarterfinals! After the pairings have been settled, the winners from the first and the second group will enter the semifinals.

    ¡°The winners of the semifinals will proceed into the grand finals!

    Huo Yuhao frowned faintly as he listened to the official¡¯s announcement. ording to their lottery rules, it was still possible for the Tang Sect to meet Shrek Academy¡¯s team in the semifinals. This wasn¡¯t something they wanted to happen.

    The four first-ce teams quickly sent their representatives up on stage.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was undoubtedly the representative for Shrek Academy¡¯s team, Tang Ya represented the Holy Ghost Church, and Mu Xue represented the Snowdemon Sect. Huo Yuhao was familiar with all of them. The Proudsword Sect sent up one of their youths.

    The teams couldn¡¯t help but feel a little nervous, as they were about to choose their opponent in the quarterfinals. There was no doubt that the Snowdemon Sect and the Proudsword Sect were the weaker teams amongst the first-ce finishers, and the Holy Ghost Sect was assuredly the strongest team. Shrek Academy had Wang Qiu¡¯er to anchor things down, so they were still considered quite powerful.

    Not a single second-ce team wanted to be matched up against the Holy Ghost Sect.

    The groupings were drawn first.

    Shrek Academy was the first to draw their grouping. They were the champions from the previous season after all, and considered a legendary team. The Sun Moon Empire had to give the Shrek Academy respect at a time like this, no matter how much they didn¡¯t like them.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked very calm andposed. She would give everything she had against whichever team she would eventually draw, and there was no such thing as anxiety or fear in her heart.

    ¡°Shrek Academy, first group.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er drew into the first group.

    The Holy Ghost Sect was the second team to draw lots.

    Tang Ya was dressed in a long ck robe as she had always been. Her exquisite features were hidden beneath a veil, but how could her frame and her eyes fool the Tang Sect¡¯s team, who were all so familiar with her?

    Bei Bei was standing right behind Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao almost instantly felt Bei Bei¡¯s hands tighten around his wheelchair¡¯s handles. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess what he was feeling inside.

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t hesitate at all, and drew her lot.

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Church, second group.¡±

    Everyone could feel that Shrek Academy¡¯s team was relieved when they heard ¡°second group¡±. The Holy Ghost Sect in the second group meant that Shrek Academy¡¯s team would only meet them in the grand finals.

    The Snowdemon Sect, represented by Wei Na and Mu Xue, were next.

    Mu Xue was the one responsible for drawing lots. She hesitated for a moment before she stuck her hand inside the lottery box. Her expression became gloomy when she drew her card.

    ¡°The Snowdemon Sect, second group.¡±

    It was no wonder Mu Xue seemed despondent and agonized. The Snowdemon Sect was in the same group as the Holy Ghost Sect!

    The youth representing the Proudsword Sect smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need to draw anymore, right?¡±

    ¡°The Proudsword Sect, first group.¡±

    The four first-ce teams finished drawing their groups. Shrek Academy and the Proudsword Sect were in the first group.

    The Holy Ghost Sect and the Snowdemon Sect were in the second group.

    This was a good draw for the two teams in the first group.

    ¡°Next, we will draw lots for the quarterfinal matchups. Shrek Academy will draw first.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er raised her hand and drew her card. However, she was dazed for a moment when she withdrew her card.

    ¡°Shrek Academy has drawn¡­ the Tang Sect.¡±

    Everybody¡¯s expressions froze in the Tang Sect¡¯s team. Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly at Wang Qiu¡¯er on stage, and his lips moved and trembled, but no sound came out.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er subconsciously nced in the Tang Sect¡¯s direction after drawing them, and coincidentally saw the words that Huo Yuhao was mouthing. She could tell that he was saying, ¡°Do you hate us that much?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er mouth twitched as she ced the card back inside the lottery box.

    The official responsible for the lottery announced, ¡°Shrek Academy¡¯s team and the Tang Sect belonged in the same group before this, so this lot is nullified. The Shrek Academy will draw one more time.¡±

    Yes, because of the round robins, Shrek Academy¡¯s team would not go up against the Tang Sect in the quarterfinals.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er drew another card.

    ¡°Shrek Academy¡¯s new opponent is¡­¡± The official paused for a moment to build up the suspense.

    The Tang Sect had no response at all, but the other second-ce teams focused on his words.

    ¡°¡­the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy!¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Somebody from the Tang Sectughed out loud. It was Xiao Xiao. The Sun Moon Empire really had some hate going on with Shrek Academy. The lottery was so coincidental. Shrek Academy had just taken care of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and now the Shrek team had to face off against the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. This conflict and vengeance was really swelling.

    The lottery official looked helpless and exasperated as well. The students from the Radiant Academy didn¡¯t seem so surprised, but instead, every single one of them appeared as defiant as could be. There was no question that the only thought in their minds was, What if we defeat Shrek Academy and regain our nation¡¯s glory? Our honor and glory will overshadow the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    The Proudsword Sect was second in line to draw.

    Huo Yuhao became truly nervous at this point. The scenario that he absolutely did not want to see was the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy being allocated into the same group, because that meant they would have to fight each other before the grand finals. Therefore, the Proudsword Sect¡¯s draw was very important to Huo Yuhao and his team. Even though the Proudsword Sect seemed a little weaker than the others, the Tang Sect would rather face off against a stronger team.

    ¡°The Proudsword Sect¡¯s opponent in the quarterfinals is¡­ the Heavenly Dragon Sect.¡±

    Once this was announced, everybody in the Tang Sect was ovee with delight, and they all heaved sighs of relief.

    Over on Shrek Academy¡¯s side, Dai Huabin, Wu Feng and the others also heaved sighs of relief. They didn¡¯t want to fight the Tang Sect either, and no matter what personal vengeances they had with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and the others, these were but internal matters. Furthermore, it was because of this very fact that they knew how formidable Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were. Even if Shrek Academy¡¯s team had Wang Qiu¡¯er, their team strength was still a far cry from the Tang Sect¡¯s overall strength.

    The first group¡¯s lots had beenpletely drawn. The two remaining teams that hadn¡¯t been allocated yet were the Tang Sect and the Star Luo National Academy.

    Princess Jiujiu of the Star Luo National Academy didn¡¯t look so good. The Holy Ghost Sect was in the second group, and even if the Star Luo National Academy was to fight against the Snowdemon Sect in the quarterfinals, and even if they could beat them, they would have to go up against the Holy Ghost Sect or the Tang Sect in the semifinals. Both teams were far too strong for the Star Luo National Academy to fight against.

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Sect will draw next.¡±

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Sect is against the¡­ Star Luo National Academy.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression turned grey when she heard that. She had a tough and unrelenting personality, but she was still ovee with shock. She understood that they had no chance at all against the Holy Ghost Sect, because the Holy Ghost Sect was possibly stronger than even the Tang Sect.

    There was no need to draw thest lot. The Tang Sect would be up against Mu Xue and Wei Na¡¯s Snowdemon Sect in the quarterfinals.

    This was a fantastic draw for the Tang Sect, as the Snowdemon was evidently weaker than the Holy Ghost Sect. It didn¡¯t seem like it would be very difficult for the Tang Sect to defeat their designated opponent, while they would have a showdown against the Holy Ghost Sect in the semifinals. The Holy Ghost Sect would be greatly weakened no matter what the result was. Of course, it was better if the Tang Sect could win this battle, but even if the Tang Sect lost, they would have smoothed the path ahead for Shrek Academy.

    One precondition was that Shrek Academy had to get through their own group. Their opponents were not weak, and it was still uncertain whether they could fight their way into the grand finals.

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply and turned around to look at Bei Bei. ¡°This should be the best oue.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes had been fixed on Tang Ya from beginning to end. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes! If we can defeat the Snowdemon Sect, you will be in charge when we face the Holy Ghost Sect.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao knew what he was trying to say. His eldest senior bother was afraid that he would lose himself if they went up against Tang Ya.

    ¡°Alright, the lottery is over. The quarterfinals willmence the day after tomorrow! The first group will fight it out in the morning, and the second group will battle in the afternoon. Make your preparations, everyone, as the tournament has reached its final phase. Every round will be exceptionally important to every team here today, I hope everyone can achieve the best results!¡±

    The lottery was over, and the officials retreated one after another. The eight quarterfinalists also took turns exiting the grand banquet hall.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao!¡± a charming voice rang out.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and saw Mu Xue and Wei Na walking over together. Wei Na¡¯s face was full of regret as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to meet you guys in the quarterfinals. This is a terrible draw for us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°How can that be? You guys came in first in the group stages, but we were second in ours.¡±

    Mu Xue grunted coldly and said, ¡°Stop pretending! Everyone knows what you guys were doing against Shrek Academy. Don¡¯t think that you will definitely defeat us! We will meet again in the arena when the timees!¡±

 Chapter 314.3: Lot Drawing for The Round of Eight

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and just nodded. ¡°Everyone has a chance. We will all fight with everything we have. I just hope that this tournament will not affect our friendship. In the end, we¡¯re still business partners, are we not?¡±

    Wei Na¡¯s eyes lit up as she said, ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to say, as well! No matter how this tournament turns out, we will still be business partners. I¡¯m looking forward to more cooperation with the Tang Sect in the future!¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    Both parties kept walking out as they talked. Once they left the main door, Mu Xue, Wei Na, and the rest of the Snowdemon Sect bid their farewells to the Tang Sect before they took their leave.

    The other teams left as well.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Let¡¯s head back as well. Let¡¯s have a meeting in my room.¡±

    ------

    The Tang Sect¡¯s members gathered in Bei Bei¡¯s room. They hadn¡¯t moved to the second level, but the Tang Sect¡¯s new room was a lot better than their old and decrepit one from before.

    Xu Sanshi stretched outzily on the sofa and said, ¡°Why are we having a meeting, Bei Bei? Today¡¯s lottery turned out pretty well. We should have a good rest and destroy the Holy Ghost Sect when the timees. We have to knock some sense into Xiao Ya, no matter what.¡±

    Bei Bei frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think it¡¯s all fine and dandy. We have to defeat the Snowdemon Sect before we can fight the Holy Ghost Sect.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was a little surprised. ¡°Are you kidding me, Bei Bei? Do we really have to open a meeting for our battle against the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Snowdemon Sect? I think they were lucky to be top in their group. On the other hand, I think the Heavenly Dragon Sect is stronger than they are, and they will be the ones standing in the way of Shrek Academy¡¯s in their group.¡±

    Bei Bei grunted coldly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as you think. Tell him, little junior brother. What problems are we going to face?¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood that his eldest senior brother wanted to test him. ¡°We can¡¯t overlook one sect.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was momentarily stunned. ¡°What sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The Body Sect!¡±

    ¡°The Body Sect? Haven¡¯t they been keeping their heads down this entire time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s the point. They haven¡¯t revealed themselves yet, so we have to pay extra attention to them. ording to reliable sources, the Body Sect is definitely participating in this tournament. However, they haven¡¯t shown any tracks yet. What does this mean? This means that the Body Sect is hidden within another team, and they haven¡¯t shown their true colors yet. This team is quite strong, and what I can tell from the current situation, the Body Sect is likely to be embedded among one of quarterfinalists.¡±

    ¡°Of the eight quarterfinalists, the Shrek Academy, us, and the Holy Ghost Sect can be excluded. These three teams simply cannot have any people from the Body Sect embedded inside them. Of the five remaining teams, the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy is also unlikely. After all, the Body Sect once ambushed the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and they are on bad terms with the Sun Moon Empire. The Proudsword Sect, the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Snowdemon Sect, and the Star Luo National Academy are suspects. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Body Sect¡¯s people are definitely hidden within one of their reserve lineups.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded, satisfied at Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°He¡¯s right. Therefore, don¡¯t think that we are lucky for drawing the Snowdemon Sect! There¡¯s a twenty-five percent chance that the Snowdemon Sect has people from the Body Sect hidden inside their team. If they want to defeat us, then the Body Sect will definitely have to fight. Therefore, it¡¯s very probable that we will be up against a very formidable opponent in our next match.¡±

    The corner of Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°We can¡¯t be that unlucky, can we? One in four? Will we actually meet them? However, it seems like the Shrek Academy¡¯s lot is pretty good. They¡¯re up against the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy! That means they don¡¯t even have a one-in-four chance of going up against the Body Sect!¡±

    Bei Bei continued, ¡°No matter which team the Body Sect is hidden in, every single team in the quarterfinals is quite strong. It¡¯s likely that the Body Sect will show themselves in the quarterfinals. We cannot rest our hopes on luck, and that means we have to be careful with what we decide to do.¡±

    Xiao Xiao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°It would be fantastic if the Body Sect is hidden inside the Star Luo National Academy.¡±

    A smile appeared on everyone¡¯s faces when she said this.

    Wasn¡¯t that right? The Star Luo National Academy was going up against the Holy Ghost Church. The Body Sect against the Holy Ghost Sect would be a spectacr battle! If they ended up dealing heavy losses to each other, that would be a perfect oue for the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao sighed faintly and said, ¡°Even though I wish that were true, I have to say that it¡¯s very unlikely.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao Xiao asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Have you guys not realized that the Star Luo Empire has been trying to reach out to Shrek Academy? They have always been trying to form an alliance or some kind of camaraderie with us, and they¡¯ve always been trying to get the academy¡¯s help. Princess Jiujiu¡¯s urgency and her eagerness wasn¡¯t fake when she was purchasing the Zhuge Divine Crossbows! She requested a Titled Douluo test the Zhuge Divine Crossbow as soon as possible! If we think from their perspective, if the Star Luo National Academy had a partner as formidable as the Body Sect, in addition to the fact that the Body Sect isn¡¯t on good terms with Shrek Academy, why would they be so eager to lean towards us?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s heads bobbed up and down as they listened to his analysis.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Little junior brother makes a lot of sense. Therefore, our chances of meeting them have be one in three. Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s discuss our battle strategies and tactics for the next round.¡±

    There were fewer and fewer teams staying in the Brilliant Delight Hotel as the tournament progressed over time. Most of the teams who had been eliminated from the tournament had chosen to leave, as this ce was considered a sad ce for them now. Of course, some teams had wanted to stay so that they could continue watching the tournament. This was a great opportunity that they didn¡¯t want to miss. But the teams that had been eliminated were forced to move out of the Brilliant Delight Hotel.

    Therefore, the spacious and tremendous Brilliant Delight Hotel was only housing eight teams at the moment. The entire hotel seemed empty and uninhabited.

    But this emptiness was filled with a stifled atmosphere. The next three rounds represented glory, wealth, and reputation, all at once, for every quarterfinalist!

    Shrek Academy undoubtedly felt the most pressure, because they were the previous season¡¯s champions, and much of their glory and reputation was at stake. Their opponents in the subsequent rounds were simply too powerful, but their draw was considered fortunate. At the very least, they were up against one of the weaker teams in the quarterfinals. But what about afterwards? Everything that was toe was hard to predict!

    The Holy Ghost Sect was the most mysterious team. Their team members rarely showed themselves in public other than in the arena during the tournament.

    The Tang Sect was no longer considered a dark horse. Their team members¡¯ identities had been investigated and publicized after their impressive showing. When everyone discovered that they were the Shrek Academy team that had clinched the championshipst season, theirbel as a dark horse vanished into thin air.

    It was even more taxing for Huo Yuhao, because he had to prepare for the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Competition¡¯s grand finals on top of his official tournament.

    This tournament¡¯s timing was alternated from the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Therefore, the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s grand finals was fixed on the second day after the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯s semifinals. This also meant that the underground tournament¡¯s grand finals was one day away from the other one. It was the best way to attract more people to bet and wager!

    Nine people were participating in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament. Huo Yuhao had used his necromancy to defeat his opponent in the previous round, but he had no idea what the final round¡¯s rules were going to be. This was a soul engineer tournament, after all, and it was natural that the rules of the grand finals would be adjusted after he had set a precedent by using his martial soul to defeat his opponent. The other two underground organizations would also be very careful about such a thing.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao had to design some of his own authentic soul tools, besides preparing for their quarterfinals, so that he could win something in the underground tournament. He had to im this championship for the Tang Sect¡¯s development, and also because he wanted to go undercover in his enemy¡¯s camp.

    Two days were given for the quarterfinalists to take a breather, and every team took this chance to rest up.

    ------

    The quarterfinals were finally here. Radiant City was bustling early in the morning, and dawn had yet to break when citizens thronged out of the city to im a good spot to watch the tournament from.

    The quarterfinals would conclude today. There were four matches to be fought, and every match was one strong team against another. Nobody wanted to miss a single match for anything in the world.

    Every single citizen who was hurrying out of the city along the roads and streets was carrying dry rations and water. They were prepared to spend an entire day in and around the spectator¡¯s grandstands, and they were going together in groups. What was the benefit of going together with friends? The greatest one was that their seats wouldn¡¯t be taken by others if they wanted to head to the bathroom when the time came!

    The masses of toilets that had been set up outside the city specifically for the tournament since its beginning had actually amassed quite some fertilizer for the farms around the Radiant City, though the farmers had to be the only ones who were excited about that.

    ording to the tournament¡¯s rules, the first group would fight it out in the morning, while the second group would have their chance in the afternoon.

    ------

    When the sun peeked out from the horizon, the teams that represented the strongest youths in the world walked out of the city as toons of soldiers formed human walls to escort them.

    Not only were the first four teams that were fighting in the morning going to the arena, but the second group ¨C the Holy Ghost Sect, the Tang Sect, the Snowdemon Sect, and the Star Luo National Academy ¨C had all gotten up early in the morning, as well.

    There was no need to watch the other rounds during the round robins, and each team could just mind their own business. However, it was imperative for every team to understand their adversaries during the quarterfinals. At the same time, it was also better to head down to the arena so that they could get used to its atmosphere as early as possible.

    The quarterfinals would be the true showdown between powerhouses. After today, the quarterfinals would narrow down into the semifinals, and the four eliminated teams would be heading home.

    Huo Yuhao was still sitting silently in his wheelchair. The quarterfinalists didn¡¯t leave the Brilliant Delight Hotel at the same time, which was why they were the only team on the street at the moment.

 Chapter 315: The Round of Eight Starts!

    After careful analysis, it appeared that the most likely ce the powerful members of the Body Sect were hidden in was either the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Proudsword Sect, or the Snowdemon Sect. Frankly speaking, no matter where the Body Sect was hidden, they would pose a huge threat to the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.

    After they entered the top eight, they would surely face many challenges!

    When everyone from the Tang Sect arrived at the arena, the team from Shrek Academy was already doing their warm-ups with their opponents from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy.

    As they were in the first half, Shrek Academy would definitely go first.

    The four rounds today were all major. The sun was already in the sky, and the weather was decent. As bright sunlight illuminated the earth, everyone felt a sense of warmth. Radiant City had experienced cold temperatures in the past few days, so the sunlight today lifted everyone¡¯s spirits.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood quietly outside of the VIP resting zone as she looked down at the arena, which had already been fixed from the damage she had helped cause it yesterday. No one knew what she was thinking. Her powdery-blue, wavy hair was bathed in sunlight, making it appear golden.

    At the same time, she was like a solitary plum tree in winter. She stood there in solitude, appearing out of ce, and yet, she was the center of it all.

    When everyone entered the resting zone, Wang Dong¡¯er, who was standing next to Huo Yuhao, walked over to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, but didn¡¯t stop her. He trusted her. While Dong¡¯er had every intention ofpeting against Qiu¡¯er, she would not behave rashly, particrly after what had happened thest time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er walked up next to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Likewise, sunlight poured onto her silky-smooth hair. The reflected sunlight was even more intense, but at least it was not blurry like the light Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s hair reflected.

    Their faces looked exactly the same, even though there was a small age discrepancy. When the two girls stood there, they looked as if they were from a painting.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sensed that Wang Dong¡¯ering up next to her, and turned to look at her.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled slightly and said, ¡°Did I not say it that day? You are my sister! Thepetition¡¯s about to start, so I¡¯m here to check on you.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re here to show off, you can leave. You¡¯ve won.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned, but soon understood what Wang Qiu¡¯er meant. She sighed and said, ¡°Do you know, after the fight that day, he scolded me. It was the first time he lost his temper at me.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°So why are you telling me this? He was definitely afraid that you would be hurt by me.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not only that. I can also feel that he admires you greatly. Furthermore, you¡¯ve saved him so many times. Regardless of whether it¡¯s him or me, we¡¯re both grateful to you. If not for that fact that I can¡¯tpromise our feelings for him, I would very much like to be your sister. I respect you greatly.¡±

    ¡°You can leave,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said, as the expression on her face turned even colder.

    Wang Dong¡¯er bowed her head and said, ¡°I know that, regardless of what I say, you¡¯ll treat it as if I¡¯m mocking you. However, all I can tell you is that I don¡¯t despise you. In fact, I kind of like your tenacity.¡±

    With that, she finally turned toward where the other members of the Tang Sect were resting. She took two steps out, stopped, then turned her head to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er and said, ¡°Sis, you must win.¡±

    When she heard the word ¡®sis¡¯, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart, for some reason, trembled. Her toned, strong arms clenched tightly into fists as she nodded in one vigorous motion.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s red lips trembled as she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    ¡°What did you tell her?¡± Huo Yuhao asked her curiously.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said slightly coyly, ¡°This is a matter between us women, so why are you asking?¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao looked helpless.

    Xu Sanshi, who was sitting next to him, chuckled, ¡°Yuhao, you resemble me more and more. How does it feel to have such a strict wife?¡±

    Huo Yuhao red at him and said, ¡°Third brother, at least I have a wife to take care of me, is Sister Nannan really your ¡®wife¡¯?¡±

    Xu Sanshi turned his head to look at Jiang Nannan as he made kissing motions at her. Jiang Nannan pretended to not have seen it, but instead was trying to get the organizer of the tournament to prepare beverages for them, willingly oblivious to him.

    Xu Sanshi turned his head back and red back at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re learning all the wrong things. Now you know how to hit where it hurts. Hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled bitterly. ¡°You started it, alright?¡±

    ------

    The members of every team were all present, including those from the Holy Ghost Sect. They were still as mysterious as ever, cloaked entirely in ck robes. Tang Ya sat at the front, reflecting her important position in the sect.

    At the back of the team stood the woman whom Huo Yuhao thought was familiar. She appeared to be the teacher in charge. However, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng was nowhere to be found. He was not with the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team.

    The Snowdemon Sect had arrived much earlier. Wei Na and Mu Xue sat at the front of the team, conversing in low tones, while the others were silent behind them. They all appeared extremely alert, and would asionally nce in the direction of the Tang Sect.

    There were far fewer participants in the waiting area than before. However, the atmosphere was still extremely tense, especially since every team would have topete today. It felt like the very air could ignite at any moment.

    ------

    Up on the main podium, the Prince Regent Xu Tianran had arrived a long time ago. Ju Zi sat next to him as she passed him a cup of fragrant tea.

    Xu Tianran drank from the cup, looked at the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall and asked, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, how are your grandson and granddaughter doing?¡±

    Jing Hongchen replied quietly, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Thanks to the imperial physicians you sent, their conditions have stabilized. However, as their injuries are not light, they will need at least a year to make a full recovery.¡±

    Xu Tianran sighed softly and said, ¡°As long as there are no after-effects, it¡¯s fine. They¡¯re both pirs of the empire. Help me tell Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen that this defeat does not mean anything. After all, defeat is the mother of sess. As they now have the painful experience of a defeat, this will help them walk on more proper paths in the future. Tell them it¡¯s from me personally. I believe that one day they¡¯ll be able to beat the group from Shrek Academy!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Jing Hongchen appeared drained after these two days. The defeat of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team had ced a great deal of pressure on him.

    Many other officials had raisedints against him. It was a major humiliation to the empire for them to be unable to even make it past the qualifiers. Furthermore, both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were severely injured. If not for the fact that Xu Tianran had sent the only healing-type Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire to attend to them, Xiao Hongchen¡¯s wounds might have been fatal, and Meng Hongchen could have been permanently crippled.

    Only with Xu Tianran¡¯s strong support was Jing Hongchen able to preserve his position. However, he understood that there was no free lunch in this world. After this incident, he was firmly in the orbit of the Crown Prince. He now had no choice but to serve him loyally in the future. He understood how powerful Xu Tianran was, and was clear on the Crown Prince¡¯s ambition. While he still had doubts in his heart, he now had no choice but to believe firmly in him.

    ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, do you think the Radiant Academy can beat Shrek?¡± The firstpetition was about to start, and Xu Tianran was naturally in high spirits. He was particrly enthused by the prospects of witnessing such intense fights!

    Jing Hongchen said, ¡°While I don¡¯t think we should over-emphasize our enemy¡¯s power, and undermine ourselves, I have to say that Radiant Academy is not as good as the Imperial Academy. While the team from Shrek isn¡¯t particrly powerful, Wang Qiu¡¯er is too difficult to defeat. We all saw what happened that day. Wang Qiu¡¯er used all her might at the very end, which was close to the power of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. If not, there was no way she could have defeated my grandson and granddaughter. With such a captain, the team from Shrek Academy has a very good chance.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded, sighed, and acknowledged, ¡°We really can¡¯t underestimate the ten thousand year foundations of Shrek Academy.¡±

    The mysterious Imperial Tutor who sat next to him suddenly said, ¡°No matter how long they¡¯ve been established, they also need talents. I think that the teams from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect contain all their talents for this generation.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes shed as he smiled and said, ¡°Imperial Tutor is right.¡±

    Ju Zi, who sat next to Xu Tianran, said nothing. The trace of a smile could be seen on her face. She looked down at the arena, and in the depths of her eyes, one could see a hint of worry.

    ------

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, was the referee. Ever since he had joined thepetition, injury rates had plummeted. He refereed all the important rounds, such as today.

    ¡°The first round for the top eight, Shrek Academy versus the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. May the teammates from both teams enter the waiting zone. The firstpetitor for the individual elimination round from both teams, pleasee into the arena.¡±

    On Shrek¡¯s side were seven people. Theirbination was exactly the same as the one they had used to face off against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. They were Wang Qiu¡¯er, Dai Huabing, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, Cao Jinxuan, and the Lan sisters. This was their standard team.

    In the previous round against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, they had not worked together wlessly. This was because after Wang Qiu¡¯er was struck by the aging ray, Dai Huabing and Zhu Lu unleashed their power too early, causing them to almost lose control of thepetition. For this, Wang Qiu¡¯er scolded them harshly when they returned.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er understood clearly that if not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion, while the Aging Ray might not actually make her age, there was no way she could have beaten Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen due to the massive depletion of her soul power at that time.

    However, this made her even more unhappy. She did not want to show weakness in front of Huo Yuhao!

    When she entered the waiting zone, Wang Qiu¡¯er jumped onto the arena without even sitting down. The team from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy had unpleasant looks on their faces.

    No one wanted to fight this immensely powerful Golden Dragon Girl! Her Golden Dragon Spear could attack both near and far, and was almost impossible to resist. Many people believed that she was the most powerfulpetitor in the entire tournament, particrly after she defeated the Hongchen siblings!

    Who would dare to fight her? However, this was the individual elimination round, and they had to send someone to face her, since she had already stepped up.

    A youth leapt out from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy team¡¯s side andnded in the arena.

    The youth was handsome, and his body well-defined. He looked like a piece of jade, and his eyes brimmed with confidence. He strode confidently to the center of the arena, where Wang Qiu¡¯er was waiting.

    ¡°State your names.¡±

    ¡°Shrek, Wang Qiu¡¯er,¡± she said in her characteristically straightforward manner.

    ¡°Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy, Lu Jun. Hello, Golden Dragon Girl, it¡¯s a pleasure to go up against you. Please show mercy¡­¡±

    Lu Jun spoke to Wang Qiu¡¯er in a gentlemanly manner, but she did not wait for him to finish before she turned her back to walk to the periphery of the arena,pletely ignoring this handsome young man.

    Lu Jun¡¯s mouth twitched. She doesn¡¯t give me face at all. What a personality. I like it!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strong showing, coupled with her beautiful face, attracted many people. All those who thought they had a chance, be it soul masters or soul engineers, tried to ask her out, including Lu Jun.

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, looked at him coldly and said, ¡°Young man, don¡¯t expect her to show you mercy just because you¡¯re handsome. She has a fiery temper, and all she cares about is winning. Be careful.¡±

    Lu Jun nodded his head and said humbly, ¡°Thank you for your advice, senior. I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    His careful attitude left a good impression on the Unbreakable Douluo. He had heard that there were some exceptional participants from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. Lu Jun should be one of them!

    Today, he would be able to assess the young man¡¯s performance throughout thispetition. If possible, he would not mind taking in a disciple...

    Lu Jun reached the edge of the arena after Wang Qiu¡¯er. They looked across at one another. At this moment, Lu Jun was no longer smiling, and a severe expression settled on his face as he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Who dared to be careless in front of the Golden Dragon Girl!? Flirting was flirting. His team was already in the top eight, and Lu Jun was undoubtedly a core member of his team. He dared not be careless!

    ¡°Prepare yourselves!¡± said the Unbreakable Douluo as he looked at both sides.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sprang into action. Her left foot stomped down on the ground, and her body flew toward Lu Jun, who was more than a hundred meters away, like an arrow.

    Everyone had witnessed how explosive she could be. In the blink of an eye, she covered the entire distance!

    When Lu Jun heard Zheng Zhan say to prepare, he had already squatted down. When the referee announced the start of the round, he leapt into the air like a bolt of lightning. Behind him, a pair of wings from a flying-type soul tool expanded instantly, and four rays of light shot out, propelling him into the sky.

 Chapter 316.1: One-man Team

    The Unbreakable Douluo¡¯s eyes lit up. This young man is smart indeed. As a soul engineer, the most important thing was to use his own advantages to attack his opponent¡¯s weaknesses. The rules of the tournament set by the Sun Moon Empire were already in favor of soul engineers. Taking advantage of them wisely was crucial.

    Lu Jun had evidently nned this out beforehand. After he jumped up, he used all his strength. In the process, the flying-type soul tool was already ready. When he jumped up, there was a single moment¡¯s pause.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was fast, no doubt. However, no matter how fast she was, she had to cross a distance of 100 meters. When she reached him, Lu Jun was already 20 meters above the ground.

    This was already beyond Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s closebat radius. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er was no pushover, and she did notck battle experience. She rushed forward, touched the ground, bent her knees, and in the next instant, everyone heard a ¡®boom¡¯ from the ground. A hole about two meters wide appeared, and her body was like a golden cannon shell as it shot into the air after Lu Jun.

    She gripped her Golden Dragon Spear. With her speed, it would not be difficult for her to catch up to him.

    At this moment, one could clearly see the counter-strategy the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy had prepared for Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    As he noticed that Wang Qiu¡¯er was about to catch up, Lu Jun, who was in mid-air, activated his Invincible Barrier.

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er went up against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, she was able to score victory after victory. However, in her fight against Ding Xiaobu, she was bogged down. This served as an inspiration for the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. If not for Ding Xiaobu¡¯s cowardice, he would definitely have been able to wear Wang Qiu¡¯er down!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face was cold, and she caught up to Lu Jun in mid-air quickly. In terms of explosive speed, even a flying-type soul tool could notpare with her!

    Even a high-ss flying-type soul tool needed time to charge up and release its power. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body had no such needs.

    Lu Jun was very calm. He even smiled at Wang Qiu¡¯er who was approaching him, behaving as gentlemanly as he could.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face was emotionless. In the next instant, she reached Lu Jun¡¯s altitude. While he looked on in shock, she did not attack his Invincible Barrier. After she passed him, she insteadnded on Lu Jun¡¯s Invincible Barrier with one foot, directly on his head¡­

    Who knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er would use this method to counter Lu Jun¡¯s counter-strategy? The round right now looked extremely weird to everyone. Lu Jun was using his flying-type soul tool and carrying Wang Qiu¡¯er higher into the sky!

    After a moment of shock, Lu Jun started to react. He tried to shake his body as he sought to throw Wang Qiu¡¯er off as fast as he could.

    However, just as he was about to use his strength, a powerful energy came from the top of his head. The flying-type soul tool behind his back started to whine louder and louder, and he found that could no longer ascend any higher into the sky.

    The Invincible Barrier was not all-purpose. It could prevent its user from being struck, but it could not let him do whatever he wanted.

    At this moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er was like a proud, golden statue as she stood on top of the Invincible Barrier. She suddenly exerted a powerful pressure that Lu Jun¡¯s ss 6 flying-type soul tool could no longer take. His body stopped its upward flight¡­ and then, it started to drop down.

    Lu Jun tried to change his direction of flight. However, he was helpless in face of the immense pressure from above. If he tried to continue upward, he would be forced back to the ground by Wang Qiu¡¯er. Flying horizontally was out of the question too.

    His well-designed n had been ruined by his opponent. Lu Jun, who had been brimming with confidence a moment ago, started to sweat.

    The Invincible Barrier had a time limit. Furthermore, he had used a rather ordinary Invincible Barrier, which could onlyst for around seven seconds. From his perspective, he had seven seconds of buffer time, which was enough for him to escape her pursuit. Then, he could exert pressure on Wang Qiu¡¯er until he beat her. Who knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er would start off using this method to fight him?

    Lu Jun was an elite from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. He flipped his hands, and two soul cannons appeared on his shoulders. This time, he had no choice but to go on the offensive. The two rapid-fire soul cannons on his hand started to pound Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Golden scales instantly covered her entire body, and a golden dragon started to swirl around Wang Qiu¡¯er. She released her Golden Dragon Body.

    The rapid-fire soul cannon¡¯s main strengthy in how fast it could shoot. It was able to cover a wide area, ory down suppressive fire on a particr foe. Each of its shots was about the size of an egg. However, when theynded on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body, it was like they had hit a steel wall. There was no way they were hurting her at all.

    In the absence of soul tools, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s defenses were no weaker than a defensive-type soul master! Many people had forgotten about this, including Huo Yuhao. This was because her offensive powers were too strong and too eye-catching!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear shone withyers of golden light as it blocked many of the shots that were fired at her. The remaining ones that hit her were unable to hurt her.

    At the same time, Wang Qiu¡¯er applied force to her legs as she exerted even more pressure downward. Lu Jun wanted to use his flying-type soul tool to control his descent, and hence, he had to expend soul power. While he was naturally gifted and able to make ss 6 soul tools, he was still just a five-ringed Soul King. He could not use his ss 6 soul tools while experiencing such a depletion in his soul power.

    A thought shed past Lu Jun¡¯s mind, and he immediately stopped firing. He retrieved an odd-looking soul tool from his storage-type soul tool.

    This appeared to be a soul tool that resembled a basin, and the bottom of this basin-like soul tool was rather thick. The sides of the basin arched up and curved outward. Lu Jun tore his shirt open to reveal a tight-fitting singlet underneath. His singlet was filled with different types of metal. No one knew how he did it, but the ck ¡®basin¡¯ suddenly attached itself to his chest.

    With that, a ray of white lightning shot out from his chest. It teleported him at the speed of lightning through the air.

    This explosive power was strong indeed! When it was released, ayer of armor covered Lu Jun¡¯s body. Furthermore, he still had his Invincible Barrier, which buffered him against the shockwave in mid-air.

    While Wang Qiu¡¯er was able to stand in a stable fashion before, she was sent flying at this moment. Lu Jun¡¯s speed was too fast, and he smashed forcefully against the protective barrier around the arena. However, if not for this shocking energy, there was no way he could have escaped Wang Qiu¡¯er just now!

    There was a loud bang as Wang Qiu¡¯ernded on the ground. With the energy she had just released, she caused dust and dirt to fly about the moment she hit the ground.

    The hearts of the officials organizing thepetition skipped a beat. Why is it that whenever this girl appears, the arena is quickly damaged? We need to reinforce it, again!?

    Lu Jun was sent into a daze too. However, as his body bounced back, he had already removed his Invincible Barrier. While he still had about a second of it left, he did not want to waste any more soul power on it.

    At this moment, his shirt was already drenched in cold sweat. When he was spectating, he had thought that everyone who Wang Qiu¡¯er defeated simply did not do enough. However, now that he was the one facing the top femalepetitor in the tournament, he understood the immense pressure they were under. He finally understood why Ding Xiaobu admitted defeat just as Wang Qiu¡¯er was about to use her sixth soul skill. What immense pressure he must have faced!

    While he was rattled, he did not dare to slow down. As his flying-type soul tool was protected by the Invincible Barrier, it was not destroyed. At this moment, he hurriedly used it to gain altitude again. The only thing he should be doing was creating distance!

    However, at this moment, Lu Jun suddenly felt his body turn cold. This was because he saw that Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was stuck in the ground thanks to the force of her impact, was staring at him coldly. Her hand made a throwing motion. The long and sharp Golden Dragon Spear was sent flying straight for him.

    Lu Jun inhaled to calm himself before he acted. On his back and chest, a ray of light started to shine instantly. The light behind his back pushed him forward, and then he adjusted the wings of his flying-type soul tool. This caused him to fly diagonally upward, as if he were a ne taking off.

    The light in front of his chest started to shine even brighter. It came from the basin-like soul tool which he had previously used to escape Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s control.

    The ray of light went straight for her . This time, everyone could clearly see that it was a ray of white electric light about as thick as a pail. It was charged with electricity and extremely fast. However, it was constrained by distance, and could only reach a target ten meters ahead of him.

    Lu Jun¡¯s mastery of distance was perfect. He only unleashed this light when he was in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Boom!

    The ground shook. This was because the ground of the arena was covered with huge metal tes. When the thick electric light hit it, snake-like jolts of electricity spread everywhere, even out to the edge of the arena.

    Lu Jun also used this powerful energy to bounce back into the sky!

 Chapter 316.2: One-man Team

    This blow was both offensive and defensive. Lu Jun¡¯s specialty was that he firmly believed in one ideal, and that was that if he wanted to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er or drain her as much as he could, he had to create as much distance from her as possible.

    He had made the soul tool on his chest. It was called the Lightning Cannon. While it was ssified as a ss 6 soul tool, its power within ten meters was equivalent to that of a ss 7 soul tool. However, this kind of soul tool had its own ring weaknesses. It had a strong recoil, and this recoil could not bepensated normally, or the power of the cannon would drop greatly.

    After many painful experiences, Lu Jun was able to craft it into its current shape. While he was able to retain its power in this form, he would have to bear with the enormous recoil.

    In other words, while his opponent might not be sent flying by his attack, he definitely would ¡®fly¡¯ because of it!

    However, Lu Jun had developed a whole series of soul tools toplement this unique trait of his Lightning Cannon. He tried to maximize its potential while reducing the probability of it injuring him.

    This was the case at the moment. Why did he fire it down from the sky? He wanted to tap into the recoil of the Lightning Cannon to let him bounce back to a higher altitude. As long as he could widen the distance between Wang Qiu¡¯er and himself, he believed he would seed. Furthermore, the Lightning Cannon would severely injure Wang Qiu¡¯er too. As long as hepleted his objective, he believed that he had a chance of sess.

    The moment he unleashed the cannon, everything before him turned white. When he saw the huge amount of electricity devouring Wang Qiu¡¯er, Lu Jun did not delight in it. Instead, he became panicky. Is this too much? He knew the power of the Lightning Cannon. At this moment, he was slightly worried for Wang Qiu¡¯er, who he had a crush on.

    Quickly, he froze. While his body was in an upward trajectory, the electricity underneath him had dissipated. He did not see any trace of Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Thepetition has ended. Please show mercy.¡± The Unbreakable Douluo¡¯s voice resounded throughout the arena. He was already in mid-air as he stared at Lu Jun¡¯s back.

    That was right, Wang Qiu¡¯er stood there with her feet on Lu Jun¡¯s flying-type soul tool, which was on his back. Her Golden Dragon Spear was pointed straight at the back of his head.

    The reason she did not stab down was not because she showed mercy. Instead, because of the explosive force in that short frame of time, she first had to maintain her bnce.

    Everything happened too fast. From Lu Jun¡¯s flight and attack, to the end of thepetition, it took only a few breaths.

    Everyone saw that Wang Qiu¡¯er did only one thing. Instant Teleportation.

    She can teleport?

    In the waiting zone, the team from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy looked at each other. They all wore ugly expressions on their faces.

    Only when Lu Jun sensed the back of his head turning cold did he understand what had happened. Under the protection of the Unbreakable Douluo, he descended to the arena.

    He saw a look of regret in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes.

    Does she regret defeating me? Does she pity me? At this moment, Lu Jun did not feel depressed because of his defeat, but instead, was secretly delighted. When he saw that Wang Qiu¡¯er was not in his electric light, he actually felt relieved. At least he had not used some extraordinary cruel method to defeat her.

    Then, he heard Wang Qiu¡¯er mumble to herself.

    ¡°Had I known I couldn¡¯t have stabilized my body, I would¡¯ve stabbed.¡±

    ¡°Ms. Wang, are we enemies?¡± Lu Jun asked in sorrow and anger.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot him a cold look and said in an icy, regal tone, ¡°When I drew the lot and saw your name, we became enemies.¡±

    Lu Jun walked off the arena, depressed. However, he could not help but look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. He realized that he could not hate her. Why am I such a dumb idiot!? He pped himself, and then closed his eyes, vowing not to look at her.

    His friends thought that this was an act of self-rebuke. They all went up to console him. After all, it was not humiliating to lose to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The next twopetitors from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy were both mid-level ss 5 soul engineers. In the face of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s tempest-like attacks, they were both quickly defeated.

    No one knew whether it was because there was no enmity between the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy and Shrek Academy, or because of Zheng Zhan¡¯s rapid reactions, but the team members from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy were able to escape without serious injuries.

    Three victories in a row in the individual elimination round. Three points.

    The team members of the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy began to stand up. They did not n to achieve victory in the individual elimination round. Once they reached the top eight, victory should be decided in the group round! ording to the original battling style of Shrek Academy against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, after Wang Qiu¡¯er won all three rounds, it was time for the group round. The six members of Shrek Academy, all of whom were at full strength, went up to support Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Evidently, this tempo was decent indeed.

    The Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy had prepared for the group round too. This was their specialty, as well! They had trained together for many years, and had good ties with each other. They were as close as siblings. In terms of coordination and camaraderie, they surpassed the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Furthermore, they also had a killer move they could only use during the group round. Coupled with the fact that the first three of them were not injured too seriously, they walked up to the arena with confidence.

    However, they forgot something¡­

    They were not the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    ¡°Next!¡± the Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan hollered at them.

    What next? The group of them, who were ready to fight, looked confused.

    Zheng Zhan was confused too. He strode over to them and said, ¡°What are you doing? Send the next one up!¡±

    The captain of the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy was a young man who was not very tall. He had a clear demeanor, and his skin was as smooth as that of a girl. He looked at Zheng Zhan in confusion and asked, ¡°Referee, isn¡¯t it time for the group round? Why have you not announced it?¡±

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s mouth twitched, and three ck lines drooped from his forehead. ¡°What nonsense. Do you think that it¡¯s time for the group round? Since the initial elimination round, to the round-robin round, and now to the top eight, how can you not know the rules of the tournament? We¡¯ve only had three individual elimination rounds. What group round is there to speak of?¡±

    The captain of the Radiant Academy said, ¡°However, after three individual elimination rounds, we have the right to ask for the group round!¡±

    Zheng Zhan was so infuriated that he turned icy-cold as he stared at them harshly and said, ¡°Did you win? Did you win? Shrek did not ask for the group round. What¡¯s wrong with your brains?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Everyone from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy suddenly discovered the core of this problem. Was this not so? Wang Qiu¡¯er did not ask for the group round!

    The captain of the Radiant Academy looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was using two milk bottles to replenish her strength, and shouted in a rather loud voice, ¡°Are you ying us?¡±

    Of course, he did not know that among the six of his teammates who heard his words, the first thought that entered their minds was ¡°y with me, y with me¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned too. She was confused as well. The team from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy did not incite hate in her, and hence, she was much less ferocious towards them. Furthermore, the Unbreakable Douluo had been watching her closely, so she did not have the chance to use any devastating methods to decrease their overall will to battle.

    While she did not achieve her objective, she did not experience too much depletion in her own strength, either. Who knew that her opponent would say something like this?

    A cruel look appeared in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes. She narrowed her eyes, and an icy-cold aura locked itself squarely on the captain.

    The captain felt his body go cold. He cried out an absurd statement, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash!¡± As he said that, he tried to hide behind the Unbreakable Douluo.

    ¡°This guy¡­¡±

    There was amplifying equipment near the main podium, and thus everyone could hear what was said on stage. When he heard the captain¡¯s words, Prince Regent Xu Tianran¡¯s facial muscles twitched at an astounding speed.

    This was too humiliating...

    The Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall had a solemn expression on his face. However, there was a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.

    ¡°Captain, stop talking¡­¡± Lu Jun, who was next to the captain, touched him.

    ¡°Why are you touching me? Are you trying to take advantage of me?¡± The captain pped him.

    ¡°Big Sister, I¡¯d never dare to do such a thing!¡± Lu Jun almost cried. The other team members quickly walked off.

    A girl? Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned too. The captain from the Radiant Academy was just like Wang Dong¡¯er, a girl in guy¡¯s clothing!

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. Prepare yourselves. When I win, we¡¯ll take care of them together.¡± Lu Jun did not manage to hold her back as his captain walked onto the arena.

    On the arena, the captain of the Radiant Academy walked toward Wang Qiu¡¯er with big steps. As she walked, she appeared to be building up her aura.

    Quickly, she arrived before Wang Qiu¡¯er. She puffed out her chest, and then took a few steps back. Then, she said something that made Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s killing intent break almost instantly.

    ¡°Why are yours so big?¡± The captain of the Radiant Academy had an angry look on her face. She was staring right at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s chest!

    The captain was almost a whole head shorter than Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s chest was at the level of her eyes.

 Chapter 316.3: One-man Team

    This was the first time Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression had changed since the start of thepetition. As her opponent¡¯s question was too sudden and random, she blushed instantly.

    Both she and Wang Dong¡¯er had the same, divinely beautiful face. Now that her face turned red, she looked as gorgeous as a peony.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er swung her Golden Dragon Spear out instantly. While the captain of the Radiant City Academy might be a girl, she behaved like a hooligan!

    However, while this captain might seem overboard, her reaction was not slow. She leapt back and dodged her spear. She did not retaliate, but instead turned to the Unbreakable Douluo and said, ¡°Referee, she attacked me before thepetition started.¡±

    Who dares to say she¡¯s dumb? At this crucial moment, she was smarter than anyone else. Zheng Zhan instantly appeared between the two of them. He looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll warn you once. If you break the rules again, I¡¯ll disqualify you.¡±

    The captain of the Radiant Academy team smiled gleefully. However, Zheng Zhan quickly turned to her and said seriously, ¡°Watch your words. You¡¯re representing Radiant City. If you offend your opponent with your words once more, I¡¯ll disqualify you too.¡±

    The captain of the Radiant Academy team¡¯s mouth twitched as she said, ¡°I¡¯m only stating a fact. Let¡¯s start, let¡¯s start. Just let me beat her.¡±

    ¡°Report your names,¡± said Zheng Zhan with an ugly expression.

    ¡°Shrek, Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Radiant Academy, Xu Tianzhen.¡±

    When she heard this name, Wang Qiu¡¯er could not help but stifle a smile. She almostughed. This person is really as her name goes. She¡¯s so dumb and ¡®tianzhen¡¯ (na?ve).

    ¡°Both sides, step back,¡± Zheng Zhan shouted out.

    ¡°I¡¯m awesome, you¡¯re finished.¡± Xu Tianzhen waved her not-so-big fist at Wang Qiu¡¯er. Only then did she turn to walk to the edge of the arena.

    Wang Qiu¡¯erpletely ignored Xu Tianzhen. She gripped her Golden Dragon Spear and walked to her own side. That short intermission had helped her regain much of her soul power.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting style was unlike that of most soul masters. She battled with her as the center of it all. To be precise, she fought with an unprecedented will and an indomitable spirit. She used her innate potential. The stronger her opponent, the more she could tap into her potential, and the stronger she would be. This was why she was terrifying.

    She always looked down on her opponent. This was her n. Her arrogance came from her bones.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± An ear-splitting sound, as if space itself was being split apart, could be heard. The Golden Dragon Spear zoomed toward Xu Tianzhen, who was about 100 meters away, like a bolt of electricity. This was her most powerful response to what Xu Tianzhen had said.

    However, Xu Tianzhen, who was inbat mode, changed too.

    She ced her hands together in front of her face, raised her arms, and while interlocking her fingers, made a motion as if she were lifting the very sky. Her not-very-big chest appeared bigger because of his motion too.

    A piercing ray of red light shot out from her body. In the center of her skyward palms, a reddish-orange ball of light appeared.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings, the perfectbination, rose from underneath her feet. Her third soul ring instantly started to shine. A ray of reddish-orange light shot out and struck the lightning-like Golden Dragon Spear.

    Boom!

    A huge explosion went off. Struck by the reddish-orange light, the gold light around the Golden Dragon Spear started to fade, and its speed slowed significantly. However, it continued on its way toward its target.

    The first soul ring around Xu Tianzhen started to shine too. A reddish-orange halo appeared underneath her feet, and the ray of reddish-orange light above her head started to sink down into the ground. Then, her body suddenly disappeared. When she re-appeared, she was standing where the earlier ray of light had shone. Like this, she was able to dodge the Golden Dragon Spear, appearing behind it!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took a step forward as she stomped on the ground. Her entire body rose up into the air as she charged toward Xu Tianzhen.

    After she dodged the Golden Dragon Spear, the light in Xu Tianzhen¡¯s eyes became extremely clear. From her palms, ten thousand rays of light shot into the reddish-orange ball of light in the air, turning the entire arena into a bright, golden-red world.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly felt disoriented. Under the powerful light, she lost her target.

    ---

    Below the arena, He Caitou suddenly opened his mouth and said, ¡°This is a descendant of the Sunmoon, the possessor of the Sun. The captain of the Radiant Academy is from the main branch of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The stage was covered in golden-red light. One could barely see clearly. Everyone from the Tang Sect looked at him simultaneously in shock.

    He Caitou felt out of ce. He turned to see if anyone else was looking at him before saying in a low voice, ¡°Members of the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire have a powerful type of martial soul. This was one of the reasons why they could ascend the throne. The Sun martial soul is possessed only by the direct descendants of this bloodline. The power of the sun is extremely strong and intense. It is the top fire-type martial soul. While it isn¡¯t an Ultimate Strength Martial Soul, it¡¯s not too far off. Furthermore, it can tap into the power of the sun to strengthen the owner. Compared to elder sister¡¯s Moon, it is superior.¡±

    Evidently, just as He Caitou was doing his analysis, everyone else noticed that as the reddish-gold light on the arena grew stronger, the light from the sun around became weaker. Only the light that shone down on the arena seemed stronger. This created an odd spectacle. It was as if a light pir about a hundred meters wide had descended from the sky andnded on the arena.

    ¡°She used her third soul skill first, Divine Sunlight. Then, she used her first soul skill, Inverse Sun. At the same time, she should have used her fifth soul skill, Lofty Lightrays. Wang Qiu¡¯er is up against a strong foe.¡±

    ---

    Up on the arena, Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was in the middle of it all, could feel it best. As the entire arena was basked in the powerful reddish-gold light, she knew her vision was affected. All she could see before her was a patch of gold. She couldn¡¯t even sense Xu Tianzhen¡¯s location.

    Furthermore, the temperature of the arena rose continually because of this golden-red light. It was likeva from the early days of the Earth. The heat was roasting her body.

    At this moment, what shocked Wang Qiu¡¯er was the fact that she was not thinking about how she should subdue her enemy. Instead, she wished she had Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice armor on her. With that, she would not need to fear the heat of the sun.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er waved her right hand and instantly retrieved her Golden Dragon Spear. She stood in her original position and closed her eyes.

    Golden scales soon enveloped her entire body. A golden dragon swirled around her protectively, and ayer of golden fog soon rose from her body. Like a statue, she stood in the center of the arena without moving.

    When he saw the vast amount of gold and red, Huo Yuhao could not help but frown. At this time, he couldn¡¯t help Wang Qiu¡¯er anymore. Unlikest time, he hadn¡¯t hidden himself in advance. Furthermore, he did not think that Wang Qiu¡¯er would admit defeat. Most importantly, he had a match in the afternoon too; if he overexerted himself, what could he do for the Tang Sectter?

    While he could forcibly use Spiritual Detection to prate the protective barrier and help Wang Qiu¡¯er, he did not know how draining it would be. Hence, he hesitated.

    Faced with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s inaction, Xu Tianzhen was perplexed. Of course, she could sense Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s location, but she did not dare to act without caution. Wang Qiu¡¯er stood there like a statue, but she was also like a volcano that could blow up at any moment. Once she did, she would strike with devastating force.

    Frankly speaking, Xu Tianzhen was an anomaly in Radiant City. Her unique aspecty in the fact that she was actually a soul master, not a soul engineer. After all, how could someone like her, who possessed the powerful Sun martial soul, not cultivate? With this option avable, no one would willingly be a soul engineer.

    Xu Tianzhen had entered the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy as a special exception. While she knew how to use soul tools, she preferred to use her martial soul.

    Xu Tianzhen did not move easily. On the arena, everything seemed to have been silenced by the reddish-gold light.

    Why was Xu Tianzhen not in a rush? Her Lofty Lightrays was a powerful domain-type attack. This attack not only burned its target by increasing the temperature, but it actually also harnessed the power of the sun in the sky. As time passed, it would absorb even more power from the sun. Not only could it raise the temperature in her domain, but she could also umte enough of it to attack explosively. The power from it would be devastating. Hence, she was likewise in no rush.

    The person who was truly caught in a rut was the referee, the Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan.

    As the referee, he had to observe the two sides as they fought in the arena. At the right moment, he had to dere thepetition to be over, and announce a winner. Normally, he would not be struck by any attacks himself. However, faced with this domain-type soul skill, there was nowhere he could run! While the Lofty Lightrays were not actually ¡®lofty¡¯, they were still rtively tall. At that height, how could he judge what was going on down there? Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t forcibly resist the suppression from the domain-type soul skill. If not, Xu Tianzhen would be affected. Helpless, this powerful ss 9 soul engineer could only bear the effects of the domain-type attack. With his astounding cultivation, he would not be injured, but it was not a good feeling to be roasted alive, either!

    Everyone, both on the arena and off it, was tense. The team from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy stood up to watch the round. They knew that if Xu Tianzhen lost, they would truly be finished.

 Chapter 317.1: Baptism of the Sun, the Golden Dragon Lady

    Reddish-yellow light shone on the arena of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. It had been there for more than a minute now.

    No one could tell what was going on in the arena because of the light, but dark-red molten metal flowed down the inside of the protective barrier, and the intense heat caused many waves to form on it.

    If even the metal was melting, one could tell how terrifying the temperature in the arena was.

    Huo Yuhao did not help Wang Qiu¡¯er in the end. He believed in her abilities. At the same time, he did so for the Tang Sect. He was a member of the Tang Sect, and while the glory of Shrek was important, he was the main control-type soul master of the Tang Sect as well. If he could not take part in the top eight fight at full strength, what if his teammates became injured? After entering the top eight, any mistake might cost them the entirepetition. Even if Wang Qiu¡¯er lost, she still had other teammates.

    All the best, Qiu¡¯er. Huo Yuhao clenched his right fist unconsciously.

    Suddenly, at this moment, the scene in the arena started to change. The intense reddish-gold light began to contract at an astounding pace.

    Everyone could now see that the ground of the arena was heatedpletely red. The light, that was slowly receding to a single spot, became more and more mysterious. It started to twist and turn intensely, forming shapes like water ripples.

    This is¡­

    Xu Tianzhen¡¯s form could be seen. Both her palms reached out into the sky, and she held a small sun. However, the sun had turned dark red.

    On her body, the light from her sixth soul ring shone radiantly. The jet-ck soul ring appeared to have dyed the sun, even turning it darker.

    ¡°This is Sun¡¯s Gaze. Her sixth soul skill is actually Sun¡¯s Gaze. Wang Qiu¡¯er is in danger,¡± He Caitou blurted out.

    Without needing his exnation, Huo Yuhao could clearly see the purpose of Sun¡¯s Gaze. It gathered the energy of the sun,pressed it, and concentrated it. The reddish-gold light was concentrated onto one point as if it were flowing through a funnel. Without a doubt, that was where Wang Qiu¡¯er was standing.

    Indeed, this was a ssic case whereby the spectators would have a better understanding of what was going onpared to the person who was directly involved. Wang Qiu¡¯er could not see what was going on. All she could feel was the temperature around her rising steadily. When all the light had been concentrated at that point, Xu Tianzhen would be able to unleash a devastating attack.

    Sun¡¯s Gaze was an extremely powerful attack. However, The conditions for gaining it were extremely difficult. One had to locate a soul beast called the Sun Bug and find the king of a colony of Sun Bugs. Only then could one obtain this soul skill. The ce where the Sun Bugs could be found was as dangerous as the Core Regions of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Finding the king of the Sun Bugs wasn¡¯t something that could be done within a few hours. One could only imagine the difficulty Xu Tianzhen had to go through to obtain this soul skill. However, Sun¡¯s Gaze was also an attack with many abilities.

    It could bebined with the many other soul skills of her Sun martial soul, such as Lofty Lightrays and Divine Sunlight. Furthermore, its offensive power was incredible. For someone who possessed a martial soul like hers, it was a godly move.

    Tapping into the Sun¡¯s Gaze ability to bebined with other attacks, Xu Tianzhen had been preparing this attack for a very long time. When she finally unleashed it, it would be as strong as a full-strength attack from a seven-ringed Soul Sage. It was capable of melting metal, and was almost as hot as Ultimate Fire.

    No, I must tell Qiu¡¯er. The gaze in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes concentrated, and a golden light shone from his pupils.

    Just when he was about to intervene and inform Wang Qiu¡¯er through Spiritual Detection, an odd scene appeared.

    The rapidly shrinking sunlight suddenly stopped. Then, the clear roar of a dragon could be heard.

    A cold smile formed around the corners of Xu Tianzhen¡¯s mouth. It¡¯s toote now. My Lofty Lightrays and Sun¡¯s Gaze have locked onto you. Right now, after the size of the domain has been reduced, you will be burned by fire from the sun. Even a Soul Sage cannot escape. Aren¡¯t you waiting for your chance? Now, let¡¯s see what tricks you have. Even with your Instant Teleportation, can you really escape the fire of the sun?

    A cold look shed across Xu Tianzhen¡¯s eyes. Was she really as na?ve and dumb as she looked? Only she knew the answer to that question.

    Indeed, the increasingly mysterious light paused for a short while. Then, it started to retract inward and soon, it was about to concentrate on a single point.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were closed, and his shapeless spiritual power prated the protective barrier. His spiritual power was being depleted at an astounding rate.

    However, the moment his spiritual power entered the arena, he immediately opened his eyes. The golden light in his eyes faded, and a look of shock crossed his face.

    The light was finally concentrated onto a single point. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s slender frame could be seen.

    ¡°I told you, go and die!¡± Xu Tianzhen shouted intensely. It was as if she had already seen Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body melting and exploding under Sun¡¯s Gaze.

    After they lost Wang Qiu¡¯er, she did not believe that the team from Shrek could threaten her anymore.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    From Xu Tianzhen¡¯s perspective, Wang Qiu¡¯er, who should have no way of resisting, lifted her right hand. Her long Golden Dragon Spear pointed straight into the sky. All of the concentrated sunlight was congregated around her body.

    Explode? No. Not a single sound could be heard.

    Then, an unbelievably bright light started to shine.

    It was not as eye-piercing as before. Instead, it was dazzling and radiant. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s clothes were gone. However, she currently had anotheryer of golden marble on her that was extremely eye-catching. A terrifying aura could be felt from her body, and her powdery-blue hair flew behind her.

    She was naturally beautiful, but at this moment, d in the golden marble armor, she looked even more regal and mysterious. The terrifying aura made even Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, inhale.

    Xu Tianzhen looked at the scene before her in shock. She could not believe what she was seeing. She had deliberately nned to trap her opponent, and then unleash her most powerful soul skill. However, in the end, the power of her attack was gone. On the other hand, her opponent shone so brightly, like a reborn phoenix.

    What was going on?

    ¡°I know,¡± said Huo Yuhao.

    Just now, when his spiritual power prated the protective barrier, he could immediately sense Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura increasing rapidly. Hence, he did not decide to continue assisting her with Spiritual Detection.

    Now, as he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er, he understood what was going on.

    ¡°Teacher previously mentioned that the Dragon God bathed in Sunmoon Essence, which then created the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon. The Golden Dragon inherited the Brilliance of the Sun, which eventually became an ultimate power. The Silver Dragon absorbed the Brilliance of the Moon, which eventually became multi-elemental. The Golden Dragon¡¯s power came from the Brilliance of the Sun, which was also the source of the sun¡¯s power. Hence, how could she be scared of fire from the sun? Xu Tianzhen¡¯s martial soul is the Sun, which is the bestplement for her. This has allowed her own power to increase. In my opinion, not only has Qiu¡¯er regained all her strength, but her power is now also at an unprecedented peak. Her overall soul power may even have increased.¡±

    The teacher Huo Yuhao had mentioned naturally referred to Elder Mu. Only Elder Mu had such a wide range of knowledge. No one knew if the Dragon God existed. However, the history of the continent had many records of the Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon.

    Trying to defeat the Golden Dragon with the power of the sun was like pouring oil on fire.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Knowledge is power!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gripped her Golden Dragon Spear and walked toward Xu Tianzhen. Her feet, covered with golden marble, strode quickly over the surface of the ground, which had been almostpletely melted into a metallic puddle. Yet, she showed no sign of difort.

    When Xu Tianzhen finally reacted, the small sun in her palm shone with light. Another Divine Sunlightnded on Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had no intention of dodging. The reddish-gold light spread all over her golden armor. All it did was make it even glossier. How could it hurt her?

    ¡°You, you, you¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly, ¡°I won¡¯t kill you, and I must thank you for further refining the power in my blood. My martial soul is the Golden Dragon, and it has only been purified at this point. My soul power increased by a level too. If you want to continue increasing my soul power, you can continue attacking me. Thanks.¡±

    Xu Tianzhen¡¯s face changed. At that moment, she realized the curious predicament she was in. Her own martial soul would further strengthen her opponent¡¯s martial soul. Furthermore, it was a one-way street. When her attacknded on her opponent, it was like feeding her a tonic!

    Oh shit!

    The light from the sun went out. Xu Tianzhen looked seriously at Wang Qiu¡¯er. Many different expressions fluttered across her face.

    At this moment, neither side was attacking. The Unbreakable Douluo could not dere that the round had ended. However, everyone could tell that this peculiar round had indeed ended.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ I yield,¡± Xu Tianzhen said with her head bowed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said inly, ¡°You should have realized that none of you have any chance anymore. For the individual elimination round, in my current condition, I can even defeat a Soul Sage.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Tianzhen suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes brimmed with regret. ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± As her cultivation and blood had both been refined and strengthened, Wang Qiu¡¯er was in an extremely good mood. She had also be more patient.

    ¡°If only you were a guy! I¡¯d do everything I could to chase after you and be your girl,¡± Xu Tianzhen cried out as she clenched her fists.

 Chapter 317.2: Baptism of the Sun, the Golden Dragon Lady

    Chapter 317.2: Baptism of the Sun, the Golden Dragon Lady

    The look of excitement on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face froze. The Unbreakable Douluo, who was about to announce the result of thepetition, stumbled and almost fell into the liquid-hot metallic puddle that was the current arena floor. The students from the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy all covered their faces. Lu Jun bent over. He did not dare to look at his weird captain.

    Xu Tianzhen quickly stood upright and looked at Zheng Zhan, who looked back at her as if she were an alien, and said, ¡°I concede defeat. Our team concedes defeat. We won¡¯t fight anymore.¡± With that, she turned and walked off the arena.

    Just when everyone breathed out in relief, Xu Tianzhen suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er, and said, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er, are you sure you aren¡¯t a guy in disguise?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gripped her Golden Dragon Spear tightly and said darkly, ¡°I realize my decision to not kill you was a mistake!¡±

    ¡°Bye!¡± Xu Tianzhen said as she dashed off without hesitation. She ran, leapt, somersaulted in mid-air, and very quickly got off the arena stage.

    ---

    The first round of the top eight round ended in such aical fashion. After Wang Qiu¡¯er left the arena, she waved at her teammates, and then disappeared instantly. After all, the armor formed from the fire of the sun could notst for long. She had nothing on underneath the armor. Furthermore, she wished to absorb everything she had gained today to preserve the increase in her own power.

    Shrek Academy became the first team to enter the top four.

    The next round in the first half was between the Proudsword Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect. They stood up and walked to the waiting zone while looking at each other. The enmity between the two teams did not appear to be very strong. Instead, they both shared simr sentiments in their minds.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er is too powerful.

    At first, as the average strength of Shrek Academy was not that strong, the few powerful sects did not pay much attention to them, until they witnessed their match against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. The performance of Shrek Academy was glorious beyond words. Even though the team from Shrek was a ¡®one-woman team¡¯, that one woman in their team was too strong!

    As they watched Wang Qiu¡¯er leave, even the powerful evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Sect looked wary.

    Just now, an attack that was more powerful than a Soul Sage could muster served only to beautify her outfit. Wang Qiu¡¯er, who was already the most powerful soul master in this tournament, had be even stronger. Anyone from the other six teams might meet her! How could they not worry?

    Among the six teams, only the Tang Sect appeared to be at ease.

    As the first round for the morning ended with the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy admitting defeat, the tournament was able to move on pretty quickly.

    The Proudsword Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect entered the waiting zone. They were told that they had a while to prepare. The arena had to be cleared and maintained.

    Time was needed for the melted stage top to cool down. Furthermore, the dripping metal had affected the protective barrier, which also needed to be fine-tuned..

    ------

    On the main podium...

    Ju Zi whispered softly in Xu Tianran¡¯s ears. ¡°Your Highness, Xu Tianzhen and you are-?¡±

    She had seen Xu Tianran use his powers before. Hence, she knew about the hereditary martial soul of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s face had a weird look as he said, ¡°That was my rebellious sister. That girl doesn¡¯t listen to anyone. Father treated her too kindly...¡±

    Ju Zi opened her eyes in shock and said, ¡°She¡¯s a princess? This¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran naturally understood what she meant as he smiled bitterly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, she¡¯s my brutish, rebellious, and carefree younger sister. She¡¯s also the only princess in the main branch of the imperial family. When she was born, she was extremely yful and cute. Hence, father named her Tianzhen, and she is known as Princess Tianzhen. However, who would have expected then that this girl could create so much trouble for the entire imperial family? She stole makeup from the concubines, demolished father¡¯s rest pce, and even burned the main pavilion down. When she finally grew up, father wanted to send her to study at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but she did not want to go. Instead, she wanted to study at Shrek Academy. You should know that our rtionship with Shrek Academy has never been good. While she¡¯s naughty, she¡¯s also father¡¯s favorite, and my brothers and I all like her. Naturally, we wouldn¡¯t let her take such a risk. For this, father blew up at her for the first time, and grounded her for a while. After her grounding, she still chose not to go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, as she was still rebellious. Instead, she decided to go to the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy. Speaking of it, in terms of cultivation, Princess Tianzhen is the best of all my siblings. It was quite a feat for her to enter the top eight. However, she¡¯s too embarrassing. Luckily for me, she did not mention that she was a princess. If not, I would really be humiliated...¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and said, ¡°Princess Tianzhen is so adorable. This isn¡¯t a bad thing! I like her direct and carefree personality. She doesn¡¯t seem as tired as you, Your Highness.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed bitterly and said, ¡°Exactly. While my brothers and I fight among ourselves, we all like her very much. The more we spoil her, the more unrestrained her behavior bes. There¡¯s no way around it. She has to return to the pce after she graduates. As her sister-inw, please guide her well. If she can be just half as smart and obedient as you, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much. I don¡¯t know what trouble she¡¯ll cause next. Also, if you can, help me scout for exceptional talents from the younger generation in Radiant City. Help me find a good husband for her, and I¡¯ll be more at ease.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and nodded in agreement. She could tell that while Xu Tianran tried to make his situation sound helpless, he cared a great deal for Princess Tianzhen¡­

    ------

    In the resting area...

    Bei Bei said to Huo Yuhao in a low voice, ¡°Yuhao, after being in thispetition, I realize your suggestion for the academy was right.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, but quickly understood what he meant. ¡°Elder brother, do you mean thebination of soul tools and soul masters?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded.

    ¡°Over the past few years, as the Sun Moon Empire is developing their soul tools rapidly, Shrek has been in an increasingly disadvantageous position. However, ever since ancestor decided to develop soul tools, I realize that we are finally on the right path. No wonder the Sun Moon Empire devotes so much energy to soul tools. Soul engineers can actually be so strong. However, they don¡¯t have enough talented people to be soul masters! On the other hand, our academy does. In this aspect, the original three countries of the Douluo Continent are much stronger than the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°Every soul master and martial soul has its unique advantages. At the same time, they have their own weaknesses too. With the presence of soul tools, they¡¯ll be able to rectify these weaknesses. Furthermore, when soul masters and soul tools work closely together, they¡¯ll be able to increase their overall fighting strength.

    ¡°Your Ultimate Soldier n has seeded. I feel that after you recover, you¡¯ll undergo a transformation. Look, other than the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy, which has been eliminated, the other teams that entered the top eight were all soul master sects. Also, many of them know how to wield soul tools. Everyone can see this trend!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Elder brother, the Tang Sect isn¡¯t weak in terms of our soul tools, either. When we get back, we should get Elder Xuan to make an appropriate soul tool for each of us. In fact, the main reason why the Sun Moon Empire can beat the original three countries on the Douluo Continent with soul tools is because of the disparity in strength at a high level.

    ¡°In terms of individual battling strength, a ss 9 soul engineer cannot match up against a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. However, on the battlefield, the situation is different. The destructive power a ss 9 soul engineer can bring to the battlefield far exceeds that of a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. Furthermore, there are many possibilities for soul tools. Hence, the Titled Douluo does not have the overall advantage over a ss 9 soul engineer. Shrek Academy, and the former three countries, may be developing soul tools, but we started offte and in terms of high-end soul tools, the Sun Moon Empire is far ahead of us. If we want to catch up, we will need time!

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard for each country to realize the potentbination of soul masters and soul tools. Like Shrek, if that¡¯s our only objective, there¡¯s no way we can beat a ss 9 soul engineer. The same applies to the Tang Sect! No one knows how many ss 9 soul tools the Sun Moon Empire has umted over all these years. While we can¡¯t ascertain their number, it¡¯s certain that the strength of just one can eliminate an entire army. That is extremely scary!

    ¡°Hence, if we want to resist the Sun Moon Empire, we will have to dy them as much as possible for our own research and development to catch up. After all, in terms of Titled Douluo, the original three countries of the continent will always have an advantage, even if the Sun Moon Empire has the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. However, the Sun Moon Empire is on the verge of striking. I feel that once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he¡¯ll start a full-scale war. Time waits for no man!¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°That isn¡¯t something we can decide. The strength of an individual is too small.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°If war really does happen, what will you do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ll enlist in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Bei Bei could see that Huo Yuhao had evidently nned for this. On his other side, Wang Dong¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao in surprise. She had never heard him mention this before.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°After my body recovers, and I achieve some academic sess, I have to take care of things at home.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er spoke up suddenly, ¡°You¡¯re going to seek revenge?¡±

 Chapter 317.3: Baptism of the Sun, the Golden Dragon Lady

    Chapter 317.3: Baptism of the Sun, the Golden Dragon Lady

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I will have my revenge, but not now. As someone from the Star Luo Empire, no matter how much I hate the family, I have to serve my country. I¡¯ll use my power to help my country resists its foreign foes. At the same time, I have to slowly progress to his position, and maybe even surpass it. Only like this can I force him to repent before my mother¡¯s grave.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er sighed visibly and said, ¡°Yuhao, you really have changed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t hate the world as much I used to when I was young, right?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Teacher once asked me, what¡¯s the goal of life? At that time, I replied ¡®revenge¡¯ without any hesitation. That was my desire. In other words, my hard work was primarily driven by a strong desire for revenge. However, teacher then asked me, ¡®Whates after revenge?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t answer him. At that time, I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d do after I got my revenge.

    ¡°Teacher then said, ¡®I don¡¯t expect you to go and save humanity, but I hope that you can be a good person. Since you have no goal for your future, let me give you this goal.¡¯

    ¡°Then, confused, I asked teacher, ¡®What¡¯s the definition of a good person?¡¯

    ¡°Teacher smiled, and told me, ¡®To make more people smile.¡¯¡±

    At this point, Huo Yuhao suddenly paused and frowned for a moment, before continuing. ¡°If there¡¯s war, no one knows how many people will perish. No one knows how many people will be refugees. Hence, I hope that by taking part in the war, I¡¯ll be able to shorten it. Once the war ends, many people will smile happily. Of course, if possible, I hope that there will be no war to begin with. However, what I can do is still too limited.¡±

    Bei Bei was shocked by what Huo Yuhao had said. He had never expected his little brother to say such things.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was shocked too. She gripped Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and said softly, ¡°I want to be a good person, too. When you do all this, I¡¯ll always be by your side.¡±

    Bei Bei suddenly smiled. He ced his hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Earlier, I felt that the Tang Sectcked an ideal or goal. However, I believe I have found it now. Thank you, Yuhao.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Nothing needed to be said. At this moment, the arena had been cleaned up, and the second round of the fight for the top eight was about to start.

    ---

    First half, second round, Proudsword Sect versus Heavenly Dragon Sect!

    The Tang Sect was not very familiar with these two sects. At this stage, if anyone wanted to win, they had to use all their strength. Hence, this was the best time to observe their opponents, which is why they had arrived early. While Wang Qiu¡¯er had left, along with the other female teammates, the rest of the team from Shrek Academy, such as Dai Huabing, Xie Xuanyue, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and a few others, stayed behind to watch and make preparations. The winner of this fight, be it the Proudsword Sect or the Heavenly Dragon Sect, would be their opponent!

    Thepetition was still being refereed by the Unbreakable Douluo and ss 9 soul engineer, Zheng Zhan.

    The first people both sides sent out were both big, tall youths.

    Thepetitor from the Proudsword Sect wore tight-fitting green clothes. He was at least 1.8 meters tall, and while he had to be under twenty years old, he looked very mature. His shoulders were broad, and his arms exceptionally long. In particr, his hands wererge, and his fingers were long and thick.

    When they saw this person walking up on stage, Ji Juechen had the biggest reaction among everyone from the Tang Sect. A razor-sharp sword qi started rising from him. While it was momentary, it caught the attention of everyone from the Tang Sect.

    Ji Juechen narrowed his eyes. There was a fanatical look in his eyes at this moment. He tapped lightly on the armrest of his seat.

    Huo Yuhao and Jing Ziyan had seen this reaction from him often. It meant that his desire to fight was at its maximum, and he was itching to act. Evidently, the youth from the Proudsword Sect had aroused this sentiment in him.

    On the other side, a youth in tight-fitting red clothes appeared. He was also tall and strongly built, but he was slightly shorter than the youth from the Proudsword Sect, yet appeared much firmer and broader. His hair, which looked as hard as metal, was orange-red and short.

    Both of them were extremely powerful.

    Thanks to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s stunning performance in the individual round, every team now sent their most powerful teammate out in the first round. If not, they would suffer like the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and the Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy, and be at a disadvantage and lose their momentum. That was not a good thing.

    Hence, even if the two of them were not the most powerful members of the Proudsword Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect, they were not that far off.

    ¡°State your names.¡±

    ¡°Proudsword Sect, Wu Yifan.¡±

    ¡°Heavenly Dragon Sect, Xing Yan.¡±

    The two youths stated their names, but they fixed their gazes firmly on one another. A powerful intent to fight could clearly be felt by both of them.

    ¡°Please retreat and prepare for thepetition.¡± While Zheng Zhan felt stifled in the previous round, it had ended, and he was now finally able to rx. At this moment, as he refereed a match between twoparatively normal sects, he appeared to be in a much better mood.

    The twopetitors retreated to their respective ends of the arena. As they turned to face each other, their eyes started to shine. A powerful and unbridled fighting intent was rising up!

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Right after Zheng Zhan said that, Xing Yan from the Heavenly Dragon Sect struck first. He took one step out and with a bang, his entire body shot forward like a cannon shell. In mid-air, two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings appeared. He was an elite! Not only was he a six-ringed Soul Emperor, but he also had the ideal soul ringbination!

    However, why did his fighting style look so familiar¡­

    Everyone in the audience had the same thought in their mind¡­ his fighting style seemed to resemble Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s. However, his explosive violent strength was slightly weaker than hers, not quite as terrifying and unstoppable. Even so, his overall style resembled hers quite closely. In mid-air, his first soul ring started to shine. Ayer of thick, Scarlet Dragon scales enveloped his entire body instantly.

    This was his martial soul, the Scarlet Dragon!

    A deafening dragon roar rang from his mouth. Xing Yan¡¯s body doubled in size. His thick body was covered with dragon scales, including even his face. Evidently, he was not too far from bing a seven-ringed Soul Sage, who could reveal his Martial Soul True Body!

    On the other side, Wu Yifan was no ordinary person either. Faced with his charging opponent, he stepped out and positioned his index and middle fingers together. Then, he pointed forward with both fingers.

    Instantly, a roar could be heard. A wide green sword appeared in mid-air.

    Likewise, two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings appeared. However, they did not appear on Wu Yifan¡¯s body, but instead, on his sword.

    His first soul ring started to shine. The soul rings of normal soul masters would shine brightly when they unleashed their soul skills, the halo expanding outward or increasing in size. However, Wu Yifan¡¯s soul ring was different. The first soul ring shone on his green sword and started to contract, and waspletely absorbed into his sword.

    The green light on the sword shed, and a ray of sword light shot out with an ear-splitting shriek as it pierced toward Xing Yan of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

    No wonder he was from the Proudsword Sect! His martial soul was this sword!

    Faced with this sudden sword qi, Xing Yan¡¯s face changed. In terms of explosive strength, he was not as powerful as Wang Qiu¡¯er, the gold dragon girl, and so naturally was much slower. If Wang Qiu¡¯er were the attacker, Wu Yifan could still use his sword qi, but by the time it reached her, Wang Qiu¡¯er might already be in front of him. Right now, Xing Yan was still twenty meters away!

    Faced with the iing sword qi, Xing Yan¡¯s third soul ring started to shine. He made a circle with his hands, and an intense, dark-red light appeared on his dragon ws. It went straight for the sword qi.

    Not only did he want to learn her battling style, but he also wanted to learn her indomitable force!

    In the past few days, the Heavenly Dragon Sect had studied Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting style the most avidly. The reason was simple. The martial souls of all the disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Sect were dragons! Some dragon martial souls were weak, while others were strong. However, they had all inherited the haughty elegance of dragons!

    When Wang Qiu¡¯er fought, she demonstrated a haughty and elegant style which had captivated everyone from the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Hence, the students and teachers of the sect researched Wang Qiu¡¯¨¦r¡¯s fighting style and studied its essence. Then, they taught it to their disciples!

    Faced with an opponent attacking head-on, they would not dodge their opponent¡¯s attack. The benefit of this was not only in appearing powerful. Through the Heavenly Dragon Sect¡¯s careful analysis, this was the best way for the two sides toe into contact in the shortest possible time. At the same time, they could also suppress their opponents in terms of aura. This was an excellent way to fight if you were a more powerful soul master!

    Shhh! An ear-piercing sound could be heard. The green sword qi was shattered by Xing Yan¡¯s punch. However, he felt a pain shoot through his fist, and wounds could be seen on his scales.

    It was not easy to resist! Not everyone could do this so simply...

    Wu Yifan stepped forward after he released his sword qi. His strong right hand gripped the handle of the sword. The tips of his toes touched the floor, and then he leapt into the air. He now wielded his sword with both hands as he charged toward Xing Yan.

    When he entered this sword-body fusion state, Wu Yifan¡¯s entire body appeared to be filled with an indescribable sharpness. A powerful aura expanded from him, the sword qi within it evident. A sword light three inches thick could be seen on his sword. The air in front of him was shattering, and at the tip of the sword, a ck void appeared!

    How powerful!

 Chapter 318.1: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Chapter 318.1: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Even though they did not sh, Xing Yan could clearly feel how sharp his opponent¡¯s de was. His scales started to tremble slightly. An attack of that level should never be met head-on!

    He lifted his body with great effort and his second soul ring started to shine. A pair of dragon wings expanded behind his back. They beat once and took him soaring into the air. At the same time, his fourth soul ring started to shine. The scales on his body immediately started to release a light that burned as hot as fire.

    Xing Yan used his body in this attack, his Draconic Meteor, an extremely powerful attack and control-type soul skill. Draconic Meteor¡¯s offensive strength was extremely strong. When he activated it, it also tripled his defenses. The moment the attack hit the ground, it would cause a series of powerful chain explosions. With his current cultivation, the attack had a range of thirty meters!

    As his dragon wings beat, the Scarlet Dragon unleashed Draconic Meteor once again. This was his signature move!

    Coldly, Wu Yifan did not stop as he continued to drive his sword through the air. His feet touched the ground, and a pair of metallic wings opened behind his back. Light shone in all directions, and he left the ground. As he rose, he made a ny-degree turn. A green light shone on his green sword, and his fifth soul ring started to sh.

    A small but audible buzzing arose. The size of the huge green sword doubled, now about four meters long, as an eye-dazzling sword radiance shone forth.

    Wu Yifan¡¯s martial soul was the Greensteel Sword. He was a Rank 63 assault-type Soul Emperor. This was his fifth soul skill, Divine Greensteel Sword. It was a rare tool martial soul soul skill that increased the power of the martial soul itself, like soul skills from beast martial souls.

    The expanded Greensteel Sword doubled Wu Yifan¡¯s fighting abilities!

    Xing Yan, who was using Draconic Meteor, instantly felt that something was amiss. He did not dare to crash down on the divine Divine Greensteel Sword! However, he had already unleashed his soul skill. It was toote to change direction. In terms of martial soul control, not everyone couldpare with the freaks from Shrek Academy.

    However, Xing Yan had his own ns. He continued to use Draconic Meteor, but he did not attack his opponent directly with it. Instead, he unleashed it downward, using the explosive speed of Draconic Meteor and his own incredible defenses as he tried to avoid being locked onto by the Divine Greensteel Sword.

    In mid-air, Xing Yan stopped using Draconic Meteor. The red light faded, and he descended to the ground. The Divine Greensteel Sword, which was already in mid-air, did not give up so easily. It turned around and continued to pursue Xing Yan.

    Do you think I¡¯m scared of you? After this series of tactical humiliations, Xing Yan felt ashamed and perplexed. He turned around and roared magnificently. The scales on his body all stood erect, making him look like a huge porcupine. The light around the sixth soul ring on his body started to shine even brighter.

    Just when everyone thought that he would use his most powerful soul skill to fight his opponent¡¯s Divine Greensteel Sword, cunning shed across Xing Yan¡¯s eyes. He touched his back with his right hand, and suddenly, a soul cannon two meters long and thirty centimeters wide appeared. The mouth of the cannon faced the Divine Greensteel Sword, and balls of terrifying red light came exploding out of it!

    With each explosion, the sixth soul ring on Xing Yan¡¯s body dimmed. This was how intensely his soul power was being depleted.

    There was no way to change the Divine Greensteel Sword at this moment. It dove down at him at full strength, still shining with a blinding green light. In the blink of an eye, it crashed into the balls of red light.

    Just like Bei Bei had said, only when a soul master used a soul tool could he maximize the strength of the soul tool.

    Boom!

    In mid-air, a deafening explosion rang out. The two types of light, green and red,bined in mid-air to form a huge dual-colored ball of light. Countless rays of light started to fly in all directions, and the protective barrier all around the stage glowed intensely.

    A look of triumph crept across Xing Yan¡¯s mouth. No one knew the strength of this cannon better than he. This was the heaviest and most-draining ss 6 soul cannon. Each of its attacks was immensely powerful. Its name was the Gigant Bursting Cannon, and it rivaled the Gigant Lightning Cannon. In terms of control, the Gigant Bursting Cannon was not as powerful as the Gigant Lightning Cannon, but in terms of pure, explosive strength, it was superior!

    Xing Yan¡¯s biggest weakness was closebat. However, it was hard for him to attack his opponents from afar, too. The Gigant Bursting Cannon was made just for him!

    Xing Yan believed that once the cannon hit its target, even if Wu Yifan remained undefeated, he would still be severely injured. At that moment, he prepared to unleash his full strength.

    ---

    Underneath the arena, Ji Juechen, the sword fanatic, said suddenly, ¡°The Heavenly Dragon Sect has lost.¡± He did not control the sound of his voice. The many recements for the Heavenly Dragon Sect who were in the resting zone shotngry looks at the Tang Sect.

    However, at this moment, the situation in the arena changed.

    ---

    An unassuming green ray of light descended from the heavens. It was emerald-green, clear, and sparkling vigorously. It dropped down as gently as a feather.

    In the next moment, the dragon scales on Xing Yan¡¯s body turned green. Just when he wanted to unleash his martial soul, the soul rings around his body split open, as if they had been cloven by a sword, and his scales flew everywhere. Xing Yan was sent flying away by the terrible sh. A humongous wound stretched from his forehead all the way to his abdomen.

    Had the referee, the Unbreakable Douluo, not intervened, Xing Yan would have been disemboweled.

    Was he weak? Of course not. However, he was careless. With the cannon in hand, he made the mistake of underestimating his opponent. The smudge of green light was too insignificant. It was like residue from their sh. When he finally reacted, it was toote to block it.

    The green lightnded on the ground, and Wu Yifan emerged from it. His face was pale, and the sword in his hand had been reduced to only a meter in length. Green light rippled on it like waves on water.

    This was the sixth soul skill of the Greensteel Sword, Shedding!

    Wu Yifan¡¯s most powerful killing move was to use his sixth soul skill right when he was using his fifth soul skill, Divine Greensteel Sword. From the Divine Greensteel Sword, he could extract the true form of the sword and unleash its devastating power.

    Even if Xing Yan were careful, there was no way he could have blocked that move during their sh. The only way he could have obtained victory was to fly away as far as he could after bombarding Wu Yifan.

    Xing Yan¡¯s estimate was not wrong. When his cannon hit the Divine Greensteel Sword, Wu Yifen was able to escape with Shedding. However, he could not avoid getting hurt. If he had not had enough time to attack afterward, he would have used up even more soul power. If he had used both powerful skills and still not won, he might have lost the match.

    Xing Yan lost this round not because of tactics, but because of his mindset. In fact, since the start of the tournament, they had underestimated the Proudsword Sect. While they might be the second team from the small group round, they were extremely confident in their own abilities. In their eyes, their only opponent in this tournament was the Holy Ghost Church, the other sects were nothing to them. Xing Yan lost because of his mentality.

    Xing Yan copsed onto the arena. While the Unbreakable Douluo had blocked much of the sword qi, some of it still entered his body, and he was badly injured. Blood flowed from his wounds, and a green light shed.

    ¡°The Proudsword Sect wins.¡±

    The moment the protective barrier opened, a tall figure jumped onto the arena at the speed of lightning. Quickly, he arrived next to Xing Yan and lifted him up. He quickly sealed his meridians, and then injected blue soul power into his body to help resist the powerful, intrusive sword qi.

    Wu Yifan, whose face was pale, did not dare to waste any more time. He quickly took out a milk bottle to replenish his soul power. This had not been an easy victory, and he had used all his strength. He had not expected the soul cannon!

    After a short time, the new youth from the Heavenly Dragon Sect carried Xing Yan off the arena, before returning to the stage.

    This time, Wu Yifan could clearly see that this youth was a good two meters tall. He could almost fit inside his opponent¡¯s mountain-like body. The young man¡¯s hair was short and needle-like as well, but deep blue in hue. His shirt had no sleeves, and his muscr arms looked like they had been sculpted from stone. His entire body emitted a terrifying aura.

    ¡°Are you the captain of the Proudsword Sect?¡± the tall youth asked as he walked up to the center of the arena. His expression was cold and emotionless.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Wu Yifan.

    While he had won the first round, Wu Yifan was not happy. He was the most powerful member of the Proudsword Sect. While his sect was not ordinary, his guys fellow team members were all ranked between Ranks 55 and 59. He was the only Soul Emperor. They had been observing the Heavenly Dragon Sect. In the past, Xing Yan had upied a dominant position on that team, and the young man before him had not appeared. However, Wu Yifan could clearly sense right now that this young man was stronger than Xing Yan!

    Even though Xing Yan had been injured, and he might not be able to fight in the subsequent rounds, how much power was the Heavenly Dragon Sect hiding?

    ¡°Very good.¡± The young man from the Heavenly Dragon Sect did not say anything else. He walked to the center of the arena and indicated to the judge that he would be the secondpetitor from the Heavenly Dragon Sect!

    ---

    In the resting zone...

    ¡°Elder brother, why do I feel an aura simr to yours from the Heavenly Dragon Sectpetitor?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Bei Bei in a low voice.

 Chapter 318.2: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Chapter 318.2: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Bei Bei nodded slightly and said, ¡°I can feel it too. I fear that his martial soul is simr to mine.¡±

    ¡°Heavenly Dragon Sect, Yu Tianlong.¡±

    ¡°Proudsword Sect, Wu Yifan.¡±

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    With that onemand by the Unbreakable Douluo, the second elimination round between the Proudsword Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect began.

    Yu Tianlong did not fight like Wang Qiu¡¯er, as Xing Yan had. Instead, he took big steps as he walked toward his opponent. He did not move quickly; his pace was only slightly faster than that of an ordinary person.

    However, Wu Yifan, who was facing him, felt as if he were staring at a mountain, which was getting bigger with each step. It was a suffocating sensation.

    In the previous battle, almost half of his soul power had been depleted. The attack from the soul cannon in particr had left him feeling slightly shell-shocked. Faced with this pressure, Wu Yifan did not rush to attack. His vast fighting experience helped to calm the terror in his heart. He got a grip and activated his soul power. Since his opponent was in no rush, he did not n on rushing either. His martial soul, the Greensteel Sword, manifested in front of him. It quickly regained its initial form.

    The distance between the two sides quickly shrank. Yu Tianlong lifted his right hand, and arcs of blue electricity started to spread across his body. Bluish-purple scales appeared, and his body grew as he advanced. With each step, his body would expand. When he reached the center of the arena, he was already two and a half meters tall, and his shoulders a meter and a half across. The terrifying but majestic scales on his arms were extremely thick, and arcs of bluish-purple electricity crackled around him. He like a human-shaped monster now, and even his eyes had turned bluish-purple.

    ---

    ¡°Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?¡± Huo Yuhao asked as he turned to look at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei was closely watching Yu Tianlong up on the arena stage, and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Furthermore, this is a pure-blooded Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Is it different from yours, elder brother?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°While mine is also descended from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, it has undergone mutations. Those that are descended from ancestor Yu Xiaogang have already evolved into the Golden Holy Dragon. Much of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon blood is lost. Hence, we don¡¯t have the true Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul. Those with the pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon blood should be like him, extremely explosive and destructive.¡±

    ¡°How does itpare to the Golden Holy Dragon?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ll only know after we fight,¡± Bei Bei replied with a smile.

    When he heard this, Huo Yuhao came to his own conclusions. If Bei Bei¡¯s assessment was as such, it only meant one thing... Yu Tianlong was almost as powerful as his elder brother! The Heavenly Dragon Sect was powerful, indeed!

    ---

    As Yu Tianlong stopped his advance, beads of sweat started to form on Wu Yifan¡¯s forehead. He was not a sword fanatic like Ji Juechen. In his heart, he had normal human emotions, too. If it were Ji Juechen, even if his opponent was as powerful as a Titled Douluo, he would still move forward to attack.

    This was not because of a disparity in power, but of will. This was also why Ji Juechen could find enlightenment of his own sword intent and domain at merely twentyish years of age!

    At this moment, Ji Juechen, who had been watching Wu Yifan excitedly, closed his eyes. This was because he was too into swords, and hence his understanding of swords surpassed that of normal people. From the sword intent Wu Yifan was unleashing, Juechen could tell that Yifan¡¯s will to battle could notpare to before. This swordsman no longer piqued his interest.

    Faced with his opponent¡¯s mountain-like body, the psychological pressure Wu Yifan could take reached its limit. He roared and leapt off the ground. Fusing his sword and body into one, he charged toward Yu Tianlong. A powerful sword intent could be sensed once more, but it was still weaker than before. He was being suppressed by his opponent¡¯s aura!

    Yu Tianlong did not approach. Instead, he stopped, and contracted the muscles on his arm. His blue dragon ws clenched, and the electricity around his body started to retract.

    A powerful sword light shot out from the green sword and appeared before Yu Tianlong.

    The electricity, which was gone only a moment ago, now started to surge out from every part of Yu Tianlong¡¯s body. Instantly, it formed a ball of lightning as it blew the sword intent apart.

    While Wu Yifan was suppressed, he was still the captain of the Proudsword Sect. He did notck fighting experience. He clearly understood that his chances of victory against this person were not high. The only chance he had was to use his explosive strength.

    Hence, he had no intention of conserving energy as he deployed his powerful attacks almost immediately.

    Green light started to expand, and his fifth soul ring started to shine. This was the powerful Divine Greensteel Sword again. The huge, green sword brimmed with a severe sword intent as he thrust it toward Yu Tianlong¡¯s chest. The huge sword, which seemed capable of cleaving the sky and earth open, helped Wu Yifan regain a bit of an advantage.

    Yu Tianlong stood there, unmoving. In his eyes, there was a show of mirth.

    He raised a pair of dragon ws and made a hugging motion before him. Instantly, a huge amount of electricity surged forth. Between his two arms, a huge ball of lightning was formed.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao could not help but nod his head. In terms of control over thunder, Yu Tianlong surpassed even his elder brother. He indeed possessed a pure-blooded Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!

    When he realized that his opponent was not dodging, Wu Yifan¡¯s heart soared with delight. He chuckled coldly to himself as he thought, While the Proudsword Sect is not good in many other aspects, we do specialize in piercing and oveing thick armor. In a face-to-face attack, even if you can defeat me, you will pay a heavy price!

    The green light instantly pierced the ball of lightning. At that moment, the light in the arena dimmed. Yu Tianlong still did not move. However, the tip of the green sword had prated his lightning sphere.

    What a terrifying fighting style! If it could not be blocked, his body might be sliced in half by the Divine Greensteel Sword! At this distance, even the referee could not save him.

    However, just as the tip of the Divine Greensteel Sword pierced through it, the Sword was unable to progress any further. Green light and lightning shone non-stop.

    Wu Yifan, who was behind the Divine Greensteel Sword, revealed an expression of shock. He could clearly sense that what wasing at him from the tip of his sword was not a terrifying electric power, but instead waves of attacks. The electric energy actually felt likeyers of silk eating away at his Divine Greensteel Sword. The sharp tip of the sword was like soft leather in the face of this tough defense.

    Let¡¯s do it!

    Wu Yifan did not have much time to think. His soul power was being drained rapidly as he used this high-level soul skil, and there was no way he could sustain it for long. His sixth soul ring started to shine, and his body suddenly shed. He grabbed onto the green light and once again moved to escape.

    Wu Yifan¡¯s body was bathed in light. At the same time, countless blueish-purple tendrils of electricity started to appear on the Divine Greensteel Sword. An explosion sounded in mid-air, and the sword qi scattered in all directions.

    In just that one moment, Wu Yifan was a ray of green light, just like in the previous round. He floated toward his opponent¡¯s back. There was only this one chance for him...

    Yu Tianlong appeared to not have discovered him. He continued to stand there without moving. Each of his dragon ws became charged with electricity as he shed them through the air. Other than a string of electricity surrounding him, he appeared defenseless.

    A chance!

    Wu Yifan did not stop at all. He moved with his sword, and he had already retracted all of his energy. Hisst bit of soul power was concentrated on the tip of this sword as he pointed it straight at his opponent¡¯s back.

    The emerald-green sword tip was instantly at Yu Tianlong¡¯s back. The Unbreakable Douluo was hesitant. He could tell that Yu Tianlong was stronger. In this situation, should he intervene? If he intervened, Yu Tianlong would be deemed to have lost.

    Just as he was deliberating this, he saw a cruel look in Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes.

    Oh shit. The Unbreakable Douluo¡¯s heart missed a beat as he charged toward the both of them.

    Just as he was about to use Shedding and break away from the main body of his Divine Greensteel Sword, Wu Yifan felt his body move an inch.

    It¡¯s a hit! Wu Yifan¡¯s heart leapt with joy. Soon, however, he discovered that something was amiss. His sword had pierced underneath Yu Tianlong¡¯s armpit. It did not actually hit him!

    Yu Tianlong suddenly mped his left arm tightly to his body, securing the de of the sword between his arm and his body. Then, with a low draconic roar, a whip-like object that looked like a dragon tail appeared from his right leg. Lightning shed at this moment and crept, via the Divine Greensteel Sword, into Wu Yifan¡¯s body.

    Wu Yifan suddenly felt his body going numb. The terrifying lightning had already swallowed him whole. Under these circumstances, where could he hide?

    Just as the leg was about to hit Wu Yifan, the Unbreakable Douluo appeared. He tapped Yu Tianlong¡¯s leg lightly with his right hand, before it made contact with Wu Yifan.

    With a crunching impact, Wu Yifan flew into the distance. Blood spurted out from his body in mid-air as he flew backward andnded hard.

    Yu Tianlong retracted his leg. He turned and gave Zheng Zhan a deadly stare. If not for Zheng Zhan¡¯s swat, he was confident of shattering Wu Yifan¡¯s internal organs!

    Zheng Zhan red back. ¡°Boy, what¡¯s your problem? I can¡¯t alter the flow of thepetition, but I can¡¯t let you kill, either!¡±

 Chapter 318.3: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Chapter 318.3: The Pure Bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon

    Without a doubt, Wu Yifan would have died had he actually been hit by Yu Tianlong. Hence, Zheng Zhan did notpletely take away Yu Tialong¡¯s power. The power of the kick was just enough to severely injure Wu Yifan to the point where he could no longer take part anymore, but it would not be fatal.

    It was not easy for the Unbreakable Douluo to make this decision.

    The anger in Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes receded a bit. He nodded at the Unbreakable Douluo and said, ¡°I¡¯ve won.¡±

    ¡°For the individual elimination round, second round, the Heavenly Dragon Sect wins.¡±

    After the end of this duel, the overall results were more or less fixed. In terms of overall strength, there was a big disparity between the Proudsword Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

    In the next few rounds, Yu Tianlong was able to use his immense power to defeat more three challengers consecutively. The opposing teampletely lost their will to fight.

    In the battle for the top eight, the Unbreakable Douluo did not interfere as much. Even if the other party might lose their fighting ability, he would not intervene. The only reason he intervened was to prevent death.

    At this moment, there was no hope left for the Proudsword Sect. Even though they were unwilling, they still conceded defeat. The Heavenly Dragon Sect was thus able to progress to the next round and be the second team to enter the top eight. In the semi-finals, it was likely that they would challenge the team from Shrek Academy, led by Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    At this point, the matches for the morning had ended. The subsequent two rounds for the top eight teams would be held in the afternoon.

    ----

    Over in Shrek Academy¡¯s area, Dai Huabing, Cao Jinxuan, and the rest had ugly expressions on their faces as they left. The strength of their opponents was beyond their expectations, particrly Yu Tianlong. The strength he had disyed wasparable to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Coupled with Xing Yan, who was also a six-ringed Soul Emperor, they were facing an uphill battle in the semi-finals!.

    The Tang Sect also returned to the hotel. There was still some time until the afternoon rounds. It was extremely important for them to get some rest and strategize.

    ---

    They decided to have an early lunch. Bei Bei gathered his teammates.

    ¡°Everyone saw the rounds in the morning. What do you think?¡± Bei Bei asked as he sat at the head of their table.

    Xu Sanshi replied quickly, ¡°The Heavenly Dragon Sect is no pushover! I think Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul is more powerful than yours. Even if we went against them one-on-one, it would not be easy to win!¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Yu Tianlong has inherited the pure-blooded Blue Lightning Thunder Dragon bloodline. There was no deviation or evolution, it was definitely pure. Ten thousand years ago, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was one of top six martial souls on the continent. This is not an easy opponent. Furthermore, the Heavenly Dragon Sect also has other powerful contenders. Their martial souls are all draconic, and hence, they will not be weak. It¡¯ll be a difficult fight for Shrek in the next round. They may not be able to defeat them with just the power of Wang Qiu¡¯er. Anyone else? What other thoughts do you have on your minds?¡±

    Surprisingly, Nan Qiuqiu, who had just joined the Tang Sect and appeared very demure, opened her mouth to speak.

    ¡°I think one¡¯s mindset in thispetition is important, too. When Wu Yifan faced Yu Tianlong, he was not weak. However, he was under immense psychological pressure from his opponent. This shows that he had a very weak mentality. He should at least have been able to give Yu Tianlong some trouble, instead of losing so badly in the end.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and nodded. He said, ¡°Qiuqiu is right. One¡¯s mentality is important too. On this point, we have to admit that Wang Qiu¡¯er does this better than any of us here. Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve been waiting for the day when Wang Qiu¡¯er would go up against someone like Yu Tianlong. I wonder what kind of match that¡¯ll be. Do you know, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Elder brother, brothers, and sisters, while I don¡¯t want to undermine everyone¡¯s confidence, there¡¯s something I feel that I must say. We are in trouble.¡±

    When everyone heard that, they were all shocked, including Bei Bei. They had no idea what Huo Yuhao was talking about.

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Tell us, no matter what the problem is, we have to face it together. You requested this meeting. It¡¯s not toote toe up with a counter-strategy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°After the morning rounds, there are two judgments we can make. The Radiant City Soul Engineering Academy and the Proudsword Sect do not contain hidden Body Sect members.¡±

    When they heard this analysis, they instantly understood what he meant. Instantly, their faces changed.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I carefully observed the Heavenly Dragon Sect. When Yu Tianlong went to fight, everyone on their team, regardless of whether they were on the main team or the reserves, all looked at him in admiration. This cannot be faked. Hence, we know the importance of Yu Tianlong to the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Furthermore, Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul is not a body soul. This means that the most powerful contender from the Heavenly Dragon Sect has no link to the Body Sect. Hence, we can deduce that the Body Sect is not likely to be hidden there.

    ¡°Earlier, we analyzed the few teams that the Body Sect may have been hidden in. Now, we can deduce that the only possibilities are the Star Luo National Academy and the Snowdemon Sect. For the Star Luo National Academy, I¡¯ve deduced that the possibility of them coborating with the Body Sect is almost negligible. On the other hand, the Snowdemon Sect, whiches from the Heavenly Soul Empire, is much more likely to be in cahoots with the Body Sect. Today, I also noticed that at least six of their reserve members did not show much of a reaction when Yu Tianlong came up. In other words, they were not surprised at his strength. What does this mean? I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ve gotten the short end of the stick this time.¡±

    At this point, everyone knew what he meant. The room turned silent instantly.

    To describe their situation as ¡®the short end of the stick¡¯ was an understatement. What did it mean to meet the Body Sect? They were powerful enough to resist Shrek Academy. They also dared to attack the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and inflicted severe damage on them!

    No one doubted the advantage of the Body Sect in terms of their martial souls. Bying to the Sun Moon Empire topete, they demonstrated how confident they were.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had long suspected that the Holy Ghost Sect would appear in thispetition. This was the n the Sun Moon Empire had devised to take care of the Body Sect. Right now, they were about to get caught in it all.

    Even if they were able to defeat the Body Sect, there was another more mysterious evil soul master group behind the Body Sect, the Holy Ghost Sect! So far, deaths had followed them wherever they went.

    If they wanted to break out from this trap, it would be immensely difficult for the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be too demoralized, guys! While our opponents are strong, we aren¡¯t weak either! Elder brother can fight once again, and our Tang Sect has three six-ringed Soul Emperors. Three of us have twin martial souls. In this aspect, the Body Sect can¡¯t beat us. The Academy can match the Body Sect, and we now have the title of ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯. Are we supposed to fear them?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded, and a strong will to fight appeared in his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s right, Yuhao is right! Fuck the Body Sect! I¡¯ll fuck them all! I¡¯ll go first for the individual elimination round!¡±

    Bei Bei gestured at him to tell him to calm down. ¡°Be quiet. We can find out who the more powerful members of the Body Sect are beforehand, and prepare against them. Yuhao, tell us what you think, and the strategy you have in mind.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°The Body Sect is undoubtedly powerful. It is impossible to beat them one-on-one. Even so, I feel that we should adopt Shrek¡¯s strategy. As long as one of us can win three individual elimination rounds, we can force them into the group round.¡±

    The biggest advantage the Tang Sect had was from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. With it, while the Tang Sect did not fight very often in the group round, they had yet to face any true opponents thus far. Furthermore, as Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had known each other for so many years, they all worked well together.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Then, who do you think we should send first in the individual elimination round? We¡¯re facing the Body Sect, it¡¯s not likely we¡¯ll score three victories like Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Huo Yuhao spoke up without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Bei Bei was shocked. Wang Dong¡¯er, who was sitting next to him, nced at him sharply.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°There are some advantages to me going first. First, the opponent will not expect me to fight first. Second, I have a body soul too. Inparison, I understand them better than everyone else here. Third, while I¡¯m immobile, I have many tricks up my sleeves. I¡¯m confident of at least one victory. Recently, my spiritual power has improved as well.

    ¡°Most importantly, it won¡¯t affect everyone if I be a bit more drained during the individual elimination round. I direct the group round, and don¡¯t fight directly in it. In my current state, I can¡¯t fight at the front like everyone else. Spiritual Detection will only drain a bit of my spiritual power. I can assist everyone else, provide control and render assistance from behind. The group round won¡¯t be as taxing for me. Furthermore, I have¡­¡±

    He softly said a few words, which made everyone smile.

    He Caitou blinked, and a sly smile crept across his face. He nudged Huo Yuhao and chuckled, ¡°Little brother, aren¡¯t you afraid of the Illustrious Virtue Halling after you?¡±

 Chapter 319.1: Tang Sect vs Body Sect!

    Chapter 319.1: Tang Sect vs Body Sect!

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll let us off even if we don¡¯t use it? The Sun Moon Empire must have some scheme in this tournament. There¡¯s one thing I¡¯m certain of¡­ they won¡¯t expose their scheme before the tournament ends. They¡¯ll watch their behavior up until that point.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Alright, this will be thepeting order in the individual elimination round. Yuhao is first, I¡¯m second, Dong¡¯er¡¯s third. If we fight until the fourth person, Sanshi willpete.¡±

    Xu Sanshi appeared very depressed as he said, ¡°Why am I near the back?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°You don¡¯t specialize in attacking. Furthermore, you are the core of our strategy in the team round. When that timees, you¡¯ll be the one in charge of many strategies. How can we operate if you don¡¯t conserve your fighting strength? What you are going to do will be very dangerous.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m always so important!¡±

    Everyone turned away and acted like they didn¡¯t know him.

    ---

    After this, they discussed some details of the tournament. An hour before the start of the tournament, they dispersed to their rooms to rest for a couple of hours.

    The reason was simple: the first match of the afternoon was between the Star Luo National Academy and the Holy Ghost Sect. There was no need to watch this match, since the gap between both parties¡¯ abilities was too wide. The Star Luo National Academy didn¡¯t even stand a fighting chance. The second match of the afternoon was scheduled to start two hours after the first match. Even if the first match ended early, some buffer time was still needed.

    It was actually very important to watch the Holy Ghost Churchpete. However, it was more crucial for the Tang Sect to win this round. If they couldn¡¯t beat the Snowdemon Sect, they didn¡¯t need to bother with the rest of the tournament anymore. They had to keep themselves in their best states.

    Na Na, Nan Qiuiqiu, Jing Ziyan, and Ji Juechen all proceeded to the tournament venue first. Very soon, Na Na returned with news that the Star Luo National Academy had only put up slight resistance for show before they announced their forfeiture. The gap in their abilities was too huge. Princess Jiujiu didn¡¯t want the outstanding young talents of the Star Luo Empire to perish in this tournament. As there was no way they could win, it was better to lose without suffering any casualties.

    ---

    The Tang Sect only arrived ten minutes before their match. Everyone found this very strange. Aren¡¯t they concerned at all? This shouldn¡¯t happen!

    After Huo Yuhao entered the resting area, Princess Jiujiu took the initiative to wee him.

    ¡°We¡¯ve lost. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll fare.¡± Princess Jiujiu smiled at Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei as she greeted them.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Your Highness, you seem to be in good spirits.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu snorted and replied, ¡°So what if I¡¯m in good spirits? Can it decide the oue of the tournament? It¡¯s better if the tournament ends earlier for us. We are going to return tomorrow morning. Don¡¯t forget our agreement.¡±

    She sounded a little flirtatious here. Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but raise her brows when she saw this.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I won¡¯t forget that. It is my honor to serve Your Highness.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu bent her waist and her lips reached Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears before whispering something. After that, she straightened up and said, ¡°Alright, I wish you sess in the tournament. We¡¯ll watch this match before leaving.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound. However, he appeared very surprised. Princess Jiujiu¡¯s voice was very soft. Only he knew what she said.

    Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but pinch Huo Yuhao as they were in the resting area, ¡°Confess! I didn¡¯t know you are actually so popr with thedies. Even the princess is interested in you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her grinning face and knew that she didn¡¯t believe Princess Jiujiu had anything to do with him. He couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Yes! To be fancied by Her Highness, it shows how handsome and suave your husband is!¡±

    ¡°Such thick skin!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er made a clown face at him. ¡°What did she say to you? So mysterious!¡±

    Huo Yuhao softly said something. Everyone from the Tang Sect became very stunned after this.

    Wang Dong¡¯er even said, ¡°How did it turn out this way? We are really¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take this one step at a time. We should prepare to enter the waiting area.¡± Huo Yuhao appeared very calm right now.

    Bei Bei patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Little junior, you must remember not to force anything.¡±

    ¡°I will remember. Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    ---

    At this stage of the tournament, there wasn¡¯t any need for anyone to hide their abilities anymore. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters finally revealed their strengths.

    On the other side, everyone from the Snowdemon Sect had already made their way to the waiting area.

    Just like Huo Yuhao had expected, most of the main team members from the Snowdemon Sect in the previous few rounds, including Mu Xue, didn¡¯t move at all. Most of the people who stood up were substitutes who had neverpeted before.

    The only familiar face to Huo Yuhao was the person at the back of the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team. Her hair was tied in a braid, and she appeared very amicable and gentle. She was Princess Wei Na.

    Yes, Mu Xue wasn¡¯t going topete, but Wei Na was going to. This signified many things. Before this, Princess Jiujiu had whispered this to Huo Yuhao ¨C Be careful of Wei Na. She¡¯s not simple.

    Even though they were just eight simple words, Wei Na¡¯s appearance seemed to support Princess Jiujiu¡¯s words. Huo Yuhao became more cautious.

    Three out of the four semifinalists had been decided. Team Shrek, Team Heavenly Dragon, and Team Holy Ghost were the three current semifinalists. Thest semifinalist would be decided after this match. As the previous three quarterfinal matches seemed to be very one-sided, the excitement died down, and the spectators had a lot of hope for thest quarterfinal match.

    Wei Na seemed to feel Huo Yuhao watching her as both parties entered the waiting area. She turned to take a look at him and smiled at him sweetly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at her. It was a form of greeting. No matter the result, or whether the Snowdemon Sect was a front for the Body Sect, he knew that they weren¡¯t enemies. If the Body Sect snuck into the Heavenly Soul Empire, it was beneficial for them in their resistance against the Sun Moon Empire. The enemy of one¡¯s enemy was one¡¯s friend. Moreover, the Heavenly Soul Empire was the Tang Sect¡¯s biggest client.

    Zheng Zhan furrowed his brow when he saw the Tang Sect. Apart from Wang Qiu¡¯er, the Tang Sect had given him the greatest headaches in all the rounds that he refereed. The Tang Sect¡¯s members didn¡¯t follow the rules, and were very difficult to deal with. His attention was first caught by Wang Dong¡¯er, and he immediately became more focused.

    ¡°Quarterfinal to the semifinal. This is thest quarterfinal match. Snowdemon Sect versus the Tang Sect! Both parties, please send your first members up for the individual elimination round!¡± the Unbreakable Douluo shouted.

    A tall young man stood up on the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s side. He took a step forward and ascended the stage. At the same time, he looked over at the Tang Sect.

    After that, he saw Wang Dong¡¯er standing up.

    Others might underestimate the Tang Sect, but the Snowdemon Sect wouldn¡¯t. That was because the Snowdemon Sect had Mu Xue and Wei Na, who were both quite familiar with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. They had already treated the Tang Sect as their opponent, and thus they had been monitoring the Tang Sect¡¯s fights.

    In this tournament, there weren¡¯t many people who had cultivations that were six or more rings. Among them, Wang Dong¡¯er was one of the most outstanding ones. It wasn¡¯t just because she looked like Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s sister, but more importantly, it was because of her great abilities. Against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Wang Dong¡¯er had fully demonstrated her abilities and cultivation. She had left a deep impression in many people¡¯s minds. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t a secret anymore that Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls. After all, they had aplished great things in the previous tournament!

    As a result, the young man from the Snowdemon Sect turned serious when he saw her standing up. The two most monitored members of the Tang Sect were Wang Dong¡¯er and Xu Sanshi. He Caitou came in third. He Caitou was a ss 6 soul engineer and six-ringed Soul Emperor. He had left a deep impression in everyone¡¯s minds during the team round against the Clearjade Sect. His Eye of Fear was the nightmare of his opponents. Huo Yuhao was the fourth most monitored in the Tang Sect. After all, he was stuck as a Soul King. In everyone¡¯s eyes, a Soul King and Soul Emperor were very vastly different.

    Just as the young man was shuddering in his heart, he was suddenly stunned. That was because Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t ascend the stage directly. She walked behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and pushed his wheelchair towards the stage.

    Wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er going topete first? Wasn¡¯t she going to imitate her elder sister¡¯s fighting style?

    Everyone was baffled. After that, they saw Wang Dong¡¯er pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair before she brought him up on the stage. She only brought him up to the edge of the stage before jumping off and returning to the waiting area.

    Huo Yuhao used his right hand to push the wheels of his own wheelchair forward. He slowly proceeded towards the center of the stage.

    The first person isn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, but Huo Yuhao?

    Although Huo Yuhao had performed well in the earlier rounds of the tournament, and even defeated seven people in one shot, he only rarely appeared as the tournament progressed. His performances weren¡¯t too exciting. Most of the time, it was his teammates that performed well!

 Chapter 319.2: Tang Sect vs Body Sect!

    It¡¯s only him! The young man from the Snowdemon Sect looked relieved. After all, Huo Yuhao was only a Soul King. In terms of individual abilities, Huo Yuhao was at most the fourth strongest in the Tang Sect. In addition, Huo Yuhao was a control-type soul master, and he was even crippled. He wasn¡¯t much of a threat.

    Wei Na also furrowed her brow in the waiting area. She didn¡¯t understand why the Tang Sect would send Huo Yuhao up first. From their looks earlier, they must have had guessed something. Wasn¡¯t a control-type soul master like Huo Yuhao supposed to be reserved for the team round?

    She also revealed a pensive look as she thought about that. As she recalled how sly Huo Yuhao was during their negotiation earlier, Wei Na couldn¡¯t help but develop an ominous feeling¡­

    ---

    On the stage, both parties quickly reached the center. They waited on opposing sides of Zheng Zhan.

    ¡°Both parties, please report your names,¡± Zheng Zhan said formally.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Wang Yanfeng.¡±

    Wang Yanfeng was more than one hundred and ny centimeters tall. His body was big and burly. The white attire that he wore was very tight. He had short hair, and his eyes were filled with energy. Although he wasn¡¯t very handsome, he gave off a very mature feeling. His sharp eyes seemed able to prate a person¡¯s heart. Although they hadn¡¯t startedpeting yet, Huo Yuhao could sense a dominant aura from his body.

    Zheng Zhan looked at both parties and said, ¡°Step back and prepare for the start of the fight. Let me reiterate, try not to go too hard on your opponent. When I judge that either of you can¡¯t handle it anymore, I will end this fight.¡±

    Although only Huo Yuhao¡¯s right arm could move, he was very deft as he controlled his wheelchair. He rolled his wheelchair back to his side of the stage.

    Wang Yanfeng didn¡¯t say anything either. He only nodded at Huo Yuhao before turning to the other side of the stage.

    Very soon, both parties got into their respective positions. They turned around and faced each other.

    Zheng Zhan raised his hand up high and shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Wang Yanfeng immediately moved. His toes pushed off as he burst towards Huo Yuhao. He was very quick, but wasn¡¯t as violent as Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, he seemed illusory throughout the entire process. It seemed as if he was bursting forward, but Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t lock onto him, even with his Spiritual Detection!

    Wang Yanfeng was moving from side to side at an extremely high speed. Huo Yuhao immediately made his judgment.

    Both parties unleashed their martial souls at almost the same time. Huo Yuhao had two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul ring. Everyone from the Tang Sect knew he was using his Imitation now. Apart from Wang Dong¡¯er, no one really knew the colors of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings.

    Six soul rings rose from Wang Yanfeng¡¯s feet. There were two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings. His aura also grew stronger and stronger.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move a single centimeter, remaining in his position. His right hand pointed forward, and a petite figure shot out from his brow. She grew in size as she moved, and turned into the appearance of a little girl, drifting two meters in front of Huo Yuhao.

    It was the Snow Lady.

    Once the little Snow Lady appeared, the temperature around Huo Yuhao quickly fell.

    Wang Yanfeng seemed to slow down as he burst forward. He had evidently unleashed his martial soul, but nothing could be seen.

    What was his martial soul?

    If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao had formted his guess before the fight even started, he would have been in a spot right now.

    Wang Yanfeng was less than thirty meters from the Snow Lady right now. At this point, he suddenly shouted and jumped forward. His legsnded steadily on the ground, and he clenched his fists while raising his hands up. After that, he hammered his fists down.

    He was still thirty meters from Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady right now, so it wasn¡¯t possible for his fists to strike them. He was hammering the ground!

    A bronze-green glow spread from his fists. As his fists pounded the ground, there wasn¡¯t any sound at all. However, a wave of green gas swept towards Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady.

    It was a very strong shockwave!

    Huo Yuhao was in awe. His opponent¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t unleashed using pure strength and soul power. It involved some level of technique and strength control. It was abination of strength and technique. He was indeed a talent from the Body Sect! Were his fists his martial soul? In the younger generation of the Body Sect, Wang Yanfeng should be one of the best...

    Huo Yuhao squinted as he faced the green gust of gas. The Snow Lady didn¡¯t resist it directly. On the contrary, her petite figure drifted back andnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao raised his only moveable hand. A strong golden glow lit up on his palm.

    Following this, a golden figure appeared from his body. It wasn¡¯t quick, but it appeared just before the green gust of gas reached him.

    Chi...

    The wave of gas struck the figure. The figure seemed to chop it down the middle, and the two halves struck the protective barriers around the stage. A huge glow was instantly created.

    Neither parties used any soul skills in their first confrontation. The rest of their team members in the waiting area were in awe, especially the Snowdemon Sect. Their team members were stunned.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use his ability to summon things, but used his own soul power to tackle Wang Yanfeng. In addition, he didn¡¯t seem to have expended much energy as he overcame Wang Yanfeng¡¯s attack. They were all shocked by this level of skill.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t retract his palm. He clenched it into a fist and pushed it forward. Suddenly, a golden force was unleashed from his fist towards Wang Yanfeng.

    It was a pure battle of soul power! There weren¡¯t any soul skills involved!

    ¡°He¡¯s actually able tobine his spiritual and soul power! Whose fighting skill did he inherit?¡± Wei Na muttered to herself.

    Wang Yanfeng was equally stunned. When they had researched Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities earlier, they werepletely different! Was this even possible for a control-type soul master? Isn¡¯t this a fighting method of our Body Sect?

    One of the most important principles that the Body Sect had was that its disciples should never use their soul skills lightly, because their opponents would be familiar with one¡¯s soul skills after each use. They should only be used at the most critical moments in order to achieve a decisive effect.

    Because of this, the Body Sect was considered one of the best in terms of their research into fighting techniques. In this aspect, even Shrek Academy couldn¡¯tpare to them. It was also one of the reasons why the Body Sect was so strong.

    However, Huo Yuhao was using a fighting technique now. From how he resisted Wang Yanfeng¡¯s attack earlier, it showed that he wasn¡¯t ordinary either! His ability to counterattack in such a short period of time showed that he was indeed very strong.

    While Wang Yanfeng was awed, he didn¡¯t slow down. He took a step forward with his right foot and allowed his aura to rise. At the same time, he pounded his fists down again, and a blinding bronze-green glow was unleashed towards the force that Huo Yuhao had shot at him.

    Bang!...

    An explosive ring reverberated out. The golden and green glows dispersed. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move from where he was sitting in his wheelchair. Wang Yanfeng looked backward and retreated one step.

    At this point, the expressions of everyone from the Snowdemon Sect, or rather the Body Sect, couldn¡¯t help but change.

    Two fists against a single fist. Huo Yuhao exerted a force from a mid-range distance, while Wang Yanfeng used his body to defend against it, but Wang Yanfeng was the one who suffered. This signified that Wang Yanfeng was inferior to Huo Yuhao in terms of his cultivation. How was this possible? He was one of the strongest from the Body Sect, and was even a Soul Emperor! On the other hand, Huo Yuhao was only a Soul King!

    Such a result left those with some insider information feeling incredulous.

    Wang Yanfeng¡¯s senses were very acute. When he steadied himself, he burst towards Huo Yuhao without any hesitation. He opened his arms, and his first soul ring finally lit up. His arms grew to three times their original size. He attacked Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as he began to glow with an intense bronze-green light.

    The Body Sect was very skillful at fighting techniques because of their martial souls. As their bodies were part of their martial souls, their soul skills usually enhanced a certain part of their body. Without outstanding fighting techniques, it was impossible for them to tap into their advantage to the fullest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but his eyes turnedpletely golden. With his Spiritual Detection, he could clearly sense the cirction and undtions of his opponent¡¯s soul power, as well as his strengths and weaknesses.

    In Wang Yanfeng¡¯s eyes, the young man in the wheelchair suddenly shot out a strong glow from his eyes before taking in a deep breath.

    Wang Yanfeng felt as if that simple inhtion had sucked away all the air around him. Not only did this not stop his advance, but the vacuum even drew him ahead faster and faster!

    This change might be slight, but the change in tempo left Wang Yanfeng in a tight spot. His aura dropped significantly.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand at the same time as he inhaled. He faced his palm towards himself before flipping it upward. His hand let out an intense golden light.

    As Yuhao flipped his palm over, Wang Yanfeng felt a huge storming. When Huo Yuhao unleashed his palm, it felt as if the weather had changed, and a sovereign was descending!

 Chapter 319.3: Tang Sect vs Body Sect!

    Wang Yanfeng¡¯s hands were enhanced by his soul rings. In everyone¡¯s opinion, he should have struck Huo Yuhao first. However, Wang Yanfeng¡¯s body stopped in the air when Huo Yuhao unleashed his palm. He snapped his double palms back before striking out against Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    Boom!...

    Three palms intersected, and a huge sh of light went off, followed by the crash of the impact. The protective barriers around the stage started to ripple.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair slid backward, and he knocked into the protective barrier behind him before he stopped. But Wang Yanfeng had already been struck backward.

    He took three steps back before he managed to steady himself, each step mming loudly onto the metal tes of the arena stage. His upper body trembled slightly, and his face started to flush.

    Everyone could tell that Huo Yuhao had gained the upper hand in this sh. If not for the fact that he couldn¡¯t move his legs, his advantage might have been even greater.

    It was a pure sh of soul power. There weren¡¯t any flowery tricks. It was a battle of their abilities.

    Those who had once lost to Huo Yuhao and were unconvinced would immediately understand that they deserved to lose if they saw this sh between Huo Yuhao and Wang Yanfeng.

    Both parties were forced back. However, this was only the curtain raiser.

    When Huo Yuhao shed with Wang Yanfeng, the Snow Lady was already sitting on his shoulder. Right now, she burst out like a bolt of lightning. She shed out, and appeared above Wang Yanfeng¡¯s head. She flipped around in the air and struck her palm toward his forehead.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden eyes suddenly turned purplish-gold. Two streaks of purplish-gold light shot out.

    Wang Yanfeng only saw a patch of purplish-gold light in front of him. Following this, his very soul seemed to have been struck, and everything turned white.

    However, his cultivation was still very strong. He had earned his Soul Emperor cultivation through his own efforts. Furthermore, his spiritual power was greater than most ordinary soul masters, since the Body Sect was very skilled in the research of fighting techniques.

    While Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock left him in great pain, he reacted instinctively when he realized something was wrong.

    He raised his right arm and thrust his left arm forward, causing an intense golden light to surge from his body.

    It was actually an Invincible Barrier!

    The Snow Lady¡¯s palm smacked the Invincible Barrier, and was deflected away. However, the barrier turned icy-blue instantly, and the temperature around it also fell significantly. While the Snow Lady¡¯s palm seemed very soft and gentle, it was actually even stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm strike earlier.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. The Body Sect uses soul tools too? Didn¡¯t teacher mention that they were very rigid in this aspect? It seems like they are also keeping up!

    Without the Invincible Barrier, his Spiritual Shock and the Snow Lady¡¯s Snowless cier would have given him the absolute advantage even if Wang Yanfeng wasn¡¯t immediately defeated. However, the barrier helped Wang Yanfeng avert this crisis.

    Although Huo Yuhao was startled by his opponent¡¯s Invincible Barrier, he didn¡¯t stop his attack. Even with the Invincible Barrier, Wang Yanfeng was still in a trance after being hit by the Spiritual Shock. He was like a practice target as he stood in ce.

    The barrier could protect him from absolute harm. However, his soul power would be greatly depleted if the Invincible Barrier were struck repeatedly.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, and a dark-golden projection shed down like a huge heavenly ax. When the five streaks of light appeared, all the spectators felt a chill down their spines.

    Boom!...

    The icy-blueyer cracked and disappeared. Huo Yuhao¡¯s ws pushed Wang Yanfeng¡¯s barrier three feet into the ground. It was his Darkgolden Terrorw!

    The Snow Lady wasn¡¯t idle either. A deep blue light shed, and coordinated with Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack perfectly. When the dark-golden des disappeared, an icy-blue light de of light struck the barrier ferociously.

    ng!...

    A clear and crisp sound of metal striking metal resonated out loudly.

    The Snowdemon Sect was horrified to discover that there was an obvious crack on an Invincible Barrier activated by a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    What did this mean? It meant that the defense of the barrier was about to be ovee! This also meant that Huo Yuhao and the Snow Lady¡¯s repeated attacks bore an offensive power that had reached a terrifying level!

    The Snow Lady¡¯s attacks were all Ultimate Ice and Snow. Along with the Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s destructiveness and Wang Yanfeng¡¯s inability to directly control his barrier due to his shock, such a situation had urred.

    However, Wang Yanfeng also recovered from the shock to his soul after this attack.

    He immediately discovered the crack in his barrier. Horrified, he quickly retreated. At the same time, his third soul ring lit up. His hands formed fists in front of him, and he punched out towards Huo Yuhao.

    This was Wang Yanfeng¡¯s body soul¡¯s third soul skill, Mountainquake Strike!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to sh directly against the fist this time. He struck his palm towards the ground and leaned back. A row of jets appeared on his shoulders. When his wheelchair was propelled into the air by the rebound from his palm strike, the jets were also fired. Instantly, he shot several dozen meters into the sky.

    Wang Yanfeng¡¯s attack was a measure to stop Huo Yuhao from attacking him anymore. With his current state, he wasn¡¯t able to lock onto his opponent, so Huo Yuhao managed to easily dodge his Mountainquake Strike.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still given a scare by the strength of the Mountainquake Strike!

    It unleashed a ball of green light, roughly the size of a human head. It stopped for a moment in the air before blowing apart, converting into a greenish-ck sphere more than five meters in diameter. The force of its explosion was immense. He must havepleted the Second Awakening of his martial soul!

    While Huo Yuhao was in awe, his body had already started to descend.

    Right now, the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team members in the waiting area were all in shock. Who would have expected Huo Yuhao to fly so high up in the air even though he was in a wheelchair? Furthermore, he appeared very agile. His right hand was so powerful. How strong would he be if his whole body could move?!

    The Snow Lady had already returned behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. She pushed his wheelchair through the air, and a deep blue light shot forward. In this manner, she managed to slide his wheelchair down through the air,nding on the other side of the stage.

    Wang Yanfeng also took this chance to catch his breath. When he saw Huo Yuhao on the other side of the stage, he felt helpless, and almost spat out blood in frustration.

    Although the main effect of Spiritual Shock had already disappeared, he still had a splitting headache right now. As he looked at Huo Yuhao, he felt fear rising inside. He hadn¡¯t expected this opponent would be so difficult to deal with...

    When he sensed his own condition, he was on the verge of tears. His soul power had dropped by forty percent after he was hit by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock and the subsequent attacks. He only had sixty percent of his soul power left! His soul power was very dense, considering that he was from the Body Sect. Ordinary soul masters couldn¡¯tpare to him at all!

    When the Invincible Barrier had first appeared, it had indeed caused a lot of problems for soul masters. Soul engineers who were financially sound loved to use their Invincible Barrier to protect themselves when they fought, just before using their strongest soul tool against their soul master opponent. It was a move that left many soul masters feeling helpless and depressed.

    However, soul masters slowly found a way to deal with this as time passed, even though they couldn¡¯t catch up to soul engineers in terms of technology. For example, they couldunch an assault against the Invincible Barrier!

    While the assault couldn¡¯t harm their opponent, their soul power would fall significantly as the barrier came under attack. The stronger the assault, the greater the depletion. Of course, this was under the condition that the soul master wasn¡¯t forced back by his opponent!

    Huo Yuhao used this fact tounch a few attacks, causing Wang Yanfeng¡¯s soul power to fall by almost half. This would undoubtedly be very useful for the rest of the fight.

    However, Wang Yanfeng wasn¡¯t a simple character either. He turned around to face Huo Yuhao, but didn¡¯t chase after him. He remained where he was and took a deep breath, initiating the cirction of his soul power. As he recovered from his headache, he tried to adjust his condition.

    The elites of top-ranked sects weren¡¯t easy to deal with. Even under unfavorable circumstances, Wang Yanfeng didn¡¯t panic at all. Rather, he analyzed the situation. Huo Yuhao¡¯s w was too obvious. He needed his wheelchair to move. This meant that he couldn¡¯t fight like Wang Qiu¡¯er, using a high speed and tempo to overwhelm his opponent.

    Wang Yanfeng was exploiting this opportunity to catch his breath.

    However, he turned grim following this. That was because he saw Huo Yuhao brandishing a Milk Bottle, replenishing his own soul power.

    Wang Yanfeng had his own Milk Bottle, but there was one thing that Huo Yuhao had judged urately. The Body Sect had a very strong distaste for soul tools. While it had be less acute in recent years, they only used soul tools that had practical uses to them. For example, Milk Bottles, flying-type soul tools, and protective-type soul tools, such as the Invincible Barrier.

    However, Wang Yanfeng wouldn¡¯t use his Milk Bottle in a fight! That would be giving his opponent the best chance to attack him! Doing so would mean there was a period of time when he would be interrupted. That period of interruption could be fatal against a strong opponent!

    Wang Yanfeng couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He was infuriated by how Huo Yuhao seemed so contemptuous of him!

 Chapter 320.1: The Ever-Transforming Huo Yuhao!

    He crouched and leapt skywards. At the same time, he extended his hands to his sides and something weird urred. Wang Yanfeng¡¯s body continued to rise, and didn¡¯t seem to be stopping anytime soon. His six soul rings lit up at the same time.

    Not only this, but a greenish-bronze glow also lit up behind Wang Yanfeng¡¯s back in the form of two huge palms. The greenish-bronze hands carried a very thick aura that suppressed the entire stage.

    ---

    Xu Tianran squinted on the main stage andughed coldly. ¡°I thought they¡¯d continue to conceal their abilities. They¡¯ve finally appeared. The Body Sect is indeed in the Heavenly Soul Empire! Hmph!¡±

    Jing Hongchen also clenched his fist, and there was a look of bitter resentment in his eyes. When the Body Sect attacked the Illustrious Virtue Hall, it was the biggest humiliation of his life. How could he not feel hatred when he saw them now?

    ---

    Huo Yuhao found it difficult to breathe onstage. The appearance of the greenish-bronze palms behind his opponent¡¯s back made him feel as if he were being suppressed by a mountain. The ground started creaking too. It was like the stage couldn¡¯t handle this pressure, and was about to copse.

    Only the Snow Lady was still sitting on his shoulders and behaving as if nothing had happened.

    Was this the Second Awakening of a body soul? Huo Yuhao was very calm right now. He knew that his opponent was from the Body Sect, and thus he had expected the fight to be intense.

    This was a Bronze-level body soul.

    He recalled what Elder Mu had told him about body souls.

    ---

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ll tell you what a body soul is today, and why they are so strong.

    ¡°Body souls are very special existences among martial souls. Generally speaking, our martial souls can be anything, but they are rarely a part of our body. We are iplete if a part of our body is our martial soul.

    ¡°The earliest soul masters with body souls were believed to be mutants. Furthermore, the advantages of body souls weren¡¯t known yet. That¡¯s why they were looked down on.

    ¡°But a genius with a body soul appeared and managed to unlock the secret of making a body soul strong. This person was the first sect leader of the Body Sect!

    ¡°He went through a period of tireless cultivation, and discovered that having one¡¯s own body as a martial soul was more reliable than any other type of martial soul. More importantly, a body soul possesses characteristics that other martial souls don¡¯t have.

    ¡°For example, it¡¯s easier to control a body soul,pared to a regr martial soul. This is derived from the fact that humans have great control over their own limbs. In addition, the limit of a body soul is also much higher than most martial souls!

    ¡°Simply put, you can only control the size of your martial soul if it¡¯s a sword. You can pour your soul power into it, and use your soul rings and skills to enhance its strength. If your martial soul is your arm, it isn¡¯t just about size anymore. First, every finger can change significantly. Even your veins and arteries, bones, and pulse can be controlled. A soul skill can exhibit different kinds of possibilities in the hands of a strong soul master with a body soul.

    ¡°The most frightening part of a body soul is in its Second Awakening.¡±

    ¡°Our martial souls Awaken when we are six years old. There are martial soul imprints on our body from that age onwards. We can start cultivating if we have soul power.

    ¡°The Second Awakening is something unique to a body soul.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Second Awakening? It refers to an evolution in your martial soul. It also means that a body soul can evolve one level higher than others. Let me give you an example: If a body soul is as strong as an Earthdragon after its first Awakening, it might be as strong as a true dragon after its Second Awakening. There¡¯s a huge change in quality!

    ¡°Right now, only body soul Soul Masters are able to experience this Second Awakening, and this is why the Body Sect continues to prosper. Someone who possesses a body soul and is able to be a soul master will want to join the Body Sect and make themself stronger. The Body Sect is also very protective and caring towards their disciples.

    ¡°It is possible to tell if a body soul is undergoing its Second Awakening. If you meet such a soul master in the future, you must be very careful! Their body can be a terrifying weapon!

    ¡°There are even different levels of this Second Awakening. The Body Sect categorizes them into four levels. After the Second Awakening ispleted, light projections formed from the individual¡¯s martial soul will appear behind him as he unleashes his evolved abilities. The color of this projection is very key to understanding the level of his Second Awakening.

    ¡°A ck projection carrying a metal glow appears during an Iron-ranked Second Awakening. After this Awakening, the fighting strength of the individual¡¯s martial soul will increase by thirty percent or more.

    ¡°A bronze glow represents a Bronze-ranked Second Awakening. After this Awakening, the fighting strength of the individual¡¯s martial soul will increase by sixty percent.

    ¡°One level higher is Silver. Such an Awakening will only appear in more important body parts, such as the skeleton or head. Once the Awakening ispleted, one¡¯s fighting strength can double. Some can even increase their fighting strength by a level. A Soul King can temporarily possess the offensive abilities of a Soul Emperor.

    ¡°The rarest and scariest rank is a Gold-ranked Second Awakening. The light projection created will be golden. If you meet such a soul master, you should not fight him unless your soul power is more than a level higher than his. Such a soul master possesses great explosive power, but this will vary between different soul masters depending on the strength of their martial soul. When they undergo their Second Awakening, their offensive strength might even increase up to three times their normal standard.

    ¡°Your eyes are also a body soul. Considering how important one¡¯s eyes are, I think its Second Awakening will be at least a Bronze-ranked one. Since your abilities are spiritual, I think it¡¯ll be a Silver-ranked one. If that happens, your abilities will greatly increase.

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because the Body Sect¡¯s disciples can undergo this Second Awakening of their body souls that the Body Sect looks down on soul tools. If you meet them in the future, you must be very cautious.¡±

    ---

    While Elder Mu wasn¡¯t around anymore, his words were still deeply entrenched in Yuhao¡¯s memories. When Huo Yuhao saw those bronze palms, he knew that Wang Yangfeng¡¯s Second Awakening was at least a Bronze-ranked one!

    Elder Mu also told him that most of the disciples in the Body Sect would only experience an Iron-ranked Second Awakening. It was rare to see a Bronze-ranked Second Awakening. As for a Silver-ranked ones, there weren¡¯t more than ten people in the Body Sect who reached that level during their Second Awakening. As for the Gold-ranked Second Awakening, only their first sect leader had reached that level.

    However, the sect¡¯s members didn¡¯t crave Gold-ranked abilities. The stronger one¡¯s Second Awakening was, the greater one would be drained. At the Gold-ranked level, one¡¯s life power might bepletely drained!

    The bronze palms shone brightly behind Wang Yanfeng¡¯s back up there in midair. Wang Yanfeng wasn¡¯t hiding his identity anymore. He mimed a pressing action as he aimed his palms towards Huo Yuhao.

    Suddenly, the two bronze palms expanded rapidly, actually reaching a length of more than ten meters and a width of more than five meters. Both palms struck down, crashing down towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head!

    Before the palms reached him, the ground around Huo Yuhao had already caved in in the shape of a palm!

    While Wang Yanfeng was furious because of how Huo Yuhao was so contemptuous of him, he wasn¡¯t careless at all. After they exchanged blows earlier, he knew Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t an easy opponent to deal with. Without his Second Awakening, there wasn¡¯t any way he could defeat Huo Yuhao.

    Even though this blow depleted him greatly, he also had confidence that he could use it to win. With his cultivation as a Soul Emperor, the strength of his body soul, and the increase in fighting strength from his Second Awakening, he believed that his opponent couldn¡¯t possibly defeat him!

    After all, Huo Yuhao was only a Soul King! There was still a big gap between them!

    However, Huo Yuhao was smiling at this point. It looked like Huo Yuhao had met an old friend, his smile was casual and familiar.

    Wang Yanfeng abruptly felt as though the sky was turning around. Everything around him seemed to have suddenly changed. He was horrified to discover that Huo Yuhao was now floating in mid-air in his wheelchair.

    A frightening pressure started to bear down on him.

    No one had expected such a change. However, Huo Yuhao seemed to have done it very simply.

    He had released a pitch-ck glow from his body. A projection of a turtle-like shield that seemed to have a snake-shaped carving shone along with his fifth soul ring, and appeared silently in front of him. Following this, a light shed, and he changed positions with Wang Yanfeng.

    Wang Yanfeng was the one who was about to suffer from his own attack!

    Everyone felt that it was unreal, too astonishing! Even his fellow Tang Sect members, except for Xu Sanshi, were shocked. They couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened!

 Chapter 320.2: The Ever-Transforming Huo Yuhao!

    Wang Yanfeng realized what was going on at the critical moment and shouted without any hesitation, ¡°I concede defeat!¡±

    A streak of dazzling silver light fell from the sky and engulfed his body.

    More than a quarter of his side of the stage was turned to dust and copsedpletely. The protective barriers on this side of the stage surged with blinding light. The more than twenty soul engineers who were maintaining the protective barrier all spat blood at the same time.

    A pair of bronze palm prints were still present on the ground that had caved in. The area that was struck waspletely smooth and appeared worked by someone with splendid carving skills.

    Only two spots within this area hadn¡¯t caved in. Wang Yanfeng was in one of the spots, while Zheng Zhan, who had used his silver-colored protective barrier to protect Wang Yanfeng, was in the other spot.

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s arms were still shaking gently. He was horrified, but it wasn¡¯t obvious.

    As a Titled Douluo, he should have been able to easily restrain a Soul Emperor. However, those palms made him finally understand why the Body Sect was so strong. Zheng Zhan knew that it would be impossible for him to unleash such a strong palm strike without any soul tools even if he had eight rings. Even soul masters who specialized in cultivating martial souls might not be so terrifying when they unleashed their Martial Soul True Body with seven rings.

    This was the strength of a body soul!

    However, Wang Yanfeng had still lost.

    Huo Yuhao was seated in his wheelchair in the air. He slowlynded with the Snow Lady¡¯s help. He seemed very rxed, and didn¡¯t even pull out his Milk Bottle.

    Wang Yanfeng hadn¡¯t seen what had happened, but Zheng Zhan had witnessed everything clearly. Huo Yuhao had only taken his Milk Bottle out earlier. He didn¡¯t suck any soul power from the bottle. He had not been far from Huo Yuhao earlier, as he had been preparing to save the crippled young man.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Milk Bottle had unleashed a light that made it look like soul power was being absorbed from it. However, there weren¡¯t any soul power undtions from that light. Was it a smokescreen or illusion?

    At this point, Wang Yanfeng still couldn¡¯t believe that he had lost. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t have blocked his own attack. He would have been critically injured even if he didn¡¯t die. There wasn¡¯t any way he couldpete in the team round after this.

    As an elite from the younger generation of Body Sect disciples, he had actually lost to a Soul King! It was even a Soul King who was crippled! He was even more embarrassed that his opponent was from Shrek Academy. It was important to know that the Body Sect and Shrek Academy had many disputes with one another!

    Embarrassing. It was too embarrassing...

    Wang Yanfeng lowered his head in shame. He quickly rushed off the stage, and didn¡¯t even say anything.

    Huo Yuhao wore a smile as he sat back in his wheelchair. The light from his Milk Bottle appeared once again. This time, he was really sucking the soul power from the Milk Bottle to restore his own soul power.

    He didn¡¯t just win this physical fight. More importantly, he achieved a psychological and tactical victory.

    He had wanted to give his opponents the impression that he was willing to fight until the end against them. Both parties had shed a few times with one another, and Wang Yanfeng couldn¡¯t help but feel that Huo Yuhao was really strong. The rest of the changes were all within Huo Yuhao¡¯s calctions.

    He used his Imitation to tempt his opponent into unleashing an all-out attack. It was also his first time using the fifth soul skill of his Spirit Eyes, Spiritual Duplication. It was the strong soul skill that he obtained when he was in the Great Star Dou Forest with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    It was obvious what soul skill he had duplicated from the effects of it. It was Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement!

    This divine skill from a defense-type soul master achieved the same divine effects even when he used it. No matter how well the Snowdemon Sect knew him, they couldn¡¯t have guessed he had such a skill.

    Wang Yanfeng was the one who bore the consequences of his own attack. In fact, Wang Yanfeng had a wealth of live experience. It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t cunning enough to best Huo Yuhao. Bound to his wheelchair, Huo Yuhao was too deceptive. His greatest advantage wasn¡¯t any overwhelming ability, but theplexity of the types of abilities he possessed. He could use a myriad of fighting strategies against his opponents!

    Only Wang Dong¡¯er truly understood everything when she finished watching this fight. Only she understood that the core of Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities came from his Spirit Eyes, even though he had used so many soul skills! All his nning had revolved around his Spirit Eyes.

    ¡°Tang Sect versus the Snowdemon Sect. The Tang Sect wins the first individual elimination round,¡± Zheng Zhan announced the result, watching Huo Yuhao carefully. Huo Yuhao gave him a very weird feeling¡­

    Down in the waiting area, Wei Na¡¯s astonishment slowly faded away. She nodded slightly, and her eyes shed. She whispered a few words to her teammates before another young man jumped onto the stage. He quickly walked out to the center.

    As this was an individual elimination round, the stage couldn¡¯t be repaired, as that would give the victorious soul master the time needed to restore his soul power and energy. The tournament could only continue. At most, some simple repairs could be made before the team round.

    ¡°Both parties, please report your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Chen Lu.¡±

    The members of the Snowdemon Sect were all ring at Huo Yuhao, as if they were trying to figure out something about him. Huo Yuhao appeared as leisurely as ever, as if nothing had happened at all. His aura also hadn¡¯t changed because of the previous fight.

    Both parties quickly retreated to their respective sides of the stage. Huo Yuhao was still holding his Milk Bottle in his hand, and seemed to have no intention of putting it away. However, he didn¡¯t dy the fight either. He pressed three of the fingers of his right hand against his Milk Bottle before turning his wheelchair around. It was a pretty sad sight. The spectators weren¡¯t too hostile either, since the Sun Moon team had already been eliminated. They pitied him a little as they saw him in this state.

    Huo Yuhao turned around as he reached his side of the stage. Only he knew that the previous victory hadn¡¯te easily. Wang Yanfeng was indeed very strong. The Soul Emperors of the Body Sect weren¡¯t inferior to Soul Emperors like Ma Xiaotao from Shrek.

    Even when Huo Yuhao was in his normal condition, he still had to give his all in order to beat such an opponent with his cultivation as a Soul King. Moreover, he was in a very deprived state right now. His greatest advantage was that his opponents didn¡¯t know him well. They also didn¡¯t know about the enhancement to his spiritual power that he had received after he went to the Icefire Yin Yang Well and ended up in his current disabled state. Indeed, his Spirit Eyes were the core of all his fighting strategies!

    ¡°Begin!¡± the Unbreakable Douluo shouted, announcing the start of the second individual elimination round.

    Chen Lu crouched down before jumping forward. He was very quick, like an arrow loosed from a bow. He stuck close to the ground as he raced towards Huo Yuhao. Everyone was impressed by his speed.

    His speed was different from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s speed, which was generated from her explosive power. His speed came from his extremely great leaping abilities. When he came up onto the stage, Huo Yuhao had immediately realized his legs were different from those of normal people, they were more muscr and developed. His calves were so thick that they were almost the size of a regr person¡¯s thighs!

    As he leapt forward, he immediately demonstrated his shocking springing ability. He was in front of Huo Yuhao almost instantly.

    Sliding tackle! Against the immobile Huo Yuhao, Chen Lu chose an offensive method that was difficult to anticipate. Just as he was about to reach Huo Yuhao, he leaned back and kicked forward with his legs, one high and one low as he slid in. He wasn¡¯t targeting Huo Yuhao, but his wheelchair!

    It was a brilliant tactic. Zheng Zhan¡¯s eyes brightened. Even though Chen Lu¡¯s attack was a little despicable, Zheng Zhan had to admit that it was effective.

    If Huo Yuhao were without his wheelchair, it would be equivalent to him losing his legs. He already found it very difficult to move. Without his wheelchair, his fighting strength would fall considerably. Even though Chen Lu had five soul rings just like Huo Yuhao, he seemed to have found the key to victory the moment he entered the fray.

    Everyone believed that Huo Yuhao had to stop his opponent¡¯s sliding tackle right now. Otherwise, he would lose his only form of mobility if his wheelchair was damaged. There wasn¡¯t going to be any way for him to face his opponent then.

    Even those from the Tang Sect couldn¡¯t help but be anxious when they saw this. What method was Huo Yuhao going to use to deal with his opponent?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move. It seemed like he had no intention of stopping his opponent. Chen Lu was very quick, and was about to strike the wheelchair...

    Even Chen Lu was surprised when Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother to stop him. He was already prepared: if Huo Yuhao tried to stop him, he would unleash all his strength and destroy the wheelchair no matter the price. Once he did that, victory was almost certain!

    Just as Chen Lu was slightly uncertain, Huo Yuhao finally acted. He pped the side of his chair using his right hand, and his wheelchair flew into the air. At the same time, his wheelchair slid diagonally to one side.

    Dodge!

    If he was just purely dodging Chen Lu¡¯s attack, Chen Lu was already prepared to deal with it. However, Huo Yuhao and his wheelchair seemed to fuse with the air as they dodged. They disappeared without a sound¡­

    Concealment? Chen Lu was shocked. He even forgot to retract his power, and only reacted after sliding more than ten meters. He pointed his toes to the ground before leaping up again. However, he couldn¡¯t trace Huo Yuhao after he turned around.

    All the spectators were stunned when they saw this. Huo Yuhao is even able to conceal himself?

 Chapter 320.3: The Ever-Transforming Huo Yuhao!

    In the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s waiting area, Wei Na focused even more intently on the fight going on. She realized that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just a difficult character to deal with in terms of business negotiations. Even with only his right hand, he was still very strong!

    Huo Yuhao was naturally using his evolved million year soul skill, Imitation!

    In fact, he had no choice. Once his opponent moved, he could tell that Chen Lu¡¯s main strength was his speed. At the same time, his own greatest w was his currentck of agility.

    Huo Yuhao had used his Spiritual Shock earlier, and knew his opponent would exercise caution against it. Moreover, he didn¡¯t want to overuse his Spiritual Shock, which was his strongest killer move. The more he used an ability, the easier it was for his opponent to find ws in it.

    That was why he used his Imitation to conceal his figure and disappear in the air. As long as he didn¡¯t shift too much, it would be very difficult for his opponent to determine his position from the ripples in the air.

    Through his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao also discovered that Chen Lu¡¯s martial soul was his calves.

    One¡¯s calves were points of exertion for one¡¯s strength. From this, he could tell that Chen Lu was very strong in terms of speed and explosive power.

    After pausing for a moment to assess the situation, Chen Lu immediately reacted. He quickly turned around. His third soul ring shone brightly, and he immediately sprang into the air. His legs intersected in the air as he kicked out. Instantly, he created several illusory projections of his legs in the air.

    Every projection carried a streak of dark-green light, and a piercing sound reverberated in the air. In a sh, countless projections appeared in the air and filled the stage!

    Without a doubt, Chen Lu was using a high-frequency area attack to determine Huo Yuhao¡¯s position!

    His spiritual power wasn¡¯t weak, since he hailed from the Body Sect. As he focused to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s position, he would immediately capture Huo Yuhao¡¯s position once there were any strong soul power undtions.

    Indeed, a streak of dark-golden green light caused a ring to ripple before Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair appeared once again. He had used his right hand to block the kick-de, but seemed a little pathetic as he did so.

    Chen Lu snorted and quickly jumped up again. His third soul ring was still shining, and his legs intersected as they kicked out at the same time as he charged towards Huo Yuhao. Streaks and streaks of dark-green projections engulfed him. Amid the piercing whistles, the light des were all aimed towards Huo Yuhao!

    However, it was at this moment that something weird appeared.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly rose several meters into the air and avoided the des with an unbelievably deft movement. At the same time, he made a turn in the air which seemed topletely vite thews of physics. He charged towards Chen Lu!

    Chen Lu was stunned at this moment. Even a soul master with wings couldn¡¯t have made such a dodging action in the air; it involved countless swaying movements mid-air! Is his disability fake? Otherwise, how did he manage to dodge everything so quickly in midair?

    Chen Lu couldn¡¯t be bothered by anything else, too horrified by this action. He quickly shut his legs, and a beam of intense bronze light shone behind his back. Just like Huo Yuhao had predicted, his body soul was his calves. In addition, his Second Awakening was a Bronze-ranked one!

    Instantly, Chen Lu¡¯s whole body grew by more than a meter. His calves also became extremely thick, tearing his pants open. His legs intersected as he kicked out. Amid the terrifying bronze light, his calves were like two huge awls unleashed against Huo Yuhao.

    As his calves swept through the air, it felt as if the air had been torn apart. Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed fell drastically.

    Chen Lu was still living in the shadow of Wang Yanfeng¡¯s defeat. Right now, Huo Yuhao was demonstrating some very weird abilities. He had to give his all at this point!

    The Second Awakening of his body soul was indeed frightening. His body soul became very strong, and covered a domain that no ordinary soul masters couldpare to. Even a Soul Emperor couldn¡¯t achieve a fighting strength like him!

    Something that left Chen Lu shocked happened again. In his opinion, the only way Huo Yuhao could avoid his attack was by resisting it directly. It was impossible to dodge. After learning from Wang Yanfeng¡¯s mistakes, he didn¡¯t force his soul power out of his body. He gathered the strength of the Second Awakening in his calves. In this way, he wouldn¡¯t be affected even if Huo Yuhao switched ces with him!

    However, something weirder than what had happened to Wang Yanfeng urred. Huo Yuhao and his wheelchair broke just as Chen Lu¡¯s calves struck him.

    Yes, they broke. Countless streaks of bloody light burst out, and the broken wheelchair scattered in all directions. Everyone eximed and jumped up in shock at this scene.

    Chen Lu was in a daze. However, he also discovered that something was wrong at the same time. That was because he didn¡¯t feel as if he had contacted anything when he struck Huo Yuhao!

    A deep blue sword light that seemed as if it wanted to tear the nine heavens apart silently appeared not far away behind Chen Lu.

    That deep blue sword light was shiny and transparent. It was so clear that it seemed like it was formed with a water crystal. Wherever it passed, it formed a deep blue light screen. It appeared just at the moment when Chen Lu finished his previous attack and had yet to unleash his next attack. The timing was perfect.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword. This time, Huo Yuhao was the one holding the Empress¡¯ Sword. The Snow Lady had disappeared.

    Chen Lu¡¯s eyes shone with light. In the face of such a crisis, he didn¡¯t panic at all. Among the younger generation disciples of the Body Sect, he was one of the best. Even though his cultivation was inferior to Wang Yanfeng¡¯s, he was only still eighteen years old. In terms of talent, he might even be better than Wang Yanfeng. Wang Yanfeng lost at the, ah, hands of his own attack, but Chen Lu was even more cautious after the loss.

    After realizing something was amiss, he didn¡¯t even turn around to look. He immediately activated his fifth soul ring.

    A pitch-ck soul ring shone brightly, and Chen Lu did a half-crouch. Behind him, a third leg silently extended out. This leg was also covered in a greenish-bronze glow, and looked identical to his own legs.

    The three legs bent at the same. As a low-pitched roar sounded, Chen Lu seemed to have overpressed the air beneath him, causing an explosion to spread out. He released a projection from his body after this.

    The bronze light engulfed his entire body. The weird thing was that the bronze projection revealed the form of a mutant with a dragon¡¯s head and a frog¡¯s body.

    Just as hepleted this, the Unparalleled Chill ferociously shed his body.

    Dang!...

    It sounded like an awl had struck a huge bell. There was a tremendous echo across the entire arena. It even shook the stage slightly.

    Chen Lu was smashed down to the ground by the sword, and his body sank a foot into the floor. The mutated projection that was supposed to protect him was also covered with a deep blueyer of light. It froze instantly.

    The spectators were bamboozled by this series of changes. There were very few who could tell what was actually happening.

    Undoubtedly, Chen Lu was suffering. However, why was he at a disadvantage? What did Huo Yuhao do to him? Very few people understood the sequence of events. Only those who were very keen could guess that Huo Yuhao was using an illusion.

    ---

    In the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s waiting area, all their team members looked very serious now. Right now, they had just realized that Huo Yuhao was able to pose a huge threat to them. His abilities seemed to be endless. He used the Ultimate Ice, illusions, summoning, and even soul tools. How was a soul master able to possess all these skills?

    Even though Wei Na and Mu Xue knew Huo Yuhao, they didn¡¯t know much about him. Even after investigating his background, they only knew that he had twin martial souls; one spiritual-type and the other Ultimate Ice-type. In addition, he had turned the tables in the previous tournament.

    However, all this had been aplished when his body was in its normal condition. Right now, only his right hand could move. Even though he had twin martial souls, how many of his abilities could he unleash? They were bound to be greatly weakened!

    However, they understood some things after watching the first two fights. Even when Huo Yuhao had problems moving, his fighting strength couldn¡¯t be underestimated. He was not inferior to a Soul Emperor even when handicapped. The most frightening thing was how mysterious his fighting strategies were. Wang Yanfeng lost so ridiculously, and Chen Lu was also losing right now!

    ---

    After the flying-type soul tools on his shoulders raised Huo Yuhao into the air, they shot out light that propelled his wheelchair towards Chen Lu. Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, and his Darkgolden Terrorws appeared.

    As someone who possessed the Ultimate Ice, he was well-aware that his opponent¡¯s power depletion from that attack wasn¡¯t very great even though he had used all his strength. Chen Lu used his fifth soul skill at the critical moment, which greatly resisted his attack. It was Chen Lu¡¯s mutant projection that was frozen, and not Chen Lu himself. He was only dyed right now because he was still affected by the chill brought about by the Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao thought privately that if he were in his peak state, he would be able topletely suppress his five-ringed opponent, even if his opponent was from the Body Sect. He might even be able to crush him. Facing what he was now, he couldpletely rely on his Ice Explosion to continue harming his opponent. At the same time, his speed wouldn¡¯t be so slow, were it not for his body condition...

 Chapter 321.1: The Strongest Member of The Body Sect

    Chapter 321.1: The Strongest Member of The Body Sect

    There was a loud crunch, and a huge crack appeared in the ice. It looked like Chen Lu was about to break out from the ice...

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned serious, and he swiped his right hand. Theplete version of the Darkgolden Terrorws was unleashed.

    No one couldpare to him in terms of capturing the perfect timing. Just as the dark golden lights from his terrorws arrived, the ice broke apart, and Chen Lu escaped. Chen Lu was instantly greeted with the extremely sharp des.

    Chen Lu had no other choice; his fifth soul ring lit up. He used his fifth soul skill once again, the Three-Legged Dragontoad.

    He had obtained this soul skill after hunting and killing a ten-thousand year Three-Legged Dragontoad. When he used this soul skill, he could create another leg for his body soul. As he released a light barrier from his Three-Legged Dragontoad, he could protect himself and greatly increase his fighting strength. Among the same-generation disciples of the Body Sect, his fifth soul ring was the best among all the soul rings at the same level. He was recognized to have the strongest fifth soul ring in the entire Body Sect.

    Gaining five rings and attaining this ability before he was eighteen years old was why he could represent the Body Sect in this tournament. At the same time, he was being nurtured as one of the future elites of the sect.

    Chen Lu, who wanted to get up, and mmed was smacked back to the ground. Although his Three-Legged Dragontoad blocked the attack of the Darkgolden Terrorws, the terrorws were still the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s greatest ability. It was extremely destructive, and wasn¡¯t inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest version of the Unparalleled Chill.

    Five enormous cracks appeared on the barrier, and the effect of the ten-thousand year soul skill was instantly destroyed. Chen Lu was so devastated that he almost spat blood.

    Huo Yuhao had no intention of letting him off. He retracted his Terrorws and clenched his fist. A bright-golden light extended from his body. Following this, he punched out at Chen Lu.

    Sovereign¡¯s Descent! This was the Sovereign¡¯s Descent formed after Huo Yuhao fused his spiritual power and various abilities together. He had already evolved the Dragon God Douluo¡¯s skill into his own version.

    Chen Lu cursed in his heart, and ayer of golden light was released from his body. He had already used his Three-Legged Dragontoad twice, and it wasn¡¯t feasible for him to use it a third time. As his soul power rapidly dipped, he had no choice but to activate his own Invincible Barrier.

    Ripples formed on the barrier as the blow mmed against it, but it gave Chen Lu an opportunity to catch his breath. He quickly channeled power into his legs and sprang up from the depression he was in. With how strong his legs were, he immediately flew high into the sky.

    Chen Lu was clearly aware of his greatest strength, which was his speed. However, he had beenpletely suppressed by Huo Yuhao during their confrontations. His speed advantage couldn¡¯t be realized.

    After using his fifth soul skill twice and initiating the Second Awakening of his body soul, he had already used up more power than Wang Yanfeng had earlier!

    Time wasn¡¯t on his side!

    Chen Lu hated Huo Yuhao a lot right now. It was his first fight in the entire tournament! His teammates and Princess Wei Na were watching him! How could he lose to a cripple?

    He flipped around in the air, and his energy flow smoothed out. Although he was affected by the chill from the Ultimate Ice, he managed to repress this chill using his cultivation.

    He took a deep breath, and seemed to growrger. His legs expanded, and the greenish-bronze projection shed behind his back again. This time, Chen Lu hadpletely locked onto Huo Yuhao. Having jumped high into the air, he came swiftly crashing back down!

    He couldn¡¯t differentiate between Huo Yuhao¡¯s illusions, so he wanted to use his speed so that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any opportunity to use his illusory tricks.

    This time, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t dodge the incessant attacks anymore. He looked up at his opponent in the sky and raised his right arm to block his body.

    A ring of distorted ripples was released from an ordinary-looking ring on one of his right-hand fingers. This ring of ripples changed into a gentle, milky-white shield that protected him. Subtle golden patterns appeared on the shield.

    In order to prevent himself from being disced, Chen Lu came down with only his physical body. His legs, which were now more than two meters long, appeared deformed. It was as if two bronze pirs were descending from the sky and crashing down.

    When the two bronze pirs struck Huo Yuhao¡¯s shield, there was a massive boom as a ball of greenish-bronze light surged and blew apart, with Huo Yuhao at the center of the explosion.

    It felt as if a huge hammer had fallen from the sky and pounded the stage. The surrounding floor copsed, and a terrifying destructive force caused countless fissures to extend across the stage floor.

    A figure shot back into the sky, and a bronze light started to undte tremendously. As his screams echoed out, the figure that shot into the sky spat out fresh blood. As the bronze light dispersed, it became clear that the figure belonged to Chen Lu.

    The tremendous explosion caused debris to fly everywhere. As Chen Lu was driven back, Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure also became clear amid the debris. Rings of white surrounded his body and made it seem as if he were in a fairy tale. Layers andyers of glowing light undted around his shield, as if they were shaking. Beneath him, there was an area one and a half meters in diameter that hadn¡¯t copsed at all.

    He managed to block Chen Lu¡¯s all-out attack?

    Chen Lu crashed down. When hended on the ground, his calves had already returned to normal. However, he fell on his butt and grabbed his legs with both his hands while screaming in pain. Right now, it was very clear that his calves were in very unnatural shapes. Evidently, he was gravely injured.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes and sensed the surging life aura in his body. Through his spiritual force, he asked in some concern, ¡°Brother Skydream, how are you?¡±

    He had used the Life Reflecting Shield to resist Chen Lu¡¯s attack. It was the strength the Skydream Iceworm had conferred onto Huo Yuhao after he turned into a spirit.

    Even though the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t have four orange-gold soul rings like the Snow Empress, he was still a million-year soul beast! Although his blood couldn¡¯tpare to the Snow Empress, he was still the only soul beast in the continent to reach a million-year cultivation!

    The greatest strength of the Life Reflecting Shield was that it could reflect an attack after absorbing the impact of an attack. Once the attack was reflected onto the opponent, the harm that was inflicted on the opponent would be equivalent to the strength fed to Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body to restore the defensive strength of the shield.

    In the closebat that had just urred, Chen Lu¡¯s all-out attack on the Life Reflecting Shield was fed back into his calves. How could he not be seriously injured?

    However, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t have it easy against this attack either. He had indeed absorbed a huge amount of life power to replenish his own body, but he had also absorbed the entire impact of the attack, as he didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power to support him. As a result, he bore the entire attack, which was stronger than an attack from a seven-ringed Soul Sage using his Martial Soul True Body, all on his own.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. The life power is very concentrated. However, I¡¯ll need some time to absorb it. At least, within fifteen minutes, I¡¯m unable to help you resist an attack of such a level again. Deal with it yourself.¡±

    After hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn¡¯t use his own soul power to increase the defensive strength of the Life Reflecting Shield. However, he had to conserve his energy in the individual elimination round! He could only exploit the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s strength.

    With Chen Lu¡¯s cultivation, it was impossible for him to truly damage the Life Reflecting Shield. The Skydream Iceworm only needing fifteen minutes to recover was already beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations.

    As lights shot out above his shoulders, Huo Yuhao was propelled over the depression. The Unbreakable Douluo was already in front of Chen Lu. After checking out his condition, he immediately gestured to signal the end of the fight.

    ¡°Second individual elimination round. Huo Yuhao from the Tang Sect wins.¡±

    Everyone from the Snowdemon Sect went silent in the waiting area. Wang Yanfeng jumped onto the stage and carried the critically injured Chen Lu down. After a brief inspection, he discovered that Chen Lu¡¯s calves had broken into three parts. It wasn¡¯t just an injury to his physical body; it was also an injury to his martial soul! He was highly unlikely to be able topete in the team round.

    Fortunately, Chen Lu wasn¡¯t weak, and his calves were quite strong. Although they were fractured, his passageways weren¡¯t seriously hurt. After his teammates helped set his broken bones, he was in much less pain.

    Wei Na personally used her Snow Lotus to help him recover. Even if he couldn¡¯tpete today, he could still recover within a week under her treatment, based on his control of his martial soul.

    Chen Lu¡¯s injury wasn¡¯t a big deal. However, what were they going to do in the following fights? Huo Yuhao had already won two fights. The Soul Emperors from the Tang Sect had yet topete. If this continued, the Snowdemon Sect was going to be in an extremely disadvantageous situation.

    Wei Na furrowed her brow. At this point, a cold-looking young man stood from the Snowdemon Sect stood up and said, ¡°Let me go.¡±

    Wei Na was stunned. As her gaze met his, the young man nodded at her. His body shed, and he was already up on the stage.

    When Zheng Zhan announced Huo Yuhao¡¯s victory, Huo Yuhao was already making use of the time to restore his soul power. However, he felt his hair rising when this young man from the Snowdemon Sect appeared on the stage. It gave him the same feeling as the time when the Skydream Iceworm met the Ice Empress in the Extreme North!

    A soul master who was at most twenty years old actually gave him this sense of oppression, as if he were being watched by a savage beast. Evidently this young man¡¯s cultivation was quite high!

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze and circted his spiritual power to dispel that sense of oppression as he stared back at his opponent.

 Chapter 321.2: The Strongest Member of The Body Sect

    This young man from the Snowdemon Sect was tall and burly; all of his muscles were well-defined and toned. He stood almost two meters tall, and his shoulders were quite broad. His hair was split between half brown and half red, both sides of which appeared very soft. His eyes were narrow and long, and contained a cold, indifferent look. His nose was straight. Although he wasn¡¯t especially attractive, he was still slightly charming. Oddly, his skin was white, smooth, and glowed. When he raised his hands, his skin appeared very delicate.

    A strong opponent! Huo Yuhao immediately had this thought. He had the feeling that this guy was probably the strongest opponent he¡¯d faced in the tournament thus far. He might not even be able to beat him if he was in peak condition! Had the Body Sect finally sent their team leader up after losing two consecutive fights?

    The young man didn¡¯t rush to the center of the stage like the others had to reduce the time Huo Yuhao had to restore his soul power. Instead, he slowly approached Huo Yuhao. However, every step that he took increased the sense of oppression that he gave off. His aura also gradually started to grow.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed slightly. With his acute senses, he was able to immediately sense how frightening his opponent was. His opponent¡¯s soul and spiritual power had reached a natural and seamless stage of fusion that was superior to even his own.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was still greater than this young man¡¯s, but his soul power was weaker. When he fused them together, there were naturally some inequalities. Contrary to this, the feeling that his opponent gave him was one where his soul power and spiritual power couldn¡¯t be differentiated anymore¡ªthey seemed to be a single entity. Huo Yuhao had only experienced something like this from Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu had once told him that anyone who managed to do something like this had the potential to be a Transcendent Douluo. If not, one¡¯s limit would be bing a Titled Douluo, no matter how great his talent and martial soul were.

    Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao calmed himself down. He looked at his opponent with a burning gaze and revealed a dimyer of golden light in his eyes. Soon afterwards, thisyer of light quickly covered his entire body. A pure undtionprised of his spiritual power surged towards his opponent. I might be inferior to you in terms of my fusion of soul and spiritual power, therefore I¡¯ll use my superior spiritual power to sh against you. He couldn¡¯t lose to his opponent in terms of his aura.

    The tall and burly young man revealed a shocked expression. He stopped in his tracks momentarily, before continuing to walk towards Huo Yuhao.

    Zheng Zhan didn¡¯t stop them from staring at each other. Rather, he was astonished.

    He could clearly tell that these two young men in front of him had surpassed him in certain realms, despite their inferior cultivations. Was this the standard that most outstanding soul masters of the younger generation could achieve? Zheng Zhan was certain that they¡¯d surpass him in the future so long as they were given sufficient time to mature and improve further.

    When the burly young man reached Huo Yuhao, their shing auras peaked. Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair revealed a dim golden glow.

    Huo Yuhao seemed a little pale. His eyes had turned almost pure gold at this point, and even his hair had been dyed golden. However, his opponent still seemed as calm as ever.

    Back in the waiting area, everyone from the Tang Sect was shocked. They all knew Huo Yuhao very well. Based on the situation on-stage, it seemed like Huo Yuhao was at a disadvantage despite not being suppressed by his opponent¡¯s aura. This burly young man must be quite strong.

    ¡°Both parties, please give your names.¡± Zheng Zhan said.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡± They were only a simple few words, but Huo Yuhao struggled to simply mutter them. The pressure bearing down on him was simply too great.

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Long Aotian.¡± The young man said.

    ¡°Both parties, please step back and prepare for the start of the fight.¡±

    Long Aotian nodded at Huo Yuhao, not attempting to hide the admiration in his eyes in the slightest. He then turned around and walked to his spot. Even though the stage had been heavily damaged, he didn¡¯t seem to care or notice. As he crossed the fissures that littered the ground, there seemed to be an aura around him that carried his body over them¡ªhe crossed them like they weren¡¯t even there.

    When he turned around again, the aura and sense of oppression that he¡¯d been directing towards Huo Yuhao disappeared. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power surged forward, but seemed to find nothing. His opponent was obviously right in front of him, yet his spiritual power hadpletely lost its target. Huo Yuhao groaned, and a hint of red surfaced on his face. However, he stopped himself from spitting out the fresh blood that had filled his throat.

    Strong!

    Huo Yuhao was sure that he¡¯d met the greatest opponent in his life thus far; the Body Sect deserved to be known as the most mysterious and powerful sect in the continent! Long Aotian¡¯s cultivation was on another levelpared to his own. He had to be the team leader of the Body Sect.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath to calm the surging blood and energy in his body. After a moment, he slowly pushed his wheelchair towards his own spot.

    Back in the waiting area, Wang Dong¡¯er looked at Bei Bei anxiously.

    Bei Bei shook his head at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he knows his limits. We have to trust him.

    ¡°This Long Aotian is going to be a tough nut to crack. Sanshi, you should start preparing.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Sanshi looked at him. After years of brotherhood, he immediately understood what Bei Bei meant by the look in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao retreated to his side of the stage and turned his wheelchair around. He grabbed the handle with his right hand and pulled himself up even straighter.

    Long Aotian was facing him again, but the aura from his body wasn¡¯t nearly as strong as before. Despite this, he seemed to have fused with the stage where he stood.

    Unity of Heaven and Man. Had his cultivation reached such a level?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. This was the level that he was pursuing! It wasn¡¯t just him. In the resting area, Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes also brightened. Both he and Huo Yuhao had very high goals when it came to their fighting techniques. No one else couldpare to them in this aspect. It was also because of this that they were more intrigued when they saw Long Aotian¡¯s current condition.

    Zheng Zhan gestured as he shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly lifted his head. Instantly, his eyes brightened and five soul rings surged upwards from his body. Following this, two streaks of purplish-gold light shot out of his eyes towards his opponent.

    He wasn¡¯t going to hold back anymore. After winning two consecutive fights, his soul and spiritual power had been greatly depleted. This third round would be a huge test for him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul ring shone brightly, a hint of white hidden amidst the glow. Now that he¡¯d increased his spiritual power to its limit, his Imitation wasn¡¯t able to conceal the true color of his soul rings anymore.

    Two streaks of purplish-gold light swept through the air and instantly reached Long Aotian.

    Long Aotian didn¡¯t move from his position and made a weird gesture in front of his chest. He raised his right palm towards the left and curled his fingers. He then raised his left palm towards the front with his fingers straightened.

    As he did this, he released a shiny glow from his body. Surrounded by the glow, he seemed to have be a jade sculpture.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock arrived, Long Aotian¡¯s sculpted body lit up with a blinding purplish-gold light. Following this, it disappeared. His body swayed a little, followed by the shiny glow on his body dispersing.

    On the other side, Huo Yuhao let out a muffled groan, and he seemed very grim.

    He hadn¡¯t gained any advantage from this attack. However, he was slightly excited by how Long Aotian had resisted his attack. He could sense that Long Aotian had fused his spiritual and soul power with his entire body and then fused it with the heaven and earth to resist his attack.

    Such an experience and sensation were very enlightening to Huo Yuhao. This was the realm that he¡¯d been searching for! This was the direction that he¡¯d been working towards after he entered the concrete-immaterial realm.

    If he could achieve a breakthrough and enable his spiritual and soul power to fuse with his body, his cultivation, physical strength, and control could rise to yet another level.

    Such a live experience was incredibly valuable for him. At the same time, his opponent¡¯s strength was also stimting Huo Yuhao¡¯s own potential.

    Long Aotian was stunned after resisting this attack. He gently pressed his feet against the ground, and seemed to slide across the ground towards Huo Yuhao.

    Soul rings started to rise from beneath his feet. Yellow, purple, purple, ck, ck, ck, ck. Seven soul rings of the bestbination, out of which, four were ten thousand year soul rings. This number had only been achieved by Wang Dong¡¯er in the Tang Sect¡ªapart from Huo Yuhao¡ªwho was special. However, Wang Dong¡¯er was still one level lower than Long Aotian in terms of cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao finally understood why the sense of oppression from his opponent had been so strong: Long Aotian¡¯s abilities had reached an unprecedented level.

    Seven rings! He was a Soul Sage.

    Long Aotian wasn¡¯t the only Soul Sage in this tournament; there had also been the Three-Legged Golden Toad, Xiao Hongchen.

    However, everyone from the Tang Sect could tell that Xiao Hongchen had gained his seven-ringed cultivation through both medicine and some other special methods. He might even have sacrificed his future improvements as well as overstimted his current potential in order to have be a Soul Sage in time for the tournament.

 Chapter 321.3: The Strongest Member of The Body Sect

    Was Long Aotian the same? Definitely not. As a disciple of the Body Sect, how could he possibly reach such the Unity of Heaven and Man realm through medicine? His cultivation was achieved through his own hard work and effort. Such a Soul Sage, a Soul Sage from the Body Sect, was very scary! His four ten thousand year soul rings were even superior to the Unbreakable Douluo beside him.

    Zheng Zhan only had four ten thousand year soul rings.

    The Body Sect actually had such a strong individual among their ranks. The expression of everyone from Tang Sect changed. Even Xu Tianran, Jing Hongchen and the mysterious Imperial Tutor were all affected when they saw Long Aotian¡¯s seven soul rings. Their auras started to undte.

    Before Long Aotian had surfaced, Wang Qiu¡¯er was recognized as the strongest in this tournament. Her fighting strength was the best. However, those who were sharp could tell that Long Aotian was superior to Wang Qiu¡¯er even before he made a move. They just didn¡¯t know what his martial soul was.

    A hundred meters was nothing to Long Aotian. He took only a second to move this distance.

    He didn¡¯t perform any superfluous actions or unleash any of his soul skills. He raised his right hand and mimicked a pressing action towards Huo Yuhao.

    Suddenly, the entire stage started to gently shake. Huo Yuhao sensed that his opponent wasn¡¯t just Long Aotian, but the air within the protective barriers around the stage. Even the sunlight became a part of his opponent¡¯s attack.

    Even though nothing weird had happened yet, Huo Yuhao felt a huge change urring.

    Was this a fighting technique in the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. Even Long Aotian was a little stunned. He wondered why Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t fearful or panicky, but excited.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and formed a fist, then shuddered slightly. Following this, a golden projection separated from his body. He also turned golden, just like a golden sculpture.

    This golden projection was slender. Although it was illusory, her appearance made Long Aotian feel that the pressure he was putting on Huo Yuhao was being borne by this projection.

    She looked a little familiar. Three pairs of wings opened behind her, and her long hair flowed. She punched with her right hand and blocked Long Aotian¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Plop¡ª¡ª¡±

    There was no tremendous collision. When both parties contacted each other, Long Aotian¡¯s attack seemed to have been retracted. The fist of the golden projection also developed an indescribable, whirlpool-like glow that seemed able to engulf everything.

    Two beams of light, golden and white-jade, blew apart after a momentary silence. They changed into two light barriers that stuck close to each other as they rippled.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to really be a statue as he sat in his wheelchair. There wasn¡¯t a single change in him. The golden projection in front of him was also crushed as the beams of light blew apart.

    Long Aotian didn¡¯t move a single inch. However, there was a look of shock in his eyes.

    It was definitely not a soul skill. It was a fighting technique. What fighting technique was it? It wasn¡¯t the Sovereign¡¯s Descent that Huo Yuhao had inherited from the Dragon God Douluo!

    Even with Long Aotian¡¯s cultivation, he couldn¡¯t continue to advance as they shed. In the next instant, the golden projection re-formed. She retracted her left hand and extended her right hand. As she tugged and pulled, a pure golden whirlpool with a diameter of around one foot flew out from the hands of the golden projection, barreling towards Long Aotian.

    Long Aotian took a step back and raised his right arm. His palm straightened like a de. Suddenly, his entire arm and body turned a jade color. Behind him, a twisted de formed bypressed air lit up and shed.

    ¡°ChiÒ»Ò»¡± There was a deafening screech in the air. The golden whirlpool was destroyed, but the jade de light was also crushed.

    This time, Long Aotian retreated half a step again, whereas Huo Yuhao was bleeding from his nose and mouth.

    While it seemed like a simple collision, it was actually more dangerous and scary than using soul skills.

    After the golden projection was crushed again, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was alreadypletely pale. He retracted his right arm to his chest before pushing it out again. The golden projection took form again. This time, the projection sped her palms before her chest. An austere aura was released.

    Long Aotian¡¯s expression turned serious. After entering the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, his senses were probably superior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s even if his spiritual power wasn¡¯tparable. His sense of crisis was especially acute.

    When that golden projection took form in front of Huo Yuhao again, Long Aotian only felt his heart shrinking. After that, his heart beat extremely quickly, and he started perspiring profusely. Even with his cultivation, he still broke out in a cold sweat. It was as if he were being targeted by a venomous snake that could kill him with one bite.

    How¡¯s it possible? His cultivation is definitely below mine. He has also been greatly exhausted. Why is he giving me such a feeling?

    Although Long Aotian was shocked, he didn¡¯t slow down. He pointed his toes to the ground and he flipped backward.

    At the same time, his arms drew a huge circle in front of his body. His entire body turned jade-white, and hisplexion glowed. Behind him, a silver-white human figure quickly took form. It was the second awakening of his body soul. It was a Silver-ranked awakening.

    In fact, Elder Mu wasn¡¯t even sure whether the second awakening of body souls in the Body Sect could evolve. The highest level of second awakening right now was the Whitesilver level. Only a person with his second awakening in the Whitesilver level could transcend the level of a Titled Douluo and evolve to the Gold level.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment was very urate. Long Aotian was the strongest among the younger generation in the Body Sect. He was likely to inherit the position of the leader of the Body Sect in the future. His status in the Body Sect was very high; it was even superior to many elders.

    After seeing Long Aotian¡¯s second awakening of his Body Soul, everyone from the Snowdemon Sect in the waiting area couldn¡¯t help but stand up. They didn¡¯t understand why he would do this even though he was at an advantage.

    At this point, the projection in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body moved. She swept her sped palms forward, and a thin, golden light shot out. Wherever the light passed, no ripples were created. Not even a sound could be heard. Without looking carefully, it was almost impossible to detect it. At least no spectator was able to see this golden light. It even seemed to absorb the light that it refracted.

    Long Aotian had a grave look on his face. When the golden light shed, even his soul felt a piercing pain. This was an attack that he couldn¡¯t possibly dodge. He refused to use an Invincible Barrier to protect himself. As the strongest individual in the younger generation of the Body Sect, he was a firm believer that martial souls were still stronger than soul tools.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡±

    The protective white light around Long Aotian¡¯s body was like a rubber ball that had been pricked. It instantly blew apart and turn into a white glow that quickly dispersed. He groaned and shuddered. The white lights around his body started to surge.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in the best condition on the other side either. After unleashing this attack, the projection in front of him instantly dimmed and disappeared. He was very pale, and was relying on his wheelchair to keep himself from copsing. He was panting, and the light in his Spirit Eyes had also dimmed slightly.

    However, he was still staring at his opponent. He sighed in his heart. It was his first time using this ultimate technique. However, the result¡­

    ¡°PlopÒ»Ò»¡± Long Aotian¡¯s body started to jerk tremendously, and he spat out blood. The blood that he spat out was a little weird. After spitting it out, it immediately changed into countless blood arrows that scattered and let out a series of sizzles. As itnded on the ground, it formed small holes, but the depth of these holes couldn¡¯t be determined.

    His body jerked slightly, and he also looked slightly pale. When he looked at Huo Yuhao again, his expression was very serious. He lifted his right hand, and a milky-white glow appeared.

    Brother Long is hurt? Everyone from the Snowdemon Sect was astonished. It seemed like he was in rather bad shape. They also didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to weaken Long Aotian at thest moment.

    ¡°I concede defeat.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s weak voice sounded. He signaled towards Zheng Zhan.

    After winning two consecutive fights, Huo Yuhao finally lost to the most outstanding youth from the Body Sect. Although Long Aotian didn¡¯t use his full abilities in this fight, he was still hurt by Huo Yuhao¡¯sst attack.

    Wang Dong¡¯er rushed up the stage immediately. She came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, and he smiled at her to show that he was fine. When Wang Dong¡¯er was about to push him off the stage, Long Aotian suddenly said, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at him. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes were filled with caution and hostility. Long Aotian¡¯s abilities were beyond what they had expected.

    Long Aotian looked at Huo Yuhao with a deep gaze. ¡°Can I ask if the golden projection was a fighting technique that you invented?¡±

    Huo Yuhao slowly nodded.

    Long Aotian said, ¡°You are strong. Among those of the same generation, you are the most creative opponent I¡¯ve met. It¡¯s a pity that your body is restricting your abilities. Otherwise, you¡¯d probably be the strongest opponent I¡¯ve ever met. If there¡¯s a day you can stand up, I hope to fight you in your best state.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°You¡¯ll have that opportunity.¡± When he said that, his eyes seemed to be dazzling. He had given his all in this fight and curbed his opponent several times. However, he still fell short in the end. But there was still the team round. More importantly, he hadn¡¯t revealed all his trump cards. Otherwise, what were they going to do against the Holy Ghost Sect?

 Chapter 322: Yamas Invitation

    Huo Yuhao knew that Long Aotian was much stronger than him, but that he still had a fighting chance. After fighting Long Aotian, he had gained a deeper understanding of his abilities. If he could regain his mobility and absorb all the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body, his cultivation would reach the level of a Soul Emperor. When that happened, he was confident of challenging Long Aotian through his various fighting methods.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao off the stage and immediately stood behind him to massage his shoulders. Huo Yuhao also had a Milk Bottle in his hand, and started to recover his soul power.

    Even though he had lost this fight, the Tang Sect still held the advantage. Among the three who hadpeted from the Snowdemon Sect, Chen Lu was definitely unable topete in the team round. This meant that they were already a man down for the team round.

    Xu Sanshi stood up. It was the first time he was so serious in this tournament. The strength of his opponent also motivated his own fighting will.

    ¡°Secondpeting member from the Tang Sect, pleasee up to the stage.¡± Zheng Zhan seemed to be a little lost after witnessing such an exciting fight. However, he still continued to manage the proceedings of this individual elimination round.

    Xu Sanshi was about to walk up to the stage, but he heard a voice calling, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    He was a little puzzled as he stopped. He turned to Jiang Nannan beside him.

    Jiang Nannan stood up and looked at him with a passionate gaze. She said softly, ¡°Return safely.¡± As she spoke, she hugged Xu Sanshi¡¯s neck in front of everyone before pecking him on the cheek.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned. Xiao Xiao was the shyest among the threedies of the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. However, Jiang Nannan was the most conservative. He was lucky when she was willing to hold his hand. Even if he pestered her for a month, he might not even be able to kiss her.

    However, Jiang Nannan now took the initiative to kiss him in front of everyone. Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t encouraging him to win.

    She had asked him to return safely. It was just a simple few words! However, Xu Sanshi¡¯s blood surged.

    He hugged Jiang Nannan tightly and let out a loud whistle. He stomped his right foot on the ground and jumped up onto the stage

    He was too excited. He was even blushing slightly. His entire aura also seemed a little unstable. However, this instability made him seem like a volcano that was about to erupt. He was under great pressure.

    He took big steps forward and came to the center of the stage. He nodded at the referee.

    In the Tang Sect¡¯s waiting area, Bei Bei gave Jiang Nannan a thumbs-up. Everyone from the Tang Sect knew that Jiang Nannan was the greatest motivation for Xu Sanshi. Jiang Nannan was his greatest weakness, but she was also a catalyst to him.

    Xiao Xiaoughed. She copied Jiang Nannan¡¯s gentle voice and said, ¡°Return safely.¡±

    Jiang Nannan blushed. ¡°I hope that everyone can return safely.¡±

    Bei Bei teased, ¡°Then you should give me a kiss when Ipeteter and tell me to return safely. Alright?¡±

    Jiang Nannan snapped, ¡°Bei Bei, keep dreaming. Xiao Ya is watching.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned stiff. Heughed bitterly and shook his head.

    Jiang Nannan appeared very apologetic after she said that, and hurriedly said, ¡°Sorry, I¡­¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll make sure Xiao Ya returns safely as well.¡± As he said this, there was a strong sense of belief that came from him. However, everyone could feel how desperate he was.

    Bei Bei turned to Huo Yuhao and softly asked, ¡°Yuhao, what is his martial soul?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°His martial soul should be his skin. It¡¯s very rare among body souls. Imunicated this to second senior earlier.¡±

    Bei Bei furrowed his brow. ¡°Does that mean that he has no ws?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°He is really strong. He must have invented his own fighting skill, and even has a very deepprehension of it. His cultivation has even reached the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man. To him, soul skills won¡¯t make a big difference. His body is his strongest soul skill. He¡¯s very scary.¡±

    After he finished saying this, he shut his eyes and continued to replenish his soul power. In his mind, scenes of his fight with Long Aotian also reyed continuously, especially thest sh between them.

    Ancestor Tang San, I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t able to carry on the Tang Sect¡¯s reputation of having the best, top-ranked hidden weapons on the continent. However, I only used half of the power of that ultimate technique. He would have died if it were paired with lethal poison.

    If Yama tells someone to die, no one will dare to dy. This ultimate technique was ranked third among the Three Great Hidden Weapon Techniques of the Tang Sect that Tang San left in the Poison Scripture, Yama¡¯s Invitation!

    Yama¡¯s Invitation, a hidden weapon that could chase one¡¯s soul and seize it forcibly!

    Huo Yuhao had used his self-invented Goddess of Light¡¯s fighting technique to imitate Yama¡¯s Invitation. This had depleted all his remaining soul power. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have conceded defeat.

    Long Aotian was too strong. There was no way he could have weakened him without using such a method. Long Aotian was a seven-ringed Soul Sage who could exhibit a Martial Soul True Body. If everyone from the Tang Sect onlypeted based on their order, they might have to pay a huge price even if they could defeat him. If that happened, what would they do in the team roundter on?

    This was why Huo Yuhao had sacrificed all his soul power to use the Yama¡¯s Invitation.

    Although Long Aotian managed to resist his attack, he was still eventually hurt. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could also confirm that he was hurt quite badly.

    Yama¡¯s Invitation had two deadly ways to kill its target.

    The first was lethal poison. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t had time to research the poison chapter that Tang San left behind in depth. As a result, he couldn¡¯t re-create the true Yama¡¯s Invitation. That was why he couldn¡¯t truly utilise this deadly technique. This was why he said he¡¯d only exhibited a part of Yama¡¯s Invitation.

    The second one was the actual Yama¡¯s Invitation. There was a special technique to unleash it. It fused the Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, Purple Demon Eyes, Mysterious Heaven Technique, Mysterious Jade Hands and many other abilities. It also greatly depleted one¡¯s soul power. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t matter what rank a soul master was in ¨C the depletion would be equally great. It was just that the strength of Yama¡¯s Invitation would increase depending on one¡¯s cultivation.

    The actual Yama¡¯s Invitation couldn¡¯t be avoided. Once it entered the opponent¡¯s body, it would immediately be crushed before it coursed through it at a frightening speed. Even without any lethal poison, it was still very terrifying. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be among the Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation, and even be the third-ranked throwing-type hidden weapon.

    Huo Yuhao had unleashed the second effect of Yama¡¯s Invitation earlier. Long Aotian had used the strength of his body soul, which had undergone its second awakening, to reduce the majority of the impact force from Huo Yuhao¡¯s partial Yama¡¯s Invitation. He had also dispelled the part of Yama¡¯s Invitation that was formed using Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual and soul power. However, the crushed Yama¡¯s Invitation still gave him great trouble after it entered his body.

    When he spat out that mouthful of blood, he had used his soul power and control over his body to force the Yama¡¯s Invitation out of his body.

    However, Yama¡¯s Invitation was very strong. Even though he had forced it out of his body, his passageways were still bound to be hurt. They weren¡¯t lightly hurt either.

    Right now, the next fight on the stage had already begun.

    As the referee signaled the start of the fight, Xu Sanshi immediately unleashed his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle and charged towards his opponent.

    Right now, he was very energetic, and his aura was pressing. His eyes appeared very sharp. There was only one thought in his mind. If I perform well, will Nannan give me further rewards?

    In the waiting area, Jiang Nannan was a little worried as she saw Xu Sanshi charging towards his opponent. She asked, ¡°Bei Bei, will he be fine?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and answered her, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you trust his abilities? While his opponent is strong, he is adept at defending. This is the best kind of fight for him. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t do any better than him. Especially after your encouragement earlier, I believe he¡¯ll be able to unleash his full abilities. Don¡¯t worry. When this guy is serious, he can be better than anyone.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Nannan nodded gently. She focused on the two on the stage, who were getting closer and closer to each other.

    Long Aotian acted as if nothing had happened in his previous fight against Huo Yuhao. He continued to slide forward as usual. The feeling of the Unity of Heaven and Man appeared once again.

    Xu Sanshi felt the pressure that Huo Yuhao had felt earlier. His opponent¡¯s omnipresent and integrative aura was very ufortable.

    However, Xu Sanshi wouldn¡¯t fight his opponent using fighting techniques. They weren¡¯t what he was good at. He ced his shield in front of him to protect himself. They were about to sh.

    Long Aotian wasn¡¯t the one who made the first move. Instead, it was Xu Sanshi. When Long Aotian was ten meters away from him, he stomped on the ground with his right leg and stopped himself in his tracks. His third soul ring shone, and his shield surged with ck light. His aura instantly became very cold and eerie.

    As he pushed his shield forward, his first soul ring shone slightly after his third soul ring. Layers of ck light started to surge outward. These lights were like bubbles that rushed towards Long Aotian like ovepping waves.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s third soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Force, and his first soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    When he used the Mysterious Underworld Quake this time, it didn¡¯t provide him all-around control and defense. Instead, it was focused in one direction. As he unleashed it with all his strength, theyers of ck light resisted the pressure that Long Aotian brought to him.

    This was Xu Sanshi¡¯s true ability. He was one of the Gemini from Shrek Academy in the past. Even Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had never seen him go all-out before.

    Long Aotian snorted and swept his right hand upward. A white de formed out of thin air. Suddenly, the ck bubbles were crushed as they encountered the de. Xu Sanshi¡¯s quaking force was unable to reach Long Aotian. However, Long Aotian was stalled as he was attacked.

    After the white de of air got close to Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield, it was eventually dissipated by the Mysterious Underworld Quake. Long Aotian lifted his right arm and mimicked a pressing action towards Xu Sanshi with his palm. Suddenly, a white, palm-shaped glow spread. This palm-shaped glowpletely stopped the Mysterious Underworld Quake that had re-formed after it was destroyed. In addition, it also forced its way closer to Xu Sanshi.

    ck and white were clearly separated. Long Aotian¡¯s attack seemed unstoppable, and quickly arrived in front of the Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡±

    The white palm-shaped glow scattered. Amidst the tremendous boom, Xu Sanshi retreated. He staggered backward, and his footsteps seemed a little messy.

    Long Aotian was unforgiving. He stepped forward with his left leg and formed a fist before striking again. This time, it was a fist-shaped glow which seemed even stronger. The glow, which was more than a meter in diameter, quickly reached the staggering Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield tilted slightly to one side. Under the effect of the Mysterious Underworld Force, the surface of the shield shone withyers of pitch-ck light.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± Another loud boom sounded. Xu Sanshi retreated seven to eight steps this time. He even lifted his shield as it was jerked to one side.

    Long Aotian attacked with his right fist.

    Xu Sanshi did something unexpected this time. He squatted down and tilted his shield upward.

    ¡°Bang.¡± When the fist-shaped glow scattered, a huge patch of white light could be seen above Xu Sanshi. However, he rolled over from this fist.

    His shield seemed to grow on his body. Even when he rolled, the shield still protected him. He rolled for several dozen meters before he managed to get up, and when he stood up, he still retreated a few steps.

    After three consecutive strikes, Xu Sanshi appeared very disheveled. However, Long Aotian squinted his eyes and smiled. He said, ¡°Good.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s held his shield in front of him and groaned, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me that I¡¯m good. Come on!¡± As he said, he hooked his left hand to bait Long Aotian to attack him.

    Long Aotian didn¡¯t make a sound. He pointed his left foot toward the ground. This time, he reached maximum speed. His body shed before he was immediately in front of Xu Sanshi. As he unleashed his palms, intense white light seemed to turn his entire body into a burning white color.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was crushed. Xu Sansh groaned as he was pushed back.

    However, it was only the firstyer of the shield that was crushed. After the firstyer was crushed, Long Aotian¡¯s strength destroyed the secondyer, followed by the thirdyer¡­

    In front of Xu Sanshi, his shield seemed to turn into countlessyers. Furthermore, he was also retreating continuously.

 Chapter 323.1: Xuanwus Domain

    Right now, those who were sharp could tell some clues. While Xu Sanshi was retreating, he wasn¡¯tpletely at a disadvantage. Every step that he took was timed at the perfect instant when the impact force from his opponent was the strongest. His defensive control against an opponent¡¯s attack had reached a wless level. When he retreated, his shield also changed continuously. Everyyer that was crushed weakened the attack of his opponent.

    Long Aotian knew it best. Even with his control, he couldn¡¯t stop Xu Sanshi from weakening his attack. It seemed like his opponent was an old turtle who would never perish even in the face of the most brutal thunderstorms. He would only hide within his own shell.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi kept on retreating. Long Aotian¡¯s attack was unceasing, while he was struggling to stay alive.

    His second and third soul rings shone at the same time. He used the Mysterious Underworld Shield as a series of defensiveyers. It worked very simrly to the Mysterious Underworld Quake, especially because he had to control everyyer properly to resist Long Aotian¡¯s attack.

    The Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi. He was living up to his name now.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± A loud explosion resonated, and Xu Sanshi was flung back along with his shield. He retreated more than twenty meters this time before he crashed to the ground. He staggered a few steps again before he neutralized the impact force that had struck him.

    On the other side, Long Aotian also stopped, and the look in his eyes became sharper.

    What a troublesome fellow to deal with. Long Aotian cursed in his heart. Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment was right. The strength of Yama¡¯s Invitation was beyond what Long Aotian had expected. Although he had forced the Yama¡¯s Invitation out from his body, his passageways were still damaged. He was also greatly depleted because he had gathered too much of his soul power earlier.

    While the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man was very strong, its depletion of Long Aotian¡¯s soul power was also very great. After the series of attacks, his passageways were hurting. To prevent his injury from worsening, he took it down a notch. Xu Sanshi seems to have been flung away, but Long Aotian knew that he was exploiting the momentum of his attack to spring back. However, Long Aotian didn¡¯t stop him either. He also needed this time to catch his breath.

    Is everyone from the Tang Sect so difficult to deal with? Long Aotian breathed in deeply and tried to repress his internal pain. He retracted the burning white glow around his body. Finally, one of his seven soul rings lit up.

    He¡¯s not using his abilities in the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man anymore? Beneath the stage, Huo Yuhao brightened as he monitored the fight.

    Long Aotian¡¯s transformations verified his guesses. Even though Long Aotian wasn¡¯t any weaker as he unleashed his soul skills, his injuries should be quite bad, since he was no longer in the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man. He was tapping into his soul skills to increase his fighting strength.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao also knew that Long Aotian was scariest when he fused his realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man and his soul skills with the second awakening of his body soul.

    Second senior, hang in there!

    His first soul ring shone, and Long Aotian¡¯s body made some weird changes. He started to bulge, and was now much bigger than before.

    Following this, his third soul ring also shone. There was now anotheryer of dark-golden glow on his skin.

    Unleashing these two soul skills caused his aura to be stronger and stronger.

    Everyone could tell that his first soul skill was used to enhance his strength, speed and other traits. His third soul skill was used to increase his body¡¯s tenacity, as if he were making his body metallic. Of course, it was more advanced than that.

    Right now, Long Aotian seemed as if he had an extrayer of dark-golden armor on his body. As he unleashed these two soul skills at the same time, he was already charging towards Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t retreat this time. His fifth soul ring lit up. Suddenly, a pair of crimson-red eyes opened on his shield. Turtle God¡¯s Strike.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± Two figures shed in the air. Xu Sanshi seemed to have be stronger. As they shed, his entire body was dyedpletely ck.

    However, Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯tpare to Long Aotian in terms of absolute cultivation. He was still the one who was sent flying back.

    ¡°Enjoyable!¡± Xu Sanshi shouted, though there was already a streak of blood on the side of his lips. However, the look in his eyes became even more incisive.

    Long Aotian, who was slightly dyed by the collision, charged forward again. He came in front of Xu Sanshi and smashed his left fist down. At the same time, he raised his right hand up high.

    A weird scene urred. As his second soul ring shone, his right arm was distorted and turned into a long, golden de.

    As his left fist collided with the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, Xu Sanshi immediately staggered back. However, the shield was still protecting his body. However, the dark-golden de shed like a bolt of lightning at the next moment.

    Long Aotian¡¯s actions were extremely swift. He didn¡¯t give Xu Sanshi a chance to avoid him.

    As Xu Sanshi tilted his shield, he tried his best to block the direct attack of the dark-golden de. However, the de was too sharp. With a ng, the de stabbed straight into Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield.

    Xu Sanshi groaned. When a martial soul was hurt, it was no different from hurting the soul master. At times, the soul master might even be more critically injured.

    After the dark-golden de stabbed into the shield, it expanded in size and seemed topletely mount itself to the shield. Long Aotian pulled the shield, attempting to drag Xu Sanshi towards him. At this point, his left arm had already changed its form. It turned into a dark-golden hammer, and smacked down ferociously.

    Xu Sanshi had no other choice now. He squatted down and used his shield to protect his body.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡±

    These two consecutive blows were too strong. As the hammer pounded the shield, Long Aotian¡¯s de and the shield finally separated. There were many marks on the shield now, and it seemed on the verge of being torn apart. Xu Sanshi also spat out blood as he retreated.

    Long Aotian stretched his arms to his sides, and his fourth soul ring lit up. Once he started his all-out attack, he wasn¡¯t going to give Xu Sanshi a chance anymore.

    He only decided to use such a ferocious method to defeat Xu Sanshi because he was very difficult to deal with. Not only would this save time, but it would also helped to conserve his soul power.

    Something weird happened. Long Aotian grew in size again. But this time, it seemed as if he were noodle that was being stretched out. He reached more than four meters in height. As he extended his arms upward, he was like a piece of dark-golden metal that had been stretched after it melted.

    Long Aotian continued to grow, and was soon more than five meters tall. Both his arms then sped together, and changed into a huge ax.

    It was actually possible to use a body soul in this manner? Changing one¡¯s body into different forms?

    Long Aotian¡¯s fighting style was very special. At least, no one was like him in this tournament.

    Long Aotian pulled his ax back and burst towards Xu Sanshi. This strike was bound to be astonishing. The burning white that had covered his body earlier surfaced once again. This was his fourth soul skill in the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man, the Berserk Godsh.

    Long Aotian wanted to use this strike to end Xu Sanshi and this fight.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned. He didn¡¯t even try to dodge. He only stood there, rooted in ce.

    The ax was about to chop down. Suddenly, Xu Sanshi smiled. A very arrogant and confident smile.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    As the ax shed down, Xu Sanshi and his shield were split in two. However, they then turned into a patch of ck fluid.

    When the fluid spread, the stage suddenly darkened, and the ground turnedpletely ck. A huge amount of ck water surged, and waves were formed almost instantly. The entire stage had suddenly turned into a ck ocean.

    Long Aotian had exploited his momentum in the air to unleash his attack. Moreover, he was a seven-ringed Soul Sage, and could fly using his soul power. But no matter how strong an ax was, how useful was it in water?

    An astonished look appeared on Long Aotian¡¯s face again. He had been locked onto Xu Sanshi a second ago. However, everything seemed to change when he struck his opponent.

    Is this¡­ is this a domain-type soul skill?

    Long Aotian took in a deep breath. Just like how the Tang Sect hadn¡¯t expected the Body Sect to have someone as strong as him, he hadn¡¯t expected to meet someone from the Tang Sect who was so difficult to deal with.

    As the ck waves surged, a figure formed from the ck water, rising amidst the waves.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s voice sounded from all directions. ¡°While your attack is strong, you can¡¯t ovee water. Water is the strongest defense. If you want to ovee my defense, show me what you¡¯ve got.¡±

    A huge shield appeared in the sky. The body of the shield was pitch-ck, but it exuded an eerie, ck wave of gas above it as well. This shield was more than three meters in diameter, and the shell and horn of the turtle on this shield were very obvious. At the centermost area of the shield, there was a ck snake on top of the turtle. If not for its ruby-red eyes, its figure would have been concealed by the ckness of the shield.

    At this moment, the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle no longer existed. There was only the Xuanwu Shield!

    The ck water was Xu Sanshi¡¯s domain. It was also his sixth soul skill, Xuanwu¡¯s Domain.

 Chapter 323.2: Xuanwus Domain

    Even among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Bei Bei was the only one who knew about his sixth soul skill. After years of tireless cultivation, he also understood that Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t waited for his seventh soul skill, butpleted his control of the Xuanwu through his sixth soul skill. It was his greatest trump card!

    In Xuanwu¡¯s Domain, he was able to fully use his Xuanwu Shield. At the same time, the strength of the Xuanwu Shield would be greatly increased in Xuanwu¡¯s Domain. In this domain, all of Xu Sanshi¡¯s abilities would increase by a hundred percent! Of course, Xuanwu¡¯s Domain required a lot of soul power to maintain...

    As it enhanced him, the domain would also suppress the opponent. This suppression was on two levels, both spiritual and physical.

    The Xuanwu was a divine aquatic beast. As a result, an enemy would face the suppression of water in Xuanwu¡¯s Domain.

    Long Aotian could already feel it. The air disappeared, and everything around him turned very thick. He couldn¡¯t breathe, and the water pressure was rising.

    With Xu Sanshi¡¯s current cultivation, his enemies would have to handle water pressure and resistance equivalent to a depth of twenty meters.

    This was the home ground of the Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi!

    Long Aotian nodded gently as he looked at Xu Sanshi, and even gave him a thumbs-up.

    Those who were strong often developed admiration for one another. However, Long Aotian¡¯s eyes shone very brightly at this moment.

    A silver projection rose behind his back. Thest time it had appeared, it had done so to resist Yama¡¯s Invitation!

    Long Aotian¡¯s body jerked, and he forced the water pressure around him away. His fifth ck soul ring shone at this point. His body lit up in a burning white me, like he had set himself on fire.

    His fourth soul skill was the Berserk Godsh. His fifth soul skill was named the Transformation of Heaven and Earth!

    Long Aotian began to spin in ce like a drill, his bodypletely contorted. As he spiraled rapidly, he started to rise. The water pressure of Xuanwu¡¯s Domain was forced away by his spiraling motion. Even though Xu Sanshi used all his strength to suppress his opponent, he could only watch as Long Aotian gained altitude.

    Right now, Long Aotian¡¯s aura was very dangerous.

    Huo Yuhao could tell that Long Aotian was finally at his strongest state.

    Second Awakening of his body soul, Unity of Heaven and Man, and soul skills. All three hade together.

    Xu Sanshi was only a Soul Emperor. His Xuanwu¡¯s Domain wasn¡¯t strong enough topletely trap this opponent!

    Long Aotian used his domineering abilities to drive himself out of Xuanwu domain. He escaped the domain, and instantly shot into the sky.

    Of course, this was also because there weren¡¯t any restrictions on the height of the venue. If they had followed the rules of thest tournament, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible for him tounch himself into the sky.

    Long Aotian was like a huge ball of incandescent light as he rose into the sky. After he rocketed more than a hundred meters up, he suddenly stopped. The ball of burning light turned, and then plummeted down with an unstoppable and ferocious momentum.

    Unity of Heaven and Man, Transformation of Heaven and Earth! This was the true meaning behind this strike!

    As he saw this, Huo Yuhao finally gained an understanding of Long Aotian¡¯s abilities. When Long Aotian chose to use his soul skills, his impressive fighting techniques gave his attacks incredible explosive power. Long Aotian¡¯s first and third soul skills were used to strengthen himself. The purpose of the rest was to increase his destructive power to the limit. The strength of his current attack was alreadyparable to the attack of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    Every time a soul master advanced to the next level, the difference from his previous level was substantial. The higher one advanced, the more obvious the difference would be. Although Long Aotian was extremely gifted, he must have had sacrificed a lot in order to be a Soul Sage. He had also suffered a lot, and he was the only one who knew just how much. He hadn¡¯t had a childhood, but instead sacrificed everything for his cultivation to achieve what he was today. Even so, he had only just be a Soul Sage. Although he had only just be a Soul Sage, he had managed to increase his destructive power to the level of a Soul Douluo without using his Martial Soul True Body. His abilities were truly extraordinary!

    Many soul masters¡¯ soul skills were named after meteors. However, Long Aotian¡¯s current attack was more like a real meteor!

    Xu Sanshi drifted in his own domain and had a stern look on his face. He lifted his Xuanwu¡¯s Shield up high, and ck light surged out. The entire domain started to revolve rapidly. It was like a ck whirlpool was being generated.

    The Transformation of Heaven and Earth came crashing down. When it charged into the domain, it even caused white smoke to surface. The domain seemed react to this attack like a living being. It quickly rose, revolved, attenuated, and diverted Long Aotian¡¯s attack. It was attempting to suppress the violent assault!

    At this instant, Xu Sanshi did something no one expected.

    ck light shed, and someone else switched ces with him. There was no way he could lock onto Long Aotian in that state, and thus he was naturally not the one being switched over. There was only one other person apart from Xu Sanshi and Long Aotian on the stage...

    ¡°I concede defeat! Referee, please protect me!¡± Xu Sanshi appeared on one side of the stage. He was even shouting shamelessly.

    Xuanwu¡¯s Domain quickly subsided. The Transformation of Heaven and Earth that was being suppressed also blew apart.

    BOOM!

    It was an unprecedented explosion, a mushroom cloud even formed. Heaven and earth were transformed. The protective barriers around the stage shone extremely brightly, forced into their strongest defensive mode.

    A white barrier opened up, and the white light that struck the barrier was dispelled by the intense undtions generated by the barrier. The impact in this direction was also the smallest.

    As he resisted Long Aotian¡¯s attack, Zheng Zhan¡¯s jaw was clenched so hard he almost broke his teeth! That bastard! How dare he use me? However, he had no other choice now. Xu Sanshi was most cunning in the way he had conceded defeat at the same time he switched ces with Zheng Zhan. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong in being protected by the referee after conceding defeat.

    The Transformation of Heaven and Earth¡¯s suppression of his domain wasn¡¯t enough to let Long Aotian lock onto him, and so gave him an opportunity to use the Mysterious Underworld Discement.

    Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had already nned it out earlier. They could rely on Huo Yuhao¡¯s two victories in the individual elimination round. With those two victories, the Tang Sect could request that they enter the team round as long as they won one more individual elimination round. This also meant that they only needed to defeat Long Aotian!

    However, they didn¡¯t have to be impatient about it. Even if they didn¡¯t win this round, they still had five more opportunities. Bei Bei, Wang Dong¡¯er, and He Caitou had yet topete.

    That was why Xu Sanshi¡¯s aim was very simple; probe the abilities of his opponent and deplete him at the same time. He just needed to conserve his own strength for the team round.

    Xuanwu¡¯s Domain had been unleashed, and the Xuanwu Shield had evolved and mutated. Xu Sanshi had been extremely high-spirited. Almost everyone thought that he was going to fight all out with Long Aotian. Long Aotian had also believed that, and used his strongest strike. Who knew that Xu Sanshi would be so shameless, and switch with the referee before conceding defeat?

    Even though Huo Yuhao had countless fighting strategies, he couldn¡¯t use shameless tactics like Xu Sanshi!

    The explosionsted for seven to eight seconds before it ended. The spectators were horrified to see a huge depression in the center of the stage that spanned more than fifty meters in diameter. Only the area that the Unbreakable Douluo had protected was in better shape. The depth of the depression couldn¡¯t be seen from beneath the stage. However, those on the main stage could tell that it was five meters deep! The stage was actually made of high-quality granite reinforced with steel tes. How strong did the impact have to be in order to form this huge depression?!

    The watching Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression also changed greatly at this point. Even though Xiao Hongchen and Long Aotian both had seven rings, he knew that Long Aotian was definitely superior to Xiao Hongchen. This also meant that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy would have also faced trouble if they had advanced and met the Snowdemon Sect.

    Long Aotian appeared at the core of the explosion. He was half-kneeling on the ground, his hair flowing on both sides of his head. Right now, he resembled a God of War.

    Long Aotian¡¯s expression was very dismal as he slowly got up. His face was pale as he looked at Xu Sanshi, who was looking over curiously. He furiously shouted, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dare to fight me?¡±

    Xu Sanshi leisurely said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t dare to, it¡¯s that I don¡¯t want to. Why must I fight all out with you?¡±

    ¡°Coward!¡± Long Aotian said coldly. ¡°You¡¯re not fit to be my opponent!¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed. ¡°That¡¯s funny! You¡¯ve fried your brain from cultivating too much. For such a fellow like you without any strategy, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be anything sessful in the future! A real strong individual must be fine up here.¡± He tapped his own head meaningfully.

    Long Aotian¡¯s aura was a little unbnced. His monstrous attack had depleted a lot of his energy, and even caused his previous injury to rpse. There was a prickling pain between his chest and belly.

    ¡°The Snowdemon Sect wins.¡± The Unbreakable Douluo red at Xu Sanshi. Before he could say more, Xu Sanshi had already jumped off from the stage. He didn¡¯t want to be cursed at!

    Long Aotian leapt out of the depression. He looked coldly towards the Tang Sect in their waiting area and said, ¡°Next!¡±

 Chapter 323.3: Xuanwus Domain

    Chapter 323.3: Xuanwu''s Domain

    He¡¯s indeed very strong! Bei Bei was very impressed. Long Aotian had defeated both Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi consecutively, and acted as if nothing had happened. He even asked for the nextpetitor to take the stage. His abilities were indeed extraordinary.

    In the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s waiting area, Princess Wei Na suddenly stood up and said to the Unbreakable Douluo, ¡°Referee, can we request that the stage be repaired, now that it¡¯s in such bad shape. Otherwise, the spectators won¡¯t be able to watch the uing fights.¡±

    Indeed, most of the stage had been destroyed. The center of the stage had turned into a huge hole and looked extremely battered. There was no way to fight on such a stage.

    However, time was needed to repair the stage. This would undoubtedly be very beneficial for the Snowdemon Sect. Long Aotian had been greatly depleted. He could use that time to recover slightly, and continue the individual elimination rounds. He might be able to defeat the whole of the Tang Sect on his own!

    Princess Wei Na was very clever. Bei Bei also stood up and said to the referee, ¡°The stage is indeed badly damaged. However, there shouldn¡¯t be any rest time in the individual elimination rounds, ording to the rules.

    ¡°The Snowdemon Sect just won the previous fight. If repairs are carried out now, it¡¯ll be very unfair to us. Please deal with this issue fairly.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s previous antics left Zheng Zhan extremely unimpressed with the Tang Sect. However, Xu Tianran had personally paid him a visit before this semifinal round. Although the Tang Sect knew many things, the Sun Moon Empire was also aware of these things, since they were the one who had organized this tournament. Many things also became more and more obvious as the tournament reached the quarterfinals.

    To the Sun Moon Empire, the rise of the Tang Sect was indeed a threat. However, the Tang Sect¡¯s threat to them had to be calcted alongside that of Shrek Academy. However, the Body Sect was an even greater threat, considering how they had attacked the Illustrious Virtue Hall before.

    There was deep hatred towards the Body Sect in the Sun Moon Empire. Given a choice, the empire would be more inclined towards the Tang Sect, though it would be best if both teams suffered greatly to pave the way for the Holy Ghost Sect. He would rather let the Holy Ghost Sect win and invite condemnation than to let Shrek or the Body Sect be the champions of this tournament.

    Xu Tianran had the intention of starting a war after this tournament was over. He wasn¡¯t afraid of criticism from the three empires of the continent!

    As a result, Zheng Zhan wouldn¡¯t stand on the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s side, even though he was irked by Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°The stage is indeed greatly damaged. To continue the tournament and to ensure fairness, I¡¯ll personally ensure that the stage is level. The tournament shall continue. Tang Sect, please send up your thirdpeting member.¡±

    As he spoke, Zheng Zhan swiped his right hand, and a ball of white light asrge as a human head flew out. Under his control, this ball of light let out a white glow. It spread out over the stage, quickly engulfing the entire surface.

    As the white light glowed, the damaged stage seemed to be covered by an extrayer of light. The toughness and durability of thisyer were shocking. Long Aotian¡¯s expression also changed, as he couldn¡¯t recognize what ss of soul tool Zheng Zhan was using.

    Crown Prince Xu Tianran nodded slightly and revealed a smile on his face. The Unbreakable Douluo is indeed very adaptable. Yes, I want them to continue fighting!

    Princess Wei Na furrowed her brow. She turned to the Tang Sect and said, ¡°My friends, can we negotiate a little?¡±

    Bei Bei stood up and smiled at Princess Wei Na. He said, ¡°Your Highness, please tell us what you want.¡±

    Wei Na smiled and said, ¡°Although it¡¯s regrettable that we¡¯re fighting each other in this tournament, I¡¯d like to say that our sect respects the Tang Sect very much. Both our sects have obtained two victories as of now. No matter who wins today, the winner still has to continue topete against the enemy in the final. My suggestion is... let¡¯s enter the team round right now. What do you think?¡±

    When she referred to the final, she specifically used the word ¡®enemy¡¯. Although she wasn¡¯t loud, the Holy Ghost Sect in the resting area could definitely hear her. Immediately, a few men in ck stood up. However, their leader, the mysteriousdy in ck, gestured to them, and they sat back down.

    Bei Bei pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, we are willing to go with your idea. Let¡¯s enter the team round then, to decide the victor.¡±

    Bei Bei had thought about it for a moment, and realized that the Snowdemon Sect wouldn¡¯t gain any advantage over them even if they entered the team round right now. While Long Aotian was strong, he was also greatly depleted after fighting two consecutive times. In addition, Chen Lu couldn¡¯t fight right now. This meant that the Snowdemon Sect was fighting them with only six people. On the Tang Sect¡¯s side, Huo Yuhao had quickly restored his soul power. The time he was afforded when Xu Sanshi fought Long Aotian had enabled him to mostly recover.

    After both parties finished their negotiation, they quickly proposed their idea to the Unbreakable Douluo. Wei Na also jumped up on the stage immediately and came up beside Long Aotian. A snow lotus in full bloom appeared in front of her chest. A gentle glow shone down on Long Aotian as she helped restore him.

    While Long Aotian was the strongest in the Snowdemon Sect, Wei Na was the real brains behind the entire team. She could judge things for herself. Long Aotian was depleted after fighting two consecutive times. However, she knew him well enough to know that he wasn¡¯t in bad shape. This senior of hers was a fanatic. At this point, his fighting will had increased to its peak. The only thing troubling him was his earlier injuries. At this point, treating his injuries would greatly help restore his fighting strength. Even though his soul power had been depleted, his opponents were also depleted, just like him.

    The members of both teams ascended to the stage. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao, while Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi walked shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the entire team.

    Long Aotian¡¯s gaze turned sharp again as he saw Xu Sanshi ascending the stage. He snorted furiously. He had nothing but contempt for Xu Sanshi now.

    Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t bothered. He ced one hand on Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder, and even seemed a little delighted. ¡°See? This is how impressive a defense-type soul master is. We are naturally talented in developing hatred!¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°You are right! You are very right. You have a mocking face.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was infuriated. ¡°Bei Bei, how dare you say that I deserve to be beaten up?¡±

    Bei Bei acted innocent. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. You said it yourself!¡±

    As they squabbled like this, the tense atmosphere around Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters suddenly rxed. Bei Bei gestured towards Huo Yuhao as he ced his right hand behind his back.

    Huo Yuhao knew what was going on.

    ---

    Both teams formed a row in the center of the stage.

    Indeed, Chen Lu wasn¡¯tpeting. The Snowdemon Sect, or rather the Body Sect, only had six members, led by Long Aotian.

    Long Aotian was in front of everyone else. Princess Wei Na was behind him, followed by Wang Yanfeng and the rest of the team.

    The spectators had beheld a great show watching the first few individual elimination rounds, especially when they witnessed Long Aotian¡¯s unrivaled abilities and Xu Sanshi¡¯s domain. Both were unprecedented so far in the tournament. Right now, the most intense team round was about to start. The spectators were cheering excitedly, and their fervor was rising.

    ¡°Competing members from both parties, please report your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Bei Bei.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, He Caitou.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xu Sanshi.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Jiang Nannan.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    After Bei Bei returned as the team leader, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters naturally reported their names ording to their seniority.

    On the other side,

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Long Aotian.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Wei Na.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Wang Yanfeng.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Gu Tong.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Jiang Yixi.¡±

    ¡°Snowdemon Sect, Chen Yu.¡±

    Apart from the first three familiar faces, there were three other members from the Snowdemon Sect. Gu Tong was a slender young man with a very delicate appearance. He even seemed a little shy. However, his eyes were especially bright.

    Jiang Yixi was a woman. Her appearance was more ordinary, but her figure was very good. Huo Yuhao first noticed her hands when he observed her. They were bound to capture attention. Her hands were smooth and long, even longer than most men taller than her. Her palms were white and smooth, while her skin was radiating a golden glow. It was obvious that her martial soul was her hands.

    The young man named Chen Yu had a well-developed figure. However, he was strangely hunchbacked. His body curled up slightly, but the look in his eyes was very sharp.

    Both teams lined up in two rows as they observed each other.

    Zheng Zhan said, ¡°From the individual elimination round to the team round, all of you would normally have had some rest. However, this rest time will be voided since the individual elimination rounds weren¡¯t fullypleted and no team attained three victories. The team round is about to start. Both teams, please take up your positions and prepare to fight.¡±

    The members of both teams quickly retreated. They were all very experienced, and had fought alongside their teammates countless times. They didn¡¯t need to arrange any additional fighting strategies,and neatly retreated to their own positions.

    It was a little weird, as they were standing on theyer of light the Unbreakable Douluo had created. It didn¡¯t feel very tough below them, but it wasn¡¯t soft, either. There was only a springy sensation.

    As he retreated, Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Leave Long Aotian to me. Doesn¡¯t he want to fight all-out against me? I¡¯ll do exactly that against him.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°End it quickly. Yuhao,mand us.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. As a control-type soul master with Spiritual Detection, no one was more suitable than him to control the entire situation.

    Very soon, both teams were lined up at their respective sides of the stage.

    Zheng Zhan took a deep breath, a slightlyplex look on his face. These kids were able to make it so intense in the individual elimination rounds. I wonder what it¡¯ll be like in this team round. Anyway, His Highness also told me to let them suffer as much as possible. I shall be less strict in this team round, and let them fight more freely!

    On the other side, Wei Na also instructed her teammates with a few words. After hearing her words, even Long Aotian seemed to calm down.

    ¡°Both parties, please be prepared! Team round: begin!¡±

 Chapter 324.1: The Team Fight--The Tang Sect VS The Snowdemon Sect

    Chapter 324.1: The Team Fight--The Tang Sect VS The Snowdemon Sect

    Zheng Zhan swung his right arm down to announce that the match had officially begun!

    Both teams¡¯ formations immediately changed.

    Long Aotian stood at the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s vanguard, while Wang Yanfeng and Gu Tong stood to either side of him. Jiang Yixi and Chen Yu stood behind them at their sides, the five of them forming a sharp triangle formation. This was an offensive formation, and since Princess Wei Na was their auxiliary-type soul master, so she was positioned behind this triangle. Long Aotian was in front of her, and this meant her defense was practically impregnable.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s formation immediately transformed as well. Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei charged forward side by side, and Jiang Nannan disappeared behind Xu Sanshi in a sh. At least, her opponents couldn¡¯t see her from the front. Xiao Xiao and He Caitou followed behind Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei.

    Wang Dong¡¯er extended her wings. She actually left Huo Yuhao behind as she soared into the air, and flew forward about two meters above everyone else, maintaining reach with both the sky and the ground.

    Huo Yuhao was the one who surprised their adversaries the most.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a move immediately. Instead, he raised his right hand in the air, and therge Starlight Sapphire ring on his finger sparkled as an enormous metal sphere appeared in front of him.

    The metal sphere looked like a giant porcupine. There were arge number of cannon barrels on its surface, and it had eight thick metal legs. These metal legs were arranged around the metal sphere and stuck close to it as they moved stably along the ground.

    Huo Yuhao tapped lightly on its surface with his right hand, and a bright light ray flew out from his forehead as he seized the opportunity to rise into the air.

    The little Snow Lady flew out behind him and pushed him along. They entered the enormous metal sphere.

    ---

    Several people¡¯s expressions changed on the rostrum. The ones with the ckest faces were Xu Tianran and the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about, Hallmaster Hongchen?¡± Xu Tianran uttered these words through the gaps between his gritted teeth.

    The All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress wasn¡¯t one of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s top-secret technologies, but ever since the Illustrious Virtue Hall came up with the design, both the design and the Hall had been personally approved by Xu Tianran as part of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s future main military forces. They had already begun producing the Fortresses in bulk!

    But at this moment, this military equipment that was still being treated as a secret had appeared in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. How could Xu Tianran not be upset?

    Jing Hongchen was also dumbfounded. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s not possible! Huo Yuhao was on exchange at our academy for a while, but I was always guarded against him. It¡¯s impossible for him to have obtained our core technologies and knowledge. Calm down, Your Highness. We will investigate this matter after this. It is likely to have something to do with Xuan Ziwen, our chief researcher who has deserted us. Only he could possibly have known all the data regarding the All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Xu Tianran grunted angrily and shot a dark, cold re at Jing Hongchen. If not for the fact that the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s Hallmaster was highly reputable, and he still had uses for him, Xu Tianran would have ended his life right away with his temper.

    ---

    The Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team members were also greatly astonished as they watched Huo Yuhao enter his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress.

    Everyone was filled with awe and astonishment, but Princess Wei Na¡¯s eyes sparkled.

    What was this toy about? It was sorge and massive, and it looked like every single cannon barrel could fire something different. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how powerful and domineering something like this would be on the battlefield. The Heavenly Soul Empire was already one of the Tang Sect¡¯s biggest customers...

    Huo Yuhao was a beat slower than hispanions. Once he entered his fortress, the enormous sphere that was over three meters in diameter began to move.

    Eight lengthy metal legs stretched out at the same time and raised the self-driving fortress from the ground. The metal nging sounds were clean and crisp, and not a single grinding or rubbing sound could be heard.

    Huo Yuhao had personally refined his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress with Xuan Ziwen, and it was a lot more powerful than the ones that the Sun Moon Empire were mass producing.

    This was also the main reason why Huo Yuhao had dared to expend his soul power before this, and the main reason why he still had the confidence to continue in the group battle. There were six sealed Milk Bottles that Xuan Ziwen had personally crafted inside this fortress, all of them ss 7. Every single one contained ample soul power, and together, they had enough soul power that Huo Yuhao could take part in a small battle without expending any of his own soul power!

    Xuan Ziwen was the one who hade up with sealed Milk Bottles. ss 7 sealed Milk Bottles were at the highest possible ss with his current research progress. Even the Illustrious Virtue Hall only had data and materials for crafting ss 6 sealed Milk Bottles!

    Even though Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t raise his fortress¡¯ offensive abilities to that of a ss 7 soul engineer with his six ss 7 sealed Milk Bottles, he had no problem unleashing and maintaining a ss 6 soul engineer¡¯s offensive prowess for a prolonged period of time. Right now, his role in his team was no longer as simple as just a control-type soul master. He was now part of his team¡¯s offensive front!

    Thirty-two cannon barrels of different shapes and sizes at the top of his fortress were the first to fire. Whistling sounds could be heard as thirty-two orange-red spheres soared into the sky and rained down on his enemies in the distance.

    The fortress¡¯ eight metal legs began to rotate rhythmically in the next moment, and it ran forward in pursuit of his teammates!

    Both forces were about to collide in the center as Huo Yuhao¡¯s thirty-two orange-red cannon shells rained down on his opponents.

    The Tang Sect wasn¡¯t absolutely stronger than their adversaries in terms of personal fighting strength, but the Body Sect would face a great task if they wanted to find someone that understood the usage of soul tools better than Huo Yuhao and He Caitou!

    All six of the Tang Sect¡¯s team who were charging forward halted at the same time. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection shared amongst everyone, they would never misjudge anything at all.

    Long Aotian was still in front of his entire team, and he formed a circle with his hands as an incandescent wave rippled out and swept towards the orange-red shells hammering down on them. He wanted to open a path for his team with his formidable strength.

    However, a peculiar scene urred. The cannon shells paused in midair, and patches of blinding light erupted the moment the white air wave mmed into them.

    Who would have thought that Huo Yuhao¡¯s thirty-two cannon shells weren¡¯t an attack, but instead were shbangs? It wasn¡¯t in line with how soul engineers typically fought. But it was this very fact, that it wasn¡¯t in line with how soul engineers typically fought, that made it easier for the results to show!

    The Tang Sect¡¯s entire team immediately turned around and defended themselves against the shbangs. Their opponents were caught off guard, and their entire field of view went white.

    This was an explosion caused by thirty-two shbangs going off at the same time. There were no dead angles from the front, and three of the people from the Body Sect who were struck by this blinding white light eximed at the same time.

    The shbangs didn¡¯tst for very long. The Tang Sect¡¯s entire team turned around with their eyes closed in the next moment, andunched an assault on their opponents as soon as possible... with their eyes still closed!

    Did they even need to use their eyes? With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they would never pick or recognize the wrong people even if their eyes were shut!

    The eight metal legs on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fortress suddenly straightened and pushed the entire fortress up three meters above the ground. Every single cannon barrel was trained on his opponents, and hundreds of different soul rays and cannons poured out and cascaded against them.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi pounced forward at the same time, going straight for Long Aotian. Jiang Nannan was still hidden behind Xu Sanshi. Huo Yuhao¡¯s n was for the three of them tobine their efforts to take down Long Aotian as quickly as possible!

    Long Aotian was too powerful, and it would be quite a challenge for the Tang Sect to win this group battle if they didn¡¯t deal with their greatest threat first. Huo Yuhao would team up with He Caitou to suppress the rest of the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team so that theirpanions would have that chance.

    Xiao Xiao followed closely behind Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei. Her tremendous Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron appeared out of nowhere and split into three, the three different cauldrons appearing behind Long Aotian. This was equivalent to isting him, while all three cauldrons exploded with a deafening tone at the same time. Cauldron Quake!

    Wang Dong¡¯er soared high into the sky. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s forceful suppressing fire as cover, she flew soundlessly and discreetly towards the backs of her opponents. Her target was Wei Na.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s explosive movement came without warning, but everybody fell into their roles and positions as quickly as was humanly possible. They made use of Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable shbangs and immediately gained the upper hand.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress¡¯ offensive capabilities wereparable to that of a Soul Emperor operating a soul tool fort. Furthermore, he could maintain his fortress for an even longer time. Hundreds of soul rays pressed down like a waterfall, and even the Body Sect¡¯s most powerful individuals had to react with everything they had.

    Wang Yanfeng was following closely behind Long Aotian. His arms instantly swelled up at this moment, resembling two enormous shields as they blocked the soul raysing straight for them.

    He maintained this stance for three seconds, and greenish-bronze light flickered from behind his back. He was forced to unleash his body soul¡¯s Second Awakening!

    He Caitou also released more than ten different soul tools at the same time, and worked together with Huo Yuhao to suppress their opponents. In addition to Xiao Xiao¡¯s isting efforts, there was no question that Long Aotian had been separated from his teammates.

    The audience beneath thepetition stage were also temporarily blinded by the powerful shbangs, and their vision was only graduallying back to them. Meanwhile, a series of collisions could be heard from thepetition stage.

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Something that absolutely astounded the Tang Sect¡¯s entire team urred with three intense impacts. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan flew backwards one after another, while Long Aotian, who they were besieging at the same time, stood in the same spot. He turned around and swung his incandescent arms toward Xiao Xiao.

    How was that possible?

 Chapter 324.2: The Team Fight--The Tang Sect VS The Snowdemon Sect

    Chapter 324.2: The Team Fight--The Tang Sect VS The Snowdemon Sect

    The same thought urred to everyone. Long Aotian¡¯s eyes were still closed, and it was evident that he had been affected by the shbangs before. However, he suddenly erupted as Bei Bei and the two others surrounded him, and his position switched three times in a row before he forced them back with forceful retaliations. Every position he chose was exceptionally precise, and his eruption was so quick that Bei Bei and the others were still a step behind even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Could it be that his Unity of Heaven and Man wasn¡¯t affected by how chaotic the battlefield was? That wasn¡¯t possible!

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t retreat as Long Aotian suddenly charged towards her, because she was clear that the Body Sect¡¯s other team members were behind her. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were currently holding them back, and she would block their firepower if she moved back. She would also find herself in a more perilous situation.

    The three Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons copsed together, and an indescribable majesty was released. Three cauldrons merged into one, and the enormous cauldron boomed deafeningly as it crashed onto the ground.

    This humongous cauldron blocked Long Aotian¡¯s attack. Therge cauldron buzzed and trembled, but a ck light shot into the sky, and lights flickered as Xiao Xiao disappeared inside. Long Aotian could only see her fourth soul ring sparkling.

    National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Sovereign!

    This attack didn¡¯t just draw upon the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s strength, it also borrowed upon the national fate that existed discreetly in the air. This aura was so powerful that even somebody like Long Aotian was suppressed in an instant. His Unity of Heaven and Man was extremely reliant on aura, and his soul power had been weakened after repelling three people in a row. Xiao Xiao actually defended herself against his attack!

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s aura soared as she disappeared into her Cauldron¡¯s Sovereign, and a ck whirlpool gradually appeared over the enormous cauldron.

    Three intense explosions detonated with loud booms, her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron the epicenter, and three ck halos rippled outward.

    The other team members from the Body Sect who had fended off Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯sbined efforts rushed forward, and were pouncing forward when an indescribable and formidable impact force smacked them in the face. Every single one of them was thrown into the air when they tried to block this sudden force.

    National Treasure, Cauldron Supremacy, and Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble!

    Three skills fused into one!

    Both Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao were Elder Xuan¡¯s students, and even though they weren¡¯t Soul Emperors yet, how could they lose to others in terms of fighting strength and control over their martial souls?

    Even Long Aotian was sent stumbling backwards from this sudden eruption. All three circles were equally powerful. If somebody weaker had to absorb these shockwaves, that person would have been sent flying through the air, or been locked in ce.

    Xiao Xiao relied on her sudden eruption to buy enough time for herpanions.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was in position. She plummeted from the sky, and her wings were tinged with sharp bluish-golden hues as she shed at Princess Wei Na.

    Wei Na seemed like she had already seen Wang Dong¡¯ering, and her feet tapped the ground lightly as she drifted forward. She turned back and nced at Wang Dong¡¯er at the same time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er saw a pair of brilliant silver eyes, and a silver wheel rose up from behind Wei Na¡¯s head.

    Everything around Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to twist and be surreal, and an intense dizziness shot into her brain.

    This is...

    But in the next moment, a piercing, needle-like pain shook Wang Dong¡¯er back to her senses, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference was there to help her. However, Princes Wei Na borrowed this tiny pause to dash into herpanions¡¯ protection.

    Everything happened very quickly, and Huo Yuhao could see through many things as the main control-type soul master.

    How could Long Aotian suddenly erupt and repel Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Jiang Nannan as if he could see into the future? The reason was simple: Princess Wei Na wasn¡¯t just a healing-type soul master for the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team, she was also a control-type soul master! Her abilities were spiritual, though her other martial soul wasn¡¯t her eyes. It should be her brain!

    There was no question that the brain was one of the most importantponents of a human body. A human¡¯s spiritual sea and a human¡¯s spirit were contained inside the brain. There was no question that the brain¡¯s abilities were spiritual-type. Princess Wei Na actually had twin martial souls, and her second martial soul was a powerful body soul, her Brain!

    She had used her mighty spiritual power to aid Long Aotian before this. However, from what the Tang Sect could observe from the Body Sect¡¯s other team members, Princess Wei Na couldn¡¯t help several people at once like Huo Yuhao could, but only one person at a time.

    Huo Yuhao made all these judgments in an instant. It seemed as if the Tang Sect was in a disadvantageous position, and the reason was simple ¨C their formation!

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan were charging forward once more. Xiao Xiao was deep inside enemy lines, and even though she had erupted forcefully to repel her opponents, she was still surrounded. Wang Dong¡¯er was behind their opponents¡¯ entire team, and this meant both girls were separated from theirpanions. This situation gave their adversaries an opportunity to break them down one by one.

    The battlefield began to change once more. Dense ck light poured out, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s sixth soul ring sparkled. It didn¡¯t take long for his Xuanwu Domain to appear once more in the arena.

    Thick ck light seemed to eclipse the sun as it nketed the entire stage. All six of the Body Sect¡¯s team members immediately found themselves in a suffocating and stifling state.

    When Xu Sanshi unleashed his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain, a ghastly pale light burst out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s fortress. Mass Enfeeblement!

    Domains were undoubtedly used for crowd control, and the Body Sect¡¯s entire team was now slowed down with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement and Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Domain.

    Light burst out from behind Wang Dong¡¯er, and her flying-type soul tool spurted continuously as it propelled her into the sky. Wang Dong¡¯er unleashed three Hexagram Arrays behind her, and her Light of the Butterfly Goddess rained down on her opponents.

    In terms of position and cultivation, ganging up on Xiao Xiao was the best decision the Body Sect could make, and that was what they did. However, the three Hexagram Arrays that Wang Dong¡¯er unleashed were positioned around Xiao Xiao with her in the middle, and three circles formed an arc with her in the middle.

    The youth called Gu Tong from the Body Sect suddenly turned around and looked up at Wang Dong¡¯er. Two brilliant white beams sted from his eyes as his first, second, third, and fourth soul rings all lit up at the same time.

    The white beams immediately switched colors in order from red to orange, yellow, green, blue, and then to purple after they left his eyes. Two silver-white eyes appeared behind his back.

    This was yet another individual with a body soul that had gone through a Second Awakening at the Whitesilver level.

    At this moment, there were two people from the Body Sect¡¯s seven team members who had disyed Whitesilver second awakenings: Long Aotian and Gu Tong. Wei Na¡¯s body soul was her brain, and there was no question that her Second Awakening was also at the Whitesilver level. Three Whitesilver Second Awakenings! The elites of the Body Sect¡¯s younger generation were all gathered in this ce!

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression changed a little as the two formidable beams came straight for her. Even though her opponent only had five soul rings, this attack wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul ring sparkled, and her frame becamepletely transparent; the Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession!

    Radiant and dazzling golden mes glowed on her both hands as she pushed out.

    Boom!

    Light rippled in all directions as Wang Dong¡¯er was instantly thrown back horizontally even though she was flying upwards. Her entire body was covered with a seven-coloredyer of light, and her flying-type soul tool was extinguished at the same time. It looked like her soul power had beenpletely arrested.

    Fortunately, the Xuanwu Domain had beenpleted. ck light surged as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body disappeared among the ck waves. This was a domain¡¯s strength, and the person who unleashed this domain was the dictator of all things within it. Many different stronger abilities had to be used to break apart a domain.

    The battle on the other side had also reached its climax. Long Aotian was once more forcing his way out of the Xuanwu Domain, and wanted to use his Transformation of Heaven and Earth once again. However, Xu Sanshi appeared in the sky and forcefully blocked his attack with his Xuanwu Shield, holding him back to the point where Long Aotian couldn¡¯t break through at all.

    Bei Bei rushed to Xiao Xiao¡¯s side, and with the help of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Array, blocked their opponent¡¯s assault.

    The Eye of Terror that He Caitou had been setting up in the sky was alsoplete at this point. He switched to his Gigant Lightning Cannon, and fired one shot behind Xiao Xiao to buy Bei Bei some time.

    Over on the Body Sect¡¯s side, two enormous wings extended from Chen Yu¡¯s back. His martial soul was actually Wings! It was something that shouldn¡¯t be seen on a human body...

    Chen Yu¡¯s wings pped as he soared into the sky, forcefully repelling the Xuanwu Domain¡¯s ck waves as he lunged to one side. He then shed out with his wings, as if they were two giant axes.

    Wang Dong¡¯er reappeared inside the Xuanwu Domain,shing out with her wings at the same time and colliding with Chen Yu. Chen Yu was also a Soul Emperor, and their wings shed again and again. It was clear that Chen Yu had located Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s position with Wei Na¡¯s help.

    The Body Sect had one fewer person, but only Long Aotian and Wang Yanfeng had expended soul power among their six remaining team members. Long Aotian was incredibly powerful, so whatever he expended didn¡¯t affect him much.

    Over on the Tang Sect¡¯s team, Huo Yuhao seemed to have consumed a little too much. His All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress was firing hysterically, but he had stopped using his own abilities.

    Wang Dong¡¯er retreated as she fought, and inched closer to Huo Yuhao.

    Jiang Yixi and Jiang Nannan were fighting it out apart from the main battlefield. Jiang Nannan¡¯s body was soft and flexible, and she was adept at closebat. Jiang Yixi¡¯s martial soul was her hands, and her hands transformed into ws that possessed formidable destructive power. Both of them were Soul Kings, and it was hard for either side to gain the upper hand.

    The battle had progressed to this point, and it seemed as if both teams were no longer cooperating with one another. This was because their individual abilities were simply too strong, and they couldn¡¯tpletely cooperate with each other more often than not. This also happened because both teams were trying to sever each other¡¯s teamwork and cooperation.

 Chapter 324.3: Team FightThe Tang Sect Versus The Snowdemon Sect

    Bei Bei and Xiao Xiao charged forward at the same time and went up against Gu Tong and Wang Yanfeng. Two versus two, and neither party had the upper hand.

    Wang Yanfeng was a little drained from his battle with Huo Yuhao, and it was clear that he hadn¡¯tpletely recovered, while Gu Tong¡¯s long-range attacks were exceptionally powerful. Gu Tong¡¯s martial soul was his eyes, but the path that he had decided to take was drastically different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s. His eyes were his strongest weapons, and every single beam that was fired from his eyes was apanied by alternately sparkling soul rings. Wang Dong¡¯er retreated as she continued fighting, her movements were a littleckadaisical and slow because she was still affected by Gu Tong¡¯s previous attack. Otherwise, how could she be forced back again and again by Chen Yu?

    The Eye of Terror was finally in ce in the sky, and intense light began to condense towards it. The Body Sect¡¯s entire team instantly felt the immense pressureing from above them.

    However, the Tang Sect seemed to have been suppressed in every individual or groupbat that was taking ce in several different ces at once. They seemed like they were in a dire situation, and even Zheng Zhan was unsure which side had the upper hand at this moment.

    There was a boom of impact, and a fountain of blood spurted from Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth as he was sent hurtling through the air. There was still quite a gap between him and Long Aotian¡¯s strength, and he also had to maintain his Xuanwu Domain to control their opponents. Even though Sanshi had Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to warn him, Long Aotian finally found and wounded him with pure brute force.

    Long Aotian wasn¡¯t in good shape, either. His face looked a little pale, and his breathing was conspicuously heavier and thicker than before. The injury that he had sustained from the Yama¡¯s Invitation was continuously affecting him, while his soul power was being consumed continuously. His current strength was far from his peak condition.

    Long Aotian spun around once he knocked Xu Sanshi away. Hurting Xu Sanshi like that was enough for him, and Long Aotian didn¡¯t have to pursue his opponent and break him downpletely. Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield had brought a lot of trouble, and if he really wanted to defeat Xu Sanshi for good inside his Xuanwu Domain, he would have tomit some time and energy even if he were in his peak condition. Long Aotian knew that he would have to pick apart the Tang Sect¡¯s team members one by one if the Snowdemon Sect was to win this match.

    Long Aotian chose He Caitou as his target, because he was the only pure soul engineer in this fight, and also because Long Aotian wasn¡¯t far from his position. He pounced towards He Caitou in a sh.

    He Caitou grinned as he watched Long Aotian dash towards him.

    He Caitou was the most unassuming one amongst the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. He hadn¡¯t fought much in the tournament¡¯s previous rounds, and the only thing he had done that caught the audience¡¯s attention was his Eye of Terror. Otherwise, he wasn¡¯t much to them, and not many people had noticed that he actually had six soul rings!

    Long Aotain chose him as his best chance at breaking through the Tang Sect because he figured He Caitou was probably the easiest to knock out, and also because his Eye of Terror in the sky was about to erupt. Wei Na signaled that to Long Aotian, and Long Aotian didn¡¯t want to give him that opportunity.

    Long Aotian¡¯s entire body sparkled with bright light as he raised his enormous dark golden axes high into the sky as he charged forward, unleashing his Berserk Godsh!

    Long Aotian didn¡¯t use his other soul skills to boost his strength, conserving energy, but he entered his Unity of Heaven and Man realm once more.

    Long Aotian had always looked down on soul engineers. From his perspective, soul engineers relied on many different tricks and shortcuts to raise their cultivation, so how could theypare to his soul power that he had obtained from pure hard work?

    He Caitou actuallyughed as he watched Long Aotian pounce towards him. He raised his hand, and a pale golden cigar appeared in his mouth as his fifth soul ring lit up. He Caitou casually looked down and lit his cigar with a soul ray that was fired from his shoulder and took a deep puff.

    Long Aotian¡¯s ferocious Berserk Godsh arrived.

    A white lightyer glowed on He Caitou¡¯s body ¨C it was his ss 6 protective soul barrier, and intense red light lit up on his chest at the same time. A cannon barrel with a mouth half a foot in diameter opened up on the armor at this chest area.

    Boom!

    Long Aotian¡¯s strike was fearsome and powerful, and He Caitou¡¯s ss 6 protective soul barrier was blown to smithereens. He Caitou only managed to slow Long Aotian¡¯srge axes for a single beat.

    He Caitou sucked on his pale golden cigar ferociously in the next moment. A golden barrier bloomed from his body and forcefully repelled Long Aotian¡¯s Berserk Godsh. Everyone could see the golden cigar in his mouth burn rapidly away as his golden light barrier was struck, half of it was gone after he took the Berserk Godsh.

    This¡­ was that a soul skill?

    Yes, that was He Caitou¡¯s fifth soul skill, Invincible Barrier Golden Cigar. His cigar was his auxiliary martial soul, and even hispanions weren¡¯t that willing to use it. But everything changed when his fifth soul skill appeared.

    This Invincible Barrier Golden Cigar¡¯s existence was far too invaluable for a food-type soul master. The Tang Sect had kept this a secret in the tournament, all the way until now.

    With this soul skill around, the Tang Sect didn¡¯t have to create any more Invincible Barriers. He Caitou¡¯s current cultivation meant he could maintain his Invincible Barrier for seven seconds when he was using his fifth soul skill to defend himself. Furthermore, the soul power that was consumed during these seven seconds was from the soul skill, and he didn¡¯t have to expend any more of his own soul power to maintain it. This effect was a lot better than the Invincible Barriers created by soul tools, but the regrettable thing was that this Invincible Barrier Golden Cigar would only exist for two hours after it was crafted. A lot of soul power was required to craft one, and this was the reason why He Caitou was the only one who would use it inbat, even at a time like this.

    But it was enough!

    Long Aotian¡¯s expression froze when his axes bounced back, and he saw an insidious ball of red light erupt in front of him in the next moment.

    This red light swallowed up his entire body in an instant. Long Aotian had just unleashed a powerful soul skill, and he couldn¡¯t struggle out of it as his entire frame was swallowed inside a sphere of red light.

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, who was also a ss 9 soul engineer, blurted out, ¡°A ss 7 Light of Binding!¡±

    Zheng Zhan felt an unprecedented astonishment after seeing this red sphere. He was awed by both teams before this, but his awe had stemmed from how powerful their martial souls were. The Binding Light that beamed out from Huo Yuhaoo¡¯s chest at this moment shook him to the core. Other than the fact that this Binding Light was a ss 7 soul tool, it was something that only the Sun Moon Empire possessed. It was veryplicated to craft even one of these, and this soul tool had extremely high criteria for crafting materials and resources.

    He Caitou could use his Light of Binding, and this meant that the Tang Sect had mastered this technique and this technology. This astounded the Unbreakable Douluo even more than their formidable might and strength.

    The Binding Light would fire a single beam, and the target would be arrested and immobilized once struck. The target would be suppressed and held back by immense soul power, so Binding Lights could only be ss 7, at the very least. ss 7 Binding Lights had enough power to temporarily lock down an eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡¯s abilities. The Binding Light¡¯s effects would also be removed if the target was attacked after he or she had been manacled, but the target would have to take theplete brunt of the attack as long as the target hadn¡¯t struggled out of the bind before it struck. Binding Lights could be considered a favourite among the control-type soul tools that high-level soul masters used.

    One small change could affect the entire situation. The whole battlefield immediately transformed once He Caitou unleashed his Binding Light. Nobody attacked Long Aotian at all, not even He Caitou¡­ but Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters suddenly red up as a team.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been doing much this entire time, but now he suddenly darted out from his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress.

    Xu Sanshi had vomited blood from Long Aotian¡¯s attack before this, and jumped high into the air. Now, Huo Yuhao appeared and caught him before he channeled his Mysterious Underworld Discement. ck light surged as Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong¡¯er suddenly swapped ces, and Wang Dong¡¯er was now in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was already prepared, and she extended her arms and brought Huo Yuhao into her embrace.

    Huo Yuhao was on one side as his eyes twinkled with pale golden light.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was on the other side, and her radiant wings stretched out behind her back as she unleashed her martial soul, the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    The area around them glowed as they both released their martial souls at the same time, and a unique radiance shimmered from their bodies.

    This light was very strange and unique, its color alternating between blue, purple, and gold. Dense light energy formed its core, and many strange soul power undtions were mixed up within it.

    A colossal projection appeared behind Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back; aplete and magnificent Radiant Butterfly Goddess!

    An enormous virtual vertical eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao. This vertical eye was dazzling gold in color, and its pupil shone with faint purple hues.

    Blinding blue, purple, and gold lights intertwined together to form a gigantic sphere of light that sted down from the sky towards the ground in front of Long Aotian.

    ¡°Save Aotian!¡± Princess Wei Na shouted at the top of her lungs. She didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were trying to do, but Huo Yuhao had finally exploded after holding back for such a long time. It was evident that theirbined attack wouldn¡¯t be weak at all.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er weren¡¯t the only two of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who burst into action.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield red with ck light after switching positions with Wang Dong¡¯er, and multiple shields that glimmered with ck light surrounded the winged Chen Yu and locked him in. Xu Sanshi withdrew his Xuanwu Domain as he unleashed his Xuanwu Shield Formation, as his domain consumed too much soul power. Xu Sanshi had been wounded during his attempts to block off Long Aotian before this, but it was still quite impossible for Chen Yu to ovee XU Sanshi¡¯s cultivation and break free of the barricade to help Long Aotian.

    Bei Bei exploded at the same time. A long and drawn-out dragon roar echoed across the arena as Bei Bei¡¯s entire body seemed to stretch out. His bluish-purple lightning immediately began to sublimate as dazzling golden light radiated from him, and golden dragon scales covered his entire body. Bei Bei¡¯s body quivered violently as a vigorous and firm golden lightning streak sted free from his body and transformed into a colossal lightning. Bei Bei used this lightning to stop Wang Yanfeng, who was on his way to lend Long Aotian a hand, right in his tracks. Bei Bei also unleashed his Golden Dragon Head from one fist at the same time, and crushed the iing beams from Gu Tong¡¯s eyes.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron split into three once more and dropped to the ground: Cauldron Quake! She teamed up with Bei Bei and locked two more of the Body Sect¡¯s team members in ce. Bei Bei¡¯s intense and biting lighting suppressed them so much that they couldn¡¯t unleash their body souls¡¯ Second Awakening, which was their strongest technique.

    Jiang Nannan red up at the same time. She unleashed her third soul skill, Instant Shift, and her fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body, at the same time, which allowed her to appear behind Jiang Yixi in an instant. Jiang Nannan took a direct hit from her opponent as she wrapped her legs around Jiang Yixi¡¯s waist, and her fifth soul ring glowed: Soft Bone Lock!

    Three soul skills were discharged one after another, and Jiang Nannan immobilized Jiang Yixi in the blink of an eye!

 Chapter 325.1: An Instantaneous Eruption of Strength Leading to Victory

    He Caitou¡¯s soul tools rained fire down on Wei Na like a meteor shower, forcing her to use her Invincible Barrier because herpanions weren¡¯t around to defend her.

    Only several seconds were required for the entire situation to change. They were just at an impasse of sorts, but every single member from the Body Sect was suppressed and stifled in this instant.

    How is this possible? Emotions and disbelief rose up in Wei Na¡¯s heart. There was no way she could believe or ept that Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters could achieve such tacit understanding and chemistry all of a sudden from how chaotic things were before this. They hadn¡¯tmunicated with one another at all before everything happened, so how could they all re up at the same time, and how could they all choose different targets? Furthermore, their movements connected with one another so seamlessly that there were almost no loopholes or weaknesses at all.

    What was Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ greatest strength in group battles? Rather, what was their core fighting strength? Why did they choose to go into the group round even though they knew that every single member of the Body Sect was incredibly powerful?

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ core fighting strength wasn¡¯t Bei Bei¡¯s Golden Holy Dragon, or Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Domain. Simrly, it wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s martial soul fusion skill. It was the invisible and intangible Spiritual Detection that was shared amongst everyone during their group battles, and it was with this Spiritual Detection that everyone could achieve frightening chemistry and mutual understanding. This was their mightiest force, and it gave them the courage to challenge stronger opponents in a group battle.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s team had been probing their opponents from the very beginning, and they deliberately rxed and separated themselves afterwards. Huo Yuhao had nned and created every single tactic and movement, from when they seemed like theycked teamwork and were at a disadvantage, right up until this moment, when they all red up at the same time. He only had one true goal: he wanted to take down the Body Sect¡¯s strongest member, Long Aotian!

    No matter how many hidden abilities Princess Wei Na possessed, and whether or not she was her team¡¯s core, her overall prowess was still a far cry from Long Aotian¡¯s. The most important result that Huo Yuhao wanted to achieve by taking down Long Aotian wasn¡¯t just to weaken the Body Sect¡¯s overall strength, he also wanted to attack their confidence!

    All the calm andposure from before was so that they could charge up for this moment¡¯s eruption!

    The blue, purple, and gold light sphere that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had fused into transformed into an enormous vertical eye in the same moment that it returned to the ground. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, and Wang Dong¡¯er was supporting him.

    The enormous eye seemed deep and profound, and a boundless world seemed to appear if one gazed closely into it. In the next moment, a frightening mixture of blue, purple, and gold light shot out!

    This beam of light resembled a symphony of lights as it fired straight out, and everywhere it passed by was tainted with a peculiar golden color. This included the separatingyer that the Unbreakable Douluo hadid out across the ground.

    Long Aotian was still struggling as hard as he could inside the red Binding Light that was keeping him down. He could feel that something was wrong, and he unleashed his strongest technique, his Martial Soul True Body, in an attempt to break free from the Binding Light¡¯s manacles.

    But this ss 7 Binding Light was simply too powerful. The im that it could temporarily restrict a Soul Douluo¡¯s abilities wasn¡¯t just a myth, and even though Long Aotian had unleashed his Martial Soul True Body and his entire body had gone incandescent, he could only watch as the bindings around him slowly broke down. However, the multi-colored beam had already arrived in front of him.

    This beam passed through him in the blink of an eye. Just when everyone from the Body Sect believed that this attack was focused on Long Aotian, the enormous, three meter-wide tricolored light beam instantly elongated, and almost split thepetition stage in two.

    Jiang Nannan still had Jiang Yixi immobilized with her Soft Bone Lock, and disappeared in a sh through Instant Shift. Jiang Yixi couldn¡¯t even react as she was swallowed by the tricolored light beam.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s first martial soul fusion skill.

    The Binding Light holding Long Aotian finally broke apart, but he had been transformed into a golden statue. He wasn¡¯t the only one; Jiang Yixi had also be a golden statue after she was struck by the Golden Road.

    Long Aotian was exceptionally powerful, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er both had twin martial souls, one was a Soul Emperor and the other a Soul King. How could theirbined efforts, their martial soul fusion skill, not be powerful? They had teamed up to defeat and best mighty Soul Sages before!

    The best way to fight against the Golden Road was to avoid being struck by it. In the end, the Golden Road couldn¡¯t lock onto a target. But once struck¡­

    Martial Soul True Body, dispelled; martial soul, dispelled. Intense light and spiritual energies gravely corroded their bodies, which were frozen in ce.

    The gigantic tricolored vertical eye reverted into a tricolored sphere, and the temperature in the air plummeted in the next moment. The tricolored sphere transformed once more, and ck and white lights intertwined as a terrifying pressure was unleashed.

    Ice-cold frost and snow swept up as a ck hammer appeared with transparent Ultimate Ice condensed on its surface. A huge blizzard immediately billowed around Long Aotian with his body in the middle, and the freezing low temperature created another transparentyer of frost and ice on his body, which had already be a golden statue.

    A giant formed from frost and snow grasped an enormous, fearsome hammer, and it seemed like it was going to tear the world to pieces as it plunged down from the sky.

    This¡­ this was the fusion between the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Scorpion and the Clear Sky Hammer. This was one of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s other martial soul fusion skills!

    ze Amidst the Frost, the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer!

    The Binding Light, the Golden Road, and the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer. These three supreme abilities were what Huo Yuhao had prepared to end Long Aotian.

    Huo Yuhao might not have been able to defeat Long Aotian even if his body was fully recovered one-on-one. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er against Long Aotian in a one-versus-two situation meant that Long Aotian didn¡¯t stand a chance at all. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was being consumed at an rming rate, but Wang Dong¡¯er was the main director now, and it wasn¡¯t very problematic for them to unleash two martial soul fusion skills at the same time.

    ¡°Long Aotian has been eliminated!¡± Wei Na screamed at the top of her lungs, and her voice sounded piercing and shrill.

    Her exmation was directed at the Unbreakable Douluo, Zheng Zhan. How could she not tell that Long Aotian, who martial soul was being stripped from his body, was absolutely unable to resist this attack?

    But Zheng Zhan seemed to be half a beat slower, and he was one step too slow to save Long Aotian.

    A sharp scream rang out from Wei Na¡¯s mouth, and the five soul rings on her body suddenly transformed at this moment. Her two yellow, two purple, and one ck soul rings suddenly became six identical ck soul rings as the fourth of her new soul rings sparkled with ck light.

    Everyone could see twisting and contorting waves ripple from her body amid her ear-piercing scream. A silver-white light sphere flickered behind her back, which seemed to beposed of countless rolls and folds. It was the shape of a brain!

    This was her fourth soul skill, Wail of the Banshee. It was a formidable soul skill thatyered spiritual and sonic energies together, and it was a ten-thousand year soul skill.

    Wei Na couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else when she could tell that Zheng Zhan would be a little toote. She immediately unleashed a powerful ability that was the most likely to save Long Aotian, and couldn¡¯t be bothered with hiding her second martial soul¡¯s soul rings anymore.

    Everyone could tell from her second martial soul that she had only begun to attach soul rings to her spiritual-type martial soul after she became a Soul King or a Soul Emperor. Every single ring was a ten-thousand year soul ring!

    Even though she could have done it better, this was enough. It was hard for soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls to obtain suitable soul rings in the first ce, Huo Yuhao being an obvious example. It was even harder to find hundred-thousand year soul rings; hundred-thousand year spiritual-type soul beasts did exist, but every single one was exceptionally powerful, and that meant hunting and killing one was very challenging. It wasn¡¯t that easy for the Body Sect to find and kill soul beasts like that even with their host of powerful individuals, let alone finding and killing as many as nine for Wei Na. The Body Sect was a sect, it didn¡¯t exist just for Wei Na herself, and even if they had the ability to help her aplish all that, the sect¡¯s other members would call this unreasonable resource allocation into question.

    Therefore, Wei Na chose to attach soul rings to her second martial soul after she became a Soul Emperor so that she could attain honor and glory for the Heavenly Soul Empire in this season¡¯s tournament. She was the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s second strongest team member after Long Aotian!

    Could her Wail of the Banshee stop Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer?

    Every single person who was currently locked in battle was affected by the twisting waves when they rippled outward. Wei Na couldn¡¯t be bothered with friendly fire because Long Aotian was in a perilous situation of life or death, and even her teammates were subject to this mass control-type soul skill.

    Every single person subconsciously covered their ears as their minds temporarily nked out, apanied by a momentary weakness in their bodies.

    Xiao Xiao only had five soul rings, and she began to bleed from her nose. Jiang Nannan was about to attack Jiang Yixi after thetter was struck by the Golden Road when she groaned, and her nose began to bleed as well.

    The Body Sect¡¯s team members had it a little better. They understood Wei Na well enough, and everyone made the necessary preparations. But even so, every single ability they were unleashing or channeling was interrupted.

    It was a pity that this mighty skill that had miraculous effects on everyone did nothing when it went up against the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer. It couldn¡¯t shake the hammer at all.

    Huo Yuhao was also a spiritual-type and control-type soul master. His Spirit Eyes only had five soul rings, but what kind of soul rings were they? Without talking about his other soul rings, his first soul ring was a million-year soul ring, while his spiritual power had undergone multiple evolutions and was in the concrete-immaterial realm. Furthermore, he was teaming up with Wang Dong¡¯er in this attack. How could he be so easily shaken?

    Long Aotian¡¯s consciousness was still clear, but there was only one thought in his heart: It¡¯s over.

    The Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer loomed over him. He no longer had his martial soul to protect him, and Ultimate Ice had invaded his bone marrow, while the Golden Road¡¯s intense corrosive effects were encroaching frantically onto his wounded body. He would possibly have a chance to resist everything if he were in his peak condition, but now¡­

    He could hear Wei Na¡¯s voice very clearly in his head. However, there was only sorrow in his heart. If somebody had told him before the tournament that he would die inbat, he would have been full of disbelief and disdain towards thatment. He had too much faith in his own strength and abilities, but everything that was happening before his eyes had rendered his mindpletely nk and empty. It¡¯s over, everything¡¯s over. Wei Na¡¯s frantic attempt to save him hadn¡¯t slowed their opponents in the least!

 Chapter 325.2: An Instantaneous Eruption of Strength Leading to Victory

    BOOM!

    The floor quaked and trembled, as the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer was just too destructive. The hammer¡¯s petrifying effects instantly swallowed everything within twenty meters of it, and the entire arena became a world of ice and snow.

    ¡°No!¡± Wei Na gave a blood-curdling scream as tears burst from her eyes. Long Aotian wasn¡¯t just the strongest individual among everyone in the Body Sect¡¯s younger generation, he was also her boyfriend who she loved dearly, and her fianc¨¦!

    However, her tears were just trickling down when her eyes grew ck. The reason for that was because she could clearly see that the enormous hammer didn¡¯t smash into Long Aotian¡¯s body, and even though he was thrown into the air as the hammer mmed against the ground, the golden hues on his body were gradually receding as he hurtled through the sky.

    Two figures separated in midair. Huo Yuhao was tossed into the sky, andnded back inside his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress that was still prostrate on the ground, while Wang Dong¡¯er stretched her wings and soared away through the air. She lifted her hands at the same time, and a Hexagram Array urately appeared beneath Jiang Yixi¡¯s feet. Still struggling against the effects of the Golden Road, she was immediately swept into the sky. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed her hands out immediately afterwards, and a mass of intense golden light burst towards Jiang Yixi: the Butterfly Goddess sh!

    He¡¯s still alive! Long Aotian is still alive! Wei Na had forgotten that she was still participating in a tournament at this moment, and her tears paused for only a moment before they cascaded out like a waterfall once more.

    Wei Na was also very powerful individually, and this was the reason she knew very well that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er weren¡¯t affected by her attack¡­ they had shown mercy to Long Aotian!

    Long Aotian somersaulted in midair as he dropped back on the ground. His entire body was quivering continuously ¨C the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer hadn¡¯t hit him, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was so cold that he was still freezing all over. His face seemed exceptionally ck and lifeless, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

    How many people had died at the hands of the Tang Sect in the previous rounds? However, the Tang Sect gave him a chance today, in this match. He was still alive, still alive!

    Long Aotian realized, for the very first time, that life was wonderful. To be alive was to have hope, and he was the number-one individual among the Body Sect¡¯s younger generation. He was also the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s future emperor¡¯s son-inw, and he was Wei Na¡¯s fianc¨¦. I¡¯m still alive!

    In this moment, his typically tough and cold face overflowed withplicated emotions and expressions as hey there dazedly, motionless.

    ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ been eliminated.¡± Zheng Zhan was a little too slow, but he stepped in front of Long Aotian now. Wei Na didn¡¯t holler at Zheng Zhan for nothing, and even though he was deliberately one step slower, Long Aotian was definitely going to be eliminated from this match.

    Long Aotian was truly too frighteningly powerful in terms of individual strength. If one team had to win this round, the subsequent teams would probably rather have the Tang Sect advance.

    Long Aotian¡¯s ck eyes gradually recovered. His eyes were full of disappointment and frustration as he looked towards Huo Yuhao, who hadnded back inside his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress. Long Aotian nodded heavily before he turned around and walked towards the edge of thepetition stage. He was strong, arrogant, and proud... but he also knew about gratitude. Furthermore, he did actually lose!

    Long Aotian¡¯s defeat was just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, and the rest of the Body Sect¡¯s team members were greatly affected. Ever single one of them was shaken to the core, and even their main control-type soul master, Wei Na, was full of rippling emotions. There was no longer any doubt as to the oue of this battle.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how Jiang Yixi would end up as she had to face off against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess sh unprotected. Furthermore, she was still being controlled and arrested by the Golden Road and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Array. Wang Dong¡¯er deliberately held back, and Jiang Yixi was eliminated shortly afterward.

    It was seven versus four after that. Huo Yuhao had practically lost all his fighting strength, but he still had his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress.

    The Eye of Terror in the sky fired a powerful light beam at Wei Na without hesitation.

    Wei Na managed to recover and react in time, and fended off this attack. However, she sustained light injuries in the process.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, and Wang Dong¡¯er unleashed their mighty abilities, and took another five minutes under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand while he struggled to keep his Spiritual Detection going to finally suppress their opponents. It was quite a challenge, but they finally emerged victorious.

    The round was over, and the Tang Sect had defeated the Snowdemon Sect, or rather the Body Sect, and proudly pushed into the semifinals.

    However, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters weren¡¯t in good shape. Huo Yuhao waspletely spent, while Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Bei Bei were injured. Xu Sanshi¡¯s wounds were rtively more serious, but the only two who emerged perfect and unscathed were Wang Dong¡¯er and He Caitou. Even they had also expended a lot of soul power.

    It could be said that it would have been an almost unassable task for the Tang Sect to defeat an opponent as powerful as the Snowdemon Sect without Huo Yuhao¡¯s nning. It would have very difficult to determine who the winner would have been otherwise.

    The Tang Sect didn¡¯t win because they were stronger. It was far more urate to say they won because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s battle tactics and strategies, all the way from the single elimination matches to the group battle afterwards. Huo Yuhao had been dragging the Snowdemon Sect by the nose the whole time.

    ---

    ¡°We won! We won!¡± Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters exchanged looks with one another, and not a single one of them could hide the tion in their hearts, as they eximed excitedly again and again while embracing one another.

    Of course, this didn¡¯t include Huo Yuhao. He was far too spent, and could only move his right hand anyway. Even if he could bounce himself out from his All-Terrain Self-Driving Fortress, he would probably fall down and knock himself dizzy.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pulled him out from his Fortress gently.

    ---

    The tournament had progressed into the semifinals, and the semifinalists had been determined.

    They were: Shrek Academy, the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Holy Ghost Sect, and the Tang Sect.

    The two teams from Shrek Academy each took a spot in the semifinals!

    ------

    ¡°Congrattions.¡± Wei Na, Long Aotian, and the rest of the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team members arrived before the Tang Sect.

    Wei Na¡¯s pretty face was still gleaming with tears as she grasped Long Aotian¡¯s left hand tightly with her right hand. Her smile was very sincere, as if she hadn¡¯t lost the match at all.

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°Beating you guys in this round was difficult for us.¡±

    Long Aotian said, ¡°We will fight again if the opportunity arises.¡± He turned towards Huo Yuhao as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was weak and exhausted, but he was still hanging on as he sat there in his wheelchair. He nodded back at Long Aotian with a ghastly pale face.

    Wei Na said sincerely, ¡°Thank you for showing mercy, Yuhao. I will always remember this favor. Aotian is my fianc¨¦, and I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do if something had happened to him during the tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°We are not your enemies, princess. Furthermore, the Heavenly Soul Empire is one of the Tang Sect¡¯s biggest customers. How could I afford to damage our rapport and friendly rtionship? Brother Long, we will fight again when I¡¯m fully recovered. I have to admit that I can¡¯t defeat you at the moment if we go up against one another one-on-one.¡±

    Long Aotian replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who has lost today. I¡¯m the team leader, but I was too focused on individual strength, and I didn¡¯t help Wei Na streamline the team and keep them together. We put too much faith in our individual abilities, which was the biggest reason why we lost to you in this round. Your team is a lot better than us in that respect. I¡¯ve lost, and I¡¯ve lost convincingly. However, my failure will only be for this day. From tomorrow onwards, I will work hard to make up for my weaknesses and what Ick.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°We are not your enemies, but I¡¯m very willing to be your rival.¡±

    Long Aotian strode over to Huo Yuhao and reached out with his right hand.

    Huo Yuhao raised his own, and they smiled while they stared into each other¡¯s eyes. They were full of appreciation for one another, and all the grudges and ill-feelings from the battle before this vanished into thin air.

    Wei Na walked over to Bei Bei and whispered some things into his ear. Bei Bei¡¯s head tilted to one side and his eyes sparkled, and the two of them interacted with their eyes before they bid their farewells and left thepetition stage.

    Four teams advanced from the quarterfinals, and the semifinals were about to begin. The quarterfinals¡¯ final match was undoubtedly the most epic and spectacr one.

    The Tang Sect and the Snowdemon Sect were both met with warm apuse from the audience as they stepped off thepetition stage.

    These two teams didn¡¯t belong to the Sun Moon Empire, but everyone knew how to respect strength and might. These two teams had obtained sincere admiration and respect from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens.

    ---

    On the rostrum, Xu Tianran didn¡¯t leave right away after match like he always did. Instead, he was just sitting there with a dark and gloomy look on his face.

    Fifteen minutes passed before Xu Tianran finally raised his hand to signal Ju Zi to push him off the arena. He departed with his servants and his bodyguards escorting him.

    ¡°Ju Zi, I¡¯m full of grievances after that round,¡± Xu Tianran spoke and sighed at the same time.

    Ju Zi said tenderly, ¡°Don¡¯t be displeased, Your Highness. Even though the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t enter the semifinals, we still have the Holy Ghost Sect.¡±

    Xu Tianran shook his head and said, ¡°The Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s strength doesn¡¯t belong to us, in the end. If not for the fact that we have to deal with the Body Sect and Shrek Academy, do you think I would have been willing to work together with those evil and nasty fellows? However, we are falling behind in nurturing our younger generation. Shrek Academy and the Body Sect have lived up to their reputations as sects and entities with a long history. If not for our soul tools, the Sun Moon Empire might not be able to dominate the entire Continent even after ten thousand years. Today¡¯s battle has enabled me to understand many things. I have been too arrogant and proud in the past.¡±

    Ju Zi heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Your Highness, you will definitely be a brilliant emperor of the Sun Moon Empire in the future.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled faintly as he patted her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t care about being a brilliant emperor or whatever. What I care about is the process, the process of expansion and development. I care about unwavering determination in the face of challenges, the ambition and the courage to reach the top of the world. My entire life is devoted to reigning supreme over the entire Douluo Continent.¡±

    Ju Zi said resolutely, ¡°You will definitely be sessful, Your Highness. I will always be your pawn and your vanguard, and I will always be willing to fight for you, no matter the asion. I will not regret it even if I have to die in battle.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed and replied, ¡°No, you are not allowed to die in battle. I am still hoping for us to share that glory and honor when ites time. I will always need someone who knows my heart beside me, and you¡¯re the most important one.¡±

    Ju Zi seemed touched as she responded, ¡°Thank you for your love and concern, Your Highness. Do you think the Holy Ghost Sect can defeat the Tang Sect, Your Highness? It seems like the Tang Sect is quite strong indeed, judging from their performance today. The Body Sect actually lost to them.¡±

    Xu Tianran answered, ¡°The Holy Ghost Sect may not be stronger than the Body Sect in terms of individual strength, but don¡¯t forget where the Holy Ghost Sectes from. Their presence is very different from the Body Sect, and the most frightening thing about evil soul masters isn¡¯t their strength, it¡¯s their evil. Of course, none of that is important anymore. No matter who ims the championship in the end in this tournament, these elites of the younger generation have only two choices: submit, or die!¡±

 Chapter 325.3: An Instantaneous Eruption of Strength Leading to Victory

    Ju Zi felt her heart quiver as she bit down on her lower lip. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be pondering something¡­

    ------

    The Tang Sect had returned to the hotel. They couldn¡¯t be bothered with a postmortem this time, and everyone went back to their respective rooms to rest as soon as possible.

    They had achieved their main goals in this battle. The Body Sect wasn¡¯t their enemy, after all, and the Tang Sect had managed to win and progress into the semifinals without damaging their rtionship. They hadpleted all their main tasks in this tournament.

    Huo Yuhao sat opposite Wang Dong¡¯er as they channeled their Haodong power together.

    Color had returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, and he wasn¡¯t as pale now. Today had been far too exhausting for him, and taken a toll on his physical and mental strength. Much of his soul power and spiritual power had been consumed.

    Long Aotian had been right, the Body Sect¡¯s entire team was too proud and arrogant, and they weren¡¯t able to unleash their strongest individual abilities because of their teamwork, or rather, theck thereof. But even so, Huo Yuhao was still overly spent as the Tang Sect¡¯s team leader andmander.

    Huo Yuhao was thinking back over the entire match as he sat on his wheelchair on the way back, and made his own evaluations about the Body Sect¡¯s individual team members. He realized afterwards that if both teams¡¯ battle strategies and tactics were in ce and not problematic, there was only one way the Tang Sect could defeat the Body Sect: his body had to recover. It was only then that his fighting strength could be unleashed to the highest possible level, and he could cooperate better with Wang Dong¡¯er. Only then would they have a chance of defeating the Body Sect.

    They rested for nearly four hours before they headed to the canteen to eat. They were met with two guests in the canteen. More urately put, they were met with two princesses!

    ---

    After their meal, Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, Wei Na, and Xu Jiujiu sat together in the living room on the Brilliant Delight Hotel¡¯s top floor that belonged to the Snowdemon Sect.

    Both princesses had lost their respective fights, and while the Star Luo National Academy was defeated straightforwardly, they managed to keep themselves in one piece. Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression was very normal and casual, as she had already foreseen today¡¯s oue when they drew the Holy Ghost Sect as their quarterfinal opponents.

    ¡°When do you guys n to depart?¡± Bei Bei took the initiative and asked with a smile on his face.

    Xu Jiujiu exchanged a look with Wei Na and said, ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry. I think we¡¯ll wait for the entire tournament to end before we¡¯ll leave. If the Brilliant Delight Hotel refuses to continue providing their services to us, we¡¯ll find a nearby hotel to stay in.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You don¡¯t seem like you¡¯re in a hurry to return home,¡± Bei Bei continued, with the same smile on his face.

    Xu Jiujiu nced in his direction. She had a strong impression of the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother. This guy was handsome, and he always wore that faint smile on his face. He seemed schrly and refreshed, and it was easy for others to have a favorable impression of him.

    However, his fighting style was drastically different from how he typically carried himself when he wasn¡¯t inbat. He was ferocious, and was as fearsome and intimidating as could be. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi anchored the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ vanguard!

    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re not in a hurry. The semifinals and finals will be even more spectacr. Since we¡¯re here, we should finish watching the tournament before we go,¡± Xu Jiujiu responded with a bright smile on her face.

    Most of the teams who had been defeated chose to leave. The tournament spanned a very long period of time, and the Brilliant Delight Hotel turned away those who had been eliminated from the tournament. Some teams couldn¡¯t find a ce to stay in the city even if they wanted to.

    Of course, some of these teams had arranged things for themselves beforehand so they could continue watching the tournament. Most of these teams were the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s native teams, so it was rtively easier for them to stay behind. The teams that belonged to the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries mostly didn¡¯t choose to stay behind because they weren¡¯t very friendly with the Sun Moon Empire. They didn¡¯t want to stay for too long because they were afraid that the Sun Moon Empire would take action against them.

    Xu Jiujiu turned towards Wei Na after she dered that she was staying behind. ¡°How about the Snowdemon Sect, sister Wei Na? When are you guys leaving? Oh, that¡¯s wrong... I should call you guys the Body Sect. I didn¡¯t expect you to have so many secrets! You have twin martial souls, and you¡¯re also one of the Body Set¡¯s prodigy warriors! Whitesilver Second Awakening! Very impressive!¡±

    Wei Na had returned to normal by now, and she still wore the same gentle and tender look as she always did. She smiled faintly, and dimples appeared on her cheeks like a fresh and pleasant lily flower.

    ¡°Since you aren¡¯t in a hurry to leave, then we are even more reluctant to go. We¡¯ll wait for the tournament to end before we leave.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! We can apany each other when we leave. I guess I¡¯ll have apanion for my journey.¡±

    Wei Na nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good! Bei Bei, Yuhao, why don¡¯t we decide on a time and ce so we can leave together after the tournament? You can call the others from Shrek Academy too! The more the merrier!¡±

    Bei Bei heaved a faint sigh and shook his head. ¡°We are very exhausted today, my dear princesses, and it isn¡¯t very convenient for Huo Yuhao to move around. We¡¯ve expended too much today, so we should stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point so that we can go back to rest after our discussion. Otherwise, the two of you can finish your discussions beforehand and find us afterwards.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as she listened to Bei Bei calling her out on her tongue-in-cheek. Wei Na blushed, but she was still smiling pleasantly as she stared at Xu Jiujiu in amusement.

    The two princesses looked at each other, but neither of them seemed willing to speak first, and the room instantly descended into silence.

    Bei Bei waited for a little while before he heaved a faint sigh and walked behind Huo Yuhao. He began to push Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair, and they started to leave.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Xu Jiujiu couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore, and spoke first. Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t have the same confidence and strength that Wei Na did. Even though she had faith that she was better than Wei Na at managing and handling things, Wei Na had the Body Sect behind her, and there were probably many powerful individuals from the Body Sect in the area. Wei Na had reason to be confident, and she had reason to feel safe. But what about her? Would herpany be able to ensure her safe passage back home?

    Bei Bei pressed his hands on the Golden Tree wheelchair¡¯s handles and turned towards Xu Jiujiu.

    Xu Jiujiu paused for a moment and said solemnly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush anymore. You guys have seen what the tournament is like. The Sun Moon Empire is bing stronger and more dominant, and ording to our analysis, the Sun Moon Empire has a malicious n that they will execute after the tournament! We¡¯re not sure what their n is, but the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strengthbined with the Holy Ghost Sect is a big threat to everyone! We will have a hard time defending ourselves if they make a move against us, as this is their territory, after all. Therefore, I want my people to leave together with you guys. Together we stand, and divided we fall. It¡¯s easier for us to take care of one another when we¡¯re together.¡±

    Bei Bei tilted his head. Xu Jiujiu had portrayed her sincerity rtively well with her words, and this was probably what she had meant from the start. Perhaps her words weren¡¯tplete, but they were enough to express her anxiety and worries.

    Wei Na nodded and continued, ¡°I agree with Jiujiu. Together we stand, and divided we fall. The Sun Moon Empire is too calm and quiet, to the point where I feel afraid. It would be a lot safer for everyone, and we will find ourselves in a better situation if we all leave together after thepetition. At least, they¡¯ll have to try a lot harder if they want to deal with us.¡±

    Bei Bei nced at both princesses and said, ¡°Either one of you can represent a country, but the Tang Sect is just a tiny sect. We¡¯ll probably not participate in this.¡±

    Both Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na were astonished by Bei Bei¡¯s response. From their perspective, the Tang Sect had no reason to reject their proposal, but Bei Bei did so directly and straightforwardly.

    Huo Yuhao said nothing at all in his chair. He was being a patient listener, Bei Bei was the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother, and was also the Tang Sect¡¯s real director. Huo Yuhao would always hold himself back when Bei Bei was around so that his eldest senior brother could decide everything. This wasn¡¯t just because of his respect for Bei Bei, it was also because he had absolute faith in his senior brother!

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s gettingte, princesses. We¡¯ll take our leave first. We can continue this discussion afterwards.¡± With that, Bei Bei pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and left the room.

    ---

    Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na nced at each other, both of them temporarily rendered speechless.

    Wei Na forced augh after a long while and said, ¡°I thought Huo Yuhao was difficult to deal with, little did I expect that the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother was even more difficult to deal with. It¡¯s apparent that he thinks we¡¯re not sincere enough.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu also wore a ck face as she turned towards Wei Na and said, ¡°Wei Na, I know that you have the Body Sect behind you. But you should also understand that the Sun Moon Empire hates the Body Sect more than they do us. If they really have some evil n to execute, the Body Sect will be their first target, Shrek Academy wille next, and then they will target us. Let¡¯s have a heart to heart talk... what do you think?¡±

    Wei Na tilted her head and said, ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t hide anything any more. We are not just here to participate in the tournament, we also have to execute other tasks and duties¡­¡±

    ---

    Bei Bei pushed Huo Yuhao and walked down the hotel corridor. He shook his head in exasperation and said, ¡°These princesses are so sly and cunning. They don¡¯t wish to give anything, yet they want to drag us onto the war chariot. They¡¯ve calcted this well... but what do we have? We represent the Tang Sect, not Shrek Academy. We don¡¯t know who they have and how many people they have backing them up, and we don¡¯t even know how Shrek Academy has arranged things. Our advantage is that ourpany is small, and the Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t do anything against us if we really want to leave because we have you around. It¡¯s better for us to avoid getting involved in this.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°We will be much smaller targets if we lose the next round. However, if we win, the Holy Ghost Church will surelye after us whether or not the Sun Moon Empire targets us.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°There are still many things that are blurry and unclear. The princesses are in more of a hurry than we are, while everything will be clear after the tournament¡¯s next round. At the very least, we can be sure that the Sun Moon Empire will not make a move against us within Radiant City even if they want to...¡±

 Chapter 326.1: Dark Clouds Hanging

    Huo Yuhao said to Bei Bei using his Spiritual Detection, ¡°Eldest senior, I¡¯m going to go outter.¡±

    Bei Bei thought of something before he extended two fingers and tapped on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    The two of them had great chemistry with each other. ¡°Yuhao, be careful. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior. I know my limits.¡±

    Bei Bei sent Huo Yuhao back to his room before he returned to his own room to rest. After returning to their rooms, Wang Dong¡¯er started to help Huo Yuhao put on make-up. He had an appointment today.

    The make-up was used to conceal his actual looks. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao silently out of the hotel. They proceeded towards a dark and quiet corner and quickly ventured far away from the hotel.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability to disguise and conceal himself was an important reason why Bei Bei was so confident earlier. If their opponent didn¡¯t know when they left, how could he deal with them?

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao far away, and they even went around in a circle before they proceeded towards their destination. After walking for an hour, they finally stopped at a dark and quiet corner.

    Huo Yuhao was drained today. Although he had rested for some time, and his soul and spiritual power had somewhat recovered, he was still feeling weak and exhausted from the tournament. It was best to remain cautious.

    Wang Dong¡¯er squatted down beside Huo Yuhao and whispered, ¡°He¡¯s here. Should I guide him over?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I just used my Spiritual Detection to check. There¡¯s no one within a five hundred meter radius of us.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

    Wang Dong¡¯er only stepped out silently after this. She didn¡¯t make a sound, and soon brought someone over from the other side of the road ¨C Chen An.

    ¡°Sir.¡± Chen An rushed to greet Huo Yuhao when he saw him. After witnessing what had happened in thest round of the underground tournament, he became even more respectful towards Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities during that round were an eye-opener for him. He had revealed the true abilities of an evil soul master! Naturally, Chen An¡¯s efficiency also increased as a result.

    ¡°How¡¯s the matter I asked you to see to?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Chen An hurriedly answered, ¡°It¡¯s almost done. This is the list.¡± As he spoke, he passed a piece of paper to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow when he saw the list. ¡°So little?¡±

    Chen Anughed bitterly. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve already done my best. Rare metals are in short supply now. The Duskwater Alliance has stocks, but the higher-ups treat them as treasures.¡±

    ¡°They im that the value of these rare metals will soar in the future and they¡¯re prohibiting the sale of them now. I only managed to get this much because my friend is one of the higher-ups in charge of managing the warehouse. This must not leaked. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just get these first. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you do all this for nothing. Hold this first.¡± As he spoke, he passed a card to Chen An.

    ¡°There are five hundred and fifty thousand gold soul credits here. Take it as the deposit. When you return, get the goods ready. When they arrive, I¡¯ll give you the remaining sum that I owe. When that timees, your share will not be forgotten. I¡¯ll fulfill my promise to you.¡±

    After receiving the card, Chen An didn¡¯t seem to be doubtful at all. Huo Yuhao¡¯s passing of the card to Chen An represented a lot of things. ¡°Alright, sir. I have an idea. In a few days¡¯ time, our Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s grand finals will be held on the second day after the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯s semifinals are over. When the grand final begins, you¡¯ll naturally bepeting. All the higher-ups from the three underground organizations will also be gracing the event. This will also the point where the warehouse is emptiest. Let¡¯s meet then. I¡¯ll get someone to deliver the goods, and you¡¯ll send someone to verify the goods. The exchange can ur then when we are both not present. It¡¯ll also be the safest time and ce for us. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a grin and said, ¡°Not bad. Your idea is pretty reliable. Let¡¯s do it this way then. Alright, you can return now. Take care. When the matter is settled, you can follow me in the future if you want to.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. Thanks for nurturing me. Let meplete this task first before we go on to other stuff.¡± After greeting Huo Yuhao again, Chen An turned around and left. As he walked out of the dark corner, he nced around him before quickly leaving.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a cold smile on his face as he watched Chen An leave. This fellow¡¯s heartbeat was getting faster and faster when he was speaking earlier. Evidently, he must be lying. I can¡¯t tell what he¡¯s lying about, but he¡¯s pretty good to have obtained all these rare metals.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, protect me. Let me see if I can get more clues from him. If I do find out anything, second senior and I might not even need topete in the grand final.¡±

    ¡°Right here? Won¡¯t it be too dangerous? Can your body take it?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked concernedly.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. There are very few people who will pass by here. I¡¯ll continue my Imitation to conceal our figures. You just need to be more alert. I have to start; he¡¯s getting farther away. Let¡¯s hope he doesn¡¯t go too far.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. A streak of golden light shone from his forehead. As the golden light shed, it disappeared into the air. Huo Yuhao then remained motionless like a statue.

    His spiritual power had entered the concrete-immaterial realm. In a fight, Huo Yuhao still couldn¡¯t fully fuse it with his soul power. However, he was much stronger at using his spiritual power now.

    A golden projection formed, consolidated from his spiritual power. It even carried a streak of his spirit. Although it couldn¡¯t do anything, it was able to cover much greater distances than his Spiritual Detection. It was also more agile.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current spiritual power, he could cover up to three kilometers if he made his detection unidirectional. However, his Spiritual Avatar in the concrete-immaterial realm was able to cover five kilometers. He had never tested his limits, but his spiritual power was exhausted at a rate proportional to how far his avatar was from his body.

    Chen An walked very quickly. After turning two street corners, he finally slowed down and proceeded like a normal person on the streets. At this point, he was already on the main street, which was bustling with people. The surrounding restaurants and entertainment facilities were also booming with business.

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament had greatly boosted the economy of Radiant City. Over the past few months, almost all the businesses had been raking in profits.

    Chen An heaved a sigh of relief when as he mingled with the crowds. He had always been cautious, and thus was certain that he wasn¡¯t going to face any problems anymore.

    Every man for himself! Chen An revealed a cold smile on his face. As he walked, he thought to himself. By working with that mysterious evil soul master, I¡¯m sure I can change my destiny. Since I¡¯m going to do it, I must gain as many benefits as possible. As long as I¡¯m stealthy, I can please both sides, and emerge as the biggest profiteer.

    As he thought of all this, his footsteps became quicker. After passing through the main street, he turned into a narrow alley and walked quickly. However, he wasn¡¯t aware that there was an invisible Spiritual Avatar observing all his actions less than three meters above his head.

    In ces where there were fewer people, Chen An walked very quickly. He continuously cut through various streets and alleys to change his position. It also seemed as if he were going in circles. After walking for about fifteen minutes, he reached a huge building.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao revealed a shocked look on his face. That was because this ce was too familiar. It was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    Chen An didn¡¯t enter the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He followed a path at the side of the academy before entering an alley. This alley was behind the academy.

    There was another building here, which seemed like a residential property. However, Chen An was stopped by a soldier in full battle attire the moment he walked into this alley.

    Chen An retrieved a token before he was allowed to enter.

    Huo Yuhao had been in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for two years, but he hadn¡¯t known there was something like this behind the academy. After all, he had been more focused on soul tools then. Furthermore, the exchange students from Shrek Academy were normally watched very closely.

    Chen An heaved a sigh of relief as he walked into a wide courtyard. There was someone waiting for him there.

    ¡°How is it? Have you settled things over at the buyer¡¯s side?¡± There was a middle-aged man waiting for Chen An. He had ordinary looks, but seemed very anxious now. It was obvious that he had been waiting for quite some time.

    Chen An nodded and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything¡¯s settled. I even brought his deposit. Brother Li, there must be nothing wrong with the goods! If we do this well, we won¡¯t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as the buyer is okay with everything. We¡¯ve already started preparing over here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m one of the six in charge of the warehouse. In addition, I¡¯m the main person in charge. I¡¯m the vice-supervisor. I¡¯ve already started preparing since many years ago.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very strict in the warehouse, but I have my methods. No one is better than me at creating fake rare metals. Others can¡¯t hide them in their storage-type soul tools, but I can. Where¡¯s the deposit? Also, please take a look at the list again. See whether it¡¯s right.¡±

    As he spoke, he passed a list to Chen An. Chen An took out a card and said, ¡°There are two hundred thousand gold soul coins here. It¡¯s the deposit. The remainder will be paid when the goods are delivered.¡±

 Chapter 326.2: Dark Clouds Hanging

    He received the list and looked it over. After that, he nodded and said, ¡°The list is right. Quickly prepare the goods. I¡¯lle here tomorrow night at this time to collect them. I¡¯ll also pass you the remaining five hundred thousand gold soul coins then.¡±

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll follow your arrangement.¡± The middle-aged man was excited as he put the card away. After that, he sent Chen An out of the room.

    Huo Yuhao saw everything with his Spiritual Avatar, and was speechless. Chen An is too greedy. I gave him five hundred thousand gold soul coins as a deposit earlier, but he only offered two hundred thousand to the seller. Furthermore, the list that Huo Yuhao saw earlier was urate. However, the price was only half. This meant that Chen An was going to pocket half of the one million four hundred thousand gold soul coins involved in this deal. He was swindling both parties.

    However, Huo Yuhao had still managed to achieve his goal. This was the ce he was looking for.

    After he stopped following Chen An, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Avatar slowly shadowed the middle-aged man and he continued to investigate¡­

    Morning

    The weather in Radiant City had finally took a turn for the better. The sun was shining brightly, and caused the city to be extremely dazzling.

    After a night of rest, everyone from the Tang Sect had recovered. Only Xu Sanshi was still healing under the care of Jiang Nannan, as his injuries were slightly more serious.

    In the early morning, the Tang Sect was already weing two guests ¨C Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na, the two princesses.

    After seeing Bei Bei, Wei Na proceeded towards Xu Sanshi¡¯s room as Bei Bei led her. She used her Snow Lotus to treat his injury, which revealed the sincerity of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Xu Jiujiu mentioned that she wanted a private conversation with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said to Xu Jiujiu, ¡°Your Highness, eldest senior is the one who decides matters in the Tang Sect. You don¡¯t have to talk to me privately.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu looked at him deeply and replied, ¡°Alright, time is tight. I¡¯ll get straight to the point. Currently, I have three Titled Douluo and around forty detectives with me in Radiant City. Along with my troops and fifteen preparatory squad members, they form the entire strength that I have in Radiant City.¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened to her seriously, but didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Xu Jiujiu continued. ¡°When we first came to Radiant City, we didn¡¯t discover much. However, we realized that something was amiss after we reached the round-robin stage. We sent three waves of detectives back to the empire to deliver news, but they all disappeared without a trace. Do you remember Grandma Yi Man? Her title is Starcloud, and she has a Rank 93 cultivation. As the three waves of detectives disappeared, she personally returned to the Star Luo Empire. However, we lost news of her as well. We were alerted because of this. After this, we tried to investigate the matter, and discovered some clues. There seems to be trap around Radiant City ¨C it has be a situation where we can only enter, but not leave.¡±

    After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao was also shocked. He had known that the Sun Moon Empire was going to do something, but he didn¡¯t expect them to be so daring.

    Radiant City was thergest city on the continent. It wasn¡¯t easy to seal the entire perimeter of a city like that.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s intelligence, he immediately discovered a serious problem.

    ¡°Your Highness, do you mean that the Sun Moon Empire is trying to deal with all non-Sun Moon Empire teams in this tournament?¡± Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow when he said this. His doubts had been answered. The greatest problem for the Tang Sect now was their overall abilities andck of manpower. They couldn¡¯t investigate on such arge-scale like the Star Luo Empire. Huo Yuhao also believed that Xu Jiujiu wasn¡¯t lying, and the situation was only going to be more serious.

    Xu Jiujiu nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s highly possible. In addition, they aren¡¯t just targeting us. They are also trying to deal with the secret forces that have followed us on our journey here. For example, there¡¯s the Star Luo Empire, the Body Sect and Shrek Academy. We are all the elites of the various empires. Our team members even more so. By capturing all of us, it¡¯ll be a huge blow to the various empires. Furthermore, it also means something else if they dare to do this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with a cold look. ¡°They are prepared for war, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took in a deep breath. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She seemed to be put in a spot as she muttered those two words. What did it mean if the Sun Moon Empire was prepared for war? It meant that they were going to invade the Heavenly Soul and Star Luo Empires. It was going to be a big war! However, were the three empires of the continent prepared?

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. He knew that at least the Tang Sect wasn¡¯t prepared.

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness, for delivering such valuable news to me. What are you going to do? After yesterday¡¯s negotiations, I believe you and Princess Wei Na have reached an agreement.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu cursed in her heart. This sly fox. I¡¯ve already said so much, but he¡¯s not telling me his position.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ve reached an agreement. If we want to break out, we must band together. Although there are only a few teams left, we are still considered quite familiar with one another. As long as Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, as well as both Wei Na¡¯s team and mine team up together, we¡¯ll be a force to reckon with. We¡¯ve been investigating thoroughly. Radiant City is so huge, so it¡¯s very difficult to seal itpletely. We should gather our strength and escape in a particr direction.¡±

    ¡°However, there¡¯s another problem regarding the war. It seems like the Sun Moon Empire is prepared, but we are not. That¡¯s why we need to try to earn more time for ourselves. We can¡¯t just directly leave. We need to deal arger blow to the Sun Moon Empire before we leave, and slow them down. In this way, we¡¯ll have more time to prepare.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in awe. Her Highness¡¯s thought process is quite clear. Although she doesn¡¯t know the arrangements of the enemy, she knows what the critical thing is ¨C stall our enemy.

    ¡°Yuhao, we¡¯ve interacted several times, but I still am not familiar with your academy. Can you tell me what the strength of your academy is for this tournament? If your academy is willing to cooperate with us on this mission, it¡¯ll be much better.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°Your Highness, we are representing the Tang Sect this time. We are really unclear on the academy¡¯s arrangements. However, I can introduce you to our eldest senior sister in the inner courtyard of the academy. You can discuss the details with her.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu seemed a little pensive. After a moment, she nodded and replied, ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll need to trouble you then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and thought to himself ¨C sounds good? That¡¯s your purpose, isn¡¯t it?

    After this brief conversation, both parties left pleased. Huo Yuhao had obtained valuable information, while Xu Jiujiu also achieved her goal.

    ---

    At this point, the Tang Sect¡¯s hall was getting more and more crowded. Wei Na had already done her best to heal Xu Sanshi, and assured him that he could fight the Holy Ghost Church the next day. Zhang Lexuan also arrived with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Zhang Lexuan was stunned when she saw Princesses Wei Na and Jiujiu on the Tang Sect¡¯s side. Although she wasn¡¯t familiar with them, she had naturally been observing them. After all, they represented two different empires! And Wei Na also represented the Body Sect.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s hall was now packed.

    There was Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er from the Tang Sect, Zhang Lexuan and Wang Qiu¡¯er from Shrek Academy, and the two princesses. The seven of them represented four different parties.

    Wei Na and Xu Jiujiu looked at each other. Xu Jiujiu nodded her head gently.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s really crowded in here. It¡¯s the semifinals tomorrow. Bei Bei, how''re your preparations?¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°We¡¯ve prepared everything that we need to. Tomorrow¡¯s fight will be very important. We¡¯ll do our best.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly and pretended not to know the two princesses. She asked, ¡°These two are?¡±

    Bei Bei rushed to introduce them to one another. After the three of them greeted one another, Xu Jiujiu seemed to turn a little anxious. She expressed her wish to converse in private with Zhang Lexuan. This time, Princess Wei Na also wanted to join in on the conversation.

    Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t reject her request. The three of them borrowed one of the Tang Sect¡¯s rooms and began to discuss matters with one another.

    The hall became much more quiet after they left. Only the three from the Tang Sect and Wang Qiu¡¯er remained.

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er before he looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head helplessly. He turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Was Princess Jiujiu sincere earlier?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. He recounted everything Xu Jiujiu had said to him earlier. He didn¡¯t withhold any information because Wang Qiu¡¯er was around. After all, this was a matter that concerned both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. Moreover, he already thought of her as a trustworthy friend after their many ordeals together.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s report, Bei Bei turned serious. Wang Dong¡¯erughed coldly, ¡°They are obviously trying to make use of us as messengers. Their real goal isn¡¯t to work with us, but with the academy.¡±

    Whatever Wang Dong¡¯er could tell, Huo Yuhao naturally could tell too. Bei Beiughed and said, ¡°This is normal. They have Titled Douluo following them, but we only have the few of us. No one will bother with us if things really escte to a conflict between the truly strong individuals. However, they are not wrong to treat us as a part of the academy.¡±

 Chapter 326.3: Dark Clouds Hanging

    Huo Yuhao could see a slight but definite and furious intent in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. After knowing him for so long, Huo Yuhao was clearly aware that Bei Bei was actually a very proud person, even though he seemed to be very tough on the outside. The existence of the Tang Sect was an important link between him and Tang Ya. How could he not have any reaction when they were being looked down upon?

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s actually good that they are not concerned about us. In this way, they¡¯ll be our cover when we do certain things.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at him. Their gazes met, but they didn¡¯t say anything.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had remained quiet all this time, suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Eldest senior sister and I are here this time because we want to inform all of you about what we¡¯ve discovered. Whatever that Princess Jiujiu mentioned might not be everything that they¡¯ve discovered. From what we know, Radiant City has indeed been sealed.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire deployed a few legions of soul engineers to mount a defensive line, with advanced-ranked soul engineers to hold the fort. All the teams that left earlier must have been stopped by them. However, the weird thing is that they didn¡¯t seal all of Radiant City. They only sealed three sides, and left one side empty, the west side. It is the direction that we would take if we wanted to take the longest time to return to our academy.¡±

    The information that Wang Qiu¡¯er provided was very important. To some extent, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect were together. She didn¡¯t conceal any information, and told Huo Yuhao everything.

    Huo Yuhao immediately retrieved a map of Radiant City. He had bought it when they first came to Radiant City for the exchange. He opened up the map to take a look at the surrounding geography of Radiant City.

    Radiant City was located in a good position. Three of the sides that it faced were vast ins suitable for farming and training soldiers. It was only the west side that faced a mountain range, called, naturally enough, the Sun Moon Mountain Range.

    It wasn¡¯t considered too expansive, but it blocked the western nk of Radiant City. Although Radiant City wasn¡¯t surrounded by city walls, it wasn¡¯t too far-fetched to im that it was constructed based on the mountain range. It was just that the other three sides of the city were too wide, and thus hardly anyone noticed the west side of the city when they came to Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow when he saw the map. ¡°Encircling three sides and leaving one side empty. In the art of war, this strategy is used to prevent enemies from fighting too desperately by deliberately leaving an opening for them. However, the Sun Moon Empire doesn¡¯t have to do this! Their goal should be to capture us all! Why would they leave an escape route for us? Furthermore, the geography of the mountain range is veryplicated. It¡¯s ideal for hiding. Sealing the mountains will also be much more tedious than sealing the vast ins.¡±

    Bei Bei was also looking at the map. He said, ¡°In addition, this mountain range is very close to Radiant City. There can¡¯t be soul beasts residing in it. It should be an ordinary mountain range.¡±

    The few of them started to be very doubtful.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°We¡¯ve thought of all that, too. From appearences, the most likely situation is because the Sun Moon Empire knows that thebination of our academy and the Body Sect will be too strong. That¡¯s why they¡¯ve left us an escape route, but we¡¯ll have to make a detour in order to return. This will at least dy us. However, we don¡¯t know what they are trying to dy us for. After all, there are more than ten Titled Douluos between our academy, the Body Sect, and the Star Luo Empire. If the Sun Moon Empire wants to keep us here, they¡¯ll have to pay a huge price. It might not be something they can handle. Capturing the rest of the teams will also have dealt a huge blow to the three empires on the continent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly shook his head and said, ¡°No, no.¡± His breathing had sped up as he said, ¡°It can¡¯t be that simple. Think about it. Even if we have to make a detour to the west, how long will it dy us? Let¡¯s not even talk about Titled Douluo; even for us, we can make up for the additional distance very quickly using our flying-type soul tools. If the Sun Moon Empire wants to do something, they can¡¯t possibly do so in those additional few hours. If they are sessful, I don¡¯t think people like us can affect them.¡±

    As he spoke until here, he seemed to have understood something. ¡°If we think of it from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s perspective, what would we do if we wanted to deal with ourpetitors in this tournament? Would we only capture a few of the members from each team and release the stronger ones?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t do so. I¡¯d rather let the weaker ones go, but I would have to capture the stronger ones from Shrek Academy and the Body Sect. After all, neither our academy nor the Body Sect can turn out in full strength. This means that our strength is already scattered. While the fighting strength of ten Titled Douluo is very great, this is still the Sun Moon Empire, and they also have the help of the Holy Ghost Church! Along with their ss 9 soul engineers, they are strong enough to threaten us if they team up.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao is right. If they can keep us here, including the Titled Douluo, it¡¯ll be a true, critical blow to us! If I were the one leading such an operation, I¡¯d do my best to ensure this happens. I would also try my best to capture all the Titled Douluo.¡±

    As he finished speaking, Bei Bei stopped. His breathing had also quickened. As he looked into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, they could see one another¡¯s fear.

    Huo Yuhao pointed to the Sun Moon Mountain Range on the map and said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s make a bold guess. Not only is this mountain range not an escape route, but it might even be the path to death. They¡¯ve intentionally left this path open for us, and are trying to make us think that they are leaving an escape route for us. Their aim is to draw us over. They are really scheming!¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er disagreed. ¡°That¡¯s only what you think. We¡¯ve sent people to check out the mountain range. There¡¯s nothing wrong with it. Although there are a few troops there to guard the region, they won¡¯t pose a threat to us. The two of you might be overreacting.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied ¡°Perhaps. We can¡¯t check things out, and thus it might not be good for us toment. However, our guess can be considered rational given the situation we are in. Qiu¡¯er, who did the academy send here?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied, ¡°There aren¡¯t many people from the academy, but they are the stronger ones. Elder Xuan is here personally, along with another four elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Dean Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s also here. There are a total of six Titled Douluo from our academy. Including Elder Xuan, we have four Transcendent Douluo.¡±

    After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er and Bei Bei were all astonished. Although they knew that the academy would provide reinforcements, they hadn¡¯t expected the lineup to be so strong. Even Elder Xuan was included, and there were four Transcendent Douluo among the six Titled Douluo. What did this mean? It meant that almost half the higher-ups of Shrek Academy were here! Only Dean Yan Shaozhe was left in Shrek Academy to hold the fort.

    A warm feeling rose in their hearts. They were touched by the academy¡¯s regard for their safety.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er followed by saying, ¡°We posit that the Sun Moon Empire left us an escape route on the west side because Elder Xuan was there to personally check it. He even scanned the entire mountain range from the sky before he came to his conclusion. It¡¯s unlikely that your guess is right.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Perhaps we¡¯re worrying too much. If Elder Xuan checked it himself, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡±

    With Elder Xuan¡¯s abilities, how could there be something wrong if he couldn¡¯t detect anything?

    Wang Dong¡¯er also nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said. They trusted Elder Xuan.

    Only Huo Yuhao seemed to be thinking of something. However, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there should be more than ten Titled Douluo, given that there are three from the Star Luo Empire and at least three from the Body Sect! With such a strong lineup, I¡¯m sure the Sun Moon Empire will be worried, since we are able to cause significant damage. In that case, it¡¯s possible that they left an escape route for us. Little junior, what do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Perhaps. However, I don¡¯t know why I feel so uneasy. If there¡¯s an escape route for us, it shouldn¡¯t be like this. However, Elder Xuan also checked it himself. Let¡¯s hope that everything¡¯s fine. Qiu¡¯er, what does the academy think about sabotaging the Sun Moon Empire while we¡¯re here?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head. Her expression turned slightly gentler, and she said, ¡°Elder Xuan said that it¡¯s not important whether we sabotage Radiant City. The most important thing is for us to return. Tomorrow is the semifinals, and the final will be after that. No matter what we achieve, we must leave this city. This was what Elder Xuan told us to tell all of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and his nose felt a little runny. ¡°I don¡¯t have a family. Ever since I joined the academy, it has be my family.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her hands to sp his shoulders. She knew that Huo Yuhao was most emotional when it came to this.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Who says you have no family? Isn¡¯t the Tang Sect your family? Since Elder Xuan has already made arrangements, let¡¯s just follow it. As for sabotaging Radiant City, we don¡¯t have to do it since he doesn¡¯t want us to do so.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, and they looked at each other. They didn¡¯t say a single word after this.

    After a while, Zhang Lexuan left the room with the two princesses. It was obvious that their discussion wasn¡¯t very pleasant. Xu Jiujiu wore a dismal look on her face. While Wei Na seemed very calm, the gentle look in her eyes had disappeared. After they exited the room, the two princesses immediately took their leave.

    Just like Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao thought, the two of them had no intention of dealing with them over this matter after they had established contact with Shrek Academy.

 Chapter 327.1: Semifinals!

    Zhang Lexuan snorted after she watched the two princesses leave. ¡°They must be daydreaming if they are trying to tie us together. Is the Sun Moon Empire stupid? Our academy and the Tang Sect possess nearly all the outstanding disciples among the younger generation. Even if they dare to take the risk, we won¡¯t dare to. Elder Xuan was right. It¡¯s important for everyone to return safely.¡±

    Shrek Academy was neither a sect nor a country. They wouldn¡¯t let their students take risks for any reason. This was the greatest difference they had with the Star Luo Empire, Heavenly Soul Empire, and Body Sect.

    Bei Bei looked at Zhang Lexuan and seemed to ask her something with his eyes.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°That bunch is pretty vicious. They want to attack the Illustrious Virtue Hall and attempt to assassinate Xu Tianran. Xu Tianran has always been an aggressive person, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor is going to kick the bucket soon. If Xu Tianranes to rule the Sun Moon Empire, a war will soon break out. But if he¡¯s dead, there will be internal strife within the Sun Moon Empire. This will dy the war for some time, and give the various empires sufficient time to prepare.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed an enlightened look, ¡°I see. However, they are indulging in fantasies. Xu Tianran is now the Prince Regent. I¡¯ve met him before. He¡¯s a very ambitious person, and had a very eerie vibe about him. He has even pulled Jing Hongchen to his side. I believe even the Holy Ghost Church has been pulled to his side, as well. It¡¯s going to be very difficult to ambush and kill him. Furthermore, Xu Tianran lost his legs to an ambush. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll be very wary after that painful experience? I¡¯m afraid that it would be very unlikely to be sessful.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and said, ¡°We agree on this. If they want to cause trouble, let them do it themselves. Let¡¯s just not participate. While it¡¯ll be good if they seed, we won¡¯t be any worse off if they don¡¯t.¡±

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°When are you nning to make a move?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°As I didn¡¯t express my interest to join, they didn¡¯t mention any detailed timing. However, I believe they might dy it until after the tournament if we do participate. After all, the tournament has not ended yet. If we don¡¯t join now, they might act earlier. They won¡¯t take our safety into ount, either. When I mentioned that I was going to opt out, they suggested that we provide support instead. I didn¡¯t agree to that, either. That¡¯s why their attitude changed; they¡¯ve started to treat us as enemies.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°They have no choice but to do so. After all, it concerns the national security of both empires. Compared to the interests of an empire, individual lives are nothing. Why would they treat us as well as the academy? Let¡¯s not care about them and continue with the tournament. When it ends, we¡¯ll leave just like Elder Xuan has arranged.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhang Lexuan nodded. Suddenly, her expression turned slightly weird and she said, ¡°Bei Bei, are you confident tomorrow?¡±

    Bei Bei was stunned, and slowly shook his head.

    Tomorrow, they would be facing the Holy Ghost Sect. How could they be confident when Tang Ya was in the Holy Ghost Church? It was an evil soul master sect, even more mysterious than the Body Sect! In the previous rounds, only a few people from the Holy Ghost Churchpeted. They had used their strong evil soul master abilities to advance all the way to the semifinals.

    Zhang Lexuan hesitated for a while before she said, ¡°Even though all of you are representing the Tang Sect, Elder Xuan also told us that safety is the first priority. Nothing is more important than life. All of you are the future of the academy and the Tang Sect. Winning the tournament is no longer important under the circumstances we are in right now. You must remain alive if you want to snatch Xiao Ya back.¡±

    Bei Bei subconsciously lowered his head as he saw the glow in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes. He gently nodded, but didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Zhang Lexuan suddenly became agitated. ¡°You mule, go die if you want to.¡± After she finished speaking, she turned around and left, mming the door behind her. She understood Bei Bei too well. From Bei Bei¡¯s actions, she could tell that he wouldn¡¯t heed her advice.

    Bei Bei expression twisted as he sighed. At times, feelings couldn¡¯t be forced. He knew that Zhang Lexuan was acting in his best interests. However, he only had Tang Ya in mind! If someone had to be med, Elder Mu was the one. However, Elder Mu had already passed away. Zhang Lexuan also wanted to stay true to her promise. Bei Bei was afraid to face her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you in the finals. No matter what ns you have, I hope to have a good fight with you when we meet.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Is it interesting bullying a cripple?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body jerked slightly, and her lips twisted. She didn¡¯t say anything else, turning around and leaving.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her hands and pinched his back. Huo Yuhao coughed and said to the depressed Bei Bei, ¡°Eldest senior, let¡¯s discuss our team. To us, the Heavenly Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire¡¯s n might be our best cover.¡±

    Bei Bei lifted his head, and his expression returned to normal. He nodded gently.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°After the semifinals, the second day will be the final of the underground tournament. The Holy Ghost Church will also be present. We should let the two princesses know about this matter. If they want to make a move, that will be the best day.¡±

    Bei Beiughed, ¡°Maybe the two princesses won¡¯t be the ones to dy the Sun Moon Empire, but us.¡±

    ------

    Over thesest few days, Radiant City¡¯s atmosphere had be more and more tense. The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was about to reach its semifinal stage. At the same time, the three underground organizations were also organizing the finals of the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament.

    All the teahouses and restaurants were discussing the two tournaments. Evidently, the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was more attractive. However, everyone was also attracted to the underground tournament, as they were allowed to bet on it. Through the underground tournaments, the three underground organizations benefited greatly.

    The semifinal lineup of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was as follows. In the morning, the Heavenly Dragon Sect was fighting Shrek Academy. In the afternoon, the Tang Sect was fighting the Holy Ghost Sect.

    These were two semifinal rounds with many talking points. Whose dragon-type martial soul was stronger, Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, or Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon? Under what circumstances would they meet in the tournament? This was the biggest talking point of the semifinal round. Which dragon was stronger?

    Because of Long Aotian¡¯s impressive showing, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s reputation dipped a little. Even though she hadn¡¯t fought Long Aotian, many believed that she was weaker than him.

    Of course, there were loyal supporters of Wang Qiu¡¯er as well. In their eyes, the ravishing, cool, and elegant Wang Qiu¡¯er was the best in this tournament. As long as no one defeated her in a duel, she would always be the strongest.

    Many people fought as they tried to debate the question of who between Wang Qiu¡¯er and Long Aotian was stronger.

    The second semifinal round was touted to be the most intense match in the entire tournament.

    Those who were sharp could tell what kind of existence the Holy Ghost Church was. It was made up of evil soul masters! However, the Sun Moon Empire had been restraining all discussion of the Holy Ghost Sect. Since the Sun Moon Empire dared to let the Holy Ghost Sectpete, they had naturally made their own arrangements.

    As a result, it was illegal to even discuss the Holy Ghost Church in Radiant City.

    Even so, everyone still wondered how strong an evil soul master sect was. If they emerged as the eventual winners, the Sun Moon Empire would be aughingstock.

    At the very least, it would be a ck mark on the entire history of the tournament.

    What had Xu Tianran thought? That history was written by the victors! If he could rule over the entire continent, what ck mark could he not remove? This fact alone was why he dared to let the Holy Ghost Sectpete.

    There were some quite intense objections even within the Sun Moon Empire. However, Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t bothered. After he curbed some of them with violence, the Holy Ghost Sect managed toplete their registration.

    Nobody liked an evil soul master sect. That was why the Tang Sect became the hot topic in this second semifinal round.

    The Tang Sect had defeated the Snowdemon Sect, which had possessed the seven-ringed Soul Sage Long Aotian and a few Soul Emperors. They had fully demonstrated their abilities. To many spectators, the Tang Sect was a huge treasure vault. They always delivered something new to win in each round.

    Could they defeat their opponents and achieve eventual victory? It was difficult to tell. However, it was probably their only hope!

    From their showing in the quarterfinals, it was evident that their abilities in theter rounds were greater than what they had shown in the earlier rounds. If the Tang Sect couldn¡¯t stop the Holy Ghost Sect, the Holy Ghost Sect was likely to be the eventual winners.

    That was why many people supported the Tang Sect secretly. They hoped the Tang Sect could defeat the evil soul master sect!

 Chapter 327.2: Semifinals!

    The semifinals of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master started under such an atmosphere.

    The weather today was a little gloomy. Clouds filled the sky, and it felt a little oppressive. It seemed like it might rain at any time.

    If it were any other normal time, no one would have left their houses in such weather unless they had something important to attend to. However, it was different today.

    In the early morning, Radiant City was already bustling. There were huge crowds gathering towards the suburbs.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military, which was in charge of maintaining order, had already begun their job at the tournament venue in the wee hours of the morning, trying to prevent a stampede. Today, there would be a record-breaking crowd.

    There were simply too many people. It was impossible to see the end of the crowd!

    When there were ten thousand people, it would seem as if the crowd was infinite, but right now, there were far more than ten thousand people!

    Several hundred thousand spectators were crowding around the tournament stage. Those furthest from the stage were a good two kilometers away. They had to rely on a telescope to see what was going on. Even so, everything still wasn¡¯t clear to them.

    Four teams entered the venue simultaneously. All of them had gone through several rounds to be able to be present today. It was already the highest honor to be among the semifinalists. However, only one team would win!

    Who would be the victor? No one was thinking about this question yet. The most important question right now was¡­ which teams would qualify today?

    The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were finally seated together. Even though Dai Huabin, Wu Feng and the others didn¡¯t like the Tang Sect, they were even more unwilling to get close to evil soul masters or their direct opponents, the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

    Shrek Academy came without their teacher. Only their eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, was here with them. Everyone looked very serious. They were going to fight a strong opponent today.

    There were eight people on the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team. From her figure, it was easy to recognize that Tang Ya was seated in the front. Behind her, every member of the Holy Ghost Church had covered themselves up with huge ck cloaks. Thedy furthest back gave Huo Yuhao the familiar feeling he had experienced earlier.

    When the Tang Sect came to the waiting area, the members of the Holy Ghost Sect shot them cold and eerie looks.

    On the Tang Sect¡¯s side, everyone was already in their best condition apart from Xu Sanshi, who was still a little pale. They were under more pressure than Shrek Academy in today¡¯s semifinals.

    Against evil soul masters, it wasn¡¯t just about victory or failure anymore. Their lives were on the line. This was also why Zhang Lexuan had warned Bei Bei to take care of their own safety.

    Before they moved off in the morning, Bei Bei had also warned his teammates. However, were they able to control themselves when they really fought? No one was sure about this. For victory and the glory of Tang Sect, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were very determined. So what if they were evil soul masters? They¡¯d beaten evil soul masters before!

    The stage had already been repaired and returned to its former appearance. To prepare for the semifinals, it hadn¡¯t just been rebuilt. It was also reinforced with steel tes! Even the protective barriers were re-arranged so that they wouldn¡¯t be damaged like they were before.

    The twenty-thousand-strong military division in charge of maintaining order today were all fully equipped with weapons and helmets.

    No matter the rank of the soldiers, everyone from the military was wearing the same white armor. The only difference was in terms of patterns. Officers of different ranks had different patterns on their armor. For the highest-ranking officers, there was an additional feather on their helmets.

    The color of the feather also varied depending on the rank of the officer.

    Order was maintained through this military presence. Anyone who dared to defy the military was courting death!

    ---

    On the main stage, Xu Tianran had already arrived. Many officials were there with him. The mysterious Imperial Tutor was also here. He sat to Xu Tianran¡¯s left, while Ju Zi sat to Xu Tianran¡¯s right.

    Xu Tianran appeared very rxed today, wearing a smile on his face. The sun had just risen. Even though the weather wasn¡¯t very good, that didn¡¯t seem to affect his mood.

    Xu Tianran smiled after receiving a cup of tea from Ju Zi. ¡°Ju Zi, who do you think will win in the morning round?¡±

    Ju Zi was startled, and slowly shook her head. She replied, ¡°I don¡¯t dare to make any wild guesses. However, I believe that the leaders of both teams will be crucial in determining the victor. I¡¯ve heard that the both of them are the strongest dragon-type soul masters in this tournament. Wang Qiu¡¯er is the backbone of Shrek¡¯s team. If she loses, I¡¯m afraid Shrek¡¯s fighting strength will drop greatly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also roughly the same for the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Yu Tianlong¡¯s abilities seem better than the rest of his teammates. He¡¯s also the next sect leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. He holds a high status in his sect.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded satisfactorily and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s guess ; will they meet in the individual elimination round?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and said, ¡°I shall make a guess then.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed and said, ¡°Alright, you can guess first. However, what¡¯s our stake going to be?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and answered, ¡°I won¡¯t bet. I¡¯m only making a guess to entertain Your Highness. Everything that I have belongs to you. What can I use to bet against you?¡±

    After hearing her words, Xu Tianran was in an extremely good mood. He opened his arms to hug her waist. ¡°You are very right. No wonder you are mine, Ju Zi. Tell me, what¡¯s your guess?¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°I think they¡¯ll meet in the first individual elimination round.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xu Tianran was a little stunned as he looked at her. He asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°They are both very proud individuals. They need a fair fight to prove themselves. I think this is especially true for Yu Tianlong. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s individual reputation has been outstanding in this tournament! She¡¯s also the first topete in every fight. He¡¯s a man with a dragon-type martial soul, too. There¡¯s no way he won¡¯tpete against her! If Wang Qiu¡¯er doesn¡¯t fight first, Shrek¡¯s momentum will be very weak. She relies on momentum to fight, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll want to continue that. That¡¯s why I think they¡¯ll meet in the first fight.¡±

    ¡°Great! Intelligent! It seems like I don¡¯t have to worry about passing the military to you,¡± Xu Tianran nodded as he smiled.

    Ju Zi was delighted. She wanted to bow, but Xu Tianran stopped her.

    ¡°Ju Zi, you must remember this. You are no longer my subordinate. You are my wife. You don¡¯t have to bow to me. Didn¡¯t I tell you that before? Everything that you have belongs to me. I¡¯ve also treated you as an important part of my life. No matter what I give you, you deserve it. Moreover, I must help you fulfill your wish. You are still inexperienced, but it¡¯s fine for you to be a lieutenant now. Work hard. Once you gain some merit, you¡¯ll soon control the entire military. I¡¯ll be relieved to hand the military over to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and replied, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s watch the fight. It¡¯s about to start.¡±

    ---

    In the waiting area...

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was sitting in the main seat for Shrek¡¯s team. Her back was very straight, and she had a dignified posture. She shut her eyes and rested for a while.

    At this point, Yu Tianlong stood up and walked towards her.

    After seeing what he was doing, Dai Huabin suddenly stood up behind Wang Qiu¡¯er. There was a cold look in his eyes.

    ¡°Sit down,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er instructed him.

    Dai Huabin appeared quite stern, but he still obediently sat down.

    The Tang Sect was seated next to Shrek Academy. When they saw how Wang Qiu¡¯er had managed to tame Dai Huabin with just her words, even Huo Yuhao was very impressed. Indeed, there was always someone more dominant! This wasn¡¯t just based on abilities; it seemed like Dai Huabin had been truly won over by Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Yu Tianlong stopped three meters away from Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡± As he looked at her, his eyes shone. He didn¡¯t even nce at Dai Huabin. His attention waspletely captured by Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    She was too beautiful. The dark-green uniform that she wore entuated her fairplexion. Her flowing, powdery-blue hair was like a waterfall behind her back. She didn¡¯t have any ws. Although her eyes were shut, her long eyshes still curled upward ¨C it was a captivating sight.

    Yu Tianlong believed that he was a veryposed person. However, he felt his breathing getting faster and faster as he came closer to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked coldly.

    Yu Tianlong asked, ¡°Do you to dare to fight with me?¡±

    ¡°What are we betting with?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked in the same frosty tone.

    Yu Tianlong said, ¡°I¡¯ll be the first topete in the individual elimination round. I hope to fight you. If I lose, I¡¯ll join Shrek Academy. If you lose, you must join the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Do you dare to take this bet?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er revealed a scornful look. ¡°Shrek Academy doesn¡¯t ept trash.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Everyone from the Heavenly Dragon Sect stood up. They were all infuriated.

    Yu Tianlong lifted his hand and gestured towards his teammates. He suppressed some of their rage and asked, ¡°Are you scared?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t even bother to continue talking to him anymore. She shut her eyes, and didn¡¯t make another sound.

 Chapter 327.3: Semifinals!

    Zhang Lexuan, who was standing behind Team Shrek, stood up. ¡°Yu Tianlong, don¡¯t try to take advantage of us like that. We are Shrek, an open-minded academy. We don¡¯t restrict our students. The Heavenly Dragon Sect is a sect. Do you think the conditions are fair in the bet you are suggesting?¡±

    Yu Tianlong was stunned. He wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to take advantage of them. He was just being direct. ¡°What do you suggest then?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Alright, I shall make the decision for Qiu¡¯er. If she loses, she¡¯ll join the Heavenly Dragon Sect after she graduates. If you lose, you¡¯ll be her servant for three years. This is only fair.¡±

    Yu Tianlong hesitated after hearing her words. He was the future sect leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect! It would be too much for him to take if he lost.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also opened her eyes wide after hearing Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words. They were filled with surprise.

    Yu Tianlong was close to her. When he saw her captivating eyes, he unwittingly said, ¡°Alright, I agree.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was too beautiful. She was so beautiful that he couldn¡¯t help himself.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood up and turned her head to look at Zhang Lexuan, but Zhang Lexuan just nodded at her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a bit of a daze. She still clearly remembered what Zhang Lexuan had said to her before.

    --

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, you should know that you can¡¯t interfere in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s rtionship. There are good guys in this world. Why do you have to give up the entire forest for one tree? There¡¯ll be opportunities in the future. I¡¯ll pull some strings for you.¡±

    ¡°Eldest senior sister, why don¡¯t you find a guy for yourself, then?¡±

    ¡°I made a vow.¡±

    --

    With her intelligence, she understood why Zhang Lexuan had epted this bet on her behalf.

    Yu Tianlong was tall and burly. His looks were decent too, and his abilities were strong. He didn¡¯t seem to be inferior to Huo Yuhao at all. It was a pity that Zhang Lexuan didn¡¯t understand. Her rtionship with Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t so simple! There were things that couldn¡¯t be changed.

    ¡°Even if I win, you don¡¯t have to be my servant. Just end the match,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said.

    Yu Tianlong was stunned. As he studied Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s cold and indifferent look, there was a weird feeling in his chest.

    In the Heavenly Dragon Sect, he was a leading figure who was respected by all. The colder Wang Qiu¡¯er acted towards him, the greater his desire to make her submit to him grew.

    In terms of overall abilities, Yu Tianlong didn¡¯t think his sect was inferior to Shrek. They might even be better. However, the Heavenly Dragon Sect¡¯s problem was simr to Shrek Academy¡¯s. As the team leader, his cultivation was far superior to those of his teammates. He was unsure of his team¡¯s chances in the group round. Although Shrek¡¯s individual abilities weren¡¯t great either, they had shown two martial soul fusion skills during theirst team round.

    Those were martial soul fusion skills! One was a control-type, and the other was an assault-type fusion skill. Along with their weird time controller, Shrek¡¯s team was indeed quite strong!

    The Heavenly Dragon Sect wasn¡¯t confident of winning in the team round. Since this was the case, they should be more ¡®generous¡¯. As long as they beat Wang Qiu¡¯er in this round, she would join their sect in the future. When that happened¡­

    As he finished thinking, Yu Tianlong revealed an arrogant smile on his face. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do as you request. We¡¯ll decide victory in this fight. If you win, we¡¯ll concede defeat. A man is always ready to give and take. So what if I be your servant? If you lose, you¡¯ll join us! That¡¯ll be fair.¡±

    Yu Tianlong acted very manly. He was a straightforward person, and gave off a very mighty feeling.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded at him before returning to her position and shutting her eyes.

    One fight to decide it all?

    When everyone in the resting area heard about this, they thought that it was a very childish arrangement. Both teams had toiled to reach this stage, but they wanted to end this semifinal match with just one duel? It seemed a little irrational. However, they also realized that it was a good method after thinking about it for a while. By using this method, this duel was likely to be very intense!

    The staff members in the resting area went to report the decision to their higher-ups. It was the first time in the history of this tournament that such a simple but crude method would be used to settle the result in a semifinal round.

    If they were any other teams, such a method was unlikely to be used. The rest of the team¡¯s members would likely reject the suggestion! However, Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong held absolute authority in their respective teams. Their teammates wouldn¡¯t object.

    One fight to decide it all!

    Fierce!

    ------

    It was time for the duel. On stage, Zheng Zhan walked out towards the center of the stage. He had just received the news. I can¡¯t believe they thought of this. It¡¯s good though. At least I¡¯ll be under less pressure. I can prepare more for the semifinal match in the afternoon. Without a doubt, the sh between the Tang Sect and the Holy Ghost Church was the more important semifinal round.

    ¡°Semifinals, first round! Shrek Academy versus the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Competing members from both parties, please enter the waiting area!¡± Zheng Zhan shouted, as loud as ever. His voice echoed out through the sound-amplifying soul tool.

    When only one member from each team appeared, the spectators were stunned. What was going on? Weren¡¯t there supposed to be seven members from each team?

    Yu Tianlong and Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t even enter the waiting area. They jumped up on the stage at the same time and walked out to Zheng Zhan, demonstrating their resolve.

    Although Zheng Zhan had already received the news earlier, he was still shocked.

    They¡¯re really going to do it! Young people nowadays are really able to handle pressure. I wouldn¡¯t have dared to do this in the past.

    ¡°First semifinal round. Shrek Academy versus the Heavenly Dragon Sect. After discussions between both sides, they¡¯ve decided to use a duel to determine the victor for this round! Shrek Academy and the Heavenly Dragon Sect will be sending their team leaders out to fight!¡±

    When Zheng Zhan announced this strange arrangement, there was a hugemotion among the spectators.

    However, there were only a few who were disappointed. Most people started to get very excited.

    Xu Tianran and Ju Zi weren¡¯t the only ones guessing how this semifinal round between Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong was going to pan out! Almost all the spectators were making the same guesses, especially Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s supporters.

    The two teams were using a duel to decide the winner. This was undoubtedly very attractive to the spectators. It was the only way Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong would be able to fight one another in their best condition. The winner would earn the title of the best dragon-type soul master in this tournament!

    Although Bei Bei¡¯s martial soul was also a dragon, he had rarely appeared in the previous rounds. His performances weren¡¯t very eye-catching, either. There were very few spectators who remembered him

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er will win!¡±

    Someone started shouting among the crowd. His voice made the spectators even more excited.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er will win!¡±

    ¡°The Golden Dragon Lady will win!¡±

    Hysterical screams soon engulfed the entire spectator stands. There were too many people who adored Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er was even given a scare by the huge soundwaves that echoed out. She hadn¡¯t known that shemanded such a respected position in the hearts of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens. After all, she was representing Shrek Academy! Shrek Academy was the arch-enemy of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!

    It was unbelievable that she was so popr even under such a circumstance. Apart from her beauty and cold demeanor, her simple and brutally aesthetic fighting style captivated everyone.

    Yu Tianlong didn¡¯t feel depressed because of all the shouting and screaming. Rather, a passionate gaze glowed in his eyes.

    His thinking was evidently different from an ordinary person¡¯s. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s poprity only made him more even excited. He was thinking how great it would be if Wang Qiu¡¯er could be his woman. The feeling of making everyone¡¯s goddess his woman was¡­

    Finishing his train of thought, Yu Tianlong revealed a smile on his face. Just as everyone was cheering on his opponent, he smiled instead. Zheng Zhan thought it was a little weird, and couldn¡¯t help but shudder.

    I really can¡¯t understand young people these days!

    ---

    On the main stage, Xu Tianran looked a little gloomy. He was also very strong, and ruled the entire empire. He naturally had the same thought as Yu Tianlong, and might even be more extreme than him. However, he was tormented because he couldn¡¯t do anything even if he could make such ady submit to him. This torment caused him to grab hard onto his wheelchair handle.

    If he couldn¡¯t own it, then he would rather destroy it! Xu Tianran revealed a ferocious look in his eyes right then...

    ---

    ¡°Both parties, please get ready.¡±

    Since this was a duel, and both parties were already known to each other, Zheng Zhan skimmed over a lot of the administrative process. He opened his arms wide and pointed to the two sides of the stage.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned and walked away, her face still as cold as ever. Even though she was moved by the screams, she soon regained herposure.

    While she was very cold, Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes were instead burning with excitement. A strong fighting will rose in his heart.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was a tough character! To win her over, defeating her was the first step! If he couldn¡¯t even beat her in a duel, there wasn¡¯t any meaning to the other matters!

 Chapter 328.1: Duel of the Two Dragons!

    Yu Tianlong turned around after taking a deep look at Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s perfect figure, and walked towards his own side of the stage.

    The dimly yellow transparent protective soul barriers were set up, isting them from the outside world. The screaming spectators also gradually quieted down. Their goddess was about topete, and they wanted to see every detail of the fight carefully, so they stopped all their shouting and screaming.

    Both Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong retreated to their respective sides of the stage. They stood straight and turned back around.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze turned sharp at this instant. Before she turned around, she nced at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao seemed to sense her gaze. Even though they were isted by some distance, he still shot her an encouraging look.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er turned around and muttered softly, ¡°I won¡¯t owe you anything at all.¡±

    No one heard her words. The next moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body surged with a frightening fighting intent that was very suppressive.

    When this sense of suppression appeared, the protective barriers around the stage all lit up slightly.

    The Unbreakable Douluo was shocked, and he almost retreated without thought. There was a horrified look in his eyes.

    Was Wang Qiu¡¯er actually concealing her powers in the previous rounds?

    Compared to Zheng Zhan, Yu Tianlong was even more surprised, since he was the one bearing the pressure from Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    In Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes, Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have be a huge, roaring Golden Dragon! The terrifying sense of suppression caused his martial soul to shudder slightly.

    The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was a top-ranked martial soul, one of the best among dragon-type martial souls. However, it still shuddered in the face of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura. What did this signify?

    One martial soul could suppress another martial soul. Simply put, those with tiger-type martial souls had an obvious advantage over those with horse-type, bull-type, and sheep-type martial souls.

    Such a situation was verymon in the world of soul masters. However, it rarely happened in such huge tournaments. That was because every team sent the disciples with the strongest martial souls topete. These disciples were also their elites. If their martial souls were ordinary, they wouldn¡¯t be here!

    However, Yu Tianlong felt as if his martial soul were being suppressed now. How could he not panic? Before today, he hadn¡¯t expected his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon to ever be suppressed by another martial soul. Furthermore, it was even another dragon-type martial soul! His unyielding desire to win suddenly took a huge blow, and he wore a solemn expression on his face.

    ¡°Begin!¡± Zheng Zhan wasn¡¯t willing to bear the huge pressure anymore. He quickly moved his arm to signal the start of this duel.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s head was originally down, but after she heard Zheng Zhan, she quickly raised it, and her powdery-blue hair moved on its own, flowing back behind her.

    Something weird urred. From the roots, the color of her hair started to change tremendously. It was as if a golden fluid were flowing from the roots of her hair and spreading down to its tips.

    A bright golden light was released from her body, and a goldenyer of fine dragon scales quickly engulfed her form. The bright golden light easily illuminated her half of the stage.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er demonstrated her overwhelming strength the moment the duel started. Her supporters became even more maniacal as they screamed hysterically at the sight.

    Yu Tianlong didn¡¯t rush forward, either. He took in a deep breath, and his chest expanded. A deafening, thunderous rumbling echoed out from his body. Bluish-purple dragon scales surfaced, starting from his right arm and quickly spreading to the rest of his body. Very quickly, he grewrger. Amid a blinding bluish-purple glow, two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose from his feet.

    Lightning surrounded him, and painted his half of the stage a glowing bluish-purple.

    The gold and bluish-purple lights were extremely dazzling. Before both parties had even shed physically, they had already raised the excitement level of the spectators.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er opened her arms wide. She lifted her head and let out a sonorous dragon roar. Her voice shook the nine heavens, and caused the surrounding protective barriers to undte. An intense golden fog rapidly rose from her body. Her six soul rings rose with this fog.

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er whispered to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Qiu¡¯er seems a little different today! Her fighting intent is very strong!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. He could also feel that Wang Qiu¡¯er was different right now. She seemed to be even stronger than before. It wasn¡¯t just in terms of her soul power, it was also in terms of the fusion of her spiritual and soul power.

    When Huo Yuhao had faced Long Aotian earlier, he had demonstrated the realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man. Wang Qiu¡¯er now seemed to show something simr to that. The only difference was that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fusion wasn¡¯t with Heaven, but with her own martial soul!

    This also meant that her Golden Dragon seemed to have undergone something simr to the Second Awakening of a body soul.

    How was a second evolution possible if it wasn¡¯t a body soul? This was very weird. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure why, either. However, he was certain that Wang Qiu¡¯er was very terrifying in this state. Even if his body were fine, he believed he wouldn''t stand much of a chance against her right now.

    ---

    Yu Tianlong eventually made the first move. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soaring aura had suppressed him until he couldn¡¯t move. He was also afraid the Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack might overwhelm him if her aura was allowed to soar any further.

    He rubbed his hands in front of him, and a bluish-purple ball of lightning instantly took shape. Yu Tianlong lunged forward with his left foot and mimicked a flinging motion.

    He held the lightning ball in his right hand. Suddenly, his first, second, and third soul rings shone brightly, and countless bolts of lightning were released from his body. They started to gather towards the lightning ball in his hand.

    Bei Bei was shocked when he saw that. ¡°His control of lightning is very strong. No wonder he¡¯s so confident.¡± Lightning was the most ruthless and unstable element. Controlling lightning was far more difficult than controlling the other elements.

    As the bolts of lightning gathered, Yu Tianlong¡¯s lightning ball turned a darker and darker blue. After a few seconds, it turned ck, a ck that seemed capable of engulfing everything. Dark purple lightning flickered around the ck ball.

    Even with the protective barriers to iste them, the undtions of the lightning were still very terrifying. How much energy was needed topress lightning until it turned ck?

    Yu Tianlong waved his right arm ahead, and the ck lightning ball instantly turned into a streak of illusory light shooting towards Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes had turnedpletely golden as her roar ended. There was even a dim glow shining around the edges of her eyes.

    She shot out with no intention of dodging the pitch-ck ball of lightning, which continued straight towards her.

    The intense golden light from her body quickly gathered in her right hand. When she lifted her palm, it was already as shiny as a golden water crystal.

    Boom!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er used her fist to block the ball of lightning. It was her golden fist, also known as the Golden Dragon¡¯s Fist!

    A tremendous boom reverberated, and caused all the lights to dim. The ball of lightning blew apart as its size expanded a hundredfold. It changed into a huge ck lightning that engulfed Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The pitch-ck lightning wanted to tear Wang Qiu¡¯er apart. Terrifying, dark-purplish bolts of lightning wreathed her.

    Another boom sounded as a hole was promptly blown apart in the lightning. Wang Qiu¡¯er shifted her feet, and the steel te underneath her sank slightly. She flew forward towards Yu Tianlong like an arrow with unstoppable momentum.

    How is this possible? Yu Tianlong was astonished. He hadn¡¯t expected his Lightning Cage to be destroyed so quickly!

    He had seen quite a few of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fights earlier. His Lightning Cage was targeted at her style. Wang Qiu¡¯er was overbearingly forceful. The best way to beat her was by pestering and weakening her!

    However, she was too strong, even his Lightning Cage was instantly ovee. Even though there were still small streaks of lightning dancing around her as she burst out, they were unable to prate her dragon scales.

    Yu Tianlong also moved, as he didn¡¯t have time to think. Another deafening dragon roar sounded. His body grew in size as he reached more than two and a half meters in height. His bluish-purple scales shone with razor-sharp edges.

    As he lifted his right hand, he reached out towards Wang Qiu¡¯er with his Lightning Dragonw.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also lifted her right hand. Her spear converted into a streak of golden light that appeared in her palm. She swept her spear out, and the remnants of lightning around her body were guided towards the tip of her spear, and then flung to one side.

    It wasn¡¯t that the Lightning Cage was useless against her. It was just that she had burst forward without any hesitation.

    By the time Yu Tianlong realized this, his Lightning Dragonw had already been destroyed by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear. The two of them had finally shed directly!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er pointed her spear forward, and was about to stab Yu Tianlong in the chest.

    Yu Tianlong was also very strong. Just like Wang Qiu¡¯er, he was most adept at closebat fighting.

    He reached out towards the spear. At the same time, he shrank down and dropped his shoulder before moving forward.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er would never let him grab hold of her spear. She withdrew her spear behind her back and also dropped her shoulder. Their shoulders met, and she crashed into Yu Tianlong.

    After Yu Tianlong¡¯s body ballooned in size, he was extremelyrge. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s slender figure seemed tiny in front of him!

 Chapter 328.2: Duel of the Two Dragons!

    As their vastly different bodies shed against each other, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fans couldn¡¯t help but hold their breath.

    Wasn¡¯t she being a little unwise to sh with him in this manner?

    However, deafening cheers erupted in the next moment.

    Crash! The golden and bluish-purple dragon scales collided with each other. Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong finally made contact.

    Yu Tianlong didn¡¯t even have time to see the look in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes before he felt a terrifying force surging towards him. He had always been very proud of his strength. However, he was flung helplessly backwards this time, crashing into the protective barriers behind him.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t gain the absolute upper hand. The lightning around Yu Tianlong was very intense. After she knocked into him, her body was encircled by bluish-purple lightning once again, and she was stalled for a moment.

    She¡¯s too strong! Yu Tianlong was horrified at this moment. He finally understood why many strong opponents were defeated by Wang Qiu¡¯er. She was indeed deserving of her reputation!

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that he lost the duel, even though his strength was inferior to hers. As he bounced back, he opened his arms wide and roared into the sky. His fourth soul ring shone. Suddenly, a huge, bluish-purple dragon head two meters in height separated from his body and charged towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The dragon head covered more than five cubic meters. Amidt the bluish-purple lightning, its beard, eyes and horns appeared very real.

    For him to have reached this extent meant that Yu Tianlong was not far from bing a seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    As Wang Qiu¡¯er experienced a brief moment of numbness, her first, second, and third soul rings lit up at the same time.

    First soul skill ¨C Golden Dragon Body. Second soul skill ¨C Dragon¡¯s Strength. Third soul skill ¨C Golden Dragon¡¯s Fist!

    Her petite figure became even more slender. When she was almost two meters tall, her captivating body and looks became even clearer to the spectators.

    A golden dragon head also appeared above her fist. Compared to Yu Tianlong¡¯s dragon head, hers was much smaller, but much more tangible. It looked like it had really been carved out of gold.

    She advanced and unleashed her fist.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s movements were always very simple and direct.

    Two sonorous dragon roars reverberated. One was loud and clear, while the other was very low-pitched. They reverberated across the stage simultaneously.

    The golden and bluish-purple dragon heads shed against each other.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong also stared at each other at the same time.

    Yu Tianlong was shocked to realize that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s pupils had turned into two thin lines. Vertical pupils!

    The pupils of dragons were vertical. However, Yu Tianlong and Wang Qiu¡¯er were both humans. Yu Tianlong was already very confident in his control over his martial soul. However, he wasn¡¯t able to make his eyes identical to that of his martial soul.

    The closer the changes to his martial soul, the better a soul master was able to unleash the strength of his martial soul. Right now, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s transformation was warning Yu Tianlong that her degree of fusion with her martial soul was undoubtedly greater than his.

    There were two dazzling glows of different sizes. One wasrge, and the other was small. However, the smaller one looked much more real. Even though Yu Tianlong¡¯s lightning dragon head seemed very dominant, Wang Qiu¡¯er was as steady as a rock as she stood in ce.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!¡­

    A series of booms sounded. Yu Tianlong was smashed back into the protective barriers once again, while Wang Qiu¡¯er also retreated a few steps. At the center of their collision, an elemental windstorm formed a huge hole in the ground with a diameter of one meter and an unknown depth, showing how much strength had been umted in the previous sh.

    While she retreated, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop. She extended her right hand and thrust her spear forward. Her weapon pursued Yu Tianlong, aiming to stab him. A three-foot spear light shot forward, and was on the verge of piercing into Yu Tianlong.

    Yu Tianlong was horrified. He believed himself to be extremely adept in terms of offense, and he loved to attack, too. However, he was weaker than Wang Qiu¡¯er, at least in terms of aura and offensive power!

    Is she really an assault-type soul master at the same level as me?

    As he thought of all this, his pride was also stirred. He faced his palms outward in front of him, and a pitch-ck lightning ball instantly appeared. His fifth soul ring shone.

    Suddenly, the lightning around Yu Tianlong¡¯s body turned ck. The Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s light stabbed the ck lightning ball before it dissipated.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had managed to regain her bnce now, and wouldn¡¯t let go of this opportunity. She leaped forward and pointed her actual spear at Yu Tianlong.

    Yu Tianlongnded on the ground steadily. His lightning ball remained the same, but he shifted forward three feet. He used the lightning ball between his palms to meet the tip of the Golden Dragon Spear.

    When the tip of the spear touched the lightning ball, Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong¡¯s bodies both let out low-pitched dragon roars. Yu Tianlong¡¯s scales even opened up to resist the Golden Dragon Spear.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was stunned. It was the first time she had been blocked in the entire tournament, especially when she had relied on her strength and the power of her spear. Even when she had faced Huo Yuhao, he didn¡¯t dare to face her spear directly!

    Following this, Wang Qiu¡¯er realized something wasn¡¯t right.

    Yu Tianlong¡¯s surroundings turned pitch-ck, and his scales also turned equally ck. Terrifying ck lightning was instantly unleashed outward, and the lightning ball between his hands seemed to be tangible. Even as Wang Qiu¡¯er stabbed him with all her strength, he didn¡¯t waver at all.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was shocked, but she didn¡¯t know that Yu Tianlong was even more astonished. In his opinion, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear should be made of metal, and all metals conducted electricity to some extent. Right now, his soul skill had increased the lightning to its extreme. The strength of his lightning was even superior to ordinary seven-ringed Soul Sages!

    However, this lightning didn¡¯t spread to Wang Qiu¡¯er through her spear. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear didn¡¯t conduct electricity!

    His body jerked, and he roared into the sky. His fifth soul ring turned into a halo that expanded outward, engulfing Wang Qiu¡¯er. The lightning ball blew apart, along with the ck lightning that had spread around him.

    Lightning Prison, the fifth soul skill of Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Tyrant Lightning Dragon!

    The lightning ball he had used to attack Wang Qiu¡¯er in the beginning was a simpler version of the Lightning Prison, which reduced his consumption of soul power. In terms of strength, it was far inferior to the real Lightning Prison.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er felt numbness across her entire body as the terrifying lightning spread. The frightening explosion almost turned her body into dust, and the searing pain left her in extreme difort.

    But Wang Qiu¡¯er was a very tough character. Even against a strong opponent, she had always proved herself to be even stronger. The greater the pressure from her opponent, the more her fighting potential was realized.

    Her sixth soul ring shone, and ayer of bloody light covered her golden eyes. They turned scarlet-gold at this point, and her scales also expanded. Carrying a bright and bloody glow, they expelled the invading lightning.

    She retracted her spear and stabbed it into the ground. At this point, her fourth soul ring lit up. Ayer of dominant golden light erupted outward, her body as the center. This eruption process continued on and on.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­!

    There were three tremendous booms. Threeyers of golden light surged out. The horrifying explosive force quickly spread out and neutralized the Lightning Prison!

    This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fourth soul skill, Golden Dragon Explosion!

    There was no retreat and nopromise. There was only manic assault. This was the true meaning behind Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fighting style.

    Yu Tianlong was delighted when he saw his Lightning Prison trap his opponent. However, when it was immediately blown apart by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Explosion, he was stunned!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s cultivation soared under the Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust. Her terrifying strength was unleashed along with the Golden Dragon¡¯s strength. Once again, Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was trembling!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er focused her eyes, and her fists clenched around her spear.

    Something strange urred. Her spear seemed to melt into a fluid that fused with her body through her palm. Instantly, it flowed over her entire body. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul ring also lit up at this point.

    An elevated dragon roar resonated, and a huge golden dragon surfaced on her body. Wang Qiu¡¯er went up on her toes before pushing. The golden dragon encircled her, and she charged straight towards Yu Tianlong with an unstoppable momentum.

    Fifth soul skill, Golden Dragon¡¯s Roar! This was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strongest offensive soul skill!

    Yu Tianlong revealed a horrified expression, but his sixth soul ring also lit up at the same time. As he rolled his hands, his scales turned ck again. He leaned forward and arched his back. Suddenly, his scales flipped upward, and Yu Tianlong¡¯s head turned into a real dragon¡¯s head.

    He opened his mouth, and a clear blue crystalline ball was released from his mouth, flying towards Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Yu Tianlong¡¯s sixth soul skill, Blue Lightning Dragon¡¯s Breath!

    BOOM!

    This was a sh between the strongest and the strongest!

 Chapter 328.3: Duel of the Two Dragons!

    When they shed with each other, the entire stage was presented with a magnificent scene. At the point of collision, blue and golden light scattered. There were bolts of lightning, arc-shaped glows, and the impacts of shockwaves. All these caused the protective barriers around the stage to undte with rings of light, and the spectators were unable to see what was happening on the stage.

    Who won, who lost?!

    The spectators entered a very tense state, especially Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s supporters. This duel was too important to them. If Wang Qiu¡¯er won, it would prove that she was the strongest dragon-type soul master in this tournament!

    The lightssted for seven to eight seconds before they slowly faded away.

    The figures of Wang Qiu¡¯er and Yu Tianlong were also slowly revealed.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was panting heavily. The golden light on her body had be weaker, and there was a streak of blood at the edge of her lips.

    Yu Tianlong¡¯s condition was even worse than hers. The scales on his right shoulder and chest had rolled up, and he was bleeding profusely.

    It looked like he had been bitten by the golden dragon. His face was very pale.

    Without a doubt, Wang Qiu¡¯er had gained the upper hand in the previous sh.

    Both of them were still aspetitive as before, however. Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes were filled with a crazed look, perhaps because he was agitated after being hurt. He roared out, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost!¡±

    Intense bolts of lightning appeared once again. However, they were no longer ck, only bluish-purple like before. He wiped his left hand on his chest and right shoulder. A patch of bluish-purple lightning shed past, and he sealed his wounds, apanied by the smell of burning flesh.

    His face contorted because of the intense pain. However, he grit his teeth and bore the pain stoically. He took a step forward with his left leg and flew up. He opened his arms wide, as if he wanted to hug Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression was still very cold. Herpetitive will didn¡¯t seem to waver because her opponent had gone crazy. She also moved her left leg forward and leapt into the air, not giving in at all as she barreled towards him.

    Yu Tianlong¡¯s arms expanded, and he shed towards the sides of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body with his Lightning Dragon¡¯s ws.

    He had once tested this attack before; even a huge granite boulder was blown to ashes after he hugged it with this attack!

    After being dealt a huge blow by Wang Qiu¡¯er, he forgot all about his romantic feelings. There was only a burningpetitiveness in his heart. He wanted to win!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er smacked her hands to her sides and resisted his attack forcefully. She was also very adept at using her trademark attacks!

    Two booms sounded at the same time. The Golden Dragon edged out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon once again. Even though Yu Tianlong had already tried his best for this attack, he still didn¡¯t manage to gain any headway as his ws shed with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s shining, golden hands.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grabbed onto his dragon ws and pulled them backward. She seemed to be pulling Yu Tianlong into her embrace.

    However, Yu Tianlong saw her lifting her right knee in front of her chest.

    Subconsciously, he wanted to lift his leg to kick her. However, her arms shook at this moment, and two waves of force spread through his arms. Yu Tianlong screamed in pain, and his arms were abruptly dislocated even though he was protected by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!

    Following this, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s golden knee touched his chest, but she pointed it down immediately.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was merciful towards him. When her knee hit his chest, she let go of his ws. Yu Tianlong was smashed to the ground. His entire body caved into the floor.

    If Wang Qiu¡¯er hadn¡¯t let go of his hands, his arms would have been torn off as she struck him in the chest with her knee.

    Victory had been decided at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er drifted back to the ground in front of Yu Tianlong.

    Yu Tianlong¡¯s mouth was bleeding profusely. As he looked at the gloomy sky above, there was an indignant look on his face. However, he had indeed lost this fight. Wang Qiu¡¯er had even let him off twice, even though she could have seriously hurt him.

    She hadn¡¯t torn his arms off, and she hadn¡¯t struck the center of his chest. Otherwise, his sternum would have been shattered.

    She¡¯s too strong. She¡¯s really too strong! I¡¯ve lost. I can¡¯t beat her. While our abilities aren¡¯t too far apart, she¡¯s able to repress me in every aspect.

    Yu Tianlong shut his eyes indignantly. Blood still flowed from his nose and mouth. However, the crazed look on his face slowly disappeared.

    Zheng Zhan walked forward quickly and checked Yu Tianlong¡¯s condition. After he did so, he immediately gestured.

    ¡°Shrek Academy, Wang Qiu¡¯er wins.¡±

    After Zheng Zhan announced the result, cheers erupted across the entire spectating crowd. Hysterical screams could be heard, and the spectators were evidently extremely excited at this point.

    Their Golden Dragon Lady had won! She had defeated Yu Tianlong!

    Their Golden Dragon Lady was the number one dragon-type soul master in this tournament. She led had Shrek into the finals with her abilities! Everyone believed that the glory belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er had stolen the limelight from the rest of Shrek¡¯s members!

    Right now, cheers could also be heard in the resting area. When Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s right knee struck Yu Tianlong to the ground, all the main team members and substitutes from Shrek¡¯s team jumped up in excitement. They couldn¡¯t be bothered even when they flipped the chairs and tables and quickly rushed out of the resting area.

    When the Unbreakable Douluo announced the result, they immediately rushed up to the stage and came to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s side. They encircled her and threw her into the air.

    Victory! They had attained victory! This was Shrek¡¯s glory. Shrek Academy had made the finals once again!

    From thest tournament to this tournament, Shrek¡¯s team had experienced the two toughest tournaments in their history!

    In thest tournament, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had turned the tables. In this tournament, Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one who did so!

    So what if we are a one-man team? Wang Qiu¡¯er first curbed her own teammates using her dominant abilities and cold demeanor!

    Apart from Huo Yuhao, everyone from Tang Sect also jumped up in excitement and started pping.

    They were also delighted that Shrek Academy had won. As members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, they also carried Shrek¡¯s glory on their shoulders! Seeing that Shrek¡¯s team had entered the finals once again, they couldn¡¯t help but recall everything that had happened in thest tournament. They too had toiled to win that tournament! All of them were feeling emotional at this point.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was agitated. Ever since Wang Qiu¡¯er had saved Huo Yuhao, she had experienced great emotional changes with regards to Wang Qiu¡¯er. She knew deeply that nothing was going on between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. On the stage that day, she had imed that Wang Qiu¡¯er was her sister. After that, she experienced even greater emotional changes. As she witnessed how Wang Qiu¡¯er defeated Yu Tianlong, she felt as if she were the one on the stage. For an instant, she even thought that she had turned into Wang Qiu¡¯er and fought Yu Tianlong herself.

    Although Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t stand up and couldn¡¯t cheer for Shrek, he was very moved and excited right now.

    Victory! Qiu¡¯er has really led Shrek into the finals through her individual abilities. Qiu¡¯er, you¡¯ve led your teammates to this stage entirely through your own determination and abilities! I know how much you must have sacrificed. Your abilities have also improved. You deserve to enter the final match!

    After the cheers had died down, Qiu¡¯er was let down by her teammates. She didn¡¯t seem very excited. She was just as cold as ever.

    She quickly walked to the side of the stage and jumped off.

    Yu Tianlong had already returned to his resting area with the help of his teammates. Although his injuries weren¡¯t light, he wasn¡¯t too gravely hurt, as Wang Qiu¡¯er had taken mercy on him.

    As he saw Wang Qiu¡¯er returning to the resting area, Yu Tianlong called out to her, a little hoarsely.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er twisted her head to look at him, ¡°What?¡±

    The look in Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes was a littleplicated. ¡°I¡¯ve lost. I¡¯m lost convincingly. My abilities are indeed inferior to yours. However, this doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll always be lousier than you. I¡¯ll exceed you one day!¡±

    ¡°Anytime.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was calm. It was as if victory was very normal for her.

    Seeing that she was about to leave, he hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll fulfill the terms of our bet. From now on, I¡¯ll be your servant for three years.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er furrowed her brow. ¡°No need. As long as the Heavenly Dragon Sect concedes defeat, you¡¯ll have fulfilled the terms of our bet.¡±

    Yu Tianlong was very stubborn, ¡°No. Since I made a promise earlier, I won¡¯t go back on my word. When the tournament is over, I¡¯ll be your servant. I¡¯ll protect you for three years.¡±

    From the time he lost until the time he reached the resting area, Yu Tianlong had already thought of many things, even though it was only a short period of time. I¡¯ve lost. I¡¯ve lost to Wang Qiu¡¯er. After his craziness disappeared, her ravishing figure became more etched in his mind. He discovered he had fallen in love with this cold-hearted, yet strong Golden Dragon Lady!

    It was only at this point that he understood why the leader from Shrek Academy had proposed that bet. Dignity didn¡¯t seem very important in the face of love! He had decided to truly follow Wang Qiu¡¯er for the next three years.

    He was confident in himself. Even though he had lost today, he didn¡¯t think his cultivation was too far behind hers. In these three years, he needed to conquer her through his own hard work! He was going to convince her to be his woman!

 Chapter 329: An Earlier Final Round!

    With this thought in mind, Yu Tianlong even felt that he did not hurt as much anymore. Hence, he demonstrated his willingness to keep his side of the bargain to Wang Qiu¡¯er as quickly as he could.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er replied casually, turning to face herpanions. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll return to our hotel. In the afternoon, we¡¯ll watch another semi-final match.¡± With this, she strode forth in the direction of the Brilliant Delight Hotel.

    Yu Tianlong sighed with admiration in his heart. Neither defeat nor victory fazes her, what a heroine!

    Who would have expected the morning round to end so quickly? However, the timing of each round in thepetition could not change so easily.

    To ensure that they would all be in a good state, the teammates of the Tang Sect and the Holy Ghost Sect both went back to their hotels to rest.

    After they left, the exuberant and excited crowd took almost two hours to settle down. Almost everyone there was shouting ¡°Golden Dragon Girl!¡±. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s prestige was at an unprecedented level.

    However, how could they know what she was thinking? When they were back at the hotel, Wang Qiu¡¯er did not celebrate with her teammates. Instead, she retired quickly to her room to rest.

    Everyone from Shrek¡¯s team knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er had been injured in this tournament. They all thought that she was trying to recuperate as fast as she could. Once she regained her full strength, she would prepare for the uing final.

    ---

    The Tang Sect gathered in Bei Bei¡¯s room.

    ¡°I¡¯m naturally happy that Shrek won, and I believe that everyone shares my sentiment. We have to uphold the honor of Shrek. From the bottom of my heart, I thank Qiu¡¯er for continuing our glorious streak for Shrek,¡± Bei Bei said sincerely.

    Everyone else nodded in agreement They were just as excited as those from Shrek over the win.

    Then, Bei Bei¡¯s voice changed as he continued in a more serious tone, ¡°However, in the next semi-final round, we¡¯ll be up against a tough challenge. Comrades, whether or not we can advance and meet Shrek in the final will depend on our performanceter. We¡¯ve already nned our strategy. Is there anything else anyone would like to add?¡±

    Everyone shook their heads.

    Bei Bei¡¯s gaze turned sharp as he said, ¡°With the Shrek¡¯s victory, the Tang Sect can¡¯t show any weakness. I know, because of Tang Ya, that everyone is worried about me. I wish to thank you for your concern, but also tell you that Shrek¡¯s victory in the semi-finals is not only their glory, but ours, too! Please don¡¯t care about Tang Ya. I believe that if her mind was still clear, she would be happy to see us doing our best for the Tang Sect. All we have to do is treat them like our opponents. There¡¯s no need to think about anything else.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, victory!¡± Bei Bei shouted suddenly. At this moment, his refined demeanor waspletely reced by a strong fighting will.

    ¡°Tang Sect! Victory! Victory! Victory!¡± Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Na Na, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and even Nan Qiuqiu, all shouted loudly.

    Everyone was clear that their opponent was much more powerful than Shrek. They did not even know their enemies well. However, there was no escape from this battle. If they lost, it would be extremely difficult for Shrek to defeat the Holy Ghost Sect. The only thing they could do was try their best. Only through victory did they stand a chance!

    Bei Bei inhaled and said, ¡°Good, please go back and rest up, everyone. We¡¯ll meet after lunch. Let¡¯s adjust our mindsets and energy, and be prepared to deal with the strongest opponent we¡¯ll meet in this tournament!¡±

    ---

    Everyone returned to their respective rooms. Bei Bei closed the door to his room and sat down in the living room lounge.

    The look on his face softened, and his face turned warm. ¡°Tang Ya¡­¡±

    ---

    The sky outside turned darker and darker. While it was noon, the light outside made it look like evening. The thick storm clouds in the air appeared to descend a bit. The heaviness in the air made everyone uneasy.

    After the intense emotional roller-coaster of the morning, even the spectators seemed drained. They hade here early for a good seat. Right after thepetition began, it had ended quickly. While Wang Qiu¡¯er was able to rile them up, the wait until the afternoon round was way too long!

    Many of them now sat on the ground and ate their food. A lot of them were on the brink of falling asleep.

    While it was cold and cloudy, it felt better than the stifling heat. Furthermore, with so many people around, it was hard to feel the chill. Winter had yet toe.

    Finally, someone stepped onto the main podium. The crowd started to rouse from their slumber.

    Looking at the sky, it appeared that noon was close at hand.

    Over at the resting zone, the first to arrive was the team from the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Yu Tianlong had changed his clothes. Despite his pale face, he still walked with a confident gait. One could not tell that he was injured.

    The other team members of the Heavenly Dragon Sect looked depressed. After all, they were eliminated despite having entered the top four. This was no small blow to them!

    The arena was restored and further reinforced by noontime. The afternoonpetition would be far more intense. One could almost imagine how it would go down.

    Those who were more perceptive could tell that this was the ¡®final¡¯ of the tournament! In terms of strength, the multi-talented Tang Sect and the Holy Ghost Sect, which wasprisedpletely of evil soul masters, were both stronger than any of either¡¯s previous opponents!

    ---

    The Tang Sect arrived next.

    Bei Bei stood at the front. His gaze was cold, and the smile on his face had disappeared. However, he still walked with confidence.

    Behind Bei Bei, Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao forward. Then, it was He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and finally, Nan Qiuqiu, Nan Nan, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan.

    The eleven of them quickly entered the waiting zone.

    The crowd, who hadpletely woken up, started to discuss them intensely. While their goddess was not taking part in the second semi-final, her sister, Wang Dong¡¯er, waspeting! She was just as pretty, and she also possessed the cultivation of a Soul Emperor!

    Everyone loved to watch the Tang Sect in action. The main reason was because of their ever-changing tactics. In the previous round, even when they were at a disadvantage, they were able to work together and turn the tides on their opponent, the Snowdemon Sect, and obtain victory. That nning, strategizing, and change in tactics, as well as their strange soul skills, enchanted the audience.

    Today, they were about to face the powerful Holy Ghost Sect. What kind of match-up would this be?

    The crowd grew more and more excited. As their voices grew louder and louder, the atmosphere started to heat up.

    The Tang Sect were all rather quiet. When they entered the resting zone, they closed their eyes to rest, ensuring that they would be in their best possible state.

    Very soon, the Holy Ghost Sect appeared.

    Nine people came from the Holy Ghost Sect. Leading them was the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng. The appearance of this Transcendent Douluo was a testament to the importance the Holy Ghost Sect ced on this tournament.

    Behind Zhang Peng was the mysterious woman who inspired both a sense of familiarity and fear in Huo Yuhao at the same time. Behind her was Tang Ya, who looked much skinnier, as well as a group of evil soul masters.

    With the arrival of the Holy Ghost Sect, the atmosphere became tensed up. Everyone wondered if the Tang Sect could stop their progress. The very thought of it made the crowd even more excited.

    Some die-hard fans of Wang Qiu¡¯er believed that the best-case scenario from thispetition would be mutual defeat. If this happened, Shrek Academy could achieve an easy victory in the finals and be the champion!

    Of course, other fans of Wang Qiu¡¯er who believed that she was perfect thought that regardless of who won, she should be able to defeat her opponents even if they were at their peak. This would allow them to be crowned the undisputed champions!

    No matter what happened, it was impossible to affect the two teams in the resting zone. At this moment, everyone was curious as to why the team led by Wang Qiu¡¯er had yet to arrive. At this moment, there was not much time left until the semi-final round of the afternoon. Were they not nning to watch?

    Even the Heavenly Dragon Sect, who had been eliminated, came to watch. How could Shrek note? After all, the winner of this round would be their next opponent!

    ---

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, walked onto the arena floor once more. The quick victory in the morning had been a great relief to him. At this moment, his attention was at its peak. Naturally, he knew that thispetition would be the most difficult one to referee since the start of the tournament. However, he had been instructed by his superiors that he should intervene as little as possible in this round. The two sides should be allowed a free hand.

    With this order, Zheng Zhan felt more at ease.

    ---

    The main podium...

    The Prince Regent and Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, suddenly asked the mysterious Imperial Tutor next to him, ¡°Imperial Tutor, what are the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s odds against the Tang Sect?¡±

    The Imperial Tutor replied in a deep voice, ¡°Eighty percent.¡±

    Xu Tianran looked at him in surprise. He knew that the Imperial Tutor had a high opinion of themselves, but he had never expected him to say eighty percent!

    ¡°Oh? Does this mean that you believe the Tang Sect only has a twenty percent chance of victory? Where does this twenty percente from?¡±

    The Imperial Tutor replied inly, ¡°The Tang Sect has many tricks up their sleeve, particrly Huo Yuhao, who¡¯s probably the core of their team. Their cooperation and coordination in the group round is something no team can emte. This includes the Holy Ghost Sect. This may have something to do with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type martial soul. Their twenty percent chance of sess lies in this uncertainty. As long as thepetition goes on as normal, they have no chance at all. The disparity in strength is too wide.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s watch the exciting show that the Holy Ghost Sect has set up for us.¡± Xu Tianran did not have much interest in this match. Even though the Holy Ghost Sect, and by extension the Holy Ghost Church, had intimate ties with him, he did not like this evil soul master sect. The two parties used each other to their mutual benefit. If the Holy Ghost Sect lost, there would be less pressure on him. If the Holy Ghost Sect won, it was a form of vengeance. If the Holy Ghost Sect became the overall champions, he would be under even more pressure. It might even have disastrous consequences for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, which had a history of more than ten thousand years!

    Hence, no matter whether the Holy Ghost Sect won or lost, there would be pros and cons to Xu Tianran. He liked to watchpetitions which he did not personally have a stake in. This helped him better appreciate them¡­

    ---

    Quickly, thepetition was about to start.

    On the arena, Zheng Zhan proimed, ¡°Coming up next is the second semi-final match of this tournament. The twopetitors are the Holy Ghost Sect and the Tang Sect. May the two sects please enter the waiting zone.¡±

    When they heard his voice, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, other than Huo Yuhao, all stood up. A light shone in each of their eyes. At this moment, they had returned to the moment of their final battle against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in thest tournament.

    That round had been truly arduous for them, but they were eventually able to emerge as champions with their determination.

    Thepetition that faced them now was just as difficult as the previous one. However, it was also able to stimte their potential and desire to fight. The stronger their opponent, the stronger their will to fight!

    Among them, the one with the greatest change in emotion was Bei Bei, who was their captain. At this moment, all Bei Bei thought about was protecting the honor of the Tang Sect.

    Only by propelling the Tang Sect to glory could he fulfill his promise to Tang Ya. At the same time, this was the best way for Tang Ya to regain her mind!

    On the other side, the group from the Holy Ghost Sect was silent. Led by Tang Ya, seven of them stood up as they walked toward the waiting zone. A dark and mysterious aura could be felt from them, just like the weather today.

    Quickly, the two sides gathered in their respective waiting areas.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at Bei Bei and nodded. Bei Bei patted his shoulder. Between the two of them, nothing needed to be said.

    ¡°Individual elimination round, may the team members from both sides approach the arena.¡±

    A short youth from the Holy Ghost Sect quickly ran up. In the blink of an eye, he was on the arena. His movements were as gentle as a leaf.

    Over on the Tang Sect¡¯s side, Bei Bei, who sat at the front, stood up. Leaping from the balls of his feet, he quickly entered the arena.

    Bei Bei¡¯s appearance surprised the Holy Ghost Sect. While he did not fight often, they were able to gather from their research that this refined and handsome youth was the eldest disciple of the Tang Sect and the captain of the Tang Sect team for this tournament.

    Who knew that he would be the first to fight in the individual elimination round?

 Chapter 330.1: Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture

    In everyone¡¯s eyes, while Bei Bei might be a Soul Emperor, he did not seem to be as powerful as Wang Qiu¡¯er. Hence, why would he suddenly use a tactic simr to Shrek¡¯s? By sending the captain up first, it would be a massive blow to the entire team if the captain were to lose!

    However, Bei Bei had already gone up. This was a reality no one could change.

    The two contenders walked simultaneously to the center of the arena and soon stood before the Unbreakable Douluo.

    Zheng Zhan looked at the two of them and said in a low voice, ¡°Please state your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Bei Bei.¡±

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Ji Li.¡±

    Ji Li? This name is auspicious indeed. Too bad he¡¯s an evil soul master. (TL Note: ¡®Ji Li¡¯ means auspicious in Chinese.)

    The protective barrier around the arena started to rise. The match was about to start!

    ¡°Both sides, to your ces.¡±

    Bei Bei looked deep into his opponent¡¯s eyes. Ji Li, who had a short stature, had a pair of dark eyes. His pupils were a weird inky-green, and fluctuated continuously. He looked like a venomous snake stalking its prey.

    His opponent¡¯s dark and menacing aura did not affect Bei Bei. At this moment, Bei Bei brimmed with a powerful aura.

    The two sides turned and walked off. Bei Bei soon arrived at his end of the arena.

    Ji Li reached his end of the arena at the same time. The two sides stared at each other.

    The Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan looked at the main podium, then at the sky. Finally, he raised his right arm high into the air.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    With his bellow, the second semi-final round started.

    Bei Bei¡¯s fighting style was vastly different than before. With Zheng Zhan¡¯s announcement, he roared loudly and fiercely, to the point where the world was drowned out. His body grew in size, and purplish-blue dragon scales soon appeared and covered his entire body.

    If Bei Bei had not fought in the first round, the crowd would not have found it so obvious. However, the morning round had already let them witness a showdown between a Golden Dragon and a Blue Lighting Tyrant Dragon!

    When Bei Bei released his martial soul, the crowd instantly thought, Even this soul master from the Tang Sect has a dragon martial soul, and it resembles Yu Tianlong¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon almost perfectly! How could they not be surprised?

    Bei Bei only fought in the groupponent of the quarter-final round. His performance was average, and nowhere as exciting as Xu Sanshi¡¯s. However, the Heavenly Dragon Sect noticed his martial soul, especially its mutation.

    ---

    Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? Yu Tianlong¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits. This meant that the two of them might be rted by blood. In the quarter-final round, his scales seemed to have turned golden, but it was a different shade of gold than Wang Qiu¡¯er. The golden light from Bei Bei¡¯s body looked paler than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s, but it was even more ring. Too bad the protective soul barrier was there, which prevented him from finding out what type of martial soul Bei Bei possessed.

    Due to his martial soul being the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Yu Tianlong was able to better understand such martial souls. He knew that among the many variants of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, his pure one might not be the strongest. Ten thousand years ago, his ancestor Yu Xiaogang¡¯s martial soul had already started to mutate. Its power became weaker, but when hebined forces with his allies to form the Golden Triangle, he could summon the powerful Golden Dragon.

    Bei Bei¡¯s mutant Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul was pale-gold, and he came from Shrek Academy. Does this mean he¡¯s descended from Yu Xiaogang?

    With this thought in mind, Yu Tianlong looked at Bei Bei more favorably than before. Furthermore, Bei Bei¡¯s opponent was an evil soul master. As an orthodox soul master, he had no reason to support the evil soul master. Hence, he cheered for his close blood rtive from the Tang Sect silently.

    At this moment, another group of people finally entered the resting area. Yu Tianlong was stunned. Wang Qiu¡¯er had finallye! She had brought the team from Shrek Academy, too. She appeared to be slightly flustered, but fortunately, she did not miss thepetition.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sat in the front. When she noticed that the first to go up was Bei Bei, she appeared to sigh in relief. Then, she stood up and beckoned Dai Huabin over as she whispered something to him.

    A look of confusion crossed Dai Huabin¡¯s face, but he quickly nodded and reced her. He then took over her spot. The other members of the team from Shrek all moved one seat forward and finally, thest seat emptied out. Wang Qiu¡¯er then sat down in thest seat. She closed her eyes and appeared to be meditating.

    What is she doing? Yu Tianlong looked curiously at Wang Qiu¡¯er. As the captain, why is she sitting all the way in the back? Could it be that the injuries I inflicted on her this morning are too severe, and she needs to focus on recuperating?

    That¡¯s impossible! In my state, even though my injuries were worse than hers, it didn¡¯t stop me from watching this match. With her Golden Dragon martial soul, she should¡¯ve recoveredpletely by now. What¡¯s she doing?

    He did not understand Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s actions at all.

    However, Yu Tianlong did not let Wang Qiu¡¯er upy his attention. Thepetition in the arena had finally started!

    ------

    Bei Bei roared, and two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings started to rise. The dazzling scales of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soon covered his entire body. Even his arms looked thicker and stronger. Ayer of blue light shone over his hair.

    He propelled himself toward his opponent at zing speed.

    Ji Li charged forward too. His entire body appeared weightless as he floated toward the center of the arena.

    Neither side was moving very quickly. At the very least, they were not as fast as Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, in two breaths, they still reached the center of the arena.

    Bei Bei lifted his hand and he shed at his opponent with his Thunderous Dragon w.

    The aura of his Thunderous Dragon w was not as eye-catching as Yu Tianlong¡¯s. A closer look would reveal that the size of Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon w was smaller than Yu Tianlong¡¯s. Fewer sparks of electricity circled it too.

    For soul skills, size never corrted with absolute power. Most of the time, size and power exhibited an inverse rtionship.

    When Yu Tianlong saw this attack, a look of shock crossed his face. In terms of control over electricity, Bei Bei wasn¡¯t any weaker than him!

    Ji Li from the Holy Ghost Sect reacted in a very curious way. Faced with the powerful Thunderous Dragon w, his body contracted, and then an ominous, light-blue gas poured from his body. Following that, his small body started to expand. His ck top soon split open, and an odd scene urred.

    After expanding, Ji Li¡¯s first and third soul rings started to shine with light. Ayer of blue-grey scales covered his upper body, and he suddenly seemed immensely strong. His lower limbs became shorter, and muscles wrapped around his lower torso. His head became triangr in shape, and his lips protruded to reveal a mouthful of fangs.

    As his head changed shape, no one could tell what his original form was. His face, now covered with scales, looked extremely evil. His eyes glowed with a terrifying light.

    His arms became exceptionally thick, and by crossing them in front of him, he was able to block Bei Bei¡¯s Thunderous Dragon w. Following that, his left leg stepped out, and one could see that it had grown in size, too. Likewise, it was covered with dense, grey scales. When his leg touched the ground, one could hear a loud boom, and a powerful wave of energy rushed toward Bei Bei.

    This wave of energy was also greyish-blue, and it had a bloodthirsty feel to it. After it appeared, it took the shape of a huge mouth that resembled some kind of beast.

    Bei Bei remained fearless. Ayer of white light shone from his body to form a light barrier.

    ¡°Poof!¡± When the energy wave hit the barrier, it dissipated quickly.

    ss 6 protective soul barrier!

    The Tang Sect not only had martial souls, but also soul tools!

    When he saw the protective soul barrier Bei Bei suddenly unleashed, Ji Li was stunned. At this moment, Bei Bei was already in front of him. He reached out with his right arm, which instantly increased in length. The sharp ws of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon shed down on Ji Li¡¯s head.

    At that moment, electric light pulsated, and the Thunderous Dragon ws struck first. Behind those ws were the Bei Bei¡¯s actual dragon ws!

    Ji Li didn¡¯t even try to dodge. He reached out with a pair of sharp ws too. First, he shattered the Thunderous Dragon ws, and then he reached for Bei Bei¡¯s actual ws.

    Not only that, but Ji Li¡¯s small eyes shone with an icy-cold light. His protruding lips and fangs reached forward, and a purplish-ck tongue that resembled an arrow flew toward the center of Bei Bei¡¯s forehead.

    Attacking with his tongue, this soul master was weird indeed. So far, in this tournament, no one had seen this before. However, one had to admit that it was too sudden.

    Bei Bei subconsciously raised his left hand to block it.

    His ss 6 protective soul barrier was still activated, but the purplish-ck tongue pierced through it. Then, the tongue touched Bei Bei¡¯s dragon ws.

    There was an explosion, and Bei Bei stumbled backward. His right w did not manage to make contact with his opponent.

    With his tongue alone, Ji Li was able to make a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon retreat. What kind of power was this?

    Furthermore, smoke started to appear from Bei Bei¡¯s left palm.

    Bei Bei reacted instantly. Lightning danced on his right hand, and he swiped at it with his sharp ws, cutting the scales in the center of his palm off immediately. Only that way could he avoid the corrosive effect of the poison there!

 Chapter 330.2: Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture

    The hardest part about defeating evil soul masters was that no one understood them very well. Their battling methods and styles were often impossible to predict and imagine.

    With that one touch, Bei Bei was at a disadvantage. Fortunately, he had the powerful defenses of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. If not, he may have had to cut off his own hand!

    ------

    In the waiting zone, Xiao Xiao suddenly eximed in shock, ¡°I know! Braineater! His martial soul is a Braineater.¡±

    Everyone looked at her. Xiao Xiao then said in a low voice, ¡°I heard teacher talking about a terrifying soul beast that lives in the south of the continent. It¡¯s called the Braineater. It subsists off the brain juices of all living organisms, and is extremely cruel and bloodthirsty. Once a Braineater appears, it will cause panic in the local region. With just one or two Braineaters around, an entire town will be a dead zone. Both humans and beasts will be found with a small hole in their forehead, with all their brain juices sucked cleanly out from that hole.

    ¡°Teacher said that the Braineater is an extremely horrible soul beast. Once it¡¯s discovered, the local soul masters will do their best to hunt it down. The Star Luo Empire even has a task force dedicated to killing them. Hence, this soul beast is almost extinct. I never expected to see a human with this martial soul.¡±

    No one had seen a Braineater before. Just like Xiao Xiao had said, it was almost extinct. No one had expected it to appear as a martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao quickly asked, ¡°What''re its abilities? What are its weaknesses?¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s teacher was Elder Xuan¡¯s disciple. Elder Xuan had seen many things, and naturally understood the Braineater well.

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°The Braineater is very strong, particrly its straw-like tongue. When it attacks, it is extremely powerful. Normally, they use their tongue to feed on the brains of its prey. Other than strength, the Braineater moves very quickly, too. Its defenses are extraordinary, and its only weakness is that it can¡¯t attack from range. Hence, to hunt a Braineater, one has to attack and suppress it from afar before finally killing it.¡±

    When he heard this piece of information, Huo Yuhao nodded. A golden light shone in his eyes but they quickly returned to normal.

    On the arena, Bei Bei was forced back by Ji Li¡¯s tongue. However, Ji Li had no intention of letting him go. He stomped down on the ground and bounced up. A pair of giant ws shed at Bei Bei¡¯s head. At the same time, his thin, sharp, and powerful tongue shot out toward Bei Bei¡¯s face once more.

    In the face of his opponent¡¯s strong attacks, Bei Bei remained extremely calm. The third soul ring on his body shone, and the strands of lightning around his body became denser. A powerful bluish-purple light shone brightly. As Bei Bei retreated, his body started to sh in and out of sight rapidly. It was not terribly fast, but in that instant, it appeared extremely mysterious. This was a Tang Sect Secret Technique, the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

    Ji Li¡¯s tongue brushed past Bei Bei¡¯s head by inches. At that moment, Bei Bei was already next to him. A pair of dragon ws grabbed his left arm.

    In terms of power, how could a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon be weaker than a Braineater?

    Ji Li was surprised by Bei Bei¡¯s sudden evasion. He shrieked in a high-pitch voice. His body turned in mid-air, and his arms, which were like two hammers, smashed in Bei Bei¡¯s direction.

    Two deafening thuds were heard; Bei Bei retreated by three steps. However, his dragon ws had already left ten white scars on Ji Li¡¯s right arm. He was even able to tear off some of his scales.

    Furthermore, strengthened by his third soul skill, Thunderous Fury, it was impossible for Ji Li topletely block Bei Bei¡¯s lightning. Electric light shone on his right arm, and he lost all feeling in it.

    However, before Bei Bei could continue his attack, Ji Li swung his tongue around andshed out with it once more.

    The speed and strength of his tongue were too powerful. Its prative ability was extremely strong. Bei Bei¡¯s arm still throbbed with pain from the contact just now.

    No matter how powerful Bei Bei¡¯s dragon scales were, he did not wish to be pierced by the tongue! Earlier, he was only able to block it with a ss 6 protective soul barrier and his arm.

    It could be said that Ji Li¡¯s tongue was his most powerful killing tool. No matter how the battle went, as long as one was pierced by his tongue, it was over, and the victim might even die.

    At such a short range, the radius of Ji Li¡¯s attack was extremelyrge. Even if Bei Bei wanted to dodge, it was toote.

    At this moment, Bei Bei made a strange movement. Faced with the sharp tongue, he did not dodge or try to resist. Instead, he sped his hands in front of him, as if he were praying.

    In that instant, countless sparks of electricity, all densely-packed together, appeared. They resembled a tiny forest of lightning.

    ¡°Is this Vigorous Thunderbolt?¡± Huo Yuhao said in disbelief.

    If not for the second soul ring that shone from Bei Bei¡¯s body, he would not dare to say this.

    Vigorous Thunderbolt was originally meant to be deployed around the user. It would then turn into a web of electricity that could attack its opponent like a domain-type soul skill. However, Bei Bei had reduced it to an incredibly small size between his palms. One could only imagine the amount of control required!

    Ji Li¡¯s tongue pierced through the dense forest of lightning and thunder with ease. It seemed that the sharp tongue would easily reach Bei Bei.

    At that moment, everyone from the Tang Sect stood up. As they knew about the terrifying nature of the Braineater, they were even more fearful.

    Over on the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s side, Tang Ya, who sat at the front, grabbed the armrests of her seat with her hands. Immediately, the armrests were crushed into powder.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a severe expression crossed them. However, he did nothing. His attention was centered on Ji Li.

    Oddly, the person at the center of it all, Bei Bei, looked extraordinarily calm. His eyes were still as he looked at the purplish-red, triangr-shaped tongue approached him. He had no intention of dodging it.

    Stop!

    Ji Li¡¯s tongue finally stopped in the end, only two inches away from Bei Bei. His dark-red tongue dripped with a clear liquid. A bloody odor permeated the surroundings.

    Lightning and thunder twisted and turned around his tongue, expanding in size. Ji Li wanted to pierce forward with his tongue, which was indeed moving forward slowly. However,pared to his speed before, it was way too slow. The two sides were at a stalemate.

    The Tang Sect, who were all standing except for Huo Yuhao, sighed in relief.

    Wang Dong¡¯er thumped her chest and said, ¡°Elder brother scared all of us.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°He did it deliberately. With Bei Bei¡¯s personality, he would never do something that he¡¯s not confident of. That guy is screwed. Look at him, in terms of application and usage of soul skills, Bei Bei surpasses even me. Ah, at first, we weren¡¯t that far apart in terms of strength. However, ever since he obtained his fifth soul skill, the difference became more and more obvious. Even after I got my Xuanwu¡¯s Domain, all I can do is to defend myself against him. Bei Bei is devious and sly. He wouldn¡¯t go up first if he wasn¡¯t confident in himself.¡±

    The one who understood Bei Bei¡¯s fighting abilities was naturally the one who had known him the longest, and the one who sparred with him the most often, Xu Sanshi.

    At first, Huo Yuhao had known his elder brother very well. However, he had left Shrek Academy for two and-a-half years. When he came back, so many things had happened that he had not had much time to truly interact with him.

    When he heard Xu Sanshi¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was relieved. While Xu Sanshi might appear unreliable at times, at crucial moments like this, he would notfort everyone without solid reasons.

    As Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters talked, there were new developments surrounding the stalemate on the arena.

    Two inches, one and-a-half inches, one inch.

    The odorous tongue was approaching Bei Bei slowly. Everyone knew that if he were touched by that tongue, it would be a catastrophe for Bei Bei.

    However, in this stalemate, Bei Bei¡¯s body started to change too. A low dragon roar sounded, which slowly became louder and louder. The blueish-purple electricity around him became brighter and brighter, and soon, it had turned golden.

    The thick armor-like scales on him became transparent, and his body now seemed to be covered by ayer of golden crystals. An intense aura of light started to rise, and the dense forest of electricity in the palms of his hands gradually turned from bluish-purple to gold!

    As electric light shed and electricity twisted and turned, the progress of the tongue became slower and slower. Ji Li¡¯s thick body was exerting all its strength. He nted his legs firmly on the ground, and his first and third soul rings began to shine brightly with light. Even his second soul ring started to shine!

    His first three soul rings increased his power. Hence, this allowed the physical attributes of his body to converge with that of a Braineater. He now possessed the strength and speed of a Braineater. In fact, he had been able to use the innate ability of a Braineater when he received his first soul skill, allowing his head to transform into the shape of a Braineater.

    As for his remaining four soul skills, it was not that he did not want to use them. Instead, in this condition, he could not use them.

    That was right, his tongue was his strongest offensive ability. Many times, however, his strongest ability was also his weakest.

    Evil soul masters had two traits. First of all, their fighting styles were not widely epted by the general popce. Secondly, their cultivation could increase rapidly.

    Ji Li, with his Braineater martial soul, was able to rapidly increase his own strength by devouring his enemies¡¯ brains, regardless of whether they were humans or soul beasts. The stronger his victims, the faster his cultivation would increase.

    When his martial soul first awoke, even he himself did not think that he could be a soul master, as he continued to live aimlessly. When he was twelve years old, he was discovered by the Holy Ghost Church, and finally started his training. In just eight years, he was able to progress from a clueless teen with just Rank 2 soul power to a Rank 60 evil Soul Emperor. This increase would be impossible for ordinary soul masters!

 Chapter 330.3: Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture

    Furthermore, as his cultivation increased ceaselessly with each brain he devoured, his mental state and personality started to distort as well. This was amon urrence among most evil soul masters.

    However, the reason he could devour brains was because of his tongue. His tongue, likewise, was the most important and most powerful aspect of his Braineater martial soul. Once his tongue was hurt, he would be severely weakened.

    Hence, Ji Li could only withdraw his tongue to use a more powerful soul skill, or use his tongue to kill Bei Bei!

    With his twisted personality, faced with a Soul Emperor and the possibility of eating his brain, how could he choose thetter? A twisted mentality was amon weakness among evil soul masters!

    The golden electric light grew stronger and stronger. As he looked at the approaching tongue, a cold look crossed Bei Bei¡¯s face.

    His sped dragon ws started to shine. A bright gold light instantly fused with the lightning between his palms, turning it into a golden electric ball of light.

    With a cry of pain, Ji Li finally realized that something was amiss, and he no longer dared to pierce forward. Instead, he tried to withdraw his tongue with all his might. However, at this moment, it was way toote.

    One had to admit that his tongue was strong. Even after it had been zapped by electricity, it was still not destroyed.

    However, this was not Bei Bei¡¯s attack. The real reason why he had controlled his opponent was so that he couldplete his transformation from Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon to Radiant Holy Dragon.

    A terrifying electric light instantly expanded. Bei Bei¡¯s body trembled. He gripped tightly with his left dragon w as he controlled the ball of golden light that was pulling on Ji Li¡¯s tongue. He then raised his right hand.

    Bei Bei¡¯s fifth soul ring started to shine brightly. The jet-ck soul ring appeared to have turned golden. Following that, Bei Bei¡¯s right dragon w regained its human shape. However, it waspletely covered with golden scales.

    Then, the shadow of a huge Radiant Holy Dragon appeared behind him. His right hand instantly transformed into golden crystal. His scales became blurred, and a loud dragon roar started to sound from Bei Bei¡¯s mouth. His palm came smashing down on Ji Li¡¯s tongue.

    ¡°Crack!¡± A thunderous boom sounded.

    Earlier, none of his attacks could injure his opponent. Now, with this palm, a weird scene appeared.

    It was as if a ball of wild thunder had been unleashed from his palm. With a cry of agony, Ji Li¡¯s tongue was covered with golden electric light.

    Bei Bei pulled forcefully with his left hand, and Ji Li¡¯s body tumbled forward uncontrobly. His eyes betrayed a look of shock, and the bluish-gray scales on his body started to crackle with golden electric light as well.

    Bei Bei¡¯s kicked forward, and in the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Ji Li. He reached out with his hands andunched three palm-strikes at Ji Li. The palm-strikesnded on his shoulders and chest.

    Ji Li was dumbfounded. His tongue remained stiffly straight, and his entire body shivered. When Bei Bei¡¯s fourth palm-strike hit his chest, his entire body was already covered with golden electric lightning bolts as thick as an arm. All the scales on his body opened up.

    ---

    On the main podium, the mysterious Imperial Tutor, who sat next to the Prince Regent, Crown Prince Xu Tianran, lifted his right hand and smashed down on the armrest of his chair.

    Not a single sound could be heard, but the armrest of the chair disappeared.

    ¡°Dragon God Douluo Mu En¡¯s Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture was actually passed down...¡±

    Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture? To Xu Tianran, this was an extremely foreign name. However, it was enough to shock and infuriate the Imperial Tutor. Evidently, it was quite a powerful soul skill.

    ---

    After four palm-strikes, Bei Bei slowly straightened. He did not continue his attack, but instead retreated. He raised his hands and the golden light around him faded away. He retracted his martial soul and soul power as he stood there in the arena.

    Zheng Zhan, the referee, was stunned.

    While Bei Bei hadnded four direct hits on his opponent, his opponent should have been able to endure those four strikes with his defensive prowess! While these four palm-strikes had appeared intimidating, causing Ji Li¡¯s body to shake with each strike, and a vast amount of electric light was released, he could not have lost just like that. After all, he was an evil soul master!

    However, Bei Bei¡¯s actions proved that the match was indeed over. This was because he had already taken out a Milk Bottle, and was silently replenishing his soul power. His eyes were closed as he stood in the center of the arena.

    ---

    In the audience, a tall figure standing silently close to the arena slowly said, ¡°Perfect.¡±

    ¡°Perfect?¡± Next to him, a stunningly beautiful young woman asked in surprise, ¡°Aotian, in your eyes, is this perfect?¡±

    That was right. The tall figure was the most powerful soul master among the younger generation of disciples in the Body Sect, Long Aotian. The woman next to him was naturally Princess Wei Na.

    Long Aotian nodded with a dark expression. ¡°It¡¯s no shame to lose to the Tang Sect. Bei Bei concealed his power well. His fifth soul skill is truly powerful indeed.¡±

    Wei Na was confused. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be much?!...¡±

    Long Aotian looked at her from the corner of his eyes, sighed, and said, ¡°That¡¯s because you are not yet at that level. Hence, you think it¡¯s ordinary. Just now, his spiritual power, soul power, soul skill, and strategy allbined into one perfectly. That is why such a perfect attack formed. While it seemed to have just been four palm-strikes, each of his palms shook me to the core. That day, when we werepeting, if he had used this attack, even I would not expect to win. I would have had to use my Martial Soul True Body to win, and even so, I would have been severely injured. Furthermore, I still do not know what his sixth soul skill is. Shrek Academy lives up to its name indeed! Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters have all concealed their power well. Bei Bei is even more terrifying than Xu Sanshi!¡±

    A look of shock appeared on Wei Na¡¯s face. She trusted Long Aotianpletely, and she also knew that he was incredibly proud. When even he respected Bei Bei this much¡­

    Wei Na chuckled bitterly and said, ¡°I feel that we¡¯ve underestimated the Tang Sect. Before we leave Radiant City, we must find a chance to better our ties with them.¡±

    Long Aotian nodded and grunted in agreement.

    ---

    In the arena, Ji Li trembled violently, swaying around as if he were drunk. Finally, his legs went soft as he fell to his knees.

    Following that, his entire body started to tremble. The scales on his body started to drop off piece-by-piece. He mumbled, ¡°Whew, whew,¡± but he could not string a sentence together.

    Rays of golden light started to seep out from his body. Gradually, the golden light solidified, and then started to spread in all directions. The odorous smell from his body faded away, and was reced by a clear scent of something that had just been bathed by powerful sunlight.

    Boom!

    Ji Li¡¯s body exploded into countless tiny pieces. Weirdly, no blood spurted out from his body, and no flesh flew from it. His body burst open, and then turned into ashes underneath the golden light.

    The intense golden light remained where it was and then, turned into a miniature version of the Golden Holy Dragon. Itsted only a few seconds before disappearing.

    The audience was stunned into silence by this!

    The scene was way too shocking. No one could have imagined it. What soul skill is this? Why is it so powerful!?

    The battle did notst very long. At first, Bei Bei had appeared to be at a disadvantage. The evil soul master, Ji Li, was unpredictable and powerful. In particr, his tongue and his powerful defenses seemed to have forced Bei Bei into a corner.

    However, the end of this battle came so quickly. The four thunderous booms seemed capable of blowing everyone¡¯s hearts up. A Soul Emperor-level evil soul master died in battle, just like that!

    ---

    The Tang Sect¡¯s waiting zone...

    Huo Yuhao sat there as he looked dumbly at Bei Bei. He mumbled to himself, ¡°This, this is teacher¡¯s Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture! Elder brother is able to use this soul skill. No wonder he did not want to use his fifth soul skill when he sparred against us. It¡¯s actually the Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture! With Sovereign¡¯s Descent as its foundation, and with the Golden Holy Dragon martial soul as its source, it¡¯s able to destroy everything! Furthermore, it will evolve as one¡¯s cultivation improves. It¡¯s a powerful soul skill representative of a true Titled Douluo, or even a Transcendent Douluo, or even an Ultimate Douluo!¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao was a direct disciple of Mu En, he¡¯d only inherited Sovereign¡¯s Descent, the Dragon God Douluo¡¯s many experiences, and his research into martial souls.

    After all, his martial soul was unlike his teacher¡¯s. There was no way for him to emte his teacher¡¯s power.

    However, Bei Bei could do so! Bei Bei was able to evolve his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul into a Radiant Holy Dragon. Mu En¡¯s newly-researched ability tapped into the power of the Radiant Holy Dragon as its blueprint and so Bei Bei could emte it. As Mu En¡¯s disciple, Bei Bei had trained with him since he was a child. While Huo Yuhao had inherited his experience, knowledge, and fighting style, which had helped him expand his knowledge, make more discoveries of his own, and ultimately find his own path, Bei Bei followed Mu En¡¯s path, and had inherited the Dragon God Douluo¡¯s essence!

    Was the Golden Dragon Girl, Wang Qiu¡¯er, the most powerful soul master with a Dragon martial soul in this tournament?

    This thought was suddenly in the minds of everyone spectating this match.

    The Tang Sect versus the Holy Ghost Sect, individual elimination round one. Tang Sect, victory! Ji Li, a member of the Holy Ghost Sect, dead!

 Chapter 331.1: Dragon Emperor Realm Quake

    In the resting zone, the Tiger Scorpion Douluo Zhang Peng, who sat at the back of the Holy Ghost Sect, stood up with a dark expression on his face. He mouthed something to those in the waiting zone. No one knew what he was saying.

    In the waiting zone, Tang Ya, who stood at the front, turned to look at the Tiger Scorpion Douluo. Then, she nodded in his direction.

    Huo Yuhao had been observing the two of them. His gaze likewise fell onto the familiar woman next to him. Is she my sister? No matter what, he had to find out the truth after this tournament ended.

    Bei Bei stood in the arena. He continued to absorb soul power from the Milk Bottle. He was not perturbed at all by what was going on around him.

    Over on the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s side, under Tang Ya¡¯s beckoning, another team member leapt onto the arena.

    This person was extremely tall, at least two meters, but at the same time, he was extremely skinny. He looked as if he were a twig. His long ck robes hung on his frame like an old sack.

    His movements were evidently very stiff, and he was not very fast, either. He walked slowly and rigidly toward the center of the arena, as if his knees could not bend.

    ¡°State your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Bei Bei.¡±

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Wang Xiaolei.¡± Wang Xiaolei¡¯s voice was raspy and cold. It seemed to reverberate slightly in the air. It was vastly different from that of a normal person.

    When he saw Wang Xiaolei walk onto the arena, a change happened in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. His lips moved as he said something to Bei Bei up in the arena.

    Only then did Bei Bei open his eyes again. He put his Milk Bottle away.

    ¡°Will both participants please move back and prepare for the match to begin?¡±

    Bei Bei slowly walked to the end of the arena. Wang Xiaolei of the Holy Ghost Sect did the same as he ambled stiffly over. His stiff, slow movements made him appear wizened.

    The crowd quieted down. One match did not mean everything. While many people thought that Bei Bei¡¯s power rivaled Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s, he had appeared less often than she had. Many wanted to see if he had gotten by so far by luck or by skill.

    Before this round had started, not many people thought that the Tang Sect had a chance. After all, among ordinary folks and normal soul masters, evil soul masters were mysterious, powerful, and bloodthirsty.

    No one would have imagined that an ordinary soul master could beat an evil soul master under equal conditions.

    However, their mindset now started to change. Bei Bei was able to prove through his actions that these evil soul masters were not invincible. While they were scary, they could still be killed by ordinary soul masters of the same level.

    Of course, everyone could see that Ji Li of the Holy Ghost Sect had been careless. Before he could even use his most powerful soul skills, he had been in. Evidently, he had underestimated his opponent. Now that the Tang Sect had killed one of their opponents, they had gained an advantage in both the individual elimination round and the group round. However, this was not an absolute advantage. The second round was just as important.

    The protective soul barriers started to rise. The Unbreakable Douluo stood at the center of the arena as he looked at Bei Bei, who had walked to the edge of the arena and was wearing a slight, elegant smile on his face.

    As the referee, in his eyes the Holy Ghost Sect was not the only mysterious sect anymore. While he had refereed many rounds with the Tang Sect, they now appeared to be shrouded in another veil of mystery, too...

    The Tang Sect was able to conceal their abilities so well. In the previous round, facing the powerful soul masters from the Body Sect, they did not even use their full strength. Only now had Bei Bei unleashed his powerful fifth soul skill.

    While Zheng Zhan was a ss 9 soul engineer, and his martial soul could notpare to a real Titled Douluo, he was much more perceptive than normal people thanks to his cultivation. He could not only sense the perfection that Long Aotian had detected, but he also could sense the essence as well!

    Why were Bei Bei¡¯s four palm-strikes able to deliver such terrifying destructive power? Furthermore, it came from the inside-out. This was not just his power alone, Ji Li¡¯s power may have been involved in some way too. In other words, his attack was able to affect Ji Li¡¯s internal soul power and cause it to explode. This move was no ordinary soul skill. A truly powerful soul master actually had such a powerful tactic at his disposal!

    ¡°Begin!¡± While thoughts surfaced in his mind non-stop, they did not affect the way Zheng Zhan refereed this battle.

    As his right hand came down, Bei Bei, who had looked rxed, warm, and happy just moments ago, suddenly moved forward rapidly. His charge this time was even more relentless. Even though it was weaker than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s terrifyingly explosive power, he was able to cross the arena in a breath¡¯s time.

    The only reason he charged forward so ferociously was because Huo Yuhao had said one sentence to Bei Bei. Your opponent specializes in long-distance attacks. Force him into closebat. The impact of Spiritual Detection was unparalleled at this moment.

    On the other side, Wang Xiao Lei stood where he was without moving. He then lifted his slender right arm, and soul rings started to rise from underneath his feet.

    He was indeed a disciple of a powerful evil soul master sect. He also had six soul rings, which were in the perfectbination. They slowly rose together; two yellow, two purple, and two ck!

    At this moment, a white, bony w reached out from his right sleeve, pointing toward Bei Bei. Wang Xiaolei¡¯s first soul ring started to shine.

    An odd scene appeared once more. A cluster of white, bony ws suddenly appeared from the metal ground of the arena, trying to grab Bei Bei¡¯s legs. Two of them found purchase, and held him fast.

    Even though it was daytime, the sky was already overcast. Coupled with the pile of w bones that appeared on the ground, everyone was shocked.

    A low voice rumbled from Wang Xiaolei¡¯s cloak. Five phnx bones spun on his outstretched w. His second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth soul rings started to shine with light in a mysterious fashion. His soul rings shed in order. The light from his soul rings shed like a wave churning in the sea. No one could tell what soul skills Wang Xiaolei was using.

    With his legs trapped, Bei Bei¡¯s charge was naturally stopped. As he had charged too ferociously, his body instantly tumbled forward.

    Bei Bei pushed himself up from the ground in front of him and stood upright once more. At the same time, a huge swathe of electricity emerged from his feet. This was his second soul skill, Vigorous Thunderbolt!

    Bei Bei¡¯s control over his second soul skill was amazing. In the previous round, bypressing Vigorous Thunderbolt between his palms into a dense forest of electricity, he was able to stop Ji Li¡¯s tongue. At this moment, Vigorous Thunderbolt was concentrated on his legs. Instantly, with a crackle and a hiss, the ws that were grabbing his legs were reduced to dust.

    One had to know that lightning itself was a coagtion of the natural qi of heaven and earth, and hence it was able to suppress the power of all evil beings.

    Earlier, the fifth soul skill Bei Bei had used was called Dragon Emperor Demonic Rapture by Elder Mu because the thunderous natural qi and the power of light were able to form an extraordinary force that could stop all things demonic. Hence, it was able to suppress all types of evil soul masters. This was why the mysterious Imperial Tutor was so agitated when he saw it.

    However, his short dy allowed his opponent toplete his soul skill.

    Wang Xiaolei pressed forward toward Bei Bei, and a ball of mysterious, ice-blue light shone on his w bones. Instantly, a pale-white halo of light appeared underneath Bei Bei¡¯s feet.

    Bei Bei felt a powerful, ghastly cold energy assaulting him. Then, everything around him turned white.

    Second soul skill, Evil Frost!

    Wang Xiaolei¡¯s freezing power was different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. His attack was not pure ice-type. Instead, it was refined from the evil power of avenging spirits. The freezing sensation came from condensed evil and a desire for vengeance. His soul skill required him to continually replenish a supply of avenging spirits for use. Every avenging spirit came from a life. Like many evil soul masters, his abilities came from murder!

    Wang Xiaolei¡¯s mind was clear. He wanted to use this soul skill to pollute Bei Bei. As long as he was able to corrupt Bei Bei¡¯s martial soul and prevent him from using his light power, he would be at an advantage!

    The moment he used Evil Frost, Wang Xiaolei took a step forward and raised his right hand high into the air. As his right hand rose, a collective gasp could be heard from the crowd. His sleeve slid down all the way to his shoulder to reveal his right arm, which was nothing but white bones!

    Could this mean that Wang Xiaolei, underneath his ck robe, was just a skeleton?

    The eerie and mysterious nature of evil soul masters made everyone¡¯s hair stand up, and their blood run cold.

    Purplish-ck light started to gather around Wang Xiaolei¡¯s upraised right hand. His Evil Frost was not only able to pollute his opponent, but it also allowed his Avenging Spirit to devour his opponent in a frenzy, and even turn his opponent into another one. At the same time, it had powerful immobilizing effects. As for how long he could immobilize his opponent, that depended on his opponent¡¯s power.

    At this moment, the fifth soul ring on his body started to shine.

    He had learned from Ji Li¡¯s mistake of being careless and underestimating his opponent. This time, Wang Xiaolei decided to show no mercy!

 Chapter 331.2: Dragon Emperor Realm Quake

    Chapter 331.2: Dragon Emperor Realm Quake

    The purplish-ck light on his right hand became extremely eye-catching. The wails of avenging spirits could be heard everywhere.

    Even the Unbreakable Douluo¡¯s face turned dark. Naturally, he did not fear Wang Xiaolei¡¯s attack. However, he could clearly sense that the highly-concentrated nature of Wang Xiaolei¡¯s attack was extracted from hundreds of lives! This guy was a true executioner!

    While Zheng Zhan came from the Sun Moon Empire and had a close rtionship with the imperial family, he did not like the evil soul masters. In his heart, he resolved that if this Bei Bei from the Tang Sect were to kill this guy, he would definitely not intervene.

    A scream could be heard. Wang Xiaolei¡¯s right arm suddenly came down. Instantly, a long purplish-ck whip swung out from his right hand. The whip cracked straight toward Bei Bei, who had been immobilized by his Evil Frost.

    This was his powerful fifth soul skill, Death Whip! Once someone was struck by the Death Whip, he would be eaten away by an aura of death. At the same time, he would be ferociously attacked by the avenging spirits in the Death Whip until he became an avenging spirit too!

    The Death Whip was forged from avenging spirits. Wang Xiaolei¡¯s Death Whip already had more than two hundred avenging spirits in it. As it was formed from so many avenging spirits, this fifth soul skill¡¯s strength could easily overpower many seven-ringed Soul Sages!

    One had to know that it was not easy to make avenging spirits. It was not just a simple matter of killing someone. Only those with an intense hatred in their hearts at the moment of death, or those who had been terrified prior to their demise, could be turned into powerful avenging spirits. Because of this, no one knew how many people Wang Xiaolei had killed to achieve his current powers. Zheng Zhan realized that he did not know evil soul masters well enough. The number of people Wang Xiaolei had killed should be in the thousands by now...

    The purplish-ck whip swished through the air, and one could hear countless deafening wails. This sound alone spread far from the tournament¡¯s arena. Some members of the audience who were close to the arena felt an intense giddiness, as if their souls were about to leave their bodies. After this tournament, many of them would be struck by severe illnesses.

    Bei Bei stood there without moving. It was as if he had already been polluted by the Evil Frost. Faced with the Death Whip now, there appeared to be nothing he could do.

    Just as the horrifying whip was about tond on him, a sudden, intense golden light suddenly shone from the center of Bei Bei¡¯s body outward. The evil icy-blueyer around his body was blown off. A clear golden palm reached out and grabbed the whip.

    Wails could be heard from the long whip. One could clearly see a huge amount of mist seeping out from the area around Bei Bei¡¯s hand. In the mist, one could many twisted human faces dissipating in the air, as well as streams of ck gases floating around them.

    Wang Xiaolei was infuriated as he roared. He had spent a lot of time and effort crafting his Death Whip, to the point where he himself was no longer fully human. At this moment, the light, lightning, and demon-destroying abilities of Bei Bei were wrecking his whip! Even if just a bit of it was wrecked, it was not something Wang Xiaolei would let go!

    However, Wang Xiaolei remained calm. Under these circumstances, he did not think about withdrawing his Death Whip. Instead, he flicked his wrist upward, causing the Death Whip to coil around Bei Bei¡¯s neck like a snake!

    At this moment, Wang Xiaolei was extremely careful, because he could clearly see Bei Bei¡¯s fifth soul ring shing around his body. This meant that he was readying his Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture.

    However, Wang Xiaolei had tricks up his sleeves too. His sixth soul ring started to shine, and a ball of purplish-ck light coated his body. At this moment, his robe finally burst open.

    Just as many had guessed, without his robe, Wang Xiaolei was nothing more than a white skeleton.

    Two dark red fires jumped in his eye sockets. One could see countless purplish-ck patterns all over his bones.

    At this moment, he lifted his left hand and pressed it down onto his right hand. Balls of purplish-ck light were sent over from his left hand to the Death Whip, which he was wielding in his right hand.

    The avenging spirits appeared to be calmed by this, and a terrifying aura of death surged toward Bei Bei like a tidal wave.

    The expression on Bei Bei¡¯s face changed. He could clearly feel that the aura of death that was rushing toward him would allow the Death Whip to break free from his grasp.

    He took a step back and let go. He thrust out with his palms andnded four palm-strikes on the purplish-ck aura of death that was surging toward him.

    Thunder boomed around him. Golden bolts of lightning a meter wide exploded in mid-air. Every single explosion of lightning would destroy huge swathes of the purplish-ck aura. However, it continued to crash toward him. Some of itnded on the ground. Instantly, the metal on the ground dissolved silently! Furthermore, the purplish-ck aura would not just eat through the metal on the ground, but also bored holes in the stone below after they were done with the metal. Many tiny holes whose depth could not be seen started to appear. Their densely-packed nature made everyone ufortable.

    Death Withering, Wang Xiaolei¡¯s sixth soul skill. This was also his most powerful one!

    However, before the Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture, neither Death Withering nor the Death Whip stood a chance, and they were both shattered by its powerful demon-destroying abilities.

    After thest Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture was unleashed, an explosion boomed in the air. One-third of the Death Whip waspletely shattered, and the remainder of the Death Withering was utterly obliterated.

    ---

    On the main podium, the mysterious Imperial Tutor said, ¡°If this guy doesn¡¯t die, he¡¯ll be another Mu En in a few decades.¡±

    Xu Tianran said nothing. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the arena. Bei Bei¡¯s powerful palms could force even evil soul masters into retreat with each strike. They were powerful indeed!

    ---

    The audience spectating the match cheered Bei Bei on relentlessly. In their eyes, the skeletal Wang Xiaolei was too horrifying. They wanted Bei Bei to kill him quickly, just like he did Ji Li!

    The energy from their sh reverberated in the air. The fire that danced in Wang Xiaolei¡¯s eye sockets dimmed a bit. However, Bei Bei also took a few steps back. Both sides were evidently shaken from the sh.

    The Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s image appeared behind Bei Bei. He lifted his head and let out a draconic roar. Then, he charged toward Wang Xiaolei once more.

    ws appeared on the ground once again. However, they were unable to stop Bei Bei, who was currently in his Radiant Holy Dragon state.

    Everywhere Bei Bei passed, the bones would disintegrate. There was no way they could stop him.

    The spirit fire that danced in Wang Xiaolei¡¯s eyes looked shocked. While they had appeared to be evenly-matched just now, he was unable to widen the distance between Bei Bei and himself. He was also unable to defeat Bei Bei with his two main soul skills. He knew that he was now at a disadvantage. His only hope was that Bei Bei could not maintain his explosive state for long.

    Wang Xiaolei specialized in long-range attacks. However, speed was a major problem for him. It was impossible for him to widen the distance via speed. The only thing he could do was assault his opponent non-stop to block him.

    He grabbed at the air with his right hand, and his third soul ring shed. A dark-purple bubble appeared in mid-air and enveloped his body. Following that, his extended his skeletal left and right arms. The purplish-ck patterns on his body lit up.

    The moment he reached out with his arms, his fourth soul ring started to shine. The purplish-ck light started to seep out from his feet.

    This was his third soul skill, Death Protection, and his fourth soul skill, Deadspirit Sea!

    This was Wang Xiaolei¡¯s most powerful attack. Strengthened by Deadspirit Sea, he would normally then release his fifth and sixth soul skills. However, as Bei Bei¡¯s attack was too fast, there was no way he could have released his Deadspirit Sea in time before.

    Deadspirit Sea was like a domain-type ability, but not quite.

    It only had a radius of five meters. Once it was released, Deadspirit Sea would not move with Wang Xiaolei. All attacks he released afterward would increase in strength. Furthermore, it nourished the avenging spirits, giving them new strength.

    How could one who was chosen to represent the Holy Ghost Church not have astounding abilities?

    When Bei Bei was less than twenty meters from him, he raised his right hand and shed it toward Wang Xiaolei with his Thunderous Dragon w.

    However, the moment the golden Thunderous Dragon w entered the zone of the Deadspirit Sea, it started to change. Purplish-ck light shed and pulsated. The golden Thunderous Dragon w was cloaked with ayer of purplish-ck light. While its demon-destroying abilities were able to resist the purplish-ck light, it dissipatedpletely when it reached Death Protection. All that was left were a few strands of purplish-ck light thatnded uselessly on Wang Xiaolei¡¯s Death Protection.

    Wang Xiaolei moved his hands up and down. At this moment, he no longer cared about the depletion of his soul power.

    Layers of Evil Frost surged from his Deadspirit Sea. Like a tsunami, they crashed toward Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei snorted coldly, and his third soul ring started to sh. It was Thunderous Fury!

    A huge golden tendril of electricity wrapped itself around his body. At the same time, the toes of his left foot touched the ground. He then charged like an arrow into the Deadspirit Sea without any hesitation!

 Chapter 331.3: Dragon Emperor Realm Quake

    Chapter 331.3: Dragon Emperor Realm Quake

    Even though the Deadspirit Sea only had a radius of about five meters, Wang Xiaolei had already retreated to its other end. The moment Bei Bei entered it, he could feel his body going cold. Avenging spirits wailed, which made his soul feel unstable, as if it were about to leave his body.

    The Evil Frost continued to assault his body, trying tofreeze both his body and his soul. Bei Bei¡¯s speed slowed visibly. The thunder and lightning around his body fought against the Evil Frost, but now, every step he took became arduous.

    ¡°Kakaka!¡± Wang Xiaoleiughed. Hisughter was as chilling as the caw of a crow. ¡°Fool, your biggest mistake was entering my Deadspirit Sea. Time to enjoy Death Withering in the Deadspirit Sea.¡±

    As he said that, he lifted his hands, and a purplish-ck fountain centered around his body started to seep into every corner of the Deadspirit Sea. The terrifying death aura rushed toward Bei Bei frantically.

    Once, Wang Xiaolei had used this move to simultaneously kill two Soul Sages. Then, he¡¯d turned them into the main Avenging Spirits for his Death Whip. He anticipated the moment when he could do the same to Bei Bei. How would his light and demon-destroying soul affect his Death Whip after he subdued Bei Bei? What would his Death Whip be? Maybe it wouldn¡¯t even fear light-type attacks anymore!

    The overcast sky today was a great advantage for the evil soul masters, particrly for Wang Xiaolei. Had it been sunny, the strength of his attacks would have been greatly reduced. He might not even have been able topete, and his team would¡¯ve had to activate their reserves.

    At this moment, he brimmed with confidence. He could almost see the very moment when Bei Bei became part of his Death Whip.

    As a powerful evil soul master, Wang Xiaolei was very perceptive. He could clearly analyze that the Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture attack Bei Bei had used earlier could not be used consecutively. How could a soul skill which fused with spiritual power be simple? He had already used it twice in two battles. If he wanted to continue using it, he would need to take a rest. Without needing to fear the terrifying power of Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture, his sixth soul skill, Death Withering, which was further strengthened by his fourth soul skill, Deadspirit Sea, could not be easily resisted!

    Wang Xiaolei thought he almost saw terror in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. The spirit fire in his eye sockets danced rapidly.

    However, he quickly saw Bei Beiugh. Hisughter was cold and arrogant. Bei Bei, who usually had a warm demeanor, now treated his opponent arrogantly. In his heart, he always viewed himself as above everything else. This was the true nature of Sovereign¡¯s Descent!

    If fear appeared in his heart, how could he control the Sovereign¡¯s Descent?

    Bei Bei bent over. Looking at him, it was as if his entire body had curled up. At the same time, a ck halo rose, and an intense golden light shone from his body.

    With a clear and mighty dragon roar, the huge image of the Radiant Holy Dragon crashed into Bei Bei and entered his body. Now, Bei Bei was covered with a thickyer of golden armor. He shot out like a thunderbolt.

    Even though the Radiant Holy Dragon had taken Bei Bei¡¯s humanoid form, at this moment, he resembled a true Radiant Holy Dragon!

    As this Radiant Holy Dragon charged forward, it started to swirl quickly. Then, in mid-air, it took the shape of a huge dragon head.

    There was only a dragon head. This meant that Bei Bei had yet to enter the level of a seven-ringed soul master who could use his Martial Soul True Body. However, the appearance of just this dragon head alone was enough to make the mysterious Imperial Tutor stand up.

    The golden dragon head brimmed with a powerful, regal vor. The powerful Radiant Holy Dragon burst forth!

    ¡°Dragon Emperor¡¯s Realm Quake,¡± the Imperial Tutor said word-by-word as he named Bei Bei¡¯s soul skill.

    A golden halo with a fifteen-meter radius appeared. The halopletely encircled the Deadspirit Sea. In the center of the halo, one could see that humongous, arrogant dragon head. Inside the halo were numerous Golden Holy Dragons. As they appeared, the Deadspirit Sea started to slow. Death Withering, which was gaining momentum, also stopped in ce.

    Compared to Wang Xiaolei and his horrifying soul skills, Bei Bei¡¯s soul skills appeared extremely dazzling.

    At least ten Golden Holy Dragons appeared in the halo. At this moment, Wang Xiaolei suddenly discovered that there was nothing he could do. An indescribable terror now appeared in his mind.

    His Death Withering and Deadspirit Sea both broke free from his control. All he could feel was that his soul was slowly rising. Everything around him became cloaked in gold.

    After the realistic-looking Radiant Holy Dragons appeared, they did not move.

    They were like statues suspended in mid-air.

    The dragon head in the center roared once more.

    It was as if it had given an order to attack. All of the Radiant Holy Dragons unleashed their devastating attacks together.

    They turned into rays of golden lightning that shed and dashed around within the golden halo. The Deadspirit Sea and Death Withering were instantly ripped apart by the dragon-shaped thunder and lightning. At the same time, they all charged toward Wang Xiaolei.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom!

    Four explosions sounded in the arena. Three blows, and Wang Xiaolei¡¯s Death Protection was shattered.

    Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, reacted and wanted to go and save him. However, the golden halo on the ground started to shine intensely. A golden thirty meter-tall pir of light started to rise into the sky.

    Even Zheng Zhan could not enter at this moment. When he touched the golden pir, golden lightning circled his entire body. Even though he tried to resist it with his defensive soul tools, it was impossible to take even a single step.

    Thissted for less than two seconds. Soon, slowly faded and disappeared.

    In the sky, the shadow of the Radiant Holy Dragon flickered in and out of sight. The dozen Radiant Holy Dragons flew up into the sky.

    Dragon Emperor¡¯s Realm Quake!

    This was a powerful soul skill the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, had created. It specialized in destroying demons and stopping evil soul masters.

    Dragon Emperor Realm Quake and Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture were the two signature killer moves of Elder Mu many years ago. No one knew how many evil soul masters he¡¯d killed with them.

    Evil soul masters were all terrified of them.

    At this moment, it was clear that Bei Bei had used the same methods, and inherited his master¡¯s skills.

    Wang Xiaolei¡¯s body had disappearedpletely. Compared to Ji Li, his disappearance was even more traceless. No one saw how he had really disappeared.

    The giant gold pir of light was gone, which meant that he¡¯d disappeared naturally as well. Not even a single trace of him was left.

    The entire arena fell silent once more. Bei Bei had just killed two Soul Emperor-level evil soul masters!

    At this moment, no one dared to say that Wang Qiu¡¯er was the most powerful Dragon martial soul soul master of this tournament. Until she could beat him, no one would say that.

    Yu Tianlong waspletely still. As a fellow Dragon martial soul soul master, and as someone with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, he now truly understood how powerful Bei Bei¡¯s attack was. This was a soul skill that surpassed even that of an ordinary Soul Sage.

    He knew that he was definitely not Bei Bei¡¯s opponent. It was hard to even speak for Wang Qiu¡¯er. Very hard to say, indeed. Where did the Tang Secte from? Why are they so powerful?

    Bei Bei reappeared where the golden light pir once was. His face looked pale, but he stood upright.

    Regardless of whether it was his quick breaths or his unhealthyplexion, neither could diminish the determined look in his eyes.

    He¡¯d won. Indeed, he¡¯d won once more. Twice! And he had killed two people! Everyone in the audience was cheering for him.

    Demon-destroying. This was his light-type demon-destroying ability!

    Even though every Soul Emperor could use their fifth and sixth soul skills, very few could use up as much power as he had. Bei Bei stood there quietly. It took some time for his breathing to normalize once more. He lifted his right hand slowly and pointed in the direction of the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s waiting zone. He extended his index finger and pointed straight at Tang Ya, who sat at the front of the resting zone.

    She appeared agitated. She stood up and looked coldly at Bei Bei. While she wore a hood over her head, her sharp gaze bored into Bei Bei, who was separated from her by the descending protective soul barrier.

    ¡°Individual elimination round, round two, Victory, the Tang Sect.¡± When he said these words, even Zheng Zhan was dumbfounded.

    Two to zero, who would have thought that the Tang Sect would take the lead?

    Bei Bei inhaled and lowered his arm. He turned and walked expressionlessly to the center of the arena. Slowly, he walked in front of the Unbreakable Douluo and took out his Milk Bottle once more as he stood there, slowly replenishing his soul power.

    Tang Ya turned around and looked at the waiting zone.

    The shock from the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng¡¯s eyes had disappeared. It was slowly being reced by fear.

    The moment Bei Bei unleashed his Dragon Emperor Realm Quake, it was as if he had returned to the moment when the Dragon God Douluo Mu En had unleashed the same powerful move to suppress him. This was where his terror came from. The skills of the Dragon God Douluo had indeed been passed down! Fortunately, this bastard is still young...

    At this moment, a cold light shed in Zhang Peng¡¯s eyes. He nodded meaningfully at Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya nodded. On the balls of her feet, she stood up with her back facing the arena. Then, her slender body somersaulted in mid-air and she ascendedfortably into the arena. At the same time, she removed her hood.

    The cheering crowd quieted down instantly. They were all taken aback by what they saw.

    Tang Ya walked onto the arena. In the eyes of the crowd, they were expecting some hideous guy from the Holy Ghost Sect. However, the person who now stood before them was a stunningly beautiful girl with dark-blue eyes and jade-white skin.

    Compared to a few years ago, Tang Ya was much more mature. She had grown taller, and be more womanly. She looked like a young adult now. Her beautiful face was icy-cold as she walked towards Bei Bei!

 Chapter 332.1: Xiao Ya, Im Feeling A Little Cold

    ssy and cold, with an indescribably charming, yet evil demeanor. Her captivating splendor didn¡¯t seem to be much inferior to Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Bei Bei¡¯s pupils shrank slightly, and a tormented look shed across his eyes. However, he still seemed very determined. He faced Tang Ya directly and didn¡¯t avoid her.

    She was also staring back at him, and her gaze seemed ghastly. A dim dark-blue streak of gas started revolving around her body. It seemed like she could erupt at any time.

    She only stopped when she was three meters away from Bei Bei. She looked at him coldly and didn¡¯t utter a word. However, there was very solemn aura on the stage.

    Zheng Zhan¡¯s emotions hadn¡¯t subsided yet. Bei Bei¡¯s fifth and sixth soul skills had destroyed two evil soul masters. Regarding this refined-looking young man in front of him, Zheng Zhan felt that he was very pleasant. He hoped that Bei Bei wouldn¡¯t be destroyed under the hands of the Holy Ghost Sect. However, he was the referee, and even a member of the Sun Moon Empire. How could he express his thoughts?

    As he looked at both parties, Zheng Zhan said, ¡°Both parties, please report your names.¡± His voice was evidently slower than the previous two times. He was thinking to himself. Kid, this is the most that I can do to help you. I hope that you can take this short period of time to restore yourself a little.

    From Bei Bei¡¯s soul power undtions, he could tell that Bei Bei couldn¡¯tst a third round. In addition, the aura from Tang Ya was markedly stronger than the two previous evil soul masters. From where she was seated in the waiting area, she should be one of the best in this evil soul master sect.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Bei Bei.¡± Bei Bei said these four simple words, and emphasized the words ¡®Tang Sect¡¯.

    Tang Ya seemed to be dazed for a moment, and a lost look shed across her eyes. However, she soon regained her cold attitude and said, ¡°Holy Ghost Church, Tang Ya.¡±

    Bei Bei took in a deep breath and nodded at her. There was a tormented look on his face. Before the Unbreakable Douluo could speak, he immediately turned around and walked towards his half of the stage. He was very determined.

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t seem to sense anything, and also turned around before walking towards her own half of the stage. She seemed very graceful as she walked. It was as if she were drifting along. Her body didn¡¯t move much.

    Humans were always inclined towards beauty. Tang Ya¡¯s appearance quieted down the spectators who were fearful and disgusted by the Holy Ghost Sect. There were even some who were doubtful. Can such a prettydy be an evil soul master?

    Of course, beauty didn¡¯t decide a soul master¡¯s abilities. Tang Ya slowly walked towards her side of the stage before turning around. On the other side, Bei Bei was already prepared. He had also put his Milk Bottle away.

    This was already the third individual elimination round. The third round was very important, especially for the team that had won the first two rounds. As long as they won the third round, Bei Bei had the right to request that they immediately move on to the team round. The Tang Sect outnumbered the Holy Ghost Sect by two people. If Bei Bei could win this round, the Tang Sect¡¯s advantage would be quite great.

    However, could the Tang Sect really win? After fighting two consecutive rounds, Bei Bei¡¯s depletion could be seen in his expression. It was quite unlikely that he could defeat Tang Ya right now, who was also likely the team leader of the Holy Ghost Sect.

    The Unbreakable Douluo looked at both parties. He knew that he couldn¡¯t dy any further. He sighed in his heart and lifted his right hand up high.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    After his voice sounded, Bei Bei was the one who made the first move. He exerted his strength and instantly burst forward. He didn¡¯t seem slower than when he had faced Wang Xiaolei earlier.

    In the waiting area, the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were witnessing the fight nervously. Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but hold Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand tightly, and Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t me him for exploiting this opportunity to hold onto her hand right now.

    They were the earliest two of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters to know Bei Bei and Tang Ya. They had watched how Bei Bei and Tang Ya grew up as a couple. They had witnessed how tormented Bei Bei was after Tang Ya disappeared.

    At this moment, these two lovers had been reunited. However, they were reunited as opponents!

    ¡°Xiao Ya, do you not remember anything? Do you know how much Bei Bei has sacrificed for you all these years?¡± Jiang Nannan muttered to herself. Her eyes started to turn red.

    Xu Sanshi was as uninhibited as usual, and said, ¡°We must believe Bei Bei. He¡¯ll be able to wake her up.¡±

    ¡°He will definitely be able to.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er and Xiao Xiao said at almost the same time. He Caitou also clenched his fists as he watched them anxiously.

    Only Huo Yuhao seemed calmer. His breathing was very regr, and he ced his hands on the handles of his wheelchair. He seemed to be pondering something.

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t rush forward even though Bei Bei had burst straight towards her. Her expression was very cold. She moved step by step toward Bei Bei. She wasn¡¯t quick. However, the dark blue light that shone from her body became stronger and stronger with every step she took.

    The dark blue light entuated her ravishing looks. She had the aura of an influential queen!

    The two of them were getting closer and closer to each other. Beneath Tang Ya¡¯s feet, her soul rings also finally shone.

    Two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings.

    In the waiting area, Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Seven!¡± A few others who were familiar with Tang Ya were also stunned. Huo Yuhao also revealed a shocked look in his eyes.

    Seven soul rings, a seven-ringed Soul Sage?

    Initially, Tang Ya¡¯s cultivation was inferior to Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and even Jiang Nannan. This was also why she had left Shrek Academy; she knew that she couldn¡¯t enter the inner courtyard.

    However, seven soul rings lit up on her body right now. In a few years, she had already be a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Were all evil soul masters so scary?

    Her third soul ring lit up first. Tang Ya lifted up her right hand and mimicked a gentle smacking action towards Bei Bei. A ball of dark blue light ball shot out and flew towards Bei Bei.

    The ball quickly expanded as it flew out, turning into a dark blue.

    Bei Bei recognized this soul skill. Huo Yuhao also knew it very clearly. This was the third soul skill that Bei Bei had helped Tang Ya obtain when Huo Yuhao first met them, Spiderweb Binding! It was obtained from a thousand year Man-faced Devilspider!

    However, the Spiderweb Binding that Tang Ya used now was more than ten meters in diameter. It covered a huge surface area, and Bei Bei felt that he couldn¡¯t dodge it as it moved towards him.

    Not only this, but Tang Ya¡¯s first soul ring also lit up. Countless vines surged out from her back. The dark blue vines were very shiny and transparent, exuding a deep sapphire glow. As the glow spread, it was about to cover Bei Bei entirely.

    Even though Tang Ya had be an evil soul master, she didn¡¯t change her cultivation direction. She was still a control-type soul master!

    Bei Bei stopped running forward. Following this, bluish-purple lightning surfaced around him. A huge bluish-purple lightning web opened up towards Tang Ya¡¯s Spiderweb Binding. It was as big as the Spiderweb Binding.

    Two huge webs shed in the air. The spiderweb suddenly stopped, and the lightning surrounded it.

    ---

    ¡°Xiao Ya, you must try to open up your spiderweb when you use it. After that, you must judge beforehand. It¡¯s best to unleash it when your opponent ising close to you at high speed, or if he¡¯s already in the air and can¡¯t change directions easily.

    ¡°You see, your spiderweb is very sticky. Also, the vines converted from your Bluesilver Grass will be tougher as your abilities improve. When that happens, your enemy will find it very difficult to cut the Bluesilver Grass. He might even cause the spiderweb to close up as he attacks it, and be instantly restrained.¡±

    ¡°Will my opponent be able to resist my Spiderweb Binding?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Use it on me.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I see what you are doing! It sounds fun. One is a lightning web and one is a spiderweb. It¡¯s quite interesting when webine them together! Should we give it a name?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s call it the Loveweb. There are no holes in the Loveweb. I can trap you!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s call it the Loveweb then!

    ---

    ¡°Loveweb¡­¡± Tang Ya seemed to be in a daze. There was a confused look in her eyes. Bei Bei exploited this opportunity to detour around the Loveweb and continue towards her.

    Tang Ya¡¯s confusion onlysted for a second. She quickly regained her cold mindset, and several vines formed by the Bluesilver Grass quickly reached out towards Bei Bei.

    Not only this, but she also lifted her right hand, and her fourth soul ring shone.

    Bei Bei was too familiar with Tang Ya. When he saw her lifting her right hand, he leapt up quickly.

    As he leaped away, Bluesilver Grass that resembled a patch of long spears poked out. It was like there was a forest of spears beneath him. They released a dense, cold glow.

    If Bei Bei had been one step slower, he would have shed with this patch of Bluesilver Grass.

    This was Tang Ya¡¯s fourth soul skill, Bluesilver Prison!

    Bei Bei leapt towards Tang Ya. In the air, he extended his hands and swiped towards Tang Ya with his Lightning Dragon¡¯s ws!

 Chapter 332.2: Xiao Ya, Im Feeling A Little Cold

    Two dark blue vines appeared and whipped at the Lightning Dragon¡¯s ws. They managed to crush the ws just like that. A huge patch of vines instantly rose and blocked Bei Bei¡¯s path.

    Bei Bei unleashed his third soul skill, Thunderous Fury, and the lightning around him grew stronger and stronger. He sped his palms in front of his chest, and released a sonorous dragon roar.

    Suddenly, the lightning gathered to form a huge dragon head that charged towards the patch of Bluesilver Grass.

    A huge boom echoed in the air. The vines of Bluesilver Grass scattered as they were struck by Bei Bei¡¯s fourth soul skill, Thunderous Dragon Head. However, they weren¡¯tpletely crushed from the explosion even though the Thunderous Dragon Head was very powerful. They were only scattered.

    At this point, Bei Bei didn¡¯t seem to care anymore. As hended, he smacked his palm down and continued to burst forward in the air. He opened his arms wide, as if he were trying to embrace Tang Ya.

    There was a cold look on Tang Ya¡¯s face. She raised her right hand to her side, palm facing inwards, fingers together and pointing at him A long spear exuding a bright blue light appeared on her fingertips.

    When this spear appeared, the scattered vines changed into shadows and fused with it. Tang Ya also turned a transparent, dark blue at this moment.

    This was¡­

    Zheng Zhan felt his hair stand on end. It was as if his soul had been prated.

    This was Tang Ya¡¯s fifth soul skill. It brought about a sense of oppression, and wasn¡¯t inferior to Bei Bei¡¯s Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture.

    However, Bei Bei seemed to have already expended his soul power. He wasn¡¯t able to unleash the powers of his Radiant Holy Dragon. His fifth and sixth soul rings were also inactive.

    There was a determined look on Bei Bei¡¯s face. As he faced Tang Ya¡¯s spear, there was a sense of destion as he smiled.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, I miss you so much,¡± he said softly. At this moment, he seemed to bepletely immersed in his own feelings. The lightning above his ws had disappeared. His eyes were only filled with a gentle look.

    These seven simple words were like seven huge hammers pounding on Tang Ya¡¯s soul. She didn¡¯t throw her spear out immediately after it formed.

    Bei Bei was extremely fast. He was about to reach her.

    There was a puff of impact, and a bloody light surfaced.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t dodge, and didn¡¯t try to attack either. He let the spear stab through his chest ande out his back.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was shocked by this. Even Huo Yuhao was unable to maintain his cool anymore. Something seemed to be stuck in his throat as he grabbed onto his wheelchair with his right hand.

    The other five Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters even stood up.

    ¡°Eldest senior, you lied to me.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was trembling. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.

    ---

    Before today¡¯s match, Bei Bei had quietlye to find Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t even let Wang Dong¡¯er listen to his private conversation.

    ¡°Little junior, we¡¯ll arrange our strategy in this way. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°Eldest senior, I have no objections. What do we do with Teacher Xiao Ya? If she appears in the first few rounds, will we really make a move against her?¡±

    ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t worry. I know what to do. Even if the evil soul masters abducted her, no one understands her better than me. Remember when she attacked me that day? It was just for show. She did it as a show for the rest of the evil soul masters.¡±

    ¡°In fact, she had already recognized me then. She told me about her condition using a sign that only the two of us knew. She was threatened by those evil soul masters, and thus was unable to return then. But we¡¯ll coordinate with each other in the tournament. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. But how did the Holy Ghost Church threaten Teacher Xiao Ya? We must ensure that she returns safely!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I have a n in mind. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m able to turn into the Radiant Holy Dragon! When have you ever seen me doing something I¡¯m not confident in? Xiao Ya is my greatest love. No matter what, I must help her recover. This is also something that only I can do. Don¡¯t worry, and focus onpeting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! It¡¯ll be great if Teacher Xiao Ya can return!¡±

    ---

    Everything that he had said waspletely in contrast with what was happening.

    Huo Yuhao could keep his cool earlier because Bei Bei had informed him of his n. In addition, he had always been aposed person.

    After he saw Bei Bei defeating two strong opponents, his confidence grew even further.

    However, he knew that he had been lied to when Bei Bei smiled and allowed himself to be stabbed by the long spear. Eldest senior was lying!

    He didn¡¯tmunicate with Teacher Xiao Ya at all. The attack that he suffered that day was also not a message that Teacher Xiao Ya left for him. He doesn¡¯t have the ability to bring her back!

    Eldest Senior!

    The long spear had stabbed through Bei Bei¡¯s chest and exited out his back. However, he continued to move forward toward Tang Ya. He closed his opened arms and tightly embraced her.

    Fresh blood spurted out from his chest and scattered on Tang Ya. Her cold aura seemed to have suffered a blow, and she seemed to warm up a little.

    She was stunned. When her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear stabbed Bei Bei, she felt as if her own chest had been stabbed. An indescribable pain appeared in her chest.

    She didn¡¯t unleash the life-devouring ability of her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear. She stood there in a daze without moving. It was as if she had been immobilized. The lost look in her eyes also turned into a tremendous struggle.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, it¡¯s so good to hug you again. It feels really good.¡± Bei Bei didn¡¯t even seem to feel the pain in his chest. He hugged Tang Ya tightly, and his face was filled with bliss. It was just that it was also extremely pale right now.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, do you know? I¡¯ve really missed you. After I lost you, I realized how important you were to me. You have be an indispensable part of my life.

    ¡°When I saw you that day, my soul was finally awoken. I¡¯ve waited for today for too long.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can remember me, or whether you¡¯ll recover.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s enough that I can hug you. Wake up, Xiao Ya. Let me summon you with my life. I¡¯ve already established the Tang Sect for you. Wake up, will you?¡±

    Golden light surfaced on Bei Bei¡¯s body once again. However, it appeared as a dim golden fog this time.

    In the resting area, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng had already rushed to the arena. His expression was changing wildly as he stared at the stage.

    Evidently, he didn¡¯t know about Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s rtionship. After Tang Ya joined the Holy Ghost Church, her talent was highly regarded. Over these past few years, she had been cultivating in secret. Her improvement was the greatest of all the younger soul masters. It was why she was able to represent the Holy Ghost Church as their team leader for this tournament.

    It seemed like Tang Ya should have had the upper hand. However, why didn¡¯t she destroy Bei Bei with her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear and swallow his life energy? Her cultivation was bound to increase greatly if she swallowed the life energy of a Soul Emperor. Not only would her soul power not be depleted, but she might even be stronger than she was at her peak!

    Why was she standing there without moving?

    Fresh blood was already flowing from the edges of Bei Bei¡¯s lips. His right chest and lung had been stabbed. The cold aura that the Bluesilver Tyrant Spear let out was also filled with evil.

    As he sensed that Tang Ya was in a daze, Bei Bei slowly shut his eyes and muttered, ¡°Is it still¡­ not working¡­?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiao Ya. Let it be like this then. To die in your arms is also happiness for me. It¡¯s better than suffering from the torment of missing you every day.¡±

    As he spoke, he leaned his head on Tang Ya¡¯s shoulder. His signature, refined smile returned to his face.

    In the resting area, Zhang Lexuan clenched her fists when she saw this. Her fingernails were already piercing through her palm.

    Bei Bei, why are you so foolish? Is she so good that it¡¯s worth doing this? Fool, you are really a fool!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was also stunned when she saw this. At this moment, the scene of Huo Yuhao standing by thekeside of the Icefire Yin Yang Well and swallowing the water of the zing Sunspring to melt the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body surfaced in her mind.

    Is this love? Sacrificing your life for someone you love?

    ¡°Xiao Ya, I¡¯m a little cold. Make your move.¡± Bei Bei used his remaining energy to hug Tang Ya tightly. At this moment, the rest of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters werepletely shocked. There were protective barriers in front of them. They couldn¡¯t charge up. They didn¡¯t even have a chance to stop Bei Bei. But they all saw the smile on Bei Bei¡¯s face.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, wake up!¡± Although Huo Yuhao knew Tang Ya couldn¡¯t hear his call, he still couldn¡¯t help but shout. Tears were already streaming down his face.

 Chapter 332.3: Xiao Ya, Im Feeling A Little Cold

    ¡°Bei¡­ Bei Bei¡­¡± Tang Ya muttered these few words.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body shuddered. He suddenly opened his eyes and revealed a surprised look on his face.

    ¡°Bei Bei¡­ Bei Bei¡­¡± Tang Ya lowered her head as she reminisced. She looked at Bei Bei, who was lying on her shoulder now.

    ¡°Xiao Ya. My Xiao Ya. Are you back?¡± Bei Bei¡¯s voice had be weak. Although it hadn¡¯t been long, the huge injury on his chest had caused him to lose too much blood.

    Although he couldn¡¯t hear them, Huo Yuhao could see Bei Bei¡¯s expression and Tang Ya¡¯s movement. His vertical eye opened, and a streak of purplish-gold light shot out. It struck the protective barriers and caused a slit to open.

    ¡°We concede defeat! Quickly, save him!¡± he screamed at Zheng Zhan.

    Zheng Zhan only woke up at this point. He quickly rushed towards Tang Ya and Bei Bei. He lifted his hands and announced the end of the fight.

    The protective barriers were deactivated, and everyone from the Tang Sect rushed up to the stage towards Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya was looking at Bei Bei with expressionless eyes, but she was suddenly filled with torment. The Bluesilver Tyrant Spear disappeared. Just as the spear disappeared, Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to leap towards Bei Bei. As she mimicked a pressing action, bright golden mes adhered to his huge wounds and forcefully sealed them.

    He Caitou also stuffed a cigarette into Bei Bei¡¯s mouth and shouted, ¡°Quickly, suck!¡± As he spoke, his sixth soul ring disappeared.

    It was He Caitou¡¯s sixth soul skill, the Resurrection Silver Cigar. His sixth soul skill had great healing powers.

    His Resurrection Silver Cigar was mainly used on external injuries, and its effect was very strong. However, it didn¡¯t have any effect on internal injuries.

    Bei Bei sucked with force, and instantly felt a warm flow down his throat. His body suddenly felt very warm. The blood that was spurting from his chest also stopped temporarily.

    Tang Ya squatted there and looked at Bei Bei. Suddenly, she stood up and grabbed her head with her hands. She looked into the sky and screamed in anguish.

    Her piercing scream was very prating. An intense dark-blue light surged out towards her surroundings.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s body shed, and he blocked Tang Ya¡¯s light, using his shield to protect everyone from the Tang Sect.

    When everyone from the Tang Sect climbed onto the stage, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo from the Holy Ghost Sect leaped onto the stage too. Tang Ya¡¯s importance to the Holy Ghost Church wasn¡¯t inferior to Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s importance to Shrek Academy. He could tell that something was wrong with Tang Ya, and thus had hurried up to the stage immediately.

    ¡°Holy Lady, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhang Peng asked as he grabbed Tang Ya¡¯s shoulders.

    Tang Ya suddenly turned around, and her eyes turned dark-blue. Countless vines surged out and pped Zhang Peng.

    Zhang Peng was also shocked when he saw her tormented look. However, he couldn¡¯t be controlled by Tang Ya, given his cultivation.

    What were evil soul masters most afraid of? They weren¡¯t afraid of their opponents¡¯ abilities, but instead of going berserk during their own cultivation.

    An ordinary soul master could still be saved even if he went berserk. However, evil soul masters were too domineering. Once there were problems, they were bound to die.

    Throughout the course of history, many soul masters had gone berserk as they tried to break through a difficult barrier, leading to their deaths. Some of them even blew apart.

    Seeing that things weren¡¯t going too well, Zhang Peng immediately unleashed his strong aura and forced the Bluesilver Grass away from him. He took a step forward, made a grabbing action, and his immense soul power trapped Tang Ya. At the same time, he smacked Tang Ya¡¯s forehead with his palm.

    Tang Ya stopped screaming, and copsed softly to the ground.

    The mysteriousdy from the Holy Ghost Sect suddenly appeared onstage and grabbed Tang Ya as she copsed. She whispered something to Zhang Peng. Zhang Peng looked grim, but the mysteriousdy jumped off the stage with Tang Ya. She didn¡¯t bring Tang Ya into the waiting area either, but immediately brought her out to the resting area.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Xiao Xiao, who wanted to save Tang Ya. Xu Sanshi also grabbed hold of Jiang Nannan and didn¡¯t let her rush over.

    Zhang Peng was an evil soul master, and a Transcendent Douluo. He was able to match up to Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Engineering Department¡¯s Dean, the Martial God Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er. How were the two of them going to deal with him?

    Bei Bei sucked in a few breaths of the cigar He Caitou gave him, and the wound on his chest started to heal.

    Although his body had been pierced by the Bluesilver Tyrant Spear, this external injury was the greatest injury he had sustained. After all, Tang Ya didn¡¯t fully unleash the power of the Bluesilver Tyrant Spear and invade his body with her evil energy.

    At this point, Bei Bei was already unconscious. His breathing was also a little weak. However, he had still managed to preserve his life. With the protection of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s power of light and He Caitou¡¯s cigar, his life wasn¡¯t in danger.

    Zheng Zhan stepped in front of Zhang Peng and asked, ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you know that the elders of thepeting teams aren¡¯t allowed onto the stage?¡±

    Zhang Peng red at him coldly. Suddenly, Zheng Zhan felt nauseous, and retreated two steps subconsciously.

    This person is very strong. Just the aura from the look in his eyes makes me feel he is irresistible. Titled Douluo, he must be a Titled Douluo! He might even be a Transcendent Douluo!

    Just as Zheng Zhan was horrified, Zhang Peng said, ¡°Something seems to have happened to mypeting member. She can¡¯tpete anymore. We¡¯ll concede defeat in the fourth round. Continue.¡± As he spoke, he turned around and seemed to teleport off the stage.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect also carried Bei Bei off the stage. Only Huo Yuhao was left behind.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the remaining four members of the Holy Ghost Sect with a cold look in his eyes. He lifted his right hand and hooked his finger at them. ¡°Referee, we¡¯ve already won three individual elimination rounds. We¡¯ve decided to forfeit the rest of the individual elimination round and request to enter the team round immediately.¡±

    Zheng Zhan nodded and walked to the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s side. He said a few sentences to them in the waiting area.

    The four remaining members of the Holy Ghost Sect stood up at the same time. A cold intent spread towards the stage and Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao ignored them and said, ¡°Referee, we should be able to start after a short rest?¡±

    Zheng Zhan nodded. As the remainingpeting members from both teams had yet topete, he immediately announced that the team round wouldmence after fifteen minutes, and would decide the oue of this semifinal match.

    Huo Yuhao pushed his wheelchair back to his team¡¯s waiting area. Xu Sanshi jumped up onto the stage to help him off.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still helping Bei Bei with his injury. His cigar was quite effective. The wound on Bei Bei¡¯s chest was healing very quickly.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but give He Caitou a thumbs up. ¡°Second senior, it¡¯s all to your credit.¡±

    He Caitou smiled widely and said, ¡°It¡¯s only right. My cigar can only heal external injuries, and so is very suitable for eldest senior. He¡¯s lost too much blood, but should recover if he nourishes his body. When we return, I¡¯ll give him two more cigars.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly. ¡°Bei Bei has suffered a lot in this tournament! It¡¯s his second time being so seriously hurt. He was even hurt by Xiao Ya both times. Don¡¯t tell me she has really forgotten him?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and gently said, ¡°No. Teacher Xiao Ya must have had been woken up by eldest senior. At least a part of her memories should have been jolted. Otherwise, he would have been dead by now. Second senior, quickly restore your soul power. We¡¯ll go upter and finish them off.¡±

    ¡°Even though Bei Bei was seriously injured now, the Tang Sect is still at an advantage. Bei Bei got rid of two people by sacrificing himself. He even caused Tang Ya to lose her ability topete further. In the team round, we¡¯ll be outnumbering them six to four. We have a very obvious advantage.¡±

    Jiang Nannan came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, and she was very anxious. ¡°Are you saying that Xiao Ya has been jolted awake? If that¡¯s the case, we should save her!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s no use. Fourth senior, don¡¯t be rash. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo is an evil soul master, and also a Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, this is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. There are many Holy Ghost Sect members around. We¡¯ve no ability to save her now. We must wait for the opportunity.¡±

    Jiang Nannan wanted to say something, but she was dragged away by Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi grabbed onto Jiang Nannan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Nannan, calm down. We still have the team roundter. Can youpete if you remain like this? Let¡¯s defeat our opponents first. We are doing our best to get Xiao Ya back.¡±

    Jiang Nannan nodded as she saw his bright eyes.

    Xu Sanshi hugged her and said sincerely, ¡°I¡¯ve always been very envious of Bei Bei and Tang Ya. However, I feel that we are more blissful than them. No matter what your feelings are for me, you¡¯ve always been by my side, and you can still recognize me. Nannan, I¡¯ll treasure you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Sanshi hugged her, but she didn¡¯t struggle after the sad encounter between Bei Bei and Tang Ya. She hugged him at the waist, and her tears flowed again. She muttered, ¡°If I be like Xiao Ya one day, I want you to personally kill me. I¡¯d rather die in your arms than wake up seeing you copsed beside me.¡±

 Chapter 333.1: Four Great Evil Soul Masters

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s body jerked. He had been together with Jiang Nannan for quite some time. However, he had always been the one taking the initiative. Jiang Nannan rarely responded to his confessions. Now that she said such words, how could he not feel surprised and shocked at the same time?

    ¡°Alright. If something like that happens, I¡¯ll kill you first before I die with you. At least you won¡¯t be alone.¡±

    ¡°Pui, pui, pui. Can the two of you not sound so inauspicious?¡± Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t help but butt in.

    He Caitou touched Xiao Xiao¡¯s head and said, ¡°Alright, everyone calm down. Let¡¯s prepare for the team round. Yuhao, you¡¯ll stillmand the team round.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao was a little unsteady right now. He looked at the pale and unconscious Bei Bei as he bit his lips.

    Everything was caused by the Holy Ghost Church. They made Teacher Xiao Ya like that. It¡¯s because of them that eldest senior and Teacher Xiao Ya are in so much pain. They must pay the price!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just a junior to Bei Bei and Tang Ya. The two of them had changed his life. Through being a member of the Tang Sect and entering Shrek Academy, he had managed to experience what a family was. He had felt warmth, he had found teachers, and gained everything that belonged to him now.

    Although Huo Yuhao was one of the youngest in the Tang Sect, he was still the third person to join the sect. He was only behind Bei Bei and Tang Ya. In his heart, Bei Bei and Tang Ya were like his real siblings.

    He didn¡¯t feel any less tormented than Bei Bei after Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao disappeared. He felt the same as Bei Bei every time he saw the loneliness in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes.

    He had developed a calm heart after going through the training of the Ultimate Soldier n. However, this sense of calm had merely repressed his emotional side. This repression wasn¡¯t effective all the time, however. Once the repression was ovee, the emotions he felt became even more intense. After all, humans weren¡¯t machines!

    It was just like how he risked everything for Wang Dong¡¯er; he didn¡¯t care as he proceeded to the Icefire Yin Yang Well and practically exchanged his life for the medicinal herb. As he saw how sorrowful and tormented Bei Bei was, and how Tang Ya was taken away by the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, the pain that he felt slowly turned into a burning furnace of pure fury.

    He had not felt such a deep hatred in a long time. He swore to himself that he wouldpletely destroy the Holy Ghost Church one day!

    His anxious expression turned cold. The training he had gone through in the Ultimate Soldier n was no longer able to repress his emotions. However, he was able to tolerate the fury he felt just as he was experiencing an emotional outburst.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was a little worried as she looked at Huo Yuhao. She pressed her hands against his shoulders and gently massaged them. She spent the most time with him, and was the clearest about his emotional ups and downs. She could clearly sense the cold intent that Huo Yuhao was letting out. It was obvious to her that he was infuriated!

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand to tap Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand. He signaled to her that he hadn¡¯t lost control of his emotions. He slowly shut his eyes and waited for the match to begin.

    Xu Sanshi carried Bei Bei away and sent him to the resting area. He passed him over to Na Na, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan before returning to the waiting area.

    ¡°Despicable Holy Ghost Sect. My hatred won¡¯t be sated unless I destroy them. Yuhao, let¡¯s use that move!¡± A vicious look shed across Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes.

    The expressions of everyone from the Tang Sect turned cold. Bei Bei¡¯s injury had not just angered Huo Yuhao, but all of them.

    At this point, Wang Qiu¡¯er stood up. No one from the Tang Sect expected this. She walked towards them.

    This wasn¡¯t allowed by the rules. However, no one had expected this to happen. When the staff members realized what was happening, Wang Qiu¡¯er was already in the waiting area. She lowered her head and said a few words to Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao as she stood in between them.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned, and twisted her head to look at her.

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before looking at Wang Dong¡¯er. Eventually, he nodded.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er revealed a persistent look. ¡°I¡¯m only repaying you a personal favor.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel like speaking too much at the moment.

    The staff members ran over at this point.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er straightened, and red at them coldly.

    Who was this Golden Dragon Lady? She had the most supporters in this tournament, even though she came from Shrek Academy!

    All the staff members stopped when she red coldly at them. After that, they just watched as she walked back to her resting area.

    However, no one noticed that there was something different about Wang Qiu¡¯er before and after she talked to Huo Yuhao¡­

    ---

    Fifteen minutes passed in a sh. On the stage, the five members from the Tang Sect stood up at the same time when Zheng Zhan asked thepeting members from both teams to enter the stage. Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair up on the stage first, and the other four followed behind. There was an austere aura subtly rising from them.

    On the other side, the remaining four members of the Holy Ghost Sect also ascended the stage.

    The four of them had different figures. However, they were all young men. The person in the lead had been seated at thest position earlier in the waiting area. This person was also thergest of all the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team members.

    He was even bigger than He Caitou, with extremely broad shoulders. As he walked in front of them, the other three werepletely blocked behind him.

    The four of them came to the center of the stage and faced the six from the Tang Sect. Even though they were outnumbered, the aura that they exuded didn¡¯t seem to be inferior. They released a cold and eerie power from their bodies, and the temperature seemed to be dropping.

    ¡°Both parties, please report your names.¡± Zheng Zhan said. He knew that this might be the most difficult fight he was going to referee, even though there neither team was at full strength. If the ten of them fought against him, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to defeat them, especially the four mysterious evil soul masters.

    Zheng Zhan could tell that Bei Bei was able to defeat two of his opponents earlier because he had a natural element that could suppress evil soul masters. However, did the rest of the Tang Sect possess such abilities? Evil soul masters couldn¡¯t be measured using logic.

    There was once an evil soul master that had killed ten soul masters at the same cultivation level as him. There were four such evil soul masters right now. No one knew what they were capable of, because they had never appeared in the earlier rounds.

    The evil soul masters that hadpeted in the earlier rounds were all in the resting area now. They were undoubtedly the substitutes for thesest few evil soul masters onstage right now.

    ¡°Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao.¡± As the acting team leader, Huo Yuhao reported his name first.

    ¡°Tang Sect, He Caitou.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xu Sanshi.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Jiang Nannan.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect, Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    The six of them used the simplest method of reporting their names. They had no intention of concealing the killing intent that came from their bodies.

    Thergest person from the Holy Ghost Sect said, ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Lu Genggeng.¡±

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Yan Feng.¡±

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Tang Dai.¡±

    ¡°Holy Ghost Sect, Gu Yu.¡±

    Four people, four different voices. Lu Genggeng¡¯s voice was loud and clear. This was rare among evil soul masters. Not only did he not sound eerie, he even seemed quite vibrant.

    Of the three behind him, Yan Feng had the most ordinary figure. However, the aura that he exuded was the coldest and creepiest. He felt like a creepy venomous snake.

    Tang Dai hid his aura the best. Just from his aura, it felt like he was an ordinary person. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even sense any soul power undtions from his body. He was quite tall, only half a head shorter than Lu Genggeng, but quite scrawny.

    Gu Yu was very stocky. His shoulders were almost as broad as Lu Genggeng¡¯s, but his height reached just past Lu Genggeng¡¯s waist.

    As the four of them stood there, the first feeling that they gave off was... unevenly matched.

    ¡°Both parties, please withdraw and prepare for the start of the fight,¡± Zheng Zhan instructed them.

    The ten of them turned around at almost the same time and walked towards their respective sides of the stage.

    As they moved, Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection. He also used his Imitation to conceal his soul rings.

    With his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t need to use words tomunicate with his teammates.

    On the other side, the four evil soul masters didn¡¯t seem to interact with one another at all. They weren¡¯t rushing, either. They also walked slowly over to their side of the stage.

    Zheng Zhan lifted his right hand as both parties reached their respective sides of the stage. It was a sign to everyone that they should prepare for the match to begin.

    The Tang Sect quickly set up their formation. They did it differently from the previous rounds. This time, Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t in front, He Caitou was. Xiao Xiao was on the left in the second row, while Jiang Nannan was on the right. Xu Sanshi was standing behind Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao were in the back row. The six of them formed a very weird cross shape with everyone standing in front of Xu Sanshi!

 Chapter 333.2: Four Great Evil Soul Masters

    Zheng Zhan was a little stunned when he saw their formation. What¡¯s this formation? The strategy of the Tang Sect is indeed very weird. They use different formations every round. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re still capable of more tricks like Bei Bei?

    On the other side, the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s formation was much simpler. Lu Genggeng and Tang Dai stood in front, while Yan Feng and Gu Yu stood behind them. The four of them formed a simple square.

    Seeing that both parties were already in position and had no intention of changing, Zheng Zhan took in a deep breath before shouting, ¡°Fight, start!¡±

    The members of both teams unleashed their martial souls immediately.

    He Caitou¡¯s six soul rings shone. Following this, a Binding Light surfaced on his chest.

    The rest of them also unleashed their own martial souls. Dazzling soul rings started to rise.

    Zheng Zhan was a ss 9 soul engineer. Among the tenpetitors on the stage right now, only He Caitou was a soul engineer. Thus, he naturally paid close attention to He Caitou¡¯s performance. As the tournament reached this stage, all the soul engineering sects had been kicked out. He Caitou was the sole remaining soul engineer. It was very difficult to tell if Huo Yuhao was a soul master, or a soul engineer!

    Seeing that He Caitou was immediately using his ss 7 Binding Light, Zheng Zhan furrowed his brow.

    This idiot. Why is he using his Binding Light right now? Doesn¡¯t he know that its effective range is only six meters? This is a mistake he shouldn¡¯t be making.

    He¡¯s only a ss 6 soul engineer. The Binding Light will greatly deplete his soul power. Furthermore, the Binding Light will start to consume his soul power the moment he opens the barrel. How can he move under such circumstances? Don¡¯t tell me that an opponent will sacrifice himself by charging towards the Binding Light?

    Zheng Zhan felt that he would admonish He Caitou after this fight was over, if he were the young man¡¯s teacher.

    The four evil soul masters also unleashed their martial souls.

    Lu Genggeng was the first to make a move. He exerted force through his legs and leapt up. He didn¡¯t jump too high, only leaping two meters into the air, and only charging forward for four or five meters.

    However, he ballooned the moment he jumped up.

    By the time hended, his ck robe had already burst open. He had be an extremely huge and terrifying monster!

    After unleashing his martial soul, Lu Genggeng grew to more than five meters in height. He was extremely plump, making him look like a giant meatball. His thick legs were extremely short. When hended on the ground, everyone from the Tang Sect felt it quake beneath their feet. A loud crunching also resonated from the stage.

    What kind of monster is this?

    All the spectators were stunned when they witnessed this.

    Lu Genggeng was like an obese man. His body was exuding waves of dark-green soul power. The strange thing was that these undtions were like an arrhythmic fog as they rose around his body. His head puffed up into a ball, and his blood-red eyes looked very fierce. His six soul rings seemed extremelyrge because of his huge body

    The scary thing was that the pieces of fat on his arms and shoulders seemed to have been stitched together. His skin appeared as patches. He opened his mouth wide and saliva flowed from it continuously. As itnded on the steel tes on the ground, gusts of smoke rose.

    When they saw him, everyone from the Tang Sect couldn¡¯t help but recall Feng Ling. However, Feng Ling was terrifying because of his stinky breath. The saliva of this obese guy in front of them now was much more terrifying.

    After he ballooned in size, Lu Genggeng charged towards the Tang Sect with a swaying motion.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was shocked when they saw him. What is his martial soul?

    Only Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed coldly. ¡°Abomination. It¡¯s a terrifying specter. It feeds on corpses to enhance its strength. Once it¡¯s hurt, it can devour corpses to recover. Its abilities should include speed, control, and assault. It¡¯s a very strong,prehensive and evil martial soul. Take extreme caution against it. The dark-green aura around it should be poison.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually an Abomination.¡± Huo Yuhao was inwardly horrified. Although he could point out the characteristics of this Abomination, it was actually his first time seeing one. He had learned everything about this Abomination from Electrolux. Even in the world of specters, abominations were ranked among the top.

    Next to Lu Genggeng, Tang Dai also took big steps forward. He wasn¡¯t as forceful as Lu Genggeng as he leapt forward. However, the transformations to his body weren¡¯t any less terrifying.

    His body grew in size with every step he took. When he arrived beside Lu Genggeng, he was actually half a meter taller than him. However, he wasn¡¯t as fat as the Abomination. He had turned into a huge skeleton made of dark gold bones.

    The transformations to both of their bodies were too weird. The spectators couldn¡¯t help but exim things in revulsion.

    ---

    Up on the main stage, Xu Tianran furrowed his brow. He suddenly felt that it was a mistake to let the Holy Ghost Sectpete in this tournament. Their existence was too much for ordinary people and soul masters to take. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s officials revealed astonished looks on their faces, and they couldn¡¯t conceal their disgust.

    The disgust towards specters had been like this since time immemorial. This time wasn¡¯t an exception.

    Xu Tianran sighed in his heart. It seemed like he couldn¡¯t let the Holy Ghost Sect win in the end! Otherwise, he would be under great pressure within his own empire regardless of what happened to the other empires on the continent. These evil soul masters were better kept in the dark.

    As he thought of this, he made a decision. It was fine if the Holy Ghost Sect lost this semifinal match. Even if they won, he would make them forfeit the final and give the championship to Shrek Academy. Compared to his position in the empire, losing the championship to Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t affect the empire¡¯s reputation.

    ---

    ¡°Skeleton King. Its physical and energy defenses are very strong. It¡¯s adept at physical assault, but its w lies in its inability to attack at range.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately warned his teammates as he saw Tang Dai¡¯s transformations.

    At the same time, he was also doubtful. It seems like many of these evil soul masters are rted to specters! The Zhong Li brothers that I met earlier were very adept at controlling souls. Wang Xiaolei was also a witch demon, that was simr to a specter. These two¡¯s martial souls also seem like an Abomination and a Skeleton King. They are some of the strongest martial souls among specters. No wonder they¡¯re able to represent the Holy Ghost Sect topete.

    Yan Feng and Gu Yu were both blocked by the Skeleton King and Abomination.

    However, it was a pity that their opponent was the Tang Sect. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, there was no way they could conceal themselves.

    An icy-blue halo lit up beneath Yan Feng¡¯s feet. This halo appeared along with his soul rings. The halo spread outward as his body became stronger. Dragon scales started to surface on his skin, tearing away his ck cloak.

    Yan Feng was the only other evil soul master who had seemed like a human, apart from Tang Ya. He was extremely handsome. As the dragon scales surfaced on his body, he grew in size. His gaze also became sharper, and his cold aura soared. His soul rings rose quickly.

    Two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings. Seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    He was actually a Soul Sage.

    He was an evil Soul Sage, just like Tang Ya!

    When everyone from the Tang Sect saw Yan Feng¡¯s seven soul rings, they became very serious. If not for the fact that Bei Bei had gotten rid of two six-ringed evil soul masters and caused the seven-ringed Tang Ya to lose control, they might have beenpletely suppressed in a seven versus seven fight, since the Holy Ghost Sect had two evil Soul Sages!

    Even now, they were in a dire situation.

    Yan Feng was a Soul Sage, while the rest were all Soul Emperors. Gu Yu¡¯s martial soul was a long bone staff.

    The bone staff was made of white bones, and three meters long. There was a silver-grey skull at the tip of the staff, whose eyes burned with a dim purple me.

    He was a very strong evil soul master!

    Gu Yu lifted his bone staff, and Yan Feng bent his body slightly before two huge wings opened on his back.

    The wings were icy-blue and made of bones, connected by bluish-grey light. When the wings opened up, they spanned close to six meters across. They beat once, and he rose into the air, drifting over in front of Lu Genggeng and Tang Dai.

    Ground-based, air-based, and long-distance. The four of them were adept in different areas. Along with Tang Ya, who was adept at control; Wang Xiaolei, who was adept at long-range attacks and control; and Ji Li, who was adept at both attacking and defending, they formed an extremely terrifying team!

    In the history of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, they were one of the strongest teams ever in terms of fighting strength. It wasn¡¯t even too far-fetched to say that they were the strongest team to everpete!

 Chapter 333.3: Four Great Evil Soul Masters

    It was obvious that Bei Bei¡¯s contribution in the individual elimination round had been very important!

    The Abomination and Skeleton King charged forward at the same time, both appearing very clumsy as they lumbered over. Up in the air, Yan Feng¡¯s icy-blue light became stronger and stronger. He also advanced with the other two.

    Gu Yu lifted his bone staff, and a ball of purple light took form at the tip of the staff. A purplish halo surfaced on each of the other three evil soul masters¡¯ bodies in front of him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Xu Sanshi shouted.

    He lifted his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, and an intense ck light suddenly shone. His fourth soul ring also lit up as his actions were obscured by He Caitou¡¯s burly figure.

    He Caitou also instantly turned around and faced Xu Sanshi.

    Xiao Xiao unleashed her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and surrounded Xu Sanshi in the middle of them.

    What were they doing?

    The answer was revealed immediately.

    As ck lights shed, Xu Sanshi disappeared. Someone else immediately reced him, appearing in the center of the other five Tang Sect members.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had once used this strategy in the previous tournament. In this tournament, Xu Sanshi had used the Mysterious Underworld Discement before. However, he had kept this strategy a secret until now to deal with their strongest opponent.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose Tang Dai, Lu Genggeng or Yan Feng. He chose Gu Yu instead, who was there to support the other three.

    It was very easy for him to make this decision.

    Lu Genggeng and Tang Dai were too big. The Tang Sect¡¯s formation would likely be forced out of shape if either of them were disced. At the same time, both of their martial souls were defensively sound, while Yan Feng was a Soul Sage. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t confident in getting rid of them quickly. So he shifted his target to Gu Yu, who was only a Soul Emperor, but whose abilities were long-range, controlling, and auxiliary in nature.

    With the guidance of Spiritual Detection, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement still took effect even though he couldn¡¯t see or be seen by his opponents!

    Instantly, both of them shifted positions. Gu Yu was astonished to discover that he was in enemy territory. He was even encircled!

    The Tang Sect was prepared.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pulled Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and leapt backward, along with the other four members of the team.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s three cauldrons were unleashed at this moment. With a loud boom, the Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble sounded. Gu Yu had only just appeared, but the immense impact force of the cauldrons struck him immediately.

    Gu Yu was still a little confused, but he was alreadypletely trapped!

    They weren¡¯tpletely defenseless against Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement. After all, the Tang Sect did use it a couple of times earlier in the tournament.

    While they found out that this skill could be considered a divine skill for a defense-type soul master, the soul master had to first be able to lock onto his opponent¡¯s position.

    The remaining four evil soul masters were all extremely strong. Except for Gu Yu, the other three would be very resistant even if they were encircled, and could still unleash their great fighting strength. As such, they weren¡¯t afraid of being disced. They were also prepared for it.

    Gu Yu was shielded by the Skeleton King and Abomination. He was an auxiliary-type and control-type soul master. As long as he wasn¡¯t locked onto by Xu Sanshi, he naturally didn¡¯t have to be afraid. When he unleashed his abilities, he might even be scarier than the other three.

    However, who would have expected Xu Sanshi to disce him without knowing his position? This sudden change in events caused Gu Yu to panic.

    While the Holy Ghost Church was an evil soul master sect, they were even more persistent than the Body Sect in their belief in a soul master¡¯s abilities, and despised soul tools. This was also why none of the evil soul masters were equipped with Invincible Barriers. Otherwise, Bei Bei wouldn¡¯t have found it so easy to kill them earlier.

    Gu Yu was indeed a strong evil soul master. When he discovered that he was trapped, his sixth soul ring shone without any hesitation.

    As the ck soul ring shed, his body started to contort. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Cauldron Quaking Tremble brushed past him, but didn¡¯t have any effect on him.

    Void! It was an extremely strong soul skill. This soul skill enabled one¡¯s body to be like air, and made one resistant to physical and soul power attacks. More urately speaking, these two types of attacks were ineffective against him after his Void took effect.

    In the Holy Ghost Church, only the outstanding disciples had the opportunity to obtain such a soul skill with the help of the higher-ups. In critical moments, it might even be more effective than an Invincible Barrier.

    However, Void didn¡¯t protect one against everything.

    Huo Yuhao was also put in a difficult spot right now. Golden light shed from his forehead, and his vertical eye lit up. Gu Yu couldn¡¯t attack, as he was in his Void state. When his three teammates realized something was amiss, Xu Sanshi was already behind them.

    Patches of ck light surged. It was Xuanwu¡¯s Domain! In order to dy the three of them, Xu Sanshi used the strength of his domain. The three of them seemed to have fallen into a deep quagmire, and couldn¡¯t free themselves.

    Not only this, but his first soul ring also lit up. The Mysterious Underworld Quake was unleashed.

    The ck light in Xuanwu¡¯s Domain started to shake, causing the three evil soul masters to fall under Xu Sanshi¡¯s control in this domain.

    Xu Sanshi was already bleeding profusely right now. This was a sacrifice he was making to win the team round. His sixth soul skill wasn¡¯t easy to control. Along with the fact that his old injury had yet to recover, he was under great pressure as he unleashed all his strength, even though he had managed to trap his opponents.

    Purplish-gold lights shone. Gu Yu let out a pathetic scream. His ck bamboo hat and veil were struck off his head, revealing his pale white face and bald head.

    However, his head seemed to be in a very disastrous condition right now. There was blood oozing out everywhere, and his body seemed to be very unstable.

    His Void was indeed capable of keeping out most physical and soul power attacks. However, it couldn¡¯t keep out spiritual power!

    Huo Yuhao hated the Holy Ghost Sect immensely, and thus he immediately used his strongest tactic against them the moment he made a move. He used his Eye of Destiny and Spiritual Shock!

    The purplish-gold light was like a sharp sword stabbing deep into his opponent¡¯s soul. Gu Yu was instantly wrenched out of his Void state!

    A golden Hexagram Array was unleashed at this point. As it rose, itnded on Gu Yu¡¯s body at the same time as the Binding Light, which appeared behind his back.

    Without his Void, how could he resist being bound? Moreover, Gu Yu¡¯s mind waspletely nk at this point, as his soul had been greatly damaged.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings opened, and she drifted up into the air at the same time as she used her Hexagram Array. As her body shed, she arrived in front of Gu Yu. She lifted her right hand and pointed her index finger one inch away from Gu Yu¡¯s forehead. Her right hand turned golden. Although she only pointed one finger, her fingertip seemed to shine like a small sun.

    An oxhair-like golden light shed before disappearing. Gu Yu leaned his head back, and golden light prated through the back of his head before disappearing in the air. His body wentpletely stiff.

    At that instant, the other three evil soul masters knew that Gu Yu was dead

    When they saw Gu Yu being forced out of his Void state by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, they knew he was a dead man.

    They were indeed vicious. They didn¡¯t try to break free from Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu¡¯s domain. Rather, they turned around at the same time and charged towards him.

    Since one of them had already died, they had to drag at least one person from the Tang Sect down with him. Xu Sanshi was extremely important to the Tang Sect. Without their defense-type soul master, the Tang Sect would find it difficult to resist the three of them!

    The three of them were indeed very strong.

    Tang Dai lifted his arms, and his ck, bony arms turned into two pitch-ck bone des that shed out at the same time. He managed to carve a path through the domain.

    Lu Genggeng exuded a crimson-red glow, increasing his speed in the domain. He charged towards Xu Sanshi maniacally and opened his mouth. It seemed like he wanted to swallow the other whole.

    Yan Feng was still the scariest one. He exuded a strong, icy-blue glow, and his body expanded even further as he flew. As his wings pped forward, two streaks of fog-like, icy-blue light shot towards Xu Sanshi. Wherever the two streaks of lights passed, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu¡¯s Domain seemed like it was frozen in ce.

    No matter how strong Xu Sanshi was, he was still immediately ced in a precarious position against three evil soul masters whose cultivations weren¡¯t inferior to his.

    On the other side of the stage, Huo Yuhao and the rest immediately acted after getting rid of Gu Yu.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao increased their speed as they burst forward towards their opponents. He Caitou released his ss 7 Eye of Fear into the air. It was simply too important in this team round. With it, their opponents would be very unsettled and cautious.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were the strangest.

    After Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Broken Devil of Light blew apart Gu Yu¡¯s brain, she revolved in the air andnded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s chair. She bent her knees andnded in Huo Yuhao¡¯sp. At the same time, she opened her arms wide and grabbed his neck.

 Chapter 334.1: The Tang Sects Hidden Fighting Strategy

    Due to the height difference, Huo Yuhao only sensed a gentle fragrance in front of him. However, he couldn¡¯t bother to enjoy this fragrance right now!

    The dazzling wings closed up and engulfed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Suddenly, an intense white light was released from their bodies.

    At the same time, Xu Sanshi revealed a smile on his face even though he was encircled by three strong evil soul masters.

    His smile was a little cheeky. If Bei Bei were awake, he would havemented on how cheap Xu Sanshi¡¯s smile was.

    Dense ck light rose from his body once again. In the next instant, ck and white intersected. The deep ck and his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain disappeared at almost the same time. What reced them was a ball of blinding white light.

    Of the attacks from the three evil soul masters going after Xu Sanshi, the two streaks of icy-blue light that came from Yan Feng reached Xu Sanshi first. However, the chilling icy blue lights filled with an evil aura immediately dissipated as they struck the ball of white light. They didn¡¯t have any effects.

    Following that, the ball of white light turned golden. Tang Dai, Lu Genggeng, and Yan Feng looked at the countless, small golden hammer projections surfacing from the ball of golden light. The three of them were then covered by these hammers.

    Their souls shook with unprecedented force horrifying them. They couldn¡¯t be bothered to attack their opponents anymore, and frantically bolstered their defenses.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest!

    This was one of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fusion skills. They had once used this skill to save Ju Zi in a war, causing many heads to blow apart. To this very day, Ju Zi could still clearly recall this.

    That was why Ju Zi¡¯s gaze sharpened when she saw the small golden hammers, as she recalled what had happened in the past. There was an indescribable look of struggle in her eyes.

    There wasn¡¯t any way of avoiding it. The three evil soul masters were struck at the same time, but their reactions were all different. Tang Dai was stunned, while Lu Genggeng peered into the sky and roared. His fat started to jiggle.

    Yan Feng released a strong icy-blue halo that protected him.

    In his eyes, an icy-blue spiritual fire surged and resisted the attack of the fusion skill. However, he still fell from the sky.

    Since Huo Yuhao had allowed Xu Sanshi to sneak into their opponent¡¯s territory to earn his side a victory, he naturally took his safety into ount!

    In the previous tournament, he had once asked Xu Sanshi if it was possible for him to switch positions with Wang Dong¡¯er as she unleashed their fusion skill.

    At that point in time, Xu Sanshi said it wasn¡¯t possible. Indeed, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were one entity when they unleashed their fusion skill. When they unleashed their fusion skill, their soul power undtions were too strong and unstable. With Xu Sanshi¡¯s control of his soul skill, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to disce them.

    However, it waspletely different now, five yearster. Before they left Shrek Academy, he was already able toplete this discement. This was also one of the strongest killer moves of the Tang Sect. They had waited until today to use it.

    This was their foundation, the Tang Sect¡¯s foundation and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯ foundation!

    They kicked out all their opponents and advanced to the semifinal before unleashing their greatest strength. If the other teams that had been eliminated by them were present right now, they would most likely be won over by the strength that the Tang Sect was showing now.

    The Tang Sect had used a different fighting method in every team round. There weren¡¯t any clues for their next opponents to use to determine their next set of tactics. This discement and return allowed the Tang Sect to deliver a fusion skill attack towards their opponents without any warning. It was very impressive.

    An elder who wore a bamboo hat among the spectators swore in admiration, ¡°Shrek, it¡¯s always Shrek!¡± A dim green light shed across his eyes.

    The three evil soul masters were controlled at the same time. Even the strongest Yan Feng had entered a temporary state of mental nkness.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er revealed themselves again. However, they didn¡¯t pursue immediately.

    The Tang Sect had unleashed a fusion skill and used it on the Holy Ghost Sect. Something like this wasn¡¯t achieved just by Xu Sanshi alone. When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er unleashed their fusion skill, they had to try their best to repress and seal it first to prevent any idents from happening as Xu Sanshi delivered the fusion skill.

    After such control, the two of them needed an opportunity for some recovery time.

    On the other side, Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan had already charged over. He Caitou also lifted a heavy cannon to his shoulder after he unleashed his Eye of Fear.

    The cannon was entirely blood-red, with a cone-shaped tip.

    Is that a ss 7 piercing cannon?

    At this moment, Zheng Zhan could finally confirm that He Caitou wasn¡¯t a ss 6 soul engineer. It was evident that he was a six-ringed soul master that had sessfully been promoted to a ss 7 soul engineer!

    ss 7 soul engineer. There¡¯s actually a ss 7 soul engineer in the Tang Sect? He¡¯s not even twenty years old yet! Even in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he¡¯d be one of a rare few. Moreover, he¡¯s still a food-type soul master. How outstanding is he?

    There was a simple reason why Zheng Zhan had judged He Caitou to be a ss 7 soul engineer¡­ he had used three ss 7 soul tools consecutively! If not for the fact that his ability was already at aparable level, how could he manage all of them? An ordinary ss 6 soul engineer could go beyond his ss asionally to use a ss 7 soul tool.

    However, He Caitou had used three of them, one right after another. This would be truly abnormal if he were a ss 6 soul engineer. He had revealed his ss 7 Binding Light in the previous round, while his piercing cannon made its appearance for the first time in this round. This bunch from the Tang Sect can really hide themselves well. They continuously hid their abilities until thest moment!

    He Caitou went down on one knee as he brought up his heavy cannon. He aimed, but still had to control the Eye of Fear in the air. Right now, He Caitou was definitely demonstrating the standards of a ss 7 soul engineer. He wasn¡¯t an ordinary ss 7 soul engineer, either!

    Of course, Zheng Zhan didn¡¯t know that the Eye of Fear and the piercing cannon were both equipped with a ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottle. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for He Caitou to handle the depletion from three ss 7 soul tools at the same time, since his soul power was still at the six-ringed level.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and the three evil soul masters were stuck in a temporary stalemate. Xiao Xiao was the first to attack.

    After Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao crossed the halfway line, Xiao Xiao suddenly leapt up. Jiang Nannan quickly shed below her and grabbed her slender waist with both hands. After that, she made three quick turns before flinging Xiao Xiao out.

    In this team round, Jiang Nannan wasn¡¯t going to very effective against her opponents because of their special martial souls. She was most adept at closebat, but it wouldn¡¯t be very effective against her opponents, since they were too huge.

    That was why Huo Yuhao arranged for her to use her abilities as support for the others.

    Xiao Xiao was flung out by the force of Jiang Nannan¡¯s spin. The speed at which Xiao Xiao was moving couldpare to Wang Qiu¡¯er if she burst forward with all her strength.

    Very quickly, Xiao Xiao was above the three evil soul masters. She clearly knew what her strengths and weaknesses were. She didn¡¯t attack her opponents over-ambitiously. She unleashed her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron in the air, and her first and second soul rings shone. She immediately used her National Treasure, Cauldron¡¯s Quaking Tremble!

    Her huge cauldron crashed against the Skeleton King.

    Huo Yuhao gave her very simple information through his Spiritual Detection. The Skeleton King is roughly as strong as the Abomination. However, the defensive strength of the Abomination¡¯s fat will be able to resist the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s attack. The cauldron will be able to curb the Skeleton King, however.

    There was a rumbling bang, and the Skeleton King flew backward, at least seven of its ribs fractured.

    The Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest wasn¡¯t so easily resisted. There was onemon point between these three evil soul masters; their martial souls were only strong because they relied on their spiritual power to control them.

    This detail was very important. After their souls were affected by the Spiritual Tempest, their control over their own bodies weakened considerably. Xiao Xiao¡¯s attack was unleashed on the defenseless Skeleton King, and achieved a miraculous effect.

    Xiao Xiao didn¡¯t intend to let the Skeleton King off even though it had already been thrown backward. Her fifth soul ring lit up for the first time in this tournament.

    Her cauldron split into three. Each of the cauldrons shot out a beam of intense ck light. After this ck light rose into the sky, a mighty aura instantly appeared. Xiao Xiao seemed to have teleported herself above the three cauldrons.

    The three cauldrons descended. As a low-pitched buzzing sound built up, they cornered the Skeleton King.

    The three beams of light intersected in the air, forming a huge light barrier. The Skeleton King was trapped!

 Chapter 334.2: The Tang Sects Hidden Fighting Strategy

    Skeleton King Tang Dai woke up as he struggled against the instability of his own soul. He immediately felt as if a mountain were pressing down on his soul. He couldn¡¯t even control his own body to stand up. He was pressed firmly to the ground after he copsed.

    This was the fifth soul skill of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, the Threelives Soulcrush!

    It was a strong soul skill that suppressed a soul. Huo Yuhao had once let Xiao Xiao use this soul skill against him. Even with his immense spiritual power, it took him three minutes to ovee the suppression.

    It was important to know that his spiritual power wasparable to a Soul Douluo. His control might even be better!

    The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was very rare among tool souls, but it was a top-ranked martial soul that wasn¡¯t inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer. The greatest characteristic of this martial soul was that it became stronger as the number of soul rings and the soul master¡¯s abilities increased.

    When Xiao Xiao gained this soul skill, Elder Xuan told her that she could protect herself against any evil soul master as long as he wasn¡¯t a Soul Sage yet. It showed how strong this soul skill was.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t without ws. Once it was initiated, Xiao Xiao couldn¡¯t move anymore. She could only control her soul skill with all her strength. Unless she ended it of her own ord or her soul power was depleted, her Threelives Soulcrush would remain active.

    However, her soul skill might be destroyed if she suffered external attacks.

    As a result, she had to ensure that she wasn¡¯t externally susceptible once she used this soul skill.

    Xiao Xiao even thought of suppressing all three evil soul masters at the same time, but this proposition was denied by Huo Yuhao. The more people she suppressed, the greater the depletion of her soul power. She didn¡¯t need to do so considering the situation they were in.

    Once the Threelives Soulcrush was initiated, anyone who tried to save or attack the person being suppressed would suffer from a bacsh against his soul power due to the connection between his soul and body.

    There was a simple reason why Xiao Xiao was allowed to use the Threelives Soulcrush ¨C she was supposed to restrain a six-ringed evil soul master with her five-ringed cultivation! This allowed her own team to concentrate more of their strength to deal with the other two evil soul masters. Once they got rid of the two others, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to get rid of the Skeleton King anymore.

    Furthermore, Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush didn¡¯t have any effect on soul tools. In other words, He Caitou was the only one who wouldn¡¯t suffer any bacsh from the Threelives Soulcrush if he attacked the Skeleton King right now. Even if the Eye of Fear wasn¡¯t suitable to be used against Lu Genggeng and Yan Feng, the Skeleton King was still a target.

    This was called strategizing!

    Under the circumstance that his team didn¡¯t have an absolute advantage and might even be at a slight disadvantage, Huo Yuhao tapped into the analysis he obtained through his Spiritual Detection and deep understanding of his teammates¡¯ abilities to create such a situation.

    However, Yan Feng had already woken up just as the Skeleton King was being suppressed.

    He seemed to be able to tell the effects and ws of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron immediately. He pped his right wing forcefully, and a streak of icy-blue light shot towards Xiao Xiao.

    They were two against six right now. It was getting increasingly disadvantageous for the Holy Ghost team. While Yan Feng was a veryposed person, he couldn¡¯t help but be anxious at this point. No matter how confident he was, he didn¡¯t think that he could defeat the entire Tang Sect team by himself.

    However, his judgment was very urate. Among the Tang Sect, those who could pose a threat to him included Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong¡¯er. Among the four of them, Xu Sanshi¡¯s old injury had rpsed even though he had managed to achieve his goal, and his abilities had fallen. As for the other three, he felt that the greatest threat wasn¡¯t He Caitou even though he had two ss 7 soul tools with him now. Rather, it was Huo Yuhao!

    It was a feeling that came from his soul. When the two streaks of icy, fog-like light were dissipated earlier, Yan Feng had already sensed that there was danger. This danger hade from Huo Yuhao!

    Ultimate Ice. Even my power of evil ice can¡¯t invade his Ultimate Ice? This is how strong an Ultimate element is! If I devour his abilities, can I increase my power of evil ice to an Ultimate level? When that happens, I¡¯ll be the Holy Son of the Church, and I might even be the next founder!

    As he thought of this, Yan Feng¡¯s eyes revealed a look of greed. Although his attack was targeted at Xiao Xiao, his attention was all on Huo Yuhao.

    A streak of icy azure light surged out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest and intercepted the power of evil ice that Yan Feng unleashed. Its sess proved that Yan Feng¡¯s power of evil ice was inferior to his Ultimate Ice!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had also recovered from their earlier discement. Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her hands, and a Hexagram Array appeared in front of Lu Genggeng.

    Lu Genggeng had woken up just after Yan Feng. He didn¡¯t move a single inch, waiting for his chance to attack. It was a pity that the changes to his spiritual self couldn¡¯t be concealed from Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Hexagram Array immediately stopped him from advancing any further.

    At the same time, a thin streak of dark red light the width of an index finger also shot out from afar. The target of this streak of light was Lu Genggeng!

    He Caitou¡¯s fully-charged piercing cannon had been fired!

    Even though it was a hundred meters away, Lu Genggeng shuddered when the cannon was fired. While he was fat, he wasn¡¯t slow at all. He pointed his left foot toward the ground and made a hundred and eighty degree turn on the spot.

    It looked like¡­ an old sow was dancing ballet. It was too amusing, but it was effective!

    He immediately turned to face He Caitou. Of Lu Genggeng¡¯s six soul rings, his third purple soul ring shone. Suddenly, he grew evenrger in size. He was like a mountain of meat right now!

    He was too huge. Although Lu Genggeng was also quick, he couldn¡¯t avoid the red light. As it shed, a hole appeared in his body with a meaty sound, like a spear being driven into a hanging carcass.

    While the dark red light seemed very thin, it prated his two-meter thick body and exited from his back. The entry and exit wounds were charred.

    Lu Genggeng screamed in pain, and his eyes turned blood-red. He shook his fat and the charred wound disappeared. Big patches of disgusting, yellow fat squeezed out to seal the wound shut. It seemed as if nothing had happened to him.

    He red at He Caitou with his small eyes and leapt up suddenly.

    Imagine a mountain of meat jumping up, that was what Lu Genggeng appeared like right now. He wasn¡¯t jumping towards He Caitou, but flipped his body backward instead. He was plummeting towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, trying to crush them.

    Not only this, but his first soul ring also lit up. Gusts of greenish, poisonous fog were released around him.

    While Huo Yuhao was much smaller than Lu Genggeng, he was much less flexible right nowpared to him. Even Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s expression changed when she saw the meat mountain plummeting down at them.

    However, her wings opened up at this moment. She let go of Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair and flipped around. She left Huo Yuhao alone as he faced Lu Genggeng.

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her wings up high in the air, and unleashed the Hexagram Array again. This time, it shot towards Yan Feng.

    Yan Feng exploited this opportunity to gain altitude as he beat his wings.

    Yan Feng was very confident in Lu Genggeng¡¯s abilities. Among the younger generation, Lu Genggeng wasn¡¯t the most outstanding in the Holy Ghost Church. Whether it was Yan Feng or the Sacred Lady Tang Ya, their cultivations were above him.

    However, Lu Genggeng¡¯s defenses were definitely the best. Even when he was struck by the ss 7 piercing cannon, he acted as if nothing had happened.

    It was a ss 7 soul tool! Even though the light pierced through his fat, his fat was like his armor. As long as the core of his body wasn¡¯t struck, he could still recover even if thousands of holes were made on his body.

    As for attacks that covered a huge area, his ten-centimeter thick skin wouldn¡¯t even be prated.

    Yan Feng was filled with killing intent now. He didn¡¯t care about Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s attack. To him, it wasn¡¯t much of a threat even though it was light-type.

    Besides Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao who were fighting the two evil soul masters, Xiao Xiao continued to restrain the Skeleton King, while He Caitou charged his cannon once again. Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were rushing over, Xu Sanshi sticking close to Jiang Nannan now. She could use the same method as she had with Xiao Xiao to help him join the fight quickly.

    While there were only three evil soul masters left, they were all individually very strong. From the looks of it, the Tang Sect was still far from victory.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with a cold look as he saw the huge figure descending from the sky. He lifted his right hand slowly, and the Snow Lady drifted out of his forehead.

    A golden projection emerged from his back. It was the fighting technique that he had created, the Goddess of Light!

    Something strange urred. The Snow Lady suddenly turned illusory, and she also grew in size at the same time. The arrogant face of the Snow Empress re-appeared once again. The golden projection behind Huo Yuhao than fused with his body. One golden and one white projection fused into his body at the same time!

 Chapter 334.3: The Tang Sects Hidden Fighting Strategy

    Chapter 334.3: The Tang Sect''s Hidden Fighting Strategy

    Wang Dong¡¯er drifted close to his back and watched worriedly. Although she was confident in Huo Yuhao, evil soul masters were too weird! If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao had urged her to back away, she wouldn¡¯t have left his side.

    However, she wasn¡¯t slow even though she was half-panicked. A huge volley of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess flew out to intercept Yan Feng.

    Yan Feng was stunned. The seemingly-harmless Wang Dong¡¯er had given him a huge shock!

    The seemingly chaotic Light of the Butterfly Goddess was filled with a dense aura of light. Although it couldn¡¯t curb his power of evil ice, every ball of light exploded with the power of light as it blew apart. It had a great resistance to his power!

    Furthermore, the Hexagram Array also rose from the ground as the Light of the Butterfly Goddess was unleashed.

    Yan Feng couldn¡¯t be struck by the Hexagram Array beneath him, avoiding it easily. However, every ball of light from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess passed through the Hexagram Array. In the process of passing through it, the strength of the balls soared, increasing to at least double their original strength. Yan Feng¡¯s charging speed decreased significantly, and he couldn¡¯t attack Huo Yuhao at the same time as Lu Genggeng crashed towards him.

    Could her Hexagram Array be used as a strengthening skill?

    For some reason, Yan Feng felt very uneasy.

    However, he suddenly changed his target when he saw that he was unable to immediately attack Huo Yuhao.

    His first and third soul rings shone at the same time, and his body doubled in size. He opened his huge wings and turned around in the air. As he did, his second soul ring lit up.

    His erged body turned illusory. He was also facing Xu Sanshi, who was flung forward just then by Jiang Nannan.

    Xu Sanshi was rmed. Huo Yuhao immediately shouted for him to be careful through his Spiritual Detection.

    As he blocked with the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, his third soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Force, was also unleashed at the same time.

    His fifth soul skill, the Turtle God¡¯s Strike, was also activated.

    Xu Sanshi was very aware of the state that he was in. His old injury had rpsed, and his soul power had been depleted greatly after he used his Mysterious Underworld Discement twice. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have used the Turtle God¡¯s Strike right after using the Mysterious Underworld Force, considering how conceited he was.

    However, he suddenly felt very lucky that he had done so.

    A huge skull suddenly appeared in front of the illusory Yan Feng. This skull was very weird, two meters long, a meter tall, and more than one and a half meters wide. When it opened its jaws, it was obvious that it looked like a huge dragon skull.

    At this moment, everyone from the Tang Sect finally knew what Yan Feng¡¯s martial soul was. Bone Dragon! Among evil soul masters, it was considered one of the top-ranked martial souls!

    A ball of icy-blue gas surged towards Xu Sanshi like a tidal wave.

    Yan Feng¡¯s first soul skill was Dragon Transformation, and his third soul skill was Dragonification. His first soul skill enabled his body to transform into the Bone Dragon, while his third soul enabled him to use soul power to form parts of the Bone Dragon¡¯s body. With both these strengthening skills, his second soul skill, Dragonbreath, appeared.

    The loud boom didn¡¯t cause Xu Sanshi to be flung away. Instead, his entire body was covered with ayer of intense icy-blue light.

    He was instantly converted into a huge ice sculpture and frozen in ce.

    The Bone Dragon disappeared, but Yan Feng¡¯s expanded body didn¡¯t shrink in size. At this point, there was a loud groan beside him.

    The groan came not far away from him. It was from Lu Genggeng, who had crashed down on Huo Yuhao with his back facing the wheelchair-bound Tang Sect member.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand reached out for Lu Genggeng, the only hand he could use.

    The projections of the Snow Empress and Goddess of Light reformed above Huo Yuhao. His aura started to change tremendously.

    It was an elegant and icy, yet dominating aura.

    It was a simple palm. The snowy-white palm pressed against Lu Genggeng¡¯s butt.

    Lu Genggeng¡¯s body weighed at least a few thousand kilos. However, Huo Yuhao managed to stop him with just his palm!

    After he did, Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair slid backward by exploiting the rebound force, and he instantly moved out of Lu Genggeng¡¯s way.

    The groaning sound came from Lu Genggeng as he fell to the ground. The entire stage seemed to experience an earthquake.

    Although he only nced at him, Yan Feng clearly saw that the poisonous gas approaching Huo Yuhao was converted into green powder before scattering harmlessly.

    It was a strong Ultimate Ice aura. However, it was a pity his cultivation was too weak!

    A disdainful look shed across Yan Feng¡¯s face. He had never taken the Tang Sect seriously before. Even without Tang Ya, he was absolutely confident that he could turn the situation around on his own.

    In his opinion, Huo Yuhao was only a five-ringed soul master, no matter how talented he was. On the other hand, Yan Feng was a seven-ringed evil Soul Sage! Even some eight-ringed Soul Douluos wouldn¡¯t have an advantage over him!

    The Tang Sect was nothing to him!

    His Dragonbreath had immobilized Xu Sanshi. He turned around and roared into the sky like a dragon. His second soul ring shone again, and his Bone Dragon appeared once again. His target this time was Wang Dong¡¯er!

    A terrifying icy-blue glow caused the surroundings to turn pale blue, and it quickly moved towards Wang Dong¡¯er.

    A golden light shed, and Wang Dong¡¯er disappeared. When she appeared again, she was already behind Huo Yuhao.

    Instant Teleportation ¨C the soul skill that came with her left leg bone!

    The Dragonbreath blew apart as it struck the protective barriers nearby, turning a huge patch of the protective barriers icy-blue. Rings of ice started to spread out from them. It seemed like even the protective barriers couldn¡¯tst much longer.

    It was a very powerful attack!

    When the spectators saw such a terrifying strike, they couldn¡¯t help but think that it wasn¡¯t the first time today.

    Who was the strongest dragon-type soul master in this tournament?

    They were already surprised by Bei Bei¡¯s performance, but right now, this seven-ringed evil soul master with a Bone Dragon martial soul seemed even more astonishing.

    Right now, everyone from the Snowdemon Sect looked very dismal, including Long Aotian. They had just realized that they wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against the Holy Ghost Sect! Disregarding the rest, Yan Feng¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t below Long Aotian¡¯s. Moreover, there was still Tang Ya!

    The Holy Ghost Sect was too strong!

    Although the Dragonbreath didn¡¯t hit Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao was still in trouble.

    A huge hook formed by a pale-white glow suddenly appeared in front of him. Huo Yuhao felt a weird force transmitting through it. Following this, he was flung back, along with his wheelchair.

    Lu Genggeng¡¯s fourth soul ring had lit up. This huge hook was his fourth soul skill!

    Huo Yuhao was caught off-guard, as he was surprised by Yan Feng¡¯s attack.

    The huge hook was connected to pale-white bone chains. They seemed to have been formed using soul power, but they were extremely tough. Huo Yuhao struggled, but he couldn¡¯t break free. He was even more astonished that he couldn¡¯t use his Instant Teleportation. It was as if the hook had hooked into his soul!

    The Abomination opened its mouth wide and released an infuriated roar at Huo Yuhao as he drew closer.

    His butt had just been smacked by Huo Yuhao, and it felt very cold. More than half of his butt felt very numb, and had lost all feeling. Even though his butt wasn¡¯t the core of his body, Lu Genggeng felt as if his body had be more inflexible. He couldn¡¯t exert any strength with his entire right leg. He naturally hated Huo Yuhao!

    Wang Dong¡¯er had used her Instant Teleportation to appear behind Huo Yuhao. As Huo Yuhao was dragged away, she was also naturally revealed.

    A fierce look shed across Yan Feng¡¯s face. He wouldn¡¯t show mercy just because Wang Dong¡¯er was beautiful!

    He let out a cold groan, and his fourth soul ring shone again.

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt a chill. In the next moment, a huge formation with a diameter greater than five meters and created using all types of bones appeared. An indescribable restraint seemed to engulf her body.

    Wang Dong¡¯er only felt waves and waves of intense suction forceing from the weird formation that seemed to be devouring her life power. She even felt as if her flesh was going to be torn apart.

    This was Yan Feng¡¯s fourth soul skill, the Graveyard! It was very effective for controlling and hurting one¡¯s opponent. It could absorb an opponent¡¯s flesh to nourish the wielder¡¯s life force. At the same time, the opponent would eventually turn into a bag of bones, and these bones could strengthen Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon. It was extremely vicious. It was also his best way of increasing his own cultivation. Ever since he had obtained his fourth soul skill, there had been a significant increase in his cultivation speed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pressed down without any hesitation, and a Hexagram Array was unleashed from beneath her feet. Golden light shed and protected her. However, the Hexagram Array could only protect her life power from being devoured. She couldn¡¯t escape the suction force exerted by the Graveyard.

    Jiang Nannan finally rushed over at this time...

 Chapter 335.1: Purple Golden Transformation

    Chapter 335.1: Purple Golden Transformation

    Seeing that Wang Dong¡¯er was trapped, Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t attack Yan Feng. Before this fight had started, she already knew her role ¨C she was ying an auxiliary role.

    Her abilities were indeed unsuitable against these evil soul masters. That was why Jiang Nannan immediately activated her Instant Teleportation.

    Her third and fourth soul rings shone.

    Jiang Nannan immediately appeared within the Graveyard and hugged Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s slender waist. She had activated her Invincible Golden Body as well, and thus the Hexagram Array and the Graveyard couldn¡¯t harm her.

    Jiang Nannan flung Wang Dong¡¯er out. She also used her Invincible Golden Body to jump backward out of the Graveyard.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was furious. Her eyes looked very cold as her sixth soul ring lit up for the first time.

    A weird buzzing sound came from her body. Following this, a huge projection of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess appeared behind her back.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked even more ravishing with this projection behind her. Layers of golden light started to spread from her wings.

    Following this, she opened her wings. Her wings changed into countless streaks of flowing light and fused with her Radiant Butterfly Goddess projection. In the next instant, the huge projection rose into the sky and instantly changed into a dazzling bluish-gold light that flowed towards Yan Feng.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s sixth soul skill, the Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance!

    Yan Feng was stunned when he saw the Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance. The Bone Dragon¡¯s skull disappeared, reced by a huge dragon tail. This tail whipped towards Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance.

    Not only this, but his fifth soul ring also shone. He mimicked a grabbing action towards Jiang Nannan.

    A huge bony w appeared above Jiang Nannan without any warning.

    At this moment, Jiang Nannan had just leaped out from the Graveyard. Even though she was warned by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t dodge, as she had just used her Instant Teleportation.

    ¡°Schlikt!¡± The ws shed down and trapped Jiang Nannan. A terrifying sense of suppression restrained her.

    This was Yan Feng¡¯s fifth soul skill, Bony w Prison!

    This was his first ten thousand year soul skill, and thus it wasn¡¯t so simple. The Bony w Prison and the Graveyard could counter auxiliary-type soul skills. For example, Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t able to use Instant Teleportation in the Graveyard earlier. From inside to outside, all skills were unable to be used. To defeat the Bony w Prison, Yan Feng had to be defeated first.

    The most frightening thing about his Bony w Prison was that it had a special effect called Absolute Defense.

    This Absolute Defense was mainly applicable to Yan Feng. The connotation of the word ¡®absolute¡¯ was that Yan Feng had to be defeated first before he would lose his connection to his bony ws. Otherwise, there was no way of oveing them.

    Of course, there was another way, but the person trapped inside had to be stronger than Yan Feng.

    The w of the Bony w Prison was that it couldn¡¯t lock onto its opponent. It could only be unleashed based on his prediction of his opponent¡¯s movements. That was why the best way to deal with it was avoiding it. If Jiang Nannan hadn¡¯t used two soul skills consecutively, and wasn¡¯t able to use another skill temporarily, she wouldn¡¯t be in such a dire state. But right now, she was trapped, and there was nothing she could do about it.

    Huo Yuhao was already in front of the Abomination.

    Lu Genggeng¡¯s fifth soul skill also lit up. Evidently, he hated Huo Yuhao. Something strange urred. He opened his mouth wide in a very abnormal way. The edges of his lips were already at his ears.

    In front of him, a three-meter wide and two-meter tall bloody mouth formed from soul power bit towards Huo Yuhao.

    The fangs in the mouth exuded a thick, poisonous gas. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the effect of this bite, he knew that it wasn¡¯t going to be pleasant!

    The advantage that the Tang Sect had had earlier hadpletely diminished by now. They outnumbered their opponents five to two, but they were still curbed. The abilities of evil soul masters were evidently very strong.

    However, He Caitou suddenly demonstrated his strength at this moment.

    A beam of strong light descended from the sky. It was targeted towards Lu Genggeng.

    The light was aimed at the huge head that seemed to have been formed using rotten flesh. The Eye of Fear was finally showing its strength.

    Not only this, but He Caitou also fired his piercing cannon again. It was also targeted at Lu Genggeng, specifically, at the center of his body.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to tell much about Lu Genggeng¡¯s body, even with his Spiritual Detection. However, the core of the Abomination¡¯s body should be within a specific region no matter how well Lu Genggeng managed to conceal it. Attacking this core would enable Huo Yuhao to hurt Lu Genggeng.

    Indeed, the attacks from the air and the ground struck at the same time. Lu Genggeng knew things were going badly.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered with Huo Yuhao now, and quickly retreated. He lifted his right arm to block his head.

    He Caitou¡¯s double attack came from two ss 7 soul tools. No matter how defensively strong Lu Genggeng thought he was, he didn¡¯t dare to resist the attacks forcefully with his vitals.

    Ayer of icy armor suddenly appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. At the same time, a streak of icy azure light shone from his backbone. It was another skill of the Ice Empress, the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    The bloody mouth and the pale-white hook were frozen in midair. Huo Yuhao took this opportunity to free himself.

    As Lu Genggeng was avoiding He Caitou¡¯s attacks, he rolled and covered his vital spot.

    The piercing cannon¡¯s strike only brushed against his body and left a huge wound, while the Eye of Fear prated his right arm. Lu Genggeng¡¯s body started to twitch as the wounds appeared. His fat started to scatter everywhere, but no blood flowed out. It was as if his body were only made of fat.

    Huo Yuhao was temporarily relieved of his crisis. However, Wang Dong¡¯er had also started to sh against Yan Feng on the other side.

    Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance. This was the strongest soul skill that Wang Dong¡¯er could unleash right now on her own. Against the Bone Dragon¡¯s tail, the Butterfly Goddess opened her wings deftly in the air. After that, she seemed to freeze in the air, and allowed the Bone Dragon¡¯s tail to whip her.

    As the Bone Dragon¡¯s tail whipped her, the image of the Butterfly Goddess scattered to form many tiny Butterfly Goddesses that stuck to the tail. A bluish-gold light immediately spread to every corner of Yan Feng¡¯s body, and he was turned into that same color.

    Following this, the Butterfly Goddess appeared once again. This time, she surfaced behind Yan Feng.

    Yan Feng was frightened. He was so horrified that his expression changed. He stopped conserving his powers; his seventh soul ring shone.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!¡± Seven consecutive booms instantly rang out. Every time a boom was heard, the bluish-gold light on his body would form a butterfly. Seven butterfly projections were formed in the air, each with a different form. It was as if a huge golden butterfly had started dancing in the air.

    Yan Feng¡¯s tragic screams sounded amidst the booms. Wang Dong¡¯er had alreadynded at this point. As she unleashed her Butterfly Goddess Dance, she was unable to use her Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    However, a low-pitched and infuriated dragon roar sounded at this moment.

    At the core of the explosions, the Goddess of Light that was dancing in the air was crushed. A huge figure seemed to crawl out from another world.

    It was a huge Bone Dragon, aplete Bone Dragon. It was more than fifteen meters long, and its wings were around ten meters across. Its huge figure was formed entirely out of pale-white bones. However, it exuded a strong icy-blue glow from its body. The light on its skull was the strongest. There were deep-blue mes in its eyes that carried the fury of this Bone Dragon.

    Yan Feng was still too careless. He hadn¡¯t expected Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s sixth soul skill to be so destructive.

    When he was possessed by the Butterfly Goddess Dance, he felt an indescribable force seeping into his body. After that, the explosions urred. Even his own martial soul was on the verge of being torn apart by the terrifying explosive force.

    Under such a circumstance, he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate. He immediately unleashed his strongest soul skill. It was his Martial Soul True Body.

    His Martial Soul True Body appeared. It was a Bone Dragon True Body.

    Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon naturally couldn¡¯tpare to a real Bone Dragon. Whether it was in terms of size or strength, there were still great differences. However, he only had juste into the ability to activate his Martial Soul True Body. As his cultivation increased, the abilities of his Bone Dragon would also grow.

    However, even this basic Bone Dragon was still very mighty.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess and Butterfly Goddess sh dissipated when theynded on the Bone Dragon.

    This was one ability that the Bone Dragon possessed ¨C dissipating soul power.

    Its huge figure moved in the air, and it unleashed its Dragon¡¯s Breath towards Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Dong¡¯er quickly used her Instant Teleportation and returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    The Bone Dragon didn¡¯t pursue her, but instead suddenly retracted its wings. In the next moment, it charged forward in the air.

    ¡°Second senior, be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shout even though he could use his Spiritual Detection to warn He Caitou.

    At this moment, Xu Sanshi broke out of the ice and blocked the Bone Dragon¡¯s charge with his shield.

    ¡°BangÒ»¡± It was a forceful sh.

    His shield broke, and he was thrown back.

 Chapter 335.2: Purple Golden Transformation

    Chapter 335.2: Purple Golden Transformation

    Just like Yan Feng had thought, his Bone Dragon was so strong that he could challenge an ordinary Soul Douluo with his seven-ringed Soul Sage cultivation. He couldn¡¯t be so easily blocked by Xu Sanshi.

    The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was instantly crushed. Xu Sanshi was also flung back, spitting blood as he flew through the air.

    ¡°Sanshi!¡± Jiang Nannan was screaming in pain as she was stuck in the Bony w Prison. She attacked the prison with all her might, but she still couldn¡¯t escape!

    However, Xu Sanshi¡¯s block also caused the Bone Dragon to stall a little. This gave He Caitou enough time to react.

    He unleashed his protective barrier and Invincible Barrier without any hesitation. At the same time, he also lifted two ss 6 soul cannons on his shoulders. He attacked with everything he had.

    But Yan Feng was too strong. In fact, his individual abilities were even superior to Tang Ya¡¯s. It was just Tang Ya was very special to the Holy Ghost Church. That was why his status was slightly lower than hers.

    He Caitou¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t have any effect on him. Although he was stalled momentarily, he crashed ferociously into He Caitou¡¯s protective barrier in the next moment.

    ¡°Bang!¡± He Caitou also flew back. However, he was quite fortunatepared to Xu Sanshi.

    His Invincible Barrier was crushed, but managed to resist the charge of the Bone Dragon. His protective barrier was on the verge of breaking as he was also flung backward. It was important to know that his protective soul barrier was ss 7! If it were ss 6, he might even be in a worse statepared to Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Boom!¡± At this moment, a thunderous boom sounded in the sky, and the suppressed gloomy clouds seemed to be on the verge of erupting.

    ¡°You¡¯re all dead!¡± The panting Lu Genggeng shouted in a furious and violent manner. He rose again, and charged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Yan Feng shot out his Dragon¡¯s Breath towards He Caitou and froze him into a brick of ice even though he was protected by his protective barrier. Yan Feng didn¡¯t pursue Xu Sanshi, but instead unleashed his Dragon¡¯s Breath towards the Eye of Fear in the sky.

    This threat in the sky had to be removed.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡± The Eye of Fear was destroyed.

    The Tang Sect, which had perfect coordination every time, lost their advantage at this moment.

    Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth and did her best to restrain the Skeleton King. This was the most she could do. The Abomination and Bone Dragon were too strong. If she let the Skeleton King out, they were bound to lose!

    Jiang Nannan was trapped by the Bony w Prison and couldn¡¯t move. On the other side, Xu Sanshi was critically hurt, and couldn¡¯t get up after being thrown back. He Caitou was also frozen.

    The only ones who could still fight were Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Their opponents were Lu Genggeng, who was like an injured wild beast, and Yan Feng, who was still in his Bone Dragon state.

    The Tang Sect has lost!

    All the spectators had this same thought in their mind.

    Lu Genggeng roared into the sky. As he roared, fat started to ooze from his body.

    Although this fat wasn¡¯t his own soul power, it was still energy that he had umted. It appeared very disgusting, but it was very important to him. He had obtained it through devouring corpses. Today¡¯s setback was quite great for Lu Genggeng.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest shed with light. He slid backward. It was the effect of a soul thruster on his chest. With the propulsion from his soul thruster, he advanced towards Wang Dong¡¯er behind him.

    Yan Feng fluttered his wings after getting rid of the Eye of Fear. The entire stage was in chaos. Yan Feng flew towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The stage was only one hundred meters in diameter, and Yan Feng¡¯s body was fifteen meters long. As he fluttered his wings, he quickly bore down on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er in a suppressive manner. He also didn¡¯t forget to unleash his Dragon¡¯s Breath at Xiao Xiao.

    As long as Xiao Xiao¡¯s three cauldrons were ovee, Tang Dai could be released. Thebination of the three evil soul masters would ensure their victory. Even though they were winning, Yan Feng still remained very calm. The mysterious Imperial Tutor nodded his head in approval as he saw this.

    They couldn¡¯t be in a more dire situation. However, Huo Yuhao still remained very calm. His eyes had turnedpletely golden at this moment. Even his body was covered by ayer of golden light.

    From the looks of it, he almost seemed to have been sculpted from gold right now. His wheelchair was also shining with the same golden glow. An awe-inspiring figure suddenly surfaced behind Huo Yuhao.

    It was a tall man. As it was only a projection, the looks of this man couldn¡¯t be clearly seen. He mimicked a smacking action, and an aura that resembled that of the Sovereign¡¯s Descent was released, along with a streak of golden light. The Dragon¡¯s Breath was intercepted by the streak of golden light, and both entities disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye opened as he exploited this opportunity. Following this, the illusory figure behind him turned into a huge eye. It also had a vertical pupil, but it was silver.

    ¡°Whitesilver level of a body soul¡¯s Second Awakening.¡± In the spectators¡¯ stand, there were a few exmations from different areas.

    The sudden appearance of this Whitesilver vertical pupil shook all the soul masters who understood Body Souls.

    Yes, it was a Second Awakening of the Whitesilver level. This was one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s trump cards. In the previous few rounds of the tournament, he had not used it no matter how tough he found things. It was only at this moment that he used it as they were on the verge of being eliminated. His teammates were in life-and-death situations, and he had no choice but to reveal his greatest trump card.

    All of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings disappeared as a silvery-white light shed. His body also slowly drifted up. He drifted into mid-air.

    He couldn¡¯t walk, so only drifted there. But since he hung in midair, he currently didn¡¯t appear any different from a normal person.

    The huge silver eye drifted forward and engulfed his body. At that instant, the golden light released by his Eye of Destiny fused with the silver eye. As gold and silver intersected, a distorted glow started to spread with his body at the center.

    When Yan Feng saw the silver eye behind Huo Yuhao, he was shocked. One thought arose in his mind. Is this the Second Awakening of his body soul? However, isn¡¯t this something that only members of the Body Sect can do? Don¡¯t tell me Huo Yuhao is a spy from the Body Sect in Shrek Academy?

    As he thought of all this, the light rays in front of him distorted. Yan Feng fluttered his wings and wanted to annihte Huo Yuhao. However, his surroundings only rippled with distorted waves.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had already stuck close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, and now she wrapped her arms under his. She sped her hands together in front of his chest. Her wings opened wide behind her back. Even she entered a miraculous state at this moment.

    The Bone Dragon jerked and opened its wings. A thick icy-blue glow started to expand with his body at the center. He was trying to disperse the distorted lights.

    However, the distorted rays instead became clearer and clearer.

    Following this, Yan Feng heard a deafening explosion.

    ¡°Boom.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    As the explosion rang out, Lu Genggeng screamed tragically.

    How is this possible? What did he do to Lu Genggeng? Yan Feng was shocked. He was very confident in Lu Genggeng¡¯s defensive prowess. Lu Genggeng was only hurt even after being hit three times by two ss 7 soul tools. Could Huo Yuhao even hurt Lu Genggeng? It was unbelievable!

    However, the truth was that Huo Yuhao had managed to so.

    The spectators could certainly tell that Huo Yuhao had hurt Lu Genggeng.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shifted instantly as he was hugged by Wang Dong¡¯er. Following this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shone with bright white light. After this, he raised his left arm. His left hand opened wide, then mimicked a closing action.

    Following this, a loud boom sounded behind Lu Genggeng¡¯s back. The back half of his body was blown apart. Suddenly, his fat scattered. At least a third of Lu Genggeng¡¯s body had been blown away. His disgusting fat was scattered all over the arena. He was also flung into the air as he screamed, and he crashed down towards Yan Feng.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye shed once again. The air on the stage distorted even more. This time, even the spectators couldn¡¯t see things clearly.

    He can use his left arm? Has he been tricking us all this while? In the resting area, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo looked very pale as he watched everything.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao could use his left arm. However, he hadn¡¯t tricked anyone. It was because his left arm had just recovered a few days ago.

    He had relied on the pure distite to cultivate as he absorbed the origin energy of Ultimate Ice at a faster speed than before. He absorbed a little every day. In this way, his cultivation increased at a significant speed, and the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his left arm greatly decreased.

    After the origin energy had beenpletely neutralized in his left arm, his left arm had naturally recovered!

 Chapter 335.3: Purple Golden Transformation

    Chapter 335.3: Purple Golden Transformation

    Earlier in the battle, Lu Genggeng had crashed down on Huo Yuhao and was smacked aside by Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm. Huo Yuhao had also exploited the impact force to slide backwards.

    To all the spectators, that was the only time the two of them had shed.

    However, no one had noticed Huo Yuhao¡¯s transformations, as they were distracted by Lu Genggeng.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm was a fusion between his fighting technique, the Goddess of Light, and the strength of the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit. After he unleashed that palm, his attacks evidently slowed down. That was because he needed some time to adjust after the heavy exertion.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques: Empress¡¯ Palm, Snowless cier!

    It was a Snowless cier fused with the Goddess of Light! The palm had seemed very simple, but it hadpressed the Ultimate Ice within it.

    The origin energy of Ultimate Ice brought a lot of trouble to Huo Yuhao. However, there were benefits alongside the problems. The temperature of his Ultimate Ice was even lower now than it had been in the past.

    Only the core of the Abomination belonged to Lu Genggeng. When he was struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm earlier, he felt his hip and back turning numb. However, his defense was very strong. The chill from the Snowless cier couldn¡¯t prate the manyyers of his fat to freeze his heart.

    However, the Snowless cier could freeze his fat!

    The Ultimate chill spread at a frightening speed, and gradually froze huge lumps of fat on Lu Genggeng¡¯s body. Just as Huo Yuhao unleashed the Second Awakening of his body soul, he also lifted his left hand.

    Ice Explosion Technique!

    Within a set region, all frozen matter would be affected by the Ice Explosion Technique. Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t infuse the Ice Explosion Technique into the Abomination¡¯s soul power, it was enough that he blew the frozen fat apart.

    This attack immediately hurt Lu Genggeng critically.

    Yan Feng could finally see that the surrounding, distorted lights had turned clearer amidst this deafening explosion. He saw with his own eyes that lumps and lumps of fat were scattered everywhere. Lu Genggeng was screaming tragically as he was flung away, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were charging at him from the sides. An intense dark gold light turned into a huge light de, and this de shed towards Lu Genggeng¡¯s battered body.

    Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon let out a hoarse draconic roar. His eyes were filled with spirit fire that burned very strongly. Icy-blue lights surrounded his body and instantly converted into a huge current that attacked Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    This icy-blue current was more than five meters in diameter. From the looks of it, it was like a huge ice beam. The entire stage was covered by ayer of frost at this point.

    Thunder rumbled in the skies and storms raged. Torrential rain descended.

    There was a massive boom as a huge ice sculpture suddenly appeared on the stage. Yan Feng¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t a joke. In his Martial Soul True Body state as the Bone Dragon, his fighting strength was immense. He was definitely the most terrifying person in this tournament!

    When the huge ice sculpture was frozen, it turned into ice powder that scattered. The evil power of ice was filled with the hatred and destructive intent of an avenging spirit. After being struck, the target was instantly destroyed.

    It was over!

    Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon revealed an arrogant look. However, the arrogance turned into shock in the next instant.

    The surrounding lights dispersed, and a figure drifted in the air not far away from him.

    How is this possible? They should¡¯ve been killed by my Breath of Extermination! Why are they still here?

    Yan Feng only saw Wang Dong¡¯er helping Huo Yuhao remain aloft.

    Following this, he discovered that the Abomination that Lu Genggeng had changed into had disappeared. The disgusting fat was also gone. The rest of the stage was normal, but his teammate was no longer around.

    Sadness and disbelief¡­

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said to Yan Feng, ¡°You were very strong when you killed your own teammate.¡±

    Yan Feng¡¯s heart sank. He finally realized what had happened.

    ¡°How did you do it? When I was in my Martial Soul True Body, my spiritual power was burning as the spirit fire. It causes many people¡¯s spiritual control to lose effect.

    ¡°Your cultivation is so far away from mine. How is it possible¡­?¡±

    Yan Feng finally understood. Just earlier, he had been affected somehow by Huo Yuhao, and thought Lu Genggeng was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. However, he was still shocked by how Huo Yuhao managed to trick him.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll tell you?¡±

    Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon¡¯s head lifted, and he said coldly, ¡°You killed another of my teammates. I¡¯ll cultivate your soul for forty-nine days, and let you suffer the most painful torture in this world before I let you die!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°If you can.¡±

    Yan Feng snorted, ¡°The gap in our abilities can¡¯t be made up so easily. If I¡¯m not wrong, your spiritual power must have been depleted quite a lot after my misjudgment earlier. With the defensive prowess of my Martial Soul True Body, your attacks can¡¯t possibly ovee my defenses. That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t continue to use your spiritual power to interfere with me. You are bound to lose this fight.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s try then.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with a cold look. His vertical eye shone again, and a streak of golden light suddenly descended from the sky,nding urately on Yan Feng.

    Suddenly, Yan Feng felt his heart skip a beat, and an extremely weird feeling engulfed his body. It was like everything around him had turned dark.

    What skill is this? It clearly hasn¡¯t affected me, but why do I feel so diforted?

    Kill him, kill him! A wild thought arose in Yan Feng¡¯s head. The icy-blue lights around him became stronger, and even his pale-white bones turned icy-blue. There was only one thought in his head. He wanted to kill Huo Yuhao!

    Around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, the silver lights emitted by his silver vertical pupil became stronger. Not only this, but Wang Dong¡¯er also started to experience weird changes.

    The stage suddenly lit up without any warning. A halo shing with a whitish-gold glow had spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Following this, the entire stage lit up with a beam of golden-silver light.

    This beam of light appeared too suddenly, and it was also very strong and blinding. Along with the sudden storms and rain, the spectators were getting very excited. However, no one could tell what was happening onstage right now.

    The beam of light onlysted for an instant before it disappeared. However, something shocking appeared on the stage.

    The Bone Dragon, who was drifting in mid-air earlier and was ready to kill Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er as it unleashed all its soul power, crashed forcefully to the ground. A deafening boom reverberated out at the impact.

    Following this, the light from Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye disappeared. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings closed up and engulfed him.

    A bright-golden light rose. A low-pitched dragon roar and pleasant singing voice sounded at almost the same time.

    Golden lights suddenly separated from the front and back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. In mid-air, he turned into three figures. In front of his actual body was the golden Goddess of Light. Behind him, there was also another golden Goddess of Light. The two ravishing, golden figures surfaced in front of and behind Huo Yuhao just like that. They formed a weird image in the air.

    It was a pity that no one could clearly see the looks in the eyes of these two figures. They wore veryplex looks, but they weren¡¯t identical.

    Two streaks of golden light shot towards the central figure. From the central figure, a white glow and an azure-green glow surfaced at the same time.

    Golden, white, azure-green, blue, and purple. These dazzling glows started to rise from the central figure at the same time.

    A purplish-gold halo also surfaced beneath that figure. It wasn¡¯t a soul ring, but a halo with elegant floral patterns. This halo included patterns of a dragon¡¯s totem, patterns of the Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ totem, a ravishingdy, a mysterious pupil, and a fat worm, as well as a scorpion that shed with an azure light.

    When these light patterns came together, they formed theplex and mysterious halo.

    Under the illumination of this halo, a figure re-surfaced in the air.

    It was a slender man covered with purplish-gold armor. The armor wasn¡¯t made of metal, but some sort of shiny and transparent gemstone. The purplish-gold light was shining forth from the armor. He had a pair of special wings behind him. They weren¡¯t made of feathers, and didn¡¯t resemble butterfly wings either. They had adopted the structure of wings that seemed to belong to some kind of ancient, sacred dragon.

    While the man wore armor, he didn¡¯t have a helmet. His ck hair flowed down behind his shoulders. On his forehead, there was a bright purplish-gold vertical eye. Upon closer inspection, the reflection of the principles of heaven and earth could be seen in his eye.

    The man didn¡¯t resemble anyone, he didn¡¯t look like Wang Dong¡¯er or Huo Yuhao. His handsomeness was filled with a sense of holiness.

    The armor¡¯s scales were rhombic, and they refracted purplish-gold rays under the illumination of the purplish-gold glow. Along with the purplish-gold halo beneath the man¡¯s feet, he looked magnificent!

    He wasn¡¯t holding any weapons, but there was a huge dragon revolving around his body. He shut his eyes, but the vertical eye on his forehead remained open.

    What exactly was this...?

 Chapter 336: Pride of the Ice and Snow Empress

    Chapter 336: Pride of the Ice and Snow Empress

    Up on the main stage, the mysterious Imperial Tutor, Ju Zi, Jing Hongchen, and all the other Sun Moon Empire officials all stood up.

    There was nock of strong soul masters among them. However, it was their first time seeing something like this.

    Fusion skill? No, it can¡¯t be. This doesn¡¯t look like a fusion skill! How can there be so many changes in a fusion skill? Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire had done a thorough investigation of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. There weren¡¯t any records of such a transformation being used by them.

    When the purplish-gold figure appeared, the weather changed. The raging storms and rain seemed to stop. The entire stage was illuminated by the purplish-gold light.

    What exactly was this?

    The Bone Dragon finally lifted his head again.

    When everyone else saw the stage shining with golden and silver lights earlier, he had seen the silver eye shining brightly when Huo Yuhao¡¯s body soul underwent its Second Awakening. Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden vertical eye turned into a silver one. The golden and silver lights had turned into an unprecedentedly powerful Spiritual Shock that had struck him.

    A strong sense of crisis forced Yan Feng to gather his soul power around his head. Even so, he still experienced a throbbing dizziness after being struck. Even his spiritual sea started to crack, and he lost control of his body temporarily. Eventually, he copsed onto the stage.

    Just as he was struggling and managed to stay clear-headed for a moment, he saw something very strange, or rather, miraculous.

    Is this¡­ another illusion?

    Yan Feng struggled to stand up. As he roared, he tried to bear the intense pain that followed the Spiritual Shock. His wings opened, and he started to fly again.

    The purplish-gold figure also moved at this moment. He was extremely quick; he reached an unbelievable speed in just a second.

    However, the figure didn¡¯t charge towards Yan Feng, but towards the side.

    Xiao Xiao dismantled her cauldron formation at the same time and somersaulted backward in the air.

    The purplish-gold figure was like a bolt of purplish-gold lightning that suddenly shed in the air. It swept past the Skeleton King.

    A purplish-gold palm was pressed against the Skeleton King, who waspletely clueless about what was going on. A purplish-gold projection shed before disappearing.

    The Skeleton King¡¯s head exploded with a quiet boom. A white light also shot into his crushed head. Just as it was rising, the spirit fire that attempted to escape was dissipated by the purifying white light.

    A tragic scream resonated across the entire stage. The Skeleton King copsed to the ground. His ck bones couldn¡¯t handle it anymore, and werepletely crushed.

    Yan Feng finally panicked. By the time he saw the purplish-gold figure again, the Skeleton King was already dead.

    Even though the Skeleton King was restrained by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron earlier, this sudden destructiveness was too frightening. Even his spirit fire didn¡¯t escape, and he was killed so easily!

    The eyes of the purplish-gold figure were still shut, and he remained in mid-air. His dragon wings were open, and the purplish-gold glow, as well as the halo beneath his feet, were still shing gently.

    The sound of the wind stopped, while the rain changed.

    The torrential rain seemed to be guided by an invisible force, and gathered towards the center of the stage. The rainwater followed the circr opening at the top of the barriers and flowed down. It was like a waterfall had appeared above the stage.

    As the rainwater reached less than two hundred meters from the ground, it began falling at a considerably slower rate. The rainwater turned into falling snow, and started to engulf the entire stage.

    He can manipte the weather? Isn¡¯t this something only a Titled Douluo can do?

    After being astonished several times, Yan Feng felt as if there were a mountain on his chest. He knew he couldn¡¯t wait anymore.

    The purplish-gold figure was like an immortal that had descended upon the mortal world. He used one palm strike to kill the Skeleton King, casting a huge shadow over the back of his mind. As the weather changed, Yan Feng also knew that his time was almost up.

    The Bone Dragon lifted his head to the sky and roared. The icy-blue light around its body rose once again. The falling snowkes actually helped to strengthen him. The Bone Dragon was a creature of evil and ice. At this moment, Yan Feng¡¯s body shone brightly with icy-blue light that burned like fire. His Bone Dragon body expanded once again, growing by several meters. After that, he charged towards the purplish-gold figure with an unstoppable momentum.

    It was do or die. He exploited the opportunity before his opponent unleashed all his strength to push for victory!

    The purplish-gold figure seemed as if he didn¡¯t care. He lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger towards the sky.

    Suddenly, the falling snowkes danced and converted into a huge icy whirlpool descending from the sky. The temperature on the stage fell significantly, and even the yellowish barriers started to turn white.

    The soul masters maintaining the barriers were under great pressure. It felt like the extreme chill could seep into their bodies through the barriers.

    What kind of force is this? Is he a Titled Douluo? Zheng Zhan was already at a loss for words. The falling temperature caused him to feel cold, even with his cultivation.

    Even if someone allowed him to end the fight right now, he would be very unwilling to do so. He knew that he could be hurt if he just ended it like this.

    Is this really achievable by someone who¡¯s not even twenty years old?

    The Bone Dragon took only a second to arrive in front of the purplish-gold figure.

    The purplish-gold figure lifted his left arm and mimicked a pushing action.

    The wings behind his back suddenly changed color. One side turned white, while the other became shiny and transparent.

    There was a captivating light projection above each of the wings. They looked like two elegantdies.

    Rings of light started to rise from the purplish-gold figure¡¯s feet. The first halo was blood-red, and carried four streaks of gold. The second to fifth halos were all orange-gold.

    The fifth halo shed.

    The Bone Dragon stopped in front of the pushing left palm and couldn¡¯t advance any further. The icy-blue mes that were burning on his body seemed to meet with an obstacle, too. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn¡¯t advance.

    The stage suddenly lit up with a patch of blinding light. However, it wasn¡¯t gold and silver this time. Rather, it was white and jade-green.

    Those who were prepared this time saw everything clearly. The white and azure-green light came from the purplish-gold figure¡¯s wings. They appeared as two captivating projections that merged together. Instantly, they spread from the head of the Bone Dragon all the way to his tail. The two lights seemed to sh across his entire body in an instant.

    The patch of blinding light disappeared. The spinning snowkes above the stage also stopped, and slowly stopped descending altogether. Then they started rising instead. They changed into ice des shooting into the sky.

    The falling rain was shed apart by these des and turned into snow. Eventually, it changed into a huge icy tornado that whirled its way into the sky.

    Zheng Zhan was in daze as he watched all this. His pupils shrank. Just as the white and azure-green lights shed, he felt goosebumps all across his body. Even he wasn¡¯t sure what he would do if he faced such an attack.

    What kind of strength is that?

    Eight rings! The attack must at least be at the level of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo! No wonder he was afraid, even though he was a ss 9 soul engineer! After all, he didn¡¯t possess the fighting strength of a true Titled Douluo...

    How is this possible? Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er have five and six rings respectively. Theirbined strength is actually able to reach an eight-ringed level?

    The Bone Dragon opened its mouth and continued to drift in front of the purplish-gold left palm. His voice was bing more and more coarse.

    ¡°Can you tell me the name of this soul skill?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s indifferent and cold voice sounded out, ¡°It¡¯s called the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Yan Feng¡¯s voice suddenly sounded huskier. In the next instant, his body seemed to turn brighter. Following this, his bones started to crack. After a series of piercing cracks, his bones were crushed.

    When his crushed bones fell to the ground, they turned to powder. A ball of icy-blue light shone for a short while around the Bone Dragon¡¯s head before it disappeared.

    The Pride of the Ice and Snow Empress didn¡¯t just destroy his body; it destroyed his soul, too. Yan Feng waspletely obliterated.

    The Tang Sect versus the Holy Ghost Sect. Of the four disciples from the Holy Ghost Sect that hadpeted, all four were killed. They were annihted!

    ----

    On the main stage, the mysterious Imperial Tutor suddenly clenched his fist extremely tightly. A very unstable and dangerous aura was exuded from his body. He was like a volcano that could erupt at any time.

    Jing Hongchen took a step forward and blocked Xu Tianran, protecting both him and Ju Zi. A fiery-red glow shone on his chest.

    Although Jing Hongchen hadn¡¯t fought this Imperial Tutor before, he knew how scary he was. Once he erupted, the entire main stage would turn into hell!

    Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t the only one who sensed the dangerous aura. There were seven or eight people who quickly rushed in front of Xu Tianran and protected him as well!

    There was also another person beside the Imperial Tutor. It was adypletely decked out in ck robes.

    ¡°Founder, please calm down.¡±

    The Imperial Tutor slowly retracted his dangerous aura, and his cold and creepy voice resonated from underneath his veil.

    ¡°Bloody Tang Sect. How dare they kill my disciples? I¡¯ll let them have a taste of what it¡¯s like to have their souls burned and be skinned to the bones.¡±

    How could his heart not ache?

    These disciples who represented the Holy Ghost Church weren¡¯t even twenty years old yet, but they were all elites. Yan Feng was even his inheriting disciple! He had high hopes for Yan Feng, but now had he died just like that under Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands. No matter how cold he was, he was still heartbroken right now. He almost lost his cool!

    ¡°Imperial Tutor, please calm down. I promise you that I¡¯ll hand them over to you and you can do whatever you want with them,¡± Xu Tianran recovered after a momentary shock. He promised the Imperial Tutor from safely behind his subjects.

    ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to go to so much trouble. I¡¯ll deal with these small fries myself; I¡¯ll send people to catch them.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away. As he walked off the stage, he blurred and turned into a streak of ck light before disappearing.

    Thedy in ck said to Xu Tianran, ¡°Your Highness, please understand how the Imperial Tutor feels. If he was being disrespectful, I¡¯d like to apologize on his behalf.¡±

    ¡°No worries,¡± Xu Tianran smiled in reply, as if he wasn¡¯t bothered at all.

    Thedy in ck nodded at Xu Tianran. After that, she also jumped up and turned into a streak of ck light, chasing after the Imperial Tutor.

    Jing Hongchen looked a little dismal as he said, ¡°Your Highness, the Holy Ghost Church is too arrogant. How dare they act like this in front of you¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran maintained hisposure and said, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, watch your words.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was slightly stunned, and he grunted in anger. However, he didn¡¯t continue. He understood a little about the Holy Ghost Church. He knew that there was someone so strong in the church that even the Illustrious Virtue Hall couldn¡¯t afford to offend them.

    The purplish-gold figure finallynded at this point. His icy-white and azure-green wings regained their purplish-gold color. They slowly closed up behind him.

    A strong purplish-gold light suddenly separated from his body, and two golden figures appeared in front of and behind him. The light dispersed and changed into a strong glow that engulfed all three figures.

    As the glow distorted, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er re-appeared on the stage.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure shed, and she moved to grab Huo Yuhao. She prevented him from falling, as he couldn¡¯t stand straight with his legs.

    Huo Yuhao was a little pale, but he was in good spirits. There was a steady look in his eyes, and he seemed resilient. He clenched both of his fists tightly. He couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, we¡¯ve won!¡± Huo Yuhao said with real emotion.

 Chapter 337.1: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Chapter 337.1: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded lightly and replied, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve won...¡± There was aplicated look in her beautiful eyes at this moment.

    She had always believed that she wasn¡¯t that much worse than Huo Yuhao in many different aspects. But after today¡¯s battle, she finally understood that Huo Yuhao was already a ss above her in arrangement and delegation, without discussing fighting strength. He lived up to his reputation as a proper control-type soul master!

    They were six against four in this group battle, but there was an enormous rift between their overall prowess.

    All four of their opponents were evil soul masters who were at least Soul Emperors, and their opponents also had Yan Feng, who possessed a formidable Bone Dragon Martial Soul, and who was also a Soul Sage! Every single one of them possessed the strength to challenge someone one rank above them!

    They had managed to defeat their opponents in the end despite these circumstances. These evil soul masters had had a long and bright¡­ or dark... future ahead of them, but every single one of them perished at their hands. How incredible was that?Huo Yuhao seemed to have been in control from the moment Bei Bei fought his first duel to the moment when they concluded the group battle. Every time they were in a dire circumstance, or when they were about to be beaten back, Huo Yuhao would flip another one of his trump cards so that they could turn the tables back around. This had happened again and again all the way until thest moment, when they had eliminated their opponents with an all-out attack and eventually clinched the win.

    Wang Dong¡¯er only had pride in her eyes as she hugged and supported Huo Yuhao. This is my man, my man!

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes once more as he leaned against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body and took in her warmth and fragrance. His heart was surging like a volcanic eruption, and he felt as if his spiritual power was sublimating once more in this moment. There was a mystical feeling bouncing about at the bottom of his heart.

    He didn¡¯t know that Wang Dong¡¯er was feeling proud of him. The entire battle yed out rapidly over and over again in his head.

    The first merit belonged to Bei Bei in today¡¯s victory. He was heinously wounded to the brink of death, which was the price he had paid for taking care of two evil soul masters and reaching out to Tang Ya, who had been controlled and brainwashed by the evil soul masters. Judging from Tang Ya¡¯s reaction, Bei Bei¡¯s words had been sessful. At the very least, Tang Ya had reacted, and her emotions had begun to change because of his words. This proved that the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s hold over Tang Ya wasn¡¯tplete, and this meant Bei Bei had forged a path for them to bring Tang Ya back into the fold in the future.

    The group fight came afterwards. All four of the evil soul masters they had faced were very powerful, so he had chosen Gu Yu as their point of entry when the battle first begun. This choice was exceptionally important, because they would only have the confidence to eliminate their weakest opponent within a short period of time by ganging up on him to weaken their adversaries¡¯ overall strength.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s contribution was the most substantial one to that end. He had dived deep behind enemy lines so that he could create an opportunity for his teammates, before transporting him and Wang Dong¡¯er so that the group battle could officiallymence.

    Huo Yuhao had delegated hispanion¡¯s abilities one by one. Xiao Xiao had sealed their second-strongest opponent, the Skeleton King, so that they could shave their opponents¡¯ strength from three to two people, and the battle could be simplified even further. However, he hadn¡¯t expected Yan Feng to be so powerful, and he had to reveal one trump card after another to achieve victory in the end.

    The Snowless cier used together with his Ice Explosion was one of his strongest moves. Thisbination was so formidable that he had astonished the Dragon Emperor Douluo when he used it against him back then. Huo Yuhao used the same move against Lu Genggeng, the Abomination, and this had been imperative to their battle.

    It seemed as if defeating Yan Feng in the end was part of his n, but he had borne a heavy burden to do so. He had revealed five different trump cards to finally take down Yan Feng!

    Huo Yuhao had basically possessed his body soul¡¯s Second Awakening ever since he returned from the Icefire Yin Yang Well in the Setting Sun Forest, but he had always kept it hidden.

    This was the first trump card that he had used against Yan Feng.

    His second trump card was his Light of Destiny, and his Destiny Gaze. Huo Yuhao rarely used this ability, and it seemed like something that didn¡¯t possess any offensive or defensive capabilities on the surface, but Huo Yuhao knew that this ability could turn the tides in battle.

    This ability focused on lowering his opponent¡¯s luck and increasing his own. If he hadn¡¯t used his Destiny Gaze, dealing with Yan Feng¡¯s assault afterwards and using the rest of his trump cards wouldn¡¯t have been so smooth!

    The Spiritual Shock that was used with his Eye of Destiny was so effective because of his Destiny Gaze. His third trump card that came afterwards was even more important.

    His next trump card was his purplish-golden projection.

    Huo Yuhao only went through with this attempt after making brave and nonconservative judgments. Furthermore, this was their first time using this, and it could possibly be theirst. This was the most important trump card that had enabled them to defeat Yan Feng in the end.

    He hadn¡¯t created any new martial soul fusion skills with Wang Dnog¡¯er when the two golden projections merged together. The reason was because it wasn¡¯t just the two of them fusing together, there was someone else! Yes, there was a third person besides the two of them. The third person was Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    This was simr to how he had discreetly helped Wang Qiu¡¯er against her powerful opponents. This time, Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one who had lent them a hand, and he had used Imitation to aplish this feat.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had actually been beside them since the moment they got on thepetition stage. She had been with them all the way, until the entire round was over.

    Huo Yuhao hadmunicated with Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er through his Spiritual Detection at the most crucial moment, and he went through with something that was unprecedented for them.

    His Eye of Destiny had been evolving continuously as he became stronger. This was especially so when Huo Yuhao obtained his body soul¡¯s Second Awakening, which had evolved his Eye of Destiny to an exceptionally powerful level and given him even stronger abilities. The ability he¡¯d used today was called Fate Conversion. Fate Conversion allowed him to lower his opponent¡¯s luck and raise his at the same time. Huo Yuhao could absorb his opponent¡¯s luck while lowering it to further boost his own at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao had tried something new under such circumstances... a three-in-one martial soul fusion skill!

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er were all capable of undergoing martial soul fusions. Furthermore, their fusion had an almost one hundred percentpatibility. Therefore, he made a courageous guess. If one straight line was parallel to two other lines at the same time, then the other two lines would still be parallel to each other. In other words, all three straight lines would be parallel to one another. Since I can fuse with either one of them, why can¡¯t the three of us fuse together?

    Fusion skills had always been a process of sublimating one¡¯s abilities. There had been more than one instance of three-in-one martial soul fusion skills in the history of soul masters.

    This had happened before within Shrek Academy. Ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy¡¯s forefathers ¨C Dean nders, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong ¨C used a three-in-one fusion skill to summon the formidable Golden Holy Dragon.

    Yu Xiaogang was the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En and Bei Bei¡¯s mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon¡¯s ancestor.

    If the people who came before me could do that, can I do the same with my increased luck? Huo Yuhao only took a few seconds to contemte this question.

    Yan Feng was simply too powerful, far more so than he had initially expected. Huo Yuhao had prepared other trump cards against him, but he had realized in that moment that the trump cards that he had prepared beforehand didn¡¯t seem like they would be enough.

    How did Yan Feng identally kill Lu Genggeng? That was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth trump card¡ªSpiritual Interference Domain.

    Yes, it was a Domain!

    Spiritual Interference wasn¡¯t as valuable before, but it was a pity to let it go. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had gotten stronger as he had, and that allowed his Spiritual Interference to be used together with his Imitation. This gave rise to his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    Huo Yuhao could change someone¡¯s vision and senses within a certain range with Spiritual Interference and Imitation, so that his opponent would be enmeshed in his confusion and deceit. Yan Feng was extremely powerful, but he was still tricked into thinking that Lu Genggeng was his enemy, and he ended upshing out and killing his own teammate. It was clear how powerful this ability was!

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t put everything he had into this Domain because he had to leave something for his three-in-one fusion skill. Otherwise, with his current abilities and his body soul¡¯s Second Awakening, he would still be able to use his Spiritual Interference Domain to ensure that his entire team could return safely.

    Reality proved that Huo Yuhao¡¯s courageous hypothesis worked. Under immense pressure from their enemies, Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er set aside their differences and opinions so that all three of them could align themselves together. They managed toplete their unrivaled and magnificent fusion under Huo Yuhao¡¯s forceful guidance.

    Huo Yuhao himself didn¡¯t expect that their fusion would be so different after it had beenpleted. They were set for victory once he showed his fourth trump card.

    The heavy downpour was enormously beneficial for Huo Yuhao, who possessed Ultimate Ice. His strength climbed exponentially under such circumstances.

    Their three-in-one fusion skill also raised his control over ice to another level.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s element of light and her Clear Sky Hammer, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and Ultimate Ice, were all thrown into the same pot. How powerful was that?

    Huo Yuhao thought of an appropriate name in an instant.

    Huo Yuhao was the one controlling this three-in-one fusion skill, so he hadn¡¯t channeled his own abilities into it. Instead, he drew upon Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities. He called it the Purple and Gold Draconic Butterfly Transformation.

    This was a fusion skill superior even to the Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light.

    Huo Yuhao finally revealed hisst trump card when they were using the Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation. This trump card was also the most important reason why he was confident that they could clinch this victory through the group battle.

    Not long before this, Huo Yuhao had realized something very fortunate had happened to him.

    The Ice Empress had awoken!

 Chapter 337.2: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Chapter 337.2: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    The Ice Empress had been in hibernation because she had expended too much of her power when she fused with the Snow Empress back then, but now she was finally awake!

    The Ice Empress waking up had finally allowed Huo Yuhao to master his fourth soul ring¡¯sst ability, which came about after his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, merged with the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit.

    His second martial soul was the Ice Empress, but four of his five soul rings originated from the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit. The three skills that had been bestowed upon him were: the Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword; the Snowless cier; and the Snowy Dance of the Brilliant Sun. Of the three powerful soul skills, the Snowy Dance of the Brilliant Sun fused with the Domain of Perpetual Ice that came with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress skeleton, and that formed his first Domain, the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    However, the Snowy Dance of Perpetual Ice didn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe. Huo Yuhao¡¯s current physical state and his restricted movement made it hard for him to control it. This was the main reason why he hadn¡¯t used it in the tournament¡¯s previous rounds.

    Huo Yuhao had never used his fifth andst soul ring before, the same orange-golden soul ring that came from the Ice Empress. Before this, he had no idea what he had to do to activate his fifth soul ring.

    But not too long ago¡­

    The Ice Empress woke up because Huo Yuhao had continually absorbed the Ultimate Ice origin energy of heaven and earth, and only then did Huo Yuhao learn that the Snow Empress¡¯st soul skill had to be fused with the Ice Empress¡¯ powers before it could be used. This was a powerful soul skill that surpassed even his Empress¡¯ Chill.

    Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use this mighty soul skill with his current soul power, and he could only barely make it work when he was using the Raiment of Light with Wang Dong¡¯er.

    But afterpleting the Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation, he managed to unleash Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses, and he was even able to maximize its power at their current cultivation ranks. He had evenpletely eradicated Yan Feng¡¯s incredibly tough Skeletal Dragon True Body!

    Even Wang Dong¡¯er was astonished at the number of trump cards that he had. Huo Yuhao was in total control of their victory in the group battle. Of course, Wang Qiu¡¯er was discreetly helping them from the shadows.

    ---

    The Tang Sect had won.

    They¡¯d defeated the Holy Ghost Sect, which had possessed seven formidable evil soul masters. Furthermore, six of the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s elite youngsters were killed, with the lone exception of Tang Ya.

    This was undoubtedly a huge blow for the Holy Ghost Church, which was backing the Holy Ghost Sect.

    The Skeletal Dragon was gone, so Jiang Nannan broke out of her prison. The Skeleton King was dead, and so Xiao Xiao was back on thepetition stage once more.

    With Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s support, Huo Yuhao used his control over ice to melt the ice on He Caitou and Xu Sanshi¡¯s bodies.

    Every single one of them was exhausted and spent from everything they had given in this match. However, their eyes were sparkling as they got back together on thepetition stage, and only pride could be seen in their eyes.

    This was a pride and arrogance that belonged to the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy at the same time.

    The six of them ced their hands together in midair. Huo Yuhao raised his head towards the sky and hollered, ¡°Tang Sect!¡±

    ¡°Tang Sect! Tang Sect! Tang Sect!¡± they shouted as loudly as they could.

    Yes, this glory belonged to the Tang Sect! They had defeated evil, and justice and righteousness were always bound to win!

    In this moment, thepetition stage and the entire Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament belonged to the Tang Sect!

    The audience was shaken by the Tang Sect¡¯s aura and the atmosphere they were creating, and some people unwittingly began to chant along with the Tang Sect¡¯s voices, to the point where the organizingmittee finally recovered from their astonishment and immediately escorted the Tang Sect¡¯s team off thepetition stage.

    But the audience was reluctant to leave, and the spectacr and dazzling scenes reyed again and again in their minds. The Tang Sect¡¯s name had been deeply imprinted in their minds!

    It was from this moment that the Tang Sect¡¯s reputation resonated across the entire Continent!

    ---

    Inside the resting area, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo worked hard on Tang Ya. Her eyes had be cold and icy once more, but when she heard the Tang Sect¡¯s torrential exmations, the confusion and vacancy in her eyes seemed to crack a little more, and another dash of rity filled the gap. A thoughtful look flickered once in her eyes as she watched the people on thepetition stage.

    The mysterious ck-robeddy sitting beside her raised her head slightly, and a thick scorching aura emanated faintly from her body. This thickness was filled with limitless hostility and murderous intent.

    ---

    An elderly man smiled faintly in the spectator¡¯s grandstand as he muttered under his breath, ¡°You had foresight, Elder Mu. He is the Ultimate Soldier that the Shrek Academy has produced, and he¡¯s finally grown up after the ordeal that he went through thest time. When he can get back up on his feet, Shrek Academy will possess a true Ultimate Soldier who belongs to us.¡±

    ---

    Na Na stayed behind to take care of Bei Bei, but Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and Nan Qiuqiu raced onto thepetition stage. Ji Juechen carried Xu Sanshi off, while Jing Ziyan and Nan Qiuqiu helped an exhausted and fatigued Wang Dong¡¯er take care of Huo Yuhao, who was back in his wheelchair.

    ¡°You guys are so fantastic!¡± Nan Qiuqiu embraced Wang Dong¡¯er, and pecked her on her soft and tender lips. Wang Dong¡¯er was a little taken aback, and her beautiful pale cheeks tinged with redness.

    ¡°Qiuqiu¡­¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice sounded a little ming and displeased.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t detect Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s embarrassment and shyness. She continued tedly, ¡°The Tang Sect is the best! The Tang Sect is the best! We won, we won! Haha, if only I had been able to fight, too!¡±

    Jing Ziyan seemed a little despondent. ¡°If only I had been born a few years earlier.¡±

    Ji Juechen stared at Huo Yuhao solemnly and muttered, ¡°What state were you in during that transformation? I want to try fighting against that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯ll have your chance in the future. However, you have to make sure that you¡¯re stronger than Yan Feng before that.¡±

    ¡°Are you feeling very good about yourselves?¡± an old and deep voice boomed angrily, interrupting them like a volcanic eruption.

    Everyone turned around to look. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, was staring at them insidiously. There was only ferocity and savagery in his eyes.

    Among the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s participating members in thispetition, the Skeleton King, Tang Dai, was the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s personal disciple! The Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation had defeated and killed the Bone Dragon as well, and it didn¡¯t help that the Holy Ghost Church had put in so much effort to nurture this group of young evil soul masters. The Holy Ghost Church had sustained heavy losses even though they still had Tang Ya, and this blow was so heavy that the mysterious Imperial Tutor almost couldn¡¯t hold himself back, let alone Zhang Peng!

    ¡°So what if we¡¯re feeling good about ourselves?¡± Newborn calves were not afraid of tigers, and Nan Qiuqiu had that ssic personality. She rebuked Zhang Peng¡¯s ice-cold usation, and she didn¡¯t show any weakness at all.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s eyes closed into slits as he nodded and said, ¡°Good! Good, good! Let¡¯s go.¡±

    He suppressed the impulse to explode as he spoke, and he took Tang Ya, the mysterious girl in ck, and the reserve evil soul masters, and they left quickly.

    The gloomy and eerie atmosphere in the resting lounge vanished once they disappeared, and there was a very refreshing feeling in its ce.

    The rainstorm was gone, and the thick dark clouds in the sky separated as enchanting sunlight peeked from between them and shone on thepetition stage, and onto the audience in the resting area.

    The radiant golden color and the unique warmth that only sunlight possessed put a charming smile on many people¡¯s faces.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked over to Huo Yuhao and lowered her voice as she spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve returned what I owed you. We¡¯ll meet again in the finals.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er felt her heart skip a beat as she met his sincere gaze, but she swiftly turned around and waved as she led Shrek Academy¡¯s team away.

    Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Zhu Lu and the others seemed a little lost and vacant when they passed Huo Yuhao, because they were clear that they had no chance of catching up with this fellow in a wheelchair, not even in the future. The rivalry and animosity between them seemed to disappear after today¡¯s match.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved as he mouthed something to Wang Qiu¡¯er soundlessly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er paused for a moment as she was walking forward, before she rapidly departed.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. He was quite exhausted, but there was a smile at the corner of his mouth.

    ------

    The end of this round opened the curtains for another great battle. This was just the beginning!

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was nearing its end as it reached this stage.

    The semi-finals were over, and the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy had sessfully defeated their opponents to reach the finals. For some people, it didn¡¯t matter which team emerged victorious in the end. The fight that seemed like some kind of family infighting would take ce the following day.

    Everyone returned to their respective rooms back at the hotel to rest, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er retired to their own room.

    There was no need to hide anything anymore, and the two of them ced their palms together as they channeled their Haodong power and regenerated their soul power. But there was something dark and shadowy riling up in Radiant City...

    -------

    Radiant City¡¯s Dinghou Main Street was located in a residential area lined with short houses near the western suburbs. It was called a main street, but it was just a small path that couldn¡¯t be considered wide or spacious.

    The western suburbs had always been the ce where the citizens in the lowest strata of society lived. There were hardly any tall buildings or skyscrapers in the area, onlyrge patches of short houses. There were enormous stone mountains further to the west, which formed the Sun Moon Mountain Range.

    There was a small restaurant on Dinghou Main Street; it couldn¡¯t have had much more than a thousand feet of floor space. There were four or five tablesid out inside. This restaurant could not be considered splendid or magnificent. Describing it as simple and in was already apliment. This ce served only the simplest meals.

    The sky had gone dark at this point, but this was Radiant City¡¯s busiest and most bustling time. This was especially true due to the exceptionally thrilling semifinals that everybody was talking about.

    Dinghou Main Street¡¯s little restaurant was broken-down and decrepit, but every single seat was upied, and there were even two extra tables set up near the entrance...

 Chapter 337.3: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Chapter 337.3: Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    There were three people seated at the farthest table inside the restaurant. They seemed a little strange, as they had conical bamboo hats over their heads and veils draped over their faces. It was difficult to make out their physical appearances, and even their figures were hidden beneath wide, oversized robes.

    The person seated at the innermost corner said said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this to happen.¡± She had a bright and crisp voice, but she wasn¡¯t loud. Her voice had a limpid and sweet-sounding quality.

    Another woman¡¯s voice rang out to her right. Her charming and enchanting voice was filled withment as she said, ¡°Yes! Who would¡¯ve thought that the Tang Sect could defeat the Holy Ghost Sect? Sister Zhang, do you know what ability they used at the end?¡±

    The voice that belonged to the leftmost girl had a special feminine quality. She answered, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, either. However, it¡¯s true that everyone from the Tang Sect can be considered the most elite and outstanding individuals from the academy¡¯s younger generation.¡±

    The innermost girl said, ¡°Given enough time, they will definitely be Shrek Academy¡¯s mainstays and cornerstones. But I don¡¯t understand, why didn¡¯t they represent Shrek Academy in this tournament? If they had Wang Qiu¡¯er, they would¡¯ve had an easier time iming the championship.¡±

    The innermostdy was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s princess, Xu Jiujiu, while the girl sitting on the right was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s princess, Wei Na. The girl on the left was Shrek Academy¡¯s eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan.

    Who would have expected that these threedies who represented three different powers woulde together in such a small and dpidated restaurant? But it was easier to avoid discovery in a ce like this.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled casually and said, ¡°They have their own reasons. Our academy isn¡¯t a sect after all, and we won¡¯t hold them back.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t continue harping on the issue, even though she was shaken and dumbfounded when the Tang Sect eradicated the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s entire team without losing a single team member of their own. No matter what, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters made up the Tang Sect¡¯s core, and even though Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na looked up to them, they still weren¡¯t those top-tier powerful individuals. The two princesses had many more responsibilities than just the tournament.

    Xu Jiujiu lowered her voice and said, ¡°How are things looking on your side, Sister Zhang?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan naturally knew what she was trying to say. She tilted her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve discussed it with our elders, and we have decided to participate in your operation.¡±

    Both Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na trembled at the same time as they heard this. There was nothing more exciting than this piece of news for either of them.

    ¡°Alright. Our chances are so much better with your aid.¡± Xu Jiujiu nted her hands on the table excitedly. Even though she deliberately kept her voice down, the other two girls could still hear the exhration in her voice.

    Wei Na nodded as well and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! We have to unite in the face of a great enemy, and I hope this will serve as a beneficial beginning. The Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t impregnable, no matter how strong they are.¡±

    The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire felt a lot more urgency in dealing with the Sun Moon Empire, at leastpared to Shrek Academy. These two empires would have to take the vanguard if the Sun Moon Empireunched an invasion.

    Zhang Lexuan whispered, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about the details. Time is of the essence, and we will go back to making the necessary arrangements after our discussion. You don¡¯t have to hide the details of our operation anymore.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu nodded at once. She harbored no suspicions about Zhang Lexuan. Given Shrek Academy¡¯s status on the Continent, they wouldn¡¯t leak details about the operation even if they weren¡¯t participating. Furthermore, Shrek Academy had already dered that they would participate, and they wouldn¡¯t go back on their word. This was the reputation and trust that Shrek Academy had umted and built up over the years. Both empires also knew about Zhang Lexuan¡¯s entry into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Her presence was enough to represent the entire academy.

    The three women¡¯s¡¯ voices faded into silence, and only their mouths shifted up and down behind their veils.

    --------

    ¡°How are things going?¡± Xu Tianran leaned against a soft couch. His eyes were closed into slits, but they were sparkling with emotion as he stared at a manpletely covered in ck kneeling not far from the couch.

    ¡°Your Highness, the arrangements have been made. Soldiers have been delegated in the north, south, and east. Every single region is anchored by ss 9 soul engineers, and every spot has more than five stationary soul cannon shells. They should know about our setup due to our deliberate leaks.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed grimly and said, ¡°How about the west? How are preparations going?¡±

    The man in ck said, ¡°We are prepared in the west as well. Those people from before are still at the western front, and we have given them onest chance.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°Very well done. Continue making preparations, and make sure that everyone is on the highest alert and vignce over the next two days, so that we can be prepared for every possibility. You may leave.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± the man in ck acknowledged respectfully.

    He stood up and quickly vanished into the darkness.

    A thoughtful look appeared on Xu Tianran¡¯s face. ¡°I hope they make the right choice, and that they choose the western path. We won¡¯t have to expend so much effort and energy that way.¡±

    With that, his body suddenly drifted up from the soft couch he was on, and he floated over to his wheelchair without releasing his martial soul. He pushed forward with his hands through his sleeves, and his wheelchair began sliding out.

    ------

    The epic fight between the Tang Sect and the Holy Ghost Sect made the city¡¯s atmosphere a lot warmer and more enthusiastic. Everything settled down overnight, and Radiant City seemed exceptionally calm and quiet when dawn broke the next day. It felt as if the entire city was still in a deep slumber, and it wasn¡¯t about to wake up for a long time.

    Huo Yuhao was up early in the morning. He had astonishing regenerative abilities, and he also had the Haodong Power that he shared with Wang Dong¡¯er. He felt as if he had been revived after the previous night¡¯s rest. He was full of energy and vitality this morning.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair into Bei Bei¡¯s room after they had breakfast.

    Wang Dong¡¯er knocked twice on the door, with no response. She was just about to use the room key that Bei Bei had given Huo Yuhao, the door opened from the inside.

    Zhang Lexuan was the one who opened the door. Her eyes seemed red and swollen, as if she had just been crying.

    ¡°Uh¡­ hello, eldest senior sister. Why don¡¯t wee backter?¡± Huo Yuhao looked a little awkwardly at Zhang Lexuan.

    Zhang Lexuan frowned and said, ¡°Come in. I¡¯ve just finished delivering breakfast to Bei Bei and tending to his wounds.¡± She stepped aside and let them in.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s gaze was a little strange as she pushed Huo Yuhao into Bei Bei¡¯s room.

    There was a thick medicinal smell in the room; nobody trusted the Sun Moon Empire to send someone to heal Bei Bei¡¯s wounds. Instead, Shrek Academy sent a healing-type soul master toplete this task.

    Bei Bei¡¯s face was very pale as hey in bed. This was the second time he had sustained severe injuries sinceing to Radiant City.

    He had suffered internal injuriesst time, and he was recovering from heavy external injuries this time. However, Bei Bei¡¯s eyes seemed as bright as ever; his wounds were severe, but his condition had stabilized after treatment. Powerful soul masters had bodies far stronger and tougher than normal people, and external wounds healed far quicker than internal ones.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go back. We will follow the n.¡± Zhang Lexuan seemed to revert to the majestic and dignified eldest senior sister. She nodded at Bei Bei, then at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, before she turned to leave. She even closed the door behind her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao over to Bei Bei¡¯s bedside. Huo Yuhao asked concernedly, ¡°How are you feeling, eldest senior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. My injuries are lighter than you think; Xiao Ya¡¯s Bluesilver Grass didn¡¯t shatter my bones, and it passed between my ribs. I managed to deliberately dislocate four of my ribs in the nick of time to avoid direct contact, and I also deliberately shifted my organs aside. My injuries seem bad, but they are simple external injuries. I feel a lot better after treatment, and my ribs and organs have returned to their original positions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up as he listened to Bei Bei¡¯s words. My eldest senior brother is such a great strategist.

    ¡°I wonder how teacher Xiao Ya is doing,¡± Huo Yuhaomented.

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°I carefully felt her spiritual undtions when we were together. I could feel that her spirit was obscured behind ayer of filth, and her personal consciousness had beenpletely silenced and locked away. Fortunately, her memories haven¡¯t been removed. The evil soul masters sealed her memories so that they could maintain her fighting will. They used their sinister abilities to gradually shift and change her personality, so that her memories from the past would slowly fade away. They didn¡¯t directly remove her memories, as doing so would affect her cultivation. Her circumstances could be much worse.

    ¡°I sustained injuries as a price so that I could trigger some kind of reaction from Xiao Ya. What happened afterwards proved that I was quite sessful, and I think I¡¯ve managed to break through a crack to Xiao Ya¡¯s silenced inner heart. Even though the evil soul masters sealed it up again right away, how can it be so easy to seal her away entirely?¡±

    A confident smile broke out across Bei Bei¡¯s face. Compared to before, he seemed as if he possessed extraordinary intelligence, and the resolve to face anything that came his way.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little fearful as he said exasperatedly, ¡°Eldest senior brother, are you saying all this just to console us?¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Bei Bei cleared his throat twice and said, ¡°Why would I do that? I¡¯m saying all this so that I can strengthen your confidence. Yesterday was so close! Who can match you in terms of secrets, depth, and hiding abilities? You really caught everyone¡¯s attention and gained everyone¡¯s respect after yesterday¡¯s match. However, you have been ced at the heart of the struggle, where the wind and the waves are the fiercest. The Holy Ghost Church probably hates you to the core.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°Let them hate me, it¡¯s not like I can control their emotions anyway. Eldest senior brother, did you arrange everything with eldest senior sister when she came by?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Everything has been arranged. What an exciting and busy night we shall have! I wonder what will be of Radiant City tomorrow morning, when the finals are about to begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already enjoyed eldest senior sister¡¯s breakfast filled with love, we don¡¯t have to give you the food that we¡¯ve brought for you. You should have a good rest; Dong¡¯er and I will take our leave.¡±

 Chapter 338.1: Ju Zis Reminder

    Chapter 338.1: Ju Zi''s Reminder

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°You dare nder your eldest senior brother? Go, go!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled as Wang Dong¡¯er pushed his wheelchair out.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Bei Bei suddenly called.

    Huo Yuhao turned back.

    Bei Bei lowered his voice and said, ¡°You have to prioritize your own safety if tonight¡¯s operation cannot bepleted. You¡¯re the true future of the academy and the Tang Sect, and you cannot brave any dangers. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, and answered, ¡°Rest assured, eldest senior brother. Have we not arranged this way before? ording to our n, everything will be fine. Don¡¯t forget, I can¡­¡± He stopped talking, and gestured with his hands.

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression softened and rxed as he nodded lightly and said, ¡°Still, please be careful.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ---

    Wang Dong¡¯er pushed Huo Yuhao out of Bei Bei¡¯s room and returned to their own.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I¡¯m looking forward to tonight.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes suddenly grew excited as she shut the door behind her.

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at her and said seriously, ¡°Dong¡¯er, when we are going through with the operation tonight, you can¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, I have to think about the big picture. You¡¯ve said that so many times.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er smiled enchantingly as she spoke. However, a thread of anxiety quickly flowed through her eyes. ¡°But I¡¯m worried about you when I¡¯m not by your side. Furthermore, you have to face so many more dangers and perils tonightpared to the rest of us. You have to control two situations at once, it¡¯s going to be so tiring for you. In the event that you¡¯re exposed, you don¡¯t have to care about us. We will be able to escape even if we have to fight our way out forcefully. You must take care of yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He grasped Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hands and pulled her over to his side as he ced his arms around her slim waist and leaned in.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about one thing right now¡­ the road we have to take when we are leaving. Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was still leaning against Wang Dong¡¯er when he suddenly sat up straight, and his eyes became a lot sharper and more focused than before.

    He was staring at the tea table in the room.

    Huo Yuhao had always been cautious and careful. He had swept the room with his spiritual power habitually when they came back, and he always started from one direction before he rotated his spiritual power in a circle so that he could make his sweep as thorough as he could. Huo Yuhao could feel that something wasn¡¯t right when his spiritual power came across the tea table, because there was an extra something on top.

    There was a letter, and it was definitely not there when they left for breakfast before this.

    Wang Dong¡¯er immediately raised her guard and half-squatted like a leopard. She leaned in close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and spiritual undtions instantly rippled from her body as she prepared to adapt and react to any eventuality.

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand and said, ¡°There¡¯s no danger. I¡¯m not sure who ced this here, but it looks like someone thoughtful.¡± He waved his right hand at the letter on the tabletop as he spoke, and used the Tang Sect¡¯s Capturing Crane Controlling Dragon. The letter floated into the air and drifted towards him.

    Wang Dong¡¯er raised her right hand, and thin rays of faint golden light waltzed through the air as they nimbly removed the letter from the envelope without damaging its contents at all.

    Their teamwork seemed very casual, but there was so much tacit understanding in it.

    The letter opened up in midair to reveal a row of small and graceful words.

    ¡°Leave immediately! The western side is still safe for now. Hurry, hurry!¡±

    No name was left at the end, there was only a circr marking.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows knitted faintly as she snapped around to look at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment before an awkward look surfaced on his face.

    ¡°You know who sent this?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was very sensitive, and she could immediately tell from his expression that he knew.

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°It should be Ju Zi. I¡¯ve seen this mark before. She used to leave this mark behind on the soul tools she created back at the Sun Moon Academy.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er grunted and said, ¡°You¡¯re getting it on with girls everywhere, huh? So, it¡¯s a letter from an old me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to be jealous, Dong¡¯er. Plus, don¡¯t you already know my heart? There¡¯s no space for anybody else in my heart but you.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er giggled and snatched the letter from the air. ¡°I don¡¯t get jealous so easily. But Ju Zi is very nice to you, indeed. She risked being discovered to send you a letter at a time such as this. You have to remember her feelings and her favor!¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head once more and said, ¡°It seems like the situation is a lot more perilous than we had originally imagined.¡±

    Huo Yuhao flicked the letter in his hands lightly and scrutinized the words once more. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°I can tell from the words that Ju Zi knows some things about what the Sun Moon Empire wants to do against us. However, she¡¯s from the Sun Moon Empire after all, and she¡¯s also engaged to the crown prince. I don¡¯t think she wants to tell us too much. Things are probably going to change, and chaos may break out after the finals. The Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Ghost Church might make a move against us immediately afterwards.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°The letter says that the western side is still safe for now. What does that mean? Does this mean that our judgments before this were wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and replied, ¡°The western side is our only choice whether or not our predictions and judgments are wrong. The news that our eldest senior sister has given us is simply too astounding. There are ss 9 stationary soul cannons locking down the other three sides. Those are frightening forces that are sufficient to kill Titled Douluo, and possibly even Transcendent Douluo. They are considered the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strategic weapons, and they are taking out so many of them at once this time. It¡¯s clear that they have made up their minds. Furthermore, they must haveplementary locator-type soul tools with them.¡±

    ¡°The Star Luo Empire gave us that information. That also means that Xu Jiujiu, Wei Na, and the others all know about this. There is no question that they will choose the western path as well ¨C under such circumstances, we will be even weaker and more isted if we choose to break through one the other three fronts by ourselves. It¡¯s better if we concentrate our forces and make an attempt on the western front. It¡¯s a pity that she didn¡¯t mention what the situation was like on the western side.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°I believed at the start that working together with the Body Sect was like asking a tiger for its skin. They don¡¯t typically do things like normal people. Furthermore, the n cannot keep up with everything that¡¯s happening. Everybody might be in danger when the timees.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°The Tang Sect is the smallest target, and that¡¯s our only advantage for now. Furthermore, if we end up facing an unbeatable foe, or we find ourselves in irrevocable danger, I can only expose myself and take everyone into my demine of specters. At most, we can hide in there for some time beforeing back out. Radiant City can¡¯t stay locked down forever. Anyhow, we will follow the other three main powers to break through the western front when the timees, and if something happens or problems arise, I will immediately hide and protect myself.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Alright. Fortunately, you have still have that trump card. I wouldn¡¯t be so agreeable to this, otherwise.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We should n more carefully so that we can plug any loopholes that might appear as tightly as we can.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ------

    The deathly silence in Radiant Citysted all the way till midday. The overly excited citizens from yesterday were slowly waking up, and everything seemed to return to normal.

    However, the final that was about to happen the next day seemed to be a little colorlesspared to the Tang Sect¡¯s epic fight against the Holy Ghost Sect the previous day. It was clear that the Tang Sect was undoubtedly stronger than Shrek Academy, as they had managed to defeat the Holy Ghost Sect. However, the only uncertainty was how much the Tang Sect could recover after their excessive exhaustion and consumption from their previous battle.

    The sun slunk towards the west as time continued to pass, and Radiant City¡¯s atmosphere became a little more bustling. The reason for that was because another tournament close to home was about to begin. This was also the final round!

    The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, organized by the three underground organizations, was about to have its grand finals tonight.

    The three underground organizations sent forth three soul engineers each.

    The grand finals¡¯ betting process was spectacr and colorful. There were many details regarding the nine participating soul engineers circting around.

    The audience was allowed to bet on rankings, on the first three, and on the champion. There were several other strange betting options for the rankings, and many gamblers were spoiled for choice.

    The three underground organizations thought as long and hard as they could in order to maximize their profits. They unleashed every single ounce of their influence so that they could lead as many citizens to the grand finals, and so that these citizens could participate in thest betting phase of the tournament.

    The prizes that the participating soul engineers stood to win in the grand finals were extremely generous and luxurious.

    The final champion would win a ss 9 soul tool. The soul tool itself was a priceless item, and the champion would also win one ton of rare metals that the champion could choose at his or her own discretion at the same time.

    Forty-nine rare metals would be avable for the picking when the time came, as long as the total weight didn¡¯t exceed one ton, and each of the rare metals didn¡¯t weigh more than a hundred kilos.

    The first and second runners-up had prizes as well, but these prizes were stark inparison to what the champion would receive. They didn¡¯t get ss 9 soul tools, and would only get one ton of rare metals.

    The remaining soul engineers wouldn¡¯t win a single dime.

    This reward system was undoubtedly aimed at instigating the nine participating soul engineers¡¯petitiveness and will to win.

    Furthermore, these were the prizes that were to be given on the surface. The three underground organizations each had their own form of encouragement for their participating soul engineers, and these soul engineers would receive plentiful rewards from their respective organizations if they won something in the grand finals.

    This attractive reward system was the reason why so many young soul engineers had participated in this tournament.

    ------

    Inside the Green Hotel...

    ¡°Tang Si and Tang Wu aren¡¯t here yet? Did you not inform them about the timing?¡± Third Elder red at Chen An solemnly, and his eyes became a little cold and eerie.

    Chen An¡¯s forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he said hurriedly, ¡°I have informed them. I informed them a long time ago, I told them right after the semifinals ended that they had to be here early today, so that we could make some final preparations.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! If they don¡¯t show up on time, you willpensate the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s losses. You¡¯ll have to pay with your life,¡± Third Elder muttered coldly.

 Chapter 338.2: Ju Zis Reminder

    Chapter 338.2: Ju Zi''s Reminder

    ¡°Calm down, teacher. I believe they¡¯ll be here soon. In the end, the rewards are very generous and extravagant.¡± Ny-Six, Huang Zheng, chimed in with a smile on his face. He was as calm and steady as he had always been. This was in stark contrast to Ny-Eight standing beside him, who had already been eliminated from the tournament. Ny-Eight¡¯s face seemed a little dark and gloomy.

    The only thought in Mocke¡¯s head was his Darkness Green Dragon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t trouble him anymore, Old Three. I believe that kid will arrive. We need to have a proper discussion with him after the tournament.¡±

    A deep and thick voice rang out; the Duskwater Alliance Master, Nangong Wan, appeared in the hotel¡¯s main lobby.

    The entire green hotel seemed like it was under martialw as uncountable men in ck filled up half of its main hall. Nangong Wan, Old Three, Mocke and Huang Zheng stood in the center of the main hall, along with severalrge trunks. What they contained was obvious; these trunks were used to carry the rare metals that were to be used for the tournament!

    Sounds travelled from the entrance right at this moment.

    Under the guidance of two men in ck, a wheelchair appeared in Nangong Wan and Third Elder¡¯s field of view.

    Huo Yuhao had be Tang Wu, and he was still wearing a cold and solemn look on his face. He Caitou had be Tang Si, and he was wearing a mask as always.

    Nangong Wan and Third Elder appeared a lot more delighted when they appeared, and Chen An hurriedly went forward to wee them.

    ¡°You guys are finally here, my honorable guests.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to question why Huo Yuhao waste, and he gave him a light nod when their gazes met to signal that the deal that they had agreed upon was prepared and everything was fine.

    A faint smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth, and he returned a look to signal that everything was in ce on his end as well.

    Nangong Wan came forward personally to greet them. ¡°You guys made it here in the end, and all is well as long as you guys are on time. The Duskwater Alliance¡¯s honor and glory will be on your shoulders to uphold and defend.¡±

    ¡°Naturally, we will do our best,¡± Huo Yuhao replied in a cold mutter.

    Huo Yuhao was wary and cautious of these two people, who could well be elders of the Holy Ghost Church. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t determine their strength with his current cultivation, and their power could definitely be described as deep and immeasurable.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s mighty influence and strength had gradually entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s field of view as they gradually surfaced in the world.

    The Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, had told Huo Yuhao before that evil soul masters had a very difficult time bing Titled Douluo. However, Huo Yuhao was sure that the Holy Ghost Church, which had been through many years of experience and history, should have mastered a way for evil soul masters to break through that barrier. Of all the evil soul masters that he had seen so far, four or five were undoubtedly Titled Douluo¡­ and the two men in front of him were at least Titled Douluo. The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s elders would have a real headache if they had to face these guys, let alone himself.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what positions they held within the Holy Ghost Church. He knew that their ranks couldn¡¯t be that low, as the Duskwater Alliance controlled nearly half of the overall underground economy. The Duskwater Alliance was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s financial source, so it had to be under themand of people who were rtively higher in rank and status.

    Nangong Wan stared at Huo Yuhao curiously and said, ¡°You gave me a very strong andsting impression when west met, Tang Wu, my little friend. We have to get a little closer to each other after the tournament.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately put up a wary and cautious expression as he said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be close about. I¡¯m just here for the tournament, and I won¡¯t establish any connections with your underground organizations.¡±

    Nangong Wanughed heartily and replied, ¡°That¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll talk about this again after the tournament. Chen An, please introduce tomorrow¡¯s finals to our two little friends.¡±

    Chen An felt his heart pumping vigorously in his chest as he listened to Huo Yuhao and Nangong Wan¡¯s conversation. This guy¡¯s circumstance seems to be a little different from my judgment. The Duskwater Alliance Master should be from that ce, so how can he not recognize him? But Tang Wu¡¯s abilities are clearly¡­

    Chen An felt a little doubtful and suspicious inside, but he had no other choice at this point in time. He had gotten many benefits from Huo Yuhao already, and this was in addition to the fact that they were about to work together again. Chen An forced the doubts in his heart down.

    ¡°Yes, Alliance Master.¡± Chen An bowed respectfully in Nangong Wan¡¯s direction before he turned towards Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. ¡°This season¡¯s Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s grand finals shall be carried out tomorrow. The Duskwater Alliance is organizing the grand final together with the Common Alliance and the Alto Chamber of Commerce, and it will happen in the western suburbs. We have arranged everything on our side.

    ¡°We have finally decided upon the tournament¡¯s rules after meticulous discussion. All three sides will send three people each for the grand finals. Every participant will be given six hours to craft a soul tool, and there are no limits on the materials to be used. However, each contestant can only make one soul tool, and this phase will conclude after six hours. All nine participants will go through threepetitive rounds after that: technique will be tested in the first round, during which a mysterious task will be given. We¡¯re not sure what it is at the moment. All nine soul engineers will be very exhausted after six hours of crafting, so this round will undoubtedly be a great test for you all. The lowest scoring participant will be eliminated, while the remaining eight will proceed to the next round.

    ¡°The second round will be actualbat. Those who obtain the highest score in the technique round will face off against the lowest scorers in the final eight, and four people will progress into the next round. The second-highest scorer will fight the second from thest, and so on. The four who will go on into the next round will be determined this way, and the final four will draw lots for the next round, and the final round will happen after that.

    ¡°The tournament¡¯s rules have been designed to be as fair as possible. However, there are some things that we have to pay attention to: first, everyone can only forge and use one single soul tool, so it will be up to the soul engineer himself or herself whether the soul tool will be focused on attack or defense. They cannot expend too much energy when crafting them, either. Otherwise, they¡¯ll run a risk of being eliminated in the technique round. Furthermore, the higher they score in the technique round, the greater the advantage they¡¯ll have in the subsequent round-of-eight. You guys need to have proper nning from the moment you start the six-hour crafting phase.¡±

    Both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou felt a little astonished as they listened to Chen An¡¯s introduction. The grand finals organized by the three underground organizations were far moreplicated than they had imagined. They had to craft soul tools first, and they would have to go through a technique assessment and three different rounds ofbat to clinch the championship. Winning in this tournament would be quite a challenge!

    What they didn¡¯t know was that all three underground organizations were treating this championship very seriously. Furthermore, the Common Alliance and the Alto Chamber of Commerce intended to team up against the Duskwater Alliance. This was the reason why the three organizations went through countless rounds of discussion and negotiation before they came up with these rules for the grand finals. These rules were so that their representative soul engineers had to rely on their own abilities to finish the tournament.

    Of course, it did seem like the Common Alliance and the Alto Chamber of Commerce had an advantage overall. They had six people after all, so it would be a lot easier for them to arrange their strategies.

    Chen An finished his introduction, and Nangong Wan¡¯s expression became a little more solemn than before. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°My three friends, you are representing the Duskwater Alliance in thispetition, and I have absolute faith in your abilities. However, you have to be prepared to resist the other two organizations, as their strategies are likely to target us. Since you are representing the Duskwater Alliance, we will not waste your time; every one of you will be rewarded whether or not you clinch the championship in the end, and I believe the Common Alliance and the Alto Chamber of Commerce cannot possibly match up to these rewards. Furthermore, we will give them out here, on the spot. Bring them up, please.¡±

    Nangong Wan waved his right hand as he spoke, and four men in ck immediately walked over carrying a big trunk between them.

    All four men were tough and muscr, but even they struggled a little as they lifted the trunk together.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously released his spiritual power and surveyed the trunk. However, even his reliable spiritual power couldn¡¯t pierce though this thick and heavy ck trunk as it brushed against its surface; his spiritual power was keptpletely outside. Some of his spiritual power was even refracted away.

    ¡°Eh? This is¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao swiftly came to a conclusion; this truck had to be lined with thick lead, meant to block all kinds of tricks and intangible things. There was ayer of steel alloyed with mithril on the outside. Furthermore, he could tell from how these muscr men were struggling that the trunk should weigh between two hundred and fifty to five hundred kilos. What is this? It¡¯s forged from pure lead, and wrapped with metal that contains mithril.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. He Caitou and even Huang Zheng widened their eyes as they stared at the trunk. They didn¡¯t have Spiritual Detection, but they were still quite sensitive to metal as soul engineers, and they could both feel that the trunk contained mithril.

    So precious and valuable¡­

    The trunk was ced carefully in front of them. Nangong Wan personally walked towards the trunk, raised his right hand and pressed on the trunk¡¯s side. A small screen bounced up, with many sophisticated characters and patterns on its surface.

    Nangong Wan pressed his palm against the screen, and all five of his fingers tapped rapidly and rhythmically.

    This was a Passcode-Locked Explosive Case.

    Passcode-locked cases were considered special trunks that were sealed with both soul tools and a passcode, and they could only be opened with preset patterns and activation methods. As for the ¡°explosive¡± in the name, there was no question that an erroneous passcode entry would trigger the explosives inside, and a frightening explosion would follow!

    However, these explosive cases typically gave a few chances for wrong passcode entries, and thus wouldn¡¯t explode on the first wrong try. Still, these chances couldn¡¯t be more than five, and there were many different kinds of secret passcode forms to seal away whatever was inside. This was just a trunk, but it could match a ss 6 soul tool!

 Chapter 338.3: Ju Zis Reminder

    Chapter 338.3: Ju Zi''s Reminder

    Huo Yuhao had been concentrating his spiritual power ever since Nangong Wan pressed his palm against the trunk. He relied on his impressive spiritual power to forcefully memorize Nangong Wan¡¯s rapid tapping and its frequency. Even though it might not be useful in the future, memorizing the pattern was still a potential opportunity.

    Nangong Wan tapped continuously for twenty seconds before he lifted his hand, and the screen popped back into ce. Faint cracking sounds could be heard as the trunk began to split open from the center of its lid.

    The Third Elder was standing beside Nangong Wan, and he raised his hand as a hemispherical barrier enveloped everyone inside. He was also inside this hemisphere, as was Mocke.

    Huo Yuhao and the two other contestants drew a cold breath from the moment this crack appeared on the trunk, and they understood at the same time why Third Elder had to barricade everyone inside.

    There was an indescribably somber and deste aura emanating from within, and it seemed to stem from the bravery and majesty of an entire army in shining armor.

    The Third Elder and Nangong Wan had no reaction, while Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, Huang Zheng, and Mocke turned pale as intense astonishment broke out across their faces.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sensations were the deepest, as he possessed the strongest spiritual power. It was because of how mighty his spiritual power was that he felt the greatest impact.

    He felt as if he were facing a metal torrent formed by an enormous army, and this torrent carried hysterical hostility and killing intent as it surged towards him. This torrent was so strong that it almost made him lose control over his spirit. A pale golden light emerged over his body, and his Spirit Eyes were immediately unleashed, and only then could he calm and steady himself.

    However, Huo Yuhao managed to use his Imitation in the nick of time so that his actual soul rings weren¡¯t revealed in front of everyone.

    ¡°This¡­¡± He Caitou blurted out. He suddenly recalled the agreement he had with Huo Yuhao after uttering one word, and hurriedly closed his mouth. However, the bewilderment in his eyes was a lot more intense than before.

    The trunk hadpletely opened up at this moment to reveal its contents. Special filters made of a material was known as jade rubber filled its inneryers. The rubber itself was white, but it was extremely tough and bouncy. Jade rubber was typically used as a cushion or buffer.

    There was something in the center of all the blocks of jade rubber inside the trunk.

    This item was roughly one and a half meters long, and had a cylindrical body. It had a conical tip, and a ringed groove at the back. The entire item had no cracks or kinks, and it seemed like everything blended together into one integrated body. The item was pale gold in color, and it shone with a metallic luster.

    The violent and hysterical killing intent and fearsome aura came from this item, and everyone felt as if this sensation was bing worse over time. Huo Yuhao and the others felt their hearts tremble even though they were only looking at it.

    Mocke swallowed some saliva as he stammered, ¡°This, this is¡­¡±

    Huang Zheng could no longer maintain hisposure, and he blurted out, ¡°ss 9! It¡¯s a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell.¡±

    What did a ss 9 stationary soul cannon mean?

    It was evaluated as ss 9, and that meant it was a ss 9 soul tool in itself. It was also a ss 9 soul tool that could only be used once. This cannon shell could even be fired over half the entire Continent at a target when used with a ss 9 soul cannon, and it could also be detonated at a shorter distance without a ss 9 soul cannon. However, there was a prerequisite, as the person detonating this cannon had to have some way to distance himself or herself from the explosion, as the user would vanish from the face of the earth otherwise.

    A ss 9 stationary cannon shell¡¯s destructiveness was enough to instill fear in even Transcendent Douluo. The only oue that could happen when normal Titled Douluo faced one of these was death!

    The Sun Moon Empire was the only entity capable of manufacturing ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells at the moment. Only those at the higher levels of the empire knew how many there were, but there couldn¡¯t possibly be that many.

    Why did the Body Sect, Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire and the other powers choose to break through the western front when they discussed how the Sun Moon Empire was locking down the Radiant City? What did they fear so much?

    It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t consider that dangers could arise on the western front. Instead, it was because they didn¡¯t dare to take the risk of travelling on the other three roads. It had been confirmed that there were at least five ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells stationed in the other three regions.

    Even Titled Douluo had no chance against a frightening entity of this level if they were the ones who were locked on. What was even more frightening was that ss 9 cannon shells had an extremelyrge area of effect, and an explosion would eradicate an entire area around it, not just a single spot.

    If five ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells were stationed in one direction, even powerful beings like Elder Xuan would be wary. Perhaps he might have the ability to survive this ordeal, but there was no way he could protect the people around him.

    Every single person in the world considered ss 9 stationary cannon shells priceless and inestimable. Not in their wildest dreams did Huo Yuhao and the others expect that the Duskwater Alliance would take out such a reward so that they could win this tournament. Huo Yuhao had learned from Chen An before this that the Duskriver Alliance would give out a share of their profits from all the bets and wagers, but this cannon shell was more generous than all the shares they could give, the reason being this cannon shell couldn¡¯t be valued with money, as money couldn¡¯t even buy such an item.

    Huo Yuhao had heard from Xuan Ziwen that the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t possess more than fifty ss 9 stationary cannon shells. Some were reported openly, while some were hidden away in secret, and only the emperor himself knew the exact number. But what was certain was that a single shell could eradicate an entire small city, while two shells were enough to annihte a mid-sized city.

    Radiant City was the greatest city on the Continent, but even a city asrge as Radiant City couldn¡¯t possibly take more than ten shells. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how terrifying these cannon shells were.

    One of the main reasons why the Sun Moon Empire dared to go up against the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires one versus three was because of their ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. This was also one of the most substantial reasons why the other three empires hadn¡¯t invaded them yet.

    The Duskwater Alliance, or perhaps the Holy Ghost Church, had too much influence and might. They actually managed to obtain a national-level strategic weapon!

    Huo Yuhao had unswerving will and determination, but even he felt his heart pounding vigorously in his chest. His eyes grew hot and passionate. This wasn¡¯t just a cannon shell in his eyes, this was also a sample! If he could study and scrutinize this cannon shell through and through, he could possibly enable the Tang Sect to craft ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells of its own. At the very least, he could probably make it easier for teacher Xuan to break through in his research.

    There was one problem: was this stationary cannon shell that easy to get? Was winning this championship more important than this cannon shell?

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys have already realized¡­ yes, this is a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, and it¡¯s called Annihtion Storm. I will only tell you its effects and how it¡¯s used when one of you returns with the championship. I can guarantee that we will present you with this gift on the spot when you clinch the championship. So, you guys have to work hard.¡±

    Nangong Wan waved his sleeve as he spoke, and the trunk closed up again. That violent and crazed aura was swiftly covered up.

    Huo Yuhao and the others could finally breathe easy. However, there was only vengeance and hatred in Mocke¡¯s eyes as he red at Huo Yuhao. His defeat to Huo Yuhao in the previous round meant he no longer had the opportunity to vie for this cannon shell, and he had even been forced to relinquish his ranked carving knife, his Darkness Green Dragon!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t care about his gaze at all. His heart and emotions had settled down by now, and his eyes became clear and transparent just like before, though He Caitou was still a little exhrated behind him.

    ¡°Work hard, youngsters.¡± Nangong Wan spoke with a faint smile on his face. However, his eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao from beginning to end as he uttered these words. He was momentarily stunned when he saw that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had be clear and transparent once more, and nodded in his direction.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Nangong Wan swung his hand through the air. He and the Third Elder took point, while Huo Yuhao and the three others followed behind them, and throngs of men dressed in ck nked and escorted them.

    Third Elder naturally couldn¡¯t let these men in ck carry the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, and he stowed it away within his storage-type soul tool. They headed towards the western suburbs once they departed the Green Hotel.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any opinions about where the tournament was to be carried out. However, his eyes were starting to close at this point, as if he were trying to concentrate and calm himself down so that he could prepare himself mentally for the tournament.

    He Caitou fully recovered only when the cold wind outside billowed against him as he exited the hotel. A strange look appeared on his face, and he shook his head from side to side before his eyes returned to normal.

    Huang Zheng was in a simr state. As for Mocke, there was only hatred in his eyes. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to calm himself down.

    The Green Hotel was located near the city center, and Radiant City had such arge surface area. They couldn¡¯t just walk over directly. That would be too slow.

    Extravagant and magnificent carriages drawn by wildebeests had been prepared outside the hotel.

    The three participating members ¨C Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and Huang Zheng ¨C took one carriage, while Nangong Wan, the Third Elder, and Mocke took another one. The remaining men in ck loaded the misceneous rare metals on rtively simpler carriages as they got on their respective horses. A majesticpany of more than a hundred people journeyed towards the western suburbs.

    ------

    Inside one of the carriages...

    Mocke was full of righteous indignation as he asked, ¡°Master, do we really have to use a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell as reward?¡±

    The Third Elder frowned and snapped, ¡°Shut up. Are you even worthy toment?¡±

    Mocke was unwilling inside, but he immediately withdrew his emotions when he saw the annoyance on his teacher¡¯s face. He knew that his teacher was very short-tempered; one of his senior brothers had spoken out against his teacher for a sentence or two some time ago, and his brain was instantly blown to smithereens.

    Third Elder turned towards Nangong Wan and asked, ¡°What do you think, second brother?¡±

    Nangong Wan¡¯s eyes were tinged with ayer of silver-grey light. The lighting inside the entire carriage became a little brighter, as if everything was covered with silver-grey hues.

    ¡°That kid is very sophisticated. He managed to recover so quickly after his initial temporary surprise, and this means that he has very strong spiritual power. Our guess should be right; he should be an evil soul master who leans towards spiritual summoning abilities. However, he may not be from the Sun Moon Empire. After all, with our sect¡¯s strength and influence and after so many years of searching and recruiting, it is impossible for us not to pull a prodigy like him to our side.¡±

 Chapter 339.1: The Curtain Opens

    Chapter 339.1: The Curtain Opens

    The Third Elder revealed a slight smile on his face and said, ¡°This kid is pretty good. At least the reward that we¡¯ve offered is not wasted. I¡¯ll guide him well in the future.¡±

    Nangong Wanughed and said, ¡°Third Elder, don¡¯t try to pull that trick on me. I noticed this kid first. Spiritual calling is my thing. You already have so many disciples, but I don¡¯t even have one who¡¯ll inherit everything that I have. I¡¯ve already discussed this with the vice-founder. The tournament is an additional test for him. I want to him ept him as my inheriting disciple. Otherwise, why would I have asked the vice-founder to find this ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell? I¡¯ve already spent a lot of money. There¡¯s no way you can snatch him from me!¡±

    The Third Elder snorted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s an outstanding soul engineer. He shouldn¡¯t be older than twenty-four or twenty-five years old, but he¡¯s already as good as a ss 6 soul engineer. If we continue to nurture him, he¡¯ll definitely be a ss 9 soul engineer. The founder also mentioned before that the future will belong to soul engineers. While his soul master cultivation is pretty decent, he can¡¯t give up on soul tools. Why don¡¯t we both ept him as a disciple?¡± He knew he couldn¡¯t win against his second brother, and thus he offered an alternative.

    Nangong Wan pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°It¡¯s a usible idea. However, he can only be my Inheriting Disciple. It¡¯s fine if you want to teach him some stuff, but we¡¯ll have to see whether his spiritual power is sufficient. Soul engineers will be the trend in the future, but soul masters are stronger for now. I¡¯ve discovered that many academies have realized how important it is tobine both soul masters and soul tools.¡±

    The Third Elder snapped, ¡°Second brother, you are really calcting. You¡¯re asking me to teach him, but he¡¯s going to be your inheriting disciple? Hmph!¡±

    Nangong Wanughed and said, ¡°Alright, alright. You must understand how I feel, too. When I ept him as my disciple, I¡¯ll get him to return the Darkness Green Dragon.¡±

    After hearing Nangong Wan¡¯s words, Mocke looked very delighted and hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you, senior uncle!¡±

    Nangong Wan furrowed his brow when he looked at him and said, ¡°Even if the Darkness Green Dragon returns, you don¡¯t have the authority to possess it right now. You are too impatient; you¡¯ll need to train for a few years first. When we return, you should learn how to develop soul tools.¡±

    Mo Ke was stunned for a moment, then turned dismal. He looked at the Third Elder and softly said, ¡°Teacher¡­¡±

    The Third Elder snorted, ¡°Your second senior uncle is giving you a chance this time. If you left it up to me, I¡¯d confiscate the Darkness Green Dragon from you forever. Hmph!¡±

    After hearing the Third Elder¡¯s words, Mocke didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    ------

    They quickly left the Radiant City on their carriages. The Duskwater Alliance was the strongest of the three underground organizations, and thus they weren¡¯t too bothered with causing trouble as they rushed to their destination, charging along all the way there. The ordinary citizens avoided them when they saw the symbol on their carriages.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were shut all the while. He didn¡¯t move at all. He Caitou also didn¡¯t make a sound as he sat beside Huo Yuhao. Huang Zheng didn¡¯t try to start a conversation with them when he saw how they wereposing themselves. Compared to the other carriage, they were much quieter. The carriage they were in also greatly reduced iing external sound, and thus it waspletely silent in their carriage.

    However, was Huo Yuhao really calm despite the silence? It was the exact opposite. Right now, he was trying to gather his spiritual power!

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, he had entered a miraculous state. Waves were surging furiously in his vast spiritual sea. The ¡°seawater¡± had turned golden-silver after hepleted the Second Awakening of his body soul.

    Every time the seawater rose, the waves that it conjured stopped slightly. A two-colored whirlpool would also appear asionally.

    As the seawater rose, a white ball of light emitting a dim glow condensed in mid-air. This ball wasn¡¯tpletely circr, but oval, like an egg. It was filled with the aura of life!

    There were a few figures drifting atop the water¡¯s surface in his spiritual sea.

    The Ice Empress still held the image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. However, her body was a hundred feet long in this spiritual sea. Her dazzling diamond ice crystals and azure-green tail were very splendid and eye-catching.

    The eight-to-nine-year-old Snow Empress was standing beside the Ice Empress. She was already very pretty at this age. Her long, white dress waspletely spotless, and she wore a captivating smile on her face. asionally, she would get closer to the Ice Empress and whisper a few words.

    The Ice Empress wasn¡¯t thergest figure. That was the Skydream Iceworm, who waszily lying down in the spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power came mainly from the Skydream Iceworm. It was his presence that gave him everything that his Spirit Eyes possessed. Although his spiritual power had increased to an extremely high level, hispatibility with the Skydream Iceworm was still very high. The Skydream Iceworm was veryfortable as hey in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm was in a rather bad mood right now. As he stole nces at the Snow and Ice Empresses, he felt a little indignant.

    After the ordeal that happened in the past, the Snow Empress had turned into a Spirit, and he entered deep sleep with the Ice Empress. It was also at that point in time that his rtionship with the Ice Empress got a little closer.

    However, the Ice Empress still seemed a little harsh, like she had been in the past, after she awoke. Even though the Snow Empress had lost most of her memories, she remained close to the Ice Empress instead of bothering with him. How could he not be depressed seeing that?

    ¡°Skydream, is it fine for Huo Yuhao to be like this? Will he be in any danger?¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice was very captivating.

    The Skydream Icewormzily replied, ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. His spiritual realm has reached the stage I was in at my strongest state. He has also fused with my spiritual power. Right now, the problem he has is that his body can¡¯t handle his spiritual power. He won¡¯tck for power. He¡¯s just using his spiritual power to do things right now, and not directly attacking anyone. He¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s only isting a part of it right now. Even if it doesn¡¯te back, it won¡¯t harm him.¡±

    The Ice Empress snorted and said, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be anxious at all.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t even want to live anymore. What¡¯s there to be anxious about? Even if something happens to him, I¡¯ll just die with him.¡±

    The Ice Empress was stunned for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t want to live anymore? There¡¯s no one in this world who knows this logic better than you; better a bad life than a good death! You¡¯ve already lived for a million years, but you are still entertaining such a thought?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm almost spat out blood. ¡°Ice, can¡¯t you treat me better? After all, we are of opposite genders!

    ¡°Nothing will happen between you and the Snow Empress. Why are you still pestering her? I¡¯ve treated you so well. Let me tell you, I don¡¯t have anyone else that I like. I¡¯ve already turned into Yuhao¡¯s Spirit. I¡¯ve felt this Spirit before. Even if something happens to me, it won¡¯t affect Yuhao. Since you are so cold towards me, I might actually seek death one day.¡±

    The Ice Empress snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t pull this trick on me! Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll like you just because you were being very righteous and brave then! Look at your foolishness! Iceworms were born to be the food of Ice Jade Scorpions! You and I can never be together!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t reply after hearing the Ice Empress¡¯ words. Hezily turned his head and didn¡¯t utter a word.

    There was a slight tremble of emotion in the Ice Empress¡¯ eyes. She lifted her tail to p the spiritual sea. She seemed to be venting and exerting her dominance over the Skydream Iceworm. However, she didn¡¯t do anything to him.

    This fellow! Why should I like him? I¡¯m an elegant Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Why would I like an Iceworm? The Ice Empress told herself. However, she was very frustrated by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s silence.

    The Snow Empress stared at her with her big, beautiful eyes. The look in her eyes was very clear.

    The Ice Empress was in a daze. She recalled everything that had happened in Clear Sky Castle. She recalled too many things. She recalled how the Skydream Iceworm was so decisive, and the Snow Empress¡¯st words.

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve really¡­

    At this moment, the ball of light above the spiritual sea broke apart, and a projection rose from it.

    A rhythmic heartbeat was suddenly audible. The projection slowly descended and appeared in front of the two Empresses and the Skydream Iceworm.

    ¡°How do you all feel? Sense my aura.¡± Huo Yuhao had descended. Right now, he seemed to bepletely formed from spiritual power. He was icy-white in color, as if he were carved from ice. However, there was a dim golden glow around him.

    The Skydream Iceworm finally opened his mouth. He lifted his head and came over in front of Huo Yuhao. Heplimented, ¡°Oviparity! Not bad, not bad. You canpletely unleash the concrete-immaterial realm, and temporarily attain the concrete-material realm!

    ¡°However, don¡¯t forget that you don¡¯t have much time. Although you won¡¯t be affected even if your spiritual self is gone, you¡¯ll still suffer short-term memory loss. Your spiritual sea will also be greatly affected. You¡¯ll need to recover for at least three months before you return to normal. That¡¯s why you need to return in two hours. At the same time, you can¡¯t transcend space with your actual body. Get it?¡±

 Chapter 339.2: The Curtain Open

    Chapter 339.2: The Curtain Opens

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Skydream. I know my limits. Also, I¡¯m very eager to see how much we¡¯ll gain from tonight¡¯s show, and who¡¯ll be the main lead.¡± As he finished speaking, he revealed a wide grin on his face.

    As he looked at the Skydream Iceworm, he sent him a message telepathically. As his back was facing the Ice Empress, she didn¡¯t discover anything.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the guy that had to be protected by the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm anymore. He had grown up. He was no longer inferior to these hundred-thousand year and million-year soul beasts at the spiritual level.

    The Skydream Iceworm revealed a slightly weird look as he nodded at Huo Yuhao. After that, he grinned, revealing the smile of an Iceworm¡­

    ------

    The luxurious carriages of the Duskwater Alliance finally stopped. At this point, they were in a western suburb five miles outside Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have woken up at the perfect time. When he opened his eyes, he seemed slightly lost. However, no one noticed that a distorted light pattern had surfaced between his eyebrows, as it disappeared right after it surfaced.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± a voice dered from outside.

    Huang Zheng disembarked from the carriage first, followed by He Caitou. He Caitou moved Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair down first before setting him down in it.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be in a daze. However, he returned to normal as the night breeze blew past him.

    He squinted and activated his Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned. Tonight¡¯s event is reallyrge-scale!

    He felt thousands of people around him. They were clearly separated into three regions in three different directions. The greatest difference between the three regions was the dress code of the people inside them, as they were all decked out in different colors.

    The Duskwater Alliance¡¯s camp was in front. To the front left were people in white warrior robes. To the front right, the people were d in yellow.

    Chen An jumped off the carriage at this point and quickly introduced them. ¡°Tonight, all the senior members of the three underground organizations are here. All three parties regard this tournament highly, and they have all sent their strongest lineups to grace tonight¡¯s event.¡±

    ¡°Those in white hail from the Alto Chamber of Commerce, while those in yellow are from the Common Alliance. Apart from these three parties, some notable families in Radiant City were also invited, as well as some rich clients who have wagered heavily on tonight¡¯s tournament. The only restriction that the three parties have is that there shouldn¡¯t be more than one thousand guests from each side. The rest here are the spectators. Anyway, everything will be carried out fairly, so please do not worry.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips moved slightly. For some reason, he felt that today¡¯s tournament was going to be fairer than the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. At least the referee wasn¡¯t inclined towards any side. Perhaps profits were sometimes better than things that appeared to be very honorable, but were actually secretly deplorable.

    The three of them were led into the tournament venue by Chen An, under the protection of a bunch of men d in ck from the Duskwater Alliance.

    The western suburb area wasn¡¯t considered too shabby. The perimeter was surrounded by people from the three underground organizations, covering the entire venue. There were even people sent to seal the roads to prevent ordinary citizens from getting too close.

    Spectator stands had already been set up within this perimeter. There were three different spectator stands, each filled with bettors that had their money on tonight¡¯s tournament. There were other, even smaller circr spectator stands, which were closer to the core region. They were upied by the members of the notable families who were here today, as well as reputable soul masters and soul engineers.

    The tournament ground was the most shocking.

    The circr stage in this tournament ground was just like a replica of the stage in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. It was also one hundred meters in diameter, and there seemed to be protective barriers around it.

    The most hrious thing was that there were also three resting areas around the stage, located in three different directions. If they were connected by straight lines, they would form a triangle.

    Huo Yuhao was brought to the resting area of the Duskwater Alliance. Nangong Wan and the Third Elder also came in.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself, Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s only the two of them from the Duskwater Alliance? From how highly the Duskwater Alliance regards this tournament, there should be more senior members present...

    At this moment, the ce had be quite rowdy. Before the tournament began, there wasn¡¯t a host to liven up the atmosphere. Those who were seated in the spectator seats and the VIP seats were all conversing with one another. The lighting in the venue was very good, soulmps illuminating the entire ce.

    As he saw all this, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart. Soul tools should be used in the lives of ordinary people. No one does it better than the Sun Moon Empire. In this aspect, the other three empires on the continent are indeedcking! This is a gap that cannot be closed by the strength of one individual, and it¡¯ll take time, too. Even if they¡¯ve realized this now, they can only choose to y catch-up in terms of their military strength...

    The Third Elder whispered to Nangong Wan, ¡°I heard they¡¯ve hired ss 9 soul engineers to hold the fort this time. On the seven-manmittee, three belong to them, while we only have two from our side. The other two are neutrals. Will there be a problem?¡±

    Nangong Wanughed coldly and said, ¡°No. The vice-founder will bring elder brother, third brother, fifth brother, and sixth brother overter. Do you think we¡¯ll be scared of them? If not for the fact that we¡¯re giving face to the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire, do you think the lowly Alto Chamber of Commerce and Common Alliance could challenge us? The profit distribution in this tournament is very important. The founder instructed us to strictly follow protocol. However, we should be able to gain flexibility in some areas with the vice-founder around. I¡¯d really like to see if the people they¡¯ve pulled over will dare to oppose us.¡±

    The Third Elder also revealed a cold smile on his face, and nodded his acknowledgement gently.

    Although Huo Yuhao looked very calm, he was observing everything around him seriously. After he heard from Nangong Wan that there would be more senior members from the Holy Ghost Churchingter, he was secretly surprised by the strength and foundation of the Holy Ghost Church. However, he was also delighted, as there was bound to be a dispersion of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s strength. When things happened, they were going to be in huge trouble.

    Right now, everyone from all three parties had already arrived. Someone came over to ask Nangong Wan something. After receiving his verification, all the lights were focused on the stage where an additional person had now appeared.

    This person was tall, broad, and extremely handsome. He wore a bright-red, elegant formal suit. His golden hair was neatlybed, and his eyes seemed to sparkle.

    ---

    ¡°Greetings everyone, I¡¯m your emcee for tonight¡¯s grand final. My name is Lu Qi.¡± The voice of this emcee was rather pleasant, loud and husky. Along with his charming looks, he seemed quite likable.

    However, Huo Yuhao had already scanned him using his Spiritual Detection. Lu Qi was only an ordinary person. He had no soul power undtions.

    ¡°Tonight is the grand final of the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament. The ninepetitorse from the Common Alliance, the Alto Chamber of Commerce, and the Duskwater Alliance. I believe all of you are familiar with the nine of them; I shall not borate further.

    ¡°Let us now invite the three chairmen from the Common Alliance, the Alto Chamber of Commerce, and the Duskwater Alliance in the organizingmittee to give their own speeches.¡±

    ---

    In the resting area of the Duskwater Alliance...

    Nangong Wan looked very grim as he muttered to himself, ¡°Reckless.¡± As he muttered to himself, he stood up and walked towards the stage.

    The Third Elderughed coldly. ¡°This lowly thing from the Common Alliance is trying to court death with his stupid tricks. Does he really think the Common Alliance can protect him?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and the rest only just realized that Nangong Wan was furious because the emcee had mentioned the Duskwater Alliancest.

    The Common Alliance controlled the sex industry of Radiant City. It was very normal to have such a host. However, this host¡¯s performance was rather normal! The self-entitled thinking of evil soul masters couldn¡¯t be understood through a normal person¡¯s eyes.

    Nangong Wan didn¡¯t reveal his cultivation. He slowly took the steps to ascend the stage. On the other two sides, there were also people ascending the stage.

    On the side of the Alto Chamber of Commerce, there was a middle-aged man roughly forty years old. He was wearing a purple overcoat, and appeared very decent, with the aura of a powerful person. Just from his looks, it was very difficult to imagine him controlling an organization that was involved in piracy and murder. He seemed more like an official. He took long strides, and his eyes were very sharp.

    From the soul power undtions that he exuded, Huo Yuhao could tell that he possessed at least eight rings. He had intentionally repressed his aura, but he should still be some ways off from a Titled Douluo.

    Compared to him, the representative from the Common Alliance was more eye-catching.

    She was ady in a long, red dress. From afar, she appeared very beautiful. Her long maroon hair was rolled up into a bun above her head. As she walked, her body swayed in an elegant manner. She had a very holy look on her face, and seemed like a mortal masterpiece. Her slender waist and devilish figure made her extremely captivating.

    When she ascended the stage, many men started to salivate, their attentionpletely drawn to her.

    As he participated in the tournament, Huo Yuhao had developed a great understanding of the three underground organizations. The middle-aged man in the purple overcoat was the chairman of the Alto Chamber of Commerce, An Litong. Opposite him, the woman was the Common Alliance Master, Shangguan Wei¡¯er, who controlled the sex, food, and beverage industries in Radiant City.

 Chapter 339.3: The Curtain Opens

    Chapter 339.3: The Curtain Opens

    Huo Yuhao had heard from Chen An that thisdy was very powerful. Many strong individuals had fallen to her before. While she still seemed very alluring, she had in fact been the Common Alliance Master for forty years! No one knew her actual age. Her cultivation was above An Litong¡¯s. The backers of the Common Alliance even included some of the nobility in Radiant City...

    As for the Duskwater Alliance, Nangong Wan represented the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire. Because of this, the Duskwater Alliance was able to exert their dominance over the other two organizations. However, the other two organizations also represented people that hailed from the higher strata of society. Even the imperial family couldn¡¯tpletely suppress these people. Although the Common Alliance and Alto Chamber of Commerce knew that the Duskwater Alliance wasposed of evil soul masters, they weren¡¯t afraid, as they knew they had strong backers behind them.

    It was under such a premise that this tournament was organized. On the surface, it seemed as if the tournament was a ruse by the three organizations to earn profits from tourists, but in fact, this tournament was very critical for each organization¡¯s authority. The Duskwater Alliance wanted to gain more control, while the Alto Chamber of Commerce and Common Alliance wanted to gang up on the Duskwater Alliance.

    After all three parties negotiated and reached an agreement, this ¡®fair¡¯ tournament was held. Just like what Huo Yuhao felt, this underground tournament was even fairer than the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. There were too many eyes watching.

    What was the greatest profit for all three underground organizations? Only the senior members of these organizations knew. They were given the opportunity to control the smuggling of rare metals!

    The Sun Moon Empire had banned the sale and purchase of rare metals. Because of this intervention, the rare metals had be very expensive. Under such circumstances, smuggling rare metals was a surefire way to earn massive profits. However, they couldn¡¯t earn this money openly, and the amount of rare metals they smuggled couldn¡¯t be too much, either! Even so, this was a business they had to have.

    Between the imperial family, the military, and the nobility, who didn¡¯t want to have a piece of the pie? This was what they were doing earlier, too!

    However, Xu Tianran had discovered all this as he slowly rose to power. The three-way smuggling operation caused the loss of rare metals to exceed what the Sun Moon Empire wanted to happen. Xu Tianran was furious, and made up his mind.

    He couldn¡¯tpletely stop everything. The more he tried to restrain such smuggling operations, the greater the bacsh he would receive. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t actually taken the throne yet, and didn¡¯t dare topletely offend the military and nobility. After pondering on the matter, he was the one who supported the underground tournament as a means of dealing with the authority held by the three underground organizations.

    Whoever won this tournament would be given full control of the rare metals smuggling operations. Of course, the winning party still had to hand over the dues that they owed to the other two parties. It was only fair that way.

    Compared to the other industries, the profits from smuggling rare metals were too attractive. All three parties vied for it. It was why the reward for winning this tournament was so lucrative.

    Of course, all this was conducted behind the scenes. Not only was Huo Yuhao unaware, but the rest of the soul engineers in the tournament, including Huang Zheng, didn¡¯t know about this, either.

    To Xu Tianran, it was a way for him to control the underground organizations. He had to have a hand in smuggling rare metals, too. How could he do so? Through the Duskwater Alliance, or rather, the Holy Ghost Church. He was determined!

    ------

    Lu Qi smiled as he stood at one side. He guided the leaders of the three underground organizations to the center of the stage.

    ¡°Let¡¯s invite the three chairmen to give their speeches. First, let¡¯s invite the Duskwater Alliance Master, Nangong Wan, to give his speech.¡±

    Although Nangong Wan wanted to kill Lu Qi, he didn¡¯t show it on the stage. He said, ¡°This tournament is jointly organized by all three organizations. I think we can consider this a contribution to the industry of the empire, and it¡¯s going pretty well, too. Tonight, the Duskwater Alliance is determined to win. I also believe that ourpetitors are capable of doing so, but the championship will belong to us! For those who have yet to bet, you might want to consider us.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he stepped back as a sign that he had finished.

    The second to speak was An Litong. He nced at Nangong Wan and gave a pretentious smile. ¡°It seems like Master Nangong is very confident! However, I don¡¯t concur with you. The representatives from the Alto Chamber of Commerce are all elites from the younger generation of soul engineers. I¡¯m absolutely confident in them. Right here, I¡¯ll represent the Chamber of Commerce and stake ten million gold soul coins on them to win. As long as any of them wins, I¡¯ll donate the profits to everyone.¡±

    As he said this, everyone was shocked. Ten million gold soul coins! Even if they were priced at evens, the potential profit was still ten million gold soul coins! It was an astronomical figure.

    Even the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit couldn¡¯t be auctioned for such an astronomical figure. Ten million gold soul coins was undoubtedly very attractive to soul engineers, who spent a lot of money. The Alto Chamber of Commerce wasn¡¯t just showing off their wealth. They were also showing off their determination to win. Suddenly, many bettors started to be more inclined towards them.

    At this moment, Shangguan Wei¡¯erughed slightly. She walked up and said, ¡°The two of you are really confident! I can¡¯t lose to you, am I right? The Common Alliance isn¡¯t as rich as the Alto Chamber of Commerce. We don¡¯t have ten million gold soul coins, and we can¡¯t bear to part with such a huge amount of money either. However, we have beauties. Whichever soul engineer from our side that wins will be given the autonomy to choose any beauty that he wants. At the same time, I¡¯ll give him three female dragons who have ancient bloodlines as ves. They''re all virgins.¡±

    Female dragons? After hearing these two words, He Caitou, Huang Zheng and even Mocke were confused. However, Huo Yuhao looked shocked instead.

    As the first person in Shrek Academy who was trained in the Ultimate Soldier n, he had gleaned knowledge from different aspects. He had once heard Elder Mu mention female dragons before.

    What were they? They were special creatures that were half-human and half-beast. However, only the faces of female dragons resembled humans. They had scales on their bodies.

    However, their scales would disappear during sex. When that happened, the female dragons would reveal their stunning beauty.

    Once humans copted with them, they could absorb the essence of the dragon blood in these female dragons and change their body constitution. This would gain them a dragon¡¯s blood and aura within their own blood. It would help them evolve their martial souls once, and this evolution was bound to be beneficial.

    It was just that such female dragons were very rare. They were only found in deep mountains and marsnds. Furthermore, they were all protected by curses of bad luck.

    The first person to catch them would suffer from this curse and die. As a result, there were very few people who could find andy their hands on them.

    However, the Common Alliance was able to find three female dragons. This was unbelievable to Huo Yuhao.

    Female dragons didn¡¯t really help those whose martial souls were already very strong all that much. However, they were invaluable to soul engineers!

    Many soul engineers consumed medicine and pills to enhance their martial souls. However, such medicine and pills often contained impurities. When their cultivation reached a certain level, they would find it very difficult to improve further. Some of them might even suffer from side effects. If they could copte with a virgin female dragon, these problems would cease to exist. The power of a female dragon¡¯s bloodline could remove the impurities in their bodies and evolve their martial souls. They wouldn¡¯t face any barriers as they advanced to be Titled Douluo!

    Yes, ten million gold soul coins was a lot of money. However, money couldn¡¯t buy a female dragon! Female dragons were too valuable for soul engineers!

    Regarding dragondies, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need to exin them to He Caitou and Huang Zheng. Lu Qi was already going on about what they were. After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense Huang Zheng¡¯s breathing getting heavier and heavier. On the contrary, He Caitou seemed very calm.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously nodded at He Caitou. He Caitou revealed a smiling intent with his eyes. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, the answer was evident.

    Xiao Xiao, you were right to choose second senior as your partner!

    The three underground organizations took turns to express their stand, but without a doubt, Shangguan Wei¡¯er stole the limelight.

    Nangong Wan paled. However, he wouldn¡¯t step up to speak again at this point. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t reveal that the Duskwater Alliance was willing to offer a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell!

    This proved one thing: in order to stand out, they had to actter than the rest!

    Nangong Wan returned to the resting area and turned to look at Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°I want you to try your best to kill whoever they send up. You can use whatever abilities you have. If anything happens, I¡¯ll take responsibility. Young man, do your best. When this tournament is over, you¡¯ll benefit greatly for sure. I¡¯ll get one of the female dragons that Shangguan Wei¡¯er mentioned for you, too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned. He didn¡¯t know Nangong Wan regarded him so highly. However, it was expected. When he defeated Mocke earlier, his evil soul master tactics had convinced Nangong Wanpletely.

 Chapter 340.1 - Sunmoon Divine Needle

    Chapter 340.1: Sunmoon Divine Needle

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and didn¡¯t say anything. However, there was a resolute look in his eyes. It was just that Nangong Wan didn¡¯t know that he wasn¡¯t determined just to win the tournament¡­

    The seven judges were the next to be introduced.

    They were all advanced-level soul engineers. There were three ss 9 soul engineers among them, and the remaining four were ss 8. As the seven of them appeared together, they seemed very imposing.

    Their speeches weren¡¯t as intense; they were more focused on the fairness of the tournament. They didn¡¯t provoke the ninepetitors with their words.

    The seven judges were soon seated on the stage in sevenfortable seats that had been prepared for them beforehand.

    There were now nine carving tables on this wide stage. These carving tables were each twice as big as the carving tables used in the previous rounds. At this point, the members from the three organizations were setting up the equipment and rare metals that they had brought along.

    Before the tournament even started, the three parties were already pitted against one another.

    ¡ª

    Through his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao observed the nine carving tables. Even though he was aposed person, he couldn¡¯t help but be moved.

    He¡¯d never seen such a level of equipment, even at the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Every instrument and tool was exquisite! With all this, his speed and precision would be greatly increased. Furthermore, it might even be possible for him to create a soul tool beyond his ss!

    As for rare metals, he had as much as he wanted. There were even some rare metals that Huo Yuhao had never seen before.

    The Duskwater Alliance had the greatest variety of rare metals; there were sixty-four different types! The glow from all these rare metals even tempted the judges on the stage.

    They¡¯ve really spent a lot! Huo Yuhao was in awe. He looked around to meet He Caitou¡¯s eyes.

    They had already made ns before they came. In the grand final, they weren¡¯t going to hold back anymore. On the one hand, they could test their abilities. On the other, they wanted the lucrative rewards.

    If they won, they could obtain a ss 9 soul tool, along with the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. Such things couldn¡¯t be bought with money. Moreover, they would also win a ton of rare metals. Huo Yuhao was more attracted to things he didn¡¯t know about. If He Caitou was given the opportunity to do some research with all these things, he might be able to invent new soul tools!

    ¡ª

    ¡°Alright, the exciting moment is here. As the three parties prepare their equipment for the tournamentter, we¡¯ll let our seven judges safeguard our grand final prize. This prize has been prepared for our winner tonight. Let¡¯s invite our chief judge for tonight ¨C ss 9 soul engineer and the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin ¨C to present our grand final prize!¡±

    An elder seated in the center of the seven judges stood up. He lifted his right hand, and a spot of silver light shot into the sky.

    It was like a silver spark. However, it grew in size as it ascended. When it was a hundred meters in the air, it actually turned into a bright ball of silver light.

    Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin? Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    When he was in Shrek Academy, he had heard Teacher Fan Yu mention a few notable ss 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The Starsky Douluo was a ss 9 soul engineer, around Rank 92 or 93. In terms of soul tool creation, he was a genius. He wasparable to Jing Hongchen, and specialized in creating all types of high-altitude soul tools, which was how he had gotten his title.

    He Caitou¡¯s Eye of Fear was invented by this man. It was rumored that his soul tools could turn into stars during a war, unleashing great offensive strength. He could even tap into celestial phenomena to attack. His namesake soul tool was called the Sunmoon Divine Needle. It was ranked as having among the highest levels of offensive power of all ss 9 soul tools.

    The ball of silver light in the sky finally stabilized. Following this, a silver ray descended from the sky andnded on Ye Yulin. He didn¡¯t make a sound, but mimicked a lifting action. Suddenly, a dim golden ball of light appeared within the silver ray of light.

    This ball had a diameter of one meter. As it slowly rose, it resembled a sun, shining along with the ball of silver light until it arrived next to it.

    These two balls of light coordinated with each other in the sky, revolving around an invisible center. They wove into arger golden-silver ball up in the air.

    There was no strong aura from these two balls of light. However, all the ss 8 and above soul engineers that were familiar with the Starsky Douluo were shocked when they saw them.

    ¡°Our revered Master Ye, can you introduce this prize to all of us?¡± In the face of Ye Yulin, Lu Qi appeared very respectful.

    Ye Yulin was an elder with a bald head. His cheeks were rosy, and his gaze was electrifying.

    He lifted his head and was a little reluctant as he looked at the gold and silver ball of light. He said, ¡°Tonight¡¯s grand final prize is a soul tool that I created. I call it the Sunmoon Divine Needle. The reason behind this name is because it is an anchor for the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s able to make up for the w of my Sun Divine Needle, which only works in the day.

    ¡°It is an offensive-type soul tool. It can rise sixteen hundred meters into the air, and has an effective range of thirty kilometers. With sufficient spiritual power, it can detect a target up to thirty kilometers away, and produce an urate attack. However, I¡¯d like to caution all our youngpetitors, this soul tool is my proudest work. I hope you don¡¯t tarnish it!

    ¡°At the same time, please do not dismantle it in an attempt to study it. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only suffer from its bacsh¡­¡±

    Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were both shocked. A ss 9 soul tool with an effective range of thirty kilometers! It could also unleash immense spiritual power for detection and uracy¡­it was too powerful.

    This was their first time encountering a ss 9 soul tool. They only now realized why a ss 9 soul engineer could challenge a Titled Douluo even though his martial soul wasn¡¯t very strong. In addition, they also discovered how a ss 9 soul engineer possessed an obvious advantage in a war.

    In a duel, a ss 9 soul engineer was definitely inferior to a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. However, the ss 9 soul tools that they created were lethal!

    Huo Yuhao had seen a ss 8 soul tool before. However, it was far different from this ss 9 soul tool! Of course, the Sunmoon Divine Needle was one of the top-ranked ss 9 soul tools, too!

    He Caitou was a little excited as he whispered, ¡°Little junior, this thing was custom-made for you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze and red at him. He Caitou only then realized that he had said the wrong words, and quickly shut his mouth.

    However, Nangong Wan and the Third Elder both heard him mention the words ¡°little junior¡±. Although they were a little doubtful, they weren¡¯t suspicious, as He Caitou didn¡¯t expose anything further, so they didn¡¯t say anything. After all, Huo Yuhao seemed like an evil soul master who specialized in spiritual calling. With his great spiritual power, he was very suited to use the Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    The Third Elder snorted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by Ye Yulin. His Sunmoon Divine Noodle is good, but it takes three days to charge. In addition, it can only be charged using Sun Moon Essence. Its offensive strength is great, but it can only be used three times after being charged. Furthermore, a lot of soul power is depleted every time it¡¯s used! It¡¯s very taxing. The thirty kilometer effective range is theoretical, too. However, it¡¯s true that it can reach sixteen hundred meters into the air.¡±

    Nan Gongwan chortled and said, ¡°Third Elder, admit it. You are indeed inferior to Ye Yulin in terms of high-altitude soul tools. He¡¯s also representing the imperial family. Why do you have to pit yourself against him? Although the Sunmoon Divine Needle is difficult to use, it¡¯s still one of the best ss 9 soul tools. There are only benefits to be reaped by getting it. However, it¡¯s best not to use it before you have nine rings, or you might suffer from a bacsh. From what Ye Yulin said, I think he has some kind of self-detonation setting installed into it, too. Don¡¯t try to dismantle it.¡±

    While he was talking to all of them, he was actually looking at Huo Yuhao as he was speaking. It really felt as if he were a teacher guiding his student.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound, and only nodded gently.

    He Caitouughed to himself. Those who are good are always meant to shine. No matter where little junior goes, he always captures attention! Even evil soul masters want to ept him as a disciple.

    The introduction of this prize caused a huge uproar. The tournament was about to start! Tonight¡¯s final in the western suburb was bound to cause a huge wave in the Empire!

 Chapter 340.2 - Sunmoon Divine Needle

    Chapter 340.2: Sunmoon Divine Needle

    ¡°Let us now invite the ninepetitors of the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament toe up to the stage now. Our urate timer-type soul tool has already been prepared. In our first segment for tonight, thepetitors will be given six hours to create a soul tool. Our seven judges will be monitoring them throughout the entire six hours. Those who try to flout the rules and attempt unfair means will be disqualified. Please treat this tournament seriously.¡± Lu Qi said with a stern look on his face. He shifted his body to one side and gestured.

    Thepetitors from the three organizations exited their resting areas. They followed their respective leaders up onto the stage.

    He Caitou was still pushing Huo Yuhao¡¯s wheelchair. Besides him, the rest of thepetitors were fit and healthy.

    Nangong Wan was the frontmost person. He was the first to ascend the stage. His gaze was very sharp, and he nced coldly at Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi was petrified, and felt as if his head had been hammered. His expression changed in horror, and he subconsciously took a step back.

    An Litong was still wearing the pretentious smile on his face. He nced at the three behind Nangong Wan, and his smile became a little forced. He said, ¡°Master Nangong, I¡¯d heard there was a disabled person among your three representatives and thought it was a joke, but it¡¯s really true that you¡¯ve picked a cripple! You are really creative.¡±

    Nan Gongwan smiled and said, ¡°Physical disabilities are nothing. The worse disability is up here. It¡¯s fatal!¡± As he spoke, he pointed to his own head.

    An Litong¡¯s expression changed slightly. He was a bit terrified of Nangong Wan. After years of interaction, he naturally knew that Nangong Wan was an evil soul master. It was just that the Alto Chamber of Commerce was backed by the military, and thus he wasn¡¯t afraid of dealing with Nangong Wan on arge scale.

    ¡°Oh! Brother Nangong, you are still as trenchant as ever! I¡¯m so terrified.¡± Shangguan Wei¡¯er walked up to the stage in her usual manner and arrived beside Nangong Wan.

    Nangong Wan¡¯s smile became wider. ¡°Long time no see, Elder sister Shangguan! You still look as young as ever. I admire you so much for that.¡±

    Nangong Wan looked like an elder, but he called Shangguan Wei¡¯er his elder sister. Everyone felt very irked by that. The enchantment they were under after seeing Shangguan Wei¡¯er¡¯s stunning looks also disappeared.

    Her expression changed, and she immediately seemed very cold. ¡°Nangong Wan, you are courting death!¡±

    Nangong Wan was still smiling widely as before. Two silvery-grey sparks appeared in his eyes, ¡°Elder sister Shangguan, calm down. The tournament is about to start.¡±

    Shangguang Wei¡¯er was also slightly petrified when she saw the sparks in his eyes. She snorted and regained her original expression. ¡°Then let¡¯s start. I¡¯ll make you pay for what¡¯s happened today another time.¡±

    After the three leaderspleted their brief exchange of words, they all retreated to their own sides. Apart from observing thepetitors, they didn¡¯t do anything else. Under so many watchful eyes, even they didn¡¯t dare to pull any tricks.

    Huo Yuhao was also observing his opponents.

    The three representatives from the Alto Chamber of Commerce were all men. They seemed to be around thirty years old, and didn¡¯t look very special. The only notable thing about the three of them was theirposure. Evidently, they were experienced and talented soul engineers.

    The Common Alliance was bound to draw attention. All three of their representatives weredies.

    There were women soul engineers, but they were much rarer than male soul engineers. The Common Alliance sent out three women soul engineers, and they were all extremely pretty. It was shocking. Evidently, they were all nurtured by the Common Alliance.

    The three of them were d in three different colors ¨C red, yellow, and blue. These three primary colors were indeed very recognizable.

    Thedy in red was extremely stunning. She was like a blooming rose, whereas thedy in blue seemed very cold and arrogant. As for thedy in yellow, she was wearing a long pce dress. She was extremely elegant, just like a princess.

    The threedies were all special in their own ways. All of them were extremely outstanding.

    However, Huo Yuhao only thought of them as ordinary people, because they couldn¡¯t control their own souls. Everything they disyed on the surface was actually trained; they weren¡¯t natural. Suchdies couldn¡¯tpare to Wang Dong¡¯er. They weren¡¯t even fit topare with Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by their looks. The soul engineers nurtured by the Common Alliance are very cunning. If there¡¯s an opportunity, go hard on them. Don¡¯t give them a chance.¡± Nan Gongwan¡¯s voice sounded in He Caitou, Huo Yuhao and Huang Zheng¡¯s ears.

    Huo Yuhao thought of something. Indeed, thesedies would gain an advantage to a certain extent. Against ravishing beauties, any normal man would be more merciful.

    Ye Yulin gestured and said, ¡°All three leaders, please step down from the stage. Competitors, get into position and get ready topete.¡±

    Nan Gongwan, Shangguan Wei¡¯er, and An Litong looked at one another. There was a cold look in their eyes as they turned around.

    He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao behind a carving table before he proceeded to his own carving table behind him.

    Ye Yulin ced his hands behind his back. He seemed very stern. Even in the face of the leaders from the three organizations, he continued to be very blunt.

    If not for the fact that Xu Tianran had personally invited him, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared today. He was only willing to part with his Sunmoon Divine Needle after Xu Tianran promised himpensation. In his opinion, soul engineers should be more invested in soul tool research. Competing in tournaments was a waste of time. Moreover, this tournament was organized by underground organizations. That was why he didn¡¯t like any of thepetitors that were going topete.

    They were both ss 9 soul engineers, but Ye Yulin¡¯s status seemed to be higherpared to Zheng Zhan.

    Given different research directions, ss 9 soul engineers would achieve different things. Ye Yulin was among the top three ss 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire. In terms of his abilities, he was at least at Jing Hongchen¡¯s standard. He was even recognized as the controller of the stars and the sky.

    Right now, his dominant aura filled the entire stage as he scanned the ninepetitors coldly. Among all the ninepetitors, he was most drawn to Huo Yuhao. It was only when he looked at Huo Yuhao that his gaze turned much gentler.

    Although he was also representing an underground organization, Ye Yulin felt that Huo Yuhao seemed very determined, even with his disability. After all, soul engineers required a lot of resources. It was much more difficult for a crippled soul engineer to obtain resourcespared to a normal soul engineer, so Ye Yulin paid more attention to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be given six hours to create a soul tool. You can only create one soul tool, but you can use whatever materials you want. However, you can¡¯t use any half-finished products that were assembled earlier. If you are discovered doing something like this, you¡¯ll immediately be disqualified. At the same time, I need to remind all of you that you won¡¯t be given any time to rest after the six hours. We¡¯ll enter the technical test immediately. The lowest-ranked of the nine will be eliminated, and the rankings will also determine your ces in the quarterfinals. That¡¯s why it¡¯s important for all of you to conserve some of your energy when you create your soul tool, so that you¡¯ll have some energy left to deal with the technical test. The difficulty of the technical test is going to be very high.¡±

    After hearing Ye Yulin¡¯s words, the ninepetitors were stunned. If even Ye Yulin imed that the technical test was going to be difficult, it must be really difficult.

    Huo Yuhao was also slightly shocked. He shut his eyes and ced his hands on the table. He was waiting silently.

    ¡°The time starts now! Raise the soundproofing barriers!¡±

    As Ye Yulin shouted, ayer of dim white rose from the sides of the stage. The gentle white light quickly formed a ceiling in the sky and covered the stage. All external noise was isted. Ye Yulin also returned to his position and watched the soul engineers as they worked.

    Huo Yuhao immediately moved after Ye Yulin shouted. He grabbed a piece of rare metal with each of his hands before moving to the stamping equipment on the table.

    The rest started on their formation arrays, since they were in their best condition right now. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, started with the shell of his soul tool. He was extremely quick, and used many pieces of rare metal and equipment to form the shell of his soul tool.

    He was also the one who moved the most because of his choice. He created pieces of abrasives. They were also quiterge in size.

    Ye Yulin had been observing him earlier because of his disability. He was even more drawn now. Seeing the method that he used, Ye Yulin was a little stunned.

    What is this young man doing? Why isn¡¯t he creating his formation arrays when he¡¯s most focused, but instead creating his outer shell? Does he think it¡¯s more difficult to create the outer shellpared to the formation arrays he ns to use?

    While he thought like this, he wouldn¡¯t go and disrupt Huo Yuhao. Eachpetitor could choose how they wanted to create their soul tool.

 Chapter 340.3 - Sunmoon Divine Needle

    <h4 ss>Chapter 340.3: Sunmoon Divine Needle</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was too quick. In just a few minutes, there were already more than ten metal shells on his carving table. Furthermore, each one of them was quiterge. He needed to ce some of them on the ground before he could continue his work.

    Among the seven judges, the leftmost elder furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the disabled kid from the Duskwater Alliance is trying to take away all the rare metals by creating such a huge soul tool?¡±

    Ye Yulin also furrowed his brow. He had also thought of the same thing. It seemed very possible. It had been less than fifteen minutes, but Huo Yuhao had already used a lot of rare metals. At the same time, he had created many pieces of outer shell. It seemed like the soul tool he was creating today was going to be veryrge. The benefit of creating such a soul tool was that he could leave with a lot of rare metals. However, he was only using the cheaper rare metals, and hadn¡¯t used the more valuable ones yet. It was just that Ye Yulin couldn¡¯t tell what he was trying to create.

    Is it an original piece? That¡¯ll be interesting.

    Huo Yuhao was very quick, and seemed very serious too. However, no one noticed that he seemed to be less quick-witted than before, even though he still appeared to be very persistent.

    It was very tormenting to experience spiritual separation! He tolerated the bouts of weakness he felt as his spirit was separated from his body. Although he wasn¡¯t slow, his spiritual sea was billowing.

    It¡¯ll be great if my spiritual power became material. When I reach the concrete-material realm, I won¡¯t have so many problems undergoing spiritual separation.

    Of course Huo Yuhao knew that he should create his formation arrays when he had the most energy. It was just that he couldn¡¯t focus right now!

    The portion of spiritual power he had separated from himself in the carriage had already left this ce under the concealment of his Imitation and returned to Radiant City.

    He had attempted such a spiritual separation before, but had had to remain in a still state so that his energy would be focused on the spiritual power that had separated from his body. However, it was different this time. His actual body had topete here, while he separated his spiritual power to perform other tasks.

    He was sessful, but the side effects still left him feeling dizzy. Furthermore, his spiritual form and actual body kept on switching in his mind. If not for the fact that his spirit was sufficiently strong, this continuous change would have driven him crazy.

    However, he started to adapt as time passed. A trace of his spirit had been in his spiritual form. The consciousness within that trace of his spirit slowly awakened, and he managed to slowly separate his energy between both sides. He was truly multi-tasking now!

    However, this was his first attempt at such a thing. It was inevitable that he couldn¡¯t concentrate. When his spiritual form traveled in the air, there were a few times he almost got into an ident. While nothing had gone wrong so far as he was working on his soul tool, he couldn¡¯t possibly develop his formation arrays, as he couldn¡¯t focus properly.

    When his spiritual form separated from him, Huo Yuhao gathered a lot of his spiritual power in it. It was a fascinating separation. His soul skills could also be separated between his two bodies. The four skills from his Spirit Eyes¡¯ first soul ring were allocated to his spiritual form. Without his Spiritual Detection in his actual body, he could only create the outer shell of his soul tool.

    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t his first time creating this soul tool. He was at least familiar with the steps. There were also many rare metals avable to him. He wasn¡¯t bothered about failing; he just wanted to increase his speed. He wanted to give everyone a huge surprise. This soul tool he was creating was very important for that surprise.

    When he created this soul tool in the past, he couldn¡¯t bear to use rare metals! It was already very good if he could use some fine iron. But now that he had such excellent resources avable to him, he couldn¡¯t spurn such a good opportunity. He had to try his best to gain as many benefits as possible. In addition, he would benefit greatly if he managed to sessfully create this soul tool.

    Very soon, one hour had passed.

    As Ye Yulin had ced most of his attention on Huo Yuhao during this time, he started to figure some things out.

    Is this kid creating a human-shaped soul tool? How is that possible?

    From the outer shells that Huo Yuhao was assembling, he seemed to be forming the shape of a person. However, everyone in the world of soul engineers knew how difficult it was to create a human-shaped soul tool.

    Ye Yulin had tried it before. However, a human-shaped soul tool required too many formation array transducers. The requirements on the resources needed and the number of formation arrays that had to be linked, as well as one¡¯s control of the soul tool, were too high.

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to create a human-shaped soul tool that could be controlled. The difficult part was creating a human-shaped soul tool that could greatly increase one¡¯s abilities. It had to be superior to the controller¡¯s own abilities in terms of speed, attack, defense, and other aspects. It must also not restrain the soul skills that the controller could use.

    Even a ss 9 soul engineer finds it difficult to create a human-shaped soul tool, but this young man who isn¡¯t even older than thirty is trying to create one in this tournament. Why is he so confident?

    Does he really think that he can create a human-shaped soul tool within six hours? And that it can help him win this tournament?

    No!Ye Yulin¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. He started to understand what Huo Yuhao was doing.

    This kid can¡¯t move his lower limbs. He¡¯ll definitely sufferter. If he can create a human-shaped soul tool that can help him move, he might actually win. However, such a human-shaped soul tool has to be equipped with an additional offensive-type soul tool, but the rules dictate that eachpetitor can only create one soul tool. How is he going to ovee this dilemma? Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s going to forfeit afterpleting this human-shaped soul tool?

    Even if this is the case, can he reallyplete the hundreds of formation arrays needed for a human-shaped soul tool within six hours? And make it move? It¡¯s impossible!

    Suddenly, the Starsky Douluo felt very confused. He was getting more and more curious as he watched Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao continued to work on his soul tool, but he didn¡¯t make any formation arrays. He was now making some smallerponents. The rare metals that he used also became increasingly valuable.

    Good rare metals are indeed different! The difference between using tough spring copper and ordinary fine copper to create the sameponent is indeed veryrge. In the past, I only seeded once after failing many times, and I still had to worry about the strength. However, I¡¯ve seeded in one try using this spring copper, and my worries are also ayed. The difference is too great.

    Ever since he became a soul engineer, Huo Yuhao had never enjoyed himself so much before. It was an enjoyment derived from beingvish.

    However, his concrete-immaterial spiritual form was quickly traveling back to Radiant City even as he was enjoying this experience with his actual body.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy waspletely silent now. It wasn¡¯t long before the lights would be turned out. The academy students had long since returned to their dorms.

    Night had fallen, and the weather seemed a little gloomy. The lighting was very poor as night fell. Only the soulmps along the sides of the walls in the academy managed to provide some lighting to their surroundings.

    There were a few figures standing at a gate not far from the academy. They had managed to camouge themselves into the dark.

    ¡°Why is here not here?¡± A captivating female voice sounded a little anxious.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious,¡± a cold voice replied. It was a voice that could leave a deep impression in one¡¯s mind.

    At this point, the clouds in the sky seemed to disperse. A streak of moonlight shed past this dark corner they were in, revealing five figures.

    They were waiting silently. There were five people ¨C Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Yes, both Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er were there!

    The entire Tang Sect was waiting outside the hotel, apart from Bei Bei. They all looked ready for action, even though they were supposed to be resting in their hotel rooms right now.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er were the two that had been speaking earlier.

    Wang Dong¡¯er furrowed her brow and revealed a mysterious look in her eyes. She wasn¡¯t worried about tonight¡¯s operation, but she couldn¡¯t help but fret as she heard that Huo Yuhao was about to perform a spiritual separation. Huo Yuhao¡¯s actual body still had topete, and he was being watched by many eyes where he was, including many strong individuals from the Holy Ghost Church. His life might be endangered. He Caitou couldn¡¯t possibly protect him on his own.

    However, it was toote now. They could only follow Huo Yuhao¡¯s n and arrangements.

    ¡°The money is all in this card. Check it.¡± Xu Sanshi was covered in a ck hat and veil. Jiang Nannan was the same.

    There was a sneaky middle-aged man in front of them. He nced around, then quickly took the card from Xu Sanshi. He retrieved a small soul tool and inserted the card into it.

    Very soon, an astronomical number appeared on the screen of this soul tool. The sneaky middle-aged man also appeared much more rxed.

    ¡°Where are the goods?¡± Xu Sanshi asked. He exerted his dominance at this point.

 Chapter 341.1 - Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body

    <h4 ss>Chapter 341.1: Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body</h4>

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan didn¡¯t participate in the operation on the other side because his injuries were rtively severe. Instead, he represented Huo Yuhao to settle the deal with Chen An¡¯s subordinates.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n didn¡¯t allow anything beneficial for the Tang Sect to slip through their fingers. Even if their other two operations failed, the rare metals they had obtained through this deal was enough for the Tang Sect to use for quite some time. How could money be more important than rare metals? Furthermore, most of their ie came from what they won from the underground tournament, other than Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na¡¯s deposits.

    Completing this deal would reduce Chen An¡¯s suspicions. The Tang Sect could possibly draw upon this connection in the future.

    A bracelet and two rings were handed to Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi passed them to Jiang Nannan beside him, and she immediately wore them on her hand as she scanned them with her spiritual power.

    She nodded at Xu Sanshi after a few moments. They exchanged a look, and they could see the tion in each other¡¯s eyes ¨C they hadpleted the deal on this side.

    ¡°Are the goods all there?¡± the middle-aged man that came forth toplete the deal asked a little restlessly.

    Xu Sanshi nodded in response.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression smoothed out, and he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head as he waved to them before he briskly disappeared into the night.

    Xu Sanshi grinned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Nannan. I believe their operation is about to begin, so let¡¯s get ready to coordinate or lend a hand. I wonder how Huo Yuhao is doing?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Jiang Nannan acknowledged softly, and the two of them vanished into the darkness.

    ¡­¡­

    Inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce¡­

    Lights andnterns dotted the royal pce and lit up the night sky. The crown prince, Xu Tianran, was reading a book in his study, apanied by Ju Zi.

    Xu Tianran suddenly looked up and smiled as he spoke to Ju Zi. ¡°Ju Zi, do you want to watch the great soul tool crafting tournament? You¡¯re also a soul engineer, so you should be interested in that.¡±

    Ju Zi was momentarily stunned. ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea, your Highness. How can you appear in a ce like that with your status?¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and replied, ¡°That¡¯s alright. All I must do is hide your identity. There will be a conclusion tonight ¨C even if rare metals have to be given out, the profits must end up in the royal family¡¯s hands. Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church has an exceptional appetite, and they wouldn¡¯t be so obedient and stable if not for these profits. Besides, you¡¯re the one spectating the tournament. I won¡¯t be following you. Go if you wish.¡±

    Words came to the tip of Ju Zi¡¯s tongue, but she held them back in the end.

    ¡°What? Are you worried that working with the Holy Ghost Church is like dealing with the devil?¡± Xu Tianran saw through her doubts with one look.

    Ju Zi nodded lightly and said, ¡°The Holy Ghost Church is a sect that consists of evil soul masters after all, and they are publicly rejected. Their thought processes are drastically different from how normal soul masters think. I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran waved her away. ¡°I am very clear that cooperating with them is equivalent to dealing with the devil. However, this is something I have to do.¡±

    ¡°The Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires will never catch up to our speed of soul tool development no matter what they do, and our national strength is far superior to each of them. With our current strength, we can deal with a single country, but unifying and conquering the entire continent is exceptionally challenging.¡±

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t the other three empires devoted their time and energy into developing soul tools? The reason is not because theyck rare metals ¨C the more substantial reason stems from their deep-seated ideas and principles about soul masters. Soul masters represent a formidable profession, and they have existed on the Douluo Continent for far too long. Powerful soul masters are considered strategic assets for empires, and we have far fewer soul masters than the other three empires. The gap is even more pronounced as we go up the ranks. Think about it ¨C how many Titled Douluo are there in Shrek Academy alone? Perhaps the Sun Moon Empire may umte enough strength, soul tools, and prodigious soul engineers to conquer the entire Continent after a few hundred years. But I won¡¯t live that long, and time is short. I have to conquer the entire Continent in the time that I have to rule over the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes surged with passion as he reached this sentence.

    ¡°We will need friends, and we have to form alliances if we want to achieve this. We need to obtain sufficient strength to fight against those soul masters on a higher level. Soul engineers can rival soul masters given enough time to set up and prepare, and soul engineers may even surpass soul masters in battles that rely onrge-scale attacks. However, a ss 9 soul engineer has almost no chance to defeat an actual Titled Douluo in an impromptu battle, while every single ss 9 soul engineer is considered an invaluable asset to the empire. Therefore, I will not use them against those soul masters and those Titled Douluo. The optimal decision under such circumstances is to work together with the Holy Ghost Sect.¡±

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s evil soul masters have been holding back and building up for countless years to reach the scale they are at today. They are our greatest strength in terms of high-levelbat. The Holy Ghost Church consists of only evil soul masters, so they can¡¯t do anything in public or out in the open. This is the reason why they are always in the shadows, while I handle the publicity and everything else on the surface. I have been using the Holy Ghost Church, and they have been using me. Their most important request doesn¡¯t mean much to me ¨C they want to be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s national church, and they want their founder to be the Imperial Tutor. At the same time, they want us to announce across the entire world after we conquer the Continent that they will take over as traditional soul masters, and society is to do away with theirbel of evil soul masters.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I don¡¯t have to worry about anything at all. Even if we have conflicts, all that will happen after the empire conquers the Continent. When that happens, perhaps I will have umted enough strength.¡±

    A cold feeling flickered across the corner of Xu Tianran¡¯s mouth as he finished hisst sentence.

    Ju Zi listened intently, but her heart was going cold inside.The crown prince is so reserved, and he will only reveal some of his thoughts and opinions in front of me. Have you left, Huo Yuhao? Hurry up and leave! How can you fight against him? I truly don¡¯t wish to see your corpse.

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious when she thought about Huo Yuhao. She had taken a big risk and gotten someone to send a letter to Huo Yuhao so that he could leave this giant whirlpool that was Radiant City as quickly as possible. She didn¡¯t know how many people were going to be sucked into this enormous whirlpool.

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Push me to the window, Ju Zi.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ju Zi hurriedly pushed his wheelchair to the window and helped him open it.

    The night winds felt chilly as they gusted through the window. Xu Tianran stared at the night sky and smiled as he said, ¡°You should make your move if you want to watch the tournament.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. I want to apany you.¡± She ced her hands on Xu Tianran¡¯s shoulders as she spoke and gently massaged them.

    A warm smile appeared on Xu Tianran¡¯s face, something that was hard toe by. He patted Ju Zi¡¯s hand and said, ¡°My heart can rx only when I¡¯m alone with you. This feeling is just fantastic. It¡¯s a pity that the night will not let me enjoy this pleasure peacefully and quietly. If you¡¯re not going to watch the tournament, remember not to leave my side after this. They should be here soon.¡±

    Ju Zi was a little surprised. ¡°Who¡¯sing? It¡¯s already sote.¡±

    Xu Tianran sneered and said, ¡°Some people won¡¯t give up on their stupid decisions just because it¡¯s gettingte.¡±

    Right at this moment, an elderly voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, stop hiding. Come out!¡±

    Countless bodyguards raced out and plugged every corner of Xu Tianran¡¯s study. A white sphere of light suddenly lit up the ck night sky.

    A figure hovered arrogantly in the sky above Xu Tianran¡¯s study, and a long ck robe swayed gently in the wind.

    He was just standing there in midair, as if he had been there since the beginning of time.

    There was no expression on his face, but there was an indescribable pride and arrogance, as if he were the sky¡¯s dictator, as if the earth beneath submitted to him.

    ¡°The Dragon Emperor Douluo has be someone¡¯s guard dog. People are so treacherous nowadays!¡± A strange voice could be heard, and the sky seemed to split open as a dense dark green cloud stretched through the night sky. The green cloud opened, and someone walked out from within.

    Indeed, the person hovering above Xu Tianran¡¯s study was the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, who was also known as the Darkness Holy Dragon.

    The person who had stepped out from the green clouds was the Body Sect¡¯s current sect leader, Du Busi, who was a Rank 98 Body Douluo. He was close to bing an Ultimate Douluo.

    Only powerful individuals of his level dared to face someone like Long Xiaoyao, who was already an Ultimate Douluo.

    Long Xiaoyao grunted coldly as he nced at Du Busi, who had a mass of green hair on his head. ¡°Your elder brother was heavily injured at the hands of Mu En all those years ago. If you wish to remain here today and want the Body Sect¡¯s lineage to end, I will fulfill your wish.¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s eyes closed into slits as he muttered coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t be so pretentious and condescending, Long Xiaoyao. If I remember correctly, you¡¯re originally from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Your decadence has taken you into a sect filled with evil soul masters, and you¡¯ve be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯sckey. The Body Sect looks down on you.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression changed a little when Du Busi mentioned the Heavenly Soul Empire. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Has the Body Sect reallye under the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s wing?¡±

    Du Busi said contemptuously, ¡°Come under their wing? No. We¡¯re just working together. The Body Sect is currently the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s national defense sect. Long Xiaoyao, if you still consider yourself part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, get out of my way.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said inly, ¡°I¡¯ll spare your life since you have decided to represent the Heavenly Soul Empire. There¡¯s nothing more to be said. You should understand the code of Titled Douluo, and we will speak in the sky if we interfere with mortal conflicts and affairs. Come out, Xuan Zi. I will take you both on at the same time today.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook as he spoke, and instantly surged into the sky as shadow after shadow appeared behind him.

 Chapter 341.2 - Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body

    <h4 ss>Chapter 341.2: Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body</h4>

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, was among them, along with about a dozen other shadows. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s mysterious Imperial Tutor stuck close to Long Xiaoyao.

    There was an unspoken rule in the world of soul masters ¨C Titled Douluo who interfered or participated in worldly affairs or conflicts had to fight it out in the sky to avoid annihtion, destruction, and the loss of life. Only the victorious party was worthy of making a move against others who weren¡¯t Titled Douluo. As long as there was one Titled Douluo who hadn¡¯t been defeated, the other side¡¯s Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t participate inbat against others.

    This rule was amandment left behind ten thousand years ago by the Tang Sect¡¯s founding father after he entered the Divine Realm. Not a single empire had passed this as aw, but all the Titled Douluo in the world followed thismandment religiously.

    War was most harmful towards normal citizens, while it wasn¡¯t difficult for individuals like Titled Douluo to massacre an entire city if they unleashed their full strength. Thismandment greatly reduced the bloodshed and lives lost in the wars that had unfurled in the ten thousand years since. This was reason why Long Xiaoyao brought it up.

    He was an Ultimate Douluo, and the Body Sect¡¯s sect leader, Du Busi, wouldn¡¯t break that rule. Nobody knew exactly how effective Tang San¡¯smandment had been ten thousand years down the road, but everyone was clear that one of them breaking themandment meant the other party would do so as well. If that happened, the entire Continent would swiftly be devoid of life. This was the reason why the Titled Douluo fought in the sky no matter their goal, and those who didn¡¯t have nine soul rings were responsible for assaulting the royal pce.

    A golden beam of light lit up half the night sky as the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan, appeared in the sky. He seemed to chime in from the other end as they sandwiched Long Xiaoyao between them, and the three of them soared into the sky at the same time.

    There were more than twenty individuals who rose together with Elder Xuan and Du Busi into the sky. Long Xiaoyao was a powerful being, but his expression changed ¨C his side had only half the number of Titled Douluopared to the other side.

    Furthermore, Long Xiaoyao was very clear that with the Body Sect and the Shrek Academy¡¯s depth and background, more than half of these Titled Douluo were Transcendent Douluo. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t dare to trespass into Radiant City¡¯s royal pce.

    ¡°Xuan Zi, we don¡¯t have to be polite with the old darkness dragon anymore. He¡¯s our senior ¨C let¡¯s team up against him.¡± Du Busiughed heartily, and he bolted out right when he rose into the sky as he went straight for Long Xiaoyao.

    Elder Xuan frowned, but he hesitated for only a moment before he flew towards Long Xiaoyao along with Du Busi.

    The two of them were some of the strongest individuals in the world; they were both Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo. However, it might seem like they were only one rank away from a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo, but they were very clear what this gap meant. This was the reason why Du Busi hadn¡¯t dared to attack Mu En when he faced him those years ago, even though he knew that Elder Mu was still recovering from his old injuries. If they matched up one-versus-one against the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, they had no chance at all.

    But two against one was different. They were at the pinnacle of the world, and Long Xiaoyao might not be able to defeat them one against two even with his strength. This wasn¡¯t as simple as one plus two ¨C their cultivation and experience over a hundred years would allow them toplement each other and raise their overall strength exponentially.

    The other Titled Douluo didn¡¯t make a move. Instead, they retreated far away and watched this epic showdown. This was a great opportunity for them to watch a battle at this level, and it would be very beneficial for people at their level. If they could understand something, or have some kind of revtion from this fight, that would be very catalyzing and inspirational for their cultivation in the future. Ranking up after bing a Titled Douluo was extremely challenging, and this was especially so for those Titled Douluo who were stuck at the bottleneck that would make them into a Transcendent Douluo.

    Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t fearful at all as the two powerful individuals lunged towards him. He raised both hands in the air and pushed one out against Du Busi, and the other at Elder Xuan.

    Deep dragon roars echoed through the night sky like rolling thunder. In Elder Xuan and Du Busi¡¯s eyes, Long Xiaoyao was like an ancient dragon arching its back and shing its sharp ws at them.

    Two ck palm shadows swelled in the wind, quickly reaching a height of one hundred meters. They were so tall and majestic that they resembled small mountains.

    ¡°Heh!¡± Du Busi growled as green light surged around his body. A dark green light stretched out behind his back, and his arms grew exponentially as he pushed forward with his two Giant Spirit¡¯s Palms and collided with one of the ck palm shadows in the sky.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A deep boom resonated across the air, and even Radiant City¡¯s royal pce trembled beneath it. Du Busi quivered, but his enormous dark green hands plunged into therge ck palm shadow, and he forcefully tore it apart right in front of him.

    On the other side, Elder Xuan¡¯s response was a lot less ferocious. He took a step forward through the air, and the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s projection flickered behind him as two long horns protruded from the top of his head. Two yellow, two purple, four ck, and one red soul ring shimmered into view as he punched out with his right hand.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The ck palm shadow dissipated, while Elder Xuan was sent hurtling backwards more than ten meters. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s shoulders trembled in the distance.

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo was fighting against two, and he still had the upper hand ¨C this was true strength!

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom!¡± Deep thunderous booms resonated in the sky, and shadows flickered incessantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s begun. We should make a move.¡± A bright voice rang out in a dark alley beside the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    A strange sight urred.

    There was a small being hovering in front of Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and Xiao Xiao. This being was about one foot tall, but it felt like a real person.

    Judging by its appearance, wasn¡¯t that Huo Yuhao? The lighting from his body wasn¡¯t ring, and his projection almost felt material. However, he was no longer crippled and immobile, and he was just drifting in front of everyone. He looked a lot like his Spirit, the little Snow Lady.

    Everyone was ovee with shock when Huo Yuhao appeared in front of them like that a couple of minutes ago.

    Yes, this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar that he had separated from his main body. He was gradually able to control it as he flew along, and even though he was still a little disoriented and unfamiliar because he had to split his consciousness in two, the fact that he could fly his spiritual avatar to hispanions proved that he had been sessful.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty to lead hispanions into the operation when he arrived. Instead, he was waiting quietly until now. He flew over to Wang Dong¡¯er and sat down on her shoulder when they heard the deep and deafening booms in the sky, and he urged them to begin.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced at him, and she couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°You¡¯re quite cute in this form.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we should hurry. Almost all the powerful individuals are concentrated over there, and it seems like the Sun Moon Empire is prepared for this ambush on the royal pce. If I¡¯m not wrong, the ss 9 soul engineers who are normally stationed here have been drawn over there. We have about an hour to figure out how much of an advantage we can take from this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er acknowledged, and she walked at the forefront with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power guiding her. The other four followed closely behind.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was walking right behind Wang Dong¡¯er, and she stared at Huo Yuhao on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s shoulder. Strange lights flickered time and time again in her eyes.This fellow is getting more and more powerful, indeed.

    The ce they were at was the same one that Chen An had met somebody in secret that day, and the same ce that Huo Yuhao had discreetly discovered.

    Huo Yuhao had used spiritual separation that time, as well. But his main body wasn¡¯t doing anything when he had used it back then, while his spiritual avatar didn¡¯t have to use any abilities at all. This meant the previous instance was a lot easier to control and operate, but now he had to concentrate all his energy on this endeavor. Huo Yuhao activated his Imitation, and he integrated himself and his fivepanions into their surroundings. Nobody could discover them even if someone came close to check.

    They followed along the small path beside the Sun Moon Academy, and they relied on Imitation to circle around the soldiers who were standing guard outside. They quickly arrived outside the same courtyard where Chen An had discreetly met up with somebody back then.

    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Huo Yuhao reached into hispanions¡¯ consciousnesses and informed them. He increased his Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect at the same time, and epassed the entire courtyard.

    The situation was exactly as he had predicted. The only person who remained was the middle-aged man who met Chen An that day, and his surname was Li. At this moment, he was just standing inside the courtyard, a calm expression on his face. However, anxiety shed across his eyes from time to time, as if he was waiting for something.

    The middle-aged man wasn¡¯t waiting for money, as Chen An had given him the rest of the payment once the goods had been delivered. He was waiting for news that the deal had been sessful.

    He was selling rare metals in private without his superiors¡¯ knowledge, and he knew that his life would be over if he was discovered. He had to be as cautious and careful as possible.

    There was a ck metal box in his hands, and he nced again and again at the crystal screen on the metal box¡¯s surface.

    ¡°Let me go,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er whispered.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly waved her away and said, ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry. Let¡¯s wait for a little while more. This ce seemsx on the outside, but it¡¯s very strict and secure on the inside, and there are many traps all around. We cannot act rashly and alert the enemy ¨C he¡¯s waiting for news, and we¡¯ll make our move when he gets it. This way, the person he¡¯s meeting up with won¡¯t suspect that something isn¡¯t right, and we can avoid any unnecessary idents.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm andposure influenced everybody around him, and Wang Qiu¡¯er said nothing more.

    The deep booms that wereing from the distant sky that resembled rolling thunder became louder and louder. Dark green, ck, and yellow colors alternately lit up the sky.

    They were battling high up in the sky, but everyone could still feel how epic and magnificent that battle was even though they were so far away.

    A look of pity and regret shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He would really have loved to watch this sh between this generation¡¯s most powerful individuals if he hadn¡¯t had more important things to do.

 Chapter 341.3 - Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body

    <h4 ss>Chapter 341.3: Dragon Emperor, Taotie, Body</h4>

    The middle-aged man could naturally also hear the deep booms in the distance, and he nced up at the sky from time to time as faint fear flowed from his eyes. He was a soul engineer, and that meant he was fundamentally a soul master as well, but this was the first time that he had ever heard something as frightening as that. Furthermore, he had no idea what was going on, and it was happening while there was something else on his mind. He nced at his screen a lot more than before.

    Right at that moment, shadows rose into the sky from another courtyard behind this one. An old and hardy voice said, ¡°Li Chong, guard the courtyard. We¡¯ll head to the royal pce to see what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Eight shadows surged into the air, and transformed into flowing light as they bolted toward the deep booms echoing across the horizon, and the royal pce beneath them.

    Everyone looked on as those shadows disappeared beyond the horizon. Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, Ji Juchen, Jing Ziyan, and Xiao Xiao all nced at Huo Yuhao with a little more admiration in their eyes.

    They had waited for only a short while longer, but this had greatly reduced the dangers that they originally could have faced.

    Huo Yuhao smiled, though he didn¡¯t admit that his prediction had been correct. ¡°We¡¯re lucky. You can go, Qiu¡¯er. The key is tied to Li Chong¡¯s waist. Try to be as silent and discreet as possible. The room behind him and to his left is empty; take him in there.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er acknowledged, and Huo Yuhao expanded his Imitation¡¯s area of effect as she leapt gently into the courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Li Chong felt his heart skip a beat when he heard that old and hardy voice. He had a guilty conscience, and there was something else on his mind, so he was especially sensitive to external stimulus and what was happening in the outside world. The voice eventually said that they were heading to the royal pce to take a look, not that they had discovered something, and only then did Li Chong, who was also the manager, immediately rx. He even felt as if his entire body were going soft and weak.

    The soulmunicator¡¯s screen finally lit up in his hands at this moment. A sign to represent that the deal had been sessfully closed appeared, and Li Chong¡¯s heart finally rxedpletely, while his eyes appeared immensely relieved.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was monitoring everything that he was feeling and doing. Wang Qiu¡¯er took this opportunity to strike through the guidance provided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er darted forward like a lightning bolt as her figure flickered through the air. She was moving too quickly, and she even emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation because of her incredible speed.

    However, she was simply too fast. It was toote for Li Chong to react when rm rose in his heart.

    He was still a soul engineer, however, and a ss 5 automatic protective soul barrier emerged from his body in an attempt to block Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack.

    Unfortunately for him, he was facing a person that was touted as the strongest dragon-type soul master in the entire Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, the golden dragon girl! Breaking through fortresses and defenses was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forte!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear pierced through the soul barrier as if it were punching through a piece of paper. Wang Qiu¡¯er had charged up for this attack, and it included her frightening strength and soul power, along with her spiritual power. The dash of golden light that erupted caused Ji Juechen¡¯s expression to change, even though he was already a Soul Sage.

    The sharp tip urately impaled Li Chong¡¯s throat, and the soft sound of cracking bones rang out once before everything went silent.

    Li Chong¡¯s eyes were as wide as they could be. He had rxedpletely before this, and his mind had been filled with the luxurious and fortunate life that he would have in the future. However, his life turned upside down in that moment ¨C he was motionless andckadaisical, and he stared in disbelief as Imitation closed over him. He was not resigned to his fate as he watched the twisting and contorting figure in front of him.

    Li Chong¡¯s life energy flooded through the Golden Dragon Spear, and not a single drop of blood was shed. Wang Qiu¡¯er kept his corpse impaled on her spear as she dashed into the room that Huo Yuhao had pointed out to her in a sh.

    It only took a few seconds toplete this ambush. When Wang Qiu¡¯er came back out from that room and gently shut its doors, Wang Dong¡¯er, Ji Juechen, and the others had already arrived inside the courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao gave Wang Qiu¡¯er a thumbs-up and said, ¡°Brother Ji, you¡¯ll stay here with sister Ziyan to keep a lookout for us. If powerful enemiese, release the signal, break through the onught by yourselves, and return to the hotel right afterwards. You don¡¯t have to wait for us. Third senior brother and fourth senior sister will be waiting for you on the other side of the alleyway. Xiao Xiao, Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er¡­ let¡¯s go.¡±

    There could only be one voice in the team at a time like this, and Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen nodded softly.

    Huo Yuhao brought everyone into a room in the center ording to what he remembered from his reconnaissance efforts thest time, finding this room also empty. Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan found a window each and hid beside them as they watched everything that was happening outside. Huo Yuhao brought the other three girls to arge wardrobe inside the room.

    ¡°Open it,¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er took a step forward at almost the same time. They exchanged a look, and Wang Qiu¡¯er stepped back and let Wang Dong¡¯er open it.

    Huo Yuhao facepalmed.It seems like I have to make things a little more specific next time.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, insert the purple key into the keyhole on the hinge at the left side of the wardrobe.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions were now a lot clearer.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er retrieved a purple key from the set of keys that she had stolen, found a discreet keyhole at the hinges, and inserted the key.

    A series of faint cracking sounds could be heard, and the board behind the wardrobe began to open slowly to one side. An entrance was revealed, faint light flickering inside.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was about to enter, but Huo Yuhao stopped her.

    Huo Yuhao lowered her voice and said, ¡°We will have to face all kinds of booby traps after we go inside. This ce is exceptionally important for the Sun Moon Empire, and there will be many soul tool traps and whatnot. Dong¡¯er will take point, Xiao Xiao will be in the center, and Qiu¡¯er will be at the back. Everyone has to follow my instructions, and please don¡¯t make any mistakes. Otherwise, we will all be doomed. I don¡¯t care what other thoughts and opinions you guys have right now¡­ stow them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er answered forthrightly.

    Xiao Xiao stared at the two other girls amusingly before she nodded.

    Fortunately, only Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar was here, so he wouldn¡¯t blush even when Xiao Xiao was staring at him with a strange look.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er took a deep breath and said, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll listen to you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Dong¡¯er goes first.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t waste any more time, and immediately gave his orders.

    Wang Dong¡¯er leapt softly and nimbly entered the entryway within the wardrobe. She didn¡¯t make a single sound, and Xiao Xiao and Wang Qiu¡¯er followed closely behind.

    The insides of this tunnel gave everyone a very spacious feeling. This tunnel didn¡¯t go directly down, but pointed forward instead. There were stone walls on both sides at least a meter thick. It was difficult for Huo Yuhao to pierce through such thickness even though he possessed formidable spiritual power.

    They pushed forward for about ten meters before they came across three doors. Every door had a keypad with numbers from zero to nine, and a keyhole as well.

    If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used his spiritual power to follow Li Chong into this ce, there would be nothing he could do against a mechanism like this, no matter how smart he was.

    These doors were this ce¡¯s second firewall!

    Right when they arrived in front of these doors, waves of crackling sounds suddenly rang out, and small holes appeared in the walls around them. Barrel after barrel of metal soul ray cannons protruded from the holes, locking down every possible angle that the few of them could dodge to.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was about to react instinctively, but Huo Yuhao growled at her to stop. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±

    Perhaps due to the deep-seated trust that she had in him, her tensed body immediately stopped moving.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°If we find the right door, and if the passcode is right, these things won¡¯t attack us. Qiu¡¯er, go to the door on the left. The code is: three, seven, six, four, five, one, six, nine¡­¡± Huo Yuhao went on to quote a sixteen digit passcode.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er entered the passcode on the leftmost door.

    ¡°Insert the yellow key and turn it clockwise, two and a half rounds.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er followed his instructions.

    The door bounced three inches out after three ngs, and the soul ray barrels that poked out swiftly disappeared.

    The door bounced open, as if it were releasing some pressure.

    ¡°What a skillful and delicate soul tool setup,¡± Xiao Xiao muttered admiringly, ¡°This barrier would have been very difficult to pass if we hadn¡¯t known about it beforehand.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is not a big deal; the things that are waiting for us afterwards are even more frightening. In the end, a barrier like this can only be used against soul masters who aren¡¯t Soul Emperors, and actual powerful individuals could break in with brute force. You guys have seen how these booby traps are, so we have to be a lot more careful when we¡¯re inside. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded, and was still in front as she entered the door.

    The three girls were surprised to find that after walking in they were inside a hermetic space about twenty square meters in surface area. There were no paths leading anywhere but back where they came from.

    Huo Yuhao said to Wang Qiu¡¯er, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, there are three rectangr yellow bricks on the wall to your left. You have to knock on them; knock three times on the first one, five times on the second one, and once on the third one.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was incredibly fast, and finished the job in the blink of an eye.

    The sealed room suddenly trembled, and the door that they had just entered from gradually closed up. A dim yellow circle lit up on the ceiling.

    The entire sealed room began to shake and tremble subtly, and everyone suddenly felt their stomachs drop.

    ¡°This¡­ we¡¯re going down?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er turned to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°This ce¡¯s defenses and firewalls are a lot more powerful than those inside Illustrious Virtue Hall. We are going several hundred meters beneath the ground, and all kinds of automatic soul tools are set up several thousand square meters around us. If we don¡¯t use this enormous elevator, not even ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells can break through the defenses on top!¡±

 Chapter 342.1: Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Chapter 342.1: Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    They went down for about twenty seconds. The enormous elevator began to shake once more before it gradually came to a stop.

    ¡°Get ready for battle. There are two people ¨C Dong¡¯er will take the one on the left, and Qiu¡¯er the one on the right.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice barely dropped before the elevator¡¯s main door gradually opened.

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s manager Li doing at a time like this? Is he sending alcohol to us?¡± Someone¡¯s voice could be heard. He sounded a little amused.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with golden light, and two muffled grunts could be heard at the same time. Spiritual Shock!

    He was in his spiritual form, and he couldn¡¯t unleash his Spiritual Shock¡¯s real power. But what he could do right now was enough at a time like this.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er lunged forward like lightning bolts. Wang Qiu¡¯er grasped her Golden Dragon Spear as she always did, while Wang Dong¡¯er reached out with her right hand.

    The two people¡¯s automatic protective soul barriers bounced up as they were caught off-guard, but these barriers were immediately broken through by the two girls.

    The Golden Dragon Spear, and the Broken Devil of Light!

    Two middle-aged men crashed to the ground unwillingly from the two girls¡¯ attacks, just like that.

    They were both ss 6 soul engineers. Just like Xu Tianran had said to Ju Zi, soul engineers weren¡¯t afraid of soul masters of the same level if they had time to prepare, and some soul engineers even had the advantage at lower sses and ranks.

    However, soul masters could react a lot faster than soul engineers in terms of ambushes and sudden attacks. It was unfortunate for them that both Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er had the strength to break through protective soul barriers, and these two ss 6 soul engineers didn¡¯t have a single chance at all as they crumpled to the ground.

    The two girls turned and looked at Huo Yuhao after they moved the corpses aside. There was another tunnel in front of them, and this tunnel was a lot more spacious than the one before. Soulmps dotted its walls. There was another pair of twin doors roughly ten meters inside.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°These two each have a set of keys on them. Take them out.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er took out one set each.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and instructed the two girls. ¡°Follow the left side of the tunnel. Remember, your steps cannot be more than two feet horizontally.¡±

    They followed his instructions, followed the left side of the tunnel, and arrived at the twin door.

    This door was huge: four meters tall, and at least three meters wide. There weren¡¯t any decorations on top, only a danger sign. There were three holes in its lock, and a passcode keypad above it.

    ¡°You have to insert the key first this time. Dong¡¯er¡¯s key will go into the bottom left position while Qiu¡¯er¡¯s key will go into the bottom right position. Qiu¡¯er, there¡¯s a ck key in Li Chong¡¯s set, and that goes into the top hole. All three keys have to be pieced together before they¡¯re inserted.¡±

    The three girls were increasingly astonished and bewildered the deeper they went in, and only now did they understand why Huo Yuhao had insisted on separating his spiritual avatar to follow them here.

    Every single detail was very important in this ce, and not a single mistake could be made. They also needed his Spiritual Detection to guide them so that they could avoid the various dangers and traps. This ce was as perilous as it could be.

    The girls were also full of admiration for Huo Yuhao¡¯s powerful memory.

    They inserted the three keys at the same time, and the passcode was next. This time, there were thirty-two digits.Wang Qiu¡¯er had already forgotten the numbers in front by the time she entered everything Huo Yuhao told her.

    The twin doors creaked and opened up, and a faint metal smell emanated from within.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Xiao Xiao weren¡¯t soul engineers, so their reactions were still quite mild. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar was getting excited as he stared at everything inside.

    ¡ª

    This was an enormous warehouse. It didn¡¯t seem to have an end as it stretched out into the distance. It was possibly ten thousand square meters in surface area.

    Trunks and cases of different categories were ced in various locations, and the dense, thick smell of metal came from those cases.

    The cases¡¯ outeryers were not enough to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Therefore, his senses were telling him that this was a tremendous treasure trove.

    More than ten thousand tons of all kinds of rare metals were stored here. Huo Yuhao did a simple scan, and realized that there were thirty-two different types of rare metals in this ce. Even though they were not the rarest or the most exotic ones, there was just so much here! Huo Yuhao could only evaluate the rare metals in this warehouse as enough to rival an entire nation.

    ¡°Are they all rare metals? Do we start bagging them now?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked softly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, there are many traps and mechanisms in this ce. Furthermore, these are not the most exotic and precious ones. There are three different warehouses in this ce, and this is only the first one. Fortunately, the guardians of this ce have headed towards the royal pce; otherwise, we might have had some real trouble, because they are at least Soul Sages! Li Chong can only enter the warehouse up until the second level. Come, let¡¯s go to the second level. There are much more valuable and important rare metals there!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, and pay attention to the bricks on the ground. You can only step on those with dark colors, and if there aren¡¯t any for you to step on, you have to jump over. Also, some of these cases have red lines on them. You can¡¯t walk within a meter of those cases. If you do, we will trigger the rm, and we will be attacked by soul tools.¡±

    Why wasn¡¯t such an important underground warehouse heavily guarded by soldiers? Other than the powerful guardians who had just departed, the most important reason was that the soul tool defense mechanisms in this ce were armed to the teeth. Even the people who were working in the warehouse only knew how the mechanisms and traps for their own region worked.

    Li Chong was the manager, so he knew a little more than the others. However, he would need the other two keys at the same time if he wanted to enter the twin doors.

    Huo Yuhao guided them forward, and thepany anxiously pushed on. They had Spiritual Detection to guide them, and they didn¡¯t make any mistakes at all. Thepany continued carefully, and went about one hundred meters in from the entrance before they took a left turn, and they took a few more before they found a second gate behind arge batch of cases.

    There were five different gaps in this gate¡¯s keyhole, while Li Chong only had one key. The other four keys had been taken away by the powerful individuals who had left before this.

    ¡°What do we do, Yuhao?¡± Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at the gate¡¯splicated keyhole, and they wondered about how many digits this passcode would have.

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped her head around to Huo Yuhao on her shoulder and said, ¡°We can¡¯t take this risk, Yuhao. Why don¡¯t we just take some from this warehouse and go back? We have more than thirty storage-type soul tools, and we still have thatrge Starlight Sapphire breastte. We can take quite a bit away already.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I already predicted a situation like this, and everything that we¡¯ve done before this was to minimize our troubles and avoid as much as we can. We can actually open this door.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°If I use all my strength, I should have a chance of bashing it down. We would have a higher chance with his help¡­ but can you precisely predict the soul tools that will attack us?¡±

    She was naturally referring to the sword maniac, Ji Juechen. Fortunately, Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t next to her, because he probably would have taken out his Judgement Sword already with his personality.

    Huo Yuhao was in his spiritual form, but he felt as if he were going to sweat as he said helplessly, ¡°Can you not be so violent? We don¡¯t need you to be violent yet.¡±

    His spiritual avatar became a little illusory as he spoke, and a bluish-green light separated from his body in the next moment and hovered in front of the three girls.

    This was a carving knife that was green all over, with a light orbiting it. It was filled with life energy.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes suddenly focused as she stared at this carving knife and blurted out, ¡°Is that Life Gold?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also momentarily stunned. This was the first time he had heard someone else mention Life Gold other than the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, who was already gone.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes immediately grew sharp. ¡°Where did you get this Life Gold?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I got lucky at an auction. This carving knife was originally called the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife. I removed its curse after I obtained it, and returned it to its original form. It became like this. Since you know about Life Gold, then you should be able to sense what it does.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shot him aplicated nce and nodded, grabbing the Life Guardian de from in front of him.

    ¡°My Golden Dragon Spear can absorb living beings¡¯ life energy, and this carving knife that¡¯s formed from Life Gold should be able to absorb physical matter¡¯s life energy. I never expected to see such arge piece of Life Gold. This is the kind of rare metal that¡¯s born from heaven and earth, and cannot be replicated.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er began stabbing as she spoke, and the knife pierced into the gate before her.

    Green light flickered across the Life Guardian de, and the knife stuck more than half an inch into the tough gate.

    A strange scene urred. Ayer of pale green light shone from the gate, and the thick gate that was filled with ancient strength was immediately tainted by a faint grey color, while the Life Guardian de¡¯s green light became stronger and stronger.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gripped the handle, continuously infusing her soul power into and guiding the green light that wasing from the Life Guardian de, while she held her Golden Dragon Spear with her other hand.

    The extracted green light flowed into her Golden Dragon Spear, and her spear instantly shone with golden light that easily lit up more then ten meters around them.

    Huo Yuhao was in his spiritual form, so his senses were more sensitive than usual. He was a little surprised as he looked on and said, ¡°Are you infusing the life energy that the Life Guardian de is sucking away from the gate into your Golden Dragon Spear? You can do that?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er nced at him and said, ¡°How can you not know the value of what you possess? Such arge piece of Life Gold can be considered a Divine Weapon. Life Gold¡¯s most fascinating characteristic is not how it possesses metallic qualities. Instead, its most impressive attribute is how it can evolve other metals! Therefore, Life Gold has another name; it¡¯s also known as the mother of all metals!¡±

 Chapter 342.2: Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    Chapter 342.2: Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation

    ¡°It can suck away any metal¡¯s life energy, but Life Gold itself cannot absorb all this life energy in its solid state. If this material life energy isn¡¯t guided, it will dissipate into the air. My Golden Dragon Spear possesses simr characteristics, and it can absorb living beings¡¯ life energy, but it cannot keep that energy within itself. The spear can only direct all that life energy into humans. From the opposite perspective, I can use my Golden Dragon Spear to absorb life energy and feed it into your Life Gold. Their existences can be said to be symbiotic andplementary.¡±

    Huo Yuhao only realized that he didn¡¯t know the value of what he possessed after listening to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s exnation. Not even his teacher, Electrolux, knew about what Wang Qiu¡¯er had just said. The academy didn¡¯t have any record of such esoteric information, yet Wang Qiu¡¯er knew this. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel a lot more curious about her identity and where she came from!

    As they were talking, metal powder and tiny fragments began to drift away from the gate in front of them. Wang Qiu¡¯er continued to channel her Golden Dragon Spear and the Life Guardian de, and the spear continued to absorb while the knife¡¯s Adjudication ability seemed to be activated at its highest possible level.

    Huo Yuhao said no more. Instead, he raised his Spiritual Detection to the highest possible level as he perceived everything around him. He would inform hispanions as soon as he discovered something amiss.

    Adjudication destroyed a metal¡¯s empirical characteristics. Thisrge gate was at least a meter thick, and made from seven or eight different alloys. If a soul master wanted to use brute force against this gate, even an eight-ringed Soul Douluo might not be able to break through. In addition, brute force would cause the ce to shake and tremble, and that would trigger all the soul tools set up around them.

    Adjudication could directly absorb a metal¡¯s life energy and cause it to crumble. The designers who built this warehouse could never have anticipated such a thing, and even if all the ss 9 soul engineers in the Soul Moon Empire were concentrated in this ce, they probably wouldn¡¯t have considered this possibility, either.

    ¡°How much more, Qiu¡¯er?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but ask. She was afraid that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar had been separated from his main body for a little too long, and problems could arise. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was participating in the soul engineer tournament on the other side. He had brought his Life Guardian de to this ce, so what carving knife was he using over there?

    Wang Qiu¡¯er answered, ¡°This gate is very thick, and its metals are also exceptionally tough. You can tell from how strong the life energy that I have absorbed is. I need at least ten more minutes before I can break it down entirely.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally guessed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s worries and attempted tofort her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s more than enough time. However, you have to be prepared! I suspect that there will be people guarding the second level, and they cannot possibly be weak. There must a ss 7 soul engineer at the very least. Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er, Xiao Xiao¡­ the three of you have to coordinate at full strength so that you can defeat and kill your opponent as quickly as possible. Afterwards, we can attempt to break into the third level, as I believe that¡¯s where the most invaluable and precious metals are kept. Most of the strongest guardians have left, and the third warehouse is also the deepest region, which means it¡¯s far less likely that somebody will be standing guard there.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er understood that his reminders didn¡¯t seem to include Xiao Xiao. The two girls exchanged a look and nodded slightly. Tthis was crunch time for everyone, and the two girls had to temporarily set aside their differences if they wanted things to work.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    The Radiant City¡¯s western suburbs¡­

    The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament was progressing anxiously and tensely. After working for more than an hour, every soul engineer pretty much had a prototype of their soul tool¡­ with the exception of one person.

    The Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin, had spent more than fifty percent of his time watching the youth in the wheelchair.

    Everyone else¡¯s soul tools were starting to take shape. At least, they hadpleted between one to two formation arrays, while this youth was still working on those delicateponents.

    That cannot possibly be a human-shaped soul tool! It¡¯s impossible that he possesses such strength, and even if he does, a ss 9 soul engineer will take from half a month to one month toplete more than one hundred formation arrays! Furthermore, human-shaped soul tools take very long to test and troubleshoot. One such soul tool cannot bepleted without spending several months on it. What¡¯s this youngster doing?

    Ye Yulin wouldn¡¯t be so focused on Huo Yuhao if the only thing about him was that he couldn¡¯t understand what this youngster was doing. Ye Yulin scrutinized him so much mainly because of the speed at which Huo Yuhao was crafting thoseponents, and how his hands were moving like clouds and flowing water. At this moment, there were many differentponents strewn around and beneath the crafting desk. It felt as if he wasn¡¯t going to stop makingponents. Two hours were about to pass, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem like he was about to take a break.

    I¡¯ll wait and see what he can do,Ye Yulin thought to himself.

    Huo Yuhao had his own hidden troubles. Because of his separated spiritual avatar, he seemed like he was moving very quickly, but there was nothing more he could do beyond theseponents that weren¡¯t considered too exquisite. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t have his Life Guardian de, and that meant he couldn¡¯tplete his soul tool¡¯s important parts at all, let alone his formation arrays.

    Huo Yuhao had to switch his spiritual power over to the other side again and again throughout the crafting process. He focused more on his crafting process when Wang Qiu¡¯er was using his Life Guardian de to open therge gate.

    The mysterious and masked vice-founder had arrived inside the resting area beneath thepetition stage. Just as Nangong Wan had said, the vice-founder brought along several other powerful individuals.

    Everyone could see the waves of radiant light and deafening booms that wereing from the sky in the city. However, the three underground organizations went on with their business as if nothing was happening, and they informed the audience that they were just fireworks. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-founder had no help over there, and one could tell from this that the Holy Ghost Church was very confident.

    It seems like the operation on the other side is bound to fail. I wonder what strength the Holy Ghost Church is relying upon to resist this multi-pronged assault and pressure from Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and the Body Sect? Are they just banking on the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, and several evil Titled Douluo? They must be far outnumbered. Even if Elder Xuan and Du Busi cannot defeat Long Xiaoyao, they are both Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, and they should have no problem keeping Long Xiaoyao upied. Furthermore, they¡¯re inside Radiant City. Even if those ss 9 soul engineers have the strength to threaten those Titled Douluo, will they dare to use those powerful soul tools? They will be in big trouble if they identally damage the Royal Pce or anything else within the city¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts continued spinning in his head. His spiritual power was extremely powerful, but he still felt a throbbing headache. He hurriedly withdrew his wandering thoughts and concentrated on crafting his soul tool, and didn¡¯t dare to be distracted anymore.

    It seems like there¡¯s nothing I can do about the operation over at the Royal Pce. I can only make sure that Iplete my own two operations as best I can. The Sun Moon Empire looks like they are prepared¡­ I just hope Elder Xuan and the others will be fine.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t that worried about Elder Xuan and the other people from Shrek Academy. Why did Zhang Lexuan agree to the two princesses¡¯ request? It was part of his n from the beginning!

    Zhang Lexuan had gone to see Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao before she met the two princesses, and she actually met Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao with Elder Xuan beside her.

    Shrek Academy came up with their n after careful discussion. If they were prepared, and if Elder Xuan was leading the group, it was almost impossible for the Sun Moon Empire to keep them here if they wanted to. Not even an Ultimate Douluo could aplish that. They were inside Radiant City after all, and the Sun Moon Empire had to guard against these top-tier individuals from fighting for their lives and causing coteral damage. If a group of Transcendent Douluo and Titled Douluo went wild, Radiant City would be in tatters, if it wasn¡¯t just ttened entirely in the process. That wasn¡¯t something that Xu Tianran wanted to see.

    Huo Yuhao settled down, and didn¡¯t dare to slow his crafting speed at all. Every singleponent and how they had to be made was firmly in his mind, and all he had to do was craft them as quickly as possible.

    Even though he didn¡¯t have his Life Guardian de, Huo Yuhao was using another high-quality carving knife. Metal dust and particles flew all over the ce on his crafting desk.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Alright. Watch out!¡±

    Therge metal gate in front of them finally crumbled. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power quickly showed the way while the gate was still falling down.

    A frightening white beam immediately fired out from inside, shooting straight for Wang Qiu¡¯er, who still had the Life Guardian de in her hands.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted coldly as her enchanting eyes focused on the light. She didn¡¯t dodge at all, instead nting her Golden Dragon Spear vertically in front of her and blocking the ghastly white light beam.

    Her Golden Dragon Spear had just absorbedrge amounts of metallic life energy, and it was currently so bright and radiant that it seemed like it had transformed into a sun. The spear shone into every corner within everyone¡¯s field of view , and everything was tainted with brilliant golden hues.

    She didn¡¯t dodge, because Huo Yuhao had reminded her that she had to defend against all the soul tool traps that the people inside would use against her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er crouched on the other side, her wings stretched out behind her back as her elegant frame glided just above the ground. Her wings were like enormous guillotine des as she shed towards the person in front of them.

    They were up against a middle-aged man who looked like he was in his fifties, and had many soul tools equipped at this moment.

    He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to what was happening to therge gate in the beginning. However, the gate¡¯s inner colors started to change as time went by, and the decaying metal finally alerted him. He was the only person left on the second level, but he was a Soul Sage!

    He had touched the gate carefully, and immediately discovered metal dust and fragments crumbling off.

    This was the first time he had ever encountered a situation like this. He didn¡¯t understand what was going on, and when he attempted to open the door, he realized that the gate¡¯s mechanisms were no longer operational.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, and that was the reason why he hadn¡¯t sounded the rm as soon as possible. He had stared at the gate doubtfully and dumbfoundedly as he attempted to open it.

 Chapter 342.3

    <h4 ss>Chapter 342.3: Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation</h4>

    At this moment, the Life Guardian de had absorbed enough life force from therge gate until it couldn¡¯t decay any further.

    The Soul Sage immediately sensed that something was wrong, and armed himself.

    The second level¡¯s soul tool defense mechanisms were a lot more rigorous than the first level, but the rm was inside the third level¡¯s main gate, and only that rm could reach the outside world. The people who were standing guard here before this were alerted to what was happening at the Royal Pce through this rm mechanism.

    The Soul Sage was just getting ready to run into the third gate when the gate in front of him suddenly crumbled, and he almost subconsciously fired his aging ray.

    It was a pity that he was faced with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear.

    This middle-aged Soul Sage had a lot of experience, and he didn¡¯t underestimate his adversaries even though he was facing three young girls. He activated all his soul tools at once, and immediately began to retreat as fast as he could. He had only one goal; there were many booby traps that were set up all around the second level, and he only had to lure his adversaries inside and trigger those traps. The traps would definitely hurt his attackers even if they were Titled Douluo! Furthermore, he didn¡¯t know how many intruders there were, so his best choice was to sound the rm as soon as possible!

    He made his decision because of these considerations, and bolted backwards as fast as he could.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was fast, but this Soul Sage had ss 7 soul tools. He was caught off-guard, and he didn¡¯t have any particrly powerful soul tools that had to be charged up, but Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s physical body wasn¡¯t strong enough to withstand his attacks.

    Wang Dong¡¯er unleashed streak after streak of her Light of the Butterfly Goddess to defend herself against her opponent¡¯s attacks as sheshed out with her Guillotine Wings.

    This ss 7 soul engineer could possibly have escaped if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been there. However, how could Huo Yuhao not n theirbat strategically now that he had locked onto his opponent¡¯s position?

    ck light stretched across the air without warning, and an enormous cauldron urately appeared in the path that the ss 7 soul engineer had to pass in his retreat.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡¯s barricade was very effective!

    The secret warehouse¡¯s second level was simr to the first, and there were many automatic triggersid out all over the ground. Soul tools would be triggered and concentrate their attacks on whoever stepped on these automatic triggers.

    Huo Yuhao had used his spiritual power to stalk Li Chong into this ce, and this was the reason why he was rtively familiar with the second level. Under such circumstances, the huge cauldron was ced precisely at a spot that the Soul Sage could retreat safely to. There was space around the cauldron, but those were spaces were where the booby traps were located. The Soul Sage would bring death upon himself if he identally stepped on one of those triggers.

    The ss 7 soul engineer was quite sensitive, and he felt so despondent that he wanted to vomit blood when therge cauldron appeared in front of him.

    He immediately leapt up and attempted to jump over the cauldron, but how could Xiao Xiao give him this chance? Her three Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons were stacked like a pyramid as they blocked his path and cut off every spot he could retreat to. The cauldrons¡¯ tops were almost touching the ceiling.

    The ss 7 soul engineer was getting a little worried and desperate. Light erupted from the soul tools on his body, and a dark red metal sphere appeared in his hands.

    Fuck, that¡¯s a ss 7 explosive bomb! Is he not afraid of destroying everything here?Huo Yuhao cursed silently. He passed a message to Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er through his Spiritual Detection, ¡°What are you two waiting for? Do you really want everyone to die here?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes were a little hesitant, but her hesitance disappeared as she tapped her foot on the ground and followed behind Wang Dong¡¯er as fast as could. She tossed the Life Guardian de in her hands, and the carving knife flew out of her hands like a green beam of light.

    The Soul Sage in front of them had seven soul rings. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s seven-ringed Soul Sages couldn¡¯t be gauged with the same criteria as typical seven-ringed soul masters could, as long as they were soul engineers. The reason was because their standards weren¡¯t on the same scale.

    Simply put, this ss 7 soul engineer wouldn¡¯t have much of a chance against Wang Qiu¡¯er if he were up against her one versus one in a restricted area of battle.

    He possessed the advantages that soul engineers typically had, but he also had all their weaknesses¡­ and their main weakness was their reaction time.

    The green light shed by far too quickly. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength was unrivaled, and the ss 7 soul engineer felt the light change in front of him as the metal sphere that he had just retrieved only got three feet into the air before it was struck by that green light.

    A carving knife?The ss 7 soul engineer could finally tell. Soul engineers were exceptionally sensitive towards carving knives, and so he was momentarily stunned at the sight.

    The green carving knife released green light in all directions, and he watched as, in the next moment, the ss 7 explosive bomb that he had tossed out transformed into a sphere of green light before it vanished into thin air.

    How is that possible?The soul engineer was petrified, and his first reaction was to protect himself. Golden light shed across his body as an Invincible Barrier that couldst for fifteen seconds shimmered into being. His first thought at a time like this was how he could survive. Furthermore, he believed that fifteen seconds was enough for him to be able to trigger the soul tool mechanisms around him, and he was confident that these traps were enough to stop these people!

    However, he was momentarily dazed once more at such a crucial time. He was stunned, as what was transpiring before him was simply too peculiar and insidious.

    There was one young girl with flowing pinkish-blue long hair who was catching up to another young girl with outstretched wings. Both of them looked exactly the same, and they were both mouthwateringly beautiful. Stranger things continued to unfold as the young girl who wasing up from behind flung the spear in her hands forward before hovering in front of the other young girl. That young girl then tightly embraced the other young girl with butterfly wings in front of her.

    Dazzling golden light instantly blinded the soul engineer, and a tremendous shockwave came at him from behind.

    His Invincible Barrier could protect his body, but there was nothing it could do against such an immense impact from shockwaves like that. He could only rely on his own strength to defend himself.

    His Invincible Barrier rxed a little, and caused him to stumble forward unwittingly.

    It was in this moment that the two figures who had merged together transformed in front of him.

    The bluish-gold butterfly wings became a brilliant gold, while flowing lines appeared on the enchanting butterfly wings as her upper wings cracked open. Two became four, while the lower wings shifted down to allow space for the new pair. Even stranger, the butterfly wings were a lot wider andrger than before¡­ they were clearly miniature dragon wings! Furthermore, those wings were covered with diamond-shaped golden dragon scales.

    Six dragon wings¡­ there were actually six golden dragon wings!

    Her enchanting features didn¡¯t change, and her long, flowing pinkish-blue hair was no different from before, but there was now another crystal-likeyer on her body.

    Every single strand of her hair was translucent, as if they were formed from crystalttices, and pinkish-blue hues circted on top of every strand as if they were neon lights. Her long hair draped behind her back, and her golden dragon wings stretched out while her body became a lot taller than before. Golden armor covered her entire body, and the soul engineer could see that the armor was pieced together with fine,pact scales. She didn¡¯t have a helmet, but she wore a strange headband; there was a golden dragon¡¯s head imprinted in the center, with two butterfly wings on each side of it.

    This incredibly beautiful being raised her right hand, which now had dragon scales as a handguard, and reached out for the Golden Dragon Spear in front of her. Crisp and bright dragon roars resonated through the entire level in the next moment, and golden light flickered as innumerable golden beams rained down on the Invincible Barrier in front of her.

    The dazzling and blinding golden light caused the ss 7 soul engineer¡¯s entire body to be ck andckadaisical, but it was in this moment that the Golden Dragon Spear stabbed his golden Invincible Barrier again and again.

    Shrill cracking sounds could be heard, and the soul engineer looked on incredulously as golden light detonated before his eyes. He had had absolute faith in his ss 7 Invincible Barrier, but itsted for less than two seconds. He didn¡¯t even have enough time to recover from his daze and how befuddled he was before his Invincible Barrier was dispelled!

    His ss 7 automatic protective soul barrier was also instantly prated!

    A six-winged golden dragon! What¡­ what is this?

    This was thest thought that went through the ss 7 soul engineer¡¯s head. He couldn¡¯t think of anything else afterwards because the entire world had turned dark before his eyes.

    Circle after circle of golden light fed back through the Golden Dragon Spear, and the enchantingly beautiful being stood proudly in the second level as faint golden light emanated from her body. She pointed the spear in her hands diagonally down, and there seemed to be a disdainful look in her eyes.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes were wide and stupefied. Even Huo Yuhao in his spiritual form was dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed.

    He was the one who had nned this fusion, but this was still the first time he had seen it in action.

    Yes, this was a fusion between Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er, and this was their martial soul fusion skill.

    Huo Yuhao thought of a fantastic name for them at this moment: the Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation!

    There was only one word missing from this namepared to their three-way martial soul fusion skill, and its strength was definitely inferior inparison. However, this Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation was the strongest skill that they could unleash at the moment.

    Huo Yuhao had calcted the power they had unleashed when they were in their Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation after the match ended. Afterwards, he was sure that the strength that they possessed in that state was near the pinnacle of what an eight-ringed Soul Douluo could reach. Even though such a circumstance was difficult to replicate, this was the best they could do for now.

    The Golden Dragon Spear was almost like a Divine Weapon, and as long as they faced off enough enemies, and if these enemies subsequently perished at their hands, the two girls could maintain their martial soul fusion skill for a far longer time inbat than most others.

    How did Huo Yuhao know that Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er could unleash a fusion skill like this? The reason was simple. He could undergo his own martial soul fusion with Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er individually with one hundred percentpatibility, while the three of them could unleash a three-way fusion skill. It would be very strange if Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t fuse.

    Huo Yuhao began to truly wonder in that moment whether Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er were actually biological sisters. They looked so simr to one another, and their martial souls could fuse. There was no other possibility that he could think of besides the fact that they were biological sisters!

 Chapter 343 - So Much, So Much!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 343: So Much, So Much!</h4>

    ¡°Who¡¯s the one in control right now between the two of you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously.

    ¡°Me!¡±

    ¡°Me!¡±

    Two voices answered at the same time.

    Both voices were extremely charming, but they were easily distinguished from one another; Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was crisp and lovely, while Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice had a hint of cold arrogance.

    Huo Yuhao had a headache. If he hadn¡¯t needed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s ferocious strength, he really wouldn¡¯t have brought her today.

    ¡°I¡¯m in charge of closebat abilities, while she controls all the other energy-based attacks and the other auxiliary abilities,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voice rang out once more, and she exined the situation properly.

    A thought appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. ¡°If you two can coordinate so well, isn¡¯t that a lot better than a single person controlling your fusion skill? But, aren¡¯t fusion skills typically controlled by only one party? How can you two¡­?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er snapped, ¡°Is this the right time to delve into this? Let¡¯s get down to business. We¡¯ve absorbed that Soul Sage¡¯s strength, and we can temporarily maintain this state!¡±

    As she spoke, the Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation¡¯s incredibly beautiful figure picked up the Life Guardian de that had dropped to the ground.

    The second floor was a lot smaller than the first floor. It had about a third of the first floor¡¯s surface area, but just this one-third could still be considered extremely spacious.

    There weren¡¯t that many trunks and cases here, and only now could Huo Yuhao divert his attention to examining them. He had been focused on the various traps and mechanisms when his spiritual avatar followed Li Chong into this ce, so it was only now that he truly felt how wealthy the Sun Moon Empire was.

    There were more than thirty different types of rare metals stored on the second floor. Furthermore, these rare metals were very expensive and quite valuable. Every single type was exponentially more expensive than the ones they had seen on the first floor, and this was especially so for the seven or eight rare metals that were stored deeper inside. There were at least five different kinds that Huo Yuhao had heard of, but never seen before.

    These rare metals were a lot smaller in volume, but that was just rtive. Their mass had to be calcted in tons, at the very least.

    The rare metals in this warehouse couldn¡¯t be gauged with money!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual undtions rippled vigorously and immediately informed the three girls about the traps and mechanisms on this floor.

    ¡°Are we going to take everything here and leave, or are we pushing forward?¡± Xiao Xiao asked.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°We¡¯ll do it this way ¨C Xiao Xiao, you can start packing things into our storage-type soul tools ording to my instructions. We will only choose the expensive ones, not the ones we need. Just take whatever¡¯s valuable, and we can trade them with the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires for other metals if the need arises. Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er; you two will go directly to the third gate, and we will open the third gate with my Life Guardian de. We don¡¯t have to go inside, but we absolutely need to see what¡¯s stored inside. If we can¡¯t take it away, we have to consider destroying whatever¡¯s inside.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± The three girls acknowledged at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao directed the merged Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er and pushed forward. They quickly arrived at the gate to the third floor.

    Huo Yuhao had his Spiritual Detection activated this entire time, and even though the golden being wasn¡¯t in itsbat state, he could still see a lot of things with his Spiritual Detection.

    First, he could feel its flourishing blood essence. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon¡¯s strength and blood worked perfectly on their Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation. Second, he could feel its flourishing energy of light that came from Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The two girls¡¯ auras were almost equal to one another in their Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation, and neither party possessed any conspicuous advantage.

    Their speed and soul power had been amplified manifold, and gauging their strength at the pinnacle of what a Soul Sage could reach was a conservative estimate. Huo Yuhao even suspected that their current state could, in some sense, be considered a Martial Soul True Body!

    The Life Guardian de swiftly pierced through the metal gate. This time, stronger soul power was used to operate it, and thus the Life Guardian de¡¯s Adjudication was channeled even more powerfully than before.

    The Golden Dragon Spear was also having a good time ¨C it absorbed voluminous amounts of metallic life energy to boost itself, and this Divine Weapon¡¯s aura quickly became lot more intimidating and ferocious than before.

    The Golden Dragon Spear had pierced right through a seven-ringed Soul Sage¡¯s Invincible Barrier under the Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation¡¯s control, but it could do that mainly because of the metallic energies that were temporarily stored within it.

    The Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s forte was pration and piercing. The spear had also been amplified by tremendous metallic energies, and that made it a lot better at what it did best. The pration point¡¯s attacking strength temporarily reached an eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡¯s level. In other words, Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er had temporarily be an eight-ringed Soul Douluo with a Divine Weapon in their possession.

    The Golden Dragon Spear was temporarily bearing the power of Adjudication, and it converted this Adjudication into destructiveness towards living beings. The Invincible Barrier was energy-based, but it was targeted by two Divine Weapons at the same time, which greatly weakened it.

    ¡ª

    Storage-type soul tools were passed to Xiao Xiao one after another. Xiao Xiao was no longer polite and courteous. Actually, even Huo Yuhao was now showing some avarice.

    ¡°Mine, they¡¯re all mine!¡±

    The eyes of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar sparkled radiantly. He would probably be drooling at this moment if he actually had any saliva.

    Any other soul engineer would feel the same way if they were in his shoes. In fact, they would probably be in a worse state than Huo Yuhao was right now.

    ¡°Yes, that; this Multiridged Devilgold will belong to us! And that Soulforging Silver is also ours! Great stuff! Scarletsun Soulstunning Steel, fantastic! Pack as much as you can. Eh, what¡¯s this? Golden Cloud? These things can be considered too luxurious even if they¡¯re used to craft ss 9 soul tools. Why do they have so little of that? They don¡¯t even have one ton of this? Take everything away.¡±

    Xiao Xiao became a porter under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand. However, herbor was quite easy and rxing.

    Storage-type soul tools had be a lot more convenient after so many years of development. The user only had to press them onto the items and infuse some soul power for the item to be absorbed inside the storage-type soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao had also taken an enormous Starlight Sapphire storage-type soul tool that resembled a breastte from the Illustrious Virtue Hall some years ago. It was a lot better than the vast majority of other storage-type soul tools.

    The breastte itself could contain more than all their other storage-type soul toolsbined. When Huo Yuhao had first acquired it, there was still a lot of space left even when there was a giant human-shaped soul tool over ten meters tall inside. Other attachments could be also added to the breastte!

    This thing could absorb all tangible things within five meters at once when soul power was infused into it. One sweep cleared out an entire patch of this floor of the warehouse.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still very rational and conscious even though he was ovee by greed, and he reminded Xiao Xiao time and time again to avoid the booby traps.

    The most sessful part of their break-in was that they didn¡¯t trigger any rms. Otherwise, how could they have had it so casual and easy?

    The passcode locks and every other firewall inside this warehouse were tooplete. The guards who had left had taken the keys to the second and third floor with them, and they didn¡¯t consider the possibility that somebody could break in at all. Anybody who tried to attack the tough gates with brute force would immediately trigger the rms.

    It didn¡¯t take long before an empty space one hundred square meters wide appeared on the second floor.

    Huo Yuhao was onlymenting that he didn¡¯t have enough storage-type soul tools!

    They were carrying many storage-type soul tools with them, but he could gauge from their current progress that they would be lucky if they could take away a third of everything inside the second warehouse. Thus, they picked the most valuable and densest rare metals.

    Huo Yuhao really wanted a colossal storage-type soul tool that could pack the entire warehouse inside!

    Time continued to pass, and the giant Starlight Sapphire storage-type soul tool was finally filled up. The Starlight Sapphire¡¯s radiance was a little dimmer than before; it had been used too much.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t finished yet ¨C Xiao Xiao filled up the other storage-type soul tools one by one, putting each one away after it was filled to the brim.

    A high-pitched and shrill voice suddenly rang out from the other side.

    ¡°Yuhao! Come and take a look!¡± The voice belonged to Wang Dong¡¯er.

    What¡¯s happening?Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat as he hurriedly extended his Spiritual Detection to the other side. The first thing he noticed was that the gate to the third floor was now open.

    The good thing about being in his spiritual form was that he could fly wherever he wanted to. Huo Yuhao arrived before their Golden Butterfly Dragon in a sh of thought.

    Huo Yuhao was very relieved that the Golden Butterfly Dragon waspletely fine. However, his eyes grew ck as he gazed into the third warehouse.

    ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡±

    The third floor¡¯s gate opened up to reveal a flight of stairs that led downwards. This staircase went down for twenty meters, and this was the reason why Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t seen exactly what was happening when he reached out with his Spiritual Detection after he heard Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s exmation.

    The light was dim on the third floor at this moment, and there were several weak soulmps dotting its walls. A dense metallic aura wafted from within, and it felt extremely eerie and chilly.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously attempted to swallow some saliva, but he quickly discovered that his spiritual form didn¡¯t have any saliva at all.

    ¡°This is¡­ we¡¯ve just hit the jackpot!¡±

    ¡ª-

    What did Huo Yuhao see? He saw arge metal forest.

    Yes, he was staring at a metal forest, a mass of metal that didn¡¯t seem to have an end in sight.

    ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s initial judgment, the warehouse¡¯s first floor contained rtively normal rare metals, while rtively more valuable metals were stored in the second floor. The third floor should be smaller than the second floor, and he expected to see some kind of precious treasure, or perhaps some top-tier soul tools. That was why he wanted to take a look.

    Furthermore, he had already made up his mind. Even if they found something good on the third floor, they had to do as much as they could to destroy it. He couldn¡¯t risk the three girls entering to retrieve the things inside, as he didn¡¯t know what the defense mechanisms and firewalls were like.

    But when he actually witnessed everything on the third floor at this moment, he realized that his judgment had been wrong¡­ very, very wrong.

    First, the third floor was a lotrger than he had predicted. It might be ten timesrger than the first floor!

    Yes, ten times! Otherwise, how could he feel as if this floor was endless even though he was standing at a high vantage point?

    The staircase led down into a spacious courtyard. The first things that entered his field of view were lines of soul cannons¡­

    There were enormous ss 4 soul cannons in the first row. These soul cannons fired very quickly, and were very precise, able to reach more than five hundred meters away. However, they were quiterge, which meant they had wheels, and somebody had to push or pull them around. A ss 4 soul engineer without any Milk Bottles could fire more than thirty rounds from one continuously.

    There were thousands of such soul cannons in this warehouse. Furthermore, he was looking at the weakest ones!

    Endless cases were stacked neatly, and what did Huo Yuhao see with his spiritual power? He saw endless soul ray guns and small-scale soul cannons¡­ and they were all ss 4 or ss 5 soul tools!

    There was something even more frightening; he saw cases of stationary soul cannon shells, and case after case of sealed Milk Bottles¡­

    The amount of sealed Milk Bottles should be the fewest amongst the other soul tools. What did this thing do? Sealed Milk Bottles allowed normal soldiers who weren¡¯t soul engineers to carry soul tools into war. There weren¡¯t that many of them, but there were at least thousands stored in this ce. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess that the Illustrious Virtue Hall had started manufacturing them en masse as soon as they had devised this technology!

    The most powerful soul tools Huo Yuhao could see in this colossal underground warehouse were the ss 7 stationary soul cannon shells; there was nothing else above that. However, there were so many of them, and if they were equipped by the military¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind spun rapidly as he nervously calcted in his head.

    The number of soul tools in this ce was enough to fully equip more than four of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions, while there were less than ten soul engineer legions currently serving in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military. Their equipment couldn¡¯t bepared to the soul tools in this ce; they were probably two sses below what was here.

    This also meant that extracting every single soul tool in this ce could immediately arm four elite soul engineer legions, and the Sun Moon Empire could create a fully mechanized army of soul engineers. There were also at least one hundred simplified all-terrain self-driving forts in this ce!

    With the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires¡¯ strength, an entire army that consisted only of soul masters probably couldn¡¯t withstand the hysterical bombing and onught from an army like this!

    The most frightening thing about soul tools was that they would be exponentially more destructive when many were unleashed at the same time.

    A Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t even bother looking at a single ss 4 soul cannon, but the same Titled Douluo would have to defend himself with everything he had if one hundred ss 4 soul cannons fired at the same time. If one thousand such cannons were fired at the same time, the only thing the Titled Douluo could do was run!

    Furthermore, there were so many stationary soul cannon shells in this ce, and those things could reach exceptional distances. Those ss 7 stationary soul cannon shells could reach more than five kilometers!

    Huo Yuhao attempted to swallow another ball of saliva before he snapped his head around and shouted, ¡°Come here, Xiao Xiao! We have work to do, everyone!¡±

 Chapter 344.1 - Imperial Fort

    <h4 ss>Chapter 344.1: Imperial Fort</h4>

    Xiao Xiao rushed over after Huo Yuhao called her. When she saw everything in front of her, she was also stunned. It was indeed unimaginable! It was the first time any of them had seen so many soul tools¡­

    ¡°Go, let¡¯s go down.¡± Huo Yuhao had regained his awareness by now. After the temporary shock, his eyes were filled with excitement.

    The Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation twisted to look at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Go down? We aren¡¯t clear about the traps here!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I checked them out earlier. I can confirm that there aren¡¯t any traps.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao Xiao asked.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°You aren¡¯t a soul engineer, or you wouldn¡¯t ask such a question. Everything that¡¯s in storage here is a soul tool, especially those Milk Bottles and stationary soul cannons. What do you think they are? They are explosives! If they explode, they¡¯ll blow this warehouse apart. The entire city might even suffer from the explosion. While they are very stable, a chain reaction might be initiated if even one of these soul tools was hit. In light of this, do you think the Sun Moon Empire will set traps on this level? I sensed it earlier; there aren¡¯t any other soul power undtions other from thoseing from these soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Of course, they have other arrangements set in ce. However, these arrangements are used to prevent explosions. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s more than one entrance to this warehouse. This side is only one of them. Because they need it to be convenient for transportation purposes, they can¡¯t install too many defensive soul tools here!

    ¡°If we remain careful, nothing will happen.¡±

    The threedies understood. The previous two levels were full of all types of rare metals. These rare metals were usually very tough, and didn¡¯t seem to be at risk of an explosion. Even soul rays couldn¡¯t damage them. However, the soul tools on this level were different. It would be a disaster if they blew apart!

    As they descended the steps and entered the warehouse, that feeling became much stronger. They weren¡¯t threatened at all as they entered the warehouse. Huo Yuhao also activated his Spiritual Detection to sense any changes that might ur.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Yuhao, we have to hurry up. You still have a tournament over on the other side. If you drag things out here, what¡¯ll happen to you over there?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start. Follow the arrangements that I¡¯ve set up. There is still some good stuff here. We must choose what we want to leave with properly. Xiao Xiao, take all the Milk Bottles first. They will be a future source of power for the Tang Sect. Next¡­¡±

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand, the threedies quickly took action. They started to do some sneaky things¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    BOOM!

    It wasn¡¯t the first time such a loud explosion had sounded.

    Two thousand meters up in the sky, an intense fight was still going on.

    A huge, ck dragon covered half of the battlefield. As it opened its wings wide, it seemed to fill the entire sky.

    This ck dragon was more than a hundred meters long, and covered in thick scales. Its dim-golden eyes made it feel awe-inspiring. Every time it moved, it would cause huge patches of space to distort. These distorted spaces didn¡¯t spread, but neutralized the surrounding shockwaves.

    Opposite this ck dragon was a dark-green giant. This giant was close to one hundred meters tall. His developed muscles made him look as if he came from ancient times. A huge dark-green whirlpool with many golden streaks of light within revolved around him continuously.

    Not far from this giant, there was a huge beast that had a horned head that resembled a dragon¡¯s, the spiral horns pointing ahead of it, and a body that resembled a muscr bull. This beast was stepping on clouds formed by a yellow glow. The strength that this beast possessed was such that it felt like the sky had be the earth.

    That ck dragon was formed by the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao. The ckish-green giant was Du Busi, and the huge bull was the Godly Taotie Bull formed by Elder Xuan.

    The three of them had been fighting in the sky for quite some time. Indeed, even Elder Xuan and Du Busi weren¡¯t Long Xiaoyao¡¯s match in a duel. However, they had hundreds of years of experience. When they teamed up, they weren¡¯t at a disadvantage. After shing with Long Xiaoyao several times, they started to reveal crazed looks in their eyes.

    Du Busi and Elder Xuan¡¯s cultivations were almost at the peak of their level. They had already been Rank 98 Titled Douluo for years, and continued to try their best to reach the top. However, it wasn¡¯t easy to be an Ultimate Douluo!

    Even though Elder Xuan had once had the guidance of Elder Mu, he lost a sparring partner after Elder Mu was critically hurt. It was even more difficult for Du Busi, since he was already the strongest in the Body Sect!

    Right now, Long Xiaoyao was one of the few remaining Ultimate Douluo on the continent. He was a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo, his abilities nowhere inferior to Elder Mu¡¯s. As Elder Xuan and Du Busi fought Long Xiaoyao, they felt like they were fighting to their heart¡¯s content. As they basked in such a feeling, they felt that they were getting closer and closer to the next threshold!

    Long Xiaoyao could sense the changes in them. In fact, he was able to greatly harm the both of them, even if he couldn¡¯t kill them. The gap between an Ultimate Douluo and a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo was actually extremelyrge.

    However, Long Xiaoyao had his own misgivings. He wasn¡¯t willing to work himself to the bone for the Holy Ghost Church. How long had he been famous? He was probably the strongest living soul master in the world! How could he possibly ept the fact that he was fighting his guts out for a bunch of evil soul masters? He was only doing this for some special reason¡­

    He was once best friends with the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En. While they became love rivalster on, their friendship still existed. Elder Xuan could be considered a half disciple of Elder Xuan, and was also the pir of Shrek Academy. Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t willing to hurt him, just like he had intentionally let Huo Yuhao go previously.

    While he didn¡¯t particrly like Du Busi, Du Busi¡¯s words earlier had still moved him. Long Xiaoyao was still quite sentimental.

    As a result, he didn¡¯t give his all in this fight. He even became more conservative when he sensed that the two of them were using him as a touchstone.

    That was why the fight between the three of them wasn¡¯t a life-and-death one even though it was very intense. They canceled one another out with their fighting strength. However, they couldn¡¯t control what was happening below.

    Right now, the ground fight had reached an extremely intense stage.

    The Titled Douluo from both parties remained spectators, watching the three of them fight from afar. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial pce was still being invaded.

    The assault that came from Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and Heavenly Soul Empire had begun!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    An assault team formed by soul masters who were at least seven-ringed Soul Sages had already charged their way into the imperial pce of the Sun Moon Empire fifteen minutes ago!

    They were all masked, but they were extremely strong. As they charged their way into the pce, they killed many of the soul masters, soul engineers, and guards who were defending the pce. They charged straight for Xu Tianran¡¯s imperial study.

    Although they were at least Soul Sages, none of them were Titled Douluo. They still had to follow the unwritten rules of the world of soul masters.

    A young man shing with ring lights was charging in front of everyone else. He was extremely quick, and the ordinary guards couldn¡¯t get close to him.

    Although he was masked, those who had seen the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament could recognize him. He was the most prominent young figure from the Body Sect, Long Aotian!

    Long Aotian¡¯s martial soul was his skin. Although he couldn¡¯tpare to Du Busi, whose martial soul was his body, he was still one of the best in the Body Sect. As he unleashed his fighting strength now, he seemed invincible.

    His body asionally showed strange changes. At times, he was as hard as steel. At other times, he was as soft and springy as tendons. Soul rays werepletely ineffective against him.

    There was a bright moon above his head. The moonlight from it was targeted towards the stronger soul cannons.

    After all, this was the imperial pce, and highly lethal weapons couldn¡¯t be installed here. Shrek Academy and the other two empires had reached a consensus on this before theyunched their assault. This was also where their greatest advantagey.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools couldn¡¯t be fully unleashed, which gave them hope. They didn¡¯t have to worry about soul tools. Furthermore, soul masters were most adept at reactivebat within small areas.

    However, they still met problems when they breached the pce.

    While the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t install highly lethal weapons, they could still install protective soul tools!

 Chapter 344.2 - Imperial Fort

    <h4 ss>Chapter 344.2: Imperial Fort</h4>

    Layers of protective soul barriers appeared from the building and blocked the stationary soul cannon shells that they had prepared before theyunched their assault. At the same time, they kept feeling that they were being intercepted.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul masters also made their move. Even though they were without their Titled Douluo, they still had the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters to lead them!

    The Zhong Li brothers that Huo Yuhao had once met before were included among them. There were quite a lot of these evil soul masters, and their abilities were also special. It was very difficult to separate them and the soul masters that had breached the pce.

    ¡°Help me rise! Strengthen!¡± A woman¡¯s shouting voice echoed behind Long Aotian.

    Long Aotian quickly stepped back and squatted down. Following this, a figure stood on his shoulders and streaks and streaks of lights were shot out from behind her, illuminating this figure. In the next instant, this figure shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning.

    A strong silvery-white light glowed brightly, and the moon from earlier turned silver. The bright moonlight made it seem as if another moon had appeared in the sky. As the moonlight surged, the surrounding air started to distort before being crushed. A dark vacuum pulled in the air around this silver moon.

    The figure that rose into the sky stood in front of the silver moon, forming a weird gesture with her hands. On her body, herst blood-red soul ring was slowly rising. The silver moon was slowly stained by the blood-red light from her soul ring, and turned into a blood moon. Instantly, everyone felt a bloody storming from the sky.

    Even those from the same side were astonished when they saw this scene. Streaks of strengthening light continued tond on this figure. The most eye-catching one was a treasure pagoda that drifted in the air. This pagoda had seven stories, and five of them were shining brightly. The five streaks of dazzling light that came from these five stories had a strengthening effect.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s pupils shrank when he saw this blood moon. ¡°Eight-ringed Soul Douluo!¡±

    When the blood moon appeared, Ju Zi immediately rushed in front of him and shielded him. She had a serious look on her face.

    The suppression that came from the sky was about to tear her body apart. Even though a protective barrier with the defensive strength of a ss 9 soul tool rose around her, Ju Zi still felt very uneasy for some unknown reason.

    At this point, a sonorous phoenix call resonated through the sky. A ball of dark-red light suddenly rose from a courtyard beside Xu Tianran¡¯s study. This dark-red light instantly converted into a pitch-ck phoenix that was covered in dark-red mes. This phoenix charged towards the figure like a bolt of lightning.

    Corrosion of the Blood Moon!

    Bloody light spread, and the weather changed. Even the Titled Douluo that were watching this from the sky could feel the changes that were happening on the ground.

    When that streak of bloody light shot out, the air it pierced seemed to evaporatepletely. The Dark Phoenix that rose seemed to discover something was wrong. It fluttered its wings and quickly rose up high.

    Fortunately, the bloody light wasn¡¯t targeted towards the phoenix, and only brushed past its body. It struck the ss 9 barrier that was protecting Xu Tianran.

    Suddenly, the golden barrier was stained blood-red. The thick, blood-red color quickly spread, and Ju Zi felt as if a sea of blood hadpletely engulfed them. Her own blood seemed to surge, and she quickly unleashed her Invincible Barrier.

    ¡°Come back, Ju Zi!¡± An irresistible suction force came from the back. Ju Zi felt as if her body had be lighter, and she was immediately sucked into someone¡¯s embrace. Following this, everything around her changed. Everything turned scarlet-gold.

    Is this the strength of a hundred-thousand year soul skill?Ju Zi felt as if her mind had nked out.

    Theoretically speaking, a ss 9 protective soul barrier could block the attack of a Titled Douluo. However, this theory wasn¡¯t applicable in front of an extremely strong soul master!

    The figure in the sky evidently only had an eight-ringed cultivation! However, her attack managed to ovee a ss 9 protective barrier!

    Am I dead?Ju Zi thought to herself in a daze. Against such an irresistible force, she felt very insignificant.

    However, she soon realized that she wasn¡¯t dead. That was because there was an arm around her waist.

    She subconsciously turned her head to look. What she saw was the cold yet confident face of a person.

    ¡°Your Highness, you, you managed to stand up?¡±

    That was exactly what had happened. Xu Tianran was the one standing behind Ju Zi and holding her waist.

    However, Ju Zi was horrified to discover that the imperial study had disappeared. The entire imperial study hadpletely disappeared. On the ground was only a bunch of slowly melting blood-red debris.

    Xu Tianran looked a little dismal. He had been prepared for the invasion today, and was confident. To him, the strongest soul masters that his enemies could possibly send were only eight-ringed Soul Douluo. They couldn¡¯t possibly reach him. However, the sudden release of the Corrosion of the Blood Moon suddenly made him feel soul masters were truly terrifying!

    There was a bowl-shaped soul tool above Xu Tianran right now.

    This dark gold bowl-shaped soul tool was only slightlyrger than an ordinary rice bowl. It drifted above Xu Tianran¡¯s head and pointed down, shing with starlight. As the bright starlight shone, it felt as if countless stars were revolving around them.

    The soul tool released ayer of golden light that engulfed Xu Tianran and Ju Zi. Ju Zi had seen the scarlet-gold light earlier because the Corrosion of the Blood Moon had already been blocked by thisyer of golden light.

    It was a top-ranked ss 9 defensive soul tool! As the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Crown Prince who had once been the target of an assassination, Xu Tianran was extremely meticulous about his own safety.

    In the sky, the bloody lights withdrew.

    Zhang Lexuan felt slightly regretful now. Although this sudden attack didn¡¯t have to be sessful, it would naturally be better if it did.

    There was one point the Star Luo Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire were correct about; killing Xu Tianran would cause internal problems within the Sun Moon Empire. This was also what Shrek Academy hoped to see.

    However, Xu Tianran¡¯s soul tool was too strong. Even when she used her Corrosion of the Blood Moon strengthened by her teammates, she didn¡¯t manage to kill him.

    She only had this one opportunity. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul masters and evil soul masters were already shooting soul rays towards her.

    The Dark Phoenix in the sky was already crying as it charged towards her.

    Zhang Lexuan drifted back and fused with the silver moon behind her, forming a blurry silvery glow that covered her body.

    She didn¡¯t immediately tackle the Dark Phoenix that flew towards her. Her silver moon sank andnded on the ground again.

    If she remained in the sky, she would be too obvious. Even with Zhang Lexuan¡¯s abilities, she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the barrage of attacks that would surelye at her if she continued to make herself such an obvious target.

    However, the Dark Phoenix didn¡¯t give up pursuing her. It chased her all the way down.

    Long Aotian turned into a huge hammer and went straight for the Dark Phoenix. Zhang Lexuan was offered some time to retreat.

    ¡°Chi!¡± A strange noise sounded, and Long Aotian¡¯s body burned with dark-red mes. He flew back into his own crowd of people, causing exmations to ring out. He had actually lost in a direct confrontation?

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed you, Xiaotao. Wake up!¡± Zhang Lexuan shouted. As she drifted forward, she took up Long Aotian¡¯s core offensive position.

    Right now, her body was surrounded by the moonlight of the silver moon. She hadpletely fused with the silver moon to form her Silvermoon True Body. It was a powerful Martial Soul True Body that was adept at both close-range and long-range attacks.

    As she lifted her right arm, a thick beam of moonlight blocked the Dark Phoenix.

    Zhang Lexuan felt a gust of warm airing towards her. The moonlight that she shot out was distorted by this warm air. When it reached her opponent, it had been greatly weakened.

    This was¡­

    ¡°Ultimate Fire? No, it¡¯s an impure Ultimate Fire.¡± Zhang Lexuan immediately made her judgment and turned more serious.

    The Dark Phoenix didn¡¯t make any sound, and quickly shed before it shed with Zhang Lexuan. At this instant, moonlight and mes filled the pce. Zhang Lexuan was engaging the Dark Phoenix in an intense fight!

    At this point, the fight in the sky had also experienced changes.

    ¡°Guys, what are you still waiting for? Attack. I want to see how this bunch of fellows is going to stop me without Long Xiaoyao!¡± Du Busi started to turn stubborn, and immediately gave an order.

    Elder Xuan was stunned, but he naturally couldn¡¯t let Du Busi know about the changes on his side. He had no choice but to give the signal to attack as well.Let¡¯s fight and see first. Perhaps we¡¯ll gain the upper hand?

    Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all. As he rolled in the sky, a huge patch of ck air turned into countless, dark meteors that shot towards Elder Xuan and Du Busi.

    At Long Xiaoyao¡¯s level, his abilities were so strong that he could affect meteorological phenomena. Elder Xuan and Du Busi had no choice but to deal with him.

    There was an intense confrontation between both sides.

    Ever since they appeared, Shrek Academy had possessed the upper hand.

    The Body Sect was very strong, and their style was very simr to Du Busi¡¯s. They attacked ferociously the moment they appeared. There were not many evil soul masters who could edge them out in direct confrontations. They were mainly strong in terms of their depravity and special abilities. At this point, they were being suppressed!

 Chapter 344.3 - Imperial Fort

    <h4 ss>Chapter 344.3: Imperial Fort</h4>

    As for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo, they were at a distinct disadvantage as they faced Shrek Academy¡¯s Titled Douluo.

    Xu Tianran had been observing the situation in the sky. Seeing that his side was being thrown into a more and more unfavorable situation, he started to turn pale.

    ¡°Hallmaster, please prepare.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    His room had been destroyed, and almost all his guards had been killed. However, this was still the Radiant City¡¯s imperial pce. Xu Tianran didn¡¯t have ack of men.

    On the other side, Zhang Lexuan and the rest suddenly heard weird noises.

    ¡°Zaza, zaza, gaga, gaga, jiji, jiji¡­¡­¡±

    These weird noises didn¡¯te from one direction. They came from all directions.

    This was¡­

    Zhang Lexuan turned slightly anxious. She unleashed her moonlight with all her strength to force the Dark Phoenix back. However, waves of fire surged from the Dark Phoenix¡¯s body and swept towards her. The Dark Phoenix seemedpletely fearless.

    Zhang Lexuan and the rest very soon developed an ominous feeling. It was because they were horrified to realize that the imperial pce was transforming.

    The surrounding rooms covered with protective barriers started to move!

    They started to crack open, and cannon barrels poked out from these rooms. Under the light emanated by the protective barriers, the cold metal glow emitted by these cannons was filled with a destructive aura.

    If Huo Yuhao were here and had time to think, he would have guessed that the warehouse he had discovered wasn¡¯t the only one. It was because there weren¡¯t any ss 7 soul tools and stationary soul cannons, or anything stronger, over there.

    The other more valuable and terrifying warehouse was located in the imperial pce! Everything in here was what wascking in the other warehouse. There were all sorts of soul tools and weapons that were at least ss 7.

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s expression changed when she saw the cannon barrels appearing, and sensed the terrifying soul power that was surging around them. She shouted without hesitation, ¡°Retreat! Retreat from the ground!¡±

    At this moment, those who were fighting the enemies on the ground were the safest. That was because the soul cannons were all aimed towards the sky. After all, a ground attack would affect the pce, and even the city. This problem could be circumvented if the cannons were aimed towards the sky.

    Those who were in the sky were the most threatened at this moment, and they could feel it.

    When one became a Titled Douluo, he would feel some form of sensation if he was in danger. Right now, they could all sense a fatal threat.

    It was an extremely terrifying feeling.

    When they looked down, even Elder Xuan and Du Busi couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    The imperial pce seemed to have turned into a metal forest.

    Thick cannon barrels were sticking out from the buildings. ring lights were already starting to shine inside them. Evidently, the cannons were charging.

    Even the smallest of these cannons had barrels more than thirty centimeters in diameter. Thergest cannon that Elder Xuan could see had a barrel that was more than two meters in diameter.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t familiar with soul tools, he could tell that it had to be at least a ss 8 soul tool! There was nock of stationary soul tools, either!

    Huo Yuhao was right! Assaulting the imperial pce was a mistake. The Sun Moon Empire was the strongest empire, and had built its name on soul tools. How could their base not be prepared?

    A cold look shed across Du Busi¡¯s eyes. He was about to dive down.

    However, Long Xiaoyao suddenly showed a tremendous change.

    He was originally in his ck dragon form, but that suddenly turned illusory. However, this illusory figure suddenly expanded in size.

    In the blink of an eye, the ck dragon that Long Xiaoyao had changed into grew more than one thousand meters in length. As it revolved in the sky, Du Busi, Elder Xuan and many of the Titled Douluo on their side were stopped. They were prevented from charging down tounch an attack.

    At this point, Elder Xuan knew exactly what to do. He immediately shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    When the others from Shrek Academy heard his signal, they immediately detached from their groups and quickly retreated.

    Once they retreated, Du Busi had no choice but to retreat as well. However, he couldn¡¯t help but curse as he withdrew unwillingly.

    The Titled Douluo formed streaks of flowing light. They disappeared into the horizon like shooting stars.

    The mysterious founder of the Holy Ghost Church lifted his hand to stop his disciples from chasing them. As he looked at all the cannons below, he too felt very ufortable. After all, the strength of the Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t something a mere sect like theirs couldpare to!

    ¡ª¡ª-

    Xu Tianran stood there quietly. Seeing that everything was going ording to n, he couldn¡¯t help but reveal a grin on his face.

    At this point, Ju Zi realized that Xu Tianran could stand up not because his legs were fine. He had put on a pair of exquisitely crafted prosthetic legs hidden from view under his pants.

    ss 9 soul tool! The Crown Prince is able to use a ss 9 soul tool?Ju Zi was astonished.

    She thought she had understood him very well, but didn¡¯t know that his abilities had reached such a level. What did it mean if he could use a ss 9 soul tool? Even if this ss 9 soul tool had a lower requirement, its defensive strength was still at the standard of a top-ranked ss 9 soul tool. This meant that Xu Tianran was at least a top-ranked, eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    However, he was only slightly above thirty years of age. His abilities would be considered rare even if he were in Shrek Academy!

    Xu Tianran was slightly moved as he loosened his grip on her waist. He said, ¡°Good, good. You are just like you were many years ago.¡±

    Ju Zi lifted her head to look at him. She was actually moved, and couldn¡¯t help but sigh.I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness. Even if I¡¯d never met Huo Yuhao, I still wouldn¡¯t fall for you. I can only think of you as my benefactor.

    Xu Tianran didn¡¯t know what Ju Zi was thinking. As he looked at her delicate skin, a regretful look shed across his eyes.It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t¡­ otherwise, Ju Zi would indeed be a perfect partner.

    ¡°Follow the n. Push them to the west side. All soul engineering teams in the other three directions, be on your highest alert. We must not let them escape from any of those three directions.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Ju Zi hurriedly acknowledged his words before she turned and rushed off.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    At this point, a streak of flowing light shone in the sky. This streak of light was very special. After it rose into the sky, it turned into a glittering green freak-like entity. It remained in the sky for a long time without disappearing.

    Everyone from Shrek Academy immediately saw this streak of light as they were retreating.

    Elder Xuan was delighted. He punched his left arm with his right fist and shouted, ¡°Good!¡±

    Just as he was surprised, another streak of red light rose into the sky. It formed the same entity as the earlier streak of light.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression changed, and he said, ¡°Go. Leave immediately to the west.¡±

    Du Busi was flying not far away from Elder Xuan. When he saw everyone from Shrek Academy changing their direction towards the west, he couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Little Xuan, what are you doing? Do you really think they didn¡¯t set a trap in that direction?¡±

    Elder Xuan was stunned. It seemed the Body Sect was also prepared! However, they had their own n. While there might be traps in the west, they couldn¡¯t possibly breach the defenses in the other three directions. He still had to ensure the safety of Shrek¡¯s team and the Tang Sect. These two teams could only leave after they finishedpeting on the final the next day. They couldn¡¯t break out while it was dark now. Otherwise, breaking out with the Body Sect might be a good choice.

    ¡°Old freak, we have our own n. We¡¯ll meet again. Let me give you a warning¡­ leave the city immediately. Don¡¯t continue to remain here.¡± After he finished speaking, Elder Xuan gathered everyone to meet Zhang Lexuan and the rest, who had just broken their way out. After that, they proceeded towards the west.

    Du Busi was a bit stunned. However, he wisely chose to believe Elder Xuan at this point. He also gestured to his people and those from the Star Luo Empire to escape in another direction.

    ¡ª

    They were very thorough in this mission. They quickly rushed towards the streets, and followed predetermined routes to meet up with Xu Jiujiu and Wei Na.

    ¡°Great-grandfather, did we seed?¡± Wei Na asked anxiously.

    Du Busi was a little annoyed as he replied, ¡°No. Their defenses were too strong. Long Xiaoyao was indeed shamelessly there. Let¡¯s leave, quickly. I saw some kind of signal from Shrek Academy earlier. Little Xuan warned me to quickly leave the city. They must have had arranged something. Let¡¯s leave immediately.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu asked, ¡°Elder Du, aren¡¯t those from Shrek Academy leaving with us?¡±

    Du Busi snorted and answered, ¡°Little Xuan is very concerned about glory. He won¡¯t leave before the tournament is over. Shrek Academy likes to brag about how open and aboveboard they are. They won¡¯t leave now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Anyway, we can¡¯t store too many people in that thing of ours. I¡¯m sure Shrek won¡¯t suffer much, given their abilities. Come to think of it, I¡¯m quite excited to find out what kind of surprises Little Xuan will bring me. Quickly, instruct your people to move off now.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t dy either, and quickly gave the order.

    ¡ª

    On the other side, Elder Xuan quickly left with the rest from Shrek Academy.

    Zhang Lexuan managed to catch up to him. ¡°Elder Xuan, are we going back first? We still have the tournament tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 345.1 - Steamed Buns

    <h4 ss>Chapter 345.1: Steamed Buns</h4>

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t hesitate as he heard Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words. ¡°No. Did you not see his signal? Green means he was sessful, and red means danger. You guys should hide outside the city for a little while, and go back when dawn breaks. We will hide somewhere in the western suburbs, and prepare to reinforce Huo Yuhao. If something happens to him at the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, it will be convenient for us to escort him away.¡± Huo Yuhao was still participating in thepetition in the western suburbs, and this was one of the most important reasons why Elder Xuan didn¡¯t want to leave with Du Busi and the others. Huo Yuhao was Shrek¡¯s future!

    Zhang Lexuan was a little worried and anxious. ¡°What about Bei Bei? He¡¯s still at the hotel. Should I look for him?¡±

    Elder Xuan heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking straight because you¡¯re too concerned, Lexuan. Do you really think, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s meticulousness, that he didn¡¯t think about Bei Bei? The signal that he just sent out means danger, but they have just left from there. Furthermore, he has to continue in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, so he will only reappear after thepetition ends, no matter what happens in the city. There¡¯s more than enough time for him to send someone to fetch Bei Bei between now and then.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan bit down on her lower lip. It was true, she wasn¡¯t thinking straight because she was too concerned.Even though that fellow¡­

    She stared at Elder Xuan with a pair of bright and spirited eyes. ¡°Elder Xuan, I¡¯m still not assured. I¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan felt a little helpless. ¡°Alright, you can go¡­ but be careful. I¡¯m afraid the city might be under martialw very soon, and you should take Bei Bei out of the city as soon as possible once you meet him. Rendezvous with us at the western suburbs.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhang Lexuan¡¯s voice had barely dropped before she flew out and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t that worried about her safety, as Zhang Lexuan was strong enough to challenge even a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, she was one of the people leading a finalist team in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. It would be easier for her to deal with things if she wasn¡¯t masked when she entered the city.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the western suburbs¡­

    Ye Yulin¡¯s tightly knitted eyebrows finally rxed. The colors in the skies above Radiant City changed continuously. Normal people couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, but a powerful individual like him could. This especially true because he was the Starsky Douluo, so he was naturally more sensitive about everything that happened in the skies.

    The other side had finally settled down, and it seemed like the empire was in control of the situation.

    Ye Yulin supported Xu Tianran. Furthermore, he was one of the mainmittee members when the royal pce was being designed, so he was very well-versed in the royal pce¡¯s defensive capabilities. He had absolute faith that even if an Ultimate Douluo arrived above the Radiant City¡¯s royal pce, he or she wouldn¡¯t have a good time against the royal pce¡¯s defense mechanisms all going off at the same time.

    The royal pce¡¯s main defense mechanisms hadn¡¯t even been activated yet, which meant that the intruders were not worth activating their fortifications. Even though the intruders were in the sky, the royal pce would still create an enormous disturbance if they fired countless ss 8 and ss 9 soul cannons heavenwards, possibly instilling panic into the citizens. But everything had settled down by now, which meant the issue had been resolved.

    The furor in the city had settled down, but the tournament was starting to pique Ye Yulin¡¯s excitement.

    More than half of the round¡¯s stipted time had passed at this point. The fellow named Tang Wu hadn¡¯t begun on a single formation array, and his movements even seemed to slow, as if he were a little fatigued. He was still working on some misceneousponents.

    Ye Yulin observed him for a little while. Thoseponents gave him a refreshing feeling; the springs, the mechanical joints, and everything else gave him quite some inspiration. This youth was clearly very familiar with these things from the way he worked.

    The only problem was, no matter how intricate and exquisite these things were, soul tools needed formation arrays to work.

    Ye Yulin was a ss 9 soul engineer, and he could naturally understand some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions after observing him for so long. This youth wanted to use certain unique mechanical joints andponents to substitute for certain formation arrays.Yes, that must be it. But even so, human-shaped soul tools require far too many formation arrays. More than half of the given time has passed, so can he finish his soul tool if he hasn¡¯t started on them yet?

    Ye Yulin liked this youth¡¯s speed, stability, and technique. This was especially true because this youth was crippled; his body was weak, but his will was strong, and this made Ye Yulin even more moved about taking him in as his disciple.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know where Huo Yuhao had learned his skills, Ye Yulin was a giant among men in the soul engineer world. He wasn¡¯t afraid that Huo Yuhao would be unwilling to be his disciple.

    But he was starting to worry for this young man as time continued to pass.Can it be that this youth will be eliminated from this round, even though he possesses such impressive standards, because he can¡¯tplete his soul tool?

    Ye Yulin began to feel a little regretful after he understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to do, because he hadn¡¯t been watching Huo Yuhao too closely from the beginning. Therefore, he could only partially understand the delicate mechanical parts that Huo Yuhao was working on.

    Huo Yuhao was also very sly. He was crafting all kinds of misceneousponents, and theseponents were ced randomly all around him. Only somebody with his level of spiritual power wouldn¡¯t feel confused, or find everything chaotic. Huo Yuhao would do all the stitching, splicing, and assembly of the various mechanical parts at the end of everything.

    He¡¯s really making me worry. When exactly is he going to start creating formation arrays? He¡¯s making a few too many mechanical parts, is he not? He has more than two hundredponents. Is he really going to be able to stitch everything into a human-shaped soul tool?

    I¡¯m d that I decided toe here today. I hope this youth can show me a miracle.

    Ye Yulin stood up so that he could observe Huo Yuhao¡¯s crafting process a little better.

    Ye Yulin wasn¡¯t the only one watching him. Of the seven judges, there were three of them who were observing this crippled youth, who had metal parts lying around his crafting desk and on the ground around him.

    The Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s vice-founder was sitting quietly inside the resting area beneath thepetition stage. She seemed like she had no idea what was happening within Radiant City, and her expression didn¡¯t change at all.

    She only grunted softly when news of what had happened reached her. Her grunt was full of disdain.

    A faint smile appeared on Nangong Wan¡¯s face.Seems like some people have tucked tail and ran. If they choose the western side, then so be it.

    This tournament was extremely important to them, but it wasn¡¯t important enough that the vice-founder and the four elders had to hold down the fort. Their presence was to continue giving the soul masters who were trying to break out an impression that the western front was still defended, except it was a little weaker than the other sides. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s basic responsibility would beplete if the soul masters attempted to break through the western side.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead was starting to sweat. His spiritual avatar had been separated from his body for far too long, and the side effects of this separation were finally starting to show.

    Spiritual power that was separated from the spirit was bound to be intimately connected to his original body. This connection would be weaker with the passage of time, and once this connection waspletely severed, the separated part would never return to his body, and simply dissipate.

    The Skydream Iceworm had mentioned that this wasn¡¯t enough to threaten Huo Yuhao¡¯s life, but he would definitely be severely hurt if such a situation did happen. It would also mean he wouldn¡¯t be able topete anymore.

    But some things couldn¡¯t be hurried. There were many things that could only be done after making sufficient and necessary preparations.

    Quick, quick, quick!

    Huo Yuhao was almost done with his mechanicalponents, and he was preparing the rare metals that he would need for his formation arrays. However, he couldn¡¯t start engraving and sculpting his formation arrays in his mentally weak state. All he could do was wait.

    The tournament was still ongoing, and he would definitely raise suspicion if he stopped doing anything. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-founder and the four elders were watching everything on stage from beneath it, and they were all evil soul masters and Titled Douluo. Nobody could predict what their reaction would be once they realized that something was wrong with him, and his only choice if his second senior brother and he were attacked was to hide inside the specter demine. But if that happened, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar would be unable return to his body, and he would be seriously injured. How then could he arrange and work out the things that were to happen afterwards?

    Quicker, quicker!

    He had already prepared the best materials that he would need for his formation arrays. There were eighteen different rare metals of all sorts of colors arranged in front of him, while the mechanicalponents that he hadpleted before this were strewn all over the ground.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen had made a breakthrough in their research. They had managed to simplify the Tang Sect¡¯s mechanical hidden weapon¡¯s principles, and the simplest human-shaped soul tool they could create only needed eighteen formation arrays!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands didn¡¯t dare to stop, and he could only use his carving knife to start sculpting these rare metals into their rough shapes and sizes. The detailed stuff would have to wait.

    Eighteen pieces of rare metal were quickly sculpted.

    I can¡¯t stop, I can¡¯t stop right now.Huo Yuhao had insisted on this idea because he couldn¡¯t let anyone see through anything he was doing, and he couldn¡¯t reveal any loopholes or weaknesses. Otherwise, problems would irrevocably arise even when his spiritual avatar returned to his body. Those evil soul masters were adept in dealing with all kinds of spirits.

    What else could Huo Yuhao do without crafting his formation arrays? He could only start assembling his human-shaped soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao pointed his palms toward the ground, and seven to eightponents flew in front of him. He quickly pieced them together and assembled a small and agile joint in no time before he sucked up several otherponents and continued assembling everything.

    The assembly process was a lot simpler than crafting those mechanical pieces. There were just so many pieces that other people felt a little dazed looking at them. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need his eyes to see, and he used his Capturing Crane Controlling Dragon technique to suck thoseponents to him and piece them together continuously. He would ce each rtivelyrger mechanical piece neatly on the crafting desk before moving on, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to assemble one hundredrger parts.

 Chapter 345.2 - Steamed Buns

    <h4 ss>Chapter 345.2: Steamed Buns</h4>

    So, he¡¯s going for that.Ye Yulin had been watching Huo Yuhao this entire time, and he heaved a sigh of admiration inside.He¡¯s going to work on his formation arrays after everything else has beenpleted. Even though this method isn¡¯t worthplimenting, his intricate and exquisite mechanical parts are simply too beautiful. I wonder what this soul tool can do? I have to speak to this young fellow after the tournament!

    A smile finally appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, and his hands were starting to move faster and faster. He was piecing together the mechanical parts on his crafting desk once more, and even the ss 9 soul engineers who were watching him felt a little dazed and befuddled as hepleted all those fine and delicate steps.

    These ss 9 soul engineers had good eyes. Even though they didn¡¯t really understand what these mechanical parts were for, they could tell that every piece that Huo Yuhao created was assembledpactly and seamlessly. Whole parts were starting to appear, and everything was bing more streamlined. This wholeness was the most attractive thing in a soul engineer¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Impressive! Tang Wu is such a genius.¡± An elderly man sitting beside Ye Yulin couldn¡¯t help but exim in admiration.

    The seven judges were sitting on thepetition stage, so their voices would directly affect thepetitors if they were a little too loud. However, this judge still blurted these words in the end, so it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how shaken he was by Huo Yuhao¡¯s work.

    Ye Yulin nodded gently and said, ¡°You¡¯ve realized it too, Old Wang?¡±

    The elderly man he was speaking to snapped, ¡°Old Ye, my eyes still work. How can I not tell? However, can you tell which family is adept with those sophisticated mechanical parts?¡± He was naturally referring to soul engineer sects.

    Ye Yulin shook his head and answered, ¡°I have seen soul tools that are supported by mechanical parts, but this is the first time that I¡¯ve seen so many mechanical parts being used at the same time. However, I have a gut feeling that this youth can create a whole new era in soul tools. It looks like we were wrong before.¡±

    Old Wang forced augh and said, ¡°Can you not be so direct? I¡¯m getting old, so I can¡¯t take a blow like that anymore. Even though I know that our path is a little off, we can only continue on it, now that we¡¯re old.¡±

    Ye Yulin grunted disdainfully and said, ¡°That¡¯s just your opinion. I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t change our paths, and I¡¯m still very young. I¡¯ll have no problem living for another hundred years.¡±

    Old Wang contemted for a moment, then heaved a faint sigh as he said, ¡°Your relentless pursuit for more¡­ this has always been the difference between you and I, and this is also the reason why I¡¯ve always been one ss beneath you. However, no matter how highly you regard this youngster, you have to call me when you want to discuss fusing mechanical parts and soul tools after the tournament.¡±

    ¡°How about us?¡± Several other judges couldn¡¯t help but express themselves on the other side.

    Ye Yulin raised his right hand, and a soundproofing light screen epassed everyone inside so that their conversation wouldn¡¯t affect the contestants who were still hard at work.

    ¡°All of you are so shameless. You¡¯re behaving like a mosquito when it sees blood. You guys can watch and listen, but nobody can snatch him from me. You have to understand that I¡¯ve paid with my blood and sweat, and I¡¯ve taken out the Sun Moon Divine Needle that I¡¯ve just developed,¡± Ye Yulin said hatefully to the other judges.

    The other six soul engineers couldn¡¯tpare to Ye Yulin in terms of their status within the soul engineer world, and everyone felt a little helpless and exasperated as they watched his domineering and authoritative attitude.

    Old Wang immediately tried to relieve the tension. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Old Ye, we can see your efforts, we won¡¯t snatch him from you. However, everyone has discovered this at the same time. We want to study this together. Furthermore, everyone can participate in this research together. The truth is, those three bullshit underground organizations¡¯ tournament rules are just nonsensical. What do soul engineerspete with? Besides the soul tool itself, soul engineerspete with design and creativity. So many soul tools today have been developed from creativity and innovation. I think Tang Wu¡¯s innovation of integrating mechanical parts into his human-shaped soul tool so that he doesn¡¯t have to create so many formation arrays is enough to crown him as champion. If anyone dares to make an attempt on his life in the subsequent rounds, hmph!¡±

    Ye Yulin nced at him and said, ¡°Do I need you? Look up in the sky. What are those things? Do you think I¡¯m useless?¡±

    One of the other judges blurted out, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very nice. These three underground organizations have given us so much. If we ruin the tournament¡­¡±

    Ye Yulin shot a re in his direction, and he seemed like he was going to explode at any moment. He growled, ¡°Bullshit. Let me ask you, Old Zhang, is this bullshit tournament importantpared to a new era of soul tools? Is it?!¡±

    Old Zhang was clearly losing this argument, and his voice became a little feeble. ¡°Alright, alright. If you say so, Old Ye. However, we still have to try and avoid going overboard. Furthermore, if this youth can¡¯t even finish his soul tool before the time¡¯s up, he can¡¯t even participate in the following rounds.¡±

    Ye Yulin grunted coldly. ¡°It¡¯s alright if he doesn¡¯t. At most, I can make another set of Sun Moon Divine Needles as a gift to him.¡±

    So fierce!Old Wang thought to himself.Ye Yulin has be so shameless because of this outstanding youngster. He¡¯s making it clear that he¡¯s going to im this kid by force. Pity! What a pity! Why didn¡¯t I meet this outstanding young man earlier?

    The judges were discussing amongst themselves on one side, and Huo Yuhao seemed to feel a chill run down his spine on the other side. He looked up subconsciously, and he was met with the gazes of the judges who were staring right at him from within their soundproofing barrier.

    Shucks, I¡¯m showing off a little too much. Hah! I should have made the soul tool and pieced the shell together before assembling all the mechanical parts inside the shell. What a pity!

    Forget it, I¡¯m just going to y with them for a little bit.

    A yful smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. He suddenly raised his head and exaggerated his motions as he gazed up into the sky, and his facial features instantly became ck andckadaisical.

    The judges had been focusing their attention on him this entire time, and they were all shocked by his sudden change of expression. Every soul engineer would have the same reaction at a time like this no matter what ss they were in, and they followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes into the sky.

    But they quickly realized that Huo Yuhao was staring up into the darkness¡­ where there was nothing at all.

    What they didn¡¯t know was that when their eyes shifted away, a twisting beam of light pierced discreetly through the soundproofingyer outside and soundlessly entered the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    This time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body actually trembled.

    When the judges¡¯ eyes returned to his face, they saw that Huo Yuhao had a look of epiphany, and he quickly lowered his head and continued piecing his mechanical joints together.

    Old Wang heaved a sigh of admiration. ¡°This fellow is so scary. I actually thought he saw something, but it turns out he¡¯s just thought through some conundrum. A sudden revtion for someone of his talent and caliber must be pretty good. Look, he¡¯s working on his formation arrays now. Eh? His carving knife is pretty. Is that one of the ranked carving knives?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that right? Huo Yuhao was starting to craft his formation arrays on the other side. The carving knife in his hands was a strange knife that waspletely green in color, and filled with life energy.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao¡¯s separated spiritual avatar finally had hurried back at that moment. When everything fused back together, Huo Yuhao instantly felt all his mental weakness wash away in that moment. He even felt as if something had be purer within him at that moment.

    This is just fantastic!Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration inside. At the same time, the Life Guardian de that had just returned to him began to dance in the palm of his hand.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar had helped the three girlsplete their operation, and he had helped them do a couple more things afterwards before they left to meet up with Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Huo Yuhao had told them to return to the Brilliant Delight Hotel and take Bei Bei to the western suburbs before he immediately separated from everyone, and his spiritual avatar hurried back to his main body as quickly as possible.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was the one who had fired those two signals when they had departed the underground warehouse.

    A faint smile trembled on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face; he really wanted tough right now. His smile was full of satisfaction.

    We¡¯ve profited so much today. This time, the Sun Moon Empire has given me a generous gift, and I¡¯ve left them a generous one as well. These two presents should be enough to greatly dy their invasion ns.

    Huo Yuhao felt a lot more spirited as he thought about this, and his hands subconsciously began to work at full speed.

    All seven judges were at least ss 8 soul engineers, and every single one of them had widened eyes and ck jaws as they stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were slowing down a little, but after his ¡°epiphany¡± in that instant, he began to work on his formation arrays rapidly, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

    The first rare metal he used was a special metal known as Diamond Essencegold. Diamond Essencegold was refined and purified from gold. Typically, only thirty grams of Diamond Essencegold could be purified from a single kilogram of gold. This rare metal was seldom used because it was too expensive and luxurious, but its unique characteristics were very impressive.

    Diamond Essencegold was an excellent conductor of soul power, just like gold, and Diamond Essencegold¡¯s innerpact refractive structure could amplify soul power undtions.

    There was a special soul tool known as a Soul Power Amplifier, and Diamond Essencegold was most essential in crafting it. A Soul Power Amplifier could only bepleted using Diamond Essencegold to craft its formation arrays.

 Chapter 345.3 - Steamed Buns

    <h4 ss>Chapter 345.3: Steamed Buns</h4>

    Soul Power Amplifiers didn¡¯t have a ss, but any soul tool with one as an attachment would be upgraded by one ss, with the exception of ss 9 soul tools.

    Only the Duskwater Alliance had given Diamond Essencegold to theirpetitors. Among them, only Huo Yuhao¡¯s crafting desk had a piece of Diamond Essencegold as big as an infant¡¯s fist.

    This was Nangong Wan¡¯s bias towards Huo Yuhao, as Ye Yulin wasn¡¯t the only person who wanted to take Huo Yuhao as a disciple. There was still the Master of the Duskwater Alliance in the fray!

    Huo Yuhao only discovered this piece of Diamond Essencegold through the cracks between the other rare metals after using some of the others. This thing¡¯s value couldn¡¯t be measured with money, and even when it was in its metallic form, a single piece of Diamond Essencegold had the same worth as a ss 8 soul tool.

    Soul Power Amplifiers were touted as ss 9 soul tools that weren¡¯t actually ss 9 soul tools, so it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine why Diamond Essencegold was so valuable.

    Diamond Essencegold was great, but it possessed some of its own unique characteristics, one of the most prominent ones being how hard it was.

    The ¡°Diamond¡± in its name didn¡¯t just describe its inner refractive abilities, it also described how hard it was!

    Diamond Essencegold was so hard that even ss 9 soul engineers would have a challenging time using their carving knives to engrave and sculpt it. One would not even be able to leave a single mark on Diamond Essencegold if they weren¡¯t supported by formidable soul power, or if they didn¡¯t have a carving knife that was hard enough.

    But Huo Yuhao¡¯s green carving knife waltzed around as the judges watched, and it cut into the Diamond Essencegold until dust and particles flew in all directions. The Diamond Essencegold in his hands was quickly taking shape.

    ¡°His carving knife is not a ranked carving knife¡­¡± one of the ss 8 judges muttered confidently. He wasn¡¯t a ss 9 soul engineer, but nobody elsepared to him in terms of understanding and research regarding ranked carving knives. If he said Huo Yuhao¡¯s knife wasn¡¯t a ranked carving knife, then it wasn¡¯t.

    Ye Yulin frowned and said, ¡°If it¡¯s not, then the people who created the list must be blind. Or maybe this carving knife has never appeared before. We can all see its strength from how it¡¯s cutting through Diamond Essencegold like butter. This carving knife is probably the best I¡¯ve seen at cutting through hard metal. It¡¯s better than my Morning Star!¡±

    Old Wang nodded sincerely and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. I think this fellow isn¡¯t even using soul power, so there must be something strange about his carving knife, and it¡¯s not just because it¡¯s incredibly sharp. I suspect the carving knife itself carries some special characteristics that make it excellent at cutting through hard things. But this characteristic may be a little too intense.¡±

    Ye Yulin said, ¡°Can it be something that the Duskwater Alliance has taken out for him to use? I¡¯m bing a lot more confident in this kid.¡±

    Elder Zhangughed and said, ¡°Right? The Duskwater Alliance is so astute and shrewd, yet they are willing to take out Diamond Essencegold for him to use. It¡¯s not hard to imagine how much emphasis they have ced on this young man, and it would be weird if you or they didn¡¯t have confidence in him.¡±

    Ye Yulin smiled and said, ¡°Then we will eagerly wait for this young man to finish his human-shaped soul tool. He is already today¡¯s champion in my heart.¡± His pupils suddenly dted as he said these words, and he eximed in surprise, ¡°What a man! He¡¯s already done with his formation array?¡±

    Was that right? Huo Yuhao seemed to be finished engraving and sculpting the piece of Diamond Essencegold in his hands. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao retrieved a small bottle from somewhere and raised his hand. All the Diamond Essencegold dust that had fallen off from his cutting and engraving was all sucked into the bottle. This was good stuff, and even the dust and fragments had special uses and effects.

    Huo Yuhao began working on his second formation array after that. He didn¡¯t use any auxiliary tools, and gripping the piece of rare metal in his left hand while he grasped his Life Guardian de with his right, and engraved and sculpted rapidly. Metal dust and particles flew in all directions once more.

    His current speed was faster than when he was making thoseponents from before, and his hands were starting to leave afterimages.

    The current state Huo Yuhao was in was his best state for crafting soul tools. He had been hiding his abilities in the previous rounds, but there was no need to hide anymore at a time like this, because he was in the final round. He probably wouldn¡¯t meet these people ever again after the tournament, at least on good terms. Perhaps they would meet on the battlefield someday.

    His Life Guardian de tapped lightly on the metal piece in his hands and quicklypleted three arced cuts. They were so precise it was if they had been measured with a ruler. Cutting its corners, slicing at lightning speed, drilling and boring holes¡­ his fingers switched continuously from technique to delicate technique.

    Huo Yuhao did possess unique and extraordinary characteristics as a soul engineer. For one, he might have stronger spiritual power than even the ss 9 soul engineers judging this tournament, and there was no need to mention how agile his hands were, as he had the Tang Sect¡¯s Mysterious Jade Hands and his training with hidden weapons. All that, in addition to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power guiding him, meant he would never make a mistake. His spiritual power would guide his hands to move with incredible precision ording to whatever he was thinking.

    It was difficult for him to make an error throughout the entire process.

    Huo Yuhao had recovered from his weakness after his spiritual avatar returned to his body, and it felt as if there were some kind of sublimation. Huo Yuhao basked in this magical feeling as the carving knife in his hand danced up and down, and line after line of intricate and beautiful patterns appeared continuously on the piece of rare metal in his hands. He waspletely in the mood for crafting soul tools, and he could now give all his heart and soul to this endeavor without having to worry about anything else.

    Xuan Ziwen had remarked in admiration before that if Huo Yuhao could ce all his energy and attention into crafting soul tools, he could possibly be an unprecedented ss 10 soul engineer with all the talent that he possessed.

    It wouldn¡¯t be very difficult for him to be a Transcendent Douluo because of his Ultimate Ice, while his talent with soul tools was unique and otherworldly. Xuan Ziwen even believed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent in crafting soul tools was superior to his aplishments as a soul master.

    However, Xuan Ziwen also told Huo Yuhao that talent was very important for soul engineers to reach ss 7. However, continuing up from ss 7 would take ten times more effort than before. Soul engineers would never be able to progress if they didn¡¯t put their entire heart and soul into the endeavor. Therefore, Huo Yuhao needed to make a choice when he became a seven-ringed Soul Sage.

    Huo Yuhao gave Xuan Ziwen an answer back then, and he had made the same choice from the day he became a soul engineer. His choice was simple; he was going to be a soul master who used soul tools, and this would be the mainstream in the future. He would never give up his journey as a soul master, because he wanted to climb all the way to the top, and also because he had to keep going for the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress, and the Snow Empress. He had no choice but to work hard on his cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao conveyed his opinions to Xuan Ziwen. His goal for the future was simple; he wanted to use soul tools to boost a soul master¡¯s strength, and his goal would beplete when soul tools couldpletely be amplifiers for soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s second formation array quickly took shape, and he didn¡¯t slow down at all.

    All seven judges were top-tier soul engineers, and they could naturally rte to the current state that Huo Yuhao was in. This was a state that they desired when they were crafting soul tools.

    This state in the world of soul engineers was known asBody and Mind as One. A soul engineer couldn¡¯t explicitly pursue this state; they needed to be spirited, have very deep foundations, and have a certain level of cultivation and spiritual power before they could reach this state.

    A soul engineer would have to enter this Body and Mind as One state to craft ss 9 soul tools. Typical soul engineers didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, so they wouldt make mistakes, and thus they could only rely on reaching the state of Body and Mind as One to smoothlyplete such an extremely sophisticated thing as a ss 9 soul tool.

    The chief judge, the Starsky Douluo, who was also a ss 9 soul engineer, stared at Huo Yuhao until his eyes seemed to be a little greedy.What a prodigy! He¡¯s an absolute prodigy! I don¡¯t care who his teacher is, I have to snatch him over to my side! This talent is something that all soul engineers crave and desire!

    The other soul engineers¡¯ crafting progress was at odds with Huo Yuhao¡¯s process. They were practically done with their formation arrays, and were now starting to casually forge their soul tools¡¯ other parts.

    The tournament¡¯s technique round wasingter. Therefore, every contestant nned to have some time to rest and recover afterpleting their soul tools, so that they could be revitalized for the undoubtedly strict technique assessment afterwards.

    The contestants began to nce at their adversaries at this point, now that they were rtively less tense than before. Huo Yuhao quickly became their focus of attention.

    There was no way they couldn¡¯t pay attention to Huo Yuhao; there was a human-shaped soul tool two and a half meters tall, standing right next to him!

    One of the Alto Chamber of Commerce¡¯s contestants pressed the pestle and mortar in his hands the wrong way when he saw that human-shaped soul tool, causing him to waste a piece of rare metal. He almost crushed his own hand!

    The other soul engineers felt their eyeballs popping out as they watched Huo Yuhao¡­ only He Caitou could maintain his casual and calm demeanor, because he wasn¡¯t looking at Huo Yuhao.

    A human-shaped soul tool? He¡¯s actually crafting a human-shaped soul tool in this tournament?

    ¡°This Tang Wu is a prodigy. Have you investigated his identity?¡± The vice-founder deliberately suppressed her voice as she spoke.

    Nangong Wan hurriedly answered respectfully and said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent someone to investigate, but we didn¡¯t find anything. It feels like Tang Si and Tang Wu just emerged out of nowhere. They had servants before this, so I thought they came from a sect, but we¡¯ve checked every single sect, and nothing. However, I don¡¯t think his identity and where he¡¯s from is important. He¡¯s participating in this tournament for the rewards, and that means he¡¯s not that wealthy. Everything else won¡¯t be a problem; we just have to brainwash him.¡±

    ¡°Dumbass,¡± the vice-founder grunted coldly.

    Nangong Wan felt his heart skip a beat, and his expression changed slightly as he bowed respectfully and said, ¡°Forgive me, vice-founder. Please advise.¡±

 Chapter 346.1 - Racing Against Time

    <h4 ss>Chapter 346.1: Racing Against Time</h4>

    The vice-founder exined coldly, ¡°He¡¯s a soul engineer, not a soul master. The things he has to do require creativity and innovation. If we brainwash him, his memories will greatly deteriorate. It¡¯s easier for soul masters because we can guide them and train them so that they regain their memories under our control, but can he regain his memories regarding processes as fine and intricate as crafting soul tools? We have to focus on pulling him over to our side without brainwashing him.¡±

    Nangong Wan hurriedly lowered his head. ¡°Yes. We have taken out a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell to rope him in. What I meant to say was, if he doesn¡¯t wish to concede, we can consider brainwashing him if we have no other choice.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t let him leave our sight after this tournament,¡± the vice-founder continued to instruct him with a chilly voice.

    If those who were familiar with Huo Yuhao knew everything that was happening here, they would have thought,This delicious cake will be wanted wherever he is.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside Radiant City¡­

    Shadows flew past again and again as they descended from the sky into a courtyard beside the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The issue at the royal pce had been resolved, so the high-level soul engineers who were responsible for guarding the important warehouse hurried back as soon as possible. They were guarding a ce of strategic importance, and they would be in big trouble if something happened.

    There were eight high-level soul engineers standing guard here. Their leader was an elderly man who was tall, but a little scrawny. His eyes were sunken deep into their sockets, and his skin was very ck. He looked like he shared the same blood with the royal family. Of course, ever since Xu Tianran¡¯s father ¨C who was also the current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire ¨C usurped the throne, the traditional royal family¡¯s ck skin color had been continuously diluted by the current royal family.

    This person was born into the previous royal family. However, he was one of those who had mutinied against the throne all those years ago, and he was deeply trusted by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s current emperor. However, he didn¡¯t support Xu Tianran, though Xu Tianran had been working hard at trying to bring him to over to his side.

    This man¡¯s name was Xu Guozhong, but he wasn¡¯t loyal at all. He was big on profits and money. He had helped the current emperor usurp the throne all those years ago, and gained voluminous medicines and whatnot in exchange, which was how he had reached his current cultivation rank.

    They were just guarding a warehouse, but these guardians were treated extremely well. The key was their authority; only the emperor himself could touch the rare metals and equipment in this warehouse, nobody else. Not even the crown prince had this authority.

    He was in full control of the inventory and everything in this warehouse. asionally smuggling some out to sell brought incredible profits, and Xu Guozhong himself was still a prince. He was revered, had status and influence, and was a man with real power and authority. He had some connections with the military, and he was also a ss 9 soul engineer himself. Xu Guozhong was one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s bigger characters.

    Xu Tianran had always been trying to rope him in, but Xu Guozhong had never confirmed his attitude and his position because he was still hoping for better profits and benefits. In the end, Xu Tianran would still need Xu Guozhong even after he ascended to the throne because of Xu Guozhong¡¯s authority and influence in the empire.

    Xu Guozhong was a ssic miser. He didn¡¯t have toe to this warehouse every day with his status and his rank, he could have stayed in his own manor. However, taking stock of all the treasures in this warehouse was one of his greatest joys and interests. This was especially true for the stuff on the second and third floors.

    Li Chong was the manager, and he asionally smuggled some rare metals out of the warehouse. However, he could only take from the first floor, and Xu Guozhong was very clear about everything on the other two floors.

    Xu Guozhong had gone to the royal pce to take a look, and then had hurried back when they realized that everything was alright. This was the first time that he had seen so many Titled Douluo¡­ how intimidating! The situation in Radiant City had be so obscure and blurry, so he hurried back as soon as possible because he was worried about the warehouse¡¯s safety, and also about his own.

    Where else was safer than his warehouse one hundred meters underground? Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and the others had failed to discover something; Xu Guozhong had his own underground pce in his warehouse, which was furnished with everything money could buy. His underground pce was even more luxurious and extravagant than a prince¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Li Chong?¡± They walked into the courtyard and noticed that everything looked normal. Xu Guozhong felt a little more assured as he entered.

    In this ce, he was the only one that possessed every single key. He was the only one that possessed keys for the second and the third floor; nobody else had them. Nobody could embezzle anything, even if they wanted to.

    Xu Guozhong called out to his trusty subordinate once he entered the courtyard. He knew about Li Chong¡¯s tricks and the fishy business that he asionally dabbled in, but Li Chong was verypetent and capable, while also being very loyal to him, so Xu Guozhong could only close one eye to his nonsense. Everyone here were his trusted aides, and how could he keep them by his side if he didn¡¯t give them some benefits to lock them in?

    Other matters aside, the rare metals in here that couldn¡¯t be measured with money were one of the most important reasons he was able to attract these high-level soul engineers.

    ¡°Where are you, Li Chong? Come out, right now!¡± Xu Guozhong didn¡¯t feel very good when he noticed that Li Chong hadn¡¯te out to greet him as soon as he stepped in.

    Still nothing¡­

    Xu Guozhong had a lot of experience, and he realized that something was wrong. His eyes focused as he lowered his voice and growled, ¡°On guard!¡±

    The ss 7 soul engineers that he had with him were all high-level individuals, and he had three ss 8 soul engineers with him, as well. nging sounds could be heard as they released their signature soul tools and activated their protective soul barriers, even as the ss 7 soul engineers immediately searched the several rooms around them.

    However, Li Chong seemed to have vanished into thin air. The other rooms were all empty, and not a single person could be seen. There was nothing else happening in this ce, either.

    One of the ss 7 soul engineers walked out from a room and couldn¡¯t help butugh as he ventured, ¡°My Lord, could he have snuck out for some wine?¡±

    Xu Guozhong¡¯s expression changed again and again as he growled once more, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. Li Chong has always been true to his duty. How could he have dared to step out with everything that was happening outside before this? Quick, let¡¯s check the warehouse!¡±

    He activated his protective soul barrier as he spoke, and charged into the central room. He opened the wardrobe and tapped in the passcode as they proceeded into the elevator that led down to the warehouse.

    The elevator quickly came up, and everything seemed to be normal. Xu Guozhong took his high-level subordinates into the lift.

    One ss 7 soul engineer knocked rhythmically and familiarly on the elevator¡¯s wall. They were about to go down in the elevator when it moved, and an intense loss of gravity struck them in the next moment.

    ¡°Idiot! What did you do?¡± Xu Guozhong was infuriated.

    Xu Guozhong naturally knew what this loss of gravity meant; it happened when the elevator¡¯s traps had been triggered!

    This wasn¡¯t the only entrance into the warehouse, but this elevator was the only entrance on their side, so it was natural for it to have anti-burry mechanisms. If the wrong knocks were given, the elevator would instantly slide down, and would get stuck halfway through before an rm sounded. This elevator was constructed from alloys almost half a meter thick, and its walls were extremely tough. Any thief or burr who got stuck inside this elevator had no way out.

    People had made mistakes and gotten themselves stuck inside the elevator before, but those who were following Xu Guozhong had been part of this warehouse¡¯s guard for a long time, yet they were still making mistakes¡­ furthermore, this was crunch time! How could he not be furious?

    Indeed, the elevator slid down several dozen meters before they heard a soft cking sound. The elevator was now stuck.

    The ss 7 soul engineer who had knocked on the elevator¡¯s walls stared at hispatriots¡¯ disdainful looks, and then at Xu Guozhong¡¯s furious expression, with an awkward look on his face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I knocked wrongly, my lord¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think you did? I¡¯ll take care of you when we get out. Quickly, reboot it.¡± He retrieved a golden key as he spoke, and inserted it into a small and unassuming hole in the wall on the other side.

    A strange scene urred. The key went in, but the soul elevator didn¡¯t react. It was like it waspletely stuck, and couldn¡¯t be moved at all.

    A ss 8 soul engineer from thepany suddenly thought of something, and said, ¡°Listen, my Lord! Why aren¡¯t there any rms?¡±

    Xu Guozhong was rooted to the spot.Yes! If something happened to the elevator, the rms should have sounded!The people from the Illustrious Virtue Hall would be alerted, and rms would also sound in the royal pce. This was the reason why he had flown into a rage when his subordinate made a mistake, because his people messing up was very embarrassing for him.

    Xu Guozhong turned his golden key forcefully several more times, and confirmed that the lift wasn¡¯t reacting at all. His face became a lot cker than before.

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right, someone¡¯s messed with the elevator! Quick, break it open! Our closebat soul engineers will work on that, while the rest of us will break open the bottom.¡± Xu Guozhong had a lot of experience, and he made a decision in the blink of an eye. The warehouse had probably been invaded, and even though he had absolute faith in the booby traps and various defensive soul tool mechanisms set up inside the warehouse, he was still a miser, and he was most afraid of losing the things that he cherished most. Furthermore, there were several treasures that he doted on inside his underground pce!

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°That¡¯s the ninth one.¡± Ye Yulin was full of admiration as he counted Huo Yuhao¡¯spleted formation arrays.

    ¡°Tang Wu¡± had finished nine formation arrays within one hour. Based on his current speed, he could finish all eighteen formation arrays within the six hour time limit.

    One hour for nine formation arrays? These formation arrays are also ss 6, at the very least.The judges were feeling a little bad about themselves. It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t have the same ability, but it wasn¡¯t easy to remain in the Body and Mind as One state for more than one hour. These judges sometimes went for an entire year without entering this state, but Huo Yuhao had managed to achieve it basically onmand!

    The formation arrays were like pieces of intricate art Huo Yuhao was disying on his crafting desk. Huo Yuhao himself was like a machine that didn¡¯t make any mistakes at all, a machine operating with incredible speed and efficiency.

    ¡°Haih¨C¡± Ye Yulin heaved a sigh, and shook his head, a little helpless and exasperated.

 Chapter 346.2 - Racing Against Time

    <h4 ss>Chapter 346.2: Racing Against Time</h4>

    Elder Wang said mockingly from one side, ¡°What? You¡¯re thinking there¡¯s nothing much you can teach him, right? This youngster¡¯s foundations are near our own standards. Besides some top-tier formation arrays, concepts, and principles, we are only better than him in cultivation rank. I think his abilities are close to that of a ss 7 soul engineer. Perhaps his cultivation hasn¡¯t reached that level yet, but his abilities are definitely there.¡±

    Ye Yulin nodded softly and agreed, ¡°Yes! If he¡¯s as young as he looks, us seniors should feel guilty. Even though he¡¯s crippled, I favor him a lot. Who knows? Maybe he will create miracles in our soul engineering world in the future.¡±

    Elder Wang heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t give him so much credit yet. The world nevercks for talents and prodigies, but those that truly make it in life, and perhaps eventually be a legend of their era, are few and far between. It depends on his direction in the future. Right now, I want to see how far he can take his human-shaped soul tool with just eighteen formation arrays. Have you realized that not a single one of the nine formations arrays that he has created are weaponized? ording to the tournament¡¯s rules, every person is only allowed to have one soul tool. He¡¯ll be going against the rules if he attaches external weapons.¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s wait and see. If he¡¯s so talented, then he shouldn¡¯t be clueless about the rules. I don¡¯t think we can guess what he¡¯s doing exactly before he finishes his soul tool.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The tenth, the eleventh, the twelfth¡­

    Huo Yuhao continued toplete formation arrays, one after another.

    The fifth hour was about to end, and someone had already finished their soul tool at this point.

    The first contestant toplete their soul tool was Huang Zheng, who was representing the Duskwater Alliance with Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

    Huang Zheng¡¯s soul tool was very characteristic of him. It was an enormous mechanical arm, and it was one hundred and twenty centimeters long, with three sharp ws in front. The entire mechanical arm would be attached to his own arm, and it looked eerily shiny and reflective. What this soul tool did would only be revealed in the subsequent rounds. Soul tools that could be used for tournaments wouldn¡¯t be so simple or standard, and nobody could tell what it did just from looking at it.

    Huang Zheng didn¡¯t leave his position afterpleting his soul tool. Instead, he crossed his legs and just sat there. He seemed to enter meditation. His entire body looked very calm and orderly, and he didn¡¯t seem tense, hasty, or too slow.

    The Third Elder in the resting area beneath thepetition stage nodded in satisfaction.Compared to Huo Yuhao, who¡¯s really making people worry, my disciple is disying abilities that truly outstanding soul engineers should.He was very interested in Huo Yuhao, but he still had a lot of faith in his disciple.

    He Caitou was the second toplete his soul tool. The soul tool that he had created was both fearsome and ferocious.

    He Caitou had crafted an enormous cannon. On the surface, this cannon didn¡¯t look like something that typical humans could use¡­

    Huo Yuhao used many rare metals, but his soul tool was not necessarily higher in overall volume than He Caitou¡¯s cannon.

    He Caitou¡¯s cannon was more than three meters long. The most frightening part of his cannon was the cannon¡¯s mouth; it was two-thirds of a meter in diameter!

    This cannon could pass for a thick house column if it were ced vertically; it seemed very appropriate or supporting weight.

    The tournament provided many different kinds of rare metals, but there wasn¡¯t that much of any one type. Therefore, He Caitou¡¯s enormous cannon seemed extremely gaudy and showy as the cannon flickered with all sorts of colors from many different metals.

    What a waste!If the seven judges were to evaluate his enormous cannon, evaluating it as aplete waste couldn¡¯t be more appropriate. He Caitou might not even be able to use this cannon himself, and even if he could, it was still a waste.

    Thisrge cannon was a ss 7 soul tool, and the judges could see that it was a ss 7 rapidfire cannon. Rapidfire cannons were very useful among ss 7 soul tools, because they could fire both soul power cannon rounds and stationary soul cannon shells. They could fire all sorts of shells between ss 4 to ss 7.

    However, such rapidfire cannons were set up on a base, and a carriage had to pull it along. A fortress was also required behind it before a soul engineer could operate it. Nobody had ever done it like he had; he had no base, only a cannon barrel! Were all the formation arrays inside the cannon barrel?

    Was he going to carry his cannon on his shoulder? Even if he could fire this cannon, it would not be agile at all. His rapidfire cannon couldn¡¯t lock onto his targets, which meant that he would have to rely on his eyes for precision and uracy¡­

    ¡ª

    Everyone was working faster and faster as the round entered its final hour. Most contestants had entered their final assembly phase, and they conservatively nned to finish fifteen minutes before the stipted time was up. Only Huo Yuhao was different; he had three formation arrays left, and these formation arrays seemed exceptionally sophisticated. He would need more time to craft each one.

    The other contestantspleted their soul tools one after another. There were fifteen minutes left when the eighth contestant finished his soul tool, while Huo Yuhao was still working on his final formation array.

    This formation array was huge, almost asrge as a person¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao was also using more than one kind of rare metal.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Abined formation array?¡± Ye Yulin lived up to his name as the chief judge, and was the first to understand what Huo Yuhao was doing.

    Combined formation arrays referred tobining several formation arrays to form a new and multi-functional formation array.

    This couldn¡¯t be achieved by simply connecting several formation arrays together. These formation arrays had to be madeplementary, and was a technique that only top-tier soul engineers could use.

    It was no wonder he was taking so long for hisst formation array; he was probablybining three different formation arrays. Did he have enough time?

    Ye Yulin looked up at the hourss; there was a little bit left. One hour was a very short time when crafting soul tools.

    Elder Wang whispered, ¡°Should we extend the time?¡±

    Ye Yulin shook his head and said, ¡°Is it that important that he ims the championship? We will let him finish his product even if the hourss runs out before hepletes his soul tool. He can be number one in our hearts, and that¡¯s enough. Tell the contestants who have already finished their soul tools that they aren¡¯t allowed to make noise, and they can¡¯t disturb him. Otherwise, they will be punished.¡±

    Elder Wang¡¯s mouth nted as he said, ¡°You¡¯re so biased!¡±

    Ye Yulin grunted coldly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve always believed that protecting the weak is a virtue.¡±

    Elder Wangughed heartily and said, ¡°What a virtue! Alright, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    The other eight contestants quickly received notifications that they had to wait at their respective spots, and they weren¡¯t allowed to disturb Huo Yuhao even if time ran out.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead was dotted with beads of sweat. He knew that he was racing against time, while his entire heart and soul was in his production, and his spirit had been raised to the highest possible level. Huo Yuhao even felt that the immense spiritual power that he had concentrated in his current state was subtly affecting and changing his spiritual sea, to the point where his spiritual sea was undergoing some kind of sublimation.

    At this moment, the Ice Empress, the Skydream Iceworm, and the Snow Empress were all extremely quiet in his spiritual sea. They were afraid that making a single sound would disrupt or interrupt him.

    Huo Yuhao was lucky to be in his current state. He had separated his spirit today, and his spiritual avatar had spent a very long time outside his body. Most soul masters wouldn¡¯t even dare to attempt something like this, as typical soul engineers didn¡¯t have a million -year soul beast like the Skydream Iceworm inside their spiritual seas protecting their spiritual origin. One mistake could cause their spirits to shatter into pieces.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s experiment had been sessful. Furthermore, his spiritual avatar had returned in time at the crucial moment, and his spirit was reintegrated while his spiritual power fused back into his body. This gave Huo Yuhao a better understanding of his concrete-immaterial realm, and it was then that he had quickly entered the Body and Mind as One state, catalyzing his spiritual power to circte at high speeds, and he even managed to consolidate some of his revtions from before. Everything had just seemed toe together.

    Much of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had been upgraded by the Fullmoon Piercing Autumn Dew that he had consumed. He had assimted the medicinal herb, but he had never been able topletely control the spiritual power that this herb had refined and improved. In the end, his body was a lot weakerpared to his spiritual power. He wouldn¡¯t even have been able to store so much spiritual power if not for his Eye of Destiny!

    At this moment, his spiritual power was sublimating once more, and integrated a little more with his body. This integration process was equivalent to boosting how much the spiritual sea in his brain could take, and also improved his spiritual power¡¯spatibility with his body. The better thepatibility, the lighter the burden on his body when he used spiritual power. Even though his physique hadn¡¯t improved, he could now unleash a lot more spiritual power.

    Initially, Huo Yuhao had only needed a singr formation array for hisst one. However, he was still immersed in that state, and he gave himself a challenge while he was feeling inspired so that he could force himself to undergo this sublimation at an even higher level. Even though this meant that he might fail to craft his soul tool in time, this opportunity to sublimate his spiritual power was substantially more important than this tournament!

    Of course, Huo Yuhao definitely wouldn¡¯t admit that the fact that his spiritual power was so smooth and streamlined had something to do with him stealing countless precious materials!¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Tang Sect had rendezvoused with Shrek Academy¡¯spany not far from the western suburbs¡¯ tournament arena.

    Zhang Lexuan reached the hotel at almost the same time as Xu Sanshi and the others. Zhang Lexuan was finally satisfied when she found out that Huo Yuhao had indeed made ns for Bei Bei, but she still followed the Tang Sect¡¯s members as they swiftly escorted Bei Bei out of the city.

 Chapter 346.3 - Racing Against Time

    <h4 ss>Chapter 346.3: Racing Against Time</h4>

    Just as Elder Xuan had said, Radiant City was now under martialw as throngs of soldiers swarmed into the city. Everyone knew that these armies couldn¡¯t do much against powerful soul engineers and soul masters, but having them around was better than nothing. At the very least, these soldiers could restrict their movements and breathing space.

    The journey out of the city wasn¡¯t overly perilous; they readily exploited Radiant City¡¯sck of walls. Zhang Lexuan helped everyone out of the city, and they met up with Elder Xuan and the others.

    Huo Yuhao had already informed everyone earlier on that there were many powerful evil soul masters at the tournament arena. Therefore, Elder Xuan arranged for everyone to rest in a small forest several kilometers out. Elder Xuan personally embarked on some reconnaissance duties, since it was hard for most people to discover him with his abilities.

    This kid is starting to look like an Ultimate Soldier, Elder Xuan thought to himself approvingly, as he watched Huo Yuhao on thepetition stage from afar, still hard at work. Huo Yuhao had made a great contribution this time, and Elder Xuan could cancel Huo Yuhao¡¯s punishment fromst time when they returned to the academy.

    It¡¯s a pity that Du Busi and the others are not reliable. Otherwise, we might have gained so much more if I had guided them here.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes flowed with hostility and murder as he continued to think.

    If he could have besieged and eliminated the three underground organizations, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s people, and those soul engineer judges, the impact to the Sun Moon Empire would probably have beenparable to assassinating Xu Tianran.

    But Elder Xuan was aware that it was just a fantasy.

    There were five evil soul masters who were also Titled Douluo there, along with several other ss 9 soul engineers. There were far too many exceptionally powerful individuals there, and Shrek Academy¡¯s people who were currently here wouldn¡¯t emerge unscathed even if they could defeat this group. Furthermore, a great battle like that needed time, while the Sun Moon Empire clearly knew that Elder Xuan and the others were heading towards the western side. It was clear that the Sun Moon Empire was prepared.

    The Sun Moon Divine Needle hovering in the sky made someone even as powerful as Elder Xuan feel very threatened.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao had informed them in time, and Wang Dong¡¯er and the others told Shrek Academy¡¯spany that the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-founder and several of its elders were there. Otherwise, Elder Xuan would probably have led everyone into an ambush. They had been separated from the Body Sect at this moment, and if their enemies and their enemies¡¯ reinforcements managed to surround and entrap them, the Academy was certain to sustain heavy losses.

    Elder Xuan weighed the pros and cons, and chose to hold back in the end. His goal right now was simple; he wanted to ensure that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou returned safely! Their operation would be consideredpleted once that happened. Afterwards, they would have to wait and see what pleasant surprises Huo Yuhao¡¯s green signal would bring them.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The cannon barrels that had been protruding from the structures within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce had all been retracted, while cleaning and repair works were being carried out in perfect order.

    Xu Tianran was still standing in the pile of rubble that was his study, while the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s founder and Jing Hongchen stood to either side of him. The evil soul masters had all disappeared; nobody knew where they had vanished to. The Dragon Emperor Douluo was likewise nowhere to be seen.

    A servant d in golden warrior robes ran up to Jing Hongchen and whispered something in his ear.

    Jing Hongchen nodded and walked over to Xu Tianran. ¡°Your Highness, the northern, eastern, and southern sides have been ced on the highest alert, and the respective ss 9 stationary soul cannons have been properly established. They will be instantly struck by our strongest firepower if they dare to break through from one of those sides. ording to our scouts¡¯ reports, they separated a while ago. The group that Shrek Academy was leading went over to the western side, while the Body Sect, the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire and the others entered a viscount¡¯s mansion towards the east. They haven¡¯t done anything after entering the mansion. They seem to be hiding and waiting for an opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Hiding?¡± Xu Tianran frowned slightly as his eyes closed into slits. ¡°Get someone to monitor them as closely as possible. We have to force them to choose the western side, and I don¡¯t think they¡¯re just hiding. If they have separated from Shrek Academy¡¯s group, then they definitely won¡¯t break through from the western side. Imperial Tutor, can you send some people from your side over there?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s founder nodded and turned as he disappeared into the darkness. It didn¡¯t take long before he returned.

    ¡°I¡¯ve sent some people over. Without Shrek Academy¡¯s people, they will have to pay a bloody price if they want to force their way out with the people I¡¯ve sent and the empire¡¯s soul engineer legions working together. Why didn¡¯t you let us unleash everything we had when they were here before this, your Highness? If we fought with our full strength and if you had also participated, we could probably have taken down more than half of their entirepany.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes changed a little as he smiled and said, ¡°We are inside the empire¡¯s capital, and we are also inside Radiant City¡¯s imperial pce. If we fight them with our full strength, we will make them pay a bloody price, certainly¡­. but we will also sustain heavy losses ourselves. Furthermore, they have so many Titled Douluo, and if they disregard the unspoken rule and attack the city, the entire city will beid to waste. How am I to exin it to my citizens if that happens? We have to deal them a heavy blow this time, while making sure that we avoid as many losses as we can on our side. It¡¯s not easy for you and your church to nurture youngsters and talents either, no?¡±

    He knew very well why the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s founder suggested fighting here. The man didn¡¯t care about death and destruction, and the deaths of so many citizens was actually greatly beneficial for evil soul masters. Xu Tianran wanted the rest of the world to descend into chaos, but how could he let the Holy Ghost Church do something like that here?

    The truth was that Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t that afraid of Shrek Academy and the Body Sect disregarding the Titled Douluo¡¯s unspoken rule of battle. Rather, he was more afraid that these evil soul masters would take this opportunity to stir up trouble, and that they would murder throngs of his citizens!

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s founder grunted coldly and said, ¡°I can¡¯t let those little scoundrels from the Tang Sect escape. I will turn every single one of them into zombies under my control.¡± He hated the Tang Sect¡¯spany to the core, as the deaths of several outstanding young soul masters had dealt a heavy blow to him. His heart ached for them!

    Xu Tianran answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Imperial Tutor. Shrek Academy¡¯spany went towards the western side, and that means they will be leaving from there. Furthermore, they will never give up the glory that they have held onto for so long. Shrek Academy is facing off against the Tang Sect in tomorrow¡¯s finals, so they won¡¯t leave until the tournament ends. They have left the city for now, but they will probably return after a little while because they can¡¯t bear to leave those elite youngsters behind. I can guarantee that they will all remain if they continue towards the western side, and we can keep them here forever by paying a very small price.¡±

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s founder tilted his head and said nothing more.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Time was almost up.

    There wasn¡¯t much sand left in the hourss, and even Ye Yulin was starting to feel a little nervous. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands were still working, and it would appear that his final three-in-one formation was about to be finished.

    Could he make it on time?

    Huo Yuhao was the focus of every single person¡¯s attention, and countless people felt anxious for him.

    Those who were most concerned about the oue of this tournament were naturally those who had wagered and ced their money on this round. Everyone¡¯s mouths and throats were dry at this point. Of course, not many people had ced their bets on Huo Yuhao, and many people were secretly jeering him. They didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao was crafting a human-shaped soul tool, but this thing looked so much like a person, and it seemed quite formidable no matter how they looked at it.

    Ye Yulin withdrew the soundproofing soul tool beside him as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°The hourss is almost finished. I will count down from ten after thest grain of sand drops before this round will end.¡±

    The only thing he could do was give Huo Yuhao a little more time, as much as he could.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands stopped moving for a single moment when he heard Ye Yulin¡¯s voice, but he quickly resumed his work.

    His knife sliced through and created three impable curved arcs. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de flickered continuously, as touching and enchanting as ever, while the formation array in front of him now shone with gentle light.

    It wasplete!

    Ye Yulin, the other judges, and the other contestants¡¯ eyes were all wide open; Huo Yuhao¡¯s final formation array was finally finished at the most crucial moment!

    And it was at this time that thest grain of sand dropped from the hourss.

    ¡°The countdown has begun. Ten¨C¡± Ye Yulin raised his voice, but also deliberately slowed his countdown.

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply after hepleted his formation array. He nearly forgot that his legs weren¡¯t working, and he actually subconsciously attempted to stand up. His legs didn¡¯t support him, of course, and his body swayed as he almost fell to the ground.

    Ye Yulin felt his heart sink as he watched Huo Yuhao.Yes! He has continuously crafted so many formation arrays, and in addition to what he made before this, he must be exhausted and spent.He had no idea that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t acting right because he was too concentrated¡­

    Huo Yuhao supported himself on the table to keep himself from falling. He hurriedly picked up two formation arrays and turned towards his human-shaped soul tool.

    ¡°Nine!¡±

    ¡°Eight!¡±

    ¡°Seven!¡±

    No matter how much Ye Yulin wanted to be biased towards Huo Yuhao, he couldn¡¯t make it too obvious on the surface. This tournament was important for the three underground organizations¡¯ reshuffling.

    ¡°Six!¡±

    ¡°Five!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were quick, and he used reality to prove to Ye Yulin that his human-shaped soul tool¡¯s design was proper and rational. Huo Yuhao installed nine formation arrays within these few seconds, and he was working hard to fit the remaining nine formation arrays.

    ¡°Four!¡±

    ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡±

    ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°Time¡¯s up. Stop what you¡¯re doing, everyone.¡± Ye Yulin had really tried his best, and even hisst sentence was slightly more draggy than usual.

    Snap!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t disappoint in the end, and he attached the final formation array into the human-shaped soul tool¡¯s chest as Ye Yulin uttered thest three words.

    Huo Yuhao nted his hands on the crafting desk in front of him as he stopped, and it was clear that he was panting a little. Huo Yuhao was tired, and he even felt a little fatigued despite his formidable spiritual power.

    He had given far too muchpared to everyone else over the past six hours. He had split his spiritual avatar and journeyed into that underground warehouse. That endeavor had consumed his energy continuously. He had also channeled his heart and soul into crafting this soul tool, and had entered the Body and Mind as One state after his spiritual avatar had returned!

 Chapter 347.1 - Compete! Crossing the Boundaries!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 347.1: Compete! Crossing the Boundaries!</h4>

    Being in the Body and Mind as One realm was very beneficial to him while creating soul tools. It was also very beneficial for improving his cultivation. However, it greatly depleted his energy!

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had been greatly depleted. Even though he was in the concrete-immaterial realm, he was almost on the verge of caving in.

    However, he was rewarded for his sacrifice. He could sense improvement. After this was over, his spiritual power was bound to increase. Furthermore, he also felt his soul power increasing at this tense moment. It was as if he had ovee a barrier. It must have increased by another rank!

    It was very difficult for him to increase his soul power, given his current condition. As his blood couldn¡¯t circte properly in his lower limbs, his soul power couldn¡¯t circte properly in his body. He currently relied almostpletely on absorbing the origin energy of Ultimate Ice to improve.

    Under such a circumstance, it was definitely a surprise to him that his cultivation had increased by one rank. An increase in his cultivation was very beneficial to him in terms of absorbing origin energy!

    However, all this couldn¡¯t stop him from feeling weak at this point. The only good thing was that he adjusted very quickly. He took deep breaths and circted his soul power. At the same time, his spiritual sea also undted. The undtions of spiritual power helped to clear his mind.

    ¡ª

    He was finally finished. Ye Yulin heaved a sigh of relief. Although he could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool wasn¡¯t equipped with any additional weapons, at least Huo Yuhao managed to finish his soul tool on time. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to enter the next stage of the tournament.

    The technical test was next. With the abilities Huo Yuhao had demonstrated earlier, it wasn¡¯t going to be difficult for him to pass this test. As for how he would perform in the quarterfinals, it would depend on himself. Since he dared to create such a soul tool, he must have had a n.

    ¡°Alright, all the soul tools have been finished, and the deadline is over. From now on, you can only use the soul tool that you¡¯ve created. You are not allowed to borrow other soul tools to aid yourself,¡± Ye Yulin informed the contestants.

    After seeing Huo Yuhaoplete his soul tool at thest moment, there were those who were in awe, and those who found it a pity. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have the energy to bother with how they were feeling. He was focusing right now, and did his best to restore his spiritual power.

    Ye Yulin scanned his surroundings and said, ¡°We¡¯ll check the soul tools now and verify that they are finished products. Those whose soul tools aren¡¯tplete will be directly eliminated.¡±

    After he said this, the rest of the six judges around Ye Yulin twisted their lips. He was too biased. The rest of thepetitors had rested for fifteen minutes, and restored their energy. Only Huo Yuhao seemed fatigued.

    There was no such segment in the original rules of the tournament. After all, if there was a problem with their soul tools, it would be obvious when they were usedter on. Ye Yulin was obviously doing this to stall for time and offer Huo Yuhao more time to rest.

    ¡ª

    The leaders of the three underground organizations were weirded out at this moment. However, Ye Yulin¡¯s demand wasn¡¯t too unreasonable. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t willing to offend the Starsky Douluo.

    As they were helpless, they could only watch as Ye Yulin led the rest of the judges to check the soul tools that eachpetitor had created.

    It was very thorough. The soul engineers even had to pour in their own soul power to ensure that their soul tools were working.

    Ye Yulin led everyone over in front of Huo Yuhao and he said, ¡°Tang Wu, is your soul toolplete?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very sensitive. When Ye Yulin deliberately dyed the timing by counting down from ten earlier, he could already sense that the man was helping him. At the start, he thought that the judge had been bribed by the Duskwater Alliance. However, he realized something was wrong when Ye Yulin suggested this segment.

    If the Duskwater Alliance had bribed him, they wouldn¡¯t make it so obvious. Furthermore, the look in his eyes was the same Yan Shaozhe had when he discovered that Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls!

    Has he noticed my potential?However, Huo Yuhao verified his guess when he saw how the judge looked at the human-shaped soul tool beside him.

    ¡°Yes, chief judge. I havepleted it. My soul tool is working perfectly. It can be used,¡± Huo Yuhao said respectfully.

    Even though he didn¡¯t think that he could mix with this Starsky Douluo, he still had to appear respectful, since Ye Yulin was being nice to him.

    Ye Yulin was drawn to Huo Yuhao no matter what. Seeing that he was respectful and not impatient,, he was even more satisfied. He nodded his head repeatedly. ¡°Good, good. If I¡¯m not wrong, you installed some mechanical parts into the human-shaped soul tool, am I right? They are also the mainponents. Do you think these mechanical parts can rece formation arrays? Can your human-shaped soul tool fight?¡±

    Although he shouldn¡¯t be asking that at this time, he couldn¡¯t help himself.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I reckon that the mechanical parts can rece the formation arrays to some extent. After all, formation arrays are moreplicated to make, and the requirements for the rare metals used are also pretty high. In addition, formation arrays can be unstable, and aren¡¯t as stable as mechanical parts. As a result, I reced the formation arrays with them. Not only are they easy to create, but they are also more reliable. Of course, the mechanical parts have to be very precisely installed. This is achievable through continuous testing.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. Test this human-shaped soul tool for us to see.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

    Ye Yulin asked, ¡°Do you need our help?¡± As he spoke, he pointed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. He lifted his hand and pressed the human-shaped soul tool a few times. Suddenly, the chest of the soul tool opened to either side. The same thing happened to its legs. The entire outer shell opened up, revealing the insides of the soul tool.

    Ye Yulin discovered that this soul tool was assembled very precisely as he observed it close up. The overallyout of the soul tool was also very reasonable. The end product after the mechanicalponents were assembled was very level. It wouldn¡¯t be painful for one to enter and stay within the soul tool. The space avable was also bigger than he had expected.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°As I created this soul tool in a rush, I didn¡¯t add cushioning material such as leather. Otherwise, it would be even morefortable.¡±

    As he spoke, he leaned on the forging table in front of him with his hands. As he moved his waist, he shifted his legs into the leg spaces in the soul tool. After that, he shifted the rest of his body into the soul tool.

    With the support stand that he had installed earlier, he was held in ce inside the soul tool even though he couldn¡¯t move his legs.

    A nging sound resonated. First, the legs of the soul tool closed and buckled Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs in tight. After that, the entire outer shell closed, and he waspletely covered inside the soul tool!

    This human-shaped soul tool was bright silver in color, since the metal that was mainly used to create this outer shell was silver. For some of the joints, the color was different. Overall, the soul tool couldn¡¯t be considered considered extremely pleasing to the eye, but it was eptable.

    As Huo Yuhao slowly released some of his soul power, the eyes of the soul tool lit up. They were formed using twoyers of thin metal that looked like crystals. A dim golden glow came from each eye.

    The metal that was used there was called crystal steel, which was very tough. The greatest trait that it had was that it was as transparent as crystal. It was extremely suitable for creating the eyes of a human-shaped soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes shone, and he unleashed his spiritual power at the same time. His forehead contacted a formation array in front of him. Through this formation array, he transmitted his soul power to the rest of the seventeen formation arrays around his body.

    The transmission of his soul power waspleted through the formation on his belly. This formation array was also thergest andst formation array he had created.

    Ayer of gentle white light was released from the human-shaped soul tool. As Huo Yuhao controlled it with his mind, the human-shaped soul tool walked forward. At the same time, it lifted its arms and seemed to be flexing its muscles.

    ng!

    It was sessful! Ye Yulin¡¯s eyes were filled with astonishment and surprise. While he was a ss 9 soul engineer, he couldn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao had created such a human-shaped soul tool.

    Human-shaped soul tools were often a barrier for soul engineers. The greatest problem with them was that they were very hard to control.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall had once suggested huge human-shaped soul tools had to be controlled through spiritual power. The problem regarding soul power could be settled using Milk Bottles. They also started to install Sealed Milk Bottles. However, immense spiritual power was needed to guide and control a human-shaped soul tool. In addition, it was quite difficult to control such a soul tool.

    The formation array that Huo Yuhao contacted with his forehead didn¡¯te from his own research. It was came from thetest technology invented by the Illustrious Virtue Hall, known as a Spiritual Guide. It was jointly invented by three soul engineers. Xuan Ziwen was one of them.

    After looking at Huo Yuhao¡¯s ns for a human-shaped soul too, Xuan Ziwen had suggested installing this first. Using one¡¯s spiritual power to control a human-shaped soul tool would achieve the best effect!

 Chapter 347.2 - Compete! Crossing the Boundaries!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 347.2: Compete! Crossing the Boundaries!</h4>

    Ye Yulin was so astonished because he saw that Huo Yuhao was using his spiritual power to control his human-shaped soul tool. As he couldn¡¯t move his legs, that must mean that he could directly use his spiritual power to exert control over his soul tool, since it could take a step forward. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had only used eighteen formation arrays, a very small number!

    Huo Yuhao controlled his soul tool to take a step back. He was also very emotional.It¡¯s great to be able to move! I can finally stand up again!

    He had left his previous human-shaped soul tool with Xuan Ziwen to research and continue improving on.

    He hadn¡¯t brought it with him this time. Even if he had, he couldn¡¯t possibly use it in this tournament, it would expose him too easily. If things didn¡¯t go well, he might even be kidnapped by the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and have all his research findings stolen.

    However, it was different now. He didn¡¯t use his identity as Huo Yuhao, but called himself Tang Wu. After this tournament was over, he was going to vanishpletely. He created this human-shaped soul tool to help himself in that goal. He eliminated the problem of his immobility, and thus his fighting strength soared. In addition, it was much easier for him to move now.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the passionate Ye Yulin through the crystal steel and asked with a smile, ¡°Revered chief judge, do I pass?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± Ye Yulin was delighted. The rest of the six judges were also fascinated. The way they looked at Huo Yuhao made it seemed like they wanted to eat him.

    ¡ª

    They weren¡¯t the only soul engineers around. There were also the otherpetitors, and many of the spectators!

    ¡°It¡¯s actually a human-shaped soul tool.¡± The Third Elder was already very unsettled, and couldn¡¯t remain seated. He stood in front of the resting area with a very shocked expression on his face.

    ¡°Second brother, my dear second brother. You forced me to give this kid to you. Are you seeing this? He¡¯s actually made a human-shaped soul tool! He can even use his spiritual power to control it. While his actions were simple, he only used eighteen formation arrays! Even if I made something like this, I¡¯d still need at least forty formation arrays toplete the simple actions that he¡¯s performed with eighteen! This kid is a genius, an absolute genius! Such a genius is too important to my future development of soul tools.¡±

    Nangong Wan was also stunned by what Huo Yuhao had created. However, he had to remain insistent. He smiled and said, ¡°In my opinion, he should be stronger as a soul master! Did you forget the soul skill he demonstrated earlier? In addition, I won¡¯t stop him from learning how to create soul tools. You can continue to interact with him.¡±

    Seeing that Nangong Wan was unwilling to budge, the Third Elder immediately turned to the vice-leader. ¡°Vice-leader, you¡¯ve seen it too. He knows about soul tools. What do you think?¡±

    The vice-leader replied, ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this when the tournament is over. Let¡¯s watch the tournament first. I just received news that there might be people from Shrek Academy nearby. They won¡¯t ambush us now, but that doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t target us. Everyone be prepared to fight. The only thing that we have to avoid now is internal conflict.¡±

    After hearing her words, Nangong Wan and the Third Elder were afraid, and hurriedly nodded.

    ¡ª

    On the stage, Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool made the rest of thepetitors apart from He Caitou grim.

    He actually made a human-shaped soul tool. However, can his soul tool really fight? Is it really strong and flexible enough? How can it fight without any offensive weapons?

    Huang Zheng suddenly thought of something.Surely this fellow isn¡¯t going to use his evil soul master methods to fight again? However, the other two underground organizations should already know about his abilities. Is there really no way they can target him? The soul tools made by the rest aren¡¯t easy to deal with, either¡­

    ¡ª

    ¡°We¡¯ll carry out the technical test now. Some special techniques used to create soul tools and formation arrays are very pertinent. It¡¯s only by using these techniques that one can achieve greater heights. We¡¯ll need all of you toplete some techniques within a set time in this technical test. Thest toplete them will be eliminated.¡± Ye Yulin tried to suppress his excitement while recounting the rules to thepetitors.

    Very soon, every soul engineer was presented with a tray.

    This tray was squarish, and there were nine grids on it. On each grid was a squarish piece of rare metal. Each of the nine pieces of rare metal on each tray was a different color. Given the abilities of thepeting soul engineers, they could naturally recognize what these rare metals were.

    Huo Yuhao could also tell, of course. He didn¡¯t leave his human-shaped soul tool. To him, the feeling of standing was toofortable. He only put his wheelchair away in his own storage-type soul tool.

    After scanning the nine pieces of rare metal in front of him, he had already developed a spectrum in his mind. The nine pieces of rare metal were arranged from hard to soft. The first piece was extremely hard, and thest piece was extremely soft. In short, they were all of varying degrees of hardness.

    ¡°To ensure fairness, none of you can use your own carving knife. You must use the de on the tray. What you have to do is to use specific techniques on the nine pieces of rare metal to create nine different formation arrays. For the first piece, you need to drill thirty holes. For the second piece, you need to carve fifty tortuous curves that are proportionately separated. For the third piece, you¡¯ll need to carve an image of a windmill. For the fourth piece¡­¡­¡±

    As Ye Yulin read out the requirements, all the soul engineers started to turn a little dismal.

    Nine different techniques, from the easiest to the most difficult. However, they all roughly knew how to do them. However, they turned grim once again as they saw the rare metals in front of them.

    Different rare metals were suitable for carrying out different tasks. The rare metals in front of them were the most unsuitable for performing the techniques required of them!

    For example, they had to drill thirty holes in the first piece of rare metal, which was the toughest. It was too difficult, and they couldn¡¯t use their own carving knives. They could only use the one on the tray, which was made of ordinary fine steel. How much soul power would they need to expend toplete this technical test?

    In the end, they still had to carve the mostplicated image on the softest piece of rare metal. No wonder Ye Yulin warned them that the technical test wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Not easy was an understatement!

    Ye Yulin didn¡¯t care what they thought. After he announced the rules, he didn¡¯t even bother exining again. He immediately shouted, ¡°The technical test begins! All of you have fifteen minutes toplete this test. If no one canplete all nine techniques, we¡¯ll rank you based on the number that you¡¯vepleted.¡±

    At this point, night had already fallen after the six hours allotted to thepetitors to create their soul tools. However, the ninepetitors weren¡¯t tired at all. They all started at the same time.

    Their martial souls were different, and thus they each had their own ideas.

    He Caitou¡¯s idea was the simplest and crudest. He bit on a cigar that helped to restore his soul power, and directly used his soul power to strengthen the carving knife before he started to carve forcefully.

    Compared to him, Huo Yuhao seemed to be more technical. For the first piece of rare metal, he used a special method that only he could perform.

    After all, there weren¡¯t any rules that forbade damaging the rare metals.Aren¡¯t you very tough? I¡¯ll make you stronger then.He pressed the metal with his left hand and poured in his soul power from his Ultimate Ice. The temperature of the metal fell to negative two hundred degrees Celsius. This extreme temperature was very damaging to the rare metal.

    After this, Huo Yuhao lifted the carving knife with his right hand. He couldn¡¯t just drill the holes forcefully. The sizes of the holes had to be the same, and they had to be circr, and wless. This was the definition of sess.

    After he ced his carving knife in position, his eyes turned slightly grey. Following this, a streak of green light shone on his hand.

    He was in his human-shaped soul tool now, and only opened the handpartments so he could start carving. No one could see his eyes.

    A small green spot slowly formed on the metal. After this, Huo Yuhao retracted the low temperature of his Ultimate Ice, and the metal started to fume with smoke.

    This was known as a Corrosive Light, from the necromantic arts. It was extremely corrosive and destructive to all matter. Huo Yuhao was able to use this technique with his current spiritual power, but he couldn¡¯t lock onto his target with this Corrosive Light, and it only covered a small area. However, it was pretty effective when used on metals.

    The rare metal that had been frozen earlier was corroded now. The structure of the metal broke down further. At this point, Huo Yuhao used more of his soul power and pushed his carving knife through the metal, which was much easier now. His control of this Corrosive Light was very good, it didn¡¯t spread elsewhere. He first drilled a hole before using this light to expand it slightly. In this way, he conserved more soul power than the others.

    ¡ª

    The rest of the technical test was basically a proficiency test of his techniques. While he had yet to fully restore his spiritual power, he was still very familiar with these techniques, even without the help of his Spiritual Detection. He wasn¡¯t any slower than the rest of them.

    Moreover, his spiritual power recovered rather quickly. The sense of weakness he had felt had already disappeared. His condition was even improving!

    The seven judges were impressed as they saw how thepetitors were progressing. They had to admit that these soul engineers had very strong foundations. No one made any obvious mistakes.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the fastest, but he was among the top three. Ye Yulin understood why Yuhao wasn¡¯t the fastest; he was tired!

    Considering how tense Huo Yuhao was when he made his soul tool earlier, it was quitemendable that he could maintain a top three position in this technical test!

 Chapter 348.1 - Entering the Finals

    <h4 ss>Chapter 348.1: Entering the Finals</h4>

    Ye Yulin looked at He Caitou and the representative from the Alto Chamber of Commerce and said, ¡°Both parties, please report your names. Let me reiterate ¨C this match will only end when one party concedes defeat or loses his fighting strength. If you think you can¡¯t beat your opponent, please say so so you don¡¯t make a grave mistake.¡±

    ¡°Tang Si!¡± He Caitou shouted his name in a concise yet assertive manner.

    ¡°Alto Chamber of Commerce, Zhao Shouze.¡±

    ¡°Begin.¡± Ye Yulin suddenly rose into the sky and announced the beginning of the first match.

    This wasn¡¯t a fight like the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. It was a real life-and-death fight. This was an underground tournament ¨C there weren¡¯t that many rules to protect thepetitors.

    Zhao Shouze pointed his toes to the ground before he charged towards He Caitou. His body shone with three yellow and three purple soul rings. Evidently, he was a six-ringed Soul Emperor. He waved his warde, and it lit up with a blinding, golden-red spark.

    The surprising thing was that He Caitou didn¡¯t fire his cannon. He even set it down. It might be because he couldn¡¯t do so in time, or he just didn¡¯t want to fire it. It was as if the cannon was too heavy, and He Caitou couldn¡¯t lift it anymore.

    However, his soul rings rose too.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings.

    There was a hugemotion beneath the stage when everyone saw that his six soul rings were of the optimalbination.

    It was very rare for even a soul master to have the bestbination of soul rings, much less a soul engineer.

    The members of the Duskwater Alliance were naturally greeted with a delightful surprise. However, the members of the Alto Chamber of Commerce and Common Alliance turned grim.

    Zhao Shouze naturally saw He Caitou¡¯s soul rings. As he looked at his opponent¡¯s soul rings before looking at the colors of his own soul rings, he realized that he was in trouble! His unstoppable momentum earlier suddenly met with an obstacle.

    But even though his aura was slightly suppressed by He Caitou¡¯s soul rings, he didn¡¯t slow down. He quickly charged across the center line. As he waved his warde, he shed it towards He Caitou.

    Suddenly, this golden-red de formed a long arc that advanced more than forty meters before it shed towards He Caitou¡¯s head. Its majestic aura was about to sh the stage in two.

    The air suddenly became hotter. Zhao Shouze¡¯s warde was very exquisite. While it was a closebat soul tool, there were nine formation arrays in it. As it was strengthened, it was almost as strong as a ss 7 closebat soul tool. Furthermore, it could cover a longer distance than most ordinary closebat soul tools. It was a soul energy weapon.

    However, He Caitou wasn¡¯t anxious at all. His legs moved swiftly, and he dragged his rapidfire cannon along with him. As he shifted, he avoided the sh.

    A long trench was immediately shed open as the energy from the warde struck the ground. The two sides of the trench had turnedpletely red, and they were even melting quickly. This showed how frightening the elevated temperature of this warde was.

    However, the spectators couldn¡¯t be bothered about the strength of this warde right now. This was because they were stunned as they were looking at He Caitou. He Caitou lifted his cannon and charged towards Zhao Shouze.

    A long-range, offensive-type soul engineer was running straight toward a closebat soul engineer. What was going on?

    Beneath the stage, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had already opened wide. As he watched the situation on the stage, he revealed a slight smile on his face behind his human-shaped soul tool.The real fool is the one who thinks second senior is a fool. In terms of fighting strategies, second senior is not inferior to anyone! He¡¯s trying to catch him off-guard.

    Zhao Shouze also didn¡¯t expect He Caitou to charge towards him. In addition, He Caitou was extremely fast. It was very shocking. Even while he was carrying a rapidfire cannon, Zhao Shouze felt as if he were illusory as he burst over.

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao weren¡¯t the only ones who knew the Tang Sect¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track! He Caitou had been in the Tang Sect for a long time. The two main Tang Sect Secret Techniques that he cultivated were the Purple Demon Eyes and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Even while he had a cannon on his shoulder, he still performed his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track perfectly. Not only this, but the barrel of his cannon also started to light up.

    Zhao Shouze was also only stunned for an instant. In the next moment, he swept his warde and shed it towards He Caitou¡¯s waist.

    At this point, He Caitou was still around fifteen meters away from him. He was confident of killing his opponent through a series of quick attacks. Zhao Shouze also didn¡¯t believe that He Caitou could fire his rapidfire cannon under such a situation.

    However, he also discovered that there was an additional cigar in He Caitou¡¯s mouth just as he swept his warde. It was a dim golden cigar. He Caitou was expelling smoke from his mouth, and ayer of golden light also shone from his body at the same time.

    He Caitou lifted his rapidfire cannon and used his body to bear the attack of the warde.

    ¡°Dang!¡± He Caitou was still advancing forward as a loud and clear sound resonated. The warde brushed past his body, but was blocked by a golden barrier.

    Invincible Barrier?

    He has flouted the rules!This was what Zhao Shouze thought at first. However, Ye Yulin had no intention of ending their fight. At this point, He Caitou had already closed up the gap. He Caitou flung his cannon forward towards Zhao Shouze.

    Zhao Shouze was shocked. He quickly used his warde to block the attack. After all, he was a closebat soul engineer, and he was very confident in his physical strength.

    However, he didn¡¯t know one thing ¨C there were gifted people in this world.

    He Caitou was one of them. Although he wasn¡¯t as strong as Wang Qiu¡¯er, he was still superior to most ordinary soul masters.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Zhao Shouze reeled back. He felt a huge force exerted towards him before the hilt of his warde struck his own chest. He quickly activated the second state of his warde; his entire warde turned a piercing, golden red. Although he couldn¡¯t effect a long-range attack after his warde changed to this second state, the close-range destructiveness of his warde was greatly increased.

    However, he immediately saw He Caitou¡¯s cannon barreling towards his chest.

    Zhao Shouze lifted his warde straight without any hesitation before he used his scorching de to strike He Caitou¡¯s cannon.

    However, he was petrified at the next moment. That was because the light in the barrel of the cannon had suddenly gone off.

    Rapidfire cannons derived their name from their ability to fire rapidly. On a battlefield, rapidfire cannons were used to contain enemies through their firepower. A single strike of a rapidfire cannon wasn¡¯t too strong. For example, a cannon shell fired from He Caitou¡¯s ss 7 rapidfire cannon was as powerful as a ss 6 explosive cannon shell.

    Of course, He Caitou¡¯s rapidfire cannon was different from other rapidfire cannons in terms of its size.

    If a cannon was toorge, it would be too bulky. However, there was a corrtion between strength and size. The cannon shell of this rapidfire cannon was at least three times the size of a normal cannon shell. Naturally, it was of greater strength.

    After he struck his opponent with the barrel of his cannon and forced him back, He Caitou immediately pointed the barrel of his cannon toward his opponent.

    It was a cannon! It wasn¡¯t a closebat soul tool, but a cannon that could be fired. However, Zhao Shouze seemed to have forgotten this point after he was forced backward.

    Under normal circumstances, his golden-red de could sh a rapidfire cannon in half as if it were a block of butter.

    However, He Caitou ced his rapidfire cannon right in front of him! No matter what, it was still a cannon!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Everyone could clearly see a very bright ball of light shining between He Caitou and Zhao Shouze. The tremendous explosive force and recoil caused He Caitou to be flung back along with his cannon.

    Zhao Shouze¡¯s warde was indeed very strong, and was worthy of being a closebat soul tool that was almost ss 7. His golden-red de was still pointed straight up, and the cannon shell that was fired towards him had been shed in two. However, the two halves of the cannon shell still struck him!

    This tournament was different from any ordinary fight between soul engineers. The soul engineers could only use the soul tools they created. This meant that Zhao Shouze didn¡¯t have an automatic protective soul barrier with him. While the cannon shell was shed in two, it was still a cannon shell. The pieces would still hurt when they struck his body¡­.

    Zhao Shouze was also flung backward. However, it wasn¡¯t his body that flew back. It was scraps of his flesh.

    His entire upper body had disappeared. Only his legs were left standing on the ground. His warde swayed for a few times before it fell to one side. The light from his de also slowly faded away. As his golden-red de hit the ground, it melted.

    The entire venue went silent.

    Even though everyone knew that there were no rules in this underground tournament, they still found it ufortable when they saw such a bloody scene in front of them ¨C a living person¡¯s upper body had been directly blown apart by a soul cannon.

    At this moment, dry coughs could be heard all around the stage.

    Apart from the vice-leader, the rest of the members of the Duskwater Alliance stood up at this point. Even the Number 98petitor who hated Huo Yuhao and He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but cheer at this point.

    A long-range soul tool could be used in this manner? Fired straight in front of one¡¯s opponent? It was too much.

    He Caitou flew back due to the backst generated. Right now, he had alreadynded steadily on the stage. He didn¡¯t even look at Zhao Shouze¡¯s remains. He lifted his cannon, turned around and walked towards the people from the Duskwater Alliance.

    ¡°The first match has ended. Tang Si is the winner.¡±

 Chapter 348.2 - Entering the Finals

    <h4 ss>Chapter 348.2: Entering the Finals</h4>

    After hearing some weeping sounds, He Caitou seemed to think of something. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and walked towards Zhao Shouze¡¯s remains. He picked up his warde and looked up at Ye Yulin. After this, he asked, ¡°Chief judge, can I keep this as a reward?¡±

    Ye Yulin¡¯s mouth twisted a little. It was his first time seeing someone using such a fighting style! However, He Caitou¡¯s ferocious fighting style still left a deep impression on his mind.Tang Si and Tang Wu. He must be here with Tang Wu. It seems he is also quite gifted!

    ¡°Yes. However, you can only use the soul tool that you¡¯ve created in theter rounds.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± He Caitou followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions and tried his best to say as few words as possible. He carried his cannon and the warde on his shoulders as he left the stage.

    After he left the stage, the stage was cleaned up. Following this, Ye Yulin said, ¡°The second-ranked and seventh-rankedpetitors, pleasee up to the stage.¡±

    Huo Yuhao controlled his human-shaped soul tool to walk forward. When his soul tool came to the stage, it bent its legs slightly before leaping up. With a boom, itnded on the stage. It looked slightly clumsy, but its aura was pressing.

    On the other side, thedy in blue from the Common Alliance ascended to the stage as well.

    The situation wasn¡¯t very beneficial to the Alto Chamber of Commerce. One of their soul engineers had been eliminated, and another had been killed. Even though the representatives from the Common Alliance didn¡¯t ce much in the technical test, all of them still managed to advance. They were much more fortunate.

    ¡°ng, ng, ng!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool made its way over in front of Ye Yulin.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Ye Yulin. Thedy seemed a little fearful, but she still walked over slowly. Her body swayed in an elegant manner as she walked over. She seemed to be about eighteen or neen years old, and she revealed a terrified look on her face.

    Ye Yulin said, ¡°Both parties, please report your names.¡±

    ¡°Tang Wu.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s cold voice sounded out.

    ¡°My name is Lan Ruoruo. Brother, you won¡¯t kill me like he did earlier, will you? I¡¯m a little scared.¡± Lan Ruoruo¡¯s body trembled slightly. She also looked slightly pale, as if she were truly frightened.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound. He turned around and walked toward his side of the stage.

    Beauty trap? Thisdy from the Common Alliance had found the wrong target. Huo Yuhao had suffered from such temptations several times before. For example, there were Ju Zi and Wang Qiu¡¯er, who were both stunning. However, he still remained loyal to the love of his life. Lan Ruoruo was just ady nurtured by the Common Alliance. In his eyes, her soul had already been corrupted. Her actions couldn¡¯t possibly draw his pity.

    Lan Ruoruo¡¯s eyes shed with a frustrated look. She had always believed that she was charming but Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even moved. She felt that he was too much. ¡°Hmph!¡±

    As she thought of that, she also turned around and retreated to her position.

    The soul tools created by the threedies from the Common Alliance were all very special. They werepletely opposite to He Caitou¡¯s soul tool, as they were small and portable.

    The Common Alliance nurtured such outstanding youngdies because they had some kind of mission toplete. Bulky andrge soul tools didn¡¯t suit them. On the contrary, small closebat soul tools were the most effective for them. As a result, they were all agility-type soul masters.

    ¡°Begin.¡± Ye Yulin rose into the sky once again. This time, he fixed his gaze on Huo Yuhao. He had to see what Huo Yuhao was going to do for himself.

    As he announced the start of the fight, Lan Ruoruo immediately moved. She gently pointed her toes to the ground and drifted towards Huo Yuhao like a small, blue bird. She was very graceful, and seemed like she was dancing. However, it was clear that her dress was very special as she moved.

    As her dress flew slightly upward, her smooth, white skin could be subtly seen. Her flowing sleeves didn¡¯t even cover her arms. As she lifted her arms, her sleeves rippled slightly, and her lotus-like arms began to sway.

    Lan Ruoruo¡¯s soul tool was a dagger. The smaller a closebat soul tool, the more difficult it was to create. This was especially so for advanced-level closebat soul tools. Her dagger waspletely ck, and no soul power undtions could be seen from it. As it stuck close to her wrist, it was hidden from view as she danced.

    ¡°ng, ng, ng!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements still seemed a little clumsy. He took big steps forward and lifted his arms at the same time. He adopted a posture that seemed to suggest he was ready to engage in closebat.

    Everyone knew that he didn¡¯t have any offensive soul tools with him. He only had his human-shaped soul tool. Furthermore, he was disabled. His legs couldn¡¯t move, and it was already a feat for him to control the movements of his human-shaped soul tool.

    Lan Ruoruo didn¡¯t charge right at Huo Yuhao, but only slowly came closer to him by revolving around him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool could only follow her movements clumsily.

    Ye Yulin furrowed his brow.It seems like this human-shaped soul tool is still a halfpleted product! While he can control it with his mind, the mechanicalponents can¡¯tpare to formation arrays in terms of offering agility to the soul tool. However, we can still learn from his human-shaped soul tool. If we can erge it and equip it with more offensive soul tools, it¡¯ll be pretty strong on a battlefield.

    It might be good for him to lose. A setback might spur him to work even harder in the future.

    Lan Ruoruo was getting closer to Huo Yuhao. She revealed more and more of her skin as she danced. She was almost like a fairy as her blue dress was juxtaposed with her fair skin. Along with her captivating looks, she could easily make one distracted.

    It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression as he was hidden in his soul tool. His gaze was clear, and a dim golden shone from his eyes. He wasn¡¯t bewitched at all.

    Suddenly, Lan Ruoruo lifted her thigh, and her entire dress flew upward. As she turned, she showed off her butt to Huo Yuhao. At the same time, she made another sudden turn and brushed past Huo Yuhao¡¯s left nk like a butterfly.

    If he were any ordinary person, he would be stunned by this sudden ¡®view¡¯. This was also the opportunity that Lan Ruoruo was looking for.

    After she brushed past Huo Yuhao, her seduction turned into killing intent. Her eyes shed with a cold and vicious look as she leaped up. She held onto her dagger with both hands, and three of her six soul rings ¨C two yellow, three purple and one ck ¨C shone at this point. They were all unleashed as she strengthened her soul power. Her pitch-ck dagger also turned dark purple. A three-inch purplish sword light stabbed towards the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s head like the fangs of a venomous snake.

    It was an attack that she had been preparing and umting for some time. Lan Ruoruo was very confident in her offense. Not to even mention that Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool seemed so clumsy, a soul master couldn¡¯t possibly dodge this attack of hers.

    Lan Ruoruo¡¯s greatest strengthy in the offensive strength of her closebat soul tool. Compared to a long-range soul tool, a closebat soul tool¡¯s offensive might was very great. Her dagger even sacrificed all long-range offensive abilities, and contained the element of darkness within it. It was even able to destroy a soul. It could damage all protective soul barriers and Invincible Barriers. Not only this, but it could pierce through all metals. It was even stronger than most ordinary ss 7 soul tools. If it stabbed someone, they would definitely die.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone brightly just as she made her move.

    Just as her dagger was about to stab the back of his head, Lan Ruoruo saw eight streaks of white light shining from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. An impact force suddenly appeared.

    This impact force wasn¡¯t very strong. She was only forced back by one foot, given her six-ringed cultivation. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also moved forward one foot. Two feet wasn¡¯t considered much to a soul master or soul engineer. However, it made a huge difference to Lan Ruoruo¡¯s lethal attack.

    As a purple light shed, her attack struck nothing. At this point, she felt things had turned blurry in front of her. The seemingly-clumsy figure in front of her had vanished.

    The spectators had initially thought Huo Yuhao was going to be in huge trouble. At this moment, they were stunned when they saw Huo Yuhao controlling his soul tool to deftly perform a turning action. As it turned, lights shot out from its back. At the same time, a streak of light also shot out from its waist. It drew a very weird arc in the air, and it managed to flip itself behind Lan Ruoruo. As it flipped, it punched towards Lan Ruoruo¡¯s shoulder.

    Lan Ruoruo reacted quickly. After she discovered that Huo Yuhao was missing, she used her left foot as an axis to make a turn. At the same time, she bent her upper body backward and avoided Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist. She also pointed her dagger upward and attempted to graze Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t let her get what she wanted! He lifted his arm and kicked his right leg out towards her supporting leg.

    At this moment, his human-shaped soul tool didn¡¯t seem clumsy at all. It was extremely agile.

    Ye Yulin was astonished.This kid was pretending all along!

    Lan Ruoruo¡¯s closebat abilities were indeed great. Even in such an unfavorable situation, she was still able to control her own body. She used her left arm to support herself. She waspletely arched by now. She used her support leg to spring up, and kicked Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. She was trying to exploit her momentum to dodge his attack.

 Chapter 348.3 - Entering the Finals

    <h4 ss>Chapter 348.3: Entering the Finals</h4>

    It was a pity that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dodge this time.

    He punched her thigh.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Lan Ruoruo screamed in pain. As she smacked her left hand against the ground, she quickly slid back.

    She was a Soul Emperor, but Huo Yuhao was a Soul King with twin martial souls! His human-shaped soul tool was made entirely from rare metals. After Huo Yuhao poured his soul power into it, it became extremely resilient. She couldn¡¯t easily ovee it with her strength.

    In addition, Lan Ruoruo clearly sensed an extremely cold aura entering her left leg. Right now, her left thigh had gonepletely numb, and she couldn¡¯t feel anything there.

    Huo Yuhao had no intention of letting her go. Suddenly, his body shone with golden light, and an indescribable aura was released from his body. His silvery-white human-shaped soul tool turnedpletely golden, and the majestic aura that it released put a lot of pressure on Lan Ruoruo.

    At this moment, Lan Ruoruo felt as if she were facing a Titled Douluo. She couldn¡¯t help but scream again, and she quickly retreated as she jumped on one leg.

    Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. He stepped forward with his left leg and punched his right fist out. Suddenly, a bright golden fist projection shed in the air before it disappeared. Instantly, it came before Lan Ruoruo.

    She frantically used her dagger to resist the fist projection, and it was eventually destroyed. However, the gold that spread from this fist projection still struck her body.

    She felt as if her body had fallen apart. An indescribable spiritual trauma seemed to cause her to be rapidly paralyzed. Her internal soul power seemed to have been restrained by that invisible force, and her mind seemed to lose its connection to her body. The figure in front of her was too strong.

    She wasn¡¯t hurt by soul power or the fist. She was hurt by spiritual power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent.

    Huo Yuhao had the Soul Power Amplifier that he had created. The formation arrays of his amplifier were above his right fist. It enabled his human-shaped soul tool to unleash his strongest attack.

    His Sovereign¡¯s Descent was unleashed through his amplifier, which greatly enhanced the strength of his attack. However, Huo Yuhao was also slightly regretful. If his amplifier wasrge enough to be ced in front of his chest, his overall abilities would grow by another level as he enhanced all of his soul power.

    However, he was still delighted that his attack was sessful. That was because he knew that he was slowly grasping how a human-shaped soul tool greatly enhanced a soul master¡¯s abilities. It wasn¡¯t just about the Soul Power Amplifier; there were many other methods that could be used.

    The entire venue went silent. Huo Yuhao won just like that. He even wonfortably. His human-shaped soul tool was actually so quick and deft. Thest strike involved his own self-invented fighting technique, which was very rare even among soul masters. Lan Ruoruo ¨C a ss 6 soul engineer and six-ringed Soul Emperor ¨C lost her fighting strength after she was struck by the fist.

    Of course, no one knew that Huo Yuhao had used his Ultimate Ice on Lan Ruoruo earlier. She suffered because she was careless. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been so easily struck by his Sovereign¡¯s Descent earlier.

    ¡°Tang Wu wins.¡± Ye Yulin descended from the sky, stunned as he looked at Huo Yuhao. There was also a look of admiration on his face.He¡¯s seeded. He¡¯s really seeded. From the agility of his human-shaped soul tool earlier, I can tell that thebination of mechanicalponents and formation arrays in his soul tool is already perfect. His Soul Power Amplifier isn¡¯t too impressive though. After all, the difficulty of making such an amplifier depends on the quality of materials avable.

    Such a human-shaped soul tool can enable a disabled person to fight with so much agility. This is a sess. His Highness will certainly like a human-shaped soul tool like this.

    Everyone from the Duskwater Alliance felt extremely at ease now. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao had bothpeted, and both of them didn¡¯t even give their opponents a chance. They had already taken half the spots in the semifinal. The Duskwater Alliance was in a very favorable situation now.

    The third match was between thedy in yellow from the Common Alliance and thest remaining soul engineer from the Alto Chamber of Commerce.

    Both parties didn¡¯t intend to give up on this opportunity, and they fought very intensely. Eventually, thedy in yellow attained victory. She defeated her opponent using her long sword, a closebat soul tool, and advanced to the next round.

    Thest match was between Huang Zheng and ady in red from the Common Alliance.

    Huang Zheng, who always seemed veryposed, finally demonstrated his ruthlessness in this match. His w-shaped soul tool was useful for both close-range and long-range attacks. At the same time, he was determined enough not to be seduced by his opponent. Eventually, he chopped off one of his opponent¡¯s arms and forced her to concede defeat.

    The semifinalists were He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, Huang Zheng and thedy in yellow, who was called Ye Guyi.

    However, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were troubled after the draw was made for the semifinals. They drew each other. They were going to face each other in the semifinal.

    ¡°It¡¯s good like that too. You¡¯ll have enough time to rest. I¡¯ll forfeit this round.¡± He Caitou announced his forfeit, and Huo Yuhao sessfully advanced to the finals.

    Nangong Wan was delighted with He Caitou¡¯s decision to forfeit. This proved that Tang Si was inferior to Tang Wu. In addition, Tang Wu could conserve his fighting strength for the final. Of course, it would be great if Tang Wu and Huang Zheng were the finalists. The Duskwater Alliance would win no matter what if that happened.

    The second semifinal round was Ye Guyi from the Common Alliance versus Huang Zheng from the Duskwater Alliance.

    Bothpetitors went up to the stage. Ye Guyi was the prettiest among the three representatives from the Common Alliance. However, she wore a cold look at this point. While Lan Ruoruo lost to Huo Yuhao, she didn¡¯t suffer any injuries. However, thedy in red was critically hurt by Huang Zheng. Even if her amputated arm was reattached, it might not be as agile as before.

    Ye Guyi coldly red at Huang Zheng and sternly said, ¡°If you are a man, you¡¯ll fight until the end. Don¡¯t concede defeat.¡±

    Huang Zhengughed coldly, ¡°You¡¯ll have the opportunity to tell whether I¡¯m a man in the future.¡±

    ¡°Begin!¡± Ye Yulin couldn¡¯t be bothered with their trash talk. He immediately announced the start of the fight.

    Ye Guyi pointed her toes to the ground and burst towards Huang Zheng like a patch of yellow clouds. Huang Zheng rested his w-shaped soul tool on his right arm. As he lifted it slightly, the three sharp ws at the front shot out three-feet long light des.

    These light des were used to chop off the arm of thedy in red earlier.

    As Huang Zheng lifted his ws, he shot his light des towards Ye Guyi like bolts of lightning. Not only could his light des be used for closebat, they were also very effective for long-range attacks.

    After locking onto the opponent, these light des spiraled out and intercepted Ye Guyi from different directions as they drew arcs in the air. They weren¡¯t easy to be dodged. Furthermore, they were extremely sharp, and very explosive. Resisting them without any protective soul barriers was bound to deplete the target greatly. Huang Zheng called them Soulchase ws.

    After unleashing his three sharp des, Huang Zheng unleashed yet another three light des from his ws. He was advancing quickly towards Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi wasn¡¯t afraid as she faced these spiraling light des. Earlier, she had already witnessed Huang Zheng¡¯s fighting style. Thedy in red had suffered as the des blew apart. Ye Guyi wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake.

    She turned her wrist, and a long sword appeared in her grasp. This sword was around three feet and three inches long. The de of her sword was one inch thick, and it emanated a bright golden light. There were seven stars on the sword, and three formation arrays. While there were only three of them, they were very small. Miniature formation arrays such as these could only be made using advanced techniques.

    She pointed her sword forward and gently waved her de in the air. A blurry sword projection was created.

    ¡°Ding, ding, ding.¡± As three clinks sounded, she urately struck the three sharp des that were spiraling towards her.

    These three des were stopped in the air. However, Ye Guyi seemed to turn illusory as they were about to blow apart. She was like yellowish fog, and drifted forward instantly. The speed that she managed to achieve was almost close to the standard of an Instant Teleportation.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± Three explosions sounded simultaneously. Ye Guyi had already avoided the danger. As Huang Zheng was advancing towards her, he managed to close the gap between them.

    After witnessing his opponent¡¯s outstanding swordy and speed, Huang Zheng was slightly stunned. However, his abilities weren¡¯t ordinary either. His eyes shone, and he continued to take big steps towards Ye Guyi. It was important to note that he was from the Holy Ghost Church!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s body shed with an illusory light projection. Huang Zheng didn¡¯t unleash his light des again. The two of them quickly met in the center of the stage.

    Ye Guyi evidently hated Huang Zheng. As she shook her wrist, her sword formed countless streaks of lights. These streaks of starlight were glowing brightly, aimed at Huang Zheng¡¯s eyes.

    Huang Zheng didn¡¯t panic. He straightened his ws and started to move them. Ayer of dim-green light shone from his ws, forming a shield that blocked the sword lights.

    His ws were adept at both attacking and defending. Not only were they very explosive, but they even possessed great defensive strength too. It was as strong as a ss 6 protective barrier.

    As he blocked the sword lights, Huang Zheng¡¯s third purple soul ring lit up.

 Chapter 349.1 - Holy Angel

    <h4 ss>Chapter 349.1: Holy Angel</h4>

    The purplish light exuded from Huang Zheng¡¯s third soul ring seemed to be very gentle. However, a sinister aura slowly arose from it. His eyes turned blood-red and he let out a low-pitched whisper. With his body at the center, ayer of purplish-ck light covered his surroundings to a diameter of thirty meters.

    Darkness¡¯ Descent!

    Huang Zheng¡¯s martial soul wasn¡¯t considered very strong among evil soul masters. It was called an Evil Servant, a strange human-shaped martial soul. ording to the Holy Ghost Church, such a martial soul came from an avenging spirit after a human passed away. When an avenging spirit was contaminated with the evil qi of heaven and earth, it would be a very special existence. It became an Evil Servant that could harm living things through its resonance with the evil qi of heaven and earth.

    Once an Evil Servant entered the belly of a pregnant woman, this martial soul would be imprinted on the fetus¡¯ body. However, the pregnant woman would die during childbirth, and her blood would nourish this Evil Servant, which would slowly take form in the fetus¡¯ body.

    However, Evil Servants weren¡¯t considered very strong among evil soul masters. They were even considered one of the weakest martial souls. It was vastly inferior to the Bone Dragon, Abomination, or Skeleton King. This was also the reason why Huang Zheng chose to be a soul engineer in the Holy Ghost Church, and not a pure evil soul master. He wouldn¡¯t excel as an evil soul master.

    While an Evil Servant wasn¡¯t very strong, it was still considered an evil martial soul. It was mainly auxiliary in nature, and unleashed all sorts of soul skills filled with an evil aura to weaken its opponents, which indirectly strengthened itself.

    At this moment, Huang Zheng unleashed an auxiliary-type soul skill of his Evil Servant called Darkness¡¯ Descent. Within a certain domain, it would greatly affect his opponent¡¯s vision, and the sinister, evil aura from this soul skill would invade his opponent¡¯s body. The effect of his Darkness¡¯ Descent was even greater at night.

    Indeed, Ye Guyi suddenly felt everything turning dark around her. She seemed a little frantic when she couldn¡¯t see Huang Zheng clearly. She subconsciously retreated a few steps and waved her sword in front of her body. Although she blocked Huang Zheng¡¯s attacks, she was at a disadvantage right now.

    Huang Zheng revealed a cold smile on his face. His fifth soul ring also lit up. He was a veryposed person. Once he gained the advantage, he would never allow his opponent to flip the tables on him!

    His ten-thousand year ck soul ring caused the surroundings to turn even eerier. Layers of purplish-ck fog started to rise from the ground. This thick fog started to engulf Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s movements slowed, and waves of sinister aura continuously entered her body. A yellow light projection appeared behind her, but this projection was already being torn apart by the purplish-ck fog.

    Spiritual Extraction!

    While it was an auxiliary-type soul skill, it was still a ten-thousand year soul skill! It could greatly influence an opponent¡¯s spirit. If the opponent¡¯s cultivation was too inferior, his spirit would really be detached, crushed, and turned into food for Huang Zheng¡¯s Evil Servant. Huang Zheng normally attacked ordinary people. Those who suffered under his Spiritual Extraction would usually turn into vegetables after they lost their spirits.

    The light from his ws became even stronger now. Meter-long light des shot out towards Ye Guyi.You want my life? You can die under my Soulchasing ws first! Without your flesh, I¡¯ll tear your spirit apart. The spirit of a Soul Emperor must be delicious! My cultivation will rise a few levels again!

    A mixed look of ferocity and delight appeared on Huang Zheng¡¯s face. To ensure that his strike was fatal, he even added a thick purplish-ckyer to his ws. This was his second soul skill, Darkness Touch! It was a lethal poison filled with the element of darkness!

    Ye Guyi was about to be killed. It seemed destined that the Duskwater Alliance was going to win this match, and by extension, the entire tournament!

    However, there was one person who didn¡¯t concur: Shangguan Wei¡¯er! A cold and scornful smile appeared on her face. She knew who backed the Duskwater Alliance, and she was therefore prepared against evil soul masters.

    The Duskwater Alliance had prepared valuable and rare treasures for Huo Yuhao, but the Common Alliance had also prepared something¡­

    Ye Guyi¡¯s actual body seemed to be in a daze right now. However, the tip of her sword suddenly shot upward before turning just as the ws were about to strike her.

    Suddenly, the seven gold stars on her sword shone, and an intense golden light exuding a sacred white glow spread out.

    The purplish-ck fog that was invading her spirit behind her screamed tragically. Instantly, the fog disappeared, and the surrounding darkness also vanished.

    Ding!Ye Guyi¡¯s sword struck the center of Huang Zheng¡¯s ws, blocking them. The spirit behind her returned to its previous position as well.

    She also revealed a cold smile on her face.

    Huang Zheng¡¯s Spiritual Extraction was ovee, and Huang Zheng¡¯s Evil Servant trembled. His Evil Servant was directly connected to his own spirit. Although he wasn¡¯t hurt, he was also stunned.

    Following this, the sacred golden-white light struck his body. Huang Zheng only felt a warmth engulfing him. Purplish-ck fumes started to rise from his body. As his body shook tremendously, he screamed tragically and started to stagger backward.

    It was a Holy Light, filled with an aura of holiness!

    This time, even the vice-leader of the Holy Ghost Church couldn¡¯t remain seated in the resting area. Holy Light was the jinx of evil soul masters! Was Ye Guyi¡¯s martial soul of the rare holy element?!

    Ye Guyi wasn¡¯t going to answer his question. As she stepped forward, she shed her sword. At the same time, her fifth ck soul ring shone. Her spirit received an enhancement, and her terrifying strength soared.

    A holy intent was revealed on Ye Guyi¡¯s face. At this moment, her earlier disguises melted away. Yes, she was of the rare holy element. She was not even from the Common Alliance!

    She had joined this tournament to target the evil soul masters of the Duskwater Alliance using the Common Alliance.

    Evil soul masters were very adept at harming living spirits to increase their own cultivation, whereas a soul master who possessed the holy element, like Ye Guyi, was most adept at killing evil soul masters to strengthen herself!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s holy look also moved Huo Yuhao. Her spirit had reached an extremely intense stage at this instant. The golden-white light that she emanated illuminated the entire stage. Even the darkness in the sky almost seemed to be taken over.

    This is¡­ holy¡­

    The holy element was different from light, they were two different existences. However, the holy element was much more effective against evil than the light element.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s right hand had turnedpletely golden-white by now. A strong sword light also engulfed her sword at this moment.

    At the same time, two white, feathery wings appeared behind her back. She pointed her sword forward, and her sword light engulfed Huang Zheng¡¯s body.

    Fifth soul skill, Holy Sword!

    An Angel. Her martial soul was an Angel! No wonder she was of the holy element!

    Angels were worshipped by sects in olden times. Ten thousand years ago, the predecessor of the Martial Soul Hall was the Church. The Church was very strong because they possessed holy strength. At that point in time, there were many soul beasts with evil bloodlines. The Church cleansed them, which earned them the recognition of the people. However, the evil soul beasts started to disappear, and the influence of the Church started to wane. As they lost more and more talents, they were soon reced by the Martial Soul Hall.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s huge golden-white sword shed past, and she stood arrogantly on the stage, alone. Huang Zheng and his soul tool had bothpletely vanished!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t control himself when he saw this scene.It¡¯s indeed an era of heroes! The Holy Angel that has been missing for years has finally re-surfaced! To a certain extent, a holy martial soul is an extremity. It¡¯s just that Ye Guyi is too rash. Does she really think that the Common Alliance can protect her? Perhaps if she had the support of a strong organization like the Holy Ghost Church¡­ Furthermore, she has underestimated how afraid evil soul masters are of her martial soul. I¡¯m afraid¡­

    As Huo Yuhao thought to that point, his aura turned slightly cold.

    The vice-leader and four elders of the Holy Ghost Church stood up at the same time. To them, a holy martial soul could threaten the very existence of the Church!

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. He could hardly look after himself right now. Even if he wanted to help Ye Guyi, he couldn¡¯t!

    What should I do?

    At this point, the vice-leader lifted her right hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk when the tournament is over.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The four elders acknowledged her words immediately. However, they knew that Ye Guyi was doomed.

    It wasn¡¯t just Ye Guyi. Even Shangguan Wei¡¯er could sense the sinister looksing from the Duskwater Alliance.

    Shangguan Wei¡¯er felt a premonition.Was I wrong to use Ye Guyi to deal with the Duskwater Alliance? Forget it, the imperial family is backing me. No matter how arrogant these evil soul masters are, surely they wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with the imperial family¡­

    However, Shangguan Wei¡¯er didn¡¯t realize that everyone had a bottom line that couldn¡¯t be crossed. This was also applicable to evil soul masters!

    Ye Guyi was filled with positive energy. At this point, it was clear that she was the only one among the threedies that didn¡¯t expose her skin.

    She pointed her sword towards the Duskwater Alliance, looking arrogant and scornful. The tip of her sword shook gently, and pointed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool.

    This girl doesn¡¯t know her limits! She¡¯s actually trying to provoke me!

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless.She¡¯s really fearless. How can the Common Alliancepare to the Holy Ghost Church?

 Chapter 349.2 - Holy Angel

    <h4 ss>Chapter 349.2: Holy Angel</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill her to avenge Brother Huang!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed. He rushed up onto the stage. As he charged up, he also blocked the Third Elder, who was about to take action.

    As he leapt up, Huo Yuhao arrived on the stage once again. He took big steps towards Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi snorted, ¡°Evil soul master, I¡¯ll definitely kill you with my sword!¡± After killing Huang Zheng, her cultivation had increased significantly. Her soul power that had been drained earlier had also been replenished. At this moment, she was bursting with confidence.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart, but he still said, ¡°I¡¯ll see whether you are capable of doing so.¡±

    ¡ª

    As the chief judge, Ye Yulin wore a grim look on his face right now. When Ye Guyi revealed her Holy Angel, he was extremely shocked. However, he had the same thought as Huo Yuhao.What a foolish girl! Why did you reveal your holy element in front of evil soul masters, given that you¡¯re but a fledgling soul master yourself? Aren¡¯t you courting death? If I discovered your holiness earlier and referred you to His Highness, you¡¯d have be a future trump card in dealing with the Holy Ghost Church. Wouldn¡¯t that be great? However, I¡¯m afraid now¡­

    Ye Yulin shook his head helplessly; he had already thought it through.Those guys from the Holy Ghost Church are bound to do something now. Since this is the case, I¡¯ll do them a favor. Once Tang Wu can¡¯t hold on anymore, I¡¯ll end the fight. After all, the Holy Ghost Church is going to cause trouble, and I¡¯ll have to save Tang Wu. I can¡¯t let him be hurt by this Holy Angel.

    As he thought to this point, Ye Yulin formed a n in his mind. He drifted up once again and shouted, ¡°The fight begins!¡± This time, he didn¡¯t even tell both parties to retreat. Since the tournament was already at such an intense stage, he allowed it to continue.

    ¡ª

    Ye Guyi¡¯s sword shook slightly, and she pointed the tip of her sword at Huo Yuhao. However, a subtle voice rang out in her ears at this moment.

    ¡°How could you reveal your holiness in front of the Holy Ghost Church? Do you really think the Common Alliance can protect you?¡±

    This sudden voice caused Ye Guyi to be slightly stunned. Although she wasn¡¯t slow, she started to be a little doubtful.Who¡¯s talking to me? Why does it sound like it¡¯s in my head?

    ¡°It¡¯s me, your opponent.¡± As Huo Yuhao spoke to her, he quickly slid back and avoided her sword.

    Ye Guyiughed coldly and thought to herself.This must be another of the cunning tricks the evil soul masters are trying to y.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a plot. There are five strong individuals from the Holy Ghost Church over there. The five of them are all at least Titled Douluo, and one of them is even a Transcendent Douluo. Do you think the Common Alliance can protect you?¡±

    At such a close distance, Huo Yuhao could used his spiritual power tomunicate with Ye Guyi. Within a ten-meter distance, he could almost read her mind. Of course, this was also because Ye Guyi didn¡¯t activate her own spiritual power to resist him.

    Ye Guyi pointed her toes to the ground, and her sword formed countless streaks of light. These streaks of light engulfed Huo Yuhao, but she was shocked as she thought to herself,You can sense what I¡¯m thinking?

    ¡°My main martial soul is a spiritual-type,¡± Huo Yuhao replied mentally, ¡°as long as you don¡¯t resist me too much, I can sense the undtions in your mind and judge what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    As he spoke, he performed his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track using his human-shaped soul tool. His soul tool quickly retreated, and he avoided Ye Guyi¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Why should I believe you?¡± Ye Guyi snorted coldly.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he said, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know how to convince you. However, I can assure you that the Holy Ghost Church is ourmon enemy. I¡¯m more determined to get rid of them than you are. However, they are very influential, and it won¡¯t be easy. If you want me to prove it to you, I can only do so by defeating you before thinking of a way to save you.¡±

    Ye Guyi picked her brows and thought disdainfully, ¡°You want to defeat me? It¡¯s impossible even if you¡¯re an evil soul master!¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt very helpless as he replied, ¡°Your pride will harm you! Grow up. Let¡¯s make a deal. If I defeat you, you¡¯ll listen to my arrangements. I¡¯ll do my best to protect you. You need to understand that your Holy element is a great threat to these evil soul masters. They¡¯ll try to get rid of you before you be truly powerful!¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll listen to you if you defeat me.¡± Ye Guyi¡¯s face was filled with an arrogant look even though she thought that way. She didn¡¯t believe that she would lose to a cripple. She had been observing him earlier. She was stunned that he could create a human-shaped soul tool, but she didn¡¯t think that he was her match.

    Huo Yuhao stopped talking. As he retreated, he suddenly punched his fist out.

    Instantly, Ye Guyi felt as if it there was no longer a person in front of her. Rather, it was a huge mountain. A bright-golden fist grewrger right in front of her eyes.

    A strong golden-white light rose from her body. Her sword shot out light. As she pointed the tip of her sword forward, she managed to stab Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    Ding!

    In terms of cultivation, both of them possessed Ultimate martial souls. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was still weaker than Ye Guyi¡¯s even with the enhancement of his twin martial souls. However, his Soul Power Amplifier now worked to great effect. As their soul powers shed, a winner couldn¡¯t be determined.

    Ye Guyi only felt an extremely immense spiritual undtioning towards her. She felt she was going to be crushed by the aura of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sovereign Descent had already been modified, and was different from the original version that Elder Mu had passed down to him. It was also why Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of letting the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s members witness it. At the same time, his Sovereign¡¯s Descent was still very strong even without the Goddess of Light to unleash it. The effect of the spiritual power in his Sovereign¡¯s Descent was far superior to that of his soul power, which represented the greatest difference from the original Sovereign¡¯s Descent.

    However, Ye Guyi wasn¡¯t like Lan Ruoruo. When she opened her feathery wings, Huo Yuhao felt as if his spiritual power had encountered a holy barrier, and he waspletely isted.

    However, his fist also stopped Ye Guyi¡¯s attack. He forced her to move half a step back.

    He exploited this opportunity, and his aura suddenly changed. A greyish halo surfaced underneath his feet, and his eyes also turned grey.

    A greyish soul ring?Ye Guyi was also shocked. She had never seen such a soul ring.It¡¯s abnormal, and filled with an evil aura. It can only belong to an evil soul master!

    You¡¯re a liar. You¡¯re obviously an evil soul master!,Ye Guyi thought to herself furiously.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he said, ¡°If I didn¡¯t do something like this, do you think the Duskwater Alliance and Holy Ghost Church would trust me? Just remember our agreement; if I defeat you, you must listen to me! Be careful!¡±

    It was obvious that Ye Guyi¡¯s trust in Huo Yuhao was greatly diminished when he unleashed the aura of a necromancer. Her sword shook, and she opened her wings. Her feathers exuded ayer of gentle, golden-white light fog. She seemed to turn transparent from the intense light. She was filled with a thick aura of holiness. She pointed her sword forward, causing countless streaks of sword light to shoot towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡ª

    When they saw this scene, all the evil soul masters beneath the stage turned dismal. Even they felt slightly ufortable before this pure holy strength.

    Ye Guyi was only a two-winged Angel, but she was already very strong. When her cultivation grew to seven rings and she gained her Martial Soul True Body, she might grow another two wings. When she reached nine rings, she might even have six wings! When that happened, she would be a very strong enemy to the Holy Ghost Church!

    Furthermore, Ye Guyi¡¯s appearance also disrupted the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s arrangements. If she won the overallpetition, the Duskwater Alliance could only give up on controlling the rare metals in the Sun Moon Empire. Although they were backed by the strength of the Holy Ghost Church, they couldn¡¯t do it forcefully. After all, Xu Tianran would support them no matter what. However, offending the military and nobility wouldn¡¯t tie in with the interests of the Holy Ghost Church when war was getting closer and closer.

    It was now a matter of whether Huo Yuhao could win. The vice-leader had already thought this over. Once Huo Yuhao was in a disastrous situation, she would try her best to intervene. Although she would offend the other two parties, it was better thanpletely losing face.

    ¡ª

    What a strong Holy Light!Huo Yuhao was in awe. Ye Guyi¡¯s holy aura made him feel as if he was immersed in warmth. However, this warmth was trying to corrode his body. If he were really an evil soul master, his abilities would be greatly weakened.

    Huo Yuhao quickly retreated and used his right hand to mimic a lifting action in the air. He continued to rely on his Soul Power Amplifier to strengthen himself. A long staff appeared in his palm.

    The greyish soul ring that rose from beneath his feet continued to shine brightly. Following this, it rapidly turned golden.

    As the golden glow surfaced, Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool was also dyed gold. This gold was different from the gold of his Sovereign¡¯s Descent. This gold was much darker, but it was filled with an aura of light.

    ¡ª

    At this point, Ye Guyi and the evil soul masters beneath the stage were all stunned.

    Why is he filled with the aura of light now, even though he seemed to be surrounded by evil energy earlier? How did he manage to perform this trick?

    Just as the orthodox evil soul masters were all shocked, and the vice-leader moved forward one step, a low-pitched recitation of incantations sounded from the stage.

    ¡ª

    As Huo Yuhao pointed his staff towards the sky, a ball of pale-white me surfaced in the air. It quickly turned into a figure that appeared right in front of him. A white shield descended to block the Holy Lighting towards him!

 Chapter 349.3 - Holy Angel

    <h4 ss>Chapter 349.3: Holy Angel</h4>

    The vice-leader stopped all movement when she saw this figure. It was Huang Zheng¡¯s figure!

    However, his expression was very rigid at this moment. He seemed ethereal; obviously, he was in his spiritual form. However, Huo Yuhao used his spirit to block Ye Guyi¡¯s sword lights!

    Controlling spirits had always been something that evil soul masters were very adept in. However, why was he filled with an aura of light earlier? Even the vice-leader was confused at this moment!

    Ye Guyi felt everything best. She discovered that her first soul skill, Holy Light Illumination, had lost its effect on Huo Yuhao when his soul ring turned golden. Her Holy Light was supposed to have an immediate effect on evil soul masters, but it waspletely useless against Huo Yuhao. He blocked it with his soul power. While Huang Zheng¡¯s spirit was crushed by her sword lights, Huo Yuhao was still offered some buffer time.

    Huo Yuhao was reciting incantations throughout this time, and his staff didn¡¯t stop moving. As he pointed it at the ground, golden bone ws started to extend up from the ground. They were reaching for Ye Guyi!

    Ye Guyi swept her sword out to crush them. She fluttered her wings and immediately rose into the air.

    Huo Yuhao swept the right arm of his soul tool forward. A streak of golden light shed, and a few dim golden figures covered in a pale-white glow appeared in front of him.

    They were tall and huge liches, wearing rigid expressions andpletely disfigured. There were seven of them, each holding a bone staff. After the liches appeared, they surrounded Huo Yuhao and made weird noises. At the same time, they lifted their staffs up high.

    ¡ª

    Electrolux had once told Huo Yuhao that undead magic and necromantic magic were different and involved different abilities, but Electrolux had specialized in both categories. Necromantic magic generally involved five differentponents: incantations, poison, calling, darkness, and alchemy. Of these, Electrolux was most adept in the aspects of incantations and summoning. Combined with his in-depth research into undead magic, he had managed to make great achievements. Electrolux was also truly proficient in all types of summoning, as well as spiritual rituals.

    If Electrolux were still alive, he would be ranked higher than the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, who was an Ultimate Douluo. Furthermore, he had once challenged an empire with his necromantic magic and destroyed it with his own power!

    Electrolux had achieved enlightenment following that deed, andter even performed a series of tests on Huo Yuhao¡¯s will before he passed his necromantic magic on to him. At the same time, he also helped Huo Yuhao solve many of the problems he himself had once faced. What he left for Huo Yuhao was a pure, light-type necromantic magic. It was invented by Electrolux, and also the reason why he added the word ¡®Divine¡¯ in front of ¡®Necromancer¡¯ in his title.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Die!¡± Just like the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s members had wondered if Huo Yuhao was an evil soul master because of the aura of light that he released, Ye Guyi also revealed a cold look in her eyes when she saw these liches. She lifted her sword above her head, and her second soul ring shone.

    A projection of a six-winged angel shed behind her. Her sword light suddenly expanded, and the de of her sword became blinding. No one dared to look straight at it!

    A huge beam of sword light a meter long and a third of that wide descended from the sky and shed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Holy Ghost sh! It was the second soul skill of her Holy Angel!

    When this attack appeared, Huo Yuhao felt as if it had locked onto his spirit. The terrifying beam of sword light turned into a longbow that descended from the sky.

    The seven liches around Huo Yuhao finished uniting with his incantations. A golden slit suddenly appeared above his head, and a huge pale-white head suddenly poked out from this slit.

    urately speaking, it wasn¡¯t a head, but a huge skull instead. Those who had watched the fight between the Tang Sect and Holy Ghost Sect in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament easily recognized that it was the skull of a Bone Dragon. In addition, this skull was at least five timesrgerrger than the skull of the Bone Dragon that Yan Feng had changed into!

    An adult Bone Dragon! The evil soul masters immediately recognized what it was.

    Bright golden spiritual fire was burning in the eyes of this adult Bone Dragon. Strangely enough, it was filled with the aura of light. The golden spiritual fire was like liquid as it flowed down its cheekbones. As the skull moved upward, it let out a silent roar.

    A clear cracking sound reverberated out. The Holy Ghost sh struck the dragon¡¯s skull forcefully. However, the Holy Light dissipated, and nothing happened to the skull. The spiritual fire was still burning. Suddenly, the skull opened its mouth and spat out a ball of dim golden dragonfire.

    After that, the skull receded back into the slit!

    ¡ª

    Ye Guyi hadn¡¯t expected her opponent to be so difficult. Her Holy Ghost sh had no effect. When the dragonfire appeared, its assertive aura caused her surrounding Holy Light to be unstable. It was as if she were being threatened by a raging tidal wave!

    Although the fearless Ye Guyi was a little reckless, she was still a genuine talent. In the face of such a situation, she still remained fearless. Her fifth soul ring shone again.

    She shed her sword toward the dragonfireing at her.

    The sharpness of her sword was indeed extraordinary. The ball of dragonfire was shed apart, and the two halves brushed past her body. However, she didn¡¯t gain any headway from this attack. She even staggered backward a few steps and turned a little pale.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Nice!¡± The vice-leader couldn¡¯t help but exim in the resting area. She was impressed, ¡°Fusion summoning¡­ it¡¯s a very rare technique! The Bone Dragon earlier was extraordinary! Nangong Wan, you¡¯ve contributed greatly to the Church by discovering such a gifted talent! However, I¡¯m afraid Tang Wu can¡¯t be your disciple. I¡¯ll report to the leader myself. Our previous guess might be right! He is the Holy Son of our Church!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± While Nangong Wan was regretful, he was more astonished.Although his cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be very strong, it¡¯s evident that he possesses great potential from his ability to call out an adult Bone Dragon! The leader was furious a few days ago when Yan Feng died. Although his abilities aren¡¯tparable to Yan Feng¡¯s, his potential seems to be higher. If his calling werepleted, he might have been able to call out an entire Bone Drago! If that¡¯s the case, he can even defeat a normal Titled Douluo! Of course, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯d have to be at least a Titled Douluo before he could do something like that¡­

    ¡ª

    After forcing Ye Guyi back, the seven liches around Huo Yuhao also disappeared. He continued to recite his incantations, and a pale-white door started to rise in front of him.

    ¡°Open, Spectral Door!¡± Huo Yuhao finally shouted a phrase that the spectators could understand.

    After he summoned the door, Huo Yuhao walked through it and vanished. Following this, skeletal troops started to rush out from the door, and charged towards Ye Guyi.

    These skeletal troops all had ayer of gold on their bodies. As undead, their greatest trait was that they weren¡¯t afraid of death.

    Ye Guyi shed out with her sword. Every time she shed it, some of the skeletons copsed to the ground. However, her expression was turning more and grim.

    Her Holy Angel was supposed to be the jinx of evil creatures and soul masters. As long as she killed evil creatures and purified them, her own cultivation would be supplemented by the power of purification. As a result, her soul power would be restored, and her cultivation would increase.

    This was her greatest trump card!

    However, these specters really seemed to possess the element of light within them. They weren¡¯t afraid of her holiness! Her Holy Light wasn¡¯t very effective against them, and even if she killed them, she wasn¡¯t replenished!

    Were they really light-type undead?!

    The skeletons only formed the first wave. After they appeared, countless liches also started to rush out from the door. Stronger skeletal horsemen also started to appear on the stage. They weren¡¯t strong individually, but they were extremely strong when they came together.

    They were unceasing as they all charged towards Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi lifted her sword, and her fourth soul ring shone. She lifted her wings before smacking them down forcefully. Suddenly,yers of Holy Light started to spread from her body. The iing undead were crushed and flung back.

    Holy Light Spiritual Formation!

    If these undead that had encircled her were ordinary undead, her Holy Light Spiritual Formation would have annihted them. However, these light-type undead were too difficult to deal with. Not only did she not receive any replenishment, but the undead that were killed were only the skeletal troops at the front. The rest of the undead continued to advance. They weren¡¯t retreating at all.

    While Ye Guyi was unleashing her killer moves, she wasn¡¯t replenishing her soul power. She was starting to turn more and more dismal.

    ¡ª

    Beneath the stage, Nangong Wanplimented, ¡°Yes! Tang Wu must be the Holy Son! A specter that can¡¯t even be harmed by the holy element! It¡¯s too magical! Congrattions, vice-leader!¡±

 Chapter 350 - Devouring Angel

    <h4 ss>Chapter 350: Devouring Angel</h4>

    The vice-leader was clearly very pleased with Huo Yuhao¡¯s behavior. This was definitely a very pleasant development to her. The fact that he was able to crush his opponent in this tournament meant that the Holy Ghost Church wouldn¡¯t need to fall out with the noble faction and the military, and everything would go ording to n. Moreover, the existence of a super-genius like Huo Yuhao who signified the descent of the Holy Son naturally left the Holy Ghost Church overjoyed.

    ¡°Do you finally believe me now?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rang out again in Ye Guyi¡¯s mind.

    Ye Guyi clenched her teeth.Believe what? Believe a wicked evil soul master like you?

    Huo Yuhao sighed softly. ¡°How do you still not understand what¡¯s going on? If I am truly that wicked, why are my summoned creatures not afraid of your holy element? If I truly wanted to harm you, would I even be bothering to chat so much shit with you? Look.¡±

    As he spoke, the enormous Spectral Door suddenly grew evenrger. Apanied by the deep stamping sounds of horses, tall knights began to walk onto the tournament stage.

    These knights all wore deathly-gray armor, and had faintly golden orbs of spirit fire pulsing within their helmets. The war-horses they rode only had bones, but they were iparablyrge, and left trails of golden fire behind them as they marched forward.

    Only three knights appeared, but the pressure that each and every one of them exuded was much, much greater than the spectral creatures that had previously appeared!

    After these three knights appeared, they immediately rode in three different directions. As though they had found their masters, the low-ranking undead creatures that had been previously summoned started to congregate in these three directions as well!

    Immediately afterwards, the undead became increasingly orderly under themands of the three knights. As a result, Ye Guyi felt an even greater amount of pressure!

    As a possessor of the Angel martial soul, she had done more research on evil martial souls than almost anybody else. Naturally, she knew what these undead creatures were.

    These were Death Knights, undead creatures which were naturally at the Soul Emperor level of power!

    Ye Guyi wouldn¡¯t be afraid of a single Death Knight. After all, being a Soul Emperor herself, she was confident in her abilities to purify them using her Angel¡¯s abilities.

    However, three Death Knights had appeared at once! Not only were they as powerful as Soul Emperors, they could evenmand the other undead creatures from the Spectral Door to form a true army!

    In reality, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s current capabilities, the unique martial soul that Electrolux had left him was no weaker than thebined strength of his other two martial souls. The reasons for this were very simple: the spectral demine that Electrolux had left him to conveniently summon from was one, but more important was his powerful spiritual power!

    In the world that Electrolux came from, spiritual power was the main factor that determined the strength of magic, as well as the duration that it could be used.

    While using his unique Necromancer martial soul, his true strength was at the level of a Soul Sage. Furthermore, he was as powerful as an evil Soul Sage, to boot! This was an ability that he couldn¡¯t use in the open, but one that he could use as Tang Wu!

    At this moment, even the distant Elder Xuan was dumbstruck, much less the onlooking audience. He was also unable toprehend how Huo Yuhao was able to use the abilities of an evil soul master, that were nheless filled with the element of Light.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s expression became increasingly uglier to look upon. She could clearly feel that her soul power was being depleted rapidly as she killed these spectral creatures. If this continued, she would be ground down by therge numbers of spectral creatures that she could easily beat in one on one fights!

    Furthermore, there was a question that was stuck in her mind:Why aren¡¯t these spectral creatures afraid of my holy martial soul?!

    There were no more undead creatures emerging from the Spectral Door. However, even the ones remaining on the stage left her in a very dangerous situation!

    The three Death Knights were coldly staring her down as theymanded their underlings. Moreover, they would asionally fire out Death Lights to revive the undead creatures that she had already killed!

    It was like she had entered a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth!

    At the same time, a deep incantation filled with an aura of mystery once again rang out. This incantation came directly from the enormous Spectral Door, which was trembling violently at this moment. Large amounts of golden-green light started to roil about in the surroundings, and the Spectral Door was unexpectedly expanding yet again.

    Not good!Ye Guyi¡¯s expression suddenly changed.Is he going to use an even stronger move?

    She knew that she couldn¡¯t wait any longer. She finally started to regret revealing her Angel today!

    However, this regret onlysted for a brief moment before going away. If not for her extremely sturdy willpower, she would definitely not have been able to control her Angel!

    Ye Guyi proudly raised the longsword in her hand, letting out a sharp whistle as she did so. Immediately afterwards, the Seven Star Sword suddenlybusted. The sword, which was madepletely out of rare metals, was unexpectedly starting to melt due to Ye Guyi¡¯s holy soul power. Moreover, the holy golden light she emitted started to turn a golden-red. An enormous, zing ball of light appeared behind her, and her pure white wings started to unfurl.

    However, this new pair of wings wasn¡¯t as tactile as her previous ones. Instead, they were made of light! Even so, the undead creatures that were made of light were filled with fear, to the point that they were shaking in their boots. Even the Death Knights were left in the same state, no matter how hard they tried to resist!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s pitch-ck sixth soul ring slowly started to rise above her. During this process, her soul ring started to release the same golden-reddish light that wasing from her body, before slowly melding into her.

    The longsword that had melted within her hands and the lighting from her body congealed together, forming an enormous sword over three meters long. It felt like the lighting from this golden-reddish sword wanted to pierce through the Heavens and Earth itself!

    Ye Guyi made her move. She took a step forward in midair and whirled around, causing the enormous sword in her hands to dance about. The four angelic wings behind her flickered with light, making her look ever so beautiful.

    This was her sixth soul skill, Angelic Dance!

    By relying on the strength of her martial soul, Ye Guyi was able to forcefully bring herself to a level of power near that of a Soul Sage¡¯s Martial Soul True Body for a short period of time. The holy sword in her hands had transformed into a Holy Sun Sword, and any undead creature it touched immediately turned into dust.

    The three Death Knights quickly grouped up and charged fearlessly towards her. However, they couldn¡¯t evenst three seconds against the Holy Sun Sword before being vaporized by its terrifying light!

    ¡ª

    Below the stage, the Titled Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church started to reveal expressions of panic on their faces. Their evil martial souls were actually starting to tremble slightly due to this young girl, who wasn¡¯t even a Soul Sage! It was no wonder that the Angel was known as their greatest nemesis! This was way too powerful!

    Once she slew thest Death Knight, Ye Guyi fiercely beat the four wings on her back. A vast amount of holy light surged out from her body, and with her hands gripping her sword, she leapt into the air. The golden-red light from her sword filled the sky, and sheunched an iparably powerful sh towards the enormous door of light. Her tender face was filled with an unwavering look of determination!

    At this exact moment, the light in a fifty-meter range surrounding Ye Guyi and the Spectral Door started to twist, causing everything to turn blurry. Nobody from the outside world could see what was going on on the stage.

    Only Ye Guyi could see, to her astonishment, that an enormous pair of golden eyes had appeared within the enormous Spectral Door!

    Right after that, she felt an extremely powerful force m into her tenacious spiritual world. Her petite body trembled, instantly depleting nearly half of the strength contained within her Angelic Dance.

    A golden figure walked up to her. This figure was extremely elegant and peerlessly beautiful, and was filled with a boundless amount of light. There was no deathly aura present on this golden figure at all. Her long hair fluttered about behind her, and her pure golden body seemed to be filled with a boundless life force. Furthermore, Ye Guyi unexpectedly sensed a holy auraing from her. This was a holy aura that was somewhat simr to hers, yet was very dulled down inparison to her own.

    In an instant, this golden figure mmed into her!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s aura instantly dispersed. At that moment, she finally believed Huo Yuhao.

    Nothing of what Huo Yuhao had previously said had made an impact on her. However, it was impossible for anybody to falsify a holy aura, much less an evil soul master! Even a faint trace of it could only be produced by an extremely pure person!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice once again rang out in her head, ¡°Do you feel it?¡±

    Yes.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    The two conversed for an extremely short period of time. Right after that, the arena underwent huge changes.

    The originally twisted light within the arena suddenly became clear. Countless thick chains attached to sharp sickles shot out from the violently trembling Spectral Door.

    On the other hand, the previously iparably powerful Ye Guyi was now floating in midair. Her body was covered in a deathly-grey light, and her pupils had dulled. Her back no longer had four wings, but two.

    The thick chains and sickles pierced through her body, firmly locking her in a prison of chains. It seemed as though she hadpletely lost her soul, and the fresh blood trickling from her body evaporated into countless streams of greyish-ck air.

    Suddenly, all of the thick chains pulled back, dragging her body into the extremely terrifying Spectral Door.

    The Spectral Door finally shut. The instant it shut, however, it seemed to transform into a ghastly and sinister mouth that started to chew loudly.

    ¡ª

    The entire field waspletely silent now. An absolutely overwhelming number of people felt absolutely horrified, and started to sweat down their backs.

    A crack appeared in midair, and the Spectral Door subsequently vanished quietly. Amidst the flickering light, the two-and-a-half-meter tall metallic figure once again appeared on the tournament stage.

    At this moment, the stage waspletely silent. The metallic figure stood proudly, but everyone looking at him felt as though he was filled with a sinister aura. They couldn¡¯t help but lower their gazes as they looked at him, not daring to look directly into his face. Moreover, the pupils in his mask that were originally flickering with a dull, golden light had turned blood-red.

    ¡°Is there anybody else?¡± a ghastly voice rang out from his mask. This voice was eerie, ice-cold, and contained a sort of pressure that could intimidate one¡¯s soul.

    The entire field was silent. Even Ye Yulin, floating up in midair, felt his face twitching. Even at his strength, he¡¯d suddenly realized that a few traces of fear had sprouted in his heart towards this unfathomable youth.

    An evil soul master, he¡¯s actually such a powerful evil soul master! Just why is a genius soul engineer like him an evil soul master!?Ye Yulin was feeling pained due to the inner struggles in his heart, but he knew that the Holy Ghost Church would definitely not give up on an evil soul master like this.

    Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t willing to take in an evil soul master as a disciple.

    Suddenly, the sound of pping rose up.

    Huo Yuhao looked towards the source of that sound, and what he saw was a pair of greyish-blue eyes filled with an otherworldly sense of beauty. Moreover, the owner of this pair of eyes was the vice-leader of the Holy Ghost Church!

    Right after she started pping, the other four elders from the Holy Ghost Church started pping alongside her with fervor and passion.

    The crowd in the arena was extremelyrge, and only the four of them pping was a strange sight, indeed. However, this roused the awareness of everyone else present.

    He had won. Tang Wu, who was representing the Duskwater Alliance, had won the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Ye Yulinnded on the tournament stage and looked at Huo Yuhao with aplicated look in his eyes. He suddenly felt an urge to drop the Sunmoon Divine Needle in the sky to eradicate this fellow in front of him.

    This person was a genius soul engineeranda genius evil soul master at such an age. Would the Empire truly be able to control him in the future? Moreover, just how greatly would the Holy Ghost Church flourish in the future with a genius like him in the younger generation?

    However, Ye Yulin didn¡¯t dare to do so in the presence of the five evil Titled Douluo who were staring intently at him!

    What Huo Yuhao had revealed to the various powerhouses was talent. However, there was still a great difference between him and these Titled Douluo and ss 9 soul engineers when it came to power. Yet, he was able to rely on the mentality of the masses and the evil soul masters, along with the three underground powers, to control the entire situation.

    The evil soul masters had be his protective umbre!

    An indifferent smile started to surface on the face below the golden mask. So many pleasant surprises had urred today. Huo Yuhao was especially pleased with his performance today. He finally felt as though he had truly understood the various abilities that he possessed.

    After all, he was still a youth. He was inwardly screaming to himself,Call me the Everchanging Huo Yuhao!

    ¡°The Duskwater Alliance¡¯s Tang Wu wins.¡± Ye Yulin¡¯splicated gaze finally returned to normal as he stiffly announced the result of the tournament.

    On the other hand, the instant this result was announced, the Alto Chamber of Commerce and the Common Alliance, who were originally displeased, were nowpletely silent. Unexpectedly, no one jumped out to contest the results of the tournament¡­

 Chapter 351.1 - A Terrifying Explosion!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 351.1: A Terrifying Explosion!</h4>

    How could Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities not make them fearful? They weren¡¯t afraid of Tang Wu on thepetition stage, they were afraid of the five formidable evil soul masters beneath the arena, who were just standing there spookily. They were no longer masking their auras!

    An evil soul master who was still so young was already so horrifying; he had defeated and murdered that girl, who had an Angel martial soul and possessed the holy element, and swallowed her up entirely. If that was the case, then what kind of abilities did these stronger evil soul masters possess?

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Ye Yulin and said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve won, then please give me the prize, chief judge.¡±

    Shadows appeared one after another beside Huo Yuhao; the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-founder had taken her four elders onto thepetition stage.

    The vice-founder stared at Ye Yulin with a sinister look in her eyes. She didn¡¯t say anything, but the aura that was rising from her body caused Ye Yulin to recoil in fear.

    Transcendent Douluo! She¡¯s actually a Transcendent Douluo! She¡¯s an evil Transcendent Douluo!

    Nangong Wan was very pleased and satisfied at this moment. He raised his voice and said, ¡°The Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s championship belongs to the Duskwater Alliance. From this moment onwards, our wager isplete. An Litong, Shangguan Wei¡¯er, what else do you have to say?¡±

    The elders from the other two underground organizations were already on their feet at this point. An Litong wore a ck face, and he wanted to retort, but he ultimately held himself back as he surveyed the five mighty evil soul masters on thepetition stage. He shook his head painfully.

    Shangguan Wei¡¯er¡¯s dainty face seemed a little ck as her eyes were filled with agony. Ye Guyi¡¯s death had dealt a heavy blow to her.

    Nangong Wan said proudly, ¡°Alright, since there¡¯s nothing else you wish to say, then we will proceed ording to the tournament¡¯s rules. Come to the Duskwater Alliance¡¯s headquarters tomorrow, and we will have a thorough follow-up discussion.¡±

    An Litong snorted coldly before he turned and led hispany away. Shangguan Wei¡¯er¡¯s face suddenly became vengeful as she shot a hateful re at Huo Yuhao, before she also turned and left.

    The tournament was over, concluded in such a shocking and breathtaking fashion, and the aristocrats, the audience, and even the gamblers who had won some money hurriedly got to their feet and swiftly disappeared, one after another. They really didn¡¯t want to see that horrifying devil hidden underneath his human-shaped soul tool. Yes, Huo Yuhao was no different from the devil in their eyes at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s prizes wereid out one by one in front of him.

    Rare metals were ced in front of him, ton after ton, and then there was the insurmountable ss 9 soul tool, the Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    The Sunmoon Divine Needle was actually two ring-shaped soul tools, onerger than the other. The first ring was about one and a half meters in diameter, while the smaller one was roughly one meter in diameter. Therger one was golden, and the smaller one was silver. Sophisticated patterns were engraved all over their surface, and even Huo Yuhao felt a little dizzy just looking at it, even though he could be considered a ss 7 soul engineer!

    Ye Yulin heaved a sigh and passed the Sunmoon Divine Needle to Huo Yuhao. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°You need to have at least eight soul rings before you can use it. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to control it at all, and you won¡¯t even have enough soul power to support it. Don¡¯t attempt to break and copy my soul tool, because it will rip your body into a million pieces. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Ye Yulin paused after this. The Starsky Douluo couldn¡¯t control himself in the end, and asked, ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in your human-shaped soul tool¡¯s structure. If you¡¯re willing, you can sell its blueprint to me. The price can be negotiated This is how you can contact me.¡± He passed Huo Yuhao a card as he spoke.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao said nothing more and took the card.

    He Caitou had arrived beside Huo Yuhao, and his shoulder touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Huo Yuhao turned around and nced at him, and a faint smile appeared on He Caitou¡¯s face. Five mighty evil soul masters had sealed away every possible escape path beside them at this moment, and every single evil soul master had satisfied smiles on their faces besides the vice-founder, whose facial expression was masked.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as well, except his smile was hidden inside his human-shaped soul tool.It¡¯s almost time.

    ¡ª¡ª-

    Inside the underground warehouse¡­

    Boom!

    Countless metal fragments flew in all directions. However, the reinforced underground pce didn¡¯t quake too much. Some of the rare metals that were closer to the warehouse¡¯s first gate scattered across the ground, triggering several soul rays that fired off randomly.

    Xu Guozhong dispelled the smoke in front of him with a somber look on his face. The soul rays were blocked by an invisible barrier a meter from his body.

    The underground warehouse¡¯s defense system was established too perfectly, so much so that it had taken them an exceedingly long time to destroy the various booby traps before they could attempt to break down the first floor¡¯s main gate.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how many losses they had already incurred, and the repairs would also cost a tremendous amount of money and time. But Xu Guzhong had no choice, as he had to enter the underground warehouse as quickly as possible so that he could take stock and calcte his losses. Furthermore, nobody else could know about this episode; they would have to try their best to keep this a secret! Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for the crown prince, Xu Tianran, to impeach him! He would be in real trouble if that happened¡­

    Powerful soul rays erupted from behind Xu Guozhong¡¯s back in a tight volley, and his soul engineers destroyed all the soul tools on the floor.

    One of the ss 8 soul engineers said, ¡°It seems like the booby traps and the defense mechanisms are alright. They can still be triggered, which means they¡¯re still operational. Let me scout ahead, my Lord.¡±

    Xu Guozhong¡¯splexion became a little better at this show of his subordinate¡¯s loyalty. He nodded gently and said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The ss 8 soul engineer stepped into the warehouse routinely and easily as he swiftly checked out the situation on the first floor. His voice quickly came back from the distance.

    ¡°My Lord, nothing has been stolen from the first floor, but the gate leading to the second floor has been destroyed. All the traps and defense mechanisms are intact, and they don¡¯t seem like they¡¯ve been triggered. It seems like somebody familiar with our ce has done this.¡±

    Xu Guozhong led hispany forward, avoiding the misceneous traps as they quickly advanced to the gate leading to the second floor. He saw the metal dust and fragments strewn all over the ground, and bent down and pinched some in his fingers to take a look.

    Xu Guozhong was a ss 9 soul engineer, so it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how familiar he was with metal. His expression quickly changed as he muttered, ¡°These particles have lost all metallic elements, as if they¡¯re just dust. How is that possible? This gate was made from more than ten different alloys, and the gate itself possessed a protective soul barrier. Breaking it down should have triggered the rm. How did the intruders aplish this? Li Chong is the mole!¡±

    He had a clear judgment in his head. Li Chong was nowhere to be seen, while the traps and defense mechanisms outside hadn¡¯t been triggered, and only certain setups and mechanisms had been destroyed all the way inside. This would be impossible unless the intruders were familiar with this ce, so Li Chong was the prime suspect; he fit the bill, and he had been standing guard before this, too!

    A vindictive look flickered across Xu Guozhong¡¯s eyes as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°On to the second floor.¡± The second floor was where the most precious metals were kept!

    At this moment, Xu Guozhong wasn¡¯t that worried anymore. In the end, most rare metals were very dense and heavy, so thieves couldn¡¯t take that much away even if they had storage-type soul tools for transport. These losses wouldn¡¯t be much to the colossal warehouse,pared to the inventory they had umted over so many years. Xu Guozhong was confident in his ability to keep this incident quiet if they didn¡¯t lose too much¡­

    However, Xu Guozhong¡¯s face quickly turned dark and gloomy when they entered the second floor. The piles of rare metals that were originally neatly arranged had disappeared in enormous patches, and his estimate of his losses reached a horrendous level even before he was only ten meters in.

    ¡°Bastard! He must have nned this. He¡¯s stolen the most valuable metals!¡± Xu Guozhong¡¯s face was so somber it felt like his emotions were dripping down his face.

    The color on his face turned a few shades cker the deeper he went. His losses were far greater than his original estimations, and they couldn¡¯t be measured with money at this point. This was especially true because several rare metals hadpletely disappeared. Among them was the Diamond Essencegold; they hadn¡¯t even had one ton of it in this warehouse, and now not a single speck of it remained!

    And that was only one example!

    ¡°Oh no! My Lord, the third floor¡¯s gate has been opened.¡± One of his subordinate¡¯s voices could be heard from far away. Xu Guozhong suddenly felt a little lightheaded, and he nearly fainted.The third floor¡¯s gate has been opened?An extremely ominous feeling swiftly rose from his heart.

    Xu Guozhong briskly brought his subordinates to the gate leading down to the third floor.

    This gate was broken down in the same way that the second floor¡¯s gate had been destroyed; the tough door had been converted into dust and nothingness. What helped him rx a little was that soul tools missing from the third floor¡¯s immense and vast storage space weren¡¯t so obvious.

    ¡°Steal them! Steal them, bastard! You¡¯re so good, eh! Why didn¡¯t you take them all away?!¡± Xu Guozhong bellowed hysterically. Storage-type soul tools had a limit to the volume that they could contain, but the stolen rare metals still gave him a splitting heartache.

    ¡°Go check it out and see if we¡¯re missing anything from the third floor.¡±

    His subordinates¡¯ trembling voices quickly travelled back to his ears.

    ¡°Your Highness! All the Sealed Milk Bottles and stationary soul cannon shells ss 5 and above have¡­ have been stolen¡­¡±

    A fountain of fresh blood erupted from Xu Guozhong¡¯s mouth, and his face turned ghastly white.Ruthless! Li Chong, that bastard, is too inhuman! He¡­ he actually¡­

    Right at that moment, Xu Guozhong¡¯s eyes suddenly floated subconsciously in a certain direction, because a faint red light seemed to being from that way.

    The red light expanded very swiftly, and it didn¡¯t take long before the stationary cannon shells stacked up like mountains beneath it were covered with ayer of red light.

    Xu Guozhong was a ss 9 soul engineer, and he quickly discerned what the red light was as a hopeless look shed across his eyes. He mumbled under his breath, ¡°A timed explosive bomb¡­¡±

    Red light surged into the sky.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Thank you for your contributions to our alliance, Tang Wu! These belong to you.¡± The Duskwater Alliance ced the rewards in front of Huo Yuhao, including the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell!

 Chapter 351.2 - A Terrifying Explosion!

    Chapter 351.2: A Terrifying Explosion!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao pocketed everything without acting courteous at all. These rewards were one of his most important goals in this tournament!

    ¡°Thank you, sir. If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll take our leave.¡± Huo Yuhao was still inside his human-shaped soul tool at this moment. He raised his metal leg and was about to walk away.

    ¡°Wait.¡± The vice-founder raised her hand, and blocked Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s path.

    Huo Yuhao muttered inly, ¡°What¡¯s up? We¡¯ve helped you clinch the championship. Are you still not letting us go?¡±

    The vice-founder smiled faintly and said, ¡°Of course not, but there are some things that I wish to discuss with you. Judging from your abilities, you seem like an evil soul master.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t respond directly. ¡°What does that have to do with you guys?¡±

    The vice-founder didn¡¯t react emotionally at all because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s cold attitude. She continued amicably, ¡°Of course that has something to do with us¡­ because we are the same.¡±

    An aura that instilled intense fear into Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s hearts instantly rose from her body as she spoke.

    Greyish-blue light expanded from behind her back, and an exceedingly sharp and shrill howl could be heard. The greyish-blue light surged into the sky and condensed into a phoenix, while that eerie evil aura painted the sky above thepetition stage greyish-blue with incredible speed.

    Such a mighty aura of evil!No matter how powerful Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were, they felt their entire bodies turn cold and stiff as they sensed the aura that emanated from the vice-founder¡¯s body. It was like their spirits had been locked away.

    Evil Phoenix! That was actually the Evil Phoenix! It was a formidable martial soul that was almost considered Ultimate Evil!

    The vice-founder was undoubtedly a Transcendent Douluo, and she was possibly higher than Rank 95!

    The four elders behind her took a few steps back, their faces ovee with respect and admiration.

    The vice-founder¡¯s voice was very warm and gentle. ¡°Look, we¡¯re one and the same. Even though I can¡¯t tell what your evil martial soul is, you can have everything you want if you join us.¡± There was a peculiar charm in her voice, and her voice made Huo Yuhao feel as if his heart was pounding out of his chest.

    ¡°You can use the power of light to unleash your abilities as an evil soul master, and I am a big fan of your necromantic summoning abilities. You are the Holy Son that my Church has been looking for, and we are very delighted that you havee to us. Join us, and you will be the future dictator of the world.¡±

    Not everyone in the audience had departed at this point. Those normal citizens who were still here were transformed into greyish-blue statues as the greyish-blue light shone on them from the sky. They couldn¡¯t move at all, and there seemed to be struggling against frightened spirits above their heads.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart sink. The Holy Ghost Church was so unbridled and unscrupulous. What did that mean? It meant they had absolute faith in their strength!

    It was at this time that the vice-founder¡¯s eyes suddenly turned toward the city, as if she had felt something.

    In the next moment, everyone began to feel the earth trembling faintly beneath their feet.

    Elder Xuan also felt this, even from some distance away. He turned around in shock, and he was one step earlier than the vice-founder to realize that something was amiss. However, his perception was different from that of the the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-founder. He was far more sensitive, and he could tell that this quake wasing from the location Huo Yuhao had released the green signal from before.

    What¡¯s happening?

    The same doubt arose in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    The vice-founder soared into the sky and transformed into a greyish-blue light projection as she swept through the air. She was moving way too quickly, and took the greyish-blue radiance that had spread out across the sky with her.

    The vice-founder gazed down upon Radiant City from a thousand meters up in the sky. Her initially calm andposed eyes transformed in that instant, and her pupils became as thin as a needle¡¯s tip as she witnessed something that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

    Something was happening in one corner of Radiant City. There was no warning at all asrge masses of structures and buildings suddenly copsed and sank, while stone and gravel were hurled into the sky from where the ground was copsing inwards.

    The great earth roared furiously in the next moment. The ground that had sunk now began to rise with lightning speed, and a colossal mushroom cloud apanied by unrivaled explosive power surged into the sky.

    The vice-founder was watching from a thousand meters in the sky, but she was still impacted this horrifying scene. She plummeted down at once, andid down t on the ground.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­!

    The earth was moaning and thundering. Everything was trembling and quaking, and it seemed as if Hell itself had descended upon Radiant City in that instant. An iparably terrifying explosive impact swept over a third of the greatest city on the Continent in the blink of an eye, and intense shockwaves shook the entire city.

    Uncounted tons of gravel and dust flew in all directions as millions of fragments and bits of debris soared into the sky. Soil and earth billowed through the air as the scorching and horrifying shockwaves continued to ripple through the city.

    This effect was something that not even ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells could aplish. The entirety of Radiant City was quivering and groaning from the explosion, and was crumbling before it.

    There were more than ten million people from all over the continent here in Radiant City to participate in and watch the tournaments. There were a lot more who were gathered in the western suburbs, all waiting for the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament¡¯s results. However, one third of Radiant City had already copsed; how many lives would those frightening shockwaves take?

    The sky was dark and gloomy over the Douluo Continent on this day, and the world was transformed.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao was the perpetrator, but even he had had no idea that his actions would lead to something so crazily horrifying.

    There was no color on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face at this moment. He didn¡¯t dare to bring He Caitou and himself into his spectral demine because the petrifying explosion that resembled an apocalypse seemed to blow the heterogeneous space around them into smithereens.

    A yellow shadow appeared behind Huo Yuhao and He Caitou amidst the hurricane of stone and gravel and picked them up, one person in each hand. The three of them disappeared without a trace amidst a few flickers of light.

    ¡°You guys did this?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s deep voice rang out beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    Huo Yuhao was still inside his human-shaped soul tool, but he subconsciously nodded his head.

    ¡°What a massacre!¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s elderly voice was filled with sorrow and astonishment. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t ever speak of this to anyone. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was trembling as an indescribable agony rose from his heart. He hadn¡¯t expected something like this to happen, that he would trigger an explosion so horrifying that it almost wiped out the entirety of Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood the pain in Elder Xuan¡¯s voice. An explosion like this would take countless lives, and there were many more who would slowly slip into the void.

    This was truly a massacre. The death toll was bound to be counted in tens of thousands, at least.

    And he, the Ultimate Soldier, was the perpetrator and the assassin.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips were tightly pressed against each other as Elder Xuan swiftly brought them away as if they were rag dolls.

    The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament¡¯s grand finals were utterly meaningless at this moment.

    But there was one thing that Huo Yuhao had achieved. This great explosion, known byter generations as the Day of Darkness and Destruction, had absolutely dyed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ns to invade the Douluo Continent. Huo Yuhao, an Ultimate Soldier, had achieved a level of destructiveness unmatched across human history.

    Huo Yuhao would be known as the Eyes of the Asura in the future, and the ¡°Asura¡± in his name stemmed from this terrifying explosion.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The other members of the Tang Sect who had helped to aplish this feat were also trembling inside. At this moment, their faces were all devoid of color as theyy prostrate on the ground and felt the impact of the cyclone of stone and sand. They felt the earth¡¯s moans, and nobody knew what to do.

    ¡ª

    The earth split open in another ce, and peculiar giant soul tools emerged from the ground, one after another. The Body Douluo, Du Busi, was leading the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯spany, and they stared with ck jaws and widened eyes at the mushroom cloud looming over Radiant City. They found it hard to believe what had just happened.

    In fact, nobody knew what exactly had just happened.

    ¡°Did¡­ did Shrek Academy do that?¡± Xu Jiujiu stared at the mushroom cloud rising through the sky withckluster eyes. She could feel the ground still shaking intensely where they were, kilometers away from the explosion, and her beautiful eyes were filled with an indescribable fear at this moment.

    Wei Na¡¯s eyes were also nk with astonishment as she muttered under her breath, ¡°This¡­ what exploded, that can result in something like that? How many people will die?¡±

    Du Busi was equally astounded. ¡°I¡¯ll concede if Shrek Academy really did this. It seems like all we can do are parlor tricks inparison.¡±

    Their threepanies represented the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s greatest enemies in Radiant City at this moment. The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire had a backup n, and they had used ground-drilling soul tools that they had specifically researched to escape Radiant City underneath the eastern front. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army couldn¡¯t stop them in the end. However, not in their wildest dreams did they expect to see such a magnificent sight, which was so apocalyptic at the same time.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Fewer than ten percent of the reinforced structures in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial pce had copsed. Fortunately, the imperial pce was located in the center of the city, and wasn¡¯t epassed in the one-third that had been annihted.

    There was no color on Xu Tianran¡¯s face as Ju Zi carried him on her back and squirmed out from underneath a pile of rubble. She stared at the colossal mushroom cloud in the distance, and at everything that had been destroyed around them. Her eyes grew ck and lifeless.

    Right at that moment, shadow after shadow gathered in the sky. Heartyughter could be heard, and even the mysterious Imperial Tutor had joined them at some point. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters and their sinister auras soared into the sky, one after another.

    Destruction was cmity and disaster for normal people, but for them, it was an opportunity that they dreamed of!

    ¡°There¡¯s so much resentment, and the spirits are so strong! Hahaha!¡±

 Chapter 351.3 - A Terrifying Explosion!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 351.3: A Terrifying Explosion!</h4>

    Shrek Academy¡¯spany began to move after their temporary astonishment. Elder Xuan¡¯s face was as gloomy as could be while he took everyone and raced toward the horizon.

    Most of Shrek Academy¡¯s powerful individuals didn¡¯t know what had happened, and nobody knew why this scene had urred.

    A handful of people, including Zhang Lexuan, could faintly guess that the Tang Sect had catalyzed and caused that apocalyptic episode in some way.

    Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Xiao Xiao were the clearest about the entire process. They were the ones who had installed the timed explosive bomb!

    Huo Yuhao had deliberately damaged the elevator and the first floor¡¯s gate before they exited the underground warehouse, so that the inevitable inspection toe would take as long as possible. Everything had been within his calctions. He didn¡¯t make a single mistake, and he was extremely precise even with their timed explosive bomb.

    The only thing he hadn¡¯t predicted was the final explosion¡¯s force and impact.

    The timed explosive was ced beneath all the stationary cannon shells. There had been at least tens of thousands of stationary cannon shells, possibly more, that they hadn¡¯t been able to take away.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s goal had been simple; he wanted to destroy the underground warehouse, and he wanted the explosion to vaporize all the rare metals that they couldn¡¯t take away, along with all the low-level soul tools. That way, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion ns would be dyed by the tremendous losses.

    ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s estimations of the stationary cannon shells, the explosive impact would only spread for one kilometer because the detonation was one hundred meters beneath the surface. The explosion would trigger an enormous earthquake, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall would take the full force of this disaster, as they were located right next to it!

    The Sun Moon Empire would suffer unimaginable losses if this underground warehouse and the Illustrious Virtue Hall were destroyed at the same time, and that had been enough for him.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that there was another underground warehouse, dug out beneath the Illustrious Virtue Hall. This warehouse was even more protected and guarded than the one they had found, and a total of sixteen ss 9 stationary cannon shells were stored there. The explosion he had triggered awakened these tools of destruction slumbering deep beneath the ground.

    Sixteen ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells, in addition to tens of thousands of stationary soul cannon shells below ss 5¡­ everythingpounded to create this cmity within Radiant City.

    The Lightless Day of Destruction.

    It was a day that the Sun Moon Empire would remember forever.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Shrek Academy¡¯s team finally escaped into the western mountains. However, everyone felt as if their legs were going soft. They couldn¡¯t imagine how anybody could survive the core of that frightening explosion.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break,¡± Elder Xuan ordered with a ck look on his face.

    Elder Xuan was still holding Huo Yuhao, who seemed as lifeless as a zombie iniside his soul tool, and quickly pulled him to one side. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Everyone from the Tang Sect,e here. Wang Qiu¡¯er, Lexuan,e here as well.¡±

    Everyone lowered their heads and walked over briskly as they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s solemn voice. The other powerful individuals from the academy had the same thought.It can¡¯t be. The explosion within Radiant City was actually caused by¡­

    Nobody could stop this thought from flooding their minds, and everyone¡¯s eyes turned ck.

    Elder Xuan ced Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul tool on the ground. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Open it ande out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao opened his human-shaped soul tool like a robot and revealed his ghastly pale face. Wang Dong¡¯er hurriedly came forward and helped him out.

    Elder Xuan stared at Huo Yuhao, and then at the others around him. His face seemed as solemn as could be as he said, ¡°Who¡¯s going to tell me what happened? Speak now.¡±

    The lifelessness look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes vanished, and his eyes became focused once more. He raised his head determinedly and said, ¡°I did it, Elder Xuan. I was the one who set everything up. We discovered one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s underground warehouses, and there were a lot of rare metals stored inside, along with hosts of soul tools and stationary soul cannon shells. I buried a timed explosive bomb beneath the stationary cannon shells.¡±

    Elder Xuan drew a cold breath. He had already guessed it, but he could still feel the immense impact when he heard it from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao! Do you know how many lives will have been lost, how many innocent citizens have died? We have to be the Continent¡¯s guardians, not its executioners. You¡­ you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. ¡°This was all my fault, Elder Xuan. I will not push away my responsibility, and you can punish me in any way you wish. But can we settle that after we leave the western mountains? My Spiritual Detection should still be useful for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao can¡¯t take all the me, Elder Xuan,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er held Huo Yuhao tightly in her embrace, and sounded very emotional. ¡°We didn¡¯t know this would happen. Huo Yuhao discovered that underground warehouse with his Spiritual Detection, and he risked damage to his own spirit by separating his spiritual avatar today so that he could lead us into that underground warehouse, even though he was in a perilous situation himself. He did all that so that we could collect enough rare metals for the Tang Sect and the Academy¡¯s future development. At the same time, he wanted to see if we could set the Sun Moon Empire back in some way so that we could disrupt their invasion ns in the future.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao led us after we entered the underground pce, and we found where the rare metals were stored. There was just too much in there, so much that the Sun Moon Empire could easily mass produce soul tools for war. We went deeper inside, until we reached the third floor, where the manufactured soul tools were. We took the high-level stationary soul cannon shells and left everything else. Only those things could have detonated.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao calcted it carefully. That ce was one hundred meters below the surface, and its structure was exceptionally reinforced. The explosive impact wouldn¡¯t be that great even if an explosion was triggered inside the warehouse. Yuhao estimated that a small earthquake would ur, and the surface would tremble a little intensely, at most. Our main goal was to destroy the soul tools stored within that warehouse, and it would be great if the explosive force could destroy some of the rare metals outside. At the same time, the sounds produced by the explosion would give him an opportunity to escape the western suburbs.

    ¡°Thus, we went ahead with the n. We don¡¯t know why the explosive force suddenly became so powerful. Everything has far exceeded our expectations, while the oue was also very abnormal. Huo Yuhao just wanted dy the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion ns. Think about it, Elder Xuan. This incident that has led to so much bloodshed and so many lives lost is truly an ident. However, such a circumstance only happened because some other unknown explosives were triggered. If those explosives, along with the soul tools and stationary cannon shells that we destroyed, were used in their invasion, so many more people would have died. I¡¯m afraid that number might have been ten times or even one hundred times more than the lives that were lost today. Therefore, I don¡¯t think Yuhao did anything wrong. If you wish to punish him, then punish me too. I support everything that he¡¯s done.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice was unwaveringly determined as she sped Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand tightly.

    Suffering bred true intimacy.Dong¡¯er is standing with me at such a crucial moment. She wasn¡¯t terrified by that frightening explosion, and she hasn¡¯t chided or scolded me at all. She¡¯s supporting me!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s astonishment, agony, guilt, helplessness, self-me, and all his other negative emotions receded conspicuously in the face of her stubborn support. His psychological and mental strength had always been superior to the average person¡¯s, and his lover was standing with him at a time like this. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were already determined, but now they began to re with even more perseverance and fortitude.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er walked out and stared at Elder Xuan as she said, ¡°Even if you insist on ming someone, Huo Yuhao can¡¯t take all the me. He was only in his spiritual form at the time, and he couldn¡¯t do anything at all. Dong¡¯er, Xiao Xiao, and I were the ones who installed that timed explosive bomb, so we are the perpetrators. And if we are, then so be it. Things have already turned out this way, so there¡¯s no point talking about it anymore.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words disyed her unswerving toughness, in contrast to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s reasonable argument. Her personality didn¡¯t change one bit, even though she was speaking to Elder Xuan.

    Xiao Xiao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Qiu¡¯er is right. The three of us are the perpetrators. This has nothing to do with Huo Yuhao. He was just helping us calcte, and only the three of us could execute any actual operations. We were the ones who made the final decision.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to help me carry this responsibility. A mistake is a mistake, and now that I think about it, triggering an explosion in that warehouse probably triggered an explosion in another warehouse. Those explosives were likely to be high-level soul tools stored within Illustrious Virtue Hall. I should have thought about that. Our explosion was so close to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, after all! Destroying the Illustrious Virtue Hall was part of our n, but I was too eager to aplish that, and being eager for sess led to this disaster. Many innocent citizens are probably dead, especially so because the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament was still ongoing. There were surely many travelers in Radiant City.¡±

    He pressed his lips tightly together after this sentence. Even though he didn¡¯t like the Sun Moon Empire, the empire¡¯s citizens were innocent, and the consequences of this disaster were unimaginable. He had no idea what the actual death count was like inside Radiant City.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s emotions had settled down a little. He was about to say something when an amiable, but somewhat authoritative voice rang out.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, this matter has nothing to do with them at all. Yuhao and I were the ones who nned the whole thing, and I am the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother, so I was the one who had the final say in whether we carried out this operation. All this would never have happened if I hadn¡¯t made that decision. I am no longer worthy of staying in the inner courtyard, and I request the Academy expel me as punishment.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s voice was calm, but determined. His face was still a little pale, but he could move now. Bei Bei slowly walked in front of Huo Yuhao and stood between him and Elder Yuan.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes shone as he stared at Bei Bei and waited for him to continue.

 Chapter 352.1 - Sacrifical Offering

    <h4 ss>Chapter 352.1: Sacrifical Offering</h4>

    Bei Bei met Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes and continued, ¡°If one person has to be med for this, then I am the one to me, because I was the one who approved this operation. Elder Xuan, I¡¯m not trying to take their responsibility away from them, but I will not attempt to lessen my own. No matter how and why this thing happened, I was still the one who made the final decision. The oue and consequences have far exceeded our judgments and expectations, and it¡¯s true that we have taken many lives. Nobody wished to see this happen, because these citizens are innocent even though they reside within our enemy¡¯s territory. We will take full responsibility for this. I can only say that over at the Academy, the entire Tang Sect will pull out of the inner courtyard except for Huo Yuhao. This way, the Tang Sect can take full responsibility if word of this incident does get out, and the Academy¡¯s reputation won¡¯t be affected.

    ¡°However, Huo Yuhao cannot leave the academy. You should remember that Elder Mu has instructed us that Yuhao is to be the subsequent generation¡¯s Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This mistake happened because of my inadequatemand and leadership, so he shouldn¡¯t be the one to bear all the responsibility. Furthermore, you¡¯ve seen the things he can do with your own eyes; he is the academy¡¯s future! If Yuhao is allowed to truly grow up, Shrek will always be the Continent¡¯s number-one Academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°Alright, I know how everything happened, and I trust you guys. Get some rest. We¡¯ll get going in fifteen minutes.¡±

    Elder Xuan surveyed everyone with calm eyes after that before turning and leaving without saying anything else.

    ¡ª

    Xu Sanshi came up beside Bei Bei. They were both quite severely injured, and these two brothers exchanged a look as Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s this? Is that it?¡±

    He Caitou touched his round and bald head as he said, ¡°I think there was nothing much to this in the first ce, and you guys are overthinking things. What else can happen? Everything has already happened.

    ¡°Furthermore, nobody knows that we were the perpetrators. The truth is, I think Dong¡¯er¡¯s speech swayed Elder Xuan the most. How many people would have died if such frightening weapons had been used on the battlefield instead? This enormous explosion urred underground where it was sealed off, and even then it had such a tremendous effect on the surface. What if this explosion went off on the surface instead? I calcted the explosion¡¯s force, and I can tell from its impact that this explosion was equivalent to ten or more ss 9 stationary cannon shells going off at the same time!

    ¡°What are ss 9 stationary cannon shells? A single one can destroy an entire small city, and it can wipe out an entire legion out of existence! This explosion was intense and violent, but I believe the death count isn¡¯t as high as it seems, either.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao Xiao asked doubtfully. ¡°That explosion seemed to sweep across the entire city. Dust and smoke billowed throughout the sky, and there were also terrifying shockwaves! It felt like the apocalypse was upon us!¡±

    He Caitou answered, ¡°Trust the professional. Little junior brother was involved, so he couldn¡¯t calcte as calmly as I did. Let me ask you, little junior brother¡­ how thick were the warehouse¡¯s walls, and what were they made of?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied without hesitation. ¡°The walls were constructed mainly of alloys and granite. The alloys were more than two meters thick, and the granite behind them was at least fifteen meters thick. Their design during construction probably relied on the alloys¡¯ toughness and the granite¡¯s thickness and hardness for perfect underground support and defense.¡±

    He Caitou nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it. Since that¡¯s the case, the first instant after the great explosion in thisrge underground warehouse would have released enormous amounts of heat that would have expanded outwards. However, that expansion process would have been barricaded by so many tough blockades. How much force could leak onto the surface?

    ¡°I believe your calctions are correct. The release of high temperatures that werepressed within the underground warehouse from this vigorous explosion would definitely destroy those soul tools, while most of the rare metals would melt, and some would be mixed with stone and gravel and thus would no longer be usable. I believe we have perfectly achieved our goal, and the only problem that we didn¡¯t think about was that the expanding heat caused some ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells stored in another nearby warehouse to detonate!

    ¡°That warehouse was used to store ss 9 shells, so that means its defenses andyering must have been a lot tougher and stronger than the warehouse you guys were in. Illustrious Virtue Hall had been robbed before, so they¡¯ve learned their lesson from that experience. How could they not be careful?¡±

    ¡°Therefore, if the underground defenses were so strong, the explosive impact wouldn¡¯t shift horizontally. Instead, it would be pressed to explode upwards, and the explosion caused those vigorous tremors and a minor earthquake, just as Huo Yuhao had predicted. However, those ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells increased this earthquake¡¯s magnitude. The hurricane of sand and stone that we saw earlier came from the sand and stone that this explosion carried into the sky, and it swept across the entire city. But the region at the explosion¡¯s epicenter suffered the heaviest losses, and that region is far smaller than one-third of Radiant City.

    ¡°People will die, and the number won¡¯t be small. However, iming that one-third of the entire city¡¯s poption will die is impossible. Destroying those underground warehouses was the real blow that we have dealt the Sun Moon Empire this time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded continuously as he listened to He Caitou¡¯s analysis. He felt a lot better with his second senior brother¡¯s reminders, and his train of thought cleared up. Some of He Caitou¡¯s words were shots in the dark, but not everything he had said came from pure conjecture. Huo Yuhao dug into his memory and confirmed He Caitou¡¯s analysis.

    Xiao Xiaoughed and said, ¡°When did you be so smart, Caitou? Why haven¡¯t I felt this way before?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± He Caitou immediately felt as if he had spoken a little too much today. He smiled sheepishly and said, ¡°I was worried that little junior brother would overthink things. I want to take this opinion to Elder Xuan, and I think he will find this matter a lot easier to ept if I do that.¡± He Caitou instantly tucked his tail in and ran away.

    Jiang Nannan heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°War is the cruelest thing. I hope our actions will dy the war, and it would be better still if the war didn¡¯t happen at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯ll be very difficult. The Holy Ghost Church is strong, and Xu Tianran is wildly ambitious. They will sustain heavy losses from this, but what we have done is far from enough to extinguish his wolvish ambitions.¡±

    I¡¯m sorry, Radiant City. Fourth senior sister is right; war is the cruelest thing, and what I have to do as an Ultimate Soldier is to rely on just myself in a war against my enemies. Even though many people have died this time, I will not regret my actions, because I have prevented more from being sacrificed in a war, and now we have more time to prepare.

    Bei Bei chimed in. ¡°This matter will have nothing to do with the Tang Sect as long as the Academy doesn¡¯t speak about it. After all, we are not the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s only suspects. The Body Sect is adept at moving through the ground, and they are lot more suspicious than we are.¡±

    Xu Sanshi mused, ¡°Pushing the me to others¡­ that sounds a little evil.¡± He paused for moment before he continued, ¡°But, why do I feel like I like it¡­?¡±

    Jiang Nannan snapped, ¡°That¡¯s because the two of you are equally thick-skinned!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Who was it!? Who was it!?¡± Xu Tianran roared furiously, and his indignant voice echoed throughout the Imperial Pce.

    Many people were helping out with the wounded and treating them at this moment, as numbers and data continued pouring in.

    Just as He Caitou had predicted, the death count from this incident wasn¡¯t that serious. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s financial losses were immeasurable!

    Uncountable structures inside the Imperial Pce had copsed, but the servants were all working because it was daytime, and thus hardly anybody was buried in the rubble. Furthermore, the interior structures of soul tools were tough. Even so, voluminous amounts of money would be required to repair and restore the Imperial Pce. Many of the Imperial Pce¡¯s soul tools were damaged by the intense shockwaves, let alone its various structures.

    Other than that, enormous patches of structures had copsed, with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy at the epicenter. The city¡¯s death count and injury count continued to rise, and the loss of life and livelihood was severe, even though the losses weren¡¯t as high as the mighty explosion should have inflicted.

    Xu Tianran wouldn¡¯t wince at some of his citizens¡¯ deaths. What made him feel so much pain and agony was that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Illustrious Virtue Hall had vanished from Radiant City. Large amounts of the resources that were stored in those underground warehouses were gone too!

    They represented the basis of his invasion ns. Everything was gone¡­ what did that mean? It meant his ns had been pushed back indefinitely! Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire had trouble sustaining these losses, even though they were exceptionally wealthy!

    ¡ª

    Jing Hongchen almost vomited blood when he discovered that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was at the explosion¡¯s epicenter, and nearly fainted on the spot. The Illustrious Virtue Hall was the basis of everything that he was, and this explosion would push the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s research progress back years. There was no need to mention the number of people from Illustrious Virtue Hall who had perished in the explosion.

    The only reason why Jing Hongchen didn¡¯t pass away from anger was because he had been keeping his grandchildren beside him this entire time, because he had felt that the recent situation was a little unstable. Xiao Hongchen had been heavily wounded, and Xu Tianran took the initiative and brought him into the Imperial Pce for treatment. Because of that, Jing Hongchen¡¯s grandchildren survived the st peacefully.

    If his precious grandson and granddaughter had died in the st, Jing Hongchen would have expelled every single ounce of his life energy in a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness! It¡¯s not good!¡± A vigorously trembling voice was carried from far away as a servant scrambled towards Xu Tianran. He was clearly grieving and despondent.

    Xu Tianran retorted angrily, ¡°What¡¯s not good? Everything¡¯s happened because of you bastards calling out ominously!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, the Emperor¡­ the Emperor¡­ he has passed away¡­¡±

 Chapter 352.2 - Sacrifical Offering

    <h4 ss>Chapter 352.2: Sacrifical Offering</h4>

    Xu Tianran¡¯s furious face instantly froze when he heard those words. A strange light flickered beneath his eyes ¨C this seemed to be the only piece of good news amidst his colossal losses today. The emperor¡¯s death meant that he, who was the crown prince, had a chance to ascend to the throne. He had enough influence and power to support him in his bid for the throne, and the strongest resistance that he faced came from Xu Guozhong¡¯s lineage. But how could Xu Guozhong survive that tremendous explosion?

    Suddenly, everything doesn¡¯t seem all that bad¡­

    Xu Tianran gritted his teeth as he looked up at the troupe of evil soul masters who had already gathered in the sky. He suddenly cried out painfully, ¡°Father, father! How can you leave just like that?¡± Two lines of tears streamed down his cheeks, but nobody knew whether they came from grief, or from regret.

    ¡­¡­

    There were mountains all around, and not a single ray of sunlight shone through.

    This was the center of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Western Mountains, and this gigantic valley was more than five kilometers around. This valley was exceptionally spherical.

    The valley sank down into a hemisphere, and the bottom was filled with clearke water. Theke water gleamed, and it was so clear and crystalline that thekebed could be seen.

    Several shadows broke the tranquility of this ce right at this moment. They were soaring through the sky, and they quickly arrived above theke¡¯s surface.

    One would realize upon closer inspection that there were four people. Two of them had ck veils covering their faces, while they each carried someone in their hands ¨C one was a young man, and the other was a young girl.

    The young man and the young girl were crying out in rm and surprise. However, they couldn¡¯t¡¯ move at all, and they couldn¡¯t struggle even if they wanted to.

    The two people in ck swiftly brought them to the center of theke and hovered in midair.

    They stared at the water beneath them, and they raised their captives above their heads.

    ¡°You¡­ what are you trying to do?¡± The young man shouted dismally with a trembling voice.

    One of their captors answered him. His voice sounded a little husky as he said, ¡°We want to organize a grand sacrificial rite, and we need a living human as our sacrifice. We happen to have captured the two of you, who also happen to be married to each other. Speak now ¨C who wishes to be sacrificed? We will let the other person go.¡±

    ¡°No, please! I beg you, let us go!¡± Judging by her age, the young girl didn¡¯t seem like she had been married for long. Her voice was quivering at this moment, but she stared at her husband with a pleading and begging look in her eyes.

    Her husband stared back at her with sluggish eyes. Suddenly, he roared at the top of his voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die! Use her! Use her as your sacrifice!¡±

    The wife stared at her husband, who she had had made vows with, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

    ¡°How¡­ how can you do that? Didn¡¯t you say that you would protect me with your life? You¡­ you¡¯re such a liar!¡±

    Her husband howled hysterically, ¡°We only live once, and this life is gone when we die. What about you? Do you think you¡¯re any better? What was that look in your eyes before this? Don¡¯t you want me to sacrifice myself for you? I¡¯m so nice and good to you, so why won¡¯t you sacrifice yourself for me so that I can live?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! I¡­ I want to live, but I only want to live with you. Go to hell ¨C you¡¯re the one who should die. Kill him, kill him!¡± The wife¡¯s emotions had be a little hysterical and distraught.

    Two chilly lights shed and shed the couple¡¯s throats at the same time. Fresh blood erupted from their gaping wounds like a fountain and poured onto theke¡¯s surface beneath them.

    The couple¡¯s eyes were filled with incredulity and disbelief, and they seemed like they wanted to ask something, but they were just no longer able to do so.

    One of their captors muttered disdainfully, ¡°This is the fickleness of human nature, and everyone goes their separate ways when disaster arrives. How many times have we done this? This has never failed before. This ce is quite peculiar, though ¨C it can only be primed by the lives and blood of a man and woman who are in love but betray each other in the end.¡±

    The other man in ck lowered his voice and said, ¡°Cut the crap. Quickly, drain them of their blood so that we can go back and make a sessful report on our task. This ce will be activated two hours after it has been primed, and even saints can¡¯t escape from this when that time arrives. Any humans inside will be¡­¡±

    The first man in ck seemed to recall something, and said nothing more.

    The couple¡¯s blood was swiftly drained, and their lives came to an end.

    ¡°Kerplunk, kerplunk.¡± Two corpses plunged into theke, and the two men in ck turned and soared into the sky. They departed rapidly, as if they were running from something, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

    In the few minutes after they disappeared, theke¡¯s surface began to ripple and surge. The couple had just dropped into theke, but their blood undted and gradually began to lighten as strange colors started to appear.

    Those were golden and silver hues. Golden light flickered while the silver light rippled, and they permeated theke¡¯s surroundings at an rming rate¡­

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Elder Xuan instructed thepany.

    Shrek Academy¡¯spany immediately set out once more after their short rest and continued westward. They had no other choice at this point.

    The colossal explosion in the middle of Radiant City would undoubtedly end this season¡¯s grandpetition without proper closure. The Douluo Continent¡¯s three main countries¡¯ tense rtionships with the Sun Moon Empire would undoubtedly be aggravated because of this explosion as well.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens probably hadn¡¯t really supported war before this, but it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what their opinions would be like after this incident.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression seemed a little better after he listened to He Caitou¡¯s exnation. If the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s death count wasn¡¯t as bad as it seemed, then their operation could only be described as impable.

    Thepany could only progress through the Western Mountains because they were afraid that flying through the air would draw attacks from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s long-range soul tools. Everyone in thepany was rtively powerful, and they scaled hill after hill as they pushed forward. They arrived within the Western Mountains¡¯ inner regions in no time.

    However, a strange atmosphere appeared right at this moment.

    ¡°This ce looks very familiar ¨C I think we were here two hours ago.¡± Huo Yuhao was back inside his human-shaped soul tool. He had plugged one ss 6 Milk Bottle in each of the machine¡¯s reserve slots ¨C with these two Milk Bottles supporting him, he could spare a lot more energy to recover his spiritual power and his soul power throughout the journey.

    The Western Mountain could present unforeseen problems and obstacles, so Huo Yuhao had his Spiritual Detection activated this entire time. He alternated between different directions as he surveyed and scouted far into the distance, searching for problems that might appear.

    He hadn¡¯t discovered anything throughout their journey so far, but the feeling that something was wrong became stronger and stronger.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know why he was feeling that, but he was confident that something bad was about to befall them. The ominous feeling in his mind seemed to mature at this moment.

    ¡°Stop, everyone.¡± Elder Xuan drifted over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. He had always had faith in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯ve circled back? Can it be that there is a maze inside the Western Mountains? Such a problem shouldn¡¯t ur with our ability to discern direction and our navigational abilities.¡±

    Elder Xuan looked up at the stars in the night sky as he spoke. Observing the stars at night had always been a good way of telling direction.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I am positive, Elder Xuan, that we¡¯ve been to this ce before. The reason is because I did a single-direction sweep in this ce before, and there are still some remnant spiritual imprints of that on the nts around us. That can¡¯t be wrong.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression instantly grew solemn. He was a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, a powerful being who was almost an Ultimate Douluo, yet not even he had detected anything wrong. They were going around in circles, and this proved that the situation was quite serious.

    ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± Elder Xuan lowered his voice as he asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The sky is too dark at this moment. I¡¯ve attempted to reach far into the distance with Spiritual Detection, but the further I go, the less clear our surroundings be. I can only feel out the roughndscape, but I¡¯m unable to use my spiritual power to do any in-depth observations. Should we rest and wait for daybreak? Dawn ising soon.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait for daybreak then. Rest where you are everyone, and stay together. Don¡¯t get separated from each other ¨C Lexuan, you¡¯re responsible for arranging the shifts for night watch. Those who are resting, meditate as soon as possible.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan immediately went ahead to arrange the night shifts. She was the inner courtyard¡¯s eldest senior sister, and she was also part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, so she had always been efficient at arranging such things. It didn¡¯t take long before a small-scale campsite was established on a location that was rtively higher than their surroundings. Several Titled Douluo, including the Martial God Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er, rested near the edge of the campsite so that they could protect everyone.

    There were five Titled Douluo who were part of Elder Xuan¡¯spany, and there were four Transcendent Douluo, including Elder Xuan. However, they had quite a few people to protect. The Tang Sectprised thergest group ¨C Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Nan Qiuqiu, and Na Na. There was also one other person that Huo Yuhao had roped in for the operationst night, and that was Gao Dalou, who possessed a ranked carving knife of his own. Huo Yuhao had used some rare metals topletely bring this self-established soul engineer over to his side.

    Besides the Tang Sect¡¯spany, the Titled Douluo also had to protect the team from Shrek Academy who hade to participate in the tournament ¨C Wang Qiu¡¯er, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Enchen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Wu Feng, Ning Tian, and Xie Huanyue. In addition to their eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, these Titled Douluo had quite a few people to protect.

    The six Titled Douluo¡¯s most important task was to escort these people ¨C there were more than twenty of them ¨C safely back to Shrek Academy.

    Dai Huabin and the others from Shrek Academy¡¯s team were full of doubt and suspicion as they watched the mysterious and secretive looks on the others from the Tang Sect. They were deeply shaken by the frightening explosion before this, and they also noticed that Elder Xuan had inquired of the Tang Sect¡¯spany in private ¨C did that mean the Tang Sect had something to do with that explosion?

    The Tang Sect¡¯spany naturally huddled together. They had hustled throughout the night, and Huo Yuhao was naturally the most exhausted one. He almost instantly entered meditation, and his fatigued expression didn¡¯t look so good under the firelight.

 Chapter 352.3 - Sacrifical Offering

    <h4 ss>Chapter 352.3: Sacrifical Offering</h4>

    Wang Dong¡¯er walked discreetly beside Wang Qiu¡¯er and whispered, ¡°Can I discuss something with you, Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er replied coldly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er continued, ¡°Huo Yuhao is too exhausted today. Furthermore, he¡¯ll have reconnaissance duties when dawnes, so he has to recover his energy as quickly as possible. We can both fuse our martial souls with him, so will he recover faster if the three of us cultivate together? Therefore, I¡¯m asking that you¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes undted for a single moment as she gave Wang Dong¡¯er a deep stare. Wang Dong¡¯er was also staring at her, and their gazes met as Wang Qiu¡¯er saw the rity in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes. She finally nodded.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was ted as she hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you, Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    The two girls arrived beside Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong¡¯er sat opposite him, while Wang Qiu¡¯er sat behind him. Wang Qiu¡¯er raised her palms and ced them on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as Wang Dong¡¯er carefully ced her hands on Huo Yuhao¡¯s. She channeled their Haodong power before she raised his palms and ced hers against them.

    Huo Yuhao was too familiar with cultivating with Wang Dong¡¯er. Even though he was already in meditation, he immediately felt it when their Haodong power began to circte, and he naturally started to cooperate. His recovery would undoubtedly be a lot faster and more efficient with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s help.

    However, a wave of powerful soul power flowed in from his back at this moment. In the beginning, this soul power seemed a little violent as it barged around, but the three different soul powers quivered when this third soul power interacted with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Haodong power before all three strands began to interact and intertwine.

    There were three different entities intertwined together, but they could also be counted as two, because the Haodong power was one body in itself. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power came afterwards.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power was still overbearing and felt a little forceful, but this forcefulness didn¡¯t carry any impact. Instead, it began to circte and rotate once it interacted with the Haodong power, and its color also began to change.

    Huo Yuhao sensed, to his surprise, that the purplish-golden hues that had reigned supreme on thepetition stage and defeated the Bone Dragon, Yan Feng, appeared once more.

    This wasn¡¯t a martial soul fusion skill. Instead, it was a direction fusion between their soul powers. That purplish-golden soul power began to flow through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and every passageway felt smooth, as if it had been warmed and ironed. Hu Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power seemed like it was being epassed and boosted within all those purplish-golden colors.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body felt transparent, and his cirction was smooth and unobstructed. That sensation was just fantastic, and it didn¡¯t take long before Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways became entirely purplish-golden in color, and even his spiritual sea was nketed with a faintyer of purplish-golden light.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only person who enjoyed this pleasant andfortable feeling ¨C Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er shared the same sensations.

    Wang Dong¡¯er discovered to her surprise that their cultivation didn¡¯t just sublimate when Wang Qiu¡¯er added her soul power into the mix. Furthermore, her soul power fusion with Huo Yuhao seemed a lot tighter and more intimate than before. Their soul power circted more rapidly when it flowed into her body, and it even expanded her passageways as it boosted her qi and blood.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had light-type abilities, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s main martial soul was spiritual-type. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forte was strength, and this strength represented the body and the body¡¯s blood vessels. These three entitiesplemented each other as mysterious lights flickered on their faces amidst the emanating purplish-golden colors.

    Elder Xuan quickly noticed their transformations, and walked over at once.

    On the surface, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s faces undted with a faint and elegant but mysterious purple color, while this purple color became stronger as they continued to cultivate before it gradually turned purplish-gold. This purplish-golden light cocooned them, and the three of them seemed like they had integrated into one body. Elder Xuan could even feel their sublimation through their cultivation from the outside.

    Elder Xuan exhaled deeply and nodded in approval inside. A three-way martial soul fusion skill could only be described as miraculous in the world of soul masters. Even though there were many question and doubts in his mind that he wanted to ask Huo Yuhao, especially about his necromantic abilities and his battle against the Angel, Ye Guyi, now clearly wasn¡¯t the time to pose these questions.I¡¯ll bring them up in the morning.

    One of the most important reasons why Elder Xuan had held Huo Yuhao ountable for the great explosion inside Radiant City before this was because his faith in Huo Yuhao had been shaken, and that was due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s disy of abilities that only evil soul masters could possess. However, Elder Xuan could feel the vast, righteous, and pleasant soul power undtions from the three of them, and he felt a little ashamed. Could somebody with a heart towards evil possess soul power like this?

    Elder Xuan shook his head self-mockingly as he sat down close to the three of them with his legs crossed and personally stood guard for them.

    The Martial God Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er, watched over Shrek Academy¡¯s other soul masters. She was the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean, and she nced at Huo Yuhao from time to time.That was a human-shaped soul tool, and she would have contended with Elder Xuan if now had been the right time.

    Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. However, what Shrek Academy¡¯s group of powerful individuals didn¡¯t know was that a thick fog was starting to permeate the Western Mountains. The entire mountain range seemed toe alive as peculiar transformations began to take ce.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°How¡¯s the situation looking?¡± The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince, Xu Tianran, was dressed in mourning clothes as he asked with a solemn look on his face.

    The empire¡¯s defense minister was on one knee in front of him as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°The situation has been stabilized, but we have sustained heavy losses, especially in our structures and buildings. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has beenpletely destroyed, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s underground structures are probably¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran waved him away and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about our losses. I¡¯m asking you about the citizens¡¯ feelings and what they¡¯re thinking.¡±

    The defense minister replied, ¡°The citizens¡¯ emotions are highly unstable, especially so for the families whose members have died or are injured. Many people have no homes to return to. There are many outsiders who came to spectate the tournament that have died or been injured as well.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°Pass the order ¨C muster our resources in nearby cities and immediately begin providing aid for the victims as much as possible. Assemble our armies and bring them into the city to maintain order. Kill those who dare to cause trouble and take advantage of the chaos. Kill those naysayers and those who try to turn the people against the empire. Kill those who dare to plunder or rape. We have to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible. Mark this day as National Funeral Day, and make sure that the news of the emperor¡¯s passing doesn¡¯t leak out. You will personally publicize and push the me for this explosion on the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The defense minister acknowledged respectfully. He admired the Prince Regent for settling down as quickly as possible, and Xu Tianran was still able to handle things properly and react ordingly even though so many things had happened one after another. This was the mark of a true ruler!

    ¡°How about Shrek Academy, your highness? This matter is likely to be connected to them. When we are announcing to the public¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention them. Shrek Academy is just an academy after all, and they are considered spiritual leaders for many soul masters at the same time. Dragging them into the fray will affect our strategy. I have my own ns to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll take my leave, then.¡±

    ¡°Go. Providing aid for the victims is our priority, and we have to stabilize them as soon as possible.¡± Xu Tianran reiterated once more.

    The defense minister departed, and the mysterious Imperial Tutor dressed in ck quickly walked in without announcing his arrival. He seemed to be in a good mood.

    ¡°How¡¯s the situation looking, Imperial Tutor?¡± Xu Tianran asked with a concerned look on his face.

    The mysterious Imperial Tutor replied, ¡°This incident has been greatly beneficial for my sect, and multiple powerful individuals from my sect have taken this opportunity to break through their bottlenecks. However, there¡¯s one issue that hasn¡¯t been dealt with properly ¨C the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Body Sect have all escaped. They actually preparedrge amounts of drilling soul tools, and they used them to send their main members away. ording to the holes that we¡¯ve discovered, they managed to send out hundreds of people. Those that remain are scattered amongst the citizens, and it will be difficult to seek them out.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression became a little contorted as he smacked his left palm heavily with his right fist. ¡°Shit! I should have considered that. Those irritating rodents ambushed the Illustrious Virtue Hall before. When Hallmaster Hongchen wakes up, we have to enhance the entire city¡¯s underground monitoring and surveying mechanisms. They must have been the ones who triggered the explosion in the underground warehouses ¨C there¡¯s no way to break into those warehouses besides drilling through the ground.¡±

    What happened at those underground warehouses had be a mystery after the explosion, and nobody knew exactly how things had yed out. Xu Tianran could only push the me on the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire because that was most beneficial for him, and so that he could have more reason tounch an invasion against them in the future.

    The Imperial Tutor sounded solemn as he said, ¡°You have sustained severe losses this time. Your Highness ¨C oh, no, I should address you as ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ now. Your Majesty, when are you going to mobilize your armies?¡±

    He was the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s founder, and he was the one who controlled those evil soul masters. Nobody was more eager for this war than he was, since the arrival of this war meant there would be uncountable spirits for the Holy Ghost Sect to make use of.

    Xu Tianran contemted momentarily, then said, ¡°This incident was too sudden. Stabilizing the citizens and the city has top priority at the moment. Furthermore, the destruction of the underground warehouses and the Illustrious Virtue Hall was too damaging for us, and most of our soul tools that had been prepared for the war were destroyed. If you are willing to give your sect¡¯s full strength, Imperial Tutor, we might be able tounch an invasion earlier. But¡­¡±

    The Imperial Tutor shook his head decisively and interrupted him. ¡°We can only aid you from the shadows, and we cannot give our full strength. The world of soul masters has never epted us. Even though we have enough strength to protect ourselves, openly participating in this war will undoubtedly draw out the other sects that have been hiding from the world. If that happens, it will be very difficult for you to execute your strategy and your n. I think the war can be dyed, but we have to take this opportunity to intensify the citizens¡¯ hate for those two empires. We have to continue adding more soldiers and training them, and we have to build soul tools with everything we have so that we can make sufficient preparations for the war. Since we¡¯ve already antagonized them openly, we have to make sure that our armies are equipped and prepared as early as possible. It¡¯s alright if nothing happens, but once we unleash our armies, we have to take them all down in one heavy and fatal blow.

 Chapter 353.1 - Yin Yang Love Querying Valley

    <h4 ss>Chapter 353.1: Yin Yang Love Querying Valley</h4>

    Xu Tianran nodded contentedly and said, ¡°I have the same intention too. To defeat our external foes, we have to pacify opposition within our borders first. I want to take care of the internal situation and take this opportunity to exterminate traitors. For this, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to trouble you, Imperial Tutor.¡± At this point, a cold gleam crossed Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched as he betrayed a strong killing intent.

    The mysterious Imperial Tutor said inly, ¡°That¡¯s right. Some people must be held ountable for this incident. As for those who are faultless, we can say that they perished in the explosion. I¡¯ll follow the list that you gave me earlier?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Xu Tiaran as he nodded.

    The Imperial Tutor said, ¡°Then, let me take this chance to congratte Your Majesty on your premature ascension to the throne.¡±

    Xu Tianran said sincerely, ¡°When the Sun Moon Empire unites the continent, the Holy Ghost Church shall be the national religion. At that time, I¡¯ll name the Founder of the Church as the National God. All shall hold you in reference, and you shall be elevated on a divine pedestal.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s forter, let¡¯s take care of things one step at a time,¡± the Imperial Tutor said. He did not appear very excited. He nodded at Xu Tianran and then turned to leave.

    When he reached the entrance, he stopped and turned around.

    ¡°We can¡¯t devote all our strength over at the Western Mountain yet. However, I¡¯ve already activated the Mysterious Land there. We¡¯ll trap them there and then take care of themter. By then, Shrek Academy will be totally drained. It¡¯ll be impossible for them to resist us anymore.¡±

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°I had the same n. However, can we really trap them?¡±

    The mysterious Imperial Tutor intoned, ¡°That ce imprisoned my grandfather for 100 years. He was not weaker than Uncle Long. In the end, he managed to take some things out from there, but they were just a small portion of the Mysterious Land. Mere mortals cannot resist that ce. Once something goes wrong, it¡¯ll result in imprisonment spanning decades until death. After I activate it, even a Titled Douluo can¡¯t fly there. He can only leave after going through various trials and tribtions. My grandfather made three errors when he was there, and hence, he was trapped for 100 years. Did we not try it before? Among those whom we threw inside, less than 10% of them survived. I¡¯ve already instructed Little Feng to bypass the Western Mountain, and got four of my elders to guard the exit. Even if they escape, they will still be killed.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Xu Tianran said as he nodded his head. ¡°It¡¯s all up to you, Imperial Tutor.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The sky gradually lit up.

    When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes once more, purple and gold light shone in his eyes. His energy was indescribably vibrant!

    The mysterious three-way cultivationhad aided him, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er immensely. While they only cultivated for around four hours, Huo Yuhao was able to increase his soul power by cultivating the difficult Ultimate Strength martial soul. Furthermore, thebined power of the purple and gold soul power was able to erode the Ultimate Ice, the origin energy of heaven and earth, in his lower limbs at twice the usual speed. It was akin to cultivating after ingesting distilled wine.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er opened their eyes too. Their two highly-simr eyes, which reflected vastly different personalities, also shone with ayer of purple and gold light.

    Wang Dong¡¯er experienced the greatest increase in soul power because she did not have an Ultimate martial soul. Wang Qiu¡¯er and Huo Yuhao both possessed Ultimate martial souls and hence, their increase was less than Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s. However, it was still substantial.

    The three of them looked at each other. An odd atmosphere permeated their surroundings.

    Even Wang Dong¡¯er sensed that something felt wrong.Does this mean that the three of us are ¡®together¡¯? But, but¡­

    Huo Yuhao touched his nose, nodded at Wang Qiu¡¯er and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stared at him, then shook her head as she said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. This benefits all of us.¡± With that, she turned and walked away.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s gaze turned soft. While Huo Yuhao thanked Wang Qiu¡¯er, he said nothing else to her. It was clear who he was close with, and who he was not. She liked how Huo Yuhao did not try to beat about the bush. This clearly indicated to Wang Qiu¡¯er that there was no chance between Huo Yuhao and her. Hence, she would not develop false notions. While this might appear hurtful, it was better to suffer less in rtionships.

    Huo Yuhao raised his head to look at the sky. He was instantly surprised, because he realized that the sky was shrouded by fog five meters from the ground. Furthermore, he realized that the fog in the sky was changing color.

    ¡°Since you have all woken up,e over.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice wafted over. Quickly, assisted by Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao entered his human-shaped soul tool. Then, he walked over to Elder Xuan.

    The rest had already gathered. There was a solemn expression on Elder Xuan¡¯s face.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously released his Spiritual Detection. However, he was soon surprised. Despite having released Spiritual Detection, its radius was no more than 5 meters. Any further, and he felt like a y cow in the sea. Not only could he not sense anything, but he could also feel something eating away at his spiritual power.

    How can this be? My Spiritual Detection can¡¯t even see as far as my eyes.Huo Yuhao had never experienced this before. Even in the Setting Sun Forest, which had been saturated with a toxic miasma, he had still been able to use his Spiritual Detection!

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You can feel it too, right? Our sensory abilities have been greatly weakened. The fog above our heads is like a cage, trapping us here. If we can¡¯t escape, we¡¯ll truly be caught in a rut.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er could not help but ask, ¡°Can we not fly?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°I tried, but it doesn¡¯t work. When I tried, it was as if the entire sky was resisting me. A powerful pressure forced me tond. The strength of this pressure surpasses what a normal person can resist. Even Long Xiaoyao, an Ultimate Douluo, would find it impossible.¡±

    When they heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words, everyone could not help but gasp.

    The Martial God Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°This is strange indeed. However, why did we not detect this when we flew over?¡±

    She and Elder Xuan had personally flown over the Western Mountain. In one day, they had surveyed the entire Western Mountain, and yet they did not realize that there was something amiss.

    However, this transformation had now trapped everyone here. How could she and Elder Xuan not fault themselves?

    Elder Xuan intoned, ¡°This area appears to be enveloped by a mysterious power. Even the ground is different. I tried to control the earth and burrow through the ground, but I failed. We appear to be trapped in an unbreakable prison.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s martial soul, the Godly Taotie Bull, was an Earth-type martial soul. It could manipte the ground very well. He had tried to use his powerful strength to alter his surroundings and break through the obstacles. However, he failed.

    ¡°Does anyone have any ns? Speak,¡± said Elder Xuan, who was depressed and perplexed. However, he managed to keep a straight face. At this moment, he could not panic. If he did, these kids would panic even more.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, should we split into groups and explore? We can divide ourselves into smaller groups. This may not be a prison, but a maze instead. Perhaps we can walk out?¡± Dai Huabin asked.

    Before he could finish his sentence, Bei Bei spoke, ¡°No, we can¡¯t split up at this time. If you¡¯re right and this is indeed a maze, this is still a maze the Sun Moon Empire constructed for us. What if evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church are in here with us? The moment we split up, we¡¯ll be sitting ducks for them.¡±

    Dai Huabin¡¯s face twitched. However, he did not dare to say anything to Bei Bei. In the inner courtyard, while Bei Bei¡¯s position could notpare with Zhang Lexuan¡¯s, he was still one of the more powerful members of the younger generation. In particr, his performance against the Holy Ghost Sect team left a deep impression on everyone.

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Speak, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve just tried it, and the radius of Spiritual Detection is no more than five meters. It¡¯s no better than our sight. You¡¯re right. Here, we are under the suppression of a mystical power, which can¡¯t be resisted by mere humans. However, I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s purely a cage. It must have its secrets. Since it¡¯s not something that humans can resist, it was definitely not built by the Sun Moon Empire. Their soul tools have not yet reached this level. Even a ss 10 soul tool could not cover such a huge mountain. Hence, this is a natural formation. The Sun Moon Empire can only control it. Since its made by nature, it¡¯s not a death trap. There¡¯s bound to be an escape.¡±

    ¡°I agree with elder brother. At this time, we can¡¯t split up. Everyone should concentrate on one direction. Even if we return to where we started off, we¡¯ll make observations and discover new things. With these clues, we can improvise further. This is ourst resort.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Elder Xuan said as he nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s consume some of our rations and set off. Yuhao,e with me, I want to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he quickly walked over to Elder Xuan in his human-shaped soul tool.

    ¡°How¡¯s your recovery?¡± Elder Xuan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. While I believe you, you need to provide me with an exnation for the powers you revealed yesterday at the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament. Also, what happened to the person who possessed the Holy Angel? Did you really kill her?¡±

 Chapter 353.2 - Yin Yang Love Querying Valley

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 353.2: Yin Yang Love Querying Valley</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. The explosionst night had left a great impact on him, and he had forgotten about the incident with Ye Guyi.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, the power I unleashed yesterday can be said to be my third martial soul. However, I don¡¯t think this poweres from our world.¡± Then, he exined Electrolux¡¯s origins to Elder Xuan in a way he could understand. At this moment, there was no way he could hide the truth.

    Even with Elder Xuan¡¯s experience, he was shocked.

    ¡°A sorcerer. A profession in another world? This¡­¡± Elder Xuan regained his senses after a long while. Helplessly, he patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Yuhao, while your power is unique, you should know what it means to be an evil soul master on this continent. The cooperation between the Sun Moon Empire and the evil soul masters infuriates every soul master. Your power, however, appears simr to those of evil soul masters.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, I understand what you mean. I won¡¯t use this power casually. I won¡¯t even use it with my original appearance. The participant of the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament was Tang Wu, not Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed in relief and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. Your Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion are powerful enough. Train them well. Can you release Ye Guyi now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao tried, but then shook his head and said, ¡°The invisible power here is too strong. I can¡¯tmunicate with the spectral demine Teacher Electrolux left me. However, she¡¯ll be in no danger inside the demine. I¡¯ve already tried to protect her as much as I could. With her powers, she can go without food for at least half a month.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Good job. If we can leave this ce, we must protect this child with the Holy Angel martial soul. In the future, she will be one of the main forces of resistance against the Holy Ghost Church. Yuhao, my attitude yesterday was wrong. When I saw such a huge explosion, coupled with your evil soul master-like power, I started to doubt you. Then, I gave it more thought. You were chosen by Elder Mu, how can be there anything wrong with you? However, you must remember that no matter where you are, no matter what you experience, no matter what happens to you, you must be true to yourself. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously and said, ¡°I will, Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled slightly and said, ¡°Now that we¡¯re in a death trap, please be careful. Go and have a bite.¡±

    Now that they had resolved this small ¡®conflict¡¯, Elder Xuan was in a much better mood. Together with Huo Yuhao, they walked back into the main camp. Everyone had finished their meals by now, and were re-grouping.

    Through Elder Xuan¡¯s arrangements, everyone was divided into three groups. Among them, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were a group by themselves. They were led by Elder Xuan. The team from Shrek split into two groups. Wang Qiu¡¯er, Zhang Lexuan, and the main fighting force of the team from Shrek were in one team. They were led by the Martial God Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er. The remaining substitutes, along with the Tang Sect¡¯s substitutes and Gao Dalou, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and Nan Qiuqiu, formed the biggest group. The other four Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy were in charge of them. Among these four Titled Douluo, two of them were elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion with the strength of Transcendent Douluo. They were the strongest team.

    Elder Xuan walked with Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters at the front. Xian Lin¡¯er led the second group in the center. The four Titled Douluo and the third group stayed at the back. All of the groups had to be able tomunicate verbally with each other so that they would not be too far apart. They also tried to leave markings on more distinctive nts as they passed.

    This was a dumb n, but it was also their only n. After they left their marks on all the nts, any nt with no marks would indicate a brand-new direction. This was how they moved forward.

    As they moved forward, they had to be careful. They were not fast, and while the area five meters above the ground was not shrouded with a dense fog, there was still a light fog. Coupled with the thick vegetation, they could only see about ten meters ahead.

    The entire forest was so quiet it was terrifying. It was as if there was nothing alive there. This silence was so creepy that it terrified everyone.

    Dai Huabin now felt that his previous suggestion had been very stupid. The silence would have been a lot scarier had they separated, to the point whereby it might drive them mad.

    They walked forward, and soon, two hours had passed.

    Huo Yuhao walked directly behind Elder Xuan. This was done upon his request. Suddenly, he turned to Elder Xuan and asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, do you feel that this feels different fromst night? We seem to be on a path with no return.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°I have the same feeling too. Right now, the path is different from the path yesterday, which made us walk in circles.¡±

    This could be good news. Now that there was no chance of heading back, they would surely find a possible exit as long as they headed forward.

    They continued to walk forward. After two more hours, Elder Xuan was sure they were no longer walking around in circles. Throughout their journey, they did not see any repeated scenery. Furthermore, they did not see the marks which they were leaving on the nts again.

    While they could not fly, and they could not use their spiritual power for long-range detection, there was a chance that they could walk out of here. This made them content.

    At this moment, it was already noon. The fog made their surroundings extremely blurry. The air felt heavy.

    Elder Xuan ordered everyone to take a break here. They set up camp likest night.

    The advantage of numbers demonstrated itself. At the very least, the silence of the forest did not terrify them too much.

    For those with storage-type soul tools, they brought more than enough food. The only ones with no food were those from the Tang Sect. They only had rare metals in their storage-type soul tools¡­

    They were only able to eat by asking the elders for some food.

    Elder Xuan sat with Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. As he ate his favorite chicken drumstick, he said, ¡°ording to the size of the Western Mountain, we should be able to leave this ce in one more day if we continue to walk at our current speed.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope that this is the case, but¡­¡±

    While he did not say it, everyone understood what he meant. The Sun Moon Empire brought them here for a reason. How could they escape so easily?

    Elder Xuan looked at him and said, ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®but¡¯. Right now, we can only walk step-by-step. With our food and water supply, we canst ten days. If we still can¡¯t get out by then¡­¡±

    At this point, Elder Xuan¡¯s face turned severe. He raised his head to look at the sky. Everyone knew what he meant. If they still couldn¡¯t escape, he would risk it all and attempt to fly. Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope there.

    As they spoke, danger suddenly appeared around them.

    Everyone subconsciously looked in one direction. Then, a gold and silver light surged toward them like a wave. Instantly, it covered every single one of them.

    Everyone unleashed their most powerful protective skills simultaneously. However, this all-epassing light did not sh with them. In their hearts, however, they all sensed that something was amiss.

    What is this?

    They looked at each other. They were all covered with ayer of faint gold and silver light. For the younger members of Shrek Academy, their faces turned dismal.

    The unknown was the scariest. No one knew what was going on, and hence, there was no way to resist it.

    However, they quickly sensed that something was amiss. A powerful attractive force came along with the silver and gold light. The weaker ones were instantly pulled flying in one direction.

    Elder Xuan cried out and raised his hands. Thick yellow light surged forth and enveloped everyone within it. However, the attractive force of the silver and gold light became even stronger. Even the yellow light Elder Xuan unleashed was being tugged by it. It started to move in the same direction.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er, the Martial God Douluo, had a bad temper. She struck out with her right fist, and a powerful cluster of soul power bombarded the silver and gold light.

    However, after her soul power entered the fog in front of her, nothing happened.

    One had to know that Xian Lin¡¯er was one of the more powerful Titled Douluo in Shrek Academy. Earlier, when she faced off against the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, she was able to stand her ground.

    Huo Yuhao, who was in the human-shaped soul tool, looked surprised. Light shed in his mind. Something appeared to be moving in it. A thought shed through his mind.

    Gold and silver, attractive force, he had seen something like this somewhere before¡­

    However, before he could give it any more thought, the attractive force increased in strength. This time, even Elder Xuan could not resist it.

    ¡°Grab onto each other, we can¡¯t get seperated!¡± Elder Xuan shouted.

    While he could not resist the attractive force, he was still able to ensure everyone stayed together.

    The yellow light turned into a huge yellow ball of light which covered everyone. Then, the gold and silver attractive force lifted their huge ball of light into the sky and sent them flying at breakneck speed into the sky. On the bright side, they had resolved their flight problem.

    Quickly, everyone was sucked into the thick fog, where they could not even see the fingers on their hands.

 Chapter 353.3 - Yin Yang Love Querying Valley

    <h4 ss>Chapter 353.3: Yin Yang Love Querying Valley</h4>

    A heavy look crossed Elder Xuan¡¯s face as he activated all his soul power to protect everyone. The other Titled Douluo were not idle as they also used their pure soul power to form a barrier. After Elder Xuan cast his big barrier, the others cast smaller ones. They were now one step closer to protecting everyone.

    These kids were the best soul masters of the next generation. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was ultimately still a school, not a sect. No matter what happened, the safety of their students took precedence. Bringing these kids back safely was more important than anything else!

    Huo Yuhao was in a state of deep thought. He searched his memory. This phenomenon seemed simr to something he had seen before¡­

    However, as he was inside the human-shaped soul tool, his friends could not see what he was up to. Everyone else was tense, and no one had the time to look at him.

    The attractive energy appeared to be getting stronger. However, it was not destructive. The protective soul barrier Elder Xuan had unleashed separated them from the outside world. Everyone released their martial souls in preparation.

    To them, the situation was too odd. Even Elder Xuan, someone with the cultivation of an Ultimate Douluo, could not resist it head-on. What terrifying power! While an Ultimate Douluo was not strong enough to move mountains or drain oceans, it would not be difficult for him to wreck an entire city!

    And yet, he could not resist this shapeless gold and silver energy¡­

    ¡°Everyone, make your preparations!¡± Elder Xuan shouted. His body shook, and his nine soul rings shone brightly. His body started to expand, and he turned into a Godly Taotie Bull, sweeping everyone onto his back. The light he unleashed became brighter, and they were now being moved at a much slower speed. While they were still moving, it was no longer as quickly as before.

    They continued to fly through the air, pulled by the attractive power. As they could not sense their surroundings, and their sight was blocked by the fog, everyone felt as if they were in the clouds¡­

    ¡ª-

    After fifteen minutes, the scene before them began to clear up. They had emerged from the thick fog.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    Everyone opened their eyes wide and looked in disbelief.

    The scene before them was that shocking! None of them could have imagined it.

    While they were in the thick fog, they all sensed danger around them. However, at this moment, they were shocked by the majestic water before them. All of their negative emotions from before were gone.

    Before them was a wideke. It was surrounded by mountains, and the water of theke was so clear that one could see its bottom. Strangely, the water was gold and silver!

    At the center of theke was a round patch of gold. The intense golden light spread outward from the patch as if it were a reflection of the sun.

    They could see a moon encircling it, sun and moon connected to one other. The moon gave off a silver light.

    The vastke waspletely dominated by these two colors of gold and silver. The two-colored light spread outward non-stop. It crept across the mountain and spread far into the distance. How beautiful, how stunning!

    Everyone looked dazedly at the scene before them, rather disbelieving. However, it was real. Furthermore, under the pull of the gold and silver light, they gradually approached the center of theke.

    ¡°I know!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. When he saw the shocking scene before his eyes, all the dots in his brain connected. He finally thought of where he had heard about this curious scene.

    He said urgently, almost shouting, ¡°Later, no matter what we encounter, if a voice asks you questions, you must reply truthfully! If you lie, you¡¯ll be in mortal danger! Remember, remember, remember to speak the truth, especially when ites to rtionships! You must not lie!¡±

    Right when he finished, they were already in the center of theke, above the golden sun and the silver moon.

    The golden sun and silver moon in theke became extremely radiant. The radiant gold light and the bright silver light started to rise and engulf all of them, including Elder Xuan, who was still in his Godly Taotie Bull form!

    This power was extremely unique. It appeared about them effortlessly. They could feel it, but they realized that they were unable to control it.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s Martial Soul True Body was forced back into his original shape by the two-colored light before they were allpletely covered by it. When they could see other again, they were shocked to discover that they were all ced inside separate gold and silver bubbles, floating in mid-air.

    Everyone was split apart, and no two people were together. Many of them were terrified. All they could remember were Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.

    When Huo Yuhao said that, he had used his spiritual power. His words were imprinted in all of their minds.

    Before they could make any more observations, the gold and silver bubbles started to descend into the sun and moon in the center of theke.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao, and he looked back at her. He nodded at her vigorously and gestured toward her. His meaning was clear:Don¡¯t worry about me, do as I said!

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded to show that she understood.

    Had it been an ordinary person, they may already have copsed when faced with such a change. However, the students of Shrek Academy were the top of their generation. Inparison, they were taking it all rather well. While they were shocked, surprised, and a bit terrified, they all seemed rtively stable.

    There were loud plops as the gold and silver light that surrounded them dropped them into theke.

    ¡ª

    When he fell into theke, Huo Yuhao did not feel the gold-coloredke around him. Instead, heaven and earth spun around. At this moment, he recalled his source of information about this ce.

    He had first encountered records of this ce from the Icefire Yin Yang Well in the Setting Sun Forest, where he had obtained the Poison Chapter from the ancestor of the Tang Sect, Tang San.

    In the Poison Chapter, it stated that the Icefire Yin Yang Well was one of the Three Great Blessed Lands. It contained the power of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire, and was extremely dangerous. However, it contained countless natural treasures as well. Any nt that grew there would grow ten times faster. Those who could enter it would benefit immensely.

    When Huo Yuhao actually entered it, he was shocked by the many divine herbs and nts. Then, he was able to retrieve the Yearning Heartbroken Grass to save Wang Dong¡¯er. However, he was also severely injured by the zing Sunspring and the Extreme Chill Icespring, and barely made it back alive.

    ording to Tang San¡¯s records, the Three Great Blessed Lands were both dangerous and filled with treasures. He had to surmount countless dangers before he could enter the Icefire Yin Yang Well! If not for his abilities, which were barely enough, there was no way he could have entered.

    The ce before him was another of the Three Great Blessed Lands. It was ranked above the Icefire Yin Yang Well, and it was the top Blessed Land among the three.

    This ce was known as the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    In the Poison Chapter, no one knew if the Three Great Blessed Lands were real or not. Tang San had only seen the Icefire Yin Yang Well. No one was sure if the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley actually existed.

    The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley was the first among the Three Great Blessed Lands not because of its riches, but because of its danger. Furthermore, no one knew what kind of danger existed here. To benefit from it was exceedingly difficult.

    Legend had it that in the God Realm, after the Goddess of Love was betrayed by her love, her grief made her insane, and she descended into the mortal world. Heaven and earth were inverted, and the sun and moon became ake.

    As the Goddess of Love was betrayed by her lover, she hated all those who betrayed their lovers. Hence, when these kinds of people entered the Sun Moon Lake of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, it would enrage her, and she would seek to exterminate them.

    Only those who were true to their lovers could leave this ce alive and reap its rewards. All liars would be severely punished.

    Huo Yuhao did not remember all this, because the Poison Chapter was extremely vague in its description. The most important line from it was, ¡°The sun and moon form itske, the earth shall ask about your love. Those who are true may take the risk, but those who show true love are invincible here.¡±

    With such a blurry description, Huo Yuhao would not have been able to remember the short line from the Poison Chapter had he not seen the golden sun and silver moon. Even Tang San doubted the existence of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. Hence, he only left one tip.Speak the truth, and be true to your love.Only then could one survive!

    Other than that, there was no other information about it. Hence, while Huo Yuhao knew a bit more than the rest, this was the full extent of his knowledge.

    Everything around him swirled like the celestial bodies in the sky. The scenes around him changed non-stop. Even though Huo Yuhao tried to shut his eyes, he still felt dizzy. It seemed to impact someone with stronger spiritual power more.

    Finally, when he felt the dizziness subside, he opened his eyes once more.

    He seemed to be in a transparent world. Everything around him was made from gold and silver crystals. He remained in his bubble, but he appeared to havended on a round surface.

    This surface was light-gold in color. It was about twenty meters wide, and near its edge were thirteen circles with a diameter of one meter. He hadnded in one of these circles¡­

 Chapter 354.1 - Do You Have A Lover?

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 354.1: Do You Have A Lover?</h4>

    When he looked up, he noticed the golden sun and silver moon shining above them. Everything else around him was blurry shadows. Other than this tform, he could not see any further.

    All thirteen spots on the round tform were rapidly upied. In addition to him, Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, Zhang Lexuan, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu were there.

    They each stood in a gold and silver gas bubble. Huo Yuhao tried to shout, but he realized that his voice could not be heard by the others. The others observed their surroundings carefully. From the shape of their mouths, some appeared to be shouting. However, this ce was eerily silent.

    Calm, I must keep calm.This was ultimately the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. Huo Yuhao made his decision. He opened his human-shaped soul tool and revealed himself. This was so that the others could see his expression.

    Wang Dong¡¯er looked at him straightaway. Huo Yuhao quickly raised his hands and waved at her.

    Wang Dong¡¯er waved back at him, telling him that she could see him.

    After much thought, Huo Yuhao started to gesture with his hands. Due to what he had shouted out earlier, his hand gestures caught everyone¡¯s attention. His gestures were simple. He told them to do as he instructed.

    At this moment, the golden round tform started to emit fog. Suddenly, a thin sliver of golden light shot out from the center of the round tform. It quickly made one round around the tform. The back of the golden sliver spun around and pointed at the thirteen round tforms.

    ¡°The Heavens and the Earth will query you about your love, a heartfelt adventure. Begin!¡± a voice said calmly. No one could tell if it was a man or a woman as it rang out in the ears of all thirteen of them. They all quieted down because, to their surprise, they realized that all they could see now was gold and silver light.

    The sliver of light at the center of the round tform started to spin rapidly. It passed by all of their bubbles, lighting them up in session. After it passed, their bubbles returned to their normal state.

    Suddenly, the golden sliver stopped. It pointed to a smaller, round tform. The person on this tform was Wu Feng.

    Wu Feng was chosen by the golden light. She was a little shocked, because the bubble she was in started to light up. She was a proud individual, however, and she showed no sign of fear. She appeared to be shouting something.

    The bubble around her disappeared. A column of golden light started to rise from underneath her feet, and soon, it enveloped her whole body. Inside the golden light, her body slowly started to rise. When she was a meter above the ground, it stopped.

    Wu Feng felt the changes with a little shock. She discovered that while there was nothing wrong with her, she could not move anymore.

    At this moment, the emotionless voice rang out once more. This time, only she could hear it.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡±

    Wu Feng¡¯s heart shook, but she did not open her mouth. In her mind, all she could think of was Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Do you have a lover? If you don¡¯t reply after the third time, you¡¯ll be punished with death.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± said Wu Feng loudly as she grit her teeth. While the others were paying attention to her, they all appeared slightly confused. She could see that she was the only one who could hear this voice.

    ¡°Who is your lover?¡± the voice asked calmly.

    ¡°Ning Tian,¡± replied Wu Feng without any hesitation.

    ¡°That¡¯s her, right?¡± The golden light underneath her lit up andnded on Ning Tian. Instantly, the bubble around Ning Tian opened, and she too started to float in mid-air.

    ¡°Ning Tian!¡± Wu Feng cried out. However, the bubble around her started to rise, blocking out her voice. However, her bubble was now transparent. Unlike the rest of them, she could still see Ning Tian.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the voice asked Ning Tian.

    Ning Tian frowned and looked at Wu Feng, who appeared to be shouting, shook her head, and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°She said you¡¯re her lover, right?¡± the voice asked once more.

    Ning Tian was shocked, and then she replied, ¡°I know she likes me. However, we¡¯re both girls. I can¡¯t ept homosexual love. Hence, I only treat her as a good friend.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t love her, she¡¯ll die. Will you choose to love her?¡± the voice quickly asked.

    Ning Tian paused. This question was difficult to answer.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t love her, she¡¯ll die. Will you choose to love her? If you don¡¯t answer after the third time, you¡¯ll be punished with death,¡± repeated the voice.

    Ning Tian gritted her teeth and said, ¡°No, love doesn¡¯t work that way. I can die for her, but I can¡¯t love someone of the same sex.¡±

    When she said that, she did not notice that the bubble around Wu Feng had disappeared. Wu Feng heard everything she had just said.

    Wu Feng¡¯s face turned pale. Ning Tian was once again enveloped by her bubble, and her voice was sealed off.

    ¡°You heard her words. Do you still love her?¡± the mysterious and calm voice asked Wu Feng.

    Wu Feng bit down on her lower lip, and her eyes shone with a fiery light. ¡°You¡¯re so cruel.¡±

    ¡°You heard her words. Do you still love her? If you don¡¯t reply after the third time, you¡¯ll be punished with death,¡± the calm voice repeated in a mechanical fashion.

    ¡°Yes, I do! She doesn¡¯t love me, but this doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t love her. Why can¡¯t this love be one-way?¡± Wu Feng shouted in rage.

    ¡°She just said that she¡¯ll die for you, but she won¡¯t love you. Are you upset?¡± the calm voice asked in a way that sought to torture the target as much as it could.

    ¡°No shit, you bastard!¡± Wu Feng cursed.

    ¡°Pa!¡± A golden light came from nowhere and hit Wu Feng fiercely. Instantly, the clothes around her waist were torn open, and a bloody wound could be seen.

    Her soul power waspletely sealed, so she couldn¡¯t release her martial soul. Wu Feng could not help but cry out in pain.

    ¡°For the insult, you¡¯re punished with one stroke of the whip. If you do that again, you¡¯ll die.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m upset! Does that make you happy?¡± Tears dripped from Wu Feng¡¯s face. She had always liked Ning Tian, but she knew that Ning Tian could not ept such an unconventional love. If not, she would not have shown her love for Huo Yuhao at the Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    ¡°She said that she¡¯s willing to die for you. Now, I have two options for you. You can try and get her to die for you, or you can die. If she¡¯s willing, you¡¯ll live. If you¡¯re willing to die, then she¡¯ll live. Between the two of you, only one of you will live.¡± The calm voice suddenly turned cold, and brimmed with a strong killing intent. It was enough to make Wu Feng shiver.

    However, she made her decision almost instantly. Without hesitation, she said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll die. Let her live. Let her leave this ce and live out her life. Kill me!¡±

    When she said that, Wu Feng looked deeply at Ning Tian. Tears flowed from her face, but her determination never wavered.

    The golden light shed, a golden de appeared silently in front of Wu Feng. At the same time, she found that could move her hands once more.

    ¡°Kill yourself,¡± the calm voice said as if it was nothing.

    Wu Feng inhaled and cried out, ¡°Let Ning Tian go!¡± As she spoke, she grabbed the sharp de in front of her and pierced her chest with it.

    However, at that very moment, time seemed to stop. Wu Feng was frozen, though the tip of the knife was already at her chest. It looked as if it would prate her chest at any moment.

    The bubble around Ning Tian burst open, and the calm voice said, ¡°To let you live, she¡¯s willing to sacrifice her own life. If I hadn¡¯t stopped her, she would have already died for you. You just said that you¡¯re willing to die for her. If you want, you can die, and she¡¯ll live. This is yourst chance.¡±

    As she said that, the same golden de appeared in front of Ning Tian. Its sharp de gleamed coldly.

    Life and death, this was the hardest question of all for humans. Ning Tian grabbed the knife and looked at Wu Feng, who was suspended in mid-air with tears running down her face. Her de was almost at her breast. She couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath as tears trickled down her own face.

    ¡°Ah Feng, I know you like me, but we¡¯re of the same sex! I¡¯ve told you many times, but you just won¡¯t listen. For me, you¡¯re willing to offer your own valuable life. I owe you this. Here, maybe only one of us can live. Go and live your life. If we meet again in our next lives, I hope to be a guy. Then, I¡¯ll marry you for sure.¡±

    As she said that, Ning Tian closed her eyes, lifted the golden knife and shed at her throat.

    Two golden rays of light lit up together. Ning Tian suddenly felt a weight disappearing from her hand. On the other side, Wu Feng could move once more. However, the knives in their hands had disappeared.

    Two different voices sounded next to their ears. Their frames were enveloped by the bubbles once more.

    Over on Wu Feng¡¯s side, the voice said, ¡°Love is blind, and may go against human nature, making it impossible. However, true love is willing to sacrifice everything. This kind of love is pitiable. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    Over at Ning Tian¡¯s side, the voice said, ¡°Love is not blind. For friendship, you¡¯re willing to sacrifice everything you have. Thises from the depths of your heart. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    Ning Tian and Wu Feng looked at each other, separated by their bubbles. Both of them felt slightly disoriented. In their hearts, they felt a strange sensation, as if they had understood something. This ce did not appear as frightening as they had thought.

    There were now an additional pair of gold and silver rings over their bubbles¡­

 Chapter 354.2 - Do You Have A Lover?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 354.2: Do You Have A Lover?</h4>

    The gold and silver light screen rose once more, blocking their view. The sliver of golden light started to spin rapidly once again.

    ¡ª

    When the shining golden light from the central round tform stopped this time, it stopped on Bei Bei¡¯s tform.

    The bubble opened, and Bei Bei was suspended in mid-air.

    The calm voice asked him, ¡°Do you have a lover?¡±

    Bei Bei could sense that there was a light shing outside, but he did not know what had happened. However, he trusted Huo Yuhaopletely. Coupled with his own intellect, he calmed down quickly.

    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± he replied calmly.

    ¡°Who is she?¡±

    ¡°Tang Ya,¡± Bei Bei replied without hesitation.

    ¡°<strong>She¡¯s not here, right?</strong>¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Bei Bei replied quickly.

    The calm voice paused momentarily, then asked, ¡°What is the one thing you want to do the most for your lover?¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°I want to help her return to normal, so she can be by my side once more.¡±

    The calm voice asked, ¡°When she¡¯s by your side again, do you think she¡¯ll be happy?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°I¡¯ll do everything I can to make her happy.¡±

    The calm voice said, ¡°Your words mean nothing. If you could exchange a body part of yours to make her normal again, would you do it?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Bei Bei replied firmly.

    A sharp golden knife appeared before him, and the calm voice said, ¡°Then castrate yourself.¡±

    Bei Bei paused. He had not expected that this unknown voice would make him do such a thing.

    ¡°Are you sure she¡¯ll recover?¡± Bei Bei could not help but ask.

    ¡°Do you have a choice?¡± the calm voice replied, as an image appeared in front of Bei Bei.

    It was a face he was extremely familiar with.

    Tang Ya sat quietly on a bed. She stared nkly out a window, and her face was extremely pale. Dark-blue patterns of light asionally glimmered on her face.

    ¡°You just said that you would be willing to sacrifice a body part for her. Do you regret it now? You can regret your choice. You can choose not to cut it off,¡± the voice said calmly.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body was shaking. However, he slowly raised his hand and touched the de.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to castrate myself for her, but I have one request,¡± he said as he gripped the de of the knife tightly.

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°If you can really cure her from afar, then try your best to erase all her memories. Make her forget me, make her forget everything about me, alright?¡±

    ¡°I can consider that,¡± the voice said inly.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Bei Bei replied. His eyes turned red as he stared intently at Tang Ya in the image. Suddenly, he shouted, ¡°Xiao Ya, I love you!¡± A golden light glinted as he brought the sharp de down.

    ¡°Pu!¡± An intense shot pain through him. Bei Bei felt everything turn white.

    ¡°You¡¯re willing to sacrifice for love, and you don¡¯t want your lover to feel upset. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    The light screen rose, and Bei Bei stared dazedly as he watched the silver-gold light screen blocking his vision once more. He was back in his bubble. He could not help but shout, ¡°I¡¯ve already cut it off, cure Xiao Ya!¡±

    There was no reply. Furthermore, Bei Bei felt that something was amiss. He lowered his head and felt the paining from his leg. There was no sharp knife there. The hand which had gripped the sharp knife had only struck his leg. No wonder he only felt pain¡­

    The golden light started to spin once more. Bei Bei felt as if all his energy had been sucked out of him. He sat down on the floor as cold sweat trickled down his body.

    For guys, there was a certain body part that was more important than their lives. He was willing to sacrifice it for Xiao Ya, but it would be best for him not to do it!

    Bastard, what if I¡¯m permanently scarred by this?Bei Bei cried out in pain in his heart. He had lost his previous cool.

    ¡ª

    The golden light continued to spin. This time, it stopped rather quickly. Before it evenpleted a rotation, it stopped. This time, its target was Zhang Lexuan.

    The bubble opened, and Zhang Lexuan rose into the air.

    When she looked at the changes that were taking ce around her, Zhang Lexuan was even calmer than Bei Bei. She had been trying to unleash her martial soul. While she was not sessful, she did not ck in her efforts to do so. How could she be the strongest in the inner courtyard without a strong will? While Elder Mu did allow her to enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before he died as a form ofpensation, it was also in part due to her powers.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the calm voice spoke up once more, causing her to perk up.

    ¡°No,¡± she replied without hesitation.

    ¡°<strong>Have you loved someone before?</strong>¡± the calm voice asked once again.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Lexuan replied. She remembered Huo Yuhao¡¯s words very clearly.

    ¡°<strong>Who is he?</strong>¡±

    Zhang Lexuan took in a deep breath, then said, ¡°Bei Bei.¡±

    She did not know that at this time, while Bei Bei¡¯s bubble blocked his gaze, he could hear everything Zhang Lexuan said.

    Just as he recovered from the previous questioning, he heard Zhang Lexuan¡¯s voice. This made him almost jump up from the ground.

    ¡°Has he ever loved you?¡± the calm voice asked Zhang Lexuan.

    ¡°No.¡± Zhang Lexuan knew the answer to this question very well.

    ¡°<strong>How did you fall for him?</strong>¡± The calm voice asked quietly.

    Zhang Lexuan paused, and she blushed slightly. However, a look of pain crossed her eyes.

    ¡°How did you fall for him? If you don¡¯t reply after the third time, you¡¯ll be punished with death.¡±

    A bitter smile crept onto Zhang Lexuan¡¯s face. This question opened the deepest wound in her heart. ¡°When I came to Shrek Academy, he was still young. At that time, Elder Mu made me swear to be his wife. I had to take care of him, love him, and be his wife in an arranged marriage. Elder Mu saved my life. At that time, I had nowhere to call home, so I agreed.

    ¡°Elder Mu treated me well and trained me wholeheartedly. Soon, I became the most powerful soul master of my generation. He made no other requests of me, but I remembered my duty in my heart. I was Bei Bei¡¯s fianc¨¦e, his wife in an arranged marriage.

    ¡°I watch him grow up day by day. At the start, I tried to y the role as best as I could. I apanied him every day, protected him, and tried to fulfill all his wishes. This was because I had already made mental preparations to marry him when he grew up and be his wife. Since then, in my heart, he was already my little husband. However, he never treated me that way in return. All that time, he only treated me as his sister, he always called me sister. At that time, we were still young, so I did not give it much thought.

    ¡°As Bei Bei grew older, his body started to mature. He finally surpassed me in height. At that time, I finally realized that my future fianc¨¦ had be a man. He was very handsome, the corner of his mouth beamed like the sun, and he smiled in a devilishly handsome way. Everything he did attracted me. I felt that the promise I made was not a task anymore. Something stirred in my heart.¡±

    Perhaps she had kept these words inside her for way too long, but in this mysterious unknown world where even Elder Xuan could not resist, Zhang Lexuan started to speak freely. She bared her soul, and at that moment, a slight smile crept across her face as she indulged in her memories.

    Bei Bei heard everything from his bubble. He experienced everything that Zhang Lexuan said. He felt that he had returned to that time of his life.

    A beautiful elder sister who was always next to him. An elder sister who would protect him and satisfy his requests. When he was young, he was so in love, so dependent on her! Then¡­

    ¡°Then, he turned twelve years old, and finally entered the Academy to study. At that time, I was a disciple of the Inner Courtyard. As my cultivation became more intense, coupled with my split from the outer courtyard, we had no choice but to separate. At that time, I thought, ¡®I must continue to cultivate and be stronger so that I can better protect him in the future, and guard him as he grows up.¡¯

    ¡°However, I never expected that when he appeared before me again, he was next to a little girl, a beautiful girl around his age. She was extremely pretty, and he treated her very well. I could tell that he looked at her differently from how he looked at me. At that time, I realized suddenly that I¡¯d lost my fianc¨¦.

    ¡°I went to find Elder Mu to report this to him and seek his counsel. He thought for a long while, and then told me that his decision back then had been too selfish. He should not have let me make that promise. After all, I was much older than Bei Bei. Even though soul masters don¡¯t age normally, there was still a generational gap between him and me. Elder Mu said that from that moment, I had regained my freedom. After all, Bei Bei did not know about this, and I could choose my future from that moment onward.

    ¡°When I left Elder Mu¡¯s room, I felt as if I had lost my soul. Ten years of care and ten years ofmitment. In the end, it was not a promise that I had to keep. However, I realized that this young, always-smiling boy was already imprinted in my mind.

    ¡°I tried to forget him as quickly as I could. I tried quite intensely. Every day, I trained as hard as I could. I hoped to numb myself with my cultivation. However, after I ended my closed-door cultivation, I met him by fate once more. At that time, I realized that there was no way I could forget him. I actually fell for a guy who was almost ten years younger than me!¡±

 Chapter 354.3 - Do You Have A Lover?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 354.3: Do You Have A Lover?</h4>

    ¡°I found Elder Mu and I told him that regardless of what decision he and Bei Bei came to, I would fulfill my promise. I would be his fianc¨¦e, and I wouldn¡¯t betray my vows. When I said these words, I was extremely resolute. However, only I knew that I wasn¡¯t bound by this decade-old promise. Instead, I was bound by the emotions in my heart that had grown over the past ten years. In ten years, I watched as a boy became a man. In my heart, there was no other man but him!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan choked on her words. She finally released all the emotions she had been suppressing in her heart. In all these years, whenever she saw Bei Bei and Tang Ya together, her heart would ache. What pained her even more was Tang Ya¡¯s disappearance. Since then, Bei Bei had changed. However, it was only because she knew him so well that she felt so strongly.

    Zhang Lexuan had never fought for his heart. After all, she was older than Bei Bei by almost ten years, and Tang Ya and Bei Bei were closer in age. How would she stand a chance?

    Hence, Zhang Lexuan chose to keep quiet. She watched him quietly. At the start, she was unwilling to give up her love just like that. However, over time, she quietly gave up. Sometimes, she would reveal a bit of her emotions to Bei Bei. However, she had never really asked him for anything. Instead, she kept these emotions to herself deep in her heart. Her promise was like an ind of refuge for her.

    She was exceptional, and had attracted countless men in Shrek Academy. However, she rejected all of them for this one true love.

    As Bei Bei listened to Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words, his heart ached with a great agony. In his mind, he started to recall everything he had done with Zhang Lexuan when they were young.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Sister Lexuan, can I eat the fruits on that tree? Pick one for me.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Sister Lexuan, you¡¯re so beautiful. Marry me when I grow up, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    ¡°Sister Lexuan, I¡¯m tired.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    ¡°Sister Lexuan, I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll cook something for you.¡±

    ¡°Sister Lexuan¡­¡±

    ¡ª

    Tears streamed down Bei Bei¡¯s face. At this moment, he finally realized how much Zhang Lexuan had sacrificed for their rtionship. Through all these years, she had concealed her truest emotions in the depths of her heart! No wonder he had felt himself growing distant from Sister Lexuan after he met Tang Ya.Sister Lexuan, Sister Lexuan, how can I face you?

    At this moment, Bei Bei heard the terrifying voice.

    ¡°Since you love him so much, and he doesn¡¯t love you, are you still willing to sacrifice yourself for him?¡± the calm voice asked once more. Its tone was cold.

    Zhang Lexuan fell silent for a while. She raised her hands to wipe away her tears, then said with determination, ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Are you willing to die for him?¡±

    ¡°I said that I¡¯m willing,¡± Zhang Lexuan said calmly and emotionlessly. At this moment, Bei Bei, who heard this voice too, felt as if someone had mmed a sledgehammer into his chest. His face turned pale, and his body trembled. He sat straight down on the floor, and his lips quivered, but he said nothing.

    ¡°You¡¯re a dumb girl. But your emotions are true, and your love is selfless. You pass the Sincerity round. Your selfless sacrifice shall be rewarded. You are hereby exempted from the second round,¡± said the calm voice with a bit more emotions.

    Zhang Lexuan was stunned. Then, she watched as the light screen rose in front of her once more. However, how could she remain calm?

    ¡ª¡ª

    The golden light shed once more, and circled them again. The warm gold light shone everywhere. It appeared that in the depths of theke of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, the iciness and hate were warmed by the many forms of selfless love it had encountered.

    The golden light now circled for a longer period of time. When it stopped once more, it stopped at¡­ Dai Huabin!

    He floated up, and a clear golden light shed.

    Dai Huabin became visibly tense. Like everyone else selected by the golden light, he knew nothing about what had just happened.

    However, as one of the top soul masters of the younger generation, he was no fool. While he hated Huo Yuhao, he recognized his abilities. When Huo Yuhao had shouted those words just then, he heard all of them. No one would ignore life-saving advice because of hate!

    ¡°<strong>Do you have a lover?</strong>¡± The calm voice asked.

    ¡°Yes, I do!¡± Dai Huabin replied without hesitation. At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s words rang out repeatedly in his head.Speak the truth always, no matter what you¡¯re asked.

    ¡°<strong>Who is your lover?</strong>¡±

    ¡°Zhu Lu,¡± Dai Huabin replied. However, he did not know that the moment he said that, Zhu Lu could already hear his voice.

    ¡°Is she the one you love the most?¡±

    Dai Huabin paused for a moment. He hesitated.

    ¡°Is she the one you love the most? If you don¡¯t reply after the third time, you¡¯ll be punished with death,¡± the calm voice said coldly.

    ¡°No,¡± Dai Huabin said. When he said that, his voice was rigid.

    When Zhu Lu, who was sealed in her own golden light, heard his response, her entire body stiffened. An incredulous look crossed her face, and her tiny frame trembled. She wanted to struggle, to fight, but here, even Elder Xuan was helpless. How could she escape?

    ¡°Then who do you love?¡± The calm voice asked.

    Dai Huabin looked prepared as he said solemnly, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    At that moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er could hear him too.

    ¡°Since you already have a lover, how can you love someone else? How can you face her?¡± The voice was merciless.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes turned dark, and he said, ¡°It¡¯s true, I can¡¯t face her, but I do love her. However, in my heart, I think I love Wang Qiu¡¯er more.¡±

    The calm voice asked, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a choice. Between the two of them, you can choose one to die for. If you do that, she¡¯ll live. Who do you choose?¡±

    This question impacted Dai Huabin greatly. His entire body turned stiff. In his head, the same question reyed itself over and over again. He had never given it much thought, but he had also never expected to face such a problem today. At this moment, his brain ran wild.

    This time, the voice did not prompt him. It wanted him to think this through.

    After a long while, Dai Huabin finally said with difficulty, ¡°I know. If I had to choose one person to die for, I¡¯d choose Zhu Lu.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The calm voice was calm. ¡°Zhu Lu? You don¡¯t love her, though.¡±

    Dai Huabin replied, ¡°Yes, but she¡¯s the one who loves me the most in this world. She¡¯s always by my side, and she sacrifices herself for me in many ways. I can¡¯t face her because I am attracted to some other woman. However, I¡¯m clear that Wang Qiu¡¯er doesn¡¯t love me, and there¡¯s no possibility of anything happening with her. All I can do is love her quietly. However, if I were to choose someone to be my wife, I¡¯d choose Zhu Lu. At the same time, I¡¯ll use my life to protect her. If I die and she lives, I won¡¯t have any regrets.¡±

    The calm voice appeared lost as it said, ¡°Your thinking is weird, and your view on love is hard to understand, but your heart is true. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    When Dai Huabinnded back on the ground, his face had a terrible expression. He had been asked the most painful question of his life, and experienced intense emotional turmoil.

    The golden light shed once more, andnded on Zhu Lu. When it dissipated, Zhu Lu¡¯s small frame started to rise. At this moment, her face was streaked with tears.

    When she heard that Dai Huabin did not love her the most, her heart was filled with despair. The entire world had turned gray. However, when she heard that Dai Huabin was willing to die for her after he said all those things, her emotions became exceedinglyplicated. However, she was not in despair anymore. At the very least, the man she loved still liked her.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the calm voice asked.

    ¡°I¡­ do,¡± Zhu Lu replied, choking on her words.

    At that moment, Dai Huabin, who was still in emotional agony, heard her voice. His entire body trembled, and he realized that she had heard everything. It was likely that Wang Qiu¡¯er had heard him too. An indescribable feeling rose in his heart, like he had lost his soul. His entire body went limp. If not for the mysterious power supporting him, he would have already copsed to the ground.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Dai Huabin,¡± replied Zhu Lu, gritting her teeth.

    ¡°<strong>Then, you heard everything he just said. What are your thoughts?</strong>¡± The calm voice seemed to ask the questions that would cause the most pain.

    ¡°He¡¯s a piece of shit!¡± Zhu Lu cried out. Afterward, she began bawling.

    ¡°Do you still love him?¡± the calm voice continued its questioning.

    Dai Huabin opened his eyes and perked his ears up to listen. He was suddenly scared of the answer he would get. However, he could not help but listen.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Zhu Lu did not hesitate. Even though she was bawling her eyes out, she answered the question without a moment¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t love you, and you called him a piece of shit, so why do you still love him?¡± The calm voice had no intention of sparing her!

 Chapter 355.1 - Unparalled Sincerity

    Chapter 355.1: Unparalled Sincerity</h4>

    Zhu Lu took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. ¡°Do I need a reason to love? I love him, or at least I do now. Even if he doesn¡¯t want me, even if he abandons me, will this love disappear? What kind of shitty questions are you asking? Go to Hell!¡±

    The punishment that had struck Wu Feng appeared once more. A light shed, and Zhu Lu could not help but scream in pain.

    Dai Huabin struggled with all his might. At this moment, he felt an immense pain in his heart. This pain was so immense that the glowing image of the girl with the light-blue hair in his mind appeared to have dimmed by quite a bit.

    Only in times of trouble will we realize who truly cares for us. Right now, he was able to see who he truly loved. In his mind, he screamed in a frenzy, ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her, hit me instead!¡±

    ¡°This pure love reveals the truth of your feelings. While you insulted me, I shall spare you on ount of the truth of your feelings. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    The light faded, and Zhu Lu was returned to her bubble. However, it took a long time for her to steady her emotions.

    ¡ª

    The spinning sliver of light appeared once more. This time, it stopped before itpleted a full revolution. Its target was Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The light around her cleared, and Wang Qiu¡¯er rose into the air. Her expression was icy-cold. She had heard everything that Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had said. However, she was not affected. She just could not understand the nature of this ce.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± The same question was asked once more.

    ¡°No.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er said coldly.

    ¡°Have you loved someone before?¡± The calm voice showed no sign of abating.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er replied coldly.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er replied. She had no need to hide her feelings. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was instantly able to hear her voice.

    Qiu¡¯er?,Huo Yuhao thought in his heart, as the exchange between Wang Qiu¡¯er and the calm voice rang out next to his ears.

    When she said that she loved him, Huo Yuhao could not help but smile bitterly in disappointment.

    Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er, look at me, how can you¡­?

    ¡°Does he love you?¡± the calm voice continued.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°And you still love him?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er replied. She replied to the questionszily, and her answers mostly consisted of single words.

    ¡°Just now, Dai Huabin said that he loved you. What thoughts do you have?¡±

    ¡°None.¡±

    ¡°If you were given a choice once more, would you still choose Huo Yuhao?¡± the calm voice asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Wang Qiu¡¯er. Her voice started to falter.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er inhaled and said, ¡°While I hate how he doesn¡¯t reciprocate my feelings, I like the feeling of being in love with him. Love has made me different.¡±

    ¡°If he were to face mortal danger one day, would you sacrifice your life for him?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already tried, and hence I can tell you confidently that I would.¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened quietly. He was not shocked by Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s responses until the veryst bit.She tried? What did she try? She tried to die for me? When? Why don¡¯t I know about it?At this moment, the shock Huo Yuhao was feeling was hard to imagine. He seemed paralyzed.

    ¡°Are you willing to die now so that he can live?¡± The calm voice did not give up.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared to be mocking the voice as she said, ¡°Bring it on.¡±

    Her reply was very fast and very resolute. However, these three words were able to render Huo Yuhao breathless.

    Qiu¡¯er, she¡­

    Time appeared to stop for a long while. Then the voice rang out once more. ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone, but I respect your steadfast nature. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er descended, and was sealed once more.

    ¡ª

    The golden sliver of light spun once more and instantly, itnded on Huo Yuhao. The light cleared, and he rose into the air.

    He could finally see the outside world. However, this did not give him any sce or reassurance. He was still deeply shocked by what Wang Qiu¡¯er had said just now.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the calm voice asked coldly.

    ¡°I do,¡± Huo Yuhao replied instantly.

    ¡°Who is she?¡±

    ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he took a deep breath to calm himself.

    Instantly, Wang Dong¡¯er could hear his voice. Even though she already knew the answer, Wang Dong¡¯er felt her heart melting when Huo Yuhao said that he loved her.

    ¡°Is she the one you love the most?¡± the calm voice pressed.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation.

    ¡°Just now, Wang Qiu¡¯er said that she loved you. You should have heard it. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao trailed off with a bitter smile on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Qiu¡¯er is a good girl. If I hadn¡¯t already met Dong¡¯er, I may have fallen in love with her. However, my heart ispletely filled with Dong¡¯er now.¡±

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t leave any space in your heart for Wang Qiu¡¯er? Do you dare to say that you have never considered her as an option?¡± the calm voice asked as its tone turned audibly harsh.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°I admit, I did consider her before, because she resembled Wang Dong¡¯er perfectly. However, the reason I considered her then was because I loved Dong¡¯er. Hence, I can only apologize to Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    While Wang Qiu¡¯er understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s determination, she still felt her heart turn icy-cold when she heard him say those words.

    ¡°If you could start all over again, with Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er appearing in front of you at the same time, who would you love?¡± the voice asked. It showed no sign of abating.

    Huo Yuhao paused and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, because there¡¯s no possibility of that happening.¡±

    ¡°In this world, nothing is impossible,¡± exined the voice. Then, it asked, ¡°Since you love Wang Dong¡¯er so much, would you die for her?¡±

    ¡°Of course I would. I¡¯ve already tried to before. I¡¯m brave enough. In my heart, Dong¡¯er has always been more important than my own life,¡± Huo Yuhao replied emotionally.

    ¡°Hmm, aplicated love life, but you can still stay true to yourself in the face of temptations. You pass the first round, Sincerity.¡±

    The gold light faded, and Huo Yuhao was ced back in his original spot.

    ¡ª

    The golden sliver started to move once more, until it stopped at Wang Dong¡¯er, who was not very far away from Huo Yuhao. The light cleared, and Dong¡¯er rose into the air.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Dong¡¯er replied with a slight smile. She suddenly thought that this ce was rather decent. At least to Huo Yuhao and her, it was a rather stress-free ce.Just speak the truth. Since this is the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, let it query me.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Is he the one you love the most?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You should have heard the exchange just now. Another person said that she loves him deeply and is willing to die for him. That person is Wang Qiu¡¯er. Did you know that?¡±

    ¡°I knew,¡± Wang Dong¡¯er replied without any hesitation.

    ¡°So what thoughts do you have?¡± the voice asked.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any thoughts on that. In fact, I once tried to match-make the two of them.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The calm voice was not the only one who wanted to know the answer to that question. Huo Yuhao, who had just calmed down himself, wanted to know too.

    Wang Dong¡¯er said, ¡°Qiu¡¯er deserved it. Love can¡¯t be shared, and naturally, I don¡¯t want to share it. However, ever since I started to interact with Qiu¡¯er, I can sense her love for Huo Yuhao. While I want him for myself, I can¡¯t bear to see her in so much pain.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared ofpetition?¡± the voice asked pressingly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not afraid. I trust that Huo Yuhao¡¯s love for me won¡¯t change. In fact, both he and Qiu¡¯er rejected my proposal. Qiu¡¯er said that she wasn¡¯t willing to take this ¡®gift¡¯, and Yuhao said that his heart only had me in it.¡± When she said the final bit, her voice brimmed with pride.

    Then, she added, ¡°If you want to ask if I¡¯m willing to die for Huo Yuhao, I will say yes. However, sometimes, those who are alive have it worse than those who are dead. If I die, he¡¯d be devastated. I¡¯m willing to die for him, but I don¡¯t want to see him in so much pain.

    ¡°If we can grow old and die together, I¡¯d be willing to let him die first. Then, I can be with him until thest moment of his life. He can leave his world under my care, and then I¡¯ll follow him. I¡¯m willing to face the cold inevitability of death alone, but I don¡¯t want him to do so.¡±

    The calm voice sighed and said, ¡°You have it all nned out.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already answered all of them, so what¡¯s left for me to ask? You pass the first round.¡±

    No one knew why, but when Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er heard this calm voice, they all realized that it sounded sorry.

    Huo Yuhao was touched beyond words.Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, my lovely wife! While I don¡¯t know what I would have done had you and Qiu¡¯er appeared in front of me together, I know that I¡¯ll still choose you to be my wife in our next lives. I want to be with you for all our lives. I don¡¯t ever want to be apart from you!

    ¡ª

    The golden sliver spun, and this time, it did not stop instantly. It appeared to have been affected by Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Wang Dong¡¯er. This time, it spun for a very long while.

    After a long time, the golden light finally stopped. This time, it paused on Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao rose into the air.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± It was the same question again.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Xiao replied, blushing.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

 Chapter 355.2 - Unparalled Sincerity

    <h4 ss>Chapter 355.2: Unparalled Sincerity</h4>

    ¡°He Caitou,¡± Xiao Xiao replied in a low voice. Among all the people here, she was the shyest.

    ¡°Is he the one you love the most?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Xiao replied softly.

    ¡°If only one of you could leave this ce alive, would it be you, or him?¡± the calm voice asked coldly.

    Xiao Xiao was stunned. ¡°Can we both not die? I¡¯m still young, I haven¡¯t married anyone yet, I, I¡­ Wa!¡­,¡± She burst out into tears.

    He Caitou could hear her now. When he heard her crying, an odd expression crossed his face.

    ¡°One of you must die. It¡¯s either you or him. Answer me. If you don¡¯t answer me, both of you will die. You have the right to choose. If you let him die, you may live,¡± the voice said calmly.

    Xiao Xiao choked, and her petite face turned white. To her, the terror of death was not something she could deal with easily.

    The voice seemed pleased that it had finally found someone who was afraid of death. It did not prompt her.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll die. But after I die, can you let Caitou tell my father and mother, and then get him to take care of them for me? While he may be ugly, he¡¯s a nice person. I think my parents will like him.¡± It was difficult, but Xiao Xiao still made her decision.

    ¡°We can only live once. Will you really choose death?¡± The calm voice asked once more.

    Xiao Xiao said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die! However, I don¡¯t want Caitou to die. If I see him die, I might be more afraid. I¡¯d rather die myself. Isn¡¯t it said that once you die, there¡¯s nothing to worry about anymore? Can you let me have a quick death? I¡¯m scared of pain.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°You pass the first round.¡±

    The voice did not want to speak with Xiao Xiao any more. The light faded, and Xiao Xiao dropped down back down and was enveloped by her light bubble.

    ¡ª

    The sliver shed, and He Caitou immediately rose into the air.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Who is she?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xiao,¡± He Caitou replied resolutely.

    ¡°Is she the one who you love the most?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Between the two of you, if only one of you could live, who would you want it to be?¡± The questions were highly simr. However, for everyone, it was a question of life and death. At this point, one had to know that He Caitou did not know that Xiao Xiao had passed her round. He only heard her say that she was willing to die for him, and that she wanted him to take care of her family.

    At this moment, Xiao Xiao listened intently. She had absolute faith in He Caitou¡¯s love for her. Since they had gotten together, he had protected her and taken care of her as if she were a tiny flower in a greenhouse. His deep love for her had made her forget her initial dissatisfaction with his appearance.

    ¡°I¡¯d choose to live,¡± He Caitou answered after a long silence. The moment he said that, Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes opened wide in shock. Instantly, her beautiful eyes started to water.

    I¡¯m so scared of death, but I still chose death for you¡­

    Caitou, who is normally so honest, and who loves me so much, actually¡­

    Caitou, you¡­

    ¡°Why?¡± the calm voice asked.

    He Caitou took a deep breath and said, ¡°I have yet to avenge the deaths of my family, and hence, I cannot die. So, I¡¯d choose to live. But if Xiao Xiao dies, I¡¯m already a dead man. My heart would be dead. I¡¯d castrate myself to keep my purity for her. After I avenge the deaths of my family, I¡¯d join her in death.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a next life, I want to be her pet so that I can protect her quietly. If there really is a next life, I won¡¯t demand her love, but I¡¯ll make up for my mistakes in this lifetime with the love of many lifetimes.

    ¡°However, I must have my vengeance. I¡¯ll never forget how my father¡¯s hand went limp right before he died, or the red, grief-stricken look in my mother¡¯s eyes. Death, to me, is a form of release. However, I can¡¯t have this release now. I live for revenge. Loving Xiao Xiao is like a luxury to me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are or why you brought us here, but if possible, can you please let both Xiao Xiao and I live? Even if you force me to give up my love for her, even if you make her forget me, I¡¯d be willing. Furthermore, I¡¯m willing to be a ve for her in my next life. I don¡¯t even mind reincarnating as an animal so that she can live a wondrous life. Please, I beg you.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s lips were pursed tightly together. Even his voice was different from normal. He spoke with a maic and enthralling voice.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes watered. Finally, big, fat tears trickled down her face. At this moment, there was no coldness or despair in her eyes, only intense, red-hot emotions.

    He Caitou¡¯s body was stiff. He did not know if Xiao Xiao could hear his voice. He also did not know if Xiao Xiao would forgive him. However, he spoke the truth as it was, without keeping anything to himself.

    ¡°Sincerity and truth. Love at its highest and most passionate level. You pass the first round, Sincerity, and you are exempted from the second round. Xiao Xiao is also exempted from the second round.¡±

    He Caitou was lowered gently and returned to his original spot. At this moment, hot tears streamed down his face. He had never cared about the exemption. He was just scared that Xiao Xiao, his beloved Xiao Xiao, would leave him.

    At this moment, among everyone who stood around this mysterious wheel, eleven of them had already been chosen. Thanks to Huo Yuhao¡¯s reminder, none of them was severely punished. Only Wu Feng and Zhu Lu were whipped because they were discourteous, but it was not severe.

    Only two people were left, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

    ¡ª

    The golden sliver spun, and it stopped on Jiang Nannan. The light cleared, and she rose into the air.

    As she was one of thest to be selected, she did not look well. She had been trapped for a long time, and did not know what was happening outside. This loneliness was terrifying. At least there was light. The faint golden light made everything less scary.

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the calm voice asked.

    Jiang Nanan jumped, but she reacted quickly. ¡°Yes, I do.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Xu Sanshi.¡±

    ¡°Is he the one you love the most?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Between the two of you, if only one of you could live, who would you want it to be?¡±

    Jiang Nannan received the same question. Her stunningly-pretty face paled. However, thanks to Huo Yuhao¡¯s reminder, she knew that she could not lie. However, she did not know if Xu Sanshi could hear her voice.

    ¡°I hope I could live,¡± Jiang Nannan said with much difficulty.

    ¡°Reason?¡±

    ¡°I want to take care of my mother. If I die, there¡¯ll be no one to take care of my mother. If no one takes care of her, she¡¯ll die. My mother and I have relied on each other since I was young. I¡¯m willing to do anything for my mother. I love Sanshi, but I love my mother more. If I had to choose one, I¡¯d choose to live for my mother. I¡¯d take no new lover, and after my mother passes away, I¡¯ll look for him in death.¡±

    When Jiang Nannan said this, she did not hesitate too much. She did not say it with much emotion. Instead, she recounted it as if it were a fact. Clearly, her mother was the most important thing to her.

    ¡°Romantic love and familial love. So, you think familial love is more important? How can you face Xu Sanshi?¡±

    Jiang Nannan smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Without my mother, I wouldn¡¯t exist. I can¡¯t face Sanshi, but I¡¯ll atone for it in my next life. Instead, I want to ask you why you are so intent on tearing us apart? Why is it that only one of us can live? I don¡¯t know who you are, but it serves no other purpose than to cause us pain. Why don¡¯t you kill us both? If we both die, my mother will die too, and we can be reunited in the next world.¡±

    ¡°You pass the first round, Sincerity,¡± said the calm voice. It had no other questions for her, and it appeared slightly flustered as it made that announcement.

    ¡ª

    Jiang Nannan returned to where she was. The golden lightnded on Xu Sanshi. As it spun, Xu Sanshi rose into the air.

    ¡°You sick pervert!¡± Xu Sanshi cursed the moment he could speak.

    Crack!A ray of golden light turned into a whip and struck Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi cried out in pain. He felt an intense shock from where he had been whipped. Even his soul was in agony.

    ¡°For disrespecting me, you¡¯re sentenced to three strokes of the whip.¡±

    Crack! Crack!Perhaps this voice was triggered by Jiang Nannan¡¯s attitude, but it whipped Xu Sanshi thrice. Xu Sanshi wailed in pain. This pain was unbearable, and it was impossible not to cry out.

    Jiang Nannan could hear him, and panicked, but there was nothing she could do. She could only curse silently. ¡°You idiot, why are you resisting something you can¡¯t fight?¡±

    ¡°Do you have a lover?¡± the calm voice asked coldly once it was done.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Sanshi replied. Perhaps it was because of the punishment, but Xu Sanshi was now much more well-behaved, albeit drained.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Jiang Nannan.¡±

    ¡°Is she the one you love the most?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°If only one of you could live, and you had the option to choose who lived, who would it be?¡±

    ¡°Her. I¡¯ll die.¡± Xu Sanshi said tiredly. The three strokes of the whip hade down hard. His entire body was twitching in agony.

    ¡°Just now, Jiang Nannan chose you to die. Don¡¯t you want to be like her and stay alive to take care of your parents?¡±

 Chapter 355.3 - Unparalled Sincerity

    <h4 ss>Chapter 355.3: Unparalled Sincerity</h4>

    Xu Sanshi said in an unpleasant tone, ¡°My situation is different from hers. Her and her mother rely on each other. While I have parents, I also have siblings who can take care of them. Yes, I will have wronged them by doing so. However, they never really liked me to begin with. I believe that if I die, it won¡¯t bother them too much.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re willing to sacrifice yourself for love, but you aren¡¯t filial to your parents. You will only be allowed to pass the first round with tenshes.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Crack, crack, crack¡­

    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah!¡±

    Cries of pain rose in the air. Xu Sanshi was in so much pain that he could not help but cry out non-stop. However, he had no way of resisting it.

    At this moment, the bubbles around everyone turned transparent. Everyone could see once more. They all looked at Xu Sanshi, who was being whipped in the air.

    They might not be able to hear, but they could see his pained expression! The Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi, was in such a pitiful state right now. What defense was there to speak of?

    After ten strokes of the whip, Xu Sanshi fell back to the ground. His entire bodyy there unmoving. He could not even raise a single finger. However, weirdly, the ten strokes of the whip did not leave a single mark on him.

    ¡°The first round, Sincerity, is over. The second round, Adventure, shall now begin. All those who are exempted may progress straight into the third round.¡±

    Three rays of light shone simultaneously. Zhang Lexuan, He Caitou, and Xiao Xiao disappeared. There were now only ten people left out of the original thirteen. However, their surroundings started to change.

    Everyone could sense a powerful killing intent.

    The wheel on the ground started to change. Ten boxes appeared on the wheel. However, each box had a different insignia. Each of the ten insignias was different, but they were not hard to identify.

    For example, one of them looked like a sword, which should have something to do with fighting. Another one looked like a pair of human lips. There were also other insignias. Some took a bit longer to identify.

    The in voice sounded in their ears, ¡°The second round, Adventure, shall begin. You have all progressed to the second round. After this round starts, the light underneath your feet will shine and the wheel will spin. Depending on what box the light stops at, you will have to fulfil the corresponding task. If you can¡¯t do that, you will then progress to the next round, Deep Adventure, which has a possibility of mortal danger. If you still can¡¯t pass that, you will die. After your task has been revealed, you have a chance to go straight to the Deep Adventure round. It will start now, beginning with Xu Sanshi.¡±

    No one would have expected that Xu Sanshi, the one who had experienced the most pain, would be the first one to start. The round area where hey lit up, and the huge wheel started to spin. The insignias on top of the wheel started to blur as they spun.

    At this moment, no one could talk to each other. All they could do was watch the wheel spin.

    Gradually, the wheel started to slow down. Insignias started to sh visibly in front of Xu Sanshi.

    The pain in his body appeared to have decreased, but Xu Sanshi still had yet to catch his breath. Despite facing the second round right now, he did not know what it entailed. However, the clueless one was often the most fearless. Right now, there was nothing he had to worry about.

    Finally, the wheel stopped. When it stopped, a fan-shaped light lit up in front of Xu Sanshi, showing the insignia that was chosen for him.

    It was in the shape of a pair of lips.

    ¡°The Adventure is a French kiss. Now, the wheel shall choose again. Regardless of who is chosen, you have to convince them, or force them, to French kiss you for three minutes. In total, you have ten minutes toplete the task. If you can¡¯t do it, you will move on to the Deep Adventure round. Once again, let me emphasize that the Deep Adventure round has a risk of mortal danger. You may face an opponent whom you cannot resist. The chance of death is more than 50%. The wheel will now choose your target for you.¡±

    The wheel started to spin once again.

    Xu Sanshi listened to all this in shock. The others heard it too. Instantly, all the girls except Jiang Nannan turned pale.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned too. Then, a look of joy shed across his eyes. This was mandatory kissing!

    Other than him, most of the remaining nine were girls. Only Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Dai Huabin were guys. This meant that there was a 66% chance of a girl being chosen!

    Eh, they¡¯re all beauties. Regardless of which one is chosen¡­. There¡¯s no need to force her, right? After all, we¡¯re all trying to live!

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s mood changed, and he forced himself to stand up as he stared at the spinning wheel.

    This time, the wheel returned to the spinning gold light of the first round. The golden light shed quickly, and then slowed until it seemed to be on the verge of stopping.

    Xu Sanshi opened his eyes wide. In his heart, he prayed, ¡°Let it be a girl, let it be a girl, anyone will do! Even though they say we should not go after our friends¡¯ wives, this is a matter of life and death. They will understand.¡±

    The light finally stopped. The moment it stopped, Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes almost popped out of his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re fucking with me!¡± he cried out unhappily.

    When the golden light stopped, itnded on the ¡®unlikely¡¯ 33%. It stopped at Bei Bei!

    ¡°Target has been chosen. Your time starts now.¡±

    The two rays of light shone together. Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei appeared at the center of the round tform, and a golden hourss appeared in mid-air. Fine, golden granules of sand started to trickle down.

    Bei Bei was also shocked by the fact that he had been chosen. The two of them looked at each other. At that moment, neither of them knew what to say.

    Xu Sanshi screamed into the air, ¡°Does seeing me fucked makes you happy? Why is it Bei Bei? Why is it him!?¡±

    He really wanted to scream, ¡°I choose the Deep Adventure round!¡± However, the ten strokes of the whip had left a deep impression on his mind. Xu Sanshi could tell that this mysterious existence would not be kind to him.

    If he chose that, he would be faced with death. The existence evidently did not like him!

    I just have to kiss him for three minutes, and I will pass this round! This is better than death! However, we have to do it in front of so many people, including Jiang Nannan.At this moment, Xu Sanshi instantly felt that he was in a really painful spot.

    ¡°Bei Bei¡­¡± Xu Sanshi said with much difficulty as he licked his lips.

    Bei Bei jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    ¡°Do you think I want to?¡± Xu Sanshi said angrily, ¡°I don¡¯t! However, I want to live, you know that! Do you want us all to die here?¡±

    Bei Bei snorted, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than to get kissed by you! If I don¡¯t kiss you, I¡¯ll die. If I kiss you, I might not live. So why would I want to kiss you? Who knows how many more tortures this ce has for us?¡±

    ¡°There are three rounds. If you pass all of them, you can leave. Furthermore, ording to your situations, you will be given different, customized rewards,¡± said the voice.

    Xu Sanshi gulped and said, ¡°Bei Bei, hear that? It¡¯s only three rounds. While this ce is strange, that voice seems to honor its word. Furthermore, while the questions earlier were difficult, it considered our responses from an emotional aspect. Just bear with it. Do it for our future happiness! Don¡¯t you want to save Xiao Ya?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± When he heard ¡®Xiao Ya¡¯, Bei Bei, who was initially as riled up as a fighting cock, softened.That¡¯s right!He did not care about his life, but what about Xiao Ya? If he did not save her, Xiao Ya might be an evil soul master forever.

    He thought for a while, then sighed and closed his eyes. He faced Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked at the hourss and bit down on his lips. He stepped toward Bei Bei and stared intently at his lips. In his mind, he repeated this thought over and over again, ¡°These are two sausages, two sausages, two sausages¡­¡±

    Bei Bei had his own mantra too.I¡¯m getting kissed by a pig, kissed by a pig, kissed by a pig¡­

    Finally, Xu Sanshi stood in front of Bei Bei. The two of them were of simr heights. There was no need to trouble either party. However, when they were only inches apart, Xu Sanshi¡¯s footsteps stopped.These aren¡¯t sausages!

    ¡°Here Ie!¡± Xu Sanshi said.

    Bei Bei kept his eyes closed and said angrily, ¡°Hurry up, pighead.¡±

    Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Then, he lunged forward.

    ¡°Bleugh¡­¡± When Bei Bei felt something touch his lips, however, he could not hold it in anymore. Everything he ate in the morning spewed out of his stomach.

    ¡°Bleugh!¡± Xu Sanshi had lowered his head slightly, and so his nose had hit Bei Bei¡¯s lips. But at this moment, vomit was sshed all over his face. His initial determination fell apart. He started to puke furiously too as he vomited all over Bei Bei.

    This task, which had seemed easy toplete, turned into a nightmare for Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. Both of them puked all over themselves.

    ¡°For contaminating the valley, you shall both be moved to the Deep Adventure round.¡±

    The golden light shed and cleaned all of their vomit up instantly.

    This scene before everyone tugged at their hearts.What nonsense is this!?The one who was the most shocked was Jiang Nannan. She was both worried and slightly tickled by it. In her heart, she was rather delighted, too.If that rascal really did THAT with Bei Bei¡­ However, what does Deep Adventure entail? There¡¯s a 50% mortality rate!Then, she thought about how Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had trained together all these years. Their coordination was superb. One of them attacked, while the other defended. They should be able to make it¡­

 Chapter 356.1 - Adventure, Adventure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 356.1: Adventure, Adventure</h4>

    Just as countless thoughts flitted through Jiang Nannan¡¯s mind, the wheel started to spin once again! As they all stared at the weird symbols on the wheel, everyone wore an ugly expression on their faces. They prayed that for their Adventure round, the task would not be too perverted.

    Everyone¡¯s breathing started to be more and more tense. As they stared intently at the spinning wheel, they all knew that they could be next.

    A ray of golden light shone. This time, it lit up underneath Jiang Nannan¡¯s feet. This meant that she was up next.

    She had still not gotten over her shock at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s predicament. Instantly, the color drained from her face as she stared at the wheel in shock.

    The wheel started to slow down. A different symbol appeared in front of Jiang Nannan.

    This symbol looked weird. There were three fists on it, one of which wasrger than the other two.

    ¡°You have to defeat two other randomly-chosen opponents. If you beat them, you pass. If you lose, you¡¯ll enter the Deep Adventure round. If your opponents win, their tasks shall still be decided by the wheel, but their difficulty level will be reduced. If your opponents lose, their task shall still be decided by the wheel, but their difficulty level will be increased.¡±

    The wheel turned golden. This time, two rays of light started to spin rapidly.

    One versus two?While this ¡®Adventure¡¯ was not as perverted as Xu Sanshi¡¯s, it was still extremely difficult! Among everyone here, who was weak? Furthermore, everyone in the Tang Sect had good ties with each other. How could she possibly fight them?

    The two rays of light stopped. When she saw where they stopped, Jiang Nannan sighed in relief. This was the best possible oue.

    The two rays of light stopped at Ning Tian and Wu Feng, the odd ¡®couple¡¯. They shed, and then the two of them entered the arena. The three women in the arena faced off against each other.

    Wu Feng and Ning Tian exchanged gazes. Both of them had an odd look in their eyes.

    Jiang Nannan did not know what they had experienced in the first round. Neither did she know that they had feelings for one another. However, Jiang Nannan had no psychological baggage fighting them.

    This ce was like a round stage. While it was big rtive to the wheel, it was not big enough for soul masters to fight.

    Five soul rings rose simultaneously from underneath Jiang Nannan¡¯s feet. At the same time, her second and third soul rings lit up.

    Wu Feng and Ning Tian felt themselves getting heavy, and only then did they realize that something was amiss. They recovered quickly from their awkwardness, just in time to see Jiang Nannan appear suddenly behind Ning Tian and reach out to grab Ning Tian¡¯s shoulder.

    This was Jiang Nannan¡¯s second soul skill, Gravity Control, and her third soul skill, Instant Teleportation!

    While Ning Tian was an auxiliary-type soul master, she ced a great emphasis on protecting herself because she had no way of fighting someone directly.

    Ayer of light suddenly shone from her body. This was a ss 5 protective soul barrier. At the same time, she moved her body forward, and a shuttle-type soul tool appeared underneath her feet, propelling her forward and away.

    However, while she took defensive steps, how could Jiang Nannan not have made offensive preparations?

    As a closebat soul master, Jiang Nannan¡¯s fighting style and techniques could only be unleashed when she was close to her opponent. The appearance of soul tools was able to check her battling style. Hence, as one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Jiang Nannan had made a special request to the Academy for a set of closebat soul tools.

    In the tournament earlier, she did not have many chances to fight. Furthermore, as they faced extremely powerful opponents in the group round, she was unable to use her closebat soul tools. Now, however, she got her chance.

    Two silver rings started to shine on both her middle fingers. A set of silver gloves appeared on her long arms.

    A silver, suction cup-shaped pattern appeared on the palms of her gloves. The suction-cup patterns instantly released rays of light that violently drew Ning Tian¡¯s soul barrier towards them. She had no chance of escaping.

    Not only that, but five sharp knives also sprang out of the fingertips of Jiang Nannan¡¯s gloves. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, they shed through the protective soul barrier and went straight for Ning Tian¡¯s shoulder.

    However, they were not mortal enemies. They were all from Shrek Academy, and the moment Jiang Nannan¡¯s hands touched Ning Tian¡¯s shoulders, she retracted the knives immediately. All she did was squeeze Tian¡¯s shoulder with her palm.

    All of Jiang Nannan¡¯s soul skills were meant for closebat. If one thought that she was weak, they would be deeply mistaken. The moment she got close to a target whose strength did not surpass hers, the fight was over.

    Ning Tian lost all feeling in her shoulder after Jiang Nannan grabbed it. Her entire body felt weak, as if her blood vessels had been sealed. It became more difficult to circte soul power through her body. The protective soul barrier that Jiang Nannan had broken though disappeared. She felt the world around her swirl as Jiang Nannan picked her up.

    This all happened in an instant. By the time Wu Feng rushed over, Jiang Nannan had already lifted Ning Tian off the ground.

    An angry dragon roar could be heard. Wu Feng¡¯s entire body zed with a fiery light, and fiery red dragon scales appeared on her. By lifting Ning Tian, Jiang Nannan knew that she waspletely exposed in front of Wu Feng. Wu Feng did notck fighting experience. She reached forward with her dragon ws, and her fourth soul ring started to shine. To save Ning Tian, she used her most powerful soul skill.

    Wu Feng¡¯s body disappeared. The fiery-red light turned into the shape of a huge dragon that bounded into the air, barreling straight toward Jiang Nannan. This was her fourth soul skill, Dragonflight!

    However, Jiang Nannan¡¯s fourth soul ring started to shine too. As ayer of golden light shed, Wu Fengnded a direct hit on her.

    Bang!

    Boom!

    Jiang Nannan threw Ning Tian down onto the ground ferociously, instantly dazing her. When her body touched the ground, Ning Tian finally realized how terrifying Jiang Nannan was. She felt her body was almost tenfold heavier. When Jiang Nannan let go, a suffocating power came from her hands, causing her soul power to dissipate. Just like that, she crashed hard against the ground.

    Even though Ning Tian wore a protectiveyer of soft armor, such a hardnding knocked her out cold. Her entire body felt like a fragile, copsing structure.

    The boom afterward came from Wu Feng crashing into Jiang Nannan. With her fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body, Jiang Nannan was unscathed. Wu Feng, however, was bounced away.

    Jiang Nannan smiled. Having taken care of Ning Tian, she became more confident. Without the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda¡¯s augmentation, Wu Feng was no match for her alone.

    Her small frame shed, and Jiang Nannan rushed toward Wu Feng, who had taken up her human form again.

    From an outsider¡¯s perspective, Jiang Nannan was the weak link among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. However, when they actually faced her, both Wu Feng and Ning Tian finally realized how terrifying this beauty could be.

    Her jade-like legs suddenly increased in strength. Instantly, Jiang Nannan¡¯s speed reached Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s level. However, her body was much more flexible. She was not as violent as Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Over such a short distance, Wu Feng was unable to see Jiang Nannan clearly after she increased her speed. Jiang Nannan was right on top of her almost instantly. Wu Feng grunted, and the second and third soul rings on her body lit up.

    Dragonfury, Dragonburst!

    An intense red light shone from Wu Feng¡¯s body. Everything within a 1.5-meter radius appeared to have exploded.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s body suddenly stopped three meters in front of Wu Feng. This sudden stop, which went against all physics, was just enough to let her dodge Wu Feng¡¯s burst.

    Not only that, but Jiang Nannan¡¯s hands turned as bright and spotless as jade. This was one of the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques, Mysterious Jade Hands.

    Huo Yuhao had mastered the Purple Demon Eyes better than anyone else. However, Jiang Nannan, who specialized in closebat, had spent a lot of time effort refining the Mysterious Jade Hands!

    Jade-colored light swirled, and Jiang Nannan reached out with her hands before separating them.

    At the same time, the power of Dragonburst reached its peak. Dragonfury still zed, but as Jiang Nannan pushed with her hands, this intense heat was forcibly and quickly parted.

    Tang Sect Secret Technique, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!

    Jiang Nannan body twisted to the side, and just like that, she was able to move toward Wu Feng in this odd fashion. The tips of her toes lightly touched the ground, and her entire body charged toward Wu Feng in this weird position.

    Wu Feng was not afraid. Her first soul ring lit up, and Dragonfire rose. Her dragon ws shed toward Jiang Nannan.

    She did not believe that with her martial soul, a Fire Dragon, she would fare worse than Jiang Nannan in a head-on sh. They were both five-ringed Soul Kings. Even though her soul power might be stronger, how much stronger could it be?

    Indeed, in terms of the strength of their martial souls, Jiang Nannan did not surpass Wu Feng by that much. However, her fighting style was the perfect counter to Wu Feng.

    As her martial soul was a Fire Dragon, her fighting style focused on maintaining a medium-to-close range with her opponent. In a wide enough arena, she would be able to demonstrate her mid-range fighting style to the best of her abilities. There, it would be difficult for Jiang Nannan to win.

    However, this ¡®arena¡¯ was way too small. This was an advantage for those who fought at close range. At this close range, Jiang Nannan had an absolute advantage.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s response to Wu Feng¡¯s dragon wspletely shocked thetter.

    Her body fell forward swiftly, something most people could not do. However, Jiang Nannan pulled this feat off with her control over gravity.

    Her judgment was perfect, and just like that, Wu Feng¡¯s dragon ws shed nothing but thin air, passing over her body.

 Chapter 356.2 - Adventure, Adventure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 356.2: Adventure, Adventure</h4>

    ¡°Oh no.¡± Wu Feng sensed that something was amiss. However, she had no intention of retreating. Instead, her right leg flew into the air like a bolt of lightning as she tried to kick Jiang Nannan.

    Horizontal roll! Jiang Nannan was able to grab Wu Feng¡¯s right leg with her hands from a sideways position.

    Had it been anyone else, they would be burnt by the Dragonfire that zed on Wu Feng¡¯s right leg. However, Jiang Nannan was immune to it. With the power of her Mysterious Jade Hands, she had no such fear. On the other hand, when Wu Feng felt Jiang Nannan¡¯s hands squeeze the bottom of her knee, she noticed that her right calf lost all sensation.

    Wu Feng had always been strong. Faced with this situation, she showed no sign of weakness. Instead, she kicked out at Jiang Nannan, who was grabbing onto her right leg, with her left leg. At the same time, the fifth soul ring on her body lit up.

    She turned into a red dragon once again and unleashed her most powerful soul skill, Dragon Cloudpierce. She not only used this soul skill to break free from Jiang Nannan, but she also relied on it to turn the tables on her.

    However, at this time, Jiang Nannan¡¯s fifth soul ring lit up as well.

    Even though their power was the same, how could Jiang Nannan be known as one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters if she gave her opponent any chance at retaliation at such a close distance?

    Golden light shed, and Jiang Nannan grabbed Wu Feng¡¯s left leg too. Then, before Wu Feng could fully unleash her fifth soul skill, ayer of golden light started to creep up her legs. Everywhere it touched, Wu Feng could feel her lower limbs going numb. When the golden light reached her navel, she felt her soul power drain from her body. Her soul skill, which she was in the midst of using, was forcibly halted. She copsed onto the ground.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s figure could be seen in the golden light once more. This was her fifth soul skill, Soft Bone Lock. Wu Feng¡¯s soul power and body werepletely sealed. She lost all abilities to fight. Naturally, under this condition, Jiang Nannan could not continue to attack. However, for a soul master like her, it was enough. As long as she released Soft Bone Lock, she would regain her abilities much quicker than Wu Feng.

    ¡°Jiang Nannan wins. She passes the second round, Adventure.¡± A few rays of light shone simultaneously. Wu Feng and Ning Tian returned to where they were. They recovered fully from their fight with Jiang Nannan. At this moment, Jiang Nannan disappeared from where she was too. No one knew where she went.

    Undoubtedly, Jiang Nannan was the first person to pass the second round based on her own merits, other than the three who were exempted. At the same time, she showed Wu Feng, Ning Tian, Zhu Lu and Dai Huabin the difference in their abilities. This was due to a disparity in strength. Jiang Nannan, viewed as the weakest among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, was able to defeat abination of the strongest auxiliary-type martial soul, Ning Tian and her Seven Treasure zed Pagoda, and Wu Feng, who possessed the Fire Dragon.

    Even though the small arena was to Jiang Nannan¡¯s advantage, it was clear that her strength was superior to both Wu Feng and Ning Tian.

    Six out of the original thirteen were gone. Only seven were left.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er, Wu Feng, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, and Dai Huabin.

    The wheel appeared once more, and a golden light shone, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. This time, Dai Huabin was the one who was chosen for the wheel¡¯s ¡®Adventure¡¯.

    The wheel spun, and this time, it stopped rather quickly. The symbol that appeared in front of Dai Huabin was a pair of swords.

    ¡°Defeat your opponent, and you shall pass this round. If your opponent beats you, they¡¯ll pass this round. The loser will be sent to the Deep Adventure round.¡±

    The moment the voice stopped speaking, a ray of golden light shot out. This time, it did not even spin. Instead, itnded directly on Zhu Lu.

    This was an ¡®Adventure¡¯ indeed! However, it was not one of strength, but one of the heart.

    Despite Dai Huabin¡¯s strong personality, when he saw that it was Zhu Lu who was chosen by the light, a bitter look crossed his face.

    The golden light shed, and Zhu Lu appeared in front of Dai Huabin. The two of them looked at each other. Both of them hadplicated looks in their eyes.

    Zhu Lu, in particr, looked at Dai Huabin as tears streamed down her face. Her lips trembled, but she did not say anything.

    Dai Huabin sighed and said softly, ¡°Lulu, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯ve never thought about my deepest thoughts. I¡¯m wrong. There¡¯s nothing else to say. If we can leave this ce alive, I¡¯ll love you and you alone with all my heart. No one else shall have my heart. I concede defeat for this round. I choose the Deep Adventure.¡±

    After he finished this sentence, tears fell from Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°No!¡± Zhu Lu shouted hysterically. However, it was toote. The golden light shed, and Dai Huabin disappeared.

    ¡°Dai Huabin admits defeat. Zhu Lu sessfully passes this round.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, I don¡¯t want to pass this round. I want to go with him to the Deep Adventure round. Let me go, let me go¡­¡± Zhu Lu cried. Her voice choked, and she no longer sounded human. The moment Dai Huabin conceded defeat and risked it all to go into the Deep Adventure round, all of the unhappiness in her heart disappeared.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to choose the Deep Adventure? If you and Dai Huabin take part in Deep Adventure together, it¡¯ll be even more difficult!¡±

    ¡°I choose the Deep Adventure. Even if I die, I want to die with him.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I shall satisfy your request. Zhu Lu shall progress to the Deep Adventure round.¡± The golden light shed, and Zhu Lu disappeared.

    Silence. The wheel fell into a deathly silence. The mysterious existence appeared to have disappeared. For a long while, there was no sound.

    Everyone had seen what had happened, including Huo Yuhao. While he did not know what had happened between Zhu Lu and Dai Huabin, he felt his heart wrench when he saw Dai Huabin choose the Deep Adventure without any hesitation so that Zhu Lu could pass this round.

    In his heart, Dai Huabin had always been his enemy, his foe. He was the murderer who had killed his mother. However, when he personally witnessed Dai Huabin reveal his emotional side, he felt even more anguish.

    If Dai Huabin were a cruel and selfish person, he would have no qualms about seeking revenge in the future. However, he now realized that through his interactions with his peers, his ever-deepening love for Dong¡¯er, and his personal experiences of worldly affairs, the hatred in his heart seemed to have faded.

    No! I must have my revenge on him and his mother. If not for them, how could mother have died?

    This touched the most sensitive part of his heart. Huo Yuhao reacted to this pain unknowingly. He clenched his fists tightly.

    However, even though he was determined to have his revenge, Dai Huabin¡¯s actions just now were seared into his mind.

    The golden light appeared once more. This time, itnded on Wang Qiu¡¯er. The wheel spun, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s turbulent emotions were calmed in the face of the golden light. He could subtly feel that regardless of what Wang Qiu¡¯er got, it would have something to do with him.

    The golden light stopped, and the symbol that appeared underneath Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s feet was the one that had appeared in front of Jiang Nannan earlier on. It was the one with the three fists.

    ¡°You have to defeat two other randomly-chosen opponents. If you beat them, you pass. If you lose, you¡¯ll go to the Deep Adventure round. If your opponents win, their tasks shall still be decided by the wheel, but their difficulty level will be reduced. If your opponents lose, their tasks shall still be decided by the wheel, but their difficulty level will be increased.¡±

    Two rays of golden light, without even spinning, fell onto Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Then they shed, and three of them were facing each other in the center of the stage.

    The three of them looked at each other. All of them felt strange.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze stared intently at Huo Yuhao as she said, ¡°Bring it on, the two of you. Don¡¯t concede defeat, because that will be an underestimation of my abilities. I¡¯ve waited for this for a long time. I didn¡¯t get my chance in the tournament, so let me have it now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, what are you doing this for?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°I¡¯m sure I can beat you.¡±

    In her resolute eyes, Huo Yuhao appeared to have seen his own intense hate. His heart softened, and he said, ¡°Alright, since you want to fight me so badly, bring it on. However, this shall be a fight between the two of us. For fairness¡¯ sake, and for my own glory, Dong¡¯er shall not take part. This shall just a fight between you and me, alright?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s human-shaped soul tool, and she said coldly, ¡°Are you that confident?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Have you forgotten how Yan Feng died at my hands? Dong¡¯er.¡± As he said that, he turned to look at her.

    They exchanged nces and Wang Dong¡¯er smiled slightly and nodded. While she did not know what Huo Yuhao wanted to do, she had to support her man at this moment. She too could sense the determination in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s heart.Where does this determinatione from? From your own unresolved feelings?

    Regardless of whether she wins or loses, let her have this chance. At the very least, she would not actually injure Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong¡¯er was sure of this. She turned and stepped back to watch the battle from the side.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at Huo Yuhao, and her gaze turned cold as she said, ¡°I never expected to fight you under these circumstances. I¡¯ll do my best, and I won¡¯t hold back.¡±

    ¡°You know me. I won¡¯t regret my words. I hope you¡¯ll do your best too, as a sign of respect to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her seriously, then nodded. His human-shaped soul tool sealed shut, enveloping his body within.

    Even with the human-shaped soul tool, no one thought that Huo Yuhao had an unfair advantage. He was immobile, and he could not unleash the power in his legs. He was nowhere near as agile as he normally would be.

 Chapter 356.3 - Adventure, Adventure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 356.3: Adventure, Adventure</h4>

    With the current development of human-shaped soul tools, it would be difficult for Huo Yuhao to be stronger and better than he normally was without it. Furthermore, this was designed and made at thest minute, with absolutely no add-ons.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her hand, and a golden light started to shine. She gripped her Golden Dragon Spear tightly in her hands.

    When she saw the bright-golden spear appear, a look of worry crossed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face as she watched from afar. Weapons had no eyes. This was different from a bare-handed brawl. Why was Qiu¡¯er so serious?

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± As Wang Qiu¡¯er raised her Golden Dragon Spear, ayer of golden fog started to waft from her body. The air started to shine with a goldenyer of light. A powerful soul power surged forth from her body and targeted Huo Yuhao,ing toward him with the force of a tidal wave.

    Faced with this suppression, Huo Yuhao controlled his human-shaped soul tool with his spiritual power. He stepped out with his left leg and squatted slightly with his body. He raised both hands in a defensive gesture in front of him. At the same time, ayer of golden light shone from his body. This was the energy of his Sovereign¡¯s Descent. Following that, a golden figure floated behind his back. This was his unique skill, Goddess of Light.

    Faced with an opponent like Wang Qiu¡¯er, Huo Yuhao did not dare to hold back at all. He knew that Wang Qiu¡¯er was able to improve even more from this tournament. All aspects of her power showed improvement, and her abilities were even stronger than before. Furthermore, he was rather immobile; he could only move with the help of his human-shaped soul tool. In a one-on-one fight, it would be difficult to beat her.

    However, he had to be careful. Huo Yuhao did not care so much as to whether he would win or lose to her. There was nothing shameful about losing to Wang Qiu¡¯er. All he wanted was to not lose too badly.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Huo Yuhao cried out.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er narrowed her eyes. The look in her eyes became razor-sharp. She bent forward slightly, then charged. Almost instantly, she appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. She stabbed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest with her Golden Dragon Spear.

    An emerald light shed, and a thick emerald-green pir about the size of Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest shot out. It met Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack head-on.

    Huo Yuhao understood Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength too well. This tyrannical woman loved to charge straight ahead when she fought. At such a close distance, he would rather use his own judgment than depend on Spiritual Detection.

    Hence, the moment he shouted ¡®bring it on¡¯, Huo Yuhao had already activated his Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    Ultimate Ice took the shape of an emerald-green pir, which crashed straight into Wang Qiu¡¯er. She was like a moth that flew straight into the fire.

    An intense golden light shone from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body. The golden fog protected her, and it was able to resist against Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath. Furthermore, an umbre-like light shone from the Golden Dragon Spear in her hands. While Huo Yuhao managed to stop her, he could not push her back.

    Among the two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body, two of them lit up together. The strength of her first soul skill, Golden Dragon Body, and her second soul skill, Dragon¡¯s Strength, were both activated. She roared and, basking in the power of her two soul skills, continued to pierce through Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath. Her target was Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    However, as the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath helped to block her, Huo Yuhao was able to resolve his speed and agility problems. Borrowing the light of Ultimate Ice from the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath, he took a few steps back. The golden figure behind him turned into a ball of intense light as he met Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack.

    An intense energy burst forth on top of the wheel. It rose high up into the air like a tornado.

    At this moment, the spectators not only included Wang Dong¡¯er, but also Wu Feng and Ning Tian. While they could not sense the power, they could still watch. As they watched, their faces changed.

    We¡¯re all of the same age, so why are they so powerful? It¡¯s understandable for the captain, as she¡¯s almost 20 years old. However, Huo Yuhao is only 17, but he¡¯s so powerful! He can even match the captain and¡­ and he has the advantage right now¡­

    That was right. Huo Yuhao had the advantage in this sh!

    An intense explosion rang through the air, and energy surged upward. Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had neglected something, and that was the fact that they were fighting in a rather small area. When such a strong soul power kicked in, the strength of the rebound made the entire area around them vibrate. Neither of them could stand straight as they both hurriedly retreated.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s advantage became clear. He had used the Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath to slow Wang Qiu¡¯er, and then fought her with the Goddess of Light. Hence, he was only affected by the power of the rebound, while Wang Qiu¡¯er had to contend with the strength of the Goddess of Light as well. Furthermore, she also had to deal with the coldness of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. She retreated quickly, and only steadied herself near the edge of the battlefield.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had improved, but so had Huo Yuhao. His greatest advantagey in the fact that he had more soul skills than an ordinary soul master. Hence, with more soul skills, he had more options as he fought. The main problem he faced was how he shouldbine his soul skills. As he gained more experience, he became more confident in his own mastery of his various powers. To him, all he had to ensure while he unleashed his soul skills was that he had enough soul power.

    His spiritual power had also continued to increase, which allowed Huo Yuhao to be more precise as he used his soul power to activate his soul skills. This reduced soul power wastage, just like his Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath just now.

    The moment Goddess of Light touched Wang Qiu¡¯er, he was able to stop Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath with his strong controlling abilities. He did not unleash the full strength of this attack.

    An immense soul power tore through the air, and Wang Qiu¡¯er did not wait for it to stop. She raised her right leg and stepped on the edge of this strange world. Then, she pushed herself forward as her Golden Dragon Spear dazzled with light. She charged straight toward Huo Yuhao. This time, she was strengthened by her first and second soul skills. In terms of strength, she was much stronger and faster than before.

    It was not realistic to try and hide in such a small space. Huo Yuhao did not try that. A deep-blue figure appeared behind him and instantly grewrger. Her expression was icy-cold, and she wielded absolute power over ice and snow. It was the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ figure entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body instantly. He raised his right arm, and a dark-blue sword light formed, which turned into a shockingly long ray of light that shed down vertically. The spear light, which epassed a wide area, appeared insignificant next to this. Looking at its shape, it seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword.

    This was the most powerful sword from the perfect fusion of Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress.

    The vast amount of spear light was concentrated into one stalk. It tapped the edge of the deep-blue light, and a faint ¡®ding¡¯ could be heard. Then, the deep-blue Empress¡¯ Sword bounced into the air and disappeared into nothing. However, the Golden Dragon Spear stopped too. A deep-blue light started to spread from the tip of the spear. It crept halfway down the spear before it was forcibly stopped by the golden-yellow light. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er, who gripped the spear tightly, appeared to be covered by ayer of ice.

    His Ultimate Ice had be even purer! Wang Qiu¡¯er could sense her entire body freezing up. She could not help but gasp in shock. She had never expected Huo Yuhao to fight her head-on. Could he really pull it off?

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao, who had been on the defensive since the start of the battle, started to go on the offensive. Light shone from his back once more and, propelled by his soul thruster, he soon appeared in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er. An odd scene appeared. The armor of his human-shaped soul tool above his hand opened, and his bare palm was revealed. He pushed out with this palm and hit Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s right shoulder.

    When she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm, which shone with an odd deep-blue light, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s face soured. Despite her fierce fighting style, she did not dare toe into contact with Huo Yuhao. Her body shed and, pivoting on her Golden Dragon Spear, she swiftly retreated.

    Huo Yuhao was familiar with her powers, so how could she not be familiar with his? When he struck with his left hand, this was evidently Huo Yuhao¡¯s most powerful Snowless cier.

    This supreme coldness was something that even Wang Qiu¡¯er could not deal with. Had it been anyone else, she would have taken the blow and counter-attacked. But once this coldness entered her body, it would be game over for her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er retreated in a sh, but Huo Yuhao showed no sign of abating his attack. He struck out with his left palm once more, and then switched to his right fist, which was armor-d. A golden light shed, and Goddess of Light appeared behind Huo Yuhao once more. Undoubtedly, this punch was imbued with the power of his ability.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er already had a bone to pick with Huo Yuhao. Now, as he attacked relentlessly, she became even more enraged. A dragon roar resonated in the air as she raised her hands. Her left hand struck Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist, while she tried to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s head with her right hand.

    She feared Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock most. To him, this was the best chance to unleash that powerful attack. As his spiritual power increased, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock became more powerful as well. Wang Qiu¡¯er was confident that she could take it, but if she did, her body would surely be injured. Furthermore, once she was injured, she would move much slower. Hence, as she struck, she first tried to take care of Huo Yuhao¡¯s head by using her immense aura to suppress him.

    She was confident that if Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Shock now, she would lose control of her soul, but her attack would not cease. At the very least, she would not be at a disadvantage.

 Chapter 357 - Skydream Domain

    <h4 ss>Chapter 357: Skydream Domain</h4>

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s predicted Spiritual Shock did note. Instead, Huo Yuhao continued to punch at her with all his strength.

    Using strength against me?Just as this thought rose in Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s mind, Huo Yuhao struck her with his fist.

    ording to her original calctions and her understanding of Huo Yuhao, she could easily swat his right fist to the side with a palm-strike. If Huo Yuhao did not use his Spiritual Shock, with his strength, there was no way he could resist the strength of her right hand.

    However, this judgment was based on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s past understanding of Huo Yuhao. What if his offensive capabilities had changed?

    The moment she hit his right fist with her left palm, Wang Qiu¡¯er sensed that something was amiss.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist was not filled with spiritual power, but it was shockingly strong. Her palm was not powerful enough to knock his fist to one side.

    However, Wang Qiu¡¯er brimmed with fighting experience. Since she could not knock it aside, she immediately lowered her wrist and changed it from a palm-strike to a push as she tried to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    Even so, she changed her attack at thest minute, and hence was unable to maximize her strength. Under the immense strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist, he was able to strike her left shoulder.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er grunted, and her body was sent flying. Her hand, which she had used to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, let go.

    How can this be possible?Ning Tian and Wu Feng stared at this scene in shock. While they both knew that Huo Yuhao was strong, they had never expected him to be so strong to the point where he could resist Wang Qiu¡¯er in a head-on fight!This is a face-to-face fight, pure and simple. Doesn¡¯t he have only five rings? Why is he so strong?

    Questions surfaced in Ning Tian and Wu Feng¡¯s minds non-stop. Since the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, they had both trained hard and improved rapidly. After they made it to the semi-finals, their confidence peaked, and they even anticipated their showdown against the Tang Sect in the finals.

    When the explosion happened, causing the finals to be called off, some, if not all of them, were despondent. They would not be able to defeat the Tang Sect under Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s leadership, and this was their greatest regret.

    However, today, in this mysterious Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, they finally understood the difference between the Tang Sect and themselves.

    Jiang Nannan, whom they perceived to be the weakest, was able to defeat both of them by herself. If one said that it was because she specialized in closebat, and hence had an advantage in this small space, what about the fight before them right now? What about the fight between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er? What could they say?

    While victory and defeat had yet to be decided, Huo Yuhao now had an absolute advantage over Wang Qiu¡¯er, forcing her back step-by-step. If Huo Yuhao alone was already so powerful, how powerful were the others of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters?

    When the Tang Sect defeated the Holy Ghost Sect, everyone, both those from Shrek Academy and outsiders, attributed it to luck. The only thing they could not exin was Huo Yuhao¡¯s mysterious final attack.

    However, they personally experienced it today, forcing both Ning Tian and Wu Feng to admit that there was a huge disparity between the Tang Sect and themselves. This was no small difference!

    She crashed, rebounded, andnded. Like a lioness, Wang Qiu¡¯er bounced back into the air instantly.

    When she had fought Huo Yuhao in closebat just now, she let go of her Golden Dragon Spear. At this moment, it was back in her hands. A light screen appeared in front of her, blocking any possibility of Huo Yuhao continuing his attacks.

    However, he did not continue. Instead, he stood where the two of them had shed.

    On his forehead, a piece of metal of his helmet slid to one side to reveal a mysterious vertical eye. A mystical golden light appeared as well.

    Oh no, he¡¯s going to use Spiritual Shock.Wang Qiu¡¯er subconsciously let go of her Golden Dragon Spear as she used all her might to concentrate her spiritual power. At the same time, her soul power rose around her. A golden dragon swirled around her body. Offense turned into defense.

    However, the Spiritual Shock which she had expected did not appear. Instead, a shocking scene took ce before her.

    Ripples started to appear in the air nearby. Twisted, round waves started to spread outward with Huo Yuhao at their center. Rays of light shone, and the air around him twisted. Everything around him looked mysteriously like ripples of water.

    The area of the wheel was notrge. At this moment, it waspletely enveloped within the ripples, and started to twist. There was no dead end or crack.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had never seen Huo Yuhao use this power before, and she naturally did not know its secret. Her heart turned cold, and she shed horizontally with her Golden Dragon Spear. A golden light screen started to spread outward. A patch of golden light burst forth from her spear as it attacked the distorted air.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s objective was simple. She tried to find out what it was by attacking it to ascertaining his location. Once she found him, she would lock onto him and then attack him with all her might.

    However, this powerful ability, which Huo Yuhao had used as his trump card against the Holy Ghost Sect, could not be ovee so easily.

    As golden light dashed past the ripples, it disappeared soundlessly. The air around him started to tremble even more intensely, but the area where a bit of light could still be seen disappearedpletely. That was right, it disappearedpletely. It was as if Huo Yuhao had never been there.

    At this moment, Wang Qiu¡¯er sensed that something was wrong.Can this transformatione from the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley?

    However, she soon discarded this thought. While this ce was mysterious, it operated on set principles. Whenever that mysterious voice spoke, it would not backtrack on its words. Since it said that it would let her fight Huo Yuhao, there should be no unexpected change to it. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao specialized in spiritual power.This should be a new ability of his. However, he hasn¡¯t increased his soul rings. Did he make this ability himself?

    The ability Huo Yuhao was using now was not something he had made himself. No matter how powerful he was, he had yet to reach that stage. Among the four soul skills the Skydream Iceworm gave him, the most useless one seemed to be Spiritual Interference. But as Huo Yuhao increased his own spiritual power ceaselessly, he was able tobine it with Imitation to form this mysterious domain. He called it the Skydream Domain.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was still limited. He had to umte power for some time before he could use the Skydream Domain. Wang Qiu¡¯er was the first one to experience the full version of it.

    Three Huo Yuhaos suddenly appeared in front of Wang Qiu¡¯er. Three rays of emerald-green light shot at her simultaneously from different directions.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was shocked. She crossed her Golden Dragon Spear with her left hand. She stabbed toward the left and punched toward the right, and her Coiling Golden Dragon appeared and swirled around her body as she faced thest attack head-on.

    However, she discovered that she had been tricked. The attacks that came from three different directions disappeared in the next instant. Her attempts to resist it with all her might were for naught.

    An illusion!Wang Qiu¡¯er sensed the source of the problem. However, she did not dare to be careless. Right now, she was at the edge of the space. At least, she still remembered where was. If she charged forward, she would be trapped within the domain. Then she would be in even bigger trouble.

    She held the Golden Dragon Spear in front of her protectively, and her coiling Golden Dragon continued to twist and turn around her protectively. Wang Qiu¡¯er closed her eyes. Instantly, her body emitted ayer of mysterious golden light. This was her innate skill, Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception.

    While Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception could not break Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain, it was able to greatly augment her analysis of her own predicament. Once an actual attack came, she would be able to resist it and counter-attack.

    The mysterious scene was now in a stalemate.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Perception and Coiling Golden Dragon both required soul power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Skydream Domain not only required soul power, but also required spiritual power. If they continued this stalemate, it would be apetition to see who couldst the longest.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rang out. Then, the twisted surroundings disappearedpletely. He remained where he was as if nothing had changed. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s attack in his direction had been futile.

    ¡°How did you lose?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er asked, ring at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I only have five rings. Furthermore, the area of this domain-type soul skill is toorge, so naturally, much of my soul power is going to be wasted. From the start, I only had a few reliable skills. If we continue to fight, I don¡¯t really have a chance. Furthermore, your Golden Dragon Perception checks my domain. My only way to win would be a battle of attrition. However, like this, my soul power will run out first. Hence, the final victor will still be you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was extremely sincere, but Wang Qiu¡¯er sensed that something was amiss.

    ¡°You did not lose, you still have so many techniques,¡± she said angrily.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Tell me, among my moves, which one can beat you?¡±

    You have¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was just about to say ¡°The Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses¡±, which he used that day. However, she immediately realized that he was only able to use it in the Purple Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation state. However, as he had not fused with Wang Dong¡¯er, there was no way he could use it.

    She thought about it, and realized that there really was no skill he could use to beat her!

    ¡°You can use a Milk Bottle,¡± she said with much difficulty.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with disdain and said, ¡°Can you be more reasonable? We¡¯re having a fair fight, and you want me to use a Milk Bottle? Do you think this ce will allow me to fight you unfairly? Furthermore, if I use a Milk Bottle, I¡¯ll lose my concentration. I wouldn¡¯t even be able to maintain the domain. I¡¯ve lost. Dong¡¯er and I have lost. You pass.¡±

    Indeed, as Huo Yuhao admitted defeat, the voice rang out, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er wins. Pass.¡±

    The golden light shed, and Wang Qiu¡¯er disappeared with a suspicious look on her face. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er returned to their original ces.

    Could Huo Yuhao really beat Wang Qiu¡¯er? Even he did not know the answer to this question. He did have many attacks he could use, but how powerful was Wang Qiu¡¯er? She was known as the strongest soul master with a dragon martial soul. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strongest trait was that if she faced a more powerful opponent, she would respond with strength in kind. The strength of her opponent was often enough to make her perform extraordinarily. Furthermore, with her Ultimate Strength, even if she ran out of soul power, her fighting abilities might not decrease. Furthermore, if she used all her strength, even a Soul Sage or a Soul Douluo would not dare to fight her head-on.

    Huo Yuhao had never nned on winning. He nned to face her head-on and gain an advantage before conceding defeat. This was the best possible oue. This would not cause him to lose confidence in facing Wang Qiu¡¯er, but it would also clearly show the results of this battle.

    Just when Huo Yuhao thought that they would be sent back to their original spots to continue with the mysterious wheel, the calm voice rang out coldly.

    ¡°In a two against one fight, you did not use all your strength, and hence, vited the rules. You conceded defeat deliberately and thus, you will be punished with the Deep Adventure.¡± Two rays of light shed, and before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er could say anything in response, they were whisked away.

    This¡­

    Wu Feng and Ning Tian were both shocked. When Dai Huabin faced off against Zhu Lu earlier on, he conceded defeat straightaway! However, this mysterious ce did not say that they cheated, and instead, it allowed Zhu Lu to progress. Under her pleas, it then sent her to Deep Adventure as well.

    However, after the fair fight between Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, they were deemed to have cheated because Wang Dong¡¯er did not participate. What kind of rule was this?

    The light shed, and the wheel appeared once more. This time, the light appeared underneath Ning Tian¡¯s feet.

    Only Wu Feng and I are left.Ning Tian could not help but look at Wu Feng. Wu Feng was looking at her.

    Ning Tian had decided if she ended up in a one-on-one fight, she would concede defeat. After all, there was no way she could beat Wu Feng one-on-one.If I have to go to the Deep Adventure, so be it!Even though Ning Tian clearly knew that as an auxiliary-type soul master, entering the Deep Adventure was akin to a death sentence, she was resolute in her decision.

    Emotionally, she was still confused. She had always known that Wu Feng liked her, but she was heterosexual. The only one she liked in the younger generation was Huo Yuhao. However, Huo Yuhao had chosen Wang Dong¡¯er, who was better than her in all aspects. This made her lose confidence.

 Chapter 358.1 - The Deep Adventure Is Actually...

    <h4 ss>Chapter 358.1: The Deep Adventure Is Actually¡­</h4>

    To Ning Tian, the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date was a huge humiliation that she would always remember. This time, in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, after she heard Wu Feng¡¯s confession, her emotions were extremely conflicted. She was touched by Wu Feng¡¯s love for her.If I were a guy, this would be great!

    Just as a flurry of thoughts crossed Ning Tian¡¯s mind, the wheel in front of her finally stopped. A familiar symbol appeared before her.

    This was the symbol which had appeared in front of Xu Sanshi. It was a pair of lips.

    Dazedly, she lifted her head to look at Wu Feng. Wu Feng looked back at her. However, right now, Wu Feng¡¯s eyes brimmed with joy.

    ****

    ¡°Bleurgh, bleurgh¡­¡± The sound of vomiting resounded in the air for a few minutes before finally stopping.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi stared at each other in anger. The odor from their bodies reached its peak.

    However, as they looked at each other¡¯s pathetic state, the expressions on their faces started to change. Finally¡­

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±

    ¡°Reality proves that I have absolutely no interest in you,¡± Xu Sanshi said proudly.

    Bei Bei said angrily, ¡°What crap! Do you think I¡¯m interested in you? You bastard, you dirtied me. Hurry up and clean me. It¡¯s so ufortable. Where is this ce?¡±

    As they spoke, the two of them finally reacted to their new surroundings as they surveyed them.

    The ce they were at was a pile of rubble. They could see ruined buildings and scenes of devastation all around them. It resembled a city, but it was evidently different from the situation in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    Xu Sanshi activated his soul power. A ck light swept past their bodies. The special water-type power of the Xuanwu cleaned the vomit from their bodies. Bei Bei also activated his lightning-type soul power to get rid of the smell in the air.

    ¡°This looks like¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei looked at each other because they both found the architectural style here familiar. They looked into the distance, where a tall building confirmed their suspicions.

    Shocked, the two of them said in unison, ¡°Radiant City?¡±

    At this moment, the calm voice that had tortured them so much rang in their minds, ¡°<strong>The Deep Adventure shallmence. The theme of the adventure is ¡®breakout¡¯. You¡¯re required to break out of Radiant City and get back to the Western Mountains to pass the Deep Adventure. The environment around you is real. If you die in this round, you¡¯ll die for real. If you don¡¯t return to the Western Mountains in three days, you will have failed this round, and be punished with death. Begin!</strong>¡±

    The voice disappeared, and a light-golden hourss appeared near the corner of their eyes. Sand slowly trickled down so as to keep track of the time. Also, the hourss sinisterly reminded them that they were still under the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡¯s control¡­

    When they sensed this change, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi both cursed.

    One could only imagine the state Radiant City was currently in. Having undergone such a destructive explosion, the entire city should be in a state of lockdown. No one knew how many soldiers and powerful people were around them. While the two of them were not weak, this was still the capital of the Sun Moon Empire! How could they return to the Western Mountain so easily?

    ¡°Let¡¯s strategize,¡± said Bei Bei, who had calmed down before Xu Sanshi, as he waved his hands.

    Xu Sanshi nodded meaningfully. They were both elites of Shrek Academy. Faced with danger, they put aside their anger and regained their cool. He looked at his surroundings, and they found a rather secluded corner and hid.

    Bei Bei said helplessly, ¡°At least we were given three days, not three hours.¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked at him, annoyed, and said, ¡°How¡¯re your wounds?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°I can attack. You?¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly and said, ¡°Better than you. I have 70% of my strength left. Let¡¯s pray we aren¡¯t too unlucky. Perhaps we can even sneak out.¡±

    At this moment, they heard footsteps and a voice. ¡°Quick, search that area. See if there are any casualties. Search there too.¡±

    Bei Bei stared at Xu Sanshi with an odd gaze as he growled in a low voice, ¡°Shut your damn trap in the future!¡±

    ¡°Keke¡­¡±

    ****

    Light shed, and Dai Huabin found himself in an army camp. To his surprise, he was wearing a uniform. At this moment, he stood outside a huge tent. It was dark around him. It was nighttime.

    This is¡­

    When he saw this familiar scene, Dai Huabin was stunned. He even doubted whether everything he had just experienced was a dream. Maybe this was reality¡­

    However, reality was cruel. The in voice from the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley sounded, ¡°The Deep Adventure will start now. The theme is ¡®rescue¡¯. Your father, the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, is being targeted by an assassin. You must stop the assassin to help your father escape danger. You are now one of his bodyguards. No one will know who you really are. You can only depend on your intellect and your abilities. The scenario in this round ispletely real, which means that if you can¡¯t save your father, not only will you die, but your father will die too. Five minutester, your father will bring men out on a patrol. After two hours, you will regain your ability to speak. You can¡¯t stop him from going out. The enemy can appear at any moment. To win, you have to help your father return to the army camp sessfully. If the White Tiger Duke dies, you fail, and will be punished with death.¡±

    When Dai Huabin heard the voice and the requirements for this round, he could not help stare in the air in shock. He had been sent thousands of miles away to the Ming Dou Mountain Range to his father¡¯s camp. However, his father would not recognize him, and would even undergo an assassination attempt.What¡­ what is going on?

    Just as he stood there in shock, the bodyguard next to him trembled. Then, a familiar smell wafted over. Dai Huabin squinted, and to his shock, he realized that the other bodyguard had turned into Zhu Lu.

    ¡°Lulu?¡± Dai Huabin wanted to shout, but he realized that he could not say anything. At this moment, Zhu Lu was already looking at him. She was evidently deeply touched. Instantly, she threw herself into his arms. Tears streamed uncontrobly down her face.

    While the two of them could not speak, Dai Huabin could see from Zhu Lu¡¯s face that she had already forgiven him.

    At this moment, Zhu Lu¡¯s body froze. Her expression transitioned from touched to shock. Evidently, she had heard something.

    Zhu Lu grabbed Dai Huabin and squatted down immediately. Her finger made rapid motions in the soil, and words appeared in front of him. Dai Huabin opened his eyes wide in shock. Her Deep Adventure was exactly the same as his.

    ¡°You¡¯re so dumb! You passed this round, so why are you here?¡± Dai Huabin wrote quickly on the ground.

    Zhu Lu shook her head, and a smile crept across her face. She lifted her head and kissed him. Then, she wrote on the ground ¡®We shall live and die together¡¯.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s body trembled. He looked at Zhu Lu and nodded vigorously at her.

    At this moment, a bugle sounded.

    Dai Huabin was the son of the White Tiger Duke. He had been in the military since he was young, and naturally understood what the bugle meant. This was a signal to gather, meant specifically for the White Tiger Bodyguards.

    Indeed, a huge amount of White Tiger Bodyguards started to move. The two of them wore the apparel of White Tiger Bodyguards too, so naturally, they ran together with the rest.

    Father is going to experience an assassination attempt, what can I do? What should I do?At this moment, he realized he was still lost. He could not speak, and even if he could, his father could not recognize him. If he told his father about the assassination attempt, his father would surely not believe him.

    Dai Huabin had never experienced such a situation before. His thoughts were scattered, and he did not know what to do. However, he was clear that this task was no joke. If he failed, not only would Zhu Lu and he die, but his father would too.

    At this moment, Dai Huabin could only concentrate.

    The White Tiger Bodyguards were the most elite soldiers under the White Tiger Duke. They gathered quickly.

    From afar, Dai Huabin saw his father, d in armor, standing in front of the main tent. His expression was icy-cold. A servant brought his steed over. It was the dashing White Tiger Colt.

    The White Tiger Duke Dai Hao¡¯s gaze swept over his bodyguards, then he nodded and said, ¡°The temporary peace did not cause you to ck off. I¡¯m pleased. Alright, Small Team 1, patrol with me. The rest are dismissed. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As he spoke, he leaped onto the White Tiger Colt. Four other guards mounted their horses too. Section 1 of the White Tiger Bodyguards ran toward the stable and mounted a horse each. They set off together with the White Tiger Duke.

    Undoubtedly, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were part of Small Team 1.

    The White Tiger Bodyguards were personal soldiers of the White Tiger Duke. Even though the war had ended, and the White Tiger Duke no longer held the position of Marshal, his bodyguards would still follow him everywhere.

    In the White Tiger Bodyguards, 100 men formed one small team, 500 men formed one mid team, and 1500 men formed onerge team. The entire White Tiger Bodyguardsprised threepanies, which was equivalent to the strength of one regiment. There were also some special operatives. This was the maximum amount of soldiers Dai Hao, as the White Tiger Duke, was allowed.

 Chapter 358.2 - The Deep Adventure Is Actually...

    <h4 ss>Chapter 358.2: The Deep Adventure Is Actually¡­</h4>

    Dai Hao rode out on the White Tiger Colt in front of them. He was not fast, and the White Tiger Bodyguards caught up to him quickly.

    Every one of them rode a Dragonscale Horse, and wore aplete set of white armor. In the ckness of the night, they were extremely eye-catching. The rhythmic tter of metal could be heard throughout the entire Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    To protect against a sudden invasion by the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Dou Empire had stationed troops in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The White Tiger Duke was in charge of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and had been appointed as the Commander of the Western Army. There were three othermanders as well, all of whom were important officials of the Star Luo Empire.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range extended south for thousands of kilometers from the borders of the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Sun Moon Empire. It was named from when it was formed from the crash between the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent.(Trantor¡¯s Note: The Chinese word for ¡®Ming¡¯ is formed from thebination of the Chinese words for ¡®Sun¡¯ and ¡®Moon¡¯.)

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range hadplicated terrain. Weird rock formations were everywhere, and there was little vegetation. Thanks to this natural barrier, the Star Luo Empire did not face as much pressure from the Sun Moon Empire. Coupled with the vastness of the Star Luo Empire, while it was just one of three original countries of the Douluo Continent, it was still bigger than the Sun Moon Empire. With a heavy garrison, it would not be easy for the Sun Moon Empire to invade through here!

    However, while the Ming Dou Mountain Range was good for defense, it was still difficult to station troops there because of its geographical features. Coupled with its long and narrow terrain, garrisoned troops would naturally have to be dispersed over a wide area.

    The White Tiger Duke would patrol often to inspect the various troops of the Western Army. He was famous for his strict application of military justice. In the past few years, the Western Army had been imprable. In the small skirmishes they had with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s own garrisoned troops, they had never experienced any defeats. It was also why the Sun Moon Empire trod carefully here.

    This time, Dai Hao went out to inspect the three camps that were a hundred and fifty kilometers south of his main camp. He headed out at night so that he could return to his main camp before nightfall tomorrow.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I¡­¡± When Huo Yuhao heard the cold voice announce that he and Wang Dong¡¯er would be sent directly to the Deep Adventure round, he could not help but curse despite his normally mature nature.

    This is too unfair, he thought. The mysterious Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley seemed to be targeting him. He did not feel that he had cheated! In fact, if they really continued to fight, he might not have been able to best Wang Qiu¡¯er. Did it actually want him and Wang Dong¡¯er to join forces to defeat Wang Qiu¡¯er before sending them to the Deep Adventure round? What kind of logic was that?

    However, there was no chance for him to vent his frustration. He and Wang Dong¡¯er fell into a patch of golden light.

    Everything around him became unclear. He felt as if his entire body was being twisted. It was agonizing. With much difficulty, he finally escaped from this pain.

    To his shock, he realized that he was now on a horse!

    The horse galloped and he was almost thrown off. Fortunately for him, he grabbed the saddle in time to steady himself.

    Where is this ce?<span>

    Huo Yuhao looked in front of him; there were men in front and behind of him. They all wore familiar white armor. It was night, and everything seemed slightly blurry as the Dragonscale Horse underneath him galloped.

    He turned his head to look to the side and recognized Wang Dong¡¯er, who was seated next to him. The two of them looked too obvious in this group. Wang Dong¡¯er could still blend in, as she was wearing the white armor. However, Huo Yuhao wore his human-shaped soul tool, forged from rare metals. What made him curious was the fact that while his human-shaped soul tool weighed at least two hundred and fifty kilos, his steed seemed to have no problems carrying him.

    ¡°Yuhao, where are we?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled bitterly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know! Is this part of the test?¡±

    At this moment, the calm voice rang out in their minds.

    ¡°The Deep Adventure begins. The theme of this round is ¡®rescue¡¯. You¡¯re now on patrol with the White Tiger Duke. After a while, there will be an ambush. Both of you look like White Tiger Bodyguards, and you will not be recognized due to your appearance or your special equipment. The requirements for this round are to assist the White Tiger Duke after he has been ambushed, and help him to escape back to his camp. At the same time, you have to keep Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, both of whom are also in this group, alive. Only when all three of them return to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s main camp sessfully will you have seeded. If any one of them dies, you will fail, and be punished with death. The round starts now.¡±

    After he heard the contents of this test, Huo Yuhao did not know what to say.

    What nonsense is this? Not only do I have to save someone, but I also have to babysit them? Furthermore, the rescue target is¡­

    No useful tip was provided. He did not know who his enemy was, or how many of them would appear. He could guess the capabilities of his foes. Anyone who dared to assassinate the White Tiger Duke could not be weak, and should at least be a Titled Douluo. After all, the White Tiger Duke was a powerful Soul Douluo! Furthermore, as a duke of the empire, and the Commander of the Three Armies, he and his personal bodyguards would be equipped with powerful soul tools, too! The stronger he was, the more powerful his potential foes would be.

    What angered Huo Yuhao even more was that he had to rescue Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. Furthermore, he could not fail. If any one of them died, they would fail! Right now, the fates of Dai Hao, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu were all tied together with his and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s.

    Anything that had to do with Dai Hao would trigger Huo Yuhao. However, he was trained under the Ultimate Soldier n, and hence, in terms of his resilience and mental strength, he was way superior to Dai Huabin.

    He was angry and upset for a short while, but he soon calmed down. He started to analyze the situation in front of him. At the same time, he activated his Spiritual Detection to sweep everyone around him and get a sense of the situation.

    Wang Dong¡¯er regained her cool, too. When she felt Huo Yuhao sharing his Spiritual Detection with her, she felt more at ease. She knew that Huo Yuhao had been able to calm down. As long as he was calm, it would be fine.

    Wang Dong¡¯er knew of Huo Yuhao¡¯s grievance with the White Tiger Duke. When she heard that they were out here to save Dai Hao, she was also shocked. She could not help but look at Huo Yuhao. Indeed, Huo Yuhao had an odd expression on his face. However, to her relief, his expression soon returned to normal. It meant he was able to calm down.

    Yuhao is bing more and more mature! Even in such a situation, he calmed down almost immediately¡­

    ¡°Yuhao, how¡¯s your soul power?¡± Before they came, Huo Yuhao had fought fiercely with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s at its peak. The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley is generous. If it had not replenished my soul power to its peak, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯d have no chance at all.¡±

    Quickly, the feedback from Spiritual Detection was seared into his mind.

    The White Tiger Duke brought four special guards who rode at the front with him. With his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao could sense that they had at least six rings. Coupled with the White Tiger Duke, who was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, they were definitely not weak.

    The other White Tiger Bodyguards around him were all soul masters, as well. While they were not terribly powerful, some of the leaders of the small groups had the power of two-ringed or three-ringed soul masters.

    To normal soldiers, the White Tiger Bodyguards were indeed elites. They were all well-trained and well-armed. Even four-ringed and five-ringed soul masters would not dare to take them on.

    However, not all of the White Tiger Bodyguards were soul masters! For any country, the number of soul masters was always going to be a problem. Even for the Sun Moon Empire, which tapped into the strength of their entire country, they had only formed a few soul master legions.

    It was a rare sight to see so many soul masters gather back in Radiant City. At least one-third of all the powerful soul masters on the continent had been involved in the ambush against the pce.

    After he had an idea of the overall strength on his side, Huo Yuhao made some calctions. Then, he started to scour the group for his target.

    Fortunately, the odd space did not treat them too harshly. Huo Yuhao quickly found Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. Instantly, he reached out to them with his Spiritual Detection, and was able toplete his Spiritual Detection Sharing with them.

    At this moment, Dai Huabin was panicking. He just regained his voice when he felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing hit him.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu felt their minds buzz. The ckness around them lit up, and they could sense every small change in a fifty-meter radius. This sensation, which made them feel as if they were looking down from the sky, surprised them.

    His words entered their minds.

    ¡°Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, its Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong¡¯er and I are taking part in this Deep Adventure with you. No matter what differences we had in the past, we now face the same problem. You should know what to do. In particr, this concerns the life of your father, Dai Huabin. What you¡¯re sensing now is my Spiritual Detection, which has finished connecting to you. From now on, my Spiritual Sharing will always be activated. If you trust me, listen to my orders. Only then can we stand a chance of saving your father. Do you understand?¡±

    Even though that person was Huo Yuhao¡¯s father too, his first and only visit to this camp took ce five years ago with Dai Yueheng. Hence, he had never recognized the Duke as his father.

 Chapter 358.3 - The Deep Adventure Is Actually...

    <h4 ss>Chapter 358.3: The Deep Adventure Is Actually¡­</h4>

    Huo Yuhao had calmed downpletely. It was a mechanical kind of cool. In this state, his judgment would be best, as he cast aside all emotional attachment and faced everything before him calmly.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu looked at each other. They could see the look of joy in each other¡¯s eyes.

    While they had never thought well of Huo Yuhao, they could not deny that he was powerful, indeed. When he first joined the Academy, he was able to join forces with Wang Dong¡¯er, who back then was still Wang Dong, and they emerged as the champions of the entrance exam. Since then, Dai Huabin had tried to beat him many times through his own efforts, but failed over and over again. At this time, he had to admit that the distance between Huo Yuhao and him had widened even more. There was no way he could catch up now.

    Dai Huabin had had no idea what to do. When he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice, he felt a sense of relief.

    He nodded vigorously from atop his horse, signaling to Huo Yuhao that he would obey all hismands.

    Huo Yuhao snorted coldly in his heart.This guy isn¡¯t that dumb.

    As he thought that, Huo Yuhao did not ck off. He enveloped the White Tiger Duke in his spiritual power. While he did not know where the enemy would ambush him, it had to be somewhere he had to pass by. Right now, he did not care how the enemy knew of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s patrolling schedule, but he had to stop him from advancing.

    To assassinate the White Tiger Duke, the enemy must haveid an inescapable trap. The moment they entered it, Huo Yuhao did not think that he would be able to save the White Tiger Duke. Wang Dong¡¯er was a Soul Emperor, and Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and he were all Soul Kings. With their strength, how could they save the eight-ringed White Tiger Duke? What power did they have? The only way to do so was to avoid the enemy¡¯s trappletely.

    The White Tiger Duke sat atop his White Tiger Colt, allowing it to gallop ahead at full speed. He was motionless as he rode on.

    The reason he came out to patrol was because of the unstable situation in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The Sun Moon Empire had wanted to strike for a long time. The two sides were inches away from war. On the Star Luo Empire¡¯s side, they had stationed many soldiers at every single pass and chokepoint.

    ording to the news from the Sun Moon Empire, they were still months away from war. The Sun Moon Empire could only attack after they stationed enough soldiers at the border.

    However, Dai Hao had received a shocking piece of news today. An unprecedented explosion had rocked Radiant City, devastating more than one-third of the capital. The explosion threw the Sun Moon Empire into turmoil, and they had suffered heavy losses. An official statement from the Sun Moon Empire stated that the explosion had something to do with the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire, though it gave no details.

    ording to the information Dai Hao had received, Princess Jiujiu wrote that the explosion had nothing to do with them. It was likelymitted by Shrek Academy!

    But it did not matter who did it anymore. An explosion like this would have a severe impact on Radiant City. While there were not a lot of casualties, the Illustrious Virtue Hall and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were bothpletely destroyed. It was also likely that one of their major armories was destroyed, as well!

    Under these conditions, it was much less likely for the Sun Moon Empire to start a war. In particr, ording to his intelligence, the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was so ovee by the explosion that he passed away!

    This would throw the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire into an internal conflict. While the Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, had an absolute advantage and the initiative, the other princes who had a chance of ascending the throne were not weak, either! Furthermore, they understood Xu Tianran very well. The moment he ascended the throne, their fates were sealed. Hence, they would surely counterattack with all their might.

    For the Star Luo Empire, this was good news! The chance of an all-out war was currently almost zero. This would give the Star Luo Empire more time to prepare.

    In the past few years, the three original empires of the Douluo Continent had put an increasing amount of attention toward the development of soul tools. The White Tiger Duke did the same. While he could not take part in the manufacturing of soul tools, he understood their importance in warfare.

    Not long ago, the White Tiger Duke had been extremely excited by one particr soul tool¡­ the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon from the Tang Sect! It¡¯s most important aspect was that it could be operated by ordinary soldiers after it had been charged by the Sealed Milk Bottles. While it was difficult to protect and guard, especially because of their reliance on and periodic maintenance required of stationary soul cannon shells, he was sure that the troops of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, with its defensible terrain, would benefit greatly should the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon be adopted on a wide scale.

    He was out on patrol today because he worried that the damage to the Sun Moon Empire might provoke their troops to act irrationally. Hatred could cause one to lose their mind, especially when it came to hatred between countries. Hence, he wanted to inspect the defenses of all the major chokepoints.

    Dai Hao always liked to be personally involved. As a result, he was able tomand respect among his troops. Right now, the ckness of night stretched far into the distance, and a chilly wind caressed his face. This put him into a good mood. After all, the dy of the war lessened the pressure on him, the Commander of the Three Armies.

    Just as Dai Hao was thinking about how he should implement soul tools in his army, a mysterious spiritual ripple washed over him. It was not strong, but it was very fine. It seemed to prate his mind, and was trying to enter his Spiritual Sea.

    He furrowed his brows in anger, and his eyes shone with light. Spiritual fluctuations emitted from his body, blocking the spiritual power. At the same time, he raised his hand, causing the four special guards next to him to stop their horses. The White Tiger Colt underneath him stopped, too.

    The White Tiger Bodyguards were the elites of his army. Individually, while they could notpare with soul masters, they were very adept at arranging themselves into formations and following orders. The White Tiger Duke controlled them as if they were one of his limbs.

    Hundreds of White Tiger Bodyguards stopped after they received the signal, and the formation remained as orderly as before.

    Dai Hao turned around, and his White Tiger Colt growled.

    The White Tiger Colt was a mysterious beast. It had the body of horse, the skin of a tiger, and its power was Rank 6. Dai Hao had raised this one personally since it was young, and he viewed it as a brother. When paired with Dai Hao, before thetter reached the cultivation of a Soul Sage, he was already able to exhibit powers superior to one. It had served Dai Hao well and faithfully!

    The senses of the White Tiger Colt were sharp. Like Dai Hao, it could sense the spiritual fluctuations. It immediately looked at thest few members of the White Tiger Bodyguards.

    ¡°Who is it? Show yourself!¡± Dai Hao bellowed. He red in that direction. With his cultivation, he was able to sense that it came from one of his personal guards the moment it came into contact with him.

    This assessment shocked Dai Hao. He was able to eliminate his target¡¯s spiritual power, but its strength was not normal for White Tiger Bodyguards. Only spiritual-type soul masters should be this powerful! If not, only someone with the cultivation of a Soul Sage and above could do this! Fortunately, his opponent¡¯s spiritual power showed no ill will¡­

    There were disturbances among the White Tiger Bodyguards. The four special guards next to Dai Hao rushed forward on their Dragonscale Horses. One of them shouted, ¡°Nobody move! Alert!¡±

    The White Tiger Bodyguards grabbed the reins of their Dragonscale Horses. None moved. Only the horses neighed.

    Huo Yuhao pressed down on the back of his horse and jumped down.

    At this moment, in the eyes of the other White Tiger Bodyguards, he was a tall and strong member of their number. He did not appear too different from the rest. Under the power of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, the other White Tiger Bodyguards were all familiar with him, and treated him as one of their own. However, no one could remember his name.

    ¡°Lord Duke, it was me!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    The White Tiger Duke narrowed his eyes into slits. His other four special guards all leapt up from their horses as a pair of small wings opened behind them. They surrounded him from the air. Furthermore, the other White Tiger Bodyguards drew their weapons and encircled Huo Yuhao. Only Wang Dong¡¯er remained next to him.

    Dai Hao looked at Huo Yuhao, and his eyes narrowed into slits. He found him familiar too, but he could not remember his name.

    ¡°Who are you? Did you use your spiritual power to test me?¡± Dai Hao roared.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, you should have felt the strength of my spiritual power. I am a spiritual-type soul master, and I joined the White Tiger Bodyguards because of my respect for your loyalty to our country. I have nothing to hide, but I don¡¯t want to stand out too much. Hence, I remained in White Tiger Bodyguards. Just now, I sensed danger in front, which was why I used my spiritual power to warn you.¡±

    Suspicion filled Dai Hao¡¯s eyes. Then, his gaze turned cold as he said in a low voice, ¡°Seize him!¡±

 Chapter 359.1 - Saving Father!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 359.1: Saving Father!</h4>

    As an iron-bloodedmander, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s desire for control had always been strong. Against the unknown, he naturally chose to control the other party. As for whether Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were true or false, he had to capture him first before interrogating him.

    The rest of the White Tiger bodyguards didn¡¯t move. Only the four bodyguards leaped towards Huo Yuhao at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart.It¡¯s really not easy convincing him!

    It was his first time interacting with the White Tiger Duke. At this moment, he had mixed feelings. He had only managed to keep his calm, and say everything he had said earlier through willpower.

    The four special guards unleashed their martial souls. Three of them were Soul Emperors, and thest one was a Soul Sage. They were quite strong!

    The Soul Sage was the first to charge towards Huo Yuhao. He had three yellow, three purple, and one ck soul ring. It was a decentbination of soul rings.

    However, an indescribable, terrifying aura surged towards him when he was ten meters away from Huo Yuhao.

    At that instant, the Soul Sage felt as if he was facing the king of soul beasts. The all-engulfing suppression left him very stifled, and his forward momentum stalled. He was horrified to discover that the soul rings of the mysterious White Tiger bodyguard on the other side were rising.

    Two yellow, two purple, four ck and one red soul ring. There were nine soul rings. There were actually nine soul rings. The most terrifying thing was that thest soul ring out of these nine was a blood-red, hundred-thousand year soul ring.

    A hundred-thousand year soul ring only existed in legends, even in the world of soul masters!

    Those who had gone through orthodox soul master education would know that a hundred-thousand year soul beast possessed high intelligence. It could even choose to be reborn as a human! It was extremely difficult to hunt and kill a hundred-thousand year soul beast. Not only must one possess great abilities, but he must also be lucky!

    If a Titled Douluo faced a hundred-thousand year soul beast, the Titled Douluo was slightly more likely to win if their cultivations were simr. However, this was under the premise that the soul beast didn¡¯t hail from the one of the stronger species. While it might be possible for a Titled Douluo to defeat a hundred-thousand year soul beast, killing and capturing it was much more difficult. A soul beast that could survive for a hundred-thousand years or achieve a cultivation of a hundred-thousand years possessed great survival abilities.

    Moreover, hundred-thousand year soul beasts were getting rarer and rarer as time went on. They were very aware that soul masters hunted them. As a result, most of the hundred-thousand year soul beasts hid in special habitats. Those habitats were like their worlds. A soul master who tried to venture into these habitats was likely to die!

    However, this person that had hidden himself among the White Tiger bodyguards actually possessed a hundred-thousand year soul ring. The terrifying aura earlier was also unleashed through the hundred-thousand year soul ring. It was too scary, aplete suppression in terms of rank and cultivation.

    The other three special guards naturally stopped in the air. The Dragonscale Horses that the surrounding bodyguards were on all screamed tragically before they copsed to the ground. They were all soul beasts that had only been alive for a few decades, and couldn¡¯t resist the aura of a hundred-thousand year soul beast. They could even be frightened to death by a hundred-thousand year soul beast!

    Only the White Tiger Colt underneath the White Tiger Duke remained standing. However, on a closer look, Huo Yuhao could see that the White Tiger Duke was releasing dim-white soul power over his White Tiger Colt. Against Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura, this soul beast that had close to a ten-thousand year cultivation was still greatly suppressed.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s expression turned serious. He hadn¡¯t expected a Titled Douluo with a hundred-thousand year soul ring to be hiding among his bodyguards!

    At this point, he was also stunned to realize that he couldn¡¯t even the tell the age of the other party. This was the first time something like this had happened to him!

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Dai Hao asked. He was much more aware of what a hundred-thousand year soul ring meantpared to his special guards. A hundred-thousand year soul ring was a stepping stone to bing a Transcendent Douluo!

    Generally speaking, it was very difficult for a Titled Douluo to advance in rank after they reached Rank 90. Most Titled Douluo would fail to be a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo. Only those who were extremely gifted, intelligent, and fortunate enough had such an opportunity!

    However, there were some Titled Douluo who were exceptions. As long as they continued cultivating and persisted until they made breakthroughs, they could be Transcendent Douluo. These Titled Douluo possessed a hundred-thousand year soul ring!

    No form of medicine or strength couldpare to a hundred-thousand year soul ring in terms of enhancing a soul master¡¯s body. It made a soul master capable of handling the soul power of a Transcendent Douluo, and adjusted his gifts until he reached such a level!

    It was precisely because he knew all this that Dai Hao didn¡¯t think the person in front of him was only a Titled Douluo. He clearly knew that someone who possessed a hundred-thousand year soul ring could possibly be a Transcendent Douluo!

    A hundred-thousand year soul ring was a top-ranked treasure that all soul masters coveted. However, it also represented huge trouble. A hundred-thousand year soul ring couldn¡¯t be stripped off a soul master, but a hundred-thousand year soul beast would still produce hundred-thousand year soul bones! As long as a soul master was dead, his soul bones could still be snatched away!

    As a result, other Titled Douluo might be tempted to kill someone with a hundred-thousand year soul ring in a bid to snatch their soul bones!

    That was why soul masters with a hundred-thousand year soul ring would try to increase their abilities to the level of a Transcendent Douluo if they didn¡¯t have sufficient protection around themselves. In this way, they could protect themselves from being pursued and killed.

    I can¡¯t challenge a Transcendent Douluo on my own!,Dai Hao quickly realized.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little helpless right now. He had had no choice but to use his Imitation to make himself seem this impressive. Otherwise, how could he stop the White Tiger Duke from attacking him, and make him listen?

    One¡¯s abilities always had the biggest say in the world of soul masters!

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to care who I am. You should be able to sense that I don¡¯t have any ill intentions towards you. Otherwise, I could have attacked you whenever I wanted. I didn¡¯t have to wait until now, or give you any warning. I specialize in spiritual power, thus I can sense that a huge crisis is waiting for you somewhere not too far away. If you believe me and quickly turn back, you can still make it. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to handle whatever¡¯s trying to deal with you. Turn around immediately.¡±

    Huo Yuhao used the simplest way to tell him what his intention was.

    Dai Huabin was among the bodyguards right now. When he saw Huo Yuhao on his Dragonscale Horse, revealing the aura of a Transcendent Douluo, he was in awe. He thought to himself,This fellow is still the same as ever. His ability to scare others is greater than whatever other abilities he possesses! Didn¡¯t he do the same to us in the past? However, he is making it seem so real that my father doesn¡¯t even realize it¡­

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was using his immense, concrete-immaterial spiritual power under the guise of his Imitation to pose as a Transcendent Douluo. It wasn¡¯t just that Dai Hao didn¡¯t discover anything, even Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t be able to tell anything unless he was close enough to him. For the White Tiger Duke, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell unless he really fought Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Hao squinted and said, ¡°How do I know this is not another trap? Why should I believe you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound, but he suddenly lifted his head to look into the sky. His senses were very acute; they weren¡¯t inferior to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon¡¯s Perception. His judgment on danger had always been very urate. When he lifted his head, golden light shot out of his eyes. His spiritual power was already focused in one direction.

    On a t ground, Huo Yuhao¡¯s unidirectional detection could reach out close to five thousand meters. He could cover an even longer distance in the air, as there weren¡¯t any obstacles.

    When he revealed his spiritual power, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t doubt his abilities anymore. His terrifying spiritual power was even greater than the White Tiger Duke¡¯s spiritual power! Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was even on the verge of turning material as he unleashed it!What is his cultivation? Transcendent Douluo, this person must be a Transcendent Douluo! However, I¡¯ve never heard of any Transcendent Douluo with a spiritual-type martial soul on the continent! Has this guy been hiding all this while?

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t as rxed as Dai Hao. When he unleashed his spiritual power into the air, his expression immediately changed, and he shouted, ¡°Quickly, give the order to retreat! There are surveince-type soul tools deployed in the air by your enemies. They are observing your every move. If you suddenly stop, they¡¯ll be alerted, and they¡¯lle for you! Quickly, retreat!¡±

    When Huo Yuhao was in Shrek Academy, he had learned from his teachers that the defenses of all military bases had be very tight now due to the rapid development of soul tools. Furthermore, there were Titled Douluo following the White Tiger Duke, given how important he was to the Star Luo Empire. It was just that these Titled Douluo usually remained hidden. This time, he hadn¡¯t even brought any of them with him. As long as he could return to his military base, his safety would be assured!

 Chapter 359.2 - Saving Father!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 359.2: Saving Father!</h4>

    Dai Hao wasn¡¯t an indecisive person. He was able to be the Commander of Three Armies because he always performed his tasks quickly and effectively. After sensing Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power, he made his decision and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s turn back to our base!¡±

    After Huo Yuhao heard his words, he heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly retracted the suppression that he had unleashed upon them.

    However, he was in slightly low spirits because the Dragonscale Horses weren¡¯t able to get up anytime soon. In the face of the Ice Empress¡¯ hundred-thousand year aura, they needed at least two hours before they could get up. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered by this now. He had had no choice earlier! If he hadn¡¯t asserted his authority, the White Tiger Duke wouldn¡¯t have believed him.

    The White Tiger bodyguards were indeed elites. They didn¡¯t need to be ordered before they started to retreat on foot. They turned towards the direction of their base, and started to run.

    They still maintained a strict formation. As they ran, they deliberately kept to two sides, leaving a pathway in the middle.

    Without the suppression from Huo Yuhao, the White Tiger Colt became normal again. The White Tiger Duke quickly rode it back along the path that they had rode out on earlier.

    Dai Hao was right not to use any flying-type soul tools. They would make him an obvious target in the air. Even if he were ten thousand meters away, the surveince-type soul tools would be able to easily lock onto him. It was much easier for him to retreat on the ground.

    Anyway, his enemies wouldn¡¯t dare to remain in the air. The anti-air defense system in the Ming Dou Mountain Range wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. It covered the entire aerial region within three thousand meters of the ground. The surveince-type soul tools that Huo Yuhao had discovered earlier were close to five thousand meters in the air, and so weren¡¯t discovered by the aerial surveince soul tools!

    The Dragonscale Horse that Huo Yuhao was on couldn¡¯t take it anymore either. He jumped off the back of the horse along with Wang Dong¡¯er. In a second, Dai Hao had already ridden the White Tiger Colt over in front of him.

    ¡°Elder, thanks for the warning. If we manage to avert this disaster, I¡¯ll be eternally grateful to you.¡±

    As Huo Yuhao looked at the White Tiger Duke¡¯s resolute expression that didn¡¯t seem to reveal any sense of panic, Huo Yuhao felt his breathing quicken.

    At this point, there wasn¡¯t any hatred in his heart. It was just a genuine wish to help the White Tiger Duke escape.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move quickly. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote. Oh yes, is there any way of preventing your defensive-type soul tools fromunching attacks against aerial objects? Or at least preventing them from attacking the aerial-type soul tools that we have?¡±

    Dai Hao stopped the White Tiger Colt and answered, ¡°There is one way. As long as we mark the soul tools with a special symbol that belongs to our military, it is possible. I¡¯m the only who can mark these soul tools; there¡¯s a special way of distinguishing these markings.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and asked, ¡°That¡¯s great. How far are you from nine rings?¡±

    Dai Hao was stunned, and replied, ¡°I obtained nine rings half a year ago.¡±

    Titled Douluo? He¡¯s actually a Titled Douluo?Huo Yuhao was stunned at this moment. However, his heart turned cold following this.

    He didn¡¯t know Dai Hao was a Titled Douluo, but the enemies who were nning to ambush him definitely knew! An ambush on a Soul Douluo and an ambush on a Titled Douluo would naturally be different. This meant that their enemies were bound to be even stronger!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else. He quickly retrieved something from his storage-type soul tool and gave it to Dai Hao. He said, ¡°Quick, use it to cover youter. We¡¯ll also help cover you. Quick, leave.¡±

    After Dai Hao received the box that Huo Yuhao passed to him, he didn¡¯t hesitate, and turned his colt around before it galloped away. He opened the box as his colt galloped.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er were at the back now. However, Dai Huabin¡¯s voice came from the side, ¡°Let¡¯s cover him together.¡±

    As he looked at Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao was immediately furious. ¡°Cover my ass. Quickly, go. If even he can¡¯t deal with the enemy, what use do you think you are?¡± As Huo Yuhao spoke, he pointed at the White Tiger Duke, who was getting further and further away.

    Dai Huabin straightened his neck and said, ¡°If you can stay behind to cover for them, why can¡¯t I do the same?¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to p him, which would help him get his revenge, too. However, Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t die, as he was extremely important to both him and Wang Dong¡¯er in their bid to pass the Deep Adventure round.

    ¡°Stop with the crap and let¡¯s go.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao had already activated his soul thrusters to advance in the direction of the White Tiger Duke. Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t unleash her martial soul, and just followed. Her martial soul was too obvious in the dark, she wouldn¡¯t unleash it unless it was unnecessary.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu chased the both of them. He was much more relieved. They had only left the base a little while ago. With his father¡¯s speed, he would only take ten minutes to return!

    However, the sky lit up at this moment.

    Balls of greenish light started to fly towards them from the west. These greenish lights were shaped like gourds. As they were too far from the ground, their actual size couldn¡¯t be determined. However, the sparks that they created in the sky were extremely blinding. The lights flew towards the White Tiger Duke.

    They are indeed here!,Huo Yuhao sighed to himself. The enemy had surveince-type soul tools in the sky, which was equivalent to having an extra eye in the sky.

    Only the Sun Moon Empire was capable of sending surveince-type soul tools five thousand meters into the air. At least, no other empire in the continent could do so yet. Most anti-air defense systems couldn¡¯t urately attack a target that was more than three thousand meters away.

    There was nothing Huo Yuhao could do about this, either. He was only a soul engineer between ss 6 and 7, and a five-ringed Soul King. Unless he could rise five thousand meters into the air to deal with the surveince-type soul tools, he had no way to change the situation. Even though he knew they were being watched, he couldn¡¯t destroy the surveince-type soul tools. This was the result of hisck of power.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he was doing pretty well so far. He had managed to stop the White Tiger Duke from advancing in a very short period of time. However, it was obvious that the enemy was well-prepared. After discovering that something was amiss, they had quicklyunched a long-range attack.

    Right now, they could only see how effective the Star Luo Empire¡¯s defenses were.

    The sky above the military bases of any empire was always a restricted zone. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er once got into trouble when they were in the Heavenly Soul Empire. In the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the aerial restricted zones were even more strictly enforced.

    When these greenish, gourd-shaped lights appeared, balls of red lights started to surge out from the mountain range towards them. They were aerial interception soul cannons!

    It wasn¡¯t very difficult to create such soul cannons. The key was that they were huge and exhausted a lot of rare metals. When in use, they also drained a lot of soul power.

    Seeing that the reaction of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s anti-air defense system was pretty quick, Huo Yuhao also heaved a sigh of relief.

    Very soon, the balls of red light shed with the greenish, gourd-shaped lights. Just as both parties were about to sh, the greenish lights cracked. The front and back of the gourd-shaped lights separated. The front parts charged forward at a faster speed, colliding with the red lights, while the back parts stopped in mid-air.

    This transformation was extremely quick. Without Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes and Purple Demon Eyes, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see everything clearly.

    Deafening explosions reverberated through the air, and huge glows illuminated the entire sky.

    Was the interception sessful?

    Just as the White Tiger bodyguards thought of this, their hopes were extinguished. The balls of greenish light turned cone-shaped before they once more charged down like bolts of lightning. They were targeting the path the White Tiger Duke would take.

    Not good!,Huo Yuhao cursed in his heart. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else now. He activated his Spiritual Detection to its extreme and directed it straight at the White Tiger Duke¡¯s head.

    At this point, the White Tiger Duke was very focused on the changes in the air. As he was unwary, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power invaded his mind.

    Before he could resist with his own spiritual power, he was shocked by what Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection offered him.

    Data about the greenish lights was presented in his mind: how long they would take tond, where they wouldnd etc. It all appeared in his mind.

    The White Tiger Duke was very experienced, and immediately knew what was going on. He expanded in size, and his short hair turned ck and white, like a white tiger¡¯s stripes. Two yellow, two purple and five ck soul rings suddenly rose from him, turning into blinding light. His fourth soul ring shone extremely brightly, and balls of bright lights in the form of tiger heads quickly took form above his head. These balls of light generated dazzling, white sparks as they shot into the air.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!¡­

    A series of tremendous booms echoed throughout the entire mountain range.

    The White Tiger Duke had unleashed his White Tiger Meteor Shower in the opposite direction. Furthermore, he managed to intercept the red lights urately! The descending greenish lights had fallen extremely rapidly. Without Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the White Tiger Duke couldn¡¯t have aplished such an impressive deed!

    Just as everyone thought that the crisis had been temporarily averted and the White Tiger Duke could continue to return to base, a brownish-yellow light suddenly rose about three hundred meters in front of the White Tiger Duke.

    This earthy light was only ten meters in diameter when it first appeared. However, it instantly spread out to more than a hundred meters in diameter. The entire mountain range was illuminated by this light.

    This was¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils shrank. This was not a soul skill, since it was able to hide from his Spiritual Detection and appear directly along the mountain pass. It had to be a soul tool! It was also the strongest soul tool he had ever seen in a fight! As such, it had to be at least a ss 8 soul tool!

 Chapter 359.3 - Saving Father!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 359.3: Saving Father!</h4>

    These people who are here to kill the White Tiger Duke are going all-out! This should be a ss 8 stationary soul cannon!

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted almost subconsciously. He also felt very weird when he shouted these two words.Why am I concerned about his safety?

    Boom, boom, boom!¡­

    Suddenly, the entire Ming Dou Mountain Range seemed to shake. A huge, deafening explosion shook the region covered by the earthen light. Debris scattered all around, and the intense shockwaves instantly engulfed more than a thousand square meters.

    ¡°Defend!¡± The White Tiger Duke shouted. He didn¡¯t retreat. His first, third, and fifth soul rings shed. His figure instantly doubled in size. As he smacked his tiger palms together, ayer of intense white light started to spread out, with his body at the center. The shockwaves that wereing towards him were blocked.

    When he saw this scene, Huo Yuhao, who subconsciously moved to shield Wang Dong¡¯er, was a little dazed.

    Given the White Tiger Duke¡¯s abilities, he would not be dealt much harm if he only protected himself. However, the barrier he erected covered an extremely wide area. He was bound to be drained at a much faster rate!

    Explosions rang continuously. The ground started to fissure, starting from the center point of the explosion. These fissures quickly extended in all directions.

    One side of the path that they were on was a cliff, while the other side was a tall mountain. Although the mountain pass was considered quite wide, there were many rocks falling from the sky after the explosion urred.

    Landslide!

    The White Tiger bodyguards were deservedly called the elites of the elites. Even though their individual strengths were insignificant in the face of such a terrifying explosion, they tried to gather together at this point. A portion of them with shields lifted them up to block the falling rocks and iing shockwaves. The four special guards rushed forward without any hesitation and helped the White Tiger Duke with some of the pressure he was facing. However, the iing shockwaves were still too strong, so strong that they were driven back as they were struck.

    Huo Yuhao already roughly knew what the soul tool was. It was a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell called a Landslide Shell!

    When soul tools were at least ss 7, those with special effects would be given their own names. This was especially true for stationary soul cannon shells. There were all types of names for them.

    This Landslide Shell was one of them. It was supposed to be a ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell. However, it was ssified as a ss 8 shell after special formation arrays and materials were used to strengthen its cloaking and obstructive capabilities.

    It had very strong prating abilities. It would immediately drill into the ground once itnded, tapping into its rare metal formation that had a great affinity for earthen elements. It could drill into soil or granite in the shortest possible time before unleashing an immense shockwave.

    The shock that it unleashed was equivalent to a hundred shock cannon shells, simting the strength of an explosion and enabling it to cause andslide.

    This Landslide Shell wasn¡¯t considered very lethal among the ss 8 stationary soul cannon shells. However, it was more stable, which allowed it to be hidden effectively. Its effect on a battlefield could be quite great, especially in strategic attacks like this. The enemies¡¯ goal was very simple¡­ block off the White Tiger Duke¡¯s return route and buy time for them to assassinate him!

    ¡°General, quickly leave! Don¡¯t care about us!¡± the special guard who was a Soul Sage shouted anxiously.

    Right now, the strongest shockwave had already passed. However, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t leave. With his cultivation, flying at a low altitude was nothing. However, he turned back and kept on unleashing his White Tiger Meteor Shower in the air. He crushed the falling rocks that were going to hit his men

    As Huo Yuhao looked at him drifting in mid-air, he felt as if something were choking him in his chest.

    He is actually risking being assassinated in order to protect his subordinates. He¡­

    Dai Hao shouted, ¡°Cut the crap! Soldiers, get ready to fight the enemy! All of you are my warriors and my fellow soldiers. I won¡¯t leave any one of you behind! We¡¯ll remain here and wait for reinforcements!¡± As he spoke, he lifted his hand, and a beam of bright light shot into the sky.

    They weren¡¯t very far from the base. They wouldn¡¯t need to wait too long for reinforcements to arrive. After the aerial attacks and the explosion that had just urred, their camp should have been put on alert, and reinforcements should be on the way.

    A huge hole a few hundred meters wide had been blown apart in front of them. It was impossible for them to traverse it on foot. If the White Tiger Duke left on his own, he would be forsaking his White Tiger bodyguards, who consisted of more than a hundred men. In a war, such a situation was verymon. However, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t make that decision. He was their general, and the soul of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military. He was a true hero. There was no way he could forsake his soldiers and brothers.

    In addition, it might not be a wrong choice to defend here. After all, it was very difficult to tell where the enemy woulde from.

    When Dai Huabin saw that his father was unwilling to leave, he started to turn anxious. He hurriedly asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fist tightly. ¡°What else can we do? Let¡¯s help him!¡±

    He couldn¡¯t decide for the White Tiger Duke. The only thing they could do now was help him guard this ce. In addition, they weren¡¯t too far from their base. They still had a chance.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection and covered the area where the White Tiger bodyguards were. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t share his spiritual power with everyone, but he shared it with the White Tiger Duke and the four special guards from earlier.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s help, the White Tiger Duke was able to more efficiently intercept the falling rocks with his White Tiger Meteor Shower. All therge rocks were destroyed by his Meteor Shower.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had also opened up her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings at this moment. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, she unleashed her Light of the Butterfly Goddess to help the White Tiger Duke. She further lowered the threat of thendslide.

    The bodyguards weren¡¯t idle, either. Although not all of them had shields, they still used their weapons to sweep the falling rocks away from them. While there were still some casualties, there weren¡¯t too many.

    At this point, streaks of red light suddenly shed from afar. They appeared in a very borate pattern, and started to move towards the White Tiger Duke and his guards.

    They were explosive bombs!

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze, then sighed in his heart. He could guess the origin of his enemies. First, there was a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell, then there were explosive cluster bombs. It had to be the Sun Moon Empire!

    The White Tiger Duke took a deep breath before he turned in the air. He flew towards the bombs as his fourth soul ring continued to shine. His White Tiger Meteor Shower changed directions just like a rapidfire cannon, flying straight towards the explosive bombs.

    At the same time, he also shouted, ¡°White Tiger bodyguards, listen to my orders. Disperse and retreat!¡±

    It was very difficult for them to disperse in such an area. The path in front had been blown apart, making it extremely uneven. On one side, there was a cliff. On the other side, there was a mountain. They could only search for a route through the area that had been blown apart. Fortunately, there was a gentle slope that they could use to leave this ce.

    These soldiers would never defy the White Tiger Duke¡¯s orders. After hearing his order, the captain leading the troops immediately led them towards the pathway that had been blown apart.

    However, the Landslide Shell was there to stop them from escaping. When they came to the edge of the cliff, they only saw a deep depression.

    The team leader of the first team was a burly man around forty years old. As he saw the disconnected path in front of him, he seemed dested. He quickly turned around and faced the rest of the bodyguards that had followed him, revealing a determined look on his face.

    His gaze swept over all the soldiers in front of him. ¡°Brothers, we¡¯ve all witnessed it with our eyes. The Duke remained because of us. If not for us, he would already be safe. We are at an impasse right now. Every second that we burden the Duke puts him in one more second of danger. Ever since we joined the White Tiger bodyguards, we knew that we were willing to sacrifice our lives for the Duke. I won¡¯t force any of you to do so now. Those who are willing to follow me, you¡¯ll always be my good brothers. Sir, I¡¯m willing to sacrifice my life for you. Please take care.¡±

    As he spoke, he took a deep look at all therades in front of him. After this, he turned around suddenly pointed his left toes to the ground before he leapt off the cliff.

    As a section leader, Zhang Biao had managed to judge the situation they were facing urately. Because of them, their enemies were inching closer and closer. No one knew when reinforcements would arrive. The only way to ensure the White Tiger Duke¡¯s safety was to allow him to retreat quickly, and the reinforcements to gather. However, the White Tiger Duke was unwilling to forsake them, which made them his burden. There wasn¡¯t any way they could disperse here. The only thing they could do was sacrifice their lives to save the White Tiger Duke!

    When he saw this scene, Huo Yuhao felt as if his chest had been hammered. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s subordinates were willing to sacrifice their lives for him, and he was willing to risk his life to protect them, too! Suddenly, he seemed to be mightier in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. As he pulled at Wang Dong¡¯er, the two of them leapt off the cliff.

 Chapter 360.1

    <h4 ss>Chapter 360.1: For the Sake of Rescuing Those Who Have Loyalty, I¡¯m Willing!</h4>

    ¡°Idiot! Zhang Biao, what are you doing?¡± The White Tiger Duke was very observant, and naturally realized that Zhang Biao had leapt off the cliff. He started to turn anxious.

    At this point, the bodyguards all shouted at the same time, ¡°Sir, please take care!¡± Following this, all of them bit their lips and leapt off the cliff with determined looks on their faces.

    The White Tiger Duke was unmoved even when he was under the attack of that Landslide Shell. However, his expression changed now. His eyes turned red, and he roared to the four special guards that were beside him, ¡°Idiots! Quickly, go and stop them.¡±

    However, they didn¡¯t move at all. They even tried to block his view.

    The Soul Sage sorrowfully pleaded, ¡°Sir, please leave. They are doing this for your safety! If you have any pity for them, quickly go now.¡±

    In just a moment, the bodyguards apart from Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had already leapt off the cliff.

    Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were both stunned.

    Such a tragic scene appeared in front of them during this short span of time. They weren¡¯t even twenty years old. Even though Dai Huabin was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son, he had never seen such a tragic scene before!

    Dai Huabin¡¯s head seemed to ring with what his father had once told him and his brother.Every White Tiger bodyguard is a loyal and brave warrior. The two of you must treat them with respect.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes were blood-red now, and the look in his eyes turned extremely fierce. He pulled out the box Huo Yuhao had given him earlier, tore it open, and poured his soul power into it!

    A ball of huge silver light quickly rose into the sky and illuminated the darkness. Very soon, it was high up in the sky.

    When this silver light stabilized in the sky, a silver ray descended andnded in front of the White Tiger Duke. He mimicked a lifting action, and another dim golden light ball appeared within this silver ray.

    This ball had a diameter of one meter. As it gradually rose, it seemed like a sun. Itplemented the silver light ball in the sky and flew all the way up until it was next to the silver ball.

    The two lightsplemented each other in the air and started to revolve around an invisible center. They formed an evenrger gold and silver ball in the air.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had given the White Tiger Duke thetest ss 9 soul tool that the Starsky Douluo had created, the Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current cultivation, he couldn¡¯t use this soul tool. However, the White Tiger Duke could!

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to use the Sunmoon Divine Needle. It just had to be unleashed before it would lock onto the opponent, and then attack. The most difficult part about using it was the demand it had on one¡¯s soul power, as well as locking onto the opponents.

    Although the White Tiger Duke had just be a Titled Douluo, Huo Yuhao was very familiar with the White Tiger. As one of the top-ranked beast souls, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s abilities would have increased significantly after he became a Titled Douluo. Ordinary Titled Douluo couldn¡¯tpare to him. Furthermore, he was in his prime. It was during this period of his life that his blood and energy were most vigorous. It was highly likely that he would be a Transcendent Douluo in the future.

    Since that was the case, he shouldn¡¯t have a problem using the Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    Although the White Tiger Duke was filled with rage and sorrow right now, he was shocked when the Sunmoon Divine Needle rose into the sky. He felt his spiritual power rising into the sky along with the needle. His range of vision expanded greatly, and his spiritual power was being strengthened continuously.

    Originally, he couldn¡¯t track where his enemies were. However, they soon appeared within his perception. As the Sunmoon Divine Needle spun, his soul power was also quickly being drained. However, the attacks from his enemies had weakened when the Sunmoon Divine Needle appeared.

    This was how terrifying a ss 9 soul tool was!

    The gold and silver ball in the sky was like a huge double-colored eye, coldly watching the earth and seeking its targets.

    As one of the top-ranked ss 9 soul tools, there were very strict requirements for using the Sunmoon Divine Needle. It had to absorb Sunmoon Essence for three days before it could be unleashed. In addition, it drained a lot of soul power. After three strikes, Sunmoon Essence had to be absorbed again to charge it.

    However, its terrifying strength was a result of the strict requirements needed to use it. The greater the requirements, the greater the destructiveness of a soul tool. Even a Transcendent Douluo would be hesitant to face an attack from the Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    The greatest point about the Sunmoon Divine Needle was that it was effective against all elements. Because of the Sunmoon Essence, any form of defense would be ineffective against it, no matter what element it was made of. In addition, it possessed the prating strength of a ss 9 soul tool, covering a region that spanned more than thirty kilometers. It was truly frightening!

    The enemy had evidently recognized the background of this Sunmoon Divine Needle, and thus they restrained their attacks. They knew that they were exposed under the surveince of the Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    The White Tiger Duke, or rather the White Tiger Douluo, had an awe-inspiring look in his eyes. Through the Sunmoon Divine Needle, he observed his enemies from afar. There were more than ten of them.

    He zoomed in using the needle, and could clearly see the number and color of soul rings that his enemies possessed.

    There were a total of twelve of them. Among them, four were nine-ringed Titled Douluo. There were even ss 9 soul engineers among them. The Landslide Shell couldn¡¯t have been unleashed so easily without them.

    Apart from the four Titled Douluo, the lowest-ranked among the remaining eight were only Soul Sages. There were four eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    At this point, the four Titled Douluo were already shining with golden light. They had unleashed their Invincible Barriers. Another four of the remaining eight had also unleashed Invincible Barriers. The twelve of them hadpletely split up, and they didn¡¯t dare to step forward even a centimeter anymore.

    This was the power of the Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that the Sunmoon Divine Needle could make their enemies feel so fearful when it rose into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess waspletely right; these enemies came from the Sunmoon Empire. They were here to assassinate the White Tiger Duke!

    The White Tiger Duke held a very important status in the Star Luo Empire. He had great control over the military. If he were assassinated, it would greatly boost the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s future ns in starting the war.

    These twelve assassins were well-prepared. Not only did they nt spies, but they even used high-altitude surveince-type soul tools, a newly-invented category of soul tools. Of the twelve assassins, two were even ss 9 soul engineers! They had set a trap thirty kilometers ahead using different kinds of soul tools. Once the White Tiger Duke fell into their trap, they were confident in killing him, even if he was a Transcendent Douluo.

    However, they hadn¡¯t expected the White Tiger Duke to turn back after leaving his base. It waspletely outside their expectations.

    One of the leading soul engineers realized that they had been exposed. However, the White Tiger Duke had already left his base. There were only a hundred bodyguards with him, and thus it was still a good opportunity for them to assassinate him!

    As a result, they turned to their n B, using the Landslide Shell to stop the White Tiger Duke, and rushed over as soon as possible. They were willing to pay any price to kill the White Tiger Duke!

    Just as they were about to achieve their goal, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t even try to break his way out, but remained to protect his subordinates. All of this left them extremely delighted.

    However, they were all stunned when they saw the gold and silver lights in the sky.

    More than half of these assassins were soul engineers. The two ss 9 soul engineers even had a wealth of experience.

    If these were any ordinary assassins, they might not have been bothered by the Sunmoon Divine Needle. However, this group of assassins was well-aware of what it was! The ignorant were fearless, but those who truly knew were extremely terrified!

    Who didn¡¯t know about the Sun Moon Needle, the soul tool that made the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin famous? Among these two ss 9 soul engineers, one of them was even a good friend of Ye Yulin. He happened to know about the Sunmoon Divine Needle that had just been researched and created.

    This was why he immediately activated his Invincible Barrier the moment he saw the Sunmoon Divine Needle. Even though he knew his Invincible Barrier might not be able to stop the needle, it was still better than not having any protection at all.

    When he mentioned that it was the Sunmoon Divine Needle, the soul engineers present also broke out in a cold sweat.

    The Sun Divine Needle was known as the Light of the Death God. Whoever it shone on would be struck dead! The power of the Sunmoon Divine Needle was even greater than the Sun Divine Needle! Let alone a Transcendent Douluo, even someone of Elder Xuan¡¯s cultivation would be hurt if he tried to deal with an attack from the Needle!

    These assassins were here to kill the White Tiger Duke, not to die. The four Titled Douluo treasured their lives a lot.

    ¡°What do we do? Why does he have the Sunmoon Divine Needle? Don¡¯t tell me that the Starsky Douluo¡­¡±

    ¡°Impossible! The Starsky Douluo wouldn¡¯t betray us. Let¡¯s decide quickly! Our Invincible Barriers won¡¯tst long!¡±

 Chapter 360.2

    <h4 ss>Chapter 360.2: For the Sake of Rescuing Those Who Have Loyalty, I¡¯m Willing!</h4>

    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat first beforeing up with a new n.¡± The leading ss 9 soul engineer was decisive, and gave the order to retreat.

    One¡¯s life was very precious. Everyone only had one life! None of them were willing to risk getting killed by the Sunmoon Divine Needle in their bid to assassinate the White Tiger. None of them dared to!

    As a result, these twelve assassins immediately turned and fled. To them, their main worry now was finding the fastest way to get at least fifteen kilometers away.

    The White Tiger Duke still had a glimmer of hope right now. He had seen Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er leaping off the cliff, too. That was why he didn¡¯t activate the Sunmoon Divine Needle immediately. The strongest weapons were the most terrifying before they were used. Although he didn¡¯t know why his opponents had run, he was relieved to be safe temporarily. Right now, he could only watch and see whether the mysterious man could save his subordinates.

    The White Tiger Duke was holding on over on his side, while Huo Yuhao was very busy in the air right now.

    After he jumped off the cliff with Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Dong¡¯er immediately opened up her Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings.

    The first to jump off the cliff was Zhang Biao. The cliff seemed to be at least three hundred meters high. If a soul master couldn¡¯t fly and didn¡¯t have any way of reducing the speed of his descent, he was bound to die from the fall!

    As Huo Yuhao dove down rapidly, he unleashed his spiritual power to the best of his abilities. A huge spiritual quickly engulfed the air around him, and all the White Tiger bodyguards that had leapt off the cliff. In this way, he could tell exactly where each of them was.

    A streak of deep blue light shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead and instantly descended. It was the little Snow Lady.

    When the little Snow Lady appeared, she waved her hands in the air rapidly. A gust of strong wind rose from the mountain valley. The wind slowed the descent of all the bodyguards, even though they were all decked out in armor.

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t just control snow. She was the Icesky Snow Lady. In the Extreme North, the extreme chill wasn¡¯t the only scary thing, there was also the wind. This was also one aspect in which the Snow Empress was stronger than the Ice Empress!

    Apart from the extreme chill, she also had a deep grasp of the profundity of the wind. For example, the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice included gales.

    Huo Yuhao was only afraid his Ultimate Ice would affect the bodyguards, and thus he didn¡¯t use his domain¡¯s strength to gather them. He could only let the little Snow Lady slow their descent.

    As she controlled the wind, the little Snow Lady had already charged all the way down. In a sh, she was beside Zhang Biao. She used her little hands to gently push Zhang Biao¡¯s back. He was about thirty meters from the ground, but he was now flying towards the side instead of falling as he was pushed.

    Zhang Biao was also a soul master. The sudden force that came from his side shocked him. He subconsciously lifted his body in a hurry and tried to control it.

    For a soul master of his rank, thirty meters was a manageable height. As he rolled in the air, he exploited the sudden force that came from his side to reduce the speed of his descent. He also used his palms and soul power to slow his fall.

    After the little Snow Lady pushed Zhang Biao, she lifted her hands once again. Another gust of wind blew upward and slowed the momentum of the bodyguards who were still falling.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er finally charged down after the little Snow Lady helped to stall the descent of the bodyguards.

    At this point, the two of them reached their fastest speed. Along with the little Snow Lady, they started flipping and moving about. They caught hold of the bodyguards that were falling from the sky.

    Huo Yuhao felt very regretful that he didn¡¯t have a soul tool he could use now! His soul tools were mainly very lethal. At this point, there were too many bodyguards falling, even though the area that they covered wasn¡¯t too extensive.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed the Life Reflecting Shield with his right hand and a protective barrier with his body. As he flipped about, he continued to use the Tang Sect¡¯s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. However, he still couldn¡¯t catch everyone.

    As one person fell, he caught hold of him before instantly pushing him away. He used his right leg to hook onto another person, and also used his Life Reflecting Shield to knock someone else away. He charged forward quickly, and managed to grab hold of more than ten people.

    However, he couldn¡¯t possibly catch everyone. He simply had no time! He could only knock them to the sides just as they were about to crash, reducing their speed of descent. They were bound to get hurt, but at least they could still preserve their lives.

    However, there were still some bodyguards who couldn¡¯t be saved even though Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er tried their best.

    Three hundred meters! They had jumped three hundred meters off a cliff, and they were all wearing armor. Their momentum was deadly. Huo Yuhao was only a Soul King, and Wang Dong¡¯er was only a Soul Emperor. Even if they were slightly stronger, they couldn¡¯t possibly save that many people spread out over such arge area.

    Blood sttered around them, and life after life was lost.

    Huo Yuhao bit his lips tightly. All these soldiers were dead because they were trying to protect the White Tiger Duke!

    They had jumped off the cliff willingly. Before they jumped off, they had even asked the White Tiger Duke to take care of himself.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing this kind of soldier. It was also his first time experiencing the smell of blood and iron that one could only experience in the military.

    A bloody smell spread out, and Huo Yuhao was already tearing up. He had done his best. When he grabbed hold of thest bodyguard, he discovered that his arms were already aching. He forcefully rolled on the ground, and his human-shaped soul tool let out a piercing, screeching sound. It took some time before he managed to reduce his falling momentum. However, the inertia still caused him to crash, and he couldn¡¯t help but spit out blood on the inside of his mask.

    There was a blurry red in front of his eyes. He felt extremely weak right now.

    He only heard tragic screams around him. Along with the bloody smell that drifted throughout the entire area, he was feeling very distressed.

    What kind of soldiers were they? They were willing to sacrifice their precious lives for their own general! They jumped off the cliff without any hesitation!

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t know how many people they had saved. The entire process only took one minute. However, they had drained their soul power and energy. The feeling that they were experiencing now couldn¡¯t be described with words. They had tried their best in this one minute. However, Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but cry when she saw fresh blood sttering from the human figures below her.

    ¡°They¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao peered into the sky and shouted furiously. His spiritual power soared tremendously, but he couldn¡¯t do anything now. What was supposed to happen had already happened. He couldn¡¯t have possibly saved these few precious lives!

    At this point, a calm voice sounded in his mind, ¡°The enemies have retreated. The White Tiger Duke is no longer in a crisis. You have passed the Deep Adventure round. Right now, you have two choices. You can choose to pass this round, or use this opportunity to restore everything back to normal.

    ¡°By restoring everything back to normal, those who have not yet been dead for fifteen minutes will recoverpletely. However, those who have been dead for more than fifteen minutes can¡¯t recover, as their spirits have dissipated. If you choose this option, you must go through the Deep Adventure round once again. You can make your choice now, but you¡¯ll only have ten seconds to decide. After ten seconds, the two of you will automatically be returned to the valley.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er naturally heard what Huo Yuhao heard. The two of them looked at each other, and they each saw the surprise and persistence in the other¡¯s eyes. Wang Dong¡¯er grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and the two of them shouted at the same time, ¡°We¡¯ll choose to restore everything back to normal!¡±

    Yes, they were willing to go through the Deep Adventure round once again to save all the soldiers and their loyalty!

    Suddenly, a strange ball of light appeared. A bright golden light that seemed like the sun appeared above Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, while a silver crescent surfaced above Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s head.

    ¡°<strong>The radiance of the Sun and Moon, Yin-Yang Love Querying.</strong>¡± The calm voice echoed throughout the entire mountain valley. Following this, a gold and silver light spread from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s bodies.

    The bodyguards were all covered by the same gold and silver light. The bodyguards who were still alive were shocked as they looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. At this moment, they could roughly make out their appearance.

    They could clearly sense a strange, warm flow circling their bodies before the excruciating pain from their wounds disappeared. All of their injuries were healing at an rming speed.

    What was even stranger was that the pools of blood on the ground started to flow back into the corpses lying on the ground. The bodies started to contort slightly. Gradually, their actions became more and more obvious. There were even some who started crawling up.

    The bodyguards who had just lost their lives seemed very confused now. They turned around and stared at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er in shock. They couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Miracle. This is a miracle! Are the two of you immortals that have descended to the mortal world?¡± Zhang Biao crawled up from the ground at this moment. He was also hurt. There were many jagged rocks on the ground, which was also the reason why many of the bodyguards were hurt and killed. However, his injuries had already fully recovered after he was immersed in the gold and silver light.

 Chapter 360.3

    <h4 ss>Chapter 360.3: For the Sake of Rescuing Those Who Have Loyalty, I¡¯m Willing!</h4>

    He saw a ravishing beauty with flowing blue hair, and another person who was covered entirely in metal, emitting an intense golden glow.

    They were holding hands as a miraculous glow shone from their bodies. It wasn¡¯t just light that came from their bodies, there was also warmth!

    More and more of the bodyguards were standing up by now. All of them turned around and faced Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er, who were both emitting the Sunmoon Radiance.

    The White Tiger bodyguards started to kneel down on one knee and expressed their gratitude towards the both of them for giving them a chance to live again. Their eyes were filled with respect and passion. In their hearts, the two of them possessed the strength of gods!

    The gold and silver light suddenly became much more ring. In the next instant, the light withdrew towards the center. When it disappeared, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er disappeared with it.

    At the same time, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu also heard the same calm voice.

    ¡°The White Tiger Duke¡¯s crisis has been averted. The Deep Adventure round has ended and the two of you have passed.¡±

    Everything started to distort and be blurry at this moment as their world seemed to be spinning. Whether it was Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Dai Huabin or Zhu Lu, they all entered a weird space. The calm voice sounded in their ears once again.

    The voice said to Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, ¡°The two of you only put in an average performance in the Deep Adventure round, and thus you barely passed the round. There won¡¯t be any rewards, but the two of you can enter thest round, the Sincerity Love Querying Great Adventure. I hope that you can pass the next round.¡±

    The light shed, and Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu disappeared.

    The same voice sounded in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ears. However, they heard different things than Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had.

    ¡°The White Tiger Duke met with danger, and Huo Yuhao was able to use his spiritual power to warn him, as well as to gain his trust using his own abilities. This is an important reason why the two of you passed this Deep Adventure round. However, you didn¡¯t use your own abilities to chase the enemies away. Instead, you used external items to do so. As a result, you didn¡¯t pass the Deep Adventure round with full marks. However, on ount of the fact that you saved everyone in time and reduced the number of casualties, I¡¯ll consider it a pass. Originally, the reward that the two of you were supposed to get was one chance to recover from a critical injury. However, you instead chose to restore everything to normal. As a result, your rewards will be canceled, and your points have be negative. The two of you will need to go through another Deep Adventure round. If you pass, you can advance to the third round, the True Love Querying Great Adventure. Be prepared, your second Deep Adventure round is about to start!¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er still felt as if their world was spinning. They couldn¡¯t see their surroundings clearly. However, they were smiling delightedly at this moment, and they gripped each other¡¯s hands tightly.

    They didn¡¯t regret having to go through the Deep Adventure round again. To be able to revive so many loyal soldiers, they felt that it was worth it even if they had to go through several more rounds. Right now, the satisfaction that they felt in their hearts was unrivaled.

    As a light shed, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er also disappeared.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    White light descended from the sky. The White Tiger Dukended in the valley. He was stunned when he saw his bodyguards standing on the jagged rocks.

    At this point, the reinforcements from the base had already arrived. Many strong individuals were here to protect the White Tiger Duke. The Sunmoon Divine Needle was still shining in the sky. It was a pity that their enemies had already fled far away.

    Seeing that most of his subordinates were still alive, the White Tiger Duke was feeling very emotional as he looked at the gold and silver ball in the sky

    Who was that? Who was it that helped me and saved me from this crisis? Who exactly was it?

    The White Tiger Duke stood there in a daze, and didn¡¯t speak for a long time.

    ¡ª¡ª-

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were in a rather disastrous situation right now. After they encountered the Radiant City patrol, they had no choice but to use force to charge their way out. They couldn¡¯t possibly exin their identities. In addition, they didn¡¯t even look like they came from the Sun Moon Empire.

    However, they attracted even more enemies after they charged past the first group of guards.

    It was only now that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi realized how terrifying Radiant City was. Even though the surrounding walls were broken and dpidated, defense-type soul tools were still everywhere. However, the aerial surveince soul tools were even more terrifying.

    The surveince soul tools weren¡¯t very strong, but they remained hundreds of meters in the air. They were very practical, and were used to follow Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei. With these surveince soul tools to guide them, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soldiers were always hot on their trail. Even though the two of them were strong, they were still in peril.

    In addition, soul engineers had been deployed to deal with them because they were resisting strongly. Right now, they were still some way off from the western edge of Radiant City.

    What left Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi even more depressed was that their injuries were starting to influence their abilities.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Golden light shed, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er finally felt stable.

    It took the two of them took some time to adapt before they stopped feeling dizzy. Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong¡¯er close to him, and subconsciously activated his Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised by current state of his body.

    Earlier, he and Wang Dong¡¯er had drained themselves to save the White Tiger bodyguards, but right now, he discovered that he was feeling much better. Even his soul power seemed to have experienced an improvement, and his spiritual power had be more refined.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression suddenly changed greatly. He eximed, ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± As he shouted, Wang Dong¡¯er also became anxious.

    Huo Yuhao looked heartbroken as he said, ¡°My Sunmoon Divine Needle is still with the White Tiger Duke. It¡¯s a ss 9 soul tool! If the Duskwater Alliance wasn¡¯t trying to poach me, they wouldn¡¯t have asked Xu Tianran to make Ye Yulin give up the Sunmoon Divine Needle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very clever. During the tournament, he had already guessed the reason why the Starsky Douluo had offered the Sunmoon Divine Needle as a reward for the champion. The tournament was decided with a fight, and the Duskwater Alliance knew how strong Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was. They were trying to use a ss 9 soul tool and a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell to bribe him. In fact, it was just another way of boosting the strength of the Holy Ghost Church!

    The truth was that their judgment of Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities was urate. Even with Ye Guyi¡¯s appearance, Huo Yuhao still managed to attain victory.

    As for Ye Guyi, she was in a slightly more pitiful state right now. Huo Yuhao had ced her in his spectral demine, and was prepared to release her after he managed to escape danger following the conclusion of the tournament. However, who would have expected the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley to appear so suddenly, isting his connection with his spectral demine? Ye Guyi had no choice but to wait for a while longer inside.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao could guarantee Ye Guyi¡¯s safety. The spectral demine was passed down from Electrolux to Huo Yuhao. As his teacher, Electrolux had also passed him the key to controlling the demine. Even though Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯tpletely control the demine given hisck of abilities, he was still able to draw out a safe region to contain Ye Guyi.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was aching after he lost the Sunmoon Divine Needle! Given his twin martial souls, he should have been able to use the Needle when he obtained eight rings. It was a powerful soul tool that even a Transcendent Douluo was terrified of!

    ¡°Are you really heartbroken?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was amused as she looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, ¡°Am I not supposed to feel this way?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er chortled and hugged his metal arm. She said, ¡°You didn¡¯t give it to an outsider, though.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned slightly weird. As he recalled what had happened earlier, he suddenly realized that he had started to hate the White Tiger Duke less and less. He had been filled with admiration and respect when he saw how the White Tiger Duke sacrificed his safety for his subordinates.

    No, I won¡¯t forgive him!Huo Yuhao forcefully told himself.

    However¡­

    He didn¡¯t feel so heartbroken when he realized he had given the Sunmoon Divine Needle to the White Tiger Duke¡­

    Whatever! At least he¡¯s safer with the Needle. That way, he won¡¯t be killed so easily, and he can wait for me to return to exact revenge on him.

    As he thought about it from this perspective, Huo Yuhao felt that he had straightened things out. His expression also returned to normal.

    At this moment, the calm voice that made Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er jumpy sounded once again, ¡°<strong>The Deep Adventure round begins. The topic is¡­ Rescue!</strong>¡±

    Another rescue¡­

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed in the next instant.

    ¡°The two of you are to the west of Radiant City. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi are trying to break out from this direction. The two of you will be considered to have passed this round if you can rescue them from the danger they are currently facing and return to the western mountain. If the two of you fail this mission, the punishment is death! At the same time, the two of them will also die. The Deep Adventure round begins!¡±

    Eldest and third senior¡¯s Deep Adventure round was actually in Radiant City. Radiant City is a very dangerous ce to be in right now!Just as Huo Yuhao was horrified, he was also depressed. That was because he hadn¡¯t been given enough information.

    He was supposed to rescue them, but he didn¡¯t know their exact location. This meant that they still had to locate them before rescuing them! It was going to be very difficult!

 Chapter 361.1 - Is He a Creator of Miracles?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 361.1: Is He a Creator of Miracles?</h4>

    However, Huo Yuhao suddenly had a strange feeling at this moment. He was stunned to realize that the aura of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley seemed to have experienced some form of transformation. The direct benefit of this transformation was that he could now connect to his spectral demine!

    This meant that he could use the strength left behind by Electrolux if he had no choice. At the same time, he could also¡­

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand and recited an incantation. A light shed, and both of them vanished.

    In the next moment, a cold and sinister world was right in front of them: Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine!

    The spectral demine created by Electrolux was indeed extraordinary. Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that the Love Querying Valley¡¯s control of him had disappeared the moment he stepped into this demine. This meant that he shouldn¡¯t be affected by the valley here.

    However, it was a pity that he was even here at all!

    Huo Yuhao sighed.The Love Querying Valley is too cunning. My mission is to save eldest and third senior, and thus some of the restraints I was under have also been released.

    It was true that he wouldn¡¯t be affected by the power of the valley in this spectral demine. However, could he really forsake Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, and escape with Wang Dong¡¯er? It was obviously not a practical choice.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. I thought that you were still a cheat,¡± a resentful voice called out. A yellow figure shed up, and the angry Ye Guyi appeared in front of them.

    She was enraged. When Huo Yuhao defeated her with his abilities, she was already half-convinced by what he said. After that, Huo Yuhao¡¯s power brought her to this ce, where undead were all around. She didn¡¯t know how he did it, but the undead didn¡¯t get close to her. However, the aura in this spectral demine was too ufortable and irksome for her, since she had the Holy Angel martial soul.

    When Huo Yuhao left, he left for a long time. Ye Guyi was tempted to kill the undead on more than one asion to vent her disgust towards this world she was in. However, she knew that the undead here were different. These undead were filled with the aura of light wouldn¡¯t give her any strength or strengthen her martial soul. Furthermore, there was an army of them. No matter how self-confident she was, she couldn¡¯t possibly sh with them directly.

    After waiting for such a long time, Huo Yuhao was finally here! Naturally, she was angry with him!

    Huo Yuhao was apologetic as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ye Guyi. We¡¯ve met with a bit of a special situation. I¡¯ll bring you out now. However, we¡¯ll need your help when we get out. Our friends are trapped in Radiant City. We need to rescue them.¡±

    Ye Guyi snorted coldly. ¡°Why should I help you? You are a disgusting evil soul master. I¡¯m still not even clear about who you are!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he answered, ¡°Up to you. Anyway, I¡¯m mainly here because I have to release you. If you don¡¯t want to help us, you can leave as soon as you¡¯re out. It¡¯s very dangerous outside. Come on.¡±

    As he spoke, he lifted his right hand and recited another incantation. A strangeyer of greyish light engulfed the three of them. Although Ye Guyi revealed a disgusted look on her face, she didn¡¯t try to avoid it. In addition, she started ncing in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s direction.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was dressed in a white warrior robe, which perfectly entuated her petite figure. Although her figure seemed a little less mature than Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s, she had a more youthful aura. Her powdery-blue hair flowed behind her head, and her big, beautiful eyes seemed like the prettiest gems in the world. As she grinned, Ye Guyi was dazed, even though she had always been one who was confident in her ravishing looks.

    However, she didn¡¯t remain in a daze for too long. Very soon, they vanished in a patch of distorted light.

    Ye Guyi was jolted awake by the aura of necromancy. These undtions, which sickened and disgusted her,sted for a minute or so, until they were finally brought back to the familiar world.

    It was nighttime here as well, but the sky above Radiant City was empty. The huge buildings emitted all sorts of lights. Even though they were still some distance away, they could still easily make out where they were.

    Huo Yuhao was rushing to rescue Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, and thus he couldn¡¯t be bothered with Ye Guyi. He quickly pulled Wang Dong¡¯er as he charged in the direction of Radiant City.

    ¡°Hey! You haven¡¯t exined things to me!¡± Ye Guyi¡¯s figure shed, and she pursued the two of them before intercepting Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao turned grim as he said, ¡°Move away, I need to rescue some people. If you dare to block me, you¡¯ll be my enemy. Although I think your Holy Angel will be very useful to deal with evil soul masters, I won¡¯t hesitate to turn you into a specter, either! Get lost!¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with golden light, and his immense spiritual power surged towards Ye Guyi.

    ¡°You, you¡­why are you so fierce?¡± Ye Guyi was shocked. After all, Huo Yuhao had defeated her once, and left a deep impression on her mind. As she saw how serious and assertive he was right now, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little afraid.

    Huo Yuhao ignored and ran around her as he continued to pull Wang Dong¡¯er along with him. His speed soared as he burst towards Radiant City.

    Ye Guyi stomped her feet in indignation as she watched them leave. However, she still followed them.

    ¡°Hey! Wait for me. I¡¯ll help you rescue your friends! However, you must tell me what¡¯s going on with your evil soul master abilities after we rescue them!¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er chortled and shot a flirtatious nce at Huo Yuhao before saying, ¡°Loosening up to get her under your control. You sure have a way with chasing girls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°We are in such a rush now, but you still have the mood to crack jokes. Help me.¡± As he spoke, his armor flipped up, revealing his left hand. Their Haodong Power started to circte through their bodies via the hand that was holding on to Wang Dong¡¯er. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes also became brighter.

    His vigorous spiritual power shot forward like a sharp sword. At this point, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother hiding his spiritual cultivation anymore. His spiritual strength had reached an extremely high level, and his spiritual power changed into a beam of invisible spiritual light that shot into the distance to observe his surroundings. As he turned his head, he started to scan around.

    Ye Guyi felt the vigorous spiritual power from Huo Yuhao wash past her, and was horrified.

    The demand on her own spiritual power to use her Holy Angel was also very high. This was because her Holy Angel didn¡¯t just rely on the power of light to be stronger, it also relied on the power of belief, as well as the power of purification that was obtained from purifying evil. All these required immense spiritual power to control.

    As a result, Ye Guyi had always been very confident in her spiritual power. However, she now discovered that her spiritual power couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao.His cultivation is obviously only around six rings, but the strength of his spiritual power seems to be boundless and unpredictable. His terrifying spiritual suppression can even exceed that of a Titled Douluo!

    After his quick scan, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t find Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi¡¯s auras. However, he discovered arge number of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops. They were all deployed to the west of Radiant City, and encircling it secretly. There were also several soul engineers equipped with soul tools among these troops. They were moving in an orderly manner, and it was obvious that they were prepared to react to any kind of situation.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and slowly shut his shining golden eyes. A strange glow began to shine on his forehead. His Eye of Destiny opened silently, and a purplish-golden light shot out from it.

    As he fully unleashed his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao also finally revealed one of his soul rings that he usually concealed with his Imitation.

    White, purple, purple, ck, ck. His five soul rings appeared around him.

    Yes, these were the true colors of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings.

    The words that the Skydream Iceworm told him before weren¡¯t exaggerated. His Spirit Eyes were able to be so strong because his soul rings evolved as his spiritual power increased, andter, after he fused with the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual origin

    His first soul ring was a ¡°ten year¡± soul ring, his second and third rings were thousand-year soul rings, and his fourth and fifth soul rings were ten-thousand year soul rings. Among soul masters of the same rank, he was unique.

    Furthermore, his second and third soul rings might even evolve to ten thousand year soul rings as his spiritual power continued to increase.

    Ye Guyi was shocked when she saw his five soul rings.

    What¡¯s going on? Ten year, thousand year, thousand year, ten thousand year, ten thousand year? Is he normal? Aren¡¯t his soul rings supposed to be greyish? Why are they like that now? Which ones are real, and which ones are fake? He¡¯s only a Soul King, but he defeated me even though I¡¯m a Soul Emperor. This, this¡­

    Thispletely contradicted everything Ye Guyi knew about soul masters. Suddenly, she became very curious about Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny Spiritual Detection could cover more than seven kilometers if aimed in a single direction. It was the best that he could manage right now.

    As he scanned the area with his Spiritual Detection, he sensed everything that was happening within the region he scanned¡­

 Chapter 361.2 - Is He a Creator of Miracles?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 361.2: Is He a Creator of Miracles?</h4>

    Finally, he revealed a delighted look on his face.I¡¯ve found them!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Ye Guyi, follow us. Stay no more than ten meters away from us.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Ye Guyi wanted to retort, but Huo Yuhao had already pulled Wang Dong¡¯er along with him as he charged forward. In addition, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body lit up with one yellow, three purple, and two ck soul rings. They were better than what was normally the bestbination possible! Her bluish-gold butterfly wings opened up on her back, and a captivating glow rendered her even more ravishing.

    Hmph! I¡¯m not inferior to her!Ye Guyi unleashed her Holy Angel following the rise in herpetitive spirit. While she was drained in her fight with Huo Yuhao, she hadpletely recovered when she was in the spectral demine. The ce was filled with a spectral aura, but there was also a dense aura of light. However, it didn¡¯t help her recover her soul power.

    As she opened her four angel wings, Ye Guyi fluttered her feathery wings and chased after Huo Yuhao. There were white wings on one side, and bluish-gold wings on the other side. The three of them definitely formed a very dazzling lineup.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops were already watching them from afar. Huo Yuhao lifted his head to peer into the sky. With his vision, he had already located a few surveince soul tools in the sky.

    A cold smile appeared on his lips. While these surveince soul tools were effective against most people, they might not be effective against him.

    A strangeyer of spiritual undtions rippled from his body. Ye Guyi only saw his first, white soul ring shining before the light around them started to bend.

    She was also inside, and thus she couldn¡¯t see what changes were happening to her body. The only feeling that she got was that the light that both she and Wang Dong¡¯er emitted dimmed down before it disappeared. Their surroundings also turned pitch-ck. However, she could still see the bluish-gold from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wings. She became very curious as she witnessed this strange scene urring.

    However, she was astonished at the next moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s gentle spiritual power was transmitted over. As she thought he was trying to connect with her, she naturally epted his spiritual power. However, Ye Guyi opened her eyes wide in shock following this.

    Everything around her became very clear in her mind. She could tell what was going for several square kilometers around her. She almost shouted out loud when she realized she had an all-around view of her surroundings.

    Spiritual power can be used in this way? Isn¡¯t he an evil soul master? However, I can¡¯t feel any evil aura from him now. On the contrary, there¡¯s a very thick aura of light. What¡¯s with this guy?

    Ye Guyi followed Huo Yuhao tightly as the questions piled up in her mind. Through his Spiritual Detection, he told her to follow him closely.

    Very soon, the three of them got close to the troops who were stationed to the west of Radiant City.

    Ye Guyi started to get a little nervous. Although the three of them were very strong, they were still outnumbered! Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military would still have some soul engineers, even if there was no real soul engineering team around.

    They were trying to make their way into Radiant City. If they were discovered, they would be surrounded.This guy doesn¡¯t seem like an idiot, why is he doing something as foolish as this?

    However, she was shocked once again even before her doubts were answered.

    The soldiers didn¡¯t seem to notice them at all. They didn¡¯t react even though the three of them were getting closer and closer.

    In fact, the soldiers weren¡¯t able to see them at all!

    Huo Yuhao had used his Imitation to hide from others on several asions. It was even more effective at night. Unless one really tried to sense his aura, they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect him using the naked eye. In addition, only soul masters that were superior in cultivation to him and certain special soul beasts would be able to sense his aura while he was concealed this way.

    They were able to charge past the troops into Radiant City openly!

    Ye Guyi stopped trying to guess what Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were shortly thereafter. It was because she was more astonished by the dpidated buildings and walls in front of her.

    As she looked at several of the copsed building in front of her, as well as the fissures on the ground that snaked around everywhere, Ye Guyi couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Is this really Radiant City? Why has it be like this?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Huo Yuhao transmitted this message to her through his spiritual power.

    His Imitation couldn¡¯t iste sound!Is she trying to tell the troops where we are?

    Ye Guyi also realized her mistake, but she was still dissatisfied as she snorted at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Am I supposed to shut up just because you want me to?¡± While she was speaking again, she tried her best to lower her volume.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have time to bother with her. Right now, he could sense that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were in a crisis. He quickened his footsteps and burst forward.

    He didn¡¯t choose to fly because he understood soul tools very well. The aerial surveince soul tools in the air had very simple structures, as they were veryrge, and yet needed to remain in the air. However, the anti-air soul tools on the ground were different. He couldn¡¯t hide from them even with his Imitation. The anti-air soul tools were aided by soul power detection soul tools. No matter what, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly conceal his soul power undtionspletely. Once they were discovered, they couldn¡¯t possibly handle the barrage of attacks that would be unleashed against them.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were indeed in a disastrous situation right now. They had been surrounded by their enemies.

    A bunch of soul engineers that had them surrounded. These soul engineers weren¡¯t individually strong, the highest-ranked among them was only a ss 5 soul engineer. However, they had strength in numbers.

    At least forty soul engineers had formed a loose circle, trapping the two of them.

    The soul tools that were used were mainly ss 3 or ss 4. However, they were mainly used for rapid and long-range attacks. There were many rapid-fire cannons and explosive bombs that were targeting Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. They weren¡¯t given the opportunity to catch their breath.

    The fighting strength of soul engineers would greatly increase after they achieved a certain numerical advantage. That was what was happening with this bunch of soul engineers. They were from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineering legion, and had great chemistry with one another. The soul tools that they used only exhausted their soul power, and didn¡¯t drain any other resources.

    If Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had been at their peak condition, they wouldn¡¯t find it a problem to fight their way out.

    However, the two of them were critically injured during the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Academy. Although they had received treatment in time, they were still far from fully recovered. After a series of fights, their injuries had rpsed. At this point, Xu Sanshi was using his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle to protect Bei Bei. He tried to charge his way out a few times, but he was forced to retreat on every asion.

    Furthermore, a shing red light silently appeared in the sky at this point. This ball of light very quickly locked onto Xu Sanshi.

    It was an Eye of Fear!

    Even though they weren¡¯t soul engineers, Bei Bei and He Caitou recognized what it was. During the tournament, He Caitou used an Eye of Fear to create many opportunities for their team to beat their opponents.

    However, they were the ones who were going to suffer from the wrath of this Eye of Fear right now. It wasn¡¯t a good feeling to be on the wrong side this time.

    ¡°Bei Bei, I didn¡¯t expect to die with you here. I¡¯ll fight all the way with them. Later, try to break out on your own when I unleash my full abilities. I can¡¯t take care of her anymore. Ask her to find a good guy and marry him,¡± Xu Sanshi said to Bei Bei without any hesitation.

    Bei Bei was flustered and exasperated as he said, ¡°Nonsense! I don¡¯t think you can help me escape with yourcking abilities. I think you should get out of here. You¡¯re more likely to escape with that turtle shell you¡¯ve got. I¡¯m more explosive than you.¡± In the face of this crisis, he was less refined than he normally was.

    Xu Sanshi was furious. ¡°Cut the crap! Anyway, Nannan has always nursed a grievance against me. She won¡¯t be too sad even if I die. You are different from me. You still have to save Xiao Ya! What will she do without you? Go on, get the Hell out of here! That Eye of Fear is about to finish charging.¡±

    As he spoke, he gave Bei Bei a forceful push.

    However, Bei Bei¡¯s body shone with blinding golden light at this point. A sonorous dragon roar reverberated through the nine heavens. It was a sign that meant the Radiant Holy Dragon was about to be unleashed.

    Bei Bei hadn¡¯t tapped into the abilities of his Radiant Holy Dragon earlier even though he was facing formidable enemies, due to his injuries. However, it was evident that he was going all-out by unleashing it now.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes were red as he red at Bei Bei. However, Bei Bei now appeared very calm and refined. He was smiling as he looked at Xu Sanshi. The golden bolts of lightning that surged around him started to gradually turn into a light fog. Everything within a region of several tens of square meters turned a blinding gold. In a matter of seconds, lightning shed within this region, which seemed to have transformed into a special world. The golden glow around Bei Bei started tobust like mes!

    He was burning his life energy to increase the strength of his soul power! His Radiant Holy Dragon was strong enough to increase his fighting strength significantly. By sacrificing his life energy, he made his fighting strength even more terrifying.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes had already turned red. He wanted to stop Bei Bei, but he was flung far away by a strong bolt of golden lightning!

 Chapter 361.3 - Is He a Creator of Miracles?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 361.3: Is He a Creator of Miracles?</h4>

    Bei Bei smiled as he waved at him. He pointed toward the west before pointing to the inside of Radiant City. After that, he waved to him again.

    Xu Sanshi had known him for years, and thus he naturally knew what Bei Bei was telling him. He was asking him to escape first, and save Tang Ya in the future.

    Xu Sanshi suddenly shouted hysterically at the top of his voice as he red at Bei Bei. ¡°Bei Bei, you homo. Now I know you truly love me!¡±

    Bei Bei wanted to say something, but he chose to turn around and ignore him.

    At this point, the red light shing from the Eye of Fear in the sky suddenly dimmed. A tragic scream sounded from afar, and a ball of bloody light shot into the sky.

    The bloody light, which was a mixture of red and white, scattered, and the Eye of Fear shook a little before it fell from the sky.

    The surrounding temperature started to fall significantly. Snowkes started to drift in the air as the temperature dipped. The soul engineers didn¡¯t even have time to react before they realized that their bodies were starting to freeze.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned. However, he was then delighted. He shouted at Bei Bei, ¡°Little Junior is here! It¡¯s Little Junior! Homo, quickly retract your powers! I¡¯ll follow you if you dare to die!¡±

    At this point, Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but tear up, even though he was normally a very proud and resilient person.

    Yes! Huo Yuhao is here!

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was so cold that he seemed like a devil king from Hell. Purplish-gold light shot out from his eyes. The spiritual undtions he released were very pure! However, they also seemed to have materialized. It was like two sharp, purplish-gold des had shot out from his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely terrifying in such a state. The little Snow Lady had already silently appeared behind him. She sped her hands, her index and ring fingers slightly bent. She formed a weird hand gesture before a blizzard started to rage forth from her body.

    Yes, it was the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, formed from abination of the third ultimate technique of the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques, the Empress¡¯ Chill, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice!

    The terrifying blizzard raged as Huo Yuhao charged his way in.

    When Bei Bei¡¯s began to burn his life force, Huo Yuhao almost went crazy.

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t just his eldest senior, but also his elder brother. He was even a father figure to Huo Yuhao! No one could rece Bei Bei in his heart. Seeing that his eldest senior had been forced to such a state, Huo Yuhao went entirely bonkers.

    The bloody light that had scattered earlier was in fact the brain matter of a ss 7 soul engineer.

    He was also the one controlling the Eye of Fear!

    Huo Yuhao managed to locate him using his immense spiritual power. After his spiritual cultivation reached the concrete-immaterial realm, this was his first time unleashing his Spiritual Shock using his Eye of Destiny with all his strength.

    Although the individual fighting strength and spiritual power of a ss 7 soul engineer was inferior to that of a seven-ringed Soul Sage, they were still considered very powerful. However, this ss 7 soul engineer¡¯s head was instantly blown apart by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, just like that.

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was unleashed using the Haodong Power, and it immediately covered a three-hundred meter area!

    The rest of the soul engineers that had dispersed were all instantly engulfed by the blizzard.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with purplish-gold light once again. Bei Bei groaned, and the golden lights around his body started to scatter. The golden mes on his body also went out. His eyes closed, and he copsed to the ground.

    Once someone started to burn their life force, there was no way they could stop it themselves. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to strike him with his Spiritual Shock to stop him from burning more of his life force!

    With Bei Bei¡¯s cultivation and thebustion of his Holy Radiant Dragon earlier, even an eight-ringed Soul Douluo couldn¡¯t possibly stop him. Huo Yuhao could only do so using his spiritual power. Even though Bei Bei was hurt, his life was still preserved!

    Huo Yuhao charged towards Bei Bei. Wang Dong¡¯er mimicked a pressing action on Bei Bei¡¯s back, and the Golden Fire from her soul bone started to surround Bei Bei. He was temporarily shielded from the aura of Ultimate Ice as a result of this.

    ¡°I¡¯m freezing to death! Yuhao, I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s tragic screams sounded from behind them.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Bei Bei¡¯s life had been preserved. He quickly removed his domain and let go of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand. He rushed to support Xu Sanshi, who was staggering.

    Even though he was only in the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice for a short period of time, Xu Sanshi had already turned pale.

    Although the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had been bothering him, it had also enabled him to fully unleash the strength of his Ultimate Ice. At the same time, the little Snow Lady was slowly evolving. Although Huo Yuhao was still a Soul King, his fighting strength was increasing significantly.

    The biggest problem with the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was its all-around, indiscriminate attack. At least, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s current abilities, he still couldn¡¯t control the strength of this domain effectively. He was unleashing the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, not the fusion skill that both he and Wang Dong¡¯er possessed.

    Huo Yuhao bent down and lifted Xu Sanshi onto his back. He felt very fortunate right now.Fortunately, I created this human-shaped soul tool earlier. I¡¯m getting some good use out of it now. If I hadn¡¯t made it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to save the two of them now!

    Huo Yuhao returned to Bei Bei¡¯s side after he lifted Xu Sanshi up on his back. He used both his hands to carry Bei Bei and twisted his lips at Wang Dong¡¯er before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ye Guyi was also shivering right now. When she saw the little Snow Lady appear, followed by the terrifying domain, she waspletely speechless. She thought that Huo Yuhao was a freak. In addition, she could clearly see Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings experiencing changes as he unleashed his domain. Four turned orange-gold, while one turned red.Is he still a soul master? Is he even human?

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a mood tofort the shaken Ye Guyi. Under Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s protection, he turned around and rushed westward. He unleashed his Imitation again, distorting the light around them, and they vanished into their surroundings.

    ¡°Get over here, quick. What are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at Ye Guyi.

    At this point, Ye Guyi was quite some distance away from Huo Yuhao. Earlier, she had used her Holy Angel to resist the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. She now watched as Huo Yuhao and the rest vanished before her eyes. She opened her eyes wide.

    He¡¯s actually able to cloak everyone. No wonder the troops couldn¡¯t discover us earlier. No wonder he wants me to stay within ten meters of him!

    Under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, Ye Guyi quickly rushed up to them. She shielded him from the side opposite Wang Dong¡¯er as they charged westward.

    The aerial surveince soul tools in the air had already discovered the tremendous changes that had happened on the ground. Deafening rms started to ring out.

    Several figures appeared in the air after several seconds. The truly strong individuals of the Sun Moon Empire had arrived!

    However, their expressions changed when they saw the ice sculptures below.

    With the help of Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice managed to reach the level of a Soul Sage. It was Ultimate Ice that was equivalent to the strength of a Soul Sage! How could those ss 4 and 5 soul engineers possibly resist it?

    As a result, they lost their lives when they were frozen. Even their soul tools were covered in frost.

    ¡°Where are they?¡± an elder asked a Soul Sage that was in charge of controlling the surveince soul tools.

    ¡°They are missing. Mo Zha rushed here just now, but his head was blown apart by some special force.¡± Mo Zha was the Soul Sage who had controlled the Eye of Fear earlier. This soul engineer who controlled the surveince soul tools was also a Soul Sage. Right now, he looked very dismal. His abilities were very simr to Mo Zha¡¯s. If Mo Zha couldn¡¯t resist that force, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do so either! If not for the fact that the elder was a ss 8 soul engineer, he wouldn¡¯t dare to be here at all!

    ¡°Increase the detection range and use the soul power detectors. I don¡¯t believe they can escape! They must be using some ability to cloak themselves!¡± the ss 8 soul engineer shouted.

    The unsettled ss 7 soul engineer nodded and immediately retrieved a huge soul tool from his storage-type soul tool.

    He carried that soul tool on his back. It looked like a huge box. As he poured his soul power into it, intense soul power undtions started to rise. Following this, a thick metallic object started to rise from the box. After rising up one and a half meters, the top of the box cracked open and formed an umbre shape. A total of seven metal frames around the metallic umbre started to gather in the center towards a specific point.

    Soul power undtions were released, and the soul tool started to scan the ground around it.

    It was a ss 6 soul power detector. It required the soul power of a seven-ringed Soul Sage to be used continuously over arge area. In addition, it couldn¡¯t be too far from the ground, so it was not to a high-altitude soul tool.

    However, just as he started activating this soul power detector, several bursts of sparks started toe from it. He and the other soul engineers around him were given a scare.

    They all looked down subconsciously. A terrifying, freezing tornado raged below them!

 Chapter 362.1 - Great Adventure of Sincerity!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 362.1: Great Adventure of Sincerity!</h4>

    Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­

    Intense booms erupted in a circle and mixed with the icy mist that had just exploded before they merged into an enormous tornado that rocketed into the sky.

    This explosion was simply too frightening, as if the apocalyptic explosion that had just urred in Radiant City was descending upon the city once more. Terrifying soul power undtions pushed the soul power detector to its limits, and it detonated with a protesting crack of metal. The soul engineers hurriedly soared into the sky, and even then, the extreme chilling from beneath them made them shiver all over.

    This horrifying and tremendous explosion covered everything within one thousand meters on the ground, and some structures that were still standing were instantly blown to smithereens.

    Fortunately, the soldiers and citizens in the region had already scattered, and not many lives were lost. However, this frightening explosion¡¯s force and impact was clearly simr to that of a Titled Douluo¡¯s all-out attack.

    Huo Yuhao was meticulous and cautious. The more dangerous the situation, the calmer he was, and his judgments would still be urate even if there were emotions stirring up his heart.

    Huo Yuhao had predicted that they would attract their enemies¡¯ attention when he hid with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi once more, and this was the reason why he opted to unleash his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice even though it would affect Xu Sanshi at the same time. Otherwise, with the strength that he would have had if he had teamed up with Wang Dong¡¯er to unleash Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest, every single soul engineer on the scene would also have been eliminated.

    The soul engineers that had been frozen into ice statues became Huo Yuhao¡¯s timed explosive bombs forter, and his left hand was the most important entity that controlled these explosives and their detonations.

    Ice Explosion was known as a godly skill of Ultimate Ice, and that im wasn¡¯t without substance. With the proper prerequisites met, Huo Yuhao could be even more frightening than seven-ringed and eight-ringed soul masters inrger battles like this.

    This was the oue even when Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t used his hands to activate Ice Explosion and detonate the soul power within these soul engineers¡¯ bodies directly. Otherwise, this explosion would have covered far more than just a kilometer; it¡¯s impact would probably have reached the various soul engineers in the sky!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was cold and solemn as they soared through the air. He was carrying Bei Bei in his arms, Xu Sanshi on his back, and his heart was full of peace and tranquility at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even look back when the deafening explosion erupted behind him. The huge army in front of them was shifting around, so Huo Yuhao and the others changed directions a little before they ran through the cracks between those soldiers, while Wang Dong¡¯er and Ye Guyi followed behind him.

    Bei Bei¡¯s breathing was weak, but his condition was stable, and all his vitals were normal. Xu Sanshi¡¯s breathing had be a lot more regr and normal after he took some time to rest and adjust himself.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s personal guards who had jumped off the cliff for him before this. He suddenly understood why so many men chose to be soldiers, as only on the battlefield could they have that feeling where they were together in both life and in death, and only then could they feel the honor and glory of being valiant warriors.

    There had been a thought in his mind, and it was just a thought, but it grew and gestated like a seedling from the bottom of his heart. He had made up his mind.

    The three of them finally broke free from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s encirclement by zipping in between the gaps between the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army units with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, which was shared with the others, and his Imitation were the most important reasons why they could escape so easily.

    There were some nds in front of them, but Huo Yuhao chose to stop in his tracks at this moment. He frowned faintly, and turned towards Ye Guyi with an awkward look on his face as he said, ¡°Ye Guyi, this ce is considered safe for now. But if we continue towards the west, we will run into another kind of danger. We have to continue forward, but you don¡¯t have to. I can tell you everything about us now.

    ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, and she is Wang Dong¡¯er.. She¡¯s my girlfriend, and she¡¯s also from the inner courtyard. I don¡¯t have time to exin my abilities to you for now. You should know the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s connection to the Holy Ghost Church, and you have also seen how powerful they are. There¡¯s no way for us to fight them by ourselves with our strength. If you are willing, you can join Shrek Academy: the academy¡¯s doors will always be open to you, and your Angel should be enough for the inner courtyard to make an exception to take you in.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er nced at Huo Yuhao and gently touched his arm. Huo Yuhao had just introduced her to another pretty girl as his girlfriend, which proved how sweet he was to her.

    Ye Guyi was taken aback when Huo Yuhao mentioned that he was from Shrek Academy. She knew of Shrek Academy, of course; as the number-one Academy on the continent, there were probably not many who didn¡¯t know it.No wonder! No wonder he has so many strange abilities. He¡¯s actually from Shrek Academy!

    They hadn¡¯t known each other for very long, but for some reason, Ye Guyi had an indescribable faith in Huo Yuhai¡­ perhaps because Huo Yuhao had the chance to kill her a long time ago, but he didn¡¯t do it.

    ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Ye Guyi answered with a subtle frown.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t force you. But I believe that we will be allies in the future, since we share the same enemies.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was still conscious, and right at this moment, the in voice that had already traumatized them a little rang out once more in their ears.

    ¡°You have passed this Deep Adventure. The second test has been narrowlypleted, so everyone can proceed to the third round ¨C Sincerity Adventure. You may return.¡±

    Four faint gold and silver beams of light rose up from their bodies at the same time. Ye Guyi looked on with widened eyes and a ck jaw as all four of them vanished right before her eyes in an instant. Her body also drifted out from under the influence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation.

    Ye Guyi patted herself on the forehead. Her mind was already numb, as Huo Yuhao had given her too many shocks and surprises, to the point where she had gotten used to it.

    Should I go to Shrek Academy? I¡¯ll think about that after I leave this ce. I¡¯ll circle around since I can¡¯t travel to the west.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Golden rays shed by one after another as the virtual world that they were in reverted to reality.

    Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Bei Bei, and Xu Sanshi appeared one after another in an entirely new environment.

    They seemed to be inside an enormous courtyard. The courtyard¡¯s boundaries couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye, and there was a golden sun and a silver moon hanging in the sky to show that they were still under the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡¯s control.

    Four gold and silver beams surged from beneath their feet. However, these rays of light were no longer arresting their strengths and abilities. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that the soul power and spiritual power he had expended before this were being restored with incredible speed, and even the faint fatigue in his body vanished under the warm radiance.

    Bei Bei¡¯s reaction was the most conspicuous one. His body drifted away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands, and was gradually straightened while a dense mist nourished his body continuously.

    Huo Yuhao could tell at this point that everyone else who had disappeared before had reappeared in this ce, except they didn¡¯t have mist around their bodies. Everyone was standing around in a circle, and everyone had a dome over them, as if they were trapped and couldn¡¯t leave.

    Everyone heaved deep sighs of relief as Huo Yuhao and the three others appeared before them, with the exception of Zhang Lexuan. Her pretty eyes flowed with worry and anxiety when she saw that Bei Bei was still unconscious.

    Xu Sanshi was the first to recover from his weakened state. He realized to his surprise that not only had his body recovered, but the old injuries that he had sustained from the tournament had also been healed. The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley did have its mysterious and miraculous characteristics!

    Bei Bei finally regained consciousness after a little while. He opened his eyes and saw everyone around him, and he understood that he had passed the previous test. He turned around towards Huo Yuhao and squinted at him. Bei Bei didn¡¯t seem like he had just returned from the edge of death at all, and his ssic schrly disposition and his faint, amiable smile returned to him once more. His eyes unintentionally met the anxious look in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s eyes, and his expression froze a little. However, his eyes only carried a little more awkwardness, as if everything had be a little moreplicated.

    ¡°Congrattions on passing your second test. After this, you will proceed to thest test ¨C Sincerity Adventure. If you can pass this test, you can leave, and you will be rewarded with something at my discretion.

    ¡°The Sincerity Adventure doesn¡¯t have any limits or boundaries to what it may entail. Some of you may find your task easy, while others may find theirs exceptionally difficult. Everyone will face a different test. You will begin now.¡±

    The borderless golden courtyard began to tremble violently as that strange and peculiar voice rang out once more. All kinds of scenery glimmered into view, and every single one that was either familiar or novel rotated back and forth in the sky. Every scene that shed and flowed by would produce waves of intense suction force.

    Finally, golden beamsnded on all thirteen people in the courtyard. They had no chance to resist those light beams at all, and everyone was taken away by those golden beams, one after another, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. He sensed the space that was twisting and contorting around him and it made him dizzy, but he tried his best to regain hisposure as much as possible.

    Huo Yuhao had now had his first experience in actual war after two Deep Adventures, and both episodes gave him a whole new perspective on everything. These experiences would be valuable for his growth if he could safely exit the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡­

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled, and he felt as if he were standing on solid ground once more. He knew from his past experiences that he had arrived at the location where he was supposed to face his third test.

    However, he was a little confused when he opened his eyes, because the environment he was standing in now appeared exactly the same as it was before this. He was still inside a boundless golden courtyard; the only difference was that there was someone standing roughly ten meters away from him. This person was covered in faint bluish-golden light, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see him clearly at all.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s instincts told him that this person was a man!

 Chapter 362.2 - Great Adventure of Sincerity!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 362.2: Great Adventure of Sincerity!</h4>

    ¡°Hello, who are you? What¡¯s my third test?¡± Huo Yuhao asked calmly. Golden light flickered in his eyes as he spoke, and he immediatelyunched Spiritual Detection at this person.

    An encounter with a stranger in such a wide and open space meant this stranger was far more likely to be an enemy than a friend.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils began to contract in the next moment, because he realized to his surprise that his spiritual power couldn¡¯t sense this person¡¯s existence. He felt as if this person was formed from air. His Spiritual Detection reached over, but he wasn¡¯t blocked¡­ Instead, he couldn¡¯t feel anything at all¡­

    Uh¡­

    This was the first time he had ever felt something like this since he had gained the use of Spiritual Detection.This person is?¡­

    ¡°Is Huo Yuhao your name?¡± a calm and melodious man¡¯s voice travelled into his ears. The man¡¯s voice was a little surreal and dreamy, but he sounded warm and amiable.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao gave a simple answer. He began to channel his soul power at the same time so that he could keep himself in his peak condition, while his Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead. This unknown enemy was frightening, but Huo Yuhao could tell from his experience with the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡¯s previous two tests that no matter how peculiar and mysterious this ce was, the valley wouldn¡¯t give him a task that was actually impossible toplete.

    ¡°Do you want to know who I am? Do you want to know what your third test, Sincerity Adventure, is about?¡± The man¡¯s melodious voice sounded a little amused.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao continued to give simple answers.

    ¡°First, I will tell you that I¡¯m not the task for your third test. However, you have to fight me if you wish to continue to take your third test. Try everything you can to beat me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to find himself in such a situation. The man didn¡¯t exin anything at all; he only talked about fighting.

    Is this part of the third test? Or perhaps only a preface?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t get much time to think before the figure opposite him suddenly moved. He felt like a bluish-golden shadow had instantly appeared before him and pushed out a palm in his direction.

    This shadow didn¡¯t have any special aura, but Huo Yuhao realized that he felt weak and unable to do anything when this bluish-golden shadow appeared. He was at a loss and disoriented, and he didn¡¯t know what he had to use to fight back against his opponent, because the man was like a ball of air, as if he didn¡¯t exist at all.

    The shadow¡¯s flickering bluish-golden palm urately nted itself onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. In the next moment, Huo Yuhao felt a terrifying aura that pierced all the way into his heart and bones exploded inside his chest.

    In that moment, he could clearly hear all the bones in his body crackling like fireworks¡­ the sound was horrifying!¡­

    Hopelessness and death were all that was left.

    Huo Yuhao transformed into a blizzard of blood and flesh that scattered in all directions.

    However, pure white light suddenly erupted from where Huo Yuhao was originally standing at this moment. This white light transformed into a small sevenyered pagoda, which it rotated rapidly in midair before sucking Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit inside. This pagoda trembled violently, as if it were trying to struggle out of this space.

    ¡°Eh? That¡¯s interesting. You possess a strength thates from a different dimension. He¡¯s quite a good teacher¡­ what a pity,¡± The same calm voice sounded a little surprised, and anotheryer of bluish-golden light bore down from the sky in the next moment.

    The white pagoda instantly shattered, and a strange scene urred afterwards. Uncountable specks of light swiftly congregated, and Huo Yuhao reappeared in this vast courtyard after he had been shattered into pieces by that single palm strike, as if nothing had happened at all.

    Huo Yuhao died, his spirit was pulled back together, and he returned to life. That feeling of his body being broken into pieces and reassembled was deeply imprinted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul, and he experienced death, hopelessness, and extreme pain within those few short seconds.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely lifeless and sluggish when his body reformed. However, his human-shaped soul tool that he had put in so much effort into crafting wasn¡¯t with him. Instead, it had been reassembled beside him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you use your legs for now.¡± That calm voice appeared once more, and Huo Yuhao realized afterwards that the Ultimate Ice origin energy of heaven and earth in his body seemed to have disappeared. He could suddenly feel his legs again.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used his own legs to walk since he came back from the Setting Sun Forest¡¯s Icefire Yin Yang Well. He wasn¡¯t very used to suddenly being able to move once more, but he was still quite delighted.

    However, the same shadow that flickered with bluish-golden light appeared before him once more immediately afterwards.

    Huo Yuhao went through the exact same experience as before. His body was blown to smithereens, and his spirit drifted for a moment before he was reassembled again.

    ¡°I¡¯m very disappointed in you. Have you lost even the courage to fight?¡± There was a little reproach in that calm and melodious voice now.

    Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless. At this point, his body was normal, but his face was ghastly pale. He had gone from life to death and back to life, and it wasn¡¯t possible for his mentality to be normal and stable after all that.

    The bluish-golden shadow didn¡¯t attack him anymore. He ced his hands behind his back and just stood there quietly.

    It took Huo Yuhao several full minutes before he managed to stabilize and regte his breathing, and his intensely beating heart settled down as well. He stared at this opponent that he couldn¡¯t possibly defeat as he suddenly gritted his teeth and bolted forward. Soul power circted within his body as he attempted to unleash his Goddess of Light.

    But Huo Yuhao instantly discovered that he couldn¡¯t focus his spiritual power at all, let alone fuse it with his soul power. He couldn¡¯t even unleash a normal soul skill when he reached his opponent, let alone his self-invented soul skills. The only thing he couldsh out with was his fists.

    The man waved his right hand, sweeping it onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as if he were swatting a fly. Huo Yuhao instantly crumbled to dust before he was reassembled once more.

    The bluish-golden figure was still standing there, motionless.

    Huo Yuhao grit his teeth tightly. His opponent was frighteningly powerful, and had even restrained and arrested Huo Yuhao¡¯s own abilities. How could he possibly defeat someone like this? How could he win? The agony of death and the insidiousness of being reborn, in addition to his spirit¡¯s vigorous ripples, dealt a heavy blow to his mind. Everything was just incredibly upsetting.

    He wanted to call the Little Snow Lady. He wanted to summon the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress. However, he couldn¡¯t establish any connection with his spiritual sea at all. The only thing he could rely on at this point seemed to be his own physical strength and pure soul power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing gradually stabilized once more. He recovered a little faster than the previous time, but he no longer rushed blindly at his adversary. Instead, his brain worked rapidly as he sought to find a solution.

    I can¡¯t beat him. If I can¡¯t beat him, can I run?

    This thought had just appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head when he turned to run, and he began to race away from the shadowy figure as fast as he could.

    However, he only took three steps before a palm pped against his body once more, and he went through the same pain and suffering again.

    Huo Yuhao was reborn once more, and was panting vigorously while all that agony lingered in his mind.

    No, not like this. I can¡¯t run. Then what should I do? I can¡¯t run, and I can¡¯t defeat him. I can¡¯t even die! Does that mean I have to grind it out with him right here?

    No, that¡¯s not right. There must be a solution. The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley wouldn¡¯t give me an impossible task.

    Huo Yuhao calmed himself once more before he started to ponder and think. He couldn¡¯t run, and that meant he had to face this challenge head-on.Right, what did he just say before this?

    He asked whether I still had the courage to fight. Does that mean that this round is testing my courage?

    Huo Yuhao suddenly raised his head as his train of thought stopped here. He stared vigorously at the bluish-golden figure in front of him, and then rocketed at his opponent once more.

    This time, Huo Yuhao had learned his lesson from his previous attempt, and was no longer affected by his inability to use soul skills. He mustered his soul power into his hands, and used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at the same time. Just as he was about to rush right in front of his opponent, he suddenly sidestepped in a sh and shed at the bluish-golden figure¡¯s waist with his hand.

    His opponent was incredibly quick. He pressed down with his right hand and pped Huo Yuhao with his right hand, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm instantly vanished. The bluish-golden shadow kicked out and stomped Huo Yuhao in the chest, and he erupted into dust and particles once more.

    Huo Yuhao went through another round of rebirth, heavy panting, pain, and contemtion.

    He used two hits before he killed me this time. Then, what about the next round?

    Huo Yuhao darted forward yet again. He was stuck in this boundless courtyard, and was up against an invincible opponent. He knew that his only choice was to fight.!

    The agony of death and rebirth seemed a little fainter than before, and wasn¡¯t so intense anymore. Therefore, Huo Yuhao recovered in the blink of an eye this time. He immediately charged at the bluish-golden figure once he recovered.

    Huo Yuhao could only use his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Jade Hands, and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon as he gave everything he had to assault his opponent.

    As Huo Yuhao fought with his unknown adversary, everyone else started their respective rounds as well.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Golden light shed, and Dai Huabin was surprised to realize that he was now inside a vast forest. He was surrounded by nts he was a little unfamiliar with.

    Tall trees seemed to pierce right through the clouds; Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t even see beyond the treetops, they were so huge. The atmosphere around him felt a little eerie, and even the colors of the vegetation here were a little gloomy and ghostly.

    Dai Huabin unleashed his martial soul, the White Tiger, as he surveyed his surroundings warily.Where is this ce? What¡¯s this Sincerity Adventure about?

    Right at this moment, an agonizing howl could be heard from not too far away.

    ¡°Lu Lu!¡± Dai Huabin could no longer keep his cool when he heard this voice, and he raced in the direction this cry came from without hesitation. That voice belonged to Zhu Lu; he had been together with Zhu Lu for a long time, and they were thus very familiar with all those small details about one another.

 Chapter 362.3 - Great Adventure of Sincerity!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 362.3: Great Adventure of Sincerity!</h4>

    Dai Huabin charged through the vegetation before witnessing a terrifying sight; an enormous centipede was assaulting Zhu Lu!

    This centipede was more than three meters long, with uncountable legs. It was jade-green in color, and emanated a dark green toxic gas. Dai Huabin was still quite a distance away, but he could already smell a waft of its rotting stench.

    Zhu Lu was using her agile hands against this giant centipede, but there was a gash extending all the way down from her pretty cheeks and across her entire right arm. Her right arm was hanging limply by her side, and it was evident that she had cried out in pain because of this wound.

    Even though Dai Huabin had never seen this kind of soul beast before, his eyes became bloodshot when he realized that Zhu Lu was injured, and he unleashed a tiger¡¯s roar into the sky.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s five soul rings rose up in an instant, while his already muscr body began to grow and expand. He was still rtively far away, so he opened his mouth as his second soul ring sparkled and fired a white beam of light towards that centipede.

    The centipede looked very peculiar. It was like a tough spring, and suddenly spun around when it felt the threating from not too far away. It actually used its head to block Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.

    White light was deflected in all directions, but the centipede was only knocked sideways slightly. Its body twisted and meandered as the lower half of its body bounced lightly against the ground, before itunched itself towards Zhu Lu again. The centipede was obviously more interested in Zhu Lu than in Dai Huabin.

    Dai Huabin was charging forward at full speed at this point, and he used his first, third, and fifth soul rings without any hesitation.

    Those soul rings gave him his White Tiger¡¯s Shield, White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation. These three soul skills were typically used together, and were the signature moves of the White Tiger lineage.

    Dai Huabin transformed into an exceptionally muscr and burly giant more than two and a half meters tall. His entire body was covered in white fur, which radiated eye-catching color as his tiger ws protruded like razor-sharp des. Dai Huabin raised his speed and strength to the highest possible level as he arrived beside Zhu Lu in a sh. He swung his tiger ws powerfully at the giant centipede.

    The centipede opened its mouth, and a dense and dark green venomous fog erupted from its jaws. This fog sprayed onto Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger Shield, and sizzling sounds could be heard. Dai Huabin could feel his soul power being consumed at an exponentially faster rate than before.

    However, his ws struck the centipede¡¯s body as well! This time, the centipede didn¡¯t have an easy time dealing with Dai Huabin¡¯s attack.

    Dai Huabin felt as if he had shed into a thick and sturdy metal rod. The centipede was remarkably stic, and it bolted swiftly into the air, but Dai Huabin¡¯s sharp ws left several deep gashes behind on its tough body.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s fourth soul ring lit up at this moment, and uncountable light rays instantly rained down on the centipede.

    In terms of connecting soul skills, Dai Huabin lived up to his reputation as one of Shrek Academy¡¯s elites. How could anybody who could enter Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard be a subpar fighter?

    Dai Huabin looked back at Zhu Lu as he attacked the centipede and asked, ¡°How are you feeling, Lu Lu?¡±

    Zhu Lu was clearly very relieved when she saw him. Her delicate frame swayed a little as she sat down on the ground. ¡°I think I¡¯ve been poisoned. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill it first, before I help you treat your wounds.¡± Dai Huabin roared angrily once more. Zhu Lu being injured gave him a massive heartache, and this was especially true after he had determined his true feelings for Zhu Lu earlier today.

    Dai Huabin unleashed his full strength, and his body sprang into the air. He arrived before the giant centipede in almost the same instant as he stretched out his tiger ws andunched lightning-fast attacks upon it.

    The centipede was quite formidable. Its body was three meters long, and was its strongest weapon, every single leg was like a sharp de.

    Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t be bothered with any tricks and techniques because he wanted to save Zhu Lu as quickly as possible. He relied on the effects of his White Tiger¡¯s three amplification soul skills stacking to fight force with force!

    Shrill shing sounds rang out again and again as more and more wounds appeared on the enormous centipede¡¯s body. Dai Huabin¡¯s white fur and his White Tiger¡¯s Shield became his most effective defensive abilities, and he continued fighting force with force just like that. Even though he was expending soul power at an rming rate, he didn¡¯t seem like he was injured at all.

    Dai Huabin smashed the giant centipede once more, sending it flying. The enormous centipede was already wounded all over, and it seemed to realize that it had lost. It arched and bounced back to its feet before escaping rapidly into the distance.

    Dai Huabin couldn¡¯t be bothered with chasing it; he immediately returned to Zhu Lu¡¯s side.

    Zhu Lu was almost unconscious at this point. Dai Huabin only realized how serious her injuries were when he knelt down beside her.

    The giant centipede¡¯s venom was extremely intense. ck streaks webbed all over her body, and this was especially true for her facial wound and the gash down her right arm. Her skin was starting to smell of rot, and even her flesh and the muscles beneath her skin had be ck. Zhu Lu¡¯s soul power could only prevent the toxins from reaching her brain and heart. But even so, it didn¡¯t seem like she could hold those toxins off any longer.

    What should I do?Dai Huabin¡¯s fighting strength was formidable enough, but he wasn¡¯t any good at first aid or treating wounds! Dai Huabin almost ground his teeth down as he watched Zhu Lu in the state she was in.

    ¡°Hold on, Lu Lu.¡± Dai Huabin growled as he suddenly raised his right hand and sliced off the flesh and skin around the wound on Zhu Lu¡¯s right arm. His other hand swiftly transformed back into a human arm, and he helped her seal her blood vessels to prevent her from losing too much blood.

    However, Dai Huabin drew a cold breath once more after slicing off her poisoned flesh ¨C the bones underneath Zhu Lu¡¯s flesh had already be ck; it was clear that she was heavily poisoned.

    What should I do? I can¡¯t hesitate any longer.

    Dai Huabin took a deep breath, and his tiger eyes welled up with tears as he swiped out vigorously with his right hand. Sharp tiger ws that resembled sharp des instantly cut downward¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes were a little lost as he appeared along a street. The street was bustling with activity, and there were many people around him.

    Eh? Why does this ce look so familiar?

    He was shocked to realize that he seemed to have returned to the real world, and felt an indescribable familiarity towards everything around him.

    Xu Sanshi looked up at the sky. The sun was sliding down towards the west; it was evening.

    ¡°Second young master, second young master! Why are you still here? We¡¯ve already made the reservation for you. Follow me, quickly. It¡¯s your birthday celebration today.¡± A little fellow that seemed a little wretched raced over, and arrived before Xu Sanshi as he panted vigorously.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Chen Wen?¡± Xu Sanshi felt a surge of warmth in his heart when he saw the person who was speaking to him. The reason was because this fellow who seemed exceptionally wretched was Xu Sanshi¡¯s good friend that he had grown up with and yed with as kid. This fellow was also his personal servant, and the two of them had been together since they were children. They were as close to one another as actual brothers.

    However, Chen Wen¡¯s talent wasn¡¯t good, and he didn¡¯t have any soul power after his martial soul had awakened. Xu Sanshi, meanwhile, became stronger and stronger, and after he entered Shrek Academy, they no longer kept in touch like they had before. Xu Sanshi was ted when he saw Chen Wen here.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, second young master? Where am I supposed to be if I¡¯m not supposed to be here? Quickly, follow me, or we¡¯ll bete! You have no idea, but I¡¯ve found an exquisite one for you today. You will definitely be pleased. Haven¡¯t you been saying for years that you wished to experience that wonderful sensation as soon as possible? Today is your fifteenth birthday, and the house master has personally arranged everything for you. Why aren¡¯t you eager and in a hurry?¡±

    Xu Sanshi could feel that something was wrong with his own voice when he spoke, and he suddenly snapped his head down and stared at his own body when he heard Chen Wen¡¯s words.

    He realized to his shock that his body had be smaller and shorter, and even his clothes were different from what he was wearing in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    My fifteenth birthday ¨C my fifteenth birthday! Can it be? Can it be that I¡­?

    Xu Sanshi had an epiphany hit his brain like a thunderbolt at that moment. His mentality was typically stable and steady on normal days, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel a numbing and stinging feeling on his scalp, as if he had touched an electric current, and he was having trouble controlling himself. Xu Sanshi felt as if Bei Bei had unleashed his Vigorous Thunderbolt on him.

    This is my fifteenth birthday! Today is actually my fifteenth birthday! I¡­ I¡¯m actually back, and I look like I did all those years ago. How is that possible? How is any of this actually possible?

    Chen Wen hurriedly ran over and tried to pull Xu Sanshi along as he saw the sluggish look in his eyes. Xu Sanshi was entirely immersed in his own memories at this moment, and his eyes were stillckadaisical as he followed Chen Wen¡¯s lead. Xu Sanshi¡¯s mind was a mess.

    Of course Xu Sanshi remembered his fifteenth birthday. His fifteenth birthday was the day that he had first met her¡­

    This ce was his hometown, and both of them came from the same city. Xu Sanshi came from the Heaven Dou Empire, and his family belonged to one of the Heavenly Dou Empire¡¯s reclusive sects, the Mysterious Underworld Sect. Everyone in his family had centered their hopes on Xu Sanshi to seed as house master in his generation, and his family had nurtured him as best they could since he was a child. Xu Sanshi had entered Shrek Academy at the age of twelve, and he became an overnight celebrity along with Bei Bei when they amazed the world with their feats and became one of their ss¡¯s most outstanding students.

    He had already been at Shrek Academy for three years when his fifteenth birthday came to pass.

    Chen Wen tugged and pulled as he swiftly led Xu Sanshi somewhere. This ce¡¯s atmosphere seemed a little dubious. Thenterns that were hanging outside were pink, and there were pavilions and cocklofts inside, along with artificial rocks andndscapes. This ce seemed exceptionally elegant and exquisite.

    This ce,,, it really is this ce. I¡¯m actually back! Does this mean that the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley is giving me a chance to undo what I did?

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes suddenly became sharp and focused, and he suddenly felt his thoughts bing clear and rational in that moment.

    He raised his head and looked up at the sky. The moon had risen high into the sky, but it seemed like it was formed from a golden sun and a silver moon in Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes.

    If¡­ if you¡¯re really giving me a chance to undo what I did, I am absolutely willing even if my life is shortened by ten years. It was today¡¯s stupidity all those years ago that distanced my true love from me, and she is still haunted up until this day. She isn¡¯t the only one¡­ I feel the same way!

    ¡°We¡¯re here, second young master, it¡¯s right inside.¡± Chen Wen¡¯s smile became a little wider and more wavy as he pointed at a small room in a corner in front of them, not far from where they were standing.

    This is the ce.Xu Sanshi¡¯s throat and mouth went dry at this moment. Everything was just as he remembered. He was back, he was actually back¡­

 Chapter 363.1 - But, I Dont Care. I Love You

    Chapter 363.1: But, I Don¡¯t Care. I Love You</h4>

    Chen Wen suddenly turned serious, and said, ¡°Second young master, every direct male disciple of our Mysterious Underworld Sect has to undergo a special awakening ritual of his martial soul when he¡¯s fifteen years old. This awakening is extremely important to you. Once it¡¯spleted, your martial soul mightpletely evolve. If it evolves to the Xuanwu Shield, you¡¯ll be the heir to the sect leader.¡±

    The martial soul that was passed down in the Mysterious Underworld Sect was the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. There was a secret that only those within the Sect knew: the evolution of the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle!

    They only developed this ritual after many attempts by the ancestors of the sect.

    Chen Wen knew this secret not only because he was Xu Sanshi¡¯s personal servant, but also because five generations of his family had served under the Mysterious Underworld Sect. They were true, core disciples. Even though they couldn¡¯t undergo the awakening of their martial souls, they still held a very high status in the sect.

    This ritual was very crucial in evolving the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle to the Xuanwu Shield.

    This ritual was carried out when he was fifteen, and still a virgin.

    Regarding this, the Mysterious Underworld Sect had always kept it a secret. After all, it wasn¡¯t a very glorious thing. The Mysterious Underworld Sect was reclusive. To carry on the survival of the sect, they had no choice but to do this. When this time came, they would always choose a girl from a good family and offer her a huge sum of money if she was willing to have sexual intercourse with the chosen male disciple.

    If the girl was willing to join the Mysterious Underworld Sect, she could at least be his concubine, and possibly his wife if their rtionship developed well. If she wasn¡¯t willing, she could leave with that sum of money.

    This had long be a rule of the Mysterious Underworld Sect.

    As the most likely candidate to experience an awakening of his martial soul, Xu Sanshi was selected. A virgin was also picked out for him after a strict selection process by the Mysterious Underworld Sect. Not only did the girl have to be a virgin, but she had to be a soul master that wasn¡¯t older than Xu Sanshi, too! In addition, she had to be intelligent, and beautiful!

    Right now, everything had been prepared. The only thing left was for Xu Sanshi to enter the room and start the ritual.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s gaze was a little lost. Of course he recalled that night, or rather, this night. He was only fifteen years old then, but he was already very curious about the opposite gender, due to how his family attached such importance to this ritual and his natural development. He was very excited as he entered the room, but it had turned into a huge mistake¡­

    At this point, he couldn¡¯t remain calm as everything yed out again.

    ¡°Okay, young master, you can enter now. Do your best.¡± Chen Wen¡¯s serious expression turned yful again. There was even a look of envy and perversion on his face.

    ¡°Young master, I¡¯ve taken a look for you. Thisdy is extremely beautiful. Master even mentioned that you can wed her if you like.¡±

    Xu Sanshi took in a deep breath. As he looked at the door, he started to have mixed feelings.

    ¡°Nannan, I¡¯ming,¡± he silently said to himself before walking over with big steps.

    Is the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley letting me try again because it wants to reawaken my martial soul again? No, it¡¯s testing my sincerity. It¡¯s testing what¡¯s really important in my heart.

    What had happened then kept on ying in Xu Sanshi¡¯s mind.

    When he had walked into the room, he had been eager to head to the bed. All he saw was a ravishing youngdy who had shut her eyes under the dim lights. It was his first time seeing her. However, he didn¡¯t know that she was also¡­

    Due to several reasons, he had had no choice but to do this. He pressed down on Jiang Nannan, but her rigid body was trembling.

    Xu Sanshi tried a few times, but he didn¡¯t seed. Finally, he decided to try the position that his uncles once joked about. He flipped her over and pressed down from behind.

    However, he went into the wrong hole¡­ only to find that he was unable to stop, as the evolution process had begun.

    Xu Sanshi was extremely gifted. The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle eventually still evolved, but the evolution wasn¡¯tplete. It was only a halfpleted Xuanwu Shield.

    This incident was the reason why Jiang Nannan ostracized him so much. Xu Sanshi also realized that he had made a big mistake, but he couldn¡¯t help what had already happened.

    She left after the incident. When Xu Sanshi saw her again, she was already in Shrek Academy.

    Right now, Xu Sanshi had mixed feelings as this scene reyed itself in his mind.

    When he saw Jiang Nannan, he only had a burning passion towards her. However, Jiang Nannan treated him as if he were a brutal beast. Since then, he had gone through a lot before he finally got together with Jiang Nannan. With the help of the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, he managed to get Jiang Nannan to ept him.

    However, he knew that she still hadn¡¯t forgotten what had happened, even though she epted him now. It had also been affecting their rtionship. It was only recently that she was willing to hold his hand, hug him, and kiss him.

    Jiang Nannan had once told Xu Sanshi that she was still emotionally hurt from that incident, and needed more time.

    Right now, Xu Sanshi had to face this girl whose eyes were shut, and who was waiting for him quietly.

    Xu Sanshi pursed his lips tightly and looked into the sky. Right now, his emotions were surging, and were about to flow out.

    ¡°Thank you, Love Querying Valley. You let me live this out once again. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I¡¯m willing to start afresh from here. Thank you.¡±

    As he spoke, he bowed to the bright moon in the sky. After that, he pushed the door open and walked in.

    Chen Wen was a little confused at how Xu Sanshi was acting, but still continued to guard the door for him. He stood outside the door and guarded the room.

    As he entered the room, the lights were as dim as before. Xu Sanshi could still clearly recall that he was excited and nervous when he rushed to the bed.

    Right now, he was taking slow steps. His body was even trembling. As he was agitated, he clenched his fists tightly.

    He finally walked in front of the bed. He saw Jiang Nannan waiting silently for destiny, or rather misfortune, to arrive.

    He lifted his head and forcefully held back his tears. He gently unveiled her and sat beside her on the bed.

    Jiang Nannan shuddered when she felt someoneing, and she became very tense.

    Yes! She was still very young then, around fourteen years old. I¡¯m really a beast.Xu Sanshi lifted his hand and pped himself on the face.

    ¡°Pak!¡±

    Jiang Nannan seemed to be frightened by the sudden noise, and subconsciously opened her eyes. She was very nervous, and looked at Xu Sanshi with a frightened look on her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared.¡± Xu Sanshi gently said. After that, he stood up from the bed and tried tofort her.

    Jiang Nannan gently bit her lower lip. She didn¡¯t move as she looked at him.

    Xu Sanshi took in a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for frightening you. Believe me, I won¡¯t let youe to harm. Not now. Not in the future.¡±

    After hearing his words, Jiang Nannan seemed a little lost. She didn¡¯t know what to say as she looked at him.

    Xu Sanshi squatted down beside her so that he could get a closer look at her face. He gently said, ¡°My name is Xu Sanshi. I know that they gave you money to consummate this ritual with me, but I won¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was a little stunned. However, her fear and anxiety suddenly disappeared. It was just that Xu Sanshi was still overwhelmed with emotions right now, and didn¡¯t discover it.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Jiang Nannan, am I right?¡± Xu Sanshi asked softly.

    Jiang Nannan nodded.

    She was under a nket as Xu Sanshi pointed at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to one side. You can put your clothes back on. I think you¡¯ll feel safer that way. We can chat afterwards. To put them at ease, I can¡¯t leave this room tonight.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was evidently stunned. ¡°But, your martial soul has to be cultivated¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi interrupted her, ¡°I can¡¯t be a beast even if that¡¯s the case. I told you that I won¡¯t hurt you. Not now. Not in the future. How can the awakening of my martial soulpare to you? So what if it¡¯s the Xuanwu Shield? So what if I be the sect master? They are nothingpared to you. I¡¯m willing to give up everything for you. Even if I can¡¯t enter the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy in the future and be a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, I¡¯m still willing.¡±

    As he spoke, Xu Sanshi stood up and turned around. He walked into a corner and faced the wall. He smiled. The trauma in his heart had finally been removed. After so many years, the trauma, pain and guilt in his heart had finally vanished.

    Yes! I can give up everything for you, Nannan. I love you. If we can start afresh, I¡¯m willing to use everything I¡¯ve got to make this right. I¡¯ll love you with all my heart so that you¡¯ll no longer be traumatized.Tears started to stream down his face as he smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m done changing. You¡­ you cane over.¡± Jiang Nannan¡¯s voice sounded behind him.

 Chapter 363.2 - But, I Dont Care. I Love You

    Chapter 363.2: But, I Don¡¯t Care. I Love You</h4>

    Silence. Nothing but silence all around.

    The moon was shining very brightly on this night. However, Jiang Nannan was feeling very mixed feelings.

    Right now, she was standing outside a vige as she carried something in her arms.

    Everything around her felt very familiar and clear in her memory. Her heart seemed to be trembling as she felt the surrounding aura.

    She gently bit her lip as her purple hair flowed behind her head. She looked up at the sun and moon, and silently asked,Why am I back here? Why? Why am I back in this ce, where I was once extremely frightened?

    Is this to remind me of my most painful memory? Is this to make me experience that pain once again?

    No, I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to!

    Jiang Nannan shook her head forcefully, and her tears flowed down uncontrobly.

    She would never, ever forget this ce.

    That night, that guy, whose body suddenly started glowing ck, brought me so much pain and humiliation. I¡¯ve been traumatized ever since that experience, even though that guy¡­

    Jiang Nannan was in low spirits as she walked forward. She still clearly remembered that she had sent the sum of money back after receiving it and immediately left for Shrek Academy. That was because she was too ashamed to see her mother anymore¡­

    A few years had passed since then, but she had onlymunicated with her mother through letters. She also sent some money back to her, but she had never had the courage to return to see her. She was afraid of reliving the pain if she saw her mother.

    I want to see my mom again and personally pass her money. Although she always ims to be well every time she writes me a letter, is she really well? I¡¯m so foolish. No matter what I¡¯ve done, mommy will always love me. She¡¯ll forgive me. Mommy, I really miss you.

    Her tears flowed even more uncontrobly. Her yearning to see her mother seemed to lessen the trauma that she was experiencing.

    She ran quickly. Even though her abilities had only recovered to the standard of a three-ringed soul master, she was still much faster than other soul masters of the same level, as her martial soul was a Softbone Rabbit.

    Finally, she saw the ce. It was a reputable clinic in the city, which offered the best treatment and rehabilitative services.

    The reason why she had agreed to that guy¡¯s family¡¯s request was because her mother¡­

    She was getting closer and closer to the clinic. Just like that day, the owner of the clinic was standing at the door. The owner passed her the sum of money and a Xuanwu Divine Pill that only the Xuanming Sect had to treat her mother. After she saw her mother consume the Xuanwu Divine Pill from outside the window, she quickly turned and ran away. She was tormented then, and that torment hadsted even until now.

    Mommy, how are you?

    She missed her mother incredibly. However, the clinic turned illusory just as Jiang Nannan was about to reach the front door. Everything around it turned illusory.

    ¡°No! No¡­ why did you bring me into this illusion, but not let me see my mother? Please, let me see my mother!¡± Jiang Nannan shouted and wailed.

    After that, she realized that everything in front of her had turned clear again. However, she was no longer able to control her body. The clinic in front of her seemed to turn transparent.

    Everything distorted, and a thought suddenly appeared in her mind,One dayter¡­

    One dayter? What does that mean?

    Jiang Nannan started to be agitated even before she recovered from her confusion. This was because she finally saw her mother, who was lying on a bed, and appeared very pale. Right now, her mother¡¯s body rippled with a ck glow. It was the effect of consuming the Xuanwu Divine Pill.

    ¡°Mommy, mommy!¡± Jiang Nannan shouted. However, her voice couldn¡¯t be heard.

    At this moment, she saw another person. Another person had walked into her mother¡¯s ward.

    Why, why is he here?

    Jiang Nannan was stunned. The person who had walked into the ward was Xu Sanshi. Chen Wen was also following close behind him.

    Xu Sanshi seemed very puerile, but Jiang Nannan knew that his cultivation was already close to four rings. He was stronger than her.

    Suddenly, Xu Sanshi and Chen Wen started conversing with each other.

    ¡°Is she the mother of that girl? Why is she not here?¡±

    Chen Wen scratched his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, either. I only heard that her mother was staying here. She sold her body to us because her mother was sick. Her mother has a congenital heart disease, and needed our Xuanwu Divine Pill to improve her condition. At the same time, she needs to rest for a long time before she can recover. I think she had no choice, thus she had to¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi clenched his fists tightly and furiously said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention this earlier? She was doing it to save her mother, but I¡­¡± As he spoke, he punched the wall next to him.

    ¡°We have to find her no matter what. I need to make amends for my mistake! I¡¯ll marry her once I find her! I¡¯m, I¡¯m really a jerk! Chen Wen, can you help me lift her up?¡±

    Chen Wen was stunned. ¡°Second young master, what do you want to do?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°While the medicinal power of a Xuanwu Divine Pill is mild, it digests very slowly. Furthermore, the longer the time needed for digestion, the weaker the effect of the pill. I can use my soul power to speed it up, so she¡¯ll be able to absorb the medicinal power of the pill much more easily. After all, my soul power isplementary to a Xuanwu Divine Pill.¡±

    Chen Wen hurriedly said, ¡°You can¡¯t do this, young master. You¡¯ve just experienced the second awakening of your martial soul. You can¡¯t do this. You¡¯ll hurt your vitality.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was still furious. ¡°I have to do it no matter what. I hurt her so badly! What¡¯s a little vitality? Since I can¡¯t find her now, I¡¯ll help take care of her mother first.¡±

    Chen Wen unwillingly lifted Jiang Nannan¡¯s mother up under Xu Sanshi¡¯s demands.

    Jiang Nannan was in a daze as she watched all of this. She muttered to herself, ¡°Sanshi¡­¡±

    Everything in front of her seemed to suddenly speed up. Jiang Nannan saw Xu Sanshi sitting behind her mother and activating his soul power. Eventually, he fainted, but her mother woke up.

    She also saw how Xu Sanshi told the clinic personnel to take good care of her mother before giving them arge sum of money.

    Time passed quickly. The thought that had appeared in her mind earlier surfaced again,One weekter.

    Chen Wen came to the clinic with a lot of food and daily necessities. He was visiting her mother on Xu Sanshi¡¯s behalf.

    Two weekster, Chen Wen came to visit again.

    Three weekster¡­

    Every week, Chen Wen woulde to visit her mother on Xu Sanshi¡¯s behalf. However, he asked her mother not to include any of his visits in her letters to Jiang Nannan.

    Half a yearter¡­

    Xu Sanshi personally paid Jiang Nannan¡¯s mother a visit.He¡¯s, he¡¯s actually here to visit mommy. But I never once returned¡­

    Tears streamed down Jiang Nannan¡¯s face once again.

    As she saw how her mother and Xu Sanshi had a pleasant conversation, how Xu Sanshi helped to massage her mother¡¯s shoulders and heal her body with his soul power, Jiang Nannan broke down in tears.

    This idiot. He, he never once told me anything. He has been helping take care of my mother all these years. Idiot, fool, jerk! Why, why didn¡¯t you tell me?

    Her mother¡¯s figure slowly faded away. However, her flushed, red cheeks, her benevolent smile and the affable look in Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes were deeply imprinted on Jiang Nannan¡¯s mind.

    All this are real. It must be real. Sanshi¡­

    Everything in front of her suddenly changed. Her surroundings dimmed, and Jiang Nannan was stunned to realize she was lying down on a bed. After this, she heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you so frightened. Trust me, I don¡¯t want you toe to any harm. Not now. Not in the future.¡±

    ¡°My name is Xu Sanshi. I know that they gave you some money to consummate this ritual with me, but I won¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Jiang Nannan, am I right?¡± Xu Sanshi asked softly.

    Jiang Nannan nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to one side. You can put your clothes back on. I think you¡¯ll feel safer this way. We can chat afterwards. To put them at ease, I can¡¯t leave this room tonight.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was stunned. ¡°But, your martial soul has to be cultivated¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t be a beast even if that¡¯s the case. I told you that I won¡¯t hurt you. Not now. Not in the future. How can the awakening of my martial soulpare to you? So what if it¡¯s the Xuanwu Shield? So what if I be the sect master? They are nothingpared to you. I¡¯m willing to give up everything for you. Even if I can¡¯t enter the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy in the future and be a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, I¡¯m still willing.¡±

    As she looked at his resolute back and his determined words, Jiang Nannan could no longer keep her tears from flowing.

    ¡°I¡¯m done changing. You, you cane over now.¡±

    Xu Sanshi turned around and walked to the bedside, but he panicked when he saw Jiang Nannan tearing up.

    ¡°Nannan, don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to you no matter what. I won¡¯t harm you. I guarantee you that I won¡¯t touch you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Jiang Nannan sobbed.

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Sanshi was in a daze as he watched Jiang Nannan sit up suddenly on the bed. She wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes, and her movement revealed her delicate, white shoulders. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Jiang Nannan suddenly leapt towards him and hugged his neck. Her voice was almost inaudible because of her crying. ¡°I said I don¡¯t care. Fool, I said I don¡¯t care. I love you, Sanshi.¡±

 Chapter 363.3 - But, I Dont Care. I Love You

    <h4 ss>Chapter 363.3: But, I Don¡¯t Care. I Love You</h4>

    Their surroundings instantly wentpletely quiet. However, both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan¡¯s bodies began to change. After a moment, they were less adolescent; they¡¯d returned to their twenty-year-old selves.

    The bed was still the same bed from five years ago. However, their bodies and hearts were wound tighter than they had been five years ago at this moment.

    He wasn¡¯t going to enter the wrong hole this time.

    The ck glow that signified the evolution of his martial soul surfaced once again.

    Outside of their room, the golden sun and silver moon seemed to arc together in a smile.

    ¡ª¡ª

    A boundless prairie spread out before her, jade-green vines of Bluesilver Grass swaying in the gentle breeze. As they swayed, they seemed to endlessly extend.

    When Zhang Lexuan discovered herself in such a ce, her eyes started to shine brightly. She had always loved this sort of boundless feeling. The endless green, the refreshing air, the bright sunlight, and the birds that asionally flew by all left her in a pleasant mood. It was as if all her troubles were slowly slipping away, one breath at a time.

    Where is this?There was no such ce on the continent in Zhang Lexuan¡¯s memory, or at least, not that she knew of. If this ce was real, she believed that she would¡¯ve already fallen in love with this ce.

    ¡°What is love?¡± A dull voice echoed through the air. This voice seemed to resonate from all directions, even the sky, as it did so.

    What is love?Zhang Lexuan was dazed as she lifted her head to peer into the sky. Afterwards, she gently shook her head. She¡¯d never fallen in love; how could she know what love was? In her heart, there was only one person she was fond of.

    ¡°Love is about giving and devoting one¡¯s self. It¡¯s also about thoughtfulness and having no regard towards anything else.¡± The loud voice suddenly became gentle, as if it was a gentle breeze sweeping across her,forting her soul.

    ¡°Love is selfish, possessive, and present everywhere. It¡¯s also the root of much pain.

    ¡°However, we cannot live without love. A life without love is iplete. Do you understand?¡±

    Zhang Lexuanughed bitterly. ¡°I understand. However, how can I forget something deep within my bones?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll forget everything as a reward.¡± A gust of wind raged, causing leaves to billow upwards. Just like them, Zhang Lexuan¡¯s spirits were also lifted into the air.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Bitingly cold mountains and gusts of wind.

    ¡°Ah¡ª!¡± Ning Tian tried to keep her bnce as she let out a shriek of fear. She¡¯d already broken out into a cold sweat.

    She was shocked to find that she¡¯d appeared at the edge of a cliff, and that there was a deep valley in front of her. If she were to take even half a step forward, she¡¯d disappear into the deep valley in front of her, never to return.

    There was a deep valley in front of her, but what about behind her?

    When she turned around, Ning Tian saw a bunch of mountains behind her. She was standing atop the peak of a mountain.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± A deep voice echoed upwards from the valley.

    ¡°I¡¯m Ning Tian.¡± Ning Tian subconsciously replied.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The same question was posed to her again.

    ¡°I am Ning Tian from the Seven Treasures zed Sect! I¡¯m the next sect leader of the sect!¡± As she stood atop the piercingly-cold mountain peak, Ning Tian felt that her emotions had gone out of control for some reason. Thus, she shouted as loud as she could without regard for anything else.

    Her voice echoed far and wide and through the mountain range. Even after a long time had passed, it hadn¡¯tpletely faded.

    ¡°You are under too much pressure.¡± The deep voice echoed again. ¡°Are you willing to relieve this pressure?¡±

    ¡°How do I do so?¡± Ning Tian asked agonizingly.

    Ever since she¡¯d been young, she¡¯d been the lone daughter of the Seven Treasures zed Sect¡¯s sect master. The Seven Treasures zed Sect had once met with a catastrophe ten thousand years ago, and been almostpletely destroyed. After ten thousand years of development, it had finally re-established itself as the continent¡¯s top auxiliary-type tool soul, and had once again be one of the strongest sects on the continent. However, Ning Tian had led a boring life as a direct female disciple. The only things she¡¯d done throughout her life had been studying and cultivating.

    She¡¯d then proceeded to enter Shrek Academy at the apex of this boring life. Originally, she¡¯d been considered a chosen child of heaven, and had thought that she would be the best amongst those the same age as her. However, she soon came to know of Shrek Academy¡¯s golden generation. She met the unbeatable Wang Dong¡¯er, the gifted Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue and finally Huo Yuhao, the strangest person, who had twin martial souls, immense spiritual power, and even Ultimate Ice.

    As she continued to mingle with them, she realized that she wasn¡¯t nearly as outstanding as she¡¯d thought. Even though she was still extremely outstanding, her limelight had beenpletely stolen by the others.

    It was evident how tormented she felt! She had once tried to cultivate even harder. However, her martial soul was an auxiliary-type! It was the Seven Treasures zed Pagoda, which couldn¡¯t be used to fight directly. It was thus very difficult for her to cultivate. In fact, it was just as difficult for to cultivate as it was for Huo Yuhao to cultivate his Ultimate Ice. No matter how hard she¡¯d tried, it didn¡¯t change the fact that an auxiliary-type soul master couldn¡¯t exceed a battle soul master.

    When she saw that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Xiao Xiao were crowned champions along with their inner courtyard seniors in thest Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, Ning Tian hadn¡¯t just been filled with envy, she¡¯d also been filled with jealousy.

    And following that, she¡¯d suddenly like she couldn¡¯t possibly catch up to the rest of them, no matter how hard she tried. At that point, she¡¯d thought of another possibility, which was the hope that her family had held for her.

    As a top-ranked auxiliary-type sect, many strong soul masters often looked to the Seven Treasures zed Sect for help. As one of the elites of the younger generation of soul masters, Ning Tian knew that she¡¯d have to find a protector that would stay by her side one day. This person¡¯s strength wouldn¡¯t simply determine her future status in the sect and whether she could sessfully take hold of the sect¡¯s reins, but it would also determine the future of the sect itself.

    That was why she¡¯d chosen Huo Yuhao during the Sea God¡¯s Fate. She¡¯d chosen him because he was the most gifted, as well as most likely to be the strongest individual amongst the younger generation of soul masters in the future.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected to fail. She¡¯d lost, and lost tragically at that. She¡¯d been as embarrassed as a little girl when she¡¯d taken the initiative to express her love, but had still been met with rejection. When that rejection came, it had felt as if her heart was stabbed by tens of thousands of des¡ªit was extremely painful.

    She didn¡¯t really like Huo Yuhao very much. Rather, she just couldn¡¯t ept her failure.

    The blow dealt to her from this failure was simply too huge. For a period of time, she waspletely despondent. At that point, only Wu Feng remained at her side.

    Wu Feng was angry with Huo Yuhao, and cultivated even more tirelessly than her. Yet, even when Ning Tian saw all of this, she still only treated Wu Feng as a sister.

    ¡°You can relieve all your pressure by jumping off of this cliff.¡± The deep voice echoed yet again. It was asking her to die.

    Ning Tian was dazed by the voice.Jump off? Everything will be settled if I just jump off¡­ Yes! What could be better than death to alleviate this pressure? What could be more exciting than death?!

    Death?Sheughed.

    Bring it on!A sharp gaze shed through Ning Tian¡¯s eyes, before she pursed her lips. The huge pressure that she¡¯d been facing was instantly converted into persistence that now drove her to leap off the cliff. With that, she flung herself off the edge in front of her.

    The moment that she leaped, she seemed to hear a tragic scream.

    ¡°No¡­!¡±

    Gusts of wind raged around her, bing even colder as they swept past her. At this moment, Ning Tian felt as if her spirit had detached from her body; it was a magical feeling. The pressure she felt seemed to slowly disappear as she fell.

    I¡¯m sorry, Wu Feng. If there¡¯s such a thing as another life, I¡¯ll be a man and will protect and take care of you. You¡¯ll be my wife. We¡¯ll run our family together, and I¡¯ll make sure to love and repay you for all of the love you¡¯ve shown me all these years.

    Tears started to trail through the air above her. As they did, they formed pearl-shaped beads in the air.

    Even though she was in free fall, Ning Tian realized that the voice had been right. The pressure that she¡¯d felt seemed to have vanished. At this moment, nothing seemed important to her anymore.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Wu Feng stood upon the mountain peak, gazing down at the deep valley that Ning Tian had disappeared into. As she stared into the endless drifts of snow, her tears started to flow uncontrobly.

    ¡°Ning Tian, why¡­ why did you do this? Why did you jump off the cliff? Why?¡±

    She¡¯d appeared on the other side of the mountain, and had then been given instructions to walk around. Right when she¡¯d been about to arrive, she¡¯d been greeted with the scene of Ning Tian leaping off the cliff. No matter how hard she tried, she hadn¡¯t been able to make it in time; she could only watch as Ning Tian disappeared into the valley below.

    Everything seemed to lose importance when she saw that; Wu Feng seemed to have lost her soul. She staggered, about to fall.

    ¡°Follow her. If you really love her, you should seek a new life with her.¡± The voice echoed through the mountain valley.

    Wu Feng was shocked. She looked at the deep valley before her, before lifting her head to gaze at the sky and wail, ¡°Ning Tian, I¡¯ming!¡± Yes! Since the person she loved was already gone, what was the point of her staying alive?

    The projection of a fire dragon grew behind her. This projection carried a sense of elegance and passion, before disappearing along with Wu Feng as she leaped off the cliff in pain and tears

    Everything became silent and peaceful again afterwards, the mountains still as bitingly cold as ever.

 Chapter 364 - Forbidden Ice Peak

    <h4 ss>Chapter 364: Forbidden Ice Peak</h4>

    Where is this?Bei Bei was currently standing in the middle of a bustling street. Seeing this, he was quick to question his surroundings, as this ce was unfamiliar to him. However, he¡¯d been brought here after the golden lights shed.

    Suddenly, a dim light shed, and a figure silently appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Bei Bei?¡± A voice softly asked.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Bei Bei focused his gaze on the person. All he saw was a smiling, handsome face. He couldn¡¯t describe his feelings when he saw who it was.

    This person had long, flowing, sky-blue hair, while their azure eyes contained a gaze as deep and boundless as an ocean. He revealed a gentle smile on his face that made him seem very reliable.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± The person slowly turned around. In just a single step, he¡¯d already moved more than ten meters forwards.

    Although Bei Bei didn¡¯t know what was happening, he was crystal clear that he was in an illusion of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. He quickly followed the person that had just appeared.

    The man wasn¡¯t walking too fast or too slow; he was moving at a pace that he could followfortably. Oddly, the bystanders didn¡¯t seem to notice their rapid pace.

    Who exactly is this person?Bei Bei wondered as he moved.

    Finally, the man stopped outside a house. He pushed the door open, before walking in.

    Bei Bei hurriedly followed him inside.

    The house¡¯s courtyard was very quiet. Everything about it seemed extraordinarily peaceful, too. Not even the sounds of birds or insects could be heard.

    The man led Bei Bei into the main hall of this house. After passing the central hall, they stepped into the backyard, and finally came to a room.

    The man signaled to Bei Bei and pointed at the room.

    Bei Bei subconsciously walked towards the room. The door was already open. When he peeked in, his body shook tremendously.

    ¡°Xiao Ya!¡± Bei Bei shouted, before instantly charging into the room.

    Yes, there was ady seated cross-legged on a bed inside this room. Her body was currently shing with a bluish-ck glow.

    Her hair flowed behind her back, while her expression was calm, albeit slightly pale. She was Tang Ya!

    ¡°Xiao Ya!¡± Bei Bei charged towards her and lifted his hands to grab her shoulders. However, he grasped nothing but air. After a moment, Bei Bei was stunned to realize that his hands had gone straight through Tang Ya¡¯s body.

    Why? Why am I illusory?

    ¡°Xiao Ya!¡± Bei Bei, who was normally calm and refined, started to experience an outpouring of emotions. He wanted to hug her! He wanted to hug her slender body, hold her in his embrace, and use his body heat to warm up her icy-cold body.

    Everything around him suddenly distorted slightly. Tang Ya gradually disappeared, followed by the house disappeared, and finally everything around him disappeared.

    After this, a huge pinkish flower with a refreshing floral scent entered Bei Bei¡¯s vision.

    This flower turned into a halo before dispersing. Following this, he saw a sparkling, crystal-clear blue ball take its ce. It looked like it had an extension of crystals, yet seemed like it had leaves too.

    Everything around him turned illusory again. A strong wave of dizziness struck Bei Bei, and he lost consciousness.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Oh? Why am I here? Wasn¡¯t this ce already destroyed?¡± He Caitou was astonished as he looked around him.

    His surroundings were filled with metal. There was a metallic glow and smell, which helped him immediately recognize that this was the underground research institute of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Both he and Huo Yuhao had once spent a long time in this research institute. However, it waspletely empty now.

    ¡°Come out, Xu He,¡± A sinister voice echoed out.

    The moment he heard the words ¡®Xu He,¡¯ He Caitou shuddered. He unwillingly turned towards the direction of the voice.

    He saw Xu Tianran, who was slowlying approaching him in his wheelchair.

    Xu Tianran wore an aloof expression on his face, and several masked men in ck were following him. All of them revealed strong auras from their bodies.

    He Caitou slowly stood up. At this moment, he was shockingly calm.

    ¡°Xu Tianran!¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and said, ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t expect this, right? Xu He, we¡¯re actually meeting under such circumstances. I didn¡¯t expect a bastard like you to survive. Today, we can truly catch up as brothers. How¡¯ve you been all these years? As your elder brother, I really haven¡¯t taken care of you properly!¡±

    He Caitou gnashed his teeth and said, ¡°Xu Tianran, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± As soon as he shouted, he seemed to forget that he was a soul engineer, and leapt straight towards Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran wore a scornful expression on his face. He lifted his hand and He Caitou was flung into the air, crashing into a forging table behind him. When hended, he was in excruciating pain, and couldn¡¯t even stand up anymore.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to take revenge by yourself? The entire Sun Moon Empire is under my control now. Yes, a son should pay his father¡¯s debts, but that entails being capable of doing so first! My father was ruthless when he massacred your entire family! I can still clearly remember how he impaled your younger sister with his spear. The desperate, pitiful look in her eyes. However, what could you do? What could you do as her elder brother? Could you have saved her? You couldn¡¯t! You didn¡¯t have the capability, am I right?

    ¡°In fact, don¡¯t you think that living is more painful than death? You¡¯ve been carrying this hatred for years. How tiring must your life be? It¡¯d simply be best if you died. Everything will be over when you die.

    ¡°Your father was fatuous; he wanted to keep the earlier agreement, but wasn¡¯t willing to ramp up the development of soul tools by turning experimental products into weapons, nor start a war and get back what belonged to the Sun Moon Empire. He wasn¡¯t fit to be emperor! Even though I¡¯m not very satisfied that my old man has lived for so long, I have to admit that he¡¯s been sessful. Recing your father was the greatest achievement of his life, and it has cleared all the obstacles in front of me. The future of the Douluo Continent belongs to me, Xu Tianran! It belongs to the Sun Moon Empire! After I conquer this continent, I¡¯ll change its name to the Sun Moon Continent. I want the words ¡®Douluo Continent¡¯ topletely vanish from this world!¡±

    The more Xu Tianran spoke, the more fanatical he became. He seemed exactly like an evil viin as he sat there.

    He Caitou struggled up from the ground, his eyes alreadypletely red. The hatred that he¡¯d always been suppressing had been entirely unleashed at this moment. He let out a beastial roar of anger, before charging towards Xu Tianran again like a mad tiger.

    Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t bothered by this at all. He lifted his hand once again and flung him back once more.

    ¡°Die. Dying will end everything. It¡¯s a pity that you won¡¯t get to see how prosperous the Sun Moon Continent will be in the future. When you reach the afterlife, remember to tell your dead father that a ruler that doesn¡¯t know how to invade isn¡¯t fit to be one. Ask him to repent over there.¡±

    He Caitou was under immense pressure right now, but a voice suddenly screamed, ¡°No! I won¡¯t let you hurt him!¡± and a tender figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

    He Caitou saw two yellow, two purple, four ck and one red soul ring, which were extremely dazzling.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao¡­¡±When did Xiao Xiao be a Titled Douluo?

    Right now, Xiao Xiao seemed to have grown up, and her figure had be more slender. She seemed to have a greater heroic aura and more mature elegance about her right now. As soon as she lifted her right hand, a beam of blinding, dark-golden light descended from the sky. Suddenly, everything started to tremble. The beam of dark-golden light was akin to extremely huge meteor that struck Xu Tianran and the masked men behind him.

    Boom!

    The beam of light exploded with earth-shattering power. The terrifying explosion turned everything around it into powder.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall disappeared. Everything disappeared. The only thing left was a huge depression left, as well as the tragic screams left behind by Xu Tianran and the masked men.

    He Caitou was dazed as he looked at Xiao Xiao. The physical pain that he felt seemed to have disappeared. By the time he crawled up, she¡¯d already turned around.

    ¡°Caitou.¡± Tears streamed down her face, sparkling beneath the illumination of her soul rings.

    ¡°Why were you so silly? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about the hatred in your heart? Why didn¡¯t you let me share your burden? Am I not your woman?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Xiao¡­¡±

    ¡°Fool! Even though you aren¡¯t handsome or romantic, I never despised you for anything when I decided to get together with you. Caitou, you idiot! In the future, you have to share your pain with me, no matter what! Your enemy will be my enemy!¡±

    Xiao Xiao had already leapt into He Caitou¡¯s embrace as she spoke. She hugged his muscr body tightly.

    Tears flowed uncontrobly down He Caitou¡¯s face. ¡°Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Gusts of chilly wind blew as snowkes drifted in the air. It waspletely white everywhere. Snow fluttered through the air, and the ground waspletely frozen.

    Located at the top of a mountain, there was less than two hundred square meters of avable surface area.

    There was a thickyer of snow on the ground. Not only was it cold, but it was also very tough.

    There were two identical-looking people on the mountain peak right now. Their eyes and hair were powdery-blue, and they were both extremely ravishing.

    ¡°Where is this?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er was a little confused as she looked at Wang Qiu¡¯er opposite her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to have sensed something. She looked very stern as she scanned their surroundings.

    ¡°This is the location of your Sincerity Adventure: A final fight on the summit of this icy peak! Huo Yuhao will go to whoever wins.¡± An aloof-sounding voice echoed in the air.

    Wang Dong¡¯er straightened her gaze. ¡°Can matters of the heart truly be settled through violence?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the best way to resolve things. The two of you look the same, and are equally outstanding. However, only one of you can be with him. The survivor will have the right to remain with him; he won¡¯t know what happened. Today, only one of you can leave here alive. There are countless icy mountains around you. If neither of you dies, you will both remain here forever.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er moved at the same time. They didn¡¯t charge towards each other. Rather, they turned around and rushed towards the edge of the icy peak they were on to look down.

    Even with her cold character, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression changed drastically as she gazed down.

    They were on a free-standing icy peak. There was only a deep valley beneath, the depth of which couldn¡¯t be determined. Gusts of chilly wind continuously blew upwards. Even as she nced downwards, Wang Qiu¡¯er could feel her body turning stiff.

    Yes, this was a forbidden zone. It was a forbidden zone with no escape.

    Compared to Wang Qiu¡¯er, Wang Dong¡¯er seemed very calm once she nced down.

    She slowly walked towards Wang Qiu¡¯er and sat down in the middle of the ice peak.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, let¡¯s talk.¡± Wang Dong¡¯er gestured to Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er regained her cold and serious look and sat down five meters in front of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°What do you want to talk about? About how much he loves you?¡± she asked coldly.

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°Not him. Let¡¯s talk about us. Let¡¯s talk about this ce, about the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes brightened and she said mockingly, ¡°Indeed! There¡¯s no need to talk about him. You¡¯re always the winner to him. What else is there to talk about? Even if I were to kill you now, would he ever fall in love with me? No. Even though I haven¡¯t spent as much time with himpared to you, I¡¯m certain that he won¡¯t be with me even after you die.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er furrowed her brow. ¡°Qiu¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er lifted her head to look at the sky and breathed in the refreshing air. ¡°We won¡¯t be in danger. While this ce is supposed to be filled with death, it is in fact filled withpassion. If you are sincere, you won¡¯t be punished.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted her head and looked at Wang Dong¡¯er doubtfully.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡± Wang Dong¡¯er said confidently, ¡°It¡¯s trying to help us repair our rtionship. It¡¯s the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, not the Yin-Yang Love Destroying Valley. It only detests those who turn their backs on love. It¡¯s evident from the problems that it¡¯s posed us. We only rescue people; we don¡¯t kill people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s clear that this is a test of whether we care about each other.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er became normal again. ¡°Then how do we leave this ce?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Let¡¯s get going. If the Love Querying Valley is testing us, how could it not be testing him? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird? Where do you think Yuhao is?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er furrowed her brow. ¡°You¡¯re smart and calm. But¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled. ¡°There are no buts. What¡¯s there to show off in front of your man? He¡¯s my heaven.¡±

 Chapter 365.1 - Fighting For Happiness!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 365.1: Fighting For Happiness!</h4>

    He¡¯s my heaven!These three simple words dealt a huge blow to Wang Qiu¡¯er. She stared at Wang Dong¡¯er dazedly, not responding for some time.

    Wang Dong¡¯er felt a little weird as she looked back. ¡°Am I wrong?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze suddenly turned gentle. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right. This is probably also the reason why I¡¯ll never be able topare to you in his heart.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The difference between us is only the time that we met. I simply met him first, thus I managed to upy a spot in his heart. Else, you definitely would¡¯ve been capable of gaining his attraction, given your talents. If you couldn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t be a normal man.¡± When she said this, Wang Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t help butugh. As she gazed at the identical yet more cold-looking face in front of her, Wang Dong¡¯er was in a weirdly peaceful mood.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er mocked herself. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. In fact, I¡¯d already lost at the start, and lost terribly at that. I can¡¯tpare to you no matter what.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was stunned. ¡°Sister Qiu¡¯er, I would¡¯ve thought you were my long-lost sister if not for the fact that I know I¡¯m the only child in my family. We simply look too alike.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly became agitated. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m wrong. Or maybe I shouldn¡¯t have done what I did from the start. But¡­ if I¡¯d met him earlier, before you revealed your identity to him, I truly might have had a glimmer of hope.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was confused. ¡°Sister Qiu¡¯er, why can¡¯t I understand what you¡¯re trying to say?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er silently shook her head and continued to speak to herself, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s also because I¡¯ve never understood my own heart. It¡¯d be great if I did. Or perhaps¡­ perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have gone out to find him. I¡¯m wrong; I¡¯ve always been wrong.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er stopped speaking, and only listened to her speak silently.

    ¡°Are you confused by what I¡¯m saying?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯erughed, herughter carrying a weird, sarcastic tone. However, she was being sarcastic to herself.

    Wang Dong¡¯er nodded slightly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er chortled and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t any coincidences in this world! Do you really think that we¡¯d look so alike if our blood didn¡¯te from the same origin? Don¡¯t you think that I look quite like the Goddess of Light he holds in his heart?¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er was dazed. ¡°Sister Qiu¡¯er, what do you mean?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er said, ¡°My looks came from you. Or rather, it came from the projection of you that is imprinted the deepest in his heart, and which he was filled with love towards. That¡¯s the reason why I transformed myself into this appearance and appeared in front of him. However, I didn¡¯t expect that your so-called elder sister was false; it was actually you! This projection in his heart was actually a representation of you when you grew older.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er finally couldn¡¯t remain seated anymore. She suddenly stood up, and stared at Wang Qiu¡¯er, stunned. ¡°Qiu¡¯er, what¡¯re you talking about? You¡­ are your looks real or fake?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s grin grew wider and wider as she said, ¡°You¡¯ve doubted me for a long time, am I right? Truthfully, they aren¡¯t really fake. They¡¯re quite real. The only thing I¡¯ve done is establish this identity.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m telling you all this? It¡¯s because I suddenly feel like being selfish for once. Today, only one of us can live to see him again. If I can kill you, I might just have a chance, however small it may be, with him. I can still convince him to ept me through my hard work. However, if I don¡¯t do this, I won¡¯t have a chance at all. I¡¯m sorry, Dong¡¯er. I¡¯ve only ever loved him in my life. The moment I fell in love with him was when he disregarded everything and swallowed the scorching water from the zing Sunspring. Did you know that he almost died after he plucked that Yearning Heartbroken Grass for you? I saved him because there was another Yearning Heartbroken Grass nearby that I plucked for him. I fed it to him; if I hadn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to return alive to see you again. When I plucked that Yearning Heartbroken Grass for him, I realized that I¡¯d fallen deeply, hopelessly in love with him.

    ¡°Love is a selfish and possessive thing. He died for you in his past life; the life that he has now was given to him by the Yearning Heartbroken Grass that I plucked. He should belong to me. I love him; I really do love him.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s smile turned into tears. She continued to sit where she was, but tears had already filled her face.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was silent as she saw Wang Qiu¡¯er tears. However, there wasn¡¯t any shock or hostility in her eyes.

    She gently lowered her waist and bowed to Wang Qiu¡¯er, ¡°Qiu¡¯er, thank you. Thank you for letting Yuhao survive. If not for you, he would have died for me. I can sense your love for him¡ªit¡¯s very sincere. However, I have the same amount of passion and love for him.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Or rather, this Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley is right. Of the two of us, only one can remain together with him. No matter who wins or loses, I believe that we¡¯ll both still treat him well and love him well. Qiu¡¯er, I only have one request. If you win, and if you can, please transform into me to continue loving him. I don¡¯t want him to mourn my death. Can you do so?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s tears suddenly stopped flowing, and she shook her head silently. ¡°My transformation is final; I can only do it once. Moreover, you are you, and I am me. You are Wang Dong¡¯er, and I am Wang Qiu¡¯er. I want him to loveme.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er asked, ¡°Then, if I die, don¡¯t tell him how I died. Just tell him that I went missing. In this way, at least he¡¯ll still find some repose in his heart. In the future, you must love him and slowly transfer his love for me to yourself.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er opened her eyes wide, her pupils dting. She roared, ¡°Why are you saying all of this? Are you trying to make my determination waver? Dream on!¡±

    As she spoke, she sprung up from the ground. Her Golden Dragon Spear instantly appeared in her hand, turning into a streak of golden light as it pierced towards Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Her spear seemed to be surrounded by countless golden snakes and formed a huge golden dragon, its dominant aura seeming to pierce through the heavens and the earth. Suddenly, everything around it turned dim. This spear seemed to epass all of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s internal rage and persistence towards her love.

    A dazzling glow shone from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s back. She pointed her toes slightly towards the ground, before she drifted into the air. The wings of the Goddess of Light opened up and propelled her backward as if she were sliding on water.

    Yellow, purple, purple, ck, ck, ck. Six soul rings began to shine. Her second soul ring shone the brightest, and countless streaks from her Light of the Butterfly Goddess were released from her butterfly wings to strike the golden dragon that wasing towards her.

    Tremendous booms shook the air. Wang Dong¡¯er retreated as Wang Qiu¡¯er pointed her spear at her while pursuing her. In the blink of an eye, Wang Dong¡¯er had already been forced to one edge of the icy peak.

    Suddenly, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body sank down and the lights behind her were retracted. Instead, a pitch-ck hammer appeared in her hand.

    Sweep!

    Dang!

    Followed by a piercing sound, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear revealed its form. However, the strength of the hammer wasn¡¯t enough to force it awaypletely. It was only knocked away from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s torso.

    Bloody light appeared as the spear stabbed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s left arm, piercing it.

    Suddenly, the terrifying life-devouring ability of the Golden Dragon Spear was fully activated. However, golden halos shone from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s left arm. It was the power of the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, which kept the spear from devouring Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s life energy. However, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s arm still rapidly lost color.

    ¡°Why?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s gaze was sharp as she stared ruthlessly at Wang Dong¡¯er. She knew that she couldn¡¯t hurt Wang Dong¡¯er with this one strike given her abilities. Even if there was a gap between them, it wasn¡¯t huge. Although Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t have an Ultimate martial soul, she had twin martial souls. In terms of cultivation, she wasn¡¯t much inferior either.

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled slightly. ¡°Take this strike as repayment for saving Yuhao. However, don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t give up on this fight. On the contrary, I¡¯m still going to fight for my happiness. After suffering from this strike, I feel more at ease fighting for my happiness. Come on, Qiu¡¯er. Show me the best you¡¯ve got.¡±

    As she spoke, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s eyes brightened. Her powdery-blue eyes turnedpletely blue, and her Clear Sky Hammer disappeared. Once again, the wings of her Butterfly Goddess appeared. Following this, she turned into a streak of bluish-gold light and rose into the air.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er only felt her spear tremble slightly before Wang Dong¡¯er had freed herself from it. Following this, a streak of bluish-gold light shot up into the sky.

    It was Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s sixth soul skill, the Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had once used it against Yan Feng. Even though he was a Soul Sage and a Bone Dragon, he¡¯d almost been defeated by her Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance. This time, Wang Dong¡¯er was using it at the beginning of the fight.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, be careful. I won¡¯t show mercy!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s voice suddenly echoed out.

 Chapter 365.2 - Fighting For Happiness!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 365.2: Fighting For Happiness!</h4>

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was furious. ¡°Who needs your mercy?¡± She squatted down, before shooting upwards like a golden arrow. Her sixth soul ring shone as she shot up and unleashed her sixth soul skill, Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust. She¡¯d decided to pit her sixth soul skill against Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s sixth soul skill. Wang Qiu¡¯er was like a goddess of war right now; she had natural instincts for fighting. When she realized that something was different about Wang Dong¡¯er, she quickly increased her fighting strength to its maximum.

    A furious-looking golden dragon coiled around her body as it appeared. It slowly rose up along the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s shaft. Its instantaneous explosive power seemed to tear the entire sky apart.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was glowing brightly with dazzling light when she stopped in mid-air. Following this, the light scattered, and countless, small Radiant Butterfly Goddesses suddenly dispersed, before suddenly beginning to engulf Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance. This was indeed Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance.

    A sonorous dragon roar reverberated, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fifth soul ring instantly lit up.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had used her strongest skill immediately. Even though Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t know her intention, she was still determined to pit her strongest skills against Wang Dong¡¯er. Thebination of her Golden Dragon¡¯s Bloodlust and Golden Dragon¡¯s Roar was the strongest pairing of soul skills she could form.

    The Coiling Golden Dragon instantly grewrger, and started to cover Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body entirely. Its eyes werepletely red now, marking a sign of bloodlust. The entire icy peak was illuminated by the lighting off its body.

    The countless Radiant Butterfly Goddesses were like dazzling, bluish-gold clouds that bore down on Wang Qiu¡¯er, whereas the Coiling Golden Dragon charged towards them as if it were searching for light.

    When both parties came into contact with each other, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s dragon stopped, and the countless Radiant Butterfly Goddesses gently adhered to it. They didn¡¯t sh forcefully with the dragon, but rathernded on it gradually.

    This was using softness to conquer strength.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was clearly aware that she would lose to Wang Qiu¡¯er in a direct confrontation, even with the Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique of her Clear Sky Hammer. Wang Qiu¡¯er would never let her have the opportunity to unleash her Chaotic Splitting Wind Hammer Technique at its full strength. That was why there was only one way she could beat Wang Qiu¡¯er¡ªusing her softness to conquer Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength. Only her Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance was capable of suppressing Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The golden dragon instantly turned bluish-gold as it was engulfed by the Radiant Butterfly Goddesses. A huge bluish-gold projection also surfaced in the sky at the same moment.

    The golden dragon started to contort tremendously as it tried to break out of the trap set by the Radiant Butterfly Goddesses. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s explosive strength and dominant aura were continuously weakened as she tried to escape.

    Against Yan Feng, Wang Dong¡¯er had unleashed seven consecutive explosions using her Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance. Even with Yan Feng¡¯s evil soul master abilities, he¡¯d still needed to use his Martial Soul True Body to break free. However, even then he¡¯d still been hurt.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Butterfly Goddess¡¯ Dance was only possible because she could metamorphosize her abilities. She was no less gifted than Huo Yuhao. After all, she also had twin martial souls.

    At this point, Wang Qiu¡¯er finally experienced how strong Wang Dong¡¯er was.

    Boom!The first explosion rang out, and a huge Radiant Butterfly Goddess projection suddenly appeared, causing the Coiling Golden Dragon to turn even more bluish-gold.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­Another three explosions sounded. The golden dragon started to twist and contort tremendously. The Radiant Butterfly Goddesses surrounding it had also turned into bluish-gold patterns on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Boom, boom¡­The fifth and sixth explosions rang out, the terrifying explosions causing the golden dragon¡¯s aura to weaken significantly.

    However, the sky suddenly turned silent at this moment. The bluish-gold butterfly projection that appeared after the sixth explosion reverberated seemed to materialize in the air.

    Following this, a golden dragon projection appeared beneath it, and started to rapidly knock its way into Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Weng¡­! Ang¡­!

    The piercing golden lights seemed to create another small sun in the sky. Afterwards, an unprecedentedly domineering aura instantly erupted. The bluish-gold light faded away, and the dragon finally managed to break free from its restraints, escaping the encirclement before thest explosion urred.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure surfaced in the air, formed from abination of countless streaks of bluish-gold light. Right now, she seemed very pale, and her left arm sagged beside her body. However, her fifth soul ring also lit up, and she turned a transparent gold.

    This was her fifth soul skill, Goddess of Light¡¯s Possession.

    In the next moment, the golden dragon that had risen up shed with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess once again.

    Although they were both golden, they both had different styles and auras. The golden light from their bodies weaved in the air as they shed.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Coiling Golden Dragon both disappeared. Only two ravishing figures descended from the sky and graduallynded on the icy peak.

    Both Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed a little pale. However, their gazes were equally sharp.

    Although they¡¯d only shed for a short period of time, they¡¯d already given their all.

    Their long, powdery-blue hair fluttered in the air, and they were both very persistent and focused. Their resolve caused the icy peak to be filled with a somber air.

    As they werending, they were also recharging themselves. Their next sh was bound to be just as spectacr as before. It might even decide who the victor of this fight was.

    However, the sky lit up at this point. It was as if the sun had graced the icy peak with its presence. The bright golden light quickly attracted their attention.

    They lifted their head to look into the sky. What they saw left them both astonished and anxious.

    Amidst the golden lights, a figure was quickly charging towards another figure. However, the former figure was flung backwards every time he tried to attack. Blood continuously flowed from his body. However, he still crawled up in persistence and charged towards the illusory figure.

    ¡°Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s him?¡±

    Both of them spoke at almost the same time. Their strong fighting intent dissolved at this moment.

    The bluish-gold lights behind Wang Dong¡¯er started to ignite again. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to recover her powers anymore; the wings of her Goddess of Light quickly opened. As she fluttered them with force, she propelled herself towards the figure in the air that kept on being beaten down.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t fly, but this didn¡¯t affect her movement. She sank down, before suddenly springing up like a cannon shell. The strength of her Golden Dragon propelled her body upward towards the other¡¯s figure at an even faster speed than Wang Dong¡¯er.

    However, an indescribably terrifying force suddenly descended from the sky when they reached a certain altitude, causing them to be forced back down to the icy peak.

    ¡°No¡­!¡± Wang Dong¡¯er cried out in sorrow when she saw Huo Yuhao flung back yet again.

    As Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s character was different than hers, her reaction was also different. She didn¡¯t cry out, but rather gritted her teeth. She disregarded everything and sprang up into the air again.

    However, they were too weakpared to the force that had descended from the sky. All of their efforts were simply wasted.

    A bluish-gold figure slowly walked towards Huo Yuhao, and a shining trident appeared in his hand.

    ¡°No¡­!¡± This time, Wang Qiu¡¯er finally shouted along with Wang Dong¡¯er. They both had a desperate look in their eyes.

    At this point, the light projection paused, and the indifferent voice from earlier sounded yet again.

    ¡°No conclusion will be reached from this duel between the two of you. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll use another method. Huo Yuhao is on the brink of death right now. However, he¡¯ll survive so long as one of you is willing to sacrifice your life for his. However, you must remember that he might end up with the other person if he survives and you die. This means that you might grant your love rival her wish if you sacrifice your life to save him. The two of you will have three seconds to decide.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Three¡­¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little cruel to them? Wasn¡¯t his test sufficient?¡± A dull voice asked.

    ¡°If it was just to be my son-inw. However, my personal expectations of him aren¡¯t nearly that simple. Moreover, there¡¯s also a prerequisite to bing said son-inw. Have you forgotten?¡± A soothing voice replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy bing your son-inw! Why do I feel like you were trying to exact revenge earlier? Are all fathers like that when they see their daughters fall for someone else? You must be having fun with the fight, right?¡±

    The soothing voice coughed, before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t malign me! I¡¯m very impartial. Without a storm, how can there be a rainbow? I¡¯d already decided this when I let Xiao Qi descend on this world. In the future, if he can¡¯t let Xiao Qi¡­ I¡¯ll consider that nothing happened at all, then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too vicious!¡±

    ¡°How could it be easy to be my son-inw? Hmph! She¡¯s my favorite!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going a little overboard on your daughter as well¡­¡±

    ¡°Without a storm, there¡¯s no rainbow. Without setbacks, one won¡¯t learn how to treasure things.¡±

    ¡°Alright,alright. You win¡­¡±

    ¡°Without a storm, there¡¯s no rainbow.¡±

    ¡°Shut up before Iin to your wife! Oh yeah, does the boss know that you¡¯re doing this to his descendant?¡±

    ¡°I forgot to tell him¡­¡±

    ¡°Deliberately?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª-

    Huo Yuhao struggled to crawl up from the ground. He didn¡¯t know how many times he¡¯d been beaten to the ground at this point.

    He¡¯d been battered as soon as he¡¯d begun, and gone through the entire process death anding back several times at this point. He¡¯d slowly gotten used to this feeling, and had pestered his opponent longer and longer.

    Throughout this process, he¡¯d practically felt every type of pain one could imagine. He could even clearly remember the specific pain tied to a specific bone when it was crushed. This inhumane torture that he was suffering was akin to a form of baptism.

    However, this baptism seemed to make him stronger. Every time he experienced pain and gritted his teeth before charging towards his terrifying opponent, he felt that his mental resilience had be ever so slightly stronger.

 Chapter 365.3 - Fighting For Happiness!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 365.3: Fighting For Happiness!</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t a good feeling, but Huo Yuhao could clearly sense his improvement.

    The reason that he was able tost longer and longer against his opponent wasn¡¯t because his abilities had risen to a level where he could rival his opponent. Rather, it was because his opponent¡¯s abilities seemed to be weaker as time passed. Naturally, this enabled him tost longer.

    The longer hested, the greater the beatings he suffered. As time passed, he even felt that it would be better to be killed in one hit¡ªat least the pain would onlyst an instant. That, and he¡¯d only have to suffer the pain of death, rather than suffering the inhumane torture that he was currently being subjected to.

    Slowly, he was beginning to copse, and became extremely weak and confused. The only thought left was that he knew he had to charge towards his opponent with all his strength. He had to attack, fight, and go all-out.

    After some time, he was on the verge of copse. He fainted, but his opponent didn¡¯t kill him this time.

    In this strange ce, injuries healed at a miraculous speed. Huo Yuhao was able to clearly feel his crushed bones reassembled, his broken passageways re-connected, and his blood begin to circte through his body once again. He¡¯d already slowly gotten used to the terrifying pain the longer he fought.

    It¡¯s sofortable to just lie down! Why hasn¡¯t he killed me yet?

    When he finally crawled up from the ground once again, everything around him was empty, reced by an omni-present golden light. The bluish-gold figure had disappeared.

    Did I pass, or not?

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he wondered this.Going through that unforgettable experience should be enough for me to pass, right?If he had to go through it again, he might really lose his mind.

    However, was the abuse that he¡¯d gone through really all the test was about? It didn¡¯t feel like things would be so simple.

    At this point, his surroundings turned into a light fog that rose from the ground. The fog then started to formyers, before distorting.

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze. At this point, he¡¯d already fully recovered. Although he didn¡¯t know if there would be any more tests for him or if everything had ended, he felt extremely confident. Not only did he not possess any fear, he was instead eager.

    The brutal torture that he¡¯d experienced hadn¡¯t been for nothing. His abilities and mental resilience had both improved significantly.

    A light shed, turning the ground into a huge hexagonal projection. Countless esoteric symbols flit about and transformed within it.

    Everything here was unrestrained, unlike before. Huo Yuhao sensed that his soul power was still circting properly, and that his spiritual power was no longer suppressed.

    The only depressing thing was that his lower limbs had been frozen once again. The earlier neutralization of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice had lost its effect. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t connect with his ring in order to unleash his human-shaped soul tool to carry his body. As a result, he could only sit on the ground, using his arms to steady himself.

    At this point, two beams of golden light shone vertically not far in front of him. Two figures slowly became clear and appeared in front of him.

    These two figures were supporting each other. Their entire bodies were stained with blood as they appeared. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao was familiar with them, he wouldn¡¯t have recognized them.

    ¡°Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in shock.

    Dai Huabin also saw him. He lifted his head and struggled to nod. After Huo Yuhao had helped his father the previous time, he was no longer hostile towards him. However, there was a sorrowful look in his eyes at this moment.

    Dai Huabin was heavily wounded; it was as if he¡¯d just climbed out of a dye vat¡ªhis entire body was stained with blood. However, he still remained standing, and was supporting Zhu Lu in his arms. Zhu Lu¡¯s body was convulsing, and she groaned from time to time.

    Huo Yuhao could immediately tell that something was wrong with her using his Spirit Eyes.

    When he focused on Zhu Lu¡¯s body, he was extremely shocked to find out what was happening to her.

    Zhu Lu was in a tragic state: Her entire right arm had been bent out of shape. As for her face, it was only possible to see half of it, as it was covered in blood and wounds; only half of her nose and one ear remained. The remaining side of her face was extremely pale.

    ¡°Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, what¡¯s going on?¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask. It was very difficult for him to move right now, thus he could only sit where he was and question the two of them.

    Dai Huabin struggled to speak. ¡°She¡¯s been poisoned. To save her¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood what was going on. As he looked at the wounds all over Dai Huabin¡¯s body, he suddenly felt that his hatred towards him had slightly diminished.

    No, no! I can¡¯t forget my hatred towards him. He was the one who hurt mom, who caused her to¡­

    However, why didn¡¯t mom let me take revenge, and instead tell me that it was destiny?

    Huo Yuhao felt slightly tormented, and shut his eyes. To Dai Huabin, he had amiserating expression on his face.

    Dai Huabin helped Zhu Lu to the ground as he sat down next her. He lowered his head and let her lie on his thighs. Right now, he didn¡¯t appear nearly as fierce as before. There was only a gentle look in his eyes as he examined Zhu Lu¡¯s injuries. Tears also started to stream down uncontrobly from his eyes.

    ¡°Lulu, don¡¯t worry. When I decided to chop off your arm, I¡¯d already decided that I¡¯d love you and wed you as my wife no matter what became of you. You¡¯ll always be the most beautiful in my eyes. I¡¯ll kill whoever calls you ugly. I¡¯ll take care of you well. Even if I die, I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯te to any harm.¡±

    Dai Huabin was sobbing. Tears fell from his eyes with every word he said. All the promises in the world couldn¡¯tpare to a real-life experience. As he braved life and death with Zhu Lu, he¡¯d only managed to pass his Sincerity Adventure round after a few close brushes with death. He finally understood his own heart, and what the most important thing to him was.

    At this point, another two beams of golden light shone.

    Huo Yuhao quickly turned his attention to these two beams of light. While he was in low spirits because of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s condition, he knew that¡ªwith the appearance of these two beams of light¡ªit signified that Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had sessfully passed their rounds. This meant that they should be able to leave this ce alive. What about the rest of them? The remaining few people were all closely connected to him. They were either his good friends or his seniors. Most importantly, there was also his lover!

    The two beams of golden light that had just appeared became clear. This time, the two people who¡¯d appeared were in apletely different state than tragess that had befallen Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.

    They were still close together, but they were embracing each other.

    Xu Sanshi seemed very delighted, and was in high spirits.

    The ravishing Jiang Nannan was leaning against him in his arms with a blush on her face. She hugged one of his arms and wore a satisfied smile. Although there were tear stains next to her eyes, the two of them exuded a blissful aura.

    ¡°Third senior, fourth senior, are the two of you fine?¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m great. I¡¯m feeling extremely great! Hahahaha!¡± Xu Sanshi looked at Huo Yuhao and immediately broke out in delightedughter. However, he soon saw both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, and furrowed his brow. He shot an enquiring look at Huo Yuhao afterwards.

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lip and said, ¡°They¡¯re critically hurt. Zhu Lu¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi could see everything for himself even though he didn¡¯t finish his words. He was extremely shocked by the condition Zhu Lu was in.

    No matter what, they were still from the same academy. He didn¡¯t gloat over their misfortune, and quickly went over to the both of them before squatting down. He slowly released his gentle Xuanwu soul power.

    Behind him, the projection of a turtle-snake appeared . It was no longer wed, and didn¡¯t need to be activated with force. It was a pure Xuanwu!

    The gentle power of water quickly cleansed Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s wounds. Not only did it remove the bloodstains, but it also cleaned up their wounds.

    Although Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t know how to perform any medical treatment, the pure water element from his Xuanwu martial soul was very beneficial towards healing their wounds. At the very least, it would be able to remove the remaining poison in their bodies.

    Dai Huabin lifted his head, his eyes filled with gratitude as he nodded towards Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi sighed and said, ¡°If we can leave this ce alive, we can return to the academy and find someone to treat her. There¡¯s a healing and auxiliary-type teacher who¡¯s a Titled Douluo in the inner courtyard. Perhaps she can help heal her.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Dai Huabin seemed to be slightly disinterested, choosing only to hug Zhu Lu tighter.

    Another beam of golden light shone. This time there was only one beam.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister?¡± When they saw Zhang Lexuan, Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t help but call out to her. Another person had returned, which proved that another person had passed their test. It was a good thing to them.

    Zhang Lexuan smiled and nodded at them. After that, she also saw Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu and immediately rushed over. However, she didn¡¯t know how to treat them, and could onlyfort them.

    Huo Yuhao watched from the side, and was stunned to realize that Zhang Lexuan seemed to have be different. In the past, she rarely smiled. However, she now seemed to be casually grinning. Even though she¡¯d furrowed her brow after seeing Zhu Lu¡¯s critical injuries, the resentment that was normally there was gone. She seemed more approachable, and her eyes were brighter too. She was different!

    It seems like everyone has experienced different things in their Sincerity Adventure test. It¡¯s also the same with third and fourth seniors.

    However, what exactly happened to these two? Dong¡¯er, when will you return? Qiu¡¯er isn¡¯t here yet either. How¡¯s she doing?¡±

 Chapter 366.1 - Donger, Dont Die!

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 366.1: Dong¡¯er, Don¡¯t Die!</h4>

    At this point, another two beams of golden light shone. Huo Yuhao was eager as he turned his attention in that direction.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª!¡±

    Two people fell from the sky screaming and crashed to the ground.

    The two of them were hugging one another. However, they rolled on the ground after crashing, and seemed very disheveled.

    Huo Yuhao was disappointed.These two weren¡¯t the ones he was waiting for. They were Ning Tian and Wu Feng!

    Ning Tian and Wu Feng were panting heavily, and took some time to catch their breath. When they saw everyone looking at them, they started to cheer at the same time.

    ¡°We¡¯re alive!¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t dead!¡±

    As they cheered, they hugged each other tightly. They seemed to be delighted to be alive.

    Eight out of the earlier thirteen had returned.What about the remaining five?

    Just as Huo Yuhao was thinking that, another three beams of golden light shone down simultaneously. The first person to appear was Bei Bei, who seemed to be in a daze. He seemed to be trying to recall something.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned to see that Bei Bei was looking at him with a doubtful look in his eyes. The unfamiliar feeling in his eyes made it seem like he didn¡¯t know him.

    The other two who appeared with Bei Bei weren¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. They were He Caitou and Xiao Xiao!

    They also looked very weird. Xiao Xiao was sitting on He Caitou¡¯s right shoulder, swinging her legs. She was smiling sweetly, and hugging He Caitou¡¯s neck with her left hand. He Caitou was also grinning ear to ear.

    They¡¯re all back and they¡¯re all fine. What about Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er?

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly. He was finally bing a little anxious.Why aren¡¯t Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er back? What has happened to them? No, they¡¯re fine. They won¡¯t meet with any problems. They¡¯re both so outstanding. No matter what situation they encounter, they should be able to deal with it!

    Huo Yuhao was bing more and more nervous. The more he cared, the less able he was to keep calm.

    A projection suddenly lit up, but no one returned. Instead, a strange light screen was presented in front of everyone.

    The light screen turned from ethereal to clear. Everyone saw an icy mountain peak in front of them.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao immediately noticed Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er, who were both seated on this ice peak.

    Apart from the unconscious Zhu Lu, the rest were also drawn to this light screen.

    Bei Bei was also jolted out from his dazed state right now. He quickly hurried to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. He pped Yuhao¡¯s shoulder as he squatted down. ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t open his mouth. While he was a resilient person, how could he remain calm when Wang Dong¡¯er was about to get into trouble? The more he cared, the more vexed he was!

    A voice came from the light screen. When Huo Yuhao heard that voice and realized that only one of them could survive, he clenched his fists. If Bei Bei wasn¡¯t tightly holding onto his shoulder, he would have charged forward without any hesitation.

    ¡°Calm down, Yuhao. You must calm down and watch what happens. There must be a reason why we are being shown this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. He knew that Bei Bei was right. At such a time, being impulsive wasn¡¯t going to solve any problem.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s voices were both audible. Everyone wore a weird look on their faces when they heard their conversation.

    Although many of them knew that things were ambiguous between Wang Qiu¡¯er and Huo Yuhao, they hadn¡¯t expected her feelings for Huo Yuhao to be so intense. Even Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to approve of her love towards Huo Yuhao.

    In the light projection, their conversation¡­

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°¡°Love is selfish and possessive. He died for you in his past life. The life that he has now was given to him by the Yearning Heartbroken Grass that I plucked. He should belong to me. I love him. I really love him.¡±

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, thank you. Thank you for letting Yuhao survive. If not for you, he would have died for me. I can sense your love for him¡­ it¡¯s very sincere. However, I have the same passion and love for him.¡±

    ¡°You are right, or rather this Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley is right. Of the two of us, only one can be together with him. No matter who wins or loses, I believe that we¡¯ll still treat him and love him well. Qiu¡¯er, I only have one request. If you win, and if you can, please transform into me to continue loving him. I don¡¯t want him to mourn my death. Can you do so?¡±

    ¡°My transformation is final. I can only do it once. Moreover, you are you, and I am me. You are Wang Dong¡¯er, and I am Wang Qiu¡¯er. I want him to loveme.¡±

    ¡°Then, if I die, don¡¯t tell him how I died. Just tell him that I went missing. In this way, he¡¯ll at least still find some repose in his heart. In the future days, you must love him and slowly transfer his love for me to you.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying all this for? Are you trying to make my determination waver? Dream on!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Everyone was stunned after hearing their conversation.Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s looks were based on Wang Dong¡¯er? Who is she, then? What final transformation? She can turn into a human? Even Elder Xuan can¡¯t detect her transformation? What, what exactly is this?

    Huo Yuhao noticed something different from the rest. When he heard Wang Dong¡¯er said ¡°I only have one request. If you win, and if you can, please transform into me to continue loving him. I don¡¯t want him to mourn my death. Can you do so?¡± His eyes immediately turned red.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er¡­!¡± he shouted loudly. However, he couldn¡¯t influence what was going on in the projection.

    Bloody light scattered as Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear stabbed into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s arm. However, Wang Dong¡¯er remained as calm as ever.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes in torment. He couldn¡¯t make himself watch their fight.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was his lover. However, what about Wang Qiu¡¯er? Wang Qiu¡¯er said that she was the one who gave Huo Yuhao his current life. If not for her, he would have died in the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Was he supposed to hate Wang Qiu¡¯er for hurting Wang Dong¡¯er? He couldn¡¯t possibly do so. Right now, he only felt that he was the one in the wrong. He didn¡¯t manage his rtionships with Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er well, which led to this current tragedy.

    What do I do? What do I do? I can¡¯t bear for either of them to be hurt!

    Tremendous booms sounded, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingernails had already pierced into his palm. Right now, he was feeling very conflicted and helpless.

    ¡°Yuhao, look.¡± Huo Yuhao opened his eyes as Bei Bei shook him tremendously. He was stunned to find out that he had appeared in the projection. He had appeared in another projection above the ice peak. The bluish-gold figure that he had fought earlier also appeared.

    Wasn¡¯t this the moment when he charged at that figure for thest time?

    Where are Qiu¡¯er and Dong¡¯er? They¡¯ve stopped fighting, and they were suppressed by some kind of force. They must be very anxious because of me¡­

    In that light projection, the bluish-gold figure was walking step by step towards him. There was a bright-golden trident in his hand too.

    ¡°No¡­!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er shouted at the same time. They both had a desperate look in their eyes.

    At this point, the projection paused, and the indifferent voice from earlier sounded once again.

    ¡°There¡¯s no conclusion from this duel between the two of you. Since this is the case, we¡¯ll use another method. Huo Yuhao is on the brink of death right now. He¡¯ll survive as long as one of you is willing to sacrifice your life for his. However, you must remember that he might end up with the other person if he survives and you die. This means that you might grant your love rival her wish if you sacrifice your life to save him. The two of you only have three seconds to decide.¡±

    ¡°Three¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shout in fury when he watched until here. ¡°Scoundrel! You can¡¯t do this! You can¡¯t do this! I¡¯ll die, let me die instead!¡± He struggled to break free from Bei Bei¡¯s grasp and crawled towards the projection in front of him. It was also at this point that it suddenly dissipated, turning into spots of light. A thick beam of light descended from the sky andnded not far away from him.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide to see who was in it.

    He saw two figures in it.

    Yes, there were two figures!

    However, they weren¡¯t standing side by side. One person was carrying the other person.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one standing. Wang Dong¡¯er was peacefully lying in her arms.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. At this moment, he had already focused his gaze. He opened his eyes wide, and couldn¡¯t believe the scene in front of him. Following this, he struggled to use his hands to support his body and crawl towards Wang Qiu¡¯er with all his strength.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er! How are you? Dong¡¯er!¡±

 Chapter 366.2 - Donger, Dont Die!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 366.2: Dong¡¯er, Don¡¯t Die!</h4>

    Everyone else stood quietly at the side. At this moment, they didn¡¯t know how tofort Huo Yuhao. Even though they could guess what had happened, they didn¡¯t want to believe it was the truth.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er also appeared to be in a daze as she carried Wang Dong¡¯er. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao crawled over in front of her. He tugged at her pants and wanted to get up to see Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er squatted down and passed Wang Dong¡¯er to Huo Yuhao.

    Right now, Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t breathing. However, her eyes were wide open. Even though she was already dead, Huo Yuhao could still see the reluctance and yearning in her eyes.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao peered into the sky and wailed tragically. His hysterical voice echoed loudly in the air. Tears flowed down his face; he had broken downpletely now.

    What happened? What happened after the projection disappeared?

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°There¡¯s no conclusion from this duel between the two of you. Since this is the case, we¡¯ll use another method. Huo Yuhao is on the brink of death right now. He¡¯ll survive as long as one of you is willing to sacrifice your life for his. However, you must remember that he might end up with the other person if he survives and you die. This means that you might grant your love rival her wish if you sacrifice your life to save him. The two of you only have three seconds to decide.¡±

    ¡°<strong>Three¡­</strong>¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a daze. She subconsciously looked at Wang Dong¡¯er, and was stunned.

    There was a pair of milky-white hands that radiated fearlessness¡­.

    There was a pair of eyes that yearned for life and love¡­

    There was a sorrow that carried a sense of reluctance¡­

    There was a natural stroke of decisiveness that gave no regard for anything else¡­.

    There wasn¡¯t any hesitation. There was no dy or waiting. It was just for Huo Yuhao, so that he could escape danger a second earlier.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pressed her milky-white hands against her forehead, and a blinding golden light shone.

    Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings instantly changed into countless spots of light before dissipating.

    She wasn¡¯t looking at the sky, but at Wang Qiu¡¯er. There was a look of pleading and exhortation in her eyes. There was also a strong look of reluctance¡­

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted, and she turned into a beam of flowing light before charging towards Wang Dong¡¯er. She grabbed Dong¡¯er before she copsed to the ground.

    Wang Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t hold back as she attempted suicide. At this moment, there was no longer any vibrancy in her eyes. Blood oozed out from her pores too. However, there was also a tinge of satisfaction in her eyes even though she was reluctant.

    ¡°I¡­ have¡­ won¡­¡±

    Tears flowed uncontrobly from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes at this moment. ¡°You¡¯ve won. Yes. You¡¯ve won. Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t die¡­ you¡­¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er smiled, but didn¡¯t shut her eyes. She looked into the sky instead, at the figure that had retracted his golden trident. She also looked at Huo Yuhao, who still hadn¡¯t risen to his feet.

    The bluish-gold figure holding the trident seemed to be staring back at her. The light from his body dimmed, and he silently vanished from the sky.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was trying to look at Huo Yuhao, even though she was slowly losing her life. However, she still couldn¡¯t bear to shut her eyes even as she was about to die. She still wanted to take ast look at Huo Yuhao.

    I really want to be your wife¡­

    I really want to be with you every moment¡­

    I really want to bear our kids¡­

    I really want to love you forever¡­

    I really want to¡­

    The shiny beads of tears in her eyes also seemed to turn powdery-blue as they streamed down Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s cheeks¡­

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was in a daze as she lifted Dong¡¯er up. Her tears continuously fell onto Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s clothes. As she watched Wang Dong¡¯er slowly lose her life, she knew that she had lost.

    ¡°You win. You love him more than me. You can bepletely selfless for him. At that moment, I actually wished that you would die for him so that I could be with him. I don¡¯t feel maligned losing to you. However, why am I in so much pain? Dong¡¯er, I should be the one who¡¯s dying. I¡¯ve lost. I¡¯ve really,pletely lost this time. You died for him, and I can¡¯t bring myself to lie to him. I¡¯ve lost, and you¡¯ve won. He¡¯ll only love one person in his entire life. It¡¯ll never change¡­¡±

    Boundless golden light descended from the sky and quickly engulfed them. In the next moment, the stars realigned, and time was distorted.

    ¡ª

    ¡°She won. She used her life to tell me that she loves you more than me. She won.¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was smiling bitterly as she stood up. Her body trembled as she turned around and walked away step by step. She walked toward the boundless golden world.

    No one stopped her. No one could stop her.

    No one had expected that the person to perish in this Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley would eventually be Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body tightly. He only felt that his heart had left with her. At this moment, the others were surrounding him. Bei Bei squatted down and softly sped Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    However, no one was able to say anyforting words. Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan were already crying miserably.

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s dead. Dong¡¯er¡¯s actually dead¡­ she¡¯s dead because she wanted Yuhao to remain alive¡­

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao lifted his head and opened his eyes wide. He shouted, ¡°Dong¡¯er isn¡¯t dead. Dong¡¯er isn¡¯t dead. This, this is the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. You can revive her, right? Right?¡± Huo Yuhao looked into the sky. After this, he ced Wang Dong¡¯er down beside him and crawled forward a bit before starting to kowtow.

    ¡°Please, please, revive Dong¡¯er. I¡¯m willing to exchange my life and spirit for hers. Please¡­¡±

    He was crying his guts out at this moment. In just a few kowtows, Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead was already bruising and bleeding.

    Xu Sanshi wanted to go forward to pull him up, but he was stopped by Bei Bei. Bei Bei knew that this was the only way in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    The entire ce suddenly lit up. Wang Qiu¡¯er was dragged back by an irresistible force. Different streaks of light illuminated everyone¡¯s bodies, sealing them all.

    At this point, the indifferent voice that everyone was afraid of echoed forth.

    ¡°Dai Huabin, have you realized what you truly want after going through so much?¡±

    Dai Huabin was stunned. He lifted his head into the sky and replied, ¡°I just want to be with my Lulu. Nothing else matters.¡± Zhu Lu¡¯s injuries left him grief-stricken. However, he felt that he was very fortunate as he looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. At least Zhu Lu was still alive¡­

    ¡°You were drawn by beauty, but you managed to find yourself in the end. This shows that affection is important to you. You¡¯ve passed your Sincerity Adventure round, and you¡¯ll be rewarded. Your reward will be a Substitution of Love. You can choose to move Zhu Lu¡¯s injuries to your own body to fully heal her. If you don¡¯t want to, you can choose to increase both yours and Zhu Lu¡¯s soul power by five ranks.¡±

    After hearing the the voice, Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I choose to ept the Substitution of Love. Please begin.¡±

    After hearing until here, even Huo Yuhao lifted his head. He was surprised as he looked at Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.Substitution of Love. If there¡¯s such a thing, does it mean I can substitute my own life for Dong¡¯er¡¯s?He suppressed his sorrow and hugged Wang Dong¡¯er tightly as he watched Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu¡¯s bodies change.

    A streak of golden light shed by andnded on their bodies. Something strange urred instantly. Dai Huabin¡¯s right arm vanished like melting ice, while Zhu Lu¡¯s right arm was slowly growing out. She was also trembling slightly.

    Dai Huabin seemed to be in great pain, but he didn¡¯t even look at his right arm. He only grit his teeth and bore the pain.

    It wasn¡¯t just his right arm that was experiencing changes. His face was also experiencing changes¡­ it was starting to rot!

    Dai Huabin lowered his head to look at Zhu Lu. Seeing that her injuries were slowly healing, the look in his eyes turned gentler even though he was perspiring from the intense pain.

    Suddenly, the golden lights that engulfed them became stronger before vanishing along with the two of them.

    ¡°Xu Sanshi, you were willing to give up your future as a soul master for love. It¡¯s very touching. You are also filled with kindness. You¡¯ve passed your Sincerity Adventure round. I believe you¡¯ve already obtained the best reward that you could possibly get.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s gaze shifted away from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve obtained the best reward. I¡¯ll treasure Nannan in the future.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Nannan, you¡¯ve also rid yourself of the trauma in your heart. You are gentle and kind, but you couldn¡¯t fulfill your filial duties because of what happened to you. But Xu Sanshi fulfilled them for you, and thus you¡¯ve also passed. Compared to Xu Sanshi¡¯splete awakening of his Xuanwu, your reward will be less grand. Your soul power will be increased to Rank 60. You can go and find a suitable soul ring now.¡±

    A huge beam of golden light descended from the sky and engulfed them. Jiang Nannan also lit up with white halos. As the light shed, the two of them disappeared.

    Rewards. They all passed, and are being rewarded.

    The sorrow in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly turned into hope.When will it be my turn? When will it be our turn? I don¡¯t want anything else but to revive Dong¡¯er¡­

 Chapter 366.3 - Donger, Dont Die!

    Chapter 366.3: Dong¡¯er, Don¡¯t Die!</h4>

    ¡°Zhang Lexuan,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Zhang Lexuan lifted her head to peer into the sky. There was a confused look in her eyes.

    ¡°Love is never a punishment. However, you¡¯ll only hurt yourself if you indulge in a love without an oue. You¡¯ll also receive the best reward possible; an opportunity to forget. Go and find your true love.¡±

    A golden light shed, and Zhang Lexuan disappeared.

    ¡°Ning Tian, Wu Feng.¡±

    Ning Tian and Wu Feng were standing side by side right now. They lifted their heads to look into the sky.

    ¡°Dying for love and walking away from the pain. The two of you have passed your Sincerity Adventure rounds. The reward that you are going to get is going to be quite heavy, thus the two of you will share one reward. This reward will solve all your problems. Ning Tian, you¡¯ll be a man from today onward. Go.¡±

    Two beams of golden light shone at the same. Ning Tian and Wu Feng were shocked as they looked at each other before they were taken away.

    Ning Tian¡¯s familial pressure would be greatly alleviated if she were a man. In addition, the dilemma that she and Wu Feng faced in their rtionship could also be resolved. After going through the three rounds, this was what she wanted too. Changing her gender was indeed the best way to solve the root of their problems.

    ¡°Bei Bei!¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to get a reward, I want Xiao Ya!¡± Bei Bei said eagerly.

    ¡°You barely passed your Sincerity Adventure round, as your lover isn¡¯t around. This was also the reason why it was easier for you to pass. You¡¯ve already received your reward. Remember, there are clues in everything you¡¯ve seen. You¡¯ll have three opportunities to release the final glow to inquire of other people. Go.¡±

    Before Bei Bei could say anything, a golden light shed, and he was dragged away and vanished.

    Everyone¡¯s situation was indeed different. At this point, the only people left were He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly, and felt his forehead swelling. There were even some bloodstains on his forehead. Considering how strong his body was, he must have kowtowed strongly¡­

    The voice echoed again, but it didn¡¯t call Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°He Caitou, Xiao Xiao.¡±

    He Caitou and Xiao Xiao looked into the sky at the same time. Xiao Xiao was holding onto He Caitou¡¯s arm. Even though they knew that they weren¡¯t going to be punished, Dong¡¯er¡¯s death still left them very tense. In this valley, they simply could not control their own destiny.

    ¡°Revealing your true feelings in the face of a crisis. He Caitou, the release of the knot in your heart is your reward. Are you content?¡±

    He Caitou nodded forcefully and replied, ¡°I am. However, can you revive Dong¡¯er¡­?¡±

    The voice seemed to ignore his request, ¡°Xiao Xiao, you used your love to untie the knot in your lover¡¯s heart. You deserve to be rewarded. He Caitou, reveal your original appearance as Xu He. This will be the greatest reward for Xiao Xiao. At the same time, Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul power will be increased to Rank 60.¡±

    A beam of golden light descended from the sky and engulfed both of their bodies. He Caitou¡¯s appearance started to transform strangely. As his face contorted, he slowly turned into someone else.

    His skin was still tan, and he was still bald. However, he now had bushy eyebrows and huge eyes, and his overall look was very charming.

    This was the true He Caitou! He was actually Xu He, but he had used a secret technique of the previous dynasty to alter his appearance!

    Xiao Xiao was in a daze as she looked at He Caitou. She was a little stunned, and asked, ¡°So you are actually this handsome?¡±

    He Caitouughed bitterly. ¡°In fact, I¡¯d already forgotten how I looked. Since the knot in my heart has been untied, then let me regain my own appearance. It no longer matters if I¡¯m recognized. I¡¯ll be me, and I¡¯m Xu He. However, I¡¯ll always be your He Caitou too. Xiao Xiao, I promise you that I won¡¯t hide anything from you from today on.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Xiao nodded, but she was still a little worried when she looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er. Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, she shared the best rtionship with Wang Dong¡¯er. They had grown up together, and had been together ever since they entered Shrek Academy. They had gone through too many things together. She wasn¡¯t any less sad than Huo Yuhao over Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s death. Right now, she was still very sorrowful.

    However, both she and He Caitou vanished as golden lights shed, before she managed to make any requests.

    At this point, only Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er were left in this ce.

    Wang Qui¡¯er was still a little stunned. Her eyes were lifeless, as if she had lost her spirit. Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead was bruised, and he was shuddering slightly. This was a testament to how tense he felt right now.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Wang Qiu¡¯er. Your three fates are closely interlinked. However, true love is always mutual, and it can only be between two parties. That¡¯s why only two of you can get together eventually. Wang Dong¡¯er is already dead. Huo Yuhao, are you willing to give your love to Wang Qiu¡¯er and love her properly in the future?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I only want Dong¡¯er to be revived.Please revive Dong¡¯er. No matter what you do to me, I hope you can revive Dong¡¯er.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was still trembling. He was sobbing heavily, and tears flowed down his face uncontrobly.

    ¡°The death of one person is a win-win situation for all three of you. At least one person will be spared the pain. Isn¡¯t this good? Don¡¯t be obstinate.¡± The indifferent voice sounded a little angry.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not good at all. I only want Dong¡¯er, and I only love her. If you are unwilling to revive her, then kill me too. Even if I go to another world, I want to be with her. I don¡¯t ever want to separate from her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong¡¯er tightly and stuck his face close to hers. He already seemed to be very dazed as his tears fell onto Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s cheeks. At this point, the fear and sorrow in his heart slowly diminished. If Wang Dong¡¯er was dead, he would choose to die. If Wang Dong¡¯er was alive, he would remain alive. While this Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley could decide a person¡¯s fate, there wasn¡¯t much for him to be worried about after Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s death, since his heart had already died with her.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly lifted her head and shouted, ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be dead! Let me die in exchange for Dong¡¯er¡¯s life. In this way, they can be together. I shouldn¡¯t have appeared in their lives. I affected them. Just let me die. Let <em>me</em> die!¡±

    The indifferent voice went silent. It seemed to be thinking, or rather, hesitating.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head to look at Wang Qiu¡¯er. He took in a deep breath and shook his head slightly. He said, ¡°No, Qiu¡¯er, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. You never did anything wrong at all. I was the one in the wrong. I hurt both you and Dong¡¯er. Now that things havee to this stage, you must live well. Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, does it mean that we are all entitled to a reward since we¡¯ve reached this stage?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. However, the dead person will not be rewarded.¡± The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley answered.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I shall not plead for you to revive Dong¡¯er. Instead, I hope that you can make Qiu¡¯er forget me and everything that happened between the three of us. Can you do that? After that, let us leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°Forgetting everything might be a good thing at times. However, are you willing, Wang Qiu¡¯er?¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er shook her head with strength and replied, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to forget. I would rather bear this pain than forget this experience. This is the most painful yet unforgettable memory of my life. Whether I¡¯m dead or alive, I want to preserve this memory. Don¡¯t take it away!¡±

    ¡°Ahhhhh¡­ there will never be happiness in a love triangle. Alright, I¡¯ll grant both of your wishes, since this is the case.¡±

    A beam of golden light descended from the sky and shone on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body first. In the next moment, she had already vanished.

    Following this, another beam of white light shone on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao could clearly sense the warmth from this beam of white light.

    ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er sacrificed herself for love. Her utterly fearless spirit ismendable. I¡¯ll revive her. However, you must remember today¡¯s lesson and hold fast to your words, Huo Yuhao. Otherwise, you¡¯ll face tougher tests in the future. You¡¯ll need to be even tougher than this. Do you understand?¡±

    After hearing that the Love Querying Valley was willing to revive Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao was suddenly full of energy. He started to be very excited, and nodded his head desperately. His tears immediately stopped flowing.

    ¡°Death is sometimes not scary. The path that you¡¯re going to take is destined to be tough. Do your best.¡±

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s rigid body slowly became softer. Herplexion slowly regained its color too, and her chest also started to rise and fall. Her life energy was restored under the nourishment of that beam of white light.

    Huo Yuhao only felt that he had never felt so weak before. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s death to her resurrection tortured him more than the three tests he had had to go through earlier.

    Seeing that Wang Dong¡¯er was slowly recovering, he hugged her body as if he were holding a treasure. He was choking with his sobs.

    After a brief moment, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s breathing became normal again, and her face regained its rosy color.

    Alive, my Dong¡¯er is alive!

    Huo Yuhao finally smiled. At this moment, he only felt that Wang Dong¡¯er was the most beautiful thing in this world.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± the indifferent voice suddenly sighed. At this moment, it seemed to be slightly more emotional.

    Huo Yuhao had been in a very tense state for a long time. After hearing this sigh, he reacted quickly and blurted out, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a problem with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s resurrection.¡± The voice sounded even more helpless.

 Chapter 367.1 - The Slumbering Donger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 367.1: The Slumbering Dong¡¯er</h4>

    ¡°Problem? What problem?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice instantly became a lot sharper. He hugged Wang Dong¡¯er even tighter, not willing to let go at all.

    ¡°I have gathered her life energy, but it¡¯s still flowing away by itself, as if she¡¯s lost her spirit. However, I¡¯ve already reassembled her spirit. This problem should stem from her own body, except it¡¯s been triggered by what she just went through. That¡¯s not something that I can deal with, so you¡¯ll have to think of another solution to sustain her life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had just received hope when these words fell into his ears and struck him like thunderbolts. Huo Yuhao felt like he was going insane.

    Calm down, calm down. I have to be calm.At a time like this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s training as an Ultimate Soldier came into effect. At least, Wang Dong¡¯er was breathing, and there was life energy in her body. This meant that she was alive, and as long as Wang Dong¡¯er was still alive, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be as disoriented and panicky like he was before.

    The Yin-Yang Life Querying Valley¡¯s mysterious entity mentioned that Wang Dong¡¯er is experiencing this because of issues that originate from herself. But what¡¯s wrong with her body?

    A thought urred to Huo Yuhao as he contemted this issue. He suddenly recalled the secret letter that the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect leader, Niu Tian, and Tai Tan had given to him.Wang Dong¡¯er mentioned afterwards that the contents of their letter were made up, and everything was meant to test him. However, if Dong¡¯er¡¯s body is having its own problems, can it be¡­?

    With this thought in his head, Huo Yuhao immediately retrieved the storage-type soul tool from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s pockets that he had given her some time ago without any hesitation at all, and retrieved the Yearning Heartbroken Grass that possessed mystical and miraculous powers.

    This herb had pristine white petals, and blood threaded through each one. This was the immortal herb that Huo Yuhao had almost paid his life to retrieve.

    A long time had passed, but this herb was still fresh, pristine, and filled with the energy of life.

    The Yearning Heartbroken Grass had miraculous medicinal effects, and it could save any person¡¯s life as long as that person was still breathing.Yes, this herb will definitely save Dong¡¯er!

    Huo Yuhao no longer hesitated as his thoughts stopped here, and he carefully ced the herb next to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s lips.

    But he quickly realized that there was no way Wang Dong¡¯er could eat this medicinal herb.

    With hope in his heart, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was especially agile and flexible. He instantly stuffed the herb into his mouth without any hesitation at all, and chewed it up into juice with a few chomps as he sealed his own throat. He wasn¡¯t about to let a single drop flow down his throat, and he lowered his head as he carefully poured the juice into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s mouth.

    The Yearning Heartbroken Grass was a little bitter, but there seemed to be a tinge of sweetness amidst that bitterness. Love was the same; bitterness and sweetness would always exist at the same time.

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s lips were warm and tender, and kissing her was indescribably mesmerizing. Huo Yuhao carefully parted her rosy lips, and allowed every single drop of the herbal juice in his mouth to flow into hers.

    Huo Yuhao stared nervously at Wang Dong¡¯er after he was done. He believed that what he had done was right, but how could he be confident of sess before Dong¡¯er was revived? Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s illness was something that not even the mysterious Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley could treat.

    Time continued to pass, and Dong¡¯er¡¯s pretty face was still ruddy, looking very delicate and charming. Huo Yuhao had gently closed her beautiful eyes, and she seemed like a sleeping beautyying in a deep slumber.

    Huo Yuhao was starting to feel threads of anxiety building up in his heart when a faint aroma finally wafted up from Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body. This aroma was very faint and in, but it was exceptionally fragrant and refreshing. A vagueyer of light could be seen circting beneath Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s skin, and her body slowly began emanating a dense life energy.

    ¡°Did it work? Dong¡¯er, she¡­¡± Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky and asked nervously.

    ¡°You gave her a Yearning Heartbroken Grass, didn¡¯t you? I didn¡¯t expect you to have an immortal herb like that¡­¡± That mysterious entity seemed to sound a little anxious. ¡°Back then¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with whatever else that voice wanted to say, and he hurriedly pressed the issue. ¡°Is she alright?¡±

    The voice seemed a little dissatisfied because Huo Yuhao had interrupted it. It answered inly, ¡°She¡¯s full of life energy, so her condition is stable. However, her spirit is still messy and disorganized, and this condition isn¡¯t something that external forces can treat. She has to adjust her spirit by herself so she can wake up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°She will be in aa indefinitely. I have no idea how long she will remain in this state. She has to rely on her own strength to wake up, and it remains to be seen whether she has it in her to do so. Alright, the two of you may leave. I will reward you, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er by raising your soul power by five ranks. You may go.¡±

    ¡°No! Wait! Dong¡¯er shouldn¡¯t have to die. This was just your test for her! You should be able to save her! Please let her wake up, let her wake up¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shouted frantically, but no matter how much he yelled, the mysterious entity didn¡¯t entertain him at all. Intense golden light shone down on them and swept him and Wang Dong¡¯er away as heaven and earth spun around them. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er disappeared from this mysterious ce just like that.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Hexagonal light continued to flicker, and some mysterious, magnificent glyphs grew brighter and brighter.

    ¡°Is this what you wanted? Those two children are so pitiful.¡± The voice that belonged to the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡¯s mysterious entity seemed very upset.

    Another melodious voice could be heard. ¡°That¡¯s enough. I have my reasons. If they don¡¯t experience some winds and rain¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fulfilled my duty. I¡¯m going back. I¡¯m going to look for your wife for a chat when I get there! Hmph!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Golden light sparkled as Huo Yuhao reappeared with Wang Dong¡¯er in his arms. When he could see his surroundings clearly, he realized to his surprise that the valley he was in was filled with people.

    Elder Xuan, Xian Lin¡¯er, and several elders from Shrek Academy, along with everyone else, were all here.

    There were scars and marks of battle around him. The valley¡¯s inner regions had been severely damaged, and it was evident that a great battle had just urred in this ce not too long ago.

    Elder Xuan came to them in a sh when he saw Huo Yuhao appear with Wang Dong¡¯er in his arms. He lifted his hands, and a thread of gentle soul power supported Huo Yuhao so that he could stand up straight. Everyone¡¯s eyesnded on Wang Dong¡¯er, who was still in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, at the same time.

    The other five members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters gathered around first. Bei Bei asked in grave concern, ¡°Yuhao, Dong¡¯er¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned and looked at Bei Bei, and Bei Bei could see his fortitude and perseverance in his eyes.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er is alright, she¡¯s just asleep. I want to take her home; perhaps only the people in her family have any hope of awakening her. I can¡¯t return to the Academy for now, Elder Xuan, I¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan ced his hand on Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s wrist to check her pulse, and a look of pleasant surprise shed across his eyes. He had just heard from the others that Wang Dong¡¯er was dead, but it was evident that Wang Dong¡¯er was very much alive. However, she was in aa for some reason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, Yuhao. Tell us what happened. It¡¯s better if everyone can brainstorm together to think about how to save her.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao wiped the tears off his face, and recounted everything that he and Wang Dong¡¯er had gone through after everyone else had left.

    Everyone exchanged looks with one another as they listened to his story, but they were all a little lost and confused.

    Their experience in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley was truly quite an adventure, and everyone went through life and death before they managed to leave this ce alive.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s initial reminder, nobody told any lies inside the valley. This was how everyone managed to escape unscathed, with the exception of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Elder Xuan was the first toe out. He only heard that in voice once, and it said, ¡°You are too old, so you don¡¯t have to go through the Sincerity Adventure. You don¡¯t have any hope for love anymore, so you¡¯re allowed to leave.¡±

    Elder Xuan came out, and he coincidentally ran into several evil Titled Douluo who were standing guard in this ce. The great battle that happened afterwards was inevitable.

    Evil soul masters were powerful, but Elder Xuan was also a formidable individual, and almost an Ultimate Douluo. Elder Xuan could unleash his full abilities because he didn¡¯t have to protect anyone around him, and he relied on his incredible prowess to force those evil soul masters away.

    Everyone¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look so good at this moment. They had each had their own gains from Sincerity Adventure, but everyone had been taught a lesson, and everyone had been dealt a heavy blow. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s current situation worsened everyone¡¯s mood. Who could be happy at a time like this?

    Several elders checked Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body one after another, and all they could do was shake their heads repeatedly. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s circumstances were just as the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley¡¯s mysterious entity had said.

    Her body was normal, and she was full of life energy, while her soul power was stronger than before. She was five ranks higher than before, putting her above Rank 66. However, the problem was in her spiritual sea. There was something very wrong with her spiritual sea. Her spiritual sea was sealed shut, and her spirit seemed to be undting in a disorderly manner within her spiritual sea.

    The human brain had always been the most profound and mysterious entity. Not even Elder Xuan dared to force his way into Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s spiritual sea, because her life would truly be lost if something went wrong.

    Everyone discussed it for a short time before Elder Xuan said, ¡°We¡¯ve exited the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. This experience has been very strange and sinister, but at least everyone is safe and sound in the end. We should return to the Academy as soon as possible. Yuhao, you¡¯ll take care of Dong¡¯er, and when we enter the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders, you can take her back to the Clear Sky Sect so that her family can help treat her.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao was back inside his human-shaped soul tool at this moment, and could stand up once more. Soul power rippled in his body as well, but the difference between Wang Dong¡¯er and him was that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t far from Rank 60 now, after being given five ranks of soul power. He would be a Soul Emperor if he made another breakthrough.

    Huo Yuhao possessed an Ultimate martial soul, and an Ultimate martial soul¡¯s true strength and might could only be seen and realized after Rank 70. However, every step to Rank 70 was very difficult. Huo Yuhao had acquired many painful memories from his time in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, but at least he had gotten some rewards in return¡­

 Chapter 367.2 - The Slumbering Donger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 367.2: The Slumbering Dong¡¯er</h4>

    Elder Xuan led the group, and Shrek Academy¡¯s various powerful individuals protected everyone else as everybody activated their flying-type soul tools and soared into the sky. They wanted to avoid any more conflicts with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s powerful individuals, so they flew towards the west for a little while longer before they went around in arge circle towards the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    No matter how strong the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers were, they couldn¡¯t scout and patrol every single inch of the empire¡¯s borders. Everyone flew at full speed for a day and a night before they exited the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders and entered the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Elder Xuan made sure that they were safe before he took everyone to a rtively tranquil and remote forest. They descended into the forest, and Elder Xuan instructed everyone to rest where they were.

    Huo Yuhao had been carrying Wang Dong¡¯er this entire time, and he had even activated a protective soul barrier to protect her while they flew.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was still in a very, very deep sleep. She seemed to have entered a peculiar state of hibernation, and her blood cirction became a lot slower after flying through the air for an entire day. However, her life energy was still exuberant, but she almost didn¡¯t expend any energy at all, to the point where it was almost undetectable. She resembled a winter animal that was hibernating for the winter.

    Huo Yuhao scanned her sealed spiritual sea with his spiritual power, but didn¡¯t detect any changes at all. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s spiritual undtions had be exceptionally weak, but Huo Yuhao found it easier toe to terms with this fact ¨C no matter what, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s condition was rtively stable, at the very least.

    The other five members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters conscientiously circled around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er so that they could protect them.

    Bei Bei heaved a faint sigh as he watched the grief that flowed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes from time to time. He squatted down and patted Huo Yuhao on his shoulder as he carefully ced Wang Dong¡¯er on a woolen nket that had beenid out for her. Bei Bei said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so depressed, Yuhao. Dong¡¯er will definitely recover. Everyone has absolute faith that she will recover. Remember to ask if she needs any exotic herbs of whatnot after you take her back to the Clear Sky Sect, and the few of us will bring those things to you even if we have to risk our lives.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked up at Bei Bei. ¡°Eldest senior brother, Dong¡¯er will definitely recover. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about me ¨C I¡¯ll be alright. I have to be even stronger, more resilient, and calmer for Dong¡¯er¡¯s sake. I will definitely make her better. I¡¯ll take her back to the Clear Sky Sect after a little while, and I¡¯ll meet you guys back at the Academy when Dong¡¯er has recovered.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Send us a letter if something happens when you¡¯re there, and everyone will try their best to help you. We¡¯ll hold down the fort at the Tang Sect, so you don¡¯t have to worry too much. Treating Dong¡¯er and helping her recover is more important and urgent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shifted between hispanions. Xu Sanshi and He Caitou nodded in his direction and made encouraging gestures and hand signs, while Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao remained silent with reddened eyes as they squatted down next to Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°Give way, everyone. Xiao Xiao and I will help Dong¡¯er clean her body. Yuhao, you can go take a break. You can¡¯t be too exhausted. You can only take her away when you¡¯ve had enough rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, fourth senior sister.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Bei Bei suddenly muttered irresolutely, ¡°Yuhao, how about this ¨C you shouldn¡¯t go by yourself, since we¡¯re not very assured by your current state. Why don¡¯t we follow you, and when we¡¯re there, and if Dong¡¯er¡¯s family can help her, then we will wait. If her family members can¡¯t do anything, then we will think of some other way.¡±

    Warmth coursed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s stifled heart as he heard Bei Bei¡¯s words. He understood that his eldest senior brother was worried that Huo Yuhao would be mentally and psychologically affected if Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t be treated.

    ¡°Thank you, Bei Bei. Don¡¯t worry, I will be strong. Dong¡¯er¡¯s life is not in danger after she ingested the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, while the Tang Sect needs you guys back there to direct things. You guys don¡¯t have to follow me. I can do this by myself.¡± The Tang Sect had created quite a stir during this tournament. This was their best opportunity to expand and develop as much as they could. Furthermore, people like Nan Qiuqiu and Gao Dalou had joined the Tang Sect, and arrangements had to be made for them when everyone returned. There were so many things they had to do, so Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t affect the Tang Sect¡¯s development because of his own interests.

    Bei Bei thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way ¨C not all of us will follow you there. Sanshi, you and Nannan will follow Yuhao to the Clear Sky Sect. Taking care of Wang Dong¡¯er will be more convenient with Nannan around. Everyone else will follow me back to the Tang Sect. Alright, that¡¯s enough. If you keep pushing and rejecting, Yuhao, you won¡¯t be treating me like an elder brother.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Bei Bei¡¯s determined gaze and nodded in acknowledgment. The Tang Sect was his home, and every single senior brother and senior sister had shown him care and concern as if they were family. Bei Bei¡¯s arrangement was also appropriate ¨C He Caitou was a soul engineer, and he was a lot more important for the Tang Sect¡¯s current development strategy, so tasking Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan to follow Huo Yuhao was the most appropriate decision.

    Two hourster, Elder Xuan nagged Huo Yuhao and reminded him to take care of himself again and again before he led everyone else into the sky, and thepany flew in the direction of Shrek Academy. Elder Xuan was the Master of Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and he had to bear immense pressure on his shoulders at this time. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, who represented the Tang Sect inbat, and in addition, Shrek Academy¡¯s team members who represented the academy, consisted of the academy¡¯s elites who possessed the greatest potential in the younger generation. Anything bad that happened to these children would be a huge blow to Shrek Academy.

    Nobody had expected the Sun Moon Empire would be so extreme when they came for the tournament. Nobody had expected that the Sun Moon Empire would use the tournament to snipe students from academies all over the Continent so that they could weaken the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires, and so that they could weaken the three empires¡¯ soul masters¡¯ strength and future.

    The other teams¡¯ situations were still unclear, and Elder Xuan and the others had to return to Shrek Academy as quickly as possible so that they could receive firsthand intelligence, and so that they could take action based on whatever information they could obtain.

    The enormous explosion that had rocked Radiant Citypletely knocked the Sun Moon Empire off course and sent their ns into disarray. Without discussing other things, the destruction of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and the countless soul tools that the empire had prepared was painful enough for them. War was temporarily avoided, but that didn¡¯t mean war wouldn¡¯te in the future. The Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires had to form an alliance and pressure the Sun Moon Empire, and they had to take this opportunity to do everything they could to save the students from those academies who had been trapped in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao was still carrying Wang Dong¡¯er as they got back on the road, while Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan followed by his side.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had exchanged a few looks before they parted ways. The two of them were too familiar with each other, and there was nothing more that needed to be said for Xu Sanshi to understand what Bei Bei was trying to convey.

    They activated their soul power and channeled their flying-type soul tools at full power as they tore through the clouds and flew rapidly through the sky. They were flying more than a thousand meters above the ground toward the north.

    There was a lonesome and solitary figure who was still standing there as she watched them leave. She didn¡¯t follow Shrek Academy¡¯spany back to the academy, and she didn¡¯t follow Huo Yuhao and the others to save Dong¡¯er. She was just standing there and watching everyone depart.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s eyes were full of destion, and the corner of her mouth curled into a self-mocking smile. ¡°You are far more important to him than I am even after your death. It¡¯s time for me to return, as that is my world, after all.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er tapped her foot lightly on the ground as she bolted into the air. She had told Elder Xuan that she wouldn¡¯t return with everyone to the Academy because she wanted to visit her home. Elder Xuan knew that she was feeling a little despondent, so he didn¡¯t try too hard to keep her. He only told her that she should return to the Academy as soon as possible after she returned home.

    But would she really go back? Shrek Academy was no longer a home to her, but instead a ce of grief and sorrow.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er transformed into a golden beam of light as she leapt through the air, and disappeared beyond the horizon like a shooting star.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao carried Wang Dong¡¯er and flew through the sky almost without any rest at all, while Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan followed him quietly. They could both feel Huo Yuhao¡¯s urgent concern and his anxiety, and they also knew that no words of constion couldpare to simply apanying him to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Xu Sanshi insisted forcibly that they had to rest every four hours, and they were only allowed to continue travelling after having something to eat.

    Jiang Nannan helped Huo Yuhao take care of Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Dong¡¯er hardly expended any energy at all because she was in her state of hibernation, while her vitals were normal and stable the entire time. Her life energy seemed even stronger than before, and everything about her couldn¡¯t be better, except for the fact that she wouldn¡¯t wake up. The state of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s body didn¡¯t change at all over the next two days, and this calmed Huo Yuhao¡¯s turbulent emotions a little.

    ¡ª

    Finally, the snowcapped mountain came into view.

    At the end, they had to climb into the clouds, and up a steep and perilous mountain path. Huo Yuhao had only been here once, but his mighty spiritual power had allowed him to memorize the path up the mountain thest time he was here, and his spiritual power was a lot stronger than back then. He shared his Spiritual Detection with Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan as he led them swiftly up the mountain, and they arrived at the mountaintop in no time.

    Clear Sky Castle was still as it was before, and nothing much seemed to have changed. It also seemed especially calm and quiet at this moment.

    Right when Huo Yuhao and the others were walking towards the castle¡¯s main gate, the gate suddenly opened, and two rows of people streamed out. Niu Tian had a dark and gloomy look on his face as he and Tai Tan followed behind everyone else and walked out.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw them. His mind had been wandering a lot throughout their journey, and he had contemted many things. He had even considered what he would do if the Clear Sky Castle¡¯s two lords weren¡¯t around. Huo Yuhao felt a lot more rxed when he saw these two reclusive and incredibly powerful individuals, and even Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s biological uncle was present.

    Tai Tan strode towards Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t utter a single word as he took Wang Dong¡¯er from his hands.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned as he watched Tai Tan turn back towards Clear Sky Castle with Wang Dong¡¯er in his hands.

    ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, Dong¡¯er¡­¡±

    Niu Tian raised his hand to interrupt Huo Yuhao. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say any more. We already know about what happened, and you don¡¯t need to ask how we found out. Dong¡¯er followed you, but she hasnded herself in such a situation. You¡¯re responsible for this. You may go ¨C Dong¡¯er needs a good rest, and we will take care of her.¡±

    Niu Tian actually turned and walked back into the castle as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao became incredibly worried and anxious as he took a few brisk steps forward and caught up to Niu Tian. ¡°Uncle Niu Tian, when will Dong¡¯er wake up? Is this happening to her because her old injury is acting up?¡±

 Chapter 367.3 - The Slumbering Donger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 367.3: The Slumbering Dong¡¯er</h4>

    Niu Tian nced at him coldly and said, ¡°All that has nothing to do with you. Don¡¯te back here to find her from today onwards, you are not worthy of asking about whether she can wake up and what she will be in the future. Leave ¨C don¡¯t force my hand!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so unreasonable!¡± Jiang Nannan instantly grew frustrated, and she pushed away Xu Sanshi¡¯s attempts to stop her as she dashed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and red at Niu Tian.

    ¡°How can you me Yuhao for what happened to Dong¡¯er? If you¡¯re powerful enough, you can look for that Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley to settle this debt, because the valley was responsible for what happened to her. Yuhao is sad enough, so how can you add oil to the fire? Can you guys help Dong¡¯er or not? If you can¡¯t, return her to us, and we¡¯ll take her away.¡±

    Niu Tian red back at her. Suddenly, fierce winds cut across the mountain peak as frightening pressure erupted from his body.

    Niu Tian seemed to have be one with all the celestial and astronomical phenomena around him in that instant. Huo Yuhao, Jiang Nannan, and Xu Sanshi had the feeling they were facing off against the entire world.

    Jiang Nannan stumbled a few steps back from this immense pressure and leaned on Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi¡¯s face was dark and gloomy, and he could barely hold on by channeling his full strength.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move an inch from where he was; his legs were nted into the ground like nails. An extremely chilly aura permeated from his body, and even though Niu Tian could control the elements around him, he couldn¡¯t suppress Huo Yuhao¡¯s connection with ice and snow.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Niu Tian eximed softly in surprise, but his expression swiftly changed to one of disdain and indifference. His entire body shook as dull and thunderous booms echoed throughout the sky. It was as though the dragon god had descended onto the world amidst rolling dragon roars. The pressure that the three of them felt rose exponentially.

    Xu Sanshin and Jiang Nannan were forced backwards as they stumbled again and again from that rising pressure. They unwittingly retreated to the edge of the cliff ¨C and strangely, this pressure automatically lightened once they moved past a certain range.

    Huo Yuhao was still standing there, motionless, and his legs gradually sank down on the spot.

    Huo Yuhao had to resist terrifying pressure and squeezing from all directions, and he felt as if his body were going to be crushed to pieces in any moment. However, he stood his ground forcefully, and he didn¡¯t even take one step back.

    The multiple tests of life and death that Huo Yuhao had gone through in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley proved to be very important at a time like this. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel afraid at all, no matter how great the pressure was. The resilience in his heart had transformed into a toughness of his cultivation, as his spiritual power, soul power, and his Ultimate Ice element fused perfectly together.

    A greenish-golden light erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body ¨C the green hues came from a fusion between the Ice Empress¡¯ jade-green colors and the Snow Empress¡¯ pristine white colors, while the golden luster originated from the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s one million years worth of spiritual power. Huo Yuhao had merged everything together into one furnace, and each force could no longer be told apart from the other. This was strength and power that truly andpletely belonged to himself.

    The disdain and contempt in Niu Tian¡¯s eyes gradually disappeared, and was reced by shock and surprise. He watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s forceful attempt to stand his ground, and snorted as a green lightning streak stretched across the sky. Dragon roars resonated through the sky as the clouds began to transform. The rolling clouds seemed to have transformed into uncountable enormous green dragons that were baring their fangs and brandishing their ws.

    ¡°Retreat, Yuhao!¡± Xu Sanshi hollered at the top of his voice as his expression changed. They were not at amongst the strongest individuals on the Continent, but they were Shrek Academy¡¯s elites of the younger generation, and they had seen what powerful individuals looked like when they fought.

    Xu Sanshi could clearly feel at this moment that the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s leader, the master of the Clear Sky Castle, was as powerful as Elder Xuan was. How could they fight against someone as powerful as him? Niu Tian didn¡¯t mean any ill against them, because they would have been blown into smithereens otherwise. Xu Sanshi was afraid that Huo Yuhao would infuriate Niu Tian with his actions and bring death upon himself.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t retreat at all. He possessed strong spiritual power, and he had his own instincts about many things. At this moment, he felt that retreating would mean that he hadpletely given up. He didn¡¯t know why Niu Tian and Tai Tan were suddenly so hostile towards him, but there was no way Huo Yuhao could retreat, because he had to stand his ground for Wang Dong¡¯er, and so he could see Wang Dong¡¯er and be together with her once more.

    Blood trailed out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Huo Yuhao could crumble at any moment against such terrifying force that seemed to resemble might from the heavens. Niu Tian was simply too strong, and Huo Yuhao was in the storm¡¯s epicenter, so Niu Tian could easily grind him to dust if that was his wish. But for some reason, Huo Yuhao was quite happy at this moment, because the stronger Niu Tian was, the higher the chance that Dong¡¯er could be healed.

    ¡°Do you wish to die?¡± Niu Tian muttered as all that pressure vanished in an instant, and everything returned to normal.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel any pressure anymore and his body swayed as a mouthful of blood burst out from his mouth. His face had turned ghastly pale.

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan hurriedly came forward to support him up as they red at Niu Tian.

    Niu Tian stared at Huo Yuhao and nodded lightly. ¡°You have improved a lot, and you¡¯re actually able to fuse so many different energies into one. You have proved yourself to be one of the most talented youngsters of your generation. Alright, I¡¯ll exin this issue to you because I can tell that you¡¯re still in love with her.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er¡¯s father came back, and he told us that Dong¡¯er¡¯s hidden injury had been triggered. You were responsible for that, and if you hadn¡¯t already found the Yearning Heartbroken Grass and given it to her to prove that you¡¯re still in love with her, you would have been a corpse by now.

    ¡°We¡¯ve watched Dong¡¯er grow up since she was a kid, and we are absolutely unwilling to see her wronged or aggrieved in any way. She is in bad shape, and her soul and her spirit are currently very messy and chaotic. We¡¯ve already scrutinized her. With the current state her spirit is in, she is the only one who can wake herself up. Clear Sky Castle is most suitable for her to stay and rest. You can leave, and you are not wee in this ce, at least before Dong¡¯er wakes up. I will send someone to Shrek Academy to inform you when she¡¯s awake, and if she¡¯s still willing to be together with you, then¡­ we¡¯ll see.¡±

    Niu Tian swung his baggy sleeves after his speech, and a strong wind swept Huo Yuhao and his twopanions up and blew them far into the distance. Niu Tian then brought everyone else from the Clear Sky Sect back into Clear Sky Castle.

    Huo Yuhao and the others put in a lot of effort to stabilize themselves and regain their bnce. Niu Tian propelled them away with just the right amount of strength so that they wouldn¡¯t fall off the mountaintop.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed, and controlled his human-shaped soul tool as he immediately bounced back towards Clear Sky Castle. Niu Tian¡¯s voice could be heard once more when Huo Yuhao arrived at Clear Sky Castle¡¯s main gate.

    ¡°Leave immediately. If you stick around and continue pestering us, don¡¯t me me for not showing you any more mercy. If that happens, you won¡¯t be able to be with Dong¡¯er anymore, and you might even throw your life away in this ce. Let me give you a reminder ¨C even if Dong¡¯er wakes up, you are not allowed to be with her until you have enough strength to protect her. You have to be stronger if you wish to be together with Dong¡¯er again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood outside the Clear Sky Castle¡¯s main gate and stopped. He didn¡¯t attempt to knock on it. He just stood there, quiet and motionless.

    Jiang Nannan was just about to run forward to console and persuade Huo Yuhao, but Xu Sanshi grabbed her and stopped her.

    Xu Sanshi heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go. We have to trust Yuhao. He¡¯s only seventeen, and a blow such as this will only be motivation for him. Everything is alright as long as Dong¡¯er is fine.¡±

    Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You speak as if you¡¯re old and proud of your age and experience, as if you¡¯re that much bigger and older.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled and said, ¡°Won¡¯t you know if I¡¯m big or not?¡±

    Jiang Nannan blushed and pinched him forcefully as she said, ¡°He¡¯s in so much pain, and you¡¯re still in the mood for jokes and banter.¡±

    Xu Sanshi continued, ¡°Yuhao¡¯s strength has been growing too rapidly over these years. The truth is, he hasn¡¯t experienced any excessively great setbacks or failures. What happened to Dong¡¯er can let him grow up and mature more quickly. He¡¯s a man, and setbacks are nothing much to him. Look at me! I have experienced so many setbacks, and I have failed for so many years, and yet, have I not be stronger and braver with each failure? In the end, I have a beautiful girl in my arms. In my opinion, the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s two sect leaders don¡¯t harbor any ill intentions toward Yuhao. Listen to what Niu Tian is trying to convey! His words can be interpreted as words of encouragement and motivation. Since that¡¯s the case, they should be confident in their ability to help Dong¡¯er recover. At the very least, they can ensure that her life won¡¯t be in danger.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was just standing outside the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s main gate. Fifteen minutes passed, and he hadn¡¯t moved an inch. A few more moments passed before Huo Yuhao gradually took a few steps back, and he bowed respectfully towards Clear Sky Castle before he turned around and walked towards Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

    ¡°Third senior brother, fourth senior sister ¨C let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Are you alright, Yuhao?¡± Jiang Nannan asked concernedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright, fourth senior sister. Uncle Niu Tian is right; I am currently incapable of protecting Dong¡¯er. Keeping her here is the best choice. Let¡¯s go back to the Academy ¨C I want to start my closed-door cultivation so that I can smooth out and clear my passageways as quickly as possible.¡±

    Jiang Nannan eyed Xu Sanshi with a surprised look in her eyes.Seems like Xu Sanshi was right!

    Xu Sanshi smiled faintly and said nothing else as he patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    They followed the same steep mountain path that they had taken to get here, into the clouds and fog. Huo Yuhao suddenly snapped his head around in the moment before they entered the clouds and stared deeply at the Clear Sky Castle, and he clenched his fists tightly as he said, ¡°You have to get well, Dong¡¯er! I wille back as fast as I can to see you.¡±

    ¡ª

    Inside Clear Sky Castle¡­

    Niu Tian and Tai Tan were both standing by a window as they watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions right before he left. A disturbed look shed across Tai Tan¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Big brother.¡±

    Niu Tian waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s follow his instructions, since this is his decision. Don¡¯t you trust him? This blow may not be a bad thing for Yuhao. Come, let¡¯s take a look at Dong¡¯er. That girl! Everything will be different when she wakes up.¡±

 Chapter 368.1 - The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect

    <h4 ss>Chapter 368.1: The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect</h4>

    Nan Qiuqiu had been extremely frustrated and irritable over the past few days. She had been in Shrek City for more than half a month, and news travelled continuously from various sources. She had be very unstable and anxious ever since she heard that her mother and the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s team members who had participated in the tournament didn¡¯t return to their sect.

    She didn¡¯t think too much into it when they first departed the Sun Moon Empire, because she had faith in her mother¡¯s abilities. Her family¡¯s inherited powers of annihtion meant her mother should be able to escape even if she had to fight against someone stronger than she was.

    However, things didn¡¯t turn out the way she had hoped. Her mother was the sect leader, but she hadn¡¯t returned to the sect. Fortunately, the Earthdragon Sect was still being guarded by several of its senior members, and the sect had managed to avoid any problems for now.

    But¡­

    Nan Qiuqiu and her mother had depended on each other ever since she was a child. Nan Shuishui was very strict with her, but their rtionship was intimate, and their love for each other ran deep. If the Tang Sect¡¯s other members hadn¡¯t sessfully persuaded her, she would have sumbed to her impatience and rushed back to the Sun Moon Empire to search for her mother.

    Nan Qiuqiu was a little unruly, but she was very smart. She knew very well that the news that came from Shrek Academy in Shrek City would be a lot more urate than if she had been back at her own sect, and she would also receive news a lot faster here than elsewhere. Furthermore, the Tang Sect¡¯s members told her unambiguously that they would help her save her mother once they received definite and reliable intel.

    At this moment, Nan Qiuqiu was pacing outside the Tang Sect¡¯s main gate. She was waiting for something.

    ¡°What are you doing, Qiuqiu? You didn¡¯t eat much for lunch.¡± A voice rang out, and Nan Qiuqiu turned around as she saw Gao Dalou, who was picking his teeth with a toothpick, walk out from inside the Tang Sect¡¯s main gate.

    In contrast to Nan Qiuqiu, Gao Dalou was as proud and pleased as punch ever since he had arrived at the Tang Sect. He was all alone in the world, and had no strings attached anywhere. To him, wherever he was was his home.

    Bei Bei took him to see Xuan Ziwen as soon as they arrived back at the Tang Sect, and Xuan Ziwen tested him a little before he frowned and reluctantly allowed Gao Dalou to stay.

    Gao Dalou had only been here for half a month, but he had disyed stunning talent and potential in crafting soul tools over this period of time. He was like an enormous sponge as he continuously absorbed all kinds of knowledge.

    Therge amounts of rare metals that Huo Yuhao and the others had stolen from one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s underground warehouses became the most substantial guarantee for taking the Tang Sect¡¯s development one step further. There was no need to mention Gao Dalou¡¯s reaction; even Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes froze and grew lifeless for fifteen minutes when he saw those incredibly precious and exotic rare metals piled up into a small mountain before he recovered his senses.

    Gao Dalou had thrown himself onto the mountain of rare metals, crying and wailing. He was hollering at the top of his voice, ¡°In life, I am part of the Tang Sect as a human. In death, I am part of the Tang Sect as a ghost!¡± Gao Dalou was a ssic embodiment of greed and avarice, and he would follow anyone that would give him benefits. However, he had a very straightforward personality, and he was simple and honest, and even a little silly at times. This, in addition to his passion for crafting soul tools that wasparable to that of Xuan Ziwen, quickly gained him the Tang Sect¡¯s approval.

    Nan Qiuqiu and Gao Dalou weren¡¯t the only ones who had joined the Tang Sect. Mo Xuan, who was also from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, had also joined. Mo Xuan was already in the Tang Sect when Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had represented the Tang Sect for the big tournament. Mo Xuan was also incredibly interested in soul tools, and even though he didn¡¯t choose to learn how to craft them, he had been working hard at understanding soul tools and learning how to use many different kinds.

    The Tang Sect had entered a stage of sound and steady development. They needed one more month, at most, before they could hand over the first batch of Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire had purchased. Fifty percent of the cannons¡¯ costs were paid in golden soul coins, while the rest was paid entirely with rare metals. This was the Tang Sect¡¯s first bucket of ie next to the financial aid that Shrek Academy had given them. In addition to the enormous amounts of rare metals and stationary soul cannon shells that Huo Yuhao and the others had taken from the underground warehouse, it was enough to establish a solid foundation for the Tang Sect.

    Nan Qiuqiu nced at Gao Dalou and said, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for eldest senior brother. He¡¯s having a meeting at the academy. Why aren¡¯t you in the underground cave?¡±

    Gao Dalou seemed a little displeased as he said, ¡°What underground cave? That¡¯s our underground research facility, the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snapped, ¡°It¡¯s beneath the ground. What else can it be if not an underground cave?¡±

    Gao Dalou sounded a little exasperated. ¡°It¡¯s an underground cave if you insist, then. I¡¯m going out to buy some wine. Do you want some?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head and said, ¡°No thanks, I¡¯m not going to drink. Mummy taught me that girls cannot drink wine casually, especially with men. It¡¯ll be easy for girls to be taken advantage of.¡± Her eyes became a little red when she mentioned her mother.

    Gao Dalou was a little slow regarding human interaction and the ways of the world. But even so, he knew that Nan Qiuqiu hadn¡¯t been in a very good mood in the past few days. He hurriedly said, ¡°Alright, then you can wait for eldest senior brother. I¡¯m going to get going.¡± With that, he walked away as briskly as he could.

    ¡°Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu!¡± A shrill and high-pitched voice came from within the Tang Sect¡¯s walls right at this moment.

    Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned before a helpless and exasperated look appeared on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t drag me in, sister Guyi¡­¡±

    ¡°Come, quickly! I can¡¯t hold on any longer.¡± Ye Guyi¡¯s worried voice rang out once more.

    Nan Qiuqiu pped herself on the forehead as she walked back through the Tang Sect¡¯s main gate with a helpless look on her face.

    Smoke and fog permeated the Tang Sect¡¯s sparring arena at this moment. Two beams of sword light shed by in an instant. One was ck as ink, while the other was a brilliant gold.

    ¡°ng!¡± The two sword lights shed as they passed by each other, and Ye Guyi stumbled backwards as her Angel¡¯s wings flickered behind her back. She had a hard time dispelling that forceful impact, and the sharp auras that she had directed from her body into her surroundings were still slicing through the air, and ear-piercing rending and tearing sounds could be heard again and again.

    Nan Qiuqiu could imagine how powerful her opponent was, because her opponent was strong enough to force a Soul Emperor whose martial soul was an Angel into a corner like that.

    The person standing opposite them had a grave look on his face, his eyes were exceptionally focused, and burned with passion ¨C the sword maniac, Ji Juechen!

    The person who had gone through the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley with the least dangers and without any rewards at all, besides Elder Xuan, had to be Ji Juechen. He didn¡¯t know anything about sentiments and emotions, and he was a sword maniac, so how could he have had any experiences with love? When the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley tested him, it only received one answer ¨C no!

    There was nothing at all¡­

    The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley only had one thing to say to him as his final evaluation ¨C he was a stone!

    The valley let him go after that, and didn¡¯t give him any rewards at all.

    As for Ye Guyi, she came to Shrek City directly after she and Huo Yuhao were separated. She had initially wanted to join Shrek Academy, but the academy wasn¡¯t taking students at this time, so she could only wait in the academy for Huo Yuhao and the others to return.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t show up, and when Elder Xuan and the Tang Sect¡¯s other members returned, Elder Xuan suggested that she temporarily stay with the Tang Sect, and so here she was.

    Ye Guyi was proud and arrogant all the way to her bones, and she was still very unconvinced about her defeat to Huo Yuhao back then. Her pride began to show when she arrived at the Tang Sect, and naturally, a certain sword maniac was excited by the thrill of the hunt when he discovered that her martial soul was an Angel.

    Birds of a feather flocked together. This saying was as urate as always ¨C Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu had quite simr personalities, and it took but a few days before these two arrogant girls grew close.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s martial soul, the Angel, was strong, but she was still one ss beneath Ji Juechen, who was already a Soul Sage. This gap was especially obvious because Ye Guyi was not used to Ji Juechen¡¯s extreme fighting style at all.

    Ye Guyi had never defeated him one-on-one. Ji Juechen¡¯s fighting style had always been giving everything he had in one strike, and the two of them rarely exchanged more than ten moves in their fights. Ye Guyi was exasperated, and so she had dragged Nan Qiuqiu into the fray.

    Nan Qiuqiu had also received some benefits from the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. She didn¡¯t have a lover, but she was very honest. The valley was conspicuously more tolerant and forgiving towards girls than it was towards guys, and Nan Qiuqiu ultimately gained a reward from her experience, and her soul power was raised a little bit.

    Nan Qiuqiu was only a five-ringed Soul King, but her martial soul¡¯s annihtion element wasn¡¯t a joke. Nan Qiuqiu teaming up with Ye Guyi had a veryplementary feel, and Ji Juechen would have an exceptionally hard time trying to defeat them both one-on-two, unless he unleashed his martial soul true body.

    This was the reason why Ye Guyi couldn¡¯t help but call for reinforcements when she faced off against Ji Juechen. She was like a punching bag if she had to fight him by herself.

    ¡°Come help me, Qiuqiu! I can¡¯t deal with him by myself,¡± Ye Guyi panted, but she was staring vindictively at Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t continue attacking Ye Guyi as he watched Nan Qiuqiu approach. He just quietly waited for her. His personality as a sword maniac meant he always hoped that his opponent would be stronger than he was. If you were weaker than he was, he probably wouldn¡¯t consider fighting you at all.

    Nan Qiuqiu tapped her feet on the ground and drifted over beside Ye Guyi. ¡°Come,e. Coincidentally, I feel a need to vent. You¡¯ll take the front, Sister Guyi.¡±

    Ye Guyi gestured to her to signal that she had no problem with this arrangement, and she took a step forward as she blocked Nan Qiuqiu behind her. Golden light erupted, and her Angel¡¯s wings rose up once more.

    Ji Juechen raised the Judgement Sword in his hands, and his sharp and grave eyes became focused and concentrated once more. Ghastly, silent sword qi surged into the sky, but it condensed, and didn¡¯t dissipate. If a bird flew through the sky a hundred meters above his head, his razor-sharp sword qi would cut it in half.

    Nan Qiuqiu positioned herself behind Ye Guyi, and she pointed into the sky with her right hand. Translucent, crystalline pink dragon scales extended from the tip of her index finger, and these scales began to web down her hand, quickly covering her entire arm.

    Nan Qiuqiu was also an assault-type soul master, but she was more adept at mid-range and long-rangebat. She wasn¡¯t very good with close-rangebat, and this was the reason she had Ye Guyi stand in front of her.

    With Ji Juechen¡¯s strength, the gap in their strengths would be revealed in no time if Nan Qiuqiu faced him directly. She probably couldn¡¯t take a single strike from Ji Juechen¡¯s sword, but everything was different now that she was behind Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi raised her right hand at the same time. Brilliant golden sword light instantly emerged from her hand, and her fifth soul ring sparkled at the same time. Holy Sword!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s first fight against Ji Juechen had ended disastrously almost as soon as it began, because she had attacked with the intention to probe his abilities, while Ji Juechen used his full strength from the get-go. Ye Guyi didn¡¯t dare to probe his abilities this time; she knew she would pay bitterly if she did!

 Chapter 368.2 - The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect

    <h4 ss>Chapter 368.2: The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect</h4>

    Once her Holy Sword was unleashed, dazzling golden light covered the entire Sparring Arena. Ye Guyi¡¯s flourishing holy aura buffeted her clothes and made her even more elegant and enchanting. She deliberatelypressed her Holy Sword¡¯s radiance continuously, making her sword stronger.

    There were quite a few people spectating this fight. Besides Ji Juechen¡¯s close friend Jing Ziyan, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao were also here. Swords didn¡¯t have eyes, they were afraid problems could arise in this fight, and someone could get hurt. Xu Sanshi, who was known as the Eternal Defense, should be able to dissolve any dangers at a crucial moment. Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement was more than suitable, and even Ji Juechen couldn¡¯t break through Xu Sanshi¡¯s defenses with a single strike after he hadpletely evolved his Xuanwu Shield, even if he used his full strength.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes were luminous, but his expression was always ice-cold. For him, no matter who his opponent was and what his opponent¡¯s abilities were, he would break them with one strike. That was his sword heart.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s eyes were still as stern as ever, but they had now be entirely golden. She tapped lightly on the ground with her left foot, and her wings stretched out behind her back. Ye Guyi seemed to be defying the pull of gravity as she gradually floated upwards, and the Holy Sword in her hands became even brighter than before, as if she were holding a small sun in her hands.

    Ji Juechen suddenly took a step forward with his left foot, and his sword intent that had just surged into the sky abruptly descended. He hadn¡¯t unleashed his sword yet, as his sword intent came first, and sharp sword intent instantly plummeted from the sky and rained down towards Ye Guyi.

    However, a pink ray suddenly burst out from beneath Ye Guyi¡¯s feet without any warning at all ¨C Nan Qiuqiu was making her move.

    Light of Annihtion. That pink light beam seemed translucent and clear, and it stretched across more than ten meters without dissipating.

    Ji Juechen suddenly pressed down forcefully with his left foot, and a rich and vigorous aura transformed into grey sword intent that almost seemed material as it erupted outwards.

    The pink beam shed against his ck sword intent, and was instantly annihted. However, that ck sword intent paused for a moment, and couldn¡¯t attach itself to Ji Juechen¡¯s Judgement Sword.

    Ye Guyi was quite proficient at grasping opportunities, and she immediately shed out with her Holy Sword. A brilliant golden beam that resembled a stunning rainbow that seemed like it was going to slice the entire Sparring Arena in half descended from the sky and went straight for Ji Juechen¡¯s head.

    Ji Juechen finally used his Judgement Sword, and pressed down with his left foot once more. He leaned forward and supported himself with his toes as he lifted his Judgement Sword into the sky.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s seven soul rings sparkled at the same time in that instant.

    Ji Juechen was different from almost every single other soul master. Soul rings were equivalent to a soul master¡¯s life force, and determined how powerful their soul skills were. This meant that soul rings determined how powerful a soul master¡¯s abilities were.

    But for Ji Juechen, his soul rings¡¯ effects had be entirely redundant. He didn¡¯t care about what soul skills his soul rings gave him, and he didn¡¯t even think about what kind of soul rings he had to attach to himself. He was only concerned about his soul rings boosting his physique and his soul power. Ji Juechen¡¯s pure sword intent was his own unique invention, and infusing every single ounce of his strength into his sword intent was something that was engraved deep into his bones.

    ck light soared into the sky as the darkness side of Ji Juechen¡¯s Judgement Sword burst out with ck light.

    Darkness was naturally at a disadvantage against the holy element. However, once this darkness reached a certain level, it would be so powerful that not even the holy element could suppress it.

    The ck light that surged into the sky instantly consumed the golden light that was shing down from the sky. Golden light exploded and shed inside all that darkness in the next moment, but the rich and powerful ck sword intent was like an evil dragon as it swallowed every inch of Ye Guyi¡¯s golden sword light.

    Ye Guyi was unwilling to resign herself to defeat as her first and second soul rings sparkled at the same time. Holy Light Illumination and Holy Praise!

    Intense golden light emerged from her body once more, and white light flickered at its core. This light didn¡¯t justnd on her body, it also covered Nan Qiuqiu below her.

    Nan Qiuqiu pushed forward with her right hand, and a pinkyer of light appeared as it transformed into a pink fan-shaped light that expanded outward. Her second and third soul ring lit up at the same time, and she lifted her left hand as pink light cocooned both herself and Ye Guyi. Annihtion Barrier!

    Ji Juechen couldn¡¯t disregard that pink light no matter how powerful he was. He took another step forward as ck sword intent erupted from his body once more, and shed directly against Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s pink fan-shaped light.

    Ji Juechen shed down through the air with his Judgement Sword, and the ck sword light that was condensed in the sky sliced down from the sky like a ck lightning bolt, going straight for Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s eyes were solemn and grave as she raised her Holy Sword once more. This time, her second soul ring lit up, and her Holy Sword changed from gold to an incandescent white as she shed back at Ji Juechen.

    This was her Angel¡¯s second soul skill, Holy Ghost sh!

    ¡°Boom ¨C¡± Intense explosions caused the entire Sparring Arena to tremble. Fortunately, the Tang Sect¡¯s Sparring Arena was spacious enough, and the two who were fighting deliberately controlled the spread of their attacks. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to ensure that the Sparring Arena remained undamaged.

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were quite powerful when they teamed up, and even Ji Juechen¡¯s sword light was weakened when it touched Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Light of Annihtion. His sword light was far too dense and concentrated, however, so Nan Qiuqiu had a hard time absorbing her opponent¡¯s strength to feed back into her own body through Annihtion¡¯s effects. However, Ji Juechen¡¯s attack was still weakened to quite an extent.

    Ji Juechen and Ye Guyi collided forcefully once more, and Ye Guyi was still on the losing end. This time, she was sent plummeting from the sky, though she wasn¡¯t hurt because she had used so many soul skills, and she had Nan Qiuqiu protecting her.

    In the moment that Ji Juechen¡¯s ck sword intent touched Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s pink light, Nan Qiuqiu ced one of her fists into her other palm.

    Deafening booms that resembled thunderps could be heard in the next instant asrge patches of pink light exploded one after another.

    Chained Annihtion Explosions! This was a powerful area of effect skill.

    Ji Juechen could only temporarily defend himself as his sword intent faced off against Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Chained Annihtion Explosions, and he couldn¡¯t continue attacking Ye Guyi for now.

    Furthermore, his sword intent couldn¡¯t condense within her Chained Annihtion Explosions like when he was attacking. Part of his sword intent was blown to smithereens, and that peculiar pink light swallowed everything up as it fed everything back into Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body.

    This was the Ruby Dragon¡¯s annihtion element¡¯s most powerful attribute ¨C Nan Qiuqiu could use her opponent¡¯s strength to replenish herself. If Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent hadn¡¯t been powerful enough, she would have absorbed even more. She could weaken her opponent while strengthening herself at the same time, and even some who were stronger than she was could lose to her in the end.

    Ye Guyi managed to catch her breath with Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s help as light burst out from her beautiful eyes. How could she be convinced by her loss to Ji Juechen with her arrogant personality? She tapped lightly on the ground with the tip of her foot, and glided forward. This time, every other soul ring¡¯s lusters was withdrawn, and only her sixth and final soul ring sparkled brilliantly.

    Her wings flickered as two illusory wings of light glimmered faintly. Ye Guyi resembled a waltzing angel as she drifted towards Ji Juechen, and her Holy Sword became a pristine white longsword as her elegant frame became illusory as she glided outward. It was impossible to lock onto her body.

    This was Ye Guyi¡¯s strongest soul skill ¨C Angelic Dance.

    This wasn¡¯t Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s first time teaming up with Ye Guyi. Nan Qiuqiu watched Ye Guyi unleash her Angelic Dance, and herst soul ring lit up at the same time.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s ck ten thousand year soul ring sparkled as a pink diamond-shaped crystal glowed dazzlingly on her forehead. A single bright and crisp dragon roar rang out from behind her back, and a pink dragon shadow flickered behind her back. A dash of pink light swiftly caught up to Ye Guyi and attached itself to her body, while Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body also became a little illusory.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s fifth soul skill, Annihtion Body.

    A body that was formed from the power of Annihtion would shimmer into view once this skill was used. This body would be identical to Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s own body, and it would even possess part of her spirit. This skill¡¯s most formidable trait was that it could enhance Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s annihtion element by three hundred percent, and her opponents would have to break through her Form of Annihtion first if they wanted to hurt her original body.

    At the same time, her Annihtion Body would form the foundation for Nan Qiuqiu to use other powerful soul skills when she became stronger in the future.

    Ji Juechen used his sword and swiped a ¡°Z¡± through the air as he faced Ye Guyi¡¯s Angelic Dance, and ck sword light covered an enormous area.

    However, Ye Guyi didn¡¯t have to defend herself as the Form of Annihtion that was attached to her body rushed forward.

    Pink light flickered incessantly, and Ji Juechen¡¯s sword light was actually decimated just like that when it touched Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Form of Annihtion.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t absorb her opponent¡¯s strength to feed herself through her powers of Annihtion when she was using Annihtion Body. However, her powers of Annihtion would also be raised to their highest possible level, and even Ji Juechen¡¯s coagted sword light was dispelled. Even though Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Annihtion Body became a little more illusory after that collision, the chance that this collision had created for Ye Guyi was enough.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s Angelic Dance closed in on Ji Juechen, and her white longsword shone with brilliant light as countless streaks of sword light rained down on Ji Juechen¡¯s body.

    Ji Juechen had just attacked with his sword before this, and he was currently in a state when his strength was weakest. However, his expression didn¡¯t change at all even though he facing such a disadvantageous situation, and he pulled his Judgement Sword back lightly as he flipped the sword around in his hands. The sword¡¯s ck surface suddenly became white, and its darkness was instantly converted into light.

    When Ye Guyi¡¯s Holy Aura shed against the body of Ji Juechen¡¯s sword, which was now filled with an aura of light, the sword¡¯s body erupted with dazzling light.

    Ji Juechen raised his sword horizontally before his body, and he eximed vigorously as a bitingly sharp and cold sword intent suddenly emerged from his body. ck sword intent became white, and darkness became light. Everything happened very naturally.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s Angelic Dance shed against his sword intent just like that, and Ye Guyi had no chance to evade Ji Juechen¡¯s counterattack at all. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Form of Annihtion had been forced away after she dispelled the Z-shaped sword intent, and her Annihtion Body couldn¡¯t rush back in time.

 Chapter 368.3 - The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect

    <h4 ss>Chapter 368.3: The Increasingly Prosperous Tang Sect</h4>

    The power of Annihtion was incredibly strong, and Ji Juechen¡¯s sword light, which currently possessed the power of light, instantly became a lot dimmer than before. However, the strength of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s Annihtion Body was ultimately limited, and she didn¡¯t dare to use every ounce of energy in that body, as she could risk damaging her origin if she did so. The pink light transformed into a beam of flowing light and flowed back into her body, while Ye Guyi returned to her side at this moment.

    Their faces were a little ck. They had used their full strength, but they were still unable to obtain any sort of advantage.

    ¡°You guys are no match for me. Go back and work harder.¡± Ji Juechen didn¡¯t continue attacking. He withdrew his Judgement Sword as he turned and walked away.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s pretty face grew even darker than before. ¡°Why is he being so condescending? The winner of this fight is still undecided. How does he know we are no match for him?¡±

    Ye Guyi forced out a bitter smile as she said, ¡°Forget it. If we are no match for him, then so be it. We are no match for him now, but that doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t be his match in the future. He has shown me mercy before this, and when he converted darkness to light, he borrowed my strength! If he had used his full strength in that attack, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to emerge unscathed, and your Annihtion Body might have been damaged as well. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t use his martial soul true body. I didn¡¯t expect the gap between us to be so huge¡­¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu hugged Ye Guyi across her shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so dejected, sister Guyi. He¡¯s older than us, and we will surpass him one day!¡±

    Ji Juechen was still nearby, and suddenly stumbled when he heard her words. Jing Ziyan was following behind him, and couldn¡¯t help butugh at Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s remark.

    Ji Juechen was only a little over twenty. Could he be really be considered old? However, he was actually the oldest one amongst these people from the Tang Sect¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re back, eldest senior brother.¡± Nan Qiuqiu suddenly eximed and jumped for joy. Shepletely disregarded a certain someone¡¯s despondence.

    Bei Bei walked in from outside, but his expression seemed a little grave. He waved to everyone and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s talk inside.¡±

    Bei Bei took everyone into the Tang Sect¡¯s Conference Hall. Everyone sat down, and besides their subordinates, everyone here formed the Tang Sect¡¯s core.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore, and blurted, ¡°How is it, eldest senior brother? Is there news about my mother and the others?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°We have intel. The good news is that they¡¯re all fine and still alive. The bad news is, they are indeed in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s hands.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu leapt to her feet, turned, and was just about to walk out. Fortunately, Ye Guyi moved quickly and grabbed her in time.

    Bei Bei frowned slightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash, Qiuqiu. Let me finish. We have to save your mother, but do you think you can do that and bring everyone back by yourself?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s voice became a lot stricter and severe towards the end.

    Nan Qiuqiu pouted, and tears welled up in her eyes. Nan Qiuqiu and her mother had depended on each other since she was young, and her mother had doted on her back in the Earthdragon Sect. She wouldn¡¯t have developed such a prideful and arrogant personality otherwise. Joining the Tang Sect and leaving her mother¡¯s supervision was a happy event for her, but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t still close to her mother. Quite the opposite; Nan Qiuqiu had a very close rtionship with her mother, and her mother¡¯s danger and peril made her as anxious and frustrated as could be.

    Everybody within the Tang Sect¡¯s inner circle quickly arrived at the Conference Hall. Ye Guyi pulled Nan Qiuqiu to one side and sat down, while everyone else sat down in their respective seats. He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao were all present. Over at the Soul Tool Hall, Xuan Ziwen and Gao Dalou didn¡¯t participate in the Tang Sect¡¯s policy decisions; they were only immersed in their soul tool research, and didn¡¯t typically participate in such conferences. Mo Xuan was at Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard to further his training, as the inner courtyard ced a lot of emphasis and effort on his nurturing and education.

    ¡°Everyone is here. Let¡¯s begin the meeting.¡± Bei Bei was sitting in the main seat as he spoke with a grave look on his face. ¡°ording to the academy¡¯s intel, the Sun Moon Empire have unambiguously and outrageously announced that the sects and academies that participated in the tournament are in their hands. They are still alive for now.¡±

    Xu Sanshi cut in and said, ¡°What are they trying to do? Are they taking the initiative to dere war on the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head. ¡°They haven¡¯t officially dered war, but this means they are even more treacherous and vicious. The first consequence from their announcement is that the Sun Moon Empire is officially antagonizing the sects and academies who have people in the empire¡¯s hands. But at the same time, they have also told us unambiguously that those people are in their hands, and this will lead to the second consequence, that we will be afraid to fight against their evil for fear of harming innocents.¡±

    Bei Bei surveyed everyone around him, and his eyes paused for a moment longer when they came to Nan Qiuqiu. ¡°Think about it, guys. Everyone who was able to represent those reputable sects and academies in the tournament were elites of the younger generation. Almost every single one of them will be future cornerstones and mainstays. In addition to them are the teachers of the teams, who had brought them to Radiant City, or even sect leaders who personally came forward, like the Earthdragon Sect. Everyone is now in the hands of the Sun Moon Empire¡­ what does this mean?¡±

    He Caitou, or Xu He, was a lot more handsome than before. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°This means that the various sects and academies won¡¯t dare to use violence against the Sun Moon Empire lightly. At least, they won¡¯t do so before they rescue theirpatriots.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and continued, ¡°That¡¯s the first possibility. The second possibility is that those academies and sects will venture into the Sun Moon Empire to save theirpatriots, and they will mire themselves in their enemies¡¯ traps if that happens. The Sun Moon Empire will break them down, one by one. At the same time, with this restraint in ce, every country will have to consider the opinions of those sects and academies who are powerful enough to affect a nation¡¯s high-level fighting strength if they wish to make a move against the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire can take this opportunity to regain their strength and replenish what they¡¯ve lost. Their strategy has killed four birds with one stone, and it is very treacherous and cunning, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do? Are we not going to save them?¡± Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t help but feel a little worried and anxious.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Calm down, don¡¯t be hasty. Of course we have to save them, but we have to n and scheme before we make a move. Our actions will be counterproductive otherwise, and we will achieve the opposite of our desired result if we try to save them rashly and without prior nning. Don¡¯t worry, your mother will not be in danger for the time being. At least, she will be fine until the Sun Moon Empire decides to officiallyunch an invasion. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s hostages will be valuable to them until they are actually prepared to start a war. This will take at least one or two years.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu settled down a little as she listened to Bei Bei¡¯s calm analysis, and nodded pitifully.

    Bei Bei continued, ¡°Everyone must have noticed that certain entities are not included among the people that I mentioned who are afraid to take action against the Sun Moon Empire for fear of harming innocents¡­ Shrek Academy and the Body Sect! The Body Sect is considered the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s National Defense Sect, and they will do something to save the Heavenly Soul Empire soul masters who have been captured. Shrek Academy is incumbent and bound to our duty. At the same time, the Tang Sect doesn¡¯t share the same fears.¡±

    He Caitou nced at Nan Qiuqiu and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, do you think that the Tang Sect participating in high-level conflicts between empires will¡­¡± A worried look appeared in his eyes as he spoke.

    Nan Qiuqiu mmed the table in front of her and leapt to her feet. She red at He Caitou and said, ¡°Such a waste that you¡¯ve grown up to be so tall and big. Are you afraid?¡±

    He Caitou frowned, and Xiao Xiao cut in before He Caitou could say anything. She leapt to her feet as well and said, ¡°What did you say? Afraid? Do you think we¡¯re afraid?¡±

    He Caitou hugged Xiao Xiao at her waist with one arm. He was tall, so he could still do that easily even though he was sitting down. He pulled Xiao Xiao back into her seat as he turned towards Nan Qiuqiu with a calm look in his eyes. ¡°I hail from the Sun Moon Empire. More urately put, Ie from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family. More than ten years ago, my father and several hundred of my family members were murdered by the previous Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, who has just passed away not too long ago.¡±

    He Caitou recounted his story calmly as if he were talking about something that waspletely unrted to him, and not a single ripple of emotion appeared on his face. In the beginning, Nan Qiuqiu was a little surprised, but her reaction gradually became one of intense shock. Her pretty face flushed red, and she desperately wanted to hide herself in some hole in the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu was a little arrogant and pampered, but she wasn¡¯t an unreasonable girl, and she hurriedly lowered her head and sat back down.

    He Caitou smiled and continued, ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re losing your cool because you¡¯re too concerned. We will brainstorm and discuss this carefully because we have to find the best solution and strategy to save your mother. Saving the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s members will be our topmost priority. I am just worried that the Academy will not let us participate in this operation, so we need to have a detailed n before we think about taking any action.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s correct. We need to have a detailed n before we take any action. The Tang Sect is just starting to take shape, and our foundations are still unstable. At this time, we can only assist everyone else in this operation. The Academy will be the main strength which will venture forward to rescue the hostages. Even if the Academy¡¯s operation fails, the Sun Moon Empire cannot vent their anger on anyone. However, the Sun Moon Empire must have already made sufficient preparations, and they¡¯re just waiting for us to walk into their trap by ourselves. Therefore, this rescue operation will be extremely difficult, and we must ensure that we are absolutely prepared for anything and everything before we take any action. So Qiuqiu, I need to remind you that you must trust everyone, and you cannot do anything rash by yourself. Rashness and impulsiveness will not resolve any of our problems, and your only choice right now is to trust us. Do you understand?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded lightly.

    Bei Bei continued, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s various elders have already discussed this. In terms of strength, rescuing those hostages under the watchful eyes of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s throngs of soul engineers and the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters will be exceptionally challenging. We have sent out scouts to figure out what¡¯s happening in the Sun Moon Empire and figure out their situation. At the same time, this isn¡¯t the right time for us tounch a rescue operation; the Sun Moon Empire must have already made sufficient preparations if they dared to handle this issue this way, which is just a little short of dering war. Therefore, we have to wait, and we have to wait until they are a little less vignt for us to have any chance or opportunity at all.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu didn¡¯t say anything anymore. She seemed to have learned her lesson from before, and she was a lot calmer and moreposed.

    Ye Guyi nced at Nan Qiuqiu and asked, ¡°How long do we have to wait?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. We have to wait for the most opportune moment, and everything depends on the intel from our scouts¡­ and also on the Academy¡¯s ns and arrangements. We can no longer make any decisions about a conflict at this level.¡±

 Chapter 369.1 - Yuhao Exits Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 369.1: Yuhao Exits Seclusion</h4>

    ¡°Everyone, hurry up and cultivate. Any increase in strength is a powerful guarantee for us. I¡¯ve already applied to the Academy. Tomorrow, Dean Yan will personally bring Nannan and Xiao Xiao to the Star Luo Forest to find a suitable soul beast for their sixth soul rings. Sanshi and Caitou, go along too. This will give you peace of mind.¡±

    While the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley did cause them many injuries, some of them benefited, too. Of the Tang Sect members, four of them had experienced an increase in soul power: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, Xiao Xiao, and Jiang Nannan. Of course, this also included Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had disappeared.

    Among them, Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan¡¯s soul power had reached Rank 60. After they returned to the Tang Sect, the two girls had cultivated to solidify their foundations. They now needed to obtain their sixth soul rings to be Soul Emperors. After the two of them rose in rank, Huo Yuhao was the only one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who had yet to rise in rank.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had increased by five ranks. He was very close to Rank 60!

    Everyone nodded. The increase from five rings to six was not as difficult as the increase from six rings to seven, but it was still a huge milestone for soul masters. The increase from Soul King to Soul Emperor was an exponential increase in power, which would further strengthen the Tang Sect.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this. Everyone, hurry up and cultivate. I¡¯ll inform you about the rescue operation as soon as I can. Dismissed.¡±

    Everyone started to leave. However, Nan Qiuqiu sat there for a long while before standing up.

    Ye Guyi, who had been sitting next to her, asked in a low voice, ¡°Qiuqiu, are you alright?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Sister Guyi, do you really think we can save my mother?¡±

    Ye Guyi sighed and said, ¡°On the continent, if there¡¯s something Shrek Academy can¡¯t do, then no one else can do it. Please don¡¯t do anything dumb. All we can do is wait. Since Bei Bei has spoken, the school will naturally make its own arrangements. All we can do now is cultivate with all our might. The important thing is to strengthen ourselves. You should endeavor to be a Soul Emperor as soon as you can! All of our martial souls are special. The stronger we are, the more powerful our unique traits will be. Let¡¯s work hard together!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Nan Qiuqiu nodded vigorously. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to save my mother.¡±

    Ye Guyi gave her arm a squeeze and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to him. Ever since our return, he seems to be doing nothing but training. I heard that he almost escaped from the jaws of death. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing. His lover¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Nan Qiuqiu silenced her with a gesture. She shook her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about Wang Dong¡¯er. It¡¯s taboo for all of us. Originally, I hated Huo Yuhao. However, he¡¯s pitiable, indeed. This time, in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, he lost the girl he loves the most. Now, he is turning his anger and grief into strength for cultivation. It¡¯s really¡­¡±

    Ye Guyi grunted and said, ¡°He¡¯s a freak, but he¡¯s strong too. Let¡¯s go and cultivate. One day, I¡¯m going to beat him!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The entire Tang Sect was training and cultivating intensely. While the Tang Sect had no powerful people to back them up, they were undoubtedly the most powerful group of young soul masters on the entire continent. Their growth would surely impact the world of soul masters.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Darkness!

    Everything was dark and silent. One could not even see one¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Smack!¡± A sound rang out. A shadow flew into the air, and something stopped it.

    A strong hand had grabbed it. Light jade-green light started to shine, giving light to this pitch-ck world.

    The jade-green light shone from someone¡¯s body. It came from Huo Yuhao!

    At that moment, his hand had grabbed a small vat, which contained extremely strong alcohol.

    He opened its seal, and the pungent smell of alcohol appeared in the secret, ck room. He lifted the vat and drank the alcohol down in huge gulps. For a normal person, one small cup would have sufficed. The green light on his body shone even more intensely.

    After his return from the Clear Sky Sect, Huo Yuhao chose to go into closed-door training. For its silence, he chose the deepest part of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall for its silence, where he dug out an area to be his own cultivation cave.

    Here, he would not be affected by the outside world. He cultivated furiously in absolute silence.

    This time, his closed-door training was do-or-die. If he did not reach his target, he would not leave. His objective was simple: he wanted to open the passageways in his legs once more, allowing the origin energy of Ultimate Ice, which he had absorbed in the Icefire Yin Yang Well, to fully flow throughout his body.

    He had cultivated behind closed doors for almost half a month. In this half a month, he hadpletely calmed his heart. Even though there was no way he could suppress his thoughts, he slowly returned to the intensity of the time when he had just joined Shrek Academy.

    It was an indescribable sensation. In this cultivation, he did his best to improve himself. At the same time, he tried to fuse his spiritual power, his soul power, his Ultimate Ice, his Spirit Eyes, and even his Necromancy, which he had derived from the Divine Law of Necromancy, and which had been taught to him by the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, into one.

    In the past few years, his power had increased rapidly. His twin martial souls gave him an innate advantage. In this period of time, his paralysis was not necessarily a bad thing, as it made him realize that innate talent was not everything.

    Right now, he had managed to aplish something even Titled Douluo found difficult. He wasbining of all his powers as he tried to refine them!

    His strong spiritual power gave him the ability to do so. Aided by the distilled wine, he was able to absorb the origin energy of Ultimate Ice faster and faster. His soul power also increased quickly.

    Cultivating an Ultimate Strength martial soul was hardest before one possessed seven rings. However, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was increased by five ranks after the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, coupled with his continual absorption of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice, this process became a lot simpler.

    All this while, he had felt as if the increase in his soul power had reached a bottleneck. His soul power was bing stronger, but he did not feel it increasing. The soul power he had absorbed from the origin energy of Ultimate Ice appeared to be hidden in the bones of his four limbs, and was unable to fuse with his own soul power.

    When he first started, he was worried. After a while, he understood that he had reached a bottleneck, and this bottleneck was for the sixtieth rank.

    He himself could not believe that he had reached Rank 60 so quickly.

    In fact, when he took part in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament in the Sun Moon Empire, he was in a state of high alert and constant fighting. Bei Bei¡¯s injuries meant that he had to carry the banner of the Tang Sect. As he fought, he improved non-stop. With all his might and energy, he brought the Tang Sect forward, and even helped Shrek Academy out.

    Regardless of whether it was actual fighting experience or just in hardship, he was the one who bore the most of it among everyone from the Tang Sect.

    His return from the jaws of death, from the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, had allowed him to further demonstrate his full potential. It further sharpened his body and mind, greatly increasing his soul power. Coupled with his final reward of an increase in five ranks, he was finally able to reach Rank 60.

    Had it been any other soul master, he would have ecstatically started searching for a soul ring once his rank reached a multiple of ten. However, Huo Yuhao did not do so. The passageways in his legs were still blocked. Furthermore, 10,000 years ago, one of the founders of Shrek Academy, Ancestor Yu Xiaogang, who was widely known as The Grandmaster, said that when a soul master¡¯s soul power reached a bottleneck, it would not stop increasing because one stopped adding soul rings to it. If one had a chance to further increase one¡¯s soul power, there was no rush to look for a soul ring. As long as one added a soul ringter on, the excess soul power from the earlier cultivation would still materialize.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao was in no rush. His target was to finish absorbing all of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body, returning his body to normal. Like this, he would return to his optimal state. As for getting a soul ringter, it would all came down to luck for a spirit-type soul master like him. It was better for him to focus on cultivation and solving his issues now than to search for a ring, which required both time and luck.

    Furthermore, he could sense that after the fusion of his abilities, the overall increase in strength would be more delightful to him than the increase in soul power. He understood that this was a chance that he had to seize.

    He could still clearly remember Elder Mu saying that to be a soul master, one had to find one¡¯s own path. At that time, Huo Yuhao had believed that finding one¡¯s path was to find a direction for cultivation. At that time, he had chosen the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques.

    Elder Mu said nothing. Instead, he let him cultivate ording to his own ns.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao slowly started to understand what Elder Mu meant by path. It did not mean the direction of cultivation, but instead turning one¡¯s own strength into a straight, t road.

    Huo Yuhao had found the entrance to this road. He was slowly walking it, and to him, this process of understanding his powers was more important than improving his Ultimate Ice or any other of his abilities. His own powers would improve through this process, and Huo Yuhao deeply believed that once hepletely understood his powers, his strength would increase exponentially once again!

 Chapter 369.2 - Yuhao Exits Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 369.2: Yuhao Exits Seclusion</h4>

    In the dark underground room, one could not feel the passage of time. There was vat after vat of wine, which Huo Yuhao consumed to help his cultivation.

    To devote more of his time to pure cultivation, he only ate a little bit of food every day, along with some nourishment pills the Academy provided him. He used all his remaining time for cultivation.

    This method was extremely lonely. However, every time Huo Yuhao started to get frustrated, he only needed to recite two words to calm himself and get his focus back. They served as his source of motivation. The words were ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er¡±!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Days passed, and Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect stayed peaceful.

    In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

    Shrek was not the only calm one. The entire continent was strangely calm.

    After the Sun Moon Empire experienced so many changes, the entire continent appeared to have lost its will to fight. Every country was extremely peaceful. The original three countries of the Douluo Continent did not try to find those responsible from the Sun Moon Empire, and the Sun Moon Empire did nothing, either . Even the asional border skirmishes disappeared in this period of time. Everything was eerily quiet.

    The only significant thing that happened, which was expected by everyone, was the ascension of the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, to the throne. He became the new Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. After he ascended the throne, he did not do anything significant, either. All he did was issue a few orders for the rebuilding of Radiant City. Other than that, he did nothing else.

    In the eyes of the people, peace was a good thing. However, to those who were more discerning, this was just the calm before the storm. Those who knew Xu Tianran knew of his ambition. How could he be content with keeping a low profile?

    The original three countries of the Douluo Continent continued to make their preparations. War woulde at any moment. To them, any additional days they got would greatly help in their preparations.

    Due to the difference in soul tool technology, they hadpletely lost the initiative. If they wanted to catch up to the Sun Moon Empire in terms of technology, they needed time!

    It was under this political context that the Tang Sect was able to further expand its influence.

    The Tang Sect was originally located at the outskirts of Shrek City, but it now managed to expand once more, upying a significant plot ofnd in the western part of Shrek City. This expansion was because of the Soul Tool Hall.

    Due to the development of the Tang Sect, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect came to a further agreement. The Soul Tool Hall of the Tang Sect would be where the top graduates of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department would go. They would be treated well and, coupled with personal instruction from the former Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy¡¯s chief researcher, it was bound to attract many people. Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department made a name for itself through its cooperation with the Tang Sect.

    Huge amounts of various types of ordinary and rare metals entered Shrek City, having been bought elsewhere at high prices. These were turned into soul tools, which were quietly shipped back out.

    In just a span of two months, the Tang Sect gave the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire three batches of soul tools, most of which were Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons.

    After careful testing, the Tang Sect decided to take even more orders. As Shrek Academy was the Tang Sect¡¯s backer, the profits from the Soul Tool Hall benefitted both the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. The Tang Sect in particr used the rare metals and gold soul coins obtained from selling soul tools to great effect, allowing the Soul Tool Hall to develop as rapidly as a rocket.

    There was no doubting Xuan Ziwen¡¯s abilities. He was not only the Hallmaster of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, but also the Honorary Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department. Every week, he had to spend two days lecturing at Shrek Academy. As he brought with him the newest theories of soul engineering, as well as much technical expertise, Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department was able to develop at an astonishing pace. The original situation, where Shrek Academy was weak in terms of soul engineering and strong in terms of soul masters, was changing rapidly.

    The original three countries of the Douluo Continent continued to send their elite students to study at Shrek Academy.

    No matter their age or background, they would always be crucial talents. The development of Shrek Academy seemed strong and unstoppable.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Shrek Academy, inner courtyard, Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡­

    ¡°How is everything?¡± Elder Xuan asked the elder standing next to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡±

    These two words made Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes lit up. He nodded slightly and said, ¡°Alright, if that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s make our preparations. Inform the elders that we shall have a meeting at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Tang Sect¡­

    Boom!

    An explosion rang out. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi flew in opposite directions. The figure of the sword fanatic, Ji Juechen, could gradually be seen.

    He had an ugly expression on his face, and his clothes were torn in many ces. Only his gaze was sharp. One could see light shing on his Judgment Sword.

    Nan Qiuqiu stood there wheezing. Her eyes brimmed with excitement as she said, ¡°Sess, the experiment was a sess!¡±

    Ye Guyi gave her a thumbs-up. She was excited, too!

    In the past two months, Ji Juechen was in both pain and joy. As a sword fanatic, he feared not having a regr opponent. However, over the past two months, he had found two people who were more burdensome than him, and that was these two beauties.

    Nan Qiuqiu, in her attempt to save her mother, searched for him as a sparring partner every day. Ye Guyi was also a fanatic when it came to cultivation. The two of them went to Ji Juechen to spar almost every single day.

    The difference in cultivation made him slightly hesitant about fighting them at first. However, the two of them used extreme methods to achieve their aims. They did not care whether he was willing or not. Whenever they saw him, they would attack him straightaway, as they knew that he would not actually hurt them.

    In the end, in these two months, Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi learned to coordinate extremely well with one another. In particr, they came up with a special joint attack, fusing the Holy Angel¡¯s holy element with the Rouge Dragon¡¯s Annihtion. While it was not a true martial soul fusion skill, it was close enough that it could be called one. Now, it was much harder for Ji Juechen to beat them. Once he lost his focus, they would take advantage of him.

    Of course, both Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi knew that this was because Ji Juechen had no intentions of killing them. If not, they would still be the losers. Even so, their improvement in the past two months was shocking. Nan Qiuqiu was very close to Rank 60, and she had umted a lot of fighting experience.

    Ji Juechen shook his head helplessly. He looked at himself and walked away with his Judgment Sword.

    Nan Qiuqiu made a fist and said, ¡°We must beat him next time!¡±

    Ye Guyi smiled and said, ¡°Then you should hurry up and increase your soul power. Once you get your sixth soul ring and sixth soul skill, I think we¡¯ll stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°What chance? I think the two of you are closer to death,¡± Xu Sanshi saidzily.

    Nan Qiuqiu looked at him angrily and said, ¡°Third elder brother, all you know how to do is douse cold water on us. Why are we closer to death?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Do you think the sword fanatic really can¡¯t beat you? We¡¯re the Tang Sect, and in terms of individual fighting prowess, even Bei Bei and I have to be wary of him. While the two of you have special martial souls, your foundations are weak. Ji Juechen¡¯s strongest trait is that his sword intent is unstoppable. He does not dare to go all-out against you, as he cares about you. If your power improves even more, he¡¯ll be forced to use all his strength. By that time, he may not be able to rein in his powers. Hence, aren¡¯t you closer to death?¡±

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu looked at one another. Their expressions changed. Xu Sanshi was right. From the first moment they had attacked Ji Juechen, they had already had this notion in mind, but as they fought more and more, they gradually forgot about it.

    An idea shed in Ye Guyi¡¯s mind as she smiled at Xu Sanshi.

    She was already very beautiful. With that smile, she became even more attractive.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s face froze. He took a few steps back as he folded his arms in front of his chest. ¡°What do you want? Let me warn you, I have a woman waiting for me! Furthermore, I have a strong will. Don¡¯t tempt me; if not, I¡¯ll be a goner for sure!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu chuckled and said, ¡°Who¡¯s tempting you? Don¡¯t dream. If not for the fact that Sister Nannan fell for you, with your appearance¡­ Tsk!¡± As she said that, she waved her hand in front of her nose disrespectfully.

    Ye Guyi chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right. We don¡¯t like you. Third elder brother, you see, you said that the increase in our strength would make Ji Juechen an unsuitable sparring partner for us. Hence, do you think we should change that?¡±

    An uneasy feeling rose in Xu Sanshi¡¯s heart as he said with a straight face, ¡°I have something to do.¡± As he said that, he turned to leave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go! Watch me!¡± Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, the two little devils, dominated the Sparring Arena. Ye Guyi¡¯s feet lightly touched the surface of the ground as she flew into the sky. Her angel wings extended outward, and a golden de of light sliced toward Xu Sanshi.

    Nan Qiuqiu was not idle, either. She pointed out with her right hand, a pink ray of the Light of Annihtion appeared behind Xu Sanshi. Mysteriously, when it was less than two meters away from him, it blew up and turned into countless strands of light that sought to cover him.

    ¡°Not fair!¡± Xu Sanshi shouted. He stumbled as he took a few steps forward.

    Weirdly, with his odd footwork, he was able to the dodge the sharpest part of Ye Guyi¡¯s Holy Sword as he dodged to the side.

 Chapter 369.3 - Yuhao Exits Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 369.3: Yuhao Exits Seclusion</h4>

    He turned around, and a soothing ck light shone from him.

    The ck light looked as gentle as ripples on water. It entangled with the Light of Annihtion that came from behind him. The moment the Light of Annihtion entered the ck light, it started to ripple intensely. However, every single ck ripple continued to twist and turn, stopping every single strand of Light of Annihtion from entering it.

    Another ck light shed, and a huge shield appeared, blocking Ye Guyi, who came down from the sky.

    The shield waspletely ck. On it, one could see the carving of a huge, deep-blue turtle. On the back of the turtle was a small, coiled blood-red snake with jade-green eyes.

    When the shield appeared, the entire Sparring Arena was covered by ayer of ck ripples. It was like this entire area had turned into the bottom of ake. Both Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu felt difort, as if they were stuck in mud.

    Yes, this was the Xuanwu Shield, theplete form of the Xuanwu Shield!

    Who benefited the most in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley? It was definitely not those whose soul power had increased, but Xu Sanshi!

    In the valley, he had resolved his rtionship issue with Jiang Nannan, and the two of them were finally together. Furthermore, he had experienced that scene once more, and this time, his Xuanwu Shield was fully awoken. Now, he had a martial soul which descended from a pure, ancient bloodline.

    Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Bei Bei was no longer the strongest. Xu Sanshi, who now wielded his pure Xuanwu Shield, was the strongest!

    When he unleashed his Xuanwu Shield, Xu Sanshi appeared to have increased in size. Countless ck ripples pulsed from his body. Xu Sanshi took a step forward, and his Xuanwu Shield doubled in size once more. A powerful energy could be felt from it.

    ck light filled the entire Sparring Arena. The ck ripples instantly turned into countless rising dots of ck light. It was like a te filled with water, which someone had just hit from underneath.

    A power energy vibrated out, and instantly, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s attacks were destroyed. The two girls felt that the soul power they had used tounch their attacks had been instantly destroyed by this powerful energy. In shock, they retreated.

    However, ck ripples appeared once again. The vibrations made their movements sluggish. The movements of the two girls became visibly slower.

    ¡°Hehe, continue to work hard. After Qiuqiu gets her sixth ring, you can consider looking for me,¡± Xu Sanshi chuckled as he waved his hands at the two girls. The surrounding ck light became even more intense, forcing the two girls to go on the defensive. However, the moment the ck light receded, Xu Sanshi had already disappeared.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s so strong,¡± Nan Qiuqiu said in shock.

    ¡°His martial soul is very powerful,¡± Ye Guyi said with a heavy expression on her face. ¡°While it¡¯s water-type, it had the thickness of a soil-type martial soul. Furthermore, I feel that his martial soul is not on the same level as ours. I estimate that he¡¯s around Rank 68, very close to Rank 70.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu eximed in shock, ¡°So our Tang Sect will soon have a second Soul Sage?¡±

    Ye Guyi nodded and said, ¡°In the past, he didn¡¯t seem so strong. In the past two months, however, he has be very powerful.¡±

    ¡ª

    Xu Sanshi heard the two girls¡¯ conversation clearly, and could not help butugh. He was delighted.

    Ye Guyi was right. Right now, his soul power was at Rank 68.

    His soul power did not increase in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. However, after his martial soul turnedpletely into the Xuanwu, his cultivation entered a strange state. It was like a form of refinement.

    The refinement of his martial soul caused his own soul power to be refined as well. His past two months of cultivation had allowed his soul power to changepletely. Over the past two months, his evolved martial soul was able toplete its fusion, and his soul power naturally rose to Rank 68. Xu Sanshi estimated that in less than half a year, he had a chance of surpassing Rank 70. With the strength of his martial soul, the Xuanwu Shield, he would not even fear Rank 80 Soul Douluo once he hit Rank 70!

    He was not the only one who had improved. Through the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, everyone from the Tang Sect who had participated benefited greatly from it. Their fights in the tournament and their struggles in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley had allowed them to reap many benefits.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao, under Dean Yan Shaozhe¡¯s personal supervision, had sessfully retrieved their sixth soul rings. They reached the rank of Soul Emperor, improving the Tang Sect even more.

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu both had great potential. The reason why they were unable to fight those from the Tang Sect was because of their foundations.

    Shrek Academy was not known as the top Academy in the world for nothing. Its method of education was excellent, and reigned supreme. In particr, they were able to produce the best soul masters, who no one else could beat. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were both now on the path that Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters trod. Their shaky foundations, after the intensity of the past few months, solidified. Soon, they would improve faster and faster. With excellent instruction from good teachers, and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters as their peers, their cultivation had been improving rapidly.

    ¡°Third elder brother,¡± a clear voice suddenly called out..

    ¡°Yes? Xu Sanshi replied without thinking. In the Tang Sect, other than Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xuan Ziwen, and a few others, almost everyone else called him that. He was thinking about the overall strength of everyone from the Tang Sect, so he did not pay much attention to the voice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s spar,¡± said the voice once more.

    ¡°Sure. Wait!¡± Xu Sanshi finally woke up from his reverie. He raised his head to look.Who wants to spar with me?

    When he saw a smiling, confident youth, his eyes opened wide in shock. Then, brimming with joy, he shot forward like an arrow to hug him.

    ¡°You rascal! You finally ended your closed-door cultivation,¡± Xu Sanshi said excitedly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m done. I took a shower and changed. Just when I walked out, I saw a good show. Third elder brother, your power has improved so much! I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try and tter me. Eh, what¡¯s this? You can walk again?¡±

    The one who had appeared in front Xu Sanshi, who delighted him so much, was none other than Huo Yuhao, who was ranked number six among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. His closed-door cultivation had indeed made everyone worry deeply for him.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right leg and kicked out. He nodded at Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve healed fully. All of my passageways are clear once more. I¡¯ve absorbed all the energy into my body.¡± As he said that, his eyes shone with a faint light.

    While Xu Sanshi¡¯s sight was not as good as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, it was not weak either. He saw the instantaneous change in his junior¡¯s eyes. To his shock, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with a pale white light. It was not as powerful or dazzling as his original golden eyes. Instead, it looked as clear and silky as jade. His entire body appeared to be holding in great power.

    ¡°Little junior brother, you¡¯ve changed!¡± After Wang Dong¡¯er was revealed to be a girl, Huo Yuhao was naturally the youngest male disciple. Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Bei Bei all called him ¡®little junior brother¡¯.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Do you want to try fighting me?¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed and said, ¡°Bring it on.¡± As he said that, he dragged him outside.

    The moment the two of them walked out the door, they bumped into the two frustrated beauties. They did not react when they saw Xu Sanshi dragging someone over. However, when they finally got a closer look, they could not help but open their mouths in shock.

    Nan Qiuqiu eximed in surprise, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯vepleted your closed-door training?¡±

    ¡°Good! You finally came out!¡± Ye Guyi also said excitedly.

    When Huo Yuhao looked at the two of them, his smile brightened. After three months of solitary cultivation, it was good to see some familiar faces.

    ¡°Hello, Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi. That¡¯s right, I¡¯vepleted my training.¡±

    ¡°You rascal!¡± Ye Guyi said indignantly, ¡°You brought me here, but the moment you returned, you went to do your closed-door training. You didn¡¯t even say hi! Why? Hmph! Let me tell you, my powers have increased quite a bit in this period of time. Come! Let me take my anger out on you!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu fanned the mes and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯re terrible. Sister Guyi, let¡¯s take care of him together.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said with a smile, ¡°My pretties, don¡¯t you think you should wait? Little junior brother and I agreed to spar first. We should follow this order. Furthermore, don¡¯t fight a battle you can¡¯t win. Watch us fight first to see how powerful he has be before taking him on yourselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled bitterly and said, ¡°Third senior brother, you just want to see the world burn.¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked into the sky and said, ¡°If the Heavens have caused trouble for you, it¡¯s forgivable. If you cause trouble for yourself¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet left the ground. Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu only saw a blur. They lost sight of him.

    ¡°Come on, third senior brother,¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rang out from afar.

    The two girls turned, and realized that Huo Yuhao was already at the other end of the Sparring Arena.

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast,¡± said Nan Qiuqiu.

    Ye Guyi was not impressed. ¡°So what¡¯s if he¡¯s fast? A man must have endurance.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was walking into to the Sparring Arena, but when he heard that, he stumbled, and could not help but turn around and retort angrily, ¡°That¡¯s so wrong! You two are in cahoots with him!¡±

 Chapter 370.1 - Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 370.1: Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing</h4>

    Ye Guyi chuckled and said, ¡°Did I touch a sore spot? Go, go, third elder brother, beat him up.¡±

    Xu Sanshi did not know what to say. He did not know how this girl, who did not even have a boyfriend, knew so much about this subject.

    However, when he turned to look at Huo Yuhao, the look in his eyes changed. At that moment, Xu Sanshi stood upright, and his body felt like an immovable mountain that would never fall to everyone. Before he even released his martial soul, faint ck air swirled around him, making him appear even heavier.

    Huo Yuhao, however, gave off a different feel. Compared to Xu Sanshi¡¯s weightiness, Huo Yuhao was like a snowke. It seemed impossible to grab onto him. While he stood there, he seemed to not exist. The aura Xu Sanshi gave off disappeared by the time it reached Huo Yuhao.

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯ve changed indeed, little junior brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and replied, ¡°Third senior brother, please!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Xu Sanshi replied as he took a step forward. The ck light from his body started to shine intensely as dark ripples rushed toward Huo Yuhao, just like in his fight against Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi. Darkness which enveloped heaven and earth surged toward Huo Yuhao like a giant beast.

    When Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi saw this, their mouths twitched, unhappy with Xu Sanshi. Earlier, in their fight against him, he was not so careful. The martial soul he released was not as powerful, either.

    Ye Guyi thought in her heart,Can one Soul Emperor and one Soul King be weaker than Huo Yuhao?

    They did not know that Xu Sanshi was even warier of Huo Yuhao than they thought. After knowing Huo Yuhao for so many years, Xu Sanshi had seen the full strength of his little junior brother many times. In his heart, he had never viewed him as a mere Soul King. Not only did Huo Yuhao have countless abilities and an extremely flexible fighting style, but Sanshi also did not know how powerful Yuhao had be after his closed-door cultivation. All he knew was that Huo Yuhao and his Spirit Eyes were a big reason why Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters could achieve such results in the past two tournaments. Huo Yuhao¡¯s role was far bigger than his own!

    Faced with the ck light that surged toward him, Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded. ¡°Third elder brother has improved drastically indeed! Your Xuanwu¡¯s Domain has been absorbed into your soul power already. This should be aplete fusion with your martial soul, right?¡±

    As he spoke, he struck out, too. Five soul rings rose from underneath his feet.

    The colors of the five soul rings were shocking indeed. The first one was blood-red with four golden streaks. The rest were orange-gold. When the five soul rings appeared, the temperature of the Sparring Arena dropped. Two figures appeared behind Huo Yuhao.

    The two shadows were shocking to behold. They were both women. The one on the left had a clear, but cold expression on her face, and wore an emerald-green dress. Due to the illusory nature of the light, one could not see her face clearly. However, her jade-green eyes, which brimmed with a conquering aura, were extremely clear.

    Opposite her was a girl d in a white dress. She was as regal and haughty as ice and snow. She gazed down on all creation arrogantly and had a pair of deep blue eyes like ciers which had existed for more than ten thousand years, shocking and moving.

    When the two figures appeared, everything around Huo Yuhao changed, too. When the ck light surging toward him was only five meters away from him, it turned into snowkes. The air was windless, yet the snowkes swirled around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    This scene could only be described as ¡®strange¡¯. Even Xu Sanshi was shocked by it.

    ¡°Little junior brother, that¡¯s not nice,¡± he said as he reacted immediately. He lifted his right hand and pped out at Huo Yuhao.

    Instantly, the colors of the sky changed, and the light around them dimmed. In mid-air, the giant Xuanwu Shield appeared. Like a cloud that obscured the sun, it covered the sky above Huo Yuhao.

    The huge turtle and the blood-red snake on the shield came alive. Both brimmed with powerful auras. Like a mountain, it crashed down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Huo Yuhao stood there unmoving. His expression became as gentle as sunlight as he looked into the distance. In his eyes, there was only one emotion, and that was mncholy!

    A golden figure appeared and shed past the two cold figures behind him. Compared to the two other figures, this one was way too real.

    Long hair billowed down her back. Her entire body was golden. Was that not Wang Dong¡¯er? This was not the Goddess of Light, but Wang Dong¡¯e! Her hair was straight, not wavy. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Wang Dong¡¯er, his beloved!

    The golden figure appeared in front of Huo Yuhao and then turned to look at him. They stared at each other, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned misty. At the same time, an indescribable aura could be felt from his body.

    It was a bright-golden sword light. The sword light was not long, only three feet in length. However, it appeared between Huo Yuhao and the golden figure.

    The sword light shed, blocking the falling Xuanwu Shield!

    With a ngor, the Xuanwu Shield started to vibrate vigorously. As it shook, the golden sword light did not dissipate, but instead remained firm.

    The golden Wang Dong¡¯er took a step forward as she entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned smooth and clear. It was the same color Xu Sanshi had seen in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward and punched out.

    This punch looked very simple. Anyone could do it. However, the moment he punched, the expression on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face changed.

    His Xuanwu Shield appeared in front of him instantly, and he stepped back with his right foot. His left leg twisted sideways as he stood in this ssic stance. At the same time, countlessyers of light appeared on top of his Xuanwu Shield, which now shone with ck light.

    Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi suddenly felt like vomiting blood. They discovered, to their shock, that the space in the Sparring Arena appeared to have copsedpletely the moment Huo Yuhao punched out.

    A huge explosion resounded in the air, and Xu Sanshi slid back three feet behind his Xuanwu Shield before he managed to straighten himself.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand immediately. As he did that, the two figures behind him disappeared. The clear light on his body glowed even more intensely and became unbelievably sharp. At that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was like a sword which had left its scabbard!

    His right palm came down.

    There was no color. All one could see was a distorted ray of clear light dropping from the sky.

    Oddly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were still dazed and lost. He did not seem to be fighting Xu Sanshi, but instead appeared to be thinking of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The fourth soul ring on Xu Sanshi¡¯s body started to shine as he used his Xuanwu Discement.

    As a defensive soul master, he was extremely sensitive to his opponent¡¯s attack strength. While he told himself in his heart that Huo Yuhao could not hurt him at his level, the moment Huo Yuhao raised his right palm, a powerful sense of danger forced him to unleash his fourth soul skill. He wanted to disce Huo Yuhao to reduce the uracy of his attack.

    However, something shocking happened to Xu Sanshi. This soul skill, which had never failed him and helped him sessfully move much stronger opponents, failed on Huo Yuhao.

    His soul skill was now Xuanwu Discement, not the Mysterious Underworld Discement. Even if his opponent was a Titled Douluo, Xu Sanshi believed it had a thirty percent chance of seeding!

    However, when Xuanwu Discement was used Huo Yuhao, he felt like there was nothing there. There was no one to disce!

    He did not have much time to think about it as his sixth soul ring lit up. The turtle-snake on Xuanwu Shield came alive as the shield instantly shrank to a length of only one foot. He seemed to be holding a turtle now, which had a snake on it.

    The clear light shed past, and Xu Sanshi was sent flying like a cannon shell. He crashed into the back hall. All one could hear was explosions and the sound of stuff getting wrecked. No one knew how much damage it caused.

    Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi stood at the side, staring at the scene in shock.

    They could not believe that Xu Sanshi, who had defeated them as easily as if he was cutting vegetables,sted only two moves before Huo Yuhao! They did not even see Huo Yuhao use any soul skills as he defeated Xu Sanshi.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned too. He lowered his right palm and rushed toward the back hall. ¡°Third elder brother, are you alright?!¡± he called out urgently.

    After a long interval, he helped Xu Sanshi, whose face was clouded with dirt and dust, out of the mess. Xu Sanshi was truly embarrassed.

    Xu Sanshi was in a terribly disheveled state. His clothes looked like those of a beggar. Weird objects hung all over his body, and even the corner of his mouth was bloodied. Xu Sanshi, who had made a name for himself through his defensive abilities and was given the monikerThe Eternal Defense, was injured by Huo Yuhao, just like that.

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were not the only ones who did not believe this. Even he had troubleing to terms with this fact!

 Chapter 370.2 - Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 370.2: Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing</h4>

    At this moment, his right arm was still trembling. What was even more terrifying was that he could feel his soul shaking. He had used all his might to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, but he still felt as if his Xuanwu Shield almost broke because of it. If his martial soul broke, he would be severely injured!

    ¡°What the hell, little junior brother?¡± Xu Sanshi asked with a bitterugh.

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head awkwardly and said, ¡°Third elder brother, if I tell you I don¡¯t know what I did, will you believe me?¡±

    ¡°You rascal!¡± Xu Sanshi said unkindly. ¡°Who the hell would believe you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is an ability that I came up with over the past few days. Itprises just one punch, one sword, and one palm strike. The punch is called the Fist of Remembrance, the sword is called the Sword of Longing, and the palm strike is called the Haodong Palm.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was stunned. ¡°There¡¯s still a palm strike?. Had the sword not sent me flying, would you have struck me with your palm?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No! I need to umte strength for my Haodong Palm. Right now, I can¡¯t link them together. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m strong enough.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°If you¡¯re not strong enough, how can you beat me so badly? That¡¯s not right! You haven¡¯t gotten a new soul ring yet, so your cultivation should only be at Rank 60. How can this be possible? How can this be possible!? Why are you so strong? Just now, when you shed with your sword, I felt as if a strange power was tearing my martial soul apart! With my defensive abilities, it would not be hard for me to resist the attack of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo! How did you do this?¡±

    A dazed look crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know myself. I thought about many things in the past few days, and I fused all my powers together. When I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I was able to use these three moves I invented. When I use them, all I can think about is Dong¡¯er. I don¡¯t know how this came to be. If I did, I would have held back just now. I¡¯m sorry, third senior brother. How bad are your injuries?¡±

    Xu Sanshi asked suspiciously, ¡°This is so strange! Have you be too obsessed?¡±

    ¡°Can you stop being so negative?¡± Bei Bei¡¯s voice rang out.

    When he saw Xu Sanshi in his pathetic state, he was shocked too. He turned to look at Huo Yuhao joyfully as he said, ¡°Congrattions, little junior brother! You¡¯ve recovered!¡±

    Huo Yuhao rushed up and said, ¡°Sorry for making you worry, elder brother.¡±

    Bei Bei hugged him tightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re alright! There¡¯s no need for formality. It appears that you benefited greatly from your closed-door training! Recently, someone¡¯s improvement made him as proud as a peacock. It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve taught him a lesson.¡±

    ¡°Bei Bei, you¡¯re not the one who beat me,¡± Xu Sanshi retorted angrily. ¡°What are you so happy about? If you think you¡¯re strong enough,e fight me one-on-one!¡±

    Bei Bei looked at him from the corner of his eyes and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you, as I have things to do. Qiuqiu, Guyi, gather the rest of them. We have a lead, and I think we¡¯ll head out soon. It¡¯s fortunate that little junior brother has already recovered. With him, we have a much bigger chance of sess.¡±

    Before Ye Guyi could react, Nan Qiuqiu whooped in joy. She rushed into the back hall to gather the rest of them.

    ¡°Elder brother, what do we have a lead on?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    ¡°On the matter of rescuing someone from the Sun Moon Empire. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll talk inside!¡± Bei Bei replied with a serious expression.

    As he said that, he brought Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi into the back hall. The moment he entered, he saw the destroyed tables and chairs. Even the wall at the back had a huge human-shaped hole in it. He could not help but say gleefully, ¡°Sanshi, you should change your nickname fromThe Eternal Defense. What aboutThe Eternal Wreck?¡±

    ¡°Wreck¡­ wreck your face,¡± Xu Sanshi retorted in frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy. If you dare, try and spar with him. Little junior brother¡¯s punch and sword are terrifying! His first punch almost shattered my martial soul, and I could not block the sword. These are not powers that he should be able to use at his level! I think there¡¯s been a change in his abilities!¡±

    ¡°You have been happy recently because of your rtionship,¡± Bei Bei said unkindly. ¡°Little junior brother¡¯s punch and sword surpass his cultivation by a lot, but it did note from nothing. This came from his longing for Dong¡¯er. He fused his intent with his emotions and his spiritual power beautifully, and this is the result.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s easy? His soul power is weaker than yours, but his spiritual power is far beyond yours or mine. He turned his spiritual power into soul power, and achieved this beautiful fusion. Only like that is he able to strike with so much power. However, little junior brother, I advise you not to use this power too often. I¡¯m afraid that if you be too engrossed in this state, you may never be able to snap out of it.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± said Huo Yuhao. He had the same thoughts. His eyes were still dazed. It seemed like he had yet to escape from his longing for Dong¡¯er.

    With great power came great sacrifices. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing, and Haodong Palm had the same problem. He devoted all his attention to his longing for Wang Dong¡¯er, which allowed his spiritual power and soul power to fuse perfectly. Then, he injected bits of the power of his Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Atst, his Haodong Palm was a terrifying skill thatbined most of his abilities. Even Huo Yuhao himself did not know what would happen if he used this Haodong Palm!

    When he heard Bei Bei¡¯s words, Xu Sanshi woke up from his reverie as he said, ¡°Little junior brother, Bei Bei is right. Your attack is problematic. Please don¡¯t be too engrossed in it. Don¡¯t use it unless you have to. Try not to use it too often.¡± As he said that, he pressed down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s power, channeling cool and clear Xuanwu soul power into him.

    Huo Yuhao felt himself tremble. Only then did he regain some lucidity.

    ¡°Thank you, elder brother, third elder brother. However, even without these three moves, I¡¯ll still miss Dong¡¯er terribly. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Bei Bei sighed and said, ¡°Little junior brother, you¡¯re a prodigy indeed. This perfect fusion of soul power, spiritual power, and emotion surpasses even my ancestor¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent. If he were still alive, he¡¯d be proud of you.¡±

    When Bei Bei mentioned Elder Mu, a look of respect crossed Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he nodded slightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, elder brother. I¡¯ll continue to work hard.¡±

    Xu Sanshi took this time to slip into something clean, not hard since he always carried his storage-type soul tool with him. He tidied himself up so he would look presentable for Jiang Nannan.

    ¡ª

    The three of them entered the conference hall. After a short while, the upper echelons of the leadership of the Tang Sect arrived, too. This time, even Xuan Ziwen, He Caitou, and Gao Dalou came from the Soul Tool Hall. The seats on both sides of the table in the conference hall were all filled. The hall was crammed.

    After he saw everyone arrive, Bei Bei said, ¡°Everyone is here. Let us begin.¡±

    Other than Huo Yuhao, the rest of them intoned, ¡°We of the Tang Sect will always be unrivaled!¡±

    Xu Sanshi, who sat next to Huo Yuhao, whispered, ¡°This is the motto of the Tang Sect from now on. Remember it.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded back. He looked at everyone else, who were all staring at him happily. Only Xuan Ziwen seemed slightly displeased. The rest were all delighted.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Everyone, Huo Yuhao haspleted his closed-door training. This is great news. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation, the rescue mission will be much easier.¡±

    When he said that, his face turned serious as he said in a heavy voice, ¡°From what the Academy has told us, the Sun Moon Empire did not imprison their hostages in Radiant City. Instead, they are located in Sunrise City.

    ¡°Sunrise City is to the south of Radiant City. It¡¯s surrounded by ins that stretched for as far as the eyes can see. Its geography is simple, and so, detrimental to our rescue efforts. Hence, this is why I say that it¡¯ll be much easier with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation. ording to assessments made by the Academy, the Sun Moon Empire has be much more wary after thest explosion. As Sunrise City isn¡¯t big and has walls, it is very defensible. Not only are there many soldiers there, there are also evil soul masters and powerful soul engineers. In particr, the surveince soul tools there are going to be a big problem. I don¡¯t think little junior brother¡¯s Imitation can fool them. This rescue operation will be very difficult!¡±

    He Caitou spoke up, ¡°Elder brother, can we go by a subterranean route?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°No. The Body Sect did this twice, and each time, the Sun Moon Empire was dealt a heavy blow. They surely have their preparations for that tactic now. To us, our greatest advantage is that the Sun Moon Empire mes the Heavenly Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire for the explosion. They¡¯ll keep a much tighter watch on those two countries, at leastpared to us.

    ¡°After waiting for two months, while the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses are still tight, they should have rxed psychologically. The Academy hase up with a n. After a while, those taking part in this mission will meet with them. Teacher Xuan, please help look after the Tang Sect while we¡¯re gone. Among all of us here, Nannan and Xiao Xiao will stay behind.¡±

    When Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao heard that, they were shocked. However, before they could speak, Bei Bei raised his hand, indicating to them that they should let him finish.

    ¡°This rescue operation will be extremely dangerous. The Tang Sect¡¯s development is going smoothly, so it¡¯s best for the two of you to stay behind. I, Caitou, Sanshi, Yuhao, Guyi, Qiuqiu, and Juechen shall take part in this operation. The rest of you shall stay behind.¡±

 Chapter 370.3 - Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 370.3: Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing</h4>

    ¡°Oi, elder brother, how can you forget me?¡± Jing Ziyan said unhappily.

    Bei Bei thought for a while, and then said, ¡°Alright, you cane along, too. It¡¯s decided then. Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Na Na shall stay behind. The Academy has its own arrangements for Mo Xuan. Dalou, stay behind with Teacher Xuan to continue the work of our Soul Tool Hall.¡±

    ¡°Elder brother,¡± Huo Yuhao said suddenly.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Bei Bei said as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This operation is important, but we still need someone from the Tang Sect to manage everything. You should stay too. This time, second elder brother and third elder brother shall lead us. Stay at home and look after the sect. We¡¯ll feel more at ease like this, too.¡±

    Bei Bei frowned and said, ¡°How can I do that? I¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Huo Yuhao is right. Bei Bei, you should stay. The Tang Sect has enough things for you to take care of already. If you give them all to Nannan and Xiao Xiao, they¡¯ll be under a lot of pressure. Orders from the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire areing in like snow during a blizzard. Do you want Teacher Xuan to take care of them personally? If Yuhao had not ended his closed-door training, you would have had to go. But now that we have Yuhao, what¡¯s the point in you going? Once Huo Yuhao recovers fully, he¡¯ll be stronger than you in all aspects. So I advise you not to go.¡±

    Bei Beiughed and replied, ¡°While I know you¡¯re speaking the truth, you should think about my feelings too, right? Looking at it, I really should try and work harder. Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao could tell what his elder brother was worried about. He nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, elder brother, I¡¯m fine. After Ie back from the rescue operation, I¡¯ll look for Dong¡¯er. Then I¡¯ll resume my closed-door training.¡±

    Bei Bei was not someone who was prone to hesitation. He also knew that the Tang Sect needed him to stay behind. This rescue operation could not be allowed to affect the overall development of the sect!

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s decided. This time, Yuhao shall lead. Yuhao, don¡¯t shirk from your role. I can only be at ease if I hand everyone over to you. Bring all of them back to me safely.¡±

    ¡°Yes, elder brother,¡± said Huo Yuhao. He did not refuse the role. A clear, smooth light shone in the depths of his eyes. The cold light shed and disappeared.

    If not for the Sun Moon Empire, we would not have entered the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. If we hadn¡¯t entered the valley, how would Dong¡¯er¡­

    Regardless of whether it was because of national or personal reasons, he stood firmly against the Sun Moon Empire. He could not imagine what it would be like for the Sun Moon Empire to rule the continent while following the religion of evil soul masters. He was already a youth, but he was fighting for the ones he loved. He wanted revenge for Dong¡¯er, and he sought to increase his own strength. The words of the leader of the Clear Sky Sect, Niu Tian, were seared into his mind. As a man, if he could not even protect his own woman, what right did he have to be with her?

    Dong¡¯er, wait for me! After I rescue them, I¡¯ll look for you! It¡¯s been almost three months, are you awake yet?

    When he thought of Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao could feel his heart burning. Fighting intent zed fiercely inside him.

    Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao looked unwilling, but Bei Bei had already made up his mind. There was nothing else for them to say. Originally, Bei Bei did not even want He Caitou to take part. However, once he thought about the dangers of this operation, he realized that he needed the extra firepower He Caitou could provide, and allowed him to go.

    ¡°Yuhao,e over.¡± Right after the meeting, Xuan Ziwen called Huo Yuhao over.

    ¡°Do you still want to study soul engineering? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve decided to give up on itpletely!¡± Xuan Ziwen said angrily. He had not seen Huo Yuhao working in the Soul Tool Hall for many months.

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I don¡¯t intend to give up on soul engineering. However, I can¡¯t research thetest technology in soul engineering with you anymore, I¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Say no more. We all have our own aspirations, and I won¡¯t force you. Before you go, however, pop over by my table. I¡¯ve helped you do some maintenance and made some tweaks to your human-shaped soul tool. Look at what you¡¯ve done. Everything is a mess! How much material did you waste? Hmph!¡± After he said that, Xuan Ziwen turned to leave.

    As he watched Xuan Ziwen walk off, Huo Yuhao felt his heart grow warm. While Teacher Xuan might be strict, he cared for Yuhao deeply. Before hemenced his closed-door training, he had passed his human-shaped soul tool over to Xuan Ziwen. When he made it, he did use many rare metals, but that was so that he could bring more types of rare metal back, and Xuan Ziwen definitely knew that!

    Of course, his human-shaped soul tool was still rough and unpolished, as he had not had a lot of time to make it. Since Xuan Ziwen said that he had made some tweaks to it, it was likely that he hade up with a revolutionary new design for the human-shaped soul tool! Even the Sun Moon Empire, which did not have the mechanical technology of the Tang Sect, could note up with such a perfect design.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Everyone went back to pack. Of course, the two couples also said their goodbyes to each other. After two hours, they gathered in the Sparring Arena of the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu, seven of them in total. Six were Soul Emperors, plus Huo Yuhao, who could be said to be a pseudo-Soul Emperor.

    Bei Bei walked over in front of Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Little junior brother, this trip is dangerous. I¡¯m entrusting you with everyone¡¯s safety. There¡¯s only one instruction from me, and that¡¯s toe back alive no matter what happens. Do it for the Tang Sect, and for yourselves.¡±

    ¡°We of the Tang Sect will always be unrivaled! Elder brother, I¡¯ll bring everyone back safely, even if I¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, go!¡± Bei Bei did not wait for him to finish. He pped his shoulder and walked ahead of everyone in the direction of the main door.

    Huo Yuhao and his partners caught up quickly. Under Bei Bei¡¯s leadership, they walked out in the direction of Shrek Academy.

    Shrek Academy was still the same. Due to the rapid development of soul tools, Shrek Academy was in a new stage of prosperity. The expansion of the Soul Tool Department meant the school had added three new sses for soul engineering across all grades.

    ¡ª

    When Huo Yuhao arrived at the door of the Academy, it was already noon. The students had ended their lessons, and were streaming out the doors. Outside the Academy, hawkers sold their food and merchandise to the students. It was a lively sight.

    Xu Sanshi squeezed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, sighed, and said, ¡°Every time I see this scene, I¡¯ll think back to the moment when we first met. At that time, weren¡¯t you one of them?¡± As he said that, his expression turned to anguish. ¡°Little junior brother, when was thest time you made grilled fish for us? This time, you must cook grilled fish for us!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Huo Yuhao. He looked forward, and noticed that Bei Bei¡¯s body stiffened visibly when Xu Sanshi mentioned grilled fish. He sighed in his heart. He knew that this scene filled elder brother with memories. How could he not think of Teacher Xiao Ya?

    Xu Sanshi was smart. When he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze, he too noticed the change in Bei Bei¡¯s emotions.

    ¡°Oh right, Bei Bei, do you mind showing your drawing to little junior brother? He went to the Icefire Yin Yang Well before, right? Perhaps what you need is over there.¡±

    Bei Bei stopped and turned around. He pped his forehead in self-remorse and said anxiously, ¡°Oh right! How could I have forgotten? Sanshi, you finally did something right! Little junior brother, have you seen these two types of nts? When I was in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, it gave me this hint. I believe we need these items to save Little Ya.¡±

    As he said that, Bei Bei carefully took a manual out from an inner pocket. He opened it, revealing two exquisite drawings.

    The first one was a huge, pink flower. Its alluringly-pink petals were in full bloom, and the very sight of it was astounding.

    The second one was a de grass that looked crystal-blue.

    ¡°Is this¡­ the Delicate Silk Immortal?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in shock.

    When he heard him say this name, Bei Bei¡¯s body froze, and he said, ¡°Little junior brother, you recognize it?¡± Since his return from the Sun Moon Empire, he had used his prize to find the best artist. He described this image, and got the artist to draw it. However, while he did manage to get an image for it and prepared the money for it, not a single soul master or shop in Shrek City knew what these two items were.

    After a few months, even Bei Bei had lost hope. He had never expected that Huo Yuhao would be the one with the answer.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I should be right. I saw this nt in the Icefire Yin Yang Well, and it left a deep impression on me, too. I named it the Delicate Silk Immortal, as it was an extremely rare and expensive type of nt. In the Icefire Yin Yang Well, one of them had even be sentient. Elder brother, after wee back, I¡¯ll search for it with you. Furthermore, the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s knowledge of nts is superb. Even if we don¡¯t recognize the second one, it will.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s breathing quickened. After a long while, he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll speak upon your return.¡± It took a lot of self-restraint to prevent himself from dragging Huo Yuhao off to search for the Delicate Silk Immortal immediately. No matter how much he loved Tang Ya, no matter how much he wanted to find the medicine to cure her, he had to ce the interests of the sect above his own.

    Huo Yuhao noticed his frustration. ¡°Elder brother, we¡¯lle back soon!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    As he said that, they were already at the gate of the school. Facing them, a group of young students was walking out. The two groups bumped into each other, as the road was obstructed on both sides by hawkers.

    At the back of the student group was a young student in a purple uniform. He should be in the fourth grade in the outer yard. His hair was deep blue, and he looked energetic, with a proud expression.

 Chapter 371 - Departure!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 371: Departure!</h4>

    ¡°Move aside,¡± one of the youths next to the short blue-haired youth shouted at Huo Yuhao fiercely.

    In terms of appearance, they were around Huo Yuhao¡¯s age. At most, they were only younger than him by one or two years. Next to them were five or six other students from Shrek Academy, all d in purple uniforms, among them some pretty girls.

    Huo Yuhao would never make a scene with his juniors over such an issue. He smiled slightly and moved to one side.

    However, while he was magnanimous, not everyone was like him.

    ¡°Oi! Can you behave with some decorum?¡± a woman¡¯s voice sounded. Someone appeared next to Huo Yuhao. Her hands were on her waist as she looked angrily at the group of young men and women. ¡°Do you even know what courtesy is? Don¡¯t you know that you should make way for your seniors? Move aside!¡±

    The provocateur was naturally Nan Qiuqiu!

    While Nan Qiuqiu was not as dazzling as Jiang Nannan or Wang Dong¡¯er, she was pretty in her own right. The moment she jumped out next to Huo Yuhao, she was able to catch everyone¡¯s attention.

    The skinny youth¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°Wah! What a beauty! Where did youe from? Why don¡¯t I recognize you?¡± Huo Yuhao and his entourage were not wearing the uniform of Shrek Academy, so naturally, they were regarded as outsiders.

    Nan Qiuqiu said angrily, ¡°Cut the crap! Move aside! If not, I¡¯ll beat you up so badly your own mother won¡¯t recognize you!¡±

    The skinny youth was stunned. He mumbled, ¡°This babe is feisty indeed! Boss, what should we do?¡±

    The youth with the blue hair, who was evidently their leader, frowned and said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Real men don¡¯t fight with women.¡± As he said that, he moved to the side as he tried to walk past Nan Qiuqiu.

    However, Nan Qiuqiu did not give up so easily. She grabbed his arm and said, ¡°Are you insulting women?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± The blue-haired youth was perplexed as he said, ¡°How did I insult women?¡± As he said that, he shrugged his shoulders slightly, and all Nan Qiuqiu felt then was that she was grabbing onto a chunk of soft y. Her hands slid free, and her target slipped out of her grasp.

    ¡°Wow! You still dare to resist!¡± Her eyes glinted, and energy started to pulsate from her body. Two yellow, two purple, and one ck ring, five in total, rose from underneath her feet. Her powerful aura dominated the entire area.

    ¡°Soul King?¡± The skinny youth eximed in shock. He could not help but take a few steps back. ¡°This aunty here is a Soul King?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pped his forehead.We¡¯re in trouble now.

    Indeed, when she heard him call her an aunty, Nan Qiuqiu, whose intentions were more yful than malicious, blew her top. She red at the skinny youth so intently the veins on her forehead could be seen. Fire zed in her eyes as she uttered, word-by-word, ¡°Who¡­are¡­you¡­calling¡­aunty?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was only twenty years old. While she had a nice body, how could any woman not care about her age? When she heard that, she was naturally enraged.

    The skinny youth was a natural-born troublemaker. He did not appear to be afraid of trouble as he said, sticking his neck out, ¡°I¡¯m calling you aunty, you big-breasted bimbo! So what if you¡¯re a Soul King? If you want to show off in front of Shrek Academy, don¡¯t cry if I beat you up so badly your own mother won¡¯t even recognize you!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± The Ruby Dragon appeared above Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s forehead. If not for Ye Guyi, who was holding her back, she would have already rushed forward.

    ¡°See! Even you admit that you¡¯re old,¡± the skinny youth said, without a care in the world.

    ¡°Be kind with your words, junior,¡± said Huo Yuhao. He noticed that Nan Qiuqiu was on the verge of exploding, and so had no choice but to intervene. As he said that, he stood in front of Nan Qiuqiu.

    The skinny youth was just about to retort, but then saw the clear light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. His eyes zed over as he said, ¡°Oh.¡±

    Including the blue-haired youth, the entire group of Grade 4 students from the outer courtyard all felt as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s warm gaze was staring straight at them. Their brains were all in aplete mess.

    ¡°Move aside.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The group of young men and women all moved aside.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and dragged Nan Qiuqiu into the academy with everyone else.

    ¡°Why are you dragging me? I¡¯m going to kill them all! They dared to call me an aunty! Am I that old?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was about to rush back outside, but the hand Huo Yuhao was grabbing her with felt as solid as gold. No matter how much she struggled, she could feel a powerful energying from his hand, making her soul power and spiritual power tremble. There was no way she could break free of him!

    ¡°If you continue to cause trouble, you don¡¯t need toe with us anymore. Stay at the Tang Sect,¡± intoned Huo Yuhao.

    As she looked at his serious expression, Nan Qiuqiu suddenly felt a sense of fear rising in her heart for no apparent reason. The anger in her heart was a fire that was just now doused by cold water. She became much calmer.

    ¡°Alright, alright! There¡¯s no need to be so fierce!¡± Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s tone dipped.

    Huo Yuhao let go of her hand, smiled thinly at her, and said, ¡°Am I that fierce? Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going to Sea God¡¯s Ind!¡±

    Xu Sanshi walked behind them as he said in a bored tone, ¡°So boring! If they really fight, wouldn¡¯t that be a sight? Qiuqiu is a hot little chili, indeed. What a vtile personality!¡±

    He Caitou smiled slightly and said, ¡°Screw that! You should stop causing trouble, too. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°We¡¯re all youths, and should behave as such. Brother Ji, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Go!¡± Ji Juechen replied in his typical clipped fashion.

    At the gate of Shrek Academy, the group students from Grade 4 finally cleared their heads. The skinny youth mumbled, ¡°What happened? What¡¯s going on? I feel like I¡¯m floating.¡±

    The youth with the short blue hair turned serious as he said, ¡°We appear to have been manipted. That person was so strong! Do you know who he is?¡±

    A girl said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him before! Judging by his age, he should be about as old as us. However, why don¡¯t I have any impression of him?¡±

    The youth with the short hair said, ¡°He called us juniors, so he must be someone from the Academy. Could he be a senior from the inner courtyard? Right! He must be! If not, how could his spiritual power be so strong?¡±

    A hawker next to him could not help, but interject, ¡°Young brother, stop thinking about it! You can¡¯t afford to piss that guy off. He¡¯s known as the most talented student Shrek Academy has seen in thest thousand years!¡±

    The blue-haired youth turned to look at the man in shock and asked, ¡°Uncle, you know him?¡±

    The hawker nodded and said, ¡°Of course I do. Five to six years ago, he had a stall here too, selling grilled fish. His business was rather good. Then the Academy decided to ce special emphasis on nurturing him. We¡¯ve all heard his story. Once I say his name, you¡¯ll naturally know who he is! He¡¯s called Huo Yuhao!¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao?¡± The blue-haired youth¡¯s voice jumped a few octaves. His eyes were filled with shock. The group of Grade 4 students behind him all appeared paralyzed.

    The skinny youth¡¯s face turned pale, and then green as he said, ¡°I¡­ I told Senior Huo to make way for me. Heavens! I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m so dead¡­¡±

    The young girl who had spoken before couldn¡¯t help but ask the hawker, ¡°Uncle, so that person just now wastheHuo Yuhao? The champion who seized the championship from the jaws of defeat in thest Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, who also represented the Tang Sect and defeated an evil Soul Sage in the most recent tournament? The one born with twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul, who is also known as the top genius from Shrek Academy?¡±

    The hawker mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know all those titles, but the name Huo Yuhao is rare. There appears to be only one guy from the Academy with that name.¡±

    The blue-haired youth mumbled to himself, ¡°It¡¯s him, it must be him! One of Senior Yuhao¡¯s martial souls is Spirit Eyes! Just now, when we saw him, he used some power in his eyes. We passed by our idol just like that! Let¡¯s go! We must apologize to our senior!¡±

    As he said that, he turned and ran in the other direction. The others followed him. However, when they reached the shore of the Sea God¡¯s Lake, they could not see anyone from the Tang Sect. All the saw was a few small, ck dots stepping onshore in the middle of theke.

    The blue-haired youth sighed and muttered, ¡°We missed our chance. We really missed our chance!¡±

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao naturally did not know about how his juniors reacted to the discovery of his identity. Now, he was back with hispanions on Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Every time he returned, he would sense a warm feeling that made him happy. However, it was different this time, because someone was missing.

    At the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao did not enter straightaway. Instead, he knelt in front of the blooming golden tree and kowtowed three times. It was his way of honoring Elder Mu.

    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m back. I think I¡¯ve found the path that you talked about,¡± Huo Yuhao mumbled softly.

    A clear gust of wind blew, and the tree leaves on the golden tree danced. The tree emitted a faintpassionate aura.

    ¡°Get up. Have you recovered?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice rang out from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and said respectfully, ¡°Yes. Hello, Elder Xuan!¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°Come in!¡±

    Not everyone could enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi naturally knew this rule. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi, who were not as familiar with the rules of Shrek Academy, were brought to wait at one side. Huo Yuhao entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion alone.

    Elder Xuan sat at the head of a long table. He was not alone. The other elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, including Zhang Lexuan, were all present. There was only one empty chair.

    Elder Xuan nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°When you were undergoing your closed-door cultivation, Bei Bei took over your spot temporarily. Now that you¡¯re back, please take up your seat once more.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao replied respectfully. He bowed to the other elders before walking to the seat at the table and sitting down. He lowered his head slightly, appearing extremely respectful.

    Elder Xuan looked at him and said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve grown. After Dong¡¯er got into trouble, I was afraid that you might not recover from it. Now, I see that you¡¯ve managed to hold yourself together. Your powers have improved greatly, too. Very good! I believe Elder Mu¡¯s spirit would rejoice at the sight of you now, too! You are indeed his chosen one.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said respectfully, ¡°Grief solves nothing. While Dong¡¯er sleeps, all I can do is continually improve myself. After she wakes up, I¡¯ll be better able to protect her.¡±

    ¡°Good that you know,¡± Elder Xuan said dly. ¡°Now that everyone is here, the meeting of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion shall start. We have only one thing on the agenda, and that¡¯s the mission!¡±

    The meetingsted for more than four hours.

    Fortunately, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou both had ces to stay in the inner courtyard. After waiting for a while, they brought Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and the rest away to eat beforeing back to wait some more.

    After one entire afternoon, Huo Yuhao finally emerged from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He did not say anything to them. All he told them was that they would be moving out tomorrow before he brought everyone back to the Tang Sect.

    As they left Shrek Academy, it was still lesson time. This time, they naturally did not meet any juniors. Xu Sanshi felt a twinge of regret.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Back at the Tang Sect, everyone busied themselves. They packed their daily necessities and brought out everything they needed to use. Those from the Tang Sect would y a big role in the n the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion hade up with. For everyone to return peacefully, Bei Bei opened the warehouse of the Tang Sect to let them pick what they needed.

    The first thing Huo Yuhao took out was the giant Heart Protecting Mirror made out of Starlight Sapphire, which had once held the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s human-shaped soul tool, and which he had been keeping safe for Dong¡¯er. With the Heartprotecting Mirror on him, he and He Caitou started to gear up.

    They worked until midnight, and only then did Huo Yuhao find Xuan Ziwen. After he left his room, he had another Starlight Sapphire Ring on him.

    ¡ª

    In the morning the next day, Bei Bei personally brought everyone from the Tang Sect out to send them off. They only went back after the team left Shrek City.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying-type soul tool was now Grade 7. This one was made personally by Xuan Ziwen. It was both fast, agile, and defensively strong. Furthermore, it was customized to his needs, ording to his measurements. Of course, this was possible only because Huo Yuhao had managed to get enough materials from the Sun Moon Empire thest time he was there!

    Huo Yuhao jumped into the air, and a light shed in his eyes. He did not release his martial soul, but the Grade 7 soul tool on his back opened.

    The soul tool looked odd. It resembled a pair of butterfly wings, each of which had thrusters built in. In total, there were twelve, six on top and six below, aligned at different heights. When the dozen thrusters activated together, he was able to reach top speed.

 Chapter 372.1 - The Plan Starts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 372.1: The n Starts</h4>

    Huo Yuhao personally asked Xuan Ziwen to make this flying-type soul tool for him. It carried all his longing for Dong¡¯er.

    Quickly, everyone rose a thousand meters into the air. At that height, they could barely see what was underneath them. To an ordinary person, they would resemble birds.

    Huo Yuhao flew at the front,He Caitou and Xu Sanshi nked him. Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu followed them.

    Of those here, Ji Juechen was the most unfamiliar with flying-type soul tools. Other than his own sword, he normally did note into contact with any other types of equipment. If not for the fact that he had a chance to fight, he might not even havee this time. As he controlled his flying-type soul tool, it was obvious that he was a rookie at it. His handsome face was ice-cold.

    A Grade 7 flying-type soul tool would release a protective soul barrier for its user. This protective soul barrier underwent special treatment. Not only did it have the power of a Grade 6 protective soul barrier, but it was aerodynamic, too, helping to reduce air resistance.

    Naturally, when a soul tool of this level was being used, it would deplete one¡¯s soul power greatly. Other than Ji Juechen, the rest of them were all Soul Emperors. While they could use one, they could not sustain it for long if they did not have Sealed Milk Bottles.

    The technology behind Sealed Milk Bottles had already been implemented in all the soul tools manufactured by the Tang Sect. Every flying-type soul tool they were using now had four ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles. It was not because they did not want to use superior Grade 7 ones, but it was prohibitively expensive to manufacture Grade 7 Sealed Milk Bottles. Due to the cost, Xuan Ziwen chose to use four Grade 6 Sealed Milked Bottles for them instead.

    As she watched the scenery whizz past underneath her, Nan Qiuqiu could not help but exim excitedly. Protected by the protective soul barrier, she did not need to deal with the wind resistance.

    Huo Yuhao led everyone in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire. First, they had to fly south for a bit. To the south of Shrek Academy was the Great Star Dou Forest, and after they passed it, they would enter the Star Luo Empire. He could not fly directly above the Great Star Dou Forest, as that would be suicidal. As they approached the forest, Huo Yuhao started to change directions and flew southwest. He entered the Star Luo Empire, staying dozens of kilometers away from the Great Star Dou Forest.

    After that, he veered south, nning to cut through the Star Luo Empire.

    The Grade 7 flying-type soul tools were fast, indeed. After two hours, they were around 250 kilometers inside the Star Luo Empire, which was also its core regions.

    As they flew south, the temperature gradually rose.

    Xu Sanshi could not help but ask Huo Yuhao, ¡°Little junior brother, where are we going? Why do I feel that something is wrong?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong. We have to make a big detour this time before we can enter the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯ll take longer, but it¡¯ll ensure sess.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Xu Sanshi said after he heard that reply. He Caitou trusted Huo Yuhao, so naturally, he would not inquire further. As for the remaining four of them, their sense of direction was bad, and they could only follow¡­

    ¡ª

    They left in the morning. Huo Yuhao brought everyone down to rest at noon.

    Everyone ate, drank, and replenished the Sealed Milk Bottles on their flying-type soul tools. The Sealed Milk Bottles were indeed useful. They had been flying for hours, but their soul power had not been drained by much.

    Huo Yuhao took out a map and examined it. asionally, he would nod his head.

    Xu Sanshi leaned against a huge tree. He took in the southern warmth as he closed his eyes to rest.

    He Caitou was nearby. He just watched Huo Yuhao. Like Huo Yuhao, he had undergone the Ultimate Soldier n and knew about Huo Yuhao¡¯s experience in ambushing his enemies from behind. With Yuhao¡¯s sharp spiritual power and urate judgment, coupled with his knowledge and experience, he definitely would not go in the wrong direction.

    They rested for two hours before resuming their journey. This time, Huo Yuhao made even more adjustments to their route. Quickly enough, even those who were unfamiliar with the way realized that everything they flew past seemed to be farms and wilderness. They did not pass any cities.

    Nan Qiuqiu asked curiously, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Star Luo Empire rich? Why have we not passed by any cities at all?¡±

    Ye Guyi answer her silly question straightaway, ¡°He¡¯s doing it deliberately!¡±

    She was correct. Huo Yuhao purposefully avoided any cities on their route.

    With the continual development of soul tools, the original three countries of the Douluo Continent had ced greater emphasis on them, especially in the area of aerial surveince. When Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had gone to the Setting Sun Forest, they were detected by the aerial surveince soul tools ced in Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire. That experience made him realize that he always had to avoid cities. After all, the range of aerial surveince soul tools was limited, and could not cover the entire country. As long as they did not pass by cities, they should be fine.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Just like that, they flew for another twelve 12 hours. As the sky darkened, they slowed down and prepared to descend.

    Just as they were doing that, Nan Qiuqiu suddenly eximed, ¡°Look over there! What¡¯s that?¡±

    Everyone looked into the distance. The scene there touched them deeply.

    It was a golden world. One could see countless rays of golden light on the horizon. The sun was slowly setting amid this golden scene.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. He had achieved his initial objective.

    ¡°That¡¯s the sea. What¡¯s there to be shocked about? When the sun sets over the mountains, sunlight will shine over the sea and create this image.¡±

    Ye Guyi looked into the distance. She appeared to be in a trance. ¡°The sun sets over the sea, what a beautiful sight¡­¡±

    That was right, they were at the sea. To be urate, they were near the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire. With twelve hours of flight at full speed, they had left Shrek City, cut across the entire length of the Star Luo Empire, and finally arrived at the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s leadership, they had to take numerous detours away from cities, but they were able to reach the sea before sunset.

    ¡°Why is the sea there? Yuhao, tell me where we are.¡± Jing Ziyan asked in shock.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire. After an entire day¡¯s flight, we¡¯ve made our way across the Star Luo Empire. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll head out to sea. We¡¯ll fly westward along the coast, and enter the Sun Moon Empire via the sea.¡±

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s map-reading skills might be bad, but she knew her geography. She asked in shock, ¡°That¡¯s such a long way around! Why are you doing this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°So we can enter the Sun Moon Empire safely. We have no choice. I¡¯m afraid the border of the Sun Moon Empire ispletely covered by surveince soul tools. It would be impossible to enter without being discovered.

    ¡°Elder Xuan decided that the rescue mission would have two teams, with one being the decoy. The powerful soul masters from the Academy are the decoy, and they¡¯ll go by the more obvious route. We¡¯ll go by the lesser-known route. Elder Xuan¡¯s team will attract the attention of the Sun Moon Empire. Our goal is to rescue our targets.¡±

    Jing Ziyan inhaled and said, ¡°How many people were caught? 400? 500? With just a few of us, can we really save all of them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°You may think it¡¯s impossible, and the enemy thinks so, too. As long as they can see Elder Xuan and the higher echelons of Shrek Academy, they¡¯ll naturally let their guard down. Furthermore, you¡¯ve forgotten something. The people we¡¯re out to save are no ordinary people. Each and every one of them is immensely powerful!¡±

    Jing Ziyan finally understood the target and n of this rescue operation.

    Huo Yuhao said loudly, ¡°Everyone, perk up! We¡¯ll rest by the seaside. At night, I¡¯ll catch and grill fish for everyone!¡±

    After they worked hard for the entire day, eating was more important to them than anything else. When they heard these words, their speed increased visibly. They all flew toward the sea, the waters dazzling in the setting sun, like swallows toward a tree.

    While it looked near, it was actually still pretty far. They had to fly for another hour before they reached the coast. When theynded, the sky waspletely dark.

    ¡°Guyi,e and catch fish with me,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he gestured toward her.

    ¡°Why me?¡± Ye Guyi asked curiously.

    ¡°You can make some light for me! Fishes love bright spots.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re using my Holy Angel as a source of light?¡± Ye Guyi was visibly irritated.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and said, ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to eatter, then I won¡¯t do so.¡±

    Ye Guyi red at him angrily, then remembered that Xu Sanshi had once said that Huo Yuhao¡¯s grilled fish was extremely tasty. Eventually, she relented. She pursed her lips and unwillingly released her angelic wings, flying out above the sea.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. Moving on the tips of his feet, he jumped straight out into the middle of the sea.

    Ye Guyi looked down from the sky to look at Huo Yuhao. To her surprise, Huo Yuhao was not using his flying-type soul tool. Instead, he walked on the water as he headed out into the sea.

 Chapter 372.2 - The Plan Starts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 372.2: The n Starts</h4>

    While a flying-type soul tool could elerate quickly, it was harder to control than martial souls at low speed. Ye Guyi wanted to him slip up, but Huo Yuhao was walking casually as if he were at home on the waves.

    How does he do it? Does he really have five soul rings?

    Ye Guyi was shocked as she thought about it.

    Quickly, she discovered how Huo Yuhao was able to stand on the water. With each step he took, parts of the sea would freeze into ice, which could hold his weight. This prevented him from sinking straight away, so he could stand on top of the sea as if it were nothing to him.

    This guy¡­ is abnormal!

    Ye Guyi sighed and hurried over.

    The seawater was clear-blue, and one could see the bottom. Even though the sun had set, the light from Ye Guyi¡¯s Holy Angel allowed her to see the beautiful and enthralling underwater world.

    Huo Yuhao did not walk too far out into the sea. There were ten times more soul beasts in the ocean than onnd. Other than a few aquatic soul masters who lived near the sea, very few people dared to venture out into the sea without knowing the behavior and patterns of the soul beasts who lived there.

    ¡°Guyi, shine brighter!¡± Huo Yuhao said as he gestured toward Ye Guyi, who was above his head.

    Ye Guyi turned her head to the side as if she had not heard him,

    ¡°Stop fooling around, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Huo Yuhao spoke as if he were coaxing a younger sister, though Ye Guyi was older than him by five to six years.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ye Guyi said. Her two wings then lit up. Warm golden light cascaded from the sky. Night may have just fallen over this boundless sea, but the light from her wings over the water was a beautiful sight to behold.

    Just like Huo Yuhao had said, fishes loved light. After a short time, he could see schools of fish swimming in the water underneath him.

    ¡°How do you n to catch them? We have many people, and we¡¯ll eat a lot,¡± Ye Guyi asked Huo Yuhao curiously. While she was powerful, her survival skills were mediocre at best. Ever since she was young, she had devoted all her energy to training. She had probably never done any chores in her life. Hence, while she liked to eat nice food, she was more curious about how this youth who had beaten her up, would cook the fish¡­

    ¡°Watch and see,¡± Huo Yuhao replied with a smile. A clear blue light shone from his body. The moment it appeared, the water underneath him froze. Ye Guyi noticed that Huo Yuhao was now standing on solid ice.

    An area with a radius of 2.5 meters around him had frozen over. The motion of the waves quickly lifted the block of ice up. Huo Yuhao seemed to be standing on an iceberg. In the middle of the iceberg, many of the fish still looked as if they were swimming. At least a hundred of them were frozen inside.

    ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t this too simple and brutish?¡± Ye Guyi asked dazedly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled at her and said, ¡°Sometimes, simplicity is beautiful. Let¡¯s go.¡± As he said that, he waved his hands behind him, and two gusts of wind blew out. The ice underneath his feet started to slide across the waves toward solidnd.

    This is possible? How interesting!Ye Guyi had always been curious about Huo Yuhao. After she saw him fish with this method, she could not help but be even more intrigued.

    Only Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu had never done any form of chores in their lives before. By the time Huo Yuhao reached the shore, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi had already started a fire with some wood they found. A pot of water was boiling.

    Ji Juechen was silent, but he was not someone who would not help. Earlier, he had helped cut the firewood. Jing Ziyan had built the bonfire and ced the pot over it.

    At this moment, Nan Qiuqiu stood nearby, blushing because she had not done anything at all. At first, she had wanted to help Jing Ziyan, but the moment she tried to help, she knocked over the pot. Instantly, Xu Sanshi asked her to move to the side. If not, there would be no soup that night.

    Huo Yuhao walked over and chuckled, ¡°Our preparations are almost done! I shall start. Second senior brother, cook up some vegetable soup. We can¡¯t just eat grilled fish. I¡¯ll put two fish in the vegetable soup so it¡¯ll taste better.¡±

    Food was naturally one of theponents taught in the Ultimate Solider n. While Huo Yuhao did not dare to say that he recognized all edible fish, he was able to recognize over sixty percent of them.

    He picked up a few branches to skewer the fish, then went back to the ocean. With Ultimate Ice, he could not only freeze water into ice, but he could also allow ice to melt back into water. As every fresh fish passed his hands, he was able to wash all of them quickly. He skewered them on branches and then ced them on top of some leaves He Caitou had found.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were deft. Ye Guyi watched him with delight and wanted to help him. However, the moment she tried to do so, she realized that this simple task was not as simple as it seemed. She spent a long time skewering a single fish, piercing through its belly and making a huge mess of its scales. She even got fish blood on her hands. The end result was that the poor fish was burned to a crisp in a fit of rage by her holy mes.

    While she was unwilling to concede defeat, Ye Guyi did not try to help after she washed her hands. She believed it to be a form of mercy for the fish, as they could enter her stomach whole.

    She sat on the beach and watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s nimble but unrushed movements. Her mind started to drift.

    She looked at the guy, who was not really that handsome, and at most had a nice body. She had seen many guys who were more handsome than him. However, under the glow of moonlight, he appeared to have a special charisma as he processed the fish.

    Guys look the best when they¡¯re working.This thought swirled in her mind.

    ¡°Stop looking, I already have a master.¡± Huo Yuhao looked up and shed a smile at her, interrupting her reverie.

    Ye Guyi felt her heart go cold. Huo Yuhao¡¯s tone was mirthful as he poked fun at her like a friend. However, he also seemed to be reminding her of something.

    This made Ye Guyi ufortable, and she shot back shrilly, ¡°So what if I stare at you? Looking at you, do you think I¡¯ll fall for you? Hmph!¡± As she said that, she stood up, turned around, and headed back toward the bonfire.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly as he thought,Please don¡¯t fall for me! However, did you realize that you¡¯ve been sitting next to me for the past half hour?

    As he thought about that, he wrapped the hundred fish in banana leaves before heading back toward the bonfire.

    On the other side, Nan Qiuqiu was already poking fun at Ye Guyi quietly. The two girls sat there mumbling to themselves. Under the glow of the bonfire, Ye Guyi seemed to be blushing.

    When Huo Yuhao returned, he immediately started to grill the fish. He had already prepared the condiments and seasoning. Through his skills, he demonstrated his culinary abilities to those who had never eaten his grilled fish before!

    It was faster to eat than to grill. Only after he grilled his sixtieth fish did Huo Yuhao get to have his first bite.

    The fish soup was fresh. The grilled fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Moonlight shone down on the sea from the sky. The group of young men and women sat by the bonfire. It was a scene worth remembering.

    The tasty dinner washed away the fatigue from the day. After dinner, they sat around the bonfire to meditate without even building tents, rotating the guard every two hours.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After a silent night, Huo Yuhao and the rest set off once more. Like he said yesterday, he led everyone to fly out over the sea.

    After they flew five kilometers out over the sea, the shoreline finally became blurry. Only then did Huo Yuhao change directions and start to head west.

    They flew much faster above the sea, as they did not need to take detours. However, Huo Yuhao did not dare to lead everyone too far out into the sea, because there were many aquatic soul beasts out there. The most powerful ones were legendary and could rival, or even surpass, the kings of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    After four hours, they finally crossed the border of the Sun Moon Empire. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to bring everyone further out to sea.

    Both the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire were not adept at naval warfare, but this did not mean that they had no naval defenses. They were both afraid of a naval invasion, and so they each stationed navies at theirmon border. However, their navies were notrge, and there were only a few soul tools on their ships. Comparing the two, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s navy was stronger.

    It was not that they did not want to develop their navies, but on the Douluo Continent, the presence of aquatic soul beasts hindered the development of navies. Once a navy became toorge, aquatic soul beasts would attack. There was no chance of them ever entering the deep sea.

    This was also why, before the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continents mmed together, the three countries of the Douluo Continent did not even know of the existence of the Sun Moon Continent. In this world, because of the presence of aquatic soul beasts, ocean exploration was impossible!

    As it was impossible to develop naval forces,nd battles were paramount in importance!

 Chapter 372.3 - The Plan Starts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 372.3: The n Starts</h4>

    They skirted past the two opposing navies. As they flew out over the deep sea, some seagull-type oceanic soul beasts attacked Huo Yuhao and his team. However, they were not powerful enough to threaten the group and were easily dealt with.

    After they skirted around the two navies and entered the territory of the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao directed his team to fly closer to the shoreline before flying ahead. They did not rest. When the soul power of their flying-type soul tools was depleted to a certain extent, they would immediately replenish them with filled Sealed Milk Bottles.

    After they flew for another four hours, they soon approached Huo Yuhao¡¯s second designated location. This was a city near the southern coast of the Sun Moon Empire called Seajoy City. Seajoy City was located near the southern sea of the Sun Moon Empire and could be considered a big city. It was built on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s greatest natural port, Sun Moon Harbor.

    While ships could not enter the deep sea, progress in soul engineering technology ensured that ships sailing near the coast would be safe. After all, transport by sea was easier than transport bynd, as it required less manpower and logistics. It would, however, require a greater upfront investment.

    Everyone could see Sun Moon Harbor in the distance. However, Huo Yuhao did not fly there straightaway with hispanions. Instead, theynded near the coast around five kilometers away from Sun Moon Harbor and Seajoy City. There, everyone changed into the style of clothing worn by the people of the Sun Moon Empire. Only then did they head toward Seajoy City on foot.

    Seajoy City could notpare with Radiant City or Shrek City. Rtive to the cities of the continent, it was considered medium-sized.

    Perhaps because of its rather inessible location, Seajoy City¡¯s security was much less strict. Huo Yuhao and the rest were able to enter it easily.

    Seajoy City¡¯s buildings were different from those in the ind cities of the Sun Moon Empire. The city did not have the tall buildings of Radiant City, but more of the characteristics of a fishing vige by the sea. They all looked extremely sturdy, as they were probably designed to withstand sea storms. The buildings of Seajoy City were all located on higher ground, while Sun Moon Harbor was located on a downward slope.

    ¡ª¡ª

    They first found a medium-sized hotel to settle down in. After flying for almost half a day, they needed time to rest.

    ¡°Qiuqiu,e and walk with me,¡± Huo Yuhao gestured to Nan Qiuqiu.

    Nan Qiuqiu looked at Ye Guyi next to her, and said, ¡°Ask Sister Guyi instead. Why me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s faced darkened as he said, ¡°What did I say before we came out? You have to obey all orders. If you don¡¯t want to listen to my instructions, you can go back by yourself.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and said crossly, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so fierce. I¡¯ll go with you!¡± As she said that, she shot an odd look at Ye Guyi. Ye Guyi blushed, and her hips moved slightly. Then, Nan Qiuqiu ran out with a smile.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Take this time to rest, guys. In the meantime, you can replenish the soul power in our Sealed Milk Bottles. We¡¯lle back soon.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Go, we¡¯ll be fine here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not dare to dy. He was afraid of this young mistress. Heaven knew what kind of trouble she would cause.

    He followed her outside and saw that she was not far away. Only then did he rx. He rushed over and said, ¡°Come, hold my arm.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was startled. She jumped to one side as she stared at him warily and said, ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t even think about taking advantage of me! Back in the hotel, there¡¯s someone who¡¯s dying for you to do that to her. What¡¯s wrong? Have you fallen for me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pped his forehead and said helplessly, ¡°Can you stop being so perverted? Do you want to save your mother or not?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said angrily, ¡°Saving my mother doesn¡¯t mean I have to sacrifice my virtue! Stop using this to threaten me!¡±

    The muscles on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face twitched as he said, ¡°Okay, fine. Go back and get Ye Guyi toe. Tell her that we need to pretend to be a couple.¡±

    ¡°Pretend to be a couple? For what?¡± Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s wariness was reced by curiosity.

    Huo Yuhao said angrily, ¡°This is our disguise! We pretend to be a couple to gather information. If not, why would I want you to hold my arm?¡±

    ¡°You should have made yourself clearer,¡± Nan Qiuqiu replied with a snort. Only then did she shuffle over unwillingly and she held his arm. However, she grabbed the inner portion of his shirt with two of her fingers.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Sometimes I feel that it was a mistake for elder brother to let you tag along. Let¡¯s go.¡± As he said that, he strode forward with big steps.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mouth twitched as she said, ¡°I¡¯m a proper girl. What if I be pregnant pretending to be your girlfriend?¡±

    Huo Yuhao almost stumbled and fell. His arm trembled as he pushed Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s hand to one side as he said, ¡°Fine, you win, mistress. Let¡¯s pretend to be brother and sister, alright? You won¡¯t have to ¡®suffer¡¯ so much like this. I¡¯m truly in awe at how you think holding hands can lead to pregnancy.¡±

    With that, he ignored her as he continued to walk forward.

    ¡°Oi! Why are you so fierce? This time, you¡¯re in the wrong! There¡¯s no way for you to pretend to be my older brother. I should be your elder sister instead! I¡¯m older than you! Oi, stop walking so fast, wait for me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was afraid that he might really blow his top because of Nan Qiuqiu, and hence he walked ahead quickly. In his heart, he felt frustrated and helpless, but a smile crept across his face. This seemingly dumb and proud girl was indeed interesting. Ever since Dong¡¯er fell into a deep slumber, he was finally able to rx a bit, even though it was because he was dealing with such petty issues.

    ¡ª

    As he walked down the street, Huo Yuhao bought some interesting local delicacies, such as dried fish, scallops, and some dried meat. He also bought a map of Seajoy City and its Sun Moon Harbor.

    Nan Qiuqiu ultimately decided to be his girlfriend. While she did not like it, she held his hand.

    ¡°Why are you buying all this? They don¡¯t look very tasty! Speaking of food, your grilled fish yesterday was excellent. Make more next time, it¡¯s praiseworthy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t need your praise. From now on, try not to talk. Just smile.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I talk? I want to talk.¡±

    ¡°Save your mother! Save your mother!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    ¡ª

    After making two rounds through the city following the instructions on the map, he finally stopped in front of building with a pointy top. He did not enter it immediately, but instead turned to look at Nan Qiuqiu and said, ¡°After we enter, say nothing, is that clear? Listen to my instructions. If not, you can go back.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep quiet,¡± Nan Qiuqiu agreed unwillingly.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in relief, but just as he was about to enter, Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°Have you realized that Sister Guyi seems to like you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao missed a step, and he turned back and red at her, saying angrily, ¡°Shut your mouth, is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Nan Qiuqiu shut her mouth unwillingly, but she continued to mumble, ¡°I don¡¯t know what Sister Guyi sees in you. So fierce, hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not bring Ye Guyi out because he sensed that she was looking at him oddly. Last night, it was clear from the way she watched him prepare the fish. Maybe she did notlikehim, but she was definitely curious about him. Huo Yuhao was quite sensitive to this. Qiu¡¯er and Dong¡¯er were already fighting for him. He could not me Qiu¡¯er for it, but he definitely did not want anyone else to fall for him!

    However, he regretted it now. Bringing Nan Qiuqiu out was torture! Had he known that, he would have brought Ye Guyi out. At least she was more normal!

    There was a sign on the pointed building, which bore the wordsSun Moon Harbor Shipping Company.

    After he entered the door, he was greeted with a bustling sight. The main hall was wide; at least four hundred square meters in area. There were ten counters, all of which were manned by busy staff. It was not particrly clean, and one could smell the reek of salt rot. Nan Qiuqiu could not help but frown. Huo Yuhao pinched her, stopping her fromining about the ce.

    Huo Yuhao looked around at his surroundings before walking to a counter. The counter was empty, except for a middle-aged woman sitting on the other side.

    ¡°Hello, may I ask what the prices are for renting a boat?¡± After staying in the Sun Moon Empire for two years, he was able to imitate the local ent almost perfectly. Furthermore, he deliberately lowered the sound of his voice, making it hard to hear him clearly in this bustling ce.

    ¡°Renting a boat? Little boy, why do you want to rent a boat? Don¡¯t you know the ocean is unsafe?¡± The middle-aged woman looked at Huo Yuhao and waved him away impatiently.

    Nan Qiuqiu, who was next to Huo Yuhao, almostughed.Little boy, what a nice moniker!

    Huo Yuhao said calmly, ¡°Sister, it¡¯s not right to say that. While I¡¯m young, this doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t do business! I want to rent a cargo ship that can transport around five thousand kilos of goods.¡±

    ¡°You want to ship something? Where?¡± The middle-aged woman finally perked up.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°To Pegasus Harbor in the east. How much will it cost?¡± Pegasus Harbor was located near the eastern seaboard of the Sun Moon Empire. It was near the Star Luo Empire¡¯s naval base, which faced the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s fleet. It was the easternmost port of the Sun Moon Empire and was just a bit smaller than Sun Moon Harbor.

    The middle-aged woman said, ¡°A cargo ship that can carry five thousand kilos of goods to Pegasus Harbor? It¡¯ll cost at least twelve hundred golden soul coins. Little fellow, it isn¡¯t cheap!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Money is no issue, but I want to know if it¡¯s safe. Also, what kind of cargo ship can you provide?¡±

 Chapter 373.1 - All Sides Making Their Moves

    <h4 ss>Chapter 373.1: All Sides Making Their Moves</h4>

    This was where Huo Yuhao demonstrated his intelligence. His questions were very precise, and so he did not arouse his the woman¡¯s suspicions.

    After some haggling, Huo Yuhao was able to rent, at an exorbitant price, a cargo ship one hundred and fifty meters long, which could carry ten thousand kilograms worth of goods. This cargo ship was equipped with ten ss 3 soul cannons, manned by ten ss 3 soul engineers. It was not cheap. In total, Huo Yuhao had to pay out forty-five hundred gold soul coins.

    Huo Yuhao paid one-third of the deposit up-front. He would load his goods after one week.

    He put his receipt away and started to leave the Sun Moon Harbor Shipping Company with Nan Qiuqiu. A look of joy shed in his eyes. His preparations were sound.

    However, not long after he left the building, he was blocked by some men.

    They were all muscr and rugged, and smelled of the ocean. They stood in a row,pletely blocking the rather narrow street.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Before Huo Yuhao could say anything, Nan Qiuqiu had already opened her mouth.

    Among the four buff men, the leader smiled and said, ¡°We don¡¯t want much. We noticed that you¡¯ve just rented a huge ship, and we think you¡¯ll need some men to help you out. Hence, we¡¯ve decided to offer you our services to help you transport these goods. How about it?¡±

    While he seemed to be asking, his tone was off.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°There¡¯s no need. We have enough men on our own. Don¡¯t find trouble with us, we¡¯re backed by a major chamber ofmerce.¡±

    The leaderughed and said, ¡°So what if you¡¯re backed by a chamber ofmerce? We¡¯re Bluebeard¡¯s men. Have you heard of him?¡±

    Bluebeard?Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu naturally did not know who he was. They looked at each other. Nan Qiuqiu looked dumbfounded, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were soon clouded with fear.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re Bluebeard¡¯s men? What do you want?¡±

    The one in charge was satisfied with Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction as he said, ¡°Let¡¯s find a quiet ce to speak.¡± As he said that, the three of them advanced forward menacingly, surrounding Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu.

    Huo Yuhao looked scared, but his right hand grabbed Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s arm tightly, stopping her from acting rashly. They were led down a quiet and empty alley by these big men.

    Once they were well into the alley, the leader said with a leer, ¡°Young man, it seems that you know about Bluebeard. There¡¯s nothing more to say then. For the safety of your goods, you have to pay tolls. As Bluebeard¡¯s men, we¡¯ll follow the rules. We don¡¯t want much from you, just one-third of the value of your goods. When you load them onto the shipter, we¡¯lle down to do an estimate. Bying down today, we¡¯re just making sure you know of our presence. At the same time, we¡¯re giving you a chance. It¡¯s just a formality!¡± As he said this, he extended his right hand and rubbed his thumb, index finger, and middle finger together.

    The fear quickly faded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he let go of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Qiuqiu, I know that you have been trying to hold it in for the whole day. Here¡¯s your chance. These men are pirates. Destroy them humanely, and try and keep it clean.¡±

    After he said that, he immediately started to walk away.

    ¡°Rascal, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± one of the brawny men shouted. He was already trying to grab Huo Yuhao.

    However, at this moment, a ray of pink light shot out from next to Huo Yuhao. Itnded on the man, who copsed before he could even shout.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation and spiritual power, he had already seen that of the four buff men, only the leader was a Rank 20 Soul Grandmaster. The rest were just normal men who were a tad more muscr.

    Pirates of the Sun Moon Empire? How could they be good?

    There were bursts of curses, cries, and gruntsing from behind him, which stopped extremely quickly. Before Huo Yuhao could even walk out from the alley, he could smell perfumeing up from behind him.

    Nan Qiuqiu dusted her hands off and said unhappily, ¡°Not fun, they were all too weak. This doesn¡¯t satisfy me. You¡¯re a sly fellow indeed, tricking them here before striking!¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at her, and hissed, ¡°Qiuqiu, grow some brains! Did you want to kill them out in the open? Wouldn¡¯t that reveal who we are? Let¡¯s head back!¡±

    He was pleased with how Nan Qiuqiu had handled it. The Light of Annihtion annihted more than just soul power. The alley was spotless, and without a single trace of a fight.

    ¡ª¡ª

    He did not rush to leave, but instead stayed one night in Seajoy City. The next morning, just as the sky was brightening, the Tang Sect resumed their journey. This time, they did not fly.

    Huo Yuhao dictated that they would not continue their journey by air. The Sun Moon Empire had the most surveince-type soul tools of all the countries on the continent. Every city was guarded by them, and they might even have some nted in the wilderness!

    With their strength, they would need around two days to reach their destination bynd. Sunrise City, where the hostages were kept, was located in the south of the Sun Moon Empire. They made their detour so as to not expose their identities.

    They resumed their journey, but did not travel off the beaten path. Instead, they went by the main roads, and they moved ahead at full speed.

    Every time they ran into other travelers, Huo Yuhao would use Imitation to make them invisible. They were thus able to bypass the other travelers without being noticed, and without slowing down. As they moved forward, they did not encounter any difficulties.

    ¡ª¡ª-

    As the Tang Sect moved quickly toward Sunrise City, a bunch of other uninvited guests appeared near the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s border.

    Elder Xuan flew at the forefront, Elder Song next to him. With the two of them in the lead, they were followed by other elders, as well as the Dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe, and the Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo.

    While there were only eight of them, theirbined power was nearly unprecedented in history.

    Qian Duoduo had recently risen to Rank 95, and formally be a Transcendent Douluo. Hence, it could be said that all eight of them were Transcendent Douluo. Theirbined power was even higher than when they hadst taken action during the tournament.

    ¡°Xuan Zi, do we really need to do this? It¡¯spletely against the rules,¡± Elder Song said in a low voice, frowning.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°So, the actions of the Sun Moon Empire are legal? After the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, they stopped so many team members from the various teams, and even detained and imprisoned some of them. That¡¯s against the rules, too.¡±

    Elder Song sighed and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire ismitting a grave sin. I¡¯m afraid the evil soul masters¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°They dare not. In terms of soul engineers and overall strength, the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire are weaker than the Sun Moon Empire. However, in terms of soul masters only, they are not afraid. Unless the evil soul masters are seeking death, or are using all their strength, they would not dare to do anything. Let¡¯s go. If we don¡¯t create a ruckus, what can Yuhao do? He should be in the Sun Moon Empire by now.¡±

    ¡°How could you consent to Huo Yuhao taking part in this operation?¡± Elder Song asked.

    Elder Xuan waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Old Song, don¡¯t be too fixated on the past. Yuhao appears to be quite different now. Furthermore, the Ultimate Soldier n isn¡¯t supposed to raise a flower in a greenhouse, right? If he doesn¡¯t experience hardship, how can he better himself? As long as we make a big enough ruckus, he should be safe.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Elder Song agreed with a reluctant nod.

    Elder Xuan led them forward, and soon was in Sun Moon Empire airspace.

    As this was the border, the density of surveince-type soul tools was the highest here. Instantly, seven or eight high-altitude surveince soul tools locked onto his position.

    Elder Xuan smiled, and pressed forward with his right palm. An intense yellow light shone from his body.

    Instantly, the sky appeared to copse. An iparably powerful aura radiated out from him. The high-altitude surveince soul tools that had detected Elder Xuan all started to whine loudly. Even as they sensed the power of their target, they were all affected by it.

    The high-altitude surveince soul tools were built on the foundation of Sealed Milk Bottles, which provided them with enough soul power to spend a long time in the air. However, as Elder Xuan¡¯s soul power fluctuations were too vigorous, it caused the soul power in the Sealed Milk Bottles to react adversely.

    Bang!Dazzling fireworks burst out nearby.

    Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang¡­A series of explosions, apanied by shy red fireworks, followed the first one quickly. After a breath or two, all the high-altitude surveince soul tools in a two-and-a-half kilometer radius were blown up by Elder Xuan¡¯s massive soul power.

    After Elder Xuan did that, the rest started to act too. With their Transcendent Douluo strength, they did not need any flying-type soul tools to fly. The remaining seven all flew off in different directions.

    After a short while, the pitch-ck night sky started to light up again. A huge amount of aerial surveince-type soul tools were destroyed at great speed.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire was still the most powerful empire on the continent. It quickly reacted and counter-attacked!

    Powerful rays of light lit up on the ground as soul tools bombarded the sky. They were all wide-barreled soul cannons, and there were also other soul cannons which could immobilize, paralyze, or stun their targets!

    Only soul tools which were ss 6 and above could hit targets at their altitude. Instantly, the entire sky was illuminated by bright, eye-catching lights. The rays of light from the soul cannons were like a forest of death that enveloped everything!

 Chapter 373.2 - All Sides Making Their Moves

    <h4 ss>Chapter 373.2: All Sides Making Their Moves</h4>

    Faced with this formation, even a normal Titled Douluo would panic, and try to escape as quickly as he could. However, no matter how strong the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses were, they were not designed to withstand Transcendent Douluo. Or at least, they were not prepared to handle eight of them!

    Faced with the rapidly rising rays of light, Elder Xuan and the rest rose higher into the air. No one knew how many soul cannons the Sun Moon Empire had beneath them, so fighting them head-on was not a wise choice. However, no matter how powerful a soul cannon was, even if it was ss 9, its range was limited. With their Transcendent Douluo cultivation, they could fly three thousand meters into the air, a height which would allow them to dodge most soul tools.

    The eight figures rose into the sky. Even if a soul cannon could strike them, it could not ovee their defenses. Without the help of the destroyed high-altitude surveince soul tools, it would be difficult to lock onto their positions.

    However, Elder Xuan and the others did not rx. They had seen the strength of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools in battle, and understood how terrifying their opponents were. In Elder Xuan¡¯s heart, he rejoiced at the fact that Huo Yuhao had destroyed the underground bunker. At that time, he had scolded the young man because that action might have impoverished many. However, now that he thought about it, he realized that had the huge warehouse not been destroyed, all the soul tools inside of it would have been deployed in war.

    Even Transcendent Douluo like them had to dodge to avoid getting hit by this many soul cannons. How would the soldiers of the three countries fare?

    The high-altitude bombardment did notst for very long. After a few minutes, the strong lighting from the ground started to slowly fade. At the same time, ground-based aerial surveince soul tools started to scan the air using huge swaths of shapeless light waves to find Elder Xuan and the others.

    However, the range of these soul tools was only about a thousand meters. If not, there would no need for those high-altitude surveince soul tools. The Sun Moon Empire only possessed this level of technology at the moment.

    After the ground-based aerial surveince soul tools performed a scan, figures rose into the air and charged toward them in the sky.

    All of these figures had a light on their backs, which came from flying-type soul tools. There were hundreds of them. One of them, in the center, carried arge surveince soul tool.

    Faced with a sudden attack, the Sun Moon Empire hade up with an all-around response. First, they bombarded their targets with all their might. Then, they used ground-based aerial surveince soul tools to scan for them. Finally, they deployed their Aerial Warfare Legion.

    Their ns were very well done.

    However, their enemies today were nearly invincible. If the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineering legions were powerful enough to resist the rest of the world, the Sun Moon Empire would not have had to wait to invade the other empires, or form an alliance with evil soul masters.

    Hence, when Elder Xuan appeared with a smile in front of the three hundred members of the Aerial Warfare Legion, their end was near.

    Hundreds of soul cannons open up on Elder Xuan. In this legion, the most powerful soul engineer was at least ss 7.

    However, faced with a powerful existence like a Rank 98 Titled Douluo, everything they did was futile.

    Elder Xuan did not like killing, so he did not kill them straight away, but instead used his domain-type Gravity Control. All of the soldiers fell to the ground like flies that been doused with insecticide.

    The other elders did not ck either. Discussion and action were separate matters.

    Explosions rang out from the ground below. ording to the unspoken rules of the continent, Titled Douluo and high-level soul engineers would not attack ordinary people. This was why Elder Song did not want to attack just now.

    However, Elder Xuan had found a loophole. Their target was naturally not the ordinary soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire. However, faced with an attack by the aerial soul engineers, Elder Xuan naturally would not show mercy. The other elders did not kill, but instead tried to cause as much destruction as possible.

    While the soul cannon bombardment just now was powerful, it also revealed the locations of the soul cannons the Sun Moon Empire had installed. Hence, they became targets for the many Transcendent Douluo. Beyond the sites of the soul cannons, they also attacked granaries and ammunition warehouses.

    That night was a nightmare for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s border troops stationed near the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Explosions boomed from midnight to dawn. When the sun rose once more, the main camp of the Sun Moon Empire waspletely ruined.

    How could there be no ss 9 soul engineers in charge of such an important camp? However, the two ss 9 soul engineers in charge there could do nothing in the face of eight Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, the attack took ce at night. Without the high-altitude surveince soul tools, how could they concentrate their fire on the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?

    War had yet to break out, but Shrek Academy was already using its strength to demonstrate to the Sun Moon Empire that soul masters were still the most powerful weapons of war!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Elder Xuan and the other elders did not hide their identities. Soon, news of this destruction spread throughout the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°Smash!¡± A delicate tea bottle was shattered against the ground.

    Xu Tianran was so enraged that his face was pale. ¡°What the hell were the border troops doing? Four hundred soul engineers are injured or dead. A huge amount of soul cannons and ammunition were lost. Fools, a bunch of fools!¡±

    Ju Zi sat next to Xu Tianran, d in light-golden regalia, and was silent.

    After Xu Tianran ascended to the throne, he named her his empress. Her position was unlike before.

    After Xu Tianran was done venting his anger, he calmed down, and a smile crept across the corner of his mouth as he said, ¡°Shrek, have you finally decided to strike? Someone go and summon the Imperial Tutor to discuss this matter.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± the guards outside replied frightfully.

    ¡°Empress, what do you think?¡± Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi stood up, walked behind Xu Tianran, and massaged his shoulders, saying, ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t be too angry. This matter, to me, appears strange. While Shrek Academy is the top school on the continent, they do not belong to any country. Everyone knows that Shrek Academy is independent, and their position is exceptional. This time, their actions should be a form of retaliation against us for capturing the participants of the tournament.¡±

    ¡°They want to force me to release them?¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits.

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°I believe that to be the case. They¡¯ll continue to attack. Faced with these powerful soul masters, it is indeed impossible to fight back. They rely on the border with the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire, which makes it hard for us to strike back at them.¡±

    Xu Tianran chuckled coldly and said, ¡°Do they want to see who is more destructive? In that case, no one can beat evil soul masters. Since they want to unleash destruction, I shall do it, too! Let¡¯s see who will crack first.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°No, Your Majesty, you can¡¯t do that. We aren¡¯t ready yet. If we do that, we¡¯ll be provoking the war ahead of schedule. While the Holy Ghost Church is powerful, they cannot fight all the soul masters of the original three countries of the continent. This may be a trap set by our opponents. If the Holy Ghost Church suffers a major defeat, it will not do us any good.¡±

    Xu Tianran was ultimately a crafty leader. Just now, anger had made him lose his reason, but he gradually calmed down and patted Ju Zi¡¯s hand. ¡°With you as my empress, I¡¯m blessed indeed. Tell me, what should we do?¡±

    A murderous aura shed in her eyes as she said, ¡°Your Majesty, our empire still has a stockpile of ss 9 stationary soul cannons. There are some that can shoot into the sky, right?¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°Are you saying we should intimidate them?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Kill one to scare a hundred. This will prevent them from being so arrogant. There are some soul masters who have yet to taste the might of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    A clear breeze intermingled with the aroma of nature. Insects and birds chirped in the forest, and sunlight cascaded down, casting faint rays that could not prate the thick foliage.

    Underneath a tree so wide that it would require at least ten people to surround it, sat a person.

    Her powdery-blue long hair hung loosely behind her back. As she was sitting down, her hair brushed the ground. Her eyes were shut, her long eyebrows curled slightly, and her nose was straight. Her skin was pale white, and her lips were supple. If ¡®beauty¡¯ had a human form, this was it.

    Her long, slender legs were crossed as she sat straight. From the side, one could see her round, heaving posterior. Her slender figure, which stretched from her waist to her posterior, would attract the attention of any man.

    Even though her eyes were closed, she emitted an icy-cold aura that deterred most beasts and men from approaching her. If one could sense the auras nearby, one would realize that apart from birds and insects, there were norge animals.

    This was one of the most mysterious and dangerous ces in the Douluo Continent. Soul masters called it the ughtering Grounds, as it was the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest. To humans, this was a deadly ce. Even Transcendent Douluo would not dare toe to this ce without preparation, because half of the Ten Great Savage Beasts of the Douluo Continent lived here. They each had extraordinary abilities, and were as intelligent as humans. Furthermore, they could alsomand the many powerful soul beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Normally, a hundred-thousand year soul beast was equivalent to a Titled Douluo. In terms of strength, it depended on the innate skills of the individual soul beast, just like how it depended on the martial soul and soul skills of a Titled Douluo.

 Chapter 373.3 - All Sides Making Their Moves

    <h4 ss>Chapter 373.3: All Sides Making Their Moves</h4>

    Once a soul beast broke through its bottleneck and reached a two hundred-thousand year cultivation level, its power could rival that of a Transcendent Douluo.

    Every one hundred thousand years after that would be a matter of life and death to the soul beast. Undoubtedly, every time the soul beast overcame such a deadly test, its power would increase exponentially.

    It was like when Huo Yuhao first met the Ice Empress. The terrifying power of the Ice Empress was enough to fight a Rank 97 Titled Douluo. In the extreme north, even someone as powerful as Elder Xuan might not have been able to defeat her. Among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, however, the Ice Empress was only ranked seventh.

    As for the Snow Empress, the reason why she started to regress and almost self-destructed inside Huo Yuhao was because her own power was way too strong.

    After a soul beast broke through the five hundred-thousand year barrier, it would be as powerful as an Ultimate Douluo. In other words, the Snow Empress was as powerful as the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao. If he met her in the Extreme North, Long Xiaoyao would not dare to fight her head-on.

    In the world of soul beasts, including the Snow Empress, five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts were as powerful as Ultimate Douluo. They all held powerful positions. Naturally, they were the top five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    At this moment, in the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest, the ughtering Grounds, lived the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth of the Ten Great Savage Beasts. They ruled over all the other soul beasts.

    To live in the ughtering Grounds, one had to have a cultivation of at least one hundred thousand years. Hence, this was the top ce for Transcendent Douluo to seek adventures.

    Once one reached the level of a Transcendent Douluo, he would not need soul rings anymore. However, it was important to remember that the killing of a hundred-thousand year old soul beast would not only spawn a hundred thousand year soul ring, but more importantly, it would produce a soul bone¡­ a hundred-thousand year soul bone which carried two soul skills!

    For soul masters, gold and riches were nothing. However, how many people could possess all six soul bones? Once a Transcendent Douluo had a hundred-thousand year soul beast¡¯s soul bone, his power would experience a qualitative leap.

    Hence, many Transcendent Douluo visited the ughtering Grounds. Some of them even killed a few hundred-thousand year soul beasts.

    In the end, this enraged the leaders of the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. Theyunched an unprecedentedly terrifying beast wave, targeting Shrek City. It terrified all soul masters.

    Even though Shrek City was able to halt the invading beast wave with the help of the many disciples from Shrek Academy, as well as the Body Sect, the humans eventuallypromised.

    Shrek Academy led a total of 27 Titled Douluo in promising, on behalf of all humans, that as long as a hundred-thousand year soul beast did not leave the ughtering Grounds, the humans would not enter it. Only then did the leaders of the soul beasts calm down and end their destructive beast wave, and the devastation it brought in its wake.

    From that moment on, the ughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest became a forbidden zone for humans. Not a single human could be found there.

    The beasts with more than a hundred-thousand year cultivation all fell into a deep slumber. They gathered their energy and prepared to break through their next cmity.

    Under this backdrop, in the spiritual aura-filled ughter Grounds, sat a woman. How could this scene not be shocking? Could it mean that the promise between humans and beasts was broken?

    Suddenly, the woman¡¯s body started to tremble slightly. Following that, a strange scene appeared. A golden light shone in the center of her forehead. This golden light extended into a ray of light about one inch long. The golden ray then split into two, and turned into a golden eye, which looked up into the endless night sky.

    When the eye shone, everything around it seemed to lose its color. The chirping of birds and insects suddenly stopped. It was as if the eye was the only thing that was alive, and was judging everything before it.

    The eye looked into the distance, and gradually started to ripple clearly, a wave of gentle golden light starting to spread from the girl¡¯s body.

    Light shed, and the girl started to move. She stood up, and the moment she did, her slim, slender body became even more alluring.

    The golden eye on her forehead now closed, but her powdery-blue eyes, obscured slightly by her longshes, opened instantly.

    Her eyes seemed zed as she mumbled to herself, ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t I forget him? I control the power of destiny, but I can¡¯t control my own? What irony is this? His destiny, why will he¡­?¡±

    At this moment, the dazed look in her eyes turned into panic. Her entire mental state appeared different as she emitted apletely different aura!

    She started to pace up and down, and the aura from her body became increasingly unstable. Her petite face was panicky, then angry, then resolute, and then it softened. The constant changes in her facial expression reflected the turmoil in her heart.

    Finally, she grit her teeth and looked at the thick canopy above her head. She took in a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go, I must go! I can¡¯t be clouded by destiny. I want to help him change his destiny, and mine too. I¡­ I want to fight for this one chance!¡±

    She stopped mumbling to herself. Suddenly, she jumped and pierced through the thick foliage like a golden cannon shell. She flew into the air, leaving only a lingering fragrance in the forest.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Sunrise City¡­

    With the continual development of soul tools, more and more lower-level soul tools started to enter the daily lives of themon folk of the Sun Moon Empire. Perhaps the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s higher-level soul engineers could not rival the soul masters from the original three countries of the Douluo Continent, but it had more low-level soul masters. This was a result of their advances in soul engineering.

    On the Douluo Continent, everyone could Awaken their martial soul at the age of six. Regardless of what their martial soul was, they could all cultivate.

    However, those who could truly make a name for themselves in the soul master world could not just rely on cultivation.

    For many of them, even after they had awakened their martial soul, their soul power would only be between Rank 1 and Rank 3. This was a huge limitation on their future cultivation, which was not just limited to the first ten ranks. If they were not innately talented, they would get very little in return for their effort.

    In particr, if their martial soul had no practical use, such as those which were hoes, cups, or tes, there was no need for them to continue cultivating.

    Because of this, many of those who were not gifted in this aspect had no way of continuing their cultivation. Theirck of innate talent prevented them from receiving an education from an excellent academy, and often they could not afford the exorbitant fees of a soul master school. Very few were like Huo Yuhao, who was able to use make up for hisck of innate talent with hard work.

    However, the situation over in the Sun Moon Empire was different. A few hundred years ago, with the development of soul engineering, this situation was greatly ameliorated. In the Sun Moon Empire, the Awakening of one¡¯s martial soul would also mean that as long as one had soul power, he or she would qualify for free training subsidized by the empire. They would even be given medicines that could increase their soul power. While these medicines might have side-effects, it was glorious to be a soul master! Being a soul master meant that one was superior to his peers! Who would give up such a chance?

    So what if your martial soul was useless? As long as you had soul power, you could use soul tools. With soul tools, it would not be hard to attack or defend yourself!

    Perhaps it was a result of the medicines, but soul masters without innate talent could possess only two or three rings at most. However, as the numbers of this group of people grew, the overall situation changed.

    Their existence was a strong foundation upon which the Sun Moon Empire built its soul engineer legions. At the same time, they allowed for more civilian soul tools to be used by the ordinary citizens of the Sun Moon Empire.

    How was the Sun Moon Empire able to resist the three empires of the Douluo Continent? This was one of the major reasons!

    Undoubtedly, in terms of soul engineering technology and the nurturing of soul engineers, the Sun Moon Empire had a veryrge lead.

    Sunrise City was only a small-to-medium sized city in the Sun Moon Empire. It was not as huge as Radiant City, and in total, it had fewer than a hundred thousand permanent residents. Counting its non-permanent residents, it had about half a million inhabitants at any given time.

    However, in the past few months, the city had undergone aplete change. Its fifteen-meter-tall city walls were now filled with a huge amount of searchlights and various surveince tools. Outside Sunrise City were two soul engineering legions, each of which had five hundred men.

    In the Sun Moon Empire, soul engineer legions were ranked differently. The most powerful one was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion, which was the most powerful force in the empire. One¡¯s soul power had to be at least Rank 50 to join it. In other words, only Soul Kings were qualified to enter it. In total, it had three hundred men. Among them were three legionmanders and three legion vicemanders, all of whom were ss 9 soul engineers who were loyal only to the imperial family.

    Only the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire could use this powerful soul engineering legion. They were equipped with the top soul tools, and they received the best treatment among all the soldiers in the Sun Moon Empire. The upkeep for this one legion was equivalent to the tax revenue of two big cities.

    This was the force which guarded Radiant City, and they were the most loyal and important fighting force of the emperor. Together with the Imperial Pce of Consecration, they were the two pirs of the monarchy.

 Chapter 374.1 - Hand that Protects the Nation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 374.1: Hand that Protects the Nation</h4>

    When these two forces worked together, even a powerful entity like the Holy Ghost Church had to be wary, much less an ordinary person.

    Other than the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, the empire also had four other Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions. They were the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, and the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    These four soul engineering legions were all named after powerful kings among soul beasts. Among them, ¡®Imperial Dragon¡¯ referred to the Purplebrilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon. This was a powerful but extinct soul beast. In the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family, some of its scions possessed this powerful bloodline martial soul. One of the main reasons that Xu Tianran was able to ascend to the throne was that he inherited this martial soul, unlike the Sun that the other descendants of the Imperial Family possessed. His Purplebrilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon and the Earth Dragon Sect¡¯s bloodline martial soul, Ruby Dragons, were simr in some aspects, but they were also distinctly different from ne anther.

    The element of the Ruby Dragons was Annihtion, while the element of the Purplebrilliant Heaven Destroying Dragons was Catastrophe, which was more tyrannical than the Ruby Dragons¡¯ Annihtion. Legend had it that the Purplebrilliant Heaven Destroying Dragons¡¯ ancestor was a Second Dragon which had apanied the Dragon God, and was also known as the Ancestor of the Second Dragons. However, as it was too destructive, it was personally destroyed by the Dragon God.

    The Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion was naturally named after the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear. This terrifying beast was legendary in all countries.

    The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion took its name from the mythical Fire Phoenix. It only recruited female soul engineers, and its current leader was the Empress of the Sun Moon Empire, Ju Zi.

    Thest legion, the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, was named after the only one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts that lived in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders, the Evileye Tyrant King. This beast was ranked second among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and was infamous throughout the entire Sun Moon Continent. It had hidden itself, and no one knew if it was alive or dead. However, since the Sun Moon Empire decided to name an entire legion after it because of its ferocity, one could tell how fearsome it was.

    There was a legend surrounding the Evileye Tyrant King. When the Sun Moon Continent first crashed into the Douluo Continent, the Evileye Tyrant King once went to the Great Star Dou Forest to find the Beast God, Di Tian.

    No one knew what happened between the Evileye Tyrant King and the Beast God, but when the former returned to the Sun Moon Empire, it vanished without a trace.

    Di Tian was still the Beast God, and was still ranked first among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. However, after that battle, the Evileye Tyrant King was able to retreat in one piece from the Great Star Dou Forest, establishing its title as the second-most powerful beast among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    The four soul engineer legions each had their specialties. For example, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was all-female. The Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion was filled with buff men, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was the best at fighting, and the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion specialized in speed.

    To join any of them, one¡¯s soul power had to be at least Rank 40, which was the equivalent of a Soul Ancestor. Each Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion had three hundred members. Other than Ju Zi, who led the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, the other legionmanders were all ss 9 soul engineers. The vice-legionmander of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was a ss 9 soul engineer, too.

    Together with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, they were collectively known as the Hand that Protects the Nation. They were the five pirs which supported the Sun Moon Empire.

    Other than these five soul engineer legions, the other soul engineer legions had lower entry requirements. They wereprised of five hundred men each, and as long as one had more than two soul rings, one could join. Right now, there were six of these legions, totaling three thousand men, all stationed in different locations.

    Other than them, the major regional armies of the Sun Moon Empire each recruited legions of soul engineers, too. However, their organization was not standardized, and even the imperial family could not control all of them. Many of them belonged to the nobility, like the rebellious ones Huo Yuhao and the others had met earlier on.

    On the battlefield, even a low-level soul engineer legion was stronger than a cavalry legion of ten thousand men. They were highly destructive, and because they were few in number, they could use their soul tools very flexibly. Normally, a single soul engineer legion could decide the oue of a battle.

    The five major soul engineer legions could also turn into aerial soul engineers. Their many years of training allowed them to work together seamlessly, and their morale was strong. Commanded by top soul engineers, they would be the backbone of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s future conquests.

    Around Sunrise City, which seemed in and ordinary, the Sun Moon Empire had stationed two of the six soul engineer legions, each of whichprised five hundred men. This was a testament to the importance of Sunrise City to the Sun Moon Empire. Furthermore, this was just its outer city defenses!

    Huo Yuhao and hispanions had reached the outskirts of Sunrise City one day ago, but they were in no rush to enter it. Instead, they intermingled with a trade delegation, and stayed outside the city for a day.

    With Huo Yuhao present, it was akin to having a highly-effective surveince soul tool. Despite the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technological prowess, no soul tool could rival Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection when it came to surveince!

    After his closed-door cultivation, Huo Yuhao had merged all his skills together. He had also obtained a deeper understanding of his concrete-material realm spiritual power.

    Right now, he was scanning the entire area. He was able to detect anything within a fifteen-hundred meter radius. If he concentrated his spiritual power in a particr direction, he would be able to sense everything there, be it the differences in obstacles, terrain, or the weather, up to a distance of five to seven thousand meters.

    This was without using his Eye of Destiny!

    After a night¡¯s rest, Huo Yuhao was able to gather enough intelligence. He was well aware that there were powerful people guarding the captured soul masters. To avoid startling them, he did not try to survey inside the city.

    There were many different types of martial souls, and each day brought new changes to the development of soul engineering. He could not be sure that no one from the Sun Moon Empire would be able to sense the presence of his spiritual power, and so he acted very cautiously. If they failed this time, their chances of sess next time would be even tinier.

    There were only seven of them there. It was impossible to win based on brute force alone. Hence, they had to depend on the opportunity Shrek Academy created for them, as well as their own wits.

    After a night¡¯s worth of detection, Huo Yuhao discovered that the two soul engineer legions of five hundred men were divided into ten groups. These were stationed at various locations outside Sunrise City.

    Sunrise City was surrounded by open ins. All one thousand soul engineers had taken up positions in the ins. Soul cannons, which were weak individually, were deployed in huge quantities around the city. There were also some high-level soul tools nearby. One could say that Sunrise City, in its current state, was akin to a city of under threat of death. If the army of soul engineers wished, they could level the city in a very short time.

    They were not the problematic ones, though. Those were the many surveince soul tools on the walls of Sunrise City. After one scan, Huo Yuhao found out that theyprised long-range all-terrain soul detectors, short-range thermal detectors, medium-range aerial soul detectors, triggered targeting-type soul tools, and a huge amount of high-altitude surveince soul tools.

    One could say that even if a fly flew out from Sunrise City, the soul engineers in charge of these surveince soul tools would be able to detect it.

    Huo Yuhao could conceal himself with Imitation, and he could use his Ultimate Ice to prevent his body heat from being picked up by the short-range thermal detectors. However, that was all he could do. There was nothing he could do against the triggered targeting-type soul tools!

    That type of soul tool sensed the fluctuations of one¡¯s soul power. When he used his Imitation and Ultimate Ice, his soul power would definitely fluctuate. At that moment, if his foes were locked onto his location, Huo Yuhao would be bombarded by every single soul engineer stationed outside. This was akin to being carpet-bombed. With the high density of soul engineers nearby, there was no way he could escape.

    ¡°Yuhao, what can we do?¡± After breakfast, the Tang Sect discussed this issue in hushed voices.

    At this moment, a long line had already formed outside Sunrise City. Right now, anyone entering or leaving Sunrise City would be searched and screened. This was why there were trade delegations stationed outside the city. Searching one such delegation would require a whole day, or even more.

    Huo Yuhao and the rest were able to blend in with these trade delegations. As there were many traders, no one had noticed them.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve scanned this ce carefully. It¡¯s impossible to sneak inside, as there are too many surveince soul tools. Almost every type of surveince soul tool is present. It¡¯ll be troublesome to go in via the city gate, as they have soul power detectors which can sense the fluctuations in our soul power. They can then determine our strength based on our soul power fluctuations.¡±

    Xu Sanshi frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s already been a few months, and yet they¡¯re still so vignt. We can¡¯t even enter the city like this. How can we save them? Furthermore, they captured over six hundred people. Even if we do enter, can we save them all? Escape will be difficult too, with so many soul engineers both in and around the city. Can we even escape?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult indeed, but there¡¯s still a chance. We need to react ordingly.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go in swords waving,¡± Ji Juechen said coolly.

    Xu Sanshi waved at him and said, ¡°Bye bye!¡±

 Chapter 374.2 - Hand that Protects the Nation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 374.2: Hand that Protects the Nation</h4>

    Ji Juechen leered at him, but did not make a move. He was a sword fanatic, not a fool.

    Nan Qiuqiu was the most anxious at the moment. She knew that her mother was imprisoned inside the city, but she could not enter it to save her. It would take a miracle to calm her down. Right now, she was like an ant on a frying pan. If not for Ye Guyi¡¯s constion, she might actually have tried to fight her way inside.

    Xu Sanshi looked at Huo Yuhao, who was in deep thought, and said, ¡°Yuhao, you have a n, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There¡¯s no chance, so we have to make a chance. The Academy has already attacked, but the news has yet to reach this city. The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire will respond ordingly. The pce will know of this as soon as possible. With the tense situation at the border, the Sun Moon Empire has a few choices. First, they can take the prisoners here to the frontline as hostages. Second, if they are cruel, they¡¯ll kill them straight away. Third, they can station more soldiers and soul engineer legions at the border.

    ¡°I feel that the first and third options are the most possible ones. After all, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s war preparations are not yet finished. If not, they would have already killed all the people they have imprisoned. We have to enter before news of the attack reaches here and find opportunities to strike. What we aim to do is not to rescue them, but to help them regain their fighting abilities. As long as we¡¯re able to do so, we¡¯ll stand a much better chance.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°Right, but how can we get in?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, ¡°Let me think. If we can¡¯t even enter the gate, we would have wasted all our Ultimate Soldier training, right? You lot follow the trade delegation into the city, and I¡¯ll strike when they start searching you. At that time, the soldiers can only respond in one way, and that will be to stop the search and close the gates. Then, you guys can¡­¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao muttered a few quiet words into everyone¡¯s ears. They all nodded in agreement.

    ¡°If our n fails or we¡¯re exposed, it¡¯ll all depend on you to save the day, second senior brother,¡± Huo Yuhao said to He Caitou.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine with me. However, how do you n to enter the city, little junior brother?¡± He Caitou inquired.

    A light shone in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have my ways. I¡¯ll go first. Be careful, everyone.¡±

    With that, he turned to leave. Mingling with the trade delegation, he disappeared without a trace.

    The others also intermingled with the trade delegation and sauntered slowly toward the city gate as they prepared for inspection.

    Right now, everyone from the Tang Sect was in disguise. For example, He Caitou now had hair on his head, Xu Sanshi had a scar on his face, and Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were disguised as vigers, a far cry from their usual beautiful selves.

    The line moved forward slowly. It was almost noon at this point, and many in the queue were consuming their rations. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions, those from the Tang Sect were in no rush. They followed the others patiently.

    At this moment, a group of soldiers on horseback dashed toward them from afar. Sand and dust flew into the air, and the traders who were in the queue had no choice but to dodge them. It was a chaotic scene.

    Xu Sanshi and He Caitou exchanged a look. The two of them had the same thought.Maybe news from the border has finally reached them? However, what will its impact be? This depends on the amount of pressure Elder Xuan is exerting at the border.

    After another two hours, it was finally the Tang Sect¡¯s turn. Among the six of them, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu stood at the front.

    At this moment, the two women were dressed as if they hade from the countryside. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s dress was gray and very in. Her clear face was dotted with freckles, and she looked very pitiable and moving. Ye Guyi was slightly taller than her, but Huo Yuhao made her look pitiful too. The two women walked side-by-side. Their simple, rural-looking outfits and their pitiful demeanorplemented their overall look.

    ¡°The two of you,e over here,¡± said a soldier who was stationed outside the gates, waving at them.

    Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi each had a basket. When they heard his words, they walked over immediately. At that moment, the two of them could not help but feel nervous. The soldiers were nothing, but there were so many surveince soul tools around them, and two soul engineer legions outside the city. This was too much of a threat to them!

    Nan Qiuqiu swore in her heart, ¡°Where is that bastard Huo Yuhao? It¡¯s almost our turn!¡±

    There was a huge soul power detector at the gate. With just one scan, it would detect the presence and fluctuations of one¡¯s soul power.

    ¡°Brother, will this hurt us?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked the soldier timidly.

    The gate was manned by a small team of twenty soldiers. They were split into two shifts, and the team leader was the one who spoke to Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi. He was armored, and a longsword dangled by his side. He looked cool and impressive, but he was ultimately still a hot-headed young man. At his age, he was naturally hormonally-charged. When he saw the pretty Nan Qiuqiu, his hard expression softened visibly.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll just be scanned by the soul power detector. It won¡¯t hurt you at all. Just maintain this position, go on!¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, brother! You¡¯re so handsome,¡± said Nan Qiuqiu. She said thest bit softly as she turned to look at him, batting her eyshes.

    The small team leader¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he asked, ¡°Where are you from, sister? You¡¯re pretty too.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said shyly, ¡°I¡¯m from Radiant City. I live in its outskirts. Normally, I¡¯ll help my family in the fields and with the chores. I don¡¯t remember Sunrise City¡¯s security being so tight. What happened?¡±

    The small team leader looked at Nan Qiuqiu staring at him in pure admiration, and could not help but feel pleased with himself as he said, ¡°There were some incidents in the city, so things are a lot more troublesome right now. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll order my men to move faster. You can go in as a group.¡±

    ¡°Wow brother, you¡¯re an official? No wonder you look so special,¡± Ye Guyi interjected from the side.

    The small team leader smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just a low-ranked one. Go, go, are the two of you sisters?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! She¡¯s my cousin. There¡¯re six of us, as we wouldn¡¯t dare to travel by ourselves! Those three over there are my uncles, and that¡¯s my aunt.¡± As she spoke, she pointed at Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan.

    ¡°There are six of you, right? Go and get checked together. I¡¯ll tell them to be faster. We¡¯re all trying to make a living. No one has it easy,¡± said the small team leader. Evidently, he was giddy from Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi¡¯s praises and admiration. Instantly, he became much more magnanimous.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s beautiful eyes shone and she said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re so nice. Are¡­ are you married?¡± When she said thest bit, it was barely louder than a whisper. However, the team leader heard it.

    ¡°Married? I¡¯m a poor soldier. Who would want me?¡± the team leader chuckled.

    Nan Qiuqiu said in a rush, ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Brother, you are so manly! How can someone not like you? I shan¡¯t talk anymore, as I¡¯m in a rush. Here, take this¡­¡± As she spoke, she took out a coarse piece of paper and a pencil from her basket. She wrote a few, messy words on it before handing it over to the team leader.

    Faced with Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s watery gaze, the team leader¡¯s heart beat even faster. He took the paper from her. There was an address on it.

    ¡°Sister, you are¡­¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu blushed as she said softly, ¡°Moron.¡± With that, she walked elegantly over to the soul power detector.

    The small team leader felt his throat tighten as he swallowed to himself. Many different expressions flitted across his face. No matter how dumb he was, he understood exactly what was going on at that moment. He could not wait for his shift to end so that he could bring Nan Qiuqiu and the rest of them straight into Sunrise City.

    Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan followed the two women as they walked toward the soul power detector.

    Nan Qiuqiu only did so after she received instructions from afar via Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. If not, she would have exchanged a few more words with the team leader.

    Just when Nan Qiuqiu was five meters away from the soul power detector, a series of explosions could be heard in the distance.

    This caught the attention of both the trade delegations and the soldiers. Every single one of them looked in the direction of the sounds.

    In the nearby ins, one could see huge swathes of light shing. The light shone in the shrubs and forests. No one could see what was causing it, but it made a huge ruckus.

    The small team leader, who was previously infatuated with Nan Qiuqiu, stood dazed for a few moments before he snapped to attention and shouted, ¡°Quick,e in! Close the gates! There¡¯s an attack!¡±

    As he said that, he raced toward the gates.

    ¡°Brother, brother, what¡¯s going on? I¡¯m so scared,¡± Nan Qiuqiu said faintly. At this moment, both Ye Guyi and she were trembling non-stop.

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Quick, enter the city with me. We have to close the gate soon. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on,¡± the said team leader without thinking. As he spoke, he gestured to his subordinates to bring the soul power detector into the city.

    A joyous look shed in Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes. The six from the Tang Sect rushed into the city with the soldiers.

    When the gates closed, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan quickly slipped away into the city. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi, however, were in no rush to leave.

 Chapter 374.3 - Hand that Protects the Nation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 374.3: Hand that Protects the Nation</h4>

    ¡°That was so scary. Brother, do we still need to be searched?¡± Nan Qiuqiu cried out to the small team leader, whose face was grim as he prepared to ascend the city walls.

    The team leader waved at her and said, ¡°Enter the city, quickly. We¡¯ll have time for itter¡­¡± As he said that, he waved the piece of coarse paper he held in his hands.

    Nan Qiuqiu smiled and batted her eyshes at him once more. Only then did she enter the city with Ye Guyi.

    At this moment, no matter how lovesick the team leader was, he did not dare to abandon his post.

    The six of them from the Tang Sect were able to enter the city just like that without having to be checked.

    They quickly re-grouped.

    Xu Sanshi gave Nan Qiuqiu a thumbs-up as he said, ¡°Qiuqiu, you were excellent! I didn¡¯t know you were such a good actor. He was not the only one who fell for it. Even I fell head-over-heels for you! Haha!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said unkindly, ¡°Spare me your crap, or else I¡¯llin about you to Sister Nannan. Your words are honeyed, indeed. We got in not because of my acting skills, but rather because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s urate character judgment.¡±

    Ye Guyi nodded and said, ¡°Qiuqiu is right. While his n sounded dangerous, it was actually pretty risk-free.¡±

    He Caitou said, ¡°We did not have to wait for nothing in the past two months. Had we mounted our rescue attempt immediately after they locked up the prisoners, security would have been much tighter, and we would not have been given such an opportunity. Let¡¯s go and find a ce to rest. We¡¯ll wait for Yuhao to enter.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Outside the city¡­

    The series of explosions were naturally caused by Huo Yuhao. As for himself, he had escaped the scene of the explosion long ago.

    The origin of these explosions was the Infernal Gate

    Huo Yuhao would not use Necromancy in front of hispanions, especially not in front of Ye Guyi and her Holy Angel. However, this did not mean that he would not use it.

    His closed-door training for the past few months had benefited him greatly. One could say that he was able to fully master all of the various odd abilities he had learned during the past seven-plus years of training and cultivation. His skills had reached a new level.

    At the same time, he became more mature and stable. He was finally able to ovee some of his mental barriers.

    With a simple necromantic spell, he summoned a group of skeletal soldiers and jiangshi, which charged fearlessly toward the positions of the two soul engineer legions. One could imagine the result. In less than ten seconds after the appearance of these undead creatures, they were detected by the high-altitude surveince soul tool. They were then bombarded mercilessly by the soul engineer legions.

    After fifteen seconds of non-stop bombardment, the entire area where the Gate of Hell was located looked as if it had been trampled t by a herd of wild animals. Every de of grass was obliterated.

    What about Huo Yuhao? He had disguised himself with Imitation after he unleashed his Gate of Hell. Then, he rejoined the trade delegations in the queue.

    Like them, he could not enter the city after the gates closed. No one knew when would the gates open once more. The sudden appearance of undead creatures would surely be investigated. However, it was likely that the investigation would yield no result.

    Huo Yuhao knew that after the investigation revealed nothing, the gates would open once more.

    Huo Yuhao followed hispanions with Spiritual Detection. At this moment, he sensed that they were inside the city.

    Now that¡¯s everyone¡¯s in, it¡¯s easier for me.

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly as he looked at the giant soul power detector on the city wall. A cold smile crept across his face.Do they think they really can stop me with those tools?

    He observed his surroundings. The traders wereining. He quietly left the trade delegation and sat down somewhere with shade.

    Many people from the trade delegations did th e same. Since they could not enter the city, they took the time to rest. His actions were not suspicious at all.

    However, even though he was sitting down, he was extremely busy. His eyes were closed, and soul power flowed slowly through his body. His entire person entered a strange state.

    He unleashed his gentle spiritual power as it carefully wrapped itself around the soul power in his body. Then, he quieted down the soul power in his bodypletely.

    Normally, the soul power in a soul master¡¯s body would circte continuously during one¡¯s daily cultivation, forming a cycle. It was nearly impossible to stop that, but Huo Yuhao was able to do so.

    This method allowed him to seal his soul power with his spiritual power. This entire process took an hour. Only then was he able to prevent even the slightest hint of soul power from seeping out of his body. He temporarily became an ordinary person with extraordinary spiritual power.

    After he did this, Huo Yuhao slowly stood up as he felt his body adjust to its new state.

    When a soul master lost his soul power, he would definitely feel weak. However, he did not care too much about that. His walking pace had also slowed visibly.

    He checked the state of his body, and ascertained that his soul power had beenpletelypressed by his spiritual power and sealed in the corners of his dantian. Only then did Huo Yuhao rejoin the trade delegations. This time, he took advantage of their belief that the city gates would not re-open so quickly and quietly slipped to the front of the queue.

    The soul engineer legions did not take long toplete their checks. After an hour, they sent word to the city, and the gates of Sunrise City opened once again. The inspections of the trade delegations continued.

    After fifteen minutes, Huo Yuhao stood in front of the soul power detector.

    The gentle green light swept over his body. To be fair, Huo Yuhao was quite nervous too. However, he had a backup n. If his identity was exposed here, there was no way the soul engineer legions in the distance could strike him, as there were many civilians and traders around. With his power, he could charge into the city if he really needed to. Even if they searched the entire city, he was confident of escaping detection with all his various abilities.

    The soldiers looked at the soul power detector and then at Huo Yuhao, who was disguised as aborer for one of the trade delegations. He waved his hand, indicating to Huo Yuhao that he could enter.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in relief. He was happy that his n had worked. In other words, by suppressing his soul power with his spiritual power, he had now learned that he would be able to fool a soul power detector.

    There were two types of soul power detectors. The first type would detect its target¡¯s internal soul power, and the other would try and sense if its target was releasing soul power. The soul power detector on the city wall belonged to the second type. Thebination of both soul tools would be ideal in rooting out soul masters, as it could detect soul masters who were concealing themselves and those who were pretending to be ordinary people. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was able to use his immense spiritual power to elude detection and enter the city.

    After he entered the gates, Huo Yuhao walked at a reasonable pace toward the inner part of the city.

    This was indeed a medium-sized city. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s cities were visibly different than those of the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. Even if the buildings were not particrly big, they were much bigger than the buildings in the original three countries of the Douluo Continent. Many of them had pointed roofs, too.

    Huo Yuhao naturally did not pay attention to these, but instead was looking at the defenses inside the city. What shocked him most was that even as he moved forward, he could not detect any powerful auras inside the city. The city gates had many soul engineers manning and observing the surveince soul tools, but none of them were particrly powerful. The people on the streets walked about as they carried on with their daily lives, no different from the citizens of any other city.

    As Sunrise City¡¯s defenses were tight, all Shrek Academy knew was that the prisoners were kept here. They did not know where were they held specifically, or if there were any powerful people guarding them.

    As a result, this operation was very difficult for the Tang Sect. Of course, Shrek Academy had created some opportunities for them.

    First of all, they were given time. They were in no rush to enter the city. As long as full-scale war did not break out, they still had a chance to rescue the captives. This time, Elder Xuan and the rest were well-prepared when they caused the bordermotion. The eight Transcendent Douluo wreaked havoc near the border with tacit cooperation from the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. This caused quite a bit of trouble for the Sun Moon Empire. For now, they would devote all their attention to the border.

    Thus, Huo Yuhao¡¯s objectives were to first ascertain the location where the captives were kept, the strength of their guards, and the regional defenses of Sunrise City. This intelligence was more important than the rescue mission. Elder Xuan had told Huo Yuhao before he left that his priority was reconnaissance. If they had a chance to save the captives, it would be great. If not, they should not take risks.

    Huo Yuhao soon discovered the marks left by hispanions. However, he did not rush to meet them, but instead strolled leisurely through Sunrise City.

    He was dressed like aborer. While he was tall for his age, his clothes were rough. His face and hairstyle were ordinary, and no one would notice him.

    As Huo Yuhao walked, he slowly released the suppression his spiritual power exerted on his soul power.

    How could it be easy to seal one¡¯s soul power with one¡¯s spiritual power? The feeling of a loss in power was horrid. Releasing the seal was troublesome, too. He could not release all of hispressed soul power at once. If he did let it burst forth, his passageways would be severely affected by the sudden outburst. All he could do was slowly release the seal, allow his soul power to seep out slowly, and circte through his body once more.

    Huo Yuhao was in no rush. As he walked, he observed his surroundings. With his spiritual power, he was able to notice details most ordinary people could not even without using Spiritual Detection. He memorized the areas he walked through so any subsequent operations would be easier.

    He walked for two hours, and the sky started to dim. By then, he had released all his soul power and was back at his prime.

 Chapter 375.1 - Sunrise City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 375.1: Sunrise City</h4>

    Those who had bought the map of Sunrise City didn¡¯t know that the Sunmoon Empire had set a trap. It was necessary to proceed with caution.

    Based on his own senses and observation of the flow of people around him, Huo Yuhao believed that he had entered a central region of Sunrise City. He stopped conserving his spiritual power as he reached this region. He activated his Spiritual Detection and focused his spiritual power to scan in a certain direction.

    Wherever his spiritual power passed, everything that he surveyed was presented in his mind as a three-dimensional construct. As there were many buildings in the city to obstruct his detection, he couldn¡¯t detect as far as he could in an uncluttered area. However, the findings that he obtained were sufficient for him.

    He started thinking, his spiritual sea undting tremendously. He slowly made a full turn and quickly scanned in one direction.

    Sunrise City only stretched slightly more than twenty kilometers across. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and the Eye of Destiny, he could almost scan the entire city if he stood in the center of it.

    It was just that he couldn¡¯t actually do this, as it would be too dangerous. His Eye of Destiny was too attention-catching. Even as he observed his surroundings, he conserved some of his spiritual power. Although his ability was unidirectional, he restricted the distance of his detection to a radius of two kilometers. In that way, he could still capture everything that was within the core region of Sunrise City.

    Even a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t do something like this. There were no surveince soul tools that could carry out such an all-around inspection, either.

    After Huo Yuhaopleted his turn, there was a surprised look in his eyes. However, he soon returned to normal, and walked in the direction of the marks left behind by his teammates.

    The Tang Sect had decided to put up at a medium-sized hotel. Before they set off, they had already put on their disguises. Of course, the hotel that they were staying in was naturally not at the address that Nan Qiuqiu had left for that small team leader.

    Xu Sanshi was sitting in the main hall of the hotel, drinking cheap beer as he waited for Huo Yuhao. After seeing him enter the hotel, he immediately waved Yuhao over.

    Huo Yuhao walked over to Xu Sanshi¡¯s side and sat down. He also ordered a pint of beer.

    ¡°Why took you so long? Are you okay?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Has everyone settled down?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded. ¡°Things are fine. Have they revealed anything?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°A few things. I haven¡¯t found where they are keeping the hostages. However, there a few high-ss soul tools installed in the center of the city. The majority of them are stationary soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had discovered many things as he observed the city. He had discovered more than thirty residential houses were equipped with advanced soul tools. They were at least ss 6 soul tools, and there were even a few that were ss 7 and ss 8. There were some that he felt were very dangerous, especially those that he had never seen before. It was even possible that they were ss 9 soul tools.

    How could Huo Yuhao not be shocked given such a situation?

    Sunrise City was underplete surveince right now. Undoubtedly, there were many surveince soul tools above the city. Once something was found to be amiss, signals could be transmitted to the ground immediately. The advanced soul tools that were hidden in the city could then immediately seek out their targets. If there wasn¡¯t any emphasis on preventing civilian casualties, those who were discovered were almost certainly doomed. In addition, there were still the two soul engineer legions outside the city!

    Xu Sanshi furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°What about underground? What did you find out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing underground. My Spiritual Detection is greatly affected once I try to use it underground. It can only extend fifty meters underground. Even if I use my Eye of Destiny, it can only increase the range to a hundred meters. I need to be directly above in order to get a clearer picture.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t surveyed the entire city yet, but I think that the hostages are likely to be locked underground. As long as it¡¯s deep enough, and the number of entrances and exits are restricted, it¡¯ll be very difficult to breach. They¡¯ll be much more secure than if they were above ground. Considering how the Sun Moon Empire likes to construct all types of structures underground, that is the likeliest possibility. However, they took very strict defensive measures this time. After I entered the city, I discovered that there were many pipes connected underground at the edges of the city walls. There are people watching these pipes, which are used to listen for any underground movement. As for any other measures, I haven¡¯t discovered them yet.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s already not easy to discover all this. Don¡¯t be too harsh on yourself, take your time. After all, we¡¯ve just arrived. Go back and rest. We still need to continue tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao followed Xu Sanshi back to their rooms. There were four guys and threedies among the seven of them. The threedies shared one room, while the four guys were split between two rooms. Huo Yuhao stayed with Ji Juechen, since He Caitou and Xu Sanshi were unwilling to room with him!

    ¡°Brother Ji.¡± After he entered, Huo Yuhao immediately saw Ji Juechen sitting on a bed. He sounded very annoyed at this point.

    The moment he entered, a sharp sword intent quickly greeted him. The room was dimly lit, but two bolts of electricity immediately shed as Ji Juechen opened his eyes.

    However, his sword intent was like ice in the face of boiling water, it was immediately dispelled. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t even cause Huo Yuhao any problems.

    Ji Juechen was stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were already so strong. What¡¯s your cultivation like now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and replied, ¡°You seem to only say those words when you are concerned about your opponents¡¯ abilities.¡±

    ¡°When can we start fighting?¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and said, ¡°It won¡¯t be soon. The enemies we are facing are unprecedentedly strong. We were sent over this time because the strong soul masters from the Academy are certainly being watched. The Tang Sect is less of a target. In addition, the Sun Moon Empire won¡¯t expect people of our cultivations to save the hostages. We¡¯ll likely only make our move after I find out what the situation in Sunrise City is like. However, it¡¯s more important to outsmart our enemies.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Juechen acknowledged his words before shutting his eyes and meditating again.

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he shook his head. He felt that his words were falling on deaf ears.

    He didn¡¯t eat in the hotel, either. After eating some dry rations, he sat cross-legged on a bed opposite Ji Juechen.

    He didn¡¯t enter a deep meditative state. Right now, he was wracking his brain.

    After his observation today, it seemed his hypothesis about the arrangement of soul tools and soul engineer legions was pretty urate. The city was covered both inside and outside, and there were both ground-based and aerial soul tools. The entire city was covered. However, Huo Yuhao still felt that this wasn¡¯t the full strength in Sunrise City.

    The city seemed to be very strong, and they even had ss 9 soul tools to hold the fort. However, could they really hold off the other three empires on the continent with two soul engineer legions?

    If the three empires risked everything, they could mobilize more than fifty Titled Douluo. With such strength, it was unlikely that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions could resist them.

    No one from the Holy Ghost Church is here? Impossible, they must be involved!

    Huo Yuhao understood evil soul masters by now. The cultivation methods of evil soul masters were different. Usually, they involved the sacrifice of living spirits, which was also the reason why they were known as evil soul masters. As for these hostages who were held captive, they were undoubtedly very suited for cultivation. Their bodies and spirits were no doubt very valuable to evil soul masters.

    As a result, the Holy Ghost Church regarded them highly. Once the war escted into a full-scale one, these hostages would lose their significance, and the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t keep them alive anymore. They would try to make them submit, and if they refused, they would be killed.

    The Holy Ghost Church would love to take the lives of these hostages.

    The seven from the Tang Sect who hade this time were not afraid of evil soul masters. All of them possessed their own special abilities. However, this was under the premise that the evil soul masters they faced were around the same rank. If they met a Titled Douluo, they would be annihted!

    Huo Yuhao had to be extremely cautious because of this.

    After pondering over his reasoning again, Huo Yuhao entered a deep meditative state to recover the energy he had drained during the day.

    His spiritual sea glittered, and slight spiritual undtions pulled his mind toward it.

    ¡°Oh? Brother Skydream?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little surprised as he called out.

    He wasn¡¯t the same right now as he was before. His spiritual sea waspletely under his control. As a result, he could sense the origin of the spiritual power drawing him as his mind was drawn into his spiritual sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body drifted quietly in Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden spiritual sea. He appeared very leisurely.

    After Huo Yuhao had entered the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion both went into deep sleep. Only the little Snow Lady wasn¡¯t affected. The two of them had only recovered after he left the Love Querying Valley.

    At this point, Skydream Iceworm woke up, which left Huo Yuhao surprised.

    ¡°Yuhao, your improvement has already surpassed our expectations.¡± The Skydream Iceworm was smiling widely.

    Ever since he had fused with Huo Yuhao, the Iceworm had started to be more and more like a human.

 Chapter 375.2 - Sunrise City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 375.2: Sunrise City</h4>

    Huo Yuhao smiled back and said, ¡°I only managed to improve so much due to your strength.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm chortled and said, ¡°At least you haven¡¯t forgotten your roots! That force then was simply too scary!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you talking about the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley?¡± After hearing Skydream mention that ce, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned cold. If not for the valley, Wang Dong¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have been put into aa. Even though his soul power was increased by five ranks before he left, he didn¡¯t have a good impression of that ce.

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. We could feel what happened to you. However, we were suppressed by that force, and couldn¡¯t wake up. Even if we were awake, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to help you with anything. Don¡¯t even think about resisting that force. If we are not wrong, the force hidden within the valley might be rted to the gods.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was moved. ¡°Brother Skydream, are you saying that there are gods there? Is it true that that valley was where the Love God perished?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s really the Love God. However, I¡¯m afraid that only the strength of a god can suppress the spiritual origins of both the Ice Empress and myself. We couldn¡¯t even think of resisting it. Don¡¯t waste your effort trying to resist it, it¡¯s impossible. Furthermore, we could also sense that it held no ill intentions toward any of you.¡±

    ¡°No ill intentions? Dong¡¯er was almost tortured to death!¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly. He clenched his hands into fists, and his gaze turned cold. He wasn¡¯t the old Huo Yuhao anymore. In the past, he would have cursed or lost his cool entirely. But as he grew up and experienced more things, he became steadier and moreposed.

    The Skydream Iceworm shook his head and continued, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll not talk about that ce anymore. In any case, don¡¯t return there. Talk about yourself. When we woke up this time, we discovered significant changes to your body. You were actually able to fuse the strength of both the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m only at the initial stages of fusion. I think the martial soul the Ice Empress passed to me isn¡¯tplete, even though it¡¯s Ultimate Ice. More urately speaking, there¡¯s a chance of making it stronger. Furthermore, I haven¡¯t been able to digest the origin of the strength the Ice Empress left behind, mainly because my cultivation iscking, and my Elemental type is still a little different from the Ice Empress. That¡¯s why I tried to tap into the Snow Empress¡¯ strength after fusing it with the Ice Empress to increase the quality of my martial soul.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, the Skydream Iceworm was silent for a moment before he sighed and said, ¡°Yuhao, do you know what you¡¯re talking about? Increasing the quality of your martial soul? It¡¯s not something that has ever happened among humans or soul beasts. Martial souls are innate. If you are able to increase the quality of your martial soul, you¡¯ll be the first person to do so.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t too concerned with this. ¡°It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m lucky. The Snow and Ice Empresses are almost of the same Element. More importantly, their strengths aren¡¯t conflicting. These are the reasons why I¡¯m able to proceed.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°It seems like you are very familiar with your body¡¯s condition. Since you can achieve this, you can start absorbing the origin power the Ice Empress left in your body. Your cultivation speed will increase that way. At the same time, you can slowly absorb the most essential part of the spiritual power I left in your body. The biggest problem that you have right now is your body. Your body isn¡¯t strong enough. It needs to be strengthened further. Otherwise, you¡¯ll experience problems not long after you absorb this power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and asked, ¡°I understand what you mean. Do you want me to continue fusing soul bones?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°Yes. In addition, the next soul bone you fuse will need to be of higher quality. The soul bones that you have now are the Ice Empress¡¯ skeleton, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, and that left leg bone that allows for Instant Teleportation. Honestly speaking, only the Ice Empress¡¯ skeleton is able to slightly increase your physical strength. The other two soul bones are less effective at increasing your strength due to the fact that they have special abilities. As a result, the skull, right arm and right leg bones that you are going to fuse with next have to be focused on increasing your physical strength. In this way, you can better fuse with the strength of the Ice Empress.

    ¡°As for the Snow Empress, the origin power that she left behind will be a self-sustaining entity on its own, and won¡¯t be absorbed by you, as she has be your Spirit. However, it¡¯ll continue to contribute to your physical growth. I believe you can feel this, too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to find suitable soul bones as quickly as possible. However, soul bones are too important to soul masters. In the eyes of any soul master, soul bones are absolute treasures. It isn¡¯t going to be easy to obtain them. Moreover, I need those of sufficiently good quality. I can only search for them slowly.

    ¡°Furthermore, my body isn¡¯t a ring problem yet. After fusing with the immense life power of the Life Gold, my current physical state can help mest until I¡¯ve obtained eight rings. The soul power from my Ultimate Ice won¡¯t drain my body, either. After I¡¯ve obtained eight rings, I¡¯ll need to further strengthen my body. On the other hand, I¡¯m starting to develop some problems in terms of my spiritual power.

    ¡°After this closed-door cultivation, I can sense that my spiritual power seems to have increased. In addition, this increase is in terms of quality. However, I feel that my spiritual sea is unable to handle this increase anymore. After exiting my closed-door cultivation, I¡¯m afraid of cultivating my spiritual power further. Is there any way I can solve this problem?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm shook his head and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have any special method to help you in that area. Your spiritual power didn¡¯t juste from me, a portion of it came from Elder Yi. Elder Yi had already taken half a step into the realm of Gods. His spiritual origin, or rather the fragments of his divine sense, had a trace of a divine existence within them. After you fuse with thempletely, your spiritual power will be able to increase even faster, until you reach the concrete-immaterial realm.

    ¡°However, your brain will start to experience problems if your spiritual power bes too strong. It¡¯s still the same advice ¨C get soul bones, especially a skull! It must be of good quality too. The best choice would be the skull of a hundred-thousand year soul beast. Your problems will be solved if it¡¯spatible. If your spiritual power can rise to another level, it will reach the level I was at when you first met me. When that happens, you¡¯ll be able to protect yourself even if your abilities won¡¯t increase significantly. It won¡¯t be easy for a soul beast to kill you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Brother, you called me in to say all this? I know everything you¡¯re trying to say! Can you give me more clues?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Why are you so rushed? I haven¡¯t chatted with you in a long time. Let¡¯s chat more. Of course I¡¯m trying to advise you, just like I helped you capture Bingbing!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Bingbing!¡± the Ice Empress¡¯ cold voice sounded. A streak of bluish-green light shed past and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion appeared above the Skydream Iceworm. She smacked a pincer on his head, and he immediately disappeared back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised. ¡°Ice Empress, you¡¯re awake too!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt that the Ice Empress sounded very weird. There seemed to be something else about her. She sounded¡­ shy?

    The Skydream Iceworm re-surfaced from another part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, and he was fawning again. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t call you Bingbing. Why don¡¯t you sleep longer? I can tell Yuhao everything.¡±

    The Ice Empress coldly replied, ¡°You are full of nonsense. You spoke for half a day without getting to the main topic. Yuhao, your soul power is already at a bottleneck. You need to obtain new soul rings to improve further. In terms of your spiritual power, we feel that you can consider finding a species of soul beast called an Evileye Tyrant. You can try to fuse with an Evileye Tyrant.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, that,¡± the Skydream Iceworm immediately added.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± The Ice Empress snapped at Skydream, and he quickly shut his mouth. He looked indignant, but didn¡¯t dare to retort.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with the two of you? I feel like something¡¯s wrong!¡± Huo Yuhao was curious as he looked at the Ice Empress, before looking at the Skydream Iceworm again. He didn¡¯t even seem to be interested when the Ice Empress mentioned an Evileye Tyrant, which was a type of soul beast he had never heard of before.

    The Ice Empress snorted in fury, and red at Skydream with her crystal-yellow eyes, which were filled with a threatening light.

    ¡°Nothing, nothing. Yuhao, why are you guessing blindly? Bingbing and I are purely friends. Our friendship is pure. Am I right, Bingbing?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡­¡± The Ice Empress sounded a little weak right now, and her shyness was revealed once again.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll scram. Don¡¯t get angry. I¡¯ll scram.¡± As he spoke, he shed and disappeared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. Huo Yuhao immediately felt the ring around his finger formed by the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s actual body was moving gently.

    He was unmoved as he asked, ¡°Ice Empress, what¡¯s an Evileye Tyrant?¡±

    The Ice Empress seemed to return to her old self after the Skydream Iceworm left, and she said, ¡°Evileye Tyrants are very powerful soul beasts. Their abilities differ greatly depending on their cultivation. They originally didn¡¯t exist in the Douluo Continent, they are natives of the Sun Moon Continent. A few thousand years ago, the strongest Evileye Tyrant, known as the Evileye Tyrant King, once entered the Great Star Dou Forest. At that point in time, Skydream was also in the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

 Chapter 375.3 - Sunrise City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 375.3: Sunrise City</h4>

    After ncing at the ce where the Skydream Iceworm had disappeared, the Ice Empress continued, ¡°He personally witnessed a huge fight between the Evileye Tyrant King and the Beast God Di Tian, who is one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts. The Evileye Tyrant King was indeed very strong. Even against the Beast God, he still had a chance of victory. The Beast God¡¯s cultivation was around eight hundred and twenty-some thousand years, and he had ovee an additional bottleneckpared to the Evileye Tyrant King. The two beasts fought for three days and three nights before the Beast God managed to defeat the Evileye Tyrant King due to his superior cultivation.

    ¡°At that point, the Evileye Tyrant King tried to kill Skydream before he left. However, the voice of a mysterious existence suddenly sounded, and scared him off.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°Mysterious existence? What mysterious existence is there in the Great Star Dou Forest?¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, either. Skydream only knows roughly. The Beast God Di Tian is equivalent to the most outstanding Ultimate Douluo, but there seems to be a stronger existence in the Great Star Dou Forest that is asleep. It might be like Elder Yi, halfway into the realm of Gods. It has been sleeping all this while, and probably only the Beast God knows how strong it is.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. I once heard Di Tian call him ¡®master¡¯.¡± Skydream¡¯s voice sounded once again, but he didn¡¯t appear.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°Are the two of you asking me to obtain the skull of the Evileye Tyrant King?¡±

    ¡°Fool, of course not!¡± the Ice Empress answered. ¡°Evileye Tyrant is a species. There isn¡¯t just the Evileye Tyrant King. Furthermore, you might not even be able to obtain the skull of the Evileye Tyrant King. His eighth bottleneck is about to arrive. Initially, he wanted to snatch Skydream because of this eighth bottleneck. If he can¡¯t cross this bottleneck and really dies, his soul rings won¡¯t remain, although his soul bones will. Furthermore, Evileye Tyrants are very special because they can only produce skulls, and no other soul bones.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was greatly affected after he heard that they could only produce skulls.

    Generally speaking, whether or not a soul beast would produce soul bones was up to chance. The higher the cultivation of a soul beast, the more likely it was for a soul bone to appear from it. Only hundred-thousand year soul beasts would definitely produce soul bones. Under such a situation, Huo Yuhao was facing a difficult task if he wanted to hunt and kill a soul beast to obtain a skull bone. Skulls were the rarest among the six types of soul bones!

    This was why it was down to luck if he wanted to obtain a skull. In mostrge-scale auctions in the various empires, a skull wouldmand an astronomical price, and someone would buy it immediately. It was harder than the hardest currency!

    However, the possibility of obtaining a skull would greatly increase if there was a species of soul beast that could definitely produce skulls. In addition, it was almost a hundred percent possibility if Huo Yuhao managed to hunt a hundred-thousand year soul beast of this species.

    Huo Yuhao was intelligent. He understood what the Ice Empress and Skydream meant and said, ¡°In this case, the two of you are suggesting that I find an Evileye Tyrant and kill it to obtain its soul bone, since the Evileye Tyrant King has either likely died after failing to cross his bottleneck, or is trying to cross his bottleneck and won¡¯t disturb me. If I¡¯m lucky, I might evene across the soul bone that he left behind along with his carcass. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t too stupid.¡± the Ice Empress replied coolly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°However, the problem is that an Evileye Tyrant won¡¯t be weak even if the Evileye Tyrant King isn¡¯t around. I don¡¯t understand what they¡¯re like, since I didn¡¯t learn about them in the Academy.¡±

    ¡°I can tell you their characteristics. Evileye Tyrants live in groups, and they only live in the hottest and most humid environments. Since they¡¯re from the Sun Moon Empire, they must have a habitat that belongs to them. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be difficult to find out where their habitat is. As for their abilities, they are able to cause all types of spiritual interference and confusion to living creatures apart from their main offensive ability, the Evileye Ray. Unless it¡¯s the Evileye Tyrant King itself, an Evileye Tyrant won¡¯t be able to confuse you.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to work for a soul bone, though. In addition, ask a few strong individuals from your Academy to follow you once this matter is over. Aren¡¯t there quite a few strong individuals in your Academy? We are only trying to help you find the greatest possibility for you to obtain a skull bone, but it¡¯s not absolute.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Thanks.¡± Huo Yuhao firmly remembered the Ice Empress¡¯ words before he detached himself from his spiritual world. He exited his deep meditative state naturally and subconsciously looked downat his own finger.

    The ring that the Skydream Iceworm had changed into flipped over, and there were small and subtle words on it. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s powerful eyes, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see them clearly.

    The words were:Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. I went through the same tests with her. I encountered many difficulties, and passed countless tests¡­

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips. ¡°Tell me about the result.¡± The Ice Empress wasn¡¯t like Skydream. If she wanted to sense what was happening in the outside world, she had to go through Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Right now, Huo Yuhao controlled his spiritual seapletely. That¡¯s why Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of the Ice Empress listening in on his movements in the outside world.

    However, the Skydream Iceworm was different. His spiritual origin was with the Ice Empress, and thus he could only interact with Huo Yuhao through some special methods if he didn¡¯t want her to hear.

    The result was that I managed to pass and obtained my reward. We even¡­

    ¡°Chi¡­¡± Huo Yuhaoughed when he saw this line of words appear. After that, he asked a technical question. ¡°How does a worm and a scorpion do it?¡±

    ¡°Idiot. We turned into humans before we did it! You don¡¯t even understand this, hmph¡­¡± After leaving behind thisst line of words, Skydream Iceworm changed back into the ring, and his spiritual aura returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao was finally enlightened now. He revealed a weird smile on his face.They are finally together. No wonder the Ice Empress seems a little different, even though she¡¯s still as cold as Brother Skydream.

    At this point, a faint and cold voice sounded. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao lifted his head, and saw Ji Juechen looking at him with a weird look on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything.¡±

    ¡°Why are you smiling at me with such a weird smile in the middle of the night. Don¡¯t you think¡­?¡±

    Huo Yuhao coughed. ¡°It¡¯s not intentional. You can continue with your cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t smile so amorously. Although I¡¯m very focused on my sword, I¡¯m notpletely clueless about other things. Furthermore, I won¡¯t like a guy!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Since when did you be so talkative?¡±

    ¡°We can fight if you aren¡¯t happy.¡±

    ¡°Fight my foot¡­ are you tired of living? Cultivate!¡±

    Ji Juechen actually revealed a smile at this moment. He twisted his lips as he looked at the exasperated Huo Yuhao. After that, he shut his eyes.

    As he watched Ji Juechen re-enter his cultivation state, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression slowly turned normal again. He revealed a sense of loss, and seemed to have recalled when he first entered Shrek Academy with Wang Dong¡¯er. Weren¡¯t they on two simr beds then?

    I still thought that she was a clean freak back then. Who knew that she was actually a girl? If I could return to the past, it¡¯d be great, even if I have to go through the pain of cultivating again!

    Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er!

    Yearning was like a carving knife that carved Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s unforgettable looks deep into his spirit.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The night went on silently. In the morning, everyone from the Tang Sect started to get busy. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi posed as sisters, while Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan posed as a couple. Huo Yuhao, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi acted on their own. The seven of them left the hotel and went around Sunrise City, acquiring information and gathering intelligence.

    Huo Yuhao had the most important mission. He used his Spiritual Detection to survey Sunrise City once.

    Just like he had expected, he didn¡¯t find any hostages in the city. What did this mean? It meant that he should start looking for them underground.

    Theyout of the city was clear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind through his Spiritual Detection.

    It wasn¡¯t just the city center that had top-ss soul tools. There were also top-ss soul tools at the four corners of the city, but he had found no evil soul masters so far. Right now, there were at least one or two ss 9 soul engineers in the city. As he carried out a deeper level of detection, he could confirm that at least one of the soul tools in the city center had to be ss 9.

    A ss 9 soul tool had to be operated by a ss 9 soul engineer or a Titled Douluo. Since a ss 9 soul tool had been set up, there had to be someone who could operate it!

 Chapter 376.1 - Yuhaos Three Ultimate Techniques

    <h4 ss>Chapter 376.1: Yuhao¡¯s Three Ultimate Techniques</h4>

    They only returned to the hotel after surveying Sunrise City through the afternoon. After a discussion, they all went to rest. After dinner and freshening himself up, Huo Yuhao went out at night again. This time, he was focused on surveying what was underground. Although he couldn¡¯t use his Eye of Destiny, he could still detect up to fifty meters below ground. If there were problems, he would be able to discover some clues.

    It wasn¡¯t a brilliant method, but he had no choice. Fortunately, Sunrise City wasn¡¯t like Radiant City. Otherwise, he needed at least half a year before he couldpletely survey the entire city with such a method.

    As he walked, he tried to detect whatever there was underground. He continually used his spiritual power to carry out his detection. If it were any other soul master with a spiritual-type martial soul, his spiritual power wouldn¡¯t be able tost long even if he had such a detection ability.

    As he walked, Huo Yuhao entered a bustling street. The two sides of the street were lined with stores, and brightly lit.

    He meticulously detected what was going on underground. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, and subconsciously lifted his head.

    Not far in front of him, there was ady who was dressed to the nines blocking his way.

    Her looks weren¡¯t ttering ¨C she wasn¡¯t even at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest level, but her waist was three timesrger than his. She was in a bright-green dress, which made her seem like a watermelon. There were even bright red flowers on her dress.

    Her chubby face was extremely white, and she had applied even more powder on her face than normal. She had applied blood-red lipstick on her thick lips too. When she blocked Huo Yuhao, a gust of wind that carried the smell of her inferior-quality perfume greeted Huo Yuhao. The torrid smell almost caused him to bury his head in the ground.

    Is this considered a biological weapon?

    ¡°Sir, do you want toe in to have fun?¡± She made a flirtatious gesture at Huo Yuhao and grinned at him, revealing her yellow teeth. Her voice sounded a little sharp and strained. She didn¡¯t sound like a guy or ady. The more frightening thing was that there was a stench that came from her mouth. When it mixed with the perfume from her body¡­

    The originally crowded street instantly became empty within a ten meter region. At least five or six people copsed, and Huo Yuhao also stepped back a few steps. There was an astonished look on his face.

    ¡°Sir,e in and have fun. Ourdies are delicious and cheap. No, they are high-quality and cheap.¡± The chubbydy pointed to a building which was shining with pink lights as she spoke.

    The building wasn¡¯t very big, and seemed a little dpidated. The pink lights made the ce seem shady, while the stained walls made it seem like a cheap ce.

    ¡°Alright, lead the way.¡± Huo Yuhao covered his nose and slowly stopped looking so stunned.

    ¡°Oh yes, sir. You have good taste.¡± As the chubbydy heard that Huo Yuhao wanted to enter, she was delighted, and pulled him over. However, he dodged her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Sir, follow me.¡± As she spoke, she was already walking towards the building. As she walked, she even turned back to Huo Yuhao asionally and said, ¡°Sir, you have great taste. You can call me Lingling.¡±

    ¡°rgh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, and retch before gesturing to the fatdy, or rather, the madam. He was asking her to turn around and not talk to him. Her ¡®biological weapon¡¯ was simply too strong for him.

    The madam twisted her thick, red lips and turned around unhappily. After she entered the building, she shouted at the top of her voice, ¡°Girls,e and receive our customer!¡±

    Suddenly, a bunch ofdies with thick makeup started to surface from different parts of the building.

    Their dress followed Lingling¡¯s style, which was extremely startling!

    Huo Yuhao stopped in front of the building and suddenly asked the madam, ¡°You¡¯re called Lingling, am I right? Is it the same ¡®Ling¡¯ as ¡®Feng Ling¡¯?¡±

    After hearing his words, she started trembling. She turned around and was filled with shock as she looked at Huo Yuhao, ¡°You, you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lle here to have fun again.¡± After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao turned around and fled. He used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and quickly disappeared into the crowd without anyone noticing.

    The madam was shocked as she watched where Huo Yuhao had disappeared. There was an indescribablyplex look in her eyes.

    As for the rest of thedies that had appeared, they were all shouting tenderly as they chased Huo Yuhao. They were indignant, as they finally had a customer, but he ran away. However, Lingling just stood in ce without moving. It was as if she had lost her soul.

    Huo Yuhao fled more than two streets before he slowed down. He had confirmed what he needed to confirm. Yes, he recognized that madam. Even though he wasn¡¯t familiar with her, he was certain that she was actually a him!

    Yes, it was a him, not a her!

    That person was likely to be Feng Ling, whom he had met before. Feng Ling had left a deep impression in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind because of his stinky mouth and his saliva that could even cause smoke to fume when itnded on the ground. Hisck of hygiene wasn¡¯t something an ordinary person couldpare to.

    Feng Ling should be the young master of the Heaven¡¯s Gate. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even sure which empire the Heaven¡¯s Gate came from, but it shouldn¡¯t be very strong. Furthermore, it was unlikely that the Heaven¡¯s Gate was from the Sun Moon Empire.

    Feng Ling tried to take liberties of Wang Dong¡¯er when they met the Heaven¡¯s Gate outside Radiant City. Eventually, he was taught a lesson by Ji Juechen, and fled with his sect.

    Huo Yuhao also recalled that Feng Ling was the young master of the sect.

    No matter how unhygienic he was, he possessed at least four rings, since he couldpete in the tournament. However, he was now in a medium-sized city as a madam. He had even changed his gender.

    What was going on?

    If he wasn¡¯t a member of the Sun Moon Empire, he had to be one of the hostages. However, he didn¡¯t lose his freedom, but his gender and identity had changed. This situation had to be¡­

    Earlier, Huo Yuhao had tried to test him when he thought of all these. He knew that he was right when he saw the expression on Lingling¡¯s face.

    It was too important of a clue. If he followed the clues that came from Lingling, he might be able to find out everything he wanted to. Of course, he might have rmed the other party with his words earlier. However, it wasn¡¯t too much of a problem. After all, Feng Ling didn¡¯t know who he was. It wasn¡¯t easy to find someone like him in Sunrise City either.

    Huo Yuhao stopped at a remote corner, and the light around him started to distort. Very soon, he camouged himself with his surrounding environment and disappeared.

    The high-altitude surveince soul tools in the sky could detect visual targets, but they weren¡¯t equipped with infrared rays or soul power detectors. Current soul tool technology had yet to reach such a standard.

    After he camouged himself using his Imitation, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to leave. He quietly hid in a dark corner and waited.

    Although he had left, his Spiritual Detection was still working on Feng Ling.

    Feng Ling soon recovered from his shock and returned to the streets, where he started to solicit customers once again.

    However, his image was too disgusting, and no one could be convinced by him. It was very difficult to imagine why the boss of this low-ss brothel would let him make a fool out of himself. The only exnation was that the boss was sick in the mind.

    Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to observe Feng Ling meticulously. Very soon, he discovered that Feng Ling¡¯s soul power undtions had yet to disappear. This meant that he was still a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. After he heard someone call his name, his expression kept on changing and he seemed a little unsettled, and even astonished.

    This was an important clue to Huo Yuhao. This is why he wasn¡¯t anxious at all, and continued to wait silently.

    Feng Ling only returned to the cheap brothel when it waste into the night, and the shops along the streets were already closed for business. Very soon, the tempting pink lights were extinguished, and everything seemed to turn silent.

    Not long afterward, a side door of the brothel opened slightly, and a stumpy figure squeezed out. Feng Ling was no longer wearing the bright-green dress from earlier. He wore a simpler gown, and observed the outside of the brothel before he snuck out. After this, he quickly walked towards a certain direction.

    Huo Yuhao also moved at the same time. He silently tailed Feng Ling, but kept a few hundred meters¡¯ distance from him.

    Feng Ling passed the streets and alleys before stopping in front of a pointed building after walking for fifteen minutes.

    This building seemed a little worn down, and there weren¡¯t any signs on it. The door was utched, and Feng Ling entered the building by pushing the door open.

    Huo Yuhao had been watching him very closely, and thus he could clearly feel Feng Ling¡¯s fear when he entered the building.

    He extended his senses and continued to watch Feng Ling with his spiritual power. However, Huo Yuhao quickly retracted his spiritual power soon after. That was because he was shocked to find out there was a strong undtion of spiritual powering from this building. While this undtion of spiritual power didn¡¯t signify that the other party¡¯s spiritual power was greater than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, the other party might still detect Huo Yuhao¡¯s presence.

    Huo Yuhao crept forward towards the utched door and peeked into the building through a slight gap.

 Chapter 376.2 - Yuhaos Three Ultimate Techniques

    <h4 ss>Chapter 376.2: Yuhao¡¯s Three Ultimate Techniques</h4>

    It was pitch-dark inside, and the air seemed to be much dirtier than outside. Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision, he couldn¡¯t see what was going on inside clearly.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised by this. Instead, he broke out into a slight smile that carried a trace of cold intent.

    At this point, he heard a tragic scream resonating from inside. It sounded very pathetic, but it wasn¡¯t loud. If not for the fact that he was at the door, he wouldn¡¯t have heard the scream.

    At this point, he sensed that the strong spiritual undtionsing from inside had retracted.

    He couldn¡¯t give up on such an opportunity. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection and started to survey the inside of the building.

    There was a spacious hall behind the door, which was pitch-ck right now. The polluted air came from some unknown origin. For safety purposes, Huo Yuhao controlled his Spiritual Detection to follow the sides of the rooms and surveyed one round before he entered another hall at the back through thest door.

    Tragic screams started to reverberate before the voice of a person sounded.

    ¡°Lowly fatso. I¡¯ll whip you to death, I¡¯ll whip you to death, hahaha! Keep screaming. Scream louder.¡± A hysterical, hoarse voice, extremely awful voice sounded. As this voice sounded, the air rippled slightly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t like before. He could clearly sense how strong the owner of this voice was.

    It¡¯s definitely an evil soul master. It has to be.

    From his observations earlier, along with how he saw Feng Ling soliciting customers on the streets as a madam, he guessed that this sort of perverted doing must have beenmitted by an evil soul master. What he was seeing now verified his guess. However, this evil soul master that was abusing Feng Ling had at least eight rings. Huo Yuhao was able to make an urate judgment from the spiritual undtions he released as he lost control of his emotions.

    This building was weird. Earlier, he had scanned this direction using his Spiritual Detection.

    However, he didn¡¯t discover anything. There were indeed members of the Holy Ghost Church here, but the number of evil soul masters was unknown.

    Huo Yuhao extended his Spiritual Detection carefully towards the direction of the voices. Very soon, he saw a bloody scene that made him nauseous.

    It was a dark, circr hall. There were many broken bodies on the floor, and organs were strewn everywhere. All the blood on the floor had already dried up and turned purplish-ck.

    Feng Ling hung in the center of this hall, and there was a person decked in a ck robe beneath him. This person released ck fog from his body and was holding a bone whip, with which he whipped Feng Ling unceasingly. There were a few fat people squirming in a corner not far from them. They appeared very dreary, and seemed to be on the verge of death.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s killing intent was piqued as he saw this scene.This despicable evil soul master must have abused and killed many people, otherwise this ce wouldn¡¯t look like a hell on earth!

    At this point, his Spiritual Detection seemed to jerk, as if it had been shocked by electricity. The person in ck who was whipping Feng Ling turned around and roared in fury, ¡°Who¡ª¡ª¡±

    As he turned around, Huo Yuhao realized that it was actually a she. Her face was extremely pale to the point where it was scary, although it was evident that her original appearance was pretty decent. However, her eyes were bloodshot, and there was a terrifying feel about her now.

    A strong wave of spiritual power was unleashed from her body, and her eight soul rings ¨C two yellow, two purple and four ck ¨C surfaced at this moment. A huge, ck shadow appeared behind her, and her fierce look caused the surrounding spiritual undtions to be stronger.

    Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual cultivation, this sudden change caused him to turn a little dizzy and he quickly retracted his spiritual power before fleeing immediately.

    Just as he burst off, a ck figure had already rushed out from the door, and a low-pitched roar echoed in the air. This ck figure knew exactly where Huo Yuhao had escaped to, and quickly pursued him.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t careless at all. He was extremely cautious, but luck wasn¡¯t on his side. After he was discovered and pursued, he realized that he had met a spiritual-type evil soul master. In addition, her martial soul was simr to an Avenging Spirit. She was a little like Na Na, but she was much stronger.

    Because of this, the gap between their spiritual power wasn¡¯t as great as he had expected. When his Spiritual Detection got too close, she immediately sensed something amiss, and discovered traces of it. Then, she locked onto his body as she followed the trail of his spiritual power and pursued him. As a result, his Imitation was unable to help him escape her pursuit.

    However, they were both almost invisible because of their spiritual power, and wouldn¡¯t be detected by the high-altitude surveince soul tools in the sky.

    What do I do now?Huo Yuhao was quickly assessing his situation right now and thinking of a n of action.Run?Given his current cultivation, how could he possibly outrun an eight-ringed Soul Douluo?Since you are pursuing me, then¡­He thought of the bloody scene he saw earlier, and a cold look shed in his eyes. His killing intent also became stronger.

    It had to be said that Huo Yuhao was rather good at escaping her pursuit. If he escaped in a straight line, he would definitely be caught after a while. However, he made turns around the streets and alleys. While this evil soul master was pursuing him through his spiritual power, he could escape her pursuit, given the strength of his spiritual cultivation, if he used his Eye of Destiny. However, he didn¡¯t choose to do so. He only kept on unleashing his spiritual power to interfere with her judgment so that she would make slight errors. While she kept on pursuing him, she wasn¡¯t able to catch him.

    Two invisible figures were moving quickly and making rounds in Sunrise City just like that. They were so quick that seeing them even made one breathless.

    Slowly, the advantage of this evil soul master¡¯s cultivation was taking effect. She was getting closer and closer to Huo Yuhao.

    Suddenly, she peered into the sky and let out an inaudible cry. When she let out this cry, the sky within several hundred square meters around her started to distort. At this instant, all the high-altitude surveince soul tools that surveilled this region weren¡¯t able to function properly.

    The civilians on the streets weren¡¯t affected, but Huo Yuhao felt as if he had been hammered. He only heard a piercing scream echoing deep in his spirit. At this instant, he felt that his head was about to blow apart. The tremendous pain he felt numbed his entire spirit.

    This is¡­

    Huo Yuhao was wide-eyed in shock.

    It shouldn¡¯t be a soul skill, as he didn¡¯t sense any undtions from the soul rings of this evil soul master. It had to be a fighting technique that she had invented herself.

    This was a fighting technique that Huo Yuhao had never seen before. It wasn¡¯t just unleashed through pure spiritual power, and it wasn¡¯t abination of spiritual and soul power either. Rather, it was formed using spiritual power and soundwaves.

    Through her immense spiritual power, she managed to enhance the strength of her spirit, which enabled her to influence Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit through terrifying soundwaves. It was extremely frightening! If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s great spiritual power that spurred him to instinctively defend himself, his head would have blown apart by now.

    Simply put, it was like a terrifying scream had appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He tolerated the numb feeling for now and leapt over a wall.

    When this evil soul master unleashed her attack, she seemed to experience a temporary dy in her movements, and wasn¡¯t able to exploit this opportunity to catch up to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Ah!¡± She groaned. Evidently, she was very confident in her fighting technique. However, she was confused about why it didn¡¯t achieve the effect she had expected.

    Huo Yuhao could tell her cultivation, and thus it was natural that she could tell what his cultivation was too. She could sense that his cultivation wasn¡¯t very high even with his immense spiritual power, and knew that he was inferior to her. In her opinion, she should have destroyed him with her previous attack. Even if he wasn¡¯t killed, he should have been critically injured. However, Huo Yuhao only stalled for a moment before he escaped towards a residential area.

    Such a weak soul master is able to possess such great spiritual power? Interesting!

    She revealed a grin on her face. As she pointed her toes to the ground, she drifted up like a specter before she charged downward like a bolt of lightning.

    Huo Yuhao was still affected by the scream earlier, and was evidently moving much slower now. Furthermore, it seemed like his Imitation was getting weaker and weaker, and his figure was starting to show.

    ¡°Go and die. Grudge!¡± A strange voice that was low-pitched and hoarse, yet sharp, sounded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    Following this, a strange, illusory projection appeared above Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. This projection was white, but only Huo Yuhao could sense it. Suddenly, he felt his spirit getting colder, and he started to shudder.

    His spiritual sea started to rage with waves, and he felt that he was about to lose control of his body. A crazy thought also started to rise internally.

    However, he didn¡¯t continue to flee at this moment. On the contrary, he stopped and turned around.

 Chapter 376.3 - Yuhaos Three Ultimate Techniques

    <h4 ss>Chapter 376.3: Yuhao¡¯s Three Ultimate Techniques</h4>

    The evil soul master saw a pair of bright, clear eyes that carried a deep gaze. Following this, a dim golden projection rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. As golden lights shed, her Grudge in the air was crushed.

    ¡°Ah, interesting.¡± She drifted to the ground and didn¡¯t continue attacking. She stared at Huo Yuhao with a strange look in her bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°Spiritual-type soul master? Very rare. Your spiritual cultivation has long surpassed your actual cultivation.¡± She seemed to be like a normal person right now, apart from her looks.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. You must be a spiritual-type soul master too. However, the paths that we are taking are evidently different. Your martial soul should be an Avenging Spirit?¡±

    ¡°Hehehehehehe¡­¡± She let out a shrillingugh, which was filled with hysteria and sarcasm.

    ¡°Avenging Spirit? Is my martial soul an Avenging Spirit? No, you are wrong. My martial soul isn¡¯t an Avenging Spirit.¡±

    ¡°No?¡± Huo Yuhao was the shocked one right now. ¡°What is it then?¡±

    She opened her eyes wide and replied, ¡°My martial soul is called the Spirit of Retribution.¡±

    ¡°Spirit of Retribution? Is there such a martial soul?¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t believe what she was saying.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t there such a martial soul? I created it myself. Isn¡¯t it magical?! Hehehehe!¡± She wasughing, but herughter sounded very forlorn.

    Huo Yuhao squinted. ¡°Self-created martial soul? I know. Your martial soul is mutated, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± She replied with three ¡®nos¡¯ and her forlorn voice turned callous. ¡°Have you seen a mutated martial soul that only awakened when the soul master was fifteen? No, you haven¡¯t. My martial soul came from hatred, a deep hatred. When my hatred reached its extreme, my Spirit of Retribution appeared. I killed her, I killed her, I killed her! I want revenge! I want revenge! All of you can go and die!¡±

    She suddenly went berserk, and mimicked a lifting action. Following this, her second, third and fifth soul rings lit up at the same time.

    A weird white glow spread from her body, and countless Grudges appeared above Huo Yuhao and started to spread in all directions.

    At this point, she saw a soul ring shining. It was a clear-white soul ring that shed with a dim golden color. When its light spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, his eyes started to shine brightly, and turned shiny and translucent. Purplish-gold light that seemed to be illuminated by countless streaks of starlight shed before disappearing.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± The female evil soul master¡¯s head suddenly rocked back, and she even staggered a few steps. The huge avenging spirit that had been drifting behind her all this while was dissipated before it re-formed. The Grudges that she had released earlier were also immediately crushed.

    Spiritual Shock! It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock in the concrete-immaterial realm.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook slightly. After all, this evil soul master¡¯s cultivation was too strong, far superior to his. Although Huo Yuhao had an advantage in terms of his spiritual power, a fight between soul masters didn¡¯t just involve spiritual power. Moreover, her spiritual world was filled with a grim sense of evil. While Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock struck her, he also suffered from a bacsh. Of course, she was hurt much more than him.

    As he stepped forward with his left leg, the look in his eyes suddenly turned gentle. A golden projection appeared behind him before embracing him and fusing with his body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned gentle. At this moment, his eyes didn¡¯t reflect the look of the evil soul master in front of him. There was only a look of remembrance in his eyes right now.

    Remembrance was a very magical thing. Right now, Huo Yuhao unleashed his Fist of Remembrance, which contained a surging feeling of remembrance!

    A fist with an indescribable color, but which yet seemed to shine with a glow that epassed all colors, was unleashed towards the evil soul master.

    At this point, the evil soul master was still suffering under the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. However, she was still a Soul Douluo, and it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to curb her.

    Just as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance was about to strike her, her body suddenly dissipated like a specter. She changed into countless ck projections that spread around. Each projection had the same look as her.

    However, a sharp scream sounded at this point. All the ck projections re-gathered and appeared where she was originally. It was as if she had been struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    Her body was covered by ayer of shiny light as she screamed. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

    ¡°This, this is¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything. He exerted a force with his front left foot and it seemed like he was being lifted up. He raised his right fist and pointed his middle and index fingers forward. The glow that seemed to epass all colors suddenly shot into the sky and turned into a sword light that was more than ten meters long.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also changed. The gentle look in his eyes turned into pain. He pursed his lips tightly, and he appeared to have teared up. His mind seemed to have gone to another world too.

    The majestic sword light descended from the sky. One¡¯s swordy could only reach the peak if he handled his rtionship well. This time, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sword of Longing, a sword which would never be forgotten!

    The evil soul master was in a daze as she looked at the sword light that wasing down. Her state of mind was already affected because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist earlier.

    As she was also a spiritual-type soul master, she was also more influenced than any other opponent. Her Spirit of Retribution relied on immense hatred. However, she was forced into a state of remembrance by Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Her sense of danger roused her instincts. She lifted her hands, and her seventh soul ring shone. The huge avenging spirit behind her drifted forward and fused with her body. She turned into a specter, but she didn¡¯t attack or resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. Instead, she turned around and fled. She wanted to escape from the sword light that was crashing down towards her.

    However, how could she escape Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sword of Longing after she was struck by his Fist of Remembrance?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sword of Longing immediately tore her avenging spirit to pieces. Wherever this sword light passed, spots of bright light were left behind in the air. It was as if tears of remembrance had been scattered in the air.

    The crushed Spirit of Retribution was re-formed. However, it was no longer in the state of a Martial Soul True Body. Rather, it regained the appearance of the evil soul master.

    Huo Yuhao should be proud of his Sword of Longing. Without his sixth soul ring, he managed to force an eight-ringed Soul Douluo out of her Martial Soul True Body using his self-created fighting skill. This showed how strong he was.

    More astonishingly, the female evil soul master¡¯s eyes were no longer bloodshot, and the look in her eyes became simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao had gone into closed-door cultivation for several months, and fused his various abilities. He had perfectlybined his spiritual and soul power through his emotions, forming his three great skills. No matter how strong his opponent was, she would be affected by him if she wasn¡¯t emotionally resilient enough to resist the invasion of his spiritual power.

    These three great skills were mainly controlled using Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, as his spiritual power was far superior to his soul power. When he was able to increase his soul power to aparable level and unleash these three skills, he would be able to establish himself as one of the strongest soul masters on the continent.

    After unleashing his sword, Huo Yuhao was already crying. He pulled his palm back to his waist before flipping it over. He formed the shape of a heart in the air and all the lights were retracted at this instant. There was now an additional heart at the center of his palm. It was a golden heart. Even the most dazzling gem in this world couldn¡¯tpare to the glow from this golden heart.

    This golden heart represented a sincere heart. It was filled with eternal love and remembrance.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. At this moment, there was only one figure in his mind. There was no other person or thing that could affect his state of mind. He was already deeply immersed in his thoughts of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er!

    He was gently calling in his heart. He seemed to see Wang Dong¡¯er, and how she sacrificed her life for him without any hesitation.Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­

    As he called, that shining, golden heart slowly moved as he pushed his palm forward.

    In the sky, the clouds moved, and thunder rumbled. After an inky ckness filled the sky, it suddenly lit up. The lights came from an unknown origin, but they formed a heart shape.

    The signals from the three closest three surveince soul tools were scrambled. After this, their formation arrays blew apart, and they were destroyed.

    That huge and seemingly boundless heart resonated with the golden heart on Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    Behind the heart in the sky, there seemed to be a beautiful face watching everything that was happening on the ground with a gentle gaze.

    As Huo Yuhao pushed his palm out, and the two hearts resonated with each other, it seemed as if countless flowing lights shone behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. There were only memories of him and Wang Dong¡¯er within those flowing lights.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Haodong Palm, a palm which wouldst eternally!

    This was thest strike of Huo Yuhao¡¯s three great skills. It was also his first time unleashing this strike with all his heart.

    He didn¡¯t know it yet, but he had already established his position in the world of soul masters as he unleashed this palm.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡± When his palm was imprinted on the evil soul master¡¯s body, she didn¡¯t experience any tremendous movement because of his strike as she came charging towards it.

 Chapter 377.1 - Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water

    <h4 ss>Chapter 377.1: Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water</h4>

    The countless flowing lights behind Huo Yuhao were imprinted on her body along with Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm. Instantly, her eyes were no longer bloodshot, and there was only a clear look in her eyes. Her pale-white face even started to flush slightly, and she revealed a relieved smile on her face.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Her voice was no longer hoarse. Instead, it was captivating, as if she came from another world.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes as his tears flowed uncontrobly. He didn¡¯t even hear her voice. At this moment, both of them were immersed in their own worlds after a life and death fight.

    ¡°Remembrance is a magical thing. I miss my mommy and daddy. Why did you die so early? Why didn¡¯t you protect me? Why did you let that fatso abuse me and leave me humiliated in front of the countless people in that cold basement? They destroyed my body under the instigation of that fatso, ravaging my heart and staining my spirit. I was only fifteen years old then.¡±

    ¡°Hatred kept me alive and enhanced my spirit to another level. My Spirit of Retribution was awakened as a result. I hate those greedy and lecherous men, and I hate that fatso who tore me to pieces. I want to ughter them, but I¡¯m in so much pain.¡±

    ¡°Am I finally released? You let me see the light, sense what remembrance is and witness a love that¡¯s yet to appear in my spirit. It seems like not everything in this world is dirty. There are still pure and clean things. Thank you, thank you for letting me sense the intense love you have for that unknown person. You cleansed my heart and let me know what release is. Thank you, I¡¯m very happy, I¡¯m very happy¡­¡±

    ck gas started to flow out of her pores, and she started to age quickly. In an instant, she became very shriveled.

    As the ck gas flowed behind her back, it slowly formed a human shape before it gradually dissipated. Her body slowly copsed before she began to crumble. Eventually, she turned into a pile of dust, and disappeared with the wind.

    Huo Yuhao was still in his earlier posture after unleashing his palm. It was just that the lights on his body had disappeared, as had the huge heart in the sky. He stood in ce without moving a single inch. However, he could still affect everything around him with his emotions.

    Six figures silently appeared around him. Every one of them revealed a different look in their eyes. The only simrity between them was the tears that flowed from their eyes.

    It wasn¡¯t just them. Within a region that spanned one thousand meters in diameter, all living creatures were tearing up. They had all been influenced by Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions.

    Xu Sanshi silently walked behind Huo Yuhao before lifting his rigid body and wiping his tears. He sighed and turned around before he left.

    The other five quickly followed him.

    ¡°Why is it like that?¡± Nan Qiuqiu whispered to Ye Guyi.

    Ye Guyiughed bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Why is it like that? He, he actually¡­¡±

    Ji Juechen was normally very cold, but there seemed to be great changes to him right now. He seemed lost, and his hands were trembling.

    ¡°Am I wrong? Am I wrong? Is it only love that can improve my sword intent to its peak? I gave up all romantic emotions to focus on my cultivation. Was I wrong? Do I really need love too so that I can be stronger? Why do I seem tog behind you every time I feel that I¡¯ve surpassed you?¡±

    Why didn¡¯t Huo Yuhao use the strength of his Eye of Destiny to break free from the lock on of that evil soul master? It was because his original intention was to kill her.

    If he was discovered and he didn¡¯t kill her, they would start a city-wide search for them. Furthermore, it was extremely beneficial for them to get rid of such a soul master. With her cultivation, she was likely one of the leaders of the Holy Ghost Church in Sunrise City.

    That was why Huo Yuhao set a trap to kill her. He drew her over, knowing that his teammates were already hiding in ambush over here.

    An eight-ringed Soul Douluo was indeed very strong. However, his teammates were some of the most outstanding soul masters in the younger generation too!

    The Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi, as well as the Origin of Destruction, He Caitou, were both close to Rank 70. More importantly, there was Ye Guyi, who had the Holy Angel, which could curb evil soul masters. Along with Ji Juechen, Nan Qiuqiu and Jing Ziyan, the seven of them should be highly confident in killing their opponent.

    Through his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao had already nned this trap perfectly. His original goal was to use his three great skills to restrain his opponent before Ji Juechen and Ye Guyi unleashed an all-out attack to deal her a lethal blow. The other four would support the two of them.

    However, no one would have expected Huo Yuhao to destroy this extremely strong Soul Douluo who possessed the Spirit of Retribution using his three great skills. She was even considered one of the top-ranked individuals in the Holy Ghost Church.

    While the Spirit of Retribution was highly reliant on emotions, which made her susceptible to Huo Yuhao¡¯s three great skills, the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attacks still showed that his three great skills were extremely strong.

    They were terrifying skills thatpletely exceeded his current cultivation. When the weather changed, his teammates were all already stunned. All of them could clearly sense his love and yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er.

    When he unleashed his Haodong Palm, hepletely destroyed his opponent with his emotions. But his soul power had beenpletely drained at this instant. This was his first time unleashing this attack that epassed the true meaning behind his emotions, and it was extremely astonishing!

    After fifteen minutes, the military sealed the region they had fought in. However, they weren¡¯t able to find anything.

    A tall and huge general who was in charge of investigating this situation asked his subordinate, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­¡±

    ¡°Bullshit, the entire city saw what happened earlier. What¡¯s with that huge heart in the sky? Why did the weather suddenly change? How dare you tell me that you don¡¯t know anything! Do you know how expensive those three surveince soul tools were?¡±

    ¡°However, nothing really happened. There were no civilian casualties. It¡¯s just that an abnormal number of people started to cry within this region. They imed that they did so because they were touched.¡±

    ¡°Trash, go and investigate further.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    In a hotel room.

    Huo Yuhao was quietly lying on his bed, still in his previous posture. Xu Sanshi stood up from his bedside.

    ¡°Third senior, how is he?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly. ¡°Not bad. He must have unleashed more strength than he could control. Furthermore, imagine how emotionally affected he must be to be able to unleash such a strong undtion of emotions! I know ¨C he showed mercy on me when we sparred in the sect. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle those first two strikes of his, given my current cultivation. Sometimes I wonder why he¡¯s so freakish. The strength of his self-created fighting skills has already surpassed that of his soul skills.¡±

    He Caitou sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be envious of him. Are you willing to exchange Nannan for three fighting skills?¡±

    Xu Sanshi red at him and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you use yourself as an example? Of course I¡¯m not willing to. Nannan is special.¡±

    He Caitou chortled and said, ¡°Alright, she¡¯s not here. You don¡¯t have to show how loyal you are. When can Yuhao recover?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°He¡¯s in a strange state. His soul power has clearly been drained, but he¡¯s recovering at an extremely rapid speed. It¡¯s as if he has a Milk Bottle in his body that¡¯s nourishing him. He should recover after resting for a few more hours. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure how long his spirit will take to recover. The strength of his skillses from the connection between his spiritual power and his emotions. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy for him to recover from his emotional state, given how invested in his emotions he was earlier. When he wakes up, I¡¯ll need to warn him not to use these three skills so easily. Otherwise, he¡¯ll go crazy.¡±

    They were all elite students from Shrek Academy. Although they couldn¡¯tpletely understand what was going on with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, they could roughly gauge what was going on from the state Huo Yuhao was in when he unleashed his three great skills and through their understanding of him.

    He Caitou turned serious. ¡°Yes, we must stop him from using these three skills so often in the future. They¡¯re strong, but there¡¯s no follow-up, and they affect his emotions too much. I wonder if he¡¯ll be able to use these three skills if Dong¡¯er wakes up.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed and said, ¡°These skills are better not used even though they are strong. I hope Dong¡¯er can wake up sooner and return to his side. Little junior¡¯s life is too bitter.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Caitou nodded in agreement.

    Ye Guyi stood behind all of them and silently watched Huo Yuhao. After that, she turned around and was the first to leave.

    Nan Qiuiqu was stunned, and quickly followed her out.

 Chapter 377.2 - Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water

    <h4 ss>Chapter 377.2: Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water</h4>

    ¡°Sister Guyi, are you alright?¡± Nan Qiuqiu followed Ye Guyi back to their room and asked her concernedly.

    Ye Guyi shook her head gently and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I shouldn¡¯t have been curious about that guy!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes opened wide, and she asked, ¡°Have you really fallen for him?¡±

    Ye Guyi remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Earlier, I hid my liking for him. He¡¯s aplicated fellow. His abilities are far superior to others of the same age. However, I pity him for some reason. He has too many burdens. I don¡¯t want to give him more trouble.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was in disbelief. ¡°Sister Guyi, have you also fallen into his trap? The more you say, the more I feel that¡­¡±

    Ye Guyi smiled and said, ¡°So what if I¡¯ve fallen into his trap? I¡¯m willing to fall for such a man! However, I rationally told myself that it¡¯s impossible for anything to happen between us. I won¡¯t continue to fall further. Do you know? When he unleashed his palm strike earlier, I fell in love with him. However, I also chose to give it up.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu smacked her own forehead and said, ¡°Forget it, I can¡¯t understand it. However, you must take care of your own heart! Did you see what happened to Wang Qiu¡¯er? She¡¯s in torment because of her love for him. We don¡¯t even know where she is now. In his heart, there¡¯s only Wang Dong¡¯er. You mustn¡¯t do anything stupid.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took two days to fully recover. He woke up on the second morning, but he was still immersed in his emotions, and couldn¡¯t detach himself from them. It took another day before he fully recovered.

    In these two days, the atmosphere in Sunrise City became very tense. There was also a person staying in the hotel that Huo Yuhao and the rest were at. This person was Feng Ling.

    After drawing the evil soul master away, Huo Yuhao told everyone about Feng Ling¡¯s condition through his Spiritual Detection. After things were more peaceful outside, Jing Ziyan went to save him.

    The building that Feng Ling was abused in seemed to only contain the evil soul master that Huo Yuhao had killed. In addition, there weren¡¯t any other survivors apart from Feng Ling.

    After Feng Ling was brought back, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi took turns to watch over him. He was still in a daze now, and wasn¡¯t in a right state of mind.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you okay now?¡± Xu Sanshi asked Huo Yuhao, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed.

    Huo Yuhao nodded, and there was an apologetic look on his face. ¡°Third senior, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be apologetic. Although you shouldn¡¯t have lost control since you weremanding all of us, it was a special situation. That evil soul master was of the rare spiritual type. I asked Ye Guyi too. She said she wasn¡¯t confident of curbing her either. She was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, and thus it was right for you to unleash all your strength against her. It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t understand yourself well enough. You must keep this in mind. The side effects of your attacks are too strong. From the look in your eyes, I can tell that you are not fully clear-headed yet.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded. Just like Xu Sanshi had said, his mind had yet to fully recover. asionally, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure would sh across his mind.

    ¡°That evil soul master would¡¯ve been extremely deadly if she had unleashed all her strength. She had her self-created fighting skill that caused my spiritual sea to be affected. After that, I lost control of my emotions when I unleashed my fighting skill because of that too. Otherwise, the strength of my three skills shouldn¡¯t have been so great, and I would¡¯ve been able to control my body after I finished attacking. At least I¡¯ll be able to move. I¡¯ll take note in the future.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sounded very earnest as he said, ¡°Yuhao, it¡¯s best to use your three skills less often. They are indeed very strong, but their influence on you is also very great. In my opinion, they are the products of your lovesickness. You can¡¯t rely on them too much. Otherwise, your own abilities will fall significantly once Dong¡¯er awakes, along with the fact that these three skills will disappear.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shuddered in his heart. He knew that Xu Sanshi was right. If Wang Dong¡¯er was by his side right now, would he be able to use those three skills? Definitely not. They were built on his remembrance of Wang Dong¡¯er, as well as his yearning for her. Not to even mention Wang Dong¡¯er appearing beside him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use those three skills if he heard Wang Dong¡¯er had awoken.

    After nodding his head, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Third senior, how¡¯s Feng Ling?¡±

    After he mentioned Feng Ling, Xu Sanshi suddenly revealed a weird look on his face. ¡°That¡­¡± He coughed.

    Huo Yuhao was confused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed and replied, ¡°That evil soul master was simply too sick in the mind. Feng Ling ispletely crippled. He suffered from a strong curse-type soul skill, and was even castrated. He was also fed some unknown medicine, and his chest has developed like a woman¡¯s. He¡¯s neither a guy nor a girl. I suspect that he was kept to disgust people.¡±

    After hearing what Xu Sanshi said, Huo Yuhao recalled what that evil soul master mentioned earlier, especially what she said before she died.

    While Huo Yuhao was immersed in his remembrance of Wang Dong¡¯er then, he still remembered what that evil soul master said to him. His expression turned serious as he recalled what she said now.

    ¡°That evil soul master was also a poor soul. She turned evil because of hatred. She disregarded everything because of her desire for revenge.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t realize that she was making more people suffer like she did before by venting her pain on others. Let¡¯s go and take a look at Feng Ling and see if there¡¯s a way of saving him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed Xu Sanshi to a single room. He Caitou was standing at the door, and he also wore a weird expression on his face. It seemed like he was unwilling to enter the room.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you fine now?¡± After seeing Huo Yuhao, He Caitou went over to pat his shoulder.

    ¡°Second senior, I¡¯m fine. How¡¯s Feng Ling?¡±

    He Caitou replied, ¡°He¡¯s still in a daze.¡±

    Huo Yuhao entered the room. When he saw Feng Ling, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    His clothes were torn and damaged in several areas, revealing his flesh and the whip marks on his body. His hair extremely messy, and only his thick lips were striking.

    After seeing someone enter, he immediately squirmed to the side of his bed. His whole body was trembling.

    Huo Yuhao walked to his bedside and tried his best to tolerate his stench. ¡°Feng Ling, do you still remember me? We met outside Radiant City before.¡±

    ¡°You, you, you¡­¡± After seeing Huo Yuhao, Feng Ling appeared to be in a daze, and was stunned. He seemed to recall something, ¡°Did you call my name that day?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± Huo Yuhao gently released his spiritual power as he spoke. He stimted Feng Ling¡¯s brain. This stimtion was simr to his Spiritual Shock, but it was only a fraction of the strength of his Spiritual Shock. This slight stimtion helped Feng Ling out of his confused state.

    Feng Ling¡¯s eyes turned clearer. ¡°Oh, oh, who are you? Who are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m here to save people like you who have been captured. Do you know where the rest are?¡±

    After hearing his question, Feng Ling¡¯s body jerked, and there was a look of fury in his eyes along with the confusion.

    ¡°I, I¡­¡±

    ¡°No worries. Take your time to think and remember.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice became gentler, but he released stronger spiritual power.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s stimtion, Feng Ling started to experience fury, fear, confusion and torment, as well as other emotions. He opened his mouth, revealing his set of yellow teeth, and released his stinky breath. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to form ayer of icy fog to iste his breath.

    After a while, Feng Ling started bawling as he sprawled himself on his bed.

    ¡°She, she harmed me. She harmed me and turned me into a woman. She turned me into a woman! I¡¯m no longer a man. She abused me everyday. She hit me every day to vent. She even forced me to work as a madam at that dirty ce. My life was worse than death!¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up and didn¡¯t make a sound. He only watched Feng Ling vent his emotions silently. He sighed in his heart as he empathized with Feng Ling. However, he was sure of one thing ¨C Feng Ling didn¡¯t mean it when he said his life was worse than death. He definitely had the ability tomit suicide. Compared to what he had suffered, he was more unwilling to die.

    It was only when Feng Ling¡¯s crying slowed that Huo Yuhao tried tofort him. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s all in the past. Everything will be better. That person who harmed you has already been killed by me. She won¡¯t abuse you or harm you anymore. Try to clear your mind and think of where those who were captured with you are being kept.¡±

    Feng Ling rubbed the tears off his face. ¡°They are, they are all being held captive in a water prison.¡±

    ¡°A water prison?¡± Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully.

    Feng Ling nodded. At this point, he seemed much more normal. ¡°This water prison is located underneath a moat to the south of the city. It was constructed following the flow of the moat. Everyone is immersed in water, and they are all very weak now.¡±

    An enlightened look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. No wonder he couldn¡¯t detect it earlier. He hadn¡¯t expected the hostages to be held captive in such a ce!

    ¡°How many hostages are there? Are their jailers all evil soul masters?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Feng Ling asked, ¡°I don¡¯t know how many people are being held captive there. However, evil soul masters took a few of them away. I was one of them. The evil soul master who took me has already killed a few people. A few othersmitted suicide.¡± As he spoke until this point, he started to shudder uncontrobly again.

 Chapter 377.3 - Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water

    <h4 ss>Chapter 377.3: Dispelling, Clues, Prison of Water</h4>

    He Caitou and Xu Sanshi¡¯s expressions changed. The hostages were in a worse situation than they had thought, which made their rescue mission much more difficult.

    Huo Yuhao asked Feng Ling a few more questions, but it was obvious that Feng Ling¡¯s state of mind had declined once again, as his words became very unclear. The information that they obtained only consisted of what Feng Ling had revealed earlier.

    However, it was still very valuable to the Tang Sect. At least they knew where the hostages were behind held. Indeed, they were being watched by evil soul masters.

    In this way, they had a direct target for their uing mission.

    After exiting Feng Ling¡¯s room, Huo Yuhao immediately gathered his teammates for a meeting. After this, he recounted what Feng Ling had said to him earlier.

    ¡°We must start nning our rescue mission. Let me give my suggestion before all of you add on.¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with remaining hidden anymore, given the crisis they were experiencing in Sunrise City. A missing evil soul master was bound to alert the Holy Ghost Church. This was why they had to act as soon as possible. ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s estimation, the fight near the border over these few days was bing more intense. They had the biggest chance of sess if they exploited this opportunity to rescue the hostages. This was because the Holy Ghost Church was likely to send some strong soul masters to supplement their forces at the border.

    ¡°We have limited people and resources. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t do everything. From what Feng Ling has told us, the Holy Ghost Church has already started toy their hands on the hostages. A portion of the hostages were even taken to a different ce, and we all know what will happen to them. Even if there are survivors, I¡¯m afraid their lives are like a living hell. We can only give up on this portion of the hostages.¡± Huo Yuhao looked very stern as he said this, and his tone also sounded very determined.

    Nan Qiuqiu stood up and red at him furiously. Her eyes seemed to be on the verge of spewing fire.

    ¡°Sit down!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. His voice didn¡¯t sound very loud, but it had an indescribable might to it. Along with the fact that he had killed a Soul Douluo on his own, Nan Qiuqiu turned pale when he shouted at her, and she sat down uncontrobly.

    ¡°I know what you want to say. Qiuqiu, I know you don¡¯t want anything to happen to your mother, but you have to know that our overall abilities can¡¯tpare to the Holy Ghost Church. The Academy only sent us here because we aren¡¯t obvious targets. That¡¯s why we can only do what we are capable of. If we sessfully rescue most of the hostages and your mother isn¡¯t among them, I promise you that I¡¯ll stay with you until we find her.

    ¡°However, we need to save the majority first.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was stunned, and silently lowered her head. She knew that this was the best Huo Yuhao could do. With his immense spiritual power, it was also the most effective if he remained with her to search for her mother. Right now, she could only pray that her mother was with the majority of the hostages. While she was a prouddy, she wasn¡¯t unreasonable.

    Seeing that he had convinced Nan Qiuqiu, Huo Yuhao turned to the rest and continued, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll immediately survey the region Feng Ling mentioned, and I¡¯ll try to sneak in. While I get some first-hand information, all of you must be prepared to take action. Second senior, you can start our arrangements over here. Whatever you need me to set up, you can separate and pass to me. I¡¯m confident of leaving and entering the city without being detected.¡±

    He Caitou nodded.

    ¡°Third senior, you are adept at controlling water. You should follow me to the water prison and reinforce me.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Sanshi nodded as well.

    Although they were older than Huo Yuhao, they treated him as their leader right now. This was extremely wise, considering that they were in a dangerous ce right now, and it was pertinent for them to have amon voice.

    ¡°Sister Ziyan, starting from now, install the items that I passed to you earlier at the north region of the city when it¡¯s dark. These high altitude surveince soul tools are the least effective at night. However, you must still remain careful. If you are discovered, you must immediately escape. If possible, try to install as many as possible. They will provide us with opportunities during our mission.¡±

    ¡°Alright, count on me.¡± Jing Ziyan gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up to signal that she understood. She was given this role because of the abilities of her Fog. She could turn into fog and escape anytime she wanted. Compared to the rest, she could make the safest escape.

    Huo Yuhao then turned to Ji Juechen. ¡°Brother Ji, you are in charge of reinforcing Sister Ziyan. You must guarantee her safety.¡±

    He nodded coolly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze finallynded on Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi, ¡°The two of you will remain in the hotel and guard Feng Ling. Also, please protect second senior as he sets everything up.¡±

    Ye Guyi was a little displeased. ¡°Do you need both of us to remain here to guard one person? Going to the water prison will be very dangerous. I can tag along as extra reinforcement.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯tpletely trust Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu yet. They had both just joined the Tang Sect and there were still many things that they were notpletely sturdy in. In the face of a crisis, it was very difficult to tell what kinds of abilities they would unleash.

    However, Ye Guyi¡¯s Holy Angel was still very important. It was an effective weapon against evil soul masters.

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Qiuqiu will remain here, while Guyi will follow me and third senior. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Time was not on their side. For now, the Sun Moon Empire was more focused on their borders. While the water prison was under the protection of the Holy Ghost Church, the security of this prison wouldn¡¯t be as tight aspared to before. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and the rest didn¡¯t have to risk their lives to fight their enemies.

    ording to Feng Ling¡¯s description, the water prison was beneath the city¡¯s moat at the south wall. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t leave the city to survey it. Without a doubt, the strength of the surveince soul tools above this moat were bound to be the strongest. If he used his spiritual power to seal his soul power, he couldn¡¯t use his Imitation. However, he couldn¡¯t openly try to enter the prison either.

    As a result, Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi didn¡¯t leave the city. Instead, they proceeded to the south wall from inside the city.

    Sunrise City wasn¡¯t very big, but the three of them still needed to make a slight detour before they got close to the south wall.

    In the hotel, Nan Qiuqiu was bored as she guarded Feng Ling. After he ate, he fell asleep. As she sat in a chair, there was a worried look in her eyes.

    She kept on praying for her mother, and hoped that she was fine. She also knew that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bring her along because of her unstable state of mind. It was evidently an urate decision to leave her behind. However, she was extremely anxious.

    In the room, Feng Ling unwittingly let out a few groans as he flipped his body around while sleeping. Suddenly, his body jerked, and a trace of dark-red light shed above his nose.

    Nan Qiuqiu naturally didn¡¯t see this, as she was outside the room. After the dark-red light shed, he soon became normal again. His body turned rigid for a moment before he rxed and continued sleeping.

    In another room, which was also thergest room that they had booked in this hotel, He Caitou was busy setting everything up.

    Every corner of the roof was stuck with starfish-shaped soul tools. There was a red spot of light at the center of each starfish-shaped soul tool, and they were slowly shing.

    They were called surveince-interference soul tools, newly invented by Xuan Ziwen. They were targeted towards all types of surveince soul tools, and were able to shield against the effects of most surveince soul tools apart from thermal detectors. They were especially useful against soul power detectors, and the only problem was that each of them only covered a limited area. This was why many of them had to be used at the same time. Right now, any soul power undtions that came from this room couldn¡¯t be detected by the surveince soul tools outside no matter how many of them there were.

    As for thermal detectors, they were extremely rare and huge. They couldn¡¯t be used on the streets for a patrol. Even if they could be carried around on the streets, what good would they do even if they detected people in the hotel?

    The Tang Sect was extremely prepared this time before they set off. To ensure their safety, Bei Bei and Xuan Ziwen had used up every resource that the Tang Sect had. Xuan Ziwen even wanted to hand everything to them.

    He Caitou was installing an extremely huge soul tool right now. It had a hexagonal base, and the top of it was carved with manyplicated patterns. There were circr, protruding parts on the sides of the hexagonal base. Each side had four circr protruding parts. On a closer look, every circr part was actually a formation array. This meant that there were twenty-four formation arrays on this hexagonal base.

    Above the hexagonal base was an oval-shaped metal ball that resembled an egg. This metal ball was able to turn freely on the hexagonal base. The major axis of this ball was around two meters long, while its minor axis was around a meter and twenty centimeters long. There wereplicated patterns carved on the entire ball, and whole thing actually looked like a huge,pleted formation array.

    After He Caitou cautiously installed it, his forehead was already dripping with perspiration. After this, he installed a total of twenty-four ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles into the base.

    He Caitou seemed slightly intoxicated as he caressed the flowery patterns on this huge ball. He muttered to himself, ¡°Aplete ss 8 soul tool! And it¡¯s even close to a ss 9 soul tool. Furthermore, it¡¯s used for auxiliary purposes. No matter what, I must bring this treasure back. Otherwise, Teacher Xuan will kill me. When little junior is back, we can adjust its position. We are at the north of the city, which is a very suitable location for this soul tool to be used. Hehe. Let me add a few other essories, and let it ¡®bloom¡¯ when theye.¡±

 Chapter 378

    <h4 ss>Chapter 378: The Heavens Have Eyes, the Sword Fanatic Gains Enlightenment</h4>

    As he spoke, He Caitou started to get busy again. He installed soul tool after soul tool in every corner of the room.

    What he didn¡¯t know was that his reputation as the Origin of Destruction would start to be notable after this mission, and he would also be one of most well-known fighting soul engineers on the continent.

    ¡ª

    Jing Ziyan was also busy. At this point, she was in her own room, adjusting her storage-type soul tool. At times, she would retrieve items that looked like stones.

    These stones weren¡¯t very eye-catching, and they were only slightly bigger than an adult man¡¯s fist. However, Jing Ziyan was very careful, because she had once witnessed how destructive these stones were.

    Ji Juechen was sitting on a chair not far away, and silently watched her as she busied herself. He suddenly said, ¡°Can you stop smiling?¡±

    Jing Ziyan was shocked, and a ¡®stone¡¯ in her hand suddenly slipped. Jing Ziyan hurriedly reached out and grabbed it again. After that, she patted her chest and said, ¡°Hey, can you not scare me when I¡¯m dealing with these things? If they explode, we¡¯ll be critically hurt, if we don¡¯t die!¡±

    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Furthermore, I remembered Huo Yuhao said before that they have to be detonated. Even if they drop on the ground, they won¡¯t explode,¡± Ji Juechen said.

    Jing Ziyan snorted. ¡°What can¡¯t you take anymore? Even if it won¡¯t explode, we need to be careful. It¡¯s better to be safe. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve ever seen the strength of these things.¡±

    Ji Juechen said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t take your expression anymore. Do you know how sinister you looked earlier? You looked just like a little fox.¡±

    Jing Ziyan snapped, ¡°You¡¯re more like a little fox. Have you ever seen a little fox carrying a bunch of bombs? Eh, why are you so talkative today? It¡¯s not like you.¡±

    As she spoke, she picked up a few of the bombs before she turned around and looked suspiciously at Ji Juechen.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s cold expression suddenly changed, and Jing Ziyan was shocked.Is he embarrassed? Or is he being shy?

    ¡°Heavens! What¡¯s wrong with you, Juechen? Are you sick?¡± Jing Ziyan walked towards him as she spoke.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ji Juechen suddenly shouted.

    Jing Ziyan immediately stopped and gave him a doubtful look.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m not sick.¡± Ji Juechen smacked his own forehead, as if he were trying to calm himself down.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jing Ziyan stared at him doubtfully.

    Ji Juechen lowered his head and seemed to be thinking of something. Fortunately, this didn¡¯tst very long. He suddenly lifted his head again and said to Jing Ziyan, ¡°Ziyan, how long have we known each other?¡±

    ¡°Oh, several years already. We got to know each other when no one was willing to interact with you when you first entered the Academy. Back then, you were only admitted to the Academy to make up the numbers. After that, you found a suitable path, and I watched you progress to where you are now. Why?¡±

    Ji Juechen¡¯s gaze suddenly became determined. ¡°Let¡¯s get together.¡±

    Jing Ziyan was confused as she said, ¡°Haven¡¯t we always been together?¡± However, she was stunned when she looked at Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes clearly. Three of the stones in her hand fell out and crashed to the ground.

    It did prove that the stones wouldn¡¯t explode. However, Jing Ziyan¡¯s expression was extremely terrified at this moment. She was frozen in disbelief, and couldn¡¯t imagine what was happening to her right now. Her expression perfectly disyed how she was feeling.

    ¡°You, what are you¡­ speak clearly, what do you mean?¡± Jing Ziyan¡¯s voice was trembling uncontrobly, as if the most terrifying thing in this world had happened to her.

    Ji Juechen lowered his head again, and didn¡¯t dare to look her in the eyes. He muttered, ¡°I said that we should get together. You are right. We¡¯ve known each other for years, and you¡¯ve always been by my side ¨C helping me, encouraging me and taking care of me. Although I never oncemented on any of it, I know it in my heart.

    ¡°After Huo Yuhao unleashed his three skills that day, I realized that I¡¯ve been detached from this world for too long. There shouldn¡¯t just be swords in my world, because swords can¡¯t help me reach the peak that I¡¯ve always wanted to reach. I should be like a normal person. I should have rtionships. I only know onedy, and that is you. In addition, I feel like I can only think of you. Let¡¯s get together, shall we?¡±

    As he raised his head again, Jing Ziyan saw a trace of anticipation and nervousness in his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not pretty.¡± Jing Ziyan seemed to grit her teeth as she said these few words. Her eyes were already on the verge of tearing up at this moment.

    ¡°You are the onlydy in my eyes. You are just like my sword. Also, do you think I¡¯m very concerned about your beauty?¡±

    Jing Ziyan shifted her head to one side and tried to stop her tears from flowing.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gentle, either. I¡¯mpetitive, and I like to fight! I might beat you up at any time!¡±

    ¡°Those are precisely the reasons why we should get together.¡± Ji Juechen seemed to be a little tense. ¡°Are¡­are you willing?¡± He started to seem a little depressed right now.

    This was probably the most he had spoken in the past ten years, and it was also the day where his mood had experienced the greatest changes. At this moment, he suddenly realized that his sword intent had met some kind of problem. It was as if it had been punctured by some ridiculous thing.

    Jing Ziyan raised her head, and her tears flowed down her cheeks. ¡°Heaven! You¡¯ve finally opened your eyes.¡±

    When she looked at Ji Juechen again, her gaze had already turned sharp. She took one step forward and came over in front of him. After this, she sat on hisp and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They looked into each others¡¯ eyes at this close distance.

    ¡°From this moment onwards, you are my man. You can¡¯t turn back, and there¡¯s no time limit. Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for this day? From today onwards, Yuhao is my benefactor. Scoundrel!¡±

    Her tears flowed again, but she kissed his lips as if she had gone crazy, and held tightly onto his head. Her tears also flowed onto his face in an instant.

    Ji Juechen was stupefied,pletely stupefied. He only felt a force that he had never experienced or imagined beforeing from Jing Ziyan¡¯s body. This force had nothing to do with her soul power or fighting, but it struck his heart with an unprecedented momentum. His sword intent melted at this point. Jing Ziyan¡¯s slightly salty yet soft lips, and the inexperienced kiss that she nted on his lips, lit a fire in his heart.

    Gradually, Ji Juechen recovered from his shock. His hands wrapped around Jing Ziyan¡¯s waist as he hugged her tightly. He started to be the active one. While he was as inexperienced as Jing Ziyan, he was more aggressive and offensive as he sensed that force.

    His love was like his sword ¨C they both needed a sh of realization. Just like Jing Ziyan had said, he had finally gotten it right. The feelings that he had been keeping in his heart for so long had finally erupted, and they couldn¡¯t be stopped.

    In this perilous city, they had finally taken that defining step, and removed the thin barrier between them.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi arrived at the south end of the city. They were less than fifty meters from the south wall.

    It was noon, and the three of them found a small, ordinary restaurant to dine at. This restaurant also fit their status ording to their dress.

    After ordering a few small dishes, they started to eat their lunch.

    Huo Yuhao was sitting in a corner of the restaurant, Xu Sanshi sat next to him, while Ye Guyi sat opposite him. It was very difficult for anyone to notice him.

    He unleashed his Spiritual Detection, and directed it underground. It drilled through the ground like a sharp awl.

    Prating the city wall to survey the area beyond it would take a toll on his spiritual power, while going over the city wall would change the direction of his spiritual power, which would make it difficult to control. Thus, Huo Yuhao chose to go underground.

    The south wall was indeed more tightly guarded than other ces in the city. As Huo Yuhao scanned upward, he discovered that there were more thermal and soul power detectors here than at the northern city gate.

    Furthermore, there were also a few hidden offensive soul tools above this wall. The outer perimeter was tightly guarded.

    Huo Yuhao kept on moving his spiritual power diagonally downward. The foundation of the city wall only reached a depth of ten meters. After ten meters, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power managed to extend beneath it.

    As he ranged further underground, he exhausted his spiritual power greatly. It was only because of his immense spiritual cultivation that he was able to unleash such strong spiritual power and control.

    After reaching close to thirty meters underground, Huo Yuhao felt less resistance to his spiritual power as it entered water.

    City moat. This has to be the city moat.

    Huo Yuhao was delighted, and continue to move his Spiritual Detection down. At the same time, he also moved it further to either side.

    The water was a little polluted, but the senses from his spiritual power were detached from his body. They weren¡¯t like his vision.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had swept more than fifty meters of polluted water, but he didn¡¯t discover anything. There was only silt at the bottom of the moat. With his spiritual power, he could only go ten meters below theyer of silt before he started to feel dizzy.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head and shut his eyes slightly. He took a deep breath to soothe his spiritual power.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Xu Sanshi asked softly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t. There¡¯s too big of an area to survey. The length of the south wall is quite extensive. I can only search slowly. Third senior, cover me. I¡¯ll try to use my Eye of Destiny. Perhaps I¡¯ll be able to sense more that way.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gulped down a ss of clear water in front of him before he ced his elbows on the table. His palms were naturally supporting his forehead, but covered the center of it.

    His Eye of Destiny opened. When it opened, Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi had a feeling that Huo Yuhao was illusory. A strange aura came from his head, but this feeling onlysted for an instant. However, they could still clearly see that Huo Yuhao had be different¡­ even scarier.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his spiritual power again, the prative abilities of his spiritual power a few times stronger now. In a matter of seconds, he entered the moat once again.

    Under his control, his spiritual power swept its surroundings and covered a greater area.

    He couldn¡¯t do this all day. After all, it wasn¡¯t possible to construct anything under thisyer of silt. Furthermore, Feng Ling¡¯s words weren¡¯t very clear, and he wasn¡¯t able to determine the actual location of the water prison. From what Feng Ling had mentioned, he only recalled three useful phrases ¨C south wall, city moat, and water prison.

    As he scanned his surroundings, he soon reached two hundred meters in distance. As the area that he covered grew, he was able to detect more things with the help of his Eye of Destiny.

    He slowly sensed traces of a gloomy, despondent aura. This feeling came mostly from the eastern end of the south wall. He quickly shifted the direction of his Spiritual Detection. Indeed, this despondent feeling became stronger and stronger the more he moved east.

    The draw on his spiritual power kept on increasing, and Huo Yuhao called to the Skydream Iceworm, ¡°Brother Skydream, give me a hand.¡±

    Skydream¡¯szy voice sounded in his spiritual sea. ¡°Okay.¡±

    The ring on Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger that the Skydream Iceworm had changed into lost its glow. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, the Skydream Iceworm surfaced, and slowly released the strength of his pure spiritual origin into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power became much stronger.

    His spiritual power continued to move east, and he finally found something suspicious.

    It was at a position around three hundred meters to his east, and around three meters below the river bank close to this side of the south wall. There was an iron fence which was constructed out of thick, fine iron. The despondent and gloomy aura came from there, which meant it either had to be the entrance and exit of the water prison, or an opening for the flow of water into or out of the water prison.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief after making this discovery. There were finally clues.

    He quickly retracted his Spiritual Detection and shut his Eye of Destiny.

    Just this short while had caused his spiritual power to be greatly drained. If not for the fact that it was already in the concrete-immaterial realm, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s take a walk.¡± Huo Yuhao secretly signaled to Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi before they quickly settled the bill and left the restaurant. After that, they proceeded towards the south wall.

 Chapter 379.1 - Ma Xiaotao

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 379.1: Ma Xiaotao</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power could only reach thirty meters away from the city wall. There were already people shouting, cursing, and chasing people away from the top of the city wall, while patrols began to pay attention to Huo Yuhao and the others.

    The three of them hurriedly switched directions, and put on a submissive demeanor as they followed the southern city wall towards the east.

    Huo Yuhao ryed what he had just observed to Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi as they walked.

    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± Xu Sanshi asked.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°We have to go inside and take a look. We will use the same method as we did back at Radiant City. Afterwards, you guys will book a room in a nearby inn, while Guyi will go back and ry our ns to the others. Third senior brother, you will protect me. Tonight, I will release my spiritual avatar so that I can take a look inside.¡±

    Xu Sanshi frowned and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that too dangerous? There are evil soul masters inside, and every evil soul master is adept at controlling souls and spirits. Furthermore, there are so many surveince soul tools. Will those things affect you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Surveince soul tools can¡¯t deal with spiritual power, so it¡¯s safest if I send my spiritual avatar inside. I will be as careful as I can, and I will immediately pull out and run away if something is amiss.¡±

    Investigating and scouting with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar was drastically different from using Spiritual Detection. Spiritual Detection could be withdrawn in an instant, and Huo Yuhao would have nothing to fear even if he was discovered. After all, his enemies could only lock onto his location if they were very close, or if they possessed formidable spiritual power, like that evil soul master he had dispatched the other day. Huo Yuhao could just open his Eye of Destiny to shake off his enemies even if they had locked onto his location.

    However, he could reach a lot further with his spiritual avatar, and he would have a lot more flexibility. However, his spiritual avatar was formed from his spiritual power and part of his spirit, and that entity wasn¡¯t something that he could withdraw at a whim. Huo Yuhao would definitely be heavily injured if his enemies were able to restrain or destroy his spiritual avatar. This endeavor was a lot more perilous.

    Of course, his spiritual avatar would give him the best investigation and reconnaissance results. The Tang Sect didn¡¯t have a better alternative solution for now.

    Xu Sanshi deliberated for a moment before he patted Huo Yuhao on his shoulder and said, ¡°Be careful, then. Let¡¯s go and find a ce to stay. Guyi,e back after you return to inform others, and you will join me to protect Yuhao. It¡¯ll be a lot safer if we have one more person protecting him.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Guyi agreed straightforwardly and happily.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Sunrise City wasn¡¯t arge, vibrant, and bustling city, so searching for a small inn wasn¡¯t too difficult. They quickly found an inn that was more decrepit than the one that they had stayed in on city¡¯s northern side and booked three rooms.

    Huo Yuhao immediately began to meditate in the center room after everyone settled down. He tried to recover the spiritual power that he had expended before, while Xu Sanshi watched thendscape and their surroundings, and Guyi returned to the city¡¯s northern side. The three of them worked together as they made their preparations nervously.

    Time always passed rapidly during meditation, and the sky was now darkening. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have anything to eat, but he was back to his full strength and energy. He informed Xu Sanshi before he immediately released his spiritual avatar.

    Huo Yuhao released his spiritual avatar a lot more smoothly than back then. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao released a lot more spiritual power and more of his spirit, so that he could aplish as much as he could on this reconnaissance mission.

    Xu Sanshi was full of awe and admiration as he watched a faint golden projection that looked identical to Huo Yuhao appear in front of him.

    ¡°Third senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s original body was just sitting there while his spiritual avatar greeted Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi sounded a little helpless as he said, ¡°Go, quickly. I¡¯m afraid that your spirit will split.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand us spiritual-type soul masters¡¯ control over spiritual power. I¡¯ll be fine. Just wait and see what I can do. Here I go.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar drifted into the air as he spoke, and he sipped out the window quickly. The pale golden hues disappeared from the air at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao could attach even more abilities to his spiritual avatar after his spiritual power and his ability to control it were enhanced. Of course, he could only attach abilities that belonged to his Spirit Eyes.

    Huo Yuhao activated Imitation, and his spiritual avatar vanished into the night sky as he left the inn. He was in spiritual form, but his spiritual avatar was a product of his concrete-immaterial spiritual power, simr to his original body. Huo Yuhao could only fly at a certain height above the ground. Otherwise, he would be affected by the winds in the sky, and he would expend a lot more spiritual power. He could even run the risk of shaking and damaging his spirit.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar waspletely concealed at this moment. Just as Huo Yuhao had said, the surveince soul tools on top of the city wall were useless against him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar quickly scaled the city wall, and he arrived by the city¡¯s moat.

    ¡ª

    Inside the city, Huo Yuhao was still sitting inside the inn with his legs crossed. He gestured to Xu Sanshi to signal that everything was alright before he entered meditation right away and focused all his strength and energy on controlling his spiritual avatar as he disappeared into the river water.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar trembled conspicuously as he entered the turbid river water. Huo Yuhao had to consume a lot more spiritual power when his spiritual avatar was inside the water, but he had already found the right ce before this, so his expedition was still rtively smooth for now.

    Huo Yuhao went right through the iron fencing beneath the water and swam forward swiftly. His spiritual avatar activated Spiritual Detection at the same time and searched around in front of him.

    The river water behind the iron fence was still as turbid as before. Huo Yuhao controlled his spiritual avatar and swam forward for several dozen meters, and felt he had swum back into the city from under its walls. Abruptly, everything in front of him changed, and he could hear some sounds.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar emerged from the water¡¯s surface and immediately witnessed a shocking sight.

    Feng Lin was right ¨C this ce was a water prison. The entire ce was constructed from tough granite, while row after row of steel cages were neatly arranged. The water prison covered an incrediblyrge surface area.

    There were between eight to ten people imprisoned inside each cage, and each cage was filled with water that was at least one meter deep, so the turbid water soaked everyone. Almost every single prisoner trapped inside had ghastly pale faces, and their auras were extremely weak. The prisoners inside this water prison almost couldn¡¯t rest, and they could only lean to one side.

    Huo Yuhao vaguely identified these prisoners as the team members and leaders that belonged to the various academies and sects who had gone to Radiant City to participate in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.

    Huo Yuhao and the Tang Sect had even crossed paths with some of these people during the tournament. However, their auras were all very weak at this moment, and not a single soul power undtion appeared on their bodies.

    Huo Yuhao withdrew his Spiritual Detection after a brief scan of the area. He was sure that evil soul masters stood guard in this ce, and he had no idea if there were more spiritual-type evil soul masters present. Furthermore, his spiritual power was too strong, so even normal evil soul masters could easily detect him if they were a little more sensitive.

    Huo Yuhao began to inspect and survey those cages and recognized more and more familiar faces inside them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know most of their names, but he had impressions of them to varying extents. He heaved a faint sigh inside.These people are all elites and prodigies of their generation! They could represent their respective academies and sects for that tournament. Which of them isn¡¯t one of the most outstanding individuals of the younger generation?

    The Sun Moon Empire risked universal condemnation by imprisoning them. They had thoroughly andpletely antagonized the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires while using these hostages to suppress and restrain the academies and sects that belonged to the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires so that they wouldn¡¯t join a war or conflict between the empires so easily. The Sun Moon Empire was treacherous and scheming at the same time.

    There were two main rows of water prisons. There was a stone tform about one meter above the water¡¯s surface in the middle of these two rows. This stone tform stretched straight forward, and several guards in ck cloaks paced and patrolled back and forth.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to deliberately survey those patrols to feel the evil and chilly auras that emanated from these evil soul masters.

    This water prison was located within the city¡¯s walls, and this meant that Feng Lin¡¯s information wasn¡¯t entirely urate. The water prison borrowed the city¡¯s moat, but it was located within the city walls, not outside. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could tell from how the water was directed and diverted that there was undoubtedly an entrance within the city that led into this water prison.

    Huo Yuhao had an exceptionally strong sense of direction. It only took him a moment of thought to roughly determine this entrance¡¯s position. What rendered him a little speechless was that this entrance was actually located inside a bunker beside the southern city wall.

    Bunkers were specifically designed to amodate soldiers so that they could rest temporarily when they were defending the city. This bunker was located next to the city gate, and soldiers inside it could swiftly reinforce the city gate if they went down, while they could rapidly ascend to the top of the city wall if they went up. What a great arrangement, indeed; bunkers were always guarded by soldiers at any point in time. Adding on the countless surveince soul tools that were located near the city gate, and infiltrating this bunker without being discovered was almost impossible.

    Huo Yuhao was about to make his judgment when he suddenly saw several evil soul masters walk over to his position. The evil soul masters who had been patrolling before this separated respectfully to both sides of the stone tform. Every single one of these patrols bent down and looked very respectful and reverent.

    The evil soul masters who were strolling over didn¡¯t have cloaks covering their bodies, and Huo Yuhao was actually familiar with them.

    Those walking in front of everyone else were the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder. Huo Yuhao had seen them before at the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament. The Third Elder had considered taking him in as his disciple then.

    Huo Yuhao was even more familiar with those who followed behind these two elders ¨C they were the three evil brothers; Zhong Litian, Zhong Lidi, and Zhong Liren. All three of them were eight-ringed evil Soul Douluo, and they were adept at manipting all kinds of beast souls to fight for them. Huo Yuhao had rescued two infant Darkgolden Terrorw bears from their evil clutches back then, and the Tang Sect had been taking good care of them. The bears were growing very quickly, and Bei Bei had even requested specialists from Shrek Academy¡¯s Beast Dueling Division to procure a diet so that the Tang Sect could feed them better. The bears were still young, but their strength was increasing at an rming rate. Right now, they were strong enough to stand guard at the Tang Sect¡¯s main gate. The bears had been most intimate with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er before this, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have much time for them now because there were just so many things he had to do.

    Huo Yuhao had already decided that he would bring those bears with him when he ventured into the Setting Sun Forest to help his eldest senior brother search for medicinal herbs to treat Teacher Xiao Ya!

 Chapter 379.2 - Ma Xiaotao

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 379.2: Ma Xiaotao</h4>

    There were only a few immortal herbs that Huo Yuhao could retrieve from the Icefire Yin Yang Well, but there were still quite a lot of supplementary and nutritious items. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bears would have no problem eating a little more because of their physiques, and these herbs could catalyze their growth. The bears would eventually be the Tang Sect¡¯s Divine Beast Guardians.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected to meet these five evil soul masters when he had just arrived, and his real body drew a cold breath when he saw them.

    Two of them were Titled Douluo, while the other three were Soul Douluo. The five of them had the strength to fight against five Titled Douluo at the same time. Furthermore, there were at least several dozen evil soul masters stationed in this ce, and he had no clue how many other exceptionally powerful evil soul masters were here¡­ and there were two soul engineer legions outside. Sunrise City also wasn¡¯t that far away from Radiant City, so Radiant City could muster reinforcements in no time. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s arrangements were incredibly meticulous and tight!

    Battle had to have broken out at the borders, but the Sun Moon Empire could still afford such an arrangement. This level of defensive strength wasn¡¯t something that the Tang Sect could fight.

    Huo Yuhao continued to contemte as he controlled his spiritual avatar and flew over to one of the cages. He hid discreetly in one corner andpletely suppressed his spiritual undtions. He didn¡¯t dare to release even a single bit of spiritual power.

    The Third and Fourth Elders scanned the prisoners inside the water prisons as they strolled. The hostages could naturally see them too and red at them with vengeful eyes as they walked by. However, these hostages were just too weak, and they didn¡¯t even have the strength to curse and swear.

    The Third Elder said as he walked, ¡°Are we good on our restraints? Are we using enough drugs?¡±

    ¡°We are using enough. We infuse Soul Eradicating Powder into the water every day. With this powder dissolving in the water, not even Titled Douluo can think about concentrating and mustering their soul power. Furthermore, these fellows haven¡¯t eaten anything in a long time, and they must be weak and limp even with their physiques as soul masters. Several prisoners have fainted, but we gave them sufficient nutrition in time,¡± Zhong Litian answered.

    The Third Elder paused and turned back as he nced at Zhong Litian. ¡°Ah Tian, you still have to give them food. These people can¡¯t possibly cause any disturbances or trouble with our Soul Eradicating Powder, but we can¡¯t let them starve to death, because they are still very valuable to our leader in the future. I know you and your brothers have a great need for these powerful spirits but now is not the time. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Third Elder.¡± Zhong Litian nodded. One could tell from his expression that he didn¡¯t quite approve of the Third Elder¡¯s words, but he was very respectful towards the man nheless. Zhong Litian immediately continued, ¡°I will make the necessary arrangements now, and we will give them some food. Second brother, third brother ¨C let¡¯s go together.¡± He nodded in the Third Elder and Fourth Elder¡¯s direction before turning and leaving.

    A cold look shed by the Fourth Elder¡¯s eyes as he watched them leave. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°These brothers are pushing it more and more, just because they are the Leader¡¯s ves. Do they have to go personally to get some food for those prisoners? They are clearly trying to show defiance.¡±

    The Third Elder nced at the Fourth Elder, and a disdainful and indifferent look flowed from his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, fourth brother. The three of them are under the Leader¡¯s personalmand, and we are also loyal to the Leader. We have to ce our Church¡¯s interests as our top priority.¡± These were his words, but a cold look flickered in his eyes at the same time; he was very displeased with how the three brothers were handling things.

    They followed the stone tform and went up and down once through the water prison before walking out.

    Huo Yuhao had been quietly observing them this entire time. He was delighted!These two Titled Douluo have some beef with the three brothers, and furthermore, the three brothers should be the ones in control of this water prison. This is important intel. I will have a better chance of rescuing the prisoners if I make good use of this information. Also, what¡¯s that Soul Eradicating Powder? The water inside this water prison is connected to moat outside. Are they not afraid of this powder losing its effects?

    Huo Yuhao drifted discreetly towards the entrance he hade in from. He didn¡¯t waste this trip and had discovered and scouted out many things. He needed to go back so that he could digest everything further before he could determine how to rescue these prisoners.

    Huo Yuhao was about to submerge himself into the water and was going to bring back some water samples when something happened at the stone tform¡¯s other end. The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were just walking out when they uttered reverently, ¡°Greetings, Holy Lady!¡±

    Holy Lady? The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady is here?Huo Yuhao vaguely recalled that Tang Ya had been addressed in a simr fashion. His operation would be a lot harder if Teacher Xiao Ya was here. How could he save Tang Ya with his current strength?

    Huo Yuhao paused in his tracks and looked over to the stone tform¡¯s other end. The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were standing on either side of the tform, while the three evil brothers and a girl who was d in a long dark red dress began to walk towards him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes went ck when he saw this girl, and he could no longer shift his eyes away. Huo Yuhao lost control of his spiritual undtions, and they became a little disorganized.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± the Third Elder suddenly snarled. Even though controlling spirits wasn¡¯t his forte, he was the strongest amongst the evil soul masters in this ce. The Third Elder immediately detected Huo Yuhao as soon as his spiritual power showed a little disorder.

    However, this exmation jolted Huo Yuhao out of his shock and lifelessness. He didn¡¯t dare to stay even a single moment longer, and his spiritual avatar dove into the water in a sh as he started swimming outwards as fast as he could.

    The girl decked in the flowing dark red dress grunted coldly as she raised her right hand and pressed forward through the air. A thick and intense dark red light instantly drilled through where Huo Yuhao had dove into the water, and the beam¡¯s scorching heat immediately dyed the turbid moat¡¯s water a dark red color asrge amounts of steam surged into the air.

    Huo Yuhao was still escaping through the water as quickly as he could, and he immediately felt a wave of searing heat attacking him from behind in the next moment.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be afraid if his original body had been here. He would have his Ultimate Ice to protect him, and any fire-type abilities would have trouble causing him any damage at all. However, at this very moment, he only had his spiritual avatar. His avatar couldn¡¯t possibly have his Ultimate Ice-type soul power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar weakened rapidly as that searing heat assaulted him, and even his spiritual origin was shaken. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that this heatwave his enemy hadunched against him, which was full of heat and darkness, also possessed an ability to track and lock onto spiritual undtions. He had absolutely no chance of escaping before this heatwave could eradicate his spiritual avatar.

    ¡°Sister!¡± Huo Yuhao called out desperately, and his spiritual avatar unleashed Spiritual Shock at the same time.

    The heatwave that was running him down brutally suddenly paused and Huo Yuhao immediately took advantage of this instant as he picked up the pace and rushed through the iron fence outside. He emerged from the city¡¯s moat and soared into the sky as he followed his original path and escaped through the air.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside the water prison¡­

    The Holy Lady personally took action, so the Third Elder, the Fourth Elder, and the three brothers had looked on from the side. They had absolute faith in this Holy Lady¡¯s strength.

    But in the next moment, they watched as the Holy Lady frowned and said, ¡°That¡¯s strange ¨C some spiritual undtions did appear before this. Can it be that we are too sensitive? My phoenix mes didn¡¯t find anything.¡±

    The Third Elder said, ¡°Can it be that there¡¯s too much vengeance and resentment inside the water prison, and that has produced a lifeless spiritual form?¡±

    The Holy Lady turned towards the three brothers and said, ¡°Check it out carefully.¡±

    The three brothers were a lot more respectful towards her, and all three of them bowed reverently as they acknowledged, ¡°Yes, Holy Lady.¡±

    The Holy Lady turned and walked towards the exit. A vacant look that had a tinge of struggle shed deep in her eyes, but these emotional changes were instantly extinguished by the dark red mes in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao scaled the city wall and crossed to the other side after he left the water. He rushed back to the hotel as quickly as he could and reintegrated his spiritual avatar into his body.

    Jade-green light gradually rose through the air, and only then did Huo Yuhao dispel the heat filled with evil that lingered in his spirit.

    Huo Yuhao expelled a deep breath and gradually opened his eyes.

    Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi had been protecting him by his side this entire time. They instantly saw the shock deep in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes the moment he opened his eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuhao?¡± Xu Sanshi asked softly.

    Huo Yuhao leapt down from his bed and took a deep breath. ¡°Sister Xiaotao. I saw sister Xiaotao.¡±

    ¡°Sister Xiaotao? Are you referring to¡­ Ma Xiaotao?¡± An astonished expression immediately came over Xu Sanshi¡¯s face as he stared at Huo Yuhao with nk eyes and ck jaw. He was at a loss for words.

    Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously. His lips were pressed tightly together, and he couldn¡¯t maintain hisposure at this moment no matter how much self-control he had.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s her, my sister. She¡¯s really at the Holy Ghost Church, and they have actually kidnapped her. She¡¯s their Holy Lady now.¡± The scene that he had just seen was deeply imprinted in his mind. She was wearing a long dark red dress and had seemed so coolly elegant and morous. She also possessed scorching phoenix mes, so who else could that be, but Ma Xiaotao?

    Ma Xiaotao looked a lot more maturepared to five years ago. Her enchanting features had an extra tinge of cold mystery that came from darkness, while her figure had be more exaggerated and alluring. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s status had surpassed that of those two elders, who were Titled Douluo. Holy Lady, Holy Lady¡­ she was actually addressed as Holy Lady, just like Teacher Xiao Ya. What exactly had happened to her?

    The two of them had no words as they stared at one another. Ye Guyi was befuddled as she listened on from one side. ¡°Ma Xiaotao? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao exined as concisely as he could. ¡°She¡¯s our senior, and she also graduated from Shrek Academy. Her martial soul had some problems, and she was captured by evil soul masters. She seems confused and is not in her right state of mind right now, and she¡¯s be the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady.¡±

    Ye Guyi didn¡¯t have a good impression of any evil soul masters. She frowned and asked, ¡°How powerful is she?¡±

 Chapter 379.3 - Ma Xiaotao

    Chapter 379.3: Ma Xiaotao</h4>

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He already had his initial judgments from the strength that Ma Xiaotao had disyed before this. ¡°Her martial soul is an Evil Phoenix, and she¡¯s inherited that from Shrek Academy¡¯s first Seven Monsters. Her martial soul seems to havepletely mutated into a Dark Phoenix now. You can visualize that as Ultimate Fire that possesses the element of darkness. In terms of element, the two of us have to team up against her to even stand a chance at restraining her. However, she has eight soul rings. If my senses are right, my sister¡¯s soul power has increased enough for her to have eight soul rings, but she¡¯s not a Soul Douluo.¡±

    Ye Guyi drew a cold breath as she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. She hadn¡¯t wasted her time at the Tang Sect when she was there, and she now knew a lot more about soul masters.

    An eight-ringed Soul Douluo who possessed Ultimate Fire¡­ what kind of concept was that? This existence was probably more terrifying than normal soul masters who had just be Titled Douluo. Furthermore, she also wielded the element of darkness!

    Xu Sanshi forced augh and said, ¡°If that weren¡¯t the case, how could she be the Holy Lady? In the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, Xiaotao was Shrek¡¯s team leader, and her martial soul mutated because she unleashed too much power during the tournament¡¯s final round. She was eventually kidnapped by the Holy Ghost Church. We are in trouble now, because she isn¡¯t just powerful¡­ We can¡¯t kill her, so we have already lost this battle in psychological terms.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head softly and said, ¡°That may not be true. Sister Xiaotao doesn¡¯t seem to have lost her mind aspletely as teacher Xiao Ya has; her Ultimate Fire is just too brutal and violent. Even the evil soul masters might not be able to control her emotions entirely. I tested her before this, and she seemed to respond to my voice. If I can break her out of her trance, then our operation will have a much higher chance of sess.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Xu Sanshi muttered.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°I have to try no matter how dangerous it is, because she¡¯s already here. Leave right now, the two of you; her mental state is still a little confused. Don¡¯t worry, even if I can¡¯t defeat her, I know how to escape.¡±

    Yes, Ma Xiaotao was here.

    Ma Xiaotao was standing on the street outside their inn, still dressed in her long dark red dress, and just silently standing there. It was nowte at night, and there wasn¡¯t a single soul on the street. She was waiting quietly, as if she were the sovereign queen of the dark night. She had locked onto Huo Yuhao way before this with her spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao had felt a thread of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spirit locking onto his avatar when he was escaping. Thoughts spun in his mind like lightning when that happened, and he made a decision.

    The Holy Ghost Church had stationed more forces in Sunrise City than he had predicted. If he couldn¡¯t break through via Ma Xiaotao, their operation would have a less than fifty percent chance of sess. After all, they had to help several hundred people escape. He had some confidence to break the locks and restraints, but getting a sufficient distance away safely was too difficult.

    Huo Yuhao leapt through the window andnded on the street outside quietly. He stared at Ma Xiaotao opposite him, and his eyes gradually became excited and passionate. An image surfaced in his memory..

    He was back on the Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯s shores, and Ma Xiaotao had nearly murdered them because she had lost her mind. He felt like he was back inside the icyke water once more, when his soul power had interacted with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power.

    Ma Xiaotao was his hot-tempered sister, but she had always been concerned about him, and she had always cared about him. He felt so much love and kinship from Ma Xiaotao, and even a little bit of gentle charm.

    Back inside the room, Ye Guyi wanted to follow Huo Yuhao outside, but Xu Sanshi grabbed her arm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s an evil soul master who possesses Ultimate Fire! She¡¯s also a Soul Douluo, how can Yuhao¡­?¡±

    Xu Sanshi lowered his voice and said, ¡°Trust him. We can¡¯t help him here, and we will only attract more enemies. Let¡¯s go!¡± He dragged Ye Guyi forcefully as he spoke, and they rose through the air and jumped through another window on the other side before they vanished into the night sky in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Do I know you?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice sounded a little husky amidst her coldness, while her voice was a lot more pleasing to the ear than before.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as he forcefully suppressed his riling emotions at the same time.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± A thread of struggle flickered beneath Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes. Her emotions were a little off and confused since she had sensed Huo Yuhao¡¯s outcry inside the water, and scene after blurry scene shed by in her mind. She felt as if something very important was about to happen, or had already happened before.

    ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao, your younger brother!¡± Huo Yuhao removed his makeup as he spoke and revealed his true face.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao? That name sounds familiar. Who is that?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes became even more confused and perplexed.

    Huo Yuhao gradually stepped towards Ma Xiaotao. He was walking very slowly, but every step was very stable. He had been observing the dark red mes that were dancing in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes this entire time.

    ¡°Sister, I am Yuhao. Do you still remember me? We first met on the shores of the Sea God¡¯s Lake, on Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Lake. You lost control of yourself because of your evil fire back then, and you nearly killed Dong¡¯er and I.

    ¡°My martial soul possesses Ultimate Ice, and I have suppressed the evil fire inside your body multiple times. You treated me as if you were my own sister, and you loved me and took care of me. We participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament together, and we eventually clinched the championship and defended Shrek¡¯s honor. You were our team leader, and you were the one who led us to our ultimate glory.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao? Shrek?¡± Ma Xiaotao seemed to have remembered some things.

    Suddenly, she took a step out and instantly appeared before Huo Yuhao, grabbing at Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder with one hand.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dodge, and he didn¡¯t use any of his abilities. He just let her grab him however she wanted, and a wave of searing heat poured into him from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s palm. Huo Yuhao could see dark red mes rising from her right hand, and the clothes on his shoulder were immediately burnt to a crisp, then into ash.

    What was more terrifying was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin was starting to burn, and half his body subsequently became dark red.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body reacted instinctively at this moment. Green light surged from his body, and the outline of his skeleton could be seen as green light continued to flicker. Intense chills subsequently burst forth and collided with that wave of searing heat.

    Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s bodies glowed at the same time, one body flickered with green light glimmering with faint icy-blue, while the other rippled with dark red light. The air around her was starting to twist and contort from all that heat.

    Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire ¨C two great extremities, and two formidable soul power types that were pr opposites of one another, fought against each other on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Ma Xiaotao had a much stronger cultivation than Huo Yuhao, but for some reason, her Ultimate Fire couldn¡¯t continue deeper once it entered his body.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton amplified Huo Yuhao¡¯s elemental strength, and he had also assimted part of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress¡¯ origin power, which had allowed him to raise his Ultimate Ice to another level. Huo Yuhao¡¯s elemental power still surpassed Ma Xiaotao¡¯s.

    No matter what, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire wasn¡¯t pure enough, because it also possessed the element of darkness.

    But Huo Yuhao still winced in pain and agony. This contest between the two extremities was still urring in his body, and Ma Xiaotao just had to p him with her palm if she wanted to kill him.

    Huo Yuhao could break free from her clutches, but he would have to pay a heavy price, and he didn¡¯t move because he didn¡¯t want to abandon this opportunity. He was very clear that he only had a chance to move her when her emotions were still considered stable, and he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance at all when her emotions became confused and disorganized once more.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s glossy eyes were filled with passion and emotion, and he resisted the intense pain in his shoulder with great difficulty as he called out softly, ¡°Sister, sister!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s hand that was holding him suddenly stiffened when she felt his Ultimate Ice fighting back against her, and she just stared at Huo Yuhao from a close distance away. The light around them, with the two of them at its center, was twisted. The high-altitude surveince soul tools in the sky couldn¡¯t see anything at all.

    The reason for that was because this entire region was within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference and Imitation. Two powerful million-year soul skills were being used together, and unless there were thermal detectors close to where they were, nothing could possibly detect them. Furthermore, even if there were thermal detectors nearby, this contest between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire going on between them meant that it wouldn¡¯t take more than three seconds before those thermal detectors exploded.

    ¡°Sister¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was still calling out to her.

    ¡°You are¡­ Yuhao¡­¡± A tinge of consciousness finally appeared within the fires dancing in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s me, Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao called out softly.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re my enemy!¡± The dark red mes deep in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes became stronger, and she applied strength once more with the hand that was still holding onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, and he called out yet again with a hoarse voice. ¡°Sister!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s hand loosened a little more. The skin on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder had peeled off, revealing his tendons and the flesh beneath. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Gold bestowed immense life energy to him, but even his Life Gold couldn¡¯t help him repair his tissues amidst this standoff between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire. Fresh blood was vaporized continuously as Huo Yuhao¡¯s life energy seeped away.

    Tears flickered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s gleaming eyes. ¡°Sister, do you know how much I¡¯ve missed you over the years? I have no family, and I¡¯ve always treated you like my own sister. I¡¯ve suffered so much pain and agony for so, so long after you disappeared without a trace. I¡¯ve finally found you, sister. Don¡¯t ever leave me again, okay?¡±

    He took a step forward as he spoke as he reached out with his right hand for Ma Xiaotao¡¯s waist.

    Ma Xiaotao instantly raised her left hand and cut towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck.

    Right at that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s glistening eyes suddenly red as he shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°Sister!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s left hand stopped half a foot away from Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck, just like that. Ultimate Fire continued to burn as the light of Ultimate Ice rippled continuously from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He took this chance, and his right hand finally wrapped itself around Ma Xiaotao¡¯s waist as he hugged her well-developed body tightly.

 Chapter 380.1 - Wake Up, Sister!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 380.1: Wake Up, Sister!</h4>

    ¡°Mmph!¡± Ma Xiaotao grunted softly as the hand that was tightlytched onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder rxed a little more. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate collided once more, and both their bodies were jolted painfully, as if they were being electrocuted.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t raise his left arm anymore, as his shoulder was severely injured, and his tendons and blood vessels were damaged. But that wasn¡¯t important to him ¨C what was important was that he had finally taken the most crucial step.

    ¡°Sister, sister, wake up! Wake up! I am Huo Yuhao, and you are Ma Xiaotao. We are both students from Shrek Academy, and you are my sister, my sister! Sister, sister¡­¡±

    He called out to Ma Xiaotao again and again, and he applied strength continuously through his arm that was wrapped around her waist. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s patterns gradually glimmered into view on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as he began to strengthen his Ultimate Ice.

    Intense chills emerged from his body and transformed into countless thin threads that fought against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire. But amidst this contest of extremes, a grey soul ring glimmered beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet and discreetly absorbed the energies of darkness within Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer the weak and small soul master that had participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with Ma Xiaotao back then. His soul power had reached Rank 60, and he just needed another soul ring before he would be a Soul Emperor. He might possibly reach an even higher level.

    Huo Yuhao hadpletely absorbed the origin energy of Ultimate Ice that the Snow Empress had infused into his body a long time ago, and his soul power was so pure that even Xu Sanshi, who was nearing Rank 70, would gasp in amazement.

    How was Huo Yuhao able to defeat and kill that spiritual-type evil soul master, an eight-ringed Soul Douluo? Besides the power of his three ultimate skills, his personal cultivation formed an important foundation for this feat.

    The truth was that Huo Yuhao could almost obtain two soul rings instead of just one. The foundations of his soul power were nearing Rank 70, because of the gift that the Snow Empress had given him a long time ago: formidable soul power, which had brought him incredible pain and agony. This soul power had always been there, and as the hard times ended, the good times began.

    This also meant that Huo Yuhao had a chance to directly be a Soul Sage if he could find suitable soul rings, and was the same reason why he had the stamina to resist Ma Xiaotao. He was only Rank 60, but his endurance and the strength of his soul power were close to Rank 70, while his Element wasn¡¯t any weaker than hers.

    Huo Yuhao would be considered a powerful individual in the world of soul masters today¡­ or rather, a quasi-powerful individual. He already had the confidence to resist his sister face-to-face, while his strong control over his spiritual power was also part of his foundation and confidence. At this moment, he was using Ultimate Ice to support his spiritual power in an attempt to awaken Ma Xiaotao, and he was also weakening the energies of darkness inside her body.

    The most empirical difference between Ma Xiaotao and Tang Ya was that the evil soul masters had directly controlled Tang Ya¡¯s heart and mind. In addition to the drugs and whatnot that those evil soul masters had given her, Tang Ya was almostpletely lost and confused. In contrast, one of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s most substantial problems was presented by her martial soul, the Evil Phoenix. All sorts of hallucinogens or psychedelics were futile against someone who possessed Ultimate Fire like she did. Those evil soul masters were able to control her heart and mind, but they were only able to do so because they took advantage of her confusion and her emotional characteristics.

    Huo Yuhao continuously weakened the energies of darkness within her body so that her confused will and consciousness could gradually recover. Even if Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t awakenpletely, she would at least be able to retrieve part of her memory.

    What Huo Yuhao had inherited from the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux allowed him to discreetly purify the evil aura¡¯s fundamental existence within Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body. If Huo Yuhao was as powerful back then as he was today, he wouldn¡¯t have been afraid of Ma Xiaotao going mad at all.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s right hand finally rxedpletely. Her right hand was still on his shoulder, but her confused and befuddled eyes gradually became clear and transparent, while those dancing mes in her eyes were slowly receding.

    ¡°Sister, sister¡­¡± Huo Yuhao continued to call out to her, and every single call came from deep within his heart. Every single exmation was filled with his intimacy with Ma Xiaotao.

    ¡°You are¡­ Yuhao¡­¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice didn¡¯t sound so hoarse, as the Ultimate Fire on her body ebbed.

    Huo Yuhao slowly withdrew his Ultimate Ice at the same time.

    ¡°Yes, I am your Huo Yuhao! I am your little brother. Wake up, sister, wake up!¡±

    ¡°I am Ma Xiaotao! I¡¯m not the Holy Lady, I¡¯m not the Holy Lady¡­¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes were bing increasingly clear, and Huo Yuhao continued to dispel the energies of darkness within her body as her eyes became brighter and brighter. The dark red mes that were emanating from her body slowly became fiery-red.

    ¡°We have a chance!¡± Huo Yuhao was ted as he enhanced his absorption of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s darkness. He patted Ma Xiaotao softly on her back again and again as he continued to guide her with his spiritual power.

    ¡°I am Ma Xiaotao. What am I doing here?¡± Ma Xiaotao muttered as if she was in a daze.

    Huo Yuhao gently released her from his embrace. He raised his head and stared into her eyes.

    The dark red colors in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes had abated. Even though her eyes couldn¡¯t be considered impably clear and transparent, she didn¡¯t have that coldness from before.

    ¡°Yuhao! You¡¯re Yuhao. How have you be so tall?¡± Ma Xiaotao stared at him with a dazed look in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve grown up! Sister, I am Yuhao.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao suddenly saw his shoulder and asked, ¡°What happened to your shoulder? Who was the one that hurt you so much? I¡¯ll kill him.¡± Her eyes instantly became sharp as she spoke.

    ¡°Calm down, sister, calm down. I did that to myself by ident, and I¡¯m alright. You need to calm down.¡± Huo Yuhao urgently tried to exin. He couldn¡¯t let Ma Xiaotao descend into her original state of confusion because of any emotions that were rippling in her heart.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening to me, Yuhao? Why do I feel so muddleheaded? I feel like I¡¯ve been this way for a long time. I¡¯ve finally seen you after so long! How have you been?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said gently, ¡°I¡¯ve been well, sister. Life has been tough on you these days. Ever since you lost control of your martial soul during the bigpetition, we took you back to the academy for treatment, but the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen, entered the academy and destroyed your treatment room. The Holy Ghost Church, which consists entirely of evil soul masters, took that opportunity to kidnap you before they turned you into another person with their evil sorceries! Can you remember anything?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao quivered when she heard ¡°the Holy Ghost Church¡±, and seemed to regain her memory slowly. ¡°The Holy Ghost Church ¨C I am the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady. No, why have I be the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady? No! I am Ma Xiaotao, I am Ma Xiaotao!¡± Her eyes were starting to be confused and bewildered once more.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand and pressed it against her forehead as he channeled threads of cool soul power into her.

    Ma Xiaotao shivered from the cold, and her eyes became clear yet again. ¡°Where are we, Yuhao? I seem to have forgotten many things, but my brain seems to contain many things too! What do we do? What should I do?¡± She disyed some weakness as she spoke, and she took a step forward and hugged Huo Yuhao again. Her delicate body was still trembling faintly.

    Huo Yuhao gently patted her back and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, sister. What happened in the past has already happened, and as long as you recover, you¡¯ll still be Ma Xiaotao, and you¡¯ll still be my sister. Sister, you should try to clear your head, and you should try your best to think back.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao seemed to gain quite somefort in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, and her emotions finally slowly settled down.

    ¡°I think I can remember¡­ I can remember some things. Have I done many bad things, Yuhao?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s voice sounded a little grief-stricken.

    ¡°No, sister, you have never done anything bad or wrong. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady is the one who has done those things, and not you. Furthermore, I have never seen you harm anyone. You need to rx¡­ we are in grave danger at the moment, and you have to calm down as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The necromantic halo beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet had absorbed much of the darkness within Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body. Ma Xiaotao could finally control her own emotions with her willpower, and memories flooded into her brain like a tsunami.

    ¡°I¡¯ve killed people, Yuhao. I¡¯ve killed many people¡ªinnocent people! And soul masters! I have¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao swiftly interrupted her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, sister. I already said, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Lady did all that, not you. Do you understand? You didn¡¯t do all those things.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Not me? I didn¡¯t do those things?¡±

    ¡°That is correct; you weren¡¯t the one. Those people died at the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s hands.¡± Those were the words that came out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth, but he couldn¡¯t help but shut his eyes from all the pain that he felt. He could tell from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s status within the Holy Ghost Church that she was different from Tang Ya. Perhaps Tang Ya wasn¡¯t strong enough, or her abilities were insufficient, so she hadn¡¯te into contact with much of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s duties and administration. However, with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s abilities and her cultivation rank, and with her frighteningly exalted status¡­

    ¡°I understand. Thank you, brother.¡± Ma Xiaotao stood up straight and stared at Huo Yuhao. Her eyes were actually entirely clear at this moment.

    ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re using Ultimate Ice to help me suppress the riling emotions in my mind, but how are you able to suppress my evil aura from rising again? I don¡¯t know what the Holy Ghost Church has left behind in my body, but that thing has been integrated into my martial soul, the Evil Phoenix. Because of it, that thing has been affecting my emotions and my mental state.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m using some special methods to absorb the energies of darkness inside your body, but I can feel that these energies are still rising continuously. As soon as I stop absorbing them, I¡¯m afraid they wille back again. In your case, you have topletely fix your martial soul¡¯s problems so that you won¡¯t be affected anymore.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao sounded despondent and defeated. ¡°Completely fix my martial soul¡¯s problems? That¡¯s a lot easier said than done. Not even Elder Mu had a solution back then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a pain in his heart when she mentioned Elder Mu, but he didn¡¯t tell her that Elder Mu had passed away. Huo Yuhao knew that it was best that he didn¡¯t stimte her in any way.

 Chapter 380.2 - Wake Up, Sister!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 380.2: Wake Up, Sister!</h4>

    ¡°I have a solution, sister, I really do. I¡¯ve been to a ce, and I¡¯ve obtained the Poison Chapter that Tang San, who was part of Shrek Academy¡¯s first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. There is a record in there that describes how to resolve the problems with your Evil Phoenix! You have to ingest some immortal herbs, and you can dispel that evil aura within you. Furthermore, there are several immortal herbs that you can choose from. When we finish what we have to do here, I will apany you to look for them. Alright?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Are you just saying that to make me happy?¡±

    ¡°How can I crack jokes about something like this?¡± Huo Yuhao said seriously. ¡°Your ancestor, Ma Hongjun, who was the first to possess the Evil Phoenix, used the very same method to resolve his problems. Can you remember what happened before this?¡±

    Aplicated look and a dash of pain shed across Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes. She nodded slightly and said, ¡°I can remember parts of what happened. I need some more time to regain my memory.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Sister, we are in Sunrise City, and this ce is very dangerous. I¡¯m staying in this inn next to us, and I¡¯ll be here for a while. Come and find me at midnight everyday so that I can help you suppress the evil mes inside you. At least, I can help you control them so that they won¡¯t affect your emotions and your mental state. Judging by how fast those energies of darkness are recovering inside your body, they shouldn¡¯t affect you within a day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stopped here, and his face suddenly changed. ¡°Not good, someone else¡­ it seems like they¡¯re from the Holy Ghost Church. Sister, you¡¯re not fully lucid yet, can you manage?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes froze for a moment, then she immediately nodded. ¡°I can manage. As long as I remain lucid, I can use my willpower to fight against that evil within me. Leave, quickly. I can deal with this.¡±

    ¡°Take care, sister.¡± Huo Yuhao hugged her tightly before he jumped into the air and swiftly disappeared into the inn that he came from.

    Ma Xiaotao watched him leave. A forlorn look flickered across her eyes as she muttered, ¡°Yuhao, my brother¡­ do you know that some things can¡¯t be forgiven and forgotten by lying to myself? Do you know that I¡¯ve created mountains of corpses and oceans of blood while following them?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but press her lips together tightly as she spoke. Ma Xiaotao looked up into the sky and forced back her tears as she clenched her fists tightly. ¡°The Holy Ghost Church, the Holy Ghost Church!¡±

    Shadow after shadow quietly appeared not far behind her, and stepped briskly in her direction.

    There were six people altogether, but when they realized that Ma Xiaotao was the one standing in the middle of the street, not a single one dared toe near. They knelt down on one knee as they muttered in unison, ¡°Greetings, Holy Lady.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ma Xiaotao suddenly turned around, and in that moment, dark red mes were dancing in her eyes once more.

    ¡°We¡¯ve just received reports from the city defense army that there were chaotic soul power undtions around this area, so we came here to take a look. I¡¯m not sure if you¡­¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Ma Xiaotao shouted coldly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± All six evil soul masters didn¡¯t dare to probe any further, and they turned and slunk away. They had witnessed with their own eyes what their Holy Lady was capable of.

    Ma Xiaotao watched them disappear, and two rows of tears started streaming down her cheeks. Memories shocked her heart and soul like torrential tides, but she still had to take step after step into the distance. The window behind her that closed not too long ago was deeply imprinted at the bottom of her heart.

    My younger brother¡­ no matter what, I will always have you, brother.

    A dash of despondence flickered beneath Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes as she rose into the air and flew into the darkness.

    Huo Yuhaoy on his bed limply, as soon as he returned to his room. He managed to seal the blood vessels in his shoulder, but the pain that he felt was so intense that he had to grit his teeth as tightly as he could so that he wouldn¡¯t cry out in agony.

    Huo Yuhao had started this day by using his spiritual avatar to scout and investigate, and he had ended it with his attempt at awakening Ma Xiaotao. Furthermore, he had had to sustain Spiritual Interference and Imitation continuously while resisting Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire and suffering the wound on his shoulder at the same time. It had taken all of his willpower to aplish all that!

    The high-altitude surveince soul tools had finally discovered something amiss in the end, because Huo Yuhao had already reached the limit of what he could take, and his spiritual power was almost unable to sustain his soul skills.

    However, Huo Yuhao had a smile on his face at this moment.

    He had seeded, he had sessfully awakened Ma Xiaotao!I¡¯ve sessfully awakened my sister!From the bottom of his heart, helping Ma Xiaotao to clear her head brought him more happiness than if he had saved every single hostage, because she was his family. Furthermore, with Ma Xiaotao as their inside man, they would have a far, far easier time saving those hostages.

    Spiritual weakness and bodily pain were nothing much for Huo Yuhao¡¯s resilient willpower. He calmed himself down for a moment, and waited to recover a little before he immediately activated his Eye of Destiny to amplify his spiritual power. He found Xu Sanshi, and he passed a message to him that he was alright. Afterwards, he sat down with his legs crossed and began to meditate.

    He wanted to return to the northern side of the city, but his body was in such a state that he really couldn¡¯t do that. Furthermore, he had awakened Ma Xiaotao, so he naturally wasn¡¯t afraid of his enemiesing back to search for him.

    Huo Yuhao quickly disyed his formidable regenerative powers. The wound on his shoulder hadpletely scabbed over after two hours, while his spiritual power was recovering at lightning speed.

    ¡ª¡ª

    There were two other people hard at workte into the same night.

    Ji Juechen was sitting in a small bar not far from the northern city gate. He was drinking by himself, and his handsome looks had attracted more than one girl. But whenever they came over to flirt with him, he had shaken his head each time.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s face had always been ice-cold, but he wouldugh foolishly from time to time, and his facial expression would asionally be a little strange.

    Jing Ziyan was still feeling a little excited as she walked discreetly between shadows from wall to wall. She tossed rocks one after another into certain dark corners, and some even rolled near the city wall.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s movement and actions were very covert and discreet, while she applied just enough strength from her wrists. Shepleted almost one round back and forth along the northern city wall within two hours.

    She looked up at the sky after she finished all that. It was nowte into the night, but she didn¡¯t feel any fatigue or exhaustion at all. Instead, there was only satisfaction in her eyes.

    Jing Ziyan patted her hands and stepped out silently from the shadows, and quickly arrived at the bar Ji Juechen was drinking at.

    A cunning look shed across her eyes, and the smile on her face immediately transformed into fury as she barged into the bar looking angry and indignant.

    Jing Ziyan gazed around inside the bar once she stepped in, and instantly locked her eyes onto where Ji Juechen was sitting.

    ¡°Very well, you drunkard! You don¡¯te home thiste into the night, and youe out to drink alcohol. Follow me home, right now!¡± Jing Ziyan seemed just like a termagant as she dashed in Ji Juechen¡¯s direction. She pinched his ear viciously and immediately began to drag him out.

    ¡°Aiyo, can you be gentler?¡± Ji Juechen felt the pain from his ear as a thread of exasperation and helplessness flowed from his eyes, but there were also dashes of amusement and happiness.

    ¡°Gentler? What? If I find out that you¡¯vee out to drink one more time, I¡¯ll break your legs!¡± Jing Ziyan was still pinching his ear as she dragged him out of the bar just like that.

    The bar¡¯s customers all looked on with widened eyes and ck jaws, and even the bartender, who was initially dozing off, now had a pitiful look in his eyes. ¡°No wonder he didn¡¯t dare to ept those girls¡¯ flirts, he actually has such a fierce wife! That¡¯s just pitiful. So, so pitiful.¡±

    Jing Ziyan dragged Ji Juechen several dozen meters outside before the furious and ferocious look on her face gradually became one of amusement.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t struggle out of her pinch, and he forced augh as he asked, ¡°Are you enjoying yourself?¡±

    Jing Ziyan giggled and said, ¡°A little bit.¡±

    Ji Juechen said, ¡°Then you should pinch for a little while longer.¡±

    Jing Ziyan was momentarily stunned. ¡°You¡­¡±

    Ji Juechen heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I¡¯ve devoted my life to the sword before this, and I¡¯ve overlooked far too much. I¡¯ve overlooked things that I should be treasuring, especially you.

    Jing Ziyan was momentarily stunned. She subconsciously released her grip on his ear, and she nted her hands on her hips. ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯ve been very proactive, and I¡¯ve always been trying to take advantage of you?¡±

    Ji Juechen shook his head as he smiled faintly and said, ¡°I¡¯m foolish and stupid.¡±

    Jing Ziyan couldn¡¯t maintain her pose anymore, and her chin quivered gently as tears covered her eyes. ¡°Why do you have to make me cry?¡±

    Ji Juechen pulled her into his embrace and said, ¡°I will use our future days topensate you, alright?¡±

    Jing Ziyan hammered his shoulder heavily and said, ¡°Who needs yourpensation?¡±

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t answer her question. Instead, he hugged her tightly around the waist. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about words of love, Ziyan, and I can only tell you that I thought about this long and hard when I was drinking before this¡­ you are more important than my sword.¡±

    Ji Ziyan¡¯s body trembled when she heard his words. She suddenly looked up, and stared at Ji Juechen with incredulous eyes.

    If another couple had the same conversation,paring one¡¯s partner to an object would undoubtedly lead to conflict and resentment. However, these words were different when they came from Ji Juechen¡¯s mouth.

    Ji Juechen was a sword maniac, and his sword had been the only thing in his life over his entire twenty years alive. His sword was his everything!

    Jing Ziyan raised her trembling hands and sped them around his face. Her voice quivered as she said, ¡°You¡¯re the foolish one. No words of love can be more melodious than what you¡¯ve just said to me. I love you, Juechen.¡± She whimpered and sobbed, and tears were all over her lips as she pressed them against his. This time, her kiss wasn¡¯t passionate and intense anymore. Instead, her kiss was full of tenderness and warmth.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Dawn arrived, and Huo Yuhao had already awoken from his meditation when the first ray of sunlight peeked through the windowsill.

    There were two more people in his room long before he woke up: Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi. They were both sitting in their own chairs with their legs crossed, and opened their eyes when they felt Huo Yuhao awaken.

    ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve seeded? How¡¯s your wound?¡± Xu Sanshi asked Yuhao with a smile on his face. Even though they were startled when they witnessed Huo Yuhao¡¯s injury after they came backst night, the fact that he could return to this ce and indicated many things!

 Chapter 380.3 - Wake Up, Sister!

    Chapter 380.3: Wake Up, Sister!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao nodded firmly and said with a delighted look, ¡°I¡¯ve managed to awaken her. She shoulde over tonight, so we have to start our preparations immediately.¡±

    Huo Yuhao washed up briefly and had some breakfast before he took out the water sample he had retrieved the previous day.

    ¡°Third senior brother, can you help me separate the water elements inside? I studied that water prison very closely yesterday. Its position is quite low, while the moat¡¯s water outside should be running water, so it¡¯s always flowing. This means that if there isn¡¯t enough water inside the water prison, the moat will replenish it, while water won¡¯t flow backwards, and so the water won¡¯t change. There¡¯s something called Soul Eradicating Powder inside the water prison, and I¡¯ve retrieved some samples. We have to investigate and research it as quickly as possible, because providing antidotes for the hostages will be crucial to saving them. My spiritual avatar isn¡¯t afraid of the toxins in the water, and I can bring the antidote back to the hostages as long as we can find it.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. But the antidote¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded self-confidently and said, ¡°I should be able to do it.¡± He possessed his ancestor Tang San¡¯s Poison Chapter, and had studied it closely. If he could figure out that Soul Eradicating Powder¡¯sposition, he had a chance to find an antidote with his recollection of the Poison Chapter¡¯s contents and his own understanding. If he failed, he would have to ask Ma Xiaoatao for help when she arrivedter on.

    Huo Yuhao ced a ss bottle filled with toxic water on the table in front of him. Xu Sanshi pointed his right hand at the bottle, and gentle ck soul power that resembled faint mist began to orbit it.

    The bottle started to quiver gently as threads of water vapor gradually seeped out, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s ck fog currents carried all of it away. The bottle¡¯s liquid contents were conspicuously diminishing.

    Everything seemed so simple, but was separating elements like that truly easy and simple? Xu Sanshi controlled everything as if the entire process were a piece of cake, but even Huo Yuhao, who possessed the Ultimate Ice, knew that he couldn¡¯t extract pure water elements like that while maintaining the liquid¡¯s initial toxinposition.

    Xu Sanshi himself wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this before his Xuanwu Shield¡¯s true awakening. Ever since he had gained the Xuanwu Shield, his ability to control and manipte the element of water had reached an exceptional level. What he was doing at the moment was as easy as cutting a knife through butter for him.

    It didn¡¯t take long before only some grey liquid was left inside the ss bottle. There were some other impurities besides those toxins, but the toxins were a lot easier to distinguish after purifying the bottle¡¯s contents.

    Huo Yuhao immediately retrieved some utensils and medicinal liquids and started experimenting on those toxins.

    Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi apanied him and guarded him, silently awaiting his results.

    Reality proved that Tang San¡¯s Poison Chapter was very reliable. Huo Yuhao only took a little more than an hour to gain a rough idea of the Soul Eradicating Powder¡¯s origin.

    The powder contained nt toxins, and it was formed from fusing the juice of three different venomous nts. It would be easier for Huo Yuhao to find the antidote if he could reach urate conclusions and judgments, so he used his spiritual avatar once more to retrieve some more samples, before patronizing some pharmacies outside and purchasing all sorts of medicinal items to experiment.

    The sun had gone behind the Western Mountain, and evening had arrived by the time Huo Yuhao finally seeded.

    ¡°That¡¯s it! If we follow this proportion, we can neutralize the toxicity.¡± Huo Yuhao dered excitedly, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

    Spending his entire day researching and investigating poisons and toxins was a lot more exhausting than researching soul tools. After all, he was a lot less familiar with poisons than he was with soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly jotted down the prescription he had devised from his experiments and passed it to Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi as he said, ¡°This prescription needs five different kinds of medicine, and I¡¯ve written down the form¡¯s proper proportions. Third senior brother, the two of you will immediately return to the north and call everyone to set off together to purchase those medicines. Everyone will buy one kind each, and everyone will process those medicines ording to my directions. I will continue suppressing the power of darkness inside Xiaotao¡¯s body at night. The proportion of these five medicines cannot be wrong, because this antidote also has supplementary and strengthening effects, and I hope we can help the hostages recover their physical strength as quickly as possible.¡±

    They finally had a proper direction for their rescue operation, and Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi were also excited. Ye Guyi asked subconsciously, ¡°Yuhao, have you found Qiuqiu¡¯s mother?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice when I went in before. There were many evil soul masters guarding and patrolling during that time, so I wasn¡¯t able to check every cage. But I think her mother should be alright. We will know when we bring everyone out.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ye Guyi acknowledged as she turned to leave the room. Xu Sanshi stared at Huo Yuhao with a deep look in his eyes before he followed her out.

    Xu Sanshi understood Huo Yuhao a lot better than Ye Guyi did. He was acutely aware that with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, how could he not scout everything inside the water prison, which couldn¡¯t be considered spacious? They had both met Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mother, Nan Shuishui, before, so searching for her shouldn¡¯t have been difficult at all. Huo Yuhao¡¯s words meant that he didn¡¯t find a single trace of Nan Shuishui when he was inside, but he had to provide an ambiguous exnation so that Nan Qiuqiu wouldn¡¯t spoil the entire operation because of her worry and anxiety.

    However, Xu Sanshi also remembered that Huo Yuhao had promised her that if they couldn¡¯t save Nan Shuishui during their operation, he would stay behind with Nan Qiuqiu.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally clearer about these things. He heaved a sigh inside, and he prayed that nothing had happened to Nan Shuishui. It wouldn¡¯t be that difficult to find clues about whether Nan Shuishui was still alive; he just had to wait for Ma Xiaotao tonight, and see if she could give him an answer.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi nervously went ahead to make the necessary preparations, while Huo Yuhao wasted no time, and began to cultivate. They were in a ce filled with danger and peril, so maintaining himself at his peak condition was the optimal choice.

    At this moment, there were ¡°starfishes¡±, which blocked surveince soul tools, installed in every corner of the room he was staying in. He wasn¡¯t that far away from the southern city wall, but he was rtively safer.

    Huo Yuhao had his dinner, and waited for Ma Xiaotao inside his room. However, the night was gradually gettingte, and Ma Xiaotao was nowhere to be seen.

    Huo Yuhao was beginning to feel anxious. Even though Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯t appeared, enemies didn¡¯t surround him to flush him out either, which meant that Ma Xiaotao hadn¡¯tpletely lost her mind and her will. But why wasn¡¯t she here yet?

    Huo Yuhao was bing increasingly worried until his door quietly opened, and a shadow dashed inside in a sh and blew out all the lights in the room at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously drifted into the air and rapidly positioned himself in one corner on the opposite side. He activated his Eye of Destiny at almost the same time, and his Spirit Eyes burst with light in all directions.

    Sudden darkness was very disconcerting and disorienting for normal people, but Huo Yuhao had his Spirit Eyes, so it wasn¡¯t that different to him.

    Huo Yuhao immediately rxed after heposed himself for a second; wasn¡¯t that Ma Xiaotao who had just discreetly stepped into his room?

    ¡°Sister Xiaotao,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly called out to her.

    Ma Xiaotao nodded in his direction before she briskly walked towards his bed, as if she were silently sensing something.

    Huo Yuhao was a little surprised as he watched her. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire was incredibly powerful, and her spiritual power had be exceptionally strong as well. Even though he hadn¡¯t deliberately scouted outside his room, the fact that Ma Xiaotao coulde into his room without being discovered by the Spiritual Antennas that he had set up outside was quite impressive.

    Ma Xiaotao responded softly, ¡°I was held back by something.¡±

    ¡°How do you feel, sister? Have the powers of darkness inside your body given you any bacsh?¡± Huo Yuhao asked her sincerely as he hurriedly walked over to her side.

    Ma Xiaotao shook her head and said, ¡°After you helped me dispel those powers of darknessst night, they have been stubbornly regenerating, but they will need at least three days to return to their initial levels. But as long as I control my own emotions and my state of mind, I should be able to hold off for roughly seven days. That also means that as long as you treat me within seven days, I will be able to maintain my mental rity. Of course, the prerequisite is that I can¡¯t fight with my full strength. Otherwise, if I expend too much soul power, those powers of darkness will regenerate a lot faster as my soul power recovers. When that happens, I will really need you to treat me every day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°Treating you every day is not a problem, because I¡¯m not nning to separate from you, anyway. I can help you suppress all that darkness, sister. I almost have enough soul power now; once I be a Soul Sage, and I have my martial soul true body, I might not even need medicines or anything topletely dispel the evil fire in your body.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao nced at him, and dash of rosiness appeared on her cheeks for no reason. ¡°Let¡¯s just stick with medicines.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision was great, but he didn¡¯t notice the changes on Ma Xiaotao¡¯s face. He grasped her hands and began to release his aura of Ultimate Ice into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body to guide her soul power.

    Ma Xiaotao had rested for the entire day, and she seemed to havepletely restored her consciousness and state of mind. She worked together with Huo Yuhao this time, and they had a far easier time dispelling and suppressing those powers of darkness inside her body.

    Towards the end, Huo Yuhao could even be sure that as long as he stayed by her side and helped her suppress her powers of darkness every day, those problems within her body wouldn¡¯t bother her again. Of course, this would only treat her symptoms, and not the root cause of the problem.

    Ma Xiaotao allowed him to treat her in silence. She couldn¡¯t see as clearly as Huo Yuhao could in the darkness of the night, but she was a powerful Soul Douluo, so nighttime wasn¡¯t that much different from daytime for her.

    Ma Xiaotao stared at Huo Yuhao, who had be a lot taller than her¡­ he was still a little boy back then, but he had transformed into a handsome youth. Her eyes gradually became gentle and tender, but mournful looks shed deep within from time to time. It was clear that her emotions weren¡¯t calm and settled at this moment.

    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re done. Sister, I¡¯ve helped you suppress those powers of evil sessfully, and today¡¯s results are better than yesterday¡¯s. Take a look¡­ how do you feel?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao nodded and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have to feel; there¡¯s no problem at all. You must be here to save all those hostages, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not the only one here; almost the entire Tang Sect is here this time.¡±

    ¡°The Tang Sect? Oh, I remember now¡­ they must be the people who participated in the big tournament not too long ago.¡± Ma Xiaotao seemed to have recalled everything that had happened recently.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and confirmed, ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 381.1 - Starting to Move

    <h4 ss>Chapter 381.1: Starting to Move</h4>

    Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brow and said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to rescue people. Although I don¡¯t know how you breached the water prison that day, you should have seen that the hostages in the prison were all poisoned. They aren¡¯t able to gather their soul power, and there are many evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church deployed there. There are even soul engineer legions inside and outside of Sunrise City. I¡¯m afraid it will be impossible to save these few hundred people, even if the entire Academy was sent here for this rescue mission. Sunrise City is very close to Radiant City, and reinforcements from Radiant City will arrive quickly if anything happens here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Elder sister, don¡¯t be anxious. We are almost done with our set-up. When the timees, we¡¯ll have a few ways to deal with the problems outside the city. At the very least, we¡¯ll keep them upied. We¡¯ll also use diversion tactics inside the city, and draw some of the evil soul masters watching the hostages away. If my guess is right, the border of the Sun Moon Empire shouldn¡¯t be peaceful right now. Some strong individuals must have been dispatched to the border from Radiant City. However, they¡¯ll still need people to guard their capital. Even if they realize something abnormal is happening here, they won¡¯t be able to send too many reinforcements over.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao nodded and said, ¡°I believe that you can seed. However, how are you going to leave with a few hundred old and sick people? They¡¯ve all been poisoned by Soul Eradicating Powder. I don¡¯t have any antidote for that poison, either. I¡¯m afraid that only the leader of the Holy Ghost Church knows how to neutralize that poison.¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s expression turned cold when she mentioned the leader of the Holy Ghost Church. She unwittingly clenched her fists tight.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve already concocted an antidote.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ma Xiaotao was stunned as she looked at him. ¡°You¡¯ve concocted an antidote?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Did you forget that I mentioned that I obtained Ancestor Tang San¡¯s Poison Scripture? In terms of using poison, the Tang Sect has been extremely notable on the continent for tens of thousands of years. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s poison is nothing. However, it¡¯s indeed going to be a huge problem to leave with the weak hostages. That day, I heard the Third and Fourth Elders from the Holy Ghost Church instructing the Zhong brothers to feed the hostages more. However, it seemed like the Zhong Li brothers were only pretending to obey orders. Elder sister, can you ask them to give the hostages more food? In my opinion, the hostages will be able to recover at least half of their abilities if the poison of the Soul Eradicating Powder is neutralized and if they are given more food.

    ¡°Among these hostages, there are elite soul masters and engineers from the younger generation, teachers of various academies, and elders from different sects. If they are able to recover their abilities, they¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with. It won¡¯t be impossible to escape then if we coordinate with our outside forces.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao revealed a thoughtful look in her eyes. When she looked at Huo Yuhao, she seemed to see him in a different light. ¡°I haven¡¯t interacted with you in five years, but you¡¯ve really grown up. No wonder the Academy is confident enough to send you out alone to rescue the hostages. Your n seems to be fine for the moment. When you use your diversion tactics, I can help bring Third Elder and Fourth Elder away. They aren¡¯t normally in the water prison, anyway.

    ¡°The Zhong brothers are the ones who are mainly in charge of the water prison. The three of them are direct descendants of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s leader, Zhong Liwu, and they are also hisckeys. They are extremely loyal to him, and only listen to his orders. You¡¯ll need to deal with the three of them, as well as the evil soul masters who are guarding the prison. Those evil soul masters mainly have cultivations between four and six rings. They are considered ordinary disciples of the Holy Ghost Church, and there are about thirty of them. Of course, there are also some military troops guarding the prison. However, they won¡¯t be much of an obstacle.¡±

    After hearing the details that Ma Xiaotao provided, the n in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head became clearer. ¡°Sister Xiaotao, did you notice ady called Nan Shuishui? She¡¯s the leader of the Earthdragon Sect, and her martial soul is a Ruby Dragon. She¡¯s also a Soul Douluo, but her abilities are at the standard of a Titled Douluo.¡± Huo Yuhao had asked Nan Qiuqiu about Nan Shuishui¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Nan Shuishui? I¡¯ve heard of this name before. If I¡¯m remembering it right, she was taken away by Third Elder. Her martial soul has special attributes of annihtion. If we can understand them well and fuse them into soul tools, we can achieve groundbreaking results.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s her.¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted and asked, ¡°Is she still alive? Was she¡­?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know the details. However, Third Elder¡¯s interest ispletely in soul tools. He¡¯s a ss 9 soul engineer, and he¡¯s not too bothered about women. I hope that this person you¡¯re talking about is still alive. Why? Are you nning to save her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head without any hesitation and replied, ¡°Nan Shuishui is the mother of my friend. However, we can¡¯t save her first. Otherwise, we¡¯ll alert our enemies. Oh yes, we killed a spiritual-type evil soul master not long ago. Did anyone find out about it?¡±

    ¡°Spiritual-type evil soul master? Are you talking about Wu Yun? She¡¯s been killed?¡± Ma Xiaotao was more shocked when she heard that Wu Yun had been killed than when she heard Huo Yuhao had an antidote to neutralize the poison of the Soul Eradicating Powder.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I killed her. Will there be any trouble?¡±

    Ma Xiaotao shook her head and said, ¡°Wu Yun is an elder in the Holy Ghost Church. She¡¯s actually the head of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s branch in Sunrise City. After I came here, I temporarily reced her. The one who was originally in charge of watching over the hostages was the vice-leader of the church, Feng Ling. After that, Feng Ling left for some unknown reason. I think it must have something to do with the situation at the border. I don¡¯t normally interact with Wu Yun, but her martial soul was very strong. Even if I fought her, I wouldn¡¯t be entirely confident of beating her. But you managed to kill her? Unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed. He wasn¡¯t going to exin how he had killed Wu Yun, and quickly changed the topic, ¡°Elder sister, we¡¯ll set it like this, then. If possible, please try to preserve Nan Shuishui¡¯s life. I¡¯ll rescue her after I rescue most of the hostages. Shall I brief you about our arrangements in detail?

    Ma Xiaotao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not dy since this is the case. You don¡¯t have to tell me about your arrangements. When you make your move, I¡¯ll distract Third and Fourth Elder. However, I¡¯ll have to leave all of you to deal with the Zhong brothers. Don¡¯t leave any clues when you breach the water prison again. If not for the fact that I was there that day, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape easily. Take care, and remember safety is your priority.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Ma Xiaotao caressed his head and gently said, ¡°You are already taller than me. In five years, you¡¯ll be a Soul Emperor. Fantastic!¡±

    After she finished speaking, she smiled at Huo Yuhao before drifting away.

    As he watched Ma Xiaotao leave, Huo Yuhao also touched his own head. For some reason, he felt that there was something wrong with Ma Xiaotao. He had already felt there was something wrong with her when he woke up yesterday, but it became clearer and clearer to him right now.

    However, Huo Yuhao was certain about one thing; Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mind was clear. He was too sensitive to spiritual undtions. The pampering look in her eyes when she looked at him couldn¡¯t have been faked.

    The leader and vice-leader of the Holy Ghost Church are actually called Zhong Liwu and Feng Ling.This was important information to him. At the same time, Huo Yuhao could also roughly guess that Zhong Liwu had to have something to do with the woman that Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao fell in love with. That was because he recalled that the evil soul master that woman followed seemed to have the surname ¡®Zhong¡¯. He just didn¡¯t know if that woman was still alive, and what the connection between Zhong Liwu and Long Xiaoyao was.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the second morning, Xu Sanshi brought him the concocted antidotes. Huo Yuhao also started to make his move. He used his Spiritual Avatar to silently breach the water prison and mixed the antidote with the poisoned water in the water prison.

    As the dosage he needed was too high, it took him a full day to move all of the antidote into the water prison.

    The Third and Fourth Elders didn¡¯t appear in the water prison again. Even the Zhong brothers only came to patrol asionally.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s orders worked on the Zhong brothers. The hostages were finally given sufficient food. Although they weren¡¯t fed luxuriously, it was enough to fill their stomachs. Along with the antidote that Huo Yuhao mixed into the water they were immersed in, the hostages were feeling much better after a day, even though not all the poison from their bodies had been neutralized. Especially for a few of the stronger soul masters, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Avatar could tell that they had sensed the change in their soul power from their expressions.

    It was time for him tomunicate with them.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the second night, he went to visit Ma Xiaotao again. After suppressing the power of darkness in her body, he released his Spiritual Avatar into the water prison once again.

    To coordinate with him, Ma Xiaotao sent the Zhong brothers away on a pretext of important matters to attend to. This was a benefit of being the highest-rankedmander of the Holy Ghost Church in Sunrise City.

    Without the Zhong brothers, Huo Yuhao was more brazen. It was impossible for those six-ringed evil soul masters to discover his Spiritual Avatar.

    After entering the water prison, he drifted into mid-air and released his spiritual power. Very soon, his spiritual power engulfed the entire water prison.

    It was not long ago that Huo Yuhao could onlymunicate with a few people using his spiritual power. However, he could nowmunicate with everyone within a specific region.

    ¡°If you can hear my voice, please don¡¯t move. I¡¯m here to save all of you.¡± This gentle thought was transmitted to every cell. It was so light that everyone could sense it, but still felt that it was an illusion.

 Chapter 381.2 - Starting to Move

    <h4 ss>Chapter 381.2: Starting to Move</h4>

    The quality of these hostages was indeed very high. After sensing the thought that Huo Yuhao transmitted to them, many of their bodies turned a bit rigid, but they soon regained theirposure. They exchanged strange nces with one another.

    ¡°If you can hear my voice, please don¡¯t move. I¡¯m here to save all of you.¡± Huo Yuhao repeated his words once again.

    This time, hismunication was much clearer than before. Everyone could confirm that they weren¡¯t hallucinating.

    Indeed, some of the younger hostages started to get excited. They had long since had enough after being held captive for a few months inplete darkness. They had even started to believe that they would never be free again, but this sudden voice soothed the pain in their hearts.

    Of course, not everyone was excited. Those who were slightly older, and were either team leaders or teachers continued to remain alert. After all, how could they be sure that this wasn¡¯t a ploy? Evil soul masters were capable of anything.

    ¡°Calm down. I need everyone to calm down. If you want to escape, you need to keep calm. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to help you. I¡¯ll need everyone¡¯s cooperation so that we can leave this ce.¡± Huo Yuhao transmitted another thought to them. This time, his thought waspletely clear in their minds.

    The elders started to be moved. Who wouldn¡¯t wish to escape this hell they were in?

    The rest of the hostages started to calm down after their elders looked at them.

    Huo Yuhao secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that his interaction with them would be discovered by the evil soul masters. If that happened, they would be alerted, and that would make things much more difficult for themter.

    ¡°Everyone, you should have found out that the poison in your bodies is slowly being dispelled. That¡¯s because I added an antidote to the water that all of you are immersed in. I believe the poison in your bodies will bepletely removed by tomorrow. From now on, I hope all of you can do your best to recover your soul power and physical condition. We¡¯ll take action the night after tomorrow. When that timees, I¡¯ll need all of you to cooperate with me so that we can charge out of this ce in one go. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll add more tonics to this water to help all of you recover. You must stay strong. We¡¯ll only have one opportunity to leave this ce and regain our freedom.¡±

    Huo Yuhao exined his n, and provided words of encouragement to the hostages. He had been watching the hostages through his Spiritual Detection earlier. If there were any spies among them, he would have detected some kind of emotional fluctuation, but the truth was that no one was willing to be stuck in this water prison, and thus there were naturally no spies.

    ¡°Alright, continue to rest well. When you recover your soul power, you must not let the guards find out. Otherwise, everything will be futile. Elders, please take care of the younger ones and remember to help cover for them. I¡¯m going to leave. We¡¯ve already set up everything on the outside. I¡¯ll give each of you a Heartcalming Pill. I¡¯m from Shrek Academy.¡±

    The Tang Sect¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t as notable as Shrek Academy¡¯s. This was why Huo Yuhao mentioned that he was from Shrek Academy to better reassure these hostages.

    The gloomy atmosphere in the water prison started to change after Huo Yuhao told them his n. The lifeless-looking eyes started to look brighter, and the elders who had already started to sense the recovery of their soul power started to circte it. The water they were in that had brought them so much torment was now their best cover.

    Huo Yuhao retracted his Spiritual Detection, but he didn¡¯t leave. Instead, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference and engulfed the entire water prison with it.

    With his current spiritual power, the Zhong brothers and the two Titled Douluo elders would definitely discover his Spiritual Interference if they were here. However, these lower-ranked evil soul masters wouldn¡¯t be able to discover anything unless they paid close attention.

    Huo Yuhao was taking precautions. If there were spies that he had missed, or any soul master lost control of his emotions, he could still salvage the situation with his Spiritual Interference.

    However, his worries were unfounded. These soul masters and soul engineers from the various academies and sects were all strong enough. After a momentary shock, they soon regained theirposure with the help of their elders. With the polluted water in the water prison as their cover, they could still control their emotions even though they were angry.

    After observing them for an hour, Huo Yuhao calmed down and silently left the prison.

    This was the start of a huge rescue operation. The Tang Sect¡¯s operation was about to be unveiled.

    Huo Yuhao soon mixed more tonics into the polluted water. ording to the information Ma Xiaotao had provided him, the toxicity of the Soul Eradicating Powder was very strong. It was only added in every half month. The next time it was going to be added into the water was in five days, and thus there was a vacuum now. Huo Yuhao¡¯s rescue n would be carried out during this vacuum period.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was prepared to save the hostages. When the second night arrived, there was another guest in Sunrise City.

    This person waspletely masked with a ck veil and hat. Under this cover, it was impossible to tell his gender or age.

    He entered the city in a much more convenient method than ordinary people. He walked to the city gate and revealed a token. After this, he was allowed to enter the city without any checks.

    He walked in a weird manner. He seemed to be gently drifting, as if he were exerting no strength at all. He wasn¡¯t walking very quickly. However, he was very adept at avoiding detection ¨C if one tried to watch him, he would soon discover that this person would disappear from his view.

    Very soon, he came to a building with a pointed tip.

    If Huo Yuhao were here right now, he would know that this building was the building that he had tailed Feng Ling to, and where he had discovered Wu Yun.

    After he drifted into this building, he came to the ce where Wu Yun had once hanged and hit Feng Ling. A sinister aura that was filled with grievance started to spread. He sat cross-legged on the ground and started to recite something before a red glow started to subtly surface behind his back. It seemed as if a weird human projection were drifting behind him.

    ¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s done?¡± He Caitou asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and jumped down from the base of the egg-shaped soul tool. At this point, this wide room was filled with all types of soul tools. It was like an arsenal.

    He Caitou chortled and said, ¡°Alright, leave this ce to me. I¡¯ll teach them a good lessonter.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly instructed, ¡°Second senior, don¡¯t be tempted to fight. After youunch these soul tools, you must immediately meet everyone in the south.¡±

    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t worry. I know my limits.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a look at the sky outside, which was getting darker and darker. ¡°It¡¯s about time. Third senior and the rest should be in position. I need to go over to prepare too. Second senior, be careful. If necessary, you must give up everything for your own safety.¡±

    He Caitou patted his shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up.

    Huo Yuhao gave him a confident smile before saying, ¡°Once this is over, all of you proceed south, and get on the boat when you reach it. Don¡¯t wait for us. There are only a few of us, which will make it much more convenient for us to move around. We¡¯ll meet back at the Academy.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao¡­¡± He Caitou stopped Huo Yuhao and sounded a little hesitant.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Second senior, I know what you want to say. However, there are things a man should and should not do. Since you¡¯ve promised me, you should do your best. We¡¯ll all be careful.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Come back soon. We¡¯ll celebrate in the Tang Sect.¡± He Caitou wasn¡¯t a pushy guy either. After giving Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up again, he watched as Huo Yuhao left.

    After leaving the hotel, Huo Yuhao quickly proceeded towards the southern city gate. He didn¡¯t proceed to prepare immediately, but returned to their room in the hotel on the southern side.

    Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi were already gone. The two of them had left the city with Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen. Only Nan Qiuqiu and Feng Ling were left here.

    After a few days of recovery, Feng Ling seemed to be in a better state. However, he was still a little lost, possibly because of the deep trauma he had suffered. It was as if he was unwilling to wake up from his dreams.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect could understand the predicament he was in. Feng Ling hadpletely lost his ability to enjoy pleasure after suffering such critical injuries to his body. His desire to live was already verymendable.

    However, Huo Yuhao left him in the city because of his special condition, and to prevent anyplications. If he was snuck out of the city, he might expose more things. Nan Qiuqiu was in charge of watching him now.

    Huo Yuhao was well-aware that Sunrise City¡¯s martialw would bepletely meaningless once they managed to rescue the hostages. They could think of a way to leave with Feng Ling after rescuing Nan Shuishui.

    He had also briefed Nan Qiuqiu about Nan Shuishui¡¯s condition. After rescuing most of the hostages it would be the best opportunity for them to rescue Nan Shuishui. Nan Qiuqiu didn¡¯t pose any objections to this. After Huo Yuhao decided to remain with her to rescue her mother, her attitude towards him changed greatly. She acted less proud in front of him.

    ¡°Is it about time?¡± Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t help but ask Huo Yuhao when she saw him.

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s move out together. How¡¯s Feng Ling?¡±

 Chapter 381.3 - Starting to Move

    <h4 ss>Chapter 381.3: Starting to Move</h4>

    Nan Qiuqiu evidently didn¡¯t like Feng Ling, and twisted her lips as she said, ¡°He only sleeps after he eats.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let him sleep then. This region is very dark, thus this hotel is safer than the one in the north. Later, just proceed to the location that we¡¯ve decided on. Once I finish things over here, I¡¯ll go over to find you immediately. Don¡¯t act blindly. There¡¯ll be at least a ss 6 or 7 soul engineer over there, as well as several evil soul masters standing guard. If you expose yourself, you can forget about saving your mother.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu replied without any hesitation, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you. I won¡¯t barge in blindly. I¡¯ll wait for you toe. If you don¡¯te after a day, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned serious at this moment. ¡°If I still don¡¯t arrive in a day, you must think of a way to leave this ce. Don¡¯t think about rescuing anyone anymore. Otherwise, the bloodline of the Earthdragon Sect will never be passed down. Do you think that will be what your mother wants to see?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s was moved, and she suddenly hugged Huo Yuhao tightly. ¡°We¡¯ll seed, won¡¯t we?¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t bear to push her away as he felt her body tremble. He gently patted her back, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll seed. All of this will be over, and everything will be fine again.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. If you can save my mother and the disciples of the Earthdragon Sect, we¡¯ll do anything for the Tang Sect in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Silly girl. You are a part of the Tang Sect. How can you speak on behalf of the Earthdragon Sect?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu rxed her hug and took two steps back. After this, she wore a displeased expression on her face. ¡°You aren¡¯t even as old as me yet. Don¡¯t always think that you can act like an elder. You¡¯re not even twenty, but you act like you¡¯re forty.¡±

    An upset look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. Yes! His mental age was far older than most others of the same age, which was a result of the unfortunate events he had experienced when he was younger, as well as everything that had urred afterward. It was also because of this that he could y a leading role in the Tang Sect, became the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in Shrek Academy, and was the first toplete the Ultimate Soldier n.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and checked everything he had on him before he said resolutely to Nan Qiuqiu, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Nan Qiuqiu nodded.

    The two of them quickly left the hotel before they proceeded in two different directions.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s destination was very close, so he stopped after only walking for a short while. As he made a turn, he silently entered a narrow, dark alley. Even though there were high-altitude surveince soul tools above him, he couldn¡¯t possibly be detected without the use of thermal detectors.

    At the north of the city, He Caitou was standing at a window and watching the sky. It was getting closer and closer to the agreed-upon time.

    The four who had snuck out through the southern city gate were now waiting quietly twenty-five kilometers from this same city gate.

    There were simply too many surveince soul tools in Sunrise City. There were even soul tools stationed outside the city, which prevented them from getting close. They were also waiting for their opportunity toe.

    It was getting darker and darker. The darker it was, the worse the effect of the surveince soul tools. Of course, such a situation wasn¡¯t going tost for long. Once high-altitude surveince soul tools were able to bebined with thermal detectors, there would be significant improvements in the aspect of high-altitude surveince.

    Everything was in ce, and it was about time too.

    ¡°Begin!¡± An instruction suddenly sounded in He Caitou¡¯s mind.

    A passionate look suddenly shed across He Caitou¡¯s eyes. He rubbed his right hand across his bald head and turned around immediately. He faced all the soul tools that he had installed in the room.

    A huge ring on his right hand shone, and a dark-red barrel around a meter long with a ten-centimeter caliber appeared in his grasp.

    He took one step forward and was behind the ss 8 egg-shaped soul tool. He pointed the dark-red barrel upward.

    The structure of this hotel was very simple ¨C there were only several two-storey buildings. They were in a room which was on the second floor of one of the buildings.

    Red lights rose silently at this point. A huge hole was vaporized in the roof of this room when the red light from the barrel was fired at it. No dust fell from the roof.

    He Caitou became more and more excited. He swept his barrel quickly, and many sections of the roof were disintegrated in a matter of seconds. Very soon, the roof ceased to exist entirely. At this point, the ¡®starfishes¡¯ that had helped to conceal the soul power undtions from this room earlier were no longer in effect.

    He Caitou quickly retracted the barrel in his hand, and it turned into a disc-like item. At the same time, he stepped on a semi-circr piece of metal that wasn¡¯t very eye-catching below the base of the egg-shaped soul tool. One end of that soul tool immediately cracked open, and a pitch-ck barrel slowly extended out. Blinding red light started to shine within this barrel, and the twenty-four Milk Bottles inside the base started to release soul power. The soul power undtions that were generated as a result immediately triggered rms in the city.

    He Caitou wore a calm expression on his face, but there was a wild look in his eyes. He moved his right hand rapidly on the disc and kept on pressing it. A soul cannon that was pointed towards the sky started to light up. Following this, fierce gusts of wind started to rage.

    The impact caused by the tremendous soul power undtions didn¡¯t just cause the roof to be torn apart. The surrounding walls also copsed, and close to a hundred streaks of flowing light were targeted and shot towards the sky instantly.

    Apart from that egg-shaped soul tool in this room, there were also ten Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. Each cannon waspletely filled with stationary soul cannon shells. In the first wave of attack, one hundred and eighty ss 4 shells were fired.

    In mary terms, the cost of all the shells in these ten cannons was enough to cover half a year of Sunrise City¡¯s revenue.

    Sunrise City was indeed tightly guarded. When more than a hundred streaks of lights were fired, countless soul rays and soul cannon lights started shining near the closest north wall before they were fired to intercept the streaks of iing light.

    Outside the city, the northern legion of soul engineers also started to gather a lot of firepower to intercept the iing attack. They formed a huge interception in the air and tried to stop all of the iing shells.

    Things started to get messy inside Sunrise City too. No matter how fast they reacted, the troops in the city would only be able to arrive after fifteen minutes.

    He Caitou didn¡¯t seem to have seen the changes in the sky. Right now, he had already focused his energy on the egg-shaped soul tool. The scarlet-red light was gradually turning golden-red at the front of this soul tool. The terrifying soul power undtions even caused He Caitou to feel a little breathless.

    He was pressing the other side of this egg-shaped soul tool right now, specifically on a red button with a skull on it.

    Rings of demonic patterned lights quickly surged upward from the base of the soul tool. When this entire soul tool turned golden-red, He Caitou pressed this button with force.

    Suddenly, the surrounding air distorted tremendously, and the high-altitude surveince soul tools within this region lost their effect. They could only detect distorted waves.

    Following this, a ball of cone-shaped, golden-red light was fired from that barrel, and quickly rose into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the city wall and was northbound.

    There were people in charge of the high-altitude surveince soul tools over where the northern legion of soul engineers was. In the entire continent, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions had the greatest fighting experience with soul tools.

    Once they discovered that something was wrong, this area started to sound with deafening rms. Following this, halos were quickly released. In the blink of an eye, they formed threeyers of barriers that protected this area.

    Soul engineer legions were terrifying because they contained many soul engineers. When there were sufficient soul tools and soul engineers, the strength of a soul engineer legion could far surpass a single soul engineer.

    As they erected their defense, this legion of soul engineers focused their firepower towards the sky. They targeted the ball of golden-red light that He Caitou fired into the sky.

    Whether it was in terms of their reaction time or their methods, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineering legions were on point. They were dealing with an attack that came from a ss 8 soul tool.

    He Caitou revealed a cold smile on his face. He didn¡¯t even verify whether the shots he fired were sessful before he immediately retracted his egg-shaped soul tool.

    A ball-shaped soul tool drifted above his hand and the egg-shaped soul tool. Ayer of icy fog was released, and helped to dissipate the heat from his egg-shaped soul tool while he quickly took out the Milk Bottles inside the base of his egg-shaped soul tool and put them away.

    If those soul engineers knew that twenty-four ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles had beenpletely drained in an instant, they might not be very confident in how they were reacting.

    A middle-aged man in a purple warrior robe charged furiously out from his tent in the area where the northern legion of soul engineers was quartered, and he immediately raged, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Vicemander, there are sudden, intense soul power undtionsing from inside the city. We aren¡¯t sure what¡¯s going on either.¡±

    Just as they were speaking, a series of tremendous booms had already sounded in the sky. Terrifying soul power undtions caused a dazzling scene of fireworks to appear in the sky.

    More than ny-five percent of the stationary shells fired from the ten Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were sessfully intercepted, and blew apart in the sky.

 Chapter 382.1 - All Sides Exploding Out!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 382.1: All Sides Exploding Out!</h4>

    ¡°Clown, go send people over to check the situation out, now.¡± The vice-captain had a strong look of contempt as he saw the exploding lights in the sky.Does this intruder have a problem with his brain? He¡¯s ying with soul tools with our Sun Moon Empire.

    At this moment, an extremely sharp rm suddenly rang out. This caused the vice-leader¡¯s expression to immediately change. ¡°Not good, our aerial soul tools have temporarily been rendered ineffective, so we can¡¯t use them for targeting. Our enemies still have another move, so we need to activate all defenses. I¡¯ll go to the main control area of the military front.¡±

    Right. There was no one who could beat the Sun Moon Empire in terms of proficiency in soul tools, as well their use in military warfare. Even Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t an exception to this. However, Huo Yuhao was the only person who¡¯d sessfullypleted the Ultimate Soldier n, while He Caitou was an outstanding soul engineer who was bound to be a star of Shrek Academy. They were naturally not too worried about the Sun Moon Empire when it came to the overall strength of their soul tools. If they were tounch a carefully nned surprise attack that used all of the Tang Sect¡¯s resources, how could they not have a chance of seeding?

    Another hundred and eighty beams of light surged into the firework-filled sky. Every single beam was extremely urate, as if their paths had been measured with a ruler. They left brilliant trails of fire in the sky as they flew, and their zing glows instantly carved out another dazzling wave of light in the sky.

    The time taken between the first and second waves of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons was very short, astonishing all onlookers. This was one of the benefits of using stationary soul cannons¨Cthere was no need to charge up soul power for each shot. As long as there was enough ammo, much more firepower could be used at the same time.

    Although the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon had already been sold to the three empires of the original Douluo Continent, they¡¯d never truly appeared on a battlefield before. All of the defenses set up by the Sun Moon Empire had been geared towards soul master and soul tools.

    After using Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection to lock onto their targets, they used the first wave of shots to act as a guide, while using the second wave to act as the true killer. At the same time, they used a ss 8 stationary soul cannon to control the northern city front. This was a n that waspletely directed at the aerial soul tools, and could be said to be wless.

    Furthermore, all of the aerial soul detectors in the air crumbled to dust due to the zing-hot explosives amidst the firework-filled sky. The godly might of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon once again revealed itself, and a third wave was once again fired in a short period of time.

    They didn¡¯t target the northern city this time around. Instead, it was fired at the eastern and western city walls. After He Caitou fired the ss 8 stationary soul cannon, he¡¯dpleted a simple tuning of the Crossbow Cannons.

    The soul engineer legions stationed in the western and eastern parts of the city simply had no way of stopping these stationary soul cannons. This was because they¡¯d fired at a much lower trajectory than before. Combined with theck of theirck of aerial surveince soul tools, they¡¯d turned into blind men. How could they blindly fire their soul tools towards the city?

    Just as the third wave of cannons were fired, that brilliant beam of golden light collided with the northern city¡¯s protective barrier.

    ¡°Boom¡­¡± The earth shook, and mountains quaked.

    A terrifying explosion shook the heavens and the earth, and even Radiant City could faintly hear the loud explosions from this ce.

    The protective barrier over at the Soul Engineer Legion front was on the verge of copse, but they were able to take this barrage of attacks.

    Themander, who¡¯d already rushed to the core of the front, suddenly had a change in expression, and finally let out a long sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s still good. This is only the strength of a ss 7 stationary soul cannon. Otherwise, our protective barrier wouldn¡¯t be standing. Pass down mymands. Everyone, use all of your soul power and increase the reserves of soul power in our defensive soul tools. Fire all of our backup aerial surveince soul tools towards the sky.¡±

    Although the aerial surveince soul tools in the air were already arge part of their reserves, they were still reserves. However, though there weren¡¯t a lot of reserves, something was better than nothing! Since they were already used to aerial surveince soul tools guiding them in battle, they didn¡¯t dare to act rashly at all with theck of their little toys.

    The vice-captain, who was the actingmander at the military front, had an expression so ugly that he wanted to die. He fiercely said to himself, ¡°Don¡¯t these good-for-nothings in the city know how many stationary soul tools they¡¯ve set up? You¡¯d need at least three hundred ss 4 or stronger stationary soul cannons to generate this amount of force. You¡¯d need at least three thousand square meters to set something like that up. Why didn¡¯t these ipetent bastards notice that many soul tools in the city? They¡¯re truly thorough bastards. Hmm? Why do I feel the earth shaking a bit? Quick, where are ournd surveince soul tools? Go check on them. Don¡¯t tell me that a Dragon has woken up?¡±

    Just as the vice-captain was muttering to himself, his expression suddenly changed enormously. The ground beneath him had already transformed into a patch of gold, and the area that this patch covered had already far exceeded the area that their Soul Engineer Legion front had stationed themselves in.

    ss 7? No, that¡¯s a ss 8. Also, it¡¯s a ss 8 like the one the Illustrious Virtue Hall meticulously crafted, one that¡¯s specifically geared towards taking down defensive fronts like this one.

    As the violent explosions rang out, nobody was able to see an even more piercing golden light vigorously tunnel itself into the ground. After that, it quietly travelled several hundred meters beneath the ground to arrive at the core of their military front. Then¡­

    ¡°Boom, boooom, booooooom¡­.¡±

    A terrifying golden light instantly transformed the entirety of the northern city into a golden sea. An enormous ball of golden light that resembled the early stages of sunrise revealed itself from the ground. Not even ten people were able to activate their personal soul barriers and Invincible Barriers in time to block and escape from this terrifyingly huge explosion that was like punishment from the heavens.

    At this exact same time, the walls of the western and eastern cities each received a baptism from ny stationary soul cannons. These were stationary soul cannons! Just howrge were these cities? They were only mock-ups of ordinary cities.

    Arge number of soul detectors and defensive soul tools stationed on the two city walls blossomed with resplendent light.

    Due to the limited area of the city walls, the soul tools stationed there were mostly soul detectors aimed outside and inside the city. Who would¡¯ve thought that they¡¯d actually be attacked, given that there were two Soul Engineer Legions stationed outside the city walls? Furthermore, this had been done from the inside. Because of that, the defensive power of the city walls weren¡¯t strong enough. This was also the correct decision made by Huo Yuhao after carrying out a thorough investigation.

    Because of that, the various expensive soul detectors on the city walls shattered after their defensive soul tools couldn¡¯t withstand the continuous bombardment of Huo Yuhao¡¯s stationary soul cannons. In the next instant, over a third of the city walls copsed.

    He Caitou was not happy at all. He put the perfect ss 8 stationary soul cannon he¡¯d just fired away, then quickly put the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons away as well. However, from the racket he could hear outside, he knew that he didn¡¯t have much time left.

    Why was he not happy? Moreover, why did he look like he was attending a funeral? This was because he couldn¡¯t bear to do it! He felt pained!

    Those were three hundred and sixty stationary soul cannon shells! An overwhelming majority of them had been taken from Radiant City, and these three hundred and sixty stationary soul cannons shells were around a third of the total ss 4 stationary soul cannons they¡¯d taken back. The total value of these soul tools couldn¡¯t even be measured with money.

    However, Bei Bei had let them bring all of this to ensure they would be be able to safely overwhelm their opponents during the course of this mission. Within a short minute, they had squandered all of this.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon was truly powerful. It was absolutely much more powerful than any other soul tool of its ss.

    However, the firing of this terrifying array of cannon shells was backed by countless amounts of gold. It would¡¯ve been slightly better if they¡¯d used soul power instead. For example, in a situation like this, where they¡¯d used stationary soul cannons. It was true that stationary soul cannons were powerful, and their effects were superb. However, they¡¯d also caused so much heartache that it would render one unable to breathe!

    ¡°Damn it. These brats areing really quickly. I have to go. Babies, I can¡¯t bear to part with you guys!¡± He Caitou, who¡¯d only managed to keep two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, took out a miniature floating soul detector from midair. He looked at the bright red light on it, then looked at the other eight Crossbow Cannons with a look of unwillingness. Then, he clenched his teeth and jumped off the roof.

    The instant he jumped out, a pitch-ck soul cannon appeared on his shoulder. Without any booms or whatnot, a dark figure shot towards the direction of the northern city and vanished into the night. Without any aerial surveince soul tools around, nobody had noticed his movement.

    Just as He Caitou quietly snuck away, everyone within Sunrise City started to move about as though they¡¯d been awakened.

    The cold-faced Ma Xiaotao had already flown towards the northern city along with the Third and Fourth Elders. The instant they rose into the air, what they saw was an astonishing, enormouslyrge explosion of gold.

    The defense of the water prison was paramount. Thus, even Ma Xiaotao couldn¡¯t drag Zhong Li and his brothers away at this point in time. She could only warn them to carefully guard the water prison before leaving.

    While Sunrise City was in a state of chaos, nobody noticed that a person had borrowed the cover of darkness to quietly lie down beside the southern moat. This person quietly dipped into the moat.

    Huo Yuhao had borrowed the opportunity granted to him by the destruction of the aerial surveince soul tools to slip away stealthily from the city walls. This time around, he used the same old trick¡ªhe¡¯d used his spiritual power to seal his soul power, then used his Ultimate Ice to lower his body temperature.

 Chapter 382.2 - All Sides Exploding Out!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 382.2: All Sides Exploding Out!</h4>

    By using his Ultimate Ice to lower his body temperature, all the remaining soul tools would be rendered ineffective for a short period of time. Naturally, Huo Yuhao would be at his weakest during this period of time as well.

    He reliedpletely on the physical strength of a Soul Emperor to cross the city walls. Combined with his Spiritual Interference, he was able to leave the city without alerting anyone. He was now lying by the moat to slowly recover his soul power.

    By the time the terrifying explosion caused by the ss 8 stationary soul cannon urred, he¡¯d nearly removed the seal ced on his soul power. Only then did he quietly submerge himself into the water and dig his way into the water prison.

    This time around, what he used was his physical body and not his spiritual avatar. Once he entered the water prison, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to leave.

    Huo Yuhao performed a cursory observation of the water prison with his spiritual power. Very quickly, he discovered the lively soul power contained within the various soul masters and soul engineers it held. Even if they weren¡¯t fully recovered, they had enough strength to fight one battle, at least.

    Huo Yuhao held on to the metal railings of the water prison with a single hand and used the other to push against the water in the moat. A jade-green light rose from his body, and the little Snow Lady quietly appeared by his side.

    The current Snow Lady was already a big kid who looked around eight or nine. A noble and cold look had already reced her originally cute face, making her seem much like the original Snow Lady.

    An extremely chilly intent instantly spread outwards, freezing the moat outside at a speed that the naked eye could see.

    The little Snow Lady nodded softly towards Huo Yuhao, then gently twisted about in the water to reach the depths of the moat. Unexpectedly, one could see snowkes fluttering around her, even underwater.

    The moat, which was originally flowing vigorously, had been blocked by a wall of ice after a short period of time. The area of this wall of ice then covered both sides of the moat at an astonishing speed.

    With the Snow Lady here, Huo Yuhao simply didn¡¯t need to do anything. With a wave of his right hand, the Darkgolden Terrorws shot out and noiselessly tore the metal railings apart.

    His use of Ultimate Ice was perfect. Just like how the water in the water prison wouldn¡¯t flow outwards, the extreme cold within it wouldn¡¯t diffuse out either. Otherwise, arge problem could ur if they were to freeze everyone within the water prison.

    After quietly submerging and swimming around in the water, Huo Yuhao began to spread his spiritual power out to cover the entirety of the water prison.

    At this moment, the evil soul masters within the water prison were somewhat nervous. The Zhong brothers were huddled together on another side of the water prison, which was also its true entrance.

    Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined that somebody would enter the water prison via the moat under the surveince of so many soul detectors on the southern city walls. From what they were aware of, the moat water still contained the extremely toxic Soul Exterminating Powder. If a soul master was to swim within the water, their soul power would quickly be dispersed. What threat would they be able to pose then?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power deliberately avoided the area where the Zhong brothers were and even the hostages who were by their side. For the sake of preventing any idents, it was sufficient to inform arge number of people, but not all, of what was going to happen.

    ¡°Everyone, make your preparations.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts were quickly transmitted into the minds of the hostages by way of his Spiritual Detection.

    The hostages, who¡¯d been acting as though they were weak all this while, immediately felt their spirits rise.

    In reality, they were already doing their best to hold themselves back after recovering their soul power. Although there were quite a few evil soul masters here, they were insignificantpared to the number of hostages held here. They were still somewhat fearful of the two evil Titled Douluo from before, but the number of evil soul masters left here was clearly much less than before!

    Were it not for the elders restraining them, some of the younger hostages would¡¯ve been unable to stop themselves from trying to escape. After being held captive here for a few months, the gloominess pent up in their hearts could be imagined.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t tell them what the signal to move was, because there was simply no need for that.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    The southern city walls.

    All of the patrolling soldiers were staring at the northern city. The brilliant golden light that had risen into the air had finally started to disperse, though there were still sparks faintly flying about along the walls of the eastern and western city. The sounds of the violent explosions from those areas made the atmosphere in the Southern City extraordinarily tense.

    Many of the soldiers stationed there felt inwardly happy. Fortunately, nothing had happened to them.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Get to your ces, what are you doing?!¡± A strict voice suddenly rang out. As he started shouting, the various soldiers rushed back to their positions.

    ¡°Commander, take a look at this. This, what is this?¡± A soldier in charge of a soul detector cried out in surprise.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The originally angrymander quickly ran over.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    ¡°Commander, there are undtions of soul power. However, we can¡¯t see anyone at all!¡± The soldier pointed at the simple soul screen in front of him.

    Large, greenish ripples were floating about on the screen in front of him. This signified that there was an extremely strong and wide undtion of soul power in the city below him.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Themander was at a loss as well. He immediately took a look at the other soul detectors around him and discovered that they were all inactive. Nor did he discover any life signs of any living creatures. Only the soul detector in front of him had produced this result.

    ¡°Commander, you¡¯d bettere over here!¡± Another soldier at a different area cried out.

    ¡°What now?¡± Themander quickly rushed over.

    The soldier pointed at the screen in front of him, dumbstruck, ¡°My thermal soul tool seems to have malfunctioned! It¡¯s showing that the temperature underground is dropping madly! How, how can this be?!¡±

    ¡°The temperature of the ground beneath us is dropping?¡± Themander quickly stretched his head to look down the wall, and the soldier next to him turned on a soulmp to light up the area.

    The city walls around Sunrise City weren¡¯t too tall. When the light from the soulmp illuminated the moat, themander finally discovered what the problem was.

    He suddenly let out an ear-piercing screech, ¡°Enemy attack!¡±

    Why would the moat suddenly freeze for no reason? He himself was a soul master, and he could guess the reason for this. Only a soul master could cause an astonishing phenomenon like this!

    Unfortunately, he¡¯d made his discovery toote.

    The water prison. When the little Snow Lady quietly returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, his eyes lit up.

    It was time!

    His body shook slightly, and the soul thrusters on his back caused Huo Yuhao to shoot out from the water with a whoosh.

    The moment he appeared, he immediately attracted the attention of every single hostage and evil soul master. Even the Zhong brothers, who were discussing the situation outside, were not an exception to this.

    Five soul rings rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet one after another. For the sake of attracting even more of his opponent¡¯s attention, he made all five of these soul rings glow with a blood-red light.

    His third soul ring lit up, and a whiteyer of light instantly spread out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Mass Enfeeblement!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hold anything back at a time like this. The instant he released his Mass Enfeeblement, Huo Yuhao clenched his fist in midair.

    The violent sound of an explosion instantly rang out.

    The reason why Ice Explosion was known as a godly skill was because of its terrifying effect whenever there was sufficient ice.

    Although Ice Explosion couldn¡¯t be used within the moat due to ack of soul power that could be used to trigger it, it had transformed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s best source of gunpowder after it was frozen.

    Therge moat had been frozen solid, causing the violent explosion from Huo Yuhao¡¯s skill to spread all the way to the outside.

    This was also the exact instant that themander yelled out.

    After receiving so many new hostages, the overall defenses of Sunrise City had increased by a few levels. However, the only thing that didn¡¯t change was the thickness of its city walls.

    After all, this was just a small city. They¡¯d only set this whole shebang up to draw in people from the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires, who would attempt to rescue the hostages. There was no way that they¡¯d specifically reinforce the city walls for this.

    Because of that, the foundations of the southern walls were thoroughly shaken by the explosion of the moat.

    It seemed as though the entire earth was trembling within the water prison. The violent rumbling, as well as Huo Yuhao rushing out of the water was already the best signal he could give the hostages.

    Rays of light began to glow within the prison. The hostages who¡¯d gone through countless hardships during their imprisonment finally went all-out.

    The prison could keep them in while their soul power was limited, but how could it withstand the might of several experts who¡¯d recovered their soul power?

    The entire prison was destroyed in an instant. The instant the prisoners rushed out, theyunched a wave of long-range soul skills towards the evil soul masters guarding the prison. Everything was shaking at this moment, and the wall had already begun to copse. The other entrance of the water prison, which was where Huo Yuhao had entered, had already been blown apart.

    Everything had perfectly gone ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    Although the Zhong brothers reacted instantly, they were facing several hundred soul masters.

    This group of soul masters didn¡¯t just consist of the students who were representing their various academies and sects. There were also a few teachers, leaders and experts as well! There was nock of seven-ringed and eight-ringed existences within this group!

    During their imprisonment, they¡¯d suffered at the hands of these evil soul masters. They¡¯d lived in suffering and neared the border between life and death every day. When this pent-up anger instantly exploded, even evil soul masters would be afraid of them going all-out with no regard for their lives!

    A few of the several dozen evil soul masters were instantly destroyed by the first wave of attacks.

    Although the Zhong brothers didn¡¯t really understand why the hostages had regained theirbat strength, they could only run away at top speed. Otherwise, they would definitely be torn to shreds by these people!

    ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, several kilometers away from the south side of the city¡­

    Xu Sanshi stood on a small hill, looking toward Sunrise City.

    The sounds of explosions from Sunrise City signified that the n had fully started. They were now waiting, waiting for the signal for the next part of the n.

 Chapter 382.3 - All Sides Exploding Out!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 382.3: All Sides Exploding Out!</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s time to move. The troops stationed in the East and West have already moved towards the North. Caitou should¡¯ve seeded.¡± Jing Ziyan fiddled with a little device in her hand.

    Xu Sanshi nodded.

    Ji Juechen stood beside Jing Ziyan. He now had his usual stern face on, as he tightly gripped the Judgement Sword in his right hand.

    Jing Ziyan turned to Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°The troops outside the South City haven¡¯t made a move yet. It seems like they¡¯ve received an order to remain there no matter what. Are we going to start the n or not?¡±

    Xu Sanshi shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for a bit longer. Once Yuhao makes his move, the Soul Engineer Legion outside the city will definitely not be able to stay silent anymore. They should send a few soldiers away to the front. That¡¯s when we¡¯ll make our move.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Jing Ziyan nodded.

    Xu Sanshi closed his eyes, as though he had entered a meditative state standing up. Streams of dull, ck air started to move about near him, and the other three moved away from him. Standing near him made them feel as if they¡¯d sunken into quicksand.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make them wait for long. After a few minutes, therge explosioning from the southern moat urred. The terrifying explosive power it released made the city walls tremble, and even caused cracks to appear in many ces.

    Sure enough, the army stationed outside the city made a move the instant something came up. Via her soul detector, Jing Ziyan was able to tell that the troops stationed there were a mess. It seemed like they were gathering together.

    ¡°Prepare to move out. Go to your designated positions!¡± Xu Sanshi let out a low shout.

    Ye Guyi, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan quickly ran towards a circle drawn not far away from Xu Sanshi.

    Two yellow, two purple, and two ck soul rings rose from Xu Sanshi¡¯s feet. An enormous ck Tortoise image also appeared behind him.

    A pitch-ck Xuanwu Shield appeared noiselessly in his palm. As Xu Sanshi turned towards the sky, Jing Ziyan took out another soul tool and pressed a button on it.

    When all of the aerial surveince soul tools above Sunrise City were destroyed by the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, Jing Ziyan quietly fired two soul tools into the sky. One was an aerial surveince soul tool simr to that used by the Sun Moon Empire, specifically used to monitor the situation of the Soul Engineer Legion outside the city.

    The sudden appearance of an enemy, moreover in three different areas, was especially devastating. The southern city¡¯s most important duty was to protect the water prison, but they were instantly turned into blind men following the destruction of all of their aerial surveince soul tools. Although they were prepared tounch recements, they still needed a bit more time. Naturally, they couldn¡¯t be faster than someone like Jing Ziyan, who was already prepared.

    Other than the aerial surveince soul tool, the other thing Jing Ziyan had fired was much stranger. Even she didn¡¯t know what it was.

    That thing was veryrge, around five meters long and shaped like a huge umbre. This was thergest soul tool they¡¯d brought along with them.

    The instant Xu Sanshi announced the start of the mission, Jing Ziyan pressed the button that activated this umbre-shaped soul tool.

    Immediately, a point in the sky lit up, and the huge umbre opened up!

    The enormous umbre had a diameter of nearly ten meters and released a bright silver light. A weak beam of light and had no offensive capabilities instantlynded outside the city by the barracks, about ten kilometers away from Xu Sanshi.

    The appearance of this beam of light was precisely when the barracks was in a state of chaos, the instant they¡¯d sent out reinforcements to Sunrise City! Due to theck of aerial surveince soul tools, only a few people noticed the glow of this beam of light that apanied the opening of the huge umbre and felt that something wasn¡¯t right.

    At this exact moment, a brilliant light shot out from Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes. With his Xuanwu Shield held high, his fourth soul ring lit up.

    The umbre-shaped soul tool shot out another beam of light. This time around, it shone on the circle Ye Guyi and the others were standing in.

    Xu Sanshi leapt forward, jumping into this ray of light. Right after that, the dark light on his Xuanwu Shield lit up brightly. With a sh, he vanished into thin air. However, a bbergasted soul engineer from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Soul Engineer Legion appeared in his ce and directly fell to the ground.

    Ji Juechen made an overly simple movement with his Judgement Sword, causing the struggling soul engineer to vanish.

    Right after that, another light shed. Ji Juechen vanished into thin air, but Xu Sanshi returned.

    The enormous umbre-shaped soul tool in the sky was something Xuan Ziwen had created especially for Xu Sanshi, called a soul mirror. This was a soul tool that could utilize the mirror within the huge umbre to magnify an image of ces far away for Xu Sanshi to look at.

    If Xu Sanshi still had his Mysterious Underworld Shield, this soul tool would¡¯ve been of no use to him at all. However, certain impossible things had be possible following his martial soul¡¯s evolution into the Xuanwu Shield. For example, he could now use his Mysterious Underworld Discement on anything within his line of sight! It would now be more appropriate to call it the Xuanwu Discement!

    Xu Sanshi had used this soul tool to transport himself over to the Soul Engineer Legion, then sent Ji Juechen over afterwards.

    At this moment, there were still not many people within the southern Soul Engineer Legion who had discovered what had just urred.

    Ji Juechen appeared out of thin air, then gentlynded. Immediately afterwards, he charged out from the circle of light that the soul mirror had created.

    The surrounding soul engineers felt something was off. Immediately, someone came up to question him.

    Ji Juechen possessed a certain level of strength. He shot forward like a bolt of lightning and grabbed at a soul engineer who was questioning him. He threw him into the circle of light with a flip of his hand.

    And so, Xu Sanshi returned. After three consecutive discements, Xu Sanshi, Jing Ziyan, and Ye Guyi used the same method to forcefully charge into the southern Soul Engineer Legion several dozen kilometers away from them!

    Even a Titled Douluo who was skilled in spatial abilities wouldn¡¯t be able to use an Instant Teleportation that could cross a distance that far! However, Xu Sanshi had done it, albeit with the aid of a soul tool.

    Naturally, he was drained of arge amount of soul power following this discement. He held a Milk Bottle in each of his hands and began recovering his soul power immediately after he re-appeared.

    Only at this moment did the men in the barracks realize that something was wrong. However, the soul mirror in the sky had already been put away by Jing Ziyan.

    This little thing was still useful to them. There was even a possibility that they would need this to save Huo Yuhao and the restter.

    Arge number of soul engineers started to surround them, blocking them off.

    The first person to make a move, however, was still the Sword Fanatic.

    Even if he had love in his heart, his fighting style would never change! With his Judgement Sword pointed towards the sky, he took a step forward with his left foot. Then, he made a half-turn and swept his longsword horizontally.

    An intense, chilly light spread out in a fan-shaped sweep. The soul engineers who were activating their soul tools in order to attack felt a chill pervade their bodies, then lost consciousness in the next moment.

    Ye Guyi was standing behind Ji Juechen and thus was able to see him most clearly. Ji Juechen¡¯s horizontal sweep contained a biting cold sword light that reached out a full hundred meters, and no living beings remained wherever his sword passed. At least thirty ss 3 and 4 soul engineers were cut down with a single stroke of his sword.

    This fellow is really scary!Ye Guyi felt a chill go up her spine. She clearly remembered how she and Nan Qiuqiu had constantly challenged him to fight. She could now tell from the imposing auraing off Ji Juechen¡¯s sword that he had been going easy on them all this while.

    Ji Juchen didn¡¯t stop moving. With his sword in his hand, he shot through areas with the most number of people like a bolt of lightning. The Judgement Sword in his hand seemed to look disdainfully upon its enemies, and corpses littered the ground wherever it swept past.

    It would be very hard to determine who was the strongest person in the Tang Sect. However, if one were to talk about the most destructive, and the person whose ability to kill was greatest, the answers to these questions would be He Caitou and Ji Juechen.

    If one were to take out the use of soul tools, then only Ji Juechen would remain.

    Many soul engineers already had their soul tools pointed at Ji Juechen. However, the troops stationed here were not the best troops that the Sun Moon Empire had. Their greatest strengthy in defending the military front, as well as the soul tool formations they¡¯d set up in advance.

    Just as a soul engineer¡¯s worst nightmare was fighting against a soul master in closebat, the way this army fought was also susceptible to closebat.

    The area inside the front itself was the weakest point of the Soul Engineer Legion!

    Ji Juechen was already a Soul Sage, but his destructive power wasn¡¯t something that ordinary Soul Sages couldpare to. Those ss 3 and 4 soul tools werepletely destroyed by his chilly sword intent before they even reached him.

    The only person who made him pause slightly was a ss 6 soul engineer. However, the sad thing was that this soul engineer was skilled at closebat.

    Thus, Ji Juechen gripped his sword with both hands. After standing still for a brief moment, the area between him and the ss 6 soul engineer turned into a patch of grey.

    This was the Sword Fanatic¡¯s Domain, the Solitary Domain!

    Afterwards¡­ there was no afterwards! The Sword Fanatic would never show mercy to an opponent. This was especially true after he¡¯d gotten a new lover. His lover was standing on this battlefield, and one less opponent meant one greater chance that his lover would remain safe. This had also caused the fighting intent in this cold man to reach an unprecedented level.

    Naturally, in Ji Juechen¡¯s own opinion, he stubbornly believed that the reason his will to fight had grown stronger was because he had found the right path. Yes, this was the power of love!

    While Ji Juechen was killing his way through the battlefield, the others didn¡¯t justze around. As if she had sprinkled beans on the ground to create soldiers, Jing Ziyan released an all-terrain self-driving soul fort and hid herself within it.

    As a member of the Tang Sect, although she didn¡¯t know how to create soul tools, she was rtively proficient at using them. One couldn¡¯t forget that she had originallye from the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy. After seriously practicing their use a few times, she was naturally skilled at using this all-terrain self-driving soul fort!

 Chapter 383.1 - Breaking Out From the Siege

    <h4 ss>Chapter 383.1: Breaking Out From the Siege</h4>

    The all-terrain self-driving fort she drove had been enhanced. The moment it entered its control mode, over a hundred cannons started to fire furiously. It was as if it did not require any soul power at all as it shot the soul cannons ced by the soul engineer legions to smithereens.

    It actually did not require any soul power. Specifically, it did not require any of Jing Ziyan¡¯s soul power!

    This all-terrain self-driving fort was equipped with more than thirty ss 5 Milk Bottles. It could fight for hours without recharging, and Jing Ziyan now used it to its maximum potential.

    Instantly, the soul engineers whose positions were under fire were sent running in all directions.

    All of the soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire had a subordinate army. After all, soul engineers were more important and costlier. Someone had to do the dirty and tiring work, such as raising the outer defenses.

    That was work for the subordinate army.

    To the south of the city, there were more soul engineers in position, numbering around three hundred. There was a ss 8 soul engineer, two ss 7 soul engineers, and five ss 6 soul engineers. Coupled with the many other soul engineers who had taken up position there, their defenses were very tight.

    However, at this moment, the ss 8 soul engineer had brought the two ss 7 soul engineers to reinforce the south of the city. There were no strong soul engineers left over there.

    The subordinate army, realizing that something was wrong, charged over. However, the many less powerful soul engineers fell into despair under the heavy bombardment from the all-terrain self-driving fort and the sharp sword qi of the Sword Fanatic.

    The inky-ck light only started to dissipate at this very moment. Xu Sanshi did not even need to maximize the power of his Xuanwu Domain. All he had to do was to ensure that its area of effect was maximized.

    Everything within a two hundred and fifty meter radius appeared to have turned into a swamp. Everyone, both soul engineers and the subordinate army, who rushed into this area immediately felt as if they had dived into a deep pool of mud. There was no way they could even see the location of the Sword Fanatic and the all-terrain self-driving fort.

    This was the strength of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy! While soul engineers continually threatened the position of soul masters, truly powerful soul masters were highly intimidating.

    Even Xu Tianran, who had a high opinion of himself, had no choice but to coborate with the Holy Ghost Church because of his fear of powerful soul masters! Shrek Academy was one such power he feared greatly!

    Xu Sanshi and the other three could not sustain this onught for long. Once the soul engineer legions reacted properly, they would gather even more soul tools to take care of them. They would be in trouble then. However, byunching this sudden attack, what they wanted to do now was not to destroy the positions of the soul engineers, but to create as much chaos as possible. This would create enough opportunities for Huo Yuhao and the others to break out with the hostages.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Inside the water prison, the many hostages rushed out like a group of starving tigers had just been released. They had suffered greatly over the past few months, and they hated the evil soul masters with all their guts. The moment they could, they covered the entire area with long-range attacksunched at full power, killing more than half of the weaker evil soul masters.

    The Zhong brothers realized that the situation was turning bad for them, and they made their way to the exit while defending themselves. Their attackers were a few hundred soul masters! Even the weakest ones had at least four rings! Even if there were no powerful Titled Douluo, there were still many powerful Soul Sages and Soul Douluo, most of whom were teachers or powerful members of the various sects. Their numbers rivaled that of a soul engineer legion. In terms of individual fighting abilities, they surpassed the soul engineer legions! How could the brothers possibly beat them?

    Huo Yuhao did not try to stop the Zhong brothers from leaving. The three of them were extremely powerful, and they specialized in controlling the souls of soul beasts to fight. They were all eight-ringed evil soul masters, and the moment they got over their shock, they would wreak horrific destruction. Ma Xiaotao could not dy the two evil Titled Douluo for long, either. After such a hugemotion, they would surely return shortly. Hence, the most important thing for them to do was rush out. They had to break through the seal of the soul engineers outside and reach somewhere spacious. Even a Titled Douluo would not dare to fight against more than a hundred soul masters at once!

    Hence, the most important thing right now was to break out as far as they could. Huo Yuhao knew what to do afterward.

    He activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing fully, and in the minds of every emotionally-charged person, the same voice resonated, ¡°Calm yourselves. Follow me and break out.¡±

    As he said that, Huo Yuhao turned around and looked toward the south of the city, which had beenpletely ttened. His body started to shine with an eye-catching jade-green light.

    In the next instant, a thick jade-green pir of light pierced through the sky and bombarded the area over there. An intense explosion sounded, and kes of ice flew in all directions. A huge hole had appeared in the wall. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul thruster shone with light once more as he quickly arrived in front of the hole. As the hostages watched, dark-golden ws almost ten meters long appeared suddenly and silently. The broken hole became five timesrger.

    Someone, either a powerful member of a random sect or a teacher, gasped and said, ¡°The Darkgolden Terrorw?¡±

    ¡°Go, now!¡± Huo Yuhao cried out. This time, his voice was filled with spiritual undtions.

    While many of these hostages¡¯ soul power had recovered, and they had also been soaked in a reinvigorating medicine, they had also been imprisoned in the water prison for a few months. Their strength was far from optimal. Hence, they could not wait until their bodies showed signs of fatigue. There could be no dy in their breakout.

    As for the Zhong brothers, Huo Yuhao believed that they would not dare re-enter for the moment. There were a few hundred soul masters here! No matter who was guarding them, surely their first response right now was to get help.

    Huo Yuhao, who was at the front, rushed out first.

    The moat outside was now riddled with explosions. Right now, the water from the moat was flowing outwards.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul thruster fired down to ensure that he could remain suspended in mid-air. As his hands touched the water, one could clearly see that they were enveloped in diamond-like ice crystals. This was his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer.

    A cold gas started to spread and turned into two rays of emerald-green light. First, they struck the surging water, which slowed, and then stopped. Then, under the terrifying chill of his Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao froze the moat solid.

    As he pulled his hands apart, he cast his gaze afar.

    The soul engineers had been thrown intoplete disarray. At this moment, a team of around fifty soul engineers was rushing toward them. When they saw Huo Yuhao, a ball of blinding red light flew toward him like a shooting star in the night sky.

    A smile crept across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He had expected this. The fifty soul engineers stationed outside the southern gate were caught between a rock and a hard ce. They had realized that something was amiss at their nk, but they had no choice but to push forward.

    As he watched the high-explosive bomb hurtling toward him, Huo Yuhao did not try to dodge.

    Ayer of golden light shone from his body and his eyes turnedpletely golden. In his eyes, he was analyzing the path of this high-explosive bomb. With his terrifying spiritual power, his ability to analyze any single object was intimidating.

    He raised his right hand, and diamond-like ice crystals shone brightly on his hand. Then, he reached out to grab the iing high-explosive bomb.

    Poof!A curious scene appeared. The moment Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand grabbed the high-explosive bomb, the explosion the soul engineers were expecting did not materialize. Instead, the red light surrounding the high-explosive bomb faded. Its impact, however, made Huo Yuhao waver slightly in mid-air. Following that, the high-explosive bomb waspletely destroyed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    A high-explosive bomb¡¯s power came from an intensepression of fire-type soul power. With the formation array of a ss 6 soul tool, its soul power was further destabilized before it was fired. Once it hit its target or met any resistance, it would disrupt and cause a massive explosion.

    What Huo Yuhao did was use his spiritual power to find the location of its unstable core and then, with his Ultimate Ice, freeze it!

    While it sounded simple, it was extremely difficult to locate the highly-unstable core of a powerful high-explosive bomb in such a short time! However, he did it almost perfectly.

    ¡°It¡¯s my turn!¡± Huo Yuhao muttered to himself. Then, the air around him started to twist and turn as he activated his Spiritual Interference.

    In the eyes of the fifty soul engineers facing him, the person who was floating in mid-air disappeared. The originally-destroyed city walls regained their original state, as did the moat. It was as if nothing had happened, and everything had been a dream.

    ¡°This¡­¡± For the fifty soul engineers, who were all armed to the teeth and wielding their favorite soul tools, this scene left them speechless. They had no qualms about attacking their enemies, but right now, the city walls and the moat in front of them werepletely intact. Where were their targets? How could they fire with no target?

    ¡°No, this is an illusion. I order-¡± The soul engineer legionmander was a ss 8 soul engineer. He had seen many things in his life, and after a momentary pause, he realized that something was amiss. However, he did not manage to issue his order.

    An odd golden whirlpool suddenly appeared above his head. He felt everything in front of him go blurry, and forcibly swallowed his words. His thoughts were scattered.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul skill, Spiritual Confusion!

    While Huo Yuhao was at Rank 60, he only had five soul rings. However, with the terrifying strength of his spiritual power, while hecked the fighting abilities of a six-ringed soul master, he had no need to conserve soul power like other soul masters as he used the many soul skills of his Spirit Eyes.

 Chapter 383.2 - Breaking Out From the Siege

    <h4 ss>Chapter 383.2: Breaking Out From the Siege</h4>

    He used his spiritual power to rece the functions of his soul power. From when he had first entered the water prison until now, he had used his soul skills one after the other without stopping, yet remained in his prime state.

    One versus fifty? Huo Yuhao was not that dumb or that powerful. His opponents included ss 7 and ss 8 soul engineers. Right now, his role was not one of an assault-type soul master, but instead one of a control-type soul master. His objective was to control the entire battlefield.

    After a momentary pause, dozens of figures rushed out of the illusion from the river, which still appeared intact.

    The greatest advantage of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was fully exemplified at this very moment. After he broke out from the water prison, he used his Spiritual Detection to urately determine the distance of the fifty soul engineers from the southern part of the city. They were less than a hundred meters away from the river. This distance, to soul engineers, was not safe at all.

    After the dozens of soul masters rushed over from the frozen riverbed of the river, they would be less than a hundred meters away from the confused soul engineers.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, the hostages were split into three forces. Among them, those with six rings and above were split into two groups. One group would rush forward first as the vanguard. The other group would remain at the back to keep the rear safe. The other soul masters, who had fewer than six soul rings, would remain in the center.

    This meant that the first wave of those who rushed out all had at least six rings. They were all at least Soul Emperors!

    The moment they rushed out of the river, they maximized their speed as they rushed toward the soul engineers like frenzied tigers.

    The soul engineers finally reacted. Rays of light shot out from their soul tools.

    If the two sides were in formation, and if there was enough distance between them, the hostages would not have an advantage no matter how powerful they were. This was because the soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire had trained together for a very long time. Various soul tools could work in tandem with one another, helping each other out, and hence, they would be able to project much more power than what their numbers might suggest.

    However, the fifty soul engineers were currently faced with an impossible scenario. They had lost their center ofmand, and they could not put enough distance between themselves and their enemies. When they finally reacted, they were naturally unable to unleash their most powerful attacks. The soul masters they faced right now were the best from some of the most powerful sects and schools in the world. They were the elites among the elites!

    Furthermore, these elites had amander. Theirmander¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the entire battlefield, and was able to urately convey distance, speed, angle, strength, and other types of information on every soul ray and soul cannon shell to them. Theirmander was none other than the control-type Soul King, the Eyes of Asura, Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was able to gain the respect of the number one Academy in the world, Shrek Academy, enter the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before the age of twenty, and be one of its members. This was due to his strength and unlimited potential.

    With each life-and-death experience, adventure, and obstacle, he was able to grow at a speed that even Elder Mu did not anticipate.

    After he recovered his ability to move again andpleted his closed-door training, Huo Yuhao was like a caterpir that had finally be a butterfly. He had reached apletely new level. Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, he was ranked first in terms of strength. His overall strength surpassed that of a Soul Sage.

    Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing. In the eyes of the soul engineers and soul masters who were fighting, these were godly skills.

    Four eight-ringed Soul Douluo, twelve seven-ringed Soul Sages, and around twenty Soul Emperors charged out in advance of the hostages.

    They were the elites of the elites. Under the instructions of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, coupled with the furious fighting spirit that rose non-stop in their hearts, how could they show any mercy to their foes?

    When themander of the soul engineer legion, the ss 8 soul engineer, finally snapped out of the confusion Huo Yuhao had induced in him with his Spiritual Confusion, he saw dozens of furious soul masters who were only a hair¡¯s breadth away.

    The soul masters were able to rush up to the soul engineers without incurring any casualties. One could imagine what happened next.

    Huo Yuhao did not participate personally in the fight. He flew above the heads of the soul engineers and unleashed his Spiritual Interference to its fullest extent, enveloping the battlefieldpletely. Near the core where most of the fighting took ce, nothing other than sound could spread to the outside world.

    Since Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference reached its domain stage, this was the first time he had used it over such a huge area.

    As the fifty soul engineers were destroyed, all of the hostages rushed out of the water prison. At this moment, in the sky above Sunrise City, one could see colorful fireworks exploding.

    This was probably a distress signal the three Zhong brothers had released.

    Huo Yuhao did not even look at it. Right now, he was in a race against time.

    The three Zhong brothers were not scary. Even the two evil Titled Douluo were not scary. What was scary was the huge amount of troops that coulde from Radiant City. Once they arrived, they would be in serious trouble.

    After all, the five most powerful soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire were all equipped with flying-type soul tools. If they used their flying-type soul tools, they would be able to reach Sunrise City from Radiant City pretty quickly.

    Charge!Without giving the hostages any time to rest, Huo Yuhao immediately gave the order to charge. Xu Sanshi and the rest still held on, but how much longer could they hold on? They could only escape if they broke through the positions the soul engineers had taken up to the south of the city!

    The taste of freedom was a huge motivation for these hostages. Every single one of them was in an almost frenzied state as they charged south.

    At this moment, a thunderous explosion sounded. This made Huo Yuhao, who was in mid-air, turn his head. His face turned dark.

    How can this be possible? How can it be so fast?

    Where did the thunderous explosione from? It came from the northern city walls of Sunrise City, which was the only part that had not yet been hit. However, Huo Yuhao had instructed Jing Ziyan to nt arge number of soul bombs there.

    The one who could detonate these bombs was He Caitou.

    Before He Caitou left, he had nted an aerial surveince tool there to monitor the situation.

    This was because any soldiers from Radiant City who were rushing over to assist theirpatriots had to reach the northern walls first. By cing the bombs, they hoped to injure and kill many of them before they could arrive, as well as attract their attention. The timing of the explosion waspletely controlled by He Caitou.

    But the bombs actually went off so quickly. What did this mean? This meant that the soldiers from Radiant City were here already!

    Only a few minutes had passed since the start of the mission.

    ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s calctions, the soldiers from Radiant City, upon realizing that something was amiss, would need at least an hour to organize themselves, set off, and arrive. This would be more than enough time for him and the hostages to evacuate.

    However, the arrival of the soldiers from Radiant City was much faster than he had expected. Thispletely turned the situation around.

    He quickly informed the hostages to charge toward the positions of the soul engineers with all their might. After they defeated their opponents, they had to regroup with the four of them, who would then give them instructions to escape safely.

    After he conveyed this message, Huo Yuhao turned around and flew back toward Sunrise City. Not only did he have to pick up He Caitou, but he also had to find Nan Qiuqiu. If he could not save Nan Shuishui soon, it would be immensely difficultter, as Sunrise City would have turned into a tiger¡¯s den.

    Of course, for most people, Sunrise City had already turned into a tiger¡¯s den.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer able to control whether the hostages could escape. However, ording to his calctions, the series of explosions at the northern city walls would create a huge problem for the soldiers who were rushing to render assistance. Even if they flew, they would surely descend to ascertain the situation upon seeing the explosion. After all, they could not possibly know what was happening in Sunrise City.

    The soul engineer legion stationed to the south of Sunrise City had only two hundred and fifty men after fifty of them left the main group. After being harassed by Xu Sanshi and the others, they were unable to hold their ground in face of the attacks by powerful soul masters. Hence, the hostages still had a good chance of escaping. Huo Yuhao¡¯s important task right now was to get everyone from the Tang Sect out and save Nan Shuishui.

    Despite having been trained under the Ultimate Soldier n, Huo Yuhao knew that emotions yed a huge part in his decision-making. The ideal n now would be to abandon He Caitou and Nan Qiuqiu and help the hostages escape. He should not be turning back.

    However, could he really do that? Of course not! He was not a machine whose only purpose was toplete missions or kill people, but a human with flesh and blood. How could he abandon He Caitou and escape all by himself? As for Nan Qiuqiu, while his ties with her were not as deep as his with He Caitou, she was still out to save her mother! For Huo Yuhao, nothing touched him more than maternal love.

    This was why he had told Nan Qiuqiu that if Nan Shuishui was not in the water prison, he would stay behind to help her save her mother. He knew the pain of losing one¡¯s mother very clearly.

    This time, Huo Yuhao did not fly back to Sunrise City via the city walls. Instead, he released his Butterfly Wings and ascended vertically. Covered by his Imitation, he flew straight into the sky.

    The advantage of doing this was so that he could observe the soldiers who wereing to assist those in Sunrise City. At the same time, he could bypass the Zhong brothers!

 Chapter 383.3 - Breaking Out From the Siege

    <h4 ss>Chapter 383.3: Breaking Out From the Siege</h4>

    Without the threat from aerial soul tools, Huo Yuhao felt much more at ease with his flying-type soul tool and Imitation.

    This feeling apanied his ascent five hundred meters into the sky, and then it vanished quickly.

    To the north, he could clearly see that there were rows of dark-blue figuresnding near the city. These dark-blue figures only numbered in the hundreds, but the formless awe and pressure they exuded almost suffocated him.

    When he saw these dark-blue figures, Huo Yuhao¡¯s face changed instantly. While he had never personally seen the most powerful soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire, he was able to ascertain the extent of the threat with his spiritual awareness. The pressure he felt from those hundreds of figures surpassed what he had felt from the soul engineer legions stationed outside the city.

    The Nation Protecting Hand. Only the five most powerful soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire could exert such pressure.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legions were tasked with protecting Radiant City. Unless the emperor left the city, they would not leave the capital so easily. And yet, these figures, each giving off a dark blue light, were from one of the Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions. No matter which one it was, its presence here would be catastrophic!

    The two five hundred-man-strong soul engineer legions stationed around Sunrise City wereprised of soul engineers who had two or three rings. Their entry requirement was two rings, and while their overall strength was formidable, they depended primarily on coordinating the use of their soul tools, fighting as a group, and positioning their soul tools strategically to fight.

    For the Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions, they were allprised of soul engineers who were equivalent to Soul Ancestors. Each of them could use flying-type soul tools, and could attack from bothnd and air. Theirmander was a ss 9 soul engineer. All three hundred of the soul engineers in such a legion were extremely formidable! The explosive power and fighting abilities of a Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion was greater than a heavily-armored cavalry legion of more than ten thousand men.

    Their direct fighting abilities were terrifying. Coupled with their flying abilities, how far could the hostages run should they start their pursuit?

    Why were they so fast? How can this be possible?

    Just as he wasing to terms with his shock, Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed a signal from He Caitou. He Caitou no longer had ess to his Spiritual Detection, but he remained in contact with him via a method used by soul engineers. With a simple soul power frequency emitter which he had pre-installed, Huo Yuhao was able to locate him urately when he used it.

    He descended sneakily, and was able to find He Caitou not far from the city gates.

    He Caitou¡¯s face was grim as he said, ¡°Yuhao, how is it? Did we manage to get them out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, we did. They¡¯re all rushing out ording to our original n. However, they¡¯ll still need time.¡±

    He Caitou said solemnly, ¡°Radiant City has already sent back-up. My aerial surveince soul tools were instantly destroyed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I saw that. I wonder how long the explosion at the northern city walls can hold them off. Second senior brother, go. Rendezvous with everyone else. I¡¯m off to look for Qiuqiu. You have to escape as fast as you can. Don¡¯t worry about us.¡±

    He Caitou was momentarily stunned as he said, ¡°Yuhao¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and did not let him continue. He smiled brightly and said, ¡°Second senior brother, believe in me.¡±

    He Caitou inhaled. He knew that at this moment, time was of the utmost importance. He nodded vigorously and said, ¡°Be careful. If you face overwhelming obstacles, don¡¯t force it. I¡¯ll make a move first.¡± With that, the light behind his back lit up, and a dark light shed. After the light from the flying-type soul tool waspletely shielded, he shot into the sky and disappeared.

    This operation was built on destroying all aerial surveince soul tools. If not, how could they fly so smoothly in the air?

    Unlike what he told He Caitou, Huo Yuhao did not go and find Nan Qiuqiu immediately. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny opened once again. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection to its maximum extent, which covered the skies above Sunrise City. His spiritual intent also expanded massively.

    As he did all this, he quickened his pace toward the ce where he expected Nan Qiuqiu to be.

    Before long, he stopped and looked up in a certain direction. A purple-gold light started to shine from his Eye of Destiny. Not far from where he was, a low rumble sounded in the sky. A figure descended unsteadily from the heavens and fell down to the city.

    As a qualifiedmander, the first thing one would do upon arriving at such a chaotic scene would be to obtain information. Even though themotion in the northern part of the city was greater, there was no way no one would be deployed to investigate the other parts of the city. What Huo Yuhao had to do now was stop these people and buy time for hisrades.

    While he was clear that he could not hold them back for long, any amount of time was good enough.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Bastards! Is this how you look after the hostages?¡± Ma Xiaotao bellowed as she looked at the Zhong brothers.

    While the Zhong brothers were older, they did not dare to show any signs of discontent in front of her. All of their heads were bowed, and the dozens of evil soul masters around them were as quiet as crickets.

    The Third and Fourth Elders stood behind Ma Xiaotao. Their faces were green.

    They had juste from the northern part of the city. When they were there, they could not help but inhale a breath of cold air when they saw the huge explosion. The Third Elder urately deduced that only a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell could be this destructive. All of the positions for the soul engineers¡¯ soul tools were obliterated, and at least two hundred soul engineers were dead or injured. Only some more powerful ones were able to escape after detecting the iing attack.

    The eastern city walls and the western city walls had been destroyed as well. At this moment, Ma Xiaotao ordered everyone to investigate in depth. They had to locate the enemy, but Third Elder and Fourth Elder were both highly-experienced thanks to their age. They immediately deduced that someone was trying to create a diversion. Their target was the hostages!

    Persuaded by them, Ma Xiaotao had to return with them. However, at this moment, another explosion rocked the northern city walls. This time, Ma Xiaotao brought the two elders on a detour to see what was going on. When they saw the dark-blue figures appear, her heart sank. She knew that they were in trouble.

    Indeed, when Third Elder and Fourth Elder saw the soul engineer legion, they instantly asked to return to the southern part of the city to look after the hostages. After all, they had just arrived.

    The southern city wall was blown to bits by Huo Yuhao, who had used his Ice Explosion on the moat. The hostages all rushed out of the city, but the Zhong brothers had not pursued them. Instead, they waited for their return. How could Ma Xiaotao not take this chance to blow up in anger?

    Zhong Tian chuckled bitterly and said, ¡°Holy Lady, it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t want to give chase. You know that there were more than five hundred hostages. They all had at least four soul rings, and there were a whole bunch of Soul Douluo, Soul Sages, and Soul Emperors. If we gave chase, we would have died!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said angrily, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there was enough Soul Eradicating Powder? How did they find the antidote to it? Only the Leader has the antidote for the Soul Eradicating Powder. If you don¡¯t use enough of it, it¡¯ll lose its effect. How did you guard those hostages?¡±

    Zhong Tian said as if he had been wronged, ¡°Holy Lady, you can¡¯t me me! Why don¡¯t you ask those under me? We definitely used enough Soul Eradicating Powder. Earlier, the legs of the hostages were soft as jelly.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao said coldly, ¡°Go get some water from the water prison and assess the amount of Soul Eradicating Powder inside. Do you think that I have wronged you?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, Holy Lady,¡± the Third Elder said solemnly. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to find out who was responsible. The most important thing right now is to re-capture all the hostages. We should move immediately. While there are many powerful people among the hostages, their bodies should have deteriorated from their stay in the water prison. Now is the best time to pursue them. As long as we can dy them, they will all be caught when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions catch up.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes glinted as she said, ¡°Alright. Everyone, pursue them with me.¡± She had no way of dying them anymore. If not, they would sense that something was amiss. The killing intent in her heart had been triggered. She was ready. When they caught up to the hostagester, she would ambush the elders. As long as these two Titled Douluo were injured, the hostages could easily defeat the remaining evil soul masters. The main problem now was that the soul engineer legion,ing from the north, would soon reach them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ma Xiaotao, along with Third Elder and Fourth Elder, as well as the Zhong brothers, rose into the air as they began their chase.

    When they left the city, the two elders and the Zhong brothers all had ugly expressions on their faces. This was because it waspletely silent and peaceful outside the city. Hundreds of hostages had seemingly disappeared without a trace. All that was left were the ruined positions the soul engineers had formerly manned.

    ¡°This is impossible! They rushed out only fifteen minutes ago. How¡­how did they take so little time?¡± The three Zhong brothers were stunned.

    No matter how one put it, there used to be three hundred soul engineers, an entire soul engineer legion, outside the city! Among them were ss 6 and ss 7 soul engineers. Even if they could not resist the many soul masters, they should have been able to dy them!

    How could they know that Xu Sanshi and the rest went teleporting from afar and and dropped in on the soul engineer legion, attacking them from the inside? The soul engineer legion was split up. The most powerful soul engineers were instantly eliminated by the group of soul masters led by Huo Yuhao. The other soul engineers, who had two to three rings, how could they resist so many hostages, all of whom were savage with hate! The disappearance of the hostages was another trick Huo Yuhao had yed on them.

 Chapter 384.1 - Rescuing Nan Shuishui

    <h4 ss>Chapter 384.1: Rescuing Nan Shuishui</h4>

    Sunrise City was surrounded by fields. Although it would be difficult, they would still have a chance. Before even leaving, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had talked about this exact matter during a meeting. However, the most troublesome matter would be escaping after being surrounded. How would running from an area which was filled with ins as far as the eye could see be easy? This was especially so at this moment, considering that the hostages were all somewhat injured. It wouldn¡¯t take a genius to deduce that they would be assaulted from afar.

    And thus, Shrek Academy had decided to make a bold and costly decision.

    There was only one way to escape from enemy sightlines in an area filled with ins¨Cwith speed!

    The only way they could escape from enemy attacks within a short amount of time was to rely on an astonishing amount of speed. How could they increase the speed of the hostages they were rescuing? By using flying-type soul tools!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s team had brought a total of eight hundred flying-type soul tools with them. Although they were all of the lowest ss, and were even somewhat crude, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, as well as the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires, had done all they could.

    These eight hundred flying-type soul tools had been ced in the wilderness by Xu Sanshi and the rest in advance. Once the hostages were able to escape, they would immediately equip these flying-type soul tools.

    Although many modern soul masters were still against the use of soul tools, arge majority of them hade into contact with them. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to experience the thrill of flying at four rings? Because of that, flying-type soul tools were the soul tools that most soul masters had used. It wasn¡¯t as though every single soul master had used them, but the number of soul masters who hadn¡¯t was very small. Moreover, soul masters could adapt to the use of flying-type soul tools rtively quickly. Even if they hadn¡¯t used them before, they would be able to after experimenting for a few minutes.

    Every single flying-type soul tool was equipped with a map. After that, everyone from the Tang Sect offered a prayer and split up.

    Every single hostage, including those who came from the various sects and academies, flew off in different directions. However, they only had a single objective¨Cto get to the harbor city where Huo Yuhao had rented a boat. The only way they could escape from the enclosure of the Sun Moon Empire was by the sea.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s rescue n!

    The speed at which the hostages broke free from the enclosure could only be described as ¡®astonishing¡¯. In reality, even Xu Sanshi and the rest didn¡¯t think that they would be that destructive. Without any of the experts from the Soul Engineer Legion obstructing them, a closebat sh between them and ordinary soul engineers was like smashing an egg against a rock. This was the main reason why the hostages were able to instantly crush the military line held by the Soul Engineer Legion.

    The battle between the subordinate army and the soul engineers was a unteral ughter. It didn¡¯t even take five minutes before the entire front waspletely destroyed. Moreover, the splitting of Sunrise City¡¯s troops due to the need to rescue their soldiers and to scout out the situation in the northern part of the city meant that they couldn¡¯t stop the hostages at all.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n could be said to be nearly perfect. At the very least, the hostages were already flying through the air and disappearing into the boundless night sky.

    Throughout this entire process, he had controlled a few key points very well. First, he was able to judge the strengths of the northern, eastern, and western parts of the city very well, and find an urate time to misdirect them.

    Although their enemies might have guessed that they were trying to misdirect them, the secret location of the water prison gave the people from the Holy Ghost Church somewhat of a backing to rely on. Even the two soul engineer legions and the city defense troops stationed by the city didn¡¯t know that there were that many soul masters being kept in the water prison.

    With Ma Xiaotao cooperating with them, they were able to pull off a misdirection very effectively.

    The second key point was destroying the moat with his Ice Explosion. The amount of time he had to do this was very short.

    If they had forcefully charged out while simrly destroying the water prison when the moat was still there, it would definitely have cost the hostages a lot of time, as well used a longer route. However, Huo Yuhao was able to save a lot of time by blowing open a path and freezing the moat.

    After that, both Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi had used their respective soul skills to save a lot of time as well. Because of that, it had only taken around fifteen minutes for the entire n to be carried out.

    ¡°Holy Lady, what should we do?¡± Zhong Tian turned to Ma Xiaotao.

    Ma Xiaotao flew into a rage. ¡°What should we do? You go give an exnation to the leader!¡± With that, she turned around and flew back towards the city.

    The Third and Fourth Elders looked at each other and sighed simultaneously. Their opponents had already fled into the distance, and although it wasn¡¯t easy to escape from a in, could they really go and chase after them with the current number of people they had? With only the six of them, what if they were to fall into a trap while chasing after the hostages? They didn¡¯t know who hade to rescue the hostages! They could discern how strong the hostages were, but they didn¡¯t know how strong the rescuers were!

    At this moment, several blue figures had appeared in the sky. Several hundred rays of blue light rushed over from the southern city, forming a river of stars in the sky.

    ¡°All of you are not to move, or else we¡¯ll kill you,¡± a vigorous and forceful voice spread out through the sky above the southern city.

    Even Ma Xiaotao, who was about to fly back towards the city, had no choice but to stop.

    Those figures had arrived very quickly. Within the blink of an eye, they had surrounded all of the evil soul masters.

    Rays of blue light instantly formed a wide within the air, trapping Ma Xiaotao, the Third and Fourth Elders, and the three Zhong brothers within it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t attack, we¡¯re with you.¡± Zhong Tian said hurriedly. At the same time, he took out a medallion from his chest.

    They had noticed that every single one of these people who were d in bluish light had a flying-type soul tool on their backs. They were dressed in ck warrior robes, and had the pattern of an enormous blue eye on their chests. This group of people wasn¡¯t dressed in a simple manner, considering that their outfits were seemingly made of metal. The reason why they saw the blue lights was due to the light from the eyes on their robes.

    Those blue eyes had pupils as deep as the abyss, and although they were only patterns on a robe, it still seemed as though they could devour everything around them. There were even countless dark blue patterns around the sides of these pupils that resembled veins.

    This was the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion!

    Ma Xiaotao was inwardly astonished. This was one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s four great Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions. With the Evileye Tyrant as its symbol, this soul engineer legion was famed for its speed and surprise attacks. Clearly, they were the most suitable troops to assist Radiant City.

    An elderly man whose robe glittered with a bright blue eye walked over to the evil soul masters.

    ¡°The only people who are with you are those who follow you. You can talk after being tied up.¡± This elderly man had a tall figure, an aquiline nose, andrge eyes that shone with an ominous glint. His cruel and untamed aura gave off the impression that he didn¡¯t like strangers.

    ¡°Who are you trying to tie up?¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s cold voice rang out. As there was quite a distance between her and the other evil soul masters, she quickly turned around.

    ¡°No moving!¡± the Evil Tyrant Legion immediately shouted out angrily.

    ¡°Scram!¡± There was no need to even mention Ma Xiaotao¡¯s identity as an evil soul master. Even at Shrek Academy, she had always been famed for her temper. Moreover, she had been looking forward to causing a mess.

    zing phoenix mes instantly rose from her body as two yellow, two purple, three ck, and one red soul ring appeared, along with the resounding cry of a phoenix.

    The somewhat chilly air in the sky instantly heated up. What was even more terrifying, however, was that ripples had appeared in the air ten meters around Ma Xiaotao. All of the lock-on effects of the soul tools targeting her were instantly rendered useless.

    Why did the Zhong brothers respect Ma Xiaotao so much? Other than her position in the Holy Ghost Church, it was because of her undeniable strength. The Holy Ghost Church had spared no costs to help her obtain her eighth soul ring, which was a hundred-thousand year one. The leader of the Holy Ghost Church, Zhongli Wu, had even said that she was the first in line to be his sessor.

    The moment Ma Xiaotao released her martial soul, a smidge of dark-red was immediately added to the pitch-ck night sky. Shefortably unfurled the zing, dark-red wings of her Dark Phoenix, and the soul engineers closest to her were astonished to find that their soul tools had be extremely hot. Not only were they unable to fire them, but they even started to melt.

    ¡°Halt!¡± A sharp voice rang out. This voice came loftily and abruptly, yet was abnormally sharp. Even with Ma Xiaotao¡¯s cultivation, she trembled, and the phoenix mes she released withdrew slightly.

    A pitch-ck figure shot out from the rear of the Evil Tyrant Legion, then sharply shouted at the leader of the legion, ¡°Commander Wang, are you trying to start a civil war? These are men from our national religion, and this is our Holy Lady. If you don¡¯t quickly capture those hostages, who¡¯s going to take responsibility for this?¡±

    The face of the elderly man who had an aquiline nose twitched slightly. Only then did he raise his hand to order all of the soul engineers to lower their weapons. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. Although he was confident in taking on Ma Xiaotao in a fight, he was scared of the losses he would receive.

    However, Ma Xiaotao was cursing inwardly. Although she couldn¡¯t beat all of these people, Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape would be helped if she could stall them. That was why she had provoked them. If they started a fight here, it would naturally give Huo Yuhao¡¯s team a great advantage. She was simply not afraid of what this Evil Tyrant Legion could do to her.

    From the expression of their leader, she could tell that they detested evil soul masters. Even though this was the case, however, they wouldn¡¯t dare to openly go against the national religion and the Holy Ghost Church had already been dered the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s national religion!

    ¡°Chase them. They can¡¯t have run too far. Head to the south. Also, use our long-rangemunication soul tool to tell the City Guard to release all of the aerial surveince soul tools they have. Pass on this message: a hundred of you are to stay here and guard Sunrise City. The rest of you are to follow me!¡±

    As he spoke, the aquiline-nosed elderly man was already rising into the air. The enormous wings of a flying-type soul tool unfurled behind his back, and twelve lights simultaneously shot out, transforming him into a stream of light shooting into the distance.

 Chapter 384.2 - Rescuing Nan Shuishui

    <h4 ss>Chapter 384.2: Rescuing Nan Shuishui</h4>

    ¡°We¡¯ll take a look as well. Elders, you two can stay behind. The Zhong brothers will follow me.¡± Ma Xiaotao immediately made a quick decision after twitching her eyes slightly. She didn¡¯t know where Huo Yuhao was. He hadn¡¯t told her that he would stay in Sunrise City. Instead, he¡¯d instructed her to flee from the evil soul masters and regroup in Shrek Academy after their n was carried out. With Ma Xiaotao¡¯s current condition, the evil energy in her body wouldn¡¯t act up for a week at least. If she didn¡¯t get into a fight, this period of time could be extended further.

    Seeing that the Evil Tyrant Legion was this powerful, she naturally couldn¡¯t just let them go after Huo Yuhao and the rest. In the event that they were able to catch up to him, what good woulde of that? On the other hand, she could use the name of the Holy Ghost Church to snatch them when the time came. The reason why she didn¡¯t want the two elders to follow her was because she couldn¡¯t control two Titled Douluo. Moreover, the Zhong brothers could only listen to her orders now, since they hadmitted a grave mistake earlier.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s n wasn¡¯t bad, but she never would¡¯ve thought that her little brother, who she worried the most about, was actually in Sunrise City, and not far away from her.

    The few evil soul masters around her didn¡¯t have any objections at all. In the first ce, they were the ones who¡¯d let the hostages escape. As a result, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s preference to chase after them by herself was naturally within reason. Moreover, she¡¯d even left the two elders behind.

    Two hundred rays of blue light, in addition to Ma Xiaotao and the Zhong brothers, flew into the distance like a bolt of lightning. Within the blink of an eye, they had disappeared without leaving any traces behind.

    ¡ª

    The Third and Fourth Elders looked at each other with ugly expressions on their faces. How could they not see how Ma Xiaotao was trying to exclude them? However, she was a person who would wield enormous power in the Holy Ghost Church in the future.

    The Fourth Elder whispered, ¡°We¡¯ll need to find the vice-leader when we get back.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Third Elder replied. Then, he turned towards the person fully d in ck and said, ¡°Are you Wu Yun or Wu Yu?¡±

    The ck-clothed person suddenly raised her head, letting her cloak slide back to reveal an extremely pale, yet abnormally beautiful face.

    If Huo Yuhao were here, he definitely would have been stunned to see that this woman waspletely identical to the evil soul master that he had killed a few days ago.

    ¡°How were you people even watching over Sunrise City? My sister is dead. Did you people not know that? Were it not for the spiritual connection that we had, I would¡¯ve been left in the dark.¡± The ck-clothed woman¡¯s sharp voice was filled with rancor, and her blood-red eyes looked as though they wanted to spit out fresh blood.

    ¡°You¡¯re Wu Yu? Are you saying that Wu Yun is dead? How can this be?¡± the Third Elder said, astonished.

    Regardless of whether it was him or the Fourth Elder, they both understood Wu Yun¡¯s strength very well. Although she was only an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, even a Titled Douluo would find her a nuisance in a fight due to her powerful Spirit of Vengeance. The Third Elder knew that he wouldn¡¯t be a match for her if they were to fight within a distance of a hundred meters.

    However, it was because of the peculiarity of their martial souls that Wu Yun and Wu Yu were considered extremely abnormal people, even within the Holy Ghost Church. No one was willing to interact with them, and so they were stationed in an unremarkable city to govern it.

    When Sunrise City was chosen to hold the hostages, the Holy Ghost Church didn¡¯t feel reassured with Wu Yun alone. Thus, they specially sent Ma Xiaotao over to directly take over Wu Yun¡¯s position.

    However, the two elders didn¡¯t think that Wu Yun, who they saw as evil and powerful, would actually perish.

    Wu Yu¡¯s blood-red eyes trembled slightly after seeing the astonishment in the eyes of the two elders, ¡°It seems like you weren¡¯t the ones who did it. The astonishment on your faces can¡¯t be faked. The person who harmed my sister is still in the city. Follow me.¡± As she spoke, Wu Yu turned around and flew towards the city.

    The hundred members of the Evil Tyrant Legion who were left behind all unfurled their flying-type soul tools and followed her.

    The Third and Fourth Elders also hurriedly followed her. They were both bbergasted at this moment, as they didn¡¯t know what this Wu Yu was trying to do.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Sunrise City was currently a mess, but there were very few people on the streets.

    To the citizens living in Sunrise City, the violent booms and shaking earth were signs that something huge wasing. What else could the ordinary folk do but hide in their houses, trembling? The soldiers didn¡¯t travel via the streets, leaving a deathly silence looming in the city. The sky was already very dark, but, possibly due to the excessively bright lights from the huge explosion earlier, Sunrise City was still somewhat lit up.

    A light and twisting figure quietly appeared at the corner of the street, then leapt like a fish over a wall to arrive at a different street. His footsteps were extremely quick, and he switched roads every few moments. Finally, he stopped at a ratherrge courtyard.

    ¡°Qiuqiu,¡± Huo Yuhao whispered. After splitting up with He Caitou, he had immediately rushed over to group up with Nan Qiuqiu.

    Hidden beneath the shadow of the door to a nearby house was Nan Qiuqiu, who leapt up as lightly as a cat. Within a few moments, she arrived by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and was covered by his Imitation, which allowed her to blend into their surroundings.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. I was almost worried to death.¡± For the first time ever, Nan Qiuqiu finally thought that Huo Yuhao was rather cute. At the very least, he had been able to make it on time at a crucial moment like this.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Are there any movements inside?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head. She said with an impatient look on her face, ¡°I¡¯m worried precisely because I haven¡¯t heard anything going on inside! What about your side? Were you able to save everyone?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve saved them, but I can¡¯t say for sure how many of them will be able to escape. Hopefully, most of them will make it out.¡± As the hostages had split up in different directions, arge majority of them would definitely be able to escape. He could guarantee that this would happen. However, Huo Yuhao knew that their n wasn¡¯t a hundred percent perfect. If one person were captured, it would be hard to say whether their meeting point could remain a secret. Yet, they simply couldn¡¯t make any careful arrangements, nor ry them to the several hundred hostages due to the time constraints they were put under. As such, they could only resign themselves to fate. In any case, Huo Yuhao had already told Xu Sanshi and the rest that a ship had been prepared for them once they reached the harbor. Moreover, Shrek Academy¡¯s support should¡¯ve already arrived by then, as well.

    It didn¡¯t matter whether the soldiers chasing after them could find their meeting point. What did matter, however, was whether the hostages could reach the meeting point in the first ce. They would be safe if they could make it there.

    Other than the people from Shrek Academy who were in charge of rescuing them, there were also experts from the Body Sect, as well as the various sects and academies whose disciples and students had been kidnapped. This was a force that contained over ten Titled Douluo, as well as countless Soul Douluo and Soul Sages. Arge majority of these people were under the surveince of the Sun Moon Empire, and as such couldn¡¯t leave their home empires easily, but after using substitutes and various different methods to escape from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s spying, they had traveled over to the harbor using the greatest possible speed they could muster. This was because Huo Yuhao had only given out the correct meeting point two days before the n had been carried out.

    Even if the Sun Moon Empire were to discover that these people were missing, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to ry this news back home that quickly. Moreover, the rescue team and hostages would already have started returning to the Douluo Continent by that time. Considering how boundless the world was, how could they even attempt to recapture them at that time? There was no need to even talk about a Beast-Lord Soul Engineer Legion. Even two or three Legions would have no choice but to flee after encountering so many experts. Even if the main army arrived, they would have to fight over the ocean, where soul engineers couldn¡¯t fight for long, as they would have to rely on flying-type soul tools. Once their soul power was fully exhausted, they would only be food for the sea-type soul beasts living in the ocean.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s n could be considered to have been sessful.

    Roughly five minutes after splitting up with He Caitou, he received thetter¡¯sst message via his long-range transmission soul tool. The objective had been achieved, and all of the flying-type soul tools they had prepared had been activated, and they were no longer in the area they had been left in. In other words, the hostages had already flown away using the flying-type soul tools.

    Those flying-type soul tools were equipped with ss 4 Sealed Milk Bottles. Even if they didn¡¯t have any physical strength at all, these Sealed Milk Bottles would allow them to fly for two hours. If several hundred people all flew in different directions for two hours, even a few hundred soul engineers wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to them. Even if the Evil Tyrant Legion was more conceited than they already were, they wouldn¡¯t dare to split up and chase after so many elite soul masters.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Huo Yuhao was feeling quite happy now. What he needed to do now was rescue Nan Shuishui, then hide the mother and daughter duo for a while before returning to the academy once this whole mess was over. Since there would only be three of them andbined with how things were going already, they simply had no need to travel via water. Huo Yuhao had his own ways to conceal them as they returned to Shrek Academy by a different route.

    This courtyard was where the Third Elder had imprisoned Nan Shuishui. Huo Yuhao released his Spiritual Detection and sent it out like a that covered the entire courtyard.

    There was no way the Third Elder could be here. Sunrise City was a big mess, and Sister Xiaotao was by his side.

    Huo Yuhao gestured at Nan Qiuqiu, then gently leapt up. He used his right hand to vault the top of the courtyard¡¯s walls, then floated into the courtyard.

    Nan Qiuqiu quickly followed him, and she too entered the courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao gestured at her again, then used his Spiritual Sharing to send her a mental message, ¡°I¡¯ll handle the two in the room, and you handle the two in the courtyard. Your mother is fine. I can sense her breathing. She¡¯s just a bit weak, so don¡¯t worry.¡± The evil soul masters who were in the room were a bit stronger, and as such he felt more reassured taking them on.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nan Qiuqiu was overjoyed. Bending down, she quietly hid in a dark spot near the courtyard. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao used his Imitation to quietly reach a side room on the left side of the courtyard.

    ¡°Pa!¡± Nan Qiuqiu flicked her fingers, and a small rock fell into the courtyard without making much noise.

    Almost noiselessly, a shadowy figure instantly appeared at the spot the rock fell. This shadowy figure was followed by a rotten smell, and green smoke started spreading through that narrow area.

    Nan Qiuqiu squinted her eyes.What a fierce evil soul master!

 Chapter 384.3 - Rescuing Nan Shuishui

    <h4 ss>Chapter 384.3: Rescuing Nan Shuishui</h4>

    Once the greenish mist appeared, two figures stepped out from the veranda underneath the corridor.

    ¡°Xiao Hong, you¡¯re too sensitive. It could just be a cat or mouse. Why¡¯re you so suspicious of such a little noise? This courtyard¡¯s going to turn toxic from your Corrosive Poison Ball.¡± The person speaking was a rtively short evil master who had an ash-grey face and a set of wide nostrils.

    ¡°Humph!¡± Xiao Hong made a gesture with his fingers, and his triangr eyes darted around. As he snorted disdainfully, he even revealed two buck teeth.

    ¡°It¡¯s just called being prepared. Didn¡¯t the Third Elder praise me for how agile I wasst time? Killing someone innocent is fine, but we can¡¯t let a guilty person off. Who cares if it¡¯s a mouse or cat? Mao Mao, you can¡¯t be this casual, either. If the Third Elder knew about this, you¡¯d be whipped again.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu felt goosebumps rise as she heard these childish voices.

    She didn¡¯t make a move, as she was waiting for Huo Yuhao¡¯s signal. The evil soul masters in the room could threaten her mother¡¯s life, but the two outside were only four-ringed Soul Ancestors, which wasn¡¯t something that could threaten her.

    Huo Yuhao had already entered the room when the two evil Soul Ancestors had rushed out from the veranda. He simply didn¡¯t have any fear of being discovered due to his Imitation.

    Nan Shuishui was imprisoned in the basement, and only two evil soul masters were stationed in the room above the basement. He couldn¡¯t give them the opportunity to kill her, and thus not only did he have to be careful, but he had to move like lightning once he made a move.

    After noiselessly arriving outside the room the two evil soul masters were in, the air around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body twisted slightly as he released a gem-white soul ring. He had activated his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    The two evil soul masters in the room were currently drinking wine. Although there were only two of them, arge array of dishes were ced on the table in front of them, and they were drinking merrily.

    ¡°Eeh, I say brother, why do you have two heads?¡±

    ¡°Two, what do you mean two? You¡¯ve drank too much, you. Why are you so weak today? Use your soul power to flush out the alcohol.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! What¡¯s the point of drinking if I do that? I¡¯ll have a nice sleepter after getting a bit dizzy. Recently, I¡¯ve reached a bottleneck in my soul power, and I can¡¯t increase it anymore. It seems like I¡¯ll have to kill a few more people and eat their hearts to increase my blood qi.¡±

    ¡°How disgusting. What¡¯s nice about a human heart? Human brains are the best. That soft and sticky taste, tsk tsk tsk¡­¡±

    Peng!

    The evil soul master who was indulging fully in his daydreams was suddenly bbergasted. That was because the person sitting in front of him suddenly had his head blown off. The soft and sticky brains sttered everywhere, and the brain juices thatnded on him actually had that ever-familiar vor he remembered.

    He used his finger to touch some of the brain juice that hadnded on his face, then tasted it. ¡°It seems like I¡¯ve drunk too much. Why does the brain juice in my dream taste so real? Haha, it¡¯s really delicious! I¡¯m dreaming about eating a brain while drinking alcohol. Not bad, not bad. Eeh, why is it so cold?¡±

    A hand that held a diamond-shaped crystal of icended on his neck. Right after that, this Soul King-ranked evil soul master followed hispanion into death with a gentlecrack.

    Due to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference Domain, they had not felt any undtions of soul power throughout the entire process. It was also why this brain-eating person thought that it was only a dream when the person sitting in front of him had his head blown apart.

    However, that had been real. Death was the only result for an evil Soul King who didn¡¯t specialize in spiritual force when facing the Eye of Destiny-enhanced Spiritual Shock.

    As for this other person, he was even drunk while Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice was taking effect! His neck was directly crushed by the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer.

    While Huo Yuhao was making a move, he gestured mentally at Nan Qiuqiu, who then used the power of Annihtion to devastate everything in front of her. Within a few breaths, she had already charged right into the room.

    ¡°Yuhao, what about my mom?¡± Nan Qiuqiu quickly walked over to Huo Yuhao, not even bothering to spare a nce at the corpses of the two evil soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a word. He walked over to the table they had been drinking at on, then tapped the ground with his right leg. With a crunch, a b broke apart, revealing a pitch-ck hole that had faint air currents flowing out.

    ¡°Your mom¡¯s down there. Go rescue her. You¡¯ll have to be quick though. I¡¯ll be waiting for you outside.¡± With that, he turned around and went outside.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about Huo Yuhao¡¯s somewhat strange expression. Without hesitation, she jumped into the basement.

    Although there were air currentsing from the basement, Nan Qiuqiu was astonished to discover once shended that not only was the venttion in this room pretty good, but it was abnormally clear and fresh, yet not too cold.

    ¡°Mom¡ª¡ª¡± In the next moment, she saw her mother. However, her eyes instantly widened, and she opened her mouth, astonished.

    The environment in the basement was far better than Nan Qiuqiu had thought before. From her point of view, her mother must¡¯ve suffered a great crime while being held captive by the evil soul masters. However, what about reality? Not only was this basement extremely clean and fresh, but there was even aplete set of clean furniture. There were various types of fruitsid on the table. The ground even had a thick carpet covering it. Other than the heavy atmosphere present, it was practically a luxurious bedroom!

    Naturally, the reason why Nan Qiuqiu was astonished before wasn¡¯t because of the conditions of the room. Instead, it was because of her mother.

    Although Nan Shuishui looked somewhat pale, she was quite healthy. She was currently seated by the table eating fruit, and her eyes turned somewhat dull as she saw Nan Qiuqiu arrive. The only abnormal thing about her was that she waspletely naked. There was a thin, silver chain on her right leg.

    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s voice was clearly trembling.

    The fruit in Nan Shuishui¡¯s hand dropped to the table with a thud. Her face instantly paled, and she answered in a trembling voice, ¡°Qiuqiu!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes instantly became clear. With a sudden stride forward, she walked over to Nan Shuishui. Right after that, she bent down and unleashed the pinkish-red power of Annihtion on the chain attached to her mother¡¯s feet.

    However, although this silver chain looked very thin, it was extremely sturdy. Even her power of Annihtion wasn¡¯t able to damage it in any way.

    Nan Shuishui seemed to have sobered up somewhat as she quickly called out, ¡°Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu, why have youe? Quickly, go! It¡¯ll be troublesome if that persones back!¡­¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu didn¡¯t look at her mother. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the chain in her hand, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m here to rescue you. I can definitely break this chain.¡± As she spoke, she raised her soul power to the maximum, causing the chain in her hands to glow pinkish-red.

    However, the chain didn¡¯t move at all, and showed no signs of breaking. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s hands were already starting to bleed. Her tears also began to fall down her cheeks inrge drops.

    ¡°Wa¡­¡± As her tears wildly surged forth, Nan Qiuqiu pounced into her mother¡¯s embrace and cried, ¡°Mom, mom, you¡¯ve suffered! Mom, I¡¯veete! Mom¡­¡±

    All sorts of feelings welled up in Nan Shuishui¡¯s heart as she hugged her daughter. She sighed, ¡°Silly girl, it¡¯s not what you¡¯ve thought. Your mother is fine. Although that fellow destroyed my clothes, he didn¡¯t sully me. You¡¯ve thought too deeply into it.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Nan Qiuqiu raised her head, and she said with misty eyes, ¡°What happened, then?¡±

    Nan Shuishui had a helpless look on her face as she said, ¡°I knew that fe many years ago. He was one of your father¡¯s love rivals when I was young. When Iter married your father, he became an evil soul master in a moment of rage. However, he lost his manhood because of it. I haven¡¯t been sullied by him or anything during these few days. He¡¯s just destroyed my clothes. Hees to see me everyday, and he does his best to take care of my everyday life. To be honest, I don¡¯t hate him. I even feel somewhat guilty. If it wasn¡¯t for me, he wouldn¡¯t have walked the path of an evil soul master.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stared nkly at her mother. She¡¯d never thought that something like this would¡¯ve urred to her mother in the past.

    ¡°Then what about these chains?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked with a depressed look on her face.

    Nan Shuishuiughed bitterly, ¡°I tried breaking them before he fed me that Soul Eradicating Powder. I couldn¡¯t even break it with my cultivation, so there¡¯s no need to talk about whether you can do it. You should go quickly. In any case, he definitely won¡¯t kill me. You should just leave this ce safely before considering anything else. Oh, right. Give me a spare change of clothes. If he destroys them again, I¡¯ll just smack my head against a wall and die.¡±

    Only then did Nan Qiuqiue to her senses. She hurriedly took a set of spare clothes from her storage-type soul tool and helped dress her mother. The silver chain bound to her leg proved somewhat of a hindrance, however.

    ¡°Quickly, go.¡± Nan Shuishui¡¯s expression immediately became much better after she was fully dressed.

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head strongly and hugged her mother tightly. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going. I was only able to find you after much difficulty, so how can I just leave like this? I¡¯ll definitely rescue you. Oh, right. Even if I can¡¯t do it, that fellow might be able to. Yuhao, Yuhao, quicklye down now. The lock on my mother¡¯s leg won¡¯t open.¡±

    After hearing Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s cry, Huo Yuhao re-entered the room and leapt down into the basement.

    Nan Shuishui nodded softly after seeing him. However, a smidge of red instantly appeared on Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s charming face as she stared at him.

    At this moment, she finally understood why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t follow her down earlier. He must¡¯ve known beforehand that her mother was naked via his Spiritual Detection.This fellow¡­

    Huo Yuhao said respectfully, ¡°Hello, Senior Nan.¡±

    Nan Shuishui sighed softly. ¡°How can you risk your lives like this? Sunrise City is filled with people from the Sun Moon Empire, and there are even people from the Holy Ghost Church! It¡¯s too dangerous. Quickly, go! You two won¡¯t be able to break this chain on my leg!¡±

    Huo Yuhao took the chain from Nan Qiuqiu and looked it over for a few moments. After that, he wiped his forehead with his right hand, and a jade-green light appeared in his palm.

    With a sh of jade-green light, the link instantly snapped clean off. Before Nan Shuishui could even finish speaking, her eyes widened.

    Huo Yuhao tugged the chain, and quickly walked over to the ring on the wall it was connected to. The jade light in his hand shed once again, cutting the ring apart. He immediately put the chain away in his storage-type soul tool.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Nan Shuishui waspletely stunned. She had personally tried breaking this chain using her cultivation as an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, along with the power of Annihtion, and had failed to so so. However, Huo Yuhao was able to break it with no difficulty at all. This was simply inconceivable!

 Chapter 385 - Empyreal Net

    <h4 ss>Chapter 385: Empyreal Net</h4>

    ¡°Senior, your soul power was limited by the Soul Eradicating Powder, right? Eat this first,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he passed the antidote he had prepared to Nan Shuishui. Nan Qiuqiu hurriedly took it for her mother and ced it in her mouth.

    Only then was Nan Shuishui able to react. Without even asking Huo Yuhao how he did it, she said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Leaving this ce was the best thing that could happen to them. However, she did not expect it to be easy.

    Nan Qiuqiu hunched forward slightly to carry her mother. With one leap, she jumped out of the basement. The antidote needed time to take effect. The Soul Eradicating Powder was powerful, and it was impossible for Nan Shuishui to regain her powers in such a short period of time.

    Huo Yuhao followed them out of the cer. The secret behind why he was able to break the silver chains was naturally his Life Guardian de. Life Gold was able to devour the life energy of every solid object. It had even been able to gradually destroy therge door of the underground storage room in Radiant City. While the chain was strong, there was nothing it could do when faced with its greatest opponent!

    After they rescued Nan Shuishui, Huo Yuhao felt an immense sense of relief. Now was not the best time to leave the city, as it was surelypletely controlled by soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire. There was also a Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion around, too. Aerial surveince soul tools no doubt covered the skies above Sunrise City once again.

    After so many battles, both Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and spiritual power were greatly depleted. The best course of action now was to hide. Then, when the chance presented itself, they could sneak out of the city. With Nan Shuishui, a Soul Douluo around, they had a good chance of breaking out.

    ¡°Where do we go now?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked Huo Yuhao in a low voice. Since he was using his Imitation, they had no fear of being detected by aerial surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We¡¯ll go back to the hotel first. Feng Ling is still there. While it¡¯s close to the southern part of the city, we have yet to be exposed. We¡¯ll go back to rest first. After aunty has regained her strength, we¡¯ll find another way to leave.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Huo Yuhao had fulfilled his promise and helped her save her mother. Any unhappiness Nan Qiuqiu had had with Huo Yuhao before this waspletely wiped clean. All that remained was respect and shame. She suddenly realized that he was able to provide her with a strong sense of security. She gradually understood how Ye Guyi¡¯s curiosity eventually left her infatuated with Huo Yuhao.He¡¯s really exceptional, and he¡¯s mature beyond his age.

    Nan Shuishui, lying on her daughter¡¯s back, said nothing. The antidote started to kick in, and she started to gather her soul power once more. Right now, Sunrise City was danger-ridden. Nothing was more important than regaining her soul power.

    ¡ª

    Indeed, there were soldiers everywhere in the city. Every single street was being monitored very closely. The soldiers used sound-amplifying soul tools to issue orders, instructing all civilians not to leave their homes. They then used various types of surveince soul tools to search each and every building.

    In the sky, one could see blue dots of light shing by frequently. This indicated the presence of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    Huo Yuhao stood in front. He unleashed his Imitation, and was able to walk right by the waves of soldiers as he quickly walked in the direction of the hotel.

    As he walked, he whispered to Nan Qiuqiu, ¡°Don¡¯t rush to returnter. We should observe our surroundings. If the hotel is being searched, they will have found Feng Ling. I don¡¯t know what they will make of him. I just hope that they have not yet searched that ce.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded and said, ¡°That guy is so dumb. What if he is discovered?¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see the situation first. If we can save him, we should save him. He¡¯s a poor sod.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mouth twitched as she said, ¡°I heard Third Senior Brother say that he¡¯s a gangster. He probably did many bad things before. This is hiseuppance¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at her and said, ¡°Stop being so harsh. He¡¯s already in such a sorry state.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and quickened his pace. After they saved Nan Shuishui, Nan Qiuqiu acted much more mature.

    After they navigated their way through many alleys and backstreets, avoiding many patrolling soldiers in the process, they finally saw their hotel.

    There were no soldiers patrolling the front of the hotel. The alleys all seemed very quiet.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his forehead turning hot. His Eye of Destiny seemed to have shivered.

    Eh?

    His mind shook, and he deployed his Spiritual Detection like a fisherman casting his, enveloping everything within a 500-meter radius.

    To Huo Yuhao, his Spiritual Detection was more useful than his eyes. It had helped him turn the tides of countless battles.

    When his Eye of Destiny trembled, it seemed to be warning him. However, after he used his Spiritual Detection, he discovered nothing. Everything seemed normal.

    When Nan Qiuqiu saw him stop, she nudged him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is everything alright?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll return to the hotel to see if Feng Ling is still there.¡±

    As he said that, he and Nan Qiuqiu flipped over a wall to enter the hotel. For safety, he continued to us his Imitation to conceal himself as he slipped into the hotel.

    Quickly, he walked to the room where Feng Ling had been. With his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao could sense that Feng Ling was still in his room, alive.

    He slowly pushed the door open, and just as expected, Feng Lingy on the bed like before. He was curled up, and seemed to be mumbling something.

    Nan Qiuqiu sighed in relief as she said, ¡°It appears that they have yet to search this ce. Our luck isn¡¯t bad. Yuhao, why don¡¯t we hide him? Let¡¯s bring him out of the hotel first. What if the soldiers find him here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao appeared to not have heard Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s words. He stood there and he looked straight ahead. He touched his forehead with his right hand.

    Between his brows, his Eye of Destiny was shaking rapidly. This was the first time he had encountered something like this. The pressure he felt made him deeply ufortable.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s go,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he suddenly pulled Nan Qiuqiu. He did not even let her put Nan Shuishui down as he ran out of the room with her.

    The moment he ran out the door, a huge rumble could be heard.

    This terrifying shockwave was apanied by a terrifying rain of carnage. Despite Huo Yuhao¡¯s quick reflexes, the huge energy still hit him from behind.

    His heart ran cold. He knew that he was being ambushed.

    Nan Qiuqiu asked confusedly, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The more dangerous the situation, the calmer Huo Yuhao was. He grabbed Nan Qiuqiu with his right hand as he said in a low voice, ¡°Flying-type soul tool.¡± At the same time, he maximized his spiritual power. He unleashed his Spiritual Interference and Imitation.

    Nan Qiuqiu was still carrying Nan Shuishui. While she wanted to deploy her flying-type soul tool, her hands could only fumble at it clumsily. At this moment, Huo Yuhao had already released his flying-type soul tool.

    At this moment, he did not care about whether his actions were ¡®appropriate¡¯ anymore. He grabbed her by the waist as his flying-type soul tool propelled him upward. He punched the ceiling with his hands.

    ¡°Boom! Boom!¡± Two explosions rang out. Two holes appeared in the ceiling.

    Instantly, one could see that a huge swathe of light had covered the sky outside. The very air trembled.

    No matter how dumb Nan Qiuqiu was, she now understood the severity of the situation. She did not struggle, but instead used her soul power to try and make her mother and herself lighter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace was warm and brimmed with masculinity. The light outside shed. Ayer of golden light started to shine from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he used his Invincible Barrier.

    With his Spiritual Interference Domain, Imitation, and Invincible Barrier, Huo Yuhao waspletely protected and concealed. His Butterfly Wings spewed out light as he flew out of one of the two holes as fast as he could.

    Huo Yuhao was clear that this was his only chance. They were definitely surrounded. As to why, he had an inkling. It definitely had something to do with Feng Ling, who had been blown apart.

    ¡°Go back,¡± a raspy old voice said in mid-air. With that, Huo Yuhao felt like a moth who had flown into a huge as something forcibly blocked his ascent.

    He could not go back. No way!

    Huo Yuhao was clear that if his next attack was blocked, there would be no chance of escape!

    Heshed out with his right fist, and his eyes brimmed with sadness and longing. It was the Fist of Remembrance, a fist which contained a surging feeling of remembrance.

    Boom!Ayer of white light appeared after being struck by this punch. A shadow materialized outside the screen of light.

    When he saw this person, the look of longing in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes faded. Nan Shuishui, who was on Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s back, recoiled forcefully.

    This was because the person who was now looking down on them from outside the barrier was none other than the Third Elder from the Holy Ghost Church. He was also Nan Shuishui¡¯s former lover, who had imprisoned her!

    Not only that, but blue figures also appeared outside the light barrier, surrounding Huo Yuhao and the three of them.

    Then the Fourth Elder appeared, and a group of people d in ck appeared behind the Third Elder.

    Trapped!

    After his body rebounded from the light barrier, Huo Yuhao did not use his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills anymore. Those werest-resort moves. Once he used them all, he could no longer control his emotions. If that happened, how could he leave with Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui?

    He stopped using his Imitation, revealing the three of them.

    The soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion all wielded a soul tool each. They aimed their soul tools at Huo Yuhao and hispanions. With just one order, they would open fire at them.

    On the ground, a bunch of carefully-positioned soul tools started to be visible. Powerful soul power fluctuations were everywhere.

    This was a truly well-nned trap!

    The Third Elder looked at Nan Shuishui before he turned his gaze to Huo Yuhao. He pped his hands lightly and said, ¡°You¡¯re skillful indeed, and full of tricks and schemes. With just a few of you, you actually dared to mount a rescue mission, which seeded. I can¡¯t help but admire you. At your age, I was still a clueless youth. If I had half of your powers, no one would have been able to steal my lover from me.¡± When he said thatst bit, he could not help but look at Nan Shuishui.

    Nan Shuishui wore a heavy expression on her face. She sighed and said, ¡°They¡¯re still kids. Let them go. I¡¯ll return with you. I¡¯ll do whatever you want me to.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll do whatever I ask you to? What can you do for me? Hahahaha¡­¡± the Third Elderughed shrilly. ¡°Had this been twenty-five years ago, how happy I would have been to hear you say that! However, it¡¯s toote now. This should be your daughter, right? Look, she resembles you so much! Do you think you have a chance of leaving me anymore? I can¡¯t do anything to you, but I won¡¯t let you leave me. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you or your daughter. If I kill her, you¡¯ll be sad. I¡¯ll let her apany you. As for this bastard here, I can¡¯t decide his fate. Wu Yu, do you have anything you want to say?¡±

    They are the butchers, and I¡¯m the meat.thought Huo Yuhao. He could not help but despair. Despite his many calctions, he had still slipped up. He knew that he had been exposed because of Feng Ling, who had died from the explosion. He did not hate Feng Ling, because he was controlled by the evil soul masters. No matter how resolute he was, however, Huo Yuhao could not help but lose hope in this situation.

    He was facing two evil Titled Douluo, with one of them being a ss 9 soul engineer. Furthermore, there was a Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion with hundreds of men nearby, as well as the soul tools which had long been ced in position underneath him. There was no escape!

    Wu Yu, who was d in a huge cloak, floated up next to the Third Elder and asked Huo Yuhao sharply, ¡°You killed my sister?¡±

    ¡°Your sister?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at her suspiciously.

    Wu Yu freed her head from the cloak. When Huo Yuhao saw the pale, familiar face with its blood-red eyes, he felt his heart tremble. His questions were finally answered.

    They had the same vengeance-filled faces and blood-red eyes. Here was another one who possessed the Spirit of Vengeance.

    ¡°You are twin sisters, right?¡± Huo Yuhao asked bitterly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Did you kill my sister? Why? Why? You¡¯re so weak, how could you have killed my sister?¡± Wu Yu shrieked hysterically.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Your sister died peacefully. That¡¯s right, I killed her. However, to her, death was the best release. Both of you possess a Spirit of Vengeance, which is immensely strong. However, your lives are both cursed. Is this feeling good? Your sister died because she sensed my love for my lover. My emotions destroyed her Spirit of Vengeance, and hence, she died. Actually, to her, death was a form of purification and elevation.¡±

 Chapter 386.1 - That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 386.1: That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light</h4>

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone brightly, and an image appeared in front of Wu Yu.

    There were too many things he could do with his Imitation.

    The Haodong Palm, the palm that wouldst eternally was clearly revealed in that image. At this moment, the weather changed, and even the Third Elder was moved.

    Wu Yun wore a final smile on her face after being struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Haodong Palm. Her bloodshot eyes turned clear again, and she died a d woman. Wu Yu was stunned when she saw this scene.

    ¡°Thank you.

    ¡°Remembrance is a magical thing. I miss my mommy and daddy. Why did you have to die so early? Why didn¡¯t you protect me? Why did you let that fatso abuse me and leave me humiliated in front of countless people in that cold basement? They destroyed my body under the instigation of that fatso, ravaging my heart and staining my spirit. I was only fifteen!

    ¡°Hatred kept me alive and enhanced my spirit to another level. My Spirit of Vengeance was awakened as a result. I hate those greedy and lecherous men, and I hate that fatso who tore me to pieces. I want to ughter them, but I¡¯m in so much pain.

    ¡°Am I finally being released? You let me see the light, sense what remembrance is, and witness a love that¡¯s yet to appear in my spirit. It seems like not everything in this world is dirty. There are still pure and clean things. Thank you, thank you for letting me sense the intense love you have for that unknown person. You cleansed my heart and let me know what release is. Thank you, I¡¯m very happy, I¡¯m very happy¡­¡±

    While there were many people around, Wu Yun¡¯s voice still sounded very clear on this abnormally quiet night.

    To the soul engineers of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, this mournful voice only moved them. However, the Third and Fourth Elders, as well as Wu Yu, were all astonished by Wu Yun¡¯s words.

    Wu Yu was even trembling uncontrobly, and she muttered to herself, ¡°Elder sister, elder sister, how could you bear to leave me alone¡­?¡±

    ¡°Trying to escape?¡± The Third Elder shouted as he witnessed this scene. He smacked his right hand down, and a bluish-ck lightning dragon instantly surfaced from his arm. Huo Yuhao, Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui all turned into bubbles and disappeared, while this lightning dragon charged downwards immediately. It unleashed a lightning that engulfed a huge plot of space.

    The entire air seemed to be suffused with a smell that resembled ultraviolet raysing from sunlight on a bright day.

    Amidst this lightning, three sorry figures appeared slightly more than a hundred meters away from where Huo Yuhao and the other two had disappeared earlier.

    Huo Yuhao released intense azure lights from his body, which resisted the strong lightning that wasing towards him. However, he still felt his body turning numb.

    This was the strength of a ss 9 soul engineer! He had managed to make the three of them reappear easily.

    As the only sessful person to havepleted the Ultimate Soldier n, Huo Yuhao had no intention of giving up, even though he was in a precarious situation right now.

    He had almost seeded in using his Imitation to confuse his opponents, which included two Titled Douluo, and escape.

    The sky waspletely sealed, so their only chance of escape was through the ground. They only stood a chance if they entered the city and exploited theplex geography and messy situation to their advantage. At the same time, Huo Yuhao had to rely on his Spiritual Interference Domain and Imitation.

    However, the Third Elder had reacted too quickly, and killed off their hope.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell what soul tool the Third Elder was using. However, the tremendous suppression he was under caused him to bepletely immobilized as he unleashed his Domain of Perpetual Ice. The difference in their abilities was simply too huge. Even though his soul power was already at Rank 60, he was still technically a Soul King because of the number of soul rings he had. The gap between a Soul King and Titled Douluo, and a ss 6 and ss 9 soul engineer, was undoubtedly too big for him to make up the difference.

    He could sense that his opponent didn¡¯t intend to kill the three of them, he wanted to capture them alive. That was likely because of Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu, the Third Elder couldn¡¯t bear to kill them. Could Huo Yuhao only find an opportunity to escape after being captured?

    Huo Yuhao still had a few trump cards that he hadn¡¯t used yet. However, these trump cards seemed a little too useless against a ss 9 soul engineer. What should he do? While he was normally very adaptable, he couldn¡¯t think of a way to free himself.

    The image that he had formed using his Imitation had disappeared, and Wu Yu was staring at him withpletely red eyes. She said to the Third Elder coldly, ¡°I want him alive. I want to make him my human puppet and whip him every day. I want to torture him until it feels worse than death, so as to avenge my elder sister.¡±

    Wu Yu¡¯s voice was very sharp. Huo Yuhao could hear her words clearly, and his heart sank when he heard them.

    He wasn¡¯t afraid of death. However, his life was going to be a living hell if hended in the same state as Feng Ling!

    Originally, he didn¡¯t want to take any chances, and wanted to conserve his abilities before trying to escapeter on. However, he became more determined to escape after hearing Wu Yu¡¯s words. No matter what, he couldn¡¯tnd in their hands. He would rather die than be captured.

    He turned to the northeast and looked into the sky. A trace of blue appeared in the pitch-ck sky far away, and he seemed to see Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s sleeping figure.

    Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry. I might not be able to wait until you wake up.

    Do you know how much I miss you now?

    Forget it, just let me die. Even if I die, I¡¯ll bring my yearning for you along.

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. His eyes turned clearer, and a sense of yearning spread from him. His willpower soared, and golden light emanated from his body, illuminating his pitch-ck surroundings.

    The Third and Fourth Elders, as well as Wu Yu, were all some of the strongest individuals around. They immediately reacted when they saw the changes Huo Yuhao was experiencing.

    The Third Elder waved his hand, ¡°Everyone, retreat.¡±

    The soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion weren¡¯t up to such an high-level fight, unless they were willing to sacrifice their lives to destroy Huo Yuhao.He looks like he¡¯s only slightly past twenty, but why is his willpower so strong? How did he manage to reach such a cultivation? Even Wu Yun died at his hands!

    Even with the Third and Fourth Elder¡¯s cultivations, they were still very serious when they sensed the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual cultivation. It wasn¡¯t difficult for them to kill him, but it would be tedious for them to capture him alive. They were very curious about him, too. Whether it was his soul skills, like Imitation and Spiritual Interference, his cultivation, or his abnormal spiritual power, he was the kind of research subject that the Holy Ghost Church liked. If they tried to destroy him, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were unlikely to escape the repercussions. While the Third Elder sounded very unfeeling, he would have simply attacked them if he no longer had feelings for Nan Shuishui. Why would he have waited until now?

    At this point, another streak of golden light that resonated with Huo Yuhao¡¯s strong willpower shone far away in the east. Furthermore, this streak of golden light seemed even brighter. It was like the sun rising in the east. There was a dominant aura about it as it rose into the sky.

    Even Huo Yuhao was stunned when he saw this. This was¡­

    The Holy Ghost Church didn¡¯t know, but he was clearly aware of the fact that he had no reinforcements. They were the only remaining ones on this rescue mission.Could it be Sister Xiaotao? However, it isn¡¯t possible for her to release a streak of golden light.

    That streak of golden light came very suddenly and forcefully, and soon filled the entire sky. Deafening dragon roars also reverberated across the sky, and the sky turned bright gold.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao and the other two were already under the control of the lightning. In the Third Elder¡¯s opinion, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly escape given his cultivation. That was why both him and the Fourth Elder turned their attention to the sudden change urring far away. After all, they didn¡¯t know how many people hade with Huo Yuhao, and how many strong individuals there were. Although Wu Yu had obtained some information from Feng Ling, Feng Ling was in an unstable mental state. It was difficult to tell how credible he was. It was just like how she didn¡¯t know what time the Tang Sect was supposed to make their move.

    The soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion were indeed well-trained. Even though theirmander wasn¡¯t around, they still came up with a targeted response immediately.

    ring beams of lights were fired from the area where all the soul tools were deployed, forming a blue of death that reached towards the streak of golden lighting from afar. The hundred soul engineers in the air also adopted a new formation to target the iing streak of golden light. Thirty of them split into groups of five, and each group was in charge of helming a huge soul tool. These soul tools seemed like pentagrams, and there were metal poles extending from its corners. Every pole was lifted on a soul engineer¡¯s shoulder, while the center contained a ball-like entity that resembled an eye. Dark-blue light shone above this ball-like entity, and intense soul power undtions poured from it.

    The iing streak of golden light shed with this blue. However, the shocking thing was that no explosion rang out. The streak of golden light was quickly dissipated by the, and converted into spots of golden light that scattered in mid-air.

    ¡°What?¡± Everyone from the Sun Moon Empire was stunned when they heard how loud the thunder was, but saw how little rain there was.

 Chapter 386.2 - That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 386.2: That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light</h4>

    At this moment, a tremendous boom sounded beneath their feet.

    A streak of golden light that looked like a moving dragon appeared within the area where all the soul tools were deployed. The streak of golden light was simply too quick. Wherever it passed, soul tools were instantly destroyed, and pathetic screams started to ring out.

    The Third Elder shouted, ¡°What are the aerial surveince soul tools doing!? Lock onto them!¡± As he spoke, he shot a look at the Fourth Elder.

    He had to hold the fort here and control Huo Yuhao and the other two. It was more suitable for the Fourth Elder to deal with that streak of golden light.

    The Fourth Elder nodded slightly. Soul rings started to rise from beneath his feet as he lifted his right hand. There were nine soul rings: two yellow, three purple and four ck. They showed off his immense Titled Douluo abilities. A thick ck fog was also released from his body, engulfing himpletely. No part of his body could be seen.

    This ck fog started to descend. As it shifted, it revealed a sharp aura, even though it looked very gentle. In a sh, it reached the ground.

    Ding!

    A crisp sound of striking metal echoed out, and the Fourth Elder¡¯s ck fog stopped moving, along with that streak of golden light.

    The figure that was shing within the golden light materialized and appeared in front of everyone.

    When she appeared, she immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention. Even the evil soul masters were drawn to her, because she was simply too beautiful.

    Her powdery-blue wavy hair flowed behind her head, and there was ayer of frost covering her ravishing face. An illusory golden dragon subtly appeared around her body. She was also holding a long spear with two pointed sides, pointed diagonally towards the sky. Even though she was standing in ce, she seemed like the greatest creation ever. At this moment, she was looking at Huo Yuhao trapped within the Third Elder¡¯s lightning with her big, powdery-blue eyes.

    Huo Yuhao appeared to be in a daze. Following this, this dazed look turned into a touched and guilty look.

    Yes, this person with such ravishing looks, wavy hair, and beautiful eyes was the Golden Dragon Girl, Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t understand why Wang Qiu¡¯er was here at such a time. However, he had mixed feelings right now.Qiu¡¯er, you were really silly! It¡¯s not worth it for me.

    Huo Yuhao slowly shut his eyes as he took in a deep breath and gradually retracted his Domain of Perpetual Ice. However, theyer of golden light on his body became stronger. His Eye of Destiny waspletely open at this point, and there seemed to be countless streaks of golden light shining in this vertical eye. It appeared to be boundless.

    At the same time, a thin golden line also appeared on Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forehead. In the next instant, it split open, revealing another golden vertical eye. It was also shining with countless streaks of golden light, and it seemed identical to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    Everything around them seemed to solidify when these two Eyes of Destiny opened. Time and space werepletely locked at this instant. Even the Third and Fourth Elders were drawn to the golden lights from their eyes.

    In the next moment, Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er lifted their heads together and faced their Eyes of Destiny towards the sky. Two beams of golden lights shot into the sky at the same time.

    These two beams of golden light illuminated everything, and the sky turned bright gold at this final moment before dawn arrived.

    These two beams of lights intersected and instantly burst to a higher position. The pre-dawn darkness was torn apart, and a huge golden vertical eye appeared in the air.

    Streaks of golden lights scattered everywhere and engulfed everyone.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were the first two to be affected by these streaks of golden light. An illusory projection of a golden vertical eye appeared behind their backs, turning them slightly illusory. As for the rest, including Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu, they felt that there was something in their bodies controlling them as these streaks of golden light engulfed their bodies. An indescribable sense of crisis and suppression quickly spread in their hearts.

    Destiny Gaze!

    This was the true,plete version of Destiny Gaze.

    Apart from Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er, a small vertical eye also appeared above everyone¡¯s heads. However, the vertical eyes above Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were a dim gold. The vertical eyes above the rest were icy-white.

    ¡°Take action! Quick, kill them!¡± a sharp scream sounded out. The first to react weren¡¯t the two Titled Douluo, but the eight-ringed Soul Douluo, Wu Yu.

    She had a spiritual-type martial soul, and so she was the least astonished by everything that was happening. However, she was also the most sensitive to danger. The feeling of having her destiny controlled by someone else filled her Spirit of Vengeance with fear. Along with the deep impression that the scene in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation had given her, she only had one thought in her mind right now ¨C escape! The only way for her to escape was to kill Huo Yuhao, Wang Qiu¡¯er, and the rest! After she killed them, everything would return to normal.

    Her screams was filled with spiritual undtions. The soul engineers who were in a daze were immediately jolted awake.

    Suddenly, countless streaks of blue light wove in the air and started to reach towards Huo Yuhao and the rest. Most of the firepower was targeted towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    However, something strange happened at this moment. These soul rays and cannon shells that shot towards the four of them struck nothing.

    It seemed as if they had covered every angle, and that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t possibly escape, but nothing they fired hit them. The soul rays and cannon shells simply brushed past their bodies.

    It was as if some mysterious, special force was protecting them from harm. Even Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were spared from harm, as many soul rays simply brushed past their bodies.

    ¡°Idiot, who told you to attack? Seal our surroundings and don¡¯t let them escape!¡± The Third Elder shouted furiously and tightened his lightning, which helped to block off the attacksing from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion for Huo Yuhao and the rest. While Huo Yuhao was just a good research subject, he couldn¡¯t let Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiue to harm!

    Just as he shouted, Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er moved at the same time, as though they were telepathically linked.

    Huo Yuhao sank down, and it seemed as if he was trying to collide against the lightning below him. Wang Qiu¡¯er twisted and charged upward towards Huo Yuhao.

    The Fourth Elder naturally wouldn¡¯t let her go to Huo Yuhao¡¯s aid. He snorted, and ck fog spread from his body. A sinister beam of cold light instantly surfaced, and shed towards Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s head.

    The Fourth Elder¡¯s martial soul was a Netherworld Sword. His Netherworld Sword was extremely special. It could create another alternate ne of space that was illusory, mysterious and unpredictable when it was used. Every time this alternate ne of space was created, he needed to ignite someone¡¯s spirit as the price. As his cultivation increased and he became a Titled Douluo, he could only seal the souls of nine dead people. After using them, he had to rece them. Even with all this, he was still considered one of the evil soul masters that hadmitted the fewest sins.

    This attack of his was called Netherworld sh, the Fourth Elder¡¯s first soul skill. It was sharp and quick. With the abilities of a Titled Douluo, even a small hill could be shed in half with this soul skill.

    The Third Elder revealed a disdainful look on his face when he saw how Huo Yuhao charged downward. He mimicked a clenching action, and his lightning shrank once again.

    He was confident in his soul tool. No protective barrier was effective against his lightning. An Invincible Barrier could only protect one¡¯s body, but it couldn¡¯t help one breach his lightning.

    Huo Yuhao had unleashed an Invincible Barrier earlier. After some time, it had slowly faded away. Right now, the Third Elder thought he was courting death by shing directly with his lightning. His lightning was called Lightning God¡¯s Binding, a ss 8 soul tool. Although it was mainly control-type, it was still ssified as a ss 8 soul tool in terms of its strength.

    Huo Yuhao dove downward while Wang Qiu¡¯er charged upwards, and they were both facing the interception of a Titled Douluo. However, they weren¡¯t looking at their opponents at this moment. Rather, they were looking at each other.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er saw an apologetic and doubtful look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, but Huo Yuhao could only see Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s determination.

    The two of them were getting closer and closer, but the two Titled Douluo also intercepted them at this moment.

    They were less than fifty meters from each other, but these fifty meters were like a huge divide that was separating them right now.

    They didn¡¯t have any verbal interaction, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even unleash his Spiritual Detection. However, another change urred at this moment!

    Their left legs shone at the same time. A strange yet blurry light shed.

    In the next instant, the Third Elder¡¯s retracted lightning swept through nothing but air, and the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld sh hit nothing. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had both disappeared at this instant.

    Even though they disappeared for only an instant, they managed to avoid the interception of these two Titled Douluo. When they appeared again, they were already next to each other.

    Six eyes were looking at each other. Apart from the normal two pairs of eyes, there was also the pair of Eyes of Destiny.

    ¡°Why do you have to do this?¡± Huo Yuhao asked gently.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er looked at him coldly, and something shed across her eyes. ¡°Because I¡¯m willing to.¡±

 Chapter 386.3 - That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 386.3: That Brilliant Smudge of Golden Light</h4>

    Huo Yuhao sensed how warm Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s palm was when he held her hand. Their soul powers were instantly,pletely connected.

    Their Eyes of Destiny shone brightly on their foreheads, and they also released golden lights from their bodies at the same time.

    Their auras experienced transformations at this moment. The golden dragon that initially revolved around Wang Qiu¡¯er now suddenly revolved around both of them. The azure lights that came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body were also released with their bodies as the center.

    Yes, it was a martial soul fusion. When they held hands, theypleted their martial fusion.

    Huo Yuhao had never thought of giving the fusion between him and Wang Qiu¡¯er a name. However, he was willing to call it the Haoqiu Power now.

    He didn¡¯t know why Wang Qiu¡¯er had appeared at this moment. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s arrival gave him hope in this life-and-death moment. After months of closed-door cultivation, he also became clearer over many things. The debt he owed Wang Qiu¡¯er became much deeper right now. He had only once ever asked himself whether Wang Qiu¡¯er really didn¡¯t belong in his heart. The answer was negative.

    When he learned that Wang Qiu¡¯er plucked another vine of Yearning Heartbroken Grass to save him at the Icefire Yin-Yang Well, a slit opened in his heart for her.

    When that golden dragon rose into the sky, its roars reverberated, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s powdery-blue wavy hair appeared in front of him. Apart from feeling guilty, he was also excited. The fighting intent in his heart was instantly ignited and started to burn unprecedentedly strongly.

    No matter what, he had to charge out. It was for himself, for Wang Dong¡¯er and for Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    While Huo Yuhao was burning with passion and feelings, Wang Qiu¡¯er felt very cool. There was a cool auraing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm. This cool was extremelyfortable, especially when her hand was being held by his strong yet stable hand. She only felt that her heart had collided with something. The resilience that she had mustered up beforeing seemed to be crushed once again.

    Nemesis! He¡¯s my nemesis!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er pursed her lips tightly. However, she also blushed slightly, which made her look even more captivating. If she was with him, so what if she was against thousands of enemies?

    Only the two of them knew their own psychological changes. Even though they hadn¡¯t faced many enemies together in the past, they seemed to already have great telepathy with each other, and it wasn¡¯t inferior to that between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Their Instant Teleportation Left Leg Bones brought them close to each other. When their martial souls fused, they both surpassed their original cultivations and reached another realm.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao was holding onto Wang Qiu¡¯er with his right hand. His left hand was empty. When he pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er, he lifted his left hand, and the little Snow Lady silently separated from his back. A white glow started to ripple behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, too.

    Another miraculous scene was also ying out behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. After they unleashed their Destiny Gaze earlier, a projection of a vertical eye had appeared behind each of their backs. These vertical eyes now also turned orange-gold.

    The Third Elder¡¯s Thunder God¡¯s Binding lost its effect in the sky, and he had no choice but to stop, as he was shocked. Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were still stuck within his binding, and he had to deal with them first. He lifted his right hand and pulled them to his side.

    However, Wu Yu was impatient, and she unleashed her pitch-ck Spirit of Vengeance immediately. She screamed and charged towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er in fear.

    A streak of deep blue light swept past the sky, carrying a sinister chill and the Snow Empress¡¯ pride. It didn¡¯t even bother with the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld Sword and went directly for his head.

    His Netherworld Sword only swept past Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. They didn¡¯t even intend to dodge this attack. Did the Fourth Elder make a mistake?

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empresses¡¯ Sword, the Snowless cier,nded directly on the ck fog.

    The ck fog where the Fourth Elder was, instantly took form and converted into the sword tip of his Netherworld Sword before it shot upward, blocking Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowless cier.

    However, something weird urred. As the two swords were about to sh, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Sword seemed to be guided by an unknown force. Even the Fourth Elder¡¯s lock-on abilities lost their effect at this moment, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Sword brushed past his Netherworld Sword before shing at his ck fog.

    ¡°What?¡± The Fourth Elder groaned. As he retracted his ck fog, he re-appeared in mid-air and turned into an ice sculpture.

    Even though this ice encasement was crushed in the next moment, the Fourth Elder was still struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Sword, and he staggered back.

    The entire process happened very quickly, but it was still unbelievable. How was the Fourth Elder so easily hit in this direct sh against his opponent, even though he was a Titled Douluo? In addition, Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were miles below him!

    Huo Yuhao revealed a slight smile on his face. He turned and lifted his head. His Eye of Destiny was shing purplish-gold right now. It was his Spiritual Shock!

    Wu Yu suddenly stopped in mid-air. Following this, she screamed pathetically and was even flung backward.

    While she was supposed to have great immunity against Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities given that she was also a spiritual-type soul master, she waspletely suppressed, as her spiritual cultivation was inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pure spiritual cultivation was already superior to hers. In addition, his soul power had fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul power, and thus his overall soul power had increased. In terms of cultivation, thisbination of Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t any weaker than Wu Yu.

    While Huo Yuhao attacked, Wang Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t stay idle. When Huo Yuhao unleashed his Empress¡¯ Palm, she was clearly aware of what he was trying to do. She raised her Golden Dragon Spear, and golden light emanated from her body. These golden lights, which seemed to shine in thickyers, instantly gathered toward her right hand.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Empress¡¯ Palm shed the ice sculpture. In the next instant, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear turned into a streak of golden light that shot straight towards the Fourth Elder¡¯s chest.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was extremely adept in direct confrontations. Her terrifying strength made her publicly recognized as the top dragon warrior in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.

    Right now, she wasn¡¯t just unleashing her own strength. She also had Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power to supplement her. Considering that their soul powers werepletelypatible, the fusion of their soul powers didn¡¯t just spark a linear increase.

    That streak of golden light carried both Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength and Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual intent, and it reached the Fourth Elder instantly.

    The Fourth Elder groaned, and a dark-green light shone from his Netherworld Sword. A tragic scream sounded, and a human-shaped figure could dimly be seen getting crushed. The light that came from the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld Sword turned weird.

    The dark-green sword light was refracted and caused everything to look as if it came from two different worlds. Another purplish Netherworld Sword silently appeared and maintained a parallel position to the dark-green Netherworld Sword.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear rapidly shot forward and stabbed just in between the Fourth Elder¡¯s two Netherworld Swords. However, theybined together at this moment, and a strongyer of silver light was released from between these two swords.

    There was a ng of metal, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spear shook tremendously. It had already stabbed halfway between the two swords, but it didn¡¯t manage to stabpletely past them. It thus failed to reach the Fourth Elder¡¯s chest.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s expression changed slightly. In the next instant, her spear had already turned into a streak of flowing light and sprang into the air.

    The Fourth Elder¡¯s nine soul rings started to sh once each, but in a random order.

    Yes, this was his Netherworld Sword¡¯s ability to utilize the power of space.

    The Fourth Elder coldly stared at them, ¡°You wasted aherworld soul of mine. In that case, I¡¯ll use your souls to rece it!¡± His dark-green Netherworld Sword shot forward, while his purplish sword disappeared. However, his second and third soul rings lit up at the same time.

    He was about to unleash his Netherworld Force and Myriad Netherworld des.

    Green lights shone extremely brightly, and the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld Sword instantly grewrger. It changed into countless sharp swords that shot towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Suddenly, the entire sky turned green, and space itself seemed as if it were about to be destroyed.

    This was what a Titled Douluo was capable of. Even though the Fourth Elder¡¯s cultivation couldn¡¯tpare to Elder Xuan, he was still a Titled Douluo, and his fighting strength was still extremely terrifying.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er turned extremely serious. However, they had no intention of backing down.

    The two of them stared at each other. Wang Qiu¡¯er quickly moved in front of Huo Yuhao, and he let go of her hand. Instead, he tightened his hands around the sides of her waist.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s waist was very slender. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands covered two-thirds the circumference of her waist just like that. However, her slender waist was filled with explosive strength.

    ¡°Chi!¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er shouted, and seven soul rings rose from beneath her feet.

    Yes, seven soul rings. Wang Qiu¡¯er had managed to advance from six rings to seven rings in just a few months. Apart from the soul power increase she got from the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, her own cultivation had also improved significantly through the tournament earlier.

    She was now a Soul Sage, and had improved significantly from before!

    A gigantic golden dragon head silently appeared in front of her body. She faced her palms together before wrapping them against each other. At this moment, her first, second and third soul rings lit up.

    Her first, second and third soul skills ¨C Golden Dragon Body, Dragon¡¯s Strength, and Golden Dragon¡¯s Fist respectively ¨C were unleashed at this moment.

    Netherworld Swords kept on shing past in the air, but they struck at nothing instead of Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er because of the power of destiny.

 Chapter 387.1 - Ignite! Spiritual Sea!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 387.1: Ignite! Spiritual Sea!</h4>

    However, the Fourth Elder was using a domain attack! After sensing that it wasn¡¯t having any effect, he quickly made adjustments. A few Netherworld Swords still came towards the two of them.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly pushed the palms that were facing each other out.

    A sonorous dragon roar reverberated out, and a ball of golden light blew apart within the patch of green lights. A wild and immense strength was unleashed among the green lights, as if it were an explosive bomb that had just gone off.

    Boom, boom, boom!¡­A tremendous explosion tore through the air, and streaks of sword light were deflected away and crushed. Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aura didn¡¯t seem to be weaker than the Titled Douluo opposite them, even though they were staggering backward.

    Inside the lightning, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu had already been pulled to the Third Elder¡¯s side. He used two chains to trap them, soul tools that could restrain soul power. Those who were Soul Emperors and below couldn¡¯t possibly use their abilities under the restraint of such soul tools. To the Third Elder, Nan Shuishui was under the influence of the Soul Eradicating Powder, while Nan Qiuqiu was only a Soul King. He just needed these two soul tools to restrain them.

    Nan Shuishui didn¡¯t resist. She was very focused on the fight that was going on, in awe.

    The Third and Fourth Elders might not know who Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were. However, how could Nan Shuishui not know who the two of them were?

    One of them was the team leader of Shrek, while the other was the linchpin of the Tang Sect. Since they couldpete in the Continental Youth Soul Master Tournament, that meant that they weren¡¯t twenty years old yet. They were around the same age as her daughter, but they had already demonstrated how brilliant they were.

    Nan Shuishui had always thought that her daughter was already very outstanding. However, Nan Qiuqiu was simply too inferior to Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The two of them were actually able to survive several confrontations against a Titled Douluo, and they didn¡¯t seem to be on the back foot either. If word of this spread, how proud would they feel?

    Of course, the two of them wouldn¡¯t be too excited because of this. The Fourth Elder was simply putting too much pressure on them.

    He was a nine-ringed Titled Douluo!

    Huo Yuhao had always known that Titled Douluo were extremely strong. In Shrek Academy, he knew many Titled Douluo and Transcendent Douluo.

    However, it was two different things to know a Titled Douluo and to fight a Titled Douluo!

    He felt like the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld Sword could tear them apart at anytime.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s fused soul power was quickly declining after they blocked this blow of his. If this continued, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist his attacks for long.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao called to Wang Qiu¡¯er through his spiritual power.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed to reply him less coldly.

    ¡°I have an idea to get their attention. When I draw their attentionter, leave. It¡¯s impossible to charge out from here, given our abilities. We only have one opportunity, and I¡¯ll help you create it. At most, they¡¯ll capture me. When you return to the Academy, just think of a way to rescue me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was very calm, andwas filled with confidence.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was silent, and didn¡¯t utter a sound.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, did you hear me?¡± Huo Yuhao quickly probed. There wasn¡¯t much time left.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er sighed before she replied, ¡°Alright!¡±

    They were already suffering against one Titled Douluo, and there was still another one for them to face.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, then dragged Wang Qiu¡¯er with both his hands to his side. She spun around, and they changed positions. She was now behind Huo Yuhao.

    However, she didn¡¯t just ce her hands around his waist like he did to her earlier. When she came behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She stuck close to his body and hugged him without any gaps.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body was warm and cushiony. She wrapped her arms around his waist strongly, but didn¡¯t make him feel restrained. He felt indescribably relieved. Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s surging soul power poured into his body, while she seemed to forget that she was on a battlefield right now. She twisted her head to one side and gently rested it on the back of Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, staying close to him.

    A delicate fragrance spread, and Huo Yuhao was still distracted by Wang Qiu¡¯er, even though he was fighting a life-and-death battle.

    Qiu¡¯er¡­

    Huo Yuhao silently called in his heart.I¡¯m sorry. If I didn¡¯t meet Dong¡¯er, perhaps¡­

    However, I¡¯ve given my life to Dong¡¯er. Just let me use thisst moment topletely sever this yearning in your heart. You must live well in the future, and find someone who dotes on and loves you. Forget me.

    An unequivocal look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. At this moment, his arms drooped beside his body, and his hair didn¡¯t move. His eyes started to fill with silver light, and a look of remembrance slowly spread across them.

    Dong¡¯er¡­

    Huo Yuhao smiled, and his spiritual intent seemed to rise to another level. Waves started to rage in his spiritual sea.

    Teacher Electrolux, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to disappoint you. I can¡¯t pass down your legacy anymore.

    Ice Empress, Brother Skydream, Snow Lady, I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t continue to charge towards the path of Gods with all of you in the future. When I leave, I¡¯ll pass all of you to Qiu¡¯er. Qiu¡¯er isn¡¯t less gifted than me. She has the same power of destiny in her body, and she even has the pure bloodline of a Dragon God. In the future, it¡¯ll be easier for her to reach the level of a God. I¡¯ll pass your strengths to her at thest moment. Follow her, and continue to charge towards it.

    Thank you for all these years. It¡¯s because of all of you that I was able to turn from an ordinary boy into what I am today.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with guilt. However, he was extremely determined.

    The Ice Empress turned frantic in his spiritual sea. She tried to muster her origin power to stop him.

    The Skydream Iceworm was also frantic, and he furiously shouted, ¡°Stupid!¡± His golden tears also flowed.

    The little Snow Lady, who was originally on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, was forced back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body with a strong power and entered his spiritual sea too. The Snow Empress, who looked like a teenager right now, looked slightly sorrowful, and now seemed to be a little more quick-witted too.

    However, they couldn¡¯t do anything right now. Huo Yuhao dominated his own spiritual sea. The Skydream Iceworm was even the one who had personally conferred this authority onto him. Right now, that became their biggest restriction.

    At this moment, they realized what Huo Yuhao was trying to do. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s three eyes were extremely bright. Far into the east, the sky gradually turned marble-white. However, it couldn¡¯tpare to the bright light that shone from his eyes.

    Streaks of sword lights shed towards Huo Yuhao. However, they were only able to brush past his body, no matter how strong and concentrated they were. There seemed to be an unprecedentedly strong force on his body that was protecting him and preventing any interruption.

    A dim projection appeared behind Huo Yuhao before it turned illusory. This projection was himself.

    It was a dim golden projection of Huo Yuhao. Right now, he seemed very peaceful and quiet. He shut his eyes and sat cross-legged. As he stretched his hands in front of him, his index fingers and thumbs formed a heart shape.

    A strange golden fog started to rise from this projection. No, it wasn¡¯t a fog. It was a me instead. It was a me that was burning!

    Everything around him turned bright, as if dawn had arrived in advance. Every soul engineer from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was moved without any reason. They were even unable to hold their soul tools anymore, and lowered them. They were all in a daze as they looked at the projection of the burning man.

    Huo Yuhao seemed very huge and tall right now. There was a proud look in his eyes, as if he were watching all life. His smile was very gentle, but it also seemed to be a scornful smile, directed at his enemies.

    He was burning. He had ignited his spiritual sea. Was he crazy? Could he actually do something like this?

    Whether it was the Third Elder, the Fourth Elder or Wu Yu, who had just recovered from the blow she had sustained from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, they were all astonished as they looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Soul masters might choose to ignite their own soul power in the face of a crisis to generate extremely strong offensive strength. However, it was very difficult to stop such an ignition after it had started.

    Even if it was stopped, the soul master¡¯s cultivation would still be greatly affected, and he might sustain a permanent injury. If it couldn¡¯t be stopped, his soul power would burn until there was nothing left, and he would die.

    As a result, soul masters rarely chose to ignite their soul power, even in the face of a crisis.

    As for igniting one¡¯s spiritual power and spiritual sea, however, it was something that was unknown and unheard-of.

    Spiritual power and spirits were magical existences no matter whether it was in the world of soul masters or soul engineers. No one could clearly exin what they were. Even for a spiritual-type soul master, his understanding of spiritual power was very limited if his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough.

 Chapter 387.2 - Ignite! Spiritual Sea!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 387.2: Ignite! Spiritual Sea!</h4>

    While the ignition of one¡¯s soul power couldn¡¯t usually be controlled, a person¡¯s spirit would still remain even if he was dead. However, igniting one¡¯s spiritual power was definitely uncontroble, and both the body and spirit of a person would bepletely destroyed.

    Is this guy crazy? Did we even say we were going to kill him?

    Wu Yu didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had made such an unhesitant and determined decision mainly for two reasons. First, he felt that he owed Wang Qiu¡¯er too much. She was here to rescue him in this time of crisis, and he felt that he was obligated to ensure that she was safe. In order to send Wang Qiu¡¯er away safely, he needed sufficient strength. Secondly, he felt that Wu Yu was too threatening. Huo Yuhao was reminded of how Feng Ling was turned into a madam, and he was afraid to end up like him. He would rather his body and spirit be destroyed than to be a second Feng Ling. That was also the more important reason why he was willing to die.

    He stepped out with his left leg, and his bright eyes turned gentler. A golden projection silently appeared behind him. Compared to Wang Qiu¡¯er, this projection seemed a little more slender, and had straight hair. Wasn¡¯t this Wang Dong¡¯er? She quietly flew forward and adopted a hugging posture before she stuck close and fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    During this process, she also flew past Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body. Wang Qiu¡¯er shuddered, and a look of sadness shed across her beautiful eyes.Even at this life-and-death moment,he still only has her in his heart!

    This projection of Wang Dong¡¯er fused with Huo Yuhao, and his gaze turned even gentler. At this moment, to him, his enemies didn¡¯t seem to exist anymore. There was only a look of remembrance in his eyes.

    Remembrance was a magical thing. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Fist of Remembrance, which contained a surging feeling of remembrance!

    A fist with an indescribable color, but which yet seemed to shine with a special glow, was formed. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to have a target, and he just unleashed his fist into the air.

    However, all three of the evil soul masters, whichprised two Titled Douluo and one Soul Douluo, felt as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist was unleashed towards them. An indescribable emotion instantly spread in their hearts.

    The Fourth Elder was the first to bear the brunt of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, as he was standing directly opposite Huo Yuhao.

    He straightened his Netherworld Sword, and his seventh soul ring shone. His body instantly turned into a streak of ck light, and he fused with his sword. Following this, another tragic scream sounded. Among the nineherworld souls in the Fourth Elder¡¯s Netherworld Sword, the second soul was crushed, and the earlier purplish sword projection surfaced again.

    Space shook like the strings of a violin, and the Fourth Elder¡¯s Martial Soul True Body, which was this purplish Netherworld Sword, surged up. However, it was forced back into the original form of the Fourth Elder¡¯s sword and disappeared. In addition, the soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion in the air who had already retreated quite some distance also seemed to be infected by something. They started to tear up, and they couldn¡¯t control their emotions. They even couldn¡¯t control themselves in the air, and their soul tools started to fall from their hands. At this point, metal was raining down inside the city.

    At this moment, all of these soul engineers were all remembering their loved ones, and they lost their fighting spirit.

    This was the highest level of profundity of the Fist of Remembrance. There wasn¡¯t any outright force, but it influenced, controlled and even destroyed one¡¯s emotions!

    The stronger one¡¯s spiritual power was, the greater the influence on their emotions. This was especially applicable for those who shared a simr type of remembrance with Huo Yuhao.

    The Third Elder had already raised his right arm, and was prepared to use a strong soul tool to destroy Huo Yuhao. However, it stopped in the air. He turned his gaze towards Nan Shuishui, who was right beside him. Remembrance was a magical thing. Right now, the person he yearned for the most was beside him. A blissful smile unwittingly appeared on his face. At this moment, he had alreadypletely forgotten what he was doing here, and that he was supposed to attack Huo Yuhao.

    Wu Yu was dealt arger blow than the Third Elder. She and Wu Yun were twin sisters, and they suffered from simr circumstances. When Wu Yun¡¯s emotions changed, she would experience simr emotional changes, too. After she saw what Huo Yuhao presented to her through his Imitation, her emotions were fluctuating even worse than her elder sister. Right now, all types ofplex emotions erupted in her head.

    Wu Yun had been able to instinctively counter-attack and defend herself. However, Wu Yu waspletely motionless in the air, and in a daze as she stared at Huo Yuhao. All sorts of emotions were surging and changing continuously in her eyes.

    Compared to her, the Fourth Elder was under less influence. However, he was directly in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance.

    This fist was a perfectbination of spiritual and soul power, and it was infused with the feeling of remembrance. When it was unleashed, it waspletely imprinted onto the Fourth Elder¡¯s Martial Soul True Body.

    The sword intent of his purple sword was suppressed, and his sword was flung back amidst a piercing buzzing sound. He flew back several hundred meters before he managed to stabilize himself.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop. When he unleashed his Fist of Remembrance, he had already forgotten everything about the outside world.

    The identical projection above him started to burn more brightly. It was the origin power in his spiritual sea that was burning! Otherwise, how could he possibly unleash such strong emotions and infect the two Titled Douluo until they weren¡¯t able to hold their ground anymore?

    Huo Yuhao exerted force with his left foot and he was lifted higher again. He lifted his right hand and pointed his index and middle fingers upward. A lustrous, bright glow instantly shot into the sky. A huge beam of sword light around a hundred meters long and several dozen meters wide shot into the sky.

    This bright sword light seemed to pierce the sky. Wherever it passed, space distorted and would gently shake.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also started to change. The gentle look in his eyes turned into pain, and he pursed his lips tightly. His eyes had already turned wet, and his emotions seemed topletely enter another world.

    Remembrance¡­ it started from thinking before it escted to missing. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s face shed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He suddenly felt that he was very blissful. Even if he had to die, he was able to die during his remembrance of Wang Dong¡¯er. He was satisfied. This was probably the best result, considering the situation he was in.

    The majestic sword light descended from the sky. One¡¯s swordy could only reach the peak if he handled his rtionships well. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sword of Longing, a sword which would never be forgotten!

    There was a target for this sword¡­ Wu Yu.

    If not for the fact that Wu Yu had controlled Feng Ling, Huo Yuhao¡¯s almost perfect n wouldn¡¯t have experienced such a huge problem. More importantly, Wu Yu¡¯s emotions werepletely controlled by his Fist of Remembrance right now. This was his best breakthrough point.

    She was affected worse than the rest because she was a spiritual-type soul master. Her Spirit of Vengeance relied on boundless hatred. However, she was forced to experience the feeling of remembrance by Huo Yuhao at this moment.

    How could she avoid his Sword of Longing now, after being affected by his Fist of Remembrance earlier?

    Her Spirit of Vengeance sensed a huge crisis, and unleashed itself from her body to protect her. Wu Yu seemed to be getting a slow grip on her emotions, but it was all toote.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er and his ignition of his spiritual sea had raised his strength to a standard above Wu Yu. The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills had finally revealed the terrifying strength that they were meant to possess.

    Why didn¡¯t Huo Yuhao use the abilities that the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress and the Skydream Iceworm had conferred on him? It was because he had to continue to be connected to them if he used their abilities. If that happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able to separate from him after his death and fuse with Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    This was why Huo Yuhao could only use the three skills that he had invented, the Three Ultimate Haodong Skills!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sword of Longing immediately tore her avenging spirit to pieces. Wherever this sword light passed, spots of bright light were left behind in the air. It was as if tears of remembrance had been scattered in the air.

    This shiny sword light shed past Wu Yu¡¯s body before disappearing, and her body stiffened in the air. She drifted several meters back before stopping. The bloodshot look in her eyes faded away, and her gaze started to be simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    She was ultimately not as strong as her sister. Against Huo Yuhao¡¯splete version of the Three Ultimate Haodong Skills, she didn¡¯t manage to survive until hisst skill. She was already sucked into the whirlpool of remembrance by the Sword of Longing.

    In the next instant, her body disintegrated, and was crushed before she turned into a pile of dust. She was reunited with her elder sister in another world.

    That majestic sword seemed to have shed the sky apart. At this instant, Ma Xiaotao looked at the sky in the direction of Sunrise City, as if she had a premonition.

    ¡°That¡¯s not good. There¡¯s a fight in Sunrise City. It could be a fight involving Titled Douluo, considering how strong the spiritual undtions are. Quick, let¡¯s return!¡± Ma Xiaotao was frantic. After giving out her order, she immediately leapt up, and her wings fluttered forcefully as she quickly proceeded back toward Sunrise City.

    Earlier, she kept on having bouts of uneasiness, as if she felt that something was going to happen. However, she kept on telling herself that it was probably because Huo Yuhao was about to be caught. She had also been thinking of a n of action if Huo Yuhao was caught. Without the Third and Fourth Elders, it was possible for Huo Yuhao and the others to kill the Zhong brothers if they coordinated well. It was just that the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was nearby, and their leader, who was a ss 9 soul engineer, was very difficult to deal with.

    However, Ma Xiaotao suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t right when the Sword of Longing swept across the sky. The reason why she was feeling uneasy wasn¡¯t because it originated from a distance, but because it came from behind her!Don¡¯t tell me that little brother didn¡¯t leave Sunrise City, and he¡¯s still inside?

 Chapter 387.3 - Ignite! Spiritual Sea!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 387.3: Ignite! Spiritual Sea!</h4>

    How could Ma Xiaotao control her emotions with this thought lingering in her head? She quickly rushed away back to Sunrise City.

    Wu Yu was dead. She died just like that. She died without unleashing any of the fighting strength that she should possess.

    However, her death also jolted the Third Elder awake. The Fourth Elder was also flying back from afar. His eighth and ninth soul rings could be seen shing.

    Huo Yuhao had gone into closed-door cultivation for several months, and fused all of his abilities. He had perfectlybined his spiritual and soul power through the connection of his emotions to form his three great skills, which were the strongest expression of his emotions. No matter how strong his opponents were, they would be infected by him if they weren¡¯t able to resist the invasion of his spiritual power.

    These three great skills were mainly supported by Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power because his spiritual cultivation had surpassed the rank of his soul power. When hepleted his soul power fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er and unleashed his three great skills, he had already established himself in the league of the strongest individuals in this world.

    After unleashing his sword, Huo Yuhao was already crying. He retracted his palm to his waist before flipping it over. He formed the shape of a heart in the air, and all the lights were retracted at this instant. There was an additional heart at the center of his palm. It was a golden heart. Even the most dazzling gem in this world couldn¡¯tpare to the glow from this golden heart.

    This golden heart represented a sincere heart. It was filled with eternal love and remembrance.

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. At this moment, there was only one figure in his mind. There weren¡¯t any other people or things that could affect his state of mind. He was already deeply immersed in his thoughts of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er!

    He was gently calling in his heart. He seemed to see Wang Dong¡¯er and how she had sacrificed her life for him without any hesitation.Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­

    As he called, that shining, golden heart slowly moved forward as he pushed his palm forward.

    In the sky, the clouds experienced changes, and thunder rumbled. After pitch-darkness filled the sky, it suddenly lit up. The lights came from an unknown origin, but they formed a heart shape.

    The signals from all the aerial surveince soul tools that the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion had released again were all jumbled up. In the next moment, their internal formation arrays blew apart, and they were all destroyed.

    That huge and seemingly boundless heart resonated with the golden heart on Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    Behind the heart in the sky, there seemed to be a beautiful face watching everything that was happening on the ground with a gentle gaze.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, I¡¯ll forever miss and bless you. Even if I go to another world, as long as there¡¯s still a trace of my spirit left, I¡¯ll always love you, Dong¡¯er!¡±

    As Huo Yuhao pushed his palm out, and the two hearts resonated with each other, it seemed as if countless flowing lights shone behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. There were only memories of him and Wang Dong¡¯er within those flowing lights.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Haodong Palm, a palm which wouldst eternally!

    This was thest strike of Huo Yuhao¡¯s three great skills. The qi of heaven and earth was overwhelming, and the feeling of remembrance was pure.

    The heart on Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm erged severalfold, andpletely engulfed him and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The two hearts between heaven and earth got closer and closer, and then merged together. At this moment, the Third and Fourth Elders had to retreat rapidly, even with their cultivations. They could clearly sense that they would be critically hurt if they were touched by this heart-shaped light.

    The heartsbined in the sky, and formed a heart shape that was even brighter than the sun. It was perfectly wless.

    The heart-shaped light suddenly retracted, and the huge heart that was originally a few hundred meters in diameter suddenly shrank to a diameter of only around fifty meters. In the next instant, this huge heart suddenly raised up a dazzling plume that shot into the distance.

    In the blink of an eye, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er vanished without a trace.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones who disappeared. Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu, who were both restrained by the Third Elder¡¯s Lightning God¡¯s Binding earlier, had also disappeared. It was like the Third Elder¡¯s Lightning God¡¯s Binding was a joke in front of the Haodong Palm.

    The Third and Fourth Elders were both in a daze.

    Everything that had happened earlier was like a dream to them.

    It just wasn¡¯t believable anymore.

    Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er were a Soul King and Soul Sage. Among ordinary people, and even soul masters, they possessed rather extraordinary fighting strength.

    However, how many opponents did the two of them face? They had fought more than a hundred elite soul engineers, a ss 9 soul engineer, a Titled Douluo, and a Soul Douluo who was a strong, spiritual-type evil soul master.

    What was the eventual result? The Soul Douluo was killed, the elite soul engineers fell from the sky, and were in critical condition, and the two Titled Douluo could only watch helplessly as they escaped. They couldn¡¯t even stop them.

    No one would believe this. All of this was too weird and shocking.

    The Fourth Elder flew over in front of the Third Elder and said with lingering fear, ¡°What ability did he just reveal? It was frightening. I have a feeling that I would¡¯ve been killed if he used all three moves on me earlier.¡±

    The Third Elder patted the Fourth Elder¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Forget it, he¡¯s doomed no matter what abilities he has since he¡¯s ignited his spiritual sea. Let¡¯s go, too. We don¡¯t know how the Holy Lady and the others are.¡±

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was doomed!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was filled with gentleness. Nan Qiuqiu, Nan Shuishui and Wang Qiu¡¯er could clearly see Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as they were protected by the heart-shaped light, but they couldn¡¯t sense any resistance from the outside world.

    Above Huo Yuhao, that identical figure was still burning. However, it looked a little illusory nowpared to before.

    The threedies knew that Huo Yuhao would bepletely destroyed if it finished burning.

    ¡°Are you doing this just to tell me that only she exists in your heart?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er was still resting on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back and hugging him tightly. For some reason, she had be extremely fragile now. She was like a ss vase that could be smashed into pieces any time. She no longer seemed strong, or possessed any fighting spirit.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and said, ¡°No, Qiu¡¯er. It¡¯s not only her in my heart. You also exist in my heart. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t dare to admit it.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body shook tremendously, and she suddenly lifted her head from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. She had always been a resilient person, but her voice was trembling now. ¡°I¡­ exist in your heart?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and pulled Wang Qiu¡¯er in front of him. He gently embraced her and let her lean on his body.

    ¡°Yes, I have both you and Dong¡¯er in my heart. I just didn¡¯t dare to admit it all this while. Perhaps I¡¯m the reason why Dong¡¯er is asleep, and why you are in such pain. If I had faced myself earlier, things might have been different. Humans are emotional creatures. I could tell that you were fond of me. When I found out that you plucked another Yearning Heartbroken Grass for me, my heart eventually still opened up for you. I tried to hide it and not face it, and keep all my love for Dong¡¯er. However, I can¡¯t deny its existence.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiu¡¯er. I¡¯m a bad person. I¡¯ve hurt both you and Dong¡¯er. If heaven gives me one more chance, I¡¯ll only have two choices. Either I¡¯ll choose to forsake the both of you, or I¡¯ll think of a way to keep both of you by my side. I won¡¯t let any of you go.¡±

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, do you know? I¡¯m actually very happy now. I really miss Dong¡¯er. I really wish to return to see her. I¡¯ve already nned everything out. After this mission is over, I¡¯ll return to the Clear Sky Sect to see her. However, I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t go now. If you have the time, visit her on my behalf. If she wakes up, tell her that you are her elder sister, and that everything that happened was just a dream. Help her to forget me.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao¡­¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er cried. This was the first time Huo Yuhao had seen her so helpless after all this time that he had known her. However, there was a sense of bliss in her tears.

    Huo Yuhao hugged her tighter and muttered, ¡°For some reason, I feel that both you and Dong¡¯er are the same person at times. However, you showed up at different periods of my life. It would have been better if only you or Dong¡¯er existed! Qiu¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gently shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t say sorry. I should be the one to apologize. I was the one who forced myself into your life. Without me, all of this might not have happened. In fact, I already knew what you thought earlier. I knew that you wanted to sacrifice yourself to save me. However, I still hated you and your heartlessness, until you told me that you have me in your heart. I can feel your sincerity. My love for you has finally been repaid.¡±

 Chapter 388.1 - Offering! Emperor Beast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 388.1: Offering! Emperor Beast</h4>

    Wang Qiu¡¯er stood up straight in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace as she spoke. She was tall in the first ce, and so they were staring into each other¡¯s eyes as she grasped Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders with both hands.

    ¡°Have you kissed Dong¡¯er before, Yuhao?¡± Wang Qiu¡¯er smiled, her exceptionally enchanting face shining radiantly, like a hundred blooming flowers.

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er gradually closed her eyes, and her lengthy and curly eyshes touched her lower eyelids. She raised her head gently, and her red lips seemed exquisite and alluring as she whispered, ¡°Kiss me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. He could feel his own weakness. All the strength and might that he had possessed throughout his entire lifetime wasing to an end. They had travelled more than fifty kilometers out within such a short time; not even Titled Douluo could find them unless they executed arge-scale hunt.

    An unspeakable warmth and passion instantly travelled from Qiu¡¯er¡¯s lips. Huo Yuhao was already extremely weak, and he suddenly felt as if he were a little lost.

    And it was in this moment that, as they kissed each other, Qiu¡¯er¡¯s forehead was facing forward and pressed tightly against his. Their opened Eyes of Destiny touched.

    In that instant, Huo Yuhao felt as if his entire brain was about to explode, and strange scenes shed by in his mind one after another.

    He was looking arge, dense forest, where countless ancient trees that reached high into the sky blocked off the sunlightpletely. In that world where nts were everywhere, there was a small golden figure lying prostrate on the ground.

    This is¡­ This is¡­

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always been curious about why Dong¡¯er and I look identical, and why I look so simr to the Goddess of Light produced by your martial soul fusion skill with her?¡±

    ¡°The reason is because I presented myself before the two of you ording to what the Goddess of Light looks like.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who I am now?¡±

    That tiny golden figure gradually raised its head, and in that moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if his brain had been struck by an enormous hammer. All that doubt, suspicion, and unsurety in his mind were suddenly cleared in this instant.

    He finally understood why she looked so simr to Dong¡¯er, and why she was closer to the Goddess of Light in his heart.

    He finally understood why she could move around in the Great Star Dou Forest unhindered, and why she had such peculiar feelings for soul beasts, to the point where she would save those Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.

    He finally understood why he would feel a sense of familiarity with her now and then, and why she possessed an Eye of Destiny like he did.

    He finally understood why she would always appear by his side every time he was in danger.

    He finally understood why she knew everything about him, and why she was just so familiar with him, and why she would appear beside him continuously.

    That was because she wasn¡¯t a human in the first ce!

    That was because she was the one that had given him his Eye of Destiny!

    That was because she was the one that controlled destiny, and was the envoy of destiny.

    That was because she had looked into his memories a long time ago.

    She was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had left a profound impression in him in the Great Star Dou Forest, and had given him his Eye of Destiny. The lion controlled the entire Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s fate and fortunes, and was greatly beneficial and helpful to all other soul beasts within the forest.

    The Ten Great Savage Beasts and other simrly powerful soul beasts protected her in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Qiu¡¯er¡­ Qiu¡¯er is actually the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was about to be incineratedpletely at this very moment, but this sudden information caused his spirit to tremble from all that astonishment. He had been about to pass on the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm to Qiu¡¯er, but now he had no choice but to stop.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. I am that silly and foolish Three-Eyed Golden Lion who developed an interest in you, and stepped into the world of humans.

    ¡°When you forcefully imprinted my Eye of Destiny, you were destined to be the bane of my destiny. When you read my memories that time, I did the same to you ¨C you can only see the grand and drab forest, the Great Star Dou Forest. But in your memory, I saw the countless aspects and expressions of humanity, and I saw its beauty.

    ¡°I¡¯m different from other soul beasts. I¡¯m not even limited by destiny, and I don¡¯t have that bottleneck at one hundred thousand years like they do. I can continue living if I am willing to, and even though I can¡¯t be as strong as Di Tian and the others, even the true dictator that¡¯s slumbering in the Great Star Dou Forest will only take good care of me. He won¡¯t let any harme to me.

    ¡°But I experienced too much boredom in my several thousand years of life. How could I resist that curiosity after seeing the beauty of humanity?¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I used the only chance I had in my entire lifetime to transform into a human, and I became that Goddess of Light in your memory. After my transformation, I was destined to only be able to transform between the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the Goddess of Light, and even my name, Wang Qiu¡¯er, was created based on Wang Dong¡¯s name.

    ¡°I walked into your world of humans, and I used the partial Golden Dragon blood in my body, and replicated the Golden Dragon by imitation. The world of humans was so novel and interesting to me, but it was also very unfamiliar at the same time. I gradually began to feel fear after my very brief happiness and curiosity, because I didn¡¯t understand you, and everything about the world of humans, at all. Even I don¡¯t know why I went to Shrek Academy like that, and why I appeared in front of you.

    ¡°We met yet again, but I had be a human. You didn¡¯t recognize me, but I recognized you, and that feeling was so peculiar and magical at the same time. Perhaps because of the connection between our Eyes of Destiny, my fear disappeared when I was by your side, and I felt especially safe and assured. Therefore, I entered Shrek Academy, and arrived by your side. I wanted to see how you lived your life, and what differences there were between you humans and us soul beasts.

    ¡°At that moment, I discovered that the fellow who was a good friend to you was actually a girl, and the two of you had actually be lovers. I had a sour feeling in my heart at that time, and only then did I realize that the appearance that I had transformed into was how she would look when she grew up.

    ¡°I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed and at a loss once more. During that time, I wanted to leave and return to the Great Star Dou Forest because the origin power of my destiny came from the Great Star Dou Forest, and because I had snuck out in the first ce. However, I couldn¡¯t bear to leave this opportunity to enter the world of humans behind. I knew that if I left just like that, returning to your side would almost be impossible even if I wanted to.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I remained, and followed you guys into the Great Star Dou Forest so that we could find a suitable soul ring for you. I am a soul beast, yet I was helping you hunt and kill soul beasts. Wasn¡¯t that justical? Even though I am typically bloodthirsty, and I like to kill, those soul beasts were my kin, my brethren, after all!

    ¡°Afterwards, I listened to you recount your story with your mother. Going through your memories and listening to you telling your story was so different, and in that moment, I suddenly realized that soul beasts and humans are just different; we are fundamentally different in our emotions and in our feelings. The emotions that humans possess are things that us soul beasts do not have, and it was in that moment that I was determined to remain. I wanted to try and see if I could be better than Dong¡¯er in your heart.

    ¡°I quickly discovered how unrealistic this thought was. After going through life and death with you, even I didn¡¯t know that you were bing more and more important to me, and your impression had be stronger and stronger in my heart. Because of the mutual connection and pull between our Eyes of Destiny, you were my greatest predestined fate. I was starting to like you. I liked to see you, and I liked being by your side. However, you started to reject and ostracize me because of Dong¡¯er. Perhaps you felt that way because the threat that Dong¡¯er felt from me was overly intense and overwhelming. I was even a little proud at that time. So what if we looked identical? I would be stronger than she was, and so I would snatch you from her hands.¡±

    ¡°But I had no idea how to make you like me, how to make you fall in love with me. I was very lost at that time, till one day, when I watched you impatiently leave the Academy with a look of anxiety and worry. My curiosity was piqued, and my curiosity made me follow you into some farawaynd.

    ¡°Your intelligence, your determination, and your stubbornness towards Dong¡¯er was continuously moving me. When I watched you swallow the zing Sunspring¡¯s water, which was hot enough to melt metal, into your belly so that you could spit out some of your own blood, do you know how I felt?

    ¡°That was the first time I felt heartache, and it was so, so painful. And it was then that I understood what love was¡­ you could disregard your own life and sacrifice yourself for Dong¡¯er, but did you ever think about how much pain I felt in my heart when I was by your side, and when I watched you be like you were? When I vomited some blood of my own and plucked another Yearning Heartbroken Grass for you, I knew that I had already fallen in love with you, and irrevocably so.

    ¡°Even I felt that I was so silly and foolish, because we are different in the first ce. You¡¯re a human, and I¡¯m a soul beast. We should bepletely dichotomous, but I am just so foolish, as if I am a moth being attracted to a fire, and flying straight into the mes.

    ¡°You hurt me so much every time, and I felt so much pain, but I couldn¡¯t bear to leave you every time¡­¡±

 Chapter 388.2 - Offering! Emperor Beast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 388.2: Offering! Emperor Beast</h4>

    ¡°Only in that moment when Dong¡¯er died for you did I realize that her love for you was so much deeper than mine because I had hesitated at that moment. I contemted that if she died, I could be with you forever. My love for you ultimately has that bit of selfishness, but hers doesn¡¯t. Her love for you is pure. She could sacrifice her own life for you without any hesitation at all, just like you had done for her.

    ¡°I seemed to understand in that moment, that I was always just an outsider between the two of you, and I was never anything else but an outsider. Therefore, I left, and I returned to the Great Star Dou Forest. I made a promise to myself that I would never see you again, and I would bury everything that happened between us in the past, and I would let bygones forever be bygones.

    ¡°I had learned how humans love each other, but I didn¡¯t learn how to forget. I couldn¡¯t forget about you

    ¡°Therefore, I came once I felt that you were in danger. This time, Dong¡¯er isn¡¯t by your side, and we aren¡¯t inside the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. This time, I will not lose to her. She is in a deep sleep, so there is no way she canpete with me.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er presented everything through her consciousness into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and he felt like his brain was inplete disarray. Even though his spirit was already exceptionally weak, every single word that Qiu¡¯er uttered to him in his mind stunned and astonished him at an unimaginable level. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t realize that his spiritual power, which was burning up continuously before this, had actually stopped burning.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er could feel saltiness flow into her mouth through the corners of her lips, and tears were already streaming down her face. However, she was still holding Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as tightly as she could, so that his forehead was still closely pressed against hers.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s consciousness traveled into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind once more.

    ¡°Hehehe¡­ actually, I like how you are now because you won¡¯t resist, and you will just take everything in silence. How I wish I could spend eternity with you like this! Thank you, Yuhao, because you have finally told me that there is space for me in your heart. In the end, I didn¡¯t waste my experience of that love that humans have. Perhaps I have be more like a human at this point.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuhao. Perhaps this is the best oue for us. No matter what, we will never be separated again.¡±

    Illusory golden light flickered rhythmically on her body. Both Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuihui, who were protected beneath this golden light, realized to their surprise that their bodies had be like statues, and they couldn¡¯t move a single inch.

    They could see that the golden light emanating from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body began to resemble mes, while heaven and earth seemed to lose all color at that moment.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s entire body became a little blurry, and she transformed into a ball of light that resembled the shape of a human. Afterward, she melted through the spot where her forehead was tightly pressed against Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. She slowly melted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, bit by bit¡­

    ¡°No, Qiu¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t shout, because his lips were still tightly locked with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s lips.

    At this moment, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu could clearly hear his shouts, those hysterical exmations that came from his spiritual world, but they couldn¡¯t do anything to stop this process, which was almost like a divine ceremony.

    Streaks of light flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead continuously!

    Wang Qiu¡¯er seemed like liquid gold, and she gently spread to every part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. She tenderly integrated herself into his body, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was covered with golden hues.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s own projection hovering above his head discreetly and quietly vanished. The raging spiritual mes were extinguished by those golden colors that flowed into him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s body continued flowing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body until only her virtual self remained. She still looked like she had, but she had be transparent.

    An enormous vertical eye stood as a backdrop behind her, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s projection flickered. However, the lion was looking up at the sky at this moment, and there was only satisfaction in her three eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do this, Qiu¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao felt as ifva was flowing through his body as heat surrounded every inch of him. All his weakness was reced by strength at this moment, and he felt as if his entire being was fusing with another.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea became plentiful once more as golden seawater flowed torrentially through it. Everything was brilliantly golden in color and exceptionally eye-catching.

    Three projections glimmered and hovered above his spiritual sea one after another. They transformed, respectively, into a handsome youth and twodies.

    The handsome youth had long white hair, and ten golden halos circled around his body. One of thedies wore a flowing jade-green dress, and there were tinges of unruliness and unyieldingness amid her beauty. The otherdy bloomed with cold arrogance as if she were a winter sweet in harsh ice.

    ¡°Concrete-material realm¡­ a realm that not even I was able to reach after one million years of cultivation, but this realm has been realized at this moment,¡± the handsome youth muttered under his breath, and he went down on one knee in the next moment. He ced his right hand on his chest and closed his eyes, as if in prayer.

    The other twodies made the same motion, but they didn¡¯t close their eyes. Their enchanting eyes were full of reverence and longing.

    There was no question that this handsome youth was the Skydream Iceworm, while the other twodies were the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress.

    The Ice Empress had be like she was back then, and she seemed to have recovered some of her memory. These three powerful beings weren¡¯t excited or overjoyed about their transformations at all at this moment. Instead, they were filled with some indescribable emotions.

    Of coursethey knew what had just happened. In that moment, not even they knew how to extinguish Huo Yuhao¡¯s burning spiritual mes with all their power and strength. However, Wang Qiu¡¯er did it, and they were kneeling for her.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only person that Wang Qiu¡¯er had saved ¨C they were saved as well, and even though they could have continued to survive within Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s spiritual world, that oue wasn¡¯t something that they had wanted.

    In terms of age and cultivation, even though Wang Qiu¡¯er was the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she only had several tens of thousands of years of cultivation. Naturally, she couldn¡¯t take these three powerful beings, who all had at least four hundred thousand years of cultivation each. But these three powerful beings knew that what Wang Qiu¡¯er ha done for Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t something they could do, and so they knelt for her out of respect.

    Sacrifice! Yes, only a Sacrifice could produce such tremendous changes.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was the human form of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was also the Emperor Beast, and the god-beast of Destiny. No matter how much her appearance, personality, and emotions resembled those of a human, she was still empirically a soul beast in the end.

    Soul beasts always became soul rings after death, and human soul masters could absorb them once they reached their bottlenecks. Soul masters depended on soul rings to break through their bottlenecks.

    However, there was a very special situation amongst soul beasts. If a soul beast was willing to sacrifice itself to be a human¡¯s soul ring, then its soul ring would fuse with the soul master at the highest possible level. However, this soul beast would lose its life in the process, and even its spirit would bepletely integrated into that soul master¡¯s spirit during this fusion process. The soul beast¡¯s spirit would disappear forever.

    This fusion process that required death without any reciprocation at all was known as Sacrifice.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er wanted to save Huo Yuhao, and she wanted to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t die after his spiritual sea was incinerated, so she chose the most intense, cruel, resolute, and passionate method.

    The Skydream Iceworm, the Snow Empress, and the Ice Empress didn¡¯t dare to do so, but Wang Qiu¡¯er did so for Huo Yuhao.

    Just as she said, she didn¡¯t want to lose to Wang Dong¡¯er again, and she would never lose to Wang Dong¡¯er again in this moment.

    She knew that even though that she took up some space in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, she could neverpare to Wang Dong¡¯er. This ceremony was the only way for her body, spirit, and everything that she was to be integrated into his body so that she would never be separated from him.

    She offered herself to Huo Yuhao not just to save him. At the same time, she did so because of that burning passion in her heart. She chose the proudest method to announce her sovereignty over Huo Yuhao.

    After this divine ceremony wasplete, Wang Qiu¡¯er and Huo Yuhao would never be apart. They had truly be one body.

    Perhaps this was their destiny from the moment Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead pressed against hers, from the moment he obtained his Eye of Destiny from her.

    She was the god-beast of Destiny, but she couldn¡¯t escape fate and the pull of destiny in the end.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea and his soul power were sublimated into hers, and everything that he had was fusing with her rapidly. His burning spiritual sea regained its original shape, and it was even more voluminous than before. His spiritual sea fully stepped into the concrete-material realm, and in terms of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual strength, he was now amongst the most powerful beings in the world.

    A halo quietly appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and it drew out five other circles that were respectively white, purple, ck, ck, and ck. This most recent soul ring aligned itself at the back, but it had a peculiar golden color. It shone with faint rosy colors but retained the brilliance and dazzling elements of gold.

    This was the third time that a peculiar soul ring that transcended normal soul rings had appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. His glossy white million-year soul ring, his orange-gold soul rings that represented the Snow Empress¡¯ spirit, and this newest rose-gold soul ring made Huo Yuhao seem like he was a being that came from another world as if he wasn¡¯t a soul master from the Douluo Continent.

    Finally, all those golden colors integrated into his bodypletely, and the spheres of light that were rotating rapidly finally stopped, and gradually descended to the ground.

    Everything around them was still ck and white while rolling thunder boomed in the sky. Violent and hysterical winds billowed through the air as mountains shook and the earth trembled at that moment, and lightning sparkled and shed in the heavens. Rolling thunder echoed continuously, as though heaven and earth were about to shatter into a million pieces.

    A dash of blood-red light flickered far off on the horizon, and an indescribable and enormous pressure caused all the soul beasts in the Douluo Continent to raise their heads at the same time.

    ¡­¡­

    Inside the Great Star Dou Forest¡­

    Thunder continued to boom as heavy rain poured from the sky. The entire Great Star Dou Forest witnessed torrential rain that they wouldn¡¯t see more than once in a century¡­ but strangely, there wasn¡¯t a single dark cloud in the sky. There was only a patch of blood-red color at the other end of this rainstorm, and the sky above the entire Great Star Dou Forest was stained this same blood-red.

 Chapter 388.3 - Offering! Emperor Beast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 388.3: Offering! Emperor Beast</h4>

    Shadows that carried powerful auras rose into the sky one after another and rushed through the trees from the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region.

    They were in various shapes and sizes, but every single one of them emanated unrivaled and frightening auras. Their auras became increasingly frightening the closer these shadows came to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region, and every single being that dared to fly out of the Great Star Dou Forest were the strongest individuals in this ce, where the most powerful soul beasts in the Continent gathered and roosted.

    A man in a long ck robe hovered silently in the sky above the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region. Every single aura around him was incredibly powerful, but not a single being dared to hover higher than him in the sky.

    This man wore a grave, stern, and resolute look on his face. His flowing ck hair draped behind him and stretched perfectly to his ankles without a single inch of discrepancy at all.

    Two locks of golden hair were especially ring amidst all his ck hair, and they hung in front of him silently.

    He was looking up at the colors of blood in the sky at this moment. He suddenly lifted his right hand and grabbed at something in the air.

    A frightening aura that couldn¡¯t be any more terrifying suddenly burst forth from his body, and his grabbing action seemed as though he was tearing the sky apart. The entire Great Star Dou Forest trembled faintly, and the sky contorted vigorously for a moment.

    A ck gash that was a hundred meters long appeared in the sky just like that. This ck gaping hole seemed as though it had boundless suction power, and all the other powerful beings around him hurriedly retreated for fear of being sucked into this gash.

    However, after a moment, nothing happened within that tremendous ck gash before it closed up once more. The blood colors in the sky didn¡¯t change, and nothing appeared from within that ck gash.

    At this moment, a jade-green figure soared through the sky from a distance, right towards this ck-haired male.

    This jade-green figure appeared before the ck-haired male in the blink of an eye as if it had transcended space and time. She was a stunningly beautifuldy, and her long jade-green hair was draped behind her head. Her eyes were also jade-green, and her figure was long and slender, while her long light green dress brought out her slender figure perfectly. She had snowy white hands that resembled tender lotuses, and a pair of wings that seemed like they had been sculpted from jewels and gems extended from behind her back.

    Her wings were jade-green as well, and every single feather was dazzling and eye-catching. Those brilliant and vivid green colors were filled with life energy, and all that made her seem like a moving and enchanting Goddess.

    This exceptionally beautifuldy¡¯s eyes were conspicuously worried and anxious. She stopped before the ck-haired man after flying rapidly towards him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Di Tian? What has happened, exactly?¡±

    Yes, the handsome man who had ck hair that extended all the way to his ankles was known as the strongest Savage Beast in the world today. He was the leader of the Douluo Continent¡¯s Ten Great Savage Beasts, and he was the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s dictator. He was the king of beast kings, the Golden-Eyed ck Dragon King, Di Tian!

    Di Tian nced coldly at the beautifuldy who was emitting life energy as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Something¡¯s happened to the Auspicious Beast.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The beautifuldy eximed in surprise. ¡°No wonder I feel so stifled. What¡¯s happened to the Auspicious Beast?¡±

    Di Tian lowered his voice and said, ¡°Her life energy is flowing away at an rming rate. I attempted to use Descent to bring her back, but it didn¡¯t have any effect at all.¡±

    The beautifuldy¡¯s expression changed drastically. The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s existence, was exceptionally important to the entire Great Star Dou Forest.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s abilities enabled normal soul beasts to grow faster, and she enabled them to be powerful beings quicker than normal. However, she was even more important to these top-tier beast kings! It was a lot safer for them to break through their bottlenecks every hundred thousand years with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s control over destiny. Furthermore, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion also allowed their cultivation to grow faster than usual. In the past several millennia, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s overall strength had been greatly boosted because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and they had consolidated and maintained their position as the number-one habitat on the Douluo Continent.

    How could this beautifuldy not be shocked when Di Tian mentioned that something had happened to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion? She wasn¡¯t the only one who was astonished. The other beast kings around them who had heard Di Tian¡¯s words saw each other¡¯s expressions change drastically as well. Those who were rtively hot-tempered couldn¡¯t hold themselves back, and they roared and howled angrily into the sky.

    Instantly, countless beasts prostrated themselves, and a stern aura gushed forth from the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The beautifuldy¡¯s breathing was a little rushed, and her busty chest heaved up and down. ¡°If only I had been by her side, I could have saved her life no matter what. Di Tian, can you use Descent to send me over?¡±

    Di Tian shook his head and said, ¡°No, we¡¯re too far away. There¡¯s no way I can lock onto her exact position unless she cooperates with me. However, there¡¯s no way she can cooperate with us, because she is the one who¡¯s causing her own life energy to flow away. If my feelings are right, I¡¯m afraid the Auspicious Beast is¡­¡±

    He stopped for a moment, and his final words were uttered soundlessly, and only the beautifuldy beside him could hear.

    ¡°What? How is that possible?¡± the beautifuldy eximed in shock once more, her enchanting jade-green eyes filled with incredulity.

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes were grave and stern. ¡°Humans, humans! Jade Concubine, you can¡¯t attempt to stop me this time. We are the ones who should rule this world. Humans have threatened our species¡¯ survival for thest time.¡±

    ¡°Myriad Demon King, Bear Lord, and Scarlet King! Pass on my order¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Blood-colored lightning descended from the sky, covering several dozen square kilometers all around. Heaven and earth seemed to have descended into a sea of blood, and that horrifying sensation felt like the end of the world.

    Amidst thoserge patches of blood-colored lightning, there was only one patch of ground, less than ten square meters in size, which was untouched.

    Huo Yuhao was standing in that space, and his eyes were filled with incredulity as tears dripped continuously from his eyes. However, there was nothing he could do at this moment. He couldn¡¯t even utter a single word.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er was still standing in front of him in her virtual form. Her pretty face was almost transparent, and no longer had that coldness that she typically wore. All that was left was a faint, warm smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. You aren¡¯t that handsome in the first ce, and you¡¯re even uglier when you cry. Actually, you should me me for being selfish ¨C Dong¡¯er has died for you once, but her death wasn¡¯t asplete as mine! Hehe, I havepletely integrated myself into you as one body this time. If you miss me, then you should take good care of yourself, and you should be kind to the abilities that I have granted you. For some reason, I don¡¯t feel a single ounce of longing and yearning for this world even though I am about to leave it. I even feel like I haven¡¯t died at all, and I have obtained a new life instead. What¡¯s happening?

    ¡°Even though I¡¯m not a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, I will grant you two soul skills just like normal hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. At the same time, I believe that nobody else is more suitable than I am to be your head soul bone. You will obtain the true Eye of Destiny, and you will have power over destiny.

    ¡°I have to go, my dear. I won¡¯t be like you ¨C I won¡¯t allow someone who loves me to forget about me right before I die. I hope that you will remember me forever, and you will always miss me.

    ¡°Something might happen in the Great Star Dou Forest after I leave. You should go there soon to take a look. I have offered everything I have to you, and even if they find you, they won¡¯t do anything to you¡­ because the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s fortunes will end if you die.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er suddenly paused as she uttered these words. Her eyes were overflowing with tears as she stared at Huo Yuhao, and she smiled mournfully. ¡°I can¡¯t bear to leave you. Don¡¯t forget about me¡­ I love you!¡±

    ¡°Hum!¡± The blood-colored lighting in the sky that rained down upon the earth suddenly halted at this moment, and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s illusory figure erupted with light. Intense golden light expanded to the ends of the earth as if it were about to swallow the entire world, and then it withdrew in the next moment, leaving only a golden skull that was about asrge as a fist. This golden skull hovered before Huo Yuhao quietly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead, and a golden ray shot out from his Eye of Destiny, tond on that golden skull.

    The golden skull immediately became transparent and resembled a golden water crystal as it gradually drifted forward. The skull became increasingly small as it did so and finally flew up in front if Huo Yuhao as it transformed into a golden ray that disappeared into his Eye of Destiny.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly quivered, and an indescribably frightening aura burst out from his body. The blood colors in the sky became golden as an enormous golden pir descended from the sky and mmed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes went nk, and he was instantly rendered unconscious.

    Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu weren¡¯t far from him, and they could clearly see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was shining with streaks of golden lightning after he was struck by that golden pir. Transformations began to happen on his body ¨C his ck hair was gradually covered by a goldenyer, and eventually became a peculiar dark gold color. An enormous vertical eye appeared behind his back. This eye was gold, but its pupil was ck and white. The ck and white flickered alternately as if they were tangible and material.

    Another beam of light descended from the sky andnded on his body right at this moment. This time, the beam was scarlet-red, as if it were a beam of fire.

    Subsequently, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet beams of light descended from the sky one after another, forming the colors of the rainbow along with the red light beam that came before.

    Small changes would happen to Huo Yuhao¡¯s disposition after every beam of light descended on his body, and even his appearance was transforming subtly. He wasn¡¯t considered very good-looking before this, but now he was bing more handsome.

    Nan Qiuqiu was standing right beside him, and she had the strongest feelings about everything. Huo Yuhao was still the same as the person in front of her, and she could still recognize him with one look, but he had be more handsome and different from before.

    A peculiaryer of light appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body after the seven colors of the rainbow anointed him in session. This light had seven colors, and it gradually carried him into the sky, where his unconscious body crossed his legs and sat down. Afterward, that vertical eye transformed into rays of flowing light that flowed continuously through the Eye of Destiny on his forehead.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes werepletely lifeless and frozen as she looked on. ¡°Is this fellow still human? What¡­ what¡¯s happening, exactly?¡± Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui couldn¡¯t hear Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s conversation, but everything that was unfurling before their very eyes was far too astonishing for them.

 Chapter 389.1 - Changes in All Parties

    <h4 ss>Chapter 389.1: Changes in All Parties</h4>

    Nan Shuishui hugged her daughter and heaved a faint sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s protect him. Even though I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happened to him, if my guess isn¡¯t wrong, his female partner must have sacrificed herself for whatever it is that¡¯s happening to him. I have no idea why such peculiar things are happening to him, but they shouldn¡¯t be bad for him. But I feel so much pity for his female partner¡­ and they¡¯re doing it all to save me¡­ haih¡­¡±

    Nan Shuishui knew that the Earthdragon Sect was deep in Huo Yuhao¡¯s debt this time. Huo Yuhao had saved every one of the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s members, including her, the sect leader. His partner¡¯s life had been sacrificed in the process. How was she going to repay a favor asrge as this?

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°What?¡± Ma Xiaotao stared at the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder. Her entire body had beckadaisical.

    For her, what she had just heard from them was like bolts from the blue.

    Huo Yuhao had been ambushed and surrounded, and he finally burned his spiritual sea. He employed some special abilities to break out, and was now nowhere to be found.

    He burned his spiritual sea? Burned his spiritual sea!

    What did this mean? Ma Xiaotao came from Shrek Academy, so how could she not know what this meant?

    Yuhao! Yuhao!

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body quivered faintly, and frightening auras erupted from her body continuously.

    ¡°Are you alright, Holy Lady?¡± Zhongli Tian asked softly.

    Evil lights flickered in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyes, and she nced coldly at the Third Elder and Fourth Elder. She didn¡¯t mince her words, and paused after every word. ¡°Two Titled Douluo can¡¯t hold back a single Soul King. The two of you are so capable! After him! Chase him down! If he¡¯s alive, I want to see him in front of me. If he¡¯s dead, I want to see his corpse.¡± She stretched out her phoenix wings as she spoke, and immediately transformed into a humongous fire phoenix as she flew rapidly in the direction that the Third Elder had said that Huo Yuhao had disappeared towards.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Inside Seajoy City¡­

    The city¡¯s port was bustling as usual, and goods and cargo were being transported here and there while boats and ships entered and left the harbor.

    There was a rtivelyrge transport ship, and the ship¡¯s crew was currently ounting for their ship¡¯s members.

    There were many people lying down around the ship¡¯s spacious cabin. Those who were in a rtively better state of mind could forcibly sit up with their legs crossed. However, everyone¡¯s eyes flowed with excitement, whether they were lying down or sitting up.

    They were excited because they were free!

    Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ye Guyi, and Jing Ziyan were ounting for their ship¡¯s members. Their faces were grave and solemn at this moment, and Ji Juechen stood guard outside the ship¡¯s hold to prevent any unforeseen idents.

    Their rescue operation could be said to have been exceptionally smooth and sessful¡­ or, at least it seemed so. The operation had been carried out andpleted entirely ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    They had saved almost six hundred people. In order to confuse their enemies, a little more than a dozen elders and seniors from those various sects and academies had remained to draw their enemies away. More than ny-five percent of the hostages had been rescued, and everyone hurried to Seajoy City to rendezvous with the others.

    Everyone was a little exhausted and fatigued because they had been flying at full speed, and because their bodies had been treated badly in the water prison. However, with sufficient food and water supporting them, it didn¡¯t take long for them to recover their full fighting strength.

    But even so, Xu Sanshi and the others couldn¡¯t feel any joy at all, because Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu hadn¡¯t returned yet. This also meant that they couldn¡¯t rush to Seajoy City to meet up with the rest in time.

    Huo Yuhao had already ounted for a situation like this. As long as the hostages were all here, they would immediately cast off and depart, while he and Nan Qiuqiu would find another way to return to the Academy.

    Everything had been pre-arranged, but He Caitou¡¯s news still gave everyone a heavy heart. A single Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legion entering the fray had changed the situation, and nobody knew what was happening with Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu because they couldn¡¯tmunicate with them at all.

    Naturally, they hoped that they could wait for them to return before they departed, and only then would everyone be in high spirits. Only then could their operation be considered perfect and without any blemishes at all.

    ¡°Are you guys from Shrek Academy? Thank you.¡± An elderly man who was about sixty years of age stood up and came up to Xu Sanshi, who was still ounting for everyone, and spoke to him in a voice full of gratitude.

    Xu Sanshi suppressed the anxiety and unsettledness in his heart and replied with a faint smile, ¡°You¡¯re wee, but you don¡¯t have to be so polite. The Sun Moon Empire is very scheming and treacherous, and they disregarded the tournament¡¯s rules that have been passed down across millenia within the Continent by forcefully imprisoning so many people. How can Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect sit by and watch?¡±

    Cold light flickered in the elderly man¡¯s eyes. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡­ the Sun Moon Empire! Do they really think they can dominate the entire continent by relying on their soul tools? That¡¯s just wishful thinking. How can the Sun Moon Empirepare to the Douluo Continent¡¯s foundations and history?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°We have toe together as one. Even if the Sun Moon Empireunches an invasion against us, we may not lose to them. You should get some rest, senior. We will be casting off shortly.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks. The Lone Heaven Sect will always remember what you guys have done for us. Shrek Academy just has to call for us in the future, and we will never shy away from whatever you guys need from us.¡±

    The Tang Sect¡¯s reputation was still too small, and paled inparison to Shrek Academy, which had been established for ten thousand years. Therefore, even though Xu Sanshi mentioned several times that the rescuers didn¡¯t juste from Shrek Academy, and that they also came from the Tang Sect, most of the hostages pinned this favor on Shrek Academy.

    He Caitou walked over from the other side and checked his headcount with Xu Sanshi. There were about twelve people who hadn¡¯t arrived yet, but it was obvious that these people would probably never arrive.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time, Sanshi.¡± He Caitou uttered these words with much difficulty.

    He Caitou was before Xu Sanshi in seniority, but Xu Sanshi¡¯s status within the Tang Sect was a little higher than his.

    Xu Sanshi grit his teeth as he nced at the hostages in the ship¡¯s hold, lowered his voice and announced, ¡°Start the ship!¡±

    Several minutester, an enormous iron anchor was gradually pulled up. The sailors and hands that the Tang Sect had hired worked together, and the colossal transport ship slowly departed the harbor and sailed towards the endless ocean¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce¡­

    ¡°What? The hostages are gone?¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s typically calm voice was suddenly excessively prating, causing the entire hall¡¯s ceiling to tremble.

    Xu Tianran was wearing a long, bright yellow robe, and his face was grave and gloomy at this moment. He stared coldly at several people who were kneeling down before him, and his eyes were filled with killing intent.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander was kneeling before him, along with themanders of the two soul engineer legions who had been stationed around Sunrise City.

    ¡°Speak! What happened? Tell me everything in detail,¡± Xu Tianran said inly, not taking long before he regained hisposure. However, everyone could feel that this was just the calm before the storm, and if anything wasn¡¯t exined properly, or if errors were made throughout the process, someone¡¯s head would probably be immediately sent rolling across the ground.

    Ju Zi was sitting beside Xu Tianran, her expression a little ck as well. The Holy Ghost Church and two soul engineer legions were watching over those hostages, along with the Evileye Tyant Soul Engineer Legion, which was the legion most adept at speed among the Beast Lord-ranked soul engineer legions, to assist them, and yet several hundred hostages had still managed to run away. This was extremely humiliating!

    Furthermore, those hostages were extremely valuable to the empire, because they restrained the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires. At the same time, these hostages remaining in the Sun Moon Empire was also equivalent to greatly restricting the three empires¡¯ future top-tier soul masters¡¯ strength. Now that they were all was gone, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s n and strategy had to be changed, and their borders were in danger of being assaulted by these three empires in revenge at any moment.

    Thesemanders immediately began their reports, everyone responsible for one part. Their reports, when added together, exined the entire process of how their hostages managed to escape in detail.

    ¡°Someone please invite the Imperial Tutor to discuss matters.¡± Xu Tianran passed on an order after listening to the threemanders, and a servant immediately ran frantically to fulfill hismand.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes closed into slits, and his eyes flowed with a contemtive look.The Holy Ghost Church was in charge of the most crucial parts of watching over the hostages, and they even used drugs that can dispel a soul master¡¯s soul power. But every single hostage ran away¡­ what were those guys doing? Two evil Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t even guard that ce properly? They couldn¡¯t even buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive?

    Furthermore, they had managed to surround one of the rescuers at the end, but even this person got away. Two Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t hold back a single Soul King¡­ who would believe that?

    ¡°Have you investigated who that person is? I¡¯m talking about that person who burned his own spiritual power to escape!¡± Xu Tianran asked coldly.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander, Wang Yiheng, said respectfully, ¡°We¡¯ve already investigated as much as possible. Tthat person should havee from Shrek Academy, or the Tang Sect. Not long ago, he represented the Tang Sect and participated in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.¡±

    Ju Zi was expressionless at the start, but her expression changed drastically when she heard these words, as an ominous feeling rose in her heart.

    ¡°That person participated in the tournament, so some of my subordinate soul engineers recognized him. His name was Huo Yuhao, but he was in a wheelchair when he fought in the tournament. His movements were normal when he appearedst night, but we are sure that these two are the same person. The city wall was broken through by someone who controls ice-type abilities, and ording to our investigation, Huo Yuhao possesses Ultimate Ice.¡±

    Ju Zi almost fainted when she heard these words, and nearly slid down from her chair. Hearing about Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance was supposed to be good news for her, because she hadn¡¯t heard anything about him ever since he and the others had disappeared into the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. In the months afterwards, Ju Zi had even discreetly sent someone over to search for them, but her efforts had been futile. However, even though Huo Yuhao had appeared once more, he was in an excessively dire situation!

    Yuhao¡­ it¡¯s Yuhao! Why was he here to save those hostages? And he even burned his own spiritual power? He¡­ how is he¡­?

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t maintain herposure anymore, and she felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles at this moment.

    Xu Tianran was over the top with anger and rage, but he was momentarily stunned when he heard Wang Yiheng¡¯s words. He pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°I have an impression of him. Yes, he was sitting in a wheelchair when he participated in the tournament. He was the one that led the Tang Sect to create miracles again and again, and they even managed to defeat the Holy Ghost Sect¡¯s team in the end! He disappeared without a trace, along with everyone else from Shrek Academy, afterwards!¡±

 Chapter 389.2 - Changes in All Parties

    <h4 ss>Chapter 389.2: Changes in All Parties</h4>

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes closed into slits as cold light flickered in them. ¡°He actually came back to rescue those hostages? That means he didn¡¯t die in the Western Mountain¡¯s valleys. They actually came out of that strange ce alive? Commander Wang, you can get up. You were only responsible for the reinforcements. The situation was already fixed when you arrived. This matter has nothing to do with you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Wang Yiheng got to his feet and stood off to one side.

    Xu Tianran was seething with rage at this moment, and he really wanted to kill the threemanders before him to vent his anger. However, his rationality allowed him to control this impulse. No matter what, these threemanders were top-tier soul engineers, especially Wang Yiheng, who was a ss 9 soul engineer.

    The Sun Moon Empire had an overwhelming number of soul engineers, but even so, ss 9 soul engineers were considered strategic existences.

    Wang Yihengmanded the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, and he was one of the fingers of the Hand that Protects the Nation. He was a Titled Douluo, of course, and his title was the Mad Bull.

    The Mad Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, had quite a reputation in the world of soul engineers.

    The other twomanders were both ss 8 soul engineers, and Xu Tianran couldn¡¯t bear to kill them, no matter what had happened. However, he had to let them kneel for a little while longer.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Leader, who was also the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Tutor, to arrive. He was d in ck, and Ma Xiaotao had once told Huo Yuhao that his name was Zhong Wu. He was the descendant of the previous Leader of the Holy Ghost Church, the same person who had disturbed and troubled the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White: the evil soul master, Ye Xishui.

    Zhong Wu didn¡¯te alone; the Third and Fourth Elders apanied him.

    Ma Xiaotao had quickly vanished without a trace after she ran out hysterically yesterday, and hadn¡¯t returned since then. The Elders were helpless about that, and had no choice but to return to Radiant City. They reported this to Zhong Wu as soon as was possible.

    Zhong Wu knew that Xu Tianran would definitely seek him out. Therefore, he decided to bring his two Elders along while the three Zhong brothers were here.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Leader, Zhong Wu, tilted his head slightly in greeting when he saw Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression warmed a little as he said, ¡°Sit down, Imperial Tutor.¡±

    Zhong Wu sat down on the seat beneath Xu Tianran, and didn¡¯t wait for Xu Tianran to ask as he took the initiative. ¡°Your Majesty, I already know about everything. This matter is too sudden, and there is something odd about it. I will allow my subordinates to exin things to you first.¡± Zhong Wu waved at several of his subordinates as he spoke.

    The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were the main narrators as they began to exin the story at once. The three Zhong brothers added in from one side, and everyone detailed the entire process ording to what they knew.

    Xu Tianran squinted after listening to their ounts, and said, ¡°That means someone dispelled the poison given to those hostages. However, Imperial Tutor, I remember you mentioning to me that only you possess the antidote for the Soul Eradicating Powder¡¯s intense poison. Someone actually managed to create an antidote independently? Furthermore, Sunrise City¡¯s defenses were tight and strict, so how did these people sneak into the city and discover where the water prison was located?

    ¡°They had a meticulously detailed n, and they even attacked Sunrise City by firingrge amounts of soul tools into the city. In the end, they even destroyed the soul tools that they didn¡¯t bring away. The entire process was specifically delegated, and they carried out their rescue operation impably. Without discussing these people¡¯s fighting strength, how scheming they are is astonishing! Furthermore, what makes me furious is the fact that they managed to install so many soul tools within Sunrise City, including ss 8 stationary soul cannon shells, without our patrols discovering anything at all. Since that¡¯s the case, does that mean that if someone installs stationary soul cannon shells inside Radiant City, will I also possibly be blown into smithereens at any moment?¡±

    At this point, Xu Tianran¡¯s hostility, and all the murderous air that he had suppressed before this, permeated the room once more. The twomanders kneeling beneath him could feel sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

    ¡°Calm down, your Majesty,¡± Zhong Wu lowered his voice, continuing, ¡°This matter has far exceeded our expectations. We are spying on and monitoring most of the powerful individuals who belong to the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native countries. They managed to sneak into our empire and execute a rescue operation such as this, and eventually brought every single hostage away. This operation can¡¯t have beenpleted by one or two people, so I¡¯m certain that they must be backed by immense wealth,bor, and material resources. Where does their manpowere from? After we received the news, we sent out another two Beast-ranked soul engineer legions in pursuit. ording to our leads, they should be heading towards the ocean. Once they pass proper intel back to us, I will let Xiao Feng lead some of my sect¡¯s sharpest and most elite members to cooperate with your soul engineer legions to pursue those perpetrators. We must catch them before they leave your country¡¯s borders.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°We can only mend the fold after the sheep have been stolen. Hopefully, we can intercept them in time.¡±

    ¡°Report! Your Majesty, urgent news from the border.¡± A guard knelt down outside the hall and reported respectfully.

    ¡°Send it in.¡± Xu Tianran was in a terrible mood, and everything he was afraid of happening was happening.. Had something happened at the border again?

    A sealed letter was quickly passed into his hands.

    After a few moments, Xu Tianran¡¯s face turned ck as he mmed his palm into a table beside him, smashing it to pieces. ¡°The border has reported that all of the powerful individuals from Shrek Academy have disappeared without a trace, and the other powerful individuals above the Soul Douluo rank from the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire that we have been monitoring vanished along with them. There is no question that these people must be going to reinforce those hostages.¡±

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Leader was quiet as he listened to Xu Tianran¡¯s words. This n was too perfect. Its perpetrators didn¡¯t give them any chances at all!

    ¡°The hostages were rescued before the news of those powerful individuals disappearing came,¡± Xu Tianran muttered angrily, ¡°Who are these people who rescued the hostages? Are they inconspicuous and unassuming individuals within the world of soul masters? Imperial Tutor, it looks like the Holy Ghost Church really has to be reorganized and tidied up.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t too overboard, but even the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Leader, who he had always respected, was berated amidst his seething rage.

    Zhong Wu was equally indignant. He got to his feet and lowered his voice as he said, ¡°I will give you an exnation, your Majesty.¡± He turned to the Third Elder, the Fourth Elder, and the three Zhong brothers as he spoke.

    ¡°The big toe of your right foot.¡± Zhong Wu¡¯s voice was very calm, but it was also cold and eerie at the same time.

    Blood erupted into the air as all five members of the Holy Ghost Church tore off the big toes of their right feet one after another, and tossed them to the ground. Fresh blood immediately sshed all over the ground. Two of them were Titled Douluo, and three of them were Soul Douluo! Zhong Wu uttered but one sentence, and they had no choice but to harm themselves like that.

    Zhong Wu walked forward and came before the two soul engineers who were kneeling on the ground. ¡°Your defenses have failed, and you were yed by the enemy however they wished. You concentrated a lot of resources on the city, but the enemy managed to sneak in anyway. The two of you are responsible.¡±

    The two soul engineers raised their heads subconsciously as they heard his grave and chilly voice. Their eyes were filled with fear as they subconsciously nced at Xu Tianran. One of them blurted out, ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡±

    Zhong Wu made his move before Xu Tianran could say anything. A pair of skeletal ws that were as ck as ink sprang from nowhere and wed into these two ss 8 soul engineers¡¯ heads. Powerful auras emerged from Zhong Wu¡¯s body, and he suppressed the two soul engineers forcefully, so that they couldn¡¯t resist him at all.

    These two soul engineers were eight-ringed Soul Douluo, but their soul tools had been seized before they came to see Xu Tianran. Furthermore, they were soul engineers, and they paled inparison to soul masters of the same rank when they didn¡¯t have their soul tools. There was nothing else to say when they were confronted by a mighty evil soul master like Zhong Wu.

    The two soul engineers didn¡¯t even make a sound as they copsed to the ground, lifeless. Two panicky and frightened spirits were forcefully extracted from their bodies, and werepressed by ck air streamsing from Zhong Wu¡¯s hands. They became two spheres flickering with faint white light, and eventually disappeared into thin air.

    Zhong Wu turned around and said to Xu Tianran, ¡°Your Majesty, the matter has already reached this stage, so we can only think of a solution as quickly as possible. We shall wait for my subordinates, who are chasing those perpetrators, to return, and will pass any news to you as soon as possible. You have to make ns at once as well; war might be inevitable at this point. Farewell.¡± With that, he turned to leave, and the other five evil soul masters resisted the intense pain with great difficulty as they followed Zhong Wu away.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s face was ck, and his breathing was evidently a lot coarser and heavier than usual. His fists were clenched tightly as he stared at the two corpses on the ground.

    The Mad Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore and shouted angrily, ¡°Too wanton! Your Majesty, he¡¯s too outrageous and unbridled.¡± Those two ss 8 soul engineers weren¡¯t his subordinates, but they came from the same system, after all. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Leader had killed them right in front of Xu Tianran, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel distressed for others of his kind.

    Xu Tianran grunted coldly and said, ¡°Go and rest, Commander Wang.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡±

    ¡°Leave!¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes widened as he yelled at Wang Yiheng, and intense hostility instantly permeated the entire hall.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Yiheng forcefully suppressed the anger and fear in his heart as he bowed respectfully, before turning and leaving

    Several servants immediately streamed in and carried the two corpses away.

    Xu Tianran said inly, ¡°They have died in the line of duty, and will receive a generous burial. Compensate their families generously.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s emotions had calmed down at this point, and she hid her intense grief and anxiety deep within her heart. She had always been rational, and she was very clear that if Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have other methods, or if luck wasn¡¯t on his side after he burned his own spiritual power, he was probably dead. She had always had a kind of blind confidence in Huo Yuhao, and she kept telling herself,This fellow is so good at creating miracles. He can¡¯t possibly die so easily. He must be alive, he must be!

    Ju Zi got to her feet, walked behind Xu Tianran, and gently massaged his shoulders, which had be a little tense due to his rage.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s ck face warmed a little when he felt the strength and warmth from Ju Zi¡¯s tender, small hands. He gently patted her soft hands and said, ¡°Only you don¡¯t talk too much; you never speak more than you have to.¡±

    Ju Zi continued to massage him as she whispered, ¡°Take care of your body, your Majesty. Don¡¯t let anger damage your body.¡± Yes, she was never one to speak too much in front of Xu Tianran, because she understood how intelligent he was. He knew everything, and he would understand everything without needing her to say anything at all.

    Xu Tianranughed coldly and said, ¡°The Imperial Tutor is trying to give me a show of strength. Good, very good! One day¡­ Hmph!¡±

    Ju Zi still said nothing, and just continued massaging him gently.

 Chapter 389.3 - Changes in All Parties

    <h4 ss>Chapter 389.3: Changes in All Parties</h4>

    ¡°Ju Zi¡ªmake a trip to the military and pass on my orders. I want all captains and above in Radiant City here for a meeting. I¡¯m afraid war is reallying.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Ju Zi stopped massaging him and withdrew her hands. She walked around in front of him first and curtsied subtly before briskly walking away.

    Xu Tianran stared at Ju Zi¡¯s back as she disappeared. He mumbled under his breath, ¡°The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire will not let a great chance like this slip between their fingers. They will take the initiative andunch an invasion. However, the Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t sufficiently prepared at this point. What do I do? How should I deal with this?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Seven dayster, in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s northwestern regions¡­

    Seven days. Exactly seven days had passed, and Huo Yuhao was still sitting there with his legs crossed as Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu watched over him. Seven-colored lights continued orbiting his body.

    Nan Qiuqiu had personally witnessed the power of those seven-colored lights. It had been raining a few days ago, and the rain came up too suddenly, so the two of them couldn¡¯t shelter Huo Yuhao in time. However, they quickly realized, to their astonishment, that the rainwater evaporated immediately once it touched that seven-colored light, and not a single trace remained. It didn¡¯t take long before Huo Yuhao became a sphere of lightpletely cocooned in water vapor.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face no longer showed any grief. He was just sitting there with his legs crossed, and he seemed solemn and dignified.

    His dark golden hair had be a lot longer over these few days, and it now almost stretched to his waist behind him. What was even stranger was that his skin had be a lot fairer than before, and he had also be a lot more good-looking.

    He was still Huo Yuhao, but he gave them a different feeling now.

    Faint golden patterns that resembled the sun appeared around the Eye of Destiny on his forehead. The patterns swam as ck and white colors flickered incessantly in his Eye of Destiny. They seemed to represent life and death.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s six soul rings, which were white, purple, ck, ck, ck and rose gold, sparkled alternately on his body. His soul power undtions were being strengthened every day over thesest seven days.

    Everyst trace of Wang Qiu¡¯er had disappeared. Heaven and earth had returned to normal after the seven-colored light descended from the sky on the first day, but nobody knew how long this process would take.

    ¡°Mom, what rank do you think his soul power will be when he wakes up?¡± Nan Qiuqiu whispered to her mother.

    Nan Shuishui shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The seven-colored dome of light around him is too tightly sealed, and it has sealed his aura, so I can¡¯t feel anything from him at all. However, I am sure that he won¡¯t simply be Rank 60. I¡¯m more curious about his rose-gold soul ring, because this is the first time that I¡¯ve seen a soul ring of that color.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°There are too many strange things about him. His other martial soul has an orange-gold soul ring! He¡¯s a Soul Emperor! When can I be a Soul Emperor? Wang Qiu¡¯er passed away for some unknown reason, and she bestowed some abilities to him, but why has another soul ring appeared on his body? Wang Qiu¡¯er wasn¡¯t a soul beast!¡±

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s eyes suddenly stared straight at her daughter, and Nan Qiuqiu felt a little ufortable and unsettled underneath her gaze. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that, mum?¡±

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s voice sounded a little strange. ¡°My daughter, I think you may have unintentionally guessed the right answer. What if Wang Qiu¡¯er was actually a soul beast? Wouldn¡¯t that exin everything?¡±

    ¡°She was a soul beast? How is that possible?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was in disbelief. ¡°Soul beasts can take human form? They need to have at least a hundred thousand years of cultivation, and they also have to give up their own cultivation for that to happen, right?¡±

    Nan Shuishui continued, ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er was likely in that situation. Soul beasts can take human form if they have more than two-hundred-thousand years of cultivation after they break through their bottleneck, but otherwise, they have to choose rebirth. Out of ten hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, not even one will make it to two hundred thousand years, and choosing rebirth is very likely when they are not confident in breaking through the two-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck. But the prerequisite is that they cannot be discovered by their own kind, and they also can¡¯t be discovered by humans. Otherwise, they may die very easily. For soul masters, meeting such a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who has chosen rebirth is considered the luckiest circumstance. Soul masters can obtain a soul ring and a soul bone from killing these soul beasts, and the process will be a lot easier than otherwise.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned. ¡°Then Wang Qiu¡¯er and Huo Yuhao¡­¡±

    Nan Shuishui heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about them. The truth is, many soul beasts don¡¯t survive after they chose rebirth, because they are too pure and na?ve. The world of humans is far too dirty and wretched inparison to their past. Therefore, soul beasts are very likely to be exposed after they take human form, and you already know what will happen to them once they¡¯re exposed.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded gently and said, ¡°Soul beasts are quite pitiful. Now I am starting to feel that Yuhao¡¯s research on those spirits is very necessary. Otherwise, at the rate that humans are increasing in number, soul beasts will go extinct sooner orter. If soul beasts go extinct, then there won¡¯t be soul masters anymore.¡±

    Nan Shuishui nced at her daughter in surprise. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve learned quite a bit in the time that you¡¯ve spent with the Tang Sect. What are spirits?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu put on a serious look and said righteously, ¡°This is top-secret information that belongs to the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. You belong to the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s inner circle, so you shouldn¡¯t be probing about this.¡±

    ¡°Silly girl!¡± Nan Shuishui smiled for the first time since she had been rescued as she raised her hand and pinched her daughter¡¯s cheek.

    Nan Qiuqiu dodged a few steps away, but her eyes were still fixed on Huo Yuhao. ¡°Haih, I wonder when he¡¯ll wake up. Mum, we owe him such a huge favor for this¡­ what should we do?¡±

    Nan Shuishui said inly, ¡°His girlfriend died because of this, so you can marry him. My daughter isn¡¯t that ugly, so I¡¯ll let him take this unfair advantage.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu blushed and snapped at her mother, ¡°What advantage? Are you overly eager to sell me away? Even if you want to sell your daughter, he must be willing to have me. Qiu¡¯er is so beautiful, but he didn¡¯t want to have her for the longest time before today. He likes Dong¡¯er, who is still in a deep slumber, so there¡¯s no business for me there. Sister Guyi knows that this endeavor is too difficult, and she¡¯s backed away. I won¡¯t think about such impossible things. You should think of other solutions.¡±

    Nan Shuishui thought for a moment, then squinted. ¡°Qiuqiu, what do you think about the Earthdragon Sect merging with the Tang Sect?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was astounded. ¡°Are you for real, mum? You¡¯re talking about our ancestors¡¯ foundations and establishments! No matter what, the Earthdragon Sect has been around for several centuries. Are you not afraid of meeting your ancestors in another world after you die, and having them beat you until your buttocks explode?¡±

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s face twitched. ¡°Why can¡¯t you wish me good fortune instead? You¡¯re cursing me to die for no reason! Are you even my daughter?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was a little sheepish as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m saying all this for your own good.¡±

    Nan Shuishui grunted and said, ¡°I¡¯m not that stupid. What I mean by merging is not aplete integration. I think the Earthdragon Sect and the Tang Sect can join forces and work closely with one another. The Tang Sect hasn¡¯t been established for long, right? Even though they are growing rapidly and bing stronger, their foundations aren¡¯t stable. I intend to create a branch of the Earthdragon Sect to be left in Shrek Academy, and I will send our most elite members there. You will be in charge of this branch, and you will work together with the Tang Sect. Afterwards, we will purchase some soul tools from the Tang Sect. What do you think?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu thought for a moment, then said, ¡°That¡¯s a feasible solution. However, even if that happens, I don¡¯t think our cooperation with the Tang Sect can be considered close and intimate, because we¡¯re not really helping them. You don¡¯t know this, but the Tang Sect¡¯s soul tools are very popr and in demand at the moment. Their supply can¡¯t even meet all that demand, and nobody knows when our turn wille to purchase their soul tools.¡±

    Nan Shuishui looked her daughter up and down and said, ¡°Are you not trying to give yourself to him? You haven¡¯t given him your body, but your heart is with him, no? Are you thinking about the Earthdragon Sect from the perspective of a future heir?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stretched her neck and said, ¡°I¡¯m just judging the matter as it stands. The Tang Sect has Shrek Academy supporting them, so why would they work closely with us unless the arrangement is sufficiently beneficial for them? Your daughter isn¡¯t worth this price, and the Tang Sect has so many more prodigious and talented individuals than we do.¡±

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s mouth twitched, and she replied ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t I know you? You are at the Tang Sect, and even your heart is at the Tang Sect ¨C you¡¯ve already forgotten where your home is. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that stupid. Since I¡¯m branching out over there and sending our elite youths over, we aren¡¯t just maintaining our rtionship with the Tang Sect, we also need the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy to train and nurture our elite youths. This is the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s future direction for development, and only then can we obtain sufficient benefits so that the Earthdragon Sect can be stronger.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu widened her eyes and said, ¡°Mum, do you have a fever? We are the ones who owe him a big favor, not the other way around. Why do I feel like you¡¯re¡­¡±

    Nan Shuishui cut her off and said, ¡°Let me finish. Everything I¡¯ve just mentioned has a big prerequisite, and this prerequisite is profit and benefit. We can only survive for a long time if webine feelings and benefits. We owe the Tang Sect such a huge favor, and we definitely have to repay them for this favor. The Earthdragon Sect has always kept a deep secret, and we only have to share this secret with the Tang Sect. Everything I¡¯ve said will naturally be sessful when the conditions are right. With our understanding of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy at the moment, we¡¯re not afraid of them swallowing this secret by themselves.¡±

    ¡°Deep secret? Why don¡¯t I know about this?¡± Nan Qiuqiu stared at her mother with a curious look on her face.

    Nan Shuishui snapped, ¡°Nonsense. Since it¡¯s a secret, how can we let so many people know about it? Only the sect leaders of every generation are worthy of knowing this secret.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu scampered over to Nan Shuishui¡¯s side and hugged her arm. ¡°Mum, I¡¯m also the future sect leader of the Earthdragon Sect, and you only have one daughter. I¡¯m sure everything will be alright if you tell me this secret. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell any outsiders. Tell me, quickly. You know very well that I¡¯m a very curious person.¡±

 Chapter 390.1 - Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 390.1: Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest</h4>

    Nan Shuishui nced at her and said, ¡°You? You¡¯ve never been able to keep secrets. Telling you is equivalent to telling the entire continent. Forget it. When Huo Yuhao wakes up, I¡¯ll follow all of you to the Tang Sect if he¡¯s fine. This is a top secret of our sect, and we can only share it with the sect leader of the Tang Sect.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu twisted her lips, and seemed very displeased.

    At this moment, a strong wave of soul power caught their attention, and they both turned towards Huo Yuhao at the same time.

    The light from the seven-colored barrier slowly weakened, and the huge vertical eye behind Huo Yuhao that had disappeared re-surfaced again. The sunray patterns around the Eye of Destiny on his forehead became weaker, and his Eye of Destiny, which was shining with intersecting ck and white lights, suddenly revealed a gentle charm

    A gentle rose-gold color subtly appeared in this vertical eye. The ck and white lights intersected before retracting, turning into a pupil.

    Even though they only took one nce at it, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu felt like their spirits had been pulled out of their bodies. Nan Shuishui¡¯s reaction was extremely fast. She quickly lifted her hands and covered her and her daughter¡¯s eyes.

    The weakening seven-colored barrier suddenly became stronger just as it looked like it was going to disappear. Following this, it turned into a seven-colored beam that shot into the sky.

    Suddenly, a pleasant voice echoed in the air. The visible sky had turnedpletely golden at this moment.

    The earth was set off by the sky, and turned golden too. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed as if it were made of pure gold, and his Eye of Destiny turned back to ck and white. It was as if death and life took turns shing in his eye.

    The transformations in the sky didn¡¯tst too long. Suddenly, the golden sky seemed to turn into clouds, which rapidly spun around. The golden light retracted, and changed into a huge golden funnel. It started to gather towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, which formed the center.

    The golden light disappeared, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye returned to its rose-gold color, while heaven and earth turned ck and white.

    It was a very strange process. Even Nan Shuishui, who was a Soul Douluo and wielded the Annihtion element, felt like she was being strangled, and couldn¡¯t breathe.

    During this short process, she became even more determined to work closely with the Tang Sect. She saw the Tang Sect¡¯s unlimited potential in the future through the strange urrences that kept happening to Huo Yuhao.

    Suddenly, a ball of golden light appeared above Huo Yuhao¡¯s head and charged towards the sky. A ck slit was torn open in the air, and the golden light quickly entered this slit. As the slit closed up, the golden light disappeared.

    Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu only roughly saw that the golden light was in a shape of a small beast.

    ¡ª¡ª

    On a mountain peak that extended all the way to the clouds, a towering ancient castle¡­

    In a quiet room, a ravishing beautyy quietly and peacefully on a bed. She was beautiful and quiet. Her white dress entuated her powdery-blue straight hair, making it seemed even more dazzling and eye-catching.

    Her fingers were crossed, both her hands on her chest. No matter what angle one looked at her from, she seemed perfect.

    It was a pity that she was too quiet. If not for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would seem like the perfect sculpture.

    Suddenly, everything in the room started to distort slightly. It felt as if a scorching me had just swept past, and the air started to ripple.

    A ck slit appeared as ripples formed in the air. Following this, a streak of golden light drifted down and graduallynded on this youngdy¡¯s chest, before slowly fusing with it.

    Suddenly, there was an additional golden halo around her. Her powder-blue long hair started to light up with a glow of the same color, resonating with the streak of golden light on her chest.

    That streak of golden light slowly took form and turned into a long, golden staff, or rather a long, golden handle, drifting in the air.

    An image of a golden trident also surfaced on her forehead.

    That golden trident started to shine brightly, and changed into a streak of golden light drifting up. This streak of golden light turned into the head of a trident and slowly linked up with the golden handle in the air.

    When the handle and the head of the trident connected, the entire room turned golden.

    Amid the intense golden light, a blue butterfly subtly opened up its wings. A golden dragon slowly revolved around it¡­

    The youngdy was still sleeping very soundly. The outside world didn¡¯t seem to affect her at all. However, her straight hair started to slowly curl, and formed wavy shapes.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Heaven and earth slowly regained the color they had lost, as if a sketch was being painted with colors. Huo Yuhao¡¯s strange, yet terrifying vertical eye also slowly shut, and his forehead was smooth again.

    Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes again. His eyes appeared shinier and more ethereal.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er¡­¡±

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er¡­¡±

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er!¡±

    As he called three times, he also seemed to jolt himself awake. Two streams of tears flowed down from his bright eyes. Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were astonished that his tears glowed a faint gold. They shone brightly under the illumination of the sunlight.

    A spiritual intent filled with sorrow started to spread from him. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s tears also started to flow uncontrobly after a momentary daze as she was affected by this spiritual intent of his.

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s expression changed in astonishment.The intent that he reveals unwittingly can even influence people around him. Qiuqiu is almost at the level of a Soul Emperor. However, she can¡¯t even resist it. His spiritual power must be very great!

    Nan Shuishui was certain that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was greater than hers. Even if he had just obtained his sixth soul ring, he should still only be a Soul Emperor!

    However, he was able to leave her so terrified, even though she was a Soul Douluo! This was something unheard of in the world of soul masters.

    She didn¡¯t even see what Huo Yuhao did. He just drifted gently to the ground. When he looked over, the tears in his eyes suddenly changed into countless ice flowers that scattered away. An icy light shed across his eyes before it disappeared.

    ¡°Holy! Ghost! Church!¡± He seemed to shout these three words from between his teeth. His earlier aloofness instantly turned into a terrifying chill. Even Nan Shuishui turned pale from the suppression that he produced, and took a step back.

    Nan Qiuqiu was in a worse state. Her body shook, and she fell to the ground on her butt.

    This¡­

    Using purely spiritual power to judge this, Nan Shuishui was stunned to realize that none of the Titled Douluo she knew were as dominating as Huo Yuhao. She could confirm now that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities couldn¡¯t be judged through his soul power. His terrifying spiritual power had already enhanced him to a higher level, and it wasn¡¯t just one level. As for how strong he was, that could only be determined by facing him directly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very cold as he looked in the direction of Radiant City. However, his eyes were still filled with torment.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er¡­¡±

    How can I repay you for everything you¡¯ve done for me?

    Huo Yuhao stopped crying. When sorrow reached a certain level, tears were unable to flow anymore.

    After a brief moment, the chill that he released from his body gradually faded away. However, his face turned stiff, and he no longer had any expression on his face. He turned back calmly and looked at Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu. ¡°Thank you for protecting me. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Nan Shuishui had already lifted her daughter up at this moment. She opened her mouth and wanted to im that Huo Yuhao was definitely not fine! However, she didn¡¯t say it. No, she didn¡¯t dare to do so. The icy-cold look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes and his indifferent expression caused her to shudder. She was more willing to see a bawling Huo Yuhao than she was to see him in this state.

    There was nothing sadder than a withered heart. Wang Dong¡¯er was asleep, and Wang Qiu¡¯er had sacrificed herself for him. After being dealt two heavy blows, Huo Yuhao was already strong if he had not gone. However, he was already at his limit. If he was dealt any further blows, would he copse?

    Nan Shuishui was a sect leader. Although she sighed in her heart, she wasn¡¯t as weak as her daughter. She walked in front of Huo Yuhao and didn¡¯t discuss anything rted to Wang Qiu¡¯er. She only asked, ¡°Yuhao, where are we going next?¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have a n in mind, and said, ¡°Sect leader Nan, you can return with Qiuqiu first. I need to go to a ce first before I return to the Tang Sect.¡±

    Nan Shuishui said, ¡°No words can express my gratitude. I also have a few things to discuss with your sect leader. You can get busy with your stuff first. I¡¯ll send Qiuqiu back to the Tang Sect, and let¡¯s meet at the Tang Sectter.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll need to trouble you to tell my eldest senior that I¡¯m fine, and that I¡¯ll return soon. After this, tell him that Qiu¡¯er was the Auspicious Beast in the Great Star Dou Forest, and she sacrificed herself for me. I¡¯m afraid that the soul beasts in the forest will take revenge. The Academy must take precautions. After Iplete one more task, I¡¯ll return.¡±

    Nan Shuishui wore a gentle look as she looked at him and said gently, ¡°Kid, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. You must always look forward. Let¡¯s go to the Tang Sect immediately. Take the words that you said back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he looked at Nan Shuishui¡¯s gentle gaze. He suddenly felt that he had seen his mother¡¯s face. Instantly, he was about to tear up, and struggled to stop himself from calling out for his mother. He nodded gently and pointed his toes to the ground before turning around and leaping away. He used his Butterfly Wings as he flew into the distance rapidly.

    Nan Qiuqiu walked a few steps to her mother¡¯s side. ¡°Mom, can¡¯t I follow him? His current condition¡­¡±

 Chapter 390.2 - Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 390.2: Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest</h4>

    Nan Shuishui sighed gently and said, ¡°He¡¯s much tougher than you imagine. This kid is bound to achieve lots of sess in the future if he can ovee this psychological barrier. He¡¯ll definitely be a leading figure that can terrorize the entire continent. Perhaps these ordeals are the best whetstones to shape him into a great character.¡±

    The rims of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes turned a bit red, and she said, ¡°It¡¯s just that this is too cruel. The person he loves is unconscious, and the person who loves him died for him. If I were him, I would have already broken down.¡±

    Nan Shuishui hugged her daughter and said, ¡°This is why you¡¯re not him. You¡¯ll never reach the heights that he¡¯ll reach in the future. I just hope that you¡¯ll do your best to chase after him as you remain by his side. After some time, you¡¯ll discover that you¡¯ve widened the gap between you and others of the same age, even though you find yourselfgging further and further behind him. Just like I said to him, you must always look forward.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nan Qiuqiu seemed to understand something, and snuggled beside her mother. However, her mind kept on returning the teary look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes before he left.

    As he unleashed his soul power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed was lightning-quick. A formless protective barrier that was formed using his spiritual power helped to resist the strong windsing from the outside world. No matter whether one used their naked eyes or any type of surveince soul tool, they wouldn¡¯t be able to discover his presence in the air.

    Right now, Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s words before she died kept on ying in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    Everything that she had left behind had already fused with his body. The sixth soul ring of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Eye of Destiny couldn¡¯t be appraised using its ¡®limit¡¯, while the Skull of Destiny was an astonishing soul bone.

    After hepleted his perfect fusion with these strengths that Wang Qiu¡¯er left behind, he was enhanced until he reached another level entirely.

    This should be an extremely happy thing to any soul master. However, could Huo Yuhao really be happy?

    Dong¡¯er was in a deep sleep, but he had never once med Wang Qiu¡¯er for it. When Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself for him, he could clearly feel Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s apology towards Wang Dong¡¯er.

    The more it was like this, the more tormented he felt internally.

    ¡°I learned how humans love each other, but I didn¡¯t learn how to forget. I couldn¡¯t forget about you.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I came once I felt that you were in danger. This time, Dong¡¯er isn¡¯t by your side, and we aren¡¯t in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. This time, I will not lose to her anymore ¨C she is in a deep sleep, so there¡¯s no way she canpete with me.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I like how you are now, because you won¡¯t resist, and just take everything in silence. How I wish I could spend eternity with you like this! Thank you, Yuhao, because you have finally told me that there is space for me in your heart. In the end, I didn¡¯t waste my experience of that love that humans have. Perhaps I have be more like a human at this point.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Yuhao. Perhaps this is the best oue for us ¨C no matter what, we willnever be separated again.¡±

    Yes, we¡¯ll never be separated again! I¡¯ve fused with everything from you. We¡¯ll really never be separated again.

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly. His immense spiritual power gave him an extraordinary memory. This was why he could clearly recall the entire process of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s sacrifice for him.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er used the most extreme method to finally be together with him. It could even be said that she had forced him to be together with her. The sorrow he felt in his heart would never disappear.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll continue to live strongly for you and for Dong¡¯er. You are already a part of my body. By continuing to live strongly, it¡¯s the same as you being together with me. I¡¯ll protect everything that you¡¯ve given me.¡±

    After he finished muttering these words, he gradually retracted the sadness in his eyes. Yes, he had to be strong! It was only by doing so that he wouldn¡¯t let down everything that Wang Qiu¡¯er had done for him.

    Huo Yuhao only wanted to do one thing right now from the depths of his heart. He wanted to go to the Clear Sky Sect to see Wang Dong¡¯er. He had already lost Wang Qiu¡¯er, and he really wanted to be by Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s side and protect her. He wanted to stay with her until she woke up!

    However, he couldn¡¯t do so. At least not now.

    This was because he had something more important to do.

    He recalled what Wang Qiu¡¯er had said to him at the final moments before she died. As the Emperor Beast and god beast of Destiny, Wang Qiu¡¯er had offered herself to save Huo Yuhao. This greatly affected the entire Great Star Dou Forest. There was bound to be some kind of reaction, and it might even catalyze a disaster. He needed to rush back to the forest. It was only by inheriting Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s power of destiny that he could settle the core of this issue.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to return to Shrek City with Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui immediately was because he knew that he wasn¡¯t strong enough.

    Even though his spiritual power had been greatly enhanced, he still wasn¡¯t strong enough. He wanted to be even stronger. This process wouldn¡¯t take too much time either.

    He wanted to proceed towards a ce which wasn¡¯t too far from where he had absorbed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Sacrifice. It was a ce in the Sun Moon Empire.

    As Huo Yuhao flew, he called, ¡°Brother Skydream.¡±

    A streak of dim gold light shed, and a figure appeared beside him. It was a handsome man with short white hair, curly eyebrows, and golden eyes. There were even golden halos around his body.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± The eyes of this youth looked a little lost, but they were also filled withfort and gentleness. Yes, this was the human form of the Skydream Iceworm. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power transformed from the concrete-immaterial realm to the concrete-material realm, the Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and little Snow Lady¡¯s Spirit had all evolved.

    Their spiritual bodies were in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea evolved, their abilities, or rather the strengths that they had been suppressing for fear of overloading Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, were all released. This was also the reason why the Skydream Iceworm could adopt a human form and use his spiritual power as a foundation to materialize his form next to Huo Yuhao. At this moment, the ring on Huo Yuhao¡¯s finger that was formed using the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spirit had already disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Skydream, I¡¯m fine. How far are we?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied, ¡°We should be going in the correct direction. That fellow lives in a forbidden region of the Sun Moon Empire known as the Evildemon Forest. Although it isn¡¯t as huge as the Great Star Dou Forest, it¡¯s still thergest forest within the borders of the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s located roughly to the west of the Jing Yang Mountain Range that you¡¯ve been to before. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem as long as you continue flying in that direction. With your current speed, you¡¯ll be able to see it in at most two hours.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks, Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, ¡°Do you still have to stand on ceremony with me? Yuhao, do your best. All of us believe that you are the best. You were right earlier. It¡¯s best to not let Qiu¡¯er down by living well. To a certain extent, Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t die. She¡¯s only spending the rest of her life with you. You are her, and she¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand. I¡¯ll tough it out.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at the Skydream Iceworm again.

    The Skydream Iceworm gave him aforting look before turning into a streak of golden light and fusing into his body.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had to go to the Evildemon Forest, where the strongest soul beast in the Sun Moon Empire resided. There was an extremely strong soul beast species in that forest ¨C the Evileye Tyrants! Their leader was the Evileye Tyrant King, who was also known as the Evil Emperor.

    He was also the only living creature over the past hundred thousand years that dared to challenge the Beast God Di Tian, who was extremely terrifying.

    Before Huo Yuhao proceeded to the Sun Moon Empire, the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had already advised him that he should go to the Evildemon Forest to hunt an Evileye Tyrant which was of a sufficient cultivation to obtain his sixth soul ring. Evileye Tyrants were extremely strong spiritual-type soul beasts. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power wasn¡¯t strong enough in the past, but he was qualified now, as his spiritual power had been enhanced.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao had already obtained his sixth soul ring due to Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Sacrifice. However, he still needed to go to the Evildemon Forest. That was because his soul power wasn¡¯t at Rank 60, but Rank 70!

    After he finished fusing with the origin energy of Ultimate Ice earlier, his soul power had already crossed Rank 60. Even he himself didn¡¯t know what rank his soul power was at. When he absorbed Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s soul ring and soul bone, his Spirit Eyes fused perfectly with everything from Wang Qiu¡¯er, as she had offered herself as a sacrifice for him. The immense power of destiny that the Emperor Beast possessed greatly enhanced his soul power. As a result, he immediately discovered that his soul power had reached another bottleneck again ¨C the Rank 70 bottleneck.

    Ever since he had reached Rank 50, his soul power had been increasing at an extremely slow pace. He could only cultivate silently as he watched his teammates break through to be Soul Emperors.

    With the origin energy of Ultimate Ice that the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit put in him, and his perfect fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er, things finally paid off for him. As long as he obtained his seventh soul ring, he could finally make the jump from the mid-tier to the threshold of the top tier and be a Soul Sage.

    Huo Yuhao was actually very impatient right now. He wanted to return to Shrek quickly. That was because he clearly recalled that Wang Qiu¡¯er had mentioned that the Great Star Dou Forest would react harshly to her death.

    Whether he returned as a Soul Emperor or a Soul Sage wasn¡¯t just a concept. He knew that only he was capable of settling this issue. His abilities would carry an important weight in what was toe. That was why he quickly thought of what he had to do. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to proceed towards the Evildemon Forest, which was nearby, to obtain his seventh soul ring before returning to Shrek.

 Chapter 390.3 - Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 390.3: Awakening, Fusion, Evildemon Forest</h4>

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s death was bound to leave the savage beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest astonished and furious. However, they still needed time if they wanted to take action. The savage beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest couldn¡¯t just attack Shrek City, as the strength of Shrek Academy would make them think twice.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t predict exactly what was going to happen. He could only try to deal with the situation through the most suitable n.

    He was in fact a very emotional person. However, after he fused with this Three-Eyed Golden Lion skull, gusts of refreshing cold would seep into his spiritual sea and force him back to his rational state every time he lost control over his emotions.

    However, this wasn¡¯t afortable feeling, as his emotions were being suppressed by his rationality. However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t resist this rationality in the current situation he was in. The crisis that Wang Qiu¡¯er had brought about was probably more terrifying than the Sun Moon Empire capturing hundreds of hostages. And he would be the most important figure in resolving this crisis. How could he possibly be rxed?

    Just as the Skydream Iceworm had said, a huge forest appeared within his vision after he flew towards the north for less than two hours.

    The Great Star Dou Forest was very close to the center of the Douluo Continent, and so it had a temperate climate, but this forest was closer to the north, and thus was coniferous.

    Furthermore, this coniferous forest was filled with dark-greyish branches and leaves. It was extremely dark. Before entering it, a sense of suppression had already swept over him.

    This was definitely the Evildemon Forest. Huo Yuhao slowly descended from the sky andnded on the ground.

    Soul masters withmon sense wouldn¡¯t attempt to fly over a forest where there were many soul beasts. That was no different from suicide.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even stop to analyze the situation. He quickly entered the forest and immediately rushed toward the center of this forest based on the direction that he had determined while in the air earlier.

    This was self-confidence, his self-confidence in his own abilities.

    If it was five years ago, he would have been very cautious, and wouldn¡¯t have dared to venture into the forest. However, he waspletely different now. He possessed immense spiritual power that surpassed even that of Titled Douluo, and the abilities of the god beast of Destiny. He was nowpletely able to summon good fortune and avoid cmities.

    He didn¡¯t need to deliberately unleash his soul skills. His spiritual power was already like a fine web that had been scattered, rapidly spreading into the distance.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao discovered that the concentration of soul beasts here was greater than in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. It was indeed the ce in the Sun Moon Continent that had the most soul beasts.

    To prevent wasting time through fighting, Huo Yuhao used a summon.

    ¡°Ice Empress.¡± A streak of golden light shed, and a jade-green figure appeared beside Huo Yuhao.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing the Ice Empress in her human form. Her delicate looks made her seem less arrogant than the mature Snow Empress, but she was much cooler and more elegant. There were four streaks of demonic patterns on each of the sides of her captivating, silky-white face. Her long dark green hair flowed behind her back, but her snow-white skin looked as if it were transparent. Jade-green light shone beneath her skin. When she appeared, the surrounding temperature started to decline significantly.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ height was simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s. She looked very cold, and her gaze only turned gentler when she looked in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded slightly to the Ice Empress.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice was crisp and pleasant, but there was a chill in it that seemed to originate from her bones. She didn¡¯t do anything apart from advancing with Huo Yuhao. An aura that was special to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was also released from her body.

    She controlled the aura that she released very well. She didn¡¯t unleash it fully. With her cultivation before she fused with Huo Yuhao, she might really draw the Evil Emperor out if she unleashed her real aura. If that happened, there would be huge trouble.

    She only subtly exuded slight traces of the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast, which managed to suppress and immobilize the nearby soul beasts, who were of weaker cultivations. The soul beasts that were closer to her were even worse off.

    Huo Yuhao could see through his Spiritual Detection that the soul beasts within a few thousand square meters had all retreated as he advanced. Those who were weak were even paralyzed, and copsed to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t willing to kill soul beasts because of Wang Qiu¡¯er. This was why he used the Ice Empress¡¯ aura. Although the Ice Empress didn¡¯t be his Spirit like the Snow Empress and Skydream Iceworm, she could still materialize into a physical form through Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and remain outside of his body for long periods of time. She controlled her own bloodline and aura in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, which helped Huo Yuhao conserve his energy.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯tck spiritual power.

    When necessary, the Ice Empress could help him fight. However, she would have to use his soul power to do so. How much of her abilities she could use depended on how much soul power she could take from Huo Yuhao. After all, the Ice Empress had given him his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, and not his Spirit Eyes. As for the Skydream Iceworm, he could help Huo Yuhao fight and use his spiritual power. However, he wasn¡¯t very adept at fighting. Rather than ask him to fight, it was better for Huo Yuhao to control his own spiritual power to fight.

    It was just that an extra form of intelligence and control could help Huo Yuhao do things ordinary people couldn¡¯t at special moments.

    Huo Yuhao was venturing into this forest in a straight line. What he needed to do now was use the shortest time possible to find a soul beast that was suitable to be his seventh soul ring. He would hunt and absorb the soul ring before quickly returning to Shrek.

    Very soon, he had already passed the outer regions of the forest, and the soul beasts around him gradually became stronger. Hundred year soul beasts were everywhere, while thousand year soul beasts were asionally present. It was just that they avoided Huo Yuhao and the Ice Empress because of the Ice Empress¡¯ aura.

    Four hourster.

    ¡°Yuhao, be careful. We¡¯ve entered the core region of this forest. There will be ten thousand year soul beasts here. In addition, we might even face stronger existences. Perhaps you can find what you are looking for.¡± The Ice Empress warned Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao also understood what she was saying, and nodded. He replied, ¡°Thanks for your help. I can take over from now.¡±

    If the Ice Empress continued to stay outside, his presence would be too obvious. There was a high possibility that he might meet a strong soul beast as he entered the core region of this forest. Traces of the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast might not deter the soul beasts in this region. On the contrary, it might even attract stronger soul beasts. This was why Huo Yuhao decided to adopt a low-profile from here on out.

    A gentle halo formed distorted light patterns around his body. Very soon, he melded with everything around him, and his own aura was also blocked by this halo. It seemed as if he had vanished into thin air.

    He was still using his spiritual power to unleash his Imitation. However, he was truly concealing himself right now. Even if he had to enter Sunrise City again, he could fly into the city without fear of being discovered. Unless he was scanned by a ss 8 surveince soul tool, or something stronger, it was almost impossible to detect him. In addition, a ss 8 soul engineer was also needed to operate a ss 8 surveince soul tool capable of detecting him. There weren¡¯t too many soul engineers in the entire continent that were at least ss 8!

    As for soul beasts, only hundred thousand year soul beasts would be able to detect him through their own innate gifts.

    Huo Yuhao started to be more cautious as he ventured deeper into this forest. He didn¡¯t expand the area that his Spiritual Detection covered, but shrank it instead.

    The more experienced one was, the lesser bold he would be. The Evileye Tyrants resided in the Evildemon Forest. They were rare spiritual-type soul beasts and were naturally more sensitive to spiritual undtions. As a result, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to be careless.

    His soft-heartedness and carelessness led him into a crisis which eventually cost Wang Qiu¡¯er her life. He would rather be overly cautious than slip up again.

    He advanced carefully. Suddenly, there were chaotic undtions of soul power in front of him.There are soul beasts fighting?

    Huo Yuhao thought of something, and immediately stopped in his tracks. He quickly retreated a few steps and arrived beside arge tree. Using his Imitation, he assimted himself with his surroundings.

    His spiritual power had evolved to the concrete-material realm. He was confident that only a savage beast could possibly detect him in this position. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t be detected by weaker enemies, given his Imitation, if he didn¡¯t shift his position.

    He could only consider himself unfortunate if the soul power undtions that were getting closer and closer to him came from the Evileye Tyrant King. If he was so unfortunate, he wouldn¡¯t have benefitted from the Sacrifice of an Emperor Beast. Rather, he would have suffered from the Sacrifice of a Divine Mourning Emperor.

    The chaotic undtions of soul power were getting closer and closer. Very soon, the creatures who were generating such undtions appeared within the region covered by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    There are indeed soul beasts fighting.Huo Yuhao squinted. It was exactly as he had predicted earlier.

    The soul beast that was charging in front had thick scales covering its entire body. This soul beast¡¯s lower limbs were extremely thick, and it moved in an upright manner. Its upper limbs were short and small. It only had three fingers on each limb, but it had sharp ws that shone with cold light.

    The thick scales on its body were dark blue, and there were at least threeyers of them. They looked extremely thick. It was four meters in height, and seemed extremely muscr. Its head was also unusuallyrge, and upied one-third of its body. It dragged a thick, three meter-long tail behind it.

 Chapter 391.1 - Fiery Evil Tyrant

    <h4 ss>Chapter 391.1: Fiery Evil Tyrant</h4>

    Even though he came from Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao still hesitated a little after he saw this soul beast. He quickly tried to recall everything that he had learned so as to recognize what this soul beast was.

    This was a Devouring Dragon, which was also known as a Mini-Tyrant Dragon.

    Tyrant Dragons were considered one of the strongest among Earth Dragons. A mature Tyrant Dragon would grow to more than fifteen meters in height. Above a ten thousand year cultivation, they could even reach more than thirty meters in height. They were definitely considered one of thergest soul beasts. Their physical offense and defense were also very strong, and they couldpare to a true Giant Dragon.

    However, Tyrant Dragons weren¡¯t adept at long-range attacks. Their outstanding physical abilities also restricted them in other aspects.

    This Devouring Dragon in front of Huo Yuhao was very simr to a Tyrant Dragon in terms of its appearance. However, it was easy to tell them apart from their sizes. A Devouring Dragon was also very good at defense, but it was different from a Tyrant Dragon in the sense that its innate soul skill was extremely domineering. Its innate soul skill was called Devouring Heaven and Earth. It was innately bloodthirsty; it could recover its energy and evolve by devouring its enemy after killing it.

    Even in the world of soul beasts, Devouring Dragons weren¡¯t too popr. That was because they were too brutal. In the eyes of a Devouring Dragon, every creature was just a target to kill and devour. It didn¡¯t matter whether one was a soul beast or a human, or whether one was a strong opponent. It would only stop its rampage after killing and filling its stomach. After this, it would enter a deep sleep.

    A Devouring Dragon grew much faster than ordinary soul beasts. In general, they needed only a thousand years to reach the cultivation of an ordinary ten thousand year soul beast. However, they were usually killed when they met a stronger opponent due to their bloodthirstiness.

    Apart from a Devouring Dragon, there were also other types of soul beasts that relied on devouring their enemies¡¯ strength to evolve. One of the most notable and the strongest among these was the Darkdemon Evil Tiger. It was just that a Darkdemon Evil Tiger possessed extremely high intelligence, whereas a Devouring Dragon¡¯s intelligence was usually very limited, and it relied on its instincts to kill. As a result, Devouring Dragons were considered inferior to Darkdemon Evil Tigers.

    This Devouring Dragon could be considered quiterge. From the color of its scales to the length of its tail, it was easy to tell that it was a Devouring Dragon with a cultivation in the ten thousand year bracket. As for its specific cultivation, it was roughly between ten thousand and twenty thousand years.

    At such a level, the abilities of a Devouring Dragon were rather terrifying. However, this dragon seemed to be staggering forward as it advanced. The sides of its body had obvious burn marks, and it also looked very frantic. Evidently, whatever was chasing it had to be something stronger.

    An intense beam of red light was shot out from behind it at this moment. This beam of red light was extremely thick, at least a meter wide. Wherever it passed, all obstacles were instantly turned into flying ashes.

    The Devouring Dragon could evidently sense the threat to its life, and charged forward with all its might. At the same time, all its scales stood on end, and ayer of dark-blue light was released from its body, forming a protective barrier.

    The beam of red light came too quickly, and it also covered arge area. While this Devouring Dragon reacted very quickly, it still took a grazing hit.

    As its dark-blue light contacted this beam of red light, the protective light barrier distorted quickly, and started to undte. After this, it burst like a bubble, and the remaining red light swept past the Devouring Dragon¡¯s back. A plume of smoke immediately burst up.

    This Devouring Dragon screamed in pain and rolled on the ground before it leaped up again. This time, it turned around and raised its head. As it opened its bloody mouth, it roared furiously into the sky.

    It seemed to know that it couldn¡¯t escape. From its stance, it was obvious that it was ready to go all-out and risk its life.

    A ball of dark-blue gas instantly took form in its mouth, and the center of this ball of gas was pitch-ck. It was its innate soul skill, Devouring Heaven and Earth.

    Within a region that covered a hundred meters, everything turned eerily dark, and a terrifying devouring power turned all life in this region into ash. Their energy was devoured regardless whether they were worms or nts.

    The strongest part of this Devouring Dragon¡¯s Devouring Heaven and Earth was its attack. Just with this innate soul skill and its immense physical strength, a Devouring Dragon was able to gain an absolute advantage in front of most soul beasts.

    Huo Yuhao felt helpless right now.

    Just as this Devouring Dragon attacked, Huo Yuhao was immediately enveloped by its Devouring Heaven and Earth, as he was only several dozen meters away.

    Huo Yuhao only felt that everything around him had turned eerily cold, and a strange force was maniacally sucking his life energy away. It felt as if his bones and flesh were about to be torn apart, and his entire body would be crushed into powder.

    Of course, this feeling onlysted for an instant before it ended.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation was deactivated, and ayer of gold isted that terrifying, devouring aura. Of course, Huo Yuhao also revealed himself from his invisible state.

    His Imitation wasn¡¯t an all-around skill. Against such an area of effect skill, he eventually still had to reveal himself.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little depressed.What¡¯s going on? I was just trying to watch this intense fight, but I¡¯m being dragged in now.

    As a dim light shed, Huo Yuhao revealed a helpless look on his face. He immediately sprang up into the air and drifted back like a snowke. His greatest hope was that these two soul beasts hadn¡¯t noticed him, and would continue their fight. This was why he tried his best to retract his aura and suppress his presence.

    However, it was a pity that soul beasts were most sensitive to humans. Just as Huo Yuhao revealed himself, a piercing scream resonated in the air. He also finally saw the figure of the second soul beast that had unleashed the earlier beam of red light.

    This soul beast had a very strange appearance. It was drifting in the air, and looked like a balloon. It was a pity that it wasn¡¯t a balloon, but a huge, bloodshot eye that was a meter across.

    There were clusters of brown stripes around this huge eye, and it had six tentacles that drooped onto the ground, which supported it in the air. As these tentacles dragged the eye, they left rotten ditches behind along its path.

    Out of these six tentacles, three were green, while the other three were red, and they were clearly separated. When it appeared, it was already staring at Huo Yuhao.

    Evileye! While it wasn¡¯t easy identifying a Devouring Dragon, it was much easier identifying this soul beast. That was because it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s target on his journey into this forest.

    However, Huo Yuhao was a little depressed, because this Evileye wasn¡¯t a pure spiritual type soul beast even though it seemed to already be as powerful as a sovereign king. It seemed to be a mix of different types.

    When he was in Shrek Academy, there had been a special lesson taught about Evileyes.

    Not all Evileyes possessed the same abilities. There were different species of Evileyes. Among the Evileye species, those with fewer abilities were actually stronger. This meant that the fewer innate soul skills they possessed, the greater their abilities.

    The Evileye Tyrant King only had one elemental type ¨C spiritual. It could use countless spiritual-type soul skills with its immense spiritual power. In addition, the area that it could cover with its attacks was frightening, even exceeding that of the Beast God, Di Tian.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao could tell that this Evileye possessed at least three different elements from the attack it had unleashed earlier and from the colors of its tentacles. It was spiritual-type, fire-type and corrosive-type.

    Its red tentacles were fire-type while, its green tentacles were corrosive-type. Along with the huge, fiery-red eye that it had, it was obvious that fire was its main element.

    An Evileye with a cultivation exceeding ten thousand years could be considered an Evileye Tyrant. This Evileye Tyrant was very well suited to its name.

    However, it was a pity that it wasn¡¯t what Huo Yuhao needed right now. Huo Yuhao needed a pure spiritual-type Evileye. This meant that it had to be an Evileye that possessed the same innate gifts as the Evileye Tyrant King, or one that was mainly spiritual-type and had other auxiliary elemental types. It was best if it had as little of the other elements as possible.

    That scream earlier was released by this Fiery Evil Tyrant. Its mouth was behind its pupil. As it screamed, it also drifted forward faster.

    The strange thing was that the Devouring Dragon that was about to fight it earlier also turned around and faced Huo Yuhao with its mouth wide open.

    Surely not? They¡¯ve turned from enemies to friends in such a short time, and are treating me as a joint target?Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and also descended to the ground.

    After this, he saw that Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s eye brightening up. Rings of strange distorted patterns started to spread from it. It was as if the surrounding brown stripes around it had turned illusory.

    Everything within a region that spanned several hundred meters in diameter started to distort.

    This was an innate soul skill of an Evileye, Spiritual Forcefield. Anyone whose spiritual power was weaker would be suppressed. Depending on one¡¯s cultivation and spiritual power, he would experience different intensities of dizziness, dullness, fatigue, dispiritedness, weakness and other states. This was also one of the best crowd-control skills that Evileyes were capable of.

    It was rumored that the Evil Emperor¡¯s Spiritual Forcefield could cover a region that spanned thirty kilometers. Simply put, he could cover half of Radiant City.

    When this Fiery Evil Tyrant unleashed its Spiritual Forcefield, the Devouring Dragon charged towards Huo Yuhao. As it opened its mouth wide, a beam of ck light that glowed dark blue at the edges shot towards Huo Yuhao. It was its Devouring Heaven and Earth.

    Not only did these two soul beasts reconcile, but they even reached an agreement to attack Huo Yuhao together in such a short period of time. They were coordinating rather well too.

 Chapter 391.2 - Fiery Evil Tyrant

    <h4 ss>Chapter 391.2: Fiery Evil Tyrant</h4>

    If it was some ordinary Soul Emperor, he wouldn¡¯t feelfortable facing this Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s Spiritual Forcefield even if he wasn¡¯tpletely suppressed. It was a pity that this Fiery Evil Tyrant was facing Huo Yuhao; the Eyes of Asura whose spiritual power greatly exceeded his soul power and was already at the standard of a Titled Douluo.

    The look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes was very cold. His determined look didn¡¯t waver at all even against the control of this Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s Spiritual Forcefield.

    ¡°Since the two of you are courting death, I shall grant you your wishes!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother with the Devouring Dragon that had unleashed its Devouring Heaven and Earth at him. He was focused on the Fiery Evil Tyrant instead. Suddenly, his eyes turned purplish-gold. Yes, his eyes had turned apletely transparent purplish-gold.

    Everything around them seemed to slow down, and the Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s Spiritual Forcefield suddenly stopped. It was as if the space around it had been instantly locked.

    ¡°Spiritual! Shock!¡± Huo Yuhao stood quietly in ce and spoke each word with a pause in between.

    As he spoke, the Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s eye seemed to be in a daze, whereas the Devouring Dragon continued to unleash its Devouring Heaven and Earth. However, it scattered amidst the distorted air.

    A ring of purplish-gold light started to spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. More urately speaking, it spread towards those two soul beasts in a fan shape.

    The air was illuminated in the same color as this purplish-gold light passed.

    The Devouring Dragon that was charging in front suddenly stiffened and instantly went into a daze. The bloodthirsty and crazed look in its eyes turned still. Following this, its eyes dimmed.

    ¡°Chi!¡± Its eyes, nose, mouth,and ears started to shoot out reddish-white gore. Its head didn¡¯t blow apart from the explosion, but its brain and spirit were crushed under the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrifying Spiritual Shock!

    The purplish-gold light continued to spread. When itnded on the Fiery Evil Tyrant, its eye suddenly turned purplish-gold, and there was an astonished look in it. However, rings of red, green and gold light surged from its eye, trying to resist the force of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. He immediately retracted his Spiritual Shock before focusing it all on the Fiery Evil Tyrant.

    Suddenly, all the lights that had resisted his Spiritual Shock were destroyed. The Fiery Evil Tyrant¡¯s eye started to shine brightly with a purplish-gold light. In the next instant, another explosion urred!

    Two ck soul rings rose in session, shing in the air.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to possess some invisible suction force that guided those two soul rings towards him.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head scornfully and waved his right hand, dispersing these two ck soul rings that most soul masters would have craved.

    Originally, he didn¡¯t want to kill any soul beasts. For Qiu¡¯er¡¯s sake, he didn¡¯t want tomit too many sins. However, those two soul beasts had attacked him with all their might immediately after they discovered him. Huo Yuhao was in sorrow and pain because of Qiu¡¯er¡¯s death. The moment he unleashed his abilities, he immediately killed his opponents.

    However, he hadn¡¯t expected his spiritual power to be so strong right now. He didn¡¯t shift from his position at all. Using only the first soul ring of his Spirit Eyes, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and Spiritual Shock to kill those two soul beasts that were considered some of the strongest ten thousand year soul beasts in existence.

    ¡°What standard has my spiritual power reached?¡± Huo Yuhao muttered to himself. He wasn¡¯t too happy right now just because his spiritual cultivation was extremely powerful.

    The strength of his spiritual power had also helped to enhance his overall abilities to a standard that he wasn¡¯t clear of either. This also meant that obtaining his seventh soul ring was going to be much more difficult than expected. It was definitely not going to be easy to find a soul ring that was fit to be his seventh soul ring. His spiritual cultivation was simply too strong. If he were just finding a soul ring to be a Soul Sage, it wasn¡¯t going to be beneficial to his future development.

    Must I really make a move on a hundred thousand year Evileye Tyrant?

    However, can I fight an Evileye Tyrant of that cultivation?

    ¡°Oh?¡± Just as Huo Yuhao was pondering, he suddenly felt a weird trace of spiritual aura rising in front of him. After this, he instantly turned around and disappeared.

    This spiritual aura came from the Fiery Evil Tyrant that he had just killed.

    As his figure shed, Huo Yuhao immediately came to the position where the Fiery Evil Tyrant was blown apart.

    He saw a diamond-shaped crystal entity on the ground. This crystal entity was dark red, and there were greenish flowery patterns on it.

    What¡¯s this? Is this the crystal core of this Fiery Evil Tyrant? The spiritual aura that it released seems to havee from this. Don¡¯t tell me that this is its spirit?

    Evileyes belonged to the Sun Moon Continent. As a result, Shrek Academy didn¡¯t have much information on them. At most, only a few ordinary Evileyes with hundred year or thousand year cultivations were killed and recorded in the academy. There wasn¡¯t any information on ten thousand year Evileye Tyrants.

    Huo Yuhao squatted down and picked up the crystal entity. He poured his spiritual power into it and immediately discovered that there were remnants of spiritual power in this crystal entity. He was immediately enlightened.

    It seemed like the spirits of Evileyes would be enhanced when they reached a certain cultivation before forming such a crystal. After this, the spiritual origins of these Evileyes would be hidden in such a crystal.

    Even though he had used his immense spiritual power to kill the Evileye Tyrant earlier, a shred of its spirit in this crystal still managed to flee. Evileyes indeed had specialized spiritual abilities! Even a Fiery Evil Tyrant that wasn¡¯t pure spiritual-type could escape with a shred of its spirit if it was killed.

    Does its escaped spirit possess any memories? Will it be able to draw the Evileye Tyrant King?

    I don¡¯t think so. As the ruler of this Evildemon Forest, what kind of an existence is the Evil Emperor? Will he personally show himself just because someone from his species was killed? If he does, he must be too bored. Furthermore, the Ice Empress and Brother Skydream once said that this Evileye Tyrant King should be about to face his eighth bottleneck. It¡¯s difficult to tell whether he¡¯ll be able to break through this bottleneck. If he can¡¯t, he¡¯ll die. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t have time to be bothered with something as trivial as this.

    As long as the Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t appear, Huo Yuhao was confident in facing any form of crisis. Evileyes were adept at spiritual power, but so was he. An Evileye which didn¡¯t have at least a hundred thousand year cultivation was unlikely to pose any threat to him. As for those that had exceeded a hundred thousand year cultivation, Huo Yuhao was confident of escaping from them.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t just wait here foolishly. What if a hundred thousand year Evileye really appeared?

    After pondering for a moment, he drifted towards the perimeter of the core region of this Evildemon Forest. He had a subtle feeling that the Fiery Evil Tyrant he had just killed would bring him some trouble.

    This premonition was very clear and strong. It came from the Skull of Destiny that he had obtained from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    When he focused his thoughts on this skull, Huo Yuhao could sense that countless threads seemed to be released from his head, and each thread seemed to be connected to a destiny that was bound to happen. They gave him clues.

    The blessing of destiny helped him to usher in good fortune and avoid cmities. Huo Yuhao suspected that Wang Qiu¡¯er had predicted that he was going to be in big trouble before she went to Sunrise City to find him. By going there to find him, she was going to face a cmity because of him. However, she still proceeded without any hesitation and sacrificed herself.

    There was a simple reason why Huo Yuhao ran outward ¨C this Evildemon Forest was the territory of the Evileyes. He was safer the further he was from the core region. He had to wait until the feeling that he had disappeared before he entered the core region again.

    As he fled, Huo Yuhao was thinking continuously.

    After he finished his cultivation and moved off, his mind was still filled with Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er. He didn¡¯t think about the current state of his mind. However, he had calmed down after the fight just now and was temporarily free from his sorrow.

    It was extremely important for him to think.

    As he calmed down, he started to sense his current condition.

    He discovered that his spiritual sea had undergone a transformation.

    It was still a spiritual sea, but there was now an additional ind in it. It was a splendid and magnificent ind. This ind was veryrge, and it was at the center of his spiritual sea. The Ice Empress, Snow Empress,and Skydream Iceworm were all on this ind.

    There were pavilions, terraces,and courtyards on this ind. It seemed like a mansion owned by a noble family.

    When Huo Yuhao took a closer look, he was stunned. That was because the building on this ind was actually the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    This was¡­ a spiritual reflection!

    This was a spiritual reflection that had appeared in his spiritual sea after his spiritual power materialized. Spiritual reflection urred when the most basic thing in his heart was reflected on a particr situation.

    Huo Yuhao had just reached this level and didn¡¯t know how to adjust his spiritual reflection yet. However, he could subtly sense that the growth of his spiritual reflection would determine the direction of his future abilities.

    He still had to figure everything out on his own. As he reached this level, Huo Yuhao was basically certain to be a Titled Douluo and even a Transcendent Douluo in the future. Once he obtained his seventh soul ring, the restriction of Ultimate Ice on him would cease to exist, and his cultivation speed would increase significantly.

    Huo Yuhao was only eighteen years old right now. With his current condition, he could have nine rings in ten years at most. He could be a nine-ringed Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul! He would be extremely powerful then. Moreover, he possessed extraordinary spiritual power. Even though he possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul, it still couldn¡¯tpare to his Spirit Eyes, which possessed great spiritual power.

 Chapter 391.3 - Fiery Evil Tyrant

    <h4 ss>Chapter 391.3: Fiery Evil Tyrant</h4>

    Qiu¡¯er, what is the soul skill that you gave me when you fused with me?

    Everything that Wang Qiu¡¯er had left for Huo Yuhao was in his body, including her soul bone and soul ring. Wang Qiu¡¯er had mentioned before that she possessed the abilities of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast even though she wasn¡¯t that old, because she was the Emperor Beast. She would have given Huo Yuhao two soul skills from her soul bone and ring.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was trying to sense the abilities that came with his sixth soul ring, a weird emotional undtion suddenly surfaced in his heart.

    They were negative emotions, filled with hatred, fury, and the urge to kill. When they first surfaced, Huo Yuhao immediately felt like he was about to go crazy.

    Gusts of cold were instantly released from his Skull of Destiny, and seeped into his spiritual sea. They quickly suppressed the manic feeling, and he also stopped moving.

    There was something wrong with his surroundings.

    The scenery was still the same, but he could clearly feel that something wasn¡¯t right.

    It was still the Evildemon Forest, but Huo Yuhao felt as if he were in another world now. It felt like he was being forced out of the normal world by some kind of weird force.

    This was¡­

    A Spiritual Dreand? A domain-type spiritual ability?

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. Even with his current spiritual power that was in the concrete-material realm, emotions still poured into his heart, and caused him to enter some kind of Spiritual Dreand. His opponent¡¯s spiritual power was undoubtedly very strong.

    Was he really so unfortunate? Did he really draw the Evileye Tyrant King over?

    If that was really the case, he was going to die without any chance.

    As he focused his gaze, his entire aura changed. Immense spiritual power instantly started to surge out from his body and through his head, like flowing water.

    The six soul rings of his Spirit Eyes revolved around his body as they shone brightly, especially thest, rose-gold soul ring, which was extremely blinding.

    Rings of distorted light also started to spread out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    When the lights from his body contacted the air from the outside world, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if he had drawn open curtains, opened a window, and entered another world.

    Everything around him turned illusory, and started to ripple. After this, they changed into countless projections of strong soul beasts leaping towards him maniacally.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t moved, and just stood where he was. He shut his eyes and pressed his right hand against his forehead. After this, he coldly shouted, ¡°Spiritual! Shock!¡±

    The tone of the second word sounded gloomier and rougher. At each word, his aura soared higher.

    Reciting the name of his soul skill was an ability that Huo Yuhao figured out when he went into closed-door cultivation in Sunrise City. Hebined the spells and incantations that Electrolux had passed to him with his soul skills, and used those incantations to enhance the strength of his soul skills.

    He didn¡¯t originally seed in his research into this ability. It was only when his spiritual power achieved a qualitative increase and reached the concrete-material realm that he managed to achieve his target in his first attempt at using this ability.

    The names of his soul skills had be incantations. Even though it was limited to his Spiritual Shock right now, it was still very beneficial to him.

    A purplish-gold glow started to spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead. It looked like ripples across the pond of reality. Wherever these ripples passed, those distorted projections were all shattered like mirrors that had been smashed.

    ¡°Good, very good. An interesting human. No wonder you dare to step into my territory. So it turns out that you are adept at spiritual abilities. It seems like you are specially here to hunt those from my species. It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re doomed today, even though you¡¯re a spiritual-type soul master.¡±

    Everything around him became normal again. Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to look in the direction the voice hade from.

    He turned around. When he saw the owner of that voice, he straightened his gaze, and his expression immediately became serious.

    It was an Evileye; a strange, but powerful Evileye.

    Just from its color, it was clear that it was much more arrogant than the Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier.

    The body of this Evileye, or rather its huge eye, was silver-white.

    Its size was even more terrifying. It was more than three meters across. The Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier seemed like a little kid in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao was even more shocked that this Evileye had sixteen drooping tentacles.

    The number of tentacles was also a semi-definite way of determining the strength of an Evileye. The more tentacles an Evileye had, the stronger it was.

    The Fiery Evil Tyrant earlier had only had six tentacles, but it was already very strong offensively. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used his Spiritual Shock to destroy it, he would have found it very difficult to resist its specialized fire-type attack, the Fiery Gaze.

    However, this Evileye actually had sixteen tentacles, and they were all silver-white, just like its body. This also meant that this Evileye only possessed one element, or possibly two elements.

    It was definitely a spiritual-type soul beast. As for whether it had a second element, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell yet. From the spiritual-type soul skill that it had unleashed earlier, it was likely to be from the same bloodline as the Evil Emperor. Evileyes from this bloodline were purely of the spiritual element, and they held a very high status among Evileyes as the most noble. In addition, their abilities were extremely powerful. Huo Yuhao was in luck!

    Hundred-thousand-years! Is this a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant?

    Huo Yuhao twisted the edge of his lips.Aren¡¯t I too unbelievably fortunate? I¡¯m getting whatever I want. It¡¯s just that I have to be able to handle this ¡®dish¡¯ that¡¯s been presented to me! And it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s going to be so easy¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll only know who¡¯s dead and who¡¯s alive after fighting!¡± While this was a crisis, it was also an opportunity. If this were a hundred-thousand-year Evileye of a different type, Huo Yuhao might have just fled. He wasn¡¯t skilled enough to resist a hundred-thousand-year soul beast right now.

    However, things were different if this Evileye was really a pure spiritual-type Evileye. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power couldn¡¯tpare to his opponent, but he was confident in taking on such a hundred-thousand-year Evileye, given his spiritual cultivation. Moreover, he had even inherited Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Emperor Beast abilities. To a certain extent, he possessed a part of the Emperor Beast¡¯s abilities, even though he was a human.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t stand still and chat with such a strong opponent. As he spoke, he had already made his move. He knew the importance of seizing the opportunities presented to him.

    White, purple, ck, ck, ck, rose-gold. Six soul rings rose in session.

    When this hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant saw his rose-gold soul ring, its pupil shrank slightly.

    Just like how humans were familiar with soul beasts, this hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant naturally understood human soul masters, given its cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s luck was simply too good.

    The Fiery Evil Tyrant that he had killed earlier was this Evileye Tyrant¡¯s concubine. The shred of spirit that the Fiery Evil Tyrant had escaped with might not be enough to resurrect it, but it was sufficient to inform this Evileye Tyrant of Huo Yuhao¡¯s location. Since his concubine had been killed, this Evileye Turant was naturally furious. He quickly pursued Huo Yuhao, which was also the reason why Huo Yuhao felt a suppressive and ominous feeling in his heart.

    As his soul rings rose, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened, and his first soul ring shone with white light. His eyes immediately turned purplish-gold, and two streaks of materialized, purplish-gold light shot out towards the Evileye Tyrant.

    After his spiritual power experienced its qualitative increase, Huo Yuhao was able to manipte his Spiritual Shock and make it domain-type or unidirectional. The two streaks of purplish-gold light instantly shot forward several hundred meters andnded on the Evileye Tyrant.

    This Evileye Tyrant¡¯s pupil dted, and rings of silver light patterns started to spread outwards from its body.

    As a top-ranked spiritual-type soul beast, it was clearly aware that a strong spiritual-type soul skill couldn¡¯t be avoided, and so it didn¡¯t even bother evading. Just like Huo Yuhao was confident in his own spiritual power, it wasn¡¯t afraid of facing a Soul Emperor, given its cultivation. Even though it could tell that Huo Yuhao was a little weird, and he was able to break out from its spiritual control, it still didn¡¯t regard Huo Yuhao highly.

    The two streaks of purplish-gold light stopped in the air as they collided with the rings of silver light patterns, immediately creating surging ripples of energy.

    Huo Yuhao and this Evileye Tyrant were at both ends of a spiritual storm that had erupted between the two of them.

    As Huo Yuhao was the one who had started the attack, this spiritual storm was more concentrated around the Evileye Tyrant.

    The destructiveness of this spiritual storm was different from the destructive capability of soul power. As it raged, the air between Huo Yuhao and the Evileye Tyrant warped drastically, and everything seemed to turn unreal. All the nts in the region started to wither at an rming rate. They weren¡¯t destroyed directly, but their internal structures were messed up under the effect of the shing spiritual powers, and their biological integrity was affected.

    The silver undtions started to be stronger. They began to buzz, and a series of terrifying spiritual explosions urred. Intimidating explosive forces were unleashed in random directions.

    The withered nts were blown apart and scattered everywhere.

    Huo Yuhao squirmed like a withered leaf and was flung backward as he suffered from the shockwaves of these explosions.

    There was no expression on his face, but a dim light shed across his eyes. He shut his eyes as his third and fourth soul rings shone in session.

    A white skeletal head appeared above the Evileye Tyrant. Even with its abilities, it was still affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Enfeeblement even as it went up against his spiritual power.

 Chapter 392

    <h4 ss>Chapter 392: Complete Suppression! The Eye of the Asura Reveals Its Might</h4>

    The Evileye Tyrant was about to charge ahead at full speed but suddenly slowed in midair. A dim golden whirlpool appeared above its eye as it stoppedpletely in ce.

    Mass Enfeeblement, Spiritual Confusion.

    Two control-type soul skills were unleashed,pletely revealing Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense control abilities.

    Although the Evileye Tyrant appeared to be a little confused, it seemed more callous and ferocious. Its aura soared as if it were confident of crushing Huo Yuhao in the next moment.

    The truth was that it really was that confident. While Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual attacks were strong, it could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power wasn¡¯t even at the level of a seven-ringed Soul Sage yet. Huo Yuhao was much too inferiorpared to it!

    Even a Transcendent Douluo would find it difficult to fight a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. No soul master was willing to face the immense spiritual power and innate soul skills of this hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

    Although this Evileye Tyrant had only just broken through to a hundred-thousand-year cultivation level, it possessed the purest bloodline of the Evileyes. It was also absolutely confident in its own abilities. While it was stunned that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was in the concrete-material realm just like its, it was confident of crushing Huo Yuhao due to the huge gap between their overall abilities. One or two control-type soul skills could only temporarily restrain it. When it unleashed its full power, it was confident of easily defeating this puny human!

    However, it didn¡¯t know that it had made the mistake that most soul beasts made when facing human soul masters¡­ it had underestimated its opponent!

    At times, a soul master¡¯s abilities couldn¡¯t bepletely exined using the number of soul rings they possessed. Although this was only a rare urrence, a soul beast would be in deep trouble if it met such a soul master.

    Two control-type soul skills were used on this Evileye Tyrant in session, and the air in front of Huo Yuhao was warped and distorted. Huo Yuhao was interfering with this Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spiritual senses!

    This time, his Interference didn¡¯t cover arge area, but just a small spot in front of him. He was using it to block the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s observation of him!

    To the Evileye Tyrant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to contort and bend. It couldn¡¯t possibly see what Huo Yuhao was doing under the effect of his Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual Confusion.

    However, it wasn¡¯t worried at all. It managed to regain its movement in the next second. Furthermore, it was already prepared beforehand. While Huo Yuhao¡¯s two control-type soul skills had managed to take effect on it, their effects wouldn¡¯t be nearly as good in the future.

    Its huge figure was now flying at an extremely rapid speed andpletely unobstructed since all obstacles had been destroyed by the spiritual storm earlier.

    As it flew, the silver patterns around its eyes started to shine brightly. Its sixteen tentacles opened wide, and every tentacle was shing with intense silver light.

    All living matter, including nts, immediately met with disaster once they touched his tentacles because his tentacles could devour spirits. Once they struck something living, they could unleash a spiritual explosion that would enter an opponent¡¯s body and destroy their spiritual world. After that,it would devour his opponent¡¯s shattered spirit devoured to nourish itself.

    A pure-blooded Evileye Tyrant like itself didn¡¯t need to ingest any food. What it needed was pure spiritual power! Huo Yuhao looked like great nourishment to it. Right now, the look in its eye had turned from arrogance to greed. Any Evileye would be extremely delighted to see such a tonic right in front of them!

    A terrifying beam of silver light three meters wide shot out from this Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye in the next moment.

    Evileye Gaze! This was one of the strongest innate offensive soul skills of an Evileye Tyrant and the most frightening ability of a pure spiritual-type Evileye Tyrant. Its effect was simr to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, its strength varying depending on the abilities of the Evileye Tyrant unleashing it.

    It was rumored that the Evil Emperor had used it on the God Beast Di Tian once, causing Di Tian to stop moving for around five seconds. In those five seconds, he could only passively take blows from the Evil Emperor.

    This memory came from Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    The huge beam of silver light quickly closed on Huo Yuhao. The Evileye Tyrant was deliberately merciful and didn¡¯t unleash its full strength. It was afraid that it wouldn¡¯t be able to devour Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit if he was destroyed.

    However, it suddenly saw an eye open when that beam of silver light was less than a meter from Huo Yuhao. It was a vertical eye covered in rose-gold sunray patterns, and it released ck and white lights.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s rose-gold soul ring shone at the same time.

    Not only this, but a wheel of light suddenly shone behind Huo Yuhao. This wheel of light seemed very weird. Although it was an illusory existence formed from light, there seemed to be patterns carved onto it. It was an image of a Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and a dancing golden dragon.

    The huge beam of silver light struck Huo Yuhao¡¯s body the moment that rose-gold wheel of light appeared.

    An extremely weird scene appeared at the next moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body turned illusory, and the beam of silver light passed through his body.

    This beam of silver lightsted for several seconds before it disappeared. As it ranged out, a corridor several hundred meters long formed in the forest, surrounded by withered nts.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s illusory figure turned real again after this beam of silver light passed through his body. He wasn¡¯t hurt at all!

    One ck and one white light shot out from his Eye of Destiny. The hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant was shocked that Huo Yuhao was able to survive its Evileye Gaze without being harmed at all, and was struck by these two streaks of light.

    It felt slightly dizzy before it returned to normal. It seemed as if nothing had happened at all.

    However, Huo Yuhao could see that its eye was no longer silver. It was now ck and white.

    The world that Huo Yuhao saw was different from the world that this Evileye Tyrant saw. In his eyes, he initially saw countless threads of destiny around this Evileye Tyrant. However, they had been snapped at this moment. Not only this, but this Evileye Tyrant was also weakening at a shocking speed. It wasn¡¯t just its soul power that was weakening, but its spiritual power, too!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny turned back to rose-gold and ayer of distorted, rose-gold ripples started to spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    When this strangeyer of rose-gold ripples appeared, everything around them turned rose-gold, too. On close observation, even the dust drifting in the air paused as the rose-gold ripples passed over it.

    This Evileye Tyrant was extremely sensitive and felt that something was amiss. Subconsciously, it tried to use its spiritual power to unleash its soul skills

    However, it discovered that it couldn¡¯t do anything, and couldn¡¯t even move its body. It was like its spiritual power had been frozen. The most terrifying thing was that it finally discovered that there was something wrong with its body. It could sense the ck and white aura on it.

    ¡°Ah!¡± It let out a tragic scream and struggled. It wanted to break free from the mounting fear seizing it.

    It managed to seed, as the two soul skills that Huo Yuhao used on it could only hold it in ce for a second each. Whenbined, they could still only restrain it for three seconds.

    Changing his attack, Huo Yuhao also circted his soul power. His rose-gold ripples weren¡¯t released rapidly. They only managed to reach the Evileye Tyrant after the three seconds were over.

    The moment it regained control of its body, the Evileye Tyrant tried to retreat without any hesitation. However, it discovered that it was moving at a pathetic speed like its entire body had deteriorated. It was even more horror-stricken that there was an additional piece of granite on the ground right now, a piece of granite that seemed to have miraculously survived his shes with Huo Yuhao earlier. This piece of granite wasn¡¯t veryrge, but it still ran into it as he tried to avoid Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack.

    Even though it immediately crushed the stone to pieces, its body still stopped without any control. It was also at this instant that the rose-gold ripples reached its body.

    Its body immediately froze, and there was now anotheryer of rose-gold on it.

    Huo Yuhao was adding more colors to its body as they fought, and managed to seed in doing so each time.

    The rose-gold ripples spread another several hundred meters before they stopped. Within this region that now spanned five hundred meters in diameter, a rose-gold ocean drifting in the air seemed to appear, with Huo Yuhao at its center.

    The sky above the Evildemon Forest suddenly turned gloomy. However, the dark clouds reflected golden light amidst this gloominess.

    ¡°Spiritual st!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted coldly.

    OM OM OM!

    The rose-gold ripples started to shake, but they were very gentle and didn¡¯t cause any destruction. Even the parts of the forest that were further away and affected by it didn¡¯t suffer at all.

    However, wrinkles started to appear on the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye when this tremor reached it. After that, its body started to shake tremendously.

    Boo boo boo boo boo boo boo!A series of weird noises sounded, somewhere between popping and blowing. Holes burst open on the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s Body, and silver gases flowed from those wounds. It was like a huge balloon had just popped open in several ces at once.

    All this time, the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye was filled with disbelief. It couldn¡¯t believe that its opponent¡¯s spiritual power could hurt it even though it had a higher cultivation. This waspletely unbelievable!

    Huo Yuhao rubbed his forehead with his hand. The sunray patterns around his Eye of Destiny red with light, and a streak of rose-gold light shot out.

    This streak of light seemed like it came from another world. It disappeared the moment it shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. When it appeared again, it was directly in front of the Evileye Tyrant.

    Chi¡­!

    Bloody silver light sttered on the ground. The streak of rose-gold light had pierced through the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye, and only left remnants on the outside.

    The Evileye Tyrant¡¯s body was shaking uncontrobly now. Although its silver blood stopped sttering, it was still flowing out uncontrobly from the wounds on the Evileye Tyrant.

    Even at this stage, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to let down his guard. This was his first time facing a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!

    Lights shone brightly on his back, and soul thrusters propelled him forward. In an instant, he traveled several hundred meters and arrived in front of the Evileye Tyrant.

    The cold look in his eyes turned gentle, and they were now filled with a look of remembrance.

    He clenched his right fist at his waist, and all the light in heaven and earth seemed to gather towards his fist. His eyes, including his vertical eye, were shining brightly at this moment. A strong spiritual undtion caused countless thin slits to appear in the surrounding space.

    The Fist of Remembrance, a fist which contained a surging feeling of remembrance!

    Boom!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist struck empty space, and a huge beam of golden light hit the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s body.

    The countless spatial slits started to take effect on its body. Theybined with Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul and spiritual power, causing another st to ur.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    A huge wound more than a meter long appeared on the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye. It had been directly pierced through.

    The spiritual suppression that the Evileye Tyrant had unleashed around its body stopped, and its sixteen tentacles all froze in mid-air.

    Huo Yuhao trembled, but he quickly managed to stabilize himself. A streak of golden light flew back from this huge wound in the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s eye andnded in his hand.

    It was the Golden Dragon Spear, which had belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    Immense life energy was surging towards Huo Yuhao through the Spear. The part of the Spear that was drawn out of the Evileye Tyrant was carrying a silver glow, as it continued to draw out the life energy of the Evileye Tyrant and nourish him.

    The color on Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale face was slowly returning to normal. However, he thought of something, and quickly took a step forward. He grabbed the spear with his left hand and waved his right hand. His Darkgolden Terrorws appeared and wed out at a streak of silver light that was about to rise and escape!

 Chapter 393.1 - Rage of the Evil Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 393.1: Rage of the Evil Emperor</h4>

    It was a silver crystal body, and there were extremely dense spiritual undtions inside it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw was incredibly sharp, but even it couldn¡¯t break this crystal open. That flourishing and immense spiritual power was instantly withdrawn as the silver crystal shone and flickered.

    So hard!Huo Yuhao raised his Golden Dragon Spear with his left hand and poked at the silver crystal, but even the Spear did nothing to it. The silver crystal had a powerful spiritual barrier protecting it.

    Since that¡¯s the case, my Life Guardian de that¡¯s good at consuming life energy probably can¡¯t do anything to it, either. However, if your spiritual origin is hidden inside, do you really think there¡¯s nothing I can do to you?

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t trying to ruthlessly exterminate this Evileye Tyrant. The Evileye Tyrant¡¯s body had been killed, but since a soul ring didn¡¯t appear, it meant the soul beast wasn¡¯t truly dead. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao really needed his seventh soul ring. His adversary was the one who had chased him down and attacked him first, and thus he didn¡¯t feel his actions were inappropriate at all.

    It was possible that no one else in this world was as handy as Huo Yuhao when it came to dealing with spirits. Unfathomable incantations were voiced as a swathe of clean white mes gradually took form in front of him.

    This small ball of fire had almost no warmth at all, but it gradually became material. The silver crystal, which wasn¡¯t afraid of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw or his Golden Dragon Spear before this, began to flicker vigorously after this white me appeared. The Evileye Tyrant¡¯s flustered and exasperated voice rang out.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead if you dare to kill me! My father will avenge me, he will avenge me! If you let me go, I can guarantee you safe passage out of here! No, don¡¯t do it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed like he couldn¡¯t hear its voice at all. His Darkgolden Terrorw held the silver crystal down, and the small cluster of white mes drifted onto the silver crystal just like that.

    The silver-white crystal was so hard and tough, but sharp and shrill agonizing cries could be heard when this utterly unassuming white me touched it. The tough silver crystal began to break apart like melting ice and snow, and silvery air streams could be seen emerging from within. However, none of it could escape the white me, and every single wisp was absorbed and incinerated.

    These were Purifying mes, and this fire was specifically designed to purify spirits. Spirits would rise into the air after death, and if they didn¡¯t dissipate by themselves, they were likely to be vengeful spirits. These Purifying mes were the perfect medicine against vengeful spirits, and such spirits would be absolutely countered by Purifying mes, no matter what rank they were. Huo Yuhao was probably the only person across the entire Douluo Continent who could release Purifying mes directly. Furthermore, he could only channel Purifying mes within such a short period of time after his spiritual power was raised to the concrete-material realm.

    A blood-red soul ring was finally released after the silver crystal meltedpletely. Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned as he stared at this soul ring¡¯s light, and subsequently pursed his lips tightly.

    He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to absorb this soul ring. Instead, he used his Golden Dragon Spear to search the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s carcass, and he quickly found a small and delicate silver skull.

    Just as the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion said, Evileye Tyrants almost always produced skull bones if they produced one, because the soul beast¡¯s whole body was basically just a head.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was preparing to put this skull bone away and bring it back to hispanions, the Eye of Destiny on his forehead suddenly lit up. A rose-gold beam of light burst out andnded on the silver skull.

    The silver skull was immediately covered with rose-golden hues before it flew towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. The skull shrank rapidly as it was drawn through the air.

    This is¡­

    Huo Yuhao felt a dash of coldness in between his eyebrows as a rich and powerful wave of spiritual power flooded into his spiritual sea. In the next moment, this wave of spiritual power was cocooned by another even more domineering and overbearing existence.

    And after that? The sensations just stopped¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial expression instantly became a little strange. The sensation he had just felt made him feel as though his Eye of Destiny had gobbled up the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s skull!

    No¡­ it wasn¡¯t gobbled up by my Eye of Destiny. It should have been eaten by Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Three-Eyed Golden Lion Skull Bone, right?

    Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled his impression when he had first met Wang Qiu¡¯er, back when she was still the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Back then, she seemed to consume other soul beasts¡¯ brains as food, so did the skull bone that originate from her also eat other skull bones?

    What was going to happen after it ate them? Did this mean that part of Qiu¡¯er¡¯s conciousness remained?

    When Huo Yuhao realized that some remnant of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s consciousness might still remain, his heart began to heat up.

    However, he had yet to feel his skull bone when the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice rang out in his mind.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here for long. Absorb the soul ring and leave!¡±

    Yes! He was deep in the Evildemon Forest, and there was nobody around to protect him. He couldn¡¯t stay here for long.

    Huo Yuhao flipped his right wrist as he thought until this point, and a small, delicate soul tool appeared in his hands.

    This soul tool was blood-red, and looked like it was sculpted and engraved from a special crystal body. There were countless sophisticated patterns on it.

    Huo Yuhao pressed on the soul tool¡¯s surface, and the entire spherical soul tool lit up as circle after circle of red light expanded outward. These circles quickly touched the blood-red soul ring hovering in midair.

    Those red waves acted like they had instantly found a target, and wrapped themselves around the soul ring. Strangely, the blood-red soul ring was formless and had no substance, but it was actually pulled down by those red waves, and was quickly absorbed into that small, delicate soul tool.

    It¡¯s so useful! Teacher Xuan is a truly a genius amongst geniuses.Huo Yuhao eximed in admiration inside before he leapt into the air and soared into the distance.

    The soul tool that he had just used was called a soul ring storage tool. It wasn¡¯t very big, and was made from only the rarest metals. Xuan Ziwen had expressly crafted this soul tool for Huo Yuhao after he brought all those rare metals back from Radiant City. This soul tool was ss 8! It could use certain special undtions from its constituent metals under guidance from its formation arrays to temporarily store soul rings. It could store a maximum of nine soul rings at once, and these soul rings could be maintained and stored for one week.

    This soul tool was far too expensive to craft en masse, a product of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research. Back then, Xuan Ziwen had used this research product to be the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s chief researcher. It was a pity that the materials that this soul tool needed were excessively expensive. Crafting this soul tool was also very difficult, because it was a ss 8 soul tool. It was practical and useful, but its usefulness was still a far cry from how expensive crafting this soul tool was too many people.

    Xuan Ziwen was recognized for his research, but his research product wasn¡¯t promoted or poprized within the Sun Moon Empire. Practically speaking, it couldn¡¯t be promoted at all.

    ¡ª-

    Huo Yuhao was finally starting to rx as he flew away¡­

    Suddenly, an indescribably frightening sense of danger gradually rose from behind him!

    A forceful and bold voice filled with seething rage seemed to echo from every corner of the Evildemon Forest.

    ¡°Who?! Who killed my son? Who was it?!¡± This voice was purely projected as thought via spiritual power, and both humans and soul beasts could clearly feel the indignation, along with the voice¡¯s unrivaled and terrifying spiritual power.

    More than a third of the Evildemon Forest began to twist and contort, although the nts weren¡¯t hurt or damaged.

    Countless soul beasts clutched their heads in agony in this moment, and crumpled to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body slowed conspicuously, and his heart filled with fear.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t thought too much when he heard the Evileye Tyrant im that its father would take revenge for it, and had believed that the Evileye Tyrant was just trying to threaten him. A defeated hundred-thousand-year soul beast calling for its father¡­ that was simply tooughable!

    However, after he had calmed down from the fight, and with that furious howl, he suddenly realized something.

    There could be someone in the Evildemon Forest who could be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast¡¯s father, who could have been this Evileye Tyrant¡¯s father!

    With that entity¡¯s age and cultivation rank, didn¡¯t it fit the bill?

    Huo Yuhao was actually very lucky. In terms of obtaining soul rings, no other soul beast was more suitable for him than the one he had just used all his strength to kill. However, his luck was so ¡°good¡± that it was unbelievable¡­ the soul beast he had just killed was the youngest son of the Evildemon Forest¡¯s true dictator, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s number one savage beast, and the entire Continent¡¯s number two savage beast: the Evileye Tyrant King, who was also known as the Evil Emperor!

    Even though Huo Yuhao had intercepted that hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spiritual origin, the Evil Emperor¡¯s terrifying spiritual power allowed him to maintain spiritual connections with every single one of its children. The Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spiritual origin was naturally obliterated after Huo Yuhao killed it, and even though the Evil Emperor was in a deep slumber, how could it not be startled awake when one of its children¡¯s auras suddenly vanished? It was the reason the Evil Emperor had eximed so furiously.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s scalp began to go numb, and his hair started bristling when he guessed who that horrifying voice belonged to. He didn¡¯t dare to hold back anymore, and activated everything he had as he flew forward with all his might.

    At this moment, many soul beasts were frightened by the Evil Emperor¡¯s ferocious roar, and few soul beasts came forward to intercept him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was a little twisted. He didn¡¯t know why his luck in recent days was so terrible. Even after Qiu¡¯er¡¯s auspicious Sacrifice, this fact didn¡¯t change¡­

    However, now was obviously not the time forints and resentment. Huo Yuhao continued flying with every ounce of his strength as he unleashed all of his spiritual power. He activated Imitation and Spiritual Interference to their highest possible levels to mask himself. His fervant hope was that the Evil Emperor¡¯s awakening required a process, and that it couldn¡¯t lock onto him as soon as it woke up!

    What happened proved that his thoughts were wonderful, but reality was cruel.

    An enormous red pir surged into the sky in the deepest regions of the Evildemon Forest!

 Chapter 393.2 - Rage of the Evil Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 393.2: Rage of the Evil Emperor</h4>

    That red pir was more than a hundred meters in diameter, and even people outside the Evildemon Forest could see it clearly.

    The pir surged several thousand meters into the sky, and the clouds swiftly gathered towards it.

    The enormous pir broke through the clouds and tainted everything around it a blood-red color. The clouds gradually dispersed, revealing a colossal blood-red eye.

    This blood-red eye hung thousands of meters in the sky as it looked down on the Evildemon Forest, and the forceful voice from before rang out once more.

    ¡°Child, my child, where are you?!¡±

    This exmation contained exceptionally strange and sinister spiritual undtions. These undtions descended onto the forest from thousands of meters up in the sky and expanded outward, with the Evildemon Forest¡¯s core region as the epicenter. The spiritual undtions covered an everrger area of effect, almost two-thirds of the entire Evildemon Forest.

    Huo Yuhao was running away with incredible speed, but he was still far from escaping its area of effect!

    When those strange spiritual undtionsnded on his body, he felt the soul ring storage tool hidden on his body warm up.

    Shit!

    Huo Yuhao immediately understood that he was in trouble.

    The Evileye Tyrant King couldn¡¯t instantly find the location where his son had died, but he was using this exmation charged with spiritual undtions to find the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spiritual undtions!

    Huo Yuhao had purified that Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spirit, but the soul ring that it had left behind still contained some of its spiritual undtions!

    Huo Yuhao almost didn¡¯t have any time to n or to think of anything as the Eye of Destiny between his eyebrows lit up. The wheel of light behind his head that had formed when he faced off against the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant glimmered once more.

    ¡ª

    In the next moment¡­

    The colossal blood-red eye in the sky seemed to refract as a blood-red pir a hundred meters across refracted downwards from several thousand meters in the sky.

    Things like the Sunmoon Divine Needle were just a small toypared to this horrifying red pir of light!

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Somewhere in the Evildemon Forest, or rather at Huo Yuhao¡¯s location, a humongous mushroom cloud surged into the sky.

    Anybody looking down from the sky could see that a region of the spacious Evildemon Forest had been washed entirely blood-red. Afterwards, the lush green in that region melted away just like that¡­

    This region was at least a thousand meters in diameter, and not a single inch of vegetation remained.

    The red colors in the sky gradually faded away, and the blood-red light receded and fell back into the Evildemon Forest¡¯s core regions. A dense and grievous will traveled out from that ce as powerful emotional ripples nketed the entire forest, and countless soul beasts cried out and teared up as a result.

    The area that was just bombarded by that terrifying red light began to lose all those red hues, and not a single soul beast would dare to enter that region for a month.

    The forest wasn¡¯t the only thing obliterated by that horrifying spiritual power. The earth had sunk down by several dozen meters, as if the very stones and soil had been stripped of life.

    ¡ª

    However, in the middle of this region that was temporarily considered forbidden ground¡­

    ¡°Cough, cough, cough!¡± A wave of intense coughing sounds could be heard.

    A battered and wretched figure slowly stood up. His entire body was covered with ayer of dirt, and his appearance waspletely obscured, while his clothes were conspicuously torn and tattered¡­ but he was alive!

    He sighed at his own luck.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s face twitched as intense dizziness struck his head. He had formidable spiritual power, but he currently felt as if his entire spiritual sea had been sucked dry. His body was soft and weak, and he struggled to even continue standing up straight. His entire body was in a bad state.

    Yes, he was still alive; still alive after taking a hit from the Evil Emperor, who had eight hundred thousand years of cultivation!

    How unimaginable was this? The Evil Emperor, who had just unleashed that attack, had no reason to expect that this human was still alive. When he had discovered Huo Yuhao with his Spiritual Detection, he could already tell how strong he was. From the Evil Emperor¡¯s perspective, this attack was enough to obliterate Huo Yuhao from the face of the earth!

    The Evil Emperor¡¯s arrogance meant he couldn¡¯t be bothered to check the aftermath. Furthermore, he was in the most crucial time of his closed-door cultivation, so he didn¡¯t have the time and energy to investigate.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s hopeful words from back then clearly didn¡¯te true. The Evil Emperor wasn¡¯t far from the limit, but he wasn¡¯t there, after all, and he was still alive. He was the Continent¡¯s second strongest savage beast as long as he was still alive, and one of the most frightening existences on the Continent.

    It feels great to be alive!Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh inside. ¡°You¡¯ve saved me yet again, Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    The reason why he was still alive naturally wasn¡¯t because he had enough strength to withstand that all-out attack from the Evileye Tyrant King. How could the Evil Emperor¡¯s spiritual sweep have any judgmental errors?

    The reason why he was alive was because of the skull bone that he had obtained from Wang Qiu¡¯er, the Auspicious Beast¡¯s skull bone.

    The Auspicious Beast¡¯s skull bone possessed a special ability besides bestowing two powerful soul skills upon Huo Yuhao. This ability was called Spiritual Immunity!

    Huo Yuhao could make himself immune to all kinds and levels of spiritual attacks three times a day. Unless Huo Yuhao was faced with a God who had the ability to change destiny, Huo Yuhao could render himself immune to all sorts and levels of spiritual attacks.

    Huo Yuhao had relied on this ability, which was basically against naturalw in the spiritual realm, to challenge the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. He had used this ability to gain the advantage against his adversary in a perilous battle, and had eventually managed to kill it.

    Huo Yuhao could use Spiritual Immunity three times when he was in peak condition. After using this ability once, he would have to replenish his skull bone with spiritual power through his own cultivation. Of course, he could use another method to replenish his skull bone ¨C he could consume other skull bones, just like how he had consumed the hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant¡¯s skull bone!

    Huo Yuhao would need at least a month to fully replenish his skull bone to three instances of Spiritual Immunity if he didn¡¯t consume any skull bones.

    Spiritual Immunity didn¡¯t seem like much when one considered that one month was a very long time. But in reality, this ability was very useful to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao had had to use Spiritual Immunity to defend himself against a spiritual-type attack at his level of spiritual power, so just how powerful did that attack have to be?

    Everything that had just happened proved this point. No matter how powerful the Evil Emperor was, Spiritual Immunity had still protected Huo Yuhao from its attack.

    However, Huo Yuhao also had sufficient experience through this attack that not everything was absolute. The Evil Emperor¡¯s attack didn¡¯t kill him, but his spiritual sea was immediately sucked dry in that instant, and even his skull bone was sucked dry.

    Huo Yuhao felt very fortunate that his Auspicious Beast Skull Bone had consumed the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s skull bone before this. The spiritual power from consuming that skull bone was currently replenishing him slowly. Otherwise, he would have fainted, and he had no idea how long it would have taken him to wake up if that happened.

    I have to leave this ce as quickly as possible! I must! Otherwise, if the Evil Emperor dusts its hands andes down to take a look, I¡¯m dead!

    Huo Yuhao would have trouble fighting even a single thousand-year soul beast in his current state, let alone the strongest individual among all the Evileye Tyrants!

    Huo Yuhao bit down on the tip of his tongue, and intense pain reinvigorated his spirit and pumped adrenaline into his system. He quickly checked his soul ring storage tool.

    That thing was worthy of being a ss 8 soul tool, and wasn¡¯t destroyed while under the protection of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Immunity. The hundred-thousand-year soul ring that was contained inside was also intact. At least he didn¡¯t take that attack for nothing!

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a small bracelet from his storage ring and put it on his wrist. Afterwards, he began to activate this bracelet with his soul power.

    He had consumed too much spiritual power, but his soul power¡¯s situation was rtively good. The silver bracelet swiftly shone with ayer of gentle silver light as Huo Yuhao infused soul power into it, and this silver light wrapped backwards and stretched up along his wrist. The silver light quickly formed a silver bracer cocooning his left arm.

    Rows of silver light shone from his bracer, and ray after ray of silver light flickered as metal pieces covered by that silver light hovered in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and released his soul power to produce vigorous kic forces, and attached those rays of silver light to his body. The silver lights rapidly covered his body, and it didn¡¯t take long before his entire body was covered by a human-shaped soul tool.

    This human-shaped soul tool was a lot prettier and more elegant than the one that he had crafted in the tournament not too long ago. This set was streamlined all over, and very simplistic and generous. A pair of wings arched behind his back, and quickly became threeyers of golden wings as he infused soul power into them. Everyyer of golden wings had six sting holes, the higher wings narrower than the ones below.

    Every other part was matched to Huo Yuhao¡¯s frame, everyponent intricately and finely assembled. Huo Yuhao only looked a little bigger after donning this suit, and there were no redundancies at all.

    This was the human-shaped soul tool that Xuan Ziwen had personally crafted for Huo Yuhao. Xuan Ziwen had considered that Huo Yuhao was still a Soul King back then, and so had done all he could with this soul tool to ensure that it could maintain its strength as a ss 7 soul tool, and that Huo Yuhao could still use it as a Soul King.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have time to wear this suit when he faced off against the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s powerful individuals because everything had happened too suddenly. So this was the first time he had used it. In truth, there wasn¡¯t any practical use to wearing this suit against those evil Titled Douluo.

    However, his situation was very different at the moment. With this soul tool, he could use the twelve miniaturepressed Sealed Milk Bottles attached to it to sustain himself for another round of high-intensitybat. With this suit, Huo Yuhao would have no problems protecting his life even if he encountered another hundred-thousand-year soul beast. At the same time, he could use this suit to get out of the forest as quickly as possible!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fly into the sky, because he was still inside the Evildemon Forest. He activated the soul thrusters on his back and propelled himself forward at breakneck speed. His goal now was to leave the Evildemon Forest as quickly as possible, and then find somewhere safe so that he could absorb his seventh soul ring, the one from that one hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant, and be a Soul Sage!

 Chapter 393.3 - Rage of the Evil Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 393.3: Rage of the Evil Emperor</h4>

    Shrek City, the Tang Sect¡­

    ¡°Bam!¡± A dull p could heard as Bei Bei stood up with a grave and gloomy look on his face. Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Ye Guyi, Jing Ziyan, and Ji Juechen sat on both sides of the table, along with Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Na Na, and Mo Xuan. Besides Xuan Ziwen and Gao Dalou, almost all of the Tang Sect¡¯s inner circle was here.

    ¡°Three days! You guys have been back for three days, and we still haven¡¯t heard anything from our little junior brother. In terms of time, he should have returned before you with his flying-type soul tool, whether he travelled across the ocean ornd. But so many days have gone by, and where is he? Who can tell me where he is?¡± Bei Bei¡¯s voice became higher, and anger that was seldom seen on him filled his schrly face.

    Xu Sanshi and the others had sessfully returned with the hostages, and came back to the Tang Sect a few days ago. However, their tion and joy from sessfully aplishing their mission quickly dampened as they discovered that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t returned, and they hadn¡¯t heard a single thing from him.

    Bei Bei had received all their reports, and then consoled them before he went to Shrek Academy with a gloomy face.

    Three days had gone by, and nobody from either the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy had heard anything from or about Huo Yuhao.

    For the Tang Sect, every single hostage added together wasn¡¯t as important as Huo Yuhao. This was the same for Shrek Academy, too!

    What was even more disadvantageous for them was that the Sun Moon Empire had increased their monitoring and surveince of the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires exponentially, as well as on Shrek Academy, which had rescued the hostages, and continued to send army after army towards their borders.

    The Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire did the same. Their hostages had been saved, and the Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t recovered their strength. This was the best opportunity for these two empires to deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire, and neither empire was stupid. What were they waiting for, if not for this chance to weaken their enemy?

    The Dou Ling Empire was positioned behind the other two empires, but their survival was closely rted to the other two. The Dou Ling Empire had already deployed a huge army with seven Titled Douluo towards their borders, and a great war could break out within a short period of time.

    Under such circumstances, both Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would have an exceptionally difficult time if they wanted to send someone into the Sun Moon Empire to search for Huo Yuhao.

    Therefore, they could only choose to wait for now. They had waited for three days, and those days had gone by without any news of Huo Yuhao. Starting from the time Xu Sanshi and the others had separated from Huo Yuhao, eight full days had gone by, and the rage that Bei Bei had been suppressing in his heart finally erupted uncontrobly.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t mention it explicitly, but everyone understood that Huo Yuhao¡¯s decision to return to Sunrise City so that he could help Nan Qiuqiu save Nan Shuishui wasn¡¯t a wise one. However, the mission was empathic and righteous. Could they me Huo Yuhao? No, because everyone else would have done the same if they had been in his shoes.

    Xu Sanshi forced augh and said, ¡°If only I had stayed behind then.¡±

    He Caitou said, ¡°How could you have stayed back? Our ns outside required you to transport us over long distances, and who could have taken over for you? Yuhao¡¯s decision was right. He is adept at concealing himself, and he was the least likely to run into trouble by staying behind amongst all of us. We have to trust him, and trust that no danger will happen to him. Eldest senior brother, don¡¯t be too impatient and flustered. Being flustered will aplish nothing, because we can only continue waiting. The borders have been locked down so tightly, so it¡¯s normal that little junior brother is taking a little longer to return.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression settled down a little, and he returned to his seat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I haven¡¯t been in the right state of mind over the past few days. Actually, I should be the one to me for this matter. I should have been the one following him. Little junior brother has been through so much hardship recently, and Dong¡¯er is still in a deep slumber. I¡¯m really afraid that something¡¯s happened to him. If something does happen to him, how do we exin it to Dong¡¯er after she wakes up?

    ¡°The Academy is even more worried than I am, and Elder Xuan sends people almost every day to inquire if Yuhao has returned. Yuhao is younger than us, but he¡¯s always been so steady, no matter what he does. He naturally understands that we worry about him, and he will return as quickly as possible if he¡¯s alright. The tight surveince soul tools of all kinds on the borders would spell great trouble for us, but he possesses formidable spiritual power, and he¡¯s by himself. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be difficult for him to hide and make it back discreetly. Therefore, even though I¡¯m not willing to admit this, I can be almost a hundred percent sure that he¡¯s run into some kind of trouble. I just don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s run into a big problem, or a small one.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Sister Xiaotao is in Sunrise City too, and she has regained her mind and her consciousness with Yuhao¡¯s help. She has eight soul rings, and her element is as close as it gets to Ultimate Fire. Yuhao should have a chance to escape with her help even if he¡¯s caught by evil soul masters. Let¡¯s wait for another two days, and if we still have no news about him, we will invite the Academy toe out. No matter what, we have to find some way to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire to search for him.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s all we can do.¡±

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom!¡± A thunderous boom rang out right at this moment. This deafening boom startled the Tang Sect¡¯s members even though they were inside a conference room.

    He Caitaou nced out of the window confusedly and muttered, ¡°Such loud thunder. Eh, why is the sky getting dark?¡±

    It was still morning, but everyone could see that the sky outside the conference room¡¯s window was darkening at an rming rate, to the point where the conference room also darkened.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look outside.¡± Bei Bei got to his feet and swiftly stepped outside, and everyone else followed behind him.

    Everyone walked out, and their expressions grew solemn.

    Their judgment from inside the conference room was right. The sky was getting dark, and it was getting dark really quickly. However, there was an abnormal feeling about this phenomenon.

    If the weather were changing, dark clouds would roll over the skies, winds would blow, and they would gradually appear randomly. The sky would be gloomy and darken as a whole.

    However, what they could see were neat ck colors far beyond the horizon, and this ck mass was swiftly spreading towards Shrek City, as if an enormous army were invading them.

    This scene seemed as if there was a curtain in the sky that was slowly being pulled up, and causing the entire world to go dark.

    ¡°Something is wrong. Caitou, quickly inform teacher Xuan. Sanshi, you will immediately head to the Academy to ask about what¡¯s happening. Nannan, Xiao Xiao, you two will proceed to the top of the city wall, and ry any information as quickly as possible. Use flying-type soul tools to travel there and back. Quickly gather the Tang Sect¡¯s other members, and get everyone to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.¡± Bei Bei seemed especially calm, and swiftly delegated duties to everyone.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s members began to move immediately.

    However, Xu Sanshi had just gotten off his feet when a dense voice boomed across the entire city.

    ¡°Every disciple from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, assemble at the southern city wall!¡±

    This voice was all too familiar to the Tang Sect; it came from Elder Xuan! A jade-green re surged into the sky at the same time, exploding high in the sky and transforming into an exclusive avatar of Shrek as green light permeated the heavens. It was very eye-catching.

    Many of the people here were from Shrek Academy, and their expressions immediately changed when they saw this firework. This signal didn¡¯t just signify danger; it meant that voluminous amounts of enemies were about to invade the city!

    How could that be? Shrek Academy was located within the Douluo Continent¡¯s core regions, and the Academy had very good rtionships with all three empires. Where did these enemiese from? Even if it was the Body Sect attacking them, they wouldn¡¯t suddenlyunch an invasion against Shrek Academy at a time when the Sun Moon Empire posed a great threat to everyone.

    Shrek Academy had always been fair to everyone, but they were an Academy, after all. They epted talents and prodigies from all over the world, and they produced simr talents. They weren¡¯t like sects, who would only nurture and develop their own strength. For as long as Bei Bei could remember, this was the first time that Shrek Academy had released an emergency signal such as this one.

    What is happening?Bei Bei could hear that Elder Xuan¡¯s voice was stable, but there was a thread of anxiety and worry amidst that steadiness. What did the sudden change in the sky bring?

    ¡°What do we do, Bei Bei?¡± Xu Sanshi asked Bei Bei.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned towards Bei Bei, and he lowered his voice as he said, ¡°Get on the southern city wall, everyone. Na Na, you will remain, and when teacher Xuanes out, kindly ask him to lead our brethren from the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall to transport the soul tools that we have crafted and stockpiled to the southern city wall. Be quick.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Na Na nodded hurriedly.

    Bei Bei waved his hand and immediately led the Tang Sect¡¯s members towards the southern city wall.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At Shrek Academy¡¯s southern city wall¡­

    Ever since Shrek City was established, the highest part of the city wall and the strongest and most meticulous defenses across the entire city had always been on the southern side of the city. The reason was simple: this direction was facing the Great Star Dou Forest!

    Ever since the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s uprising, the southern city wall had been further fortified.

    The southern city wall was fifteen hundred feet tall, and two hundred feet wide. It stretched across more than five kilometers, and it could amodate more than ten thousand people to fight on its walls at the same time.

    Shrek City¡¯s army was more or less connected to Shrek Academy. Shrek City didn¡¯t have a lord; the city¡¯s defense fell to Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Almost every city defense officer was a powerful individual who had graduated from Shrek Academy.

    If someone had to choose a city across the Continent with the highest concentration of soul masters, Shrek City would undoubtedly take the top spot!

    The soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City could also be called soul masters, but Radiant City was densely popted, and their soul engineer to citizen ratio couldn¡¯tpare to the density of soul masters in Shrek City!

    Shrek City¡¯s current chief defense officer was named Shi Xing. He was a tall middle-aged man, looking a little more than forty years old. He had a square and t face, big eyes, and thick eyebrows. He had a muscr frame, and he gave others a towering and imposing feeling with his mere presence.

    He was forty-eight years of age, and could be said to be in the prime of his life. When he was studying at Shrek Academy, he had once had a nickname, ¡°the Time Magician¡±. Afterwards, when he became a Titled Douluo, his title was Time; the Time Douluo, Shi Xing!

    Three years ago, the previous chief defense officer had resigned and returned to Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard to enjoy his retirement, and Shi Xing had be Shrek City¡¯s chief defense officer with a unanimous vote from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He was responsible for everything that had to do with the city¡¯s defenses.

    Their city defense officer was actually a Titled Douluo. Possibly only Shrek City could afford to have such a luxurious arrangement.

    At this moment, the Time Douluo, Shi Xing, was standing on the city wall and gazing far into the distance with a dour look on his face. More urately, he was staring to the south!

 Chapter 394.1 - Beast Tide! Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 394.1: Beast Tide! Beast God!</h4>

    The pitch-ck sky was spreading from south of the city. At this moment, the ck sky¡¯s forward progress seemed to slow a little, but the pressure that came from those clouds made everyone feel quite breathless.

    Shrek City¡¯s city defense army was hard at work on the city wall, and everyone was nervously setting up all sorts of defensive soul tools.

    Shrek City hadn¡¯t participated in a war for many years, but the city defense army was very organized and disciplined. The pressure that came from the sky made everyone ghastly pale, but they grit their teeth and continued with whatever they had to do.

    There were a hundred thousand people in Shrek City¡¯s army, thirty percent of them were soul masters. Most of these soul masters had graduated from Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard, and they chose to enlist in the city defense army when they failed to enter the inner courtyard so that they could train for several years more.

    Shrek City¡¯s city defense army had quite a reputation. They had only participated in a little more than ten wars across their ten-thousand year history, but they aplished feats and miracles that shook the entire continent in every instance.

    For example, when the Sun Moon Continent shed with the Douluo Continent all those years ago, the Sun Moon Continent started a Holy War. The Sun Moon Continent¡¯s fighting style with all their soul tools was too unique at that time, and they sessively defeated the Douluo Continent¡¯s native empires across many battles.

    Back then, Shrek Academy had deployed three thousand men from their city defense army. These men were known as Shrek¡¯s Army, and they had hurried to the frontlines. They only had three thousand men, but they relied on themselves and the terrain to forcefully barricade the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army for fifteen days. They gave the Douluo Continent¡¯s various empires sufficient time to gather their armies, and gave everyone the chance for onest stand. The Douluo Continent¡¯s native empires emerged victorious in the end.

    Shrek¡¯s Army had enjoyed their ster reputation across the Continent from that moment onwards, and it was considered a glorious thing to be part of Shrek City¡¯s city defense army. Therefore, if the students from Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard couldn¡¯t make it into the inner courtyard, they would try everything they could to join Shrek¡¯s city defense army to serve for at least three years. This experience would be a glorious mark on their resumes, and greatly beneficial for their future development.

    Shrek City was just a city after all, so it wasn¡¯t easy to sustain an army of a hundred thousand soldiers. It was easier for those soul masters who made up thirty percent of the army because they came from the Academy, so they didn¡¯t receive any special treatment. However, the other seventy percent who were just normal soldiers Shrek City had to pay from its own pockets.

    Large cannons lined the top of the city wall, pointed far into the distance. All kinds of stationary soul cannon shells were lifted to the top of the city wall, and three thousand soul masters took but a mere fifteen minutes to assemble. Everyone was already on top of the city wall, and they were all preparing for battle in their respective positions. Of the remaining seven thousand soldiers, or auxiliary soldiers to be exact, three thousand served as one-to-one fallbacks for these soul masters, while the remaining four thousand soldiers prepared to reinforce theirrades.

    The southern side of the city was their main defense zone. There was a lot less manpower assigned to the other three sides, but the number of defensive soul tools allocated were the same; when necessary, soul masters could rapidly switch positions to the other sides, and operate those soul tools. However, Shi Xing didn¡¯t have to worry about the other three sides of the city wall, for now.

    Over on Shrek Academy¡¯s side, teams of students from the outer courtyard were proceeding toward the city walls on every other side as quickly as they could. Even though they were all younger than twenty, they had been through strict and rigorous training, and they had no trouble operating typical soul tools. This was especially true after the Tang Sect managed to create Sealed Milk Bottles, so even normal citizens could operate low-tier soul tools, let alone these soul masters who all had at least two soul rings.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard didn¡¯t idle around either. Shadow after shadow swiftly proceeded from the eastern side of the city towards the southern city wall.

    Shi Xing nted his hands on the battlements and gazed into the distance. He could taste bitterness from the corner of his mouth.

    How many years has Shrek City not participated in a war, and now it¡¯s here?He couldn¡¯t remember, but what he could remember was that the previous two city defense officers didn¡¯t participate in a single war. He had been elected for only three years, and he had almost struck the jackpot; no, he truly did strike the jackpot.

    Traces of their enemies gradually appeared across the horizon. Which force across the entire Continent could cause the skies to change, and could stomp towards Shrek City¡¯s great army with such fanfare?

    Only an empire could create a force on such a scale. However, how could the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires make a move against Shrek City? If so, what other entities besides empires could do something like this? There was only one other ce, and it was a ce that was more frightening than any of the three native empires.

    The army from that ce wasn¡¯t very intelligent, but they possessed impressive fighting instincts. They were born with a taste for blood and an inclination to kill, and they were full of hatred for humans. Almost every single individual in that army was powerful, and there were almost endless numbers of them, while some of the Continent¡¯s strongest individuals were behind them, holding down the fort.

    Yes, this frightening power came from Shrek Academy¡¯s neighbor. Shrek had encountered them many times in the past, and almost every single member from Shrek Academy had been to this ce: the Great Star Dou Forest!

    The beast tide was here!

    Masses of soul beasts that dotted the sky until it turned ck were gradually bearing down on Shrek City. They weren¡¯t moving very quickly, but they were organized and disciplined.

    The soul beasts fanned forward, moving forward almost in tandem with the dark clouds in the sky. Gentle winds gusted through the air, and the faint smell from these soul beasts gradually travelled to the top of Shrek City¡¯s wall.

    Shi Xing was a Titled Douluo, considered one of the strongest individuals in the world today. However, he stared at the beast wave that was just so tremendous, and he couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips as he in drew a cold breath.

    Why were the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts going crazy? What happened, exactly, that triggered them tounch an invasion? The Great Star Dou Forest had been very peaceful in recent years, and nobody had heard of anyone killing hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in the forest!

    The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Core Region had developed rapidly over the past few hundred years, and countless powerful individuals had emerged from within. Even Shrek Academy¡¯s inner circle wouldn¡¯t venture into that ce for no good reason, while Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest had been enjoying peace for the past centuries.

    So why were they doing this? Why did the Great Star Dou Forestunch an invasion on such arge scale, and why were they advancing on the city like an army? This couldn¡¯t have been instigated by a small group of soul beasts. The army of soul beasts seemed endless, and without those few who resided in the ughtering Grounds mobilizing them, this army of soul beasts wouldn¡¯t appear on such arge scale.

    The beast army¡¯s front lines were now less than ten kilometers away from Shrek City¡¯s southern city wall. They maintained their steady forward movement, while the dark clouds above their heads gradually nketed the sky above them. The closer they came, the more pressure could be felt on the top of the city wall. If Shrek¡¯s city defense army hadn¡¯t been elite and outstanding, if another normal army was here, they would probably have tucked tail and run away in fear.

    There was an uncountable number of soul beasts in this army!

    Right at this moment, shadow after shadow descended from the sky andnded on top of the southern city wall. The leading person was tall, and messy white hair draped behind his head as he stepped towards the battlements with a solemn look on his face. He was Shrek Academy¡¯s true number-one individual, the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Xuan!

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s other elders followed behind Elder Xuan. Everyone was on the scene, including the academy¡¯s two Deans, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er. The only person who wasn¡¯t here was the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s youngest and weakest member, Huo Yuhao.

    More than forty students from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard followed behind the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers were split evenly into three groups, and they proceeded to the city¡¯s three other walls tomand the outer courtyard students who were stationed there. They were most familiar with those students, and hence the teachersmanding them would be most convenient and suitable.

    Elder Xuan gazed into the distance, and his expression instantly became even cker than before. He had risen into the sky before this to check out the situation, and only afterwards did he release that emergency signal. At this moment, the soul beast army was a lot closer to Shrek City, and Elder Xuan was very clear about how dire their situation was.

    He was the only one who had gone through the previous beast tide among the various elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, the situation that they were facing right now was more perilous than the previous invasion!

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t have any time to contemte why the Great Star Dou Forest would suddenlyunch a beast wave, and why they woulde to Shrek City first. The only thought in his mind was if Shrek Academy could defend themselves against an enormous army that consisted of more than a hundred thousand soul beasts?

    During the previous beast wave, Shrek City had released a call for help as soon as they could. Elder Mu was the one directing things over in Shrek Academy, and they had the Body Sect helping them out. Even though the Body Sect and Shrek Academy weren¡¯t on good terms, they had good chemistry and teamwork during that incident. They had managed to hold out until sufficient reinforcements had arrived, and only then did they stop those soul beasts from advancing. Eventually they signed a peace treaty with the savage beasts.

    However, the soul beasts had gone against their treaty on their own initiative, and hadunched a beast wave against Shrek City. Elder Mu was no longer here, and they didn¡¯t have the Body Sect to help them this time. Even though Shrek City had a lot more soul tools right nowpared to back then, could they really hold off such a terrifyingly huge army of soul beasts?

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s several elders also looked very grave as they stared at the army in front of them.

    Elder Song arrived beside Elder Xuan, and he lowered his voice as he said, ¡°Why haven¡¯t we seen any omens or warnings, and yet the Great Star Dou Forestunched a beast wave against us? What is happening, exactly?¡±

    Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, ¡°There was an omen , don¡¯t you remember? Several days ago, a mass of blood clouds appeared above the Great Star Dou Forest. I¡¯m afraid this incident has something to do with that. Can it be that one of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s important soul beasts, or perhaps a certain savage beast, has been killed by human soul masters, and they are infuriated because of that? The peace treaty that we signed back then stated that we could not attack the savage beasts, and those fellows who direct things inside the Great Star Dou Forest have always been honorable. It seems like something big must have happened!¡±

 Chapter 394.2 - Beast Tide! Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 394.2: Beast Tide! Beast God!</h4>

    Elder Song tilted her head and said, ¡°We can¡¯t start the battle without knowing what¡¯s going on. We have to ask them clearly before anything else. I¡¯m afraid the Beast God, Di Tian, is personally directing an army of this scale.¡±

    Elder Xuan squinted as he gazed into the clouds above. ¡°He¡¯s right there, right next to him is the Golden Eyed ck Dragon King. Who else could muster a force such as this? Let me go and meet him, and I¡¯ll ask about what exactly has happened.¡±

    Elder Song was a little worried as she said, ¡°You must be careful, Elder Xuan. With Di Tian¡¯s cultivation, even Elder Mu back then was weaker than the Beast God. He is the world¡¯s number-one soul beast, and the leader of the Ten Great Savage Beasts isn¡¯t someone who¡¯s easy to interact with.¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled inly and answered, ¡°So what if he¡¯s not easy to interact with? Shrek¡¯s honor and glory are up to us to uphold and defend. I will protect Shrek City as long as I have one breath remaining, and I will not let these brutes invade us. I¡¯m going up, you¡¯ll take overmand.¡±

    Elder Xuan took a step out as he spoke, and he just stood on the battlement like that as he stretched his arms to both sides and howled into the sky.

    ¡°Moo¨C¡± A dense and thick soundwave, like a torrential wave, burst forth with a powerful aura from Elder Xuan¡¯s body.

    This ferocious roar forcefully intimidated and caused the army of soul beasts in the distance to pause.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s body transformed into a ray of golden light and surged into the sky, like a shooting star as he zed a trail of crystal-yellow mes. Furthermore, this sphere of yellow light becamerger in volume as it rose through the sky, and it quickly covered the sky above Shrek Academy with yellow hues. Yellow light stretched across the sky, which sparkled continuously as it went straight for those ck masses of dark clouds without showing any weakness at all.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s move reinvigorated Shrek City¡¯s morale and aura, and everyone widened their eyes as they looked on, especially the students from the outer courtyard. They would possibly only get this one chance in their lifetimes to witness this showdown between some of the strongest individuals in the world, and the excitement in their hearts far exceeded their anxiety.

    A colossal shadow over a hundred meters long flickered amidst that golden light. Dragon patterns webbed over its enormous frame, and its twin horns pointed towards the sky: it was Elder Xuan¡¯s mighty martial soul, the Godly Taotie Bull!

    Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t made that step into godhood yet, but he was the Taotie Douluo, a powerful Rank 98 soul master. He could still put up a fight against the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao.

    The yellow colors high up in the sky quickly intertwined with the ink-like ck luster. The ck colors paused momentarily before they collided violently with the yellow clouds, and the sky dimmed and brightened alternately as they shed against each other, powerful auras colliding incessantly. What was even stranger was that no matter how they shed, their auras didn¡¯t affect the army of soul beasts or Shrek City beneath them.

    ¡°Come out and talk, Di Tian!¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s deep and dense voice echoed through the heavens. Even though he was the only one talking, everyone from Shrek City and the army of soul beasts could hear him clearly.

    ¡°You¡¯re the Taotie!¡± Another icy-cold voice resonated across the skies in simr fashion. However, when this voice appeared, the final sounds of Elder Xuan¡¯s voice were instantly shattered, as if someone had forcefully cut him off.

    ck clouds riled up vigorously, and an enormous dragon whose size couldn¡¯t be distinguished shimmered amidst the dark clouds. Its entire body was covered with pitch-ck scales, but it shone with dark purple colors within those dark clouds.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Di Tian, you have gathered so many soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest to Shrek Academy without any consideration of the consequences. Why have you done this?¡± Elder Xuan asked loudly with a deep voice.

    Di Tian¡¯s icy-cold voice could be heard once more. ¡°Why? You despicable humans are actually asking me why? Over these years, when have humans ever stopped harming and killing us soul beasts? Soul beasts have been living in seclusion within habitats like the Great Star Dou Forest, but humans have never stopped disturbing us! Humans have been killing my kin and my brethren, and humans have mutted their corpses so as to boost their own strength. Soul beasts have been dwindling in number from the beginning to the end, but there are more and more soul masters. If this is allowed to continue, in the long run, soul beasts will be extinct one day!¡±

    Elder Xuan thought for a moment and said, ¡°We are equally aware of this problem. Di Tian, you have to understand that humans don¡¯t wish for that to happen, either. However, the existence of martial souls has formed this food chain, and soul masters have to hunt and kill soul beasts to obtain soul rings if they want to be stronger. We are thinking of anything we can do to substitute soul rings, and we are in the midst of such research right now. For now, however, it seems like there are still sufficient numbers of soul beasts. Furthermore, are you saying that soul beasts haven¡¯t killed humans before? The number of humans who have ventured into your habitats and gained something are far fewer than the number of soul masters that soul beasts have murdered. This matter has always been mutual.

    ¡°Furthermore, have you forgotten about the peace treaty we signed back then? You are the Beast God. Will you go against your word?¡±

    Di Tianughed coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie to me. The Dragon God Douluo didn¡¯t find a way to substitute soul rings back then, and I don¡¯t believe you guys can do that, either. As for the treaty, you have the audacity to talk to me about that? If your memory still serves, you should remember that there was an extremely important existence within the Great Star Dou Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!¡±

    ¡°The Three-Eyed Golden Lion?¡± Elder Xuan almost felt his heart skip a beat when he heard this name, and an ominous feeling filled his heart.

    Many soul masters were unfamiliar with this name, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and even the elders within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion didn¡¯t know about her existence. However, Elder Xuan knew her very well, and he had seen her before with his own eyes. He had even helped Huo Yuhao obtain part of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s power of destiny.

    Of course, he understood how important the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was to the Great Star Dou Forest, and even the five great savage beasts who anchored down the forest¡¯s ughtering Grounds were, in practice, not as important as the Auspicious Beast!

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s existence had allowed the Great Star Dou Forest to develop rapidly for the past ten thousand years. Human soul masters had hunted and killed soul beats continuously, but the forest¡¯s overall number of soul beasts and their overall strength wasn¡¯t weakened. In fact, the soul beasts¡¯ overall strength had increased!

    In some sense, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was equivalent to an amplifier for the Great Star Dou Forest, and her existence was the reason why the forest had the strength and scale that they did today. Back then, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, who was one of the ughtering Ground¡¯s five savage beasts, had personally stayed by her side to protect her.

    ¡°Something¡¯s happened to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?¡± Elder Xuan asked with a tinge of incredulity. He didn¡¯t quite believe it. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was exceptionally important to the Great Star Dou Forest, and savage beasts had always personally protected her. Her status within the forest wasparable to Di Tian¡¯s, and even though her strength was nowhere near that of the savage beasts, her status was equivalent to that of the father of a reigning emperor.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Di Tian grunted coldly, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be a little gloomier than before. The humans and soul beasts beneath him all began to feel their hearts beat faster.

    ¡°Unless something¡¯s happened to the Auspicious Beast, why do you think I would go to such lengths and such trouble to start a war? Why do you think I would risk the lives of my kin and brethren to start a war like this? A few days ago, I felt the aura of the Auspicious Beast¡¯s death!¡±

    The huge ck dragon circling around inside the dark clouds paused as he reached hisst words, and two golden spheres sparkled brilliantly¡­ they were his eyes!

    The Beast God Di Tian¡¯s original body was a Golden Eyed ck Dragon King who had more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation. The ck Dragon¡¯s blood was the purest next to the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon, and Di Tian was likely to be the only living being across the entire Continent who was a pureblood ck Dragon. He had been alive for eight hundred thousand long years, and he had seen almost every change that had happened to the Continent. Once that powerful aura was released, Elder Xuan felt his scalp tense, even with his cultivation rank.

    ¡°The Auspicious Beast is dead?¡± Elder Xuan drew a cold breath. If that was the case, the Great Star Dou Forest would have good reason tounch a beast wave like this. The Auspicious Beast was far too important, because she was connected to the future of the entire forest, and she was very beneficial to the savage beasts¡¯ chances of breaking through bottlenecks.

    This time, they were in deep trouble!

    Elder Xuan took a deep breath. The yellow light around the Godly Taotie Bull became stronger at the same time as he said, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Di Tian, that the Auspicious Beast is dead. However, the Auspicious Beast has always been residing in the Great Star Dou Forest, and she¡¯s personally protected by several of your strongest individuals. How could anything have happened to her? Are you saying that someone managed to kill the Auspicious Beast from underneath your protection?¡±

    The ferocity emanating from Di Tian¡¯s body receded a little. He muttered coldly, ¡°Of course nobody would have been able to kill the Auspicious Beast inside the forest! The Auspicious Beast¡¯s status in the Great Star Dou Forest transcended all else, and even I was unwilling to restrain her excessively. Not long ago, she used a fake body in closed-door cultivation, while her own body secretly slunk out of the forest. She should have entered the world of humans, and even individuals like us won¡¯t disturb her when she¡¯s in closed-door cultivation. Who would have expected that such grievous news woulde several days ago?¡±

    The Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had departed the Great Star Dou Forest, and had passed away in the human world?

    Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, ¡°I express deep regret once more for the Auspicious Beast¡¯s death. However, since she met her demise after she left the forest, how can you be sure that us humans did her wrong? I can understand your sorrowful emotions, but you cannot use the lives of countless humans and soul beasts to wash away your grief!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The Beast God, Di Tian suddenlyughed ominously, as if he had just heard some joke. ¡°Nothing to do with humans? Do you know how the Auspicious Beast died? Let me tell you, my aura was intimately connected to that of the Auspicious Beast, and I could clearly feel the state that she was in when she died. She sacrificed herself for a human, and she willingly became someone¡¯s soul ring. How can you say, then, that this has nothing to do with humans?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t maintain hisposure anymore after this. Many different possibilities of how the Auspicious Beast might have met her demise had appeared in his mind over that short period of time. He understood, naturally, that the Auspicious Beast was likely to have died at the hands of a human soul master. However, exceptions could ur, and he was still thinking about how he could convince Di Tian to withdraw his army, when he was met with such a reply!

 Chapter 394.3 - Beast Tide! Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 394.3: Beast Tide! Beast God!</h4>

    Elder Xuan¡¯s voice was evidently a little more rushed now. He said angrily, ¡°Di Tian, even if you want to frame others for this, you have to find a reliable and believable reason. The Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, offered herself to a human soul master? Do you even believe your own words? You can try asking the other soul beasts in the forest¡­ do they believe this? You are clearer than I am about what the Emperor Beast¡¯s existence entails. Could she even offer herself to a human?¡±

    Di Tian said coldly, ¡°Nothing is impossible. The Emperor Beast was born with intelligenceparable to you humans, and she must have walked into the world of humans because she was curious. The Emperor Beast was born from the destiny of the heavens, and she has always acted ording to destiny. There are far too many things that can taint and pollute her in the human world, and problems appeared in the Emperor Beast¡¯s way of thinking because of these pollutions. Don¡¯t try to absolve yourself of responsibility, the only humans that the Emperor Beast saw before she left the forest were you and your students! I heard from the Scarlet King that, back then, one of your students interacted with her. I am very sure that whatever¡¯s happened to the Emperor Beast has something to do with that student of yours! Hand him over, and my army will not invade Shrek City. Otherwise, we will wash Shrek with blood, and we will exterminate everything and everyone!¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s attitude changed a little as he listened to Di Tian¡¯s words. There was no question that Huo Yuhao was the person who Di Tian was talking about! Elder Xuan was the perpetrator back then, so he knew, as he was the one who had helped Huo Yuhao obtain part of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s power of destiny, and he was the one who had helped Huo Yuhao open his Eye of Destiny.

    Does this mean that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion offered herself to Yuhao?He thought about Huo Yuhao going missing recently in the Sun Moon Empire.He¡¯s likely to have encountered danger of some kind. Perhaps, what Di Tian has said isn¡¯t impossible. However, when did the Three-Eyed Golden Lion get together with Yuhao? Why has he never mentioned this to me before?

    ¡°Di Tian, I cannot agree to your request. That student you¡¯re looking for isn¡¯t even in the Academy, and even if he were, how could I give one of my Academy¡¯s students to you?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice became in andposed. He was very clear as he watched the way Di Tian was behaving that the beast wave¡¯s invasion was inevitable. Even if he gave Huo Yuhao to Di Tian, the Emperor Beast¡¯s death was enough to instigate these savage beasts¡¯ aggression and hostility. Even if they didn¡¯t attack Shrek, they would attack other cities, and Shrek would have to take on the responsibility of fighting them off.

    Di Tian¡¯s voice instantly grew cold. ¡°Does this mean that you¡¯re not willing to hand that rascal over at the cost of endless lives and bloodshed?¡±

    Elder Xuan muttered coldly, ¡°You wish to fight, then let¡¯s fight! How can you step over Shrek¡¯s glory as and when you want to?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Di Tian roared furiously into the sky, and dark clouds surged as he shouted ferociously at the top of his voice, ¡°Charge!¡±

    The soul beasts that had initially stopped outside Shrek City now began to move like a tsunami when they heard Di Tian¡¯s order. All kinds of lights shone from these soul beasts, and every single one was filled with manic and crazy auras as they charged toward Shrek City.

    ¡°You dare, Di Tian!¡± Elder Xuan howled as the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s colossal frame began trotting through the sky. He stepped on yellow clouds as he charged toward Di Tian with his twin spiral horns.

    Di Tian¡¯s tremendous dragon wings stretched out as dark clouds rose from behind his back. He opened his mouth, and a huge ck pir of fire more than ten meters in diameter erupted toward Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s horns glowed at the same time, and his dark brown horns swiftly became glossy and transparent, as if they were sculpted from diamonds. Two diamond-like beams of light merged into one and went straight for that ck me pir.

    Boom!

    The mountains trembled and the earth shook in that moment. Even though they were fighting thousands of meters in the sky, the world quivered along with their collision.

    Di Tian didn¡¯t move an inch, and hovered in the distance, but Elder Xuan¡¯s forward momentum was halted forcefully after this sh. Evidently, there was still quite a gap between Elder Xuan¡¯s cultivation and that of Di Tian.

    Di Tian¡¯srge golden eyes flowed with disdain and indifference as he pped his huge dragon wings toward Elder Xuan.

    The sky turned ck in that instant. The yellow clouds were initially at a standoff against dark clouds, but this situation changed in the blink of an eye. Dark clouds loomed over the skies, and everything that was yellow was immediately swallowed in that moment. Even Elder Xuan¡¯s body suffered the same fate, and the great earth was covered in darkness as countless purple lightning bolts flickered and sparkled amongst the dark clouds. That immense pressure sufficiently portrayed the spectacr sight of the dark clouds bearing down on a city and threatening to overwhelm it.

    The spectacr sight made Shrek City¡¯s city defense army and everyone from Shrek Academy feel stifled.

    The number-one soul beast in the world, the leader of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, the Beast God, the dictator of the Great Star Dou Forest, the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡­ there were just too many titles on Di Tian¡¯s head!

    This time, the death of the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had finally infuriated this insanely powerful soul beast. He didn¡¯t hold back from the moment he made his first move.

    Waves of dull thunder boomed continuously from the sky. However, the sky was still covered in darkness. Even the outer courtyard¡¯s junior students could tell from this situation that Elder Xuan was absolutely the weaker one, and at aplete disadvantage.

    That was the truth. Di Tian was the Douluo Continent¡¯s strongest soul beast, and he was possibly the strongest individual across the entire Douluo Continent. Even if the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao was here, he would probably be no match for Di Tian. He was an Ultimate Douluo, but his martial soul, the Darkness Holy Dragon, originated from the ck Dragon race. In terms of blood purity, how could hepare to Di Tian?

    Back then, when the Radiant Holy Dragon, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En, was fighting against Di Tian, he had relied on the fact that his element was a natural counter to Di Tian¡¯s element, and he was only a little weaker. If Long Xiaoyao had been in his position, he would probably be in a worse situation than Elder Mu was. He was absolutely no match for Di Tian in control over darkness.

    If Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t hold Di Tian back, and if he eventually perished in his fight against Di Tian, who else in Shrek City could hold back the strongest individual in the world? Would Shrek City really beid to ruin?

    ¡°What are you looking at? Prepare your defenses, everyone! First wave of soul tools, prepare to fire! All soul masters to their battle stations, and heed mymands!¡± Time Douluo Shi Xing shouted angrily, and his valiant voice finally pulled everyone out from those stifling and suppressing sensations.

    Morale would always be imperative in war. The faith for victory would exist if morale was high, and without morale, even an endless army might not be able to defend against their enemies.

    Shrek¡¯s city defense army had nevercked morale, because the glory and honor from Shrek¡¯s previous generations shone on them, and this glory became their greatest courage.

    They were faced with a formidable army of at least a hundred thousand soul beasts, and the Taotie Douluo was clearly at a disadvantage against the Beast God in the sky. But even so, the eyes of every soldier in Shrek¡¯s city defense army quickly became sharp and determined under Shi Xing¡¯smand.

    This was a battle that they couldn¡¯t lose, because loss meant death. This was a fight between humans and soul beasts, and surrender was never an option on such a battlefield!

    Nobody had to exin for everyone to understand that they had to fight to the very end in this battle. They could only beat back these soul beasts and protect Shrek City in order to survive!

    Soul masters hustled, and heavy cannons were swiftly pulled into position, their mouths of their metal cannons pointed outside of the city.

    The southern city wall was opposite the Great Star Dou Forest. Therefore, the best and strongest defenses were established on the southern city wall.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Tang Sect had manufactured were all sessfully loaded, and every cannon came with four Sealed Milk Bottles.

    Only the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on Shrek¡¯s city wall had such a configuration, and each cannon was almost twice as costly as the cannons that the Tang Sect had sold to the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires. These defensive soul tools that the Tang Sect had crafted for Shrek City were still sold at cost.

    There were thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the southern city wall. They were arranged in one row, and were very intimidating. These cannons were all ss 6 soul tools, and while they were very costly, they were also very powerful, and they could be used continuously in battle for a long time.

    The students from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard swiftly dispersed along the southern city wall under themand of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s various elders.

    None of these people had participated in the defense against the previous beast wave, but the Academy had gained much experience, and learned much about how to fight against beast waves after their previous battle.

    There was no question that Shrek City¡¯sbined strength was a far cry from that of the Great Star Dou Forest. They could only rely on their tough city wall and Shrek Academy¡¯s umted wisdom and experience over the past ten thousand years. Therefore, the city wall could never be allowed to break in their defensive endeavors, because everything would be over if the city wall was broken through.

    The soul beasts¡¯ fighting style would always be different from that of humans. Normal soul beasts had subpar intelligence, and they only knew how to charge around violently, so there was no way they could followplicated orders. For those savage beasts who were at a higher tier, they possessed intelligenceparable to humans, but they were proud and arrogant by nature, so they weren¡¯t willing to use any tricks or schemes. The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts thought they were invincible in their hearts. Because of this, their fighting style was very simple: attack the city head on!

    This fact was one of the most important points that Shrek Academy had concluded for specifically fighting against soul beasts after thest beast wave!

    Shrek City¡¯s southern city wall didn¡¯t even have a gate, and that was so they could defend against soul beasts attacking them from this front. The city wall had been heightened and thickened continuously over many years, and the city wall¡¯s surface had been constructed with special materials and methods. Even soul beasts who had more than ten thousand years of cultivation would need a very long time to damage the city wall!

    Other than that, Shrek City had many unique advantages, and they wouldn¡¯t hold anything back against the beast wave.

    ¡°Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, first wave, fire!¡± Shi Xing shouted at the top of his voice.

    The beast wave surged forward, charging within three kilometers of Shrek City in the blink of an eye. The closer they came, the clearer their frightening numbers became!

 Chapter 395.1 - Mu En! Golden Tree!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 395.1: Mu En! Golden Tree!</h4>

    Those beasts that were charging in front were either ten- or hundred-year soul beasts. They weren¡¯t strong, and so were used as cannon fodder. Of course, this cannon fodder still possessed greater fighting strength than most ordinary people. If a peson wasn¡¯t a soul master, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist them one-on-one.

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­Thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons rapidly fired off, and balls of ring light shone down from above the top of the city wall.

    The Cannons were equipped with wheels and tracks, allowing them to move freely along the city wall. Once they were moved into position, they could be fixed in ce mechanically.

    ss 6 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were quite bulky. When Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and the rest brought cannons to Sunrise City, they only brought those that were either ss 4 or ss 5. Their main reason for not bringingrger Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons was because these cannons were simply too big.

    However, these ss 6 cannons were very useful for defending the city. All of them had forty-eight barrels each, their calibers muchrger than ss 5 cannons. Furthermore, they cooled down more easily due to their size.

    Eighteen barrels from each of the thirty-two cannons were fired at the same time. The ring cannons took everyone by storm.

    Countless streaks of red light formed a cascade of light in the air that shot towards the soul beast army.

    Every cannon covered one region, and there weren¡¯t any oveps. Given the great number of soul beasts, there wasn¡¯t any need to aim, either.

    The internal formation arrays that these thirty-two cannons were equipped with were all explosive bombs. There weren¡¯t any exceptions. Only explosive bombs could unleash the greatest fighting strength on a battlefield.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­

    Countlesspressed soul energy bombs were fired at an rming speed towards the soul beasts, and a terrifying energy storm started to rage.

    This energy storm was a rain of death. In an instant, tremendous booms echoed from the front half of the battlefield. The tragic screams, furious roars, and groans of soul beasts could be heard, and the explosions that rang out caused countless soul beasts to be thrown into the air. Flesh and blood started to scatter and stter on this battlefield.

    This was the first time Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army had witnessed the terrifying strength of all the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons being fired at once. If the beast wave was like a flood, this round of cannon sts forcefully stopped that flood. The surging beast wave was stopped, and many of the soul beasts at the front of the wave were killed.

    Following this, something weird was revealed. Soul rings that were mainly white and yellow started to rise. From the dense concentration of soul rings, it was evident that many soul beasts had been killed in the attack earlier.

    Shi Xing rose up and drifted above the top of the city wall. He shouted furiously, ¡°Did you see? This is Shrek¡¯s strength! Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army, let your passion burn for Shrek¡¯s glory! For Shrek, we have to fight until all of us are dead! We must use up every drop of blood in our bodies. Get ready to fire the second round of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!¡±

    Some of those whose morale was low were inspired after the first round of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were fired. As they saw the huge number of soul rings rising, their confidence was boosted once again. Yes, Shrek couldn¡¯t be defeated so easily!

    Shrek Academy was the number one Academy in the world! The members of the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were also believed to have be Gods. So what if they were facing a beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest? Shrek wouldn¡¯t be defeated, and all of them were going to fight for Shrek¡¯s glory!

    ¡°Kill, kill, kill!¡±

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­

    The cannons fired a second round. Again, several hundred explosive bombs rained down on the soul beasts.

    Humans had been researching soul beasts ever since soul masters had existed. However, how much did soul beasts know about humans?

    Almost everyone who went into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt and kill soul beasts was a highly-skilled soul master. Soul engineers¡¯ requirements for soul rings were lower. This was why soul beasts believed that soul masters were stronger. They were in the Great Star Dou Forest. Whether it was the Star Luo or Heavenly Soul Empire, they had never used extensive numbers of soul tools against soul beasts before.

    That was why the front half of the soul beasts were either greatly hurt or killed three kilometers away when the first round of cannons was fired off. Not only was the soul beast army stunned, but theirmanders were also shocked.

    What soul skill is this? How is it so strong? How is it able to cover such a huge area, and produce such terrifying strength? Even a Titled Douluo can¡¯t do this! Only a Transcendent Douluo might be able to!However, these soul beasts would have felt it if this were the work of a Transcendent Douluo. There weren¡¯t any soul power undtionsing from a Transcendent Douluo, apart from Elder Xuan and Di Tian, who were fighting in the sky.

    Just as the soul beasts were still confused and astonished, the cannons were fired for the second time.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­

    Terrifying explosions rocked the earth again, and tremendous booms echoed across the entire battlefield. Those ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts couldn¡¯t possibly survive against ss 6 explosive bombs. Even thousand-year soul beasts couldn¡¯t escape when they faced multiple bombs at the same time.

    Suddenly, the front of the soul beast army was cut down like wheat. Countless soul rings shone and rose up once again.

    On the top of the city wall, cheers began to erupt. The soul beast army could be defeated!

    The strength of a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon was that it took a very short time to fire because of its mechanical parts. This was especially true when they were used to fire stationary soul cannon shells. There was only one problem with a Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, its vulnerability to high temperatures. A Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon needed to cool down for one to three minutes before it could be used to fire again. If it was fired before it cooled down, its lifespan would fall.

    As a result, Shi Xing decided to slow the firing of these cannons after the first round.

    In the past ten years, Shrek¡¯s development in soul tools had been quite significant. This was especially true after Xuan Ziwei came to the Tang Sect. Thepletion of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, as well as other soul tools that contributed to the defense of the city, made Shrek City seem even more impregnable.

    However, a jade-green figure from the soul beast army rose into the sky just as everyone from Shrek Academy was burning with passion, and their fighting will was at its highest.

    As she rose into the sky,yers of jade-green ripples started to spread out and engulf the entire beast wave.

    Not only were there many dead soul beasts, but there were also countless injured soul beasts. Under the illumination of this jade-green light, the injuries of the hurt soul beasts started to heal at an amazing rate. More interestingly, the soul rings that had risen started to melt amidst this jade-green light, which made it even more ring. Very soon, those injured soul beasts that were lying on the ground started to crawl up, and they roared out once again.

    ¡°Humans, you have researched all types of destructive weapons such as this. One day, you are going to use them on soul beasts. Originally, I didn¡¯t support starting this beast wave. However, I have to agree that humans are threatening the survival of soul beasts. We¡¯ll do our best in this Holy War.¡±

    The flying jade-green figure was clearer to see. She was a human-form Soul Beast, and a ravishing beauty!

    Her jade-green hair flowed down behind her back, and her eyes were jade-green, too. Her figure was slender, and her light-green dress outlined it perfectly. Her snowy-white and slender arms were exposed. The strangest thing was that she had a pair of wings behind her, which seemed to be sculpted from gems.

    This pair of wings was jade-green, and every feather looked extremely dazzling. The bright-green wings were filled with a captivating aura of life and made her look like a natural goddess.

    The look in Elder Song¡¯s eyes turned sharp, and she pointed her toes to the ground, her figure rising to the top of the city wall. She drifted there in mid-air, and an intenseyer of green light shone from her.

    Behind her, a projection shed into existence, revealing a pale eagle entirely engulfed in green light.

    It was Elder Song¡¯s martial soul, a Greenshadow Godly Eagle. It was a top-ranked beast soul of the wind element, and a top-ranked agility-type martial soul.

    Elder Song rose into the sky and faced the ravishingdy directly. She asked, ¡°Are you Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan?¡±

    Thisdy didn¡¯t look at Elder Song, but at all the casualties from the soul beast army. Her eyes were filled withpassion.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m Bi Ji.¡±

    Elder Song said, ¡°Bi Ji, if I¡¯m not wrong, you are known as the kindest soul beast. You are also one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and the only one that isn¡¯t adept at fighting. However, it¡¯s recognized that your status among the Savage Beasts isparable to even Di Tian¡¯s, because you have treated countless soul beasts and saved their lives. However, I need to ask you this¡­ if soul beasts¡¯ lives are considered precious, are humans¡¯ lives considered precious, too? If we didn¡¯t attack just now, and let all of you charge up the city wall, wouldn¡¯t we all have been killed?

    ¡°You¡¯ve also heard Di Tian¡¯s orders. He wants to obliterate Shrek City. Your Emperor Beast has died, and we regret that, too. Perhaps it might be the work of a human, but you have implicated the entire human race out of rage. Isn¡¯t this too much? You are apassionate creature, but why have you be so muddle-headed?¡±

 Chapter 395.2 - Mu En! Golden Tree!

    Chapter 395.2: Mu En! Golden Tree!</h4>

    Bi Ji¡¯s actual form was an Emerald Swan, and she was a healing-type soul beast. There were very few Emerald Swans around.

    They were even on the verge of extinction, and were rarer than Darkgolden Terrorw Bears. The reason why they were about to go extinct was because they were very weak, especially at a young age. They were easily targeted as prey. In addition, their bodies were filled with natural and pure life energy. The life energy of a hundred-thousand-year Emerald Swan could evenpare to Life Gold. They were considered great nourishment to any soul beast.

    As a result, an Emerald Swan was very likely to be killed before it matured into an adult.

    Bi Ji was very fortunate. She had unintentionally saved an extremely weak and small soul beast when she was very young and her cultivation was very weak. Back then, she didn¡¯t know what type of soul beast it was. It was only after that incident that she realized that the father of that soul beast was an extremely strong ten-thousand-year soul beast.

    It was this ten -thousand-year soul beast that protected Bi Ji as she grew up for a thousand years.

    After achieving a thousand-year cultivation, Bi Ji¡¯s life energy became even greater. The result of this was that she started being targeted by many soul beasts. However, she wasn¡¯t one to harbor any resentment. After her predators were defeated and hurt by her protector, she always persuaded her protector to spare them, and even treated their injuries.

    Gradually, some of the soul beasts that had been healed by her before decided to stay by her side to protect her. With her treatment, they were able to live longer.

    Bi Ji grew quickly under their protection. These soul beasts delivered the most energy-dense food from the various forests to her. Her cultivation grew significantly as a result, and her healing abilities also became stronger and stronger.

    There were wars between the many different types of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. As Bi Ji¡¯s abilities grew stronger and stronger, she started to appear on battlefields that involved these soul beasts.

    She tried her best to prevent the outbreak of wars, and healed injured soul beasts. She did her best to maintain peace in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    At the start, everything seemed very futile because of herck of abilities. However, more and more soul beasts followed her as time passed. After her own abilities grew stronger, she started to gather all the Emerald Swans that were still alive and took them under her wing. They followed her as shepleted her dream in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    She was sessful.

    There was once a soul master who had tried to appraise Bi Ji¡¯s cultivation. He had ced it between five hundred fifty thousand and six hundred thousand years. In fact, Bi Ji¡¯s actual age wasn¡¯t greater than a hundred thousand years.

    This meant that she was able to break through five bottlenecks in the short span of a hundred thousand years to reach a cultivation that was close to six hundred thousand years. Just in terms of cultivation speed, Di Tian was far inferior to her.

    Especially in the past ten thousand years, Bi Ji¡¯s abilities had grown even faster because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Di Tian was able to ovee eight bottlenecks and reach an eight-hundred-thousand-year cultivation not just because of the presence of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, but because Bi Ji was also around to protect him as he cultivated.

    The Great Star Dou Forest was able to develop so quickly over the past ten thousand years not just because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The Emerald Swans that advocated peace also yed an important role.

    There were many strong soul beasts around Bi Ji, especially in the core regions. She had greater influence than almost anyone else there. At times, even Di Tian had to consider her opinion.

    Of course, there was a rumor that she was Di Tian¡¯s wife, or at least, that they shared a very close rtionship.

    Among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, Di Tian was ranked number one. The Evil Emperor was ranked second, while the Snow Empress was ranked third. Bi Ji, whose actual cultivation was around five hundred and eighty thousand years, was ranked fourth.

    Di Tian fought in the sky, while Bi Ji appeared above the soul beast army. If even she, who was someone who loved peace, advocated war, this war was bound to be even more intense.

    More than a hundred years ago, it was Bi Ji who had persuaded Di Tian to sign a peace ord with humans when thest beast wave started!

    Bi Ji looked at Elder Song and gently shook her head. She replied, ¡°No, you are wrong. Although we¡¯ve been able to maintain an ecological bnce in the Great Star Dou Forest over these years, humans are getting stronger and stronger. I felt greatly threatened by those weapons earlier. If we allow you to develop further, even ordinary people will be able to wield such destructive weapons, and the continent will no longer have any room for soul beasts. If we don¡¯t weaken the humans, we¡¯ll be the ones to die in the future.¡±

    Elder Song sighed in her heart. She knew that humans would never gain the upper hand in this debate.

    A soul master¡¯s need for soul rings ced humans in a position that was on the wrong side of morality. However, how could they stop a soul master¡¯s need for soul rings? Even Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t capable of doing so!

    The research on Spirits had gone on for some time. However, no practical progress had been achieved due to theck of a suitable soul beast. Along with the huge changes that Huo Yuhao kept on facing, he didn¡¯t have sufficient time to discuss his research on Spirits with the Martial Soul Department.

    If his research had yielded some progress, this beast wave might not have even started. But since this beast wave had arrived, Bi Ji had already made up her mind. Even if she hadn¡¯t, she couldn¡¯t possibly defy Di Tian¡¯s will. All soul beasts would certainly stand on Di Tian¡¯s side regarding the hatred they had for humans.

    Bi Ji shut her eyes. After this, she waved her right hand forward.

    Suddenly, the soul beast army made their move again. This time, they were even louder and moremanding than before.

    ¡°Fire the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!¡± Shi Xing gestured with force, and the cannons were once again fired towards the soul beast army.

    However, Bi Ji acted at this moment. She pushed her thin palm forward, and her wings extendedpletely. In addition, they were erging quickly, and the jade-green projection expanded until it was boundless. She fluttered her wings forward and made an embracing gesture, protecting the soul beasts that were in front.

    Booms started to reverberate, but all the bombs were blocked by her wings. They only caused patches of jade-green light to ripple, but no explosive force was able to prate through Bi Ji¡¯s wings.

    Bi Ji wasn¡¯t adept at fighting, but her presence was equivalent to the Seven Treasures zed Sect. Whether it was in terms of auxiliary or healing abilities, she was extremely strong.

    She brushed her wings forward, and they changed into countless streaks of jade-green light. When theynded on the soul beasts, every charging soul beast was covered by ayer of jade-green light. Their life energy was greatly enhanced, and all of them appeared to be very vibrant.

    Just like that, Bi Ji managed to provide auxiliary support to more than three thousand soul beasts.

    This Emerald Swan who was ranked fourth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts had revealed her strong abilities!

    She couldn¡¯t directly participate in a fight, but the abilities that she revealed on a battlefield were even more terrifying than her direct participation in a fight could be.

    Elder Song looked quite dismal, and green light started to shine brightly from her body. She knew that she needed to restrain Bi Ji. Otherwise, Bi Ji could provide the best logistical help to the soul beast army if she was allowed to unleash her full abilities. In addition, she was able to greatly boost the morale of all the soul beasts.

    Elder Song immediately charged into the sky. Two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings rose, and her seventh ck soul ring shone extremely brightly. In the next moment, a hawk appeared in mid-air. It had wings more than six meters across, and it released green light from its body.

    It was Elder Song¡¯s Martial Soul True Body, the Greenshadow Godly Hawk!

    As her figure shed forwards, an extra streak of green light appeared in the sky. This streak of green light was too quick. Even using Instant Teleportation wouldn¡¯t yield such a speed. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Bi Ji.

    A pair of sharp hawk ws extended towards Bi Ji¡¯s arms.

    Bi Ji was shocked by Elder Song¡¯s speed, but she didn¡¯t panic. Ayer of jade-green light spread from her body. When Elder Song wed at her, she felt as if she had grabbed the thick skin of a bull. She was able to pierce Bi Ji¡¯s arms slightly, but her ws were immediately deflected away.

    ¡°Courting death!¡± A deep, furious roar echoed, and a huge tiger suddenly charged into the sky. This tiger had six wings and dark-golden fur. It was extremely ferocious.

    As it rose into the sky, it immediately leapt towards Elder Song.

    Elder Song snorted coldly, and made a deft turn in the air. She swept her extremely sturdy right wing and flung the hundred-thousand-year, six-winged dark-golden tiger that was twice her size a hundred meters away.

    Among all the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Song was only inferior to Elder Xuan in terms of cultivation. Not only was she a Transcendent Douluo, but she was also the most experienced elder, since she was only younger than Elder Xuan. Her cultivation was Rank 97, and she was extremely strong. At the same time, she was also the mother of the Martial God Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er!

 Chapter 395.3 - Mu En! Golden Tree!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 395.3: Mu En! Golden Tree!</h4>

    While a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was extremely strong among soul beasts, it was still inferiorpared to a Transcendent Douluo like Elder Song.

    After she flung the six-winged dark-golden tiger away, she turned around and charged towards Bi Ji again. A streak of green light swept towards Bi Ji like a sharp de in the air, generating an intense sonic boom along the way.

    Although Elder Song admired Bi Ji, they were on a battlefield, and she was responsible for the millions of lives in Shrek City!

    Bi Ji¡¯s expression became much more serious. Given her cultivation, Elder Song wouldn¡¯t be her match if she was adept at fighting. However, it was a pity that this wasn¡¯t her strength. Her abilities were mainly used for mass healing or mass defense purposes. However, her own defensive strength was very weak.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± a roar echoed in the sky. Following that, a streak of purple light appeared in the sky like a long whip, and blocked the green de that Elder Song had turned into.

    When the purple and green lights contacted each other, Elder Song immediately felt that something was wrong. It felt like the majestic and boundless aura from the purple light was about to devour her.

    Fortunately it was her. When they collided, she suddenly twisted her body before shiftingterally at her highest speed, avoiding a direct sh with that purple light.

    Even so, her Greenshadow Godly Hawk made a few rolls and turns in the air before she managed to stabilize herself.

    However, Elder Song didn¡¯t stop pestering Bi Ji. As her figure shed away, she reappeared on the other side of Bi Ji. Countless streaks of feather-shaped green light reached toward Bi Ji.

    That purple light that came from the sky was undoubtedly unleashed by Di Tian. He was the only one that was able to make her cut such a sorry figure.

    Not only was Elder Song in a sorry state, but the victor of the fight in mid-air seemed to have been decided just as Di Tian unleashed this strike.

    As a groan sounded, the huge Taotie Godly Bull fell from the sky, its body was surrounded by purplish lightning. On his forehead, there was a pitch-ck light surrounded by purple light. His eyes were also stained purple.

    ¡°Elder Xuan!¡± All the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were frantic. Yan Shaozhe leapt up to catch Elder Xuan.

    However, Di Tian opened his dragon wings in mid-air, and his body shrank until his wings were only ten meters long. He turned into a deep-purplish meteor and pursued Elder Xuan. It was obvious that he was after Elder Xuan¡¯s life!

    While everyone from Shrek Academy knew that Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t Di Tian¡¯s match, they hadn¡¯t expected him to onlyst for such a short time. Just as the soul beast army arrived beneath the city, Elder Xuan had already been defeated by Di Tian!

    No matter how strong the Shrek City Defense Army was, they couldn¡¯t possibly resist an attack from the number one savage beast in the world!

    Everyone¡¯s heart sank. In a war in the Douluo Continent, the situation couldn¡¯t be controlled if the abilities of two top-ranked individuals were too far apart from each other.

    Soul beasts weren¡¯t humans, and thus they naturally didn¡¯t follow the rule that a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t directly participate in a war. Di Tian didn¡¯t care about that rule at all. If he was given the liberty to do anything he wanted, he could quickly obliterate Shrek City on his own.

    At that critical moment, an elderly-sounding voice suddenly resonated out. ¡°Di Tian, don¡¯t go overboard!¡±

    A beam of golden light rose from the east of Shrek City. As this beam of golden light shot into the sky, it gradually grew in size and quickly turned into a huge, golden dragon. It first grabbed Elder Xuan¡¯s body before dispelling the purplish-ck ball in his forehead. After this, it turned around, and a huge dragon tail swept out and shed against Di Tian, who was in hot pursuit of Elder Xuan.

    Instantly, the earth turned golden, and the sky turned extremely dark and gloomy! A terrifying aura spread and filled the entire battlefield. All the humans and soul beasts stopped at this moment, and turned their attention towards the sky.

    The gold and ck lights were divided into twoyers, and they were even bnced out in the air as they were released. Both of the huge dragons also retreated at the same time.

    ¡°Dragon God Douluo Mu En, you aren¡¯t dead?¡± Di Tian sounded astonished. His mighty aura seemed to be slightly curbed too.

    ¡°Di Tian, I¡¯ll protect Shrek even if I¡¯m dead. Shrek can¡¯t be treated with disrespect. Don¡¯t forget, all seven members of the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters have be Gods. How dare you be so brazen as to lead a beast wave to attack Shrek City? Aren¡¯t you afraid of incurring the wrath of Heaven? At your cultivation, you should know that the realm of Gods is real.¡± The elderly-sounding voice appeared to be slightly angry.

    The Godly Taotie Bull also finally managed to stabilize himself. Elder Xuan¡¯s body was covered in wounds, but they were quickly healing under the protection of the golden dragon.

    ¡°Eh, so you really are dead. You just used a special method to preserve a part of your spirit and powers. Mu En, you couldn¡¯t think of stopping me even if you were alive. So what if the realm of Gods exists? Are they going to interfere in the affairs of the continent? I¡¯ve no intention of bing a God, either. What¡¯s there to be scared of? I¡¯ll destroy your spirit to avenge the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!¡±

    As he spoke, Di Tian looked into the sky and roared. His ck scales started to shine with purple light.

    ¡°Xuan Zi, Taotie!¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice was very stern. His appearance also caused Shrek City to be engulfed in ayer of gentle, golden light.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Yan Shaozhe was tearing up uncontrobly at this moment. He kneeled down in the air.

    All the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion all bowed slightly. They greeted the Dragon God Douluo, who still continued to protect Shrek after he was dead.

    Yes, Elder Mu wasn¡¯tpletely dead. What Elder Xuan had secretly told Huo Yuhao to help him out of his misery was true.

    Elder Mu was physically dead, but he was an Ultimate Douluo. All the previous Ultimate Douluo were able to hide their soul power and part of their spirits in the Golden Tree, and lived along with the Golden Tree. Given the cultivation of an Ultimate Douluo, he could at least remain in the Golden Tree for a hundred years before he was absorbed by the Golden Tree and became nutrients for it.

    Not all Ultimate Douluo chose to do so. After all, one¡¯s spirit wouldn¡¯t be able to reincarnate if he did this. He would eventually be a part of the Golden Tree.

    However, Elder Mu chose this path with no future. He had sensed that Shrek was about to face a huge catastrophe in the next century. Initially, he felt that he had to protect Shrek because of Ye Xishui. Elder Mu was an open-minded person. To him, so what if his spirit couldn¡¯t reincarnate? If he could reincarnate, he would still forget everything in his past life. There was no meaning to it. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t one who believed in spiritual reincarnation. Perhaps he could still keep a shred of his consciousness if he depended on the magical Golden Tree. After all, he was probably Shrek Academy¡¯s strongest soul master in the past thousand years.

    Because of this, Elder Mu¡¯s spiritual imprint and his soul power were concealed within the Golden Tree. It was just that he couldn¡¯t unleash the same strength that he could as the Dragon God Douluo without his physical body. However, this didn¡¯t change his determination to protect Shrek. Furthermore, he was the most familiar with Di Tian among all the strong individuals in Shrek Academy. His appearance immediately changed the disadvantageous situation Shrek was in.

    After hearing Elder Mu¡¯smand, Elder Xuan perked up, and the Godly Taotie Bull let out a deep roar. His body shone brightly with yellow light, and auspicious clouds rose underneath his feet as he flew towards the sky once again.

    At the same time, Elder Mu¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon also turned into a streak of flowing light and spiraled towards Elder Xuan. As it surrounded him, intense golden light started to surge into Elder Xuan¡¯s body.

    The Taotie Godly Bull¡¯s body started to transform significantly. He gradually turned bright golden, and the earth and light elements perfectly fused with each other. Golden scales started to grow on his body, and his spiral-shaped horns started to twist before adopting the structure of antlers.

    His four hooves started to be more human. A huge eye grew from each of his armpits.

    His face became thinner, and Elder Xuan¡¯s appearance was revealed. It was just that his eyes had an aura that belonged to Elder Mu.

    His body shrank a little, and he no longer looked like a bull, but a goat instead. His head and jaws became extremelyrge. As he opened his mouth, he revealed sharp tiger¡¯s teeth.

    He now had the face of a goat and the teeth of a tiger. At this moment, Elder Xuan was no longer the Taotie Godly Bull. When his martial soul was fused in a different way by Elder Mu, and his dragon bloodline was made purer, he had now transformed into the Taotie, one of the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons.

    The Dragon God had split, and turned into the Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon. They had inherited the physical and spiritual strength of the Dragon God, respectively.

    Before the Dragon God split, he had had nine sons, who had also inherited part of his abilities and bloodline. Among them, there was the ancestor of the Earth Dragons, and the chief of the Flying Dragons, while there were those who entered deep valleys and slept in volcanoes.

    The Dragon God¡¯s nine sons weren¡¯t able to procreate. However, they were very strong once. When the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings were still young, they had once led the dragons to rule the Douluo Continent.

    However, they passed away one by one, and their bloodlines were partially passed down to future generations.

    The rule of dragons stopped when the Golden Dragon King died identally, and the Silver Dragon King disappeared, leaving the dragons leaderless. The soul beasts that they ruled started a rebellion and overthrew them.

    However, even until this day, humans and soul beasts still recognized dragons as immensely strong. Human historians still believed that the dragons¡¯ rule did not stop because of how strong the rebelling soul beasts were. Rather, it was because of some issues with the passing down of their bloodlines.

 Chapter 396.1 - Taoties Descent

    <h4 ss>Chapter 396.1: Taotie¡¯s Descent</h4>

    The purest dragon bloodline wasn¡¯t passed down. Along with the fact that dragons found it very difficult to breed, they weren¡¯t able to maintain sufficient numbers, and slowly lost their position in history.

    Even so, some of the remaining dragon bloodlines were still very strong. The Golden Eyes ck Dragon King Di Tian was a very good example. He wasn¡¯t the Golden Dragon King or the Silver Dragon King, which were both avatars of the Dragon God, and he wasn¡¯t one of the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons, either. However, he was still able to be the number one savage beast. It showed how powerful dragons were in the ancient era.

    Right now, Elder Xuan had transformed into a creature with a goat¡¯s body, a human face, and a tiger¡¯s teeth and ws. He had taken the form of the Dragon God¡¯s fifth son, the Taotie!

    It wasn¡¯t going to be easy dealing with the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King, given that he had cultivation level greater than eight hundred-thousand-years. Elder Mu couldn¡¯t do it in the past, and it was even more impossible now.

    Before Elder Mu had passed away, however, he had confirmed Elder Xuan as his sessor. In fact, there was once a debate in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion regarding this matter.

    Yes, Elder Xuan was the strongest after Elder Mu. However, he was an alcoholic, and was slovenly. In terms of managing the academy, he couldn¡¯tpare to Elder Song. As a result, many elders had once suggested that Elder Song should seed the position as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and take control of the Academy.

    However, Elder Mu used one reason to overrule everyone¡¯s opinion, and confirmed Elder Xuan as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This reason was the bloodline of Elder Xuan¡¯s martial soul.

    A hundred years ago, Elder Mu had lost to the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King, Di Tian. After that loss, he had thought it over carefully. Given that Di Tian¡¯s abilities were even above an Ultimate Douluo, which ced him half a step into the realm of Gods, what was the best way to curb him?

    His bloodline had already brought him to the peak of the food chain in the Douluo Continent. It was almost impossible to surpass him in terms of bloodline.

    Di Tian¡¯s abilities were of Ultimate Darkness. Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice couldn¡¯t curb him. A hundred years ago, Elder Mu hadn¡¯t expected to have a disciple in the future who possessed Ultimate Ice. Even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t have been too hopeful. That was because Huo Yuhao had to cultivate until he became an Ultimate Douluo. Otherwise, there was no way that he could fight Di Tian.

    From then on, Elder Mu had used all his efforts to nurture Elder Xuan. There was only one way to curb Di Tian: start from his bloodline!

    No matter how strong Di Tian¡¯s bloodline was, he was still a dragon. Among all dragons, those with bloodlines that were superior to him were the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings, as well as the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons!

    Elder Xuan¡¯s Godly Taotie Bull contained part of the bloodline of the Dragon God¡¯s fifth son, the Taotie. It was just that this bloodline wasn¡¯tplete. Although it was very strong, it was still inferior to Di Tian¡¯s bloodline.

    Elder Mu and Elder Xuan weren¡¯t able to unleash a fusion skill. However, things became different as Elder Mu¡¯s life approached its end, and he was left with only the power of his spirit, and part of his soul power.

    Elder Mu could enter Elder Xuan¡¯s body using his immense spiritual and soul power as an Ultimate Douluo and forcefully suppress the bull part of his martial soul. He now used all his strength to unleash the full potential of Elder Xuan¡¯s Taotie bloodline, which led to the current scene.

    To a certain extent, Elder Xuan was like a Taotie that had descended right now!

    Even with Di Tian¡¯s abilities, he was shocked when he saw the change that Elder Xuan went through.

    He had lived in this world for several hundred thousand years. Although part of his eight hundred-thousand-year cultivation was achieved through various methods, it wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that he was the oldest soul beast on the continent.

    He had personally seen the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons before, and naturally could recognize the look of the Taotie. He was stunned, and recalled how the dragons had ruled the entire Douluo Continent several hundred thousand years ago.

    ¡°Uncle Taotie, is it really you?¡± Di Tian trembled slightly, and he became agitated. When he saw this powerful figure from the past, he couldn¡¯t control his emotions even with his cultivation. However, he soon got over his initial shock.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not Uncle Taotie! Scoundrels, how dare the two of youmit such sphemy!¡± Di Tian roared furiously, and his scales started to stand on end. Purple light filled his golden eyes, and the dark, gloomy clouds turned purple at this instant.

    The entire sky seemed to be on the verge of copse, and the entire world seemed like it was going to be destroyed under his rage.

    This was Di Tian¡¯s true ability, a terrifying strength capable of destroying heaven and earth!

    However, a streak of golden light at the east side of Shrek City rose straight into the sky and struck Elder Xuan¡¯s body.

    Golden light shone behind him and refracted outward, forming a gentle golden barrier that engulfed the entire Academy. No matter how much Di Tian raged, he couldn¡¯t reach a single inch past a five hundred meter region in the sky above Shrek City. Even the soul beast army that was charging towards Shrek Academy was deflected away by a gentle screen, and were unable to take even half a step forward through it.

    This was strength that came from the Golden Tree. Under Elder Mu¡¯s guidance, the soul of the Golden Tree was unleashed.

    Some of the previous Masters of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had chosen to fuse with the Golden Tree. Under the nourishment of their power, the Golden Tree protected the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Shrek Academy, and even Shrek City.

    Its power had umted for tens of thousands of years. Even though it could only be drawn upon within Shrek City, the Golden Tree was Shrek¡¯s final protector, and its existence was something even Di Tian¡¯s strength couldn¡¯t shake.

    If Di Tian was one foot into the realm of Gods, then the Golden Tree was already half a God, given the immense soul power and energy that it contained. It was just that it didn¡¯t have any consciousness. Furthermore, it recovered at a much slower pace than humans and soul beasts after it was drained.

    When the first beast wave arrived, the Golden Tree wasn¡¯t utilized because the Body Sect was there to reinforce Shrek Academy. However, Elder Mu couldn¡¯t be bothered with things like secrecy right now, given the situation they were in. Shrek City would be obliterated if Di Tianunched a direct attack against it.

    The strength of the Golden Tree didn¡¯t just protect Shrek. At the same time, it also further unleashed the potential of Elder Xuan¡¯s Taotie bloodline.

    Elder Xuan and Elder Mu¡¯s powers were finally fused into thest stage as the power of the Golden Tree poured into the Taotie¡¯s body. Instantly, the Taotie¡¯s body started to shine brightly with golden light. Di Tian¡¯s powers caused the sky to copse, while the golden light helped to mend the sky.

    Even under the terrifying suppression of that purplish-ck light, this golden light remained very resilient, and continued to spread outward. The Taotie¡¯s body also slowly grew bigger

    Di Tian seemed to sense something, and roared furiously. He shook his body forcefully, and his huge wings opened up. The light from the scales on his body dimmed slightly before expanding.

    Suddenly, the sky was temporarily frozen. The parts of the sky that were about to copse earlier started to show fissures. From these fissures, dragon heads started to poke out. Every dragon head looked identical to Di Tian. They opened their mouths, and terrifying purplish-ck dragonmes spewed towards the Taotie.

    This was an ultimate technique that Di Tian specialized in, Myriad Dragonmes! This attack was strong enough to annihte an entire city!

    However, Elder Mu had already started preparing to deal with Di Tian¡¯s abilities a hundred years ago. How could Di Tian seed so easily?

    The Taotie had already grownrger than Di Tian. He slowly lifted his head and opened his mouth before unleashing a furious, earth-shaking roar!

    As one of the Dragon¡¯s God nine sons, the Taotie¡¯s bloodline was naturally closer to the Dragon God than Di Tian. His mighty roar didn¡¯t just stop all the dragon heads that were spewing dragonmes. At the same time, all the soul beasts with dragon bloodlines were crawling on the ground, shuddering, and didn¡¯t dare disobey him!

    A ball of intense golden light was released from the Taotie¡¯s mouth, but it wasn¡¯t unleashed towards Di Tian. It rapidly grew in the air and transformed into a huge head that was more than a thousand meters in diameter. It was a head identical to the Taotie¡¯s own!

    As it opened its golden mouth, it sucked in Di Tian¡¯s Myriad Dragonmes.

    All the dragonmes were sucked into its mouth. The terrifying force even seemed to suck the dragon heads out of the cracks in the sky.

    Di Tian was shocked, and quickly beat his wings, turning around and sweeping his tail out. It was whipped towards the side of that golden projection with a terrifying aura.

    However, he still underestimated the strength of the Taotie jointly formed by Elder Xuan, Elder Mi, and the Golden Tree.

    The Taotie was currently around as strong as Di Tian, but his bloodline was purer.

    Elder Mu had tapped into the pure strength in the Golden Tree, along with his own soul power, to unleash the strength of the Taotie. This Taotie was close to being half a God, and it might even be stronger than the real Taotie was back then.

    The Taotie was adept at devouring things. He loved delicacies, which was the reason why his abilities were linked to devouring things. No one¡¯s digestive abilities couldpare to him.

    After Di Tian¡¯s Myriad Dragonmes were devoured, they were quickly transformed into purplish-ck whirlpools, and clearly vanished within the golden light.

 Chapter 396.2 - Taoties Descent

    <h4 ss>Chapter 396.2: Taotie¡¯s Descent</h4>

    When Di Tian¡¯s tail whipped over, the Taotie twisted his head to one side and opened his jaws wide before biting onto it.

    Such a powerful whip was forcefully stopped, just like that. Furthermore, more than a third of Di Tian¡¯s body, starting from his tail, was swallowed by the Taotie.

    Di Tian was extremely furious, and he started to struggle with all his might, roaring madly as he tried to break free from the Taotie¡¯s mouth.

    However, the Taotie¡¯s strength was beyond his expectations. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn¡¯t able to break free.

    The Taotie¡¯s body started to shine with bright gold light, and fused with the Taotie¡¯s golden head. As this golden light continued to expand, it slowly devoured Di Tian¡¯s body.

    Di Tian was infuriated as he shouted, ¡°Do you think you can avoid this cmity by using this enhanced strength to trap me? Dream on! Even if you can trap me for an hour, it won¡¯t be able tost for long! I really want to see what strength all of you have to protect Shrek! Those from the Great Star Dou Forest ¨C attack! Attack and destroy this city in front of me! Kill!¡±

    As Di Tian shouted out onest time, his huge body was devoured by the Taotie. Golden light shed, and the sky turned into a patch of gold.

    However, the golden light that came from the Golden Tree seemed to have been used up, and vanished from the air. The patch of gold that had protected Shrek City also disappeared.

    That majestic fight had indeed astonished all, both humans and soul beasts.

    This was indeed a duel between the best on the continent! The strength that both parties summoned hadpletely exceeded that of a peak Titled Douluo!

    Shrek Academy had eventually managed to seal Di Tian with the power that they had umted over thousands of years. However, Elder Xuan and Elder Mu¡¯s abilities were also sealed right now. As for how long they could seal Di Tian, it wasn¡¯t easy to tell.

    Even so, Shrek¡¯s revtion of its high-end strength, which wasn¡¯t inferior to that of the Great Star Dou Forest, had a great effect in boosting the morale of Shrek City.

    Di Tian¡¯sst roar was his final order to the beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest. The barrier erected by the Golden Tree had disappeared. Instantly, countless beasts rushed towards the city.

    ¡°Fire the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!¡± Shi Xing roared furiously into the air.

    In the distance, Elder Song started to pester Bi Ji again using her speed. Figure after figure also started to charge towards the sky on one side of the forest to protect her. The high-endbat strengths of both parties started to sh.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were fired again, and hundreds of high-explosive bombs were fired rapidly into the air. Shi Xing¡¯smands were very precise. The cannons weren¡¯t fired towards the soul beasts that were charging in front, but they were aimed slightly further back. In this way, the soul beasts would be separated.

    Furthermore, these cannons were fired with full force this time. They fired three consecutive volleys, and more than sixteen hundred high-explosive bombs were fired towards the soul beasts. They were divided into three different waves, the timing between each wave was less than five seconds.

    After the previous lesson, these soul beasts were no longer so passive. Those whose cultivations were greater than ten thousand years instantly unleashed their innate soul skills towards the bombs that were approaching them when they saw the high-explosivesing.

    Many bombs exploded in the air and didn¡¯t strike any of them. However, Shi Xing¡¯s attack was indeed quite vicious. As the cannons were fired in three different waves, the intensity of the attack was three times stronger than earlier. As the soul beast army was unprepared, they still suffered a lot.

    Close to two-thirds of the high-explosive bombs still struck the soul beasts. As tremendous explosions urred, Shrek City seemed to be shaken as buzzes and groans echoed back and forth

    The terrifying explosions caused the earth to shake, and the blood and flesh of soul beasts sttered all around.

    When she saw this scene, Bi Ji¡¯s face turned cold. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with Elder Song¡¯s pestering, and unleashed her mass healing ability. A huge patch of azure light quickly engulfed the center of the region where the explosions had urred.

    However, Elder Song was extremely strong. Without Di Tian¡¯s threat in the sky, she shed open another wound on Bi Ji¡¯s right arm, a streak of green light shing by just when Bi Ji was using her mass healing ability.

    The four hundred-thousand-year soul beasts protecting Bi Ji roared out furiously at the same time, and an intense concentration of attacks was instantly directed at Elder Song.

    However, Elder Song¡¯s speed was simply too scary. As the fastest soul master in Shrek, she unleash her full strength through her Greenshadow Godly Hawk. A streak of green light could be seen shing through the air, but the powerful soul beasts weren¡¯t able to see her clearly. They were helpless as she continued to pester them.

    Elder Song used her actions to teach a lesson to all the soul masters from Shrek Academy. She was teaching them how an agility-type soul master should fight!

    In terms of abilities, Elder Song couldn¡¯tpare to so many strong soul beasts working together. However, she managed to perfectly tap into her ungodly speed to terrorize her enemies. She didn¡¯t have the intention to harm them overmuch, but only aimed to pester them. Her offensive strength would be lethal if one ignored her. However, their attacks would also bepletely useless against her if they tried to make a move against her. They could only remain cautious around her. Instantly, all these powerful soul beasts were renderedpletely helpless.

    Bi Ji¡¯s treatment was precise and just in time. She managed to save many of the soul beasts¡¯ lives. However, there were simply too many explosive bombs, and countless soul beasts still lost their lives. Even the ground was left with huge depressions that obstructed the soul beasts behind them.

    In terms of intelligence, soul beasts couldn¡¯tpare to humans. Those soul beasts who were leading the charge in front continued to charge towards Shrek City due to their excessive bravery. They didn¡¯t even bother with the fact that their reinforcements behind had been obstructed.

    These ferocious soul beasts arrived at the city wall and immediately started to scale them through various means.

    At the top of the city walls were powerful soul masters from Shrek in formations, waiting for these soul beasts toe. Of the three thousand soul masters, a thousand moved forward in unison, and every one of them lifted a soul ray spear to their shoulders. Countless soul rays started to rain down the sides of the city walls as they were fired towards the soul beasts scaling the walls.

    The soul beasts that were charging in front were the weakest. There were very few among them that were adept at long-range attacks. Even if there were any that specialized in long-range attacks, they could still be easily ovee, given the sheer number of powerful soul masters at the top of the city walls. However, these soul beasts still used their bodies to resist the soul rays.

    The first wave was instantly suppressed by the countless soul rays. As the soul beasts screamed in pain, they fell off the city walls. They were only able to leave behind scratch marks on the walls, even with their sharp ws.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons also took this opportunity to cool down. When the soul beasts in the second ranks charged overter, those soul beasts that were originally in front had mostly been killed. As for Shrek City, it waspletely undamaged!

    Some of those who had just joined the Shrek City Defense Army were inevitably nervous earlier, when they saw the size of the beast waveing towards Shrek City. However, their confidence started to grow as time passed and the soul beast army suffered heavy casualties, while they remainedpletely unhurt.

    At this point, the Tang Sect arrived at the top of the city walls. Bei Bei was leading them, and they met up with Dean Yan Shaozhe.

    ¡°Reporting to Dean Yan.¡± Bei Bei brought everyone from the Tang Sect over in front of Yan Shaozhe and greeted him respectfully.

    Yan Shaozhe said in a low-pitched voice, ¡°It¡¯s great that all of you are here. All of you can prepare here to serve as our backup. Remember, don¡¯t get too far away from me. This time, your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons have helped us greatly. Take a look.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe looked very excited right now. He wasn¡¯t excited because they had killed arge number of soul beasts. He was excited because of Elder Mu¡¯s appearance! Elder Mu wasn¡¯t dead, and his spirit was going to live forever. To him, he felt as if he had returned to his younger days, when he had listened to Elder Mu¡¯s lectures.

    When Elder Mu and Elder Xuan coborated to seal Di Tian in the sky, Shrek Academy¡¯s confidence was greatly boosted. Against this terrifying beast wave, Shrek City hadpletely gained the upper hand.

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°Dean Yan, we are actually here to ask for forgiveness.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was momentarily stunned, and then immediately realized something. He raised his right hand, and a streak of soul power started to expand. Both him and Bei Bei were engulfed by this streak of soul power, and all outside noise was isted.

    ¡°What? What happened?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked.

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°On our way here, we met Nan Qiuqiu, who was rushing back from the Sun Moon Empire. She¡¯s the young sect leader of the Earthdragon Sect that we brought back from Radiant City. This time, she returned with her mother, Elder Nan Shuishui.¡±

    ¡°Nan Qiuqiu, Nan Shuishui?¡± Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a moment, but he soon reacted. ¡°Are you saying that Yuhao returned to Sunrise City to save the two of them? Since they¡¯re back, where¡¯s Yuhao? What¡¯s happened to him? Is he fine?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was simply too important to Shrek Academy. He was the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! He was supposed to seed Yan Shaozhe in the future! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice martial soul and the Spirits that he had researched were very important to the future of the Academy!

    Right now, Bei Bei didn¡¯t know whether he was supposed to be excited or depressed. On their way here earlier, they had stumbled upon Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu, who were both returning to Shrek City. As they returned, Nan Qiuqiu recounted everything that had happened between them and Huo Yuhao to Bei Bei.

    After hearing them, Bei Bei was stunned for half a minute before he quickly led hisrades toward the southern city wall.

    A beast wave hade from the Great Star Dou Forest, and Huo Yuhao was the one who had started this mess. This¡­

    After listening to Bei Bei¡¯s retelling of the events, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s reaction was identical to Bei Bei¡¯s reaction previously. He just stood there in a daze.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯er was actually the human form of the Emperor Beast! This is too unbelievable! Even Titled Douluo like us didn¡¯t notice anything different between her and a human! No wonder she was the Emperor Beast¡­ What about Yuhao? When is he returning?¡± Yan Shaozhe quickly questioned Bei Bei.

 Chapter 396.3 - Taoties Descent

    <h4 ss>Chapter 396.3: Taotie¡¯s Descent</h4>

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, either. I heard Elder Nan Shuishui mention that Huo Yuhao had some important matters to attend to. He will return after he settles them. He should be able to guess that the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest are going to retaliate. Considering his intelligence, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll rush back as soon as possible, even though he¡¯s affected by Qiu¡¯er¡¯s death. I believe that he has some kind of way to help us deal with this beast wave. Dean Yan, the Tang Sect can¡¯t shirk responsibility for this matter. We are willing to use whatever strength we have to help the Academy resist this beast wave. I just hope that you can put in a few good words for us to Elder Xuan. This wasn¡¯t what Huo Yuhao wished for. He has also been greatly affected, and he was also the passive one, too. This¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Bei Bei, stopping him from continuing further.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying all that now? Let¡¯s force this beast wave back first. Furthermore, did I say that I¡¯m ming Yuhao? This can only be considered an opportunity for him! Why would we me him for something like this? He¡¯s already very blessed, and he¡¯s now obtained the strength of the god beast of Destiny! He¡¯s bound to grow even faster! We still can¡¯t tell whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Academy.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until he¡¯s back. In addition, do you really think Di Tian would remain quiet, even without this thing as a trigger? The abilities of the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest have been increasing significantly over these past few centuries. The number of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts has been increasing, and their overall abilities have reached a new high. The Golden Eyes ck Dragon King is a rogue. In fact, the Academy had already guessed that he wouldn¡¯t choose to remain quiet for long!

    ¡°The death of the Emperor Beast has only elerated this process. The death of the Emperor Beast has also greatly restricted any future enhancements to the Great Star Dou Forest. This is not a bad thing for humans! Right now, let¡¯s see how we deal with this crisis.¡±

    Bei Bei was much more relieved after listening to Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words. Dean Yan¡¯s attitude basically represented that of the Academy. As long as they didn¡¯t me Huo Yuhao for bringing about this cmity, Bei Bei was satisfied.

    Bei Bei straightened his gaze and asked, ¡°Dean Yan, what do you need us to do now?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need all of you to fight yet. Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to gather the Tang Sect¡¯s strength to help the Academy? In that case, I¡¯ll need you and your sect to bring out all the soul tools you have. The Tang Sect will be in charge of the deployment of its soul tools. Coordinate with Shi Xing regarding this!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bei Bei quickly agreed, and immediately turned around before gesturing to hisrades.

    Xu Sanshi and the others had also heard what had happened to Huo Yuhao. They were also very worried about the Academy¡¯s opinion. Right now, they felt more relieved after seeing Bei Bei¡¯s expression. From Bei Bei¡¯s face, it seemed like the Academy didn¡¯t have any opinion on Huo Yuhao just yet.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and gather all the soul tools in the sect. Take out all our Sealed Milk Bottles and the various soul tools that we¡¯ve just invented,¡± Bei Bei instructed them.

    Huo Yuhao was important to Shrek Academy, but he was also equally important to the Tang Sect. He was everyone¡¯s little junior, and had contributed greatly to the development of the sect. At this critical moment, Bei Bei only wanted to do one thing as the eldest senior of the Tang Sect: contribute as much as he and the Tang Sect could to stop this beast wave, and make amends for Huo Yuhao¡¯s mistake.

    ¡ª

    The battle had well and truly begun. The soul beast army didn¡¯t stop their attack even though they had suffered heavy casualties. On the contrary, their attacks became even more ferocious.

    Shi Xing was holding the fort at the center of the southern city wall, issuing orders continuously. After firing the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons again, he had no choice but to let the cannons cool down for some time. Huge numbers of soul beasts started to scale the city walls again, and the long-range attacks that came from the soul beasts had also be stronger. Shi Xing immediately changed their fighting strategy in response to all this.

    ¡°Activate our protective soul barriers and release the shock bombs!¡±

    The soul masters who were the furthest back were each carrying a metal pole in front of them. They quickly pressed their palms against their poles and poured in their soul power.

    Suddenly, a green barrier quickly rose over Shrek City, forming a strong istion barrier. The soul beasts that were about to reach the top of the city walls suddenly realized that they weren¡¯t able to grab hold of anything with their sharp ws, and immediately slid back down the walls. The long-range attacks that hit the barrier were immediately dispelled.

    A hole suddenly opened at an inconspicuous spot on the south city wall. Balls of silver light instantly spread out from it.

    Intense shockwaves started to surge outwards, and all the soul beasts that were climbing the city walls were engulfed in a formed by these balls of silver light. Their bodies started to shine with silver light as they fell off the city walls.

    Falling off the city wall wasn¡¯t fatal for these soul beasts, considering how tough their bodies were. The shockwaves only temporarily stopped them, too. However, they crashed into the soul beasts underneath them as they fell off the city walls. The pulse that came from the shock bombs could be passed on. Suddenly, a huge number of soul beasts beneath the city started to gather together, and they were all affected by the shock bombs, causing them to temporarily lose their offensive abilities.

    ¡°Throw!¡± Shi Xing¡¯s shouted with an emotionless look on his face.

    Balls of fire were then rapidly thrown into the air by ordinary soldiers. These fireballs weren¡¯t ordinary, though. They were mixed with some medicine using special forms to increase theirbustion effect and viscosity.

    Incendiary bombs!

    They were specially invented by Shrek Academy, and were only used for defending the city. Most importantly, they just needed to be ignited before use, and would explode the moment they contacted something else. After exploding, they would turn certain regions into seas of fire, and these fires would continue to burn for a long time.

    Most soul beasts were afraid of fire. Even though these mes weren¡¯t enough to kill them, their instinctive fear would still cause them to panic.

    These incendiary bombs could also be used by ordinary soldiers. In an instant, countless Incendiary Bombs were thrown down from the city wall, creating a huge sea of fire.

    The soul beasts that were gathered beneath the city wall started to roar wildly. They struggled in this sea of fire, and didn¡¯t even care when they hurt other soul beasts. The rest of the soul beasts charging from behind couldn¡¯t help but be deterred by the extremely high temperature.

    While Shrek City wasn¡¯t asrge as Radiant City, and didn¡¯t have a Soul Engineering Legion, they had the most outstanding soul masters in the entire continent, and possessed an army with the greatest fighting strength.

    When the Incendiary Bombsnded, Elder Song¡¯s attacking intensity increased. While she was encircled by several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, she still managed to pester Bi Ji enough that she was unable to use her area of effect healing-type soul skill.

    These soul beasts¡¯ long-range attacks weren¡¯t weak, but it was a pity that there were too many types of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, and they hardly lived together as a species. Under such circumstances, they weren¡¯t able to coordinate with one another. Even the long-range attacks by the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts weren¡¯t able to cause too much damage to the protective soul barrier on the city wall, as they didn¡¯t coordinate and strike at the same time.

    Shrek Academy was still waiting, while adopting a strict formation. Their current advantage didn¡¯t mean anything. The beast wave that wasing still seemed to be endless. Furthermore, the truly strong soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest had yet to enter the fight!

    ¡ª¡ª

    The soul beasts continued to charge maniacally towards the city, while the Shrek City Defense Army continued to defend the city resolutely. The fight had entered a stalemate.

    The soul beasts were using their lives to drain Shrek City¡¯s resources!

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons had limited lifespans. Even with sufficient time to cool down, their internal formation arrays would still be damaged after they were fired a set number of times.

    Stationary soul cannon shells had yet to be utilized. They were Shrek¡¯s trump card.

    Those from the Tang Sect were the busiest right now. They received the help of a five-hundred-man team assigned to them by Shi Xing. A huge amount of resources were being transported from the Tang Sect to the southern city wall right now.

    After the fight had gone on for an hour, Shi Xing saw a pile of stationary soul cannon shells behind him, and finally smiled for the first time since the fight had started.The Tang Sect has a strong foundation, and they are willing to offer everything for us to use! I heard that they only grew to this scale because of the Academy¡¯s support. The Academy definitely made a worthwhile investment.

    The soul beasts had attacked for some time, but they weren¡¯t able to reach the top of the city wall, as they were suppressed by soul tools.

    The beast wave continued to surge strongly, but Shrek remained resolute. No matter how ferocious these soul beasts were, they still managed to resist them!

    However, Elder Song seemed as if she was unable to hold on anymore. No one from Shrek went to reinforce Elder Song, including the Martial God Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er, who was Elder Song¡¯s biological daughter. It was because no one could match her speed.

    With Elder Song¡¯s cultivation, she could leave the battlefield anytime she wanted to. However, she couldn¡¯tst forever. Once a person was locked on by too many soul beasts, they would find it very difficult to escape.

    Green light shed, and that dazzling green ray appeared in the sky again. Elder Song had returned to the top of the city walls, and revealed her form.

    She looked as if she was fine. However, on closer observation, it was evident that she was slightly out of breath.

    The moment Elder Song left the battlefield, Bi Ji¡¯s mass healing immediately took effect. A huge patch of azure light engulfed the front portion of the beast wave, and greatly reduced the losses that the soul beast army incurred.

    The soul rays from the top of the city walls were still firing strongly, and temporarily suppressed the beast wave. The shock bombs weren¡¯t used very often, only when the soul beasts were near the top of the city walls.

    Elder Song was also shocked when she saw the huge number of stationary soul cannons that were massed at the top of the city walls, and asked Shi Xing, ¡°Did the Academy prepare all these?¡±

    Shi Xingughed softly, and shook his head. He said, ¡°No, they were sent here by the Tang Sect.¡±

 Chapter 397.1 - Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide

    <h4 ss>Chapter 397.1: Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide</h4>

    Elder Song looked at Bei Bei from the corner of her eyes. While she felt that something was amiss, she did not probe further. This was not the time for her to pursue the matter.

    Xian Lin¡¯er, the Valkyrie Douluo, asked in a low voice, ¡°Mom, are you alright?¡±

    Elder Song shook her head and said, ¡°This Emerald Swan is powerful, indeed. With her pure auxiliary abilities, my attacks are unable to hurt her. In terms of cultivation, she is more powerful than me. She¡¯s almost as powerful as an Ultimate Douluo. With her present, the beast tide¡¯s strength is almost tripled. It¡¯s a shame that there¡¯s no way for me to ambush and kill her.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er asked, ¡°Do you know how long Elder Xuan and Elder Mu can trap the Di Tian?¡±

    Elder Song shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Only the Masters of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion know the secrets of the Golden Tree. However, with the immense power stored in the Golden Tree, it won¡¯t be hard for it to seal Di Tian for at least three days. This means that in these three days, we have to either push the beast tide back, or hope that rescue wille soon. Have we sent out the distress calls?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°We have sent out distress calls to the three empires already. The beast tide came too suddenly. Furthermore, the three empires are focusing their strength on fighting the Sun Moon Empire. Their armies are all massed there, so it will be hard for help toe quickly.

    ¡°This time, we¡¯re really in a pickle. Right now, the situation is fine for now, but once the soul tools have beenpletely depleted and this fightes to close-quarters, we¡¯ll be in serious trouble.¡±

    Elder Song sighed and said, ¡°The only thing we can do is press on and wait for reinforcements. Theunch of a beast tide by the Great Star Dou Forest should not be our business. However, if Shrek City is overrun, chaos and destruction will reign. While it¡¯s important to fight the Sun Moon Empire, internal stability is important, too. The damage caused by such a huge beast tide is not something that the three empires can bear. With the position of the Great Star Dou Forest, no one knows where the beast tide will surge next. I believe that the three empires will make their own decisions. The only problem now is the timing of the reinforcements. I hope that in the next three days, the first wave of reinforcements will be able to arrive.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°I hope so, too. The Savage Beasts are sly, indeed. Among the five of them, other than the Beast God Di Tian and this Emerald Swan, the other three cannot be found. They did not send out any high-level soul beasts. Evidently, they are using the ordinary soul beasts to weaken us, and saving their strength while waiting for a better opportunity.¡±

    Elder Song said in a low voice, ¡°We must conserve our strength. Once the powerful soul beasts join the fray, we¡¯ll face even more pressure. Please have two of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion stay behind. The rest can go to the barracks to rest. Stay alert.

    ¡°Since they don¡¯t want to send out their best, we¡¯ll send Titled Douluo out to fight once every hour. They can meditate afterwards to replenish their soul power. Each time, we¡¯ll send out four Titled Douluo. The rest will rest when they¡¯re not on shift. Don¡¯t they want to y a game of attrition? They¡¯re eating away at our foundations, while we¡¯ll be eating away at the lives of their soul beasts. I want to see who¡¯ll give up first. We from Shrek Academy have a ten-thousand-year-old foundation, something they can¡¯t defeat so easily.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xian Lin¡¯er replied, and went to make the arrangements.

    In the absence of Elder Xuan, Elder Song¡¯s rank was the highest. However, she would notmand the troops personally. Instead, she would bemanding the powerhouses and experts participating in the battle.

    The moment Elder Song issued her orders, the first one to carry them was Shi Xing, the city defense officer of Shrek City.

    ¡°Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock!¡± The clear sound of a stopwatch was audible. A huge silver te hung suspended in mid-air. It only had a second hand, which moved slowly.

    Every soul beast that was within two hundred and fifty meters of Shrek City¡¯s city walls started to slow down. Despite the Emerald Swan¡¯s healing and support, they continued to move sluggishly.

    A mysterious ck gas started to appear in this area. When the ck gas appeared, starlight started to sh mysteriously within two hundred and fifty meters of the city walls. The area emptied out, and every single soul beast in the area disappeared. Only some of the more powerful ones near the edges were able to escape.

    Shi Xing, the Time Douluo, had a Space-Time Silverte for his martial soul. Not only was he able to control time, but his powers even extended to space itself. He was able to control both time and space, to a certain extent.

    Only he knew why he was called the ¡®Time Douluo¡¯. Sometimes one could not believe the titles of Titled Douluo. Craftier ones would purposely use their own titles to confuse their opponents.

    Spacetime Turbulence. This was the power Shi Xing had just used.

    This power enveloped an area with a radius of two hundred and fifty meters. Even if there was a soul beast every five meters, one hundred soul beasts would have disappeared from the battlefield in the blink of an eye. Those who were left were at least ten-thousand-year soul beasts. This attack created a huge opening for them.

    This happened extremely quickly, and was very strange. It was so jarring that the soul beasts, who were charging forward non-stop seemed confused by it, and their charge slowed visibly.

    In the next instant, a ball of red light shot into the air. A huge number of red clouds surged into the sky. A powerful attack was about to beunched.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the skies above the army of soul beasts, Bi Ji the Emerald Swan had an ugly expression on her face. They had grossly underestimated the strength of the humans.

    One hundred years ago, during that beast tide, Shrek City¡¯s defenses were much weaker than they were now. In just one hundred years, the humans were able to develop so many defenses. They were even able to seal Di Tian! While they did not know how long Di Tian would be sealed, his absence greatly affected the soul beasts¡¯ morale.

    Noticing that another Titled Douluo was about to attack, Bi Ji did not dare to be slow. She opened her jade-green wings, and a shapeless barrier appeared in mid-air. It tried to block the airborne soul skills.

    Faced with the blockade of red clouds, one¡¯s natural response would be to advance skyward. This move was unleashed by someone who was at least a Titled Douluo. While Bi Ji was powerful, even she had to tread carefully!

    However, the red clouds had yet to show their offensive prowess. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls roared once more, and a huge amount of cannon shellsnded down below. They burst open in the middle of a group of soul beasts.

    Shi Xing looked at another old woman far away and sped his hands before giving her a thumbs-up.

    The old woman wearing a long red dress smiled faintly. The red clouds in the air floated around, but they showed no sign of attacking.

    Bi Ji¡¯s heart sank. She stretched another hand out, and her healing abilities enveloped the area. However, she felt that her efforts wereckluster. The humans were crafty, indeed. The soul beasts could not match their coordination. This was the most troublesome part.

    The beast tide had just started, but their losses exceeded their projections and estimates. If this continued, how many more soul beasts would die?

    However, ording to Di Tian¡¯s n, the other powerful soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest, other than her, could not take part in the assault yet. It was far more important for the core of their fighting force to remain in the Great Star Dou Forest. They could not lose them easily. Only after Shrek had been exhausted to a certain extent could they deal them a finishing blow.

    Even the other members of her kind were not allowed to enter the battle. In general, Emerald Swans were not powerful. Other than Bi Ji, the other members of her kindcked the ability to defend themselves. Once they joined the fray, they would be sitting ducks for the powerful students of Shrek Academy.

    The battle continued, and the advantages and disadvantages of the Great Star Dou Forest became more obvious. Millions of soul beasts lived in the vast forest. There were many of them, and as long as they were at least ten years old, they were able to fight. In other words, almost every single soul beast was participating in this battle. Instructed by the higher-ranked soul beasts, they had no thought to resist. All they did was charge ahead and attack.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The first assault ended after only six hours. The ins to the south of Shrek City were heaped with carcasses.

    These carcasses were brought away by the soul beasts the moment they issued the order to retreat because they could still serve as food for the other soul beasts. This was the brutalw of the jungle, where one was either predator or prey.

    To the south of Shrek City, all one could see was destruction and destion. Entire swathes ofnd were scorched ck. One could see holes in the ground, trenches, and multi-colored bloodstains from different soul beasts. It was a horrific scene.

    However, to Shrek City, this battle was undoubtedly a victory. While there were a few human casualties, most of whom were killed by long-range attacks from the soul beasts, less than ten humans had died in this battle. Fewer than a hundred of them had been injured. On the other hand, they had killed at least five thousand soul beasts!

    Those soul beasts who died were killed in a single blow. Almost all of those who were injured were healed by Bi Ji. Without her, the casualties incurred by the soul beast army would have at least doubled.

    The main problem facing Shrek City was that theycked manpower, especially soul masters. Among the three thousand soul masters there, most of them had three to five soul rings. While they had trained for a long time, they were all quite young, andcked actual battlefield experience.

    Perhaps this army of three thousand soul masters could not be matched by any other human force, as they could even rival the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s trump card, the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. However, they were now facing an endless beast tide.

    All humans would tire eventually, regardless of whether one was a Titled Douluo or an ordinary soul master.

    After this battle, everyone was physically and emotionally drained. Much of their soul power was spent as well. Shi Xing ordered all soul masters to rest immediately!

 Chapter 397.2 - Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide

    <h4 ss>Chapter 397.2: Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide</h4>

    The defense of the city was now entrusted to some ordinary soldiers. Who knew when the next beast tide woulde? The soul beast army only needed to make some minor adjustments. Perhaps they would return after they had consumed the carcasses of the fallen.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s delivery waspleted. There were twenty-one Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons in storage, but these were not the custom-made heavy Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls. While they were slightly weaker, these ss 5 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were much more agile.

    During the six hours of battle just now, five of the thirty-two Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the city walls had been put out of action due to overheating. Right now, Hallmaster Xuan Ziwen of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, who had rushed over just in time, was repairing them.

    Bei Bei and the rest had solemn expressions on their faces. Yuhao was safe, which was excellent news for them. However, what could they do about the beast tide at the gates? No one knew how long Shrek City could resist this beast tide. While they had not incurred many casualties in the battle just now, many of them were exhausted. Hundreds of Sealed Milk Bottles were being used to replenish their soul power. In this situation, even if they wanted to replenish their soul power, they could not recover all their soul power before the next beast tide. As for the shock bombs, which could only be used once, it was even harder to replenish them.

    Other than the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, the Tang Sect had also provided more than a hundred and ten other soul tools of different types. More importantly, the Tang Sect had also provided two thousand one hundred and fifty-two stationary soul cannon shells. When the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion saw this figure, they were all shocked. One had to know that this amount of stationary soul cannon shells would cost an astronomical figure! Where did the Tang Sect get its money from?

    Helpless, Bei Bei could only tell them about how Huo Yuhao and the others robbed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s underground storage facility. The elders of Sea God¡¯s Pavilion already knew of how Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself for Huo Yuhao.

    The elders did not say anything at first. The Tang Sect, with its actions, proved their total support for Shrek City. Furthermore, just when Huo Yuhao was on the brink of death, an Emperor Beast had sacrificed herself for him. Could he be med for it? While he seemed to be the cause of the beast tide, the elders were reasonable people. None of them med him for it.

    However, this made the Tang Sect, led by Bei Bei, even more determined to fight to the death for Shrek City. For the Tang Sect, for Huo Yuhao, and for Shrek! They were Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters! Despitecking two, there were still five of them! They would defend the honor that rightfully belonged to Shrek!

    ¡ª¡ª

    The second assault came a bitter than expected. The soul beasts looked tired, too. They had rested for four entire hours. The sky was turning dark, and the sun was setting in the west. Only then did the defenders hear the roars of the beasts as innumerable beasts appeared on the other edge of the in.

    The soul beasts were not dumb. The more powerful ones were as intelligent as humans. Fighting at night was more disadvantageous for the humans than fighting during the day, as humans were normally not nocturnal beings. In the day, they would be much more focused. Furthermore, the vision of most humans was lower at night than in the day.

    On the other hand, many soul beasts were nocturnal creatures. Fighting at night was more advantageous for them!

    After a round of discussion among the Savage Beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest, they decided tounch their second attack under cover of darkness.

    An endless beast tide surged forth once more toward Shrek City, which was akin to a solitary ind in the sea. This time, the soul beasts were even more ferocious!

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons boomed once more. Elder Song flew high up in the sky. By relying on her interference, the auxiliary abilities of the Emerald Swan Bi Ji diminished greatly, and the soul tools in Shrek City were able to do what they did best. The sh between the two sides was turning red-hot.

    The soul masters fought bravely against the soul beasts who were charging toward them crazily. The outside of Shrek City was akin to a meat grinder, continually devouring the lives of soul beasts.

    However, the attack of the soul beasts showed signs of improvement. Soul beasts which specialized in long-range attacks were split apart from those who specialized in short-range attacks. Thetter charged at the front, and the former supported them from behind as they charged toward the city walls. The soul masters in charge of releasing the protective soul barriers were under immense pressure, as their soul power was rapidly depleting.

    However, even so, with the support of many Sealed Milk Bottles, they were still able to hold their ground. On the city walls, the number of injured auxiliary soldiers increased, too. Under heavily-concentrated attacks, the protective soul barriers would falter at times. When an attacknded on the city, one could hear cries of agony, indicating that there were either casualties or fatalities.

    The battlefield looked even more brilliant at night. Soul skills of many different colors illuminated the dark sky as they shed and exploded. If one looked down from the heavens, one could see what was akin to an eye-catching fireworks disy. Every single burst of light and color meant that lives had been lost, each disy of fireworks ultimately leading to blood.

    War was cruel. This was the case for war between humans, as well as war between humans and soul beasts!

    To resist the ferocious beast tide, the students of the inner courtyard and Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy took turns to attack. Only with them contributing could the soul beasts be suppressed.

    Balls of intense light appeared on top of the city walls non-stop. Every single student of the inner courtyard guarded his or her post tightly as they did their part in the defense of the city.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The intensity of this battle was more than double that of the first. When the beast tide finally receded, dawn broke. The battle hadsted the entire night.

    It was no longer quiet on the city walls. Moans and cries of pain could be heard everywhere. More than five hundred men had been injured or killed. While many of them were just injured, there were at least a hundred dead soldiers.

    Shrek City¡¯s city defense army only had around ten thousand men! While this was a casualty figure that was totally eptable to the soul beasts, Shrek City could not afford so many casualties.

    Of course, the night of fighting did no good for the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest either. They lost more than twenty thousand soul beasts, with many ten-thousand-year soul beasts falling in battle. At night, the light from countless soul rings could be seen very clearly. Together, they formed a peculiar sight, akin to wails of grief from the spirits of the many in soul beasts.

    The damage to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons was severe, too. Fourteen of them had overheated and could not be used anymore, three of them had blown up, and six of them were destroyed by long-range attacks from the soul beasts.

    These were ss 6 soul tools! Every single of them cost a great deal of money. The soul beasts hated them deeply, and so they had focus-targeted the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons.

    More than half of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were damaged. The ss 5 Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons supplied by the Tang Sect had to be used.

    The stationary soul cannon shells yed a huge part in the battle at night. Using their long-range attacks, they split up their attacks and helped greatly in suppressing the soul beasts. However, there were now fewer than two thousand stationary soul cannon shells left, and they could not be replenished instantly. Every single one cost a great deal of money! The look on Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face as they were used said it all.

    And this was just the first day of the beast tide. The loss of soul tools were not as important as the fatigue experienced by thebatants.

    While they rested for a few hours in between, no one knew when the next beast tide woulde. This short rest was not enough to replenish everyone¡¯s strength. After that night of fighting, no matter how well-trained Shrek City¡¯s city defense army was, every single of them copsed to the ground, taking in massive breaths of air the moment the battle ended. They all wanted to fill their lungs with air.

    They were drained, both in terms of soul power and physical strength. Many of them werepletely exhausted.

    All of the Sealed Milk Bottles were depleted afterst night¡¯s battle, and had to be recharged before they could be used once more. While they had helped many of the three thousand soul masters maintain at least half of their soul power, the Sealed Milk Bottles could do nothing for their physical and mental fatigue.

    All soul masters with six rings or more were taking turns to rest. No matter how intensest night¡¯s battle was, the Titled Douluo did not really participate in it. They knew that once they joined the battle and exhausted their soul power to a certain extent, the true powerhouses of the Great Star Dou Forest would appear. They could only hold out longer against the beast tide if the Titled Douluo remained at peak strength.

    When would reinforcementse?

    Right now, Shrek City waspletely cut off. While the pride of the soul beasts forced them to continue their attacks against the south gate, the soul beast army had in fact surrounded the entire city. The other three walls had alle under attacks of differing intensity. News from the outside world could not enter Shrek City, as only the Sun Moon Empire had long-rangemunication soul tools. Shrek Academy was still researching them.

    A solitary city could only fight to the death!

    The civilians and merchants of Shrek City started to y their part too, delivering food and water. The moment the fighting stopped, various types of food were sent to the top of the city walls.

    Shrek City was extremely rich, and there was more than enough food stored in the city. A few important merchants led everyone in providing free and highly nutritious food to the soldiers on the city walls. Many merchants also sent their caravan guards to the city walls. All soul masters in the city were currently under Shrek City¡¯s overallmand.

    They did not do so because they were generous, but for their own survival. A fight between humans and soul beasts was different from a fight between humans and other humans!

    If the enemy was human, civilians and merchants still had a good chance of survival even if the enemy breached the city walls. However, their enemies were soul beasts! Once the soul beasts breached the city walls, the only possible oue was a bloodbath and massacre!

    At this moment, no amount of wealth could rival one¡¯s life in importance. The merchants showed no stinginess. As long as their items were helpful, they brought them out and sent them to the city walls.

 Chapter 397.3 - Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide

    <h4 ss>Chapter 397.3: Fighting Furiously Against the Beast Tide</h4>

    The auxiliary soldiers went down into the city to rest. However, Shi Xing had to firmly instruct all soul masters to remain on the city walls. The soul beast army was too fast. If they waited until the moment they attacked, they would not have time to gather everyone.

    He issued a death order: no soul master was allowed to sleep! To rest, they could only meditate on the spot. This was the fastest way for them to rest mentally and replenish their strength. Once fighting broke out, they could immediately be sent to the battlefield.

    The members of the Tang Sect had yet to participate directly in the fight. They had thus far spent more time coordinating the logistical support they had provided. Bei Bei¡¯s face was calm as he looked at the soul beast army in the distance. He knew that in the next attack, everyone from the Tang Sect would have to fight, too.

    No, someone from the Tang Sect had taken part in the fighting already. That was Mo Xuan.

    Mo Xuan was a pure auxiliary-type soul master. From a certain perspective, his role in the fight was simr to Bi Ji¡¯s. However, his auxiliary abilities were not as strong as those of Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan. Even so, his wide-range auxiliary abilities massively increased the power of the defending soul masters. This had allowed them to fight far better than they would otherwise have been able to.

    Shi Xing stood on the city walls with a severe expression on his face. As the City Defense Officer, his role was the most tiring one. Not only did he have tomand his forces, but he also had to personally take part in the fighting, as well as manage the overall situation.

    He had just finished surveying the city defenses. The situation was not optimistic. Many of his soldiers were exhausted, since the numerical difference in manpower had caused the fight to be uneven since the start.

    He had no doubt that reinforcements woulde. Other than the many talented individuals Shrek Academy had nurtured over all these years, most of whom were now in high positions in the three empires, the close rtionship between Shrek Academy and the three empires meant that they had no option but to save the Academy.

    The beast tide from the Great Star Dou Forest was not just Shrek City¡¯s problem. If Shrek City fell, all of mankind would be in trouble!

    The reason why the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest chose to attack Shrek was to eliminate this powerful rallying point of mankind. While it might seem dumb to attack the greatest strength of one¡¯s foe, was there anything wrong with the soul beasts¡¯ decision?

    Shrek City was a hard nut to crack. However, this nut was located at the center of the three empires, and had intimate ties with the original three empires of the Douluo Continent. Since their inception, they had always yed in important role in the history of the continent. While Shrek Academy was just a school, it was the number one school in the world, and was fully capable of managing the ties between the three countries. If the beast tide were to strike one of the other countries first, they would indeed be able to reap some benefits at the start, but their rear nk would be exposed to Shrek City. When that happened, Shrek Academy could organize the armies of the three empires, which, under the leadership of the powerful soul masters from Shrek Academy, could inflict heavy casualties on the soul beast army.

    More importantly, if Shrek City was cruel enough, they could attack the Great Star Dou Forest straightaway. What could the soul beast army do then? That was their home, and their final shield. They were not scared of ordinary armies, but Shrek City had too many powerful soul masters. Their destructive powers could not be rivaled by any ordinary army.

    Hence, even after a hundred years, the first target of the beast tide was still Shrek City.

    As long as they could overrun Shrek City, it would be extremely difficult for the three human empires to form an army that could sessfully resist them.

    The soul beasts knew this, so how could the three original empires of the Douluo Continent not know it? Hence, they had to render aid to Shrek City. However, no one knew how long it would take for reinforcements to arrive.

    Ordinary soldiers were useless against a beast tide. Only an army formed from powerful soul masters could help Shrek Academy resist the beast tide. However, for them to form such a powerful army, they would need time. Could Shrek City hold out until then?

    Dark thoughts crossed Shi Xing¡¯s mind. This time, the soul beast army was determined. The overnight attack had exhausted a lot of Shrek City¡¯s resources. Resources, however, were secondary to manpower! He estimated that when the next assault came, it would devolve into a brawl. Once they started to fight at close-range, the number of casualties would skyrocket. This would drain Shrek City even faster. He feared that just one day from now, the powerful hidden soul beasts would attack. At that time, could Shrek City still stand?

    He understood these principles. However, he also knew that this was no time to think about them. What he could do right now was lead Shrek City¡¯s city defense army to buy more time. Fortunately, the Tang Sect had provided many stationary soul cannon shells to provide assistance. If not, the fight would have be a close-quarters brawl even sooner. The remaining two thousand stationary soul cannon shells were Shrek Academy¡¯sst resort. While they could not truly turn the tide of the war, they could inflict massive casualties on the soul beasts!

    The number of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest was not infinite. If they incurred too many casualties, the entire ecosystem of the forest would be affected. This was something the Savage Beasts had to bear in mind, too.

    There were a few possible methods to force them to retreat. First of all, they could inflict so many casualties on the soul beasts that they had more casualties than they had predicted. This would force them to retreat. However, this was no mean feat!

    Up to now, between twenty and thirty thousand soul beasts had been lost. With Emerald Swans there, the injured soul beasts could recover quickly. Most of the deaths were ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, who were cannon fodder. Some thousand-year soul beasts had been injured as well, but very few ten-thousand-year soul beasts had died. They, however, were the main fighting force of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Just as Shi Xing was doing his calctions, a calm voice sounded next to him, ¡°Let the Tang Sect take care of the next round. We¡¯ll fight for at least two hours.¡±

    Shi Xing turned his head to look. He saw a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and unkempt clothes. Grease stained his body, and he looked unwell. His sleeves were rolled up. Evidently, he had been working.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Shi Xing asked suspiciously. He was familiar with Shrek City, but he did not know this man. However, if he was able to walk up next to him, he must be someone the Academy deemed important.

    ¡°I¡¯m the Hallmaster of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, Xuan Ziwen,¡± the middle-aged man said inly.

    ¡°Xuan Ziwen?¡± When he heard the name, Shi Xing was shocked. ¡°You made the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen shook his head and said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t invent the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, and I was not involved in their manufacture. However, I¡¯m in charge of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall. For the next fight, leave it to us.¡±

    ¡°We can hold them off for maybe two hours. This will give the troops more time to rest.¡±

    Shi Xing finally listened to what he was saying. He replied doubtfully, ¡°Are you saying that the Tang Sect will take over the entire defense of Shrek City?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mouth twitched as he replied, ¡°Of course not! We don¡¯t have enough men. I¡¯m saying that we¡¯ll take care of the southern city wall. We can definitely manage for two hours.¡±

    As the City Defense Officer, Shi Xing had to be careful. ¡°Are you serious? This is no joke. The soul beast army is huge. How many people does the Tang Sect have?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied inly, ¡°The Soul Tool Hall of the Tang Sect has sixty-one members in total. Coupled with the three hundred peopleing over from the Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, we will have three hundred and sixty-one people. Leave it to us. If the city falls, we¡¯ll die together. I won¡¯t boast in front of you.¡±

    While Xuan Ziwen only had eight rings, he showed no fear when talking to a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. He had been influential even in the Sun Moon Empire, much less now in Shrek City. His pride came from his abilities.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s leave it to Teacher Xuan.¡± At this moment, another voice sounded. The Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er, walked over as she agreed to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s suggestion.

    As the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, no one knew how powerful Xuan Ziwen was more than Xian Lin¡¯er. She was a ss 8 soul engineer too, but she could not even hold a candle to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s brilliance. One could say that ever since Xuan Ziwen had joined the Tang Sect, both the Tang Sect¡¯s research into soul tools and Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department had improved by leaps and bounds! Xuan Ziwen had brought countless brand-new theories with him, and also helped the Soul Tool Department establish an effective pedagogy. It could be said that he had saved the Soul Tool Department a hundred years of research and development.

    Even the Valkyrie Douluo, a Transcendent Douluo, had to call Xuan Ziwen ¡°Teacher¡±. While Xuan Ziwen did not want to admit it, he was already the Vice-Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, and also the Executive Vice-Dean. After a period of familiarization, the Soul Tool Department had approved every single one of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s proposals. Anyone who dared to block his proposals would face the wrath of the two Deans, Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo!

    With Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s words, Shi Xing felt more at ease. He nodded and said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s up to you, then.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and turned to leave without saying anything else.

    As Xuan Ziwen walked away, Shi Xing could not help but ask Xian Lin¡¯er, ¡°Dean Xian, is he capable?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°How did you resist the soul beast army just now? Was it through the soul skills of your soul masters? No, it was through soul tools. While many of the soul tools were made by the Academy, most of them were also made by the blood and sweat of the Tang Sect. The few soul tools we used just now could be operated simply by soul masters. Soon, I want to show you the true power of the Soul Tool Department.

    ¡°In a one-on-one fight, a soul engineer will have a disadvantage against a soul master. However, on the battlefield, we soul engineers rule. Why do you think the Sun Moon Empire is so powerful? Their strengthes entirely from their absolute advantage in terms of soul tools.¡±

 Chapter 398.1 - The Terrifying Red Ray of Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 398.1: The Terrifying Red Ray of Light</h4>

    Shi Xing nodded. He was someone who¡¯d graduated from the Martial Soul Department, and thus knew quite a bit about the rivalry between the two departments. During recent years, the Soul Tool Department had grown at an increasing rate, and had signs of surpassing the Martial Soul Department. On the other hand, the Martial Soul Department was slowing down somewhat. Even Dean Yan Shaoze, who had strong views against the use of soul tools, seemed to have relented slightly, transferring arge amount of the Academy¡¯s resources to the Soul Tool Department.

    At this moment, a low roar suddenly rang out in the distance. Right after that, countless beasts cried out in response.

    Over two hours had passed since the light of dawn. Was the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s beast tide going to attack again?

    The soul masters who were originally meditating opened their eyes with deathly pale expressions. Although they had resolute gazes, their eyes had a tinge of despair in them.

    Shi Xing looked towards Xian Lin¡¯er, who nodded back at him.

    The fact that Shi Xing was chosen as the highest city defense officer was not only a testament to how calm he was, but also how decisive he was. The moment he made a decision, he immediately handed down his orders.

    ¡°All soul masters in the City Defense Army, head down to your bunkers and continue resting. All auxiliary troops, retreat fifty meters and rest on the city walls. Wait for furthermands.¡±

    The soldiers in the City Defense Army couldn¡¯t help but look at each other after hearing Shi Xing¡¯smand. They were at a loss for a brief period of time. The great beast tide was about to descend on them, but theirmander was actually ordering them to rest. Just what sense did that make? Were they not able to hold the soul beasts back?

    ¡°I¡¯ve already given my orders! Do you not understand?!¡± Shi Xing shouted angrily.

    The job of a soldier was to listen to one¡¯s superior. Although the City Defense Army didn¡¯t quite understand the purpose behind theirmander¡¯s orders, the strict training they¡¯d undergone every day made them move immediately. They quickly withdrew to the bunkers below the city walls. The auxiliary troops retreated as well, and quickly, theck of soldiers on the city walls created arge gap.

    Shi Xing, however, did not retreat. He was the City Defense Officer, and regardless of how much he trusted Xian Lin¡¯er, he had to remain to ensure that the Tang Sect truly did have the capabilities to hold back the next assault. If anything were to go wrong, he couldmand his subordinates to provide aid as quickly as possible.

    The army of soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest made their move. Arge number of soul beasts started charging wildly, causing clouds of dust to rise in the distance. Amid the wild roarsing from that direction, arge number of soul beasts rushed towards Shrek City.

    When Shi Xing was finally able to see therge charging army clearly, his expression changed instantly.

    This time around, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji wasn¡¯t the one leading the great army of soul beasts; another soul beast was tasked with that. This soul beast was an existence that resembled an enormous lion floating in the sky, but it had threerge heads, and glowed with a scarlet-red light. It was this soul beast that had let out that roar earlier.

    Of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, this was the eighth-ranked soul beast: the Three-Headed Scarletdevil Mastiff, the Scarlet King!

    Bi Ji also had to rest. This was especially the case after she went all-out assisting the entire soul beast army, which had taxed her soul power greatly. After an entire day and night of fighting, themander of the army of soul beasts had been swapped to the Scarlet King.

    Shi Xing should¡¯ve been slightly more rxed due to the disappearance of Bi Ji, but the reason why his expression had changed earlier wasn¡¯t because of the newmander of the soul beast army. Instead, it was because of the appearance of a dark cloud in the sky above the army; an army of flying-type soul beasts had revealed itself on the battlefield.

    There were quite a few soul beasts who could fly. However, there were rtively few flying-type soul beasts in the Great Star Forest. This was because of the high chance of these soul beasts being shot down by ranged attacks if they flew above the forest. Because of that, flying-type soul beasts that didn¡¯t live near the very edge of the forest, or were very powerful, would find it extremely difficult to live in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    There weren¡¯t that many flying-type soul beasts before them now, only a thousand or so. However, even a thousand soul beasts could form a ck cloud in the air. There were various kinds of flying-type soul beasts within the cloud, and they flickered with different colors. There was no vanguard who led their charge. Instead, they all flew steadily forward together.

    An attack consisting of both aerial and ground attacks would clearly be much more difficult to handle. The reason why the Great Star Dou Forest hadn¡¯t used flying-type soul beasts before was because they were extremely precious. At this moment however, they¡¯d mobilized their aerial troops to increase the intensity of their attack, for the sake of defeating Shrek City in one shot. Although this aerial army wasn¡¯t the strongest they could muster, their ability to harass Shrek City would definitely affect their defensive capabilities greatly.

    Without the Golden Tree protecting the city, the soul tool barriers surrounding Shrek City could only block a frontal attack, they weren¡¯t able to guard against aerial attacks. The harassment the aerial army of soul beasts could thus bring could be imagined.

    The soul beast flying in front of the aerial army was the one who had previously fought against Elder Song, the Six-Winged Deviltiger.

    An aerial army led by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast couldn¡¯t be underestimated. Moreover, the strength of the beast tide on the ground had at least doubled in strength. With Shi Xing¡¯s eyesight, he was naturally able to tell that there were no longer any soul beasts that were weaker than a hundred years in the beast tide. The number of thousand and ten-thousand-year soul beasts had increased as well. The strong undtions of soul powering from them made it seem as though Mount Tai was pressing down on them.

    How are we going to fight this?Shi Xing was deep in thought. If he were the onemanding the Shrek City Defense Army, the only way he could deal with this would be to use arge number of stationary soul cannons tounch a simultaneous attack on both the aerial and ground-based armies. Only byunching an all-out attack that risked their lives would they have a chance of stopping this wave.

    However, what would they do about the next wave if they did this? What could they do?

    ¡°Dean Xian, I¡¯ll ask the soldiers toe back. Could you go and ask the elders to assist us? Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to defend against both the aerial and ground armies.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er nced at Shi Xing and said, ¡°Don¡¯t just do things on your own. Trust the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Shi Xing was feeling somewhat anxious. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust the Tang Sect, but the beast tide in front of him and the previous two werepletely different!

    Just as he wanted to continue speaking, a series of sudden ngs caught his ear. Right after that, a number of huge creatures quickly rose from the area behind the walls, then quickly proceeded to the top of the city wall.

    What is this?Shi Xing nearly choked on his words as he stared nkly at these monsters that werepletely made of metal.

    Right, these things could only be described as monsters. If one had to find a living creature resembling these things, only a porcupine would fit the bill. Only, did a porcupine have thisrge a head? Was there a porcupine that had a diameter of over two meters? Was it a hundred-thousand-year-one?

    These enormous porcupines had eight metallic legs underneath their bellies. After they scaled the city walls, they rapidly moved forward.

    Other than the metallic legs underneath their round bodies, there were various metal spikes protruding from them. There were conical-shaped ones, tube-shaped ones, and other spikes of various shapes. Every single porcupine had at least sixty of these protrusions. Amidst the sounds of nging metal, they travelled forward quickly.

    After a few breaths of time, around sixty of these metallic porcupines had scaled the city walls. Moreover, they quickly arranged themselves in a tidy manner.

    Right after that, several hundred soldiers who were fully covered in metal began to quickly line up. There were a few of them who looked very young, but they were all able to move very quickly. Roughly five of them followed each single metallic porcupine as they lined up quickly.

    Within a mere ten minutes, a total of sixty-one metallic porcupines were lined up in an orderly manner on top of the city walls, recing the Shrek City Defense Army.

    ¡°Dean Xian, what are these?¡± Shi Xing couldn¡¯t help but ask. He was extremely curious.

    ¡°These are All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts, ATSDF¡¯s. I¡¯m a bit ashamed to say this, but they were invented by the Sun Moon Empire. Teacher Xuan brought them over to Shrek, then remodelled them for us. He reduced their flexibility and removed various abilities, but was able to increase their offensive capabilities. Just watch.¡±

    The things climbing up the city walls were All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts!

    Unlike the original iteration of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort, the remodelled ones were slightly smaller. Furthermore, the materials used to construct them had been changed slightly. Instead of using rare metals, it used iron essence as its main material. Rare metals were simply too expensive. In Xuan Ziwen¡¯s own words, using rare metals would be a waste of resources.

    Using iron essence to construct an All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort resulted in its defenses being equivalent to that of a ss 3 or 4 soul barrier. This was already enough for Xuan Ziwen. Unlike the outer casing of the fort, which he decided to skimp on, Xuan Ziwen demanded perfection in its formation arrays. Every single internalponent and formation array of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts had been created by students of Shrek Academy and disciples of the Tang Sect, who had all been taught by him. They would only be mounted in the Forts after he had personally checked them.

    The outer casing of these sixty-one All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were all created using Shrek Academy¡¯s resources. They were originally meant to provide immediate assistance in any battles that Shrek Academy would fight in the future. However, nobody thought that they would first be used to defend the city!

    Naturally, credit had to be given to Huo Yuhao, who had brought back arge amount of rare metals from the Sun Moon Empire. This was why they were able to create so many All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts in such a short period of time. Their outer shells were finished much earlier.

    However, Shrek Academy was only able to perfect their weapons and formation arrays after obtaining those rare metals. After just over a month, they were able to assemble the first batch of Forts.

    The Tang Sect hadn¡¯t decided whether they would put them on the market yet. Shrek Academy had only ordered a hundred of them. Right now, they¡¯d onlypleted sixty-one of the hundred, and thus hadn¡¯t finished their order yet.

    Every single All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort could fit three people in it, or even four if they were squeezed together. A hundred, in turn, could fit four hundred people. From the Academy¡¯s point of view, these forts were quite good at both attacking and defending. Along with the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were projects that the Academy strongly supported.

    At this moment, even Xian Lin¡¯er wanted to see how powerful these Forts were. From her point of view, this was another way of fighting withrger soul Forts!

 Chapter 398.2 - The Terrifying Red Ray of Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 398.2: The Terrifying Red Ray of Light</h4>

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s cold voice rang out from one of the All-Terrain Forts, ¡°All units, pay attention! All units, pay attention! Charge your main cannons! Target the enemy¡¯s air force! Charging, start!¡±

    After hearing Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words, all of the All-Terrain Forts started moving. The disciples of the Tang Sect were controlling them, and they had been with Xuan Ziwen for a very long time. They didn¡¯t just respect their Teacher Xuan, they were also very familiar with his temper! If anyone were to mess up any orders this teacher gave, they wouldn¡¯t be let off with a simple scolding, they would be punished corporally, as well!

    Because of that, their movements were extremely tidy. All of the All-Terrain Forts nted themselves on the ground, then lowered their metallic legs, causing them to remain just centimeters off of the ground. After that, their ball-shaped bodies leaned thirty degrees forward, before revealing enormous ring-shaped cannons that were around two feet long.

    These cannons were somewhat strange. They didn¡¯t protrude too much, and unlike the ¡®thorns¡¯ on their main bodies, they were much, much smaller, only around a handspan long. However, the tips of the cannons started to look very unique as they started charging.

    Rays of light started to form a pattern within the cannons. Quickly, hexagons made of light were assembled inside the cannons, and a dark red light started to surge within. Ripples immediately started to appear in the air surrounding the All-Terrain Forts. From this, it could be seen how terrifyingly hot the cannons were.

    If Shi Xing were able to see the inner construction of the forts, he would¡¯ve had a way different impression of how terrifyingly strong its main cannon was. A semicircle protruded from the roof of the All-Terrain Forts¡¯s inner structure. This semicircle was around a foot long, and it practically covered the entirety of the All-Terrain Forts¡¯s roof.

    This cannon was a ss 6 soul tool! Moreover, it was a special one that Xuan Ziwen had personally modified!

    ¡ª

    The aerial soul beast army was also able to see these strange-looking creatures above Shrek City. The Six-Winged Deviltiger who stood at the very front of the army couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat weirded out.Just what are those metallic porcupines? Why are they lighting up? Could they be another human-made weapon?

    However, it didn¡¯t feel any sense of crisis. Out of all of the soul beasts present, it was the first hundred-thousand-year existence participating in this battle. As such, it naturally felt very confident in its abilities. A weapon made by humans could still be usable on ordinary soul beasts, but it was still far too weak to take on an existence such as itself. With it leading the charge, there wouldn¡¯t be in too much danger unless a human Titled Douluo made a move.

    And what if a Titled Douluo did make a move? There were a thousand of its little brothers next to it, all of which specialized in long-range attacks. If a human dared to soar into the air, he or she would have to taste the feeling of being shot at by all of them!

    Human soul masters would never be able to beat soul beasts in sheer quantity. This was even truer when taking aerial troops into ount. Shrek Academy was considered the area with the highest density of soul masters in the world. However, there were only around a hundred or so soul masters who were Soul Sages or stronger. Naturally, four-ringed soul masters and above could fly using the assistance of flying-type soul tools, but Shrek City had to face the entirety of the soul beast army! Who could spare enough strength to deal with the aerial soul beasts in front of them?!

    The Six-Winged Deviltiger had a very simple order: distract the humans and attack them alongside the ground-based soul beasts!

    ¡ª

    Shi Xing¡¯s gaze was fixed towards the outside of the city. The great soul beast army was getting increasingly closer, and they were now only five kilometers away from Shrek City. Once they got within a kilometer of the city, ten-thousand-year and hundred-thousand-year soul beasts would be able to reach the city using their long-range attacks. On the other hand, all of Shrek City¡¯s soul masters had been sent away, and even soul barriers couldn¡¯t be used! How would they defend against the soul beasts? Furthermore, the enemy¡¯s aerial forces were getting closer and closer!¡­

    If they didn¡¯t ask for help now, there was a chance that they wouldn¡¯t be able to in a bit!

    ¡°Dean Xian!¡± Shi Xing couldn¡¯t help but cry out again.

    Xian Lin¡¯er acted as though nothing had happened as she said casually, ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient. Just watch. Even if something happens, aren¡¯t we here?¡±

    ¡°Main cannon chargingplete¡­¡±

    ¡°Main cannon chargingplete!¡±

    A somewhat young voice rang out, and quickly, sixty other voices followed, announcing thepletion of their main cannons charging.

    If anyone were to look in the direction of an All-Terrain Fort, they would discover that it had turned into a sea of red. However, one could faintly see a light gold hexagram in the middle of the sea of red.

    Shi Xing could tell from the side that Xian Lin¡¯er wasn¡¯t worried at all. In any case, there was no use in him panicking alone!

    ¡ª

    Four kilometers. Three kilometers. The soul beast army¡¯s long-range assault was about to start¡­

    Therger and more powerful soul beasts within the tide had already begun to store up energy. Once they entered their effective attack range, arge number of long-range attacks would pour down on Shrek City.

    Just at this moment, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s indifferent voice rang out via his sound-amplifying soul tool, ¡°Main cannons, fire together at mymand. All together¡­ fire!¡±

    It seemed as though nothing in the world other than topics rted to soul tools could pique Xuan Ziwen¡¯s interest. He used an extreme disinterested voice as he announced the start of their attack.

    A thin beam of red light that waspletely unsynchronized from the main cannons surged into the sky. This beam looked way too weak, and it was only as thick as a thumb. If one didn¡¯t carefully look out for it, they would not be able to notice its existence on this humongous battlefield.

    This beam wasunched from the enormous cannon that had created the golden hexagram. It didn¡¯t travel for long; instead, it stopped in mid air. However, it was only about fifty meters away from the All-Terrain Fort that Xuan Ziwen controlled.

    Immediately after the red light reached the peak of its path, a ball of light appeared in its ce. This ball wasn¡¯t too big, only around the size of a human head. Neither the humans nor soul beasts thought much of it. What could a red beam of light do?

    However, sixty other thin beams of light shot out from every single All-Terrain Fort in the next instant, seemingly all at the same time. All of them seemed to be directed at the small red ball.

    This ball quickly expanded, and within the blink of an eye, it was a meter wide¡­

    Two kilometers. The great army of soul beasts was only two kilometers away from Shrek City¡¯s walls. The distance at which they couldunch their long-range attacks was getting closer and closer, and the aerial army led by the Six-Winged Deviltiger was approaching them at the same rate. For the sake of avoiding unnecessary losses, they in fact moved slower than the ground-based soul beasts. Once the fighting below started, they would start their harassment via aerial attacks.

    Without any prior warning nor any loud noise, a red beam of light a meter thick shot out from the ball of light. Its target wasn¡¯t the ground, but the air.

    The red beam of light was rather obvious on the battlefield. Though it didn¡¯t look powerful or dominating, the fact that it spanned the entire sky made it look breathtaking.

    The soul beasts didn¡¯t know how far human-made soul tools could reach, and neither did the soul masters in Shrek City.

    Ordinarily, soul rays that could reach a distance of two hundred meters were considered rather good. Ordinary soul cannons could reach five hundred to a thousand meters. Different sses of soul tools had different ranges, but any soul tool that had a range exceeding a kilometer was at least ss 5. If one wanted a soul tool that could attack something five kilometers away, only a ss 7 soul tool could do the job.

    Stationary soul tools generally had longer attack ranges, because the cannon shells they used could be equipped with devices that helped them fly longer, which would increase their attack range.

    At this moment however, the bombardment Xuan Ziwen ordered exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations. That powerful beam of red light was able to instantly cross over four kilometers, and was targeted at the massive number of soul beasts in the air.

    Is that thing aimed at me?The first thing that came to the Six-Winged Deviltiger¡¯s mind was disdain as it looked at the red light approaching it.

    Are these humans braindead? What meaning is there in directly attacking a hundred-thousand-year powerhouse like me?

    A ball of white light quickly formed a shield in front of it. The Six-Winged Deviltiger had three Elements, one of which was Light. The Element of Light had its strong points when it came to defense, and although the Six-Winged Deviltiger held its opponent¡¯s attack in contempt, it was able to tell that the red beam of light was fire-based. Thus, using light to defend against it would have a rather decent effect.

    It reacted quickly enough, and the red beam wasn¡¯t quick enough to make it to the Six-Winged Deviltiger before it was able toplete its defense. By the time it reached the great soul beast, its defense had already beenpleted, and the red light and the white barrier collided with each other.

    Even the soul beast in charge of leading the entire army of soul beasts, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, couldn¡¯t help but curl his lips after looking at the humans¡¯ seemingly feeble attempt to resist.What are they even trying to do with an attack of this level¡­ What¡­?

    Just as the feeling of disdain appeared in the Scarlet King¡¯s heart, his eyes immediately widened in the next instant. What did he see? He saw an astonishing red light that instantly pierced through the sky.

    The barrier of light that the Six-Winged Deviltiger had created instantly disappeared before the red beam of light. After that, its chest was directly pierced through!

    Even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast wouldn¡¯t be able to survive a meter-thick soul ray that pierced through its chest!

    The Six-Winged Deviltiger only realized how terrifying that ray was after it hit him. All of the energy within this soul ray had been condensed into a single beam, and none of it had spilled out. This was why it had previously thought that the soul ray was no threat to it. Not only that, but the heat contained within this ray far exceeded its imagination. The terrifying attack power of this soul ray was simply too great, and the soul power protecting it only caused the red beam to pause for a moment before it pierced through the Savage Beast!

 Chapter 398.3 - The Terrifying Red Ray of Light

    <h4 ss>Chapter 398.3: The Terrifying Red Ray of Light</h4>

    Regret? There was no longer any time for the Six-Winged Deviltiger to react, as it had lost all of its senses after the line of fire burned it to ashes. Its enormous body was vaporized in midair.

    After passing through the Six-Winged Deviltiger, the beam of red light reached the rest of the aerial soul beast army. Since even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts couldn¡¯t block the attack, how else would the other weaker soul beasts fare?

    A line appeared in midair. The corpses of aerial soul beasts fell wherever this line passed through.

    What was even more terrifying was that this beam of red light didn¡¯t disappear after that attack. Instead, it paused roughly five kilometers from the red ball of light. After that, it made a sweeping motion, like an enormous sword cutting through the air.

    It swept from left to right, then back to its original location.

    However, this back and forth motion was like a giant eraser in the sky thatpletely wiped away an uncountable number of dots there.

    Over two-thirds of the thousand-man strong aerial army of soul beasts were obliterated by this sweeping motion.

    The army of soul beasts had been too confident in themselves. After all, did it matter how concentrated they were, considering they were being led by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast? However, that red beam of light hade too quickly. By the time it started sweeping through the sky, none of the soul beasts had even noticed it. The entire sequence of events went very smoothly, and the terrifying beam of light disappeared immediately afterwards.

    Only the luckiest soul beasts managed to escape with their lives intact. However, they nheless began to fall from the sky.

    It wasn¡¯t because they were injured, but because of fear, an overwhelming sensation of terror. The terrifying red light that had obliterated their fellows instantly became a shadow hanging over their hearts.

    All of this was simply too terrifying. Who would¡¯ve thought that the proud flying soul beasts courageously advancing would lose over two-thirds of their forces to humanity¡¯s first attack? None of the soul beasts who had touched the red beam of light had managed to avoid death, even the hundred-thousand-year soul beast who led the flock!

    A power like this had already exceeded the realm of knowledge of the soul beasts there. Even a powerhouse like the Beast God Di Tian would have a certain process to go through beforeunching an attack like that. However, the humans were simply far, far too quick.

    Shi Xing stood atop the city wall, his mouth agape. He felt extremely exuberant, and all of his worries seemed to fade away¡­

    This, this was simply too overbearing! A red beam of light swept through the sky, and everything was silent afterwards. The few surviving soul beasts that had fallen from the sky started to turn tail and run away afternding. The depth of their terror destroyed their will to fight.

    The great Beast Tide was only one kilometer away from Shrek City¡¯s walls. However, they were able to see everything that had urred in the sky. The soul beasts that were originally prepared to assault the city now looked like fools, and it seemed they hadpletely forgotten about their assault. There were simply no long-range attacks being fired at the city walls right now.

    At this moment, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice, an extremely unpleasant sound to the soul beasts, once again rang out from the sound-amplifying soul tool.

    ¡°All teams, fire at will. Carpet bomb them.¡±

    ng, ng, ng¡­

    With a series of metallic ngs, the cannons on the hedgehog-like All-Terrain Soul Forts lined up. The topmost part of the soul forts¡¯ main cannons slid shut, and the eight legs below them started to prop them up.

    Moving a few steps forward, they were now just behind the battlements. All their cannons were pointed towards the Beast Tide, and in the next instant, a rain of light started to descend.

    Countless soul light rays and soul cannons started to pour down like droplets of rain from Shrek City¡¯s walls. The sixty-one All-Terrain Soul Forts were just like sixty-one killing machines as they poured down the firepower.

    The three hundred soul engineers guarding the rear of the soul forts raised the metallic rods on their shoulders, then pushed them into an aperture on the side of the soul forts. They began pouring their soul power into the soul forts.

    The morale of the Beast Tide was brought to its lowest the instant the aerial army was devastated. That strike was simply too terrifying. The blood-colored soul ring left behind by the Six-Winged Deviltiger, as well as the soul bone that a hundred-thousand year soul beast was bound to drop, were still floating in mid-air!

    All of this was simply too sudden, too shocking. To Shrek, that single strike was stunning; to the soul beasts, however, it was a painting of death.

    When the soul forts startedunching their firepower, Shi Xing finally understood what was meant by a storm of carnage.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were considered extremely powerful weapons on the battlefield. However, the All-Terrain Soul Forts had a wider range, the ability to continuously fire, and were more urate.

    Several thousand rays of light were fired from the city walls towards the army of soul beasts. They began sweeping through the army immediately, just like the red beam that had swept through the sky earlier.

    Arge majority of these soul rays were red in color.

    Trauma, oh the trauma!

    They were all red in color, but they didn¡¯t have an overly strong appearance to them. However, who¡¯d know if one of those rays was just as strong as the one from earlier?

    Although the soul beasts acted like they weren¡¯t afraid of death, they weren¡¯t truly unafraid to die! This was especially true for a useless sacrifice. Who¡¯d be willing to die that way?

    The volley from the All-Terrain Soul Forts created a wall of death a kilometer away from Shrek City. Every single soul beast that dared to enter this range received a baptism of light rays. The number of casualties to the soul beast army immediately increased at a staggering rate.

    Without the Emerald Swan to heal them, the soul beasts could only watch as they were annihted by the soul rays.

    Panic started to increase among the ranks of the soul beasts as their casualties increased. The ones in front had already started to turn tail in fear, but the ones behind them still continued to charge ahead.

    This was the first time since the start of the Beast Tide that chaos had urred within the ranks of the soul beasts army. Soul beasts were savage by nature; if anyone blocked their path, they would chase them out of the way, or even kill them!

    The soul beast army started to devolve into a mess as a result of the fear and panic that now engulfed them. Arge number of them started to attack and trample their fellows, making them lose their bearings instantly.

    The Three-headed Scarlet Devilmastiff let loose a series of wild roars, but how could he do anything about the situation? The deadly rays their opponents used were too terrifying, to the point where even though the soul beasts were terrified by his might, they still didn¡¯t dare to charge ahead.

    Enraged, the Scarlet King started to fly forward with a group of powerhouses. He intended to rush forward andunch a frontal assault.

    However, the All-Terrain Soul Forts on the city walls bent down, revealing the enormous cannon on their heads. The center of the Soul Forts shot out small, unremarkable balls of red light.

    This time around, the rays of light felt entirely different from the first time. As though a ss of cold water had been poured over his head, the Scarlet King immediately came to his senses.

    Who would be willing to send themselves to their own deaths! Looking at the current situation, they¡¯d only suffer even more casualties if they continued fighting. After calming down a bit, the Scarlet King let out another roar.

    Retreat!

    The great soul beast army had arrived quickly, but retreated even more quickly. Due to the chaos on the battlefield, they left behind arge number of corpses which flickered with the light of soul rings.

    Shi Xing¡¯s mouth was still gaping. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Xuan Ziwen had previously guaranteed to help stall the Beast Tide for two hours to allow the soldiers to get some rest. However, he was able to forcibly push back the Beast Tide instead!

    Was, was this the awesomeness of the Tang Sect? By only relying on three hundred and sixty-one people, and sixty-one All-Terrain Soul Forts, they were able to force back an army of soul beasts that numbered in the tens of thousands. A glorious result like that undoubtedly overshadowed that of the Shrek City Defense Army!

    However, Shi Xing only felt excitement. With the Tang Sect¡¯s strength, what was there to fear from that army of soul beasts? This was especially the case the moment they started firing their main cannons. Since even ten-thousand year soul beasts couldn¡¯t block them, who would dare to approach them? It seemed like there was hope of defending the city!

    ¡°Go down and collect those soul rings.¡± Xuan Ziwen handed down anothermand. Right after that, the All-Terrain Soul Fort he controlled suddenly leapt off the city walls and soared into the sky. After that, a few jet holes and a pair of wings appeared on his seemingly cumbersome All-Terrain Soul Fort. With a surge of soul power, it actually flew him down to the battlefield.

    The other All-Terrain Soul Forts started moving as well. Though they didn¡¯t have the capability to fly, their long legs allowed them to descend from the city walls like enormous spiders. Their eight sharp legs allowed them to secure a foothold on the sturdy city walls and descend quickly towards the soul beast corpses.

    ¡°Dean Xian, what are they trying to do?¡± Shi Xing couldn¡¯t help, but ask Xian Lin¡¯er.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression shifted slightly, and she said helplessly, ¡°They¡¯re probably trying to not waste anything.¡±

    Right, they were trying to not waste anything. As Shi Xing looked on dumbstruck, arge number of soul rings started vanishing at a quick rate. It seemed like there was a mystical absorption force quickly absorbing the soul rings around them. Moreover, they were specially looking for purple and ck soul rings, and were also ruffling through the corpses.

    Xuan Ziwen, who had risen into the air, had a clear objective: the hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone left behind by the Six-Winged Deviltiger! The instant he was within range, they immediately vanished.

    After that, the Hall Master of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall turned his Soul Fort around and flew back to Shrek City.

 Chapter 399 - The Treacherous Businessman, Xuan Ziwen?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 399: The Treacherous Businessman, Xuan Ziwen?</h4>

    Xuan Ziwen, who was sitting inside a self-driving fort, was looking much better now. It was very difficult to estimate the price of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Furthermore, this hundred-thousand-year soul ring was destroyed by his energy-piercing ion ray, which was equivalent to a natural death. Anyone could absorb this soul ring. It was invaluable!

    The Tang Sect had sacrificed a lot this time to deal with the beast wave. This thing was like a reward for them. It was good if the disciples were able to obtain some rewards.

    Only a few minutes passed before all the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts returned on their own. They scaled the city walls with their long legs as if they were walking on t ground. Shi Xing was wide-eyed in shock as he witnessed this.

    This is too strong. Not only is their offensive strength terrifying, but their adaptation to all types of terrain is, too¡­

    Shi Xing¡¯s eyes turned slightly red. He suddenly turned around to look at Xian Lin¡¯er before swallowing hard.

    Xian Lin¡¯erposed herself. ¡°Shi Xing, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Shi Xing. What do you want? Are you harboring any ideas about my wife?¡± The tall, burly, and bald Qian Duoduo had arrived at the top of the city wall, and quickly walked towards Xian Lin¡¯er. He was nervous as he looked at Shi Xing.

    Shi Xing¡¯s lips twisted a little and he thought to himself,Only you can handle this Martial Goddess.Of course he didn¡¯t dare to say that out loud. ¡°Dean Xian, Dean Qian, don¡¯t misunderstand.¡±

    Qian Duoduo snapped, ¡°Look at how red your face is! You look like you¡¯re going to orgasm! How can I not misunderstand? Stand there and don¡¯t move. Tell me whatever you need to.¡±

    Shi Xing almost spat blood out and snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t snatch your wife from you! Deans, I want this All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort! No matter what it costs, the Shrek City Defense Army needs to be fully equipped! We¡¯ll take whatever there is. It¡¯s best if everyone has one! If that¡¯s possible, we won¡¯t be afraid of this Beast Wave, and I¡¯d even dare to attack the Great Star Dou Forest itself!¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was amused. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t be able to resist it. However, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you. Do you think it¡¯s easy to get ahold of something like this? You¡¯ve already witnessed how strong it is. It¡¯s costly to manufacture one of these. Overall, all the self-driving forts, apart from Teacher Xuan¡¯s own ss 8 soul tool, are all ss 6 soul tools. They are defensively weak, but their offensive strength and mobility are extremely great. Their manufacturing cost is¡­¡±

    Shi Xing turned pale after Xian Lin¡¯er muttered a number.

    ¡°So expensive? However, this is really good stuff! It¡¯s fine even if not everyone is equipped with one of it. Give me five hundred of them first.¡± Shi Xing grit his teeth as he spoke. After all, Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army was in charge of protecting Shrek City. They couldn¡¯t skimp on their equipment!

    A war was the best way to test whether they were well-equipped. What had happened earlier tempted Shi Xing to own one of these All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts.

    Xian Lin¡¯er replied, ¡°We don¡¯t even have five hundred of them. We ordered one hundred from the Tang Sect. These are all that we have. Currently, the Tang Sect has manufactured sixty-one of them, and they¡¯ve already used up arge amount of rare metals. We haven¡¯t even paid them!¡±

    ¡°They were the ones who paid for the rare metals. Furthermore, you¡¯ve also seen how many stationary soul cannon shells the Tang Sect took out this time. Who knows how many of them will be left over once this war is over? Do you think the Academy has so much money to give them? Let¡¯s not even talk about ordering another batch of these soul tools!¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Shi Xing was a little depressed. Yes! The Tang Sect had sacrificed a lot. Even if they didn¡¯t ask for any rewards, they should at least recoup the costs that they had incurred. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive, much less grow. This fight would also drain the Academy greatly. However, the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were simply too attractive to him. Instantly, the Time Douluo was stuck in a dilemma.

    At this point, Xuan Ziwen left his self-driving fort and came over in front of all of them.

    ¡°Mission aplished.¡± Xuan Ziwen said as he tossed and caught a red soul bone in his hands. This soul bone seemed to be an arm bone, but which arm it came from was unknown.

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo¡¯s eyes turned red when they saw this soul bone. It was a hundred-thousand-year soul bone that carried two soul skills!

    A hundred-thousand-year soul ring and bone were considered the most valuable treasures in the world of soul masters right now. There wasn¡¯t any way of putting a value on such a soul ring and soul bone.

    Xuan Ziwen looked at them and said, ¡°If the Academy puts out a suitable price or is willing to exchange rare metals with a simr value for them, we won¡¯t mind selling them.¡±

    The Tang Sect was the one who had provided all the resources and manpower in the earlier fight. Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t going to give away this soul ring and soul bone. They definitely belonged to the Tang Sect.

    Xian Lin¡¯erughed bitterly. ¡°Alright, Teacher Xuan. You can keep it. We can¡¯t afford them. Let¡¯s talk about the rest after we survive this beast wave.¡±

    ¡°Hallmaster.¡± At this point, the disciples from the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall all exited their Self-Driving Forts and quickly gathered around Xuan Ziwen.

    Xian Lin¡¯er saw that they were each holding some weird equipment that wasn¡¯t veryrge.

    Xuan Ziwen smiled and said, ¡°We collected some soul rings without any owners. Most of them are thousand-year or ten-thousand-year soul rings. I wonder if anyone from the Academy or the Shrek City Defense Army needs them.¡±

    ¡°Soul rings without owners?¡± Shi Xing¡¯s eyes opened wide again.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°The soul tools that are used to kill soul beasts can be specially processed to alter their internal structures, which removes the aura of a soul master and makes any soul rings produced ownerless. We used soul ring storage tools to keep them, and we can provide them to any soul master who wants to absorb them.¡±

    ¡°Yes! I want all of them. We can negotiate the price.¡± Shi Xing waspletely decisive. He immediately expressed his wish in front of Xuan Ziwen before Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo managed to do so.

    Yes! Of course he wanted all of them. They were all either thousand- or ten-thousand-year soul rings. He had witnessed how many of these soul rings the Tang Sect had collected earlier.

    Thousand-year soul rings were already considered very good for the outer courtyard disciples of Shrek Academy. Ten-thousand-year soul rings were even more valuable!

    The Academy didn¡¯t have too high of a demand for these soul rings. After all, the students were encouraged to obtain their soul rings quickly when their cultivations reached a bottleneck during the semester.

    However, things weren¡¯t that simple in the Shrek City Defense Army!

    There were more than three thousand soul masters in Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army. Most of them had either graduated or were eliminated from Shrek Academy¡¯s outer courtyard. They remained in the city and joined the Defense Army to earn some experience. Out of these three thousand soul masters, there were many whose cultivations had reached a bottleneck. They were all born in Shrek City, and they were quite proud. As their cultivation gradually grew, they weren¡¯t too anxious to obtain soul rings. If there weren¡¯t any suitable soul rings, they wouldn¡¯t easily absorb one.

    However, Xuan Ziwen had collected countless soul rings this time, and they were even all either thousand or ten-thousand-year soul rings! They were considered great things by the soul masters of Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army! Shi Xing wouldn¡¯t be the one to foot the bill for all these soul rings, though.

    How expensive were Shrek Academy¡¯s tuition fees? Those who were able to study in Shrek Academy were well-to-do. Many of them were even disciples of sects. Of course they had to pay for the soul rings if they wanted them.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°No problem. Later I¡¯ll get my disciples to find out the number of soul rings that we¡¯ve collected. After that, I¡¯ll need you to send some people to differentiate between the types of soul rings that we have, which will make it more convenient for your soul masters to absorb them. As for the price of these soul rings, I¡¯m sure Shrek Academy will offer us a reasonable amount. It¡¯s fine even if your soul masters can¡¯t pay up immediately. We just need to record their names in a register. I only have one request ¨C I hope that the Academy can help us monitor the payments for these soul rings. We are also willing to exchange these soul rings for rare metals if you have them.¡±

    Profiteer!,Shi Xing cursed silently in his heart. Even Xian Lin¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but shake her head silently.

    Xuan Ziwen seemed like a generous person, but he wasn¡¯t going to give any concessions. The Tang Sect had just forced a beast wave back. Under such circumstances, would Shrek Academy really dock the number of soul rings they¡¯d collected? Definitely not! As for the prices of the soul rings, would Shrek Academy dare to quote the Tang Sect a low price? At least they had to be reasonable, and offer prices recognized by the world of soul masters. These prices were based on the standard set by those who specially led people out to hunt soul beasts for soul rings. They were definitely not low.

    Different soul rings were priced differently. It depended on how many soul rings they had collected.

    Money-wise, Xuan Ziwen passed the problem to Shrek Academy. Weren¡¯t they trying to enhance the strength of the City Defense Army? If the soul masters paid for the soul rings on their own, they would find it very difficult to gather so much money at once. However, they just needed to sign a guarantee, and Shrek Academy would be their guarantor. If the money couldn¡¯t be imed in the end, the Tang Sect could just find Shrek Academy instead of Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army.

    Was he really a soul engineer, and not a businessman?

    Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and Shi Xing all had this thought in their mind. Even so, this was still a good thing for Shrek. After fusing with these soul rings, the strength of Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army was bound to increase. At this critical moment, increasing one¡¯s abilities would help one in his own survival!

    Their opinion of Xuan Ziwen might be even more drastic if they found out that the soul ring storage tools could only preserve the soul rings for a short period of time!

    However, no matter what, the beast wave had been pushed back temporarily.

    Xuan Ziwen allowed some of the Soul Tool Hall disciples to follow Shi Xing to calcte the number of soul rings that they had collected. He himself didn¡¯t leave, but asked Xian Lin¡¯er, ¡°Dean Xian, what do you think about our All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er smiled and replied, ¡°Of course they¡¯re great! Didn¡¯t you see how red the Time Douluo¡¯s eyes were? That first cannon strike of yours yed a very critical role. Otherwise, the carpet attacks might not have been able to stop the soul beasts from charging over, even though they are strong. Most importantly, they were frightened by your first attack.¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed bitterly. ¡°Do you know what price we had to pay for that first cannon strike?¡± He intentionally lowered his voice as he spoke. While he was very immersed in his work on soul tools, he wasn¡¯t a senseless person.

    Xian Lin¡¯er quietly stepped forward and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen answered, ¡°That strike was an energy-piercing ion ray that I invented. It causes high energypression, and my Self-Driving Fort is the core of it. My Self-Driving Fort is actually a ss 8 energypression, auxiliary-type soul tool! The main cannons that the rest used are piercing cannons that have already beenpressed. I used energy ions to integrate them before firing and performing short-term control.

    ¡°I only developed this because I¡¯m a ss 8 soul engineer who¡¯s captivated by the strength of ss 9 soul tools. You also witnessed how strong it was; its destructive strength is even slightly stronger than most ordinary ss 9 soul tools. It¡¯s evenparable to the Starsky Douluo¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle. However, it can¡¯tpare to the Sunmoon Divine Needle in terms of the effective range of its attack.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°It¡¯s already very great! Are there any ws?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded andughed bitterly, ¡°Yes, its w is that it drains too much soul power. Topress and prevent thepressed soul power from exploding, more soul power has to be drained. That strike just nowpletely used up the soul power in one hundred and twenty ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles. The soul rays that were fired to suppress the soul beasts on the ground were actually powered by the students from the Academy¡¯s Soul Engineering Department and my disciples from the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall. They were only able to maintain their attack for fifteen minutes, which means that our attacks would have ended if the enemies didn¡¯t retreat within fifteen minutes. We¡¯ll need to change all of those Milk Bottles. Right now, we have less than two hundred Sealed Milk Bottles left, so we¡¯ll only be able tost for another two hours.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was shocked after hearing Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words. One attack used up all the soul power in a hundred and twenty ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles? The total soul power in a hundred and twenty ss 6 Sealed Milk Bottles was even greater than the soul power an Ultimate Douluo had. While that attack was ferocious, it wasn¡¯t as strong as an all-out strike by an Ultimate Douluo.

    Xuan Ziwen was telling her that the attack earlier couldn¡¯t be replicated again. The price to pay was too great.

    After taking a deep breath, Xian Lin¡¯er gazed deeply at Xuan Ziwen as she said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, you¡¯ve already done very well. With this deterrence, I believe it¡¯ll be a lot longer before the next attack arrives.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°I thought of that, too. Let¡¯s recover our soul power as quickly as possible, and hope the beasts take a longer rest. This will give us time to charge our Sealed Milk Bottles.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully!¡± Xian Lin¡¯erughed bitterly.

 Chapter 400.1 - Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King

    <h4 ss>Chapter 400.1: Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King</h4>

    The terrifying strike that had drained the soul power from a hundred and twenty Sealed Milk Bottles left a deep impression on the soul beast army.

    Not only was this attack extremely powerful and threatening, but it even caused the soul beast army to suffer heavy casualties. A hundred-thousand-year soul beast had lost his life, and several thousand soul beasts, including two-thirds of the the soul beast aerial army, were killed.

    After this defeat, some conflicts ensued between the soul beasts, which led to a temporary retreat of the beast wave. Shrek City was finally given a breather.

    The disciples from the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall and the students from Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department started to get busy with this time that they had been afforded. They quickly repaired the damaged soul tools. The soul masters were also given time to rest. Once they recovered their soul power, they would immediately start charging the Sealed Milk Bottles. Even Soul Douluo from the Academy were charging the Sealed Milk Bottles. On this battlefield, one¡¯s individual strength was considered very insignificant unless one was at the level of Elder Xuan or Di Tian.

    The beast wave hadsted for a day and a half, but everyone in Shrek City knew that the earlier attack by the soul beast army was still just a probe. They hadn¡¯t given their all yet, and were only weakening Shrek¡¯s overall power. They were looking for the best opportunity tounch an all-out attack.

    The beast wave pulled back for six hours, which gave everyone enough time to rest and recharge. However, everyone in Shrek City started to turn serious after the soul beast army returned, ready to attack again, after those six hours.

    This time, the number of soul beasts was even greater. However, they didn¡¯t deploy their aerial army like before, perhaps because their aerial army had been trounced earlier.

    Furthermore, the soul beasts didn¡¯t charge blindly and wildly towards Shrek City this time. They scattered, and slowly inched closer to the city. It felt as if they were forming a huge pincer that was about to clip onto Shrek City.

    The soul beast army didn¡¯t seem to be as dominant as before, but those who were sharp could tell that Shrek City was in trouble this time. It was because the soul beasts seemed to have forsaken their pride, and stopped charging directly to assault Shrek City from the front. The formation that they had adopted evidently signaled the fact that they wanted to encircle the city before attacking from all fronts!

    On the top of the city wall, emergency discussions were held, and all the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion ascended to the top of the city wall. After a brief discussion, they immediately acted.

    The southern side of the city had the strongest defense. However, the defense of the city had to adapt if there were any changes to the offensive focal point of the soul beast army.

    At such a time, the flexibility of the All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts was very important.

    The sixty-one All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts were spread out across the top of the city wall rapidly, and started to distribute themselves proportionally around the other three sides. As there were more Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons on the southern side, the defense over there should be able to hold off the soul beasts.

    However, themanders of the soul beast army seemed to be smarter this time. Just as everyone in Shrek City expected, the soul beast army thatprised more than a hundred thousand soul beasts encircled Shrek City. However, they didn¡¯t attack after encircling the city. They stopped around ten kilometers away from Shrek City, and they seemed to be resting.

    Only very powerful stationary soul cannon shells could reach ten kilometers away. However, there were many strong soul beasts in the soul beast army too, who were also adept at long-range attacks. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them to intercept the top-tier stationary soul cannons shells, since there wouldn¡¯t be many of them, either.

    As a result, Shrek didn¡¯t do anything, and the soul beast army didn¡¯t move.

    However, the difference between them and the soul beast army was that the soul beast army could choose to attack at any time, but they couldn¡¯t. They could only passively wait for the soul beasts to attack. Without sufficient troops, Shrek City was under great pressure from the soul beast army.

    No one knew when the soul beasts were going to attack. They could only wait and remain alert.

    Such a wait was torturous. Fortunately, what the soul masters needed now was rest.

    However, the soul beast army didn¡¯t give them much more time. Outside the southern city wall, a jade-green figure opened her wings and rose into the sky. It was Bi Ji.

    After a few hours of rest and reorganization, she had already fully recovered. She opened her wings, and jade-green light shone brightly. Her jade-green feathers emitted bright light as they expanded. Very soon, her wings had extended more than a hundred meters in either direction.

    Her appearance also caused the soul beasts close to the southern city wall to roar in excitement. They all stood up from the ground and stared at Shrek City with fierce looks in their eyes.

    To the east of the city, another figure gradually rose into the sky. This figure had three heads, and scarlet-golden fur grew on its head. Each head of this figure resembled a lion¡¯s, but they were even more ferocious. It was the Scarlet King, who was a Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff.

    To the west of the city, yet another huge figure drifted in mid-air. In terms of aura, he appeared to be much stronger than the Scarlet King and Bi Ji. He was more than fifteen meters tall, and there was thick dark golden fur on his body. His arms were extremely long, as they drooped along the sides of his body. Even given the size of his body, his arms were still long enough to extend below his knees. This meant that his arms were more than ten meters long, and they were also extremely thick. His shoulders were the most exaggerated, swelling up like little mountains.

    To everyone from the Tang Sect, such a soul beast was very familiar. This was because there were two little fellows in the Tang Sect that were of the same species as this soul beast. It was just that the difference in their sizes was too great.

    Yes, this extremelyrge soul beast was a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, which was often recognized as an exterminator of forests and a destroyer in the world of soul masters. This bear was undoubtedly the ruler of all bears, the Bear Lord, who was ranked sixth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    He had a four-hundred-seventy-thousand-year cultivation. It was appropriate to call him the number one bear in the history of the Douluo Continent!

    In terms of rank and cultivation, he wasn¡¯t as strong as Bi Ji. However, thebination of Bi Ji and the Scarlet King wouldn¡¯t even beparable to him in terms of fighting strength.

    In fact, Di Tian was the only one in the Great Star Dou Forest who could tame the Bear Lord.

    The northern side of the city, which was the furthest from the Great Star Dou Forest, was also being surrounded by the soul beast army right now. In mid-air, there was also another figure.

    It was a human-shaped soul beast this time. He was aesthetically pleasing, like Bi Ji, and different from the Scarlet King and Bear Lord, who preferred to appear in their original forms.

    He adopted the appearance of a middle-aged man. He wasn¡¯t particrly handsome, and his face was slightly pale. His eyes were a deep jade-green that could prate through one¡¯s soul. A jade-green glow shone amidst this depth and serenity, but this glow was starkly different from the elegant jade-green that Bi Ji emitted.

    He wasn¡¯t considered veryrge, but he was extremely slender. He was wearing a long, dark-green robe. It moved even without any wind, fluttering slightly to and fro. His hair was also dark-green, but it was a little too long. It was more than ten meters in length as it flowed behind his back.

    To be able to be amander of the soul beast army, just like the other three savage beasts, he was naturally a savage beast himself.

    Five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts lived in the Great Star Dou Forest. Apart from Di Tian, Bi Ji, the Scarlet King and the Bear Lord, there was one more soul beast.

    It was the Myriad Demon King, a Demoneye Tree that was ranked fifth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    ording to the legends, the Myriad Demon King ruled over all the nt-type soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Compared to animal-type soul beasts, nt-type soul beasts found it more difficult to survive. They grew slower than animal-type soul beasts when they were young. Generally speaking, nt-type soul beasts had to reach a thousand-year cultivation before they could protect themselves, whereas animal-type soul beasts already possessed fighting strength at a ten-year cultivation.

    However, there were innately gifted nt-type soul beasts. When they grew, they were even scarier than animal-type soul beasts.

    The Myriad Demon King was an example. He was originally a Demoneye Tree that had grown at the edge of the forest. There was nothing special about his lineage. While Demoneye Trees were considered a rare species in the Great Star Dou Forest, they weren¡¯t considered very strong, even if they cultivated into soul beasts. This was because they were considered spiritual-type and were most adept at using their tree eye to numb and control their opponents. After that, they would gradually use their corrosive sap to kill them. While their opponents rotted away, they would turn into nourishment for these Demoneye Trees.

    In terms of lethality, Demoneye Trees weren¡¯t special among nt-type soul beasts.

    However, the Myriad Demon King was an anomaly. He was considered an anomaly because there were other types of nt-type soul beasts that grew around him. The Demoneye Trees¡¯ survival rate was considered quite high among nt-type soul beasts, as they didn¡¯t have any fruit that other soul beasts found extremely tempting. In addition, they even released a pungent smell. Generally speaking, it was notmon for other soul beasts to take interest in them.

    But there were a few rare types of nts that had lived around the Myriad Demon King, which included Immortal Spirit Grass!

 Chapter 400.2 - Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King

    <h4 ss>Chapter 400.2: Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King</h4>

    Immortal Spirit Grass was naturally psychic. The moment they grew, they possessed intelligence that was simr to ordinary soul beasts. After some time, they would be stronger. At the same time, they were extremely nutritious, and were considered nourishment for both soul beasts and soul masters.

    It was just that the growth conditions needed for Immortal Spirit Grasses were very strict. Even in the Great Star Dou Forest, which was an excellent natural habitat for soul beasts, they rarely appeared. A thousand-year Immortal Spirit Grass was already considered a treasure.

    The greatest advantage the Myriad Demon King had over this Immortal Spirit Grass was that he was born ten thousand years earlier. He soon discovered that an Immortal Spiritual Grass had grown nearby. At that point in time, he already possessed his own intelligence. Furthermore, he had some abilities then, and could at least spread his scent over arger area.

    As a result, the Myriad Demon King took great care of this Immortal Spirit Grass.

    No matter how gifted or intelligent Immortal Spirit Grass was, it was only like a piece of nk paper after it was born. Furthermore, Immortal Spirit Grass would only treat soul beasts and humans as enemies. It would never treat another nt like the Myriad Demon King as an enemy.

    The Myriad Demon King protected this Immortal Spirit Grass using his pungent smell until it grew to a thousand-year cultivation.

    At that point in time, this Immortal Spirit Grass already treated him as its best friend and even developed a heavy sense of reliance on him.

    After tolerating it for a thousand years, the Myriad Demon King finally made his move on this Immortal Spirit Grass.

    In fact, the Myriad Demon King didn¡¯t know what the result would be after he devoured this Immortal Spirit Grass. He was just making a wild attempt because he was indignant. He didn¡¯t want to remain at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest for his entire life. He was very envious and jealous of those strong soul beasts. This was why he took a gamble to see what benefits he might possibly obtain from this Immortal Spirit Grass.

    This thousand-year Immortal Spirit Grass was ultimately unprepared against the Myriad Demon King, who had plotted this for centuries.

    Under the corrosion of the Myriad Demon King¡¯s poison, it melted.

    The Myriad Demon King uprooted itpletely and turned into fluid before smearing this fluid on his body. To him, he would have only wasted a thousand years, even if he failed. To a nt-type soul beast, a thousand years wasn¡¯t considered a long time.

    From that point onwards, the Myriad Demon King entered an extremely long period of torment. While this Immortal Spirit Grass was dead, it carried a strong spirit of vengeance, which made it difficult for him to fuse with it.

    Normally, a Demoneye Tree and an Immortal Spirit Grass were two ipatible nt-type soul beasts. However, a miracle happened when this Immortal Spirit Grass¡¯ vengeance and the Myriad Demon King¡¯s persistencebined together. They started to fuse together in a very special way.

    While the fusion was slow, it managed to change many of the Myriad King¡¯s innate abilities. As time passed, he was no longer purely a Demoneye Tree anymore. This evolution process continued for a hundred years.

    When the Myriad Demon King regained consciousness again, he discovered that he had be abnormally strong. He possessed the innate abilities of the most outstanding nt-type soul beast.

    The Myriad Demon King was extremely determined, having tolerated a hundred years of pain toplete the fusion. He didn¡¯t venture deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest after the fusion. He continued to cultivate where he was born, and slowly devoured soul beasts of lower cultivations.

    The current Myriad Demon King was a result of his tolerance in the past. He had a five-hundred-thirty-thousand-year cultivation now and was ranked fifth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. He was ranked lower than Bi Ji, but higher than the Bear Lord.

    Of the five Great Savage Beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, the Myriad Demon King was probably the one that most wouldn¡¯t want to face if they had to fight one of them if they understood all of their characters. He didn¡¯t possess the power of Di Tian or the explosiveness of the Bear Lord, but he was as vicious as a venomous snake, and even possessed a forbearance that was superior to most ordinary soul beasts. He was definitely a terrifying enemy.

    After Di Tian discovered his existence, he wanted to forcefully keep him within the ughtering Grounds so that he could monitor the Myriad Demon King. This was because the Myriad Demon King already ruled over the soul beasts in more than one-third of the Peripheral Region of the Great Star Dou Forest. With his help, the nt-type soul beasts were able to develop rapidly.

    Di Tian didn¡¯t kill him out of fear. nts were considered thest line of defense for the Great Star Dou Forest. The Myriad Demon King ruled over most of the nt-type soul beasts, which made him extremely important to the Great Star Dou Forest. Even Di Tian didn¡¯t dare to kill him! Di Tian even believed that his existence was more important than Bi Ji¡¯s.

    Right now, there weren¡¯t any nt-type soul beasts in the soul beast army underneath the Myriad Demon King at the northern side of Shrek City. This was also a requirement that Di Tian had for him before this war started. All the nt-type soul beasts that hemanded were not allowed to be part of this beast wave. The reason was very simple: they were needed to offer an escape route for the Great Star Dou Forest! If this beast wave failed and the soul beasts suffered heavy losses, the nt-type soul beasts that the Myriad Demon King controlled could at least protect the soul beast army as they retreated back into the forest.

    An Emerald Swan, a Demoneye Tree, a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear, and a Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff. Right now, four of the Great Savage Beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest had appeared on this battlefield.

    These four Savage Beasts surrounded Shrek City, which meant that this war between the soul beasts and Shrek Academy was about to enter its climax.

    Shrek City was waiting for reinforcements, and the five Great Savage Beasts naturally knew it. Shrek Academy was simply too important. If Shrek City was overrun, there would be one less force to restrain the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. The three empires in the Douluo Continent wouldn¡¯t be willing to see something like that happen. It was totally necessary to send reinforcements to aid Shrek Academy.

    Shrek City was stalling for time, while the soul beasts were naturally fighting for time. If they managed to breach Shrek City and destroy Shrek Academy before the reinforcements arrived, whatever reinforcements arrived after that would be meaningless and insignificant.

    As a result, these four Savage Beasts decided tounch an assault against Shrek City even after the heavy losses they had suffered earlier. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that they would participate in the fight directly. Instead, they were going to hold the fort in four different directions, and the intensity of their offense would vary.

    The soul beasts were targeting the overstretched manpower of Shrek City¡¯s Defense Army. Even if they had to forsake their pride, they had to seize this opportunity to destroy Shrek City. This showed how determined they were. They wanted to wee Di Tian back with a huge victory.

    The Bear Lord unleashed a shocking and furious roar. He was at the western side of the city, and it was his side that made the first move. The terrifying beast wave started to surge forward like a tidal wave. Themanders at each of the other sides also gave the order to attack. Shrek City was now being attacked from all sides, and it seemed as if a tsunami was sweeping toward the city from all directions.

    This was the true strength of this beast wave. When they attacked all-out, they managed to fully tap into their absolute numerical advantage.

    All of the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had gathered at the top of the city wall by now. They and the inner courtyard disciples were distributed along sections of the city wall. The All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts and Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were also ready to be used.

    The Time Douluo Shi Xing quickly rose into the sky, and his voice echoed as he used a powerful sound-amplifying soul tool.

    ¡°Warriors of Shrek City, teachers and students of Shrek Academy, I am the City Defense Officer, Shi Xing. The soul beast army ising for us. This is a fight that we can¡¯t back away from. The result of failure will be death. It¡¯s not just us that will be dead; all the civilians in Shrek City will also be dead along with us. For Shrek¡¯s glory, and for ourselves, I implore all of you to bring forth your greatest courage and strength to fight!¡±

    He shouted thest few words in fury.

    ¡°Long live Shrek! Long live Shrek! Long live Shrek!¡±

    ¡°Glory to Shrek! Glory to Shrek! Glory to Shrek!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight for Shrek¡¯s glory!¡±

    They were burning with passion now. At this moment, everyone from Shrek, regardless of whether they were a soldier, a student, a teacher, or an elder, whether they came from the inner or outer courtyard, all came together as one. They only had one goal: force the beast wave back. It was the only way that they could ensure their survival.

    Shrek¡¯s strength was finally unleashed at this moment. Under Shi Xing¡¯s orders, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fired.

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­

    A piercing sound echoed as streaks of dazzling light shot above the city wall. These streaks of lights were scattered in all directions. Even with Bi Ji¡¯s abilities, she couldn¡¯t cover them all.

    This time, the cannon shells seemed to berger than before. They didn¡¯t just cover a region that spanned a five-kilometer radius with the city wall at the center. Rather, they were targeted toward further distances. Every streak of dazzling light left a resplendent plume behind it as it moved in the air.

    The stationary cannon shells that came from the Tang Sect were finally being fired!

    Stationary soul cannon shells weren¡¯t just strong. They were also able to cover long distances and drained the cannons the least. They wouldn¡¯t cause the cannons to overheat, as they were propelled forward using their own strength. They also didn¡¯t exhaust too much soul power.

    The stationary soul cannon shells were used first, for fear that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons wouldn¡¯t be able to be fired if they overheated.

 Chapter 400.3 - Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King

    <h4 ss>Chapter 400.3: Bear Lord and Myriad Demon King</h4>

    The Tang Sect had provided around two thousand stationary soul cannon shells. Shrek Academy also had several hundred stationary soul cannon shells of different sses. More than five hundred shells were fired in this first round, since there were many Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons avable.

    If their mary value was measured, it would take a long time to count the number of zeroes in the number generated.

    The Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean Xian Lin¡¯er, Vice-Dean Qian Duoduo, and Xuan Ziwen from the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall contorted their faces in reluctance after this first round. Even if they won this war, they would need to save up for a long time before they could obtain so many stationary soul cannon shells again!

    The soul beasts were a little surprised by the range of the humans¡¯ attack. However, the shells were fired into the distance. The soul beasts that were charging in front towards the city wall weren¡¯t affected. Very soon, the soul beast army was already beneath the wall.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were fired once again. This time, their strength was unleashed. As arge number of cannon shells rained down, explosive bombs started to engulf and strike the charging soul beasts.

    At this moment, the booms generated from the detonation of the first round of shells had just echoed in the air.

    Around one-third of the five hundred shells were intercepted. The remaining two-thirds managed to detonate sessfully. The tragic screams of soul beasts could be heard amid the terrifying booms caused by the explosions. While some of these shells were intercepted, their explosive strength was still superior to the regr explosive bombs of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons.

    As a ss 7 stationary soul cannon shellnded among the soul beasts, the space in the entire region affected by the subsequent explosionpletely copsed. A ck halo started to spread, and only stopped when it reached a diameter of three hundred meters. Then, this ck region started to distort tremendously, and countless bolts of lightning surrounded this region. An airflow filled with a destructive aura started to spread.

    The name of this ss 7 stationary soul cannon shell was Lightning of Hell. Its terrifying destructive power instantly took the lives of thousands of soul beasts.

    While the rest of the ss 4, 5 and 6 stationary soul cannon shells were weaker, each of them still managed to hurt and kill many soul beasts.

    Very soon, Shi Xing discovered that the Tang Sect¡¯s stationary soul cannon shells were much stronger than the shells produced by the Academy. There were practically no ss 4 shell and hardly any ss 5 shells. Most of them were either ss 6 or ss 7. The explosion of every shell managed to affect arge region. They were extremely lethal, and he was struck breathless as he watched the explosions unfold.

    As the defenses of the other three sides of the city were weaker, they were reinforced with more stationary soul cannon shells.

    Right now, the four Savage Beasts were all astonished as they watched the various cannon shells exploding. They hadn¡¯t expected humans to possess such terrifying weapons. Ordinary soul beasts were unable to resist such weapons!

    After the first wave of stationary shells exploded, more than fifteen thousand soul beasts were either hurt or killed. Most of them were dead; there were very few injured soul beasts. The number of soul beasts that became casualties after this attack was much greater than the losses the soul beasts had suffered after the earlier confrontations.

    The four Savage Beasts started to get depressed. All of them had different characters, which naturally meant that their reactions were different. Compared to the Bear Lord¡¯s irritation, the Myriad Demon King¡¯s gloominess and the Scarlet King¡¯s fury, Bi Ji was feeling cold in her heart right now.

    Humans actually possess such terrifying weapons? Since when did this happen?

    Shrek City is probably the most difficult city to attack among all the human cities, but it¡¯s still only one of the many cities around! How many of these weapons are present in the three human empires? Are the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest capable of resisting these weapons with their flesh and blood, and eventually attaining victory?

    Perhaps it might not be difficult to annihte Shrek City. However, it¡¯s going to be extremely difficult to annihte the entire human race!

    The losses they had suffered from attacking Shrek City thus far had exceeded their earlier estimations. However, it was impossible for them to stop halfway. There was no way they could retreat anymore.

    ¡°Emerald Swans, start healing with all your abilities,¡± Bi Ji spoke in a strange voice. Following her words, jade-green figures started to quickly rise into the sky not far away from her.

    They were swans that were covered by bright jade-green light. After they rose into the sky, they immediately flew in all four directions. Each of them released a gentle, jade-green light from their bodies, and they started to heal the soul beasts that were injured by the explosions.

    They were from the same species as Bi Ji. All these years, she had been protecting and nurturing them to be the healing team of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Emerald Swanscked defensive strength, and there were only a hundred of them. They weren¡¯t supposed to appear on a battlefield, as the Forest couldn¡¯t afford to lose any of them. However, Bi Ji had no choice but to summon them, given the great number of casualties right now. She couldn¡¯t possibly heal all the soul beasts by herself!

    The only good news for the soul beast army was that the frontline soul beasts had already charged their way to Shrek City¡¯s wall now.

    Countless long-range attacks were targeted towards the top of the walls right now, as if they were meteor showers.

    All the soul masters did their best to activate their protective soul barriers to defend against the long-range attacks. However, the four Savage Beasts were determined this time. The soul beasts that were charging in front were thousand-year soul beasts, and they were led by arge number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Hundred year soul beasts weren¡¯t even allowed to join the frontline.

    This managed to greatly increase the soul beasts¡¯ defensive and offensive strength, and the destructiveness of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fell greatly. ten-thousand-year soul beasts still found it fine to resist the attacks of explosive bombs. If arge number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts defended together, they would greatly reduce the lethality of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, while the thousand-year soul beasts behind the ten-thousand-year soul beasts unleashed relentless long-range attacks towards Shrek City.

    They weren¡¯t just attacking the top of the city walls; they were also attacking the city walls.

    Tremendous booms echoed as different colors of light waves and soul power undtions could be seen encircling Shrek City.

    The fight had reached an intense stage right from the start.

    ¡°Dean Xian.¡± Shi Xing immediately turned to look at Xian Lin¡¯er after unleashing his Spacetime Turbulence.

    Xian Lin¡¯er gritted her teeth, and her cheek muscles trembled a little. After this, she shouted, ¡°Fire all the stationary soul cannon shells. Don¡¯t hold any back!¡±

    The soul beasts¡¯ attack was too ferocious. The ten thousand and thousand-year soul beasts on their frontline ced immense pressure on Shrek City.

    Under such a circumstance, she couldn¡¯t ce any sentimental attachment on the cannon shells anymore, and had to use them all!

    Stationary cannon shells were fired towards the distance once again, and they scattered in different directions to stall the reserves of the soul beast army from following the frontline soul beasts.

    The sixty-one self-driving forts were also thrown into the fight, and they were resisting the attacks of the soul beasts on the other three sides of the city wall.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was now at the southern city wall. Without a doubt, this was the side of the city that faced the greatest pressure. While the attacks beingunched against the other three sides of the city were also very strong, the greatest number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts were charging towards the south side of Shrek City.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Na Na, Mo Xuan and the others were all waiting as they adopted a strict formation.

    Mo Xuan had entered the battlefield under the protection of an elder from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He was given priority ess to Sealed Milk Bottles, as he was needed to offer all-around auxiliary support on the battlefield. With him around, the overall fighting strength of the soul masters could be raised by twenty percent!

    Not far from everyone from the Tang Sect were a few familiar faces: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen and the Lan sisters. They were also all ready to fight.

    After all, there was a limit to how long their soul tools couldst. Once the Sealed Milk Bottles were drained, a brutal close-contact war was bound to ensue.

    The elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the teachers from Shrek Academy were facing the strongest soul beasts. There were even more of those ten-thousand-year and thousand-year soul beasts that relied on the strongest soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest to protect them.

    Bei Bei turned around and said to his teammates, ¡°Later, we¡¯ll have to stick together as we fight. Brother Ji, you¡¯ll take the front. Sanshi and I will protect your sides.¡±

    Ji Juechen nodded and held his Judgment Sword as he walked to Bei Bei¡¯s side. Right now, he was extremely excited. To him, a war was like a fight, and his fighting will had long been infused in his blood.

    Bei Bei then said to the rest, ¡°Nannan, Ziyan, the two of you will be supporting and coordinating at the sides. Na Na, you¡¯ll coordinate from the back while Xiao Xiao will be the main controller behind Brother Ji. Caitou, you¡¯ll be watching and managing the situation from behind Xiao Xiao.¡±

    ¡°What about us, Eldest senior?¡± Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi started to approach him from beside Nan Shuishui.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t task them with anything. This was because of theirck of chemistry with everyone else from the Tang Sect. At this critical moment, they couldn¡¯t affect their team unity.

    ¡°Elder Nan Shuishui, you, Qiuqiu, and Gu Yi will be our backup. Our formation can¡¯t be toorge, we¡¯ll run the risk of encountering too many soul beasts at once. If Ji Juechen isn¡¯t able to hold out in front, I¡¯ll need you to rece him, Elder Nan Shuishui! Guyi and Qiuqiu, this is the same for the two of you! You must constantly monitor our situation. Once someone has been drained too much or is injured, the two of you will be recements.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were displeased that they weren¡¯t immediately sent onto the battlefield. Just as they were about to debate it, they were pulled back by Nan Shuishui.

    Nan Shuishui nodded at Bei Bei and said, ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s follow the sect leader¡¯s instructions.¡±

    Bei Bei took in a deep breath and revealed a lost look on his face.Little junior, when are you returning? It would be great if we had you around¡­

 Chapter 401.1 - The Savage Beasts Enter Battle

    <h4 ss>Chapter 401.1: The Savage Beasts Enter Battle</h4>

    He wasn¡¯t the only one with this thought in mind. Whether it was the Tang Sect or Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, everyone was used to fighting with Huo Yuhao as the main control-type soul master. His Spiritual Detection shared with everyone in battle was the most important guarantee for everyone¡¯s survival. However, nobody knew where Huo Yuhao was, and he was nowhere to be seen even until now.

    Bei Bei rubbed his fists forcefully, and a determined look appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Whether or not this beast wave has anything to do with Yuhao, he will always be a part of the Tang Sect, and he will always be the most important part. I will use our sect¡¯s strength to protect him no matter what the cost may be. I hope you guys can understand.¡±

    Xu Sanshi saidzily, ¡°Why are you saying all that? Do you think any of us will object? The new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters are one, and the Tang Sect is one. One man¡¯s glory is everyone¡¯s glory. Furthermore, Yuhao¡¯s role in the beast wave was lighting the fuse, at most.¡±

    Bei Bei scanned everyone¡¯s faces, and could tell that nobody had any intention to object. He heaved a sigh of relief inside. Wasn¡¯t he also carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders?

    Deafening booms echoed out once more as stationary soul cannon shells began to show their fearsome powers explosively. Different beams of light glowed one after another, andrge masses of soul beasts perished with each instance.

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were still firing crazily from the top of the city wall. The other soul tools and shock bombs that Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had provided were being unleashed onto the battlefield without any reservation at all.

    However, the soul beasts were forging ahead, and still drawing closer and closer to Shrek City. The smell of smoke from guns permeated the air, but the wild stench spreading from those soul beasts was even more prating.

    Right at this moment, the four Savage Beasts who were hovering in midair finally made their move. Except for the Emerald Swan, who was moving forward slowly, the other three Savage Beasts were flying towards the top of Shrek¡¯s city wall with lightning speed. They weren¡¯t the only ones moving; every Savage Beast had twenty to thirty soul beasts of many different kinds following behind them and moving along with them. There was no exception, and all of those soul beasts possessed the ability to fly.

    They were able to follow the Savage Beasts into battle, and this meant their strengths were worthy. Ferocious shadows gradually appeared one after another in the sky, and they were all soul beasts who had at least fifty thousand years of cultivation. Some of them had more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

    This group was the true main force of the soul beast army; the main force that could determine the oue of this battle.

    The frightening force of the stationary soul cannon shells had unsettled these four Savage Beasts. They discussed with each other via their own specialmunication methods unique only to them, and they decided to attack with full force.

    The deaths of normal soul beasts didn¡¯t really affect the Great Star Dou Forest, but if too many soul beasts died, the forest would still be shaken to its very roots. In the end, top-tier soul beasts were once low-tier soul beasts, and which soul beast didn¡¯t need an ascension process to be a powerful individual? Would the Great Star Dou Forest still have a future if too many low-tier soul beasts perished?

    Therefore, even though they knew very well that Shrek City wasn¡¯t sufficiently spent or exhausted, they had no other choice but to activate their main force that could truly determine the oue of battle. They had to send out their truly mighty beasts!

    Everyone from Shrek City was as solemn as could be as they watched therge masses of powerful soul beasts flying toward them in the sky.

    Of the four different sides, the Emerald Swan flew behind everyone else toward the southern city wall, and over thirty mighty soul beasts flew in front of her. There were seven or eight soul beasts who had at least a hundred thousand years of cultivation, and there were more hundred thousand year soul beasts in this group than the other three sides. The Emerald Swan was a Savage Beast, but her direct fighting strength wasn¡¯t that strong. In terms of her auxiliary powers and her healing abilities, however, not a single human could match her might. With her around, these formidable soul beasts¡¯ fighting strengths undoubtedly doubled! Nobody was willing to start a fight like this, but did Shrek City have a choice?

    There were rtively few hundred-thousand-year soul beasts on the other three sides, but they were charging toward the city with the Savage Beasts who were more adept at fighting.

    The Savage Beast who was charging at the fastest pace was the king of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, the Savage Beast who was known for his violent and fierce temperament: the Bear Lord!

    The Bear Lord¡¯s tremendous frame and aura alone gave everyone in Shrek City a feeling as if a mountain was bearing down upon them. Among the defenders on this side, two members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion rose up to meet this Savage Beast: the Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er, and her husband, the Vice-Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s body was simply too massive. Even though he could rely on his formidable cultivation to soar through the sky, he still looked a little clumsy.

    The Bear Lord had four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation, and that meant he was more powerful than the Ice Empress even when she was at her peak condition. The standards of the Bear Lord¡¯s soul power was close to that of a Rank 97 Titled Douluo. Furthermore, he was a Darkgolden Terrorw Bear! A Darkgolden Terrorw Bear with four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation possessed such formidable direct fighting strength that a typical Ultimate Douluo wouldn¡¯t be confident of defeating him. The Bear Lord was an overbearing presence in the Great Star Dou Forest that nobody dared to disturb.

    Xian Lin¡¯er stood on the battlement calmly. The long-range attacks that those soul beasts beneath her fired were immediately sliced into pieces by a formless power when they reached within a hundred meters of her. Their attacks vanished into thin air, and could no longer cause any damage.

    Xian Lin¡¯er arrived on the western side of the city after she decided to use all the stationary soul cannon shells, her goal being to challenge the Bear Lord.

    Initially, this task didn¡¯t fall to her. She was giving herself more pressure.

    Ever since she broke through Rank 95 and became a Transcendent Douluo, she felt that raising her soul power even further was unbelievably difficult, and she finally understood why Yan Shaozhe spent so many years after reaching Rank 95 to ascend another rank. Yan Shaozhe had only recently reached Rank 96, and he wasuded as the number-one prodigy of their generation!

    Reality proved that Shrek Academy had nevercked talent, but even talented and gifted individuals would have exhausted all their talent by the time they became Transcendent Douluo.

    Every further step after Rank 95 was incredibly challenging, but every rank also meant an immense increase in strength at the same time. Xian Lin¡¯er had once asked Elder Xuan how she could go even further. Elder Xuan told her that humans were like receptacles, and only sufficiently strong pressure could give them enough push and motivation to ignite their potential.

    How many people could give Xian Lin¡¯er this pressure in the world today? With Shrek Academy¡¯s environment and surroundings and her status, they would never allow her to take this risk!

    However, Shrek no longer had a way out in their current circumstances. The soaring Valkyrie was already full of boundless belligerence and fighting intent. Therefore, she found the Bear Lord, who possessed the strongest frontal fighting strength amongst the four Savage Beasts, and who was also the king of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.

    Qian Duoduo didn¡¯t stand on the top of the city wall like Xian Lin¡¯er did. He quietly stood at a position further back on the city wall, but ayer of formidable soul power undtions permeated his surroundings.

    Qian Duoduo¡¯s cultivation rank was lower than Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s. He had been stuck at Rank 94 for quite some time. Furthermore, he could feel that he would never break through this threshold and ascend to Rank 95 through his entire lifetime, if he didn¡¯t run into some miraculous encounter.

    Therefore, he channeled more of his time and energy into researching soul tools. Ever since Xuan Ziwen had arrived, Qian Duoduo had lowered his attitude, and he had long be a frequent guest of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall. He seemed to have found a direction to break through from ss 8 to ss 9 in recent days. In the end, he was a true Titled Douluo, and he wasn¡¯t like the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ss 9 soul engineers, who became Titled Douluo through various cheap methods. Qian Duoduo¡¯s solid soul power rank meant there were many things he could do when he became a ss 9 soul engineer.

    There was a row of metal barrels of many different colors nted on the ground in front of him at this moment. There were seven in total, and they were all of varying lengths, thickness, and colors, while every single one seemed to have their own unique characteristics. He was just standing calmly behind these seven barrels as he silently watched Xian Lin¡¯er, who was standing on the battlements. His face was as calm as ever, and there were many other people standing on top of the city wall on this side. This group included seven teachers from the inner courtyard, and another elder from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, along with some students from the inner courtyard.

    Wu Ming, whose martial soul was a Golden Crow, was part of this group, along with the boyfriend that she had walked away with from the Sea God¡¯s Fate, Chu Qingtian. More urately put, Chu Qingtian was her husband now.

    Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian stood shoulder to shoulder. Chu Qingtian seemed a little mncholic, but Wu Ming¡¯s eyes were filled with excitement, as if there were mes dancing in her eyes. She was one of the Demon Ladies from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, and she had always possessed a thirst for battle.

    Wu Ming hugged Chu Qingtian across the shoulders and whispered, ¡°Rx a little, don¡¯t be so nervous. Haven¡¯t we been cultivating hard so that we can fight? A big asion like this isn¡¯t something that we can encounter at any time.¡±

    Chu Qingtianughed bitterly and said, ¡°I would rather never face a big asion such as this for my entire life!¡±

    Wu Ming patted him on his back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will do my best to protect youter on.¡±

    Chu Qingtian rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Please, I¡¯m the one who should be saying that, right?¡±

    Wu Ming giggled and said, ¡°Who will protect who isn¡¯t determined by gender, it¡¯s determined by fighting strength.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The soul beasts flying through the sky had arrived as the two of them exchanged words.

    The Bear Lord was within one kilometer from Shrek City, and Xian Lin¡¯er shouted as she applied strength through the tips of her toes, and soared into the sky like an arrow.

    The sky was the battlefield for powerful individuals at their level.

    Two beams of red light emerged from the Bear Lord¡¯s eyes, and he could clearly feel intense provocation from Xian Lin¡¯er. This human female¡¯s soul power undtions were inferior to his own, but she possessed a unique quality that attracted his attention.

 Chapter 401.2 - The Savage Beasts Enter Battle

    <h4 ss>Chapter 401.2: The Savage Beasts Enter Battle</h4>

    The Bear Lord roared furiously into the sky as he stretched out his arms, and his massive frame shook as he rose through the air. That wasn¡¯t all; his frame was already humongous, but he became evenrger as he gradually raised his arms into the air. Frighteningly long Darkgolden Terrorws sprang out, and streaks of ck light that resembled cracks in the sky appeared around his sharp talons. He hadn¡¯t sliced out with his sharp ws yet, but his ws¡¯ aura alone tore through the air.

    Scorching green mes erupted from Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s body. She was growing taller, and became more than five meters tall in the blink of an eye, even as green armor appeared on her body.

    Her armor covered her entire body like scales as two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings rose from beneath her feet. Her erged version seemed to make her younger, as if she were a young girl who was in her twenties, and she had an aura full of belligerence and valor.

    Her current form was the true appearance of the soaring Valkyrie. Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s martial soul was the Greenme Dragon, and even though her body was releasing green mes, her martial soul¡¯s Element was wind. Those mes were produced after wind-type energies were swiftly converted andpressed, and possessed immense disintegrating properties.

    The Greenme Dragon was considered a species of flying dragon, and her formidable martial soul was on the same level as the Ruby Dragon that Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu had inherited within the Earthdragon Sect. The Ruby Dragon¡¯s Element was Annihtion, and that Element directly obliterated everything, while the Greenme Dragon¡¯s disintegrating qualities were more focused on slicing and dispersing.

    The Greenme Dragon was theoretically considered a direct descendant of the Golden Dragon, and even the spear in Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s hands came from her martial soul at birth, simr to the Golden Dragon Spear.

    The Valkyrie would never wait on the battlefield. The Bear Lord was bingrger as he rose into the sky towards her, and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes sparkled with intense green light at the same time as she spun around in the air and plummeted downwards. She moved like a green shooting star as she plunged towards the king of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears.

    Green mes seemed to seep out of her eyes as she soared through the sky, and she arrived above the Bear Lord in a sh of green light.

    The Bear Lord made his move, and he made a move that was strength personified: he swung his enormous arms in front of him and wed out with his palms facing out.

    Terrifying dark golden hues tainted the sky in the next moment. Just what kind of ws were they? Every single talon transformed into a horrifying dark golden de that was more than a hundred meters long, and his massive Darkgolden Terrorws seemed as if they were about to tear the heavens apart. This petrifying sight immediately shook the soldiers who were on Shrek City¡¯s western wall.

    The air waspletely torn apart wherever these ten sharp talons crossed, and howls could be faintly heard from those torn spaces; one could see faint dots of starlight amid the eerie darkness.

    This was the might of a Savage Beast! Even strong individuals like Di Tian and the Evileye Tyrant King were unwilling to take a swipe from the Bear Lord¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws head-on. The Bear Lord was the true king of destruction!

    However, somethingpletely unexpected happened. The Valkyrie chose to meet force with force against the Darkgolden Terrorws that not even the Beast God himself was willing to meet head-on!

    Yes, she chose to meet force with force!

    A beam of golden light suddenly shot out from the top of Shrek¡¯s city wall and instantlynded on her green mes. In that instant, the green mes that were descending from the sky wereyered and protected by a blurryyer of golden light.

    Hazy mist surrounded all that golden light, and everything seemed a little unreal in that instant.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s terrifying Darkgolden Terrorws swiped across her in a sh. A strange scene urred when his ws touched that golden light. The bear¡¯s sharp ws skidded away, and the hazy golden light immediately became surreal and illusory in that moment. The green mes¡¯ downward swoop seemed to pause momentarily, as if they had beenyered with grease, and they slipped through the cracks between all that dark golden light.

    However, the Darkgolden Terrorws were simply too destructive. Even though the golden light was filled with spatial power, all that golden light was still torn to pieces as the green mes slipped past his ws.

    But that wasn¡¯t important. What was important was that the Valkyrie had achieved her goal.

    She slipped through the bear¡¯s deadly ws, and indignant dragon roars echoed throughout the entire battlefield. The green mes became conical, and they went straight for the space between the Bear Lord¡¯s eyebrows.

    She broke through just like that.

    Back on top of the city wall, Qian Duoduo stared closely at the battle in the sky, and gradually lowered a golden cannon in his hands.

    That was Light of Spatial Protection, a ss 8 soul tool.

    This soul tool was known amongst ss 8 soul tools as The Unbreakable Fortress, and was a stronger version of the Invincible Barrier. This soul tool allowed the user to temporarily enter another dimension when taking a hit, but even so, the Bear Lord¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorws still managed to tear through space itself, which meant hiding in another dimension couldn¡¯t entirely evade his attack. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how frightening the Bear Lord¡¯s attacking strength was. That was just pure offensive strength!

    However, their n was sessful in the end. They had been married for many years, and Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s chemistry and teamwork was so good that they were almost the same person.

    They were very clear that in terms of strength, they were no match for the Bear Lord even if they teamed up. They could only make use of the Bear Lord¡¯s unfamiliarity andck of understanding toward soul tools at the start of the battle to catch him by surprise so that they would have a chance to strike.

    That was the reason why they had some up with such a fighting strategy, and Xian Lin¡¯er chose to meet force with force when everyone thought she would avoid the bear¡¯s sharp ws.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s frame was too massive, and his excessivelyrge body meant he wasn¡¯t very agile. After he grew bigger, the bear was a hundred meters tall, while Xian Lin¡¯er moved with incredible speed. The Bear Lord¡¯s arms had just swung through the air when the conical green mes reached the center of his eyebrows, and he didn¡¯t have a chance to respond.

    However, the Bear Lord chose a response that surprised every onlooker.

    He didn¡¯t even attempt to dodge this attack. His dark golden eyes flickered with blood-red colors, and were filled with disdain and indifference as he lowered his head, usign his forehead to sh against the conical green mes.

    That was an all-out attack from Xian Lin¡¯er, a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo, who was known as the Valkyrie! Even though she didn¡¯t use her strongest soul skill because she desired speed, could the Bear Lord¡¯s body just forcefully sh against her formidable attack that possessed disintegrating qualities?

    BAM!

    Green mes scattered in all directions in the sky, and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s figurereappeared in the sky as she spiraled through the air. The tremendous impact rendered her unable to control her own body, and she channeled soul power continuously to stabilize herself as she flew backwards rapidly.

    And the Bear Lord? He simply arched hisrge head backwards, and several strands of dark golden fur drifted down from his forehead. He used the back of his paws and rubbed his forehead before he howled furiously. It seemed like all he took was a little pain, and he didn¡¯t suffer any real injuries at all.

    The soul masters watching from the top of the city wall were astounded when they saw this. Nothing happened to the Bear Lord when he shed forcefully with an attack from a Transcendent Douluo? He didn¡¯t even shed a single drop of blood. That was simply too unbelievable! Were the Bear Lord¡¯s defenses that fierce and formidable?

    Yes, the bear¡¯s defenses were indeed that strong.

    Xian Lin¡¯er felt this the most because she was the one who had attacked him. When her Greenme Spear stabbed into the Bear Lord¡¯s forehead, she felt as if she had actually shed with a shooting star. Terrifying strength instantly sent her hurtling through the air, and her right arm that was holding onto her Greenme Spear was all sore and numb.

    One could only understand whether the opponent was strong or weak in an actual encounter.

    Not a single beast wasn¡¯t worthy of their reputation, and the Bear Lord lived up to his name as number five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts! There was no question that he possessed the strongest offensive capabilities among today¡¯s four Savage Beasts.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s muscr chest bulged as he swung his arms outward. His thick arms stretched out at his side, and he howled furiously as he suddenly raised his Darkgolden Terrorws high into the sky. All his fur began to shine with intense golden light, and in that moment, he sparkled and shone like a sun.

    His roars were extremely thick and dense, and they resonated through the heavens like dull thunderps. His roars shook the soul masters and soldiers standing on the city wall beneath him until they felt dizzy, while the soul beasts that were attacking the city became exceptionally excited. Their attacking momentum became fiercer than before, and the soul tools on top of the city wall seemed like they couldn¡¯t hold those soul beasts back any longer.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s expression instantly became serious and solemn. She had the strongest feelings about the Bear Lord because she was facing him directly. She couldn¡¯t really withstand the Bear Lord¡¯s frightening pressure, which resembled that of a mountain, even with her cultivation rank, and the green dragon scales on the surface of her body rippled continuously to dispel that pressure.

    Is the Bear Lord using his signature move from the get-go? What kind of fighting style is this?

    Xian Lin¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to neglect her opponent. The Bear Lord was stronger than she had predicted, and she grit her teeth as she raised her Greenme Spear high into the air. The green mes on her body flourished at the same time, and waves of dragon roars could be heard. Her seventh soul ring glowed as she instantly transformed into a giant green dragon and circled in midair. She unleashedyers of green me again and again, and these mes formed a colossal green dragon head in front of her as she stared at the Bear Lord opposite her in the distance.

    Qian Duoduo didn¡¯t idle around, either. Xian Lin¡¯er was evidently unable to stop the Bear Lord by herself, and he tapped the ground with the tip of his foot as he swiftly flew out from the city. This time, he didn¡¯t carry his soul tools. Nine soul rings glimmered on his body, and his seventh soul ring sparkled as ck light gradually cocooned his body while he rose into the sky. He transformed into an enormous shield, and swiftly rose to Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s side.

    This shield was squarish, and there were ck dragon patterns on its surface. A ck Dragon seemed to shimmer on the shield¡¯s surface, but the dragon¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t golden like that of the Beast God, but red instead. The shield¡¯s surface seemed to be iid with two red gems.

    This was Qian Duoduo¡¯s martial soul, the ck Dragon Shield!

    Back in the day, Qian Duoduo, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, and Yan Shaozhe were known as Shrek¡¯s golden generation because their martial souls were all powerful, and they possessed formidable strength. Yan Shaozhe was the strongest among them, and Xian Lin¡¯er came next, and Cai Mei¡¯er after her. Qian Quoquo was weakest one, but he was a defense-type soul master, and his defensive capabilities were the most outstanding among them. This was also the most important reason why he chose to be a soul engineer in the end. There was a part of his past that was very regrettable, and he craved offensive power.

 Chapter 401.3 - The Savage Beasts Enter Battle

    <h4 ss>Chapter 401.3: The Savage Beasts Enter Battle</h4>

    Faced with a powerful enemy, Qian Duoduo finally chose to fight using his own martial soul. He was willing to be Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s shield.

    Xian Lin¡¯er, who was in her Greenme Dragon form, nced at Qian Duoduo beside her. Faint light flickered in her eyes as she lowered her voice and growled, ¡°Be careful, old Qian.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± His ck Dragon Shield¡¯s dragon mouth opened and closed.

    The Bear Lord made his move at this moment. The thick and dense golden light on its body suddenly all concentrated toward his twin ws, and his initially dark golden ws instantly became brilliantly golden. Streaks of light that resembled waves flowed on the surface of his razor-sharp ws, eventually stopping at the edge of his ws.

    ¡°Go to hell, the both of you!¡± the Bear Lord shouted ferociously as he shed his sharp ws towards Xian Lin¡¯er, as if he were cutting open heaven and earth.

    A terrifying scene appeared. Ten razor-sharp golden des that were at least a thousand meters long appeared on his Darkgolden Terrorws, and ten enormous gashes were instantly torn open in the sky as the bear¡¯s frightening ws shed toward Xian Lin¡¯er.

    The Bear Lord was furious, and the consequences were serious.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s spear did injure him. Even though his wounds weren¡¯t serious, the Bear Lord was irascible and had a terrible temper. He had dominated the Great Star Dou Forest for so many years, and it had been a long time since he wasst hurt. His fight had just begun, and his opponent had already injured him! That was incredibly humiliating to him. He was one of the most arrogant kinds of soul beasts, and he didn¡¯t give face to anyone except for Di Tian. Everyone feared him in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The Bear Lord was hurt when he had just started his fight today. It infuriated him!

    The attack that he was unleashing at the moment wasn¡¯t one of his innate abilities. Instead, he had managed to grow it over time, and by relying on his formidable strength. This was simr to a human soul master¡¯s self-invented fighting technique, yet this attack was even stronger than those self-invented fighting techniques, because the Bear Lord was raising his Darkgolden Terrorw¡¯s destructive power to its strongest possible level.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s giant thousand-meter ws actually tore open the sky. Those deep and hideous gashes produced enormous vacuum forces, and Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er were being forcefully sucked towards them. They hurriedly channeled their soul power, and only then could they barely stabilize themselves.

    The green dragon head that had condensed in front of Xian Lin¡¯er before this flew forward uncontrobly. Xian Lin¡¯er hadn¡¯t expected the Bear Lord¡¯s attack to have such effects, and she had no time to control her dragon head further. She gritted her teeth and activated all her soul power to propel that green dragon head further.

    Dragon roars echoed throughout the sky as the Greenme Dragon¡¯s head rose through the air. Tremendous disintegrating powers tainted the sky with bluish-green hues, and everything seemed exceptionally gorgeous.

    It was a pity that this gorgeousness didn¡¯tst for very long. When those frightening thousand meter-long ws tore through the sky, the bluish-green colors were swiftly consumed by the space that had been shed open. Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s green dragon head was almost instantly torn into a million pieces.

    The Bear Lord had coined this attack his Skytear w. He had once attempted to challenge Di Tian¡¯s authority, and had relied on this attack to severely wound Di Tian. Of course, Di Tian taught him a very, very painful lesson afterwards because of this very fact. Di Tian treasured the Bear Lord¡¯s strength, so he didn¡¯t kill him for this affront. Otherwise, the Bear Lord would have be Di Tian¡¯s food a long time ago.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s Skytear w only paused momentarily in the air when Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s Greenme dragon head blocked it. Its intense golden light dimmed momentarily before it continued shing down towards Xian Lin¡¯er.

    Xian Lin¡¯er growled as bluish-green light circles glowed on her Greenme Dragon form one after another, and surged out continuously. The Bear Lord¡¯s razor-sharp ws had arrived, and these light circles forcefully blocked those ws.

    However, the light circles didn¡¯tst for long. The Bear Lord¡¯s Skytear w cut through and shattered those light circles one after another, like a hot knife cutting through butter, and his sharp ws wereing closer and closer to Xian Lin¡¯er.

    The green lights on Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s body became stronger, and the green mes burning on her body caused the air around her to twist and contort. But even so, she still couldn¡¯t stop those sharp ws from descending upon her.

    Xian Lin¡¯er understood in this moment that she was wrong from the start, and her choice to meet the Bear Lord¡¯s force with force was her gravest mistake. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was most adept at breaking through defenses, and his offensive capabilities were just far too strong. She didn¡¯t stand a single chance meeting force with force, and she should have chosen hit-and-run tactics. Perhaps then she would have been able to hold the Bear Lord down for a longer time.

    Unfortunately, understanding everything now was far toote. The Bear Lord¡¯s ws tore open the sky, and those deep gashes in the sky possessed immense suction force. The reason why this attack was terrifying was because his opponent would know that the Bear Lord¡¯s Skytear w possessed frightening attacking strength, but the deep gashes in the torn space would pull his opponent in, so his opponent had no choice but to meet force with force.

    Am I going to die just like this?

    Right at this moment, Xian Lin¡¯er suddenly felt her entire body lighten, and the pressure in front of her abruptly disappeared. She could see a huge patch of ck in front of her.

    An enormous ck shield blocked for her, and the Bear Lord¡¯s sharp ws shed against this shield with ear-piercing slicing sounds.

    ck Dragons circled around the shield, and waves of dragon roars sounded likements as nine soul rings sparkled continuously. They released soul skills one after another in an attempt to block the terrifying sharp ws, but the shield itself was quivering violently. Xian Lin¡¯er was behind this shield, but she could clearly see cracks starting to appear one after another.

    ¡°No!¡± Xian Lin¡¯er shouted at the top of her voice, and bolted forward in a sh so that she could continue blocking those Darkgolden Terrorws.

    However, a ray of ck light shot out from behind the shield and cocooned her. ck light burst out from the shield immediately afterwards.

    Vigorous booms rang out continuously as the Bear Lord¡¯s Skytear w finally erupted into golden dots that dissipated into the sky, and the deep gashes in the sky closed up at the same time.

    ck light descended from the sky, and plummeted to the top of Shrek City¡¯s western wall.

    Everything happened too quickly, to the point where Shrek Academy¡¯s various powerful individuals were toote to reinforce Xian Lin¡¯er even if they wanted to. They could only watch everything unfurl before their very eyes.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s radiance was conspicuously dimmer than before after he unleashed his Skytear w. His chest heaved up and down as he panted faintly. Even with his four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation, he still had to take a breather after using all his strength in one attack.

    A green beam of light surged into the sky above Shrek City and blocked the Bear Lord. It was Elder Song, who had a furious look on her face.

    Elder Song hadn¡¯t participated directly in the fighting. Instead, she had coordinated with everyone and supported them from one side so that she could respond to any emergencies or dangers that might ur on any front.

    Xian Lin¡¯er hadn¡¯t expected the Bear Lord to use his signature move from the get-go, and Elder Song didn¡¯t see thating either. She was originally focused on another side of the city. From her perspective, with her daughter and her daughter¡¯s husband teaming up against the Bear Lord, they would be able to hold him back even if they couldn¡¯t defeat him. Who would have thought that the Bear Lord wouldn¡¯t follow conventional behaviour and unleash his Skytear w at the start of the fight?

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo had already shed with the Bear Lord¡¯s Skytear w by the time Elder Song realized what was going on.

    Elder Song instantly transformed into a green beam and rocketed towards the Bear Lord, using her martial soul true body, her Greenshadow Godly Hawk.

    The truth was that Elder Song¡¯s abilities were the best counter to the Bear Lord. She could best evade the Bear Lord¡¯s destructiveness with her speed.

    ¡ª

    Back at the top of the city wall¡­

    The ck light struck the city wall and revealed its original form¡­ Qian Duoduo.

    Both he and Xian Lin¡¯er were back in their human form at this point. Xian Lin¡¯er was in his embrace, but Qian Duoduo¡¯s tall and strong body was full of cuts and gashes that wove across his entire frame. Flesh and skin rolled and folded, and ring white bones were revealed on many parts of his body, as if he were a man made of blood.

    ¡°Wah¡­¡± A mouthful of blood spurted from Qian Duoduo¡¯s mouth onto Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s body. His muscr frame swayed as he forced himself to put Xian Lin¡¯er on the ground before he crumpled down next to her.

    ¡°Duoduo.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er hugged him tightly, and her eyes were filled with tears.

    Of course she knew what Qian Duoduo had just done. In order to block the Bear Lord¡¯s attack, Qian Duoduo chose to detonate his ck Dragon Shield. He had relied on the formidable offensive strength that a Titled Douluo could produce by detonating his martial soul to dispel the Bear Lord¡¯s frightening Skytear w.

    However, Qian Duoduo was severely injured because of that. Was detonating one¡¯s martial soul that easy? Martial souls were a part of any human on the Douluo Continent, and the stronger one¡¯s martial soul was, the more intimate its fusion was with one¡¯s body. To say that one¡¯s martial soul was the most important part of one¡¯s body for Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t possibly be wrong.

    Qian Duoduo didn¡¯t just detonate his own martial soul , as he had to take the rest of Skytear w¡¯s remaining force as well.

    Fresh blood fountained from Qian Duoduo¡¯s mouth. His pupils were already starting to grow ck and disorganized, but his face was strangely full of smiles.

    ¡°Duoduo, how are you, Duoduo?¡± Xian Line¡¯r wasn¡¯t good at healing at all, and she didn¡¯t know how to help him. ¡°Why are you so foolish? Why did you take the brunt of everything by yourself? You¡­¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was sobbing uncontrobly at this point.

    ¡°Lin¡­ Er. Heh¡­ heh. I¡¯ve always¡­ wanted¡­ to call you¡­ that. Except¡­ I never¡­ dared to¡­ on normal days. But¡­ at a time¡­ like this¡­ I dare¡­ Because, if I don¡¯t¡­ call you that now¡­ I may never¡­ get the chance again¡­¡± Qian Duoduo¡¯s voice was quivering, but he tried his best to steady his voice. Blood continued flowing from his mouth as he spoke, and even his nose and ears were bleeding profusely. The Bear Lord¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t just razor-sharp, it also possessed immense vibratory force!

    Right at this moment, a shadow swiftly flew over to Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo andnded right next to them. He pressed his hand down on Qian Duoduo as countless verdant bluish-green vines surged out from his hands and quickly attached themselves to Qian Duoduo¡¯s body. Nine soul rings emerged from beneath his feet and circled around his body. His first, fourth, and sixth soul rings glowed first as gentle bluish-green light flowed continuously into Qian Duoduo.

    This man who came forward in time to treat Qian Duoduo was the only elder of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion who was adept with healing and treatment: Elder Zhuang, who was an auxiliary-type Titled Douluo.

 Chapter 402.1 - Qian Duoduo and Xian Liner

    <h4 ss>Chapter 402.1: Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er</h4>

    He was the one who had helped to stabilize Huo Yuhao¡¯s injuries along with Elder Xuan when Huo Yuhao returned after plucking a Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    On the battlefield, he also became the busiest person, moving to treat whoever was injured.

    As Qian Duoduo suffered a critical injury, he naturally rushed over as quickly as possible.

    When Xian Lin¡¯er saw Elder Zhuang, it was as if she had seen a life-saving straw. ¡°Elder Zhuang, save him, quick, save him! How¡¯s Duoduo?¡±

    Elder Zhuang looked very gloomy and gently shook his head. ¡°Difficult!¡±

    When Xian Lin¡¯er heard that, her tears started to flow uncontrobly once again. If even Elder Zhuang, who was the most adept at healing in Shrek Academy, imed that saving Qian Duoduo was difficult, more than half of Qian Duoduo¡¯s life was already gone!

    ¡°Duoduo, you can¡¯t die. You, how can you die? You are so strong! You¡¯ll be able to survive. You¡¯ll be able to, right? Tell me. Tell me that you¡¯ll be able to survive.¡± Xian Lin¡¯er grabbed onto Qian Duoduo¡¯s hand tightly, and her voice was hoarse from all the crying.

    Qian Duoduo coughed twice and spat out two foamy mouthfuls of blood. He looked slightly better after being treated by Elder Zhuang.

    At this point, two other figures rushed over. They were Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei¡¯er, the two deans of the Martial Soul Department.

    They were shocked when they saw Qian Duoduo, and they also noticed the situation on the west side of the city. Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo were both struck down by the Bear Lord¡¯s all-out attack. As they didn¡¯t know how the two of them were faring, they naturally rushed over to check out the situation immediately.

    ¡°Old Qian, how are you?¡± Yan Shaozhe squatted down on the other side of Qian Duoduo.

    Qian Duoduo chortled, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. It¡¯s¡­ pretty good like this. The two of you¡­ came at the right time. I¡¯ve some things¡­ to say since I¡¯ve some¡­ time left.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes were filled with tears as she said, ¡°Duoduo, stop talking. Focus, and let Elder Zhuang treat you properly. You mustn¡¯t die. You¡­¡±

    Elder Zhuang seemed to have used up a lot of soul power as he treated Qian Duoduo, and Qian Duoduo¡¯s voice slowly became smoother. Heughed bitterly. ¡°Although my cultivation can¡¯tpare to the two of you, do you really think I don¡¯t know my own condition? Let me finish talking.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was sobbing as she said, ¡°You, you can say anything you want¡­¡±

    Qian Duoduo¡¯s gaze turned gentler as he looked at her. ¡°Lin¡¯er, I like you very much. It¡¯s true. From the day I entered the Academy, I¡¯ve always liked you. However, you should know that I¡¯m not good enough for you. You¡¯re so pretty, and you capture everyone¡¯s attention. I can only hide my liking for you deep in my heart, and I can only watch you from afar. Even so, I¡¯m already very satisfied.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was in a daze as she looked at Qian Duoduo. Her face turned slightly pale. Although they had been married for years, Qian Duoduo had never said anything like this to her before.

    Qian Duoduo had a reminiscent look in his eyes, ¡°Then, I could see you every day in the Academy, and it was the greatest blessing for me. However, this blessing soon faded away. As I silently observed you, I discovered that you¡¯d already developed a liking for someone else. You liked Yan Shaozhe. Both of you are assault-type soul masters. He¡¯s handsome, talented, and has a strong martial soul. There were so many students in our ss that had a crush on him then!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face turned red as he heard this, and he twisted his head to look at Cai Mei¡¯er. Cai Mei¡¯er acted like she didn¡¯t hear anything and only smiled slightly at him to hint that she didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°Yes, Shaozhe is much more outstanding than me and is better than me in all aspects. At that point in time, I became slightly jealous. I was jealous that he was able to capture your heart. To surpass him, I gave my all in the hopes of catching up to him. However, a nightmare happened to me. After a temporary, preliminary selection by the Academy, we were about to be ced in different sses. As a defense-type soul master, I couldn¡¯t possibly be in the same ss as you. I really hated myself then for being a defense-type soul master. I really wished I was also an assault-type or a control-type soul master! In that way, I could continue to see you every day.

    ¡°The rules of the Academy couldn¡¯t be changed, and I was eventually separated from you. After I went to another ss, I thought to myself that I had to give my all. Even if I couldn¡¯t obtain your love, I had to defeat Shaozhe. At least in terms of abilities, I had to be better than him.

    ¡°I cultivated tirelessly every day. Once sses were over, I would always quietly walk past the front of your ss. If I was lucky, I could take a nce at you, which left me very happy.

    ¡°However, a bigger nightmare urred. After some time, I heard some of your ssmates mention that you were dating him and that the two of you had be a couple. It was a huge blow to me then. I was extremely upset for a couple of days. I really wanted to charge in front of you and tell you that I liked you. However, I was never courageous enough. When I looked in the mirror and saw myself, I only felt inferior.

    ¡°Do you still remember? During the first internalpetition of the Academy, I finally had the chance to defeat Shaozhe. I faced him during the semifinals. I fought extremely hard for that fight, and we fought for two hours until our soul power was drained.¡±

    ¡°I still lost in the end, though. However, I was surprised when all the teachers believed that I was unyielding, and was willing to fight. They believed that I had great potential, and started to nurture me.

    ¡°After that, I made my way into the inner courtyard and became a disciple there. I finally had more time to see you. However, I was extremely tormented every time I saw you because he was always with you. Shaozhe¡¯s talent was indeed too great. I kept on chasing after him, but I wasn¡¯t able to catch him. Every time we fought, I always lost. I started to believe that there was something called ¡®talent¡¯ in this world. After he became Elder Mu¡¯s disciple, he managed to widen the gap between us. I knew then that, perhaps, I wouldn¡¯t be able to surpass him in this life.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe sighed as he silently listened to Qian Duoduo¡¯s words. He said, ¡°Duoduo, do you know? I was also giving my all at that point in time because you were chasing me too hard. I had no choice to ce all my focus on my cultivation and studies to prevent being surpassed by you. In fact, you¡¯d already seeded then. As I was too focused on these two things, I spent very little time with Lin¡¯er.¡±

    Qian Duoduo chortled and said, ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s great, then.¡±

    If it were any other time, Yan Shaozhe might have turned sarcastic. However, Qian Duoduo was extremely pale right now, and his life aura was getting weaker and weaker. Even though they hadn¡¯t shared a harmonious rtionship in all these years because of Xian Lin¡¯er, Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t say anything harsh to Qian Duoduo at this point.

    Qian Duoduo twisted his head to look at Yan Shaozhe, and the gentleness in his eyes turned into fury, ¡°If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t have left Lin¡¯er for even a minute. I would have protected and taken care of her forever? What about you? You are a scoundrel that only knows how to hurt her. You said that you cultivated tirelessly because I was hot on your heels, but why did you have so much time to flirt with other girls? Why did you hurt Lin¡¯er? Even so, she stayed true and continued to love you deeply. Do you know that?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was half-red and half-pale. When he looked at Qian Duoduo, who was getting weaker and weaker, he wasn¡¯t able to muster a reply. In fact, Qian Duoduo wasn¡¯t wrong.

    Cai Mei¡¯er walked to Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s side and gently patted her shoulder. After this, she turned around and left. She didn¡¯t care about Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s past. However, she was one of the girls that Yan Shaozhe had flirted with. In addition, she was the victor out of all the girls. She wasn¡¯t willing to listen any further. Furthermore, they belonged to the same golden generation. Seeing that Qian Duoduo was on the verge of death, she couldn¡¯t control herself.

    Qian Duoduo red at Yan Shaozhe, and his face started turning red. It seemed as if he had regained some vitality due to his fury, ¡°You hurt Lin¡¯er time and time again, but she forgave you time and time again! It was only when she saw you getting intimate with other women that she decided enough was enough and left you.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe lowered his head in pain. ¡°Yes, I wasn¡¯t resilient enough. However, I realized my mistake after Lin¡¯er left me. I searched everywhere for her, but I didn¡¯t manage to find her. I only wanted another chance. It was only after losing her that I realized how much I loved her. However, she had already be your wife after she returned. Do you know how much pain I felt then?¡±

    ¡°You deserve it!¡± Xian Lin¡¯er suddenly lifted her head and shouted at Yan Shaozhe.

    Yan Shaozhe seemed to have lost all his energy, and his head drooped.

    ¡°Lin¡¯er is right. You deserve it! After she returned, did you persist? You chose to be a coward and quickly got together with Mei¡¯er before marrying her. Have you ever admitted your mistake to Lin¡¯er? Did you try to seek her forgiveness? No, you didn¡¯t. You are a coward!¡± Qian Duoduo¡¯s voice was trembling right now and he started to speak choppily, ¡°Yan Shaozhe, let me tell you something. My marriage with Lin¡¯er was actually a result of her desire to make you infuriated. Nothing has ever happened between us. Even after being married for years, we¡¯ve remained clean until now. Lin¡¯er is still a virgin. It¡¯s because she loves you that she couldn¡¯t handle the pain you brought to her, and thought of such a method to test your love for her. What about you? What did you give her in return? Your gift to her was your marriage to Mei¡¯er!¡±

 Chapter 402.2 - Qian Duoduo and Xian Liner

    <h4 ss>Chapter 402.2: Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er</h4>

    ¡°What, what did you say?¡± Yan Shaozhe opened his eyes wide and grabbed the front of Qian Duoduo¡¯s shirt. There was an unbelievable look in his eyes.

    Bang!Xian Lin¡¯er shed her palm towards Yan Shaozhe and roared furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t touch him! If you dare touch him, I¡¯ll fight it out with you!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe struck a battlement after he was hit by Xian Lin¡¯er. Given his cultivation, he shouldn¡¯t be in such a sorry state as he fell to the ground. However, he seemed as if he had lost his soul right now.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was holding onto Qian Duoduo¡¯s shoulder with one hand and letting him rest on her body. She used her other hand to hold his hand and sobbed as she asked, ¡°Why are you telling him all this? What¡¯s the point?¡±

    Qian Duoduo suddenly turned pale, and a wave of weakness caused him to even be unable to lift his eyelids. He slowly shut them, and his voice also became weaker. ¡°Because¡­ I won¡¯t have the time¡­ to say¡­ it if I don¡¯t¡­ say it¡­ right now. You¡­ suffered so much¡­ for him¡­ in your heart¡­ all these years. How¡­ can he¡­ not learn it? Lin¡¯er¡­ get together¡­ with him¡­ if¡­ you still love him. I never, ever¡­ thought of¡­ stopping you. All these years, we were only¡­ a couple in name¡­ but we aren¡¯t a true couple. You¡¯ve always¡­ remained pure. In fact¡­ I¡¯ve always wanted to¡­ muster the courage to ask you¡­ whether you even like me a little. However, I¡¯ve¡­ never dared to. I¡¯m afraid that¡­ I won¡¯t be able to see you¡­ every day anymore. It¡¯s true¡­ did you know that? All these years, I was¡­ most afraid that¡­ you¡¯d suddenly¡­ end¡­ this marriage. Although it¡¯s¡­ not¡­ really a true¡­ marriage¡­ I was still veryforted by it¡­ in my heart. I¡¯m¡­ going soon. Lin¡¯er, take good¡­ care of yourself. I¡¯ve¡­ never¡­ had the courage¡­¡­to say anything, but I¡­ finally¡­ have it¡­ now. I love¡­ you. I really¡­ love¡­ you¡­ more than¡­ myself.¡±

    After he finished speaking, his body trembled slightly, and he leaned his head in Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s embrace before he stopped breathing.

    ¡°Duoduo, Duoduo¡­¡± Lin¡¯er eximed anxiously. However, Qian Duoduo didn¡¯t react to her at all.

    ¡°Duoduo, you¡¯re so silly. Why didn¡¯t you tell me all this earlier? You¡­ why are you so silly? Why did I fall in love with that scoundrel? I¡¯ve already lost all hope for him in my heart. I know how well you treat me. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been unable to cross the barrier in my heart. We were both too silly. I made you wait for so many years because I was too reserved. Duoduo, I¡¯m sorry¡­

    ¡°Duoduo, will you wake up? I¡¯ll answer your question now. You also belong in my heart. I don¡¯t know if this is love, but humans have feelings. You¡¯ve been with me for years, and taken meticulous care of me. How could I not know this? I¡¯m also a person with a heart. My heart has already been quietly reformed by you. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been unwilling to admit it. I don¡¯t know if that feeling is love, but I really can¡¯t do without you. I can¡¯t leave you. Duoduo, don¡¯t die. Wake up. As long as you wake up, I¡¯ll be your real wife. I¡¯ll apany you forever. Duoduo¡­¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was weeping, and Yan Shaozhe was in a daze as he sat where he was. There was a depressed look on his face. He silently lowered his head and didn¡¯t even dare to look at Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo. In terms of rtionships, he was aplete failure.

    As he slowly stood up, Yan Shaozhe walked up to Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er. He muttered, ¡°Old Qian, you¡¯ve won. I¡¯ve won in terms of abilities. However, you¡¯ve won in terms of rtionships. In that regard, I¡¯ve lost to you utterly. You used your persistence to trounce mepletely. You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t deserve Lin¡¯er¡¯s love, and I don¡¯t deserve to be with her. Old Qian, I admire you.¡±

    As he spoke, he bent his waist and bowed respectfully at a ny-degree angle.

    ¡°Cough cough.¡± At this moment, unfriendly coughs suddenly sounded.

    Elder Zhuang stood up and walked to Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s side. He patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, stop crying. Send Duoduo back to rest.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er was stunned, and lifted her head to look at Elder Zhuang.

    Elder Zhuang acted as if nothing had happened, and said, ¡°He¡¯s lost too much blood and even detonated his martial soul. He¡¯s hurt badly, and can¡¯t drain too much energy. This is why I¡¯ll have to let him sleep for a while. I¡¯ll feed him some medicine when he returns. Given his physical condition, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine in around ten days¡¯ time.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er blinked. There were still tears in her eyes. However, she waspletely in a daze. This turn of events was simply too sudden.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was in slight disbelief, and her lips were shaking as she asked, ¡°You, didn¡¯t you say just now that¡­?¡±

    Elder Zhuang smiled and replied, ¡°You were too frantic because you were too concerned about him. Although he has fainted and his pulse is weak, he¡¯s not gone! I said that it was more difficult to treat him given his critical injuries. I didn¡¯t say they were untreatable. Alright, quickly, send him back. The soul beasts are attacking the city with even greater intensity. I¡¯m going to treat the others. Come back to fight too, and be careful not to be careless again.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Elder Zhuang drifted into the air and disappeared¡­..

    After watching Elder Xuan disappear, Xian Lin¡¯er took a look at Qian Duoduo again. She sensed his body more carefully, and saw that it was true that Qian Duoduo wasn¡¯t dead, although his breathing was weak. She stopped crying, but her face turned slightly red.

    Earlier, everyone around could clearly hear her confession. She wasn¡¯t even able to preserve her greatest secret anymore! However, it was truly wonderful that Qian Duoduo wasn¡¯t dead!

    Xian Lin¡¯er didn¡¯t dare to look at the others around her, and she carried Qian Duoduo into the air and disappeared towards Shrek Academy.

    Elder Zhuang drifted to another ce where there were other injured people. He wore a smile on his face. As he treated the wounded, he muttered to himself, ¡°These two kids were really worrisome. Duoduo, you really owe me a huge favor! Haha!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo¡¯s rtionship finally bore fruit after a life-and-death situation. However, Shrek City was in a disastrous situation right now.

    Qian Duoduo was critically injured at the western side of the city, and Xian Lin¡¯er had no choice but to temporarily leave the battlefield. Although the Greenshadow Douluo Elder Song managed to pester the Bear Lord using the speed of her Greenshadow Godly Hawk, the Bear Lord¡¯s terrifying offensive and defensive strength were simply too dominant. Elder Song found it very difficult to hold him off.

    The eastern side of the city was in slightly better condition. The Scarlet King¡¯s abilities were slightly inferior, and he was resisted by a Rank 96 elder. The attack of the soul beasts from the east side was also not very ferocious.

    However, the northern and southern sides were getting into more and more trouble.

    The southern side was where the soul beast army¡¯s main attack was concentrated. Under the leadership of Bi Ji and her immense healing abilities, the soul beasts weren¡¯t afraid of death. Soul tools weren¡¯t able topletely suppress them anymore. While the explosions of stationary soul cannon shells managed to cause huge losses to the soul beast army, they also strengthened the resolve of the soul beasts. There were already soul beasts that were charging up towards the top of the city wall and starting to engage in closebat. The students from Shrek Academy were also slowly finding themselves in melee.

    Things were equally bad at the northern side of the city. The Myriad Demon King couldn¡¯tpare to the Bear Lord in terms of offensive strength, whose abilities couldpletely curbed his own. However, the Myriad Demon King was much more effective on a battlefield then the Bear Lord.

    If the Bear Lord was like an assault-type soul master, then the Myriad Demon King was like a control-type soul master.

    The Myriad Demon King continuously unleashed countless vines from his body and swept them towards the top of the northern city wall. Although there were elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion who tried to stop him, he was simply too strong, and also very sly. He kept moving around, and the two elders that were attacking him were helpless against him. Given that the soul beast army was approaching from beneath the city wall, they didn¡¯t dare to venture too far away. They could only keep on shing the Myriad Demon King¡¯s vines.

    Even so, more than half of therge soul tools used to defend the city were destroyed by the Myriad Demon King. Furthermore, the vines also becamedders for the soul beasts to climb up the city wall. The northern city wall was in a critical situation. There were more soul beasts charging up towards the top there than on any other side. More and more of the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had no choice but to proceed towards the northern city wall to hold the fort.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Southern city wall¡­

    The Tang Sect was slowly being integrated into the battle. Ji Juechen was standing in front, and he held his Judgment Sword in both hands.

    A lion-shaped, ten-thousand-year soul beast charged up towards the city wall and roared furiously into the sky. He shook the ordinary soldiers off-bnce with his roar.

    Ji Juechen pointed his Judgment Sword at him, and a sharp streak of sword light shot out. It transformed into a longsword that shed toward this lion.

    However, this lion was very cunning. After sensing the sharp sword intent, it turned around and jumped off the city wall. It was undoubtedly the best way of dodging.

    However, the strike of a Thunderous Dragon w came down diagonally and blocked its path. A huge cauldron also fell from the sky.

    It was struck with paralysis and shock, causing it to freeze in mid-air. A ck light shone, and its head was chopped off.

    A huge lizard suddenly leapt up from the bottom of the city wall towards the Tang Sect¡¯s formation. It was charging at Jiang Nannan.

    Xu Sanshi pulled Jiang Nannan and shifted their positions before his Xuanwu Shield was unleashed. A boom rang out from his shield.

 Chapter 402.3 - Qian Duoduo and Xian Liner

    <h4 ss>Volume 31, Chapter 402.3: Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er</h4>

    While the huge lizard had charged with ferocious momentum, it was now unable to move even an inch closer, blocked by the Xuanwu Shield. Xu Sanshi pulled Jiang Nannan with his left hand while he unleashed his shield with his right hand. Jiang Nannan exploited the momentum of his pull to flip her body up before she did a handstand on his head. After this, she bent her waist as if she had no bones in her body. Her toes touched the top of the soul beast¡¯s neck.

    Her second soul ring lit up, and a strange yellow glow spread from her legs. After this, Jiang Nannan started to spin rapidly, using her body as a pivot.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s second soul skill was called Gravity Control. She wasn¡¯t just controlling her opponent, she was also controlling herself.

    The huge lizard¡¯s head was mmed against the wall. Jiang Nannan exerted force with her toes, and directly crushed the central nerves of this thousand-year lizard. Its body started contorting, and it was unable to crawl forward anymore.

    Nan Shuishui, Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi followed the members of the Tang Sect, ready to reinforce them if needed. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were still fine. They fully understood the abilities of everyone from the Tang Sect, but this was the first time Nan Shuishui had witnessed them in action.

    She was very impressed with all these young people who possessed six-ringed and even seven-ringed cultivations. Not only did they possess the bestbination of soul rings, but each of them had specialized in something. When they unleashed their soul skills, they were extremely strong, and their control was even more frightening. They didn¡¯t waste a single drop of their soul power, and were always able to defeat their enemies with the simplest method.

    Ji Juechen was still the most lethal among everyone. When he shed his Judgement Sword, thousand-year soul beasts werepletely unable to resist his strength. Wherever his sword light passed, all the soul beasts that attempted to climb the city wall were killed. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts were only able to resist him slightly before they were overwhelmed. While the movements of his sword were very simple, he was definitely not inferior to an eight-ringed Soul Douluo in terms of lethality.

    More and more soul beasts were charging up towards the top of the city walls. As physicalbat started to break out, Shrek Academy fully demonstrated its strength. Every teacher and student possessed great fighting strength!

    Furthermore, they shared great chemistry with one another. The assault-type, agility-type, defense-type, auxiliary-type and control-type soul masters coordinated very well with one another. They suffered very few casualties as they managed to fight off the assault of the soul beasts.

    The soul rings that the Tang Sect had obtained under the leadership of Xuan Ziwen earlier yed a very important role right now. Many of the Shrek City Defense Army¡¯s soul masters were strengthened because of those soul rings, and the overall abilities of the army had greatly increased as a result.

    All the stationary soul cannon shells had been fired, and the soul beast army had suffered great casualties. From the air, it was clear that the soul beast army was no longer dense; there were empty spaces in many parts of the army.

    Bi Ji had already given her best. However, she was helpless, since many of the stationary soul cannon shells weren¡¯t fired in her direction.

    Soul tools were still very effective even though the battle had now begun to be fought through physical means. Over the past few years, Shrek Academy had started to value the use of soul tools by soul masters. In the Martial Soul Department, there were even special sses designed to instruct soul masters on the use of soul tools.

    They weren¡¯t just taught how to use long-range soul tools, but also taught how to operate closebat soul tools. Along with the help of the Self-Driving Forts, Shrek Academy was able to hold off the onught of the soul beasts, even though they were under great pressure.

    Different sparks could be seen in the sky and on the ground. The sky was the battlefield of the strong soul masters and soul beasts. From the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to the inner and outer courtyard teachers, those that had seven rings or more mainly fought in the sky. Their opponents were soul beasts with cultivations of fifty-thousand-years or more.

    Soul masters fought based on their intelligence, abilities, and the help of soul tools. While there were more wounded soul masters, very few of them died. Once someone was injured, he was immediately reced while he sought medical attention. After being treated, he would be sent out to fight once again.

    The amount of medicine that Shrek Academy had stored could rival that of an empire. It was the result of ten thousand years of umtion!

    Time passed, second after second, as the battle became more and more brutal. The soul beast¡¯s aerial army became even more determined. Even after paying such a huge price, they still weren¡¯t willing to retreat.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Two hours passed. Four hours passed¡­

    More and more casualties started to appear on Shrek City¡¯s walls. The carcasses of soul beasts started to pile up, and various colors of soul rings started to appear. Some of them were extremely valuable.

    Shrek was on the verge of copse, but what about the soul beasts? From Bi Ji¡¯s pale face, it was evident that the soul beast army had suffered great losses as well.

    As this was an all-out attack, the soul beasts that were charging in front were either thousand-year or ten-thousand-year soul beasts. However, these powerful soul beasts were greatly drained right now. The hundred-year soul beasts that followed behind them were obviouslycking in terms of abilities. Bi Ji knew that the Great Star Dou Forest would have to bear heavy losses even if they won this battle. Although there hadn¡¯t yet been any great losses to their higher-endbat strength, they would lose too many hundred, thousand, and ten-thousand-year soul beasts. If they were struck by the stationary soul cannon shells, they werepletely wiped out.

    The two thousand stationary soul cannon shells had wiped out a third of the soul beast army. It would take centuries to replenish this number of soul beasts!

    However, there was no way out of this war right now. The eyes of all the soul beasts had turned bloodshot by now. It was too difficult to retreat. Only the blood of Shrek City could wash away this hatred of theirs!

    Up in the sky, Di Tian was still restrained by Elder Xuan and Elder Mu. At times lights shed in the sky, showing that Di Tian was struggling.

    Six hours of the afternoon had passed!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Night descended once again. Shrek City was shaking, and looked like it could copse at any time. However, it managed to persist for another hour even as it shook. It seemed like there were some special force protecting it that prevented it from copsingpletely.

    This special force was called faith. It was a faith in Shrek, and a faith to protect Shrek¡¯s glory.

    It had only been two days since the beast wave appeared. However, Shrek City was brought to its knees in just those two days.

    A hundred years ago, Shrek Academy¡¯s soul tool development hadn¡¯t reached its current state when thest beast wave appeared. However, Shrek Academy had the Body Sect¡¯s help then, which had enabled them to survive until reinforcements arrived. Furthermore, Bi Ji wasn¡¯t present then, so that beast wave was naturally not as strong.

    Two days. It had only been two days! Even if the reinforcements came at top speed, they couldn¡¯t arrive so quickly.

    Even though Shrek was already proud of how they had been performing, as they made the soul beasts who were lying on the t ground outside the city and on top of the city wall pay a painful price, was Shrek City still going to walk the path of destruction?

    The lights of their soul tools had practically disappeared. Almost all the soul tools used to defend the city had been destroyed. The Self-Driving Forts had also retreated into the city due to ack of Sealed Milk Bottles to power them. The soul engineers driving them drained their own soul power to bring these Self-Driving Forts back into the city.

    At the eastern side of the city, Elder Song and Xian Lin¡¯er fought the Bear Lord, but they were continuously being forced back. At the southern city wall, the fighting was already spread across the top of the city wall.

    The soul masters were exhausted. Against such arge number of soul beasts, their soul power was continuously drained even though they had the upper hand and kept on killing soul beasts.

    Everyone knew that the copse of Shrek City could happen at anytime. Once one side of the city fell, a chain reaction would begin. All of them grit their teeth and persisted. Even though they knew they were going to die, they didn¡¯t want the copse of Shrek City to start from their side.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A deafening boom echoed across all of Shrek City. Even those who were busy fighting couldn¡¯t help but turn their attention towards the origin of that deafening boom.

    It came from the eastern city wall.

    Elder Song¡¯s speed was slowing down as time passed, and as a result of her age. She didn¡¯t manage to dodge one attack, and was struck to the top of the eastern city wall by the Bear Lord¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw.

    Suddenly, a huge, irregr hole that was around twenty meters wide appeared in the city wall.

    Doomed! The soldiers defending the eastern city wall turned extremely dismal. They were already in such a dire situation. If the city wall was damaged, they would lose the only thing they could depend on. Was the final breach going to ur here?

    The Bear Lord roared excitedly. The soul beasts outside the eastern side of Shrek City risked everything and charged towards this huge hole.

    Shrek City¡¯s soldiers were too fatigued. Even though they knew they had to give their all to plug this hole, they didn¡¯t have the energy to even move their legs. Their soul power had beenpletely drained. While they really wanted to cover this hole, they werepletely helpless right now.

    Were they really doomed?

    At this critical moment, a beam of gentle golden light suddenly spread out from within Shrek City,ing from the direction of Shrek Academy.

    That beam of golden light spread very quickly. In an instant, it reached all the way to the city walls.

    All the humans felt warmth as they were immersed in this golden light. They felt an indescribablefort, and their energy and soul power started to quickly recover. All the soul beasts were also pushed off from the city walls by a strong force.

    Surprised cheers sounded from all four sides of the city walls at the same time. Even the stronger soul masters from Shrek quickly retreated to the region covered by the beam of golden light.

    Even when the Bear Lord, Myriad Demon King, and Scarlet King attacked with all their might, they weren¡¯t able to shake this beam of golden light. Right now, the entirety of Shrek City seemed to have been engulfed by an Invincible Barrier.

    While the soldiers and soul masters were cheering, the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion weren¡¯t delighted. Only they knew where that force came from.

    It was the strength of the Golden Tree! This strength was the ultimate strength that the ancestors of Shrek had left behind to protect Shrek after they fused with the Golden Tree. It could only be tapped into in the direst of situations!

 Chapter 403.1 - Army of Spirits

    <h4 ss>Chapter 403.1: Army of Spirits</h4>

    Elder Mu had used the powers of the Golden Tree once before to support him and Elder Xuan in restraining Di Tian. At this time, the Golden Tree¡¯s powers were used once more to protect the entire city and to help Shrek City¡¯s warriors recover. The amount of energy that this endeavor consumed from the Golden Tree was astounding!

    The battle wasn¡¯t over, and the soul beast army remained just outside the city. They were still charging against the wall as if they felt no exhaustion, and the Golden Tree¡¯s energies were being continuously spent. This also meant that Elder Mu and Elder Xuan were drawing less energy from the Golden Tree on their side, and this also meant they would seal Di Tian for a shorter period of time. It was a desperate method to solve their problems at hand without any consideration for the consequences, a solution that they could only turn to when they had no other choice!

    Elder Song hovered in midair and felt her soul power regenerating as she gazed into the sky and muttered, ¡°If the Golden Tree is used like that one more time, we may no longer be able to maintain that seal in the sky.¡±

    Unleashing the Golden Tree¡¯s energies directly affected the seal in the sky. The light ripples in the sky were now visibly stronger than before, as if Di Tian¡¯s struggles had be much more intense.

    This protection would only allow Shrek¡¯s warriors tost for another two to four more hours. But what about afterwards?

    Shrek Academy¡¯s senior individuals were contemting this problem, and were almost hopeless.

    Suddenly, the Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er pointed to a certain direction and asked, ¡°Mum, look ¨C what¡¯s that?¡±

    She was pointing towards the northwest. She was high in the sky, so she could see clearly, and even though the night was dark, the dark green light that shone faintly from that direction were unnaturally obvious and ring. Those dark green hues were tinged with dark red and white, and seemed very drifty and fleeting as they moved towards Shrek City.

    These dots were still quite sparse and dispersed in the beginning, but they swiftly grew in number within her field of vision. They became dense andpact as they tromped towards Shrek City, and even though they weren¡¯t moving very quickly, they were definitely moving towards Shrek City.

    ¡°What are those things? Are they our reinforcements?¡± Elder Song focused her attention towards those lights. The night was dark, and those lights were still quite a distance away, so she couldn¡¯t see very clearly.

    Xian Lin¡¯er forced augh and replied, ¡°My only wish is that those things aren¡¯t reinforcements for the soul beast army.¡±

    The army of soul beasts didn¡¯t seem to sense the arrival of those unwee guests, because the golden light that suddenly emerged from Shrek City caused quite a disturbance among them. The Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, the Scarlet King, and the other powerful soul beasts were attacking that golden light with every ounce of their strength.

    There were quite a few of them now, and it didn¡¯t take long before many different colors dotted the horizon densely in the distance.

    Xian Lin¡¯er swiftly descended back into the city. She retrieved a telescopic soul tool and then gazed towards the northwest again, and her face quickly became ghastly pale.

    ¡°What are those things? Tell me. What can be worse than total annihtion of Shrek City?¡± Elder Songughed bitterly as she spoke.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was momentarily stunned. ¡°I can see skeletons, jiangshi, headless horsemen, and many different strange and peculiar creatures. They seem like¡­¡±

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Church?¡± Elder Song was also taken aback. If the Holy Ghost Church interfered at a time like this, they were definitely not here to aid Shrek City. Shrek City was currently besieged by a great army of soul beasts, and the Holy Ghost Church would have only one goal if they were here: they wanted to reap unfair gains from this battle!

    There were a spectacr number of soul beasts who had perished on the battlefield, and quite a number of Shrek City¡¯s soldiers were also dead. Those spirits and corpses had always been what the Holy Ghost Church liked best.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right! If they were here to reap unfair benefits, they wouldn¡¯t have appeared so quickly. They would have waited until both sides suffered heavy losses before making a move so that they could maximize their profits and gains. Furthermore, they would have to defeat this powerful beast tide. The Holy Ghost Church can¡¯t be that stupid. Can it be that they¡¯re unafraid of the beast tide attacking them?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er was full of doubts and confusion.

    Elder Song¡¯s expression was solemn as she said, ¡°Unless the Holy Ghost Church has something to do with this beast tide from the Great Star Dou Forest¡­ perhaps this has been their arrangement from the start.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er snapped around at her mother and said, ¡°Mum, your spection is too frightening. However, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts should hate the Holy Ghost Church more than they hate us. How can those soul beasts work together with them?¡±

    Elder Song heaved a sigh and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether my guess is frightening or not. The only thing we can do is resign ourselves to fate.¡±

    The Golden Tree¡¯s golden light dome was bing increasingly weaker, and Shrek¡¯s soul masters had recovered to about fifty percent of their physical energy and their soul power. They had another shot in this battle, but could they really see the light at the end of the tunnel?

    Right at this moment, the soul beast army finally discovered the masses of unwee guests that wereing from the northwest. Shrek Academy¡¯s powerful individuals who were hovering and watching in midair heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the soul beasts¡¯ reaction.

    A pack of soul beasts separated from the back of the great army outside the western and northern city walls and charged towards those unwee guests. Apparently, those unwee guests seemed ferocious and unfriendly to them as well.

    Elder Song suddenly raised her voice and hollered in the sky, ¡°Our reinforcements are here! Hold on, everyone. Victory is in sight!¡± Her voice was very loud, and sound waves resonated throughout every corner of Shrek City.

    She soared through the sky as she spoke, transformed into a Greenshadow Godly Hawk once more, and flew towards the Bear Lord.

    Elderly people had the most experience and the most wisdom. Temporarily disregarding the fact that Elder Song was the strongest individual in Shrek City¡¯s camp for now, her calm response during a crucial moment to utilize these unwee guests so that she could galvanize Shrek¡¯s warriors created very important effects.

    At this point, Shrek City¡¯s warriors were all fatigued and exhausted. The Golden Tree could only help them recover part of their physical strength and soul power, but it couldn¡¯t take away their fatigue and their exhausted minds. What else was better to boost morale other than reinforcements?

    Reinforcements meant hope, the hope to survive!

    The Golden Tree¡¯s protection quietly dissipated, and the battle erupted once more after that temporary pause. Shrek¡¯s soul masters had managed to recover part of their strength via the Golden Tree¡¯s powers, and they seemed like they had been injected with steroids as their morale flourished. The coordination and teamwork that they seemed to have lost due to their fatigue and exhaustion seemed to return, and the soldiers managed to suppress the soul beasts to the point where they couldn¡¯t charge onto the top of the city wall.

    This was the fighting strength that morale brought; word of reinforcements had reignited the mes in everyone¡¯s hearts!

    The pack of soul beasts who had separated from the army shed with the strange mass of unwee guests in the distance. Both parties started to fight, but they were quite a distance away, and nothing much could be clearly seen. However, everyone could see beams of light glowing here and there, and the soul beasts were clearly unleashing various soul skills to fight those unwee guests.

    The flickering lights that came from those unwee guests in the distance were quickly extinguished, but they seemed like the beast tide when they attacked the city, there were just so many of them! It didn¡¯t take long before the pack of soul beasts were overrun, and the mass of unwee guests began to pick up the pace as they charged towards Shrek City.

    Xian Lin¡¯er helped her mother fight back soul beasts while she monitored those unwee guests in the distance.Reinforcements? Are they really reinforcements? How can those spectral creatures be reinforcements for Shrek City? But they are clearly fighting the army of soul beasts. How else can these forces be exined other than that they are reinforcements?

    Furious howls could be heard continuously from within the soul beast army. Orders came down from the higher-ranked soul beasts, and the army didn¡¯t separate any more forces to fight those unwee guests. They continued to attack Shrek City arrogantly with everything they had.

    The enormous army of spectral creatures wereing closer and closer, and they quickly arrived near the edge of the soul beast army.

    Fortunately, the night was dark, and Shrek City¡¯s soldiers couldn¡¯t see anything at all as they fought on the city wall, they could only see dots of light. Under such circumstances, nobody could tell who was here to reinforce them and where they came from. However, everyone had a lot of faith and trust in Elder Song¡¯s words, and they also believed her because they were craving reinforcements to arrive too much in their hearts.

    The spectral army began tounch an offensive. Their point of entry was very coincidental: they charged in from a position between the western and northern fronts at the start of the battle. The soul beasts on these two fronts were led respectively by the Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King, and they would definitely fight back if they were attacked. However, they were currently besieging the city with their full strength, and they didn¡¯t have much coordination between them. This external force actually forced their way deep into those soul beasts¡¯ ranks.

    The soul beasts at the back of the army were rtively weaker, most of them being ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts. The spectral army charged through the army of soul beasts like a hot knife through butter.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At this moment, there were ninerge pitch-ck gates located about twenty kilometers northwest of Shrek City that nobody could see, and these gates were spurting out spectral creatures continuously.

    There were skeletons, liches, and frightening headless horsemen among these spectral creatures. asionally, there would be enormous creatures like abominations that possessed frightening fighting strength, but there were no creatures stronger than those entities.

    There was a tremendous scarlet-gold vertical eye positioned in the sky in the center of and behind those nine gates, the eye flickering with eerie and chilly light.

    This vertical eye¡¯s pupil was entirely white like snow, and deathly grey colors filled the space around it. There were streaks of scarlet-gold colors with sun patterns around those grey hues.

    This vertical eye emanated intense spiritual undtions. Muffled incantations could be heard as those scarlet-gold lights transformed into patterns that connected those nine gates together so that they could be opened continuously.

    Eye of the Asura, a martial soul true body.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was here. He had returned when Shrek City needed reinforcements most.

    He had arrived before evening, but he didn¡¯t rush towards Shrek City as soon as he reached it.

    He could clearly see what was happening to Shrek City high up in the sky from a distance. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty and impulsive when he witnessed that terrifying beast tide, and he didn¡¯t head down to assist Shrek City despite his roiling emotions.

    He was very clear that even though he had be a Soul Sage, and he was far stronger than typical Soul Sages, he was still by himself after all. Could he deal with that tremendous army of soul beasts by himself? He couldn¡¯t, and he would have a very slim chance of charging inside Shrek City and meeting up with hispanions, and doing so wouldn¡¯t help the situation. Killing several soul beasts from the outside wouldn¡¯t solve Shrek City¡¯s problems at all, so he had to think of other ways to resolve Shrek City¡¯s dire situation.

 Chapter 403.2 - Army of Spirits

    <h4 ss>Chapter 403.2: Army of Spirits</h4>

    Therefore, he began to prepare after studying the situation carefully¡­ preparing for necromancy.

    Huo Yuhao was very clear that using necromancy and summoning spectral creatures to the Douluo Continent were the abilities of an evil soul master in everyone¡¯s eyes. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with his reputation at a time like this, and helping Shrek out of their siege was more important than anything else in the world.

    He began his necromantic spells. He relied on his formidable spiritual power and unleashed one of the strongest necromantic spells that the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux had left on his spiritual imprints: Spectral Cmity!

    He couldn¡¯t unleash the full strength of Spectral Cmity because he wasn¡¯t strong enough, so he could only summon those rtively weaker spectral creatures. Under such circumstances, they were the limit he could reach with his current strength.

    Thoserge ck gates opened one after another and connected to the demine Electrolux had left behind for him. Huo Yuhao began to control andmand those spectral creatures when they appeared, one after another.

    He didn¡¯t mobilize his spectral army as soon as they appeared. The spectral army needed time to umte, and when the day was still bright, he was afraid that his spectral army would cause chaos and panic in Shrek City when they appeared on the battlefield. Therefore, he waited until nightfall and the sky waspletely dark, so nobody could clearly see the nds from a distance. Only then did Huo Yuhaomand the spectral army that the Spectral Cmity had summoned towards Shrek City.

    Huo Yuhao had transformed into the Eye of the Asura, and he had released as much spiritual power as he could. He relied on the demine that Electrolux had left behind for him to summon a great many spectral creatures within a short period of time.

    Huo Yuhao understood that his spectral army would be no match for this beast tide because he couldn¡¯t summon any top-tier spectral creatures. However, what he had to do now was buy time for Shrek, and he had to dy and hurt the soul beast army as much as possible! Only then could he create an opportunity for Shrek to survive. This method was a lot more meaningful and practical than just throwing himself onto the battlefield.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, his spectral army appeared at the most opportune time because of his meticulous calctions. This army of reinforcements came very suddenly but at the right time! Huo Yuhao managed to galvanize and reinvigorate Shrek City¡¯s morale. Furthermore, as luck would have it, he had mobilized his spectral army right when the Golden Tree was healing Shrek City¡¯s warriors. Shrek City¡¯s dire situation was instantly greatly ameliorated.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Over on the eastern front, the city wall had been broken through, but earth-type soul masters swiftly repaired it. The battle was still at its peak.

    Huo Yuhao chose to charge in from the northwest because he had discovered that Bi Ji was too adept with healing on the southern front. Even though he didn¡¯t know she was the Emerald Swan, who was ranked number four amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, he was unwilling to face an adversary like that. His spectral creatures weren¡¯t afraid of death, and his most important task was to deal as much damage to the soul beast army as possible. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral army would achieve a far smaller effect if he attacked on Bi Ji¡¯s front.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s strange spectral army burst onto the battlefield, most of them were skeletal soldiers and jiangshi, who were low-tier undead. However, even though they were considered low-tier, they were still strong; two or three such undead stacked together had fighting strengthparable to a ten-year soul beast. Other undead, like those headless horsemen and abominations, were considered especially ferocious in battle. Furthermore, these undead were far less afraid of death than even soul beasts, and they didn¡¯t know what pain and fear were. All they cared about was attacking manically.

    Under such circumstances, the situation was gradually developing towards one that was beneficial for Shrek City.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral army was rapidly spent, but the undead creatures spawned continuously from behind. At this moment, the entire spectral army had charged onto the battlefield, and seemed endless as they charged madly towards the northwestern front.

    The Scarlet King and the Myriad Demon King had realized where the problem was at this point, but they still had to deal with the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    Every single elder from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was a veteran of battle; their age had given them much experience and made them resilient. Even though the could see what their reinforcements consisted of from the sky, at a time like this, it didn¡¯t matter why these unwee guests were here because the enemy of their enemy was their friend; the army of soul beasts was the greatest threat to Shrek City. Therefore, they tried their best to preupy and restrain those powerful soul beasts so that they couldn¡¯t direct the soul beast army, and so that they wouldn¡¯t participate in the battle against the undead creatures.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Eye of the Asura quivered and finally descended from the sky,nding on the ground as it reverted to Huo Yuhao¡¯s original figure.

    The ck gates closed up one after another, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was almostpletely spent. He had no choice but to stop the Spectral Cmity.

    Huo Yuhao still felt a little afraid as he stared at the immense army of undead. He knew that his body couldn¡¯t keep up with his current spiritual power. If he used this necromantic spell as a Titled Douluo, he would probably be more frightening than any evil soul master, as he would possess an army of undead that was truly endless.

    If he could have powerful undead like liches and bone dragons, he could directly convert living beings into undead after death, and he would possess the strength to fight against powerful opponents.

    This thought disappeared as soon as it appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. The pursuit of strength and greatness made him momentarily excited, but he broke out in a cold sweat in the next moment, because he remembered something that Electrolux had told him before.

    Electrolux had told him that he couldn¡¯t rely on this powerful ability to control undead. Otherwise, disaster and bloodshed would befall the Continent if Huo Yuhao lost control of his undead army! That was very much something that he did not want to see!

    Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down. He turned his sight inwards and withdrew his soul rings into his body. After hisst rose-gold and red soul ring entered his body, he became entirely transparent, before he disappeared into the air, just like that.

    Concrete-material spiritual power allowed his million-year soul ring from the Skydream Iceworm to evolve once more. Imitation had be part of his innate abilities, and even though his spiritual power was almost entirely spent, Imitation would still naturally protect him.

    Huo Yuhao could not be thinking about how much damage his undead army could do to the army of soul beasts. His top priority at the moment was to recover his spiritual power as quickly as possible so that he could continue working hard to defend Shrek City.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Bi Ji could see what was happening on the northwestern front, but she couldn¡¯t leave her own side behind because they needed her protection. Intel passed from soul beast to soul beast and eventually to her, and she quickly found out the details about what was happening. The Emerald Swan¡¯s elegant face became ghastly pale.

    Where did this army of undeade from? Are they controlled by humans? If so, how frightening is that?

    She felt her heart ache as she watched soul beasts die one after another. Their losses had far exceeded their previous estimations.

    The Beast God Di Tian knew that Shrek would be hard to deal with. Therefore, he had personally engaged in battle as soon as possible so that he could take out Shrek¡¯s most ferocious fighting strength as quickly as possible.

    Soul beasts weren¡¯t entirely shut off from the world. At the very least, they knew about Elder Mu¡¯s death.

    However, Shrek¡¯s hidden strength still exceeded their judgment. Elder Mu¡¯s spirit was still around, and he had teamed up with Elder Xuan to seal Di Tian away. This had rendered the army of soul beasts leaderless, and they could only fight independently in terms ofmandeering their fellow soul beasts.

    That wasn¡¯t all. Those stationary soul cannon shells fired from Shrek City brought unimaginable pain and damage to the army of soul beasts. Many soul beasts, even top-tier soul beasts, didn¡¯t know what was going on before they were turned into dust.

    Several thousand stationary soul cannon shells! These shells had caused more damage and injuries to the soul beasts than the frontlinebat.

    More than a million soul beasts resided in the Great Star Dou Forest, but most of them were between ten to one hundred years old, while some couldn¡¯t even be considered soul beasts.

    This time, even though the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts had swarmed out, they had only mobilized about four hundred thousand soul beasts. Among them had been more than three hundred thousand soul beasts who had between ten to one hundred years of cultivation.

    But now? How many soul beasts were left? There were less than two hundred thousand soul beasts remaining, which meant more than forty percent of the soul beast army had perished on the battlefield.

    They were only assaulting a single human city! Shrek City wasn¡¯t considered arge-scale city, like the various empires¡¯ capital cities, but it had already caused so much damage to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts. More than a hundred thousand of the soul beasts who had perished died from those stationary soul cannon shells.

    At this moment, the nds all around Shrek City were strewn with the carcasses of soul beasts. Some soul rings had been extinguished due to time, but new soul rings drifted out from other soul beasts who had just died.

    So what if they emerged victorious in this battle? Could they still charge into the human world like they had imagined at the start so that they could weaken humans as much as possible?

    It was no longer possible!

    Bi Ji was clear that even if they won this battle, the soul beasts wouldn¡¯t gain much from this victory. After all, there wasn¡¯t much in the human world that soul beasts desired. The soul beasts were only fighting for their survival.

    But what were they going to do after this battle? Were they to continue fighting? Unless they didn¡¯t want the Great Star Dou Forest to survive, continuing to fight would only lead to their own death and destruction.

    Di Tian was powerful, but he couldn¡¯t fight against the entire world by himself! Shrek Academy had their ways to restrict him, but did the other empires in the Douluo Continent not have simr methods? Therefore, even if the soul beasts could annihte Shrek City, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts could only retreat back into the forest!

    This beast tide had be meaningless after their losses amounted to more than forty percent of their total forces. They didn¡¯t weaken the humans! Instead, the humans dealt a heavy blow to the strength umted over ten thousand years by the Great Star Dou Forest!

    What do I do? What should I do?

 Chapter 403.3 - Army of Spirits

    <h4 ss>Volume 31, Chapter 403.3: Army of Spirits</h4>

    Bi Ji was lost. She could onlymand her kinsmen as she unleashed healing soul skills one after another so that she could save as many of herpatriots¡¯ lives as possible.

    The undead army was still fighting. Their battle against the soul beasts was like the soul beasts¡¯ battle against Shrek City¡¯s warriors; the army of undead suffered massive losses, and ten undead had to die to kill one soul beast. But so what?

    Huo Yuhao had relied on his formidable spiritual power and the demine that the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux had left behind for him, and summoned a hundred thousand low-tier undead creatures.

    If these undead shed with the army of soul beasts in a frontal battlefield, those undead would be rapidly overrun.

    However, the soul beast army had been fighting for two days and two nights, while the top-tier soul beasts were currently preupied in battles with Shrek Academy¡¯s elites on the other side. Under such circumstances, what could the other soul beasts do? A hundred thousand undead charging through their ranks and the disturbance they caused was enough to affect the tide of battle.

    Furthermore, even though those undead didn¡¯t know how to cooperate, injuries didn¡¯t really affect their fighting strength. Their point of entry was excellent, and the army of soul beasts on the western and northern fronts descended into chaos. Their assault on Shrek City was now conspicuously weaker than before.

    Reinforcements¡­ reinforcements were here! Shrek¡¯s warriors on the city walls didn¡¯t know that an army of undead was their reinforcements, but the soul beasts¡¯ slowing charge reinvigorated their spirits. The soul beasts who had climbed to the top of these two sides were forced back down, and some soul masters who were no longer preupied took this temporary break to recover their soul power.

    A furious and deafening roar echoed high up in the sky. Golden-yellow clouds rolled in the sky, and an enormous figure could be faintly seen struggling in the clouds.

    Di Tian couldn¡¯t participate in the battle below, but his formidable strength meant he still had a connection to the army of soul beasts, and he could still feel their situation. He had discovered that things were going wrong, and he redoubled his efforts to break through the Taotie Seal that Elder Xuan and Elder Mu were using together to hold him down.

    The army of undead began to dwindle in number, and new ones no longer charged in from the distance. There were fewer and fewer undead, but the army of soul beasts that they were attacking was also dwindling!

    Time continued to pass as the soul beasts attacking on the northern and western fronts had their fighting strength greatly weakened.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­

    ck lighting detonated throughout the glowing clouds high up in the sky. Cracks began to appear in the sky; Di Tian was finally about to break out from his seal!

    Elder Mu and Elder Xuan had restrained Di Tian for three days with the Golden Tree¡¯s support. However, the Golden Tree had consumed a lot of energy when it had healed the city¡¯s soldiers, and when it forcibly repelled the soul beasts which were flooding in. Furthermore, Di Tian could feel the dire situation that his kinsmen were in, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with his own injuries as he tried to break out of the seal at any cost. The seal was about to crumble!

    The soul beasts were galvanized a little when they heard Di Tian¡¯s roar.

    The Emerald Swanmunicated with the other three Savage Beasts across the battlefield, and finally gave the order to temporarily retreat.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The swarming beast tide gradually retreated, but they circled around Shrek City to the northwest as they retreated.

    They would have to resolve the problems behind them if they wanted to exert any pressure in front of them. Even though they didn¡¯t know where the army of undead hade from, these things were far too irritating. Their assault on Shrek City could stop for now, but they had to exterminate these unwee guests, no matter what!

    What happened afterwards proved the gap between the undead army and the soul beast army. When the army of soul beasts from all four fronts surrounded them, it didn¡¯t take more than fifteen minutes for them to overrun the army of undead, until there wasn¡¯t a single unliving creature left. Even now, not many people could see who their reinforcements were from the top of Shrek City¡¯s walls.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The soul beasts had retreated, but they didn¡¯t move too far away. They began to eat the carcasses of the soul beasts that had died to replenish themselves.

    The four Savage Beasts finally rendezvoused with one another. They didn¡¯t speak at all, and their faces looked as ck as could be. They had lost this battle, and the immense losses they had sustained were heavy blows to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s vitality. This was especially true since the Auspicious Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had passed away.

    They were all waiting for Di Tian to break out of his seal. Only the Beast God could make the final decision about whether they should attack or retreat.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The top of Shrek¡¯s city walls were wretched and in tatters.

    In the same moment that the army of soul beasts retreated, everyone slumped to the ground on the city walls. This included soldiers, soul masters, and even Shrek Academy¡¯s students and teachers from the inner courtyard.

    They had been locked in bitterbat for a day and a night, and they had consumed far too much energy in both mind and body.

    At this moment, there was hardly anyone who could still stand on Shrek¡¯s city walls.

    The boost to morale brought about by the arrival of reinforcements vanished with the soul beasts¡¯ retreat, and only surging exhaustion and fatigue were left behind.

    The four Savage Beasts didn¡¯t know this, but if they had continued with another assault at this moment, they would probably have achieved impressive results!

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was also slumped limply on the ground. This group included Nan Shuishui, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ye Guyi. Everyone¡¯s clothes were stained with the blood of soul beasts.

    Reality proved that the battle strategies that Bei Bei had arranged were very sensible. They relied on their mutual chemistry and how close they were to each other to maintain themselves as one body even in the toughest of times.

    Nan Shuishui was a Soul Douluo, and in addition to Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, the three of them became effective reinforcements. Even though everyone was injured, everyone managed to survive.

    Ji Juechen became the most brilliant celebrity on the southern city wall after this battle. He had killed countless soul beasts with his Judgement Sword, and there were many warriors and soul masters from Shrek¡¯s city defense army who were hollering, ¡°Sword God!¡±

    At this moment, their Sword God couldn¡¯t keep himself together anymore, and he panted heavily as he leaned against the battlement. However, not a single tinge of exhaustion could be seen in his eyes, there was only excitement.

    Yes, he had managed to achieve a better understanding of swordy through this battle, and had achieved some breakthroughs with his own strength.

    Ever since he got together with Jing Ziyan, many new things had been added to his life. This time, he had relied on this continuous battle and danger to infuse these new elements into his sword intent. For him, doing so was more important than raising his soul power.

    Bei Bei was also panting in simr fashion, but there was a look of anxiety on his face as he stared into the sky. Shrek¡¯s perils hadn¡¯t beenpletely resolved.

    ¡°Look, what¡¯s that?¡± Xu Sanshi suddenly raised his hand forcibly and pointed into the sky.

    Everyone followed the direction his finger was pointing, and could see a shadow soaring through the air in the distance. This shadow came straight for Shrek City, and descended to the city wall. A trail of green mes flickering with strange images followed behind this shadow.

    The green mes were the mark of Shrek. It also meant that this person, who was flying back from a distance, was friendly!

    ¡°Reinforcements?¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes sparkled when they thought about Elder Song¡¯s exmation from before. Shrek¡¯s city walls were swimming with victims who were wounded and exhausted, but the soul beasts had suffered far, far heavier losses than Shrek did. Quite a few soul masters had perished in battle, but there were a lot more who had survived.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s members quivered when they felt a wave of peculiar spiritual undtions, and the shadow that was flying through the airnded beside them.

    The night was dark, but this shadow carried Shrek¡¯s green signal, so his soaring figure was ringly clear. This person quickly descended from the sky andnded on top of the city wall. Furthermore, hended amid the Tang Sect¡¯s members.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Everyone from the Tang Sect was mired in extreme exhaustion at this moment, but they couldn¡¯t help but exim in pleasant surprise when they saw him.

    Yes! Wasn¡¯t that Huo Yuhao who was descending from the sky?

    Huo Yuhao had recovered his spiritual power and sensed the changes in Shrek City at the same time. He had managed to escape from under the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s nose, so it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how strong his spiritual power was.

    When he discovered that the army of soul beasts had temporarily retreated, he flew to Shrek City without hesitation. Of course, he took a long detour to avoid the soul beasts that were concentrated on the northwestern front, and arrived on the southern side of the city. He used Spiritual Detection and quickly found his buddies.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, second senior brother, third senior brother¡­ I¡¯m back.¡± Tears welled up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes when he saw his buddies strewn all over the ground. However, he didn¡¯t sob out loud. Instead, he swiftly released his spiritual power to check on everyone¡¯s wounds.

    He heaved a sigh of relief when he was sure that everyone was more or less fine, and sat down beside Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao and forced augh as he said, ¡°You¡¯re back after all, Yuhao. You¡¯ve really caused quite a disaster this time!¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh too and said, ¡°I know, and I¡¯m sorry. Eldest senior brother, I¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Bei Bei. How can you me Yuhao for this disaster? He didn¡¯t know that Qiu¡¯er was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion! Are you saying that our Yuhao was supposed to die instead?¡±

    Bei Bei turned towards Huo Yuhao and sighed faintly. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gazed back at Bei Bei and said, ¡°I had toe back, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Bei Bei red at him. ¡°The beast tide is still here. Haven¡¯t you considered that you¡¯ll create a spark for Shrek and the Tang Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked up at the gash in the sky that was bingrger andrger. ¡°Is that Elder Xuan sealing away Di Tian? This beast tide should be ending soon.¡±

    Excitement flowed in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. He shook his head and said, ¡°No, Elder Xuan isn¡¯t the only one. Our ancestor is also there.¡±

    ¡°Ancestor?¡± Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned before he recovered. His eyes sparkled as he asked, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re saying, our teacher is there, too?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions rippled, and everyone from the Tang Sect around him instantly felt a wave of flourishing spiritual pressure radiate from his body, shaking everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Bei Bei eximed in astonishment, ¡°Yuhao, your spiritual power¡­!¡±

 Chapter 404.1 - The Berserk Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 404.1: The Berserk Beast God</h4>

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t care about anything else and quickly rushed over in front of Bei Bei before squatting down. ¡°Eldest senior, did you mention earlier that teacher sealed the Beast God Di Tian?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and answered, ¡°Yes! Although my great-grandfather has already passed away, he sealed his spirit in the Golden Tree. When the beast wave started, and Di Tian attacked, Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t able to handle him on his own, and my great-grandfather used the power of the Golden Tree to seal Di Tian along with Elder Xuan!¡±

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao peered into the sky and the emotions that he had been suppressing finally burst out. His tears flowed, and he knelt down as he continued staring up into the sky.

    At this point, a deafening boom echoed across the sky. Following this, a huge golden figure separated itself from the sky before descending towards Shrek City. The entire sky instantly turned dark, and an indescribable, yet terrifying aura descended from the sky.

    Di Tian had finally broken the seal! Furious dragon roars resonated across the sky, and patches of purple burned in the sky around him.

    That golden figure that had separated itself from the sky turned back into its human form. It was Elder Xuan, and the projection of Elder Mu subtly surfaced beside him. However, he was much, much weaker than before. He also seemed very pale, and there were fresh bloodstains around his lips.

    Sealing the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King, whose cultivation exceeded eight hundred thousand years, had over-stimted his blood, and Elder Xuan was also greatly drained in the process.

    Just like Di Tian could sense what was happening in the outside world, Elder Mu and Elder Xuan could do the same, too. Even they didn¡¯t expect that Shrek City could hold on without reinforcements, given the ferocious beast wave. They had also inflicted many casualties on the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s side.

    More than forty percent of the soul beast army had been killed! This was an extremely heavy blow to the forest!

    While Elder Mu and Elder Xuan were very proud of Shrek¡¯s fighting strength, they didn¡¯t think this was a good thing. This situation virtuallypelled Di Tian and the Great Star Dou Forest to wipe out Shrekpletely. Even if the soul beasts had to retreat, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to spare Shrek after the immense losses that Shrek had inflicted on them.

    Di Tian was so furious that he was close to going berserk. There was no point in saying anything else at this moment.

    While the soul beast armies on the northern and western sides were greatly fatigued, the Beast God¡¯s mighty aura was finally felt again, and they distributed themselves once again under themand of the four Savage Beasts. The soul beast army on the western side disyed an attacking formation and was waiting for Di Tian¡¯s order.

    At this point, spots of light started to appear in the distance. These spots were very attention-catching, though there weren¡¯t many of them. At least, there weren¡¯t more than the spectral army Huo Yuhao had summoned. However, they managed to fly over rapidly even as they faced Di Tian¡¯s immense suppression.

    This was especially true for a green spot that was flying in the front. It was like a shooting star. Furthermore, it expanded in size as it charged forward. Slowly, it turned into a huge, green fireball. Even against Di Tian¡¯s suppression, it still continued to burst forward.

    ¡°Di Tian, you have to see whether I agree if you want to destroy Shrek! Let¡¯s fight again after a hundred years!¡± a vigorous voice called out, resonating across the entire sky, and a huge patch of green light instantly filled the sky. Di Tian¡¯s immense suppression was forcefully resisted just like that.

    After hearing this voice, Elder Xuan¡¯s tense face rxed a little. Reinforcements had finally arrived. He was both very disgusted and irked by the owner of that voice. However, it sounded extremely cordial to him right now.

    How many people were there in the Douluo Continent that could resist the Beast God¡¯s suppression on his own? The owner of that voice was none other than the sect leader of the Body Sect, the Body Douluo Du Busi!

    Yes, the Body Sect had arrived as reinforcements!

    Whether it was Elder Xuan, Elder Mi, or the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, no one had expected the Body Sect to be the first to arrive as reinforcements.

    Shrek Academy and the Body Sect didn¡¯t share a harmonious rtionship. The fight between Elder Mu and Du Busi¡¯s brother was a painful and tragic memory for both parties. Elder Mu¡¯s back was bent out of shape following that fight, and he eventually passed away from his condition, while Du Busi¡¯s brother died early.

    While this hatred between both parties wasn¡¯t unforgettable, it was still deeply remembered.

    However, Du Busi actually arrived just when Shrek Academy needed help the most. It hadn¡¯t even been two days! Even if news was passed down to them immediately, and they set off immediately, they might not have been so quick.

    Du Busi¡¯s cultivation was slightly superior to Elder Xuan¡¯s, and he was already an Ultimate Douluo. Even though he had just be an Ultimate Douluo, and his abilities were weaker than the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, he was still one of the strongest soul masters in the world right now.

    Even though Di Tian, who was already hurt after breaking the seal, could still defeat him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it quickly. With Du Busi¡¯s presence, Di Tian was going to be kept busy, and there was no better news than this.

    ¡°Du Busi, it¡¯s you again! Since you¡¯re courting death, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡± Di Tian¡¯s furious roar echoed across the entire sky. The dark night sky suddenly turned purple. Even the green that Du Busi released couldn¡¯t conceal this purple glow. All of Shrek City and the carcasses of soul beasts outside the city were dyed purple.

    Huge purplish bubbles started to descend from the sky, each of them with a diameter of more than ten meters. They released thick purplish fog, and these bubbles engulfed the entire surface area of Shrek City together.

    Outside Shrek City, the soul beast army led by the four Savage Beasts quickly retreated. The soul beasts quieted down and ceased their furious roars. Every soul beast from the soul beast army seemed to have its mouth sealed, and didn¡¯t dare to utter any sound.

    Du Busi had just arrived. He initially thought that he could scare Di Tian slightly along with the rest of the strong soul masters from Shrek. He hadn¡¯t expected the Beast God to make a move immediately.

    He didn¡¯t understand why Di Tian was so furious, either.

    When Di Tian was sealed earlier, he could only sense that the soul beast army had suffered heavy losses, but he couldn¡¯tpletely tell what the extent of those losses was. Earlier, he had immediately used his spiritual sense to scan the entire area. When he saw the devastation and discovered that more than forty percent of his army had been killed, he was infuriated!

    Just like Elder Xuan and Elder Mu believed, this fight couldn¡¯t be reversed anymore. Even if the beast wave retreated, this blood vengeance still had to be avenged!

    Di Tian was naturally aware of Du Busi¡¯s abilities. However, he was already extremely furious. No matter who came, he would still take action. He was willing to sacrifice everything to destroy Shrek!

    Du Busi wore a serious look on his face. As he moved, he transformed into a hundred-meter tall giant in the air. Intense green lights shone from his body. Amidst these green lights, there was a subtle golden glow. From the looks of it, this giant was like a serious and solemn godly statue.

    He didn¡¯t dare to hold back against a strong opponent like Di Tian. The moment he appeared, he immediately activated the second awakening of his Body Soul.

    He unleashed his terrifying fighting strength and mimicked a lifting action. Streaks of green light were released from his body as they attacked the purplish bubbles in the sky. Every streak of green light managed to urately locate a purplish bubble. Simrly, the streaks of green light engulfed the entire ce.

    Green and purple were clearly separated. However, Di Tian¡¯s purplish bubbles seemed to overwhelm the green lights unleashed by Du Busi.

    It was Di Tian¡¯s ck Dragon Annihtion, which was also his strongest area attack. He rarely used this soul skill. Every time he used this soul skill, he would lose some of his longevity. Even though he had already lived for more than eight hundred thousand years, his regard for his own life was still greater than other Savage Beasts. Right now, he used this soul skill because he was furious. This showed the extent of his hatred.

    Du Busi¡¯s green lights weren¡¯t weak, either. They were called Banquet of Death and were his eighth soul skill. Every streak of green light was filled with poison, and it was one of his strongest area attacks.

    Green against purple, Banquet of Death against ck Dragon Annihtion. Both parties shed at this moment.

    The purplish bubbles were unexpectedly weak. They burst immediately after contacting the green lights. However, the purplish bubbles transformed into countless, smaller bubbles after bursting, and descended at an even quicker speed. It was as if the bubbles were raining down.

    The green lights also transformed after contacting the purplish bubbles. They turned into green whirlpools, and their corrosive strength instantly spread out.

    Many small purplish bubbles were devoured by these green whirlpools, but the whirlpools were also quickly destroyed after devouring the bubbles.

    This was a sh of strength. There wasn¡¯t any shiness in it.

    The green lights and whirlpools were eventually all put out by the purplish bubbles. There was still one-third of the initial purplish bubbles remaining, and they continued to descend from the sky towards Shrek City.

    Streaks of light were released from Shrek City to resist these purplish bubbles. They were the work of the Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy.

    However, the purplish bubbles were too strong and domineering. Tremendous booms started to echo from every corner of Shrek City.

    Groans started to sound from all directions. The purplish bubbles managed to hurt six to seven Titled Douluo to varying degrees, and drained their power.

    This was the strength of Di Tian, the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King, and Beast God!

    In mid-air, Du Busi also appeared extremely dismal as he suffered the greatest impact. He groaned and picked himself up before charging towards Di Tian. He now stood before the Beast God!

 Chapter 404.2 - The Berserk Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 404.2: The Berserk Beast God</h4>

    At this point, the reinforcements arrived. The strongest soul masters from the Body Sect were flying in front. All of them had at least seven rings, and there were even eight Titled Douluo among them. It was practically the entire strength of the Body Sect. This help that they were offering was extremely critical!

    Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just the Body Sect that had arrived. There were more than a hundred soul masters behind them, and they all had at least six rings. Among them, five were even Titled Douluo!

    This meant that there were thirteen Titled Douluo in this wave of reinforcements. In addition, all these soul masters were top-tier soul masters!

    After they arrived in Shrek City, they quickly dispersed to the four walls.

    All the Titled Douluo rose into the sky and watched as the Body Douluo fought the Beast God.

    One of the Titled Douluos arrived in front of Elder Xuan. ¡°Elder Xuan, I hope we¡¯re not toote.¡±

    Elder Xuan recognized this person. He was the Golden Body Douluo from the Body Sect, and his martial soul was his trunk. His cultivation was extremely high; he was a Rank 96 Transcendent Douluo. In the Body Sect, he was only inferior to Body Douluo Du Busi!

    ¡°Old Jin, all of you came just in time. If you were anyter, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold them off anymore. We really owe you a big favor!¡± Elder Xuanughed heartily.

    The Golden Douluo Jin Peng replied, ¡°Alright, if you really want to talk about favors, you don¡¯t owe us anything. Do you think we came here willingly? To be honest, our sects aren¡¯t close enough for us to do this.¡±

    Elder Xuan was stunned, but admitted, ¡°That¡¯s true. This is why I was surprised to see all of you. This¡­¡±

    Jin Peng said, ¡°Shrek Academy performed a good deed by saving everyone from the Heavenly Soul Empire who was captured during the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Those who were captured were all young talents of our empire. We have to return this favor. It was that kid called Huo Yuhao from your Academy who came to our capital to seek help. He left immediately after leaving that information.

    ¡°However, those who were rescued recognized him as the one who brought people to Sunrise City to carry out the rescue mission. As a result, the sect leader was summoned by His Majesty. After a brief discussion, we quickly rushed over. As time was tight, we sent our best people first. There will be more reinforcements arriving at ater point. Our troops are at the border and they can¡¯t make it over, but we still have a thousand soul masters who have been deployed.¡±

    Yuhao, it was Yuhao?Elder Xuan was delighted when he heard that Huo Yuhao was the one who had sought help for them. This meant that Huo Yuhao was still alive! This was great news, and the reinforcements even arrived just in time! With the Body Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s help, Shrek would be able tost for another few days even if the soul beast army attacked Shrek City with all its might. Furthermore, could the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest bear such huge losses?

    Jin Peng continued speaking, ¡°The Star Luo and the Dou Ling Empires should receive your SOS soon. Their reinforcements will arrive in at most two days. What¡¯s going on with the Great Star Dou Forest? Why is there another beast wave? Regardless we¡¯ll take it that we¡¯ve returned the favor after this.¡±

    Elder Xuan naturally didn¡¯t stand on ceremony right now. He nodded and replied, ¡°Alright. Thanks a lot.¡±

    This was karma! Shrek Academy had done its best to save the hostages from the three empires, and now they were repaying Shrek¡¯s favor. No wonder the Body Sect was here, they came here because of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Right now, the Body Sect was the sect in charge of protecting the Heavenly Soul Empire, and they shared a close rtionship with the imperial family.

    Of course, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s timely help to Shrek Academy was also an attempt for them to get into the good books of Shrek Academy. To some extent, Shrek Academy was located in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, and most of its students also came from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Many of the students that left Shrek took up senior positions in the Heavenly Soul Empire. The imperial family of the empire deciding to send help to Shrek Academy was undoubtedly a way of expressing their goodwill, and an attempt to pull Shrek Academy to their side. They were killing two birds with one stone.

    The most important thing was that Huo Yuhao managed to deliver the information in time. He had evidently guessed that there would be some kind of reaction by the Great Star Dou Forest. However, if the beast wave didn¡¯t arrive¡­

    Elder Xuan sighed in his heart. It would have been a story of the boy who cried wolf. Of course, that would still have been better than this. At most, they would have continued as enemies with the Body Sect.

    ¡°Is Di Tian crazy?¡± Elder Mu¡¯s voice suddenly sounded beside Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan quickly lifted his head and look into the sky.

    Di Tian¡¯s body with burning with deep purplish mes. He acted like he wanted to pierce the skies with every attack, and Du Busi was forced to retreat. It seemed like Du Busi couldn¡¯t hold on anymore. Di Tian¡¯s majestic aura was extremely overwhelming.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s voice cracked as he asked, ¡°Is he, is he burning his own life energy?¡±

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°No, he should be exhausting all his powers. He has evidently discovered our reinforcements, and is nning to use his strength to turn the situation around! If Du Busi can¡¯t handle it anymore, let¡¯s rece him. We need to restrain Di Tian at all costs. We won¡¯t have to be afraid of them in two days¡¯ time when all our reinforcements arrive. Thebination of all the elite soul masters and soldiers from the three empires should be enough to suppress all the soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    BAM!

    Before Elder Mu and Elder Xuan could rise into the sky, an explosive boom sounded above them.

    Du Busi was struck from the sky. His body was shing with bolts of purple lightning, and he spat out blood. Di Tian had several wounds on his body, too. He was willing to be hurt in order to deal a heavy blow to Du Busi!

    ¡°All of them have to die! We have to avenge the Emperor Beast and all the soul beasts! Even if I die here today, I must wipe all of them out!¡± Di Tian¡¯s voice echoed across the entire city. He peered into the sky and roared furiously, while the purple mes on his body gradually turned purplish-gold.

    Elder Xuan and Elder Mu¡¯s expressions changed. Given Di Tian¡¯s eight-hundred-thousand-year cultivation, Shrek was bound to suffer heavy casualties even if the Body Sect was here to reinforce them. It might even be possible that the city would be destroyed, and everyone would be annihted. After all, there were still a hundred thousand soul beasts outside the city!

    ¡°Di Tian, don¡¯t you dare. If you dare to destroy Shrek, I¡¯ll stop the legacy of the Great Star Dou Forest from being passed down.¡± At this point, a strong spiritual intent was suddenly transmitted from Shrek City¡¯s southern city wall.

    This spiritual intent immediately spread across the entire sky above Shrek City. All the Titled Douluo could hear it clearly, as could Di Tian.

    Following this, a figure that exuded golden light slowly drifted above the southern city wall. Behind him, a rose-gold projection slowly revealed itself. It had the appearance of the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

    ¡°Yuhao?¡± Elder Mu and Elder Xuan eximed at the same time.

    The shining spiritual intent and the person who rose into the sky was indeed Huo Yuhao. Right now, seven of his soul rings glowed. They were white, purple, ck, ck, ck, rose-gold, and red. Everyone was shocked by the weird colors of his soul rings.

    As he rose into the sky, several figures leapt up one after another and followed him. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, and the rest protected him in the center.

    Among them, Xian Lin¡¯er was the first to realize that Huo Yuhao had returned. Only she could guess that the undead army that had dealt a huge blow to the soul beast army and bought time for Shrek had something to do with him.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was ring furiously as she shouted, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t fool around! How can you intervene in this higher-end fight?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and took in a deep breath before saying, ¡°Dean Xian, everything started because of me. I can¡¯t watch as Shrek is obliterated! Believe me, I can resolve this.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Xian Lin¡¯er shouted and reached out her hand to grab him.

    However, a strange halo suddenly spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Xian Lin¡¯er, Yan Shaozhe, and Cai Mei¡¯er felt slightly dizzy as they were caught off-guard, and everything in front of their eyes turned white.

    Even though they were drained, Xian Lin¡¯er and Yan Shaozhe were Transcendent Douluo! However, they momentarily lost their awareness.

    Huo Yuhao exploited this opportunity to increase his speed as he flew into the sky. The projection behind him also became more material.

    On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny opened, and immense spiritual undtions openly surged towards Di Tian. Rose-gold light started to burn on his body.

    Comparing the purplish-gold mes from Di Tian¡¯s body to the light on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was likeparing a full moon to a firefly. However, the space around Huo Yuhao started to distort slightly when this little scarlet-gold light started to burn.

    In the distance, the silent soul beast army started to cry out inmentation.

    The mes on Di Tian¡¯s body suddenly froze, and he started at Huo Yuhao with his golden eyes. His furious roar turned into shock, ¡°You, you are the one who made the Emperor Beast an Offering. It¡¯s you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his head and replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself for me and turned into my sixth soul ring. I also fused her abilities as the Emperor Beast into myself. You should know that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion carries the entire destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest! While Qiu¡¯er is dead, the legacy of the Emperor Beast is still here, with me. Her Eye of Destiny is also with me! If I die, this power of destiny will bepletely destroyed, which means that the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest will also be destroyed. You should know what kind of result that will bring.¡±

    ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Di Tian roared and reached forward with his ws. A strong purplish-gold w projection reached for Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 404.3 - The Berserk Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 404.3: The Berserk Beast God</h4>

    Elder Xuan, Elder Mu and the various elders from Shrek Academy charged towards the sky at the same time, trying to save him.

    However, Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted at this moment, ¡°No onees over!¡± A terrifying spiritual intent was suddenly unleashed from his body, and everyone felt their spirits shaking. Even though their cultivations were more powerful than his, they still couldn¡¯t help but stop in the air.

    Di Tian¡¯s attack was extremely quick. In an instant, his purplish-gold dragon w had alreadynded on Huo Yuhao; he had captured Huo Yuhao!

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist at all. There was a calm look on his face, as if he wasn¡¯t bothered about this number one Savage Beast that was in front of him. He lifted his head and pushed his chest out. There was only a relieved and arrogant look on his face.

    As Di Tian¡¯s purplish-gold dragon wsnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, a terrifying force was transmitted into his body, and the rose-gold mes were extinguished.

    This was Di Tian¡¯s strength. Even the Emperor Beast Wang Qiu¡¯er couldn¡¯t do anything when Huo Yuhao ignited his spiritual sea. However, Di Tian managed to stop it easily.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had ignited his own spiritual sea when he tried to break free from Xian Lin¡¯er and Yan Shaozhe earlier. Otherwise, there was no way he could have scared off so many Titled Douluo with his Spiritual st no matter how strong his spiritual power was.

    Right now, his spiritual sea that was burning had been extinguished. As Di Tian retracted his ws, Huo Yuhao was also brought in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even half as tall as Di Tian¡¯s golden eyes. He looked extremely small in front of Di Tian.

    ¡°Bastard! You were the one who seduced the Emperor Beast and made her sacrifice herself as a Sacrifice for you. Do you not believe that I have countless ways to torture you and make your life worse than death?¡± The terrifying pressure that came from him caused the space around Huo Yuhao to start cracking. The immense suction force that came from Di Tian even threatened to pull Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit out. He started feeling intense pain throughout his entire body and spirit.

    However, Huo Yuhao had been through a lot of pain before. The pain that Di Tian inflicted on him couldn¡¯tpare to the excruciating pain he had suffered when he fused with the Ice Empress. It also couldn¡¯tpare to the pain he had suffered when he consumed the water from the zing Sunspring for Wang Dong¡¯er. As for the pain that he felt in his spirit, how could itpare to the pain of watching Wang Dong¡¯er enter a deep sleep, and seeing Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrifice herself for him?

    Huo Yuhao was very calm. The intense pain he felt caused beads of perspiration to stream down his forehead. However, his face was still filled with arrogance as Di Tian grabbed hold of him. He didn¡¯t cry out in pain, and he wasn¡¯t going to beg for mercy. He just stared at Di Tian calmly. It was like the death that coulde at any time meant nothing to him.

    Seeing Huo Yuhao willinglynd in the hands of Di Tian, Elder Xuan was extremely infuriated, and shouted furiously into the sky, ¡°Di Tian, I swear on my status as the Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion that I¡¯llpletely wipe out all the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest if you dare to harm him!¡±

    Yes, the beast wave might havee because of Huo Yuhao. However, how much had Huo Yuhao contributed to the Academy during these years?

    He had created Spirits, which had never existed before, and yed a huge role in helping Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department thrive. He, Bei Bei, and the rest had established the Tang Sect, and helped the Academy achieve the highest glory in the previous two Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournaments. He was also an heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, chosen personally by Elder Mu. He had an Ultimate martial soul, and was the pride of Shrek Academy.

    He had even led the Tang Sect to save almost all the hostages that had been imprisoned by the Sun Moon Empire. It was an ident that the Emperor Beast had sacrificed herself for him. This cmity that descended upon Shrek was just fate! Just as this cmity was about to be fully unleashed onto Shrek, he appeared once again, and was willing to sacrifice himself to ovee this cmity. How could Elder Xuan watch him die without doing anything?

    Di Tian coldly replied, ¡°I never intended to let Shrek off! I¡¯ll kill all of you! I¡¯d really like to see how you n to turn the entire Great Star Dou Forest into corpses.¡±

    ¡°I can do it!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly said coldly. Even under Di Tian¡¯s pressure, he still tolerated the agonizing pain, and this spiritual intent was still urately passed into Di Tian¡¯s mind.

    ¡°I have the legacy of the Emperor Beast¡¯s Sacrifice. I now control the power of destiny that she once controlled. Perhaps I¡¯m unable to defeat you or decide your fate. However, I can at least decide my own fate. I can end my own destiny with a thought, and die just like that.

    ¡°When that happens, I¡¯ll end the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest too. Beast God, do you believe in destiny?¡± Huo Yuhao uttered thatst sentence word by word. Every word that he said was filled with immense spiritual power.

    ¡°Are you threatening me!?¡± Di Tian roared furiously.

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°You can say so. If Shrek is destroyed, the Great Star Dou Forest will follow it! As the Beast God, aren¡¯t you going to think about your subjects?¡±

    Di Tian furiously said, ¡°Shrek City has harmed my subjects for years! This blood feud can only be washed clean with human blood!¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°All of you deserved it. If you hadn¡¯t lead the soul beast army to attack us, you wouldn¡¯t have suffered such heavy losses. However, you still have half of your subjects. The Great Star Dou Forest can still maintain its ecological bnce. Let¡¯s first ignore the fact that my death will end the destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest. Ask yourself, how many of the soul beasts outside the city right now will be able to survive after you destroy Shrek? Will the three empires in the Douluo Continent let all of you off? To them, the Great Star Dou Forest is a huge treasure vault. Even after you destroy Shrek, the forest will still have suffered great losses. The three empires will find it a fantastic opportunity to move on the forest.

    ¡°The Great Star Dou Forest is doomed if Shrek is destroyed! You¡¯ll still have hope if you retreat now.¡±

    Di Tian suddenly calmed down, and his golden eyes also deepened. He stopped roaring, and interacted with Huo Yuhao using his spiritual intent too.

    ¡°Yes, you are right. Shrek¡¯s destruction might catalyze the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s annihtion. However, are you sure humans won¡¯t destroy us, even if we retreat now? You are wrong! They¡¯ll still continue to target us! Humans are greedy! When there were only soul masters, arge number of soul rings were already required! Now that there are soul engineers, some of the ordinary soul masters that originally weren¡¯t supposed to advance to higher tiers can also improve through some special methods! Even if the quality of the soul rings that they require are lower, they still have to kill soul beasts to obtain those soul rings!

    ¡°Now that the Great Star Dou Forest has suffered greatly, we¡¯ll be unable to protect ourselves in the future. As your soul tools be stronger, will there be room for the survival of soul beasts? While the Emperor Beast¡¯s Sacrifice is one of the reasons we started this beast wave, it¡¯s not the only reason! More importantly, we¡¯ve found it necessary to stop your evolution before we be your ves and are destroyed!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked by Di Tian¡¯s suddenposure. He no longer sounded as crazy as he was earlier¡­ or perhaps he had actually never gone berserk at all.

    ¡°Beast God, I have a question for you.¡± Huo Yuhao tried his best to keep calm. He was clear that Di Tian would be able to clearly sense any spiritual undtions from him no matter how slight they were.

    ¡°Ask me,¡± Di Tian replied. However, Huo Yuhao could see a trace of loneliness in his huge golden eyes.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°You¡¯re the king of all beasts, the protector of all soul beasts and the number one Savage Beast, as appraised by humans. However, you¡¯ve got to admit that humans are much more intelligent than soul beasts. Am I right?¡±

    Di Tian replied, ¡°Yes, you are right. Otherwise, humans wouldn¡¯t have been able to evolve from their position as prey to what they are today in a short few tens of thousands of years. Even though I¡¯m not willing to admit it, humans are indeed the rulers of the entire continent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Do you really think that humans didn¡¯t realize the imbnce that was arising between humans and soul beasts as soul engineers became popr and the number of both soul masters and soul engineers increased? Perhaps most soul masters and soul engineers ignore this because of their own interests, but there are bound to be some with great foresight that have recognized this problem, right? After all, what good does it do for humans if soul beasts are destroyed? We¡¯ll lose our source of soul rings. If there aren¡¯t any soul masters in the future, this profession will forever be lost to history, right? That will be extremely harmful towards the development of both soul masters and soul engineers.¡±

    After remaining silent for a brief moment, Di Tian said, ¡°So what? Are humans able to stop the greed of soul masters and soul engineers? And stop hunting and killing soul beasts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯ve no way of doing so.

    ¡°Every living creature is greedy in his own way. No one is willing to give up an opportunity to be stronger. Your wish is that humans will stop pursuing soul rings, but that¡¯s impossible. We can only settle a problem about interest using interest.¡±

    Di Tian was stunned, ¡°Using interest? Are you saying that you have a way of settling this problem regarding soul rings?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m not certain, but we could give it a go. Can you rx your suppression of me? I won¡¯t run. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have appeared. I¡¯ve something to show you.¡±

 Chapter 405.1 - Convincing the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 405.1: Convincing the Beast God</h4>

    Seeing how sincere Huo Yuhao was, Di Tian slowly nodded, and rxed his grip on Huo Yuhao. At the same time, he retracted some of the suppression that he had forced on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao felt more rxed at this point. Even though he had made a good start, he didn¡¯t dare to ck off. He was clearly aware that the Beast God might erupt any time if he said or did anything wrong.

    Things were also very quiet down below. Elder Xuan, Elder Mu and the other strong individuals from Shrek were watching tensely. Di Tian¡¯s sudden silence left them slightly weirded out, but they didn¡¯t make any moves, seeing that the Beast God hadn¡¯t killed Huo Yuhao yet.

    The Body Douluo Du Busi had already crawled back to his feet. He looked very miserable right now, not expecting the Beast God to be so strong. When Di Tian unleashed his full strength, Du Busi had felt that he waspletely irresistible.

    The teachers from Shrek Academy were quickly organizing the students, while the Shrek City Defense Army meditated and rested. No one knew what was going to happen next, but every bit of soul power they recovered would earn Shrek an extra glimmer of hope.

    A streak of white light shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. In the next moment, a petite figure appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.

    It was a youngdy who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. Her dress was a spotless white as it swayed in the wind. Her genie-like deep blue eyes oozed a boundless, chilly intent, but there seemed to be ack of quick-wittedness within them.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Even though Di Tian was experienced and knowledgeable, he was still stunned when he saw the Snow Lady. After all, she was released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes! Furthermore, he could tell that this wasn¡¯t some sort of soul skill!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul had been switched. One red and four orange-gold soul rings slowly rose around him!

    As he looked at the different glows that came from his soul rings before looking at the Snow Lady in front of him again, Di Tian¡¯s golden eyes revealed a confused look.

    ¡°I am a different soul master. I possess twin martial souls, and this is my second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.¡± Huo Yuhao could also make the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm appear, but he didn¡¯t do so. When he had faced Di Tian earlier, he could sense the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s hatred towards him. It was unforgettable! Undoubtedly, Di Tian was the mastermind who had forcefully tried to snatch the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s million-year umtion.

    As for the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao wanted to hide her existence, because the Ice Empress was conscious. If he revealed anything suspicious, things might turn counter-productive.

    Di Tian nodded as he sensed the aura of Ultimate Iceing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, ¡°It¡¯s indeed the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. You are indeed blessed by Ultimate Ice. Is this the Icesky Snow Lady? Can your soul ring produce a summoning-type soul skill?¡± After finishing thisst sentence, he also became a little uncertain.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°From the colors of my soul rings, you can tell that this isn¡¯t a simple soul skill. Can¡¯t you tell who she is?¡±

    With a thought from Huo Yuhao, the Snow Lady moved. She lifted her right hand, and a streak of deep-blue sword light shot out like a bolt of lightning towards Di Tian¡¯s forehead.

    As the sinister chill approached, Di Tian¡¯s eyes shone with golden light before the sword light was crushed. However, he immediately opened his eyes wide as he realized that it was a familiar chilly intent.

    ¡°Is this, is this the Snow Empress¡¯ Unparalleled Chill? You, you are the Icesky Snow Lady?¡± Di Tian couldn¡¯t help but exim as he looked at the Snow Lady in front of him.

    The Snow Lady drifted in the air, but she didn¡¯t move from her position. She naturally wouldn¡¯t react to Di Tian¡¯s question.

    Di Tian¡¯s gaze quickly shifted to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and it turned sharp. ¡°How is this possible? Why is the Icesky Snow Lady in your body? What is the rtionship between you? She seems to be unaware?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently. ¡°The Snow Empress¡¯ situation represents hope for the future between humans and soul beasts. I met her at¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao started to recount how he had first encountered the Snow Empress¡¯ embryo, and transformed the Snow Empress into a Spirit. He didn¡¯t even conceal the truth about Electrolux¡¯s existence. He even went so far as to talk about his spectral demine.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to earn the Beast God¡¯s trust. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to do this. Di Tian would have certainly sensed the presence of the undead army earlier. He needed to prove that everything he said was true beyond the shadow of a doubt. Without his spectral demine, he couldn¡¯t have summoned an army of a hundred thousand undead, given that he was only a Soul Sage. He only hid the existence of the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm.

    Di Tian listened silently to Huo Yuhao¡¯s story, but his emotions were undting throughout. However, he hid them very well, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell anything from his emotions or the look in his eyes. What Huo Yuhao was certain about was that the Beast God heeded his words.

    ¡°However, you still failed in the end. The Snow Empress lost her spirit and her awareness. How can this Spirit that you talk about be considered a sess?¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°Yes! You are right. I can¡¯t guarantee that the conversion into a Spirit can be sessful. However, how can we determine the sess of this experiment just through one try? We can only ascertain the possibility of sess with more attempts. However, at least we¡¯ve found a new route that we can take!

    ¡°The Snow Empress gave me four soul rings. I didn¡¯t kill any soul beasts for these four soul rings. They were willingly offered to me by the Snow Empress. In addition, the existence of my Spirit is more beneficial to me than having soul rings. This is what I mean when I said that a problem of interest can only be resolved with interest.

    ¡°If a soul master can obtain a Spirit, he won¡¯t need a soul ring at that particr rank. In addition, it¡¯s even more beneficial for him. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll agree to this arrangement?

    ¡°At the same time, a Spirit can bring more than just one soul ring to a soul master, and it can even be controlled by a human and a soul beast together. A soul master might pursue a higher-tier soul ring, but what about soul engineers? Furthermore, if a top-tier soul beast is used to fuse with a soul master to create a Spirit, and this soul beast ispatible with me, why wouldn¡¯t I be willing to obtain more soul rings from it? These are what we have been researching. It¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯tplete this research by ourselves. The reason is very simple: we find it very difficult to find soul beasts that are on the verge of death, and are willing to trust us!

    ¡°To a certain extent, the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit failed because the Snow Empress¡¯ embryo was stuck in a special situation, in which it was on the verge of exploding. At that time, it was already difficult for us to ensure that she wouldn¡¯t die. However, I¡¯m confident of seeding if we establish a pact. This is why I hope to receive the help of soul beasts for my future research in this aspect. If you¡¯re willing to personally find a few soul beasts who are in this state to fuse with a few of our human soul masters that have reached their bottlenecks, you can help to prolong the lives of those soul beasts. Even though they might only be able to survive for another hundred years by following a human soul master or soul engineer, they¡¯ll at least be able to experience this world in a different way. Their lives can be extended for a slightly longer period of time, which should be better than just dying.

    ¡°If this research is sessful, soul masters will have more choices in the future. Every soul master can even wait until their soul power umtes to a sufficient standard before fusing with a Spirit. I even hope that if Spirits can provide enough soul rings for us, we can let these Spirits leave these soul rings behind of their own ord. When soul masters and soul engineers need them at some stage, they can actively fuse with these soul rings. In this way, humans and soul beasts might not remain enemies in the future, but friends that rely on each other. I¡¯d be satisfied if we could achieve such a result.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t continue speaking. He knew that his ideals were slightly contradictory to those of both soul beasts and humans. The Beast God needed time to think and understand his intentions. He stopped talking and waited quietly. When he flew up from the southern city wall today, he had already disregarded his own life. No matter what others thought, he believed that he was the one who had brought this cmity to the Great Star Dou Forest. If he couldn¡¯t stop this cmity, he was willing to die for Shrek.

    Huo Yuhao, who was much calmer than he had been in the past, had another thought. The greatest barrier to the research on Spirits was what he mentioned earlier; there weren¡¯t enough dying soul beasts that were willing to cooperate. If he could convince the Beast God, it would be extremely beneficial to his research on Spirits!

    Di Tian remained silent for a while. After some time, he slowly lifted his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the things you¡¯ve mentioned to me. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re trying to trick me. However, I can tell you that I¡¯ll risk everything to destroy Shrek City if you are lying to me. This time, we¡¯ve indeed suffered great losses. However, Shrek City will no longer have the protection of the Golden Tree if there¡¯s a next time. Are you willing to follow me into the Great Star Dou Forest to attempt your research? You need to prove your words with actions.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation.

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°Alright, then you shall follow me and remain in the Great Star Dou Forest. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is dead, and you carry the destiny of the forest with you. From now on, if you remain in the forest and continue your research on Spirits, I¡¯ll retract this beast wave right now!¡±

 Chapter 405.2 - Convincing the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 405.2: Convincing the Beast God</h4>

    Huo Yuhao remained silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Beast God, I¡¯ll definitely continue my research into Spirits. However, I can¡¯t always stay in the Great Star Dou Forest. There arestill many things that I have to do, and thus I can¡¯t make that promise to you.¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s aura suddenly became more dominant. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m negotiating with you?¡±

    The look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes also turned sharp. ¡°I¡¯m not negotiating with you, either.¡±

    The two pairs of eyes that met werepletely disproportionate. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to lose to Di Tian in terms of aura. If the Beast God could maintain his cool, it meant that he was willing to think about the future of the Great Star Dou Forest. At least, he wouldn¡¯t just kill Huo Yuhao outright. This was what Huo Yuhao was depending on right now.

    Di Tian said, ¡°Follow me back to the forest first.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly said.

    ¡°What else do you want to say?¡± The Beast God¡¯s emotions seemed to be on the verge of ignition.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I want to say a few words to my elders and seniors from Shrek Academy first. If you just take me away like this, I¡¯m certain that the Academy will move on the forest when they recover their vitality. They might even invite all the strong individuals from the entire continent to target the forest. Do you really want to see that happening?¡±

    Di Tian was startled for a moment, then nodded slowly. ¡°That makes sense, and you¡¯re also qualified to do so. Alright, I¡¯ll give you a few minutes. You can speak to them now.¡±

    As he spoke, he released Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had no intention of absconding. In fact, trying to escape from the most terrifying soul beast in the world right now would be a stupid move.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his voice and kneeled down in mid-air. He kowtowed towards Elder Mu.

    When he shouted the word ¡®teacher¡¯, he was no longer as calm as before. Tears started to stream from his eyes.

    Elder Mu was also slightly shocked after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exmation. ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong? Are you fine? Di Tian, let him off! Otherwise, I¡¯ll destroy the entire Great Star Dou Forest!¡±

    Di Tian snorted coldly, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t be rash. I¡¯ve convinced the Beast God to retract his army and end this beast wave. This beast wave started because of me. I would like to say a few words to you and the various elders.¡±

    After Elder Mu, Elder Xuan and Elder Song heard his words, they were stunned.He has convinced the Beast God to retract his army? Di Tian went berserk earlier. Can he really be convinced with words?

    When they looked at the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King again, Di Tian was indeed much calmer than before. Even the purplish-gold mes on his body had disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao continued, saying loudly, ¡°Teacher and elders, as we expected, the most important reason why this beast wave was started is because of the survival of soul beasts. I recounted the progress of our research into Spirits to the Beast God just now, and managed to convince him that I¡¯ll produce results for him to see. In this world, we and soul beasts are all part of the food chain. It¡¯s only by surviving together that we can maintain the ecological bnce. This time, the Great Star Dou Forest has already suffered heavy casualties!

    ¡°Please trust me and let me dispel this hatred between humans and soul beasts. At the same time, I also obtained permission from the Beast God to work with him to further our research of Spirits. If it seeds, humans and soul beasts will no longer be enemies in the future, but partners!¡±

    All the elders and strong soul masters from the Body Sect couldn¡¯t believe it. Huo Yuhao had actually managed to persuade the Beast God by himself? It was too unbelievable. The entire Body Sect was lost, including Du Busi. They were all thinking,What are Spirits?

    Elder Mu was a little doubtful as he replied, ¡°Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao said with certainty again, ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do my best toplete this task for Shrek, and for peace between humans and soul beasts. I hope you can find some volunteers in the Academy that have reached their bottlenecks and need soul rings. I¡¯ll lead them to carry out my experiment on Spirits in the future. Right now, I¡¯ll follow Di Tian back into the Great Star Dou Forest. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine with Di Tian¡¯s protection!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± After hearing that Huo Yuhao was going to return to the Great Star Dou Forest with Di Tian, all the elders shouted in unison.

    Di Tian snorted coldly and said, ¡°None of you have any say in this at all. His words have moved me today. On his ount, I¡¯ll temporarily withdraw my army. If his words are lies, hmph!¡±

    After he finished speaking, he grabbed Huo Yuhao tightly and beat his wings forcefully. As he exuded a majestic aura, he flew towards the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest. At the same time, he let out a deafening dragon roar.

    The soul beast army outside Shrek City started to move. Under themand of the four Savage Beasts, they left with the injured soul beasts, and tried their best to drag some of the soul beast carcasses with them as they retreated back into the Great Star Dou Forest.

    After seeing that the beast wave was retreating, the entire city descended into silence. After a brief moment, someone shouted, and cheers started to ring from all four sides.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    The sky turned brighter, and the sun slowly rose in the east. The rays of sunlight that fell as dawn approached illuminated therge number of soul beast carcasses outside Shrek City. At the same time, they illuminated Shrek City, and shone on the fatigued yet excited faces of everyone in the city.

    Shrek had emerged victorious! They had relied on slightly more than ten thousand soldiers to resist the onught of a beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest for two days and two nights.

    As the beast wave retreated, Shrek City was preserved. Shrek had won!

    More than one-third of the soldiers and twenty percent of the soul masters from Shrek had been killed in this battle, and almost everyone was hurt. In addition, all the soul tools defending the city had been destroyed, and all the stationary soul cannon shells had been used up.

    In spite of all this, Shrek had still managed to attain victory! This was a victory in a battle between humans and soul beasts. This was a victory that belonged to all of Shrek!

    Elder Mu stared in the direction the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King had left in. There was a lost look in his eyes.

    Elder Xuan respectfully asked, ¡°Elder Mu, what should we do? Yuhao¡­¡±

    Elder Mu¡¯s lost look slowly turned into aforted one. ¡°That kid didn¡¯t disappoint me, he has really grown up. Let¡¯s just follow his words. Let¡¯spensate the families of those who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and quickly restore order in the city. At the same time, we¡¯ll have to treat the wounded.

    ¡°While the beast wave has retreated, this matter has only just begun. Let¡¯s announce our research on Spirits to the soul masters of the Body Sect and Heavenly Soul Empire that came here to assist us, and ask for volunteers while we await news from Yuhao. This war might actually not be a bad thing. If Di Tian is willing to coordinate with us in our research, soul beasts and humans might actually be friends.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Elder Xuan acknowledged his words.

    Elder Mu took another look at Di Tian, who was slowing disappearing into the distance. Under the illumination of the sun, his elderly face was stained with an extra trace of gold, and he also wore a gentle smile on his face.

    A halo descended, and he returned to the Golden Tree once more.

    Du Busi had been standing beside Elder Xuan and Elder Mu throughout this exchange. Elder Mu didn¡¯t conceal anything from him when he spoke to Elder Xuan earlier. Du Busi clearly heard everything that Elder Mu had said.

    Spirits? What exactly are Spirits? This secret regarding Spirits was actually able to drive that berserk Beast God to retreat. I¡¯ve never been so curious about this Ultimate Douluo!

    Elder Xuan turned around and said to Du Busi, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Follow me to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. I¡¯ll tell you everything about Spirits.¡±

    Du Busiughed and said, ¡°Never did I expect that I¡¯d be able to enter Shrek Academy in my entire life, under the condition that there¡¯s no loser between the Body Sect and Shrek Academy. Interesting! Xuan Zi, that kid who was taken by Di Tian earlier must be the kid with his eyes as his body soul, am I right?¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded slightly.

    Du Busi twisted his lips. ¡°Ist saw him a few months ago, but he now has seven rings instead of five? Shrek Academy is indeed the number one Academy on the continent!¡±

    Elder Xuanughed bitterly. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You can keep your sarcasm to yourself. He just came back today. When he left, he only had five rings. I don¡¯t know why he suddenly has seven rings now.¡± He naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal to Du Busi that Huo Yuhao¡¯s enhancement was likely to be rted to the Emperor Beast¡¯s Sacrifice.

    Shrek City started to settle down again. This time, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s vitality was greatly hurt along with Shrek Academy! However, Shrek Academy had managed to obtain huge rewards from this episodepared to the soul beasts.

    Not to even mention soul rings, the number of soul bones that were gathered after this battle exceeded the total number of soul bones that had been gathered in the entire history of Shrek.

    More than two hundred thousand soul beasts had been killed! Even if the possibility was only one out of a thousand, how many soul bones would still be produced? Moreover, soul bones were more likely to appear from ten-thousand-year soul beasts. The value of these soul bones and soul rings, as well as the soul beasts¡¯ carcasses that weren¡¯t dragged away, could more than make up for the Academy¡¯s losses!

    A few dayster, caravans started to stream out of Shrek City and proceed in different directions. They only had one mission: exchange whatever Shrek had obtained during the war for rare metals!

    Soul tools had yed a very important role in this battle. Without the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy¡¯s soul tools, as well as the Tang Sect¡¯s stationary soul cannon shells from the Sun Moon Empire, Shrek would have fallen under the attack of the soul beast army even before the reinforcements arrived!

 Chapter 405.3 - Convincing the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 405.3: Convincing the Beast God</h4>

    Within a few days,rge numbers of reinforcements arrived in batches. The first to arrive were the soul masters from the three empires. When they learned that the soul beast army had retreated, they still remained in the city for a time. Suddenly, the entire city became extremely crowded.

    As Shrek Academy had suffered huge losses this time, they didn¡¯t offer some of the rewards that they had obtained during this war to these soul masters that came. They weren¡¯t being petty. They just needed a lot of resources in order to rebuild the city.

    However, these soul masters definitely didn¡¯te for nothing. Shrek Academy took this opportunity to share a very important research topic with them.

    Spirits!

    All information rting to Spirits, including Shrek Academy¡¯s current research progress and even Huo Yuhao¡¯s temporary agreement with the Beast God, was disseminated to all the soul masters that arrived. The soul masters from the Heavenly Soul, Star Luo, and Dou Ling Empires found out for the first time that there was something that could rece soul rings. Furthermore, this thing was even stronger than soul rings!

    Shrek Academy deliberately exaggerated the effect of Spirits. Although Shrek Academy didn¡¯t have an example to prove their words, Huo Yuhao did reveal the Snow Lady during the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament. Many of the soul masters who were here to reinforce Shrekpeted in that tournament and were even saved from the Sun Moon Empire by Huo Yuhao. They naturally knew about the magical Snow Lady, especially when Huo Yuhao defeated the seven-ringed evil soul master Gu Long even though he only had five rings back then.

    Wasn¡¯t it because of thebined strength of the Snow and Ice Empresses? This was all attributed to the strength of a Spirit!

    Suddenly, the word ¡®Spirit¡¯ became very popr across the entire continent. There was a new term in the world of soul masters. The only pity was that Shrek Academy didn¡¯t publicly announce the incantations needed to fuse with a Spirit. They only mentioned that Shrek City would be designated as a pilot site for the conversion of Spirits, and it would serve all soul masters. At the same time, Shrek Academy also gathered soul masters that had reached bottlenecks in their cultivation among all the soul masters that arrived in Shrek City. There wasn¡¯t any requirement, but there were only one hundred avable slots. The chosen hundred participants didn¡¯t need to pay for anything, but there wasn¡¯t any guarantee that the fusion of Spirits would be sessful. In addition, there was some element of risk involved.

    There was always bound to be risk involved. Among the thousands of soul masters that came, there were many who had reached bottlenecks in their cultivation.

    Eventually, fifty-six people signed up for this experiment that was risky, yet potentially groundbreaking. The remaining forty-four slots were filled by Shrek Academy.

    Among these hundred soul masters, the weakest had a three-ringed cultivation, while the strongest had an eight-ringed cultivation. Most tiers of soul masters were included in this experiment. These volunteers temporarily remained in Shrek City to wait for news from Huo Yuhao.

    Shrek Academy once again faced the entire world of soul masters on the Douluo Continent with an unselfish attitude. Of course, this was where they were clever. If their research seeded, the existence of Spirits would be spread by word of mouth. This was also what Shrek Academy was trying to achieve!

    The benefit of Spirits was the future developments it would be able to support. It was only through letting all soul masters realize how good Spirits were that would be it possible for everyone to stop hunting and killing soul beasts. In exchange, humans and soul beasts could undergo a different form of fusion. This might also be the key to removing the hatred and conflict between soul masters and soul beasts.

    Shrek Academy was arranging everything in full swing.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    As the battle ended, Huo Yuhao was also brought to the ughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest by the Beast God.

    Di Tian retracted his wings as he entered the Great Star Dou Forest. His body also quickly shrank in size. Very soon, he looked like a human once more. A streak of ck light was released from his body and encircled Huo Yuhao, which helped him to fly.

    The two of them flew towards the ughtering Grounds together. They looked like brothers right now, instead of a human and a soul beast.

    There were millions of soul beasts living in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, Di Tian only led those with fighting strength out for the battle. However, his army had stillprised most of the fighting soul beasts in the forest.

    The losses they had incurred had greatly hurt the vitality of the Great Star Dou Forest!

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao finally arrived at the ughtering Grounds.Di Tian led Huo Yuhao past the thick canopy and slowly drifted down.

    Huo Yuhao was immersed in his thoughts earlier. However, he was jolted awake when the scenery around him suddenly changed. Following this, he was surprised when he looked around.

    The ughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest was recognized as one of the most terrifying ces in the entire continent. No soul master dared to venture into this area. In other words, it was like a forbidden ground for humans.

    Huo Yuhao had always wondered what it was like in the ughtering Grounds of the Great Star Dou Forest. When he was younger, he had always imagined there to be all types of ferocious beasts here. However, what was it like in front of him now?

    He first saw ake. Although it wasn¡¯t very huge, considering that he could see the opposite side of it, it felt like the Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    The surface of theke was extremely smooth, and the dim-green water resembled the most beautiful piece of natural jade. It shed with green lights that were filled with life. Around theke were ancient trees that reached into the clouds. There was a slightyer of mist above theke, and the moist air swept over to them by a light breeze, carrying the fragrance of nts along with it.

    There was a strong aura of life here. The life energy here was extremely prosperous, several times stronger here than in the outside world. There were also many natural elements, and they were even concentrated, not inferior to the Icefire Yin Yang Well that he had been to before.

    This ce was like the source of all life. It was like all life in the Great Star Dou Forest was nurtured by this ce. The principles of heaven and earth seemed to fill this ce, and even the slightest sound threatened to destroy the peace and beauty of this ce.

    Was this really the ughtering Grounds? To Huo Yuhao, this ce was more like a paradise for all living creatures!

    The ck air around him disappeared, and Di Tian stood quietly beside Huo Yuhao. ¡°Do you sense it? Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied without any hesitation, ¡°It¡¯s too beautiful. This is like a mortal paradise. It seems like this is where the goddess of nature lives.¡±

    Di Tian said, ¡°Yes, this is a ce that nurtures life. Thiske that you are seeing contains the holiest Water of Life in the Great Star Dou Forest. Thiske has existed for more than a million years. This is theke that nurtures all life in the Great Star Dou Forest. It¡¯s a miracle on its own. It gave the forest its own ecological bnce over a million years. Initially, I¡­¡± He stopped when he reached that part. He revealed a sense of loss in his eyes, as well as an awed look.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look at him. He waspletely astonished by the beauty of the scenery that was in front of him.

    The Water of Life. Yes! That was only this name that could express the beauty of it!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this! Who would have thought that the core region of the ughtering Grounds was actually so beautiful?¡±

    Di Tian said with a sense of loss, ¡°This is the work of nature. It¡¯s the source of life that nature offered to this world. I hope that everything you said today is true.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, turned to Di Tian and said, ¡°Soul beasts are a part of this world. Without soul beasts, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be soul masters. I¡¯m afraid such a beautiful ce wouldn¡¯t exist, either.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best. You should know that I¡¯m wagering my life. Just like soul beasts, humans only have one life.¡±

    At this moment, a furious roar sounded, and a dark-golden figure shed to their side in an instant. ¡°Why, Di Tian, why?¡±

    This figure had adopted the human form of a muscr man. He was more than two meters tall, and his muscles were extremely well-developed. When he saw Huo Yuhao beside Di Tian, he lifted his hand, and terrifying, sharp, dark golden des extended out. He wed towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao stood in ce without moving. He knew how insignificant he was here.

    Di Tian furrowed his brow. ¡°Bear Lord, don¡¯t cause trouble.¡± As he lifted his right hand, a ck barrier appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. As a piercing scratching sound resonated, the Bear Lord¡¯s attack was blocked.

    This muscr man was the human form of the Bear Lord!

    The Bear Lord red furiously at Di Tian and said, ¡°Di Tian, do you know how many of our brothers and sisters were killed? How many of ourpatriots are dead? Those despicable humans were about to fall to us! Why did you give the order to retreat? Why?¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. He exuded a threatening might from his bright golden eyes. The sovereign-like suppression that came from him materialized into ayer of golden light that trapped the Bear Lord.

    The Bear Lord went silent. He was astonished. He unleashed ayer of his own dark golden light as he tried to resist Di Tian¡¯s suppression.

    ¡°Remember, I¡¯ll have your palm for breakfast if you dare to talk to me in that tone again,¡± Di Tian said very slowly.

    The Bear Lord¡¯s arrogance had evidently been restrained, and he lowered his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Di Tian. It¡¯s just that too many of us were killed. I¡­¡±

    Di Tian also retracted his suppression. ¡°I know that. Do you really think I¡¯m not heartbroken? This time, the humans¡¯ abilities were beyond my expectations! Furthermore, they had reinforcements! Have you even thought about how the three empires would react if we destroyed Shrek City at all costs? We¡¯ve already been drained. If we continued, we¡¯d have faced a catastrophe.¡±

    The Bear Lord was stunned. His intelligence was much weaker than his offensive strength. He was immediately stunned by Di Tian¡¯s words.

    A few projections shed past, and a few other soul beasts appeared in front of Di Tian. They were Bi Ji the Emerald Swan, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King!

 Chapter 406 - His and Her Story

    <h4 ss>Chapter 406: His and Her Story</h4>

    Huo Yuhao stood to one side as he took in the scene before him in awe. Five of the ten great Savage Beasts, feared by all soul masters, were present. The Beast God himself, who was ranked first among the ten great Savage Beasts, was here. Including the Icesky Snow Lady inside him, who was ranked third, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, seven of the ten great Savage Beasts were present. It was an unprecedented gathering!

    The terror in his heart disappeared. He became unusually calm. While an experience like this was extremely dangerous, how could it not be exciting, too?

    The Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King both had ugly expressions on their faces. Bi Ji¡¯s head was lowered, and her face was pale. Sadness filled her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Take a seat,¡± said Di Tian inly.

    The other four Savage Beasts looked at him. Upon hearing his words, they all sat down in front of him.

    Di Tian turned his head to look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You may sit, too. Repeat what you told me. Release the Snow Empress, too.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Huo Yuhao, nodding. He sat down where he was, unleashed his Eye of Destiny, and released the Snow Empress. He repeated the words he had said to convince Di Tian, including the conversation he had had with him.

    ¡°¡­War will only lead to destruction. Only by creating something of greater value can we resolve the problem at its root.¡±

    When she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Bi Ji the Emerald Swan¡¯s gaze became more focused. The Myriad Demon King appeared to be in deep thought. The Scarlet King and the Bear Lord, however, only understood a bit of it. The Scarlet King would furrow his brows asionally, while the Bear Lord would look at Huo Yuhao fiercely. He seemed to be on the verge of attacking him at any moment.

    Huo Yuhao remained fearless as he spoke.

    Di Tian said, ¡°You heard what he said? If what he says can be achieved, the situation of the entire continent will change. The Emperor Beast offered herself up for him, and hence, he inherited the Emperor Beast¡¯s fortune. In other words, if he dies, the fortune of Star Dou will end.¡±

    Upon hearing Di Tian¡¯sst sentence, the Scarlet King and the Beast Lord appeared to have understood. The most obvious indicator of theirprehension was the Bear Lord looking at Huo Yuhao differently. His gaze became much less severe. No matter how powerful he was, he would not risk his home!

    Bi Ji looked at Huo Yuhao. At such a close distance, her emerald-green eyes were moving. ¡°What happened between you and the Emperor Beast? Why would the Emperor Beast offer herself up for you? Can you tell us about how you two met?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused for a while, and a look of pain shed across his eyes. In the past few days, to keep calm, he had tried not to think so much. He did not want to remind himself of Qiu¡¯er¡¯s death.

    Now, when this Emerald Swan asked him, he could not help but think about it. The five Savage Beasts looked at him. Undoubtedly, the other four Savage Beasts wanted to know the response to Bi Ji¡¯s question, too.

    The Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, was the highest existence in the entire Great Star Dou Forest. Even Di Tian would not presume to be better than her! However, none of the five Savage Beasts could understand why would she willingly offer her life for a human.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and said, ¡°I met Qiu¡¯er in the Great Star Dou Forest. At that time, I had gone to the forest to get soul rings. Elder Scarlet King, do you remember the first time we met the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?¡±

    A look of shock crossed the Scarlet King¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Are you the one who wanted me to send soul beasts out in exchange for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion? At that time, the Taotie Douluo came with you, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. That time, Elder Xuan brought Dong¡¯er and me into the Great Star Dou Forest. Coincidentally, we met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion there. Elder Xuan captured her, and my forehead touched hers. A peculiar change happened between us. Our brains received each other¡¯s memories. That was when my Eye of Destiny was activated, which greatly increased my spiritual-type abilities.

    ¡°After I left the Great Star Dou Forest, the impact of this incident on me became more severe. While the memories of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were in my mind, her memories were way too pure. They were just memories of her cultivating in the forest, and there weren¡¯t many changes. Hence, I did not take a closer look at them. However, unlike me, she told me that that contact made her see how exciting the human world was. So she chose to take a human form and enter our human world.¡±

    When they heard him say this, the faces of the five Savage Beasts turned ugly, especially that of the Scarlet King. For a long period of time, he was in charge of looking after the Emperor Beast. However, none of them knew that the Emperor Beast had left.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°When she entered the human world, she followed my memories and transformed into the most beautiful person in my mind. Then, she entered my life¡­¡±

    He started to talk about the first time he had met Wang Qiu¡¯er, as well as the ups and downs of his rtionship with Dong¡¯er. This time, he recounted his tale very carefully. Unknowingly, he becamepletely engrossed in his own memories. Qiu¡¯er and Dong¡¯er shed past in his mind. All of his memories were crystal-clear.

    After the battle, the five Savage Beasts were angry and tired. However, as Huo Yuhao told them his story, they all calmed down. Even the ferocious Bear Lord gradually became engrossed in the story of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er, and Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao told his story passionately. At that moment, he bared his heart. When he talked about how Wang Dong¡¯er chose suicide to save him in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, which caused her to fall into aa, the Emerald Swan could not help but exim as if she had personally experienced it. When he told them about how he had burned his Spiritual Sea to save Qiu¡¯er, and how he was eventually revived by Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Sacrifice, the five Savage Beasts were all dumbstruck.

    Of the five Savage Beasts, even the weakest one, the Scarlet King, had lived on this world for two hundred and sixty thousand years. Naturally, they could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s story waspletely true. His spiritual power made this tragic love story feel even more real for them.

    When they first heard that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had sacrificed herself for a human, the five Savage Beasts all thought that she had been tricked. None of them had expected such aplex process.

    Was there deception in this process? All there was in this story was love, something which soul beasts found hard to fathom.

    Tears fell from Bi Ji¡¯s eyes. The Scarlet King¡¯s brows were furrowed. The Myriad Demon King appeared lost in thought, and the Bear Lord¡¯s face brimmed with righteous anger. In the eyes of the Beast God, Di Tian, there was nothing but dejection. Despite their different expressions, they were all deeply engrossed in his tale.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly, but they could not help but twitch. No matter what, Dong¡¯er was still alive, and he could still think of her. However, Qiu¡¯er was gone forever. Not even her corpse was left.

    A leaf, which was about as big as two palms, was delivered to him. On the leaf, one could see a glistening puddle of the Water of Life.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head. What he saw was Bi Ji¡¯s tear-streaked face.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± After he received the Water of Life, Huo Yuhao slowly drank it. A thick life energy filled his body, but it could not take away his pain.

    Di Tian sighed softly. His eyes were sorrowful. ¡°I never expected the Emperor Beast to die like this.¡±

    Bi Ji lowered her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I think her choice was right. Even though she only had a short period of time, she experienced the most intense emotions.¡±

    The Bear Lord snorted and said, ¡°Humans areplicated. Why don¡¯t they just snatch someone to mate with?¡±

    The Myriad Demon King¡¯s mouth twitched, and he said, ¡°All you know is how to mate. Human emotions are far moreplex.¡±

    The Bear Lord red at him and said, ¡°So what if I mate? Mating is natural. If I don¡¯t mate, how can I ensure the continuity of my line and the entire Great Star Dou Forest?¡±

    The Myriad Demon King snorted. However, he could not risk offending him, and so, he said nothing more.

    The Scarlet King kept quiet. Compared to the other four Savage Beasts, his position was much lower.

    Di Tian said, ¡°The Emperor Beast is dead. We can¡¯t save her now. However, what do you think of this matter about Spirits?¡±

    The Myriad Demon King said, ¡°It¡¯s believable. At least, we have the example of the Snow Lady. However, will they lose their consciousness after they had been transformed into Spirits? Isn¡¯t this the same as dying? Boy, how confident are you that we soul beasts can maintain our consciousness even after we have been turned into Spirits?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I am about seventy percent sure. The Snow Empress¡¯ situation was unique. When her powerful energy exploded, I would have been dead if not for my otherworldly teacher, who burned his own divine sense. In a normal Spirit Fusion between a soul beast and a human, this problem will not ur. Hence, I¡¯m quite confident of sess.¡±

    He was not boasting. The Snow Empress was not the only Spirit in his body. The Skyworm Icedream existed, too! He was fully conscious, and right now, he was cursing the five Savage Beasts furiously from inside his Spiritual Sea. However, Brother Skydream dared not show himself now. If he did, Huo Yuhao would be in serious trouble.

    Bi Ji said, ¡°I feel that we can give it a shot. After this battle, many of us have been severely injured, beyond curing. All they can do is to wait for death. I¡¯ve already ordered the Emerald Swans to gather them together and treat them. However, for many of them, they are inches away from death. They are the best candidate for this Spirit experimentation.¡±

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°Alright, go ahead. Huo Yuhao, may you seed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wiped the tears from his face and nodded. He could sense the chill in Di Tian¡¯s voice, and he understood the consequences of failure.

    However, this was the best possible time, for both humans and soul beasts. His spiritual power had increased by a lot, and he was confident.

    ¡°Elder Bi Ji, before the process of Spirit Transformation begins, may I trouble you to convince the soul beasts that will be taking part in this ceremony? They are injured because of humans, and it¡¯s likely that they are filled with hate for us humans. For Spirit Transformation to work, both parties need to be willing. If not, if either party is unwilling to do so, failure will ensue. You need to assure them so that there can be a possibility of sess.

    ¡°At the same time, I have one suggestion. Other than asking the soul beasts which have been severely injured in the war, can we ask soul beasts who are nearing the end of their lives, but did not participate in the war? Soul beasts are straightforward, and I fear they may not let go of their hatred so easily. On the other hand, for soul beasts who are naturally near death, I feel that they will be calmer. This is an experiment, and hence, we need to consider various factors.¡±

    Bi Ji looked at Di Tian. Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. Do as he says.¡±

    ¡°Scarlet King, send word to Shrek to bring their participants in this experiment to the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    The Bear Lord¡¯s mouth twitched as he asked, ¡°Will they dare toe?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at him seriously and said, ¡°All cooperation is built on the sincerity of both sides. This beast wave brought death and destruction to both sides. If we can¡¯t let go of this hatred, there¡¯s no future for either of us.¡±

    Di Tian said coldly, ¡°He¡¯s right. When you head back, rein in all your subordinates. This matter concerns the future of Star Dou. If there are any slip-up, don¡¯t me me for being unforgiving. While I am still ten thousand years away from my Ninth Metamorphosis, don¡¯t think you can do what you want and get away with it. Just try me!¡±

    As he said that, he looked intently at the Bear Lord. Despite the Bear Lord¡¯s strength, he did not dare to lift his head.

    In the Great Star Dou Forest, other than Di Tian, the strongest being was the leader of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears. Right now, Di Tian was telling him not to act rashly!

    The Myriad Demon King looked at the Bear Lord from the corner of his eyes. He evidently did not respect him. In terms of fighting strength, he was weaker than the Bear Lord. However, he never once viewed him as a worthy foe. What use was a fellow with all brawn and no brain? Even if Di Tian died in his next Metamorphosis, the Great Star Dou Forest would not be controlled by the Bear Lord. The Myriad Demon King, Bi Ji, and the Scarlet King had all already agreed to this.

    Faced with Di Tian¡¯s pressure, the Bear Lord could only lower his head. However, there was clear resentment in his eyes.

    Di Tian turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Rest next to the Water of Life. The rest of you can return to your territories. Bi Ji, start the preparations.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Bi Ji agreed quickly.

    The four Savage Beasts all left. Di Tian looked at Huo Yuhao, and then, as if his entire body was weightless, floated toward the center of theke made from the Water of Life. What shocked Huo Yuhao was that the moment his body reached the center of theke, his body turned fainter and fainter, until it finally disappeared¡­

 Chapter 407.1 - Conversation with the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 407.1: Conversation with the Beast God</h4>

    Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down by thekeside. He retrieved some food from his storage-type soul tool and began to eat as images shed by in his mind, one after another. His emotions wouldn¡¯t calm down for a very long time.

    He didn¡¯t know whether he could return after entering the Great Star Dou Forest this time, but there were some things he couldn¡¯t leave behind. The thing he wanted to do most right now was visit the Clear Sky Sect and see Dong¡¯er.

    His eyes became gentle and tender when he thought about Dong¡¯er, but the thoughts in his heart became increasingly determined and resolute.

    He couldn¡¯t stay here forever. Him being imprisoned here indefinitely was no different from death! But he couldn¡¯t leave now, he had toplete his experiments with Spirits and resolve the conflict between Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest before he could leave. After that happened, he could leave with no worries at all.

    He had thought about many things on the road back, and had made a n for his future.

    Huo Yuhao was clear that some people from the Academy had definitely seen his army of undead; that was an army of a hundred thousand undead! It was impossible that nobody saw it. Perhaps nobody was thinking about that for now, but what about when everyone calmed down? His buddies from the Tang Sect would know what was going on, and the Academy could guess as well.

    Summoning undead was an ability that belonged to evil soul masters! He had made that decision with no second thoughts because he had thought it was the right thing to do, but he also understood that summoning an army of undead asrge as that meant that he could no longer hide his secret of having a third martial soul, which held his Necromancy!

    He wanted to leave some things behind for Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect before he left. Afterwards, he had so many other things to do! He wanted to look for Dong¡¯er, and there was something else he had always wanted to do.

    His emotions and his state of mind were unstable, but his formidable spiritual power allowed him to n carefully and rationally. He had his own ns on how he would leave this ce, and just like he had said to the five Savage Beasts, there were only eternal benefits in this world. Under the pretext of having sufficient benefits, leaving this ce wasn¡¯t impossible.

    Huo Yuhao sat down with his legs crossed, and began channeling his soul power to aid his recovery. He had faced down five great Savage Beasts, and the pressure that he had to take from Di Tian above Shrek City before this had exhausted much of his energy. Even his body was a little hurt, but his formidable life energy meant these wounds didn¡¯t cause him any real damage.

    Soul power circted in his body as a rose-gold vertical eye gradually emerged behind his back. Light that resembled patterns of the sun shimmered around this vertical eye, and everything seemed very peculiar as gentle spiritual undtions expanded outward from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Water of Life not too far from him rippled faintly because of the spiritual undtionsing from his body. Huo Yuhao could feel that the strength from his Life Gold was very greedy, and it wanted to absorb the Water of Life¡¯s life energy, but he forcibly suppressed it. Of course, he wanted to boost his own life energy, but this Water of Life was part of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s core, and it contained immense life energy, farrger in volume than his Life Guardian de and his Life Gold. If he dared to absorb the Water of Life¡¯s life energy at a time like this, he would be shaking the Great Star Dou Forest at its very roots! Di Tian would never let him get away with that if he did so!

    After Huo Yuhao had left the Evildemon Forest, he had hurriedly absorbed his seventh soul ring and immediately travelled to the Heavenly Soul Empire. He was smart enough not to inform the Body Sect directly. Instead, he went to look for the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royalty, Princess Wei Na, and returned to Shrek City as soon as possible after passing that information to her. He had used his full strength to unleash his necromantic spell and summoned his army of undead afterwards.

    Only now did he take the time to finally stop and catch his breath. At the same time, he felt the changes in his body after he became a Soul Sage.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if he were weak, like amb to the ughter, when he was up against someone like Di Tian, who was stronger than even Ultimate Douluo. But he was calm now, and focused on sensing the transformations in his body. Only now could he see what had actually happened to him.

    The soul power flowing through his body had be a gentle purplish-gold color. He understood that his soul power hadn¡¯t evolved by itself. Instead, his soul power had changed qualitatively after Qiu¡¯er had offered herself to him.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that after he fused with Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength after her Sacrifice, his physique had be many times stronger than before, especially in terms of strength. His strength had grown exponentially!

    Qiu¡¯er was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and she was thick with blood descended from the Golden Dragon. Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t have pretended that she possessed a Golden Dragon as her martial soul! Right now, her Golden Dragon¡¯s strength had mergedpletely with Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, and had be part of him. Compared to that, his soul power¡¯s evolution was secondary, and the changes to his body had undoubtedly built a stable foundation for Huo Yuhao¡¯s future progress.

    Soul power wasn¡¯t the only thing restraining soul masters after they became Soul Douluo, their bodies were limiting factors, as well! Overly immense soul power demanded more and more from a soul master¡¯s body. Therefore, many Soul Douluo repressed their soul power growth rate while they used all sorts of methods to train their physiques, and only when their bodies attained higher levels of strength did they dare to try and raise their soul power to another level.

    Once soul masters became Titled Douluo, they would be faced with such a situation at almost every rank of soul power. This also meant that towards the final stages of a soul master¡¯s progress, a soul master¡¯s body became one of the most important factors that limited their development.

    Huo Yuhao possessed immense life energy bestowed upon him by his Life Gold. That, in addition to the strength of the Golden Dragon that Wang Qiu¡¯er had offered him, meant he wouldn¡¯t have to be concerned about his body, at least before he became a Transcendent Douluo.

    There was no need to mention his spiritual power¡¯s qualitative changes. He had relied on his fusion with Wang Qiu¡¯er and even killed a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant. Even though his element¡¯s crushing superiority had determined the oue of battle, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was so frighteningly strong that it was also a substantial reason for his victory.

    He had absorbed two soul rings within a short period of time, and his strength had grown to the point where he had be one of the stronger individuals on the Continent. Furthermore, he could feel that as he became stronger, he had managed to consolidate and understand much more about his personal abilities during the three months he had spent in closed-door cultivation. Following the passage of time, these understandings would help him grow even faster.

    Dong¡¯er was in a deep slumber, and Qiu¡¯er had offered herself to him, and both incidents broke his heart. But he was a lot stronger than others of his age, and after Ultimate martial souls broke through seven rings, their initial limitations would swiftly disappear. His talents and his potential would be gradually revealed in the future.

    Huo Yuhao briefly sensed the transformations in his body before he slowly entered meditation. He was swiftly recovering his physical and mental strength amid the dense life energy released by the Water of Life.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    One day passed before he woke up from his meditation. He opened his eyes, and felt invigorated and fully energetic. He took a deep breath, and thick life energy flooded in through his nose. He felt sofortable that he almost moaned.

    Huo Yuhao began to understand why Di Tian could metamorphose eight times and be the king of the Savage Beasts with more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation. Perhaps the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King hadn¡¯t been alive for eight hundred thousand years, but he resided in a ce where life energy was so dense, and he still had the Auspicious Emperor Beast and the Skydream Iceworm, among other external forces, amplifying him. It would be strange if he didn¡¯t evolve.

    A faint fragrance wafted from in front of him. Huo Yuhao lowered his head subconsciously, and saw several green fruits stacked up in front of him.

    These are¡­

    These green fruits were spherical, and there were fine andpact golden dots on their surface. Thick aromas lingered around them, and they were very alluring.

    Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy, and he was very knowledgeable. He was momentarily astonished before he immediately identified these fruits.

    These were Goldenjade Fruits, considered very rare and exotic. Goldenjade Fruits were natural treasures that boosted a soul master¡¯s physique and soul power. They were indeed treasures, as they were very beneficial and nutritious for soul masters.

    There was no doubt that Di Tian had ordered some soul beast to send these fruits to him.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t courteous at all as he picked one up and gobbled it up in a few bites. The fruit wasn¡¯t very delectable, its flesh was chewy, it oozed with juice, and it wasn¡¯t sweet. Instead, it tasted bitter. But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to waste even one bit of something this good, and he even ate the fruit¡¯s outer skin.

    He wasn¡¯t greedy for more, and stopped after ingesting one. The effects of a Goldenjade Fruit were very potent, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb more even if he ate them. One was enough for now.

    After a few moments, gentle and warm currents began to spread from his gut to every corner of his body. The soul power inside his dantian became a lot more lively, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to activate it as they followed naturally and circted along the path designated by his Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    Huo Yuhao had seven soul rings, and this Goldenjade Fruit¡¯s boosting effects weren¡¯t that impressive. However, the fruit was very nutritious, and adding in his meditation during the past day, his mind and body were instantly raised to their peak condition.

    Huo Yuhao took a step out as ayer of faint golden light glowed on him. He slowly punched out with his fist, and his body instantly became brilliantly golden. Spiritual power and soul power immediately fused together, and that rose-gold vertical eye naturally appeared behind him.

    He had simply concentrated for this punch, but Huo Yuhao discovered to his surprise that this fist¡¯s strength wasparable to the force of his Fist of Remembrance. Golden light radiated and didn¡¯t dissipate, as if a golden whirlpool was consuming everything within ten meters of his fist. The seamless fusion between soul power and spiritual power produced an all-new ability.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration inside.Just as teacher said back then, this is the feeling of a perfect Sovereign¡¯s Descent, where spiritual power and soul power are seamlessly integrated!

 Chapter 407.2 - Conversation with the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 407.2: Conversation with the Beast God</h4>

    He didn¡¯t stop as he continued to think. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and the Tang Sect¡¯s most basic fist techniques at the same time.

    His movements were very slow. He paused almost after every punch, and he focused on understanding and sensing the changes in his soul power and spiritual power. Huo Yuhao obtained better understandings of his own abilities after every movement.

    But he was very careful throughout the entire process. He relied on his formidable spiritual power to skillfully control his attacking force so that he didn¡¯t hurt the nts around him.

    His movements slowly began to speed up, but the golden colors released from each punch became smaller and smaller. Initially, the golden colors stretched to more than ten meters, but they were gradually withdrawn to about seven to eight meters, and then to five to six meters. By the time his body became like an illusion moving at high speed, the radiance on his fists had vanishedpletely, and even the undtions from his soul power and spiritual power were gone.

    A shadow began to stretch out behind his back, but that shadow wasn¡¯t his afterimage. Instead, it was the Goddess of Light.

    The Goddess of Light moved in the same way that he did. However, she was reflected from his body, so the two of them seemed like they were moving together, as if they were dancing on thekeside.

    Huo Yuhao practiced this set of fist techniques for two hours. When he withdrew his fists and stood up straight, the Goddess of Light appeared right in front of him and didn¡¯t dissipate as she did the exact same thing.

    Dense golden light gradually rose around Huo Yuhao and transformed into spirals above his head as they expanded out from him, one after another.

    ¡ª

    The past two hours had been very qualitatively transformative for Huo Yuhao. He hadpletely absorbed the Goldenjade Fruit¡¯s effects, and he had used the past two hours to finally streamline and understand the changes to his body that his two new soul rings had brought about, truly grasping the strength of being a Soul Sage.

    ¡°Impressive fist techniques,¡± a in voice rang out, and Huo Yuhao snapped his head around and gazed into the distance. He was the only person by thekeside before this, but there was someone else there at this moment. Wasn¡¯t that the Beast God Di Tian, dressed in ck?

    Di Tian was in his human form. He stared at Huo Yuhao, and his eyes flowed with faint approval.

    Huo Yuhao bowed subtly in his direction and said, ¡°You tter me. I¡¯m like the light of a firefly in front of you, elder.¡±

    Di Tian smiled inly. He seemed just like a warm elderly man at this moment as he said, ¡°No, you are outstanding enough. You¡¯re probably not even twenty years old, or a little older than twenty, at most. It¡¯s no wonder the Auspicious Emperor Beast gave you her approval. You possess many special qualities that other humans don¡¯t. You can still keep yourposure in a dangerous ce like this, and you can achieve one hundred percent concentration. You can already be considered very outstanding because of this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said nothing. He didn¡¯t know how to continue the Beast God¡¯s conversation, and the set of fist techniques that he had just disyed just happened because he felt like it.

    ¡°Training by yourself is so uninteresting. Why don¡¯t I apany you?¡± Di Tian¡¯s next sentence rendered Huo Yuhao speechless with ck eyes and widened jaws.

    The Beast God had more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation¡­ did he really want to fight Huo Yuhao?

    ¡°Elder, you¡­¡± Huo Yuhao stared lifelessly at Di Tian.

    Di Tian smiled faintly and said, ¡°We¡¯re just having a practice fight. Just try your best.¡±

    Di Tian made his move before his words finished registering in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and he didn¡¯t give Yuhao time to think about it at all. He took a step forward, his hands were still behind his back as he charged toward Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao immediately felt a frightening and stifling pressure m him in the face from the moment Di Tian made his move. That feeling resembled the same feeling he had felt in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, when he waspletely crushed by that projection. When he was crushed back then, his body had crumbled into dust, and nothing was left!

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t like he was back then. He didn¡¯t use a single soul skill against Di Tian¡¯s charge, because he didn¡¯t have the time to activate his soul skills. He stood in ce as he circled his hands before him with his palms facing out, and slowly pushed out.

    Di Tian was as fast as lighting, while Huo Yuhao felt like a doddering old man.

    However, because his movement was so slow, his palms pushed out at the same moment Di Tian arrived in front of him.

    In that moment, Di Tian discovered to his surprise that Huo Yuhao had be illusory to his senses, as if he had integrated with nature around him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s life energy and even his fortune was one with nature.

    Bam!

    Huo Yuhao was sent hurtling backward, andnded on the floor after flying more than ten meters out. He stumbled as he hit the ground, and seemed like he was in disarray, but he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and dispelled the impact bit by bit.

    Di Tian stood where he was and didn¡¯t pursue Huo Yuhao. He tilted his head at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Now I believe that the Auspicious Emperor Beast has given all her destiny and fortune to you. It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re not a soul beast, and you can¡¯t bless the Great Star Dou Forest like she did.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stopped moving as well. Di Tian clearly hadn¡¯t used his full strength, but even so, he had felt as if his spirit and his blood were about to be forced out of his body from the impact when Di Tian collided with him. It had felt like a mountain had crashed into him.

    ¡°Thank you for showing mercy, elder,¡± Huo Yuhao said as he bowed towards Di Tian.

    Di Tian frowned and said, ¡°You humans have so many formalities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was neither haughty or humble. ¡°This is human culture that we have inherited over the generations: filial piety, respect for one¡¯s seniors, loyalty, politeness, honor and shame. Those things form the foundations of human culture.¡±

    Di Tian said inly, ¡°I don¡¯t know about all that. However, we¡¯re just starting. Try your best.¡± His body quivered as he spoke, and he charged towards Huo Yuhao once more. He moved a little faster this time.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to be careless. He understood from his previous experience that the Golden Eyed ck Dragon King wouldn¡¯t deal him a fatal blow, and his footwork changed subtly as he took two quick steps out and adjusted his position. His soul power circted smoothly and at his whim within him, and a vertical eye flickered behind his back as he merged all the forces in his body once more. His eyes turned rose-gold in color, andpared to the previous round, he managed to enter his peak condition within a much shorter period of time this time around.

    Bam!

    They shed again, and Huo Yuhao stumbled backwards. He was pushed more than ten steps backwards before he could regain his bnce. However, his situation was a lot betterpared to when he was sent hurtling backwards before.

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes flowed with surprise, but he said nothing as he charged at Huo Yuhao once more in a sh.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t dare to rx one bit. He was starting to readjust and harmonize himself when he was thrown backwards, and he made sure that his mind was calm so that everything in his body coulde together as one. Huo Yuhao could feel that Di Tian¡¯s strength was stronger in their second sh, but his own force had be a lot stronger as well. Therefore, his defense was a lot better than during their first collision. More importantly, that feeling where his spirit was almost shaken out of his body was gone, and his spiritual sea was unnaturally stable. A rose-gold vertical eye hovered above his spiritual sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s original body was hovering in his spiritual sea. His Golden Eyes were filled with anger, and dense spiritual power flooded out from him and integrated into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    However, a bluish-green figure appeared in front of him at the same time. This figure raised her hand and knocked him on the head as she shook her head at him.

    The Skydream Iceworm seemed a little depressed as he stared at the charming yet dissatisfied face in front of him. He reluctantly stopped his actions and withdrew his spiritual undtions.

    Huo Yuhao could feel everything that was going on clearly, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered with thinking about them. Something else happened when he shed with Di Tian for the third time.

    Right before his palms pressed against Di Tian¡¯s frame, his palms suddenly arched inwards as a gentle suction force appeared in his palms. Sucking Di Tian in with his current strength was probably futile, like an insect trying to move a tree, but Di Tian was momentarily startled when the gentle suction force appeared because he didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to do such a thing. Di Tian instinctively controlled his own power, and his forward impact naturally weakened a little.

    Bam!

    Huo Yuhao only took five steps back this time. Furthermore, his yielding hands suddenly pushed out as he stumbled backwards, and a sphere of light flew out and mmed into Di Tian, who was hot on his heels.

    Di Tian¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop. However, this was the first time Huo Yuhao had retaliated!

    The golden light vanished into thin air in front of Di Tian. Huo Yuhao and Di Tian shed once more, but Huo Yuhao was sent flying through the air because he was preupied with retaliation.

    Huo Yuhao felt his chest tighten, but he didn¡¯t feel discouraged at all. He was very determined, and he had already gone through so many of life¡¯s tribtions.

    Flying a distance through the air from the collision wasn¡¯t all that bad. At least, he was able to put some distance between Di Tian and himself. A longing look flowed from his eyes, and he seemed to turn transparent all over when he withdrew his right fist.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s projection appeared quietly behind him. However, she seemed different from before ¨C this time, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s projection was colorful, as if she had actually descended beside Huo Yuhao. She was smiling beautifully, and her charming eyes were tinged with bashfulness as her long and pinkish-blue hair draped over her shoulders. She twirled her hair with her fingers yfully, and there was even a subtle sassiness at the corner of her lips.

    Yes, this was the most beautiful Wang Dong¡¯er in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Dong¡¯er was behind him, and she was also in his heart.

    The Fist of Remembrance!

    Di Tian could have mmed into Huo Yuhao one more time before he could unleash his Fist of Remembrance, but Di Tian deliberately slowed down this time. He allowed Huo Yuhao to raise his fist¡¯s aura to its highest possible level.

    Di Tian watched that longing in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes and that dash of anxiety at the corner of his mouth, and then studied the enchanting and elegant young girl behind his back. Even the Golden Eyed ck Dragon King was full of admiration at the sight.

    Has this fellow raised human fighting techniques to such a high level? Not even many Transcendent Douluo can reach a level of integration and fusion like this, can they?

 Chapter 407.3 - Conversation with the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 407.3: Conversation with the Beast God</h4>

    Di Tian no longer held his hands behind his back anymore. He reached out with his left hand and opened his palm to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    He didn¡¯t do so because his body wasn¡¯t strong enough to take this punch. Rather, he did so out of respect.

    Not a single sound was produced in this sh. Di Tian¡¯s smooth white palm grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist, which was glistening golden.

    However, Di Tian¡¯s expression changed drastically in the next moment, and he swiftly released the young man¡¯s palm, as if he had grabbed hot charcoal. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance reached in deep just like that and mmed against Di Tian¡¯s chest.

    Golden light gathered, and there seemed to be a giant and formless hand with an iron grip on Di Tian¡¯s body, such that he had no choice but to take a hit from this fist.

    The Beast God¡¯s body quivered as dark golden light flickered once on his body. The space around him that had copsed was instantly shattered, and he transformed into a dark golden ray and withdrew far into the distance. Huo Yuhao¡¯s punch didn¡¯t hit anything in the end.

    If a human or a soul beast had been watching this fight, they would probably have been so astonished that their eyeballs would have popped out.

    Who was Di Tian? He was the strongest Savage Beast in the entire Continent. He was the Beast God of the Great Star Dou Forest! Yet he was forced by a Soul Sage to the point where he had no choice but to evade his attack. If this was spread to the outside world, Huo Yuhao would be an instant celebrity.

    Di Tian waved his left hand and frightening soul power undtions appeared in midair. An enormous pitch-ck dragon w appeared out of nowhere and grasped Huo Yuhao, sealing all the soul power that he wanted to activate in the next moment. Di Tian forcibly pulled him out from his longing emotions.

    Huo Yuhao woke uppletely as he sensed all that tremendous squeezing pressure around him. He gazed at Di Tian, and couldn¡¯t help but feel a little dazed.

    Di Tian himself seemed a little dazed at this moment. His expression was a little pale, but his eyes flowed with a dash of tenderness. However, his expression swiftly returned to normal, and he didn¡¯t seem very friendly when he looked at Huo Yuhao once more.

    ¡°Your spiritual power is stronger than I had imagined. This strength isn¡¯t something the Auspicious Beast has bestowed upon you! Concrete-material spiritual power!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also a little dazed. He didn¡¯t really understand why Di Tian was so afraid to interact with his Fist of Remembrance.With Di Tian¡¯s strength, not even the Haodong Palm can hurt him even a little bit, let alone the Fist of Remembrance! But why is his expression so strange?

    Di Tian said inly, ¡°You can train by yourself. However, you¡¯ll have to make the necessary preparations for what you have to do two days from now.¡± With that, Di Tian vanished into thin air beside theke, just like that.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move an inch as he watched Di Tian disappear, and he began to contemte.

    What can it be that makes even the Beast God afraid? It can¡¯t be the strength of my Fist of Remembrance. Even if my spiritual power were twice as strong, I couldn¡¯t possibly hurt him. Since he¡¯s not afraid of my attacking strength, then¡­

    Emotions!

    Yes, he¡¯s afraid of the longing feelings within my Fist of Remembrance.

    My soul power is like an antpared to the Beast God. However, the gap between our spiritual powers isn¡¯t that great. When I¡¯m longing for Dong¡¯er, my spiritual power is raised to its highest possible level, to the point where I am unable to control it properly. This longing feeling ispletely presented in my Fist of Remembrance, and it must be that emotion that affected the Beast God. It must be that emotion that triggered his memories, and everything that he misses so much, so that he evaded my fist in the end.

    Huo Yuhao was very intelligent. He understood the process after contemting for just a short period of time.Who says soul beasts don¡¯t have feelings? Seems like the Beast God has feelings and emotions deep in his heart!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts stopped here, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. His thoughts were full of wonderful goodness, as he thought about the joy of being together with Dong¡¯er.

    The greatest reason why his Fist of Remembrance was so powerful was because he would be immersed in his emotions. Back then, he had used this strength to defeat two evil Soul Douluo, and this was the very reason why he could aplish that feat.

    However, just as Xu Sanshi had said to him, he couldn¡¯t rely on his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills in the future. Otherwise, once Wang Dong¡¯er woke up and returned to his embrace, his cultivation would be greatly weakened. At the very least, his fighting strength would be greatly reduced.

    Di Tian was gone, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop cultivating. He rarely had the opportunity to be in such a quiet ce that was so rich with life energy at the same time, in addition to the Goldenjade Fruit¡¯s nutrition. He seemed to have returned to the days when he had just entered Shrek Academy with Wang Dong¡¯er, when he didn¡¯t sleep or rest so that he could meditate more.

    Huo Yuhao discovered as he meditated that no matter what he did, Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure kept surfacing in his mind. He was in a bit of a daze.Yes! Ever since I left the Duke¡¯s mansion, I¡¯ve been together with Dong¡¯er, and even though we¡¯ve been separated from time to time, we were still thinking about each other and longing for each other. Don¡¯t worry, Dong¡¯er, I¡¯ll definitely look for you when I settle some things!

    He became more immersed in his meditation as thoughts spun through his mind. He felt and sensed the fusion between his soul power and his spiritual power, and every soul skill that he had absorbed.

    Typical soul masters never had enough soul skills to use. They had to decide whether they needed control-type or assault-type soul skills when choosing soul rings, whether they needed soul skills for single targets or an area of effect. Questions like those always bugged them, but Huo Yuhao was in the opposite situation; he just had too many soul skills!

    He was born with twin martial souls, and this meant he innately had twice as many soul skills as normal soul masters did. Furthermore, he had two hundred-thousand-year soul rings among his many soul rings, and he had another rose-gold soul ring that belonged to Qiu¡¯er, which was equivalent to a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. He had another one million-year soul ring that gave him four soul skills, and he had several soul bones, as well!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of not having enough soul skills. Instead, there were too many of too many different kinds, and he always had certain problems choosing which soul skills to use. This was also what Huo Yuhao had to iron out at the moment.

    His Three Ultimate Haodong Skills¡¯ side effects were too great, so he had to use them as seldom as he could afford to in the future. Under such a situation, choosing soul skills and how he was going to fight became Huo Yuhao¡¯s most important matter at the moment.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to add any soul rings to his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, at least for the moment, because there was no need for him to increase his number of soul rings. Obtaining more soul rings would boost his physique, but he didn¡¯t have to worry about that after assimting the Golden Dragon¡¯s strength.

    He would rather work hard to improve his Spirit Eyes, and only when he became a Titled Douluo would he try his best to add higher-level soul rings to his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. From his perspective, not even ten-thousand-year soul rings meant much to him; only hundred-thousand-year soul rings could satisfy his needs.

    Huo Yuhao had no idea how many ranks above 70 his soul power was at the moment. After he absorbed his seventh soul ring, because that soul ring belonged to a hundred-thousand-year Evileye Tyrant, his soul power rose by quite a bit. He estimated his soul power to be at about Rank 72, more or less. He wasn¡¯t even twenty years old, and yet his soul power was extraordinary. This also meant that if the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was happening right now, he would still be qualified to participate in the tournament. He was a Soul Sage with an Ultimate martial soul! He also had twin martial souls! He could probably easily sweep most teams by himself, or perhaps every single team!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Two days passed as he meditated. Even though time was very fleeting for soul masters and their cultivation, these two days had been very beneficial for Huo Yuhao. He was starting to find the path that belonged to him.

    Di Tian didn¡¯t reappear over these past two days, but nobody knew if that was because his emotions had been stimted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance.

    ¡°Di Tian!¡± A respectful call rang out, and Huo Yuhao was jolted awake from his meditation. He noticed the Emerald Swan wasn¡¯t far from where he was when he raised his head. He had no idea when she had arrived.

    She lives up to her name as one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts! I didn¡¯t notice her even with the sensitivity of my spiritual power.

    Bi Ji was still rtively friendly towards Huo Yuhao, and she nodded subtly in his direction. Huo Yuhao hurriedly got to his feet and returned her greeting.

    A ck shadow drifted in from the center of the Water of Life. Di Tian¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed since they¡¯dst met, and he asked inly, ¡°Is everything prepared?¡±

    Bi Ji nodded and said, ¡°The people from Shrek have arrived. However, we have to hurry. I¡¯m afraid our kinsmen won¡¯t be able to control themselves.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Di Tian waved his hand, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt the space around him go dark. He was already soaring through the sky when he regained his senses.

    Probably only these few Savage Beasts dared to fly across the Great Star Dou Forest, and only the Beast God dared to fly so outrageously.

    There was a patch of dark clouds beneath Di Tian¡¯s feet. Bi Ji, Huo Yuhao, and he were standing on these dark clouds as they soared towards the edge of the forest. They seemed like they were moving very slowly, but they were actually flying at lightning speed.

    Huo Yuhao was a little worried when Bi Ji mentioned that she was afraid her kinsmen couldn¡¯t control themselves. Huo Yuhao understood what that meant; the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts had just fought a violent battle against Shrek City, and both sides had suffered heavy losses. Under such circumstances, both parties definitely hated each other to the core.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s people were over at the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s edge, and it was possible that the soul beasts there would attack the humans because they couldn¡¯t control their impulses.

    Di Tian was flying far too quickly. At least, he was faster than any soul tool that Huo Yuhao could think of. The dark clouds began to descend while these random thoughts were still spinning his head as cursing sounds and the howls of soul beasts rang out one after another in his ear.

    A dull dragon roar echoed through the skies, and the sky darkenedpletely. The situation was a little messy a second ago, but it calmed down in the next moment.

    The dark cloudsnded on the ground, and Di Tian appeared in front of the soul beasts with an ice-cold expression on his face. He turned around and faced the masses of soul beasts being led by the Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King.

 Chapter 408.1 - Dragon Kingâ€™s Claw

    <h4 ss>Chapter 408.1: Dragon King¡¯s w</h4>

    They were inside the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Peripheral Region, and there were thousands of soul beasts in this ce. Almost every soul beast that had at least a hundred-thousand-years of cultivation was concentrated here, and all of them were at least ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Most of these soul beasts had participated in the battle not long ago, and even those who hadn¡¯t heard about the damage that the bitter and cruel fight with those humans brought to them. Almost every soul beast¡¯s eyes were filled with hatred and violence.

    There were also many humans a thousand meters from them on the other side.

    Every single elder from Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was here. Other than them, the Body Sect¡¯s leader, Du Busi, led the soul masters who were here to reinforce Shrek Academy. In addition to the Soul Sages that the three empires had deployed to reinforce Shrek, there were at least several hundred other people here. Furthermore, their individual fighting strengths were superior to the soul beasts. If the Beast God Di Tian was taken out of the picture, it would be hard to determine who would emerge victorious if both parties erupted into battle.

    Elder Xuan heaved a faint sigh of relief when he saw Huo Yuhao, who naturally arrived at the same time as Di Tian. Quite a few people from the Tang Sect were here, beside the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao were all here. Besides them, the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s sect leader, Nan Shuishui was also here. Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were absent.

    Everybody became a little excited when they saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao signaled to hispanions that everything was fine.

    ¡°Di Tian, is this how you host your guests?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice travelled from far away, and every soul beast could hear him.

    Di Tian turned around and faced the humans. ¡°At least for now, you are not guests in the Great Star Dou Forest. You are still our enemy.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes grew focused. ¡°Does that mean that you¡¯re not sincere this time?¡±

    Di Tian answered coldly, ¡°Sincerity depends on whether your experiment is sessful. What¡¯s the point of sincerity if your experiments are unsessful?¡±

    Elder Xuan said coldly, ¡°Di Tian, don¡¯t think we are afraid of you. There is an army of a hundred thousand soldiers gathered at Shrek City right now. We will follow you to the end if you wish to do battle.¡±

    Du Busi and Elder Xuanbined could restrain Di Tian, even if they couldn¡¯t defeat him. The reinforcements who had arrived in Shrek City over the past three days were numerous enough to the point where they had the strength to meet the Great Star Dou Forest head-on.

    ¡°Elder Di Tian, Elder Xuan, please calm down. The existence of Spirits is beneficial for both parties. May I conduct the experiment before we begin negotiations?¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his voice and spoke as he walked over to Di Tian¡¯s side.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression warmed a little when he saw Huo Yuhao. The soul beasts had suffered severe losses during the war, but did Shrek Academy not suffer in simr fashion? Even though Shrek Academy¡¯s losses were rtively smallerpared to their adversaries, Shrek Academy had lost the greatest number of people in this war across thest ten thousand years. There were already more than a thousand dead from this battle alone.

    Di Tian turned around towards Huo Yuhao and nodded as he waved towards Bi Ji.

    Bi Ji unleashed a crisp call as various powerful soul beasts instantly stood to one side, and a group of soul beasts gradually walked out.

    These soul beasts could only be described as frail and infirm. Those who were severely wounded walked in front, and some of these soul beasts were carried by other soul beasts as the Emerald Swan and her kin treated them. The soul beasts who were positioned at the back seemed veryckadaisical, and their soul power undtions were extremely weak. Evidently, their lives were about to end.

    Elder Xuan gestured to the humans, and the crowd separated as the volunteers stepped out.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised that not a single member from the Tang Sect appeared amongst these volunteers. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao had recently broken through to Rank 60, but they had imed their sixth soul rings before this. The Tang Sect¡¯s other members hadn¡¯t reached a bottleneck. Nan Qiuqiu was close, but she was still one step away.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t entirely unfamiliar with these volunteers. He actually saw someone he was very familiar with amongst the volunteers¡­Dai Huabin!

    Dai Huabin¡¯s soul power is at Rank 60 now? And he hasn¡¯t obtained a soul ring?

    Not just Dai Huabin stepped out; Ning Tian and Wu Feng were also there, and Ning Tian was dressed like a man as he walked out while holding hands with Wu Feng. Wu Feng was no different from how she used to be, but her expression had be a lot gentler than before.

    Several other students from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard had also volunteered. Huo Yuhao could name most of them, while the rest of the volunteers consisted of individuals from those who came to reinforce Shrek City. They greeted and gestured to Huo Yuhao in the distance in unison as they walked out.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very familiar with them, but he could vaguely guess that he had probably rescued most of these people from Sunrise City, and that was the reason why they recognized him.

    The soul beasts and soul masters who had volunteered stepped out from their respective camps and stood at the front.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at Di Tian as he said calmly, ¡°Elder Di Tian, please attach restrictions to me, but don¡¯t hinder my cirction of soul power and spiritual power. You can give me poison if you like.¡±

    Di Tian was momentarily stunned, but he immediately understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say. He answered inly, ¡°No need. Go.¡±

    He is worthy of being called the Beast God! Is he not afraid of me taking this opportunity to escape?Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but admire Di Tian as he stared at Di Tian¡¯s calm expression. This was how the strongest individual in the world carried himself!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything ttering, but bowed deeply in Di Tian¡¯s direction before he turned around and strode towards the center of both parties.

    The Bear Lord frowned and said, ¡°Di Tian, this fellow is very slippery. What if¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Di Tian¡¯s calm voice was full of unquestionable majesty.

    The Bear Lord closed his mouth and said nothing more. His eyes were full of fury and resentment, but he didn¡¯t dare to talk back to Di Tian.

    Huo Yuhao walked to the center of both sides by himself and said, ¡°Please send your respective representatives out.¡±

    A soul beast was delivered in front of Huo Yuhao from the soul beasts¡¯ camp. This soul beast was in a truly terrible situation ¨C it was a tiger, and Huo Yuhao could judge from its shape and size that it had at least ten thousand years of cultivation. However, half its body was no longer there, and if the Emerald Swans hadn¡¯t been continually supporting his life with healing soul skills, this tiger would have died a long time ago.

    The one hundred human volunteers nced at one another. They were a lot more anxiouspared to the soul beasts, and nobody wanted to be the first brave volunteer to take this risk. In the end, nobody knew whether creating Spirits would be dangerous, and they would be a lot nearer to those soul beasts if they stepped forward. If the soul beasts attacked, they would take the brunt of their assault.

    At this moment, a cold voice dered, ¡°Let me!¡±

    Someone strode out from the group of humans, and he widened his strides, arriving in front of Huo Yuhao with a few leaps.

    Aplicated look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes when he saw this person, because this person wasn¡¯t anyone else but his half-brother. At the same time, this person was the one who had caused his mother¡¯s death, and was also his enemy¡­ Dai Huabin!

    Even though Dai Huabin¡¯s mother was the real culprit, Dai Huabin had directly caused his mother harm. Dai Huabin had kicked Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother when her body was already frail and weak. His mother¡¯s condition had deteriorated from there, and she couldn¡¯t be treated anymore afterwards. Huo Yuhao hated the Duke¡¯s wife the most, but Dai Huabin was number two for sure.

    He had suppressed this hatred deep in his heart over the years. However, his hatred began to surface as he became stronger and stronger all the way until they were inside the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had attempted to rescue their father in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, and had eventually saved the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Hao. Afterwards, Dai Huabin didn¡¯t hesitate to ruin his own physical appearance for Zhu Lu, and Huo Yuhao had finally developed a thread of respect for Dai Huabin. However, respect was only respect in the end, and his hatred had never been dispelled.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how Huo Yuhao was feeling as he stared at Dai Huabin.

    From Huo Yuhao¡¯s perspective, this was a great opportunity to exact revenge! As long as he was willing, he could make an ident happen when Dai Huabin was assimting with his Spirit, and Huo Yuhao could end his life, just like that!

    However, this thought only shed once in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head before he gave it up. He arrogantly told himself,One day, I will use my own identity to stride back into the Duke¡¯s Mansion, and I will exact my revenge uprightly and frankly. Murdering him in the dark is shameful, and I can¡¯t bring shame to my mother.

    With these thoughts in mind, Huo Yuhao swept away the dark shadow in his heart as he nodded in Dai Huabin¡¯s direction.

    Dai Huabin looked at him with an expression that was far better than before. ¡°You saved my father back then, and I haven¡¯t been able to thank you. Perhaps, thanking you is a littlete, but I will always remembered this favor. You will not be my enemy in the future.¡± He pointed at his heart as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao felt his feelings ripple when he heard those words. He nodded and said, ¡°Prepare yourself. After this, you have to bepletely sincere and willing to fuse with the soul beast for it to be your Spirit. You can¡¯t reject it in any form at all, because the process will fail otherwise. What I am about to use is an equality contract. If the fusion is sessful, the soul beast will be your soul ring. I trust that you know how beneficial Spirits are, so I won¡¯t exin any further.¡±

    ¡°Alright,e.¡± Dai Huabin just stood there as he rxed his body and unleashed his martial soul. Dense ck and white fur began emerging from his body, and his frame becamerger and burlier.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards the soul beast and said, ¡°I know you can understand me. This process will be the same for you. If you want to live, and if you want to allow your life to continue, then you have to follow through with this experiment. Do you understand?¡±

    The tiger stared at Huo Yuhao with its remaining eye and slowly nodded its head.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and said, ¡°You two have to rx at the same time. Don¡¯t reject me in any way, and I will guide you both toplete this fusion ritual.¡±

    Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eyes as he spoke. More urately put, his Spirit Eyes had transformed qualitatively into another existence after he fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er; they were now the Eyes of the Asura!

 Chapter 408.2 - Dragon Kingâ€™s Claw

    <strong>Chapter 408.2: Dragon King¡¯s w</strong>

    An enormous rose-gold vertical eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as seven soul rings ¨C white, purple, ck, ck, ck, rose-gold, and red ¨C gradually emerged and rose up.

    Aplicated expression shed across Dai Huabin¡¯s eyes when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings. He sighed inside, Seems like I will never be able to catch up to him. Seven rings... he¡¯s a Soul Sage now, and he¡¯s a Soul Sage with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring! Even though he didn¡¯t know what had happened to Huo Yuhao recently, Huo Yuhao¡¯s exponential advancement dealt quite a blow to Dai Huabin.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shone with clear golden light as he gazed at the tiger. He reached over slowly with his spiritual power, and helped this soul beast condense its spiritual imprint and spiritual power before he helped adjust and regte its blood so that it would be prepared for the contract. Huo Yuhao began to guide Dai Huabin only when he was done with the tiger.

    Something unexpected happened right at this moment. The tiger¡¯s dim and lifeless single eye suddenly sparkled with fierce light as its crippled frame forcibly leapt off the ground, and it opened its mouth and bit down at Huo Yuhao. Eye-catching red light shone from its body at the same time; it was triggering its own soul power, and seemed like it was going to self-destruct!

    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how powerful a ten-thousand-year soul beast¡¯s self-destruction would be. Furthermore, he was right next to Huo Yuhao, and its intentions were very clear from his behavior. It wanted to hold Huo Yuhao down before it self-destructed, and then they would die together.

    Unfortunately, he was up against the Eye of the Asura. Huo Yuhao had already realized that something was wrong when his blood began to surge inside his body. Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings switched to five, and his fourth soul ring glowed as brilliant orange-gold light sparkled. Huo Yuhao pped out with his right hand with lightning speed, and he touched the tiger¡¯s body gently before he pressed it down from midair just like that.

    The red light emanating from the soul beast was extinguished just like that. The tiger seemed like it had been frozen and plunked back on the ground, and it seemed to have been transformed into a statue. It didn¡¯t move an inch at all.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques, Snowless cier!

    Before, Huo Yuhao had had to expend a lot of soul power and had to concentrate all his energy to unleash this attack. In this moment, Huo Yuhao used Snowless cier easily and casually, and everything seemed as smooth like rolling clouds and flowing water. He wasn¡¯t hindered at all.

    ¡°Bastard! He wants to take this chance to kill my kin.¡± The Bear Lord howled furiously as his body instantly erged, and he prepared to pounce at Huo Yuhao.

    Right at this moment, an incredibly dignified voice that was apanied by terrifying soul power erupted from the Beast God.

    ¡°Let me see who dares to move.¡± Di Tian soared into the air as he spoke, and he turned a half round in the sky and arrived in front of the Bear Lord. His eyes were entirely golden as he raised his right hand, and purplish-gold mes burned as Di Tian grabbed the Bear Lord¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw, which he was swinging at Huo Yuhao.

    The king of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears possessed almost unrivaled strength, and his ws were razor-sharp, but his ws couldn¡¯t move a single inch in Di Tian¡¯s iron-like grip.

    The Bear Lord howled, ¡°Di Tian, you still want to protect that human at a time like this? He killed our kin!¡±

    Di Tian stared at him coldly and said, ¡°You have challenged me time and time again, Bear Lord. Do you actually think that I don¡¯t dare to kill you? Even if you want to challenge me, you should be smarter about it. Since you want to die, I will fulfill your wish.¡±

    The purplish-gold mes on Di Tian¡¯s hand became stronger as he spoke. Simr purplish-gold mes began burning on his body at the same time, and he pressed the Bear Lord down from the sky just like that.

    The indignation in the Bear Lord¡¯s eyes became fear. He had always been known for his strength, but in this moment, the strength that wasing from Di Tian¡¯s single hand was so strong that the Bear Lord couldn¡¯t resist him at all.

    Di Tian raised his other hand, which began to transform as he raised it up. His human hand became a dragon w, dark as the night. However, that dragon w looked like oblivion in the Bear Lord¡¯s eyes as a trembling fear from deep within his heart surfaced. He could clearly feel that this dragon w was a frightening existence that could take his life!

    This was the Dragon King¡¯s w!

    The group of restless soul beasts all quieted down when Di Tian¡¯s pitch-ck dragon w appeared. Theyid down on the ground, prostrate, their bodies quivering. Even the Emerald Swan, the Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff, and the Demoneye Tree went down on one knee.

    What was the Dragon King¡¯s w? Legend had it that the ck Dragons were the Dragon God¡¯s personal bodyguards. After the Dragon God separated into the Gold Dragon and Silver Dragon, the ck Dragons protected his two great avatars, and even the Ninth Dragon Prince didn¡¯t dare to offend the ck Dragons for nothing. The reason for that was because the Dragon God had fondly recalled the ck Dragons¡¯ loyalty, and he gave their leader the title of the Dragon King, and also taught the Dragon King¡¯s w to the ck Dragons. Only the leaders of each generation of ck Dragons could inherit this supreme innate ability!

    The Dragon King¡¯s w wasn¡¯t that different from other powerful soul skills to humans. However, it was vastly different for soul beasts. The Dragon King¡¯s w carried the Dragon God¡¯s aura, and only the most powerful soul beast in the world could possess a skill like this. Once the Dragon King¡¯s w was unleashed, every single soul beast that wasn¡¯t simrly blessed by a God had to submit. Otherwise, they would perish, and disappear into oblivion in the face of the Dragon King¡¯s w.

    Di Tian had never used his Dragon King¡¯s w before today, not even against the Evileye Tyrant King. But at this moment, he unleashed his Dragon King¡¯s w, which meant that he was representing the Dragon God, and he was representing the ck Dragons who had protected him. Whoever resisted him, without considering the frightening force that the Dragon King¡¯s w had against soul beasts, would be challenging every single soul beast in the world that possessed dragon blood.

    All soul beasts that had even a thread of dragon blood were proud of that fact. Dragons had once ruled the Douluo Continent: there were sky dragons, there were earth dragons, and there were many species who were rtives of the dragon race. Not even the Dragon God himself could count how many different species of soul beasts possessed dragon blood.

    Therefore, not a single soul beast dared to resist the Dragon King¡¯s w. The Bear Lord was scared shitless! He truly felt Di Tian¡¯s intense killing intent!

    ¡°Di Tian, no, Di Tian, I was wrong. Forgive me, Di Tian. I promise I will never challenge your authority again.¡± The Bear Lord wasn¡¯t an idiot, after all. He had been alive for several hundred thousand years, so what was more important than his life?

    Di Tian muttered coldly, ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time. You¡¯ve gone behind my back in the past, and I¡¯ve been toozy to fault you for all those little things. However, today¡¯s matter concerns the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s future, and yet you dare to stir up trouble. Are you really treating me like I don¡¯t exist?¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s Dragon King¡¯s w shed down from the sky as he spoke, and went straight for the Bear Lord¡¯s head.

    ¡°Mercy, Di Tian!¡± Bi Ji couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    Di Tian¡¯s w was going for the Bear Lord¡¯s head, but he nted his w and struck the Bear Lord¡¯s shoulder instead. The terrifying force of Di Tian¡¯s Dragon King¡¯s w was on full disy.

    Back then, the Valkyrie Douluo Xian Lin¡¯er had used her full strength, but had only chopped a few strands of hair from the Bear Lord¡¯s forehead with her Greenme Spear. However, the Bear Lord¡¯s frame seemed like it was made from tofu in front of Di Tian¡¯s Dragon King¡¯s w, and Di Tian¡¯s w cut into his shoulder just like that.

    ¡°Aargh ¨C¡± A shrill and agonizing howl erupted from the Bear Lord¡¯s mouth, and his muscr body began to tremble like a pendulum.

    Di Tian was right in front of the Bear Lord as he stared into his eyes, which were already full of fear. ¡°This will be thest time. If there¡¯s a next time, I will use your life to wash away my wrath.¡±

    He swung his left hand as he spoke, and the Bear Lord¡¯s enormous frame was sent hurtling through the air like a cannon shell. The Bear Lord crashed through the Great Star Dou Forest, ck lightning streaks flickering on his body as if they were about to tear his body apartpletely as he flew through the sky. The Bear Lord continued to howl painfully as tough dark golden hair scattered in all directions in the air, and horrifying gashes appeared one after another on his body.

    The entire ce was deathly quiet.

    Who would have thought that the Beast God, Di Tian wouldsh out against the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s second-strongest individual himself? Furthermore, he did so with such brutal force. Di Tian¡¯s Dragon King¡¯s w was so mighty that he suppressed the Bear Lord to the point that the Bear Lord couldn¡¯t resist at all.

    Bi Ji, the Myriad Demon King, and the Scarlet King, along with all the soul beasts on scene, were all prostrate on the ground. Nobody dared to move a muscle.

    Di Tian turned around. His expression was ice-cold as he said inly, ¡°If anyone dares to go against my words, I will make his spirit burn in hell forever.¡±

    The soul beasts didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. They were just lying there on the ground, quivering, and certain soul beasts who had rtively weaker minds even began to lose their bowels.

    On the other side in the human camp, Elder Xuan and Du Busi wore solemn expressions. Dragon King¡¯s w¡­ Di Tian possessed the ck Dragon¡¯s strongest esoteric ability. They weren¡¯t sure what would have happened if Di Tian had hysterically unleashed his full strength that day!

    Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but admire Elder Mu even more. If Elder Mu hadn¡¯t used the Golden Tree¡¯s strength to trigger the Taotie¡¯s powers in his body and forcefully imprison Di Tian, Shrek City would probably have been crushed to a pulp by the beast wave. Di Tian was a lot stronger than they had imagined!

    Huo Yuhao saw everything Di Tian did. He was nowparing the Beast God with other powerful individuals he had met before, and he realized that besides that teacher of his who came from another world, the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, nobody was as powerful as the Beast God. Not even the Darkness Holy Dragon couldpare to Di Tian. If Elder Mu were still alive and at his peak condition, he would probably only have a chance against the Beast God if he teamed up with the Darkness Holy Dragon.

    Huo Yuhao was sure that Di Tian wasn¡¯t a demigod like Electrolux. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the dangers of his next metamorphosis. Demigods possessed abilities that transcended this world... Of course, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell what that level was like right now...

 Chapter 408.3 - Dragon Kingâ€™s Claw

    <h4 ss>Chapter 408.3: Dragon King¡¯s w</h4>

    ¡°What happened wasn¡¯t your fault ¨C continue. You can choose any soul beast you want to cooperate with your experiment.¡± Di Tian turned to Huo Yuhao and spoke inly, jolting Huo Yuhao awake from his fearful thoughts.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and nced at Dai Huabin beside him. Dai Huabin¡¯s reaction was drastically different from his. At this moment, the half-brother with whom he shared a father only had excitement in his eyes. Dai Huabin stared at Di Tian as if he were gazing upon his idol, a pure worship of strength.

    ¡°Thank you for your trust.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed towards Di Tian before he walked towards the soul beasts who were representing the Great Star Dou Forest for the experiments.

    Di Tian had heavily injured the Bear Lord and was also telling Huo Yuhao through his actions how important these experiments were, and how much emphasis he ced on them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what the Beast God would do if his experiments failed.

    There were many powerful individuals in the human camp, but from the strength that Di Tian had just disyed, he didn¡¯t even consider these humans a challenge to him.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t take long to choose a soul beast. He picked another tiger, but he didn¡¯t pick from those who were injured. Instead, he picked from the group whose lives were almost at an end due to old age. This tiger was another ten-thousand-year soul beast, and from its appearance, it had about twenty thousand years of cultivation. With Dai Huabin¡¯s talent, this tiger was very appropriate for his sixth soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao brought this soul beast, whose movements were already a little sluggish, in front of Dai Huabin. This soul beast was a ck Tiger. Its entire body was pitch-ck, and there was a white ¡°King¡± etched onto its forehead. It was five meters long, and even though it was old and infirm, one could tell see its power when it was in its prime. Its skeleton wasrge, and its four paws were especially thick and wide.

    The Large-Palmed ck Tiger was a ferocious soul beast that was adept in melee. Tigers were typically highly regarded within the forest, but very few tigers could go further after reaching a hundred thousand years. It was because tigers were innately domineering and overbearing, and after breaking through a hundred thousand years, they were likely to threaten the ruler¡¯s sovereignty. Di Tian didn¡¯t have to make a move; the Bear Lord and the Myriad Demon King wouldn¡¯t allow any tiger to break through two hundred thousand years.

    Huo Yuhao said to this Large-palmed ck Tiger, ¡°I can sense that your life energy is about to be exhausted. If youplete your fusion with him, you will exist in another form. You will still be a king, and you can still apany him into battle, and you will still be able to use your powers as a king. Are you willing to try?¡±

    This Large-Palmed ck Tiger¡¯s life had several months more to it, at most. The truth was that it had almost died at the hands of other soul beasts before it came forward today, and Bi Ji¡¯s kindness had saved it.

    Huo Yuhao chose soul beasts who were old and infirm because they hadn¡¯t participated in the beast wave, which meant they didn¡¯t harbor that much hatred against Shrek City¡¯s soul masters.

    The tiger nodded slowly. Whether it was because of Di Tian¡¯s forceful intimidation or because it wanted to prolong its life, this tiger had no reason to object.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°That¡¯s good. In a moment, I will begin guiding your spiritual imprint to condense. You have to rx and cooperate with me so that I can fuse your innate abilities with your spiritual imprint. You have to do everything willingly, and only after that can I help youplete the contract.¡±

    The Large-palmed ck Tiger growled, and its spiritual undtions became a little excited. However, it was still rtively calm.

    Huo Yuhao turned to Dai Huabin and said, ¡°Same goes for you. You have to ept this tiger from the bottom of your heart. The fusion after this will be a little painful, so you¡¯ll have to hang on.¡±

    ¡°Come!¡± Dai Huabin had always been one of Shrek Academy¡¯s individuals who craved strength the most, and even though his tolerance for pain and suffering wasn¡¯t as good as Huo Yuhao, he wasn¡¯t that far off due to this desire to strengthen himself.

    Huo Yuhao reassured both parties before he stared at the Large-palmed ck Tiger, and the Eye of Destiny slowly opened on his forehead.

    He had to use his full strength so that he could ensure sess!

    Spiritual power that wasn¡¯t very intense, but gave others a sticky feeling, surged out from Huo Yuhao and epassed both Dai Huabin and the tiger.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings, that had transcended ordinary circumstances, rose from beneath his feet and attracted the attention of every single human and soul beast there.

    A gentle golden light burst out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s rose-gold Eye of Destiny andnded on the tiger¡¯s forehead.

    The tiger quivered once before it justy there.

    The tiger¡¯s current physical situation meant there was no way it could release a burst of energy or use too much strength, but it was best at rxing.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power wasn¡¯t something it could fight against. His spiritual power went straight in smoothly, and Huo Yuhao quickly found its spiritual imprint and spiritual origin.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty, gradually releasing amiable will as he guided the tiger to control its own spiritual power at the same time.

    A faint goldenyer of light began to emerge from the tiger¡¯s body. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance, its spiritual origin, its spiritual imprint, and part of its purest soul power began to gather with the mysterious power contained within its innate bloodline.

    This was a very long process. In the end, he was working on a soul beast that had more than twenty thousand years of cultivation. Furthermore, this was the first time that Huo Yuhao was carrying out a material experiment. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless at all, and he did everything meticulously.

    Nobody knew more about Spirits than Huo Yuhao. Following the improvement of his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao gained an increasingly deeper understanding of the magic that Electrolux had left behind for him. Juxtaposed with the changes in his martial soul, his ability to control his spiritual power became stronger every time he underwent closed-door cultivation.

    Both parties watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions nervously, and not a single human or soul beast dared to make a sound.

    They knew that if Huo Yuhao seeded, he would make history on the Douluo Continent. He would have invented a formidable ability that could be poprized besides soul rings and soul bones!

    ¡ª

    Fifteen minutester, the golden light on the tiger¡¯s body became stronger, and everyone could see that golden light had begun to surge from its tail. Its body began to decay and darken wherever this golden light passed; its tail¡¯s fur lost its shine first, and its hind legs went next. The golden light that was slowly shifting forward became increasingly brilliant.

    Finally, all that golden light concentrated on the tiger¡¯s head and had be so intense that nobody could see its body anymore.

    Huo Yuhao raised his left hand as the golden light condensed into a staff that appeared in his grip, and deep and drawn-out incantations could be heard.

    Those incantations were very bright and clear, but nobody could understand what he was saying. The unfamiliar voice seemed to cause heaven and earth to tremble along with it.

    A golden hexagon began to take shape on the ground. This hexagon epassed Huo Yuhao, Dai Huabin, and the Large-palmed ck Tiger.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body slowly drifted into the air, the Eye of the Asura appeared behind his back as a vertical eye.

    His chanting became sharper and higher in pitch as his seventh soul ring glowed, and the vertical eye behind him burst with light as that light swallowed him entirely, and he transformed into the Eye of the Asura.

    Rose-gold sun patterns lit up several hundred meters around him, and intense spiritual undtions caused even the expressions of the Beast God, the Taotie Douluo Elder Xuan, and the Body Douluo Du Busi to change.

    Rose-gold streaks of light flickered one after another as Dai Huabin and the Large-palmed ck Tiger were pulled closer to one another.

    A beam descended on Dai Huabin¡¯s head, and another pulled on the tiger. Under the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s chants, they were finally pulled to within one foot of one another.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s will guided Dai Huabin, and Dai Huabin slowly raised his right hand and pressed it against the Large-palmed ck Tiger¡¯s forehead. Dai Huabin began to chant something, as the tiger also began to make sounds that sounded like whimpering.

    The hexagon beneath them became brighter and brighter as strange glyphs rose up one after another. These glyphs circled around their bodies as gentle spiritual and soul power undtions orbited them at the same time.

    Di Tian, Elder Xuan, and the others who had seen many things and were very knowledgeable could clearly feel the peculiar transformations that were happening between Dai Huabin and that Large-Palmed ck Tiger.

    The process was simr to absorbing soul rings. Dai Huabin was actually absorbing something from the tiger, while the tiger¡¯s life energy was continuously slipping away. However, its body was integrating into Dai Huabin¡¯s body, creating something that wasn¡¯t a soul ring.

    Both the humans the soul beasts could tell at this point that Huo Yuhao¡¯s research into Spirits had its reason and rationality. Even though the process wasn¡¯t yetplete, they knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s ims weren¡¯t empty.

    The Eye of the Asura slowly rose into the sky and retreated as Huo Yuhao returned to human form and ended his martial soul true body.

    Huo Yuhao had already helped Dai Huabin and the tigerplete the necessary incantations. Now, he would have to wait and see if they couldplete their fusion.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and watched everything that was happening in the hexagon nervously. This was an equal contract, so approval from both parties for each other was more important than anything else. If either had any objections during this approval process, the ceremony would fail.

    At this moment, the benefit of Huo Yuhao choosing this old and infirm Large-Palmed ck Tiger began to show. The tiger was aging, and if it didn¡¯t approve Dai Huabin and couldn¡¯t be his Spirit, then the tiger would die for sure! These circumstances discreetly raised the tiger¡¯s sincerity exponentially. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t guess Dai Huabin¡¯s mentality at this moment, so he could only resign things to fate.

    Seconds and minutes passed as the light inside the hexagon became increasingly strong, while the glyphs became increasingly numerous.

    Suddenly, all the glyphs paused in midair as the Large-palmed ck Tiger¡¯s enormous frame nted and copsed inside the hexagon. It had lost everyst bit of its life energy.

    The soul beasts that were prostrate on the ground, especially those who were about to be experimented on, all stood up in unison and stared at Dai Huabin. Fear and anger began to surface in their eyes.

 Chapter 409.1 - Spirit Experimentation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 409.1: Spirit Experimentation</h4>

    However, at the very next moment, all of the symbols surged toward Dai Huabin like rivers emptying into an ocean. A ck soul ring almost twice as big as a normal soul ring rose from underneath his feet. As it rose, his original five soul rings also became much darker.

    ¡°Rawr!¡± A ferocious tiger¡¯s roar rang out from Dai Huabin¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Rawr!¡± Then, another excited tiger roar was heard!

    Dai Huabin¡¯s new ck soul ring glowed brightly. His entire body became illusory, and with that, a ray of ck emerged from his chest andnded in front of him.

    Four huge tiger pawsnded on the ground. Wasn¡¯t that shadow that Large-Palmed ck Tiger? However, it was no longer near the end of its life. Instead, its body had be much stronger. Furthermore, its fur now glowed with a faint, golden light. Streaks of white tiger stripes appeared on its back, and the ¡®King¡¯ symbol on its forehead was muchrger. While its body looked illusory and incorporeal, it was otherwise indistinguishable from before.

    ¡°Rawr!¡± It roared excitedly once more. The Large-Palmed ck Tiger turned around, stood up, and ced its front paws on Dai Huabin¡¯s shoulders.

    Dai Huabinughed, ¡°It worked!¡± As he said that, he grabbed the front two paws of the Large-palmed ck Tiger and lifted it up strongly. Its pawsnded on his back, and then both human and tiger paused. After Dai Huabin unleashed his White Tiger, the fur between its ck and white stripes turned ck. He pped forward with his right hand, and in mid-air, a huge ck tiger paw appeared. It smashed down onto the ground, creating a crater a few meters deep in the shape of a tiger¡¯s paw.

    The Large-palmed ck Tiger behind him lowered its head and charged. Dai Huabin and it were synchronized perfectly. He leaped into the air andnded firmly on his back. The four limbs of the Large-palmed ck Tiger brimmed with strength as it jumped up and down in the ins between the humans and the soul beasts. It was incredibly fast, and Dai Huabinughed excitedly.

    ¡°Spirit, it really is a Spirit!¡± After a momentary calm, the soul masters burst into discussion as excited voices rang out everywhere.

    The same thing happened on the soul beasts¡¯ side. Instead of chattering, the many different types of soul beasts roared and grunted.

    The chill in Di Tian¡¯s eyes disappeared, reced with an unusual excitement.

    It had worked! The equal contract between Dai Huabin and this Large-palmed ck Tiger was sessful. The Large-palmed ck Tiger was now his recement for his sixth soul ring!

    Both humans and soul beasts could see the massive advantage a Spirit had over a soul ring. First of all, a Spirit could provide a soul skill just like a soul ring. Just now, Dai Huabin¡¯s ck Tiger Spirit Palm was able to demonstrate the strength of a soul skill. Furthermore, a Spirit had consciousness! Right now, it carried Dai Huabin on its back and served as his steed. How majestic was that?! Furthermore, this Large-palmed ck Tiger could evidently fight as well. This was way superior to merely possessing a soul ring!

    ¡°Wait a moment, I want to do an experiment,¡± Huo Yuhao said, as he sent spiritual intent out to Dai Huabin, who had already ridden away.

    Instantly, the Large-palmed ck Tiger turned around and returned to Huo Yuhao.

    The Large-palmed ck Tiger lowered its body, and Dai Huabin slid off it and stood in front of Huo Yuhao. Right now, his face was brimming with excitement. He had dared to take part in this experiment not because he trusted Huo Yuhao, but because he didn¡¯t want to forgo any opportunity that could strengthen him. The first person to do anything would face risks, but Dai Huabin was smart. As the first person in line, Huo Yuhao would do his best to make sure that it went smoothly. Obviously, he was proven right!

    This Spirit, a Large-palmed ck Tiger, was much better than he had expected!

    Huo Yuhao turned to look at the soul beasts and said, ¡°Elder Di Tian, pleasee forward.¡± Then, he looked at the human side and invited Elder Xuan forward as well

    They were the representatives from the two sides!

    Di Tian and Elder Xuan¡¯s bodies shone, and in the next instant, they were standing next to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said to Di Tian, ¡°Elder Di Tian, please verify that this Large-palmed ck Tiger has retained its original consciousness.¡±

    The body, or carcass, of this Large-palmed ck Tiger, stilly there. Next to Dai Huabin stood its Spirit.

    Di Tian nodded as he looked at the Large-palmed ck Tiger.

    With just one action, this twenty-thousand-year Large-palmed ck Tiger was able to demonstrate that it had retained its original consciousness to the Beast God. It crouched on the ground and it straightened its tail into the air, like a pug wagging its tail to endear itself to the Beast God.

    A deep growl emerged from the mouth of this Large-palmed ck Tiger. Huo Yuhao did not know what it said, but from its spiritual fluctuations, he could guess that it was talking to the Beast God.

    Di Tian listened for a while before nodding. Then, he lifted his right hand and ced it on Dai Huabin¡¯s shoulder.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s body trembled for a bit as he tried to resist, but how could he defy the powerful Beast God? Elder Xuan and Huo Yuhao did not intervene to stop Di Tian from cing his hand on Dai Huabin¡¯s shoulder.

    Di Tian closed his eyes and sensed quietly. Dai Huabin felt his body going as still as a statue. There was no way for him to move.

    The Large-palmed ck Tiger next to him looked at him asionally. Its excitement turned into fear, an innate fear of the Beast God.

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao inquisitively, but Huo Yuhao just smiled and nodded at him. The moment the ceremony waspleted, he was confident that it had seeded.

    Di Tian did not probe for too long. He retracted his right hand, and the Beast God opened his eyes once more. He looked at Huo Yuhao, and his severe expression softened. He nodded at Yuhao and said, ¡°You have made history.¡±

    These four simple words made Huo Yuhao feel as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He replied to Di Tian, ¡°I¡¯m just d that I didn¡¯t let you down.¡±

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°Continue, let¡¯s see what its sess rate is like.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly.

    The sess of a single experiment did not mean anything. If its sess rate was only ten percent, then no matter how good a Spirit was, it would not be very effective. There would be no way for him to introduce it to the masses.

    Huo Yuhao turned to Dai Huabin and said, ¡°Please go back.¡±

    Dai Huabin looked deep in his eyes and said, ¡°Thank you, I owe you one.¡± With that, he leapt into the air, and his Large-palmed ck Tiger did the same, catching him in mid-air. Together, they turned into a bolt of ck lightning as they quickly dashed back to the human¡¯s side.

    Dai Huabin was not the only excited one! This Large-palmed ck Tiger was just as excited. It had reached the end of its life, but it managed to live again using another method. Furthermore, it was at the peak of its strength. While its life was interconnected with Dai Huabin¡¯s, this fate was much better than death. By tying its fate with Dai Huabin, it could even experience the wonders of the human world.

    Dai Huabin¡¯s sess made both humans and soul beasts excited about the experiment. Even the soul beasts that were severely injured felt their hatred for humans decrease. After all, who did not want to live? One¡¯s survival instinct was always stronger than the desire for revenge.

    ¡ª

    However, Huo Yuhao still did not choose an injured soul beast for his second experiment. Instead, he chose another old soul beast.

    From the humans, he chose an outer courtyard student of Shrek Academy again, whose soul power had just reached Rank 30.

    This fusion was exceptionally sessful. This time, the entire contract ceremony took less than two hours toplete. A thick purple soul ring and a Purplejade Falcon became this student¡¯s Spirit.

    While a Purplejade Falcon could not be ridden like a Large-palmed ck Tiger, the two of them shared a mental bond, which made the student jump around excitedly.

    The crowd was ignited by the two sesses. The first thing to change was the emotions of the soul beasts. Their intense enmity dropped visibly, and the soul beasts which were in line now showed signs of anticipation.

    Huo Yuhao did not stop. He conducted experiments, one after another. His initial sesses created a good foundation for hister trials. Not only did it make him more experienced, but he also earned the trust of both humans and soul beasts. As the two sides formed their contracts, it was less likely for any problems to ur.

    However, not all contracts were sessful. Among the soul beasts, some of them still tried to resist the humans. After twenty rounds of experimentation, Huo Yuhao failed twice. One of the soul beasts died, as its body was too weak.

    However, this did not affect the overall results of the Spirit experimentation. A sess rate of ny percent answered many questions.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s vast spiritual power prevented fatigue from setting in. He continued his experimentations from dawn until night. In between, he rested twice. When night fell, all one hundred experiments werepleted.

    Among them, eighty-six pairs were able to form their contracts sessfully. Among the fourteen pairs that failed, six soul beasts died because they were too weak. The other soul beasts which lived were in pretty bad shape, too.

    Huo Yuhao did not end the experiment just like this. He helped the remaining eight soul beasts that survived form contracts again.

    This time, five seeded and three died.

    In the end, the sess rate stood at ny-one percent. Ny-one soul masters from Shrek Academy and the original three countries of the Douluo Continent now possessed their own Spirits.

    The experiment could be considered a sess, and the results were better than expected. The soul masters with Spirits all released their Spirits to interact with them and deepen their bond. As the others looked at how excited they were, they could not help but admire them.

 Chapter 409.2 - Spirit Experimentation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 409.2: Spirit Experimentation</h4>

    However, not everyone was happy. The unhappiest bunch were the Titled Douluo. Their soul rings were allplete, and they could never possess a Spirit. When they saw their juniors with their Spirits, how could they not be envious of them?

    While the experiment was sessful, Huo Yuhao asked to remain with the soul beasts, standing distinctly apart from the soul masters.

    ¡ª

    The first day of the experiment was a huge sess, but it was not the end. They still had to do a lot of statistical research, such as the situation of a fusion between a soul master and a Spirit, the amount of spirit power drained, and the number of soul rings that could be formed, among other things.

    The next question they wanted to investigate was how many Spirits a single human could fuse with.

    Then, they wanted to research if Huo Yuhao¡¯s equal contract could be done by the soul masters themselves. If they wanted to perfect the Spirit System, there were many things for them to do.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao did not have to do all these things personally. Shrek Academy¡¯s research in the area of martial souls was ranked first on the entire continent. The many elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and teachers of the Academy had already started their research and data collection. Once soul masters could form equal contracts by themselves, there would be a lot less things for Huo Yuhao to do.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hard work for the day had not been wasted. The most obvious change was that the enmity between the humans and the soul beasts was greatly reduced. They were no longer spoiling for a fight, and the Bear Lord had yet to reappear.

    The sess of the Spirit experimentation helped to alleviate the unresolved conflict between humans and soul beasts. Even though further experiments were required, they had at least found a direction to work toward. Just like the Beast God Di Tian had said, Huo Yuhao had made history today!

    As he smiled faintly, Huo Yuhao finally closed his eyes tiredly, and started to meditate. While his spiritual power was strong enough, he waspletely drained after today.

    Elder Xuan stood next to him to protect him while he rested. On the side of the soul beasts, the Myriad Demon King and the Scarlet King stood on either side of him, as well.

    In the eyes of both humans and soul beasts, Huo Yuhao¡¯s position had been greatly elevated. He was the only one who could currentlyplete Spirit Contracts.

    The people who were the most excited were the soul masters who had already fused with their soul beasts. The signing of the equal contracts meant that they were the first batch of soul masters to possess Spirits. As of right now, a Spirit was much more useful than a soul ring. Even if they could only possess one Spirit, this would greatly increase their strength. Some of them even hoped that the subsequent experiments would fail so that they would be the only ones who possessed Spirits. Of course, such a perverted mindset was only shared by a few of them.

    ¡ª

    Many soul beasts spent the night in admiration and regret, particrly those who had reached a bottleneck. This sentiment was shared by the soul masters whocked the courage to be the first batch of test subjects.

    The soul masters from Shrek Academy were in a better mood. After all, Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy. They believed that they still stood a chance to get a spirit in the future. However, the external soul masters of were dejected. They could not remain in Shrek City forever. The moment they left, they would never be able to experience a Spirit Fusion! Obviously, there would be truckloads of soul masters hoping Huo Yuhao could help them fuse with Spirits. He could barely manage the soul masters from Shrek Academy by himself!

    At this time, Shrek Academy demonstrated its magnanimity. The elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion indicated that the moment Shrek Academy achieved a breakthrough in Spirit research, they would attempt to spread it across the entire continent, and not keep it for themselves.

    The reinforcements all acknowledged this promise. They knew that Shrek Academy would never go back on its word. In the Douluo Continent, Shrek¡¯s prestige and name were without equal. If they said they would do it, they would do it. If not, they would not even have shared the secret of Spirits with everyone in the first ce.

    The vast majority of soul masters understood Shrek Academy¡¯s mindset. After all, the conflict between soul masters and soul beasts had be increasingly aggravated. In the Douluo Continent, the habitats of all soul beasts, with the exception of the Great Star Dou Forest, had been shrinking for several thousand years, due to the increase in soul masters and soul engineers. In particr, the development of soul engineers affected even ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts. If this continued, what could humans do when they no longer had soul power? At that time, even the soul tools that required soul power would be useless, much less soul masters.

    The appearance of Spirits helped to mitigate this perennial conflict between humans and soul beasts. As long as they could be propagated, it would slow the reduction of soul beasts and give them time to reproduce. Of course, the formation of Spirits still needed soul beasts, and very few soul beasts were on the brink of death. Hence, Spirits could notpletely resolve the conflict between human and soul beasts, but only mitigate it to a certain extent. However, this was a good start. With its Spirit research, perhaps Shrek Academy would even be able to obtain more breakthroughs. What if they found a better way to rece soul rings?

    Before the appearance of Spirits, many soul masters would have snorted at this notion. However, the moment Spirits appeared, these same soul masters were in awe. The situation becamepletely different. They became much more confident in Shrek!

    With the sess of his research and experimentation on Spirits, Huo Yuhao was able to atone for his previous mistakes at Shrek Academy. Furthermore, the more radical elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, such as Elder Song and Elder Xuan, did not even believe that this problem was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fault.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The next morning, as the sky in the distance started to turn white, Huo Yuhao woke from his meditation and habitually unleashed his Purple Demon Eyes to start his cultivation.

    He then surveyed the bodies of the Spirits and soul masters, and asked them how they felt. Then, he personally inspected the level of coordination between each Spirit and soul master, as well as the degree of consciousness of each Spirit.

    After a whole day, he was able to gather a huge amount of data. At night, he invited a few human representatives, as well as the Savage Beasts who represented the soul beasts.

    ¡°Everyone,¡± said Huo Yuhao, as he bowed to everyone present. After all, these characters were incredibly influential in the entire continent, particrly the Beast God Di Tian, who was probably the strongest being in the entire Douluo Continent.

    Di Tian nodded at Huo Yuhao. He was noticeably warmer than before.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Elders, the sess rate of the experiment yesterday is delightful. The sess rate is above ny percent, which indicates that my research has been sessful. Today, I conducted even more research and further experiments, which show that the situation is optimistic. Right now, the soul masters and Spirits that have fused are very well-coordinated, particrly the soul masters whose martial souls share the same element as their Spirits. After their fusion, their strength has increased visibly, and their Spirits have remained conscious and aware. Two Spirits, however, were the exceptions. Earlier on, they both suffered massive brain damage, and in the fusion process, they lost their consciousness.¡±

    Di Tian nodded. He could ept some amount of failure. After all, this was just the beginning. With more experience, he believed that the process could be bettered.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Other than these two soul beasts, the other Spirits are in good shape. They can fight ording to their own will and can also assist their soul masters to a certain extent. Through my research, I have discovered that for hundred-year Spirits, they can only give their soul masters a single soul skill. This goes without saying. Furthermore, in the future, they can no longer give their soul masters any more soul skills. However, their demand for their soul masters¡¯ spiritual power is the least, and this type of fusion is the most sessful.

    ¡°For thousand-year soul beasts, when they sign their equal contracts with their soul masters, they will need a longer time to fuse. They have higher emotional demands of one another. When the two sides fuse, I can help to coordinate the two sides to a certain extent. If not, the sess rate will decrease significantly. Furthermore, these fusions demand more spiritual power from both soul master and soul beast. ording to my current studies, it is difficult for a soul master to gain another Spirit after having fused with a thousand-year Spirit. Unless their mental cultivation is exceptional, it is not likely for them to experience a second sessful fusion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao mentioned the downsides of Spirit Fusion of his own ord. Both Di Tian and Bi Ji nodded when they heard this. They were satisfied with him. His words were enough to demonstrate the sincerity of his experiment.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°When ites to ten-thousand year soul beasts, it will be very hard for them to undergo a Spirit Fusion. I need to use a lot more of my spiritual power to control their emotions. This is because after a soul beast reaches the ten-thousand-year threshold, it will be sentient, and vastly more intelligent. Its emotions be harder to control.

    ¡°Furthermore, their own spiritual power and strength will increase, and hence, their autonomy will make them reject the contract to a certain extent. When they sign their contracts with soul masters, both sides will require more spiritual power. Furthermore, the pain these soul masters must endure will be beyond the level a normal human can endure. Hence, in the process ofpleting this pact, the soul masters must demonstrate a very strong will.

    ¡°However, I am certain that unless a soul master has a spiritual-type martial soul like me, it is impossible for a soul master to fuse a second time after he or she has fused with a ten-thousand year Spirit.¡±

 Chapter 409.3 - Spirit Experimentation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 409.3: Spirit Experimentation</h4>

    ¡°However, a thousand-year Spirit and a ten-thousand-year Spirit are obviously more useful than a hundred-year spirit. Through my conversation with the soul masters and the Spirits, I realized that a thousand-year Spirit with two soul skills can fuse with a soul master. However, after fusion, its first soul skill can fuse with its soul master, as well. In other words, the soul master can use another soul skill, exactly as if he had gained another soul ring. This soul skill can be used by the Spirit itself as part of its fighting skills. The other soul skill will be hidden in the Spirit¡¯s body. If a soul master¡¯s cultivation reaches the bottleneck of the next rank, the Spirit can unleash its soul skill to be the soul master¡¯s next soul ring. The precondition is that the soul master must ept it.

    ¡°From my perspective, it is highly likely that soul masters will ept it because their Spirit can only unleash the soul rings that it gives them. This will further strengthen his Spirit andpensate for the disparity between this soul ring and a higher-ranked one. At the same time, the higher the rank of that soul ring, the harder it will be to obtain it, and more difficult to find one that is suited for himself. Hence, why doesn¡¯t he just use the soul skill the Spirit can give him? To many soul masters, this is not a hard choice.

    ¡°When ites to ten-thousand-year Spirits, they are even more useful for a soul master. First of all, the biggest benefit of a ten-thousand-year Spirit is that they are sentient. While it is harder to fuse with one, oncepleted, their intelligence will enable them to fuse their own fighting abilities with their soul master¡¯s, greatly benefiting thetter. In a fight, the Spirit will be part of the soul master¡¯s fighting abilities, and that¡¯s without it even providing a soul skill.

    ¡°A ten-thousand-year soul beast, ording to its cultivation, can provide between three and four soul skills for its soul master, who has the option to choose. Inparison, a soul master can only depend on luck when fusing with a soul ring. Furthermore, when one obtains a ten-thousand-year Spirit when one already has six rings, one will choose the soul ring the Spirit brings along with it when they add a seventh ring. This will ensure that the soul skill will be imnted into the Spirit, giving the Spirit an additional ability. For soul masters, this is tantamount to obtaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

    ¡°A soul master¡¯s seventh soul skill is his Martial Soul True Body, which does not carry a soul skill with it. This is something that perplexes us soul masters, especially because of the benefits of a seventh soul ring. By giving the seventh soul skill to one¡¯s Spirit, this problem will be eliminated. Even if a soul master cannot use the soul skill himself, it will still benefit him greatly! This is equivalent to having one extra soul skill, how great is that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao described it very clearly, and the humans and soul beasts who heard him all nodded. On the soul masters¡¯ side, many eyes gleamed. These powerful soul masters were all thinking how their disciples¡¯ fighting styles would change after they had obtained their Spirits.

    As the first batch of test subjects, they were already ahead of their time!

    Di Tian said, ¡°These benefits are good. The problem now is, what¡¯s the sess rate of the soul masters forming these contracts themselves? If we can¡¯t resolve this problem, no matter how good Spirits are, all they will bring to us soul beasts is more harm.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve considered this problem. What I can be sure of now is that if they try to fuse with hundred-year soul beasts, the sess rate will be simr to mine. However, if they try it with thousand-year soul beasts or ten-thousand-year soul beasts, the sess rate will drop visibly. However, this may not always be the case.

    ¡°In signing a contract with a soul beast andpleting the Spirit Transformation, a very important point is the spiritual power of the soul master involved. When the soul beast and the soul master are both willing, his spiritual power is extremely important. Hence, there¡¯s one situation which is highly beneficial to the Spiritual Fusion process. Not only can it greatly increase one¡¯s chance of sess, but it will also benefit the soul master immensely.¡±

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s such a way? What is it?¡± Du Busi the Body Douluo asked. From his tone right now, he did not treat Huo Yuhao as his junior, but instead as his equal.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The soul master has to dy obtaining his next soul ring. Let me give an example: when a four-ringed Soul Ancestor¡¯s soul power reaches Rank 50 under normal circumstances, he will try and obtain another soul ring to be a five-ringed Soul King, right?¡±

    ¡°When he obtains his soul ring, the most powerful one he can obtain is a ten-thousand-year soul ring. He can¡¯t obtain one that is twenty thousand-years or more. I won¡¯t go into details, but everyone¡¯s following me, right?¡±

    The many powerful humans all nodded.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°So what if he doesn¡¯t try and fuse with his soul ring at this moment? What will happen? Ten thousand years ago, the Grandmaster of Shrek Academy told us in his research into the ten core forces of the soul master world that soul power will continually umte until the soul master has obtained his next soul ring, before it will burst out. In other words, if one continues cultivating, one¡¯s soul power will continually increase, but it won¡¯t reveal itself.

    ¡°For many soul masters, they cannot bear such a dy. After all, by obtaining a soul ring, one¡¯s soul power will increase tremendously, which is also apanied by an improvement in the quality of the soul master¡¯s strength. However, if a soul master does not obtain a soul ring at this moment and continues cultivating, he will not only improve his soul power, but also his spiritual power. For a normal soul master, his spiritual power will increase along with his soul power. The more he cultivates, the more he meditates, the stronger his spiritual power will be. If his soul power can be suppressed for a while, and he is given more time to improve, his spiritual power can fulfill the criteria easily when he fuses with his Spirit. At the same time, this kind of training will make a soul master more stable and resilient, traits which are important when ites to Spiritual Fusion. The sess rate will thus naturally increase. Even without me, the contract can bepleted.

    ¡°In an optimal situation, if a four-ringed soul master can increase his soul power to Rank 60 before obtaining a Spirit, I can guarantee that his sess rate, even if it¡¯s with a ten-thousand-year Spirit, will be more than eighty percent. Once it¡¯s done, he can obtain two ten-thousand-year soul rings, which will allow his strength to increase massively.¡±

    Du Busi nodded non-stop. The conditions that Huo Yuhao wereying out could definitely be met. In his Body Sect, there were soul masters who cultivated like this. For some of the more anxious and gung-ho disciples, he would purposely deny them their soul rings so that they could improve their personality.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Your contract seems very difficult. How long will it take to master?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ve considered this, too. I believe that it¡¯s not ideal for everyone to learn it. Once someone knows how to make a contract, a soul master will find it hard to resist the temptation of finding a Spirit. They will go and search for soul beasts, and the process of Spiritual Fusion is extremely difficult. Once it fails, the soul beast will be injured, and the soul master will not escape unscathed, either. It¡¯s best for someone like me to facilitate the process as an outsider. This maximizes the sess rate and prevents either side from getting hurt. Furthermore, the conductor will also be able to bear a portion of the pressure ced on the soul master. This will make the contract process a lot easier.¡±

    Elder Xuan frowned and said, ¡°You are just one person. Will you help everyone?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said confidently, ¡°Of course I can¡¯t do it alone. However, I believe that there are some people who arepetent enough.¡±

    This aroused Di Tian¡¯s interest, and he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°What kind of people?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls like me!

    ¡°Normally, they will cultivate their spiritual power. The more powerful their spiritual power is, the stronger their martial soul be. Hence, in terms of spiritual power, even a three-ringed Soul Elder will be have greater spiritual power than a normal Soul Emperor. With spiritual-type soul masters as the middleman, the chance of sess will naturally be higher. Furthermore, after they learn the contract process from me, it will increase their chances even more.

    ¡°While there are not many soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls, they are still a significant portion of the poption. However, there are only a few spiritual-type soul beasts, so it¡¯s hard for them to be strong. If we can gather them, I¡¯ll train them and guarantee that afterward, the sess rate of a Spiritual Fusion mediated by them will reach seventy percent or more. The specific sess rate will depend on the spiritual cultivation of the soul master. By then, I will have divided them by their cultivation. Those with more powerful spiritual power will help the higher-ranked Spirits and soul masters, and those with less powerful spiritual power will fuse the ten-year and hundred-year Spirits with lower-ranked soul masters. This will help to increase the chances of sess.¡±

    ¡°This makes sense,¡± agreed Du Busi promptly. ¡°Yuhao¡¯s words make sense. Xuan Zi and I share the same opinion. The contract is ratherplicated, and not something that an ordinary soul master can master. Furthermore, as one makes the contract, it will drain one of their spiritual power. With a bunch of people dedicated to facilitating the contract process, the sess rate will be higher. Those who possess spiritual-type martial souls are the best candidates.

    ¡°Good idea! We can try it once we get back. I have some soul masters like the ones you¡¯ve described in my Body Sect. Let me tell you now that the Body Sect will learn from Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said nothing, but smiled faintly.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°Old Poison, you sure know to benefit yourself! Huo Yuhao is the only one who can administer the contract. You now n on learning the skill for yourself!¡±

 Chapter 410.1 - Spirit Pagoda

    <h4 ss>Chapter 410.1: Spirit Pagoda</h4>

    Du Busiughed heartily and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? We¡¯ll be saving Yuhao the trouble of traveling everywhere. Shrek Academy has already guaranteed that they will publicize this contract.¡±

    Elder Xuan frowned and turned to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have expected this situation to appear a long time ago, and Du Busi wasn¡¯t the only one to have such thoughts. The other powerful individuals from the various sects and academies were all very interested in his contract.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, elders. I have a suggestion for that. First, we have to split the process into several steps. For the first step, everyone will have to send someone from your respective sects and academies who has at least three soul rings and is a spiritual-type soul master to Shrek Academy, so that we can conveniently train everyone together. Since Shrek Academy has promised to release the method of contracting Spirits to the public, we will not go back on our word.¡±

    Every powerful soul master¡¯s face began to sparkle when he said those words. Their heads bobbed up and down, and their eyes were as friendly as could be as they stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°But¡­¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes focused. They stared at him quietly; from their perspective, Huo Yuhao definitely had some conditions to fulfill. However, even if he proposed certain conditions in favor of Shrek Academy or for himself, everyone could only agree so that they could have contracts with Spirits. In the end, Spirits could be considered something that would change the course of history for the development of soul masters in the future! Whoever could be ahead of everyone could develop one step faster than everyone else. Who was willing to give that up?

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°But we need to have rules. First, the contract between soul masters and soul beasts must be established on the foundations of mutual willingness. Our rationale for researching Spirits from the beginning wasn¡¯t so that we could boost the strength of soul masters even further. Rather, we researched Spirits so that we could reduce the number of soul beasts we have to kill, and so that we can reduce the conflict between humans and soul beasts.

    ¡°Both humans and soul beasts are a part of the Continent, and we are all part of the bnce of life. Killing soul beasts excessively will move humans closer to our own extinction in the future. Therefore, I have to ask everyone to remember this point.¡±

    Everyone that Huo Yuhao was facing were powerful Titled Douluo, but Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t timid at all. His face was very solemn and serious when he said those words.

    The group of powerful individuals tilted their heads slightly. They were all substantially important people in the world of soul masters, and they were very clear about a future where the number of soul beasts in the Continent was greatly diminished, and where top-tier soul beasts were few and far between. Therefore, even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s words seemed a little simplepared to the benefits that Spirits would bring, they were still moved by his words.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Therefore, because of our original intentions, we cannot let the fusion of Spirits spread unchecked. All kinds of circumstances will arise if that happens, and Spirits will turn from a good thing into a bad one. Thus, I suggest that we establish an organization specifically for the fusion of Spirits and the contracts involved. This organization will help reconcile humans and soul beasts, and we will fix dates to execute fusions with Spirits.¡±

    ¡°Form an organization? What kind of organization do you want to establish?¡± Du Busi asked doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°This organization¡¯s main function will be to supervise and take charge of the contract between soul beasts and soul masters. At the same time, only spiritual-type soul masters who belong to this organization can be taught the method of conducting this contract. These spiritual-type soul masters cannot withdraw once they join.¡±

    The group of Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t help but draw a cold breath when they heard his words. They were all intelligent people, and they understood what kind of immense strength this organization that Huo Yuhao was suggesting they establish would possess when it was developed.

    The director who controlled all this would control all sources of Spirits! Everyone knew how practical Spirits were, and this was definitely the direction that soul masters would pursue in the future. Under such circumstances, if an organization controlled everything to do with Spirits, how great would their power over soul masters be?

    ¡°This organization will belong to Shrek?¡± Du Busi spoke his doubts without hesitation. If this organization was in Shrek Academy¡¯s hands, then Shrek Academy would no longer be the number-one academy in the world¡­ they would skyrocket to be the number-one entity in the world!

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, elders. Shrek doesn¡¯t have this ambition. This organization will belong to everyone, and it will be managed by everyone. My suggestion is for all three empires to choose several sects and academies who will send out their representatives, and Shrek Academy will also send out our representative, and we wille together to form a conference hall for this organization. Every decision that this organization has to make in the future will have to go through this conference hall. As for the rules after joining this conference hall, they will be up to you, elders, and the three empires to determine.¡±

    Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they heard his words.

    Elder Xuan smiled faintly, but he didn¡¯t speak too much from the beginning to the end. This organization had been something that Huo Yuhao, Yan Shaozhe, and the others had considered when they first began their research on Spirits.

    If this organization wasn¡¯t monitored and checked, its strength would spread unchecked. There were too many tricks and schemes that humans could use against soul beasts, and who could predict how this organization would change in the future? Therefore, certain regtions were necessary for executing the equal contracts. However, this wasn¡¯t something that Shrek Academy could control on their own.

    If Shrek Academy was the only one controlling this organization, perhaps Shrek Academy¡¯s strength would swell rapidly in the short term, but when that happened, they would be the entire Douluo Continent¡¯s enemy. Shrek Academy¡¯s strength would arouse the envy of others!

    Therefore, this organization could only belong to all three empires and Shrek Academy at the same time. The Academy seemed to be at a disadvantage in this agreement, but Shrek Academy only had their own city behind them, and their Academy was being lifted to the same status as the other three empires, so this was considered a sess for the Academy. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was the one who had done all that research on spirits, so the three empires had nothing to say. They would feel they were taking advantage of Shrek Academy.

    Under such circumstances, nobody would object. Careful discussions and negotiations would have to take ce in the future to determine how this organization would be monitored and managed.

    Di Tian had been listening quietly from one side this entire time, and a smile appeared on his face as Huo Yuhao finished his speech.

    p, p, p!

    Di Tian began to p for Huo Yuhao. ¡°Supervise¡­ this word is great. I hope you humans can achieve that. I think Yuhao is right. Soul masters contracting Spirits by themselves is almost impossible, and no matter what, soul beasts will always be enemies to humans. Only those Spirits who havepleted a contract with a soul master and fused into that person¡¯s body will be your truepanions and friends. However, how are you going to find suitable soul beasts? This task will be very challenging for you, and only us soul beasts can help you with that. If you guys can establish an effective organization, then I will send a representative from my side to join in as well.¡±

    The Titled Douluo¡¯s eyes sparkled when they heard his words.

    Soul beasts entering the organization wasn¡¯t a bad thing. Actually, it was great! This meant Di Tian had basically approved this experiment, and when Di Tian eventually sent someone to this organization, the Great Star Dou Forest would naturally assign those soul beasts that needed this Spirit fusion. This meant the fusion of Spirits would be a lot simpler.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it. The Body Sect supports this decision.¡± Du Busi contemted momentarily before he suddenly pped his thigh forcefully. He was the first to express his approval.

    Elder Xuan was sitting beside him. He twitched his mouth and said, ¡°Even though I admire you giving your approval, can you not p your thigh next time?¡±

    ¡°How painful can it be if I p myself?¡± Du Busi didn¡¯t seem embarrassed at all. Instead, he seemed very proud, and Elder Xuan shook his head in exasperation.

    The other Titled Douluo deliberated for a moment before they also expressed their support, one after another.

    Of course, their support was not enough. This matter was very important, and still required support from the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires before it could be rolled out officially.

    The appearance of Spirits had changed the Douluo Continent irreversibly. No matter what, this process couldn¡¯t bepleted so quickly. The incumbents were incredibly efficient for achieving an agreement like this within two days.

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply and quietly. He had finally managed to take this step, and all sorts of refinements and adjustments wereing, but his main task was to teach this contract to others and n everything. He had to gradually withdraw from being the core of the research into Spirits.

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao with a pleasant and satisfied look in his eyes. Ever since Huo Yuhao took the initiative to step forward and handle this matter with Spirits, he had been very reasonable, and he had handled everything very well in all aspects.

    However, a dark shadow shed across Elder Xuan¡¯s heart. Elder Song and Xian Lin¡¯e had told him about the army of undead. He did have some understanding about this ability of Huo Yuhao¡¯s, but this army of undead came from an evil soul master¡¯s powers, after all! If Huo Yuhao was to take over as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the future, a blemish like this would cause great inner conflict within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. In the end, evil soul masters had great difficulty controlling their state of mind.

    What was even more frightening was that Huo Yuhao was simply too talented and prodigious. If problems began to appear in his mentality when he became a Titled Douluo, disaster would follow. Such a disaster wouldn¡¯t just include Shrek, but might also spell disaster for the entire Continent!

    Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t the only one with this worry. Elder Song and Xian Lin¡¯er shared the same concerns. However, they didn¡¯t spread what they knew about the army of undead, and only the few of them knew about Huo Yuhao¡¯s undead army within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. In the end, the battle was very intense at that moment, and only those powerful individuals who were stationed on the northern and western fronts who were observing the soul beasts¡¯ movements on the periphery could see this army of undead. However, only the three of them knew that this army had something to do with Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 410.2 - Spirit Pagoda

    <h4 ss>Chapter 410.2: Spirit Pagoda</h4>

    Elder Xuan no longer bothered with Du Busi. He turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Yuhao, have you considered how you¡¯re going to establish this organization? What will it be named?¡±

    Everyone was discussing things among themselves, but now their eyes returned to Huo Yuhao. After Huo Yuhao rescued those hostages at Sunrise City and with his discovery of Spirits, Huo Yuhao shared the same status as those powerful Titled Douluo. They understood that this creative and ingenious prodigy from Shrek Academy would undoubtedly be one of the strongest individuals on the Continent in the future.

    Establishing a supervisory body that was shared among the three empires and forming a conference hall of soul masters for decision-making was as generous as Shrek could be. The various powerful individuals wouldn¡¯t say too much about how the organization was going to be established, what it was going to be named and whatnot because as the inventor of Spirits, Huo Yuhao had the most right to make these decisions.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then answered, ¡°The main purpose of this organization that we are going to establish is to focus on reducing the killing of soul beasts by humans and to gradually change the rtionship between humans and soul beasts. Doing so will catalyze thepletion of the equal contract between humans and soul beasts, and Spirits will be a way for soul beasts to transmit their spirits on. Why don¡¯t we call this organization ¡®Spirit¡¯? My teacher, the one who taught me how to execute this contract, left another secret method to create a magic formation in the shape of a tower so that the process of transmitting spirits will be easier, and so that a soul master¡¯s spiritual power can be more condensed. Therefore, our organization will be called¡­ theSpirit Pagoda. How¡¯s that?

    ¡°I suggest that Shrek City construct the first Spirit Pagoda. At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s headquarters will be located in Shrek City. Shrek Academy is recognized by all three empires as a public ce, so establishing the tower¡¯s headquarters in Shrek City will be most appropriate. After the first Spirit Pagoda ispleted sessfully, the second batch of towers will be established within all three empires¡¯ capital cities. These towers will serve as emblems for the organization, and they will also transmit spirits at the same time. My suggestion is for the third batch of towers to be established in cities that are rtively closer to soul beast habitats. This way, transmitting spirits will be a lot more convenient. As for how the organization will be established and what the rules will be, I¡¯ll have to ask you and the Academy to decide that with the empires¡¯ top officials.¡±

    The Spirit Pagoda was called a tower, but in reality, more of how it was named was because Huo Yuhao wanted tomemorate his teacher, the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux, who had passed away. Electrolux once said that one of the proudest things that he had done in his life was that he had once erected an eternal tower.

    Huo Yuhao had never seen that tower, but that tower was undoubtedly what his teacher liked most. He decided to name this new organization as a tower tomemorate him.

    Elder Xuan tilted his head as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. He was very satisfied with Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestions; the organization¡¯s name wasn¡¯t that big a deal, as it was just abel. What was more important was that Huo Yuhao had suggested that the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s headquarters be located in Shrek City. This meant that forces from all over the world would deploy powerful individuals to be stationed at Shrek.

    At the same time, the second batch of Spirit Pagodas woulde long after the first one was constructed, because the first tower had to train sufficient soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls so that they could expand their organization. After this period of time, Shrek City would undoubtedly wield absolute authority over anything with regards to transmitting spirits. If the Great Star Dou Forest cooperated with them, it wouldn¡¯t take long for Shrek City and Shrek Academy¡¯s status to rise by yet another level on the Continent.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t swallow the secret of Spirits by himself, yet he also helped the Academy develop rapidly. What he had done was the greatest benefit that the Academy could reap. That gloomy shadow in Elder Xuan¡¯s heart because Huo Yuhao possessed necromantic abilities dampened a little. At least, from what he could see right now, everything about Huo Yuhao was still normal.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t express his opinions directly. Instead, he turned to everyone else and asked them, ¡°Does anyone have any objections to Yuhao¡¯s suggestion?¡±

    This group included Du Busi, and these powerful individuals shook their heads and expressed that they had no objections and that they approved of Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestions.

    Shrek Academy had publicized the secret of Spirits, which was a very important one, to the outside world. They were also going to establish an organization that everyone could participate in. The most important issue had been resolved, and it would be extremely shameless if anyone still didn¡¯t want to let Shrek Academy reap some benefits from this arrangement.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was right. Shrek Academy had always been known for their independence, and they weren¡¯t biased towards anyone. Establishing the tower¡¯s headquarters in Shrek City was most appropriate, and even though Shrek City was inside the Heavenly Soul Empire, Shrek City was actually simrly distanced from all three capital cities.

    Huo Yuhao turned towards the Beast God Di Tian, and Di Tian tilted his head in his direction. Di Tian also approved of his suggestions.

    Huo Yuhao would have to continue with his experiments, and all kinds of sophisticated and strict research would have toe next so that he could base the abilities of Spirits on solid ground. Other than that, everyone would have to deal with the various and numerous administrative tasks needed to establish the Spirit Pagoda.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Those powerful individuals all returned to their respective empires. They brought their first batch of soul masters who possessed Spirits to their empire¡¯s royal families to convince them. Everyone began to work on everything that had to do with establishing the Spirit Pagoda.

    Huo Yuhao spent most of the subsequent month on his experiments. Furthermore, experiments weren¡¯t the only things he had to do; he also had to draw the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s construction blueprints, and he had to record the spell for the equal contract and how to use it. This precious knowledge was sealed and stored inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Nobody asked Huo Yuhao about his army of undead, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return to Shrek Academy. Di Tian requested he remained in the Great Star Dou Forest to continue his experiments, which also meant that he could let Shrek Academy¡¯s people see him, but they couldn¡¯t bring him back.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t object much to those requests, and he spent the subsequent month working hard at many different tasks.

    ¡ª

    Shrek City was also very busy. They had sustained heavy losses when the beast wave washed over them. Repairs required quite some time and a lot of materials and resources.

    Shrek¡¯s merchants and businessmen began to work on all fronts. Furthermore, after those soul masters returned to their respective countries, it didn¡¯t take long before the three empires sent diplomats to Shrek City to discuss matters regarding the construction of the Spirit Pagoda.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, not a single empire could resist the appearance of Spirits. The diplomats sent forth by those countries were here to negotiate and discuss how exactly the Spirit Pagoda was to be established, and how this organization was to be controlled.

    The incumbents underwent a long and drawn-out negotiation. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even bother to ask about how the negotiations progressed, because these things were no longer important to him. He believed that everything would be fine with Shrek Academy at the helm.

    In the end, those spiritual-type soul masters that the Spirit Pagoda produced in the future would be called Spirit Masters, which would be considered a new and separate profession.

    The three empires dispatched representatives from their various sects and academies to be part of the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s conference hall. Every empire had nine seats, and every member had to at least be a Soul Douluo.

    Every empire had to ensure at least three people who were members of the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s conference hall were stationed in Shrek City.

    Besides these twenty-seven members, Shrek Academy would also choose nine people to be members. Their status was simr to that of an empire, as they participated in the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s future development.

    All thirty-six members would control the entire Spirit Pagoda¡¯s operation and development, while the headquarters would still be established in Shrek City. Huo Yuhao had discovered Spirits, so he was nominated as the hall¡¯s thirty-seventh member. Furthermore, only he would be a member for life!

    The Spirit Pagoda would have to choose four Pagoda Masters ¨C one main one and three deputies ¨C to deal with daily administrative tasks and whatnot. Every ten years, the Pagoda¡¯s members and its Pagoda Masters would be reelected, while no member could remain in office for more than two terms. Only those who were members before could participate in the election to be a Pagoda Master.

    ¡ª

    The Spirit Pagoda¡¯s first conference hall meeting was carried out in the second month after Huo Yuhao¡¯s sessful experiment.

    Everyone nominated the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Xuan, as the first Pagoda Master. One Titled Douluo from each of the three empires who were of good moral standing and reputation were nominated as Vice-Pagoda Masters.

    Huo Yuhao was a lifetime member, and he was appointed as the honorary Pagoda Master. He didn¡¯t participate directly in the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s management, but his status within the organization was exceedingly high as, after all, Spirits and the Spirit Pagoda wouldn¡¯t be around if not for him.

    At the same time, Shrek Academy fought hard to ensure Huo Yuhao be the only person who could participate independently in the election for the Pagoda Master in the future. In other words, he didn¡¯t have to represent the four different parties in the election.

    The Spirit Pagoda¡¯s various rules, regtions, and systems were beingpleted. After discussing things with the Great Star Dou Forest, the Spirit Pagoda wasn¡¯t constructed within Shrek City in the end. Instead, it was located five kilometers outside of Shrek¡¯s southern city wall.

    This meant the Spirit Pagoda would be open to humans and soul beasts at the same time.

    Within the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s conference hall, besides its thirty-seven human members, the Great Star Dou Forest had its representatives as well. Di Tian personally led this group, and he was part of the conference hall, along with the Emerald Swan Bi Ji, the Demoneye Tree Myriad Demon King, the Bear Lord, and the Three-Headed Devilmastiff. Five Savage Beasts represented the soul beasts within the conference hall. One Savage Beast would be permanently assigned to the conference hall to participate in all sorts of discussions and administrative matters. Furthermore, the soul beasts¡¯ representative would have a special status, and this representative would have veto power for the conference hall¡¯s decisions. Of course, this veto power couldn¡¯te from just one of them ¨C all five Savage Beasts had to make a decision before Di Tian could propose and use their veto power.

    The Spirit Pagoda¡¯s power and authority seemed split up, but in reality, the Continent¡¯s three native empires, Shrek City, and the Great Star Dou Forest all supported it. This meant that there was no other organization across the entire Continent that couldpare to the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s backing.

    The humans hustled, and the Great Star Dou Forest didn¡¯t idle, either. Di Tian personally stepped out tomunicate with several other soul beast habitats so that he could spread the situation about Spirits to these other habitats.

 Chapter 410.3 - Spirit Pagoda

    <h4 ss>Chapter 410.3: Spirit Pagoda</h4>

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried about how far Di Tian could go. With the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s absolute status in the world of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent, convincing other soul beasts wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Probably only the Extreme North, which was a ce of bitter cold, was rtively more challenging, but soul masters rarely ventured there to obtain soul rings in the first ce.

    Three months quickly passed from the start of Huo Yuhao¡¯s first sessful experiment, just like that.

    The Spirit Pagoda began operating on all fronts. The first batch of soul masters who possessed spiritual-type martial souls were selected by the three empires and sent to Shrek City afterwards. Huo Yuhao was in charge of teaching them how to conduct equal contracts.

    Shrek Academy¡¯s soul masters were the first people to enjoy the benefits of Spirits. Huo Yuhao directed everything personally, and more and more students from Shrek Academy who reached bottlenecks gained their own Spirits.

    Over the past ten years, Shrek Academy had gone through two different stages of vigorous development, with both soul tools and Spirits, and Shrek City became increasingly powerful.

    Furthermore, the rtionship between Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest was being mended because of these new Spirits, and Shrek City took this opportunity to rebuild and expand their city¡¯s surface area. They also made some long-term ns.

    Shrek City would be considered an inner city, and they would expanded five kilometers out from its city walls. Five kilometers didn¡¯t seem like much, but those five kilometers were extended from Shrek City¡¯s original walls! Once these five kilometers were built up, Shrek City¡¯s surface area would be equivalent to anyrge-scale city in the three empires.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s behavior over these three months was rtively peaceful. Because of the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s establishment, the Continent¡¯s three native empires didn¡¯t make a move against the Sun Moon Empire, and this allowed Xu Tianran to heave a sigh of relief, to his own astonishment. Time was also exceedingly important for the Sun Moon Empire. They had already spoiled their rtionships with the other three empires, and a great war could happen at any time. The longer they could dy this war, the more time they had to prepare!

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Elder Di Tian.¡± Huo Yuhao was still in the Great Star Du Forest¡¯s ughtering Grounds inside its Core Regions, and he called out while standing beside the Water of Life as he faced the clean and limpidke water.

    Over the past three months, the Spirit Pagoda had begun to take shape thanks to his hard work and efforts. Furthermore, he was the most weed human being inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Just as how Wang Qiu¡¯er was treated back then, the Scarlet King became his personal bodyguard. Huo Yuhao could proceed anywhere he wanted in the Great Star Dou Forest smoothly and unhindered. This ce was considered a forbidden ground for humans, but this ce was like his own back garden to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Di Tian¡¯s voice rang out, and a ck shadow quietly appeared in the middle of theke. This ck shadow arrived by thekeshore in a few shes.

    Di Tian had already handed everything that had to do with Spirits over to Bi Ji for her to manage. Over the past three months, Huo Yuhao had taught the first batch of Spirit Masters, while also helping multiple soul beasts who were near death to transmit their spirits at the same time. As of today, more than three hundred soul beats had been allowed to extend their lives. From the perspective of the soul masters that these soul beasts fused with, this fact was equivalent to avoiding killing over three hundred soul beasts. These soul masters would still choose Spirits to substitute soul rings in the future, and they would kill even fewer soul beasts.

    Of the five Savage Beasts, with the exception of the Bear Lord, who rarely showed himself, the other four Savage Beasts, including the Beast God, were very satisfied with everything that Huo Yuhao had done.

    Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully to Di Tian and said, ¡°Elder Di Tian, the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s foundations have been established. This is the first pagoda, so its scale will be rtivelyrger. Therefore, I reckon it will take at least one to two years toplete any follow-ups. There are forty-two soul masters in the first batch of Spirit Masters, and their cultivation ranks vary from four to eight soul rings. Under my guidance and my teaching, they are all able to conduct the contract on their own.¡±

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°You humans are quite efficient. I¡¯ve heard about these things from Bi Ji.¡± Bi Ji was currently the first Savage Beast to be permanently stationed in the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s conference hall to represent all soul beasts.

    After the conference hall¡¯s first meeting with the wholemittee, there were over ten members who had been permanently stationed in Shrek City. Including the four Pagoda Masters, there were nine other members from the three empires, while Shrek Academy¡¯s nine members were all members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion at the same time. Naturally, they were around, but in Shrek City instead. As for Huo Yuhao, he had been living in the Great Star Dou Forest this entire time.

    He had been very busy over the past three months, but the Beast God had treated him well. He had provided Huo Yuhao with all sorts of fruits that were full of spiritual qi, and in addition to the fact that Huo Yuhao was transmitting spirits every day, his spiritual power became steadier and more consolidated, while his soul power was raised by another rank. He had used Shrek Academy¡¯s soul power detectors to test himself, and discovered that his soul power was at Rank 73, which was a little lower than his original prediction. However, this fact also told Huo Yuhao that every subsequent soul power rank after Rank 70 was of great magnitude.

    Huo Yuhao estimated that, with his current cultivation speed, and if he didn¡¯t encounter any special circumstances, opportunities, or epiphanies, he would be a Titled Douluo when he was around thirty years old. That would be an absolutely outstanding feat among humans!

    ¡°You were looking for me. What do you want?¡± Di Tian asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment, then said, ¡°Elder, I have been ountable to you with regards to Spirits. I wish to leave.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Di Tian¡¯s aura instantly changed when he heard his words. His eyes suddenly became sharper, and he said, ¡°What¡¯s up? Is our Great Star Dou Forest not good enough for you? This ce is full of spiritual qi, and so dense with life energy. This ce is most suitable for you soul masters to cultivate. If you are willing to, you can even stay beside the Water of Life to cultivate. Your future is boundless.¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his head and stared right into Di Tian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Then, how long do you n to keep me here?¡±

    Di Tian was momentarily stunned.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°You should know, elder, that humans cultivate a lot faster than soul beasts. Otherwise, we couldn¡¯t have dominated and conquered the entire continent within a few short tens of thousands of years. Yes, with my current strength, you can easily imprison me in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, I trust that you won¡¯t restrict my cultivation, because that is the basis of my life in the end. Choosing death isn¡¯t difficult for me, but if you allow me to continue cultivation, I will be a Titled Douluo in about ten years, give or take. I will take thirty years more at most to be a Transcendent Douluo, and with the abilities that I possess, not even you may be able to stop me once I be a Transcendent Douluo if I want to leave.

    ¡°I am connected to the fortunes and fate of the entire Great Star Dou Forest, so you can¡¯t kill me, and the most you can do is imprison me or seal me away. However, you should also understand my status in the human world. If you do that, the Academy will stop at nothing to turn the situation around, and the peaceful equilibrium that the humans have just established with your Great Star Dou Forest will change once more.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Di Tian muttered coldly. That enormous pressure that felt like a mountain to Huo Yuhao appeared once more and pressed down on him.

    Huo Yuhao forcibly resisted this pressure as he grit his teeth and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not threatening you, I¡¯m just stating facts. I will always be a friend to the Great Star Dou Forest, and I can even promise you that I will never kill a single soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest ever again. However, there are still many things that I have to do, and I can¡¯t stay here forever. If you insist on keeping me here, then I will choose death. Qiu¡¯er has given the power of Destiny to me, and you can imprison me here so that I will never be able to leave this ce, but not even you can stop me from severing my own fate and destiny. This means that nobody in this world can stop me if I choose to die.¡±

    Di Tian suddenly withdrew his pressure. He ced his hands behind his back and stared coldly at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Where do you want to go? What do you wish to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°There¡¯s something that I have to do, and there¡¯s someone that I have to visit afterwards. And then, I have to fulfill a wish that I¡¯ve always had.¡±

    Di Tian asked again, ¡°And after you do all those things?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little taken aback. He shook his head and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t thought much about afterwards.¡±

    Di Tian said inly, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then I only have one request; after you finish everything you have to do, you must return. You can choose to reside in Shrek City, the Spirit Pagoda, or the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao answered subconsciously, and his eyes filled with pleasant surprise in the next moment. ¡°Are you saying that I can leave?¡±

    Di Tian was expressionless as he answered, ¡°I know that I can¡¯t keep you here, just like I couldn¡¯t keep the Emperor Beast here back then. With your current strength, people will have a hard time trying to kill you. Here, take this.¡± Di Tian swung his hand as he spoke, and tossed something at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed the item subconsciously. He looked down, and realized that Di Tian had given him something like a pendant.

    This pendant looked like a leaf, and it was about as big as an infant¡¯s palm. It was ck all over, and there were ridges on its surface. These ridges shone faintly with purple hues.

    There was a single ck line strung around this pendant, which didn¡¯t seem very thick, but was very tough.

    ¡°Wear this on your neck. You¡¯re not allowed to take it off. You can go now.¡± With that, Di Tian turned around and drifted across theke¡¯s surface.

    Huo Yuhao grasped the pendant, which felt faintly fresh and cool. He stared at Di Tian, who was slowly moving further away from him, and he instantly felt his mind and body rx. Waves of fatigue and exhaustion coursed over him as soon as he began to rx.

    He had toiled far too much over these past three months, which had been very tiring.

    Huo Yuhao hung the pendant around his neck. He wasn¡¯t hasty to leave. Instead, he crossed his legs and sat down beside the Water of Life and started to meditate.

    Huo Yuhao entered meditation very quickly because his mind and body were rxed. Flourishing soul power flowed through his body, and his immense spiritual power naturally rippled throughout his spiritual sea.

 Chapter 411.1 - Black Dragon Reverse Scale

    <h4 ss>Chapter 411.1: ck Dragon Reverse Scale</h4>

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness was dragged back into his own spiritual world as his name was called.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress¡­¡± Huo Yuhao saw the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress drifting above his spiritual sea in their human forms after he entered his spiritual sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted and asked, ¡°Do you know what Di Tian gave you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. However, I can imagine that it¡¯s for my own protection. After all, my safety concerns the entire destiny of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, ¡°Foolish kid. That thing is both beneficial and harmful to you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, ¡°It¡¯s both beneficial and harmful? What do you mean?¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Di Tian gave you his reverse scale.¡±

    ¡°Reverse scale?¡± Huo Yuhao appeared to be thinking of something. ¡°Dragons have a reverse scale, and they¡¯ll be enraged and even go berserk if their reverse scale is touched. That scale?¡±

    The Ice Empress nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. However, we discovered it toote. You¡¯ve already worn it. Haih¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What¡¯s the problem if I wear his reverse scale?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sounded very furious. ¡°Of course there¡¯s a problem! It¡¯s a huge problem, too! Dragons have a reverse scale. Whoever touches their reverse scale will incur their wrath, that is the truth! This piece of his reverse scale that he gave you can protect you. He forms a piece of reverse scale after a metamorphosis every hundred thousand years when he experiences Heaven¡¯s Wrath. It contains his origin strength!

    ¡°As for what kind of protection it can offer you, I¡¯m really uncertain about that. However, it won¡¯t be weak. But you need to recognize that his reverse scale contains a trace of Heaven¡¯s Wrath. With this trace of Heaven¡¯s Wrath, you won¡¯t be able to obtain a Godly Seat.¡±

    ¡°Godly Seat? What¡¯s a Godly Seat?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in confusion.

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°We followed you in the hope that you¡¯ll reach that realm one day and be a true god. It is only then that we will be able to separate ourselves from your body. Furthermore, if we follow you into the godly realm, it¡¯ll be equivalent to us breaking the barriers of this world with your help. We will no longer be limited by our lifespans. Although the chance is very slim, we think that it is possible, given your current development and cultivation progress.

    ¡°Obtaining a Godly Seat is the most important stepping stone to your ascension to the godly realm. We don¡¯t know what the godly realm is like, but there have been legends about it. Among all of them, the legend about Godly Seats is the closest to the truth. In this world, humans are on the path towards the godly realm the moment they be a Titled Douluo. Soul beasts are far less fortunate. Even if we reach a million-year cultivation, we¡¯ll still find it difficult to be a god. This is highly rted to a Godly Seat.

    ¡°There are various exnations for what a Godly Seat is. The exnation that we agree on the most with is that the godly realm can only harbor a limited number of gods. Every god has a seat that belongs to him. One can only be a god after obtaining a Godly Seat. This is why all living creatures have to find a seat that belongs to them in the godly realm if they want to be a god. One can then ovee the restrictions of the Douluo Continent through their connection with his seat and reach another level. Eventually, they can then ascend into the godly realm through their powers at that level.

    ¡°This thing that Di Tian gave you basically acts as a barrier that prevents you from connecting to a Godly Seat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t I just take it off?¡±

    The Skydream Icewormughed coldly. ¡°You can try to do so when you return. Unless you die, you won¡¯t be able to take it off.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly calmed down. ¡°Is there any other way that I can obtain a Godly Seat?¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Yes. By killing Di Tian. Can you do that?

    ¡°Another way is if your cultivation is beyond his. He is already at the limit of this world. You¡¯ll be a god if you can surpass him. How will you be able to do so?

    ¡°Also, the seal of Di Tian¡¯s reverse scale can be removed if a true god descends and does it for you. You can obtain a Godly Seat if any of these three possibilities ur. Which one do you think will happen? No matter how talented you are, you¡¯ll still need a hundred years before you can reach Di Tian¡¯s level. However, you won¡¯t be able to defeat him, given that he possesses the Dragon King¡¯s w. Although Di Tian isn¡¯t far from his ninth metamorphosis, this ¡®far away¡¯ must be contextualized in the situation of a soul beast. Di Tian is currently suppressing his cultivation. Given his current aura, he¡¯ll be fine even if he suppresses it for another ten thousand years. Can you survive for another ten thousand years? Once you die of natural causes, your power of destiny will dissipate from your body, but it won¡¯t dissipate forever. As to what method he can use to ept this power of destiny, I am unsure. However, I believe there must be a way. This is why he wanted you to live near the Great Star Dou Forest afterpleting everything that you have toplete.¡±

    After hearing the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress¡¯ exnation, Huo Yuhao waspletely shocked! Even though he knew that the conflict between soul beasts and humans was going to be very difficult to mediate, he didn¡¯t expect it to be so dangerous. He had been forgoing his sleep and diet over the past few months because he wanted toplete as many Spirit Transmissions as possible between humans and soul beasts. He had beenpletely selfless. However, he was ¡®gifted¡¯ with such a reward!

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°It has always been rumored that a Godly Seat exists somewhere on the Douluo Continent. Did you forget how Shrek Academy¡¯s collection records this? Your ancestor, Tang San, eventually became a god after he was recognized by a Godly Seat and passed the test upon discovering the Sea God¡¯s Godly Seat. However, you are currently in a situation where you can¡¯t advance any further even if youe across an opportunity. Di Tian used such a method to kill off any possibility of you bing a god. While humans are sinister, soul beasts are¡­ hehe¡­¡±

    The Ice Empress sighed and said, ¡°To a certain extent, Di Tian isn¡¯t wrong to do so. He is the king of soul beasts. He is only doing this for the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s legacy.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm cursed, ¡°What do you mean he isn¡¯t wrong? We are all soul beasts. Things are going well on his side, but he still chose to turn around and diminish our hopes. Idiot, idiot!¡±

    ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly called. Hearing that his voice sounded a little weird, both of them couldn¡¯t help but turn their attention towards him.

    Huo Yuhao drifted calmly above his spiritual sea. However, both the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm seemed to realize something different about him at this moment.

    He quietly remained where he was, but there was a towering feel about him. His eyes were shining brightly, and the look in his eyes was very determined and persistent.

    ¡°Do the both of you believe me?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded a little weird as it echoed in his spiritual sea. Instantly, his surging spiritual sea instantly became calm and peaceful. It was so calm that there weren¡¯t any ripples at all. It was like a still and sturdy surface.

    Both soul beasts were stunned, and subconsciously nodded.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Brother Skydream, if not for you, I wouldn¡¯t be here today. My martial soul would have remain disabled. Even if I followed eldest senior and Teacher Xiao Ya to Shrek Academy, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve anything. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fuse with the Ice Empress. You gave me four strong soul rings and a second martial soul. All my achievements are a result of my fusion with you.

    ¡°Ice Empress, it¡¯s the same for you. Your recognition of me allowed me to possess Ultimate Ice, such that I was able to develop a goal and outline in the aspect of assault. The soul rings and soul bones that you gave me have saved me on many asions. The two of you are my benefactors. Without you, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t exist today.

    ¡°Since the two of you believe in me, let me make a promise to you right now, today. Give me thirty years. Within thirty years, I¡¯ll do my best in my cultivation and attain powers that can rival the Beast God. I¡¯ll challenge him then. I¡¯ll use my own abilities to remove his ck Dragon reverse scale from my body. In the future, I might not be able to obtain a Godly Seat. However, I promise that I¡¯ll do my best to search for one. I won¡¯t give up even if there¡¯s only a glimmer of hope. I¡¯ll do my best to fulfil your wishes. Alright?¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very loud, but he spoke with vigor and determination. After hearing his words, the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm appeared much more at ease. They looked at each other, and the Skydream Iceworm took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Yuhao, time isn¡¯t a problem. Given your current condition, as well as the Auspicious Emperor Beast¡¯s Sacrifice, you¡¯ll at least be able to live for more than three hundred years. It¡¯s too difficult for you to defeat the Beast God within thirty years. We won¡¯t restrict your goal. It¡¯s great as long as you have the determination to defeat him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao deeply said, ¡°A man stays true to his word. Whatever I promise to do, I¡¯ll do my best to carry it out.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll do our best to help you, too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmed down as he regained awareness of his actual body. After that, he surveyed the ck Dragon reverse scale around his neck through his spiritual power. However, the reverse scale was like a deep valley as it absorbed his spiritual power, even though there was only minimum contact between his spiritual power and the reverse scale. There wasn¡¯t even any feedback. In addition, Huo Yuhao clearly discovered that this piece of reverse scale hadpletely stuck to the skin on his chest. It was as if it had be a part of his body.

    Fortunately, Brother Skydream and the Ice Empress warned me. Otherwise, I would have thought that Di Tian was being nice to me.Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t me Di Tian. Di Tian was only doing this for the future of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s destiny. From the perspective of his interests, Di Tian¡¯s actions were justified.

    However, he had a different opinion of Di Tian right now. Originally, he had developed respect for Di Tian after a hearty talk with him. However, he now had only the intention of maintaining a professional partnership with the Beast God.

 Chapter 411.2 - Black Dragon Reverse Scale

    <h4 ss>Chapter 411.2: ck Dragon Reverse Scale</h4>

    Huo Yuhao silently left the ughtering Grounds after cultivating until the morning of the second day. The Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff was already waiting for him. The Scarlet King escorted him as he left the Great Star Dou Forest and rushed towards Shrek Academy.

    As his cultivation increased, he was now able to fly using his soul power. However, using soul tools helped him to better conserve his soul power.

    After fifteen minutes, he reached Shrek City.

    From the sky, it was clear that the city was under busy re-construction. The original Shrek City had be a fortification, and the new city now expanded out from it. Far from the city, the Spirit Pagoda was already nearlyplete. It was a huge tower! As the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek Academy had spent a lot of effort to construct the tower. The tower was in a hexagonal shape, and covered more than a thousand square meters. ording to the n, the tower would be thirteen stories and two hundred meters high. It would be big enough to hold more than ten thousand people.

    This was all for the future development of the Spirit Pagoda. Currently, there weren¡¯t even a hundred staff members at the Spirit Pagoda, and this number was unlikely to change in the short-term.

    Not far from the Spirit Pagoda was the new designated region of Shrek City. Right now, the outlines of the new city walls were already being constructed along the perimeter. As the scale was toorge, the construction of the city walls wouldn¡¯t beplete anytime soon, only an area was being sketched out right now. However, even so, it was possible to tell how grand the city would be.

    Hopefully Shrek City will be stronger and stronger in the future!Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face.At least my efforts have not been wasted over the past three months!If not for the fact that he hade to an agreement with the Great Star Dou Forest, how would Shrek City dare to carry out such arge expansion?

    During thest beast tide, the Tang Sect¡¯s soul tools drew the most attention, especially those two thousand stationary soul cannon shells. Their value couldn¡¯t be measured with money.

    After the beast tide ended, the Tang Sect was immediately promoted to a strategic partner of Shrek Academy after a decision was made during a conference of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. In addition, both the Sect and the Academy worked closely with each other. It was no longer like it was in the past, where the Sect was sort of a subsidiary of the Academy. The Tang Sect¡¯s position was recognized by the entire Academy for the first time.

    To thank the Tang Sect for their contribution during the beast tide, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion made an unprecedented decision: they offered the Sect a position in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! This position naturally wasn¡¯t offered to Huo Yuhao, since he was already a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Rather, it was given to the leader of the sect, Bei Bei.

    As of now, the Tang Sect had two members in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    This wasn¡¯t just beneficial in terms of reputation. Shrek Academy had already informed the Tang Sect that the Sect could pick a base of their own after Shrek City was rebuilt. This would allow the Tang Sect to expand their influence in Shrek City.

    By the time the Spirit Pagoda was fully constructed, the scale of Shrek City and the effect of the pagoda on its prosperity was going to be very great. In such a prosperous city, Shrek Academy was very generous in allowing the Tang Sect to choose a base of their own in the city. Furthermore, the Academy had already fully paid off the debt that they owed the Tang Sect. While they hadn¡¯t paid for the two thousand stationary soul cannon shells, they gave the Tang Sect a form. After Xuan Ziwen received this form, he smiled very widely.

    There was an inventory list on this form, which included all sorts of rare metals. Itprised roughly fifty percent of all the rare metals that the three empires were willing to supply to the Academy.

    The benefits of Spirits for soul masters had been fully revealed after many experiments. Although Shrek Academy was very generous, they weren¡¯t overly generous! Shrek City¡¯s development required arge amount of money and resources.

    As a result, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had already raised a few terms and conditions when they negotiated with the envoys of the three empires.

    Huo Yuhao had yet to impart the contract of equals. These terms and conditions were naturally regarded as stepping stones for spiritual-type soul masters from the various empires to join the Spirit Pagoda.

    Shrek Academy had indeed incurred huge losses resisting the beast tide. Furthermore, the three empires were also not affected at all, because Shrek Academy had resisted the beast tide for them. From the tragic state of the battlefield, it was obvious that Shrek Academy had utilized a lot of resources to fight. It was only right for the three empires to offer them some aid.

    In this way, both parties were happy. As the Tang Sect had made very special contributions, they were offered half of the rare metals. Teacher Xuan was finally pleased, given that he was extremely heartbroken after losing more than two thousand stationary cannon shells.

    Of course, the Academy did make a new request of the Sect, which was that they had to prioritize the supply of soul tools to equip Shrek City and the Shrek City Defense Army.

    Tapping into this opportunity, the Shrek City Defense Army started to expand for the first time in its history. It originally consisted of ten thousand people, but it was about to be expanded to fifty thousand. Among these fifty thousand people, thirty-five thousand ordinary soldiers would be recruited, and the remaining slots were to be filled up by recruiting soul masters and soul engineers.

    The City Defense Army had suffered huge losses during this battle and many were wounded. More than twenty-five hundred people lost their lives. Fortunately, the ratio of soul masters and soul engineers who had lost their lives was rtively low.

    This time, the City Defense Army recruited people from all over the continent. The news was being disseminated, and interested applicants would be screened in batches and recruited within the next six months.

    After the Shrek City Defense Army managed to fight off the beast tide, its reputation was greatly boosted. The minimum requirements needed to join the army were naturally raised. In addition, Shrek City treated its army very well. Many people started to arrive from different ces to apply for a position in the City Defense Army.

    Spirits had also be very popr among the three empires in the Douluo Continent. Shrek City and Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation improved greatly from all this talk about Spirits. The greatest pull factor for people wanting to join the City Defense Army was that they would be given priority to use the Spirit Pagoda.

    Just this benefit alone was able to draw many soul masters to apply to join the City Defense Army!

    Shrek Academy managed to greatly maximize their benefits because of this Spirits issue. The three empires didn¡¯t know what to say about this.

    Not long ago, the Spirit Pagoda had announced that it could only cater to two hundred soul masters every month, as it had just been established. This number would increase in the future, but this was the best they could do now.

    On the one hand, it was because of theck of soul beasts being supplied by the Great Star Dou Forest. On the other, the Spirit Transmission Masters had only just learned about contracts, and they weren¡¯t very fluid with the process yet. They needed time to umte experience.

    Furthermore, the pagoda was still under construction. As a result, the Spirit Pagoda decided that there could only be this number of Spirit Transmissions every month at Huo Yuhao¡¯s request. At the very least, this number wouldn¡¯t increase until after the pagoda was fully constructed.

    At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda also disseminated another piece of information to reassure the Great Star Dou Forest. Huo Yuhao was the one who directly disseminated this information. It was very simple: it publicly announced Huo Yuhao¡¯s earlier guess, and informed all soul masters that Spirits could give them more than one soul ring. As a result, one could obtain more soul rings if they suppressed their soul power.

    The point of this information was to make soul masters less anxious about obtaining soul rings, and to umte their abilities instead. In this way, they would be less inclined to hurt soul beasts.

    After these two pieces of information were disseminated, the existence of the Spirit Pagoda was quickly made known to the three empires of the Douluo Continent. There was a sudden rush of soul masters into Shrek City as a result of this news.

    Shrek Academy had yet to begin its recruitment of new students, but many sects had already sent their disciples over to participate in Shrek Academy¡¯s tests. Those who were over the age limit applied to the Shrek City Defense Army.

    Their arrival caused Shrek City to be even more prosperous. Although it would take a long time to rebuild and develop the city, its bright future was evident from the people who had rushed over.

    Huo Yuhao made some calctions, and came to a conclusion: it would take at most three years for Shrek City to rebuild. Even though only a portion of the soul masters that applied to join the City Defense Army would be retained, the entire city was bound to experience great changes if the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Engineering Department were given three years. When the time came, Di Tian wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten Shrek Academy anymore, even if he unleashed another beast tide.

    ¡ª¡ª

    As he was about to enter Shrek City¡¯s airspace, Huo Yuhao descended from the sky. Although Shrek City didn¡¯t have clear aerial restrictions like the three empires, no soul master or soul engineer would fly above Shrek City unless there was some kind of special situation, out of respect for Shrek.

    Huo Yuhao entered Shrek Academy from the east gate.

    Recently, he had be very reputable. When he entered the Academy, he was already recognized by the students. Before his juniors coulde up to him, Huo Yuhao quickened his footsteps and hurried off. As he waved his hands to acknowledge them, he quickly rushed towards Sea God¡¯s Lake. He moved forward above the water¡¯s surface and reached the inner courtyard.

    As a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he could enter the pavilion freely, and this was what he did.

    He stopped in his tracks when he arrived in front of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. When he saw the Golden Tree, which was glowing dimly, he kneeled down once again and kowtowed three times before walking into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°Yuhao? Di Tian was willing to let you out?¡± Elder Xuan was surprised. Very soon, a few elders in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion rushed down to the main hall.

    ¡°Greetings, elders!¡± Huo Yuhao hailed them respectfully.

    Elder Xuan chortled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony with us! Moreover, you are also a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. How¡¯s it going on Di Tian¡¯s side? Why was he willing to let you out? Didn¡¯t you say that you control the destiny of the entire Great Star Dou Forest? We were still discussing how we should go about saving you!¡±

 Chapter 411.3 - Black Dragon Reverse Scale

    <h4 ss>Chapter 411.3: ck Dragon Reverse Scale</h4>

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The Beast God can imprison me, but he cannot stop me from taking my own life. He can¡¯t let me die, so naturally, he has no choice but to let me leave.¡± He didn¡¯t talk about how Di Tian gave him the ck Dragon¡¯s reverse scale. The conflict between Shrek and the Great Star Dou Forest was just starting to soften and settle down, and he didn¡¯t want any new problems that couldplicate things after he departed.

    ¡°I knew you always had an idea. Everything¡¯s fine, as long as you¡¯re back! You¡¯re already a Soul Sage, you should remain at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and rest up. You¡¯ve almost finished handling matters with the Spirit Pagoda, and I won¡¯t let them disturb you if there are no special circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Elder Xuan, can I speak to you in private? Sorry, elders.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully at the other elders once more.

    The elders smiled amicably before they nodded at him and left the two of them alone.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression changed slightly as he sat down at the long table that the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion used for meetings and conferences. He pointed at a chair nearby and gestured for Huo Yuhao to sit down as well.

    ¡°Elder Xuan,¡± Huo Yuhao called out softly after he sat down.

    Elder Xuan smiled faintly and said, ¡°If you intend to apologize to me, there¡¯s no need for that. The beast wave can¡¯t be entirely med on you. You¡¯re a smart kid, so stop wasting time on an insignificant issue. The Auspicious Beast¡¯s death was just a fuse, and even if this fuse wasn¡¯t there, the Great Star Dou Forest would probably have made a move within a few years anyway. Therefore, you don¡¯t have to me yourself.

    ¡°Furthermore, your experiments with Spirits have given the Academy and Shrek City unprecedented opportunities for development. I trust that it won¡¯t take long for Shrek City to be one of the most famous cities on the Continent. Your contributions have been substantial! When that happens, we will be much more influential in the Continent, and we will be able to do so much more. This time, our main priority will be to expand the Academy and the Tang Sect, besides adding numbers to the city defense army. We will injectrge amounts of manpower, resources, and money into the development of these projects. This will be a great positive force for the Tang Sect¡¯s future development!¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his head and continued, ¡°But no matter what, if not for what happened between Qiu¡¯er and me, the beast wave wouldn¡¯t havee so early. If it hade after a few more years, and after our soul tools developed further, we wouldn¡¯t have suffered such heavy losses. I am responsible for this. Furthermore, you should know that I summoned an undead army to attack the beast wave in order to save and reinforce Shrek City.¡±

    When he said these words, ayer of gentle spiritual undtions emanated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and enveloped them both, blocking any sound from traveling out of it.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression changed slightly. He hadn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to take the initiative in discussing this issue.

    ¡°Yuhao, I only hope that you understand one thing: no matter what, the Academy has unconditional trust in you. Don¡¯t hold any burdens in your heart. Those circumstances were special, and you only did that in order to rescue the Academy, and you did that to target soul beasts.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°But that cannot change the fact that I possess an evil soul master¡¯s abilities. However, Elder Xuan, I can promise you that these abilities that I possess are different from those of an evil soul master. I will never be affected by these abilities.¡±

    Elder Xuan stared deeply at Huo Yuhao. He was full of admiration inside,This child is just different!

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°These abilities of mine don¡¯t belong in the boundaries of our world. Therefore, they are not considered abilities of an evil soul master. Instead, these abilitiese from another ne. These abilities, along with the contract of equals, were passed down to me by that teacher of mine whose divine sense remnants I unintentionally fused with.¡±

    Huo Yuhao no longer hid anything as he detailed everything that had to do with the Cmity Necromancer, Electrolux. His exnation was much different from what he told the soul beasts. He detailed everything from when he first fused with Electrolux, to the end after Electrolux had given him multiple things. Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation was very thorough.

    Elder Xuan listened to his narration very intently, and surprised looks shed across his face from time to time.

    ¡°Because of my fusion with the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit, my teacher used thest of his power and left this world forever. He left behind that spectral demine and his Necromancy, but I will never use these powers unless I have no other choice. Furthermore, my teacher¡¯s Necromancy utilizes the Element of light. Therefore, it doesn¡¯t contain any other evil powers in itself.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then you don¡¯t have to think about this anymore. I will keep your secret, and I will not leave any record about this in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Just as you¡¯ve said, all you have to do is avoid using these powers in the future as much as possible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply and smiled as he said, ¡°I feel so much better after telling all the secrets hidden in my heart.¡±

    Elder Xuan patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about, my child. The truth is, doubt has surfaced in my heart before, but my doubts disappeared since I returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Elder Xuan answered, ¡°Because you have been chosen by Elder Mu.¡±

    Huo Yuhao eyes turned red when Elder Xuan mentioned Elder Mu. He pursed his lips, and he tried his best not to let any tears fall from his eyes.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re a good child, and you¡¯ve done enough for Shrek already. Do you know that Shaozhe came to me half a month ago and told me that he wanted to give up his opportunity to take over as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and he wanted to let you take over directly instead of letting you take over in the subsequent generation.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished, and he hurriedly waved his hands in the air and said, ¡°That¡¯s not going to work! I¡¯m still so young, how can I be Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. Shaozhe¡¯s suggestion is very reasonable. I worked together with Elder Mu and sealed Di Tian away, and even though he managed to break out in the end, I¡¯ve gained a deeper understanding of a Titled Douluo¡¯s strength after the experience. I will enter closed-door cultivation once these worldly and mundane affairs have been settled.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Elder Xuan, you have a chance to try and break through into that level?¡±

    Elder Xuan chuckled and said, ¡°Yes! I can¡¯t let Elder Mu¡¯s painstaking efforts go to waste.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed excitedly.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally referring to the level of an Ultimate Douluo. Elder Xuan was a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, one step away from reaching humanity¡¯s limit. Even though Ultimate Douluo had differences in strength, Shrek Academy would once again possess a powerful individual who was at the pinnacle of the Continent. This was great news for the Academy and for Shrek City.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°If I¡¯m sessful, and ording to an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s circumstances, I predict that I can live for another hundred years or more. I will not remain as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion for the rest of my life, but I should have no problem staying in this position for another several decades. When that happens, you¡¯ll be all grown up. With your current prospects, you can definitely be a Titled Douluo within ten years, and you should have no problem bing a Transcendent Douluo within twenty years. I will help you hold on for a little while more.

    ¡°As for Shaozhe, he¡¯s had some revtions and understandings because of the development of Spirits. He¡¯s passed the Martial Soul Department¡¯s reins over to Mei¡¯er, and entered closed-door cultivation. He¡¯s given up his position as sessor to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and that¡¯s equivalent to him letting go of the greatest burden in his heart. This is great news for him. Shaozhe is extremely talented, and I hope that he can achieve something after his closed-door cultivation.¡±

    ¡°But, Elder Xuan, how can I be Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said with some concern.

    Elder Xuan waved him away and said, ¡°Why are you worrying about this now? I¡¯m not asking you to take up this responsibility right away. You should work hard at improving yourself, and we can talk about who gets to seed me as Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in the future. Did you look for me to open your heart to me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m here to say goodbye.¡± A thread of grief flickered in his eyes when he said thest word of his sentence.

    ¡°Goodbye? You¡¯re leaving?¡± Elder Xuan was taken aback. Huo Yuhao had be a Soul Sage, and his spiritual power had improved exponentially, so he did have the ability to protect himself. However, he was far too important to Shrek Academy¡¯s future. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t want to let Huo Yuhao out of his sight if he could help it.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and continued, ¡°There are some things I need to do. I might leave for a rtively long time this time around, so I¡¯ming here especially to bid farewell to you.¡±

    Elder Xuan lowered his voice and said, ¡°If this is because you¡¯ve summoned the undead army, then that is very unnecessary. I¡¯ve said before that this matter ends here, and nobody will talk about this publicly. We will all keep your secret.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not doing this because of that. There are some things that I must do. Furthermore, I want to visit Dong¡¯er and see if she¡¯s awake.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions changed a little when he mentioned Dong¡¯er. After Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself for him back then, the first thing he wanted to do as quickly as possible was visit Dong¡¯er! Dong¡¯er had been in aa for so long, and he didn¡¯t know what circumstances she was in. One could say that the fact that Wang Dong¡¯er was still alive, even though she was in deep slumber, was Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotional support. There was nothing more important than Dong¡¯er to him.

    Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but nod when Huo Yuhao talked about Dong¡¯er.Yes! I can¡¯t just forbid him from visiting Dong¡¯er.

    A smile appeared on his face. ¡°I¡¯m really getting old, and I can¡¯t bear for you to leave. Furthermore, some things are bound to happen every time you leave, and I¡¯m really afraid of hearing any more bad news that concern you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t happen this time. I will be very careful about everything. After I visit Dong¡¯er, I will bring her back if she¡¯s awake, but if she¡¯s still sleeping, I want to¡­¡±

 Chapter 412.1 - Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 412.1: Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest</h4>

    Huo Yuhao whispered a few words, and Elder Xuan was stunned for a moment. His smile widened a little. ¡°If you are trying to y dumb, take good care to ensure that you don¡¯t be the dumb one. Honestly speaking, the Academy has nothing else to teach you anymore. Since you want to leave, just leave. I only have one request: please send news of your safety once every three months, regardless of what method you use.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled. ¡°Definitely. I won¡¯t be impatient when I deal with things in the future. I¡¯ll be steadier, and won¡¯t make you worry.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Remember, no matter what trouble you face, the Academy will always back you up. Always stay true to yourself.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Elder Xuan leaned back into his chair as he retrieved a huge wine gourd. As he opened it, a strong fragrance of wine filled the air.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Ever since Elder Xuan became the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao had not seen him drink like this. He couldn¡¯t help but recall the days when Elder Xuan would hold a wine gourd in one hand and a chicken drumstick in the other hand. He had been under huge pressure over the past few years in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    After downing a few mouthfuls of wine, Elder Xuan looked more vibrant, ¡°It feels great! I haven¡¯t drunk like this in a long time. Over these few years, the situation in the continent has been very uncertain. The Sun Moon Empire has grown to be very strong, and Xu Tianran dared to ignore all considerations, going as far as toy his hands on thepetitors of the Youth Soul Master Tournament. This shows how confident he is in his own abilities.

    ¡°Originally, I didn¡¯t think too much about it. No matter how strong the Sun Moon Empire was, I thought that it was only slightly stronger than the Star Luo Empire. Even so, the Sun Moon Empire shouldn¡¯t be too strong. If the three empires in the Douluo Continent teamed up, along with the presence of Heaven¡¯s Wrath to defend us, what could they do?

    ¡°However, I only realized I was wrong after this war. The presence of soul tools is indeed an important factor affecting how wars are fought. As the beast wave raged and the soul beast army charged towards Shrek City, we managed to survive for two days with only ten thousand people, three thousand soul masters, and soul tools. We weren¡¯t even fully equipped with soul tools then! In such arge-scale war, one¡¯s individual abilities are unlikely to affect the oue unless they are as powerful as Di Tian. How were we able to survive? We survived because of soul tools!

    ¡°In total, we had less than fifty Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. With the Tang Sect¡¯s All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts and all types of soul tools from the Academy, we formed a crossfire that managed to resist the onught of the soul beast army. Those stationary soul cannon shells that the Tang Sect provided even caused greater losses to the soul beasts. If they hadn¡¯t been battered so heavily, I believe the Great Star Dou Forest wouldn¡¯t havepromised, even with our Spirits. Their goal was very simple:unch an all-out attack to weaken our abilities! The more soul masters they killed, the safer the soul beasts would be for a period of time!

    ¡°I originally looked down on soul tools, as I felt that the strength of a soul tool, even if it was ss 9, might not be as strong as an all-out attack from a Titled Douluo. However, I discovered that I was wrong. If a hundred soul masters attack at the same time, it¡¯s very difficult for their power to add up together. However, the attacks of a hundred soul tools can be extremely destructive if they¡¯re coordinated well. Furthermore, the future of soul tools is that they¡¯ll be controlled by ordinary people, ording to the Tang Sect¡¯s research. If this reallyes true, humans will still rule the Douluo Continent, even if soul masters cease to exist.¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood what Elder Xuan meant through his tone. He was stunned as he asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, are you adopting a pessimistic attitude towards the war between the three empires and the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Elder Xuanughed slightly. ¡°I¡¯m not pessimistic. It¡¯s just difficult to judge. However, it¡¯ll depend on the younger people from the three empires to defeat the Sun Moon Empire. Go on, your experiences in the outside world will be very beneficial to your growth. Don¡¯t worry about the Tang Sect. The Academy will do its best to support the sect. The growth of the Tang Sect might actually be what we need to resist the Sun Moon Empire in the future.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Elder Xuan, I¡¯ll leave first. I hope that you can achieve sess.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up and bowed respectfully to Elder Xuan. He only left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after Elder Xuan gave him the signal to.

    He didn¡¯t rush to leave. He turned around before kneeling towards the Golden Tree again. After kowtowing three times, he drifted away.

    A teacher for a day, a father for a life. No matter the time, his respect for Elder Mu would never change.

    ¡ª¡ª

    School was in session now, and the Academy was much quieter. Huo Yuhao quickly left the Academy and rushed over to the Tang Sect.

    The thing he wanted to do the most now was to see Wang Dong¡¯er. If the Clear Sky Sect allowed it, he would remain there to take care of Wang Dong¡¯er.

    As a result, he had to settle many things before that.

    When Huo Yuhao returned to the Tang Sect, the sect was extremely crowded. There were many more disciples in the Sect right now. Huo Yuhao felt that many of them were very familiar, they were probably from the Academy. Furthermore, there weren¡¯t just students from the Soul Tool Department, there were also students from the Martial Soul Department. Of course, there were some unfamiliar faces, too!

    The outer wall of the Sect had already been torn down. It seemed like their territory had been expanded once again.

    Huo Yuhao was extremely notable in Shrek City right now. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he used his Imitation, concealed himself in the air, and entered the inner hall of the Tang Sect.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s follow the original n for this side. Oh yes, proceed ording to the blueprint for this side too. Use the best materials and don¡¯t cut any corners. Otherwise, Teacher Xuan will ¡®take care¡¯ of all of you. Alright, that¡¯s all. Get busy.¡±

    As he entered, Huo Yuhao heard He Caitou¡¯s voice. He Caitou had retained his original appearance and seemed to be very busy. There were a few people dressed in construction gear beside him.

    As he smiled, Huo Yuhao stopped using his Imitation.

    He Caitou subconsciously turned in his direction. When he saw Huo Yuhao, he couldn¡¯t help but rub his eyes, wanting to ensure that he wasn¡¯t seeing things. It was only after he confirmed that it was really Huo Yuhao that he shouted in delight, ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re finally back!¡±

    As he spoke, he charged forward and hugged Huo Yuhao.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect was anxious after Huo Yuhao was taken away by Di Tian. However, even Elder Xuan was helpless, given Di Tian¡¯s cultivation. The Tang Sect could only choose to wait. Fortunately, they knew that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in any immediate danger due to the presence of Spirits. Right now, He Caitou was delighted because Huo Yuhao had returned.

    ¡°Little junior, are you fine?¡± He Caitou looked very concerned.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Second senior, do I look like I¡¯m not fine? Didn¡¯t you say that the Tang Sect was given arger plot ofnd in the outer city? Why are you still renovating this ce?¡±

    He Caitou chuckled and replied, ¡°We nned this after discussing it with the Academy. Yes, we were given arger plot ofnd in the outer city. However, it¡¯s much safer here, since it¡¯s close to the Academy! We decided to renovate this ce and turn it into a Soul Tool Research Institute. After this, we¡¯ll move the other things, such as our working area and soul tool manufacturing factory, to the outer city. We¡¯ll leave everything important in the inner city. In the future, Teacher Xuan will hold the fort inside the city and conduct holistic research.

    ¡°This time, the Academy has be much more invested in the Sect. They¡¯ve shared all their resources in the Soul Tool Department with us, especially in the area of soul tool research. They¡¯ve given unconditional support to Teacher Xuan. Whatever Teacher Xuan needs, the Academy will try its best to gather.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°That¡¯s great, then! I¡¯m relieved. Second senior, where¡¯s eldest senior?¡±

    He Caitou answered, ¡°He¡¯s around. He has been very worried about you these few days. He keeps going to the Academy to try to find a way to save you. Now that you¡¯re back, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be delighted. Let¡¯s go and find him.¡±

    ¡ª

    Right now, only He Caitou and Bei Bei were in the Tang Sect among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were all in the outer city, overseeing the construction of the Tang Sect¡¯s new building.

    Huo Yuhao found Bei Bei quickly. When he saw Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei was naturally extremely delighted. Huo Yuhao recounted everything he had experienced in the Great Star Dou Forest to Bei Bei. He only concealed the future influence of Di Tian¡¯s ck Dragon reverse scale on him. After all, it was unimportant to the Tang Sect, and it was only a problem that would slowly arise once he became a Titled Douluo. He didn¡¯t want to make Bei Bei worry about him.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°Eldest senior, settle things here at the sect before following me.¡±

    Bei Bei immediately understood what he meant, and seemed slightly agitated. He nodded quickly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Have we had no news about Sister Xiaotao over the past few days?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°No, she hasn¡¯t appeared at all. It¡¯s the same situation with the Academy. If she¡¯s fine, she¡¯ll still be in the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s just that the evil energy that you helped to dispel from her body¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if she can hold on, either. It¡¯ll depend on her willpower. I believe she¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know why she hasn¡¯t returned.¡± Ma Xiaotao was still the Holy Lady of the Holy Ghost Church, and a Soul Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul. As long as she didn¡¯t expose her identity, no one could easily harm her inside the Sun Moon Empire.

 Chapter 412.2 - Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 412.2: Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest</h4>

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Little junior, go and rest first. We¡¯ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. How long do you think it will take before we return?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If we¡¯re fast, we¡¯ll take three to five days. Even if we¡¯re slow, we shouldn¡¯t take more than half a month.¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Bei Bei said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s better to finish it as quickly as possible. I¡¯ll go and settle things first.¡±

    As he spoke, Bei Bei charged out. In addition to the anxious look in his eyes, he was also excited.

    He Caitou was confused as he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Little junior, what¡¯s with eldest senior? What are you bringing him to do? He seems very agitated!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and whispered a few words in his ears. He Caitou was only enlightened after that. After sighing, he said, ¡°Yes! No matter what, we have to help him!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    On the second morning, dawn had only just arrived before two figures left the Tang Sect. After they quickly left Shrek City, they immediately used their flying-type soul tools to ascend into the air, and rapidly headed north.

    Huo Yuhao looked at Bei Bei and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Eldest senior, you seem to havenguished recently. You must watch your body!¡±

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°There are so many things to settle in the sect. How do I have time to rest?¡±

    He was right. Rescuing the hostages, Huo Yuhao¡¯s disappearance, the surge of the beast wave, and the Tang Sect¡¯s expansion came one after another. As the sect leader of the Tang Sect, he had to settle everything. Under such a situation, he didn¡¯t have time to rest.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Eldest senior, I have to help you find those things no matter what.¡±

    There was naturally only one reason why Bei Bei would take time off from his busy schedule to leave Shrek City¡­Tang Ya!

    Bei Bei¡¯s reward in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley was learning the two types of nts that could help Tang Ya recover. Huo Yuhao had seen one of them before, the Delicate Silk Immortal, and he was certain that the Delicate Silk Immortal knew the other type of nt.

    Before he went to see Wang Dong¡¯er, he wanted to help Bei Bei fulfill his wish first. After all, he didn¡¯t know how long he would take to return after going to the Clear Sky Sect. This was because he had something else to do apart from apanying Wang Dong¡¯er. This issue was bound to take up a lot of his time.

    Now that the construction of the Tang Sect was on the right track, and the Soul Tool Research Institute was helmed by Teacher Xuan, Huo Yuhao had enough time to get away from the Sect. However, he understood how tormented Bei Bei was feeling, so he wanted to bring Bei Bei to the Setting Sun Forest before he went to the Clear Sky Sect.

    ¡ª

    As he flew in the direction of the Setting Sun Forest, Huo Yuhao felt a little emotional. Thest time he went to the Setting Sun Forest, he was there to seek a Yearning Heartbroken Grass for Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one who had apanied him there.

    Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er were no longer by his side. Wang Dong¡¯er was in a deep sleep, while Wang Qiu¡¯er had sacrificed herself for him. As he thought of this, Huo Yuhao felt a pain in his heart.

    He bit his tongue in a bid to use the pain that he felt to distract himself from the torment in his heart. He kept on reminding himself that he had to be resilient. It was only by remaining resilient that he could continue to walk this rough road. He believed that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and Wang Dong¡¯er would eventually wake up.

    That day, he had promised the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm that he would try to be a god in the future. It wasn¡¯t just to help them; he was also helping himself. This was because Wang Qiu¡¯er might also have the possibility of being revived if he became a god.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest hope, apart from avenging his mother, was to have Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er alive by his side.

    He was now a Soul Sage, and the only Soul Sage among the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. In terms of cultivation, he had caught up with the rest and overtaken them.

    However, Bei Bei wasn¡¯t lousy, either. He wasn¡¯t far from being a Soul Sage. As the eldest senior of the Tang Sect, his soul power had greatly increased since he exited the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. Along with his daily, tireless cultivation, he was now around Rank 68. Apart from Huo Yuhao, he was the strongest member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Both of them were using ss 6 flying-type soul tools right now, and flying incredibly fast.

    They onlynded and rested after flying for close to four hours. After resting, they continued on their journey again.

    ¡ª¡ª

    They approached the Setting Sun Forest before noon.

    Huo Yuhao led Bei Bei into the Setting Sun Forest. With his previous experience, he knew that there were very few soul beasts residing in this forest. In terms of strong soul beasts, they were mostly in the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Although those soul beasts were nt-type, their cultivations weren¡¯t low.

    The poisonous miasma released by the Jade Phosphorus Flower of the Seven Absolutes was ineffective against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. Huo Yuhao proceeded in a straight line directly towards the mountain valley where the Icefire Yin Yang Well was located.

    Bei Bei was astonished when he saw the seven-colored poisonous miasma around him slowly turn jade-green. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice as protection, even a Titled Douluo would have beenpletely corroded by the poison!

    ¡°Little junior, how did you enter thest time? This ce is too dangerous!¡± Bei Bei eximed in shock when he saw nothing growing around this ce; even the soil was seven-colored!

    Huo Yuhao forced augh. ¡°Ultimate Ice is the jinx of all poisons. Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior. We¡¯ll be fine. Let¡¯s go in.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice created a path for them to enter, and the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Seven and Nine Absolutes shrank back into buds under the control of Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power. After that, he flew along towards the Icefire Yin Yang Well with Bei Bei.

    From the air, the view of the Icefire Yin Yang Well, which resembled a mortal paradise, was presented in front of them.

    Even though this ce wasn¡¯t filled with prosperous life energy like the ughtering Grounds in the Great Star Dou Forest, it was still a miraculous ce.

    Ice and fire co-existed in this ce, and there were all types of valuable nts that filled every corner of the mountain valley. This was the first time Bei Bei had seen this, and he waspletely in a daze.

    All the nt-type soul beasts around the well started to react when they sensed outsiders approaching. However, they soon felt the spiritual aura that Huo Yuhao released.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer like before. There were many hundred-thousand-year nt-type soul beasts here. However, their cultivation was different from hundred-thousand-year animal-type soul beasts, as they only had great strength in their own domains. In terms of fighting strength, they were far inferior to hundred-thousand-year animal-type soul beasts. They were only strong because of the Icefire Yin Yang well.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current abilities, he wasn¡¯t afraid of these soul beasts. In addition, he even controlled the power of destiny.

    Initially, Wang Qiu¡¯er had once threatened the Delicate Silk Immortal. As the Emperor Beast, she controlled the destiny of all the soul beast habitats on the continent. She used this to threaten the Delicate Silk Immortal. Even though the Great Star Dou Forest was the main ce, it was still possible for her to destroy the destiny of the Icefire Yin Yang Well. She only had to pay a certain price for that to happen.

    Given that, how would the soul beasts here dare to rile Wang Qiu¡¯er? If not for her threat, she wouldn¡¯t have found the second Yearning Heartbroken Grass.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Why are you here again?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal sounded slightly annoyed.

    No nts liked humans that were aggressive or destructive. This was even more applicable for valuable immortal herbs like them.

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao had brought a stranger too, the Delicate Silk Immortal wasn¡¯t very happy.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a sound. His Eye of Destiny slowly opened, and rose-gold sunray patterns caused his forehead to turn extremely dazzling. A weird rose-gold ring started to spread from his forehead. After he came thest time, Huo Yuhao had developed some understanding of these nt-type soul beasts. He knew he had to go hard on them. Without threatening them with his abilities, it was impossible to obtain their help.

    Indeed, all the immortal and medicinal herbs that had turned into nt-type soul beasts were jolted awake when they sensed the immense spiritual undtions that were filled with the aura of destiny. Suddenly, there were several spiritual intents filled with fear that spreading towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei descended, and the nts opened a path for them tond.

    ¡°You You, we meet again,¡± Huo Yuhao said to the Delicate Silk Immortal. Bei Bei¡¯s eyes had already brightened by this point. Wasn¡¯t this Delicate Silk Immortal one of the nts that the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley had mentioned? Furthermore, this Delicate Silk Immortal seemed evenrger than the image he saw.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was astonished, ¡°You, why do you control the power of destiny now? Impossible! The power of destiny can¡¯t be taken away. You, you, you¡­¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked. All the surrounding nt-type soul beasts started to panic.

    Huo Yuhao replied calmly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know this, and I don¡¯t want to be reminded, either. If I¡¯m not wrong, you said that I could take away seven types of nts from here thest time I was here. Am I right?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal nodded gently. ¡°Yes, you can take away seven types of nts since you passed Tang San¡¯s test.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Good. I¡¯m here today to take away another five types of nts. We took two stalks of Yearning Heartbroken Grassst time, so this means I¡¯m left with five types of nts to take. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°No, you are not!¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal immediately answered. ¡°You also consumed a Fullmoon Autumn Dew!¡±

 Chapter 412.3 - Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest

    <h4 ss>Chapter 412.3: Revisiting the Setting Sun Forest</h4>

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°I remember you mentioning before that that one didn¡¯t count. It was part of your test for me. After that, I was seriously hurt because of your test. I had no choice but to use the water from the zing Sunspring to warm my blood and pluck that Yearning Heartbroken Grass. In fact, I only took one stalk of Yearning Heartbroken Grass. The other stalk was taken by Qiu¡¯er in order to save me. It shouldn¡¯t be counted. This is why taking five types of nts this time is already considered less than what I¡¯m entitled to. I should leave with six types of nts instead.¡±

    ¡°How, how can you be like this?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was immediately furious.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings slowly rose from his feet, and the sixth soul ring that Wang Qiu¡¯er had given him appeared. The moment it appeared, all the soul beasts were shocked.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You You, Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself for me in order to save me. I¡¯m sure you know who she is. This means that I¡¯ve inherited her power of destiny. I¡¯m not an unreasonable person, but I really need to leave with some valuable nts today. Among all these nts, I¡¯ll first need you to follow me. If you aren¡¯t willing, I can take away just your destiny.¡±

    ¡°What, what are you saying? You want to take me away? No, no way. That¡¯s impossible. I¡¯m not leaving this ce. You can¡¯t eat me! I¡¯m useless to you!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal instantly panicked.

    Just like Huo Yuhao mentioned, they were more afraid of Wang Qiu¡¯er than the entire Great Star Dou Forest. This was because the Icefire Yin Yang Well was one of the ces in the world where destiny congregated. It was also the reason why this ce looked so magical. If the destiny of this ce was ruined, the Icefire Yin Yang Well would be damaged. When that happened, all the nts here would be doomed. If they left the Icefire Yin Yang Well, they wouldn¡¯t be able to grow as fast as they did now.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You don¡¯t have a say in this matter. I¡¯m leaving with you. I¡¯m not viting any restrictions that ancestor Tang San came up with. You are also one of the nts here, right?¡± As he spoke, he was already slowly walking towards the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t! Don¡¯t take me away. I can only curb all sorts of poison. You possess the strength of Ultimate Ice, which means that you aren¡¯t afraid of lethal poisons anyway! Bringing me away won¡¯t do you any good!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was extremely anxious right now. She wasn¡¯t adept at fighting either, and had no chance of resisting Huo Yuhao.

    At this point, theck of unity between the nt-type soul beasts was demonstrated. Every one of them was scared of being taken away by Huo Yuhao, and didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. Naturally, they didn¡¯te to You You¡¯s aid.

    Thest time Huo Yuhao was here, he had activated the Snow Empress¡¯ help. Given how strong the Snow Empress was, these soul beasts weren¡¯t able to resist her.

    Huo Yuhao only stopped when he reached the pink halo that the Delicate Silk Immortal released from her body. Bei Bei, who followed behind him, could smell the refreshing fragrance, and was jolted awake immediately.

    Huo Yuhao looked thoughtful, and said, ¡°You seem to be right. I don¡¯t really need you to neutralize any poison. Let¡¯s do it this way: help me locate one type of nt. If I¡¯m satisfied, I¡¯ll consider letting you off.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao took out the scroll that Bei Bei had drawn for him before.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll help you. There¡¯s no nt that I can¡¯t recognize in this world.¡± You You was delighted, and immediately agreed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s request.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop, and directly opened the scroll before presenting it to You You.

    ¡°Do you see it? You are actually included in this scroll. It¡¯s not a lie when I said that I wanted to leave with you. Tell me what the other nt is, and I¡¯ll consider letting you remain here.¡±

    From the start, Huo Yuhao had already set this trap for the Delicate Silk Immortal. These nt-type soul beasts were very clever. He might not get an answer if he asked directly. He also didn¡¯t have time to slowly get an answer out of them. He had no choice but to threaten them in order to find out what he wanted.

    ¡°Yes, I recognize what nt this is. However, can you really not leave with me if I tell you what it is? How can you guarantee that?¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal was indeed clever. She immediately stated her condition.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound. He lifted his right hand and his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer was instantly unleashed. He immediately grabbed onto her, and a streak of rose-gold light shot out from his Eye of Destiny.

    This was one of the two soul skills from his sixth soul ring, Destiny¡¯s Demise. Once struck by this Destiny¡¯s Demise, all defenses that weren¡¯t formed using soul power would lose their effect. One¡¯s body would also be extremely fragile. Under the guidance of destiny, it was impossible not to be struck by it. Unless one¡¯s soul power attack could directly destroy Huo Yuhao, his Destiny¡¯s Demise wouldst for a full minute.

    ¡°Ah! No, I¡¯ll tell you, I¡¯ll tell you, okay?!¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal immediately screamed wildly after being struck by the Destiny¡¯s Demise. He didn¡¯t give her a chance to y any tricks at all!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand stopped in mid-air, and he said coldly, ¡°Given your abilities, your life energy won¡¯t dissipate any time soon even if I pluck you and leave. I can still slowly interrogate you even after we leave with you. So, you can choose to answer me here, or answer me after we leave.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll tell you. I need to sense that nt you¡¯re referring to. I can¡¯t see your scroll. After all, I¡¯m only just a nt. Can you describe what it looks like?¡± You You was trembling as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twisted a little. Bei Bei, who originally had some sympathy for her, also turned cold when he heard her words. She was simply too cunning.

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to Bei Bei and said, ¡°Eldest senior, can you show her what it looks like?¡±

    The Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley had given Bei Bei three opportunities to present the image, which included the aura of the two nts as shown in the image. This was also why You You was muchrger than what she looked like in the image.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Bei Bei acknowledged his words and shut his eyes. An illusory streak of light appeared in the air under his mental control. The appearances and auras of two different types of nts were presented in the form of projections in the air.

    This time, the Delicate Silk Immortal didn¡¯t dare to dy any more. She was certain that Huo Yuhao would reallyy his hands on her.

    Rings of pinkish light started to spread from her head as she sensed the projections.

    After a brief moment, the projections vanished, and everything returned to normal.

    ¡°So?¡± Huo Yuhao asked. Although Bei Bei was very anxious now, he didn¡¯t make a sound, and let Huo Yuhao do all the talking.

    ¡°Weird. It¡¯s very small and weak, but it¡¯s very strong.¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal seemed to be in deep thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try any tricks,¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly, ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll bring you to another ce and let you think over it slowly.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal rushed to say, ¡°No, no! Ah! I¡¯ve figured it out. I know what it is. It¡¯s small and weak because of its size, but it¡¯s strong because ites from that species. It¡¯s the Bluesilver Emperor.¡±

    ¡°Bluesilver Emperor? What¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei were both lost when they heard the Delicate Silk Immortal mention this name.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal quickly said, ¡°The Bluesilver Emperor is the emperor of Bluesilver Grasses. It¡¯s the strongest Bluesilver Grass. While Bluesilver Grass looks small and weak, their emperor is extremely strong. The Bluesilver Emperor is also a true, hundred-thousand-year soul beast. I know what¡¯s going on. Your friend must be poisoned, and needs my abilities to neutralize her poison before the Bluesilver Emperor can help her Awaken by guiding the strength of her bloodline. Your friend¡¯s martial soul should be a Bluesilver Grass.¡±

    After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei¡¯s eyes brightened.

    Yes! Tang Ya¡¯s martial soul was a Bluesilver Grass. The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s analysis was on point. If this was the case, she really had hope.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since this is the case, what we need to do is to help her neutralize her poison and recover?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal replied, ¡°Regarding this, hmm¡­it¡¯s certain that you don¡¯t have to feed me to her. You just need to bring her and the Bluesilver Emperor here. I¡¯m sure I can neutralize her poison, but I won¡¯t be able to remove it from her body. I have no way of doing so if the source of the poison is deep within her body. I can¡¯t remove poison from a person¡¯s blood. I can only neutralize the poison in her body after the Bluesilver Emperor forces it out of her blood.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Are you saying that the Bluesilver Grass is a soul beast?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal replied, ¡°He¡¯s not just a soul beast. He¡¯s a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Only a hundred-thousand-year Bluesilver Grass can be an emperor.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Do you know where the Bluesilver Emperor is?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal answered, ¡°About this¡­¡±

    Seeing how hesitant she appeared to be, Huo Yuhaoughed coldly. ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t know, either. You¡¯ve never left this Icefire Yin Yang Well. It¡¯s logical that you don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll bring you out of here and we can neutralize the poison when we see him.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± the Delicate Silk Immortal wailed. ¡°Don¡¯t do it! I don¡¯t want to leave this ce. I¡¯ll die if I leave this ce. I won¡¯t be able to survive. My roots are here. I¡¯m not leaving. I don¡¯t know where the Bluesilver Emperor is.

    ¡°But, think about it, he has to be willing to help your friend first. If you bring him here, he¡¯ll be delighted, considering this is a ce suitable for nt growth. He¡¯ll help you then. If I leave this ce, I¡¯ll wither quickly. How will I be able to help the both of you if that happens? Leave me here. As long as you bring the Bluesilver Emperor here, I¡¯ll help to neutralize your friend¡¯s poison any time. Will that do?¡±

 Chapter 413 - Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass

    <h4 ss>Chapter 413: Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass</h4>

    ¡°Oh, oh, I still have more to say. Although I¡¯ve never left this valley before, I can roughly guess where the Bluesilver Emperor is. A hundred-thousand-year Bluesilver Emperor can only grow in the very center of the continent. I believe you can find him around there.¡±

    The very center of the continent?Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao looked at each other, and their expressions turned weird.

    The very center of the continent was undoubtedly the Great Star Dou Forest. That was also the ce with the most types of soul beasts.

    Did the Bluesilver Emperor really reside in the Great Star Dou Forest?

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not lying to me. Since this is the case, I¡¯ll leave you here for now. I¡¯ll also only choose one type of medicinal herb to take away. Oh yes, You You, is there anything here that can help someone in a deep sleep to wake up?¡±

    You You immediately swayed her huge flower head, ¡°No. It also depends on what type of deep sleep that person is in. nts don¡¯t know the body structure of humans. If that person isn¡¯t poisoned, we won¡¯t be able to do anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll leave with some stuff first.¡± As he spoke, he turned around and walked towards the zing Delicate Apricot.

    The zing Delicate Apricot was watching from one side earlier but didn¡¯t make a sound. She was afraid of being noticed by Huo Yuhao. She had suffered greatly when Huo Yuhao came here thest time. After that, she had also sustained serious injuries. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was walking over now, she immediately shrank tightly.

    ¡°You, what are you doing? I¡¯m not suitable for you. I¡¯m fire-type, so I won¡¯t be useful for you!¡± The zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s voice was trembling.

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°Of course I know you¡¯re useless to me. I only want something from you. Either I uproot you and leave, or you give me a piece of your zing Rubber. I need it to save someone.¡±

    The zing Delicate Apricot was furious as she shouted, ¡°This is robbery!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m robbing you,¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly, ¡°You better give me an answer soon, as I have limited patience. Don¡¯t make me bring up our unpleasant past.¡± As he spoke, his Eye of Destiny lit up, and immense spiritual undtions surged out like tidal waves.

    Although Huo Yuhao was still a Soul Sage, he was equivalent to a Soul Douluo in terms of his overall fighting strength. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem to fight a hundred-thousand-year soul beast on his own. Moreover, he even had the Snow Lady as a weapon!

    The zing Delicate Apricot was sorrowful and furious as she said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Following this, a piece of zing Rubber the size of a fingernail drifted out from his core.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even look at this piece of zing Rubber. ¡°I remember the Snow Empress managed to get a fist-sized piece of zing Rubber the other time, and still left half for you. Hurry up, or I¡¯ll get the Snow Empress to demand more from you again.¡±

    As he spoke, a streak of white light shed by, and the Snow Lady crawled out of his Eye of Destiny. She didn¡¯t bother with the zing Delicate Apricot, and flew directly above the Extreme Chill Icespring, silently absorbing the concentrated ice element there. As long as Huo Yuhao wanted, he could help the Snow Empress temporarily regain her memory through the stimtion of the Icespring.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give, I¡¯ll give!¡± If the zing Delicate Apricot had teeth, she would have gnashed them until they were broken.

    A piece of zing Rubber half the size of a fist flew out from the extremely reluctant zing Delicate Apricot.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a dark-green jade box from his storage-type soul tool and put this piece of zing Rubber inside. Its extremely high temperature was sealed using this method.

    Tang San¡¯s Poison Scripture had recorded the method of preserving a piece of a zing Rubber from a zing Delicate Apricot. It wasn¡¯t viable to use extreme chill to resist the high heat, as that might cause an explosion. Using a piece of warm jade was the most suitable.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s warm jade box came from Shrek Academy. He naturally took this piece of zing Rubber for Ma Xiaotao. Only zing Rubber was able to purify Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Evil Phoenix. Along with his Ultimate Ice, he should be able to dispel the impurities and evil energy within her Ultimate Fire.

    After putting the piece of zing Rubber away, Huo Yuhao ignored the zing Delicate Apricot and returned to the Delicate Silk Immortal. He said, ¡°We¡¯re leaving. I only took a piece of zing Rubber this time and didn¡¯t touch any of the medicinal herbs here. If Ie here again, I should still be able to take six different types of nts.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± You You didn¡¯t know what to say by now. She also didn¡¯t dare to rage, as she was afraid of agitating Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s original n was to take six types of medicinal herbs for hispatriots the second time he was here. However, he immediately changed this n after listening to how the Delicate Silk Immortal described the method to neutralize Tang Ya¡¯s poison.

    If he didn¡¯t take anything from this ce, it meant that he coulde back again. Furthermore, the medicinal herbs in this ce were all top-quality things. He might need them some other time. What if hispatriots were hurt, and needed some special medicinal herb? It wouldn¡¯t be toote toe back for it. They were all some of the strongest soul masters among their peers. They didn¡¯t need medicinal herbs to be stronger. The six medicinal herbs that he was entitled to could be lifesavers in the future.

    After adopting such thoughts, he decided to only leave with a piece of zing Rubber.

    After Bei Bei learned about the Bluesilver Emperor and witnessed the existence of the Delicate Silk Immortal, he felt extremely good. This meant that Tang Ya had a chance to recover! What he had to do next was locate the Bluesilver Emperor, and then save Tang Ya. Although it was still a long shot, it was better than having no chance at all.

    ¡°Eldest senior, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s return after finding the Bluesilver Emperor.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded before opening up his flying-type soul tool, which was still on his back.

    At this moment, two voices sounded at the same time, ¡°Don¡¯t leave yet.¡±

    Of these two voices, one evidently belonged to the Delicate Silk Immortal. The other voice sounded a little cold, and it came from the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    ¡°Oh? They can¡¯t bear for us to leave?¡± Huo Yuhao turned towards the Extreme Chill Icespring. It was another nt that had let out that cold voice, and he had seen this nt thest time he was here. It was the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, which grew at the center of the Icespring. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was bitter enemies with the zing Delicate Apricot.

    ¡°You You, you can speak first.¡± This Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass took the initiative to let the Delicate Silk Immortal speak first.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal seemed to be determined, and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, don¡¯t go just yet. I have something else for you.¡±

    ¡°So good to me?¡± Huo Yuhao was curious as he came before her.

    She said, ¡°Use a jade bottle to store it before sealing it.¡± As she spoke, a trace of pinkish fog drifted from her flower head.

    Huo Yuhao rushed to retrieve a huge jade bottle a foot high and opened the cork.

    Under the control of the Delicate Silk Bottle, the pinkish fog drifted towards the opening of the bottle before entering it. Slowly, it sank down. From the looks of it, it seemed like pollen.

    In a few seconds, all the fog was inside the bottle. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s bottle was too big, only the bottom of the bottle had a bit of pollen in it.

    ¡°Is this your pollen?¡± Huo Yuhao asked the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    You You replied, ¡°Yes! Its effect is the same as my fragrance.¡±

    ¡°With my pollen, you don¡¯t have toe to me when you want to save someone. As long as you can persuade the Bluesilver Emperor to help, you¡¯ll be fine. Dip a finger into my pollen and flick it into the air. My fragrance willst for two hours within a three-meter region.¡± She was scared of Huo Yuhao and didn¡¯t want to see him anymore. She tolerated the pain and sacrificed her own pollen.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I remember you still have that pearl¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard! Why are you so different from thest time you were here? I remember you were quite kind thest time!¡± You You was infuriated.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Being too kind will cause one to be unable to protect his loved ones. I can forgo your pearl, but give me more pollen. I¡¯m using it to save someone. You can consider this a way of umting good deeds.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal tolerated the pain once again and released some more pollen, then said ¡°I¡¯ve no more left. This is all I¡¯ve got.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you. Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, what do you want?¡± After storing the additional pollen, Huo Yuhao passed the bottle to Bei Bei before turning to the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    The Ice Grass coldly replied, ¡°I want to leave with you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. All the other medicinal herbs were afraid of him and shunned him. However, this Ice Grass wanted to leave with him. Wasn¡¯t this weird?

    Huo Yuhao was thus curious as he asked, ¡°You want to leave with me? Why?¡±

    The Ice Grass replied, ¡°Since you can fuse with the Snow Empress in that way, you should be able to do the same with me. I¡¯m a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. I should be able to help you. Turn me into that form too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at the Ice Grass. ¡°Why? Why do you want to be my Spirit for no rhyme or reason?¡±

    The Ice Grass calmly replied, ¡°I want to leave this ce to see the outside world. I¡¯ve lived in this ce for too long. Furthermore, I can sense your aura. To me, it¡¯s better than this Icespring.¡±

    ¡°Just because of this?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little doubtful.

    The Ice Grass said, ¡°When the Snow Empress appeared, she once told me that following you could grant me eternal life. I didn¡¯t believe it then. However, her words seem to be true. The Auspicious God Beast sacrificed herself for you, and you carry her aura now, and your abilities have grown so quickly. If I stay here, I¡¯ll just be medicine to humans one day. If I follow you, I might achieve eternal life. There¡¯s only loneliness here. What¡¯s the point even if I live for so long? I want to leave with you, but I won¡¯t be counted among the six types of herbs that you can leave with. I¡¯m doing this of my own ord. I only have one condition: you must preserve my consciousness. If you can do that, I swear that I¡¯ll follow you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected anything like this. He had scammed and threatened the Delicate Silk Immortal earlier, mainly because he wanted to find a method to save Tang Ya. He wouldn¡¯t easily destroy this treasure ground that Tang San had left behind. However, he hadn¡¯t expected the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass to take the initiative to choose him, and even want to be his Spirit. It was a delightful surprise.

    All the other nt-type soul beasts were perplexed, especially the zing Delicate Apricot. She showed her emotions clearly, and it was clear that she was mocking the Ice Grass.

    Huo Yuhao drifted up and went over to the Ice Grass before saying, ¡°I can maintain your consciousness if you fuse with me. What you are wagering on is whether I¡¯ll be able to ovee the barrier of this world and be a God before I die. This must be the eternal life that the Snow Empress was talking about. I can¡¯t guarantee that I can do that in the future. However, what I can guarantee is that you¡¯ll see many exciting things you¡¯ve never seen here if you follow me, and your consciousness will be preserved along with your abilities. Think about it carefully. Once you be my Spirit, it¡¯s equivalent to giving up your actual body. There¡¯s no turning back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through. You can swear now.¡± The Ice Grass was very steadfast.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath before he nodded and said, ¡°I, Huo Yuhao, swear that I¡¯ll do my best to preserve the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ consciousness as I sign this equal contract. The sess rate is above ny percent. If I¡¯m lying, I¡¯ll freeze to death and never reincarnate.¡±

    After he swore his oath, the Ice Grass said, ¡°Very good. You can tell me what to do now.¡±

    Inside the Icefire Yin Yang Well, all the soul beasts were watching Huo Yuhao and the Ice Grass. They were curious as to why the Ice Grass would choose to be Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit.

    In front of these soul beasts, Huo Yuhao exined the meaning and effect of an equal contract used to fuse with Spirits.

    ¡°I understand. Wait a minute.¡± The Ice Grass released icy-blue light, and halos started to slowly surge upward from the soil he was rooted in. Gradually, they turned into icy-blue light rings.

    The star anise leaves that were already very beautiful slowly turned into extremely eye-catching blue crystals. Amid the magnificent shing lights, these blue crystals looked like perfect art pieces.

    ¡°He¡¯s crazy. He really wants to give up everything to follow a human. Star Anise is crazy!¡± the zing Delicate Apricot nagged.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s flower head also fully opened as she sensed what the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was doing.

    It didn¡¯t take long for a diamond-shaped crystal entity to slowly rise from the core of the Ice Grass. The two tips and sides of this crystal entity were very obvious. However, there was a ridgeline on every corner of the center of this crystal entity. Naturally, it made it seem as if every corner had two tips. There were a total of eight corners, which was why this Ice Grass was called the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. Even the special products that it formed had eight corners.

    When this crystal entity appeared, an extremely pure chilly intent started to spread out. Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shiver when he sensed this chill.

 Chapter 414.1 - Donger, Im Coming

    <h4 ss>Chapter 414.1: Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m Coming</h4>

    The diamond-shaped star anise crystal entity waspletely revealed on the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ body, exuding a pure chilly intent.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, the Skydream Iceworm eximed, ¡°What an excellent guy! The purity and concentration of the ice element in that far exceeds the Ten Thousand Year Ice Pith that I absorbed years ago. This must be the essence of the Extreme Chill Icespring that he has refined over ten thousand years.¡±

    The Ice Grass¡¯ weak voice sounded, ¡°Since I¡¯m leaving with you, I don¡¯t need this anymore. This is the Star Anise Ice Crystal that I¡¯ve cultivated for over ten thousand years. Keep it. It¡¯ll increase your cultivation speed if you carry it along with you. If it¡¯s embedded into a weapon, it can confer the strength of Ultimate Ice to any metal. The essence of my ten thousand years of cultivation lies in it.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned serious. He hadn¡¯t expected the Ice Grass to offer his most valuable item to him so sincerely. At this point, he was no longer doubtful. As he received the Ice Crystal, he sensed the extreme chill on it. He said seriously, ¡°Star Anise, thanks for your trust. I believe you won¡¯t be disappointed. Let¡¯s start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was by this point extremely familiar with the process of Spirit Transmission, having beenpletely upied with it over the past few months.

    His Eye of Destiny shone brightly on his forehead, and rose-gold sunray patterns slowly released halos out from it.

    The hexagram beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet was also rose-gold. His martial soul immediately switched, and the original seven rings turned into five rings ¨C one red and four orange-gold. All five soul rings represented immense strength and ultimate power.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, a ball of rose-gold light shining there. His low-pitched yet awe-inspiring voice could be heard as he recited the incantation of the equal contract.

    A streak of rose-gold light shot out from his Eye of Destiny andnded on the Ice Grass¡¯ body. It was guiding his spiritual origin and soul power.

    The uppermost leaf on the Ice Grass was suddenly stained bluish-gold, but he started to wither.

    The Extreme Chill Icespring surged gently, and waves of pure chilly intent were released. It was like the Icespring couldn¡¯t bear to let the Ice Grass go.

    The Snow Lady silently flew to the side of the spring and used her body to block these waves of chilling intent. The origin energy of Ultimate Ice that she absorbed was used to supplement Huo Yuhao through her connection with him.

    Behind Huo Yuhao, his huge Eye of the Asura silently rose. It had nothing to do with his Spirit Eyes but came under the guidance of his Eye of Destiny.

    His incantation was working more smoothly now,pared to the past. Streaks of elegant light started to shine from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and brushed across the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    As of now, Huo Yuhao already had two Spirits, the Skydream Iceworm, and Snow Empress. The Ice Empress was his second martial soul.

    Initially, Huo Yuhao had drained almost all of his spiritual power when he fused with the Snow Empress. As for the Skydream Iceworm, changing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit only required him to alter his form slightly, given that he was already Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul ring and possessed great spiritual power. As a result, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t drained too much when he fused with the Skydream Iceworm.

    No matter what, Huo Yuhao already possessed two Spirits that had greater than hundred-thousand-year cultivations. If not for the fact that his spiritual power had reached the concrete-material realm, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to fuse with a third-hundred-thousand year Spirit. However, he was filled with confidence right now.

    His spiritual power surged out and fused with the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ spiritual origin. They guided each other and drew closer.

    The Ice Grass was also astonished right now. Although he could sense how strong Huo Yuhao was earlier, he didn¡¯t realize that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was actually so great. He had never seen spiritual power as pure as this; itpletely surpassed all the nt-type soul beasts living near the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    The contract proceeded very smoothly. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was drained by about forty percent, the Ice Grass¡¯ body finally witheredpletely.

    A small and delicate Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass,pletely icy-blue and seemingly formed from crystals, drifted in front of him. After this, this Ice Grass slowly stuck to his right leg before it silently disappeared.

    All the strange phenomena shed, then disappeared. It was also at this point that Huo Yuhao¡¯s five soul rings started to tremble.

    Following this, a blood-red soul ring appeared as his sixth soul ring.

    A weird force started to move towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s body from the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. Huo Yuhao only felt his legs suddenly fill with strength as red halos rushed out from his right leg.

    This was¡­

    This was the strength of a soul bone!

    A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was bound to produce a soul bone. This was true even for a nt-type soul beast. After bing Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit, the soul bone that the Ice Grass produced directly became the right leg soul bone that Huo Yuhaocked.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what soul skills it contained, Huo Yuhao immediately sensed the extremely strong aura brought about by his right leg soul bone. Two soul skills! He was confident that this soul bone would give him two extra soul skills!

    Just as all the nt-type soul beasts and Bei Bei thought the fusion had ended, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly shone brightly with azure light. His clothes burst apart, and the image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion surfaced in the air. After this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s form started to change.

    His body turned translucent as if he were a jade sculpture. An indescribable force mixed with the extreme chill from his Ultimate Ice silenced the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    He took a step out in the air, and Huo Yuhao strode directly above the Icespring. Vigorous origin energy of Ultimate Ice instantly surged out from his body.

    Another red soul ring rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet and slowly took form. It was a red that represented a hundred thousand years!

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass wasn¡¯t the first hundred-thousand-year Spirit. More urately speaking, the Snow Empress was the first. It was just that the Snow Empress¡¯ cultivation was too great, and her body almost blew apart, as things weren¡¯t going too well then. That was why she experienced a strange mutation.

    The Snow Empress gave Huo Yuhao four unprecedented orange-gold soul rings. Every orange-gold soul ring only contained one soul skill, but they were already very helpful for Huo Yuhao. However, he didn¡¯tpletely fuse with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Without a soul bone and a soul ring that gave him two soul skills, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was only slightly boosted, though the purity of his Ultimate Ice had reached a peak. After all, it was abination of the Snow and Ice Empresses! Thebination of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress¡¯ strength even produced Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest soul skill (apart from his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills), the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass chose Huo Yuhao without any hesitation due to the presence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s pure Ultimate Ice. In terms of purity and tier, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had already surpassed the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    However, the Snow Empress¡¯ Spirit couldn¡¯t be considered a full hundred-thousand-year Spirit because it had mutated, and so this Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass could be considered his first hundred-thousand-year Spirit.

    The advantage that a Spirit had over a soul ring was magnified when it had a hundred-thousand-year cultivation. Given that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was sufficiently strong, it was equivalent to him adding two hundred-thousand-year soul rings!

    Undoubtedly, his sixth soul ring provided him two extra soul skills. However, no ordinary soul master would add a hundred-thousand-year soul ring to his seventh spot, given that his seventh soul ring was bound to be his Martial Soul True Body. Despite this, Huo Yuhao still did it. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass also became the seventh soul ring of his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Thispleted his hundred-thousand-year Martial Soul True Body, the Ice Empress¡¯ True Body.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could subtly sense that this Martial Soul True Body would bepletely different from that of his Spirit Eyes because the Ice Empress possessed her own intelligence. It seemed like the Ice Empress¡¯ aura had increased exponentially after his seventh soul ring appeared.

    Apart from all these, Huo Yuhao had also gained a right leg soul bone. Right now, he had six soul bones!

    They included the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s backbone, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone, the Instant Teleportation Left Leg Bone, and this newly added Star Anise Right Leg Bone.

    Six soul bones! In the current world of soul masters, this was a shocking number. Even the elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion didn¡¯t have this many soul bones.

    Moreover, Huo Yuhao¡¯s six soul bones were all top-tier soul bones, normal soul bones couldn¡¯tpare to them. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny was even more special! It controlled the power of destiny, and greatly increased Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. It also helped Huo Yuhao increase his spiritual power capacity. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s backbone and the Star Anise Right Leg Bone were hundred-thousand-year soul bones that each came with two soul skills!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone carried the Ice Explosion Technique, while his Instant Teleportation from his Left Leg Bone was an ultimate technique that could help him preserve his life. As for his Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s Right Palm Bone, it was one of the strongest offensive soul bones in the world.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao already had five out of the six main soul bones, missing only a right arm bone. He even had an external soul bone in the Darkgolden Terrrow¡¯s Bear Right Palm Bone, which was very strong.

    He had twin martial souls, and both martial souls had seven soul rings. After fusing with the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities had increased to a level that his current cultivation couldn¡¯tpare to.

    Lights shed from the image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion on his body, making it seem very lifelike. The glow from it also became stronger, as if it coulde to life at any time.

    The aura of Ultimate Ice shot towards the sky. In the sky above the mountain valley that contained the Icefire Yin Yang Well, the poisonous miasma released by the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Nine Absolutes gave way, and the temperature in the entire valley dropped significantly.

 Chapter 414.2 - Donger, Im Coming

    <h4 ss>Chapter 414.2: Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m Coming</h4>

    The zing Sunspring was suppressed, which caused the water in the spring to undte vigorously. It released waves of heat that maintained a certain temperature around the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    After letting out a breath, Huo Yuhao slowly retracted his aura, and his eyes slowly brightened. He thought of something and raised his right hand. A strange stalk of icy-blue grass surfaced in his hand. It was a smaller version of the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a delighted smile after sensing the difference it brought to his body.

    ¡°Congrattions, little junior!¡± Bei Bei chortled.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°This proves that a hundred-thousand-year Spirit is indeed very effective. Eldest senior, you must work harder in your cultivation.¡± As he spoke, he scanned his surroundings and looked at the rest of the nts around the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°A Spirit has to be willing toplete a contract. Let¡¯s go, little junior.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at all the medicinal herbs and said, ¡°Guys, the Star Anise has already fused with me and be my Spirit. All of you should be able to sense the condition that he¡¯s in right now. I won¡¯t say anything else. Goodbye.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei used their flying-type soul tools and flew out of the mountain valley before the poisonous miasma could return.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Icefire Yin Yang Well was silent at this moment. All the medicinal herbs that had their own consciousness became very thoughtful right now.

    Huo Yuhao was right. After fusing with him, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was different. Even though he had abandoned his body, his aura had be extremely pure. After fusing with Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only who benefitted.

    They had formed an equal contract! The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass alsopleted his evolution under the influence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. He turned from a nt to an energy body, and he even became an extremely pure energy body. The change in his aura greatly tempted all the nt-type soul beasts.

    They were even more moved by the fact that Huo Yuhao mentioned he might be a God, and could give his Spirits eternal life.

    Compared to animal-type soul beasts, nt-type soul beasts were much lonelier. Before they possessed their own intelligence, they couldn¡¯t move at all. Even a hundred-thousand-year nt-type soul beast was unwilling to leave the Icefire Yin Yang Well, as it was too reliant on it. The poisonous miasmas of the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Seven and Nine Absolutes also covered the area outside the well. Apart from the Delicate Silk Immortal, the other immortal and medicinal herbs couldn¡¯t leave the well even if they wanted to. This was an important reason why You You was able to take charge of the well.

    When the Ice Grass made his decision, all the nt-type soul beasts were shocked. However, they were all moved after hepleted his fusion with Huo Yuhao and managed to evolve.

    He was able to leave this ce and proceed to the human world with a human soul master. He could also experience the beauty of the human world.

    He might even have a chance to attain eternal life!

    These weren¡¯t the biggest reason why they were moved, however. They were most moved by the fact that the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass managed to evolve into an extremely pure energy state. In that way, he could regrow using that pure energy even if Huo Yuhao died! Furthermore, his cultivation would only be stronger. All of the nts here were very valuable, formed after absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth. If they went through everything that the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass went through, and the soul masters that fused with them died, they could still reabsorb their origin energy. It wouldn¡¯t be very difficult.

    Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Icefire Yin Yang Well was no longer peaceful. All the nt-type soul beasts with their own intelligence, especially the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, started to be very restless¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao knew what they were thinking. After hepleted his fusion with the Ice Grass, the Ice Grass told him about how he was unable to live independently. He didn¡¯t conceal anything from Huo Yuhao.

    nt-type soul beasts were greatly disadvantagedpared to animal-type soul beasts. However, they had their own advantages, which was that they were purely nurtured from the origin energy of heaven and earth. They didn¡¯t have any bloodlines; they only had spiritual energy.

    The Ice Empress, Skydream Iceworm, and Snow Empress were all stronger than the Star Anise. However, they were bound to die if Huo Yuhao died, as they would lose their only source of energy. However, the Star Anise would be able to continue living based on his close connection to the origin energy of heaven and earth. This was the advantage of a nt. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was already satisfied even though he had only been fused for such a short period of time. Yes, he was extremely satisfied. Furthermore, his future was going to be extremely bright. Perhaps he might really gain eternal life?

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was the quietest among all the medicinal herbs in the Icefire Yin Yang Well. However, he was also the wisest.

    It might seem his decision to follow Huo Yuhao was very sudden. However, he had in fact pondered it meticulously. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate to swallow the water from the zing Sunspring to save his loved one and almost lost his life. After going through countless tests from the Delicate Silk Immortal and the zing Delicate Apricot, the qualities that he demonstrated proved that he was one of the most outstanding humans in terms of character and abilities. Along with the temptation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass knew that his decision was unlikely to backfire on him.

    Both Huo Yuhao and the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass were winners after this fusion. In terms of Spirit Fusion, a win-win situation was always the best start.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After flying out of the Setting Sun Forest, Huo Yuhao controlled his body and said to Bei Bei while facing him, ¡°Eldest senior, I can¡¯t return to the Tang Sect with you.¡±

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t surprised. He smiled and said, ¡°You are going to find Dong¡¯er, am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s been so long. I wonder how she¡¯s doing. I¡¯ve done most of the things I was supposed to do. I¡¯m going to see her now. When you return, you can alsomunicate with the soul beasts through the Spirit Pagoda. Bi Ji is a nice soul beast to talk to. Ask her for help seeking out the Bluesilver Emperor. After I finish visiting Dong¡¯er, I might go to the border between the Star Luo Empire and Sun Moon Empire. At the same time, I¡¯ll try to find out where Teacher Xiao Ya is. If possible, I¡¯ll save her.¡±

    Bei Bei took a deep breath and opened his arms wide, hugging Huo Yuhao tightly. ¡°You are my good brother. I¡¯ll skip the thanks between us. Don¡¯t worry about the Tang Sect. If there¡¯s anything you need, send a letter back. No matter what your choices are, the Tang Sect will always be your ardent backer.¡±

    The two of them separated like this. Huo Yuhao watched as Bei Bei disappeared into the distance. After he saw him off, he turned around and peered in the direction that he was going to go. He muttered to himself, ¡°I can finally live for myself. Dong¡¯er, have you awoken? I¡¯ming!¡±

    Blinding lights shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and he released his soul power without reservation. His speed increased to its maximum as he powered his flying-type soul tool, shooting towards the Clear Sky Sect.

    He had settled most of the things that he was supposed to settle. Right now, he was set on going home. He couldn¡¯t wait to get to the Clear Sky Sect, and hoped that Wang Dong¡¯er would be standing at the gate, waiting to receive him.

    He knew that Wang Dong¡¯er was unlikely to have awoken. Otherwise, she would have returned to Shrek Academy to find him! But right now, he hoped that the two sect leaders of the Clear Sky Sect had grounded her, and hadn¡¯t allowed her to find him, instead of her still being in a deep sleep.

    He could finally go find her afterpleting the other matters that he had to attend to. Right now, Huo Yuhao was in a state where he was ready to unleash his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills at any time.

    ¡ª¡ª

    As Huo Yuhao flew toward the top of Clear Sky Peak and quickly began to climb it, he was already panting. It wasn¡¯t just because he didn¡¯t rest at all, and was drained. It was also because he was nervous.

    How was Wang Dong¡¯er? This was simply too important to him. No matter how resilient or mature he was, he still had a weak spot, and that weak spot was Wang Dong¡¯er.

    With every step he took, he would pray in his heart. He prayed that Wang Dong¡¯er would be awake, and could be by his side again. He didn¡¯t care about anything else. If she wasn¡¯t awake, he wouldn¡¯t leave easily even if the two sect leaders forced him to leave. He wanted to apany her.

    ¡°Who dares to step onto Clear Sky Peak?¡± a loud voice sounded. Following this, Huo Yuhao could sense the clouds around him moving. It felt like everything was changing.

    He clearly recalled how Wang Dong¡¯er had mentioned how dangerous the clouds around Clear Sky Peak were. He couldn¡¯t fly, otherwise, he would be attacked by soul beasts. These clouds were a formation!

    He quietly crept close to walls of the mountain peak. His voice rang out, ¡°I¡¯m Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m here to see Dong¡¯er.¡±

    The voice went silent for a moment before it replied, ¡°The Clear Sky Sect doesn¡¯t wee you. Leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I want to see Dong¡¯er.¡± After he finished speaking, he lifted his head. His eyes were already filled with purplish-gold light. It was like countless stars were shining in his Spirit Eyes.

    His immense spiritual power started to spread into his surroundings from his forehead. He extended his right hand, and the smooth and shiny Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass surfaced. Layers of jade-blue light started to spread from the leaf of this Ice Grass.

    An extreme chill started to rise. Theyers of jade-blue light seemed to have their own lives. As they spread, the surrounding clouds quickly dispersed. The bizarre sense contained within these clouds was quickly stirred up.

    Intense soul power undtions raged, but there was some sort of spiritual confusion that appeared to be even stronger. However, it wasn¡¯t able to affect Huo Yuhao, given his immense spiritual power.

 Chapter 414.3 - Donger, Im Coming

    <h4 ss>Chapter 414.3: Dong¡¯er, I¡¯m Coming</h4>

    Huo Yuhao remained rooted to the ground and continued to release the aura of his Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. The chilly air within the clouds was slowly and continuously being sucked in by the Ice Grass. Patches of clouds around started to rise, and the concentrated origin energy of heaven and earth started to surge towards Huo Yuhao, with the Ice Grass as its center.

    The origin energy that was sucked into the Ice Grass was filtered and started to pass into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and quickly replenished his soul power, which had been depleted in his rush to Clear Sky Peak.

    This origin energy wasn¡¯t very domineering but was instead very gentle and pure. After entering his body, it immediately fused with his Mysterious Heaven Technique and became inseparable. It seemed as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was being nourished by the origin energy of heaven and earth. Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he looked at his Ice Grass and said softly, ¡°Thanks, Star Anise.¡±

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had given him a total of four soul skills. Two came from the soul bone, and two were added to the sixth soul ring of his Ice Empress. Right now, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was not demonstrating any of these four soul skills. Rather, he had already fused with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    More urately speaking, the soul skill that the Ice Grass was unleashing right now seemed to belong to Huo Yuhao¡¯s seventh soul ring. It was just that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use this soul skill on his own. His seventh soul ring was his Martial Soul True Body, but the Ice Grass could control it alone and unleashed this soul skill to help him.

    This was an auxiliary-type soul skill that helped him absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth, which was something nt-type soul beasts were very adept at. Furthermore, the Ice Grass even churned the origin energy of heaven and earth around during this absorption process and broke the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s mountain-guarding formation. In terms of fighting strength, nt-type soul beasts were inferior to animal-type soul beasts. However, nts had a deeper mastery of the principles of heaven and earth.

    ¡°Eh?¡± the earlier voice eximed slightly. Following this, Huo Yuhao saw several disciples in the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s uniform block the path in front of him.

    The road to the top of the Clear Sky Peak was precipitous. People had to use their hands and legs in order to reach the top. Right now, these disciples stuck close to the walls and looked very unfriendly as they looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Guys, I¡¯m only here to see Dong¡¯er. I have no ill-intentions.¡± Huo Yuhao said sincerely after putting the Ice Grass away.

    A middle-aged man who was around thirty years old said, ¡°Go back. I said earlier that the Clear Sky Sect doesn¡¯t wee you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°I only want to see Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Please return.¡± The burly middle-aged man from the Clear Sky Sect red, and a strong aura was released from his body. Two yellow, three purple and three ck soul rings rose from his body. He was a Soul Sage!

    The other six soul masters also released their soul rings. They were all five-ringed Soul Kings, and they all held a pitch-ck hammer in their hands. These hammers were called Clear Sky Hammers, the powerful tool soul of the Clear Sky Sect.

    Huo Yuhao had almost never seen Wang Dong¡¯er use her Clear Sky Hammer before. However, Wang Dong¡¯er had twin martial souls. Her Clear Sky Hammer was her second martial soul, and thus she didn¡¯t use it very often. She mostly used her Radiant Butterfly Goddess to fight.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he faced the strong aura released by these seven Clear Sky Hammers.

    ¡°Leave now. If you don¡¯t, don¡¯t me us for chasing you away,¡± the burly man snorted.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t leave. I¡¯m here to see Dong¡¯er. I won¡¯t leave before I see her. Guys, please give way to me.¡± The amiable look on his face also retracted. He didn¡¯t know whether these disciples were acting of their own ord, or if they were instructed by their sect leaders. However, Wang Dong¡¯er must not be in good condition if they were trying to stop him.

    Huo Yuhao, who was normally very calm, would start to get emotional whenever something concerned Wang Dong¡¯er. His eyes shone with purplish-gold light, and seven soul rings rose from his feet.

    When everyone from the Clear Sky Sect saw the color of his soul rings, their expressions changed slightly.The colors of his soul rings aren¡¯t what a normal soul master is supposed to have! What kind of power does this person possess?

    Huo Yuhao repeated, ¡°Guys, please give way.¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡± the burly man shouted and lifted his Clear Sky Hammer. His first and third soul rings shone brightly. His Clear Sky Hammer rapidly increased in size as he lifted it up, and instantly turned into a huge hammer more than ten meters in length. The cross-section of the hammer¡¯s head was already more than two meters in diameter.

    The huge hammer was lifted up, then crashed down on Huo Yuhao with a terrifying aura.

    A cold look surfaced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t dodge the attack. Instead, he lifted his right hand to punch this hammer.

    Without using any soul skills, Huo Yuhao actually used his own fist to resist the powerful Clear Sky Hammer.

    A loud boom echoed across the entire Clear Sky Peak. Not far away, a huge drift of snow suddenly slid down, causing snowkes to scatter into the air.

    The six Clear Sky Sect disciples who were charging down stopped for a moment. The shock from that sound affected them quite badly. All of them were affected as they red at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs had sunk slightly into the ground. However, the Clear Sky Hammer that had hammered down on him was instantly deflected away. The burly man¡¯s legs were slightly unstable, and he almost fell off the mountain.

    What strength is this? He used his fist to resist a Clear Sky Hammer? How is this possible?All the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s disciples couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Was that even a human¡¯s hand?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand had turned jade-green, and there was even a golden glow on it.

    In front of the Beast God Di Tian, he was so small and weak that he couldn¡¯t do anything. However, how could he lose against opponents that were either at the same level or inferior to him in terms of cultivation? This was even true if his opponents came from the Clear Sky Sect, which was the number one tool soul sect on the continent.

    With the strength of his Mysterious Jade Hands and the Golden Dragon, Huo Yuhao couldpare to Wang Qiu¡¯er. This was the legacy of the Emperor Beast!

    He forced the burly man¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer away with his fist, and his eyes shone with a bright light. The surrounding air distorted strangely. In the eyes of all the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s disciples and that burly man, everything in front of them had turned illusory. Fog seemed to appear again, but it wasn¡¯t the cloudy fog that they were familiar with. Huo Yuhao vanished into thin air, just like that.

    Huo Yuhao had no intention of fighting it out with these Clear Sky Sect disciples. He wanted to find Wang Dong¡¯er!

    He unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain to confuse these disciples, whose spiritual power was far weaker than his.

    ¡°Trash!¡± a low-pitched, furious roar sounded out. Huo Yuhao was shocked, and his Spiritual Interference Domain lost its effect for a moment, revealing his body.

    The second sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect, Tai Tan, was standing on the path to Clear Sky Castle with his hands behind his back and looking down coldly at Huo Yuhao, who was trying to climb up.

    ¡°Uncle Tai Tan.¡± After seeing him, Huo Yuhao rushed forward a few steps and greeted him respectfully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me uncle. I don¡¯t have a nephew like you. Leave now. I won¡¯t let you see Dong¡¯er,¡± Tai Tan said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao bit his lower lip and said, ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, how is Dong¡¯er? Has she awoken?¡±

    ¡°None of that has anything to do with you. You can¡¯t even protect her. Why are you here?¡± Tai Tan said coldly.

    The gate of the Clear Sky Castle was not far behind Tai Tan. However, Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t enter without Tai Tan¡¯s permission.

    He had experienced Tai Tan¡¯s abilities once. He was a Transcendent Douluo who possessed terrifying strength and suppression. His spiritual power couldn¡¯t mend the gap between them no matter how strong it was. Moreover, he was here to see Dong¡¯er. He wasn¡¯t here to fight!

    ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, everything¡¯s my fault. I only want to see Dong¡¯er. Please let me take a look at her.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao grit his teeth and kneeled down on one knee in front of Tai Tan.

    Tai Tan¡¯s brow moved slightly, but he soon returned to normal. He snapped, ¡°You are a fellow without any backbone. A man¡¯s knee can only touch the ground for heaven, earth, and his parents. Don¡¯t you have a kneecap? You are turning more and more into a good-for-nothing. How dare you demand to see Dong¡¯er like that? Scram.¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his head suddenly and looked at Tai Tan seriously. He said, ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, what must I do before you¡¯ll let me see her?¡±

    Tai Tan snorted in disdain. ¡°If you want to see her, you must defeat me. When you can defeat me, I¡¯ll trust that you can protect her. If that happens, I¡¯ll let you see her.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards Clear Sky Castle. It was like he couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to Huo Yuhao anymore.

    ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, wait a minute.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly called out as he continued to kneel on the ground. However, he still lowered his head.

    Tai Tan turned around and asked, ¡°Why? Do you think you can defeat me now? Are you trying to challenge me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I know there¡¯s a huge gap between us.¡±

    ¡°Great that you know. Now scram,¡± Tai Tan said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao slowly lifted his head. The purplish-gold light in his eyes had already turned rose-gold. His Eye of Destiny also slowly opened.

    ¡°But I want to try. I want to know how far away I am from you.¡±

    His yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er had been torturing him. It wasn¡¯t an easy thing for him toe here, but he was being stopped by Tai Tan. He finally couldn¡¯t remainposed anymore. Right now, there was only Wang Dong¡¯er in his mind. He could finally see her if he defeated Tai Tan.

    While he knew that there was a huge gap between him and Tai Tan, Huo Yuhao still couldn¡¯t help but want to try. If he didn¡¯t vent, he felt that he might go crazy because he missed Wang Dong¡¯er too much. Furthermore, Tai Tan had already stated his condition. If he didn¡¯t try, how would he know how wide the gap between them was?

 Chapter 415.1 - Donger Is Awake?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 415.1: Dong¡¯er Is Awake?</h4>

    ¡°Try? Haha, alright. Seeing that you¡¯ve still got a little bit of courage, I shall let you try. Come on!¡± Tai Tanughed, striding towards Huo Yuhao.

    He didn¡¯t unleash his martial soul. He just strode proudly over. In this manner, there appeared to be many ws about him that could be exposed. However, Huo Yuhao felt as if he were facing a huge beast right now. The terrifying pressure that he was being subjected to left him breathless.

    Powerful!

    Huo Yuhao had once sparred with Tai Tan. However, Tai Tan was only testing him then. Right now, Huo Yuhao could really feel the terrifying abilities Tai Tan possessed.

    Pitch-ck soul rings rose from Tai Tan¡¯s feet. All of them were ck, apart from his ninth soul ring, which was red.

    He had eight ck and one red soul ring. The weakest of all his soul rings were ten thousand year soul rings. What situation was Huo Yuhao facing?

    Behind Tai Tan, a gust of ck air surged out and slowly took form, transforming into a huge ape a hundred meters tall. Tai Tan¡¯s terrifying suppression caused the clouds around Clear Sky Peak to be pushed thousands of meters away, and it seemed like Clear Sky Peak itself had be haughtier.

    Against the pressure brought about by Tai Tan, Huo Yuhao grit his teeth and slowly stood up. His Eye of Destiny shone brightly, and a huge rose-gold, vertical eye instantly shone behind his back.

    The seven soul rings that belonged to his Spirit Eyes all rose. He didn¡¯t stop at all. As he leapt backwards, he instantly turned into a streak of flowing rose-gold light and fusedpletely with the vertical eye behind him. Just as he disappeared, his seventh soul ring shone brightly!

    This was the seventh soul skill and Martial Soul True Body of his Spirit Eyes, called the Eye of the Asura!

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion, the huge vertical eye no longer seemed illusory. It appeared to have materialized. Countless streaks of starlight shed inside this huge eye, as well as dazzling rays that seemed to determine destiny. Even just ncing at it, one could feel their spirit being dragged into it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura shed slightly, and Tai Tan shook as he advanced. He was astonished, and the ape projection behind him dimmed slightly.

    It was the sixth soul skill of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura: Destiny¡¯s Demise, Spiritual Reaving.

    Right now, Tai Tan felt as if all color in front of the Eye of the Asura had disappeared, there was only ck and white left. Everything slowed down, and time and space seemed to stop. He even saw double images of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura in front of him.

    His spiritual power has already reached a stage where he can influence me? No, this isn¡¯t pure spiritual power¡­

    Just as Tai Tan hesitated, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura lit up, and a beam of rose-gold light with a cross-section asrge as its actual form shot out towards Tai Tan.

    It was a Spiritual Shock from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura!

    A strong sense of crisis instantly filled Tai Tan¡¯s mind. He was very experienced inbat, and once he discovered something was wrong, he immediately reacted.

    He stopped advancing and opened his arms, letting out a deafening roar in the direction of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura.

    A projection of the head of a huge ape was released, and it shot straight towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    At that instant, rose-gold light shone brightly.

    However, this ck ape head was like a shield designed specifically to block spiritual power. It managed to resist the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura shone once again. This time, the air started to distort tremendously. A strange st, invisible and inaudible, urred within an area of several dozen square meters.

    This time, Tai Tan was unable to avoid it. His body stiffened, and there was a look of confusion and pain in his eyes.

    It was a Spiritual st from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to hold back against Tai Tan. He immediately unleashed all his abilities.

    His Destiny¡¯s Demise, Spiritual Reaving was a powerful soul skill that couldn¡¯t be avoided. Tai Tan¡¯s spiritual defenses weakened significantly as he was struck by the Eye of the Asura. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how long these two soul skills would remain effective against a Transcendent Douluo, all he could do now was attack with full force.

    Under normal circumstances, Tai Tan wouldn¡¯t have been affected by his Spiritual st. However, his defense against spiritual power became extremely weak after he was struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Reaving, and he was shocked until his mind wentpletely nk.

    A trace of golden light instantly shone within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura. This trace of golden light shot forward towards Tai Tan with a strong aura. Not only that, but a streak of transparent golden light scattered on Tai Tan¡¯s body first.

    It was another soul skill of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura, Destiny¡¯s Adjudication, a soul skill from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny. It had the power to control destiny and could cause misfortune to descend on his opponent. The trace of golden light that shot out was the Golden Dragon¡¯s Spear.

    However, Huo Yuhao was quickly surprised. When his Destiny¡¯s Adjudication, which had never failed before,nded on Tai Tan, Tai Tan seemed to turn illusory. The Destiny¡¯s Adjudication prated through his body, just like that andnded nowhere.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear instantly appeared. However, Tai Tan seemed to have be clear-minded again. He swept his right hand out and pped the spear away.

    He has recovered from my Spiritual st?Huo Yuhao was shocked.

    Tai Tan was agitated and roared furiously into the sky. His nine soul rings shone in a cyclical manner, and it was impossible to tell what soul skill he was using.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura suddenly sank down, as a strong pulling force came from the ground.

    This was¡­ it was like a soul skill controlling gravity. However, it was much stronger than Jiang Nannan¡¯s gravitational control.

    Tai Tan¡¯s fists wrapped around each other, and he lifted them up. After this, he made a hammering motion towards Huo Yuhao. The ape projection behind him that had disappeared reformed again. This ck projection, a hundred meters tall, also wrapped its fists together and smashed them down towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Before the fists even reached him, Huo Yuhao could already sense that his Eye of the Asura was about to be crushed.

    As lights shed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura disappeared. However, he didn¡¯t stop. Instead, he squatted down before springing up and punched out with his right fist.

    Remembrance was a very magical thing. The Fist of Remembrance was a fist that contained a surging feeling of remembrance.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was so close to him, but he couldn¡¯t see her. The sense of remembrance in his heart had already reached its peak. His spiritual and soul power was greatly enhanced, and this fist was the strongest Fist of Remembrance he had ever unleashed.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body turned golden instantly. His three energies werepletely synchronized at this point. Not only that, but his fist was also filled with an unprecedentedly strong aura. His terrifying spiritual power instantly closed the gap between him and Tai Tan.

    BOOM!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sense of remembrance for Wang Dong¡¯er rose, and gold and ck shed in the air. At this instant, Clear Sky Peak seemed to whimper slightly.

    The top of Clear Sky Peak was made of extremely hard granite. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s legs were pushed knee-deep into the stone. A trace of blood also flowed out from the side of his lips. Even so, he still managed to block Tai Tan¡¯s fist!

    Tai Tan had unleashed his fist in a moment of fury. After he unleashed it, he was a little regretful. It was indeed too strong for a Soul Sage like Huo Yuhao.

    Tai Tan wanted to retract his power, but he unwittingly unleashed the full force of his fist when he saw the look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. In truth, his judgment was urate. Huo Yuhao actually managed to block his full force attack. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist contained his spiritual intent, which forced Tai Tan into a momentary trance.

    Huo Yuhao exerted force in his legs and leapt out from the hole he had made. He pointed his right hand towards the sky, and an icy-blue projection silently appeared behind him. It was the Snow Empress.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass appeared at the same time, surfacing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left arm.

    Suddenly, an extreme chill was unleashed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body on the Clear Sky Peak. The extremely low temperature caused the water content in the air to instantly precipitate.

    The Snow Lady shone with bright blue light. A streak of icy-blue light also rose from the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and fell upon the Snow Lady¡¯s body. Suddenly, the Snow Lady seemed to grow older by two years, and she grew taller, too. She lifted her right hand and swiped it down, unleashing her Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword.

    A streak of deep-blue light swept across the sky. Wherever it passed, it cast light upon the view of the Extreme North. The terrifying chill that came from it caused the temperature to fall to below negative one hundred degrees Celsius. Even with Tai Tan¡¯s cultivation, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.

    As the Snow Lady¡¯s hand swept down, Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand also started to move. A streak of golden sword light stuck close to that deep-blue sword light as they shed out together.

    It was the Sword of Longing, a sword which would never be forgotten.

    This was a fusion of the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques and the Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. It was the perfectbination of a Spirit and soul master.

    This sword was shockingly powerful after it was strengthened by two Spirits!

    Tai Tan finally turned serious. He had never expected Huo Yuhao to possess such abilities after leaving for less than a year.

    Whether it was his Spiritual Shock earlier or thebination of his two swords right now, they were strong enough to threaten Tai Tan¡¯s safety.

    Tai Tan lifted his arms up high, and his body instantly grew in size. His seventh soul ring shed, and he immediately turned into a huge ck-furred ape over five meters tall.

    This was his Martial Soul True Body, the Giant Ape Tai Tan!

    Tai Tan was obviously not just five meters tall. However, it was a suitable height for resisting attacks. He unleashed an extremely terrifying strength.

    He raised his fists towards the sky, and Huo Yuhao felt as if Tai Tan had ripped the sky apart. When he unleashed his fists, a sorrowful cry sounded from above.

 Chapter 415.2 - Donger Is Awake?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 415.2: Dong¡¯er Is Awake?</h4>

    ck, deep-blue, and gold; it didn¡¯t matter the color, everything was instantly destroyed. Thebination of Huo Yuhao¡¯s swords instantly turned into countless streaks of lights before vanishing.

    However, Tai Tan¡¯s upper body shook slightly after he resisted Huo Yuhao¡¯s swords.

    He was a Transcendent Douluo! After resisting Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, his body was actually shaking. Furthermore, he revealed a lost look in his eyes again.

    Unforgettable¡­ this was the power of Remembrance. The Fist of Remembrance and Sword of Longing forced Tai Tan to feel the crazy sense of remembrance in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop; his body followed his heart. There was only a gentle look in his eyes. As he lifted his right hand, his palm turned transparent gold. The Snow Lady behind him was like his shadow as she moved along with him.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was three meters away from Tai Tan, the Snow Lady flowed into Huo Yuhao from behind before drifting forward in front of him. She beat Huo Yuhao to Tai Tan and imprinted her snowy-white palm on his chest.

    It was her Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword.

    The Haodong Palm, a palm which wouldst eternally.

    Tai Tan¡¯s momentary trancested for only a second before his eyes revealed a furious re once again. His sixth soul ring suddenly turned from ck to gold, and his Giant Ape form was instantly covered by ayer of golden light.

    Indestructible Vajra! It was a defensive-type soul skill stronger than an Invincible Barrier, a powerful ability that was fused with his bloodline.

    The Snow Lady imprinted her right palm on Tai Tan¡¯s body but didn¡¯t make any sound. After this, she drifted backward and fused with Huo Yuhao.

    While this palm seemed very light and gentle, it was the Snow Empress¡¯ strongest attack! Theyer of golden light covering Tai Tan¡¯s body instantly turned white.

    If the Snow Empress unleashed her full strength, Tai Tan would never dare to resist this palm. It was a pity that the Snow Empress was still a Snow Lady right now. She was still in her young state.

    However, Huo Yuhao followed by imprinting his Haodong Palm in the same ce.

    Huo Yuhao only felt as if he had crashed into a towering mountain. Instantly, his right arm let out a series of cracking sounds. If not for the fact that he had be very strong, and his tolerance was extremely great under the nourishment of his life energy, his arm would have fractured.

    He felt a stiff feeling in his chest and spat out blood. He was also immediately flung backward.

    The defensive strength of the Giant Ape was too great under the effect of Tai Tan¡¯s Indestructible Vajra.

    White turned back to gold. Tai Tan stood in ce without moving. When he unleashed his Indestructible Vajra in his Martial Soul True Body, even a Titled Douluo wasn¡¯t able to hurt him.

    However, his body still locked up because of the extreme chill he was subjected to. Although the strength of the Snow Lady¡¯s Unparalleled Chill wasn¡¯t able to surge towards his heart, it was still the Snow Empress¡¯ strongest attack!

    Moreover, the Haodong Palm still followed after her Unparalleled Chill. Given the strength of the Haodong Palm, Tai Tan¡¯s Indestructible Vajra couldn¡¯t be ovee. However, this palm was still filled with Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual intent! Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was much stronger than his spiritual power!

    Tai Tan only felt an indescribable wave of spiritual power surging into his brain and spirit. That strong sense of remembrance was filled with sorrowful memories; it was tear-inducing! Tai Tan¡¯s eyes turned red, and two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks. His emotions were immersed in this sense of remembrance, and he stood there in a daze. Although he had still unleashed his Indestructible Vajra, he didn¡¯t chase Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was flung away, but he didn¡¯t stop fighting. He wasn¡¯t the old Huo Yuhao, who would immediately lose his fighting strength after unleashing his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. He was now the Eye of the Asura, with three Spirits, twin martial souls, and the cultivation of a Soul Sage!

    As he flew back, his soul rings shed. One red, four orange-gold, and two more red soul rings appeared.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s seven soul rings were undoubtedly more dazzling than the seven soul rings of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrifying spiritual power instantly reached an extreme. He shut his eyes, but his Eye of Destiny opened once again.

    Without unleashing his Spirit Eyes, his Eye of Destiny still managed to unleash his Spiritual Shock, which struck Tai Tan.

    Tai Tan¡¯s defense against spiritual attacks weakened significantly while he was stuck in his current state of remembrance and after he was struck by the two soul skills of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura. Fortunately, his Indestructible Vajra could still defend against spiritual power.

    He staggered backward. After his spirit was shocked, he wasn¡¯t able to maintain his Martial Soul True Body and Indestructible Vajra anymore. He suffered from a splitting headache and quickly retreated.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao changed. His seventh soul ring shone brightly, and a huge projection of an Ice Jade Scorpion appeared behind him. Huo Yuhao immediately fused with this light projection.

    This light projection instantly became solid, but the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion didn¡¯t appear. Instead, there was ady in a long, jade-green dress. She looked very cold, arrogant, and elegant.

    She was the Ice Empress.

    It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Martial Soul True Body, the Ice Empress¡¯ Descent!

    This Martial Soul True Body was unique. The reason was very simple: Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul was alive! A living Martial Soul True Body had to be unique.

    Without his fusion with the Skydream Iceworm, he wouldn¡¯t have had his second martial soul, which was an Ultimate Ice martial soul. He also wouldn¡¯t have been able to fuse with the Ice Empress.

    This was only possible with the cooperation of a million-year soul beast and a four-hundred-thousand year soul beast! How could it possibly be replicated?

    The Ice Empress¡¯ Descent could enable the temporary appearance of the Ice Empress in this Martial Soul True Body state. At the same time, the Ice Empress¡¯ original fighting strength could also be unleashed. As for how long the Ice Empress could appear to fight, that was directly rted to Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation.

    The Ice Empress looked at Tai Tan coldly. She could already sense how strong he was. As she lifted her right hand, her palm, which was covered with diamond ice crystals, shook slightly, and another projection appeared beside her. It was the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady grabbed onto the Ice Empress¡¯ right hand with her left hand before something strange urred. The Snow Lady grew at a shocking speed, and her snow-white dress swayed.

    Her gaze also became deeper.

    As the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress looked at each other, their bodies started to glow with different-colored lights.

    This wasn¡¯t the end. A strange stalk of grass silently appeared behind their backs. All its leaves turned illusory and only left two diamond-shaped ice crystals behind. These two crystals drifted up andnded on the both of the Snow Empress and Ice Empress¡¯ foreheads, making them seem even more regal.

    The light that rose from these two empresses seemed to turn solid, and surged forward. The white and jade-green light from their bodies released auras of extremely low temperature. At this moment, the temperature around these two empresses dropped to almost absolute zero. Liquid oxygen was falling around them like misting rain.

    A rose-gold vertical eye rose behind them at this moment. Behind this vertical eye, projections of ten golden rings surfaced and shed subtly.

    A rose-gold beam shot out. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock again. Even though the vertical eye immediately dissipated and disappeared after this Spiritual Shock was unleashed, this attack still managed to strike Tai Tan.

    Tai Tan staggered backward and groaned. His nostrils were already flowing with fresh blood. After his defense against spiritual power was affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Reaving, his resistance had reached a low point.

    If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock was controlled by the Skydream Iceworm and not by Huo Yuhao¡¯s actual body, he would have been hurt even worse!

    The white and jade-green light hadpletely interwoven by now to form a patch of light that was strange, yet seemed to contain the power of the coldest chill in this heaven and earth.

    As white and jade-green interwove, they formed an ultimate Ultimate Ice!

    This was the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses! It instantly turned into a huge beam of light that charged towards Tai Tan.

    Right now, Tai Tan had been affected by the two previous strikes of Spiritual Shock, and couldn¡¯t mount an effective defense. He had underestimated Huo Yuhao from the start. He had just wanted to see how Huo Yuhao would perform after months of not seeing him. But Huo Yuhao gave him a huge surprise!

    A low-pitched dragon roar sounded at this moment. Following this, a green projection descended from the sky and turned into a barrier that engulfed Tai Tan.

    This barrier looked very strange. There were actually nine green dragons revolving around it, which made it look very bright and dazzling.

    When the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empressesnded on this barrier, the barrier was stained by the mixture of white and jade-green. However, the nine green dragons still continued to revolve around it. Furthermore, the strength of the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses became weaker with every revolution.

    Tai Tan was finally clear-headed now. When he saw the situation he was in, he couldn¡¯t help but curse. His body shed with ck light. He was about to unleash his soul skills again.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you embarrassed enough!?¡± a furious voice shouted. A figure was standing beside him and grabbing his shoulder. He was flung back towards the gate of Clear Sky Castle, which was now standing open.

    The Ice and Snow Empresses re-appeared again. They focused their gaze on this tall and burly man. As lights shed, they silently disappeared, and Huo Yuhao re-appeared. However, his body shook a little before he copsed softly to the ground. He had lost consciousness.

    As the Ice Empress, Snow Empress, Skydream Iceworm, and Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass unleashed their full powers, even a Soul Sage with twin martial souls wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the exhaustion! Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have a contingency n after unleashing this series of ultimate attacks. In fact, he was unable to fight further due to the emotional changes that he experienced after he unleashed the Haodong Palm. The attacks that followed were allpleted by his three Spirits and the Ice Empress. Huo Yuhao had proved how good and terrifying it was to have Spirits!

 Chapter 415.3 - Donger Is Awake?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 415.3: Dong¡¯er Is Awake?</h4>

    If not for Niu Tian, who had helped Tai Tan block thest attack, the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses might have been able to seriously injure Tai Tan, even if it wasn¡¯t able to ovee his strong physical body.

    ¡°Elder brother, I¡­¡± Tai Tan rushed out of Clear Sky Castle again, looking depressed. Right now, there was still blood flowing from his nose.

    Niu Tian looked a little gloomy. ¡°Is it even possible for you to be more useless?¡±

    Tai Tan¡¯s face turned red at this moment. ¡°Elder brother, I only used thirty percent of my abilities earlier. Who knew that this guy was so perverted? He was able to suppress my spirit and unleash a series of consecutive attacks. I initially thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt me, even if I let him attack all he wanted. But he had some weird strength that was able to lower my spiritual and physical defenses. He¡¯s perverted! It¡¯s only been a few months! Why does it seem like he has changedpletely?¡±

    Niu Tian snorted and said, ¡°This is the guy that our darling chose. It would be weird if he were lousy. If not for me, you would have been in deep trouble.¡± As he spoke, he gestured towards Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao drifted over into his arms before his aura was even revealed.

    Carrying Huo Yuhao, Niu Tian turned around and entered Clear Sky Castle.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When Huo Yuhao finally regained consciousness, he only felt prickling pain all over his body. His head was still fine, and his spiritual power wasn¡¯t drained too much. However, his soul power had beenpletely over-drafted after he fully unleashed his powers at thest moment.

    If this was before he had fused with everything Wang Qiu¡¯er gave him, the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm wouldn¡¯t have dared to use such powers, his body would have copsedpletely if they did so. Even now, Huo Yuhao was still feeling extremely weak. His muscles and bones were aching, while his soul power had beenpletely drained. He had no energy at all.

    Where is this?Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he looked at the stone ceiling. Suddenly, he felt a little lost.

    He had such a feeling every time he unleashed his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. It was very difficult for him to recover after being so emotionally immersed. Furthermore, this symptom worsened every time he unleashed the Haodong Palm.

    It seems like I really have to use the Haodong Palm more sparingly in the future,Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. He also slowly recalled everything that had happened earlier.

    This should be Clear Sky Castle? Am I inside?

    He subconsciously wanted to get up, but the pain that he felt suddenly intensified. He groaned softly beforeying back down. He also started to breathe more heavily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± a low-pitched voice ordered. Following this, the door opened, and Niu Tian walked in.

    Huo Yuhao looked at him, and subconsciously greeted him, ¡°Uncle Niu Tian.¡±

    Niu Tian didn¡¯t acknowledge his words, but didn¡¯t retort either. He walked to Yuhao¡¯s bedside and watched him with his sparkling eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair stood on end. ¡°Uncle Niu Tian, where¡¯s Uncle Tai Tan? Did I defeat him?¡±

    Niu Tian snorted, ¡°You really don¡¯t know your limits! Given your abilities, how could you have defeated Tai Tan? If not for the fact that he intentionally went easier on you, he would have been able to crush you with one attack.¡± After he finished speaking, Niu Tian felt his face turning a little hot for some unknown reason. He was right in his description about the gap between Huo Yuhao and Tai Tan¡¯s abilities. However, in that fight¡­

    Huo Yuhao instantly seemed to be in low spirits. ¡°Uncle Niu Tian, I know that my abilities are still not good enough. I¡¯m still far from the power that is needed to protect Dong¡¯er. However, can I please see her? I really miss her.¡± His emotions had be fragile, as his body was weak. When he thought about how he and Dong¡¯er couldn¡¯t see each other even though they were so close, Huo Yuhao felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a knife. His sense of remembrance started to engulf him.

    Why did he always be stronger every time he unleashed his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills? Apart from the development of his abilities, it also had to do with his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er. He would be intoxicated and crazy, which made him stronger. Niu Tian sighed as he saw the state Huo Yuhao was in and said, ¡°Rest first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was roused, and rushed to say, ¡°My body is fine. Uncle Niu Tian, I can see Dong¡¯er now.¡± He seemed to gather strength from some unknown ce, and crawled up as he tolerated the pain that filled ihm. A dimyer of gold also surfaced on his body and supported him as he sat up.

    Niu Tian was a little stunned. He had inspected Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before this, and naturally knew what was going on. Huo Yuhao was able to sit up even though his body had been seriously over-drafted because he reliedpletely on his spiritual power!

    ¡°Lie down and rest first. You can leave once your body is better.¡± Niu Tian waved his hand, and a gentle strength was transmitted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He was softly forced back down again.

    Huo Yuhao was anxious as he said, ¡°Uncle Niu Tian, please let me see Dong¡¯er.¡± He struggled to get up once again.

    Niu Tian said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to let you see her. It¡¯s that she¡¯s already not here anymore. How can you see her?¡±

    ¡°What? She¡¯s not here anymore? Dong¡¯er, is Dong¡¯er awake?¡±

    Niu Tian replied, ¡°She indeed awoke some time ago. Her father returned to treat her disease. However, it involves her brain. This is why she has forgotten everything after she woke up. She has also forgotten you. This is why you don¡¯t have to find her anymore. Even if you do, she won¡¯t be able to recognize you.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Huo Yuhao was excited, and almost jumped off his bed. However, he copsed back onto the bed because of the prickling pain. Although he gritted his teeth in pain, his face was filled with excitement.

    Niu Tian was perplexed as he looked at him and asked, ¡°You are happy that Dong¡¯er has forgotten you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m happy because she has awoken, and her disease has been treated too! I don¡¯t believe that she has forgotten me. She couldn¡¯t have. Even if she did, I can make her remember. Uncle Niu Tian, where is she? Please tell me. I can help her regain her memory.¡±

    Niu Tian¡¯s expression turned cold, and he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that she¡¯s no longer Wang Dong¡¯er. I don¡¯t know where her father has taken her, either. She¡¯s using her old name once again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said in a daze, ¡°Nothing else is important. It¡¯s good to know that she¡¯s safe and healthy.¡±

    Niu Tian shook his head as he looked at Huo Yuhao and answered, ¡°A man has to have aspirations, he can¡¯t only be burdened by rtionships. Leave once you recover. If you want to know where she¡¯s gone, ask me when you¡¯re a Titled Douluo. Otherwise, it¡¯ll depend on your fate with one another.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he didn¡¯t give Huo Yuhao a chance to ask again. He simply turned around and left.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions slowly stabilized after Niu Tian left. Heid down on the stone bed and kept telling himself to calm down. He could only think properly if he calmed himself down.

    There were a few important pieces of information in Niu Tian¡¯s words earlier. Wang Dong¡¯er had awoken and been treated. That was undoubtedly the most important thing. He had been afraid that Wang Dong¡¯er was in a worse state than just a deep sleep, just like what Wang Qiu¡¯er experienced. He had been afraid that she had left him forever.

    Since Wang Dong¡¯er had already awoken and been treated, his biggest problem had been solved. Even though he hadn¡¯t managed to see her, he was still extremely happy and relieved right now.

    He recalled what Niu Tian had said to him earlier. From Niu Tian¡¯s tone of voice, he could tell that Niu Tian was lying to him regarding Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s condition and departure.

    While Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s condition had improved, it was undoubtedly bad news that she had lost her memories and forgotten everything that had happened between them. Furthermore, Niu Tian even mentioned that she had changed her name. She was no longer the old Wang Dong¡¯er. If she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, who was she? What was she called now? Where did she go? Where would her father take her?

    All of these doubts appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    It was a pity he couldn¡¯t get answers to these questions. Niu Tian had sounded very determined. He wasn¡¯t going to divulge where Wang Dong¡¯er went, no matter how much Huo Yuhao pestered him. If that was the case, how was he going to find Wang Dong¡¯er?

    Niu Tian only gave him two answers earlier. First, Huo Yuhao had to be a nine-ringed Titled Douluo first. That would undoubtedly mean that he possessed enough power to protect Wang Dong¡¯er, and Niu Tian would reveal her whereabouts to him then. Next, it depended on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fate with Wang Dong¡¯er. However, the Douluo Continent was so huge. Would he really be able to bump into her?

    Yes, it¡¯s definitely possible.Huo Yuhao told himself.Qiu¡¯er passed her power of destiny to me. Why can¡¯t I have this luck? I must quickly be strong and hope that luck will help me find Dong¡¯er.

    After he figured things out, Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions slowly stabilized. Since Wang Dong¡¯er was fine, he was no longer as sad and hurt as he was before. He was instantly determined to recover and follow his original n. As he increased his abilities, he would wait fordy luck to shine on him.

    As he finished thinking, Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to prop himself up again. He grit his teeth and sat cross-legged while bearing the pain. He activated his spiritual power and started to circte it within his body ording to his soul power cirction. He was trying to recover his drained soul power.

    His body was indeed the strongest among those of the same age. His soul power slowly recovered, and started circting through his body. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass appeared once again. After his soul power reached a certain level, it started to guide the origin energy of heaven and earth to fuse with his body and speed up his recovery process.

    His immense life energy was also extremely effective at helping him recover. In less than six hours, his soul power recovered to its peak state, and the pain he was suffering had also disappeared.

 Chapter 416.1 - Recruit Tang Dong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 416.1: Recruit Tang Dong</h4>

    Niu Tian and Tai Tan didn¡¯t see him again. Instead, they had Clear Sky Sect disciples escort him out of Clear Sky Castle.

    Huo Yuhao stepped out of Clear Sky Castle and watched itsrge gates close. He took a deep breath and swore to himself that he would have the strength of a Titled Douluo when he returned the next time. It would be best if he could bring Dong¡¯er back with him at that time!

    He tapped his foot on the ground and leapt down from Clear Sky Peak, just like that. He bounced off the side of the mountain continuously as he rushed down as quickly as he could. He plummeted through the clouds before he extended his flying-type soul tool and activated his soul power, transforming into a ray of flowing light as he disappeared into the distance.

    ¡ª

    Back inside Clear Sky Castle¡­

    Niu Tian and Tai Tan watched Huo Yuhao leave as they stood by the window in the highest room in the castle. They wore different expressions on their faces.

    Tai Tan looked a little gloomy. Evidently, he hadn¡¯t gotten over the fight he had just had with Huo Yuhao. He muttered under his breath, ¡°Life has been hard on this guy! But his mind seems a lot more resilient and resolute thanst time.¡±

    Niu Tian¡¯s face was full of admiration and appreciation. ¡°Yes! It wasn¡¯t easy for him to be like that at such an age. Hopefully, he can meet that fellow¡¯s requirements as quickly as possible. In truth, I can¡¯t bear to watch this kid being tortured like this. Dong¡¯er ¨C oh, I mean our little phoenix ¨C I wonder what she¡¯s doing at the moment? I¡¯m hoping that they can meet each other outside¡­¡±

    Tai Tan said, ¡°That fellow is so cruel. He has quite some skill at torturing people¡­ but do you think our sister knows about this?¡±

    Niu Tian chuckled and said, ¡°It would be strange if he dared to tell her. However, I can understand what he¡¯s feeling. He¡¯s a man, and when the daughter you love most is being stolen by another man, your mood can¡¯t be too good.¡±

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t proceed towards Shrek Academy after he left the Clear Sky Sect. Right now, he was overwhelmed with emotions, and not just because he had received the good news that Dong¡¯er had recovered. He was also excited because of what he was going to do next.

    He had to stop and rest after every two hours because of the state his body was currently in. He found a small city when night fell and stayed the night in a hotel. He continued on his way when dawn broke the next day.

    He took another four hours before he finally left the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders and entered the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders. He went straight for the Star Luo Empire¡¯s capital city, Star Luo City.

    It was midday before Star Luo City was within sight. Huo Yuhao slowed down, descended from the sky andnded on the ground.

    Star Luo City was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s capital, and their air defenses were very tight and strict. He could run into trouble at any moment within fifty kilometers of Star Luo City, so Huo Yuhaonded on the ground well before that. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t have to go into Star Luo City to reach his destination.

    Huo Yuhao found a quiet and isted ce that was devoid of people and removed his flying-type soul tool. He withdrew everything that was rtively eye-catching from his body and ced them into his storage-type soul ring. He turned his ring around so that his Starlight Sapphire was facing his palm. Unless he opened his hand for others to look at, nobody would see the dazzling jewel.

    He removed Shrek¡¯s uniform and put on some hemp clothes before he took out a series of bottles and cans of paints and cremes.

    Changing his appearance was part of the training he had received during the Ultimate Soldier n. Even though he felt a little unfamiliar with the process as he put on his disguise, his standards were still there.

    It didn¡¯t take long to change his appearance to that of an unassuming youth who seemed as typical as could be. He looked very simple and honest, and very modest at the same time. He looked like he was a little over twenty years old, his appearance was the kind that was hard to distinguish in a crowd of people.

    Huo Yuhao inspected his appearance after making himself up and nodded satisfactorily before he began walking towards Star Luo City. However, his destination wasn¡¯t Star Luo City.

    ¡ª

    He didn¡¯t use soul power, so he didn¡¯t move that quickly. After about one hour, a bunch of structures entered his vision.

    Huo Yuhao immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw these structures. He clenched his fists slowly and pressed his lips tightly together.

    Where was this? This ce used to be his home! The White Tiger Duke¡¯s residence, the ce he had sworn toe back to so that he could avenge his mother. Ever since his mother had passed away, this ce was no longer his home. Instead, this had be a ce where his enemies lived.

    The White Tiger Duke, Dai Yueheng, and Dai Huabin¡¯s faces swiftly surfaced in his mind. The hatred and vengeance that Huo Yuhao had suppressed deep within his heart instantly erupted like a fountain.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, mother! Even though I¡¯m not strong enough yet, I will be in the future, and I will definitely avenge you for good!¡±

    He picked up his pace as he walked briskly towards the White Tiger Duke¡¯s residence. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t enter the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion. Instead, he proceeded towards a small patch of hills to the side that bordered the White Tiger Duke¡¯s residence.

    Huo Yuhao had grown up in this ce, and he was still very familiar with it even though he hadn¡¯t been back here for many years.

    He quickly found his destination.

    A tall gravestone appeared in the distance. This gravestone was at least two meters tall, and both wide and spacious. Its surroundings were renovated and ornamented with granite and seemed fine and exquisite. There were even carvings of the Emperor Beast on the gravestone¡¯s surface, watching over the one interred there.

    There was a grave behind this stone, also constructed from granite.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew wet when he saw this gravestone. He took a few quick steps forward, and the writing on the gravestone¡¯s surface was clearly presented to him.

    ¡°The Grave of my Wife, Huo Yun.¡± Dai Hao¡¯s name was etched below this inscription.

    This was the grave of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother, but it was very different from when he had departed this ce.

    Back then, he was still young and didn¡¯t have the means to give his mother a grand burial. He could only use a wooden grave marker that he had carved and sculpted with his own hands, and some loess.

    At this moment, his mother¡¯s gravestone had been renovated, but it was still located where it used to be. However, it looked entirely different from before.

    He had not been back here before, and now someone had renovated his mother¡¯s grave. Huo Yuhao was a little dazed as he slowly knelt down in front of his mother¡¯s gravestone. The roiling hatred and vengeance in his heart subconsciously dampened, but tears surged out uncontrobly as he ced his head down in front of his mother¡¯s gravestone and sobbed loudly.

    ¡°Mom! Mom, I¡¯m back! I¡¯m here to see you!¡± Huo Yuhao had been gone for so many years, and this was the first time that he had returned to pay respects to his mother. His heart was full of guilt.

    Huo Yuhao had be increasingly powerful over the years and had worked so hard that he almost didn¡¯t rest at all. He didn¡¯t even dare to think about his mother, because he was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the impulse to avenge her.

    More than eight years had gone by since he had left this ce. Huo Yuhao had transformed from a weak child to a powerful Soul Sage with twin martial souls after eight years, and everything had changed. He finally had the courage toe back and pay his respects to his mother.

    His greatest wish was to avenge his mother, and for the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, to kneel in front of his mother¡¯s grave and repent.

    His mother¡¯s grave had been renovated, and Dai Hao had rebuilt her gravestone and called her his wife.That was always what mom wanted the most!

    But why didn¡¯t Dai Hao do that for her all those years ago? He never visited us, and you had to die so violently in the end¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s longing and yearning for his mother, and the grief carried deep within his heart surged forth continuously, and manifested as tears that sttered all over his mother¡¯s gravestone.

    The pressure that he had to bear in his heart over these days, his longing for Dong¡¯er, and his guilt towards Qiu¡¯er seemed to be released through his bitter sobs as his tears flowed uncontrobly.

    Huo Yuhaoid down on his mother¡¯s gravestone and fell asleep at some point, and this nap was exceptionally sound and steady.

    ¡ª

    He had a dream¡­ he dreamed that his mother was back, and the White Tiger Duke had his hand wrapped around his mother¡¯s waist. The White Tiger Duke had a warm and faint smile on his face he softly called out her name, while his mother¡¯s expression was full of bliss and happiness as she leaned into the White Tiger Duke¡¯s embrace.

    Unfortunately, it was all just a dream. Dawn broke on the second day when Huo Yuhao woke up from his dream, his clothes were wet from morning dew, but he felt as if all his grief and despondency had drained out through his tears.

    Huo Yuhao knelt down in front of his mother¡¯s gravestone again and kowtowed nine times solemnly.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother. I will always remember this hatred, and I will prove to that person that your son is stronger than he is. I can do what he can, and one day, I will return to this ce, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, rightfully and fairly, and I will tread on every single one of them. I will make everyone repay you with ten times, a hundred times the hurt that they caused you. I will force the White Tiger Duke to wee you back into the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion and admit that you are his official wife. I will force him to kneel down before your grave to repent!¡±

    Huo Yuhao took out the offerings that he had prepared after his speech andid them out before his mother¡¯s grave, one by one. He kowtowed heavily a few more times before he stood up. He turned away, yet nced at his mother¡¯s gravestone because he couldn¡¯t bear to leave. He wiped the tears from his face, and his eyes became resolute and determined once more as he strode off into the distance.

    He didn¡¯t proceed towards Star Luo City. Instead, he picked up his pace as he traveled west. He ran some distance before unleashing his flying-type soul tool and flying rapidly into the distance.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After two hours, he stopped at a mid-sized city within the Star Luo empire. He created a new identity for himself and purchased documents for thirty golden soul coins, having a light meal before he resumed his journey.

    Imperial Radiant City was located in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s northwestern corner and was less than a hundred kilometers away from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. It was less than five hundred kilometers from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders and was one of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s important strongholds to defend against the Sun Moon Empire. This city was one of the most important cities in charge of resupply for the front line camps.

    There were two reserve legions stationed in this city.

    Reserve legions typically had one and half times the troops that regr legions had, and they went through tough and strict training, just like the regr legions. As soon as the regr legions suffered losses on the frontlines, these reserve legions would muster the soldiers to replenish the regr legions.

 Chapter 416.2 - Recruit Tang Dong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 416.2: Recruit Tang Dong</h4>

    Imperial Radiant City¡¯s reserves were fully enlisted. The White Tiger Duke was the Western Field Army¡¯s marshal, and they might face the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army at any moment. Nobody dared to ck off or mess around in this ce. Therefore, Imperial Radiant City¡¯s two Reserve Legions were at their full strength of fifteen thousand men. They could send soldiers to the frontlines within four hours as long the frontlines needed them to.

    Imperial Radiant City was also an important granary for the western corps. The city¡¯s walls were tough and thick, and its security was tight and strict. Everything was handled by the White Tiger Duke¡¯s most trusted subordinates.

    These two Reserve Legions were collectively known as the Western Field Army, and were individually known as the Fourth Reserve Legion and the Sixth Reserve Legion.

    Recently, these two armies had started recruiting new soldiers, because a batch of overage soldiers had retired from the army.

    The Sun Moon Empire was a great threat, so the Star Luo Empire had cast a wide for enlisting new blood. This was especially true for veterans who had been to war before, and the empire retained them by treating them extremely well.

    But even so, humans had to grow old in the end. The bodies of normal humans would start to age more rapidly after they passed forty, and it became very hard for them to maintain the required condition in the army. A batch of veterans would inevitably retire every year from both the regr army and the reserves.

    New soldiers would have to be recruited to rece those veterans who had retired. The Western Field Army¡¯s Sixth Reserve Legion was currently recruiting those new soldiers.

    The Fourth Reserve had stopped recruiting just yesterday. Because the atmosphere at the borders were tense, many families from cities along the borders weren¡¯t willing to let their children enlist. If their children became soldiers, there was a chance that they would step onto the battlefield, and that meant they could be in danger! Therefore, the Fourth Reserve Legion¡¯s recruitment hadn¡¯t been that sessful.

    However, recruitment had its benefits. It was the best way for people mired in poverty to be rich by aplishing meritorious deeds, and service in the army was the fastest shortcut to rising in social rank. Therefore, there were some youngsters who believed their bodies were sturdy enough, and were brave enough toe forward to join the army.

    The Sixth Reserve Legion was stationed on the western side of Imperial Radiant City. The ce where they were recruiting new soldiers faced Imperial Radiant City¡¯s gate, and everybody moving in or out of the city could clearly see the legion¡¯s booth.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At this moment, several veterans were hollering constantly at youngsters who were walking along the streets.

    ¡°The Sixth Reserve Legion is recruiting soldiers. You will be given generouspensation and sries!. Four silver soul coins are given every month as a soldier¡¯s pay, and we will never lower that amount! You will get three meals a day, and two meals are guaranteed to contain meat! Uniforms and weapons will be assigned immediately after you pass an audit! Bing a soldier is a glorious endeavor! You will be protecting the empire! You are wee to join the Sixth Reserve Legion!¡±

    These veterans¡¯ words were effective, to a certain extent. Many youngsters who were willing to enlist hailed from poor families, and a soldier¡¯s pay and food were what they hoped for most. Once they enlisted, they would be given a month¡¯s pay, and this amount was enough to change their family¡¯s life for quite some time.

    A long queue stretched out in front of the recruitment booth. There were twenty-some young and fit men attempting to enlist in the army.

    The recruitment booth¡¯s setup was simple. Two veterans sat behind a long desk, along with a middle-aged man who looked like an officer. However, everyone could tell from his uniform that his rank wasn¡¯t that high, even if he was an officer.

    ¡°Name?¡±

    ¡°Ge Dazhuang.¡±

    ¡°Age?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-three.¡±

    ¡°Please show me your identification document,¡± the officer said to the youth in front of him.

    The youth hurriedly passed a small booklet over. In the Star Luo Empire, everyone had an identification document assigned by the military, and there were simple watermarks along with a seal unique to the city that each citizen was born in. Forging and replicating such documents was rtivelyplicated. Furthermore, the military could conduct investigations using these identification documents when absolutely necessary.

    ¡°Go over there. Find a stone weight that you can lift for us to see.¡± The officer pointed to a pile of stone weights nearby.

    There were about a dozen of them. Thergest weight was about the size of a millstone, while the smallest one was at least twenty kilograms.

    The recruitment assessment was very simple. New soldiers had their strength assessed, and they would have to go through boot camp. New soldiers who hadn¡¯t gone through at least one year of training weren¡¯t allowed onto the battlefield unless they disyed exceptional prowess.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Ge Dazhuang acknowledged loudly and hurriedly ran over to the pile of stone weights. He weighed several different weights before he found a rtivelyrge one, flexed his arms, and lifted it.

    ¡°Up!¡± Ge Dazhuang eximed as he gradually lifted the weight into the air. His face was flushed, and it seemed like he was putting in a lot of effort, but he managed to lift the stone lock above his head in the end. This measurement was consideredplete once the recruit raised a weight over his head.

    ¡°Yes, not bad! You¡¯re quite strong. You have passed, work hard in the future! The Sixth Reserve Legion is where talents are produced! If you are lucky enough to go to the frontlines, you might even get to aplish glorious military feats!¡± The officer picked up a wooden card that read ¡°Private¡± from the table and handed it to Ge Dazhuang as he finished speaking.

    Ge Dazhuang hurriedly thanked the officer with a smile on his face. He could redeem a month¡¯s worth of soldier¡¯s pay from the quartermaster with this wooden card, before he would be assigned a uniform and a weapon.

    Most of the youths who came afterwards passed the assessment. Only an excessively skinny youth couldn¡¯t even lift the lightest weight, and was turned away.

    ¡°Next!¡± The officer seemed a little sleepy as he leaned back in his chair and holleredzily.

    A tall andnky youth walked in front of him and produced his identification document.

    The officer could tell that this youth was quite smart and clever. He picked up this youth¡¯s documents and said, ¡°Tang Dong, from Fourleaves City. Born into a farmer¡¯s family. How old are you?¡±

    Tang Dong seemed a little inarticte. He lowered his head and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m neen years old.¡±

    The officer was pleased to be addressed as ¡°sir¡±. He said to Tang Dong, ¡°Go and lift a stone weight.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Dong walked to the pile of stone locks. He hesitated momentarily before he walked to the stone weight that was about asrge as a millstone, weighing almost a hundred kilos.

    Tang Dong gripped the stone weight with both hands and exerted the strength in his legs as he suddenly raised the weight into the air. He swayed a little before swinging the weight and raising it above his head.

    ¡°Eh!¡± The officer was taken aback.

    Tang Dong ced the stone weight back down on the ground. His face seemed a little flushed, probably because of the strength that he had just disyed.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad. You don¡¯t seem very robust, but you are quite strong. Not even I can lift thergest weight!. You have a future! You have passed! Come, take this!¡± He retrieved a golden card from the small stack of them on the table, and passed it to Tang Dong.

    This golden card had ¡°Private First ss¡± engraved on its surface.

    In the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army, privates had the lowest rank, followed by private first ss. It was a clear and important gap between the lowest and the second-lowest rank.

    Privates first ss were treated a lot better than normal privates. They were assigned normal uniforms, and were equipped with simple leather armor and a spear. They were given six silver soul coins every month, while privates were only given four. Privates were only given cloth uniforms and a simple knife.

    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Tang Dong replied gratefully, taking the golden card and proceeding to the barracks.

    Tang Dong saw a sign with ¡°Quartermaster¡± written on it stuck in the ground once he walked into the barracks, and there was also an arrow pointing in a certain direction.

    Tang Dong paused in his tracks, and a disappointed look appeared on his face before he strode in the direction the arrow was pointing.

    Tang Dong¡­ ¡°Tang¡± from the Tang Sect, and ¡°Dong¡± from Wang Dong¡¯er. Wasn¡¯t this seemingly honest and simple youth Huo Yuhao, who had just left the Clear Sky Sect and just paid his respects to his mother?

    Yes, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s barracks were his destination. He had made this decision long ago in his heart, and he wanted to use his own abilities, just like the White Tiger Duke did all those years ago. He wanted to umte merit bit by bit, and reach a high rank. He wanted to use his own strength to prove that he was stronger than the White Tiger Duke. He wanted to stand in front of the White Tiger Duke righteously one day, and he wanted to use his own merit to reach a rank even higher than the White Tiger Duke¡¯s rank. He would reveal his identity when that happened, and he would use his own status within the Star Luo empire to clear his mother¡¯s name, and avenge her!

    He didn¡¯t care about power and authority. However, he understood that no matter how strong he was individually, all he could do with his own strength was kill someone if he wanted to avenge his mother. That wasn¡¯t what he wanted. He wanted to use his own aplishments for the empire to clear his mother¡¯s name and seek justice for her! He wanted his mother to feel rightfully proud because of him, so that she could rightfully be called the White Tiger Duke¡¯s wife!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t willing to take any shortcuts. His reputation was starting to stand out in the Continent, and as long as he was willing to, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to directly be a high-ranking officer in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military. However, that wasn¡¯t what he wanted¡­ he wanted to take the same path the White Tiger Duke did! The Star Luo Empire was his country, and even though this empire had never given him anything, this ce was his ancestral home. He wanted to use his own merits to rise through the ranks.

    After all, he was the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s honorary Pagoda Master, and also a lifetime member, and he enjoyed a substantial status in Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. If he appeared in the Star Luo empire with his own identity, he could even affect the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires¡¯ overall situation, even if that sounded like a far-fetched notion.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s personal strength was nothing much to the three empires. However, the powers he represented were too strong. Therefore, when he went into closed-door cultivation, he decided that he would use an all-new identity to achieve what he wanted. And so, Tang Dong was born!

    The quartermaster was a fatty, and Huo Yuhao could tell that he had quite a lot to eat every day. The man was a little shocked when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s ¡°Private, First ss¡± card, but he still gave Huo Yuhao the equipment andpensation that a private first ss should receive, and told Huo Yuhao to report to the military drill grounds on the left side of the army barracks.

    The Star Luo Empire was wealthy, and one could tell that they were a ss above the rest from the equipment they gave their soldiers. The leather armor was made from treated cowhide. Even though this leather armor could only protect one¡¯s torso, it was enough to give the soldier a sense of safety after donning it. The spear was about twelve feet long, and made from a very flexible white wood. The spear¡¯s steel tip was half a meter long, and it sparkled with chilly light, without a single inch of rust.

    Soldiers were given two uniforms, which were made from decent canvas. The uniform was extremely tough, and even though wearing one wasn¡¯t veryfortable, the uniform was definitely durable, and resistant to wear and tear.

 Chapter 416.3 - Recruit Tang Dong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 416.3: Recruit Tang Dong</h4>

    Huo Yuhao changed into his uniform and his leather armor on the spot, grabbing his other uniform with his left hand and his spear with his right hand before he jogged towards the drill grounds on the left side of the army camp.

    The drill ground was very spacious; Huo Yuhao almost couldn¡¯t see the end of it. There were phnxes hard at work on the drill ground, and cavalrypanies riding left and right. The Sixth Reserve Legion¡¯s soldiers were clearly training hard.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s military system was arranged in ascending order: small team, medium team,rge team, battalion, division, and legion. A small team had ten people. A medium team was made up of five small teams, for a total of fifty people. Arge team wasposed of three medium teams, for a total of a hundred and fifty people, while a battalion contained threerge teams, for a total of four hundred and fifty people. A division consisted of three battalions, with a total of one thousand three hundred and fifty people, while a regr legion consisted of six divisions, seven thousand two hundred and ten soldiers. Adding in transportation units and logistics units, as well as other auxiliary units, a legion contained about ten thousand people in total.

    The reserves were a little different. Every Reserve Legion consisted of nine divisions of soldiers, and in addition to other auxiliary units, a Reserve Legion had about fifteen thousand people.

    Huo Yuhao quickly found the assembly point for new soldiers, because the veteran soldiers who were undergoing training here were in strict formation, and seemed very intimidating. On the other hand, several hundred new soldiers were assembled not far from where he was, and they seemed a lot more rxed and loose inparison. They didn¡¯t stand properly, their postures were loose and undisciplined, and there were even people who loafed at the back, or were sitting down on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly ran over once he found this group.

    There were three men standing in front of those new soldiers, who looked like officers. Distinguishing officers was very simple: those who wore golden armor were definitely officers, and were at least medium team leaders.

    Soldiers like Huo Yuhao, who were also wearing a private first ss¡¯ leather armor, would typically be small team leaders. Medium team leaders wore chainmail armor, and onlyrge team leaders or officers ranking higher thanrge team leaders could wear te armor. Officers like battalionmanders, divisionmanders, and legionmanders wore armor that was made from a different material. They were distinguished from each other with special markings, such as the color of the plume feathers on their helmets, or the color of their capes, the equipment of their bodyguards, etc.

    The bodyguards of the Western Field Army¡¯s marshal, White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, had all been wearing chainmail armor. This meant that they were all at least medium team leaders.

    ¡°Recruit Tang Dong, reporting.¡± Huo Yuhao walked briskly up before those three officers. He didn¡¯t know any military salutes, but he knew how to stand at attention.

    All three officers were wearing chainmail armor. When they saw the leather armor on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, their faces showed some surprise.

    The officer who was standing in the middle had a tough and muscr frame, and seemed to be around thirty years old. He said, ¡°Eh, you must be the one who became a private first ss. Seems like your physique isn¡¯t bad. Your name¡¯s Tang Dong, right? Come here.¡± He waved at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao quickly took a few steps forward and arrived in front of the three officers.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness twitched, but he couldn¡¯t feel any soul power undtions from these three officers. Officers were typically promoted for two different reasons: the first was a promotion from an umtion of military merits, while the second was promotion from an increase in fighting strength.

    However, officers who rose through the ranks because of their fighting strength typically didn¡¯t bemanders. Normal soldiers also had chances to be high-ranking officers, and would have to umte military merit. However, their rise through the ranks was a lot more challengingpared to soul masters.

    In the end, a soul master was considered the most exalted and powerful profession on the Douluo Continent. No matter how much effort a normal person put in, he would almost certainly be defeated and killed by a soul master if he fought one alone on the battlefield.

    The officer scrutinized Huo Yuhao for a few moments. He couldn¡¯t tell from Huo Yuhao¡¯s appearance how he was any different from a normal person. He frowned and said, ¡°Tang Dong, how did you be a private first ss?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled simply and honestly and said, ¡°Sir, I am quite strong, and the recruiting officer let me be a private first ss because of that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re strong? Come, let¡¯s try.¡± He reached out toward Huo Yuhao with his right hand as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao switched his spear to his left hand and draped his uniform over his left arm so that he could free up his right hand. Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand gripped the officer¡¯s right hand, and the officer¡¯s palm immediately contracted as a wave of strength considered quite strong for normal peoplepressed Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand.

    But how could this little bit of strength be anything to Huo Yuhao? He didn¡¯t even have to use any soul power; his physique was already much stronger than normal people!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t push back. Instead, he let the officer twist and clutch as much as and however he wanted. The officer felt as if Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm was made from steel, and he couldn¡¯t make Huo Yuhao move an inch no matter how much strength he used.

    ¡°Very strong!¡± This officer didn¡¯t continue the contest. These lower-ranked officers were all veterans in the army, and he didn¡¯t want to embarrass himself in front of so many recruits. He tested Huo Yuhao for a moment more before he released his grip, and gestured at the recruits in front of him. ¡°Join the formation.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged as he turned and jogged into the recruits¡¯ ranks.

    Most of these recruits had curious and novel looks on their faces. Everybody watched the other soldiers train not far from where they were. Some of them were rubbing their fists, and some were sozy and idle that they were lying around in different positions. Everyone was in a different position. However, the officers didn¡¯t say anything to restrict them. They were just standing in front of everyone and speaking softly, chattering amongst themselves.

    Their behavior could confuse others, but how could they confuse the Eye of the Asura Huo Yuhao, whose spiritual power was already in the concrete-material realm?

    Huo Yuhao paid a little more attention, and discovered that although these three officers seemed like they didn¡¯t care about those recruits, but in reality, their attention was indeed focused on the recruits, and their eyes became sharp and focused from time to time as they observed them.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t remind the recruits behind him. Instead, he stood up straight near the edge of the formation, and didn¡¯t move an inch as he waited calmly.

    New soldiers continued streaming in and adding themselves into the formation, and this group of recruits becamerger andrger.

    They were around five hundred in total when noon arrived.

    One of the three officers suddenly turned and jogged away. It didn¡¯t take long before another officer wearing sparkling silver steel te armor was escorted back by the officer who had jogged away in front of these recruits.

    This new officer¡¯s aura was conspicuously different. He was tall, and his rectangr face had hints of majesty and dignity.

    These recruits had been standing around for a long time, and they were already wandering in all directions, but they shaped up a little now. Even they could tell that this new officer was quite a high-ranking one.

    The officer nted himself in front of those five hundred recruits. The officer in chainmail armor who had just wrestled with Huo Yuhao suddenly hollered at the top of his voice, ¡°Squad, attention!¡± He was very loud, and his voice sounded like rolling thunder. Many recruits were startled by his voice and shivered in response. Everyone actually quieted down within a few moments.

    The officer in te armor surveyed the recruits as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Listen up! From the moment that you enlisted into the Sixth Reserve Legion, you¡¯ve be one of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s glorious soldiers! A soldier¡¯s sacred duty is to follow orders, and a soldier that fails to follow this rule will be dealt with ording to militaryw!

    ¡°I am Zhuang Tian, therge team leader of the secondrge team of the third battalion of the Sixth Reserve Legion¡¯s seventh division! You recruits will be under my charge over the next three months. Now, your bunks will be assigned, and your tasks delegated! Fighting soldiers will stand to my left after this, and auxiliary soldiers will stand to my right.¡±

    This speech sounded very simple, but it emanated a somber sternness. Thisrge team member was a soldier who had been on the battlefield and seen blood before. His ferocious aura instantly sent chills down the recruits¡¯ spines.

    This officer waved his hand, and the officer in chainmail armor immediately took a few steps forward. He took out a name list from somewhere and raised his voice as he read, ¡°Tang Dong, fighting soldier. In charge of the bunk forrge team one.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected his name to be called out first, but his reactions were quick, and he instantly ran to therge team leader¡¯s left side and stood at attention. He was standing up straight and didn¡¯t move a muscle, just as he had been doing, but his expression was a little foolish and na?ve from beginning to end.

    Names were called out one after another, and more and more people quickly stood behind Huo Yuhao. However, some soldiers appeared on the other side, and the recruits who were assigned there had ck faces. Auxiliary soldiers and fighting soldiers had very different statuses in the military. Under normal circumstances, only fighting soldiers could umte enough military merit to be promoted, while auxiliary soldiers would have far fewer chances.

    Many auxiliary soldiers seemed very unconvinced, but they didn¡¯t dare to protest because they were intimidated by therge team leader¡¯s might. They just muttered under their breath.

    The officer took more than an hour to read through the list of five hundred people. Huo Yuhao had been counting silently the entire time; in the end, two hundred soldiers were assigned to be auxiliary soldiers, while three hundred were chosen as fighting soldiers.

    Therge team leader slowly turned around after thest recruit joined the line that he was supposed to. He turned towards the group of auxiliary soldiers as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Do you know why you guys are auxiliary soldiers? You have been selected after an integrated assessment. Everyone has been monitored and observed ever since you joined, and every word and every gesture that you made, along with your physique, were all part of this criteria. In the end, you guys aren¡¯t qualified to be fighting soldiers.

    ¡°Now, you have two choices ¨C one, remain as auxiliary soldiers. Auxiliary soldiers will receive the same pay as normal fighting soldiers, but it will be hard for you guys to get a promotion. Second, you can return everything that you¡¯ve imed from the quartermaster and leave the camp. But you have to remember, once you leave the camp, your names will be recorded, and the army will never take you in again. If you remain as auxiliary soldiers, you might have a chance to be a fighting soldier if your performance is outstanding. For now, you will be given ten minutes to consider. I want an answer from everyone after ten minutes!¡±

    Zhuang Tian turned towards the three hundred fighting soldiers after he made his speech to the auxiliary soldiers. His face suddenly darkened as he said coldly, ¡°Recruits! Don¡¯t think that everything is over just because you guys have been chosen as fighting soldiers! Let me tell you, in the basic military training that you will receive in the subsequent three months, you will be eliminated and demoted to an auxiliary soldier if you don¡¯t pass! Only those who pass this training with flying colors can be fighting soldiers!

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that I am being harsh; I am trying to be responsible for you and your family! Only the most outstanding soldiers are worthy of stepping onto the battlefield! Otherwise, you will only be going to your deaths! In that case, it¡¯s better for you to remain in the backlines or go back home to farm!

    ¡°You may return to your respective bunks that we have just assigned to take care of any arrangements there, and you may have lunch! Assemble here in two hours!¡±

 Chapter 417.1 - Being a Soldier Feels Good

    <h4 ss>Chapter 417.1: Being a Soldier Feels Good</h4>

    Several simple statements taught these recruits who had just entered the army camp a new lesson. Theirziness and idleness from before was a lot more toned down, and the three officers in chainmail armor led them off to the army barracks.

    The three hundred fighting soldiers were led to ten bunkhouses. Each bunkhouse was quite spacious, and each one could amodate thirty soldiers. Huo Yuhao¡¯s bunk was the first among these ten bunks. Furthermore, ording to their allocations earlier, he was in charge of this bunk. This meant that the affairs within his bunk were temporarily in hismand.

    Comints and curses started as soon as all thirty soldiers entered the bunkhouse.

    ¡°Aiyo, I¡¯m so tired! We¡¯ve been standing the entire morning, and only now are they letting us eat. I guess it¡¯s not so easy being a soldier after all!¡± one skinny recruit mumbled with a gloomy look on his face.

    Another rtively fatter soldier said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that, I¡¯ve been cooked to the point where I¡¯m sweating oil! Thirty people staying together! This bunk is already starting to smell! We¡¯re going to have a tough time. If I¡¯d known all this, I wouldn¡¯t have enlisted as a soldier! My dad insisted that I train myself in the military¡­ this really makes people speechless.¡±

    Simr voices rang out in every corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s bunkhouse.

    Huo Yuhao found a berth for himself in the corner after he entered the room, a bunk actually meaning a simple cot. It was a straw matid out over a wooden frame, and a thin mattress wasid out on the straw mat, with a nket on top of the mattress. This was the standard setup for every bunk in the room.

    Huo Yuhao had noints about this because he didn¡¯t care about it at all. He ced his uniform on the nket and his spear to one side. He didn¡¯t even need his eyes to see ¨C his spiritual power covered the entire room. There were twenty-nine other people in his room, and every single person was now within his perception. Nobody could hide anything under his careful observation.

    Most of the others were stillining. They were clearly unadjusted to army life, but there were some others who were very calm, such as a soldier roughly twenty years of age on a bunk not far from Huo Yuhao. His build was average, and he looked veryposed. Furthermore, there were dashes of coldness between his eyebrows. He clearly didn¡¯t quite fit in with the other recruits.

    Besides Huo Yuhao, there were six others among the group who could face the novelty of entering army life with a rtively calm attitude. They quickly packed their things up properly, and two of them stood up and were about to go out to eat.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and suddenly pped his hands.

    ¡°p, p, p!¡± Three crisp sounds could be heard, and Huo Yuhao immediately attracted every recruit¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Quiet down for a moment, everyone. Let me say a few words.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with a faint smile on his face. He had changed his appearance to someone who had a very simple and honest look, and this smile made him seem even more so. Furthermore, his smile even seemed a little rustic.

    Everyone stared at the leather armor that Huo Yuhao was wearing, and he had their attention. The entire room actually quickly quieted down.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°My brothers, we have all reported to a new army camp today, and today is our first day. Everyone must have seen what happened just now; if we don¡¯t perform well, we might just be allocated to be an auxiliary soldier. I don¡¯t think anyone wants to be an auxiliary soldier, right? Since we have been allocated into the same squad we will be brothers-in-arms in the future. We have to fight and y our enemies together if we get to go onto the battlefield.

    ¡°Our three months of basic military training will be very important for us. That officer already said that only those who perform excellently can truly be fighting soldiers. That means we are up against the recruits from the nine other bunks. They are all our rivals andpetitors. If we want to be fighting soldiers, then we have to perform better than they do. That means teamwork is paramount.

    ¡°We¡¯re all recruits, and everyone in the other bunks won¡¯t be familiar with one another. Everyone is still like a te of scattered sand. If First Bunk¡¯s brothers can unite, then none of the other bunks will be a match for us. We will move forward and backward together in the future. What do you guys think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s speech was quite inciting. Juxtaposed with his tone, and with an infusion of a thread of his spiritual power, most of the recruits in First Bunk were moved.

    However, there were also dissident voices. The fatso that wasining before this nted his mouth and said, ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re in charge? Don¡¯t you just have some leather armor on you? We¡¯re all recruits, what makes you think you can tell us what to do? Let¡¯s not bother with him, everyone. Let¡¯s go and eat!¡± He turned and walked out as he spoke.

    There were several other recruits like him who had indifferent expressions. Mocking looks shed across their faces when they heard his words.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes flickered as he bolted forward, and he blocked the fat recruit¡¯s path with a few steps.

    He withdrew his simple and honest smile, and he stared seriously at the fat soldier in front of him. ¡°What I just said isn¡¯t just a suggestion. It¡¯s also an order.¡±

    The fat soldier red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Fuck, who do you think you are? What makes you think you can control me? Fuck off!¡± He reached out with arge hand that resembled a cattail-leaf fan as he spoke, and he attempted to shove Huo Yuhao on the chest.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, and he raised his left hand and pinched the web between the fat soldier¡¯s thumb and his forefinger. The fat soldier stumbled and mmed towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nted his body towards one side and stepped lightly with the tip of his foot on the tip of the fat soldier¡¯s foot. The fatso immediately lost his bnce and fell face-first to the ground.

    ¡°Our superior has said that I am the person in charge of First Bunk. That means I have to be responsible for everyone. You don¡¯t have to listen to my orders, and you can be unconvinced of my authority. You can leave as long as you defeat me. Furthermore, if you manage to do so, I will report to the superior and relinquish my duties as the person in charge of this bunk.¡±

    The fatso who had just crashed to the ground roared as he leapt to his feet and charged at Huo Yuhao once more.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move at all. He ced his feet at shoulder-width and squatted down a little in a horse stance. Huo Yuhao let the fatso m against the side of his body.

    The fatso was quite heavy, and adding in his forward momentum, the impact was rtively forceful. However, the moment that he mmed against Huo Yuhao, he felt as if he were mming into a wall, and he bounced out after their collision. He rolled across the floor several times before he could stabilize himself, and knocked himself so dizzy that he looked like he couldn¡¯t get up at all.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°Who else wants to try?¡±

    The other recruits stared at him with slightly different expressions after this disy. Quite a few soldiers were thinking to themselves,This fellow can wear leather armor¡­ he is quite different from the others!

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty at all, and just waited there quietly.

    The calm youth that Huo Yuhao had paid attention to before this stepped out and came in front of Huo Yuhao. He said, ¡°I agree with how you¡¯re getting us to work together. However, I want to try you.¡±

    ¡°Come!¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at him.

    This youth growled as he took a quick step forward. His movements were very agile, and when he was right front of Huo Yuhao, he bent down and punched at Huo Yuhao¡¯s abdomen. This soldier moved at lightning speed, and his actions were very smooth.

    Huo Yuhao extended his right hand and blocked the fist. The youth pulled back very quickly, but Huo Yuhao was faster. His fingers were like an iron w that locked the youth¡¯s fist inside his palm. Huo Yuhao shook his right arm a little and threw the youth into the air.

    The youth felt as if his entire body was going soft, and all the strength in his body was about to be shaken away by Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his left leg and pushed lightly on the youth¡¯s waist. He released his right hand, and the youth returned to his original posture, sore and unsteady. He couldn¡¯t use any strength at all, and only barely regained his bnce after swaying a little and his lost strength gradually returned to him.

    This youth cupped his fists and said, ¡°I¡¯m convinced. My name is Wang Xiaodian, and I will listen to you in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and nodded in his direction. Even though this youth didn¡¯t have any soul power, he was very agile, and his physique could be considered rtively impressive among normal human beings.

    After these two episodes, everyone else¡¯s expressions were conspicuously different from before as they stared at Huo Yuhao. Those recruits who were indifferent and a little disdainful before this withdrew their expressions. Even though their appearances subtly revealed that they were still a little unconvinced, nobody expressed their thoughts.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly wanted tough, because these recruits reminded him of how things had been when he had just entered Shrek Academy. Back then, he and Dong¡¯er were ss monitors. Weren¡¯t they the ones leading their ssmates to train and cultivate every day?

    ¡°If nobody has any more objections, let¡¯s go eat. Form up, and let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao finally turned as he spoke, and was the first to leave the room.

    The recruits were intimidated by his formidable disy, and they actually listened to him as they streamed out of the room one by one. Huo Yuhao briefly arranged them in formation outside the room, and they stood in three rows as they marched neatly towards the army canteen.

    The military¡¯s dining area was unsheltered, and the logistical soldiers responsible for food delivered the meals they had prepared to every respectiverge team. Everyrge team had a ce where they were supposed to eat together.

    When Huo Yuhao brought First Bunk¡¯s other twenty-nine recruits to the canteen, there were already many soldiers eating there.

    Large Team Two seemed to only have these three hundred recruits. The other auxiliary soldiers from before weren¡¯t here, and quite a few soldiers had already finished their meals and were enjoying some fruits and desserts.

    The food was quite good. There was steaming meat soup in a giant metal wok that resembled an enormous vat, with vegetables and steamed buns.

    Therge team leader Zhuang Tian was standing behind the counter. He was personally serving his recruits, and the recruits were very quiet with him around. The other three officers in chainmail armor were standing by his side, helping him.

    Huo Yuhao nodded with approval when he saw this.The Star Luo Empire¡¯s military is quite high-quality! Their recruitment process from before was great, and now therge team member is personally serving food for his recruits, and that¡¯s great too. Thesemanders are showing grace and a firm hand at the same time.

 Chapter 417.2 - Being a Soldier Feels Good

    <h4 ss>Chapter 417.2: Being a Soldier Feels Good</h4>

    Zhuang Tian and the three medium team leaders were a little surprised when they saw Huo Yuhao leading First Bunk¡¯s recruits in neat rows to get their meals. These recruits hadn¡¯t seemed very disciplined to them, and even though there were some who behaved well, like Huo Yuhao, the batch was generally not too impressive.

    Thus, thesemanders truly didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be able to restrain these recruits so quickly.

    Huo Yuhao brought hisrades and paused in front of the wok that contained the meat soup. He raised his voice and said, ¡°All thirty recruits from First Bunk are here to eat. Greetings,rge team leader.¡±

    Zhuang Tian¡¯s expression was a lot warmer than before. He smiled and said, ¡°Well done. Come, eat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the first to get his meal. He took the lunch te that Zhuang Tian passed him and turned around and passed it to the recruit behind him. He repeated this action while he continued reminding First Bunk¡¯s recruits to keep in line.

    The recruits quickly got their meals in an orderly fashion before Huo Yuhao brought them to a shady ce and let everyone sit down to eat. After everything had been settled, he returned to Zhuang Tian and got himself a lunch te.

    ¡°Your name is Tang Dong, right?¡± Zhuang Tian asked as he served him a bowl of meat soup.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Zhuang Tian smiled faintly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve done well. Keep at it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Huo Yuhao carried his food and jogged back to his bunk¡¯s recruits, and they ate together.

    Zhuang Tian smiled faintly as he watched Huo Yuhao move. He nodded and said, ¡°Not bad¡­ he has potential. Which one of you is in charge of his bunk?¡±

    The middle-aged man that had arm-wrestled Huo Yuhao before said, ¡°Boss, I am in charge. I am also the one who chose this fellow. He¡¯s quite strong, at least not any weaker than I am. I didn¡¯t expect him to be able to do this. He¡¯s managed to keep his bunk in such order when they¡¯ve only just entered the army camp. He has some tricks up his sleeve!¡±

    Zhuang Tian nodded and said, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s very impressive. However, we should test him a little more. Send someone to investigate his identity, to ensure that there¡¯s nothing wrong with him.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as he enjoyed his meal. He had long ago considered that they would check his identity, so he spent a little more money when forging his documents so that he could eliminate all possible loopholes. Huo Yuhao could practically remain undiscovered even if he was investigated on a national level. He had spent a hundred gold soul coins to fabricate his identity, and had confirmed that everything was alright again and again.

    Lunchtime was over, and Huo Yuhao led First Bunk¡¯s recruits back to their bunk as a group to rest. Two hours for eating and resting wasn¡¯t considered long, and their afternoon assembly time quickly arrived.

    Out of the three hundred recruits, not a single one waste. Evidently, the assigning of fighting soldiers and auxiliary soldiers in the morning left a dark shadow on their hearts. First Bunk¡¯s recruits, with Huo Yuhao leading them, were the first to arrive on the military drill ground. Many recruits were discreetlyining, and they resented Huo Yuhao for that, but their resentment immediately vanished when they arrived at the military drill ground¡­ because therge team leader, Zhuang Tian, and the other three medium team leaders were already there, standing straight on the drill ground. Zhuang Tian smiled when he saw them arrive, and he even nodded in their direction.

    Encouragement from superiors was clearly quitepelling for these recruits. Their resentment andints at being forced toe early disappeared, and everyone stood up straight. Everyone knew the benefits of showing themselves in front of their superiors.

    Huo Yuhao jogged up before Zhuang Tian as he raised his voice and said, ¡°Reporting to you, sir! The recruits from the First Bunk of Team Two, of the Third Battalion, of the Seventh Division, of the Sixth Reserve Legion are all present. Please advise!¡±

    Zhuang Tian nodded and said, ¡°Very well. Rejoin your lines and ce your feet at shoulder-width. This is standing at ease. When I say ¡®attention¡¯, you have to close your legs and stand up straight.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged once and swiftly ran back to his position. His thirty recruits were all standing at ease.

    After almost ten minutes, the recruits from the other bunks arrived, one after another. However, they were clearly not sorted by bunks, and everyone was scattered. But at least nobody waste.

    ¡°Squad, attention!¡± one of the mid-team leaders shouted.

    Zhuang Tian surveyed the recruits, who were standing up as straight as they could. He raised his voice and said, ¡°Comrades, we will be brothers-in-arms from now on. Let me introduce these three officers standing beside me.¡±

    He pointed towards the medium team leader who had tested Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength as he spoke and said, ¡°This is Shi Shuo, Medium Team One¡¯s leader.¡±

    He pointed to the other two and said, ¡°Yun Tian, Medium Team Two¡¯s leader. Long Shun, Medium Team Three¡¯s leader.

    ¡°Ourrge team should have a hundred and fifty fighting soldiers, but there are three hundred of you here. Do you know why this is so? This means that after the next three months of basic military training, I have the authority to reduce one hundred and fifty of you to either auxiliary soldiers or send you home. However, I hope that more people can stay behind, and perhaps even the entire lot of you can stay behind, so that we can add one morerge team. What happens will all depend on your results after training.

    ¡°A soldier¡¯s sacred duty is to follow orders. The first lesson I want to teach you today is how to follow orders. Shi Shuo, Yun Tian, Long Shun.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± The three medium team leaders stood up straight as they shouted at the same time.

    Zhuang Tian said solemnly, ¡°Everyone will stand at attention from now on. Recruits are allowed to faint, but they cannot ck off, and they cannot rx. We will continue until sunset. Whip those who ck off or rx.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Zhuang Tian turned to leave after giving his instructions. The three medium team leaders smiled sardonically before they drew horsewhips from their waists and walked towards the recruits.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone heard therge team leader¡¯s words. Stand up straight, everyone. Otherwise, the whip will show no mercy.¡±

    Aren¡¯t we just standing around?Most recruits didn¡¯t think too much about it. Everyone stood up as straight as they could. Nobody wanted to be whipped!

    The three medium team leaders¡¯ eyes were tinged with pity towards those recruits whose backs were especially straight. Veterans all knew that they would rather climb mountains and cross rivers than stand at attention! Standing at attention tested one¡¯s willpower the most, but this was the best training for recruits.

    Walking underneath the sun wasn¡¯t much, but after standing for a long time¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    An hour passed.

    These recruits were all youngsters. They were at least eighteen years old, and none were older than twenty-five. Those who dared to enlist had decent physiques, but after one hour of standing, some recruits were starting to sway and waver.

    Their bodies couldn¡¯t move, and that meant their blood cirction wouldn¡¯t be smooth. In addition to the fact that they were standing up so straight, their muscles began to hurt after a while, and their breathing became a little forced and hindered. Many of their uniforms were soaked with sweat.

    The three medium team leaders didn¡¯t bother much with those soldiers who were swaying and wavering. However, they immediately whipped anyone that wanted to ck off andze around. They didn¡¯t whip them hard, but everysh still gave those recruits a burning reminder.

    Huo Yuhao was just standing there. His eyes were calm, and he wasn¡¯t standing up that straight, but he didn¡¯t rx one bit. He was standing steadily and stably as if he were a statue, while his heart and mind were already immersed in meditation.

    With his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t have to sit down and cross his legs to enter meditation. He could enter that special realm in any state.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood was lifted a little after he paid his respects to his mother, and he gradually got into character as Tang Dong aftering to this ce. Standing at attention was painful and torturous to the other recruits, but this was almost considered the best kind of rest for him.

    Huo Yuhao had been hustling too much, and his feelings had been going through roller coasters. He finally had some time to calm himself down. He was satisfied with this, and he even felt as if this was a little luxurious. However, he liked this feeling.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t forget that when he had saved the White Tiger Duke, his bodyguards had resolutely decided to jump down the cliff to their deaths so that they wouldn¡¯t hold him back. That scene had shaken him, and also made him passionate about the military.

    A soldier¡¯s sacred duty is to follow orders, and a soldier¡¯s mission is to protect his nation. I have grown up, and I have joined the army to serve my nation.Even though he was just a recruit, Huo Yuhao was full of pride at what he was doing.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Two hours went by.

    ¡°Kerplunk, kerplunk¡­¡± Two recruits finally couldn¡¯t take the torture of standing at attention anymore, and they fell to the ground. The temperature wasn¡¯t that high at the moment, or they would have gone down a lot quicker.

    Army medics instantly appeared and carried away those who had fainted.

    More and more soldiers crumpled to the ground over the next hour. Of course, there were those who pretended to faint, but the army medics weren¡¯t fooled at all. They gave each person who pretended to faint tenshes, and nobody else dared to pretend afterwards.

    The three medium team leaders stood together, and whispered to each other from time to time.

    ¡°This batch of recruits is of average quality, but there aren¡¯t many troublemakers after all. I remember when we were training a new batch of soldiers thest time. Everyone rioted collectively after standing at attention for too long. That was exciting!¡± Shi Shuo muttered softly to hispanions.

    Yun Tian chuckled and agreed, ¡°Rioting, that was great! Howfortable is it to beat people up justly and rightfully?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so violent,¡± Long Shun snapped.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Three hours went by, and there were only a hundred soldiers left standing. Furthermore, most of them were shaking and swaying, and looked like they could fall to the ground at any moment.

    The three medium team leaders¡¯ expressions grew serious and solemn. They paced continuously beside the remaining recruits, and observed their expressions. Those recruits whose faces were too pale were immediately escorted away by army medics to rest.

    In terms of overall endurance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s bunk wasn¡¯t that much better than the other bunks. At this point, there were only half a dozen people from his bunk left.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was so powerful that his perception was exceptionally strong even if he didn¡¯t deliberately direct his senses. Wang Xiaodian was amongst those who remained, and several other youths that he had observed before also remained. One youth who wore a grave and stern look on his face even emanated soul power undtions!. Even though his soul power undtions weren¡¯t that strong, a soul master enlisting in the army and starting as a normal fighting soldier was quite interesting¡­

 Chapter 417.3 - Being a Soldier Feels Good

    <h4 ss>Chapter 417.3: Being a Soldier Feels Good</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power undtions didn¡¯t leak out at all. With his current physique, he would have no problem standing for three days and three nights. Since he had decided to present himself as ¡°Tang Dong¡±, he wouldn¡¯t use his abilities as a soul master unless absolutely necessary, but Huo Yuhao had absolutely no trouble standing out and performing better than normal soldiers with his strength, his experience inbat, and his physique.

    ¡ª

    Most of the remaining recruits couldn¡¯t take it after yet another hour passed. Recruits dropped to the ground one after another around them, while Huo Yuhao and the other recruit with a grave look on his face remained.

    That recruit was sweating profusely, and when his body felt very ufortable, he would quietly circte soul power and readjust his condition. Using that method, he could also keep himself in this position for a very long time. He nced at Huo Yuhao from time to time, attempting to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power undtions, but he couldn¡¯t discover anything at all.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Four hours had now gone by. The sun was starting to dip over the western horizon, and it was just one hour away from evening. Most of the recruits who had copsed to the ground were treated and sorted by the army medics. They were given a little salt water, and most of them recovered after resting. They stared at Huo Yuhao and the stern-looking youth who were still standing, and couldn¡¯t help but admire them. In the army, the strongest individuals were the most respected and admired.

    Even some of the the recruits in Huo Yuhao¡¯s bunk who still resented him felt their resentment slowly dampen.He¡¯s so powerful. No wonder he can be a private first ss, and he can stand longer than everyone else even though he¡¯s wearing leather armor.Leather armor provided decent protection on the battlefield, but it had some weight. Leather armor was also good at ¡°keeping warm¡± when a soldier was standing at attention.

    A ttering of horse¡¯s hooves were heard. Furthermore, these horses wereing towards them, and the recruits all turned and looked in the hoofbeats wereing from.

    Two horses arrived side by side. Zhuang Tian, theirrge team leader, sat on one of these horses, while another high-rankingmander in te armor sat on the other horse. Almost everyone¡¯s eyes widened when they saw thismander. They were incredulous, and some were even a little mesmerized.

    Yes, this high-rankingmander was ady, and a beautiful one, at that. She hadrge eyes, and her golden hair draped and fluttered behind her head. She was slim, and her body ratios were good. Her te armor seemed to have been tailor-made to her frame, fit tight to her, and brought out her figure.

    Her skin couldn¡¯t be considered fair, but had a healthy wheat color. She seemed valiant and heroic as she sat on her horse, and was truly enchanting. Everyone could tell from the white cap behind her back that she was a battalionmander. Battalionmanders were considered mid-level ranks in the military, and if she could be promoted to a divisionmander, she would officially be a high-ranking officer.

    At the same time, battalionmanders were considered natural moats for many lower-level officers. Manyrge team leaders would put in a lot of effort throughout their entire careers, but never get beyond that rank.

    The appearance of this beautiful battalionmander who looked only a little older than twenty instantly ignited these recruits¡¯ hormones. Those who were sitting on the ground and resting didn¡¯t need their superiors to order them; they swiftly got to their feet one after another and stood at attention. However, their bearing wasn¡¯t proper, and their appearances still reflected the state they were in before this.

    The two horses arrived in front of everyone in the blink of an eye. Zhuang Tian was a little surprised when he saw that two recruits were still standing.Quite some time has gone by. These two recruits have quite some discipline and quality to remain standing after more than four hours while burning under the sun!Zhuang Tian focused, and Huo Yuhao was the first person he noticed, before he nced at the grave-looking youth behind him.

    The beautiful battalionmander and Zhuang Tian stopped at the same time, pulling on their reins.

    The three medium team leaders swiftly stepped forward and saluted thedy battalionmander. They raised their voices and said, ¡°Greetings, battalionmander!¡±

    The beautiful battalionmander had quite a demeanor. She only nodded in their direction before she waved at Zhuang Tian to signal something.

    Zhuang Tian shouted, ¡°Assemble, everyone!¡±

    All the recruits ran over as rapidly as if they had been pumped with adrenaline, and formed up. The beautifuldy¡¯s charm seemed to transcend therge team leader¡¯s majesty and intimidation, and those recruits¡¯ exhausted bodies were replenished by the force of their hormones.

    Everyone could see the battalionmander¡¯s beauty more clearly as they came closer. Her nose bridge was sharp and straight, and her rosy lips were wet. Her face was a little skinny, but herrge blue eyes were sparkling with energy and spirit. Even though her figure wasn¡¯t exceptionally stunning, the lines on her armor perfectly brought out her mesmerizing female charms.

    Zhuang Tian was rtively pleased with his recruits¡¯ behavior. He surveyed them as he raised his voice and said, ¡°Let me introduce everyone. This is the battalionmander of the Seventh Division¡¯s Third Battalion within the Sixth Reserve Legion, Xu Yun. If you guys can pass all your tests, you will be a warrior under Battalion Commander Xu¡¯s wing. Raise your weapons and greet Battalion Commander Xu.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, battalionmander¡­¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Commander Xu¡­¡±

    They were recruits after all, so even their exmations were mixed up.

    Huo Yuhao had been observing this battalionmander ever since she arrived. Such a beautifuldy appearing in an army camp was probably a little abnormal.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t deliberately controlling his spiritual power, but even then, he could automatically cover almost a hundred meters around him. He discovered that when this battalionmander appeared, the expression of the youth behind him changed conspicuously, and his blood flow increased rapidly, while his emotions became a little excited.

    He was also the first person that the battalionmander paid attention to when she arrived. When her eyes swept over him, a faint look of disdain and contempt flowed from her eyes. Even though this look only flickered once before it disappeared, Huo Yuhao still managed to capture her expression clearly.

    ¡°Large team leader Zhuang, how is this batch of recruits?¡± Commander Xu finally spoke, and her voice contained the kind of bravery that only female soldiers could have. Her voice wasn¡¯t very gentle and tender, but it was still melodious.

    ¡°They¡¯re alright. Even though these recruits are of average quality overall, there are some who have potential. Soldiers don¡¯t just need talent; as long as soldiers are willing to put in effort, a littleck of talent isn¡¯t considered much. You can still be a good soldier!¡± Zhuang Tian was very satisfied with the fact that Huo Yuhao and the stern-looking youth could stand until the very end. They boosted his impression before the battalionmander.

    ¡°You and you. Step out.¡± He pointed towards Huo Yuhao and the other guy.

    Huo Yuhao grasped his spear with one hand as he took two steps forward. He was still standing very straight.

    The stern-looking youth hurriedly followed suit. However, he didn¡¯t continue standing behind Huo Yuhao, and walked up next to him. Even though he was ying it cool, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his emotions were very excited, and a little unstable. He was putting in a lot of effort to control himself, and only then could he avoid ncing towards the battalionmander.

    ¡°Your performance is impressive. Are you both from the First Bunk?¡± Zhuang Tian asked.

    ¡°Reporting! Yes, sir,¡± the stern-looking youth responded without waiting for Huo Yuhao to speak.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, and he answered with one word, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Zhuang Tian said, ¡°Alright. From now on, Tang Dong ¨C you will be Small Team One¡¯s leader, and all thirty recruits from your bunk will temporarily be Small Team One. This arrangement has three times as many people as regr small teams, so you¡¯ll have to perform well.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was still as simple as it could be.

    Zhuang Tian turned towards the stern-looking youth and said, ¡°Dai Luoli, you will be Small Team One¡¯s vice-team leader, and you are promoted to Private first ss. You will assist Tang Dong in managing Small Team One.¡±

    Dai Luolin was momentarily stunned, but he was still standing at attention as he answered, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°Back into formation.¡± Huo Yuhao and Dai Luolin returned to the group. However, Dai Luolin nced at Huo Yuhao when they were returning, and his eyes were different from all that coldness from before. His eyes now burned with passion, a passion that came frompetitiveness.

    Huo Yuhao wasughing inside. He could judge from the situation that Dai Luolin should know that beautiful battalionmander personally. Was he joining the army as a soul master for this battalionmander? This youth was a soul master, he wouldn¡¯t be resigned to his fate as number two. It was normal that the youth wanted to take over Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    The three medium team leaders subsequently made their reports and arranged a small team leader for the remaining nine bunks.

    ¡°You have to remember that you are all just recruits. You have be small team leaders because you performed well before this. However, your position as small team leader isn¡¯t fixed, and you may be reced at any time. Bing a small team leader is very simple, and anyone can do it. As long as you perform sufficiently well during training, you will have a chance. Do you guys understand?¡± Zhuang Tian admonished everyone at the end.

    ¡°Understood, sir!¡± the recruits answered loudly.

    Zhuang Tian nodded satisfactorily as he turned towards Xu Yun and asked, ¡°Do you have any instructions, battalionmander?¡±

    Xu Yuna said inly, ¡°No. You guys can go, and we will assemble for training tomorrow.¡± She turned her horse and waved her whip as she uttered herst words, before riding her horse off into the distance.

    Zhuang Tian watched her leave earshot before he raised his voice and said, ¡°Disperse! Dinner will be in one hour!¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned and gestured to the First Bunk¡¯s recruits to form up and return to camp. Dai Luoli was very cooperative about this, and stood next to Huo Yuhao as he led the remaining twenty-eight people back to the First Bunk.

    Xu Yun is a little interesting,Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. The battalionmander was also a soul master, and her cultivation rank wasn¡¯t weak. Huo Yuhao could sense that she had at least four soul rings, and she was only about twenty years old. The fact that she had such a cultivation rank was quite impressive for her age. Dai Luoli was a little weaker, but he should be younger than Xu Yun was.

    Dai Luoli¡­ this name seems to feel very familiar.

    The recruits were beyond exhausted after training for the entire afternoon. They conversed a lot less than they had when they first arrived, and everyone returned to their bunks after dinner. Quite a few people just copsed onto their beds and quickly dozed off.

    Huo Yuhao sat down on his own berth, and began to daydream as he listened to the other recruits¡¯ snoring. For him, it was luxurious to even have time for daydreaming. However, he was contemting a lot of things even as he was daydreaming¡­

 Chapter 418.1 - Younger Brother?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 418.1: Younger Brother?</h4>

    He was mostly wondering where Wang Dong¡¯er had gone.Dong¡¯er, where exactly have you gone? Even if you¡¯ve forgotten everything, at least let me find you!

    ¡°Team leader.¡± At this moment, a cold voice jolted Huo Yuhao awake from his thoughts.

    When he twisted his head, he saw Dai Luoli looking intently at him.

    ¡°What? Is there something?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°Can we go out and talk?¡± Dai Luoli asked.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew what he wanted to do, but didn¡¯t reject his request. He stood up and said, ¡°Alright.¡± He didn¡¯t bring his spear along either, and walked out of the tent with Dai Luoli empty-handed.

    When the two of them exited the house, their bunk started to bustle with noise. Many of the new soldiers started to talk among themselves. Huo Yuhao was unmoved, but Dai Luoli¡¯s expression was more obvious.

    ¡°Do all of you think that the vice-team leader is trying to challenge the team leader?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Look at the vice-team leader, he seems confident. Didn¡¯t therge team leader mention earlier that as long as one¡¯s capable, he can be the team leader? It seems like the vice-team leader is also very strong, since he dares to challenge the team leader even after the team leader performed today! Our bunk is indeed filled with hidden talents!¡±

    ¡ª

    At this moment, the sky outside had already turnedpletely dark. Dai Luoli walked further away from the bunk, but Huo Yuhao still didn¡¯t ask him why. He just silently followed him.

    After leaving their camp, the two of them quickly came to the parade ground.

    Dai Luoli stopped and turned to look at Huo Yuhao, ¡°Tang Dong, I¡¯ll not beat around the bush. I hope that you¡¯ll give up your position as team leader to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao peacefully asked, ¡°Why should I?¡±

    Dai Luoli answered, ¡°I have to be the team leader. Don¡¯t ask me why. I just want this title. I can let you continue to run the First Bunk, I¡¯m not good at that. However, I¡¯ll definitely charge in front during our training and the imminent war. I believe that I¡¯ll be able to umte some merits, and get promoted. When that happens, you¡¯ll still continue to be the team leader. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was simple. He naturally understood that Dai Luoli¡¯s goal was probably the same as his. They both wanted to start from the bottom and eventually be a high-ranking officer. It was just that he didn¡¯t have much time to linger around in the lower ranks, either!

    ¡°Let¡¯s spar. If I win, you give up your position to me, how about that?¡± Dai Luoli could naturally guess that Huo Yuhao was going to be unwilling. However, he didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to directly reject him without probing further.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer was as simple as before. He was going to quickly deal with Dai Luoli before going back to meditate. It was gettingte.

    Dai Luoli was evidently infuriated by the direct and seemingly contemptuous tone of Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice. He shouted coldly before darting forward towards Huo Yuhao.

    He was indeed very quick. As a soul master¡¯s soul power increased, his body would also transform continuously, making him much stronger than an ordinary person. As he reached Huo Yuhao, he punched at Huo Yuhao¡¯s right shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body sank slightly, and he went into his horse stance, just like he had in the afternoon. Just as Dai Luoli¡¯s fist was about to hit him, he pulled the left half of his body back slightly and avoided contact. Following this, he struck his right shoulder back towards Dai Luoli¡¯s fist.

    Dai Luoli only sensed a force mming into him, and felt as if he had punched a steel te. He staggered a few steps back before stabilizing himself, and a stunned look shed across his eyes.

    During the afternoon, he could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t weak. However, he hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength to be above his.

    He wasn¡¯t going to let it go at that, however. After he staggered back, he immediately charged forward again. This time, he was much faster.

    He didn¡¯t punch this time, but used one hand to grab for Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. This time, the look in his eyes was sharper.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his left hand and grabbed onto Dai Luoli¡¯s hand. Dai Luoli¡¯s right hand stopped halfway, and he tried to change its direction. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand moved faster. Dai Luoli felt everything turn blurry in front of him before Huo Yuhao grabbed hold of his wrist.

    When Huo Yuhao grabbed his right hand, he immediately tightened his grip on Dai Luoli¡¯s wrist. With a pull, he threw Dai Luoli up.

    Sensing danger, Dai Luoli subconsciously activated his soul power. However, he only felt that Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers were like steel fixtures tightening around his wrist and causing the lower half of his body to go numb. He was actually unable to gather his soul power because of this.

    There was much more movement this time. Dai Luoli was directly mmed to the ground by Huo Yuhao.

    The parade ground was covered in soil. However, he was disoriented, and felt as if his internal organs were tumbling inside his body when he was tossed to the ground. His bones were also on the verge of being crushed. This was, in part, due to his weight and inertia.

    Huo Yuhao let go of his wrist and shook his head. After this, he turned around and walked back towards their bunk.

    Dai Luoli was embarrassed and furious as he shouted, ¡°You, don¡¯t go!¡± He gathered his soul power and crawled up from the ground.

    Huo Yuhao stopped before turning around to look at him. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We still need to train tomorrow. I believe the training intensity for newly-enlisted soldiers will not be ck.¡±

    ¡°No! I have to defeat you! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Dai Luoli suddenly shouted. After this, ayer of white light shone from his body. Suddenly, his body quickly grewrger, and his muscles became extremely thick. White strands of hair also started to emerge from his body, and his uniform almost burst from being too tight.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao was surprised after entering this military camp.This martial soul that Dai Luoli revealed was all too familiar to him.

    White Tiger. It was a White Tiger! No, something wasn¡¯t right. The aura of his White Tiger was rather weak. Furthermore, the hair on his body was pure-white, without any ck stripes. In addition, this White Tiger didn¡¯t possess the strange pupils of the White Tiger family.

    Dai Luoli, Dai Luojiao¡­

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao recalled why his name sounded so familiar.

    He, he¡¯s¡­

    The way Huo Yuhao looked at Dai Luoli immediately changed. It changed from indifference to earnesty.

    When he was still living in the Duke¡¯s Mansion, there were a few people who were warm to him, apart from his own mother. There was a woman who was a concubine of the White Tiger Duke. This woman was yet another woman whom the wife of the White Tiger Duke hated.

    This woman treated both Huo Yuhao and his mother very well. In the first few years after Huo Yuhao was born, she would give them food and clothing. She had even carried Huo Yuhao before.

    After the wife of the White Tiger Duke found out about this, they lost contact with each other.

    Huo Yuhao was still very young then, which was why he didn¡¯t have a very deep memory of what had happened. However, he vaguely recalled that this concubine also had a child named Dai Luoli. In terms of age, he should be one year younger than Yuhao himself.

    This guy in front of him didn¡¯t have a pure White Tiger, and his name was also Dai Luoli. Was he really his younger half-brother from the same father, but a different mother?

    In terms of age, Dai Luoli was one year younger than him, if he was really the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son!

    As he remembered all this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned wet. While he disliked Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, he only had affection for Dai Luoli. Dai Luoli¡¯s mother had once helped his own mother a lot, otherwise, he would have died. After that, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s wife interfered, and they stopped seeing each other anymore. However, he would never forget the kindness she had shown to him and his mother.

    Three soul rings rose from beneath Dai Luoli¡¯s feet. Two of them were yellow, while thest one was purple, the bestbination that he could achieve. However, his talent seemed worse than his other two brothers, Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. Huo Yuhao was going to be neen years old soon, which meant that Dai Luoli was close to eighteen years old. He only had three soul rings at the age of eighteen. For an ordinary soul master, he was considered quite strong. However, he was considered weak among the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lineage. At least, he wasn¡¯t able to excel in the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to say anything else, do I? Although you are very strong, and I¡¯m curious how you managed to achieve such strength, an ordinary person will always only be an ordinary person. You can¡¯tpare to soul masters like me. Concede defeat and relinquish your position as team leader. I¡¯ll help you in the future, and I won¡¯t snatch your authority away, either. Let¡¯s return and tell therge team leader that we are switching positions. I won¡¯t tell the others about this arrangement, either. What do you think?¡± Dai Luoli said with a sense of superiority.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face, and thought to himself,This younger brother of mine isn¡¯t suited to be a soldier. He¡¯s not vicious enough. I can tell that from our sparring earlier and from the childish words he just said.

    Of course he could relinquish his position as team leader. However, he had to educate Dai Luoli, since he had discovered that Dai Luoli was his younger brother. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know why his White Tiger wasn¡¯t pure, he could still help Dai Luoli develop, given his current abilities.

    ¡°Come on.¡± Huo Yuhao gestured towards him.

    Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t believe it, ¡°I¡¯m a soul master. You still dare to fight me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°Soul masters aren¡¯t invincible. If you defeat me, I¡¯ll let you be the team leader.¡±

    Dai Luoli snorted, ¡°Alright then. Watch out!¡± As he spoke, he suddenly charged towards Huo Yuhao. After unleashing his martial soul, his speed and strength had greatly increased. He was a three-ringed Soul Elder, and wasn¡¯t even considered in the intermediate-tier of soul masters. However, he was still pretty decent. His White Tiger was mutated, but it was ultimately still the king of beasts!

    He unleashed a powerful aura, and his soul power surged. Without using any soul skills, Dai Luoli reached Huo Yuhao in the next instant, and grabbed onto his shoulders with his tiger ws!

 Chapter 418.2 - Younger Brother?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 418.2: Younger Brother?</h4>

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. Suddenly, he quickly pulled his right leg up and kicked Dai Luoli¡¯s chest. He was so quick that he even seemed to form shadows along the way.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s tiger ws were about to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders when he was kicked seven to eight meters away, and copsed to the ground before he could touch Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Are you trying to defeat me with the kind of skills you are showing? Soul masters aren¡¯t everything. It still depends on the person. I¡¯m now your opponent, and I think you are being too soft. Are you a girl?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Dai Luoli crawled up from the ground and red furiously, ¡°How dare you say I¡¯m a girl?¡±

    He charged forward once again, and his first soul ring shone. He used his White Tiger¡¯s Shield, which was the mostmon first soul skill of a White Tiger. Ayer of white light shone from his body and protected him.

    This time, Huo Yuhao discovered the difference between Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger and a conventional White Tiger.

    A conventional White Tiger was filled with might and dominance after unleashing its soul skill. However, Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger was filled with spirituality after he unleashed his White Tiger¡¯s Shield. His spiritual aura suddenly became very strong and blended with his soul power. It actually felt as if his spiritual and soul power had fused together. This was only a situation that urred when one used an advanced self-created fighting skill!

    Dai Luoli burst towards Huo Yuhao again. Either he was stubborn or confident; he did the same thing he had before, reaching out towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders.

    Huo Yuhao stomped on the ground with his right foot. A low-pitched muffled sound echoed out, and Dai Luoli felt a tremoring from underneath his feet. He was thrown a few meters into the air. As he rose into the air, his ws naturally didn¡¯t reach their target.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward and pressed his right hand against Dai Luoli¡¯s chest. Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger Shield started to shine with white light in a bid to push Huo Yuhao away. However, it was a pity that he couldn¡¯t do so in the face of absolute strength, not to mention that his soul power was nowhere near great enough.

    In the next instant, Dai Luoli flew back again. He didn¡¯t copse on the ground this time, with his White Tiger¡¯s Shield protecting him. Instead, he staggered more than ten steps backward.

    This time, Dai Luoli¡¯s expression finally turned serious.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s fighting abilities were merely outstanding and he had underestimated his opponent earlier, then it wasn¡¯t just a coincidence this time. His opponent wasn¡¯t a soul master but had managed to force him back twice in a row. Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrifying strength couldn¡¯t be underestimated anymore!

    ¡°Watch out! I¡¯m going to get serious now!¡± Dai Luoli shouted. His aura suddenly changed, and his white hair started to look shinier. The spiritual undtions that Huo Yuhao had sensed earlier also became much stronger.

    Dai Luoli leapt forward again as his figure shed. However, he suddenly changed directions in the air this time andnded in a spot diagonally three meters to Huo Yuhao¡¯s left. He instantly sprang forward again, and his speed soared. He turned into a projection and immediately reached behind Huo Yuhao. He deftly grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder with one w while he reached for Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist with his other w.

    Whether it was in terms of speed, strength or technique, he used them very well this time.

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly.At least this guy has some skill¡­

    He didn¡¯t turn around. He waved his hands back at the same time to block Dai Luoli¡¯s ws and grabbed them.

    Dai Luoli was stunned, and thought to himself,Are you really an ordinary person without a martial soul who can fight me in terms of strength even after I¡¯ve unleashed my martial soul?

    He didn¡¯t pull his ws away. Instead, he exerted his strength and attempted to drag Huo Yuhao down.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move a single inch. Dai Luoli saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands turnpletely white before a huge force drove into him. Suddenly, he was flung from behind Huo Yuhao, back to his front, and flew in the air for a few seconds.

    Dai Luoli didn¡¯t fall like thest two times. As he roared out, his third soul ring shone, and his body grewrger. It was his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation.

    His figure erged once again, and the uniform he was in burst open. The hair on his body was now covered with ayer of gold. He extended his ws and reached towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    Hard!

    This was the only feeling that Dai Luoli had. He had already used his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, but his opponent¡¯s palms seemed to be even harder than his ws. This was beyond hisprehension.

    How is this possible? Are these human hands?

    As Dai Luoli was trying to get over his shock, Huo Yuhao pulled his right hand back before pushing it forward hard. Dai Luoli was thrown back once again.

    His strength is greater than my White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation. Is he still human?

    After Dai Luolinded on the ground, he didn¡¯t rush to attack Huo Yuhao. He only stared at him intently and tried to size him up.

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°Now you know that a martial soul isn¡¯t everything.¡±

    Dai Luoli snorted and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t given my all yet. Furthermore, only your technique is good. You can¡¯t break through my defense.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Do you really think so? Do you really think that I can¡¯t ovee your defense? Watch carefully then.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao made the first move for the first time in this fight. He charged towards Dai Luoli with long strides. He still didn¡¯t use any soul power, but he was already pretty quick.

    Dai Luoli stared at him sternly, and the golden light from his body became stronger and stronger.

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao was about to reach him, Dai Luoli wanted to exert his strength. However, Huo Yuhao suddenly disappeared in front of him.

    Dai Luoli felt arge hand strangling his neck. Before he could even struggle, a strong tingling and numbing feeling spread throughout his body. His soul power couldn¡¯t circte anymore, and the hair on his body quickly faded away. He returned to his original appearance within a breath. Of course, there were still some broken pieces of cloth on his body right now, which helped to cover vital parts of his body.

    Huo Yuhao swung his hand and threw Dai Luoli off to one side. He shook his head gently as he looked at him before he walked back towards their bunk.

    ¡°Wait here for me. I¡¯ll go get some clothes for you.¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned as he watched Huo Yuhao slowly leave. He seemed to lose focus in his eyes, and an indescribable sense of frustration caused him to turn pale.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment was right. He was indeed the youngest son of the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao. This meant that he was Huo Yuhao¡¯s younger half-brother. When he was young, his martial soul had mutated. Although his White Tiger was awakened, it was different from Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin¡¯s White Tiger. Dai Luoli¡¯s mother was greatly suppressed in the Duke¡¯s Mansion; even though her status was slightly higher than that of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mother, she wasn¡¯t in a much better condition.

    Dai Luoli had always wanted to be a powerful soul master. He wasn¡¯t any less hardworking than Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. However, it was much more difficult to cultivate with his mutated martial soul than expected. He wasn¡¯t able to enter Shrek Academy because he didn¡¯t reach Rank 20 by the time he was twelve years old. He was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son. Given Dai Hao¡¯s character, how would he let him get in through back channels?

    Under such circumstances, he could only work hard at his cultivation. However, he was already going to turn eighteen, and yet his soul power was only at Rank 32.

    He was already considered quite good among ordinary soul masters and was able to be a Soul Elder before he was twenty years old, which meant that not all hope was lost.

    It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t any ordinary soul master. He was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son! His cultivation wasn¡¯t much to be raved about. Dai Hao was also very busy with military matters and didn¡¯t have time to guide him.

    In order to seek a breakthrough and be as strong as his father, Dai Luoli silently left his home and joined the military. Of course, there was an even more important reason why he was here.

    Dai Luoli only felt as if all of his hopes had been extinguished as he sat there in a daze on the ground. He initially thought that he should still have an edge over others in the military, even if he couldn¡¯tpare to his brothers. Today, he managed to be a Private First ss, which gave testament to this belief of his.

    However, he was dealt a huge blow after his fight against Huo Yuhao. He couldn¡¯t even defeat an ordinary person, although he used a thousand-year soul skill. What other hope did he still have? Let alone bing a hero like his father, he wasn¡¯t even qualified to be a small team leader!

    Just as he was imagining things, Huo Yuhao returned with a military uniform.

    ¡°Change into this.¡± He passed the uniform to Dai Luoli.

    Dai Luoli just sat where he was without reacting.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and sat down beside him.

    ¡°Are you unconvinced, or is it too huge a blow for you after losing to me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Dai Luoli remained silent.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If you are unconvinced, I wee you to challenge me anytime. I¡¯ll let you be the small team leader if you can beat me, anytime you want. If this is a huge blow for you, I only have one question to ask you¡­ how old are you? What do men rely on in this world? Men don¡¯t rely on cowardice, but resilience.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t be resilient, how can you be qualified to be a soldier? If you can¡¯t beat me, aren¡¯t you going to work hard to catch up? You¡¯ll only be regarded as a piece of trash if you simply give up on yourself like this; you¡¯ll be eliminated by this world. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯d be better for you to return home, buy a plot ofnd, and start tilling. You can still live a stable life.¡±

    Dai Luoli twisted his head and red at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression looked very leisurely right now. He didn¡¯t have any feelings towards the rage that Dai Luoli currently felt towards him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll defeat you one day!¡± Dai Luoli clenched his fist.

    Huo Yuhao chortled. ¡°If you can defeat me one day, you¡¯ll definitely be a sessful person.¡±

    Dai Luoli was scornful, ¡°So what if I defeat you? I must be a Titled Douluo! You aren¡¯t even a soul master! How can you be my target?¡±

 Chapter 418.3 - Younger Brother?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 418.3: Younger Brother?</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too ambitious. Defeat me first.¡± As he spoke, he passed the uniform that he was holding over again.

    Dai Luoli took the uniform this time and quickly got dressed. After that, he leapt up.

    ¡°I was distracted today. I¡¯ll challenge you again tomorrow.¡± After he finished speaking, he started walking back towards their camp.

    Huo Yuhao said to his back, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you want to challenge me. However, you¡¯d better prepare some clothes for tomorrow. Everyone only has two uniforms.¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s went rigid for a moment, before he quickened his pace back.

    ¡ª

    When Huo Yuhao returned to their bunk, most of the soldiers were already sleeping because they were tired. However, there were those who were still awake, too. Wang Xiaodian was one of them.

    When Huo Yuhao returned, Wang Xiaodian silently crept up to him and whispered, ¡°Boss, what happened? Did the vice-team leader challenge you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Wang Xiaodian chuckled and said, ¡°I can tell that you won.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed as he asked, ¡°How so?¡±

    Wang Xiaodian replied, ¡°The vice-team leader wore a gloomy look on his face when he returned. After that, he covered himself with his nket and just sat on his bed. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Alright. You should go and sleep. Tomorrow¡¯s training isn¡¯t going to be easy. You still have time to be involved in gossip?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go and sleep immediately. Boss, I¡¯ll follow you in the future.¡± Wang Xiaodian quickly snuck back to his bed to sleep.

    Huo Yuhao alsoy down on his bed, but he didn¡¯t enter deep meditation immediately. Rather, he was thinking how he could help Dai Luoli improve his abilities.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The night went on silently. The next morning, the sound of a horn rang out to gather everyone as the first hint of dawn tinged the sky.

    Huo Yuhao was the first to jump out of bed, and he woke up all the new recruits from the First Bunk. All the recruits were whining as they got up, but quickly donned their uniforms before running out.

    Dai Luoli followed along. He had covered himself in his nket the night before, and was in deep meditation. In the morning, he seemed pretty energetic, apart from the fact that he looked a little pale. He didn¡¯t even nce at Huo Yuhao, and directly left their bunk.

    The initial training for recruits was simple and boring. It was either running or drills. In the afternoon, there was someone from the Military Law Department who came to talk to them about militaryw. The recruits were exhausted after an entire day of this. After dinner, even the energetic Wang Xiaodian immediately fell asleep.

    Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli were the exceptions.

    ¡ª

    After dinner, Huo Yuhao gestured towards Dai Luoli when the sky had turnedpletely dark, and before Dai Luoli could issue a challenge. He smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll give you another chance today.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Dai Luoli immediately sprang up. As a soul master, the recruit training wasn¡¯t too tiring for him.

    The two of them left the camp and went to the parade ground once again. To prevent detection, Huo Yuhao dragged Dai Luoli to a corner of the parade ground.

    ¡°Come on.¡± Huo Yuhao gestured towards Dai Luoli.

    Dai Luoli had pondered yesterday¡¯s bitter experience as he carried on with his training during the day. He thought about it for the entire day. He believed that he had lost to Huo Yuhao because he had been careless. He wasn¡¯t going to repeat the same mistake twice.

    This was why he was especially cautious today. In his opinion, he wouldn¡¯t lose to Huo Yuhao if he was more careful.

    However, was this really the case?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any intention of initiating an attack, and thus Dai Luoli had to be the proactive one. After observing carefully, he felt that Huo Yuhao had many ws. His second soul ring shone, and a streak of white light shot out from his mouth towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave.

    When his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave was shot out, it took the shape of a halo and spread out. In terms of offensive strength, his Fierce Light Wave was naturally weaker than Dai Yueheng or Dai Huabin¡¯s Fierce Light Wave. However, his Fierce Light Wave covered arger area, and it even carried a spiritual-type attack with it.

    It was a pity that no one at the same level couldpare to Huo Yuhao in terms of spiritual power, which meant that Dai Luoli was naturally inferior to Huo Yuhao in this aspect, too.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shed, and he instantly turned illusory in Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes. Dai Luoli was astonished. He had clearly locked onto his opponent before unleashing his soul skill, but he still missed. Huo Yuhao promptly reappeared in front of him.

    As Yuhao squatted down, Dai Luoli¡¯s tiger ws extended out, and he wed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Huo Yuhao stopped charging forward and lifted his right foot. Instantly, he kicked both of Dai Luoli¡¯s wrists. As Dai Luoli¡¯s hands went numb, Huo Yuhao kicked out again, and Dai Luoli was knocked into the air before he crashed to the ground five meters away.

    Dai Luoli was able to take beatings after unleashing his White Tiger, and he had been thinking about how he could deal with Huo Yuhao for an entire day. As for Huo Yuhao, he was thinking of the fastest way to make his younger brother stronger. After pondering for some time, he thought that the best method was to copy the bluish-gold figure that he had faced in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    Thrash him! He was going to give Dai Luoli a good thrashing!

    It was only after a good thrashing that Dai Luoli would remember this lesson for life. If he remembered this lesson for life, his abilities would naturally improve.

    As a result, Huo Yuhao¡¯s n was to conduct individual training with Dai Luoli every night during this recruit training period.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s tragedy started the moment Huo Yuhao recognized him. At the very start, he didn¡¯t believe that he couldn¡¯t defeat an ordinary person as a soul master. However, as time passed, Huo Yuhao was always able to defeat him using his strength and speed no matter what methods he used. Huo Yuhao knew his limits, though. He hit Dai Luoli without causing him any real injuries.

    A recruit¡¯s life was in and exhausting, or at least this was the case for most recruits. Most of the recruits were fatigued because of the high-intensity training they were being subjected to. However, Dai Luoli¡¯s life was very exciting, if being hit and battered all the time could be considered exciting.

    Huo Yuhao stood out during his recruit training. He was the best in almost every trainingponent. The recruits in the First Bunk were slowly won over by him because of his abilityand the asional help of his spiritual power. Huo Yuhao would also teach the new recruits some of the simpler techniques from the Tang Sect, and guide them in their training. His reputation in the First Bunk slowly rose. Under his leadership, the First Bunk, or rather the First Small Team, performed the best among all the small teams.

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Night fell, and it was time again. Huo Yuhao walked to Dai Luoli¡¯s side and patted his shoulder.

    Every night, the two of them would go out. Huo Yuhao hade up with an excuse, which was that they were reporting to therge team leader.

    Dai Luoli shuddered slightly and lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao. There was aplex look in his eyes.

    One month had already passed out of the three months of their recruit training. He had also been beaten up by Huo Yuhao for a month. It was pathetic! The onlyfort he had was that Huo Yuhao was still kind enough to not hit his face, meaning he was still presentable in front of others. However, it wasn¡¯t a good feeling being thrashed for a month.

    Every time Dai Luoli saw the genial smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but shudder. It was like a recurring nightmare at this time every night.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Dai Luoli smacked Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand away.

    Huo Yuhao sat down beside his bed and smiled, ¡°Why? Are you throwing a tantrum?¡±

    Dai Luoli red at him, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Huo Yuhao sighed faintly. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m going to find therge team leader and tell him you¡¯re a soul master.¡± He spoke very softly so that only Dai Luoli could hear him clearly.

    ¡°You!¡± Dai Luoli red furiously at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°I have a sandbag to punch every night. It¡¯s be a pleasant habit for me. You¡¯ll defeat me if you¡¯re capable. Why is a big man like you acting as if you¡¯re a coward?¡±

    Yet again!Dai Luoli shut his eyes in pain. It wasn¡¯t his first time rejecting Huo Yuhao. However, Huo Yuhao would threaten him with his vulnerability every time. Even though he knew that he shouldn¡¯t be duped, his identity as a soul master was a double-edged sword. If he couldn¡¯t defeat an ¡®ordinary person¡¯ like Huo Yuhao, how would he have the face to tell anyone he was a soul master?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Dai Luoli suddenly stood up, infuriated as he walked out of their bunkhouse.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he followed him. He even took the initiative to grab Dai Luoli¡¯s shoulder and drag him towards the parade ground.

    After a few steps, Huo Yuhao lifted his head slightly and revealed a smile on his face. Indeed, they knew each other. Using his spiritual power, he watched where they were walking.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao brought Dai Luoli to the same old ce ¨C a remote corner of the parade ground.

    Dai Luoli struggled and pushed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand away. Before even saying anything, he kicked towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. He hated Huo Yuhao. Not only did Huo Yuhao beat him up every day, but he would even use words to agitate him!

    Huo Yuhao waved his right hand and blocked Dai Luoli¡¯s leg. His right leg kicked out extremely quickly and subtly, managing to hit the ankle of Dai Luoli¡¯s supporting leg.

    Dai Luoli lost his bnce and fell backward. However, he unleashed his White Tiger as he fell back, supporting himself with his right hand before propping himself back up. After this, he shot out his White Tiger¡¯s Fierce Light Wave at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao could already guess what he was trying to do. Just as Dai Luoli unleashed his Fierce Light Wave, Huo Yuhao disappeared and somehow arrived at Dai Luoli¡¯s side. He cut down with his right leg, aiming at Dai Luoli¡¯s chest.

    Dai Luoli roared, and his third soul ring was unleashed before he even finished using his Fierce Light Wave. His body expanded greatly, and his ws crossed each other as they shed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s right leg. His ws were extremely sharp, and it was in that he wanted to tear Huo Yuhao¡¯s right leg to pieces.

    ¡°Ah¡­..¡± a soft exmation sounded from afar.

 Chapter 419.1 - Beating Up the Blood Tiger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 419.1: Beating Up the Blood Tiger</h4>

    Dai Luoli was shocked. He swept his tiger ws in front of him, but didn¡¯t manage to hit anything. Following this, he felt a pain in his belly, and crashed to the ground.

    After this, a strong force transmitted from below his waist, and he was lifted up. He was being lifted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s left leg, and Huo Yuhao gave him a kick to his belly with his right leg, sending Dai Luoli flying away.

    Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t concerned about the pain he had suffered. Instead, he shouted, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    The person who had eximed didn¡¯t run away, but emerged from the darkness. She was in disbelief as she looked at Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli, who was crawling up from the ground. It was the beautiful battalionmander, Xu Yun.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s expression immediately changed greatly when he saw Xu Yun. He blushed, and became extremely embarrassed. He couldn¡¯t wait to find a hole to hide in. Huo Yuhao walked towards Xu Yun in a well-behaved manner and greeted her, ¡°Battalionmander.¡±

    Xu Yun quickly came in front of the two of them. She took a look at Dai Luoli before turning to Huo Yuhao. She was shocked as she asked, ¡°You, you are unable to beat an ordinary soldier? Dai Luoli, you are regressing.¡±

    Dai Luoli turned his head to one side. It was the truth that he couldn¡¯t beat Huo Yuhao. However, the utter embarrassment he was subjected to after the goddess in his heart learned about this truth caused him to feel extremely tormented in his heart.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Battalionmander, you can¡¯t put it this way either. We were only sparring. Furthermore, martial souls aren¡¯t everything. That doesn¡¯t mean that a person without a martial soul can¡¯t be strong!¡±

    Xu Yun twisted her lips, ¡°This means that you think you are one of those who are strong even without a martial soul? Bullshit. Without a martial soul, how can you be strong? Dai Luoli is just weak.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gently shook his head and said, ¡°He isn¡¯t strong, but he isn¡¯t the first person with a martial soul to lose to me. He won¡¯t be thest either. I don¡¯t think you can beat me either.¡±

    Xu Yun hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to talk to her in such a manner even though he was only a mere small team leader, and after he knew her identity. Her expression changed immediately. She was about to burst out in anger, but suddenly thought of something, and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯d like to try then. I¡¯d like to see how you can defeat me without a martial soul. Dai Luoli, watch carefully. Don¡¯t throw the face of soul masters in the future.¡±

    Before Xu Yun finished speaking, Huo Yuhao lifted his right leg and kicked her belly. Xu Yun¡¯s forte wasn¡¯t her strength. While her cultivation was greater than Dai Luoli¡¯s, she wasn¡¯t as strong as he was. She was immediately kicked more than ten meters back, and bent her waist in excruciating pain. She squirmed in ce and retched repeatedly.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Although Dai Luoli was embarrassed, he kept on stealing nces at Xu Yun. Seeing that Xu Yun had been kicked by Huo Yuhao, he was immediately frantic. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else, and quickly rushed to her side to help her up.

    Huo Yuhao looked innocent as he said, ¡°The battalionmander asked me to try! Should I not have attacked?¡±

    Huo Yuhao had kicked Xu Yun quite hard. She wasn¡¯t wearing any armor right now, and only felt cramping paining from her belly. Her face was pale as she struggled to stand up.

    She had always been pampered since she was young. Since when had she been beaten to such a state? She waspletely furious because of her pride and the pain she had suffered.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Xu Yun pushed Dai Luoli away, and her body started to shine brightly. Following this, her forehead also lit up, and a dazzling crown surfaced on her head. Beneath her feet, two yellow and two purple soul rings quickly rose.

    Her cultivation was indeed greater than Dai Luoli¡¯s. She was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. Considering the fact that she looked younger than Dai Luoli, it was already pretty impressive that she possessed such a cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned when he saw her cultivation. He had seen such a martial soul before, and it indeed had some form of significance.

    It was a Starcrown, the strongest martial soul in the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire. Only those who had the direct bloodline of the imperial family could possess such a martial soul.Her surname is Xu, which means that she¡¯s a member of the imperial family? No wonder Dai Luoli is so obsessed with her. She¡¯s actually a princess. Perhaps this Xu Yun is Xu Jiujiu¡¯s younger sister?

    However, her identity as a princess was unable to affect Huo Yuhao¡¯s current n.

    Xu Yun unleashed her martial soul, and the pain she suffered in her belly lessened significantly as she adjusted her soul power. However, her face was still pale, and she pointed her finger at Huo Yuhao. Her second soul ring instantly shone, and her Starcrown slowly rose. Streaks of starlight shot towards Huo Yuhao.

    This was her second soul skill, Starlight Shine.

    Xu Yun didn¡¯t believe that an ordinary person could resist a soul master.This fellow actually dared to kick me when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. He can¡¯t be spared!

    However, she revealed the same look of astonishment as Dai Luoli when he first fought Huo Yuhao!

    She was shocked to discover that her Starlight Shine failed to take effect on Huo Yuhao, even though it was supposed to be able to lock onto her opponent. It failed to lock onto Huo Yuhao and Huo Yuhao avoided her streaks of starlight as he quickly shifted his body. At the same time, he was also rapidly inching closer to her.

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned when he saw Xu Yun¡¯s soul skill.This Starcrown is indeed the strongest martial soul of the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire. The cultivation path that Xu Yun has chosen is different from Xu Jiujiu. Xu Jiujiu is a control-type soul master, while Xu Yun seems to focus on long-range attacks. In terms of talent, she¡¯s slightly weaker than Xu Jiujiu. However, it¡¯ll be difficult to tell who¡¯s better once she cultivates to her higher standard.

    While he thought of this, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any intention of going easy on her. As he charged forward, his spiritual power also engulfed Xu Yun.

    It was very rxing for him to deal with Dai Luoli even without unleashing his martial soul and using his soul skills. However, Xu Yun was adept at long-range attacks, and her Starcrown was stronger then his mutated White Tiger. In addition, she also had four rings. It was thus much more difficult to deal with her.

    Seeing that her Starlight Shine was ineffective, Xu Yun pointed her right hand towards the sky. Her Starcrown immediately gathered a ball of light with a diameter of over almost half a meter. It was as if a star had descended upon the mortal world.

    ¡°Yun¡¯er, you can¡¯t harm him!¡± Dai Luoli weakly reminded her. However, Xu Yun was infuriated, and diddn¡¯t heed his advice. She pointed her right hand at Huo Yuhao, and her third soul skill, Starburst, flew towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was a pure offensive soul skill, and it was extremely powerful. Once it blew apart, the explosive force generated could evenpare to a ten thousand year soul skill. Its destructive strength was also rather great.

    Even against her Starburst, Huo Yuhao was still fearless. He had his Spiritual Detection to support him. No matter what soul skill Xu Yun used, she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape his detection.

    Seeing the ball of starlight flying towards him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed mysteriously, and Xu Yun suddenly felt giddy. At this instant, Huo Yuhao pointed his right hand at the ball of starlight, and it immediately flew forward even faster. Following this, he made a shing gesture. An invisible force severed the connection between Xu Yun and the ball of starlight just like that.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t let the ball of starlight touch him either. He deftly moved it through the air with his hands, guiding it to go around his body.

    Xu Yun was shocked when she saw this scene. She had no idea how a person without a martial soul, or rather one who didn¡¯t unleash his martial soul, was able to resist her Starburst in such a manner. How was this possible?

    In the next moment, her ball of starlight suddenly erged. Instantly, he returned her Starburst. He was returning to her what she had tried to inflict on him. It was tit for tat!

    Xu Yun didn¡¯t have much fighting experience. Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess was right. She was the youngest princess of the Star Luo Empire, and was doted on by her brothers and sisters since she was young. She didn¡¯t have any significant fighting experience! She came to be a soldier at her own request, as she wanted to contribute to her empire. Xu Jiujiu had no choice but to deploy her younger sister to the reserves. In her opinion, as long as Xu Yun didn¡¯t have to go onto a battlefield, she would return after she got tired of military life.

    However, who knew that Xu Yun would love being in the military, and had spent several months in the military already. She had no intention of returning. The reserves were extremely safe, and thus Xu Jiujiu wasn¡¯t worried about her younger sister¡¯s safety, and left her to her own devices.

    Right now, Xu Yun was stunned in ce after witnessing the miracle Huo Yuhao performed. The Starburst she had unleashed earlier was now in front of her.

    ¡°Yun¡¯er, be careful!¡± Dai Luoli was rmed when he saw this, and quickly unleashed his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation. After this, he leaped and blocked for Xu Yun.

    Huo Yuhao silently shook his head.Silly kid. He should have pinned her to the ground. Since he was going to sacrifice himself to save her, he should have taken the opportunity to get closer to her.

    After spending some time with Dai Luoli, he still quite liked him. Although he was a little stubborn, he was a kind person.

    Just as Xu Yun¡¯s Starburst was about to hit him, it was suddenly lifted into the air and exploded, releasing a golden halo.

    Xu Yun reacted only at this point. When she saw Dai Luoli using his arms to block her, she seemed slightly moved.This fool¡­

    At this point, she suddenly saw Huo Yuhao turning around before fleeing. In the blink of an eye, he had already run several dozen meters away. His voice also sounded from afar, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to run considering the hugemotion that we¡¯ve just caused? Aren¡¯t you afraid of being dealt with by those from the Military Law Department?¡±

    Dai Luoli also reacted. He turned around and looked at Xu Yun with aplex look before chasing after Huo Yuhao.

    Xu Yun was the only one standing in ce as she remained in a daze. What had happened tonight was a huge blow to her. If not for Dai Luoli earlier, would her own Starburst have struck her? She was most familiar with the power of her attacks. The strength of her Starburst was great enough to leave her critically hurt.Who was that person just now? Why was he able to detonate my Starburst?

    After returning to his bunk, Huo Yuhao silently crept up to his bed and under his nket.His face wasn¡¯t red, and he wasn¡¯t out of breath.

 Chapter 419.2 - Beating Up the Blood Tiger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 419.2: Beating Up the Blood Tiger</h4>

    Dai Luoli returned a bitter. However, he didn¡¯t return to his berth, but came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed instead.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Looking at Huo Yuhao, Dai Luoli struggled to say these two words.

    Huo Yuhao nced at him, ¡°What are you thanking me for? For beating you up?¡±

    Dai Luoli was embarrassed as he whispered, ¡°You know I¡¯m not talking about that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Quickly, return and meditate so that you can defeat me faster and rid yourself of me.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Surprisingly, Dai Luoli didn¡¯t retort. Perhaps he had forgotten about it, but he just returned to his berth, where he sat cross-legged on his bed.

    Huo Yuhao slid into his nket and made himselffortable before he entered deep meditation.

    He wasn¡¯t afraid of Xu Yun reporting him. By reporting him, she would expose Dai Luoli, too. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t exposed his cultivation as a soul master. Even if she was a battalionmander, she had to be reasonable, too.

    Dai Luoli sat in a daze on his bed, unable to focus for half the night. As he recalled what had happened, he suddenly realized that what had happened earlier was the best oue.

    He was thrashed by Tang Dong, and lost face in front of Xu Yun. However, Xu Yun also lost to Tang Dong with her four-ringed cultivation. This meant that he wasn¡¯t that weak. This was the first time he felt that Tang Dong wasn¡¯t so irksome,especially after Tang Dong controlled Xu Yun¡¯s Starburst from striking him. Otherwise, he and Xu Yun would have been hurt even though he unleashed his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation, and even though Xu Yun had a four-ringed cultivation.

    Yun¡¯er, am I getting further and further away from you?

    ¡ª¡ª-

    The night went on silently, and training began as usual the next day. Indeed, Xu Yun didn¡¯t report Huo Yuhao. Everything carried on as normal. All the new recruits were extremely tired as they trained for the entire day. The intensity of this three-month training kept on increasing.

    Seeing that the sky had already turned dark, Dai Luoli proactively came over to tell Huo Yuhao, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s with you today? Why are you anxious?¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s face turned red, and he softly asked, ¡°Are youing or not?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing when someone wants to be beaten up. Let¡¯s go.¡± As he spoke, he stood up and walked out with Dai Luoli.

    After leaving their bunk, Dai Luoli looked around, but didn¡¯t discover anything. He was immediately disappointed.

    Huo Yuhao wore a crafty look on his face as he softly asked, ¡°Did you know the battalionmander before yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Dai Luoliughed bitterly. ¡°Our families are close. Only, she¡¯s a legitimate child, while I¡¯m a bastard child. There¡¯s a great difference in our statuses. I¡¯ve liked her for as long as I can remember. However, I¡¯ve no great talent. No matter how hard I try, my cultivation can¡¯t catch up to hers.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°You¡¯re rather honest.¡±

    Dai Luoli was embarrassed, and red back at him. He said, ¡°I knew you wouldugh at me. I know that it¡¯s impossible for us to get together. In terms of abilities and status¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you this useless?¡± Huo Yuhao said disdainfully.

    Dai Luoli suddenly clenched his fist. ¡°What can I do if Ie from an inferior background?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at him coldly, ¡°If you have such an attitude, you¡¯ll never have any hope in your entire life. Go back, useless trash. I can¡¯t be bothered to beat you up anymore.¡± After he finished speaking, he quickly turned around and walked back towards his bunk.

    ¡°You!¡± Dai Luoli quickly stepped forward and stopped Huo Yuhao. He shouted, ¡°I¡¯m not useless!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you considered useless if you give up on yourself?¡± Huo Yuhao said scornfully. ¡°A true hero¡¯s background doesn¡¯t matter. So what if you¡¯re a bastard son? Let me ask you a question. If you be a Titled Douluo, or even a Transcendent Douluo, who would care if you¡¯re a bastard? Everything¡¯s not going well for you because of one issue: you¡¯re not working hard enough!¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned. Yes! If he were a Titled Douluo, or even a Transcendent Douluo, who would still look down on him? Who would care that he was a bastard? However, could he really be a Titled Douluo?

    ¡°Have you thought it through?¡± Huo Yuhao asked calmly.

    Dai Luoli suddenly looked very determined, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to defeat you first!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Good. As long as you can defeat me, I¡¯ll take back what I said about you being useless trash. Otherwise, you¡¯re still a piece of useless trash! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the military drill grounds. It wasn¡¯t an easy thing to teach his own younger brother! However, Huo Yuhao felt quite delighted for some unknown reason. Ever since he had joined the army after Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er met with mishaps, he had felt much better.

    ¡ª

    Very soon, the two of them reached the military drill grounds. Dai Luoli was surprised, because Xu Yun was actually waiting there. There was a dominating look in her eyes, and she looked very cold.

    ¡°Yun¡¯er.¡± Dai Luoli called out in joy when he saw her, and quickly ran over to her.

    Xu Yun red at him and said, ¡°How many times must I tell you not to call me Yun¡¯er? Only my elder siblings can call me that!¡±

    Dai Luoli paused for a moment before helplessly saying, ¡°Alright, Xu Yun.¡±

    Xu Yun recalled how he had blocked her attack without any hesitation yesterday, and the look in her eyes turned gentler. She said, ¡°Do the two of youe here to train every day? What¡¯s with him? He¡¯s not a soul master. How is he so strong?¡±

    Dai Luoliughed bitterly. ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t be beaten up by him every day.¡±

    Xu Yun snapped, ¡°Useless. Let me go again. I was too careless yesterday. I¡¯ll take care of him today.¡± As she spoke, she walked in front of Dai Luoli towards Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Luoli touched his nose and remembered how he had used this same excuse after he lost to Huo Yuhao the first time. However, he had already lost for a month straight now.

    As she spoke, Xu Yun walked towards Huo Yuhao. While she sounded like she didn¡¯t care about this, it was evident from the look in her eyes that she regarded this fight very highly. After losing to Huo Yuhao yesterday and almost suffering serious injuries, she felt that she had been greatly humiliated. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t havee to find him today.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a cold look on his face. He crossed his arms and mocked, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t need a human shield to protect yourself today.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Xu Yun was furious. She wanted to say something, but Huo Yuhao suddenly moved. He suddenly stepped on the ground with his left foot before he charged towards Xu Yun like an arrow. He was extremely quick.

    Xu Yun was a little stunned. She had suffered yesterday because she was taken by surprise, and her belly was still aching slightly. When she saw Huo Yuhao suddenly moving, she immediately retreated quickly. At the same time, she unleashed her Starcrown.

    Streaks of starlight shot out from her Starcrown towards Huo Yuhao. However, she felt dejected, because Huo Yuhao seemed to be naturally immune to her starlight. No matter how concentrated her attacks were, he was still able to avoid them. It was as if he could predict where her starlight would hit before she even shot it out. The gap between them was quickly shrinking.

    What did soul masters who were adept at long-range attacks fear? Their opponent getting closer to them!

    Furthermore, Xu Yun had challenged Huo Yuhao today after pondering over it for an entire day. She was very clear about Dai Luoli¡¯s abilities. It was definitely not a coincidence that Dai Luoli lost so heavily to Huo Yuhao. Although she discovered it by ident, it was obvious that Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t beaten up by Huo Yuhao just once or twice. While Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger wasn¡¯t pure, his abilities weren¡¯t weak. He was a closebat assault-type soul master! Although she had four rings and Dai Luoli had three, she knew that she couldn¡¯tpare to Dai Luoli¡¯s physical strength if both of them unleashed their martial souls.

    As a result, she would definitely be unable to handle Huo Yuhao at close range if even Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t do so. She had made up her mind to not let Huo Yuhao get close to her no matter what. Otherwise, she would definitely lose!

    Under such circumstances, she immediately made a decision. Her third soul ring shone brightly, and she unleashed her Starburst once again.

    After Huo Yuhao used his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to control her Starburst yesterday, she didn¡¯t fling it directly towards him today. Rather, she flung it towards the ground not far in front of him. At the same time, her body shone brightly with golden light. Her three soul rings shed slightly, and it was difficult to tell which soul skill she was using.

    Her Starburst immediately exploded violently on the ground. The tremendous boom and the following shockwave immediately engulfed the path that Huo Yuhao had to cross to reach her.

    Xu Yun only wanted to do one simple thing: widen the gap between her and Huo Yuhao before slowly dealing with him!

    Given Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, he could guess what Xu Yun wanted to do the moment she threw her Starburst out. He stopped and leapt to one side when her Starburst exploded. He rolled on the ground and dodged the core of the explosion. After he rolled, he leapt towards Xu Yun once again, minimizing the influence of the explosion.

    Seeing that her Starburst had exploded, Xu Yun was about to heave a sigh of relief. However, she suddenly saw Huo Yuhao charging towards her from the side. She was shocked once again.This guy¡¯s reactions are too quick!

    Her fourth soul ring instantly shone. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with concealing her abilities anymore. She drew streaks of starlight in front of her with her hands and they formed a strange image. This image was obviously a Starcrown. This Starcrown started to move towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was her fourth soul skill, Soulcrush Starcrown. This was a single-target offensive and control-type skill. It was also the strongest soul skill that Xu Yun could unleash right now.

    Once engulfed by this Soulcrush Starcrown, one would suffer from agonizing cuts unleashed by the streaks of starlight that made up this Starcrown. Even if one could resist these cuts, the streaks of starlight would still turn into a barrier and trap them. This soul skill was extremely powerful!

 Chapter 419.3 - Beating Up the Blood Tiger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 419.3: Beating Up the Blood Tiger</h4>

    Xu Yun was still unable to tap into celestial power to strengthen herself, but her control of her Starcrown was already pretty good. Furthermore, she was extremely focused this time. She knew that she had to lock Huo Yuhao down in order to defeat him.

    While her idea was good, it was a pity that reality was cruel.

    Her Starcrown was about to reach Huo Yuhao, but his figure suddenly turned illusory. His pace doubled, and he managed to escape Xu Yun¡¯s lock on as he moved his body in some unknown way. At the same time, he leapt forward once again, and gestured towards Xu Yun, palm turned toward himself. Xu Yun suddenly felt a suction force pulling her towards her opponent.

    In such a critical moment, Xu Yun¡¯s reaction was rathermendable. She grit her teeth and another of her Starbursts ignited.Aren¡¯t you trying to pull me over? Alright, I shall deliver a Starburst to you, then.She was already prepared to perish alongside Huo Yuhao. In fact, her Starcrown could assimte some of the abilities that she unleashed. This meant that Huo Yuhao was bound to face a greater explosive force if her Starburst blew apart, and they were standing the same distance away from it.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a slight smile on his face. His right palm suddenly shook a few times before Xu Yun¡¯s Starburst started to shake, too. Once again, it broke free from Xu Yun¡¯s control, and Huo Yuhao flung it into the air. Huo Yuhao kicked at her as she eximed in shock. He hit the same spot he had yesterday.

    He didn¡¯t even bother with being gentlemanly. With one kick, Xu Yun flew away.

    It was so quick that Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t make it in time to save her even if he wanted to. He watched helplessly as Xu Yun flew through the air.

    As he leapt up, Dai Luoli immediately charged to Xu Yun¡¯s side, ¡°Yun¡¯er, no. Yun¡¯er, are you okay?¡±

    She felt an excruciating pain in her belly, and her internal organs seemed to have been ripped from their positions. Xu Yun grit her teeth, and the hatred in her eyes seemed as if it could turn into sharp des and cut Huo Yuhao to pieces. However, she couldn¡¯t speak because she was in too much pain.

    Dai Luoli red at Huo Yuhao and shouted furiously,¡°How can you be so hard on her? She¡¯s a girl! Don¡¯t you know how to be gentlemanly?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°On a battlefield, do you think your enemies will let you off just because you¡¯re a girl? Furthermore, she¡¯s hurt not because of me, but you.¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned. ¡°Me? You were the one who hurt her. Why am I to be med?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scornfully said, ¡°You like her, right? Since you like her, you should treat her like your woman. When she was hurt, what were you doing? You can¡¯t even protect your own woman. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a useless piece of trash?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Normally, Dai Luoli was already used to how Huo Yuhao tried to agitate him. However, it was different today. He agitated him in front of Xu Yan! Moreover, Huo Yuhao had already hurt Xu Yun. Suddenly, Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes turned red, and he roared furiously. He unleashed his White Tiger and charged towards Huo Yuhao without regard for anything else.

    Three secondster¡­

    Bang!Dai Luoli crashed forcefully to the ground a short distance away from Xu Yun.

    ¡°A piece of trash is a piece of trash. If I want to kill your woman or do anything to her now, what can you do? You can only watch helplessly.¡± He became even more scornful. He even ced his hands behind his back and revealed a disdainful look on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight it out with you!¡± Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes had turnedpletely red by this point. He leaped forward again and charged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Another three seconds passed¡­

    Bang!Dai Luoli crashed forcefully to the ground not far in front of Xu Yun again.

    This time, Dai Luoli quickly climbed up without Huo Yuhao needing to agitate him. After this, he charged towards Huo Yuhao once again like a crazed tiger.

    A smile appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. At the same time, he also noticed that there was something different about the look in Xu Yun¡¯s eyes right now.

    Of course, all this didn¡¯t stop him from beating Dai Luoli up again and again. Three seconds passed, then passed again. Dai Luoli had been thrown to the ground more than ten times. This time, Huo Yuhao was more violent against him. Not only was Dai Luoli¡¯s shirt torn, but there were even injuries on his body.

    However, Huo Yuhao had clearly agitated Dai Luoli a lot this time. Every time Dai Luoli was thrown to the ground, he would crawl up crazily and proceed to attack Huo Yuhao with all his strength.

    When Dai Luoli was thrown onto the ground in front of Xu Yun another time, and his mouth was already oozing blood, Xu Yun couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Stop fighting! You¡¯re not as good as him. Stop fighting!¡±

    ¡°No, I have to protect you. I must protect you.¡± Dai Luoli suddenly turned his head back. When Xu Yun looked into his eyes, she saw a hysterical and crazed look. Within this craziness, she could see a slight mania in it. Dai Luoli was persistent.

    After he finished speaking, Dai Luoli charged towards Huo Yuhao once again.

    Huo Yuhao nodded silently in his heart. This was because he could clearly tell that the part of Dai Luoli¡¯s martial soul that possessed spiritual power was slowly being awakened. His spiritual power was increasing at a shocking speed as he was in this crazy state.

    Yes, this was the true essence of his mutated White Tiger!

    Right now, Dai Luoli¡¯s attacks were obviously much more ferocious than before. Furthermore, he would form some white shadows around him as he charged towards Huo Yuhao. On a closer look, one would see that these shadows were shaped like White Tigers.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s speed and strength were both increasing as he released spiritual undtions. The white lights around his body also became much stronger than before.

    Feelings stimted one¡¯s heart and spiritual power. Huo Yuhao wanted Dai Luoli to enter a realm that was simr to the one he entered when he yearned for Wang Dong¡¯er and created his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills.

    Why did he kick Xu Yun in the same ce on both asions? Did he really not know what it was to be a gentleman? Would he really attack a woman so freely? Of course not. What he was trying to do was make Dai Luoli think that he couldn¡¯t protect the woman he loved. This was why he suddenly used actions and words to agitate Dai Luoli.

    They were indeed very effective. Dai Luoli had gone berserk now. His soul and spiritual power greatly increased in such a state.

    Finally, even Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t keep count of the number of times he was thrown to the ground by Huo Yuhao. As he copsed once again, he tried his best to crawl back up. However, the pain that he suffered stopped him from doing so, even though his soul power kept on recovering.

    Right now, there were injuries all over his body, and his uniform was already torn and tattered. However, he still seemed very persistent. Even though his body was greatly hurt, the look in his eyes was still burning strongly.

    ¡°Stop fighting, stop fighting.¡± Tears flowed down Xu Yun¡¯s cheeks. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to stop Dai Luoli or help him. It was just that an unknown force was restraining her as Dai Luoli kept on charging crazily towards Huo Yuhao. She could see and hear everything, but she couldn¡¯t move. She tried her best to struggle, but she couldn¡¯t even gather a shred of her soul power. She could only watch helplessly as Dai Luoli charged towards Huo Yuhao time and time again, and failed time and time again.

    Devil. Huo Yuhao was like a devil in her eyes, whereas Dai Luoli¡¯s persistence and determination caused her to be moved once again.

    Are you doing this because of me?

    ¡°Luoli, give up. Stop fighting him. You are inferior to him. Don¡¯t¡­¡±

    After hearing Xu Yun¡¯s voice, Dai Luoli seemed to have taken a stimnt, and supported his body with his trembling arms. Right now, he looked very scary. His body was already bloodstained, and his eyes were particrly bright. There seemed to be an extra blood-red pupil beside his ck pupils too.

    He peered into the sky and roared. His back shone brightly with white light, and this white light seemed to be stained by the blood-red on his body, and slowly turned red, creating a projection of a Blood Tiger.

    Dai Luoli slowly lifted his hands up beside his body. The sharp des of light above his ws also slowly turned blood-red. He twisted his head and looked at Xu Yun with his weird-looking eyes. He said, word by word, ¡°I can definitely protect you. I will protect you.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he charged towards Huo Yuhao once again. His speed was even faster than what it was at his peak state. He turned into a blood-red whirlwind and swept towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. Right now, Dai Luoli¡¯s fighting strength was already beyond what a four-ringed Soul Ancestor was able to achieve. His potential was finally being realized.

    A spiritual-type soul master, or rather a soul master with a martial soul that had some spiritualponents, would indeed find it more difficult to improve his cultivation. However, the mutation of their martial soul would only truly bepleted after the spiritualponents in their martial soul had been triggered. Only then would they be stronger than ordinary soul masters!

    Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger was indeed mutated, but this mutation didn¡¯t have to be a negative one.

    Even an experienced teacher from Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t be certain of this point. However, Huo Yuhao was different. He probably possessed the strongest spiritual-type martial soul in the world right now. After one month of interaction with Dai Luoli, he was very clear about Dai Luoli¡¯s condition!

 Chapter 420 - Dai Luolis Awakening

    <h4 ss>Chapter 420: Dai Luoli¡¯s Awakening</h4>

    Dai Luoli¡¯s greatest problem was that the spiritual power of his martial soul wasn¡¯t active when he cultivated.

    Even though there were experts in the Duke¡¯s Mansion who discovered this problem, they didn¡¯t know what to do. After all, one¡¯s spiritual power was rted to his soul. Souls were very magical. If Dai Luoli walked the wrong path, he might suffer from side-effects, which would cause him harm. As a result, Dai Luoli continued to remain in his current state. No matter how hard he tried, he could only unleash half the strength of his martial soul. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t catch up to Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin.

    Huo Yuhao was using a very simple method to stimte his martial soul: tapping into his feelings for Xu Yun! Using love as stimtion was very difficult, and it might lead to repercussions. Of course, the prerequisite was that this love could be fulfilled after Dai Luoli¡¯s martial soul was stimted.

    As a result, Huo Yuhaopletely stimted Dai Luoli¡¯s spiritual power to its extreme, enabling him to enter a state of craziness. Indeed, the spiritualponents of his martial soul werepletely stimted, and his soul power rose by two ranks in just a short period of time. Dai Luoli didn¡¯t sense it himself, but he would immediately discover the significant changes to his body after he recovered.

    Seeing that the Blood Tiger projection was about to reach him, Huo Yuhao smiled and quickly shifted his footsteps. In an instant, he was already behind Dai Luoli. While Dai Luoli charged ferociously, the gap between him and Huo Yuhao was simply too huge.

    Furthermore, he was only relying on his courage to sustain himself now. Huo Yuhao smacked his palm against Dai Luoli¡¯s neck, and Dai Luoli shook slightly before he fell to the ground.

    At this point, the restraints on Xu Yun suddenly disappeared. She almost fell down, as she was unbnced. After realizing she could move, she quickly rushed towards Dai Luoli.

    The way Dai Luoli had looked at her just now was already deeply etched in her mind. She couldn¡¯t forget the determination and fearlessness in his blood-red eyes.For me, he¡­

    At this moment, Xu Yun was only feeling very sad. She quickly helped Dai Luoli up and cried out, ¡°Luoli, Luoli, wake up. You can¡¯t die! Wake up.¡± As she cried out, tears were already flowing down uncontrobly. She hugged Dai Luoli, who was already covered in blood, tightly.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand too far away. He smiled as he looked at them. He knew that at least his brother had found a ce inside this princess¡¯s heart. As for how they were going to develop in the future, it was going to be much simpler.Luoli, I¡¯ve already done quite a bit for you. You¡¯ll have to count on yourself from now on.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Xu Yun suddenly lifted her head and red at Huo Yuhao furiously, ¡°You aren¡¯t an ordinary person. Tell me. Who are you? You must be a spy, a spy from the Sun Moon Empire! I¡¯ll get someone to kill you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s not even talk about whether I¡¯m a soul master first. Just from how you are screaming like that, who can you get to kill me if I kill you and him first?¡±

    Xu Yun was stunned. Yes! Only the three of them were here. Why weren¡¯t there any guards patrolling this ce even though they had made such a hugemotion? It was because she had told them not to disturb her in her cultivation.

    Right now, she was the only one who could fight Huo Yuhao! What could she do?

    Huo Yuhao slowly walked towards her. While Xu Yun was a soul master, she was more like a little girl. Shecked fighting experience, and looked very terrified now. As she hugged Dai Luoli tightly, she lost her voice and said, ¡°You, you, don¡¯te over!¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmly smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s not dead yet. Tell you what, let me kill him first. Then you can swear not to divulge my identity. I¡¯ll spare you then. What about that?¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡± Xu Yun carried Dai Luoli as she suddenly stood up. There was a fierce look in her eyes, and she red at Huo Yuhao. ¡°I¡¯m from the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire. I can only be a princess who dies in a fight, but not a princess who lives humiliatingly. If you want to kill him, then you better kill the both of us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded in his heart.My younger brother has good taste! While this princess is a little overbearing and unreasonable, she has her principles.Furthermore, he discovered that Xu Yun seemed to be thinking of a solution of how to escape from his fingertips.

    He smiled and his eyes shed with a trace of dim purplish-gold. Xu Yun suddenly felt a weird spiritual undtion appearing. In the next moment, she became giddy before she fainted.

    Huo Yuhao walked forward and supported her body. After that, he took Dai Luoli from her arms and ced her on the ground.

    ¡°Commander Xu has fainted!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. Then, carrying Dai Luoli, he transformed into an illusory projection before disappearing.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When Dai Luoli woke up from his deep sleep, it was already the next morning. He opened his eyes wide, and the sky was already slightly bright.

    Dai Luoli only felt that his body was very warm andfortable. His soul power surged strongly in his body and an unprecedented sense of strength filled his entire body. More strangely, he was stunned to realize that his feeling of everything around him was not a result of his visual perception of them, but because there seemed to be another pair of eyes helping him to survey his surroundings.

    This was¡­

    As he opened his eyes, Dai Luoli sat up in his bed. The recruits from the First Bunk also woke up at this moment, and quickly donned their uniforms before washing up. After this, they went for breakfast.

    Everything that had happenedst night yed itself out in Dai Luoli¡¯s head. When he looked at his own body, he discovered that there weren¡¯t any injuries. Furthermore, he was dry and clean. His uniform was ced neatly to one side, as if he had never worn it before.

    Was everythingst night a dream?Dai Luoli was in disbelief.Was I really dreaming? No, I couldn¡¯t be. How could it be so painful in my dream? Yes, it was him!

    He twisted his head to look at Tang Dong. Tang Dong had just changed into his uniform, and waszily stretching his waist. It seemed like he could sense Dai Luoli looking over, and immediately turned his head to look back. After this, he revealed a kind smile.

    Dai Luoli was too curious, and couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He quickly got up from his bed and put his uniform on before going to find Tang Dong.

    Dai Luoli was confused as he asked, ¡°Tang Dong, what happened to mest night? Why do I remember that I was being beaten up very tragically by you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Is that so? If you think that¡¯s the case, then that¡¯s the case. However, do you really not remember what happened? Come on, let¡¯s go have breakfast. I¡¯ll tell you as we eat.¡± As he spoke, he dragged Dai Luoli to go freshen up.

    Dai Luoli looked at him with an abnormal expression, and was even more confused. However, it wasn¡¯t very appropriate for him to question Tang Dong with so many recruits around.

    ¡ª

    After freshening up, the two of them went to have breakfast. In the canteen, they squatted down at one side to have their breakfast.

    ¡°What exactly happenedst night?¡± Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk while we eat. Let¡¯s talk after we finish eating.¡±

    Dai Luoli felt as if a ball of fire were slowly rising in his chest. If not for the fact that he couldn¡¯t beat Huo Yuhao, he would have whacked him by now.

    It was a pity that this was only a thought in his head. He knew he didn¡¯t have any chance of winning against someone as perverted as Huo Yuhao. He could only continue eating. After he quickly finished his breakfast, he turned his attention towards Huo Yuhao again.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Come, let me show you something.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao grabbed his shoulder.

    At the start, Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t very used to Huo Yuhao doing this. However, he started to be more ustomed to it after a month. Anyway, he couldn¡¯t beat Huo Yuhao in a fight.

    However, it was different this time. When Huo Yuhao grabbed his shoulder, Dai Luoli suddenly sensed everything around him changing. The originally bright sky turned dark, and daytime turned to nighttime.

    Before he eximed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice already sounded in his mind, ¡°Don¡¯t be shocked. Take a closer look. Don¡¯t you want to know what happenedst night?¡±

    Yes, it was nighttime. It was nighttime in their military camp, and they were on the military drill grounds.

    Very soon, Dai Luoli saw himself charging towards Huo Yuhao like a mad tiger. However, he was flung back every single time.

    It wasn¡¯t an illusion. Everything that had happenedst night was true. It wasn¡¯t an illusion! Furthermore, he watched how anxious he was as a bystander. However, he didn¡¯t know why Xu Yun was unable to move. When he saw the expression on Xu Yun¡¯s face, Dai Luoli subconsciously clenched his fist.

    ¡°Take a look at yourself.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded again.

    Dai Luoli subconsciously turned his attention towards his own body. Suddenly, he realized there was something different about him.

    When he saw the Blood Tiger projection behind him and sensed the powerful spiritual undtions that he released, he was in a daze.

    Is that really me? But why am I so different? Since when was my spiritual power so great? Did my soul power increase today because of¡­

    Just as he was wondering about a lot of things, he saw himself being thrown to the ground by Huo Yuhao once again before he lost consciousness.

    After this, he saw Xu Yun charging to his side and hugging him tightly. She was crying for him. She even mentioned how she was willing to die with him when Huo Yuhao imed that he wanted to kill him.

    After this, Xu Yun fainted. Huo Yuhao then shouted before leaving with him. He found a water vat near the canteen and cleaned him up before stealing a new uniform from the military store.

    The illusory nighttime disappeared, and it was daytime again. Everything returned to normal.

    ¡°What do you feel?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded once again.

    Dai Luoli twisted his head to look at him as if he were looking at a monster.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, ¡°I¡¯m asking you about your feelings after seeing what I¡¯ve shown you.¡±

    Dai Luoli subconsciously said, ¡°It would have been great if I was conscious when Yun¡¯er hugged me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless as he smacked his forehead and said, ¡°I knew it. You emotional creature! I was asking you how you felt when you eruptedst night. Didn¡¯t you realize that your martial soul has be different?¡±

    Dai Luoli was very wary as he looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Who are you exactly? What¡¯s with that illusion just now? Also, how did you know Yun¡¯er was a princess?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°It seems you¡¯re not that dumb after all. I¡¯m Tang Dong. I¡¯m only Tang Dong. You just need to know that. You should have felt that you¡¯ve gained something over the past month. You must work hard for your Yun¡¯er, though. This is all that I can do for you.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards their bunk. They still had some time to rest before their training started.

    Dai Luoli seemed very uncertain as he watched Huo Yuhao leaving.

    Who is he exactly?No matter how slow he was right now, he could still sense that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. He had three rings, but he couldn¡¯t defeat an ordinary person? He was very doubtful about this. Even Xu Yun was also weaker than him, even though she had four rings. It seemed like they were both very far off from him.

    I should have thought that he was a soul master. I just don¡¯t know what type of soul master he is. However, what¡¯s he doing in the military?

    He¡¯s right. I can sense it.

    Dai Luoli calmed down and carefully recalled everything that had happened between him and Tang Dong over thest month. While he was beaten up every day, he was surprised to realize that his cultivation had slowly increased. It was something that had never happened before. Even when his father took some time to guide him, the improvements he made couldn¡¯tpare to what he had achieved over thest month.

    The weirder thing was the state he was inst night¡­

    He said that my martial soul has changed?

    He shut his eyes and silently sensed his martial soul. Very soon, he was surprised, and immersed in this delightful surprise.

    Yes, his martial soul had indeed changed. In fact, it had grown stronger, which was beyond his imagination. He felt as if he had been reborn.

    Tang Dong, who are you? Did my father send you to help me? However, he clearly looks like he¡¯s around the same age as me! Why is he so strong? Who exactly is he?

    As he carried these doubts with him, Dai Luoli continued to sense his martial soul. The spirituality of his martial soul had finally been awakened. Everything had changed, and be very beautiful.

 Chapter 421.1 - Rumbles from Afar

    <h4 ss>Chapter 421.1: Rumbles from Afar</h4>

    Today¡¯s training was on fighting together as a team.

    The recruits were separated into several rows, and some held up shields, while others grasped spears. The shields were ced in front, while the spears were held in preparation behind the shields. The recruits were required to do everything neatly and in synchronicity with every step they took.

    The equipment they were using for training had been specially enhanced ¨C It was twice as heavy as their regr equipment, and was used to train the recruits¡¯ bodies and stability.

    ¡°Go!¡± Zhuang Tian hollered at the recruits.

    The soldiers holding shields took a step forward in unison and raised their shields. They were adjusted to uniformity after today¡¯s training. Formations were very effective in a war, and an army which had gone through disciplined training could rely on formations to fight against scattered soldiers with numbers multiple times their own.

    The recruits holding spears quickly stepped after the recruits holding shields and pointed their spears forwards as they aimed at the cracks between the shields. They moved as if they were about tosh out at any moment.

    Every time Zhuang Tian shouted loudly, the formation shifted one step forward as a whole. The formation followed his variousmands, and different recruits moved at different speeds and with different footwork.

    Small Team One¡¯s movements were the neatest amongst the teams. Small Team One¡¯s leader, Tang Dong, was holding a spear, while vice-team leader Dai Luoli was holding a shield. They lead their entire small team, and they made sure that every action was done properly.

    After today¡¯s observation, Zhuang Tian was sure that he would make sure that these two people were promoted to actual small team leaders after their basic military training was over. Soldiers of such quality were few and far between!

    At this moment, a horseman came riding towards them from a distance. Dai Luoli was fully concentrated onpleting his training when his frame suddenly froze as he saw this rider¡¯s figure. He subconsciously nced at Huo Yuhao behind him.

    This rider moved very quickly, and arrived in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Attention!¡± Zhuang Tian hollered at everyone.

    The recruits holding shields withdrew their shields in front of their chests, while the soldiers holding spears nted their spears vertically on the ground as they stood up straight.

    ¡°Battalionmander, ma¡¯am!¡± Zhuang Tian saluted the rider. The little princess, Xu Yun, was the one who had ridden here.

    Xu Yun could see Dai Luoli and Huo Yuhao with one look because they were standing in front of their group. She had just woken up after she had fainted, and she realized that the sky was already bright when she woke up, while she was back in her own tent. If waves of pain hadn¡¯t beening from her abdomen, she would have actually thought what happened yesterday was all just a dream. However, that dream was just too real.

    When she saw with her own eyes that Dai Luoli was standing in formation in perfect condition, she heaved a big sigh of relief. However, her eyebrows went vertical when she saw Huo Yuhao.

    Of course, what happenedst night couldn¡¯t possibly be a dream. Up until now, her abdomen was still throbbing agonizingly after being kicked twicest night.

    Xu Yun was instantly infuriated when she saw Tang Dong standing solemnly within the formation.This bastard really knows how to pretend! Shall I expose him?

    Xu Yun immediately extinguished this thought as soon as it appeared in her head. The reason for that was simple; both Dai Luoli and Tang Dong were both standing in formation perfectly. She thought back to everything that had happenedst night, and she really wasn¡¯t sure why Tang Dong had joined the military. If he was a spy, he would have killed Dai Luoli and her a long time ago. If that was the case, how could Dai Luoli continue his military training with his body in perfect condition!

    Xu Yun nodded in Zhuang Tian¡¯s direction as thoughts spun in her head. ¡°Large Team Leader Zhuang, how is the recruits¡¯ training going?¡±

    Zhuang Tian answered respectfully, ¡°The recruits¡¯ performance is alright. Small Team One¡¯s performance is especially outstanding among them. They all have good potential.¡± Zhuang Tian was never stingy withpliments about his outstanding subordinates.

    ¡°Oh? They¡¯ve only been training for one month, and you¡¯re describing them as outstanding? Seems like they¡¯re quite impressive, after all. Soldiers can improve best when they are in actualbat. Why don¡¯t we do this¡­ let my personal bodyguards apany them for a practice battle. Shi Shuo, call my bodyguards.¡±

    Shi Shuo hesitated for a moment, and nced at Zhuang Tian. Even though they didn¡¯t know where Xu Yun was from, they could faintly guess that this beautiful battalionmander came from an aristocratic family, and she was likely here to gilt her family. Therefore, the few of them were only respectful on the surface this entire time.

    Letting her personal bodyguards have a practice battle with recruits¡­ did the battalionmander actually think of that?

    Battalionmanders had their own personal bodyguards. One medium team was assigned as a battalionmander¡¯s bodyguard, and they usuallyprised the most outstanding soldiers in the battalion.

    ¡°What? Were my words not clear enough?¡± Xu Yun frowned deeply, and a formless pressure was unleashed from her body.

    Zhuang Tian red at Shi Shuo, and Shi Shuo hurriedly answered respectfully before jogging away.

    Only then did Zhuang Tian turn towards Xu Yun with some hesitation in his expression. ¡°Battalionmander¡­ your personal bodyguards are all the best of the best. Don¡¯t you think they¡¯re a little overqualified forbat practice with these recruits? Why don¡¯t we let these recruits spar amongst themselves?¡±

    Xu Yun waved her hand and said, ¡°I want to show them how big the gap is between them and real soldiers. Don¡¯t worry, my bodyguards know their limits.¡±

    In the military, even a difference of one rank meant the lower-ranked officer would have to listen to orders. Zhuang Tian was feeling a little dispirited inside, but he couldn¡¯t say anything against her wishes.

    It didn¡¯t take long before a squad of fifty soldiers jogged over neatly. These soldiers all seemed like they had wide waists andrge arms, and everyone had a shield in their left hand, a long knife strapped to their waist, and was wearing leather armor. They were all Privates First ss, and in addition to the fact that their rows were very neat, they seemed very intimidating.

    ¡°Reporting, ma¡¯am. Your personal bodyguards are all in position.¡± The medium team leader of Xu Yun¡¯s bodyguards was a youth that looked especially tough and muscr. His eyes sparkled, and there were clearly some other things besides respect in his eyes as he stared at Xu Yun.

    Xu Yun nodded and said, ¡°The recruits that Zhuang Tian is responsible for have performed excellently. Wang Yue, pick thirty people and have a practice fight with Small Team One from the recruits. Your knives cannot leave their sheaths, and nobody can get hurt. Do you understand?¡±

    Wang Yue¡¯s eyes sparkled as he shouted, ¡°Understood!¡± He didn¡¯t need Xu Yun to instruct him.The battalionmander¡¯s decision to allow her bodyguards to have a practice fight against these recruits means one of two things: either she wants to teach therge team leader a lesson, or there are some troublemakers among the recruits who have made her angry. We¡¯ll just teach them a lesson.

    ¡°Small Team One, Two, and Three! Step out!¡± Wang Yue hollered at the top of his voice, and thirty guards swiftly jogged out and arranged themselves in one line.

    Zhuang Tian came up beside Huo Yuhao and whispered, ¡°Tang Dong, I¡¯m not sure why the battalionmander wants to have a practice fight like this, but you have to be careful, and focus on defense. These fellows from her team of bodyguards are very rough and violent. Make sure you keep your formation in order. I¡¯ll ask the battalionmander to stop after you guys have held on for a little while.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged, but he was a little amused.This little princess is so childish! She wants to target me, but too bad for her, I am Small Team One¡¯s team leader. But is there any meaning to this? Does she think that her personal bodyguards can force me to release my martial soul?

    ¡°Listen up, Small Team One. Take three steps forward together and separate into two rows. Prepare for battle!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at his team.

    Small Team One¡¯s recruits stared at those bodyguards who had backs like tigers and waists like bears, and their faces turned yellow with fear. But strangely, after Huo Yuhao shouted at them, they all felt galvanized and invigorated, as if they had been injected with stimnts. They didn¡¯t seem afraid of the opponents in front of them anymore, and everyone took three broad steps forward with their chins raised. Those who were holding spears turned their spears around at the same time. They were having a practice fight after all, and using their spears¡¯ handles prevented anyone from getting hurt.

    Xu Yun waved her hand and said, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Wang Yue personally joined the formation, and eyed the recruits in front him mockingly as he shouted, ¡°Shields, up!¡±

    The guards raised the shields in their left hands, their right hands grasping long knives that were still sheathed. These long knives were different from those of normal foot soldiers. Foot soldiers¡¯ knives didn¡¯t have sheaths, but these bodyguards had long knives that came with sheaths, and their des were made of steel. The sheaths made them more than twice as heavy as normal knives, and one needed a certain standard of strength to wield one.

    ¡°Charge!¡± Wang Yue shouted at the top of his voice, and the thirty bodyguards charged furiously and in unison at the recruits.

    There were only thirty soldiers, but these bodyguards had been through much training and were cherry-picked. Their fighting strength was far superior to normal soldiers, and they pushed forward withrge strides at incredible speed while maintaining their formation at the same time.

    ¡°Shields, bow stance; spears, barricade stance!¡± Huo Yuhao hollered. He didn¡¯t intend to use his abilities to affect this practicebat. Instead, he wanted to use the things he had learned today in his training. After his shout reignited the other recruits¡¯ will to fight, he didn¡¯t intend to use any soul power or spiritual power.

    The recruits in the front row held their shields with both hands as they took a bow stance and ced their shields in front of them. They used a stance that was meant to barricade against a charge, and spears protruded through the gaps between two shields. The spears¡¯ tips were nted diagonally onto the ground, as if they were repelling cavalry. The shields in a bow stance, in addition to the spears in a barricade stance, were normally used against cavalry, but Huo Yuhao stillmanded them to use this tactic against the bodyguards who were rushing at them. Of course, the spear tips were supposed to be pointing forward in normal situations.

    Wang Yue was a little stunned, but immediately recovered and ordered, ¡°Slow down, draw your des and sh them!¡±

    The bodyguards instantly slowed down when they were less than ten meters from the recruits. They raised their knives with their right hands and prepared to attack. Right at that moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted, ¡°Charge at full speed!¡±

    The recruits holding shields in a bow stance instantly charged forward at full speed, while those who were holding spears followed closely behind. Huo Yuhao himself was holding a spear, and rushed right towards Wang Yue. Furthermore, he deliberately made sure that he was moving a little faster than hisrades, and he ran forward shoulder-to-shoulder with Dai Luoli. He whispered something in Dai Luoli¡¯s ear there.

    Dai Luoli didn¡¯t really feel much about this contest, but his eyes instantly became sharp when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Dai Luoli suddenly erupted with speed as he bolted forward and went straight for Wang Yue.

    Wang Yue swung his long de disdainfully against his sudden burst of speed, and sliced down with his sheathed de at Dai Luoli.

 Chapter 421.2 - Rumbles from Afar

    <h4 ss>Chapter 421.2: Rumbles from Afar</h4>

    A dull sound could be heard as Wang Yue felt a huge force hit him, and his knife was bounced away as he shed at the shield. Furthermore, the shield crashed heavily into him, sending him hurtling through the air.

    Dai Luoli charged the fastest, so his sh with Wang Yue was naturally the first to take ce. Wang Yue was the one sent flying through the air, and this unexpected oue caused the bodyguards to be a little dazed, but lifted the spirits of the recruits.

    A sudden change in morale was enough to affect the entire situation in a close-quarters battle! Furthermore, the recruits were the ones charging forward, and they received a great morale boost, while the bodyguards were demoralized as they shed violently.

    Bam, bam, bam¡­

    The sounds ofbat rang out. The recruits¡¯ formation had twoyers, while the bodyguards only had one.

    Initially, Wang Yue thought the bodyguards would have no problem dealing with the recruits, given their quality, even if they were oneyer against two. However, under Huo Yuhao¡¯s ingeniousmand, the recruits¡¯ dualyered formation¡¯s advantage was immediately unleashed.

    The recruits¡¯ strength was quite a far cry from the bodyguards. However, the recruits weren¡¯t at a disadvantage when they shed, because of their forward momentum. Both forces were presented asparable to one another, and the spearmen in the second rowshed out at this moment. They jabbed the blunt end of their spears like poisonous snakes sticking out their forked tongues. The bodyguards had formidable fighting strength, but they were still sent into disarray.

    The bodyguards who didn¡¯t sh directly with the recruits because of their singleyered formation wrapped around from the side. However, there was someone anchoring down the recruits¡¯ nks¡­ Small Team One¡¯s team leader, Huo Yuhao!

    Huo Yuhao swung the blunt end of his spear as he smacked a bodyguard and sent him flying through the air. Huo Yuhao looked like he was very focused on trying to control the spear in his hands, and there didn¡¯t seem to be anything especially powerful about him, but the bodyguards on the nks just couldn¡¯t cross his line. Furthermore, the recruits weren¡¯t surrounded thanks to Huo Yuhao¡¯s agile movement and footwork.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s fighting strength had been unleashed at this point. He held his shield and charged through the bodyguards¡¯ ranks like a tiger running through a flock of sheep. He sent bodyguards flying through the air with his shield, one after another. His teamwork with Huo Yuhao was ster; Huo Yuhao barricaded the nks, while he helped the other recruits deal with the bodyguards. They already had twice as many people, and in addition to the fact that he was a soul master who was hiding his abilities, the gap between the two forces was pulled even closer. More than half of the bodyguards had copsed to the ground by the time Wang Yue got to his feet somewhere nearby, and the recruits¡¯ confidence was greatly boosted as they began to reinforce Huo Yuhao.

    Zhuang Tian¡¯s eyes were open wide, and his jaw hung ck as he watched the battle¡¯s transformations. Not in his wildest dreams did he think that these recruits could reach such a standard under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli¡¯s individual fighting strength was presented as finely as they could be.

    Shi Shuo was a medium team leader, and directly in charge of Small Team One. He felt a little dazed as he muttered, ¡°They¡­ they won? What¡¯s happening?¡±

    The contest was over when thest bodyguard was surrounded and knocked to the ground.

    Xu Yun stared coldly at Huo Yuhao, and then at Dai Luoli beside him. She suddenly eximed, ¡°Small Team One¡¯s leader and vice-leader, step out ande in front of me.¡±

    Dai Luoli was momentarily stunned, and only then did he realize that he had gone a little overboard. He had knocked down thergest number of people, and he didn¡¯t hold back his strength at all. Huo Yuhao had barricaded the bodyguards and stopped them from nking the recruits, but his performance was clearly a lot more normalpared to Dai Luoli¡¯s performance. Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t help but feel great regret in his heart.

    But how could he have held himself back? What Huo Yuhao said to him was far too provoking. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sentence was simple¡­ he secretly told Dai Luoli that the bodyguards¡¯ team leader was his rival in love.

    Rivals in love would be especially filled with anger when they met each other, so¡­

    Dai Luoli nced at Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao was already casually walking towards Xu Yun.

    Dai Luoli had no choice but to follow behind him, and walked towards Xu Yun as well.

    They came up before Xu Yun and stood at attention. Dai Luoli lowered his head, but Huo Yuhao saluted Xu Yun very normally.

    Xu Yun stared at them coldly and said, ¡°The two of you are in cahoots, am I right?¡±

    Dai Luoli raised his head. He responded with an astonished look on his face, ¡°What cahoots?¡±

    Xu Yunughed coldly and said, ¡°You still want to act? The two you of are clearly in cahoots, and your father has sent him here to protect you, except I am being kept in the dark. He¡¯s here to work together with you so that you can gain my sympathy, right?¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not like that,¡± Dai Luoli blurted with a stunned look on his face, ¡°We weren¡¯t acquainted before this.¡±

    Xu Yun¡¯s eyes sparkled furiously. ¡°You aren¡¯t acquainted with him? If you didn¡¯t know him before this, how can the two of you work together with such chemistry even after he gave you such a painful beating yesterday?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Dai Luoli suddenly realized that there was no way he could exin himself, because even he suspected that the White Tiger Duke had sent Huo Yuhao, let alone Xu Yun.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little speechless as he stood to one side. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the two of you find somewhere else to talk about this? We¡¯re on a military drill ground. Are you two trying to publicize your identities?¡±

    Xu Yun¡¯s eyes focused. Wasn¡¯t that true? All the soldiers around them and even the officers were all looking at them. Even though Xu Yun had deliberately lowered her voice, there was no way she could hide her expression!

    ¡°The two of you, follow me,¡± Xu Yun said loudly before she turned around and jumped back onto her horse. She turned the horse and cracked her whip as she galloped into the distance.

    Dai Luoli red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You¡¯ve created so much trouble for me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao put on an innocent look and replied, ¡°Then you should create some trouble for me, too. You raised your soul power two or three ranks in one go. I want something as good as that.¡±

    Dai Luoli was also rendered speechless. He tugged on Huo Yuhao¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Hurry and follow me so we can exin ourselves. Otherwise, I¡¯m finished.¡± He pulled Huo Yuhao after Xu Yun as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao had no choice but to follow. Dai Luoli asked him as they jogged, ¡°Are you really sent by my father?¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t like your father at all.¡± That was definitely the truth.

    Dai Luoli looked at him in confusion and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t like my father? He¡¯s a national hero!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

    Dai Luoli was getting worried. ¡°What should we do? Yun¡¯er has misunderstood me. How am I supposed to exin myself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned around to look at him. ¡°Will you listen to me if I give you a suggestion?¡±

    Dai Luoli was momentarily stunned. ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Let me tell you, there¡¯s no way you can exin yourself at a time like this. She will think that you¡¯re just trying to cover everything up no matter what you say, and she has already made up her mind that you pulled a trick by injuring yourself so you could gain her sympathy and get closer to her. Furthermore, you seemed as energetic as could be today. What resemnce was there to how you were almost beaten to deathst night?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your fault?¡± Dai Luoli answered angrily, ¡°So, what should I do, exactly?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Why are you asking me if you are unwilling to listen to me? You can think of a solution yourself.¡±

    Dai Luoli pulled a long face and muttered, ¡°Alright, big brother. You should stop being angry with me for nothing. Quick, teach me¡­ I¡¯ll listen to you, alright?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart quiver subtly when Dai Luoli called him ¡°big brother¡±. Dai Luoli was his biological younger brother, after all! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had no problems with him, like he did with Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart softened as he heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°You are confused because you are too concerned. You should¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao whispered something in Dai Luoli¡¯s ear. Dai Luolii¡¯s eyes grew bigger by the second, and his eyes werepletely wide and his jaw hung ck when Huo Yuhao was finished.

    ¡°Are you sure this will work, boss? Don¡¯t y me! I could die from this.¡± Dai Luoli¡¯s cheeks were starting to spasm.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you want to believe me. What I told you is what you should do to deal with that arrogant princess.¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t experienced with courting girls, and neither was he a flirt, but from his experience with Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er as examples, and with the Tang Sect¡¯s various rtionships¡¯ twists and turns, along with the fact that he was older than Dai Luoli by quite a bit, he had a deeper understanding about the romantic feelings between guys and girls.

    Xu Yun had already stopped in her tracks not far from them. The two of them wereing closer, and Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t think of a good solution by himself. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll trust you this once. If I seed, then you¡¯ll be my older brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was the one who twitched his mouth this time. He thought to himself,I am your older brother in the first ce!

    They quickly arrived in front of an indignant Xu Yun. Huo Yuhao patted Dai Luoli on the back, and Dai Luoli immediately understood what he was trying to say. His expression changed swiftly. All his anxiety and worry from before disappeared, and he became very calm.

    Xu Yun didn¡¯t get down from her horse. She turned her horse around to face them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to exin? Exin then. I want to hear what you have to say.¡± This sentence was clearly meant for Dai Luoli.

    Dai Luoli said nothing. His expression was still in and calm, and he grabbed his shirt¡¯s cor as he suddenly lifted his hands and took his shirt off.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Xu Yun screamed as she hurriedly covered her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want an exnation? You can see for yourself,¡± Dai Luoli muttered inly.

    Xu Yun¡¯s astonishment was temporary. She peeked at him through the cracks of her fingers when she heard his words, and she drew a cold breath in the next moment. She lowered her hands subconsciously in the next moment.

    There were dozens of intertwining wounds all over Dai Luoli¡¯s body. Some had already formed scabs, while others were still oozing with fresh blood. His appearance seemed unnaturally frightening.

    Dai Luoli slowly turned around and turned his back to Xu Yun. His back had the same number of wounds.

    ¡°If you think I am injuring myself to gain your sympathy, then so be it. I can stand here today because some of my martial soul¡¯s special abilities have been unleashed, and my martial soul has sublimated. That is all I have to say, and you can believe whatever you want to.¡± He put his shirt back on after he finished his sentence. He then turned and walked back towards where the recruits were training.

    Xu Yun called out subconsciously, ¡°Come back here, Dai Luoli!¡±

    Her words weren¡¯t so effective this time. Dai Luoli seemed like he didn¡¯t hear her at all as he continued striding back toward the other recruits.

 Chapter 421.3 - Rumbles from Afar

    <h4 ss>Chapter 421.3: Rumbles from Afar</h4>

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh, and he just stood there as he muttered under his breath, ¡°You¡¯ve really hurt his heart!¡±

    Xu Yun turned and red at him. ¡°How have I hurt his heart? What about me? What about my heart?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°Your appearance was unexpected in the first ce. You will know whether not I am a spy if you calm down and think about it. You¡¯ve changed your opinion, and now you think I have been sent by the White Tiger Duke. This proves that you understand in your heart that I cannot possibly be a spy. I can tell you very frankly that I have no connection at all to the White Tiger Duke, and I even hate him. As for Luoli, I only think that he has a martial soul with huge potential and talent, but he hasn¡¯t been able to unleash it, so I decided to help him a little. Let me ask you a question, princess.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Yun asked doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°There¡¯s strength hidden within his martial soul, and this strength hasn¡¯t appeared after almost twenty years. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to draw out this strength? I¡¯ve beaten him for more than a month. Why have I only beaten that strength out of him yesterday? Have you thought about that? Alright, you can think about that yourself. However, I advise you not to try and reveal my identity. Otherwise, I will leave this ce. I only have one aim in joining the army, and that is to defend my empire. You don¡¯t have to think too much about my identity, and you can just think of me as a soul master who cultivates independently.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned and left after he finished his sentence, and he didn¡¯t give Xu Yun any chance to talk.

    Dawdling exnations would only make this princess even angrier. In the state she was in, she couldn¡¯t possibly think rationally or ept anything that Dai Luoli would have said to exin himself. Huo Yuhao could only use this method of ¡°ying it cool¡±, and throw a hit back at her to achieve any effect at all. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were all true, and Dai Luoli did trigger his martial soul¡¯s true strength because he wanted to protect Xu Yun.

    A contemtive look flowed from Xu Yun¡¯s eyes as she watched them leave. Everything that had happenedst night yed again and again in her mind¡­ she couldn¡¯t forget Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes yesterday. Yes! How could he possibly fake an expression like that?

    ¡°Luoli, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I have med you wrongly.¡± Xu Yun muttered under her breath. She wanted to chase after him, but couldn¡¯t get over her own pride, and she just watched Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli return to their ranks as they followed the recruits back for training.

    ¡°He has so many wounds on his body. How painful must that be?¡±

    The two of them returned to the recruits. All those recruits, along with the other team leaders, stared at them with apletely different expression from before.

    The bodyguards had slunk away. The two of them had just returned when they were immediately surrounded by the recruits and tossed into the air in the next moment.

    The two of them had led Small Team One¡¯s recruits to defeat the bodyguards. That battle made the blood in these fellows¡¯ hearts burn with passion, while Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli immediately became like heroes to them.

    Just as the recruits were hollering excitedly and tossing them up and down, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood was originally very high when he suddenly felt his heart tense up for no particr reason. In that moment, he felt as if the world had be ck and white, and an indescribable fear instantly spread across his entire body.

    This sense of fear didn¡¯te from a person or a living being. Instead, it became from an entire region of space. There seemed to be some force from the dark that was suppressing his heart and made him shudder with a fright that came from deep within his soul.

    This unprecedented situation turned his face ghastly pale in an instant. Something had happened, and something big was about to happen. After Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself, Huo Yuhao controlled the power of destiny, and this sudden fear gave him an extremely ominous feeling.

    His eyes seemed to be guided by a mysterious wave of the power of destiny, and he gazed into the distance as he was still being tossed up and down through the air.

    The sky suddenly seemed to brighten far into the horizon right at this moment. The sh that suddenly appeared was very intense, and even though it was extremely far away, it managed to catch the attention of all the recruits. Their frolicking stopped, and everyone turned and gazed in that direction.

    Everyone could see an incandescent sphere of light flickering far beyond the horizon. This radiance was hemispherical, and it gradually expanded outwards while its light was very intense and dazzling. Many people couldn¡¯t help but shift their eyes away after staring straight at the sh for a moment, and nobody dared to continue staring right at it. Only Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were fixed on that sh from the beginning to the end.

    Yes, something had happened.

    The earth trembled faintly in the next moment, and booming sounds that resembled dull thunderps rolled forth and caused the entire army camp to quiver violently.

    The recruits began to feel waves of dizziness, and some recruits who were rtively weaker even fell down on the ground from all those tremors.

    Zhuang Tian murmured to himself, ¡°What¡¯s happening? That direction¡­ that direction seems to be where the Northwestern Field Army is stationed! That¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli were back on the ground, and their expressions changed at almost the same time.

    Dai Luoli applied strength to his legs and was about to charge forward when Huo Yuhao pulled him back.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s voice was quivering a little. ¡°I want to take a look. That¡­ that¡¯s where the Northwestern Field Army is stationed. My father is there! That¡­ that seems like¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed his shirt and dragged Dai Luoli in front of him. ¡°Everything has already happened. What can you do even if you head over right now? From this moment onwards, you¡¯re not allowed to leave my side. We¡¯ll wait until we have more urate intel before we do anything.¡±

    Right at this moment, shrill and ear-piercing whistling sounds could be heard ringing out hysterically from the entire Sixth Reserve Legion. This was the whistle for an emergency assembly!

    Large numbers of reserve troops swiftly came out of their tents and assembled from every camp, and the officers got into their respective positions. The entire reserve legion was mobilized, and even though they were just the reserves, the quality they disyed was impressive.

    The order came down very quickly. All reserve troops were to prepare for battle, and that included recruits. Everyone was to pack up and get ready for battle at any moment.

    Xu Yun was a battalionmander, and her battalion consisted almost entirely of recruits. Huo Yuhao and the three hundred recruits were her newest additions. Their battalion of recruits had twice as many people as normal battalions, at nine hundred soldiers in total.

    Xu Yun was standing in front of everyone, and her expression was exceptionally ck. Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli could guess what had happened, and she naturally could as well.

    Xu Yun hollered, ¡°Tang Dong, Dai Luoli, step out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled Dai Luoli and they took a few steps forward and saluted her.

    Xu Yun lowered her voice and said, ¡°From now on, the two of you are promoted as my bodyguards, but your ranks will remain Private First ss. Stand behind me.¡± She couldn¡¯t care about military rules anymore at a time like this. The recruits hadn¡¯t even finished their basic military training, and they were officially not allowed to be bodyguards for a battalionmander. She was distraught with anxiety and confusion, however, and she needed a mainstay at a time like this. What she didn¡¯t know was that this order that she had just given was the wisest decision she had ever made in her entire life.

    Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli stepped behind Xu Yun. At a time like this, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried about Dai Luoli making a move by himself. Xu Yun¡¯s presence was enough to calm him down a little.

    Xu Yun continued giving orders, ¡°Everyone, return to your bunks, pack and organize your things. Come back and assemble at the military drill ground afterward, and stay where you are to rest. After that, wait for further orders. Disperse!¡±

    The soldiers returned to their respective destinations, but she kept Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli behind.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡­ the Sun Moon Empire must have made their move,¡± Xu Yun spoke as she fumed with rage between gritted teeth.

    Dadi Luoli didn¡¯t have to pretend. His expression was ck, and he nodded forcefully. ¡°They¡¯ve invaded us without dering war. Furthermore, they¡¯ve used soul tools which possess great power. I wonder how the frontlines are doing. My father¡­¡±

    Xu Yun interjected, ¡°The White Tiger Duke is a Titled Douluo, so he¡¯ll be fine. I wonder what ss those soul tools are to give us such sensations¡­ My only wish now is that the front lines haven¡¯t suffered excessively heavy losses. The army has already sent scouts to find out what¡¯s happening, and they should return quickly with definite intel.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was solemn. Dai Luoli and Xu Yun weren¡¯t knowledgeable enough, and they didn¡¯t know enough to judge how forceful that explosion was. He was a gifted student from Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department, so how could he not be able to judge? The feeling he got from that explosion¡¯s force could only be achieved with one type of soul tool.

    That soul tool could only be a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. They were almost three hundred kilometers away from where the explosion had urred, and they could still clearly see, hear, and feel the explosion¡¯s effects from such a distance away. Huo Yuhao had only seen an explosion like this once before, and that was when he had triggered an explosion in that underground warehouse within Radiant City. That apocalyptic spectacle was deeply imprinted in his memory.

    This meant the explosion that had just urred didn¡¯te from just a single ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. It was likely that more than one had been used. The Sun Moon Empire had held themselves back for more than half a year. Were they about tounch a full-scale invasion? The timing of their invasion was at least six months earlier than Huo Yuhao had predicted.

    The Star Luo Empire became the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s first target afterunching an invasion.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh inside. He felt very helpless and exasperated. The Star Luo empire was too far behind the Sun Moon Empire in terms of their research with soul tools. Otherwise, with the intense energy undtions that ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells gave off, those shells should have been intercepted at the border. However, it seemed the Star Luo Empire were unsessful at intercepting those shells, and the Sun Moon Empire managed to detonate their stationary shells near the armies stationed near the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders. The Star Luo Empire had probably sustained heavy losses this time!

    Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t the only one concerned about the White Tiger Duke¡­

    They didn¡¯t have much to pack. Their personal belongings were all stored inside storage-type soul tools that they kept on their bodies all the time, while they were wearing all their military equipment, such as their uniforms, leather armor, number tes, and weapons. As for other items like their bedsheets and whatnot, they did not pack those burdensome things.

    The booms that resembled dull thunderps continued ringing out in the distance. Even though the light wasn¡¯t as bright as before, everyone could hear those dense explosions from several hundred kilometers away. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how intense the battle at the border was¡­

 Chapter 422.1 - Huo Yuhaos Assistance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 422.1: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Assistance</h4>

    The entire Sixth Reserve Legion fitted themselves out within an hour, and everyone waited on the military drill ground. Even their tents and whatnot had been packed, and everyone was prepared to support the front lines at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Scouts streamed in and out of the army camp continuously, and everyone could tell from their anxious and worried expressions that the battle wasn¡¯t going very well.

    The officers who were at least battalionmanders were quickly called up for a meeting, while Xu Yun brought Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli, who had be her impromptu bodyguards, along with her.

    Xu Yun had no experience on the battlefield at all, and she was ovee with anxiety and confusion at a time like this. She wasn¡¯t just a battalionmander, she was also a princess! This war was connected to her nation¡¯s safety and survival, so how could she not be worried?

    Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli arrived at the corpsmander¡¯s tent, but they were only bodyguards, so they could only wait outside. Huo Yuhao was worried, but he didn¡¯t use his spiritual power to sense what was happening inside. If there was a powerful soul master inside, he would be in trouble if that soul master discovered his spiritual undtions.

    The meeting was strangely very brief, and Xu Yun hurriedly rushed out after less than ten minutes.

    ¡°Quick, follow me back to the battalion.¡± She quickly got onto her horse as she spoke, and her two bodyguards could only jog along as they followed behind her.

    ¡°Yun¡­ battalionmander.¡± Dai Luoli was about to call her ¡°Yun¡¯er¡±, but Huo Yuhao red at him, and only then did he recall the method that Huo Yuhao had taught him. Dai Luoli hurriedly adjusted his expression, and put on a very serious appearance.

    Xu Yun snapped around and stared at him. She didn¡¯t wait for him to ask, and said straightforwardly, ¡°The front lines have been utterly crushed¡­ the Northwestern Field Army has given the order for us to enter the city immediately, and to build our defenses around Imperial Radiant City. We are to wait for the retreating army and rendezvous with them.¡±

    ¡°What? The front lines have been crushed?¡± Dai Luoli blurted out. The Star Luo Empire had spent thousands of years developing their defenses at the western borders! They had relied on the Ming Dou Mountain Range as a natural stronghold, and their fortifications could be said to be imprable.

    Xu Yun¡¯s pretty face was a little pale. ¡°Yes, the front lines have been decimated. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion came without warning, and they detonated several ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells on the rtively weaker regions of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and created an enormous gap. They mobilized four soul engineer legions tounch continuous assaults on our army. The soul engineer legions¡¯ continuous nketing onught forced the Northwestern Field Army back, and led the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army to charge through the gap in the mountains. One ss 9 stationary shellnded in the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s central region, and the soldiers on the front lines have sustained heavy losses, with many lives lost and many more injured. We can¡¯t hold on any longer, so we¡¯re retreating.¡±

    ¡°What about my father?¡± Dai Luoli asked worriedly.

    Xu Yun answered, ¡°Marshal Dai is leading the Field Army to defend against the invaders with their full strength, but the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s assault is very ferocious. Their invading army isn¡¯t veryrge, but they¡¯ve mobilized three out of the five fingers of the Hand that Protects the Nation. They¡¯vee too quickly and too suddenly, and they¡¯re way too destructive.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Battalionmander, how many soldiers are stationed along our western borders?¡±

    Xu Yun replied, ¡°The Northwestern Field Army is the main defense for our western borders, while the Western Field Army supports them. The Northwestern Field Army controls eleven legions, while the Western Field Army consists of eight legions. Our fighting strength stands at eighty thousand soldiers. Other than that, we have two hundred thousand auxiliary soldiers, and our total strength is almost four hundred thousand. Seven cities contain reserve legions behind the borders, and our reserve legions have about two hundred thousand soldiers.¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood the situation as he listened to her. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s western borders had about six hundred thousand soldiers stationed there, and of them, there were about three hundred thousand fighting soldiers. It was a veryrge number. Furthermore, the two Field Armies stationed at the western borders undoubtedly possessed the greatest fighting strength within the entire military, while they also had the best equipment. In the end, the Sun Moon Empire was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s greatest enemy. At least the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Star Luo Empire had purchased from the Tang Sect had been transferred to the western front¡­

    Under such circumstances, war had suddenly erupted at the borders, yet the Star Luo Empire¡¯s defenses were still torn apart. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s strongest army, the Northwestern Field Army, had been utterly crushed. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how shocking the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s blow was.

    The Sixth Reserve Legion was quickly mobilized, and they swiftly entered Imperial Radiant City, along with their armaments.

    Intel streamed in continuously back and forth from Imperial Radiant City and the front lines. The city¡¯s gates were immediately sealed after the Fourth and Sixth Reserve Legions entered the city, and everyone was on high alert. Many soldiers were deployed to protect the city¡¯s most important granaries and armories. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly tense, and the air was so heavy and dense that it seemed as though it could drip with water.

    Huo Yuhao and the others belonged to the Third Battalion of the Sixth Reserve Legion, which was part of the Seventh Division. They were arranged on the eastern side of the city. They had too many recruits, so if the fighting did reach the city, the western front would be the first ce to be assaulted. Therefore, the recruits were deployed near the eastern side of the city.

    Xu Yun went for another meeting before she returned to her provisional battalion with a gloomy face, while she arranged for Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli to wait inside the room with her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation, battalionmander?¡± Dai Luoli asked worriedly. This matter was closely rted to his father¡¯s safety, so there was no way he couldn¡¯t be anxious.

    Xu Yun¡¯s face was filled with concern and anxiety. ¡°The situation is terrible. The number of dead or injured at the front lines is still unclear, but we know that the White Tiger Duke has led his personal soldiers to cover the rear so that most of his army can withdraw from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s range. The front lines have sustained severe losses, while the Western Field Army has been hit with a destructive assault at the same time. The Sun Moon Empire has used another ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, as well. Our conservative estimate is that the Sun Moon Empire has used more than six ss 9 stationary cannon shells this time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath when he heard her words. Because he knew how powerful stationary soul cannon shells were, he could understand how frightening their destructive power was.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s face was ghastly pale, but his eyes suddenly became determined and resolute. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for my father. I¡¯m leaving, Xu Yun.¡± With that, he turned and began to walk out.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed his shoulder and heartlessly pulled him back. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere. It¡¯s useless even if you go, so you¡¯re going to stay here and do nothing. Do you think that you, a Soul Elder that doesn¡¯t even have four soul rings, can turn the tide even if you go to the front lines?¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. ¡°I can¡¯t just wait here! My father is fighting with his life for our country¡¯s survival. I am his son, and even if I have to die, I will bleed with him and die valiantly on the battlefield! We have enlisted in the army to defend our nation! I am a soul master, so what will I be if I wait here with the recruits?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pped Dai Luoli right across his face and sent him crumpling to the ground. He said coldly, ¡°Your intentions are good and you¡¯re very brave, but that¡¯s brainless bravery. So what if you¡¯re a soul master? Do you really think you can get out of the city when the city gates are sealed shut? Or are you intending to expose your identity as the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son, and embarrass your father at the same time?

    ¡°You should hate yourself because you¡¯re not strong enough, and can¡¯t help him at a time like this. If you have sufficient determination, you should use that on cultivation! Imperial Radiant City is positioned behind the front lines, and once they can¡¯t hold on any longer, the army will have to retreat through Imperial Radiant City. Do something you can afford to do with your strength, and is far better and more useful than throwing away your life like that.¡±

    Perhaps Dai Luoli was used to being beaten by Huo Yuhao, but he wasn¡¯t furious because of this p. He got back to his feet, his expression grave and stern, but he said nothing.

    Xu Yun sat down on a chair by the side. Her eyes were scattered, and she was beside herself with panic. Faced with an all-out war of such a scale, the little princess waspletely lost with worry and panic.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the sky outside. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°The two of you, stay here and cultivate. I¡¯ll take a look at the front lines, and bring first-hand intel back to you guys.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going?¡± Dai Luoli and Xu Yun stared at him at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao walked up before Dai Luoli, and his cold eyes suddenly became warm. He patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Call me your older brother.¡±

    ¡°Older brother!¡± Dai Luoli called out subconsciously,

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯lle back to look for you very soon.¡± With that, Huo Yuhao vanished into thin air soundlessly in front of Dai Luoli.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Dai Luoli stared at the space in front of him with widened eyes and ck jaw. He didn¡¯t feel any soul power undtions from Huo Yuhao, and only his martial soul, which had finished its mutation, seemed to feel something.

    Xu Yun¡¯s eyes were equally frozen. ¡°Now I firmly believe that he wasn¡¯t sent by your father.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Dai Luoli asked subconsciously.

    Xu Yun answered, ¡°If your father had sent him here, he wouldn¡¯t have beat you so cruelly. However, you seem to be a lot stronger than before he beat you up.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao surged into the sky in a sh after he left the army camp. He unleashed his Imitation, and his entire being seemed to integrate into the air. His spiritual power spread out in all directions like an enormous web, instantly nketing the entire city.

    Huo Yuhao possessed spiritual power that astonished even the Beast God, Di Tian! Only spiritual power at such a level could possess such prowess.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shake his head when he made a brief survey of the city. Imperial Radiant City didn¡¯t have a single aerial surveince soul tool, and there were only several soul power detectors on the battlements. Imperial Radiant City¡¯s defenses were a far cry from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Sunrise City back then, the result of the Star Luo Empiregging behind in industrial standards. He didn¡¯t know how much longer the Star Luo Empire could hold on this time.

    He continued contemting as he started to move, transforming into a beam of flowing light and surging towards the west.

    Huo Yuhao left Imperial Radiant City¡¯s borders and put his Butterfly Wings on, his speed rising exponentially as he infused soul power into his wings.

    Huo Yuhao quickly saw the defeated soldiers who were retreating from the front lines. They were truly and utterly crushed! Large amounts of soldiers were retreating from the western front with their heads hanging dispiritedly, crestfallen, while many others were injured. Even their formations seemed a little messy and disorganized.

 Chapter 422.2 - Huo Yuhaos Assistance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 422.2: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Assistance</h4>

    How did this happen? Huo Yuhao could tell from his training that the Star Luo Empire had very solid foundations, and even their recruits were controlled with strict military discipline. Why were the defeated soldiers so dispirited?

    Huo Yuhaonded quietly on the ground and merged himself into the defeated army. He was dressed like a normal soldier in the first ce, and he discovered from the other soldiers that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s sudden assault was a lot more ferocious than he had imagined.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s aerial surveince was simply too weak, to the point where the Sun Moon Empire managed to transport powerful individuals through their western borders in different batches. They assaulted the Star Luo Empire in full force, and after their ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells wreaked havoc with their frightening power, these powerful individuals rushed into the army camps that were sent into disarray. They focused on killing officers and creating even more chaos, and they caused the entire Northwestern Field Army to descend into utter chaos and confusion.

    If not for the White Tiger Duke¡¯s strict handling of his soldiers, and the fact that he had formidable prowess at controlling his army, the Northwestern Field Army would have sustained even heavier losses. The front lines had already lost about seventy thousand people.

    ording to the defeated soldiers, beams of powerful light rained down from the sky continuously after that terrifying explosion urred, and decimated the Star Luo Empire¡¯s stronghold on the mountaintop. Afterward,rge numbers of soul engineers flooded into the Ming Dou Mountain Range and massacred everyone.

    This was clearly a fighting style where top-tier fighting strength was used to open a path. Furthermore, with the soul engineer legions¡¯ ability to fly, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial army had an absolute advantage. The Sun Moon Empire hadplete air supremacy, and they had used it to great advantage.

    The Star Luo Empire always knew that they weregging behind the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tools, but only after this all-out war had erupted did they understand how big this rift was.

    Yes, this rift was truly far too big.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao returned to his journey after obtaining that information. He understood that with the frightening power of soul tools, the defense mechanisms in traditional wars of the past were far from enough to withstand the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s assault. The Sun Moon Empire hade prepared, and the Star Luo Empire was in deep trouble after they lost the Ming Dou Mountain Range, which was their first line of defense. This defeat was likely to be impossible to turn around!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t take long to fly over two hundred kilometers. Huo Yuhao could sense intense soul power undtions that were rippling and exploding from a distance. The sky was beginning to darken, and shes of varying colors that bloomed and flickered continuously on the borders were thus even more obvious.

    He quickly noticed what had happened to the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    There was an enormous gap in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This gap had a very strange, extremely sinister shape, and was burned ck. It was evidently caused by the frightening explosive force of ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells bombarding the mountains. Huo Yuhao could see from a long distance away thatrge numbers of soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire were streaming into the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders through this gap.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s defensive perimeter had been utterly crushed on all fronts. But what about the White Tiger Duke and the others? Could it be that the White Tiger Duke and his personal guards had been ughtered?

    The remnants of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s armies were battered and bruised. Voluminous aerial surveince andnd surveince soul tools dotted the sky roughly ten kilometers away, while soul tool fronts and positions constructed by soul engineers were gradually taking shape on the ground. Brilliant shes that flickered from time to time slowly disappeared at the same time.

    The Northwestern Field Army¡¯s front had beenpletely lost after just half a day.

    Huo Yuhao gulped as he hovered in midair; even he was a little lost.

    That was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s most formidable fighting strength! Were they actually crushed that simply?

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t tell which soul engineer legions were stationed beneath him, and he closed his eyes as he withdrew every inch of spiritual power that he had let out.

    He was under the cover of Imitation, and even aerial surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t detect his presence. Only thermal detectors could possibly discover his presence.

    A rose-gold vertical eye gradually surfaced behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, and his head glowed at the same time as a rose-gold wheel of light appeared behind his head. The aura of destiny undted outward at the same time.

    His Spiritual Detection¡¯s range was ultimately limited, and his spiritual power wasn¡¯t as powerful as that of the Evileye Tyrant King, who could reach five hundred kilometers away with Spiritual Detection. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection reached a range of ten thousand meters, his uracy would be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the battlefield at the border was sorge, it was clearly impossible for him to find the White Tiger Duke with Spiritual Detection. Therefore, he opted for another method. He wanted to try a method that he felt he could have used a long time ago, but had never tried before. He wanted to try to use destiny to guide him.

    This wasn¡¯t a soul skill. Huo Yuhao possessed the power of destiny, and he was using his heart to feel, sensing for palpitations that stemmed from destiny.

    The vertical eye behind Huo Yuhao was withdrawn after a moment, and his eyes turned towards the north. Something in the dark was guiding him, that the White Tiger Duke should be to the north.

    He turned around and sped up once again, racing towards the north.

    The Northwestern Field Army was not just stationed at the western borders; they were also near the Heavenly Soul Empire at the same time. They could reach the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders if they traveled less than five hundred kilometers north from their position. The White Tiger Duke was actually taking what was left of his forces and retreating towards the north. Why was he doing that?

    Huo Yuhao flew forward rapidly with some doubts in mind. His thoughts were slowly ironed out, and his expression immediately grew ugly. However, traces of admiration tinged his eyes.

    The White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t retreat toward the east, but toward the north. There could only be one reason for that. The White Tiger Duke was one of the main targets for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s sudden onught. The Sun Moon Empire would attempt to take him down at all costs, so their most formidable fighting strength should have been directed at him. He retreated to the north to draw this force away to give the Star Luo Empire¡¯s defeated armies time to retreat. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were still flying through the air, and the threat and damage they could cause to normal soldiers were far too heavy and severe.

    Even though the hatred that Huo Yuhao felt towards the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t reduced by much, he still admired the White Tiger Duke¡¯s bravery and heroism. He was the marshal, but he wasn¡¯t the first to retreat, and he ced himself in grave danger so that he could buy time for his armies to retreat. This deed wasn¡¯t something that normal people could perform.

    Huo Yuhao released his spiritual power at the same time as he continued flying towards the north. Indeed, there were many scars and traces of battle left behind on the ground. Some were left behind by soul tools, and others were left behind by soul masters and the armies. Huo Yuhao saw corpses from time to time, and he could tell from these traces that the battle was violent and vigorous, but there weren¡¯t that many people fighting. The total number couldn¡¯t be more than ten thousand people, but this group had to be the most elite members from both sides.

    The Star Luo Empire had few soul engineers and soul tools, but their numbers of true soul masters wasn¡¯t something the Sun Moon Empire couldpare to. There was at least one soul master legion in the Northwestern Field Army, with at least a thousand people that consisted entirely of true soul masters. Even though they weren¡¯t the White Tiger¡¯s personal guards, they only listened to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s orders andmands.

    The Star Luo Empire had a total of ten such soul master legions. Unfortunately, these soul master legions were far too powerful, to the point where the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family didn¡¯t dare to hand them over to the White Tiger Duke for him tomand. The entire Northwestern Field Army had only been assigned one such soul master legion.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t fly that quickly because he was surveying the traces of battle on the ground, but the good thing was that he knew he was going in the right direction. The further he flew, the more he understood how much the Sun Moon Empire wanted to kill the White Tiger Duke.

    Huo Yuhao could tell from the corpses on the ground that there were at least two soul engineer legions chasing down the White Tiger Duke and his soldiers. Furthermore, these two legions were members of the Hand that Protects the Nation. Huo Yuhao had seen one of them before; that legion had trapped Huo Yuhao and the others, which had ultimately resulted in Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificing herself for him. That legion was the Evil Tyrant Legion, and from what the soul engineers who had been killed were wearing, the other legion should be the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion.

    These two legions had top-tier equipment; they were beast-ranked soul engineer legions! They were equipped withrge amounts of top-tier soul tools, and their average fighting strength was equal to that of a ss 4 soul engineer or higher! Furthermore, they were exceptionally adept at teamwork and cooperation.

    Huo Yuhao flew for another hour before he could faintly see waves of flickering light in the distance.

    These lights were flickering at an incredible rate; it wasn¡¯t hard to see that the battle was extremely intense.

    Huo Yuhao found the right direction, so he no longer had to determine his destination. He hurriedly elerated as much as he could and flew in that direction.

    He could see shadows and figures flickering with beams of light in the air over the horizon. This group was mainly split into two groups: the first group belonged to the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, whose flying-type soul tools sparkled with blue light, and the other group belonged to the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion, whose flying-type soul tools flickered with dark golden light.

    These two soul engineer legions were spread out in midair, and were maintaining their soul engineer front in the air just like that. A blue dome protected the Evil Tyrant Legion, while a dark gold dome protected the Terrorw Legion. Huo Yuhao could see that the soul power from these domes came from a spike-shaped soul tool at the tips of their flying-type soul tools. Everyone was releasing soul power from this soul tool, and their soul power congregated and transformed into these enormous domes.

    The ratio of corpses that Huo Yuhao saw on the way here was heavily in favor of soul engineers. There were far too few soul engineers who had perished, that number stood at a little over ten, while the Star Luo Empire had left behind far too many corpses. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s personal guards had suffered heavy losses and injuries, and many individuals who should be powerful soul masters were killed in action.

    The two soul engineer legions that were hovering in midair were firing thick soul rays towards the ground, again and again. They weren¡¯t firing among themselves or at their own discretion, the soul tools they were using seemed to have abined effect. Three to five people formed one team, and every soul ray they fired would cause intense explosions on the ground beneath them.

    The situation on the ground was far more tragic and disastrouspared to the soul engineers. Huo Yuhao possessed necromantic abilities, and as he reached out with his spiritual power, he could already feel many spiritual undtions on the ground. Those spirits belonged to the dead!

    Compared to the two distinct domes in the sky, there were also domes on the ground, and they were also used for defense, but they could only be described as multicolored.

    There were almost a hundred different kinds of light, and the situation seemed very scattered and disorganized. It was clear that the soul masters were the main defensive force on the ground.

 Chapter 422.3 - Huo Yuhaos Assistance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 422.3: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Assistance</h4>

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s personal guards couldn¡¯t do much in a battle at this level, and most of those who died on the ground consisted of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s personal guards.

    There were seven or eight people hovering amongst the two soul engineer legions in the sky. These people didn¡¯t unleash any attacks, and were just watching the battlefield coldly. They were inside the protective barriers, but Huo Yuhao could still feel how powerful and frightening these people were.

    Huo Yuhao had seen three of them before. They were judges for the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineer Tournament in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City, and the person he was most familiar with was this group¡¯s leader. Wasn¡¯t he the Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin, who had given him the Sunmoon Divine Needle back then? At this moment, a ss 9 Sunmoon Divine Needle was hovering above his head. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t just one¡­ there were two!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to ask to faintly guess that the Starsky Douluo¡¯s appearance here probably had something to do with the Sunmoon Divine Needle that he had given the White Tiger Duke back then. At this moment, one of the two Sunmoon Divine Needles above his head was likely to be the one that Huo Yuhao had given Dai Hao back then.

    These formidable individuals, who were some of the strongest soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire, were undoubtedly holding down the fort here so that they could eradicate whatever resistance there was on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and calmed and steadied himself as much as he could. Even though he was far stronger than he wasst time, his strength was still far too small and weak on a battlefield such as this.

    Huo Yuhao was the only finished product from the Ultimate Soldier n, and he knew that he had to use every possible resource he could to turn the fight around, and those resources didn¡¯t justprise strength and abilities.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his altitude and moved his spiritual power towards the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soldiers. Right now, he wasn¡¯t even sure if the White Tiger Duke was still alive.

    The situation quickly became clear.

    The Star Luo Empire had less than two thousand soldiers left. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s personal guards made up about thirteen to fourteen hundred of these two thousand soldiers, and they relied on about five to six hundred soul masters defending with their full strength to barely maintain the current situation.

    None of these soul masters were weak, and some had stronger soul power than the two soul engineer legions in the sky. Their soul rings sparkled on their bodies, and even the weakest of them had five soul rings.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family still strongly supported the Northwestern Field Army. This soul master legionprised the best of the best soul masters in the Star Luo Empire. Even though they had lost quite a few people, they were the reason why the White Tiger Duke could still hold back the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions so that the Northwestern Field Army could retreat.

    However, these soul masters¡¯ faces were filled with fatigue, and everyone wore solemn and grave expressions.

    None of them would be afraid of the soul engineers in the sky if they were one against one, and there were even four Titled Douluo among these soul masters. The White Tiger Duke was still among this group, but he seemed like he was in a bad state ¨C half his body was scorched ck, and he was supporting himself with a yard-long knife as hemanded the battle. He had sustained severe injuries.

    The other three Titled Douluo spread out and continuously cooperated with other soul masters to defend the group. They seemed like they had expended a lot of their soul power as well!

    The White Tiger Duke was panting with heavy breaths. His eyes were still as resolute as ever, but they were already flowing with determination and a grim resignation to fate. He had been suppressed on this hill for almost two hours, and reinforcements couldn¡¯t possiblye for them, no matter what happened. Even though the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army had entered the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the White Tiger Duke and his army would probably be eliminated today if he didn¡¯t make a decision soon.

    Dai Hao lowered his voice and growled, ¡°Invite the Big Dipper Douluo here.¡±

    Dai Hao¡¯s eldest son was standing beside him. Dai Yueheng, who had graduated from Shrek Academy. Five years had gone by, and Dai Yueheng was now a powerful seven-ringed Soul Sage. He was just twenty-five years old, and he was definitely considered an elite among the younger generation. He could represent Shrek Academy in battle as their vice-team leader back then, which sufficiently disyed his talent.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Yueheng acknowledged, and he quickly called an elderly man who was in his seventies over to Dai Hao. This man was one of the three powerful Titled Douluo in the soul masters¡¯ formation.

    This elderly man came beside Dai Hao, and suddenly arched his eyebrows as he pointed towards the sky with his right hand. A silver-white beam of light surged into the sky, and this light beam webbed out as it transformed into an enormous umbre more than fifty meters in diameter. This umbre blocked the soul rays and whatnot that were raining from the sky, and some of these attacks even included attacks from ss 8 soul engineers.

    These soul rays and soul cannons didn¡¯t justnd on the umbre¡¯s surface. These attacks seemed like they were immediately dispelled when they touched the silver-white radiance on the umbre¡¯s surface, and they were parsed and consumed by countless thin and fine spaces in the air. Therefore, no explosions rang out.

    This elderly man was themander of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s First Soul Master Legion, the Big Dipper Douluo, Xuan Ji. He was one of the Titled Douluo who belonged to the older generation within the Star Luo Empire, and his real name had long been forgotten, so he had always been called Xuan Ji. His soul power stood at Rank 94, and his martial soul was a Big Dipper Umbre. He was very good friends with thest generation¡¯s White Tiger Duke, and one generation older than Dai Hao. The previous generation¡¯s White Tiger Duke had pleaded with him to protect the White Tiger lineage, and he was one of the strongest core forces in the White Tiger Duke¡¯s camp.

    ¡°Duke.¡± The Big Dipper Douluo¡¯s face looked a little pale as he blocked the attacks that rained down from the sky. His expression was also extremely grave at this moment. The Sun Moon Empire had clearly nned and schemed their sudden ambush for a long time, and the ferocity of their assault exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations. The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t send their forces swiftly into the Star Luo Empire. Instead, they sent their strongest fighting strength against the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, which clearly meant that they had nned this. The White Tiger Duke was the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s marshal, and he was also the mainstay for the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western defense perimeter. Once he died, the Northwestern and the Western Field Armies would be dealt an unprecedentedlyrge psychological blow. This result would be exceptionally beneficial for what the Sun Moon Empire wanted to do next.

    Furthermore, Dai Hao wasn¡¯t the invaders¡¯ only target. They were also going after the Star Luo Empire¡¯s First Soul Master Legion, because this legion represented ten percent of the soul masters that the royal family controlled. Soul masters were inferior to soul engineers on the battlefield if legion fought against legion, but if these soul masters were used or deployed in another fashion, their impact and force would beparable to that of a soul engineer legion. The First Soul Master Legion was also the strongest legion overall amongst the Star Luo Empire¡¯s ten great soul master legions.

    From the sudden bombardment from those ss 9 stationary soul cannons until now, the First Soul Master Legion had lost about one-third of their soul masters. This painful price was paid in exchange for an opportunity for the remnants of the Northwestern Field Army to retreat. The Big Dipper Douluo had requested the White Tiger Duke to lead his army in retreat a long time ago, but Dai Hao had insisted otherwise. He led his personal guards to cover the rear, and worked together with the Big Dipper Douluo¡¯s First Soul Master Legion to do so. If he hadn¡¯t done that, the First Soul Master Legion would probably have been destroyed by now. However, if their current circumstances were allowed to persist, they would still be unable to escape their fate of eradication andplete defeat.

    ¡°Duke.¡± The Big Dipper Douluo came beside the White Tiger Duke, and heaved a faint sigh when he saw the wounds all over Dai Hao¡¯s body.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s most severe injury came from the Starsky Douluo¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle. Initially, the White Tiger Duke had had a Sunmoon Divine Needle of his own, but the Starsky Douluo took his Sunmoon Divine Needle away as soon as he appeared, and even used this Sunmoon Divine Needle to heavily wound Dai Hao. If the White Tiger Duke hadn¡¯t had several defensive soul tools on his body, and if not for the fact that his martial soul was powerful, he would probably have died from that hit.

    Dai Hao raised his hand, and ayer of white light was released from his hand. This white light epassed himself and the Big Dipper Douluo within it.

    Dai Hao¡¯s eyes were still as bright as ever. He clenched his fists tightly and said, ¡°Uncle Xuan Ji, we can¡¯t continue on like this. We can¡¯t escape our fate of losing every single solder if this goes on.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo stared at him and said, ¡°What are your ns?¡±

    Dai Hao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I am their target. After a while, I will order my personal guards to charge out and scatter in all directions to create an illusion that I want to charge out. I will run by myself towards the north to attract the enemy¡¯s attention. You will take the First Soul Master Legion and break through towards the southeast. Run as far as you can, and preserve as much life and strength as possible, Preserve your strength so that we can retaliate in the future.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± The Big Dipper Douluo¡¯s expression changed drastically as he retorted angrily, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Your father has given me the task of protecting the White Tiger¡¯s lineage. How can I just leave you behind and run away? If I did that, how could I face your father in the afterlife?¡±

    Dai Hao said calmly, ¡°Uncle Xuan Ji, now is not the time to talk about sentiments. My decision is for my empire¡¯s future. It¡¯s meaningless if everyone dies in battle here today, and right now, there¡¯s no way we can deal any conceivable or effective damage to those fellows in the sky. Their collective defensive soul tool formation is too powerful, and even Transcendent Douluo probably couldn¡¯t break through. You have to go, and you¡¯ll take Yueheng away. He will take over as the White Tiger Duke after my death. Time is of the essence, Uncle Xuan Ji, so you must listen to me. Only I will remain to draw their attention and create an opportunity for you guys to survive. It won¡¯t be that easy for them to kill me either, and I will try my best to survive as long as a chance exists. We can¡¯t unleash our full strength if we stay together.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo¡¯s chest puffed heavily in and out. He understood in his heart that the White Tiger Duke¡¯s solution was the best one for now. But how could he abandon Dai Hao when he had watched Dai Hao grow up since he was a child?

    ¡°Uncle Xuan Ji, please make a move while everyone still has soul power. The n has been decided, and I will be at ease handing Yueheng over to you.¡±

    He dispelled the soundproofing barrier that he had just released as he spoke. He turned to Dai Yueheng beside as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°You will follow grandpa Xuan Ji, and we will break out in two different groups. You will listen to grandpa Xuan Ji¡¯s orders after breaking out. Do you understand?¡±

    Dai Yueheng hesitated for a moment and asked, ¡°What about you, father?¡±

    Dai Hao muttered coldly, ¡°I will break out from another direction. Only in this way will we have a higher chance of breaking out. Go¡­ it¡¯s up to you now, uncle Xuan Ji.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo heaved a long sigh as he stared at the deep determination and resolve in Dai Hao¡¯s eyes. He grabbed Dai Yueheng as he turned and left.

 Chapter 423.1 - The White Tigers Crisis

    <h4 ss>Chapter 423.1: The White Tiger¡¯s Crisis</h4>

    There couldn¡¯t be any more dys. Every soul engineer of the tworge soul engineering legions of the Sun Moon Empire brought along Milk Bottles that corresponded to their rank, each having at least two. However, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul master legions weren¡¯t equipped in the same way. Among the three empires of the Douluo Continent, the Star Luo Empire was the most traditional. They were the ones who disregarded the development of soul tools the most. As there were too many traditional sects in the Star Luo Empire that discriminated against soul tools, the imperial family wasn¡¯t able to advertise the use of soul tools on arge scale.

    It was only after Princess Jiujiu interacted with the Tang Sect that they decided to start using Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. It was just that the Sun Moon Empire had managed topletely destroy the cannons on the Western Border before they could even unleash their full strength. Only some of the cannons in the military camp were able to have some effect.

    Seeing that the Big Dipper Douluo was about to take Dai Yueheng away, the White Tiger Duke revealed a gentle expression on his determined face. While Dai Yueheng was a slightly haughty person, he had be much better after following his father for a few years. Furthermore, his cultivation talent even exceeded the White Tiger Duke¡¯s. With both Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin around, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lineage would definitelyst beyond him. However, whether this national crisis would¡­

    Dai Hao lifted his head again after sighing silently. He had already made his decision. Hecould only make a choice now, and it was only by sacrificing his White Tiger bodyguards and himself that he could save those soul masters. War was brutal. As amander, he had to be decisive.

    ¡°White Tigers, listen to mymand!¡± Dai Hao shouted.

    If the First Soul Master Legion retreated, his defense here would immediately disappear. When that happened, his White Tiger bodyguards were likely to be killed by the attacks of the aerial soul tools even though their individual fighting strength couldpare to either a one or two-ringed soul master.

    As he clenched his lips tightly, Dai Hao took a deep look at all the brothers andrades that had followed him for years. He tried his best to hold back his tears. After this short half a day¡¯s worth of war, there were only slightly more than a thousand of his White Tiger bodyguards left.

    My brothers, I¡¯ve let all of you down!

    All themanders among the White Tiger bodyguards quickly gathered in front of Dai Hao to receive their orders. Thesemanders were also soul masters, and their cultivations were quite high, too.

    Dai Hao said, ¡°Later, we¡¯ll need to cover the First Soul Master Legion as they retreat towards the north.¡±

    One of the leadingmanders asked, ¡°Marshal, are we creating a diversion?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Hao nodded.

    This bunch ofmanders kneeled down on the ground at the same time, ¡°Marshal, please retreat along with the First Soul Master Legion.¡± They understood the White Tiger Duke very well. They could naturally see the determined look in the his eyes.

    Dai Hao smiled and lifted his hands. A strong force lifted these loyalmanders to their feet. ¡°Do you think those guys from the Sun Moon Empire will let me off if I¡¯m among those who are trying to escape? More people can escape if I¡¯m the bait. White Tigers like us cannot be cowardly, given that we lead the Northwestern Field Army. Are all of you willing to die with me?¡±

    ¡°Marshal!¡± All of them eximed sorrowfully. They weren¡¯t afraid of death, and were willing to sacrifice their lives for the White Tiger Duke. It was just that they couldn¡¯t watch helplessly as the White Tiger Duke perished along with them!

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left. This is an order. All of you should understand that no one can change my course after I¡¯ve made up my mind. Go and prepare! After I make my move, all of you shall follow me! Quick!¡±

    This bunch ofmanders held back their tears as they turned around. Dai Hao¡¯s tears finally flowed as he watched their backs. He lifted his head to look into the sky and muttered to himself as he watched the soul rays that wereing from the sky, ¡°If there¡¯s a next life, I¡¯m willing to be brothers with all of you again. I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t protect all of you.¡± He clenched his fist, and the veins on his arms became very obvious. His aura started to rise rapidly, and nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet. The aura that he released was extremely wild, and even the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin and the other strong individuals could sense it clearly.

    ¡ª

    Ye Yulin said coldly, ¡°The White Tiger Duke is going to go all-out. Be prepared to unleash all of your strength.¡± As he spoke, his body also shone brightly. Arge amount of soul power was poured into his Sunmoon Divine Needle. He only had one goal¡­ kill Dai Hao! As long as this White Tiger Duke was dead, all the defenses on the western side of the Star Luo Empire would bepromised. Of course, he didn¡¯t think that the White Tiger Duke¡¯s presence could affect the big picture that much either way. Whether it was the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire or the Dou Ling Empire, he believed that they were on the cusp of annihtion. This world already belonged to soul tools. While these three empires had started to realize this in recent years, they were still a little toote.

    Just as things got tense between both sides and the battle was about to reach its end, a strange aura suddenly filled the entire ce.

    A rose-gold vertical eye suddenly opened in the sky without any warning. It appeared between the two soul engineering legions in the sky and the remaining White Tiger bodyguards on the ground.

    When it appeared, the soul rays that shot towards the ground would instantly be diverted away by some strange force when they came within a hundred-meter diameter from it. These soul rays were then unable to pose any threat.

    Rose-gold sunray patterns slowly spread out. Under the influence of these magical patterns, everything in the area turned weird.

    The White Tiger Duke heard a familiar voice in his head. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to carry out your n? What are you waiting for?¡±

    When he heard this voice, Dai Huo was first shocked. After this, he immediately recalled something, and revealed a delighted look in his eyes. He shouted, ¡°White Tigers, follow me. First Soul Master Legion, retreat!¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was the first to move, and he led his bodyguards towards the north. He led the charge, and quickly burst into the distance. He intentionally ran very quickly, and widened the gap between him and his bodyguards. He knew that he was his enemies¡¯ most important target. The closer his men were to him, the faster they would die!

    On the other side, the Big Dipper Douluo was already tearing up. Dai Yueheng, who nned to save his father, led the First Soul Master Legion towards the southeast. Figures rose roughly five meters from the ground and flew in that direction using flying-type soul tools they had already prepared. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect the White Tiger bodyguards and flee so far. Without the White Tiger bodyguards to burden them now, they were able to flee much more quickly.

    Dai Hao flew forward with all his speed. Given his abilities as a Titled Douluo, his speed was very high even though he wasn¡¯t an agility-type soul master. However, he found it very strange that the soul engineers in the sky didn¡¯t unleash their all-out attack against him even though he was fleeing at top speed. Even if the Starsky Douluo¡¯s attack could cover a huge region, was he really so self-confident?

    However, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t know that all the soul engineers, including Ye Yulin, were seeing things quite differently. Just as Dai Hao heard that mysterious voice, the Starsky Douluo and every soul engineer heard that mysterious voice as well.

    ¡°Ie from the Holy Ghost Church, and I was tasked by my leader to assist all of you. I¡¯ll use a secret technique to freeze all of them below. After that, you can attack them with all your might and destroy them.¡± A cold voice sounded in everyone¡¯s head. Even the Starsky Douluo was moved, even though he was normally a proud person.

    They were in a defensive formation formed by several hundred soul engineers working together. Even a Transcendent Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to breach this formation easily. It was abination of the strength of a few hundred soul engineers. Although this huge protective barrier wasn¡¯tpletely imprable, it should be able to resist a few attacks from an Ultimate Douluo. This was also the strongest trump card of the five soul engineering legions of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hand that Protects the Nation.

    However, the person with that mysterious voice was still able to transmit his spiritual intent even under such conditions. It showed how strong his spiritual power was.

    Furthermore, Ye Yulin felt a very familiar feeling when he heard that voice, although he couldn¡¯t recall where he had heard it before.

    However, he still chose to believe that mysterious voice as he had no other choice, given what happened below.

    The light released from the scarlet-gold vertical eye engulfed the entire area below, and the entire White Tiger Duke¡¯s remaining army was hugely affected. All of them were disoriented, and their defense against aerial attacks weakened significantly.

    Ye Yulin wouldn¡¯t forgo such an opportunity. He immediately pointed his right hand downward and shouted, ¡°All-out attack!¡±

    Soul rays immediately rained down. His Sunmoon Divine Needle that had just been fully charged unleashed a streak of golden-silver light towards Dai Hao, who had exposed himself.

    Suddenly, there was a bloody scene below. Along with the coordination of the rose-gold vertical eye, there was a massacre. Patches of bloody light shone, and lives were quickly taken. Only the defenses of some soul masters were still effective. Even so, they were stillpletely annihted after some time.

    After Ye Yulin unleashed his Sunmoon Divine Needle, he immediately retrieved a Milk Bottle to recover his soul power. While his Sun Moon Divine Needle was strong, it greatly drained his soul power. He had already used it twice today. As a soul engineer, he knew that he had to keep himself at his peak in enemy territory. He didn¡¯t continue attacking. The White Tiger Duke would definitely be unable to hold on for much longer!

 Chapter 423.2 - The White Tigers Crisis

    <h4 ss>Chapter 423.2: The White Tiger¡¯s Crisis</h4>

    As he recovered his soul power, Ye Yulin monitored the situation beneath him. When he saw the White Tiger bodyguards and the soul engineers of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s First Soul Master Legion being killed, he felt something wasn¡¯t right. The vertical eye had appeared at a very weird time.If he was sent by His Majesty, why didn¡¯t he show himself immediately? Furthermore, why didn¡¯t he discuss it with us before he appeared?

    After he thought of all this, Ye Yulin was suddenly shocked. He shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± His voice was transmitted through a sound amplifying soul tool. The soul engineers from the Terrorw Soul Engineering Legion and Evil Tyrant Soul Engineering Legion could hear him clearly.

    Soul engineer legions were very disciplined. They needed to coordinate extremely well within their ranks in order to unleash their greatest fighting strength. All the soul engineers stopped instantly, and the entire ce went silent.

    Things didn¡¯t seem amiss below. Tragic screams and sorrowful cries could be heard. The remaining White Tiger bodyguards quickly gathered.

    The White Tiger Duke had already disappeared under the attack of Ye Yulin¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle and there was only a huge crater in the ground where he had been standing. Everything seemed to be very normal. However, Ye Yulin felt that something wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°Remove the barrier,¡± Ye Yulin ordered.

    The two soul engineer legions trusted him. After all, it seemed like everything had been decided. It wasn¡¯t possible for those on the ground to attack them or fly into the sky. The two huge protective soul barriers were quickly retracted and turned into streaks of lights that fused with the soul tool behind every soul engineer¡¯s back.

    When these protective soul barriers were retracted, Ye Yulin¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he shouted furiously, ¡°No! It¡¯s an illusion!¡±

    Yes, he could immediately sense intense spiritual undtions the moment the barriers were retracted. If not for the fact that he was wary, he might not have noticed these spiritual undtions at all. However, these spiritual undtions weren¡¯t aimed at the ground.

    They were clearly engulfing the airborne legions. If that person earlier was helping them, why would his spiritual undtions be engulfing them?

    While a joint protective soul barrier was very strong, there was still one problem: itpletely isted the outside world. As a result, they weren¡¯t able to sense the strong spiritual undtions earlier.

    Once he discovered that something was wrong, Ye Yulin couldn¡¯t be bothered with conserving his soul power anymore. His Sunmoon Divine Needle immediately turned and faced the rose-gold vertical eye before firing an intense beam of light.

    This beam of golden-silver light immediately turned illusory and disappeared when it got close to that rose-gold vertical eye. Initially, everything within the view of all the soul engineerspletely changed.

    There was no longer a bloody scene below. Yes, there were many holes that were blown apart in the ground. However, there wasn¡¯t even a single corpse.

    The First Soul Master Legion had already vanished. After such a long time, they had already flown more than five kilometers with their flying-type soul tools.

    The White Tiger Bodyguards had also disappeared from their line of sight. The White Tiger Duke was nowhere to be seen. What left Ye Yulin even more depressed was that he didn¡¯t know who had released the rose-gold vertical eye. Given how strong that illusory soul skill was, it had to be at least the work of a Titled Douluo who possessed great spiritual power.

    ¡°Chase them! The White Tiger Duke won¡¯t forsake his bodyguards. He must be over there.¡± As he spoke, Ye Yulin quickly activated his flying-type soul tool and chased after the White Tiger bodyguards.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Just as Ye Yulin and the others were attacking with all their strength, Dai Hao discovered that something was wrong. He could hear tremendous booms behind him. As he turned, he saw the countless soul rays that were raining down on them, but these soul rays were still striking the original spot they were in.

    They didn¡¯t chase after them. The rose-gold vertical eye was still shing brightly in the sky.

    This was¡­

    His doubt instantly turned into extreme delight. He understood that someone must have used some method to misdirect the two soul engineer legions, and made them think that they were still in their original spot.

    When he heard that voice earlier, he could tell that it was a familiar one. It sounded like the guy who gave him the Sunmoon Divine Needle before.

    After he realized all this, Dai Hao didn¡¯t bother running far away anymore. If he wanted to escape, he had a lot of opportunities to do so right now. No matter how strong Ye Yulin was or how magical his Sunmoon Divine Needle was, it wasn¡¯t a problem for him to escape the detection range of Ye Yulin¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle given his abilities.

    However, he still turned back without any hesitation. This was because he had to leave with his brothers even if he wanted to escape. They would either survive together or die together!

    Dai Hao returned to his White Tiger bodyguards and shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°White Tigers, run with all your might! Don¡¯t care about what¡¯s happening behind! This is our only chance!¡± He just hoped that the powerful individual would be able to dy Ye Yulin a bit longer. While he knew that it would be very difficult to escape with so many White Tiger bodyguards, he had no choice right now. At this moment, he saw a beam of light prating the rose-gold vertical eye in the distance, and the aerial attacks on the ground had already ceased. After this, he heard Ye Yulin roaring furiously before the two soul engineering legions attacked again. They flew extremely quickly towards them.

    Are we still unable to escape in the end?Dai Hao revealed a lost look in his eyes. However, this was already the best result they could achieve. At least those from the First Soul Master Legion had left. There was still a glimmer of hope for the empire.

    Dai Hao wasn¡¯t cowardly, and there was a determined look in his eyes. Just as he was about to fly up to fight his enemies, that mysterious voice sounded again. In addition, his voice now reached every White Tiger bodyguard.

    ¡°White Tigers, continued to run forward and enter the ck doors in front of you. When you enter, don¡¯t act recklessly no matter what you see. This is your only chance to survive. Quick! Or else it¡¯ll be toote.¡± At the end, that voice sounded very anxious.

    Dai Hao was stunned and quickly turned around. He was shocked to discover that several pitch-ck doors had risen behind him. There were twelve of these doors. Every door was around three meters wide and ten meters tall. They gave off a very mysterious feeling.

    The magnificent demonic patterns around these doors revealed a sinister aura.

    At this point, Dai Hao¡¯s decisiveness was revealed. He didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately gave an order.

    ¡°Enter those ck doors in order. There must be no confusion.¡± The best way to enter those doors wasn¡¯t just by running towards them. The White Tiger bodyguards had to adopt a strict and neat formation.

    The White Tiger bodyguards were already prepared to die. However, how could they not be delightfully surprised now that they were offered a glimmer of hope? If they could live, who would be willing to die?

    Instantly, the fit White Tiger bodyguards sprinted towards those twelve ck doors. However, they tried their best to maintain their formation as they charged, and weren¡¯t messy as they made their escape.

    Dai Hao didn¡¯t leave. He rose into the sky. He had already calcted very clearly that during this short period of time they were offered, his White Tiger bodyguards would be within the attacking range of the two soul engineering legions before they entered the ck doors. He was not going to leave until thest White Tiger bodyguard was safe.

    How could the White Tiger Duke be ordinary, given that his subordinates were willing to risk their lives for him?

    He heard a sigh and subconsciously turned his head to one side. He only saw a ck figure floating not far away from him.

    This person waspletely covered in ck and he was even wearing headgear that concealed his appearance. From his body shape, it seemed like he was a slender man.

    ¡°White Tiger Duke, why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± This man in ck had evidently altered his voice. He sounded low-pitched and hoarse right now.

    Dai Hao replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never forsaken any soldier under me. Even if we have to retreat, I have to be thest man.¡±

    The man in ck asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s very foolish? You can only protect the lives of more citizens of the Sun Moon Empire if you are alive.¡±

    Dai Haoughed. Hisughter sounded very free and easy, ¡°Of course I know how foolish it is. However, this is what White Tigers believe in. Even if I¡¯m foolish, I have to stay true to this belief. I have descendants, so what if I die? Thank you, Sir. You must be the one helping us. You must be the same guy from before, am I right?¡±

    The man in ck remained silent for a moment before answering, ¡°Are you really nning to be thest to leave?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Hao answered his question and his nine soul rings shed.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stay with you, then.¡± The man in ck sounded like he was in a bit of a dilemma. However, he also sounded very relieved when he finished speaking.

    ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t have to do this. You¡¯ve already helped us enough.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense and prepare to receive our enemies. I hope that your subordinates can run faster.¡± As he spoke, the man in ck vanished into thin air.

    After a few seconds, a rose-gold vertical eye appeared a thousand meters away in mid-air and blocked the advance of the soul engineer legions.

    Initially, Ye Yulin could have fired his Sunmoon Divine Needle immediately, as Dai Hao was within range. However, he was greatly drained after firing his Sunmoon Divine Needle twice. He had already started preparing other soul tools, which were still very threatening in his hands

 Chapter 423.3 - The White Tigers Crisis

    <h4 ss>Chapter 423.3: The White Tiger¡¯s Crisis</h4>

    However, the rose-gold vertical eye reappeared before he could lock onto the White Tiger Duke. Furthermore, everything in front of him turned blurry the moment it appeared. The White Tiger Duke and his bodyguards immediately became very unclear. If they were so unclear, how could Ye Yulin lock onto Dai Hao?

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that way. All the soul engineers had the same feeling.

    ¡°Idiot, you are courting death! Turn him into waste!¡± Ye Yulin shouted. Countless soul rays instantly streamed towards the golden vertical eye.

    When these soul rays were still dozens of meters away from the vertical eye, the vertical eye instantly transformed into bubbles and disappeared.

    However, its appearance had also caused the two soul engineer legions to stop. Before the soul engineers were even able to react, the rose-gold vertical eye silently appeared again in mid-air after the soul rays passed through it.

    What¡¯s going on? Even if this is an illusion, it has to be created by a soul master! Why is it able to vanish on its own just as it¡¯s about to be attacked, and reappear after that? What kind of ability is this?

    Naturally, they didn¡¯t know that this was what Huo Yuhao was capable of after his spiritual power reached the concrete-material realm.

    The rose-gold vertical eye was created by Huo Yuhao, but it wasn¡¯t just an illusion. As long as Huo Yuhao was willing, he could make it real. In fact, all the illusions that had affected them earlier were created by this vertical eye.

    The greatest difference between the concrete-material and concrete-immaterial realm was that spiritual power in the concrete-immaterial realm could only spawn a spiritual avatar that could detect and survey things, but not do anything concrete. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power in the concrete-material realm was an extension of his own body. Within a certain region, this extension of his body possessed some of his powers. Huo Yuhao could retract this extension with just a thought. As he released and retracted this extension, he managed to slow the advance of the two soul engineer legions.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly beat the Starsky Douluo in a duel. However, he was able to use all sorts of confusing tactics through his spiritual power and Spirit Eyes. On such a huge battlefield, capturing him would be very difficult. As long as Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t risk his life, it would take a Transcendent Douluo to lock onto him with his spiritual power.

    Others might be afraid of Ye Yulin¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle, but Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t. His Sunmoon Divine Needle couldn¡¯t lock onto Huo Yuhao unless the Evileye Tyrant King was helping Ye Yulin urately target him. The best way of targeting Huo Yuhao was a powerful area of effect attack or a soul tool, and would also depend on one¡¯s own cultivation. However, Huo Yuhao could predict things. Even in the face of such situations, he could still choose to flee. While his fighting strength wasn¡¯t anything much on a battlefield, his survival skills were much better than most Titled Douluo.

    However, using his spiritual power in the concrete-material realm was still quite draining. After all, Huo Yuhao was the only one apart from Ultimate Douluo and those with the same spiritual cultivation who could use his spiritual power to unleash a soul skill. In terms of spiritual cultivation, Huo Yuhao couldpare to an ordinary spiritual-type Titled Douluo.

    As the rose-gold vertical eye appeared once again, things turned blurry in front of the Starsky Douluo yet again. His expression also turned serious, and his fury grew.

    Given his experience, how could he not tell that this person didn¡¯t want to fight it out with him? They wouldn¡¯t have performed so many tricks if otherwise. Given the two soul engineer legions he had with him, he was confident of fighting an Ultimate Douluo!

    Ye Yulin snorted and said, ¡°Blow up the entire region straight ahead and between five hundred and a thousand meters away. Make sure the angle covered is a hundred and eighty degrees. Find that guy!¡±

    Under hismand, all the soul engineers started to move. They changed their soul rays to soul cannons, and explosive shells quickly filled the air.

    Ye Yulin revealed a cold smile.I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t blow this entire ce up and make you appear. You have to be within range in order to use your soul skill.The region he had ordered the soul engineer legions to cover was extensive.

    The tremendous booms that ensued turned the skypletely red. The energy storm generated from the explosions raged out, and terrifying lights shed. Every time they shed, the air would start to distort furiously.

    Huo Yuhao had already turned back and fled the moment Ye Yulin ordered the two soul engineer legions. Ye Yulin was simply too vicious, and Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly handle such an attack. Once he was stuck in the explosions, his Imitation was bound to be ovee. Given the abilities of Ye Yulin and all the ss 8 and 9 soul engineers with him, Huo Yuhao would be wasted by their advanced soul tools the moment his position was exposed.

    He had no choice but to flee.

    As the explosions ensued, seven to eight figures also quickly flew out from the two soul engineer legions. They advanced in different directions as they pursued the retreating White Tiger bodyguards.

    These soul engineers were some of the strongest in the Sun Moon Empire. Naturally, they understood what the most effective way to deal with an illusion was. They had caught a fleeting glimpse of the ck doors earlier. Although they didn¡¯t know what those doors were, they could roughly guess that their pursuit would be unsessful once these White Tiger bodyguards entered those doors. They had to stop them from retreating.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s side. Under such circumstances, he knew that they could only prevail by surprise, and dying the iing soul engineers.

    The White Tiger Duke was fearless even against the handful of soul engineers that were advancing towards them. He flew into the sky, and his third and fifth soul rings shone brightly, bringing up his White Tiger¡¯s Vajra Transformation and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation. His body instantly grew to more than three meters in height, and his muscles bulged. His dominating aura, along with his strong killing intent, weed the iing soul engineers.

    Among the seven soul engineers, three of them were ss 9 soul engineers, including Ye Yulin. The remaining four were ss 8 soul engineers. If these soul engineers weren¡¯t equipped with soul tools, they wouldn¡¯t be able topare to the White Tiger Duke given the strength of their martial souls. Even if the White Tiger Duke couldn¡¯t challenge all of them, his strength was still close to theirbined abilities. Advanced soul engineers devoted their energy towards soul tool research, and thus their individual fighting strength was pretty weak.

    Ye Yulin flew at the center of the group. The Sunmoon Divine Needle above him had also already started charging. He knew that the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t going to be easy to deal with. Without his destructive Sunmoon Divine Needle, they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Dai Hao quickly. If the others were able to stall Dai Hao and he dealt the fatal blow, things would be settled. As for the hidden enemy, his position would immediately be revealed the moment he dared to appear. He would also be killed. Right now, both Sunmoon Divine Needles were charging!

    Ye Yulin didn¡¯t know that this strategy would get him into huge trouble.

    A figure was silently creeping up on him. In terms of soul tools, Ye Yulin was one of the strongest in the entire continent. However, his senses weren¡¯t any better than an ordinary Titled Douluo, while the person who was creeping closer to him was the Eye of the Asura, whose spiritual power had shocked even the Beast God, Di Tian!

    Huo Yuhao knew the goal of these soul engineers. As long as Dai Hao was still around, they wouldn¡¯t give up their attacks on him. To save the White Tiger Duke, the best way was to fight!

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was following behind Ye Yulin. He didn¡¯t use any soul tools to aid him in flying, but his own cultivation. While Ye Yulin was flying very quickly, he still flew behind the other soul engineers, as he needed to charge his Sunmoon Divine Needle and locate Dai Hao. He was the rearmost point of their encirclement.

    Huo Yuhao estimated his spiritual power. Under the effect of his Imitation, he believed that he wouldn¡¯t be discovered even if he got within fifty meters of Ye Yulin. If he inched any closer, however, he was unsure of what would happen. Furthermore, he also believed that Ye Yulin had already taken precautions against him.

    The Starsky Douluo posed the greatest threat to him and the White Tiger Duke of all these soul engineers. The offensive power of the Starsky Douluo¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle was simply too scary. Many Titled Douluo were unable to handle the power of even a single strike from his Sunmoon Divine Needle. They only had a chance of escaping if they settled the Starsky Douluo first.

    When Huo Yuhao was fifty meters away, he stopped inching closer. Instead, he silently followed the Starsky Douluo as he drew closer to Dai Hao.

    In order to not draw fire on his subordinates, Dai Hao had already flown into the sky. These soul engineers had no issue with the White Tiger bodyguards escaping. They were content as long as the White Tiger Duke was killed. As the soul engineers drew closer to Dai Hao, Ye Yulin¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle was about to finish charging.

    The other two ss 9 soul engineers and four ss 8 soul engineers acted at almost the same time. Without any exceptions, their soul tools were all control-type. Lights and powerful soul paralysis rays were unleashed towards the White Tiger Duke.

    Dai Hao¡¯s eyes lit up as he witnessed the iing attacks. White sparks instantly shed from his body. As his body shook in mid-air, he unleashed his seventh soul skill, his Martial Soul True Body. Just as he was about to risk his life, something weird suddenly urred.

    In an instant, that huge white tiger vanished in thin air, while the Starsky Douluo sensed a huge threat at that moment.

    Two figures appeared behind Ye Yulin at the same time. One of them was Dai Hao, who was already in his White Tiger form now. The other figure was Huo Yuhao, who was still dressed in ck. It was too sudden, and Ye Yulin was unable to react in time!

 Chapter 424.1 - Sparing Nothing for the Rescue

    <h4 ss>Chapter 424.1: Sparing Nothing for the Rescue</h4>

    When they appeared behind Ye Yulin, all the soul engineers were stunned.How is this possible? Since when was the White Tiger Duke able to use Instant Teleportation? Furthermore, there isn¡¯t any known Instant Teleportation skill with that kind of range!

    Of course, Instant Teleportation couldn¡¯t teleport someone so far away, and neither did the White Tiger Duke possess such a skill. However, Huo Yuhao did. More urately speaking, it was Xu Sanshi that possessed such a skill.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had once taken Huo Yuhao to the Great Star Dou Forest to attain a strange soul skill. Huo Yuhao rarely used this soul skill. However, it was able to turn the tides every time it was used. This soul skill was called Duplication.

    Before Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual cultivation reached such a high level, his Duplication had limited effects. There were some powerful soul skills that he couldn¡¯t duplicate. However, his spiritual power was at the concrete-material realm now! No matter how strong a martial soul was, he was able to duplicate all its soul skills. Of course, the strength of the soul skills he duplicated corresponded to his cultivation when he unleashed them.

    Before leaving Shrek City, he had found Xu Sanshi and duplicated Xu Sanshi¡¯s evolved fourth soul skill, Xuanwu Discement. From afar, his opponent or partner could be instantly shifted in front of him. It wasn¡¯t just a discement, it was more like a summoning. The skill should have been called Xuanwu Summoning instead.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao used two soul skills at once. His first soul skill was his Instant Teleportation, a skill from his soul bone. Instantly, he crossed the fifty-meter gap between him and the Starsky Douluo and appeared behind him. He wasn¡¯t restricted by distance when he unleashed his soul skills. However, such a distance was undoubtedly more suitable for the White Tiger Duke tounch an attack!

    After he used his Instant Teleportation, he unleashed his Xuanwu Summoning. Both he and Dai Hao unexpectedly appeared behind the Starsky Douluo.

    Purplish-gold light shed, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s linked third soul skill also took effect. He didn¡¯t open his Eye of Destiny earlier to control his aura, and right now, they didn¡¯t have much time left, so he used his normal Spiritual Shock.

    However, it was important to note that Huo Yuhao already had a seven-ringed cultivation! Along with his immense spiritual power, his Spiritual Shock could even affect someone as strong as Ye Yulin.

    However, Ye Yulin demonstrated his strength as a ss 9 soul engineer. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock was about to reach him, a ck headband suddenly shone on his forehead. On this headband was a silvery-white gem, which was crushed instantly. As he moved slightly, everything in front of him turned ck. However, he wasn¡¯t greatly hurt by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    However, this momentary dy was still enough, because he was dyed just as Dai Hao was being teleported over.

    The White Tiger Duke was very experienced. While he was shocked by the fact that he was suddenly behind Ye Yulin, he still hated the Starsky Douluo greatly. How would he show any mercy?

    Streaks of blinding white light instantly shone behind Ye Yulin. It was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s sixth soul skill, White Tiger¡¯s Extermination. He unleashed it on the Starsky Douluo while he was in his Martial Soul True Body.

    Ye Yulin couldn¡¯t even turn around right now, but he still managed to smack his right hand against his chest, and something strange happened. Countless spots of golden light shone on his body. These golden lights were like stars in the night sky. When Dai Hao¡¯s attacknded on Ye Yulin¡¯s body, these spots of lights immediately joined together and formed a web. This web of light blocked Dai Hao¡¯s attack.

    For Titled Douluo, Invincible Barriers didn¡¯t have much effect anymore, because there was a limit to the ss of an Invincible Barrier. The strongest Invincible Barrier that existed as of now was only ss 7, and could only able to resist one strike from an assault-type Titled Douluo. For someone of Ye Yulin¡¯s standards, it didn¡¯t offer much protection.

    The protective soul tool that Ye Yulin owned and had just unleashed was called the Starsky Barrier. It was his strongest defensive soul tool at ss 9.

    There were no soul engineers that weren¡¯t concerned about their own defense. They knew about the gap between them and higher-tier soul masters in terms of physical strength.

    When the White Tiger Duke¡¯s all-out attack collided with Ye Yulin¡¯s Starsky Barrier, Ye Yulin exploited its momentum to unleash his soul thruster and widen the gap between him and Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao. However, he still groaned and spat out blood when he was struck. Huo Yuhao had a fantastic and rare opportunity in front of him. How could he possibly give it up? With the Starsky Douluo around, they practically had no chance to escape!

    When Ye Yulin¡¯s Starsky Barrier lit up, Huo Yuhao had already started making his move. His Eye of Destiny opened, and a strange halo instantlynded on the Starsky Douluo¡¯s body. The sixth soul ring of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes shone. This rose-gold soul ring was covered in a magical glow. He had unleashed one of the two soul skills of this soul ring that Wang Qiu¡¯er had given him, Spiritual Reaving.

    Instantly, Ye Yulin felt a little dizzy. The headband that he had specially created to resist spiritual-type attacks didn¡¯t have any reaction. One of the three silvery-white gems on his headband was already crushed, but the other two gems didn¡¯t react at this moment.

    An indescribable sense of crisis turned Ye Yulin pale at this moment. His reaction was on point. The light from his flying-type soul tool and soul thruster were instantly extinguished. He even gave up his control of the two Sunmoon Divine Needles in the air. His body immediately crashed toward the ground, as if he were in freefall.

    After Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Reaving, he followed it with an all-out strike of his Spiritual Shock.

    Boom, boom!

    The two remaining gems on Ye Yulin¡¯s forehead instantly blew apart. His headband, which was roughly as strong as a ss 8 soul tool, waspletely destroyed at this moment. Not only that, but he also groaned as blood started flowing from his pores.

    After being struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Reaving, his defense against spiritual attacks became effectively useless! This was the most effective attack Huo Yuhao could use on powerful soul masters and soul engineers. Of course, the prerequisite had to be that his opponent wasn¡¯t prepared for it.

    Dai Hao wanted to chase Ye Yulin, but he was immediately stopped by Huo Yuhao. ¡°Quick, rise into the sky and take control of his Sunmoon Divine Needles.¡±

    Dai Hao immediately understood what he was trying to do. Following this, he felt a streak of spiritual power linking with him. Everything around him was presented mentally through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Right now, almost all the White Tiger bodyguards had sessfully escaped. Thest wave of bodyguards was entering the twelve ck doors right now. Under such circumstances, their escape n would be perfect as long as the two of them were able to flee sessfully.

    Under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, the two of them quickly rose into the sky. As the Starsky Douluo¡¯s spiritual sea had been hurt, and he was afraid that the White Tiger Duke would chase him, he was rapidly descending at this moment. It was toote for him to stop Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao. In addition, the rest of the soul engineers were still attacking in the direction Dai Hao was earlier. As they regained awareness, they only managed to relocate Dai Hao at this point.

    Everything happened too quickly. Seeing that Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao were rising into the sky, streaks of light shot towards the both of them. All the soul engineers believed that the two of them were trying to escape.

    The distorted rays shed around Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao. Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Interference Domain. He had already demonstrated the strength of his Spiritual Interference Domain earlier. Not even a Titled Douluo could see through it. Suddenly, the rays weren¡¯t able to lock onto them and struck nothing.

    ¡°Area of effect attack.¡± Ye Yulin managed to stabilize his body at this point and flew up once again. Right now, he looked very pale, but he was also very angry. He had been subjected to a sneak attack. Not only was a ss 8 soul tool destroyed, but he was also seriously hurt. At this moment, he was suffering from a splitting headache. If not for his ss 8 headband, he would be half-dead. He put on another soul tool that defended against spiritual power and flew up again.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao had a much greater head-start. As they flew at their quickest speed, they were already inching close to the two Sunmoon Divine Needles.

    Dai Hao had used a Sunmoon Divine Needle before. Naturally, he knew how to control it, and immediately used his soul and spiritual power toplete his connection to one of the two Sunmoon Divine Needles. Furthermore, the Sunmoon Divine Needle that he had used before was given to him by Huo Yuhao. While Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t strong enough to use this ss 9 soul tool in the past, he did research it before! Thus he wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with its controls, either. The two of them quickly controlled the two Sunmoon Divine Needles. In addition, both these needles had been charged up by the Starsky Douluo earlier.

    ¡°Ye Yulin, you can have a taste of the strength of your Sunmoon Divine Needles, too. We shall blow you apart!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    Ye Yulin almost wet his pants. He had invented these two Sunmoon Divine Needles and understood how powerful they were. His Starsky Barrier could defend against other attacks, but he was bound to be evaporated from the face of the earth if the attacks of two Sunmoon Divine Needles hit him.

    Instantly, he descended again without any hesitation. At the same time, a ss 7 Invincible Barrier also rose up, and streaks of defensive soul rays were continuously being unleashed.

    He only had one life. He wasn¡¯t going to gamble with it!

    Just as Huo Yuhao spoke, the two Sunmoon Divine Needles had already been unleashed. However, they weren¡¯t fired towards the Starsky Douluo.

    Dai Hao was startled while Huo Yuhao was speaking. This was because his Sunmoon Divine Needle was being aimed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, but the target wasn¡¯t Ye Yulin!

 Chapter 424.2 - Sparing Nothing for the Rescue

    <h4 ss>Chapter 424.2: Sparing Nothing for the Rescue</h4>

    Two streaks of golden-silver light formed two thin beams of light in the air. The most terrifying thing about a Sunmoon Divine Needle was that it couldpress a huge amount of energy into a wisp. The destructive power of a single streak of light unleashed by a Sunmoon Divine Needle was extremely terrifying.

    Dai Hao had resisted one strike today, and all his defensive soul tools were crushed. He was even badly scorched.

    Right now, the two Sunmoon Divine Needles were aimed at the other two ss 9 soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao had shouted very loudly before. Naturally, these two ss 9 soul engineers heard him. However, hearing him and seeing what was going on were two different things. From the looks of it, those two beams of light were about to shoot towards them!

    These two ss 9 soul engineers couldn¡¯t be bothered with their image anymore. Both of them screamed, and different-colored protective barriers shed wildly. It was more important for them to save their own lives, no matter the cost of the defensive soul tools they had to use!

    Two tremendous booms resonated across the sky. Two golden-silver suns seemed to have lit up the sky.

    ¡°Quickly, flee!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at Dai Hao and quickly unleashed his Imitation, which engulfed both of them. At the same time, they flew diagonally downward. However, they weren¡¯t flying towards the twelve ck doors.

    While Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation could conceal them, they would still be revealed if they were struck by an area of effect attack. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly take any risks right now.

    The two soul engineer legions had already chased after them, and all the soul engineers could naturally tell what was happening. They also possessed a wealth of experience and instantly unleashed area of effect attacks using their soul tools. The area that they covered included the route that Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao had to take to reach the twelve ck doors.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s earlier choice had been wrong, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape in the face of this barrage of attacks.

    Dai Hao¡¯s back broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the patches of light descend from the sky.

    Right now, he and Huo Yuhao were flying towards the two soul engineer legions, aiming for the space beneath them.

    At times, the most dangerous ce was the safest ce. The carpet attacks that they unleashed would certainly not target the region they were in.

    ¡ª

    Ye Yulin had risen into the sky again, and the other two ss 9 soul engineers were well-prepared. Before they entered the Star Luo Empire this time, they had made rich preparations, and thus managed to preserve their lives even when facing attacks from the two Sunmoon Divine Needles.

    What left Ye Yulin pale was that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just tap into the power of his Sunmoon Divine Needles, but also disappeared with them as he and Dai Hao vanished. Those were ss 9 soul tools! Their value couldn¡¯t be measured in terms of money! Furthermore, they were Sunmoon Divine Needles that possessed immense destructive strength. He only had one Sunmoon Divine Needle left with him now!

    The twelve ck doors quickly shut after thest White Tiger bodyguard entered.

    All the soul engineers were furious and charged towards those twelve ck doors after they failed to locate Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao.

    However, it was a pity that these doors that came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine weren¡¯t real entities. Soul rays and cannon shells were unable to enter through or damage the doors. Only living creatures and specters were able to cross through them.

    By the time the soul engineers reached the doors, they had already shut and disappeared.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao had already fled far away, along with Dai Hao. It was already toote for the two soul engineer legions to use their thermal detectors and aerial surveince soul tools. Thermal detectors could only operate within a limited range. It was impossible for them to locate Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao anymore!

    Huo Yuhao was panting heavily now. While he had only fought for a short time earlier, he had put everything he had into that fight. Not only were his soul and spiritual power greatly drained, but his energy was also expended. Both he and Dai Hao had faced many powerful soul engineers earlier. If they had made even one mistake, they would have died!

    Dai Hao put the Sunmoon Divine Needle away in his storage-type soul tool and said sincerely, ¡°Thanks. You¡¯ve saved me once again.¡±

    He had already resigned himself to the fact that he was going to die today, but hadn¡¯t expected this miraculous person to appear and save not just his subordinates, but himself as well! He knew how dangerous things had been earlier. Right now, his back was still covered in cold sweat. However, this person in front of him didn¡¯t care about anything else and saved him. In addition, this person also demonstrated all sorts of strange abilities. It seemed like he would appear every time he was in danger. Who exactly was he?

    Huo Yuhao nced at Dai Hao, and aplicated look shed across his eyes. He only shook his head and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The two of them flew close to fifty kilometers before Huo Yuhao led Dai Hao to a remote area.

    ¡°White Tiger Duke, I¡¯ll only be with you until here. Your White Tiger bodyguards have been sent into another dimension. I¡¯ll lead them out now. Quickly, take them and leave.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao recited a few incantations and a ck door opened.

    There was only one door this time. Opening twelve doors at once was extremely draining on his soul power. If not for the fact that he wanted the White Tiger bodyguards to escape as quickly as possible earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have opened so many doors.

    Huo Yuhao had thought out his n to save the White Tiger Duke in a very short period of time. First, he unleashed his Spectral Doors at a distant location before making them invisible in the air. At the same time, he dispelled all the undead at the entrances of his Spectral Doors as he entered his spectral demine. They wouldn¡¯t get close to the entrances for a while. In this way, the White Tiger bodyguards wouldn¡¯t easily uncover the secret of his demine.

    Next, he returned to the battlefield and told the White Tiger bodyguards that they could make their move. After that, he rose into the sky.

    When he came up with this n, Huo Yuhao had devised it ording to the orders that the White Tiger Duke gave. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many coincidences!

    Following this, he had unleashed all the abilities of his Spirit Eyes to their fullest. When he devised his n, Huo Yuhao had clearly delegated himself a role. His role was to pester, and not to attack or fight. Given his individual strength, it was impossible for him to resist so many soul engineers. Fighting was a surefire way to die. He only had a chance by using his spiritual-type soul skills to pester his opponents.

    Indeed, they were very effective on the battlefield. He eventuallypleted his rescue mission, an almost impossible task. He had performed a miracle. Whether it was the White Tiger Duke or the Starsky Douluo, they still weren¡¯t able to figure out his true identity.

    The White Tiger Duke started tearing up when he saw his White Tiger bodyguards streaming out from the ck door. If not for this person in front of him, all of his brothers would have died on the battlefield!

    ¡°Benefactor, can you let us see your true appearance? You¡¯ve saved us twice. I have to repay these two favors. In the future, I¡¯ll help you fulfill any requests you have unless they betray my own principles and beliefs.¡±

    Dai Hao would never say something like this if Huo Yuhao had only saved him. However, Huo Yuhao had saved the lives of both him and his bodyguards on two different asions. Given what he had done, Dai Hao couldn¡¯t help but make this heavy promise.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned, and replied, ¡°Alright, remember what you¡¯ve said today. As for my appearance, I won¡¯t reveal it. You¡¯ll get to see it one day.¡±

    Dai Hao was stunned for a moment. He noticed the slight surprise in Huo Yuhao¡¯s tone of voice.Don¡¯t tell me I know this man?However, he had no impression of this man, whether it was in terms of his voice or his figure.

    Soon, the thirteen-hundred-plus White Tiger bodyguards had walked out of the Spectral Door and gathered around Dai Hao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Dai Hao and said, ¡°It¡¯s not safe here. Those soul engineers can fly. I estimate that they¡¯ll be searching this ce soon. Quickly, retreat and mount your defenses.¡±

    ¡°Benefactor, why don¡¯t you follow us back to our camp? Given your abilities¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao interrupted him by rising up and flying into the distance. In the blink of an eye, he had assimted with the darkness and disappeared.

    The White Tiger bodyguards all knelt as they watched as Huo Yuhao leave. He was their benefactor! Although the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t kneel, there was a strong look of gratitude in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook a little after flying to a point where the White Tiger Duke and the rest couldn¡¯t see him anymore. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ck scarf he had used to mask his face.

    His Butterfly Wings opened up, and he managed to stabilize himself.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was very pale as he pulled the ck scarf down. There was a lost look in his eyes and he muttered, ¡°Why? Why did I risk everything to save him? Aren¡¯t I supposed to hate him? However, I feel so relieved after saving him. This is¡­ why¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Dawn. The sun slowly rose.

    A bright sunrise was an indication that the weather would be good, and good weather always lifted one¡¯s spirits.

    However, today was an exception. Even though the weather was good, those from the Star Luo Empire weren¡¯t in a good mood.

    The defense of their Western Border had broken down, and news of this had quickly spread through various channels to the entire continent. The imperial family of the Star Luo Empire was shocked. As they dispatched their military, they requested aid from the Dou Ling and Heavenly Soul Empires.

    No one had expected the Sun Moon Empire to make a move so quickly, and evene in such a ferocious manner. All three empires had expected the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s fighting strength to be great. However, they found out that their estimations were still too low when this terrifying crisis urred. The Sun Moon Empire was much scarier than they had expected. The influence of soul tools on war had also exceeded their expectations.

 Chapter 424.3 - Sparing Nothing for the Rescue

    <h4 ss>Chapter 424.3: Sparing Nothing for the Rescue</h4>

    A few soul engineer legions teamed up together tounch a lightning assault, andpletely overwhelmed the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army. Disregarding the fact they had ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells to open the way for them, they still managed to demonstrate the strength of soul engineer legions.

    Suddenly, the entire continent was in an uproar.

    The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯tunch any attacks on the neighboring Heavenly Soul Empire but deployed several soul engineer legions at the border.

    After learning that the Sun Moon Empire had attacked the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire deployed the Body Sect to lead a bunch of strong soul masters tounch a surprise attack the next day. However, they were intercepted by the Holy Ghost Church. Given the number of strong evil soul masters in the Holy Ghost Church, as well as the strength of their evil abilities, the Body Sect was forced to return without making any advances. If they didn¡¯t retreat, they might have been encircled by soul engineer legions, which would have made it difficult for them to flee.

    On the other side, at the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Western Border, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military had already made their way into the Star Luo Empire¡¯s territories through the huge gap they had made. However, they didn¡¯t rush to attack, but quickly took control of several forts that had belonged to the Northwestern Field Army at the border. They consolidated their gains and strength at the border. Even so, everyone knew that they weren¡¯t going to stop attacking.

    Ever since the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Crown Prince Xu Tianran had ascended the throne, the three other empires on the continent knew that this war was unavoidable. However, there had been a huge explosion in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City, causing the empire to suffer huge losses. The hostages that they had held captive were also freed. In everyone¡¯s opinion, the Sun Moon Empire should beying low for some time. However, they made their move before half a year was up. They were irresistible!

    A storm was brewing over the continent, and a war of survival and destruction was about to begin. However, Huo Yuhao still returned to Imperial Radiant City that night.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When he returned, it was almost midnight. However, Dai Luoli and Xu Yun were still waiting for him. Although they didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao¡¯s exact cultivation was, they knew that his abilities should be quite good, given that he couldpletely suppress them. Since he was able to sneak out to explore, he should be able to bring back some news.

    Right now, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military had sealed all information very tightly, so there wasn¡¯t much news leaking out.

    ¡°Tang Dong, how is it?¡± Dai Luoli quickly went up and asked Huo Yuhao after seeing him sneak in through a window and change into his military uniform.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The defense of the front line has indeed fallen. However, our troops seem to have sessfully retreated. From afar, I saw that the White Tiger Duke¡¯s g has already been withdrawn. He should be fine.¡± He naturally wasn¡¯t going to tell Dai Luoli everything. It would be contradictory to his n.

    After hearing that the White Tiger Duke was fine, Dai Luoli heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s great that my father is fine. Do you know where he retreated to?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯m certain he¡¯s within our territories. As for which city he retreated to, I¡¯m not sure. Don¡¯t harbor any thoughts of finding him now. To you, the thing you should be focused on is to perform well in the defense of Imperial Radiant City. Once our enemies arrive, we¡¯ll go all out to kill them. The White Tiger Duke can¡¯t take care of you right now.¡±

    After Huo Yuhao pinpointed what he wanted to do, Dai Luoli turned red and nodded. He replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡±

    Xu Yun, who had been standing to one side without making a sound, suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Since the White Tiger Duke is fine, I¡¯m relieved too. I¡¯ll go and find some more news. The two of you can rest first.¡± After she finished speaking, she walked out.

    Huo Yuhao directly sat cross-legged on his bed and entered deep meditation. To him, it had been an exciting night!

    The room they were in right now had been allocated to them by Xu Yun. Xu Yun lived right beside them. The two of them had a room all to themselves. Even though they were bodyguards, this was already very good treatment.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When Huo Yuhao awoke from his deep meditation, it was already the evening of the second day. Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t in the room. After he grabbed a bite to eat, he returned to his bed and sat down.

    While it was a close shave yesterday, he managed to gain a new understanding of the control of his spiritual power. After getting his Martial Soul True Body, unleashing his soul skills through it had provided him with valuable experience.

    Huo Yuhao discovered that he couldn¡¯t use his avatar to directly unleash the powerful soul skills he had, given his cultivation. However, it was much easier for him to use some auxiliary-type soul skills. For example, he could use his Imitation, Spiritual Interference Domain, and Mass Enfeeblement.

    As his cultivation increased, his spiritual power gave him abilities that were simr to his avatar. Although his avatar didn¡¯t possess the abilities of his actual body, the greatest benefit to having an avatar was that it could be forsaken at any time!

    This was the greatest enhancement in terms of his spiritual cultivation. It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t able to divide his attention, given how great his spiritual power was. He couldn¡¯t control both sides perfectly at the same time. This was the next step he was trying to achieve.

    Ever since he had crossed Rank 70, his soul power had improved at a faster rate. Even though he didn¡¯t have the Haodong Power anymore, he was still likely to be an eight-ringed Soul Douluo within five years, given his current speed. This included the assumption that he didn¡¯t meet with any favorable circumstances.

    He wasn¡¯t even twenty years old yet. In five years, he would only be around twenty-four years old. When he was thirty, he might even be close to bing a Titled Douluo.

    Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t any ordinary soul master. He was a soul master with an Ultimate martial soul.

    A simple example would best night¡¯s fight. If Dai Hao had possessed an Ultimate martial soul, he would have been able to inflict significant casualties on the two soul engineer legions, given his cultivation, even against their formidable defenses. Furthermore, a Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Sun Moon Divine Needle, either!

    Huo Yuhao thought of something.Yes! I brought back a Sunmoon Divine Needle yesterday. That Starsky Douluo has suffered great losses this time. Not only did I get back the Sunmoon Divine Needle that I gave the White Tiger Duke thest time, but I even got an additional one for free. I indeed have great fate with this Starsky Douluo.

    It was very difficult for Huo Yuhao to use a Sunmoon Divine Needle, given his current cultivation. However, he had twin martial souls. His overall soul power was much greater than other soul masters of the same rank. Furthermore, his soul power was also much purer, given his Ultimate martial soul. If he unleashed his full strength and risked everything, he might be able to unleash an attack from the Sunmoon Divine Needle once. This was because he still had one more advantage, his immense spiritual power! He didn¡¯t have to drain too much of his soul power to urately aim a Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    Of course, only a nine-ringed Titled Douluo could unleash the true strength of a Sunmoon Divine Needle. He had managed to unleash that strike yesterday because he was fortunate. After sneaking in an attack against the Starsky Douluo, he had gained control over a fully-charged Sunmoon Divine Needle. His spiritual power wasn¡¯t inferior to a Titled Douluo, and thus aiming and firing it that time didn¡¯t pose much of a problem.

    At this moment, Dai Luoli returned. He looked quite frantic.

    ¡°You¡¯re back? How¡¯s the situation outside?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Dai Luoli. He was already much calmerpared to yesterday after he learned about the invasion and saved the White Tiger Duke.

    Dai Luoli looked very gloomy as he said, ¡°It¡¯s bad. They¡¯ve already calcted the losses that we¡¯ve suffered. More than seventy thousand soldiers from the Northwestern Field Army are dead. Among them, more than fifty thousand werebat troops. They all died from soul tools. There are also more than twenty thousand people who are injured, and ten thousand people missing. I¡¯m afraid that those missing are unlikely to be alive. This means that more than eighty thousand of our soldiers were killed after the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surprise attack yesterday.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes had already turned red. He punched a wall beside him hard enough to crack it.

    Huo Yuhao also turned gloomy. The Sun Moon Empire was too vicious. They had used ss 9 soul tools against ordinary soldiers. This was very rare in the history of the continent. This time, the Star Luo Empire had finally seen how terrifying soul tools were.

    ss 9 soul tools were threatening to Titled Douluo, but this wasn¡¯t absolute. It depended on the Titled Douluo¡¯s cultivation. However, the destructiveness of a Titled Douluo could notpare to that of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell.

    This wasn¡¯t to say that Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t cause mass destruction, but time was required for them to do so. However, ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells didn¡¯t need any process. Once they blew apart, they could wipe out a huge amount of lives. They were too scary.

    ¡°What¡¯s next? What¡¯s the situation now?¡± Huo Yuhao suppressed the rage in his heart and tried to stay calm.

    Dai Luoli painfully said, ¡°What else can we do? We¡¯ve requested help from the capital and the other two empires. At the same time, we¡¯ve tightened our second line of defense and deployed all our resources there.

    ¡°My father has indeed returned. However, he didn¡¯te to Imperial Radiant City, but went to Dawn City instead, which is a hundred kilometers away. That city is about asrge as this one. The Northwestern Field Army has also changed their strategy and expanded their area of defense so that the Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t use soul tools to break down their defense again. My father has also submitted a script of penitence to His Majesty, expressing his wish to fight to the death in Dawn City. Right now, the orders are that we have to dy the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military with all our might to buy some time for reinforcements to arrive. We can¡¯t let them gain any further ground.

    ¡°The Northwestern Field Army has operated here for years. Whether it¡¯s in terms of city defense or military strength, this city is better than the interior cities. Once our line of defense here is breached, our enemies will charge forward without any obstacles. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll be unstoppable. I estimate it¡¯ll take half a month for any military reinforcements to arrive. However, a few soul master legions have been deployed to assist us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. This was probably the best that could be done for now. In their current situation, the Sun Moon Empire could still be resisted once the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s reinforcements arrived, given the deep foundations of the Star Luo Empire. After all, the Star Luo Empire was the strongest of the three native empires on the Douluo Continent. The Star Luo Empire also had the greatest number of soul masters in the entire continent, including the Sun Moon Empire. There were more than ten thousand soul masters in ten soul master legions, a force that couldn¡¯t be ignored.

 Chapter 425.1 - Brothers Acknowledge Each Other

    <h4 ss>Chapter 425.1: Brothers Acknowledge Each Other</h4>

    However, Huo Yuhao felt that something wasn¡¯t right for some reason. It was like some aspect had been miscalcted.

    This was what the power of destiny was telling him. However, it was very unclear. He only felt something, but he couldn¡¯t think of what was wrong.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t seem to be in a rush to attack. In the blink of an eye, three days had passed, and the Sun Moon Empire still seemed to have no intention of invading further. All surveince at the borders was performed using aerial surveince soul tools, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineering legions filled the airspacepletely. This meant that any surveince attempts by the Star Luo Empire against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s forces would be futile.

    The White Tiger Duke did send some powerful individuals to survey the situation, but there was a high concentration of aerial surveince soul tools and thermal detectors over the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s forces. If they got close to a certain region, they would immediately be discovered. Once discovered, they would be attacked by powerful soul tools.

    What exactly is the Sun Moon Empire doing? Even if they just wanted to consolidate their borders, wouldn¡¯t three days be enough? Since they started this war, they should havepleted their preparations and been ready tounch an all-out attack now! However, why aren¡¯t they doing anything? Why did they give the Star Luo Empire enough time to gather and deploy their military?

    Huo Yuhao had been thinking about this for many days, and the difort he felt grew more intense

    However, this was obviously an advantageous situation for the Star Luo Empire. The longer their enemies dyed, the closer their reinforcements would be.

    Within these three days, six soul master legions, the Northwestern Field Army, and the Western Field Army had already gathered. Along with the original soul master legion, there were now eight other soul master legions. This alreadyprised eighty percent of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s fighting strength! Even though the First Soul Master Legion had suffered great losses, they still possessed fighting strength.

    The current lineup showed the determination of the Star Luo Empire. Princess Jiujiu personally led the front line forces and had already met up with the White Tiger Duke in Dawn City. She was also themander of all six soul master legions that had arrived as reinforcements. After all, she couldn¡¯t just hand over such great authority to the White Tiger Duke.

    Xu Yun also received news that the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s reinforcements had arrived in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s territory. They split into two waves with the Star Luo Empire¡¯s own reinforcements and were rushing to the front line now.

    It seemed like the situation was slowly stabilizing. In slightly more than ten days, all the reinforcements would have arrived. Adding in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s preparations, the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t find it easy to seed in their invasion.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao idled over these few days. After bing Xu Yun¡¯s bodyguard, and as war was about to break out, he didn¡¯t need to train every day. He just needed to follow Xu Yun as she attended meeting after meeting. However, he and Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t listen in on the exact details, given their status. Huo Yuhao spent more of his time on his own cultivation. As for his identity, Xu Yun stopped probing. Whether it was her or Dai Luoli, they treated him as someone sent by the White Tiger Duke. Otherwise, how could they exin the conditions surrounding Dai Luoli¡¯s White Tiger Awakening?

    After Dai Luoli¡¯s martial soul Awakened, his cultivation improved by leaps and bounds under Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance. He was about to reach Rank 40. Once he obtained four soul rings, he could be a Soul Ancestor. He was also very hardworking. Unless Xu Yun summoned him, he would remain in his room to cultivate.

    Huo Yuhao was also very reassured that his little brother was so hardworking. At least he hadn¡¯t wasted his energy teaching him!

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the blink of an eye, another three days passed. The first batch of reinforcements from the Heavenly Soul Empire, consisting of thirty thousand soldiers, had already arrived. Furthermore, they brought twenty Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons along, which came from the Tang Sect.

    The Star Luo Empire had been attacked by the Sun Moon Empire, and Shrek Academy naturally knew about this. After the Academy discussed it with the Tang Sect, the Tang Sect decided to supply all types of soul tools to the Star Luo Empire first, especially their Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. The effective range of such a cannon was impressive, which made it very useful for defensive purposes. This theory had been tested against the beast tide from the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Why has there been no movement yet? This is weird.¡± Dai Luoli sat on his bed and muttered. He had just eaten his dinner. At this time every day, he would ask Huo Yuhao for guidance.

    Huo Yuhao looked outside and saw that it had already turned dark. He agreed, ¡°Yes! It has been seven days since the war has started. Even if they were consolidating their foundations, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s next attack should have started already.¡±

    Dai Luoli said, ¡°The most hateful thing is that those fellowspletely cut off all our surveince of them. We have no news of what¡¯s happening at the border. I really don¡¯t know what they want. Soul tools are too despicable. Extensive surveince has already been performed on the borders of our Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. It was already very difficult to find out what the Sun Moon Empire was up to back then. Those fellows are too mysterious. I don¡¯t know what intentions they¡¯re harboring.¡±

    After hearing Dai Luoli¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly shook. ¡°Mysterious and sealing all surveince? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s some kind of scheme? Luoli, continue your cultivation. I¡¯ll go out and take a look.¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned for a moment. ¡°Brother Dong, what are you doing? Are you going to the front line? It¡¯s different now than before. The sky is filled with their aerial surveince soul tools. Once they discover you, it¡¯ll be difficult for you toe back. Don¡¯t take the risk!¡±

    Recently, the two of them had drawn closer to each other, especially after the war started. Huo Yuhao stopped beating him up, and even passed down all types of cultivation methods and experiences to him without holding back anything. To Dai Luoli, Huo Yuhao was both a mentor and a friend right now. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want Huo Yuhao to do anything reckless. Furthermore, he and Xu Yun already treated Huo Yuhao as someone sent by the White Tiger Duke.

    Tang Dong was definitely not a spy. If he were a spy, there wasn¡¯t any use for him to be a lowly soldier, given his abilities. He would at least be part of a soul master legion for him to be of any use, and to obtain useful information. However, he stayed in the recruits¡¯ camp, and only guided Dai Luoli every day. Whoever it was, they would certainly think that Huo Yuhao was an instructor the White Tiger Duke had especially found to guide Dai Luoli. The only problem was that he was a little too young.

    As for his violent teaching methods, it was probably because he had been beaten into a martial soul evolution. Dai Luoli didn¡¯t hate him for using such a method. He felt that his improvement seemed to be slower now than when he was being beaten up by Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m just going out to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Let me follow you then,¡± Dai Luoli said, a little impulsively.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. ¡°You?¡±

    Dai Luoli nodded determinedly. ¡°I¡¯m about to go crazy being cooped up in this city every day.¡± In fact, he wasn¡¯t the only one who thought that way. Almost all of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military felt the same way. They were extremely tense waiting for the war to continue. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military had yet to arrive, but they were still under great psychological pressure. Under such circumstances, all of them were under great stress.

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, I can bring you along. However, you must keep everything that you find out along the way a secret. You can¡¯t even tell Xu Yun, or your father when you see him in the future. If you promise me this, I¡¯ll bring you along.¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned. He looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s serious face and was puzzled.

    ¡°So serious? Weren¡¯t you sent by my father? Why can¡¯t I tell him?¡±

    Seeing the doubt on his face, Huo Yuhao said after remaining silent for a moment, ¡°Let me show you something.¡±

    After these few days of interaction, he had gained a deeperprehension of Dai Luoli¡¯s character. After weighing the pros and cons, he made a decision.

    Huo Yuhao quickly rubbed his face a few times. Very soon, a thin mask was removed from his face, revealing his true appearance.

    The original thick-skinned youth had changedpletely.

    Dai Luoli was shocked as he looked at the graceful and slightly handsome-looking Huo Yuhao. He sat where he was for some time.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything but retrieved a small bowl from his storage-type soul tool. He poured in some clean water before mixing it with some fluid.

    ¡°Water and silver ink. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯d use to see if someone is rted to you? What are you doing?¡± Dai Luoli was stunned as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and lifted his head. He looked at him and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just describe what I¡¯m doing?¡± As he spoke, he retrieved a needle and poked his finger, dripping a drop of his blood into the bowl.

    His blood didn¡¯t consolidate into one drop as it entered the inky silver water but drifted in it. It seemedpletely independent.

    Huo Yuhao passed the needle to Dai Luoli and said, ¡°It¡¯s your turn, now.¡±

    Dai Luoli was in disbelief as he looked at him and asked, ¡°You, you¡¯re trying to test if you¡¯re rted to me? We, we¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao interrupted him, ¡°Drip your blood in first.¡±

    Dai Luoli took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down.Gritting his teeth, he took a few steps to the bowl. He poked his finger with the needle, and a drop of his blood entered the bowl of water.

    Both drops of blood drifted independently in the water. They were like two ruby pearls.

    Huo Yuhao gently shook the bowl, and the two drops of blood drifted closer to one another. Dai Luoli watched the bowl closely. He knew that he was rted to Huo Yuhao if the two drops of blood fused together. If they weren¡¯t rted, the two drops of blood would remain separate.

    The two drops of blood were drawing closer. Dai Luoli subconsciously clenched his fist. He was an intelligent person and naturally knew that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t doing this test for no reason. However, he was still in disbelief.

 Chapter 425.2 - Brothers Acknowledge Each Other

    <h4 ss>Chapter 425.2: Brothers Acknowledge Each Other</h4>

    The two drops of blood finally fused with one another. Initially, they only gently touched each other before they bounced away, like two rubber balls. Just when Dai Luoli heaved a sigh of relief and thought this had all been a meaningless game, he suddenly realized that there was a trace of blood connecting the two drops. Before he could react, the two drops fused together rapidly, turning into a bigger drop of blood.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Dai Luoli was shocked, and snatched the bowl away from Huo Yuhao. He brought the bowl up to his eyes, and was in a daze when he saw that there was only one big drop of blood left in the bowl.

    Huo Yuhao sat on the bed next him and revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just like you. We are both sons of that guy, it¡¯s just that our mothers are different. I was born one year earlier than you, so I¡¯m your biological elder brother. It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m simr to you in another aspect, as I¡¯m also a bastard child. Furthermore, my mother¡¯s status is even lower than your mother¡¯s. She was only the maid of that person before.

    ¡°When I was small, I also lived in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Your mother took great care of my mother. If not for her initial support, I might not even have survived. My mother was always very grateful to her. Even just before she died, she still didn¡¯t forget how good your mother was to her.

    ¡°My mother passed away, and I was forced to live with the servants in the Duke¡¯s Mansion. I lived a treacherous life. It took her great pains to raise me. After that, she contracted a serious disease, and never got up after she was kicked by Dai Huabin once. That year, I was only ten. I can¡¯t even remember things clearly anymore, because that memory was one of the darkest in my life.

    ¡°After that, I left the Duke¡¯s Mansion and roamed around on my own. Fortunately, my martial soul is mutated like yours. However, I didn¡¯t inherit that person¡¯s White Tiger, but got my martial soul from my mother, instead. My martial soul is my eyes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at the shocked Dai Luoli and revealed the dim golden light of his Spirit Eyes. Dai Luoli could clearly see the pupils in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly split into two pupils. One pupil was purplish-gold, while the other was rose-gold. It was extremely strange.

    Polycoria. This was the greatest peculiarity of the White Tiger¡¯s lineage!

    ¡°I hate almost everyone from the Duke¡¯s Mansion, not including you and your mother. Your mother was the benefactor of me and my mother. This was why I decided to help you after I discovered your identity.¡±

    Dai Luoli took in a few deep breaths again, and his chest shook tremendously.

    ¡°You, are you really my elder brother?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pointed at the bowl he was holding. ¡°That proves it.¡±

    ¡°Did you join the military because of me? When did you find me?¡± Dai Luoli asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t join the military because of you. I¡¯m also from the Star Luo Empire. I won¡¯t admit that Ie from the Duke¡¯s Mansion, but I belong to the Star Luo Empire. Since the empire is in trouble, I have a responsibility as a citizen. I became a soldier to protect my nation. I chose to start as a recruit because I want to prove to him that I¡¯m not inferior to him. When I manage to achieve a high ranking in the military through my own merits, I¡¯ll personally get everything that the White Tiger Duke owes me.¡±

    Dai Luoli ced the bowl he was holding to one side and walked a few steps closer to Huo Yuhao. The two of them didn¡¯t look exactly alike. Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial lines were gentler, while Dai Luoli¡¯s looked colder. He resembled the White Tiger Duke more.

    ¡°You, you want to deal with dad?¡± Dai Luoli¡¯s voice sounded very uncertain.

    A lost look shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, but he soon regained his determination. ¡°When this crisis is over, and I¡¯m strong enough, I will do so. I¡¯ll return to the Duke¡¯s Mansion and demand justice for my mother.¡±

    Dai Luoli sat down beside Huo Yuhao and softly said, ¡°Elder brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled a little after Dai Luoli called him that. Even with his strong willpower, he wasn¡¯t able to control his emotions at this moment. His eyes suddenly turned red, and his tears flowed uncontrobly.

    Huo Yuhao stretched his hand out and grabbed Dai Luoli¡¯s shoulder. He bit his lips tightly.

    How much time had passed since he had left the Duke¡¯s Mansion? All these years, he had no rtives, and treated the Tang Sect and Shrek as his family. However, everyone shared a blood rtionship with someone else. Right now, the person sitting beside him and calling him ¡®elder brother¡¯ shared a blood rtionship with him!

    Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes turned red when he saw the tears on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Huo Yuhao¡¯s earlier description had sounded very in. However, he could tell that Huo Yuhao had suffered a lot.A ten-year-old child roamed the world on his own.How did he manage to survive all these years? Soul masters have to hunt and kill soul beasts. He handled all those dangers by himself!

    ¡°Elder brother, how did you manage to survive all these years?¡± Dai Luoli asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and said, ¡°There are some things I can¡¯t tell you yet. You¡¯ll find outter. I told you about our rtionship because I want you to trust mepletely. From now on, you need to follow me. I¡¯ll make you stronger as quickly as possible. At the very least, you mustn¡¯t be worse than Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Dai Luoli nodded. He didn¡¯t have a close rtionship with Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. Both of them were legitimate children, and went to Shrek Academy when they were young. They didn¡¯t really interact with him. On the contrary, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears that left him moved.

    Huo Yuhao wiped his tears away and put his mask back on. He said, ¡°I¡¯m Tang Dong here. Don¡¯t tell anyone about my identity or background, especially that person. If you reveal anything, you won¡¯t be able to see me again. Do you understand?¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned and said, ¡°Elder brother, you and father¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao waved his hands and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to make him sound bad in front of you. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t mention him in front of me.¡±

    Dai Luoliughed bitterly. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep this a secret for you. Elder brother, are we still going out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been feeling a little ufortable these past few days. Something must be about to happen. It has been almost ten days since the Sun Moon Empire breached our border, but they haven¡¯t done anything since. This ispletely abnormal. Almost all our reinforcements have arrived. Are they trying to fight us in our peak state? Why didn¡¯t they exploit the opportunity when we were weaker? This is too weird. It doesn¡¯t fit military strategy. Follow me.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao left with Dai Luoli and headed towards the city wall.

    Right now, the sky had already turned dark. After dinner, the city was filled with a rare, rxed atmosphere. It was just that the defenses at the top of the city wall were still very tight, as enemies could arrive at any time. This was especially true for the western side of the city wall.

    Dai Luoli whispered to Huo Yuhao after looking at the soldiers at the top and bottom of the city wall, as well as the surveince soul tools. ¡°Elder brother, how do we leave? The defense is very tight now to prevent enemies from sneaking in.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Compared to the Sun Moon Empire, our Star Luo Empire is far inferior in terms of surveince soul tools. Such a level of surveince ispletely useless in preventing our enemies from spying on us. Let me tell you, there¡¯s a super-high aerial surveince soul tool three thousand meters above Imperial Radiant City right now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Dai Luoli was shocked. ¡°A surveince soul tool three thousand meters in the sky?¡±

    Generally speaking, even a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t fly more than a thousand meters into the sky. The higher one flew, the greater he would be drained. Even with a clear sky, it was impossible to see three thousand meters into the sky. It was already quitemendable if the Star Luo Empire¡¯s ground-based surveince soul tools could even see five hundred meters into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao sighed, ¡°This is an industrial-level difference! Otherwise, why would the Sun Moon Empire be daring enough to attack three empires? They are extremely powerful!¡±

    Dai Luoli asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that they can monitor our every movement?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Just about. However, it¡¯s also very difficult to create a high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool. There aren¡¯t many of them in the Sun Moon Empire, and each of them is very costly to produce. This is why they can only keep an eye on some important locations, and the rity of their surveince isn¡¯t going to be very good.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen had once discussed high-altitude aerial surveince soul tools with Huo Yuhao before. As they were too far away, it was very difficult to control them. If any mistakes were made, one might immediately lose control of a high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool. Furthermore, they were located too far from the ground, and thus lost effectiveness when night fell. They were still considered to be in the experimental stage. Evidently, the Sun Moon Empire wanted to use this war to test these soul tools.

    Of course, a high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool was still able to track anyrge military movements on the ground, even though it wasn¡¯t very precise. This was already very useful in a war.

    Even a Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to detect a high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool from the ground. It was a pity for the Sun Moon Empire that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t any ordinary person.

    Naturally, it was very difficult for Huo Yuhao to fly three thousand meters into the air, but height didn¡¯t affect his Spiritual Detection! Whenever he was free in the city, he would use his Spiritual Detection to scan the city for any anomalies. His unidirectional detection had an effective range of five kilometers even without his Eye of Destiny. When he scanned the sky, he was able to detect that high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool!

 Chapter 425.3 - Brothers Acknowledge Each Other

    <h4 ss>Chapter 425.3: Brothers Acknowledge Each Other</h4>

    ¡°Should we inform the military? They can think of a way to bring that surveince soul tool down.¡± Dai Luoli said.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need too. We can do it ourselves. Haven¡¯t you flown before? I¡¯ll let you experience what it¡¯s like to soar in the sky.¡±

    Dai Luoli didn¡¯t even have four rings yet, and couldn¡¯t use flying-type soul tools. Naturally, he hadn¡¯t flown before. Before he could even react, Huo Yuhao ced one hand under his armpit, and Dai Luoli felt the light around him distorting slightly. He and Huo Yuhao rose up, and quickly flew into the sky.

    He almost shouted because it was too sudden.

    ¡°Elder brother, you are too brazen. We¡¯ll be shot down!¡± Dai Luoli tried his best to suppress his voice as he spoke to Huo Yuhao. He was shocked when he turned around to look at Huo Yuhao. This was because there was no flying-type soul tool on his back. This meant that Huo Yuhao was propelling them through his own soul power.

    What did this mean? It meant that Huo Yuhao was at least a Soul Sage!

    ¡°Elder brother, are you really only one year older than me?¡± Dai Luoli was almost speechless.A neen-year-old Soul Sage. This¡­ is too unbelievable.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Yes! Didn¡¯t you see my original appearance? Do I look that old?¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Elder brother, you¡¯re a genius.¡±

    Huo Yuhao recalled Shrek¡¯s motto and answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m a monster!¡±

    At this point, Dai Luoli realized that there wasn¡¯t any reaction from Imperial Radiant City. There was no sign of any attacks directed towards the sky. However, he didn¡¯t know why nothing was happening.

    ¡°I specialize in spiritual power. My martial soul is my eyes. It¡¯s spiritual-type martial soul. I have a soul skill that can conceal me. It¡¯s like cloaking my body. I¡¯ve already cloaked us and hidden our auras. They won¡¯t discover us,¡± Huo Yuhao patiently exined to his younger brother.

    Dai Luoli was enlightened. He looked down, and realized that the city was bing smaller and smaller from their point of view. However, he couldn¡¯t sense any air currents flowing against him. It was very exciting!

    ¡°It feels really good to fly! I must work harder. Once I obtain four rings, I can finally use flying-type soul tools!¡± Dai Luoli said excitedly.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°It¡¯s exciting, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very exciting. The feeling of flying is extremely good!¡± Dai Luoli replied sincerely.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There are even more exciting things. I¡¯ll tell you about themter.¡± As he spoke, he opened his Butterfly Wings and flew even higher into the sky.

    They were already beyond the region that the surveince soul tools in Imperial Radiant City could detect. It was fine for Huo Yuhao to use his flying-type soul tool now. Given his abilities, it was impossible to fly up to three thousand meters in the air, especially since he was carrying another person right now.

    Details of Imperial Radiant City had be extremely tiny by now. In the dark, they even slowly disappeared. Everything around them was pitch ck now. They didn¡¯t feel any air flowing against them, either. Dai Luoli felt like everything was a bit unreal. It was like he had entered another world under Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance.

    It took some time to fly three thousand meters into the air. Huo Yuhao discovered that his soul power was being drained more and more after he crossed the thousand-meter mark. Fortunately, he had the help of his flying-type soul tool. However, the soul power in his flying-type soul tool would also be greatly drained the higher he went. With the help of a few Milk Bottles, Huo Yuhao managed to keep up with the amount of soul power that was being drained. However, they rose at a slower speed because of it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had long locked onto that high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool. Theplexity of this soul tool meant it qualified as a ss 8 soul tool. It could be controlled from afar, and remain in the air for surveince at an extremely high altitude. This was definitely the future developmental direction of surveince.

    After more than ten minutes, Huo Yuhao finally brought Dai Luoli in front of this surveince soul tool, which was the current highest technological standard.

    This high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool was like a huge ball. The bottom was made using synthetic quartz, while there were four metal sails on the top of it, which helped to bnce it in the air. There were twelve Milk Bottles installed into these four sails.

    These Milk Bottles were used to replenish the soul power being drained by this soul tool. When this soul tool flew along, these sails were retracted. After it reached its location, these sails would then open up to bnce it. In addition, this soul tool could even adjust its angle and position in the air to deal with inclement weather. The Sun Moon Empire had taken many years to research this, and onlypleted it after the Sealed Milk Bottles were invented. Otherwise, it couldn¡¯t be used long-term.

    Huo Yuhao smiled, and golden light shone in his eyes. Dai Luoli immediately saw tremendous, distorted undtions around this surveince soul tool.

    This surveince soul tool didn¡¯t emit any light, and thus was almost invisible at night. However, these distorted rays were a dim gold, which made them extremely obvious. Right now, Dai Luoli could clearly see what this high-altitude aerial surveince soul tool looked like. Its diameter was only around two meters.

    It started to shake slightly as the distorting rays appeared, as if it were struggling. It was a pity for it that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had reached the concrete-material realm, and he was using his Spiritual Interference. This soul tool¡¯s struggle was futile.

    Huo Yuhao quickly rushed forward. As he dragged Dai Luoli with one hand, he used his other hand to quickly tap the surveince soul tool a few times. The Sealed Milk Bottles were quickly pulled from the soul tool, and Huo Yuhao put them in his storage-type soul tool. After all twelve Sealed Milk Bottles were taken out, the soul tool lost power. All soul power undtions disappeared, and it only managed to remain in the sky because of its sails.

    Huo Yuhao pulled out his Starlight Sapphire storage-type soul tool. The sapphire shed brightly before the entire high-altitude surveince soul tool was stored away in his storage-type soul tool.

    Dai Luoli mouth was gaping. He thought to himself,What did my elder brother do? Not only is his cultivation shocking, but even his familiarity with soul tools is astounding.He had no idea how to react. He would have attacked the surveince soul tool and destroyed it.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t bear to destroy it. It was a technologically-advanced ss 8 soul tool. He would take it back for Teacher Xuan to research it. By researching it, they could expedite their research into their own high-altitude aerial surveince soul tools by ten years!

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been wasting time over these past few days. From the city, he had scanned this surveince soul tool with his Spiritual Detection a few times. He had also discovered the key points about it. If he hadn¡¯t used his Spiritual Interference to break its connection to the Sun Moon Empire, it would have been able to automatically release a ss 7 protective soul barrier to protect itself. When that happened, it would most certainly shrink rapidly before escaping.

    It wasn¡¯t that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s protective measures weren¡¯t tight or secure enough, it was just that they had met someone like Huo Yuhao, who could use his Imitation to hide from them.

    ¡°Elder brother, why did you keep it?¡± Dai Luoli asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°For research purposes, of course. I¡¯m not just a soul master, I¡¯m a soul engineer too. Oh yes, didn¡¯t you think that flying was very exciting earlier. Do you want something even more exciting?¡±

    Dai Luoli was excited as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s more exciting?¡±

    ¡°This.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled and rxed his grip on Dai Luoli¡¯s armpit. Before Dai Luoli could even react, he was already free-falling.

    ¡°Ah!¡­¡± Everything happened too suddenly, and Dai Luoli wasn¡¯t prepared at all. His tragic screams echoed in the sky, and he was extremely frightened as he felt a strong sense of weightlessness.

    Huo Yuhao continued to drift where he was, and wore a smile on his face. He muttered to himself, ¡°Oh, not bad. The strength of his spiritual power soars when he¡¯s fearful. This has further increased the mutation of his martial soul.¡±

    The feeling of free-falling was extremely exciting. It was so exciting that Dai Luoli tightened his lower abdomen, and felt he was about to wet his pants.

    He unwittingly unleashed his martial soul. The strands of white fur on his body were exuding a dim red glow, while the ¡®king¡¯ on his forehead turned blood-red. His tragic screams stopped as he unleashed his soul power with all his might, hoping to reduce the speed of his descent.

    After he lost Huo Yuhao¡¯s protection, he truly understood why it was so dangerous to be so high up in the sky. The temperature in the sky was much lower than on the ground. The sinister chill and unknown darkness left him terrified. More importantly, he had no way of reducing the speed of his descent. Given his current cultivation, he couldn¡¯t control his soul power to reduce the impact of his fall.

    Why? Why do you have to harm me like this?

    Why?Dai Luoli revealed slowly revealed a desperate look in his eyes. He hadn¡¯t expected this to be the way he was going to die.

    Just as his mind was goingpletely nk, he felt his body bing lighter, and the strong air currents rushing against him as he descended disappeared. The intense chill that he felt also vanished. A hand had grabbed his armpit and he was drifting in the sky once again.

    ¡°Exciting?¡± A gentle voice sounded in his ears. Dai Luoli turned his head, and saw Huo Yuhao, smiling slightly.

    Dai Luoli was furious as he roared, ¡°You, were you trying to kill me!?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to try something exciting? You¡¯re still around a thousand meters from the ground, but you can¡¯t take it anymore? If I caught you just before you hit the ground, wouldn¡¯t you even be more unable to handle it?¡±

 Chapter 426.1 - The Sun Moon Empires Marshall, Ju Zi!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 426.1: The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Marshall, Ju Zi!</h4>

    Dai Luoli said angrily, ¡°That¡¯s excitement? I might have died!¡± Even though he had already stopped moving through the air, his butt was still quivering as his legs shook uncontrobly. He was still panting heavily.

    ¡°Look at your fur,¡± Huo Yuhao pointed out to him.

    Dai Luoli looked down subconsciously, and was surprised to see that his white fur had be a faint red after he unleashed his martial soul. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t in the hysterical state that he was in back then!

    ¡°Do you know what this means? The spiritual element in your martial soul is fusing with your original martial soul, the White Tiger¡¯s element. When your fur is entirely blood-red in color when you release your martial soul under any circumstance, it means the evolution of your martial soul isplete. When that happens, your martial soul should be stronger than typical White Tigers, and any offensive soul skills should contain spiritual elements.¡±

    The corner of Dai Luoli¡¯s mouth twitched as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation. ¡°Are you really my biological brother?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Huo Yuhao said seriously.

    Dai Luoli forced augh and said, ¡°Can we not use such methods where I¡¯m frightened to death next time!? Do you know that I really thought I was going to die just now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°This will only work if you feel such sensations. Otherwise, how can your martial soul¡¯s mutations be entirely triggered and released? If your mutations were so easily released, why haven¡¯t you been able to do so over the past ten years? Intense excitement is the best way to elerate that release. However, I¡¯ve already used this method before, so it won¡¯t be as effective and inspiring next time. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    He activated his flying-type soul tool, and Huo Yuhao brought Dai Luoli into the air once more. He kept them at roughly a thousand meters in altitude as they flew west.

    Huo Yuhao had already used his spiritual power to survey everything as far as he could around them, and had not detected any other high-altitude aerial surveince soul tools.

    The sky was limitless. Even though he could cover quite arge area with his spiritual power, he couldn¡¯t possibly search every inch of the sky. Of course, Huo Yuhao had his ns. These high altitude aerial surveince soul tools would only appear in locations of substantial strategic importance. For example, they would only appear over cities responsible for frontier defense, or at important travel routes. He should have an easier time if he searched for those soul tools in those kinds of ces. They were all ss 8 soul tools! Such soul tools would be very useful in the future¡­

    However, Huo Yuhao had to take a look at the western front before all that. He had to see what the Sun Moon Empire had in mind, since they hadn¡¯tunched another invasion for such a long time.

    Huo Yuhao flew towards the west, and quickly covered two hundred kilometers. However, he started to slow down after about a hundred and fifty kilometers.

    ¡°Impressive¡­ the Sun Moon Empire has really invested everything into this! There are aerial surveince soul tools everywhere. They are covering every single corner like a carpet. There aren¡¯t any blind spots at all.¡± Huo Yuhao paused in midair and couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the sight.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s vision wasn¡¯t that good, but he had support from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. He could see masses of aerial surveince soul tools in the three-dimensional spiritual world of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. Within that range, there were more than fifty such soul tools, and there were even more further from their position.

    ¡°Elder brother, do you think you can conceal us from those things?¡± Dai Luoli asked nervously. After flying for a period of time, his emotions had settled down from being scared shitless just now. He knew that Huo Yuhao was doing everything for his own good, and after his martial soul¡¯s mutation elerated with that episode, he clearly felt that his soul power had risen further, and he was about to break into Rank 40.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I can¡¯t conceal us from every single type they have out there, but my Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect isrge enough. We just have to avoid those specific types.¡±

    There were several aerial surveince soul tools among those in the sky that were specifically meant to detect spiritual power. However, these spiritual power detectors had rtively smaller ranges, and the level of spiritual power they could detect was limited in the end. Huo Yuhao concealed his own spiritual power exceptionally well, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of these soul tools discovering him. However, he would be discovered if he used Imitation and entered those spiritual power detectors¡¯ areas of effect. Those were the soul tools that Huo Yuhao had to avoid.

    They proceeded forward slowly, Huo Yuhao continuously avoiding the aerial surveince soul tools that could detect them as they gradually neared the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Huo Yuhao marveled in silence as he flew. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s fighting style was so much more advanced than the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires.

    The Sun Moon Empire emphasized aerial surveince, and would use soul engineer legions to initiate blitz attacks. These soul engineers executed urate and precise attacks and decapitation strikes. In addition to the fact that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s industrial standards were far superior to those of the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires, the victor in this war was truly hard to predict!

    Huo Yuhao had to make judgments and evade surveince soul tools continuously, so he was flying at a much slower speed than normal. It took fifteen long minutes before he finally got past where thoserge swathes of aerial surveince soul tools reached. The Ming Dou Mountain Range came into view far on the horizon underneath the night sky.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fly too close. Instead, he stopped when they were about ten kilometers away from the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and opened the Eye of Destiny on his forehead.

    His rose-gold Eye of Destiny opened, and Dai Luoli was ovee with astonishment once more. He felt as if his spirit were about to be sucked out of him as he stared at that peculiar vertical eye. Fortunately, his martial soul¡¯s spiritual elements had been Awakened, and he had certain foundations in spiritual power. He hurriedly turned his gaze away when Huo Yuhao reminded him.

    Thebined effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny and his Skull of Destiny allowed him to reach a maximum distance of ten kilometers with his Spiritual Detection in a single direction. Of course, doing so would consume a lot of spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power touched the Western Mountains in the distance, and he gradually started sweeping the area horizontally. Afterwards, he surveyed the base of the Western Mountain, where the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army camps were originally located. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression gradually became extremely grave and solemn.

    Dai Luoli didn¡¯t make a single sound. He didn¡¯t even dare to take deep breaths. There were aerial surveince soul tools all over the ce, and one mistake could likely expose their location. He was very intelligent, so he hadn¡¯t said a single word ever since they entered this region. He allowed Huo Yuhao to lead him, and all he did was survey and observe his surroundings.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao continued surveilling for more than ten minutes. He didn¡¯t say anything at all when he was done, but turned around and carefully flew back the way they hade.

    Dai Luoli realized that his elder brother¡¯s expression was as ck as could be. Evidently, Huo Yuhao had realized something important, but even though he was worried and anxious, he couldn¡¯t open his mouth to ask! He could only wait quietly until they flew out of this region.

    They flew more quickly on the way back, since they had prior experience. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attempt to destroy the aerial surveince soul tools when they left the region which was under heavy surveince. Instead, he hurriedly sped up and flew towards Imperial Radiant City.

    ¡°Luoli.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dai Luoli hurriedly acknowledged when he heard Huo Yuhao call his name.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t continue concealing your identity. You will look for your father immediately after you return, and I will take you and fly into that city. You¡¯ll find someone to reveal your identity to, and tell him an important piece of intel. The Sun Moon Empire is ying arge and deadly scheme this time. Everyone has been tricked.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Dai Luoli felt the fine hair on his neck stand on end when he heard his words.

    ¡°What are you talking about, elder brother? What scheme is that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t nning to attack the Star Luo empire at all. We are not their targets.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait a minute,¡± Dai Luoli was a little confused as he said, ¡°Why won¡¯t they want to invade the Star Luo Empire? They¡¯ve used ss 9 soul tools and forcefully sted open a path, and they¡¯ve also utterly crushed our Northwestern Field Army!¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and a thread of fear shed beneath his eyes. He only felt how terrifying the Sun Moon Empire was when war truly broke out . No wonder they had to seal the Star Luo Empire¡¯s surveince so tightly and strictly! They were actually using a double bluff strategy.

    ¡°Do you know what I discovered just now? Let me tell you, the Sun Moon Empire took over the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s camp, but there isn¡¯t a single soldier from the Sun Moon Empire in that ce, or anywhere in its vicinity. There are only voluminous defensive soul tools set up on the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and they¡¯ve built the Ming Dou Mountain Range into something like a fortress.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand!¡± Dai Luoli muttered a little exasperatedly.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°That means the Sun Moon Empire never had any intentions to invade us. They mobilized their great armies tounch an all-out attack before this, but everything was an illusion, and they did that so that they could deceive us into thinking that they areunching a great invasion against us. Their soldiers haven¡¯t crossed the mountain range, so how are they going tounch a great invasion? Those who started this war were those highly mobile soul engineer legions, and their rearguard entered the Ming Dou Mountain Range after them and cedrge amounts of defensive soul tools on our side to form a defensive front, as well as an aerial surveince front.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve done all that so that they can sever all information and surveince from the Ming Dou Mountain Range, so that we are unsure about what their true circumstances or situation is.¡±

    Dai Luoli asked, ¡°How are these actions beneficial for them?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was frighteningly grave and stern. ¡°Their actions are beneficial for them because they¡¯ve managed to conceal their true aim in this war. They never intended to invade the Star Luo Empire with their full strength. Damn it, I should have thought about this a long time ago. If I had been the oneunching an invasion, and if I really wanted to invade the Star Luo Empire, I would definitely do everything in one go; how could I pause in the middle like that?

    ¡°I would have gone all the way to destroy the Star Luo Empire¡¯s second defense perimeter, and I would have ruined the granaries and all military supplies and stores, or I would pige and loot the cities. Afterwards, I would consolidate and stabilize defenses in the areas that I have conquered, and wait for more soldiers to arrive. I wouldn¡¯t stop my invasion right at the border!¡±

 Chapter 426.2 - The Sun Moon Empires Marshall, Ju Zi!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 426.2: The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Marshall, Ju Zi!</h4>

    ¡°Their other goal is to attract the entire continent¡¯s attention with this assault. They want everyone to think that they¡¯re making a move against the Star Luo Empire. What will that do? This will mobilize the Star Luo Empire¡¯s main forces, and this will concentrate those forces along the western front. The Dou Ling Empire will mobilize reinforcements as well, and the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s reinforcements may even be deployed to our western front. After all has been said and done, their true intentions will be revealed. If my guess is correct, their true target isn¡¯t the Star Luo Empire, but the Heavenly Soul Empire!¡± Huo Yuhao was resolute and decisive when he uttered his final sentence, but there was a lot of pain and agony among all that resolution.

    Dai Luoli finally understood, and he drew a cold breath as he said, ¡°Elder brother, your guess is just too frightening. However, isn¡¯t the Sun Moon Empire paying an excessively heavy price for this? They¡¯ve mobilized several elite soul engineer legions, and they¡¯ve expended several ss 9 soul tools! Why would they turn around and attack the Heavenly Soul Empire when they¡¯ve already made a breakthrough here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°The war has already begun, and the situation can change at any time. The Sun Moon Empire has their reasons for this choice.

    ¡°First, the Star Luo Empire has the longest history amongst the three native empires; we have been around for ten thousand years. Back then, the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire were still one, and they were called the Heaven Dou Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire¡¯s national strength wasparable to ours back then.

    ¡°As of now, even though the Star Luo Empire¡¯s strength can¡¯t be said to be stronger than the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empirebined, we are still much stronger than any of the two by themselves, and our foundations are deep and solid. ss 9 soul tools are fearsome, and they forcibly tore a hole through our defenses.

    ¡°However, the Northwestern Field Army and the Western Field Army are still in ce; even though we have sustained heavy losses, our losses can¡¯t be considered fatal. When an all-out war erupts, the Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t be using ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells every day, can they? They have limited numbers of those things, and one use means one less in their stores. They are intended to be used as strategic existences, while the Star Luo Empire will definitely receive full support from the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. In that case, it¡¯s hard to say who will emerge as the final victor. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s foundations are definitely the strongest and deepest in terms of national strength.¡±

    ¡°Comparatively, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s national strength is considerably inferior to ours. Furthermore, judging from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders that connect with the Sun Moon Empire are about the same length as our borders with the Sun Moon Empire. If you had to choose, who would you choose to attack?¡±

    ¡°This misdirection is truly scheming and cunning, and I have to admit it¡¯s quite spectacr! First, they invade our borders, and they blew open a gap so that their armies could be brought in from the Sun Moon Empire at any time. Afterwards, they took the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The mountain range in our hands means different things than when the mountain range is in their hands. The Sun Moon Empire is famous for their soul tools, and in addition to the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s fantastic topography, the Sun Moon Empire has an absolute advantage with their surveince soul tools. Even if we had two more field armies on our side, we might not be able to take down their defenses on the mountain range. They just have to leave a few elite soldiers behind to cooperate with their soul engineers to defend the gap that they have created in the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and that will be enough. With this gap around, the Star Luo Empire will not dare to mobilize too many soldiers to reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire, because we have no idea when the Sun Moon Empire will attack us.

    ¡°In the future, if the Sun Moon Empire achieves a conclusive victory on the battlefield against the Heavenly Soul Empire, they can still attack us through the gap in the Ming Dou Mountain Range if and when they want to. First, they obtain an absolute advantage and restrain us, and then they turn their forces against the Heavenly Soul Empire. This series of tactics has been ingeniously nned, and we have been kept in the dark because they¡¯ve blocked all of our reconnaissance and surveince efforts. Nobody will think that they are changing targets when they¡¯ve already obtained an absolute advantage. Therefore, you have to report all of this to the White Tiger Duke as quickly as possible, so that he can pass the news to the Heavenly Soul Empire, so the Heavenly Soul Empire can be careful, and he also has to request that the Dou Ling Empire reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is waiting for all our reinforcements to concentrate over here. When that happens, they willunch another invasion against the Heavenly Soul Empire, and our reinforcements will be unable to reach them in time.¡±

    Dai Luoli¡¯s back was soaked with sweat as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis. Not in his wildest dreams did he expect such a situation. If everything was as Huo Yuhao had predicted, the Heavenly Soul Empire was truly in danger!

    ¡°Brother, is there a chance that your guess is wrong? Perhaps the Sun Moon Empire doesn¡¯t have that in mind at all, and they haven¡¯t considered starting an all-out war at all?¡±

    ¡°Childish!¡± Huo Yuhao grunted coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t dispute and deny the situation just because it¡¯s disadvantageous. Are you trying to be a coward? My guess has almost a ny percent chance of being correct. Just ry everything to the White Tiger Duke, and he will understand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention me, just tell him that you thought about everything yourself. Tell him that you snuck over to the border, and there were coincidentally no aerial surveince soul tools in a particr region, so you took a look, and surmised all these possibilities afterwards. You have to say everything with sincerity and honesty, because time waits for no man! The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s defeat will spell disaster for us in the future!¡±

    Dai Luoli gulped as he felt the pressureing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He nodded and said, ¡°I understand, I will definitely exin everything to my father clearly. Elder brother, you¡¯re really a genius! If I were in your shoes, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to calcte anything at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Genius? How can I be a genius if I¡¯ve only realized what¡¯s happening after everything¡¯s been said and done? The person from the Sun Moon Empire who plotted this scheme is a true genius. Right now, I can only hope that their movements are a little slower, so that we can have a little more time. However, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    There was an enormous tent inside the army camp. This tent was different from other tents, because it was made entirely from leather, and it was actually dark red, as if it had been painted over with blood.

    Lights andnterns lit up the entirety of thisrge tent. Soldiers walked in and out continuously, and even though it was alreadyte at night, everyone still seemed extremely busy.

    ¡°Eh? A super-high aerial surveince soul tool has gone missing?¡± rang out a voice tinged with astonishment inside this tent.

    ¡°Yes, marshal,¡± the messenger spoke respectfully as he knelt on one knee.

    There was a fair and graceful figure standing within themander¡¯s tent. She was d in red armor, which perfectly brought out her elegant frame. She had a rose-gold cape draped behind her, and a picture of heroism and valor. A picture of a fiery-red phoenix was painted on her chest, its wings outstretched as if it were about to soar into the sky.

    Her skin was extremely fair and tender, and seemed like it had been formed from frozen water crystals, and water would be squeezed out if one pinched gently on her skin. Her face was beautiful, but she seemed a little haggard, and her eyebrows were tightly knit together as a contemtive look came over her face.

    Huo Yuhao would have been astounded if he saw her, because this person, whom the messenger had addressed as ¡°marshal¡±, was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s current empress, and also someone that Huo Yuhao was very familiar with¡­ Ju Zi!

    Ju Zi stood up and started to pace inside her tent. After a few moments, she stopped and lowered her voice as she said, ¡°Pass on my orders immediately, and as quickly as possible ¨C increase our surveince lockdown against the Star Luo Empire at their western border. Don¡¯t allow even a fly toe over. We have to sever every possible surveince method they possess.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The messenger bowed, then immediately turned and left.

    There were several tall officers standing on either side of the tent. They all had looks of admiration and respect on their face as they watched Ju Zi.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, Xu Tianran, had appointed Ju Zi as themander-in-chief of their three armies. When that was first announced, almost every military general and every non-military official thought he was joking.

    How could a girl only about twenty years old bemander-in-chief? The emperor was clearly appointing people from favoritism!

    However, Xu Tianran was too overbearing. With the Holy Ghost Church supporting him, he quickly suppressed every voice who objected against his decision, and insisted that Ju Zi be appointed the three armies¡¯mander-in-chief. Shortly afterwards, the war quietly entered its preparation stage.

    Was Xu Tianran appointing someone because he was biased towards that person? Yes, he was, but he had seen this person¡¯s abilities, and this person was worth supporting at all costs.

    Xu Tianran had never doubted Ju Zi¡¯s loyalty andmitment. In other words, Ju Zi was the one who he trusted the most among everyone beside him.

    If he hadn¡¯t had Ju Zi all those years ago, Xu Tianran would have died from an assassination attempt by his younger brothers when they were trying to im the status of crown prince. Ju Zi had always been beside him and served him for so many years.

    However, Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t just biased towards Ju Zi enough for him to have so much faith in appointing hermander-in-chief of his three armies. More importantly, he approved of her abilities.

    Many years ago, he had allowed her to join the military. In the beginning, he just wanted her to be trained and tempered in the military, but he had never expected her to have an extraordinary talent for military affairs. Ju Zi had achieved exemry results when she led her troops to put down several revolts, and managed to suppress the rebellions with the lowest possible casualties, and within the shortest possible time.

    Xu Tianran was always surprised whenever Ju Zi reported the various strategies and ns that she had used in battle. Ju Zi was simply too talented in military affairs, and the battle strategies and tactics that she used were always different each time. Her ideas were bold and imaginative, yet they were stable and grounded in rationality at the same time. Xu Tianran knew that she was better than he was at such things.

    Ju Zi had gradually established her own reputation and prestige within the military within a few short years. Xu Tianran had given directmand of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, one of the five great soul engineer legions that formed the Hand that Protects the Nation, over to her.

    He had contemted long and hard about his decision to appoint her asmander-in-chief of his three armies. He only made up his mind after she devised a scheme and proposal for theing war.

 Chapter 426.3 - The Sun Moon Empires Marshall, Ju Zi!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 426.3: The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Marshall, Ju Zi!</h4>

    Ju Zi was now executing that n, and had alreadypleted the first step in her proposal. Everything was proceeding ording to her strategy.

    This time, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s mobilized army was smaller than the Star Luo Empire had imagined; they only had two hundred thousand soldiers. However, they were all the sharpest and most elite soldiers. Six of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ten great soul engineer legions were participating in this war, and three of them belonged to the Hand that Protects the Nation: the Fire Phoenix, the Evil Tyrant, and the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legions!

    The Evil Tyrant Legion and the Terrorw Legion were responsible for attacking the Star Luo Empire. Ju Zi deeplymented the fact that they couldn¡¯t kill the White Tiger Duke, who was rescued by someone from a hopeless situation. If the White Tiger Duke was dead, Ju Zi believed that her n would have been one hundred percent sessful!

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s western forces would be sent into disarray without the White Tiger Duke inmand, and would be messy and chaotic for a long period of time. She could then execute andplete her strategy casually.

    She was surprised that the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t killed, but she still stuck to her n, relying on their formidable surveince. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s control over the borders was simply too strong. They were watching every single move the Star Luo Empire was making.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had guessed, Ju Zi was waiting for the best opportunity!

    The Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin was among those inside the tent. This tent wasn¡¯t at the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders. Instead, it was located not far from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders.

    After the Starsky Douluo missed his chance to kill the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, he immediately brought his two soul engineer legions back within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders and rendezvoused with Ju Zi as fast as he possibly could.

    Only the handful of powerful individuals inside this tent truly knew Ju Zi¡¯s battle strategy and ns.

    The Evil Tyrant Legion¡¯smander, Wang Yiheng, lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Marshal, are we going to continue waiting?¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her voice and said, ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer, and the time is almost right. One of our high altitude aerial surveince tools has been discovered, and that is quite ominous. I¡¯m afraid that problems may arise if we continue waiting. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s reinforcements for the Star Luo Empire are in position there, and our n is starting to take shape. We don¡¯t need to seek perfection, so we can make a move on our side. Master Ye, may I trouble you to inform the Holy Ghost Church so that they can cooperate with us? We will make a move at daybreak tomorrow. Generals, go back and get ready. We have to do everything in one breath this time. We have to break through all the way to Heaven Dou City!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    These generals and powerful individuals were more than a little unconvinced of Ju Zi in the beginning, but they had done everything ording to her n, easily destroying the Star Luo Empire¡¯s border defenses, and almost killing the White Tiger Duke. They were now starting to be convinced, especially by Ju Zi¡¯s baffling style of deploying and mobilizing their soldiers. Many times, these generals were still confused, when they had already achieved the goals of their battle strategies. The intel that they had received from the front lines confirmed that the Star Luo Empire was being pulled along in the way that they wanted, and even the White Tiger Duke, who was a reputable marshal across the entire Continent, didn¡¯t discover their n!

    Ju Zi ced a lot of emphasis on surveince. This time, she had deployed almost every single surveince soul tool in the empire, and even mobilized the aerial surveince soul tools that the empire¡¯s cities used for defense. Her reasoning was simple: if they used these surveince soul tools at the borders, why would their cities need those surveince soul tools for defense, as long as their borders weren¡¯t broken through?

    Ju Zi got to her feet. Lights flickered in her beautiful eyes. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t very mobile and because of his status, she was practically battling on Xu Tianran¡¯s behalf. He trusted her more than anyone else. Her revenge had begun, and even though the Heavenly Soul Empire wasn¡¯t the Star Luo Empire, destroying the Heavenly Soul Empire was a prelude to decimating the Star Luo Empire.

    War is about to break out on all fronts. Where is that fellow? What is he doing? I hope I don¡¯t meet him on the battlefield.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao quietly returned to Imperial Radiant City and went back to the room that he shared with Dai Luoli. Obviously, Dai Luoli wouldn¡¯t being back for quite some time. Huo Yuhao had sent him off to the city that the White Tiger Duke was stationed in before he discreetly returned to his room. He had exhorted Dai Luoli again and again before they separated to not not reveal anything about him.

    ¡°Why are you standing there, princess?¡± Huo Yuhao saw Xu Yun standing next to the window once he came in .

    Xu Yun turned around and red at him. ¡°Do you two still have the awareness that personal guards should have? Where did the two of you go for the entire night?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao shook his head exasperatedly as he stared at Xu Yun¡¯s indignant expression. Xu Yun was different from Dai Luoli. She was part of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s royal family, and she couldn¡¯t know about the things that Dai Luoli knew.

    ¡°Dai Luoli has disappeared. I was looking for him in the city just now, but I didn¡¯t find him even after searching for a long time. I was just about to find you and ask you where he¡¯d gone.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s disappeared?¡± Xu Yun was momentarily stunned as she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°When did he disappear?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°He disappeared not long after dinner! I don¡¯t know where he¡¯s disappeared to. He said nothing as he left in the cover of the night, and he hasn¡¯te back since then.¡±

    Xu Yun frowned tightly and said, ¡°The city¡¯s gates have been sealed. Where could he possibly be? Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go search for him again.¡±

    She turned and walked out as she spoke, and Huo Yuhao could only follow her.

    They searched the city for a while, but how could they possibly find any trace of Dai Luoli? Eventually, a whistle that signaled an emergency assembly rang out. The sun was about to peek out over the horizon, and Xu Yun immediately shivered coldly when she heard this whistle. She blurted, ¡°Is the enemy here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Calm down, don¡¯t be worried. Let¡¯s gather our people first and await orders.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The astonished look on Xu Yun¡¯s face faded away at Huo Yuhao¡¯s reminder, but she was still breathing heavily. After all, this little princess hadn¡¯t participated in a war before. She couldn¡¯t help but feel her heart beat faster when she thought that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army might have crossed over to her side.

    Every soldier stationed in the city swiftly assembled, and every officer that was ranked battalionmander or higher was summoned for a conference.

    Huo Yuhao followed Xu Yun to the military headquarters. Xu Yun went in for the meeting, and he waited outside. He didn¡¯t even need Spiritual Detection to eavesdrop on this meeting for him to imagine that this emergency meeting had nothing to do with the Sun Moon Empire invading them. The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t even have soldiers at the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders, so how could theyunch an invasion? This meeting probably happened because the news that he had instructed Dai Luoli to pass on to the White Tiger Duke was taking effect.

    Xu Yun came out after a few moments, and her expression was clearly a lot more rxed than before.

    ¡°We¡¯re not being invaded,¡± she told Huo Yuhao softly.

    ¡°Oh? Then what was the meeting about?¡± Huo Yuhao asked obligingly.

    Xu Yun was very excited. ¡°The White Tiger Duke hase up with a n: we¡¯re preparing a counterattack on the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and we will attack as soon as possible. This time, our reserve troops will also participate, and we will be responsible for providing support. Recruits will be all the way at the back, so no harm shoulde to them, and we will treat this as a training exercise. But no matter what, the recruits are still going to an actual battlefield! Come, let¡¯s hurry back.¡±

    They¡¯re counterattacking at the Ming Dou Mountain Range?Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned when he heard the news, but he understood immediately afterwards.

    The White Tiger Duke¡­ he lives up to his name as one of the most reputable marshals of his generation!

    It seemed the White Tiger Duke had believed the intel that Dai Luoli conveyed to him. At a time like this, the Star Luo Empire couldn¡¯t support and reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire in time, even if they wanted to. Furthermore, that could only happen on the basis that Dai Luoli¡¯s conjecture was true.

    With the White Tiger¡¯s Duke¡¯ intelligence, his decision should be a probing attack, so that he could observe and find out how the Sun Moon Empire was deploying its armies by attacking the borders. If the situation was what Dai Luoli had said, then the Star Luo Empire¡¯s best choice would be to use their full strength to take back control over the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Afterwards, they would invade past the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders, putting pressure on the Sun Moon Empire so that they wouldn¡¯t dare use their full strength against the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    This decision was far better than reinforcing the Heavenly Soul Empire directly. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s reinforcements should be used directly against the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They were only several hundred kilometers away, and were much further from their destination if they were to travel towards the Heavenly Soul Empire. They were too far away to save the Heavenly Soul Empire, so the best choice was to attack the invaders and draw their forces away from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Hopefully this decision will be effective,Huo Yuhao sighed to himself. At the same time, he asked himself,If I were the marshal, what would I have done? Could I have been like the White Tiger Duke, and made such an immediate and decisive choice?

    He definitely would have made the same choice, but Huo Yuhao knew that he wouldn¡¯t have been as decisive as the White Tiger Duke. Huo Yuhao was more confident in dealing with the Sun Moon Empire, because nobody could do better than him at targeting and destroying the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s reserve troops were mobilized, but the situation should be like Xu Yun had said; they were to treat this like a training exercise. The White Tiger Duke was probably leading his most elite troops into battle in a situation like this, but he still hadn¡¯t forgotten to train his soldiers. At the very least, he intended the urgency of this war to temper his soldiers so that he could better control the entire situation.

    Imperial Radiant City¡¯s four gates quickly opened wide. The armies would be a lot quicker if they exited from all four gates at the same time, while their lines and progress would be staggered if they all had to leave through the same gate. Huo Yuhao and the other recruits were furthest away from the battlefield, so they were naturally ced behind everyone else.

    ¡°Battalionmander!¡± Huo Yuhao followed Xu Yun out of the city, and called out to her from beside the horse she was riding.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Xu Yun nced at him. Xu Yun had always had her doubts about Huo Yuhao, but because she had absolute faith in Dai Luoli, in addition to the fact that Huo Yuhao might be from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, she had forced herself to ept him. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had given her reminders at crucial moments in several instances. She didn¡¯t even realize it, but she was subconsciously starting to rely on this ¡°Tang Dong¡±.

    ¡°I want to take a look at the situation in front, and then I will bring back firsthand news for you. How¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    ¡°You want to go to the front lines?¡± Xu Yun eximed softly.

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly.

    Xu Yun was hesitant. ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous, no?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°How dangerous can that be? I¡¯m just going to take a look from far away. Furthermore, you¡¯ve forgotten that I¡¯m also a soul master! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯lle back to find you very quickly.¡±

 Chapter 427 - Battle in the Ming Dou Mountain Range

    <h4 ss>Chapter 427: Battle in the Ming Dou Mountain Range</h4>

    Xu Yun thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Alright, you can go. But be careful¡­ that¡¯s weird, I wonder where Dai Luoli is? He¡¯s been gone for a long time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°He mentioned the Duke before this. Could he have gone to find the Duke? Maybe he couldn¡¯t stand the loneliness here anymore.¡±

    Xu Yun was momentarily stunned. ¡°And he didn¡¯t bring you along?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and replied, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s afraid of my beatings?¡±

    Xu Yun¡¯s face became a little strange. ¡°But he seems to be improving very quickly recently¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked up, and a mischievous grin appeared at the corner of his mouth. ¡°Why, do you want to try?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Xu Yun eximed almost instantaneously. There was no need to mention being beaten like Dai Luoli was. Her stomach still throbbed painfully when she remembered Huo Yuhao punching her in her abdomen.

    Huo Yuhao shrugged. He sounded a little disappointed as he said, ¡°If you are willing to participate, I believe he will work even harder. I¡¯m going to leave now, and if hees back, make sure he doesn¡¯t go anywhere!¡± He began to walk faster as he spoke, and ran off to one side before swiftly disappearing into the darkness.

    Xu Yun¡¯s other personal guards were following behind her, and were confused about what he was doing, but Xu Yun said nothing, so naturally none of them dared to ask.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao used Imitation to merge into the night sky, and flew towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range. He thought to himself as he flew,I haven¡¯t been back for long, and now I¡¯m going back¡­ what a hassle! I wonder what the White Tiger Duke will achieve with this counterattack?

    Huo Yuhao stretched his Spiritual Detection out like a web in all directions as he rose into the sky, and quickly discovered therge armies of the White Tiger Duke moving forward on the ground. The Star Luo Empire had brought out their full strength¡­ however, he could only see legions formed by normal soldiers at this moment.

    ording to what Xu Yun told him, eight of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s ten great soul master legions had reached their western borders under Princess Jiujiu¡¯smand. Huo Yuhao thought to himself,They should be all the way in front of everyone else, because normal soldiers will only be massacred if they go up against soul tools. But can the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters break through the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses?

    Huo Yuhao was still thinking to himself when a ce in the Ming Dou Mountain Range ahead suddenly glowed, andrge patches of light flickered again and again.

    The battle has already begun?

    Huo Yuhao contemted calmly for a moment before picking up his pace once more. He didn¡¯t fly directly towards where the battle was happening, instead taking slight detour, and proceeding towards the edge of the battlefield.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure how much strength both sides had invested in a battle as intense as this. He would probably be treated as an enemy by both forces if he ventured forward brashly and was discovered.

    The shes became increasingly clear as he drew closer. Furthermore, most of those shes were flickering in the sky, and powerful lights were being released continuously as rays of light flowed and circted in the sky.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao arrived at his destination in fifteen minutes. He carefully reached out with his Spiritual Detection, sweeping it towards the battlefield.

    The most intense parts of the battle were happening in the sky. Countless beams from soul rays and soul cannons waltzed left and right through the air, andrge patches of energy storms were sweeping up into the sky. Huo Yuhao could reach out with his Spiritual Detection, and only observe the battle from afar. Otherwise, he ran the risk of being torn to pieces.

    This battle was clearly one between thousands of soul masters and soul engineers. Such a vast spectacle could be said to represent a contest between the entire Continent¡¯s strongest and most top-tier forces.

    Huo Yuhao continued observing from the distance as he carefully approached the Ming Dou Mountain Range from one side. He could see with greater rity if he was closer, and he had already opened his Eye of Destiny fully to reduce the interference brought about by thee intense soul power undtions.

    Astonishment gradually appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses that they had deployed in the Ming Dou Mountain Range truly surprised him.

    Huo Yuhao could see only a little bit when he was observing the battle earlier. However, because he was observing from far away, and even when there were no soul power undtions from soul tools, he couldn¡¯t possibly see everything. In this moment, the soul tools¡¯ powers were on full disy, and Huo Yuhao could see more than three thousand assault points were firing continuously. These assault points consisted mainly of soul cannons, with soul rays supporting them.

    Soul rays were a lot more urate than soul cannons, and they were easily adjusted and a lot more prating. However, their range couldn¡¯tpare to that of soul cannons, and both weapons had their own advantages and wereplementary to one another. Soul cannons were responsible for bombarding at a distance, while volumes of soul rays swept out horizontally at any soul masters who managed to break through within a certain area.

    The Sun Moon Empire had actually set up so many soul tools at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. There were probably more soul tools on the Ming Dou Mountain Range than every single soul tool within the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires added together.

    Huo Yuhao felt fortunate. If he hadn¡¯t triggered an explosion in that massive warehouse, there would probably be twice as many soul tools here today!

    There were so many soul tools, and naturally, there were many soul engineers controlling them. The Sun Moon Empire had absolutely made sufficient preparations. With the support of sealed Milk Bottles, even low-level soul engineers could unleash the power of mid-tier soul tools. They could continue operating higher level soul tools as long as there were enough Milk Bottles, and their destructive and offensive capabilities were naturally exponentially boosted.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range was like a giant porcupine at this moment. This ¡°porcupine¡± continuously straightened its pricks, and didn¡¯t let anyone near.

    Huo Yuhao discovered at the same time that the aerial surveince soul tools in the air had evidently been withdrawn inside an area that the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s firepower could protect. These soul tools were still carrying out their reconnaissance tasks, except their areas of coverage were smaller than before.

    As for whether there were high altitude aerial surveince soul tools much higher in the sky, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t detect any for now. He had to concentrate and sweep region by region at such altitudes, and he currently didn¡¯t have the time for that. Protecting himself and making sure that he wasn¡¯t discovered was more important right now.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses were strict and tight, but the Star Luo Empire¡¯s battle strategies and tactics were also exceptionally appropriate.

    The Star Luo Empire had mobilized at least five thousand soul masters this time, but there were less than five hundred people participating in this assault. However, even the weakest of these soul masters were Soul Sages.

    Five hundred soul sages¡­ what kind of frightening power was that? If this fight was one against one, even if there were three times as many ss 7 soul engineers in a fixed area, those soul engineers would be no match for these Soul Sages.

    Most soul masters couldn¡¯t be threatened by average and typical soul tools after they became Soul Sages, and only soul tools that were incredibly powerful, or many soul tools trained on them at the same time, could hurt them. Furthermore, these soul masters weren¡¯t blindlymitting to the assault. Instead, they attacked in probes, expending the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s inventory of Milk Bottles as they waited for the right opportunity to strike.

    This was undoubtedly the best fighting method. The soul masters ground their opponents down continuously, while they relied on their strength as Soul Sages to minimize their own consumption as much as possible. If this was allowed to continue, the time woulde when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers would be whittled down to nothing. Furthermore, the soul masters would alsounch surprise attacks on the aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. Each one of these things destroyed would reduce the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s vision by a little bit.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to guess that the White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu had discovered from their probing attack that Dai Luoli¡¯s conjecture was correct. The Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t sent their armies into the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders, and had only taken the Ming Dou Mountain Range, which they had then rebuilt into a defensive front. In that case, since the Sun Moon Empire had already made their move, what was their main target? There was no question that the Sun Moon Empire was heading towards the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    All the Star Luo Empire could do now was work on breaking the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s lockdown on the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Afterwards, the Star Luo Empire could directly threaten the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s own territories in a bid to reduce the pressure on the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    The Sun Moon Empire had probably predicted this, except they probably didn¡¯t guess that the Star Luo Empire¡¯s reaction would be this quick. However, based on how strong the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses looked, they had deployed at least three soul engineer legions to defend the mountain range. At the same time, they had also mobilizedrge amounts of low-level soul engineers to support those legions. They had also made use of the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s topography, and the Star Luo Empire faced quite a challenge if they really wanted to advance all the way through the mountain range.

    Huo Yuhao could tell that this battle would continue for quite some time without an clear victor from how both forces were fighting. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s great armies were gradually bearing down on their borders, and with the White Tiger Duke¡¯s love for his soldiers, he probably wouldn¡¯t charge forward by using human wave tactics.

    Individual strength had be irrelevant and minute on a battlefield of such scale. The Sun Moon Empire had definitely activated every one of their surveince soul tools, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any confidence at all in infiltrating their camp. He could only observe the front lines and see where the battle was going from afar, and pray in silence for the Star Luo Empire.

    The Star Luo Empire almost didn¡¯t use any soul tools at all to retaliate against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools. A soul master¡¯s range was very limited most of the time, and this was true even for powerful Titled Douluo. Soul Engineers had an advantage in this regard.

    The Star Luo Empire had to suffer because they were not as advanced! With the Star Luo Empire¡¯s national strength, if they had focused on developing soul tools as much as possible after the Sun Moon Empire hadunched their first Holy War back then, the situation today wouldn¡¯t have been so bad. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s ideology that soul masters were invincible didn¡¯t change because of that war. Instead, the ideology was further strengthened.

    Hopefully, this war would allow the Star Luo Empire to wake up a little earlier. Even though it was dyed, if the Star Luo Empire could win this war, then it wouldn¡¯t be toote.

    After some time, the bombardment from the soul cannons and soul rays that were firing from the Ming Dou Mountain Range gradually began to weaken. Sealed Milk Bottles couldn¡¯t sustain them indefinitely, after all. Soul tools that were strong enough to threaten seven-ringed Soul Sages consumed a lot of soul power. After such a long time, the Sun Moon Empire had consumed an uncountable number of Milk Bottles, and their soul engineers had consumed far too much soul power.

    The Star Luo Empire naturally realized that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses were starting to weaken, and they began pushing forward gradually to put more pressure on their opponents.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul cannons and soul ray attacks suddenly strengthened a little, and forced the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters back. However, after this resurgence, they seemed to have consumed thest ounces of their strength, and their firepower weakened even further.

    The Star Luo Empire seemed to have gained the upper handpletely. In the end, they had thousands of soul masters who hadn¡¯t joined the battle yet. Once their top-tier soul masters achieved an unambiguous and decisive advantage, then their regr soul masters should have no problem charging down the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s defensive perimeter. The mountain range¡¯s topographical advantages were nothing much to these soul masters.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still observing the battle from afar when he suddenly felt a little stifled. He kept having this feeling that something was wrong, and he even felt a faint ominous sensation.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters were pushing forward once more, while the Sun Moo Empire¡¯s resistance was conspicuously weaker this time. The soul masters were slowly pushing forward to the point where they could use long-range soul skills to attack the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s defensive front, where the soul engineers were stationed.

    Is my premonition wrong?It seemed like the Sun Moon Empire had no strength left to continue resisting, and strong lights were starting to flicker on many of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s top-tier soul masters. The circles of light from soul rings were even more ring in the night sky, a sign that these soul masters were about to unleash long-range attacks. There were so many seven-ringed Soul Sages that as long as even a third of them could unleash their offensive capabilities, it would be a great blow against the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire would have almost no chance to turn the tides of battle when that happened.

    Huo Yuhao was still thinking to himself when he suddenly grunted, and plummeted from the sky.

    An indescribable fear coursed over his body in an instant. The Spiritual Detection he had released was shattered, and he felt as if the entire world was being annihted in that moment. He hurriedly activated his soul power to control his body, but his terror made him quiver and tremble uncontrobly.

    That¡­ what is that¡­?

    He had only felt an aura as apocalyptic as this once before, when the Beast God, Di Tian, erupted in uncontroble fury above Shrek City, as he prepared to decimate Shrek City, whatever the cost.

    But back then, Di Tian¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t released in the end.

    This frightening aura that suddenly appeared in this moment was spreading out quickly. A ray of white light burst out from one of the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s tall peaks without any warning at all.

    This white pir was as thick as a water tank, but it didn¡¯t feel or seem very powerful at all. It was ghastly white in color, and transformed into a pir several thousand meters long as it appeared in the sky and swept outwards horizontally.

    What kind of light was that!? Time itself seemed to freeze in the moment that this pir appeared, and all space was sliced open wherever it crossed. However, the typical phenomenon that would happen when air was being torn apart, where immense suction forces were produced, didn¡¯t ur. It felt as though space in another world had beenpletely frozen and intimidated by this pir.

    It was too quick, to the point where nobody had the time to react.

    The top-tier soul masters that were suppressing the Ming Dou Mountain Range were a lot morepact than before, and this white pir swept across the people that were packed close together.

    Emptiness!

    After this white pir swept across them, the first feeling that everyone else felt was emptiness!

 Chapter 428.1 - Light of the Death God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 428.1: Light of the Death God</h4>

    Just like a piece of cloth sweeping across the sky, all life was wiped out wherever it passed.

    There were more than five hundred soul masters who were at least Soul Sages there. They had already unleashed their martial souls, and many of them were even preparing to unleash powerful soul skills. However, more than two hundred of them were killed as this ray of white light swept past. No trace of them was left behind.

    Huo Yuhao opened his mouth. He hadn¡¯t expected the ominous feeling to precede such a terrifying catastrophe. What was that ray of white light that shed before disappearing? It was extremely terrifying. It was so frightening that he was unable to react in time, even with the strength of his spiritual power.

    Hee would have ended up in the same state as those Soul Sages if that ray of white light had swept in his direction. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to react in time, and would have been obliterated, just like that.

    Not only this, but the soul rays and soul cannon shells that had dimmed earlier were now unleashed with greater firepower than before. They were ferociously attacking the high-tier soul masters from the Star Luo Empire, who were all stunned at this moment. Instantly, the five-hundred-man soul master legion copsed, and they all fled frantically. The sky was immediately cleared.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected this. He was only observing the situation at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. As for the Star Luo Empire, they were likely to be in an even worse situation.

    The Star Luo Empire had been tricked once again. The soul cannon shells and soul rays had weakened twice earlier, but it was all part of a ploy to trick the Star Luo Empire.

    The Star Luo Empire didn¡¯t have any experience fighting soul engineers. They didn¡¯t have any opportunity or experience in resisting a defensive front that waspletely formed using soul tools! After being drawn over, more than two-fifths of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s strongest soul master legion was wiped out by an attack from their opponent¡¯s transcendent soul tool. This was a huge blow to the Star Luo Empire!

    How difficult was it to nurture a Soul Sage? In just an instant, more than two hundred Soul Sages had been killed. They didn¡¯t even manage to hurt their enemies at all. This wasn¡¯t very difficult to understand, but it was very difficult to ept.

    Huo Yuhao opened his mouth wide, but wasn¡¯t able to say anything. An indescribable fear had risen in his heart. It wasn¡¯t his first time feeling that he was close to death, but his previous few experiences always came with a process. However, he didn¡¯t feel that there was any process when that ray of white light swept across earlier. Fortunately that ray of white light hadn¡¯t swept in his direction. Otherwise, he would have been killed before he was able to think of anything.

    After a momentary daze, he started to pant heavily. He regained his thinking ability, and the fear in his eyes slowly turned into astonishment.

    Perhaps the soldiers of the Star Luo Empire weren¡¯t able to guess what that ray of white light was, but he could. This was because he had a teacher called Xuan Ziwen, who was once the chief researcher of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    Xuan Ziwen had once told Huo Yuhao about the strongest soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire. Among them, Huo Yuhao had faced the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin before. In terms of overall abilities, he was ranked third in the Sun Moon Empire. He was a powerful existence that even a Transcendent Douluo might not even be able to defeat.

    However, there were still a few soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire that were close to Ye Yulin. They included the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen.

    There were two other soul engineers ranked higher than Ye Yulin. Their abilities were unrivaled by any other ss 9 soul engineers. Even Ye Yulin was extremely respectful to both of them when he saw them, and called them Seniors whenever he greeted them.

    Why was the Sun Moon Empire daring enough to associate themselves with the Holy Ghost Church? Xuan Ziwen had oncee up with a theory: it was because the Sun Moon Empire was very confident in their abilities. Or rather, it was because the Sun Moon Empire was very confident in their soul engineers. Those two soul engineers were the true stabilizing force of all the soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The number one soul engineer was already more than a hundred and eighty years old. Only the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor and Crown Prince knew where he lived, and were qualified to see him. He was only loyal to the imperial family. He had been the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall two generations ago. Even Xuan Ziwen had never seen him. However, he had heard of him before in the world of soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire.

    He was recognized as the person closest to bing a ss 10 soul engineer. In the hearts of soul engineers, a ss 10 soul engineer was almost equivalent to a god!

    He possessed the strongest soul tool in the Sun Moon Empire, and thus the entire Douluo Continent. He spent thirty-two years creating that soul tool. It had enabled him to ascend to the peak of soul engineers, and made him extremely respected among them. Through this soul tool, he established himself in the supreme position in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s world of soul engineers. As long as he was alive, he remained the Chief Soul Engineer of the Imperial Court.

    The soul tool that he possessed was called Death God. When the Death God appeared, all light was lost!

    This soul tool only had one effect, which was to unleash a streak of light, the Light of the Death God. Its effective range was five thousand meters, be it in the sky or on the ground.

    Once the Death God appeared, there was no living creature or material that continued to exist after this Light of the Death God swept past it.

    This was why this Light of the Death God was also called the Light of Eternal Obliteration. No one knew what the Death God looked like, and no one was aware of what the Death God Douluo, the owner of the Death God, looked like when he unleashed the power of his Death God. Some soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire even wondered whether the Death God really existed.

    However, he had always been the Chief Soul Engineer of the Imperial Court.. Those in the Sun Moon Empire also reced his name with Death God, and respectfully called him Lord Death God.

    The Light of the Death God came in the form of a pale white light.

    Other than the Light of the Death God, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t think of any other soul tool that could produce such great power. It wasn¡¯t just Soul Sages that would perish against the Light of the Death God, even a Titled Douluo might not be able to survive.

    As for Transcendent and Ultimate Douluo, Huo Yuhao was unsure if they could resist the Light of the Death God. However, his Spiritual Detection was crushed by the aura released by the Light of the Death God earlier, and his spiritual sea had been shaken. If not for the power of destiny protecting him, his spiritual sea would have been crushed.

    The Light of the Death God wasn¡¯t just a simple soul power attack. It contained a very weird spiritual intent. Its strength was already far beyond what Huo Yuhao couldprehend. The feeling earlier was etched in his mind, but he didn¡¯t dare to think about how it felt.

    It was deservedly recognized as the number one soul tool on the continent! Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected the Sun Moon Empire to invite the Death God Douluo out to hold the fort at the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Xuan Ziwen only knew a little about the Death God, and no one else knew more than him. No one knew what kind of price one had to pay in the face of the Death God, and no one knew how many times it could be unleashed. Even what it looked like was a mystery. However, Huo Yuhao had now personally witnessed how destructive it was.

    It was too frightening, it was simply beyond belief. Huo Yuhao was still shaking slightly even now.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s attacks had ceased now. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s military was already in position below, but they didn¡¯t make a move. They had no intention of advancing further.

    Without even asking, Huo Yuhao could guess that the Star Luo Empire must be in a state of chaos right now. More than two hundred Soul Sage or stronger soul masters had died. This was too huge of a blow to them. More importantly, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s attacking momentum had been stopped by the Light of the Death God. No matter how strong their confidence, they couldn¡¯t possibly resist the Light of the Death God. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any confidence in doing so, and he didn¡¯t think the Titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire had any confidence, either.

    The Sun Moon Empire was indeed scheming and astute! Given this strategy, they must have had thought of everything, down to the tiniest details.

    They weren¡¯t afraid of the Star Luo Empire seeing through their scheme. Their scheme had already beenpleted when the Star Luo Empire sent reinforcements. After that, it only depended on how long the Star Luo Empire would remain tricked. The Sun Moon Empire had set up their front very early on, and the fort was personally held by the number one soul engineer on the continent.

    If the Star Luo Empire had an Ultimate Douluo, they might be daring enough to continue trying. However, did they have one? They didn¡¯t. The number of Ultimate Douluo on the continent could be counted on one hand. Among them, only the Dragon Emperor Douluo was a true Ultimate Douluo. Du Busi and Elder Xuan were only close to bing Ultimate Douluo.

    After the Star Luo Empire was dealt such a huge blow, the Ming Dou Mountain Range became a territory that they couldn¡¯t cross anymore. They couldn¡¯t advance any further. What about the other side? What about the Heavenly Soul Empire?

    Huo Yuhao slowly shut his eyes. He seemed to see the Heavenly Soul Empire being overrun by the Sun Moon Empire. Once the Heavenly Soul Empire was destroyed, the Sun Moon Empire would attack the Star Luo Empire from two fronts, and further fulfill their goal of ruling the entire continent.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s nning was indeed ingenious! They had fully tapped into the advantages of soul tools!

 Chapter 428.2 - Light of the Death God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 428.2: Light of the Death God</h4>

    After seeing the Light of the Death God, Huo Yuhao realized that he couldn¡¯t do anything. He could only pray in his heart, and hope that the Death God Douluo wasn¡¯t a ss 10 soul engineer.

    The Sun Moon Empire was already supported by the Holy Ghost Church. If the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao teamed up with a ss 10 soul engineer, would the three empires of the Douluo Continent still have a future?

    Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t continue being a trooper. No matter how much he liked being in a military camp and guiding his own younger brother, the safety of the continent was more important than his own wishes.

    He had to return and tell the Academy about the situation here right away, so that the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion could make a decision. This concerned the future of the Douluo Continent. Shrek Academy definitely couldn¡¯t sit and watch as everything unfolded. It was just that he didn¡¯t know whether the Spirit Pagoda had been fully constructed. Fortunately, it seemed like there wouldn¡¯t be any action taken by the Great Star Dou Forest for the moment.

    After taking one more deep look in the direction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range where the Light of the Death God had been unleashed from, Huo Yuhao bit his lip forcefully before turning around and quickly flying to the east.

    There wasn¡¯t any need to watch the fighting here. The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t need to attack. They just needed to guard the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and they would achieve victory. As for the Heavenly Soul Empire, it was probably toote for any news to be sent to them. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attack should have already started.

    What Huo Yuhao could do now was immediately return to the Academy and recount everything he had witnessed so that the Academy would know how to prepare. At the same time, they could make a decision.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered to tell Xu Yun as he rushed back. To him, every second and minute was now extremely crucial. After crossing the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military camp, he rapidly flew across Imperial Radiant City. After he passed the entire region covered by the military, he activated his flying-type soul tool and increased its speed to the maximum.

    The view beneath him changed continuously, and the night air was very clear. It was also slightly damp. One would normally feel refreshed after taking in a deep breath. However, Huo Yuhao only felt very cold and anxious inside.

    After the Sun Moon Empire started their attacks, they were actually so terrifying. It was something no one had expected. Even though they fought on two fronts, it was likely that they would still be able to suppress two empires at the same time. What should they do?

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s temporarymander¡¯s tent¡­

    The White Tiger Duke Dai Hao looked very grim right now. Beside him was Princess Jiujiu, wearing a suit of white armor.

    Xu Jiujiu look equally grim, and her expression was also a little pale.

    The fighting had already stopped, but the hazy Ming Dou Mountain Range seemed to epitomize the gloom that hung over the Star Luo Empire right now. When the Light of the Death God swept across earlier, she felt as if her heart had been torn apart. Two hundred soul masters who were at least Soul Sages had been killed! The number included more than ten Soul Douluo. This was an unprecedently huge blow to the Star Luo Empire.

    More importantly, they weren¡¯t able to hurt their enemies at all, even after they suffered such heavy casualties. This waspletely uneptable.

    She was the one who had devised their strategy. After all, all the soul master legions were under her control.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s original n had been to send some strong individuals to destroy the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s blockade in the air before thinking of a way to make a breakthrough.

    However, Xu Jiujiu was a little confused when she heard that the Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t kept anyone on the border. She was fully aware that the Star Luo Empire would be in a crisis if the Heavenly Soul Empire fell. It was why she insisted on sending soul masters that were at least Soul Sages to probe and drain the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses. After that, they could take them down in one fell swoop.

    However, the final result mercilessly proved that her strategy was a mistake. Leading the soul master legions as a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she had only brought huge losses and casualties to them. Right now, all themanders of the soul master legions were present. All of them looked very dismal, and the way they looked at Princess Jiujiu was very different from before.

    After taking a deep breath, Xu Jiujiu stood up and bowed. She wasn¡¯t a person who shirked her responsibilities. ¡°Today¡¯s defeat is on me. I was the one who made the decision, and my incorrect strategy brought us heavy losses. Marshal, I¡¯ll ount to His Majesty myself. At the same time, I¡¯ll fully coordinate with all of you from now on, and listen to all of your arrangements.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was an important member of the imperial family. She was fully aware that the most important thing for the Star Luo Empire right now was resisting the Sun Moon Empire. She put down her face as a princess and admitted her mistake to the White Tiger Duke.

    Dai Hao stood up and walked over to Xu Jiujiu¡¯s side. He made a lifting gesture, and lifted her up with his soul power. ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to act like this. Our failure this time cannot be attributed to you alone. As a marshal, I¡¯m not meless, either. Furthermore, things happened beyond our expectations. The Sun Moon Empire unleashed that ray of white light from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. We don¡¯t even know what it is. However, I can clearly sense that even a Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist it.

    ¡°Our priority now is to find out what the strength of that ray of white light is, as well as what price the Sun Moon Empire has to pay to unleash it. We¡¯ve already alerted the Heavenly Soul Empire. I suggest that we let the reinforcements from the Dou Ling Empire enter the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territories to aid them, and also send some of our reinforcements to support them. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be very difficult for us to breach the Ming Dou Mountain Range temporarily.¡±

    While Dai Hao was extremely displeased with Xu Jiujiu¡¯s decision earlier, he also understood what it meant to look at the big picture at the right time. Their priority now wasn¡¯t putting the me on anyone, but how they could turn things around on the battlefield.

    They were already in a very disadvantageous situation. The Sun Moon Empire had demonstrated the edge soul tools possessed in this battle. With that terrifying ray of white light threatening them, how could it possibly be easy to breach the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses? It was apletely irresistible attack! Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t that ray of white light that dampened their chances the most, it was theck of surveince.

    ording to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s original n, he had wanted to attack before the Sun Moon Empire discovered them, and invite all the Titled Douluo to move at the same time to destroy the surveince soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire. This would allow them to retrieve some control over the air, as well as reduce the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince on them.

    However, Xu Jiujiu¡¯s impatience had lost them this opportunity. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools had already been pulled back within their defensive perimeter. It would be much more difficult to destroy them now. With the presence of that ray of white light that could even threaten a Titled Douluo¡¯s life, which Titled Douluo would be willing to take action now? It was equivalent to courting death!

    Under such circumstances, they werepletely unaware of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troop deployments in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. In addition, they werepletely under surveince over here. How were they going to fight? They didn¡¯t stand any chance of breaching the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses.

    They could only be content with an alternative option right now, and use the stupidest methods to aid the Heavenly Soul Empire. The effect wasn¡¯t going to be very good. At the same time, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s northern defense line had to be strengthened.

    Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t continue. After she expressed her full support for the White Tiger Duke, she quickly returned to her position and sat down.

    She was dealt the heaviest blow this time after their defeat. She was initially still a little unconvinced by the White Tiger Duke. However, she now realized that she was lost in the face of this crisis, while the White Tiger Duke was still able to seek opportunities in the midst of it. He neatly disseminated orders to his subordinates.

    It was only at dawn the next day that the White Tiger dispersed the military conference. Themanders all left, while Princess Jiujiu remained where she was without moving at all.

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve also toiled an entire night. Go back and rest,¡± Dai Hao said to Xu Jiujiu.

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s body jerked a little, and she was a little lost as she looked back at Dai Hao. She stood up and walked in front of him. Suddenly, her knees fell to the ground with a thud, and she knelt in front of Dai Hao.

    ¡°Duke, I was wrong. I was the one who caused the empire to suffer such heavy losses. I¡­¡±

    Dai Hao hurriedly lifted her up and furrowed his brow as he said, ¡°Your Highness, why do you have to do this? I mentioned that you can¡¯t be solely to me for our failure. No one expected the Sun Moon Empire to possess such a terrifying soul tool.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu shook her head mournfully and said, ¡°No, I know that it¡¯s my fault. If I had followed your original n and destroyed the enemies¡¯ surveince soul tools first, we wouldn¡¯t be so passive now. No matter how strong that ray of white light is, it can only cover a certain region. If not for my impatience and concentration of all the soul masters, we wouldn¡¯t have suffered such huge losses. Duke, save the empire¡­¡±

    Dai Hao sighed and said, ¡°Your Highness, the empire is also my home. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I won¡¯t allow any invaders to destroy my home. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best. However, please help me tell His Majesty that our northern defense line needs to be strengthened. In addition, we can¡¯t stop resisting the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attacks here. We must put pressure on them. This is the greatest help we can give the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, I¡¯ll need you to think of a way to send a batch of outstanding soul masters to try to sneak into the Sun Moon Empire. Without any surveince and intelligence, we can¡¯t win this war.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to coordinate with you.¡± Xu Jiujiu left in a hurry. She couldn¡¯t possibly rest!

    After watching Xu Jiujiu leave, Dai Hao said, ¡°Someone call Luoli over for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    It was not long before Dai Luoli was led into the tent by the White Tiger¡¯s bodyguards. After arriving at the front line, the White Tiger Duke had arranged for Dai Yueheng to temporarily look after Dai Luoli and stop him from running about.

    When Dai Hao saw Dai Luolist night, he was also stunned. The defense around the city he was in was very strict. He didn¡¯t know how Dai Luoli had entered without being spotted.

    After that, Dai Luoli shocked him by telling him everything he knew. He didn¡¯t have the time to probe any further then, and had immediately called for a conference before the military set out.

    Things had finally settled down, and he had time to call Dai Luoli over.

 Chapter 428.3 - Light of the Death God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 428.3: Light of the Death God</h4>

    Dai Yueheng came over with Dai Luoli. He didn¡¯t ostracize his younger brother, but wasn¡¯t close to him, either. After all, they had the same father, but different mothers. Dai Yueheng even treated Dai Huabin, who shared the same parents as him, as hispetitor. As for Dai Luoli, he hardly felt any kinship with him at all.

    ¡°Marshal.¡± Dai Luoli addressed Dai Hao as Marshal instead of father. At the same time, he performed a military salute.

    Dai Hao furrowed his brow as he noticed Dai Luoli was dressed like a small team leader. ¡°How did you enter the city? Did you join the military?¡±

    Dai Luoli nodded. ¡°I¡¯m the small team leader of a group of recruits from the Sixth Reserve Legion. I¡¯m a Private First ss. No one knows I¡¯m a soul master, though. When I was doing my recruit training, I was promoted to a bodyguard of the battalionmander. As for how I entered the city, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t tell you right now.¡±

    Dai Hao¡¯s face turned gloomier. ¡°Tell me. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be punished as a spy.¡±

    Dai Yueheng hurriedly said, ¡°Father, the information Luoli is offering is very important. Don¡¯t you think¡­¡±

    Dai Hao red at him and said, ¡°There are no families in the army. There are only superiors and subordinates. What did you call me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Marshal.¡± Dai Yueheng quickly changed the way he greeted Dai Hao. Dai Hao was very stern towards all his sons.

    Dai Hao returned his attention to Dai Luoli, who appeared very persistent. He said, ¡°Luoli, the information that you have brought us this time is indeed very important. However, the source of your information is also very important. If you¡¯re being used by an enemy, the entire Northwestern Field Army will be killed along with you. This is why you must report the source of your information and how you managed to enter the city. I can only judge it urately if you tell me this.¡±

    After listening to his father¡¯s words, Dai Luoli seemed to waver a little. However, he still resisted, ¡°Marshal, I¡¯m confident that the person who told me all this information isn¡¯t an enemy. His information is definitely urate.¡±

    Dai Hao was already fatigued after an entire night spent in a military conference. He wasn¡¯t in a good mood now, and thus shouted, ¡°Who is he!?¡±

    Dai Luoli said, ¡°He¡¯s, he¡¯s my master.¡±

    ¡°Master?¡± Dai Hao was stunned. ¡°Since when did you have a master?¡± He asked doubtfully.

    Dai Luoli had already expected his father to interrogate him. He had also promised Huo Yuhao that he wouldn¡¯t reveal his identity. This was why he thought of a way to talk his way out of this interrogation. The clever thing about him was that he didn¡¯t say everything the moment he appeared in front of Dai Hao. Instead, he revealed everything slowly. This enabled him to gain his father¡¯s trust more easily.

    ¡°He only became my master a short while ago. He was also the one who allowed me to join the military, as he thinks that the military is a good way to train myself. He¡¯s normally absent, and will only appear when he¡¯s teaching me. He managed to find out that there aren¡¯t any soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire at the Ming Dou Mountain Range before he proceeded to inform me. He knows my rtionship with you, and thus he asked me to travel the entire night to deliver this information to you. As for how I entered the city, my master has a special ability that allows him to conceal himself. He brought me into the city by concealing both of us.¡±

    After hearing the word ¡®conceal¡¯, Dai Hao twitched visibly. He hurriedly asked, ¡°Is your master¡¯s martial soul a spiritual-type?¡±

    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Dai Luoli was the shocked one now. Just because he possessed the ability to conceal himself didn¡¯t mean that his martial soul was spiritual-type. Some special martial souls possessed such an ability, as well.

    Dai Hao paused for a moment, then asked, ¡°Is his height around one meter and ny centimeters, and he has a slender and proportionate figure?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Dai Luoli became more and more shocked. Dai Hao was describing Huo Yuhao!

    From the look on Dai Luoli¡¯s face, Dai Hao guessed his answer. He also looked much friendlier now. ¡°I might know who he is. If he¡¯s the one, the information should be fine. How did he take you as a disciple? What did he teach you?¡±

    Dai Luoli replied, ¡°I met him when I was cultivating outside the Duke¡¯s Mansion for the first time. He was alone then, and he wore a mask. I couldn¡¯t see him clearly. He didn¡¯t say he wanted to teach me at the start, but suddenly attacked me. I retaliated as I was attacked, but he managed to take me down without even using his martial soul. After that, he kept on provoking me and making me furious so as to make me keep fighting him. It was only when I couldn¡¯t get up anymore that he left.

    ¡°Ever since then, he has kept on appearing. Every time he appears, he beats me up very badly.¡± As he spoke until this point, Dai Luoli¡¯s true emotions started to flow. During those days, every day had seemed very long!

    Dai Yueheng was doubtful as he asked, ¡°He always beats you up? Why did he be your master then?¡± From the look in his eyes, he was hinting that Dai Luoli deserved to be beaten up by epting the person who had beaten him up as his master.

    Dai Luoli was not very close to his brother, and so snorted, ¡°Yes, he beats me up. However, he has helped to greatly increase my abilities. Father, I¡¯m already at Rank 40. I¡¯ll be a Soul Ancestor once I obtain my soul ring.¡± The moment he talked about this joyous matter, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to address Dai Hao as ¡®Marshal¡¯ anymore.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Dai Hao¡¯s eyes brightened. He hadn¡¯t had much expectations for Dai Luoli. After all, he had improved much slower than Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin even though he cultivated tirelessly because of the mutation of his martial soul. He had not even qualified to enter Shrek Academy. He was only at Rank 30 not long ago. In a just a few months, he was now Rank 40. This rate of increase wasn¡¯t achievable by just any ordinary soul master.

    The mysterious guy Dai Hao was thinking of was naturally the masked man who had saved him twice and given him a Sunmoon Divine Needle. He was indeed very grateful to that guy. Not only did that guy save him twice, but he even saved his bodyguards. If that guy was Dai Luoli¡¯s teacher, everything would make sense.

    ¡°How did your cultivation increase so quickly? Did you master make it happen for you?¡± Dai Hao asked.

    Dai Luoliughed bitterly. ¡°You could say that. My master said that while my martial soul is mutated, it¡¯s not a bad mutation. It¡¯s because the mutation was iplete, and the strength of my martial soul wasn¡¯t stimted. He beat me up to intensify the mutation of my martial soul under extreme emotional conditions so that the strength of my martial soul would bepletely unleashed.

    ¡°I myself don¡¯t understand what happened. However, my soul power has increased very quickly, and my martial soul seems to have changed too.¡±

    After hearing his words, both Dai Hao and Dai Yueheng couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    The mutation of a martial soul wasn¡¯t very umon in the continent. However, most mutations of martial souls were for the worse. After these mutations, the original pure bloodline became much weaker. Only a few martial souls became stronger after mutating.

    Dai Yueheng also came from Shrek Academy. However, he could recall that the Academy had expended a lot of effort on research into mutated martial souls. Even so, the results that they achieved weren¡¯t ideal. If it was possible to alter the level of mutation of a soul master¡¯s martial soul, then this mysterious guy could be considered the best in his research of mutated martial souls.

    Dai Hao said, ¡°Alright. Unleash your martial soul for me to see.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Dai Luoli acknowledged, and also heaved a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, he had managed to scam his way through!

    Lights shone, and three soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet. At the same time, he became much taller, and white fur started to grow from his body. Just like before, there weren¡¯t any ck stripes that were special to White Tigers. Rather, his body waspletely white.

    However, Dai Hao and Dai Yueheng were both astonished.

    After Dai Luoli¡¯s martial soul had beenpletely unleashed, his soul power started to change. Dai Luoli seemed to be illusory in their eyes. After this, the fur on his body also exuded a dim blood-colored glow.

    This blood-colored glow didn¡¯t have any unclean aura, but was instead filled with elegance. It even carried strong spiritual undtions within it.

    Dai Hao suddenly lifted his hand and grabbed towards Dai Luoli¡¯s chest.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s body subconsciously shed, and he squatted down towards his side. At the same time, he reached out against his father¡¯s palm with his tiger ws. He was extremely quick.

    Dai Hao withdrew his hand and was impressed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed different. Your reaction speed is far beyond your cultivation! How do you feel after your martial soul has mutated?¡±

    Dai Luoli said, ¡°Master said that my martial soul should be called a Blood Tiger after this mutation. Under certain circumstances, it can enter a berserk state on its own once stimted. However, my cultivation is stillcking now, and my spiritual power isn¡¯t strong enough yet. Once it¡¯s stronger, I can be much calmer even when I go berserk. What my master means is that my spiritual and soul power can fuse with each other perfectly after I go berserk, which enables me to unleash a fighting strength that is beyond my original abilities. It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t be in that state for very long, but that duration will increase along with my cultivation.¡±

    Dai Hao seemed to be thinking of something. Dai Yueheng was doubtful as he asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll develop some innate skill after your mutation ispleted? Isn¡¯t this something only soul beasts possess?¡±

    Dai Luoli was unhappy as he asked, ¡°Who said so? Elder brother, I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re a schr from Shrek Academy. My master said that this is simr to the Body Sect¡¯s Second Awakening of body souls. This is because the strength of all my soul skills will increase after I enter a berserk state.¡±

    Dai Hao was suddenly enlightened after he heard Dai Luoli drawing aparison to the Body Sect. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a Second Awakening, just like what happens in the Body Sect. I didn¡¯t expect it, I really didn¡¯t expect it! Where is your master now?¡±

 Chapter 429.1 - Im Tang Wutong!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 429.1: I¡¯m Tang Wutong!</h4>

    Dai Luoli shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier that he¡¯s very mysterious? He can only find me, I can¡¯t find him. He has never even let me see his true appearance. Dad, surely he¡¯s not a bad guy, right?¡±

    Dai Hao nodded andughed bitterly. ¡°Of course he¡¯s not a bad guy. I know this person you¡¯re talking about. From your description of him, he should be the person who¡¯s saved me twice now. So it turns out that he¡¯s your teacher¡­ no wonder. Perhaps he saved me because of you. Not only is this person mysterious, but he¡¯s also very powerful. If your teacher finds you again, you must help me express my gratitude to him. If he¡¯s willing, I even want to thank him face-to-face.¡±

    ¡°He saved your life twice?¡± Dai Luoli was shocked. Although he couldn¡¯t believe that the mysterious guy his father mentioned was his own elder brother, he still believed that Huo Yuhao was capable of saving his father twice!Elder brother, why do you have to be like that? Why aren¡¯t you willing to reunite with him?

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t reunite with the White Tiger Duke. He would not do so before he believed he was strong enough.

    By the time he reached Shrek City, it was already noon. Shrek City¡¯s reconstruction was in full swing. From afar, a lot of construction work could be seen, especially the Spirit Pagoda, which was near the Great Star Dou Forest and undergoing a grand construction. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even return to the Tang Sect first, but immediately went to Shrek Academy. He wanted to pass the information on to Elder Xuan for him to make a decision.

    Even though he was one of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fly directly into the Academy. He stopped outside the gate before briskly walking into the Academy.

    It was lesson time now, the Academy was empty. After passing the statues of the members of the first-generation Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters and Golden Triangle, Huo Yuhao came to thekeside of the Sea God¡¯s Lake. It was only then that he rose into the air before riding the waves towards the Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    The expansion of Shrek City was a good thing for Shrek Academy. Furthermore, the rtionship between Shrek and the Great Star Dou Forest was unprecedentedly harmonious because of the Spirit Pagoda, even though the beast tide had caused huge losses to both parties.

    It had been months since students from Shrek Academy had entered the forest to hunt for soul beasts. The Great Star Dou Forest was very pleased regarding this. To them, this was a demonstration of Shrek Academy¡¯s sincerity.

    Of course, more students were obtaining Spirits through the establishment of the Spirit Pagoda and under the cooperation of both parties. Without a doubt, they were the greatest beneficiaries of the Spirit Pagoda.

    As he stepped onto Sea God¡¯s Ind, a sense of familiarity swept over Huo Yuhao. The refreshing air lessened his anxiety.It¡¯s great to be back home! It¡¯d be nice if Dong¡¯er were still around. If Dong¡¯er were around, and there was no more hatred, I could just live with her on this ind. Our days would be so happy!

    Dong¡¯er¡­

    Dong¡¯er!

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened. He couldn¡¯t believe it as he looked forward, and his body started to shake uncontrobly.

    This, this is¡­

    A youngdy was walking towards him. Her eyes were powdery-blue, and her eyshes were long and curly. She was very slender, and her long, powdery-blue hair flowed behind her hand. She was dressed in a white dress that entuated her ravishing looks. She looked like a goddess.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed. As he was overly agitated, his voice sounded very high. In the next instant, Huo Yuhao used his Instant Teleportation and appeared in front of this youngdy. He opened his arms and tightly embraced her.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected to see Wang Dong¡¯er again under such a circumstance and at such a time. All his worries and anxiety disappeared at this moment. All his emotions and yearning erupted. His tears flowed uncontrobly, and his vision had already turned blurry from all the tears.

    The youngdy stood where she was. She seemed to have been stunned by the sudden embrace that she had received.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears dripped onto and slipped off her wavy, powdery-blue hair. They seemed to add a glow to it.

    ¡°Are you courting death?¡± an embarrassed voice sounded. Immediately after this, Huo Yuhao felt as if the person he was hugging had turned into an active volcano.

    She unleashed a massive force and broke free from his embrace. Following this, Huo Yuhao saw the fury in her eyes. Her thin and slender hand reached out for his chest.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to avoid the terrifying force that wasing towards him. At the same time, he used his hands to block in front of him.

    Bang!Vigorous soul power was unleashed.

    Huo Yuhao felt an aura of light filled with strength sweeping towards him. It was like huge waves were crashing in front of him.

    After he fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er as a Sacrifice, he had inherited part of her Golden Dragon¡¯s strength. However, he was still forced back more than ten steps, as he wasn¡¯t prepared for Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s palm.

    A gap opened between them, and Huo Yuhao was a little stunned. He couldn¡¯t believe that Wang Dong¡¯er had made a move against him.

    She wore a fierce look on her face, and her soul rings rose from her feet. Six of them were ck and one was red.

    She had seven soul rings of unbelievable colors!

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t astonished by the lights from her soul rings. He seemed intoxicated as he stared at her. He didn¡¯t blink at all, and tears still streamed from his face.

    The youngdy was also stunned when she saw the tears on his face, but as she unleashed her martial soul, a pair of huge dragon wings opened up behind her.

    The color of her dragon wings was extremely dazzling. There was a bright blue glow close to her back that extended towards the sides. As it extended, it slowly changed from blue to gold. The edges of her dragon wings were extremely weird; they were wavy like butterfly wings, and also exuded a dim golden glow.

    There was a bright golden trident rune on her forehead, which started shing. She grew slightly taller, and her dominant aura turned the space behind her into a bluish-gold ocean.

    She had already lifted her right hand towards Huo Yuhao. Her face was very cold, and there was an embarrassed look in her eyes. It was evident that she was cross that Huo Yuhao had hugged her earlier. She even felt that she was being squeezed right now, which made her feel weird.

    An intense bluish-gold light formed on her palm, and her second soul ring lit up. The dazzling bluish-gold lights adopted the form of a whirlpool, and a terrifying sense of suppression instantly locked onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao became more clear-headed when he was subjected to this heavy pressure. As he looked at the youngdy¡¯s eyes, he shuddered. ¡°You aren¡¯t Dong¡¯er!¡±

    He was sure that Wang Dong¡¯er wouldn¡¯t look at him like this!

    Just as he was speaking, the youngdy had already pped her right hand towards him. A ball of blinding bluish-gold light carrying the sound of a low-pitched dragon roar surged towards his chest.

    As this ball of bluish-gold light was unleashed, the bluish-gold glow behind her also surged and turned into countless streaks of light that suppressed Huo Yuhao from all directions. A strong sense of restraint engulfed Huo Yuhao.

    She¡¯s so strong. She¡¯s definitely not Dong¡¯er. However, I can feel a trace of Dong¡¯er in her strength.

    While he thought of this, Huo Yuhao also moved. He also lifted his right hand. His three red and four orange soul rings shone brightly. His first soul ring shed, and his right hand was covered in diamond ice crystals. Every crystal was shining extremely brightly, helping him block the ball of bluish-gold light.

    The moment that ball of light touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand, streaks of light were deflected by the ice crystals in all directions. Only a portion of them managed to take effect against him.

    The diamond ice crystals quickly spread across Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body, blocking the suppression and shockwaves that came as the ball of bluish-gold light blew apart.

    It was the first soul skill of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Ice Empress¡¯ Armor.

    Ayer of dim azure light was also released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, preventing the restraint from affecting him.

    ¡°What?¡± The youngdy was stunned that her attack didn¡¯t have much effect. Her eyes shed again, and the lights from her other soul rings also started to surge.

    ¡°Stop. We might have a misunderstanding,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly said. Whether this youngdy was Dong¡¯er or not, how would he be willing toy his hands on her?

    The youngdy retracted her bluish-gold light slightly, but she still seemed as unfriendly as ever, ¡°Misunderstanding? How dare you vite me and im that it¡¯s a misunderstanding!¡±

    Her voice was crisp and captivating. However, she indeed sounded different from Wang Dong¡¯er. She was more arrogant than Wang Dong¡¯er, and she was also colder. However, they were equally sweet.

    Huo Yuhao was simply too familiar with Wang Dong¡¯er, so he could differentiate between them.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I might have recognized you wrongly. You look too much like my friend. That¡¯s why I¡­¡±

    The youngdy was still furious. ¡°Can you just hug me whenever you want just because I look like her? I don¡¯t believe that anyone looks like me. Ever since I came to this irksome Academy, many people have told me that I look like someone. But I¡¯m me. The rest are fine. They onlyment that I look like that person. But you¡¯ve offended me and even hugged me! If I don¡¯t whack you today, I won¡¯t be appeased!¡±

 Chapter 429.2 - Im Tang Wutong!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 429.2: I¡¯m Tang Wutong!</h4>

    As she spoke, the bluish-gold light from her body became stronger, and she lifted her right hand towards Huo Yuhao again.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s really a misunderstanding.¡± Huo Yuhao was also confused. From the details, this youngdy was indeed not Wang Dong¡¯er. However, they looked too alike. Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er had been lookalikes because of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s transformation ability as the Auspicious Emperor Beast. However, what was with this youngdy? From her long, wavy hair, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that she looked like Wang Qiu¡¯er!

    ¡°Remember, my name is Tang Wutong!¡± the youngdy shouted and pointed her toes to the ground. Behind her, a pair of dragon wings opened up, and she was lifted into the air. Her first soul ring shone, and her wings fluttered. The arcs that she created as her wings moved instantly shone with a strong, golden glow. The golden glow was like water, and her sharp aura caused a tearing sound in the air. As she fluttered her wings, she charged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Words were of no use right now. He had to deal with her attack first!

    He pointed his toes to the ground and quickly retreated. At the same time, his body shone with deep blue light, and the little Snow Lady separated from his body.

    The little Snow Lady¡¯s figure twisted slightly in the air and a streak of deep blue light shed. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Unparalleled Chill, Empress Sword.

    The little Snow Lady¡¯s appearance instantly caused the surrounding temperature to drop significantly. Ever since Huo Yuhao had fused with the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, his Ultimate Ice had improved and was now even closer to absolute zero.

    Tang Wutong was affected by the extreme chill in the air, and her movements were dyed slightly. However, the bluish-gold light from her body also instantly became stronger. She swept out her dragon wings to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Unparalleled Chill.

    A crisp note echoed out, and Tang Wutong descended from the sky. A strong chilling wave quickly spread towards her body through her wings. The strength of Ultimate Ice was disyed at this moment!

    However, Tang Wutong was also quite impressive. As she shouted, ayer of strong golden sparks rose from her body, and the Ultimate Ice from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Unparalleled Chill wasn¡¯t able to continue seeping into her.

    After he forced Tang Wutong back with his sword, Huo Yuhao also quickly retreated. He wasn¡¯t just an assault-type soul master, but also a control-type soul master. Widening his gap with his opponent was a better way for him to fight.

    However, it was very difficult for him to fight right now. He couldn¡¯t bring himself toy his hands on Tang Wutong, as she looked too much like Wang Dong¡¯er!

    A distorted glow rippled around his body. He quickly unleashed his Spiritual Interference, which caused everything around him to turn unclear. A strong chill continued to surge forth in the area.

    The little Snow Lady drifted behind Huo Yuhao, and he unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. Large patches of snowkes surrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and quickly engulfed both him and Tang Wutong with the help of his Spiritual Interference.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s deliberate control, his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice didn¡¯t cover a huge region. However, the temperature in this region instantly dropped to negative one hundred degrees Celsius, even though Huo Yuhao was deliberately controlling the temperature. Otherwise, it would have been even lower!

    Tang Wutong suddenly felt as if she were trapped in this domain. However, she didn¡¯t panic, and her eyes shone brightly. On her forehead, the golden trident rune shone silently once again, adding ayer of golden light to her eyes.

    Tang Wutong let out a sonorous dragon roar. As she stood in ce, a suit of bluish-gold armor silently surfaced on her body.

    This armor was made of blue diamond-shaped dragon scales and outlined her slender figure perfectly. The pauldrons were especially long, poking out from both sides of her shoulders. Her dragon wings expanded and looked even more bluish-gold. A huge, golden V-shaped beam of light shed. Along the part of the armor covering her belly, there were even butterfly patterns spreading out.

    Her uniform adopted the shape of waves, just like the edges of her dragon wings. ring, bluish-gold light surged and resisted the chilling from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    This was her fourth soul skill, Dragon God¡¯s Possession!

    Tang Wutong¡¯s dragon wings suddenly stuck close together and rose up high behind her. Bluish-gold light shone very brightly on her as she unleashed her Dragon God¡¯s Possession. All traces of her suddenly disappeared. Following this, arge bluish-gold de more than ten meters long and several meters wide suddenly appeared and shed towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. His Spiritual Interference didn¡¯t have any effect on her!

    This was her third soul skill, Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh.

    As it was strengthened by her Dragon God¡¯s Possession, her Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh suddenly became extremely powerful. Before the snowkes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice touched the sharp de of light, they were already crushed into powder and scattered in the air. Huo Yuhao was also revealed in his domain, facing the de directly.

    However, something happened that left Tang Wutong stunned. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dodge as he faced her attack. Furthermore, he actually shut his eyes and slowly punched his right fist out against her sharp de.

    For some reason, Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t bear to harm Huo Yuhao when he punched his fist out. She even experienced a very weird feeling, and subconsciously lessened the might of her attack. If Huo Yuhao was unable to resist her attack, she could still retract it in time. After all, there wasn¡¯t any deep enmity between the two of them. Although she was cross that Huo Yuhao had hugged her, she didn¡¯t have the intention of killing him.

    ng!

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist shed against her Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh, the huge de stopped in mid-air.

    Following that, the diamond ice crystals formed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer were rapidly crushed, revealing his naked right hand.

    However,yers of golden light also spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s right fist towards Tang Wutong¡¯s Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh, just as the two of them shed against each other.

    An indescribable and inexplicable feeling was in the air. It was abination of sorrow and boundless remembrance. While Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist had stopped, his emotions continued to surge.

    It was his Fist of Remembrance, a fist that contained a surging feeling of remembrance.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s light projection instantly retracted, and she did a reverse somersault in mid-air beforending on the ground. When her feet touched the ground, she staggered two steps back before she managed to stabilize herself. She could only feel that there were countless images shing across her mind, and she was suddenly filled with immense sadness.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stagger back, but fresh blood dripped from his right fist. Before itnded on the ground, it turned into beads of blood-red ice under the effect of his Ultimate Ice. As these beads of icended on the ground, they were crushed into red powder and scattered everywhere.

    When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were filled with boundless remembrance and gentle feelings. It was like the wound on his right fist didn¡¯t belong to him.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, it¡¯s you. You are my Dong¡¯er,¡± Huo Yuhao muttered to himself.

    The words of Niu Tian, the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s sect leader, echoed in his mind right now.

    Dong¡¯er is fine. She has been treated by her father. However, she¡¯s no longer Dong¡¯er. She has lost a portion of her memory.

    While Tang Wutong was unable to recognize him now, there were signs of Dong¡¯er in her abilities! When she unleashed her Dragon God¡¯s Possession, the v-shaped Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ glow that appeared on her dragon wings was continuously telling Huo Yuhao things.

    She¡¯s Dong¡¯er. She¡¯s Dong¡¯er, but she¡¯s changed her name, and forgotten who I am.

    Tang Wutong jerked a little, and she took a while to recover from the intent of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fist of Remembrance. When she looked at him again, there was a horrified look in her eyes.

    ¡°What, what did you do to me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to you. You only sensed the remembrance in me.¡±

    Tang Wutong had a wary look in her eyes as she snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Don¡¯t let me see you again.¡± After she said that, her dragon wings opened up again, and she rose into the air before flying towards Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned gentler as he watched her back.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, have you really forgotten me? Even if you have, so what? I¡¯m willing to pursue you again and bring you close to me again through my love for you. You¡¯ll definitely see me in the future, and you¡¯ll keep seeing me. No matter what, I won¡¯t let you leave my side again. I¡¯ll use my life and everything to protect you. Dong¡¯er, whether you¡¯re Wang Dong¡¯er or Tang Wutong, you¡¯ll have to be my wife!¡±

    Tears once again flowed from his eyes. However, they were blissful tears now.

    Wang Dong¡¯er had gone into a deep sleep, Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself, and Shrek was attacked by a beast tide. This series of heavy blows had polished his heart. He had concealed his internal weakness and tried to face everything resiliently. However, he was still human!

    When he saw his younger brother Dai Luoli and sensed the warmth of kinship, his cold and resilient heart melted a bit. And right now, everything in the world seemed to be filled with life and everything turned beautiful as he saw Tang Wutong, who had to be Wang Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°How is she? Did you manage to tell anything?¡± a benevolent voice asked.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and saw Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan walked towards him slowly and chortled, ¡°She doesn¡¯t recognize you anymore. However, it¡¯s really still her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao also smiled and quickly rubbed the tears off his face, ¡°Yes! Even if she doesn¡¯t admit it, and has forgotten me, she¡¯s still my Dong¡¯er! This is a fact that can¡¯t be changed! I¡¯ll make her remember me!¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled, ¡°She came to Shrek a week ago to interview for a teaching role. Every one of us was stunned when we saw her, and thought that she was Dong¡¯er. However, she said that she¡¯s not Dong¡¯er, but Tang Wutong. She doesn¡¯t know anyone called Wang Dong¡¯er. She¡¯s very different from Dong¡¯er in many aspects, including her martial soul. However, I can clearly see Dong¡¯er¡¯s shadow on her. I remember you mentioned that Dong¡¯er was in a deep sleep. Did you go and find her?¡±

 Chapter 429.3 - Im Tang Wutong!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 429.3: I¡¯m Tang Wutong!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao nodded, and recounted his encounter with the Clear Sky Sect.

    Elder Xuan retracted the smile on his face and furrowed his brow slightly before saying, ¡°If this is the case, she should be Dong¡¯er. It¡¯s just that, did you sense traces of Dong¡¯er on her? There¡¯s also Qiu¡¯er¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er¡¯s?¡± Huo Yuhao shook a little, and quickly recalled the situation when he had fought Tang Wutong earlier. He recalled her strength, and her martial soul.

    As the saying goes, ¡°The person on the spot is baffled, while the onlooker sees clearly¡±. Elder Xuan¡¯s words quickly alerted him. If Huo Yuhao had to describe Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul, he would have to say that it was abination of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    How is that possible? Dong¡¯er is the young sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect, while Qiu¡¯er is the Auspicious Emperor Beast. How is it possible that¡­

    Elder Xuan had a thoughtful look on his face as he said, ¡°It seems unbelievable, but Wang Qiu¡¯er is the Auspicious Emperor Beast. She controls the power of destiny. Is it possible that her feelings continued to exist with her spirit after she died, and the strength of her spirit managed to fuse with Dong¡¯er? As a result, Dong¡¯er woke up and reached her current state?

    ¡°Yuhao, you must understand how magical martial souls are. Even after thousands of years of research, our Academy is still unable to solve some riddles. For example, why do humans have martial souls, and under what conditions do martial souls mutate? How are martial souls inherited? Through a person¡¯s father or mother? All these seem like simple questions, but no one has the exact answer to them. There is nothing impossible in this world. However, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll need to find out the answer to Tang Wutong¡¯s secrets by yourself.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks. No matter what, I¡¯ll find out what happened to her! Elder Xuan, I rushed back because I have something important to report to you.¡±

    Elder Xuan immediately turned serious. ¡°Are you talking about the Sun Moon Empire starting the war so abruptly? Were you in the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I wasn¡¯t just in the Star Luo Empire. I was even at a ce not far from the Ming Dou Mountain Range.¡±

    Elder Xuan lifted his hand and stopped him from speaking further. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion first.¡±

    After they reached the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao greeted the Golden Tree by bowing as usual, before following Elder Xuan in.

    The two of them sat at the conference table normally used for meetings on the first level. Huo Yuhao started to describe everything that he had seen and heard after arranging his thoughts.

    At the same time, he concealed his rtionship with the White Tiger Duke, and didn¡¯t talk about how he had saved him. He only described the situation of the war.

    Elder Xuan turned grim as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and said, ¡°They created a diversion, and their target was actually the Heavenly Soul Empire. We haven¡¯t received any news from the Heavenly Soul Empire yet. They have the support of the Body Sect over there. Perhaps it won¡¯t be so easy to take them down.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I hope so, too. However, only the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were present when they attacked the Star Luo Empire. The Holy Ghost Church was missing. I was a little skeptical at that time. After I tried to figure things out, I realized that it¡¯s likely that the Body Sect will face the Holy Ghost Church.

    ¡°The Holy Ghost Church has the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao and many other evil soul masters. If they really fight the Body Sect, I¡¯m afraid the Body Sect might be unable to resist them! Furthermore, I don¡¯t think the Heavenly Soul Empire is evenparable to the Star Luo Empire in terms of strength. They won¡¯t be able tost long if they are really embroiled in a fight. The Sun Moon Empire doesn¡¯t have only three ss 9 stationary soul cannons! The situation is very dire now. Elder Xuan, should our Academy¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll immediately call for a conference.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Elder Xuan stood up, and a strongyer of yellow light shone from his body. Suddenly, the entire pavilion rippled with ayer of dim golden light.

    ¡ª

    Outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the Golden Tree shone brightly, and golden halos started to undte. Formless spiritual undtions and the special aura of the Golden Tree started to spread out.

    Figures swiftly and silently entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The first to arrive were all the elders who lived in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Elder Song, Elder Zhuang, and the rest quickly streamed down from the higher levels.

    Elder Song couldn¡¯t help but ask when she came to the first level, ¡°Elder Xuan, what¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t we just have a conference yesterday, and decide to continue observing the war? Why is there another conference today?¡±

    Before she finished speaking, she saw Huo Yuhao standing up. As she focused on him, she understood that Huo Yuhao must have had brought back some new information.

    ¡°Elder Song, Elder Zhuang¡­¡± Huo Yuhao took a few steps forward and greeted all the elders respectfully.

    At this moment, Zhang Lexuan had already rushed over. As she entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, she also greeted all the elders.

    Following this, Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo and Cai Mei¡¯er also arrived. Apart from the Tang Sect¡¯s sect leader Bei Bei, who was given a seat at the table in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the rest had already arrived.

    Zhang Lexuan looked much more capable nowpared to before. Furthermore, she had forgotten all her past feelings after her experience in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, and appeared to be much more cheerful now. However, she still hadn¡¯t found a partner yet. She was too outstanding, such that there were only a few people who dared to pursue her.

    Before Huo Yuhao left thest time, he had heard that it wouldn¡¯t take long before she reached Rank 90. She would be the youngest Titled Douluo in Shrek Academy to date.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister.¡± Huo Yuhao also greeted Zhang Lexuan.

    She smiled and said, ¡°I heard from Bei Bei that you went out to roam. Do you know? There¡¯s a new person in our Academy who looks just like Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er. Come to think about it, we¡¯re all confused. She insists that she¡¯s Tang Wutong. Furthermore, the weird thing is that her martial soul is different from Qiu¡¯er and Dong¡¯er. Yuhao, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as he shook his head. He replied, ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯m trying my best to understand what¡¯s going on, too.¡±

    Just as they were speaking, Bei Bei also finally arrived. When the Golden Tree made a summoning call, an Elder would be able to sense it immediately, as long as they were in the area. While Bei Bei was slightlyte, it was because he was further away than the rest.

    Bei Bei was startled to see Huo Yuhao. He quickly greeted the rest of the elders before sitting down beside Yuhao.

    He softly said, ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re here because of Tang Wutong, right? Who told you? We wanted to tell you, but we couldn¡¯t find a way ofmunicating with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Eldest senior, I¡¯m really not here for her. However, I¡¯ve already met her. Let¡¯s talk about her after the conference.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Bei Bei nodded.

    Elder Xuan coughed and turned everyone¡¯s attention to him. ¡°Since everyone is here, we¡¯ll start. Yuhao, will you recount what you said to me earlier to everyone?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao began with how he had joined the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military. He avoided talking about his purpose for joining, and mainly talked about what had happened after the Sun Moon Empire started the war.

    Just like Elder Xuan, the rest of the elders turned serious after listening to him.

    Shrek City and Shrek Academy had been developing significantly because of the Spirit Pagoda. If this continued, the Academy would reach new heights very soon, and the influence of the Academy on the continent would grow even stronger.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire had started a war at this time. Furthermore, they had even ferociously destroyed the Star Luo Empire¡¯s northwestern defense line. Right now, they had adopted war strategies, and were likely to be threatening the Heavenly Soul Empire already.

    Shrek City was now located at the center of the junction between the three empires of the Douluo Continent. Once the situation became unfavorable for the Heavenly Soul Empire, Shrek City was likely to be implicated, too. After all, Shrek City was located within the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Elder Xuan gestured to Huo Yuhao to take his seat. After that, he looked at the other elders. ¡°Everyone, please tell me your opinions. What do you think the Academy should do regarding this situation so that we can stabilize it?¡±

    Elder Song said, ¡°The situation now is still unclear. The information that Yuhao has brought back should be urate. However, we don¡¯t know to what extent the Heavenly Soul Empire is involved in the war. While the strength of the Heavenly Soul Empire isn¡¯tparable to the Star Luo Empire, they are still one of the three empires of the Douluo Continent. They also have a strong foundation, and the help of the Body Sect. Even if the Sun Moon Empire invades them, I reckon that the Heavenly Soul Empire should be able to hang on for some time. Currently, we should maintain the status quo as a means of dealing with all the changes around us. At the same time, we should speed up our own development, and try our best to obtain information from the frontline before we decide what to do.¡±

    After hearing Elder Song¡¯s words, many of the elders nodded their heads in approval.

    Yan Shaozhe also said, ¡°I agree with Elder Song¡¯s opinion. After experiencing the beast tide earlier, the Academy has also been greatly affected. Although we¡¯ve attracted many outstanding talents from the various empires of the continent to join us because of our Spirit Pagoda, we still need some time to consolidate everything. Given the Academy¡¯s current situation, I also feel that we shouldn¡¯t rush to get involved in the war. Personally, I feel that we should increase our focus on our Soul Tool Department and the Tang Sect. In addition, we should make it a priority to equip the Shrek City Defense Army and establish our own soul engineering legion.¡±

 Chapter 430.1 - Selection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 430.1: Selection</h4>

    ¡°Yuhao has already described the importance of a soul engineer legion on a battlefield. Shrek Academy doesn¡¯tck soul masters, but weck high-tier soul tools. We need to put more effort into this aspect. At the same time, should we also contact the Great Star Dou Forest?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes widened and she asked, ¡°Regarding? Tell them that there¡¯s an internal conflict between humans? So that they can exploit this opportunity?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brow. If this were the past, he would have rebuked Xian Lin¡¯er. However, he felt very guilty every time he saw her after they resisted thest beast tide. He opened his mouth, but didn¡¯t manage to say anything.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Lin¡¯er, what¡¯s your suggestion then?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er replied, ¡°I agree that we should increase our focus on the Tang Sect and developing the Soul Tool Department. I also agree that we should monitor the situation at the front line. However, we have to send capable people to do these things. If we wait for the Heavenly Soul and Star Luo Empires to pass information to us, it¡¯ll be too slow.

    ¡°At the same time, we have to intensify the training of the Shrek City Defense Army. The army is mainly divided into soul engineers and normal soldiers. After the Spirit Pagoda was constructed, we now have three thousand soul masters and soul engineers in the army. Among them, most are graduates that we¡¯ve recalled from various ces, as well as the original crew of soldiers. There are also a few strong soul masters that came from different empires. I believe that we should intensify their training and equip them with soul tools so that they¡¯ll be prepared to support the front line.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Elder Xuan nodded his head and looked at Bei Bei before saying, ¡°Bei Bei, how¡¯s the production of soul tools in the Tang Sect? Especially Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and All-Terrain forts, as well as more advanced soul tools.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°We¡¯ve been developing very smoothly with the resources of the Academy and other empires. We¡¯ve managed to deploy soul engineers in the Shrek City Defense Army to help in simple soul tool production. At the same time, we¡¯ve also increased their knowledge of soul tools and taught them how to better use soul tools, among other things.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°If we enter the war now, how many packages of soul tools can the Tang Sect provide?¡±

    Bei Bei thought for a moment before replying, ¡°If you¡¯re talking about fully equipping the soldiers, I think we¡¯re able to fully equip two hundred soul engineers right now, which is our current limit. This includes Self-Driving Forts and human-shaped soul tools, as well as some essory stuff, surveince soul tools, etc. We can form a small legion. If we maximize our production and training, I believe we can equip five hundred people within three months.¡±

    Elder Song furrowed her brow andmented, ¡°Only five hundred people? That seems too little. Why did I have the impression that the Tang Sect¡¯s Self-Driving Forts could already arm hundreds of people? It¡¯s already been so long, but only so few people can be armed?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Elder Song, arming the soldiers now is different from before. We need to fully equip them. Teacher Xuan will be the one customizing the ss of soul tools that our soldiers will be equipped with, and it¡¯s definitely not inferior to the standard of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions. Given Shrek City¡¯s financial strength and the support of the other three empires, this is the speed that we can proceed with. If we go any faster, we can¡¯t ensure the quality of the soul tools produced. In addition, we must try our best to tap into the advantages of this legion we¡¯re arming. I believe that we should equip the strongest soul masters, and not soul engineers. Through countless experiments, we¡¯ve discovered that what Yuhao said was right. Asking soul masters to use soul tools is in fact better than asking pure soul engineers to use soul tools. After all, they just need to learn how to use soul tools toplement their martial souls. In many instances, this can bring about unexpected results.

    ¡°For example, Yuhao is able to use his Spirit Eyes to aim, which allows him to be more adept at using long-range soul tools. Positioning and firing are his strengths. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t just teach this batch of soul masters how to use soul tools as we nurture them. At the same time, we must equip them with soul tools that are most suitable for them. This will require more time. As for Self-Driving Forts, they don¡¯t suit this legion we¡¯re trying to form. They are more useful for city defense, as well as group attacks and defense. We¡¯ll continue to produce them, but we won¡¯t equip this legion with self-driving forts.¡±

    After hearing Bei Bei¡¯s exnation, Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Does this mean that you have a brand new concept for this legion? How about counting me in?¡±

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°We¡¯d also like someone as strong as you to join. However, the problem is that we can only equip Soul Emperors, given the quantity of soul tools that we¡¯re trying to produce. If we let more advanced soul masters use our soul tools, I¡¯m afraid the soul tools will not be strong enough. However, Teacher Xuan has also started producing ss 9 soul tools. After receiving the full support of the Academy, his cultivation is getting closer and closer to a Titled Douluo.¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire had medicine that could increase one¡¯s soul power. How could Shrek Academy not possess such stuff, too? In terms of martial soul research, Shrek Academy had thousands of years of experience and umtion. Many sects, academies and empires couldn¡¯tpare to Shrek Academy in this area.

    It was just that Shrek Academy didn¡¯t encourage using medicine to increase one¡¯s soul power. Using medicine restricted the future development of a soul master. He wouldn¡¯t be able to be a Transcendent Douluo in the future.

    However, it was already almost impossible for Xuan Ziwen to be a Transcendent Douluo, anyway. Part of his cultivation was achieved through medicinal help when he was still in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, so it didn¡¯t matter to him anymore. Through the medicine that Shrek Academy had specially customized and concocted for him, his soul power had achieved an increase, and he was now at Rank 89.

    Given his importance, Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin¡¯er would often apany him during his research, and learned a lot from him. They were partly there to protect him, and also taught him about the principles of cultivation that some soul masters in Shrek Academy had adopted.

    If Xuan Ziwen could be a Titled Douluo, it would be very significant to Shrek Academy. Xuan Ziwen¡¯s foundation already gave him the potential to be a ss 9 soul engineer. If his cultivation continued to increase, his ss as a soul engineer would also rise. When that happened, there would finally be a ss 9 soul engineer that belonged to the Douluo Continent. This was extremely important to the future development of Shrek Academy¡¯s soul tools!

    Xuan Ziwen was definitely the busiest man in Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. Not only did he have to create his own soul tools, but he also had toe up with a sybus to teach the students. At the same time, he controlled the entire Soul Tool Hall. He was extremely busy, but he enjoyed this feeling. He was already a workaholic. Here, he was the core of all resources. Whatever he wanted, the Academy would do their best to satisfy. It was much betterpared to when he was in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, where he was supervised all the time!

    Xian Lin¡¯erughed, ¡°After hearing you, I¡¯m bing more and more curious. This soul engineer legion should have a name, right? Elder Xuan, why don¡¯t you give it a name?¡±

    Elder Xuanughed slightly and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s call it the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. We¡¯ll name it after the Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao were both stunned. Bei Bei hurriedly said, ¡°Elder Xuan, how can you do this? Our soul engineer legionpletely relies on the support and resources of the Academy. The name of the soul engineer legion should be rted to the Academy. How can we use the Tang Sect to name it?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled as he shook his head and replied, ¡°A name is just a designation. As long as you can give this soul engineer legion extremely great fighting strength, it doesn¡¯t matter what it¡¯s called. Furthermore, the Tang Sect has also poured in a lot of effort to build this soul engineer legion. Although we provided the resources, you are the ones doing all the work, especially Teacher Xuan. His influence on this soul engineer legion is something we can¡¯t replicate. Don¡¯t be too bothered about this. Let¡¯s just call it the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. It¡¯s a simple name, but let¡¯s hope it¡¯ll exist forever. In the future, we¡¯ll depend on all of you to turn the tide.¡±

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao looked at each other, and neither of them continued to say anything. However, both of them subconsciously clenched their fists. The Tang Sect had only managed to progress so quickly with the support of the Academy. When Shrek City was fully constructed, and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was fully established, the Tang Sect would finally be able topare to some of the bigger sects.

    There was a deep significance behind Elder Xuan¡¯s decision to name this soul engineer legion after the Tang Sect. This meant that he was passing the authority over this soul engineer legion to the Tang Sect. His trust in them was invaluable!

    Elder Xuan looked at Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo before saying, ¡°I think we can pass the Ultimate Soldier n to them too, and they¡¯ll be in charge of nurturing these soul masters in all aspects. Since the soul tools produced by the Tang Sect can equip Soul Emperors, we should start picking Soul Emperors out. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll really need five hundred people. Quality trumps quantity. Let¡¯s use all the Soul Emperors we¡¯ve got, and start from the inner courtyard. After that, we¡¯ll start choosing from the army.

    ¡°This is the Academy¡¯s decision. Whoever is unwilling to listen to orders will be punished ording to the Academy¡¯s rules. If soul masters from the other three empires are willing to join, they must first sign a pact with the Academy, and they¡¯ll need to undergo a series of tests first. Lin¡¯er, Duoduo, the two of you will be in charge of this matter. Shaozhe, coordinate with them, too. Send some teachers to the Tang Sect to help them train this soul engineer legion. If I remember correctly, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legions seem to only consist of Soul Kings. They aren¡¯t even real soul masters. Since we¡¯re going all-out, we must nurture a soul engineer legion that surpasses theirs!¡±

 Chapter 430.2 - Selection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 430.2: Selection</h4>

    There was a determined look on Elder Xuan¡¯s face as he spoke.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions had already revealed their strength in the war. , They couldn¡¯t rely on traditional methods against such legions anymore. It was only possible to ovee them by unleashing the potential of soul engineers.

    Another series of strategies were discussed before Elder Xuan dismissed the conference. Bei Bei and a few deans left together. They needed to get busy preparing for the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s formation. Elder Xuan kept Huo Yuhao behind.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll need to return to the front line. You aren¡¯t just the only Ultimate Soldier nurtured by the Academy, you also have immense spiritual detection abilities. Although it¡¯s dangerous, no one canpare to you in terms of your surveince skills. It¡¯s because of your timely discovery that the Star Luo Empire was able to uncover the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s scheme. Return to the Star Luo Empire and continue to aid them. At the same time, get some of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools if possible. They will be very important to our future. I have discussed this matter with Teacher Xuan before. He said that producing surveince soul tools requires a lot of special and rare metals. Only the Sun Moon Empire produces them, especially aerial surveince soul tools. Can you bring some of them back?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    ¡°You must be careful.¡± Elder Xuan said with a serious look, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the strength of that Death God¡¯s Ray is something even I can¡¯t bear. I¡¯d be seriously hurt if I was the one resisting it. However, the person unleashing such a powerful attack definitely has to pay a huge price for it. It doesn¡¯t just operate based on soul power, it also involves a fusion of spiritual power. Its strength can even exceed an attack from an Ultimate Douluo. If you have the opportunity, you must uncover the secret of this Death God so that it¡¯s more convenient for us to deal with it in the future. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know how many lives from the Star Luo Empire will be lost before we can tackle it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded seriously. Just like Elder Xuan had mentioned, the entire Star Luo Empire, and even the other empires of the Douluo Continent, would be greatly threatened in the future if this Death God couldn¡¯t be handled!

    Many lives would be lost because of the terrifying strength it possessed! Furthermore, higher-endbat strength would be needed. An ordinary attack wasn¡¯t sufficient to allow the Sun Moon Empire to fire such a powerful soul tool.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Go back and discuss things with Teacher Xuan. Although the production method of such a soul tool is very mysterious, there are definitely ways to find out how it was made.

    ¡°Oh yes, the Academy will also send a few people to follow you to the front line this time. Otherwise, your powers won¡¯t be sufficient. Furthermore, it¡¯s not very appropriate for you to remain there using the identity of a normal soldier. The Academy will produce a document which will rmend the few of you meet the marshal of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army, the White Tiger Duke. All of you will coordinate with him. You¡¯re from the Star Luo Empire. It¡¯s fine if you undertake a military role.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened and he said, ¡°Elder Xuan, do you mean that we¡¯ll start aiding the Star Luo Empire now?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t consider it to be aiding them. We still can¡¯t touch the higher-endbat strength of the Academy, because the Heavenly Soul Empire might be attacked by the Sun Moon Empire. At this time, the Academy can¡¯t incline itself towards either the Star Luo or Heavenly Soul Empire. Otherwise, tongues will wag. As a result, those who are following you this time will be mostly from the Tang Sect. In my opinion, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan should follow you. They aren¡¯t that useful when ites to soul tools, anyway. He Caitou should remain here. Given that Xiao Xiao is so close to He Caitou, she can remain here too. I¡¯ll not touch Bei Bei, so you can choose one more person from the Tang Sect, and the Academy will send one person as well. What do you think about Tang Wutong?¡±

    When Elder Xuan finished speaking, there was already a smiling intent on his face.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and revealed a surprised look on his face. In fact, he was also very conflicted. When Elder Xuan said that he should return to the front line, the first feeling that he had was that he was unwilling to do so. There was only one reason¡­ Tang Wutong! It didn¡¯t matter whether Tang Wutong had anything to do with Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Her appearance already left Huo Yuhao very conflicted. He was willing to pay any price to remain here. If Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er, he had to try his best to help her to regain her memories. If she wasn¡¯t, he still had to at least interact with her to be certain.

    He was in a much better mood when Elder Xuan said he was going to send Tang Wutong to the front lines. He hesitated a little before saying, ¡°But didn¡¯t she apply to be a teacher in the Academy? Will there be any problems if she follows us?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and shook his head. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she isn¡¯t just here to apply for a teaching role. She also wants to apply for a position in the Shrek Guardians. The Academy will use this opportunity to test her, and I¡¯m going to use the excuse that you¡¯re the chief examiner, so she¡¯ll follow your orders. She¡¯s also a Soul Sage, and her abilities aren¡¯t weak. Didn¡¯t you experience them before? As for the sparks that could potentially form between the two of you, and whether she really has lost her memories, that¡¯ll depend on your own efforts to find out. You are so outstanding. Even if Tang Wutong isn¡¯t the same person as Wang Dong¡¯er, I believe you can still sessfully chase her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned a bit dimmer, and he shook his head. He said, ¡°Why would I chase her if she¡¯s not Dong¡¯er? But I believe she is! Thanks, Elder Xuan.¡± As he spoke, he took a step back before bowing seriously to Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Silly kid, the Academy will always be your strongest backer, no matter what. Go now. I¡¯ll talk to her immediately. Rest for a day and return to the Tang Sect to choose your people. Tomorrow morning, return here, and take her along with you.¡±

    After leaving the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao bowed towards the Golden Tree once again before he flew across Sea God¡¯s Lake and left the Academy. He rushed towards the Tang Sect.

    Right now, he was feeling veryplex. He was excited, delighted, and even a little ufortable. He was most afraid of finding out that Tang Wutong and Wang Dong¡¯er weren¡¯t the same person. If that was the case, all his hopes would be dashed.

    If this were the past, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be so nervous about everything. After all, Tang Wutong and Wang Dong¡¯er were simply too alike. However, things were different now. Given there was also a Wang Qiu¡¯er, he was unsure whether Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er. He had to find out everything for himself.

    ¡ª¡ª

    He quickly returned to the Tang Sect with these feelings. Bei Bei, who had returned to the sect earlier, had already informed everyone, and they were all waiting for Huo Yuhao in the Conference Hall.

    ¡°Little junior!¡± He Caitou was the first to rush up and gave Huo Yuhao a big hug. Xu Sanshi was next.

    When Huo Yuhao opened his arms towards Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao, he was stopped by the both of them.

    Xu Sanshi fiercely asked, ¡°Rascal, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m trying to get closer to my senior sisters! It took me so long before I returned. I must treat everyone the same way, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Xu Sanshi and He Caitou said at almost the same time. Everyone was so amused that they burst outughing.

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t hug them.¡±

    Xu Sanshi also rxed his grip on Huo Yuhao and touched him lightly before saying, ¡°Little junior, you should know about Tang Wutong, right? She¡¯s too much like to Dong¡¯er. What¡¯s going on? First, it¡¯s Dong¡¯er. Then, it¡¯s Qiu¡¯er. Now we have a Tang Wutong. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re triplets?¡±

    When he said the word ¡®triplets¡¯, his eyes immediately brightened.

    ¡°Aiyo!¡± Xu Sanshi screamed immediately after that. One of his ears was already being pulled by a delicate hand. Jiang Nannan said fiercely, ¡°What are you thinking of? Triplets? You¡¯re even salivating. Hmph!¡±

    Xu Sanshi hurriedlyughed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, I wouldn¡¯t dare! Don¡¯t even talk about triplets. Even if there were ten of them, they couldn¡¯tpare to my Nannan! Yuhao, look at you. The moment you return, you cause an internal conflict in my family.¡±

    Everyoneughed again. Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°This has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s your own problem.¡± He paused for a moment before saying, ¡°As for Tang Wutong, I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s Dong¡¯er. However, I believe that I¡¯ll be able to tell if I interact with her more.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Good luck, little junior. Whether she is or she¡¯s not, just get it done first. Anyway, guys will never be at a disadvantage.¡±

    ¡°Are you itching for a beating again?¡± Jiang Nannan shouted and pulled him to one side.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he shook his head.

    Bei Bei smiled and asked, ¡°Little junior, are you leaving again after returning?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow. Elder Xuan held me back to tell me that he wanted me to help the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military do some surveince work. At the same time, he wants me to obtain some aerial surveince soul tools. Oh yes, I brought one back this time. I¡¯ll send it to Teacher Xuanter.¡±

    Bei Bei furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Little junior, you are always running about so much. Won¡¯t it dy your cultivation? Furthermore, the frontline is so dangerous. What if the Death God¡¯s Ray that you were talking about¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m not really that afraid of the Death God¡¯s Ray. Ever since Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself, I took over her power of destiny. Before the Death God¡¯s Ray appears, I¡¯ll definitely have some kind of premonition. That transcendent soul tool isn¡¯t much of a threat to me, I¡¯ll be fine as long as I don¡¯t get close to it.

    ¡°ording to my observations, the effective range of the Death God¡¯s Ray is around five thousand meters. The most frightening part about it is that it doesn¡¯t just target one spot. It can perform a sweep, which makes the area that it covers much wider. There¡¯s another mission that I have to perform when I go to the front line this time: find out as much as I can about the Death God¡¯s Ray! I¡¯m supposed to find out what happens when it¡¯s fired, and what kind of destruction it brings.¡±

 Chapter 430.3 - Selection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 430.3: Selection</h4>

    Bei Bei was shocked, and blurted out, ¡°Little junior, that Death God¡¯s Ray is used by the Death God Douluo! He¡¯s very mysterious. This mission is going to be very difficult. No, I must talk to Elder Xuan. How can he let you do something like this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t be anxious. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t force me to go on this mission. He told me that I could explore further if I had the opportunity to. Furthermore, I have my Spiritual Detection! My Spiritual Detection can cover a greater distance than that Death God¡¯s Ray. It wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem for me to examine it from a distance. If I can¡¯t win, I can still flee. In addition, Elder Xuan also asked me to bring a few people along with me this time. I can choose from the Tang Sect¡¯s members.¡±

    He recounted everything that Elder Xuan had told him to the others.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t say anything, but Xu Sanshi was already jumping in excitement. ¡°This is great! I can finally leave Shrek City! Little junior, you don¡¯t know how bored I¡¯ve been. I¡¯ve been helping Bei Bei deal with all types of matters in the Tang Sect over these past few days. It¡¯s been extremely annoying. It¡¯ll be great to step onto a battlefield. This is set, Nannan and I will follow you. Oh yes, my soul power is at Rank 70 already. Can you help me get a Spirit when we return? Nannan¡¯s soul power is also almost at that stage too. I want a nice and smart Spirit. Oh, seven rings is just suitable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned when he looked at Xu Sanshi. Everyone¡¯s abilities had been growing very quickly. He then turned to look at Bei Bei and asked, ¡°Eldest senior, what about you?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled as he nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m at around the same level as him. I¡¯ll need a Spirit soon, too. If you don¡¯t return again, we¡¯ll have to go to the Spirit Pagoda. Of course, we¡¯ll have to wait for Nannan. Caitou is also at Rank 70.¡±

    After passing the tests in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, everyone¡¯s soul power had improved by leaps and bounds. Apart from Xiao Xiao, they were all at the Rank 70 bottleneck.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we enter the Great Star Dou Forest directly and ask for suitable soul beasts as Spirits? That would be the most effective solution.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled as he answered, ¡°It¡¯ll definitely be the most effective if you lead us in. Those savage beasts treat you like a gem.¡±

    Jiang Nannan knocked his head and said, ¡°Can you speak more nicely? What gem? Huo Yuhao is now the one controlling the destiny of the entire Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before replying, ¡°Since this is the case, let¡¯s leave in two days. We¡¯ll go to the Great Star Dou Forest tomorrow. Xiao Xiao, how far off are you?¡±

    Xiao Xiao was a little depressed as she answered, ¡°Three ranks. I¡¯m at Rank 67 now.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be depressed. At our age, we¡¯re already considered some of the best on the continent with our current soul power. If you continue being depressed, the other soul masters are better off being dead. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll return soon. Once you reach Rank 70, don¡¯t be too impatient to obtain another soul ring. Wait for me toe back, and we¡¯ll help you get one.¡±

    He turned to Bei Bei and asked, ¡°Oh yes, eldest senior, I forgot one more thing. What about our two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears?¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°They¡¯re in the outer courtyard. Speaking of those two fellows, they are almost bankrupting our sect with the amount of food that they eat. They eat everything, and the amount of food that they eat is almost equivalent to the total amount of food that all of us consume. It hasn¡¯t even been two years, but the two of them are already more than two meters tall. Their ws are also very destructive, no construction material is able to resist the strength of their ws!

    ¡°Thest time, Big ckie even secretly ate the medicine that the Academy gave to Teacher Xuan. But that fellow is quite interesting. He gave some of the medicine that he stole to Lil ckie. After eating the medicine, the two of them became much more obedient, and fell asleep for a few days. However, their appetite became even more voracious after they woke up. We are slowly bing unable to feed them anymore. If we can¡¯t feed them, we¡¯ll have to release them back into the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°We can¡¯t send them back. The blood lineage of Darkgolden Terrorw Bears is too strong. They are the enemies of almost all soul beasts. They are still so small now. If we send them back now, they¡¯ll definitely be attacked. We¡¯ll be harming them. How¡¯s their rtionship with everyone right now?¡±

    Jiang Nannanughed, ¡°It¡¯s great. The two of them deliberately act cute all the time. They make everyone very happy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. Eldest senior, what do you think if we send both of them to the Setting Sun Forest?¡±

    ¡°Setting Sun Forest? You¡¯re saying?¡± Bei Bei suddenly thought of something, and exchanged a nce with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°The development of soul beasts is greatly tied to their energy intake. That ce is most suitable for them. Since the Sun Moon Empire started this war, and things are getting more and more chaotic, the Tang Sect also needs a stronger force to be protected by. If we let them remain there for some time, I believe they¡¯ll grow even faster.¡±

    Bei Bei hesitated a little. ¡°Will it be too much?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Nothing will happen to them. Many of the nt-type soul beasts there are ten-thousand year soul beasts. They¡¯ll be strong enough to restrain them. With us around, those nt-type soul beasts won¡¯t dare to do anything to them, either. Let¡¯s just leave them there. There aren¡¯t any other soul beasts or natural enemies of Darkgolden Terrorw Bears in the Setting Sun Forest anyway. It¡¯s the most suitable ce for them.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Since this is the case, let¡¯s do it. I¡¯ll make a tripter and send them there.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, the poison over there is lethal, you¡­¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Xuan¡¯s newly-invented protective barrier for ss 7 All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts will be able to protect me. With my previous experience, I¡¯ll be fine as long as I¡¯m careful. It¡¯s enough as long as I can fly across the mountain valley with my Self-Driving Fort.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Self-Driving Forts can fly now?¡±

    Everyoneughed when they heard him ask that. He Caitou chuckled and said, ¡°Of course they can fly. Furthermore, we even gave them an apt name¡­ Flying Pigs!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was speechless.Calling them Flying Pigs is indeed very apt. All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts are very round. If they fly in the air, they will indeed seem like pigs. It¡¯s just that if Teacher Xuan learns about this nickname¡­

    Xiao Xiaoughed, ¡°Alright, Yuhao just came back. Let¡¯s not talk about that, let¡¯s eat first. I¡¯ll go to the kitchen to take a look.¡±

    Everyone sat down around a table. Not only was this a ce for them to hold meetings, but it was also a ce for them to dine together.

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Yuhao, who are you thinking of bringing along with you? Apart from Sanshi and Nannan?¡±

    ¡°Me, me too!¡± Before he even finished speaking, a voice already sounded eagerly. When Huo Yuhao turned his head to look, he saw Nan Qiuqiu sitting somewhere further away. She stretched out her hands with all her strength and looked very impatient.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head speechlessly and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to bring you along. You can remain in the Tang Sect.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was displeased. ¡°Why? Am I that weak? I¡¯m a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Bring me along.¡±

    Ye Guyi, who was sitting beside her, said, ¡°I want to go, too. We¡¯ll listen to your instructions when we are performing missions.¡±

    The two of them looked at Huo Yuhao and seemed very eager. They had been cultivating in the Tang Sect since the beast tide. They couldn¡¯t help out much in terms of the Tang Sect¡¯s daily matters. They were both youngdies, and thus they were very bored as time passed. Huo Yuhao was about to go on another mission after returning this time, and they were extremely eager as they volunteered themselves. As for whatever other intentions they harbored, only they themselves knew.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. In terms of abilities, Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi were rather good. They were both Soul Emperors now, and their martial souls were very special. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s martial soul was of the Annihtion Element, while Ye Guyi¡¯s martial soul was of the Holy Element. They were both very effective at dealing with evil soul masters. Naturally, it would be great if they could tag along. However, the two of them weren¡¯t like the rest of them in the Tang Sect. It was very possible for them to get themselves into trouble. Under such circumstances, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether it was a good idea to bring them along.

    Bei Bei said from one side, ¡°Just bring them along. It¡¯ll be beneficial for them if they can venture outside. However, Qiuqiu and Guyi, I have something that I have to say to the both of you.¡±

    Bei Bei turned serious and said, ¡°This mission isn¡¯t an ordinary one. It concerns your lives. The both of you must think about it carefully. At the same time, you must listen to Yuhao¡¯s instructions outside. Otherwise, the Tang Sect won¡¯t be able to keep you. I hope you understand what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu ttened her lips. She wanted to say that he was biased, but she didn¡¯t dare to. Ye Guyi tugged her slightly and nodded. She said seriously, ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely listen to Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrangements when we¡¯re outside. We won¡¯t make trouble for him.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned much friendlier, and he replied, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±

    ¡°We want to go too.¡± Jing Ziyan, who was sitting to one side, raised her hand. She also tugged at Ji Juechen, who was beside her. Ji Juechen nodded strongly.

    Huo Yuhao was much less worried about the two of them. He smiled and said, ¡°Great! Brother Ji and Sister Ziyan,e along too. However, eldest senior, I¡¯m going to take so many people with me. What about things over here¡­¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Things will be fine here. The few of them won¡¯t be able to help me much even if they remain here. I won¡¯t have to be so worried if Brother Ji leaves.¡±

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t have any expression on his face even after Bei Bei mocked him. He only looked at Huo Yuhao seriously. Even though he didn¡¯t say anything, Huo Yuhao could roughly guess what he was thinking. He sighed helplessly. He wasn¡¯t against sparring with Ji Juechen. Someone like Ji Juechen putting pressure on him was actually very beneficial to his cultivation.

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°This is it, then. Sanshi, Nannan, Ziyan, Brother Ji, Qiuqiu and Guyi, all of you will follow Yuhao to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s front line. He will be the onemanding all of you on this mission. You must all listen to his instructions. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll follow him into the Great Star Dou Forest first, before you all set off. Yuhao, do you have anything to add?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head.

 Chapter 431.1 - Shes Donger!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 431.1: She¡¯s Dong¡¯er!</h4>

    Bei Bei said, ¡°That¡¯s just fine. It¡¯s better for you guys to wait one more day before you leave. After we finish our meal, you¡¯ll follow me to look for Teacher Xuan. The Tang Sect¡¯s first batch of custom-made soul tools will be given to you guys, and I trust that they should be quite useful for your operation.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao agreed. He wanted to look for Xuan Ziwen anyway. After experiencing the fighting strength of the Sun Moon Emipre¡¯s soul engineer legions, he had many questions regarding soul tools that he wanted to ask Teacher Xuan.

    Nan Qiuqiu suddenly said, ¡°Yuhao, my mother asked me to tell you that you have to personally check out the ce that we spoke about when youe back.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was nk for a moment. He contemted for a moment before remembering that Nan Shuishui did mention something before. She wanted to cooperate closely with the Tang Sect, and she wanted him to check out some ce. That ce should be where there were exotic entities of Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯d have forgotten about that if you didn¡¯t remind me. However, we don¡¯t have much time right now. We¡¯ll check out that ce after weplete our reconnaissance duties.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a detour? My house is in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, and it¡¯s not that far from the Academy. We¡¯ll need four to six hours to reach it, at most, if we use flying-type soul tools. After visiting the Great Star Dou Forest tomorrow, we¡¯ll take a detour to my house, and then we¡¯ll travel to the Star Luo Empire. My mother says that ce should be very beneficial for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, then. Has your mother returned?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head in reply. ¡°My mother is in the city right now. The Earthdragon Sect has moved over here, and we haven¡¯t finished transporting everything. After you check that ce out, and if you can take everything out from it, then we will finish moving into Shrek City. The Earthdragon Sect has already established close connections with the Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei chimed in, ¡°Yes. Senior Nan Shuishui is very courteous, and she¡¯s given us a lot of rare metals.¡±

    It turned out that the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s previous leader had seen a business opportunity in rare metals back in the day, and had hoarded arge amount of rare metals for the Earthdragon Sect. This time, after the Earthdragon Sect moved to Shrek Academy, those rare metals were given to the Tang Sect to purchase on credit, established a close cooperation with the Tang Sect.

    Furthermore, Nan Shuishui announced that they didn¡¯t have to pay this debt for now. As long as someone in the Tang Sect married Nan Qiuqiu, then those rare metals would be Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s dowry. That was a very extravagant and valuable dowry!

    Nan Shuishui naturally hoped that Nan Qiuqiu could follow Bei Bei or Huo Yuhao, but that was obviously quite unrealistic for now. However, even if Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t marry either of them, there were many outstanding individuals within the Tang Sect. Nan Shuishui had already decided to take their cooperation with the Tang Sect one step further when she chose to move the Earthdragon Sect into Shrek City. Leaning on the Tang Sect was undoubtedly very beneficial for the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s development.

    Reality had proved that her decision was correct. The Tang Sect tookrge amounts of rare metals from the Earthdragon Sect, but the Tang Sect also helped the Earthdragon Secty down solid and stable foundations inside Shrek City. The Earthdragon Sect managed to acquire quite a spacious area in Shrek City with the Tang Sect¡¯s help, and this ce was also rtively distant from the Great Star Dou Forest Region. This area was used to re-establish the Earthdragon Sect, and thisnd was also very cheap¡­ which meant that it was almost given to them for free.

    At the same time, because of the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s intimate rtionship with the Tang Sect, they also received support from Shrek Academy. This meant the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s move into Shrek City naturally became extremely smooth.

    The construction of Shrek¡¯s new city meant Shrek City was now more than five timesrger than before, and the city was likely to continue expanding, as well. With Shrek City¡¯s current location, and the addition of the Spirit Pagoda, their future development was limitless.

    The Earthdragon and the Tang Sects¡¯ intimate rtionship also meant that the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s youngsters would also have priority in obtaining spirits. This was a great thing that was absolutely mutually beneficial. Therefore, Nan Shuishui was very satisfied and felt that she had aplished her goals. She only hoped that Nan Qiuqiu could find a great husband inside the Tang Sect, and she would use this marriage as a way to further strengthen the cooperation between their sects. That would make their rtionship even more perfect.

    ¡ª

    Everyone enjoyed dinner in a jovial mood, and Bei Bei even made an exception and allowed everyone to have some wine. Huo Yuhao went directly to the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall after dinner, and stayed with Xuan Ziwen for the entire night. Only they knew what they discussed. Huo Yuhao left some things with Xuan Ziwen, and also took some other things with him when he left.

    ¡ª

    The next morning, Huo Yuhao gathered hispatriots, and they departed as a group for Shrek Academy.

    He had already arranged things with Elder Xuan, but if they wanted to go into the Great Star Dou Forest, they would still have to inform Elder Xuan first.

    The Tang Sect¡¯spany had quite a few people. Everyone but Wang Dong¡¯er from the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was present, and in addition to Nan Qiuqiu, Ye Guyi, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan, there were ten people altogether.

    They deliberately waited until morning lessons started in the Academy before they went over. Otherwise, with the Tang Sect¡¯s current reputation, they would attract everyone¡¯s attention once they entered the Academy grounds.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake¡¯s waters sparkled and rippled. It was as clear and limpid as it had always been, and the smell that was so familiar and new at the same time refreshed Huo Yuhao, who hadn¡¯t slept for the entire night.

    Huo Yuhao had had a long discussion with Xuan Ziwenst night. He told teacher Xuan everything that he had heard and seen, while Xuan Ziwen gave him an even deeper exnation into what he knew regarding the Death God. Huo Yuhao had been thinking at a high degree continuously, and even for someone like him who had such formidable spiritual power, he still felt a little exhausted. As for Xuan Ziwen, he fell asleep right after Huo Yuhao left, and he probably would only wake up that night.

    Huo Yuhao tapped lightly on the ground with his foot and drifted across the Sea God¡¯s Lake. He was already a Soul Sage, but he didn¡¯t choose flight. Instead, he opted for what he did back during the Sea God¡¯s Fate, and a small patch of ice would form beneath his feet from his soul power of Ultimate Ice whenever his foot touched theke¡¯s surface, supporting his steps.

    Xu Sanshi followed behind him. He was very opportunistic, and just followed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s footsteps. He didn¡¯t have to release any soul power at all, and just stepped on the ice blocks that Huo Yuhao had created.

    The Sea God¡¯s Ind came into view after over ten leaps. A pretty figure was standing on thekeshore in the distance, gazing in their direction.

    This girl¡¯s long pinkish-blue hair was tied into scorpion braids, and her hair dangled in front of her as she fiddled with the ends of it. Herrge, beautiful eyes seemed like they could talk as she stared at the people leaping across theke. She was d in a white warrior robe, which brought out her slender and exquisite figure. Her lips were rosy and alluring, and she was so brilliant that the morning sun covered her in ayer of golden radiance.

    Huo Yuhao immediately felt a little dazed when he saw her. He slipped a little on the ice block that his soul power had created on theke¡¯s surface, and immediately lost his bnce.

    This was entirely unimaginable for a Soul Sage, but it happened to Huo Yuhao at this moment.

    Countless images surfaced and flickered in his memory. Some scenes were of Wang Dong¡¯er as he saw her for the first time when he came to Shrek Academy, and some showed Dong¡¯er¡¯s attractiveness and brilliance when he first saw her in girl¡¯s clothing during the Sea God¡¯s Fate right there on the Sea God¡¯s Lake. Some other scenes in between contained his experiences when he first became acquainted with her. Everything made him feel a little lost and dazed.

    Huo Yuhao fell backwards, and his right foot slipped into thekewater. Huo Yuhao only recovered when theke¡¯s ice-cold water rinsed the bottom of his foot, and he tapped on theke¡¯s surface lightly before jerking up and rising back into the sky. He hastily created another ice block where he descended before he managed to regain his bnce.

    However, Xu Sanshi had already arrived behind him when he lost his bnce. Xu Sanshi was startled when Huo Yuhao fell backwards, and he hurriedly paused in midair.

    Xu Sanshi was quite mischievous! Huo Yuhao could see Tang Wutong standing on thekeshore, which meant that he could naturally see her, as well. Xu Sanshi¡¯s six soul rings rose instantly, and his fourth soul ring lit up in the next moment as ck light flickered. Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t even react on thekeshore before she switched positions with Xu Sanshi.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, but Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Netherworld Discement was way too sudden. This soul skill was powerful enough to be called a divine skill among Xu Sanshi¡¯s many soul skills, and even Huo Yuhao had used his Spirit Eyes¡¯ fifth soul skill, Spiritual Duplication, to duplicate Mysterious Netherworld Discement on several asions.

    Tang Wutong also seemed to be a little dazed when she saw Huo Yuhao bounding across theke. Something in her mind seemed to have been triggered, and she was staring at Huo Yuhao¡¯s stunned face at the same moment Xu Sanshi used Mysterious Netherworld Discement on her.

    Her vision blurred as her surroundings changed. Afterwards, she realized that she was standing on theke¡¯s surface, and couldn¡¯t help but exim in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao was still descending from the sky at this point. The exmation that came from behind him was all too familiar, and he spun around in midair without hesitation. Coincidentally, he met Tang Wutong¡¯s surprised expression as she was dropping into the water.

    Huo Yuhao activated his left leg¡¯s soul bone immediately. He was several meters away from Tang Wutong, but he arrived in front of her with Instant Teleportation. He grabbed her arms with both hands and stabilized her.

    Their eyes met at that moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were full of longing and tenderness, and Tang Wutong¡¯s startled eyes were a little stunned when she saw them. She could feel those strong hands of his holding onto her arms, and for some reason, she felt very safe and secure, even though she was hovering above theke¡¯s surface.

    A dash of cold flowed into theke, and they were standing on an ice block when they came down from the air.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s momentary daze disappeared, and she immediately frowned as she growled, ¡°Release me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously released his hands. Tang Wutong red at him furiously before she surged into the air and flew straight for thekeshore. She was also a Soul Sage, and she could fly through the air with her soul power without releasing her martial soul.

 Chapter 431.2 - Shes Donger!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 431.2: She¡¯s Dong¡¯er!</h4>

    Everyone else had stepped onto the Sea God¡¯s Ind by now. They watched as Tang Wutong flew back to thekeshore, and Xu Sanshi quickly hid behind Jiang Nannan¡¯s back. ¡°That was idental. I made a mistake because I panicked. It was idental!¡± Tang Wutong stared at Xu Sanshi with unfriendly eyes as shended on thekeshore.

    ¡°I will kill you if there¡¯s a next time!¡± Tang Wutong said angrily, before turning and heading deeper into Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Huo Yuhaonded on thekeshore immediately afterwards. He shook his feet, which had been soaked in theke, and released his Ultimate Ice, turning the water into ice particles that drifted to the ground.

    ¡°Little junior brother¡­so, how was it? Did you discover anything from interacting at such a close distance?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly, and his eyes were filled with warmth and gratitude. ¡°She¡¯s Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Huo Yuhao uttered a few simple words, and everyone felt their hearts quiver. However, everyone felt differently. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the others were sincerely happy for Huo Yuhao, but Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi weren¡¯t that excited about it.

    ¡°But she doesn¡¯t remember us at all. How can you be sure that she¡¯s Dong¡¯er?¡± Xu Sanshi asked in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Even though Dong¡¯er has lost her memory, her smell cannot change. Also, the tenderness of the muscles on her arms is exactly the same as before, and those are things that can¡¯t be imitated. Back then, even though Qiu¡¯er looked identical to Dong¡¯er, they were different in these respects. Therefore, I can be sure that she¡¯s Dong¡¯er, and no matter how she has forgotten us, I will definitely help her regain her memory.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with fighting spirit and excitement. For him, Wang Dong¡¯er losing her memory wasn¡¯t frightening at all. Instead, he was afraid that Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er in the first ce. If that was the case, no matter how simr the two of them looked, his heartstrings couldn¡¯t be plucked at all.

    Bei Bei hugged Huo Yuhao across his shoulders and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll see Elder Xuan first, and everything will be easy to deal with since we¡¯ve identified her. Just tell us if you need us to help, and everyone will help you as much as we can.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Everyone arrived at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The others waited outside, while Huo Yuhao paid his respects to the Golden Tree before he walked into the pavilion with Bei Bei.

    Elder Xuan was already waiting inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Tang Wutong was standing indignantly behind Elder Xuan, and immediately turned away when she saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had given her quite a bad impression during their only two encounters. The first time, Huo Yuhao suddenly hugged her, and the second time, they almost dropped into the water. He had touched her body both times, which was extremely humiliating to her. She would have hit back against him heavily if she hadn¡¯t been at Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei greeted Elder Xuan respectfully.

    Elder Xuan smiled faintly as he tilted his head in response. ¡°Are you ready, Yuhao? Why are you here too, Bei Bei?¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°Elder Xuan, some of our martial souls have reached Rank 70, and we want little junior brother to bring us into the Great Star Dou Forest to search for appropriate soul beasts so that they can be our Spirits, and then we¡¯ll let them leave. We have decided that Sanshi, Nannan, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ye Guyi will follow Yuhao to the borders.¡±

    Elder Xuan was delighted. ¡°Both you and Sanshi are at Rank 70? That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great news! Is Nannan close to Rank 70, too?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and smiled. ¡°Xiao Xiao is still a short distance away, but everyone else is at Rank 70.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°You guys can go to the forest first, then. Look for the Emerald Swan at the Spirit Pagoda, and let her make the necessary arrangements. I can rest assured knowing that Yuhao is personally contracting Spirits for you guys.¡±

    Elder Xuan passed an envelope to Huo Yuhao as he spoke, who stepped forwards to receive it.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°These are the documents that the Academy has provided for you as proof, and they will be effective once you fill in your name. You can¡¯t lose these documents, because they contains the Academy¡¯s soul imprint, and you¡¯ll have to give them to the White Tiger Duke personally. Dai Yueheng is serving with the White Tiger Duke, and he can help the two of you coordinate mutually.

    ¡°Yuhao, you have to remember that the battlefield is very dynamic, and can change at any moment. But no matter what, you should have no problem protecting your own life with your abilities. Remember, don¡¯t be impulsive and hasty when doing things, and personal safety is most important, whatever you do. Do you understand? At the same time, you can disy the power of Spirits on the battlefield, so that the Star Luo Empire can understand the Spirit Pagoda a little better.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao put the envelope away as if it were a valuable treasure. His identity would be different when he went back to the frontlines, and his original wish of rising through the ranks as a foot soldier couldn¡¯t bepletely realized, in the end. After all, how could he be like a normal person with the difference in his identity, status, and abilities?

    ¡°Wutong, let me introduce them all to you. This is Bei Bei, the leader of the Tang Sect, and a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He¡¯s the leader of the current generation¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven monsters. This is Huo Yuhao, and he possesses an Ultimate martial soul, and also has twin martial souls. He¡¯s also a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s expression immediately became ice-cold, especially when she was looking at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Wutong is a teacher that the Academy has just hired, and she¡¯s also a reserve member of the Shrek Guardians at the same time. She will follow you for this operation, and this will also be a test for her. Yuhao will be responsible for scoring her in this assessment. Wutong, perhaps there have been some misunderstandings between the two of you, but I¡¯m very sure of Yuhao¡¯s character. He has made many important contributions to the Academy, and he¡¯s also the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The two of you should talk more after this. You¡¯re both youngsters, and I trust that any misunderstandings between you two can be easily resolved.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice and speech was as mild as a drizzle and as gentle as a breeze, but the amusement in his eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed when he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Tang Wutong grunted and red at Huo Yuhao before turning away.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t too concerned about that. He turned towards Elder Xuan and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Xuan, I¡¯ll protect teacher Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Who needs your protection?¡± Tang Wutong interjected.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, but said nothing. He didn¡¯t want to argue with her.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Then you guys can set off. Wutong, don¡¯t you want to see how miraculous and mystical Spirits are? You can follow Yuhao and the others to take a look. It¡¯s a pity you already have your seventh soul ring. Otherwise, you could get yourself a Spirit along with everyone else.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Wutong was still very respectful towards Elder Xuan.

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯ll be setting off immediately, Elder Xuan. Can Yuhao and the others go directly to the Star Luo Empire after we get our Spirits?¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yes, they can do that. Yuhao, please pass back any news or intel as soon as possible.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Xuan. I will have the Tang Sect¡¯s members maintain contact with Huo Yuhao from the beginning to the end. The Tang Sect has produced sound-transmitting soul tools that can reach a distance of roughly one hundred kilometers. As long as we send people as transit stations in between, we won¡¯t need Huo Yuhao to run back and forth.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°You have to hurry on your side, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion has to be established as quickly as possible. Lin¡¯er and Duoduo will gather people over the next few days.

    ¡°I will give you two pointers! First, you have to help them adjust and adapt to using soul tools as quickly as possible. Just as you¡¯ve said in the conference at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, they will unleash custom-made soul tools ording to their varying martial souls. Second, you have to use our advantages as soul masters as much as possible, and we can¡¯t weaken our own forces because we¡¯re using soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bei Bei answered reverently.

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, ¡°Go, then. Wutong is new here, so you guys should take care of her.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei walked in front as they left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and Tang Wutong followed behind.

    Bei Bei turned towards Tang Wutong and said, ¡°Teacher Wutong, let me introduce ourpanions to you.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s expression was cold, and she said nothing. However, Bei Bei acted as if he didn¡¯t see her expression and introduced everyone one by one, anyway. Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but grunt out loud when Bei Bei introduced Xu Sanshi, and it was clear that she didn¡¯t have a good impression of him. Tang Wutong¡¯s expression only became a little more gentle when Bei Bei was introducing the girls.

    ¡°Let¡¯s set off right now, then. Yuhao, are we going to the Spirit Pagoda directly? Or are we going to the Great Star Dou Forest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Spirit Pagoda first. Even though the Spirit Pagoda has yet to bepleted, the people from all incumbent parties have already moved in. The Emerald Swan has always been there to represent the Great Star Dou Forest, and it¡¯s more convenient to ask her to find suitable soul beasts for us.¡±

    The Emerald Swan could be said to be one of the most sensible and reasonable soul beasts, and she was very supportive of the Spirit Pagoda. Ever since the organization had been established, she had done quite a lot of work over on the soul beasts¡¯ side.

    ¡ª¡ª

    They left the Academy and entered Shrek¡¯s new city. They were no longer in the outskirts that used to be here.

    After all the construction work that had been carried out over this period of time, and in addition to the immeasurable investments from variousrge trade associations and Shrek City itself, Shrek¡¯s new city was starting to take shape. Construction sites were in full swing and buzzing with activity everywhere.

    Bei Beimented, ¡°After this new city ispletely constructed, Shrek¡¯s scale will be enough topare with the capital cities of other empires. Even though we are still smaller in surface area than Radiant City, our position as the center of the Continent will be gradually consolidated in the future. In my opinion, the new city will beplete in only two or three years, at most.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°There¡¯s a precondition¡­ that the new city isn¡¯tid to ruin by the fires of war.¡±

    Bei Bei nced at him and said, ¡°Little junior brother, you seem to be very pessimistic towards the Heavenly Soul Empire! They have the Body Sect¡¯s support. Are they really that weak?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that the Heavenly Soul Empire is weak, but that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools are too powerful. Once ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells appear on the battlefield, at least for now, not a single force or entity can block or defend against them. Even Transcendent Douluo cannot possibly collide directly with those things. It¡¯s hard to say how many ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells the Sun Moon Empire has in their arsenal, but I feel that they can¡¯t have less than ten of them.

    ¡°When they were assaulting the Star Luo Empire, three ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells blew open arge gap in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. In terms of geographical and topographical advantages, the Heavenly Soul Empire is weaker than the Star Luo Empire, and if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions appear on the battlefield right now, they might break through the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s defenses like a hot knife through butter!¡±

 Chapter 431.3 - Shes Donger!

    <h4 ss>, Chapter 431.3: She¡¯s Dong¡¯er!</h4>

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, we will assemble our soul engineer legion as quickly as possible. However, you¡¯re also familiar with the Tang Sect¡¯s circumstances. We have teacher Xuan for our mid-tier and low-tier soul tools, so our technology isn¡¯t that much worse than the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s. But in terms of high-level soul tools¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly and said, ¡°I understand. Therefore, I will pay special attention to that when I go back to the frontlines. Teacher Xuan is very excited about the high altitude surveince soul tool I passed to him yesterday.¡±

    The truth was, teacher Xuan wasn¡¯t just excited ¨C his eyes had been sparkling as he eximed to Huo Yuhao, ¡°The more the better!¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei continued discussing the continent¡¯s situation and circumstances as they flew along close to the ground towards the Spirit Pagoda.

    The Spirit Pagoda was still undergoing construction, but the two bottommostyers had beenpleted. These two levels would be renovated into the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s headquarters.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had said, the Emerald Swan was the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s representative, and she had stationed herself here the entire time. Huo Yuhao told her what he was doing here, and received Bi Ji¡¯s support.

    Huo Yuhao was no longer just a human in Bi Ji¡¯s eyes. Instead, he was the connecting dot that linked the humans and the world of soul beasts. Without his research, the Spirit Pagoda wouldn¡¯t have appeared, and since he also possessed the power of destiny that he had obtained from the God Beast of Destiny, he was someone that all soul beasts would have to protect. Therefore, Bi Ji very readily agreed to help him search for suitable Spirits.

    There were three people in his group that needed Spirits: Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. Of the three of them, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had been at Rank 70 for quite some time, while Jiang Nannan had only broken through recently.

    The Spirit Pagoda had been working ever since it had been established, but they kept the fusion of Spirits limited to a certain number. This was the n that Huo Yuhao and Shrek Academy¡¯s higher levels had put in ce after some discussion back then.

    The Great Star Dou Forest was vast, but many soul beasts had long lives, and there were very few soul beasts who were at the end of their lives and willing to be Spirits at the same time. For now, this number was still quiterge, but failure rates were bound to climb if this fusion with Spirits was allowed to spread unchecked. Another important point was that if too many soul beasts that could be Spirits were used, and if supply couldn¡¯t meet demand, then many soul masters would probably be unable to control themselves, and would start hunting and killing soul beasts again.

    If they could control the number of Spirits transmitted and stabilize the process at the same time, soul masters who needed soul rings would always be hopeful. Under such circumstances, they would naturally suppress the desire in their hearts to kill soul beasts.

    At the same time, the Great Star Dou Forest represented the soul beasts, and the forest pushed out Spirit fusion to the other soul beast habitats. With the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s status in the world of soul beasts, there were at least a few soul beast habitats that were willing to try. The Spirit Pagoda could promote themselves at the same time, and reduce the pressure on the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s shoulders. This was the direction that they would develop towards in the future.

    Of course, the Spirit Pagoda could never satisfy the demand for Spirits at the rate soul masters needed soul rings as of right now. They could only reduce these killings to a small extent. For these soul beasts, however, such circumstances already a lot better than before. The truth was, soul beasts weren¡¯t that afraid of being hunted and killed. In the end, not all soul masters could enter and leave the great forest safely, and soul beasts could hunt and kill humans at the same time. As long as there weren¡¯t too many soul beasts that were being hunted and killed, an ecological bnce could still be maintained, and there wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem.

    Bi Ji left hurriedly after studying Bei Bei and the others¡¯ martial souls. She personally went to search for soul beasts that were suitable for Bei Bei and the others due to how important Huo Yuhao was, and Huo Yuhao and the others temporarily remained in the Spirit Pagoda.

    The first batch of Spirit Masters that Huo Yuhao had personally trained came forward to greet him and talk to him when they found out that he was here. Some addressed him as ¡°teacher¡±, and some addressed him as ¡°Pagoda Master¡±. Huo Yuhao now had a title, and he was known as the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s honorary Pagoda Master.

    Tang Wutong had been watching coldly from one side. She didn¡¯t talk to the others, and she put on a cold appearance from the beginning to the end.

    Huo Yuhao greeted and interacted with the various spirit masters, and they all began talking with Huo Yuhao about information and knowledge regarding Spirits. Ever since the Spirit Pagoda was established, these spirit masters¡¯ statuses had been rising rapidly. The Spirit Pagoda hadn¡¯t been promoted yet, but they already enjoyed extremely high statuses.

    Most of the spirit masters in the first batch came from Shrek Academy, but some came from other countries, and they were even added into their respective royal family¡¯s Imperial Shrines. This was especially true since they began transmitting spirits, and soul masters of any rank were very respectful and reverent when they met these spirit masters. Huo Yuhao was the one who had given them this rise in status, and thus it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how respectful they were towards him.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao took more than two hours before he finished interacting with those spirit masters. Bi Ji hadn¡¯t returned yet, though she had probably gone rather far into the Great Star Dou Forest to search for soul beasts.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Are you tired, junior brother? The Spirit Pagoda has been developing very quickly over the past few months, and if not for the Sun Moon Empire suddenlyunching an invasion, the affairs with those several branches would have beenpleted. Unfortunately, the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire probably don¡¯t have any mental space or time for that now. The branch at the Dou Ling Empire has been established, though, and they¡¯re building a Spirit Pagoda of their own.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Hopefully, the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s existence will reduce the number of soul beasts that humans kill. Because of this, we cannot let the Sun Moon Empire reach this ce. Otherwise, all our past efforts and sesses will be wasted.¡±

    Tang Wutong was sitting not far from Huo Yuhao, and suddenly asked him, ¡°What exactly are Spirits?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°In simple words, Spirits are a soul beast that is willing to fuse with a soul master and retain its consciousness. These soul beasts can retain a certain part of their abilities and their reasoning. For those soul beasts who are nearing the ends of the their lives, they can thus use another method to continue living in a soul master¡¯s body and extend their lives. Furthermore, there¡¯s a very small chance that they can apany the soul master and attain immortality.¡±

    Tang Wutong frowned and asked, ¡°Immortality? How is that possible?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°If that soul master can break through the Ultimate Douluo¡¯s barrier, then that is very possible.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s mouth twitched, and she said, ¡°You¡¯d need a Godly Seat for that. How can it be that easy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a surprised look on his face. ¡°You know about the Godly Seats?¡±

    Tang Wutong sounded a little proud as she said, ¡°Of course I know, I¡­¡± She started her sentence, but the golden trident on her forehead that wasn¡¯t very conspicuous flickered, and she subconsciously stopped talking.

    Right at this moment, Bi Ji walked in from outside.

    The Emerald Swan was always elegant and charming whenever and wherever she was. There was a warm and faint smile on her beautiful face as she said, ¡°Yuhao, and the rest of you, please follow me. We will go to the Spirit Transmitting Hall.¡±

    The Spirit Transmitting Hall was where Spirit Masters transmitted spirits, and the magical formation that Huo Yuhao had inherited from the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux was set up there. Transmitting spirits inside the Spirit Transmitting Hall wouldn¡¯t just conserve a Spirit Master¡¯s soul power, it also allowed soul masters to consume less spiritual power when fusing with Spirits. The rate of sess was also greatly boosted, and with Bi Ji around, who was a formidable beast king adept with healing, she could guarantee that those soul beasts that were dying would live. With these systems in ce, as long as both parties were willing toplete the contract, the sess rate of transmitting Spirits was almost one hundred percent.

    They seemed to enter a golden world when they walked into the Spirit Transmitting Hall. The Spirit Transmitting Hall was very spacious, almost five hundred square meters in surface area, and ten meters high. It took up the central area of the second level of the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s headquarters.

    There were simple golden demonic patterns etched onto the hexagon-shaped walls. The flooring was the most dazzling part of the hall. The demonic patterns on the floor were pieced together with different metals and jewels, which all had amon characteristic: they all possessed the Element of light.

    Huo Yuhao had inherited necromancy from Electrolux, and one couldn¡¯t forget that the Element of light was the Cmity Necromancer¡¯s strength. Therefore, whether it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s necromancy or the contractual magic that was suitable for the Spirit Pagoda, it had its foundations in the Element of light.

    The dense power of light assaulted their senses as they stepped into the Spirit Transmitting Hall. Bei Bei and Tang Wutong had the greatest reactions in the group.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body shone with gentle golden light as a subtle projection of a dragon flickered behind his back. His martial soul hadn¡¯tpletely evolved into a Radiant Holy Dragon yet, but it was now easier for him to channel his Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s powers. ording to Bei Bei¡¯s calctions, after obtaining a Spirit and bing a Soul Sage, his martial soul would likelyplete its final metamorphosis. Therefore, when he was choosing his Spirit, he had expressly asked Bi Ji to search for a soul beast that possessed dragon blood and the Element of light at the same time.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t as obvious as Bei Bei¡¯s. A faintyer of golden light flickered subtly behind her back like golden wings. There was no question that both her and Bei Bei¡¯s expressions were very rxed andfortable, and their expressions showed that they were enjoying themselves.

    Bei Bei nced around at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Little brother, this magical formation that you¡¯ve set up is quite mystical and miraculous. It is so dense with the Element of light! If I could cultivate in such an environment, I would progress a lot faster with less effort.¡±

    Tang Wutong nced at Huo Yuhao in surprise. She didn¡¯t quite believe that Huo Yuhao was the one who had created this magical formation.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not very possible, eldest senior brother. This magical formation¡¯s effects are impressive, but it consumes too many resources. The formation interacts with the power of the sun through these materials, and absorbs the light Element from the sunlight and stores it. This Elements of light is only used when transmitting Spirits. The Tang Sect doesn¡¯t have such wealth right now, and this Element of light will be consumed once it is used. The formation can¡¯t be used for cultivation, or it will be useless and meaningless for transmitting Spirits.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s alright, I was just making a passingment. When the Tang Sect has enough wealth, we can build another one in the Tang Sect¡¯s inner regions.¡±

    They watched what was happening inside the Spirit Pagoda as they talked. There were threerge soul beasts prostrate on one side not far from where they were standing. They seemed like they were also enjoying themselves as they bathed in this ce filled with light energy.

    However, as much as they enjoyed themselves, their aura of old age and weakness was still very evident. Their life energies were extremely weak, to the point where Bei Bei and the others hadn¡¯t noticed their presence when they walked into the Spirit Transmitting Hall.

 Chapter 432.1 - Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python

    <h4 ss>Chapter 432.1: Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python</h4>

    The three soul beasts were from three different species. The one in the middle was a white steed. This steed was very special. Its body was like a horse, but its head was shaped like a dragon. White dragon scales extended from its forehead all the way to its neck and down its entire spine. Although it was already in the twilight of its life, it still continued to reflect the aura of light inside the Spirit Pagoda. The most eye-catching part about it was the diamond-shaped, dim golden gem on its forehead. Although the light that came from this gem was dimming, it was still very bright.

    The steed was more than four meters long and two and a half meters tall. If not for the fact that it appeared lifeless and its muscles were already soft, it would definitely be a steed with a divine presence.

    To the left of this white steed was a bright golden turtle. Of the three soul beasts, it was the smallest, around two meters long. Not only was its golden turtle shell extremely eye-catching, it also seemed to be very thick. Its head and four limbs had withdrawn into the turtle shell at this moment.

    To the right of the white steed was a huge python. This huge python waspletely pink and more than ten meters long, as thick as a water bucket. However, there was a huge wound extending for a meter down from its head. This wound was red, and there was even fluid seeping from it.

    Of the three soul beasts, this pinkish python was the only one whose life energy was not dissipating due to age.

    Bi Ji stepped forward and spoke, ¡°Let me introduce all of them. The one in the middle is a ten thousand year Heavenly Dragon Horse. Even in the Great Star Dou Forest, Heavenly Dragon Horses are considered very rare. The blood lineage of Radiant Holy Dragons runs in their bodies. Although they are shaped like horses, their draconic lineage is actually very pure. It¡¯s just that this Heavenly Dragon Horse was critically hurt when it was young. Although its blood lineage is very pure, its dragon wings have yet to grow even though it¡¯s already at a ten-thousand year cultivation. As a result, its life energy keeps on dissipating. When it reaches a twenty-thousand year cultivation, its condition will only worsen, and it will die.

    ¡°Bei Bei, your martial soul also contains the strong aura of a Radiant Holy Dragon. It is most suitable to fuse with you and be your Spirit. Perhaps this fusion can even help both of youplete your respective evolutions. As long as either of you fullyplete your evolution into a Radiant Holy Dragon, both your powers will experience a significant increase. You can familiarize yourself with it first.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder Bi Ji.¡± Bei Bei said to Bi Ji respectfully. He appeared delighted.

    Radiant Holy Dragons, like most other dragon species, had long ceased to exist. All the soul rings Bei Bei had obtained earlier were from Second Lineage Dragons, which were mainly Earth Dragons. When he saw this Heavenly Dragon Horse earlier, he felt as if there was something on its body that was calling to him. When he tried to sense it more carefully, he suddenly realized that this Heavenly Dragon Horse¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon aura was very pure, even though it was slightly weak. It was even purer than that of his martial soul.

    It was just that this Heavenly Dragon Horse was unable to stimte this purity.

    Bei Bei saw the lifeless-looking eyes of this Heavenly Dragon Horse as he walked towards it. The Heavenly Dragon Horse didn¡¯t react to him at all. It was very numb to his presence.

    Bei Bei squatted down beside this Heavenly Dragon Horse. He took in a deep breath and slowly released his Blue Lighting Tyrant Dragon.

    The soul power of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was extremely dominant. Even though Bei Bei tried to retract his aura when he unleashed his martial soul, the Heavenly Dragon Horse still trembled slightly after he unleashed his martial soul. A gentle streak of the aura of light was released from its body, and it subconsciously lifted its head to look cautiously at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei squatted where he was without moving. His fifth and sixth soul rings took turns to shine. Suddenly, the lightning slowly disappeared from his blue dragon scales, and his scales also slowly turned golden. A low-pitched dragon roar rang out following this, as if a huge dragon was roaring gently.

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse was stunned, and seemed a little more perplexed as it looked at Bei Bei. It sensed a familiar aura from Bei Bei¡¯s body. It could also sense the blood aura of a Radiant Holy Dragon from him.

    Bei Bei softly said, ¡°How are you, Heavenly Dragon Horse? Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have any ill intentions. We both have the aura of a Radiant Holy Dragon in our bodies. Right now, we can both call to and sense the presence of that aura in each other. I¡¯m willing to extend your life. Perhaps the lives of humans are too shortpared to soul beasts, but I can promise that you¡¯ll be filled with energy while I¡¯m alive. You won¡¯t be like what you are now, lifeless. Let me help you regain your youth and power, okay?¡±

    While Bei Bei¡¯s voice was very soft, he was very serious as he spoke. As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the eyes of the Heavenly Dragon Horse, and he sounded very sincere.

    Huo Yuhao had set the rule that a soul beast had to interact with the human before it underwent Spirit Transmission. After interacting, a soul beast would be able to roughly understand the person that it was going to be a Spirit to. This was very important. If the soul beast couldn¡¯t ept that person, the chances of failure would be very high. If the Spirit Transmission failed, a soul beast with weak life energy could die in the process.

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse seemed to be slightly more vibrant after seeing Bei Bei. It seemed to recall the immense strength it had possessed when it was younger, and the extreme weakness that it felt right now. When it saw the sincerity in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes, it finally nodded gently and extended its head in front of Bei Bei before rubbing it on Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder.

    Bei Bei took the opportunity to wrap his hands around its head and gently touched the side of its face, expressing his goodwill in this manner.

    Shrek Academy had records of Heavenly Dragon Horses. Bei Bei was aware that the gem on a Heavenly Dragon Horse couldn¡¯t be touched. It was the strongest part of a Heavenly Dragon Horse, but it was also the part of its body that hurt the most when touched.

    Bi Ji was stunned as she watched Bei Bei interact with the Heavenly Dragon Horse. She was aware of the personality of Heavenly Dragon Horses, who were recognized as one of the most arrogant of soul beasts. Let alone humans, they wouldn¡¯t even let soul beasts get close to them. They lived a lonely life in their own world.

    This Heavenly Dragon Horse was saved by Bi Ji when it was younger, and thus it shared a good rtionship with her. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to follow her here. There weren¡¯t any Heavenly Dragon Horses that were willing to fuse with humans among the previous cases of Spirit Transmission. This time, Bi Ji had brought this Heavenly Dragon Horse over just in case, since Bei Bei had the blood lineage of a Radiant Holy Dragon. She didn¡¯t expect it to so readily ept the proposition to fuse with Bei Bei.

    Bi Ji was immediately in good spirits after such a positive start. She said to Xu Sanshi, ¡°Xu Sanshi, the soul beast to the left of this Heavenly Dragon Horse is called a Golden Tortoise. It¡¯s in a very strange situation. Golden Tortoises are known for their longevity, as they are a symbol of auspiciousness. As long as one cultivates close to them, they can avoid any cmities. As a result, they hardly have any enemies in the world of soul beasts. Any soul beast would be willing to get close to them. They have no problem living to at least ten-thousand years. However, this Golden Tortoise is an exception.

    ¡°It¡¯s only thirty-thousand years old this year, and should be in a youthful state. However, its life energy has continuously dissipated recently for some unknown reason. In less than three years, its immense life energy is about to dissipatepletely. I¡¯ve helped it take a look, but I was only able to instill some life energy into it, I can¡¯t stop its life energy from dissipating.

    ¡°You can trymunicating with it. Golden Tortoises are very auspicious, and they possess great auxiliary abilities. If you can fuse with it, you can greatly increase the strength of your Xuanwu. Your Xuanwu Shield can even evolve into a Golden Xuanwu Shield. Through this process, you could obtain a part of this Golden Tortoise¡¯s strength.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was already silently swallowing his saliva as he stood there.Golden Tortoise, it¡¯s actually a Golden Tortoise!

    Although Golden Tortoises couldn¡¯t affect the destiny of the entire Great Star Dou Forest like the Auspicious Emperor Beast, they were still considered Auspicious Beasts. They were like the emperors of tortoises.

    A Xuanwu was formed by abination of a tortoise and a snake. More urately speaking, it was an avatar of water, and didn¡¯t possess a pure turtle body. A Golden Tortoise could give a Xuanwu the air of a sovereign. By possessing the strength of a Golden Tortoise, Xu Sanshi¡¯s evolved Xuanwu could truly be a Godbeast Xuanwu!

    There was a legend in Xu Sanshi¡¯s family, that if anyone from his family could fuse with a soul ring from a Golden Tortoise, they could possibly transform the martial soul of the entire family. In the future, it would no longer be a Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, but a Godbeast Xuanwu Shield instead!

    It was just that Golden Tortoises were too rare. Even when they could be found, they were protected by powerful soul beasts!

    Xu Sanshi hadn¡¯t expected Bi Ji to find a Golden Tortoise for him. Furthermore, this Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy was even dissipating very quickly.

    Given the auspiciousness and immense life energy of a Golden Tortoise, a ten-thousand year bottleneck wasn¡¯t much of a problem. Perhaps a Golden Tortoise would find it slightly difficult to reach a twenty-thousand year cultivation. Of course, Golden Tortoises weren¡¯t adept at any offensive skills, so they weren¡¯t considered very suitable for most soul masters even if they reached a ten-thousand year cultivation. In addition, they were usually protected by other soul beasts.

    As he rubbed his hands together, Xu Sanshi quickly walked towards the Golden Tortoise. There was a fawning look on his face as he came to the Golden Tortoise¡¯s side.

 Chapter 432.2 - Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python

    <h4 ss>Chapter 432.2: Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python</h4>

    He was even more in awe when he drew closer. This Golden Tortoise was probably like a king among Golden Tortoises. The gold on its shell was extremely proportionate and deep, and every shell line was dark gold. There weren¡¯t any ws at all. It was unbelievable that a creature like this was experiencing a huge dissipation of its life energy.

    The Golden Tortoise didn¡¯t react to Xu Sanshi, and only remained where it was quietly. It gave off a veryzy feeling.

    Xu Sanshi was confused as he asked, ¡°Brother, can you reveal your head? Let us talk. You can tell me what you want. I¡¯ll do my best to fulfil your wishes, how about that? Otherwise, I¡¯ll find another pretty tortoise to be my second Spirit, okay? Although my spiritual power isn¡¯t very strong, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with Yuhao¡¯s help. Tortoises don¡¯t have immense spiritual power, either. All of you are only lucky. It¡¯ll be great to have a partner!¡±

    Jiang Nannan had followed Xu Sanshi over, and wasn¡¯t too far away from him. After hearing his words, she couldn¡¯t help but furiouslyment, ¡°Do you think everyone is as lecherous as you?¡±

    Xu Sanshi replied, ¡°No matter how lecherous I am, I only love you!¡± heughed as he turned around to give Jiang Nannan a flying kiss.

    Jiang Nannan was a little stunned. She looked at him in a daze.

    Xu Sanshi was perplexed as he asked, ¡°Are you that touched? I¡¯ll kiss youter!¡±

    Jiang Nannan pointed towards something behind him.Xu Sanshi immediately turned back around, and saw the Golden Tortoise¡¯s head poking out of its shell.

    The Golden Tortoise¡¯s head was different from the head of an ordinary turtle. There were three ridges on it, and it wasn¡¯t oval like a turtle¡¯s, instead being slightly triangr in shape. There were even a few barbs that resembled whiskers at the bottom of its head. Its entire head was dark gold. The further down its head, the brighter the gold was.

    It was just that this Golden Tortoise didn¡¯t seem to be in very good spirits. It looked very lifeless, and seemed to be out of energy even as it poked its head out of its shell.

    ¡°Eh, brother, you are finally out.¡±

    ¡°Are you a man of your word?¡± the Golden Tortoise asked in a low, muffled voice.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned. ¡°You can speak ournguage?¡±

    Although it wasn¡¯t in very good spirits, it still managed to lift its head proudly, ¡°Golden Tortoises are the smartest among all tortoises.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed, ¡°While Golden Tortoises are the smartest, they¡¯re still tortoises.¡±

    The Golden Tortoise shouted angrily, ¡°You¡¯re underestimating me!¡±

    Xu Sanshi rushed to shake his head and said, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just curious as to why a handsome, suave, elegant, and talented Golden Tortoise like you hasn¡¯t been able to find a partner.¡±

    The Golden Tortoise was stunned. ¡°How did you know that I haven¡¯t been able to find a partner?¡± It was naturally very epting of Xu Sanshi¡¯spliments, and it seemed much friendlier now.

    Xu Sanshi chuckled. ¡°Otherwise, why would you rush out so anxiously when I mentioned finding you a pretty tortoise?¡±

    The Golden Tortoise snorted and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t find a partner because my aura was too strong. No pretty tortoise dared to get close to me. If you want to absorb a second Spirit in the future, I must approve of it first.¡±

    Xu Sanshi quickly came to the Golden Tortoise¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Brother, are you hiding something from me? Can I help you in any way?¡±

    The Golden Tortoise twisted its head and looked at Bi Ji, who wasn¡¯t very far away, before replying, ¡°Before we fuse, please ask all the Emerald Swans to leave. Also, I don¡¯t wish for any other soul beast to be around.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xu Sanshi was truly stunned this time. Logically speaking, soul beasts should be very willing for other soul beasts to be with them when they underwent Spirit Fusion, especially the Emerald Swans, which were powerful soul beasts in terms of healing! They were best able to ensure the safety of other soul beasts.

    However, this Golden Tortoise didn¡¯t want any Emerald Swans to be present. This was very weird. However, Xu Sanshi still nodded in agreement, then turned his head in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power continued to engulf the entire ce, and he nodded back. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of this Golden Tortoise causing trouble. Given the abilities of this Golden Tortoise, every human present was able to easily kill it. Xu Sanshi wouldn¡¯t have chosen it if not for the fact that it could help Xu Sanshi¡¯s martial soul evolve.

    Bi Ji naturally heard its words, and furrowed her brow slightly. However, she didn¡¯t say anything. Given how this Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy was dissipating, it wasn¡¯t very useful to the Great Star Dou Forest anymore. With her cultivation, she didn¡¯t think that there was much about this Golden Tortoise that she should have to be concerned about.

    At this moment, she continued, and introduced the third soul beast present to Jiang Nannan. ¡°Beside this Heavenly Dragon Horse is a Ruby Soft Tendon Python.

    ¡°It has a thirty-thousand year cultivation. It hasn¡¯t reached the end of its life, it¡¯s just that it has been tormented by its injuries ever since it was hurt thest time. Because its injuries are too serious, I can only preserve its life. However, it¡¯s in danger of dying at any time. Ruby Soft Tendon Pythons are very adept at closebat fighting, especially among python-type soul beasts.

    ¡°This python was hurt by a Transcendent Douluo from Shrek City.

    ¡°If it can be your Spirit, it will be very useful, and give you an overall increase in your abilities. This Ruby Soft Tendon Python can confer great confusion-type abilities. More importantly, it can be part of your fighting strength, and directly help you fight. Ruby Soft Tendon Pythons are extremely spiritual. Their brains aren¡¯t as small as ordinary python-type soul beasts, they are asrge as human brains. Previously, there was a case of a Ruby Soft Tendon Python bing the Spirit of a soul master, and both of them managed to be telepathic with each other. Not only did that python give that soul master soul skills, but it also managed to learn a soul skill from the soul master.

    ¡°This python has a thirty-thousand year cultivation. If it can be linked with you, your fighting strength will undoubtedly increase.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder Bi Ji,¡± Jiang Nannan said to Bi Ji respectfully.

    From Bi Ji¡¯s introduction of these three soul beasts, it showed that she had gone to great lengths to gather them. These three soul beasts were especially suitable for Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. They had many simrities to their martial souls.

    Bi Ji said, ¡°Let¡¯s start, then. Since the Golden Tortoise doesn¡¯t want me to be present, it shall be thest to fuse. I still have to take care of the other two. Jiang Nannan, you can interact with this Ruby Soft Tendon Python for a while first.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Jiang Nannan slowly walked towards the python. Although it was seriously injured, the look in its eyes was still very sharp. When it saw Jiang Nannan walking over, it lifted its head and bared its fangs at her.

    Xu Sanshi was immediately drawn over, and internally umted his soul power. If this python tried to harm Jiang Nannan, he would attack it immediately. To him, there was nothing more important than Jiang Nannan¡¯s safety.

    Jiang Nannan wasn¡¯t too rmed, though. She slowly extended her hands out and said softly, ¡°How are you? I don¡¯t have any ill intentions. You don¡¯t have to be so nervous.¡±

    The python stared coldly at Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan could sense its hostility and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s humans that harmed you so seriously. I can sense your hatred for humans. If possible, I¡¯m more willing to help heal your injuries rather than make you my Spirit. Ever since the Spirit Pagoda was constructed, I¡¯ve begun to understand that the rtionship between humans and soul beasts shouldn¡¯t be like it was before. Killing has only filled both parties with hatred, and influenced the ecological bnce of the entire world. I, Jiang Nannan, hereby swear today that I won¡¯t ever kill another soul beast to obtain a soul ring again. If I betray this promise, I¡¯ll be condemned.¡±

    She was very decisive when she said her vow. Evidently, she had been thinking about this for some time.

    After hearing her words, the python wasn¡¯t the only one that was astonished. Even Bi Ji, the Heavenly Dragon Horse, and the Golden Tortoise couldn¡¯t help but be moved.

    How many years had it been? The hatred between soul beasts and humans had existed forever. Ever since the beginning, soul beasts were food for humans, and vice versa. Slowly, human soul masters hunted soul beasts to obtain soul rings. There was a huge conflict between both parties that couldn¡¯t be resolved.

    Even with the appearance of the Spirit Pagoda, the conflict between soul beasts and soul masters was only slightly alleviated. Everyone knew that this conflict couldn¡¯t be resolved, at least for now.

    Jiang Nannan had six rings now. This meant that she needed another three soul rings if she wanted to be a Titled Douluo.

    This Ruby Soft Tendon Python had a thirty-thousand year cultivation, and so could only give her two soul rings, at most. She even had to choose on her own. If she gave up hunting soul beasts, Jiang Nannan had to take a risk to fuse with another Spirit if she wanted to obtain her final soul ring. Given her spiritual power, she might not be able to do this in the future. Her martial soul was still inferior to the likes of Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Huo Yuhao. All along, Jiang Nannan¡¯s abilities were one of the weakest among the Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. She might even be the weakest.

    Under such circumstances, she actually swore not to kill soul beasts in the future. This showed her determination and her sincerity to make amends. How could this not move all these sentient soul beasts?

    Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei looked at each other, both in admiration of her. Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Nannan is right. It¡¯s not only her; I¡¯ll also do the same. In the future, I¡¯ll never kill another soul beast to obtain another soul ring. If I betray this promise, I shall be condemned!¡±

 Chapter 432.3 - Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python

    <h4 ss>Chapter 432.3: Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python</h4>

    Xu Sanshi stood up and looked at Jiang Nannan, ¡°A husband follows his wife¡¯s wishes. Nannan¡¯s decision is also my decision. I also swear that I won¡¯t kill another soul beast to obtain a soul ring. If I do so, Nannan will leave me forever.¡±

    Bei Bei was stunned as he looked at him. He understood that this vow was much worse and more vicious than condemnation to Xu Sanshi!

    Huo Yuhao revealed aforted smile on his face as dim lights shed. This was what he had hoped to see! At the same time, he nodded. ¡°I, Huo Yuhao, also swear that I won¡¯t kill another soul beast to obtain a soul ring. If I betray this vow, I shall be condemned. I¡¯ll do my best to help humans and soul beasts fuse peacefully with each other, creating Spirits.¡±

    Bi Ji¡¯s eyes were a little red and she muttered, ¡°Although it¡¯s only the few of you who have sworn this today, I believe this is a huge step towards peace between soul beasts and humans. Right here, I also dere, on behalf of all the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, that all of you here will be respected guests of the Great Star Dou Forest. When you need Spirits, we¡¯ll do our best to coordinate and give you priority.¡±

    Bei Bei stood up and looked at Bi Ji seriously. ¡°Elder Bi Ji, although I can¡¯t guarantee anything now, I promise on behalf of the Tang Sect that I¡¯ll restrict everyone from the Tang Sect to only obtaining soul rings through Spirits. Even those whose cultivations are slightly weaker must try their best to reduce any killings. We have no way of influencing others, but we are willing to be role models for other humans in this aspect.¡±

    Bi Ji¡¯s voice trembled slightly. She looked at Bei Bei and nodded slowly. ¡°Thank you, thank all of you. I can sense your sincerity. This shall be the beginning.¡±

    As she spoke, she walked in front of the three soul beasts. There was a dominant look in her eyes, ¡°The three of you have heard their words too. I¡¯m delighted for the three of you today, that you can meet such humans. I believe that the three of you know what choice to make, even if I don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    The three soul beasts silently nodded their heads. Even the Ruby Soft Tendon Python, which had seemed very hostile earlier, appeared much friendlier now. It was much more willing to get close to Jiang Nannan now. After all, she was the one who had started the series of vows. It wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that she was the one who had started everything, which led to the series of changes that happened after that.

    Bi Ji said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start now. Who wants to go first?¡±

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse forcefully stood up and let out a soft dragon roar before it rubbed its head against Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder.

    Bi Ji smiled slightly as she retreated and gestured for it to proceed.

    Bei Bei touched the neck of the Heavenly Dragon Horse lightly and followed it to the center of the magical formation of the Spirit Transmission Hall. After that, he stood in front of the Heavenly Dragon Horse.

    Huo Yuhao also came over and stood beside them. He revealed a slight smile on his face and said to Bei Bei, ¡°Eldest senior, are you prepared?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded.

    Huo Yuhao then turned his attention to the Heavenly Dragon Horse, and it roared.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to begin.¡±

    Suddenly, the Heavenly Dragon Horse roared again. Compared to before, it sounded much sharper this time. Huo Yuhao was a little confused as he looked at it. He could sense that it felt very close to Bei Bei right now, but he couldn¡¯t understand what it was trying to say.

    Bi Ji said, ¡°It wants Bei Bei to put his hand on the gem on its forehead.¡±

    Bei Bei was astonished as he looked at the Heavenly Dragon Horse. The Heavenly Dragon Horse nodded gently at him.

    Such a proud Heavenly Dragon Horse actually permitted a human to ce his hand on the gem on its forehead, which was supposed to be the most painful spot when touched. What did this mean? It meant that it hadpletely epted Bei Bei! Bei Bei was delightfully surprised by this. With such a recognition, it was impossible that the pact between them would fail.

    Bei Bei looked at the Heavenly Dragon Horse and nodded strongly. He lifted his right hand and carefully ced his hand on the gem on its forehead.

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse moved slightly. In the next moment, Bei Bei felt intense soul power undtions surging from the gem. Following this, ayer of golden light was released from his and the Heavenly Dragon Horse¡¯s bodies simultaneously. Bei Bei clearly felt the thoughts of the Heavenly Dragon Horse right now. That gem was like a bridge between their souls.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t know that the gems on the foreheads of Heavenly Dragon Horses were the most important part of their bodies. Not only could they be used for offensive purposes in a fight, but they could also be used for interaction. When Heavenly Dragon Horses reached a sexually receptive stage, a female Heavenly Dragon Horse would ept a male Heavenly Dragon Horse as her husband by letting their gems interact with each other.

    ¡°It¡¯s now,¡± Bi Ji reminded him from one side.

    Huo Yuhao recited his incantations at the same time. As he did so, the Spirit Transmission Ritual began.

    On the ground, golden halos were released from the center of the magic formation. Gentle, light-type undtions started to fill the entire Spirit Transmission Hall.

    The entire process wasn¡¯t just sessful, it carried on very naturally!

    When Bei Bei focused his spiritual power on the head of the Heavenly Dragon Horse, there was a gentle look of recognition in its eyes. Its body was bing weaker and weaker, but its eyes were getting brighter and brighter. The gem on its forehead released a bright light thatpletely engulfed Bei Bei.

    Right now, Bei Bei was like a small, golden sun. No one dared to look at him directly. Intense soul power undtions were continuously being released from his body. He immediately broke through the Rank 70 bottleneck.

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse started turning transparent, beginning from its tail. After this, it quickly turned into flying ash and disappeared. It didn¡¯t leave any traces behind.

    Bi Ji stood to one side, silently in awe. This was a perfect fusion! There were only two cases like this in the previous rounds of fusion. Under such a fusion, the rtionship between the Spirit and the soul master would be especially close. All the abilities of the soul beast couldbine with the soul master, and the soul master might even be able to make his own choices. It wasn¡¯t just a random fusion anymore¡­

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse gradually disappeared, but the light from Bei Bei¡¯s body became extremely bright. The entire Spirit Transmission Hall was illuminated by this golden light, and the intense light-type undtions became stronger and stronger.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t just cross Rank 70. Huo Yuhao was stunned to sense that Bei Bei¡¯s soul power kept on increasing. He wasn¡¯t at Rank 70 anymore. He shot through Rank 71 before rising to Rank 72. He actually managed to rise by two ranks before his progress tailed off!

    A low-pitched dragon roar was released from that ball of golden light. This dragon roar gradually became more and more resounding. As the golden light slowly retracted, a huge light projection of a golden dragon w extended out. Following this, huge golden dragon wings opened up.

    When the golden light fully retreated, Bei Bei had already turned into a huge golden dragon standing in the center of the Spirit Transmission Hall.

    His seventh soul ring¡­ Radiant Holy Dragon True Body!

    Bei Bei¡¯s martial soul had finallypleted a qualitative change and became a Radiant Holy Dragon after hepleted his perfect fusion with the Heavenly Dragon Horse. Not only that, but something weird also surfaced on his body. On the forehead of his Radiant Holy Dragon was an extra diamond-shaped gem, exactly the same as the gem on the Heavenly Dragon Horse¡¯s forehead previously. Furthermore, the Heavenly Dragon Horse didn¡¯t appear after he turned into a Radiant Holy Dragon. It seemed to have fusedpletely into his body.

    The Radiant Holy Dragon that Bei Bei turned into was more than seven meters long, with about the same wingspan. His entire body was covered with dazzling, golden dragon scales. The strength of his aura far surpassed that of Yan Feng¡¯s Bone Dragon. Furthermore, his Radiant Holy Dragon secretly concealed a Holy aura within the aura of light.

    As the golden light retracted, Bei Bei slowly turned back into human form. When hepletely turned back into human form, everyone was stunned to find that the Heavenly Dragon Horse had appeared again. In addition, it seemed like it waspletely real as it stood beside him.

    However, there was a huge difference between how it was before the Spirit Transmission and how it was now. Its body was extremely muscr now, very toned and athletic. The look in its eyes was also much more vibrant than before. There was also an extra pair of dragon wings behind its back. As they opened up, everyone could see that they were very simr to the wings of Bei Bei¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon.

    This Heavenly Dragon Horse had indeed evolved after its fusion with Bei Bei, as Bi Ji had expected. This evolution made it seem real and material, even though it was now a Spirit.

    Bei Bei now had two yellow, two purple, and three ck soul rings. Furthermore, there were even golden patterns on his seventh ck soul ring!

    As he gently hugged the Heavenly Dragon Horse¡¯s neck, Bei Bei said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°Thanks, Heavenly Dragon Horse. I shall call you Heavenly Dragon in the future.¡±

    The Heavenly Dragon Horse nodded gently and showed deep affection for Bei Bei. They were extremely close now.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect could sense that Bei Bei¡¯s abilities had greatly increased, exceeding that of most Soul Emperors after they became Soul Sages. Although they didn¡¯t know how he would fare in a fight, they could imagine that the strengthening effect the Heavenly Dragon Horse had on him was far beyond what normal Spirits could achieve.

    Bei Bei brought the Heavenly Dragon Horse to one side. It turned into a streak of flowing light and fused directly with his forehead. A golden, diamond-shaped gem instantly surfaced on his forehead, which disappeared after it shed a few times.

    ¡°Congrattions, eldest senior!¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as he looked at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei was also delighted. As his abilities grew, it meant that he was growing closer to sess in his mission to rescue Tang Ya. After he returned from the Icefire Yin-Yang Well, he had pleaded with the Great Star Dou Forest for help in finding the Bluesilver Emperor. However, the Bluesilver Emperor wasn¡¯t in the Great Star Dou Forest. Di Tian even personally sent an order for the other soul beasts to search for the Bluesilver Emperor for him in other soul beast forests.

    In the world of soul beasts, he couldn¡¯t possibly find the Bluesilver Emperor if even the God Beast couldn¡¯t. ording to the God Beast, the Bluesilver Emperor might appear in a few other soul beast habitats. Bei Bei was waiting now. Once he got the help of the Bluesilver Emperor, he could prepare to rescue Tang Ya!

 Chapter 433.1 - The Tragic Golden Tortoise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 433.1: The Tragic Golden Tortoise</h4>

    ¡°Fourth senior,e over here.¡± As Bi Ji mentioned that the Golden Tortoise would be thest to undergo the fusion, Huo Yuhao turned to Jiang Nannan next.

    Jiang Nannan nodded and walked towards Huo Yuhao with the Ruby Soft Tendon Python.

    The python looked at Huo Yuhao before it gentlyy down on the ground.

    Huo Yuhao asked Jiang Nannan, ¡°Fourth senior sister, are you ready?¡±

    She smiled and replied, ¡°Yuhao, do you need to rest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No need. Eldest senior¡¯s fusion was very sessful. I wasn¡¯t drained very much.¡±

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m prepared, too. We can start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at the python and asked it the same question.

    The python then did something that astonished everyone. It ignored Huo Yuhao and instead turned its head before it started to wrap itself around Jiang Nannan.

    Everyone was stunned, but Jiang Nannan hurriedly said, ¡°No worries. It doesn¡¯t harbor any ill intentions. Yuhao, please begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power engulfed them. Indeed, the Ruby Soft Tendon Python didn¡¯t exert any force on Jiang Nannan even though it wrapped itself around her. Instead, it only stuck close to her.

    Xu Sanshi muttered to himself unhappily as he saw this. ¡°I hope this fellow is a female. Otherwise, I¡¯ll really be at a disadvantage!¡±

    Tang Wutong was standing behind him. After hearing his words, she almostughed. She was more amused by the fact that the Golden Tortoise beside Xu Sanshi also nodded its head and seemed to agree with his words.

    This is indeed a case of ¡®birds of the same feather flock together¡¯¡­

    The second Spirit Fusion began. As Huo Yuhao recited his incantations, gentle lights rose and surrounded the Ruby Soft Tendon Python and Jiang Nannan.

    The Ruby Soft Tendon Python wasn¡¯t like the Heavenly Dragon Horse earlier; it didn¡¯t slowly disappear. Bright, rose-colored light slowly lit up from its body, and it gradually became more and more transparent.

    Even Huo Yuhao was stunned this time. He had been involved in many Spirit Fusions, but this was the first time he had seen something like this.

    The Ruby Soft Tendon Python had a huge body. When it wrapped itself around Jiang Nanan¡¯s body, it was impossible to see Jiang Nannan from the outside anymore. Only the python¡¯s body could be seen.

    Right now, its huge body actually slowly became like gtin andpletely sealed Jiang Nannan within. Its body then started to melt, and became like a transparent, rose-coloredrva.

    As Huo Yuhao recited his incantations from the side, he also became more focused. If Jiang Nannan met with any danger, he would react immediately.

    Fortunately, his worries were unfounded.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s aura became stronger and stronger inside the rose-coloredrvae. As intense soul power undtions were released, her seventh soul ring slowly took form.

    More astonishingly, Jiang Nannan¡¯s aura was like Bei Bei¡¯s aura earlier, bing stronger and stronger. Thervae seemed to have a life of its own and pulsed slightly to the rhythm of Jiang Nannan¡¯s heartbeat.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was very sensitive, he could detect that the size of thervae was expanding slightly with every movement that it made. It was as if it was fusing with Jiang Nannan¡¯s body. This was a prative form of fusion.

    Without a doubt, this was aplete fusion! It was unexpected that the cold and hostile Ruby Soft Tendon Python had actuallypletely epted Jiang Nannan.

    The pinkish halos slowly disappeared, and the python waspletely fused into Jiang Nannan¡¯s body as they formed a telepathic bond. As the python¡¯s body became more transparent, Jiang Nannan¡¯s aura also grew stronger and stronger.

    All of Jiang Nannan¡¯s soul rings shone extremely brightly. It was like this fusion was causing all of her soul rings to experience some form of advancement. This was something that would never happen when soul rings were ordinarily fused!

    The entire process was shorter than expected. When the python disappearedpletely, and Jiang Nannan re-appeared in front of everyone, all the lights from her body had been retracted. Only her two yellow, two purple and three ck soul rings were shining brightly.

    With a thought from her, a streak of pinkish light was released from her body. It slowly took form behind her, while her body actually turned hollow before disappearingpletely. The Ruby Soft Tendon Python appeared in front of everyone again. The injuries on its body had disappeared, while its aura had be much stronger than before. Its rosy red eyes were like two rubies, shining brightly.

    The python¡¯s body turned hollow again after this went on for around ten seconds. After this, Jiang Nannan re-appeared where she was earlier, and the seven soul rings on her body strangely surfaced on the python¡¯s body instead of hers. Everyone was shocked when they saw this scene. It was indeed like Bi Ji had imed; a Ruby Soft Tendon Python was extremely spiritual! Some miraculous change must have had happened between this python and Jiang Nannan.

    Everyone wasn¡¯t very concerned about what this change was. They only hoped that Jiang Nannan¡¯s abilities had grown stronger.

    The slightly hollow python didn¡¯t disappear. Instead, it slithered forward and encircled Jiang Nannan before it slowly slithered its way up her. Finally, its huge head stopped behind the top of Jiang Nannan¡¯s head. Its ruby-red eyes coolly watched everyone else, looking rather arrogant.

    Bi Ji was delightfully surprised. ¡°It seems like they¡¯re telepathically-linked now. Jiang Nannan, can you sense if it has learned any soul skills from you?¡±

    Jiang Nannan nodded gently and said, ¡°I think it has learned three soul skills. However, it¡¯s stillprehending them now. In the future, it might be able to learn more.¡±

    Everyone was stunned after hearing her words. Spirits could actually help soul masters in a fight. If a Spirit could learn a soul master¡¯s soul skills, it would be equivalent to an avatar of that soul master! Furthermore, a Spirit wouldn¡¯t die unless the soul master died. Spirits relied on soul masters to survive. For Jiang Nannan, it was like she had an extra life.

    Jiang Nannan might seem the weakest among the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, but she was still considered extremely strongpared to ordinary soul masters. Her soul skills were all very strong. Whether it was her Instant Teleportation, Gravity Control, or Invincible Golden Body, they were all very impressive soul skills. The Ruby Soft Tendon Python learned three of her six soul skills, which included at least one of these three divine skills. In this way, Jiang Nannan¡¯s survival abilities in the future were bound to greatly increase.

    This was the effect of a perfect fusion with a Spirit. Everyone was happy. Not only were those from the Tang Sect extremely excited, but Bi Ji was also delighted, which was very rare. She was definitely very pleased that soul beasts were able to willingly fuse with humans and be such strong Spirits. This meant that the conflict between soul beasts and humans was more likely to be resolved. With such precedents, more soul masters would be attracted to the Spirit Pagoda and choose to use Spirit Transmission to rece killing soul beasts as a means of obtaining soul rings. For such perfect fusions, it was possible for a Spirit to even rece two or even three soul rings.

    ¡°It¡¯s my turn, it¡¯s my turn.¡± Xu Sanshi quickly rushed in front of Jiang Nannan. Seeing that Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan¡¯s powers had greatly increased, how could he not be eager?

    Jiang Nannan smiled before retracting her Spirit and conceding her position to him.

    Xu Sanshi loudly said, ¡°Little junior, do you need to rest? If you aren¡¯t tired, we can start now. Elder Bi Ji, brother Tortoise doesn¡¯t really want you to be here to watch. Do you think¡­¡±

    Bi Ji was a little perplexed as she looked at the Golden Tortoise, but it didn¡¯t look at her. It only slowly moved in front of Xu Sanshi before lying down.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bi Ji was very mild. If it were the Bear Lord, he would have immediately raged at such presumption. However, she readily agreed. Although she didn¡¯t know what the Golden Tortoise had to hide from her, at least this secret didn¡¯te from humans. Furthermore, the Golden Tortoise would no longer be a soul beast after it fused with Xu Sanshi. She wouldn¡¯t be able to control its future. She readily walked out and waited outside.

    Huo Yuhao was also a little confused. However, he wasn¡¯t worried about the Golden Tortoise ying any tricks. While soul beasts and soul masters shared an equal lives contract during the process of Spirit Transmission, he was the one who was controlling the process. In addition, the Golden Tortoise was very weak. If it tried to y any tricks, it would be the one suffering instead. Xu Sanshi would be fine. At most, he would have to find another Spirit to fuse with.

    ¡°Third senior, Golden Tortoise, I¡¯m going to begin. The two of you can prepare.¡±

    Xu Sanshi might seem very casual, but he was in fact very simr to Bei Bei in many ways, other than his lecherous ways. The fusion was about to begin, and he quickly retracted his cheekyughter before calming himself down. He circted his soul power and adjusted his mentality.

    After a brief moment, he felt that his three energies were in ce, and nodded at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the Golden Tortoise, and it also nodded at him.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that this Golden Tortoise was even more intelligent than the Ruby Soft Tendon Python. It appeared much more quick-witted all of a sudden. Even in such a weakened state, it was unable to conceal the deep and contemtive look in its eyes.

    Huo Yuhao recited his incantations for the third time. Gentle golden light surrounded Xu Sanshi and the Golden Tortoise before starting to spread. A fusion between human and soul beast began.

    A huge projection of a Xuanwu Shield surfaced behind Xu Sanshi. The concentrated aura of water resonated with the aura of light within the formation. Gentle soul power undtions started to spread as if they were ripples in water.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s recitations slowly grew more and more resounding. Xu Sanshi and the Golden Tortoise started to connect with each other, and their equal lives contract started to take effect.

 Chapter 433.2 - The Tragic Golden Tortoise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 433.2: The Tragic Golden Tortoise</h4>

    As the previous two fusions were perfect fusions, they had gone very smoothly. The Heavenly Dragon Horse and Ruby Soft Tendon Python were very weak. They didn¡¯t experience any changes, and their soul power undtions couldn¡¯t really be felt before the fusions werepleted. They only revealed their strength after their fusions werepleted.

    However, the Golden Tortoise experienced abnormal changes the moment Xu Sanshi started to fuse with its strength.

    The Golden Tortoise exuded concentrated golden light from its body, which surged towards Xu Sanshi and started to fuse with him. However, a wave of strong life aura suddenly surged from the Golden Tortoise. Its shell didn¡¯t turn illusory as a result of the fusion. Instead, it became more and more real. Streaks of strong golden light filled with a strong life aura were released from its shell. Every ridge on its shell was shining with golden light.

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze and subconsciously lifted his right hand. If something was amiss, he would immediately end this Spirit Transmission and kill the Golden Tortoise.

    However, Xu Sanshi waved his hand at him, signaling that things were fine.

    While Huo Yuhao was very adept at Spirit Transmission, he wasn¡¯t the one undergoing the process right now. Xu Sanshi was very surprised by the sudden changes, but he could sense that the Golden Tortoise waspletely willing to fuse with him. Furthermore, this sudden, strong life aura was only beneficial to him. There weren¡¯t any drawbacks.

    Throughout this entire process, he clearly felt that the strength of his Xuanwu blood lineage was stabilizing. It was even rising continuously. This meant that the blood lineage of the Golden Tortoise was extremelypatible with him. This was what every soul master desired. How could he bear it if the process were interrupted?

    The Golden Tortoise also nced at Huo Yuhao. However, it seemed to be in pain, and immediately shut its eyes.

    The life aura was simply too strong.

    Suddenly, a buzz sounded, and the entire Spirit Transmission Hall shook slightly. Following this, the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead opened on its own. A streak of jade-green light was instantly released from his Eye of Destiny and drifted above the Golden Tortoise¡¯s shell.

    Suddenly, jade-green light shone brightly, and the strong life aura in the air surged towards a small carving de that was shining with jade-green light.

    This was a situation that no one had expected, including Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de appeared on its own to absorb the strong life energy. What did this mean?

    As he had nourished his Life Guardian de for a long time, Huo Yuhao was very familiar with it now. There was an immense and pure life energy contained within his Life Gold. It had always been scornful of other external energies. Even if it absorbed the life energy of certain matter, that life energy would dissipate on its own and wouldn¡¯t fuse with its origin energy. It was proud, or perhaps picky. It was as if there wasn¡¯t any life force in this world that could satisfy it.

    However, something surprising happened today. When Xu Sanshi was undergoing his Spirit Transmission, the life energy that surged from the Golden Tortoise¡¯s body was actually absorbed by it. In addition, Huo Yuhao could sense that this was a pure absorption and assimtion. The life energy it had just absorbed wasn¡¯t going to dissipate after being absorbed.

    Did this mean that the Golden Tortoise possessed life energy that was of the same tier as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Gold? However, why was this Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy so weak that it was even on the verge of death if this was the case? This was extremely difficult toprehend.

    Slowly, the Golden Tortoise¡¯s life aura became less intense after it was devoured by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de. However, its body started to expand, and a stronger life aura started to surge out.

    The jade-green light from the Life Guardian de also became stronger and stronger as it absorbed that pure life energy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also received some feedback. As the life energy permeated through him, he felt extremely restrained.

    Streaks of light surged out from his body, turning into three projections. They were the projections of the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm. Of course, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass wasn¡¯t excluded either. It was just that it grew directly from Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder.

    Everyone was stunned when they saw the four projections that surged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Even those of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters didn¡¯t know that he had so many Spirits in his body! They were only familiar with the Snow Empress.

    Gentle, jade-green halos appeared on the bodies of all four Spirits. These halos were like dim mes that surrounded their bodies.

    The Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Skydream Iceworm were all excited. Such strong life energy was great for them. Although they were Spirits, they still craved life energy. As Spirits, they could only be more corporeal if they had sufficient energy.

    Generally speaking, Spirits couldn¡¯t leave their soul masters. However, they could travel further away from their soul masters if they were strong enough. They could also get closer to bing as corporeal as they were when they were still alive.

    Life force, especially pure life force, nourished their bodies much more than soul power. How could these four Spirits be unwilling?

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s fusion also seemed to be going smoothly. His Xuanwu Shield already shone with ayer of bright gold, and the tortoise-snake on it seemed toe alive as it squirmed slightly. But the Golden Tortoise kept on expanding in size. Right now, it was already five meters in diameter. As ity where it was, golden light shone brightly from its body, making it look extremely magical.

    It definitely wasn¡¯t a twenty-thousand or thirty-thousand year soul beast. Huo Yuhao could tell that by now. The size that this Golden Tortoise had expanded to was the actual size of its body. Even for tortoises, a species that enjoyed great longevity, it was impossible for a twenty-thousand or thirty-thousand year tortoise to grow to such a size! This meant that this Golden Tortoise indeed suffered from a problem. Its problem was very obvious, and it was even taboo for the kings of soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have to restrain its own size. Only one thing about it was real.. its weakness!

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was certain that the Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy didn¡¯t belong to it, even though it was immense. It wasn¡¯t able to control such great life energy. The force that was restraining all the life energy disappeared after the Golden Tortoise fused with Xu Sanshi, releasing it all in the process.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only beneficiary. To different extents, everyone around him feltfortable as they were immersed in this immense life energy.

    When a soul master reached an advanced tier, his physical strength was an important barrier that limited the increase of his cultivation. The immense life energy that they basked in was enough to provide them with sufficient energy to fight for years!

    Apart from Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi benefited the most. During his fusion with the Golden Tortoise, the amount of life energy he absorbed was only less than what Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de absorbed.

    Right now, there was an additional dim golden glow on his skin, which seeped into his body and even made his blood vessels visible. They were stained gold, and even his blood turned gold. This gold that covered and prated his entire body was filled with life energy.

    This was the origin strength of the Golden Tortoise. Although it couldn¡¯t absorb all that life energy, it seemed to have fused with a lot of it. Right now, all of that was pouring into Xu Sanshi¡¯s body.

    The Golden Tortoise suddenly lifted its head and said to Xu Sanshi, ¡°If you go against this contract in the future and don¡¯t find me a pretty tortoise, I¡¯ll fight it out with you. You¡¯ve gained greatly this time!¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m a man of my word. However, what¡¯s going on here?¡±

    The contract was about to bepleted, but the Golden Tortoise¡¯s body was still very corporeal. There wasn¡¯t any sign that its body was about to gradually disappear as it neared the end of this Spirit Fusion.

    The Golden Tortoiseughed bitterly. ¡°Greedy! Greedy! Otherwise, why would I bother fusing with a human? It¡¯s all my fault. I was too greedy then.¡±

    ¡°I seem to be familiar with your aura.¡± Beside Huo Yuhao, the Skydream Iceworm, who presented himself as a handsome man, suddenly opened his mouth.

    The Golden Tortoise nced at him and said, ¡°Familiar? Who are you? Why do I sense something from your aura, too?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm squinted slightly and rings of gold quickly rose from his feet. There was a total of ten rings. After they drifted up, they surrounded his body in a parallel manner and stopped.

    The Golden Tortoise was stunned as he asked, ¡°Ah? It¡¯s you! You were that Iceworm. My gosh! Why have you fused with a human, too? This is too unbelievable.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm turned fierce and said, ¡°Idiot, you also absorbed my life energy back then, right?¡±

 Chapter 433.3 - The Tragic Golden Tortoise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 433.3: The Tragic Golden Tortoise</h4>

    The Golden Tortoise coughed awkwardly after discovering the existence of its victim. However, its eyes turned slightly red after this. ¡°That¡¯s right, I absorbed some of your strength then. However, I absorbed it sneakily. I didn¡¯t do anything to you. But did you know the problems I suffered after absorbing your life energy? If I hadn¡¯t absorbed your life energy then, I wouldn¡¯t have been so sensitive to life forces, and wouldn¡¯t have turned greedy, eventuallynding myself in such a state!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he looked at the Golden Tortoise and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Do you know Brother Skydream?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm snorted and replied, ¡°Yuhao, do you remember what I told you before? My life energy and soul power were absorbed by a group of the strongest soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. I was only left with pure spiritual power when I met you. It must be this guy who absorbed my life energy. From the life energy that he released, I can sense a part of it contains my aura. That¡¯s why I found it so familiar.¡±

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities grew stronger and stronger, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t have to hide himself so much. Even if the God Beast Di Tian knew that he was inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he wouldn¡¯t dare to deal with Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao controlled the destiny of the entire Great Star Dou Forest!

    Furthermore, those who were present now were all Huo Yuhao¡¯s close friends, and given the strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, even Bi Ji wouldn¡¯t be able to eavesdrop on them.

    The Golden Tortoise¡¯s tone of voice suddenly sounded very depressed, ¡°It¡¯s none of my business anyway. I only absorbed your life energy then. However, Inded myself in a tragic state because of that. If I had known what was going to happen, I wouldn¡¯t have been so greedy.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was curious as he asked, ¡°What happened? You don¡¯t really have a thirty-thousand year cultivation, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the Golden Tortoise said arrogantly, ¡°Most Golden Tortoises are able to survive for more than ten thousand years. I¡¯m a hundred-thousand year soul beast.¡±

    If there were any other soul beast present to hear its words, they would have the urge to knock themselves against a wall. Most Golden Tortoises were indeed able to survive past ten thousand years. Even the Golden-Eyed ck Dragon King Di Tian wouldn¡¯t dare to dispute this. Most species of soul beast would have an enemy. Golden Tortoises were one of the rare, few species that didn¡¯t have a natural enemy.

    Any soul beast that got close to them would be blessed by their fortune. It would take it half the cultivation effort to achieve double the result. The Golden Tortoise¡¯s fighting strength was naturally not very great, but their reputation was built on their longevity. Naturally, they were adept at something, their defense! Among their innate skills, they had one called Invincible Barrier! Humans¡¯ Invincible Barriers were, to some extent, inspired by and derived from the Golden Tortoises.

    Even a savage beast would find it difficult to ovee the defense of a hundred-thousand year Golden Tortoise. Some kind of special method would have to be used to slowly weaken the defense of such a beast.

    Xu Sanshi was perplexed as he asked, ¡°Since you are at the tier of a soul beast king, why are you in such a tragic state?¡±

    The look in the Golden Tortoise¡¯s eyes turned dimmer, and it appeared to be in great pain. ¡°Initially, I absorbed the Iceworm¡¯s life energy and soul power from underground. Due to my fortune, I was able to hide my aura very well. Even the God Beast Di Tian didn¡¯t realize it. Furthermore, there were many hundred-thousand year soul beasts there then. I¡¯m also a hundred-thousand year soul beast. If not for the fact that I was afraid of being remembered by Di Tian, I would have dared to absorb his life energy openly. I followed him underground and absorbed it until he had no more life energy left, and then I escaped while Di Tian wasn¡¯t looking.

    ¡°I was very proud and delighted then. After absorbing so much life energy, I was confident of crossing the twenty-thousand year bottleneck by coupling it with my own life energy. Tortoises, especially Golden Tortoises, rarely reach a twenty-thousand year cultivation, even though most will survive beyond ten thousand years. If we choose to be reborn, we¡¯ll be nourishment for humans and other soul beasts. We won¡¯t dare to do that. That is why we¡¯ll generally wait until we die. If I reached at least a twenty-thousand year cultivation, I¡¯d be a hero among Golden Tortoises even if I wasn¡¯t the first to do so. My confidence was bursting then, and caused me to becent.

    ¡°As I¡¯m a water and earth-type soul beast, I¡¯m very adept at moving underground and underwater. However, I was greedy, and snuck my way into the Lake of Life that Di Tian normally rests in.

    ¡°I always knew that the Lake of Life was a secret existence. Di Tian has been living there since ancient times. I can almost confirm that he was able to reach his eight-hundred-thousand year cultivation and achieve breakthrough after breakthrough because of his Lake of Life. Back then, Di Tian wasn¡¯t in the Lake of Life, because he was trying to capture the Iceworm¡¯s spiritual energy. That was why I tried to sneak my way in and use my concealment abilities to hide myself from Di Tian.

    ¡°I thought that I might be able to be as strong as Di Tian in the future if I could find the secret to the Water of Life, and eventually lead all the tortoises to rule the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expressions turned weird when they heard the Golden Tortoise¡¯s words. It was being overly arrogant! A tortoise who wasn¡¯t adept at fighting was dreaming if it thought that it could rule the Great Star Dou Forest. The Golden Tortoise must have had been extremely conceited back then. It was its egocentricity that brought it so much trouble.

    The Golden Tortoise didn¡¯t seem to sense the weird looks that everyone was giving it and continued, ¡°After I snuck into the Water of Life, I was especially careful. This was because I knew that it was Di Tian¡¯s habitat. I was confident that he wouldn¡¯t kill me even if he found me, because my destiny was especially strong after I reached a ten-thousand year cultivation. In the entire Great Star Dou Forest, no other soul beasts couldpare to me, apart from the Auspicious Emperor Beast. My survival is extremely beneficial to the entire forest. It¡¯s also because of this that I was so brazen.

    ¡°As a result, I sought the secret of the Water of Life. The more I swam, the closer I got to the core of it. I discovered that the life energy in the Water of Life was especially immense. Although I couldn¡¯t directly absorb and assimte it like I managed to absorb the Iceworm¡¯s life energy, it could continuously nourish my body. I was fully certain of my conjecture. Di Tian was able to live so long and achieve breakthrough after breakthrough because he was nourished by the Water of Life. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s too powerful, and thus no soul beasts can venture into his territory.

    ¡°I guessed that the Water of Life must have an origin if it contained such immense life energy. Given the amount of life energy present, it might have originated from some kind of treasure. That¡¯s why I went to find this treasure! Finally, I found the mouth of a spring at the core of the Water of Life. It was the source of the entire Lake of Life. Around this mouth was a ring of green metal. This green metal was very weird. It contained the purest life energy above it. I knew that I had found the correct ce. Although I couldn¡¯t leave with the mouth of that spring, I could still leave with the metal!

    ¡°Although Golden Tortoises aren¡¯t adept at fighting, our bite is one of the strongest in the world of soul beasts. As a result, I bit hard on a piece of that metal, and bit off close to one-fifth of the jade-green metal. However, Di Tian was simply too strong. He immediately sensed it when the metal was damaged. A terrifying suppression immediately descended on me.

    ¡°I was very scared then, as I sensed Di Tian¡¯s extreme fury. I was really afraid that he might kill me without regard for anything else. As a result, I did my best to dive all the way down to the bottom of theke and into the mud at the bottom. After that, I kept on digging, and also did my best to conceal my aura so that he wouldn¡¯t find me.

    ¡°However, I soon realized that it was all for nothing, because the piece of metal that I stole contained too much life energy. I could conceal my aura, but I couldn¡¯t conceal its aura! I would have definitely been exposed. Eventually, I decided to swallow it, since it was good stuff anyway.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed. ¡°You ate Life Gold? No wonder your life energy is so immense, but doesn¡¯t belong to you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao could roughly guess what was going on after hearing the Golden Tortoise¡¯s description. He had been to the Water of Life before. He could sense that the concentrated life energy there seemed to be rted to Life Gold. It was just that he couldn¡¯t confirm it, and he wasn¡¯t as bold as the Golden Tortoise. He wasn¡¯t bold enough to search for treasures in Di Tian¡¯s habitat.

    Not only did the Golden Tortoise seed, but it even managed to eat the Life Gold. But judging by its current condition, it seemed that eating the Life Gold didn¡¯t generate any benefits for it.

    ¡°So that metal is called Life Gold to humans. It¡¯s this thing that got me into so much trouble,¡± the Golden Tortoise said depressingly. ¡°After I devoured the Life Gold back then, I realized that it indeed contained life energy. I also sensed that the immense life energy was permeating through my entire body. After Di Tian returned, he wasn¡¯t able to find me, which left me extremely delighted about managing to sneak into an area that he controlled.

    ¡°However, I started to realize that things were amiss after I returned to my own habitat. At the start, that metal was releasing life energy that infiltrated my entire body. However, it seemed to slowly familiarize with my body, and then started to absorb my life energy, instead.¡±

 Chapter 434 - Call of the Godly Realm

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 434: Call of the Godly Realm</h4>

    ¡°Golden Tortoises have very prosperous life energy, especially me, since I have a hundred-thousand year cultivation. My life energy was naturally very prosperous. However, this thing ispletely irrational. It just keeps on absorbing my life energy every day. I tried to expel it from my body, but it seemed to grow inside my body instead. No matter what I did, I couldn¡¯t drive it out. I could only look on helplessly as it sucked my life energy away every single day, until it was almost drained.

    ¡°Given my current state, I don¡¯t dare to ask other soul beasts for help. Di Tian wouldn¡¯t let me off if he found out about this. This is why I can only let you humans take advantage of me. At least I¡¯ll be able to survive longer in a different form in this way. This is why I say one shouldn¡¯t be greedy! Greed kills! Ah ah ah!¡±

    Everyone had a different feeling when they saw this Golden Tortoise wailing so depressingly. However, most of them were alerted.

    Yes! Greed was fatal. While Life Gold was a good thing, this Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy was slowly sucked away after it swallowed the metal into its body, to the point where it was about to die. This was a very heavy lesson to learn.

    As the Golden Tortoise spoke up to here, its fusion with Xu Sanshi was about to bepleted. However, its body still didn¡¯t disappear.

    Its huge body slowly drifted into mid-air and started to shrink. During the process of shrinking, its golden tortoise shell became brighter and brighter. It seemed to be molten gold as it shot out light in all directions. The earlier release of the immense life energy seemed to be ending. Most of it had been devoured by the Life Guardian de.

    When the Golden Tortoise¡¯s body shrank until it was only one meter in diameter, it suddenly whooshed and flew over to Xu Sanshi, and was imprinted onto Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield, which was showing behind him.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield and the tortoise shell suddenly resurfaced, and Xu Sanshi¡¯s body jerked. Following this, a red soul ring instantly rose from beneath his feet.

    His seventh soul ring was a hundred-thousand-year soul ring!

    His Xuanwu Shield slowly revolved behind him. Ridges started appearing on the tortoise shell. Just like the Golden Tortoise¡¯s back, the snake was now dyed gold, and the entire Xuanwu Shield was also covered with ayer of dark gold light.

    With just a nce, it was possible to sense the thick aura exuding from this shield. It felt indestructible, as if it could provide an eternal defense.

    Xu Sanshi was delighted. He waved his right hand, and his Xuanwu Shield flew into his hands. Instantly, his entire body was covered with ayer of dark golden light. His seventh red soul ring surged with light continuously.

    It wasn¡¯t just a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. It was also a hundred-thousand year Spirit! Besides Huo Yuhao, he was the only other person with a hundred-thousand year Spirit. The Golden Tortoise didn¡¯t just give him two soul rings, it provided him with an all-around enhancement. His Xuanwu Shield hadpletely evolved into a Xuanwu, and it even carried the aura of a Golden Tortoise now. More urately speaking, it carried the aura of a Golden Xuanwu now!

    At the same time, the life energy that the Golden Tortoise brought to him was sufficient for him to cultivate until he became a Titled Douluo. The overall enhancements that he had receivedpletely consolidated his foundation to be a Transcendent Douluo in the future.

    Furthermore, Xu Sanshi was holding his Golden Xuanwu Shield right now. He could clearly sense his defensive strength soaring. As he held this shield, he feltpletely worry-free. It was something that he had never experienced before. Even when he didn¡¯t circte his soul power, his Golden Xuanwu Shield was still extremely strong.

    Was there even anything else that was more wonderful than this? Xu Sanshi danced in excitement.

    At this point, a jade-green light shed, and a piece of metal separated from the Golden Xuanwu Shield. It dropped onto the floor and made a jingling sound.

    This piece of metal didn¡¯t seem very big. Its shape was also not uniform, and there even seemed to be teeth marks on it.

    The Golden Tortoise¡¯s voice sounded, but it was sighing. ¡°It¡¯s finally out. This terrifying fellow has troubled me for thousands of years. Whoever wants it, quickly put it away. Don¡¯t let the Emerald Swan see it. Otherwise, the Beast God will find trouble with you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t take it. Instead, he looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Little junior, quick!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, ¡°Third Senior, Life Gold is invaluable. It should belong to you!¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed and replied, ¡°Forget it, I have no use for this thing. In addition, this Tortoise really hates it. I believe you are the only one who really knows how to use it. Just put it away for now. We can talk about itter.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t one to procrastinate either. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep it for now, but it belongs to the Tang Sect.¡±

    The Life Guardian de in the air fell downward and stuck closely to that piece of Life Gold. Suddenly, a magical scene appeared. Streaks of jade-green light were released from the Life Guardian de. The piece of Life Gold seemed to have been devoured, and slowly melted before fusing within the Life Guardian de, bing a part of it.

    Originally, the Life Guardian de was only as big as a carving de, but as it consumed this piece of Life Gold, it was now slowly bing more like a dagger. Even Huo Yuhao was stunned when he saw this.

    Why did the Life Guardian de devour the Life Gold? He just said that it¡¯s going to be part of the Tang Sect in the future, but now¡­

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that his Life Guardian de was strongly supporting his life after he had nurtured it for so long, and after his immense spiritual power fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s power of destiny. Naturally, the piece of Life Gold was much stronger than any ordinary Life Gold. But although that piece of Life Gold had devoured the Golden Tortoise¡¯s life energy and was very strong, a lot of its life energy was released under the effect of the pact earlier. Furthermore, it was absorbed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de. It was at its weakest state right now, so it was easily devoured by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that his Life Guardian de had slowly developed its own sentience as he nurtured it. Although it wasn¡¯t considered intelligent yet, it was still capable of strengthening itself as it devoured the Life Gold.

    Just as Huo Yuhao thought of something, his Life Guardian de flew back in front of him.

    The jade-green dagger was now around seven inches in length, and looked more like a flying dagger. It seemed slightly thicker than its original appearance. The shiny and translucent de of the dagger shone brightly with jade-green light, and Huo Yuhao could feel the strong life auraing from it.

    Huo Yuhao felt very fortunate that he couldn¡¯t swallow a carving de back then, and more fortunate that he had had Electrolux to guide him.

    In fact, he had also fused with a piece of Life Gold. However, the difference between him and the Golden Tortoise was that he had used his spiritual power toplete his fusion with his Life Gold, whereas the Golden Tortoise had simply swallowed it. After using his spiritual power to fuse with and nurture his Life Gold, he finally received positive feedback.

    After devouring that piece of Life Gold and the immense life energy it contained, Huo Yuhao could subtly sense thin arteries and veins developing inside his Life Guardian de. These thin arteries and veins were like human blood vessels, and there seemed to be something flowing in them. It could only be life energy flowing inside his Life Gold, but how did it take a fluid form? Right now, his Life Guardian de was like a living entity!

    Huo Yuhao used his right index and middle fingers to gently grab hold of his Life Guardian de. Suddenly, everyone saw ayer of jade-green light constantly flow over Huo Yuhao¡¯s body from the Life Guardian de. As the jade-green light shed, Huo Yuhao seemed to enter a sublime state.

    As he thought of something, his Life Guardian de turned into a ray of jade-green light and re-entered his Eye of Destiny. The immense life energy it brought with it caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s body to shudder several times.

    This life force, which seemed to have turned material, actually caused his spiritual and soul power to fuse even more. Huo Yuhao could subtly sense something as they blended together.

    He subconsciously lifted his head to look into the sky. Even though he could only see the roof of the Spirit Transmission Tower, his eyes had turned transparent at this instant. He seemed to be able to prate everything with his gaze.

    Everyone was drawn by Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze. No one said anything, or rather, no one dared to say anything. Right now, Huo Yuhao had entered an extremely strange state. It was like time and space had stopped.

    Tang Wutong was the most astonished. She was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. She was inplete disbelief.Impossible, how is this possible? Why do I see my father¡¯s eyes in his eyes? He only has seven rings! How is this possible?

    This state didn¡¯tst for very long before Huo Yuhao lowered his head, and his gaze calmed down. However, in just these few dozen seconds, he seemed to have changedpletely. His soul and spiritual power didn¡¯t increase, but he seemed to have be different.

    Among the four Spirits, the Snow Empress¡¯ expression seemed to have be more agile. She turned around and hugged the Ice Empress beside her. She sincerely said, ¡°Ice, thanks.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she turned into a streak of white light before disappearing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The Ice Empress was stunned. She subconsciously turned around and looked at the Skydream Iceworm. After hesitating for a moment, she drifted in front of him and gently hugged him.

    ¡°Skydream, thanks.¡± After she finished speaking, she also flew towards Huo Yuhao and disappeared into his body.

    The Skydream Iceworm was tearing up heavily. It was unknown whether he had sensed something, or whether he was touched because the Ice Empress had hugged him.

    The Skydream Iceworm flew in front of Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t immediately fuse into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Instead, he opened his arms wide and hugged Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao, thank you. You¡¯ve finally let us see hope.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned into a streak of flowing light before fusing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and disappearing.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass swayed gently, and didn¡¯t say anything. However, the icy-blue glow from its body had evidently be much stronger. It leaned closer to Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. After that, it fused into his body and disappeared.

    Everyone else was confused when they saw all this. It was only Huo Yuhao who understood why the four Spirits had acted in this way.

    Yes, they finally saw hope. They saw hope that Huo Yuhao could possibly transcend the mortal world!

    Even though he was only a Soul Sage now, they could sense what had happened earlier.

    Huo Yuhao felt it the clearest. After he re-fused his Life Guardian de and his spiritual world and soul power took one more step towardsplete fusion, he seemed to have heard a call. He didn¡¯t know where it came from. It was a call that was guiding him towards the skies.

    He felt that he saw another world. The call that he heard sounded very ethereal, but it gave him an indescribably strange feeling.

    At this moment, an indescribable, terrifying aura was suddenly released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Everyone around suddenly appeared very astonished. That terrifying aura, which was filled with dark power, surged like a sovereign that had descended. Everyone was suppressed by this aura and couldn¡¯t move.

    It was the same for Huo Yuhao. A streak of pitch-ck gas spread around his entire body. His skin started to grow ck scales, and a thick aura of darkness instantly engulfed his entire body.

    The entire outside seemed to have been covered. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes immediately turned dim. Everything had happened too suddenly, but it struck him very strongly.

    The connection that Huo Yuhao had sensed earlier was cut. He seemed to have returned to the state that he was in before he fused with his Life Guardian de. It was like whatever had happened before had ceased to exist.

    The dark power slowly disappeared. The scales also slowly retracted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The terrifying aura also disappeared, and everything returned to normal.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have guessed that this would happen. His expression was very calm. As he looked at everyone around him, who were all very astonished, he smiled slightly as he shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    At this point, his spiritual sea started to surge with waves.

    The Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress, Snow Empress and even the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass started to roar maniacally.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had the weakest cultivation among the four Spirits. In fact, it had only existed in this world for ten thousand years. It had only reached a hundred-thousand year cultivation because it was bred by the Icefire Yin Yang Well. However, even it could sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s change was something very rare.

    Earlier, Huo Yuhao must have had sensed the Godly Realm! However, this sensation was cut short by the sudden force that came afterward.

    If this sensation had remained, Huo Yuhao might have found it easier to be a God in the future. Such an opportunity was extremely valuable, even for an Ultimate Douluo. The reason why they were so moved was that they truly saw how they could transcend this world and avoid the wheel of reincarnation by following Huo Yuhao!

    However, their hope was extinguished, just like that.

    It was the Beast God, Di Tian!

 Chapter 435.1 - Target: Defeat the Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 435.1: Target: Defeat the Beast God!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was just standing there quietly, and there was a faint smile on his face from the beginning to the end. However, a dash of coldness shed deep inside his eyes.

    The Beast God, Di Tian!

    Impressive, Di Tian!

    Torrential tides were set off inside his spiritual sea. Huo Yuhao gradually drifted into view there, and he swiftly calmed down the raging tides that his four powerful Spirits had started. All four of them trained their eyes on him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be worried.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm voice travelled throughout his entire spiritual sea.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± The Skydream Iceworm was panting, and his breathing was thick and heavy.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly became very majestic and dignified. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since I have triggered this for the first time, there will be a second time, and there will be a third time. Do you guys trust me?¡±

    All four Spirits were starting at him. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was the first to transform into a beam of flowing light andnd on his body. It didn¡¯t have that many expectations and hopes when it chose Huo Yuhao, therefore, it also experienced the least disappointment. Faced with Huo Yuhao¡¯s calm and formless pressure, it instantly made its choice.

    The Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm were all looking at Huo Yuhao.

    The Skydream Iceworm muttered under his breath, ¡°But a chance like this is only likely toe by once every thousand years!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m a Soul Sage, and I seem to have found a very minute part of the solution. Furthermore, even Di Tian can only obstruct me, but he cannot obstruct the heavens. Not even the Beast God can stop the heavens! Therefore, he was one step behind me today.¡±

    All three soul beasts trembled at the same time when they heard his words, and their eyes flowed with incredulous looks.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s majestic eyes gradually became full of fervor. ¡°Furthermore, there¡¯s another solution.¡±

    All three soul beasts¡¯ eyes widened at the same time. What other solution was there?

    Huo Yuhao slowly clenched his fists. His spiritual sea riled up once more with him as the epicenter, but his spiritual sea was rippling with a rhythm this time. His immense spiritual power circted rapidly around his body as a whirlpool.

    ¡°That is to defeat Di Tian!¡±

    To defeat Di Tian! These four words were simple, but who dared to say something like this in the world today? Who even dared to think such a thing?

    Di Tian was the strongest individual in the world, after the Gods. He was the Douluo Continent¡¯s number one Savage Beast, and he was possibly the strongest individual across the entire Douluo Continent. He was a Golden-Eyed ck Dragon King with eight hundred thousand years of cultivation!

    He had almost obliterated Shrek City all by himself. With his strength, how many people dared to challenge him, and how many people dared to im they could defeat him?

    The Beast God, Di Tian, had reached the highest possible strength that one could attain in this world a long time ago!

    However, when Huo Yuhao uttered those four words seriously, all three powerful soul beasts felt as if those four words were real. Huo Yuhao¡¯s tone didn¡¯t contain any outrageousness or arrogance; there was only seriousness, perseverance, and persistence.

    Defeating Di Tian was Huo Yuhao¡¯s target for the future!

    If someone who didn¡¯t know him, or someone who didn¡¯t know about his experiences heard his words, they would burst outughing. A human who wanted to defeat the Beast God one on one¡­ that was simply a joke. Even the strongest human that people knew about in the world today, the Dragon God Douluo Long Xiaoyao, wouldn¡¯t say something like that. The stronger one became, the more one knew about how difficult it was to be stronger after a certain level.

    The Beast God was someone who had gone through eight hundred thousand years of cultivation to reach his strength today. Only an Ultimate Douluo and other individuals of that strength could guess exactly how deep Di Tian¡¯s foundations were.

    However, Huo Yuhao made this im, and he definitely wasn¡¯t joking about it. He was very serious.

    Ten years ago, he was a child inside the Duke¡¯s Mansion who didn¡¯t have proper meals to satiate his hunger. However, now, he wasn¡¯t even twenty years of age, and he had already be a Soul Sage!

    A Soul Sage with twin martial souls!

    This cultivation speed was one of the fastest across human history. He had invented Spirits, and founded the Spirit Pagoda. He had be something like a imperishable monolith in the history of soul masters, and his name was spread across the entire Continent with the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s establishment. Every soul master knew his name.

    He possessed powerful spiritual power, and even with his seven soul rings, his spiritual power was stronger than that of a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, he also possessed Ultimate Ice, a truly formidable existence.

    Huo Yuhao seemed exceptionally gifted in every aspect and characteristic. However, only the Ice Empress and the Skydream Iceworm, who had always been by his side, knew how much Huo Yuhao had given, and how much effort he had put in throughout the entire process. Only they knew how much determination and resolve he had to have to achieve everything that he did.

    Huo Yuhao had disyed resilience unmatched by normal people ever since he began fusing with the Skydream Iceworm. After joining Shrek Academy, he cultivated hard with inferior talent and innate abilitiespared to everyone else. Huo Yuhao had gone through so many ordeals and trials during every step of his life.

    Huo Yuhao had had to watch the woman that he loved the most enter a deep slumber with his own eyes, and he had to watch another girl that loved him dearly offer her life for him. Every leap forward that Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength took was apanied by uncountable pains and toils.

    But he had taken everything in his stride on his journey.

    Huo Yuhao had truly grown up today. He wasn¡¯t that small de of grass that swayed in the rain and the wind, he had grown into a robust andrge, sturdy tree. Even though he was only a Soul Sage, nobody dared to im that he wasn¡¯t someone who yed a decisive role, and one who held a bnce of power on the Continent.

    He was the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and a human that the Great Star Dou Forest had sworn to protect. Even the Beast God, Di Tian, had had no choice but to monitor him, though he didn¡¯t dare let himmunicate with powerful individuals from another world.

    When he uttered those words, that he wanted to defeat Di Tian, the first thought that appeared in the three soul beasts¡¯ minds was,He will definitely work as hard as he can to reach this goal.Everything seemed impossible, but was it really impossible? How many things had Huo Yuhao done that were impossible for normal human beings? Huo Yuhao himself was like a monster!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao.¡± The Skydream Iceworm lowered his head, and two rows of tears flowed down his cheeks.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t release his tightly clenched fists, but his voice became a lot iner than before. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry for, brother Skydream. I can understand what you¡¯re feeling inside. I hate what¡¯s happened to me, too, but hatred can¡¯t achieve anything. All I can do is be stronger continuously, and one day, when I have enough strength to defeat the Beast God, I will make the reverse scale that he has attached to my body disappear. That day will be the day that I will take you guys into eternity. This is the goal that I have chased and desired my entire life. Furthermore, I trust that this goal is definitely not too far away.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ icy voice rang out. ¡°We will always apany you as long as you still have that fighting spirit. Good luck!¡± After she finished her sentence, her wise and ice-cold eyes became crystal clear once again, and the little Snow Lady returned. She transformed into a beam of white light and disappeared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Ice Empress nodded and said, ¡°The Snow Empress is right. As long as you have the will to fight, we will always be your strongest and most determined supporting strengths. Good luck, Yuhao!¡±

    The Ice Empress pulled the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s hand as she spoke, and they flew towards Huo Yuhao together. They vanished into his body inside his spiritual sea.

    A in, faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He raised his fists and silently gazed into the distance.

    Di Tian!

    I have to defeat you one day!

    ¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao, how are you feeling? What happened?¡± Bei Bei asked in concern from beside Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had told him that he was alright before he descended into deep contemtion.

    He was alright¡­ but how could he be alright? That power of darkness didn¡¯t belong to Huo Yuhao! That power of darkness suddenly appeared in a ce like this, a ce filled with light energy. That was highly unnatural in the first ce!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled as if he had awoken. He nced at hispanions, who were watching him with concerned expressions, and smiled as he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m alright. That came from some power that the Beast God Di Tian has infused into my body. That power is meant to protect me. It might have sensed that my aura was starting to change, so it appeared to protect me. I¡¯m okay now.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Bei Bei asked a little doubtfully. ¡°Why do I feel that that aura didn¡¯te out to protect you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. ¡°Eldest senior brother¡­ you, third senior brother, and fourth senior sister have sessfully fused with your respective Spirits. Congrattions! This time, your strengths have been greatly boosted. We should be going, right?¡±

    Bei Bei could tell that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t willing to tell him. He gave Huo Yuhao a serious look before he tilted his head slightly and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then. Little junior brother, if you have any problems, you have to tell me in time. Even if the Tang Sect can¡¯t resolve these problems for you, we can still find Elder Xuan.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh inside. Not even Elder Xuan could resolve the problems in his body!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Everyone exited the Spirit Transmitting Hall. Bi Ji was still waiting outside, and she inquired about the process when she saw them walk out. She felt relieved when she heard that Xu Sanshi¡¯s spirit transmission was smooth and sessful, and she personally escorted them out. The Spirit Transmitting Hall was still being constructed, and it wasn¡¯t appropriate to receive any visitors, so Bi Ji didn¡¯t ask them to stay behind.

    Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao as they stood at the entrance to the Spirit Transmitting Hall. ¡°Yuhao, you guys have to be careful on your journey. It¡¯s the same thing every time: safety first, always!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded faintly, and replied, ¡°You too, eldest senior brother. Don¡¯t force yourself if anything out of the ordinary happens in the Setting Sun Forest. You can wait for me to return, and I¡¯ll go back there with you.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If the Tang Sect can¡¯t even deal with a patch of toxic miasma, then we would have grown so much and so long for nothing. Depending on the situation, I might even bring Teacher Xuan along on my journey. He has been working too hard, and he¡¯s tired himself out too much over the past few years. It¡¯s time for him to change his mood and his environment. Who knows? This journey might be beneficial for him in breaking through to be a Titled Douluo.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°It can¡¯t get any better if Teacher Xuan follows you.¡± Xuan Ziwen was a ss 8 soul engineer, and very close to bing a ss 9 soul engineer. His soul tools were very powerful, and he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of any dangers if Xuan Ziwen followed Bei Bei to the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Huo Yuhao just wasn¡¯t sure to what extent the nts and herbs over there could help those two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears grow.

 Chapter 435.2 - Target: Defeat the Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 435.2: Target: Defeat the Beast God!</h4>

    Bei Bei bid farewell to everyone, and then flew in the Tang Sect¡¯s direction by himself. He had to go back and prepare as quickly as possible before he would set off on his own journey.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to hispanions and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go, too.¡± His destination was, of course, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s front lines.

    Xu Sanshiughed out loud, and released his martial soul proudly. He stared at his red soul ring, and was as pleased as he could be. Having a hundred-thousand year soul ring was very impressive for soul masters! Furthermore, hundred-thousand year soul beasts didn¡¯t just provide soul rings ¨C they also came with soul bones!

    The Golden Tortoise shell that had fused into his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle before this was the soul bone that the Golden Tortoise had given him. Furthermore, this soul bone was the most valuable soul bone, a torso bone!

    For defense-type soul masters, torso bones were much more important than skull bones!

    Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t wait any longer, soaring into the sky after releasing his martial soul. He was a Soul Sage now, and could fly through the air without using flying-type soul tools. He was an exhibitionist and a show-off at heart, so how could he give up this opportunity to try flying out!?

    Xu Sanshi flew into the sky, and pulled Jiang Nannan along with him. Jiang Nannan was a lot more reserved than he was, but she didn¡¯t reject her first time flying as a Soul Sage.

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu activated their respective flying-type soul tools and followed closely behind.

    Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen followed suit. Huo Yuhao led everyone as they surged into the sky at the same time.

    Tang Wutong was rtively closer to where Huo Yuhao was. As everyone was rising into the air, her voice suddenly appeared in his ear.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao nced subconsciously at Tang Wutong.

    She hadpressed her voice into a single line. Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t seem to possess such a level of control before!

    Tang Wutong nced at him with rather sophisticated eyes, and took the initiative to fly up next to him as she whispered, ¡°You were lying just now.¡±

    ¡°What did I lie about?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, confused.

    Tang Wutong sounded a little proud as he said, ¡°You were just lying about the Beast God protecting you with his strength. If he were protecting you, how could he sever your interaction with the God Realm¡¯s aura? This opportunity onlyes once in a blue moon, and it can even trigger a Godly Appointment. If the Beast God¡¯s strength was protecting you, it should have been protecting you from being disturbed by others!¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her in surprise. He was very sure that Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er, except that she was a little different from how Wang Dong¡¯er was like before. He could see Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s shadow in her from time to time. However, even though Dong¡¯er had lost her memory, she seemed to have gained knowledge that she didn¡¯t have before! How did that happen?

    Tang Wutong giggled and pressed, ¡°I¡¯m right, am I not? Why are you lying!?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said warmly, ¡°Why should I tell you?¡±

    Tang Wutong said threateningly, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I will expose your lie to everyone else, so that everyone will be unhappy with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re just like a child!¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a child?¡± Tang Wutong raged.

    Huo Yuhaoughed again and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being a child? Innocent and devoid of evil¡­I like how you¡¯re behaving right now.¡±

    Tang Wutong was momentarily stunned when she saw the love and concern in his eyes that he didn¡¯t bother masking. She blushed, and quickly said indignantly, ¡°You lecher! Are you asking for a beating? Are you telling me or not?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. I just didn¡¯t want everyone to worry for me. The Beast God, Di Tian, did ce some restrictions on me. You¡¯re right, he wants to stop me from interacting with that illusory God Realm. What can I do? I can¡¯t defeat him, and I can¡¯t resist him. If he¡¯s stopping me from doing so, then so be it.¡±

    Tang Wutong red at him with herrge and pinkish-blue eyes. Her long eyshes were quivering gently as she asked, ¡°Do you know how important that state you that you were in is for your future?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and replied, ¡°Haven¡¯t you told me already? Of course I know.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Then why are you acting so indifferently? Since you¡¯ve missed this opportunity, you may note across another one in your entire lifetime.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°You have no faith in me? But I have a lot of faith in myself¡­¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little upset. ¡°You¡¯re so dense and unreasonable! I¡¯m toozy to care about you anymore.¡± She stretched out her wings behind her back as she spoke, and beat them forcefully as she flew towards the front.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood was a little suppressed before this, but he suddenly felt his spirits lift as he watched her charming back and her flowing pinkish-blue hair fluttering in the sky.

    For him, what Tang Wutong had just said to him was a form of concern!

    Dong¡¯er, even though you¡¯ve forgotten about me, are you still subconsciously concerned about me? Actually, everyone doesn¡¯t know this, but being able to be together with you is more important than bing a god to me. Brother Skydream and the others have their hopes ced on me, and I will definitely work hard to be a god, but you are always the most important in my heart! No matter what, even if you¡¯ve forgotten who I was before, I will definitely bring us together again as we are now!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Butterfly Wings stretched out behind his back, and he elerated as he chased after Tang Wutong. He flew behind her without going too fast or too slow and watched her enchanting back. For Huo Yuhao, this was the best form of rxation for his mind.

    Tang Wutong continued flying in the front. She didn¡¯t interact with anyone else because she wasn¡¯t familiar with the others. The more she flew, the more she felt as if something was wrong.

    She subconsciously turned around, and was met with Huo Yuhao¡¯s mesmerized eyes. She trembled, and almost lost her bnce in midair.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Tang Wutong was beside herself with fury.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you!¡±

    ¡°Why are you staring at me so lecherously?¡± Tang Wutong said ferociously. But she was just too beautiful, and even though she was deliberately trying to put on a ferocious and wicked outward appearance, she was still so cute in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    Huo Yuhao felt amused as he said, ¡°What? I can¡¯t look at you? I¡¯m just flying behind you, so isn¡¯t it normal that my eyes are on you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to look at me!¡± Tang Wutong raged.

    Huo Yuhao put on a speechless look and said, ¡°But if I don¡¯t look at you, what¡¯s going to happen if I crash into you? You can¡¯t ask me to close my eyes when I fly!¡±

    Tang Wutong grunted coldly and said, ¡°You¡¯ll fly in front me and stare at the air by yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t argue with her. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright,¡± He immediately flew in front of her in a sh.

    ¡ª

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were flying together not far from where Huo Yuhao was. Nan Qiuqiu was pouting, and a little displeased as she said, ¡°Look at them, they¡¯re flirting in public! Hmph! She lost her memory? I think they¡¯re just putting on a show!¡±

    Ye Guyi shook her head softly and said, ¡°Try to be unbiased, pretty girl. Are you interested in him too? You should be able to tell from his eyes that he can¡¯t possibly like anyone else other than her. Is one-sided love so interesting?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu giggled and said, ¡°You¡¯re trying hard to convince yourself by saying all that, right, sister Guyi? I wasn¡¯t paying attention to Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, but I saw a lot of yours. Ever since he came back, your eyes keep turning towards him carelessly. What are you trying to do?¡±

    Ye Guyi blushed and retorted, ¡°Why can¡¯t I look at him?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiuughed and shot back, ¡°You can look at him, but you can¡¯t have him. Aren¡¯t you worried?¡±

    Ye Guyi grunted and suddenly sped up as she surged towards the front and said nothing else. There was a faint trace of helplessness in her eyes.

    You may like someone, but that someone may not have the same feelings for you¡­

    However, even though she knew her feelings wouldn¡¯t lead to anything at all, she still couldn¡¯t help but yearn for him. Perhaps that was because he was simply too outstanding, and he had attracted her attention ever since the beginning. Ever since then, she couldn¡¯t notice other men at all.

    The truth was, Ye Guyi didn¡¯t know how many times she had chided herself gloomily to walk away from her one-sided love, but discovered that she couldn¡¯t do it at all. The more she wanted to walk away, the deeper his figure was imprinted in her mind.

    She gave up trying towards the end.It¡¯s like that already¡­ if I like him, then so be it. I¡¯m liking him while I¡¯m cultivating at the same time, anyway.She didn¡¯t have any family, and nobody would hurry or urge her to find a man. She spent most of her time and energy cultivating, and she would let nature take its course with her feelings and love. Smoothing her state of mind and keeping peace with herself was a lot morefortable. Thinking about Huo Yuhao from time to time was a kind of bliss for her, especially after he returned; her happiness was more conspicuous when she saw him.

    She didn¡¯t wish or hope for anything at all, and was just staring at him quietly. She realized that she was quite satisfied with how things were. She had mocked herself, she had felt speechless about herself, but so what? She would have walked away from her feelings a long time ago if she could. Wang Qiu¡¯er was so outstanding, but even she couldn¡¯t move his heart, and she even sacrificed herself to save him, in the end.I have never done anything for him, so I¡¯m just going to bury my feelings for him deep inside my heart. Maybe, after a long time, these feelings will dampen, and I will naturally forget about them. Or, another man that can move me will appear and take his ce in my heart.

    Ye Guyi didn¡¯t have much faith in thetter. Finding someone who was more outstanding than Huo Yuhao seemed a little challenging.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know about the changes in Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mentalities. He was flying in front, and still wore a faint smile on his face. His spiritual power was powerful, and he could clearly feel that there was a pair of pinkish-blue eyes trained on him from behind.

    Whether I am watching the person I love, or the person I love is watching me is a kind of happiness! It¡¯s so nice that Dong¡¯er is back¡­

    Tang Wutong followed behind him and stared at his back. She couldn¡¯t help but start to daydream.

    She didn¡¯t know why his flying-type soul tool seemed so familiar. He was just flying in front of her quietly, and he clearly wasn¡¯t doing anything, but he seemed to integrate into the air around him, as though he were part of that air and space in the first ce, while she and everyone else were outsiders.

 Chapter 435.3 - Target: Defeat the Beast God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 435.3: Target: Defeat the Beast God!</h4>

    Has this fellow really reached such a high level? No wonder, he can actually interact with the heavens and the earth. He¡¯s quite impressive ¨C that¡¯s a pity, because he¡¯s not a good guy!

    Tang Wutong had firmly branded Huo Yuhao as ¡°not a good person¡± ever since the first time he had hugged her. At least, her impression hadn¡¯t changed much for now, and several adjectives could be added, at most¡­ he was a scoundrel who had extraordinary abilities! Or, he was a scoundrel who possessed some strength¡­

    Both guys and girls couldn¡¯t help but feel interested and curious about the unknown or mysterious things. Huo Yuhao was like that to Tang Wutong, and she was starting to feel interested and curious about him.This person seems to have uncountable hidden secrets. Furthermore, those secrets seem to have something to do with me¡­

    Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t stupid. More urately, she was incredibly intelligent. She had already heard of Huo Yuhao when she first came to Shrek Academy, because everyone believed that she and Huo Yuhao should be together.

    She was furious at the beginning, and figured that everyone in Shrek Academy had gone insane. But with the passage of time and more and more people saying the same thing, she could faintly feel that.Perhaps someone that looks like me is rted to that fellow. But can someone really look like me?

    When Huo Yuhao first appeared in front of her and embraced her, Tang Wutong waspleted dazed, and she had immediatelyshed out at Huo Yuhao.

    She knew that she didn¡¯t have a good temper, and if someone else did what he had done, she would probably have fought with that person until one of them dropped dead. When she first encountered Huo Yuhao, even though she hadshed out at him because she was angry, she couldn¡¯t feel any lethal intent in her heart at all during her attack. She even felt a little soft during the fight.

    She didn¡¯t understand why that had happened, but her heart seemed to soften uncontrobly when she looked at that fellow¡¯s eyes. This was the same even when she hadbelled him a scoundrel, and it seemed like there really was some connection between the two of them.

    Tang Wutong found all that hard to believe, because this person had never appeared before in her memory! It was even more impossible that they were acquainted or had any interactions either.

    She shook her head forcefully, and her wavy pinkish-blue hair fluttered in the sky behind her.I¡¯m not going to think about him anymore. I¡¯ll just ignore him in the future.

    Tang Wutong was thinking like that to herself, but she still couldn¡¯t help but look at him. She stared at his tall and slim figure flying in front of her, and she felt the gentle soul power undtions that were spreading from his body. For some reason, she couldn¡¯t shift her eyes away¡­

    ¡ª¡ª-

    The weakest individuals in their group were Soul Emperors, so nobody had any problems flying continuously for a prolonged period of time.

    They flew for about two hours before Huo Yuhao suggested for everyone toe down and rest.

    They had entered the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders, and needed at least another two hours before they reached the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western regions. They would be very close to the front lines.

    Everyone had started out very early in the morning, so they were a little hungry when they descended to the ground. They retrieved their respective rations and drinking water and began eating their own meals, and everyone rested at the same time.

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were in a jovial mood. They had just be Soul Sages, and flying through the air without any soul tools felt fantastic!

    One¡¯s soul power rose exponentially after one became a Soul Sage, and the Soul Sage could unleash his or her martial soul true body. The Soul Sage would also experience a qualitative leap in fighting strength. They were gifted and elite students from Shrek Academy in the first ce, and they had just be some of the strongest individuals of the younger generation after they became Soul Sages. They had also closed the gap between Huo Yuhao and themselves.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go over to Tang Wutong¡¯s side. He believed that even if Tang Wutong had lost her memory, she would have Dong¡¯er¡¯s personality from before, and him taking the initiative to get closer to her wouldn¡¯t result in anything good. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t worried at all. For some reason, he was starting to enjoy the feeling of gradually awakening Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories. He had a made a decision in his heart long ago.If I can¡¯t make Dong¡¯er remember me, then I will let her fall in love with me all over again.No matter what happened, he wouldn¡¯t leave her side this time, and he would follow her wherever she went.

    Their priority now was to execute their mission. Huo Yuhao munched on his rations as he contemted in silence.Should I directly reveal my identity to the White Tiger Duke on this journey to the front lines? It¡¯s quite inevitable that I¡¯ll run into Dai Luoli when I¡¯m there. I wonder if that fellow has sold me out yet?

    Probably not. Luoli has some stubbornness in his personality, and he¡¯s not one topromise easily. Hopefully the White Tiger Duke won¡¯t see through everyone.

    An indescribable difort arose in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart when he considered looking for the White Tiger Duke directly, ording to Elder Xuan¡¯s instructions.

    Some time ago, he could have confessed his feelings and thoughts to Wang Dong¡¯er, at least. But now? Who could he talk to? He could only silently endure this heavy burden by himself.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and ced his rations down before he closed his eyes and started to rest, leaning against arge tree behind him. Even he didn¡¯t know what to do at this moment, even with his extraordinary intelligence.

    If Elder Xuan hadn¡¯t given him instructions, he would have returned to Dai Luoli¡¯s side and continued serving as Xu Yun¡¯s personal guard. He believed that with his abilities and strength, he would be continuously promoted if he participated in battle.

    However, just as Elder Xuan had said, his strength would undoubtedly be wasted if he did that. He could participate directly in the war and be a lot more effective than otherwise. His Spiritual Detection could reach an extraordinary distance, just how much help could he give the Star Luo Empire?

    Forget it¡­ I can¡¯t affect the entire empire just because of my desires and wishes!Even though Huo Yuhao had never thought that the Star Luo Empire had given anything to him at all, it was still his home country.I¡¯m just going to look for the White Tiger Duke directly. He doesn¡¯t know who I am, anyway, and I¡¯ll work hard to help the Star Luo Empire resolve their troubles before anything else. I can use other methods in the future to realize my wish.

    Huo Yuhao finally reconciled his thoughts, and he exhaled deeply as he opened his eyes.

    When he opened his eyes, he was met with tworge pinkish-blue eyes staring at him, which startled him.

    His mind and his energy were too concentrated before this, to the point where he didn¡¯t release his spiritual power. At this moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little dazed when he suddenly saw Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes.

    However, the shadow that had just arisen in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart vanished into thin air when he saw her. As long as she was around, any trouble or challenge didn¡¯t seem like much of a problem anymore.

    Huo Yuhao smiled at Tang Wutong and nodded gently.

    Tang Wutong immediately turned away, and she chomped down on her rations forcefully, as if she were eating his flesh.

    Huo Yuhao finished his food before he crossed his legs in a proper sitting position and started to meditate. Even though his cultivation speed was already incredible, his hard working attitude and the habits that he had formed over the years never changed.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Everyone rested for an hour before they returned to their journey, flying straight towards the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders.

    Huo Yuhao took everyone over the outskirts and the wilderness so that they could avoid unnecessary trouble. Of course, they could do this because they were inside the Star Luo Empire. If they had been inside the Sun Moon Empire, there would still have been hordes of surveince soul tools nketing these regions, and they would have been quickly discovered.

    They continued flying for a little more than two hours before they started to enter the region considered the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western borders. There, they were quickly met with blockades.

    Everyone had no choice but to descend to the ground after revealing their identities. The Star Luo Empire soul engineers that had stopped them told them that the entire western border was locked down, and nobody could fly in or out. Otherwise, they could very easily be attacked. Thepany had no choice but to descend to the ground and move forward on foot.

    They were a lot slower as they moved along the ground, and only arrived outside Imperial Radiant City, which Huo Yuhao had been to before, in the evening.

    ¡°What do we do, Yuhao? Do we enter the city?¡± Xu Sanshi asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said, ¡°Forget that. The front lines are very jittery and jumpy right now, and the Star Luo Empire is very sensitive. What if they treat us like spies again, and interrogate us? Why don¡¯t we pick up the pace and go directly to the front lines? I know where the White Tiger Duke¡¯s base is. We can rest again when we¡¯re there.¡±

    Imperial Radiant City was less than two hundred kilometers from the frontlines. Even though they couldn¡¯t fly, they only needed two hours at most to reach the frontlines with their abilities and strength.

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s rest for a little while and have something to eat before setting out.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    They didn¡¯t want to create any misunderstandings with Imperial Radiant City, so everyone just proceeded through the wilderness for a while before they found a small creek in the hills, and stopped to rest.

    Huo Yuhao found this creek with his spiritual power. The men didn¡¯t feel much about this creek, but when thedies saw this clear and transparent stream, they all eximed joyously at the same time and pounced at the stream. They all squatted beside the stream and washed their hands and faces, and were very happy.

    There were too many women and too few men in this operation. Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, and Ji Juechen were the only men in theirpany, while Ji Juechen was an enigma, and didn¡¯t like to talk.

    In contrast, there were five women: Tang Wutong, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, Jing Ziyan, and Jiang Nannan.

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s looks were slightly inferior to the others. The four other girls were exceptionally pretty and beautiful, though Jing Ziyan could also be considered delicate and pretty.

    The sun was setting in the west, and the sunset glow far on the western horizon tainted the edge of the sky crimson. These colors reflected off the stream and shone onto the girls¡¯ faces. This glow brought out everyone¡¯s charming looks even more. Their cheeks and faces were red and rosy, and looked incredibly enchanting.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s reaction was most evident. He swallowed audibly before nudging Huo Yuhao beside him and said, ¡°Little junior brother, can you tell that Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqi both seem to be interested in you?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. He had guessed that Ye Guyi seemed to have some feelings for him, but Nan Qiuqiu¡­

    Nan Qiuqiu had hated him in the past, and her attitude changed a little only after he saved her and her mother. He didn¡¯t sense anything about other things at all!

 Chapter 436.1 - Roasting Fish for Her

    <h4 ss>Chapter 436.1: Roasting Fish for Her</h4>

    Xu Sanshi chuckled said, ¡°I¡¯m experienced. The two of them have been watching you ever since you returned. Isn¡¯t this obvious enough? Furthermore, both of them are always mumbling to themselves when they see you. They wear resentful looks whenever they look at you! Nan Qiuqiu is more obvious than Ye Guyi. However, Ye Guyi spends more time looking at youpared to Nan Qiuqiu. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s so good about you. Why are all the beauties interested in you instead of me?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re ugly,¡± Ji Juechen said from one side.

    Xu Sanshi snorted furiously. ¡°Are you trying to embarrass me? Can¡¯t you just y along?¡±

    Ji Juechen flipped his hand and whipped out his Judgment Sword, ¡°Do you want to y?¡±

    Xu Sanshi snorted, ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you. Little junior, since there¡¯s a river here, there are naturally fish here as well. Why don¡¯t you make some fish soup for us? I know how good you are. You haven¡¯t demonstrated your cooking skills in a while. Since you have such a good opportunity now, go on and take it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What? Are you really going to spar with Brother Ji?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said delightfully, ¡°No, I¡¯m going to settle him. I already have seven rings now, I¡¯m not scared of him anymore. Old Ji, see how I¡¯m going to settle you today. Come on, let¡¯s go to one side and spar!¡± Usually, he avoided Ji Juechen. However, today was an exception. He had just be a Soul Sage, and just fused with a Golden Tortoise. How could he resist challenging Ji Juechen? After all, he had an extroverted personality to begin with.

    Ji Juechen didn¡¯t expect Xu Sanshi to readily agree with his request. His eyes shed before he turned around and walked towards an empty clearing that wasn¡¯t very far away. He used his actions to prove his words, that he wasn¡¯t just taunting Xu Sanshi.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little helpless as he shook his head. He turned around and walked towards the river. If Tang Wutong weren¡¯t around, Huo Yuhao might still not have taken the initiative to cook. It wasn¡¯t that he was unwilling to cook for everyone else, i was because he didn¡¯t want Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu to misunderstand his actions.

    However, things were different now. Tang Wutong was around now. He wanted to do what they used to do before to jolt her memories. As for Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, they shouldn¡¯t overthink it since Tang Wutong was around.

    As he walked to the side of the river, Huo Yuhao rolled up his trousers before he walked in.

    A fewdies who were washing themsleves immediately threw furious nces at him.

    Nan Qiuqiu was displeased as she said, ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve dirtied the river water.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he replied, ¡°Student, please watch carefully.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one swimming in the water. I¡¯m not evenining about the water that you¡¯ve used to clean yourself. If you¡¯re good enough, don¡¯t eat the food that I¡¯m going to cookter.¡±

    He had already started as he spoke. He didn¡¯t even need any tools. His hands were his tools. He gently pressed his hands against the river¡¯s surface before making a flinging motion outward.

    Suddenly, a small fish around twenty centimeters long shot out of the water. The ripples that it generated looked extremely captivating under the sunset glow.

    Small fish started to jump towards the shore one after another,nding on the shore. In a matter of seconds, more than ten small fish were already onshore.

    The fivedies were stunned when they saw what Huo Yuhao was doing.

    It wasn¡¯t difficult for them to catch fish from the river, given their cultivations. However, Huo Yuhao was extremely swift and urate, without making a single mistake. The gentle suction force that he produced also didn¡¯t cause too much river water to ssh around. His every movement would force a small fish to urately shoot out of the water towards the shore, increasing the difficulty level of catching them.

    From the time he entered the river until he went back onshore, including the time he used to converse with Nan Qiuqiu, he only took two minutes to finish catching all the fish he needed.

    When he returned to shore, he sat down by the riverside. As he waved his right hand, a small fishnded in it. Jade-green light shed before his Life Guardian de jumped out in between his fingers.

    The life aura of his Life Guardian de retracted under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. During this process, green lights shed a few times, and a small fish waspletely de-scaled. He then proceeded to wash the fish in the river before throwing it into a pot beside him

    Huo Yuhao finished de-scaling and cleaning all the fish in less than ten minutes. He was very sharp and neat during the entire process. Everything felt very smooth and natural.

    The fivedies, including Tang Wutong, were all drawn over. As for the fight that had just begun on the other side, they werepletely uninterested. Even Jiang Nannan, who was already familiar with Huo Yuhao¡¯s capabilities, was attracted.

    Compared to before, Huo Yuhao was much faster now. They were all either Soul Emperors or Soul Sages. Naturally, they were much more observant than ordinary people.

    They could clearly see that only the backs of the gills and tails of the fish were slit, apart from a single cut in the belly of every fish. These two slits were made to remove the tendons of the fish.

    Apart from these slits and cuts, the small fish weren¡¯t treated in any other way. However, they werepletely de-scaled.

    Everything happened too quickly and cleanly.

    Huo Yuhao started retrieving all types of bottles from his storage-type soul tool. He didn¡¯t even measure or take a closer look at the amount of seasonings he was using before he started treating the fish in the pot. Four or five of the fish were removed beforehand, and weren¡¯t seasoned.

    Some of the condiments were very heavy in taste, while some were very refreshing. When they were mixed together, they seemed to create a very special fragrance.

    Jing Ziyan had tasted Huo Yuhao¡¯s grilled fish once before, but she only a little. Nan Qiuqiu had also tasted one before, but Ye Guyi had naturally not tried his grilled fish.

    Tang Wutong squatted to one side and observed Huo Yuhao. She was filled with curiosity. She could naturally tell that he was whipping up a meal for everyone.But can he cook? Will it be delicious? He looks like a chef!

    Don¡¯t tell me that this fellow is also very impressive at cooking? Is he really talented in every aspect?

    Very quickly, Huo Yuhao finished seasoning all the fish. After that, he started to mix the spices with the fishes in the pot. In addition, he even rubbed them in the fish¡¯s bellies. Not only were the fish seasoned on the outside, but they were also seasoned inside.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he asked, ¡°Can someone get me some tree branches? I need some that are about as thick as a pinky and around forty centimeters long. Their thickness must be uniform. I will also need some firewood.¡±

    ¡°If you move fast, we can have our meal earlier.¡±

    Tang Wutong was stunned for a moment. Before she could even react, Ye Guyi had already opened her mouth, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Even as she said it, she had already stood up and quickly walked towards trees.

    Nan Qiuqiu nced at Tang Wutong. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t moving, she was slightly stunned.Has she really lost her memory? Why hasn¡¯t she reacted to Sister Guyi¡¯s action?

    In fact, Tang Wutong reacted internally. When Ye Guyi said that she was going to help Huo Yuhao, she suddenly felt a little disappointed. However, she was adamant about not helping him!

    Ye Guyi wasn¡¯t slow either. Very soon, she managed to grab a bunch of tree branches and firewood.

    Huo Yuhao had already filled another pot with clear water, and ced the fish that he didn¡¯t season into this pot.

    Jiang Nannanughed as she said, ¡°Yuhao, it seems like you only know how to cook fish. You always use this same recipe when you want to give us a treat! Don¡¯t you have anything new?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°I can make some vegetables. However, where can we find greens in this remote area? I¡¯ll make some dry rations for everyer. We can also eat something beforehand. Fourth senior, my family was very poor when we were young. We were only able to catch one or two fish asionally and improve the quality of our meals. I¡¯m not too good at whipping up other dishes. It was already very rare for me to eat fish when I was young.¡±

    He spoke very naturally. No one reacted except Tang Wutong, who felt slightly sour in her heart. She secretly thought to herself,His life was actually so tough when he was young? Why am I feeling sad for him?

    After gathering firewood, starting a fire was naturally very easy. Ye Guyi started the fire personally. She used her Holy Fire to light up the firewood, a sight that would no doubt make any evil soul masters who saw it throw up blood!

    On the other side, a bonfire had also been prepared. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to grill the fish. Rather, he waited quietly. The fish had to be marinated longer so that they would taste better. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry.

    He turned around and looked at the two who were sparring. As expected, Ji Juechen and Xu Sanshi were fighting very intensely.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was cooking his fish, Ji Juechen and Xu Sanshi shed again.

    No matter how close Ji Juechen was to anyone, personal rtionships never influenced him in a fight.

    Once he entered his fighting mode, Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t Ji Juechen anymore. He was the Sword Fanatic.

    He focused his gaze, and his seven soul rings rose from beneath his feet. However, all his soul skills were peripheral to him. This was because he only had swords in his heart.

    He pointed his Judgment Sword toward the ground. He wasn¡¯t holding his sword with both hands, but only with one hand. He wasn¡¯t looking at Xu Sanshi either. Instead, he was calmly looking at his own sword.

    Xu Sanshi stood firmly thirty meters from Ji Juechen, at the position he had chosen. He had never once doubted Ji Juechen¡¯s fighting strength. Ji Juechen was extremely lethal!

    During the rescue mission in Sunrise City, it was Ji Juechen who had killed the most people.

    Xu Sanshi unleashed his Golden Xuanwu Shield, and seven soul rings rose immediately. Xu Sanshi focused his gaze, and ayer of dark gold light surrounded his body. Behind him, a huge Golden Tortoise projection surfaced in the air. Naturally, it appeared because Xu Sanshi called it.

    ¡°Old Ji, let¡¯s begin!¡± Xu Sanshi shouted, lifting his Golden Xuanwu Shield.

 Chapter 436.2 - Roasting Fish for Her

    <h4 ss>Chapter 436.2: Roasting Fish for Her</h4>

    Ji Juechen finally moved. Xu Sanshi¡¯s words were like a horn that signaled the beginning of the fight. Ji Juechen instantly increased his speed, and heunched a swift attack at Xu Sanshi. Just as he burst out, he swept his Judgment Sword, its point close to the ground, towards Xu Sanshi.

    A streak of sharp ck sword aura shot towards Xu Sanshi. Wherever this sword aura passed, there were a series of sharp wails in the air.

    These wails were deafening, and the sword aura was extremely devastating.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s gaze instantly turned stern.This Sword Fanatic seems to have gotten even more impressive.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters weren¡¯t the only ones who had improved. Ji Juechen had improved, too. Furthermore, the rate of his improvement wasn¡¯t any slower than the others. It was easy to forget that he was more focused than anyone else in terms of his cultivation.

    Furthermore, his cultivating speed had reached a whole new tier after he established his rtionship with Jing Ziyan, due to his emotional release. From his original Solitary Domain, it had slowly evolved into his Love Domain.

    Yes, he was no longer heartless, and had feelings now. He was now the Sword Fanatic with the Sword of Love.

    Xu Sanshi used his Golden Xuanwu Shield to block Ji Juechen¡¯s attack. Given his experience, he was able to urately resist the sword aura that came towards him.

    However, Xu Sanshi felt a little stunned when he resisted the sword aura. There was immense soul power contained within that sword aura, and there was also extremely strong spiritual power too.

    Ji Juechen could do this in the past, and was able to fuse his spiritual and soul power very well. However, his sword intent was much more domineering in the past, as if it could destroy everything instantly. The after-effect, however, was much weaker.

    However, the sword aura that he had just unleashed was starkly different. Even after his soul power was crushed, his spiritual intent continued to prate the Xuanwu Shield streak by streak. It seemed almost irresistible and unstoppable.

    This was a fundamental change. After all, Xu Sanshi was one of the top-ranked experts among the younger generation¡¯s cultivators, and also a top student from Shrek Academy. Naturally, he discovered this change immediately.

    ¡°Old Ji, impressive!¡±

    However, Xu Sanshi was not an easy target, even though Ji Juechen¡¯s attack was very strong. After fusing with the Golden Tortoise, the defensive strength of his Golden Xuanwu Shield had increased several times over.

    When those streaks of spiritual power started to prate the shield, gentle, golden ripples started to spread on the surface of it. Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t even need to summon anything before the spiritual power was naturally dispelled.

    Ji Juechen had already leapt up by now. He didn¡¯t attack directly with his Judgment Sword like before. Rather, countless sword projections were formed, engulfing Xu Sanshi.

    Within those sword projections, there was only his sharp sword aura, but no elemental undtions could be felt. The dark and light Elements carried by the Judgment Sword had been hidden.

    This was a magical feeling. Even as Xu Sanshi sensed this, he didn¡¯t retreat. Instead, he took a step forward, and his Golden Xuanwu Shield shook slightly. He unleashed his first soul skill, Xuanwu Shield Formation.

    A huge patch of gold instantly turned into a huge golden wall. It was still circr in shape, but it now covered more than fifteen square meters. All of Ji Juechen¡¯s sword lightsnded on this huge wall and were devouredpletely, without even making a ripple.

    Ji Juechen also revealed a look of astonishment. Xu Sanshi had indeed improved, and it wasn¡¯t just a slight improvement. His defensive strength was extremely great now, even better than many Soul Douluo that he had fought before.

    However, Ji Juechen was more motivated when his opponent was stronger. He gently tapped his toes against the shield wall and seemed to change into a whirlwind. Countless sword projections gathered and viciously struck Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield Formation.

    The strange thing was that no sound was made when his attacknded on the Xuanwu Shield Formation. It was like a ray of light that disappeared after it struck the shield formation.

    Ji Juechen exploited the momentum to rebound away.

    At this point, cuts started to appear on Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield formation. Ayer of pitch-ck started to spread outwards from the point of collision earlier. It didn¡¯t spread very fast, but a dark aura soon engulfed the Golden Xuanwu Shield.

    The Judgment Sword instantly turned bright gold, and the intense light Element was set aze. At this instant, Ji Juechen seemed to possess Ye Guyi¡¯s strength. His entire body was filled with a holy aura.

    He finally grasped his sword with both hands, and lifted his Judgment Sword up high.

    Ji Juechen instantly disappeared, and there was only a holy sword that existed in this heaven and earth. The intense holy aura soared furiously, while his sharp sword intent waspletely contained within it. The might of his attack even caused the sunset glow in the distance to lose its color.

    Xu Sanshi immediately retracted his Xuanwu Shield Formation, and was a little astonished as he watched Ji Juechen.

    It was his first time facing an elemental attack from the Judgment Sword. Right now, a deep gust of darkness had surged furiously into his body. Even with the defense of his shield, he wasn¡¯t able to expel the aura of darkness from his body. That aura even felt very thick, and surged into his body in streaks.

    Impressive!

    No wonder that sword is a ss 8 closebat soul tool!

    Right now, Xu Sanshi finally understood why no one could fight Ji Juechen during their rescue mission in Sunrise City, and also why Ji Juechen had never summoned the power of his Judgment Sword when they sparred previously.

    If this were the past, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist this interwoven power of darkness and light. The strength of the Judgment Sword was simply too frightening. Even with Ji Juechen¡¯s current cultivation, he still wasn¡¯t able topletely unleash the strength of the sword.

    There were many ss 9 soul tools in the world of soul engineers. However, there were only three closebat ss 9 soul tools.

    What Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t know was that Ji Juechen¡¯s Judgment Sword was once recognized as the top closebat soul tool among all closebat soul tools below ss 9. Otherwise, Jing Hongchen wouldn¡¯t have risked all the dangers ande to Shrek Academy to get it back!

    Even the soul engineer who carved this sword wasn¡¯t able topletely unleash its strength. Swords were the king of weapons. In the Douluo Continent, there might be someone who loved swords more than Ji Juechen, but it would be very hard to find them.

    After he received this Judgment Sword, Ji Juechen had almost never let it out of his sight. His understanding of it hadpletely transcended the understanding of even its creator.

    Right now, Xu Sanshi was at an extremely disadvantageous situation. However, he didn¡¯t panic at all.

    He was already a Soul Sage. How could he possibly be the same as he was in the past?

    He unleashed his Strength of the Xuanwu, and the light from his body instantly turned a dark gold. This dark golden glow didn¡¯t just make him taller and bigger; but it also caused dark gold rings to surge outward, expelling a huge portion of the dark Element from him.

    The Golden Tortoise that was drifting behind him also moved at this moment. A golden glow was released from the Golden Tortoise¡¯s body andnded on Xu Sanshi. It actually caused him and the Golden Xuanwu Shield to appear slightly illusory. They even looked like they were translucent.

    As golden lights shed, the Judgment Sword shed down.

    Ji Juechen was around thirty meters away from Xu Sanshi when he shed out. However, the massive golden sword light that was formed swept ten meters into the sky before descending terrifyingly like a rainbow. Everything within the area illuminated by the holy aura became extremely clear.

    There was a muffled bang. Golden light shot everywhere, and the aura of light surged into Xu Sanshi¡¯s body. In addition, the tip of the Judgment Sword was much more condensed with powerpared to before, and the aura of darkness hadn¡¯t beenpletely expelled from Xu Sanshi¡¯s body yet.

    Suddenly, Xu Sanshi felt that his body was about to be torn apart by the intersection of light and darkness.

    Fortunately, this feeling onlysted for an instant. However, there was an additional, one-centimeter mark on the surface of his Xuanwu Shield. The turtle-snake on his shield also seemed to be groaning in pain.

    Ji Juechen had apletely different feeling. When his Judgment Sword struck the Golden Xuanwu Shield, he was stunned to discover that the sharpness and strength of his sword had been instantly dispelled by nearly thirty percent by the translucent Golden Xuanwu Shield. After that, his de struck the Xuanwu Shield.

    Xu Sanshi groaned slightly and staggered three steps back before he managed to stabilize himself. His arms felt sore. Immense spiritual power had turned into a sharp de that struck him after prating his Golden Xuanwu Shield.

    Fortunately, this de had already been weakened by his shield. Even so, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Strength of the Xuanwu was still shing intermittently. He had also tried to use his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to try escaping.

    However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to avoid the spiritual de. His groan was mostly because of the impact of the spiritual power.

    It was very difficult for him to detach himself from this feeling. Xu Sanshi¡¯s spiritual power wasn¡¯t that weak, but he was still in a state of confusion.

    A streak of gentle white light shot out from the Golden Tortoise behind him andnded on his head. Xu Sanshi only felt the burden on his head lessening, and the intense, prickling pain from earlier eased slightly.

    His Judgment Sword is too strong,Xu Sanshi gulped. If not for the fact that his own abilities had increased, his shield would have been cut apart earlier.

    In terms of offensive strength, Ji Juechen was undoubtedly the best among anyone of the same age that he knew. A Soul Douluo who wasn¡¯t a pure defensive-type soul master wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist Ji Juechen¡¯s attack, it was too frightening.Ji Juechen specializes in the cultivation of swords. His offensive strength is crazy! Surely it should be close to the standard of a Titled Douluo?

    While Xu Sanshi was thinking all this, Ji Juechen¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t cease.

 Chapter 436.3 - Roasting Fish for Her

    <h4 ss>Chapter 436.3: Roasting Fish for Her</h4>

    Xu Sanshi was forced back, while Ji Juechen also jerked slightly in the air. After unleashing such a strong attack, he needed to catch his breath. However, his Judgment Sword soon turned into countless streaks of ck light, sweeping towards Xu Sanshi.

    The Element was changed to darkness. The pitch-ck sword light started to engulf Xu Sanshi in streaks.

    Xu Sanshi was depressed. If he used his shield wall, these dark Elements would quickly attach themselves to it. The power of darkness earlier wasn¡¯t a lot, but when he was Judged by the light Element earlier, the impact was incredibly strong. If he absorbed more of these dark Elements, he would be subjected to greater stress during Judgment. Light and darkness were ipatible, but they were fused under the effect of the Judgment Sword. The sword tapped into their ipatibility to increase its offensive strength to the extreme, showing how frightening the ss 8 Judgment Sword was.

    His figure shed, and Xu Sanshi switched positions with Ji Juechen. As their positions switched, Ji Juechen was now on the ground, while Xu Sanshi was in the air.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s sword lights were naturally pointed diagonally down, so they could hit Xu Sanshi again.

    However, he was very familiar with Xu Sanshi¡¯s abilities. Xu Sanshi used his Mysterious Underworld Discement, and Ji Juechen reacted immediately. He didn¡¯t even look up before he swept a streak of ck light at his former location with his sword.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield was in front of him, and he staggered backward in the air as he was hit by Ji Juechen¡¯s attack. Just as he was feeling depressed, he formted a n.

    Intense dark gold light was released from his body and quickly into his surroundings. His sixth soul ring also shone brightly. Wasn¡¯t that his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain?

    The main difference from before was that his ck Xuanwu¡¯s Domain had turned dark gold now. This Xuanwu¡¯s Domain was like a vast ocean!

    Ji Juechen felt that his entire body was being covered in a viscous fluid as the domain covered him. His movements were extremely restricted.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s seventh soul ring also lit up following this. His body started to shine bright gold, and his Golden Tortoise turned into a ray of golden light that sticking close to his back. On the other hand, his Golden Xuanwu Shield stuck close to the front of his body. With this, Xu Sanshi formed a gigantic turtle shell.

    He shrank his body into the shell and disappeared.

    This was his seventh soul skill, his Xuanwu True Body!

    There was a small, thin snakeying on the surface of his Xuanwu True Body. What was truly astonishing was that this snake had turned blood-red at this moment.

    In his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain, Xu Sanshi¡¯s speed was much faster than under normal conditions. In this domain, Ji Juechen was greatly restricted, and his movements extremely slow.

    Bright golden light shed, and the Golden Xuanwu drifted within the domain. Everything around it seemed to have transformed.

    Streaks of immense soul power were unleashed towards Ji Juechen. These streaks of soul power were like waves and undercurrents as they furiously struck Ji Juechen¡¯s body.

    Ji Juechen wanted to react, but the waves and undercurrents were interfering. More frighteningly, Ji Juechen could clearly sense undercurrents sweeping into his blood. These undercurrents interfered with the cirction of his soul power, causing his entire body to be greatly restrained. He found it difficult to move at all!

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Golden Xuanwu shone brightly, and transformed into a ball of golden light that raced towards Ji Juechen. If Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t exploit this perfect opportunity, he wasn¡¯t fit to be called the Eternal Defense!

    Ji Juechen turned very serious. He gripped his Judgment Sword tightly with both hands before sweeping it up, unleashing all his soul power.

    However, his abilities were weakened by half in the Xuanwu Domain. When his Judgment Sword collided with the Xuanwu that approached him, he was flung away by the collision.

    Streaks of flowing dark gold light surged out from the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain and engulfed Ji Juechen. The massive Golden Xuanwu suddenly opened its mouth, and an intense dark gold wave was unleashed towards Ji Juechen.

    Even Ji Juechen didn¡¯t expect Xu Sanshi to be so strong after unleashing his Martial Soul True Body!

    Ji Juechen¡¯s seventh soul ring shone at this moment. One face of his sword shone with golden light, while the other face shone with ck light. The intense lights shed in time with the dark golden light from the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain. Ji Juechen¡¯s body started to turn illusory, and his sword became the center of this illusion.

    A two-colored sword appeared and broke free from the restraint of the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain. It turned into a frightening arc of light and collided with the Golden Xuanwu.

    A crisp ding vibrated out, and lights shot everywhere. This time, Ji Juechen didn¡¯t gain an advantage over Xu Sanshi. When his streak of sword light struck the Golden Xuanwu, the streaks of flowing, dark gold light in the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain kept surging towards the de of his sword, weakening the huge sword he had formed. No matter how hard he tried to advance, he was significantly drained in the process.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s terrifying sword light suddenly stopped and deflected up. At this moment, dark gold ripples were released from the Golden Xuanwu¡¯s body. A strong attractive force pulled at the huge sword that was flying away.

    Ji Juechen was beingpletely restricted right now. The de of his sword suddenly turned ck. The ck light adopted a wavy structure, and started to spread out.

    Against Xu Sanshi, Ji Juechen finally unleashed the full strength of his Judgment Sword.

    Suddenly, the water in the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain seemed to have been corroded by the aura of darkness, and turned ck at an rming rate. Once this power of darkness was judged by the power of lightter, the destructive power of Ji Juechen¡¯s attack was bound to be very great.

    However, Ji Juechen was quickly surprised. The suction force from the Golden Xuanwu increased significantly. The aura of darkness released by his Judgment Sword was absorbed by it, and left none behind in the Xuanwu Domain. Just like before, dark gold undercurrents continuously pestered the de of Ji Juechen¡¯s sword. Because of this interference, his soul power was draining quickly.

    On the other side, the Golden Xuanwu had turnedpletely ck instantly, and released a very strong aura of darkness.

    Both sides seemed to be in a stalemate. Both Xu Sanshi and Ji Juechen stopped taking the initiative to attack. The Judgment Sword was still releasing the power of darkness, while the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain kept on weakening Ji Juechen.

    In such a situation, both of them were clearly aware that the next attack could decide victory for this fight.

    ¡ª¡ª

    While they were fighting very intensely over there, Huo Yuhao was about to finish the preparations for his grilled fish and fish soup. Everyone turned their attention to watch this exciting fight.

    ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Tang Wutong asked Huo Yuhao. She wasn¡¯t familiar enough with Xu Sanshi and Ji Juechen. She could only make a prediction based on what she was observing.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes at him and said, ¡°You¡¯re not gentlemanly at all. I was the one who asked first.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Alright then. I think third senior will win.¡±

    Tang Wutong snorted and replied, ¡°Then I think Ji Juechen will win.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he inquired, ¡°What¡¯s the reason? I¡¯m the one asking first.¡±

    Tang Wutong lifted her head and said, ¡°Because you think that fellow will win. That¡¯s why I choose the other person.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and asked, ¡°Do you want to make a bet?¡±

    ¡°What bet?¡± Tang Wutong asked.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before replying, ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of one yet. Alright, let our stake be a favor. Whoever wins can ask the other party to do them a favor. However, this favor can¡¯t be too difficult. It can¡¯t flout moral and ethical codes, either. What do you think? For example, you can tell me to clean up your room, and I can make you massage my back.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, you are obviously at an advantage here! Who¡¯s going to massage your back? We can¡¯t have body contact!¡± Tang Wutong immediately retorted.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t have any body contact. It¡¯s just for fun. Even if you lose, I won¡¯t ask anything from you. Even if I ask you for something, you can refuse to acknowledge it. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Tang Wutong was furious, ¡°Am I a sore loser to you? Let¡¯s bet. I don¡¯t believe that the fellow who¡¯s not offensively adept will be able to win. The intersection of light and darkness is so powerful. He has absorbed too much of that power of darkness. Once he¡¯s struck, he¡¯ll definitely lose. He shouldn¡¯t be able to use the skill that he uses to switch positions anymore. There¡¯s too much darkness corroding his body. He¡¯ll definitely lose.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled slightly and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll wait and see. Let¡¯s hook our pinkies.¡± As he spoke, he reached out his right pinky in front of Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was stunned. After this, she reached out her right pinky to hook with Huo Yuhao¡¯s right pinky.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s pinky was a little cold. It might be because she had cleaned herself in the river earlier. Her pinky was thin and delicate. On contact, it felt very cool, and indescribablyfortable.

    Huo Yuhao was in a slight daze. Tang Wutong immediately pulled her hand back. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it this way. Whoever reneges on this bet is a dog!¡±

    At this point, the fight on the other side had already experienced changes.

    Ji Juechen finally couldn¡¯t wait anymore. He had been umting his strength but he was also being drained by the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain at the same time. He needed to find a bnce. This bnce was almost achieved when he managed to summon the power of light, just as Xu Sanshi absorbed the power of darkness. It was only at this point that his final attack was at its strongest.

    Bright golden light shot into the skies. The huge sword that was formed by Ji Juechen instantly turned golden. The intense aura of light was furiously unleashed. It was like a small golden sun had appeared above the ground.

    Even Ye Guyi¡¯s holy soul power was being drawn in and unleashed as dim golden light, showing how strong the power of light carried by Ji Juechen¡¯s sword was.

    Once the Judgment Sword changed its state, it immediately freed itself from the restraint of the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain. The Xuanwu¡¯s Domain around him that had restrained him earlier was now slightly infected with the aura of darkness. At this moment, it became the target of his Judgment Sword!

 Chapter 437.1 - Golden Tortoise Molting

    <h4 ss>Chapter 437.1: Golden Tortoise Molting</h4>

    Exploiting this opportunity, the Judgment Sword fell from the sky and shed straight towards Xu Sanshi. It was extremely terrifying as it unleashed its full strength.

    The Golden Xuanwu had been dyed ck by the power of darkness. When the Judgment Sword turned into a beam of golden light that descended from the sky, the power of darkness started to rumble. The sh between darkness and light would never be peaceful. The terrifying strength that was unleashed was sufficient to make anyone afraid.

    Even Jiang Nannan started to tense up, and subconsciously took a few steps forward.

    Given their current levels, they couldn¡¯t withhold too much of their power, even if they did withhold some. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fully unleash their potential. Jiang Nannan wasn¡¯t confident that Xu Sanshi could block the Judgment Sword. Without being able to use his Mysterious Underworld Discement, Xu Sanshi could only use his defensive strength to resist the attack! Could he possibly resist it?

    Gold and ck were about to sh!

    However, it was at this moment that something weird appeared. When the huge golden sword shed with the ck, the ck seemed to turn illusory for a moment. Following this, the aura of light on the huge golden sword met the power of darkness and exploded!

    The tremendous boom reverberated, the Judgment Sword unleashing great power at the core of the Xuanwu Domain. Even the sword was affected to some extent, and shook tremendously at the center of the explosion. However, with the protection of the power of light, it wasn¡¯t harmed too much. Even so, Ji Juechen¡¯s soul power was almost entirely drained after this attack.

    Just as everyone was worried about Xu Sanshi, they were shocked to see a trace of gold silently appearing at an edge of the Xuanwu Domain. When it first appeared, it wasn¡¯t very evident. However, the golden light soon shone brightly.

    Wasn¡¯t this the Golden Xuanwu?

    The Xuanwu Domain disappeared in the next instant, but the Golden Xuanwu surfaced at its edge immediately. After that, blinding golden light was suddenly released from the Golden Xuanwu. The red snake that had always been attached to the Golden Xuanwu¡¯s body turned into a beam of red light and fused with the Golden Xuanwu. A fierce blood-red aura immediately spread out.

    It was Xu Sanshi¡¯s Martial Soul True Body, the Turtle God¡¯s Strike!

    The Golden Xuanwu was like a huge glowing ball charging straight towards the huge sword that had been greatly drained of soul power by its previous attack.

    All Ji Juechen could do was turn his sword around and point the tip urately towards the Golden Xuanwu. At the same time, he tried his best to summon his soul power.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Jing Ziyan eximed. Everyone could tell that Ji Juechen would be unable to block Xu Sanshi¡¯s attack, no matter what.

    Gold light shed past, and the sword waspletely fine. The Turtle God¡¯s Strike suddenly fell when it was around three meters away from the sword, where it struck the ground.

    The ground shook, and even the small stream beside Huo Yuhao and the others started to ripple a little. Suddenly, jets of water shot out from the stream, and sparks started to fly from the bonfire boiling the water. The pot of fish soup flew up into the air, along with the fish inside.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s reactions were very quick. He waved his right hand and grabbed the boiling metal pot. At the same time, his figure shed, and he managed to prevent any soup or fish from dropping to the ground. No soup was spilled at all. The other metal pot that was filled with marinated fish also flew up, but there wasn¡¯t any water inside. He only needed to catch the fish inside.

    Nan Qiuqiu seemed to be amused as she looked at Jing Ziyan beside her. She said, ¡°Indeed, one feels pain over her own man!¡±

    Jing Ziyan¡¯s face turned red, and sheughed. ¡°Sister Qiuqiu, you should find someone who will make you feel pain, too!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and ran to one side to help Huo Yuhao control the bonfire.

    The sword turned back into Ji Juechen when itnded on the ground. He looked a little pale, but stood firmly. He turned around to look at the Golden Xuanwu behind him.

    Ever since Ji Juechen hade to the Tang Sect, he had never stopped finding Xu Sanshi to spar with. Xu Sanshi was a defense-type soul master, which meant that he was able tost longer in a fight. However, there was still a gap between Xu Sanshi and Ji Juechen¡¯s cultivations. Ji Juechen¡¯s sword was extremely sharp, and Xu Sanshi would always be on the losing end. He had lost so many times such that he would hide whenever he saw Ji Juechen.

    Things had finally gone his way today. Xu Sanshi managed to defeat Ji Juechen through the Golden Tortoise that he had fused with.

    ¡°How did you manage to get away?¡± Ji Juechen furrowed his brow slightly. He was still thinking about theirst collision.

    If it were any other soul master, Ji Juechen would immediately be frowned upon if he dared to ask about the other soul master¡¯s ultimate move. However, everyone from the Tang Sect was like brothers. While Xu Sanshi always hid from Ji Juechen, he still admired his focus greatly.

    ¡°Hehe, the Golden Tortoise is a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and it gave me a trunk bone. Earlier, I used one of the two soul skills of its trunk bone, Golden Tortoise Molting. By using that soul skill, I¡¯m able to ovee all problems and teleport myself to any specific spot in my Xuanwu Domain. It¡¯s much more effective than Instant Teleportation. However, it costs one-third of my soul power every time I use it. I am drained a lot by using it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ji Juechen acknowledged his words and turned around before walking towards the side of the river.

    Xu Sanshi was a little depressed as he said, ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you just praise me for being strong?¡±

    Ji Juechen turned his head to look at him and said, ¡°We¡¯ll decide whether you¡¯re strong after we fight again.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ am I digging my own grave?¡± Xu Sanshi looked at Ji Juechen and waspletely speechless.

    The two of them returned to the side of the river, and Jiang Nannan was the first to run over. She pulled Xu Sanshi¡¯s ears, ¡°Why are you showing off? You still smashed the ground. Do you have too much energy and nowhere to use it? See how bad you shook this ce! Don¡¯t eatter. Starve! I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t fully use all your energy!¡±

    Xu Sanshi coughed, ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°I agree with fourth senior¡¯s opinion. Third senior, you should be starved.¡± The bonfire had already been messed up and had to be reassembled. The pot of fish soup that was supposed to be done soon had to be re-boiled as well.

    Xu Sanshi wore a toady smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t! I have waited so long for my little junior to cook. How can I not taste his cooking? Come,e, everyone move away. I¡¯ll perform some chores.¡± As he spoke, he quickly leaped over and helped Huo Yuhao with the bonfire.

    Tang Wutong stood by the side of the river and watched as everyone joked around. She was a little dazed when she saw how happy everyone was. Although she felt that she didn¡¯t blend in with them, she discovered that she rather liked such an atmosphere.

    ¡ª

    The bonfire was soon reassembled, and the fish soup was cooking once again. Due to Xu Sanshi¡¯s earlier mistake, he offered to watch the fish soup. On the other side, the grilled fish were almostpletely marinated. Huo Yuhao assembled the branches that Ye Guyi had washed earlier and stacked them above the bonfire on the other side before starting to grill the fish. At the same time, he took some dry rations over and started to heat them up.

    All of them were very young, and thus it was natural thatdies were given the first priority. As the fragrance of the grilled fish diffused in the air, the first to start digging in became a huge topic of debate.

    Everyone formed a circle as they sat beside the fires.

    Jiang Nannanughed, ¡°The grilled fish smell really good. Who¡¯s going to start first?¡±

    As they were limited by the conditions, they could only grill one fish at a time. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to grill more than one fish at once in order to ensure that they were of the utmost quality. If he grilled too many fish at once, there might be some ws in his control of the fire, as well as the seasoning of the fish.

    Jing Ziyanughed and said, ¡°The youngest can eat first. We should go by age. I¡¯m the oldest. I¡¯ll gost.¡±

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m twenty years and four months old. What about the rest?¡± She looked at Tang Wutong, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu.

    Ye Guyi was a little depressed as she said, ¡°I¡¯m already twenty-two.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°I¡¯m twenty years and three months old. Haha, Sister Nannan, I¡¯m younger than you.¡±

    Jiang Nannan pursed her lips andughed. She looked at Tang Wutong and asked, ¡°Wutong, what about you?¡±

    Tang Wutong was stunned for a moment and said, ¡°All of you can eat first. I¡­¡± She wanted to say that she wasn¡¯t from the Tang Sect, and she was fine with some dry rations. However, the fragrance of the grilled fish was simply too strong. She couldn¡¯t control her appetite, and ended up swallowing her words.

    Jiang Nannanughed, ¡°No no, we¡¯ve agreed that the youngest should eat first. Wutong, how old are you?¡±

    Ji Juechen was calm as he sat to one side, not making a sound. Xu Sanshi would asionally nce over, and his smile seemed to be filled with meaning.Nannan is indeed very supportive! She¡¯s helping little junior without being obvious!The rest didn¡¯t know how old Wutong was, but how could he not know? Huo Yuhao had mentioned before that Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m eighteen years old¡­¡± Yes, she was eighteen years old. In terms of age, she was slightly younger than Huo Yuhao.

    Nan Qiuqiu was depressed as she pped her forehead. ¡°You¡¯re so young? How did you manage to develop so well?¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s face turned red as she red at Qiuqiu. She thought to herself,These people from the Tang Sect act like hooligans!For some reason, she seemed to have ostracized both Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi. They always wore a weird expression when they looked at her. The weird looks that they gave her made her extremely ufortable.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finished grilling the fish. Who¡¯s going to eat first?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Jiang Nannan pursed her lips at Tang Wutong, who was still slightly shy. She even seemed a little young and ignorant as her face turned even redder, entuated by the bonfire. When Huo Yuhao turned his attention to her, he appeared to be in a daze.

    Tang Wutong stood up and walked up to Huo Yuhao before extending her hand.

    Huo Yuhao passed her a grilled fish and a baked bun.

    Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Fragrant!¡±

    There was a fresh smell that came from the grilled fish, while the aroma of heated sesame came from the baked bun. Both were extremely tempting.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tang Wutong nodded at Huo Yuhao before turning around and walking away. She returned to where she was sitting and began to eat as the rest watched.

 Chapter 437.2 - Golden Tortoise Molting

    <h4 ss>Chapter 437.2: Golden Tortoise Molting</h4>

    She took a small bite of the baked bun first. The crispy bun made a slight cracking sound as she bit into it. The fragrance from the bun, mixed with the crumbs that fell off as she bit into it and its elevated temperature, instantly tickled her olfactory senses and taste buds.

    Tang Wutong opened her small mouth slightly and couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so fragrant¡­¡±

    This was indeed the best baked bun she had ever eaten. The baked bun cooled down slightly in her mouth, and she gobbled it up in three bites. It was warm and fragrant, and she felt indescribably pleased.

    After this, she took a bite of the grilled fish. The crispy skin of the fish was slightly salty, whichplemented its natural freshness. As she bit into the skin, juices from the fish filled her mouth, along with the meat. The fresh taste engulfing her taste buds caused Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes to brighten immediately.

    Delicious. This is too delicious. How can it possibly be so delicious?

    Of course, Tang Wutong didn¡¯t know how much effort Huo Yuhao had put into this grilled fish and baked bun. Huo Yuhao had overheard when Jiang Nannan was ordering them earlier. If Wang Dong¡¯er was the first to eat, he would naturally put in much more effort.

    In order to make the taste of the fish and baked bun as fine as he could, he engaged his spiritual power in its Totality state topletely understand the internal structure of both the fish and baked bun. During the process of grilling the fish and baking the bun, he was so precise in his control that it felt as if he were creating a soul tool.

    Although Tang Wutong stopped praising him, her incessant chewing and swallowing speed still left the rest of thedies extremely tempted.

    Huo Yuhao started to move faster. He quickly grilled the fish and baked the buns before delivering them to the rest of them. Very soon, everyone formed a circle and delightfully enjoyed their meal.

    The person who had caused the problems earlier naturally became thest to eat, along with Huo Yuhao.

    Ye Guyi sat to one side of the fire that they had made and was enjoying her third grilled fish. The look on her face was very indifferent, but on closer look, one could see the slight sadness in her eyes.

    Perhaps it was because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attentiveness and yearning, but Ye Guyi could sense the love when she ate the grilled fish. However, this love wasn¡¯t and would never be directed at her.

    Nan Qiuqiu was much more direct. Although she wasn¡¯t as acute as Ye Guyi, she was still silently whispering to Ye Guyi as she was eating, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him so nice when he was cooking for us before. However, this fellow¡¯s culinary skills are pretty good. Even if he couldn¡¯t be a soul master, he would still fare well as a chef.¡±

    Jing Ziyan was sitting on the other side of Nan Qiuqiu. After hearing her words, she couldn¡¯t help but chuckle and said, ¡°You are actually demanding that the future hope of Shrek Academy and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda be a chef for someone else. I can¡¯t believe you just thought of that idea.¡±

    Huo Yuhao walked over after grilling the remaining few fish. After hearing Jing Ziyan¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°It¡¯s great to be a chef! When I cook, I actually feel at peace, which is very rare. When I finish what I want to do in the future, I¡¯ll find a peaceful and beautiful ce and open my own restaurant there. I want to live a simple, farming life with the person I love there. Behind the restaurant, there¡¯ll be a plot ofnd specially for growing crops. I¡¯ll also raise some livestock. Why are all of you looking at me like that?¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, he discovered that the way everyone was looking at him was very weird. A member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion actually wanted to find a ce to open a restaurant.

    Just at this moment, Ji Juechen suddenly spoke up. ¡°It sounds rather good.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Brother Ji, shall we do it together?¡±

    Ji Juechen shook his head. ¡°Nope.¡±

    Xu Sanshi looked very anxious, and said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t say that in front of Elder Xuan. Otherwise, he¡¯ll fight all-out against you. He¡¯s still hoping that you¡¯ll be the future Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly looked very grim. To him, there were many responsibilities that he couldn¡¯t avoid.

    His fish soup was almost done. Huo Yuhao added some seasoning before scooping bowls of fish soup for everyone.

    He sat down right beside Tang Wutong. Naturally, everyone ceded this seat to him.

    As Tang Wutong was the first to eat, she ate quite a lot ¨C four grilled fish and two baked buns. Right now, she had half a baked bun in her hand.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so full. I can¡¯t even move anymore.¡± Tang Wutong looked very content as she received a bowl of soup from Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°I can help you eat that baked bun.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered softly to her.

    Tang Wutong suddenly looked very cautious and red at him as she twisted her head. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of taking advantage of me. Even if I¡¯mpletely stuffed, I will finish it!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t waste it. Why don¡¯t I tell you about a story about a baked bun before you decide whether I should finish it for you?¡±

    ¡°A story about a baked bun?¡± Tang Wutong was doubtful as she looked at him.

    ¡°Once, there was a five-year-old boy. He was extremely scrawny. He and his mother only had each other, and no one else. His mother relied on her peasant ie to bring him up. In order to survive, his mother would wash clothes outside even during winter. Her hands were full of wounds.

    ¡°The mother loved her son a lot. She always mentioned that he was the only one she had in her life. One day, the sky had already turned dark, but the mother was excited as she rushed back home. Because of the tough life she had, she hardly smiled. However, she was extremely happy that day.

    ¡°This was because she was given a baked bun by a chef in the kitchen that she worked in after she finished her shift that day. The bun had just been baked and was piping hot and fragrant. When she thought of how she finally had something fresh for her son to eat, she was especially delighted.

    ¡°To keep the baked bun from getting cold, the mother wrapped her body around the baked bun. When she finally retrieved the bun for her son, her chest was already burning red. At that point, the little boy was very young and ignorant. He only knew how to gobble up the piping hot baked bun. It was extremely fragrant and tasty.

    Tang Wutong was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao and muttered, ¡°Why are you saying all this? I was still enjoying my food, but you had to make me feel ufortable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a slight smile on his face, ¡°Because that boy was me. Just take it as if I¡¯m obsessed about baked buns.¡±

    Tang Wutong was astonished and immediately turned to face Huo Yuhao. She saw that he was smiling, but there was a sense of bitterness in his smile. The look in his eyes had also turned ethereal.

    ¡°Take it.¡± Tang Wutong passed the baked bun to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao received the baked bun and smiled at her. He seemed to have regained his focus.

    Tang Wutong suddenly said seriously, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve told me this story before?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was the shocked one right now. He was a little stunned as he looked at Tang Wutong. There was a look of disbelief on his face.

    You¡¯ve heard this story before?

    This was his second time telling this story of a baked bun, and he had told it to Wang Qiu¡¯er the first time. Even Wang Dong¡¯er had never heard this story before!

    How was it possible? Wang Qiu¡¯er had already sacrificed herself. Furthermore, Tang Wutong¡¯s aura and touch were identical to Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a little confused as he looked at Tang Wutong in a daze.

    ¡°Are you going to eat it?¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s face turned slightly red.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll eat it.¡± Huo Yuhao quickly reoriented himself and took a bite of the baked bun. Although it was no longer hot, it was still crispy. Huo Yuhao felt warm inside even though he was still slightly out of sorts.

    Tang Wutong turned around and started to drink her soup. She stopped entertaining him and was equally as confused.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Everyone had a good rest during dinner. Although the sky was already dark, they were all full of energy when they resumed their journey in the direction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Even though they moved on foot, they only took two hours to get close to the front lines.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew where the White Tiger Duke was stationed. When they were about fifteen kilometers away from the military base, he slowed his pace in order to avoid any misunderstandings.

    The eight of them advanced slowly. Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi were in front, while Ji Juechen was at the back, guarding the fivedies between them. Huo Yuhao had already unleashed his Spiritual Detection and quickly covered the surrounding space with his spiritual power.

    After a while, Huo Yuhao stopped and announced, ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

    Not far away from them, some figures quickly appeared. Even in the dark, they were very easy to see, because their soul rings were shining extremely brightly.

    These soul masters were very quick. They quickly arrived in front of the eight intruders and half-encircled them.

    There were ten of them. This was the structure of a small team among soul engineer legions. In this small team, there was one officer, who had five shining soul rings. The rest only had three soul rings.

    There were different types of small teams in soul engineer legions, too. Apart from the officers, the rest of the members had to have simr cultivation levels. This was done so that they would be more united when carrying out missions.

    This small team was led by a Soul King. The overall fighting strength of this small team was about equal to an army of five hundred ordinary soldiers, and that was being only soul masters. If they were equipped with soul tools, their fighting strength would be even greater!

    ¡°Who are you guys? There¡¯s an important military zone ahead of you. Show me your IDs.¡± The Soul King officer looked to be around forty years old and sounded very mature and steady. He immediately made his demands upon seeing Huo Yuhao and the rest.

    Even though they were all very young, this Soul King didn¡¯t lower his guard at all. It was in the middle of the night, and they were not far from the front lines. What was a bunch of young people doing here? This wasn¡¯t some kind of tourist destination! Who didn¡¯t know that things were slightly tense over at the northwestern end of the empire?

    Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and replied, ¡°Sir, we¡¯re from Shrek Academy. We were ordered by our Academy to reinforce the Northwestern Field Army.¡±

 Chapter 437.3 - Golden Tortoise Molting

    <h4 ss>Chapter 437.3: Golden Tortoise Molting</h4>

    Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation was extremely prestigious. After hearing these few words, the middle-aged Soul King and the soul masters under him were all moved. Shrek Academy was a holy ground to soul masters! It was the dream of many young soul masters to be educated at Shrek Academy!

    ¡°You¡¯re from Shrek Academy? Do you have any proof?¡± The Soul King¡¯s expression softened somewhat. He took a few steps forward, but the rest of the soul masters had yet to move, continuing to surround the few of them. They were highly-trained, and wouldn¡¯t be easily swayed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and retrieved the letter that Elder Xuan had given to him. He said, ¡°This is a letter written by the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Xuan, to the White Tiger Duke. Can you bring us to meet the White Tiger Duke? Oh right, I¡¯m also ssmates with the son of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Yueheng. He can also verify my identity.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t pass the letter over, even though he was holding onto it. A Soul King who was in charge of patrolling the area naturally wasn¡¯t qualified to read the letter.

    He hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, follow me then.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around quickly.

    Huo Yuhao gestured and led his teammates along with him.

    The other nine soul masters of the small team separated to open a path for them. It was only after they had all passed that these soul masters turned around and followed them, watching their movements closely.

    The Soul King only waited for Huo Yuhao to catch up with him before walking side by side with him. He didn¡¯t have any psychological pressure bringing the eight of them back to the base.

    There are thousands of soul masters stationed at the frontline camp, and they¡¯re all very strong. How can these eight possibly affect them? Furthermore, these young chaps have to go through many obstacles before they can meet the White Tiger Duke.

    From a distance, they could see the Northwestern Field Army. The view was majestic.

    ¡ª

    When they came to the entrance of the camp, soldiers immediately came up to receive them. The leader of the small team verified his identity before the soldier returned to his post.

    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll go and report this matter. Later, there¡¯ll be some peopleing to bring all of you in. This letter¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to personally pass this letter to the White Tiger Duke. Otherwise, you can also ask senior Dai Yueheng to pass it to his father.¡±

    ¡°Alright, please wait then.¡± The Soul King didn¡¯t continue to pose problems, but instead instructed his own team members to wait before he quickly entered the camp.

    Although he didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao and the others could do anything, he didn¡¯t dare to dy matters concerning Shrek Academy. He needed to report this matter to the top brass immediately.

    Very quickly, more than ten people came out from the camp, though Huo Yuhao only knew the person leading this group of people. This person wasn¡¯t Dai Yueheng, but the princess of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiujiu.

    Princess Jiujiu is personally here to receive us? This is a little too much. Even though she¡¯s not the main decision-maker in the military, she¡¯s still a member of the imperial family. Furthermore, she has real power in the Star Luo Empire.

    When Princess Jiujiu saw Huo Yuhao, she was also stunned, and more than a little surprised.

    At first, the Soul King didn¡¯t think a bunch of young soul masters could do anything. However, Princess Jiujiu begged to differ. She had personally witnessed the miracles that Huo Yuhao had performed before! In addition, Huo Yuhao¡¯s reputation had grown significantly following the appearance of the Spirit Pagoda. There weren¡¯t many people who knew him personally, but many people knew his name. For those soul masters who were more resourceful and aware in the Douluo Continent, they most certainly knew of his existence!

    Xu Jiujiu was also followed by soul masters. Two of them were elders, and one of the elders was the Big Dipper Douluo. The other elder who was with the Big Dipper Douluo was obviously a Titled Douluo as well.

    Xu Jiujiu had been in a bad mood these past few days. Ever since her mistake led to the death of many high-tier soul masters, she passed all authority over the soul masters to the White Tiger Duke. Whether it was her or the current Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor, they trusted the White Tiger Duke greatly. They knew that Dai Hao wouldn¡¯t do anything against the empire, even if he was given great authority.

    However, who didn¡¯t want to earn merits? Xu Jiujiu had a deep desire for power, which was why she had always expressed her wish to control a soul engineer legion.

    However, reality proved that she was inexperienced on a battlefield. The huge losses had made her doubt herself, and she had no choice but to pass all her power over to the White Tiger Duke.

    She had been very reclusive over the past few days. She hardly gave any suggestions, even though she participated in every meeting.

    Her presence today was a coincidence. The officer of the small team that Huo Yuhao and the others had bumped into was under Xu Jiujiu¡¯smand. She was immediately notified of the arrival of people from Shrek Academy, given that it was extremely important information.

    She was startled when she heard the words ¡°Shrek Academy¡±, and immediately delighted. Even though she heard that there were only a few young people, she wasn¡¯t affected.

    Over the past few years, the Star Luo Empire had been doing its best to build up a good rtionship with Shrek, with the goal of receiving the support of Shrek Academy at critical times. Given that youngsters from Shrek Academy had arrived, didn¡¯t it mean that the more experienced and stronger ones were alsoing?

    Furthermore, the younger soul masters from Shrek Academy were different from young soul masters in the outside world. There were many talents in Shrek Academy. For example, Zhang Lexuan was only slightly past thirty years of age, but she was already on the edge of bing a Titled Douluo!

    Moreover, Xu Jiujiu controlled the intelligence department of the Star Luo Empire, and was clearly aware of the resources pumped into soul tools by Shrek Academy in recent years. With the arrival of reinforcements from Shrek Academy, they would receive massive help, even though it wasn¡¯t enough topletely alter the situation.

    As a result, she didn¡¯t dare to dy, even given her status, and went out to wee them personally. She had seen all the younger generation¡¯s talents from Shrek Academy. In addition, she even brought two Titled Douluo out with her. Even if there were any changes, they would be well-equipped to handle them.

    When these two Titled Douluo and the other soul masters from the Star Luo Empire, who all had at least seven rings, saw Xu Jiujiu quickening her pace, they were all stunned.While those people are from Shrek Academy, aren¡¯t they all just youngsters? Why is Her Highness¡­

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, it¡¯s actually you!¡± Xu Jiujiu¡¯s words astonished all the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire.

    Huo Yuhao! Hearing this name shocked them.

    He didn¡¯t just lead Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect to sessive victories in the Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament; his establishment of the Spirit Pagoda also made him an extremely notable figure in the world of soul masters!

    While he had emerged as the champion in the Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament twice, that was only a big thing among the younger generation of soul masters. The existence of Spirits affected the entire world of soul masters! It might even influence the bigger picture in the future world of soul masters!

    The various soul masters quickened their footsteps to keep up with Xu Jiujiu. They wanted to get a glimpse of the person who had established the Spirit Pagoda!

    ¡°Your Highness.¡± Huo Yuhao quickly took a few steps forward and greeted Xu Jiujiu. He smiled at her and nodded slightly to acknowledge her.

    Even though he was from the Star Luo Empire, he was a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Even in the face of a princess, he wouldn¡¯t greet her in an extravagant manner. That was just how powerful Shrek Academy was.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be here.¡± After seeing Huo Yuhao, Xu Jiujiu had never felt that he was so amiable before. His eyes were gleaming brightly at this moment.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t help but mutter as she stood behind the rest, ¡°Is this guy some kind of gem? Why is he able to draw attention everywhere he goes?¡±

    Ye Guyiughed gently and replied, ¡°He¡¯s not the one attracting all the attention. It¡¯s his abilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said to Xu Jiujiu, ¡°Your Highness, we are here under instructions from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. We hope that we can help the empire resist its enemies. This is the letter that Elder Xuan wrote to the White Tiger Duke.¡±

    There was nothing to hide from Xu Jiujiu. Furthermore, she had personallye to wee them. She was extremely sincere.

    Xu Jiujiu received the letter, but didn¡¯t open it. She smiled and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pass this to himter. Please,e in. All of you are distinguished guests of the Star Luo Empire!¡±As she spoke, she gestured to them.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. They had rushed over, and everyone was very tired now. It was better for them to rest early.

    Xu Jiujiu and Huo Yuhao walked forward together without distinction. Obviously, she regarded Huo Yuhao as an equal in status to her. The soul masters of the Star Luo Empire naturally followed the rest of those from the Tang Sect and Tang Wutong into the camp.

    The Big Dipper Douluo and the other Titled Douluo looked at each other, seeing each other¡¯s astonishment when their gazes met.

    They were both Titled Douluo, and naturally could tell that every person from Shrek Academy was extraordinary.

    They are all at least Soul Emperors! Furthermore, a few of them are even Soul Sages! It seems that they are not even twenty years old. This is incredible! What method does Shrek Academy use to nurture such geniuses?

    They were most shocked by Huo Yuhao. He seemed even younger, but there was no way they could see though him.

    Given that they were Titled Douluo, it waspletely unbelievable that they couldn¡¯t see though a young soul master who wasn¡¯t even twenty years old!

    ¡ª

    Xu Jiujiu brought Huo Yuhao and the others directly into her own tent. Even though she wasn¡¯t amander, she still held an important position in the military.

    Some people immediately brought some fruits and snacks over. After bringing Huo Yuhao and the rest into the tent, Xu Jiujiu immediatelymanded someone to fetch the White Tiger Duke.

    Just this simple action of hers showed how highly she regarded Huo Yuhao.

    Everyone from Shrek was also shocked by how well Xu Jiujiu treated Huo Yuhao. She was a princess from the strongest empire in the Douluo Continent!

 Chapter 438.1 - Meeting the White Tiger Duke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 438.1: Meeting the White Tiger Duke</h4>

    ¡°Yuhao. Can I call you that?¡± Xu Jiujiu asked Huo Yuhao with a smile from where she was sitting in the main seat.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Of course you can, Your Highness. How¡¯s the situation at the front right now?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu sighed softly and said, ¡°The situation is not good. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defensive strength is unknown to us. They were too sudden with their attack, and paved the way using ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. They managed to blow up the Ming Dou Mountain Range and create a path. Then, we thought that they were going all-out to attack the Star Luo Empire and quickly pulled all our resources here to resist their onught. We even called for reinforcements.

    ¡°But who knew that they had no intention of attacking after some time? It was only then that we realized that things had gone south. When we tried to probe by attacking, the Sun Moon Empire only mounted a defense at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Their real target has now been verified. They are going for the Heavenly Soul Empire!

    ¡°We tried to make a breakthrough from this side and help the Heavenly Soul Empire with the burden by targeting the interior of the Sun Moon Empire. However, their defense is simply too strong. We suffered huge losses, and weren¡¯t able to make any advances.¡±

    When she finished speaking, Xu Jiujiu couldn¡¯t help but close her eyes in pain. The image of the Light of the Death God shing was still etched in her mind. She and many of the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire were still traumatized by the terrifying strike they had witnessed.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What about the Heavenly Soul Empire? How are they now?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu shook her head and said, ¡°I can only confirm that the Sun Moon Empire is attacking them now. We have already sent reinforcements from the Dou Ling Empire over. Furthermore, we¡¯ve also deployed two soul engineer legions to alleviate the pressure they¡¯re facing. We are better able to cope with the burden if both empires are at the front lines resisting the enemy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked, and asked, ¡°Hasn¡¯t there been any urate information?¡±

    It had been a few days since he had left the army and returned to Shrek Academy. However, the Star Luo Empire had yet to receive urate information from the Heavenly Soul Empire? Not only did this have to do with their backwardmunication soul tools, it also had something to do with the intense war that was going on at the Heavenly Soul Empire. It was easy to imagine the Heavenly Soul Empire being under a ferocious onught by the Sun Moon Empire.

    Xu Jiujiu furrowed her brow and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already sent out ten people, but we¡¯ve yet to get any information. We even sent a Titled Douluo, and I believe we¡¯ll find out some news soon.¡±

    ¡°The White Tiger Duke is here!¡± a guard outside shouted.

    Everyone subconsciously stood up. The curtains to the tent were opened, and the White Tiger Duke walked in. There were two others with him¡­ Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli!

    The White Tiger¡¯s white armor had the same ck tiger patterns as his martial soul. It wasn¡¯t clear what material his armor was made of. Huo Yuhao judged it should be made of some special alloy, as soul power seemed to circte through it. Was it a suit of closebat armor? In terms of rank, it should be a ss 7 soul tool¡­

    Although this armor made the White Tiger Duke appeared very suave, Huo Yuhao felt pity for him. As a Marshal of the Star Luo Empire, he could only don a ss 7 soul tool. It showed how far behind the Star Luo Empire was in terms of soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao was sizing up the White Tiger Duke right now, and the White Tiger Duke was naturally sizing him up too.This guy must be leading the team from Shrek Academy, given that he¡¯s sitting beside Princess Jiujiu.

    When Princess Jiujiu sent someone to call the White Tiger Duke, he was only informed that representatives from Shrek Academy had arrived. However, he wasn¡¯t informed who they were. Right now, he was disappointed when he saw that they were all youngsters, even though he didn¡¯t express it openly.If they were the strong ones from Shrek Academy, the situation might still be able to be reversed. However, what can these youngsters do?

    ¡°Yuhao, so it¡¯s you!¡± Dai Yueheng said delightfully. However, he immediately shut his mouth after he finished speaking. He was in a camp, and even in front of his father.

    The White Tiger Duke turned his head to look at Dai Yueheng. However, he didn¡¯t reprimand him. Instead, he returned his attention to Huo Yuhao.

    Even though Huo Yuhao tried his best to calm himself down, he couldn¡¯tpletely maintain hisposure!

    This person was his father, and the person he had once hated. However, after a few interactions, he didn¡¯t exact his revenge. Instead, he even saved him twice!

    He had once met the White Tiger Duke during the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament. It was just that he was still too weak then, and wasn¡¯t noticed by the White Tiger Duke yet. It was his first time meeting Dai Hao directly and face-to-face.

    What no one noticed was that Dai Luoli¡¯s mouth was slightly open right now, and his eyes were filled with disbelief. He was bbergasted as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Luoli immediately recognized Huo Yuhao. How could he not? In addition, he was much more astonishedpared to Dai Yueheng. He was much more astonished¡­

    Elder brother, what games are you ying? Shrek Academy¡­ so you¡¯re actually from Shrek Academy?

    After Huo Yuhao left without bidding goodbye that day, Dai Luoli returned to the camp and was anxious when Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return. After that, he was reassigned to be by the White Tiger Duke¡¯s side.

    In the past, Dai Hao wouldn¡¯t have done that, because he thought that Dai Luoli was better off living a simpler life free of risks if he wasn¡¯t fit enough to inherit the title of the White Tiger Duke.

    However, the appearance of Dai Luoli¡¯s mysterious master caused the mutation and awakening of his martial soul. His cultivation increased by leaps and bounds as a result.

    Although he was already a bit old, Dai Luoli still had potential. The White Tiger Duke had to be unselfish and nurture his own outstanding son! He arranged for Dai Luoli to be brought to his side and let him learn from Dai Yueheng temporarily. As he cultivated, he could learn military skills. He was also given permission to attend some military meetings, which was regarded as training.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention was all on the White Tiger Duke, and he didn¡¯t focus on his younger brother. He took the initiative to greet the White Tiger Duke along with Xu Jiujiu.

    Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°Uncle Dai, let me introduce you. This is the number one talent from the younger generation of Shrek Academy, the one who established the Spirit Pagoda, and the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao! I believe you¡¯ve heard of his name before.¡±

    Her introduction was very detailed, and Dai Hao was immediately shocked. He had naturally heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s name many times before. When the Spirit Pagoda was first established and Spirits first appeared, he had once asked Dai Yueheng whether he knew Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Yueheng recounted his experiences with Huo Yuhao. To Dai Yueheng, Huo Yuhao was a legend. He had be a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before he was even twenty. What did the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion represent? It was the highest level of Shrek Academy!

    At this moment, he no longer underestimated Huo Yuhao because of his age. In the continent, who would dare to underestimate a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion? Moreover, he was also the founder of the Spirit Pagoda!It¡¯s rumored that he discovered Spirits. This young man can no longer be described with the world ¡®genius¡¯. He¡¯s more like a freak.

    Shrek Academy didn¡¯t send anyone strong, but his arrival definitely signifies how importantly Shrek Academy regards this war.Dai Yueheng had once told the White Tiger Duke that Huo Yuhao was possibly the future heir to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. In an empire, his current position was like a Crown Prince!

    Huo Yuhao was no longer the rookie he was before. He concealed his emotions very well, and wore a smile as he said, ¡°Greetings to you, Duke. Her Highness was too kind with her words. I didn¡¯t establish the Spirit Pagoda. It was jointly founded by the Academy and the three empires, as well as the savage beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony anymore. Without the Spirits that you researched, how could we have established the Spirit Pagoda? I heard that the Spirit Pagoda is like a holy ground to soul masters now. Its future potential is unlimited. It¡¯s a pity; if this war hadn¡¯t appeared, I would have followed all of you to the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s words deepened the White Tiger Duke¡¯s impression of Huo Yuhao.

    He nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You are indeed a hero! I¡¯ve heard Dai Yueheng mention you before. Wee to the Northwestern Field Army.¡± As he spoke, he extended his right hand towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand to shake it. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s palm was broad, warm, and filled with strength. When their hands came into contact with one another, Huo Yuhao was almost distracted.

    When he started to recall everything, he always asked his mother where his father was. He yearned for his father¡¯s care, and wished that his father was there to protect him and his mother! However, he had never received the love of his father before. This was his first timeing into such close contact with the White Tiger Duke in a ce other than a battlefield.

    He suddenly turned aggressive, and almost blurted out to the White Tiger Duke,Where were you when I was young?

    However, he was Huo Yuhao! His immense spiritual power restrained his urges. He just appeared a bit emotional from the look in his eyes.

 Chapter 438.2 - Meeting the White Tiger Duke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 438.2: Meeting the White Tiger Duke</h4>

    The White Tiger Duke felt a little weird, too. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was very cold. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen to a strong soul master. Soul masters should be able to regte their own temperature very well. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes seemed to be filled with some kind of special emotion. He felt as if he had met Huo Yuhao before.

    For a moment, he appeared to sense some kind of ill-intent from that emotion. However, he subconsciously felt that Huo Yuhao could be fully trusted. As for where this feeling came from, he could only attribute it to his sixth sense.

    After this momentary handshake, they both immediately regained theirposures.

    The White Tiger Duke gestured to Huo Yuhao. ¡°You are our guest. Please, take a seat.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu took the initiative to offer her seat to Dai Hao. This was a show of respect to the White Tiger Duke, and also a show of apology for her earlier misjudgment. Naturally, a guard promptly added another seat beside the White Tiger Duke¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao was to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s left, while Xu Jiujiu was to his right. Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli didn¡¯t have any seats. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s house rules were very strict. In the military, he was even stricter towards his own sons.

    Dai Luoli was standing closer to Huo Yuhao, and never stopped looking at him.

    Huo Yuhao had already calmed down, and it was only now that he remembered to greet his own younger brother. Their spiritual powers connected, and he asked Dai Luoli to calm down.

    After this period of training, Dai Luoli¡¯s cultivation and mentality had developed significantly, but it was only now that he suppressed his own curiosity and calmed himself.

    Dai Hao turned his head at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°It¡¯s been tough on all of you. What advice does Shrek Academy have?¡±

    Xu Jiujiu rushed to pass the letter over to Dai Hao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is the letter that Elder Xuan wrote to you. We are only here to be under yourmand and fight against the enemies of the empire. ording to Elder Xuan, our main responsibilities are to be scouts.¡±

    Dai Hao nodded. He opened the letter and read it carefully.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t write too much down. First, he expressed Shrek Academy¡¯s support for the Star Luo Empire. After this, he exined that Huo Yuhao and the others came from the Tang Sect, and they were all talents that came from Shrek Academy. He hoped that they could help the Star Luo Empire resist the Sun Moon Empire at the frontlines. Among all of them, he specifically mentioned how good Huo Yuhao was in terms of surveince skills. He also honestly told the White Tiger Duke that Huo Yuhao was the only one who managed toplete the Ultimate Soldier n in Shrek Academy.

    Dai Yueheng would have already told Dai Hao about this. There was nothing he had to hide.

    After seeing this letter, Dai Hao couldn¡¯t help but turn his attention towards Huo Yuhao again. Even if Xu Jiujiu¡¯s praise sounded rather unbelievable, it was hardly unlikely that Elder Xuan would exaggerate his words. From his words, Elder Xuan¡¯s rmendation of Huo Yuhao was even better than Xu Jiujiu¡¯s. The White Tiger Duke had no choice but to take note of him now.

    ¡°All of you came on time. Let¡¯s not dy any further. Talking about reconnaissance¡­¡± The White Tiger Dukeughed bitterly as he shook his head.

    ¡°The reason why we¡¯ve been led on a wild goose chase by the Sun Moon Empire is because our reconnaissance efforts have beenpletely sealed. We arepletely unaware of the situation at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The aerial surveince soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire havepletely blocked off all our surveince. They have even broken the connection that we have with our friendly troops at the front.¡±

    After hearing the White Tiger Duke¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was also shocked. He could imagine that they couldn¡¯t receive any useful information, but he didn¡¯t expect them to lose contact with their own friendly forces. This was a little unbelievable. It seemed like he had underestimated the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strength in terms of aerial surveince soul tools!

    The White Tiger Duke said, ¡°There are a few active tactical units from the Sun Moon Empire along the borders, formed by high-tier soul engineers. Although I don¡¯t know how they managed to do so, I¡¯m certain that all the information gathered from their aerial surveince soul tools is transmitted to them immediately. They rely on these aerial surveince soul tools to locate our scouts before killing them. We¡¯ve be blind because of this.

    ¡°The situation now is very awkward. We aren¡¯t able to carry out a direct assault. The Sun Moon Empire has installed an extremely strong soul tool at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. It¡¯s too destructive. I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ll be unable to attack them at all. In terms of surveince, we¡¯re also very far behind. It seems like we are monitoring them, but we actually have no idea what they¡¯re doing. We are at a very disadvantageous situation in this war.

    ¡°From our judgment, the Sun Moon Empire is likely to be aiming at the Heavenly Soul Empire. It¡¯s been a few days, but we¡¯ve yet to receive any urate news from the Heavenly Soul Empire. I just know that our guess is right. Now that we¡¯ve no information, we arepletely at a disadvantage in this war.¡±

    After listening to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s words, all the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire and Princess Jiujiu looked very grim. Earlier, when Xu Jiujiu was recounting everything to Huo Yuhao, she still withheld some information. However, the White Tiger Duke did not withhold anything.

    After he finished speaking, the White Tiger Duke was silent for a moment before he said, ¡°This is the current situation. Regretting our decision to neglect soul tools is meaningless now. We can only do our best to deal with this war as it is. Elder Xuan rmends your surveince skills highly. What I would like to know is how good you are in this area.¡±

    He was very straightforward, just like a military leader should be.

    After pondering for a moment, he said, ¡°We are unable to guarantee how good we are. We still need to understand the situation on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s side. I need to monitor things first before I can decide on anything. Although the Sun Moon Empire controls the sky, their control is not absolute. Their high-altitude surveince soul tools can only cover up to five thousand meters.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo creased his brow and said, ¡°My friend, five thousand meters is already the highest humans can reach. Even for Ultimate Douluo, they wouldn¡¯t be confident of flying at a height of five thousand meters for an extended period of time. It¡¯s even more impossible for us.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo wasn¡¯t very pleased with the way Huo Yuhao described things. He felt that Huo Yuhao was being very boastful with his words.

    Huo Yuhao nodded very seriously and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Generally speaking, Titled Douluo can only fly up to five thousand meters. In addition, they can only stay at this height for a short time, as it will ce too much of a burden on their bodies. However, five thousand meters is also the limit for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools. At that height, there are only one or two soul tools that they can use. However, these soul tools can¡¯t see everything. If a Titled Douluo can send me to a height of five thousand meters, I¡¯ll be able to glide my way near the Ming Dou Mountain Range.¡±

    The Big Dipper Douluo was moved, and asked, ¡°Do you mean that you can avoid the surveince soul tools five thousand meters in the air?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was impressed.No wonder he¡¯s the leader of the number one soul master legion in the Star Luo Empire. He managed to catch the gist of what I¡¯m saying immediately.

    He nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m confident. More urately speaking, I¡¯m confident above two thousand meters. Higher than three thousand meters, I¡¯m even more confident. Between two and five thousand meters is where I¡¯m trying to glide. Although I¡¯m unable to fly five thousand meters in the air, I¡¯m still able to protect myself.¡±

    The temperature of the air fell quickly the further one went from the ground. In addition, the temperature dropped extremely quickly after a height of one thousand meters. At a height of five thousand meters, the temperature of the air would reach negative one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius!

    Even Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to survive at such a temperature. If Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t control themselves during their descent, they were in danger of falling to their deaths!

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t affected by such low temperatures. The thin air was the most lethal. At that height, humans couldn¡¯t breathe, and thus he couldn¡¯t stay there for too long.

    The Big Dipper Douluo revealed a thoughtful look. The White Tiger Duke looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be dangerous? At that height¡­¡± Even the White Tiger Duke had never flown to that height before. It was simply too dangerous. If he faced any wind current and was blown to a higher altitude, he would face the extremely low temperatures, and might fall to his death if his soul power was overly drained.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The low temperature isn¡¯t a problem for me. My martial soul is ice-type, so I¡¯m stronger in terms of resisting the cold. I also have a way of dealing with the thin air. As long as it¡¯s not for too long, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke pressed, ¡°However, even if you sessfully sneak into the backend of the enemy¡¯s territories, how will you be able to return?¡± He didn¡¯t mention the internal part of the enemy¡¯s territories, because there were bound to be many surveince soul tools at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. No matter how great Huo Yuhao¡¯s concealment abilities were, he was bound to be discovered if he descended directly into the Ming Dou Mountain Range. That would be seeking his own death. It was why he could only fly directly across.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I believe in my own survival abilities. Returning should be easier.¡± He couldn¡¯t hide from thermal detectors if he only used Imitation. However, things were different if he used his Spiritual Interference Domain. Furthermore, he could also control his body temperature using Ultimate Ice. Only some soul tools that relied on sound waves might be able to grasp his location, but that wouldn¡¯t be specific, either.

 Chapter 438.3 - Meeting the White Tiger Duke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 438.3: Meeting the White Tiger Duke</h4>

    It also meant that Huo Yuhao had to deal with the attacks his enemies would unleash on him after he was discovered if he snuck around within the Ming Dou Mountain Range and tried to return. However, these attacks couldn¡¯t be aimed properly, they were only domain-type attacks. Under such circumstances, it would depend on how well he could dodge, and how fast he could escape.

    There was some element of danger. However, to the rest, he was the only one who could survive under such circumstances.

    ¡°Wait a minute, you forgot an important problem,¡± a crisp voice spoke up. When Huo Yuhao turned his head and realized that the person speaking was Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong creased her brow slightly and looked at Huo Yuhao seriously. She said, ¡°You can indeed rise to an altitude of five thousand meters with the help of a Titled Douluo. However, have you ever considered the height of the Ming Dou Mountain Range? Although I don¡¯t know the detailed statistics, I can estimate that the highest peaks of the Ming Dou Mountain Range are at least two thousand meters. If soul tools are installed above these mountain peaks, you won¡¯t be able to sessfully hide from them unless you¡¯re able to maintain an altitude of five thousand meters.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke, Princess Jiujiu and the rest of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters concurred with her words. Given how the Sun Moon Empire ced so much attention on blocking information from the Star Luo Empire, they couldn¡¯t possibly fail to ce any soul tools on the mountain peaks. In addition, the area covered by these surveince soul tools was bound to be greater than most normal surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao only smiled and replied, ¡°Of course I¡¯ve considered this problem. First, most aerial surveince soul tools can only reach an altitude of one thousand meters. Furthermore, most of them will be aimed towards the ground. Even if there are ground-based ones pointed towards the sky, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cover an altitude greater than one thousand meters because of the wind currents and all types of vtile elements.

    ¡°The aerial surveince soul tools installed on these mountain peaks are bound to be affected by these conditions, too. It is the same reason such ordinary soul tools can¡¯t be sessfully installed two thousand meters in the air. The surveince soul tools that they have installed at these mountain peaks must be ground-based ones facing the sky.

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has high-altitude surveince soul tools. Such soul tools can carry out surveince at an altitude of three thousand meters. However, they can only face the ground. At the same time, such surveince soul tools are still iplete, and are not precise. There¡¯s no way they can detect my concealed self. The only threat to me is the ground-based surveince soul tools facing the sky.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s look at the situation of these surveince soul tools. Right now, we know that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ground-based surveince soul tools are the most effective. They are able to scan up to an altitude of one thousand five hundred meters, and detect what¡¯s in the air.

    ¡°Thermal, airflow and oscition detectors can only reach up to five hundred meters. After five hundred meters, their effectiveness will drop significantly. They won¡¯t be able to reach beyond one thousand meters.

    ¡°These numbers have been meticulously calcted. This means that I won¡¯t be discovered if I¡¯m at least three thousand meters above the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This is even under the condition that I¡¯m directly above the highest mountain peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, when in fact, I¡¯ll intentionally find a lower mountain peak to perform my surveince.¡±

    After Huo Yuhao mentioned this series of numbers, all the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed. Theirbined knowledge of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°This is why I¡¯ll be fine as long as I don¡¯t glide below an altitude of three thousand meters after I¡¯m sent five thousand meters into the air. Following that, I can start performing my surveince.¡±

    He squinted as he spoke until here, and ayer of dim golden light shone from his eyes. Following this, he unleashed a spiritual web that engulfed the entire tent.

    All the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire were shocked. However, they soon realized that this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. They wanted to resist it subconsciously, but they let it go after they saw the White Tiger Duke¡¯s signal.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power soon linked up with everyone in the tent. After this, his spiritual intent was revealed and quickly spread across the entire tent. All his surveince results were shared with everyone present through his Spiritual Sharing.

    Instantly, a detailed stereoscopic image of everything within a five-kilometer radius from Huo Yuhao filled the minds of everyone.

    The White Tiger Duke was stunned. Princess Jiujiu and the Big Dipper Douluo were also shocked. All the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire were instantly rooted to the ground in amazement.

    So was Tang Wutong!

    His spiritual power was immense! He was just sitting there, but he could actually use such a method to share everything in his head. He was much more magical than the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools!

    Everyone was in awe.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°In terms of unidirectional detection, I¡¯m confident of reaching a distance of five kilometers. This is why I¡¯ll be able to see what¡¯s happening in the Ming Dou Mountain Range from an altitude of three thousand meters, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be urate. However, I won¡¯t be able to obtain much information if I¡¯m just surveilling it once. This is because I need to ensure that I¡¯m always in my best condition, in terms of soul and spiritual power. I always restrict myself to only fifteen minutes of surveince every time. I¡¯m able to keep myself three thousand meters in the air for roughly fifteen minutes.¡±

    ¡°After my surveince, I can also try my best to return without catching the attention of the enemy¡¯s soul tools. If I am sessful, I¡¯ll go back a few more times, and I¡¯ll be able to recall everything.¡±

    The look in the White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes returned to normal. He suddenly felt that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing was very familiar.Does this person have something to do with the person who saved me before?

    Dai Hao didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao was that person. That was because that person was one of the strongest people on the continent right now. The second time that person saved him, the strength that he had demonstrated was simply too great.

    The Big Dipper Douluo was a little agitated as he stood up. He punched his right fist against his left palm, ¡°Great! Young man, I¡¯m sorry for doubting you earlier. Your arrival has brought hope for us! If you can study the enemy¡¯s formations, we¡¯ll be in a much better situation, we¡¯ll at least be able to find out their ws. I understand that you want to glide from an altitude of five thousand meters because you want to conserve your soul power, am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. Even given his current cultivation, he couldn¡¯tst more than an hour at an altitude of three thousand meters. In this one hour, he would use only a quarter of the time to carry out surveince. He also still had to ensure that he was in a state to fight the enemy at any time.

    He didn¡¯t reveal something. If he was detected by a powerful soul master, soul engineer, or a soul tool specifically designed to detect soul power or faced any abnormalities, he was bound toe across danger.

    He didn¡¯t reveal this because he didn¡¯t want his partners to be too worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous by yourself. Let me follow you,¡± Ye Guyi immediately said.

    Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he looked at her. In his heart, he had hoped that Tang Wutong would be the one who said this.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s eyes met his, and she turned a bit red. ¡°With someone helping you, at least you¡¯ll be more sessful in escaping.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, this isn¡¯t a fight. With an additional person, I¡¯ll need to take care of my partner when I conceal myself. It¡¯s better for me to escape alone. I¡¯ll go myself. It¡¯s much more effective!¡±

    Ye Guyi looked a little disappointed, but she didn¡¯t persist. She only nodded before sitting back down again.

    Princess Jiujiu was a little agitated. ¡°Yuhao, if you seed, you¡¯ll contribute the most to the entire Star Luo Empire! Tell me whatever you want. As long as I can do it, I¡¯ll do my best to satisfy you.¡±

    Everyone from the Tang Sect revealed a slight smile on their faces. They didn¡¯t think that Huo Yuhao would make any demands, given that he was the founder of the Spirit Pagoda and a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    However, something surprising happened.

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°If possible, I hope that I¡¯ll be able to earn merits just like a Star Luo Empire soldier after this reconnaissance mission, and attain a military ranking, as well as be knighted.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everyone from the Tang Sect was shocked when he said this. Only Tang Wutong was not as surprised. After all, she didn¡¯t know Huo Yuhao that well.

    How is this possible?Including Xu Jiujiu, many of them who were present thought this way. He was a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, his status was unrivaled. He possessed great influence in the world of soul masters. If he obtained a knighthood and earned merits as a soldier, wouldn¡¯t he be bound to the Star Luo Empire? The Star Luo Empire would be taking advantage of him then! Why would Huo Yuhao do something like this?

    Xu Jiujiu looked very surprised, but she was also very intelligent. She immediately nodded without any hesitation and said, ¡°No problem! Given your abilities and cultivation, I can promise you the position of a Viscount right now on behalf of my elder brother. Your position will also be inherited by your future descendants.¡±

    A Viscount was the second least prestigious position in the nobility, but it was still considered very prestigious, especially since his descendants could inherit his position. Their lives would be worry-free!

    Furthermore, this was because Xu Jiujiu was a princess. If the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor was here, he might promise him even more! By deepening their ties with Huo Yuhao, the empire was building its rtionship with the Spirit Pagoda. At the same time, the empire was also building its rtionship with Shrek Academy! This was highly advantageous for the empire!

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression was very serious, and he said, ¡°Yuhao, you must consider this very carefully. You aren¡¯t just representing yourself right now¡­¡±

 Chapter 439.1 - Wutong, Fuse?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 439.1: Wutong, Fuse?</h4>

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently, a little excited. This was what he had hoped for for many years!

    After taking in a deep breath, Huo Yuhao looked at Princess Jiujiu seriously and said, ¡°Your Highness, I still want to add a few prerequisites. Everything I mentioned earlier only applies to me. Furthermore, I don¡¯t need you to promise me a knighthood right now. I¡¯m willing to follow the rules of the Star Luo Empire and earn my position and status through my own merits. I won¡¯t be an exception.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m only representing myself. At this moment, I¡¯m only Huo Yuhao. I¡¯ve nothing to do with the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek Academy or the Tang Sect. At the same time, even if I be a knight in the Star Luo Empire, I won¡¯t be controlled by the empire. Simrly, I won¡¯t be under themand of the empire. If you think this is eptable, I¡¯ll ept this contribution and offer. Otherwise, I¡¯d rather not take it.¡±

    Everyone was confused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.What does he mean? He wants to earn merits and his knighthood, but he¡¯s not willing to perform any services. Or rather, he would only perform services ording to his own wishes. However, what¡¯s the significance of these things to him anyway, then?

    Xu Jiujiu creased her brow slightly and asked, ¡°Yuhao, can I ask what is this for? Although I¡¯m a princess in the Star Luo Empire and I really hope that you would join the Empire, I¡¯m also clear on your standing in the world of soul masters. There¡¯s no need for you to do this. If you want glory, money or wealth, it¡¯s very easy. Why did you choose the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°I have my own reasons. First, I¡¯m from the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    When he said this, the look on all the soul masters¡¯ faces became much gentler.

    This Huo Yuhao is also part of the Star Luo Empire. I guess he just wants to contribute to his country.In addition, everyone felt closer to him upon learning that he was from the Star Luo Empire.

    Xu Jiujiu already knew that Huo Yuhao was from the Star Luo Empire. When she met Huo Yuhao during the first Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, she had checked on his background, where he had filled in his country of origin as the Star Luo Empire.

    Of course, it was different back than when he was saying it right now. This time it meant that he recognized the Star Luo Empire.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°When I was young, I had a dream of bing a general. This is my wish. I hope that I¡¯ll be able to be a general and a marshal through my own hard work. Right now, I¡¯m willing to use my own abilities to slowly realize this wish. I hope that I¡¯ll be able to lead my own army like the White Tiger Duke, and make my name prominent.¡±

    This reason seemed convincing enough, at least to ordinary people. However, when he said this, everyone from the Tang Sect felt that it was very weird. Wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao already very prominent? In addition, could the position of a general or marshal really bepared to a truly powerful soul master?

    No matter how capable the White Tiger Duke was in terms of leading his own army, his reputation couldn¡¯tpare to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, much less an Ultimate Douluo!

    Those in the Tang Sect who were very familiar with Huo Yuhao knew that he was bound to be an Ultimate Douluo in the future. However, he requested the right to earn military merits and be knighted by the Star Luo Empire. Suddenly, everyone was confused.

    There was an intent look on his face as he nced at the White Tiger Duke. Yes, he could only use this method to fulfill his dream now!

    Among those present, the only person who could really understand Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions was probably his younger brother, Dai Luoli.

    When Huo Yuhao said all this, the look in Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes becameplex.Elder brother, what do you want? Do you really want topete with dad? What kind of ending are you hoping for?

    His eptance and recognition of Huo Yuhao had already surpassed his feelings toward Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin in just one short month of interaction.

    Even though Huo Yuhao had used hellish methods to nurture him, he could sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s concern and sincerity in his relentless instruction. His life hadpletely changed after one month, and so hepletely trusted Huo Yuhao.

    On one side, there was his biological father. On the other side was his elder brother, who he trusted a lot. Suddenly, he was very confused. On whose side should he stand? Dai Luoli also wasn¡¯t clear what Huo Yuhao wanted in the end, or to what extent he would go to.

    Princess Jiujiu took a deep look at Huo Yuhao, then nodded gently before saying, ¡°Alright, I agree to your demands. You can follow the Star Luo Empire¡¯s rules to earn your position. However, we won¡¯t restrain you. As long as you¡¯re willing, you can do whatever you want. I only have one demand, or rather, one request. When there¡¯s a national crisis, I hope you¡¯ll offer your help. Be a hero and protect your country.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly when he saw the passionate look in Xu Jiujiu¡¯s eyes and answered, ¡°I won¡¯t im to be a hero, but I¡¯ll stand up for my country if there¡¯s a crisis. I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll prove it with my actions.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was watching closely Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°That¡¯s a deal, then. When youplete this reconnaissance mission, the princess and I will celebrate for you. I¡¯ll personally pen down your contributions, and I hope that we¡¯ll watch the rise of a heroic general in the future. The Star Luo Empire needs a talent like you.¡±

    He was really happy. If Huo Yuhao was just being patronizing, he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the White Tiger Duke. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power had already fully convinced the White Tiger Duke. He felt that there really was hope when he saw Huo Yuhao.

    As he spoke, the White Tiger Duke lifted the cup in front of him, ¡°We can¡¯t drink in the face of a national crisis, so I¡¯ll use tea to rece alcohol. Let me toast you. I hope that you¡¯ll be sessful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao also lifted his cup and toasted the White Tiger Duke. He calmly said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke smiled slightly after taking a sip of his tea. ¡°Kid, I wonder where you hail from since you¡¯re from the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Ie from a vige near the Star Luo City. It isn¡¯t very notable.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s really rare for a small vige to nurture a talent like you!¡±

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fist, and immediately repressed his urges. He calmly replied, ¡°Duke, Your Highness, we¡¯ve rushed throughout our entire journey. Let¡¯s end the day here, shall we? Let me ready myself before I start my mission within these two days. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Alright, great.¡± The White Tiger Duke was a firm believer of ¡®actions are louder than words¡¯. Seeing that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t wishy-washy, he was even more impressed by him. He patted his shoulder tightly, and instructed Dai Yueheng to find Huo Yuhao and the others a ce to rest.

    ¡ª

    As they were from Shrek Academy, the tents that were arranged for them were very good. Every one of them was given a tent that was normally given to themanding officer of a soul engineer legion.

    Every tent was close to fifty square meters in size, and furnished with a table and a bed. There were even a few simple decorations. This was the best treatment they could possibly get in war time.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect didn¡¯t rush to rest immediately. Instead, they congregated in Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Little junior, what were you doing today?¡± Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help but ask when he entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent.

    Huo Yuhao was being very abnormal when he asked for merits and a position in the Star Luo Empire.

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and replied, ¡°Third senior, this really is my hope for the future. I don¡¯t have any other intentions. Please understand. Furthermore, I won¡¯t affect the Academy or the Tang Sect due to my rtionship with the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Seeing theplex look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, Xu Sanshi stopped his interrogation. He sped Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder before saying, ¡°Yuhao, we won¡¯t force you if you¡¯re not willing to say anything. We trust you. However, you can find someone to talk to if you¡¯re feeling sad. You¡¯ll feel better now. No matter who you choose, we¡¯ll keep things a secret.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thanks, Third Senior. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Apart from Tang Wutong, who wasn¡¯t very familiar with Huo Yuhao, the rest naturally trusted him. Although everyone was surprised by his actions today, they didn¡¯t doubt him. The others didn¡¯t even ask him anything at all.

    Everyone returned to their own tents to rest. Huo Yuhao sat behind his table and looked a little dazed.

    Have I finally taken this step? Can I finally earn my own merits though my hard work?

    ording to Xu Jiujiu¡¯s promise, he would be able to earn merits faster than he had nned. After this mission was over, he should be able to earn his knighthood, even if it was just an ordinary one.

    Dai Hao, you know I¡¯m doing this just to surpass you. I want to be a hero of the Star Luo Empire, a hero that¡¯s more outstanding than you. When that dayes, I¡¯ll return to the Duke¡¯s Mansion with my chest held high. I¡¯ll get back what my mother deserves.

    As he considered that, he clenched his fists, and the thoughts in his head cleared. His immense spiritual power surged in his spiritual sea, and his soul power also circted throughout his entire body. Suddenly, the mysterious aura that he had once sensed in the Spirit Pagoda seemed to have subtly appeared again.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked, and quickly jolted himself out of that state.

    A smile slowly formed at the edges of his lips.Di Tian, even you can¡¯t continuously monitor me through your reverse scale. If I¡¯m not wrong, I can obtain the aura of that world a second and third time, since I was able to do it the first time. But it won¡¯t be now. I won¡¯t let you sense anything anymore¡­

 Chapter 439.2 - Wutong, Fuse?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 439.2: Wutong, Fuse?</h4>

    After sitting for a short while, Huo Yuhao stood up and walked out of his tent

    It was already the middle of the night. Although he was fatigued from rushing the whole day, he wasn¡¯t overly drained, given that he held an immense power of life inside. But he looked a little dazed as he walked towards a tent beside his. Tang Wutong was in that tent.

    Dai Yueheng didn¡¯t know that she was Tang Wutong instead of Wang Dong¡¯er. In his heart, he thought that Wang Dong¡¯er and Huo Yuhao were a couple. When he arranged the tents, he naturally arranged for the both of them to be together.

    Dong¡¯er, are you asleep?,Huo Yuhao silently thought to himself.

    After he was distracted by the White Tiger Duke earlier, and after Xu Sanshi talked to him, he really wanted someone to confide in right now. Naturally, the person that he looked to was the person he loved the most.

    He slowly walked towards Tang Wutong¡¯s tent. When he reached her tent, he stopped for a moment and hesitated. After this, he gently pped the curtains of the tent.

    The curtains were made of cloth, and thus not much sound was made. However, it was enough for soul masters, who had good hearing.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Wutong, are you asleep?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    Tang Wutong was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°It¡¯s already sote. What are you doing here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I have something to discuss with you regarding our reconnaissance mission tomorrow night. If it¡¯s not convenient, I¡¯ll talk to you tomorrow.¡±

    Tang Wutong answered without any hesitation, ¡°Then let¡¯s leave it for tomorrow. I don¡¯t want to know your secret, and I¡¯m not interested in being your confidante.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned, and found it a little amusing. It turned out that she believed Huo Yuhao had listened to Xu Sanshi¡¯s words and was treating her as his confidante.

    He was a little helpless as he shook his head and said, ¡°Rest, then. Goodnight.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he walked towards his own tent. There was a lost look on his face.How good would it be if she were still Dong¡¯er. At least I could still get somefort while being in her soft and warm embrace. My Dong¡¯er, when will you return?

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao was a little confused.Why can I sense Qiu¡¯er, apart from just Dong¡¯er, in Tang Wutong¡¯s body?

    Just as he walked towards his own tent, he heard something. Huo Yuhao subconsciously turned around and saw Tang Wutong, who had already switched into a long white dress, standing in front of her tent.

    The moon was very beautiful tonight. The bright moonlight made her appear very quiet and calm as it fell on her, whereas her pinkish-blue hair and eyes were the most beautiful ornaments int this bright night.

    Tang Wutong looked at Huo Yuhao calmly and said, ¡°On ount of your baked bun, I¡¯ll let you speak. However, I¡¯m only letting you speak until one incense stick finishes burning.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao knew that she had misunderstood him and thought that he wanted to confide in her, he still immediately walked over in front of her. He would never give up on any opportunity to get closer to Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get so close.¡± Seeing that Huo Yuhao was almost a meter in front of her, Tang Wutong quickly raised her hand and warned him from getting any closer.

    Huo Yuhao stopped and watched the wary look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. He was a little dazed, and subconsciously said, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you¡¯re beautiful.¡±

    Tang Wutong was stunned for a moment. After this, she furrowed her brow, red and shouted furiously, ¡°Who is your Dong¡¯er? Hmph!¡± After she finished speaking, she turned around and wanted to enter her own tent.

    Huo Yuhao only reacted at this moment. He rushed to stretch his hand out and grabbed her wrist. He anxiously said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I got the wrong person. It¡¯s perhaps because I miss her too much.¡±

    Tang Wutong twisted her head and coldly said, ¡°Let go.¡±

    At this instant, the expression in her eyes caused Huo Yuhao to be stunned once again. The cold look and tone in her voice were just like Wang Qiu¡¯er when he saw her for the first time!

    Huo Yuhao was confused once again. Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er. These two names kept on alternating in his mind. Everything was too difficult to understand right now.Her condition is obviously like Dong¡¯er, but her actions and words remind me of both Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er.

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s beauty, kindness, vibrancy and cuteness, but also Qiu¡¯er¡¯s aloofness. When theybine, it seems like Tang Wutong is apletely different person.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously let go of her hand and was a little tormented as he lowered his head. He said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I recognized the wrong person. You look too alike to my lover. That¡¯s why¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to exin anymore. I¡¯ve heard such words many times before. There¡¯s still two-thirds of the incense stick left. If you¡¯ve something to say, please hurry up. But I don¡¯t want to listen to what happened between you and your ex-girlfriends.¡±

    ¡°Ex-girlfriends? My only lover is Dong¡¯er¡­¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little rushed as she interrupted him, ¡°I already told you that I don¡¯t want to listen to any of that.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t adapt to her coldness and assertiveness. However, he soon got over it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not actually here to confide in you. I can settle my own problems. I don¡¯t need to burden anyone with my personal problems.¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little doubtful as she asked, ¡°Then what are you finding me for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was serious as he replied, ¡°Wutong, when I saw you for the first time, there¡¯s another reason why I mistook you for someone else. It was because I could sense that your soul power was very close to mine. It seems like it can fuse with mine.¡±

    ¡°It can fuse with yours?¡± Tang Wutong retracted the cold look on her face and appeared a little pensive. ¡°Are you saying that our martial souls can fuse? How is that possible? The tier of your martial soul is so low. It can¡¯t be possible that we can fuse.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless as he said, ¡°I have twin martial souls! One of them is even of Ultimate Ice! How is it possible that it¡¯s too low?¡±

    Tang Wutong lifted her head and flicked her hair before saying, ¡°It¡¯s just low.¡± Her pampered behavior made her seem more domineering, but in a good way.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he replied, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s low. However, I really feel that our martial souls can fuse. Can we give it a try? If possible, we might be able to increase our fighting strength greatly in future missions. We are both Soul Sages. When two Soul Sages unleash a fusion skill, along with your strong martial soul, the effect will undoubtedly be very great.¡±

    Tang Wutong creased her eyebrows slightly and asked, ¡°How do you want to try it, then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Simple. I just need to ce my palm on yours. After that, we¡¯ll just need to try connecting our soul power. If our martial souls can fuse, our soul power will fuse first.¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little doubtful as she looked at him and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not doing this just to get close to me, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Am I that stupid? There are plenty of reasons I could have used if that were the case. Why would I use the thing that¡¯s the most improbable? I really think that our martial souls can fuse. Let¡¯s try? If you¡¯re still doubtful, we can do it outside your tent. We don¡¯t have to enter your tent.¡±

    Tang Wutong hesitated for a moment when she saw the patrol guards that had just walked past before saying, ¡°We can try, but we shall void the bet that I just made with you today. If you agree to this, I¡¯ll let you enter my tent and give it a go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even hesitate, and nodded. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s a deal.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t im anything after Xu Sanshi beat Ji Juechen earlier, but Tang Wutong remembered their bet. She didn¡¯t want to owe him anything, and thus she proposed this idea.

    When Huo Yuhao first suggested the bet, he was doing it for this! Using martial soul fusion to find out whether Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er was the most direct and reliable method. Perhaps he could even use martial soul fusion to tell if she was Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t believe that she was Wang Qiu¡¯er. After all, Wang Qiu¡¯er had already sacrificed herself, and her body had disappeared. His skull bone was even given to him by Wang Qiu¡¯er.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Alright, follow me in then. Remember, don¡¯t even think of trying anything funny. Otherwise, you¡¯ll regret it.¡± As she spoke, she walked into her tent.

    Huo Yuhao quickly followed her. Right now, he was very tense. This was because this was very important to him. If Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul couldn¡¯t fuse with his, it was likely that she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er! That was not something that Huo Yuhao hoped for either!

    After walking into the tent, Tang Wutong pointed to the ground and stated, ¡°Let¡¯s do it on the ground.¡± As she spoke, she retrieved a mat from her storage-type soul tool and ced it on the ground. She sat on it and pointed to the ground in front of her.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and sat down in front of her.

    Tang Wutong lifted her hands and said coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was evidently a little tense. However, if he didn¡¯t try, he wouldn¡¯t be relieved at all. It was important for him to find out who Tang Wutong was.

    He took a deep breath, and circted his soul power. Under themand of his spiritual power, it started surging in his body.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hands and gently pressed them against Tang Wutong¡¯s palms.

    As their eyes met, it was obvious that the look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes was very cold, whereas Huo Yuhao looked very passionate.

    Dong¡¯er, she must be Dong¡¯er!

    As he thought, Huo Yuhao slowly summoned his Mysterious Heaven Technique and poured it into Tang Wutong¡¯s body.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t resist, and allowed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power to enter her body. After that, she summoned her own soul power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was blocked by a passageway in her forearms.

 Chapter 439.3 - Wutong, Fuse?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 439.3: Wutong, Fuse?</h4>

    Of course she couldn¡¯t let Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power circte freely inside her, the equivalent of handing her life over to him. She only allowed him to test whether they could fuse in the passageways of her forearm.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power flowed in a structured manner, and there was even an aura of elegance about it. When their soul powers first came into contact with each other, Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power disyed strong discrimination towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. It was like it wanted to force his soul power out of her body.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned to find out that Tang Wutong was right! While his soul power wasn¡¯t any less powerful than hers, there was some kind of gap between them. This was a result of the difference between the blood lineages of their martial souls.

    How is this possible? I have twin martial souls, and I even possess Ultimate Ice. Moreover, I¡¯ve fused with four Spirits, which has significantly modified my martial soul. How is it possible that the tier of my martial soul is so much weaker than hers?

    Initially, his soul power would immediately fuse with Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s soul power when they first came into contact with one another, turning into Haodong Power that would circte through their bodies. This greatly increased their cultivation speed. To arge extent, the reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation speed was able to rise so quickly was because of the Haodong Power.

    However, the situation seemed to havepletely changed now. The cirction of soul power in Tang Wutong¡¯s body was presented as an elegant, purplish-gold color. During the process of cirction, her body exuded a dim, purplish-gold glow. Huo Yuhao could even sense that the soul power circting in her body was subtly rocking with the sound of a dragon roaring.

    Amid this rocking movement, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was crushed before it could return to his body. Even though it would reform very quickly, it wasn¡¯t able to move an inch forward in Tang Wutong¡¯s body, much lessplete any fusion. It was like they were supposed to be distinctly separated.

    As Tang Wutong¡¯s wrist trembled slightly, the soul power in her body started to circte at a greater intensity. Huo Yuhao moved back three feet, as if he had been pushed.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s body slightly shone with a purplish-gold glow, and an image of a golden trident shed on her forehead before disappearing. She twisted her lips and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that your martial soul can¡¯t fuse with me. Your instincts were wrong. If you really had some sort of sensation, I would experience the same sensation too. You can leave now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sat where he was in a daze. The expression on his face remained the same, and his entire body seemed to have turned into a statue ¨C he waspletely motionless.

    Tang Wutong furrowed her brow. ¡°Hey! Why aren¡¯t you leaving yet?¡±

    Huo Yuhao slowly lowered his arms, and Tang Wutong could tell that his face had turnedpletely pale. It was as if he had lost his life energy.

    As he slowly stood up, Huo Yuhao walked towards the exit of the tent with a pale look on his face. When he drew open the curtains and walked out, he staggered and almost fell down. After this, his steps were very shaky as he walked away from the tent. He didn¡¯t even utter a word to Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was stunned as she watched him leave. She was stunned to find out that she felt a little heartbroken for some unknown reason.

    Am I feeling heartbroken for him? How is this possible?

    Do I have to feel this way? Our martial souls are just ipatible, aren¡¯t they? Why does he look like he just lost his wife?

    What she didn¡¯t know was that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sense anything simr between her and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s soul power as their martial souls failed to fuse. To him, it was indeed as if he had lost his wife.

    Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er, Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er, Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er¡­

    This thought repeated itself in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. He seemed as if he had lost his soul. He waspletely in a trance right now.

    He didn¡¯t even know how he made his way back to his tent. After he returned, heid down on his own bed and didn¡¯t move at all. It was as if he already lost his soul.

    As hey on his bed, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know when he started to fall asleep. However, he felt as if his life energy had beenpletely drained as he fell asleep.

    ¡ª

    After Huo Yuhao left, Tang Wutong also stood up and put her mat away. She muttered to herself, ¡°This fellow is ridiculous. The possibility of fusion between two soul masters is naturally close to zero. What¡¯s there to be so depressed about? However, he really looks to have been in poor shape earlier.¡±

    After sitting down on her bed, Tang Wutong started to meditate and began her cultivation for the night.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Second day, morning¡­

    Tang Wutong stretched her back and body before she jumped out of bed.

    After a night of meditation, her fatigue hadpletely disappeared. As she stretched her body, she couldn¡¯t help, but let out a groan.

    After she reached the exit of her tent, she drew the curtains aside and allowed fresh air to flow into her tent.

    That fellow didn¡¯t sleep the entire night?Tang Wutong subconsciously turned her attention towards the tent beside hers just as she walked out of her tent. She couldn¡¯t help but think of Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale face when he left the previous night.

    Just at this moment, the curtains of the tent beside hers were also drawn open. Tang Wutong quickly turned her gaze away.

    Huo Yuhao also exited his own tent. As he stood in front of his tent, he also stretched out.

    Tang Wutong nced at him out of the corner of her eye. When she saw him, he seemed to have returned to normal. The expression on his face was very calm.

    Huo Yuhao turned his gaze towards Tang Wutong and nodded at her before saying, ¡°Good morning.¡±

    ¡°Good morning.¡± Tang Wutong acknowledged automatically.

    Huo Yuhao smiled courteously before walking towards the canteen that Dai Yueheng had pointed out to them the day before.

    They were allocated the canteen that served high-ranking military officers. Soul masters were different from ordinary people. Their food requirements were much more demanding. In order to ensure that their soul masters possessed sufficient fighting strength, the Star Luo Empire naturally provided them with the best food possible.

    Tang Wutong felt as if Huo Yuhao had changed when she saw him walking past her.

    However, he¡¯s still wearing a smile like he normally does! But why do I feel as if he¡¯s different?

    Alienation? Yes, it¡¯s alienation. He¡¯s no longer as friendly as before. The look in his eyes isn¡¯t as gentle as before.

    As she recalled the first time she met him, she could still remember that he would look at her whenever she was around. However, this wasn¡¯t the case earlier. Even though he had looked at her earlier, he had quickly retracted his gaze. After greeting her, he quietly left. The look in his eyes was very calm, but this calm look left Tang Wutong feeling a little ufortable.

    I¡¯ve not done anything wrong. This fellow¡­ hmph!

    Huo Yuhao finished washing up and quietly went to the canteen. Their breakfast was very scrumptious. He sat in one corner alone and ate. However, he started feeling emotional

    Only one sentence had repeated itself in his mind the entire night,She isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er.

    Dong¡¯er, where¡¯s my Dong¡¯er?

    Tang Wutong and Dong¡¯er¡¯s soul powers were very different. His heart felt very cold. He felt as if he had lost everything he had. As the saying goes, ¡®The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.¡¯If Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er, where is Dong¡¯er?

    Initially, Tang Wutong¡¯s appearance had made him feel very optimistic and confident in this mission. However, afterst night¡¯s incident, sorrow and yearning filled his heart once again. In addition, it became even more intense.

    Tang Wutong was also in the canteen. She entered not long after Huo Yuhao did, and intentionally sat far away from him to eat her own breakfast. However, she couldn¡¯t help but nce at him. She wanted to see if he was acting, and whether he would look at her.

    However, she was disappointed. What she saw was a Huo Yuhao who ate his breakfast silently, and had a hollow look in his eyes.

    After eating his breakfast, Huo Yuhao left and returned to his tent.

    Tang Wutong pushed her cutlery away in front of her and creased her brow.What¡¯s wrong with him? Does he have to be so affected just because our martial souls can¡¯t fuse? If that were the case, why would Shrek Academy look upon him so highly? Is he mentally ill?

    No, I have to ask him what¡¯s going on.

    Just as she couldn¡¯t figure things out, Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi came in.

    ¡°Hey, Wutong. We just saw Huo Yuhao leave. Why didn¡¯t you leave with him?¡± Xu Sanshi said naturally.

    Tang Wutong snorted and replied, ¡°Why would I do so?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chortled, ¡°Are you throwing a tantrum again?¡±

    Tang Wutong suddenly thought of something, and asked Xu Sanshi, ¡°Xu Sanshi, let me ask you a question.¡±

    Xu Sanshi, curious, asked, ¡°Me? What do you want to know?¡±

    Jiang Nannan also stopped because she was curious. She turned her attention towards Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°If a person thinks that his martial soul can fuse with another soul master¡¯s, but fails after trying, will he be greatly affected?¡±

    Xu Sanshi answered without any hesitation. ¡°Of course not! That¡¯s very normal! Martial soul fusion isn¡¯t that easy.¡±

    Jiang Nannan also nodded.

    Tang Wutong was indignant as she replied, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s what I thought. However, somebody doesn¡¯t think this way. He acted as if he had just lost his wife.¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan looked at each other and felt that something was amiss.

    Jiang Nannan probed, ¡°Wutong, surely you aren¡¯t talking about Huo Yuhao, right?¡±

    Tang Wutong snorted, ¡°Who else? Last night, he came to find me and said that he thinks that our martial souls might possibly fuse. He insisted on trying. I imed that it wasn¡¯t possible, but he didn¡¯t believe me. In the end, we failed even after trying. He seemed to have lost his soul as he left. This morning, he ignored me, and seems to be a new person. Tell me, is there even anyone like him? All of you still praise him to the high heavens! A soul master who can¡¯t even control himself, how good can he be?¡±

 Chapter 440.1 - Huo Yuhaos Feelings

    <h4 ss>Chapter 440.1: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Feelings</h4>

    ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Xu Sanshi hurriedly interrupted Tang Wutong, and his expression turned serious too. ¡°Wutong, do you mean that Yuhao failed after he tried to perform a martial soul fusion with you?¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and replied, ¡°Yes!¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression immediately changed. He charged out of the canteen.

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s expression also changed. The way she looked at Tang Wutong also changed slightly.

    Tang Wutong was confused as she asked, ¡°Sister Nannan, what¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t the two of you just agree that martial soul fusion isn¡¯t verymon?¡±

    Jiang Nannan was stunned as she looked at her, as if she was about to see through her. Tang Wutong felt very ufortable as she was watched, and furrowed her brow. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with all of you? You¡¯re all acting so weirdly.¡±

    Jiang Nannan sighed and said, ¡°We were wrong. Maybe we were all wrong. We didn¡¯t expect it to be like this.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s expression turned a little gloomy, ¡°Can you be clearer with your words? Do you have to be so unclear?¡±

    Jiang Nannan shook her head and said, ¡°Wutong, I¡¯m sorry for all this. I apologize to you on behalf of Yuhao. His change has nothing to do with you, nor is he angry with you. Haih¡­¡±

    Tang Wutong was puzzled as she asked, ¡°Then what¡¯s going on? When he was eating his breakfast earlier on, he seemed to have gone mad. The look in his eyes was hollow.¡±

    An unbearable look shed across Jiang Nannan¡¯s eyes as she answered, ¡°Yuhao is too pitiful. Alright, let me tell you a story.

    ¡°When Yuhao first came to Shrek Academy, he was only an ordinary young man. He only managed to enter the academy by using the Tang Sect¡¯s quota. If he went through an ordinary examination, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to pass.

    Tang Wutong was immediately drawn to this story. Although she felt that Huo Yuhao was a lecher who had tried to hug her, she was very aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. He was a Soul Sage who wasn¡¯t even twenty years old. He even had twin martial souls! If he couldn¡¯t even make it into Shrek Academy, then Shrek Academy¡¯s standards were simply too high!

    Jiang Nannan continued saying, ¡°After entering the Academy, he stayed in a dorm like many of the other students. He had a roommate called Wang Dong. Very soon, they became good friends. They worked hard, learned, and cultivated together. Although Yuhao appeared to be very ordinary at the start, he put in more work than anyone else. Very soon, he showed his potential in the Academy. On the other hand, Wang Dong was innately talented. With the two of them working together, they managed to be the champions of the freshmen assessment.

    ¡°After this, theypeted in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. They performed brilliantly, and eventually won the tournament, contributing greatly to the Academy.

    ¡°As time passed, everyone¡¯s abilities grew significantly. As an exchange student, Huo Yuhao went to the Sun Moon Empire to learn. His friendship with Wang Dong grew tighter and tighter. After that, they met once again during a blind date in the Academy. There, he found out that the roommate that he had stayed with for so many years was actually ady. She wasn¡¯t Wang Dong, but Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°This change in her gender also caused their rtionship to change. Very soon, they became a couple that everyone was envious of. However, Dong¡¯er seemed to have some kind of congenital disease. To save her, Yuhao went to the Setting Sun Forest, a ce that is extremely dangerous. He suffered critical injuries, but brought back a valuable treasure. When he returned to the academy, he was on the verge of death. The Academy did its best to save him, and managed to preserve his life. However, he was paralyzed, and couldn¡¯t walk anymore.

    ¡°After that, we participated in the same tournament for the second time. As the Sun Moon Empire targeted all thepetitors of the tournament, we were forced to escape to a ce called the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley. Dong¡¯er was hurt there, and went into aa¡­¡±

    Jiang Nannan rted the story of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er to Tang Wutong. Tang Wutong was slightly lost at the start, but she couldn¡¯t help but be moved when she heard the story.

    ¡°¡­Yuhao couldn¡¯t find Dong¡¯er just like that. He didn¡¯t know where she went until he met you.¡±

    Jiang Nannan took a deep look at Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong furrowed her brow. ¡°You mean that Wang Dong¡¯er and I look simr?¡±

    Jiang Nannan silently nodded.

    Tang Wutong snorted and said, ¡°There are thousands of people in the Douluo Continent. What¡¯s so strange even if we look alike? All of you recognized the wrong person.¡±

    Jiang Nannan sighed and said, ¡°We initially thought that you were Dong¡¯er, just that you¡¯d lost your memory. Now it seems like we got the wrong person. Yuhao acted the way he did earlier because he confirmed this point.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How did he do so? Just because his martial soul can¡¯t fuse with me? It¡¯s a joke.¡±

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°A person¡¯s martial soul can change. However, it¡¯s very difficult to change the type of one¡¯s soul power. Yuhao and Dong¡¯er¡¯s martial souls werepletelypatible with each other. They both possessed twin martial souls. With the fusion of their twin martial souls, they managed to unleash an unprecedented four fusion skills. Before they managed to grow strong, they were able to beat stronger opponents with their fusion skills. They even called the fusion of their soul powers Haodong Power.

    ¡°When Huo Yuhao asked you to fuse your martial soul with him yesterday, his main intention should have been to confirm whether or not you were Dong¡¯er. If your soul power could fuse, then it would have been almost certain that you were Dong¡¯er.

    ¡°But now, it seems like¡­ we were all wrong. To Yuhao, he¡¯s lost hope. It¡¯s understandable how tormented he feels right now. I¡¯m sorry, Wutong. We might have caused you problems. But please understand him. He¡¯s not even neen yet, but he¡¯s gone through too much. He¡¯s carried too much pain. It hasn¡¯t been easy for him to reach where he is today and persist all this way. Even if you aren¡¯t Dong¡¯er, can you treat him better? At least seeing you can help to alleviate his yearning for Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Tang Wutong was silent, but nodded gently.

    ¡°So there¡¯s actually so many deepyers of reasoning. You should have told me earlier. Even though I¡¯m not that Wang Dong¡¯er, it seems like he isn¡¯t a bad guy. Sister Nannan, thanks for telling me all this. You can go and eat now.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Nannan acknowledged her words. There was a lost look in her eyes. She stood up, and went to get her own breakfast.

    Tang Wutong also stood up after sitting down for a while. She waved at Jiang Nannan before returning to her own tent.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong¡¯er.¡± Tang Wutong was a little dazed as she stood in her tent.

    ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er also has twin martial souls?¡± She lifted her left hand as she lowered her head. Streaks of dark gold light surged, and a strong aura was slowly released.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the neighboring tent¡­

    ¡°Third senior, I¡¯m really fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled as he spoke to Xu Sanshi.

    Xu Sanshi had rushed over andforted him. The more Huo Yuhao imed that he was fine, the more worried Xu Sanshi was. After knowing him for so many years, he understood Huo Yuhao very well. How could he possibly be fine? After finding out that Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao must be devastated.

    ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. If you aren¡¯t fine, we can go. We can follow you to find Dong¡¯er. We¡¯ll be able to find her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No. We can talk when things are done and the war is over. The continent is so expansive, we won¡¯t achieve anything if we search aimlessly. Third senior, go and have your breakfast. After everyone finishes eating, we¡¯ll discuss tonight¡¯s n. We¡¯ll still need to coordinate with the military so that they¡¯ll be able to reinforce us.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Sanshi knew that there was nothing he could say, seeing that Huo Yuhao appeared so nonchnt. He patted Yuhao¡¯s shoulder before walking out of his tent.

    As he watched Xu Sanshi leave, Huo Yuhao¡¯s smile slowly turned bitter, and he muttered to himself, ¡°It seems like I¡¯ve really grown up. I¡¯m in such great pain, but I¡¯m able to tolerate it. If this were the past, I¡¯d probably copse.¡± After he finished mocking himself, he sat down cross-legged and starting to meditate.

    He hadn¡¯t rested the previous night.. He needed time to recover his energy right now.

    He had already thought it through. Although Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, at least he knew that Wang Dong¡¯er was fine. After the war was over, he would put everything down and look for traces of her across the continent.

    Two hourster, the sun had fully risen.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Front linemander¡¯s tent of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army¡­

    There was a table in the middle of the tent. The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiuju stood around the table. Apart from the two of them, there were only Huo Yuhao and the rest from Shrek Academy. There wasn¡¯t even a guard in the huge tent.

    This was all ording to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s instructions. The reconnaissance mission that Huo Yuhao was about to embark on was too important to the Star Luo Empire, and they had to keep it as confidential as possible, preventing any information from being leaked. Thus, only the ten of them were there.

    ¡°Little brother Huo, tell me about your n,¡± the White Tiger Duke asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Duke, you can call me by my name. In terms of age, you are my elder. It¡¯s not really appropriate for you to call me ¡®little brother¡¯.¡±

    Even though there was a misunderstanding between him and the White Tiger Duke, he couldn¡¯t ignore the fact that the White Tiger Duke was his father!

    Dai Haoughed and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call you Yuhao, like Her Highness.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt very good when his father called him Yuhao!

 Chapter 440.2 - Huo Yuhaos Feelings

    <h4 ss>Chapter 440.2: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Feelings</h4>

    After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Huo Yuhao looked at the table and said, ¡°This is my n. Just like I mentioned yesterday, we¡¯ll carry out our surveince mission at a high altitude. In terms of position, I choose this.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand, and a streak of golden light shot from his fingertip, pointing towards a spot on the table.

    After seeing the position that Huo Yuhao had singled out, the White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu were astonished. Both of them lifted their heads and looked sharply at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was pointing to the highest mountain peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. More importantly, it was at that spot where the Light of the Death God was first unleashed.

    Princess Jiujiu hesitated. ¡°Yuhao, the higher the mountain peak, the more dangerous it¡¯ll be for you. There are bound to be surveince soul tools there. Why don¡¯t we change the position?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°The safest ce is the most dangerous ce. Naturally, they¡¯ll know that it¡¯s the safest spot. This is why they might not put all their attention on it. I hope that the empire will coordinate with me and ambush them from this and that side.¡±

    As he said, he pointed to two spots at opposite ends of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Yuhao,¡± the White Tiger Duke suddenly said. He lifted his head and looked at Huo Yuhao with a deep look in his eyes. He said, ¡°Honestly, this spot that you just pointed out is actually where we would like to surveil the most. However, I can¡¯t let you go there.¡±

    His contradictory words left Huo Yuhao feeling warm andforted. Compared to Princess Jiujiu, it seemed he was morepassionate!

    ¡°Why?¡± Xu Sanshi asked doubtfully.

    The White Tiger Duke took a look at Princess Jiujiu, who was red with embarrassment right now.

    Dai Hao lifted his right hand and pointed at the highest peak. ¡°It was at this ce that two thousand soul masters who were at least Soul Sages were all killed, causing us to suffer heavy losses. I can¡¯t let Yuhao take this risk.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± After hearing his words, everyone from Shrek immediately understood. They had heard about the Light of the Death God before. They didn¡¯t expect the Death God, which was close to a ss 10 soul tool, to be located there.

    Dai Hao sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you could guess. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s where the Death God of the Sun Moon Empire is located. That Light of the Death God was a tragic experience for us. I¡¯m sure you can understand how limited our information on the Death God is. Furthermore, it¡¯s located at the highest mountain peak. That is why I can¡¯t let you go, Yuhao.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed and said, ¡°You indeed can¡¯t go close to that soul tool! Yuhao, this spot that you¡¯ve chosen is the most dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Huo Yuhao replied calmly.

    ¡°You know?¡± At this moment, everyone focused their attention on him.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I know. I¡¯m also a soul engineer. If I owned a powerful soul tool like the Death God, I¡¯d definitely ce it on the highest peak. If I don¡¯t remember wrongly, the effective range of the Death God is five thousand meters. To cross the Ming Dou Mountain Range, one naturally has to climb mountains. The Death God can cover the sky and ground at the same time. It¡¯s at a spot that fully taps into its destructive power. That is why I expected the Death God to be on this mountain peak when I chose it.

    ¡°However, the most dangerous ce is also the safest ce. No matter how intelligent the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire are, they wouldn¡¯t expect our target to be the Death God. This soul tool is our greatest threat. If we can find out more information about it, it might make it easier for us to fight the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Dai Hao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous. If something happens to you, how can I ount to Shrek Academy? Your courage ismendable, but I can¡¯t let you make such an irresponsible choice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao softened when he saw the determined look in Dai Hao¡¯s eyes. With regards to the position of the Death God, Dai Hao didn¡¯t conceal anything. If he considered the benefit to the empire, he could most certainly allow Huo Yuhao to carry out the surveince. If he seeded, the Star Luo Empire would benefit greatly.

    However, he didn¡¯t do so. Instead, he revealed everything. No wonder his subordinates were so loyal to him. The White Tiger Duke was very influential in the military. It would be great if he wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s father. If that were the case, Huo Yuhao might actually sacrifice everything to help him.

    Seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s dazed look, Dai Hao continued saying, ¡°Choose another spot. We¡¯ll continue to coordinate with you. Even if you want to survey the position where the Death God is, we must try it from other spots first. We have to ensure that you¡¯ll be safe before we n anything else.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°White Tiger Duke, I¡¯m really confident. It¡¯s best if we try it for our first time because it¡¯s the most sudden. There are bound to be many soul tools around the Death God. However, they are limited in their range. Among them, the few soul tools that can detect me are only effective at short range. Also, you¡¯re already aware how good my detection abilities are. If it¡¯s unidirectional, I can inspect things from up to seven kilometers away. This means that I don¡¯t even have to enter the effective range of the Light of the Death God to survey it. As for how much I can find out, it¡¯ll depend on my luck.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was awed when he heard Huo Yuhao mentioning a range of seven kilometers.

    As a Titled Douluo, he was definitely aware of how important it was to have strong spiritual power. It was increasingly difficult to advance further once one became a Titled Douluo. There were two very important barriers to ovee along the way. First, the body of the Titled Douluo had to be able to withstand ever more soul power. Second, the Titled Douluo had to have sufficient spiritual power to control and summon his enhanced soul power.

    Both were necessary. A Titled Douluo could only reach the next tier if both factors went hand-in-hand. The difference between every tier after bing a Titled Douluo was extremely great.

    Huo Yuhao said that he could survey up to seven thousand meters in one direction. It was Dai Hao¡¯s first time hearing of such immense spiritual power. Among all the Titled Douluo that he knew, he didn¡¯t know anyone who was that strong. Having such strong spiritual power was perfect for surveince purposes . Even with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools, they shouldn¡¯t be able to detect him from such a distance. Huo Yuhao was just like a ss 9 soul tool!

    Xu Jiujiu was very excited, and looked at Dai Hao. ¡°Marshal!¡±

    Her intention was immediately understood. To the Star Luo Empire, inspecting the Death God was too important.

    Dai Hao took in a deep breath and looked at Huo Yuhao seriously before asking, ¡°If you really want to survey the Death God, how do you want us to support you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I need you to feign an attack to draw the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attention and create an opportunity for me. At the same time, I need a Titled Douluo who is adept at flying to send me high into the sky, the higher the better. Five thousand meters is the minimum. If greater heights are possible, I hope you can send me even higher up. That would be even safer.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded slightly and said, ¡°Yuhao, let me ask you one more time. Are you confident? Even if you don¡¯t seed, it¡¯s fine. I need to ensure your safety.¡±

    Dai Hao was very impressed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Right now, the Northwestern Field Army wascking in surveince. Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrival would greatly help them in this aspect. If he wasn¡¯t boasting, the Star Luo Empire would be greatly helped in this war.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°There are no absolutes in this world, and everyone only has one life. I¡¯ll naturally do my best to guarantee my own safety. I¡¯m eighty percent confident that I¡¯lle through unscathed. But I¡¯m only twenty to thirty percent confident of clearly surveilling the Death God. After all, it¡¯s the number one soul tool in the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯m sure there are many restrictions about it. Even if my spiritual power can engulf it, I¡¯m not sure that I¡¯ll be able to find out anything about it.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded slightly. ¡°Alright, Yuhao, I¡¯ll count on you, then. As long as you can return safely, I¡¯ll count it as a major merit. If you can find out what¡¯s going on with the Death God, I¡¯ll definitely guarantee that you¡¯ll be a viscount andmander of your own legion.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu was stunned when she heard his words. She understood the White Tiger Duke very well. It was extremely difficult to gain a promotion under him. However, if one managed to do so, it was bound to be very good. There weren¡¯t any shortcuts, however. One had to earn his promotion through his own merits.

    Dai Hao¡¯s offer to make Huo Yuhao a legionmander was unprecedented, and it evenpletely overshadowed his offer to make him a viscount. After all, given Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation and background as a student from Shrek Academy, being a viscount was nothing to him if he was willing to join the Star Luo Empire.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao agreed.

    The White Tiger Duke pointed at the table and started to exin the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s judgment of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. At the same time, he discussed his n with Huo Yuhao.

    ording to the White Tiger Duke, this reconnaissance mission was extremely important, and they couldn¡¯t rush things. They had to find a dark night, and the wind had to be strong. If the moon was too bright and visibility was clear, Huo Yuhao¡¯s safety would bepromised.

 Chapter 440.3 - Huo Yuhaos Feelings

    <h4 ss>Chapter 440.3: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Feelings</h4>

    However, he was surprised that Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion was inplete contrast to his. Huo Yuhao wanted to find a day where the visibility was high to carry out his surveince. His reason was very simple; he was able to conceal himself in the air with his Imitation, and couldn¡¯t be detected by the naked eye. When the weather was good, his enemies would be able to see everything in the sky when they lifted their heads. It was easier for them to be careless.

    They nned the mission for an entire morning. It was lunchtime before they agreed that they were done.

    ¡ª¡ª

    As he walked out of the tent, Huo Yuhao lifted his head to look at the sky. The sky waspletely clear, and there weren¡¯t any clouds. The clear sky was like a huge sapphire. The blinding sunlight filled the world with the aura of light.

    The weather was very good.

    A slight smile appeared at the edge of Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips. He turned around and walked towards his tent. After he returned, he regrouped his thoughts there for a moment before leaving for lunch.

    ¡ª

    Tang Wutong walked out from her tent behind Huo Yuhao. She managed to get a look at his side profile as he peered into the sky.

    When sunlight fell on his slightly pale face, the slight smile on his face left Tang Wutong a little weirded out.Why is there this sense of desperation that I can feel from his smile? Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s suicidal?

    ¡ª

    After returning his own tent, Huo Yuhao washed his face to refresh himself. Tang Wutong didn¡¯t see it wrong. His mental state was a little weird.

    Ever since he had discovered that Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power couldn¡¯t fuse with his, he had felt very mournful.The Douluo Continent is so huge. If Dong¡¯er has already forgotten me, how will I be able to find her? Tang Wutong¡¯s not Dong¡¯er. So where is she? Don¡¯t tell me that Dong¡¯er¡¯s already¡­

    Due to these confusing andplicated thoughts, he felt a little empty. He had been through too many things over the past year.

    Ever since he had gone to the Setting Sun Forest to find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass for Wang Dong¡¯er, he had neverpletely spent time with her. After that, Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself, and Wang Dong¡¯er fell into aa. He entered a mental state of near-destion after that.

    If not for the fact that he was extremely mentally resilient, he would have broken down already.

    He had numbed himself by keeping himself busy. From the beast wave to the establishment of the Spirit Pagoda to his recognition of Dai Luoli, he tried to stop himself from thinking about Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er. He had gotten through each day because of that.

    However, Tang Wutong¡¯s appearance changed everything. Her appearance had rekindled his hope. However, this hope was extinguished onest time, and he was greatly devastated once again. The impact on him was hard to imagine.

    His exterior calm was actually a reflection of his deep inner depression.

    It was the scariest when one lost all hope. It was highly likely that Huo Yuhao¡¯s current mental state was the reason why he was adamant on surveying the Death God.

    During the meeting today, there was one point that he had never mentioned. The Death God was the strongest soul tool that the Sun Moon Empire had. At the same time, it was controlled by the strongest soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire, the Death God Douluo! No one knew how great the Death God Douluo¡¯s abilities were. Few people knew what he looked like. Under such a situation, Huo Yuhao was at great risk trying to carry out this reconnaissance mission. However, he didn¡¯t really care anymore. He even thought that it might be a form of relief if he died on this mission.

    Dai Luoli knew his true identity. If he died, Dai Luoli would surely tell the White Tiger Duke his true identity. When that happened, would Dai Hao be heartbroken? If he was, it would be sort of a revenge for Dai Hao. He had sent his own son to the battlefield of no return. It was actually frustrating to think about that.

    As for Wang Dong¡¯er, even if she was still alive, she had already forgotten him. Perhaps his death would be good for her. Her family didn¡¯t tell her anything about him, even though she had regained consciousness. This must mean that they were unhappy with him. Perhaps his death would signal a new beginning for her.

    When someone was resigned to fate, many of their thoughts would deviate from the norm. Huo Yuhao was exactly like that right now. Regarding the mission, he was already prepared for the worst.

    Lunch was very peaceful. No one could tell the difference. Huo Yuhao was even chatting andughing with his fellowrades.

    After lunch, Xu Sanshi asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, are you going to go tonight?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s better to go early. At least the matter will be settled sooner.¡±

    Xu Sanshi furrowed his brow and said, ¡°What do you mean by settled? That sounds bad. Yuhao, you must be careful. We¡¯ll coordinate with you from the sky and ground today. Don¡¯t engage in any fights, no matter what you find. Come back immediately after scanning the area once.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words readily.

    Tang Wutong kept on ncing at him from the side. For some reason, she felt very tense no matter what Huo Yuhao said. She had never experienced such a feeling before. This feeling became even more acute when she looked at his expression when he smiled.

    Surely there isn¡¯t something wrong with him, right? Why am I so concerned about his safety? Just because we¡¯re in the same boat?

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t understand why he was in such a state either. However, she had a premonition that tonight¡¯s mission wouldn¡¯t proceed that smoothly. Perhaps he might really meet with danger!

    ¡°Let me liaise with him in the sky tonight,¡± Tang Wutong suddenly said.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little stunned as he lifted his head to look at Tang Wutong. All he saw was the slightly troubled look on her face.

    Tang Wutong was the most adept at flying among those from the Academy here. Not only was her martial soul adept at flying, but she was even a Soul Sage. Ye Guyi was the next best. Ye Guyi¡¯s holy martial soul could unleash angelic wings and fly freely in the air. However, the light from her martial soul was too strong, and would be too obvious in the night sky. Thus, she could only use flying-type soul tools.

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡®That¡¯s a great idea. Let¡¯s all take action tonight then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, let me make a n then. We cannot be reckless.¡±

    Tang Wutong and Ye Guyi were responsible for liaising with Huo Yuhao from the air, while Xu Sanshi and the rest would work with him from the ground. After all, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Mysterious Underworld Discement made it much easier for him to liaise with Huo Yuhao. After the enhancements he received from the Golden Tortoise, his Mysterious Underworld Discement could work at a much greater distance.

    Huo Yuhao immediately returned to his own tent to meditate after he finished nning, restoring himself to his peak condition. The others did the same.

    ¡ª¡ª

    During his meditation, time passed very quickly. When he awoke, the sky had already turned dark.

    The Mysterious Heaven Technique circted in his body, and his soul power surged strongly. His qi was also circting strongly in his body.

    Under his control, his soul power kept on transforming. At times, it would fusepletely with his spiritual power. At other times, it would turn into pure Ultimate Ice, and his body temperature fell frighteningly. The two martial souls that he possessed were interchanging continuously.

    After an afternoon of meditation, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mental state was much better.

    A trace of purple shed across his eyes, and he revealed a lost look.

    It seems like I haven¡¯t lived for myself in this life. I cultivate to seek revenge. I seek improvement so that Brother Skydream and the rest can survive. But what about myself? I don¡¯t seem to have anything now. My mom has passed away, there¡¯s no news of Dong¡¯er, and Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself.

    A bitter smile appeared on his face.

    He shut his eyes and let this bitterness fade away. Suddenly, he stood up and walked out of his tent. The moment he walked out, he calmed himself, and became abnormallyposed. He had entered another state entirely.

    ¡ª

    The White Tiger Duke had already gathered his men in themander¡¯s tent. The officers of all ten soul engineer legions, apart from the two who had gone to reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire, were all in the tent.

    A series of orders were passed down. Even if they were attacking, they had to do it properly. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s instructions were not to attack blindly. Rather, hemanded them to attack in tandem. They were divided into two different groups, and no ordinary soldiers were involved. This operation would be carried out entirely by the soul engineer legions.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s instructions were for the soul engineer legions were divided into two different routes, to dampen the threat of the Death God. They would attack the opposite ends of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s instructions had already beenpletely conveyed when Huo Yuhao came into the tent.

    After entering the tent, the White Tiger Duke and Huo Yuhao looked at each other. The White Tiger Duke nodded. Huo Yuhao appeared veryposed, and wasn¡¯t flinching at all.

    Is he really only twenty years old? It¡¯s really rare for someone to remain so calm, even with such great responsibility on his shoulders!

    The White Tiger Duke nodded at Huo Yuhao to acknowledge him, just as he was in awe.

    Huo Yuhao also nodded to signal that he was ready.

    ¡°We¡¯ll follow the n and move out!¡± the White Tiger Duke shouted, and the mission started.

    All the officers of the soul engineer legions immediately moved out and deployed their troops.

    Dai Luoli walked over in front of Huo Yuhao and lifted his right hand before pressing it down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. He said, ¡°How are you? Yuhao, are you ready?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Dai Hao took in a deep breath and said, ¡°We¡¯re about to begin over here. We¡¯ll be setting off in fifteen minutes.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little doubtful as he looked at Dai Hao.

 Chapter 441 - The Child Backed by His Father

    <h4 ss>Chapter 441: The Child Backed by His Father</h4>

    Dai Hao nodded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s us. Even though my cultivation isn¡¯t the best in the military, I¡¯ll personally send you into the air in order to keep things confidential. Don¡¯t worry. I have a ss 7 flying-type soul tool to help me. It should be fine for me to send you five thousand meters into the air. However, I¡¯m a marshal of three armies. After I send you into the sky, I¡¯ll need to return to lead my troops. I¡¯llmand the soul engineer legions to attack for around an hour. You mustplete your mission within this time frame. It¡¯s still the same advice; safety first! As long as you cane back safely, you¡¯ve done your part.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± After Huo Yuhao agreed, he quietly walked to a seat nearby and sat down, waiting for the time toe.

    The White Tiger walked out of the tent and watched as the soul engineer legions were deployed.

    A yful smile appeared at the side of Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips.Send me personally into the sky? That¡¯s not a bad idea! If that¡¯s the case, the effect will be much better than expected.

    Whether it¡¯s life or death, tonight¡¯s n seems to have be more perfect.

    Tang Wutong kept on watching Huo Yuhao, and managed to catch a glimpse of his smile. When she saw his smile, her heart shuddered.What is this fellow thinking about? How can he still smile at such a time? His smile is even so¡­

    ¡ª

    Fifteen minutes were soon up.

    Dai Luoli rushed in from outside. ¡°Everyone, the marshal has instructed you to get ready.¡±

    Everyone from Shrek Academy stood up and walked out of the tent.

    Dai Luoli intentionally dyed himself and waited for Huo Yuhao before walking out of the tent with him. He whispered, ¡°Elder brother, what are you doing? What are you going to do tonight?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt warm when he heard Dai Luoli calling him ¡®elder brother¡¯. He patted his shoulder and replied, ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t worry, everything will be fine.¡±

    Dai Luoli twisted his lips. ¡°Elder brother, don¡¯t get into any danger. I still hope that you¡¯lle back and continue to guide me along. There have been too many things happening over these past few days. I didn¡¯t have the time to look for you. When you return, I¡¯ll find you, and you can continue to teach me. After that, you must also tell me why you left so suddenly that day. After you left, you don¡¯t know how anxious I was! I still thought that the Sun Moon Empire¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°Why do you have no confidence in me at all?¡±

    Dai Luoli replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that our enemies are too strong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Luoli, remember something. There¡¯s nothing impossible in this world.¡±

    Dai Luoli was stunned for a moment, before nodding firmly.

    He had learned many things about Huo Yuhao from Xu Jiujiu and Dai Yueheng over the past few days. Yes! There was nothing impossible in this world! His elder brother was a great testament to that statement!

    When his elder brother only had two rings, he hadpeted in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament with his seniors from the inner courtyard. He even turned the tables at thest minute, and preserved the glory of Shrek Academy!

    Even though Dai Yueheng was already a Soul Emperor back then, he couldn¡¯t help butpliment Huo Yuhao when he talked about him.

    That was six years ago. Huo Yuhao was a two-ringed soul master six years ago, while Dai Yueheng was a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    Now, six yearster? Dai Yueheng was already a Soul Sage. However, Huo Yuhao was also a seven-ringed Soul Sage! He even possessed twin martial souls!

    Dai Yueheng even told Dai Luoli that Huo Yuhao was the future Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    Even though Dai Luoli didn¡¯t feel close to Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, he still respected both of his elder brothers. He was jealous that they could enter Shrek Academy to learn.

    However, their talents seemed to pale inparison to Huo Yuhao. His three elder brothers were likely to be some of the most elite soul masters on the continent in the future!

    Dai Luoli couldn¡¯t help but respect Huo Yuhao more after learning about all his miracles.

    The sky had turnedpletely dark by now. The White Tiger Duke descended from the sky. Evidently, he had juste down from the watchtower, where he had looked on as the troops were deployed.

    Huo Yuhao received him, and the White Tiger Duke said, ¡°Our men are already on the move. Yuhao, are you ready?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and replied, ¡°Anytime.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded and replied, ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll take action immediately then.¡± As he spoke, he retrieved a flying-type soul tool from his storage-type soul tool and put it on. As a Titled Douluo, it was still much morefortable for him to use a flying-type soul tool, even though he was able to fly freely in the air. It was also easier for him to help Huo Yuhao into the air with the help of a soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao also started to get ready, and put on his own flying-type soul tool.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The White Tiger Duke stood behind Huo Yuhao, grabbing him below his arms.. His soul power surged, and the two of them rose into the air. They ascended in a straight line into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was fixated on a specific position on the ground. At this moment, his gaze was gentle, indistinct, and carried a sense of yearning. It felt as if he wanted to imprint everything that he was seeing into his head.

    The look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes was equally indistinct. She had never seen a man¡¯s gaze so deep and emotional before. Within all the emotions he was experiencing, there seemed to be one of destion¡­

    Something isn¡¯t right.

    It is unlikely that he has an eighty percent chance of survival. It might not even be fifty percent.

    At this moment, Tang Wutong finally understood everything. However, the White Tiger Duke was already high up in the air with Huo Yuhao. In such a short span of time, they managed to reach more than a thousand meters into the air as they raced skywards.

    Eight soul engineer legions were deployed at the same time. Even though they were only there to distract their enemies, almost all of the soul masters of the Star Luo Empire had been deployed. At such a time, the mission had to be carried out.

    This fool!Tang Wutong furrowed her brow. Even though she didn¡¯t want to admit it, she was clearly aware that it was highly likely that Huo Yuhao had persisted in carrying out his surveince of the Death God because of what had happenedst night.

    Is it really possible for someone to forgo his life because of a romantic rtionship? This fellow is really a fool!

    Tang Wutong clenched her fists tightly. She felt breathless, as if some special power were controlling her innermost feelings.

    As Dai Hao unleashed his strength, everything below started to be a blur. Huo Yuhao also finally lifted his head. He stopped looking at Tang Wutong, who had be indistinct.

    Even though she¡¯s not Dong¡¯er, she still looks very simr to Dong¡¯er! Tonight, I¡¯ll treat her as Dong¡¯er, since I might not be able to survive this ordeal.

    A slight smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. As he sensed the low surrounding temperature, his soul power started to circte. As the aura of Ultimate Ice filled his body, the external cold wasn¡¯t able to affect him at all.

    ¡ª

    One thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand meters¡­

    After rising three thousand meters into the air, the external temperature dropped significantly. Even the White Tiger Duke was slowing down as he continued to climb.

    ¡°Yuhao, how are you feeling? If you aren¡¯t feelingfortable, please tell me. We can stop.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Please continue,¡± Huo Yuhao replied calmly.

    Dai Hao furrowed his brow. From Huo Yuhao¡¯s tone of voice, he could evidently sense indifference and coldness.

    What¡¯s going on with him? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s experiencing emotional changes right now?

    ncing down from the sky, it was clear that countless soul masters were already flying towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range from the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s military base.

    All those who were involved were wearing flying-type soul tools. Even though the operation was jointly carried out by eight soul engineer legions, there were only two thousand-plus soul masters involved. They were mainly four-ringed and five-ringed soul masters, and were widely scattered. From afar, they were subtly creeping their way towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    There were a few Titled Douluo among these four-ringed and five-ringed soul masters. They were the mainmanders of this operation.

    Even though they weren¡¯t really attacking, they still had to make their enemies feel threatened. At the same time, they had to try to minimize their losses. Under such a situation, the Titled Douluo were the best candidates to ensure a smooth flow of the operation.

    Furthermore, they weren¡¯t attacking close to the main peak. The Death God couldn¡¯t reach them. Of course, there were still other terrifying soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire possessed, hidden in the mountains. Without urate intelligence, it wasn¡¯t feasible to venture deeper.

    The Sun Moon Empire was bullying the Star Luo Empire in terms of itsck of surveince ability. It was difficult to tell how many soul tools they had nted in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. After all, the Star Luo Empire didn¡¯t have any credible intelligence.

    At four thousand meters, the temperature had already fallen far below zero, and it was falling even further. Every few hundred meters up, the temperature dropped a further five to six degrees. After five thousand meters, the temperature was below negative a hundred degrees Celsius! Literally no biological organism would be able to survive at such a height. It was also why high-altitude aerial surveince soul tools weren¡¯t able to develop further.

    The White Tiger Duke was draining a lot of his soul power. As Huo Yuhao was close to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s body, he could clearly sense the explosive strength and immense soul power from him.

    These were soul power undtions from a Titled Douluo! They were strong and consolidated.

    If his martial soul hadn¡¯t followed his mother¡¯s Spirit Eyes, he might have had a White Tiger, too. In addition, his destiny might have beenpletely different.

    It was his father. This was his father behind him!

    Naturally, Dai Hao didn¡¯t know about Huo Yuhao¡¯splicated emotional changes as he rose into the sky. He only sensed ayer of soul power that seemed to be there, and yet seemed not there in Huo Yuhao. The cirction of qi in his body was also very gentle. Under such low temperatures, Huo Yuhao was less drained than him.No wonder he¡¯s a top student, and someone who possesses Ultimate Ice.

    Forty-five hundred meters.

    Dai Hao also found it a little strenuous right now. He was carrying someone, and had to keep climbing. At the same time, he had to resist the low temperature and the thinning air.

    There was also ack of elemental power at such high altitudes. It was practically impossible for a soul master to replenish himself.

    Even if the Milk Bottle technique was advanced, it wasn¡¯t very helpful for a Titled Douluo at his level. The best Milk Bottle was only ss 7. Currently, there wasn¡¯t a ss 8 Milk Bottle developed for a Titled Douluo to use.

    The soul power requirements for a ss 8 Milk Bottle were simply too high. No material was currently able to support these requirements, leaving ss 7 the limit.

    Furthermore, a Titled Douluo could recover faster by absorbing origin energy than by using a ss 7 Milk Bottle, so a true Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t use a Milk Bottle to replenish himself. Milk Bottles were useless to them!

    They were at forty-eight hundred meters now. Dai Hao¡¯s flying speed was already very slow. At such an altitude, it was actually much brighter than it was on the ground, the stars were blinding amid such thin air.

    Spots of starlight filled the sky, and fell on Dai Hao and Huo Yuhao.

    There weren¡¯t any signs of any living organisms around them. At such a low temperature and amid such thin air, no one or thing could possibly survive.

    Between forty-eight hundred meters and forty-nine hundred meters, Dai Hao used one minute to ascend. In addition, his speed kept slowing down.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Huo Yuhao heard a shout behind him.

    Following that, he felt his body lighten. Dai Hao¡¯s hands had disappeared, and a strong burst of soul power came from behind him.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously lowered his head and saw that the White Tiger Duke had turned into a huge White Tiger. He had lifted Huo Yuhao up and let him sit on him.

    This¡­

    As he sat on the huge White Tiger¡¯s back, Dai Hao rose faster and faster. In just a few breaths, he managed to surge beyond five thousand meters, and was surging even further.

    Martial Soul True Body, White Tiger!

    The White Tiger Vajra Transformation and White Tiger¡¯s Devilgod Transformation were both unleashed. Right now, the White Tiger Duke had increased his cultivation to his strongest state to send Huo Yuhao further up into the air.

    Someone else was already taking such a great risk. How could he possibly not give his all?

    However, Dai Hao didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao was very conflicted right now.

    When he was young, Huo Yuhao had lived in the Duke¡¯s Mansion with his mother and the servants. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s servants also had kids, and he would always watch as they were carried by their fathers, looking very blissful.

    When that happened, he would always ask his mother where his father was.When can I be carried by my father, just like them?

    Every time, his mother would always tell him that it would happen in the future, and that his father was very busy.

    He had waited for twenty years, just like that.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect to be carried by his father in this lifetime. He was already tearing up. No matter how much he hated Dai Hao, he now deeply understood that he was right to have saved Dai Hao twice.

    The quiet night sky was extremely chilly. However, there was only warmthing from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s fur.

    I can finally¡­ be carried by my father.

    A mother¡¯s love was boundless. What about a father¡¯s love? A father¡¯s love was always deep. Perhaps a father wasn¡¯t very good at expressing himself, but there was no doubt that a father¡¯s love wasparable to a mother¡¯s love. A father ran around outside to support his family. Perhaps he might be less caring, but how would there be a warm family without a father supporting it?

 Chapter 442.1 - Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 442.1: Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!</h4>

    Five thousand meters!

    Huo Yuhao was riding the White Tiger Duke, and finally managed to reach an altitude of five thousand meters. He watched the soul tool that measured their altitude as he sensed the White Tiger Duke¡¯s surging soul power, filled withplex feelings.

    This was his father¡¯s back, wide and strong, and giving him a sense of security!

    Dai Hao, who had transformed into a White Tiger, was still rising quickly. In just a few seconds, he managed to climb a few more hundred meters.

    The night sky was getting quieter. Right now, the lights that came from below them also became unclear. Everything around them was pitch-ck and cold. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t terrified at all. He didn¡¯t know why¡­ it might have been because of Dai Hao, or for some other reason.

    Dim white light was shining from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s fur. The extremely low surrounding temperature also spurred Huo Yuhao to unleash his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor to protect himself from being frozen.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s aura was at its limit. Even though he didn¡¯t unleash it toward Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao still felt slightly petrified.

    However, he felt as if some kind of energy in his body was being summoned just as he was petrified. This feeling was very weird. Huo Yuhao quickly found the source of this energy¡­ blood! More urately speaking, it was his lineage.

    It was the lineage that he had inherited from his father! When the White Tiger Duke unleashed his soul power to his full ability, the power of his own lineage rose along with his martial soul. Huo Yuhao shared the same blood as him, while his cultivation was also weaker than the White Tiger Duke¡¯s. Naturally, he was drawn by the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lineage.

    Blood is thicker than water. Given that they were directly rted, the connection of their lineage was undoubtedly very close. Under such a situation, Huo Yuhao felt even closer to the White Tiger Duke.

    The cirction of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s blood was increasing quickly. Also, Huo Yuhao was astonished to realize that the White Tiger Duke¡¯s aura seemed to have some kind of weird power that was fusing into his body in streaks. His cirction was increasing quickly as this power fused into his body. As the weird power spread over him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s real eyes couldn¡¯t help but appear. To prevent the White Tiger Duke from finding out, he had no choice but to use his Imitation to conceal them.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± the White Tiger Duke¡¯s voice sounded.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Huo Yuhao was immediately jolted to his senses.

    ¡°I can send you to an altitude of almost six thousand meters. If I continue to rise further, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll drain too much of your soul power when you glide over the mountains. My limit is around fifty-eight hundred to six thousand meters. Do you think you need to reach a greater height?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to. Fifty-five hundred meters is sufficient.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, prepare yourself!¡± The White Tiger Duke¡¯s body started to shine even brighter. The ring white lights engulfed Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and isted him from the cold. He turned into a ball of intense white light that rose further into the sky. In an instant, they rose several hundred more meters.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened, and his soul power surged,pletely transforming into Ultimate Ice. Given his immense spiritual power, he could sense more than one thousand meters around him, even without his Spirit Eyes. He knew that the White Tiger¡¯s sudden outburst meant that the mission was about to begin.

    Indeed, the white light slowly retracted after a moment. The White Tiger¡¯s momentum seemed to have stopped. The huge White Tiger turned into a ball of light that surrounded Huo Yuhao. As the white light surged, the White Tiger disappeared, and the White Tiger Duke had already returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. He grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist and shouted, ¡°Yuhao, you must be careful, and mind your safety. Don¡¯t be reckless. I¡¯m going to send you in. Get ready!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao simply acknowledged his words. His Ice Empress¡¯ Armor strengthened slightly, and a stalk of shiny and smooth Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass appeared on his shoulder. It released an icy-blue aura around Huo Yuhao.

    The White Tiger Duke shouted, and the veins on his burly arms bulged. His explosive strength was instantly unleashed. He exerted strength from his waist and flung Huo Yuhao out.

    Huo Yuhao rolled up naturally in the air and shot forward more than a few hundred meters like a grenade. As he shot forward, he slowly opened up his body like a big bird. A butterfly-shaped flying-type soul tool opened up behind his back and stabilized his body in the air.

    The White Tiger Duke drifted in mid-air. After seeing that Huo Yuhao had stabilized his body and flownoff into the distance, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    Before he personally witnessed it, he couldn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao could survive at such a high altitude even though he was only just a Soul Sage. His Ultimate Ice was indeed extraordinary!

    At this moment, the White Tiger Duke focused his gaze. He was stunned to discover that Huo Yuhao, who was within his field of view just earlier, had already disappeared. He had disappeared without a trace. Even with his acute senses as a Titled Douluo, he wasn¡¯t able to locate him.

    This kid! He¡¯s indeed unparalleled in his surveince abilities! How did he manage to do this? Even if he possesses twin martial souls, shouldn¡¯t he be using his Ultimate Ice martial soul? How is he able to use his spiritual-type martial soul at the same time?

    It was normal for the White Tiger Duke to be unable toprehend this. He was still very unfamiliar with the newly-discovered Spirit system.

    Although Huo Yuhao was gifted, he couldn¡¯t use two martial souls at the same. However, it was different if he had a Spirit.

    More urately speaking, the Ice Empress was his martial soul. She wasn¡¯t considered his Spirit. However, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was a pure Spirit.

    When the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, it immediately had a protective effect on him. The extremely low temperature in the sky couldn¡¯t affect the Ice Grass, which favored low temperatures. In the thin air, there was only one element that was in abundance¡­ ice! The Ice Grass tapped into this power after it appeared to create ayer of icy air around Huo Yuhao that helped to protect him. Huo Yuhao then changed his martial soul to his Spirit Eyes and unleashed them, melting into the night sky.

    The powerful effects of a Spirit were immactely demonstrated on Huo Yuhao, who had twin martial souls.

    He unleashed his butterfly wings, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t increase his speed to the maximum. After changing to his Spirit Eyes, the thin air continued to affect him, but not too badly. As for the external cold, he wasn¡¯t bothered at all.

    After he unleashed his spiritual power, he started to survey thends below him. He suddenly realized that he enjoyed the feeling of this quiet night sky. Up here, no biological organism could survive for long. It was rare for any living organism to even attempt to reach such an altitude. He felt as if he were the only person in the world. Although it was lonely, there was still an exhrating feeling of freedom.

    Up here, the restraints of the world didn¡¯t seem to be a problem anymore. His mood gradually entered an ethereal state. His soul power slowed down through a very special method, and his spiritual and soul power fused together perfectly.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao seemed to have entered an ascended state. It was like his first time in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but it also felt like his first time looking at the boundless sea of clouds when he first climbed Clear Sky Peak.

    His body fused with nature, and ayer of dim golden light shone about him. The golden light was clear, as if he had be a star. It seemed like Huo Yuhao had be a part of the sky right now.

    The summoning feeling that he had once sensed in the Spirit Pagoda appeared once again. Perhaps it was because he was high up in the sky, but this summoning feeling was even clearer this time.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that his entire world had turned golden. The pitch-ck night sky was no longer dark. It was as if some special power of longing was about to descend from the sky onto his body.

    At this moment, a strong dark aura spread from his chest. A strong power of darkness spread, and ayer of thin scales appeared once again.

    The rise of this darkness jolted Huo Yuhao to his senses. He furrowed his brow and quickly exited his exalted state.

    Everything around him was still as dark as ever. There was no gold around him at all. A sarcastic smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips.Di Tian, it¡¯s you again.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Great Star Dou Forest.

    The clear Lake of Life suddenly surged. A ball of intense ck light shot into the sky. A terrifying aura was immediately released and diffused into the air.

    Even the powerful soul beasts that lived in the ughtering Grounds were all shocked when they sensed this aura, immediately throwing themselves onto the ground like astonished little cats.

    The ck light gradually retracted. Di Tian slowly appeared in mid-air.

    He had already turned pale, and his fists were clenched. His entire body was filled with a dangerous aura.

    ¡°Second time. This is already the second time. Why? Why is this so? I¡¯ve been pursuing it for eight hundred thousand years, but I¡¯ve not obtained it. But it¡¯s already appeared twice on his body, summoning him! Why is this so unfair? Is it just because I¡¯m a soul beast and he¡¯s a human?¡±

    Low-pitched roars echoed in the Great Star Dou Forest. However, no one could answer Di Tian¡¯s question.

    Di Tian gradually calmed down. However, his expression was still as gloomy as ever.

 Chapter 442.2 - Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 442.2: Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!</h4>

    ¡°No matter what, I won¡¯t let youplete it. As long as my reverse scale is in you, you can only remain in this world and protect the fortune of the Great Star Dou Forest. After you die, I¡¯ll use some methods to make you transfer the power of destiny to a soul beast, and further the fortune of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Di Tian looked a little hesitant as he muttered to himself. If not for the fact that he couldn¡¯t use brute force to make destiny submit to him, he would have killed Huo Yuhao long ago. However, the power of destiny could only be transferred willingly, it couldn¡¯t be taken by force. No matter how strong Di Tian was, he couldn¡¯t challenge thews of the the world. He could only wait while protecting Huo Yuhao¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    After snapping out of his contemtive state, Huo Yuhao looked very calm once more. This wasn¡¯t Di Tian¡¯s first time hindering him. However, he had also used his actions to prove to his Spirits that searching for that feeling wasn¡¯t so difficult. This actually wasn¡¯t the second time. More urately speaking, it was the third time. It was just because he was too invested earlier on, which stopped him from controlling his own sensations. Otherwise, he might not have been discovered by Di Tian this time, either.

    His gaze suddenly turned sharp. He summoned all his soul power and poured it into his flying-type soul tool. Suddenly, all of his soul tool¡¯s ports started to circte at full speed, thrusting him forward like a streak of flowing light. He charged towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range at lightning-quick speed.

    Huo Yuhao was still five thousand meters in the air right now, and finally tapped into his own soul power to fly. It was also now that he finally felt the burden of moving at such a high altitude.

    He was still using his soul power to propel his soul tool, but he was drained three times as quickly as normal. His flying-type soul tool seemed to be affected by the low temperature and thin air, and was quickly drained. At the same time, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to use his soul power to change the speed of his blood cirction in order to maintain the necessary functions of his own body. Concurrently, he filtered the thin air and absorbed what he could into his body. These processes drained him even further.

    Flying at an altitude of five thousand meters, he was naturally unafraid of being spotted by the Sun Moon Empire. However, Huo Yuhao clearly understood that even a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t withstand being at such a high altitude for long. If not for his flying-type soul tool, he couldn¡¯t possibly fly here, given his abilities as a Soul Sage.

    In less than half a minute, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was drained by almost twenty percent. If he continued flying like this, he couldn¡¯t possibly reach the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    His butterfly-winged flying-type soul tool¡¯s ports stopped working under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. He couldn¡¯t sustain this any longer. If he continued to do so, he couldn¡¯t possiblyplete his mission.

    After he shut the ports, he continued to maintain his flying speed. However, he was slowly descending as he glided towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This had always been his n.

    Descending from such a great height waspletely in contrast with ascending into the sky. The pressure that he had to bear was naturally dipping, and he didn¡¯t need to use his soul power to fly anymore. He was in a much better position now.

    Huo Yuhao continuously used his spiritual detection to observe everything below him. At the same time, he kept an eye on the detector on his wrist. Above three thousand meters was a safe height to remain at, a height where he would still remain undetected.

    This surveince mission involved a few critical risks. Comparatively speaking, getting closer to the Ming Dou Mountain Range was actually the safest part. This was because Huo Yuhao could remove any soul power undtions by shutting his flying-type soul tool off and using his Imitation to conceal himself. With the help of his Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, his body temperature was also regted to a temperature identical to the air. Unless oscition detectors were used, there weren¡¯t any soul tools that could possibly detect his presence.

    Oscition detectors were usually very short-range. They couldn¡¯t possibly detect anything three thousand meters up in the sky.

    On the other hand, there were two different times that would be the most dangerous. The first would be when Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection and tried to survey the area around the Death God.

    The second period would be when he retreated. During the process of retreating, he would need some thrust, which could only be achieved through unleashing his soul power. His Imitation couldn¡¯t possibly remove all traces of his soul power undtions, it could only conceal them to the best of his ability. As for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul power detectors, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t certain whether he would be detectable by them. After all, he hadn¡¯t obtained any information about the soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire had installed in the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    As he drew closer and closer, he was also descending through the air. From five thousand to four thousand meters, he was able to see lightsing from the ground as the pressure on him lessened.

    At this moment, the Star Luo Empire started tounch their attack to cover the traces of his surveince. Balls of light could be seen being unleashed toward the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    These balls of lights also helped Huo Yuhao determine the position of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and more urately locate his target.

    Even given Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities as a Soul Sage and a possessor of twin martial souls, he found it difficult to fly without using a flying-type soul tool, so he was very cautious in the control of his butterfly-winged flying-type soul tool. During the process of gliding, he used the wind currents to maintain his altitude.

    Finally, the highest peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range came into his field of view just as the detector on his wrist indicated that he was at an altitude of three thousand six hundred meters. More urately speaking, the highest peak came within the range of his Spiritual Detection.

    This was roughly the distance he had nned for. Huo Yuhao used his Spirit Eyes to observe his surroundings and made a simple estimation. He was now around eight to ten kilometers away from the highest mountain peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Ten kilometers was the upper limit of his unidirectional detection. However, he was high up in the sky, which affected the uracy of his detection to some degree, and he could only make a conservative estimate.

    His butterfly wings curved in the air to aid him in gliding with the wind currents. Huo Yuhao controlled his flight and tried his best to drift in mid-air. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny slowly opened under the stimulus of his spiritual power. Clear rose-gold light shed slightly, and a huge vertically-pupiled eye appeared behind Huo Yuhao.

    To raise the effectiveness of his Spiritual Detection, he needed the help of his Eye of Destiny!

    Without any hindrance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s first and second soul rings lit up at the same time. Under the effect of his Imitation, all the light that he released was assimted into his surroundings. It made him look like a ball of air that could generate soul power and spiritual undtions.

    His immense spiritual power cut through the sky like an invisible ray of light. It went straight toward the highest peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    ording to his understanding of the Death God, the Death God¡¯s effective range was roughly five thousand meters, coincidentally outside the range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. In this case, he wouldn¡¯t be in much danger even if he was discovered on his way back. After all, a Titled Douluo would still need some time to catch up with Huo Yuhao, given the speed he was capable of. By the time that happened, he would have returned to the territory controlled by the Star Luo Empire, and people would be there to reinforce him.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned serious after a brief moment. This was because he was stunned to discover that his Spiritual Detection was blocked off by an invisible barrier when it was only a thousand meters from the highest peak. After this, his Spiritual Detection dissipated. The barrier was even shaking slightly.

    This wasn¡¯t some protective barrier created from soul power. It was a real, spiritual barrier!

    Strong spiritual power. Don¡¯t tell me that this was generated from a soul tool?

    Huo Yuhao was shocked.

    Although there were soul tools that could enhance one¡¯s spiritual power, they were very rare. Furthermore, the extent of the increase was limited. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao would have equipped himself with one. Even though his spiritual power didn¡¯t prate the barrier earlier, he could still clearly sense that a massive spiritual barrier covered the entire highest peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. There weren¡¯t any loopholes. This meant that he had to ovee this barrier before he could perform any surveince.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t guess who had erected such a powerful and sturdy spiritual barrier. At the very least, a spiritual-type soul master with the powers of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo was needed to mount such a defense. More importantly, the area that it covered was simply too huge. The amount of spiritual power drained to erect such a spiritual barrier had to be incredible!

    Among all the powerful individuals that Huo Yuhao knew, only the Evileye Tyrant King was so specialized in spiritual power and possessed such terrifying spiritual strength. However, the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t possibly have engaged the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s help, no matter how influential it was.

    This was why he deduced that a few spiritual and defensive-type soul tools were being used to protect the highest peak of the mountain range.The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s knowledge of soul tools has actually reached such a level!No matter how much Huo Yuhao had overestimated them earlier, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked right now.

    At this moment, he saw a streak of light on the highest peak. It was an object that resembled a spire. Although it was very far away, Huo Yuhao could still see it clearly.

    That spire-like object came from the top of the mountain peak. After that, it quickly grew upward. Very quickly, it was more than ten meters high. The top of it shed with glowing metal. Suddenly, a bright, white halo spread from that spire-like object, projected towards Huo Yuhao.

    The white halo quickly spread after moving away from the spire-like object. It kept on growing, as if it were a rising tidal wave!

 Chapter 442.3 - Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 442.3: Spiritual Barrier, Terrifying Mountain Peak!</h4>

    What is this?Undoubtedly, it was another soul tool that Huo Yuhao had never seen before. However, just because he had never seen it before didn¡¯t mean that it wasn¡¯t dangerous. His senses were also very acute. Although the white halo had yet to reach him, he could judge that it wasn¡¯t offensive or lethal. However, it contained gentle undtions, and a spiritual aura.

    Spiritual-type, oscition detector? Once-off thing? This isn¡¯t good. It¡¯s trying to locate my position!

    After a brief moment of judgment, Huo Yuhao immediately reacted. The white halo covered more and more area as it spread out. At first, it was only a meter wide. However, it instantly grew to more than a hundred meters wide, and it continued to expand further. At such a speed, it would be more than five hundred meters wide by the time it reached Huo Yuhao. There wasn¡¯t any way he could avoid it if it expanded to that width.

    At this critical moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s decisiveness developed during the Ultimate Soldier n yed a prominent role. He put his flying-type soul tool away without any hesitation and allowed himself to freefall.

    He might possibly enter the surveince range of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to be engulfed by the white halo even if he ran the risk of doing just that. He could sense a lethal threat from that non-lethal, inoffensive white halo.

    He fell very quickly. The wind around him was extremely strong, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power kept him focused on the white halo.

    His quick reaction saved him. That white halo swept past his head, and only slowly dissipated around ten kilometers from the mountain peak.

    As it swept past his head, Huo Yuhao immediately confirmed his judgment earlier. He was right. There wasn¡¯t any strong aura within that white light. However, it clearly contained some kind of special frequency wave, as well as a light spiritual aura. That was sufficient to determine the position of anyone it ran into.

    As he fixed his gaze on the mountain peak, Huo Yuhao could subtly see a dim-red object shing slightly before disappearing.

    Lucky!

    If his position had been determined, he might have been struck a deadly blow in the next instant.

    What kind of power does this mountain peak possess? Its defense is actually so strong! My spiritual power only slightly touched the barrier before such a huge reaction was sparked.

    As he thought to himself, Huo Yuhao summoned his soul power and reduced the momentum of his fall. His Imitation was fully unleashed before he slowly opened his butterfly-winged flying-type soul tool.

    He couldn¡¯t open it too quickly, as he was falling too fast. If things went amiss, his flying-type soul tool would be destroyed.

    As he lowered his head to look at the detector on his wrist, Huo Yuhao cursed to himself. This short period of freefall had caused his altitude to fall from thirty-five hundred meters to twenty-five hundred meters. He was within the range of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools now. Even though there were only a few soul tools that could detect him, he would have raised rm bells by now. Very soon, he was sure to be the focus of all surveince.

    What should he do?

    Every time he was in such a crisis, Huo Yuhao was always stimted to the best of his potential due to the massive pressure. This time was no exception.

    He knew that his surveince mission today would be unlikely to yield too much progress. However, it wasn¡¯t aplete failure. At least he had managed to see what was going on at the mountain peak. He had to return now.

    He managed to halt his freefall, and changed his unidirectional detection to an all-around detection, sensing the changesing from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. At the same time, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference while using his Imitation. With his Spiritual Interference, hundreds of square meters of air around him were covered in invisible spiritual undtions. Any form of surveince that entered this region would certainly be affected.

    Just like Huo Yuhao had judged, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reaction was quick. It was just a matter of seconds before several surveince soul tools were up around Huo Yuhao. These souls tools employed virtually all the types of surveince abilities that were avable. All that surveince was focused on Huo Yuhao. They were directly aimed at the region below where the white light had passed earlier.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s experience in terms of reconnaissance through surveince soul tools impressed Huo Yuhao. They must have concluded that he couldn¡¯t possibly fly upward, and could only choose to descend. At such an altitude, he couldn¡¯t gain any speed if he tried to fly. Furthermore, they clearly didn¡¯t locate him earlier, though they were clearly studying the region he was in right now.

    He turned around immediately. He couldn¡¯t care about being exposed now. He opened his flying-type soul tool fully and turned into a streak of flowing light before charging toward the military base of the Star Luo Empire.

    Behind those surveince soul tools, a dozen figures continued to chase him. Without a doubt, the Sun Moon Empire had sent out their most outstanding soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao was very impressed with how the Sun Moon Empire was able to seal off all counter-surveince on them. His appearance drew great attention from the Sun Moon Empire.

    Someone powerful from the Sun Moon Empire gave out instructions that Huo Yuhao had to be killed, no matter the price! A spiritual-type soul master that could perform long-range surveince was too important for the Star Luo Empire. However, it was very rare to find such a soul master, so the Sun Moon Empire was determined to kill him!

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s judgment of Huo Yuhao was also very urate. They didn¡¯t think that the Star Luo Empire had any soul tools that could perform long-range detection. Since it wasn¡¯t a soul tool, it had to be a soul master!

    When Huo Yuhao unleashed his full strength, his release of soul power reached a maximum immediately. This was something ordinary soul masters couldn¡¯t do. Releasing soul power was generally something that required a process. Releasing soul power at such an immense speed might cause damage to the passageways of ordinary soul masters. In fact, it might be so damaging that it was life-threatening! This was especially relevant to soul masters whose soul power was very dominant.

    But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any such problems. His body had gone through a major transformation through his immense spiritual power. His body was much stronger than most other soul masters. It was like he was using the body of a Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo to control the soul power of a Soul Sage. He would be fine even if he unleashed all his soul power suddenly.

    The moment he tried to escape with full force, the surveince soul tools behind had already roughly located his position. Among the figures that chased after him, the one that was leading the pack raised his hand before a ball of blinding golden light shot out. This ball of golden light shot like a shooting star towards Huo Yuhao. After around hundred meters, it suddenly blew apart, and turned into a huge patch of golden rain that engulfed the sky.

    Domain-type attack! His enemies had realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s position could not be specifically determined. The purpose of this domain-type attack wasn¡¯t to kill Huo Yuhao, but to determine his specific position. At the same time, it would also slow his escape.

    Stationary soul cannon shell? So brutal?

    Huo Yuhao was also a soul engineer. He could tell how powerful that soul tool was, at least a ss 6 stationary soul cannon shell. The Sun Moon Empire was going all out with their efforts to kill him!

    Snorting coldly, Huo Yuhao maintained his speed. A deep-blue projection suddenly appeared behind him. It was the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady sat on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Her slender figure resembled that of a teenager right now. Her face looked as refreshing, austere, and confident as ever. She raised her right hand as she faced behind him. Suddenly, the cold currents in the air started to gather at an rming speed.

    As deep blue lights shed,rge patches of deep-blue snowkes appeared in front of the Snow Lady. These snowkes weren¡¯t very evident in the night sky. However, they soon gathered to form a huge, deep-blue whirlpool. The golden rain that chased him was quickly devoured by this whirlpool, and disappeared without a trace.

    The Snow Lady raised her head and looked at the sky. She pointed her left hand into the distance and a ring, deep-blue glow formed on her hand. Even though it wasn¡¯t as cold at an altitude of twenty-five hundred meters aspared to five thousand meters, it was still much colderpared to the ground. To the Snow Lady, it was undoubtedly a great opportunity to demonstrate her abilities, and this was not even including the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass yet.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was on Huo Yuhao¡¯s other shoulder. An icy-blue halo spread out before fusing with the Snow Lady, boosting her power.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s help undoubtedly exposed Huo Yuhao¡¯s position. However, Huo Yuhao had already managed to escape more than ten kilometers from the Ming Dou Mountain Range within this short span of time.

    The soul engineers that were pursuing him charged forward at full speed, and drew closer and closer to him.

    However, it was at this moment that a snowstorm descended from the sky.

    Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    The snowstorm brought an unprecedented chill, and wreaked havoc with the sharp snowkes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure was once again concealed by the snowstorm. The soul engineers shot out more than ten streaks of lights, but they weren¡¯t able to determine Huo Yuhao¡¯s position. They lost their way amid the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice before he disappeared.

    When they wanted to attack from all fronts, Huo Yuhao had already disappeared once again, along with his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Air or ground?

    The soul engineers in pursuit were all stuck. At a height of twenty-five hundred meters, Huo Yuhao could either ascend or descend.

    The speed of surveince soul tools couldn¡¯tpare to these outstanding soul masters, and were evengging behind. By the time they managed to close the gap, Huo Yuhao would already have disappeared.

    One soul engineer said hatefully, ¡°This guy can conceal himself. What should we do?¡±

    The leading soul engineer shook his head and said, ¡°Everything¡¯s too hasty. We don¡¯t have time to prepare. Let¡¯s return first. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯ll be people from the Star Luo Empireing very soon.¡±

    The soul engineer who had spoken earlier twisted his lips and said, ¡°They dare toe close to us? Aren¡¯t they afraid of being killed by the Death God? I don¡¯t think they have the guts to do so. It¡¯s a pity that this guy has gotten away. The Death God Douluo personally instructed us to catch him!¡±

 Chapter 443.1 - Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again

    <h4 ss>Chapter 443.1: Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was flying very quickly, and he knew that he was safe when his enemies didn¡¯t pursue him.

    Since that was the case, he chose to fly upwards. He flew back to a height of almost three thousand meters with the help of his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice and Spiritual Interference Domain before he channeled all his strength to escape.

    Once he was safe, everything that he had just investigated surfaced in his mind.

    The defense on your peak is so tight ¨C how can I discover what your concrete situation is like? What will happen if I unleash Spiritual Shock against the spiritual barrier? What¡¯s going to happen?

    Huo Yuhao could faintly see after some calctions that he could possibly tear that spiritual barrier open temporarily if he used Spiritual Shock. However, he could only tear it open temporarily, and his Spiritual Detection was not nearly enough to investigate the circumstances inside! Unless¡­

    Unless, he snuck through the barrier himself in the short window of time that the spiritual barrier was torn open. This was the only way so that he could scout everything clearly. However, he would undoubtedly be within attacking range of the Death God, and a single misstep could lead to obliteration.

    There were many things that Huo Yuhao could do to protect his life. For instance, he had his spectral demine. He considered whether he could phase into the spectral demine first after going through the barrier, and then return to his original space to continue investigating once everything was safe and settled down.

    However, he quickly refuted this idea, and the reason was simple ¨C he needed time to enter the spectral demine. At least, he needed time for warmup and preparation. He didn¡¯t need much time; five to ten seconds were enough. However, would his enemies give him five to ten seconds? Evidently, they wouldn¡¯t.

    This was like back when he and Wang Qiu¡¯er were trapped within Sunrise City. There were legions of soul engineers looking and patrolling around, and two evil soul masters who were also Titled Douluo had locked onto them. They would undoubtedly be safe if they could jump into his spectral demine, but Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even confident in jumping over himself, let alone taking Wang Qiu¡¯er, Nan Shuishui, and Nan Qiuqiu together with him within such a short period of time. Therefore, he chose to burn his spiritual fire, and that eventually led to the tragedy of Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificing herself.

    If he couldn¡¯t rely on jumping into his spectral demine, then he could only rely on his own abilities to investigate before forcing his way back out. However, that probability was way too low.

    Once the Death God was unleashed, he would be obliterated. It was difficult to even run inside the spiritual barrier.

    Even though spiritual barriers were not like soul power barriers, which could create direct blockading effects, even somebody with spiritual power at Huo Yuhao¡¯s level would be mired within temporary confusion and a trance if they came into direct contact with it. Even a single moment of confusion and dazzlement would very likely be fatal.

    Is this really a mission that¡¯s impossible toplete?

    Huo Yuhao continued thinking, as he gradually flew back to territories controlled by the Star Luo Empire. He slowly descended and revealed himself in the air at the same time.

    Two silhouettes swiftly came close in midair, and they arrived before him in no time ¨C they were Tang Wutong and Ye Guyi, who were responsible for providing support for him in the sky.

    They could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and they immediately understood that Huo Yuhao¡¯s reconnaissance effort was probably a failure. They didn¡¯t ask much, and they escorted him towards the ground.

    Inside themander¡¯s tent.

    The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu were both waiting there. The White Tiger Duke had returned to the observation deck after he sent Huo Yuhao away. Even though he was very far away, the White Tiger Duke could still see some faint sparkles and shes in the distance.

    The White Tiger Duke only came down from the observation deck after Huo Yuhao met up with Tang Wutong and Ye Guyi, and he returned to themander¡¯s tent to wait for them.

    Xu Sanshi and the others met up when Huo Yuhao touched the ground.

    Xu Sanshi asked quietly, ¡°What¡¯s the situation like, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and shook his head. ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t scout anything at all. Come, let¡¯s talk inside.¡±

    Tang Wutong followed behind Huo Yuhao. When she saw Huo Yuhao returning, she felt as if something heavy was immediately lifted from her chest. Even she was a little surprised ¨Csince when am I so concerned about this fellow¡¯s safety?

    Xu Jiujiu came forward to wee him personally once he entered themander¡¯s tent.

    Huo Yuhao forced anotherugh and shook his head.

    Xu Jiujiu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. She smiled faintly and said, ¡°This is but our first try, and failure is the mother of sess. Yuhao, everything¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re back safe.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao knew that she didn¡¯t really mean some of the things that she said, his mood was still lifted a little. He smiled back and nodded before he swiftly stepped towards and in front of the sand table inside the tent.

    The White Tiger Duke looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation like?¡±

    Huo Yuhao pointed to the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak and lowered his voice as he said, ¡°If my judgment is correct, not only is the Death God on top of this main peak ¨C I¡¯m afraid even its creator is there as well.¡±

    Everybody was momentarily stunned when they heard his words.

    The Death God¡¯s creator?The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu¡¯s expressions changed slightly. Yes! If there was such as a thing as the Death God, then, naturally, there was a creator. This soul tool probably wasn¡¯t something that normal people could use. However, ording to the intelligence that they had received, the Death God Douluo hadn¡¯t appeared within the Sun Moon Empire in for thirty years. Did this mean that the Death God Douluo was truly here in person? That individual who was known as the existence closest to bing a ss 10 soul engineer?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look at the White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu¡¯s expressions. Instead, he recounted his reconnaissance mission in the sky and the circumstances that he had encountered in detail.

    Princess Jiujiu couldn¡¯t help but draw a cold breath when she heard Huo Yuhao speak of the spiritual barrier within a one-kilometer radius encircling the main peak. ¡°This means that the Death God Douluo isn¡¯t just adept with crafting soul tools like the Death God ¨C he¡¯s also talented in creating powerful spiritual-type soul tools?¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched. Even though he didn¡¯t say anything in response, his expression was clear enough. This wasmon knowledge ¨C since he was the soul engineer closest to bing a ss 10 soul engineer, how could he not know how to craft other kinds of soul tools?

    The White Tiger Duke then asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, what do you think the ss of this spiritual barrier is? And what is that white circle of light that tried to scan you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate as he replied, ¡°The spiritual barrier is definitely a ss 9 soul tool. Even though it¡¯s not as valuable as the Death God, it¡¯s likely to be the most powerful spiritual-type soul tool in the world today. The white light that was trying to probe me was undoubtedly also a ss 9 soul tool. Even though it could only probe outwards explosively and spontaneously, the area that it can cover is simply too great. Ten kilometers! Its detection uses both undtions and spiritual power, and it¡¯s possibly even more powerful than the spiritual barrier. Investigating the main peak with a thing such as this around is far too difficult.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu¡¯s expressions became incredibly ck after listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Just as he had said, a single mountain¡¯s peak had three ss 9 soul tools installed for defense and offense. This meant that this peak waspletely locked down. They had all experienced Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection before ¨C even he couldn¡¯tplete this reconnaissance task properly under such circumstances, so there was no need to talk about them.

    The White Tiger Duke heaved a long sigh and said, ¡°This expedition was too dangerous. Fortunately, you managed to react in time. Otherwise¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned a little as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°However, my trip wasn¡¯tpletely wasted. Duke, Princess ¨C if my guess is right, the Death God is probably more powerful than we imagined him to be.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Even more powerful?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu couldn¡¯t help but draw cold breaths at the same time. The Death God had already massacred so many of their powerful soul masters thest time around. If it was more powerful than they had imagined, how powerful could it possibly be?

    Xu Jiujiu asked with great difficulty, ¡°What aspect are you referring to, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Distance.¡±

    ¡°Previously, I was about eight to nine thousand meters away from the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s tallest peak when I attempted detection. Suppose that the white light released from the main peak did reach me, and that would mean it had locked onto my position. This means an attack was bound toe right afterward. I could faintly feel that a red metal object flickered on the main peak, though it disappeared because the white light didn¡¯t touch me.¡±

    ¡°My enemies didn¡¯t know what my cultivation rank was, and they must have had expended a lot of energy to activate that special ss 9 soul detector. They weren¡¯t afraid to consume energy, and that means they weren¡¯t about to let their efforts go to waste. If they were just going to send soul engineers to run me down, they shouldn¡¯t have any confidence of doing so at such a great distance from the main peak. In the end, they didn¡¯t know what kind of cultivation I possess. Therefore, the most likely case was that the main peak couldunch a direct attack against me. Under those circumstances, during that time, only the Death God on the main peak would be able to kill me with one strike and with absolute certainty. This means that the Death God¡¯s attacking range could be more than five kilometers. In other words, it can reach five kilometers when it¡¯s unleashing an attack over an area, but it can reach further when it¡¯s attacking in a single direction.

    The White Tiger Duke clenched his right fist and pressed it against the edge of the sand table as he listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis. He contemted momentarily as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°That¡¯s very possible. If that¡¯s the case, the Death God would still have been able to cause us heavy losses the next time around if we had estimated its range at five thousand meters. It¡¯s possible that even its range for area attacks can reach further than that. If that¡¯s the case, then the Death God is just too terrifying.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We can¡¯t make any other judgments about the Death God because we are terribly short on information regarding it. I feel that we have to continue our reconnaissance missions, and we should only stop once we figure everything out about this soul tool. The Death God¡¯s attacking strength is far too frightening ¨C furthermore, its surrounding defenses are tight and strict. One can say that the Death God is the key to whether we will be able to break through the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defensive perimeter. As long as we can do something to get rid of it, we will have very good chances of breaking through the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s defensive perimeter. In the end, we have many soldiers and soul masters. Our forward push and momentum will be unstoppable once we break through this defensive perimeter.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke answered, ¡°But conducting any more scouting missions against them is just too dangerous. Furthermore, only you possess abilities like that, and I can¡¯t let you put yourself in harm¡¯s way again.¡±

 Chapter 443.2 - Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again

    <h4 ss>Chapter 443.2: Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again</h4>

    Huo Yuhao smiled inly and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, Duke ¨C with this attempt, we have obtained a better understanding of the Death God. I will be even more careful next time, and I will not use Spiritual Detection rashly to investigate what¡¯s happening on the other side. You can rest assured that I will not treat my life like a joke.¡±

    The disappointment in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart had vaporized after tonight¡¯s investigation. If his opponents were too simple, they wouldn¡¯t trigger his fighting spirit, while the Death God¡¯s mysteriousness and how powerful it was piqued his interest greatly. He was the only sessful product of Shrek Academy¡¯s Ultimate Soldier n.

    Wasn¡¯t investigating the Death God the best tform to evaluate his ability as an Ultimate Soldier?

    The White Tiger was momentarily stunned as he stared at Huo Yuhao, who was overflowing with fighting spirit ¨C only true heroese forward in times of trouble and difficulty. This youth was faced with almost impossible circumstances and a dead end, but he was still full of fighting spirit and wasn¡¯t in the least bit timid or afraid. He didn¡¯t just haveudable spirit, he also had confidence in his own abilities at the same time! He would push forward even in the face of impossible opposition ¨C such a role model!

    Xu Jiujiu stared at Huo Yuhao, and strange lights flickered continuously in her beautiful eyes.This fellow is just too outstanding. If only I were a few years younger¡­

    The princess couldn¡¯t help but blush a little when those thoughts ran through her head.

    Dai Hao contemted momentarily and said, ¡°I won¡¯t try to give you any more advice, Yuhao, and I represent the Star Luo Empire¡¯s millions of citizens and thank you. As soldiers, it is our duty to protect our country so that our country¡¯s citizens will not suffer the cruelty and torment of war. From now on, please tell us if you need anything or any help with regards to your investigation ¨C the Northwestern Field Army and I will do everything we can to give you sufficient aid.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Thank you for your trust. I will go back first so that I can have a long and detailed think about this.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu also needed to digest the news that Huo Yuhao had brought back tonight.

    Huo Yuhao returned to his room and crossed his legs on his bed. Images and scenes of his reconnaissance mission targeting the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak surfaced in his mind continuously, and he didn¡¯t let any single detail slip through his fingers.

    With his superior memory, everything that he had experienced just now reyed over and over again his mind with almostplete uracy.

    Is there really no weakness or loophole?

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again after two hours, and his eyebrows were tightly locked together. He had attempted many different conjectures in his mind again and again, but every single conjecture ended up at a dead end with no exception. Charging through the spiritual barrier created by the ss 9 soul tool wasn¡¯t difficult, but the hard part was how he coulde back out alive. Furthermore, investigation required time once he was inside, and would that mysterious Death God Douluo give him the time he needed?

    His eyes slowly turned golden, and two shadows were released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and took human form ¨C the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, help me think of solutions. Do I have a chance from your perspective?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Yes, of course you have a chance.¡± There was a sneer on his face when he spoke.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at him in surprise. He had been wracking his brains for such a long time to no avail, and the Skydream Iceworm immediately said he had a chance once he came out.

    The Skydream Iceworm sneered and said, ¡°You have forgotten one thing, Yuhao! You have a powerful protector. If you factor this into your calctions, you may not even be able to die even if the Death God gives you a direct hit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up and said, ¡°Are you saying¡­¡±

    The Ice Empress chimed in, ¡°We can¡¯t just let him just do bad things by attaching himself to you. He has to show some responsibility.¡±

    There was no question that the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion were talking about the Beast God, who had a reverse scale attached to Huo Yuhao.

    The Beast God was afraid of Huo Yuhao attaining the Godly Seat and breaking through the human limit in the future. However, he was afraid of Huo Yuhao dying at the same time. If Huo Yuhao died, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s fortune and destiny would be terminated, and that could be considered absolutely destructive for them. Therefore, Di Tian had to use his own strength to protect Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress ¨C how much, do you guys think, of Di Tian¡¯s strength can be channeled through that reverse scale when it takes a destructive hit?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Attacking strength will be hard to say, but at least eighty percent of his defensive strength can be channeled. Previously, when he stopped you twice from feeling the God Realm¡¯s energy, he almost used a conversion technique to bring his aura to the surface of your body. Under such circumstances, you can almost directly pass on the impact of any destructive attack to his body.¡±

    ¡°Di Tian is able to control a certain amount of spatial energy with his cultivation, and he can locate your position through the reverse scale, and transfer his own strength through spatial energy. When you¡¯re in danger, you can use spiritual power to stimte that reverse scale so that Di Tian¡¯s reaction can be even faster. Perhaps you can even rip him off a little. As for you, as long as there¡¯s enough defensive strength, you can at least run into your spectral demine. Of course, we also have to be extra careful ¨C we should be alright at long as we don¡¯t take a direct hit from the Light of the Death God.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly started to glow after he listened to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words. A crack had seemed to appear in the dead end from before.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we can¡­¡±

    One dayter.

    Huo Yuhao was up very early in the morning, and his spirits were a lot betterpared to the previous day.

    For Huo Yuhao, there were many times when Dong¡¯er was his everything. His conclusion that Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Dong¡¯er had affected him a lot, and investigating the Death God became the best way for him to free himself. The pain in his heart became a lot lighter if he channeled his energies and emotions into this endeavor.

    He cast his gaze towards the east as he left his tent. He made use of the purple energy from the east that came in the early morning and cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t give up on cultivating his Purple Demon Eyes even though it had been raised to its limit. Cultivation had long since be the most important thing in his bones.

    Warm purple energy nourished his eyes and made his already extremely clear and transparent eyes even more glossy and full of luster, and the pale purple hues emanated an elegant and noble aura.

    Tang Wutong walked out from her tent, which was next to his. She saw Huo Yuhao, who was still cultivating on his side, once she came out.

    Tang Wutong realized to her surprise that she felt a little dazed when she concentrated on Huo Yuhao. In that moment, she felt as if his entire being had integrated into the air, and it seemed like his body was part of the sunlight and the air. This irvoyant and prating feeling didn¡¯t have a single trace of impurity.

    How can that be?She felt like she had only had this feeling from her father before.

    His soul power was like great waves, and his blood qi was like mercury.

    With every breath that Huo Yuhao took, the qi and blood in his body, his soul power, and his spiritual power fused together almost perfectly, and circted at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously felt as if his cultivation was improving again.

    For Huo Yuhao in his current state, a pure improvement in his soul power was not enough to satisfy his needs. It was more important for him to feel the greatws of heaven and earth during the process of cultivation. Previously, he had only managed to gain that blessing from the aura of the world during his moments of deep contemtion.

    Huo Yuhao stood there for an hour. He exhaled a long breath when the soul power in his body followed the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s pathways back into his dantian. The air became mist, and was thin like a thread, but condensed without dissipating. This stream of air reached one hundred meters, and it stretched through the sky like a fine white line.

    Light flickered beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and golden light erupted from them. The white mist was swiftly converted into thin threads in the next moment, and these threads wrapped back around as they merged into circle after circle of light before they re-entered his body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s three energies reached their peak condition in that moment. There seemed to be mystical energies resonating around his body, and the vital energies of heaven and earth seemed to gather towards him with a speed visible to the human eye with every breath that he took. Even though they quickly dissipated from his body after that moment of aggregation, one could tell with a closer look that the most important parts of the vital energy of heaven and earth that was released after absorption had disappeared, as if those most important parts had beenpletely fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    This continued for almost another hour, and the sky was almostpletely bright by now. The sudden onset of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Conscientious State of cultivation ended.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had improved a little. More importantly, his spiritual energy and soul power had developed more chemistry, and it was the same with his blood and qi as well.This feeling is just fantastic, and it seems like the previous night¡¯s danger was also quite stimting for my potential.

    Huo Yuhao walked towards the canteen with a satisfied smile on his face. He was about to wash up before having some breakfast.

    ¡°Hey!¡± An exmation suddenly stopped him in his tracks.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao turned around, and he saw Tang Wutong with her hands on her waist and an angry-looking demeanor. She seemed like she was covered with ayer of golden light under the light of the morning sun, and her pinkish-blue hair was colored with another dash of gold. She was as pretty as pretty could get.

    ¡°Is something up?¡± No matter how beautiful Tang Wutong was, she already had a different ce in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart once he concluded that she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Tang Wutong was very upset! That fellow had been standing there for two hours, and she actually watched him from the side for two hours. In the end, this guy turned around and walked off after his cultivation without even giving her a single nce. She could tell from his tone that he evidently hadn¡¯t noticed her presence.

    Tang Wutong red at him as she asked, ¡°To think you¡¯re known for your spiritual power. There¡¯s a living human being standing right next to you ¨C didn¡¯t you see?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I was too into my cultivation before this. Do you need anything else?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± She stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s clean eyes that were clearly a little distant. Tang Wutong was momentarily stunned ¨Cyes! I called him to stop him for nothing. But why do I feel like this fellow¡¯s current behaviour and appearance is just so disgusting? It seems like this is worse than how he looked when he behaved like a pervert.

 Chapter 443.3 - Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again

    <h4 ss>Chapter 443.3: Rushing Towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range Once Again</h4>

    Of course, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what Tang Wutong was thinking inside. He nodded at her with a faint smile on his face when she didn¡¯t answer him, and then turned around and walked towards the canteen.

    Tang Wutong shook her fist furiously as she watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure gradually disappear. She really wanted to beat this detestable guy up, even though she didn¡¯t know why this guy was so detestable¡­

    ¡°I also want to eat!¡± Tang Wutong stomped her foot, and raised her little arrogant chin pridefully as she stepped towards the canteen.

    After breakfast, everything around Huo Yuhao seemed to be air. He directly returned to his tent, and didn¡¯t reappear until evening. He didn¡¯t evene out for lunch.

    Others naturally wouldn¡¯t go disturb him. Soul masters sometimes skipped meals when they were having closed-door cultivation. That was very normal.

    Huo Yuhao only reappeared once the sky had gonepletely dark. This time, he went right into themander¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Duke, sir.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted respectfully as he came before the White Tiger Duke.

    ¡°I heard you didn¡¯t eat lunch, Yuhao. Were you cultivating?¡± The White Tiger Duke asked with a faint smile on his face. He had a very good impression of Huo Yuhao ¨C this youth wasn¡¯t even twenty, but he had a very calm and stable personality. More importantly, he had that Spiritual Detection, and he could be said to be a fantastic boost for the Star Luo Empire¡¯s reconnaissance efforts and capability. Even though they were mired in a terrible situation at the moment, they were at least able to find some chances to resist their enemies on the level of soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Sir, I have to go out tonight. I¡¯m here to report my intentions to you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The smile on the White Tiger Duke¡¯s face immediately froze.

    ¡°You¡¯re going back out tonight? No.¡± Dai Hao almost immediately denied Huo Yuhao¡¯s words.What kind of joke is that? Last night¡¯s expedition was already so dangerous, and he almost didn¡¯te back. What are we to do if the Death God is activated when he heads back out tonight?Without considering how he felt about him, and just considering his reconnaissance value and his importance to the entire Star Luo Empire, his death in action would be an enormous and irreparable loss!

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Rest assured, Duke. I will not risk my life to investigate the Death God. I have to think about this a little more because I haven¡¯t done sufficient preparation. However, I can¡¯t do nothing right now ¨C otherwise, we¡¯re as good as trapped right here, and the Sun Moon Empire would have achieved their goal in this aspect.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡± The White Tiger Duke¡¯s expression rxed a little.

    Huo Yuhao squinted a little and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire have locked down our surveince capabilities for such a long time. I don¡¯t have a solution for the main peak where the Death God is located, but can I not do something about those surveince soul tools? I¡¯m going to cause some trouble for them.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes glowed. ¡°Are you saying¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao stepped in front of the White Tiger Duke and whispered some things to him. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes became increasingly bright as he listened, and he nodded continuously towards the end.

    ¡°Alright, do that. Don¡¯t worry, everything that you achieve or obtain will belong to you. Of course, if you¡¯re willing, the empire is willing to pay and purchase them from you as well. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡± Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation.

    The White Tiger Duke asked, ¡°Do you need me to help with anything?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No need. I¡¯ll be the smallest target by myself, so my buddies from the Tang Sect will be enough to give me support. One reason why I came to tell you is so that you will know, and another reason is so that I can tell you to pay attention to your defenses and to safeguard against any operations that our enemies make take in revenge.¡±

    A sneer appeared at the corner of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s mouth. ¡°Revenge? I was afraid that they wouldn¡¯te. I earnestly wish that they send their entire army to take their revenge.¡±

    The Star Luo Empire had an absolute advantage in terms of open battle. They had eight soul master legions¡¯ worth of fighting strength, and without considering soul tools, the White Tiger Duke was confident ofpletely defeating the soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hand that Protects the Nation if they were fighting one-on-one. Of course, the premise was that the soul engineers appeared as soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao immediately gathered hispanions once he exited themander¡¯s tent and told them about his n.

    No one was overly worried about his ns. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, he wouldn¡¯t be in too much danger as long as he didn¡¯t investigate the main peak. In the end, his abilities to confuse his enemies were too strong.

    One hourter, the camp that belonged to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army waspletely pitch-ck. There was light shining from the surveince towers, but besides that, the soldiers were all resting. Such was life in the military ¨C everyone slept early and woke up early. They did this to avoid ambushes from their enemies at midnight, and so that the army could keep themselves in top fighting condition.

    A ck shadow rose soundlessly through the air and high into the sky in the darkness of the night. All of the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools were entirely shut down at this moment, and this shadow didn¡¯t trigger any reaction at all as it rose into the sky.

    Shadow after shadow rose into the sky immediately afterwards, and they followed that first figure.

    Huo Yuhao was flying at an altitude of about one thousand meters. His flying-type soul tool was activated, and he was using Imitation at the same time. It was easiest for him to control his flight at such a height, and his speed was incredible. Typical surveince soul tools in the air couldn¡¯t even detect his existence.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range was but several dozen kilometers from the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s camp. Soul sages required very little time to fly across such a short distance.

    The dark towering mountain swiftly appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision. At this moment, he waspletely within the range of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao stabilized himself in midair and looked up at the sky.

    He ran the risk of being detected if he continued forward. The oscition detectors were the most troublesome for him ¨C those soul tools released countless soundwaves, and their method of detection imitated that of bats. Any kind of soul skills meant for concealment wouldn¡¯t avoid detection. Oscition detectors were undoubtedly the mainstream for future development in surveince soul tools. At this point, their detection range was just rtively shorter.

    Huo Yuhao released his spiritual power and stretched it far into the distance.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes quickly revealed surprise ¨Cdamn! How many surveince soul tools are there?

    Not far in the distance, there were thousands of surveince soul tools of many different kinds dotting the sky. There were surveince soul tools of almost every type, and they were arranged neatly in midair as they stretched out to both sides of the mountain range. They stretched beyond the horizon with no end in sight, and just looking at them in front of him made him feel like there were thousands of them ¨C it was hard to say how many more there were further out.

    That¡¯s nice ¨C the Sun Moon Empire is very wealthy.

    A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as his flying-type soul tool slowly became vertical. The st ports pointed downwards, and he released his own soul power at the same time. His entire body surged into the sky, and he flew towards a higher altitude.

    The aerial surveince soul tools in front of him weren¡¯t his targets. There wererge amounts of ground-to-air and air-to-ground offensive soul tools behind those surveince soul tools cooperating with them. That was position after position of soul tools. Individually, their offensive capabilities paled inparison with that of the Death God, but if all their offensive capabilities fired off at the same time, they would be able to cover an incredibly massive area. Escaping from them wouldn¡¯t be that easy ¨C otherwise, what did they rely on to stop the Star Luo Empire¡¯s great army?

    The sky became increasingly cold, and everything on the ground became increasingly small. Huo Yuhao took about fifteen minutes to fly from one thousand meters all the way to around three thousand meters in the air.

    He began to expend his soul power swiftly once he reached this height.

    A target came within range of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection not far in the distance. Huo Yuhao immediately activated Imitation to the highest possible level, and he channeled his soul power and suddenly picked up speed as he flew towards therge item that was over two meters long.

    High altitude aerial surveince soul tools ¨C only these types of soul tools could hover at three thousand meters.

    The power that the aerial surveince soul tools one thousand meters in the sky used mostly came from Milk Bottles, and they flew very quickly when special attachments were added to them. However, high altitude aerial surveince soul tools had to resist the bitter cold, and there were multiple other requirements that they had to deal with to remain at such an altitude, so they seemed a lot more unwieldy and heavy. Huo Yuhao had captured one before, so he understood their structure very well.

    High altitude aerial surveince soul tools relied more on visual detection. Oscition capabilities hadn¡¯t been developed yet, and thermal detection wasn¡¯t very useful, so they weren¡¯t installed. Huo Yuhao relied on his Imitation, and in addition to his aura of Ultimate Ice concealing him, it was impossible for him to be discovered as he moved closer.

    He quickly arrived above this high altitude aerial surveince soul tool. He wasn¡¯t hasty about it, and he activated Spiritual Detection and surveyed his surroundings.

    The same models¡¯ altitudes in the sky wouldn¡¯t vary that much, and searching for high altitude aerial surveince soul tools at such a height was naturally the easiest.

    About three minutester, the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curled into a satisfied smile. He suddenly descended a little, and ced a metal piece that was about the size of a palm against the top of that high altitude aerial surveince soul tool. This metal piece didn¡¯t have arge surface area, and it was stuck against the soul tool¡¯s blind spot, so Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of it being discovered at all.

    He flew back up again afterwards and went towards his next target.

    There were six Milk Bottles attached to the flying-type soul tool behind him. These six Milk Bottles could double the amount of time that Huo Yuhao could continue flying at a height of three thousand meters. But even then, he had to continuously consume his own soul power at the same time, and he also had to fight against the thin air and the bitter cold, so his soul power and physical strength were still being continuously expended.

    Huo Yuhao finally began to feel a little fatigued roughly one hourter. He turned around and flew back in the direction he hade from.

    Huo Yuhao dropped back to the ground only after he flew out of the detection range of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools.

    ¡°How¡¯s it?¡± Xu Sanshi had been waiting here for a long time, in ordance with the arrangements of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

 Chapter 444.1 - The Dangers of Profit

    <h4 ss>Chapter 444.1: The Dangers of Profit</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was evidently a little excited. He chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s done, third senior brother. Just wait and see ¨C this time, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely feel the pain in their bones.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed and said, ¡°I like that. Don¡¯t worry, everyone¡¯s in position. Go and take a rest.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao retrieved two Milk Bottles and crossed his legs as he sat down. He absorbed the soul power within those Milk Bottles as he activated his Mysterious Heaven Technique at the same time so that he could replenish what he had expended from before.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in his mind in that instant.How fantastic would it have been if Dong¡¯er was here! With Dong¡¯er around, we could use the Haodong power together, and that would help me recover a lot faster than using these Milk Bottles.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart began to throb painfully when he thought about Wang Dong¡¯er, and his excitement from before dropped a little.

    However, Huo Yuhao was a high-level soul master, and he was very aware of the effect inner demons had on cultivation. He quickly dispelled his thoughts and returned to calmness.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s recovery abilities were very formidable. He leveraged his tremendous life energy and recovered most of his physical strength and spiritual power after a few moments.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, and two cold lightning streaks seemed to sh across the night sky. Huo Yuhao nodded at Xu Sanshi, who was protecting him beside him, and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good enough. I¡¯m going, third senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll back you up. Let¡¯s go!¡± Xu Sanshi chuckled, and he surged into the air with Huo Yuhao at the same time. However, Huo Yuhao was flying towards the Sun Moon Empire, while Xu Sanshi went straight up into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao was back in the air, and he flew to about one thousand meters high. He returned to the edge of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools before he stopped, and retrieved a strange-looking soul tool from his pocket.

    This soul tool looked like a metal box. It wasn¡¯t very big, and it was about half a meter long, thirty centimeters wide, and twenty centimeters thick.

    This metal box¡¯s structure seemed a little crude, but one could tell upon closer inspection that the crudeness and roughness was actually caused by uncountable fine patterns aggregated together. There were many demonic patterns etched into the box.

    Huo Yuhao made several quick presses on its surface, and faint soul power undted from the box. In the next moment, a single metal line protruded from its front and quickly stretched out to almost two meters long. The metal line¡¯s tip suddenly opened, and transformed into circle after circle of metal threads. The whole thing looked extremely strange.

    Huo Yuhao infused his soul power into the box, and swiftly pressed a few more lines. The protruding metal threads glowed with circles of silver light as formless waves rippled outwards discreetly.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, I hope your toy works!¡± Huo Yuhao muttered to himself amusedly.

    High up in the sky over the horizon.

    There was a high altitude aerial surveince tool that had many auxiliary attachments opened to help it hover in midair. The metal piece that was about the size of a palm at its tip suddenly lit up as whirlpool-like circles of light quickly appeared on top of it. That light was very strange, and gentle undtions emanated from its surface.

    The lights suddenly became stronger, and lit up the area above this high altitude aerial surveince soul tool.

    ¡°Bam!¡± A crisp sound could be heard, and wave after wave of electricity was released from that metal piece, which quickly surged inside the high altitude surveince soul tool.

    The high altitude aerial surveince soul tool was originally operating stably, but it suddenly began to tremble violently as the light on top of it became even more intense.

    The same situation happened to every single high altitude aerial surveince soul tool within hundreds of kilometers around. It seemed as if they were all malfunctioning.

    Inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp on the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    ¡°What? The high altitude aerial surveince soul tools are malfunctioning? We¡¯ve lostmunication?¡±

    They were camped in a depression within the mountain, and they even bored a cave into the mountain for safety purposes. They were located not far behind the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s tallest peak, and they were specifically responsible for controlling all the surveince soul tools in the area. This ce could be called the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s intelligence headquarters in the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and a ss 9 soul engineer was personally in charge of it.

    This ss 9 soul engineer was the Mad Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, who was also themander of the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    He was deployed here impromptu. The Evil Tyrant Legion had switched guard duties with the legion that was originally stationed here for one simple reason ¨C the Evil Tyrant Legion¡¯s soul engineers were the quickest, and they were the most skilled and adept at reacting to all kinds of situations.

    Wang Yiheng¡¯s face turned ck as he listened to that soul engineer¡¯s report.

    Just several minutes ago, across several dozens of kilometers of the sky in front of the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak, they lost contact with more than twenty high altitude aerial surveince soul tools.

    This situation was unprecedented.

    If they lost contact with a single high altitude aerial surveince soul tool, one could still say that the soul tool had malfunctioned by itself. However, losing contact with so many at the same time ¨C what did that mean? Somebody had done something to them!

    Even Titled Douluo had trouble unleashing their abilities at an altitude of three thousand meters. There might be reason to believe that someone had incapacitated a single high altitude aerial surveince soul tool without being discovered, but incapacitating tens of those things at once? Could it be that tens of Titled Douluo who were adept at concealing themselves had made a move at the same time? How was that possible? Not even the entire continent had so many Titled Douluo who were good at concealing their tracks!

    ¡°Has the patrol legion been activated?¡±

    ¡°They have been deployed, sir.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t have enough manpower. Pass down my order ¨C deploy the Evil Tyrant Legion¡¯s Dagger Section, and they have to do everything they can to capture their enemies should they run into any. If they discover our high altitude aerial surveince soul tools, they have to snatch them back. If we really can¡¯t take them back, we can¡¯t let them end up in the hands of the Star Luo Empire even if they¡¯re broken.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Orders quickly came out from the intelligence headquarters.

    Wang Yiheng paced up and down inside his cave, and his expression was as ck as could be. His back was drenched with sweat after pacing a few rounds.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s high altitude aerial surveince soul tools were immature, but they still represented the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s highest standard of surveince soul tools! If the Star Luo Empire managed to obtain and decipher those things, then he would havemitted an unforgivable sin¡­

    ¡°No, I have to go.¡± Wang Yiheng continued contemting, but he wasn¡¯t assured enough, and immediately rushed out of the cave. He activated his ss 9 flying-type soul tool and rose into the sky like a beam of light. He activated hismunication soul tools at the same time so that he could receive intelligence from their intelligence arm in real time.

    It was no wonder that Wang Yiheng couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. The Sun Moon Empire had been very good at locking down the Star Luo Empire¡¯s surveince capabilities over this period of time, and the Star Luo Empire had been suppressed to the point where they couldn¡¯t resist at all.

    High altitude aerial surveince soul tools were more than three thousand meters in the sky. They were about two meters in diameter, and seemed quite bulky. But that size was barely anything in the boundless horizons of the sky, and it wasn¡¯t even asrge as a dust particle when viewed from afar. Looking for one was already difficult, let alone finding more than twenty across several hundred kilometers of the sky.

    What was more frightening was that his enemies could mess things up at the same time ¨C that was just an unimaginable situation.

    The Sun Moon Empire had only made a little more than one hundred such high altitude aerial surveince soul tools, and this was the product of theirtest research discoveries. They still needed to continue refining them afterwards, but all that refinement had to be based on the original foundations. Loss of even a single one was a terrible loss. Without discussing other things, the materials used to craft these soul tools so that they could continuously operate at high altitudes meant these were top-grade materials used for crafting soul tools. They had just lost more than twenty at once ¨C wouldn¡¯t the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor Xu Tianran go insane?

    Huo Yuhao was still hovering in midair, and the smile on his face became increasingly radiant. A small screen appeared on that metal box of his, and its disy clearly showed that more than twenty green dots of light were flying in his direction. Furthermore, they were moving at an altitude of three thousand meters.

    ¡°Very nice. Not even the Sun Moon Empire can possibly discover that I¡¯ve stolen those things. Heh, let me capture them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly surged into the sky, and began to fly towards an altitude of three thousand meters. At this point, those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools were flying towards him at speeds as fast as they could reach. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools werepletely useless at three thousand meters, and his location wasn¡¯t close to the Ming Dou Mountain Range. How could he be detected at that altitude?

    The metal pieces and the metal box with a metal thread that was more than two meters long were all newly-developed creations by the master of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, Xuan Ziwen.

    Furthermore, Xuan Ziwen had custom-made those items for Huo Yuhao after he had brought that super-high aerial surveince soul tool back the other time.

    This was a ss 8 soul tool, and it was the best possible one that Xuan Ziwen could make ¨C it was known as a long-range soul controller.

    Xuan Ziwen had initially crafted this soul tool to remotely control his own aerial surveince soul tools from a distance. The Sun Moon Empire was already very familiar with this technology, but Xuan Ziwen made the effects of their long-range soul controllers even better, so that they could be used at even greater distances for remote control purposes.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools were controlled using simr mechanisms and attachments, but their receiving ends were installed inside them, while the metal piece that Huo Yuhao had used previously was installed on the outside.

    Xuan Ziwen had made this thing after having an epiphany. He had quickly found loopholes in the high altitude aerial surveince soul tool after giving it a simple inspection. This was one of the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s most important research directions back when he was still there, and thus he knew a lot about them due to his position as their chief researcher.

    Therefore, he gave the long-range soul controller that he had created to Huo Yuhao after refining it. He added some unique and special formation arrays meant for controlling purposes on the metal piece ¨C these formation arrays could generate intense jolts of energy that destroyed the control units within the soul tool, and the metal piece would hack into the soul tool at the same time and gain control over the entire control system of the high altitude aerial surveince soul tools. They could then be remotely controlled by the metal box in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands from a long distance away.

    There were manyplicated theories involved, and even Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very adept in this respect even though he was a ss 7 soul engineer.

    Of course, his long-range soul controller could only control high altitude aerial surveince soul tools after he had refined it. His soul tool couldn¡¯t control other kinds of soul tools.

 Chapter 444.2 - The Dangers of Profit

    <h4 ss>Chapter 444.2: The Dangers of Profit</h4>

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao used that feature to ¡°kidnap¡± a bunch of high altitude aerial surveince soul tools.

    Just like what Wang Yiheng was worried about, the research conducted by the Douluo Continent¡¯s three original nations towards surveince soul tools would be greatly boosted if so many high altitude aerial surveince soul tools fell into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    Huo Yuhao could already see high altitude aerial surveince soul tools flying towards him one after another in the distance. However, he could also see beams of light flying out from the Ming Dou Mountain Range one after another at the same time, and they were heading right toward this side.

    Huo Yuhao had already predicted this a long time ago ¨C the Sun Moon Empire had just lost contact with so many high altitude aerial surveince soul tools at the same time; things would really be strange if they didn¡¯t react.

    I hope the Titled Douluo or a ss 9 soul engineer doesn¡¯t appear first from the enemy¡¯s party.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the metal box in his hands, and he squinted a little as he activated Spiritual Detection to its highest possible level.

    There were self-destructive mechanisms installed in his long-range soul controllers, so he could still destroy those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools if he couldn¡¯t take them away. However, that was ast resort ¨C his heart would ache if he had to destroy so many precious things! The value of just the rare metals involved in crafting them was already unimaginable.

    The first high altitude aerial surveince soul tool quickly flew before Huo Yuhao. He swiftly went up, and the light on his Starlight Sapphire storage ring shed once before it swallowed the entire thing.

    First one!

    Because every single high altitude aerial surveince soul tool varied in distance from each other, their arrivals were bound to be staggered even if they started flying towards Huo Yuhao at the same time.

    Second one!

    Third one!

    It didn¡¯t take long before Huo Yuhao had pocketed six high altitude aerial surveince soul tools in his Starlight Sapphire storage ring.

    Seems like I¡¯ll return with uncountable rewards and gains!

    However, five shadows swiftly bore down on him at this moment. These five shadows didn¡¯te together, but were separated in the sky.

    Huo Yuhao had activated Imitation and his Spiritual Interference Domain, and it was very hard to discover his presence.

    Huo Yuhao had already seen theming a long time ago with Spiritual Detection. Every single one of these five soul engineers carried detectors in their hands, and these detectors were the most advanced oscition detectors, things that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t immune to. Even though they didn¡¯t know Huo Yuhao¡¯s particr location, they could cover arge area of effect if they stretched their detectors in all directions. They would discover Huo Yuhao as long as they figured out his rough location.

    These people were currentlying closer to Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    Huo Yuhao swept his mind towards the sky in the distance with Spiritual Detection, and the other high altitude aerial surveince soul tools that were still gathering rapidly. The safest decision for Huo Yuhao would be to turn tail and run, before destroying the ones that he couldn¡¯t keep. He would deal severe losses to his opponents and would also return with a decent harvest.

    But he couldn¡¯t resign himself to making that decision! He could only use this method once; his enemies wouldn¡¯t be tricked the next time. Even one extra soul tool stolen was another giant pot of wealth gained.

    Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment before he decisively withdrew the metal box in his hands, and then turned around and went straight for lower altitudes.

    The high altitude aerial surveince soul tools that were hurrying over would gather at this location. Huo Yuhao was certain that he didn¡¯t have enough time to gather them all, so he took the initiative to reveal himself so that he could attract his enemies¡¯ attention, so that he could preupy them. Perhaps he could even defeat them in battle, so that he could buy time for those super-high surveince soul tools to fly over before taking everything away after that. That would undoubtedly be the best oue.

    Before he executed this operation, Huo Yuhao had considered asking the White Tiger Duke to deploy soul masters to help him. However, normal soul masters couldn¡¯t evene near this region without being discovered by the aerial surveince soul tools, so only he could conceal himself while maintaining himself at such a height.

    I¡¯ll take this chance! If it doesn¡¯t work, then I¡¯ll run.

    Huo Yuhao had be a lot more courageous after the Skydream Iceworm had reminded him of the ¡°benefits¡± that the Beast God¡¯s reverse scale could bring him.

    Huo Yuhao plunged downwards quickly, and immediately changed directions towards the side after he dropped to about two thousand meters. He didn¡¯t remove the effects of Imitation and his Spiritual Interference Domain because that would have been too obvious ¨C his enemies might not be tricked if they were smart.

    He flew across their nks, and the oscition detector that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer on the leftmost side was holding had a reaction.

    ¡°Over here!¡± He immediately informed his partners with hismunication soul tool. A heavy ck cannon instantly appeared on his shoulders, and he fired off a shot in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction ording to the location shown to him by his oscition detector.

    A bolt of bluish-purple light fired out. Huo Yuhao¡¯s opponent¡¯s prediction was very urate ¨C if Huo Yuhao had continued flying forward, he would have very likely collided with this cannon shell.

    ss 6 Lightning Cannon ¨C fierce!

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers who were responsible for intelligence and detection were the strongest ones. Previously, Huo Yuhao had discovered that two soul engineers among his five enemies were ss 7 soul engineers who were also Soul Sages, while the other three were ss 6 soul engineers.

    There was hardly anybody in the world better than Huo Yuhao at prediction. Huo Yuhao¡¯s frame suddenly halted midair as the cannon shell closed in on him, and the wings behind his back closed up before he began plunging downwards in freefall.

    Huo Yuhao had used this move very often, and its effectiveness was time-tested. Normal soul masters didn¡¯t dare to behave like him ¨C dropping down was easy, but stopping the freefall would create such a heavy load that their bodies couldn¡¯t take the pressure even if they had enough soul power.

    ¡°Boom ¨C¡± An intense explosion cracked open above his head, andrge swathes of lightning bolts covered several hundred square meters around him. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction had been a little slower, he would have immediately been struck by those lightning bolts.

    The other soul engineers had reacted by then, and they were swiftly moving to outnk him.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t just defend passively. He wasn¡¯t just a soul master ¨C he was also a soul engineer!

    A sphere of brilliant blue light surged from his chest as he fell. One could tell upon closer inspection that there was a ne hanging around his neck, and the pendant was what was shining with blue light.

    This pendant seemed asrge as a pigeon¡¯s egg. It could only be seen through his clothes, but one could still see the radiant and brilliant blue light that was apparently from a soul tool crafted with Starlight Sapphire as its main body.

    Light shed again and again as blue light swiftly covered Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body, including his head. It didn¡¯t take long before his entire body was covered in dark blue armor.

    This dark blue armor was filled with a kind of streamlined elegance, and it covered every single part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The flying-type soul tool behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back hade off because of that, and Huo Yuhao withdrew it into his storage ring.

    Three pairs of dark blue wings quickly stretched out behind his back, and fired out blue light to stabilize his body. His helmet was like a dome that covered his head, and even his face was covered. There was an opening on his forehead, and there was a pale blue jewel in that opening.

    Yes, this was the human-shaped soul tool that Xuan Ziwen had tailor-made for Huo Yuhao.

    The Sun Moon Empire had spent the longest time researching human-type soul tools. Back then, Huo Yuhao had stolen that giant human-type soul tool.

    That item ended up in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s hands, and it was ultimately torn to pieces.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s world of soul engineers had always been going in two directions with their research into human-shaped soul tools. One direction was towards a giant human-shaped soul tool that was represented by the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen and many soul engineers believed that soul tools could only store more soul power when they had enough volume, and only then could they possess even stronger fighting strength to affect a battle.

    On the other hand, Xuan Ziwen and several other soul engineers led a second direction ¨C they wanted to minimize human-shaped soul tools.

    Xuan Ziwen believed that even though giant human-shaped soul tools could have stronger and more forceful soul tools installed on them, and more Milk Bottles to store soul power could also be attached, thatrge volume would be clumsy, and a source of extreme inconvenience. The giant human-shaped soul tool would be very difficult to control, and they were more easily targeted and attacked by enemies. They would consume enormous amounts of soul power at the same time, and the pros didn¡¯t outweigh the cons.

    These two different schools couldn¡¯t do anything do convince the other side, so they immersed themselves in their respective research directions.

    There were more soul engineers who subscribed to the giant human-shaped soul tool, therefore this direction was the mainstream in the Illustrious Virtue Hall back then. Even though Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t approve of that research direction, he had had no choice but to conduct research in the same direction. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had any chances to be involved with the newest technological findings in this area.

    Huo Yuhao had given the giant human-shaped soul tool to Xuan Ziwen, and it was extremely important for Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research in soul tools. He summarized the giant human-shaped soul tool¡¯s pros and cons, and then acted ording to his own principles andbined that with the human-shaped soul tool that Huo Yuhao had crafted back then with the Tang Sect¡¯s mechanical techniques, and thus created his own school.

    Xuan Ziwen had conducted countless experiments before he finally presented this final product to Huo Yuhao.

    Xuan Ziwen had called the human-shaped soul tool that Huo Yuhao was wearing a ss 7 soul tool. Even though it was ss 7, Xuan Ziwen was most satisfied with this creation amongst his many others. This productbined his own research, the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s research findings, and the Tang Sect¡¯s mechanical techniques.

    Back then, when research in human-shaped soul tools reached a certain standard, the most important point that puzzled soul engineers was how to control these soul tools.

    From their perspective, soul tools could never be as agile or flexible as soul masters no matter how inherently flexible they were. This was one of the most important reasons why smaller human-shaped soul tools weren¡¯t recognized or approved of.

    Since they couldn¡¯t be flexible or agile enough, these soul tools could only rely on force to fix their problems. Therefore, giant human-shaped soul tools were recognized.

    However, once research in giant human-shaped soul tools reached a certain standard, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers discovered that controlling such an item wasn¡¯t something that a single soul master could achieve by himself. Even if those soul tools could be controlled through someplex formation arrays, the human-shaped soul tool would be extremely clumsy and bulky. Moving them around on the battlefield was difficult, and they could only be used as soul tool forts. That meant the entire motivation for creating human-shaped soul would be lost.

    Under such circumstances, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers thought of something to resolve this ¨C to controlrge amounts ofplex formation arrays so that giant human-shaped soul tools could be agile, they could only rely on an individual¡¯s thoughts and consciousness to control those soul tools rather than one¡¯s hands using all kinds of remotes.

 Chapter 444.3 - The Dangers of Profit

    <h4 ss>Chapter 444.3: The Dangers of Profit</h4>

    However, this had a very high demand for spiritual power, and not even ss 9 soul engineers were certain to be able to meet this demand ¨C unless they were ss 9 spiritual-type Titled Douluo; only then could they aplish this.

    However, spiritual-type Titled Douluo were very rarely seen across the continent, while most of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul masters were soul engineers. This meant spiritual-type ones were even fewer and further between. That was the reason why this research dropped into a bottleneck when it reached that point.

    On the other hand, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t have that problem with his research. First, he was researching small-scale versions, and soul masters could use their limbs to activate the mechanical parts in order to control them. At the same time, he didn¡¯t give up on the idea of soul masters controlling human-shaped soul tools with their consciousness and their spiritual power. Huo Yuhao was a live spiritual-type soul master! Furthermore, he would undoubtedly be able to be a Titled Douluo in the future. At the same time, smaller human-shaped soul tools required much less spiritual power for movement. Therefore, Xuan Ziwen began to gradually craft this particr item ording to his own theories and principles.

    After Huo Yuhao put on this human-shaped soul tool, the space in between his eyebrows swiftly pressed against a transparent jewel as his consciousness and thoughts swiftly translocated throughout the entire human-shaped soul tool.

    In this moment, he felt as if the entire human-shaped soul tool itself had be a part of his body, and controlling it was no different from controlling his body with his mind. Furthermore, all the attachments and mechanisms within the human-shaped soul tool were all within his thoughts¡¯ control.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t even activated his Eye of Destiny, and controlling such a ss 7 soul tool with the strength of his spiritual power was very easy.

    It wasn¡¯t because Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t want to create a ss 8 human-shaped soul tool ¨C his problem was that he didn¡¯t have sufficient good materials. Another limiting factor for a small human-shaped soul tool was the user¡¯s bodily strength and endurance. If the soul tool itself wasn¡¯t as strong as the soul master¡¯s body, or if its defenses couldn¡¯tpare to that of the user, then what use did it have?

    Xuan Ziwen gave himself a marker for a ss 8 human-shaped soul tool¡¯s defensive capability. Such an item had to at least be able to take a hit from a Titled Douluo, but the material required became a crucial problem in achieving that goal, and it was arge one at that. He couldn¡¯t resolve this problem in his current circumstances.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed was greatly boosted by with the human-shaped soul tool. He wasn¡¯t willing to use this human-shaped soul tool in front of the White Tiger Duke.

    In the end, this was something so valuable that even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers would be moved by it! This item also represented the product of the Tang Sect¡¯s research into soul tools. Just like how the Sun Moon Empire would never want their high altitude aerial surveince soul tools to end up in their enemies¡¯ hands, Huo Yuhao would never want this soul tool¡¯s secret to be known by others ¨C friend and foe alike.

    Three pairs of wings spurted with light, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s body swung in midair as he instantly picked up speed. He immediately charged towards the soul engineer who had just fired a shot at him.

    The position that Xuan Ziwen had given him wasn¡¯t long-rangebat ¨C instead, it was closebat. The reason for that was because closebat was Huo Yuhao¡¯s forte, and his strength would be boosted once more through the human-shaped soul tool, so that his fighting strength and survival capability could be raised even further. This was the motivation for Xuan Ziwen in creating this soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed was raised by almost one hundred percent in that moment with the help of his ss 7 human-shaped soul tool, and he reached the standards of a Soul Douluo. He managed toe close to the soul engineer who had used the Lightning Cannon within two blinks of an eye.

    That soul engineer had his Lightning Cannon on his shoulder, and his oscition detector had been focusing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s location this entire time. He suddenly realized that there a small bright dot on his oscition detector that was swiftlying towards him, and he was absolutely shocked.

    However, he was a veteran soul engineer, and his reactions were also incredibly quick. He had no time to withdraw the oscition detector in his hands ¨C he opened his hands and immediately threw it away. At the same time, a white barrier immediately emerged outward with his body as the center.

    ss 7 protective soul barrier ¨C this was a ss 7 soul engineer.

    That wasn¡¯t all. Ayer of golden light glowed on his body immediately afterwards. He was the leader of this five-man team, and he even carried an Invincible Barrier that could only be used once.

    This item wasn¡¯t standard issue in the Sun Moon Empire because it was simply too expensive. He had crafted it himself after saving up enough for the materials.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s speed had astonished him, because that speed could only mean that his enemy was a Soul Douluo. He didn¡¯t want to be obliterated in one hit, so he acted decisively, and used his Invincible Barrier.

    However, what he didn¡¯t expect was that the heavy hit in his imagination never came. The light suddenly plunged down when it was about a hundred meters away from him, and the oscition detector that had fallen from his hands from before suddenly vanished in midair. Afterwards, the light began dashing towards his nk at an incredible speed.

    ¡°Watch out,Little Four!¡± He began to shout hysterically.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attack him, because attacking a ss 7 soul engineer who was using a ss 7 Invincible Barrier took too much energy and effort. Invincible Barriers could only be sustained for a very limited duration, so why would he waste his time?

    Huo Yuhao managed to grab the oscition detector.What a fantastic toy. This is a ss 6 soul tool! No, it¡¯s not a ss 6 soul tool, because it wouldn¡¯t be able to have a range like it did just now.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself in admiration as he raced one thousand meters horizontally, and arrived in front of another soul engineer.

    This soul engineer¡¯s reaction was very quick as well. He swiftly withdrew his oscition detector and activated his protective soul barrier at the same time. He opened his hands, and two light des stretched out from his hands. He swung them around very quickly, and they cocooned his entire body like a sphere.

    He was actually a closebat soul engineer, and he seemed like he was quite strong. Six soul rings glowed on his body ¨C two yellow, three purple, and one ck.

    Real battle wasn¡¯t like a practice fight. Nobody would feel like conserving their soul skills during crucial moments, and this soul engineer behaved in the same manner. The soul ring that lit up on his body was thest and sixth one ¨C his ck soul ring.

    An enormous white sphere emerged from behind his back. It seemed like a white turtle shell. There were countless patterns on its surface, and this turtle shell swiftly transformed into pieces that began waltzing around this closebat soul engineer ¨C a shield formation.

    A defense-type soul engineer simr to third senior brother? He uses his martial soul for defense and soul tools for offence ¨C not a bad choice. He lives up to his status as one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s elites. There aren¡¯t many soul engineers and soldiers that the Sun Moon Empire has left guarding the Ming Dou Mountain Range, but they are all the elites, and quality has been used to resolve the problem of quantity.

    But can defenses like that stop me?

    This soul engineer was all tensed up as he activated both his defensive and offensive capabilities. The others were swiftlying closer to him, and they only needed three seconds. He would only have to defend himself for three seconds before reinforcements would arrive!

    Three seconds! Just three seconds!

    This ss 6 soul engineer was very confident in himself. His enemy didn¡¯t attack his team leader, who was a ss 7 soul engineer, and that meant he wasn¡¯t confident of doing so. Since that was the case, his enemy shouldn¡¯t be stronger than his team leader, or perhaps he was just a little stronger.With my defensive abilities, how can I not be able to hang on for three seconds?

    His judgment was actually very urate. In terms of soul power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s standard was simr to that of his team leader. They were both Soul Sages ¨C but could their strengths be the same as well?

    Huo Yuhao had obliterated an eight-ringed evil soul master when he only had five rings. When he had just obtained his seventh ring, he managed to kill a hundred thousand year Evileye Tyrant. How could power such as that be measured purely with soul power?

    A crack seemed to suddenly appear in midair. This crack wasn¡¯t very obvious, and the ss 6 soul engineer could only see a sharp w that seemed to appear out of nowhere, along with a dark golden shadow that carried a stifling sharpness, and sh by in front of him in the next moment.

    He was still swinging his des effortfully. However, he suddenly felt his body going cold, as if everything had be different. All the clouds and mountains seemed to freeze, and everything that he had been able to control could no longer be controlled.

    This is¡­

    He was stunned momentarily, and he realized in the next moment that he was falling from the sky, in freefall.It¡¯s so dark! Why can¡¯t I see anything anymore¡­

    Yes, a sharp w dide out from the sky ¨C there was only one, and it was a dark gold, razor-sharp w! Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw!

    Frightening sharpness tore his enemy¡¯s body apart in an instant ¨C naturally, his enemy couldn¡¯t control anything anymore.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw in his right hand had powerparable to a strike from a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s all-out attack, along with his increasing prowess. How could explosive power that came so quickly be something that a Soul Emperor, a ss 6 soul engineer, could resist? Even eight-ringed Soul Douluo would feel afraid when Huo Yuhao was near them, let alone soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao seeded with one hit, and the dark gold light disappeared after a single sh. Terrifying soul rays and cannons condensed into a hurricane immediately erupted towards where Huo Yuhao had attacked from. However, he was already far from that location, and every explosion and attack didn¡¯t affect him at all.

    Instant Teleportation! The skill that belonged to his left leg bone. He had already used Instant Teleportation in the moment right after he made his attack, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even bother observing that ss 6 soul engineer that he had just attacked. What soul barrier, light des, ten thousand year defensive soul skills ¨C in the face of his Darkgolden Terrorw that had been infused with soul power and spiritual power, all of those meant nothing.

    ¡°He¡¯s over there!¡± The remaining four soul engineers quickly found Huo Yuhao¡¯s location with their oscition detectors. However, Huo Yuhao was simply moving too quickly.

    He rushed towards another Soul Emperor with a few explosive shes before the four of them could surround him, and managed to break out in the end with Imitation.

    Two Soul Sages and two Soul Emperors ¨C those were his four remaining opponents.

    Huo Yuhao turned and stared at a ss 7 soul engineer who had a piercing cannon on his shoulders as he was bolting forward.

    In the next moment, all this ss 7 soul engineer could see was blinding purplish-golden light.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A crackling boom appeared in his head, and the three others looked on in utter astonishment as this ss 7 Soul Sage¡¯s head suddenly exploded. Red and white parts sttered and flew in all directions ¨C he didn¡¯t even get to fire his piercing cannon before his body plummeted towards the ground like a falling rock.

    This sudden change in circumstance shocked the other three, while at this very moment, Huo Yuhao collided into the Soul Emperor that he was targeting.

 Chapter 445.1 - Empyreal Flame

    <h4 ss>Chapter 445.1: Empyreal me</h4>

    There were lights like flowing lines all over the dark blue armor, and Huo Yuhao used Darkgolden Terrorw yet again. Across the sky! Torn! Death!

    The armor on Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands split open ording to his will when he was unleashing Darkgolden Terrorw, and it flipped backwards onto his wrist and transformed into heavier bracers.

    Xuan Ziwen had named this human-shaped soul tool the Solo Battle Armor, and the only problem with this soul tool was that it couldn¡¯t amplify some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s offensive abilities. For instance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice and Darkgolden Terrorw were too destructive, and the suit probably couldn¡¯t take that level of power when he unleashed everything at full strength.

    Therefore, Xuan Ziwen ced extra emphasis and effort on speed and defense when he was building this soul tool ¨C especially speed. This was a ss 7 soul tool, and it could erupt with an eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡¯s top speed. Even Titled Douluo would have to put in some effort if they wanted to catch up to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable fighting strength became even more conspicuous by relying on this terrifying speed.

    Huo Yuhao had killed three out of five men within a few blinks of the eye, and the two other soul engineers were not idiots. They didn¡¯t have to speak to each other as they both turned tail and ran back towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t chase them. Even though he had taken three people down so quickly, his expression became very solemn ¨C that was because he could see ten dark blue shadows flying towards him at breakneck speed. Huo Yuhao could tell from their soul power undtions that those ten who followed behind were much stronger than the five who hade before.

    More importantly, Huo Yuhao was acquainted with them ¨C weren¡¯t they part of the Evil Tyrant Legion, which was a beast lord-ranked legion that was most adept at speed, who were also part of the Hand that Protects the Nation?

    They were all Soul Sages, at least ¨C Nine Soul Sages and a Soul Douluo? Huo Yuhao quickly judged his enemies¡¯ strength with Spiritual Detection.

    Fierce! Thy must be the real elites of the Evil Tyrant Legion.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was very confident, he wasn¡¯t willing to face off against enemies like that. He wouldn¡¯t be afraid if they wereing at him one by one, and the Soul Douluo was no exception. However, the most frightening feature of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions was the chemistry they had with each other with their soul tools. They would be able to amplify their fighting strength by several times once they began to work together, and the ten of them together probably had strengthparable to a Titled Douluo. That wasn¡¯t something that he wanted to face.

    I can¡¯t dy any longer!

    Thoughts spun like lightning in his head, and he surged into the air once more. He rose into the sky much faster than before due to his Solo Battle Armor. Furthermore, his armor itself provided him with extra protection.

    Huo Yuhao activated Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain once more. The soul engineers from the Evil Tyrant Legion hadn¡¯te near, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect his actual location if they didn¡¯t have oscition detectors.

    The biggest problem when fighting against soul engineers was when they were able lock onto their opponents. Especially in one-versus-one situations, a soul engineer¡¯s opponent would only be a target if the soul engineer managed to lock onto his or her opponent. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have a hobby like that.

    Seven other high altitude aerial surveince soul tools had arrived, and the nine remaining ones were still in the process of flying over. However, Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t wait any longer, and he couldn¡¯t possibly bring away all twenty-two of them.

    I¡¯ll take whatever I can ¨C I can¡¯t be greedy anymore, and safety is always first.

    Those ten members of the Evil Tyrant Legion were bearing down on him very quickly. They were part of the Dagger section that the Manic Bull Douluo Wang Yiheng had ordered out into battle. There were only five teams like that in the Evil Tyrant Legion, and they were the legion¡¯s core fighting strength. They were also directlymanded by Wang Yiheng ¨C they were the best of the best!

    The two soul engineers who were running away quickly rendezvoused with the ten of them, and they swiftly took out their oscition detectors as they chased in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    This mobilization disyed their tremendous cooperative abilities.

    The ten members from the Dagger section swiftly dispersed, and then separated even further away from each other than the first five soul engineers. Their oscition detectors seemed to be more effective, and they immediately discovered Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure in the next moment.

    ¡°Up there.¡±

    Two of them stopped, and an enormous cannon that was two meters long and had an opening that was at least a foot in diameter appeared on each of their shoulders.

    These two cannons were aimed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s location, which they had just discovered, and they quickly fired off.

    Two enormous silver beams of light surged into the air and came straight for Huo Yuhao.

    Shock bombs! Huo Yuhao could immediately tell that they were ss 7 shock bombs. These things weren¡¯t toys ¨C their most unique quality was how wide their area of effect could reach. Furthermore, everyone would be affected if they found themselves within the shock bomb¡¯s area of effect no matter what level of cultivation they had. Their enemies woulde once they were rendered sluggish and slow-moving.

    The other eight quickly raised their speed to the highest possible level and began surrounding Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became increasingly determined faced with this situation; it wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t encountered even more challenging circumstances. The stronger his opponents were, the more his potential was stimted ¨C ever since he became a Soul Sage, he still hadn¡¯t given his all in a battle. This was true even against that Evileye Tyrant; the Evileye Tyrant couldn¡¯t take an attack with his full strength!

    Huo Yuhao paused in midair, and a white shadow separated from his body in the next moment. Two dark blue light des flickered faintly in the sky.

    The two shock bombs that were hurtling through the air paused in the sky, and intense explosions that carried countless silver rays nketed an enormous area of effect in the next moment.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    The Snow Lady levitated in the sky. One could tell from her gorgeous frame that she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age, and her ice-cold features emanated noble and elegant qualities. She was just hovering silently in the night sky, but she gave others a feeling of formless beauty.

    The two shock bombs exploding didn¡¯t impede Huo Yuhao at all. Instead, they stopped the other members of the Evil Tyrant Legion¡¯s Dagger section because they had exploded prematurely.

    They weren¡¯t willing tomit when facing off against a powerful enemy such as Huo Yuhao ¨C what if they were ambushed by their enemy? They could only wait for a few seconds, and then continued charging forward only after the shock bombs¡¯ effects had dissipated.

    Several dozen blue soul rays went straight for the Snow Lady. They hadn¡¯t seen what their opponent looked like from the beginning to the end, and they didn¡¯t have time tomunicate with the two soul engineers from before who had retreated. Naturally, they considered the Snow Lady as their enemy when she appeared ¨C even though she didn¡¯t quite seem like their enemy because she was looked thirteen or fourteen, they weren¡¯t willing to let anyone go even if they had to kill the wrong people.

    The Snow Lady hovered in midair, and swung herrge sleeves as a clean white circle appeared and transformed into countless ice crystals in the sky. These ice crystals were smooth like mirrors, and even more strangely, every single ice crystal seemed to block a single soul ray just right.

    These ice crystals didn¡¯t sh head-on with the soul rays. After every soul ray was blocked by an ice crystal, they were refracted, and the ice crystals melted while the soul rays dispersed in all directions. Not a single one could evene close to the Snow Lady!

    Who couldpare to the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress in terms of controlling ice and snow? The Snow Lady¡¯s strength grew along with Huo Yuhao¡¯s own. Ever since the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had fused with him, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had sublimated, and the Snow Lady¡¯s recovery had been catalyzed. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure whether the Snow Lady would be the Snow Empress one day, or whether she could have the Snow Empress¡¯ peak strength. But at least from what the situation seemed like now, that was still a possibility. If that did ur, the Snow Empress herself could rival an Ultimate Douluo.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s strength exceeded the soul engineers¡¯ expectations ¨C but their attacks had just begun.

    ¡°Concentrate our beams!¡± The team leader eximed ¨C they couldn¡¯t be bothered with being kind and taking pity on women anymore. They had to take their opponent down before anything else!

    Blue rays were fired again one after another. However, they were not aimed directly at the Snow Lady ¨C instead, they were focused on a single point in the sky. All ten team members¡¯ thoughts were as one, and soul rays that were as thick as an arm fired after they concentrated on one point. The dark blue beam they created didn¡¯t be thicker, but became a lot thinner instead. It surged across the sky and arrived in front of the Snow Lady in an instant.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s expression became a little more solemn. She reached out with her right hand, and her palm became a patch of icy blue. She pressed at the air in the sky and shed with the soul ray.

    ¡°Brrng!¡± A strange chime rang out in the sky. In the next moment, the Snow Lady¡¯s beautiful frame became a little more illusory. However, the soul ray also dissipated at the same time.

    The ten soul engineers were stunned speechless. This attack had concentrated soul rays from nine ss 7 soul engineers and a ss 8 soul engineer ¨C even though the soul ray itself wasn¡¯t powerful, ten stacked together was absolutelyparable to an all-out attack from a Soul Douluo. Yet it seemed like this little girl who looked like she was only thirteen or fourteen managed to block this attack. What was happening?

    What they didn¡¯t see was that Huo Yuhao, who had concealed himself, trembled when the Snow Lady took this hit.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s strength came from him. However, the Snow Empress herself was strong, and the Snow Lady had the Snow Empress¡¯ imprint. Thus, she could channel part of her own strength as well.

    The Snow Lady had used Snowless cier in that attack. Even if she was facing a soul master, not even Soul Douluo would have a good time shing head-on with this attack. However, soul tools were different from soul masters in the end, and an attack that came purely from soul power caused the intense chill contained within Snowless cier to be ineffective. This meant the Snow Lady and Huo Yuhao had suffered a hidden loss.

    The Snow Lady began spinning around in midair. Her long, pure white dress danced asrge patches of snowkes dispersed through the air and cocooned around her beautiful frame. Empress¡¯ Chill, in addition to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice, immediately transformed into the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    The temperature at that altitude was low in the first ce. Even though there wasn¡¯t much water in the air, the temperature still plummeted once his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was released. The soul engineers that were about tounch another follow-up attack couldn¡¯t help but feel their bodies move a little sluggishly as every one of them activated their protective soul barriers to defend themselves.

    So cold! They all felt the same thing at the same time. More frighteningly, the youngdy¡¯s figure had disappeared into therge swathes of snowkes.

 Chapter 445.2 - Empyreal Flame

    <h4 ss>Chapter 445.2: Empyreal me</h4>

    Huo Yuhao had risen to an even higher altitude under the Snow Lady¡¯s cover, and the high altitude aerial surveince tools were now within his reach.

    The Snow Lady was directing his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and that meant its effects were not as good as if he had been the one directing it. However, dying his enemies for a short while was sufficient.

    That was because his soul and spiritual power had an extremely high degree of integration, and he could thus leave a stream of his own spiritual power to the Snow Lady. Only then could they separate from each other for longer distances ¨C otherwise, the Snow Lady couldn¡¯t do even battle when she was so far away from him.

    There were nine ¨C nine more high altitude aerial surveince soul tools had arrived, and these represented enormous wealth in addition to what Huo Yuhao had collected earlier on.

    Huo Yuhao elerated with everything he had, and finally arrived in front of those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools with a few shes and flickers. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all, and his Starlight Sapphire storage ring flickered as he swiftly pocketed those soul tools one after another.

    But right at this moment, he suddenly felt an intense wave of rm as he looked down subconsciously ¨C what he saw was a sphere of scorching heat that seemed like the sun as its light erupted viciously.

    <em>Oh, no.</em>

    Huo Yuhao channeled his consciousness and swiftly summoned the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady transformed into a beam of flowing light as she surged up into the sky. However, Huo Yuhao could still feel that his soul power was leaking out at a crazy rate. Furthermore, he could feel waves of weakness in his spiritual power.

    The Snow Lady was a Spirit, and she couldn¡¯t truly die. However, Huo Yuhao was the one who had to expend energy when she was attacked. In some sense, Spirits were a soul master¡¯s partial avatars. A soul master would be severely injured if their Spirits died, and nobody knew how long a soul master would need to reaggregate those Spirits. At least, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to have that kind of experience.

    A strange little flower peeked out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Circles of icy-blue light nketed the area below him and met with the Snow Lady ¨C yes, it was the Star Anise making its move.

    The rolling heatwaves that were rising up from beneath were blocked for a moment with the Star Anise¡¯s help, and only then did the Snow Lady transform into a ray of light before she reintegrated into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but draw a cold breath as he watched that sudden beam of intense light, which had erupted all too suddenly and resembled the sun.<em>So powerful? Who hase? Such a terrifying attack ¨C is he crazy?</em>

    Huo Yuhao no longer continued to wait for the other high altitude aerial surveince soul tools to arrive, and immediately turned to run. He activated all his soul power and transformed into a beam of light as he went straight for the Star Luo Empire¡¯s camp.

    There was only one possibility for someone to create such a disturbance ¨C a ss 9 soul engineer had arrived. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t discovered his enemy with his spiritual power. This meant that his enemy possibly carried soul tools that impeded his Spiritual Detection. An opponent like that was something that he absolutely couldn¡¯t fight against.

    Right at this moment, spheres of fiery light suddenly sted into the sky. Every single one of these fireballs was at least one meter in diameter, and several hundred of them rose into the sky in the blink of an eye. They lit up the entire area, and every fireball seemed like a tiny little sun that shone with searing brilliance. A tall and muscr figure rose from below at the same time and with incredible speed.

    ¡°He can¡¯t escape!¡± An awe-inspiring growl could be heard. The Manic Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng, was already in the sky. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t seen him do anything at all, but those fireballs that rose into the sky erupted with beams of fiery light that swiftly congregated into an enormous ming web. There were faint rippling distortions in the air ¨C this web of fire perfectly blocked off Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape path

    <em>Such a powerful soul engineer! He must be ss 9.</em>

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop at all. For his current situation, there was only one solution against such a circumstance, and that was to force his way out. He would be in deep trouble if he couldn¡¯t break out of this.

    He stopped using Imitation, and his figure emerged from the air. The temperature in the air was very high due to the looming web of fire, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t release his Ultimate Ice tobat the heat because that would exacerbate his energy consumption. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass released faint icy-blue hues that covered his entire body, and theseyerspletely cut off the intense heat from his surroundings.

    The Star Anise was no good at offense, but its auxiliary and support effects were extraordinary.

    The Manic Bull Douluo was momentarily stunned when Huo Yuhao revealed himself with his human-shaped soul tool.<em>A human-shaped soul tool? Can that actually be a human-shaped soul tool? Since when has the Star Luo Empire¡¯s research into soul tools reached such a standard?</em>

    He was surprised, but his movements didn¡¯t slow. The fiery web wove through the sky, and therge fireballs rapidly switched positions as the ming web came down directly on Huo Yuhao to garrote him.

    Wang Yiheng¡¯s martial soul was quite strong in the first ce. He pursued high explosiveness, power, and intense heat when he was doing his own research into soul tools. He had a pure desire for destructiveness.

    He managed to bemander of one of the legions that belonged to the Hand that Protects the Nation, so it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine his prowess. Even if he wasn¡¯t as powerful as the Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin, he wasn¡¯t that much weaker.

    The soul tool that he was currently using was called Empyrean ze, and it was his own creation. It was formed from three hundred and sixty-five empyrean pearls, and every pearl was under his control. He himself was the center of this formation.

    The Empyrean ze was roughly ranked between number ten and number twelve amongst the other ss 9 soul tools.

    One should never disregard it because it was ranked after number ten. This ranking system also considered stationary soul cannon shells, and Wang Yiheng had only attained the status that he had now because of his Empyrean ze.

    High altitude aerial surveince soul tools were far too important. That was the reason why he used his signature move from the get-go.

    Of course, the Snow Empress¡¯ original strength wasn¡¯t something that he could match up to. But what the current Snow Lady could muster was too weak. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the one directing his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and it was directly broken through under the throttling burn of Wang Yiheng¡¯s empyrean ze. The fiery web was sweeping down upon him at this moment ¨C the Empyrean ze was most adept at control and incineration, and it controlled the entire situation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was clear as he took a deep breath. He didn¡¯t show any timidity at all as his Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead. The blue jewel on his Solo Battle Armor¡¯s forehead immediately glowed, and strange soul power undtions rippled outward. In the next moment, a brilliant purple beam cut across the skies as it burst out like a lightning bolt. The purple beam turned rose-gold the moment it left the jewel, and stretched across the skies. Not even the Empyrean ze could block it ¨C not even a little bit ¨C and it immediately appeared before Wang Yiheng.

    Wang Yiheng belonged to the younger and more vigorous generation of soul engineers amongst the ss 9 soul engineers. He had many insights into the newest technology, and he was also ferociously strong at the same time. He could immediately tell that something wasn¡¯t right when Huo Yuhao made his move ¨C<em>is that a pure spiritual-type attack?</em>

    A pure white headband suddenly appeared on Wang Yiheng¡¯s head. Seven silver jewels formed the front of this headband, and these jewels suddenly erupted with brilliant light under Wang Yiheng¡¯s control as they transformed into a silver shield that protected him behind it.

    The rose-gold beam struck this shield, and the shield quivered faintly before the rose-gold beam dissipated into nothingness.

    Far into the distance, that jewel on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Solo Battle Armor exploded into smithereens with a bang. He didn¡¯t turn back as he charged in the direction of the Empyrean ze.

    Wang Yiheng was clearly a littleckadaisical at this moment, and his head suddenly arched backward as if someone had clipped him heavily on the face. The silver shield before him and the headband on his head disintegrated at the same time.

    Wang Yiheng could feel intense dizziness in his head. That frightening wave of spiritual power was like a drill as it pierced deep into his brain, and he immediately lost control of the Empyrean ze, while the mes were greatly reduced in that instant.

    Huo Yuhao leveraged this short window of opportunity, and his three pairs of wings glowed radiantly as they carried him towards the outside. Anotheryer of diamond ice crystals covered his Solo Battle Armor at the same time to protect him from the intense heat.

    He was almost at the edge of the Empyrean ze.

    Wang Yiheng managed to recover at this moment.<em>Such powerful spiritual power!</em>Even though he felt a wave of terror in his heart, he didn¡¯t slow down in his control of his Empyrean ze. The dimming mes became searing hot once more, and more than ten empyrean pearls went straight for Huo Yuhao¡¯s position to lock him down.

    Huo Yuhao disappeared in a sh ¨C Instant Teleportation. He escaped the empyrean pearls¡¯ area of effect in a blink, and escaped from the Empyrean ze¡¯s entrapment.

    However, Wang Yiheng wasn¡¯t by himself; the Dagger Section¡¯s other team members were still outside. They had been observing Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements this entire time. They saw that he had actually broken out, andrge amounts of soul rays and soul cannons instantly assaulted him like a hurricane.

    Huo Yuaho¡¯s seven soul rings glimmered into view, and his fifth soul ring shimmered as he switched positions with one of the Dagger Section¡¯s members in the distance.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the entire area even though he was mired in danger. He had chosen this person a long time ago, and his target was the section¡¯s leader ¨C the Soul Douluo, the ss 8 soul engineer!

    This Soul Douluo became the target of the hurricane once their positions were switched. The Empyrean ze was behind him, and his teammates¡¯ powerful attacks were in front of him. The ss 8 soul engineer himself was greatly astonished.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stay to fight after he switched positions with him, and a rose-gold circle suddenly radiated outward with his head at the center.

    Spiritual st ¨C a skill carried by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s skull!

    Every single ss 7 soul engineer suffered the same oue after they took a hit from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st, which was unleashed from his Eye of Destiny. They lost control of their bodies in an instant and plummeted towards the ground.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t give everything he had in this attack so that he could escape sessfully. After all, he had used his full strength when he had attacked Wang Yiheng with Spiritual Shock, and he had to leave some strength to retreat at a time like this.

    Huo Yuhao turned and flew away as he continued to escape while he unleashed Spiritual st.

    Huo Yuhao had duplicated Xuanwu Discement from Xu Sanshi, and it created unexpected effects every time he used it. It lived up to its name as one of a defense-type soul master¡¯s legendary soul skills!

    Wang Yieheng unleashed his immense prowess as a ss 9 soul engineer at this moment.

 Chapter 445.3 - Empyreal Flame

    <h4 ss>Chapter 445.3: Empyreal me</h4>

    The empyrean pearls that were originally targeting Huo Yuhao suddenly stretched out and flew around the eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡¯s body. Not only did they not hurt him ¨C they wrapped around in front of him and blocked the attacks from the Dagger Section¡¯s other nine members. This control of the Empyrean ze was just perfect.

    What a cunning fellow!Wang Yiheng¡¯s face ckened. He didn¡¯t go ahead to rescue the ss 7 soul engineers who were plummeting towards the ground, because those people had clearly awakened during their freefall. They were working hard to control their bodies, but they weren¡¯t in much danger even though they were cutting very sorry figures.

    Three hundred and sixty-five pearls bolted toward Huo Yuhao like shooting stars under Wang Yiheng¡¯s control. These fiery shooting stars weren¡¯t just blindly attacking ¨C instead, they seemed to resemble a web that was stretching out as they closed in around him. Wang Yiheng also made his move as he elerated in pursuit as fast as he could.

    Huo Yuhao was trying to run away, but he didn¡¯t forget to retrieve his long-range soul controller to detonate the high altitude aerial surveince soul tools that he didn¡¯t have time to take away.

    A series of explosions could be heard from behind. Wang Yiheng didn¡¯t have to look to know what had happened, and his expression became incredibly malevolent. He didn¡¯t have to ask to know that those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools that they had lost contact with probably didn¡¯t end well.

    Bastard! This bastard! I¡¯ll kill him!

    The Empyrean ze was simply too quick. Huo Yuhao was already using his full strength, but the Empyrean ze was still continuously bearing down on him. The scorching heat and sweltering air kept gaining on him, but the temperature didn¡¯t affect Huo Yuhao much, because he relied on his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor and his Solo Battle Armor for protection. What he had to do now was elerate, elerate, elerate!

    Huo Yuhao was quite near the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army. He only had to keep this up for just a little while more before his problems would end.

    ¡°Close!¡± Wang Yiheng eximed, and the Empyrean ze suddenly expanded before it abruptly elerated and closed up. Wang Yiheng used almost ten percent of his soul power for this move.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure also suddenly picked up speed at that moment. He was like a beam of flowing light as he rocketed across the skies and reappeared in the distance.

    He can still elerate ¨C that¡¯s not possible! Only a Titled Douluo can reach that speed, but that fellow¡¯s soul power undtions show that he¡¯s clearly not a Titled Douluo!

    Another figure appeared within Wang Yiheng¡¯s vision, and that person turned to run along with the first one.

    Yes, Xu Sanshi was the one who came to provide support for Huo Yuhao.

    Xu Sanshi had actually been waiting at a location not far from Huo Yuhao from beginning to end, and hemunicated with Huo Yuhao through his Spiritual Detection. That was the reason why he could save Huo Yuhao in the nick of time. The distance that he had suddenly covered meant that Wang Yiheng¡¯s sudden burst of energy achieved nothing. Furthermore, he even paused for a moment in the sky because he had used too much soul power before he could continue chasing him.

    When Wang Yiheng was just starting to move again, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the side of his face, and subconsciously nced toward his side.

    But there was nothing there; all he could see was pitch-ck darkness. However, there seemed to be a poisonous snake hiding within the darkness, and this poisonous snake was just revealing its sharpest fangs and was about to swallow him whole.

    Wang Yiheng didn¡¯t know who his opponent in the darkness was. He was worried that the Star Luo Empire would make their move, as they were very close to the Star Luo Empire after all. He would have a hard time if there were several Titled Douluo waiting to ambush him in the sky ¨C he had reinforcements from the Sun Moon Empire, but their job at the Ming Dou Mountain Range was for defense; they didn¡¯t have enough strength for an offense.

    That razor-sharp sword intent finally appeared, and Wang Yiheng felt as if the entire ck sky was being torn open at that moment. The sword intent was actually vicious, and everything around it seemed to be obliterated. Yet, there seemed to be some kinds of emotions rippling through all that obliteration ¨C there was focus and stubbornness, there was depth and rity.

    What is this¡­

    Wang Yiheng was a soul master and a soul engineer, but he had never felt strength such as this, as if this strength shouldn¡¯t belong to this world at all.

    Darkness nketed him in that instant. Wang Yiheng had no choice but to use his Empyrean ze to defend himself. Several dozen empyrean pearls went dark in that moment, and a brilliant golden light glowed in the night sky, while the sword intent was raised to its highest possible level.

    A beam of sword light cut across the skies. It disappeared in a sh, and raced into the distance before it caught up with Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi. This beam even seemed to carry them and elerate.

    Wang Yiheng didn¡¯t dare to chase them. After the sword intent flew across the sky after it transformed from darkness to light, his several dozen empyrean pearls that were struck began to crackle with ear-piercing shrillness. Large cracks started to appear even though they didn¡¯t break into pieces.

    Those empyrean pearls were extremely difficult to forge. Even though their advantagey in their numbers, every single one of them was a result of his blood and sweat! A single broken piece would cause him great and uncontroble heartache.

    No, that fellow¡­

    Wang Yiheng suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t right after his momentary confusion. That kind of sword intent made him fearful, but the person channeling that sword intent clearly didn¡¯t have enough strength. At least, that person didn¡¯t have enough strength to threaten him.

    I¡¯ve been tricked!

    Wang Yiheng¡¯s Empyrean ze fired out once more after he realized that something was amiss, and he continued chasing Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi. He was about to explode with anger ¨Cthey are clearly not very powerful, but they have been deceiving me again and again. Not only have they destroyed so many high altitude aerial surveince soul tools, but they have also damaged my Empyrean ze. They both have to die!

    Wang Yiheng used his full strength as heshed out with his Empyrean ze. He transformed into an enormous bull in midair at the same time, and his flying speed suddenly increased exponentially. He wasn¡¯t using his flying-type soul tool this time; he was burning his formidable soul power as a Titled Douluo.

    He knew that he only had one chance to attack. If he couldn¡¯t catch them with this strike, he would have exceeded the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s area of protection, and he could very well be his enemies¡¯ prey if that happened. Therefore, he didn¡¯t hold back in this attack.

    Several figures shot into the sky in the distance. There were five of them, and they spaced out in a row as they each radiated with different colors.

    They were all females. The girl in the center burst with bright dragon roars as a pair of enormous dragon wings stretched out behind her. She transformed into a giant dragon amidst the dragon roars, and her sixth and seventh soul rings flickered at the same time.

    Radiant Dragon Butterfly ¨C it was Tang Wutong.

    Even though her form was called Radiant Dragon Butterfly, her martial soul true body was presented entirely in dragon form, but there were waves and curves that resembled a butterfly¡¯s wings on the edges of her dragon wings. The aura that she released wasn¡¯t just noble and elegant ¨C there was a feeling as if she was looking down on the entire world.

    Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance! Her sixth soul skill!

    An enormous shadow of a dragon emerged from her Radiant Dragon Butterfly true body, and it immediately transformed into a colossal dragon that was a hundred meters long as it went straight for the Empyrean ze.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who attacked. Jiang Nannan, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, and Jing Ziyan all unleashed their strongest soul skills.

    Arge pink python glimmered behind Jiang Nannan¡¯s back and circled around her. Jiang Nannan transformed into beam after beam of flowing light as she dashed out closely behind Tang Wutong. The white light that she had shifted into seemed like the Radiant Dragon Butterfly¡¯s outer garment, and theybined together just like that.

    The empyrean pearls that were at the forefront collided with Jiang Nannan¡¯s martial soul true body. They were actually bounced away by some kind of flexible strength, and their fiery strength was not released at all, as if they had been cut off.

    The Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance erupted with eye-catching purple light, andrge swathes of empyrean pearls were blocked off just like that. Tang Wutong used action to prove her formidable strength to everyone, and not even Huo Yuhao had fought with her face-to-face before this. She was forcefully blocking a ss 9 soul engineer¡¯s signature ss 9 soul tool! She could be proud of herself even if she could only hold on for a little while.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s expression was solemn as she sped her hands above her head. Her Holy Sword radiated with intense light as her four angel wings stretched out behind her back. Immense light power aggregated as her beautiful frame suddenly flew forward. Nan Qiuqiu disappeared behind her in a sh.

    Ye Guyi overtook Tang Wutong¡¯s position in the next moment, and she flew toward a higher altitude.

    Her Radiant Holy Sword resembled a rainbow as it shed down towards the Manic Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng.

    Wang Yiheng waved his right hand, and a dozen empyrean pearls went for the Holy Sword. The Holy Sword¡¯s radiance was bounced away, but the empyrean pearls¡¯ glow was evidently dimmer than before.

    Wang Yiheng could feel his heart aching!How can these soul masters, who still seem quite young, have such powerful attacking strength?

    He wasn¡¯t donementing when a pinkish beam of light swept up those empyrean pearls after it flickered from behind the Holy Sword.

    Something that made Wang Yiheng absolutely astonished happened ¨C the mes on his empyrean pearls dimmed, and their explosive strength immediately disappeared. Those pearls began to plummet toward the ground like that, and he couldn¡¯t evenmunicate with them anymore. What was happening?

    A patch of fog swept over and pulled both Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu back. Jiang Nannan retreated as well, andnded back beside Tang Wutong.

    The Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance was also reaching its end, and the Empyrean ze finally broke through the enormous dragon shadow.

    In terms of cultivation, Huo Yuhao and the others were all a far cry from the Manic Bull Douluo. However, every single one of them was the best of the best. They supported each other again and again as all eight of them came together, and the five girls¡¯ assault was like tidal waves as they forcefully blockaded Wang Yiheng.

    I can¡¯t hold back any longer.Wang Yiheng watched as the three people who were running away before this stood their ground, and all eight of them no longer attempted to escape even though they were facing him. He felt a chill run down his spine.

    He suddenly realized that he had exceeded the area of protection offered by the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s long-range soul tools, and this meant that he could no longer receive any reinforcements here.

 Chapter 446.1 - Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 446.1: Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!</h4>

    When Huo Yuhao was fleeing earlier, he wasn¡¯t struck by the attacks of the long-range soul tools that were installed in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The main reason was that they couldn¡¯t urately determine his position. Otherwise, the Mad Bull Douluo wouldn¡¯t have intervened. Currently, the furthest attack could only reach thirty kilometers. Of course, this wasn¡¯t considering stationary soul cannon shells. If there were stationary soul cannon shells, a further range could be achieved. However, soul tools must be able to lock onto the enemy first. Their aerial surveince soul tools were kept close to the Ming Dou Mountain Range as the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops inched closer and closer, minimizing losses and damages. This was why their control at further ranges wasn¡¯t sufficient.

    When Huo Yuhao came up with his n, he had already considered everything. This was why he was reinforced by Xu Sanshi at the extreme boundary of the effective range of their ultra-long range soul tools. Even if the ultra-long range soul tools could react in time and fire attacks at them, they would have enough time to escape as the cannon shells traveled towards them. The others were also naturally reinforcing him outside the boundaries of the effective range of the ultra-long range soul tools.

    So what if there was a Titled Douluo? They were eight against one. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid at all.

    From the distance, streaks of dark-blue light were also flying towards them at rapid speed. The Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s Dagger Section had already reorganized itself.

    However, both Wang Yiheng and the soul engineers from this Dagger Section had to keep one thing in mind. They were closer to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s base than the Ming Dou Mountain Range right now. This meant that the Star Luo Empire¡¯s reinforcements might appear at any time. They might even be lying in ambush.

    A ball of blue light was flung into the air by Wang Yiheng. It transformed into an eyeball-shaped blue light.

    When the Dagger Section saw this ball of blue light, they quickly stopped before turning around and retreating. They were rushing back in the direction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Fled?

    Seeing that the Dagger Section had escaped, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t lower his guard at all. Instead, he became tenser. His Spiritual Detection immediately engulfed all hisrades. At the same time, he quickly drifted forward in front of everyone. Xu Sanshi followed beside him, and the rest rapidly adjusted their formation under hismand.

    Huo Yuhao was the furthest forward of the eight. Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were to his left and right respectively. Tang Wutong was behind him, while Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were to her sides. Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were further back. The eight of them circted their soul power at the same time.

    The Mad Bull Douluo appeared very indifferent. His Empyrean ze circted around his body and took a stereoscopic form. He had turned into a huge bull and raging mes were burning, causing the entire sky to be illuminated fiery-red.

    He couldn¡¯t advance further. Otherwise, he might not make it back. Wang Yiheng had already decided that this was going to be hisst attack. No matter whether or not he could kill his enemies, he wasn¡¯t going to remain, and would immediately return to the Ming Dou Mountain Range after this.

    In the distance, seven to eight projections rose from the Star Luo Empire¡¯s base. From the speed of their ascension and the lights, it was evident that these people were very strong.

    One strike. He only had the strength for one strike!

    The Mad Bull Douluo¡¯s seventh, ck soul ring shone brightly. In the next instant, he had already turned into a Mad Bull. His Empyrean ze was still attached to him, causing him to look like a huge bull that was more than thirty meters tall. He instantly charged towards Huo Yuhao and the rest.

    The first from Shrek Academy to strike was Ye Guyi.

    Her fifth and sixth soul rings lit up at the same time. Behind her, four wings shone brightly. Right now, she truly resembled an angel. Her slender figure moved rhythmically in the air, and her huge Holy Sword turned into ring lights that instantly detached from her hand and shed towards the charging bull.

    Her fifth soul skill, Holy Sword, and her sixth soul skill, Angelic Dance!

    Nan Qiuqiu made her move at almost the same time. The two of them coordinated perfectly with each other.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s fifth and sixth soul rings also lit up.

    A long, pink sword shot into the sky and attached itself to the Holy Sword. Compared to the Holy Sword, it wasn¡¯t very eye-catching. However, when it left Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s grasp, the pinkish light that it exuded rapidly intensified. The sword was a pink crystal-like entity that exuded mesmerizing yet blurry pinkish lights under the illumination of the Holy Sword¡¯s golden light.

    Nan Qiuqiu sped her hands in front of her. She wore a serious expression on her face as she pushed her hands forward. A spot of pinkish crystal that was the size of a fingernail flew out. When it flew out, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s aura seemed to weaken a little.

    It was her fifth soul skill, Ruby Annihtion Sword, and her sixth soul, Star of Annihtion!

    The two sword lightsbined and instantlynded on the bull¡¯s body.

    ¡°ng!¡± The Holy Sword was instantly crushed and turned into countless streaks of golden lights that dissipated. Following this, the Ruby Annihtion Sword was also crushed.

    However, thebination of these two swords still managed to weaken the mes on the Mad Bull Douluo¡¯s body. After this, the Star of Annihtion arrived.

    The immense power of Annihtion was demonstrated at this moment. The Star of Annihtion, that appeared to only be the size of a fingernail, caused bright, pink light to be released as it touched the mes. It imprinted itself on the Mad Bull Douluo¡¯s forehead. It was as if a piece of crystal had grown on the Mad Bull Douluo¡¯s head.

    The pinkish lights continued to grow stronger and stronger. The size of the Star of Annihtion also rapidly grew. During this process of ergement, it absorbed the mes. The burning mes werepletely ineffective against the power of Annihtion.

    This was¡­

    Wang Yiheng was also shocked. It was his first time witnessing the strength of Annihtion too. The strength of a mere Soul Emperor was actually able to weaken his Empyrean ze and grow at the same time. How was this possible?

    The Star of Annihtion was Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s sixth soul skill. It was also her strongest soul skill right now. However, it was different from the sixth soul skills of ordinary soul masters. Nan Qiuqiu would drain more than thirty percent of her soul power to unleash her Star of Annihtion once. She even used up fifty percent of her soul power to unleash this particr strike.

    The best way to deal with the Star of Annihtion was to avoid itpletely. Although it was very strong, there was one problem with it. It was that it couldn¡¯t lock onto its opponents. It could only fly forward.

    However, the Empyrean zing Bull was too huge. Furthermore, Wang Yiheng was a very conceited person. He had no intention of avoiding the strike. Because of this, he was directly struck.

    The effect of the Star of Annihtion was that it turned the enemy¡¯s strength into its own strength. When it devoured so much strength such that it reached its limit, it would¡­

    ¡°Boom!¡± A major explosion ensued. The Empyrean zing Bull was rooted to his position before the mes around his body started to intensify. However, he was just releasing mes from his body.

    To ovee the Star of Annihtion, Wang Yiheng had no other choice. He could only increase the output of his soul power. Just as he had predicted, the Star of Annihtion could be filled until it was on the verge of bursting even though it was very difficult to get rid of. However, the amount of power released by the Star of Annihtion was extremely great if it were to blow apart.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t exceptional. However, her Star of Annihtion absorbed the strength of the Mad Bull Douluo. Given this, the Mad Bull Douluo would suffer greatly if it blew apart. The mes that the Mad Bull Douluo released would also weaken significantly.

    After the twodiespleted their attacks in the air, a sonorous dragon roar sounded. The Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance rose into the air once again, fluttering its dazzling, purple butterfly wings. It charged towards the Empyrean zing Bull.

    Huo Yuhao chose this timing. It was exactly when the Star of Annihtion had blown apart, and the Mad Bull Douluo¡¯s reaction was slightly dyed.

    The Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance formed shadows and collided strongly against the Mad Bull Douluo.

    Not only this, but a ball of dark-purplish haze was following the Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance. This was Jing Ziyan¡¯s sixth soul skill, Mist Powder.

    The effect of her Mist Powder was very simr to the Star of Annihtion. When unleashed, the amount of soul power it drained was ording to the intention of the soul master who unleashed it.

    The difference was that Jing Ziyan¡¯s Mist Powder was more thorough than the Star of Annihtion.

    Because of the power of Annihtion, Nan Qiuqiu could only use fifty percent of her soul power to unleash her Star of Annihtion. However, Jing Ziyan could use up to eighty percent of her soul power on her Mist Powder.

    At such a time, why would Jing Ziyan conserve her power at all?

    When the Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance struck the Mad Bull, the purple lights had already turned golden. The sky cracked open, and countless streaks of golden light descended from the sky. They were like bolts of golden lightning that struck the Empyrean zing Bull¡¯s body. Every attack thatnded made the bull weaker. The continuous attacks also caused the Empyrean zing Bull to advance at a slower pace.

    This was¡­

    Wang Yiheng wasn¡¯t the only one who was stunned. Everyone from Shrek Academy was astonished by what they saw. Tang Wutong had actually conserved some of her power as she unleashed her Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance earlier, but she was demonstrating its true power now. It seemed like even a Soul Sage wouldn¡¯t be capable of such a strike. It had to be at the level of a Soul Douluo.

    After all, Wang Yiheng was a soul engineer. He was a ss 9 soul engineer. He didn¡¯t have a great advantage in terms of his martial soul. This was why he resisted this series of attack using his Empyrean ze.

    Angelic Dance, Holy Sword, Ruby Annihtion Sword, Star of Annihtion and the fully-unleashed Dragon God¡¯s ughter Dance greatly suppressed him.

    In the next instant, his huge body had already been engulfed by a ball of mist.

    The explosion of Jing Ziyan¡¯s Mist Powder led to pyrolysis. Pyrolysis urred from within, generating immense splitting characteristics. The mist fused and engulfed the Mad Bull Douluo before splitting!

    The purplish mist instantly turned fiery-red in the next instant before it dissipated. However, everyone could sense that a great amount of Wang Yiheng¡¯s soul power was robbed during this process of dissipation.

 Chapter 446.2 - Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 446.2: Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!</h4>

    A bright ball of golden light shone on Huo Yuhao¡¯s left. A ck Xuanwu was glowing with golden light. It was the fusion of the Golden Tortoise, the Xuanwu True Body!

    The viscous dark-gold light surged towards the Empyrean zing Bull that was getting closer and closer. This caused the bull to slow down considerably. It was the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain! It was the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain that had fused with a Golden Tortoise.

    Water curbs fire. A Xuanwu was a godly beast that possessed both the water and earth elements. Along with the enhancements that a Golden Tortoise brought to a Xuanwu, this Xuanwu¡¯s Domain was far stronger than when Xu Sanshi unleashed it before.

    The bright-golden light transformed into a shooting star that shone extremely brightly in the Xuanwu Domain.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Xu Sanshi, who had turned into a Xuanwu, quickly summoned his Turtle God¡¯s Strike.

    Xuanwu True Body, Xuanwu¡¯s Domain and Turtle God¡¯s Strike ¨C they were Xu Sanshi¡¯s seventh, sixth and fifth soul skills respectively. Xu Sanshi unleashed his full strength as he unleashed all three of them at the same time.

    The heavy collision caused more than fifty empyrean pearls in front of the Empyrean zing Bull to be crushed. But Xu Sanshi¡¯s Golden Xuanwu was also flung backward, causing his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain to dissipate.

    This was the difference between their abilities. If Xu Sanshi were also a Titled Douluo, he would have been able to destroy Wang Yiheng with this attack.

    A huge pink python started to pester and wrap itself around the Empyrean zing Bull just as he stopped after colliding with Xu Sanshi. It was so huge that it didn¡¯t pale inparison to the bull. As it wrapped itself around the bull, it managed to lock it tightly in the air.

    Soft Bone Lock! This was obviously Jiang Nannan¡¯s fifth soul skill, Soft Bone Lock. Furthermore, the huge python was still releasing ring, golden light.

    Invincible Golden Body!

    Jiang Nannan had actually unleashed two godly skills using her Ruby Soft Tendon Python ¨C Soft Bone Lock and Invincible Golden Body!

    Huo Yuhao, who had been calmly drifting in the air whilemanding hisrades all this while, finally made his move. Two rows of nozzles appeared behind his Solo Battle Armor.

    These nozzles were located at the center of the three wings of his flying-type soul tool, just to the sides of his backbone. There were eighteen of them.

    These eighteen nozzles instantly released bright light. Behind Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong had already flown up. She avoided these lights, whereas Huo Yuhao was like a shooting star as he charged towards Wang Yiheng.

    In the air, his entire aurapletely changed. The look in his eyes was both deep and gentle, as if he was filled with boundless yearning. The intense emotions he was experiencing could even be felt by the rest of hisrades around him.

    A projection slowly formed behind him. This figure had ravishing looks and a slender figure. There was even a gentle smiling intent and a boundless look of longing on the face of this figure. Wasn¡¯t she Wang Dong¡¯er?

    Right now, Tang Wutong had just risen high up in the air, and saw everything clearly. When she saw Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s projection slowly forming behind Huo Yuhao, she could sense the boundless yearning that filled Huo Yuhao, and the rich emotions that he was experiencing. She waspletely stunned. An indescribable sense of pain instantly coursed through her entire body. She became a little dazed as she drifted in the air.

    Haodong Palm, a palm thatsted eternally!

    Without using any soul skill or element, Huo Yuhao could only think of his Haodong Palm right now.

    His three energies and inner emotions were fused together to form a self-invented soul skill!

    The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills were undoubtedly the greatest skills that Huo Yuhao could unleash right now. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny had long since opened. His sixth soul ring shone. His Destiny¡¯s Demise that came from Wang Qiu¡¯er tore apart all material defenses and bore down on the Empyrean zing Bull. More urately speaking, there was only a Mad Bull right now. This was because the empyrean pearls had been crushed earlier, and were yet to be replenished.

    Huo Yuhao was too quick. His instantaneous charge even caused a sonic boom.

    This was different from Instant Teleportation. Instant Teleportation only enabled one to disappear and reappear in space. There wasn¡¯t any momentum to it. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s charge was part of his fighting strength.

    His bright-golden palm carried a boundless sense of yearning and longing as it struck the Empyrean zing Bull¡¯s forehead.

    The massive bull paused for a moment. Following this, ayer of bright red light was unleashed from its body. The red light appeared very quickly, but also dissipated very quickly. The moment it appeared, it was as if an eggshell had engulfed the bull. However, this eggshell was crushed as quickly as it had appeared, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm still managed to strike the Mad Bull¡¯s skull.

    A groan ensued, and all the mes on the Empyrean zing Bull¡¯s body dispersed, revealing the original form of the empyreal pearls. However, the mes were soon drawn back. Even so, that split second that they had dispersed still caused more than half of them to dissipate.

    Among humans, Huo Yuhao was still considered ratherrge. However, he was much smallerpared to the Empyrean zing Bull. Yet, he still managed to forcibly stop Wang Yiheng¡¯s advance just like that.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had already turned into two pupils. There weren¡¯t any enemies in his eyes anymore. There were only countless projections of Wang Dong¡¯er floating in his eyes. He gave his all in this strike, venting his frustration and disappointment after he found out that Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er.

    This strike was the greatest strike that he had ever unleashed.

    He was deflected back. A streak of golden light instantly shone from his Eye of Destiny.

    The ring, golden lightnded on the head of the Empyrean zing Bull. It was very thin, but more than half of it managed to pierce through the bull¡¯s head.

    Destiny¡¯s Adjudication! Golden Dragon Pike!

    At the same time, a trace of dark intent started to silently swirl up. From the sky, golden lightning struck. There was a guy who was holding his sword with both his hands, whose sword was pointing downward! The Sword Fanatic, who had yet to make a move, finally unleashed his strongest strike.

    Wang Yiheng had never expected these young Soul Sages to be so difficult to deal with.

    When he was pestered by the huge python earlier, he had immediately unleashed his full strength to break free. However, there seemed to be ayer of something which resembled an Invincible Barrier on the python which blocked off his attack. Before he could unleash his second attack, Huo Yuhao had already attacked him.

    The protective barrier that protected him was a Blood Empyrean Barrier, a passive, defensive-type soul tool that he had personally invented. When his enemies¡¯ attack might threaten his life, it would be immediately activated on its own.

    Did my barrier malfunction? It¡¯s only the attack of a Soul Sage. Furthermore, he¡¯s only using his palm. How can he possibly threaten my life?

    However, his barrier revealed the answer in the next moment. This was because it was crushed.

    It had always been the case that defensive-type soul tools were more difficult to create than offensive-type soul tools. This was because attacks could be as devastating and chaotic as possible, while a strong defense required proper materials and techniques to achieve. It was even more difficult for passive defensive-type soul tools. This was why his Blood Empyrean Barrier wasn¡¯t a ss 9 soul tool, but a ss 8 soul tool.

    A ss 8 defensive-type soul tool had been crushed by a palm just like that! How powerful was it? Furthermore, its strength didn¡¯t fall after destroying the barrier. It still continued to strike the Empyrean zing Bull.

    At that instant, Wang Yiheng only felt that his spiritual sea had cracked. Countless illusions surfaced in his head. There were friends he once had when he was young, his ex-lovers and his elders. A sense of yearning immediately flooded his brain.

    The remaining strength of the Haodong Palm wasn¡¯t very much. However, under the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Destiny Demise, Wang Yiheng¡¯s skull was struck loose. More importantly, he couldn¡¯t control his body after he was struck by the Haodong Palm. This was the truly terrifying part.

    As a ss 9 soul engineer and Titled Douluo, Wang Yiheng¡¯s willpower was undoubtedly very strong. He struggled to break free from such a state. However, the spiritual power that fused into his head didn¡¯t just cause pure destruction. It was more like a trigger. It triggered the deepest yearnings in his mind.

    A person would definitely have something or someone that he missed. Even Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t an exception.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Golden Dragon Pike stabbed into the Empyreal zing Bull¡¯s head, the terrifying spiritual power instantly surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and replenished his drained soul power, whereas Wang Yiheng¡¯s body was shaking tremendously. He felt that his life was in danger.

    No! I don¡¯t want to die!Wang Yiheng was screaming in his heart, and wanted to break free from such a state. However, he was a soul engineer. Given his spiritual cultivation, he couldn¡¯t possiblypare to a Rank 90 soul master. At this moment, how could he possibly quickly break free even as he tried his best?

    He was even surrounded by the massive Ruby Soft Tendon Python!

    ¡°Puff¡ª¡ª¡± When darkness descends, the light delivers judgment!

    The Judgment Sword fell from the sky as it carried the Sword Fanatic¡¯s sword intent. Destiny¡¯s Demise reduced all physical barriers to nothing. Furthermore, the Golden Dragon Pike had already wounded the Mad Bull Douluo. How could he possibly resist another attack?

    The ck and white sword stabbed all the way through into the bull¡¯s head! It wentpletely through the bull¡¯s skull.

    Even though it was only a bull, it was still a Martial Soul True Body formed by a soul master. This wasn¡¯t any different from stabbing Wang Yiheng¡¯s true forehead.

    No, how is this possible? How can I possibly die by the hands of such weak beings?

    Wang Yiheng was indignant. He shouted with all his might and summoned his terrifying soul power once again.

    The Judgment Sword and Golden Dragon Pike were both flung away by this destructive intent. Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen suffered the same fate too. The Ruby Soft Tendon Python also turned illusory and returned to Jiang Nannan¡¯s body.

    Sparks shed in the air. Empyrean pearls fell uncontrobly from the sky.

    The Mad Bull Douluo had already turned into a human once again. However, his forehead had been badly wounded.

 Chapter 446.3 - Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 446.3: Exterminate the Raging Bull! Asura Yuhao!</h4>

    He shouted furiously and kept on struggling. His soul power kept on seeping out, but it couldn¡¯t change the fact that he had been fatally wounded.

    The life energy of a Titled Douluo was extremely terrifying. Even after suffering such a fatal injury, which was a result of the devouring power of the Golden Dragon Spear and the judgment of the Judgment Sword, Wang Yiheng was still alive.

    Huo Yuhao had already regained a streak of his consciousness when the Mad Bull Douluo hadpletely unleashed his strength. He blocked Ji Juechen. Even though the two of them were flung away, Huo Yuhao took close to ny percent of the impact.

    His Solo Battle Armor yed a crucial role at this moment. It was impossible for him to block the all-out attack of a Titled Douluo, but Wang Yiheng was unable to attack given the state he was in. He could only release whatever external strength he had.

    Huo Yuhao spat out a mouthful of blood, but he wasn¡¯t too seriously injured.

    Ji Juechen grabbed hold of him in the air. He didn¡¯t thank Huo Yuhao, but only patted his shoulder.

    Everyone from Shrek was scattered in the air right now. They watched as Wang Yiheng put up his final struggle. Right now, reinforcements from the Star Luo Empire had already arrived.

    The White Tiger Duke was personally here. There were also other Titled Douluo from their respective soul engineer legions.

    The Star Luo Empire had too much information about Wang Yiheng, the leader of the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. However, they still felt a little unbelieving that Wang Yiheng had been subjected to such fatal injuries right now.

    He was the leader of the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion! He was actually surrounded and attacked by eight Soul Sages from Shrek Academy?

    These Titled Douluo were confident of taking Wang Yiheng on in a closebat fight. However, they also couldn¡¯t deny that the survivability of a soul engineer of the same tier was stronger. Would Wang Yiheng have ack of powerful soul tools on him? His Empyrean zebined offense and defense. Furthermore, he had great control over his Empyrean ze. However, he still¡­

    Wang Yiheng¡¯s strugglested for a few minutes in the air before he finally dropped indignantly from the sky.

    Xu Sanshi was already back to his original form. He lifted his Golden Xuanwu Shield and his fourth soul ring shed before he managed to drag Wang Yiheng¡¯s corpse over.

    How precious was the corpse of a ss 9 soul engineer? No one knew. This was because there had never been a situation in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s history that the corpse of a ss 9 soul engineer hadnded in an enemy¡¯s hands. Wang Yiheng was the first.

    Jiang Nannan was a little worried as she looked at Huo Yuhao. Right now, Huo Yuhao had already regained his awareness even though he was still bugged by the side effects of his Haodong Palm. He gently nodded to confirm that Wang Yiheng was already dead through his Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°Great!¡± Nan Qiuqiu cheered and hugged Ye Guyi, who was beside her.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s body suddenly became a little unstable. She almost couldn¡¯t control her flying-type soul tool. Even though she could use her wings to fly, it was very draining on her soul power. Most of the time, she would use her flying-type soul tool.

    Jing Ziyan also wore a smile on her face. Ji Juechen looked as indifferent as ever, as if thest strike had nothing to do with him.

    Tang Wutong calmly opened her dragon wings and drifted closer to Huo Yuhao. She didn¡¯t seem to be affected by Wang Yiheng¡¯s death. Right now, all of her attention was drawn to Huo Yuhao. Her gaze was focused, but no one could guess what she was thinking.

    The White Tiger Duke led the other Titled Douluo as they came over. They first came beside Xu Sanshi and seriously checked Wang Yiheng¡¯s condition.

    A Titled Douluo who appeared to be in his sixties nodded before saying, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Wang Yiheng, the leader of the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    A look of delighted surprise soon appeared on the faces of the other Titled Douluo. This was probably the best oue that the Star Luo Empire had achieved since the war had started. Even though the empire wasn¡¯t really responsible for killing Wang Yiheng, such a result was good enough to boost the morale of the troops. It was a morale booster for all the deted soul engineers who had witnessed the deaths of more than two thousand soul masters thest time around.

    The White Tiger Duke came beside Huo Yuhao and was a little perplexed as he looked at him. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you should have left it to us this time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head to look at him, but didn¡¯t say anything. There was an indifferent look in his eyes. He even appeared to be cold.

    Such an expression left the White Tiger Duke a little stunned. He couldn¡¯t understand it. Furthermore, he also seemed to have seen something familiar in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. However, Huo Yuhao quickly shifted his gaze away immediately after their eyes met, and stopped looking at the White Tiger Duke.

    What was going on?

    Huo Yuhao had unleashed his Haodong Palm, which was filled with his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er and his mother! At such a time, he was prone to losing control of his focus. In addition, Dai Hao was beside him. How could he possibly control his emotions?

    Jiang Nannan flew to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and apologetically said to the White Tiger Duke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Duke. Huo Yuhao unleashed his self-invented soul skill earlier and drained too much of his spiritual power. That has affected his emotions, and he¡¯s still suffering the side effects of it. Please let him recover first. He¡¯s not in his normal emotional state right now.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was only enlightened at this point, and nodded gently. He replied, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s return first.¡±

    Under the protection of the bunch of Titled Douluo, everyone turned around and proceeded in the direction of the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s base. Very soon, they arrived back at their base.

    Afternding, Huo Yuhao had already recovered significantly. He turned to Xu Sanshi and said, ¡°Third senior, hand the corpse over to the Duke, but grab his things first.¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t be so foolishly generous. Everyone clearly knew that the essories of a ss 9 soul engineer were very valuable. Wang Yiheng¡¯s most valuable possession was undoubtedly his Empyrean ze. Earlier, all the pearls had fallen off. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual senses, he informed Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi of their rough locations before they went to retrieve them. It was impossible for them to give up possession of these pearls.

    As for what the Mad Bull Douluo had on him earlier, no one knew. However, they would be a reward for Huo Yuhao and the rest. The White Tiger Duke had mentioned before that they could keep whatever they retrieved. If they were willing to sell them to the Star Luo Empire, the empire would buy them at market price.

    This was also why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask the White Tiger Duke to coordinate with them earlier. If the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s Titled Douluo coordinated and reinforced them earlier, who would be the rightful owner of everything that they obtained from the Mad Bull Douluo?

    The few Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire looked at one another and appeared a little discontented. This was the base of the Northwestern Field Army.

    However, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. He nodded and said, ¡°Thanks, Yuhao. I¡¯ll ask someone to record your contributions.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little unwilling to look at him right now, and so he didn¡¯t. He lifted his right hand, and a streak of blue light shot forward at the empty ground in front of him. Suddenly, a huge soul tool with a diameter of over two meters appeared in front of everyone.

    ¡°This¡­¡± All the Titled Douluo were surprised.

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°This is a high altitude aerial surveince soul tool that belongs to the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯m going to give it to the Star Luo Empire. I hope that this will expedite the empire¡¯s research on soul tools. I¡¯m sorry, White Tiger Duke. I¡¯m a little tired, and would like to go and rest first.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao¡­¡± The White Tiger Duke was a little agitated when he saw such a huge surveince soul tool.He actually seeded, and even killed a Titled Douluo.

    However, Huo Yuhao had turned around and left before he could even express his gratitude.

    All the Titled Douluo present didn¡¯t question Huo Yuhao¡¯s attitude this time. This was because they were all fixated on the high altitude aerial surveince soul tool right now. The value of this item couldn¡¯t be measured marily. Huo Yuhao¡¯s act of letting it out appeased them.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t stand on ceremony at all. He took everything that Wang Yiheng possessed and put it away in his own storage-type soul tool. He was going to pass it to Huo Yuhao after he fully recovered.

    Gentle light shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a mysterious look on his face. He calmly walked towards his tent as he recalled what had happened earlier.

    He had unleashed his strongest strike earlier. In addition, he seemed to feel that something in his body had made a breakthrough when he unleashed that strike. It was a magical feeling. It was also at that moment that his soul power improved by leaps and bounds.

    He was walking before he heard a voice echoing from behind, ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stopped and turned his head.

    Tang Wutong took two quick steps and rushed to his side. As she looked at him, her expression became more and more perplexed, ¡°Can you tell me the name of your palm strike earlier?

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°The Haodong Palm, a palm that willst eternally.¡±

    ¡°The Haodong Palm, a palm that willst eternally?¡± Tang Wutong recited the words. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop, and continued walking towards his tent. However, Tang Wutong didn¡¯t follow him anymore. Rather, she stood where she was, and was in a little daze as she looked at his back.

    Haodong Palm, Haodong Palm. ¡®Hao¡¯ from ¡®Huo Yuhao¡¯ and ¡®Dong¡¯ from ¡®Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯? The Haodong Palm, a palm that willst eternally.

    It seems like my impression of him was wrong¡­

    Huo Yuhao and everyone from Shrek Academy went to rest. On the other side, themander¡¯s tent was very crowded right now.

    The seniormanders gathered, and none of them had the intention to rest. In the center of the tent, the table had already been moved to one side to be reced by Wang Yiheng¡¯s corpse and the massive high altitude aerial surveince soul tool right now.

 Chapter 447.1 - Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 447.1: Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire</h4>

    When Xu Jiujiu firstid eyes on the high altitude aerial surveince soul tool, she couldn¡¯t shift her gaze away anymore. As the highest-ranked individual in charge of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s intelligence department, she reported directly to the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire. She had put in a lot of effort for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s own aerial surveince soul tools.

    She had managed to obtain ordinary aerial surveince soul tools before. However, those soul tools had self-destruction mechanisms installed within them. Once they were dismantled, they would blow apart. The Star Luo Empire had suffered a lot because of this.

    Thus, it was also her first time seeing this high altitude aerial surveince soul tool in front of her. She waspletely astonished!

    Before Huo Yuhao brought it back, Xu Jiujiu didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be so quick even though she had high hopes for him. The value of such a soul tool couldn¡¯t be measured on the surface. It would have an important effect on developing the Star Luo Empire¡¯s expertise in soul tools.

    ¡°Duke, are you saying that Wang Yiheng was killed by Huo Yuhao and hisrades?¡± Xu Jiujiu¡¯s voice sounded more high-pitched. The White Tiger Duke recounted everything he had seen earlier to her.

    Dai Hao nodded. Not to even mention that Xu Jiujiu was in disbelief, he would also be unconvinced if he didn¡¯t witness it personally!

    A few Soul Sages and Soul Emperors actually managed to kill a ss 9 soul engineer who was also a Titled Douluo. At the same time, the Empyrean ze, which was ranked twelfth among ss 9 soul tools, was also almost destroyed. Such an oue wouldn¡¯t be surprising if a few Titled Douluo were responsible for it. However, how old were Huo Yuhao and the rest? Their average age might not even be twenty yet!

    These talents from Shrek Academy demonstrated their strength by performing another miracle. At the same time, they proved their value to all the powerful individuals from the Star Luo Empire.

    Xu Jiujiu was breathing hard, and didn¡¯t make a sound for some time. She couldn¡¯t believe something like that had happened. Tonight was even less peaceful than the previous night.He really did it. His abilities¡­

    Xu Jiujiu had always found Huo Yuhao very impressive. She had, on two asions, witnessed Huo Yuhao¡¯s performances in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. In addition, she had even personally fought him before.

    However, it was only now that she discovered that her past understanding of him really belonged to the past. Right now, Huo Yuhao was beyond her domain of understanding.

    He was a Soul Sage that wasn¡¯t even twenty years old yet, but he was the one who led a kill mission against a Titled Douluo.

    ¡°Duke, do you know how they did it?¡± Xu Jiujiu swallowed her saliva and asked with some difficulty.

    The same question was in heads of the other seniormanders from the Star Luo Empire.

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli were standing behind Dai Hao right now. They had also received news of what happened had immediately. Dai Yueheng was now very perplexed. He was also from Shrek Academy, and was also a top-performing student in Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard. However, he was also in disbelief right now! He clearly knew that neither he nor the representative team he had formed with Ma Xiaotao could possibly aplish something like this. They were at least five years older than Huo Yuhao and the rest, but their overall abilities were far behind.

    Dai Hao sighed and replied, ¡°I only witnessed what happened at the end. However, I believe that Yuhao and the rest took turns to attack throughout the entire fight. They managed to unleash everyone¡¯s fighting strength to the extreme through an effective rhythm. This caused Wang Yiheng¡¯s power to be continually drained.¡±

    ¡°He only unleashed his full power at the end. Among all of them, four yed very crucial roles. They are Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen.¡±

    He recounted everything that he had seen. When they watched from afar earlier, they managed to catch hold of Xu Sanshi unleashing his Golden Xuanwu¡¯s Domain before using his Turtle God¡¯s Strike to neutralize the Empyrean zing Bull.

    After that, it was Jiang Nannan¡¯s Soft Bone Lock and Invincible Golden Body, as well as Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out attack.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm strike was the most crucial. The rest were only weakening Wang Yiheng, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s strikepletely destroyed Wang Yiheng¡¯s Empyrean ze and dealt him a fatal blow. I heard that it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s self-invented soul skill. It even contains the power of his emotions. It should be a self-invented soul skill that¡¯s abination of his soul and spiritual power. When he unleashed that strike, I could sense a weird force field around his body. I was even unwittingly drawn in. Even though it was night time, it felt as if the sky had changed color when he unleashed that strike. It¡¯s just that everything seemed to have been turned into nothingness just as he unleashed his strike.¡±

    ¡°A beam of red light glowed from Wang Yiheng¡¯s body. If I¡¯m not wrong, that beam of red light should be for protective purposes. However, it was crushed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack before Wang Yiheng was hit. Wang Yiheng¡¯s Empyrean ze lost the majority of its control after he was struck. After that, there seemed to be a spear that shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, which prated his skull and dealt him a heavy injury.¡±

    ¡°At that point, Wang Yiheng¡¯s injuries were already very serious. Then, Ji Juechen appeared and used his sword to stab the wound that Huo Yuhao had created. This fully ended Wang Yiheng¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°What I noticed was that they coordinated very well with one another, unleashing wave after wave of attacks. Theyplemented one another very well. I figure that there must be a control-type soul master among them. After that, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. There wasn¡¯t any evident soul power undtions when he unleashed his attack. However, I could clearly sense that his greatest fighting strength was unleashed at that moment. It was the key to killing Wang Yiheng.¡±

    After listening to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s analysis, the Titled Douluo that had also witnessed everything all nodded in agreement. Just like the White Tiger Duke had mentioned, Huo Yuhao seemed to have fused with heaven and earth in that state. It was also his palm strike thatpletely defeated Wang Yiheng. Even Wang Yiheng wouldn¡¯t have expected that. They were able to seed partly due to Wang Yiheng¡¯s owncency. Otherwise, why didn¡¯t he use his Invincible Barrier and soul protective barrier? He must have been very confident in his own attack. It was a pity that his confidence was a reason for his demise.

    Xu Jiujiu was stunned, and muttered to herself, ¡°Yuhao, I didn¡¯t expect you to reach such a level already. Duke, if you¡¯re talking about a control-type soul master, that person must be Huo Yuhao. The first time I met him, when he was only twelve or thirteen years old, he was already a control-type soul master. His Spiritual Detection can band his teammates together, and he can share urate information about the enemy with his teammates. This is very effective in counteracting the fighting strength of the enemy. Dai Yueheng should be the most aware of this.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke turned his attention towards his son, and Dai Yueheng immediately nodded and replied, ¡°Her Highness is right. When I firstpeted in the Soul Dueling Tournament with Huo Yuhao, he always appeared as a control-type soul master. His Spiritual Detection is very strong. It should be even stronger now than it was before.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded, and there was an awed look on his face, ¡°No wonder he¡¯s the future Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! No wonder he can be the youngest elder of Shrek Academy at such a tender age.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu asked, ¡°White Tiger Duke, what should we do next?¡±

    A cold look shed across the White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes and he said, ¡°Hang Wang Yiheng¡¯s corpse on a gpole outside the base for everyone to see. At the same time, I¡¯ll need you to send some people to bring the high altitude aerial surveince soul tool back for research purposes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Jiujiu immediately acknowledged his words.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t interested in the guesses or arrangements of the Star Luo Empire. When he returned into his tent, he immediately entered a cultivation state.

    His soul power circted. Although he was greatly drained earlier, hisst attack through the Golden Dragon Spear had helped to replenish him by absorbing some of Wang Yiheng¡¯s immense soul power.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear was terrifying in the sense that it could absorb the life energy and soul power of the enemy to replenish the fighting strength of its owner.

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fully inherit her abilities, he was much moreplementary to the Golden Dragon Spear after Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Sacrifice.

    He was even more drained in terms of his spiritual power, especially after he was subjected to the side effects of the Haodong Palm. Right now, his mind was filled with the figure of Wang Dong¡¯er. The pain brought about by his yearning for her could only be understood by him.

    He couldn¡¯t focus even after sitting on his bed for a long time. For some reason, he missed her even more today. Perhaps it was because his palm strike had unleashed his greatest fighting strength.

    Actually, Huo Yuhao knew that the recoil from Wang Yiheng¡¯s body after he attacked had hurt him. If this were the past, he might have lost his arm. His attack had well and truly drained all his strength.

    However, he possessed a part of the Golden Dragon¡¯s power since he had fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er. His strength and physical tenacity were much greater than before.

    This was why he felt extreme guilt towards Wang Qiu¡¯er at the same time as he missed Wang Dong¡¯er. These two emotions kept on corroding his mind and spiritual sea.

 Chapter 447.2 - Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 447.2: Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire</h4>

    Under such a circumstance, even his four Spirits were of no use to him. He could only handle this by himself.

    Huo Yuhao plopped onto his bed and shut his eyes tightly. He looked very pale, and seemed like he couldn¡¯t hold on anymore. He really looked like he couldn¡¯t hold on anymore.

    His yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er was too immense. It overwhelmed himpletely.

    Dong¡¯er, are you really alive?He actually always had a thought in his mind ¨C what should he do if the sect and vice-sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect were only telling him lies?

    This was what he feared. Even though he tried his best to steer away from such thinking, he would be overwhelmed with fear every time he had such a thought.

    Being unable to see Wang Dong¡¯er forever? What could possibly be more terrifying than that?

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was groaning softly. ¡°Dong¡¯er, if you¡¯ve really left this world, then bring me with you. Don¡¯t leave me alone in this world to suffer. Dong¡¯er, I really miss you.¡±

    Tears flowed down the corners of his eyes.

    The seniormanders of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army couldn¡¯t imagine that the young hero in their hearts was actually squirming in his bed right now while crying tears of pain. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even clear-headed right now.

    The curtains to his tent were pulled open, and a tall and slender figure walked into his tent. As she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s groans, her body turned slightly stiff. After that, however, she continued to walk towards Huo Yuhao. Her movements were very slow, as if she found it difficult to walk.

    However, she suddenly picked up her pace as she came closer to Huo Yuhao¡¯s bed. She quickly came to his side and sat down by his bedside.

    His tears had already wet his nket. Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were normally very acute, but right now, he actually didn¡¯t know that there was someone else in the tent. He continued to squirm and groan in pain. His face was very pale, and buckets of tears and sweat had already fused together as they flowed down his cheeks.

    Delicate fingers gently caressed his forehead. The movement of the fingers seemed a little stiff and rigid.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sweat moistened the white and tender fingers. The fingers seemed to be trembling slightly, and there was a tinge of warmth from them. Thedy in the tent was shuddering a little, and was also in a slight state of shock.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, don¡¯t leave me.¡± Suddenly, Huo Yuhao reached out and grabbed her hand.

    She was astonished, and wanted to retract her hand. However, his grip was very tight.

    She didn¡¯t struggle, but she could sense that his hands were icy-cold. It was icy-cold to a terrifying point. It was as if he had lost all the warmth in his body.

    Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s always in such great pain after he uses his Haodong Palm?

    It was weird, but Huo Yuhao calmed down after grabbing her hand. He stopped shivering as much, but he was still mumbling to himself. However, his pain had evidently been reduced significantly.

    He¡¯s really pitiful! I never thought one could turn out like this from loving someone too much. However, why did he turn his love into a skill? Why doesn¡¯t he go and find his lover?

    Not far outside the tent, there was a person squatting in a dark corner. This person watched as she walked into the tent.

    A slight smile spread across his face. He slowly stood up. It seemed like he didn¡¯t need to stand guard anymore. She didn¡¯te out, even after a long time.

    This person walked out from the corner. Wasn¡¯t he the Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi?

    Huo Yuhao was suffering from the bacsh of his Haodong Palm, and his body was very weak. Xu Sanshi understood this the best. This was why he followed Huo Yuhao back and stood guard outside his tent as a means of protecting him.

    However, thatdy had been in the tent for a long time without leaving yet. It seemed like he didn¡¯t need to carry on with his protection for the rest of the night.

    He silently left without making a sound.

    Inside the tent.

    Huo Yuhao had calmed down. His breathing had be more rhythmic, and he was no longer shivering. At times, he would mumble to himself, but he was evidently in less pain.

    He used both his hands to grab tightly onto her tender fingers. It was as if he were grabbing hold of some life-saving grass. He wouldn¡¯t let go of her hands. Slowly, a satisfied grin surfaced on his face.

    He had fallen asleep. Following this, moonlight shone in from outside the window. From where she was seated, she caught a view of his profile. She was only here because she was worried about him, and curious about his condition.

    However, she discovered that she was unable to leave right now.

    She could most certainly pull her hand back, but she was afraid of harming him in that way, so she didn¡¯t do so. He didn¡¯t do anything else either. He only tightly grabbed hold of her hand and squirmed in ce . He was falling deeper and deeper into his sleep.

    This is the generational talent that everyone is in awe of?A bitter look appeared across her face.So he¡¯s actually this fragile behind the surface. It seems like he has given too much to attain whatever powers he has.

    But why is he able to calm down after grabbing hold of my hand? Is it because he feelsforted?

    She retrieved a handkerchief with her other hand and dabbed at the perspiration on his head. Even she didn¡¯t know why she did something as intimate as his.

    He appeared evidently less tense after she wiped off his sweat. It was as if she possessed some kind of magical power that helped him to calm down.

    His hands started to regain some warmth, and he stopped holding on so tightly. His body also moved with greater ease.

    She continued to wipe away his sweat. Slowly, she ced her handkerchief to one side, and started to gently caress his hair.

    He doesn¡¯t look too bad. The lines on his face are smooth, and his eyshes are long. There¡¯s some rosiness to his cheeks right now and the life energy that he¡¯s exuding seems to be stronger than anyone else.

    Unwittingly, she became a little dazed. Just as she was in a daze, he slowly weakened his grip on her hands.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I can finally leave.¡± She gently retracted her hand, which was already covered with sweat. However, she subconsciously clenched her fist, as if she wanted to preserve the warmth that she felt in her hand.

    After she retracted the hand that she had ced on his head, she silently stood up. He was still sleeping very calmly, and didn¡¯t move at all.

    She silently walked towards the exit of his tent. However, for some reason, she couldn¡¯t help but turn back every few steps.

    His breathing was still as rhythmic as ever. There wasn¡¯t any change.

    Finally, she got to the exit. She turned back and took onest deep look at him.

    Someone who¡¯s so persistent in love like him should be a good guy.

    Goodnight, good guy!

    Morning. The warm sunlight bore down on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face through the window. The heat jolted him from his sleep.

    As he opened his eyes and felt the blinding sunlight, he subconsciously used his hand to cover his eyes.

    Oh? It¡¯s already sote. Why am I not up yet?Normally, he would already be cultivating in bed at this time!

    As he sat up, everything that had happened the previous night quickly surfaced in his mind. Huo Yuhao subconsciously took a look at his Starlight Sapphire ring. In his ring were more than ten high altitude aerial surveince soul tools.

    Yes, we didn¡¯t just manage to sessfully steal the high altitude aerial surveince soul toolsst night. We should have killed the Mad Bull Douluo too. I used my Haodong Palm. After I returned, I was in excruciating pain. But why am I not feeling anything right now?

    In the past, he couldn¡¯t recover in one night after unleashing his Haodong Palm. He needed a period of time to fully recover. Furthermore, he would always be very groggy the next day.

    However, he was filled with energy right now, and his body waspletely at ease. There weren¡¯t any side effects. It was as if he had had a perfect night¡¯s sleep, and had even overslept.

    Weird!After scratching his head, Huo Yuhao stood up and walked out of his tent.

    The sun was shining brightly today, and the air was very refreshing. As he took in a deep breath, the refreshing air nourished his body, and he was feeling extremely energetic.

    Huo Yuhao was a little amused as he asked himself,Why do I feel so rxed? And why am I in such a good mood?

    However, he didn¡¯t have an answer. No matter what kind of delicacies he consumed, they weren¡¯t able to improve his mood to such a stage. However, he was feeling extremely good today!What exactly happenedst night?

    He furrowed his brow and pondered.

    He could subtly remember that he was in excruciating pain then. However, Wang Dong¡¯er seemed to have arrived after that andforted him, alleviating his yearning for her and the pain that he experienced. After that, his pain disappeared, and he fell into afortable sleep.

    Dong¡¯er, did you reallye?Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide.Don¡¯t tell me Dong¡¯er has always been hiding by my side and shees when I¡¯m in pain? Tofort me? It¡¯s Dong¡¯er. It must have been her. I must have sensed her aura.

    He suddenly turned around and charged back into his tent. He leaped onto his bed and took in a deep breath, seeking Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s scent.

    However, what scent would be left over after one night? There was only his own smell on his bed.

    Am I just hallucinating?A strong sense of disappointment left Huo Yuhao clenching his fists. However, it was at this moment that his attention was drawn to a corner.

    He subconsciously reached out his hand and grabbed a squarish handkerchief.

    This handkerchief was made of silk, and felt very soft. It felt like theplexion of a young girl, and there were sweat stains on it.

    It doesn¡¯t belong to me! It clearly belongs to ady.

    Huo Yuhao looked at the handkerchief a few times. There weren¡¯t any markings on it. There was only a gentle fragrance that came from it.

    Wang Dong¡¯er. This really seemed likeWang Dong¡¯er¡¯s scent.

    Don¡¯t tell me that my feeling was right? That Dong¡¯er really camest night to take care of andfort me? And she helped me out of my pain?

 Chapter 447.3 - Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 447.3: Information About the Heavenly Soul Empire</h4>

    Huo Yuhao turned a little agitated, and was even unable to control himself. He pulled the handkerchief close to him, and his lips were trembling slightly.

    But why? Dong¡¯er, why won¡¯t you appear in front of me? Why won¡¯t you stay? Don¡¯t you know how much I miss you?

    In the opposite tent, Tang Wutong was in a deep sleep right now. She didn¡¯t cultivate the night before. After she returned, she quickly fell into a deep sleep. There was even a slight grin on her face right now.

    The titles earned by Huo Yuhao and the others were quickly conferred to them. No permission was even sought from the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire.

    No matter whether it was epted, everyone else apart from Huo Yuhao was conferred the title of a Baron. Huo Yuhao was conferred the title of a Viscount.

    Even though the titles of Baron and Viscount were the two lousiest ones in the peerage system, their titles were able to be inherited. This made them different. This meant that their future generations could enjoy the same titles! However, they weren¡¯t given anynd for their contributions.

    Ten million gold soul coins were directly given to Huo Yuhao. Such a mary reward was barely enough for him to purchase a high altitude aerial surveince soul tool.

    Ten million? If the Sun Moon Empire knew about it, they would be infuriated. Just the materials alone cost more than ten million! However, given their contributions, the reward given by the Star Luo Empire was considered passable.

    After breakfast, the White Tiger Duke personally came to visit Huo Yuhao. He was stunned to discover that Huo Yuhao was different from how he had been over the past few days. He was full of energy right now, as if he had been given new life. His entire body was filled with strength. He had already washed himself up and changed into a clean set of clothing.

    ¡°Duke.¡± Huo Yuhao received the White Tiger Duke.

    ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve earned yourself a great merit this time. How are you?¡± The White Tiger Duke asked amiably.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m already fine. Apologies forst night. I always suffer from side effects after using my self-invented soul skill.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re fine. You¡¯ve already been conferred a title, which is a decision that Her Highness and I came to after we discussed it with each other. We¡¯ve lowered the value of your reward mainly because we have to take the feelings of our soldiers into ount. Do you understand? Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll report what you¡¯ve done to His Majesty. I believe he¡¯ll have other rewards for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°No worries. I¡¯m fine with the rest. It¡¯s already good enough that I¡¯ve been made a Viscount.¡± Did he really only value the title of a Viscount, and one that was hereditary? He had already taken his first step out.

    Dai Hao smiled and said, ¡°Yes! As a Viscount, you can grant your wife and heirs titles too. Given your abilities, your potential is unlimited as long as you¡¯re willing to serve the empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened when he heard that his wife and children would be given titles too. However, he was in a good mood today, and managed to conceal his emotions.

    ¡°Duke, has the high altitude aerial surveince soul tool been returned to the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s already been sent back. After this time, I believe that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses will be tighter. Wang Yiheng has already been killed, which is a huge blow to them. What other ns do you have in the future?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll continue to pester them. As long as I keep them on their toes and drain their energy, I¡¯ll be able to survey the Death God.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke furrowed his brow and said, ¡°You still want to survey the Death God? You can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Duke, don¡¯t worry. Before I¡¯m fully confident, I won¡¯t take the risk. What¡¯s the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reaction been?¡±

    Dai Hao shook his head and said, ¡°They haven¡¯t reacted yet. I can¡¯t wait for them to do something. It¡¯s best if they want to exact revenge.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed. He immediately knew that the White Tiger Duke would havee up with some kind of n toplement his own n. No wonder the White Tiger Duke was so notable.

    Although the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were strong, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters wouldn¡¯t be afraid of them if they were detached too far from the defensive system set up in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The White Tiger Duke naturally wished that the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion would lose their cool after Wang Yiheng¡¯s death, driving them to attack. However, it seemed like the leader over at the Ming Dou Mountain Range was able to resist such a temptation. It seemed like things were very calm in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Duke, I¡¯ll make another trip and observe whether they¡¯ve changed their surveince soul tool setup.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded and said, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was perfectly fine observing them from some distance away, given his immense spiritual power. Surveince soul tools weren¡¯t sensitive towards spiritual power.

    After an hour, Huo Yuhao brought back urate news.

    All the surveince soul tools that belonged to the Sun Moon Empire had been pulled back in the direction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This time, he didn¡¯t manage to locate any soul tools at all, though he didn¡¯t know whether it was because the Sun Moon Empire had pulled all of them back. In this way, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince on the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops would be significantly reduced.

    After receiving this news, the White Tiger Duke was delighted. With Huo Yuhao around, they were no longer devoid of information.

    ¡°Report!¡± An anxious voice could be heard from outside.

    ¡°Come in.¡± The White Tiger Duke, who was in a good mood, gestured towards Huo Yuhao. He was signaling to Huo Yuhao to sit down and take a rest.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. He sat down beside the White Tiger Duke¡¯s seat.

    ¡°Duke, intelligence from the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡± A soldier rushed in and kneeled down on one knee in front of the White Tiger Duke before passing a letter to him.

    Intelligence from the Heavenly Soul Empire? It¡¯s finally here?Huo Yuhao and White Tiger Duke were both jolted. The situation in the Heavenly Soul Empire was extremely important to the Star Luo Empire. It could possibly affect the entire war.

    Dai Hao quickly tore the letter open. He only scanned it a few times before his expression changed ¨C he turned pale. His hand that was holding onto the letter started trembling.

    Huo Yuhao, who had just sat down, also immediately stood up. From Dai Hao¡¯s expression, he could tell that the situation in the Heavenly Soul Empire wasn¡¯t good.

    ¡°You can leave first.¡± Dai Hao tried to suppress his own feelings and waved to the soldier.

    The soldier retreated, and only he and Huo Yuhao were left in the tent.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t probe further. At this point, perhaps the White Tiger Duke needed to calm down. If the White Tiger Duke could reveal anything, he would have told Huo Yuhao everything.

    ¡°Yuhao, the entire Douluo Continent might experience a catastrophe this time.¡± The White Tiger Duke sighed and passed the letter to Huo Yuhao.

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sank. After receiving the letter, he read it.

    ¡°The capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire, Heavenly Dou City, has been upied by the Sun Moon Empire. More than one-third of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory had been taken over, and the empire is still being invaded at an rming speed. Everything to the west of the Heaven Dou City hasnded in the hands of the Sun Moon Empire. The Body Sect¡¯s leader, Du Busi, has been seriously hurt, and we are unsure whether he will survive. The Body Sect has lost half of its members and four out of the six soul master legions of the Heavenly Soul Empire have been destroyed. The remaining two are protecting the imperial family, which is retreating toward the east.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has deployed more than three hundred thousand soldiers, including seven soul engineer legions. Apart from the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, the other beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions are all involved in this mission. The Holy Ghost Church has deployed many evil soul masters to aid in this mission as well. Du Busi was hurt by two evil soul masters. One of them appears to be the leader of the Holy Ghost Church. The Ultimate Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, did not make an appearance. Right now, the Heavenly Soul Empire is doomed. The two remaining soul master legions we have and the reinforcements from the Dou Ling Empire are nning a rendezvous with whatever remaining troops we have.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed after reading the contents of the letter. Even though he could guess where the Sun Moon Empire was going to attack, he didn¡¯t expect their attack to be so ferocious. Since the start of the war, only a few weeks had passed. However, the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire had already fallen?

    It was important to note that the Heaven Dou City was the first, big city on the continent since ten thousand years ago. It was as notable as the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Star Luo City. In just a few weeks, the city had already fallen. The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s defenses had crumbled. This waspletely unbelievable. Given such a speed, the Sun Mon Empire would take at most half to a month¡¯s time topletely upy the Heavenly Soul Empire. When that happened, not only could they threaten the borders of the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire, but they could even threaten Shrek Academy, which was in the center of the three empires.

    The White Tiger Duke and Huo Yuhao were both silent in the tent. Such a situation was worse than what they had expected.

    ¡°Yuhao, what should we do?¡± The White Tiger Duke suddenly asked.

    After hearing his question, Huo Yuhao knew that even the White Tiger Duke had started to panic, even though he was normally very calm.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s strength was all concentrated in the west, but they were restrained here by the Sun Moon Empire because of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Given such a situation, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t have much of a choice. However, there wasn¡¯t a single choice that allowed him topletely deal with the situation they were facing.

    Retreat? If the Sun Moon Empire tried to force their way over the Ming Dou Mountain Range, we would lose a lot of territory. Our citizens wouldn¡¯t have enough time to evacuate either.

    Continuing to directly fight the Sun Moon Empire is a bad choice too. Attack? Against the Death God, going in without a n is suicide. We might sacrifice countless lives and suffer irreparable damage without even making progress. Once our losses be too severe, what will we have to fight the Sun Moon Empire?

    Save the Heavenly Soul Empire? What¡¯s there to save? Furthermore, what can the Star Luo Empire do if all our forces go over to reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire?

    If the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops reinforce the Heavenly Soul Empire without guarding Star Luo City, how will we be able to react if we are directly threatened by an invasion from an elite force of the Sun Moon Empire from the south?

    These questions kept on popping up in the White Tiger Duke¡¯s head. However, he couldn¡¯t find a way to deal with the problem.

    This was why he asked Huo Yuhao. Just like Huo Yuhao had predicted, the White Tiger Duke was in a state of panic right now.

    Suddenly, the curtains were pulled open, and a pale Princess Jiujiu walked in. As soon as she entered, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Duke, what should we do?¡±

 Chapter 448 - Huo Yuhaos Decision!

    Chapter 448: Huo Yuhao¡¯s Decision!</h4>

    Princess Jiujiu was in charge of intelligence for the entire Star Luo Empire. Naturally, she was informed.

    What do we do?This was the question in both Dai Hao and Xu Jiujiu¡¯s minds. Xu Jiujiu looked at Dai Hao, but Dai Hao was looking at Huo Yuhao instead.

    They were all panicking. Their fear had yet to metastasize. However, the entire Northwestern Field Army would most likely be engulfed by fear if this news spread. The morale boost that they had only just received yesterday from killing Wang Yiheng would most certainly vanish.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. Comparatively speaking, he was the calmest among the three of them. Although he was from the Star Luo Empire, he didn¡¯t have strong ties to it. To him, Shrek Academy and Shrek City was his family and home. This was why he was much calmer than both the White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu.

    ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s stop all information from spreading first. We must not let anyone know about it, not even the leaders of the various soul master legions.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice, Xu Jiujiu was quickly jolted to her senses! Yes, preventing all information from spreading was the most important thing now. She nodded forcefully and took a few deep breaths. Her voluptuous chest rose and fell continuously. She also gradually calmed down. She even forgot to greet the White Tiger Duke, and immediately turned around before leaving the tent.

    The White Tiger Duke looked at Huo Yuhao. Seeing how Huo Yuhao appeared so pensive, he gradually steadied himself. Huo Yuhao¡¯s suggestion was right. Blocking off all information was the most important thing right now. It wasn¡¯t about performing surveince anymore. Rather, it was about concealing the information that they had and preserving the fighting strength of the entire army.

    ¡°Yuhao, we are in a disastrous situation right now. I don¡¯t see any hope of us breaking out of it.¡± The White Tiger Duke sighed.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Even so, we must still do our best. Duke, there are two ways we can choose to deal with the situation right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Tell me about it.¡± The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes brightened. Just as he was unable to think of any solutions, Huo Yuhao actually imed that they had two solutions to choose from. To him, it was as if he had grabbed hold of a stalk of life-saving grass.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There are two ways for us to proceed. One, we protect whatever we have. Second, we turn aggressive. By protecting whatever we have, I mean that we immediately retreat and use Star Luo City as our base to gather all our strength. At the same time, we¡¯ll ask for help from the academy and implore them to send some strong individuals to meet with us. Concurrently, we¡¯ll need to ask the Dou Ling Empire to gather whatever strength they have. After that, we¡¯ll enter the Heavenly Soul Empire from two different directions, exploiting the opportunity just as the Sun Moon Empire has to divide its forces after invading the Heavenly Soul Empire to fight the main force of the Sun Moon Empire. By concentrating the strength of the academy and the two empires, and even the power of the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, we can fight all-out with the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    ¡°After all, we¡¯ve ruled the Douluo Continent for so many years. People¡¯s hearts are with us. Even if we suffer huge losses along with the enemy, we are still in an advantageous situation. During the final sh, we¡¯ll need the two empires and the academy to contact all the hidden sects to join in the resistance against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Dai Hao nodded repeatedly. It was indeed a good n. However, there was a price to pay for using this n. The price was close to half thend of the Star Luo Empire and the people who upied thatnd. No one knew how the Sun Moon Empire would treat those people. This was also something that the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t willing to see. He didn¡¯t just love his soldiers. He also loved his own people!

    ¡°What about turning aggressive?¡± Dai Hao was much moreposed after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s first solution. Undoubtedly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s first n was workable.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned sharper and he replied, ¡°By turning aggressive, it means that we have to risk everything. ording to your original intentions, we have to attack the enemy¡¯s most important site. As long as we can ovee the enemy¡¯s defenses in the Ming Dou Mountain Range and fight our way into the Sun Moon Empire, their troops will definitely return to save them. When that happens, the Dou Ling Empire, Heavenly Soul Empire and the academy canbine to force the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops back to where they came from.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that we should use brute force?¡± The White Tiger Duke squinted, and released a killing aura from his body. ¡°I¡¯ve thought of this idea. Perhaps we might stand a chance if we do that. But if we do it that way, we¡¯ll definitely suffer huge losses. Even if we manage to seed, we¡¯ll still suffer heavy losses. And even if we break our way into the Sun Moon Empire, we might not have enough strength to threaten them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I understand your worries. However, the main threat to us is the Death God. It¡¯s an irresistible force. If we can make the Death God lose its effect and influence the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince abilities, we can minimize our losses. The Sun Moon Empire only uses elite forces for defensive purposes. Their actual strength is at most two to three soul engineer legions. Even if they concealed information about their strength earlier, they couldn¡¯t possibly have conjured up so many soul engineer legions.¡±

    ¡°ording to the news from the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire hasbined the strength of seven soul engineer legions and the Holy Ghost Church over there, which exins why they managed to take the Heavenly Soul Empire down so quickly. The original news was that the Sun Moon Empire had ten soul engineer legions. If we have two or three legions on our side, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family will have to keep some troops with them to defend themselves. For example, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion will need to stay with them. In this way, we won¡¯t be facing as many enemies. Let¡¯s overestimate their strength. Let¡¯s say that they have three soul engineer legions, whiches up to about one thousand soul engineers, along with a lot of soul tools. If they rely on terrain, they can most definitely stop us. This is why we need to wreak havoc first. Once we are able to inflict serious damage on them, we can then attack on all fronts.¡±

    Dai Haoughed bitterly. ¡°Yuhao, your n is indeed possible. However, its feasibility has to be built on the fact that we can cause damage to the defensive line of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Ming Dou Mountain Range and cause the Death God to lose its effectiveness. However, they have many surveince soul tools. You¡¯ve tried before too. Given our current abilities, how are we able to do it? It¡¯s too difficult.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It all depends on our will. It¡¯s not impossible. I have a n. Even without intelligence from the Heavenly Soul Empire, I was already willing to offer it to you.¡±

    ¡°What n?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like this¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao remained in the tent for a long time. He only left at lunch time. After having his lunch, he gathered hisrades and exined his strategy to them.

    ¡°No, I disagree.¡± Xu Sanshi said.

    He was normally full of jokes. However, he appeared very serious at this critical moment. In the Tang Sect, even Bei Bei listened to his opinions.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Third Senior, I¡¯m confident.¡±

    ¡°Even so, I won¡¯t let you do it. It¡¯s too dangerous. Whether this strategy of yours work is solely built on the risk that you are facing. I won¡¯t agree to it as long as you¡¯re going to be subjected to any danger. Have you thought of the ramifications? What if you fail? You¡¯ll die.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°I won¡¯t. The Beast God won¡¯t let me die.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed and said, ¡°However, you are taking too big of a gamble. What if the Beast God can¡¯t handle it either? Once you venture that deep in, you¡¯ll need sufficient time. What if¡­¡±

    ¡°Third senior, there¡¯s no ¡®what if¡¯. I have to take this risk. If I don¡¯t, we will be in an extremely disadvantageous situation. If we wait for the Sun Moon Empire to consolidate their hold on the Heavenly Soul Empire, we won¡¯t be able to resist them, given the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire¡¯scking research in soul tools. At the same time, the Heavenly Soul Empire is being attacked from all directions, which endangers our academy! The academy nurtured us to be who we are today and gave us strength. If I¡¯m afraid of death at such a critical moment, I¡¯ll miss out on this opportunity.¡±

    Ye Guyi was suddenly a little agitated as she said, ¡°This is not an opportunity. This is a death wish!¡± She suddenly stood up and looked at Huo Yuhao. Her breathing had evidently be a little quick. ¡°Have you not heard of the Death God? Two thousand soul masters who were at least Soul Sages vanished without a trace in just one strike. No matter how strong you are, how can you possiblypare to two thousand Soul Sages? It¡¯s the number one soul tool in the continent. No, you can¡¯t go. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi. The rest also had the same expression on their faces. On the other hand, Tang Wutong was calmer, and didn¡¯t utter a word as she sat where she was.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious. How did you convince the White Tiger Duke?¡± Jiang Nannan asked doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhao revealed an embarrassed look on his face. He had nothing to hide. ¡°I told him that the academy had just researched a new type of soul tool that can be used in critical times to resist any attack, a true Invincible Barrier. I also have my Instant Teleportation. If I¡¯m far away, I¡¯ll be able to escape.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression turned weird. Whatever Invincible Barrier was useless. As for Instant Teleportation, Huo Yuhao indeed had it. However, there was a limit to how far he could go. There wasn¡¯t any way he could escape the domain of the Death God.

    ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re ying with fire. Even if Elder Xuan were here, he wouldn¡¯t agree to this n.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°What other better n do you have? Third Senior, everyone else, please don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m really confident.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s gaze turned passionate as he said, ¡°Alright then, Yuhao. Let¡¯s do it this way. If you have to take this risk, I¡¯ll follow you. I want to be part of your n.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. After this, he heard Jiang Nannan say, ¡°Me too.¡±

    Apart from Tang Wutong, everyone else also expressed their stance. They wanted to join him in his fight.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to let all of us follow you, we¡¯ll let you go.¡± He was clear that Huo Yuhao would be willing to sacrifice his own safety, but he wasn¡¯t willing topromise the safety of others. He wanted to use this method to dispel the thought in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    ¡°Alright, all of you can join then.¡± No one expected Huo Yuhao to agree, but he nodded and gave them a certain answer.

    Xu Sanshi was stunned, and looked at him a little doubtfully.Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s really confident?He understood Huo Yuhao, but he wasn¡¯tpletely confident that he would stray away from his n given their demand.

    He couldn¡¯t take back his words anymore. Although there were still many doubts in his mind, he wasn¡¯t able to voice them upon seeing how determined Huo Yuhao was.

    Tang Wutong remained calmly seated where she was. She didn¡¯t express her wish to join this mission, and no one went to question her. Ever since Huo Yuhao had confirmed that she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, everyone¡¯s attitude toward her had changed a little. She was just an outsider, while the others were from the Tang Sect. She naturally didn¡¯t have the right to ask others to risk their lives.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Alright. Since everyone is agreeable, let¡¯s discuss the details. This mission is extremely important. We¡¯ll have to take real care with every detail.¡±

    After this, the Northwestern Field Army remained very peaceful for the next two days. Huo Yuhao also stopped the probing attacks that he had originally nned.

    The Star Luo Empire also strictly stopped all flow of information ¨C news of the fall of the Heavenly Soul Empire didn¡¯t spread. Both parties were at a stalemate.

    In the night, the sky turnedpletely dark. There was a thinyer of fog in the sky tonight. When one peered into the sky, it was as if ayer of chiffon had engulfed the sky.

    There weren¡¯t any stars, and the moon was dim. This was definitely the night to carry out all sorts of covert operations.

    Two figures rose into the night sky. They managed to get very high up under the cover of the night sky.

    ¡°Yuhao, whether we seed depends on this. If we don¡¯t, we can only choose to protect whatever we have.¡± The White Tiger Duke said softly. At this point, his hands were under Huo Yuhao¡¯s armpits. His expression had evidently turned a little serious.

    He was well-aware of the danger that Huo Yuhao was going into. If this mission failed, he would most likely end up dead. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t bothered in the slightest when he came up with this proposition. It was as if he wasn¡¯t the one whose life was in danger.

    This entire mission was too important for the Star Luo Empire. The price to pay for failure was huge. However, if they seeded, they could influence the situation across the entire continent!

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°Duke, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do my best. I believe I have the ability to seed.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke took a deep breath, and then freed up one hand. He took off a ne and ced it in front of Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°This is the tooth of a tiger. My father gave it to me in the past. I heard that it¡¯s what remained after my ancestor killed a tiger-type soul beast. It can protect you. Put it on. No matter what, I hope you can return alive.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned his head around to look at Dai Hao. At that moment, he felt that he had lost control of his emotions, and was about to tell the White Tiger Duke about his background.

    After receiving the ne, he first felt that it carried the body warmth of the White Tiger Duke. After that, he sensed a strong killing aura from it.

 Chapter 449.1 - Replacement! Welcome the Death God!

    The tiger¡¯s tooth had already be dark yellow, and the tooth¡¯s colors fully disyed how ancient it was. This tiger¡¯s tooth could be said to be the White Tiger Duke¡¯s keepsake!

    He actually gave it to me.

    He¡¯s my father ¨C is this his gift for me?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but well with tears as he hurriedly turned his head around and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke smiled and said, ¡°I should be the one who¡¯s thanking you. Everyone in the Star Luo Empire will remember what you¡¯ve done for the empire, and I will personally celebrate your sess when you return. The princess has already promised ¨C as long as youplete this task sessfully, you¡¯ll be given the inheritable title of Marquis.¡±

    The title of Marquis was second only to the title of Duke amongst the list of titles of the nobility. The Star Luo Empire hadn¡¯t appointed a hereditary Marquis for several hundred years, and one had to understand that a Marquis¡¯ territory would contain arge city at least, let alone the fact that the title could be passed down to future generations. That was truly a blessing.

    Huo Yuhao nodded silently, and a faint smile appeared on his face. The wetness in his eyes abruptly disappeared as he gazed into the distance, and many wonderful emotions resonated in his heart.

    Dong¡¯er, was that really you beside me that day? For you, I will try my best to survive.

    The air became increasingly cold around them. They had already rise to further heights, and everything around them became increasingly quiet amidst the darkness of the night. Intense chills appeared continuously and assaulted their bodies.

    The method that Huo Yuhao decided on was identical to the first time he went to scout the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak ¨C he would glide through the air. This was the only way he could close the distance most quickly, while it was difficult for him to be discovered. At the same time, this method minimized his soul power expenditure.

    The White Tiger Duke escorted him personally this time as well. The ground was gradually swallowed by the darkness, and the thick clouds in the sky were all that could be seen. The chills in the air didn¡¯t affect him, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was very calm in this moment ¨C terrifyingly calm.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hang the tiger tooth around his neck. Instead, he held it in his hands and sensed the vicious energiesing from it. However, he felt some warmth in his heart.

    Four thousand meters, five thousand meters, five thousand five hundred meters.

    They reached a height just like they didst time, and the low temperatures consumed more and more of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s soul power. The White Tiger Duke had transformed into a White Tiger, but he had reverted to human form in this moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you now, Yuhao.¡± The White Tiger Duke hurtled Huo Yuhao outward with his thick, muscr arms.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything, but he gave the White Tiger Duke a thumbs-up with his right hand. He wore his Solo Battle Armor from the get-go today, and three pairs of wings stretched out behind his back, and soul power spurted fiercely as he propelled himself into the distance.

    The White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t leave immediately. Instead, he hovered in midair and watched as Huo Yuhao disappeared beyond the horizon. For some reason, he felt as if he had lost something when Huo Yuhao departed this time around; that feeling was unique and anxious.

    Huo Yuhao tore through the darkness and pressed on. He elerated through the sky, and once his speed reached a certain level, his arms stretched out from both sides of his body as twoyers of thin leather film connected his arm to his thigh. Wind billowed against those films and created air resistance as he began to glide forward.

    Huo Yuhao had developed these himself through his experience after he returned that day. The wings of his flying-type soul tool had a rtively weaker effect in controlling the airflow, and he descended too quickly while consuming a lot of soul power earlier on, which was detrimental to his subsequent operations. There were many tasks that he had toplete today, and they were the keyponents of his expedition this time around. Therefore, he had to conserve his soul power no matter what.

    Huo Yuhao had already activated Spiritual Detection. Everything around him flew by in the blink of an eye, and he continued descending as he bore down on the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Huo Yuhao was calm, and seemed as if he hadpletely integrated into the night sky. The side wings made from leather made him look like a giant bat.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to worry about being discovered by surveince soul tools at a height of three thousand meters. However, he knew after his previous two reconnaissance missions that the Sun Moon Empire would definitely put more effort into their surveince coverage.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range came into view in the distance. Huo Yuhao quickly realized a problem as soon as he activated Spiritual Detection.

    There were all sorts of surveince soul tools clustered and arrangedpactly about three kilometers from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The main peak had the most surveince soul tools around it.

    There were some odd-shaped surveince soul tools besides the original ones. These soul tools looked very strange, as if they had been stacked together.

    If another soul master who was unfamiliar with soul tools were in Huo Yuhao¡¯s position, he or she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what those things were even if they came close to them. However, Huo Yuhao quickly discerned their identity.

    These things spell trouble! Those rtivelyrge bases below them ¨C aren¡¯t they high altitude aerial surveince soul tools?

    There was another kind of soul tool on top of each high altitude aerial surveince soul tool. They were stacked together, which gave them an irregr shape.

    Those¡­

    Oscition detectors?

    Yes, they are oscition detectors.

    It¡¯s evident that my enemy has realized that normal surveince soul tools don¡¯t work against me. However, oscition detectors have rtively smaller areas of effect, though they areparatively heavier at the same time. They were installed on the mountaintops before this. However, they have actually used high altitude aerial surveince soul tools as bases, and ced the oscition detectors on top so that they can hover back and forth through the air in order to find me.

    The benefit of doing this was that those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools could carry their respective oscition detectors back and forth through the air between one thousand and three thousand meters above the ground. This maximized the oscition detectors¡¯ area of effect, and they could lock down the sky entirely as long as there were enough of these things.

    It seemed as if this n would therefore be foolproof.

    Huo Yuhao continueding closer because he was gliding through the air. He understood that he couldn¡¯t deal with those oscition detectors at the moment. But if the Sun Moon empire is trying to stop me with such a n ¨C then they are too na?ve.

    The oscition detectors¡¯ range was theirrgest problem. Even though the Sun Moon Empire had deployed enough soul tools, there were still some cracks in their system.

    Purple hues sparkled at the bottom of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as he squinted, and his Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead as every single detail was pictured clearly in his mind.

    He shut his eyes, and only his Eye of Destiny continued observing far into the distance as his gentle spiritual power nketed the area soundlessly.

    Wave after wave appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Those waves were presented three-dimensionally, produced by the oscition detectors in front of him.

    The oscition detectors¡¯ main concept was that the gentle soul power undtions released would produce feedback once they came into contact with physical matter. Those detectors would carry their own special waves so that they wouldn¡¯t be confused when they came into contact with each other. These special waves changed every day to prevent enemies from figuring them out.

    They affected the air in some way since they were waves. Huo Yuhao leveraged his Eye of Destiny to amplify his Spiritual Detection, and urately captured the rhythm of these waves before he relied on careful observation to search for their surveince patterns.

    Three kilometers ¨C this was the range that the strongest offensive power that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defensive perimeter had established on the Ming Dou Mountain Range could reach.

    Any enemy that was discovered within this range would have a hard time even running away!

    Huo Yuhao stretched his side wings as wide as possible, and carefully released his soul power as he activated his Imitation while he carefully observed the soul power undtions in the air.

    He made his move after about five minutes.

    Three pairs of wings erupted with formidable soul power as they propelled Huo Yuhao right towards the highest mountain peak.

    Huo Yuhao quickly arrived at the three thousand meter mark.

    He was still in midair as he suddenly closed his left side wing, and he rolled horizontally as he evaded a surveince wave. He withdrew the six wings behind his back in the next moment, and his body plummeted for a moment as he evaded yet another wave.

    His wings stretched out and spurted with soul power as he darted a hundred meters forward in an instant, and dodged the next wave.

    It was a pity that nobody could bear witness to Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements. Otherwise, they would realize that Huo Yuhao¡¯s waltz was spectacr and extraordinary ¨C he managed to evade an oscition detector¡¯s wave with each changing movement, and he found gap after gap in those seemingly all-covering waves and charged through them.

    A Titled Douluo, or perhaps even an Ultimate Douluo, could possibly charge right through by relying on their formidable strength. However, pushing forward with Huo Yuhao¡¯s dexterity and agility was beyond difficult.

    The entire process took about the time needed for seven or eight breaths in total before Huo Yuhao pushed through the web created by the cluster of oscition detectors. However, even he began to pant a little after he stabilized his body.

    That was close! There was once when an oscition detector¡¯s wave was but ten centimeters away from him. If he had been even one bit slower, the wave would have swept through him, and he would have be target practice.

    Huo Yuhao could easily imagine the baptism by cannon fire he would receive if the Sun Moon Empire had discovered him, after he had murdered Wang Yiheng.

    But he managed to push through in the end, and the pitch-ck main peak was only two kilometers out. Huo Yuhao limited his Spiritual Detection to a controlled range and didn¡¯t attempt a sweep in the main peak¡¯s direction.

    He was very aware of how frightening the spiritual barrier around the main peak was. All fire would concentrate on him as well if he was discovered because of that.

    Huo Yuhao flew forward discreetly and gradually, and his alertness was raised to the highest possible level. He slowed his breathing, and it took a long while for him to draw even one breath. He released some of his Ultimate Ice so that he could control his body temperature to be identical to the air around him, and it felt as if he had transformed into a dust particle in the air as he floated forward sneakily.

 Chapter 449.2 - Replacement! Welcome the Death God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 449.2: Recement! Wee the Death God!</h4>

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range was still deathly quiet, and there were all sorts of aerial surveince soul tools flying rhythmically in the background. Huo Yuhao could feel both intense excitement and anxiety, and his senses were elevated continuously in this moment ¨C he could even feel that his potential was being unleashed continuously under such circumstances.

    It¡¯d be fantastic if I could continue in such a state.Huo Yuhao understood that his cultivation would probably improve once more after he seeded in this mission.

    Two thousand meters, a thousand eight hundred meters, a thousand five hundred meters, a thousand three hundred meters, a thousand two hundred meters!

    Huo Yuhao paused when he was a thousand two hundred meters away from the main peak. He wasn¡¯t hasty to push forward, and neither did he release any Spiritual Detection. Instead, he relied only on his eyes to look up at the peak.

    His Spirit Eyes were at the highest possible level of the Purple Demon Eyes even without support from his spiritual power. He could see many things clearly in the darkness, even from a thousand two hundred meters away.

    Huo Yuhao discovered that there were not that many soul tools installed on the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak. Instead, there rtively more soul tools installed on the two peaks beside it. Arge region of the main peak¡¯s tip was covered by metal, and there were many strange-looking metal shells constructed on it.

    These metal shells were undoubtedly the best cover for the soul tools within. Huo Yuhao memorized every single one of their positions in his heart. Even if his mission failed in the end, memorizing these positions urately would still be very useful.

    At the same time, he relied on his own observations to judge where the Death God was located. He was scouting out the Death God, and it would be best if he could damage or destroy it, as that was the most important aim of his expedition!

    The Death God wasn¡¯t difficult to find. Huo Yuhao quickly saw the hemispherical metal dome on the main peak¡¯s tip. This metal dome was about ten meters in diameter, and it waspletely metal grey in color. It wasn¡¯t eye-catching or obvious at all whether it was day or night, but Huo Yuhao could feel his soul shaking when he saw it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were still very perceptive even though the metal dome wasn¡¯t releasing any soul power undtions.What is this? It¡¯s clearly a terrifying pressure naturally produced by something terrifying! It should be there. I will havepleted half of my task if I can get close to it.

    The Death God was powerful, but it was positioned strategically, and it wouldn¡¯t achieve its desired effect if one actually got close to it. The Death God was better at attacking from long range no matter how powerful it was, and it wasn¡¯t all-powerful.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and began to move once more. He held his breath, and edged forward bit by bit. Rose-gold colors flickered in his Eye of Destiny as he stared at what was in front of him.

    The spiritual barrier didn¡¯t have any shape or form, and even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t detect the spiritual barrier using his spiritual power without touching it. However, he would immediately be discovered if he touched it.

    A thousand two hundred meters, a thousand one hundred meters, a thousand and fifty meters¡­

    He pushed on bit by bit, until he was almost there. Huo Yuhao paused when he was about a thousand and twenty meters away from the main peak.

    Huo Yuhao had relied entirely on his memory from his previous expedition to reach this point, but he was unable to be sure about thest few dozen meters. He was taking a risk, so he decided to keep his risk within a controble range.

    Huo Yuhao quietly removed the leather wings on his body, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He had originally thought that he would need a lot more effort to close the gap, as there were likely to be oscition detectors on the mountaintop, after all.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire was evidently very confident after transforming the surveince soul tools on the outeryer. The mountain¡¯s oscition detectors were all ced on the outside, and there were no other surveince soul tools on the inside except for the spiritual barrier.

    His Eye of Destiny became increasingly bright as Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power flourished more and more. The light around Huo Yuhao began to contort faintly asrge amounts of spiritual power were unleashed.

    ¡°Spiritual st!¡± A low growl came out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. The air in front of him began to sizzle as if it were boiling, and soundless booms abruptly exploded within ten meters around him ¨C this was a spiritual-type attack with an area of effect!

    The spiritual barrier that was hidden one thousand meters from the main peak was finally triggered. It released a dull hum as it appeared roughly ten meters away from Huo Yuhao. The spiritual barrier rippled intensely under the effects of his Spiritual st.

    ¡°Brrng! Brrng!¡± Shrill rm sounds immediately rang out on the mountaintop.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. At this point in time, there was no longer any meaning in using Imitation to conceal his position. Gold and purple light shed in his Eye of Destiny on his forehead, and a purplish-gold beam of light sted out from it as the sky was gradually tinted rose-gold, while blinding light collided ferociously with the spiritual barrier.

    One had to know that the Manic Bull Douluo Wang Yiheng took a big hit back then from Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, and his defensive spiritual-type soul tool was directly shattered.

    Even though the spiritual barrier around the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak was powerful, the main problem with it was that it covered an area that was far toorge. Therefore, any localized position¡¯s defensive strength couldn¡¯t reach the standard of a ss 9 soul tool.

    ¡°Woosh¡ª¡± A hole that was one meter in diameter appeared on the spiritual barrier as it popped open like a pierced balloon. However, this spiritual barrier was impressive ¨C it swiftly stretched out to cover the gaps after it had been broken through.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly let such an opportunity go, and light spurted from his flying-type soul tool as he transformed into a beam of light and darted through the hole he had created. He didn¡¯t touch the spiritual barrier at all.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life could end in an instant as he came within one thousand meters of the main peak! How could he allow himself to be dazed after touching the spiritual barrier?

    Light glowed on the main peak, and even the stones began to shift in some ces. Metal shells split open on the mountaintop, revealing the soul tools inside.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to use Spiritual Detection to feel thatrge amounts of soul tools were locked onto him.

    Beams of light instantly began to twist around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body ¨C Spiritual Interference!

    The three pairs of wings on his back roared at maximum capacity at the same time, and he channeled as much soul power as he could. In addition to the two rows of soul thrusters firing off, everything propelled him like a shooting star as he went directly for the main peak. He was going right for the Death God.

    Huo Yuhao stretched out his Spiritual Detection to every corner once he was inside the spiritual barrier. His main target was still the mountaintop ¨C he wanted to see what the Death God was exactly.

    A conical soul tool gradually protruded from within the hemispherical shell. This soul tool was dark red, and the light from all the soul tools around it seemed to dim in the moment that it appeared. Frightening soul power undtions rippled out from it, and once Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power touched it, an intense and piercing pain appeared deep in his spirit.

    Huo Yuhao howled in agony, and was almost unable to control himself as he nearly fell. He retracted his Spiritual Detection as if he had just touched red-hot metal.

    This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had experienced something like this; he didn¡¯t cut such a sorry figure even when he was facing the Beast God.

    That¡­ that is¡­

    Huo Yuhao effortfully channeled his soul and spiritual power as his expression changed to one of terror, and at the same time, he tried his best to keep his bnce.

    Light from the soul tools on the mountaintop erupted at the same time. Large masses of soul rays and cannon shells nketed toward Huo Yuhao ¨C they didn¡¯t care about his Spiritual Interference Domain, they justunched attacks over an enormous area.

    Huo Yuhao retracted his Spiritual Detection very quickly. Even though that intense pain was still splitting his head open, he couldn¡¯t care about that at this moment. He kept his Spiritual Detection within a certain range around his body as he flickered continuously. He didn¡¯t charge forward toward the main peak anymore ¨C instead, he swiftly plummeted downward; evading all those fatal attacks first was the wisest move!

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s spiritual origin began to take effect in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind as gentle spiritual power nourished his spiritual sea to lessen his suffering.

    However, Huo Yuhao was severely affected by that moment he came into contact with that thing. His body still slowed a little, and he still didn¡¯t evade one of the soul rays. That soul ray struck the side of his arm, and the hit made him spin in midair like a top.

    It was a ss 7 soul ray.

    Fortunately, he had his Solo Battle Armor protecting him. Otherwise, no matter how powerful he was, he would have been injured from that hit.

    The situation was worse than he had thought, and the most important factor to everything was that the Death God¡¯s strength exceeded Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations. In this moment, the dark red pointy tower waspletely erect as faint dark red light rotated around it. However, it didn¡¯t fire at him. It was clear that, for the person who was controlling the Death God, Huo Yuhao was not worthy of firing the Death God.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was ced at aplete disadvantage and was about to use Instant Teleportation to diffuse the situation, a purple beam of light suddenly glowed from behind his back as a series of crackling sounds appeared in the sky. A patch of soul cannon shells that were sweeping over were detonated as they exploded in a patch in the sky. A gentle strength pulled on Huo Yuhao and dragged him horizontally, out of the explosions¡¯ epicenter.

    A slender figure appeared from thin air behind him, and Huo Yuhao was stunned speechless when he looked up.

    The person who had suddenly appeared to save him was, to his immense surprise, Tang Wutong.

    She was very morous in this moment as her Radiant Dragon Butterfly¡¯s wings stretched out behind her. There was no doubt that she was the one who had released that purple light.

    ¡°How can you be here?¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask. Not in his wildest dreams did he expect that Tang Wutong would follow him here. However, he didn¡¯t sense anything at all before this! This was just unbelievable.

    Tang Wutong giggled and said, ¡°That¡¯s nothing. I have an innate skill, and I followed you inside ¨C that¡¯s all. You would have been target practice if it hadn¡¯t been for me. What do we do next?¡±

 Chapter 449.3 - Replacement! Welcome the Death God!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 449.3: Recement! Wee the Death God!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with asking Tang Wutong what innate skill that was. At the same time, her timely intervention and dy gave the Skydream Iceworm enough time to alleviate the stabbing pain in his spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao dragged Tang Wutong and swiftly pulled her towards the mountain¡¯s peak.

    It seems impossible to chase her away at this point. I can only continue on toplete the task, and try my best to survive amongst all the dangers.

    ¡°Your guts are too big.¡± Huo Yuhao growled angrily as he elerated towards the mountain¡¯s peak at his fastest possible speed.

    No wonder she was keeping quiet the entire time, and didn¡¯t make a sound when everyone else was requesting to participate in this expedition ¨C she had already made her ns.Huo Yuhao was very calm before, but now he was starting to feel a little frantic.

    Their enemies didn¡¯t care what state of mind they were in. Soul rays crisscrossed like a web of a death as they continued sweeping toward the two of them. These were all soul rays that were ss 7 or above, and they were likely to be locked on if they were struck even once.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and Spiritual Detection to their highest possible levels. He dragged Tang Wutong as they dodged and waltzed through the air, and they continued flying closer to the mountain peak. They had to get onto the mountain.

    Huo Yuhao was a thousand meters away when he began his charge, and now only five hundred meters remained. His n would have a chance of sess as long as he charged through thest five hundred meters.

    Four hundred meters!

    Just as Huo Yuhao was relying on his tremendous speed and judgement ability to continue pushing forward, a spherical soul tool on the mountaintop suddenly released ayer of orange-red light.

    Thisyer of light expanded outward, and quickly became a film of light.

    Huo Yuhao could evade soul rays and cannon shells, but such area attacks that locked down every angle were futile as well. Chilly lights flickered in his eyes as he swung his right hand ¨C Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    Dark blue sword light burst into the world as it shed ferociously onto the film, and what exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations was the fact that it was actually shed open, however, it still collided with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies, but it didn¡¯t explode.

    This is¡­

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into slits.This is evidently a light of resistance! Yes, it¡¯s a light of resistance. This thing doesn¡¯t have any offensive power in itself, but it¡¯s very tenacious, and uses propulsion to push its enemies further away.This was a soul tool that soul engineers typically used in battles against soul masters.

    Except this was the first time that he had seen a light of resistance with such arge area of effect.Who¡¯s this maniac who made a light of resistance into a ss 7 soul tool?

    His frustrations couldn¡¯t solve his problems. The two of them were directly pushed from four hundred meters back to six hundred meters after they were struck by the light of resistance. Huo Yuhao would have been pushed even further if he hadn¡¯t used his full strength to stabilize himself.

    Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t idle as she pped her wings continuously while she pushed out beam after beam of dragon-shaped air flows and dispelled every attack that was most likely to threaten them.

    At this moment, the Sun Moon Empire seemed to have readjusted themselves. Shadow after shadow emerged from the mountaintop not far away, and they were all flying towards the two of them. The surveince soul tools that were originally behind them turned around and began to unleash wave after wave in their direction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Domain was about to be affected by those oscition detectors. Even though his powerful spiritual power could also in turn affect those oscition detectors, Huo Yuhao¡¯s reach and range was much smaller.

    Huo Yuhao regained his calm as he was faced with such a situation. He turned towards Tang Wutong and growled, ¡°I¡¯m going to send you onto the mountain. Afterwards, you will unleash destruction up there as much as you can ¨C don¡¯t care about me. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tang Wutong didn¡¯t waste any words as she immediately agreed.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong to him and wrapped his hands around her. Tang Wutong¡¯s slender waist was very bouncy, but it was a pity that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t feel anything because he was d in his Solo Battle Armor.

    Tang Wutong blushed. She didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao was trying to do right now, but this was the second time that she had found herself in his arms. She wasn¡¯t angry like she was thest time, and realized to her surprise that she wasn¡¯t even too embarrassed.

    ¡°Take care of yourself, and find one person for me!¡± Huo Yuhao hollered as blue light erupted from his Solo Battle Armor in the next moment. The blue lights shed as they enveloped Tang Wutong, and her elegant frame was propelled from his body like a cannon shell in the next moment.

    An ability that came with the Solo Battle Armor ¨CTransport!

    This ability allowed Huo Yuhao to transform his soul power to envelope any physical body before propelling it out. The force of this propulsion was extremelyrge, but it wouldn¡¯t harm the transported body at all.

    The reason why this soul skill was installed on his Solo Battle Armor was so that he could help his teammates reach their designated positions during group battles. This ability was unique to Xuan Ziwen, and the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t have any soul engineers who could craftsoul transporters.

    After Tang Wutong¡¯s body was propelled toward the mountain, the soul power that was pushing her forward naturally transformed into a protectiveyer. She was moving almost as fast as a cannon shell.

    The Sun Moon Empire evidently didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to have such a burst of speed after being pushed back by their light of resistance. This explosion of speed wasparable to that of a Titled Douluo.

    However, Huo Yuhao became target practice after Tang Wutong was gone. Tremendous masses of cannon shells and soul rays swept in his direction.

    The oscition detectors behind Huo Yuhao hadpleted their sweep on him at the same time. Even though they couldn¡¯t lock onto him precisely, they could reduce the size of his rough location to ten percent of the area they were targeting before. Therefore, Huo Yuhao was entirely trapped in a barrage of attacks!

    Huo Yuhao vanished into thin air with a sh of light, and reappeared fifty meters away. Instant Teleportation!

    This soul skill couldn¡¯t be used repeatedly, but Huo Yuhao finally used it at that crucial moment.

    Tang Wutong had already closed in on the main peak. The attacking soul tools were targeted at Huo Yuhao before this, and thus there actually weren¡¯t any attacks that locked on to her position at this moment. Most of the defensive soul tools on the main peak would lose their effectiveness once she arrived on the main peak.

    Huo Yuhao could feel that some soul tools that were ss 8 or above were done charging, and he would have to face a truly unstoppable fuside in the next moment!

    Quick, Wutong!He needed Tang Wutong to find an enemy for him, with which he would use the Xuanwu Discement that he had duplicated from Xu Sanshi to switch himself over.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly closed into slits at this moment, and his eyes were ovee with fear ¨C the reason was because a beam of dark red was soundlessly fired from that dark red pointy tower that was fully erected, and it was going straight for Tang Wutong.

    The Death God is attacking Wutong!Huo Yuhao could feel goosebumps break out over his body. Even though he knew Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, they looked identical after all ¨C furthermore, he was still holding on to a thread of hope in his heart that they were one and the same.

    Huo Yuhao had seen how powerful the Death God was when it unleashed its power. Back then, a blinding patch of white had appeared, but the light beam was red this time, and it didn¡¯t seem like it could cover asrge an area as the white light from before could reach. However, how could he let Tang Wutong be struck by an attack such as this?

    He almost didn¡¯t hesitate as he unleashed the soul skill that he had duplicated ¨C Xuanwu Discement!

    Lights shed, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong switched ces.

    Tang Wutong also realized what was happening when the dark red beam sted out. A stifling sensation coursed throughout her body, and she lowered her head subconsciously to look ¨C but the red beam was already in front of her.

    Tang Wutong felt as if all the blood in her body was frozen in that moment, and agonizing howls rang out in her ears, as if she had descended into purgatory.

    However, the pressure around her suddenly vanished entirely in the next moment, and even everything that was in front of her eyes had changed.

    Huo Yuhao was looking toward her before this. Therefore, the first thing Tang Wutong saw after he used Xuanwu Discement was a red beam swallowing his entire body.

    ¡°No!¡± A shrill scream broke the air. Tang Wutong felt as if that dark red beam didn¡¯t fall onto Huo Yuhao ¨C instead, she felt as if it had pierced her heart. Her heart ached so much that she couldn¡¯t breathe at that moment, and she pped her wings hysterically as he raced toward Huo Yuhao.

    However, the cannon fire that was concentrated on Huo Yuhao before this closed in on her. She didn¡¯t have Spiritual Interference Domain, so she was directly locked onto.

    A sharp cry could be heard as Tang Wutong¡¯s seventh soul ring glowed ¨C Radiant Dragon Butterfly True Body!

    She transformed into a purple beam of light, and she becamepletely illusory to all the soul tools that had locked onto her.

    An intense and indescribable golden beam erupted from her body in the next moment. A golden trident shone brilliantly on her forehead, and golden light shed once before she forcefully broke out from all the cannon fire as she bolted directly toward the mountaintop.

    ¡­¡­

    Everything was barren and deathly silent. Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu were all waiting here quietly.

    They had already been here long before Huo Yuhao had set off. There were thirteen soul masters of varying ages with them, but every single one of them were powerful Titled Douluo ¨C there were even two Transcendent Douluo amongst them.

    Huo Yuhao definitely couldn¡¯t destroy the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s main peak all by himself. The attacking n that he and the White Tiger Duke had devised was simple ¨C he would bring every single one of them onto the main peak.

    There were some things that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t do, but if more than ten Titled Douluobined their strength to do those things, then the result would be very different.

    Once they were within range of the main peak, and once Titled Douluo unleashed their full fighting strength, theirbined power wasn¡¯t something those close-range soul tools¡¯ defensive perimeter could resist.

    They would achieve victory amidst the dangers. However, this n had a prerequisite, and that was that Huo Yuhao had to be able to rush onto the main peak and buy enough time to release the others.

    There was no doubt that Xu Sanshi and the others were no longer on the Douluo Continent ¨C they were in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine.

    Nobody could feel any undead inside the spectral demine, as Huo Yuhao had scattered the undead creatures far away beforehand. Huo Yuhao had used his spectral demine before when he was rescuing the White Tiger Duke, and this time, even though the White Tiger Duke would suspect him, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with that, as they needed to break through the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s defenses.

 Chapter 450 - Death Gods Rubbing Shoulders

    <h4 ss>Chapter 450: Death Gods Rubbing Shoulders</h4>

    The White Tiger Duke would have suspected him a long time ago if not for the fact that he was still young. That was the reason why his thoughts were a little different when he was escorting Huo Yuhao into the air. From the White Tiger Duke¡¯s perspective, Huo Yuhao was likely to be a disciple of the person who had saved him. Perhap, the person who had saved him came from Shrek Academy.

    Waiting was a kind of torture. Xu Sanshi and the others had already been waiting for a long time. There was a dark door not far from them ¨C Huo Yuhao had told them that if they didn¡¯t hear his call within two hours, then they had to charge out from this door.

    Almost an hour had passed, but they still hadn¡¯t received any news at all.

    ¡°Sanshi, do you think Yuhao is in trouble? Why do I feel like something is not right with this ce of his?¡± Jiang Nannan whispered to Xu Sanshi, who was beside her.

    Xu Sanshi was momentarily stunned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Since Yuhao has allowed us to participate in this operation, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Look ¨C we have more than ten Titled Douluo with us, and we have to rely on their strength toplete our mission! Yuhao can¡¯t have lied to us.¡±

    Jiang Nannan forced augh and said, ¡°The reason I think something is wrong is because of these Titled Douluo! Think about it ¨C what will happen if this operation fails? Won¡¯t everyone bepletely stuck in this ce without his call? That can¡¯t be the case, because he¡¯s left this dark door for us. But where does this door lead? If his mission has failed, he can¡¯t possibly let these Titled Douluo rush out into our enemies¡¯ cannon fire. I¡¯m afraid that this door leads us directly back into our camp!¡±

    Xu Sanshi was rendered speechless for a while as he listened to Jiang Nannan¡¯s words. His facial expression gradually turned ck after a few moments as he snapped around at Jiang Nannan and growled, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say this earlier?¡±

    Jiang Nannan looked very aggrieved. ¡°It only just came to me. It seems like Yuhao isn¡¯t confident at all! We have all been tricked. No wonder I felt as if something wasn¡¯t right when he agreed so readily. What should we do now?¡±

    Xu Sanshi rubbed his fists and said, ¡°We have to wait ¨C that¡¯s the only thing we can do. If this door leads back to our camp, then walking out now will mean we no longer have an opportunity to help him. We can only pray that his mission is a sess. That little rascal is putting himself in danger once again.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Inside themander¡¯s tent of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army.

    There were several dozen soul masters standing quietly inside themander¡¯s tent. The White Tiger Duke was sitting in the mainmander¡¯s seat, and Princess Jiujiu was sitting beside him.

    They were all waiting quietly for news to arrive.

    There was a dark door conjured not far from the White Tiger Duke. Huo Yuhao had left this behind before he left. He told the White Tiger Duke that even if his mission wasn¡¯t sessful, he wouldn¡¯t incur any losses for the army at all, and going through with their conservative n was enough.

    The White Tiger Duke was clear that Huo Yuhao no longer cared about his safety when he said those words, and when those Titled Douluo walked out from this door, it would mean that Huo Yuhao had paid with his life in this operation.

    The soul master legions wouldplete the rest of their offensive, and all eight soul master legions were ready. All they were waiting for was the signal from the frontlines.

    Xu Jiujiu tried her best to remain calm, and she sat beside the White Tiger Duke in silence. However, everyone could feel the stifling pressure in the atmosphere.

    The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu undoubtedly felt the greatest pressure, because they were the only ones who knew about the news that came from the Heavenly Soul Empire. If their mission was unsessful, then the Star Luo Empire would be pushed into apletely passive position.

    All they could do was pray for Huo Yuhao.

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli were both standing behind the White Tiger Duke. Dai Yueheng¡¯s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking about something, while Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes were flickering faintly.

    The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu knew about the secret news that came from the Heavenly Soul Empire, and he knew yet another secret ¨C he knew the secret of Huo Yuhao¡¯s identity. Huo Yuhao had gone to look for him this morning.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°How are things, Luoli? How has your cultivation been recently?¡±

    ¡°Why are you here, brother? Are you here to give me some pointers?¡± Dai Luoli stared at Huo Yuhao, who had lifted his tent¡¯s curtain and was walking in, and he couldn¡¯t help but greet him excitedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head with a faint smile on his face and said, ¡°Eh? You want to be beaten up again?¡±

    Dai Luoli blushed and said, ¡°Being beaten up isn¡¯t a bad thing, actually. My improvements were the fastest when you were beating me up. Brother, you have to promise me to get me one of those Spirits. We can do that once this war is over. Even though I have been bottlenecked at Rank 40 because Ick an extra soul ring, I can feel that I have been improving very quickly recently.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t worry, Spirits won¡¯t be a problem as long as you¡¯re willing to put in effort. Right, I came here to find you because there¡¯s something I have to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Dai Luoli asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I am going on a mission tonight, and I may not return. I haven¡¯t decided yet ¨C if I don¡¯t return, then you can tell him about my secrets.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What mission are you going to execute? Will it be dangerous? Who and what do you want me to tell?¡±

    Huo Yuhao walked in front of Dai Luoli and rubbed his head gently. ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous. What I meant was that you can tell your father about my identity.¡±

    Dai Luoli trembled. ¡°You¡¯ve figured it out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t return, it means I¡¯ve figured it out. I just don¡¯t want to face him.¡±

    ¡°But if you leave, then when will we meet again?¡± Dai Luoli said hurriedly.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°We¡¯ll meet again if fate allows it.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Dai Luoli was thinking about every word that Huo Yuhao had said to him, and he could feel his heart slowly tensing up.

    Is the mission really not dangerous? If the mission isn¡¯t dangerous, then why would my father wait here with such a formidable force?Neither he nor Dai Yueheng knew what kind of order their father would give next, but Dai Luoli could guess that everything that was happening had something to do with Huo Yuhao.

    You can¡¯t let anything happen to you, brother!

    ¡­¡­

    Everything around him was dark red, and a strange force surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body from all directions. He felt, in that moment, as if there were countless avenging spirits that were about to tear his body apart, and were about to swallow his spirit.

    He couldn¡¯t feel anything else around him except for all the dark red colors. Yes, this was the Death God¡¯s power ¨C even though this wasn¡¯t itsplete version, this power seemed enough to deal with him.

    Huo Yuhao could almost feel that his body was being torn apart by this sinister and terrifying strength, and his life energy was swiftly seeping away as his spiritual sea gradually crumbled.

    Am I going to die?

    Countless images surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind at this moment.

    His mother¡¯s gentle eyes, and her yearning gaze before her death.

    Dong¡¯er¡¯s arrogant demeanor when she was dressed in men¡¯s clothes, and how tender she was afterwards.

    Father, father ¨C yes, and my father.

    I don¡¯t know if my death will make him sad. He set his own son on a path of death with his own hands, and perhaps this is the best vengeance that he deserves. If he doesn¡¯t care¡­

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly, and the tiger¡¯s tooth pierced into his palm. However, he regretted nothing in this moment.

    Is everything going to end just like this? Mother, I¡¯ming to find you.

    Suddenly, an icy-cold aura rose up. Huo Yuhao had already lost all hope when he felt an incredibly strong power burst forth from his body and forcefully chase away all the avenging spirits that had invaded his body.

    That clean and cool feeling appeared first in his chest before it stretched over his torso, as wave of flourishing life energy took this opportunity to spurt from his body ¨C that was the power of the Life Guardian de.

    Scales that were as ck as night swiftly covered his entire body. The dark red light had long disappeared, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t been reduced to flying dust ¨C instead, he was plummeting down right at a mountain peak not far away.

    His Solo Battle Armor had been melted away into nothingness, and all he had left at this moment was armor of ck scales. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t bring out his Starlight Sapphire ring. This was actually the thought that had urred to him despite his circumstances.

    ¡­¡­

    The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Lake of Life.

    The clear and transparentke water suddenly turned ck, and an indignant dragon roar could be heard in the next moment.

    An enormous dragon head that was several tens of meters in diameter emerged from theke¡¯s surface. The dragon head was as ck as ink, but its eyes were bright gold.

    Except, there were faint traces of blood amidst all that golden radiance.

    ¡°Roar ¨C¡± The dragon¡¯s maw opened as a dark-red sphere erupted from within it.

    After this dark red sphere emerged, countless images of avenging spirits appeared in the sky as the sphere dissipated, and these avenging spirits howled in agony as the sphere vanished.

    The dragon¡¯s golden eyes became clear once more after it expelled this dark red air sphere.

    ¡°So powerful! So brutal. Is this a weapon humans created with avenging spirits?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Bam¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body crashed into the side of the mountain. At this moment, he seemed like he was part of the mountain, because his entire body was covered in ck dragon scales.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate at all as he activated Spiritual Interference Domain once more. He turned to look in Tang Wutong¡¯s direction at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao instantly saw, to his surprise, that an intenseyer of golden light had appeared around Tang Wutong, and was pushing her body forward toward the mountainside at lightning speed. She was as fast as a shooting star. More strangely, theyer of golden light that was protecting her repelled all the soul cannon shells and soul rays that were flying toward her ¨C and those things didn¡¯t detonate at all.

    What kind of power is that? It¡¯s so powerful!

    A soul master that was erupting with speed at all full strength could cover several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

    Tang Wutong charged into the mountainside as well.

    Huo Yuhao immediately connected to her through Spiritual Detection. They didn¡¯t pause at all, but turned around and bolted toward a blind spot where the Death God couldn¡¯t attack them directly. All the soul tools on the main peak stopped firing at the moment they reached the mountain, and they could no longer threaten them in any way. However, several hundred soul engineers were already racing toward the main peak, and wereing closer and closer.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡± Tang Wutong grabbed his shoulder excitedly as she saw Huo Yuhao. Even though the power of darkness emanating from the ck dragon scales made her feel ufortable, she couldn¡¯t be bothered with all that at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao cursed,ughed, and said, ¡°Why are you cursing me to die?¡±

    Tang Wutong panted furiously for a few moments. ¡°Nobody¡¯s cursing you. How did you do that? That power¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thatter. Let¡¯s continue with our mission,¡± Huo Yuhao grabbed her hand. The ck scales on his body were starting to disappear, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered with putting on any clothes as he pulled Tang Wutong right toward the ce on the main peak that was caved inward. He began to murmur some incantations at the same time.

    Dense spiritual undtions emerged from his body and circled around him.

    Tang Wutong felt entirely different when he held her hand this time. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was very warm, and was very strong. She felt very safe and secure, even though they were in such a dangerous ce.

    The scene of what had just happened had been deeply imprinted into her mind, even though she didn¡¯t know how Huo Yuhao had managed to stay alive. The armor on his body was gone, and he seemed like nothing had happened to him, but she clearly felt that he had lost all life at that moment.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate to save me!

    The image of Huo Yuhao being enveloped in all the dark red light reyed over and over in her mind.

    The assault from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers arrived from a distance right at this moment, and everything came sweeping down. Oscition detectors surrounded them from all positions at the same time.

    They were like turtles in a jar for the Sun Moon Empire.

    This soul master who had prated their defenses time and time again had given them too much trouble, and dealt far too heavy losses to them. He had even baited Wang Yiheng out and killed him. That was incredibly humiliating for the Sun Moon Empire, and they didn¡¯t believe that this soul master could escape from his current circumstances.

    Huo Yuhao stood still in a depression in the mountain and unleashed his Life Reflecting Shield. He protected both himself and Tang Wutong within it, and his incantations became increasingly rushed.

    Huo Yuhao had to stabilize himself toplete the spell so that he could summon his spectral demine. Tang Wutong took the initiative and stood in front of him to protect him as she released purple dragon-shaped light again and again, while her fifth soul ring glowed. She deflected the iing attacks along with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Reflecting Shield.

    This was her fifth soul skill ¨C Dragon God¡¯s Howl.

    This soul skill wasn¡¯t as powerful as her sixth soul skill, Deadly Dragon God Dance, but this soul skill could be used continuously.

    Huo Yuhao finallypleted his spell as a shing door suddenly appeared beside him. Just as Huo Yuhao was preparing to summon hispanions from inside the spectral demine, Tang Wutong suddenly called out, ¡°Hey, wait.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao asked confusedly.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t look at him, and her eyes had been elsewhere this entire time. However, Huo Yuhao could see from her profile that her pretty face and neck were tainted with faint red hues.

    ¡°Put on some clothes,¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s voice was very soft, but it rang loud and clear in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao nced downward, and realized that all the ck scales protecting him had disappeared ¨C then, there wasn¡¯t much else. That was calledclean.

    This time, besides his Solo Battle Armor, Huo Yuhao had even left the breastte, Hongchen¡¯s Blessing, that he had obtained from the Illustrious Virtue Hallmaster, Jing Hongchen back in the army camp. He had instructed Dai Luoli to take it if Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return.

    Therefore, one could say that he had absolutely nothing on him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any¡­¡± Huo Yuhao said weakly.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s face became even redder as she tossed a long dress back to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Wrap this around you.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else, as they were in an emergency, and wrapped the dress around his waist to ¡°protect¡± his most important parts before he summoned hispanions.

    Silhouettes emerged swiftly from the door. Xu Sanshi took point ¨C Xuanwu Shield Wall!

    Golden light erupted as arge patch of shields formed a defensive perimeter that protected Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao within.

    Xu Sanshi was momentarily stunned when he saw Tang Wutong, before he saw Huo Yuhao, who was still wrapped in a dress.

    ¡°Jeez, Yuhao. We were worried about you for nothing. Are you two here on a date, or executing a mission? How have you guys fooled around until you have no clothes left? Hahaha!¡±

    Xu Sanshi couldn¡¯t help tease Huo Yuhao as he saw the wretched shape he was in. However, his face quickly turned pale.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers had already surrounded them. Xu Sanshi had deflected those formidable attacks twice with his Golden Xuanwu Shield, but his soul power was being sapped at an incredible speed.

    However, more shadows began to emerge from within the door at this moment.

    A tremendous shadow suddenly opened up. It was an enormous umbre, and everything within several tens of square meters was protected within it. Every single soul ray and cannon shell that fell down were all blocked, and the pressure on Xu Sanshi was lifted a little.

    The Big Dipper Umbre! The Big Dipper Douluo was here.

    Yes, themander of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s first soul master legion, the Big Dipper Douluo, was also participating in this operation.

    ¡°Give me a set of clothes, third senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao could feel all the strange gazes that everyone was giving him, and sheepishly asked Xu Sanshi for help.

    Xu Sanshi chuckled. This wasn¡¯t a good time for him to continue teasing Huo Yuhao, as he tossed a warrior robe to him and used his Xuanwu Shield to cover him.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly changed into his new clothes. At this moment, all the Titled Douluo and the rest of the Tang Sect emerged from the door.

    The Big Dipper Douluo continued fighting against the iing assault as he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Is this the main peak?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Be careful, everyone. The Death God is on the mountaintop ¨C that red cone-shaped object. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Death God must be connected to the Holy Ghost Church, as it contains the ability of evil soul masters. It seems to have been crafted bypressing avenging spirits and some special powers together. It¡¯s extremely frightening ¨C make sure you don¡¯t get hit. Avoid the angles that the Death God can reach as much as you can as you carry out the mission.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I can finally have a good fight with these bastards,¡± A tall and burly Titled Douluo eximed furiously as he raised his right hand, in which a golden sphere immediately glowed.

    Two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings rose up as an enormous hammer appeared in this Titled Douluo¡¯s hands.

    Thisrge hammer was yellow, and it emanated a dense and heavy aura once it appeared.

    His title was his martial soul ¨C the Giant Hammer Douluo.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo swung his arms as therge hammer in his hands crashed ferociously against the mountainside.

    What was surprising was that his hammer didn¡¯t cause any loud explosions as it crashed into the mountain. Instead, a yellow sphere quickly stretched out across the mountain.

    Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that there was an incredibly formidable strength that was threading through the mountain.

    Of course, the Giant Hammer Douluo and the Big Dipper Douluo weren¡¯t the only ones who began to attack.

    The other Titled Douluo went on the offensive like a bunch of tigers who had been released from their cages.

    Purple beams stretched across the skies like arrows. These purple beams flickered in the air before they disappeared, and there were no flight trajectories to them, but agonizing cries could be heard in the distance immediately afterwards.

    How could the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers know that more than ten Titled Douluo would suddenly appear here? They were caught off-guard, and the only things they could use to defend themselves were their automatic protective soul barriers.

    However, how could automatic soul barriers defend against the attacks of a Titled Douluo who was adept with spatial power?

    Several dozen soul engineers were impaled by those purple lights, and their bodies broke apart as they disintegrated into a rain of blood that sttered in all directions.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo had been held back long enough. They had felt far too restrained over recent days and weeks. They dared to challenge anybody in the Sun Moon Empire based on their individual fighting strengths, but they could only wait bitterly every day because they were suppressed by the surveince from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools. They couldn¡¯t fight even though they wanted to.

    This was especially so during that instance when two thousand high-tier soul masters perished, which had dealt a heavy blow to them. Their disciples and rtives were among those who died, and this meant there was now a bloody vendetta they had to exact against the Sun Moon Empire. How could they control themselves now that they were suddenly deep within enemy lines? They couldn¡¯t be bothered with the threat from the Death God anymore; all they wanted to do was spill the blood of their enemies.

    An intense tremor suddenly rippled within the mountain. The entire mountain trembled as deafening booms crackled inside the mountain, while arge region caved in on the mountaintop.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo is so powerful.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes glowed.These people are so powerful!

    ¡°Senior Giant Hammer ¨C you can attack something a distance away through the air?¡±

    The Giant Hammer Douluo nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to crush them. But I can¡¯t see them, so my attacks are a little inurate.¡±

    ¡°But I can see!¡± Huo Yuhaoughed he shared his Spiritual Detection with the Giant Hammer Douluo, and immediately marked out the important positions on the mountaintop for him.

    They were still rtively far from the Death God¡¯s location, but they were close enough to some of the mountain¡¯s defensive soul tools.

    ¡°Fantastic ability!¡± The Giant Hammer Douluo gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up as he swung therge hammer in his hands once more.

    The other Titled Douluo swiftly dispersed over the mountain, and those Titled Douluo who were adept with spatial power unleashed their abilities to their fullest extent.

    Huo Yuhao had to gather his strength for a moment after that hit he had taken. Afterwards, he witnessed an elderly man who was in his sixties erupt with purple light as his eighth soul ring, a ck one, glowed at the same time.

    This elderly man closed his hands in front of his chest before he pushed them out gradually as a purple whirlpool that was about ten centimeters in diameter flew out.

    This Titled Douluo was known as the Shattered Star Douluo.

    He was one of the two Transcendent Douluo amongst all the other Titled Douluo, and he was at Rank 95. His martial soul was very unique ¨C the Light of Shattered Stars.

    A single purple beam appeared on his body when his martial soul was awoken when he was six years old. This beam shattered everything it touched, and the Light of Shattered Stars was a name that he had chosen for himself.

    His martial soul was unique, and was innately full of soul power. He was only sixty-six years of age today, but he had already be a Transcendent Douluo. He was one of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s most powerful Titled Douluo. His Light of Shattered Stars was equipped with spatial powers ¨C more urately put, his martial soul was equipped with destructive spatial powers, and was very fearsome.

    Shattered Star Whirlpool ¨C the tiny purple whirlpool flew out, and paused momentarily in midair before the air surrounding it billowed like a hurricane. Intense purple light seemed to swallow even the space around it, and this whirlpool expanded continuously as cracks appeared in the space around it as they merged continuously.

    All the iing soul rays and cannon shells seemed to be pulled by some unseen force, and flew into the purple whirlpool before they were diced into a million pieces. Those cannon shells couldn¡¯t even detonate as the purple whirlpool seemed like it was absorbing the energies from those soul rays and cannon shells as it continued to expand.

    Those Titled Douluo¡¯s movements became much more casual with the Shattered Star Whirlpool protecting them as they quickly dispersed. With the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they avoided the threat from the Death God as they scattered in all directions.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± A series of vigorous explosions rang out near the mountaintop. An enormous offensive soul tool that had been constructed on the mountain was shaken, and nted to one side, and it was clear that it could no longer be used. That was probably caused by the Giant Hammer Douluo.

    That wasn¡¯t all ¨C the Giant Hammer Douluo was guided by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection as he swung his hammer once more, and explosions boomed again and again.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo wasn¡¯t the most powerful amongst the Titled Douluo in terms of strength, but his abilities were most effective in terms of assaulting fortified positions.

    The Shattered Star Whirlpool quickly expanded to over fifty meters because of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ferocious onught ¨C and it was still growing.

    Huo Yuhao could feel the tremendous energies contained within this terrifying whirlpool because of his Spiritual Detection. He knew that thisthingwould cause a cataclysm once it exploded.

    The Shattered Star Douluo turned around and gestured to Huo Yuhao and the others toe closer to him.

    Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, and the rest of the Tang Sect, along with the Giant Hammer Douluo, arrived next to him. The other Titled Douluo had already dispersed into the darkness.

    The Shattered Star Douluo formed a sphere with his hands as his palms carried beams of his Light of Shattered Stars. These lights congregated in midair before they quietly flowed into the mountain in front of him.

    The tough rock melted like ice and snow in front of the Light of Shattered Stars. Gentle purple hues along with specks of starlight enveloped everyone as they burst into the mountain with a sh.

    The Shattered Star Douluo is so powerful,Huo Yuhao was full of admiration inside. The Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s abilities allowed him to forcefully break through defenses, and also allowed him to go deep within enemy lines from far away. However, when they didn¡¯t have any intel at all, he would be blind even if he could burrow into the mountain. The Sun Moon Empire would have their own solutions for underground surveince, and that was the reason why the Star Luo Empire didn¡¯t dare to be hasty about this.

    Even so, Huo Yuhao was full of respect and admiration for all those Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire. They were the Star Luo Empire¡¯s main pirs of strength! The reason why they couldn¡¯t do anything about the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defensive perimeter was because of the gap between the two nations¡¯ soul tool technology. The Star Luo Empire could match the Sun Moon Empire in terms of individual fighting strength, and they could even have a chance against the Holy Ghost Church.

    Everything around them descended into darkness, and even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was severely weakened by the thick rock around them. However, they were already inside the mountain, and he didn¡¯t need to detect arge area. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need the Shattered Star Douluo to remind him as he pointed his Spiritual Detection in the direction of the Death God.

    The only way to eliminate the greatest threat against the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army was to destroy the Death God.

    It wasn¡¯t long after they went deep into the mountain that the Shattered Star Whirlpool, which had already grown to almost one hundred meters in diameter, suddenly exploded as countless purple lights that were charged with destructive spatial power erupted in all directions.

    Several dozen soul engineers who were rtively closer were immediately torn to pieces, along with their soul tools. Arge crack appeared in space, and this crack contorted again and again. It couldn¡¯t close up for the moment.

    The other soul engineers were attacking with full force in attempts to dispel these broken spatial pieces ¨C but how could that be done so easily? They didn¡¯t grasp the profundity of space, and they were just attacking with their own strength. There was nothing they could do against these cracks; they could only wait for them to close on their own. The Shattered Star Whirlpool had achieved its aim, and by the time those cracks in space vanishedpletely, the Titled Douluo that Huo Yuhao had unleashed from inside his spectral demine were nowhere to be seen.

    Large numbers of soul engineersnded on the mountain, and everyone¡¯s faces couldn¡¯t be any cker. They didn¡¯t even figure out how many enemies they were facing.

    Everyone believed their only one of their enemies had managed to reach this ce when Huo Yuhao was first discovered by relying on some strange concealment abilities. However, Tang Wutong appeared immediately afterward, and one became two.

    Huo Yuhao took a direct hit from the Death God, and was dead in everyone¡¯s eyes. Tang Wutong relied on her peculiar strength to charge onto the side of the mountain, so didn¡¯t that mean they only had one enemy left? However, the Giant Hammer Douluo and the Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s series of attacks told these soul engineers that they had more than one enemy, and their enemies possessed the strengths of Titled Douluo! But the gap in the side of the mountain had closed up by the time they managed to reach it. There was no way they could find them, and even if they knew the position that Huo Yuhao and the others had disappeared in, were they actually going to bombard their own main peak? There were still so many soul tools on it.

    The Shattered Star Douluo gradually climbed the mountain from inside with Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance. The rock inside the mountain was tough, but was broken apart continuously before the Light of Shattered Stars.

    ¡°You have to be careful. The person who controls the Death God is likely to be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s number-one soul engineer, the Death God Douluo. There should also be other people with him.¡±

    The Shattered Star Douluo nodded and said, ¡°My abilities are more effective in group battles and destruction. I will hold them back when we exitter, and you guys will destroy the Death God as fast as you can. You don¡¯t have to destroy itpletely; our army can charge in as long as it has lost its effectiveness.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held his Spiritual Detection upward and swept in the Death God¡¯s direction. However, he was surprised once more, as an intense and sharp pain appeared once again when his spiritual power neared the Death God.

    Huo Yuhao retracted at once this time with his previous experience. He didn¡¯t attempt to go any deeper, and his expression changed a little.

    They wereing closer and closer to the surface.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop for a while. I have to brief everyone about the situation up top,¡± Huo Yuhao said to hispanions.

    ¡°Eh?¡± The Shattered Star Douluo paused and nced at Huo Yuhao. The inside of the mountain was dark, but he could still see very clearly with the Light of Shattered Stars¡¯ radiance. Everyone from the Tang Sect was following behind them.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Based on the intelligence gathered from my previous reconnaissance attempts, I¡¯ve roughly figured out the Death God¡¯s abilities. I don¡¯t yet understand what principle the Death God was created on, but its destructiveness should have been created based on two things ¨C first, it relies on high-temperature and high-pressure soul power, but this strength is not that much different from typical ss 9 soul tools. At most, it isparatively a little stronger, and its power is simr to the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin¡¯s Sunmoon Divine Needle. However, the Death God contains another frightening power, and this power is the key ¨C and that is the power of avenging spirits.¡±

    ¡°Avenging spirits?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°When I attempted to investigate the Death God several times before, I felt an intense burning pain every time my spiritual power neared the Death God. This was the result of my spiritual power being suppressed. The spiritual power that suppressed me is both tremendous and terrifying, and it is charged with vigorous destructiveness, along with deep resentment. If I¡¯m not wrong, this poweres from avenging spirits, and these avenging spirits are beingpressed by some unknown force into something frightening ¨C called the force of vengeance ¨C before it¡¯s fused with the Death God¡¯s own high-temperature, high-pressure soul power. This is how the Light of the Death God is formed.¡±

    ¡°The Light of the Death God takes two forms. First, it can take aplete form, which was its form when it murdered two thousand of our soul masters. That formbines both soul power and the force of vengeance. Its other form purely uses its force of vengeance. I took a hit from it before this, and I felt as if my spirit, my spiritual sea, and my body were being torn apart by that frightening vengeful power. I only managed to survive because there¡¯s a special protective force on my body.¡±

    ¡°Avenging spirits? Are you saying that the Death God is likely to have a powerful evil soul master near it?¡± The Shattered Star Douluo was a veteran, and he quickly read between the lines and understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say.

    Huo Yuhao nodded solemnly and said, ¡°Therefore, everyone has to be careful when we go outter. Guyi, we¡¯ll have to rely on your powers after this. I will try my best to help you, as your holy abilities will have the best dispelling effects against all kinds of avenging spirits. Wutong, your soul power also contains the element of light. I will cover you guys.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Ye Guyi and Tang Wutong acknowledged at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at the Shattered Star Douluo.

    The Shattered Star Douluo turned towards the Giant Hammer Douluo and said, ¡°You take point, Hammer.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± The Giant Hammer Douluo swung his hand to gesture everyone to move away before he spun his enormous hammer. His soul rings flickered continuously as he hammered against the mountain again and again.

    The entire mountain quickly began to tremble as vigorous booming sounds rang out on the mountaintop. They were inside the mountain, but they could still hear the intense explosions on the outside.

 Chapter 451.1 - Death God Douluo!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 451.1: Death God Douluo!</h4>

    The destructive strength of a Titled Douluo¡¯s all-out strike was extremely terrifying. The Giant Hammer Douluo¡¯s abilities were unleashed to their greatest potential at this moment.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression suddenly changed greatly. His figure shed before he charged in front of the Giant Hammer Douluo. He dragged his body as he rapidly tried to fly invertedly.

    A streak of dark-red light pierced across at this instant. This streak of light was as thick as a water vat. When it swept past, everything around it was vaporized, and arge hole was all that was left over. Following that, an unprecedented and terrifying flow of origin energy was unleashed from thatrge hole instantly. Pathetic screams filled the air, and formless, avenging spirits started leaping towards everyone.

    The Shattered Star Douluo pushed his right hand forward, unleashing the power of shattered stars that tore both space and these avenging spirits apart.

    However, these avenging spirits were very powerful. Some of them survived the attack.

    Bright golden light shed at this moment, and a holy aura was immediately released. The avenging spirits dissipated the moment they were exposed to this light, which was filled with a holy aura.

    Ye Guyi lifted her right hand, and a white sword that was roughly a meter long appeared. It exuded burning, holy white light. It was her Holy Sword.

    However, her Holy Sword was only her fifth soul skill, and she was only a Soul Emperor. Compared to the Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s Light of Shattered Stars, her soul skill was much weaker. However, her Holy Sword was extremely effective against the avenging spirits. Its effectiveness even surpassed that of the Light of Shattered Stars.

    Huo Yuhao said to the Shattered Star Douluo, ¡°Quick, let¡¯s go up quickly. It¡¯s too difficult to move within these mountain walls. He has already discovered our position. If he unleashes his full power, we¡¯re done.¡±

    He clearly knew that the Giant Hammer Douluo¡¯s attack earlier had exposed his position. However, he was the only one whose position was exposed. This was why only a streak of the Light of the Death God was unleashed towards him. If it were theplete version of the Light of the Death God, they would have beenpletely engulfed. If not for the fact that the power of the Light of the Death God was greatly drained during its release, he might have been the only one who would survive the attack. However, this was also built on the premise that Di Tian was able to resist the attack.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo and Shattered Star Douluo wore a dismal expression on their faces right now. The Shattered Star Douluo released intense, purple light from his body, which turned into light strips that engulfed everyone and protected them. He took a step forward, andrge plots of spaces started to copse. Then, he carried everyone as they quickly charged out.

    At this point, booms started to resonate from outside. The Titled Douluo who were mainly concentrated around the main mountain peak made their moves. Even if they faced soul engineer legions, they were able to hang on for some time. Moreover, they didn¡¯t have any misgivings right now. They scattered. Against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions, they started to unleash their destructive soul skills.

    It was easier to destroy than to build. At this moment, more than ten Titled Douluo wreaked havoc with whatever abilities they had, causing the main peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range to descend into chaos. Thoserge soul tools installed on the mountain peak werepletely ineffective. They couldn¡¯t be properly aimed at these Titled Douluo, whereas the soul engineers from the soul engineer legions could only attack using whatever soul tools they had with them. They weren¡¯t able to cause any significant trouble against these Titled Douluo, who were very swift.

    The scattered Titled Douluo only had one target ¨C the top of the mountain. Their mission this time was to destroy the Death God. As long as it was destroyed, the rest of their enemies would be much easier to deal with. Furthermore, it was much more convenient for them to proceed towards any direction from the top of the mountain. This would aid them in causing further damages to their enemies¡¯ soul tools. Right now, there were already two Titled Douluo who were silently creeping towards two of the biggest soul tools, under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection. They were both carrying explosive bombs.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A ball of purple light blew apart at the top of the mountain. Following this, this ball of purple light led everyone from Shrek in their charge towards the mountain.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo¡¯s earlier strike was very effective. The moment they came out, everyone saw that the ten-plus soul tools on the mountaintop had already been blown apart. Many of them were even damaged beyond repair.

    Huo Yuhao was silently heartbroken. As he was afraid of being struck by the Death God, he didn¡¯t bring his Starlight Sapphire Ring and Starlight Sapphire Heartprotecting Mirror. Otherwise, he could have collected all these damaged soul tools. Even though they were broken, they were still worth a lot!

    The Death God was far away. The rest were still slightly unaware, but Huo Yuhao, the Giant Hammer Douluo and Shattered Star Douluo had very acute senses. Their expressions changed the moment they came out.

    There was some kind of invisible pressure in the air that was limiting their spiritual senses. Not far forward, the Death God was exuding dark-red, bloody light that was only visible from close-range. It was as if blood was flowing on the Death God. There was even a fierce-looking face on it that was howling.

    What was even more astonishing was that there wasn¡¯t even anyone around. No soul master legion was there to protect such an important soul tool. Even thoserge soul tools that had been destroyed weren¡¯t supervised by anyone.

    ¡°Everyone, be careful.¡± The Shattered Star Douluo lifted his head to look at the Death God and took a step forward. He lifted his Light of Shattered Stars and protected everyone within it.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo was even more direct. He lifted his giant hammer and forcefully hammered it on the ground. This time, he didn¡¯t even require Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection before he managed to urately locate the Death God¡¯s position.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo released intense yellow light from his body. After he hammered the ground, his sixth soul ring shone brightly. Behind him, an identical giant hammer started to swing in the air before it also hammered the ground.

    A loud boom reverberated. The target was naturally the Death God.

    However, it was at this moment that something weird urred. Ayer of thick, blood-red light was released from the Death God. It wasn¡¯t targeted towards anyone, but was some sort of domain that had been built.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo¡¯s hammer quickly turned blood-red. After this, he groaned before he was flung into the air. A red hammer projection was also deflected from the ground and struck the Giant Hammer Douluo, causing him to fly several dozen meters away. The expected impact of the Giant Hammer Douluo¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t achieved.

    Whether it was the Shattered Star Douluo, Huo Yuhao or the rest, their expressions immediately changed for the worse.

    The Giant Hammer Douluo was a Titled Douluo. Although he wasn¡¯t a particrly strong Titled Douluo, he had earned a reputation for himself through his strength. In addition, he was a Rank 92 assault-type soul master. The weakest Titled Douluo was still a Titled Douluo! He actually had the tables turned on him, and was flung into the air. More frighteningly, neither the Shattered Star Douluo nor Huo Yuhao could figure out where the person who had dealt this blow to the Giant Hammer Douluo was.

    The Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s expression immediately changed as they were engulfed by blood-red light. He wasn¡¯t able to tear space apart amidst this blood-red light, which greatly restricted his destructive strength. The immense pressure that was ced on him even limited his ability to release his Light of Shattered Stars.

    Something that was stronger than the Shattered Star Douluo! Evidently, the blood-red light wasn¡¯t unleashed by a soul tool, but a soul master!

    It was important to know that the Shattered Star Douluo was rather strong even in the realm of Transcendent Douluo. ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s judgment, his cultivation was roughlyparable to the Martial God Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er. He was among the top five soul masters in the Star Luo Empire. However, this unknown enemy had alreadypletely restrained the Shattered Star Douluo before even appearing. What did this mean? This meant that the enemy wasn¡¯t just a Transcendent Douluo. It also meant that the enemy¡¯s cultivation should also be miles above the Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s. It was too terrifying.

    The Death God was most likely controlled by the Death God Douluo. Did this mean that the Death God Douluo was a Transcendent Douluo? Did this mean that the Death God could possibly be a ss 10 soul engineer? The destructive strength of a ss 10 soul engineer was unimaginable.

    ¡°I wondered who was able to breach my spiritual barrier. Turns out it¡¯s a little fellow who specializes in spiritual power. Just nice. My Death God Pagoda stillcks a powerful spirit to hold the fort. I¡¯ll adopt the few of you then.¡±

    A figure slowly walked out of the blood-red light. Yes, this figure appeared out of thin air. When she appeared, the surrounding air evidently distorted. All the blood-red light supported her as she came into this world.

    It was ady, or at least she seemed like ady from her figure. Her voice was very raucous, and sounded a little raspy. However, there was some kind of special, magical power to it. It made one feel close to her, and even idolise her.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly petrified, and quickly unleash his spiritual power to protect the rest. He didn¡¯t want the others to be affected by her voice.

    ¡°You are really cautious. But, do I need my spiritual charm to kill all of you? What a joke.¡±

    She took continued stepping forward, and her soul rings started to rise. Everyone was shocked when they saw her soul rings.

    Her first soul ring was pitch-ck, and its dark glow showed that it was a ten thousand year soul ring. After this, soul ring after soul ring appeared.

    ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, red, red and red. Six ten thousand year and three hundred thousand year soul rings appeared. Even the Shattered Star Douluo found it difficult to breathe due to her pressing aura after all her nine soul rings appeared.

 Chapter 451.2 - Death God Douluo!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 451.2: Death God Douluo!</h4>

    It was everyone¡¯s first time seeing someone as powerful as her. When herst red soul ring appeared, Huo Yuhao believed that Di Tian was the only one who could resist her. Even his own teacher or Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t even seem as strong as her.

    How was this possible?

    Only an Ultimate Douluo was stronger than Holy Dragons!

    The Sun Moon Empire actually had another Ultimate Douluo apart from Long Xiaoyao? Furthermore, she was very powerful, and could even control the Death God Pagoda?

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Death God Douluo was actually an Ultimate Douluo and a ss 9 soul engineer. Her powers were already unbelievable. Perhaps Di Tian was the only being could be mentioned in the same breath as her in the entire continent!

    Their n tonight wasn¡¯t considered perfect earlier. Huo Yuhao had even had to withstand a strike from the Death God. However, Huo Yuhao was a little relieved that they were able to arrive in front of the Death God Pagoda. After all, more than ten Titled Douluo hade with him this time!

    However, Huo Yuhao started to tense up again when he saw their enemy. Everyone knew that the Death God Douluo was very strong and mysterious. However, no one could have guessed that the Death God Douluo was an Ultimate Douluo.

    An Ultimate Douluo was the peak of existence! And an Ultimate Douluo had actually appeared here. No wonder the Sun Moon Empire was so confident in their defense of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. After scanning it from close-range earlier, Huo Yuhao could alreadypletely verify that the Sun Moon Empire only had two soul engineer legions here, as well as less than twenty thousand ordinary soldiers, who were here to assist the soul engineers.

    However, it was these twenty thousand-odd people that managed to stall the advance of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s hundred-thousand-man army and eight soul master legions!

    Thisdy¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t clear, as she was engulfed by a dark-red veil. It was as if there were ayer of fog covering her face. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t able to get within thirty meters of her. More urately speaking, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had beenpletely suppressed after that blood-red domain appeared.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The Shattered Star Douluo asked.

    He was extremely astonished by the appearance of an Ultimate Douluo. Only a true Titled Douluo like him knew how difficult it was to rise by even one rank after bing a Titled Douluo. More than ny-five percent of Titled Douluo weren¡¯t able to get past the tier of a Transcendent Douluo. Among Transcendent Douluo, ny-nine percent of them couldn¡¯t be an Ultimate Douluo.

    An Ultimate Douluo was almost like a god. They were always recognized as humans that were closest to gods. They could truly be gods as long as they had an altar and underwent a special transformation.

    Someone like that actually existed in the Sun Moon Empire. Along with Long Xiaoyao, both of the known surviving Ultimate Douluo actually belonged to the Sun Moon Empire. No wonder the Sun Moon Empire was confident enough to wage war, and wanted to rule the entire Douluo Continent. They indeed had a strong foundation!

    The Death God Douluo, along with the Death God, indeed represented the ultimate peak of existence. With her around, the Sun Moon Empire indeed didn¡¯t need too many soldiers.

    ¡°Who am I? You aren¡¯t even fit to ask.¡± The mysteriousdy replied indifferently.

    The Shattered Star Douluo took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Elder, I don¡¯t understand why you have to help the Sun Moon Empire to invade the other empires.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The mysteriousdy seemed to be stunned for a moment. The surrounding blood-red light also seemed to lighten a little as she calmed down.

    ¡°You must note from the Sun Moon Empire. Although I¡¯m not sure how the Sun Moon Empire managed to convince you to join them, everyone from the world of soul masters knows that the Sun Moon Empire is different from the other three empires from the original Douluo Continent because of their foundation and bloodline. It is indeed easier for those from the Sun Moon Empire to experience improvements in the earlier stages of cultivation, and they will find it easier to digest all sorts of medicine too. However, their rate of cultivation will fall when a certain tier is reached, which is especially true when one bes a Titled Douluo. This is also why there hasn¡¯t been a Transcendent Douluo in the Sun Moon Empire for many years. I¡¯m sure you aren¡¯t from the Sun Moon Empire. You should be from one of the three empires. Since this is the case, why are you helping the Sun Moon Empire invade your own empire?¡± The Shattered Star Douluo asked.

    After hearing the Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was also enlightened. This was something that he didn¡¯t even learn from Shrek Academy. Perhaps one would only know after bing a Titled Douluo. The Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s words were logical, but they were in a very disadvantageous situation right now, and an Ultimate Douluo wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded so easily.

    Indeed, the mysteriousdyughed. Herughter was very sharp. It was so sharp that it was unimaginable. The surrounding blood-red light turned into huge patches of waves. The Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s Light of Shattered Stars started to rapidly disintegrate. He had no choice but to unleash streaks of his Light of Shattered Stars with all his might to stabilize it.

    ¡°My empire? To me, that¡¯s a joke! Junior, which empire in the original Douluo Continent can amodate an evil soul master? No one will amodate an evil soul master so easily. Those orthodox soul masters want to kill me the moment they see me. How dare you talk as if I belong to any empire? It¡¯s hrious. It¡¯s really hrious. You don¡¯t have to intentionally waste my time here either. I¡¯m not in a rush at all. You can wait for everyone toe up first.¡±

    As she spoke, this mysteriousdy lifted her hand, and a streak of red light shot into the sky. Very soon, it turned into a blood-red peony that spread in the sky.

    The booms that came from the surroundings started to fade away. It was as if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions had stopped their attack. After this, figures started to leap to the top of the mountain and gathered to where they were. These figures belonged to the Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire.

    For the sess of this n, the Star Luo Empire had sent out a total of twelve Titled Douluo. Every one of them was so powerful that they could fight by themselves.

    However, they were all silent when they ascended to the top of the mountain and saw the nine soul rings that belonged to the mysteriousdy.

    The abilities of truly powerful individuals weren¡¯t decided by quantity. It was even more so at such a tier.

    The mysteriousdy¡¯s aura didn¡¯t change in the slightest as she was surrounded by twelve Titled Douluo.

    All the Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t help but lift their heads to look at the towering Death God Pagoda. They clearly knew that they had to ovee this mysteriousdy before they could destroy the Death God Pagoda. Only with the destruction of the Death God Pagoda could the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops rush over and take the Ming Dou Mountain Range back.

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± The mysteriousdyughed coldly.

    All the Titled Douluo summoned their soul power. Even though they were twelve against one, they were facing an indomitable enemy. They were facing an Ultimate Douluo. How would they dare to becent?

    Huo Yuhao also took in a few deep breaths. His spiritual power circted, and his Eye of Destiny opened. After this, he quickly walked to the side of the Shattered Star Douluo and shouted, ¡°Elder, don¡¯t make a move first. I have a few words to say.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re an interesting young fellow. A really rare breed. Given your abilities as a Soul Sage, you actually possess spiritual power corresponding to that of a Titled Douluo. You are a very rare spiritual-type soul master. It¡¯s interesting. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you. After I kill them and adopt you, I¡¯ll make you do my bidding. In the future, I¡¯ll nurture you into a one-of-a-kind spiritual-type soul master.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Elder Ye, why do you have to do this? Are you really willing to see the entire continent decimated as a result of war just because of your own personal pain?¡±

    The mysteriousdy was shocked when she heard the words ¡®Elder Ye¡¯.

    ¡°Who are you? How do you know my surname is Ye?¡± Her voice suddenly sounded a little pathetic. Following this, she lifted her right hand and made a grabbing motion at Huo Yuhao.

    Her hand looked very weird. Her palm and fingers were smooth and white, as if they belonged to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenager. However, her fingernails were dark-red, and resembled an eagle¡¯s talons. They looked especially terrifying.

    As she grabbed at the air, a huge bloody w instantly surfaced in front of the Light of Shattered Stars.

    All the Titled Douluo who were present were already prepared. When they saw this mysteriousdy making a move, they immediately reacted, and unleashed all sorts of soul skills towards her. There were those that were directly targeted towards her, while others targeted the bloody w.

    However, something terrifying happened. The blood-red light that filled the sky distorted the moment the mysteriousdy made her move.

    The soul skills that were targeted towards her deviated from their original trajectory and scattered all around. None of them had any effect.

    The Shattered Star Douluo shouted, and spots of purple starlight were released from his body in an attempt to stop the bloody ws.

    However, he experienced the same thing as the rest. When that bloody w reached them, the blood-red light immediately distorted, and the purple starlight was pushed to one side in the distortion. It didn¡¯t have its intended effect on the bloody w.

    When the bloody w shed with the Light of Shattered Stars, the Light of Shattered Stars seemed to have been devoured. It directly disappeared. Following this, that bloody wnded above Huo Yuhao and grabbed his body. As the blood-red light shed, that bloody w had already turned into a ball of light that hadpletely engulfed Huo Yuhao, and pulled him to the side of the mysteriousdy.

 Chapter 451.3 - Death God Douluo!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 451.3: Death God Douluo!</h4>

    In the meantime, everyone from Shrek Academy wanted to help, but all the soul skills they used slid off the blood-red light the moment they touched it. They didn¡¯t have any effect at all.

    Everyone knew that an Ultimate Douluo was the highest level that one could reach. However, one could only see how strong an Ultimate Douluo was when truly facing one.

    Twelve Titled Douluo actually couldn¡¯t stop the mysteriousdy from grabbing Huo Yuhao. She still managed to bring him to her.

    However, Huo Yuhao was very smart. He knew that he had no way of resisting her, thus he didn¡¯t even try at all. He let the mysteriousdy grab him.

    It was not to say that the soul power of an Ultimate Douluo wasparable to twelve Titled Douluo. That was impossible. After all, these twelve Titled Douluo included two Transcendent Douluo. In terms of total soul power, they were naturally above her.

    However, these twelve Titled Douluo would bepletely unconfident if they really had to fight her. Just now, she didn¡¯t even sh with any of them and only used her strength to easily dispose of their attacks.

    The Shattered Star Douluo had it the worst. He was the most adept at controlling space, but he knew that the power that thisdy had just unleashed wasn¡¯t just some kind of power that evil soul masters possessed. Instead, she exhibited exquisite control of time and space. His own control was actually beneath hers.

    She was too terrifying.

    ¡°Tell me. How do you know my surname is Ye? There aren¡¯t many people in this world that know who I am.¡± The mysteriousdy said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao was drifting in front of her right now. Everyone knew that Huo Yuhao was doomed if she decided toy her hands on him.

    However, he actuallyughed at this moment. His smile was even very calm. His gentle grin showed that he wasn¡¯t agitated at all.

    ¡°Senior Ye, I¡¯m not wrong, your name should be Ye Xishui.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s words had her full attention.

    ¡°Who exactly are you? How did you know that?¡± The mysteriousdy tightened her grip. Suddenly, the blood-red light that was tightly grabbing onto Huo Yuhao also pushed inward. Huo Yuhao¡¯s bones started to make cracking sounds.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow, but he didn¡¯t groan at all. He calmly said, ¡°My name is Huo Yuhao. My teacher is Mu En.¡±

    Mu En? The Dragon God Douluo, Mu En?

    Everyone from the Star Luo Empire was shocked when they heard this name. It was thest Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the Ultimate Douluo and Dragon Douluo, Mu En. He was one of the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White, a truly powerful individual on the continent.

    After hearing Mu En¡¯s name, they were at first astonished before they were in awe. Mu En had once made an important contribution to the peace of the continent and protected Shrek Academy all the way until his death. He was indeed one of the most notable honorary elders of the world of soul masters.

    When the mysteriousdy heard his name, it was as if she had been struck by lightning. She shuddered a little, and the red light dissipated, causing Huo Yuhao to fall to the ground.

    ¡°You are his disciple? But how did you recognize me? Even he wouldn¡¯t recognize me if he stood in front of me. Moreover, he¡¯s already dead. He¡¯s already dead!¡± She was almost shouting thest few words, sounding a little hysterical.

    However, her words had undoubtedly verified her own identity. She was Ye Xishui, the woman once pursued by the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White. She had once had a sentimental rtionship with Mu En, which eventually ended tragically. The love and enmity they shared were never forgotten by Mu En even when he was on his deathbed. It was the biggest regret of his entire life.

    Huo Yuhao stood up and said, ¡°Senior Ye, of course I don¡¯t recognize you. I definitely haven¡¯t seen you before. The only reason why I can guess your identity is because of your cultivation. How many people in this world are capable of bing an Ultimate Douluo? Even Elder Xuan and Du Busi are still one step away. Only my teacher and the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao are Ultimate Douluo. Since you are an Ultimate Douluo and your aura and cultivation seem to be superior to my teacher, this limits the range of people that I can guess from. When you mentioned that you were an evil soul master, and recalling that Elder Long Xiaoyao is from the Holy Ghost Church, I immediately knew who you were. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re the only one who can convince Elder Long Xiaoyao to serve the Holy Ghost Church. It¡¯s only you who can be an Ultimate Douluo even though you¡¯re an evil soul master, since you¡¯re from the same generation from my teacher and Elder Long Xiaoyao. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect you to be the Death God Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    His analysis caused all the Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire to turn dismal.

    Someone who was from Mu En and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s generation and became an Ultimate Douluo as an evil soul master was a character that they couldn¡¯t possibly resist. No wonder she wasn¡¯t afraid of the twelve of theming together. She wanted to take all of them down!

    Ye Xishui quickly turned emotional, but she calmed down very quickly too. ¡°Little fellow, you are clever. No wonder you¡¯ve already achieved so much at such a tender age. You¡¯re actually Mu En¡¯s disciple? Good, very good. Although I hate him a lot, I love him a lot too. On his ount, I¡¯ll let you off today. I won¡¯t kill you. However, don¡¯t let me see you again. I¡¯m feeling good today. I¡¯m only thinking of all his good qualities. If you let me see you again and I only think of his ws, you¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder, for sparing me.¡± Huo Yuhao slightly bowed towards Ye Xishui. After that, he turned around and walked towards the Star Luo Empire.

    At this moment, a blood-red w suddenly appeared behind Huo Yuhao and grabbed his neck.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a strong sense of breathlessness, and his soul power started to surge ferociously. He tried to resist, and his diamond ice crystals immediately surfaced.

    Everyone from Shrek Academy was shocked. Tang Wutong shouted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wouldn¡¯t kill him?¡±

    ¡°Hehehehe!¡± Ye Xishui suddenly chuckled, and herughter was very sinister. ¡°Yes! I didn¡¯t want to kill him just now, but I suddenly thought of how Mu En ended our rtionship. I detest him. Since his disciple is here to find me, why shouldn¡¯t I kill him? Mu En is already dead. I wonder what his reaction will be when he finds out that I killed his disciple? Little fellow, you can only me yourself for choosing the wrong teacher. Hahahaha!¡±

    As she spoke, the blood-red ws started to clench up, trying to squeeze Huo Yuhao to death.

    Mad. Everyone had the same thought in their mind. Yes! Ye Xishui was indeed mad. Her emotions fluctuated unstably, and she was capricious. She didn¡¯t have the demeanor of an elder at all.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Everyone from Shrek Academy shouted at the same time.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body dimmed slightly, and he seemed to have turned into a ball of ck air. Just as the ws clenched up, he disappeared before reappearing ten meters away. He was back to his human form.

    It was just that he hadpletely changed after he reappeared.

    His hair had grown much longer, and it had turnedpletely ck. His skin was extremely pale, and his eyes were colorless. They were actually engulfed by golden light. His Eye of Destiny shut and disappeared. A streak of golden hair fell to his chest, which was the only other color apart from ck and white throughout his entire body.

    Not only this, but his aura experienced an even greater change. Although he was calmly standing where he was, he seemed like a giant beast. Intense, ck light emanated from his body, and the surrounding blood-red light dissipated in the presence of this ck glow, even though it wasn¡¯t very strong.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ye Xishu looked coldly at Huo Yuhao. Given her power, how could she not tell that the person in front of her was no longer Huo Yuhao? Just from the terrifying aura, she had no choice but to calm herself down and face him.

    ¡°Ye Xishui? It¡¯s actually this name. Very good, I didn¡¯t expect a human to reach such a cultivation on the continent. Even I couldn¡¯t help but be interested in you. Although I¡¯m not in my true form, I¡¯ll make you pay for the nine soul rings you have. Three hundred thousand year soul beasts and six ten thousand year soul beasts. You¡¯re good!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice had turned much deeper. As he spoke, the air would vibrate with every word he said. The blood-red light that was quickly gathering towards him rapidly dissipated. Everyone from the Star Luo Empire was dumbfounded as they watched from afar.

    Only an Ultimate Douluo could fight another Ultimate Douluo! Huo Yuhao could actually transform into an Ultimate Douluo?

    Everything they were seeing was beyond their imagination. Was Huo Yuhao actually possessed by the Dragon God Douluo Mu En?

    As Huo Yuhao spoke, he had already lifted up his right hand and mimicked a grabbing action towards Ye Xishui. At the same time, the highest mountain peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range started to resonate with dragon roars. In the sky, dark clouds started to gather.

    The space in front of Ye Xishui shattered, and a huge ck dragon w appeared in front of her, reaching for her.

    Ye Xishui was also very impressive. She sped her hands in front of her before a giant blood-red projection appeared. This projection was in human form, but it had twelve blood-red wings. As they pped at the same time, her right hand performed a downward-swiping action.

    Suddenly, a streak of blood appeared in front of her and blocked the ck ws.

    ¡°ng!¡± The mountain peak shook, and terrifying air currents spread towards the outside, with the core of it being the point of collision. ck and blood-red light surged at the same time and spread out.

    The soul tools that were originally scattered everywhere were all dragged into the air.

 Chapter 452.1 - Broken Meridians

    <h4 ss>Volume 34: The Calm Before the Storm, Chapter 452.1: Broken Meridians</h4>

    Just as the ck and red shed, the twelve Titled Douluo staggered a few steps back. The Shattered Star Douluo did his best to protect everyone from Shrek Academy from this explosive burst of strength.

    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat a little further first!¡± The Shattered Star Douluo shouted. He immediately unleashed his Light of Shattered Stars, which engulfed everyone. After this, he proceeded to a point lower down the mountain with all of them.

    If they continued to remain here, they would very soon be killed by this sh between two Ultimate Douluo!

    The two of them were simply too strong. The shockwaves from their sh were already very terrifying.

    The ck dragon ws were forced back, but they didn¡¯t sustain any harm.

    ¡°Bloody Demonpuppet. So that¡¯s your martial soul. It relies on devouring spirits to evolve. It seems like you haven¡¯t just harmed soul beasts, but also many humans. This so-called Death God is simply a manifestation of your martial soul. How many avenging spirits do you kill every time you manifest it in this form? Every avenging spirit can only be collected after a live human being is killed. Even soul beasts can¡¯t be replenished. However, I don¡¯t care if you kill humans. But you¡¯ve killed too many of my people. I¡¯ll use your life to avenge all of them.¡±

    As he spoke, ¡®Huo Yuhao¡¯ peered into the sky and let out a dragon roar. Following this, he lifted both his hands in the air, his palms facing upward. The space behind him tore apart, and a huge dragon head slowly poked out. Pitch-ck dragon mes that carried spots of golden starlight were unleashed towards Ye Xishui.

    The surrounding space blew apart just as the dragon mes were unleashed. The blood-red light was torn apart, and the entire mountain started to distort. A terrifying force tore apart the spatial barriers and bore down on Ye Xishui as if it were a great river.

    The Bloody Demonpuppet behind Ye Xishui shone brightly. Her own body also turned into a streak of red light that fused into the back of the Bloody Demonpuppet as her seventh soul ring shone. The Bloody Demonpuppet expanded as it moved through the air. Rings of red light forcefully resisted the onught of the dragon roars.

    Intense explosions started to ensue, and the entire mountain started topress downward because of their terrifying strength.

    The Death God Pagoda finally moved. It was shaking slightly.

    ¡°Beast God, Di Tian! So it¡¯s you!¡± Ye Xishui¡¯s sharp voice sounded. Evidently, she couldn¡¯t believe that the Beast God had actually appeared here and was helping the Star Luo Empire.

    The Beast God calmly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me. You can kill everyone else, but you can¡¯t kill this person I¡¯m protecting. Moreover, what¡¯s the benefit of letting the Sun Moon Empire rule the entire continent?¡±

    Ye Xishui snorted coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re indeed very strong, and can curb my abilities. However, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re not in your true form right now. If you possess this little fellow for too long, he might be unable to take it.¡±

    It was a pity that all the Titled Douluo had already retreated. Otherwise, they would be shocked beyond words if they heard Ye Xishui admitting that she wasn¡¯t Di Tian¡¯s match.

    It was the truth. Thest time Di Tian hadmanded his soul beast army to attack Shrek City, Elder Mu and Elder Xuan had banded together to ovee him. Elder Mu had even nned everything very early, which aided them in curbing Di Tian. Even so, Huo Yuhao was the one who convinced Di Tian in the end. Otherwise, Shrek City would have been destroyed.

    He had a cultivation that was greater than eight hundred thousand years, and had broken through eight bottlenecks. He was already one foot into another tier. Even Ye Xishui had to admit that he was terrifyingly strong.

    ¡°How do you know that I can¡¯t summon my true form? How is it possible for a mere human like you toprehend things at my level?¡±

    As he spoke, ¡®Huo Yuhao¡¯ pointed his right hand towards the sky and his left hand towards the ground. A pitch-ck beam of light quickly joined between his left and right index fingers. ck light tore space apart, and a figure slowly walked out from the slit that opened.

    Suddenly, the ck dragon head behind ¡®Huo Yuhao¡¯ turned real, and the strength of the dragon mes increased significantly.

    ¡°You, you can actually break apart space and teleport your true body? This is impossible¡­¡± Ye Xishui eximed, but she stopped resisting. Instead, she turned into a beam of red light and instantly charged towards the Death God Pagoda.

    The Death God Pagoda shone extremely brightly. Countless avenging spirits could be heard whining. A beam of red light that Huo Yuhao had seen before descended from the sky. It was the Avenging Light of the Death God, a watered-down version of the Light of the Death God. It shed ferociously with the dragon mes that were in pursuit of Ye Xishui.

    It wasn¡¯t that Ye Xishui wasn¡¯t willing to fully unleash her Light of the Death God. It was just that she needed some time to umte her strength before she could unleash theplete version of her Light of the Death God. Thest time she did so, she went through prior nning first.

    This Avenging Light of the Death God was unleashed through some kind of special method after greatlypressing avenging spirits. It was very powerful, but it used up thousands of avenging spirits every time it was unleashed. There weren¡¯t just a hundred thousand avenging spirits that were gathered within this Death God Pagoda. However, they were very limited. Every time it was unleashed, they had to be replenished.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that there were many avenging spirits in this Death God Pagoda that were collected by Ye Xishui after he initiated the massive explosion in Radiant City. This also aided in thepletion of the Death God Pagoda, allowing it to cross the barrier that made it a ss 10 soul tool.

    In this world, there wasn¡¯t just a single genius. Huo Yuhao was one, but Ye Xishui was also another one.

    She had started to research soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire after her disappointing rtionship with Mu En. After years of research, she gradually fused her evil soul master abilities and soul tools, creating a unique soul tool that belonged only to her. With her immense power as a foundation and the Holy Ghost Church as a backer, she finally became the strongest soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire and the Death God Douluo. At the same time, she was also the Supreme Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. After Xu Tianran ascended to the throne, he even epted her as his godmother. The current leader of the Holy Ghost Church, Zhong Liwu, was Ye Xishui¡¯s son.

    It could be argued that she was actually the most powerful person in the Sun Moon Empire.

    A huge explosive force was released as the ck dragon mes and the Avenging Light of the Death God shed. The entire mountain was ttened. The Death God Pagoda actually rose into the air and turned into a beam of red light that shot forward in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire. At the same time, a beam of blood-red light shot into the sky and turned into a weird image.

    From afar, the formation of soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire had deployed started to reverberate with booms. The Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire had already achieved what they wanted. Following this, beams of golden light rose into the sky. It was the signal for the army toe.

    Huo Yuhao silently drifted above the mountain and watched as the Death God Pagoda escaped. He didn¡¯t pursue. The Beast God was drifting beside him. He furrowed his brow as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Di Tian was a little displeased as he said, ¡°You actually riled up such a strong enemy. If I didn¡¯t appear in my true form, I don¡¯t think she would have left.¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have returned to normal, and calmly said, ¡°You¡¯ve already cost me two opportunities to advance to the future. Don¡¯t you think you should help me at such a critical moment? Moreover, from the perspective of the world of soul beasts, it¡¯s not advantageous if the human world is ruled by the Sun Moon Empire. When that happens, all of you will only be experimental subjects of the Sun Moon Empire. Once they find substitutes for soul rings that can rece soul beasts, it¡¯ll be the day that soul beasts vanish from the face of this world. This is why peace and bnce between the various empires should be something that you want to see, am I right? Now that the Sun Moon Empire is so strong and the Heavenly Soul Empire is on the verge of destruction, the Sun Moon Empire would be very likely to rule the entire continent if we don¡¯t deal them a huge blow right now.¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Di Tian said, ¡°However, you can¡¯t face too strong of an opponent. If not for the fact that I had some kind of understanding of her the first time you suffered the attack of the Avenging Light of the Death God and intentionally dealt with her strategy, she wouldn¡¯t have been scared off. She¡¯s right. I can¡¯t possibly descend in my true form. I believe that she¡¯ll realize that she¡¯s been scared off by me after she returns and calms down. This woman is very strong. If not for the fact that she detached herself from the Death God Pagoda, I wouldn¡¯t have been confident of fighting her even with my true form if she relied on her Death God Pagoda to fight me.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned. Even the arrogant Di Tian was not confident of defeating Ye Xishui. How strong was she? With someone as strong as her, the Star Luo Empire would be unlikely to gain an advantage even if the Star Luo Empire faced her with a hundred-thousand-man army.

    ¡°This time, you¡¯ve lent me too much of your strength. Your body is already on the verge of copse. Fortunately, there¡¯s a very strong life energy in your body, which seems toe from the same source as the Lake of Life. This life energy has been helping you to recover quickly. However, don¡¯t face her again. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even be confident of saving you. You only have one life. Your life might be important to us, but isn¡¯t it important to you too? Take precious care of your life and get as far away from the Death God as possible.¡±

    The Beast God was veryposed. He didn¡¯t react to Huo Yuhao¡¯s earlier reprimand. After he finished speaking, dim ck light slowly turned into air currents, and he disappeared. ck air also engulfed Huo Yuhao and carried him to the top of the mountain.

    Slowly, the ck disappeared, and Huo Yuhao looked very pale. Fresh blood flowed from all his pores. He only felt excruciating pain throughout his entire body before he lost consciousness.

    When the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo came to the top of the mountain, they only witnessed an astonishing scene.

 Chapter 452.2 - Broken Meridians

    <h4 ss>Chapter 452.2: Broken Meridians</h4>

    The height of the highest mountain peak in the Ming Dou Mountain Range must have had fallen by at least a hundred meters. There was a huge depression at the top of the mountain, and this depression was filled with smaller craters. Even though the sh was already over, the entire mountain was still engulfed by strong soul power undtions. asionally, the cries of avenging spirits could be heard as well.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Xu Sanshi immediately spotted Huo Yuhao lying in the center of the huge depression, and rushed towards him. Everyone from Shrek Academy did the same.

    The earlier sh at the top of this mountain was too intense. They had no idea what had happened, but the Death God Pagoda had vanished at this moment. The Death God Douluo had also disappeared, and only Huo Yuhao remained. After the shes of red light earlier, the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire quickly fled after being momentarily shocked. They left with whatever soul tools they could bring with them.

    Although more than ten Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire were here, their advantage in numbers didn¡¯t give them an advantage. Abined attack from many soul tools would still threaten them greatly. Seeing that their enemies had fled, they naturally didn¡¯t pursue them.

    Victory? If they had really achieved victory, it was a victory that belonged to the twenty of them! And amongst them, Huo Yuhao had yed the most critical role.

    When all the Titled Douluo witnessed the Death God Douluo¡¯s immense abilities, they were all shocked. They clearly knew that they couldn¡¯t ovee such a powerful enemy even with their numerical advantage. Moreover, Ye Xishui had the Death God Pagoda to rely on. If they continued fighting, they would have all been decimated.

    However, it was at that moment when Huo Yuhao¡¯s unexined power managed to resist the Death God Douluo. They didn¡¯t witness the fighting process, but the final result did sort of indicate that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t lost. The Death God Douluo and Death God Pagoda had disappeared, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers had retreated too. This meant that the Ming Dou Mountain Range had been won back. To the Star Luo Empire, this was extremely important. With the Ming Dou Mountain Range falling back into the hands of the Star Luo Empire, the Sun Moon Empire would find it very difficult to reim it again and reinvade the Star Luo Empire. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empirecked leadership right now. Now that the Star Luo Empire had ovee their first defensive line, it was time for them to make further headway!

    All the Titled Douluo were excited right now, but everyone from Shrek Academy looked very serious.

    When they surrounded Huo Yuhao, they only saw how blood-soaked his clothes were. Blood was oozing from all his pores, and his aura had be very weak. They couldn¡¯t even sense any soul power undtions from him.

    Xu Sanshi looked very serious, and squatted down beside Huo Yuhao. He carefully ced his hand on his chest to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition. After a brief moment, he furrowed his brow and stood up.

    ¡°How is he, Third Senior?¡± Ye Guyi asked anxiously. Tears were already forming in her eyes. Even though she had already suppressed her feelings for Huo Yuhao, she still felt that she was about to experience an emotional outburst upon seeing that he was seriously wounded and on the verge of death.

    Xu Sanshi solemnly replied, ¡°Not good. Little junior¡¯s life aura is very weak and his heartbeat is so slow it¡¯s almost undetectable. He might die at any moment.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, wake up. Yuhao¡­¡± Ye Guyi squatted down beside Huo Yuhao and started sobbing as she pleaded for him to regain consciousness.

    Ji Juechen also furrowed his brow. ¡°Is there no other way?¡±

    Xu Sanshi shook his head and said, ¡°I did a preliminary check on his condition, and it seems like all his passageways have been broken. They even seem to be seriously damaged. I don¡¯t even dare to touch him right now.¡±

    Jing Ziyan was the calmest among all of them. She immediately turned around and faced all the Titled Douluos, asking, ¡°Elders, which one of you is adept at healing? Please take a look at Yuhao. He¡¯s in very bad condition.¡±

    At this moment, all of the Titled Douluo were jolted from their excitement, and quickly surrounded Huo Yuhao.

    However, all of these Titled Douluo that were chosen for this mission were adept at attacking. None of them was adept at healing! After checking Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition, all of them came to the same conclusion as Xu Sanshi. Huo Yuhao was in very bad condition. All his passageways were seriously injured. If it was someone else with such serious injuries, he would have died. However, there was some kind of special force in his body that was helping him hang on. The cirction of his blood seemed to have stoppedpletely, apart from a small region around his heart. As for his soul power, it had long disappeared.

    At this moment, all the Titled Douluo were helpless.

    The Shattered Star Douluo said, ¡°Yuhao¡¯s injury is very serious. Let¡¯s not touch him for now. Let¡¯s go and rendezvous with the army first. Giant Hammer, make a trip back and immediately ask the Marshal to send a healing-type soul master over. I¡¯ll stand guard here.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Giant Hammer Douluo acknowledged his words and turned around before flying away.

    Huo Yuhao had made an important contribution this time by helping to reim the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Even these arrogant Titled Douluo were in awe of him. They were also very shocked by the secret force in him that was keeping him alive.

    Even without saying anything, they knew that he had borrowed some kind of strength that didn¡¯t belong to him to fight the Death God Douluo, scaring her away. His body was seriously wounded because he couldn¡¯t handle such great power in his body.

    All of the Titled Douluo thought that it was no mean feat that Huo Yuhao could preserve his life. He was dealing with a powerful force that could resist an Ultimate Douluo! Even Titled Douluo like them weren¡¯t confident of remaining alive if they had to deal with such a powerful force.

    Tang Wutong also stood beside Huo Yuhao. She didn¡¯t wail as pitifully as Ye Guyi. She only stood where she was, looking a little dazed.

    The scene of Huo Yuhao exchanging ces with her when the Light of Death God descended on her earlier kept on repeating itself in her mind. She kept on asking herself this question ¨Cif it were me, would I be capable of doing the same thing?

    Huo Yuhao!Tang Wutong knew that this name had been permanently imprinted in her mind right now.

    The healing-type soul master team arrived at almost the same time as the soul master legion that was here to reim the mountain range. Everyone was shocked that the White Tiger Duke had personallye, and even brought along a healing-type Titled Douluo. There were also about sixteen other healing-type soul masters with them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Yuhao?¡± The White Tiger Duke led thisrge group of healing-type soul masters as they descended from the sky. The first thing he asked when hended was Huo Yuhao¡¯s location.

    The Shattered Star Douluo¡¯s expression changed when he saw that the White Tiger Duke was personally here. It was important to know that the White Tiger Duke was very crucial to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military. If the Death God Douluo returned, they would be unable to protect him at all!

    ¡°Duke, you¡­¡±

    The White Tiger Duke lifted his hand and stopped the Shattered Star Douluo from speaking any further. Of course he understood what the Shattered Star Douluo meant. He said, ¡°It¡¯s more important to save this life first. We can leave the rest forter.¡±

    Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and the rest quickly came up to receive him. The White Tiger Duke led the healing-type soul masters to Huo Yuhao under their guidance.

    The healing-type Titled Douluo was an elder with white hair and a wrinkled face. It was impossible to tell her actual age.

    When she arrived in front of Huo Yuhao, she lifted her right hand and a streak of dim-green light instantly turned into a barrier of light that engulfed him.

    ¡°Duke, you must save Yuhao.¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s voice started to tremble slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try my best. Yuhao is a great servant to our empire!¡± The White Tiger Duke said without any hesitation.

    Earlier, he could only see the explosions of light that had blossomed from the top of the mountain. When they first started, he started to tense up. Without a doubt, Huo Yuhao had already been discovered. Being discovered was an unavoidable consequence of the n. The keyy in whether Huo Yuhao was able to free all the Titled Douluo after being discovered.

    Therefore, the most important thing to take note of was the amount of time the explosionssted for.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t disappoint him. The lights didn¡¯t disappear, and evenrger explosions ensued. At that point, the White Tiger Duke was already ready tomand his entire military to fight.

    After that, the White Tiger Duke saw terrifying red light shing at the top of the mountain. The ck light that Huo Yuhao had released wasn¡¯t very clear against the night sky.

    However, the White Tiger Duke was astonished when he saw that the mountain had copsed slightly. Huo Yuhao had seeded!

    Even without any signal, the White Tiger Duke had already given the order to attack. The Giant Hammer Douluo returned not long after that, and ryed news that Huo Yuhao had been seriously wounded.

    For some unknown reason, the White Tiger Duke felt his heart constricting after learning that Huo Yuhao had been seriously hurt. He ignored Princess Jiujiu¡¯s attempt to stop him and personally led a team of healing-type soul masters to save him. He only had one thought in his mind ¨C save Huo Yuhao at all costs. Such a talent was simply too important to the Star Luo Empire.

    Besides his desire to save a generational talent, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t realize that deep down in his heart, there was some kind of unexined attachment that was growing. Even he himself wasn¡¯t clear what it was. His concern for Huo Yuhao had already surpassed the sort of brotherly love he had for his own subordinates.

    Ye Guyi clenched her fists tightly and prayed to herself. Nan Qiuqiu also sped her hands together in front of her chest, and was reciting something to herself.

    The White Tiger Duke softly said, ¡°Yuhao will be fine. Don¡¯t worry. This person performing the healing on Yuhao is the Hallmaster of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Imperial Shrine. She¡¯s a Titled Douluo. As long as someone is still breathing, she can save him. Perhaps all of you have heard of her before. Her name is Wang Xian¡¯er.¡±

 Chapter 452.3 - Broken Meridians

    <h4 ss>Chapter 452.3: Broken Meridians</h4>

    After hearing the words ¡®Wang Xian¡¯er¡¯, Xu Sanshi was the first to react. His body shook a little before there was a surprised look on his face. He probed, ¡°Are you talking about the Immortal Doctor Douluo Wang Xian¡¯er?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded gently.

    Xu Sanshi heaved a huge sigh of relief and exined to the rest, ¡°Elder Wang Xian¡¯er is the world¡¯s top healing-type soul master. Even Elder Zhuang from our academy is inferior to Elder Wang. Elder Zhuang even mentioned that Elder Wang is the world¡¯s strongest healing-type soul master. Her martial soul is the Healing Angel.¡±

    Healing-type and food-type soul masters found it more difficult to be Titled Douluopared to assault-type soul masters.

    This was because fighting helped to stimte the potential of soul masters, but healing-type and food-type soul masters hardly fought. They could only rely on cultivation and the umtion of experience to slowly improve. As a result, there were only a few of them who could be Titled Douluo. As for Transcendent Douluo, there were hardly any of them who made it.

    This Immortal Doctor Douluo Wang Xian¡¯er was one of these rare healing-type Transcendent Douluo. She was probably the most important trump card of the entire Star Luo Empire, and the Hallmaster of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Imperial Shrine. She was only inferior to another Transcendent Douluo, who was the strongest individual in the Star Luo Empire.

    If even this Miracle Healer couldn¡¯t save Huo Yuhao, it meant that Huo Yuhao was really going to die. This was why Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh of relief when he found out that she was the Immortal Doctor Douluo. He had known Huo Yuhao for a long time now. He knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s survival abilities were shocking, and he had managed to escape death many times. In terms of survivability, he was definitely the best among the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Right now, it was almost impossible for him to die, since the Immortal Doctor Douluo was around.

    The green light in Wang Xian¡¯er¡¯s hands slowly retracted, and she furrowed her brow slightly. The wrinkles on her face also became more evident.

    ¡°This little fellow¡¯s injuries are very weird.¡±

    Weird? After hearing her words, everyone from Shrek Academy started to be worried. Tang Wutong immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s weird?¡±

    She replied, ¡°His passageways are almost broken, especially his main passageways. His injuries are extremely serious. If I¡¯m not wrong, there must be some kind of immense force that surged through his entire body that caused his passageways to burst. Logically speaking, his flesh should have blown apart under such conditions. There should be no way for him to still be alive.¡±

    ¡°However, I¡¯m shocked by the fact that his main organs are still fine even though his passageways are so seriously hurt. More surprisingly, his damaged passageways are all only temporarily blocked. His blood is not flowing, but stuck within these passageways. Furthermore, there¡¯s very strong life energy in his damaged passageways. They seem to be recovering on their own. It¡¯s something that I¡¯ve never seen or heard of before. I think he possesses extraordinary life energy, which enables him to experience something like this. In addition, there¡¯s some kind of force protecting his body.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke hurriedly asked, ¡°What should we do then? How can we heal him?¡±

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to heal him.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Everyone eximed at the same time. The Immortal Doctor Douluo said that there wasn¡¯t any need to heal him. Didn¡¯t this mean that Huo Yuhao was doomed?

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo gestured and said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. What I mean is that he should be able to recover, but he¡¯ll need some time. I¡¯ll stimte some of his life energy and try to pour in some life energy into his body. This will increase the speed of his recovery. That¡¯ll be enough. We don¡¯t have to overtreat him. At times, overtreating can cause unnecessary damage to a body. Since his self-healing abilities are already so strong, we¡¯ll just let him heal. That¡¯ll be the most beneficial to him.¡±

    After hearing Wang Xian¡¯er¡¯s exnation, everyone present heaved a sigh of relief. The White Tiger Duke respectfully said, ¡°I¡¯ll need to trouble you then.¡±

    Wang Xian¡¯er eyes shed and turned jade-green. The jade-green color in her eyes gave everyone a very bright and lively feeling. Following this, the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s body started to experience weird changes.

    Multiple pairs of wings started to open up behind her back. One, two, three, four, five. There were actually five pairs of wings that appeared. They were all jade-green too. They resembled those of Bi Ji. However, the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s wings were smaller than Bi Ji¡¯s wings, though there were more of them. After the appearance of each pair of wings, the life energy in the air became evidently more concentrated. After they had all appeared, the entire top of the mountain was like an ocean of life. Everyone felt abnormally rxed andfortable right now.

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo was a national treasure of the Star Luo Empire! Who could ensure that one wasn¡¯t ever hurt or never ever fell ill? She was like a goddess to the Star Luo Empire.

    Something strange urred to the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s body. Every time a pair of wings appeared behind her, she would look younger and younger. When the fifth pair of wings appeared, she already looked as young as an eighteen or neen-year-old teenager. Her eyes were bright and captivating. She possessed a beauty that was filled with life aura. Everyone felt a sense of amiability when they looked at her, and couldn¡¯t help but get closer to her.

    She lifted her right hand and mimicked a pressing action in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. Suddenly, intense green light started to gather towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body slowly lit up. Spots of green lights shone, and a gentle life aura cleansed his entire body, removing all the impurities that were still within. Streaks of ck air current slowly drifted out from his body before dissipating. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also slowly lit up with green. Evidently, he was absorbing the life aura that the Immortal Doctor Douluo had exuded.

    Under the effect of that concentrated life energy, Huo Yuhao¡¯s own aura started to appear. His chest could also be seen rising.

    The young version of the Immortal Doctor Douluo revealed a slight grin on her face. Right now, she was in the form of her Healing Angel.

    She kept on pouring life energy into his body, stimting his potential. Such a healing method tackled the symptoms and root cause of the problem, which was the most advanced healing technique. It was even more effective when used by the Immortal Doctor Douluo.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead lit up. A streak of jade-green light suddenly appeared and slowly cracked open on his forehead. It was his Eye of Destiny.

    It was just that his Eye of Destiny waspletely jade-green right now. When that jade-green light appeared, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly turned into a huge jade-green whirlpool, and devoured all the life aura that the Immortal Doctor Douluo released.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was also shocked.It is very abnormal for a Soul Sage to devour life energy at such a speed! What¡¯s going on? Is it that source of power that¡¯s protecting his body?

    Although she was shocked, she still increased the output of her life energy. She was different from ordinary soul masters. Every human and soul master had their own life energy. Once they drained too much of it, they would experience decline, and might even die as a result.

    However, the Immortal Doctor Douluo possessed strength that could control life. She could filter life energy from the air toplete her healing. The more prosperous the life energy in at a ce, the greater her powers. For example, her healing abilities would be on another level if she were in the Great Star Dou Forest. If she could reach the Lake of Life where Di Tian was, her healing abilities would be at the tier of an Ultimate Douluo.

    After sensing the changes to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, she poured more soul power into his body. All types of life aura and elements at the top of the mountain were all infused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was observing Huo Yuhao¡¯s changes throughout this process. She discovered that his passageways were evidently healing faster after the jade-green light appeared on his forehead. It wasn¡¯t just his passageways; every part of his body was healing rapidly. Most of the life energy actually came from his own body. Although he had absorbed a lot of life energy too, the life energy that he absorbed wasn¡¯t as pure as his own life energy. It was as if it went through a filtering process before it managed topletely fuse with his body.

    The soul power of a Transcendent Douluo was already very dense. While Huo Yuhao was devouring her life energy very quickly, she was also rapidly gathering life energy from the air.

    From afar, it was clear that a huge green whirlpool had appeared at the top of the mountain. The life energy surrounding the entire mountain range was rapidly being absorbed before fusing with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The jade-green light that Huo Yuhao¡¯s body emanated also became stronger and stronger. At the start, it was only shining from his Eye of Destiny, but it slowly spread to the rest of his body. Under the effect of the immense life energy, he evidently experienced a drastic change in his condition. At least his breathing became more normal and stable.

    Wang Xian¡¯er nodded silently. It was also her first time seeing a case like this. She quietly memorized the changes to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. This was like a brand-new experience to her.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body experienced changes again. He unleashed a beam of intense jade-green light from his body. This beam of jade-green light rapidly fused with the whirlpool and caused it to stop. After this, it started to flow in the opposite direction.

    Immense life energy started to pour into Wang Xian¡¯er¡¯s body.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was stunned for a moment first. After this, she sensed the benefits of this immense life energy. Just like she had felt before, the life energying from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was extremely pure. There wasn¡¯t any form of impurity within it. It was much purer than even her own soul power.

 Chapter 453.1 - Tang Wutongs Erasure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 453.1: Tang Wutong¡¯s Erasure</h4>

    Even though this pure energy wasn¡¯t very strongpared to hers, it was like a seedling. When this pure life energy entered her body, she immediately controlled it and poured it into the core of her soul power, sealing it. At the same time, she also summoned her soul power to familiarize itself with the traits of this pure life energy.

    A surprised look appeared on the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s face. For someone at her tier, it was very difficult to improve any further, especially since she was a healing-type Transcendent Douluo; it was even more difficult for her than for others.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was in fact like Mu En and Long Xiaoyao ¨C she was a generational talent. She was the only honorary elder that remained of the Star Luo Empire. She had been protecting the empire for years. However, she was growing older and older ¨C she was close to two hundred years old now. As she grew older, she felt as if her life energy was quickly fading away. She believed she only had ten more years to live.

    However, after Huo Yuhao poured that pure life energy into her body, she was offered another opportunity to make progress.

    Her umtion had long been sufficient. What shecked was enlightenment and an opportunity. The pure life energy that Huo Yuhao released presented a valuable opportunity to her! As long as she tried her best to remember the traits of the life energy that he had released and evolve her soul power ording to these traits, she could enable her soul power to rise another tier.

    By raising her cultivation by one rank, she would be able to live for decades longer.

    Elder Mu lived until the age of two hundred before he passed away. The main reason was because the injury that he sustained in his younger days was too serious. Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui were both still alive and well. If nothing happened, neither of them would have any problems living for more than three hundred years.

    After a momentary surprise, Wang Xian¡¯er immediately increased her attention on Huo Yuhao. As a healer, she was very concerned about him. Furthermore, she was a very sympathetic and kind person. She definitely didn¡¯t wish him to suffer because of what she had obtained.

    After meticulously observing him, she was quickly relieved. Huo Yuhao was in good condition, which was better than expected. Earlier, the reversal of the flow of life energy urred because the amount of life energy he could store in his body had reached its limit. This limit wasn¡¯t reached because of the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s life energy. Her life energy only acted as a guide that guided his own life energy. After that, his body waspletely nourished by that pure life energy.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was silently in awe. Every individual indeed had his own break! If all this life energy belonged to her, she believed that she could possibly be an Ultimate Douluo in the future. To her, pure life energy could be directly turned into soul power.

    However, such pure life energy could only serve to increase the life energy in his own body.

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo absorbed the remaining life energy in the air into her body. She couldn¡¯t possibly waste it! To her, she had reaped massive rewards today. In just this short period of time, she felt as if the bottleneck that had been frustrating her for so long could possibly be broken through.

    The door from Rank 95 to Rank 96 seemed to be slowly opening.

    The green light started to slowly retract, and the mountaintop started to be peaceful once again. Huo Yuhao had regained some rosiness in his cheeks by now.

    Wang Xian¡¯er was shocked when she discovered that Huo Yuhao¡¯s damaged passageways were filled with life energy.

    This meant that the pure life energy was entering his passageways and aiding in their recovery. Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood started to circte once again inside these healed passageways.

    Even the Immortal Doctor Douluo was shocked by a scene like this. It was too magical.

    ¡°Elder, how is it?¡± Xu Sanshi asked softly.

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo replied, ¡°Alright, he¡¯s fine now. However, he needs some time to recuperate. Please take him back first.¡± As she spoke, she mimicked a pressing action toward Huo Yuhao, and streaks of gentle green light turned into strips before surrounding his body. They lifted him up without moving his body at all.

    Wang Xian¡¯er turned to the White Tiger Duke and said, ¡°Duke, I¡¯ll bring him back first and observe him for a period of time. His condition is a little special. However, overall, he should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I shall count on you then.¡± The White Tiger Duke said respectfully.

    At this moment, the situation here at the Ming Dou Mountain Range was already set in stone. The Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t station many troops here. When the Death God Pagoda left, it meant that their defense here had already failed. This time, the Sun Moon Empire had left behind many soul tools even though they didn¡¯t lose too many soul engineers. To the Star Luo Empire, this was already a sess.

    Those from Shrek Academy didn¡¯t stay further either. They followed the Immortal Doctor Douluo and proceeded in the direction of the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s base.

    Everything that had happened tonight was indeed very astonishing! However, the rest only witnessed what had happened in thetter half of the night. Only Tang Wutong clearly saw what had happened in the earlier half of the night.

    Her eyes shone a little as she saw Huo Yuhao engulfed by the green light. She looked very perplexed, and her thoughts were unknown.

    Very soon, all of them returned to the base. Wang Xian¡¯er sent Huo Yuhao back to his tent and performed another check on him. After that, she instructed everyone not to move him, and let him recuperate. He should be able to recover very soon.

    After rying her instructions, she reverted to her elderly appearance and left. She was also rushing back to attempt to evolve her own soul power and try to raise it to Rank 96.

    Everyone from Shrek Academy surrounded Huo Yuhao¡¯s bedside. At this moment, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

    They had finally reimed control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, whichpletely changed the situation in the entire continent. They had basicallypleted their mission. As for how the Star Luo Empire would deal with the Sun Moon Empire from now on, that was a problem that the White Tiger Duke had to deal with. To them, the most important thing was knowing when Huo Yuhao would be able to fully recover.

    After a brief moment, Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Alright, everyone must be tired after moving around the entire night. Let¡¯s do it this way ¨C we¡¯ll take turns to watch over Yuhao. Girls are more meticulous. Guyi, I¡¯ll assign you this role first, and you¡¯ll watch over him until daybreak. Qiuqiu will take over after you. We¡¯ll decide the roster after that. Guyi, remain here. As for the others, go back and rest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was unconscious, thus Xu Sanshi took over his role as the leader. Everyone nodded. Ye Guyi was even a little thankful as she looked at Xu Sanshi.

    There was a weird look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. She looked at Ye Guyi before ncing at Huo Yuhao. After this, she turned around and left the tent.

    Watching her back, Xu Sanshi revealed a cheeky smile on his face. At times, it might not be a good thing to hasten things. Using some other method might actually yield more effective results.

    Even though Xu Sanshi wasn¡¯t sure whether Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er, at least he knew that she looked very alike to Wang Dong¡¯er. This was something that couldn¡¯t be pretended. If Wang Dong¡¯er had really gotten into a mishap, Tang Wutong might possibly be Huo Yuhao¡¯s new confidante in the future. This was why he was trying to stimte the rtionship between the two of them.

    Everyone left the tent, and only Ye Guyi remained.

    As she looked at Huo Yuhao, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh to herself.

    ¡°Yuhao, get better quickly. I know that you¡¯ve never liked me before, and you¡¯ll never ever like me. However, I feel very happy to have an opportunity to be alone with you and take care of you. Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m very foolish?¡±

    Afterughing, Ye Guyi stood up and walked to one side. She carried a basin to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and used a clean towel to wipe the bloodstains off his face.

    She didn¡¯t dare to change his clothes, as she was afraid that it would affect his recovery. However, it should be fine for her to gently wipe him down.

    Amidst her gentle movements, the bloodstains on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face were quickly wiped off.

    He looked a little sallow, as if it was because he had lost too much blood. However, his life aura was very strong.

    Ye Guyi lifted her hand and wanted to touch his face. However, her palm remained above his face. She never touched him.

    ¡°Nemesis! You are really my nemesis!¡± She sighed before retracting her hand. After this, she quietly sat beside him and looked at him.

    Outside the tent, a pair of beautiful eyes moved away from the window. Tang Wutong was standing there, and silently heaved a sigh of relief.

    When she left the tent earlier, she kept on telling herself that nothing would happen between Huo Yuhao and Ye Guyi, given that he was already in such a state. However, she wasn¡¯t able to calm herself down after leaving the tent. This was why she silently returned outside the tent and secretly watched from outside. She saw Ye Guyi wiping Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    An indescribable feeling surged into her heart. She even wanted to charge in. However, she was soon jolted to her senses.

    Why am I like this? He has nothing to do with me. Why am I so concerned about him? Someone else is treating him so nice. Why am I not happy for him?

    These thoughts kept on ying in her mind. When she saw Ye Guyi lifting her hand and wanting to touch Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, she forgot everything again and wanted to charge into the tent. It was only when Ye Guyi put her hand down that she heaved a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 453.2 - Tang Wutongs Erasure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 453.2: Tang Wutong¡¯s Erasure</h4>

    Tang Wutong clenched her fist as she turned around and peered into the night sky. She stuck her tongue out at the sky and asked herself ¨CTang Wutong, what¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you missing that person? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re jealous? Why? Just because he saved me? No, I can¡¯t be like that. He¡¯s just an ordinary person. Furthermore, he already has a lover. So what if he¡¯s outstanding? He¡¯s not particrly handsome either! Sleep, go and sleep!

    As she talked to herself, she started to walk towards her tent. However, she was walking very slowly.

    Early morning. The Immortal Doctor Douluo was delighted as she came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent and checked on his condition once again.

    Just as she had expected yesterday, she managed to breakthrough the bottleneck that she had been facing for years after absorbing Huo Yuhao¡¯s pure life energy.

    She rose from Rank 95 to Rank 96. It wasn¡¯t easy. It had taken her close to sixty years! However, she had finally achieved this step. Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly responsible for this.

    This was why she came in the early morning. Even though she didn¡¯t need to perform any treatment on him, she still had to try her best to prevent him from suffering any problems during his recuperation process. It was a form of gratitude towards him.

    Huo Yuhao was in a stable condition. His broken passageways were slowly recovering, and he was recovering at a quick rate overall. Apart from the immense life energy in his body, there was another important reason for his speedy recovery. It was that his passageways immediately froze up in ce after they were damaged. They didn¡¯t shift or change their positions at all. As they remained still, they yed a very critical role in his recovery.

    Ye Guyi didn¡¯t sleep the entire night. As she saw the Immortal Doctor Douluo silently nodding as she checked up on Huo Yuhao, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Elder Immortal Doctor, how is Yuhao? Will he be fine?¡±

    Wang Xian¡¯er nced at her and was amused as she said, ¡°Youngdy, the more concerned you are, the more disorderly you¡¯ll be. In terms of emotions, you have to work harder. There¡¯s some kind of pent-up gas in you. I assume it has something to do with him? I can sense that your martial soules from the same origin as mine. Alright, I shall lend you a hand.¡±

    As she spoke, the Immortal Doctor Douluo lifted her left hand and gently pressed on Ye Guyi¡¯s chest.

    Suddenly, Ye Guyi sensed a gust of refreshing soul power entering her body. Her entire body seemed to have cleared up. She felt indescribablyfortable after that. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao was sleeping, she would shout into the sky.

    ¡°Medicine can cure diseases. But matters of the heart can¡¯t be resolved through medicine. Youngdy, I can tell that you really like him. Why? You¡¯re so pretty. Isn¡¯t he satisfied?¡± Wang Xian¡¯er retracted her left hand and touched Ye Guyi¡¯s head.

    Ye Guyi felt much better after the knot in her heart was untied. As she looked at the benevolent look in the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s eyes, her eyes turned red, and she gently shook her head. She said, ¡°He already has someone he likes. I don¡¯t me him. Perhaps I¡¯m only in love with the fact that he¡¯s so persistent towards love.¡±

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo sighed and said, ¡°Young people! It¡¯s difficult to tell what love is. I was the same when I was young. It¡¯s just that loving someone doesn¡¯t mean possessing that person. Furthermore, there are other things to like and admire in this world. There¡¯s nothing wrong with liking him. Just don¡¯t be too stubborn. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only feel depressed your entire life. You must learn to let go, understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thanks for your advice, elder.¡± Ye Guyi gently nodded. However, she couldn¡¯t help but turn her gaze towards Huo Yuhao.

    Wang Xian¡¯er smiled slightly. She knew that she couldn¡¯t fully convince Ye Guyi in just a few words, especially when it came to matters of the heart. However, she could tell that she wasn¡¯t a stubborn person. Otherwise, the pent-up gas in her body would be even worse.

    ¡°He should be fine. However, he¡¯ll still need time to recover, since his passageways have been so seriously damaged. If I started healing from the start, I¡¯d need at least half a year to fully heal him. I can¡¯t even guarantee that there won¡¯t be any side effects. His entire cultivation might even be disabled. However, his life energy is too strong. He must have experienced something special, and is thus able to recover on his own. In my opinion, he should be fine in at most ten days. I¡¯ve got to say that this is a miracle.¡±

    ¡°Recover in ten days? That¡¯s fantastic.¡± Ye Guyi couldn¡¯t help but cheer.

    At this moment, the curtains to the tent opened, and Nan Qiuqiu walked in.

    ¡°What¡¯s so great? Is Yuhao fine?¡± Nan Qiuqiu quickly walked to Ye Guyi¡¯s side and looked at Huo Yuhao. Seeing that he was still the same as the night before, she revealed a disappointed look on her face.

    The Immortal Doctor Douluoughed, ¡°Yet another one. There are so many guys out there. Why do all of you fall for the same guy? There¡¯s no future. Isn¡¯t it more painful? However, you aren¡¯t that bad. At least you don¡¯t have a mental knot because of your crush for him.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned red, and she said, ¡°Elder, don¡¯t make fun of me. I don¡¯t like this guy. It¡¯s Sister Guyi who likes him.¡±

    The Immortal Doctor Douluoughed, ¡°I¡¯m old, but I¡¯m not blind. If I can¡¯t even tell that you like him, won¡¯t I have lived thest two hundred years in vain? Alright, alright, I won¡¯t bother with the issues of young people anymore. You can deal with your own problems. Remember, don¡¯t touch him. If his passageways move, there¡¯ll be trouble.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi hurriedly acknowledged her words.

    The Immortal Doctor Douluo left, and both of them looked at each other. Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue at Ye Guyi, who smiled back. After this, both of them turned their attention to Huo Yuhao.

    Nan Qiuqiu twisted her lips and said, ¡°What¡¯s so good about this guy? Who likes him? Hmph! He¡¯s always so mysterious. He¡¯s not even twenty, but he acts like a forty or fifty-year-old man.¡±

    Ye Guyi was amused as she looked at her. ¡°Why do I recall someone mentioning before that she likes guys who are more mature and capable?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned red, and she said, ¡°Is that so? Who said that? Who¡¯s that person with such low taste?¡±

    Ye Guyiughed. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s not you.¡±

    Her smile gradually faded away. As she looked at Huo Yuhao, she softly said, ¡°Elder Immortal Doctor said that we should let go. He won¡¯t belong to us. I can actually sense that he¡¯s in pain.¡±

    ¡°What? He¡¯s in pain? So many of us like him. Furthermore, he¡¯s the future Hallmaster of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He also holds an important position in the Tang Sect too. He¡¯s even the in-name Master of the Spirit Pagoda. He¡¯s so decorated. What¡¯s there to feel pain over?¡±

    Ye Guyi nced at her and said, ¡°Now you finally admit that you like him. He¡¯s actually in pain. I can sense it. Everything that you¡¯ve mentioned is his achievements. However, have you ever thought of the amount of pressure he has to bear because of these achievements? It was still fine in the past, but ever since Dong¡¯er went into aa, his emotions were greatly affected. After this mission, I even feel that he seems to be lessposed than before. If this were the past, he wouldn¡¯t have taken such a huge risk. Last night, I finally understood that maybe he doesn¡¯t want to live anymore. This was why he was willing to take such a huge gamble. Only he knows how painful he feels.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu furrowed her brow and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Tang Wutong Wang Dong¡¯er who has lost her memories? Didn¡¯t everyone im that?¡±

    Ye Guyi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°For goodness¡¯ sake, can you be more observant? Haven¡¯t you realized that Huo Yuhao has been very ceremonious towards Tang Wutong? He¡¯s so polite that it feels as if they are strangers. She¡¯s not even as close to him as we are. What does that mean? Given his character, would he act like that if Tang Wutong was really Wang Dong¡¯er? He must have used some method to verify that Tang Wutong isn¡¯t actually Wang Dong¡¯er. This is why he¡¯s acting like this. It¡¯s also since then that I felt that his emotions have be a little abnormal.¡±

    After hearing her words, Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°Hmm, it seems so. If that Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, where can Wang Dong¡¯er be then? Actually, I feel that we probably don¡¯t even stand a chance even if Wang Dong¡¯er is dead. This fellow is too stubborn. He only loves Wang Dong¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er looked so alike to Wang Dong¡¯er and sacrificed so much for him, but even that didn¡¯t change his heart.¡±

    Ye Guyi said, ¡°This is why we should let go. Let¡¯s keep this as a beautiful memory. We are from different worlds. I only hope that he can find Dong¡¯er soon, and start to feel happy once again.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu gave Ye Guyi a weird look, ¡°Sister Guyi, I suddenly feel that you¡¯re very noble.¡±

    Ye Guyi chuckled and replied, ¡°What¡¯s there to be noble about? If I stood even the slightest chance, I¡¯d do my best to fight for it. I wouldn¡¯t even bother with my face. However, you¡¯ve said it. We have no chance at all. In that case, we can only wish him the best.¡±

    Outside the tent, a person was quietly standing there. She had alreadye ever since the Immortal Doctor Douluo left, but she didn¡¯t enter the tent. She only eavesdropped on Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi¡¯s conversation. When she heard to this point, she turned around and silently walked off. For some reason, she started to feel slightly lonely deep in her heart.

    Nan Qiuqiu took over from Ye Guyi to keep watch over Huo Yuhao until lunchtime, when the next change was made. Jiang Nannan reced Nan Qiuqiu. After that, it was Jing Ziyan. Jing Ziyan¡¯s shiftsted until nighttime.

    ¡°Wutong, rest for two hours after dinner before recing Ziyan. Do you have any questions?¡± Xu Sanshi asked Tang Wutong.

 Chapter 453.3 - Tang Wutongs Erasure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 453.3: Tang Wutong¡¯s Erasure</h4>

    Tang Wutong was stunned for a moment before she shook her head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Xu Sanshi naturally said, ¡°That¡¯s great then. I asked Elder Immortal Doctor Douluo earlier, and she said that Yuhao¡¯s passageways have basically joined up again, but they¡¯ll need some time to heal. His shirt is filled with bloodstains, which isn¡¯t great for his body. Can you help him his shirt at night? Please be careful.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Wutong subconsciously agreed to his request. By the time she realized that it was inconvenient for ady to help a guy change his shirt, Xu Sanshi had already left.

    She wanted to stop him, but she didn¡¯t do so in the end.

    Xu Sanshi revealed a grin on his face as he walked away.Yuhao, I¡¯ve already helped you so much. You must do your best and recover quickly.

    After dinner, Tang Wutong returned to her tent. She had two hours to rest. However, she couldn¡¯t calm herself down as she sat on her bed. She discovered that she was actually eagerly waiting for the two hours to pass.

    However, the two hours passed very slowly. She couldn¡¯t calm herself down at all, and even started pacing up and down inside her tent in order topose herself.

    Finally, two hours passed. She quickly charged out of her tent and proceeded to the opposite tent.

    ¡°Wutong, you¡¯re here.¡± Jing Ziyan stood up to receive her as she saw her walking over.

    ¡°Oh yes, Sister Ziyan. It¡¯s been tough on you. How is he?¡± Tang Wutong asked softly.

    Jing Ziyan smiled and replied, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll pass him on to you. I¡¯ll return to rest now.¡±

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Tang Wutong acknowledged her words and saw Jing Ziyan out of the tent.

    After Jing Ziyan left, she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. Her breathing quickened.Am I really going to be with him the entire night? Everyone knows about it too.

    Nothing will happen. Didn¡¯t Guyi remain here for the entirety ofst night too? I can do the same!

    Tang Wutong slowly walked to Huo Yuhao¡¯s bedside and watched him in his deep sleep. His face was still as pale as ever, but it was less sallow than it was the previous night. His breathing had also be more rhythmic.

    He was still wearing what Xu Sanshi gave him at thest minute then. When she saw how bloodstained his shirt was, she couldn¡¯t help but recall Huo Yuhao¡¯s naked look when he helped her to bear the strike of the Light of the Death God. She turned slightly red from embarrassment.

    I shall help him clean up his body first.

    She filled a basin with clean water before returning to the tent. After that, she used her own basin to collect some hot water and adjusted the temperature of the water to a suitable temperature using the water in the other basin.

    She didn¡¯t use the towel in Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. She wasn¡¯t willing to admit to herself that Ye Guyi had used it to clean up Huo Yuhao the previous night, and thus she didn¡¯t want to use it at all.

    She used her own towel. After soaking the towel in warm water, she sat by Huo Yuhao¡¯s bedside and carefully unbuttoned his shirt.

    She shuddered slightly when she touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. Helping a guy to unbutton his shirt was indeed very embarrassing.

    Her face turned red from embarrassment, and her body had evidently warmed up too. Even the temperature in the tent seemed to have risen due to her embarrassment.

    After pausing for a moment, she decided to pinch his breast and slowly remove the front of his shirt. After this, she gently released her soul power, lifting Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and removing his shirt.

    After she was done, she discovered that there was ayer of sweat on her forehead.

    To a Soul Sage, this wasn¡¯t considered too tedious! However, she actually broke out in a sweat. How nervous must she be?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to release a blood fog, and some of the bloodstains on his body had already dried up. When she removed his shirt earlier, it was evident that many of the bloodstains had already adhered to his body. Tang Wutong used a little warm water to dab at the surface of his shirt, hoping to dissolve some of the dried bloodstains before removing them.

    She managed to keep Huo Yuhao¡¯s body levitated in the air using her soul power. After that, she released her Radiant Dragon God¡¯s Butterfly and used one side of its wings to lift his body. Following this, she quickly ducked down below him and use the moist towel to wipe off the bloodstains on his back.

    She started to perspire more and more, releasing a slight fragrance from her body. She was very focused as she did all this. Her face had turned red, but she felt a sense of achievement after cleaning Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. She was even feeling satisfied.

    She carefully ced him on the bed. It was time to wipe off the front of his body.

    She cleaned the towel in the warm water before wiping his face. After wiping his face, she wiped his brows.

    She felt cramping pains in her heart when she saw his pale face.He¡¯s really seriously injured!

    After wiping his face, she started wiping his neck before proceeding to his chest, arms, armpits, belly and waist. His body was soon very clean after Tang Wutong meticulously cleaned him up.

    ¡°Hoo¡ª¡± After she was finished, she let out a long breath. She had be much more rxed. She lifted her wrist and used her sleeves to wipe off her perspiration. After chuckling, she muttered to herself, ¡°So I¡¯m actually capable of waiting on others. If dad knew about this, I wonder what kind of reaction he¡¯d have.¡±

    However, her grin didn¡¯tst very long. This was because her gazended on Huo Yuhao¡¯s pants.

    I¡¯m done with his top. What about the bottom?

    Clean? Or not?

    She was in a difficult spot as she looked at his bloodstained pants. Even though she had taken a peek at his nude body that night, it was still different from the situation now! Everyone was in peril at that point in time, and couldn¡¯t care so much. However, they were alone in a tent right now. Even though he was in aa, an intimate atmosphere was slowly brewing in the tent right now.

    She was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao. Tang Wutong seemed to have been struck with an epiphany. She pulled the nket across the entire top half of his body and covered it up.

    She turned around and came to the front of his tent. She looked out, and only returned after verifying that there was no one around.

    After taking in a few deep breaths, Tang Wutong made her decision. She swiped her right hand over his belt before it broke. She pulled the nket down slightly, all the way until it covered his crotch. After that, she carefully lifted his body with her soul power, and used warm water to moisten the bloodstains on his pants. Following this, she slowly pulled down his pants.

    With the nket, she managed to cover his most vital area. At least nothing embarrassing was on disy. It was only after this that she wiped down his exposed legs.

    Watching the bloodstains disappear, Tang Wutong heaved a huge sigh of relief. Her forehead was covered in perspiration once again.

    She twisted her lips at Huo Yuhao before sticking out her tongue.This fellow is indeed tiring me out.

    What should I do next? How can I help him clean up that part of his body?After all, she was unmarried. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to clean up such a private part of a guy, even though she might be slightly fond of him. After hesitating for a moment, she immediately turned around and ran out. She went to call Xu Sanshi.

    When Xu Sanshi came over and saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s exposed legs, he almost burst outughing. However, he appeared to be veryposed on the surface.

    ¡°Senior Xu, I can¡¯t help him with that part. I¡¯ve already pulled his pants down. Please give him a hand.¡± As she spoke, Tang Wutong embarrassedly passed the towel in her hand to Xu Sanshi. After that, she turned around and ran away.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t make fun of her. She was already embarrassed enough. He knew exactly when to and when not to make jokes ¨C he knew what the limits were.

    After cleaning up Huo Yuhao¡¯s vital area, he helped him put on a clean set of pants.

    Looking at Tang Wutong¡¯s embarrassed face and the beads of sweat on the tip of her nose, Xu Sanshi concernedly asked, ¡°I¡¯m done. Wutong, are you fine? If you aren¡¯t, I can help you take care of him for a while.¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head gently and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Senior Xu, let me do it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, tell me if you need help.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Xu Sanshi turned around and left.

    Tang Wutong sat by his bedside and continued to watch Huo Yuhao as he slept. She let out a long breath. What she did earlier was even more tiring than cultivating for an entire day. It wasn¡¯t physically draining, but it was mentally tiring.

    She felt a sense of achievement as she saw how clean Huo Yuhao was.This guy is really good. He made me so tired. Hmph! When he wakes up, I¡¯m going to deal with him.

    As she sat by his bedside and watched him sleep, she rxed her mind and slowly started to fall asleep.

    Something like this wouldn¡¯t happen normally, but she was too tensed up earlier. Right now, she unwittingly felt a strong sense of lethargy when she rxed.

    Even Tang Wutong didn¡¯t know when she fell onto the bed. When she fell onto the bed, she squirmed, but didn¡¯t touch Huo Yuhao. She was like a kitten as she fell into a deep sleep.

    The sky turned darker and darker. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao gently moved. His right hand was trembling, and came into contact with Tang Wutong¡¯s hand.

    He subconsciously hooked her finger, and his breathing had evidently be faster. His lips were also shaking slightly.

    Ever since he had descended into a deep sleep that day, Huo Yuhao kept experiencing dreams and nightmares. Everything in the past reyed in his mind. His tragic childhood, tough period of cultivation in Shrek Academy, happy times with Wang Dong¡¯er, and their four fusion skills all surfaced in his mind. Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s departure and all sorts of pain also filled his head.

 Chapter 454.1 - Awakening, Realising

    <h4 ss>Chapter 454.1: Awakening, Realising</h4>

    Cool sensations suddenly coursed over his body amidst all that pain, and these sensations gradually extinguished the mes of agony within him. That refreshing feeling was exceptionallyfortable, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s nerves gradually rxed in his deep slumber. In his dream, Dong¡¯er had returned to his side and was leaning down next to him. He could smell her faint fragrance as he was holding her petite hand, and he could feel his heart calming downpletely. All the torturous pain and agony that he had sustained in the past were nothing with Dong¡¯er around, and everything was no longer painful as long as she was back. At least, there was a crisp sweetness after the bitterness.

    The first ray of sunlight seeped into the tent in the next morning and shone right on Tang Wutong¡¯s face. She wanted to raise her hand subconsciously to shade herself from the sunlight, but she realized that her hand felt a little heavy.

    Tang Wutong opened her eyes. Herrge and pinkish-blue eyes were still a little blurry and sleepy, and the first thing she saw was a pale but slightly rosy cheek.

    The blurriness in her eyes immediately vanished as her big beautiful eyes widened in an instant. Everything went nk in her mind.

    I¡­ where am I? Why is there someone sleeping next to me?She nearly kicked out, but she had a deep impression of this side profile that she was staring at, and she understood that this person couldn¡¯t be harmed.

    Tang Wutong forced herself to calm down andposed herself before she took a serious look at this person.It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s him? Huo Yuhao?

    Tang Wutong¡¯s memory from the previous night finally returned. She thought to herself, to her apparent surprise,I fell asleep next to him? And I slept here for the entire night? Even though this fellow is still unconscious, but¡­ but I slept with him for the entire night.

    Tang Wutong nced down at her hand. She was astonished as she discovered that all of the fingers on her right hand were tightly interlocked with Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand, as if that was how it was supposed to be.

    That can¡¯t be¡­ What are you doing, Tang Wutong?

    Tang Wutong sat up, embarrassed, as she swiftly pulled her hand back. She blushed from the embarrassment ¨CHe¡¯s still unconscious, and it¡¯s evident that he wasn¡¯t the one who reached over to grab me. Does this mean that not only did I sleep next to him, but I also decided to hold his hand? That¡­ that is just unbelievable.

    Tang Wutong ced her hands against her cheeks, which were burning up. She didn¡¯t dare to look at Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside the tent.

    Tang Wutong bounced to her feet as if she had been shocked. She stood beside the bed as she circted her soul power so that she could calm herself down.

    The curtain was lifted as Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan walked in from outside. They looked at Tang Wutong, who was standing beside the bed, and Jiang Nannan couldn¡¯t help butugh at her as she said, ¡°Wutong, even if you¡¯re taking care of Huo Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to keep standing up! How is he? Has anything changed?¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s back was facing them as she nodded and said, ¡°He¡¯s doing well. Everything¡¯s normal.¡±

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan came beside the bed. Xu Sanshi nced at Tang Wutong, and caught her embarrassed and blushed expression. From his perspective, she was clearly still feeling embarrassed about cleaning up Huo Yuhao during the previous night. He couldn¡¯t help butugh inside, but he didn¡¯t expose her.

    ¡°Eh, Yuhao¡¯splexion seems a lot better than before. Look, there¡¯s traces of rosiness on his face,¡± Jiang Nannan said tedly.

    Wasn¡¯t that right? Xu Sanshi looked down, and could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was much rosier than the past few days, while his breathing was evidently a lot thicker and more stable.

    ¡°Wutong, you take the best care of him! Seems like he¡¯ll recover very quickly,¡± Xu Sanshi praised her.

    ¡°Yes, I hope he will recover as soon as possible.¡± Tang Wutong answered subconsciously.

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°Wutong, you must be tired after taking care of him for the entire night. You should go back and rest. Sanshi and I will take turns to look after him today, in the day.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Tang Wutong nodded in their direction before she hurriedly stepped out. She raced into her own tent after exiting Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent.

    Jiang Nannan nced at the tent¡¯s curtain, which was still swaying a little. She muttered confusedly, ¡°Eh, why does she seem like she¡¯s escaping from something?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°Who knows? In the end, Yuhao is in such bad shape, and he can¡¯t do anything bad to her even if he wanted to. Nothing could have happened.¡±

    Jiang Nannan blushed as she red at him and said, ¡°Only you would think about doing bad things every day.¡±

    Xu Sanshi grabbed her around her slim waist and said, ¡°Did you not sayst night that ¡®bad things¡¯ actually feel quite good?¡±

    ¡°Psh! You¡¯re such an asshole. How can you say such things? If you keep going, stay away from me next time.¡± Jiang Nannan retorted angrily as she blushed even more.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll stop. I¡¯ll stop talking.¡± Xu Sanshi apologized again and again.

    His eyes suddenly widened as he spoke. That was because he suddenly noticed that the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth actually curved upward a little, as if he was¡­ smiling?

    Huo Yuhao recovered very quickly indeed, and he finally awakened from his deep slumber that same afternoon. Even though his body was still very weak, his mind was clear and awake, and that undoubtedly meant he was starting towards a path to speedy recovery.

    Xu Sanshi was taking care of Huo Yuhao in the afternoon. He had just fed Huo Yuhao some water before he lowered his voice and said menacingly, ¡°You little rascal ¨C did you hear something you were not supposed to hear this morning?¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t helpugh as he said, ¡°No! I didn¡¯t hear anything at all.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xu Sanshi stared at him suspiciously, ¡°But why did I feel like you were smiling this morning?¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Third senior brother, you must have a guilty conscience. What have you done this time?¡±

    ¡°Psh, psh. I am righteous and honest. Why would I have a guilty conscience? Right, Yuhao, let¡¯s not talk about that. Our mission can be considered sessfullypleted ¨C we have helped the Star Luo Empire regain the Ming Dou Mountain Range, which they can use to directly threaten the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s own territory. We have fulfilled our strategic aim. Should we go back once you¡¯ve recovered?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about time to go back. We don¡¯t yet know what the situation is like with the Heavenly Soul Empire. If the Heavenly Soul Empire ispletely conquered, the Sun Moon Empire will directly threaten the academy. We should return to the academy as quickly as possible once I¡¯m a little better.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Alright then, doesn¡¯t seem like we have another choice. Right, the Star Luo Empire has ordered us to be rewarded for our merit in battle, and many rewards have been bestowed upon us. We have epted all the mary rewards, but we declined offers of noble titles. Your title is a hereditary Marquis ¨C what do you n to do with that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Forget about the rest. This title of hereditary Marquis is useful to me, so I want that. How is the situation on the frontlines?¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°The Star Luo Empire¡¯s garrisoned in the Ming Dou Mountain Range after taking it back. They have sent several dozen small teams of soul masters to wreak havoc in the Sun Moon Empire. This is meant to attract the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attention, but we have no idea what this measure will achieve. We no longer participated in their military operations after that day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s alright. I trust that the White Tiger Duke won¡¯t make the same mistake with his eye for war strategies. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s elites are all here, and the Sun Moon Empire has to put in a lot of effort even if they deploy theirrge armies to attack the Ming Dou Mountain Range to retake it. Furthermore, their main forces are all concentrated in the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly. ¡°I think the Star Luo Empire won¡¯t be that much of a threat to the Sun Moon Empire. The Death God Douluo is too terrifying ¨C with her around, it will be very difficult to deal real damage to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Amenting and frustrated look appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. How could he not be aware of what Xu Sanshi had just told him? The Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui, was an Ultimate Douluo, and she possessed the powerful Bloody Demonpuppet as her martial soul. She was his teacher¡¯s old lover, and this senior was simply too powerful.

    Huo Yuhao could still remember that his teacher once said it was difficult for evil soul masters to be Titled Douluo, but if one such evil soul master eventually did be a Titled Douluo, then there would be a cmity.

    The Holy Ghost Church had been hiding away for so many years, and their strength had finally matured. They possessed evil soul masters who were also Titled Douluo, and they even had an evil soul master who was an Ultimate Douluo. She possessed the Death God Pagoda, which had probably be a ss 10 soul tool. Ye Xishui was almost invincible in the human world, and she was directly involved in this war. The Beast God Di Tian had scared her away this time ¨C but what about the next time?

    A single individual¡¯s strength might not be able to change the oue of a war, but a person with terrifying power such as hers was sufficient to turn the tides of battle!

    Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church still had the Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao, who was yet another Ultimate Douluo. The only two remaining Ultimate Douluo in the world were both aiding the Sun Moon Empire. This was terribly disadvantageous for the Douluo continent¡¯s three native empires.

    The bnce of this war hadpletely swung in favor of the Sun Moon Empire. The Star Luo Empire had regained the Ming Dou Mountain Range, but what about the future? What would the future bring? The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces were concentrated in the Heavenly Soul Empire, but the Death God Douluo was anchoring things down in the Sun Moon Empire, and it was hard to say how many of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soldiers and soul masters would be annihted.

    What was even more frightening was the fact that Ye Xishui was an evil soul master, and everyone could tell from the mental state that she had disyed the other day that her mind wasn¡¯t stable at all. Such a person wouldn¡¯t care about the deaths of normal citizens, and there was nothing at all that could threaten her.

    My strength is far from enough! If I can also be a Titled Douluo, and perhaps even a Transcendent Douluo, I might have a chance to stop her. But bing a Titled Douluo is so difficult.

    Huo Yuhao said nothing, and Xu Sanshi said, ¡°I have already sent the news back, and I have reported the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui¡¯s existence to the various elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. I think it won¡¯t be long before the academy might throw themselves into the war after all ¨C otherwise, the Sun Moon Empire will be unstoppable.¡±

 Chapter 454.2 - Awakening, Realising

    <h4 ss>Chapter 454.2: Awakening, Realising</h4>

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao returned from his contemtion and said, ¡°We should go back as quickly as possible. The Star Luo Empire isn¡¯t being aggressively pressured by the Sun Moon Empire on this side after all, and they can stabilize themselves for the time being. However, the Heavenly Soul Empire is probably in deep trouble. With the Death God Douluo around, I don¡¯t think the Star Luo Empire can be that effective even if they push into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. The academy probably has to make other ns.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Alright. You don¡¯t have to worry about so much ¨C your recovery is most important. Stop talking and take a rest.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao shut his eyes once more and quietly felt the changes in his body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had almost exploded from the pressure after he overused the Beast God, Di Tian¡¯s strength, but all that wasn¡¯t without benefit.

    The Beast God was controlling him back then, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness was still very much awake. Therefore, he could entirely feel how frighteningly powerful the Beast God¡¯s power was.

    That was what it felt like to be an Ultimate Douluo. This experience undoubtedly allowed Huo Yuhao to feel the aura of a top-tier individual before he had attained the necessary power and cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao could even feel that the Beast God had infused about eighty percent of his true body¡¯s soul power into him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways were all saturated when that happened, and his tremendous life energy couldn¡¯t keep up with the terrifyingly destructive power. This was the case even after the reverse scale that the Beast God had given him bore the brunt of the pressure.

    This part of his memory was very vivid and deep for him. He realized back then that Di Tian¡¯s soul power was different from his. Huo Yuhao was a Soul Sage, and his soul power was like sticky liquid that circted as and how he wanted. His soul power¡¯s density, purity, regenerative effects, and sustainability were all rtively good.

    However, Di Tian¡¯s soul power was like tiny ck holes connected together, and every ck hole contained frightening spatial power, while each unique space contained unimaginably terrifying strength. Everything was within Di Tian¡¯s control.

    Huo Yuhao had thought to himself back then,Is that the power of an Ultimate Douluo?It was very difficult for the human body to contain such terrifying and extraordinary soul power, and humans would have to rely on spatial power to contain their soul power. Furthermore, that spatial power had to take effect within one¡¯s own body. Everything was just so strange and mystical.

    Di Tian mentioned spatial power when he was battling Ye Xishui, and it was evident that she wasn¡¯t as good with spatial power as Di Tian was. They were both some of the most powerful individuals in the world, but there was still quite a gap between them. Huo Yuhao could feel that if Di Tian¡¯s true body was present, Ye Xishui would still ultimately be no match for Di Tian even if she leveraged the Death Pagoda.

    Di Tian wasn¡¯t known as the most powerful individual in the world for no reason.

    Huo Yuhao had told his four Spirits that his future aim was to challenge the Beast God and ultimately defeat him, before he would attempt to sense the call from the God realm.

    Huo Yuhao realized after his experience that he still had a long way to go. He was just too far away inparison to the most powerful individuals in the world.

    Huo Yuhao was rare prodigy. However, which individual who could be a Titled Douluo wasn¡¯t a prodigy?

    Ye Xishui, Mu En, and Long Xiaoyao were all the most talented individuals of their generation. Huo Yuhao still had a long way to go if he wanted to catch up with them, much less surpass them.

    Di Tian¡¯s power reyed in his mind. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel discouraged because of it. Instead, an intense desire was ignited in his heart ¨C the desire to be more powerful, to be stronger.

    Furthermore, for some reason, he realized after he had passed out twice that his spiritual state would improve every time he came to. During both times when he was unconscious, he felt as if Dong¡¯er had returned to his side, and that sensation felt extremely real.

    If it can be like that every time I pass out, then I don¡¯t mind even if I have to pass out every day!

    Huo Yuhao continued to think as the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile. He channeled his spiritual power and looked inward at his current state.

    The passageways in his body were reconnected, and dense life energy flourished through them, while his blood was flowing very smoothly. His soul power began to recover by itself after his passageways healed, and that was the strength of his body.

    Di Tian¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could take. He had used his body as a foundation in battle, and even if another Titled Douluo was in his ce, he or she probably wouldn¡¯t be in as good a shape as Huo Yuhao was. Even a Titled Douluo could explode from all the pressure, let alone a Soul Sage like Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reconnected passageways had be green from all that life energy nourishing them. There was no question that more of that tremendous life energy originated from his Life Guardian de than his own veins.

    The Life Guardian de had evolvedpletely after it consumed the Life Gold. It was a small carving knife at the start, but it had evolved into a dagger. It was nourished continuously within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and even Di Tian couldn¡¯t feel its existence. Di Tian had used his own strength to protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s organs when his body was severely hurt. Damaged passageways weren¡¯t much, and the power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s veins was enough for his passageways to recover by themselves. However, Huo Yuhao would be in deep trouble if his organs had erupted.

    What Di Tian didn¡¯t know was that the power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de was unleashed once more when it was guided by the Immortal Doctor Douluo¡¯s life energy. That pure life energy had baptized Huo Yuhao¡¯s body once more.

    Its effects this time were almost the same as when Huo Yuhao had first fused with it. His damaged passageways contained even more life energy. His healed passageways became tougher, and were filled with even more life energy.

    If this state continued, Huo Yuhao felt that he could return to normal after just three more days at the most.

    The experience of fighting against the Death God was exceptionally precious for him. At the same time, he understood that the protection that the Beast God¡¯s reverse scale conferred to him wasn¡¯t absolute. He was lucky this time ¨C if Ye Xishui hadn¡¯t been overly sensitive, he probably would have been in deep trouble, just as he would be if he was faced with an individual as powerful as an Ultimate Douluo.

    Even if he was faced with a normal Titled Douluo, his body would be severely injured from the burden it would have to take even if the Beast God defeated the Titled Douluo for him.

    Thinking about everything in hindsight was scary, but all this wasn¡¯t a bad thing for Huo Yuhao, because at least he was able to judge how much strength the Beast God could channel into his body, and how much his body could take. This would very beneficial for his attempts to utilize the Beast God¡¯s power in the future.

    The Beast God didn¡¯t just do bad things after he had bestowed the reverse scale upon him; he finally did something good. However, Huo Yuhao still reminded himself constantly that he wouldn¡¯t draw upon the Beast God¡¯s power if he could afford it. Otherwise, he would develop a reliance on it, and that would hinder his future improvements and cultivation.

    Soul power continued circting within his body. Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to control a small part of his soul power before he circted it in his dantian.

    Huo Yuhao recounted again and again how it was like when the Beast God had channeled soul power into his body. If he could create a ck hole like that, would his cultivation improve more quickly? Even if his cultivation didn¡¯t improve, what would it be like for his explosiveness in battle?

    Huo Yuhao began to circte that thread of soul power in his dantian as he contemted. He whirled andpressed it ¨C this seemed like where the Beast God¡¯s secrety, except utilizing spatial power was still a mystery for him.

    This thread of soul power wasn¡¯t that powerful, but it began to whirl increasingly quickly as Huo Yuhao deliberately controlled it with his spiritual power. This soul power was graduallypressed. From the beginning, it was like a fist, but it was graduallypressed into the size of a chicken egg, and then a hawthorn.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his liquid soul power felt like it was going to solidify after it had reached that level. Its rotation speed began to slow down due to thepression process.

    What¡¯s happening? Is my method wrong? But Di Tian¡¯s soul power was clearly formed by small ck holes that were rotating at high speed! Every ck hole contained spatial power and immense soul power. Is there something wrong with how I¡¯mpressing the soul power?

    Huo Yuhao infused even more spiritual power as he contemted, and forced that soul power to continue rotating more quickly. However, he was careful not topress it anymore.

    Huo Yuhao could gradually feel that something wasn¡¯t right. This thread of soul power was rotating even more quickly from his full effort, but solid grains began to appear in it. Those grains began to absorb the rest of the soul power inside his dantian as they rotated so that they could strengthen themselves. Those whirlpools that had beenpressed to the size of hawthorns began to erge once more.

    No!

    Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that something wasn¡¯t right. He instantly increased his control over his spiritual power so that he could make the whirlpools rotate slower.

    That was him ¨C if another Soul Sage was in his ce, that person couldn¡¯t possibly have extra spiritual power after adjusting his or her control over their soul power time and time again.

    The soul power¡¯s rotation speed slowed, and its absorption of external soul power naturally weakened. Its volume stopped increasing, but the solidified soul power also began to slowly melt and be liquid once more.

    Finally, the thread of soul power returned to normal under Huo Yuhao¡¯s careful control, and returned all the soul power in his dantian. It continued circting ording to the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s cultivation pathways.

    Huo Yuhao was utterly confused after his experiment. He couldn¡¯t possibly ask the Beast God, as Di Tian would be extremely happy that his soul power was increasing more slowly. How could Di Tian possibly tell him such a secret? However, the way Di Tian was circting his own soul power left a deep impression in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and he could faintly feel that this way of circting soul power was the method that he would ultimately reach.

 Chapter 454.3 - Awakening, Realising

    <h4 ss>Chapter 454.3: Awakening, Realising</h4>

    Doing experiments on his body here was far too dangerous; a single misstep would be equivalent to creating a bomb in his body. Huo Yuhao decided that, after his body had recovered, he would channel his soul power out of his body and control it outside. That should be no problem with his spiritual power. At the very least, he had to figure out the secret of how soul power and spatial power fused together. He would have to ask Elder Xuan for the rest after he returned to the academy. Even though Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t an Ultimate Douluo, he was still a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo after all, so he should also be working in the same direction.

    His body was getting better by the second, and his passageways were repairing themselves continuously. Huo Yuhao could get out of bed himself by nightfall.

    However, he didn¡¯t get to eat much for dinner due to his physical state. He ate arge bowl of nourishing meat soup and some noodles that were cooked until they were very soft.

    Everyone from Shrek who was sitting in the canteen nced at Huo Yuhao again and again. What a miracle ¨C what was happening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was simply a miracle!

    He was someone whose passageways were almostpletely shattered. Not only did he not die, but it had only been three or four days, and he could already get up and walk? What was that if not a miracle? They would have inferred that he had an undying body if they hadn¡¯t known him so well.

    Xu Sanshi stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s pale expression and said, ¡°Yuhao, who are you going to assign to take care of you tonight?¡±

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu blushed when they heard his words. Tang Wutong was drinking her soup, and her spoon quivered faintly as she spilled some soup back into her bowl.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. We are inside the Northwestern Field Army¡¯s main camp, and we are very safe. I can move around by myself too, so I don¡¯t need someone to take care of me. Thank you, everyone, for the past few days, and I know I¡¯ve also worried you. My body willpletely recover after two more days, and then we can return to the academy.¡±

    Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu seemed a little dejected when they heard him say that he didn¡¯t need anyone to take care of him, because that meant that they no longer had any chances to be close to him. Tang Wutong heaved a deep sigh of relief. She didn¡¯t even take a single nce at Huo Yuhao throughout dinner ¨C every time she thought about wiping and cleaning Huo Yuhao the previous night, she would be uncontrobly embarrassed. She couldn¡¯t even regret it.Why did I help him do something like that the other night? That¡¯s just unbelievable.

    Xu Sanshi nced at all threedies, and a strange smile appeared on his face. ¡°Alright, then you have to be careful tonight. Right, Wutong is very near you, and you can call her if you feel that something is wrong with your body. She should be able to hurry over as soon as possible ¨C right, Wutong?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Tang Wutong raised her head and looked at Xu Sanshi, and then at Huo Yuhao. Her expression was clearly a little rigid as she nodded.

    Huo Yuhao thought she wasn¡¯t very willing as he watched her expression and hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Wutong. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tang Wutong acknowledged before she lowered her head once more.

    Everyone returned to their tents to rest after dinner. The Northwestern Field Army¡¯s camp was very empty at this moment, as most of the army had already been deployed into the Ming Dou Mountain Range. The White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu had to direct everything over there, so they weren¡¯t around either.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body felt a lot better as he crossed his legs and sat on his bed. His passageways had reconnectedpletely, and the next thing he had to do was get used to his new passageways. At the same time, he had to let his passageways consolidate and strengthen themselves with nourishment from his life energy. They should be able to recoverpletely by then.

    Life Gold is truly a mystical existence!

    Huo Yuhao controlled the Life Guardian de with his mind as green light flickered, and it suddenly appeared in front of him and hovered in the air, point-down.

    The room was a little dim, but the dagger¡¯s appearance instantly tainted everything with green hues. Green light weaved around the room as dense life energy rippled.

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand, and the dagger ended up in his grip. The de wasn¡¯t very long ¨C about seven inches ¨C and the grip was about four inches long. The Life Guardian de could only be considered a small dagger.

    However, Huo Yuhao immediately felt a thick wave of life energy fill his body as he gripped the dagger, and everything in his body shone with green colors.

    He leapt down from his bed, and removed a tough piece of metal from his storage ring. Huo Yuhao swung the dagger in his hand, and green light shed over the metal before it vanished into thin air just like that, as if it had never existed.

    A beam of light shed on the Life Guardian de, and it didn¡¯t change much, but Huo Yuhao could feel that it now contained some life energy inside that didn¡¯t belong to it.

    Huo Yuhao used his mind once more, and the Golden Dragon Spear flew out from his Eye of Destiny. The Life Guardian de pressed against the Golden Dragon Spear, and the Golden Dragon Spear flickered and absorbed that life energy that belonged to some other object.

    Something urred to Huo Yuhao ¨C just as Wang Qiu¡¯er had said before, the Life Guardian de and the Golden Dragon Spear were clearlyplementary to each other.

    Life energy absorbed by the Golden Dragon Spear could sustain the Life Guardian de, while life energy absorbed by the Life Guardian de from objects could be used to replenish the Golden Dragon Spear. If these two items could bepletely fused together, then their strengths would be improved ¨C perhaps, their strengths would even be increased to a frightening level.

    The Life Guardian de belonged to him, while the Golden Dragon Spear belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er, so he couldn¡¯t attempt something like this before. Furthermore, the Life Guardian de was just a small carving knife back then, and its volume was too small. But now, the de¡¯s bulk had increased, and both items belonged to Huo Yuhao ¨C could he attempt this now?

    Huo Yuhao pinched the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s tip as he contemted, before he pressed it against the Life Guardian de¡¯s grip.

    The Life Guardian de shone with faint green light, while the Golden Dragon Spear radiated faint ripples of golden light. Those lights intertwined and fused with each other.

    I can¡¯t just tie them together, can I? A simple connection like that cannot unleash their potential as contemporary to each other! What do I have to do for this to work?

    Huo Yuhao was stuck. He could sense that his choice was right, but how he should fuse them together was another tough question.

    Huo Yuhao frowned as he descended into deep thought. The Life Guardian de radiated tremendous life energy, while the Golden Dragon Spear seemed a lot more reserved. There seemed to be golden light flowing inside the Golden Dragon Spear¡¯s deep golden hue ¨C perhaps that was because it had tasted the blood of many, and the spear itself effused a somber and deste aura.

    Both items had the same characteristic of absorbing life energy, but they were different in that the Life Guardian de absorbed life energy from objects and converted it into life energy that humans or animals needed, while the Golden Dragon Spear did the opposite.

    How could these two be fused together?

    Huo Yuhao continued contemting as he pressed both items together, and he deeply felt their transformations as they were pressed against each other.

    Huo Yuhao quickly discovered that neither changed too much when they were pressed together. They didn¡¯t reject each other, but they didn¡¯t attract each other either. They seemed like two distinct objects that couldn¡¯t be simpler, and nothing much happened when they were pressed together.

    Huo Yuhao took out another piece of metal. He allowed the Life Guardian de to absorb its life energy ¨C yes, something began to change.

    The Life Guardian de shed once before golden light circted around the Golden Dragon Spear. However, this didn¡¯t take longer than an instant before the two items finished interacting.

    Seems like I can¡¯t forcefully fuse them together. At least, I don¡¯t have the ability to do so at this point.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head exasperatedly. His Eye of Destiny flickered and reabsorbed the Golden Dragon Spear. Right at this moment, an idea struck him ¨C if he didn¡¯t have the ability to fuse them together, could they fuse together through destiny within his Eye of Destiny?

    The Eye of Destiny contained the mystical power of destiny, and that was a power that not even the Beast God, Di Tian could understand. The Beast God couldn¡¯t detect the Life Guardian de¡¯s existence before this because it was contained within Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    Huo Yuhao had stored and nourished both items in his Eye of Destiny separately before this, and he didn¡¯t try letting them interact with each other. What if he changed his methods?

    With that, Huo Yuhao immediately reabsorbed the Life Guardian de into his Eye of Destiny, and he controlled and shifted it so that it was ced in the same ce as the Golden Dragon Spear.

    He didn¡¯t feel anything special. They were both under the influence of the power of destiny, but they were just sitting there calmly ¨C they were no different from how they were on the outside.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried, as he knew that good things only came to those who waited. For him, both items fusing together could possibly give him an unexpected surprise, while it would be nothing much for him even if those items didn¡¯t fuse. They were both Huo Yuhao¡¯s trump cards on their own.

    Huo Yuhao finished dealing with the two things that could almost be considered godly weapons, and his thoughts returned to his recollection of Di Tian¡¯s soul power.

    His body hadn¡¯tpletely recovered at this moment, but his spiritual power had almostpletely recovered. Soul power also flourished in his body.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to experiment within his body because he would be in big trouble if something went amiss. However, everything was different outside his body. Even though Huo Yuhao knew that he should wait until his body had fully recovered before undergoing this experiment, he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation right now. His desire for power and strength became even stronger after facing off against Ye Xishui, and understanding and grasping the secret to Di Tian¡¯s soul power would undoubtedly be very helpful for his improvements in cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before he decided to begin his experiment. He was doing it externally anyway, and he wouldn¡¯t hurt himself as long as he controlled his soul power appropriately. He could stop his experiment thest time he attempted it inside his body, so he should have no problems outside his body.

    Huo Yuhao assured himself before he immediately started his experiment.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, and a thread of soul power gradually appeared. The Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s soul power was presented as a faint white color; this was his purest soul power because it didn¡¯t interact with either of his martial souls.

 Chapter 456.1 - The Experiment Fails?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 456.1: The Experiment Fails?</h4>

    The funnel¡¯s volume and rotation speed were also increasingly continuously along with its soul power. Its gravitational force became stronger as it becamerger, and even the stones and sand around it were being pulled in its direction. However, it was immediately ground to dust by the powerful soul power.

    The space around the tiny funnel slowly began to contort even more. Its volume was still increasing as it spun, but its rotation seemed a little irregr, while the funnel itself was no longer stable. It was trembling faintly.

    I¡¯m losing control!

    An ominous feeling surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart as he pounced behind a small hill on the side.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom¡ª¡± Intense explosions could be heard as a vigorous air flow rushed over his head. The soundwaves were deafening as intense soul power undtions erupted in all directions. However, everything settled down very quickly.

    Huo Yuhao looked up at where the funnel was before, and he could see an enormous crater that was thirty meters in diameter and more than ten meters deep. A hurricane seemed to have swept over therge crater, and he could see many marks like de cuts around it.

    This¡­

    Huo Yuhao, even with his full strength, couldn¡¯t do any better.

    However, he didn¡¯t even use ten percent of his soul power.

    High-speed rotation andpression were undoubtedly the reasons why the tiny funnel had be so strong. However, the funnel became very unstable when he lost control of it.

    There were clear spatial undtions and contortions around the funnel. However, there was a clear gap between that and the Beast God¡¯s ck holes. That was probably because he didn¡¯t have enough soul power.

    It was no wonder the Beast God was so formidable ¨C he had stored so much soul power in that state in his body. It would be a surprise if he wasn¡¯t that frighteningly powerful.

    Huo Yuhao understood that controlling such power was far too difficult with his current strength. However, understanding and experiencing the principles concerning this was very beneficial for his future cultivation, so that he didn¡¯t take any long roads.

    He decided to stop experimenting, because he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could distance himself from the pull of the funnel using Instant Teleportation if the funnel became stronger than before. What would happen if he couldn¡¯t? That meant he could only detonate it prematurely. Otherwise, the ultimate result would be that his soul power would be sucked dry, or perhaps the funnel would swallow everything. The funnel would increase to an even more frightening state before a tremendous explosion would be triggered.

    Huo Yuhao had already observed and learned a lot today. As for his next experiment, he felt that it would be a lot safer if he attempted it after he had returned to the academy.

    Huo Yuhao rushed back to the army camp. The explosion from before was quite loud, but the army camp was ultimately rtively far away, while he had also chosen a valley in the mountains. That was the reason why nothing much happened in the army camp.

    He silently snuck back to his own tent, but was startled when he lifted his curtain because there was actually someone else in his tent.

    Tang Wutong was frowning as she stood in the center of the tent and asked as he walked in, ¡°Where did you go?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated momentarily as he stammered, ¡°I went to the toilet!¡±

    Tang Wutong retorted angrily. ¡°Do you need to spend one hour on the toilet?¡±

    ¡°I have constipation¡­¡± Huo Yuhao answered feebly.

    ¡°You!¡± Tang Wutong grunted furiously as she turned to leave.

    ¡°Hey, how did you know I wasn¡¯t in my tent?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously.

    Tang Wutong had already stomped to the entrance of his tent. She paused and replied, ¡°I was afraid that something would happen to you, so I decided to visit you tonight, and discovered that you weren¡¯t here anymore. Where did you go?¡±

    Huo Yuhao could tell that her voice was softening, and Dong¡¯er¡¯s beautiful face surfaced in his mind once more. His heart softened as he spoke the truth, ¡°I went to experiment with a method of controlling soul power. It wasn¡¯t very convenient to do it inside the army camp, so I decided to go outside.¡±

    Tang Wutong turned around and stared at him in shock. ¡°Your body is already like that ¨C why are you still doing experiments? What if something happened? Couldn¡¯t you have just waited for two more days?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ alright, I made a mistake,¡± Huo Yuhao admitted his mistake conscientiously.

    Tang Wutong grunted and said, ¡°Sleep early. Good night,¡± And she walked away after that.

    Huo Yuhao was in a little bit of a daze as he watched her departing profile.Her attitude towards me seems a little better than before! Unfortunately, she¡¯s not Dong¡¯er ¨C how fantastic would everything have been if she were Dong¡¯er!

    Huo Yuhaomented in his mind as he sat back on his bed and quietly recalled every detail of his experiment.

    Two days quickly passed as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body gradually recovered. Positive news came back from the frontlines ¨C the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s internal territories were indeed empty, while the White Tiger Duke¡¯s war strategy was extremely sessful. The soul master legions that had dispersed into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories were wreaking havoc everywhere, and they caused great damage to the Sun Moon Empire. The Star Luo Empire had more soul masters than the number of soul engineers that the Sun Moon Empire had brought back, and this disparity was even wider in terms of the number of powerful individuals. The Sun Moon Empire was badly bruised and battered as the Star Luo Empire overran several of their cities.

    However, the White Tiger Duke governed his army very strictly. Normal citizens were not to be harmed after the city had fallen, and their armies would pull out of the city after looting and piging the governing body¡¯s granaries and armories.

    Conquering cities wasn¡¯t the aim of their battle strategy, and wreaking excessive destruction wasn¡¯t within the White Tiger Duke¡¯s personality either. Piging resources was a lot more effective ¨C furthermore, doing so could also replenish the Star Luo Empire¡¯s own expenses.

    Everyone who participated in the strategy were soul masters, and many of them had storage soul tools. Piging was like a gentle breeze for them.

    Quickly, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s eastern borders were in a state of emergency.

    Even though their intel was shut off and they didn¡¯t know about the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s response, or about the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s situation, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s operations would undoubtedly relieve the situation.

    The White Tiger Duke sent letters back several times to inquire about Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical state. After he made sure that Huo Yuhao was fine, he even personally wrote amendation for Huo Yuhao for his contributions to the Star Luo Empire. The title of Marquis had also been conferred to Huo Yuhao.

    Xu Sanshi and the others rested and got ready for another day, and they made sure Huo Yuhao had recoveredpletely before he wrote a letter to the White Tiger Duke to bid their farewells. All eight of them then departed the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army camp and journeyed back toward Shrek Academy.

    Both the White Tiger Duke and Princess Jiujiu didn¡¯t want them to leave. However, the war situation at the frontlines was of the utmost priority, so they couldn¡¯t take time out to attempt to keep the eight of them here. Furthermore, they understood that these people from Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t be kept. Fortunately, both parties had established an amiable rtionship after their missions ¨C especially so after Huo Yuhao epted his title of Marquis. This undoubtedly meant that Huo Yuhao was admitting he was a soul master from the Star Luo Empire.

    Everyone flew through the air. They came as eight, and they returned as eight. Huo Yuhao had practically returned from the dead, but everyone managed to return with their lives. However, everyone had experienced the cruelty of war. This was especially so after the top-tier individuals directly participated in the war.

    The Death God Douluo Ye Xishui never appeared again after she departed. At least, the Star Luo Empire had yet to encounter that terrifying Ultimate Douluo after they invaded the Sun Moon Empire. But no matter what, this Ultimate Douluo was like an enormous shadow that loomed over the Star Luo Empire¡¯s head. Her appearance would lead to rivers of blood.

    The situation had descended intoplete chaos. The eight of them were returning to the academy to protect it, and that was what they absolutely had to do.

    Even though their individual strengths weren¡¯t much for Shrek Academy as a whole, Huo Yuhao¡¯s status was special, and his presence could even allow Shrek Academy to link up with the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts for aid. If that was the case, Shrek Academy would be able to hold their own against the Sun Moon Empire if it was invaded.

    They maintained a strict formation as they flew through the air. Huo Yuhao flew in the center, but his eyes were a littleckadaisical.

    More urately put, he had been in this state for the past few days. Whether he was walking, sitting, flying, or perhaps even eating, he would have a dazed and listless demeanor. Hispanions were a little worried about him, but he would always say that he was just contemting some things when they asked.

    The truth was, he wasn¡¯t lying ¨C he was contemting some things that were extremely important to him. That tiny funnel that he was experimenting with was naturally the most important item amongst those things.

    Huo Yuhao had officially concluded his experiment¡¯s results after hisst experiment. Even though he didn¡¯t manage to create a ck hole like Di Tian¡¯s soul power in the end, the entire experimental process allowed him to discover andplete things that he had never known about.

    For instance, soul power would generate tremendous gravitational force once it waspressed into a solid state, and its absorption of external soul power would be stronger. This point was very important for his future cultivation.

    He was a Soul Sage, and his soul power had be liquid at this point. His liquid soul power¡¯s viscosity would increase as his cultivation increased ¨C wasn¡¯t that distinctly simr to what his soul power was like when hepressed it during the experiment? Furthermore, he had known about this principle a long time ago, that soul masterspressed the soul power inside their body continuously as their soul power increased, before more soul power would be stored. Soul masters¡¯ martial souls would naturally be stronger if their martial souls fused with stronger soul power.

    Elder Mu had told Huo Yuhao before that soul masters¡¯ soul power would be continuously umted andpressed as they became stronger, and only when they became Titled Douluo would things begin to change.

    However, Elder Mu didn¡¯t tell him much about Titled Douluo. That wasn¡¯t because he forgot about those things ¨C Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was still very low at that point, and Elder Mu feared that Huo Yuhao would attempt to run before he could walk.

    Huo Yuhao recalled what Elder Mu had told him. ording to Elder Mu, a soul master¡¯s soul power would reach the limit of its conversion from liquid to solid as he or she reached the pinnacle of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, which was Rank 89, while Titled Douluo would probably have entirely solid soul power.

 Chapter 456.2 - The Experiment Fails?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 456.2: The Experiment Fails?</h4>

    One of the most prominent characteristics of solid-state soul power was probably the fact that they could leverage the origin energy of heaven and earth in the air better. Huo Yuhao had already felt this in his experiment from before.

    Even if the solid-state soul power didn¡¯t absorb the soul master¡¯s own soul power, it would still continuously absorb the origin energy in the air by itself. The pertinent soul skill¡¯s strength would therefore increase throughout this process.

    This experiment was equivalent to opening a door to another world for Huo Yuhao, and it allowed him to see stranger things regarding soul masters. The first thing he wanted to do when he returned to the academy was to seek out Elder Xuan so that he could answer his questions and clear up his confusion.

    ¡°Hey, are you alright? Why are you always in such a daze? Did your injuries this time damage your brain?¡± Tang Wutong was flying beside him, and she couldn¡¯t help but ask him that question.This fellow has been like this over the past few days. Everyone is worried about him, but they can¡¯t really press him any further for fear of upsetting him. He keeps saying that¡¯s he¡¯s fine, he¡¯s alright ¨C but he doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s alright at all!

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was deep in thought, and his thoughts became a little jumbled when he heard Tang Wutong¡¯s voice. He frowned a little and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just thinking about some things.¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes and said, ¡°What do you have to think about, that you have to do that for a few days? It¡¯s fine if something is wrong with you ¨C just treat it as quickly as possible. Don¡¯t force yourself!¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Nothing is wrong with me. I¡¯m perfectly fine. There are some questions that I need to think more about, so don¡¯t interrupt my train of thought.¡± With that, he continued flying forward as he began to contemte once more.

    This guy!Tang Wutong red at him, but he didn¡¯t respond at all.He doesn¡¯t recognize my good intentions at all. Hmph!

    Everyone flew continuously until midday before Xu Sanshi, who had taken point, suggested for everyone to descend and have a rest. It was quite a coincidence that they descended onto a spot next to a wide river.

    This enormous river was a hundred meters wide, and the flow of the water was very rapid. Even though it wasn¡¯t very clear, one would consider the bluish-green river water¡¯s rity to be decent if its volume was taken into ount.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I want to eat grilled fish. This river is so huge ¨C I¡¯m sure there are enough fish here. They must be very fat and juicy,¡± Nan Qiuqiu eximed joyfully.

    ¡°Ah? Grilled fish?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at her, and his eyes looked a little nk.

    Xu Sanshi smiled and said, ¡°Yes, Yuhao. Your grilled fish is the best in the world. Give us another taste of it! Everyone will probably get busy once we get back to the academy. You should also stop thinking and rest your mind a little bit. You should switch up your thoughts once in a while no matter what you¡¯re contemting.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t really decline his request as he saw everyone¡¯s hopeful eyes. He nodded and went ahead to catch some fish.

    Tang Wutong secretly swallowed some saliva as she heard that they were eating grilled fish. She could still vividly recall the aromatic fragrance from thest time.

    Catching fish was like a hot knife on butter for a Soul Sage. Huo Yuhao chose to use the simplest and most brutal method.

    He froze some of the river¡¯s water before he transformed it into icy spheres and detonated them in the water with Ice Explosion. The vigorous shockwaves flipped arge amount of fish out, and Huo Yuhao used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to pull them onto the shore.

    The entire process took a little more than ten seconds, and he proceeded to then process the fish. Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu had already gone to collect firewood, while the others helped out in their own way to prepare rations and start a fire.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s movement was extremely quick. His deep thoughts over the past few days were very helpful to him, and he had an increasingly strong feeling that he had found the right path. Therefore, he was eager to continue thinking.

    The fish were processed after a short while, and a fire had been started. The grilling had begun.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t do anything different from thest time. He was still very familiar with the techniques for grilling fish, and grilled fish quickly appeared one after another in hispanions¡¯ hands for them to enjoy.

    ¡°Oh, this is good ¨C it¡¯s so good,¡± Nan Qiuqiu eximed tedly as she ate.

    Tang Wutong was also eating, but she realized that today¡¯s grilled fish seemed a little different from thest time when they were traveling toward the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army. The fish still tasted fresh and delicious, while the fire had been controlled extremely well ¨C but something seemed to be missing. In a more exaggerated sense, the grilled fish seemed tock spirit.

    Tang Wutong sat down beside Jiang Nannan. She couldn¡¯t help but whisper, ¡°Sister Nannan, do you see any difference between the grilled fish today and the one we had thest time?¡±

    Jiang Nannan was momentarily stunned. ¡°Difference? Nope! The fish is very tasty. You don¡¯t think it¡¯s nice?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head and replied, ¡°Not that ¨C I just feel like something seems to be missing from thest time.¡±

    Jiang Nannan was dazed for another moment before a deep look appeared in her eyes. She whispered, ¡°I think you¡¯re right. Huo Yuhao thought you were Dong¡¯er when he grilled fish for everyone thest time. He gave voice to the emotions in his inner heart when he was grilling for you. Afterwards, it should be because he realized that you¡¯re not Dong¡¯er, so he has treated you like everyone else.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Tang Wutong stared at Jiang Nannan, surprised. She turned her eyes toward the grilled fish in her hands.

    The fish is missing emotions? It¡¯s missing a spirit? Can emotions be infused into a fish? In that case, his feelings for Wang Dong¡¯er must be very deep!

    For some reason, envy seemed to develop in her heart as her thoughts stopped here.

    Everyone was satisfied after eating the grilled fish, and they continued their journey.

    It was midnight when they returned to Shrek City. Xu Sanshi and the others went back to the Tang Sect, while Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong went to Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao was the group leader, so he had to report the results of their expedition to Elder Xuan. Tang Wutong didn¡¯t belong to the Tang Sect, and she was staying in Shrek Academy in the first ce.

    Darkness permeated the skies. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯t flying anymore as they walked toward Shrek Academy, as that was a form of respect for the academy.

    Shrek City had transformed quite a bit over this period of time. With the full effort of the academy and the Douluo continent¡¯s three native empires, the new Shrek City¡¯s construction speed was one of the fastest in the continent.

    ording to their current speed, they would need one more year at most before the Shrek City¡¯s overall structure would take shape, and they would need another three years after that before the new city would bepletely established.

    Once the new Shrek City was constructed, its scale would rival that of Star Luo City and Heaven Dou City. It would be second only to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City, which was the number-one city on the continent.

    The academy¡¯s main gates were already shut. However, that didn¡¯t pose a problem to Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong at all. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to disturb anyone, so he used Imitation before he concealed both Tang Wutong and himself, and they discreetly leapt over the wall.

    The Sea God¡¯s Lake came into view in the distance. Huo Yuhao stopped as he arrived at thekeside, and Tang Wutong did the same.

    The night sky was impressive tonight. Moonlight shone across the Sea God¡¯s Lake, and it cast light on theke¡¯s clear ripples and waves. The moonlight was gentle, while all sorts of vegetation stacked on each other by thekeside. The Sea God¡¯s Ind was barely visible in the distance as if this were a paradise on earth.

    Huo Yuhao began to feel dazed as he saw everything in front of him. He could still clearly remember the time when he had realized that Dong¡¯er was a girl ¨C weren¡¯t they on Sea God¡¯s Lake?

    The Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. Everything that had happened that day left an extremely deep impression in his mind.

    Idiot ¨C I¡¯m her idiot. I was with her for such a long time, yet I didn¡¯t realize she was a girl. That was really stupid of me!

    He recounted all the sweetness and tenderness he had shared with Dong¡¯er, and the corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile. He felt as if he could see Dong¡¯er once more under the moonlight.

    Dong¡¯er, have you really been beside me this entire time? But why don¡¯t you show yourself to see me?

    Huo Yuhao reached inside as he reminisced, and retrieved the handkerchief that he had treasured this entire time.

    Tang Wutong was but momentarily stunned by the beautiful scenery on Sea God¡¯s Lake as she arrived by thekeside. She was about to return to Sea God¡¯s Ind, but she immediately realized that Huo Yuhao was in a daze once more. Except, this was different from thest time. The way he was dazed from before seemed very muddleheaded as if he were very deep in thought.

    However, his eyes were very gentle in this moment, much like the moonlight reflecting off theke. The corner of his mouth was curled upward, and there was a slight smile on his face.

    She instantly froze when she saw him reach into his shirt and take out a handkerchief that felt extremely familiar to her.That¡­ isn¡¯t that my handkerchief?

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes as he held onto the handkerchief and slowly took a deep breath through his nose. The moist air on thekeside and the clear and fresh smell of vegetation wafted into his nose, while the handkerchief¡¯s crisp aroma that he had yearned for was also part of all those refreshing smells that he was familiar with. He felt as if his heart and mind were both intoxicated as his entire body rxed.

    Tang Wutong was just watching him from beside him. She blushed a little ¨Cwhy is he holding my handkerchief? Does that mean he knows that I was sleeping beside him that night?

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes as he looked down at the handkerchief in his hands and heaved a faint sigh. ¡°Dong¡¯er, when will you return to my side? Have you really forgotten about me, or do you have some hidden troubles? If you have any problems, why don¡¯t you let me face them together with you?¡±

    Bastard! He thinks my handkerchief belongs to her.Tang Wutong was so upset that she started to pout.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely immersed in his wonderful memories. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t paying attention to Tang Wutong¡¯s emotional changes. However, she didn¡¯t disturb him and was just standing next to him.

    This bastard ¨C he¡¯s quite concentrated in his love.Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but recall the first time she had met Huo Yuhao. He almost immediately charged at her and embraced her in his arms, and that embrace was burning with passion and filled with emotions. Tang Wutong was ovee with embarrassment at that time, but she felt as if she were about to melt in his arms. She began to feel a little feverish when she recalled that moment.

 Chapter 456.3 - The Experiment Fails?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 456.3: The Experiment Fails?</h4>

    Huo Yuhao finally came to from his deep dream after a long while, and he nced at Tang Wutong with an apologetic look in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I phased out. Thank you.¡±

    Tang Wutong was momentarily stunned. ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for not waking me from my dream. It feels great to be home ¨C let¡¯s go.¡± With that, he soared into the sky like arge bird gliding across Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    He tapped gently on the surface of theke, and a small piece of ice formed underneath his feet and supported the weight of his body. He continued gliding forward as he strode across theke like rolling clouds and flowing water.

    Tang Wutong followed behind him. She didn¡¯t step on those ice pieces but quietly flew behind him instead. Huo Yuhao glowed with spirit, health, and vigor when he spoke his thanks to her. She seemed to have seen Huo Yuhao in such a state when they left Shrek Academy ¨C back then, he still thought she was Wang Dong¡¯er. Now, that Huo Yuhao that she recalled seeing seemed to have returned.

    Tang Wutong wanted to tell Huo Yuhao that the handkerchief belonged to her, but she erased that thought from her head when she witnessed the vigor and vitality in his eyes. Even though it was just a small thread of hope, some was better than none.

    They stepped onto Sea God¡¯s Ind. Huo Yuhao went to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, while Tang Wutong returned to her own ce. Huo Yuhao would be doing the reporting, so she didn¡¯t have to follow him.

    Huo Yuhao stood in front of the Golden Tree and knelt down in front of it before going to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He respectfully kowtowed thrice toward the Golden Tree.

    ¡°I have returned, teacher. Even though you might find this hard to believe, I did meet Ye Xishui on my expedition. She is now the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Death God Douluo, and she is an evil soul master who is also an Ultimate Douluo. She is likely to be the continent¡¯s first ss 10 soul engineer.¡±

    Faint golden light rippled from the Golden Tree, and dense elements of light were clearly visible. These undtions were extremely intense at first before they returned toplete calm.

    ¡°Teacher, did you hear me?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed joyfully.

    The Golden Tree no longer gave him any signs. Faint golden hues radiated gently, and everything seemed to return to tranquility.

    ¡°Elder Mu can¡¯t answer you anymore. He released his strength thest time, and his spirit has been damaged. He can only nurture himself inside the Golden Tree. Yuhao, were your words really true?¡±

    Elder Xuan had arrived beside Huo Yuhao, and his face was ovee with solemnity.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and got to his feet. He recounted everything that had happened when he faced off against Ye Xishui and everything else that he had heard and seen on his expedition in front of the Golden Tree.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression turned even cker when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. He nced at the Golden Tree and said, ¡°Follow me inside.¡±

    Elder Xuan brought Huo Yuhao into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. They didn¡¯t wait in the main hall, but Elder Xuan brought him directly into his own room.

    ¡°Sit down,¡± Elder Xuan pointed at a chair inside the room.

    Huo Yuhao walked over to sit down and said apologetically, ¡°I apologize for disturbing your rest bying sote in the night.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and said, ¡°How can I have the mood to rest? The situation in the continent has suddenly be so deplorable. I never thought that the Sun Moon Empire has hidden such deep secrets.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked, ¡°Back when I was at the Star Luo Empire¡¯s frontlines, I heard that the Heavenly Soul Empire has lost a lot of territory, and even the Heaven Dou City has been lost. What is the situation like now?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°The situation is terrible. The Heavenly Soul Empire has already lost two-thirds of their territory to the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire had to task some of their soldiers to handle their conquered territories, and they also had to pacify the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s citizens ¨C if not for those reasons, the Sun Moon Empire would have conquered every inch of the Heavenly Soul Empire. The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s remaining soldiers have already rendezvoused with the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire, and they are holding on to thest of their territories. However, it will be extremely difficult for them to defend it. The Heavenly Soul Empire has already sent messengers to the academy for aid. The Dou Ling Empire has also started to send their armies into the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t overly surprised, as he had already predicted such a situation. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s thoughts were very simple ¨C they hoped to keep their enemies out of their borders and keep the battle in the Heavenly Soul Empire. That would evidently be more beneficial for them. Therefore, it was natural that they were sending their armies forward. Otherwise, the Dou Ling Empire would end up like the Star Luo Empire if the Heavenly Soul Empire was destroyed. They would have to prepare to suffer the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s cannon fire at any moment.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire sending for aid from the academy was also expected. However, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s nation-protecting sect, the Body Sect, couldn¡¯t protect them against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s assault. How much stronger could Shrek Academy be than the Body Sect?

    Shrek Academy would definitely be stronger in terms of overall strength. However, Shrek was an academy, not a sect. The academy didn¡¯t have the samemon interests as the Body Sect. The academy¡¯s elders naturally wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but the teachers and students didn¡¯t have a duty to fight for the academy. Even if they agreed to, the academy¡¯s higher levels would definitely have to consider the safety of these teachers and students ¨C quite unlike themon interest shared within sects.

    Therefore, Elder Xuan had been very hesitant these days about the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s request for aid, and he hadn¡¯t sent out any reinforcements yet.

    Reinforcements were important, but the question of scale posed a veryrge problem. If the Heavenly Soul Empire had beenpletely dominated by the Sun Moon Empire, they would be able to directly threaten Shrek City. There was no question that the Sun Moon Empire would attack Shrek City. In the beginning, Shrek Academy¡¯s participation in the war finally allowed the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires to beat the Sun Moon Empire back, and the Sun Moon Empire was ultimately defeated. The Sun Moon Empire holed up for a thousand years after that.

    The Sun Moon Empire had obtained all possible advantages, and they would never let Shrek City go. They had the most advanced technology on the continent, and their assault could likely be even more frightening than the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s beast wave back then.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, you have to take care of your body,¡± Huo Yuhao could clearly see that there were more wrinkles around the corners of Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes.

    Elder Xuan nced at him and smiled warmly as he said, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not very good at being a leader. My life was carefree when Elder Mu was around. I was wanton and unrestrained, and I was very happy from beginning to end. Ever since Elder Mu left, that burden has been shifted onto my shoulders. I finally truly understand the kind of responsibility that Elder Mu had borne for so many years.¡±

    ¡°If only the Sun Moon Empire had dyed their assault for a few decades more! By then, you would have grown to be a man, and I could have passed this mantle to you.¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled, but there was some bitterness in that smile, which was bathed with the vicissitudes of life.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Elder Xuan, I will work hard to grow up. I am willing to give everything for the academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Now is not the time to give everything you have. If the situation forces our hand in the end and we cannot defend ourselves against the Sun Moon Empire, then you must remember that you must continue to live on. You and the other young men are the hope of the academy. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat. He could clearly sense some bad omens in Elder Xuan¡¯s words.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Ye Xishui is actually still alive ¨C I didn¡¯t expect that. Furthermore, she has be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Death God Douluo. With her and Long Xiaoyao around, unless the Beast God stands directly with us against them, there is no chance that we can defeat them. Furthermore, the Beast God represents the benefit of all soul beasts. With his personality, he is no doubt more than eager to watch humans hurt each other and to see the human elites perish. That is most beneficial for soul beasts. Therefore, even if he did participate, he would wait until both parties have been badly hurt. We can¡¯t depend on him at this moment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Elder Xuan, can we gather some reclusive sects toe together and fight the Sun Moon Empire? In the end, things will be bad for them if the Sun Moon Empire conquers the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires.¡±

    Elder Xuan answered, ¡°We are already doing that, and some sects have already responded positively. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool technology is far more advanced than ours. Their prowess in battle sweeps aside everything in their path. I have obtained some detailed battle reports from the Heavenly Soul Empire. The Sun Moon Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s losses are one to ten! Even with the Body Sect¡¯s participation in the defense of the Heaven Dou City, their losses were still five to onepared to the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s hard to say what the war will be like in the future. Fortunately, you helped the Star Luo Empire regain the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and you¡¯ve finally held the Sun Moon Empire back for a period of time. Time is increasingly important for us. I have already instructed the Tang Sect to push back all soul tools that are meant to be sold and all purchase requests so that they can focus all their efforts on crafting soul tools to equip Shrek¡¯s city defense army. We can only hope that Shrek city¡¯s defense army can turn the tides of battle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could feel fear creeping into his heart. He naturally understood the kind of pressure that Elder Xuan had to bear to make such a decision. The Star Luo Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire bothcked resources, but the Tang Sect¡¯s production was very limited! How much effort would they have to put in to equip a legion with enough strength to fight against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions?

    ¡°Elder Xuan, why don¡¯t I seek out Di Tian tomorrow?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no use. Soul beasts have always only protected their own and not outsiders. Di Tian can only protect you; he¡¯s more than happy to see other humans die ¨C the more the better. Don¡¯t waste your time. You should go and rest. You should return to the Tang Sect after resting up for a few days so that you can help the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall produce soul tools more quickly. All of the academy¡¯s resources and the resources that the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires have sent to support us have been granted to the Tang Sect. Perhaps the Tang Sect¡¯s strength will be key to the final oue of the war.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged and stood up.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°We will send news from the frontlines to the Tang Sect as soon as ites. You can rest assured as you cultivate and craft soul tools in your sect. You don¡¯t have to bother yourself with other things for the moment.¡±

 Chapter 457.1 - The Academys Soul Engineer Legion Plan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 457.1: The Academy¡¯s Soul Engineer Legion n</h4>

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged once again before leaving Elder Xuan¡¯s room.

    He didn¡¯t remain in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, but went back to the Tang Sect. His body had just recovered, and he didn¡¯t dare to toil the entire night. He returned to the Tang Sect, where his own room was, and begun to meditate to recover his physical strength.

    On the morning of the second day, he ate his breakfast before Bei Bei gathered the senior management of the Tang Sect for a meeting.

    Huo Yuhao went to report to Elder Xuan the night before. Xu Sanshi recounted the entire process in detail as a means of updating Bei Bei.

    Just like Elder Xuan had mentioned, the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall was very busy. Shrek Academy sent all their teachers and students from the Soul Tool Department to the Tang Sect, personally led by Dean Qian Duoduo. They were now all under Xuan Ziwen.

    The academy also sent over all types of resources, and Dean Xian Lin¡¯er and Teacher Fan Yu led a batch of teachers from the Martial Soul Department to instruct the students of the academy as well as the Shrek City Defense Army on the use of soul tools.

    The Tang Sect had already been relocated into two different areas. One of them was at the original address, while the other region was a huge factory that was used to manufacture soul tools.

    ¡°Eldest senior.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly greeted Bei Bei when he saw him.

    However, Bei Bei was unkind to him. He said, ¡°Little junior, you aren¡¯t allowed to perform any missions without my permission from now on.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at him. He asked, ¡°Eldest senior, why is that so?¡±

    Bei Bei ferociously banged the table and furiously said, ¡°Before you left, what did I tell you? My words have fallen on deaf ears, haven¡¯t they? You disregarded your own safety and took such a huge risk. How dare you still ask me why?¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly looked very embarrassed. He scratched his head and looked at Xu Sanshi helplessly.

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t look at me. You were injured earlier, such that I couldn¡¯t bear to reprimand you. Did you really think I couldn¡¯t tell what you were nning? I was fooled by you at the start. After that, I realized that the door that you left behind was supposed to be used to return back to the base, am I right? This means that you didn¡¯t stand a chance at all. If not for the power that Di Tian left in your body, you would have been dead. Eldest senior is right. Don¡¯t go out and perform any missions anymore. Remain in the sect and focus on your cultivation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a disgruntled look on his face, ¡°Third senior, you can¡¯t put it that way. I was forced by circumstances then, wasn¡¯t I? If I didn¡¯t help the Star Luo Empire achieve a decisive victory, the Sun Moon Empire would have run riot in the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Bei Bei looked very cold, ¡°All right, there¡¯s no use in saying all of that. Sit down. Whatever it is, you won¡¯t be allowed to leave Shrek City without my permission. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be expelled from the sect.¡±

    Bei Bei was normally very refined and very nice in his treatment of the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. This was especially so for Huo Yuhao. This was his first time he had lost his temper against Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was instantly very fearful and didn¡¯t dare to argue back. He could only sit down disappointingly, and he appeared very helpless.

    Nan Qiuqiu was sitting beside him and started to secretlyugh.

    Huo Yuhao was frustrated as he nced at her. He asked, ¡°Is it that funny?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu chortled, ¡°You deserve it. Who asked you to lose your cool? We support eldest senior¡¯s punishment of you. Just remain in the sect and cultivate.¡±

    At this moment, Bei Bei said, ¡°During these few days that you weren¡¯t around, the Tang Sect has already started to move on all fronts. ording to Elder Xuan¡¯s instructions, what we need to do first is equip an army that is capable of resisting the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions. The members of this army will be formed by the teachers and outstanding students of the academy. I¡¯m going to repeat the n now, and we¡¯ll see if anyone has anything to add.¡±

    ¡°The academy has considered the opinions of all parties after a conference. They¡¯ve decided to set up three soul engineer legions.¡±

    Three? Huo Yuhao was slightly shocked when he heard this number. If they were like the Sun Moon Empire, each soul engineer legion would beposed of five hundred people. This meant that equipping three soul engineer legions would mean equipping a thousand five hundred people. How easy was it to create enough equipment for a thousand five hundred people to use? Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were strong in the sense that their soul tool technologies were leading in the entire continent. Formations of soul tools and linked soul tools were some things that the Tang Sectcked.

    Why were there so few casualties from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions when they fought? Hundreds of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers unleashed linked soul tools, creating a line of defense that even Transcendent Douluo were helpless against!

    Wasn¡¯t it a little too hasty for the academy to set up three soul engineer legions?

    Bei Bei nced at Huo Yuhao and managed to see how astonished he was. A smiling intent shed across his face. However, he soon returned to his cold and indifferent look and continued, saying, ¡°Out of these three soul engineer legions, the first legion will be called the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. The academy approved this name. It¡¯ll also be the most elite legion out of the three. It¡¯ll consist of two hundred soul engineers. They¡¯ll all be equipped with the most advanced technologies that the Tang Sect possesses right now. All the soul engineers will at least be Soul Emperors. The leader of this legion will be Dean Xian Lin¡¯er, and the vice-leader of this legion will be Dean Qian Duoduo. At the same time, there¡¯ll be ten Titled Douluo in this legion, all from the academy. However, Dean Xian Lin¡¯er will be the only Transcendent Douluo.¡±

    Two hundred? That¡¯s still rather reliable.Huo Yuhao heaved a slight sigh of relief when he heard that. However, he opened his eyes wide when he heard ¡®ten Titled Douluo¡¯.

    Ten Titled Douluo! Even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion, the strongest out of the Hand that Protects the Nation, didn¡¯t have so many Titled Douluo. Moreover, all the soul engineers from this legion would at least be Soul Emperors, even though there were only two hundred of them. It really seemed like they wanted to create the number one soul engineer legion on the continent.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Currently, we¡¯ve decided to equip this soul engineer legion with custom-made soul tools, including the newly-created batch of linked soul tools. Teacher Xuan will also personally supervise and participate in the creation of core parts of all equipment. We¡¯ve predicted that we¡¯ll be able to fully equip all of them within half a year to a year¡¯s time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and said, ¡°Eldest senior, I have a question.¡±

    Bei Bei nced at him and said, ¡°What¡¯s the question?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Given the Tang Sect¡¯s current abilities, there shouldn¡¯t be no problem creating soul tools for Soul Emperors. In terms of linked soul tools, we shouldn¡¯t have a problem either, since we have Teacher Xuan. However, Soul Emperors should only be a small part of this soul engineer legion. Soul Sages, Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo will make up therge bulk of this soul engineer legion. The soul tools that they will be using should be even more advanced, otherwise, they won¡¯t be effective enough! Do we have the ability to create so many advanced soul tools?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and thought to himself.No wonder he¡¯s our little junior. He managed to find the core of the problem so quickly.

    ¡°Your question is very good. Yes, we won¡¯t be able to create so many suitable soul tools given our current abilities. This is why, after much discussion, we¡¯ve decided that the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion will beposed entirely of closebat soul engineers. For all the soul tools we are going to manufacture, we¡¯ve decided to focus on those that increase speed and offensive strength. Secondarily, they¡¯ll be tailored to increase survivability on the battlefield. The only linked soul tool will be for mass defense.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao was immediately enlightened. At the same time, his eyes brightened.It¡¯s a great idea, isn¡¯t it? What are the soul masters from Shrek Academy most adept at? It¡¯s the way they fight. In the entire continent, Shrek Academy is the best in this aspect.

    Since this is the case, why would we focus on long-range attacks? Closebat soul engineers, increasing speed, offensive strength, and survivability. If we can achieve all these, we would naturally increase the fighting strength of our soul masters.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, that¡¯s great then. Eldest senior, you can continue.¡± Huo Yuhao was in awe as he looked at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei red at him unkindly and continued, saying, ¡°For the other two soul engineer legions, there will be more people. The first of the other two soul engineer legions will be called the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion. They¡¯ll be equipped with the most advanced Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. They¡¯ll be given three hundred of them, of varying sses. There¡¯ll be a total of one thousand soul masters in the legion. Our aim is to ensure the agility of our heavy cannons as we increase our firepower, and also to ensure that the soul engineers wielding these cannons will be able to get into formations at the quickest speed under any condition and at any ce. Currently, we¡¯ve already requested the purchase of a huge batch of low to mid-tier soul cannon shells. Some of them have even secretly been imported from the Sun Moon Empire. In addition, we are also manufacturing our own cannon shells.¡±

    Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion. It was much simpler to equip such a soul engineer legion. The Tang Sect had already been producing Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, and thus had an increasing stock of them.

    However, the stronger a cannon was, the less portable it was. How could they ensure that they could move the cannons as quickly as possible? Furthermore, they still had to preserve the fighting strength of the cannons. What they needed were sufficient Sealed Milk Bottles to support these cannons.

    Wait, one thousand people and three hundred cannons? It seems like eldest senior is trying to use people to make up for theck of Sealed Milk Bottles? After all, every soul master is a source of energy. If they take turns to pour soul power into the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, they should be able to attack continuously for some time.

    If three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons are fired at the same time, they would unleash terrifying strength!

    Huo Yuhao could still clearly remember that Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons had yed a very critical role in Shrek City when the Beast Wave came.

 Chapter 457.2 - The Academys Soul Engineer Legion Plan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 457.2: The Academy¡¯s Soul Engineer Legion n</h4>

    Bei Bei said, ¡°The third soul engineer legion will be named the Fort Soul Engineer Legion. It¡¯ll beposed of a thousand five hundred soul masters. Comparatively speaking, this batch of soul masters will be of lower cultivations, and they¡¯ll only be equipped with one type of soul tool ¨C our modified all-terrain self-driving fort. Every fort can only carry five people. As a result, this soul engineer legion will be equipped with three hundred such forts.¡±

    After hearing such a number, Huo Yuhao was astonished. He first thought of the sheer amount of rare metals they needed to produce so many self-driving forts and Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!

    Bei Bei instantly saw through what he was thinking and took the initiative to answer his doubts before he even posed his question, ¡°To conserve resources and increase the speed of manufacture, we¡¯ve hired cksmiths from the Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires on high payrolls. They¡¯ll proceed with the manufacturing of the outer shells of the cannons and forts. All the metal outer shells will be built using fine iron. Although this can greatly reduce the defensive tenacity and durability of these cannons and forts, it¡¯s the only way to manufacture so many soul tools as quickly as possible. ording to our estimates, the three soul engineer legions should be fully equipped within a year¡¯s time.¡±

    Relentless!This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s immediate reaction after he heard Bei Bei¡¯s words.

    The academy is really going all-out this time! These three soul engineer legions consist of a total of two thousand seven hundred soul masters, including more than ten Titled Douluo. This is indeed the strength of Shrek Academy.

    The Sun Moon Empire would never expect them to manufacture the outer shells of suchrge-scale soul tools using fine iron. After all, soul tools were precious in the sense that they were durable. How could fine ironpare to rare metals?

    At least, it was unlikely that the Sun Moon Empire would use fine iron to manufacture soul tools. However, the Tang Sect was going to do just that. The only advantage that the Tang Sect had over the Sun Moon Empire was the mechanical blueprints for the Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapons that originated from the ancient Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao could guess without even asking. Apart from the most critical parts, all of the soul tools they were going to manufacture were likely going to be using fine iron, fine steel, and other ordinary metals. Even though they were also very strong, their strength could only be realized by the Tang Sect using those mechanical blueprints.

    Teacher Xuan, you¡¯ve really tapped into the full potential of the Tang Sect!

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Now that the first batch of soul tools for the three soul engineer legions has beenpleted, we¡¯ve been conducting training every day. Perhaps our three soul engineer legions aren¡¯t strong enough to change the entire situation of the war, but they¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with. When needed, we can attack and defend.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, I have a suggestion.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and answered, ¡°Go on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I suggest that we specially divide some people to specialize in manufacturing stationary soul cannon shells. A stationary soul cannon¡¯s greatest advantage lies in its effective range. Since we can use fine iron to create the main structure of our soul tools, we can also manufacture cannon shells. As long as we reduce their strength below a certain standard, fine iron and steel should be able to handle them.¡±

    Bei Bei furrowed his brow and said, ¡°We¡¯ll only be able to manufacture ss 3 stationary soul cannon shells then. Wouldn¡¯t that be too weak?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed and he replied, ¡°It might not be. If we thicken theyer of fine iron and steel on the outer shell, we should be able to increase the soul cannons to at least a ss 4 standard. Furthermore, these outer shells can be manufactured by ordinary cksmiths. We can add a very thinyer of rare metals as the innermostyer. In that case, we should be able to create ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells. Although the destructiveness of a ss 4 stationary soul cannon shell is only roughly at the standard of a ss 5 soul cannon, we¡¯ll still be able to gain a very huge advantage in long-range attacks if we have enough of them. They¡¯ll be especially useful for aerial soul tools. Given my spirit power, we can specialize in using stationary soul cannons to attack the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools that within a ten-kilometer radius. Destroying aerial surveince soul tools doesn¡¯t require too much power either.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Bei Bei nodded repeatedly and said, ¡°Alright. If you think this is usible, I¡¯ll arrange for you to find Teacher Xuan when this meeting is over. After that, you can quickly perform tests ande up with a proposition before wemit to anything. We don¡¯t have many soul engineers in the Douluo Continent, but we have many cksmiths. Hire another batch of them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    After this, Bei Bei introduced all the details rting to the Tang Sect to everyone. There were simply too many matters to deal with in the Tang Sect right now. Bei Bei was also very relieved now that Huo Yuhao and the rest had returned. At least there would now a bunch of them helping him with all the work. Otherwise, he would have died from fatigue. He wouldn¡¯t even have enough time to search for the Bluesilver Emperor.

    After the meeting was over, Huo Yuhao left the room and was prepared to find Xuan Ziwen. After seeing the Death God and learning about some soul tools on the battlefield, he wanted to discuss all of it with him.

    ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± Someone called to Huo Yuhao, causing him to turn around perplexedly. He only saw Nan Qiuqiu chasing after him with a grin on her face.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Qiuqiu? You¡¯re still gloating?¡± Huo Yuhaoughed.

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and replied, ¡°Am I that sort of person? I¡¯m here to help you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was curious as he asked, ¡°Help me? Help me with what?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu chuckled and said, ¡°Do you want to go out and y? I have an idea that will let eldest senior agree to let you go out.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao appeared delighted. He didn¡¯t really want to leave, but he might have a chance to bump into Wang Dong¡¯er if he left Shrek City.

    Huo Yuhao was doubtful as he asked, ¡°What idea could you have?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and said, ¡°You just need to agree to one of my conditions before I¡¯ll bring you along.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the condition? Tell me.¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Nan Qiuqiu paused for a moment and she turned slightly red. After that, she answered, ¡°I want you to be my boyfriend for a few days.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. He was a little embarrassed as he looked at her and shook his head helplessly before turning around and leaving.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Nan Qiuqiu stomped her foot in anger. ¡°Am I that annoying? Can¡¯t you even pretend to be my boyfriend?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiuqiu. We can negotiate other things, but I can¡¯t ede to this request of yours. You should know my feelings for Dong¡¯er. If I agree to your request, I¡¯ll be hurting you. That won¡¯t be good for either of us. I¡¯m really sorry. You¡¯re a nicedy, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find your prince charming in the future. I¡¯ll go and find Teacher Xuan first.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao could sense the feelings that Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu had for him. It was just that he was overly sad because of what had happened to Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er, and really didn¡¯t wish to associate himself with anyone else. If he were more determined when Wang Qiu¡¯er got close to him, the tragedy might not have happened. This was why he was now very disciplined with regards to matters of the heart. Even though Tang Wutong looked almost identical to Wang Dong¡¯er, he still decided to immediately steer clear from her after verifying that she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er. He didn¡¯t want to give her and himself the wrong impression. She had her own feelings. When a guy and a girl stayed around each other too much, it was inevitable that feelings would grow between them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t wish for such a situation to happen. This was why he rejected Nan Qiuqiu so readily. Perhaps this might hurt her in the short-term, but it was better than hurting her after she was even more emotionally involved.

    ¡°Hmph! Guys are all so heartless. I don¡¯t want any prince charming. Don¡¯t leave. Let me finish talking first.¡± Nan Qiuqiu was fuming as she pursued Huo Yuhao, stopping him in his tracks.

    Huo Yuhao sighed slightly and asked, ¡°Qiuqiu, what else do you want?¡±

    She snorted and said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing for you. I still have to chase you for this. But you¡¯re so unwilling.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was apologetic, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiuqiu. Ever since Qiu¡¯er left and Dong¡¯er felt into aa, I¡¯ve not been feeling very good. If there¡¯s anything that I¡¯ve done to offend you, please forgive me.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Do you know how much I hate you? It¡¯s always like this ¨C acting so kind and treating others as outsiders. Even if you can¡¯t be my boyfriend, can¡¯t you at least be an ordinary friend?¡± As she spoke, her eyes had already turned red.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart softened and he said, ¡°We¡¯ve always been friends! We¡¯re even partners, even closer than ordinary friends.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s expression became milder and she said, ¡°That¡¯s more eptable. Alright, I shall not dy you. I¡¯ll get straight to the point. Do you remember my mom mentioning that there¡¯s a mysterious ce where the Earthdragon Sect is that she wishes to give to the Tang Sect?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was moved and he said, ¡°Yes, Elder Nan did mention it before. Why? Haven¡¯t we gone to retrieve it yet?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°One look and I can tell that you didn¡¯t fully understand her words. My mom was telling you that the ce is likely to be essible only to you. As the temperature inside is extremely low, ordinary soul masters can¡¯t possibly survive inside, much less venture deep into it. ording to the information that our ancestors left behind, there¡¯s likely to be a mine inside. This mine is also very strange ¨C it¡¯s extremely cold inside. We can only predict that there¡¯s some kind of rare metal inside, but we can¡¯t tell how rare it is. If you¡¯re interested, you can go and take a look since you¡¯ve nothing much to do now and the war situation has more or less stabilized. If you retrieve rare metals, you can bring some of them back.¡±

 Chapter 457.3 - The Academys Soul Engineer Legion Plan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 457.3: The Academy¡¯s Soul Engineer Legion n</h4>

    So it¡¯s about this matter.Huo Yuhao finally understood, and said with gratitude, ¡°Thanks, Qiuqiu. I¡¯ll return and ask eldest senior for permission first.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and find my mother too. I¡¯ll ask if she¡¯s free within this period of time. Haih, our sect¡¯s territory has already been upied by the Sun Moon Empire. If we return, we must be careful too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°No worries, it won¡¯t be some kind of death trap. We¡¯ve already ovee the Death God. Do we need to be afraid of ordinary soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiuughed and said, ¡°Eldest senior just lectured you, but you¡¯ve already gone back to your old ways. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll report you to him?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. You aren¡¯t that kind of person. You¡¯re the most loyal.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and said, ¡°It seems like we can only be good brothers in this life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s great to be good brothers! See, I¡¯m so good to my brothers. Alright, I¡¯ll find Teacher Xuan first. We¡¯ll talk when we get back.¡±

    In the next few days, Huo Yuhao waspletely busy. His discussion with Xuan Ziwen took six hours before he invested his energy into developing stationary soul cannon shells. Xuan Ziwen handed this job to him. If it were Xuan Ziwen, he would find it very easy toplete this task.

    As for the Earthdragon Sect, Bei Bei allowed him to proceed there after he was done with this task.

    During the breaks in his experiments, Huo Yuhao wanted to make a trip to the Sea God¡¯s Ind and ask Elder Xuan about a problem he had faced during his cultivation. It was just that he found it difficult to turn his attention away from his experiments after he started on them. He only found the time after hepleted all his experiments.

    After the ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells werepleted, they were only two-thirds as strong as normal ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells. However, their effective range was almost the same. This was the result of the materials used. Furthermore, Xuan Ziwen was already very pleased that they could make it this far.

    Huo Yuhao had used a few techniques in their construction. Amongst them, the most important technique was the dyed activationponent of the stationary soul cannon shells.

    When such cannon shells were fired, they normally relied on the thrust at their tail ends to reach far away before exploding. Theponents that gave them their thrust and power had to be separated using a strong rare metal. The stronger a cannon shell was, the more precious the rare metal needed to separate theponents.

    However, Huo Yuhao went against conventional logic this time in his design. He used a new activation technique.

    First, as these soul cannon shells were specially designed for Zhuge Divine Crossbows, Huo Yuhao fully tapped into their thrusting force.

    The cannons were able to fire the cannon shells around two kilometers in distance. If the shells were detonated within these two kilometers, a lot of energy is undoubtedly wasted.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t separate theponents but ced them together in the samepartment. At the bottom of the cannon shells, he used some mechanical principles and created a dyed activationponent.

    When these shells were fired by the cannons, they would automatically be activated. However, as it didn¡¯t have the thrustponent, the powerponent should directly blow apart.

    However, with the dyed activationponent, the powerponent was meant to blow apart after some time. It would take a few seconds. Within these few seconds, the shell would have flown more than two kilometers away. When the powerponent was about to be detonated, the central detonationponent would take effect. The powerponent was divided into two parts. One of these parts was the second thrustponent. This second thrustponent would increase the speed of the shell once again, reaching the speed of an original ss 4 shell and flying far away. Due to the initial propulsion, it just needed to increase the speed of the shell. In this way, a lot of energy was conserved. Although the strength of the powerponent was slightly reduced as it was smaller, it was important to remember that the outer shell and mechanicalponents were madepletely from fine iron! It was already very difficult to achieve this.

    Such a cannon shell would be two-thirds as strong as usual, but its cost would only be a tenth of normal. This was not even including the fact that some rare metals couldn¡¯t be found on the market. It was indeed possible to mass-produce such cannon shells.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao¡¯s research only went this far. Stronger stationary soul tools couldn¡¯t be manufactured in this way. This was because they were too strong, and needed rare metals for their outer shells. However, adopting this method would undoubtedly help to conserve resources.

    He had finally finished. Huo Yuhao reported his results to Bei Bei and was excited as he sat in the chair in front of Bei Bei, gulping down water. He waspletely tired out over the past half month.

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s excited look. After Huo Yuhao and the rest returned, they had helped him with a lot of work. He had been much more rxed over the past half month.

    ¡°Yuhao, when are you nning to leave since the experiments are done?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°Leave? Where to?¡±

    Bei Bei was speechless and said, ¡°Your memory is failing you! Have you forgotten what you promised Qiuqiu? They are helping us. We can¡¯t dy any further. Go and take a look. If it¡¯s some kind of precious rare metal, bring it back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao recalled his conversation with Nan Qiuqiu that day and was embarrassed as he scratched his head. ¡°Alright, eldest senior. I¡¯ll go over in a day or two.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Alright, you can go in two days¡¯ time. You should also rest over these two days. You can¡¯t spend all your time researching in the future. Look at Teacher Xuan. He¡¯s a soul tool maniac right now.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen had be the busiest person in Shrek City. However, it was weird. He managed to be a Titled Douluo amidst all his business. Recently, he was researching his special ss 9 soul tool. Once his research was over, he would be a true ss 9 soul engineer. He would even be stronger than most ordinary ss 9 soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t rest. I had some doubts during my cultivation earlier. I still need to ask Elder Xuan about them. Eldest senior, I¡¯ll leave first if there¡¯s nothing else. I¡¯ll go to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion straightaway. If you want to find me, ask someone to go over there to call me over.¡±

    After he finished, he quickly rushed out. To him, every minute was precious.

    His soul power had increased by another rank over the past half month. He was now a ss 74 control-type Soul Sage. This increase was a result of his umtion, as well as his research into the soul power of the Beast God.

    As he was busy performing experiments, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t manage to improve in his earlier cultivation. But now that the experiments were over, it was time for him to work towards improvements in that area.

    ¡°Yuhao, wash up before going.¡± Bei Bei smiled as he called out to Huo Yuhao from behind.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words before he disappeared.

    Bei Bei wore a smile on his face and shook his head helplessly. He gently leaned back in his chair. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something. He pulled the drawer in front of him open and took out a small jade box.

    Pinkish lights shed inside this box. It was given to him by the Delicate Silk Immortal, and it was one of the two valuable treasures needed to save Tang Ya. However, the only problem was that the Bluesilver Emperor had yet to surface until now.

    Xiao Ya, where are you? How are you doing?

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned gentler as he thought of her. However, he was deeply worried. It had already been so long since he had received any news of Tang Ya. Without a doubt, she must have beenpletely influenced by those evil soul masters and lost her awareness.

    Bei Bei really wanted to risk everything to find her. He had already secretly decided in his heart that he was going to leave the Tang Sect to find her after the three soul engineer legions were fully equipped. No matter what price he had to pay, he had to bring her back safely even if he couldn¡¯t find the Bluesilver Emperor.

    Huo Yuhao quickly went to Shrek Academy after leaving the Tang Sect. The academy was considered to be in the inner city now. Although Shrek City had expanded, Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t. They only added an extra experimental ground outside of the Soul Tool Department.

    Now that war had begun on the continent, even Shrek Academy wasn¡¯tpletely safe. Apart from the students who were already in the academy, the number of new students was decreasing. If Shrek Academy was already like that, there was no point talking about other academies.

    Huo Yuhao went straight to Sea God¡¯s Ind after entering the academy. When he was outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he first kowtowed to the Golden Tree before going in to find Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan looked much better than he had thest time they had met. He directly brought Huo Yuhao to his room to talk to him.

    ¡°Elder Xuan.¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted as he rushed in front of Elder Xuan. ¡°My experiments have seeded. We can start manufacturing low-tier ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells now. If we make them in batches, we should be able to surprise the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Elder Xuan was in awe as he said, ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve actually seeded? You¡¯re indeed a genius!¡±It¡¯s only been a few days, but Yuhao has alreadypleted such crucial research. It¡¯s even something the Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t replicate.

    After Huo Yuhao started researching, Bei Bei had already reported his idea to Elder Xuan during their regr meetings at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Shrek Academy was no longer peaceful after the war started. The Conference of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was meant to be annual, but it was now changed to regr monthly meetings. If there were other special situations, more of such meetings had to be organized.

 Chapter 458.1 - Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 458.1: Soul Core</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t tire yourself out, Yuhao. You look so worn out.¡± Elder Xuan smacked the dust off his shoulders and said concernedly.

    Huo Yuhaoughed in embarrassment. Bei Bei¡¯s warning fell on deaf ears. He was excited afterpleting his experiments, and was eager to tell Elder Xuan everything about the mysteries of soul power.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, wasn¡¯t I possessed by the Beast God Di Tian when I was resisting Elder Ye Xishui? Then, the Beast God poured in his strength into my body from afar through spatial power. He descended using my body. Even though my passageways were damaged following that, I managed to understand some certain traits of Di Tian¡¯s soul power. When I did my research after that, I found out something strange.¡±

    Huo Yuhao recounted his discoveries, along with the details of his experiments to Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan was still smiling when he first started, and nodding his head from time to time. He was very pleased with Huo Yuhao¡¯s curiosity. However, his expression slowly changed as he continued to listen.

    He performed high-pressurepression on his soul power and controlled it outside his body, creating a spatial distortion and allowing him to imitate Di Tian¡¯s ck hole soul power.

    This kid is too brazen.

    ¡°¡­Elder Xuan, whatever knowledge the academy taught before only applies to Soul Douluo and below. There¡¯s no other knowledge beyond Soul Douluo. When one bes a Titled Douluo, what kind of changes will happen to his soul power? Is Di Tian¡¯s ck hole soul power only applicable for Ultimate Douluo? In other words, is he the only one with knowledge of it? Although they are both Ultimate Douluo, Di Tian was evidently stronger than Elder Ye Xishui. If Ye Xishui doesn¡¯t use the Death God, she won¡¯t be Di Tian¡¯s match in a direct confrontation.¡±

    Elder Xuan silently nodded. He sighed before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to reach this level so quickly. Since you¡¯ve asked, I guess it¡¯s fine that I tell you.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong. When a soul master bes a Titled Douluo, his soul power will transform from its original fluid state to a solid state. That¡¯s the Rank 90 bottleneck, and the soul master will obtain his ninth soul ring to be a Titled Douluo. This is a very difficult bottleneck to break through for most soul masters. This is why there are so many Soul Douluo, but a scarcity of Titled Douluo.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a very big problem when one¡¯s soul power changes from a fluid state to a solid state. It¡¯s very difficult to cultivate soul power in the solid state. Let¡¯s not talk about those Soul Douluo who can¡¯t transform to be a Titled Douluo. Let¡¯s only talk about Titled Douluo. You¡¯ve already sparred with many Titled Douluo. Have you ever realized that even Titled Douluo of the same rank can actually differ a lot in their abilities?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately nodded and said, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve discovered this point. Isn¡¯t this because of one¡¯s martial soul?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. It has some rtion to one¡¯s martial soul. The stronger one¡¯s martial soul is, the better he is able to unleash the strength of it when hebines it with his soul power. However, you might know about something. The stronger one¡¯s martial soul is, the greater the amount of soul power during cultivation. This is because one¡¯s martial soul can contain a part of his soul power. The stronger a martial soul, the greater the amount of soul power it can store.¡±

    ¡°One can store a portion of his soul power in his martial soul?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished. He really did not know about this.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Yes. You should be realizing it now. A soul master can unleash his Martial Soul True Body if he¡¯s at least a Soul Sage. His Martial Soul True Body can help him to store some of his soul power. You¡¯ll only learn such knowledge in the academy if you¡¯re at least a Soul Sage. You didn¡¯t realize it because the amount of soul power you have is already greater than other soul masters of the same rank. Don¡¯t forget, you have twin martial souls.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pondered, then asked, ¡°Does this mean that it is very difficult for a Titled Douluo to improve further when his soul power reaches a solid state?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and nodded lightly, ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re correct. The reason is also very simple. If your soul power is in the gaseous or liquid state, it can flow inside your body. Now, let me ask you, can your soul power still flow if it¡¯s in a solid state?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously shook his head.Yes! How can one¡¯s soul power flow inside his body if it¡¯s in a solid state?

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Your research is going in the right direction. In fact, the situation that you¡¯veid out is exactly the soul core that only appears for Titled Douluo. It refers to the core of soul power, the foundation of a Titled Douluo. Soul power ispressed from a fluid state to a solid state, which is then immersed in the dantian of a soul master. That is the soul core. The soul core revolves continuously, and will absorb external soul power through the soul master for the soul master to use. Whether it is in terms of fighting strength or recovery ability, the soul master will be stronger than before.¡±

    ¡°However, it is much more difficult to improve once one¡¯s soul power solidifiespared to when it¡¯s in the fluid or gaseous state. This is because a human can¡¯t possibly circte solid soul power through his body. This is why a human can only dissect the solid soul power in his body into beads before controlling the cirction of his soul power in the gaseous or fluid state. Not only is this process difficult, but it is also very dangerous. As a result, some soul masters who didn¡¯t think that they were talented would give up on further improvements after they became Titled Douluo. They would remain at Rank 91. This is very safe for them.¡±

    It¡¯s actually soplicated?Huo Yuhao was shocked when he heard that.

    Elder Xuan continued, saying, ¡°However, it¡¯s not entirely true that soul power can¡¯t circte in one¡¯s body in the solid state. If a soul master¡¯s spiritual power is strong enough that he can control the beads of soul power to appear in the gaseous or fluid state, he can naturally circte his soul power. Given this, solid, fluid and gaseous states could possibly exist together. To control one¡¯s soul power at this level, one can only be a Transcendent Douluo. As a result, after bing a Transcendent Douluo, cultivation might actually be easier. At least there¡¯s a correct cultivation method.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Transcendent Douluo would still find it difficult to improve. There¡¯s a limit to how much soul power a human body can handle. It can still bepressed in the gaseous or fluid state, and it is already highlypressed in the solid state. It can no longer be furtherpressed. In order to allow one¡¯s body to handle more soul power, ites down to the question that you asked earlier ¨C why does Di Tian¡¯s soul power contain such strong spatial power?¡±

    ¡°Di Tian has an eight hundred thousand year cultivation. Although he has not lived in this world for eight hundred thousand years, he has still lived much longer than us. Throughout his entire life, he has been understanding the mysteries of space and time, granting him his current cultivation. No one on the continent canpare to him in this aspect. His soul power, which is every little ck hole that you saw, contains an immense amount ofpressed soul power. It is stored in his body using time and spatial power, which enables him to handle it. Once a fight breaks out, he can unleash immense fighting strength by controlling his soul power.¡±

    ¡°My current soul power is Rank 98. All these years, I¡¯ve been troubled by how to control that spatial power and stabilize it afterpressing my soul power. I can perform some simple control of spatial power. Come, take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, Elder Xuan stretched out his hand, and a ball of yellow light appeared out of nothing in his palm. It was a yellow ball of light, which looked very real. There were thin spatial cracks around it.

    Earth-type soul power! This was clearly Elder Xuan¡¯s solidified soul power!

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes brightened. Suddenly, the spatial cracks that surrounded the ball started to widen, and the ball started to copse inward. A small ck hole was formed. A terrifying suction force dragged Huo Yuhao toward it, and he almost knocked into Elder Xuan.

    After that ck hole formed, it started to revolve at high speed. The origin energy in the air started to be sucked into the ck hole.

    The yellow light on Elder Xuan¡¯s body became more intense. The little ck hole stabilized as it was surrounded by ayer of gentle yellow light. It stopped spinning faster, but revolved at a constant speed.

    ¡°This is roughly how it is in Di Tian¡¯s body. He uses his own soul power to cause a copse in space, forming a ck hole that can devour origin energy. Theoretically speaking, this ck hole can continuously devour origin energy. However, there would be instability if I can¡¯t control it, which would eventually lead to an explosion. I heard Elder Mu mention that if an Ultimate Douluo canplete a ck hole and maintain it at a limit that he can handle, the ck hole would be able to remain indefinitely. In that case, this ck hole can even devour our entire continent.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Such a possibility is very rare. Elder Mu was only making deductions too. Such a ck hole soul power would require immense spiritual power to be controlled. After it¡¯s controlled, it can be absorbed into one¡¯s body. I canplete such a process, but I can¡¯t transform my soul power in that way like Di Tian. Currently, there¡¯s only one ck hole of soul power in my body right now. It¡¯s my soul core. The soul power that¡¯s flowing in my body is still existing in three states.¡±

    ¡°If I can transform one-tenth of the soul power in my body into a ck hole, I can create a second ck hole soul core, possibly in my chest or brow, thereby bing an Ultimate Douluo. However, it¡¯s not easy! I¡¯ve already tried many times, but I¡¯ve always missed by a bit. Compared to substituting my soul power, creating a second soul core is easier. Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao both took this path. I think Ye Xishui did the same too. Only Di Tian took a different path. This is why he is much stronger than most ordinary Ultimate Douluo.

 Chapter 458.2 - Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 458.2: Soul Core</h4>

    ¡°Furthermore, I suspect that Di Tian has a second soul core. His abilities are already close to that of a god. If hewere human, he might have been epted by the Godly Realm already.¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened very seriously. To him, such knowledge was simply too important. This has also allowed him to clearly see his future path of development.

    Elder Xuan smiled and said,¡°Yuhao, it¡¯s much easier for you to be an Ultimate Douluopared to us. This is because you have twin martial souls. Remember, you must aim to achieve double soul cores the moment you be a Titled Douluo. As long as you can form ck holes with those two soul cores, you can easily ovee the barrier to bing an Ultimate Douluo. Haih, it¡¯s a pity that time is not on our side. If you had another thirty years to be an Ultimate Douluo, why would we be afraid of Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao? An Ultimate Douluo with twin martial souls would be much stronger than both of them. You could even possibly challenge Di Tian.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said,¡°Elder Xuan, how can soul power be stabilized as it transforms into a ck hole? In my experiments, I found myself losing control before the revolution of my soul power had generated sufficient spatial power. The key lies in my fear. I feared that I would suffer some kind of bacsh once I lost control. This is why I don¡¯t even know what my limit is.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed and said,¡°Fool, don¡¯t be too ambitious! You¡¯re only a Soul Sage right now. Even though you have twin martial souls, you¡¯re still a Soul Sage. You can¡¯t possibly form a soul core right now. However, you have a very great advantage over other soul masters. Because of this advantage, I¡¯m confident that you can directly form double soul cores when you be a Titled Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about my spiritual power?¡± Huo Yuhao immediately understood what Elder Xuan meant.

    Elder Xuan nodded and replied,¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s your spiritual power. Your spiritual power is greater than most other ordinary soul masters,parable to a Titled Douluo. There are very few spiritual-type soul masters, but a spiritual-type Titled Douluo will most certainly be a Transcendent Douluo. This is because spiritual-type soul masters have greater control than most ordinary soul masters. It¡¯s fine for you to carry out such experiments right now. At least you¡¯ll get to umte experience. However, don¡¯t be too fixated on it. You can¡¯t help it if your abilities aren¡¯t up to par. As your soul power is insufficient, you can¡¯t possiblypress all your soul power inside your soul core when you change it from the fluid to the solid state. The bigger the soul core, the stronger the Titled Douluo.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was moved, and asked,¡°Elder Xuan. If I try to form a soul core right now, what might happen?¡±

    Elder Xuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled.¡°First, it¡¯s almost impossible. While your control might be strong, it¡¯s very difficult to control spatial power. If things go wrong, you¡¯ll be courting your own death. During the process of carrying out soul powerpression, the demands on a soul master¡¯s physical tenacity are very great. One¡¯s body is like a container that stores soul power, whereas the transformation of soul power from a fluid to a solid state will generate immense energy. If your body isn¡¯t strong enough, you¡¯ll blow apart and die. This is why you can¡¯t just try for fun.¡±

    ¡°Assuming you really seed, your future cultivation is bound to increase significantly. A solid soul core absorbs origin energy at a much faster speed than your meditation right now. However, what will happen when you reach Rank 90? You already have one soul core and you can¡¯t possiblypress all your soul power inside it. When you reach Rank 90, you¡¯ll need to attempt thepression of your second soul core. It¡¯s only in this way that you¡¯ll be a Titled Douluo. However, your soul core will definitely appear in your dantian. There¡¯s a very high possibility that your first soul core will form in your dantian as well. There¡¯s also a possibility that you can form two at the same time. However, if there¡¯s already one soul core in your dantian, you¡¯ll have to take a look at my condition if you want to form a second soul core somewhere else.¡±

    Elder Xuan was a little helpless as he pointed to himself.

    Huo Yuhao understood what he meant. ording to Elder Xuan, assuming that he did the impossible and formed a first soul core, it would be as difficult for him to form a second soul core as it was to be an Ultimate Douluo from a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently.

    Elder Xuan said,¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to challenge your limits earlier? You can try. I¡¯ll watch over you. I would also like to see how good your control is. I suggest you try with one-tenth of your soul power. When your soul power reaches the solid state and continues to increase until you feel like you can¡¯t control it anymore, I¡¯ll be here. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll ensure your safety.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted,¡°Thanks Elder Xuan. Shall I start now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you can start now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao first calmed himself down and adjusted his state of mind. He shut his eyes, and his spiritual power started to flow. He also checked his soul power in his body.

    Elder Xuan stood by one side and silently nodded.This kid is still asposed as ever. He¡¯s not lost his cool at all.

    When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, his eyes were already covered with ayer of gold. He slowly lifted his right hand, and his milky-white soul power started to flow out.

    As his soul power was in the fluid state, it looked like a puddle of milk in his palm. None of his soul power seeped out of his hand as he controlled it using his spiritual power.

    More and more of his soul power started to appear and drift above Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm. It was slowly revolving. This time, Huo Yuhao had poured out more soul power than he did the previous two times in his experiments. With Elder Xuan protecting him, he naturally didn¡¯t need to worry too much.

    Under his control, the cirction of his soul power started to increase in speed. At the same time, it also started to slowlypress. During the process ofpression, Huo Yuhao slowly increased the input of his soul power.

    His fluid soul power started to be viscous, but its speed kept on increasing under Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentional control. There was ayer of gold surrounding his white soul power. It was thisyer of gold that protected his soul power from seeping away.

    If it were any other seven-ringed soul master, his soul power would quickly vaporize if he let his soul power out of his body just like that without using any soul skills. After vaporizing, his soul power would then vanish into the air.

    Elder Xuan nodded in approval as he watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s control of his spiritual power. Even though this didn¡¯t drain too much of his spiritual power, there was a very great demand on detail. It wasn¡¯t easy for Huo Yuhao to do something like this.

    His soul power was slowly transforming from the fluid to the solid state. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also started to turn serious. However, his soul power didn¡¯t shift in the slightest under his control. It continued to constantly revolve.

    It had finally transformed into the solid state. It was very difficult to imagine a Soul Sage doing this! Elder Xuan was in awe, and also became more focused. He was ready to react to any situation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power kept onpressing and revolving.

    Slowly, his solid soul power took form. The little funnel that Huo Yuhao was familiar with appeared. As he had poured more soul power into it this time, the appearance of the funnel caused a greater suction of origin energy from outsidepared to before. The terrifying suction force directly spread outward. Inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, origin energy was in abundance. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt as if the energy from this little whirlpool had increased at a rate that was at least twice as quickpared to the previous two experiments.

    Distorted lights around his solid soul power started to be more and more evident. The intense suction force didn¡¯t just suck in origin energy. It was also absorbing Huo Yuhao¡¯s own soul power. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to continuously pour his soul power into it to enhance the strength of his solid soul power.

    ¡°Very good, continue. Don¡¯t worry. Let me see what standard you can reach.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice sounded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears, alleviating his worries. However, he didn¡¯t immediately increase the output of his soul power. Rather, he allowed his soul power to absorb the soul power in his body. At the same time, he kept on strengthening the control of his spiritual power in a bid to maintain the stability of his solid soul power.

    Elder Xuan had mentioned before that he had to maintain the stability of his solid soul power if he wanted to make it his soul core. Once stability was lost, a huge explosion would ensue. That would be very perilous.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentional control, his solid soul power started to stabilize, as well as continuing to strengthen. The surge of origin energy also became faster and faster. Huo Yuhao even saw dim gold appearing on the walls in the room. The Golden Tree was absorbing origin energy from the outside world just as it was pouring out origin energy. This went to show that Huo Yuhao¡¯s solid soul power was absorbing origin energy at an immensely quick rate.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s body lit up with ayer of dim golden light, isting him from the outside world. This was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s solid soul power was already starting to absorb his own soul power. However, Elder Xuan was able to iste it, given that there was a huge difference in their cultivations.

    A mysterious look slowly appeared across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny had already slowly opened. He increased the output of his spiritual power once again and continued to control the revolution of his solid soul power with stability.

    Seconds passed, and more than half of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had already fused into this solid soul power. He also started to feel that he was slowly losing control of the revolution of this solid soul power. His spiritual control was still maintaining its stability. However, it was impossible for him to stop it anymore. If he did so, there would only be one result: an explosion!

 Chapter 458.3 - Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 458.3: Soul Core</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power didn¡¯t weaken in the slightest as he continued to pour out his soul power. Elder Xuan was stunned to discover that the spiritual power surrounding the solid soul power was getting stronger and stronger. It had even turned from the original gold to rose-gold. It was as if ayer of solid spiritual power existed and perfectly maintained the stability of the solid soul power.

    His spiritual power is really strong. It seems like I have underestimated the strength of his spiritual power. It is much stronger than I expected. Perhaps this kid¡¯s spiritual cultivation has improved recently.

    Elder Xuan was right. After experiencing the war between the Star Luo Empire and Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao was even personally involved in a fight between Ultimate Douluo. His body had suffered critical injuries, but he had developed a deeper understanding of spiritual aspects. After all, the spiritual power of two Ultimate Douluo was stronger than his. Under the kind of pressure that he faced, his spiritual power naturally grew as it was stimted.

    At this tier, even a minor increase in his spiritual power was still considered a huge improvement.

    The terrifying soul power undtions continued, and Huo Yuhao started to find it a little overwhelming. He could still hold on in terms of his spiritual power, but the solid soul power was absorbing his soul power at a faster speed, just as the amount of soul power in his body was less than that in the form of the solid soul power. Huo Yuhao only felt as if the soul power in his body was rushing out, whereas the revolution of the solid soul power had reached a speed that he couldn¡¯t see properly even with his Spirit Eyes.

    Fifty percent, sixty percent, seventy percent. When more than seventy percent of his soul power had been absorbed from his body, Huo Yuhao already couldn¡¯t control the output of his soul power. What he couldn¡¯t see was that the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had already let out dim golden light. Above the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, origin energy had already formed clouds in the air. Immense origin energy continuously gathered in the direction of the Golden Tree.

    Some of the elders in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were awakened from their cultivation at this moment. How could they possibly not notice such a great disturbance in the pavilion?

    Is someone trying to be a Transcendent Douluo?This was their immediate reaction. This was because something as strange as this only appeared when someone was trying to form a soul core.

    After this, they discovered that the core of all the soul power undtions came from Elder Xuan¡¯s room. To them, this wasn¡¯t considered a very impressive level of soul power undtions. Instead, they thought that the undtions were a little weak. There should be a greater disturbance if it was a Titled Douluo trying to be a Transcendent Douluo.

    However, they weren¡¯t worried, since everything was happening in Elder Xuan¡¯s room. After observing for a while, they all returned to meditate. The concentrated origin energy in the air was also very beneficial to their cultivation. However, the prerequisite was that they had to create a barrier around themselves to prevent their soul power from being sucked away.

    Eighty percent! More than eighty percent of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had already been devoured. Right now, he needed to use a portion of his spiritual power to control his entire body so that his soul power would leak out at a slower speed. Perspiration had already drenched his forehead, and he started to look paler and paler.

    However, Elder Xuan was very impressed that Huo Yuhao was still able to stabilize and control the solid soul power even under such conditions. He didn¡¯t let it shift at all.

    At this moment, something strange happened. The original milky-white solid soul power started to change color ¨C it turned a dim gold. Furthermore, this golden color was intensifying.

    After seeing this, Elder Xuan was astonished. He lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao. Although Huo Yuhao was already finding it very tough right now, he was still trying his best to hold on.

    ¡°Yuhao, hang on. Your solid soul power is starting to develop elemental characteristics. Perhaps you can really construct a soul core. Your situation is different. If you manage to construct a soul core right now, you might actually reach the Rank 89 bottleneck in a much shorter period of time. Although it¡¯s still difficult to be a Titled Douluo, this might be your opportunity. Hang on.¡±

    After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned. He continued to use his spiritual power to control the remaining soul power in his body from being sucked out too quickly. This was because the solid soul power was not just absorbing his soul power; it was also absorbing the origin energy in the air. If it sucked less soul power from him, it could absorb more of the origin energy in the air.

    In addition, Huo Yuhao had the deepest sense of this solid soul power since he was the one who had created it. He could clearly feel that the development of elemental characteristics was on the spiritual level. This meant that this solid soul power contained the spiritual power of his Spirit Eyes. It was fusing with his first martial soul.

    His spiritual power kept on growing. His soul power couldn¡¯tpare to a Titled Douluo, but his spiritual power could. Under the effect of his Eye of Destiny, he continued to let out more spiritual power from his body. His Eye of Destiny also turned rose-gold. An aura of destiny also started to appear as he let out his spiritual power.

    The revolution of his solid soul power continued to speed up. It was slowly turning golden. Apart from the immense soul power undtions, there were also decently strong undtions of spiritual power that appeared. The spiritual power that Huo Yuhao unleashed to protect the solid soul power had even stuck to it and started to be devoured.

    At this moment, the solid soul power slowed down in its suction of origin energy from the air and Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. This gave Huo Yuhao an opportunity to catch his breath.

    I must hang on.

    Huo Yuhao recognized that his abilities werecking as he faced off against stronger individuals. He was clearly aware that his current cultivation was still not good enough to challenge individuals of higher cultivations. He had to work hard in his cultivation and increase his abilities right now. Elder Xuan had mentioned that this was a great opportunity, which was also what he had thought earlier.

    As for a future, second soul core, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to form it even if it was difficult. In addition, he had another thought. If he could hang on and wait until his solid soul power formed a soul core, it might even be a stepping stone for him to form a second soul core in the future.

    The golden color turned more and more intense. The aura of his Spirit Eyes had alreadypletely immersed into his solid soul power. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had already been drained such that there was only a little left over. He gritted his teeth and hung on. However, he couldn¡¯t just hold on because of the void in his body. He was trembling slightly. Without some soul power to support his body, his ability to let out spiritual power would also be affected!

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow. He couldn¡¯t help Huo Yuhao in the formation of his soul core. It could only bepleted by the soul master himself.It seems like Yuhao won¡¯t be able to hang on! After all, his cultivation is too weak. Even if he has twin martial souls, his soul power is still not at the level of a Titled Douluo. Haih, it seems like pure spiritual power is still insufficient toplete the formation of a soul core.

    However, he should be proud of himself for what he¡¯s achieved. After all, I was Rank 88 when I reached his standard in the past. He¡¯s only Rank 70 or so right now.

    The yellow light that Elder Xuan released was getting stronger and stronger. He was ready to intervene. When Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hang on anymore, he would use his soul power to cage in Huo Yuhao¡¯s solid soul power before sending it high up into the air and detonating it. In this way, there shouldn¡¯t be much danger. However, Huo Yuhao would need a few days to recover after this experience. The drainage of his soul and spiritual power wasn¡¯t something that he could easily recover from.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was already shaking tremendously by now. He was now relying on his willpower to hang on. The immense suction force kept on pulling his body forward. Once he couldn¡¯t hang on anymore, he might even be sucked in.

    A soul master couldn¡¯t possibly carry out such an experiment on his own. This was because the end result was death. This was why a soul master needed someone strong to protect him. A Soul Douluo had some ability to protect himself since his soul power had already reached a certain standard. Even so, there were many cases of Soul Douluo getting critically hurt as they tried to be a Titled Douluo.

    Just as Elder Xuan was ready to intervene, a beam of golden light shone behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Following this, a ball of milky-white light drilled out from his back. At the same time, a circr barrier appeared in front of him. It helped to iste the suction force of the solid soul power.

    Life Reflection Shield!

    The ball of milky-white light that appeared slowly took form and transformed into a huge iceworm. Rings of golden light patterns subtly appeared.

    The moment it appeared, a wave of pure soul power was poured into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, stabilizing him.

    Brother Skydream!Huo Yuhao naturally knew the origin of this force.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice sounded in his head, ¡°Continue. I¡¯m here.¡±

    The moment his voice was heard, the Life Reflection Shield disappeared, and the suction force was felt again, but with the support of the Skydream Iceworm, Huo Yuhao managed to recover slightly. The soul power that the Skydream Iceworm poured into his body contained concentrated spiritual power. As it was released, the solid soul power¡¯s color intensified even more quickly. The gold turned bright gold. Spatial cracks also started to appear around it.

    The lighting from the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body became stronger and stronger. Streaks of milky-white light separated from his body and entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    There was aforted look in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s eyes. However, what Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that the Skydream Iceworm had poured in most of his remaining origin strength from his million-year cultivation into his body.

 Chapter 459.1 - Fusion of Soul Cores

    <h4 ss>Chapter 459.1: Fusion of Soul Cores</h4>

    Even the Beast God Di Tian wanted this strength back in the Great Star Dou Forest. The Skydream Iceworm was far too valuable, and this origin power wasn¡¯t something that Di Tian could take without the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s consent. Therefore, the Beast God had gathered other savage beasts to absorb the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s soul power that he had obtained after so many years.

    In the beginning, the Skydream Iceworm took his own origin power into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body when he had first fused with him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation had thus been able to improve continuously, and his spiritual power¡¯s exponential qualitative change all had to do with the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s origin power. Otherwise, how could his body transform so smoothly?

    However, the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t give all his origin power to Huo Yuhao, because his body¡¯s capacity was far from enough.

    There was another more important thing that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know. As long as the Skydream Iceworm maintained his origin power and kept it from dissipating, then the Skydream Iceworm could still choose another human to merge with even if Huo Yuhao passed away.

    In this moment, when the Skydream Iceworm decided to fuse his most valuable possession into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, Huo Yuhao and he could no longer be separated. Either Huo Yuhao finally stepped onto the path of bing a God, or he would live and die with him.

    The truth was, the Skydream Iceworm had long contemted fusing his origin power with Huo Yuhao when Huo Yuhao had interacted with the God Realm a long time ago. How much Huo Yuhao¡¯s body could bear was sufficient. However, the Ice Empress had stopped him. The Skydream Iceworm should wait until a crucial moment, and give his origin power to he when Huo Yuhao was breaking through. That would be much more effective.

    Wasn¡¯t this the important opportunity they were waiting for? The Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t expect this moment to arrive so quickly.

    Soul beasts cultivated differently from humans. Therefore, they couldn¡¯t guide Huo Yuhao in this respect. However, both the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress were some of the strongest people in the world, and they all possessed incredibly strong abilities within their domains. Of course, they could see that this moment was an incredible opportunity for improvement to Huo Yuhao. An opportunity like that only came once in a blue moon ¨C at least, such opportunities were considerably rare. It would be a pity to miss it.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s origin power was incredibly strong because his was a pure and perfect fusion between spiritual power and soul power. The Skydream Iceworm hadpletely discarded his element of ice when he was helping Huo Yuhao construct his second martial soul. The Skydream Iceworm only had pure soul power and spiritual power at this moment. This was the reason why he was most suitable for helping Huo Yuhao form his first soul core.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes were wide with astonishment. Huo Yuhao was already almost ovee with weakness, but the enormous Iceworm¡¯s appearance behind his back enabled his spirit to swiftly recover, while his soul power was being unleashed at an exponentially quicker rate, and continuously as well. It didn¡¯t take long before the volume of the solid-state soul power he had created wasparable to that of a Soul Douluo.

    That was just unbelievable ¨C it was the first time that Elder Xuan had seen such a thing!

    Even though a powerful martial soul can help soul masters store a certain amount of soul power, Huo Yuhao is storing far more than he should be able to. Furthermore, his two martial souls are the Spirit Eyes and the Ice Empress Jade Scorpion. What is with this huge worm? Does this mean that Spirits can help soul masters store even more soul power?

    Elder Xuan shook his head exasperatedly.Prodigies and geniuses cultivate in a different fashion from what is the norm after all. I¡¯ll just wait and see to what stage he can reach.

    The cracks around the funnel-shaped soul power began to turn gold, while the ck hues that belonged to spatial cracks began to appear within the golden colors.

    Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that when his spiritual power reached a certain level inside the solid-state soul power, it was just as the fusion of soul power and spiritual power was like inside his own body. The state of his soul power was very simr to when he was unleashing his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills, while the only difference was that his soul power was now solid instead of liquid.

    It seems like solid-state soul power is still a reflection of my own ability after all!

    However, Huo Yuhao realized some even stranger things right at this moment. The solid soul power was still absorbing his soul power and spiritual power, while Huo Yuhao could still hang on with the Skydream Iceworm replenishing him. This solid soul power was starting to absorb more than just those two things ¨C it was actually gradually absorbing the spatial power contained within the cracks in space.

    Is this where the secrets of creating thebination lie?Huo Yuhao widened his eyes, and was working hard to control everything while observing closely at the same time.

    Yes, it¡¯s like that.The solid soul power was clearly swallowing the spatial power contained within the cracks in space. It was very strange ¨C the cracks in space became increasinglyrger as their spatial power was absorbed, while even more spatial power filled them. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was being expended at an exponentially faster rate, while the wild and violent spatial power was tearing at his spiritual power. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to hang on if not for his Eye of Destiny.

    Time continued to pass. The Skydream Iceworm that was almost material behind his back also became increasingly illusory. The Iceworm¡¯s origin power had already integrated into the solid soul power through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Even if his experiment ultimately ended in failure, the origin energy of heaven and earth would be very beneficial for him, especially with respect to his fusion of soul power and spiritual power. The Skydream Iceworm would truly be his Spirit after everything ended, and they would be inseparable, just like the Snow Empress.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s origin power that wasing from behind him became increasingly weak. Huo Yuhao could feel his body descending into weakness once more, and he gritted his teeth as he tried his best to hang on. Even though he didn¡¯t know what kind of price the Skydream Iceworm was paying, Huo Yuhao could still feel his weakness.Brother Skydream has given so much to help me ¨C I have to hold on, no matter what!

    He gritted his teeth and continued releasing more spiritual power. There was nothing he could do about his soul power, so he could only keep working through spiritual power. The spiritual power in his spiritual sea flowed as if it were limitless, and even more strangely, the aura of destiny within his Eye of Destiny seemed to be stronger. A faint shadow of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion actually surfaced behind his back and enveloped his entire being in ayer of rose-gold colors.

    Huo Yuhao was giving his all in this moment. If he failed atpressing his soul core, he would be severely injured, and this could possibly end in worse injuries than when all his passageways were shattered. In the end, he even used all of his own origin power that he could control.

    The cracks in space became increasingly strong. The contortions and ripples in space, along with that strange sensation, were all deeply imprinted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to sense spatial undtions from day to day. One could create those cracks in space with forceful attacks, but those cracks would only appear for an instant before disappearing again, so sensing and studying them would be impossible. However, those spatial undtions were appearing around hispressed solid-state soul power continuously and finely. They were closely rted to his soul power and spiritual power, so studying and sensing them became very easy.

    Beads of sweat began to appear on Elder Xuan¡¯s forehead because he was nervous. Elder Xuan could tell that Huo Yuhao was continuously releasing soul power and spiritual power, and every possible strength in his body was reaching their respective limits. Elder Xuan also understood that he would inflict heavy damage to Huo Yuhao if he interrupted him at such a moment.

    But fusing with the mixture wasn¡¯t as simple as creating it. The individual¡¯s body had to be able to bear the mixture! Huo Yuhao had only recently be a Soul Sage, and he had just sustained severe injuries. Could he really absorb the soul core into his body?

    The cracks in space on the surface of the solid soul power became closely woven like a web. ck cracks appeared continuously, and the solid-state soul power¡¯s absorption and rotation speed were nearing their absolute limits. All space was beingpletely distorted around it, and all Huo Yuhao could see was a ball of gold, rose-gold and ck merged together into a strange sphere, which contained frightening soul power.

    Come! Copse!Huo Yuhao roared in his heart, and he transformed the meagre remainder of his spiritual power into Spiritual Shock before he fused that entirely into the solid-state soul power. It was at this time that the Skydream Iceworm behind him gave everyst bit of his origin power. The Skydream Iceworm transformed into a beam of flowing light, reintegrated into his body, and vanished.

    Sess would be determined in this exact moment.

    The solid-state soul power quivered faintly. Huo Yuhao had a strange feeling in this moment that the solid-state soul power, which was rotating ever so quickly, had suddenly stopped ¨C it went from extreme motion to extreme motionlessness. This sudden sensation made him depressed. However, Huo Yuhao felt as if everything had grown blurry around him in the next moment, as if he were now within the starry skies, and only that gentle spatial power was around him.

    Space suddenly copsed in that instant, as if everything was copsing together with his body as the epicenter, while terrifying spatial power immediately tore his body to pieces.

    However, his body reformed itself after it was torn to pieces, and his consciousness returned. Huo Yuhao saw to his surprise that the solid-state soul power had copsed into a ck hole.

    Huo Yuhao only took one look before he felt as if his soul were about to be sucked in. There was endless darkness inside the ck hole, and there were boundless unknowns, but he couldn¡¯t feel the kind of soul power contained within it at all. However, he could clearly feel a connection that resembled a bridge between the ck hole and himself.

 Chapter 459.2 - Fusion of Soul Cores

    <h4 ss>Chapter 459.2: Fusion of Soul Cores</h4>

    There were fine golden waves rippling continuously around the ck hole. These golden waves gradually froze and took shape, and Huo Yuhao discovered to his surprise that they actually took a strange eye-like shape, while the ck hole in the middle was the pupil.

    This¡­ is this my soul core?

    Elder Xuan was watching him from the beginning to the end. In this moment, he shared the same shock and astonishment.

    Huo Yuhao had formed his own soul core as a Soul Sage. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing, let alone seen one! He had witnessed a miracle happen with own eyes, and was filled with pleasant surprise.

    Furthermore, he obtained some inspirations from Huo Yuhao when he waspressing his mixture. Huo Yuhao¡¯spression method was different from typical soul masters. He was clearly using a lot more spiritual power than soul power, and when his element finally fused with his soul core, his martial soul seemed to be his main guide. This order looked very important. In the instant when the soul core copsed inward, its soul power undtions were unnaturally stable, and it didn¡¯t need any external strength to control it.

    The soul core had been formed in this moment, and it no longer absorbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. It was only gently absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth in the air. However, the deep darkness within it and the aura of the mixture itself clearly gave Elder Xuan a feeling that this core wasn¡¯t that much different from that of a Transcendent Douluo. The only difference was that it was a little smaller.

    ¡°Yuhao, try to absorb it. However, you have to be very careful ¨C if you feel like your body can¡¯t take it anymore, release it immediately. You¡¯ll have to risk regressing your cultivation instead of forcing yourself. Otherwise, this soul core can obliterate you with its power. You should feel whether your body can take its power once it enters you. Remember ¨C don¡¯t force yourself. If you feel even a little bit like you¡¯re forcing yourself, don¡¯t try fusing with the soul core.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao steeled his nerves. He was still very much ovee by surprise, because he realized that soul power wasing back into his body when it was originally empty of it. Furthermore, his soul power was recovering faster than before, and his spiritual power was recovering at a simr speed. Everything seemed connected to his soul core.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t overly hasty to absorb the soul core. Instead, he crossed his legs and sat down in front of it. He channeled his soul power quietly as he replenished it while he observed any changes that were happening in the mixture.

    Elder Xuan was momentarily stunned before he said hurriedly, ¡°Wait for a moment before you absorb it ¨C your soul core seems different from most. It¡¯s far too stable, and it doesn¡¯t seem like it will lose control or be unstable even without your control. If that¡¯s the case, you can try recovering all your soul power and spiritual power before attempting to absorb it. Don¡¯t worry, I will observe from the side, and will immediately warn you if something is wrong with it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded toward Elder Xuan. His own feelings were identical to those of Elder Xuan, except this was his first time forming a soul core, so he didn¡¯t know what it was supposed to be like.

    Elder Xuan drew a cold breath. This was the first time he had seen such a stable soul core that was almost near perfection. Did this mean that soul masters could create a soul core such as this before bing a Transcendent Douluo, as long as their spiritual power far exceeded their soul power?

    Typically, Titled Douluo would have to immediately absorb their soul cores afterpleting them when they were breaking through to be a Transcendent Douluo. Otherwise, if their soul cores became unstable, everything that they had worked for could possibly be for nothing, while the soul core could possibly hurt the Titled Douluo¡¯s own body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core was different from the rest ¨C it was so stable that it was almost like a normal object. Quite a long time had passed since the soul core was formed. However, it was still extremely stable, and the way it absorbed the origin energy of heaven and earth wasn¡¯t as forceful and ferocious as that of a Transcendent Douluo¡¯s soul core. But this kind of stability was even more precious and hard toe by.

    It seems like Huo Yuhao might have a chance to fuse with his soul core sessfully!That was just unimaginable. Elder Xuan was witnessing yet another miracle from Huo Yuhao.

    Time continued to pass. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and spiritual power were recovering at an astonishing speed, and it took him less than an hour before he reopened his eyes, back to his peak condition.

    ¡°Can I begin, Elder Xuan?¡± Huo Yuhao turned toward Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan was astonished. ¡°Your soul power and spiritual power have recovered?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t ask any further. Instead, he tilted his head and said, ¡°Yes, then you may begin. Remember what I¡¯ve said before ¨C it would be better for you to notplete the fusion than take any risks.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged and turned his gaze toward his soul core.

    Huo Yuhao could feel a boundless and terrifying existence inside his soul core that could consume everything, just like when he was observing it before. When he stared at it, he immediately felt an incredibly strong attractive force that seemed like it wanted to pull his spirit into it.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and opened his Eye of Destiny. Rose-gold patterns immediately shone from his Eye of Destiny.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny gazed at the ck hole, and he realized to his surprise that he had a feeling as if his Eye of Destiny was staring at itself, as if the ck hole was what it was like after his Eye of Destiny was magnified.

    Everything was just so unimaginable. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to control it; his Eye of Destiny naturally produced a strange gravitational force that pulled the ck hole towards him. The faint golden light around the ck hole also began to shrink, and even its original body was contracting.

    By the time the ck hole was several meters in front of Huo Yuhao, it had shrunk to the same size as his Eye of Destiny. Golden light patterns shone from both ends, and it fit itself against his Eye of Destiny as if it was imprinting onto it.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes widened. He understood what Huo Yuhao wanted to do ¨C he wasn¡¯t just about to fuse with his soul core. The location that he chose wasn¡¯t his dantian, which was a location that was easier for the soul master to absorb his soul core. Instead, he chose the center of his eyebrows, which was the hardest ce to aplish fusion.

    Typically, even Transcendent Douluo breaking through to be an Ultimate Douluo would choose the chest instead of between the eyebrows when forming their second soul core. The reason was because the space between the eyebrows was too close to the brain, and a single mistake could threaten their life.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation was evidently different from everyone else. Spiritual power was his fate, and in the process of forming his soul core, his spiritual power allowed his soul core to be very stable. His martial soul was Spirit Eyes, while the space between his eyebrows was one of three locations that could absorb soul cores, and it was so close to his martial soul¡¯s location at the same time. Therefore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s idea wasn¡¯t impossible! He would leave his dantian empty so that he could store another soul core there when he was breaking through to be a Titled Douluo. In that case, he could possibly have two soul cores when bing a Titled Douluo. Elder Xuan thought about his twin martial souls, and felt that this path that Huo Yuhao had chosen was most suitable for him. He exhaled deeply as he remained stunned.

    For the first time, Elder Xuan felt that he could no longer teach this little fellow in front of him.

    Golden light pressed together as his soul core slid in. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body quivered vigorously, and two beams of rose-gold light sted from his eyes as if they were two materialized swords. Elder Xuan wasn¡¯t far from him, and he took a step back subconsciously.

    His Eye of Destiny shone with light from the center of his eyebrows, and its sun patterns seemed like they were being reinvigorated. Theyyered together as they glowed and stretched outward from his forehead to the space between his eyebrows. The sun patterns looked like they were growing, and they quickly stretched over his entire forehead. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair drifted into the air and danced in midair, even though there was no wind.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if a terrifying and indescribable power had been injected into his spiritual sea. This power was like a sharp cone that was splitting his head apart; as if it were about to suck his spiritual sea dry; as if it were really about to open up another eye on his head. That agonizing feeling made him feel a clear sensation of being shattered.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s path could be said to have been forged through pain and agony ever since the day he had fused with the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    He possessed many abilities that soul masters couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine. However, he had to sustain countless instances of unimaginable pain to gain such abilities!

    His strength increased after every episode of agony. At the same time, every instance strengthened his spiritual resolve and endurance. His tolerance toward pain was not something that most normal people could match.

    Towards the end, Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er left him one after another, and he almost broke down because he had suffered too much pain in his heart. He had grown after that ¨C he grew from a young boy to be a young adult, and he was a true warrior.

    In this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was still trembling intensely as he was struck by this agonizing pain. His lower body was still stable, and his hands were clenched tightly into fists. However, he was subconsciously channeling his Mysterious Heaven Technique with his full strength. Immense spiritual power swirled within his spiritual sea ording to his whim to resist that intense pain.

    Fourrge Spirits hovered above his spiritual sea. They knew that everything that was happening was very important to Huo Yuhao. With the exclusion of the Skydream Iceworm, who had sacrificed his origin power, the other three Spirits were all using their consciousnesses to protect his spiritual sea so that it wouldn¡¯t shatter.

    Golden sun patterns quickly stretched from his forehead over his face, before they went down his neck, his corbone, his chest, his arms, and his abdomen¡­

    Several short minutes passed as Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was covered with sun patterns. That wasn¡¯t all ¨C an enormous vertical eye slowly opened behind his back, and this eye was rose-gold as well. It radiated sun patterns, and that frightening suction force appeared once more. It was two times stronger than before, and the origin energy of heaven and earth in the air swiftly and immediately gathered toward Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 459.3 - Fusion of Soul Cores

    <h4 ss>Chapter 459.3: Fusion of Soul Cores</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes almost instantly disintegrated into dust, revealing his body, which was a perfect fusion between energy and beauty.

    Sun patterns covered his tall andrge frame, giving others a feeling of simple mystery.

    The vertical eye behind him gradually became a ck hole as it consumed everything in the air. Even Elder Xuan began to feel that his soul power and spiritual power wanted to leave his body, and he had to release even more soul power to control them.

    Time continued to pass. Huo Yuhao¡¯s trembling slowly stabilized, and the rose-gold colors in his eyes slowly dimmed as he gradually shut his eyes. However, the Eye of Destiny on his forehead became increasingly bright.

    The vertical eye contained the endless stars of the night sky, deep whirlpools, and uncountable worlds of radiant colors ¨C as if the ck hole contained everything in the world and beyond.

    Has he seeded?Elder Xuan was also a little nervous. He was still confident of pulling out the soul core in the first few seconds when Huo Yuhao was fusing with it, but even Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t do anything in this moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion with his soul core was far too deep, and Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t do anything to separate them. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao¡¯s own life would be at risk.

    Truly high risk but high reward!Elder Xuan heaved a sigh inside.

    Far inside the Great Star Dou Forest, not even the Beast God would have expected that his descent into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had advanced his understanding of strength at that level, and Huo Yuhao was even bravely experimenting with it.

    The sun patterns began to ebb like tidewater. They receded as quickly as they had appeared, and even Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin faded away with the sun patterns as he shone with faint rose-gold colors. However, it seemed like his entire person was sublimating into itself.

    Huo Yuhao finally stopped trembling. The Eye of Destiny on his forehead gradually withdrew, and when its glow was extinguished in the end, all that was left was a ck whirlpool that swirled continuously.

    There were fine and delicate rose-gold light patterns around the whirlpool. Every single line shed and changed shape continuously, as if they were all cracks in space.

    The ck whirlpool was clearly on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead, but one would feel that it in fact belonged to another world upon closer inspection. That mystical feeling transfixed Elder Xuan¡¯s gaze.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s fusion today had given him inspiration ¨C a lot of inspiration at that.

    The ck whirlpool was bing smaller as it rotated until it finally disappeared in the end, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead became clean once more.

    What was even stranger was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura vanished entirely along with the ck whirlpool. He was sitting there like a rock, but also like clear spring ¨C there wasn¡¯t a single trace of his own aura, as if his entire being had be illusory; as if Huo Yuhao had disappeared along with that ck whirlpool into another world.

    Elder Xuan took a deep breath. He knew that this little fellow had created something entirely new once more. ording to his knowledge, nobody amongst human Titled Douluo had ever sessfully created a soul core above his dantian. There were three areas ¨C the space between the eyebrows, the chest, and the abdomen. These locations were extremely important for a soul master toward hister years, and a soul master¡¯s soul power could only transform qualitatively by forming a soul core. This was at the core of being a Titled Douluo.

    Soul beasts had a rtively easier time forming soul cores than soul masters. In the end, soul beasts¡¯ physiques were much stronger than those of humans. Di Tian¡¯s soul power had beenpletely converted into soul cores, and there was nobody else like him in the world. Therefore, he was the most powerful individual amongst all the Ultimate Douluo.

    In this moment, Huo Yuhao managed to create his first soul core as a seven-ringed Soul Sage. There was no question that his cultivation would improve at a rate far exceeding typical individuals. This was an unimaginable aplishment! The only thing Elder Xuan was worried about was whether Huo Yuhao could form his second soul core to be a Titled Douluo after he reached Rank 89.

    Elder Xuan had been working towards creating his second soul core over all these years, but he was still one step away, even after all this time. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how difficult creating two soul cores was. However, Huo Yuhao had already chosen this path, and he could no longer regret his choice.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to enter a state of deep meditation as he sat there with his legs crossed. He didn¡¯t wake up, and his body was still filled with a feeling of illusion. Only a powerful individual like Elder Xuan could feel the spatial power permeating around them.

    Having a soul core meant that one¡¯s martial soul could already absorb strength from the space all around them. The soul core wasn¡¯t just absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth ¨C the power of space was unlimited. This was the reason why the Death God Douluo was so astonished when she discovered that the Beast God had mastered spatial power.

    They were all Ultimate Douluo. If Ye Xishui and the Darkness Holy Dragon were at the same standard, then Di Tian was at a standard several levels higher than them. The two of them had to rely on external objects to close this gap.

    Huo Yuhao could no longer feel that intense pain anymore, and in his daze, he felt as if he were entering another world. He was hovering in the darkness within this world, and there was no end to it ¨C all was endless stars and night.

    He was trying very hard to control himself, but nothing responded to his attempts at all. He could only close the distance between his senses and everything around him when he fully concentrated on the stars above, and only then could he see this starry world.

    Space and light ¨C this was everything he was feeling in this moment, and he seemed to feel as if everything that he was was being purified.

    Everything around him was just so surreal. However, all this surrealness seemed to contain the profundities of heaven and earth.

    This feeling was both magical and painful. Huo Yuhao found himself immersed in those sensations.

    ¡°Ah? Yuhao is meditating at your ce?¡± Bei Bei stared at Elder Xuan, who had personally arrived at the Tang Sect. Bei Bei found that hard to believe, and he asked nervously, ¡°Is he alright?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head as he smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be fine. This is quite a big opportunity for him. You guys have to work hard ¨C otherwise, Huo Yuhao will leave everyone in the dust in the not too distant future.¡±

    Bei Bei forced augh and nodded as he said, ¡°That fellow is truly a prodigy!¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like that. He has gone through much more pain and suffering, and he has put in a lot more effort, than you guys have. Talent is one thing, and effort is another. You have too many things to deal with in the Tang Sect; you should quickly share your burden with others so that you don¡¯t overlook your cultivation. You must understand that you havepletely inherited Elder Mu¡¯s blood, and your future is boundless, so cultivation is the most important thing. At least, before soul tools can be stronger than an Ultimate Douluo, we have to focus on our cultivation. That¡¯s the core of being a soul master.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Bei Bei said solemnly.

    Elder Xuan then asked about the Tang Sect¡¯s progress before he left.

    Bei Bei escorted Elder Xuan, and then returned exasperatedly to where he dealt with the Tang Sect¡¯s administrative items. He muttered under his breath, ¡°I was hoping he could help share my burden ¨C looks like he¡¯s run away once again. Hopefully he can awaken from his meditation as soon as possible.¡±

    However, Bei Bei didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to meditate for a much longer time than he thought he would.

    A month passed in the blink of an eye. There was still no news from Huo Yuhao, and Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and the others personally went to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to visit him. They made sure that he was still meditating before they returned, assured.

    The others from the Tang Sect didn¡¯t have such an easy time going into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, there was one person who would discreetly visit the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and Elder Xuan didn¡¯t stop her.

    Tang Wutong stood silently inside the room. She was staring at Huo Yuhao, who was sitting there with his legs crossed and silent like a child. Her eyes were very gentle. She seemed to feel that mystical strength from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and this strength was faintly affecting her own soul power undtions.

    This guy is sublimating.That was Tang Wutong¡¯s judgment.

    Tang Wutong had gone to the Tang Sect after Huo Yuhao began to meditate for a week. She was there with a task from Elder Xuan, and she was responsible for monitoring the Tang Sect¡¯s soul tool production. She unintentionally discovered that Huo Yuhao was meditating inside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and she went to find Elder Xuan to ask if she could see him.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t stop her, and he saw her figure very often ever since then.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t know what she felt towards Huo Yuhao. She had thought that he was a lecher when they first met, and then believed him to be brave and clever when they were at the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western frontlines, and then she believed him to be affectionate and loyal when he saved her life against the Death God. Even his story with Wang Dong¡¯er made her feelings toward him transform continuously.

    Huo Yuhao had been sitting there peacefully over the past month, and Tang Wutong had already gotten used to watching his calm silence. Every time she returned after visiting him, she would be exceptionally concentrated when she meditated herself, and her cultivation became more effective than usual. She had gradually formed this habit.

    She was just standing there quietly, and an hour went by.

    I think it¡¯s time to leave.Tang Wutong suddenly realized that she didn¡¯t want to leave him behind.

    But she had to go back in the end. Over this period of time, after she experienced the battle at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, much of her potential had been unleashed, and she was improving very quickly.

    I should go back. I don¡¯t know when he will wake up, or whether we wille together again in the future. Perhaps we will not. I pray that he finds Dong¡¯er as soon as possible.

    Those thoughts passed through her head, but she suddenly felt a sour tinge in her thoughts.

    What¡­ what is happening?

    Just as she was feeling a little dazed, a strange sensation suddenly appeared on her body. She realized to her surprise that her soul power was starting to circte even though she didn¡¯t do it deliberately, as ayer of faint purplish-gold light shone from her body.

 Chapter 460.1 - Im Willing to Never Wake Up

    <h4 ss>Chapter 460.1: I¡¯m Willing to Never Wake Up</h4>

    The soul power undtions weren¡¯t powerful, but they were definitely there.

    Tang Wutong felt her heart skip a beat, while that strange feeling immediately disappeared. Losing control of one¡¯s soul power was an extremely frightening thing, and was something that nobody wanted to deal with.

    Tang Wutong suddenly felt everything light up in front of her in this moment. When she fixed her eyes once more, she witnessed Huo Yuhao¡¯s glowing eyes.

    What kind of eyes are those?! They seem to contain the endless starry skies, and are so deep that the end cannot be seen.In that instant, Tang Wutong felt like her eyes were transfixed.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t shining with any kind of light. However, the space between him and Tang Wutong still became very bright.

    This feeling was impossible to describe with words, as if there were an unknown source of light present at that location. Tang Wutong stared at his deep eyes that were like whirlpools, and she felt as if her brain had gonepletely nk. The feeling of losing control over her soul power became increasingly evident, but everything seemed to calm down once more in the next moment. Waves of dragon roars resonated through her mind, and they were chiming with joy.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er¡­¡± Huo Yuhao stared nkly at Tang Wutong, who wasn¡¯t far from him, and was just standing there, staring at him in a daze. Huo Yuhao began to levitate from the ground just like that.

    The air on the Sea God¡¯s Ind was very clean, so he was sparkling clean even though he had been meditating there for a month.

    Tang Wutong was wearing a blue gown today, and this was once Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s favorite color. Only thoughts of Dong¡¯er resided in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind in his moment.

    Huo Yuhao had been in deep meditation for over a month. He had gone back and forth through the brightness within those endless starry skies, but everything seemed to vanish the moment he saw Tang Wutong. In this exact moment, she was the only thing in his eyes ¨C his alluring, familiar, and elegant Goddess!

    The space around him seemed to change, and neither Huo Yuhao nor Tang Wutong knew how they closed the distance between one another.

    Huo Yuhao gently stretched out his arms and embraced her.

    He felt as if he had wrapped his arms around the entire world in that moment, as if he were the dictator of those boundless starry skies.

    Everything is just wonderful ¨C just so wonderful.

    Tang Wutong was no longer staring at those bottomless eyes, while her own became agile and sensitive once more as she emerged from her dazed state. But she realized that she had melted into a warm and wide embrace.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er¡­¡± There was a gentle call in her ears, and that voice sounded like a dream. That voice sounded as if it were calling for a spirit from ancient years, and that voice which was so gentle and full of emotion made Tang Wutong a little intoxicated. She realized that she could no longer control herself ¨C except it wasn¡¯t her soul power this time; she had lost control over her body.

    She raised her hands subconsciously. She was hesitant and jerky, but her hands kept moving forward, and she wrapped them around Huo Yuhao¡¯s broad waist. She closed her eyes in that moment, and all she felt was warmth, security,fort, and intoxication.

    They were hugging each other so tightly in that moment, and the entire room seemed to glow.

    Huo Yuhao muttered under his breath, ¡°Even though we are just in a dream, I am willing to remain in this dream forever. Please allow me to sleep for eternity if this a dream. Dong¡¯er, I miss you ¨C I miss you so much. Did you know? I am but left with an empty vessel in the days that you¡¯ve left my side. You¡¯ve returned, and my spirit has returned. I love you, Dong¡¯er. I am willing to love you with my everything to the end of eternity, and I am willing to burn my own life and soul so that we can be together. That is all I want. If this is a dream, let me remain in deep slumber.¡±

    Tang Wutong was momentarily stunned, and her sensations of indulgence and immersion receded instinctively.

    He¡¯s calling her¡­ her¡­ Wang Dong¡¯er¡­

    I am just his dream. I am just a shadow of her.

    A taste of bitterness appeared at the corner of her lips. She didn¡¯t want to leave this warm embrace, but she had no choice but to gently put down her hands that were tightly wrapped around him, no matter how much yearning she had to be in his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I am Wutong.¡±

    A gentle voice rang out beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears. This was like a thunderp for him, and he subconsciously released his arms and floated backward like a lightning bolt.

    Tang Wutong no longer had anything to lean on as he shifted, and her elegant frame stumbled forward for a moment before she stabilized herself.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with hope and dreams before this, but they gradually dimmed as he stared at Tang Wutong in front of him.

    Tang Wutong turned her eyes aside. She seemed to lose her own spirit as he left her arms, and she appeared a little dazed. That empty feeling gave her unimaginable agony deep within her heart, and she felt like she wanted to die.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale as he stared at Tang Wutong. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said with difficulty.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be sorry. I startled you and woke you up from your dream. But I am not her, and I am sorry for making your sweet dream be a nightmare.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded gently in his direction before she swiftly turned around and glided away. She didn¡¯t give him another look from the beginning to the end.

    She didn¡¯t dare to look at him. She was afraid that his eyes would hook her spirit once more if that happened. Yes, she didn¡¯t dare.

    Huo Yuhao was just standing there as he watched her leave with listless eyes. There was an almost hysterical voice in his heart that was calling for him to hold on to her, but he remained standing there in the end, motionless.

    She¡¯s not her. She is Tang Wutong, and not my Dong¡¯er!

    But why did our embrace feel so familiar? If she didn¡¯t say it, perhaps I would really have treated her as Dong¡¯er.

    Where are you, Dong¡¯er?

    Tears flowed down his cheeks like a waterfall. He clutched his fists tightly as he suddenly turned and stared outside the window.

    Huo Yuhao could see Tang Wutong, who was dashing away crazily. He could see the radiating purplish-green hues from her body, and an unknown force pulled at his body and his heart. He watched her until she disappeared beyond the horizon, and that figure that was identical to that of Dong¡¯er¡¯s vanished just like that.

    Dong¡¯er, Dong¡¯er ¨C

    In the Tang Sect.

    ¡°Bam!¡± Nan Qiuqiu began to pout as she kicked away all the stones that were blocking her way. She had been very depressed over the past month.

    We had an agreement! We were supposed to return to my sect and explore the hidden area. But he didn¡¯t even say anything to me before he went into his closed-door cultivation! And he picked the right time for that as well. Is he deliberately trying to avoid me? We have already agreed on being brothers, so why is he dodging me? What an asshole!

    Everyone in the Tang Sect had been very busy over the past month. They were either busy with administrative matters or cultivation.

    Nan Qiuqiu was the same. She wasn¡¯t assigned much work because she had a very irritable and impatient personality. She was tasked to focus more on cultivation. However, cultivating for too long also made her feel frustrated and dull. She was really starting to find this loneliness unbearable.

    She was still walking forward as a figure blocked her path.

    ¡°Hey, get out of my way!¡± Nan Qiuqiu was already in a bad mood, and her hot temper immediately erupted. She didn¡¯t even lift her head as she exploded.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to marry in the future if you keep doing this,¡± the person blocking her didn¡¯t move away, but instead quipped back at her.

    ¡°What the fuck does that have to do with you?!¡± Nan Qiuqiu was furious. She raised her head and looked at the person blocking her way, and her eyes widened as her jaw dropped.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a faint smile on his face, but he sounded like he was chiding as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t curse, you¡¯re a girl.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s sizzling fury from before was immediately extinguished. She was just now clearly full ofints about this guy in front of her, but she now found herself unable to vent her anger when he was standing in front of her.

    Her voice was a lot lower than before. ¡°It¡¯s true anyway. Why do you care whether I can marry? Hmph, you still know how toe back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiuqiu,¡± Huo Yuhao said apologetically, ¡°I didn¡¯t know this dy would be so long. I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mood was instantly lifted when she heard Huo Yuhao apologize. She looked up at him and said, ¡°Are you still going? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for more than a month.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes, of course we¡¯re going. We can leave at any time ¨C I await your instruction!¡± He even bowed at Nan Qiuqiu as he spoke.

    Nan Qiuqiu was ted. She ced her hands behind her back and nodded proudly as he said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s much better. I will forgive you temporarily because of your good attitude, and I will think about how to deal with you ording to how you behaveter on.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao stood up straight as he smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the Tang Sect. I will report to eldest senior brother, and then I can leave with you.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Nan Qiuqiu acknowledged as she turned around and pranced back toward the Tang Sect. However, she didn¡¯t notice the faint dash of loneliness deep within Huo Yuhao¡¯s smiling eyes.

    Huo Yuhao went to find Bei Bei immediately after returning to the Tang Sect.

    Bei Bei appeared much better than he had one month ago. Xu Sanshi and the others had helped share much of his burdens after they returned, and he finally had time to continue cultivating.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, little junior brother. How was it? How much have you gained?¡± Bei Bei spoke with pleasant surprise.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°I have gained much. However, I can¡¯t duplicate it for everyone.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head with a smile on his face. ¡°That¡¯s nothing to worry about. Everyone has his or her own path. You have yours, and we have ours. Everyone¡¯s path is different, but we will all reach the same destination in the end, as long as we work hard and find the right direction, and if we don¡¯t take any shortcuts.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu giggled from aside. ¡°Eldest senior brother, your words are starting to sound more and more philosophical. You live up to your name as the Tang Sect¡¯s eldest senior brother!¡¯

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°Qiuqiu, are you taking Huo Yuhao back to your sect? We have dyed this matter for quite some time, and I am sorry for that. Do help me apologize to your sect leader.¡±

 Chapter 460.2 - Im Willing to Never Wake Up

    <h4 ss>Chapter 460.2: I¡¯m Willing to Never Wake Up</h4>

    Nan Qiuqiu nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already told my mother, and she said that cultivation is more important, and we can go at any time whenever Yuhao is free. My mother returned to our sect about half a month ago. I¡¯ve heard that Dragon City, where the Earthdragon Sect is located, has been conquered by the Sun Moon Empire, and she wants to go back to deal with some administrative matters. She will withdraw all of the sect¡¯s resources this time and transfer them to Shrek.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily shocked when he heard that the Sun Moon Empire had conquered Dragon City. He turned towards Bei Bei and asked, ¡°How is the war going, eldest senior brother?¡±

    One month was quite a long time, and their situation could change in the blink of an eye.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little junior brother. The situation is considered rtively stable. Ever since you guys helped the Star Luo Empire break through the Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s defensive perimeter, the Star Luo Empire has unleashed an assault on all fronts against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. Even though their forward momentum isn¡¯t too quick, they¡¯ve managed to disturb the Sun Moon Empire so that they have no choice but to turn back their soldiers to reinforce their own territory. The pressure on the Heavenly Soul Empire has been reduced. The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s reinforcements have rendezvoused, and they are trying their best to resist the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s pressure. Even though the Sun Moon Empire is still conquering more and morend, their speed has been considerably slowed. This has given us some time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Bei Bei¡¯s words. It seemed like the Star Luo Empire had been reasonably effective.

    Ultimate Douluo were indeed powerful, but the Death God Douluo couldn¡¯t rely on her own strength to cover the entire battlefield. Before they left back then, the White Tiger Duke had already decided on their direction to divide and conquer so that they could target the locations where the Sun Moon Empirecked soldiers, and hence destroy all their legions in those areas. They harassed the Sun Moon Empire overrge areas with small teams. Ye Xishui¡¯s individual strength was very powerful, but she couldn¡¯t cover every single spot. This should be the battle strategy that was effective in the end.

    The White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t inferior to any of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯smanders in terms of strategy and tactics.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Even though you are unlikely to run into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces on your journey, you guys still have to be careful. You have to help the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s leader return to Shrek City while you explore their mysterious areas. Qiuqiu, don¡¯t be unreasonable or yful with Huo Yuhao, do you understand? Otherwise, I will confine you when you return.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°Understood, eldest senior brother. Can you not see how obedient and lovable I am right now?¡±

    Bei Bei stared at her as she attempted to act like she was aggrieved. He couldn¡¯t help butugh as he said, ¡°You? Obedient and lovable? Heaven pity and protect us! Alright, go and pack up, and then you can leave.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu turned and darted away excitedly. She had been looking forward to going out to y for a long time.

    Huo Yuhao chose to stay behind. He could tell from Bei Bei¡¯s eyes that his eldest senior brother had something to say to him.

    ¡°Yuhao, help me look for the Bluesilver Emperor when you go to the Heavenly Soul Empire if it¡¯s possible.¡± His eyes were full ofment and frustration when he said those words. He knew that their chances of finding the Bluesilver Emperor were very slim. In the end, the Great Star Dou Forest was already very helpful, but they still hadn¡¯t discovered anything yet. All they did was provide a lead that a certain soul beast had seen the Bluesilver Emperor within the Heavenly Soul Empire, and this was the reason why Bei Bei had brought it up to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Definitely. Do you have solid leads regarding the Bluesilver Emperor, eldest senior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any proper leads. Someone from the Great Star Dou Forest mentioned some soul beasts have seen the Bluesilver Emperor in the Heavenly Soul Empire, but we don¡¯t have any precise leads. Oh, yes ¨C if you have time, you can visit the Setting Sun Forest. I have kept Big Fur and Little Fur there, and it¡¯s been some time. I wonder how they¡¯re like.¡±

    Big Fur and Little Fur were the two Darkgolden Terrorw Bears that Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu¡¯er had rescued from evil soul masters a long time ago. They had been fed over the past few years, and were a lotrger than before. Bei Bei had left them in the Setting Sun Forest back then before he returned to the Tang Sect to deal with administrative matters.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take a look,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged. He couldn¡¯t help but think about Wang Qiu¡¯er, who had sacrificed herself for him, when he thought of Big Fur and Little Fur. Wang Qiu¡¯er was with him when they had rescued Big Fur and Little Fur!

    Bei Bei nced at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Right, Yuhao. I heard that Tang Wutong has been visiting you very often when you were meditating. Have you seen her? She even found an excuse toe to the Tang Sect not long ago to look for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, and the image of Tang Wutong dashing away surfaced in his head. He nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve met her already.¡±

    Bei Bei contemted for a moment. He wanted to say something and seemed very hesitant, but he kept his words to himself in the end. ¡°Alright, little junior. Be careful on the road, and return as quickly as possible. If you can¡¯t find the Bluesilver Emperor, then forget it. As for Big Fur and Little Fur, you have to tell them not to destroy the immortal herbs around the Icefire Yin Yang Well.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    He was all alone in this world, so there was nothing much for him to pack. He took a shower and changed into some clean clothes before he packed a few extra sets of clean clothes, some rations, and some water. He bid his farewells to hispanions, and he went to see Xuan Ziwen at night. Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu departed the Tang Sect in the morning on the next day, and they went straight toward the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Shrek Academy was positioned at the border between all three empires. They were originally within the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders, while Dragon City, which was where the Earthdragon Sect was located, was in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northeastern regions. They just had to proceed north from Shrek City to reach Dragon City.

    Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu activated their respective flying-type soul tools as they left Shrek City before they rose into the sky and travelled towards the north.

    Both of them felt very liberated as they left the city. The endless skies were just so clean, and everything shed by past beneath them.

    Nan Qiuqiu was flying beside Huo Yuhao, and for some reason, she felt as if there was something different about him. He appeared a little more transcendent than before ¨C of course, that was a good feeling, but Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s heart sunk into a dilemma once again, since she had already given up on her feelings toward him.

    Can this guy stop being so outstanding?

    Ye Guyi had gone into closed-door cultivation since they returned thest time, and she wasn¡¯t done yet. Nan Qiuqiu knew that she wanted to keep herself from seeing Huo Yuhao as much as possible so that he couldn¡¯t pull her heart along. Nan Qiuqiu also wanted to go into closed-door cultivation, but she couldn¡¯t stand all that loneliness. Furthermore, she still had to take Huo Yuhao to the Earthdragon Sect. She was still hoping deep within her heart that something would happen between them during their expedition.

    ¡°Hey. Why are you so taciturn?¡± Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t control herself anymore after flying for more than an hour.

    Huo Yuhao still seemed very casual and elegant as he flew in the sky, and he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    He turned towards her confusedly and said, ¡°Why? What do you want to talk about? Don¡¯t you think the wind is very strong? Talking will waste soul power.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was infuriated. ¡°Then so be it. We should still chat ¨C it¡¯ll be so boring otherwise.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s chat. About what?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned as she said, ¡°What did you gain from your deep meditation? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve had another breakthrough, and you¡¯re already at Rank 80! I will truly be ashamed if that¡¯s the case.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Of course not. Improving soul power requires continual umtion. Even though I umte soul power rtively quickly, I can¡¯t reach Rank 80 so fast. I still need some time.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stared at him suspiciously. ¡°Back in the Earthdragon Sect, my seniors all start shaking their heads when they talk about reaching Rank 80 after breaking through Rank 70, as if reaching Rank 80 is very difficult. Why do you sound like your sess wille naturally?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared back at her exasperatedly. ¡°With your talent, you will realize my words stand true when you reach my cultivation rank. However, Qiuqiu, I have to remind you that you have to pay attention to your spiritual power. When your strength reaches a certain standard in the future, spiritual power will be extremely important if you want to continue improving. Your strength will halt if you don¡¯t have sufficient spiritual power, and you will find it very difficult to continue breaking through.¡±

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest takeaway afterpleting his soul core. His tremendous spiritual power made up for his insufficient soul power. Furthermore, the greatest benefit of having formidable spiritual power was towards the soul core¡¯s stability.

    Huo Yuhao was just a Soul Sage. Even though he had twin martial souls and was stronger than normal Soul Sages, he was still a Soul Sage in the end. But his spiritual power far exceeded his soul power, and under such circumstances, his ability to control his soul power was far stronger than other soul masters. This was how he managed to unexpectedly create his soul core this time.

    Huo Yuhao understood very well that he would need even more spiritual power when he fused with his second soul core. Any soul master who wanted to fuse with their soul cores would need spiritual power as a shield to support them, and thus spiritual power was the most crucialponent to his future advancements.

    Why couldn¡¯t Elder Xuan fuse with his second soul core to be a true Ultimate Douluo? Arge part of thaty in hisck of spiritual power, in addition to hisck of opportunity and luck. Every attempt ended inplete failure, and at his level, he had to readjust himself for a long time after every failure before he could try again. His confidence would also be affected after experimenting too many times without sess, and that was a very terrifying thing for soul masters.

    Nan Qiuqiu stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s serious look and mumbled, ¡°How do I train my spiritual power? I¡¯m not a spiritual-type soul master. I can¡¯t just try and control my soul power futilely.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°You can¡¯t take shortcuts in cultivation. Actually, there are some methods that you can try to raise your spiritual power.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes glowed. ¡°What methods?¡± She was very interested about bing stronger, and this was especially so in a ce like the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect was full of elites, and anyone could be left behind.

 Chapter 460.3 - Im Willing to Never Wake Up

    <h4 ss>Chapter 460.3: I¡¯m Willing to Never Wake Up</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°For instance, like this.¡± He stared at Nan Qiuqiu, and his eyes suddenly became deep and profound. Nan Qiuqiu felt as if there were a ck maelstrom in each of his eyes, and she could feel an indescribable and terrifying pressure emanating from his body that locked her body down in an instant.

    She could feel a tremble that came from her own spirit, and she was terrified as she subconsciously gathered her soul power to resist that pressure. However, she quickly realized that her attempt was futile, because that pressure didn¡¯te from soul power at all ¨C it was pure spiritual power. Furthermore, that spiritual pressure was so strong that she couldn¡¯t even speak. Her flying-type soul tool became unstable as well, and she teetered in midair and seemed like she was going to plummet.

    The pressure was suddenly lifted, and Nan Qiuqiu felt as if an enormous mountain had been lifted from her body. She panted in deep breaths as she tried her best to control her flying-type soul tool. She red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°This is the most effective method to train your spiritual power. If, at any moment, you can sessfully resist my spiritual pressure, then your own will have reached a certain standard. Such training like this is very hard toe by. Didn¡¯t you feel like you were very bored along the way? Then I will take this chance to help you. We¡¯re not in a hurry anyway.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t even say ¡°want¡± when the enormous spiritual pressure that had just disappeared descended onto her once more.

    Even though Nan Qiuqiu was a little more prepared than before, she was caught still off-guard in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable soul power. This time, she was so badly beaten that she plummeted straight towards the ground.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Nan Qiuqiu at an appropriate time in midair, and made sure that she wouldn¡¯t fall to her death. He waited for her to regain control of her body and for her to stabilize herself before the spiritual pressure came back.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fighting back anymore. Throw me to my death if you dare!¡± Nan Qiuqiu was furious after this repeated itself a few more times!

    She felt extremely fatigued after those episodes of immense spiritual pressure. She didn¡¯t even bother to fly as she just allowed herself to drop down.

    Huo Yuhao had no choice but to catch her andnd on the ground.

    Nan Qiuqiu kicked toward Huo Yuhao as they dropped to the ground. Huo Yuhao dodged lightly towards the side and said, ¡°I¡¯m doing this for your own good, Qiuqiu.¡±

    ¡°Psh. You¡¯re trying to take this opportunity to get back at me!¡± Nan Qiuqiu red at Huo Yuhao with an indignant look on her face.

    Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and said, ¡°Looks like I was wrong about you.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned. ¡°Wrong about me? What are you wrong about me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I have always believed you were a very strongdy. If others can¡¯t bear this method of training spiritual power, I¡¯m sure you can. This is very beneficial for you bing a Titled Douluo in the future. I didn¡¯t expect you not to be able to take it after these few times. You¡¯re no different from a typical little girl. Forget it ¨C I won¡¯t give you any more pressure. Meditate and rest up, and once you¡¯ve rested up, we shall hurry towards the Earthdragon Sect.¡± He gave her a disappointed expression as he spoke and turned his head to one side.

    Nan Qiuqiu frowned as he eyebrows went almost vertical. ¡°Who says I can¡¯t take it? I can take it. But¡­ but you¡¯re so evil. Are you targeting me deliberately?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m not so frivolous. I wouldn¡¯t be willing even if someone else begged me.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu grunted and said, ¡°Alright, then let me recover. Don¡¯t think you can ovee me when I¡¯m prepared.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twitched his lips and said, ¡°Prove it.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu crossed her legs and began to recover with apetitive heart.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as he watched her enter meditation.Provoking this girl is the way to go! She¡¯ll probably be tricked even if she knows I¡¯m trying to bait her.

    The Earthdragon Sect could be said to have taken out their most important belongings so that they could establish close cooperation with the Tang Sect. Bei Bei had told Huo Yuhao privately that the Tang Sect had to find some way to repay them if possible. The Earthdragon Sect wasn¡¯t considered a top-tier sect amongst the sects on the continent, but they were still considered a very old and powerful sect. The Earthdragon Sect had provided much help to the Tang Sect in terms of resources. Furthermore, with Nan Shuishui¡¯s support, the Tang Sect¡¯s middle to high level strength had been bolstered. The Earthdragon Sect¡¯s several hundred disciples still belonged to the Earthdragon Sect in name, but Nan Shuishui had already expressed generously that the Earthdragon Sect would fully support the Tang Sect if anything happened.

    Of course, the Tang Sect reciprocated the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s sincerity. Almost a third of the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s disciples had sessfully fused with Spirits, which was a veryudable aplishment amongst the sects. The other sects all looked on with watering mouths, except they didn¡¯t understand the Tang Sect like Nan Shuishui did, and they were just a little hesitant for the moment.

    Huo Yuhao listened to Nan Qiuqiu as she introduced her sect¡¯s secret grounds. He understood that even though Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu spoke of this as a gift to the Tang Sect, this was equivalent to a gift for him. If there really was a rare ice-type metal inside, then that would be extremely useful for him. He could possibly fix the problem of channeling soul power around his human-shaped soul tool.

    Human-shaped soul tools didn¡¯t present any problems for the average soul master as long as their rare metals, jewels, and formation arrays were used appropriately. However, he had an Ultimate martial soul, and typical rare metals couldn¡¯t bear his Ultimate Ice once he used it. Even if those rare metals had enough resistance, they didn¡¯t provide any amplification effects. Instead, those rare metals could hinder him instead.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to owe too many favors, and this was especially so when he knew of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s feelings toward him. Therefore, he wanted to take this opportunity to help her.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s recovery speed was considerably fast, and she leapt to her feet energetically after an hour.

    ¡°Are you ready? You can¡¯t say I¡¯m ambushing you this time,¡± Huo Yuhao ced his hands behind his back and stared at Nan Qiuqiu amusedly.

    Nan Qiuqiu couldn¡¯t stand his mocking smile. She said proudly, ¡°Come!¡±

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Huo Yuhao warned her as his eyes suddenly became extremely deep and profound. This time, his spiritual power was very gentle as it pressed against Nan Qiuqiu.

    Nan Qiuqiu sensed that spiritual pressure, and she immediately concentrated to face it. She felt as if this pressure wasn¡¯t that powerful after a few moments, and a proud look immediately appeared on her face. She grunted and said, ¡°I knew it. I was a little panicky in the sky. Otherwise, your spiritual power would have been useless against me, unless you used soul skills.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled inly and said, ¡°Pay attention.¡±

    His spiritual pressure gradually began to increase as his voice dropped.

    Nan Qiuqiu was tough in her words, but she knew the gap between Huo Yuhao and herself. Her expression froze as she gathered her strength once more to fend off Huo Yuhao without quarter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual pressure started to increase bit by bit. This level of increase was small, but it was still happening continuously. Every increase gave Nan Qiuqiu a little more pressure.

    Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead, and her face turned a little rosy as her mouth opened slightly. A faint aroma wafted from her body because she was sweating.

    Huo Yuhao was just standing there. He didn¡¯t even use his eyes to look at her as the pressure unleashed from his body continued to strengthen.

    Nan Qiuqiu gradually began to see hallucinations appear in front of her eyes as her breathing became verybored. She felt as if there were an enormous and formless mountain that was weighing down on her soul.

    No ¨C I need to hold on. I can¡¯t let this fellow look down on me.

    She gritted her teeth before she suddenly shouted to boost her own form as ayer of pinkish light emanated from her body. That was her Rouge Dragon; her martial soul emerged automatically under Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual pressure.

    A pinkish diamond-shaped crystal instantly appeared on Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s forehead as her martial soul appeared. She clearly felt a lift in the pressure as the spiritual power inside her spiritual sea fused with her martial soul and resisted Huo Yuhao¡¯s pressure more effectively.

    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t even catch a breather as Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual pressure suddenly increased. That tremendous pressure made her body tremble as the pinkish light around her shone brilliantly.

    She couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill run down her spine.Has this guy¡¯s spiritual power really be this powerful?

    Nan Qiuqiu was very clear that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t yet released his martial soul. This meant that he was pressuring her with pure spiritual power, without any amplification from his Spirit Eyes. However, Nan Qiuqiu had unleashed her martial soul.No matter what, I¡¯m still a Soul Emperor! Am I about to crumble against his spiritual pressure?

    Huo Yuhao still wasn¡¯t looking at her as the spiritual pressure increased continuously.

    Pinkish dragon scales emerged over Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s body. Her face and eventually her entire body was covered by dragon scales, but these dragon scales couldn¡¯t defend her against Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual pressure. Her body started to quiver and sway, and she gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists tightly. However, she was starting to break apart against the tremendous spiritual pressure.

    No, I can hold on!Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s stubbornness acted up. Just as Huo Yuhao thought, provoking this unbending girl was always the simplest and most effective method.

    Time continued to pass as Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power continued to increase. Even he was a little surprised in this moment, as he hadn¡¯t expected her to be able to resist his pressure for so long. An hour had passed, while he had already unleashed forty percent of what he could release.

    This ¡°forty percent¡± couldn¡¯t be underestimated ¨C this amount was equivalent to the spiritual pressure that an eight-ringed Soul Douluo could unleash. Ever since Huo Yuhaopleted his fusion with his soul core, his spiritual power¡¯s overall volume could bepared to that of a Transcendent Douluo, while his recovery speed and effectiveness followed in tandem. It was already quite impressive that Nan Qiuqiu could withstand forty percent of his spiritual pressure.

    A thread of blood began to appear at the corner of Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s mouth. Her eyes and pupils became a little ck, but her unbending will kept her on her feet.

 Chapter 461.1 - Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 461.1: Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal</h4>

    Huo Yuhao knew that it was almost time. If he went any further, he would hurt her.

    He didn¡¯t immediately remove his spiritual pressure. That wouldn¡¯t be good for Nan Qiuqiu. Instead, he slowly lowered the pressure and let her gradually adapt to it. As the pressure decreased, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s spiritual state of mind also started to weaken.

    Finally, she copsed to the ground after Huo Yuhao removed all the pressure.

    Huo Yuhao came to her side. He lifted his hand and rubbed the perspiration off his forehead. While he only let out at most forty percent of his spiritual power, he was carefully controlling it throughout this one hour. He had to get close to Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s limit without hurting her, which was sort of a test of his control. If this was before he had formed his soul core, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it.

    He squatted down beside Nan Qiuqiu and ced his hand on her brow. After sensing for a brief moment, he was sure that her spiritual sea was undamaged. It was just that she had been overly drained. After this, he nodded satisfactorily.

    The method of using spiritual pressure to strengthen someone else¡¯s spiritual power was built on the premise that the person possessed immense spiritual power in the first ce. Otherwise, the other party might be critically hurt if things went wrong.

    However, this was undoubtedly the best method, and it was the most effective on the first try. Huo Yuhao estimated that Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s spiritual power would experience a significant increase after this experience.

    However, she was overly drained, and wouldn¡¯t wake up anytime soon. Huo Yuhao spontaneously opened his spectral demine and ced her inside. After unleashing some enchantments, he chased away some specters and protected her inside the demine. At the same time, he left behind a streak of his spirit to protect her inside the demine. The moment she woke up, he would be aware of it.

    After finishing all that, he stood up before continuing his journey.

    Without Nan Qiuqiu slowing him down, Huo Yuhao was as quick as lightning as he flew in the air. This time, he didn¡¯t use any flying-type soul tools. He relied on his soul power to fly.

    As he flew, Huo Yuhao sensed that his soul power was slowly being drained.

    After forming his soul core, he hadn¡¯t had time to carefully test it yet. He had only briefly tested it in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. After the fusion, his soul power had actually jumped two ranks. He was now at Rank 76. Such an increase left him close to Rank 80. In just a year, he had managed to improve by leaps and bounds.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t satisfied with his current cultivation. The war might carry on at any time. A seven-ringed Soul Sage was considered pretty high-ranked, but he wouldn¡¯t be of much help if he wanted to affect the situation at the highest tier. He needed greater strength.

    Due to the rank of his soul power, his soul power was obviously being drained at a slower speed. Huo Yuhao was more astonished with the recovery speed of his soul power.

    After more than ten percent of his soul power had been drained, he didn¡¯t need to deliberately do anything. On his forehead, the ck whirlpool that belonged to a different dimension naturally opened. There was boundless darkness inside this whirlpool. A strong suction force instantaneously appeared and sucked all the origin energy in the air to replenish Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He recovered as quickly as he was drained. It was as if he wasn¡¯t affected at all.

    No wonder it was only a Titled Douluo that could possess a soul core! Given this recovery speed, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being drained in the process of flying.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was stunned to discover that his soul core didn¡¯t just replenish his soul power. It also replenished his spiritual power.

    To help Nan Qiuqiu earlier, his spiritual sea was revolving in a weird trajectory, but his spiritual power was now recovering too.

    Simply put, this soul core was like another Huo Yuhao in a different dimension. In this world, Huo Yuhao might be flying. However, he was resting and cultivating in the other dimension. This feeling wasn¡¯t just new; it was fantastic too.

    Huo Yuhao understood that his cultivation speed had doubled at the very least after obtaining this soul core. Within a year or two, he could be a Soul Douluo.

    Right now, he was just twenty years old.

    As he flew and sensed the changes in his soul core, Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying speed kept on increasing. He was like a beam of flowing light in the air. More magically, this beam of flowing light was slowly dimming as it flew. It was as if it werebining with heaven and earth.

    If Elder Mu could be by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side right now, he would be shocked. He would also tell Huo Yuhao that this was the Unity of Heaven and Man. Even Transcendent Douluo might not reach such a realm. After reaching such a realm, not only would one¡¯s life energy decrease at a slower speed, but his affinity with the origin energy of heaven and earth would also increase. During the process of cultivation and recovery, such a soul master would do better than other soul masters of the same cultivation. In addition, such a soul master would also be better at concealing himself.

    Huo Yuhao was dyed because he was helping Nan Qiuqiu earlier, but he soon caught up with his astonishing speed. In the evening, he could already see the outline of Dragon City.

    Dragon City was considered a huge city in the Heavenly Soul Empire, located in its northeast region. Its temperature wasparatively lower than the other regions. Moving north from Dragon City, Huo Yuhao could reach the Extreme North in less than four hours. He could reach the core of the Extreme North in at most eight hours. This clearly showed how low the temperature was in Dragon City.

    Huo Yuhao could only see ice and snow all around.

    In fact, he clearly knew why the Sun Moon Empire chose to upy more than two-thirds of the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire. They wanted to continue expanding their territory starting from the north.

    One reason was that it was very difficult for ordinary soldiers to resist the cold in the north. This was even more advantageous for their soul engineer legions. Even the Dou Ling Empire wasn¡¯t able to provide stronger support. Another reason was naturally because of Shrek Academy.

    If the Sun Moon Empire attacked the south first, they were very likely to face thebined forces of the Star Luo Empire, Heavenly Soul Empire, Dou Ling Empire and Shrek Academy. Just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s second n, such a situation would lead to a final showdown between the Sun Moon Empire and the rest of the other empires and Shrek Academy.

    Without the Star Luo Empire¡¯s attack on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories, the Sun Moon Empire might perhaps still choose a final showdown. With the Holy Ghost Church to support them, a few soul engineer legions and two Ultimate Douluo, they were confident of winning.

    However, if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories were attacked, they would be greatly threatened, and would have no choice but to send troops to protect their own territories. Under such a condition, the situation at the frontlines was bound to be less intense.

    Invading from the north could at least help them avoid the Star Luo Empire and Shrek Academy. The remaining troops of the Dou Ling and Heavenly Soul Empires would at most dy them, but not stop them. Evidently, attacking from the north instead of the south was more advantageous.

    At the same time, the Sun Moon Empire needed some buffer time. Although the Heavenly Soul Empire wasn¡¯t as huge as the Star Luo Empire, it was still much bigger than the Dou Ling Empire. Compared to the Sun Moon Empire, it was still two-thirds asrge. After upying the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire still needed time to pacify the citizens and strengthen their rule. This was why the Sun Moon Empire had toned down over the past month or so.

    An invasion couldn¡¯t be pulled off so easily. This was because it wasn¡¯t just an invasion. It was an annexation; the Sun Moon Empire wanted to expand its territory.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time here in Dragon City. Now that the first city in the north of the Heavenly Soul Empire was already upied, how could one not feel hopeless?

    The Heavenly Dragon and Earthdragon Sects were the two most representative sects of Dragon City. However, they were stillckingpared to the Sun Moon Empire.

    The Earthdragon Sect saw iting, and had already moved more than half of their resources and disciples to Shrek City under Nan Shuishui¡¯s charge. They only had some resources left over, but they weren¡¯t greatly affected. The situation that the Heavenly Dragon Sect was in right now was unknown.

    Huo Yuhao could still clearly remember how strong the captain of the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s team, Yu Tianlong, was during the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. His pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was extraordinary. Nan Shuishui had also mentioned that the Heavenly Dragon Sect was stronger than the Earth Dragon Sect, whose sect leader was a Titled Douluo. Even though it wasn¡¯t as strong as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect in the past, it was still an elite sect.

    As he thought, Huo Yuhao was already getting closer and closer to Dragon City. He unleashed his spiritual power in the direction of Dragon City. Just as he had expected, there were already aerial surveince soul tools over Dragon City.

    However, there were fewer aerial surveince soul tools herepared to the Ming Dou Mountain Range. After all, manufacturing aerial surveince soul tools wasn¡¯t cheap. Unless they were used at particrly important ces, there wouldn¡¯t be a congregation of them.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao saw that there were no troops stationed outside the city. There were only some guards on the city wall.

    It seemed like the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defense of Dragon City wasn¡¯t very strong.

    Huo Yuhao found a small tree that could conceal him as he descended when he was around eight kilometers from Dragon City. He revealed himself before walking towards the city.

    Nan Qiuqiu was still in a deep sleep. Huo Yuhao predicted that she would only awaken the next morning. This period of time was particrly important to her. One couldn¡¯t increase their spiritual power under normal conditions. This was why he decided to enter the city and find a ce to stay first before going to the Earthdragon Sect after Nan Qiuqiu was awake.

    He would need some time to walk eight kilometers. However, he wasn¡¯t in a rush, and walked slowly. There wasn¡¯t much security outside the city, and he was only briefly checked before he was allowed to enter.

 Chapter 461.2 - Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 461.2: Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal</h4>

    After entering Dragon City, Huo Yuhao felt much less cold air blowing against him. With the city wall as a barrier, the temperature inside the city was naturally higher than outside the city.

    Everything inside the city seemed to be very ordinary. There weren¡¯t any signs of suffering or misery. Although the streets weren¡¯tpletely empty, they weren¡¯t bustling with life either. In a city as cold as this, the poption was bound to be much less than a city in the south.

    As Huo Yuhao walked forward, he observed his surroundings and sensed the changes.

    There was a simple soul formation at the top of the city wall. However, there weren¡¯t many soul engineers stationed there, and they were only apanied by a few ordinary soldiers.

    Given such a defense, the Heavenly Soul Empire could possibly ovee it if they could divide their troops and attack the city with one or two regr legions.

    Shrek Academy didn¡¯t have any information about this city either. Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know anything. In a city, there wasn¡¯t a ce more suitable than an inn to find out information. Huo Yuhao decided to find an inn and gather information about the situation in Dragon City before making any ns.

    It was very easy to find an inn in such a cold city. Drinking could warm one¡¯s body, and this was why many northerners considered it their hobby. Even somedies shared the same hobby too.

    Huo Yuhao soon found an inn and entered. The sign board of this inn wasn¡¯t very big. However, Huo Yuhao immediately sensed a bustling atmosphere the moment he entered.

    A warm feeling swept over him the moment he entered. He felt engulfed by a heatwave, and the coldness he felt in his body immediately disappeared.

    The size of the inn wasn¡¯t very big, and it was much hotter inside this inn. Some people were even sleeveless as they consumed alcohol.

    There were four or five tables as well as a bar. There were twenty to thirty people in the inn, which contributed to the rowdy atmosphere. However, the atmosphere also felt very friendly.

    Huo Yuhao noticed that there were a few scantily-ddies behind every table and the bar. However, thesedies weren¡¯t young. They looked to be in their thirties. Although they were scantily-d, they weren¡¯t very physically attractive. They were all dressed in the same way. Evidently, they belonged to this inn. They were there to drink with the customers, but they didn¡¯t provide any further services. Even though the customers were also drinking and joking with them, they were seated pretty far away. It seemed like this was a culture of inns in Dragon City. Ladies were only there to provide an atmosphere for drinking.

    ¡°Wee, sir.¡± A scantily-ddy who revealed her shoulders and cleavage walked over and greeted Huo Yuhao, who had just entered. She had a strong northern ent. Her voice was very smooth, but it was slightly nasal. Although her yellow dress was very revealing, it also exuded the elegant style of the Heavenly Soul Empire. It was just that the dress was made of slightly inferior quality.

    ¡°Hi.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded slightly to acknowledge her. ¡°Are there still seats?¡±

    Thedy in yellow said, ¡°There are only seats at the bar. Will that do?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded again.

    Thedy brought him to a corner of the bar before sitting down. Huo Yuhao was dressed rather lightly. After all, he came directly from Shrek Academy. Naturally, he didn¡¯t need to take off a coat. However, all the customers in the inn were already drunk, and didn¡¯t notice this at all.

    Thedy brought a ss of warm water for Huo Yuhao before asking, ¡°Sir, you must be a foreigner.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, ¡°Yes! Dragon City is really cold.¡±

    Thedyughed, ¡°You¡¯re right. Seeing the way you¡¯re dressed, you must be feeling very cold. You¡¯ll be fine after having some alcohol. What do you want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Give me something local.¡±

    ¡°Alright, wait a minute then.¡±

    Not long afterward, a ss of amber alcohol was brought in front of Huo Yuhao. It had a strong alcoholic fragrance.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his cup and sniffed the alcohol. Suddenly, a strong alcoholic scent swept his nose. Evidently, the alcohol was very strong.

    As he sniffed the alcohol, he couldn¡¯t help but recall how there was too much origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body during the tournament in Radiant City, and how he had to rely on distite to neutralize it. Time had passed so quickly. Wang Dong¡¯er was no longer with him, and he was now in this northern city.

    After tasting a sip of the alcohol, a malty, acrid taste filled his throat. It warmed his body as it went all the way into his belly. That feeling was indeed refreshing.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use his soul power to neutralize the strength of the alcohol. As he sensed the burning stimtion, his face also turned a bit red.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t the most handsome person, he was still very charming because of his great spiritual power. Thedy¡¯s eyes brightened when she saw his flush. ¡°Sir, where are you from?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m from the south, and I¡¯m here to visit a friend.¡±

    Thedy smiled and replied, ¡°You must be careful then. It¡¯s wartime now. Don¡¯t go to war-prone ces where there¡¯s a lot of fighting.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t moved as he said, ¡°I heard that Dragon City has already¡­¡±

    Thedy didn¡¯t hide anything from him and responded to his question. ¡°Yes, Dragon City has already been upied by the Sun Moon Empire. We were initially very worried, but it seems like things aren¡¯t that bad.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he looked at her. He asked, ¡°How¡¯s the war situation?¡±

    She replied, ¡°Ordinary citizens like us wouldn¡¯t know anything. At least the Sun Moon Empire hasn¡¯t done anything to ordinary citizens like us after upying Dragon City. Instead, they¡¯ve sent out announcements that they won¡¯t plunder from us or kill anyone. They want us to maintain order and not leave our houses easily.¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little astonished. The Sun Moon Empire had greatly alleviated the suffering that ordinary citizens generally experienced in such cases by not touching them. If this was the case, it was a blessing amongst all the suffering.

    Thedy said, ¡°Yes! They have upied Dragon City for many days, and only left behind a few soldiers to maintain order. After that, businessmen started to enter the city. The soldiers retreated from the city two days after arriving. You should have seen how there isn¡¯t much damage to the city at all. I only heard that a few soul master sects were forced to temporarily leave Dragon City by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops. However, I¡¯m not sure where they went.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and started to ponder. From the start when Xu Tianran started the war and held many elite talents from the Soul Dueling Tournament captive, he thought that lives were bound to be lost in this war.

    Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church aided the Sun Moon Empire. Given such a situation, how was it possible that they spared the citizens? This was something that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected.

    Before Huo Yuhao even asked anything else, thedy also got herself a ss of malt alcohol from behind the bar and said, ¡°Those businessmen were also very weird. After entering the city, they didn¡¯t trade. Instead, they were giving out stuff. I heard that they gave many of the nobility in the city weird items. I heard they are rted to soul tools. Their empire upied our city, but they¡¯re giving us stuff. I don¡¯t get what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also confused when he heard her words.Why has something like this happened? What is the Sun Moon Empire nning to do?

    Huo Yuhao only got this information. He didn¡¯t obtain anything useful after speaking to other patrons.

    After inquiring about the mayor¡¯s house in the city, he left the inn upon finishing his alcohol.

    Right now, the sky had already turned dark, and the flow of people on the streets had evidently decreased. The temperature had also dropped significantly.

    To prevent himself from being too conspicuous, Huo Yuhao retrieved a coat from his storage-type soul tool and wore it. He slowly walked the streets.

    He had originally intended to find a ce to stay, and would only go to the Earthdragon Sect after Nan Qiuqiu woke up. However, he had some new ideas now.

    He was curious. The Sun Moon Empire had not plundered the citizens nor touched them in any way. They even allowed businessmen to enter the city to give them stuff. What were the empire¡¯s intentions here?

    He went to the mayor¡¯s residence to take a look. At least there were people from the Sun Moon Empire there. Perhaps he could obtain some information.

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao turned into a dark alley and slowly disappeared into the dark under the concealment of his Imitation.

    The mayor¡¯s residence was located in the city center just like in most other cities. The mayor¡¯s residence looked pretty big, and was visible from afar.

    There were two soldiers standing at the entrance. They wore thick winter wear. Huo Yuhao jumped up and silently entered the residence. He moved like a falling leaf, and didn¡¯t rm anyone.

    The residence was very quiet. It was only after a while that a patrol of troops could be seen passing by. Huo Yuhao snuck in and quickly came to the core structure of the residence.

    He drifted up towards a second-story room that was lit. At the same time, he unleashed his spiritual power, engulfing the entire residence. He didn¡¯t believe there were any spiritual detectors here.

    Very soon, he quickly grasped the situation in the residence. There were about a hundred and fifty troopers inside this residence. Of them, twenty were soul engineers. Their cultivations were slightly weak ¨C they were only two or three-ringed soul engineers. In the central room of the residence, there was a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Huo Yuhao could only tell if he was a soul engineer by seeing him directly.

    He¡¯s only a Soul Emperor, but he¡¯s taking charge of the entire city? The Sun Moon Empire is really throwing caution to the wind.

 Chapter 461.3 - Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 461.3: Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal</h4>

    As he thought, Huo Yuhao drifted up and charged towards the room where the Soul Emperor was.

    Very soon, he was outside the door. Given the number of people that were in this residence, he was absolutely confident of defeating all of them by himself. However, he didn¡¯t want to rm anyone. He remained quiet outside the window. His spiritual power was focused inside the room, and he silently listened and observed.

    There was a fifty-year-old Soul Emperor reading some documents in the room and nodding asionally. To only be a Soul Emperor at such an age meant that he had no future. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao also sensed the presence of soul tools in the room. Undoubtedly, he had to be a ss 6 soul engineer.

    Someone came. Huo Yuhao felt something, and sensed a few people outside the residence. From their dress, it seemed like they were all businessmen instead of military personnel. These people quickly entered the residence after sending word of their arrival before rushing into the room where this Soul Emperor was.

    ¡°Sir, people from the Sun Moon Chamber of Commerce are here.¡± A soldier respectfully reported from outside the room.

    ¡°Alright. Let them in.¡± The Soul Emperor said calmly.

    The few businessmen were led into the room under the guidance of the soldier. At the same time, they bowed towards the Soul Emperor.

    ¡°How is it? How¡¯s the n going?¡± The Soul Emperor asked.

    Anky businessman replied, ¡°We experienced some difficulty at the start. The nobility of the Heavenly Soul Empire discriminated against us. However, after you sent out instructions not to confiscate theirnd and wealth, they didn¡¯t dare to openly express their hate towards us even if they secretly hate us. They only resisted our efforts in the shadows. Over these few days, we¡¯ve already demonstrated how magical soul tools can be, which I believe is slowly moving them. This is especially true for our thermal radiators, which I believe they are most interested in. Thermal radiators can greatly conserve costly coal. Every other week, we¡¯ll just need a soul engineer to pour in his soul power. That¡¯ll be sufficient to power a thermal radiator to keep a plot ofnd not bigger than five hundred square meters warm. We can even avoid the smell of burning coal. They are all very surprised.¡±

    The Soul Emperor nodded in satisfaction and responded, ¡°Alright, continue to advertise. Give them everything. Don¡¯t feel heart-ache over that. The marshal has mentioned that even though we¡¯ll experience some temporary mary losses, they¡¯ll eventually be reliant on us once they adapt to a life of soul tools, and won¡¯t be willing to return to their obsolete lives. After we win over the nobility and convince them to work for us, we¡¯ll then turn our efforts to the citizens. In a few years, we¡¯ll win the hearts of the entire city.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The businessmen nodded respectfully. After this, they carried out a series of reports. They were talking about how to transport soul tools into the city for the noble families and teaching them how to use them. They were also talking about how to move the nobility, as well as who were the ones who had been moved, and who were the ones who were still very stubborn.

    The entire reportsted roughly an hour before the businessmen left.

    After sending them to the door, the mayor returned to his room and muttered in awe to himself, ¡°Marshal, you are far-sighted! This method is much better than performing a massacre. The Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t just rely on military power to rule the entire continent. This method to use soul tools to win the hearts of the people is indeed impressive. We¡¯ve lessened the number of troops in the city, making them rx their guard. After that, we used soul tool technology to infiltrate their lives, although we¡¯re the ones who control the core technologies. In the future, there¡¯ll only be the Sun Moon Empire. The funny thing is that the Heavenly Soul Empire, Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire are still trying to resist us. Perhaps they¡¯ll discover in a few years that their citizens in the territories we¡¯ve upied are no longer loyal to them. Haha, brilliant. This is indeed brilliant. The Marshal is indeed the person I admire the most! Conquering hearts without using force. That¡¯s the most advanced of all strategies.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood outside for two hours and listened to everything. After listening to this point, his expression had already turned slightly pale.

    Impressive. This ¡®Marshal¡¯ that he¡¯s talking about is too impressive.

    Using soul tool technology as a means of infiltration. What kind of brilliant idea is that?

    The air outside was extremely cold, but Huo Yuhao was dripping with perspiration. An overt plot, it was a true overt plot! Perhaps he could destroy everything in Dragon City with all his strength. However, if the Sun Moon Empire did the same throughout the entire Heavenly Soul Empire, there was no way he could stop them unless he could drive them out quickly.

    Who exactly was this marshal? He actually had such a strategy. He was indeed a brilliant strategist.

    Huo Yuhao had seen Xu Tianran before. He didn¡¯t have a good impression of him. Without a doubt, Xu Tianran was an anti-hero. However, it was perhaps because of his disability that he seemed very sinister and vicious. Right now, the strategy that Huo Yuhao heard of was definitely something that an anti-hero couldn¡¯t have thought up.

    This was a true overt plot. It was upright, but perhaps only effective in the long-term. However, if it worked, it would be extremely effective! If they seeded, the Heavenly Soul Empire would find it extremely challenging to regain hold of the territories they had lost.

    Given the current situation in all the empires, the foundation of every empire was the nobility. The nobility controlled almost all the resources in an empire. The most powerful of the nobility were naturally the imperial families of each empire. This was the foundation of a monarchy.

    This was why the Sun Moon Empire had a very specific target. First, they chose to prate the hearts of the nobility of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Once the nobility slowly sided with the Sun Moon Empire and helped them promote soul tool technology in their own empire, they could only be subjected to maniption, given that they didn¡¯t possess any core technologies. They would forever be reliant on the Sun Moon Empire.

    The longer they were under upation, the more evident this would be. This was too terrifying. The person who came up with this strategy left Huo Yuhao in awe.

    There weren¡¯t any massacres. It was through pure soul tool technology pration that the Sun Moon Empire demonstrated their advantage to the fullest. Before today, Huo Yuhao would never have expected the Sun Moon Empire to use such a method of invasion.

    How should he react to such a strategy?

    Huo Yuhao silently left the residence and found a hotel to stay the night. He was sleepless the entire night.

    It was only when the sky had already brightened that Huo Yuhao retracted his thoughts. To him, it was fine that he couldn¡¯t sleep the entire night. It was just that he couldn¡¯t think of a proper way to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strategy even though he had been thinking the entire night.

    What an overt plot! It was an overt plot that one found difficult to counteract.

    It wasn¡¯tpletely foolproof. The simplest way of dealing with it was to quickly reim all the lost territories. At the same time, the Sun Moon Empire had to be stopped. It was only through this way that they could possibly hang on.

    However, what about the long-term?

    Within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders, the empire had already promoted soul tool technology to ordinary citizens. Furthermore, it was extremely difficult to reim the cities that they had taken from the Heavenly Soul Empire. In the area of soul tools, the Sun Moon Empire was simply leading by too much.

    As time passed, the cities that had fallen to the Sun Moon Empire would likely yield to the Sun Moon Empire even if they didn¡¯t attack, and only maintained the current situation. With more resources and support, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool technology would advance faster and faster. This would further the gap between them and the other empires of the original Douluo Continent.

    The current peak of soul tool technology right now was the Death God. However, the Death God was undoubtedly an exception. It was a soul tool that everyone feared. It could only be operated after killing people. One Death God wasn¡¯t considered too terrifying to Huo Yuhao. Its threat would cease to exist once the soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t handle it anymore.

    However, soul tool technology was continuously improving. As it continued to develop, there would be a day in the future where it could possibly threaten Titled Douluo, and even Ultimate Douluo. If that was the case, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s rule over the entire continent was bound to happen!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t reject soul tool technology. He was also a soul engineer. As soul tool technology kept on developing, it represented societal progress. It was an evolution of the entire Douluo Continent. However, he didn¡¯t wish to see the Sun Moon Empire ruling over the entire Douluo Continent. This was something that he couldn¡¯t ept.

    However, there wasn¡¯t any stopping them. Over the past few thousand years, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent had already told him the answer using the current situation that they were facing ¨C closing their empire and refusing to ept development as a reality, as well as unwilling to learn the qualities of others. The end result was that they were on the verge of bing obsolete.

    The three empires of the original Douluo Continent were too huge. All the authorityy in the hands of the nobility. Even if the imperial families wanted to promote soul tool development, it wasn¡¯t something that was effective in the short-term. Most noble families were still discriminative towards soul tools.

    Perhaps the only hopey in the academy.

    Shrek was only a city. It was mainly led by Shrek Academy. Over the past ten years, ever since Elder Mu had recognized the importance of developing soul tools, and after Elder Xuan had taken the reins, Shrek Academy had been continuously developing its Soul Tool Department, and the Tang Sect was established to encourage the speedy development of Shrek City. Furthermore, there weren¡¯t any noble families in Shrek City. Perhaps the future Shrek was the only hope left for the original Douluo Continent.

    After thinking until here, Huo Yuhao seemed to have thought of something. There was something extra in his head. However, he couldn¡¯t tell what it was yet.

    Just as he was gradually clearing his thoughts, his spiritual sea moved slightly. Nan Qiuqiu was awake.

 Chapter 462 - The Earthdragon Sects Secret Base

    <h4 ss>Chapter 462: The Earthdragon Sect¡¯s Secret Base</h4>

    Nan Qiuqiu looked very depressed as she exited his spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Qiuqiu?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu looked at the weather outside and said, ¡°Surely this isn¡¯t the second day already, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shrugged.

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and said, ¡°What¡¯s so impressive about bullying me? Your spiritual power is just a little stronger. There¡¯ll be a day where I¡¯ll surpass you.¡±

    When she said thatst sentence, she didn¡¯t seem to have any confidence at all.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mock her. He only smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for that day toe. How¡¯re you feeling? Are you feeling unwell?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and replied, ¡°No. I¡¯m great. For someone who doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate beauty, hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly. He didn¡¯t try to exin himself either. He believed that Nan Qiuqiu would understand his intentions in the future.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll bring you back to your sect.¡± After he finished speaking, Nan Qiuqiu started walking out, but Huo Yuhao stopped her and took her somewhere to eat first. After eating, they checked out of the inn and came to the streets of Dragon City.

    Nan Qiuqiu was very familiar with Dragon City. After making turns within the city, they came to the center of the city that was facing the north. She looked to the street sides and corners of walls. Evidently, she was still displeased with Huo Yuhao, and refused to acknowledge him.

    Huo Yuhao was very quiet as he followed her.

    After walking for some time, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes brightened. She stopped in front of a cloth shop and twisted her head to Huo Yuhao before gesturing towards him.

    ¡°Quick,e.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurried forward and entered this cloth shop behind Nan Qiuqiu.

    It was a little empty in the shop. Perhaps it was because it was still morning, and they had just opened shop. There was a shopkeeper at the counter, and there were two workers outside.

    Seeing Nan Qiuqiu, the shopkeeper evidently appeared to know her. His eyes brightened and he rushed over. After taking a few nces, he whispered, ¡°Young mistress, you¡¯re finally here.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu also lowered her voice and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡±

    The shopkeeper answered, ¡°She¡¯s in the back. This is?¡± He was doubtful as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Nan Qiuqiu replied, ¡°He¡¯s my friend. My mom knows him. Bring us to see her.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The shopkeeper led both of them to a small door and proceeded towards the backyard of the shop.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself.The foundation of the Earthdragon Sect is so deep in this city. It¡¯s not easy for the Sun Moon Empire to chase them away.

    Nan Shuishui had just finished her breakfast, and was basking in the sun in the backyard. Seeing that Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu had arrived, she was delighted. She smiled as she received them.

    ¡°Elder Nan.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted her with a bow.

    Nan Qiuqiu stood at one side and shouted, ¡°Good kid!¡±

    Nan Shuishui red at her daughter. ¡°How can you take such advantage of him? Don¡¯t be so mischievous.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiuughed cheekily, and her displeasure at Huo Yuhao seemed to disappear.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Elder, how is the situation in Dragon City? I heard that the soul master sects in the city have been taken away by the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Nan Shuishui sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s too quick. In just a few months, the Sun Moon Empire have already upied this city. Their powers are beyond our imagination! You¡¯re right. Most of therge sects in Dragon City, apart from us, have been forced outside of Dragon City. The rest have also been taken away. The Sun Moon Empire has performed a clean sweep of the soul master sects in the city. However, it¡¯s fortunate that they¡¯ve not done anything to the people. This is the reason why we¡¯ve been able to preserve some of our resources. I¡¯m sure there are others who are still here, but have yet to reveal themselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow slightly and said, ¡°I wonder what the Sun Moon Empire is nning by taking away so many of the soul master sects.¡±

    Nan Shuishuiughed coldly and said, ¡°What else can they want? They¡¯ll probably tempt them to join them. If it¡¯s not possible, they¡¯ll just kill all of them. There¡¯re only two possibilities. There¡¯ll be those who are cowardly and afraid of death. I heard that the Sun Moon Empire added two more soul engineer legions after upying the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territories. These two soul engineer legions were divided and sent to the original soul engineer legions. The soul engineers in these legions are equipped with basic soul tools and have be part of their fighting forces. This Sun Moon Empire is really devious. Those whock backbone also deserve to be killed!¡±

    They were fueling the war through what they¡¯d won from the war! After Huo Yuhao listened to Nan Shuishui¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of helplessness. After the Sun Moon Empire started its invasion, he felt that their strategy was wless, and theypletely had the upper hand.

    From the initial feint attack on the Star Luo Empire to restrain them to the massive invasion of the Heavenly Soul Empire to the series of targeted strategiester on, the Sun Moon Empire had achieved the greatest advantage in the shortest period of time.

    Marshal. Are those strategies devised by that marshal mentioned by the mayor? I didn¡¯t expect Xu Tianran to have such a powerful figure under him. I wonder what kind of sh will ur when we face him on the battlefield in the future.

    Nan Shuishui said, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, let¡¯s exploit the opportunity that there aren¡¯t many Sun Moon Empire soldiers here right now and get things done. Come on, I¡¯ll bring you there.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nan Shuishui dressed herself up and put on a bamboo hat with a veil before leading both of them out of the shop. She proceeded in a northerly direction.

    Nan Qiuqiu whispered to Huo Yuhao beside her, ¡°Before Dragon City was upied, the Earthdragon Sect upied the city¡¯s north, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect upied the city¡¯s south. We¡¯ve never touched each other.¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Dragon Sect is more powerful. Their sect leader is even a Titled Douluo. I¡¯m not sure what their situation is right now either.¡±

    Nan Shuishui turned her head to Nan Qiuqiu and said, ¡°Speaking of it, I¡¯m really in awe of Old Tianlong. When the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops arrived, that old fellow led his sect to defend the city along with the Dragon City Defense Army. I heard he killed many enemies. After the city was breached, the Heavenly Dragon Sect suffered massive losses, and Old Tianlong died in battle. I heard Yu Tianlong disappeared, but I¡¯m not sure where.¡±

    After hearing Nan Shuishui¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu were both in awe too. Someone who defended the city until the veryst moment deserved massive respect. If Yu Tianlong had run away, it meant that the lineage of the Heavenly Dragon Sect could still be carried on.

    Nan Shuishui said heavily, ¡°I have been fighting Old Tianlong for my entire life, and have always been restrained by him. I didn¡¯t expect him to die earlier than me. The Heavenly Dragon Sect has been half wiped out, while the remaining ones have been taken away. The hateful thing is that there were a few sects that secretly surrendered to the Sun Moon Empire. If they didn¡¯t open the city gate, things wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±

    Nan Shuishui turned more and more grim as she spoke until here.

    Nan Qiuqiu rushed forward a few steps and grabbed her hands. ¡°Mom, we¡¯ll avenge Uncle Heavenly Dragon one day in the future. Your actions were right. We can¡¯t fight the Sun Moon Empire given our strength. It¡¯s only through surviving that we can take revenge in the future. Uncle Tianlong is sometimes too stubborn. If he were willing to listen to you and move to Shrek City, he wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Nan Shuishui shouted, and Nan Qiuqiu was stunned in ce.

    Nan Shuishui looked very strict as she said, ¡°He wasn¡¯t being stubborn. He just couldn¡¯t give up the city. Dragon City is the ce where the Heavenly Dragon and Earthdragon Sects were established. I couldn¡¯t lead the Earthdragon Sect to fight the enemy along with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and I¡¯m very guilty over that. Unless I can avenge him one day, the Earthdragon Sect can never lift its head in front of the Heavenly Dragon Sect again. I already regret my decision. If I had known, I would have been willing to fight to the death with the Old Tianlong.¡±

    As she spoke until here, her eyes filled with tears and she clenched her fists.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart when he sensed Nan Shuishui¡¯s deadly aura. Seeing that the city where her sect had been established had been sacrificed, and her old friend and foe had died in battle, Nan Shuishui must be feeling very down.

    ¡°Elder Nan, we¡¯ll get Dragon City back. Elder Tianlong was a hero of Dragon City, and so are you.¡± Huo Yuhao said sincerely.

    Nan Shuishui lowered her head slightly and gently shook it. She didn¡¯t say anything else, and turned around before continuing to walk forward.

    Nan Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue and looked scared. Her mother was normally very nice to her. She was hardly so strict.

    After passing streets and alleys, an extremelyrge courtyard appeared in their vision. After seeing this courtyard, both Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu seemed to be very sad. Undoubtedly, this was the Earthdragon Sect.

    There were seals all over the gate of the Earthdragon Sect, but no one was guarding it.

    ¡°Mom, there shouldn¡¯t be too many guards in the city. Why don¡¯t we kill them and snatch Dragon City back?!¡± Nan Qiuqiu said hatefully.

    Nan Shuishui red at her and said, ¡°How is it so simple? If the Sun Moon Empire dared to put so few guards in the city, they must have their reasons. There¡¯s another announcement on the noticeboard at the side. If any soul master dares to revolt, they¡¯ll kill all the soul masters they took from Dragon City. If this wasn¡¯t the case, do you really think I would have waited until now?¡±

    ¡°Scoundrel!¡± Nan Qiuqiu shouted furiously.

    Nan Shuishui¡¯s eyes turned cold. Seeing that there wasn¡¯t anyone around looking at them, she nodded to the other two before drifting up. She entered the sect first.

    Huo Yuhao tugged Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s sleeves before they followed Nan Shuishui.

    It was a mess inside the Earthdragon Sect. Many areas had been damaged. There were broken walls all around. Evidently, the ce had been ransacked.

    Nan Qiuqiu hadn¡¯t returned in a long time. Upon seeing the condition of the ce, her eyes turned red, and she wanted to turn around and rush off. Nan Shuishui grabbed hold of her, but it took some effort to restrain her.

    ¡°We need to take care of business. Yuhao was right. We¡¯lle back one day.¡±

    Nan Shuishui led both of them to the backyard of the Earthdragon Sect. It was a huge garden. Right now, the garden was in ruins. When the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops searched the ce, the garden was greatly damaged. It would be difficult for it to return to its former look in the future.

    Nan Shuishui shut her eyes in torment as she saw all this. The Earthdragon Sect¡¯s legacy had been passed down for more than a thousand years, but it died in her generation. Undoubtedly, she was in great pain right now.

    However, she didn¡¯t stop. She led the two of them to the depths of the backyard, where there was a well.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly moved as he came closer and closer to the well. He could subtly sense movements from the Ice Empress, and his own Ice Jade Empress Scorpion seemed to want to be released. There seemed to be something very attractive within the well.

    ¡°It¡¯s here. This is a cold spring. There is concentrated spiritual energy in this spring. It¡¯s very nourishing for soul masters. However, only the sect leaders of the Earthdragon Sect know about this. At the bottom of this spring, there is actually a cave. However, we¡¯ve isted it from the well using some mechanisms. Inside that cave, there are many exotic mineral stones. It¡¯s just that the temperature inside the cave is too low. Even our ancestors that were Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t stay inside it for long. Our ancestor managed to mine a small mineral stone once. It contained a strong ice-type aura inside it.¡±

    ¡°It also seemed to be a metal. This is why our ancestors believed that there is a mine inside this cave ¨C a mine that contains an ice-type metal. As to its standard, we have no clue.¡±

    As she spoke until here, Nan Shuishui looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Yuhao, your martial soul is of Ultimate Ice. You should be able to survive in this cave. If the stones below are of use to you, try to mine them. After all, we won¡¯t be back here anytime soon. Just take it as our contribution to the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect has been very nice to us in Shrek City. I hope we can work together more closely in the future.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. Although the ice spring was a barrier, he could clearly sense that the stuff in the cave was indeed useful to him.

    Nan Shuishui told him how to open the cave in detail before saying, ¡°Go on down. I¡¯ll guard this ce with Qiuqiu. Don¡¯t force it. Although you possess an Ultimate Ice martial soul, I almost got frozen when I tried to go down for even just a few seconds. The temperature below is simply too low. It doesn¡¯t seem like a human can handle it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words. Nan Shuishui wouldn¡¯t warn him without reason. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t be careless.

    After slightly adjusting his own state, he gestured to both Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu before drifting up and dropping into the well.

    The moment he entered the well, a sinister cold breeze swept over him. However, the cold could only serve to strengthen Huo Yuhao. Even without unleashing his martial soul, he wasn¡¯t affected at all.

    However, for safety¡¯s sake, Huo Yuhao still unleashed his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion before entering the well, and used his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. After ayer of diamond ice crystals covered his body, he sank deep into the spring.

 Chapter 463.1 - Divine Ice Crystal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 463.1: Divine Ice Crystal</h4>

    The cold spring was icy-cold. Its temperature was at least in the negatives. However, the strange thing was that it didn¡¯t freeze up. After entering the spring, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense chilly origin energy rippling through the water. Although such ice-type origin energy didn¡¯t affect him, the chilly aura that it possessed was very pure. No wonder Nan Shuishui imed that this spring could nourish a human¡¯s body.

    The spring was very deep. Huo Yuhao circted his soul power and sank down. The deeper he went, the lower the temperature became. If it were any other ordinary soul master here, his soul power would be drained very quickly. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t affected at all. His martial soul was even being nourished.

    The lights around also started to dim. However, this didn¡¯t affect Huo Yuhao at all even though the darkness and cold would have greatly affected a soul master of the same rank as him.

    Although his spiritual power couldn¡¯t reach as far in the water, it was already very strong. Apart from the fact that it extended at a slower speed, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t drained much in this aspect either.

    The deeper he went, the faster his spiritual power extended downward. Even the Earthdragon Sect wasn¡¯t clear on what was going on down below. Of course, Huo Yuhao had to be cautious to keep himself from getting into any trouble.

    Nan Shuishui had told Huo Yuhao that this spring was around thirty meters deep. At the very bottom, even a Soul Douluo like her wouldn¡¯t be able to resist it. The cave was located at around a depth of between thirty to thirty-five meters.

    However, Huo Yuhao sensed that the depth of this spring didn¡¯t seem to be only thirty meters. When he was thirty meters down, he felt a very strong surge of cold. It felt as if it wereing the bottom, just below where the strong surge of cold originated from. However, he discovered that the mouth of the spring seemed to be down there at the bottom. The mouth was veryrge ¨C a person could get through it. Huo Yuhao could sense a strong, deep-blue color using his Spiritual Detection. This showed how cold it was down there.

    He was very curious about this spring mouth. The colder a ce was, the better it was for him to cultivate his Ultimate Ice soul power. To him, it felt very simr to the Icefire Yin Yang Well. This was something that he hadn¡¯t expected at all.

    However, Huo Yuhao needed to breathe even though he wasn¡¯t affected by the cold and darkness. Even though he could hold his breath for a long time, he couldn¡¯t do it forever.

    Let me find the cave opening first.

    As he thought, Huo Yuhao continued to use his soul power to control his body as he dived down.

    Very soon, he was at a depth of twenty-five meters. His diving speed was much quicker than the ancestors of the Earthdragon Sect. After all, he didn¡¯t have to protect himself from the cold.

    The walls around the spring were cold and slippery. Touching them was like touching Manifold Mysterious Ice. As Huo Yuhao dived down, he kept on searching for the cave opening.

    This cave was rumored to exist naturally. It was originally not a well, but the natural mouth of a spring. After the Earthdragon Sect gained control of this ce, they built a well specifically for it. This was why they designed mechanisms when they first constructed the well. If one wasn¡¯t the leader of the Earthdragon Sect, it was very difficult to find these mechanisms.

    Huo Yuhao followed the walls and felt his way to the cave opening. With the help of his spiritual power, he quickly located a bulge. Normally, one would press down on such a bulge when they felt it. However, the Earthdragon Sect designed it in the reverse. Huo Yuhao grabbed hold of that bulge and pulled it up. He used more than forty percent of his soul power before the bulge moved up slightly.

    After this, he turned around and swam to the wall on the other side. He felt an ordinary dent on it. This dent didn¡¯t exist previously. It only appeared after he meddled with the bulge earlier.

    He pressed hard on the dent, and a soft ¡®za za¡¯ sound was heard. Huo Yuhao returned to the bulge and pressed it down this time. He pressed it all the way down until it disappeared.

    The entire wall started to shake slightly. Huo Yuhao turned around, and saw a door that could only fit a single person slowly opening.

    The weird thing was that there was a strong surge of cold as the door slowly opened. Even Huo Yuhao could sense a tinge of chill, though he possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul.

    What a low temperature!Huo Yuhao was in great awe, and focused his attention on it.

    The door slowly opened, and Huo Yuhao rushed forward.

    It was clearly a cold spring outside. However, this door seemed to possess some magical force. Not a drop of the cold spring water seeped past it. Even as Huo Yuhao entered, the cold spring water was filtered from his body. He instantly became very dry.

    As he was dried, he felt an extreme sense of chill sweep over him.

    Gusts of chilly air carried visible icy elements that surged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. However, it was a pity that they were stopped by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. Not only did they not cause him any harm, but they even stimted Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was using his Ice Empress right now, he could still sense the situation in the cavern using his spiritual power.

    This cavern couldn¡¯t be considered veryrge. It was filled with unknown mineral stones, and the temperature was very low. It was simr to the Extreme Chill Icespring. Its temperature wasparable. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were still at the level they were when he had first encountered the Extreme Chill Icespring, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear such a low temperature.

    He didn¡¯t rush to venture in. He only carefully observed his surroundings at the cave opening. At the same time, the Ice Empress started calling out in his spiritual sea.

    Although it was unknown what kind of ice-type treasure belonged here, it was clear that such an extreme level of cold wouldn¡¯t exist for no reason. Even at the core of the Extreme North, the temperature wasn¡¯t so low!

    Jade-green lights shed, brightening their surroundings. The Ice Empress silently appeared beside Huo Yuhao. The light from her body lit up everything around them. Huo Yuhao was immediately stunned.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who was stunned. The Ice Empress was also stunned.

    The cavern looked extremely beautiful as it was lit up by the Ice Empress¡¯ jade-green light. It almost seemed surreal. The entire cavern was formed using all types of crystals. These crystals were jade-blue, but it was likely that the Ice Empress¡¯ jade-green light had affected their color a little. They should, in fact, be deep-blue in color.

    These crystals were smooth and transparent. They looked ethereally beautiful under the jade-green light. Their beauty was almost indescribable. It was as if Huo Yuhao and the Ice Empress had entered an immortal realm.

    The ground, walls and ceiling were filled with such crystals. They varied greatly, and were all glowing brightly. The different intensities of the jade-blue crystals brightened the cavern such that every minor detail could be clearly observed.

    Huo Yuhao was in awe as he asked, ¡°Ice Empress, what is this?¡±

    The Ice Empress was a little stunned as she looked at everything around her. After this, her figure shed before she drifted away. Although she existed as a Spirit and a spiritual entity, her affinity with the ice element was still very strong. She could sense that the chill in the cavern was surging towards her as she flew out. After this, the chill started to revolve around her.

    ¡°This, this seems like the legendary Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. How is this possible? Why is there such a ce here? God! This is unbelievable.¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice seemed to have turned hysterical. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing her so shocked.

    ¡°No, no, this isn¡¯t the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern yet. This is the Divine Ice Crystal that apanies the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. There are so many Divine Ice Crystals here. I¡¯m sure the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern exists here. This is too unbelievable. How is it possible that such a ce exists in the human world?¡±

    The Ice Empress appeared to have gone a little crazy as she kept on dancing in the cavern. The light from her body lit up the entire cavern.

    The cavern couldn¡¯t be considered veryrge. It was only thirty meters in length, but Huo Yuhao could sense that there were streaks of light blue mist revolving around the Ice Empress as she flew within the cavern. Even he was in awe of the extremely low temperature of these streaks of mist.

    Such a low temperature waspletely unimaginable.

    The Ice Empress flew for a good fifteen minutes before she stopped. Huo Yuhao breathed in the cold air and felt as if he had to circte his Ultimate Ice soul power to dispel the chill. This meant that the cold here even surpassed his Ultimate Ice. It was close to absolute zero.

    ¡°Yuhao, how did you find this ce? How did you find it?¡± The Ice Empress quickly regained her awareness and returned to Huo Yuhao. She grabbed his shoulders. Apart from the look of excitement on her face, she was also greatly sentimental.

    ¡°An elder brought me here. It¡¯s the location of their sect. What¡¯s wrong, Ice Empress? What¡¯s the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern? And the Divine Ice Crystal?¡±

    The Ice Empress took in a deep breath and tried to calm her emotions. She said, ¡°The Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern is an ice-type ultimate ce. Let me give you an example. If the Snow Empress and I could have found the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern before we be your Spirits, we wouldn¡¯t have needed to find any way to achieve a breakthrough. Our abilities would have been able to ovee any bottleneck we faced. In the near future, we would have definitely been able to challenge Di Tian.¡±

 Chapter 463.2 - Divine Ice Crystal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 463.2: Divine Ice Crystal</h4>

    ¡°To be more direct, the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern is a treasure ground for ice-type cultivators like us. Why was Di Tian able to ovee eight consecutive bottlenecks and be the god of all beasts, and even invincible? This is because he managed to gain control of a treasure ground ¨C the Lake of Life in the Core Region of the Great Star Dou Forest. He used the immense life energy there to nourish himself, allowing him to achieve what he has today. However, the truth is that the Lake of Life can nourish any soul beast. He¡¯s not the only one who can benefit from it. This is because the Lake of Life is life-type.¡±

    ¡°In fact, it isn¡¯tpletelypatible with his darkness-type. Even so, he is still able to cultivate to such a level. But the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern ispletelypatible with us! It is as valuable as the Lake of Life to us.¡±

    After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao was instantly astonished. He had personally seen the Lake of Life before! At the core of the Lake of Life was Life Gold. In addition, it wasn¡¯t evencking in amount. It was the ce that held the lifeline of the entire Great Star Dou Forest. If the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern couldpare to the Lake of Life like what the Ice Empress had said, it would bepletely unbelievable.

    ¡°Ice Empress, is there no Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern at the core of the Extreme North?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    The Ice Empress was in a bit of daze. She seemed to still be struck with disbelief.

    Another voice sounded at this moment. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s at least another one.¡± As a light projection shed, the Skydream Iceworm appeared beside the Ice Empress. He was also as emotional.

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he looked at the Skydream Iceworm. The Ice Empress also nced at him in the same way, but there was an extra weird look in her eyes.

    The Skydream Iceworm asked, ¡°Yuhao, did you forget how I managed to survive for so long?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook. ¡°You mentioned that you spent most of your time sleeping, and a million years passed just like that. I remember that you consumed some kind of ice essence and fell into a deep sleep. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Skydream nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence that I consumed came from the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern! I discovered that ce unintentionally. The essence of an ice cavern lies in the ice essence. I was just an iceworm, but I relied on the benefits of the ice essence to cultivate into a million-year soul beast. Ice also wanted to kill me because of this.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The Ice Empress snorted, ¡°If you had let me have the ice essence then, the Beast God might not be Di Tian. The Snow Empress would also¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm leisurely replied, ¡°Ice, stop whining. This is called fate and destiny.¡±

    ¡°Are you looking for a beating?¡± The Ice Empress snorted furiously, and the Skydream Iceworm immediately stopped making any sound.

    The Ice Empress turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there to be a second Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern in this world. Your luck is simply too good. Furthermore, this ice cavern is different from the one that Skydream encountered the other time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. From the Ice Empress¡¯ agitated look, and how the Skydream Iceworm described the situation, he must have had gotten extremely lucky. No matter what the difference was, it should be extremely beneficial to him.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°The ice cavern that Skydream was in had a huge amount of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. That thing is very nourishing for ice-type soul beasts like us. It¡¯s a real treasure.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s of the same tier as your Life Gold. However, we didn¡¯t see any Divine Ice Crystals.¡±

    ¡°A Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern is in fact formed when Mysterious Ice is converted into it under huge pressure after being hidden for more than ten thousand years. Hundreds of thousands of years, and even upwards of a million years might be needed for it to be formed. The right opportunities are also required.¡±

    ¡°This ice cavern is filled with so many Divine Ice Crystals. As for how much Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence can be produced, it¡¯s difficult to tell. However, there¡¯s bound to be some. I had a look over there earlier ¨C there isn¡¯t any here. If it¡¯s not here, it should be in the well. It feels like this ice cavern isn¡¯t much smaller than the ice cavern that Skydream saw, even though it¡¯s smaller. If there¡¯s some ice essence here, it would be very useful for the four of us and you.¡±

    The Ice Empress revealed yet another heavy look in her eyes when she spoke until here. She really wished that she had encountered this ice cavern before she had given up her body! If that were the case, everything would have been different.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Alright, Ice. Don¡¯t think too much. Honestly speaking, one must be very fortunate to bump into a Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. I¡¯m not afraid that you¡¯ll dislike my words, but both you and the Snow Empress don¡¯t have such fortune. You are only here because of Yuhao. If you didn¡¯t choose to fuse with Yuhao before, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to experience something as good in your entire life. This is why you shouldn¡¯t look for problems for yourself.¡±

    What surprised Huo Yuhao was that the Ice Empress wasn¡¯t furious after hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s words. Instead, she nodded and mocked herself, ¡°Yes! I am indeed finding problems for myself. Let¡¯s not talk about this. Yuhao, you must not give up such a rare opportunity. We must tap the resources here effectively.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Ice Empress, what is this Divine Ice Crystal? What¡¯s its use for us?¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°Divine Ice Crystals might not be as valuable as Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, but they¡¯re still extremely valuable. They are the strongest and toughest ice-type metal. They appear as crystals, but they possess the properties of metals. To put it in human words, a Divine Ice Crystal is a top-grade rare metal. As for how their special characteristics are used, it will depend on the user.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted, and said, ¡°It seems like Elder Nan Shuishui was right. The Divine Ice Crystals here are very suitable for me.¡±

    As he spoke, he lifted his right hand. His Darkgolden Terrorws revealed sharp, dark-golden des as he swept it towards the Divine Ice Crystals.

    Piercing sounds resonated, and five streaks of sparks shed. However, only shallow marks were left on the ice crystals.

    It was an extremely tough metal!

    It was pertinent to note that Huo Yuhao would often use his terrorws to sculpt his soul tools when he manufactured them. The sharpness and strength of his terrorws were great, and they were one of his best offensive weapons. However, they weren¡¯t enough to damage the ice crystals. This showed how tough they were.

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he looked at the Ice Empress. ¡°The Divine Ice Crystal is so tough. How can we mine it?¡±

    The Ice Empress smiled and said, ¡°There are many items that sh with one another, but there¡¯s always something that can ovee another thing. Don¡¯t worry, others might find it difficult to find a way, but it won¡¯t be difficult for us to leave with these crystals. You can¡¯t use your Life Guardian de. It¡¯ll destroy the internal structure of the ice crystals.¡±

    ¡°This Divine Ice Crystal is in itself one of the best ice-type soul conductors and amplifiers. Try pouring your soul power into it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao agreed to her words and retracted his terrorws. He put his right hand on the ice crystals beside him.

    He was stunned that this ice crystal didn¡¯t feel cold even though the cavern was at such a low temperature. It was as if all its cold was contained within it.

    He slowly poured in his Ultimate Ice soul power. After this, his body shook, and he revealed a shocked look on his face.

    He could clearly sense an affinity when he poured his soul power into the ice crystal. Yes, it was an affinity.

    It was clearly a metal, but it seemed to have emotions. It felt very close to his soul power. After this, Huo Yuhao felt the ice crystal in his hand softening a little. He tightened his five fingers and exerted strength as he pulled, and a huge piece of ice crystal was pulled out just like that.

    Once this piece of ice was separated from the cavern andnded in his hand, his body immediately emitted a deep-blue glow. Lights subtly shed. It was as if the piece of ice crystal had a life of its own.

    ¡°You sense it, don¡¯t you?¡± The Ice Empress asked. ¡°The reason why it¡¯s called the Divine Ice Crystal is because it has evolved into a realm with some life of its own. Animals and nts have their own lives. For minerals and metals, they can exude their own life aura and emotions when they reach a certain quality. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s much more difficult for thempared to animals and nts. What you are sensing is correct. It¡¯s all real. If you want to dig out some ice crystals, there¡¯s only one way ¨C your Ultimate Ice soul power. You, me and the Snow Empress can do it. Skydream can¡¯t do it, and Star Anise is slightlycking too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m using your power anyway. Why do I feel that it¡¯s no longer hard, but soft, yet resilient? It¡¯s as if¡­¡± After speaking to this point, he paused for a moment and thought of a way to describe it before saying, ¡°It¡¯s as if it¡¯s a huge piece of crystal jelly. It¡¯s too magical.¡±

    The Ice Empress nodded and replied, ¡°You must try tomunicate with the life aura inside with your Ultimate Ice soul power. Such a life aura is also called an ice spirit in the Extreme North. You can only try to retrieve it for now. It¡¯s only when you can fullymunicate with it that you canpletely own it. Don¡¯t think that just because there¡¯s a lot of ice crystals here, you can retrieve as many ice spirits as you want. Not many of them can nurture ice spirits. The remaining ice crystals can be dug out, but they don¡¯t have ice spirits. This means that there¡¯s ack of spirit inside. You are in luck. This piece of ice crystal contains a life spirit.¡±

 Chapter 463.3 - Divine Ice Crystal

    <h4 ss>Chapter 463.3: Divine Ice Crystal</h4>

    Seeing the shing Divine Ice Crystal in his hand, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. He was in awe. ¡°The miracles of this world indeed have to be continuously explored! Ice Empress, what should we do now?¡±

    The Ice Empressughed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Whether it¡¯s a Divine Ice Crystal that has nurtured an ice spirit or not, it¡¯s still very valuable. Quickly, leave with them. The temperature of this ce cannot be matched by the temperature of the outside world. I can sense that the icy spring has entered a state of deterioration. In another few hundred to few thousand years, the temperature here wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to maintain this Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. When that happens, everything here will be slowly damaged and destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words and started moving. How could he let go of so much good stuff? As his eyes shed, ayer of gentle, icy jade-green light was released from his body. It was his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    His Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice contained immense Ultimate Ice soul power, and quickly engulfed the entire cavern. Suddenly, the Divine Ice Crystals in the cavern all lit up, and Huo Yuhao started to extract them.

    Without Ultimate Ice soul power, the price to pay for extracting even a small piece of ice crystal would be huge. Even an Ultimate Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to operate in such a low temperature. Furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t be able tomunicate with the ice spirits. However, Huo Yuhao found it much easier to extract these ice crystals.

    Pieces of Divine Ice Crystals were pulled out of the walls of the cavern. Not only were they preserved, but it also didn¡¯t take much effort for him to extract them. Without the need for the Ice Empress to remind him, he would differentiate the ice crystals with ice spirits from those that didn¡¯t have ice spirits, and stored them separately in his Starlight Sapphire Ring.

    Divine Ice Crystals were very special ¨C they contained immense ice-type energy. However, they didn¡¯t feel cold on the surface. They only felt slightly colder than ordinary metals to the touch. However, one could guide the Ultimate Ice origin energy inside them just by pouring in one¡¯s soul power. Without Ultimate Ice soul power controlling the origin energy inside, it would instead be unleashed in an explosive manner.

    The reason why this cavern was so cold was because there would be times when the ice crystals would be unstable internally, causing a leak of their origin energy. This cavern had been filled with Divine Ice Crystals for a long time. The umted cold caused this ce to turn into a danger zone.

    As the pieces of ice crystal disappeared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s storage-type soul tool, the temperature in the cavern rose noticeably. The surrounding walls also containedyers of crystals. They looked like huge pieces of ice sludge, and were also very sturdy. However, they were far inferiorpared to the Divine Ice Crystals.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao ced thest piece of Divine Ice Crystal into his storage-type soul tool. At this moment, he was suddenly jolted by something, and instantly turned around. He only saw a huge current of water surging towards him.

    Without the magical power of the ice crystals, the spring water finally surged into the cavern, given that the door wasn¡¯t closed either.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. Both the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress fused into his body. He forcefully swam upwards.

    Outside the well.

    Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were already very anxious from waiting.

    It had been an hour since Huo Yuhao had descended into the well. However, they hadn¡¯t heard anything from the well yet. It had been a long time, and Nan Shuishui doubted that she would be able to hang on for so long if she were the one inside.

    However, both of them had a simrity ¨C they had absolute confidence in Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities.

    They had seen Huo Yuhao fusing with Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s abilities before, and witnessed the great improvement in his abilities after he formed his sixth soul ring.

    Although Nan Shuishui wasn¡¯tpletely confident that Huo Yuhao could deal with the extremely low temperature of the ice cavern, she deeply believed that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t going to be hurt in any way, given his seven-ringed cultivation.

    Nan Qiuqiu was slightly worried as she asked, ¡°Mom, why don¡¯t you go down and take a look? It¡¯s been such a long time, but Yuhao still isn¡¯ting up.¡±

    Nan Shuishui smiled slightly and said, ¡°Why? Are you anxious? It seems like my precious daughter really has fallen for someone. No matter how hard you work, you¡¯ll never be his wife. Why don¡¯t you try bing his concubine?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was stunned for a moment, then was in disbelief as she stared at Nan Shuishui. After this, she asked, ¡°Mom, are you my biological mother? You¡¯re actually asking me to be someone¡¯s concubine?¡±

    Nan Shuishuiughed, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because I¡¯m your mother that I¡¯m giving you this suggestion. At times, you can¡¯t think too highly of yourself. As people always say, it¡¯s difficult for guys to chase girls, but it¡¯s easy for girls to chase guys. There are many ways for a girl to earn the liking of a guy. I¡¯m not literally asking you to be his concubine. I¡¯m saying that if you really like him, you should try your best to chase him. I support you. If I can have such a son-inw, I¡¯llugh even in my sleep.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned red, and she replied, ¡°No way. Who¡¯s going to chase him? You don¡¯t know that he¡¯s such a mule in terms of rtionships. Apart from Wang Dong¡¯er, he can¡¯t have anyone else in his heart. Didn¡¯t you see what happened with Wang Qiu¡¯er? Qiu¡¯er was so outstanding, but she could only be his sacrifice. She can¡¯t even be with him. This guy is very stubborn once he likes someone. Even a girl who looks like Wang Dong¡¯er can¡¯t catch his eye. What about me? I¡¯m not going to do that to myself.¡±

    Nan Shuishui sighed and replied, ¡°I know it¡¯s difficult. Haih, just do as you please. Matters of the heart can¡¯t be forced. However, I¡¯m experienced in this matter. If you really like him too much, you must take the initiative. It¡¯s only then that you¡¯ll have an opportunity. If you choose to give up, you won¡¯t stand a chance at all.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was silent. She revealed a pensive look in her eyes. After a brief moment, she nodded silently.

    At this moment, the sound of sshing water could be heard. Following this, a figure flew out from the well.

    The intense chill caused Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu to stagger backward a few steps. Huo Yuhao slowly revealed himself from the icy fog that covered him.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you fine?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked concernedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled at the both of them before saying, ¡°I am. I¡¯m very fine. This cavern is indeed a treasure ground. Elder Nan, you were right. There¡¯s indeed a special rare metal contained inside. Take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao flipped his wrist, and a piece of Divine Ice Crystal that hadn¡¯t nurtured an ice spirit appeared in his palm.

    The color of the Divine Ice Crystal was clearly evident outside. It was icy-blue, resembling the color of the sky, whereas the glow that it emanated was deep-blue. Under sunlight, even such a small piece of Divine Ice Crystal gave off an ethereal feeling. It was extremely magical.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Nan Qiuqiu squealed in delight. She wanted to touch it, but she was stopped by Nan Shuishui.

    Nan Shuishui had entered the cavern on her own before. She didn¡¯t dare to be impulsive with regards to the stuff inside it.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Elder Nan, it¡¯s fine. This metal is called a Divine Ice Crystal. It indeed contains immense Ultimate Ice origin energy, but it¡¯s very stable. As long as you don¡¯t pour your soul power into it, things will be fine.¡± As he spoke, he passed the crystal to Nan Qiuqiu.

    Nan Qiuqiu received the crystal and looked at it under the sun. Suddenly, the surrounding plot of ground under the crystal was covered by ayer of blurry blue light.

    Nan Shuishui smiled as she looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Yuhao, is this ice crystal useful to you? Can it be extracted?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°I can do it. You need to possess Ultimate Ice soul power to extract this Divine Ice Crystal. I¡¯ve already extracted all the crystals from the cavern. This was why I took such a long time. Sorry to have made the both of you wait.¡±

    Nan Shuishui smiled, ¡°It¡¯s good as long as it¡¯s useful for you. Quickly, put it away. I hope your abilities will improve much further.¡±

    As she spoke, she took the crystal from Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s hand. After taking a look at it for a moment, she returned it to Huo Yuhao.

    After receiving the crystal, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Elder, this crystal can only be molded and extracted using Ultimate Ice soul power. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t steal what belongs to the Earthdragon Sect. When I turn them into soul tools, I¡¯ll give a share of the soul tools I produce with it to the Earthdragon Sect. What do you think?¡±

    No matter what, this Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern belonged to the Earthdragon Sect. Although Nan Shuishui mentioned that she was offering it to him, this gift was simply too precious.

    Nan Shuishui and seemed to be unbothered, ¡°In fact, I wanted to use this ce as Qiuqiu¡¯s dowry. However, I discovered you were the most suitable person to take control of this ce after working with the Tang Sect. Since I¡¯ve decided to give you this ce, you can choose what you want to do with it. You don¡¯t really have to distinguish between the Earthdragon and Tang Sect either. Don¡¯t call me elder either. You¡¯re Qiuqiu¡¯s friend. You can call me ¡®Aunty¡¯.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could infer the double meaning from Nan Shuishui¡¯s words. However, he could only act stupid, and respectfully replied, ¡°Thanks, Aunty.¡±

    He didn¡¯t go into the details of how to allocate these ice crystals. He would definitelypensate the Earthdragon Sect after he turned them into finished products. Actions spoke louder than words.

    Nan Qiuqiu nced at her mother before looking at him. She jumped excitedly towards Huo Yuhao andughed, ¡°Yuhao, I don¡¯t care about others, but I demand to be part of it if you are using such a beautiful treasure to manufacture soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he nodded and said, ¡°Definitely. When I return, I¡¯ll start researching how to manufacture them.¡±

    Nan Shuishui smiled and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Auntie, give me a moment.¡±

 Chapter 464.1 - Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence

    <h4 ss>Chapter 464.1: Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence</h4>

    ¡°Eh?¡± An inquisitive look appeared in Nan Shuishui¡¯s eyes.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Auntie, when I went down to investigate, I discovered that the there is a mouth of a spring deep within this well. The water within this spring has a very low temperature, but there seems to be something else hidden inside. I went into the cave to investigate, and now I wish to enter that icy spring to see if there¡¯s anything down there. This ce can form rare metals that can be considered one of the most precious between heaven and earth, so there must be something that they originate from.¡±

    A thought urred to Nan Shuishui as she said, ¡°There¡¯s such a thing? There aren¡¯t any records in the Earthdragon Sect¡¯s archives about that. The temperature in the icy spring is very low. Will that hurt you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, auntie. I have Ultimate Ice soul power. I¡¯ll be able to judge if I can¡¯t bear it, but there should be no problem protecting myself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was protected by the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress, and he was also supported by the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. If he couldn¡¯t enter that icy spring, then nobody else in the world could.

    ¡°Alright. Go, then. Qiuqiu and I will keep watch for you outside.¡± Nan Shuishui didn¡¯t advise him further. Huo Yuhao was a very reliable fellow in her eyes, and he was definitely sure of himself if he said he was. The more she looked at Huo Yuhao, the more she liked him ¨C those eyes clearly belonged to that of a mother-inw gazing upon her son-inw. Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t take her gaze any longer.

    Huo Yuhao bowed at Nan Shuishui before he leapt into the well and dove deep into the icy spring.

    The Ice Empress had mentioned that Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence had to exist here, whether in small orrge amounts. The ice essence wasn¡¯t just useful for him ¨C it was also beneficial to different degrees for his four Spirits, and he couldn¡¯t give up on that.

    Normal soul masters could still use soul tools crafted with Divine Ice Crystals with the help of formation arrays, but only a person with ice-type abilities like Huo Yuhao could use the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Furthermore, this was his own discovery, and thus using it wouldn¡¯t weigh on his conscience.

    Quite a bit of spring water had surged into the cave, and the surface level of the spring had dropped a little.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly dove deeper than he had reached before, and he continued going down while the water pressure around him began to increase, and the temperature swiftly plummeted.

    The temperature of the spring water closer to the surface rose a little without the Ice Divine Crystals, but the temperature below didn¡¯t change at all. Huo Yuhao quickly arrived near the mouth of the spring.

    Such low temperatures!Huo Yuhao was full of admiration even though he had just arrived. He could clearly feel that his soul power was circting much more slowly due to the low temperature here.

    He possessed Ultimate Ice soul power, and yet his soul power was being affected. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how normal soul masters would be affected aftering to a ce like this. Even Titled Douluo could probably only remain here for a few breaths, and even an Ultimate Douluo might not have the courage to investigate deep within this icy spring.

    Two shadows gradually appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back ¨C the Ice Empress and the Snow Lady. The Ice Empress pulled the Snow Lady along like an elder sister holding her younger sister. They felt the extreme chill around them, and their faces began to show expressions of enjoyment.

    Bluish-green and dark blue colors glowed at the same time. These two lights merged together and turned a deep bluish-green, while this light entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and formed ayer of protection over his skin.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass came out from his shoulder. Ayer of faint blue light emerged, and absorbed the chills that were invading Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao realized with slight amusement that his soul power wasn¡¯t weakening around this icy spring. Instead, with support from his three Spirits, his soul power was increasing continuously. This situation was simr to when he was in meditation. If he didn¡¯t have to hold his breath in this ce, he would truly wish to spend more time cultivating here. His cultivation would be more effective.

    Things that were most suitable for him were always the best. Perhaps the origin energy of heaven and earth here was inferior to the Lake of Life, but the pure elements of ice were most suitable for his cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao stopped one meter away from the mouth of the icy spring as he thought.

    Huo Yuhao would never be blindly optimistic or careless even though he was confident. He had gone through far too many lessons and experiences, and no matter what, he wouldn¡¯t let himself be ced in harm¡¯s way so easily. That was always the best decision.

    Huo Yuhao gathered spiritual power and transformed it into formless energy as it went through the mouth of the spring. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was like his eyes, and he would be able to urately judge the situation as long as he could see inside the mouth of the spring.

    However, Huo Yuhao was immediately astonished, as his spiritual power felt as if it had entered a sticky swamp. There was great difficulty in pushing it forward, and he would have to expend far too much spiritual power.

    What¡­

    How can elements affect spiritual power?This was the first time Huo Yuhao had encountered something like this.

    ¡°Pull your spiritual power back, Yuhao. Let me go down and take a look.¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang out from behind him.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to look at her and asked, ¡°Why is this happening, Ice Empress?¡±

    The Ice Empress answered, ¡°Energies may be different, but they are all of the same kind once they reach a certain standard. Spiritual power is different from elemental energy, but it is still a form of energy. The elements of ice within this icy spring are as extreme as they can get, and your spiritual power will be affected by it by going inside. That is very evident. You might be able to send your spiritual power inside if you use the power of your soul core, but that will expend too much energy. Furthermore, the situation is unclear, so it¡¯s better not to take this risk. Let me take a look inside. My origin is inside your body, and a thread of my consciousness will have no problem going inside.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you for your trouble,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

    The Ice Empress transformed into a beam of flowing light and disappeared into the mouth of the spring. Huo Yuhao¡¯s four Spirits were evolving at different rates as he became stronger.

    Amongst Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits, the Skydream Iceworm wasn¡¯t the most intimately rted to him ¨C it was the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress was his martial soul after all! What the Ice Empress meant when she said that her origin was inside his body was that she was Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul, so damage to a single thread of consciousness wouldn¡¯t cause too much trouble.

    His other three Spirits all took the true form of Spirits. The Skydream Iceworm and Huo Yuhao were inseparable, and their integration level wasparable to him and the Ice Empress. However, the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s half-spiritual and half-ice abilities were inferior to the Ice Empress in a situation like this.

    Huo Yuhao waited quietly outside the icy spring. He wasn¡¯t hasty, as he had faith in the Ice Empress¡¯ abilities. Even though only a thread of her consciousness went in, Huo Yuhao still knew far less than the Ice Empress did about the element of ice.

    It didn¡¯t take long before the Ice Empress emerged from the icy spring. She waved at Huo Yuhao excitedly and said, ¡°Everything is fine,e in.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hold his breath for much longer. He was starting to feel stifled in his chest, and he passed a message to the Ice Empress with his spiritual power before he activated his soul power and dove in.

    Huo Yuhao went into the mouth of the icy spring, and he immediately felt an intense wave of cold that invaded his body like millions of steel needles. The temperature of this wave of cold was something that Huo Yuhao had never seen before. From his perspective, this extreme cold exceeded every ice-type energy that he had ever encountered before. He felt as if his entire skeleton were glowing as he was immersed in it.

    Huo Yuhao had the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton and left arm bone to protect those parts. However, the other parts of his body were clearly feeling a little stiff.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and the Snow Empress disyed their powerful abilities in this moment. They had absorbed arge amount of the elements of ice around them, and now formed a protectiveyer around his body so that he could continue diving downward, as the Ice Empress took point in front.

    This icy spring was far deeper than Huo Yuhao had judged. He went thirty meters down, and the chills around him became increasingly strong. Huo Yuhao had to continue channeling soul power to resist the cold. He was starting to fall apart because he had been holding his breath for a long time, and this environment put a lot of pressure on him.

    A suffocating feeling was starting to appear, and that stifling feeling in his chest was starting to make his inner breathing a little unbnced.

    Oh no, problems might ur if this continues!Huo Yuhao was beginning to feel a little hesitant.

    The Ice Empress clearly felt the changes in his body. She waved her hand at him to show that everything was fine as they continued descending into the depths.

    The Ice Empress was a part of his body. The Ice Empress couldn¡¯t live by herself if something happened to him, so Huo Yuhao had absolute faith in the Ice Empress as he gritted his teeth and continued downward.

    Forty meters, forty-five meters, fifty meters¡­

    Huo Yuhao almost couldn¡¯t bear it anymore at this depth. His body was starting to tremble as the water pressure increased, and with the agony of the intense chill in addition to the harsh suffocating sensations, his body was starting to reach its limits.

    Huo Yuhao was like Nan Qiuqiu when she was resisting his spiritual pressure before. He was relying only on his willpower to support his body under that enormous pressure.

    The Ice Empress paused in front of him at this moment before she suddenly elerated and continued downward.

    Huo Yuhao paused for a moment. He still had a chance to return if he went back now, but if he went deeper in and if he couldn¡¯t extricate himself from this situation, then he would probably be in big trouble.

    Should I trust the Ice Empress, or should I go up and take a breather before I prepare myself to return?

    Those two thoughts resonated in his mind for but an instant before he made his choice. He gritted his teeth and channeled all his soul power before he pressed his hand backward. Two waves of soul power surged and propelled his body as he suddenly burst forward and went deeper down.

 Chapter 464.2 - Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence

    <h4 ss>Chapter 464.2: Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence</h4>

    In this moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if the icy spring water around him had already reached absolute zero. The extremely low temperatures were starting to make his body go numb. However, the soul power within his body was greedily absorbing that extreme chill.

    ¡°Whoosh¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly lightened, and he suddenly felt the pressure around him plummet as he fell into a small cave.

    Everything waspletely dark inside the cave, but there wasn¡¯t any spring water at all. Huo Yuhao almost subconsciously opened his mouth to breathe.

    A wave of terrifying and chilly air followed his breath into his body. In that moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if everything ¨C including his own spirit ¨C had frozen. His entire body went stiff as he just stood there, motionless.

    Huo Yuhao thought that he had a very deep understanding of the element of ice, but only in this moment did he truly understand that everything that he knew was insufficient. At least, he had never believed that ice could cause even spirits to freeze. Was this the true element of ice?

    His Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead. The deep, profound, and tranquil vertical eye opened as the soul core in his body rotated hysterically. Tremendous spiritual power rippled outward and forcefully helped Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit struggle out from the icy rigidness.

    Bluish-green light glowed in front of him at the same time. The Ice Empress hovered in front of him quietly, and Huo Yuhao could finally see everything around him with rity.

    He was inside a very small cave. It was only about ten square meters, and about one and a half meters high. Huo Yuhao had toe inside with his body bent down.

    There were strange pirs of ice inside the cave. There were more than ten of various sizes, some big and some small, and they were all intertwined with each other. Every pir was white, and they were still white and clean even when the Ice Empress¡¯ bluish-green light shone on them.

    Liquid seemed to flow within those white, icy pirs. The frightening chill came from these icy pirs.

    The extreme cold here was different from that contained inside the Divine Ice Crystals. The cold here couldn¡¯t be contained, and even the air seemed to be sticky. The elements of ice were so thick here that even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t absorb them, and only the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, the Star Anise or other Spirits like them wouldn¡¯t be too affected in such an environment. That wasn¡¯t because they were in spiritual form, but because their original bodies were formed from Ultimate Ice.

    ¡°We are here. This is the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.¡± The Ice Empress spoke with much sorrow.

    The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirits were rekindled when he heard those words. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t move at all, and his entire body seemed like it was frozen. However, with his soul core helping him, his thoughts and spirit were very normal.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao. You¡¯re just not used to the extreme cold in this ce. The area here is too small, and there is too much Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and that¡¯s the reason why the temperature is so low. The temperature here is about five degrees from absolute zero. Even though these five degrees are still cmities, this is the lowest temperature I have evere across.¡±

    Thoughts spun in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as he turned to the Ice Empress and asked, ¡°Does that mean our Ultimate Ice isn¡¯t absolute zero?¡±

    The Ice Empress shook her head and said, ¡°Of course not. Temperatures can be considered at the extremes when they are one hundred and fifty degrees below zero. That is already a range forbidden to life. However, that threshold is still quite far from absolute zero. But this ce is different. This ce is truly a ce with a temperature close to absolute zero! There isn¡¯t as much Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence as the ce that the Skydream Iceworm discovered by chance, but the space here is small, and the cold air cannot be released outside. The cold air has been umting and trapped here. Therefore, low temperatures such as this are few and far between even in our lives. Don¡¯t do anything now ¨C just stay here quietly, and it will be beneficial for you. We will absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to reduce the icy air¡¯s thickness, and then you can slowly adapt. Just make sure that your mind remains clear.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao said nothing more. He understood what the Ice Empress was saying ¨C that he had to feel and experience more of a ce like this that hardly ever urred in the world, if at all. It would be very beneficial for his cultivation with Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao concentrated his spiritual power and began to quietly feel everything around him. Even though his body was frozen, there was an icy-blueyer around his body that was protecting him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul had Ultimate Ice, and he couldn¡¯t be frozen to death. The only problem was that the chilly air here was too strong, and he didn¡¯t know how to deal with it yet.

    Light flickered as the Skydream Iceworm emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Even though the Skydream Iceworm didn¡¯t originally have Ultimate Ice, he was undoubtedly one of the most experienced in dealing with Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.

    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked the Ice Empress.

    Their consciousnesses were the most intact amongst Huo Yuhao¡¯s four Spirits. The Star Anise was simr, but it was a nt-type soul beast, and it only had a hundred thousand years of cultivation, so its intelligence was rtively lower. The Snow Empress¡¯ memories were sealed after she became Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit, so she couldn¡¯t help them make a decision.

    The Ice Empress lowered her voice and said, ¡°We are without our bodies. However, the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is the purest and most valuable treasure for our elements of ice. We may be able to recreate our bodies if we use this ice essence as materials and absorb them through our origin energy. These bodies will still be based on energy, but if our fusion is to be sessful, we will be able to leave Yuhao for a certain distance in the future and still be able to live. At the same time, if anything happens to Yuhao, we can still¡­¡±

    She paused here and nced at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao passed his message with his thoughts. ¡°Can what?¡±

    The Ice Empress took a deep breath and spoke with radiating eyes that were trained on him. ¡°We can leave you, and we can find another person who can help us attain eternity. With the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, our spiritual origins can possess a vessel that isn¡¯t so easily dissipated.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s great! That is a good thing. Hurry up and absorb it.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s eyes became a lot deeper than before. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡±

    The Ice Empress stared at him coldly and said, ¡°What¡¯s not good?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm frowned. ¡°I can understand what you are feeling. However, since we have chosen to follow Yuhao from the beginning, we have to give our entire hearts and souls. Everyone has been through life and death struggles so many times ¨C have you forgotten?¡±

    The Ice Empress paused momentarily and said, ¡°I just wish to use the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to strengthen my origin so that my spiritual origin can rely on something. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not all you are thinking of. I understand that you want to try to recreate your physical body with all this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. I can tell you two things ¨C first, you can¡¯t possibly do that. This ice essence is a very valuable ice-type treasure, but there isn¡¯t enough here for you to recreate your physical body. How can you recreate your body without any dependence? Secondly, even if you manage to do that, you will no longer be with us. I understand how you feel about seeing all this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, but I have to stop you. This is not our path. Have you not seen hope in Yuhao? Since we already have hope, why do you have to take this risk?¡±

    The Ice Empress retorted defiantly, ¡°I didn¡¯t think of hurting him. I just¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice suddenly became very severe. ¡°Shut up. I know you never wished to harm him, but why didn¡¯t you tell him that he would have to sustain such enormous pressure in the process ofing in? You didn¡¯t want him to stop you aftering here. Absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to strengthen your own body is alright, but I¡¯m afraid that your mentality will be unstable. Don¡¯t take the wrong path!¡±

    The Ice Empress fell silent. Even though she didn¡¯t want to admit it, she understood that the Skydream Iceworm was telling the truth.

    The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence had caused a ripple in her heart that had always been calm, and she felt as if she had seen hope. She had never fused with a treasure such as this before, but she held onto that tiny thread of hope, that she could use it to try and recreate her physical body. She did see hope by following Huo Yuhao, but she craved freedom more.

    ¡°Brother Skydream,¡± Huo Yuhao called out.

    The Skydream Iceworm turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao with an apologetic look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. She didn¡¯t do it intentionally. The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is unimaginably alluring to any ice-type soul beast.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I don¡¯t me her,¡± Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I understand the value of freedom. Brother Skydream, I called you because I wanted to ask if I can truly help you guys recreate your physical bodies by leveraging the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence ¨C or rather, by using it as the main material. If that¡¯s possible, I am willing to help you. Really. I don¡¯t mind even if you absorb every single inch of the ice essence here.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm frowned even more tightly. ¡°What do you mean, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Brother Skydream, Ice Empress ¨C I¡¯ve always known that you guys have high expectations and hopes on me, and this expectation has been an enormous burden for me! If you guys can recreate your physical bodies, then this burden will naturally disappear. I can do some things that I wish to do with a lightened heart. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about anything ¨C my Spirit Eyes have grown, and even if the Ice Empress leaves me and takes my second martial soul, that¡¯s not a big deal. I am very clear about how valuable freedom is. Therefore, if you have a solution to this, brother Skydream, please help the Ice Empress and yourself. There will be no problem if the Snow Empress can awaken because of this. The original rationale of bing my Spirits was to live better lives! Since you guys have this opportunity, why are you giving it up?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s knotted eyebrows rxed, but his expression became one of astonishment. He could tell that Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were very sincere, and there wasn¡¯t a single trace of sarcasm.

 Chapter 464.3 - Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence

    Chapter 464.3: Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence

    The Ice Empress stared at Huo Yuhao with a nk look on her face, and she seemed a little lost.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°I have always had three wishes. My first wish is to avenge my mother, and for everybody who hurt her to pay. This is my duty as a son. My second wish is to find Dong¡¯er again so that we can be together, and that is for my own happiness. My third wish is to help you guys live on, and in a better life. You guys are the reason why I have achieved everything that I have, and to me, you are both teachers and friends. The only responsibility that remains after I havepleted these three wishes will be to fight for Shrek and the Tang Sect.¡±

    ¡°I truly wish to see my three wishes fulfilled. Therefore, brother Skydream, every one of you can leave if you are able to. I will not be upset at all. I only wish that we can still be friends afterwards.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice became a little lower. ¡°But you know that if we leave you ¨C perhaps what we have fused with you will remain in your body ¨C but the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and I will take with us all the soul skills that we have bestowed upon you. Even the soul bone that the Ice Empress has given you will disappear. Your second martial soul will likely crumble, and your Spirit Eyes¡¯ fourth soul skill will vanish with me. Even though you are a Soul Sage, your strength will very likely plummet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°I have considered all of that. That¡¯s not a problem, because I am not worried about all that as long as I can fulfill my three wishes. Brother Skydream, you don¡¯t have to worry for me. I am no longer the same me as I was back then. With your help, at the very least, I am still a Soul Sage. Furthermore, I already have my soul core. I trust that I can regain my prowess with my own abilities. Even if I only have Spirit Eyes, I am still quite powerful! Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed and turned around to look at the Ice Empress. ¡°Have you heard him?¡±

    The Ice Empress nodded silently.

    The Skydream Iceworm said inly, ¡°So what is your decision?¡±

    The Ice Empress didn¡¯t answer directly. Instead, she asked the Skydream Iceworm a question. ¡°If I choose to leave, then what about you? Will you leave with me?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm shook his head almost without hesitation as he said decisively, ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡±

    The Ice Empress frowned. ¡°But you¡¯ve said before that you like me. Why aren¡¯t you willing to be with me?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm replied inly, ¡°Yes, I like you. No, I should say that I love you. You are one of the most importantponents of my life. However, Yuhao is the same.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was because of me that Yuhao¡¯s strength has risen so quickly. However, on the other hand, I would probably no longer exist if I hadn¡¯t run into him. We have always been relying on each other for survival and helping each other, and only then have we reached where we are today. Therefore, no matter what, whether Yuhao will touch that level sessfully in the future, I will apany him on his path. I will always be by his side whether he is sessful or not. I am hispanion, and I am also his elder brother. Just as you are, he has long be one of the most important parts of my life.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao is right ¨C he has a tremendous burden on his shoulders because of us. I trust that everything that he has said is sincere. Our departure for him might be a kind of liberation, but I will not leave, no matter what the future holds for us. I will stand with my brother.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ expression turned a little bitter. ¡°What about me? We both hold important ces in your heart. Why won¡¯t you choose to be with me?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm sighed and said, ¡°How I wish I could be with you! I will wish the same in the future. However, I cannot follow you if you choose to leave. I will look for you only after I apany Yuhao to finish thest days of his journey. If you are still alive then, I wille to you to protect you, and to apany you. If you are no longer there, then I will find you in another world. Even though I am very afraid of death, I have to admit that I have been alive long enough. Love and friendship cannot be had at the same time ¨C if your choice is right, and Yuhao¡¯s choice is not right, then I will choose you. But now, you should understand what my choice is.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± The Ice Empress grunted angrily. ¡°You wait!¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm revealed a pained smile. ¡°Perhaps this wait will bring me agony for the rest of my life.¡±

    The Ice Empress stared at him coldly and said, ¡°Yes, it will give you pain for the rest of your life.¡±

    She turned and floated towards Huo Yuhao as she spoke. The Skydream Iceworm felt his heart skip a beat as he hurriedly followed her.

    The Snow Empress had lost her memory, and she only recognized Huo Yuhao. She immediately flew next to Huo Yuhao as she stared at the Ice Empress warily.

    The Ice Empress smiled ¨C she stared at Huo Yuhao, and her smile was very happy.

    ¡°You are all wrong. I do want to absorb this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and I have to admit that greedy thoughts did appear in my head when I saw it. I believe that is something that any ice-type soul beast cannot avoid. However, that avarice is insufficient to sway my faith. So what if I recreate my physical body? In Di Tian¡¯s life, he has cultivated for more than eight hundred thousand years with the help of the Lake of Life, and even then, he doesn¡¯t have a single chance of touching the God Realm. The God Realm has always been very harsh and strict towards us soul beasts. However, I have truly seen hope in Yuhao. The call from the God Realm and the formation of his soul core proves that my judgment wasn¡¯t false all those years ago. Since that¡¯s the case, why would I give up my roots to chase something so trivial?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm stared at her with widened eyes and ck jaw. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not recreating your physical body anymore?¡±

    The Ice Empress rolled her eyes and said, ¡°When did I say that I wish to do that?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm stammered, ¡°But¡­ but you said that if something happens to him, you can choose another host!¡±

    The Ice Empress replied, ¡°I did say that! But I was just speaking casually. Why are you so serious? Do you think I don¡¯t know how illusory recreating my physical body is? You are too tensed up. Yes, Yuhao did sustain enormous pressureing in here, but that pressure was within my control. If I sensed that he had reached the limits of what he could bear, I would have immediately helped him relieve that pressure.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ green light suddenly flourished as she spoke, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s original form glowed behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. The chill that had been assaulting him from the beginning to the end, that had frozen him over instantly, disappeared as Huo Yuhao regained his senses.

    ¡°How can he improve without pressure? Did he not do the same to Qiuqiu? Don¡¯t you know how difficult it is to give Yuhao pressure? This ce is as suitable as it gets. This experience will be very beneficial for him when he absorbs the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essenceter.¡±

    ¡°However, I have to absorb at least half of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence here,¡± the Ice Empress was very serious, ¡°I have never considered recreating my physical body, or to change hosts in the future. To be honest, I don¡¯t think anybody can be better than Yuhao, and I was justmenting casually. However, such a thing is possible, and I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with that. As for why I have to absorbrge amounts of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to consolidate and strengthen my origins, the reason is simple.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The Skydream Iceworm asked.

    The Ice Empress rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot. You had nothing better to do, so you decided to help Yuhao form his soul core with only seven soul rings. This will allow his cultivation to increase more quickly, but have you considered that forming a second soul core is a challenge for an Ultimate Douluo? He¡¯ll probably need more than thirty, or even fifty years.¡±

    ¡°The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is your great luck. The amount that he can absorb is limited, while my absorption is equivalent to his martial soul absorbing more. All this will be unleashed when he breaks through in the future, and when he is forming his second soul core. I will infuse my origin power into his body so that he has a chance at sess.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s jaws were still agape. ¡°Very wise!¡±

    The Ice Empress shot him a disdainful nce and said, ¡°Of course I am wise, unlike you ¨C you¡¯re such an idiot. You hadn¡¯t even rified anything before you came running to express your loyalty. Please, continue!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm gave her a sheepish look. ¡°I was wrong, Ice Empress. I have aggrieved you.¡±

    The Ice Empressughed coldly and said, ¡°No! Do not speak of aggrievance. You¡¯re so good to Yuhao, you guys are brothers. I am an outsider. Yuhao is the generous one ¨C what about you? You are projecting your own despicable thoughts to judge honest people. Leave me alone next time.¡±

    ¡°I was wrong, Ice Empress. Isn¡¯t it enough that I have apologized? I will do whatever you wish me to, mydy. I was wrong, I truly understand that I was wrong now.¡± The Skydream Iceworm finally understood what the Ice Empress meant about giving him pain for the rest of his life. He finally felt it deep in his bones.

    Huo Yuhao turned toward the Ice Empress with a forcedugh. ¡°This is all just a misunderstanding, jeez¡­ I was also wrong. Everything is my fault. Don¡¯t me brother Skydream.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm secretly gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up.

    The Ice Empress chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not so easy to toss us away, Yuhao. You will only have motivation when there¡¯s pressure. It¡¯s fine ¨C I don¡¯t me you. I have always treated you like a younger brother. Furthermore, your speech just now was pretty touching. Quite unlike a certain crawling bug, heh!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I was wrong! Ice Empress,¡± the Skydream Iceworm hurriedly stepped forward to pull on the Ice Empress, but she shrugged him away.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, I¡¯ll deal with youter. We have to discuss this matter with the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. You also have to absorb some, Skydream, not just me. The Snow Lady and the Star Anise have to do it as well. The Snow Lady has to take more, and perhaps that will help her regain her strength. Yuhao can only absorb a little for now. The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is too effective, and if you absorb too much of it, you may very well end up in a deep slumber like the Skydream Iceworm all those years ago. If that happens, you may sleep for a good ten years. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t want that.¡±

 Chapter 465.1 - Absorbing the Ice Essence

    Chapter 465.1: Absorbing the Ice Essence

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°It¡¯s a lot easier for us to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. We are all your Spirits, and our origin will absorb some of it, while more of it will be sealed into our bodies. These energies will be useful when you attempt to form your second soul core.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly responded.

    The Ice Empress continued, ¡°Okay, then I shall begin, and the Snow Empress will go next, then Skydream, and the Star Anise goesst. You will take your turn when we finish.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded understandingly.

    The Skydream Iceworm stared anxiously at the Ice Empress beside her and said, ¡°Do you need help, Ice Empress?¡±

    ¡°Scram,¡± the Ice Empress pushed him away as she floated before a single pir. Intense green light lit up every corner of this tiny cavern. Every single pir of ice essence seemed toe alive under the green luster.

    The Ice Empress shifted as an enormous green scorpion tail glimmered into view behind her. The shiny hook stabbed ferociously into the pir in front of her.

    ¡°Tch!¡± There was a soft sound that caused the cold air within the cavern to shake. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel even stronger waves of cold permeate around him, but the energy undtions were also bing stronger within all those chilly waves.

    However, everything happened for only an instant. Huo Yuhao could see in the next moment that waves of dark blue liquid swiftly flowed into the Ice Empress¡¯ body through the sharp hook on her tail, and she absorbed the liquid within.

    The Ice Empress was Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul after all, and Huo Yuhao could sense something changing once she began to absorb it. The rigid soul power within his body began to circte once more. Furthermore, his soul power began to strengthen as the pure elements of ice immersed into his body.

    The Ice Empress stretched out her arms to both sides, and they transformed into two enormous pincers that waved rhythmically in the air as they carried bluish-green hues.

    The green lights intertwined and curved through one another in midair as strange bluish-green runes and glyphs took shape one after another behind her before they imprinted on her body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was increasing at a slower rate. However, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s pattern was vividly imprinted behind his back. That wasn¡¯t all ¨C the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s skeleton shone lustrously.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ origin resided within these bones. The Ice Empress was starting to fuse with and seal away the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and that essence was naturally sealed into her skeleton.

    The process was very quick. Fifteen minutes passed as the first pir dimmed, and the liquid that was so lively and full of vitalitypletely disappeared.

    The pir of ice essence shattered with a light pop and transformed into a mass of icy dust.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ body evidently became much more material after fusing with this pir. Even though it still couldn¡¯tpare to her real body, Huo Yuhao could tell that she was a lot more lively than before.

    Two pincers stretched out from her sides, and each mped down on a pir as she continued to absorb more!

    The Skydream Iceworm flew quietly behind the Ice Empress. Nobody was as experienced as he was in absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and back when he had first absorbed it, he went into a deep slumber for a long time because there was too much energy inside the ice essence, even after absorbing but a little bit. He could absorb more as he became stronger over time, and he managed to umte his tremendous ice-type origin energy after a million years. Unfortunately, those energies were ¡°gifted¡± to someone else when he arrived at the Great Star Dou Forest. He wasn¡¯t adept in battle, and so he became a source of great nutrition to the Beast God, Di Tian and a bunch of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Savage Beasts.

    Just as the Ice Empress had said, if she were the one who had absorbed all that Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence back then, it was hard to say who the number-one soul beast in the world would be.

    The Skydream Iceworm protected the Ice Empress from behind, so that if she absorbed too much, he could help her draw some away.

    However, the Ice Empress was very powerful. She already had four hundred thousand years of cultivation before fusing with Huo Yuhao. Even though the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence was very potent, her origin power was much stronger than the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s back then.

    She absorbed one pir after another. Her body became increasingly material, as if she were a real human. Huo Yuhao could feel that the Ice Empress¡¯ consciousness and the tremendous power contained within the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence gradually caused her to take a form that waspletely formed with ice energy. Just as the Ice Empress had said, she could be far away from Huo Yuhao for a period of time in such a state without running into any problems. This was an improvement in her intrinsic qualities. She would possess her own fighting strength even without relying on Huo Yuhao. Of course, she was still quite far away from how she was a long time ago.

    The Ice Empress only began to slow down when she had absorbed seven pirs of ice essence. Some of those energies integrated with her origin, while she began to seal the others into her origin. She was starting to exert a lot of effort after the seventh one.

    She could still absorb the eighth one on her own, but she couldn¡¯t absorb two at the same time, while the cavern became a little warmer after those pirs disappeared. The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence wasn¡¯t so unbearable anymore.

    The ninth one!

    Thick icy bluish-green mist began to appear around the Ice Empress when she absorbed her ninth one. The icy mist would transform into drops of liquid in the air and plop to the ground. Her body was starting to tremble, and it was clear that she was reaching her limit.

    It was quite difficult to digest the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. She could only store that much with her origin power.

    The Ice Empress struggled to finish absorbing her ninth pir. She took a deep breath as she glided away. Green light flickered on her body, and flourishing ice-type origin energy undtions gave everyone a feeling as if she had restored herself to her peak strength.

    ¡°I¡¯m good. Yuhao, let the Snow Empress absorb some.¡± The Ice Empress heaved a long exhale as she floated next to Huo Yuhao. She had to absorb some ice essence to fuse with her consciousness ¨C otherwise, she could explode at any moment, because she had absorbed too much energy.

    Huo Yuhaomunicated with the Snow Lady as she flew into the air and came before the ice essence.

    The Snow Lady was a lot more direct than the Snow Empress. She opened her palms and grabbed a pir with each one, and everyone could see her pulling circles of blue light into her body before they merged with her.

    The Snow Empress was in a different state than the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress was Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul, and she had only retained her consciousness. The Snow Empress was possibly the strongest Spirit in the continent. Even though she didn¡¯t have soul bones to rely on, her consciousness and soul power had merged to be a Spirit so that she could survive. She was much more material than the Ice Empress¡¯ pure consciousness, and she began to disy strength superior to the Ice Empress once she started to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.

    The Snow Empress finished absorbing two pirs in less than five minutes. What was even more surprising was that her body, which was already rtively material, seemed to be growing.

    She had looked like a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old teenager before this, but now she seemed to grow a year older after absorbing the two pirs. She grew a little taller, and her frame seemed to be more developed.

    Dense ice elements spiraled around her, as if they had found an owner that they loved, and they were radiating excitement.

    Two pirs, and then another two.

    The Snow Empress was absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence at a speed that was twice as fast as the Ice Empress, and was growing continuously amidst it all.

    Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen ¨C she gradually grew up from a small girl. Her body became long and slender as she chest grewrger, while her long legs could be faintly seen within her white dress. The Snow Empress¡¯ stunning features became increasingly crisp and cold.

    She slowly left her look as the Snow Lady behind, and transformed continuously into the Snow Empress.

    A confused look gradually appeared in her clear dark-blue eyes, before that confusion turned into bewilderment, and her eyes slowly became clear once more. The pirs of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence disappeared continuously amidst her transformation.

    Thirteen pirs ¨C she finally paused when she absorbed her thirteenth pir. She stopped growing when she reached the state of a twenty-year-olddy, but the aura of Ultimate Ice emanating from her body was extremely strong. Her white dress now had snow-white ribbons on it ¨C six of them ¨C and every ribbon wrapped around her in different ways thatplemented her slender and exceedingly beautiful body.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that she was different, but as for how different she had be, there seemed to be something else besides her increased strength.

    The Snow Empress raised her hands once more.

    Does she still want to absorb more?

    Huo Yuhao stared at her in astonishment. However, the Snow Empress didn¡¯t grab any pirs with her hands this time. Instead, she waved her hands in front of her. She first made the shape of an arch before her ten slender fingers began to waltz in midair.

    Dark blue patterns rippled in the air, and they transformed continuously as they congregated to form strange runes that resembled snowkes.

    The Ice Empress had her eyes closed while she absorbed the origin energy of heaven and earth, but her eyes suddenly burst open because of these glyphs. She stared in shock at the Snow Empress in front of her, and when she saw the glyphs that resembled snowkes appear one after another in front of her, her eyes widened in excitement as tears welled up in her eyes.

    The Snow Empress took a good fifteen minutes to draw and create those frosty runes, and in the end, a total of seven snowkes hovered in front of her.

    ¡°Go!¡± The Snow Empress growled as the seven snowkes floated forward and eachnded on a single pir of ice essence.

 Chapter 465.2 - Absorbing the Ice Essence

    <h4 ss>Chapter 465.2: Absorbing the Ice Essence</h4>

    All seven pirs glowed at the same time. The snowkes that were originally pristine white sparkled along with the ice essence and gradually became dark blue. The auras of those dark blue shadows became stronger every time they transformed.

    Several minutester, all seven pirs crumbled at the same time, and the seven snowkes floated into the air as they shrank. They transformed into a bracelet of snowkes as it wrapped itself around the Snow Empress¡¯ left wrist.

    The Snow Empress slowly turned around. She still had a clean and cold look on her face, but she said inly, ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with jaws agape and wide eyes as he said, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ve recovered your memory?¡±

    Huo Yuhao could feel that his connection with the Snow Empress hadn¡¯t really changed from before, and their thoughts were still connected. However, there seemed to be something else in the Snow Empress¡¯ consciousness ¨C that was like a kind of will. Yes, after absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the Snow Empress had probably¡­

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Snow Empress gave a very clear answer.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes instantly became veryplicated, a look that the Skydream Iceworm shared.

    The Snow Empress was still number three amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts after all! She was inferior only to the Beast God, Di Tian, and the Evileye Tyrant King. The Snow Empress had recovered her memory ¨C would she still be willing to remain as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit? Just as the Ice Empress had said, she could find a new host after fusing with the ice essence. Since that was the case, she could possibly even recreate her physical body.

    The Snow Empress had be the Snow Lady ever since she merged with Huo Yuhao and remained by his side. She was like his daughter when she was younger and became like his little sister when she gradually grew up. She was someone that Huo Yuhao felt like he had to care for and protect in his heart, so how could he not develop an attachment after so long?

    Huo Yuhao stared at the Snow Lady, who was standing in front of him. She had unrivaled beauty that matched even Dong¡¯er, and Huo Yuhao could feel a thread of fear in his heart. He really didn¡¯t want the Snow Empress to leave, and deep in his heart, he would rather the Snow Empress had remained as the Snow Lady.

    As for the Skydream Iceworm, the reason for hisplicated emotions was a lot simpler. The Ice Empress liked the Snow Empress! The Snow Empress was his rival in love! The Ice Empress was hot and cold to him from the beginning to the end, but now that the Snow Empress had regained her memory, had his chances not dwindled even more? How could he not be dejected?

    The Snow Empress seemed to feel the changes in Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions as she said inly, ¡°I¡¯m the Snow Empress, and I am also the Snow Lady.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a tremble in his heart, and his eyes were ovee with pleasant surprise.

    The Ice Empress transformed into a beam of green light at this moment and rushed to the Snow Empress. She opened her arms and hugged her tightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re back, Snow. That¡¯s great, that¡¯s just great. You¡¯re finally back.¡±

    The Snow Empress hugged the Ice Empress as well, and a faint smile finally appeared on her beautiful, ice-cold face. ¡°I¡¯m good, Ice Empress.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm flew next to Huo Yuhao with a depressed expression on his face. His eyes were dreary, and Huo Yuhao turned towards him amusedly and said, ¡°Be strong, brother Skydream.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm heaved a sigh. He didn¡¯t say anything as he flew directly towards the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.

    He wasn¡¯t like the Ice Empress or the Snow Empress, who both absorbed two or more at a time. Instead, he targeted a single pir and began to absorb it.

    Less than half of the pirs were left inside the cavern after the twodies had finished absorbing theirs. Huo Yuhao did a rough count; there were a total of forty-five ice pirs inside the cavern. The Ice Empress had absorbed nine, the Snow Empress had absorbed thirteen, and in addition to the seven pirs that she had sealed away with an unknown method, twenty-nine pirs were gone and sixteen were left.

    The Skydream Iceworm was evidently a lot slower at absorbing the ice essence inparison to the Snow and the Ice Empress. Not too long ago, he had fused almost all his origin power with Huo Yuhao, and his element of ice was used as a medium for Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul back then. Therefore, even though he still had some left, those elements were far inferior to the Snow and Ice Empress. If he hadn¡¯t absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in the past, he probably wouldn¡¯t even be worthy of absorbing any now.

    The twodies hugged for a moment before they gradually separated. The Snow Empress¡¯ eyes were full ofment, while the Ice Empress¡¯ eyes were filled with tion.

    The Snow Empress turned around and nodded at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Thanks for taking care of me over these years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do much.¡±

    The Snow Empress shed him a faint smile and said, ¡°I have always been very clear about favors and grudges. I will always apany you for allowing me to live again, and we will always follow you if you manage to break through that level. And even if you fail, I will follow you to the end of your life, and make my own ns after you leave this world.¡±

    Evidently, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think the Snow Empress would say such things, as he stared at her with an astonished look on his face. The Snow Empress¡¯ icy features melted into a slight smile as she suddenly raised her hands and grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s cor.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at her in shock.

    The Snow Empress pulled her hands open to both sides, taking Huo Yuhao¡¯s shirt along with them, and revealing his chest.

    Huo Yuhao was immediately embarrassed as he grabbed the Snow Empress¡¯ hands. ¡°What are you doing, Snow Empress?¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ pretty eyes squinted slightly as she stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. She muttered to herself, ¡°Beast God Di Tian! Hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao realized then that her attention was focused on the reverse scale on his chest. His embarrassment ebbed as he released the Snow Empress¡¯ hands.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ hands were smooth but cold, and they were like tender snow and ice that were without warmth, yet perfect and without blemish.

    The Snow Empress nced at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With our help, once your strength reaches a certain level, you will undoubtedly be able to shake off the burden from Di Tian¡¯s reverse scale. But that¡¯s not possible now. Even though I have awakened, I will suppress my own strength. Otherwise, Di Tian will make a move against you once he realizes that I am inhabiting your body.¡±

    ¡°When you manage to get your eighth ring, take a trip to the Extreme North. There is a ce there that is suitable for helping your cultivation breakthrough. Not even Di Tian will have an easy time killing you once you be a Titled Douluo.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head in acknowledgement. The Snow Empress was just that intimidating! He was the only one that was working hard to break free from the Beast God¡¯s shackles when it was just the Ice Empress and the Skydream Iceworm with him. But when the Snow Empress woke up, and her words clearly meant that she wanted to help him break free. This was the difference between their strengths.

    The Snow Empress closed his shirt as she turned around at the Ice Empress and said, ¡°Ice, my origin has stabilized. With help from the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, I can regain some of my strength from a long time ago. From now on, we will teach him the art of controlling ice.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± the Ice Empress nodded as she agreed.

    The Snow Empress turned towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Last time, you were too weak, so you couldn¡¯t have learned even if we did try to teach you. You have a certain foundation in your spiritual power at this point, and your soul power is sufficient to control rtively more powerful ice-type abilities, so you can start learning now. You have to break through to be a Titled Douluo within two years. Afterwards, you have to work hard towardthat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He suddenly realized that his belief that the Snow Empress would probably leave him after she woke up was entirely wrong. The Snow Empress¡¯ awakening made him feel a lot less pressure instead, and oftentimes, it was usually the most rxed for him when he didn¡¯t have to consider his own future. With the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress giving him pointers, if his ability to control ice could continue to improve, his overall strength would undoubtedly increase.

    Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls, but his main martial soul had been his Spirit Eyes from the beginning to the end. Even though he had invented his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills, those skills had their foundations in spiritual power, and his ice-type abilities were all purely channeled through soul skills. His control over ice was achieved mainly through spiritual power to control the elements of ice. The ¡°method¡± that the Snow Empress was speaking of clearly wasn¡¯t so simple.

    The Skydream Iceworm was rtively slower at absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. He managed to absorb one after a long while, and there were fifteen pirs left.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°You should absorb some too, Star Anise.¡±

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass swayed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and glided over. It flew next to the Skydream Iceworm andnded stably on the ground. It shook his head from side to side as it released circles of blue hues that encased a pir.

    Light rippled as the pir shone. The Star Anise was starting to absorb it.

    The Star Anise¡¯s element was also ice. Furthermore, it had been living next to the Icefire Yin Yang Well¡¯s Extreme Chill Icespring over its entire life, and its attributes were not weak at all. Even though the Star Anise didn¡¯t have a very strong cultivation, it was still absorbing the ice essence more quickly than the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Ice Empress stood next to the Snow Empress. She was clearly subsidiary. Huo Yuhao had a strange feeling in his heart ¨C the Snow Empress¡¯ awakening immediately made her the leader of his four Spirits, and she seemed like a big sister taking care of everyone else.How unfortunate for brother Skydream! I wonder if he can still be together with the Ice Empress. I hope he can.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°While they¡¯re absorbing the ice essence, let me take you on a walk through the world of ice.¡±

    She raised her right hand as she spoke and gently ced it on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead.

    Huo Yuhao immediately felt an extreme chill pierce into his brain, and his consciousness seemed to travel to another world in the next moment.

    That world was white ¨C everything was white, but it was also very quiet, and there wasn¡¯t a single sound at all.

    A single droplet suddenly appeared soundlessly. It hovered in midair and emanated gentle water-based ripples.

    ¡°Water is the foundation of snow and ice. Water is the source of all things, and of all life. The power of water is that it can flow into anything.¡±

    The droplet immediately increased in size as she spoke. When it had be sorge that even Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness had to ¡°look up¡±, it suddenly exploded and transformed into countless water droplets that sttered in all directions.

    There wererge and small ones, and all Huo Yuhao felt was moisture as they flew through the air.

    Yes, water could flow into everything. Only with water would there be life and nature. Yes, water was the source of all life.

 Chapter 465.3 - Absorbing the Ice Essence

    Chapter 465.3: Absorbing the Ice Essence

    A droplet paused in front of Huo Yuhao. He tried to control himself with his thoughts, and he realized to his surprise that he actually had a body ¨C and he was raising his hand to gently touch this droplet.

    The water droplet stopped on the tip of his finger, and the moist feeling soaked into his finger. Perhaps it was because this world was too spacious and quiet, but Huo Yuhao felt very real when his finger touched the water droplet.

    Water ¨C when there was water, there was life.

    Suddenly, the droplets around him changed, and the temperature in the air plummeted. The droplets gradually became ice.

    ¡°Ice and snow alle from water, no matter what state they are in. Water bes ice due to low temperatures. Ice is water in solid form ¨C it¡¯s water that is hard, and water that is tough.¡±

    Tiny ice grains sttered on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He could feel waves of piercing pain course over his body, and he tried to block them subconsciously, but realized that he could no longer control his body. He could only let those ice crystals assault him.

    It¡¯s so painful! Ice is the toughness of water?

    Large masses of ice crystals stuck to his body as they billowed toward him. However, Huo Yuhao could only feel cool and refreshed instead of cold.

    ¡°The art of controlling ice lies in controlling temperature. Once you have grasped the secret of temperature and the characteristics of water, you will have made some headway into the art of controlling ice. Today, I will let you feel the first level of controlling ice ¨C temperature changes.¡±

    The ice spheres that were pressed against Huo Yuhao¡¯s body suddenly changed, and they all melted. The cool and refreshing feeling instantaneously became one of coldness and chill that pierced his bones, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but shiver from the cold.

    ¡°Water solidifying into ice will releaserge amounts of heat, while ice melting into water requiresrge amounts of heat. Therefore, you won¡¯t feel cold so quickly when ice is pressed against you, but the ice will suck the heat from your body when it melts, and then the cold wille.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ words resonated in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He suddenly realized that he had never really understood ice, in spite of his possession of Ultimate Ice ¨C he had overlooked many things about the very origins of ice.

    Coldness wasn¡¯t just about controlling temperature ¨C more importantly, it represented an understanding of ice itself.

    The whiteness around him dissipated amidst the silence, and Huo Yuhao returned to the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. However, he had entered a state of epiphany in this moment.

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t teach him much, but she spoke of foundations and roots.

    The Ice Empress looked at the Snow Empress with a faint smile on her face. ¡°I never expected you to be a teacher one day.¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled faintly and said, ¡°Have I not been a teacher to you before?¡±

    The Ice Empress took a few steps forward and grabbed one of the Snow Empress¡¯ hands. She leaned gently against her and said, ¡°Snow, I have missed you so much. It¡¯s great that you¡¯re back.¡±

    The Snow Empress raised her hand and stroked the Ice Empress¡¯ face gently. ¡°You silly girl ¨C you are lucky and happy whether or not I am here. At least, you are much more blessed than I am.¡±

    The Ice Empress was momentarily stunned as she stood up straight. ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    The Snow Empress nced at the Skydream Iceworm, who was still absorbing the ice essence effortfully, and said, ¡°Because you have him.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ expression changed as she lowered her head and said, ¡°You mind his presence?¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ eyes changed slightly, and her expression suddenly became cold as she said inly, ¡°Yes, I do mind his presence. Go kill him for me.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The Ice Empress eximed in shock. She released the Snow Empress¡¯ hand as she stumbled backward, and she stared at the Snow Empress with a look of disbelief. ¡°Why? Why do you want to kill him? He will not be a threat to you. It¡¯s true ¨C you¡¯re the one I like.¡±

    The Snow Empress answered inly, ¡°Since I¡¯m the one you like, and he keeps sticking with you, then what use is there to keep him around? Are you still the Ice Empress that was full of a desire to kill back then? Kill him.¡±

    The Ice Empress was momentarily stunned. Her frame was trembling a little, and she snapped her head around and stared at the Skydream Iceworm, who was still working hard at absorbing the ice essence. Her eyes sparkled incessantly.

    She knew that the Skydream Iceworm could definitely hear what the Snow Empress was saying even though he was absorbing the ice essence. However, he didn¡¯t have any reaction at all. Does he not know how to speak for his own life? Why, why is not talking?

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°He¡¯s useless. He¡¯s an iceworm, and he¡¯s only managed to umte some strength by relying on his long life because he absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. However, his strength was absorbed by the Beast God and the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Savage Beasts. He fused with Huo Yuhao afterwards, and not too long ago, he fused all of his spiritual origin with him. Right now, he ispletely useless. Killing him will not affect us, and neither will it affect Yuhao. We can be together without himing between us. What are you waiting for, Ice? Do it.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± The Ice Empress shivered vigorously as watery mist appeared in her beautiful eyes.

    The Ice Empress was very conflicted as she stood there. The Skydream Icewarm, who was deeply in love with her, was standing behind her, while the Snow Empress, who she had always been in love with, was standing in front of her.

    Do I really have to choose between them?

    The Ice Empress was a soul beast, but she had long possessed intelligence that wasn¡¯t inferior to that of humans. The rise of intelligence would undoubtedly enrich feelings and emotions.

    How could she not feel how good the Skydream Iceworm was to her? That was especially so when danger was knocking on her doorstep over several episodes, and the Skydream Iceworm had defended her with his life every single time. How could she not feel anything for him, when he would give everything for her?

    She had been spending every single day with the Skydream Iceworm ever since she went into Huo Yuhao. Top-tier soul beasts also had feelings, and at this moment, the Snow Empress was asking her to kill him. How could she not be conflicted?

    ¡°Snow, have you not said before that he¡¯s been very good to me, and that I should¡­¡± The Ice Empress spoke with a trembling voice.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°That was before. I couldn¡¯t give you a sense of security back then, and I couldn¡¯t be with you. I was willing to have someone around to protect you. But it¡¯s different now, and I have returned. There is nobody else in this world better suited to protect you than me. His existence will only be a distraction for us when we are together. I don¡¯t wish to see that. Why aren¡¯t you making a move!?¡±

    ¡°Snow!¡± The Ice Empress said agonizingly.

    The Snow Empress said coldly, ¡°That means you can¡¯t bear to move against him? That¡¯s fine. If you don¡¯t want to, then I¡¯ll do it.¡± The Snow Empress floated forward as she spoke, and arrived in front of the Ice Empress in an instant.

    The Ice Empress hadn¡¯t even reacted when the Snow Empress¡¯ left hand pressed gently on her shoulder.

    Snowkes condensed one after another, and swiftly wrapped around the Ice Empress¡¯ body. The snowkes fixed her to the spot and immobilized her. Even though they were all energy forms that originated from their consciousnesses, the Snow Empress¡¯ strength was superior to the Ice Empress. Furthermore, the Ice Empress was caught off-guard.

    The Ice Empress was fixed in ce by the Snow Empress, and her body was swiftly half-turned. She watched in shock as the Snow Empress brushed past her, and her palm that was clear and dark blue pressed against the back of the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s heart.

    ¡°No ¨C¡± The Ice Empress screamed. Her voice was filled with fear and agony as intense green light erupted from her body while she struggled to free herself from the Snow Empress¡¯ shackles.

    The Ice Empress was far too familiar with the Snow Empress¡¯ palm ¨C Snowless cier, the Snow Empress¡¯ strongest attack! Even she probably wouldn¡¯t survive if this attack was used against her, let alone the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Ice Empress felt as if her heart had just skipped a beat, and an unspeakable fear filled her heart.

    He¡¯s dead, he¡¯s dead ¨C Snow has killed him. Snow has killed him!

    The Ice Empress¡¯ eyes gradually turned red as she screamed hysterically. The ice auras that wereing from her body climbed rapidly as green light erupted, and the Snow Empress¡¯ snowkes that were holding her down were melting at an incredible speed.

    The Skydream Iceworm stood there motionless. There was a dark blueyer over his body. The Ice Empress was only far too familiar with that dark blue color that was filled with the stench of death. Snowless cier took away all life, and even an individual as powerful as the Beast God would probably be severely injured if the Snow Empress had struck him when she was at her full strength.

    There was only one method to fight against Snowless cier, and that was to not let the Snow Empresse close.

    But how easy was it not to let the Snow Empresse close? The Skydream Iceworm was also defenseless, and he was struck just like that. His vitality seemed to vanish in but an instant. Snowless cier was something that could freeze even spirits!

    ¡°Bam!¡± Snowkes scattered in all directions. The Ice Empress finally broke through her shackles as she pounced hysterically towards the Skydream Iceworm.

    The Snow Empress blocked her with a sh. Countless snowkes billowed in all directions as they became a barrier that barricaded the Ice Empress.

    The Ice Empress screamed as she pressed her hands forward. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s shadow glimmered behind her as intense green light transformed into an enormous pir that went straight for the Snow Empress.

    ¡°You dare to attack me, Ice?¡± The Snow Empress shouted angrily.

    ¡°Why? Why did you have to kill him? He would never be a threat to you. Why did you kill him? Why!?¡± The Ice Empress cried and howled sorrowfully. Her hands sted with the light of Ultimate Ice, which hammered continuously against the Snow Empress. She seemed to have gone insane in this moment, and her emotions were a little out of control.

    The Snow Empress used but one hand as she defended herself against the Ice Empress¡¯ crazy assault. However, she didn¡¯t answer her question.

    ¡°Why? He was never a threat to anyone, and he had only lived a little longer than everyone else. But everyone wants to target him, to harm him. What wrong has he evermitted? Why, Snow, why did you have to hurt him?¡±

    Tears dripped from the Ice Empress¡¯ eyes like waterfalls, and they swiftly transformed into ice crystals. Those ice crystals even contained her soul power as they were tinged with green colors.

    ¡°You¡¯re in love with him, Ice?¡± The Snow Empress pushed out with her hand and pushed the Ice Empress back.

    The Ice Empress was momentarily stunned as she stopped attacking, and she just allowed her body to be pushed a few meters out.

 Chapter 466.1 - Ice Empress True Feelings

    Chapter 466.1: Ice Empress¡¯ True Feelings

    There was a dazed look on her face, while her gaze was filled with sadness amidst the confusion, ¡°Yes! Perhaps I¡¯ve really fallen for him. Snow, you¡¯re wrong. You shouldn¡¯t have killed him. By killing him, I¡¯ll never be together with you anymore. Perhaps I¡¯ve not fallen in love with him, but I¡¯ll never be able to get together with you because he died under your hands. Otherwise, how can I live up to the feelings he has for me? Although he wasn¡¯t strong, and was even my enemy in the past, he¡¯s been really very good to me. I¡¯ve always felt a sense of hope with him around. However, you¡¯ve destroyed my hope. Snow, why did you have to do that? Why do you have to make me stand on different ground from you? He¡¯s dead, which means that my heart will never belong to you anymore. Do you know? You were wrong. You were wrong to kill him. By killing him, you¡¯ve destroyed the rtionship between us.¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and said, ¡°Are you really not in love with him? Because of him, you¡¯re even willing to give up on our hundreds of thousands of years together. I wasn¡¯t wrong. I was right. Perhaps even you don¡¯t know that you¡¯ve fallen in love with him. It¡¯s just that you aren¡¯t willing to admit it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. You¡¯re wrong!¡± The Ice Empress was shouting maniacally.

    The Snow Empress smiled. Her smile was very beautiful. She was normally very indifferent and cold, and often appeared very unapproachable. However, she was extremely captivating when she smiled. Her smile even gave off a sense of warmth.

    ¡°I¡¯m not wrong, Ice. Silly girl, I¡¯m only helping you see yourself more clearly.¡±

    As she spoke, the Snow Empress stood to one side. Behind her, the deep-blue from the Skydream Iceworm slowly faded away, and he also slowly turned around, revealing a teary face.

    ¡°Ice, Ice, Ice, Ice¡­¡± The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s voice was trembling. He couldn¡¯t even call her name properly and his body was shuddering non-stop. His eyes were already filled with emotional undtions.

    The Ice Empress was stunned as she saw the tears on his face.

    He¡¯s not dead. He¡¯s actually not dead. He¡¯s alive, he¡¯s still alive!

    ¡°Ah!¡± The Ice Empress screamed and instantly turned into a flowing streak of jade-green light. She crashed straight into the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s arms and hugged him tightly. However, she was sobbing furiously.

    The two of them hugged each other as they cried. The feelings that they had always been hiding for each other were finally revealed.

    The Snow Empress was drifting not far from them. There was a warm smile on her face as she muttered to herself, ¡°I told you ¨C I was right.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Snow Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded.

    He had already awoken from his meditation. He saw everything that had happened. In fact, he already knew what the Snow Empress was intending to do when she hit the Skydream Iceworm earlier. As the Snow Empress was closely connected to him and was even his Spirit, he knew that she didn¡¯t unleash her Snowless cier. How would it be so destructive if that was the case?

    The Snow Empress drifted beside Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already regained my memory. If I didn¡¯t do this, Ice would still be conflicted. She wouldn¡¯t be able to know her true feelings.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at the Snow Empress and softly said, ¡°Have you ever liked the Ice Empress? You¡¯re too noble.¡±

    The Snow Empress revealed a subtle bitter smile on her face, and her thoughts rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, ¡°I¡¯m not noble. I¡¯ve always only had sisterly love for Ice.¡±

    This¡­

    Huo Yuhao suddenly understood, and his expression turned slightly weird as he looked at the Snow Empress. However, there was more of a warm smile on his face.

    Seeing that the Skydream Iceworm had finally won the heart of the woman he loved, he was delighted! This was perfect.

    The Skydream Iceworm was the first to stop crying, but he was still hugging the Ice Empress tightly. The Ice Empress¡¯ cries slowly stopped too, but she was unwilling to lift her head. She buried her head in the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s embrace.

    The Skydream Iceworm lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao. Seeing that he was amused, he immediately turned red, and nodded gratefully at the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress smiled and didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Ice, everything¡¯s fine. Everything¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll protect you in the future. Did you know? Today is the happiest day of my life. It¡¯s true. I¡¯m really happy. I¡¯m the most blissful iceworm in the world. I must be!¡±

    The Ice Empress snorted lightly and smacked his shoulder. Suddenly, she forced herself from his embrace and turned into a streak of jade-green light before disappearing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. She was truly embarrassed right now.

    The Skydream Iceworm chortled as he watched the Ice Empress disappear. He rubbed the tears off his face, and there was only a coquettish look left.

    ¡°Continue absorbing!¡± As he spoke, he posed coquettishly ¨C he ced one hand on his waist and grabbed the second Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence with his other hand, continuing his earlier absorption.

    Time passed very quickly. After the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grasspletely absorbed its sixth pir of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the Skydream Iceworm alsopleted the absorption of his third pir.

    Although it was only his third one, it was still sufficient to strengthen the foundations of his spiritual origins. It was just that most parts of his body were spiritual-type, which was why he was unable to seal some ice essence for Huo Yuhao.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was much stronger in this aspect. It had absorbed four for itself, and sealed another two for Huo Yuhao. It was only inferior to the Ice Empress.

    At this moment, there were only six pirs of ice essence left. The temperature in this cavern had also started to rise.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you sense it? Although there¡¯s much less ice essence here, the temperature isn¡¯t rising quickly. Why is this?¡± The Snow Empress asked Huo Yuhao after allowing both the Skydream Iceworm and the Mysterious Ice Grass to return to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It¡¯s because the temperature here is too low. a lot of thermal energy is needed to make the temperature rise. However, there is very little thermal energy in this cold spring. Even if we take all the ice essence away, the temperature here will still take some time before it starts to rise.¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Alright, you can absorb thest six pirs. You should be able to bear this amount of ice essence, given the strength of your body. I¡¯ll help you. Don¡¯t worry. Go and stand in the center.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao agreed and went to the center of the ice cavern. He increasingly felt that it was a good thing that the Snow Empress had regained her memory. Not only was she a strong partner, she was also like a teacher to him as she kept on helping him.

    The Snow Empress drifted in ce, and her white dress danced in the air. She was like a fairy. As she waved her hand, her sleeves shot up, and thest six pirs of ice essence suddenly drifted into the air. They surrounded Huo Yuhao in six different directions and were separated from one another at exact distances and angles.

    These six pirs were like six ice sticks of life energy. They exuded dim light, and a gentle white glow emanated from the Snow Empress¡¯ body. This white glow shone on the ice essences. Suddenly, all the ice essences lit up, and shone with a bright blue glow. The Ultimate Ice origin energy in the air started to be more and more concentrated.

    Huo Yuhao immediately sensed greater viscosity in the surrounding air. The extremely pure ice essence was even purer than his fluid soul power. Gentle soul power started to seep into his body in streaks.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need to intentionally circte his soul power before his soul power started to circte in the trajectory of his Mysterious Heaven Technique. The Ice Empress¡¯ tattoo on his back became clearer, and his entire body was glowing jade-blue.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao felt that his soul power waspletely nourished. Following this, he felt that his entire body was ballooning up. It was also at this time that the fusion of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body began to slow down.

    With every round of cirction, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power would fuse more and more with the ice essence. He could sense that he wasn¡¯t fully absorbing the ice essence. However, it was being turned into spots before being stored within his soul power.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s original soul power was fluid, these ice essences that he had just fused into his body but was unable to absorb had turned into thin ice floes that remained within his fluid soul power. Under such a condition, he was able to store more and more Ultimate Ice origin energy.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was bing stronger and stronger under the nourishment of his Life Gold. His passageways were bing more and more springy. Even if he wasn¡¯t able to absorb the ice essences, he could still store them. As his soul power circted, his ballooning body slowly began to feel more and morefortable. As his body gradually fused with the ice essences, the speed at which the ice essences surged into his body increased.

    This process carried on for close to two hours before Huo Yuhao managed to fuse all of the six ice essences into his body.

    Even though he could only temporarily absorb part of them, he could still sense the improvements to his soul power throughout this process. Given enough time, he believed that his soul power could make significant improvements.

    ¡°We¡¯re done. These ice essences have beenpressed within your body. When you cultivate in the future, they¡¯ll slowly fuse further into your body and strengthen your cultivation.¡± The Snow Empress woke Huo Yuhao from his cultivation state.

    As he opened his eyes, Huo Yuhao suddenly saw small white cyclones around his body. They exuded an icy-cold aura. As he breathed, he discovered that these cyclones wereing out of his nose. It was really magical.

    ¡°This ce¡­ it¡¯s a pity.¡± The Snow Empress looked around her and sighed.

    Huo Yuhao was curious as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

 Chapter 466.2 - Ice Empress True Feelings

    <h4 ss>Chapter 466.2: Ice Empress¡¯ True Feelings</h4>

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°The formation of any Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern is a gift of nature. This one is no exception. However, it¡¯s a pity that it wasn¡¯t in the Extreme North. The temperature of the outside world can¡¯t sustain the development of this Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern. Otherwise, more ice essence might form in a few years as long as we leave some behind. If I¡¯m not wrong, this ice cavern should have been moved here as the earth¡¯s crust changed. It shouldn¡¯t have formed here. Even if we don¡¯t take all this ice essence away, it will slowly disappear as the outside temperature changes. Without the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence and Divine Ice Crystals, this ce will vanishpletely soon.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°This is a miracle of the Creator! I¡¯m already very satisfied.¡±

    The Snow Empress nced at him and said, ¡°Leave this ce. In this period of time, you must ce more of your attention and energy on understanding the mysteries of Ultimate Ice and the intrinsic nature of ice.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The Snow Empress sprang up and flew towards Huo Yuhao. In the past, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any sort of feeling when that happened. After all, the Snow Lady was only a little girl then. However, she had regained her former look now. She was already very ravishing, and looked out of this world. As she flew, she was like a fairy. Even the determined Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but be slightly stunned.

    The Snow Lady waved her hands, blocking his vision. Immediately after this, she turned into a streak of flowing light and fused into his body.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stay any longer. He made his way into the spring before swimming out.

    The icy spring outside was still cold, but it was a little different from before. It had lost some of its intrinsic nature, and wasn¡¯t able to pose any threat to Huo Yuhao.

    Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu were waiting very anxiously outside. Nan Shuishui had even tried diving in once, but the temperature was simply too low. She had no choice but to give up and wait outside.

    When Huo Yuhao reappeared, he was immediately reprimanded by Nan Qiuqiu. He could only smile as he looked back at her.

    ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s your n?¡± Nan Shuishui asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I still have to go to one ce and help eldest senior find something. At the same time, I¡¯ll need to go take a look at Big

    Mao and Second Mao.¡±

    ¡°I want to go too.¡± Nan Qiuqiu immediately said.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Qiuqiu, don¡¯t go. Aunty wants to move all the remaining stuff from the Earthdragon Sect over. Help her. I¡¯ll go and return quickly. It won¡¯t take too long. That ce is already upied the Sun Moon Empire. It might be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of danger.¡± Nan Qiuqiu immediately responded.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid even if you¡¯re not. If you¡¯re hurt, how can I ount to Aunty?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and said, ¡°Stop it. You just want to get away from me. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that. No, I have to go.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he said, ¡°Qiuqiu.¡±

    She turned her head around and ignored him.

    Nan Shuishui was grinning at one side, not uttering a single sound. As an elder, she wasn¡¯t willing to intervene in the matters of young people. Furthermore, she could tell that her daughter didn¡¯t stand a chance with Huo Yuhao even though she wanted to help her. If she tried to blindly help her daughter at one side, she might even catalyze the opposite effect. It was fine just letting Nan Qiuqiu speak for herself.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll go together. However, you must listen to me. Entering the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories now isn¡¯t the same as before. If we encounter enemies, you must never be impulsive.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s anger turned to delight, and she reacted cheerfully to his words.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Have some rest tonight first. We¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nan Qiuqiu acknowledged readily.

    The three returned to the cloth shop as they silently left the original address of the Earthdragon Sect. Although the backyard of the cloth shop wasn¡¯t veryrge, it was still possible for them to allocate a room to Huo Yuhao, while Nan Qiuqiu slept with her mother.

    After he was given his amodations, Huo Yuhao immediately entered his room and told Nan Qiuqiu not to disturb him. He was not going to eat dinner, and was prepared to retreat in his room until the next morning.

    He had just fused a lot of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence into his body. The faster he absorbed the ice essence, the faster his cultivation would grow. Of course he wasn¡¯t willing to give up on this opportunity.

    He sat cross-legged on his bed and shut his eyes. His soul power circted in his body as he started to cultivate.

    After leaving the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern, he managed to discover what his problem was immediately during this session of cultivation.

    As he had fused with a huge amount of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, which had formed ice floes, his soul power was moving much slower as it circted.

    Although this wouldn¡¯t affect him in a fight, he would still take a long time to absorb all the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, given the speed of his soul power cirction.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to blindly increase the speed of his soul power cirction. He was afraid that the ice floes would harm his body.

    He could only take it slower. As he thought, he initiated the cirction of his soul power and also divided a part of his attention to his soul core in his Eye of Destiny.

    Within his soul core, thepressed space was filled with immense spiritual power. A huge amount of spiritual power surged out under hismand and fused into his passageways. His spiritual power fused with his Ultimate Ice soul power.

    This was the benefit of having great spiritual power. Even when he didn¡¯t unleash his Spirit Eyes, his spiritual power was still at the standard of a Titled Douluo.

    After his spiritual power fused with his Ultimate Ice soul power, he didn¡¯t increase the cirction speed of his soul power. Instead, he relied on his spiritual power to gather all the ice in his soul power. Slowly, he was changing the form of his soul power.

    If the ice essence was separated in his soul power, blindly increasing the cirction speed of his soul power could harm his passageways. However, if the ice essence formed a thin line under the effect of his spiritual power, and was then engulfed by his Ultimate Ice soul power, what would happen? The problem was immediately solved!

    When Huo Yuhao tried to perform such abination, the Snow Empress was in awe in his spiritual sea. This wasn¡¯t something a normal seven-ringed soul master could control. Even some Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t do this. However, Huo Yuhao relied on his soul core and immense spiritual power to do it.

    It took him a full four hours before hepleted thisbination and smoothed out the flow of his soul power. With sufficient spiritual power to control it, he was afraid of changes to his soul power. In such a state, he wouldn¡¯t be affected whether he was cultivating or directly using his soul power to fight.

    He recircted his soul power ording to the trajectory of his Mysterious Heaven Technique. Under the fusion and protection of his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power circted faster and faster.

    Very soon, he understood why the Ice Empress was so obsessed and in awe of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. In just one major cirction, Huo Yuhao could already sense an improvement in his soul power. At the very least, it wasparable to the results he normally obtained from days of cultivation. What was even more impressive was that his Ultimate Ice had grown stronger. This meant the temperature of his Ultimate Ice soul power was even lower now. It was also much purer. Even his life energy had grown stronger as a result. His passageways and bones were also strengthened under the nourishment of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.

    It¡¯s indeed very strong!Huo Yuhao was delighted, and immediately continued to cultivate without any hesitation.

    His soul power had reached Rank 74. After absorbing the ice essence, Huo Yuhao sensed that his soul power had reached Rank 75. If he continued in this manner, his soul power would be bound to increase further and further. This opportunity that Nan Shuishui had brought to him was indeed very rare.

    He performed more and more major circtions of his soul power, and slowly lost track of time. His soul power was filtered and purified. Furthermore, his soul power wasn¡¯t the only thing absorbing the ice essence. His body, bones, passageways and organs were also absorbing this treasure.

    The energy from the six pirs of Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence was slowing being absorbed into his body. His abilities were also slowly increasing.

    Huo Yuhao only stopped when he sensed that his soul power was already greatly nourished, and he needed some time to adapt to the changes.

    As he opened his eyes, Huo Yuhao let out a long breath. A white mist was released from his mouth, and the entire room was instantly covered in ayer of frost.

    It was a magical feeling. Huo Yuhao was very awed in his heart. His soul power circted like mercury ¨C it was gentle and heavy, yet it ran smoothly. With every movement he took, his soul power would surge. He was even more surprised by the fact that his soul power seemed to have gained a greater connection with the origin energy in the air. This meant that not only could he adjust his soul power in a fight, but he could also better guide the origin energy in the air for his own use.

    He drifted up and took a look outside. The sky was still bright outside, but he was shocked to learn how long he had spent cultivating.Surely it¡¯s not morning, is it?

    As he pushed his door open and walked out, Huo Yuhao immediately saw Nan Qiuqiu, who was supposed to be guarding his door, but was dozing off right now.

    A warm feeling surged through his heart. Without a doubt, Nan Qiuqiu was here to protect him!

    ¡°Qiuqiu.¡± Huo Yuhao squatted down beside Nan Qiuqiu and called softly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was immediately jolted awake. She heaved a sigh of relief when she turned her head and saw that it was Huo Yuhao. She was surprised as she asked, ¡°You¡¯re awake? You¡¯re finally awake. You said it was going to be one night, but seven days have already passed! How ridiculous can you get?¡±

 Chapter 466.3 - Chapter 466.3

    <h4 ss>Chapter 466.3: Ice Empress¡¯ True Feelings</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was apologetic as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I couldn¡¯t stop myself after going into cultivation. I only just woke up.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was speechless, and silently thought to herself ¨Cit¡¯s already very difficult for me to enter deep meditation, but this guy can do so at any time and anywhere he wants. It¡¯s really frustrating!

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re awake. How¡¯s it? What have you gained?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My soul power should have improved. I feel good. This is all because of Aunty. I have gained significant rewards from my venture into the Earthdragon¡¯s Sect secret location this time. In the depths of that cold spring, there was something called Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. For soul masters like me that cultivate Ultimate Ice, it¡¯s extremely helpful. This is why I¡¯ve benefited greatly this time.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu said, ¡°That¡¯s great then. Talking about it, thanks for thest time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little perplexed as he asked, ¡°Thanks? What¡¯s there to thank me for?¡±

    ¡°Thanks for abusing me, ¡±Nan Qiuqiu snapped.

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he asked, ¡°What? Abusing you? What are you talking about?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snorted and replied, ¡°You¡¯re really so forgetful. Have you forgotten that you used your spiritual power to exert pressure on me? I didn¡¯t have any feeling when I woke up the second day, but I¡¯ve regained some sensation over the past few days. My spiritual control seems to have strengthened. It must be your doing. That¡¯s why I¡¯m thanking you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I took seven days during my deep meditation this time. What has happened in the outside world?¡±

    After hearing his question, Nan Qiuqiu straightened her face and nodded before replying, ¡°For some unknown reason, the Sun Moon Empire brought a legion of troops and stationed them outside Dragon City.¡±

    ¡°A legion of troops?¡± Huo Yuhao was also astonished. Dragon City was basically the most northern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, and it was also thergest city in the northeast of the Heavenly Soul Empire.Why did the Sun Moon Empire send troops here? Moving east from here, it¡¯ll already be the Dou Ling Empire. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re making their move on the Dou Ling Empire before they¡¯ve even upied the entirety of the Heavenly Soul Empire?

    ¡°How many of them are there? Are there soul engineers?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Nan Qiuqiu shook her head and answered, ¡°I¡¯m not clear on the details yet. My mother and I are afraid that the other party has soul detectors. This is why we only watched from afar and didn¡¯t dare to get too close. However, the troops appear to be very orderly, and there¡¯s at least twenty thousand of them. I¡¯m not sure if there are soul engineers. There should be some. Even a normal legion of the Sun Moon Empire will have some soul engineers to perform surveince and aid the rest of the legion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s so timely, I¡¯ll go take a look too. I¡¯ll go see what their n is, and send a message to the Heavenly Soul Empire and Dou Ling Empire.¡±

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll leave after you finish checking them out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll see how it goes. Although there are only twenty thousand people in this legion, their fighting strength will be fairly great if they¡¯re a soul engineer legion. I¡¯ll need to find out their motives first before we talk about anything else.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I knew that you weren¡¯t reliable.¡± Nan Qiuqiu twisted her lips.

    Huo Yuhao was helpless as he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Qiuqiu.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    When Huo Yuhao woke up from his cultivation, it was already noontime. Even he didn¡¯t know how much his soul power had increased. It was at least Rank 75 or 76. He was fairly confident about this. Otherwise, he would have absorbed all the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence for nothing.

    After having some food, he silently left the city. Even though nighttime was the best time for him to perform his surveince, he still had to get a grip on what was going on first.

    Nan Shuishui was no longer in Dragon City. She had left Nan Qiuqiu behind to protect Huo Yuhao and left for Shrek Academy with thest batch of resources from the Earthdragon Sect. Regarding Huo Yuhao, she was very relieved. In Dragon City, there was hardly anyone who could threaten him, given his cultivation.

    The gates of the Earthdragon Sect weren¡¯t sealed just because of the arrival of troops. It was just the same as it was when Huo Yuhao first came.

    ording to Nan Qiuqiu, this Sun Moon Empire legion was stationed outside the city. As for their motive, it was unclear.

    Huo Yuhao changed into an ordinary cloth shirt and used his Imitation to slightly change his appearance. He now looked like an ordinary person and snuck out of the city. To prevent drawing attention to himself, he didn¡¯t leave the city through the northern city gate. Instead, he left from the eastern city gate. After leaving the city, he made his way to the northern city gate.

    He unleashed his Spiritual Detection and started to scan the air.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao discovered that the number of aerial surveince soul tools in the sky above the northern city gates had greatly increased.

    Just by simply scanning around, Huo Yuhao was astonished to discover that the number of aerial surveince soul tools outside the northern city gate was more than a hundred.

    It seemed like there was a soul engineer legion within this regr legion! Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many soul tools.

    After discovering this, Huo Yuhao was even more determined to carry out surveince.

    He quickly shifted his attention to the northern city gate. Around five to six kilometers from the northern city gate, Huo Yuhao made his way into a patch of forest.

    From the fact that there was a forest outside the city, it was evident that Dragon City was a city that hardly had any wars. Normally, huge cities wouldn¡¯t have any forests at all for dozens of kilometers around. There wouldn¡¯t be a barrier blocking the view from the city like this forest.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t anxious at all as he peered into the sky. He was only going to carry out surveince when night fell. Those aerial surveince soul tools hadn¡¯t detected him at all. After his soul core formed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power grew by another tier. Not only was it stronger, but it was also able to recover much faster. Even when he unleashed his Imitation using his Eye of Destiny, he was still able tost for a long time. Now that he hadpleted this round of deep meditation, his understanding of the origins of ice was much deeper too. His control over his own temperature was much stronger than before. Apart from oscition detectors, there weren¡¯t any soul tools that could detect his presence. No matter how tight the defense of this legion, it couldn¡¯t possiblypare to that of the Ming Dou Mountain Range with the Death God around.

    After cultivating for some time, the sky had already slightly turned darker. From afar, smoke could be seen rising, indicating that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops were cooking. It was time for dinner.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t continue waiting. The change in the color of the sky and the rest that the troopers were taking during dinner was a rather good opportunity for him to carry out his surveince.

    He silently left the forest and fully unleashed his Imitation. He seemed to have fully fused into the air as he rapidly came closer to the northern city gates.

    His spiritual power fanned out towards the military base at the northern city gates. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even very afraid of oscition detectors since the effective range of any oscition detector couldn¡¯tpare to his Spiritual Detection. This was why he could avoid the oscition detectors after performing his surveince.

    The spiritual barrier that the Death God Douluo could unleash wasn¡¯t something that was found everywhere. If there was one here, he would consider himself unlucky.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao discovered the positions of some oscition detectors and noted them in his mind.

    At the same time, he also discovered that the troops were indeed as orderly as Nan Qiuqiu had mentioned. Even though it was already dinnertime, patrolling, surveince and scouting was still being carried out diligently.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power extended into the military base. Very soon, he found some tents that were different from the others.

    These tents were much smaller than the tents at the perimeter of the base. Each tent was roughly five to six square meters in size. For tents of such size, it was evident that they were only meant for single individuals. However, the quality of these tents was far superior to the tents on the perimeter. They were actually made of mature leather.

    Such leather was very tough. By applying wood oil to it, it was able to repel water and fire. These tents were definitely top-quality. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t surprised by their presence. However, he discovered that there were several hundreds of such tents when he scanned the camp with his Spiritual Detection. They were neatly arranged, and they were all dark-red. There were even dim golden patterns on these tents.

    Observing more closely, Huo Yuhao discovered that these patterns were actually images of phoenixes.

    He was shocked when he saw until here. He could roughly guess at the core of this legion now.

    In the Sun Moon Empire, there were five strong soul engineer legions. Among them, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was the strongest, followed by the other four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions. Together, they formed the Hand that Protects the Nation.

    Huo Yuhao had faced Wang Yiheng¡¯s Evil Tyrant Legion the most. Wang Yiheng had even perished under his and his partners¡¯ hands.

    From how this soul engineer legion was equipped, it was likely that it was another one of the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions, the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion!

    Among all of the Sun Moon Empire soul engineer legions, it was ranked within the top three.Why are they here? Don¡¯t tell me that they¡¯re really here to invade the Dou Ling Empire?

    However, Huo Yuhao discovered some problems as he scanned the camp with his Spiritual Detection. Although this military base followed a very strict formation, there weren¡¯t any soul formations present. This meant that this soul engineer legion had no ns to fight. In that case, their true motive was a big question mark.

    It would have been fine if he didn¡¯t encounter them. However, now that he had, he had to find out what they were up to.

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao exploited the darkness and rapidly snuck into the base. He circumvented a few oscition detectors and made his way deep into the base.

    The rations of this army were rather good. Huo Yuhao could immediately smell meat soup not long after he entered. Some soldiers were already holding bowls in their hands and walking towards the mess areas. However, there was hardly anyone joking around. Even when they spoke to one another, they whispered. The quality of such an army mightpare to that of the White Tiger Duke¡¯s army.

 Chapter 467.1 - Star Anise Omnithrust

    <h4 ss>Volume 34, Chapter 467.1: Star Anise Omnithrust</h4>

    A twenty-thousand men army was already considered ratherrge. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s estimation was urate. After Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to scan the ce, he could basically confirm that the size of the army was between twenty to twenty-five thousand men.

    He continued to advance further in. He moved his way past the tents at the perimeter and got closer to the dark-red tents. At the same time, he strengthened his Spiritual Detection and sensed any changes that could ur around him.

    If this were an ordinary army, they couldn¡¯t possibly threaten Huo Yuhao. However, things were different with the presence of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. There had to be a ss 9 soul engineer in this soul engineer legion. Furthermore, the strategy of such an advanced-tier soul engineer legion could threaten a Titled Douluo, much less Huo Yuhao. This was why he had to be careful.

    As he moved forward, he discovered through his Spiritual Detection that there was a huge tent in the center of all the tents. It was also dark-red, but it was asrge as themander¡¯s tent. There were even obvious golden phoenix images on it. It was extremely crowded inside this tent.

    What left Huo Yuhao the most shocked was that he sensed something wrong just as his Spiritual Detection came closer to the tent. He immediately stopped his detection. This was because he discovered spiritual barrier around it.

    If not for the fact that he had just formed his soul core, and the sensitivity of his Spiritual Detection had increased significantly, he wouldn¡¯t have discovered the presence of this spiritual barrier. If he had tried to probe further in, he would have likely been discovered.

    No wonder it was a beast lord-ranked soul engineer legion. The defense of themander¡¯s tent was extremely tight ¨C there was even a spiritual barrier around it.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally not disappointed because of that. He silently inched forward and came closer and closer to the tent. It was only by getting close to it could he obtain the most reliable information.

    At the same time, his spiritual power also entered the rest of the other tents for detection purposes. The members of this soul engineer legion were indeed all female soul engineers. Furthermore, their cultivations were quite strong too. They all possessed at least four soul rings. Some of them even possessed five or six soul rings.

    In the slightly bigger dark-red tents, there were even seven-ringed soul engineers. Such soul engineers were considered quite strong.

    As he inched forward, Huo Yuhao circumvented a few more oscition detectors. Finally, he stopped thirty meters away from that huge tent. This was the furthest he could go, given the presence of the spiritual barrier. If he moved any further forward, he would most certainly be discovered.

    I can¡¯t go any closer, or I¡¯ll be discovered. However, I can¡¯t get any reliable information if I don¡¯t get closer.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow.

    He found a corner and squatted down. At the same time, he unleashed his Spiritual Detectionterally around themander¡¯s tent. He was trying to survey everything that was going around the tent, and waiting for his opportunity.

    The ck soul core of his Eye of Destiny subtly appeared. His aura of destiny spread out, and Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. He sensed everything silently.

    Given the standard of his current spiritual power, almost the entire base was engulfed by his spiritual power apart from themander¡¯s tent. He was definitely more effective than the aerial surveince soul tools in the sky.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression soon turned weird.

    The members of this Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion were all females. It was already veryte. Some of the female soul engineers toned down on their dressing after dinner. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was all-engulfing. When the images of countless females dressed rather lightly entered his spiritual world, Huo Yuhao felt as if he were about to go crazy.

    After his expression turned momentarily weird, he started to blush. After this, he frantically retracted his Spiritual Detection. He only kept it in the air, stopped surveilling the conditions inside the tents.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he could no longer sense their bodies. He continued to look towards themander¡¯s tent, and silently waited for his opportunity. Although there was a spiritual barrier blocking him here, he didn¡¯t believe that he didn¡¯t stand a chance at all.

    Dim lights shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed an icy-cold look in his eyes. As he silently waited, he was also observing things.

    Very soon, his opportunity arrived.

    A few female soul engineers dressed in red armor walked towards themander¡¯s tent. Their armor was well-fitted. Evidently, it was top-quality. Every one of their suits of armor was custom-made. There were even buckle-like essories and slots on them. Obviously, these slots were used to connect to different soul tools.

    Although these female soul engineers weren¡¯t particrly ravishing, they still looked like suave heroines.

    Very soon, they arrived in front of themander¡¯s tent. Unlike what Huo Yuhao had feared, they walked through the spiritual barrier and into the tent as if there were nothing there.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had engulfed everywhere else nearby. This was why he had an acute feeling of everything around him. He immediately discovered ayer of light shining from each of their bodies when they passed through the spiritual barrier. Theseyers of light were extremely weak, but there were obvious spiritual undtionsing from them. When they passed through the spiritual barrier, they would demonstrate theirpatibility with the spiritual barrier before they managed to pass through.

    Impressive!Huo Yuhao was in awe.

    In terms of soul tool research and manufacturing, the Sun Moon Empire was indeed superior to the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. This wasn¡¯t an extremely impressive piece of research, but the attention to detail was great. While this spiritual barrier didn¡¯t have any fighting use, it was still very practical.

    Since this was the case, these soul engineers must possess some kind of special soul tool on their bodies that could help them disperse the spiritual undtions. This meant that Huo Yuhao could sneak in with someone else if he possessed such a soul tool. That would help him avoid all the spiritual barriers.

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao started to take action.

    Under the surveince of his Spiritual Detection, it was definitely not difficult for him to find a suitable soul engineer. Huo Yuhao quickly made his way around a few tents while continuing to use his Imitation to conceal himself.

    Very soon, he found a member of the soul engineer legion not far from the side of the military base.

    To ensure that he could get what he wanted, Huo Yuhao intentionally selected a ss 4 soul engineer.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, a ss 4 soul engineer was an easy target. He crept closer and closer. Given his Imitation, he wouldn¡¯t be discovered even if he got right up to his opponent¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his body temperature very well through abination of his ice-type soul power and Imitation. Very soon, he was behind that female soul engineer. He swiftly hacked at her neck with his palm. At the same time, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and engulfed both him and the female soul engineer inside.

    When his palm hit her neck, he immediately discovered something amiss.

    A gentle yet resilient wave of soul power immediately rose. Following this, the female soul engineer¡¯s body shone with a streak of red light. The appearance of this red light was very sudden. However, the moment it appeared, a deafening rm also immediately reverberated throughout the entire base.

    The red light wasn¡¯t sufficient to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand. The ss 4 soul engineer copsed to the ground amidst the deafening rm.

    What¡¯s going on? Not only does she have an automatic defensive soul tool on her body, but she also has an rm-type soul tool with her?Huo Yuhao was shocked, but he didn¡¯t have time to hesitate anymore.

    He bent over and quickly picked the soul engineer up. He was going to flee before deciding on what to do.

    After being discovered by such a strong soul engineer legion, there were many methods that could be used to detect his location.

    However, something else caught him by surprise again. When his hands touched the unconscious female soul engineer, anotheryer of red light shone from her body. Following this, thisyer of red light seemed to cause more than ten different beams of red light around them to shine at the same time too.

    Not only did this red light protect this female soul engineer, but it also engulfed arge area around her.

    It¡¯s a linked defensive soul tool. It can still work after she¡¯s struck unconscious?

    Huo Yuhao was depressed!I have to go. Otherwise I¡¯ll be in trouble.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered with capturing her anymore. He quickly shot up and charged out like an arrow. He was about to collide with the red lights in front of him, but he snorted coldly and lifted his left hand before smacking it in front of him. A strong sense of chill was instantly unleashed. That sense of chill was very strong when it first appeared. However, it soon toned down.

    However, just as the temperature turned from extremely cold to normal, the red lights in front evidently became weaker. Huo Yuhao waved his hand and unleashed the destructive strength of his Darkgolden Terrorws. He forced open a slit in the barrier that the red lights had formed before charging out and up towards the sky.

    Even though he could also be detected in the air, he had no choice but to do it now. This was because there were many oscition detectors scanning in his direction right now.

    Furthermore, more red lights also shone within the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    Huo Yuhao was secretly counting his blessings. If he were any slower, the earlier linked defensive soul formation would have be stronger, and it would have be impossible for him to escape. He would havended in the enemy¡¯s hands!

 Chapter 467.2 - Star Anise Omnithrust

    <h4 ss>Chapter 467.2: Star Anise Omnithrust</h4>

    No wonder it¡¯s the Hand that Protects the Nation. This indeed an extremely strong soul engineer legion.

    Huo Yuhao silentlypared the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion to the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. He immediately felt that this Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was even stronger than the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    Perhaps the difference in their overall fighting strength wasn¡¯t very obvious. However, the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was evidently better in terms of the details.

    As he thought, Huo Yuhao immediately flew into the sky. Even if he was discovered, he couldn¡¯t make this trip for nothing.

    The oscition detectors below were scanning everywhere, including the sky.

    Huo Yuhao wove and turned in the sky with the help of his Spiritual Detection, avoiding detection by his enemy.

    His motive was simple. He at least had to destroy the batch of aerial surveince soul tools in the air and cause some damage to the Sun Moon Empire. Furthermore, it would make it more convenient for him in the future if he wanted to spy on this soul engineer legion.

    However, his expression suddenly changed before he could fly to the altitude of the aerial surveince soul tools. As he extended his Spiritual Detection upward to find out the exact location of those aerial surveince soul tools, they quickly shifted and got into a very weird formation.

    Shit!

    Before he even had time to be shocked, Huo Yuhao reacted without any hesitation. He continued flying upwards, but in addition, he also burst out in a diagonal direction at full speed.

    Indeed, the moment he moved, a huge invisible web from the sky fell.

    This huge web was made from hundreds of aerial surveince soul tools. They unleashed soul power undtions that came from oscition detectors.

    The soul power unleashed wasn¡¯t strong, but it came in streaks and was very dense. When the web fell from the sky, it covered almost the entire sky above the military base.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao felt that things were amiss earlier was because the aerial surveince soul tools had fallen from an altitude of a thousand meters to five hundred meters.

    Something had to be going on if they all fell collectively. This was why he had reacted immediately, and he was right. These aerial surveince soul tools all contained the ability of oscition detection, and they bore down as a huge web. No matter how powerful Huo Yuhao was, he couldn¡¯t possibly avoid them all.

    The undtions couldn¡¯t cause him any harm, but Huo Yuhao soon felt his skin numbing. Without a doubt, he had been locked on.

    Streaks and streaks of intense red light shone below. Following this, more than fifty beams of piercing red light rose into the sky and shot straight towards where Huo Yuhao was. These fiery-red lights covered hundreds of square meters around him, with him at the center. There was no way he could avoid them.

    These were high-temperature scorching rays. They were at least ss 5 soul tools. Such rays couldn¡¯t pose any harm to Huo Yuhao, but they were definitely the most rapid attack the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion could unleash in the short-term. Their aim was also very simple. They wanted to stall Huo Yuhao before deploying other attacks against him.

    As these scorching rays shot towards him, more than ten figures had already risen from the base into the attack. From their auras, it was evident that they were at least ss 7 soul engineers. One of them was even a ss 9 soul engineer. They were all flying towards Huo Yuhao at the quickest possible speed.

    Damn it! They¡¯re too ruthless!

    Huo Yuhao was a little depressed right now. However, his greatest potential was always unleashed whenever he was facing danger.

    Ayer of icy-jade glow emanated from his body. His seven soul rings shone brightly. If the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire could see these seven soul rings clearly, they would certainly be astonished.

    There was one red and four orange-gold, followed by another two red soul rings. These were the seven soul rings that Huo Yuhao possessed right now.

    He controlled his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice and unleashed it within a small region. All the scorching rays turned to nothing when they entered this region. The beams of scorching red light only addedrge patches of mist in the sky and didn¡¯t serve to stop Huo Yuhao at all.

    Huo Yuhao turned into a beam of flowing light and flew downwards diagonally.

    Right now, he had already been locked on by oscition detectors. His highest priority was to charge his way out from the region covered by those oscition detectors. Otherwise, even if he had wings, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fly out of the grasp of the enemy¡¯s top-ranked soul engineers!

    As hepletely unleashed his soul power, his Eye of Destiny opened. His soul core revolved quickly, and immense spiritual power shot out from his head.

    His spiritual power was very strong. After it appeared, it immediately turned into a spiritual windstorm in the sky.

    Spiritual st!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st basically engulfed the entire area spanning a diameter of five hundred meters. It wasn¡¯t targeted at any soul master, but at the oscition detectors in the air.

    Spiritual power could generate undtions too. Under the effect of his Spiritual st, all the undtions within this region immediately went haywire.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he couldn¡¯t immediately charge out from the engulfment of the huge web. Those aerial surveince soul tools were chasing after him based on the direction he was escaping in.

    With the soul engineers below him to stall him, how could he sessfully escape? This was why he had to disrupt the enemy¡¯s knowledge of his exact position.

    At least he had some free room to move about within this region now.

    Indeed, the moment he unleashed his Spiritual st, the second round of attacks that was supposed toe towards him from the ground was silenced. An area five hundred meters in diameter was ratherrge.

    Huo Yuhao needed to use this limited amount of time he had.

    His body was still positioned diagonally downwards from earlier. He had already quickly put a flying-type soul tool on his back. After stabilizing his body in the air, he immediately burst up like a shell and shot straight upwards.

    Go down? The bottom waspletely covered ¨C there was an elite force of soul engineers on the ground, and there were even aerial surveince soul tools that formed a huge web in the sky. Huo Yuhao was truly trapped. The only escape route was up. It was only by breaking free from the web that he stood a chance of escaping. Furthermore, the attacks that came from below would also weaken as they moved progressively farther through the air. Huo Yuhao was a ss 7 soul engineer himself. He still possessed a deep understanding of soul tools.

    This was why the only escape route was above.

    The aerial surveince soul tools were roughly at an altitude of five hundred meters. Under the influence of his Spiritual st, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t able to carry out any detection in the region that he was in. However, he unleashed his Spiritual Interference as he charged up.

    Even though his Spiritual Interference wasn¡¯t as effective as his Spiritual st, it still had some confusion effects under the influence of his earlier Spiritual st. After rising a few hundred meters into the sky, he was finally discovered again. However, his exact position wasn¡¯t exposed, even though one could roughly gauge where he was, because of his Spiritual Interference.

    Right now, he was very calm. He had faced more perilous situations on many other asions. He knew that he needed to remain calm in a situation like this. It was only by remaining calm that he could increase his chances of survival.

    He continued to unleash his full strength and didn¡¯t even look at the soul engineers that were pursuing him. Ordinary soul tool attacks couldn¡¯t harm him at all. If advanced-tier soul tools couldn¡¯t lock onto him, their strength was also limited. After all, there were very limited soul tools like the Death God that could unleash area attacks with such great and terrifying destructiveness.

    The Sun Moon Empire had evidently discovered his intentions. The aerial surveince soul tools in the sky started to rise higher and higher.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t give them such an opportunity. At this moment, he was only a few hundred meters away from these aerial surveince soul tools. As he flew up, he was already putting another type of soul tool on his back.

    Lights started to shine brightly, and Huo Yuhao elerated amidst strong soul power undtions. During this process of eleration, he curled his body up, to the point where he resembled a cannon shell.

    Not far from him, the soul engineers were shocked as they pursued him.

    Is that a soul thruster? However, this soul thruster that this person is using is a little too overpowered. Can his body withstand such strong forces?

    They didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao had already unleashed his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor to protect himself as he used his soul thruster. Furthermore, he was also very strong,parable to a Titled Douluo. Even though it was still a little overwhelming, it wasn¡¯t as intense as the soul engineers were predicting.

    Huo Yuhao quickly closed the gap. His eyes shed with cold light, and he stomped with his right leg. Following this, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass surfaced from behind his back. It revealed an icy-blue halo which spread from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. After this, something shocking appeared.

    The temperature high up in the sky was naturally lower than on the ground. When that halo spread, all the water vapor and ice elements started to gather in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction at an rming speed.

 Chapter 467.3 - Star Anise Omnithrust

    Chapter 467.3: Star Anise Omnithrust

    This was one of the two soul skills that the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had conferred to Huo Yuhao through that right leg bone ¨C Star Anise Ice Coagtion. It was specially used to form ice elements. Even though it was just an auxiliary-type soul skill, it was important to note that the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was a hundred thousand year soul beast. This meant that the soul bone that it gave Huo Yuhao was also a hundred thousand year soul bone!

    As the ice elements in the air formed, the aerial surveince soul tools that were quickly rising into the air were affected by the temperature and ice elements. They rose slower and slower as the temperature of the air fell significantly.

    Following this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s right leg suddenly lit up with blinding, icy-blue light. The projection of the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass also ballooned significantly behind Huo Yuhao. After this, it turned into countless icy-blue light projections that scattered all around before disappearing.

    In the air, ice spikes that were several meters long started to appear out of nowhere. They looked very astonishing from afar. It was as if a huge ice flower had formed at that instant. This ice flower covered a region that spanned close to a thousand meters in diameter. As the region that it covered was extremely huge, the soul engineers that were pursuing Huo Yuhao subconsciously slowed down, and their expressions all changed.

    When soul masters cultivated and added soul rings, they would generally add a domain-type soul skill. Under certain special conditions, domain-type soul skills could be very useful. However, this domain-type soul skill was something that the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire were seeing for the first time in their lives.

    How ridiculous was it that it covered a thousand meters? That was a full kilometer! Ice spikes filled that regionpletely. Such a domain-type attack was something they could hardly imagine. It could even rival some deadly soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao disappeared as the ice flower bloomed in the sky. However, those aerial surveince soul tools faced a different fate.

    The thick ice spikes ruthlessly prated the metal outer shells of those soul tools. Piercing booms and scratching sounds started to resonate through the air.

    Even though not all the aerial surveince soul tools had been engulfed, most of them were gathered here, as they were trying to capture Huo Yuhao.

    More than sixty percent of the aerial surveince soul tools were destroyed just like that. The earlier blockade naturally ceased to exist.

    How could Huo Yuhao give up such a fantastic opportunity? He quickly changed directions and flew diagonally upwards to a greater altitude.

    ¡°Star Anise, I didn¡¯t expect this! This soul bone that you¡¯ve given me is actually so powerful.¡± Huo Yuhaoplimented as he flew.

    The earlier attack had drained more than thirty percent of his soul power. However, Huo Yuhao was well-aware that he couldn¡¯t possibly inflict such great damage if he purely used thirty percent of his soul power to attack.

    The earlier attack waspletely reliant on the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ help.

    The Star Anise gave Huo Yuhao two soul rings and one soul bone. Originally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t put too much hope in it. At some point, he had even forgotten the two soul skills that came with his right leg bone. After all, he already had the Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and Snow Empress. Any one of them was much stronger than the Ice Grass.

    However, Huo Yuhao had gradually grown to understand the true meaning of the origin of ice after the Snow Empress¡¯ guidance. At times, power wasn¡¯t everything. The best thing was something that suited one the most.

    His earlier attack was actually thebined effect of three soul skills.

    Among the two soul rings that the Ice Grass gave Huo Yuhao, the sixth soul ring carried a soul skill called Ultimate Ice Enhancement. It helped Huo Yuhao to greatly increase the strength of his Ultimate Ice. Hundred thousand year soul rings generally came with two soul skills, but the Ice Grass was a nt-type soul beast. It had fewer innate soul skillspared to most ordinary animal-type soul beasts. There were also two soul skills in its right leg bone. This was why it didn¡¯t have extra soul skills to confer to Huo Yuhao.

    The other two soul skills that took effect earlier came from the right leg bone. One of them was called Star Anise Ice Coagtion. This soul skill was very effective in tandem with Ultimate Ice Enhancement. It was also an important reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯ster strike was able to cover such a huge area. As for the ice spikes that had appeared, they came from the other soul skill of the right leg bone, called the Star Anise Omnithrust.

    One attack was enough. More than sixty percent of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools had been destroyed. Huo Yuhao felt great. The grim look on his face when he was pursued earlier had vanishedpletely.

    Without oscition detectors locking onto him and with his Imitation protecting him, detecting him would be extremely difficult. The soul engineers below tried to use two rounds of domain-type attacks, to no avail. Eventually, they had no choice but to retreat back to their base.

    Huo Yuhao was very pleased with how he had reacted to the situation. As he flew towards Dragon City, he silently thought to himself ¨C if the earlier fight was on the ground, or if those people chasing me were a little closer, I could have directly used my Ice Explosion Technique after my Star Anise Omnithrust. They¡¯d have beenpletely blown apart.

    What if I used thisbination on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base? I should be able to cause quite a lot of damage to them.

    All this while, Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t used any direct domain-type attacks. After trying it this time, he was rewarded with an unexpected result.

    Huo Yuhao escaped in delight, but the atmosphere in the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion felt extremely repressed.

    He wouldn¡¯t have imagined that the dark-redmander¡¯s tent that he had tried to sneak into earlier actually had the Empress of the Sun Moon Empire inside. She was his former ssmate and friend who was once under Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance in the aspect of soul tool production, Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi looked very gloomy as she sat in the main seat in themander¡¯s tent, decked in fiery-red armor.

    Ever since she came to the Heavenly Soul Empire, she had never been on such a big losing end before. When she heard that more than sixty percent of the aerial surveince soul tools had been destroyed, she stood up furiously and broke a ss cup that she normally liked very much.

    There were many senior soul engineers of the legion standing below her. However, they were all very petrified now. They lowered their heads and didn¡¯t dare to utter a sound at all.

    Ju Zi tried to suppress the fury in her heart and asked, ¡°Can someone tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Ady who was wearing the same red armor and who appeared to be about forty years old stepped forward and said, ¡°Commander, there seems to only be one enemy. However, this enemy is very strong.¡±

    ¡°Be more specific.¡± Ju Zi said coldly.

    ¡°Yes. This enemy should have been here to carry out surveince. He was able to conceal himself using his own abilities or through a soul tool. After he entered our base, he seemed to be intending to carry out surveince on this tent. After that, he attacked one of our soul engineers, triggering our linked soul tool. We immediately surrounded and attacked him. However, he was very sly, and his abilities were also very strong. He managed to break free from our initial encirclement and tried to escape by flying higher. To more urately determine his position, we lowered our line of aerial surveince soul tools and attempted to use an oscition detection web to discover his exact position. Very soon, we pinpointed his location.¡±

    As she spoke until here, she paused for a moment before saying with some difficulty, ¡°We were about to seed. However, he suddenly unleashed some kind of soul skill that stopped us from locking onto his position. After that, he rose into the sky at an rming speed. As we pursued him, he reached the same altitude as our aerial surveince soul tools. Following that, he unleashed an ice-type soul skill that covered a region spanning a thousand meters in diameter. The entire sky was filled with ice spikes, destroying many of our aerial surveince soul tools. Without the web, he concealed himself once again. We tried to use domain-type attacks on him, but they were useless. He managed to escape.¡±

    Ju Zi looked very serious after hearing this report. She furrowed her brow and paced up and down in the tent.

    ¡°Concealment. Yet another concealment. At the Ming Dou Mountain Range, it was also because of a fellow who managed to carry out surveince and used some unknown method to teleport so many Titled Douluo in that it caused our defense to be overwhelmed. Eventually, we were trapped on the losing end. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the same person? Or have the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires found a method of creating soul tools that can help with concealment?¡±

    As she spoke until here, Ju Zi paused for a moment before revealing a pensive look on her face.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range¡¯s failed defense actually had a great impact on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s overall situation in this war. Given the high status of the Death God Douluo Ye Xishui, no one dared to question her at all.

    Ye Xishui didn¡¯t reveal any details of the fight. She only mentioned that the Star Luo Empire had a soul master who was very adept at concealment that used a special method to sneak into the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Furthermore, this soul master brought in many Titled Douluo and caused significant damage to the defense line at the mountain range. To prevent damage of the Death God, she chose to retreat.

    This answer was extremely ambiguous to Ju Zi, and greatly affected her judgment. However, while she was the Empress, her position in the empire was nothingpared to Ye Xishui. As a result, she couldn¡¯t do anything even though she was doubtful. She could only plead to Xu Tianran to get to the bottom of things.

    Xu Tianran attempted to do so, but Ye Xishui didn¡¯t say anything else. As the Emperor, he was also helpless. He couldn¡¯t afford to offend the Holy Ghost Church. The two Ultimate Douluo in the Holy Ghost Church and many evil soul masters were the foundation of his n to dominate the entire continent. This was why he couldn¡¯t do anything against the Death God Douluo.

 Chapter 468.1 - Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    Chapter 468.1: Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    The Sun Moon Empire had a lot of confidence in their overall strength in this war. The invention of linked soul tools gave them an absolute advantage. However, in terms of high-level fighting strength, the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t have enough to defeat the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native continents and Shrek Academy by themselves. Therefore, they had to rely on the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s power.

    The Holy Ghost Church was very formidable. Without discussing other things, the existence the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui, and the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao meant they had two Ultimate Douluo. That was enough to intimidate countless powerful Titled Douluo.

    From Ju Zi¡¯s perspective, if there weren¡¯t any unforeseen incidents, there wouldn¡¯t be any problem with Ye Xishui standing guard at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. But who knew that the Star Luo Empire managed to break through in the end?

    Afterwards, the White Tiger Duke had used a very venomous strategy, and Ju Zi was still held back no matter how powerful she was.

    The White Tiger Duke had dispersed the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul master legions, and deployed five legions with thirty soldiers in a team, which formed one unit. He divided them to go deep into the Sun Moon Empire to destroy things.

    They focused on destroying the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s granaries and armories in their respective cities. The Star Luo Empire had almost as many soul masters as the Sun Moon Empire did, and they didn¡¯t have many soul engineers. However, soul masters were as destructive as soul engineers when they unleashed their destructive power!

    There were at least a hundred and fifty units of soul masters scattered into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. They retreated after an assault wherever they were attacking, and they immediately escaped beyond the horizon. They didn¡¯t give the Sun Moon Empire a chance to surround and kill him. They were practically engaging in gueri warfare, and they caused many losses to the Sun Moon Empire after little more than a month.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family had to pull back a few soul engineer legions because of that, and to defend their territory. They even deployed two of their royal soul engineer legions, which were like their trump cards, so that they could surround the Star Luo Empire¡¯s units and establish defensive perimeters. Only then were they able to suppress the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters that were undercover in their territory.

    But they were in a standoff at the moment.

    The Sun Moon Empire could only producerge amounts of aerial surveince soul tools and rely on their surveince to fight against the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters in their territory.

    However, aerial surveince soul tools were expensive to craft. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory stretched over many kilometers, so they couldn¡¯t possibly cover every inch ofnd. Otherwise, the White Tiger Duke¡¯s strategy wouldn¡¯t have been so hard to deal with.

    Nobody was a match for the Death God Douluo in face-to-face battle, but the Death God Douluo was just a mortal, and not actually a God. She couldn¡¯t stretch her strength to cover overlyrge areas.

    The soul masters who were undercover in the Sun Moon Empire preupied them, while the White Tiger Duke himself led his remaining soul master legions to create defensive structures and perimeters at the Ming Dou Mountain Range with the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Northwestern Field Army. They regained everything that they had lost before.

    The Sun Moon Empire could only maintain their current situation because the Star Luo Empire was holding them back. They didn¡¯t have more strength to continue their invasion, and this was especially so because the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t dare to attack in Shrek Academy¡¯s direction. Even the Holy Ghost Church were fearful of Shrek Academy.

    The Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires knew about Shrek Academy¡¯s battle against the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s beast wave, and the Sun Moon Empire had also received simr information.

    Xu Tianran turned pale with fright when he heard that Shrek Academy had pushed back the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s immense army, and when he heard that the Dragon God douluo, Mu En, had reappeared.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon, or the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui had told him long ago that everything between them could be discussed or worked out, but they would never directly participate in attacking Shrek Academy.

    Xu Tianran didn¡¯t have those two Ultimate Douluo in his war against Shrek Academy. As of now, he didn¡¯t have any confidence in fighting an open battle against Shrek.

    Ju Zi personally returned to Radiant City, and they went through a series of military conferences after a deep chat with Xu Tianran. They finally decided that they should stabilize the current situation and consolidate, and that they had to assimte as much of the territories that they had conquered in the Heavenly Soul Empire as possible. Themander that Huo Yuhao admired and respected was actually Ju Zi. Her reputation in the Sun Moo Empire was growing exponentially throughout this war.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s current situation wasn¡¯t as good as it was in the beginning, and that was because the Death God Douluo hadn¡¯t been able to defend the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and had nothing to do with Ju Zi¡¯s war strategies and tactics.

    The Sun Moon Empire had conquered two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory with minimal costs and losses by following Ju Zi¡¯s war n. She had earned a lot of credit for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s glorious victories, expansion, and conquered territories. This was especially so because the she had feigned an attack against the Star Luo Empire in the beginning, when her real target was the Heavenly Soul Empire, and when she made sure that the Star Luo Empire¡¯s intel and surveince were locked down. She had aplished great feats.

    Ju Zi had beenuded as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military genius after the war, one who only appeared once in a blue moon, and even the queen¡¯s halo wasn¡¯t as bright as her ownmander¡¯s. Ju Zi had increasingly more authority and influence. Besides the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal legions, the other four beast-ranked soul engineer legions were under her control. She was themander-in-chief of the great army that was invading east.

    Xu Tianran trusted Ju Zi the most, and that was the reason why he was very assured that she held all the authority.

    She didn¡¯t disappoint him. After conqueringrge areas of the Heavenly Soul Empire, Xu Tianran was very supportive of prating those territories with soul tools and technology. Xu Tianran admired and respected Ju Zi, and he knew that he couldn¡¯t devise such strategies by himself. He held her in very high regard.

    This time, she had discreetly led an army of twenty thousand to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northeastern region to investigate some mineral resources in the north.

    What were wars fought with? They were fought with resources and money.

    The Sun Moon Empire had been umting reserves for many years, and they were considered sufficiently prepared. However, Huo Yuhao had shaken them at their very core after the massive explosion that he had triggered inside Radiant City. Money and resources were continuously expended after the war started, and that was especially so for their rare metals. They were starting to run low. Therefore, the Sun Moon Empire had been trying to strengthen their search for mines and minerals recently, especially within the Heavenly Soul Empire. They would undoubtedly excavate and mine anything they discovered as quickly as possible.

    Ju Zi had received reliable reports from her people in the Heavenly Soul Empire saying that there was an enormous mine in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northern region, in the areas bordering the Extreme North. There were more than ten veins of rare metals that they could excavate there.

    She had sent someone to investigate the matter previously, and the report was confirmed. This mine was very close of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s northern borders, and it was positioned between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire.

    Before the Sun Moon Empire had started this war, the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire had just discovered the existence of this mine. They hadn¡¯t had time to excavate it before the war had started.

    Therefore, the Sun Moon Empire would likely sh with the Dou Ling Empire if they wanted to mine these resources.

    The Sun Moon Empire had very formidable tools for detecting rare metals. Ju Zi had instructed experts to do a serious investigation of this area beforeing here, and her experts had told her that this mine held an extremelyrge volume of rare metals. If they could extract it, they would have enough to support another war.

    Ju Zi had reported that to Xu Tianran once she managed to confirm those reports.

    Rare metals had undoubtedly be the most important resource after apanying soul engineers into the history of war. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t assured at all to leave such important resources in the hands of just anyone. He decided after discussing with Ju Zi that she was to personally lead the Fire Phoenix Legion here, and she was to be in charge of excavating this mine.

    Besides this army of twenty thousand, there was to be an enormous team of excavators that would arriveter. However, they were going to mine in the Extreme North, and the weather would greatly affect the speed and progress of excavation. The team needed time to prepare. Therefore, Ju Zi came first so that she could conquer and assimte this entire ce before making other ns.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t know about all this if he had left with Nan Qiuqiu before. Destiny worked in such mysterious ways, and a single episode of deep meditation created an opportunity for him such that he could do reconnaissance like he did.

    How could she not be dejected? She hadn¡¯t aplished her true aim of being here, and yet she had sustained such heavy losses. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how expensive soul detectors that were equipped to beast lord-ranked legions were, and even she couldn¡¯t bear a sixty percent loss! This was a colossal blow. Furthermore, she couldn¡¯t fathom what kind of soul master could achieve this feat. If that individual was a soul engineer, not even the Sun Moon Empire had any results in using soul tools for the art of concealment. Ju Zi didn¡¯t believe that the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires could surpass the Sun Moon Empire in this respect.

    If a single soul master did everything by himself, then wouldn¡¯t this soul master¡¯s abilities be far too powerful? He could conceal himself, and he could unleash ice-type soul skills overrge areas. She had never heard of any Titled Douluo that could achieve all that!

    ¡°Pass down my orders ¨C everyone in the Fire Phoenix Legion is to move at once. Everyone will hold oscition detectors to search within thirty kilometers of the army camp. However, don¡¯t affect Dragon City, so that we don¡¯t affect our n to assimte the city through our technology.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Her subordinate soul engineers acknowledged at once and departed swiftly.

    Ju Zi frowned tightly as she calcted in her head, and considered where that person who was investigating them came from. The Heavenly Soul Empire shouldn¡¯t have any strength left to conduct such reconnaissance in the northern regions, and they would definitely use an individual with such impressive scouting abilities on the battlefield. The Dou Ling Empire was in the same situation. They were teamed up with the Heavenly Soul Empire, and their army was in a standoff against her own army on the battlefield. They wouldn¡¯t have anybody to deploy into the northern regions. She hadn¡¯t even attempted to excavate those mines yet!

 Chapter 468.2 - Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    Chapter 468.2: Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    There was only one other possibility besides these two empires. The person who had juste to investigate came from one of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s reclusive sects. This was the only usible exnation.

    Ju Zi felt a headachee on when she thought about ¡°reclusive sects¡±. As of now, they had conquered more than two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, but the Sun Moon Empire had also sustained heavy losses. Their greatest losses weren¡¯t in the war ¨C instead, their greatest losses urred when they were fighting those reclusive sects.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire had a long history, which could be traced back ten thousand years. Back then, the Heavenly Soul Empire was still called the Heaven Dou Empire, and this empire was formed by the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. There were many soul masters in the Heavenly Soul Empire, and there were many reclusive sects as well.

    Even though these reclusive sects didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the Heavenly Soul Empire in normal days, the Sun Moon Empire was their enemy in the end. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they had to work together against theirmon enemy. Reclusive sects were always very secretive with what they did, as they focused on protecting themselves. They were always doing hit-and-runs against the Sun Moon Empire, and that highly irritated her. Even though these people didn¡¯t have a decisive impact on the war, they were consistently causing damage to the Sun Moon Empire.

    They had appeared in the Ming Dou Mountain Range before, and now they had appeared far into the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northeastern region. It seemed like this sect, who was adept with the art of concealment and reconnaissance, didn¡¯t just have one person who was good at these things. What was more frightening was the ice-type domain attack that had a reach of a thousand meters in diameter. Based on this range, that person should be a powerful Titled Douluo.

    Titled Douluo were always terrifying as an enemy. A Titled Douluo was just one person, and his powerful strength, in addition to the fact that he was hiding in the darkness, meant that he was a threat whenever and wherever. Even if this person didn¡¯t care aboutshing out against normal soldiers, he was still a great threat to the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. Without talking about other things, this person would destroy every single one of their aerial surveince soul tools if he attacked a few more times. He could cause her entire army to go blind.

    Ju Zi¡¯s hands gradually clenched into fists. Cold light flickered in her eyes ¨C she had to find a way to remove this threat, no matter what.

    Huo Yuhao had already returned to Dragon City at this point. The soul-stirring thrill from before was just another unimpressive experience among all his past experiences.

    He returned to the cloth store. Nan Qiuqiu was still awake, and was waiting in the courtyard for him.

    ¡°Why did you take so long?¡± She asked with a frown.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The situation is more serious than I had imagined. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Fire Phoenix Legion is hidden amidst the army of twenty thousand.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was thrown into shock. How could she not know about the Fire Phoenix Legion? ¡°What are they trying to do?¡± she said nervously, ¡°Do they wish to destroy Dragon City?¡± If a legion with an overall fighting strength such as that one wanted to cause destruction, destroying an entire city really wasn¡¯t anything much.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°How can that be? If that were the case, then they wouldn¡¯t have to expend so much energy to prate Dragon City with soul tools and technology. However, I wasn¡¯t able to discover their goal.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu frowned and said, ¡°Then what should we do? We should continue investigating and figure out what¡¯s happening. There must be something they want, with such a powerful soul engineer legion around.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her with a strange look in his eyes. ¡°Yes, investigating is the right way to go. But there¡¯s no we ¨C there¡¯s only me.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyebrows immediately went vertical. ¡°What do you mean? You intend to abandon me and go alone?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said sincerely, ¡°Qiuqiu, did you notice the disturbance outside just now?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned, and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any disturbance, but I did see faint flickers outside the city. That was you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded as he recounted his experience in detail.

    ¡°I managed to escape, but by a hair¡¯s breadth, with my own abilities. If you were with me, neither of us would have been able to escape.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with a very pained look on his face.

    Nan Qiuqiu was rude and unruly, but she definitely wasn¡¯t unreasonable. She stared at him and said, ¡°You can¡¯t put it like that. Are you saying that I¡¯m a burden?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said nothing, and he just stared quietly at her.

    Nan Qiuqiu was a little embarrassed and annoyed at his stare. She grunted furiously and said, ¡°Fine, so I am a burden. I won¡¯t follow you, then. But since they have already discovered you, their defenses will be much tighter. How are you going to find out what they want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I wanted to find intel directly, but since I can¡¯t do that, then I can only follow them. Since they havee all the way to the northern regions, their destination can¡¯t be far. I will definitely be able to find out what they want as long as I follow them. Don¡¯t worry, I will be more careful with the lesson I¡¯ve just learned.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu contemted for a while. Even though she wasn¡¯t convinced, she had no choice but to admit that she was a lot weaker than Huo Yuhao was. Huo Yuhao would be burdened if he had to take another person with him.

    ¡°Alright, alright. You go, then. I¡¯ll wait in Dragon City for you, and we¡¯ll head to our own destination from before after youe back. But you must be careful.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Qiuqiu is a reasonabledy, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. I¡¯m going to sleep. Hurry and leave if you must.¡± Nan Qiuqiu turned around and went back to her own room after that.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh in his mind as he watched her elegant profile. Qiuqiu is a nice girl, and I can¡¯t let her be like Qiu¡¯er back then, no matter what.

    His heart began to ache when he thought about Wang Qiu¡¯er. Dong¡¯er should still be alive no matter how her situation was, but Qiu¡¯er was already¡­ This had be an agony deep in his heart that wouldst forever.

    Huo Yuhao sighed as his thoughts stopped here, and returned to his own room. After this night¡¯s hustle, the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t move out throughout the night, so it wouldn¡¯t be toote for him to follow them in the morning.

    Huo Yuhao snuck out after finishing breakfast the next day. Nan Qiuqiu didn¡¯t escort him out, but she sulked in her own room after he left instead.

    Am I not just a little weaker than you? I¡¯ll catch up to you! Nan Qiuqiu decided that she would go into closed-door cultivation during the days that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t around, and she began to work hard inside the cloth store.

    Huo Yuhao left the city through the eastern gate just like he did the previous day. He returned to the forest that he was hiding in previously. He wasn¡¯t hasty to go out this time ¨C instead, he began to meditate in the middle of the forest as he observed the movements of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army in the distance.

    He wasn¡¯t stupid. He had dealt such a heavy blow to the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion the previous day, so the defenses within their army camp had to be incredibly strict. He would be going to certain death if he took the risk to investigate at this time. Since that was the case, he chose to observe from afar, since his aim was to follow them anyway.

    The maximum range of his Spiritual Detection meant nothing could possibly go wrong if all he wanted to do was follow an army. Only if the Sun Moon Empire could redirect all their aerial surveince soul tools to his location so that they could conduct surveince closer to the ground across all positions could they possibly discover his presence.

    There wasn¡¯t much disturbance within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army. Everything seemed very calm and peaceful one day after, as if nothing had happenedst night.

    Huo Yuhao was very patient. He wasn¡¯t flustered at all as he just cultivated quietly inside the forest. He would just wait it out ¨C his enemies weren¡¯t hasty, so why should he be?

    He simply used his spiritual power to detect in a single direction from time to time, and he would sweep over the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp to make sure that the Fire Phoenix Legion was still around before he continued cultivating.

    He had gained quite some inspiration fromst night¡¯s battle. Furthermore, he had been focusing his energy on studying Ultimate Ice over recent weeks. That was something that needed a lot of time for him to slowly grasp. At the same time, he needed time to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body. Cultivating anywhere made no difference to him. As for the exposed outdoors, that was a piece of cake.

    Three days passed like that in the blink of an eye. The Sun Moon Empire finally couldn¡¯t stand the loneliness anymore, as they set off to depart.

    Huo Yuhao had to admit that this army was very outstanding. They didn¡¯t create much of a disturbance as they moved out, and their formations were very neat and strict. The army on the periphery began to move first, and they took down their tents, while the soldiers responsible for impedimenta took everything apart and packed it up. The soldiers formed up in neat lines as they proceeded towards the north.

    Huo Yuhao quickly saw the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s team. The legion¡¯s members were also walking on the ground, and their formation was very neat. They didn¡¯t act all high and mighty just because they were soul engineers.

    They can¡¯t hold back any longer? A faint smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth as he stood up. He wasn¡¯t worried at all. He couldn¡¯t follow too closely, as he would be easily discovered if he came too close. He just had to follow them from several kilometers out. With his Imitation, those aerial surveince soul tools in the sky couldn¡¯t possibly discover his presence as long as he maintained a sufficient distance.

    Huo Yuhao followed far behind once the army hadpletely uprooted and moved on. He didn¡¯t follow behind them for long, proceeded on their nk as he gradually shifted forward.

    He knew that for him toplete his reconnaissance mission, or even to ruin the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s mission, he had to allow his enemies to lower their guard first. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t allow his enemies to discover his presence, no matter what. His enemies would believe that he was already gone, given enough time, and that he had never returned after escaping the other day. As for making a move, he wouldn¡¯t do anything unless as ast resort.

    Huo Yuhao followed at a distance just like that. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army continued pushing forward as they went straight towards the north.

    The army was moving very quickly. They were almost always jogging; they would jog for an hour before they walked for a bit, and then jog again. This army was moving at a spectacr speed, and their overall quality was very obvious.

    The army went a hundred kilometers north after one day. The air was starting to be increasingly cold. They stopped to set up camp and cook food.

 Chapter 468.3 - Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 468.3: Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion</h4>

    Huo Yuhao hid behind a small hill. The weather was cold, but that didn¡¯t affect him at all. However, he couldn¡¯t help but swallow some saliva as he stared at the smoke spiraling from the army camp in the distance.Drinking some hot soup in such snowynds would be so luxurious! I¡¯m just doing hardbor now.

    He couldn¡¯t help butugh bitterly as his thoughts stopped there. However, he could only continue, since he was already at this stage.

    Huo Yuhaoid out his map as he leaned against the hill. He had prepared this map long ago. It wasn¡¯t a map of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northern region ¨C instead, it was a detailed map of the Douluo Continent¡¯s northern regions. He had spent quite a lot of money to get this map. The map itself was made from goatskin, and it was tough and soft at the same time. It could be preserved for a long time.

    Huo Yuhao scrutinized the map for a while when he discovered that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was still going northeast. They would reach the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire if they went further in the same direction. They would also be bordering the Extreme North there, and it would be even colder than it was here.

    The temperature there was no small problem for typical soul masters, but could normal soldiers really bear it?

    Huo Yuhao turned around as he contemted, and hey on his stomach on the hill as he gazed at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp in the distance. He activated Spiritual Detection at the same time as he swept in toward the army camp.

    He quickly discovered that something else was happening. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp seemed to be handing something out, and their soldiers were all lined up to collect those things Everybody was to collect two items that resembled small boxes, and cotton-padded clothes.

    The cotton-padded clothes seemed decent in quality. That was especially so for the cotton shoes ¨C they were very thick and sturdy, and Huo Yuhao could tell that they would be very good at retaining warmth.

    It seems like the Sun Moon Empire have long been prepared! These soldiers are probably decent at resisting the cold, so the Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t have deployed soldiers from their own northern territories. Since that¡¯s the case, and in addition to the cotton clothes that they have prepared, they will actually be able to resist the severe cold for a short period of time.

    Huo Yuhao went through the night amidst the chilly winds.

    He understood during what those boxes that were given out to the soldiers did the next morning.

    Every box was about the size of a palm, and the soldiers ced them in their clothes. These boxes were very closely pressed against their inner shirts and tied around their waists. When they began to march, Huo Yuhao immediately realized that the boxes emanated gentle heat. The heat coursed throughout the soldiers¡¯ bodies and helped them resist the external cold.

    That works?Those tiny boxes should also be soul tools. If that was the case, the box definitely needed sealed Milk Bottles inside. Maintaining the heat didn¡¯t need too much soul power, but Huo Yuhao could tell from the size of the box that it could only be sustained for a few days before it had to be charged.

    Huo Yuhao thought carefully for a moment, and he couldn¡¯t help but concede his enemies¡¯ ingenuity. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was following a formidable soul engineer legion, and the Fire Phoenix Legion had at least three hundred soul engineers, while charging those small milk bottles didn¡¯t need too much of their soul power. When the army was resting at night, every soul master would be responsible for some soldiers¡¯ sealed Milk Bottles. Naturally, they would be able to charge all those milk bottles that way.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected the Sun Moon Empire to have developed soul tools formoners to use. If, one day, they could find something to substitute for milk bottles, the Sun Moon Empire could truly conquer the entire continent ¨C because that would be the time when normal soldiers could be soul engineers, and they would have a soul engineer¡¯s attacking power. Huo Yuhao thought about it ¨C how frightening would it be, if a hundred thousand soul engineers appeared on the battlefield?

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh inside. He shook his head as he epted this reality in exasperation. It seemed like the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires had to aplish great feats as soon as possible if they wished to fight back against the Sun Moon Empire. Otherwise, within a hundred years, even if the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯tunch an invasion, their technological advantage would be increasingly evident. The Douluo Continent would finally belong to them like a meal on a lunch te.

    Huo Yuhao wasmenting inside, but he had to continue following them. He was still following far behind them on their nk, and he followed the army forward towards the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northeastern region.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army moved slower as the weather became colder. The ce that Huo Yuhao had estimated they would reach within a day took them two days.

    Everything was white and snowy around him, and the cold winds howled through the air as they cut like des. There wasn¡¯t much moisture in the air in a snowy ce like this, because any bit of water would be immediately frozen. The temperature here was at least thirty degrees below zero, and normal people would find it extremely difficult to survive in such an environment.

    It was almost evening when the Sun Moon Empire set up camp once more. Their camp was a lot morepactpared to before. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that theyout was also different.

    The Fire Phoenix Legion, who were originally in the innermost sections, were shifted to the periphery. They formed an arch as they directly faced the northwestern winds, as if they were alpha wolves guarding theirpanions from the most bitter chill. Themander¡¯s tent was apparently right at the front, and it didn¡¯t move at all even when the cold wind blew against it.

    The other tents were tightly and neatly arranged in rows behind them. This was theyout that could preserve as much heat as possible.

    The spiraling smoke had disappeared by now, and he could see hot air rising from somerge tents. There was no doubt that the army cooks were located toward the center, and not on the outside. Otherwise, starting a fire would be very difficult in a ce like this, where water turned into ice.

    Huo Yuhao heaved another faint sigh in his heart.I have been freezing for a day, and I should also get a sip of that hot soup! Even though I¡¯m not afraid of the cold, I have been exposed to the weather in this snowy ce for days. These days haven¡¯t really beenfortable at all.

    However, Huo Yuhao could tell that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army wasn¡¯t that far away from their destination. That was because they were always travelling toward the northwest, and now, they were near the Extreme North¡¯s borders. They would enter the Extreme North if they continued forward.

    Huo Yuhao had been in the Extreme North before, and was thus very clear on the dreadful conditions there. Normal people would definitely not survive in a ce like that, and that was the case even with cotton-padded clothes and soul tools that provided heat.

    Even soul masters couldn¡¯t go deep inside if they didn¡¯t have a certain standard. Furthermore, there were many ice-type soul beasts that lived in the Extreme North. They borrowed strength from their surroundings, and they were much more powerful than typical soul beasts. The Fire Phoenix Legion would run out of strength no matter how powerful they were if they ran into a pack of formidable soul beasts. Huo Yuhao could faintly guess that the reason why the Fire Phoenix Legion was involved in this operation was likely to be because their abilities had something to do with fire. Fire-type abilities would be greatly limited in a ce like this, but fire-type abilities were also good at resisting the cold. The more he thought this way, the more Huo Yuhao felt that the Fire Phoenix Legion wasn¡¯t directing the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army here to battle. They were here for something else.

    Huo Yuhao continued to think as faint light flickered. He hid himself within a small depression in a mountain. He didn¡¯t have any fire-type abilities, and having something warm in such a snowy ce waspletely impossible. However, he had his own methods.

    He retrieved some dry rations from his storage-type soul tool before he ced them on his right hand. A strange scene urred ¨C the tough dry rations in his hand gradually became soft, before they began to emanate a faint warmth.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t wasted his time in the Extreme North over the past few days. His understanding of the element of ice had be increasingly deep, especially in terms of controlling heat.

    Ice needed a lot of heat to melt. In the same way, water forming ice would releaserge amounts of heat.

    Huo Yuhao leveraged this principle as he sealed off the air around him before he began to control his blood and condense it into ice. This naturally released heat; such control shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for a person with spiritual power as powerful as his.

    However, the dry rations would only be a little warm and soft. He had to eat them quickly. In the end, he couldn¡¯t let the blood in his hands freeze for too long, as long as he could swallow those dry rations.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly dealt with dinner as he prepared to meditate once more. However, right at this moment, he suddenly realized to his surprise that something was happening in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    The Sun Moon Empire began to erect thick metal pirs around their camp in the dark of night. Some of the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s members d in dark-red armor were hard at work, and they were flying through the air as they arranged those metal pirs ording to their designated locations, before certain individuals would hammer them into the ground and stabilize them.

    Normal people would need manyrge machines toplete a task like this. However, this wasn¡¯t much for soul engineers. Soul engineers were soul masters first, and they could rely on auxiliary soul tools for aid, so they found such tasks very easy and casual. It didn¡¯t take long before they were almost done with their job.

    Have they arrived at their destination?Huo Yuhao observed closely.

    There was no doubt that these metal pirs were brought with their storage-type soul tools. Every pir seemed about fifty meters long, and had diameters of more than three meters. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine their weight. They were not only brought by storage-type soul tools ¨C this had to be done with high-quality storage-type soul tools.

    What is the Sun Moon Empire doing here? Is this where they intended to be? What can there be in the barren Extreme North?

    Huo Yuhao had many doubts in his mind. However, he could only continue observing. At least, he was sure of one thing, that the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t create a fortress here like idiots.

    The enormous metal pirs weighed at least five thousand kilos, and several high-tier soul engineers had to work together to arrange and install them properly in the ground. Seven or eight pirs were quickly drilled into the ground, and every pir was at least thirty meters deep, while twelve meters remained aboveground.

 Chapter 469 - Devious Trap

    <h4 ss>Chapter 469: Devious Trap</h4>

    After this, Huo Yuhao saw that the Sun Moon Empire had used these metal pirs as a foundation to build machines around them.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing such machines. He had no idea what they were. Their structure appeared veryplicated, and soul power undtions rippled from them.

    These machines were very sophisticated. Although Huo Yuhao could use his spiritual power to imprint their structure in his mind, he had to get closer first. Right now, he was around five kilometers from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military. He would only be discovered if he went too close. This was why he wasn¡¯t anxious at all.

    No, I¡¯ll go take a look at night.Huo Yuhao believed that he could find out what these soul tools were used for if he could observe their core formations, given his understanding of soul tools.

    The Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t do this for nothing. They had to have their reasoning behind building such a formation here. Furthermore, he was a little rxed knowing that the Sun Moon Empire had not built them as a means of war. The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of constructing a soul formation here. Without a sufficientlyrge soul formation, Huo Yuhao believed that this ce wasn¡¯t enough to threaten him yet.

    Night fell. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers returned to their tents after working for more than two hours. When night fell, the temperature of the Extreme North would fall significantly. No soul engineer would be able to work under such rigorous conditions!

    The sky had turned fully dark. Amidst the chilly wind, the snow on the ground was blown into the air, turning into huge patches of ice kes. Not only was the temperature of these ice kes extremely low, but they alsobined with the chilly wind to make it bitingly cold. If a normal person¡¯s skin was exposed, it would dry up and sustain frostbite in a matter of seconds.

    Huo Yuhao waited another two hours until the entire military base had quieted down and all the soulmps had been switched off before he silently snuck out.

    Around a week had passed since the start of this expedition. Huo Yuhao believed that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military should have lowered their guard slightly, even though they were very cautious. Those machines were on the perimeter of the base. No matter what, there shouldn¡¯t be too much danger.

    Huo Yuhao inched forward amidst the darkness. He unleashed his Imitation and rapidly came closer to the military base.

    Five kilometers was a very short distance for him. In just a short while, he managed to get close to the military base.

    He unleashed his Spiritual Detection and first scanned the sky. He didn¡¯t want to repeat his earlier mistake. If the aerial surveince soul tools were at an altitude of five hundred meters or below, he would rather give up on this surveince mission.

    There were indeed aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. However, they were much higher up. They weren¡¯t carrying out any oscition detections towards the ground. At the same time, Huo Yuhao also carefully used his Spiritual Detection to scan the surroundings of those machines. There weren¡¯t any oscition detectors or spiritual barriers around those machines either.

    After ensuring his safety, he continued to get closer, and quickly came near thoserge-scale machines and observed them.

    The massive metal pirs gave off a stronger sense of oppression the closer he came to them. He touched them gently before using his spiritual power to sense them. Huo Yuhao discovered that these metal pirs were constructed using alloys. Although they wererge, they were still mixed with many other rare metals inside. This also meant that the cost of even one metal pir would be astronomical. The pirs were very strong. It seemed that they were being used to support some other soul tools.

    Many of the soul tools that were manufactured with these metal pirs as their foundation didn¡¯t have core formations yet. They looked very exquisite, but it was unclear what they were going to be used for.

    After furrowing his brow, Huo Yuhao started to be a little confused.What is the Sun Moon Empire trying to do?

    It seemed like he had to continue waiting. It was only through greater observation that he could discover their true motive.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer as he thought until here. He turned around and was prepared to retreat.

    At this moment, a cold voice sounded. ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, you don¡¯t have to rush to leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was petrified. At that instant, the surrounding several hundred square meters started to shine brightly with light. All the lights were focused on him, and the metal pirs werepletely exposed under the lights.

    Although Huo Yuhao was protected by his Imitation, he could clearly sense that he was being locked on.

    How is this possible?Huo Yuhao was astonished at this instant. He had believed that he was very cautious. How could he possibly have been discovered? He hadn¡¯t discovered any oscition detectors or spiritual barriers earlier!

    ¡°Weird, isn¡¯t it? You don¡¯t have to be surprised. Since you¡¯re able to perform surveince on us, we had to put in a lot of effort to set this trap for you. The edges of the Extreme North are famed for their extremely low temperatures. Amidst the low temperatures, thermal detectors are especially sensitive. Even though you¡¯ve tried your best to assimte your body temperature with your surroundings, you forgot that there will be changes in the air currents as you move about. This more or less changes the temperature of the air. No matter whether it¡¯s you or the air, the oue is the same.¡±

    ¡°Of course, such slight changes are unable to exin anything. Generally, we wouldn¡¯t be too bothered even if we discovered this. However, it¡¯s different today. When I instructed people to build this foundation, I expected you toe. This was why I gathered many thermal detectors far away, and these thermal detectors are specifically targeted at this small region. Even a slight thermal change can be detected. Furthermore, those controlling the thermal detectors are ordinary soldiers under me. They don¡¯t know what the point of it is. This is why they won¡¯t develop any caution against you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m clearly aware that Titled Douluo like you are very sensitive to danger. However, these people I sent out won¡¯t pose any threat to you. How can you sense any danger if that¡¯s the case? Even the people surrounding you right now were informed that this was only an exercise. I¡¯m afraid you have nowhere to run now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he heard thedy speak until here. It seemed like he had been too careless! Or rather, this person was simply too cunning. To trap him, she had been waiting for an opportunity to set up this trap. Wasn¡¯t she afraid that he hadn¡¯t followed them here? Or rather, she was setting up this trap based on the thinking that he would be here. She was patient, even more patient than him. She was indeed a very strong opponent.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t utter a sound or move. He could only feel his skin numbing, and couldn¡¯t move at all. Once he moved, countless hidden soul tools would be fired towards him instantly.

    Since the enemy had prepared such a trap, they would definitely reckon that their attack was sufficient to harm him. Furthermore, he could also hear from the words of the enemy that it was a trap set for a Titled Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t feeling depressed. He was reprimanding himself instead. In the academy, he was the only one who hadpleted the Ultimate Soldier n, but he was actually in such a situation right now. He could only me his carelessness. It was a problem birthed from his overconfidence.

    Of course, the cunning of his enemy was key to him being trapped. However, he could only pick problems with himself at this moment. At the same time, he started to think of ways he could escape.

    ¡°You should feel that you¡¯ve been locked on by us. I¡¯m not afraid of telling you that you have beenpletely locked on by our linked defensive soul tools. It¡¯s impossible for you to escape. At the same time, there are more than a hundred offensive soul tools aimed at you. They are all at least ss 5 soul tools. Among them, one is even a ss 9 soul tool. There are sixteen ss 8 soul tools. If you think you can escape, you can try.¡±

    That cold voice sounded gentler. For some reason, Huo Yuhao seemed to feel that he knew this voice as it became gentler.

    Do I know this person?

    However, this thought disappeared as soon as it appeared. The pressing issue was how he was going to escape. The enemy had said everything she said to out psychological pressure in him. However, by saying all that, it was clear that she wanted to capture him alive.

    Although Huo Yuhao was trapped, he had great spiritual power, and was very calm. He was able to maintain his cool even in such a situation, and made a correct judgment.

    The other party doesn¡¯t want to kill me. She wants to capture me alive. This is my opportunity.

    If their aim was to kill him, he would have felt it earlier. He didn¡¯t have the senses of a Titled Douluo, but he possessed the Eye of Destiny. Once he faced mortal danger, he would have some sort of sensation. His enemy was too cunning. She got almost everything right, but she didn¡¯t have any intention of killing him.

    It seems like it¡¯s my Imitation and Star Anise Omnithrust that attracted her attention. Given her absolute advantage, her intention must be to capture me and get information out of me. If that¡¯s the case, I stand a chance.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move. He unleashed his spiritual power and turned it into a huge invisible web that started to spread out in the direction of that voice.

    Very soon, he discovered that he knew nothing about this trap. The soul engineers that were in ambush weren¡¯t on the ground at all. They were beneath the ground. They weren¡¯t far away and dug their way out before aiming their soul tools at him.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao understood everything. When the enemy was installing the metal pirs earlier, they looked like they were trying to draw his attention. In fact, they were thinking of ways to dig tunnels below and hide their soul engineers. Without a doubt, these soul engineers had some ways of hiding their own auras. At the same time, they didn¡¯t receive any instructions to carry out an ambush. This was why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t discover them.Cunning, this marshal is indeed too cunning. She actually set such a big trap to catch me.

    Huo Yuhao intentionally deepened his voice, made it nasally, and said, ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying all that? If you want to kill me, do it.¡±

    Thedy with the cold voiceughed. ¡°I just want to avoid unnecessary death. As long as you¡¯re willing toy down your arms and surrender, I can guarantee your safety. Otherwise, we¡¯ll just lose some machines.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°How do I know you¡¯re telling the truth? What if you kill me after I surrender? What happens then?¡±

    Thatdy chortled coldly, ¡°Do you have the right to negotiate with us now? If you believe me, you might survive. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll die. A clever person knows what to choose.¡±

    Huo Yuhao definitely knew that there weren¡¯t any guarantees, given such a cunning opponent. However, he needed some time to analyze the situation. This was because thisdy was clearly using a discement soul tool. Her voice didn¡¯te from where she actually was. He needed more time to determine her position.

    ¡°Let me consider it for a moment.¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    ¡°You can do so, but shouldn¡¯t you reveal your true self, so that I can see who the person who brought so much damage to my Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion is?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation. At the same time, he removed his Imitation. It was just that he used it to slightly change his appearance just as he removed it. He now looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. As for his figure, he didn¡¯t change it. It was easy to be exposed if he changed his appearance too much.

    As Huo Yuhao slowly appeared, more and more equipment locked onto him.

    The other party seemed to be observing him. After a brief moment, thatdy¡¯s voice sounded very skeptical, ¡°You used a soul skill to conceal yourself? Not a soul tool?¡± Her voice sounded disappointed.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right, of course it¡¯s through a soul skill. I have never heard of a soul tool being capable of concealing someone.¡±

    Thatdy said after a momentary silence, ¡°Alright, whether it¡¯s soul skills or soul tools, you only have one chance to survive ¨C that is to submit to the Sun Moon Empire and be one of us. Life is precious. Everyone can only live once. You¡¯ve been cultivating since the beginning, and have put in a lot of hard work. I don¡¯t suppose you want to die just like that. If you listen to us from now on, I can give you a new life. This world is going to be ruled by the Sun Moon Empire soon.¡±

 Chapter 470.1 - Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 470.1: Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!</h4>

    Huo Yuhaoughed sarcastically and replied, ¡°Do I have a choice? Whatever you say is final? You¡¯re right. I admit that I don¡¯t want to die. However, will you trust me if I surrender so easily?¡±

    Thedyughed coldly and said, ¡°I can confirm that this is very simple. I¡¯ll start with understanding who you are.¡±

    At this moment, an object flew towards Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t move as it was flung at him, and itnded three meters away from him.

    ¡°Bang!¡± It was a pair of dark gold manacles. There was a ring of sharp teeth pointing inwards within the manacles.

    ¡°Those are called Godrestricting Manacles. When you put it on, it will restrict your soul power. We can start talking properly then.¡± Thedy said in a very rxed manner.

    Huo Yuhao stood there and hesitated for a moment. He revealed a slightly hesitant look in his eyes, ¡°If I put these manacles on, will you really not kill me?¡±

    Thedy calmly replied, ¡°I already mentioned that you have no choice. You can only believe me. Moreover, do you think you¡¯d still be alive if I wanted to kill you? Put them on. My words are final.¡±

    She was both threatening and convincing him. Her tone of voice also sounded very reassuring.

    Huo Yuhao stood where he was, his expression changing. Thatdy didn¡¯t force him any further. She only maintained her silence as she waited for his response.

    After a while, Huo Yuhao let out a long sigh and slowly walked towards those manacles. He was walking very slowly. As he moved, the soul tools that were locked onto him also slowly moved.

    Thedy smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re clever. Just like that, walk slowly. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee that my men won¡¯t identally discharge their soul tools.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was indeed very slow. He didn¡¯t want to move too quickly. There was a look of helplessness and dejection in his eyes. Finally, he arrived in front of the manacles. He slowly bent at the waist over and moved to put the manacles on.

    ¡°Just put them on directly?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°Yes, Both hands.¡± Thedy said very patiently.

    ¡°Alright, I concede defeat.¡± Huo Yuhao sighed once more and used the Godrestricting Manacles to cuff himself.

    All the soul tools were still locked onto him. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was very sensitive. When he moved to put on the manacles, he immediately sensed that all the soul engineers rxed slightly.

    They didn¡¯t make a mistake; this was a normal human reaction. Any human would react like that under such a circumstance, especially in this icy ce. However, Huo Yuhao made his move just as they reacted.

    The Godrestricting Manacles were getting closer and closer to his wrists. To a normal person, this happened in just an instant. However, Huo Yuhao was able to dy this instant through his spiritual power.

    The manacles were less than an inch away from his left wrist. At this moment, Huo Yuhao could sense the power of the manacles. He immediately made his judgment ¨C once he was cuffed, one of the cuffs was already enough to restrict himpletely. He didn¡¯t need to be cuffed on both hands.

    At thest inch, Huo Yuhao suddenly moved.

    Lights shed without any warning.

    Huo Yuhao instantly switched positions. An olddy who was around seventy was standing where he was now. She appeared very confused.

    This sudden change caused all of the soul engineers to be shocked. This was because they had clearly locked onto Huo Yuhao earlier. However, he had disappeared now, and caused their lock-on to vanish too. Many of the soul engineers suddenly fired, as they couldn¡¯t control themselves. However, their attacks were blocked by ayer of light that rose from the olddy¡¯s body.

    ¡°This is not good,mander!¡± The olddy shouted.

    The surrounding soul engineers were all in a state of panic. This was because they could recognize that the olddy was the vice-legionmander of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. She was a ss 9 soul engineer!

    The original strict formation changed. Following this, an anxious voice sounded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Catch him. He¡¯s fake.¡±

    The olddy revealed a slight smile on her face. Had he finally appeared?

    Lights shed again before that olddy disappeared. She was reced by a tall, bigdy who was around forty years old.

    Yes, that olddy earlier was still Huo Yuhao. He had used his Spiritual Interference to iste all lock-ons before using his Imitation to change his appearance.

    He had no choice. He still hadn¡¯t managed to trace the original source of the voice using his spiritual power earlier. However, he still managed to discover the ss 9 soul engineer who could threaten him the most using his Spiritual Detection.

    How could he stop the enemy from attacking him even after discovering him? Choosing to adopt the appearance of this soul engineer was evidently the wisest choice. This was why Huo Yuhao did this. He only had one motive ¨C draw the legionmander out from her hiding ce.

    It was a fact that even the most intelligent hunters could make mistakes when panicking. The reason why thatdy¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be traced by Huo Yuhao earlier was because her emotions didn¡¯t change at all. Using a discement soul tool, she had managed to conceal herself. Right now, her emotions changed as she panicked. Naturally, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection managed to capture her detailed position. Following this, he used his Xuanwu Discement.

    Every time Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Inscription, he would return to find Xu Sanshi to re-inscribe it once again. He promoted it from the Mysterious Underworld Discement to the Xuanwu Discement. It was a life-saving change!

    The Xuanwu Discement had saved Huo Yuhao on many critical asions. This was why he always re-inscribed this soul skill. Whether it was control or attack, he had great self-confidence. While his surveince was good, his greatest shoring was in terms of how well he could escape. The Xuanwu Discement was undoubtedly the best soul skill to use to escape.

    The Xuanwu Discement could teleport Huo Yuhao a greater distance than his Instant Teleportation. Furthermore, there would be a substitute in his ce, which made it even more confusing. When used in tandem with his Instant Teleportation, it could bring about unexpected results.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao made a life-saving discement.

    Through his Spiritual Detection earlier, he was clearly aware that the enemy¡¯s words were right. He was heavily trapped. It was impossible for him to charge out. A bunch of soul engineers had surrounded him, and linked defensive soul tools were ready to be fired. Even an Ultimate Douluo might not be able to force his way out. It was only by killing and reducing the number of people that he might possibly stand a chance of escape.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were still a far ways off from those of an Ultimate Douluo. This was why he only had one chance ¨C he had to capture the leader of the enemy and use her as a hostage to stand a chance of survival. Force him to surrender? In his dictionary, there was no such word.

    As Huo Yuhao heard exmations, he had already unleashed his Xuanwu Discement. Suddenly, he appeared behind ady wearing red armor. He was trying to disce this person¡¯s bodyguard. From the voice of this person and her attire, he had already determined earlier that she was the marshal who had been speaking earlier. Whether she was the true marshal or not, she had to hold an important position in the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.

    After discing himself behind thisdy, he continued to maintain the appearance of the olddy. All the soul engineers around were astonished, but they didn¡¯t do anything immediately.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t bothered at all. He had already nned his move. His Eye of Destiny had already opened, and his soul core was already revolving extremely quickly. He didn¡¯t conserve his spiritual power as he unleashed it. Immediately, his Spiritual st was unleashed.

    A strong spiritual st waspressed within a hundred square meter region. The soul engineers around were all seven-ringed and ss 7 soul engineers. There were even stronger soul engineers that had locked onto Huo Yuhao from different directions earlier. However, these ss 7 soul engineers were not very strong against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st. This was not to even mention that Huo Yuhao had enhanced his Spiritual st using his Eye of Destiny.

    At this moment, there was no room for error. Huo Yuhao attacked immediately. Even though his Spiritual st was strong, the red-armoreddy in front of him had actually unleashed a spiritual barrier around her. It managed to resist his st as they collided.

    Oh? I¡¯m right, she must be the marshal. How could she not be the marshal, given that she¡¯s equipped with such an expensive defensive soul tool?However, Huo Yuhao was surprised that her abilities weren¡¯t that strong. She was at most a Soul Sage. He was very confident about this. After understanding the mysteries of soul cores, he had developed a deep understanding of the soul power undtions of Titled Douluo.

    Even if she was a Titled Douluo, he still had to take action! This was his only chance.

    He instantly unleashed his Spiritual Shock. A beam of rose-gold light that seemed toe from prehistoric times shed before disappearing. Huo Yuhao had already formed his soul core. Along with the enhancement of his Eye of Destiny, he unleashed this strike with all his strength. In terms of power, it had to be the strongest one that he had ever unleashed. It wasparable to the attack of a Titled Douluo.

    The rose-gold light shed, and thedy in front of him groaned. A ne on her neck snapped and fell off, and the spiritual barrier covering her was destroyed. She even fell forward.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t care. He lifted his hand and grabbed hold of her neck. He used his left hand and unleashed his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer instantly. At the same time, he stomped his right foot on the ground, and his Star Anise Omnithrust was unleashed.

 Chapter 470.2 - Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!

    Chapter 470.2: Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!

    As his attacks were all too closely-linked, he couldn¡¯t care about using any auxiliary-type soul skills. Even so, his Star Anise Omnithrust still covered an area that spanned more than two hundred meters in diameter.

    This was an icy ce in the Extreme North, the coldest region in the entire world. Here, all ice-type abilities were greatly enhanced. Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul was Ultimate Ice. It was evident that his abilities would be greatly strengthened here.

    Huge ice spikes that were as long as three meters and as thick as water buckets shot out in all directions. These terrifying spikes tore some of the tents apart. The soul engineers were sent flying into the sky even though they were protected by protective soul barriers. Some of the soul engineers who were slightly weaker were even stabbed through by the spikes. Huo Yuhao was suddenly free of any soul engineers around him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand was about to grab hold of thedy¡¯s neck, but ayer of golden light suddenly appeared on thedy¡¯s body.

    Invincible Barrier!

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao really wanted to curse. The reason why he continued using his spiritual-type attack on the enemy was because he hoped to make his enemy lose her awareness, so that she wouldn¡¯t be able to use her Invincible Barrier or any types of abilities simr to that of an Invincible Barrier. An Invincible Barrier couldst for more than ten seconds! How would he stand a chance then?

    However, Huo Yuhao still had to continue on even though the Invincible Barrier had been unleashed. He didn¡¯t continue attacking thedy, which would be a waste of his soul power. His eyes shed, and he switched to his Spirit Eyes. A white halo quickly spread out from his body. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Mass Enfeeblement under the effect of his soul core.

    His Mass Enfeeblement spread in all directions, andrge patches of red light started to appear in bursts. This was a fire-type attack, which the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was most adept at.

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes. He clenched his left hand into a fist, and loud booms started to resonate.

    ¡°Boom¡­Boom¡­¡± The booms echoed, and the explosions were centered around Huo Yuhao and thedy. They were wildly spreading outward.

    The fiery-red lights were immediately devoured. At this instant, it seemed as if a terrifying and brutal snowstorm with terrifying explosive force raged. Ice kes were dancing in the sky, and the intense explosive force was so strong that even a Titled Douluo would have to stay away.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned deep-blue, and a figure silently surfaced behind him. It was the Snow Empress, who had already recovered her origin and regained her memories.

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t open her mouth. She drifted silently behind Huo Yuhao. She reached out her hand and pointed to the sky with one hand, and to the ground with her other hand. The intense explosions weren¡¯t even able to get close to Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress. The ice kes in the sky instantly turned into a snowstorm under the Snow Empress¡¯ control.

    Huo Yuhao switched back to his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. His seven soul rings started to shine brightly.

    Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    With the support of the Snow Empress, the strongest version of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was unleashed. At the same time, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass surface from Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Blue halos quickly spread. This was the strengthening effect of his Ultimate Ice.

    The terrifying Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice instantly raged, and caused everything within a region spanning several thousands of meters to be trapped within it. Almost the entire military base was caught in this region. Although the soul engineers were strong, they could only maintain their linked defensive soul formation. It was impossible to see what was going on in the domain. Everyone¡¯s senses, the soul tools that were locked onto Huo Yuhao, and all surveince soul tools lost their effect in the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    At this moment, thedy seemed to have regained her awareness. She suddenly turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao, who was still imitating the olddy¡¯s appearance.

    When she saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings, she waspletely shocked. What soul ring colors are these? Out of his seven soul rings, four don¡¯t even belong to the normal scheme of colors, and the other three are hundred thousand year soul rings. Is he really a soul master?

    She was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was about to unleash his full strength at her under the cover of his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, but he also went into a daze after seeing her. Suddenly, he turnedpletely amazed.

    ¡°Ju, Ju Zi¡­¡± Something seemed to be stuck in Huo Yuhao¡¯s throat. His voice changed slightly at this instant. He didn¡¯t expect that this cunning marshal was actually Ju Zi, whom he had not seen in a long time.

    In her military outfit, Ju Zi appeared very suave. Her symbolic crystal-clear skin was still as smooth and clear as ever. Her beautiful big eyes were locked onto Huo Yuhao in disbelief. Both of them were just staring at each other just like this. Their expressions were around the same ¨C they were both inplete disbelief.

    ¡°Who, who are you?¡± Ju Zi was astonished when she heard the other party calling her name.

    A light projection shed, and Huo Yuhao removed his Imitation. He looked at Ju Zi andughed bitterly.

    Ju Zi subconsciously lifted her hand to cover her lips. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected the enemy to be her, and she also hadn¡¯t expected that the person who had caused such heavy losses to the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion and brought her such a headache today was actually Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°You, you, why is it you? How could it be you?¡± Ju Zi¡¯s voice was filled with shock and astonishment.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    At this moment, the Snow Empress¡¯ cold voice sounded, ¡°Quickly, take action. This domain is unable to handle the pressure much longer. They¡¯ll soon make their way here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook, and there was aplicated look on his face as he looked at Ju Zi, as her Invincible Barrier started to be dimmer and dimmer.

    Ju Zi also looked at Huo Yuhao with aplicated expression. She sighed, ¡°Damn it!¡± She didn¡¯t activate her second Invincible Barrier. She turned around and hugged Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously grabbed onto her waist. At this instant, he felt extremely emotional.

    He did have some feelings for Ju Zi. Back then, his rtionship with Wang Dong¡¯er wasn¡¯t established yet. In his eyes, Wang Dong¡¯er was still Wang Dong, and a guy. Ju Zi was probably the first female that he had developed some feelings for. It was just that their identities, backgrounds and a series of changes that happened after, such as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s appearance, caused them to slowly drift apart.

    Their next few meetings were also very rushed. Huo Yuhao could still clearly remember that Ju Zi took the risk to send him a letter during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament in Radiant City.

    At this moment, even though it was Ju Zi who was in his embrace, he felt his heart throbbing.

    ¡°Ju Zi, you¡­¡±

    Ju Zi suppressed her inner emotions and said, ¡°I am the marshal of this army. If you hold me as your hostage, they won¡¯t dare to do anything to you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew that this wasn¡¯t the time for them to catch up on old times. As he ced one hand over her waist, he gently pressed his other hand on her neck. He looked into the sky and shouted, ¡°Stop! Your marshal is in my hands!¡±

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao had gotten his wish, the Snow Empress red at him with a weird look on her face. After this, she turned into a beam of flowing light and re-entered his body, and the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice slowly disappeared.

    The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion immediately ceased fire as Huo Yuhao shouted. Following the disappearance of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, red figures started to slowly surface.

    Huo Yuhao looked very cold and indifferent as he stood there. Right now, he had yet to revert to his original appearance. He continued to use his Imitation to mimic the look of that olddy. He stood behind Ju Zi, and one of his hands was on her waist, while the other was in a stranglehold around her neck. A killer aura spread. Given his spiritual power, it was easy for him to imitate a strong killing aura.

    After the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice disappeared, Huo Yuhao finally saw that the sky had beenpletely engulfed with a red barrier. Every member of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion had a diamond-shaped soul tool on their chests that shone brightly with red light. Evidently, those were their linked defensive soul tools. It was a linked defense that was unleashed by several hundred advanced-tier soul engineers. He couldn¡¯t possibly breach such a defense. This was why his earlier strategy was correct, which was to take the marshal hostage. It was the only way out. It was just that Ju Zi was the marshal. However, no matter what, this act had to continue. Ju Zi also seemed very willing to y along.

    Everyone watched Huo Yuhao intently. A fiery-red figure rapidly made it to the front and watched him coldly. Wasn¡¯t she the ss 9 soul engineer that Huo Yuhao had imitated?

    The two of them stared at each other. The scene was very weird. Huo Yuhao waspletely surrounded by the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. All types of advanced-tier cannons were aimed at him. he started to develop numbness and itching as a multitude of soul tools locked onto him. Once an order was given, Huo Yuhao would be instantly torn to pieces when so many powerful soul tools fired at him.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t anxious at all. He even appeared extremely calm.

    ¡°Let go of our legionmander.¡± The olddy on the opposite side said coldly.

    This olddy was the original legionmander of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. Ever since Ju Zi came, she was demoted to the position of vice-legionmander. Her abilities were even greater than Wang Yiheng¡¯s, and she was one of the oldest ss 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire.

 Chapter 470.3 - Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 470.3: Ju Zi, Ju Zi, Ju Zi!</h4>

    She was a Rank 94 Titled Douluo, known as the Fire Phoenix Douluo. It was a pity that her martial soul wasn¡¯t a Fire Phoenix, but a Fire Phoenix Sword instead.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo was once a very notable name in the Sun Moon Empire. She was as reputable as the Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin.

    When Ju Zi first took charge of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, this Fire Phoenix Douluo wasn¡¯t very convinced. How could she possibly submit to such a youngdy? However, Ju Zi was the Empress, and Xu Tianran even pleaded for her to continue to remain in the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. She would be treated the same, and she was even given greater benefits. Apart from her title, she would continue tomand the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. She was even told that Ju Zi was themander in name only. This was why she remained.

    However, as time passed, Ju Zi led the legion to countless sesses in this war. Shemanded the entire army, and managed to overwhelm both the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires. The Fire Phoenix Douluo was slowly convinced by her. She was now fullymitted to aiding Ju Zi in managing this soul engineer legion. Apart from admiration for Ju Zi, she was also starting to like her now.

    Ju Zi also called her ¡®granny¡¯ normally. For the unmarried Fire Phoenix Douluo, it was her desire to have such a granddaughter. She imparted everything she knew about soul tools to her. This was why she shared a veryplicated rtionship with Ju Zi. She was her subordinate, kin and teacher.

    Seeing that Ju Zi had been captured, she was very anxious, even though she looked very calm. She didn¡¯t suspect Ju Zi at all. After all, they kept thinking that their target was a Titled Douluo before they had attacked. Furthermore, they believed that it was likely to be a Transcendent Douluo. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t set such a huge trap.

    While Ju Zi had an Invincible Barrier on her body, it still had a limit. Against a true Transcendent Douluo, it couldn¡¯t possiblypletely resist a serious attack.

    ¡°Stay away. Otherwise, she¡¯ll perish with me.¡± Huo Yuhao sounded very forceful. He intentionally changed his voice to sound hoarse and old. It was difficult to tell his age or even his gender from his voice.

    ¡°Let go of her!¡± The Fire Phoenix Douluo screamed furiously before taking a step forward. A strong beam of fiery-red light subtly surfaced behind her.

    In fact, even in the Sun Moon Empire, someone who could be a strong soul engineer would also naturally have a pretty strong martial soul. The Fire Phoenix Douluo was a good example of that.

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly. ¡°If you want her to die, make a move. Otherwise, move away.¡± As he spoke, he pressed his hand harder on Ju Zi¡¯s throat. It was as if he was gripping her throat tightly. Ju Zi yed along with him and groaned in pain as she revealed a painful look on her face.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± The Fire Phoenix Douluo was very anxious. She was almost unable to maintain her calm exterior. Her eyes shed. She had gone to so much trouble to set up such a trap to capture Huo Yuhao, but it eventually led to her legionmander being taken as a hostage.This person is simply too strong. Not only can he conceal himself and imitate someone else¡¯s appearance, but he also possesses great ice-type abilities. Don¡¯t tell me he has twin martial souls? Or does he have a strong soul tool with him?The Fire Phoenix Douluo couldn¡¯t tell right now, but she clearly knew that she couldn¡¯t let him go. If she wanted to capture him again, it would be extremely difficult. However, if she didn¡¯t let him go, Ju Zi would be in danger. Ju Zi wasn¡¯t only the marshal of three armies; she was also the Empress! If her safety was endangered, no one could possibly handle the responsibility.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t care about what the Fire Phoenix Douluo thought. He strangled Ju Zi as he slowly moved forward. He wasn¡¯t very quick, but his spiritual power started to spread quickly. When he only had two rings, he was able to scare a bunch of soul beasts by imitating the aura of the Ice Empress. After all these years, his abilities in imitation were unparalleled.

    He seemed to have assimted with his surroundings as he unleashed a terrifying soul beast aura. The pressing aura that belonged to a hundred thousand year soul beast immediately caused all the seven-ringed soul engineers to turn pale. Some of them almost fired the soul tools in their hands.

    Huo Yuhao took one step at a time as he walked towards the Fire Phoenix Douluo. Ju Zi waspletely in his arms. No one would doubt that a Titled Douluo had countless ways to kill a person. The Fire Phoenix Douluo gritted her teeth and roared, ¡°Stand back! Let him leave.¡±

    A pathway was slowly opened. The Fire Phoenix Douluo asked, ¡°What will make you let go of our legionmander?¡±

    Although everyone from the legion had already made way, their linked defensive barrier hadn¡¯t moved yet. The Fire Phoenix Douluo was very experienced. She instructed everyone to make way to reduce Huo Yuhao¡¯s killing intent, so that she would be able to negotiate with him afterward.

    Huo Yuhao calmly said, ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to negotiate with me. After I leave, I¡¯ll definitely let go of her.¡±

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Swear on your martial soul before I¡¯ll believe you. Otherwise, I¡¯d rather perish together if you hurt our legionmander after leaving.¡±

    Huo Yuhao snorted coldly and said, ¡°Alright, I swear on my martial soul that I¡¯ll let go of this hostage after I leave. Otherwise, my martial soul will be crushed, and never be restored. Is this fine?¡±

    How would he ever hurt Ju Zi? The Fire Phoenix Douluo had suggested that he should swear, and so he went along with her.

    Seeing that he agreed so readily, the Fire Phoenix Douluo furrowed her brow. After hesitating for a brief moment, she eventually gestured and instructed her subordinates to remove their linked defense.

    Huo Yuhao slowly left with Ju Zi. He still remained very wary at this moment. There were so many soul engineers here. Perhaps the enemy had some kind of special soul tool.

    He unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and caused both his and Ju Zi¡¯s figures to be blurry. This also caused all the soul tools to be unable to lock onto him anymore.

    Ju Zi¡¯s skin was as smooth as ever. Even though he was only touching her neck now, he could still feel how soft and smooth it was.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t make any noise apart from the earlier groan. To those from the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, she had beenpletely suppressed, and wasn¡¯t able to speak at all.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao broke free from the encirclement. He turned around and faced the Fire Phoenix Douluo, who was following him. He slowly stepped back. Under the effect of his Imitation, he slowly melted into the darkness.

    ¡°You are also very strong. I hope you stay true to your words. Otherwise, your vow will turn into a curse.¡± The Fire Phoenix Douluo said coldly.

    For a Titled Douluo like her, she fully believed in destiny. A vow couldn¡¯t be made easily, especially one that was on one¡¯s martial soul. This was why a vow was usually the most serious and official form of transaction between many Titled Douluo when they negotiated with one another. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s vow, she believed that he wouldn¡¯t dare to renege on it.

    Never would she have guessed that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t a Titled Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief after melting into the darkness. Although they were stuck in ice and snow, the back of his shirt waspletely drenched with sweat.

    It was simply too dangerous. If the legionmander of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion hadn¡¯t been Ju Zi, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could have even made it out alive.

    He could clearly see that Ju Zi was ready to unleash her second Invincible Barrier. Under that circumstance, he could only attack with all his might. He had to either stop her from unleashing her Invincible Barrier, or crush the Invincible Barrier and take her as a hostage before his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice vanished.

    As for whether he would seed, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any confidence at all. Today¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t any less dangerous than the time when he was surrounded by two evil soul masters and the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion in Sunrise City. Wang Qiu¡¯er was the one who had saved him then. This time, it was Ju Zi. Fortunately, Ju Zi¡¯s life wouldn¡¯t be in danger.

    He subconsciously let go of Ju Zi¡¯s neck. He only held her waist as he fled far away.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t utter a sound at all. She let Huo Yuhao bring her wherever he wanted. Right now, how could she not be emotional?

    It was only after flying tens of kilometers away and using his Spiritual Detection to scan his surroundings to ensure no one was following them that Huo Yuhaonded. He found a ce to stop.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ju Zi.¡± Huo Yuhao let go of his arms around Ju Zi¡¯s waist and gently sighed.

    Ju Zi turned around suddenly and forcefully embraced him. He waspletely in her embrace.

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze. The surrounding winds were very chilly. He had unleashed his soul power to protect himself and Ju Zi. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold, but she was! At this moment, he had already forgotten that Ju Zi was a Soul Sage.

    Ju Zi stuck close to him. Although they were separated by ayer of armor, Huo Yuhao could still the passion from Ju Zi.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive. That¡¯s great. Did you know? I thought you were dead all along.¡± Ju Zi muttered.

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°I won¡¯t die so easily. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m doing well.¡±

    Ju Ziughed gently and softly said, ¡°Did you know? I¡¯ve not had such blissful feelings for a long time. You¡¯re still alive. Great, I feel very blissful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze. He hadn¡¯t expected her to say something like this to him. He didn¡¯t know how to respond.

    Ju Zi gently lifted her hands and rxed her grip on his waist. She took a step back and widened the gap between them.

    ¡°How have you been?¡± Ju Zi lifted her head, and there was a concerned look on her face.

 Chapter 471.1 - Your Heart is Too Soft

    <h4 ss>Chapter 471.1: Your Heart is Too Soft</h4>

    Huo Yuhao removed his Imitation and revealed his actual appearance. He nodded lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. And you?¡±

    Ju Zi gave him a slight smile and said, ¡°You¡¯ve seen it ¨C I have been leading the great army into battle. It¡¯s not good for me, but it¡¯s not bad either.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her as she stared back at him, and they went quiet in that instant.

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes were very passionate, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s were full ofment. A long time had gone by, but he could still remember vividly even now when he brought Ju Zi deep into their of soul beasts and risked their lives.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you really the person who destroyed our aerial surveince soul tools?¡± Ju Zi suddenly asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded in response.

    Ju Zi heaved a sigh and turned around. She gazed in the direction of where her Fire Phoenix Legion and army were camped as she said bitterly, ¡°I never thought that those words that I said back then woulde true. The thing I really didn¡¯t want to happen finally did. We have finally met again on the battlefield after all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re just a girl ¨C why do you have to throw yourself into this war!? You¡­ haven¡¯t you married Xu Tianran? He actually allows you to show yourself outside?¡±

    Ju Zi said inly, ¡°He is a person who is very sensitive to danger, and he doesn¡¯t even trust the people closest to him ¨C I am the exception, because I saved his life when he was in the most difficult of times. Therefore, he has always trusted me. Our marriage was just a ceremonial process so that he can allow me to do more. You can say that I am his wife, but it¡¯s more urate to say that I am his most trusted subject. Military power has always been most important in his eyes, so he inserted me into the army. You may not believe me, but when he was severely injured all those years ago, not only were his legs crippled, but he¡¯s also infertile. I haven¡¯t been staying together with him till today.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard her words. He was an emperor, but he was infertile? If this secret was known to the public, it would probably shake Xu Tianran¡¯s throne to its very core.

    Ju Zi chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you all this, and it seems like your status in my mind has surpassed his. But I believe you won¡¯t say this to anyone, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Since you trust me, what else can I say? I¡¯m not such a bad person.¡±

    Ju Zi turned around and stared at him again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. Even though I am unwilling to meet you under such circumstances, I am very happy to see you alive. Don¡¯t fight against me, okay? You will not be my match on the battlefield. Your heart is too soft, and that is especially so for those beside you. Your heart has always been too soft.¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned as his eyes gradually grew cold. That was because he could see that Ju Zi¡¯srge eyes were flickering with decisive emotions.

    ¡°Ju Zi, I can take you away if you¡¯re willing. I can take you away from the Sun Moon Empire, and you can start an entirely new life. You have personally been through the cruelty of war, so why do you have to bring war to even more people?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression changed, and her voice suddenly became shrill. ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s army killed my father back then and ruined my family, so why don¡¯t you say that to their generals andmanders? They destroyed me and everything I had, and I want revenge. I told you a long time ago that the reason why I¡¯m still alive in this world is for revenge. Anybody who will help me exact my revenge will be doing me a favor. Xu Tianran is my benefactor, and you ¨C are not!¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt the resentment that was rippling from Ju Zi, and he fell silent.

    They returned to their quiet interaction from before.

    The resentment on Ju Zi¡¯s face gradually disappeared after a moment, and a faint smile surfaced. ¡°Why are we talking about all that after not seeing each other for so long? I don¡¯t want such bliss that¡¯s so hard toe by disappear like that. Walk away, Yuhao. We have be two parallel lines that are destined to never converge. You have your path, and I have mine. Unless you kill me now, you can¡¯t stop me. Nobody can stop me from moving forward, and one day, I will lead the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army to tten the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires and conquer the world. There will no longer be conflict on the continent when that happens, and I will rule over this country properly, so that there will be eternal peace.¡±

    Her eyes were full of passion as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart tremble when he heard her words.Rule this country properly ¨C her?

    Ju Zi smiled and stared at the shock in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes ¡°For some reason, I can never hide the words that are deep in my heart whenever I¡¯m with you. Perhaps it¡¯s because you are the only man I¡¯ve ever liked in the world. Seems like my choice was right; you have be so powerful now. You¡¯re not yet a Titled Douluo, and yet even though I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ve done it, I can feel that you are far more threatening than typical Titled Douluo to me. Yuhao, if you¡¯re willing ¨C if you¡¯re willing to help me, when I have conquered the entire continent in the future, I am willing to be the woman behind you. Alright? When that happens, I trust that you will have reached the pinnacle of the human world.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re only twenty years old and yet you already possess such power. Furthermore, you¡¯re not like me, because I¡¯ve used a lot of medicines and drugs to raise my strength. My senses are very strong, and I can feel the aura of a very powerful individual of our generation from you. You will definitely be a Transcendent Douluo, perhaps even an Ultimate Douluo. Stand by my side, will you? If that happens, I will be filled with hope, and even more fighting spirit. I will definitely attain my goal in an even shorter period of time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao slowly but determinedly shook his head as he gazed into the burning passion in her eyes. ¡°Ju Zi, you¡¯re right. We are two lines that can no longer converge, and you have your, resolutions while I have my own motivations. Yes, an empire that can conquer the entire continent will bring peace in the future. But have you considered how many lives have to be given in this war to reach this goal of peace?¡±

    Ju Zi said coldly, ¡°Sess is paid with lives, and the future has to be built on rivers of blood.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grunted coldly and said, ¡°Ju Zi, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so cold-blooded. How are you any different from an evil soul master? Even though I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re going to do in the future, you should know that the Sun Moon Empire is ying with fire by cooperating with the Holy Ghost Church. The Holy Ghost Church has so many evil soul masters, and they are extremely formidable. Their two Ultimate Douluo are the most powerful human beings in the world. Do you really believe that you can control them? In the future, even if the Sun Moon Empire can conquer the whole continent, will these evil soul masters remain silent? I¡¯m afraid they will have the same goals as you when that happens.¡±

    Ju Ziughed, and herughter was brimming with confidence. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to worry about those things. As long as you¡¯re willing to be together with me, and help me, I will slowly let you understand my n. The Holy Ghost Church is very powerful, but even the strongest of men have weaknesses. Furthermore, they are a sect. What I control is an empire¡¯s strength. Do you really believe that individual strength can fight against an entire empire? Be the man behind me, Yuhao. Please? Consider me begging you.¡±

    Ju Zi suddenly became very weak as her words stopped there. Two rows of tears slid down her cheeks as the transparent teardrops swiftly turned into ice and dropped to the ground before they shattered into pieces.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her. There was uncertainty in her eyes, and there was fear ¨C but there was more hope.

    He knew that this was perhaps thest time their destinies would intersect. But could he really do that?

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward as he shook his head lightly. He brought Ju Zi into his embrace and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ju Zi, but I can¡¯t. You have your resolutions, and I have mine. Even though I am not willing to admit it, perhaps we can only be enemies. After today, I will risk everything to stop the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion. I wish for peace in the continent, and I will work to that end till the day I die.¡±

    Ju Zi let him hug her. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his sturdy back. She didn¡¯t attempt to convince him anymore, and just allowed her tears to flow like waterfalls, and her teardrops turned into ice on her beautiful face.

    The two of them were just hugging each other, and Ju Zi raised her head after a moment as she gently pushed Huo Yuhao away.

    ¡°You are the person I am least willing to have as an enemy, Yuhao. Do you know that?¡± Ju Zi said agonizingly.

    Huo Yuhao raised his head into the sky and said, ¡°You and me both.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded gently and said, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve made your choice, then we can only be enemies after today. Yuhao, have you ever liked me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao trembled before he gently nodded.

    Ju Zi smiled and walked next to him. She ced her arm around his neck as she pressed her lips close to his ear. ¡°I guess I have not liked you for nothing. Thank you, and even if you¡¯re lying to me, I¡¯m still very happy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Why would I lie to you? You were the first woman that walked into my heart, but there are just too many hurdles and barriers between us ¨C too many. Ju Zi, you¡­¡±

    Ju Zi suddenly raised her hand and pressed it against his lips. She didn¡¯t let him continue. ¡°Since we have our own resolutions, then from today onwards, can we stop attempting to convince each other? We will both work hard on our own paths. Perhaps, several years or even decadester, when one of us has achieved our goal, everything will be different. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gently nodded. He knew that any attempt to convince her would be futile.

 Chapter 471.2 - Your Heart is Too Soft

    <h4 ss>Chapter 471.2: Your Heart is Too Soft</h4>

    Ju Zi cupped his face in her hands as she stared into his eyes from as near as they could be. She stroked his face tenderly as she felt the warmthing from his cheeks, and her eyes were covered with moisture once more.

    ¡°I can¡¯t bear to leave you, do you know that?¡± She said gently.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook, but he couldn¡¯t say anything at all.

    He did like Ju Zi before, but his heart now truly belonged only to Dong¡¯er. Furthermore, even if Don¡¯ger hadn¡¯t appeared, he couldn¡¯t go against his principles for Ju Zi. However, his heart was truly aching so, so much in this moment.

    ¡°I want to kiss you ¨C may I? Consider it a farewell kiss.¡± Ju Zi said softly.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. Ju Zi stepped forward against his body without waiting for his response as her ice-cold but moist lips pressed tightly against his.

    Her lips were soft and fragrant. Huo Yuhao was a normal man, and especially because of the atmosphere they were in, he really couldn¡¯t push her away.

    Subtle intoxication coursed over his body, and Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if his entire being was immersed in this feeling. Even his spirit began to feel a little lost in the next moment.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao grunted softly, and his eyes suddenly widened, because he could clearly feel that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Ju Zi was still kissing him, and she smiled gently.

    Her lips parted as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to struggle. This Infinite Intoxication has no antidote. It¡¯s not poisonous; it will only make you sleep for a little while. I love you, Yuhao, really. I love you. You will be the only man that I will ever love in this life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body gradually slid into her arms along with her soft and fine words.

    TheInfinite Intoxicationwas too strong. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was almost instantly cut off by that strange drug, and he couldn¡¯t evenmunicate with his four formidable Spirits. His consciousness slowly left him, and only a bitter smile remained on the corner of his mouth.

    Ju Zi is right ¨C my heart is just too soft.

    Ju Zi ced him carefully onto the ground as she sat quietly beside him. She raised one of his arms and rested against it as she curled herself up against his chest.

    Snow and ice was everywhere around them, but the Extreme North¡¯s low temperature didn¡¯t affect the burning passion in her heart at all.

    She had been waiting for this day for far too long. The feeling of curling up in his arms was wonderful.

    Waves of warmth emanated from Ju Zi and spread over both of their bodies to fight against the severe cold around them. She was just lying there, silent and enchanted, enjoying this rare blissful moment.

    Fifteen minutes passed as shey there motionless, and there was only happiness on her face.

    She slowly sat up from Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace after fifteen minutes, and the warmth, tenderness, and bliss on her face was gradually substituted by iciness.

    She gradually stood up as she stared at Huo Yuhao beside her. She muttered, ¡°I did say that your heart was too soft, especially towards people you like. But why do I just like that about you? I can feel that you will be an enormous threat to my future ns, and I should kill you at this time. Killing you can resolve the only remaining soft emotions in my heart, and I can eliminate a great threat at the same time.¡±

    Ju Zi flipped her wrist as she spoke, and a spike that was yellowish all over appeared in her grip.

    Murderousness flickered in her eyes, butsted but a moment before she smiled.

    ¡°He won¡¯t kill me, so how can I kill him? His heart is soft, and mine is cold, but my heart melts only when I am with him! You¡¯re so foolish. No matter what, I will not hurt you. Do you know that? As long as you¡¯re alive, I will not go insane. That bit of tenderness in my heart is what I treasure the most. Not only will I not hurt you ¨C if somebody else hurts you, I will kill that person no matter who he or she is.¡±

    She tapped the tip of her foot gently against Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist as she spoke, and flipped Huo Yuhao onto his side.

    She squatted down beside him and stared at him seriously. After few moments, she raised the yellow spike and thrust it ferociously towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist.

    ¡­¡­

    Cold wind billowed.

    The sky was already bright when Huo Yuhao came to from his ckout.

    Daytime in the Extreme North was a lot shorterpared to the inner maind. The sky was alreadypletely bright at this point, but it still looked very dim.

    Huo Yuhao swiftly sat up and nced down at himself subconsciously. He didn¡¯t feel anything different.

    He looked around him, and everything was just snow and ice; Ju Zi was long gone. However, the soul tools that Huo Yuhao had detected that generated heat were ced in a circle around him. These were the things that had been giving him warmth before.

    Even though he possessed Ultimate Ice and wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of warmth flow through his body when he saw those soul tools that generated heat.

    Haih, Ju Zi!

    Huo Yuhao stood up and gazed in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army. He shook his head exasperatedly, but his gaze quickly turned to one of determination.

    I¡¯m sorry, Ju Zi. You have your targets, but I have to stop you. I cannot let you achieve your goal. If we meet again on the battlefield, perhaps that is our destiny.

    ¡°Yuhao, she is right. Your heart is too soft. If she wanted to do something bad to you, you would have died a hundred times over.¡± A shadow flickered as the Snow Empress glimmered soundlessly beside him.

    He snapped around at the Snow Empress, and saw her displeased look.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s four Spirits were powerful, but their existence depended on Huo Yuhao, after all. During the previous night, after Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was blocked off by that sinister Infinite Intoxication, his four Spirits couldn¡¯t channel his strength no matter how worried they were. They couldn¡¯t evene out because his spiritual sea was shut off.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Snow Empress,¡± Huo Yuhao forced augh as he spoke.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize to me. Your softheartedness has led you to your current dire situation. That woman is dangerous. If you can, killing her is the best choice.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°I can¡¯t do it. Ju Zi has saved my life before. I¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress waved him off and didn¡¯t let him continue. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, then don¡¯t interact with her so closely anymore. What do you intend to do next?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I will continue investigating what this army is here to do. They havee so far into the Extreme North, and it can¡¯t be that they¡¯re here to deal with me. They must have some other objective. I will discover their objective, and then I will stop them.¡±

    The Snow Empress thought for a moment, then said, ¡°That¡¯s not difficult. This is my home, and it¡¯s also the Ice Empress¡¯ home.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes glowed as he heard her words. ¡°What do you mean, Snow Empress.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°You should wait until you find out what they want. Otherwise, we can¡¯t do anything against them.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

    Even though he was softhearted toward Ju Zi, he was never unclear about the bigger picture. He wouldn¡¯t give up on his own goal just because Ju Zi was themander of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    Huo Yuhao ate some dry rations and readjusted himself to make sure that his body was alright before he travelled in the direction of where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was camped.

    He had confidence. Even if the army was gone, he could still track them using any traces they had left behind with his abilities.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was still there, and they were still camped where they were the previous night. Furthermore, the soul engineers and soldiers were starting to get busy. They were still building based on the foundations of the trap they had set for Huo Yuhao the previous day, but he didn¡¯t know what they were doing.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into slits as he watched them hustle around, and he began to think. It seemed like this ce was their destination. But what could they be doing in a ce like this?

    He had learned his lesson, and he wouldn¡¯t go in to investigate anymore. Furthermore, even if he did, he had to be especially careful. He wasn¡¯t interested in causing damage right now, as finding out the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s objective was more important.

    Huo Yuhao observed quietly in the snow and ice, and a day passed just like that.

    There were a lot of soul engineers participating in thebor, while their machines worked very quickly. They took but one day to finish the base of their constructions over five hundred square meters. A certainrge machine attracted Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention.

    There was a drill-like thing beneath this enormous machine. This drill was more than five meters in diameter, and it was constructed by hoistingponents into ce. This machine was veryrge, and the metal pirs from before formed the foundations for its construction. Some stabilizing mechanisms were built with those metal pirs as the skeleton.

    What are they trying to do, exactly?

    Huo Yuhao was very suspicious.Are they trying to drill into the ground? But what can be beneath the ground?

    An idea came to Huo Yuhao as he contemted.Underground? What can be underground? There can only be one answer ¨C resources!

    Can it be that there are some resources in the Extreme North that the Sun Moon Empire needs? Or¡­

    Huo Yuhao did not continue observing from where he was, but ran further away and soared into the sky.

    He had been following the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army over these days, but he had always been doing everything from the ground. His field of view would be a lot wider if he flew into the sky, and perhaps he could discover something then.

    The chilly air was sharper, and the temperature even lower. However, those conditions didn¡¯t affect Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t have to use the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice; he only needed the Domain of Perpetual Ice to form ayer of protection around him, and that was sufficient.

    Huo Yuhao gazed down as he flew high into the sky, and he quickly discovered some problems.

    There were some barracks established twenty-five kilometers from where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was camped. That area should be within the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s territory. The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory was in the other direction, and there seemed to be some old structures about ten kilometers out. The Sun Moon Empire was currently camped between those two areas.

 Chapter 471.3 - Your Heart is Too Soft

    Chapter 471.3: Your Heart is Too Soft

    Something¡¯s wrong!

    Huo Yuhao immediately descended after this simple observation before he flew towards the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s rickety structures.

    He used Spiritual Detection, and discovered that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soldiers had long been standing guard in those old structures. There were manyrge machines inside those structures, and even though they weren¡¯t as advanced as the machines that the Sun Moon Empire had just constructed, he could tell that they were targeted at the ground.

    Resources ¨C yes, resources!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go any closer. He was afraid to startle his enemies, and he was a little afraid of Ju Zi. Her devious trick had bested him once, and he had to be more careful in dealing with her.

    If he couldn¡¯t tell what was going on with the Sun Moon Empire, could he not tell from the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s side? Even though they were all bordering the Extreme North, their objectives were likely to be the same. He would naturally discover something if he went to observe the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s barracks.

    Huo Yuhao turned around as he contemted, and covered several dozen kilometers in the blink of an eye.

    The Dou Ling Empire was clearly unaware that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army had arrived. In the end, they were separated by national borders even though they were so close to each other. The Dou Ling Empire was still upholding their agreement with the Heavenly Soul Empire, that they wouldn¡¯t send any scouts to conduct reconnaissance within the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory.

    Huo Yuhao was full of admiration for Ju Zi as he confirmed the barracks¡¯ positions on this side. If the Sun Moon Empire hade any closer to this side, they would likely have been discovered by the Dou Ling Empire. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s current position was close to the other side, but they were somewhere where it wasn¡¯t easy to be discovered.

    There was no doubt that, with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Fire Phoenix Legion, they could destroy the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s army without breaking a sweat. But if they did that, they would undoubtedly alert the Dou Ling Empire. Judging from the current situation, the Sun Moon Empire ¨C rather, Ju Zi ¨C evidently didn¡¯t want to be exposed so quickly.

    Too cunning! Even though he didn¡¯t want to admit that that Ju Zi was one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s generals, he had to admit that she was very talented in military matters. She was definitely superior to him.

    Hended close to the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s barracks, and his Spiritual Detection immediately stretched over the barracks like an enormous web.

    He quickly discovered what he needed to know.

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s barracks had clearly been around for a rtively longer time. There was an army of two thousand standing guard on this side, and there were also many workers hard at work.

    The surface of the earth was freezing. However, the temperature beneath the ground was a lot higher. There was no doubt that this was the publicly recognized location to work on, and they were excavating some minerals from beneath the ground.

    Rare metals!

    Huo Yuhao finally got his answer.

    He hadn¡¯t expected that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s objective was a vein of rare metals that had appeared on the borders of the Extreme North!

    The Dou Ling Empire was thirty kilometers from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp, and about fifty kilometers from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s old barracks.

    There was no doubt that the Heavenly Soul Empire was originally mining here as well. This meant that the underground mine could possibly stretch out fifty kilometers. How abundant did those rare metals have to be? It was no wonder that the empress, Ju Zi, would venture out in person. The resources here were equally important to the Sun Moon Empire. They were very advanced in soul tools, but crafting soul tools, especially high-level ones, had an equally heavy requirement for materials.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were opened, and he finally understood the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s objective.

    No, I cannot let them seed, no matter what. If the Sun Moon Empire manages to obtain the incrediblyrge amounts of rare metals here to support them, who knows how many more soul tools they can craft to use against the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires? I have to find a way to ruin her n.

    However, Huo Yuhao was no longer so worried when he discovered Ju Zi¡¯s n. The reason was simple ¨C mining a mineral vein like this required a lot of human and materialbor. They couldn¡¯t achieve anything overnight. The Sun Moon Empire had to mine over a long period of time. Ju Zi and the others should first be establishing a base for excavation before they would start as quickly as possible so that they could transport the rare metals back to the Sun Moon Empire.

    Since that was the case, he had a chance.

    A cold grin appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. I can¡¯t deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army by myself, but just as the Snow Empress said, we are in the Extreme North. This was the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s old home.

    Without discussing the great boost in strength for someone who possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul, this was the world that the Snow Empress had ruled over a long time ago!

    The Snow Empress¡¯ status in the Extreme North was like the Beast God¡¯s status in the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡°Snow Empress, Ice Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao channeled his thoughts and summoned the two empresses.

    Two lights flickered as the Ice Empress and the Snow empress emerged from his body at the same time.

    Ever since they came across the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the two empresses had been integrating with the ice essence, and their origin powers were now a lot stronger than before. Even though they were still energy bodies, their forms were no different from material forms when they emerged from Huo Yuhao this time.

    The Ice Empress blushed faintly as she saw Huo Yuhao. This was the first time that she was facing him after she had revealed her true emotions when the Snow Empress provoked her.

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t tease her at a time like this. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Ice Empress, Snow Empress ¨C I have figured out the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s objective. They¡¯re trying to extract the rare metals here. How do we destroy their operation so that they can¡¯t take these resources away?¡±

    The Ice Empress resolved her embarrassment as she rushed to speak. ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? We¡¯ll chase them all away, and then we¡¯ll extract it for ourselves.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial muscles spasmed as he watched her speak so casually. He thought to himself, everyone who is in love seems to be blinded ¨C whether they are soul beasts or humans.

    ¡°What about you, Snow?¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ thoughts should be more normal.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°Ice is right! We¡¯ll chase them away, and this ce will belong to us. This is our territory anyway, and anybody who wants toe into our ce to pige is asking to die.¡±

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Huo Yuhao almost choked on his own saliva as he forced augh and said, ¡°The two of you think too highly of me. I am very ashamed! I don¡¯t have the strength to help you guys chase them away.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ answer was in. ¡°Have you forgotten that I said this is our territory? We are the true dictators of this ce. Even though we have be your Spirits, and we no longer possess the strength we did back then, it doesn¡¯t change the facts.¡±

    A thought urred to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Are you saying that we should draw on¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress tilted her head slightly as she pointed with her right hand toward the ground. The snow and ice around them instantly transformed into cyclones as snowkes danced through the air. The surrounding temperature immediately plummeted as her eyes became a little listless. ¡°It feels so good to be back! This is our home.¡±

    The Ice Empress nodded and chimed in. ¡°Yes! This is the first time that we¡¯ve been back ever since we left with Huo Yuhao. Let¡¯s go, Yuhao. We¡¯ll let them hustle. You¡¯ll follow us into the Extreme North, and we¡¯ll go into the core circle.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The two queens had spoken their piece. There was no other reason for him to hesitate. Yes! The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress had ruled over the ice-type and snow-type soul beasts in the Extreme North¡¯s icy ins for several hundred thousand years, and their authority in this ce ran deep. Even though they had be Spirits, they were still dictators in this ce.

    Huo Yuhao soared into the sky as he flew towards the Extreme North¡¯s core circle.

    Inside the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯smander¡¯s tent.

    Ju Zi calmly gave order after order. These orders included several important traps ¨C she understood Huo Yuhao too well, and from her perspective, he was extremely intelligent, even though he sometimes did things based on his emotions. Ju Zi knew that capturing him again after failing to do so thest time around would be even more difficult.

    She didn¡¯t want to be enemies with Huo Yuhao, but she was very clear that he would not give up on messing with her army when she didn¡¯t kill him. Furthermore, with his intelligence and abilities, it wouldn¡¯t take long for him to figure out what she was doing with such arge army. In the end, something like this was very hard to hide.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t intend to conceal her intentions any longer. She became a little excited and enthusiastic when she found out that Huo Yuhao was her opponent. Perhaps this was the best opportunity for them to sh.

    Such a long time had passed, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength had actually grown to such a level. She could feel that he was at least a Soul Sage, and he also had twin martial souls. His spiritual-type martial soul should have given him the soul skill that allowed him to conceal himself, and his ice-type soul skills naturally came from his Ultimate Ice marital soul. It was no wonder that his abilities were so powerful. The Extreme North could be said to be his turf.

    But, so what? I will never lose.

    Ju Zi¡¯s subordinates had all left, and she stood up by herself as a faint smile appeared on her face.

    Will you stille, Yuhao? I am eagerly waiting for that to happen. To be honest. I am not willing to be your opponent, but this is truly very interesting. We can have a great battle here in the Extreme North, and we shall see who will overpower who. I will not give you a chance to give me any more trouble if you end up in my hands. At least, I will only let you go after Iplete my objective here. Do you know, I am regretting not bringing you backst night a little ¨C but there are some things that you don¡¯t know about.

    Ju Zi smiled mysteriously as her thoughts stopped there.

    There was a secret deep in her heart that only she knew. Yes, she was the only one who knew, and she would protect this secret forever.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know that the happiness that you have given me will remain by my side?¡±

 Chapter 472.1 - The Snow Empress Dance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 472.1: The Snow Empress¡¯ Dance</h4>

    Time passed day after day. From Ju Zi¡¯s perspective, Huo Yuhao should be making his move soon. At least, he should make some kind of probing attack, and attempt to destroy some of their surveince soul tools on this side. His concealing abilities could be maximized only when there were fewer surveince soul tools.

    But what caught her a little off-guard was that she was waiting around as five days shed by. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t appear in the end, and their n was sessfully carried out. They were starting to extract the metals from the mine.

    The roads were too far, and in addition to the terrible conditions in a cold and dreadful ce like the Extreme North, transport was very inconvenient. Therefore, Ju Zi had decided before they departed that they would extract, refine and process everything on the spot. They would only transport all the rare metals when refinement wasplete.

    Xu Tianran was the only person who knew that she was here in person, while all the rare metals that they would extract from this operation would all belong to the empire¡¯s royal family, so that they could strengthen their control over the imperial family. Everything was arranged after she had a discussion with Xu Tianran.

    Has he really left? That¡¯s not quite like his personality! He has always been the kind to be braver as pressure piles on, and he will never admit defeat. Even if I am his enemy, there¡¯s no reason for him to leave just like that, since he is so determined to oppose me.

    Ju Zi was as dejected as she was suspicious. Truthfully, she would rather sh with Huo Yuhao than receive news once more that she had lost him. In the end, she had absolute authority over the army here, and all she had to do was not hurt him, even if they faced each other on the battlefield. She didn¡¯t feel veryfortable that he would leave just like that. This was howplicated a woman¡¯s emotions were.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t give up. After travelling continuously for a long time, and three days after departing the Sun Moon empire¡¯s great army, he was inside the Extreme North¡¯s core region.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t run into too much trouble as he flew forward. Typical soul beasts couldn¡¯t threaten him at all with his strength, and even those that were rtively stronger would immediately scamper away when he imitated the Ice Empress¡¯ aura.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was one of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings. Most high-level soul beasts from the Extreme North were very familiar with the Ice Empress¡¯ aura, and that was the reason why Huo Yuhao¡¯s imitation was almost always sessful.

    The temperature dropped even more as they entered the Extreme North¡¯s core region. There were hurricanes and biting winds high up in the sky. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to fly when he wasst here, so he didn¡¯t feel how powerful these hurricanes were. This time, he immediately suffered a blow as soon as he flew into the Extreme North¡¯s core region.

    A powerful gust of wind swept over, and Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t resist at all as he was thrown higher into the sky. This terrifying gust was incredible, and contained vigorous explosiveness. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s body hadn¡¯t been sufficiently tough, and if he hadn¡¯t possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul, he would have been torn to pieces.

    Huo Yuhao was barely able tond on the ground. He was ovee with fear ¨C with his knowledge of powerful individuals, that gust of wind was probably equivalent to an eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡¯s attack at full strength. He had just entered the Extreme North¡¯s core region! Wouldn¡¯t it be even more terrifying if he went deeper in? No wonder he almost never saw any soul beasts flying in the sky here. It lived up to its name as a forbidden grounds for humans.

    The Extreme North¡¯s core region shared a name with the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s ughtering Grounds. Even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Evildemon Forest was far inferior.

    In the end, the Evildemon Forest got its reputation because of how powerful the Evileye Tyrant King was. The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s ughtering Grounds contained many savage beasts, and the threat in the Extreme North¡¯s core region wasn¡¯t from its soul beasts ¨C it was from its environment.

    In such an environment, even Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t survive for too long. The air was incredibly dry, while the chilly winds cut like des. Not a single stalk of grass could be seen, and the incredibly low temperatures could continuously burn down a soul master¡¯s soul power. It was almost impossible for them to live here.

    Furthermore, ice-type soul masters were a minority anyway. Therefore, very few soul masters came to this ce to hunt soul beasts. This was the reason why the overall strength of the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts had grown to such a formidable level over recent years. If not for the fact that this ce wasn¡¯t that suitable for soul beasts to live, it probably wouldn¡¯t take long for the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts to catch up with the strength of the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts.

    Huo Yuhao no longer dared to fly in the sky with the lesson he had learned. He walked on the ground, and even though there were gusts of cold wind that cut through the air on the ground, they were much gentlerpared to the winds in the air.

    Huo Yuhao had the Skydream Iceworm to protect him thest time he was here, and only then could he resist the severe cold. He was back here many yearster now, and he felt a little strange.

    Back during the first time he was here, he was as weak as an antpared to the other beings in the Extreme North. Without the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s help, just the environment here would have killed him countless times over.

    Ten yearster today, he had the ability to face this environment¡¯s dreadful conditions by himself. Furthermore, two of the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings were apanying him.

    Ten years ago, him doing this was something that he didn¡¯t even dare to think about!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t ask the Ice Empress or the Snow Empress anything else as they continued forward. The Ice and the Snow Empress would tell him when they arrived.

    He moved forward very naturally as his eyes moved a little as he nced towards his left. There was life rippling from that ce, and those undtions were very intense.

    What¡¯s that?

    Huo Yuhao immediately used Spiritual Detection and projected it into the distance. He quickly saw several soul beasts.

    There were several Extreme Northern Bears that were incredibly muscr. These bears were veryrge, at least seven to eight meters tall when they stood up, while their bodies were extremely thick and tough. These soul beasts had thick fur, and their strength was terrifying. Furthermore, their explosiveness was so vigorous that they could spring over short distances as quickly as agility-type soul beasts. They were high up in the food chain within the Extreme North¡¯s icy ins.

    There were four bears here, and three of them were grown, while there was only one that was rtively smaller, only three meters tall. It looked like a baby bear.

    Full-grown Extreme Northern Bears had to have at least a thousand years of cultivation, but one couldn¡¯t underestimate their threat just because they were only thousand year soul beasts. The Extreme Northern Bears in this ce were like the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears in the Great Star Dou Forest. Thousand year Extreme Northern Bears could rival normal ten thousand year soul beasts, and even though their fighting strength still couldn¡¯t match up to that of the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, very few soul beasts dared to provoke them.

    At this moment, these four Extreme Northern Bears were charging at Huo Yuhao at breakneck speed.

    Huo Yuhao instantly felt a little exasperated, because he remembered the Extreme Northern Bears¡¯ characteristics. Powerful soul beasts like that in the Extreme North had very sensitive senses of smell, because the Extreme North always had a scarcity of food. Therefore, their sense of smell became very strong through their consistent evolution. They could smell other living beings from kilometers away, and it was clear that they had discovered him, and were treating him like prey.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t run, because he remembered something else when he recalled some information about the Extreme Northern Bears. When he was undergoing training in the Ultimate Soldier n, his teacher that was teaching him about food told him that the Extreme Northern Bears¡¯ paws were the most delicious amongst the other bears. That was because they were living in the Extreme North, and under continuous refining from the severe cold, their paws were especially fat and juicy. They could be cooked with certain special methods, and they would taste extremely delicious, while being extremely nutritious for humans. They were very beneficial to soul masters.

    However, nobody really dared to try to kill them, because they were naturally very ferocious and powerful. They lived in the Extreme North¡¯s core region, and soul masters¡¯ appetites were not enough for them to give their lives in this ce. Therefore, the Extreme Northern Bears¡¯ paws were sold at extremely high prices in every empire on the continent.

    There are four Extreme Northern Bears! Since you¡¯re treating me like food, heh, then I will not give you a chance. Let¡¯s see who gets to eat who in the end.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hurt them!¡± The Ice Empress and Snow Empress¡¯ voices rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched as he attempted to resist them. ¡°Why? Only they can treat me like food, but I¡¯m not allowed to eat them? What kind for reasoning is that?¡±

    The Ice Empress grunted coldly and said, ¡°If I say no, that means no. There aren¡¯t many soul beasts in the Extreme North in the first ce, and these bears are considered one of the rarer species. If these bears can grow until they reach ten thousand years of cultivation, they will be the main fighting force of the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that you want tounch a beast wave? Who are you going to target?¡± Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly.

    The Ice Empress snapped, ¡°What do you think? Don¡¯t you want to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army? You think you can do that by yourself.¡±

    ¡°What? You canmand those ice bears?¡± Huo Yuhao answered in shock.

    The Ice Empressughed coldly. She said nothing, but the arrogance in her eyes was very evident.

    The four bears were charging very swiftly, and it didn¡¯t take long before they appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision.

    The Extreme Northern Bears were very muscr, while their limbs were very well-developed, but their brains weren¡¯t that simple. The three grown bears swiftly dispersed, and the burliest one was in the middle as it dashed toward Huo Yuhao. The other two wrapped around towards the nks, while the smallest one followed behind. They were surrounding him.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried at all. The only thing he was thinking about was the bears¡¯ paws ¨C what a pity that they were so delicious!

    Thergest bear charged first. When it saw Huo Yuhao, who was standing there calmly, and the Ice and Snow Empress behind him, it was also momentarily stunned. It was the first time that it hade across humans that were so calm.

 Chapter 472.2 - The Snow Empress Dance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 472.2: The Snow Empress¡¯ Dance</h4>

    Soul beasts that had rtively lower cultivation like these had never seen the Ice Empress or Snow Empress before, especially when they didn¡¯t have this form before. They were in human form now, and they were no different from humans when they were deliberately hiding their aura.

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Extreme Northern Bear roared as his majesty was disregarded. It charged at Huo Yuhao with his muscr body, and its enormous frame stood up as it swung its paws down at him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had been trained on it the entire time. He could clearly feel that when the bear was using its strength, its thick fur was immediately charged with intense soul power, and every single hair became like needles. Its fur was its best defense.

    There was no question that this bear was a kind of soul beast where its own body was its main strength. The Extreme Northern Bears shared simr characteristics as the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, except it didn¡¯t have the Darkgolen Terrorw Bear¡¯s fearsome ws.

    Huo Yuhao nced at the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress, and when he realized that they didn¡¯t intend to do anything, he couldn¡¯t just stand there and let the bear smack him! He went forward to face the bear with form like a demon, and he grabbed the bear¡¯s right paw that was swiping down at him with both arms as he suddenly used his strength.

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul didn¡¯t have anything that was based on strength, he had obtained part of the Golden Dragon¡¯s strength after Wang Qiu¡¯er had sacrificed herself for him. In addition to the fact that he had seven soul rings, he definitely wasn¡¯t afraid of the bear in front of him in terms of strength.

    Huo Yuhao swung the bear¡¯s enormous body that was eight meters tall into the air and sent it crashing into the icy surface as an explosive sound rang out.

    The other two bears that were charging in from the nk were taken by surprise. However, they elerated as they charged toward Huo Yuhao furiously.

    This is how a male and two females are like!Huo Yuhao¡¯s body flickered, and he didn¡¯t take them by force anymore. Instead, he ran behind the Ice and Snow Empress.

    ¡°If you two aren¡¯t going to let me eat bear paws, shouldn¡¯t you at least be doing something?¡±

    The Ice Empress grunted as she unleashed her aura that she was originally suppressing. An unrivaled aura was immediately released, as a tremendous pressure that belonged to a hundred thousand year soul beast bore down on the three ice bears.

    The three bears that went berserk seemed like they were doused with a bucket of cold water as their hysterical aggression immediately disappeared. They growled softly as they stumbled and retreated. The bear that Huo Yuhao had mmed into the ground rolled onto one side, and its manner was almost a littleical.

    The tiny bear that was following from behind halted immediately when it felt this aura. It covered its head with its paws andy prostrate on the ground with its buttocks pointed high up into the air ¨C just like that, and that was as amusing as it could get.

    She¡¯s the Ice Empress after all!Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of admiration.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ eyes shed with green light as a strange sound rang out in her mouth. This sound had a very intriguing and alluring quality, and it was apparently the soul beasts¡¯nguage.

    The three bears nodded continuously when they heard her voice. A superior that was giving them so much pressure meant they didn¡¯t even consider resisting.

    The three bears got to their feet after a moment as they swiftly ran away into the distance.

    The Ice Empress stared at them as they left and muttered under her breath, ¡°It feels great to be back! Snow, how nice would it be if we were still the dictators of this ce? We don¡¯t have any natural enemies here, and nobody is around to oppose us. This is our paradise.¡±

    The Snow Empress floated next to her and smiled as she replied, ¡°I beg to differ. I have begun to understand humans ever since I¡¯ve walked into the human world. Over the past months and years, we have always detested humans, and we hate them for disturbing our way of life. However, we are disturbed considerably less by soul beasts herepared to the Great Star Dou Forest. Even though I have lost my memory after following Yuhao, I can still see the outside world very clearly as the Snow Lady. We have to admit that humans possess intelligence and creativity superior to ours, and we can only adapt to nature, while they can change everything. This the reason why humans can conquer the entire continent even though they were so weak in the beginning when they were born. They¡¯re just too creative. If I were given a chance to choose again, perhaps I¡¯d choose to be a human.¡±

    The Ice Empress¡¯ body quivered. She didn¡¯t think the Snow Empress would say something like that, as this wasn¡¯t the Snow Empress that she knew. The Ice Empress turned towards her, and her eyes were filled with astonishment.

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°Are you surprised? Have you not seen through everything, Ice? Think about it ¨C how long have we been living in the Extreme North, and how long have we been ruling over this ce? Haven¡¯t you had enough? Right now, I just want to use the remaining years of my life to experience other things, as much as I can. This is the only way for me to feel excited, and for me to feel glorious. I won¡¯t regret it even if Yuhao doesn¡¯t seed in the end. Perhaps I will choose topress my origin and fuse with another human when that happens, and I¡¯ll be a human once more.¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Snow.¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve changed. Otherwise, how could I allow you to be together with Skydream? Speaking of which, how is he worthy of you?¡±

    The Ice Empress blushed as she lowered her head. She had been concealing her emotions ever since that day, and she hadn¡¯t really paid any regard to the Skydream Iceworm. The Skydream Iceworm wasn¡¯t worried, and he just stuck with her everyday and asked about her wellbeing. The Ice Empress¡¯ expression of her love gave him blissful happiness, and what made him even more excited was that the Snow Empress didn¡¯t stop them from being together ¨C instead, she was adding fuel to the fire!

    The Ice Empress said after a few moments, ¡°Yes! You¡¯ve changed, and I have too. Perhaps, all this is because humans have affected us.¡± She turned towards Huo Yuhao as she spoke.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask any of you to change anything!¡± Huo Yuhao said helplessly.

    The Ice Empress grunted and said, ¡°We can see everything you do. You have been changing us through imperceptible influence.¡±

    She paused for a moment after that, then continued, ¡°Maybe I should feel fortunate, because you are the one who has shown us the world of humans. Before I met you, I had always believed that humans were tiny and pathetic with all their avarice, cruelty, and cunning. All they knew was to take from mother nature. But you have gradually changed my perspective after we met, and I have realized that there are humans like you who are determined with their emotions. Your creativity and your talent, and a great many other things, weren¡¯t bestowed upon you by me or the Skydream Iceworm. We are helping you, but the truth is that you¡¯ve been helping us too. We have learned a great many things from you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Can you not be so touching? However, Brother Skydream should really thank me. Without me as a vessel, he wouldn¡¯t have had a chance of moving your heart.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about him!¡± The Ice Empress retorted bashfully.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he continued. ¡°Ice Empress, since you¡¯ve already confirmed your feelings, why do you still choose to run away from them? In this world, no matter how powerful you are or how powerful we will be in the future, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Just like that day when I was surrounded by enemies on all sides. I would never have expected tond in a trap, and if I weren¡¯t lucky that day in addition to my appropriate response, perhaps I would have died. And your destinies would have changed because of my death.¡±

    The Ice Empress frowned said, ¡°What are you trying to say? Don¡¯t beat about the bush!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m trying to tell you that life is short, and we have to enjoy our happiness while we still can. Since you have already confirmed your feelings, why don¡¯t you treat them ordingly? Brother Skydream truly likes you, and since you like him too, then you should ept his feelings seriously.¡±

    The Ice Empress blushed even more as she rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You males just know how to help other males!¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled, but said nothing else. He turned towards the Snow Empress and said, ¡°What should we do next?¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled inly and said, ¡°We wait ¨C all we must do is wait here.¡±

    Wait?Huo Yuhao was starting to understand.It seems like the Ice Empress asked those bears to pass some messages along.

    Right at this moment, the Snow Empress¡¯ elegant frame suddenly slid backwards and drifted into the sky like an apparition.

    ¡°Be careful, Snow Empress,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly shouted at her. He had personally experienced how frightening those hurricanes were in the sky, but the Ice Empress revealed a mocking smile.

    The Snow Empress seemed like she didn¡¯t hear Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice as she floated into the air. She was just dancing in the air, and she stepped on nothing as she waltzed into the winds.

    She gradually released her aura. Her aura wasn¡¯t as intimidating as the Ice Empress, but Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that everything dimmed when her aura was unleashed.

    The white snow disappeared. All the ice and snow became blue, and the figure dancing in the sky was the only thing that was white.

    Her long sleeves waved as white ribbons danced around her. Those blue snowkes circled around her as they rippled and unfolded.

    The Snow Lady was like the spirit of the snow. Her wonderful posture made her seem like she had be the core of the Extreme North¡¯s core region.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were frozen. He had never expected someone to have such a beautiful posture, and that someone could be so alluring.

    The Snow Empress had unrivaled beauty. In this moment, she seemed almostpletely immersed in her dance as the gusts in the air grew gentle. The temperature seemed to rise a little amidst the fluttering snowkes. There was no warmth, but there was no coldness either. There was only a pure and refreshing coolness.

    The blue hues stretched far into the distance. Everywhere her eyes could reach had been tainted blue, while the sky and the ground could no longer be told apart.

    This feeling is just wonderful.Huo Yuhao believed, in that moment, that this was the most gorgeous scene he had ever seen. His heart was intoxicated in this moment, while the ice-type soul power in his body rippled along with the Snow Empress¡¯ dance.

 Chapter 472.3 - The Snow Empress Dance

    <h4 ss>Chapter 472.3: The Snow Empress¡¯ Dance</h4>

    The Snow Lady danced in the icy skies.

    The Snow Empress was a unique being ¨C she was a living being formed by the purest ice-type origin energy of heaven and earth within the Extreme North¡¯s core region, and after countless years of gestation and growth, had finally developed her own thoughts and intelligence. She finally became an intelligent creature.

    Her original form wasposed of the purest elements. If the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence was a treasure, then she was the Extreme North¡¯s daughter.

    The Icesky Snow Lady, blessed and unique ¨C the Snow Empress, dancing as snowkes drifted in the air.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that he was slowly experiencing moments of enlightenment from this incredibly beautiful dance. But even he wasn¡¯t clear what he was being enlightened about. Perhaps this was one of his most peculiar experiences.

    The Ice Empress stood beside Huo Yuhao, and her eyes werepletely intoxicated. She was also immersed in the Snow Empress¡¯ dance. The Snow Empress had always been a fairy of the snow!

    The Snow Empress¡¯ dance continued for an hour or so before she finally descended from the sky and returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    Her expression seemed very calm, and not as intoxicated as the Ice Empress was, but Huo Yuhao could tell from her emotions that she was feeling deeply happy.

    Yes! They are home, and they should be happy.

    Right at this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt arge mass of life energy emerge from beyond the horizon. This wave traveled in their direction very quickly.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed Spiritual Detection and directed it into the distance.

    ¡°That is¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils instantly contracted, and a fearful look appeared in his eyes.

    The Extreme North¡¯s core region was still a world of ice and snow that stretched to the end of the horizon, and not a single trace of life could be seen. However, Huo Yuhao could see within the range of his Spiritual Detection that there were thousands and thousands of soul beasts that were gathering in his direction.

    These soul beasts took many different forms ¨C there were flying soul beasts that were rarely seen in the Extreme North, while more of them were on the ground. The Extreme Northern Bears that Huo Yuhao had seen before were here, and there were many other species that he had never seen before. Every soul beast seemed very excited, and they were running in his direction as quickly as they could.

    This was but the second time that Huo Yuhao had seen such a spectacr gathering of soul beasts. Thest time this had happened was when the Great Star Dou Forest hadunched a beast wave against Shrek City.

    There weren¡¯t as many soul beasts as there werepared to back then, but this was almost a miracle, considering that the Extreme North¡¯s core region was almost uninhabited!

    Huo Yuhao quickly calmed down after a very momentary shock.Perhaps only the Snow Empress can create a scene as spectacr as this in the Extreme North. Even the Ice Empress isn¡¯t as good as she is in this respect.

    The Snow Empress was number three in the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and she was the Extreme North¡¯s true dictator. She was a formidable soul beast with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation.

    Of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, only the top three controlled a particr region. The Beast God, Di Tian, controlled the core of the continent, the Great Star Dou Forest. The Evileye Tyrant King ruled over the Evildemon Forest, where there were the most soul beasts within the Sun Moon Empire. However, the Snow Empress¡¯ reach was the widest.

    In the icy ins of the Extreme North that stretched to the end of the world, every single soul beast bowed to hermand. She was queen in this ce, and she was also the dictator.

    The Beast God or the Evileye Tyrant King had nevere to this ce to challenge the Snow Empress¡¯ authority. This was because not even the Beast God was confident of defeating the Snow Empress in an environment like the Extreme North. Furthermore, no other ce inhabited by soul beasts was as cohesive as the Extreme North.

    Huo Yuhao had merged with the Snow Empress by chance and coincidence back then, and she became his spirit. The Snow Empress almost made his body explode because she had too much power on her own, and the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux had to burn the remnants of his divine sense so that Huo Yuhao couldplete the equality pact in the end.

    The Snow Empress became the Snow Lady afterwards. In the beginning, she was like Huo Yuhao¡¯s daughter, and her cute demeanor made everyone express tender affection for her. The Snow Lady gradually grew up, but she was always by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She was always helping him, apanying him, and supporting him.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, the Snow Lady had already be family. Her status in his heart could almostpare to Dong¡¯er.

    However, the Snow Empress had recovered her memory not too long ago due to the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Huo Yuhao felt bewildered and helpless ¨C he wasn¡¯t afraid of anything else but that the Snow Empress would leave him. The Snow Lady had be the Snow Empress, and he could feel that they were less intimate, and there was more reverence.

    That reverence in his heart had reached the highest possible level at this moment. He finally understood that the little Snow Lady that had once treated him like a father was the dictator of the Extreme North, and she ruled over thousands and thousands of soul beasts.

    The Snow Empress ¨C she¡¯s the Snow Empress after all!

    A faint sadness gradually appeared at the bottom of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and he subconsciously took a step back. His expression was very calm, but there was a dash of sorrow deep in his heart. If it were possible, he truly hoped that the Snow Empress was still the Snow Lady ¨C he even hoped that she would remain as the tiny Snow Lady that had formed a pact with him in the beginning.

    The Snow Empress just stood there silently and gazed into the distance as the corner of her mouth curved into a gorgeous smile.

    The immense pack of soul beasts came ever closer in the distance. The Ice Empress¡¯ eyes also grew excited ¨C yes, they were back, and they were back in the world where they reigned supreme.

    Thousands of soul beasts thundering across the Extreme North¡¯s icy ins ¨C what a rare sight! The enormous beast wave was congregating in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction very quickly, and they stopped only when they were a thousand meters away from the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress.

    All the soul beasts in the Extreme North slowlyy prostrate on the ground after they reached this ce, and they faced the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress with the most respectful and worshipful attitudes.

    The soul beasts in the distance gradually formed a circle that was two thousand meters in diameter. This circle¡¯s thickness gradually increased as the number of soul beasts grew.

    Most of the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts were white. If one didn¡¯t look closely, one would think that they were just snow piled up on tiny hills. Some soul beasts that were rtivelyrger in size were particrly eye-catching.

    The Snow Empress stood there quietly as the expression on her beautiful face grew cold. She was just standing there, proud and aloof, and there was no other soul beast that dared to stand as proudly as she did.

    They were in worship; they were worshipping their ruler.

    The Snow Empress had been gone for far too long. But even so, nobody in the Extreme North dared to forget her aura. She was the one who protected their paradise, and her existence made every soul beast in the Extreme North bow to hermand. Not a single powerful soul beast dared to resist her rule.

    The Extreme North had had very few conflicts ever since the Snow Empress took over as ruler. Nobody dared to challenge or vite her authority. Every single soul beast knew that the Snow Empress was the Icesky Snow Lady, who was the spirit of the snow. She could sense everything where there was snow and ice. In the beginning, they were afraid of the Snow Empress, but this fear slowly became reverence. The most ferocious and dominant soul beasts in the Extreme North eventually lost their lives to the Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques.

    There were no longer any voices of resistance since then. The only person who could decide everything and dictate everything was the Icesky Snow Lady¡¯s ice-cold voice.

    More and more soul beasts gathered at the outeryer. However, the icy ins were still extremely quiet, and one had to listen very closely to hear the soul beasts¡¯ breathing. They were panting with excitement ¨C for many of these soul beasts, to be able to see the Snow Empress in person was their life¡¯s greatest honor.

    The bears from before had also returned. However, they were just lying prostrate on the outeryer; they weren¡¯t even worthy of entering the inner circle.

    There was a bear that was exceptionallyrge that returned with them. This bear¡¯s tremendous body was like a tiny hill as it walked over, and even though it was travelling on all fours, it was still more than fifteen meters tall. Thick fur covered its immense frame, and it radiated faint silver hues.

    When this enormous bear appeared, the soul beasts that were prostrate on the ground swiftly opened a path so that it could pass. It walked to the innermost circle and faced the Snow Empress before ity prostrate as well. Its action was just like the tiny bear that Huo Yuhao had seen before ¨C its giant buttocks were raised high into the air, and its upper body was t on the ground. Itsrge head swayed faintly as it whimpered softly at the Snow Empress.

    That sound made it seem like the bear had just met its owner, and it was filled with admiration.

    The Snow Empress smiled faintly when she saw the bear, and she waved at him gently.

    The soul beasts prostrate on the Extreme North immediately stared at the ice bear, and their eyes were filled with envy.

    The gigantic bear was overjoyed as it stood up and howled tedly into the air before it ran towards the Snow Empress.

    The bear was far too big, and its run was like a tiny mountain jumping up and down in the icy ins of the Extreme North. Its incredibly fat body would leave deep marks in ground every time itnded.

    One thousand meters was but a blink of an eye for this bear. It suddenly slowed down only when it was fifty meters away from the Snow Empress, and it actually crawled thest fifty meters until it was right in front of her. Its head was over two meters in diameter, but it still shoved its face before the Snow Empress. Hisrge nose, which was different from its white fur, and was a little pinkish, poked forward. Huo Yuhao almost felt as if this fellow¡¯s breathing could create hurricanes.

    He didn¡¯t need to use Spiritual Detection for him to judge clearly that this bear was a hundred thousand year soul beast. Even though its strength couldn¡¯tpare to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Bear Lord, Huo Yuhao figured that this bear couldn¡¯t be that much weaker. However, it was extremely respectful towards the Snow Empress. This bear was much more respectful than the Bear Lord was toward the Beast God.

 Chapter 473.1 - Father? Grandfather?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 473.1: Father? Grandfather?</h4>

    The Snow Empress smiled, and her smile was like a flower that bloomed everywhere across the icy ins. The soul beasts who didn¡¯t dare to even breathe heavily all exhaled in relief, because they could feel the Snow Empress¡¯ happiness at the same time.

    The Snow Empress raised her hand and ced it gently on the bear¡¯s enormous nose. She stroked it tenderly and said softly, ¡°You¡¯ve grown fat again, Little Bai.¡±

    Little Bai¡­

    This fellow is ¡°little¡±?

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched.Is he the Snow Empress¡¯ pet?

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang out next to Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear. ¡°The Snow Empress found Little Bai as a tiny ice bear when she first called herself queen, and he has been living with the Snow Empress ever since. It has been at least two hundred thousand years. Little Bai rules over his own domain now, but he¡¯s always treated the Snow Empress like a mother. That¡¯s the reason why I didn¡¯t let you harm his descendants.¡±

    More than two hundred thousand years of cultivation ¨C this meant the enormous ice bear in front of Huo Yuhao could be considered a savage beast.

    The Ice Empress lowered her voice and said, ¡°Little Bai¡¯s strength isparable to that of the Tai Tan Snowdevil King, but the Snow Empress asked him not to fight the Snowdevil King. Furthermore, he doesn¡¯t want to share the same status as the Snow Empress, and that¡¯s the reason why the outer world only knows about three of us, the Extreme North¡¯s Three Heavenly Kings.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded softly. He was full ofplicated emotions ¨C the Snow Empress¡¯ rising power was a good thing for him, but he felt as if she was getting further and further away from him. It seemed like the Snow Lady was nevering back.

    Little Bai seemed very blissful as the Snow Empress continued to caress him. He whimpered from time to time, and his enormous white buttocks would twitch again and again in bliss.

    Right at this moment, the circle of soul beasts that was several hundred meters thick separated once more as a gigantic figure appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision. There was a whole patch of other enormous shadows that appeared along with the first one.

    The soul beasts that had formed a circle swiftly separated and opened a path for then. The enormous figure that was at the forefront strode into the inner circle.

    This figure looked a lotrger than the Ice Bear King, Little Bai ¨C that was because this soul beast was just too tall.

    This soul beast was at least one hundred and twenty meters tall. This was thergest species of soul beast that Huo Yuhao had ever seen; even the Beast God wasn¡¯t that that tall if he was prostrate. Furthermore, the Beast God always showed himself in human form.

    What was even stranger was that this enormous, terrifying soul beast had a build that was very simr to that of humans. It had long and slender arms, and snowy white fur covered its entire body. Even its face had simr features to that of humans, except there were many wrinkles on its forehead, and its skin had a copper tint. It had tworge fangs, and those two fangs showed its true colors as a soul beast.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t need the Ice Empress to exin for him to guess this species of soul beast ¨C the Tai Tan Snowdevils, that the Ice Empress had just mentioned.

    Only the Tai Tan Snowdevils could have such enormous sizes. More importantly, the Tai Tan Snowdevils were amunity.

    There were more than a hundred Tai Tan Snowdevils behind this one. Even though they were not as tall as the first one, their average height was more than eighty meters. More than ten of those who were exceptionally powerful were at least a hundred meters tall, and their muscr frames seemed like they could hold up the skies.

    The other soul beasts that resided in the icy ins clearly created an evenrger path when the Snowdevils came, and nobody dared to block their path.

    ¡°Snow Empress.¡± The Tai Tan Snowdevil King didn¡¯t continue forward once he entered the innermost circle. Instead, he knelt down onto the ground on a single knee and called out respectfully. He was speaking the humannguage, and he was the only soul beast that dared to actively address the Snow Empress directly amongst all the other soul beasts. He greeted the Snow Empress while he nced at the Ice Bear King, who was lying down next to her, and the envy in his eyes was evident.

    The Snow Empress nodded at the Tai Tan Snowdevil King and said, ¡°Tai, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King hurriedly answered respectfully, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s been long time, Snow Empress. Ah! You ¨C you¡¯re the Ice Empress?¡± His eyes quicklynded on the Ice Empress, who wasn¡¯t far behind the Snow Empress.

    The Ice Empress didn¡¯t hide her own aura, so she could be easily recognized.

    The Ice Empress nodded at the Tai Tan Snowdevil King, but said nothing. The Snow Empress was there, so this wasn¡¯t the time for her to speak. The Snow Empress¡¯ authority and majesty in the Extreme North was something that no soul beast would dare to vite.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°Ah Tai, you can get up.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Tai Tan Snowdevil King acknowledged as he hurriedly got to his feet. The group of Tai Tan Snowdevils behind him had already gotten down on their knees like dominos long ago, and they all appeared as reverent as could be.

    The scene was just too mind-blowing. The Tai Tan Snowdevil¡¯s tremendous size was absolutely unrivaled amongst ground-walking soul beasts. So many Tai Tan Snowdevils kneeling was just too spectacr.

    The Snow Empress waved at the Tai Tan Snowdevil and said, ¡°Come, sit down beside me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± The Tai Tan Snowdevil King immediately ran over joyously to the Snow Empress¡¯ side. The disturbance he created wasparable to the Ice Bear King as he jogged over.

    Huo Yuhao witnessed a very amusing detail in this moment. The Ice Bear King was still enjoying the Snow Empress¡¯ caresses, but his eyes were closed into slits as he side-eyed the Tai Tan Snowdevil King. The small part of his pupils clearly exuded disdain. It was evident that his rtionship with the Tai Tan Snowdevil King wasn¡¯t very amicable.

    Dong, dong, dong ¨C the Snowdevil King trod over to the Snow Empress and sat down with his legs crossed next to the bear. The Ice Bear King and the Snowdevil King were just too immense, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt as if another mountain appeared in front of him.

    The Snowdevil King didn¡¯t dare to mess around in front of the Snow Empress. However, he clearly touched the Ice Bear King¡¯s body when he sat down, and those two fellows shoved each other forcefully but nobody got the better of each other. However, a series of cracking sounds could be heard on the tough ice beneath them.

    Such terrifying fellows!

    Huo Yuhao had made some rough judgments about the soul beasts in the Extreme North over this period of observation. He realized that the soul beasts on the icy ins were much more cohesive and unitedpared to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts. Both the Ice Bear King and the Tai Tan Snowdevil King were at the apex of the food chain in this ce, but they still didn¡¯t dare to mess around in front of the Snow Empress at all. They submittedpletely to the Snow Empress, and the other soul beasts did the same. The Snow Empress was a dictator, in the truest meaning of the word.

    The Extreme North¡¯s overall strength perhaps wasn¡¯t sufficient to fight against the Great Star Dou Forest, but that would only be the case if the battle happened in that region. If this battle happened in the Extreme North, then Huo Yuhao was inclined to believe that the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts were more likely to emerge victorious. After all, the environment in this ce was far too vile for typical soul beasts.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°Alright, since almost everyone is here, we can begin. I haven¡¯t seen everyone in such a long time, and I am very happy to be back.¡±

    Even though there wasn¡¯t a single hint of a smile on her face, the thousands of soul beasts immediately cried out in joy once she said those words. Deafening roars and soundwaves forcefully tore the hurricanes apart across the icy ins. Every single soul beast grew excited, as if they were ovee with mass bloodlust.

    The Snow Empress gradually raised her right hand and pressed it against the air. The ear-splitting howls of thousands and thousands of soul beasts immediately stopped, and everything returned to silence.

    The Snow Empress eyed the Tai Tan Snowdevil King beside her. The Snowdevil King could feel her gaze, and immediately lowered his head to curry favor with her.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°I have been in closed-door cultivation over these few years, and I have been working hard to break through the next bottleneck. Every one of you knows that I¡¯m not young anymore, and I have been alive for far too long. Di Tian, the Evileye, and I have reached the end. The world of the future belongs to you.¡±

    ¡°The Extreme North is a paradise. The thing that has made me most content is peace in the Extreme North. I have gathered everyone here for two important matters. First, I¡¯m here to announce to everyone that I will be going into another episode of closed-door cultivation after meeting everyone here today, and I don¡¯t know how that will turn out. I am here to bid everyone farewell. It¡¯s very likely that this is thest time we will meet. Secondly, I¡¯m here to appoint my sessor.¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ words caused an uproar across the Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts.

    The Snow Empress was the Extreme North¡¯s divine guardian! The Snow Empress said that she could be leaving this world soon, and she wanted to attempt a very tough breakthrough. That was just unbelievable, and this was like a cmity for them.

    Forceful roars and howls could be heard as the Tai Tan Snowdevil King suddenly got to his feet. He hammered his broad chest heavily, and his furious howls crackled so explosively that they suppressed the uproar from all the other soul beasts.

    A formidable aura mixed with boundless murderousness permeated the skies as the soul beasts who were just making a racket lowered their heads frightfully. However, that didn¡¯t cause their emotions to settle. The Snow Empress was God in the Extreme North. Could the Extreme North still be the same ce without their God?

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King surveyed everyone coldly before he sat down beside the Snow Empress once more.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°I dere that Ah Tai will seed me from this moment onwards. He will be ruler of the Extreme North, and you have to respect him like you respect me and listen to his orders, and you have to support him to maintain peace in the Extreme North. Ah Tai is a little rough and crude, but he is honest and sincere, and he is very honorable. He doesn¡¯t rely on his strength to overpower other species, and he is the most suitable candidate.¡±

 Chapter 473.2 - Father? Grandfather?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 473.2: Father? Grandfather?</h4>

    The Extreme North¡¯s soul beasts were astonished once more once that was said. From the soul beasts¡¯ perspective, only the Ice Empress could seed the Snow Empress¡¯ position! Furthermore, all the soul beasts in the Extreme North knew that the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress were practically conjoined, and they shared a great rtionship. Of the Three Heavenly Kings, the first two Heavenly Kings could even match the Beast God¡¯s prowess if they teamed up. If the battle was to ur here, the Beast God would have to avoid them.

    The Snow Empress relinquishing her position as ruler over the Extreme North was enough to shock them. The fact that she wanted to pass her position to the Tai Tan Snowdevil King instead of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was even more unbelievable for them.

    Even the Tai Tan Snowdevil King himself widened his eyes and stared at the Snow Empress. He thought that she had made a mistake.

    The Snow Empress gazed back at the Snowdevil King and nodded in his direction to show him that her words rang true.

    ¡°Snow Empress, you¡­¡± The Snowdevil King¡¯s voice was clearly a little shaky. However, he wasn¡¯t shaky from excitement, but from grief.

    Only savage beasts knew what the Snow Empress¡¯ arrangement meant ¨C her decision meant she wasn¡¯t confident of breaking through her next bottleneck, and that the Ice Empress was facing a simr situation. Otherwise, with the rtionship between the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress would never pass her position to him.

    A faint smile appeared on the Snow Empress¡¯ face as she said, ¡°Ah Tai, you have umted much credit over these years, and you have truly grown up. I have been watching your every move from day to day, and I am very happy that you have been doing well over the years. This position has always been more suitable for you than the Ice Empress ¨C her personality is too strong, and her tribe isn¡¯t as dominant as the Tai Tan Snowdevils. Therefore, I have always thought of you as my sessor in my heart. You have to remember that even if I¡¯m not around, the Extreme North will still be the same. You have to be kind to every species, and you have to uphold my vision, that the Extreme North has to be sufficiently united so that we will not be bullied and invaded by external enemies.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± Large teardrops slipped from the Snowdevil Kings eyes. The Snow Empress¡¯ instructions to him were something he had never expected.

    The Snow Empress passed her position to him, and that was sufficient to show her trust. He had always been delightfully willing under the Snow Empress¡¯mand. He couldn¡¯t help but feel sorrowful when he thought that the Snow Empress could reach the end of her life.

    The Ice Bear King, who was prostrate beside the Snow Empress, finally reopened his eyes and stared at the Tai Tan Snowdevil King. There was a little bit of unwillingness in his eyes, and he didn¡¯t mask his emotions. However, the Snowdevil King¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t on the Ice Bear King in this moment.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°Ah Tai, and my other children. You must remember that my departure doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m dead. If my attempt is unsessful, then there¡¯s nothing else to be said, but if I¡¯m sessful, than even Di Tian will never surpass me. My soul will always be in the Extreme North whether or not I am sessful, and I will always protect you. Anybody who vites the Extreme North¡¯s rules is my enemy.¡±

    ¡°Roar, roar, roar¡ª¡± Three continuous roars erupted from the mass of soul beasts. All the soul beasts in the Extreme North howled hysterically as they released the emotions in their hearts.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King stood up once more and took a few steps back before he kneeled on both knees in front of the Snow Empress. He kowtowed, and his immense frame trembled continuously from the beginning to the end. Every single kowtow looked very sincere.

    The Snow Empress grinned as she nodded at the Snowdevil King. ¡°You can stand up, Ah Tai. There¡¯s something I need you to do before I leave.¡±

    The Snowdevil King immediately raised his head and said reverently, ¡°No matter when, only you control the Extreme North, Snow Empress. Only you are ruler of the Extreme North, and I trust that you will be back. I will guard this ce for you when you¡¯re not around. I¡­ I will await your return.¡±

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King sobbed uncontrobly.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ expression changed as she witnessed his emotions. ¡°Alright. If I am sessful, I will definitely return to visit. Perhaps that won¡¯t take too long.¡± She turned around as she said that and nced at Huo Yuhao, and her warm gaze stunned him momentarily.

    ¡°Alright, I have said all that needs to be said. Everyone can go. You can return and continue your lives. Any important matters in the icy ins in the future will be decided by Ah Tai.¡±

    The Snow Empress floated into the air as she spoke, and she glided continuously and levitated silently high in the sky.

    The Snowdevil King hurriedly took a few steps forward and stood beneath her.

    The Snow Empress drifted down andnded on his broad shoulder.

    There were so many soul beasts in the icy ins, but not a single one moved. They justy there, prostrate, and knelt and kowtowed at the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress stood on the Snowdevil King¡¯s shoulders and gradually turned around. Her eyes were covered with mist as she stared at her kinsmen, who had followed her for so many years.

    ¡°Go, my children. Let me watch you leave.¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ voice travelled far into the distance.

    The soul beasts on the icy ins got up one after another as they listened to her orders, and they gradually dispersed. However, they would turn back after a few steps as they departed, and they stared at the old ruler of the Extreme North with reluctant eyes. From this moment on, the Three Heavenly Kings were no more, and all that was left was their new ruler.

    The Snow Empress just stood there quietly, and the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was also motionless. The Ice Bear King stood up at the same time, and he was over forty meters tall as he stood up straight. He was still much shorter than the Snowdevil King, but his muscrity was quiteparable. The Ice Bear King¡¯s silver fur flickered continuously, and fierce lights shed in his eyes. He nced at the Snowdevil King from time to time, and then at the soul beasts that were leaving in the distance. His emotions were clearly rippling.

    Huo Yuhao stood with the Ice Empress from the beginning to the end as he witnessed this session of authority in the Extreme North. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh with admiration at the Snow Empress ¨CSnow Empress, you are third of the Ten Great Savage Beasts after all!

    A whole hour passed before all the soul beasts gradually departed, and the Extreme North returned to tranquility.

    Only two tribes remained ¨C the ice bears, and the Tai Tan Snowdevil King.

    These two great tribes were some of the strongest ones across the Extreme North. They were known as the Three Great Tribes along with the Ice Jade Scorpions, and their overall strengths were most formidable.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ eyes were full ofment as she stood on the Snowdevil King¡¯s shoulder. After all, she had ruled over the Extreme North for hundreds of thousands of years, and she still couldn¡¯t bear to leave this ce forever!

    She had wracked her brains back then so that she could re-cultivate and preserve her strength as much as possible, but she was taken away by a soul master who had ventured into the Extreme North. That was the reason why everything that had happened afterwards happened, and she didn¡¯t have time to address anything to anybody back then.

    She managed to deal with her affairs in this moment, but she was still very reluctant in her heart.

    ¡°Snow Empress.¡± A deep and hoarse voice rang out that shook the Snow Empress awake from her thoughts.

    The Snow Empress looked down from the Snowdevil King¡¯s shoulders. She saw the Ice Bear King looking up at her, and he was staring at her with very sincere eyes.

    The Snow Empress tapped her foot on the Snowdevil King¡¯s shoulders and descended from the sky as she drifted to the ground.

    The Ice Bear King immediatelyy down once more and pressed his enormous head against the ground. There was some pitifulness in his eyes, and there was also some exasperation as he stared at the Snow Empress.

    ¡°Snow Empress!¡± He called out once more.

    The Snow Empress ignored him. Instead, she turned towards the Snowdevil King and said, ¡°Ah Tai, you have just seeded me as ruler of the Extreme North. You have to personally cate therge tribes beneath you, and you have to establish authority and credit as quickly as possible. Go ¨C I will wait three days for you here, and after three days, you shall bring your kinsmen. There is something that I need you to do.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Snow Empress.¡± The Tai Tan Snowdevil King nced at the Ice Bear King, and a thread of worry shed across his eyes. However, he still followed the Snow Empress¡¯ instructions as he turned and left.

    The Snow Empress watched the Snowdevil King depart before she turned towards the Ice Bear King.

    ¡°Snow Empress, what about me? What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡± The Ice Bear King only voiced his doubts in this moment. His kinsmen were quietly waiting in the distance, and even the Tai Tan Snowdevils had departed along with the Snowdevil King.

    The Snow Empress said inly, ¡°As for you, of course I have my own arrangements. You shall just follow me, Little Bai.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The Ice Bear King was momentarily stunned. ¡°Follow you? Aren¡¯t you going into closed-door cultivation?¡±

    The Snow Empress continued, ¡°I will not be here in the Extreme North anymore. Only your tribe is worthy of challenging Ah Tai. Even though Ah Tai¡¯s tribe is stronger overall, you might still have a chance of victory. Will you listen to him when I¡¯m no longer around?¡±

    The Ice Bear King immediately went silent after hearing the Snow Empress¡¯ question. He couldn¡¯t lie in front of the Snow Empress, so he could only respond with silence.

    The Snow Empress continued, ¡°Therefore, only one of you may exist on the Extreme North after my departure. Otherwise, peace in the Extreme North will be very difficult to maintain.¡±

    ¡°Snow Empress.¡± The Ice Bear King cried out dejectedly. ¡°Alright, Snow Empress, I¡¯ll listen to you. You have bestowed life upon me, and you raised me so that I could be stronger, and you helped me be king of the Extreme Northern Bears. You have given me everything I have, and your wish is mymand. I will die if that¡¯s what you want.¡±

    The Snow Empressughed. ¡°Silly ¨C why would I want you to kill yourself? I chose Ah Tai to be ruler of the Extreme North after considering between you and him, and that¡¯s because his personality and the entire Tai Tan Snowdevil tribe is more suitable than you and your tribe. However, he can neverpare to you in terms of intimacy. You are like the Ice Empress in my heart, and you are my family. Ice is my sister, but you are my child!¡±

 Chapter 473.3 - Father? Grandfather?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 473.3: Father? Grandfather?</h4>

    The Ice Bear King¡¯s eyes immediately softened when he heard her. He nudged his enormous nose against the Snow Empress body and said, ¡°Snow Empress, Snow Empress ¨C what am I to do, exactly?¡±

    The Snow Empress heaved a sigh and said, ¡°You will just follow me from now on. I can feel you are not far from your third bottleneck, and you only have a thirty percent chance of breaking through it. If I¡¯m still around to protect you, perhaps you will be able to make it, but there¡¯s no way I can stay here to help you. Therefore, I hope that you can choose a different path with me.¡±

    The Ice Bear King clearly didn¡¯t really understand the meaning of the Snow Empress¡¯ words. He stared at her confusedly, and didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The Snow Empress continued, ¡°You will understand if you follow me after this. The path that I am looking at is one to be a God. If I am sessful, then we will transcend this world, and we will no longer be threatened or affected by it. If we fail, then we have a chance to choose another. In the Douluo Continent, no matter how strong us soul beasts are individually, there is no way we can touch the God Realm. The reason for that is because that¡¯s the rule of this world. Di Tian is sufficiently powerful, but he still has no way of breaking this curse. If he can¡¯t, then I can¡¯t, and neither can you. Therefore, we can only attach ourselves to the strongest person in this world, and perhaps that person that will reach the God Realm, and only then can we leave this world.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about all that, Snow Empress, but I will follow you whatever you say.¡± The Ice Bear King used the most direct method to express his trust in the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress turned around and waved at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Come here, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly step forward and came to the Snow Empress¡¯ side.

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°Little Bai, let me introduce you. This is my father.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still digesting the shock and astonishment that he harbored towards the Snow Empress, and he didn¡¯t know why she was calling him. However, his entire being froze like a rock when she said that.

    Father¡­ What did she just call me? Father¡­

    He waspletely motionless at this point, as if his spiritual sea had turned into ice. More importantly, the Snow Empress¡¯ expression was extremely calm and casual when she said those words, as if she were describing something very normal.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one ¨C the Ice Bear King¡¯s expression was equallyckadaisical. There seemed to be a trail of snot flowing from his giant nose.

    Father¡­

    That term was equally unfamiliar to him. He didn¡¯t know who his father was ¨C otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been taken away by the Snow Empress.

    But why would this term,father,appear in the Snow Empress¡¯ mouth!? The Snow Empress ¨C she actually has a father? She has been alive for more than seven hundred thousand years, and she¡¯s one of the oldest living beings in the world. How old does her father have to be?

    The Snow Empress stared at human and soul beast, who were stunned speechless and motionless. She couldn¡¯t help butugh, and this wasn¡¯t just a grin, because she wasughing particrly joyfully. This was especially so when she was looking at Huo Yuhao, because it was evident that there was some teasing in her smile.

    The Ice empress wasn¡¯t too far away from them, but she couldn¡¯tugh at all. Her eyes were opened wide as her jaw hung open; she hadn¡¯t expected such words toe from the Snow Empress¡¯ mouth either.

    ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The Snow Empress stared at Huo Yuhao with a captivating smile on her face.

    Huo Yuhao swallowed some saliva forcefully before he pointed at himself and said, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re calling me? You can¡¯t make a joke like this, Snow Empress!¡±

    The Snow Empress rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Who¡¯s joking with you? I am calling you. Why, do you not dare to acknowledge me? Have you forgotten? I have just passed my crown as the ruler of the Extreme North to Ah Tai, and since that moment, I am no longer queen in this ce. I am no longer the Snow Empress ¨C I am the Snow Lady, the Snow Lady that you have always protected, and the Snow Lady that has been growing up little by little.¡±

    Never in his wildest dreams did he expect such a tremendous turnaround. He was just feeling sad about the distance between the Snow Empress and himself when she gave him such an enormous pleasant surprise.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ eyes grew tender. ¡°Yuhao, I have recovered my memory, but everything that happened when we were together has long been imprinted in my memory in the period that my old memory was lost. I will never forget all the times that we have shared together, and in my heart, you are my father. This has nothing to do with age, and it¡¯s just a sentiment. Yes, it¡¯s just a sentiment.¡±

    Her eyes grew a little sadder as she paused. ¡°Did you know? I was all alone when I came into this world, and this loneliness made my personality cold and icy. I am the Icesky Snow Lady that the heavens have nurtured and brought into this world, but even though the weakest soul beasts in the Extreme North have their own parents, I have no parents. Rather, the Extreme North is my parent. I have never experienced parental warmth or kindness.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve felt that from you. I can feel the love and care that you have for me. When I¡¯m with you, even if you¡¯re just staring at me with a tender and amiable gaze, it makes me very happy. Even though I had yet to regain my memory back then, once I regained my memory, I realized that the period when I was with you was the happiest and most blissful part of my life.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I consider you my father in my heart, and that will never change. Ever since I¡¯ve recovered my memory over these days, I can feel the worry in your heart. You don¡¯t have to fear anything. I am the Snow Empress, but I am your Snow Lady even more. I am more willing to be your Snow Lady! Daddy, are you willing to ept me as your daughter?¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth began to twitch.Daughter¡­ the Snow Empress, the Icesky Snow Lady, third amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and a soul beast with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation¡­ Gods! What has happened to this world?

    Even though he was full of yearning towards the Snow Empress before this, his first reaction when the Snow Empress was standing in front of him and saying to him inly that she wanted to be his daughter wasn¡¯t happiness ¨C he could almost feel his nose bleeding. That was just¡­

    The Snow Empress pouted and said, ¡°Daddy, do you not want me anymore? Then I will be a child with no home to return to.¡±

    The Snow Empress was incredibly gorgeous from the beginning. Everything came from her heart, and even though she seemed like ady who had grown up, her voice, eyes, and tone were no different from the little Snow Lady back then.

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Huo Yuhao sputtered.

    ¡°Alright, then.¡± The Snow Empress giggled as she pranced forward and wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. ¡°I have been trying too hard to pretend after I¡¯ve recovered my memory. I would rather be the Snow Lady. More urately, the memory that belongs to the Snow Lady has allowed me to find myself. I am a little reluctant to give away my position as the ruler of the Extreme North, but now I feel as if I have been liberated, and all my responsibilities are no more. I will live my life happily from today onwards, and that feeling is just fantastic. Isn¡¯t that right, daddy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao really wanted to ask her if she could stop calling him that. After all, they looked like they were of the same age! The Snow Empress calling him just made him feel very strange.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ voice came from behind her. ¡°Snow, you¡­ you¡¯re calling him father. What about me?¡±

    The Snow Empress turned around and giggled at the Ice Empress. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I have already found your lover, Ice. Don¡¯t worry, we can do things differently. You have been addressing him by his name anyway. It hasn¡¯t been easy for me to find this familial love, Ice. Aren¡¯t you happy for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course I am happy,¡± the Ice Empress forced augh, ¡°But this sudden change of events does make me feel a little weird.¡±

    The Snow Empress chortled and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing weird about this. I am still me, and I am still the same Snow in your heart. Everything is fine if that hasn¡¯t changed. Little Bai, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and greet your grandfather. Haven¡¯t you always wanted me to be your mother? Alright, I am willing to ept you as my son.¡±

    ¡°Grand¡­ grandfather¡­¡± The Ice Bear King stared at Huo Yuhao with nk eyes. He could definitely tell that Huo Yuhao was a human. But the Snow Empress, whom he had endless respect for, actually called a human such as this her father. That¡­ that was just¡­

    Huo Yuhao himself felt incredibly peculiar. He suddenly had a daughter today, and she felt like a very formal one, and now he had a grandson. He wasn¡¯t even married yet! He didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh or cry. Everything was just so peculiar, but he couldn¡¯t not recognize the Snow Empress as his daughter.

    ¡°There¡¯s a good boy,¡± The Snow Empress patted the Ice Bear King on his nose, and she waved her right hand across the air and pointed. A dark blue ice crystal hovered in front of the Ice Bear King.

    ¡°This is your grandfather¡¯s gift to you.¡±

    The Ice Bear King was momentarily stunned. When he managed to see what was in front of him with rity, his eyes immediately widened. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence?¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and said, ¡°Yes! How¡¯s that? Isn¡¯t your grandfather generous?¡±

    ¡°Generous, yes. He¡¯s very generous. Greetings, grandfather. Thank you, grandfather!¡± The way he addressed Huo Yuhao clearly sounded a lot smoother this time. The Ice Bear King stared at the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence as he swallowed balls of saliva again and again, as if he were about to start drooling.

    However, before he could raise his paws to take it, the Snow Empress withdrew the ice crystal.

    ¡°You have to wait for a little while, and you can¡¯t absorb it yet. This will be used to stabilize the origin of your consciousness. Let¡¯s do it this way ¨C let me exin things to you as your mother. Ice, your aunt, and I have merged with your grandfather. Simply put, we have assimted part of our power with your grandfather. You have already felt that your grandfather is a human. He is the most talented human in the world today.¡±

 Chapter 474.1 - Lord of Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 474.1: Lord of Soul Beasts</h4>

    The Snow Empress said seriously, ¡°In the future, we¡¯ll do our best to be Gods. Once your grandfather bes a God, we can also enter the God Realm and break free from the limits of this world. This is why you need to fuse with your grandfather. After fusing, you can use this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to ensure that your spiritual sense is protected. Things will be fine like this.¡±

    ¡°Alright, mom. Whatever you say. I¡¯ll listen to you. I know you won¡¯t harm me. I still thought that you were biased towards Ah Tai. It seems like you¡¯re really biased, but you¡¯re biased towards me! Ah Tai has no chance of bing a God. Hahahahaha! I¡¯m so happy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t take it.This Ice Bear King has a one-track mind. Is he not worried that he can¡¯t make a sessful breakthrough?Right now, he finally understood why the Snow Empress wanted to pass the position of the leader of the ice ins of the Extreme North to the Tai Tan Snowdevil King, instead of the Ice Bear King.

    The Snow Empress nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re willing to. Because it involves giving up your own body, you have to bepletely willing to do so. You can¡¯t be forced at all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not forced. I¡¯m not forced at all.¡± The Ice Bear King said delightedly.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°Alright, you should return to your tribe to recount things to them. Once you leave this time, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t have time to return anymore.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Ice Bear King agreed before turning and rushing off.

    The Ice Empressughed, ¡°Little Bai is really that na?ve! He hasn¡¯t changed in all these years. He trusts youpletely.¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°Daddy formed a soul core, and his spiritual power is enough to amodate another Spirit. Let¡¯s take this spot first before he gives it to his Spirit Eyes. Given Little Bai¡¯s abilities, he can be the eighth and ninth soul rings. When daddy cultivates until he reaches eight rings, he can fusepletely with Little Bai. After that, I¡¯ll help Little Bai suppress some of his powers and wait until daddy reaches Rank 90 before letting him be the ninth soul ring of daddy¡¯s Ultimate Ice martial soul. I¡¯m confident with the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence around.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face, ¡°Snow Empress, can you change¡­¡±

    The Ice Empress immediately nodded. ¡°Change it. I can¡¯t stand it either.¡±

    The Snow Empress nced at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°I¡¯ll change it if you stop being so skeptical in the future. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m your first Spirit, and I gave you four soul rings. This means that we are actually very closely connected. Furthermore, because you burned your teacher¡¯s divine senses as an intermediary to connect with my spiritual mind, I¡¯m able to sense everything in your mind.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze.Yes! Ipletely forgot about that. I¡¯ve been using my mind to control the Snow Lady all this while! After she regained her memory, this became mutual.Without a doubt, the Snow Empress must have had sensed his intentions and emotional changes. That was why she mentioned this.

    The Snow Empress drifted to his side. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call you by your name and you¡¯ll call me the Snow Lady. Not only is this less unfamiliar, but it¡¯s also less weird.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded repeatedly.Snow Lady is great. It sounds the most natural.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ expression turned slightly weird now. The look in her eyes appeared to be that of jealousy at this moment.

    The Snow Empress said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°They¡¯ll need some time to return. You can cultivate here first. The environment of the Extreme North is extremely suitable for you to cultivate.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ problem had been settled, and Huo Yuhao was in a good mood right now. He sat cross-legged on the ground and immediately entered a cultivation state.

    This was already the core region of the Extreme North. The temperature was extremely low. If an ordinary person were here, he would be an ice sculpture in just a few breaths.

    In such an extremely chilly environment, the amount of ice was naturally greater than in most other ces. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice martial soul had only fused with a part of the Ice Empress¡¯ strength in the beginning. It wasn¡¯t pure enough yet. However, he slowly fused with the soul power origin of the Ice Empress as his powers increased. As his own abilities increased, his Ultimate Ice became more and more elemental. This was especially so after he fused with the Snow Empress, who became his Spirit. His Ultimate Ice was slowly bing stronger and stronger.

    However, Huo Yuhao did face difficulties in this process. For example, when the Snow Empress poured her ice-type origin energy into him, he was disabled for some time.

    After absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, Huo Yuhao¡¯s own condition had improved leaps and bounds. Such an improvement couldn¡¯t be described physically. Rather, it was his increased sensations of his Ultimate Ice. During this process, his Ultimate Ice also started to be more and more extreme.

    In fact, to say that something was ¡®ultimate¡¯ was just a way of describing it. There was no way such an extreme could ever be achieved. Whether it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, the Snow Empress¡¯ Ultimate Ice, or the Ice Empress¡¯ Ultimate Ice, they couldn¡¯t possibly reach absolute zero.

    However, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities improved and his understanding of Ultimate Ice increased, they kept on proceeding in this direction.

    An ice-type soul master could reach just above negative one hundred degrees Celsius, and his soul skills could also reach such a standard. However, more and more ice-type soul masters would fail as the temperature continued to fall. When the temperature reached negative one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius, every unit drop in temperature required not just hard work, but also talent, and the quality of a soul master¡¯s martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was the most terrifying in the sense that it kept on changing.

    The Ice Empress had reached an all-time low of negative one hundred and ny degrees Celsius at her peak, whereas the Snow Empress could reach around negative two hundred and five degrees Celsius. These were their limits. These were also the limits of the continent¡¯s ice-type soul beasts and ice-type soul masters.

    This was why an Ultimate Ice martial soul referred to a temperature below negative one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius when the martial soul unleashed a soul skill. Initially, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t do this when he first fused with the Ice Empress. But as his cultivation improved, he was slowly proceeding in this direction.

    Right now, the lowest temperature that he could reach was already far below this temperature. Even though he couldn¡¯tpare to the Snow Empress and Ice Empress at their peaks, he could still control his soul skills to a temperature below negative one hundred and sixty-five degrees Celsius after fusing with the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. This was the true standard of Ultimate Ice.

    This was especially so in recent times. After the Snow Empress woke up from her sleep, she gave him some guidance. With the Snow Empress¡¯ help, Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of Ultimate Ice kept on deepening.

    It was not to say that the Ice Empress didn¡¯t advise him in the past. However, the Ice Empress and Snow Empress were different. Although the Ice Empress had turned into Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul, she was still a soul beast, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. An Ice Jade Scorpion¡¯s cultivation method and understanding and control of ice elements were very different from humans.

    As the Icesky Snow Lady, the Snow Empress was a living spirit birthed from the essence of heaven and earth even though she was categorized as a soul beast. She looked very simr to humans. This was why Huo Yuhao found it easier to implement her advice.

    The Snow Empress kept on emphasizing that Huo Yuhao was very reliant on his Spirit Eyes. Right now, his Spirit Eyes had grown to a certain standard, and his soul core had already been formed. If he wanted to improve further, the amount of effort that he needed to use was going to be many times higher. His Ultimate Ice martial soul hadn¡¯t beenpletely tapped yet. This was why he needed to improve his second martial soul if he really wanted to increase his abilities. It was even more essential for him to understand his own martial soul and the ice element.

    Just like the Snow Empress had said, it was much easier for him to understand the mysteries of ice in the core region of the Extreme Northpared to other ces.

    Huo Yuhao rxed his body and circted his Mysterious Heaven Technique. He switched to his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Naturally, his Mysterious Heaven Technique turned into a cold current that flowed through his body. Although his Spirit Eyes were shut, his immense spiritual control was still there.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t cultivate. directly Rather, he tried his best to rx and silently sense the ice around him.

    Ice was the solid state of water. Water nourished all living beings, and was the origin of life. However, ice couldplete life. To some extent, water and ice weren¡¯t just rted by temperature. They represented the changes between life and death.

    He was silently sensing things around him and understanding them. He was very invested in it.

    The Snow Empress stood beside him and shut her beautiful eyes. She was also silently sensing. What she sensed were Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions, and the changes in his body.

    She looked very calm and peaceful as she stood there. There was a slight smile on her face. She didn¡¯t look as cold as she used to be. It felt as if she were a wife trying to protect her lover.

    The Ice Empress was a little dazed as she stood to one side. She also didn¡¯t understand why the Snow Empress was so nice to Huo Yuhao.It isn¡¯t about working together anymore. Don¡¯t tell me that the Snow Empress likes him? Impossible, this is impossible. The Snow Empress is the Icesky Snow Lady, a genie of heaven and earth. How could she fall for a human? However, the way she called to him¡­

    The Ice Empress thought of how the Snow Empress had called Huo Yuhao ¡®Daddy¡¯ earlier, and felt goosebumps on her arms.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. Just follow your heart.¡± A projection silently drifted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body andnded beside the Ice Empress. It was the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s human form.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to care!¡± The Ice Empress snapped.

 Chapter 474.2 - Lord of Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 474.2: Lord of Soul Beasts</h4>

    The Skydream Iceworm chuckled and said, ¡°When ites to rtionships, you really have to seek me for advice. I¡¯m great at them!¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± The Ice Empress asked, unimpressed.

    The Skydream Iceworm replied delightedly, ¡°Of course I¡¯m great at them. See, I made you fall in love with me unwittingly. Am I not great?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you have any shame?¡±

    ¡°Do Iceworms have any shame?¡± Brother Skydream asked casually.

    ¡°I really want to strangle you!¡± The Ice Empress twisted her head and looked at him fiercely.

    Brother Skydream looked deeply into her eyes, ¡°Could you bear to do so?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± The Ice Empress lifted her hands and wanted to push him away. The Skydream Iceworm flipped his wrist and grabbed her arm. Naturally, he pulled her into his embrace.

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Ice Empress was furious as she struggled. However, he lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.

    Suddenly, the Ice Empress¡¯ body shed with jade-green electricity. After this, her entire body turned rigid.

    If any soul beast from the Extreme North saw this, it would instantly be greatly shocked. Ice Empress, she was the Ice Empress! She was only inferior to the Snow Empress in the Extreme North. The strongest Ice Jade Scorpion was actually kissed by someone?

    The Skydream Iceworm was only sneaking an attack initially, but very soon, he discovered that the Ice Empress didn¡¯t resist at all. Her hands even tightly grabbed onto the front of his shirt, which he had conjured up using his spiritual sense.

    How could he possibly give up such a rare opportunity? The half-hearted attempt instantly turned into deep research. His kiss was extremely passionate.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ body gradually turned from rigid to soft. Although she appeared to be trying to push the Skydream Iceworm away, she didn¡¯t do so in the end.

    The Snow Empress lifted her head to look at the two of them. She shook her head helplessly and shut her eyes..

    Even the Ice Empress reacted over after being kissed many times. When she used force to push Brother Skydream away, her face was already red.

    He put on a fantastic ¡®performance¡¯ at this moment, revealing an indignant look on his face, as if he were a kid that had done something wrong. He lowered his head, ¡°Ice, I was wrong.¡±

    The Ice Empress was about to rage, but couldn¡¯t help but be stunned when she saw him like this. Before she could even rage, she subconsciously asked, ¡°What did you do wrong?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm lowered his head and said, ¡°My, my first kiss has been given to you just like that. Ice, you must take responsibility!¡±

    The Ice Empress was stunned for a moment. After this, she raged, ¡°Nonsense! Wasn¡¯t that my first kiss too?¡±

    ¡°Indeed so!¡± Brother Skydream instantly lifted his head. There was a look of delightful surprise on his face. Even his eyes were shining brightly.

    ¡°Do! You! Want! To! Die?¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ aura ballooned. This time, she was well and truly going to rage.

    ¡°Stop! Ice, m down. Let me analyze the Snow Empress¡¯ situation for you right now.¡± The Skydream Iceworm immediately changed his expression, and looked very serious.

    The Ice Empress had already lifted her hand, but when she saw him like that, she eventually didn¡¯t smack him.

    ¡°Tell me!¡± The Ice Empress gritted her teeth and demanded.

    The Skydream Iceworm was serious as he said, ¡°The situation that the Snow Empress is facing is very normal. Initially, she wanted to be reborn as a human and seek an important path. This was because she realized that as a soul beast, she can¡¯t possibly ovee the limits of this world no matter how strong she is, even if she were like Di Tian, and reach the Godly Realm. This is something that soul beasts can¡¯t aplish. She only has a chance by being reborn as a human.¡±

    ¡°However, who knew that she would meet despicable humans who took her embryo away just as she was filled with hope? She was greatly tormented because of that, as she was likely to be a human soul master¡¯s soul ring. It was Yuhao who saved her. Then, the Snow Empress didn¡¯t lose her awareness. She was still as strong as ever. Without any choice, she fused into Yuhao¡¯s body and left with him. From then on, she truly entered the world of humans.¡±

    ¡°Not long after that, herpressed origin power waspletely unleashed because Yuhao absorbed the Frigid Jade Essence Bed, which led to her fusion as his Spirit. Because of that, Yuhao¡¯s teacher had to burn his divine sense, and left this world. Although the Snow Empress didn¡¯t explicitly say it, she has always felt that she owes Yuhao. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao treated her very well after she became the Snow Lady. After some time, some feelings must have developed. The Snow Empress was originally the Icesky Snow Lady. In the Extreme North, all soul beasts respected and feared her. From Yuhao, she sensed unprecedented closeness. When she was still the little Snow Lady, she really treated Yuhao as her father. This was why she found it very natural to call him ¡®daddy¡¯ all this while.¡±

    ¡°Right now, the Snow Empress¡¯ choice was made because of two reasons. First, she¡¯s tired of the lonely life she has here, and is striving to integrate into the world of humans. Second, I reckon that she has no way of leaving Yuhao. The fusion between her and Yuhao is even deeper than ours.¡±

    The Ice Empress was astonished, and asked, ¡°How is that possible? I am Yuhao¡¯s martial soul! You¡¯re not too shabby either. You¡¯ve even fused your spiritual origin with him. How can our fusion with him not be as deep as his with the Snow Empress?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm chuckled and answered, ¡°You probably won¡¯t know this. You forgot something important. When the Snow Empress became Yuhao¡¯s Spirit, Yuhao¡¯s teacher, Electrolux, actually burned the remnants of his divine sense. No matter what, he was halfway to bing a God. Under such a circumstance, do you not agree that a fusion using the remnants of his divine sense would be deeper? I can feel that the Snow Empress and Yuhao might even be rted by blood. This is what weck. This also means that her origin might have be a part of Yuhao. As a teacher, Electrolux must have had left some benefits for his own disciple by sacrificing his own life. Because of that, Huo Yuhao feels much closer to the Snow Empress.¡±

    After hearing the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s analysis, the Ice Empress forgot about how she was taken advantage of earlier, and entered a pensive state.

    The Skydream Iceworm said, ¡°Alright, Ice. I¡¯m going to return to Yuhao¡¯s body to cultivate. I haven¡¯t fully absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned into a beam of flowing light and vanished into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    After a brief moment, the Ice Empress reacted.I haven¡¯t settled my score with this scoundrel for taking advantage of me!However, Huo Yuhao was cultivating right now. She couldn¡¯t possibly cause a disturbance in his spiritual sea! She was immediately furious as she pouted her lips. However, she turned slightly red from embarrassment when she recalled how the Skydream Iceworm had kissed her. Apart from embarrassment, she also felt a slight sense of sweetness.

    When Huo Yuhao awoke from his meditation, he only felt that his entire body had bepletely clear. In this short span of time, he felt as if he had turned into a block of ice, and sensed the eternal past of ice.

    However, when he opened his eyes, he immediately discovered that he was probably the only one who thought that only a short amount of time had passed. This was because there were a bunch of Tai Tan Snowdevils standing around him.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King was standing in front. Not far from him was the Ice Bear King. Evidently, they had returned after ounting to their own people.

    The Snow Empress still stood beside Huo Yuhao, and she smiled as she said, ¡°You¡¯re awake. You¡¯ve achieved pretty good results.¡±

    Seeing the smile on her face, both the Tai Tan Snowdevil King and Ice Bear King were in a slight daze.

    The Snow Empress has smiled? Since when has she liked smiling? Is she smiling for this weak human being?

    Huo Yuhao drifted up and nodded at the Snow Empress before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯veprehended, but it feels good.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°We still need to wait for a while before we can leave. Ice has also returned to her own people. I¡¯m not sure whether she¡¯ll return upon leaving this time. She¡¯ll need to ount to her own species too.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao was moved. After fusing with the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the Ice Empress¡¯ origin had indeed beenpletely consolidated. She could now remain some distance from Huo Yuhao.

    The Snow Empress shared a strong sense of telepathy with him, and naturally knew what he was thinking. She nodded and said, ¡°At least within the core region of the Extreme North. However, she can¡¯t do it for too long. After all, their origins are in your body. If they remain too far away from you, their spiritual sense will weaken. They can only recover in your body. After leaving your body, they¡¯ll only be draining themselves.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Huo Yuhao was enlightened.

    The Ice Empress didn¡¯t make them wait too long. In less than two hours, she had already turned into a beam of jade-green light and returned. However, she didn¡¯t say anything, and directly fused back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Her separation from her own species had inevitably left her slightly depressed.

    The Ice Bear King and Tai Tan Snowdevil King opened their eyes wide in shock when they saw the Ice Empress fusing into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body just like that. They didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    The Snow Empress calmly said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move on.¡± As she spoke, she dragged Huo Yuhao up andnded on the Ice Bear King¡¯s wide shoulders.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time sitting on an Ice Bear. He felt as if he were sitting on a mountain as he sat on the Ice Bear King¡¯s shoulders. There was even the massive Tai Tan Snowdevil King beside him. The Tai Tan Snowdevil King was now the leader of the ice ins of the Extreme North.

 Chapter 474.3 - Lord of Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 474.3: Lord of Soul Beasts</h4>

    Huo Yuhao twisted his head towards the Snow Empress and asked, ¡°Snow Empress, are you trying to use the Tai Tan Snowdevil King to deal with the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and answered, ¡°Your individual strength is too weak. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire has invaded our territory, which makes them our enemy. To us, this is an insider thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and didn¡¯t say anything else. The Snow Empress turned around and didn¡¯t look at him.

    Seeing her ravishing face, Huo Yuhao felt his heart soften. He wasn¡¯t developing romantic feelings. Instead, he was thinking about the Snow Lady.

    To him, the little Snow Lady was like his daughter and his younger sister. What about the Snow Lady now?

    Elder sister?

    When he thought about an elder sister, Huo Yuhao felt a sudden heartache.It¡¯s been a long time. I wonder how Sister Xiaotao is. After we parted, Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself. Then, my emotions were very unstable, and I had to face the beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest. I had no choice but to rush back to Shrek City. After that, it was the war against the Sun Moon Empire. I don¡¯t know where Sister Xiaotao is. Even though I helped to suppress the evil fire in her, it¡¯s already been a long time. Her evil fire might have acted up again. Will she be involved in the war? If that¡¯s the case, how can I face her?

    No matter what, I must save her.

    With his recent experiences, Huo Yuhao had confidence of helping Ma Xiaotao with the evil fire in her body. Among his various options, the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence was the best choice. As long as he fused some of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body into Ma Xiaotao, he couldpletely neutralize her evil fire with the Ice Empress, Snow Empress and Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ help. If the three Ultimate Ice Spirits that he had couldn¡¯t do it, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone in the world who could.

    When he thought until here, Huo Yuhao decided that he had to find her when he went to the Heavenly Soul Empire.I hope I can find her. If I find her, I¡¯ll be able to find out about Teacher Xiao Ya too. I hope she¡¯s fine.

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao was in deep thought, the Snow Empress didn¡¯t disrupt him. She quietly sat on the Ice Bear King¡¯s shoulders.

    While the Ice Bear King was very huge, he was very quick when he started galloping. He was like a mountain that was sliding on ice.

    There were also more than a hundred Tai Tan Snowdevils running with him. They were huge. Every step they took covered more than a hundred meters. When they leaped up, they could even cover more than five hundred meters. In just two leaps, they covered one kilometer! Given such a speed, they could match Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out flying speed.

    This was the great strength of the Extreme North. No wonder the ice ins of the Extreme North were a promisednd. This had close ties with their immense abilities.

    Seeing the astonishment in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, the Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°This is the core strength of the Extreme North. The strength we can utilize is something that you can¡¯t imagine. It¡¯s just like how you¡¯ve never seen the core strength of the Great Star Dou Forest before.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± After hearing the Snow Empress mentioning the Great Star Dou Forest, Huo Yuhao¡¯s curiosity was piqued.

    ¡°I¡¯ve not seen the core strength of the Great Star Dou Forest? Don¡¯t tell me that the Five Great Savage Beasts that started the beast wave didn¡¯t form their core strength?¡±

    The Snow Empress shook her head and said, ¡°The Five Great Savage Beasts are the strongest soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest right now. However, if we¡¯re talking about core strength, it¡¯s not been utilized yet. In fact, your knowledge of Di Tian is still sorelycking. He doesn¡¯t rule the entire Great Star Dou Forest. He¡¯s also the spokesperson of all soul beasts. If he really wanted to go all-out to deal with humans, the Great Star Dou Forest wouldn¡¯t be the only one to have attacked. Even the Extreme North would also have to ept hismands and attack humans. When that happens, it¡¯ll be destruction for both sides. Humans are indeed quite strong. However, the hundreds of thousands and million year cultivations that we have can¡¯t be easily ovee. Even if the humans win against us, the destruction to the continent would still be extremely immense.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly eximed and asked, ¡°Snow Lady, what did you say just now? What do you mean when you say that Di Tian is the spokesperson of all soul beasts? Don¡¯t tell me that there¡¯s a stronger and more powerful soul beast in this world?¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded seriously and answered, ¡°Yes, there is. At least, that¡¯s what the legends say. In the continent, apart from strange existences like the Skydream Iceworm, we also acknowledged that Di Tian is the strongest and oldest. The Evileye Tyrant is only inferior to him. Only living beings like us that have been around for so long know about the existence of a Lord.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Who is this Lord of Soul Beasts? If even Di Tian calls him Lord, isn¡¯t he a God then?¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°The Lord of Soul Beasts is a God. You should have heard before that our Lord is the Dragon God. The Dragon God is the earliest soul beast to have been birthed, and has his own Godly Seat in the Godly Realm. For some unknown reason, the Dragon God perished, but all the soul beasts on the Douluo Continent recognize him as our Lord. He has nine sons, but we don¡¯t really consider his children as our lords. Rather, we recognize his avatar after he perished as our Lord.¡±

    ¡°The legends say that the Dragon God wasn¡¯t epted into the Godly Realm because he was a soul beast. He separated into two different dragons, and has always been one tier away from being a God. These two dragons are the Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon.¡±

    ¡°Among them, the Golden Dragon inherited the great strength of the Dragon God, whereas the Silver Dragon inherited the Dragon God¡¯s control of the elements ¨C water, fire, earth, wind, light and darkness. Both of them excelled in their own fields, and were very powerful. They dominated the entire Douluo Continent, and ruled the world of soul beasts together.¡±

    ¡°Back then, when the two Dragon Kings and nine sons of the Dragon God ruled, the dragon species was extremely strong. Dragons also ruled over all the soul beasts. Afterward, it seemed like a catastrophe hit the Douluo Continent. The two Dragon Kings led the nine sons and the other powerful dragons to resist that catastrophe. Eventually, almost all of them died. Di Tian seems to be the only remaining powerful dragon from that catastrophe. This is why I said that he¡¯s the spokesperson of the Lord of Soul Beasts. That¡¯s because he¡¯s the strongest dragon to have survived, and his blood lineage is the purest.¡±

    ¡°The legends also posit that there was a descendant of the Dragon God that survived. As for who it is, only Di Tian might know. I¡¯m not clear on that. However, I¡¯ve sensed the oldest soul beast to have ever existed in the Great Star Dou Forest. This soul beast is indeed very strong. This strength is hidden within this entire Great Star Dou Forest. He¡¯s not the only one. There is another one whose job is to protect it. Di Tian controls this strength. That is the true core strength of the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    To Huo Yuhao, the Snow Empress¡¯ words could only be exined by the legends. Was there really someone stronger in the Great Star Dou Forest?

    ¡°Snow Lady, who do you reckon this surviving ancient dragon to be?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    The Snow Empress shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not clear either. I believe that it¡¯s more likely to be one of the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons. Of course, it could also be the Golden Dragon King or Silver Dragon King. However, this possibility is a little too low. After all, the strengths of the two Dragon Kings were very critical in resisting the catastrophe. As they were the avatars of the Dragon God, they can¡¯t possibly produce offspring. If their actual bodies were still around, do you really think humans could rule the continent?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and argued, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible! If they were greatly hurt in that catastrophe, they might need time to recuperate?¡±

    The Snow Empressughed, ¡°You¡¯d better not be wishing for that scenario to happen. If that¡¯s the case, humans will be in grave danger.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head andughed. ¡°I¡¯m only kidding. If someone as powerful as him survived, how could he possibly not have recovered after so many years? However, since you¡¯ve sensed that there are other powers in the Great Star Dou Forest, it might really be Di Tian¡¯s trump card.¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°Do you know why I told you all this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re trying to dissuade me from resisting Di Tian?¡±

    The Snow Empress shook her head and replied, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m giving you encouragement. Furthermore, I¡¯m also trying to tell you that Di Tian might not be your strongest enemy. There might be someone stronger in the Great Star Dou Forest. This is why you should never be overly pleased with yourself, even when you be very strong in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded seriously and said, ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress sat on the Ice Bear King¡¯s body and used much less time before they returned to their target area.

    The aura of hundreds of charging Tai Tan Snowdevils was simply too strong. This was why the Snow Empress asked them to stop when they were around fifty kilometers away from the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°Yuhao, from now on, you¡¯llmand them. You¡¯ll decide what to do. I¡¯m re-entering your body to rest.¡± As she spoke, the Snow Empress turned into a beam of white light and fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before disappearing.

    Before this, the Snow Empress had already introduced the abilities of the Tai Tan Snowdevil King, the Tai Tan Snowdevils and the Ice Bear King to Huo Yuhao. She had also instructed them to listen to Huo Yuhao¡¯s orders.

    Originally, the two of them didn¡¯t really like humans. However, Huo Yuhao was different. Just like the Snow Empress said, he wanted to enter the God Realm. Also, the Snow Empress even called him ¡®daddy¡¯. This was why both soul beast kings didn¡¯t dare to dy any further.

 Chapter 475.1 - Huo Yuhao is Back!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 475.1: Huo Yuhao is Back!</h4>

    ¡°Guys, thanks for your help. We are going to have to deal with a human armyter.¡± Huo Yuhao said as he looked at the two huge powerful soul beasts in front of him.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King nodded and said, ¡°Since the Snow Empress said we should listen to you, we should follow her arrangement.¡±

    The Ice Bear King nodded and said, ¡°Yes, grandpa. Whatever you want Little Bai to do, Little Bai will do.¡±

    Grandpa¡­

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King¡¯s face contorted a little. It was not his first time hearing the Ice Bear King call Huo Yuhao that. Furthermore, the Ice Bear King even intentionally called Huo Yuhao that all the time. He was trying to show how close Huo Yuhao was with the Snow Empress.

    Huo Yuhao had tried to correct him a few times, but it was really difficult to stop someone with a one-track mind like him, so he eventually gave up and let him call him whatever he wanted.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Like this¡­¡± Huo Yuhao started to n out some arrangements. After going through the Ultimate Soldier n, he was able tomand a team of elite soldiers in a small-scale war even if he wasn¡¯t adept atmanding a huge army.

    Of course, the ¡®small-scale¡¯ here referred to the number of people involved, and not¡­

    Over the past half month, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base had been extremely busy. Ever since they set up their base, they had already started to take action in full swing. The initial investment naturally needed time. For example, there was the installment of all types of equipment, the detection of the detailed locations of all types of minerals and how to mine them, etc.

    It was only after mining all those minerals that they could talk about purification, collection and transportation.

    After more than ten days of building the foundation, the basic foundation was more or less up with the help of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. After this, it was time to mine the minerals.

    Eleven veins were discovered here. These veins intersected one another, and each had a different amount of reserves. However, all of them contained high-quality rare metals. Among them, the rare metals produced by two veins were of especially precious quality.

    Given such a situation, the entire mining process intensified. Furthermore, ording to some research, among the eleven veins, six extended all the way into the Dou Ling Empire. This also meant that they eventually led to the Dou Ling Empire, where further rare metal veins could be discovered and controlled.

    After ten days, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reinforcements arrived. This batch of reinforcements didn¡¯t have any fighting strength, but they were the best rare metal mining team in the Sun Moon Empire. There were more than five thousand of them, and they brought arge number of machines with them. After arriving at the base, they immediately set up tents and settled down. The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion and more than twenty thousand soldiers coordinated with this professional team and expanded the scale of the foundations. At the same time, they started to mine.

    After half a month, a ceaseless flow of rare metals had already been mined, and they were being purified. Twenty-four openings were dug to carry out the mining operations. No time was wasted at all.

    The Sun Moon Empire was very aware that the three empires of the original Douluo Continent would also try to obtain more and more rare metals as soul tools became more relevant in the war. If they knew that there were so many huge veins in the Heavenly Soul Empire, they would certainly risk everything to snatch these resources.

    This was why Ju Zi¡¯s first instruction was that they mustn¡¯t rm those from the Dou Ling Empire and allow them to find out what was going on. Second, they had to mine all the rare metals at the fastest possible speed.

    More than three thousand storage-type soul tools were used to transport therge-scale machinery. Under normal circumstances, these machines were sufficient to mine more than three times the number of veins there currently were. The reason why so many of them were brought over was because the Sun Moon Empire wanted it to be as quick as possible.

    The entire mining operation was in full swing. Aerial surveince soul tools were everywhere, to perform strict surveince on the Dou Ling Empire. Once anything was discovered, the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion would be able to react in the fastest possible time. Given the strength of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, they would be able to resist for a long time even if they met a hundred-thousand-man army. Moreover, they even had the help of a twenty-thousand-man army.

    There were many soul formations deployed on the ground. Large-scale soul tools had been fully constructed, and they were sufficient to deal with a long-running war.

    Ju Zi also instructed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army to send more reinforcements. It wasn¡¯t that she wasn¡¯t confident with the current reinforcements that they had; it was because Huo Yuhao had appeared.

    It had been half a month. She had been waiting for half a month, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t shown up to cause any damage yet. Ju Zi immediately came to with a conclusion. Huo Yuhao had indeed left this time. But what did his departure mean? It meant that he had gone to get more reinforcements. Not much time was needed to travel from the northeast of the Heavenly Soul Empire to Shrek Academy. When he returned, he might bring many powerful individuals from Shrek Academy with him.

    Ju Zi had deployed two soul engineer legions for this reason. These two soul engineer legions were watching Shrek Academy. Once soul masters from the academy were deployed, they would be in charge of intercepting them. At the same time, the troops in the Heavenly Soul Empire were instructed to increase their pressure on the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    If the Sun Moon Empire knew that this series of arrangements were for one person, a lot of people would definitely be shocked. However, Ju Zi deeply believed that this was necessary. In her opinion, Huo Yuhao would only pose a bigger threat to them.

    At this moment, Ju Zi was gathering intelligence from all directions in themander¡¯s tent.

    Compared to the three empires of the original Douluo Continent, the Sun Moon Empire was very particr about surveince and intelligence. Especially after Ju Zi became the marshal of the three armies, her first order was to expand the production line of aerial surveince soul tools. More aerial surveince soul tools had to be produced. At the same time, she requested more funding from Xu Tianran to expedite their research to high-altitude offensive soul tools.

    upying the sky was a very importantponent of intelligence gathering. At the same time, it was critical for the war. It was just that simple aerial soul tools were still ineffective in the battle for aerial supremacypared to soul masters and soul engineers.

    Ju Zi sat in themander¡¯s seat and looked at a report. She revealed a slightly doubtful look on her face and muttered, ¡°What¡¯s going on? How can there be no movement at all?¡±

    Over at Shrek Academy, she wasn¡¯t able to deploy many aerial surveince soul tools to carry out surveince. However, she had already sent many scouts to observe the academy¡¯s every move.

    Shrek Academy was very quiet over this period of time. She naturally knew that the Tang Sect was mass-producing soul tools. Although she didn¡¯t know what they were actually producing, she wasn¡¯t very worried. The gap in expertise couldn¡¯t be closed in a day or two. This was true even for Xuan Ziwen. No matter how strong he was, he was only one person. There were a batch of people who were as talented as Teacher Xuan in the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, in terms of resources, the Sun Moon Empire was also much stronger. Most importantly, whether it was the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy, they didn¡¯t have enough time to close the gap.

    ¡°Yuhao, have you given up? No, I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll do that. That¡¯s not your character. You must be able to tell what we¡¯re trying to do. How can you possibly give up just like this? But where are you? Why is there no movement from Shrek Academy? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve gone to the Dou Ling Empire? You wouldn¡¯t do that, given your intelligence! The main forces of the Dou Ling Empire are with the remaining forces from the Heavenly Soul Empire, trying to resist our empire. You should know that they¡¯ll be outnumbered if we put more pressure on them. Since this is the case, where exactly are you? Is there something that¡¯s more important than stopping me? No, I don¡¯t think so. You must be doing something, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have something to show me. Unless¡­¡±

    Her expression changed slightly. She wasn¡¯t willing to think beyond that. She also believed that it wouldn¡¯t happen.Given Yuhao¡¯s current abilities, there are very few who can harm him.

    Ju Zi mocked herself and was a little annoyed as she said, ¡°When you left, I kept on worrying that you¡¯d return. However, you haven¡¯t appeared for so long, and there¡¯s been no intelligence. I started to worry about your safety. I really suspect whether I¡¯ll be capable of being ruthless to you when I face you again! Yuhao, you know how much I don¡¯t want toy my hands on you. If you can cooperate with me, that¡¯d be really good. If that were the case, I¡¯d be more confident of conquering this world.¡±

    ¡°Where are you? I hope to have news of you. Otherwise, I might really go and find you if this continues.¡±

    Ju Zi kept mumbling Huo Yuhao¡¯s name in the tent. However, she didn¡¯t know that he was not less than ten kilometers away from her. Furthermore, he was in the air. If he wanted to, and if there wasn¡¯t any resistance, he could appear in front of her in less than ten minutes.

    That was right. Huo Yuhao was in the air right now, and he was hiding in a ball of clouds.

    As he drifted in mid-air, Huo Yuhao silently observed the camp.

    The weather in the Extreme North was very good today. More urately speaking, the wind in the Extreme North was very strong today. At a certain altitude, visibility was much greater than ind. It was very difficult to find a cloud like the one Huo Yuhao was hiding in. Furthermore, this cloud was moving at an extremely great speed.

    In the distance, many aerial surveince soul tools were being monitored by Huo Yuhao. These soul tools were very scattered. In addition, they were all different types of surveince soul tools. There was an all-around surveince soul tool around a thousand meters in the air. There was also an oscition detector at an altitude of five hundred meters. There were even thermal detectors at an altitude of two hundred meters.

 Chapter 475.2 - Huo Yuhao is Back!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 475.2: Huo Yuhao is Back!</h4>

    These aerial surveince soul tools were very scattered. Undoubtedly, they had learned from the previous lesson when Huo Yuhao had destroyed many of them at once. There were more of them now, and they were all scattered. Furthermore, they were carrying out more in-depth surveince to achieve greater results. Of course, this required more effort to be invested. Regarding this, Ju Zi naturally didn¡¯t skim on any effort at all.

    After this period of observation, Huo Yuhao discovered that the aerial surveince soul tools didn¡¯t just protect the military base below. They were also directed towards the Dou Ling Empire. It wasn¡¯t exaggerated to im that the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s troops would be discovered as long as they came within thirty kilometers away of the base. What followed would likely be the attacks of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion directed towards them.

    Huo Yuhao was still in awe right now. He was very impressed by the professional standards of the Sun Moon Empire. In just half a month, the size of the base was already ten times bigger than what it was when he was first here. There were also more people around too. He had not seen many of therge-scale soul tools. All the soul tools were in use, but the noise pollution they created wasn¡¯t very great. He was less than three thousand meters in the sky right now, but no sound from below was audible at this altitude. Evidently, the Sun Moon Empire had done a great job at minimizing noise pollution.

    Although Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very experienced in mining rare metals, he could tell from the scale of their mining operations that the amount of reserves in the mines was definitely extraordinary. The Sun Moon Empire would not take much time to mine all the metals, given the scale of their mining operations.

    From the sky, everything was clear. There were more than twenty openings. Chunks of ore were constantly being transported out of these openings. This could be rare metals that were worth a lot, and could be used for the cores of soul tools after they were purified.

    Huo Yuhao was also a soul engineer. Even though he was very far away, he could still recognize some of the more special rare metals. Given the amount of rare metals that they had, it naturally meant that more and more weapons could be created by the Sun Moon Empire. Although the same thing would happen if he was the one with the rare metals, at least the Tang Sect and Shrek were producing weapons to stop the war, and resist invasions!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n was very simple. First, he wanted to blind this Sun Moon Empire army before leading the Tai Tan Snowdevil army to attack them.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King was very unconvinced by this n. In his opinion, the number of people here wasn¡¯t enough to pose any threat to the Tai Tan Snowdevils. In a few attacks, everyone from the Sun Moon Empire would certainly be killed.

    However, Huo Yuhao warned him that there were many powerful weapons in the human world. Even if he was a soul beast, his life was still in danger.

    Tai Tan Snowdevils were the most powerful species of savage beasts in the Extreme North. They possessed incredibly terrifying strength. Their body was their strongest weapon and ability. Their strength and dominance were nightmares for their enemies. However, their bodies were veryrge, which made them easy targets for soul tools.

    This was why Huo Yuhao was able to convince the Tai Tan Snowdevil King under the name of the Snow Empress. He was here to help. He didn¡¯t want his entire species to be critically hurt because of him. If that was the case, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ount to the Snow Empress either!

    After observing for some time, Huo Yuhao carefully retreated. He was too easily spotted in the day if he took any action. The results would be better at night.

    He silently returned to where the Tai Tan Snowdevils were stationed, and tweaked their original n slightly. The Tai Tan Snowdevil King led his own species as well as the Ice Bear King to take a brief rest.

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t permit the Ice Bear King to bring his own species with him. This was because the Ice Bear King was going to leave with them after this. If he brought his own people with him, he would be put in a difficult spotter on.

    What they needed now was to wait for nighttime.

    Time slowly passed, and the sky slowly turned dark. A figure silently flew from a pile of snow in the distance. More figures followed, and they slowly scattered. They were all slowly moving towards the front. They lightened their footsteps and tried not to make any sound as they moved forward. They were all advancing towards the same target.

    The figure in front of everyone else who had a height of around two meters wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao. He was a burly man with an extremely muscr physique.

    When savage beasts reached a certain level, they could transform into the appearance of humans. The Tai Tan Snowdevil King was no exception. However, soul beasts weren¡¯t willing to do so unless it was necessary. They could only unleash their greatest strength in their original state. Right now, they did this to better conceal themselves. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s n, the Tai Tan Snowdevil King definitely yed the most important role.

    What about Huo Yuhao?

    Right now, he wasn¡¯t the only one flying towards the sky. There was a fatty beside him. If one wasn¡¯t observant enough, he would assume that it was a pig flying in the sky.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he asked the Ice Bear King, ¡°Little Bai, why are you in this form? Ah Tai looks more normal than you.¡±

    That ¡®pig¡¯ was indeed the Ice Bear King.

    Right now, the Ice Bear King was just like a ball-shaped human. He flew beside Huo Yuhao with his huge tummy. He could glide as much as he wanted. He wasn¡¯t wearing anything either. After all, he couldn¡¯t fit into Huo Yuhao¡¯s clothes! His flesh was all round, and even his head was ball-shaped. His look was extremely interesting.

    The Ice Bear King chuckled and said, ¡°Grandpa, you don¡¯t know about this. When I first transformed into a human, I specially asked Mom. She said that she likes me in my chubby state. This was why I chose this look. I look cool! Look at my fat. It doesn¡¯t change how charming I taste.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smacked his forehead.How can one describe taste as charming?However, he didn¡¯t say anything else. After all, he was already in this state. There was no way it could be changed.

    Under the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation, they slowly concealed themselves and flew into the distance.

    The reason why he had surveilled the ce earlier was because he needed to verify the surveince radius of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools.

    Through his daytime surveince, Huo Yuhao already had a n in mind. Since the Sun Moon Empire was mainly projecting their surveince towards the Dou Ling Empire, they could sneak in from the other side. In this way, they could get close. Once they took action, they could also breach the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base faster.

    Huo Yuhao led Little Bai higher and higher into the sky. Little Bai was a savage beast. While he looked plump, he was actually faster than Huo Yuhao after he started flying. However, he admired Huo Yuhao more and more right now.

    ¡°Grandpa, your Spiritual Detection Sharing is really fun. I can see so far even though it¡¯s so dark. Haha, take a look. Ah Tai is still foolishly running. Look at him, he¡¯s so small. It¡¯s so fun!¡±

    ¡°Quiet. Otherwise, I¡¯ll ask your mom to whack you.¡± Huo Yuhao could only turn fierce against the babbling Little Bai.

    Little Bai immediately quieted down. After turning into a human, his eyes became a little shifty. He pleaded, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll keep quiet!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little amused, and stopped entertaining him. His Spiritual Detection wasn¡¯t just linked with Little Bai. It was also linked with the Tai Tan Snowdevil King below. This aided hismandeering through his surveince and detection.

    Right now, he was a thousand meters from the ground. This was a huge burden on his spiritual power, given how far he had to unleash his Spiritual Detection Sharing. Without his soul core, he would be unable to do it.

    Very soon, the Tai Tan Snowdevils stopped under hismand. They hid behind a mountain that was covered in snow. This mountain was a bit more than twenty kilometers from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base. It was also the limit of the aerial surveince soul tools. As the Tai Tan Snowdevils were unable to be humans, they were being deployed further away ¨C at around the twenty-five kilometer mark. They crouched and silently waited for instructions.

    These Tai Tan Snowdevils were easilymanded. They carried out the Tai Tan Snowdevil King¡¯s instructions without any questions asked. This made Huo Yuhao¡¯s job easier.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao and Little Bai were already close to the boundary of the aerial surveince soul tools. Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯ll depend on us next. Come, let¡¯s go.¡± As he spoke, his figure shed, and he sat on Little Bai¡¯s shoulders. In terms of cultivation, they were a far way off from each other. Such a tough job of rising into the sky was naturally easier for Little Bai.

    Little Bai kicked his legs in the sky. His actions seemed very clumsy, but his body burst up like a huge cannon shell. He was so quick that he was even faster than the White Tiger Duke before.

    Huo Yuhao was seated very stably on his shoulders. He was like a nail that had been nailed to the Ice Bear King¡¯s shoulders. The scenery around him quickly shed past, and the temperature dropped continuously. Their surroundings also became increasingly quieter.

 Chapter 475.3 - Huo Yuhao is Back!

    Chapter 475.3: Huo Yuhao is Back!</h4>

    The low temperature didn¡¯t have any effect on them. After reaching an altitude of four thousand meters, Little Bai started to slow down.

    Huo Yuhao watched what was happening below. He could only see glimpses of light from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base.

    ¡°Little Bai, it¡¯s about time. Right here.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Little Bai acknowledged his words, and slowed further. He was able to rise with the Tai Tan Snowdevil King in the Extreme North, and the Snow Empress had no choice but to bring him away to protect the Tai Tan Snowdevil King¡¯s rule. This showed how strong he was. It was just that the Snow Empress¡¯ presence made him seem very harmless. If someone actually took him as an easy target to bully, he would be sure to punish that person.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Little Bai, it¡¯s up to you now.¡±

    ¡°No problem! Let me show you how good I am!¡± Little Bai screamed in delight. He and the Tai Tan Snowdevil King seemed to have some kind of dislike for each other. In the past, they would always fight every time they saw each other. Even though he couldn¡¯t fight the Tai Tan Snowdevil King this time because of the Snow Empress, thepetitive mindset in him hadn¡¯t disappeared. This time, the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was on the ground, while he was in the air. He was delighted. He even thought that Huo Yuhao was more on his side.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao had brought him into the air because he was more adept at controlling the elements, whereas the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was physically stronger, and more suited for direct assaults. These were the only reasons¡­

    ¡°Hoo hoo!¡± Low-pitched whimpers started to resonate from Little Bai¡¯s mouth. His thick and chubby arms started to open up to either side.

    Following this, dim-blue light started to emanate from his body. He also started to balloon in size. He was returning to his original form.

    He wanted to demonstrate his full abilities in front of Huo Yuhao. To do so, it was best that he was in his original form.

    The Ice Bear King glowed with an icy-blue halo in the night sky. He was almost thirty meters tall, and his body was like a small mountain, but he still managed to remain adrift in mid-air. His eyes, which were extremely small earlier, started to expand along with his body. His pupils emanated dark-blue light. These streaks of lights flowed out from his eyes as if they were liquid. His immense soul power undtions started to slowly but steadily spread out. They were even viscous as they seeped from his body.

    Right now, he was above Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao could only sense the terrifying soul power undtions that the Ice Bear King released.

    Perhaps he wasn¡¯t as steady, firm and powerful as Di Tian. However, the soul power undtions that he released right now were definitely much stronger than those of Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, he was very terrifying. He was like an impregnable, moving castle!

    The Ice Bear King roared. Following this, his icy-blue soul power started to revolve around his body.

    He kept pouring out his soul power, while the ice elements in the air started to gather towards him at an rming speed.

    Only the position that Huo Yuhao was in wasn¡¯t affected at all. However, he managed to observe from his Spiritual Detection that there was a ball of blue light in front of the Ice Bear King¡¯s chest. This ball of blue light was in the form of a whirlpool.

    It had to be a soul core. Without a doubt, it had to be the soul core of the Ice Bear King. Compared to his own soul core, the Ice Bear King¡¯s soul core was much bigger. It was even located in his chest. As this huge soul core revolved, the Ice Bear King¡¯s own soul power seemed to pour out as if it were unlimited. The ice elements in the air were quickly strengthened.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished to see that some of the clouds far away started to drift towards them as the Ice Bear King released his soul power. After this, they turned into countless snowkes that danced agitatedly around the Ice Bear King¡¯s immense figure.

    Roars reverberated continuously from the Ice Bear King. Slowly, a huge whirlpool formed from ice and snow appeared in the air. This whirlpool spun very quickly. The most terrifying thing was that it was expanding rapidly too. In just a matter of seconds, the area that the Ice Bear King controlled spanned more than a thousand meters in diameter.

    Just like the Snow Empress had mentioned, all ice-type soul beasts were much stronger in the Extreme North. This was applicable to the Ice Bear King too.

    If they were further south, the temperature of the air wouldn¡¯t be so low. If he wanted to do something like this, he would need to use at least twenty percent more soul power.

    The huge whirlpool was still expanding at a rapid speed. It went from a thousand five hundred meters to two thousand meters to two thousand five hundred meters to three thousand meters in diameter.

    If not for the fact that it was very dark now, and they were four thousand five hundred meters up in the sky, such a terrifying whirlpool would have immediately been discovered. It was a pity that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t see anything at such an altitude. An altitude of five thousand meters was threatening to all life!

    The Ice Bear King¡¯s roars slowly became stronger and stronger. His soul power was still being released at an increasing speed. The whirlpool appeared to be boundless by now. It was maintained at a constant speed, but its diameter slowly reached four thousand meters, and then five thousand meters.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing a savage beast unleashing its full abilities. It was extremely terrifying.

    If the Ice Bear King demonstrated such great abilities, how strong was Di Tian? If not for the fact that Elder Xuan and Elder Mu had teamed up to fight Di Tian, Shrek Academy would have been destroyed. Soul beasts were indeed the same terrifying creatures that had once ruled the Douluo Continent!

    The Ice Bear King had turnedpletely icy-blue. His originally-white fur was like ice crystals now. His dominant aura was still getting stronger and stronger. However, the size of the whirlpool stopped growing when it reached a diameter of five thousand meters. The only thing that changed was its speed. Under his control, it started to spin faster again. Slowly, sharp whizzing and piercing wind-blowing sounds started to resonate through the air. The strong soundwaves made it seem as if the air were about to be torn apart. In addition, the temperature around the whirlpool started to fall significantly.

    The dancing snowkes slowly turned into sharp ice kes. Under the effect of the raging wind, they turned into terrifying, lethal weapons.

    The Ice Bear King roared in excitement. He lifted his bear palms before mimicking a pressing action. Its body started to shine with icy-blue light. Following this, the whirlpool deviated from its control, and started to descend. As it descended, it started to expand again, as the Ice Bear King was no longer controlling it anymore.

    A diameter of five thousand meters was just the start. A blizzard was about toe!

    Yes, this was the innate soul skill of the Ice Bear King, Blizzard! It was a true blizzard. His innate soul skill was only perfected with the Snow Empress¡¯ advice. Even someone as strong as the Tai Tan Snowdevil King had to avoid the Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard. The only alternative was to stop the Ice Bear King from unleashing theplete version of his Blizzard.

    His Blizzard raged in the air. Sharp, chilly winds and bone-piercing ice kes were sweeping all across the air. Very soon, the area that the whirlpool covered was ten times its original size. From above, Huo Yuhao could clearly see that this Blizzard had actually covered the entire base, and even most of the surveince soul tools.

    He¡¯s too strong.Although he had his own judgment of the Ice Bear King, he actually realized that the Ice Bear King was extremely powerful, even though he was very simple-minded.

    The Ice Bear King smacked his palms against his chest and shouted in excitement. A portion of the raging ice elements in the air started to gather towards him, and he absorbed them into his body to replenish himself.

    ¡°Grandpa, how is it? I¡¯m quite good, right?¡± The Ice Bear King asked delightedly.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Great. We¡¯ll wait for the results now.¡±

    Given the Blizzard, even his Spiritual Detection was slightly ineffective. He needed time for the Ice Bear King¡¯s terrifying soul skill to be fully unleashed before deciding whether it was effective. As for the Sun Moon Empire, he could only pray for them. The Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard was simply too powerful!

    Ju Zi waspleting some administrative matters in themander¡¯s tent when she noticed that the wind outside seemed to have gotten much stronger. The whizzing sounds of the wind became louder and louder. She even felt that the soulmps in the tent were starting to flicker a little.

    Are there strong winds outside?

    She grabbed her coat from her seat and put it on before leaving the tent. When she first opened the curtains, she felt a gust of chilly wind sweep across her face.

    She shivered.It¡¯s so cold!

    The chilly winds whizzed. Depressions formed on the surfaces of all the tents. In the air, snowkes danced and descended. In addition, the winds and snowkes were hitting the base quicker and quicker.

    Why is there such a strong blizzard?

    Ever since she had arrived, Ju Zi had already thought that she had slowly adapted to the rigorous conditions. However, tonight¡¯s blizzard seemed to be a little too extreme.

    ¡°Troopers!¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± A member of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion rushed in front of her, ready to take orders.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Quick, help me pass down the order for everyone to be wary of the winds. If it gets too strong, use some heavy soul tools to press down the tents. Also, don¡¯t forget to keep warm.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The trooper quickly left. However, the winds were getting even stronger.

    Ju Zi returned to her tent and closed the curtains. Her tent was supported by soul tools. The warmer temperature inside made her heave a sigh of relief. It was inevitable for one to feel much more rxed moving from a cold to a warmer ce. However, she still furrowed her brow.

    There were many rare metal veins here, even though the conditions were very rigorous.

 Chapter 476 - Ice Bear Kings Blizzard

    <h4 ss>Chapter 476: Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard</h4>

    The twenty-thousand-man army that Ju Zi brought along with her this time were soldiers deployed from the north of the Sun Moon Empire. They were able to tolerate the cold well. However, many of them still suffered frostbite aftering here.

    Especially the five thousand miners who were sent over here ¨C their tolerance for cold was much worse. The soul masters among them fared better, as their bodies were stronger. However, there were not many soul masters among them. Most of them were ordinary people. They worked every day. Very soon, many of them couldn¡¯t hang on anymore, and some of them even died.

    The blizzard tonight was especially strong, and no one knew what the conditions would be tomorrow. Given this atrocious weather, their progress would likely be stalled even further.

    After hearing no news of Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi was actually very anxious. She wished that their mining operations would finish quickly, so that she could return to her actual base. On the one hand, she wanted to quickly execute her n for the war. On the other hand, she also hoped that she could rely on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s intelligence abilities to find out where Huo Yuhao was.

    Bitingly cold winds whizzed. The deafening sounds made it seem as if avenging spirits were whizzing instead. The soulmps in themander¡¯s tent flickered even more intensely, and even more depressions appeared around themander¡¯s tent.

    It¡¯s even stronger now?

    ¡°Chi Chi¡ª¡ª¡± Weird noises started to sound around the tent. Ju Zi suddenly focused her gaze, and seemed to have thought of something. She quickly charged towards the opening of the tent and drew the curtains. Suddenly, countless ice kes flew in. These ice kes carried a strong sense of chill and sharpness. Ju Zi subconsciously lifted her hands before she poured out her soul power, which formed a protective barrier around her.

    However, even so, the ice kes still managed to cause ripples to form after piercing the barrier around her.

    ¡°It¡¯s damaged.¡± Ju Zimented, and immediately unleashed her protective soul barrier.

    She was also a seven-ringed Soul Sage. After unleashing her protective soul barrier, she ignored the raging blizzard in the sky and immediately leaped up. She flew tens of meters into the air.

    She was immediately stunned when she saw what was going on.

    The blizzard was raging throughout the entire base. The snowkes, that resembled icy des, were also scattered everywhere, and covered the entire base. The leather tents of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legions were still fine; they weren¡¯t really damaged yet. However, the other ordinary tents were already starting to tear because of the snowkes.

    Tragic screams were already sounding. The ordinary soldiers couldn¡¯t possibly resist the ice kes, which were like sharp knives.

    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Ju Zi shouted, and lifted her right hand. An orange-red beam of light immediately shot into the sky. Patches of orange-red light exploded amidst the blizzard. Ju Zi¡¯s red armor shone, and a barrier formed around her.

    Orange-red figures started to appear from the perimeter of the base, and beams of orange-red light also started to gather in the air. They formed ayer of red barriers that started to expand as they resisted the blizzard.

    There were four hundred soul engineers in the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, and there were some reserve members. This ced the size of the entire legion at around five hundred soul engineers. They quickly rose into the sky under Ju Zi¡¯s signal. Linked defensive soul tools were unleashed, forming a barrier to resist the brutal attacks of the blizzard.

    Ju Zi clearly knew that this blizzard wasn¡¯t a natural phenomenon. No matter how strong a natural blizzard was, it was only very snowy and windy. The snowkes couldn¡¯t be so sharp, and they wouldn¡¯t contain undtions of ice elements either. Without a doubt, this had to be someone¡¯s doing.

    Yuhao, is it you?After unleashing the linked defensive soul tools, the first thing that surfaced in Ju Zi¡¯s head was Huo Yuhao.

    However, she soon rejected that assumption. The reason was very simple ¨C this blizzard was simply too strong.

    Everything around had been covered by this blizzard, and it was damaging everything. No matter how talented Huo Yuhao was in terms of his Ultimate Ice, he was still a Soul Sage. A Soul Sage couldn¡¯t possibly demonstrate such terrifying abilities. Ju Zi even felt that this couldn¡¯t possibly be the doing of a single soul master.

    Whether it was in terms of military matters or soul tools, Ju Zi was very intelligent. However, everyone had their ws and shorings, and she wasn¡¯t an exception. Her greatest shoring was that she wasn¡¯t a strong soul master.

    She wasn¡¯t a strong soul master, but was a pure soul engineer instead. The strongest soul masters that she had fought were the evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church, which she actively avoided.

    This was why she wasn¡¯t able to deduce the cultivation of a soul master needed to produce such a brutal blizzard. Or rather, she couldn¡¯t tell the number of soul masters needed to produce this blizzard.Don¡¯t tell me that the Heavenly Soul Empire or Dou Ling Empire actually have a strong soul master legion?

    However, no matter how strong this blizzard was, it couldn¡¯t shake the linked defense of the entire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.

    However, the linked defense formed by five hundred soul engineers still had a limit. Their defense couldn¡¯t possibly protect the entire base.

    After all, the base had to be big enough to contain twenty-five thousand people! They could only protect one-third of the base. This was their limit.

    After stabilizing the formations, Ju Zi immediately descended and continued to give outmands. She didn¡¯tmand the soldiers to retreat to this one-third of the base. Given how terrifying the blizzard was, the ordinary soldiers would be torn apart the moment they exposed themselves outside. She immediately gave the order for everyone to hide under their beds and cover their bodies with their nkets.

    Even though there would still be many casualties this way, she only hoped that this unnatural blizzard wouldn¡¯tst for too long. If that was the case, the number of casualties could be minimized.

    Ju Zi¡¯s solution was undoubtedly the best they could do right now. Such a strong blizzard was unnatural. In her opinion, it couldn¡¯tst long.

    However, her expression still changed after she settled the soldiers in the base. She knew that they had lost this battle, even though it had only just begun.

    Most of the soldiers were hiding underneath their beds and temporarily avoiding the blizzard. However, the other two-thirds of the base had already been torn to pieces. It couldn¡¯t contain anyone any longer.

    She had twenty-five thousand men with her, and it was already very cramped. It was impossible to contain everyone within the remaining one-third of the base.

    This meant that their original n couldn¡¯t bepleted even if this blizzard ended soon, and even if there weren¡¯t too many casualties, it would be greatly dyed. Moreover, many people would certainly be hurt or killed. Even the machines that were used to mine the rare metals would be greatly damaged.

    This blizzard was simply overwhelming! In addition, Ju Zi couldn¡¯t even find her target. If she wasn¡¯t able to lock onto her opponent and find out where this blizzard wasing from, she naturally had no way of dealing with it.

    Can¡¯t find my opponent?

    As she thought until here, Ju Zi¡¯s expression turned even grimmer. She subconsciously lifted her head and peered into the sky.

    All she saw was the blizzard that was raging in the pitch-ck night sky.

    That¡¯s it. The aerial surveince soul tools will be greatly damaged in this blizzard. Or rather, the other party¡¯s original n¡­

    As she thought until here, Ju Zi gritted her teeth extremely hard.

    A scheme, this is obviously a scheme! The other party obviously knows that even if I find out that their n is to destroy our aerial surveince soul tools, I won¡¯t be able tomand my soul engineers to leave the base, given the blizzard. This base is our foundation. We have so many soldiers here. Even if they choose to retreat, there wouldn¡¯t be enough tents. We¡¯ll still sustain heavy losses. This is why we have to protect our base. This gives them enough time to destroy our aerial surveince soul tools.

    Ju Zi¡¯s deductions were all right.

    Huo Yuhao was on the Ice Bear King¡¯s back right now as he searched for the aerial surveince soul tools at the boundaries of the blizzard.

    As he had checked them earlier, he had already memorized the positions of these aerial surveince soul tools. As for those that were within the blizzard, he didn¡¯t have to worry at all.

    The closer this blizzard was from the ground, therger the area it covered. However, its actual strength would diminish. When it was in the air, its destructive strength would be even greater. Those aerial surveince soul tools were also not very tough. Given the strength of this blizzard, they would definitely be destroyed.

    The Ice Bear King had once questioned Huo Yuhao. He told Huo Yuhao that the destructive strength of his Blizzard would be several times greater if it was unleashed at a lower altitude. The enemy would certainly suffer much greater losses.

    However, Huo Yuhao stopped him from doing so. The reason was simple. He didn¡¯t want to use this blizzard to deal with the enemy. Given the overall abilities of Ju Zi and her Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, a blizzard was unable to truly hurt them. Once the region covered by this blizzard became smaller, she might have some way of dealing with it, since she was so intelligent.

    Furthermore, the most important point was that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to kill too many ordinary soldiers. They were innocent, just ordinary people. War and invasions were the results of their ruler¡¯s orders. This was why Huo Yuhao¡¯s main intention was to disrupt the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s n, not to kill people. Also, he was the only one who knew deep down in his heart that he was afraid of hurting Ju Zi.

    It was the truth that this blizzard was very effective. The ground shook tremendously, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was in a great state of confusion. Even though Ju Zi¡¯s orders were very appropriate, she couldn¡¯t possibly deal with Huo Yuhao right now. The raging blizzard was also slightly weakened at Huo Yuhao¡¯s request, but this made it possible for it tost longer. It was long enough for all the aerial surveince soul tools to be dealt with.

    The blizzard soon covered a smaller region. However, the parts of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base that were exposed were alreadypletely destroyed.

    The strength of the icy des was limited, but that was only for soul masters. To ordinary people, they were still very lethal. Even though the strength of the blizzard was already greatly reduced at Huo Yuhao¡¯s request, there were still many soldiers who were unable to get out from underneath their beds.

    Ju Zi looked very grim right now. She maintained the linked defensive formation, which greatly drained their soul power. The icy des weren¡¯t too strong, but it was difficult for them to maintain their positions amidst the blizzard. In just a short time, all the soul engineers had to replenish their soul power with a Milk Bottle each. More importantly, this blizzard greatly dampened the soldiers¡¯ morale.

    At this moment, a roar sounded from afar. Ju Zi clearly saw a figure that was charging towards the base rapidly.

    This figure didn¡¯te closer to the base, but started causing damage around the perimeter. The figure looked to be that of a human, but its strength was extremely terrifying. The tremendous sounds of destruction started to reverberate.

    ¡°Small Team 1, take care of him.¡± Ju Zimanded. She still didn¡¯t remove the linked defense formation. At this moment, she had to be more prudent in dealing with this unknown enemy.

    There were ten soul engineers in one small team of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. Each of them was led by a ss 6 soul engineer, while the rest were all ss 4 soul engineers.

    Ten soul engineers were rapidly charging towards the person who was causing destruction to the foundational structures around the base. Beams of soul rays also shot towards him.

    They didn¡¯t use any soul cannons, which would be more destructive, to preserve the foundational structures.

    However, they were shocked to see that the person didn¡¯t avoid their attacks at all. When the scorching soul rays struck him, they didn¡¯t even create ripples. They just disappeared. That person didn¡¯t seem to feel anything at all either.

    After this, they saw something shocking. That person stood in front of a thick metal pir. It was one of the many metal pirs that Huo Yuhao saw the Sun Moon Empire drill into the ground. Each pir was fifty meters long, and they were forged from special alloys.

    As this person exerted force, he actually managed to pierce through one of the pirs. Following this, he lifted it up, and swept this pir towards the small team of soul engineers, as if he were trying to kill flies.

 Chapter 477.1 - Almost Mastered

    <h4 ss>Chapter 477.1: Almost Mastered</h4>

    The leading soul engineer was shocked. It was pertinent to note that each of the metal pirs weighed more than five thousand kilos! Was that a weight that a human could lift? Even if they were hit by only the edge of this metal pir, it would still be enough to crush them!

    ¡°Disperse!¡± The ten soul engineers quickly dispersed, which prevented them from being killed.

    However, that person didn¡¯t seem to care whether he hit them. In his hands, the pir seemed to be very light and free. Then, he forcefully smashed the pir against a huge rack at his side.

    The rack was greatly damaged before it started to copse. A huge drill that was attached to it nted, and was about to fall off. The price of such a drill was around one million gold soul coins.

    Is he really a human?This was the thought in all of the soul engineers¡¯ heads right now. Even Ju Zi was stunned when she saw this.Can a human really be so strong?

    At this point, that person turned around. He grabbed the metal pir tightly with both hands before he started to spin around. He looked like a giant spinning top, while the metal pir was like the sharp point of this spinning top. It was extremely terrifying.

    This was definitely more terrifying than the blizzard earlier. The surrounding structures were all destroyed as this metal windstorm swept by.

    Ju Zi could no longer remainposed anymore. She shouted, ¡°Large Teams 1 and 2, enter the formation and attack with heavy cannons. Teams 3 and 4, prepare to maintain the linked defensive barrier.¡±

    The soul formation of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was in the center of the base. This was the n all along. All therge soul tools were contained within this formation. There were even several ss 9 soul tools there.

    From this brief encounter, she had already concluded that this extremely powerful man had to be at least a Transcendent Douluo. Fighting a Transcendent Douluo was not something one or two people could do. As she recalled the blizzard earlier, she realized that the enemy¡¯s strength couldn¡¯t be estimated at all. The only way they could deal with their attacks was to use their linked defense in tandem with their soul formation.

    Without a doubt, it was right of her to do this. However, it was at this moment that the Fire Phoenix Douluo was stunned. She peered into the sky and asked, ¡°Legionmander, take a look. What¡¯s that?¡±

    Ju Zi subconsciously lifted her head to take a look, and was stunned. A ball of icy-blue light was bing brighter and brighter in the sky. This ball of light seemed to have covered the entire sky, as if the moon had suddenly fallen from the heavens. It was crashing down on them. The aura of this ball of light was so overwhelming that they felt as if they were beingpletely suppressed just by looking at it.

    It¡¯s too scary. What is it?

    ¡°Quick, let¡¯s gather our full strength and attack the sky.¡± Ju Zi gave out an order without any further hesitation. She also quickly went to retrieve soul cannons and fired them towards the sky.

    At this moment, a loud boom caused Ju Zi¡¯s body to shake slightly. The entire linked defense formation started to waver. Many of the soul engineers didn¡¯t even hear her orders clearly.

    Although two hundred soul engineers had left for the soul formation, there were still three hundred soul engineers maintaining this linked defense formation! But it still shook tremendously. This showed how powerful the enemy¡¯s attack was.

    Ju Zi turned, and all she saw was a huge metal pir being deflected away. She suddenly understood what was going on. The person who had unleashed the metal windstorm earlier had thrown the metal pir towards them.

    The metal pir was almost fifty meters long, and it was unleashed with great force because of the high-speed rotation earlier. No wonder the impact force was so terrifying. Even though they were protected, some of the ss 4 soul engineers turned pale. Some of them were even hurt, and spat out blood.

    This momentary dy allowed the huge icy-blue ball to get closer and closer. It was as if a giant mountain were going to crash down on them.

    At this moment, the teams that were supposed to enter the soul formation had yet to get into position.

    ¡°Attack! Quick, attack towards the sky. Don¡¯t bother with that person below!¡± Ju Zi shouted. Her soul cannon had already been fired.

    Although she didn¡¯t know what that huge light ball was, she could clearly sense that the entire soul formation would be destroyed if it was allowed to crash down. At this moment, ordinary soldiers werepletely useless. Even as themander of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, she also felt helpless.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo had remained close to Ju Zi, and she now lifted her hands. As a light shed, she retrieved a golden-red object from her storage-type soul tool. It was a weird soul tool in the shape of a phoenix.

    This soul tool wasn¡¯t veryrge. However, it exuded scorching heat the moment it appeared. The golden-red light that emanated from it also brightened their surroundings.

    This Fire Phoenix was very exquisite. Its eyes were like rubies, and looked very real. It felt as if it were a real phoenix.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo wore a serious expression on her face as she slowly lifted it up. Following this, her figure shed, and she exited the linked defense formation.

    Intense fiery-red light was released from her body as her soul rings appeared. Her fiery wings were unleashed, and the fiery light started to gather towards the soul tool in her hands.

    The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion demonstrated its strength at this moment. The three hundred soul engineers in the sky quickly unleashed their attacks under Ju Zi¡¯smand.

    Three hundred beams of fiery-red light shot out. They gathered in the air and charged straight towards the ball of light. Since they could link their defenses, they could naturally link their attacks too. This was why the Sun Moon Empire was so scary.

    Loud booms resonated through the air. The huge icy-blue ball shook slightly, but started to shine even more brightly. It continued to crash down, although it was slightly slower now.

    Thedies from the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion were shocked when they saw this scene. Their linked offensive soul tools were known for being unstoppable. There were a few hundred of them. Even though they were just using ss 4 scorching rays, theirbined attack was still very powerful. Of course, the low temperature of the ice ins of the Extreme North slightly diminished the effect of these scorching rays. However, what exactly was that falling light? How was it able to resist the rays? It waspletely unbelievable.

    Ju Zi was a little simr to Huo Yuhao. In a crisis, she was able to maintain herposure. She knew that she had to stop the ball from falling. It had to be very strong if it could resist so many scorching rays. Once it crashed down, their soul formation was bound to be destroyed. If she could hang on until their soul formation took effect, they wouldn¡¯t need to fear anymore. A soul engineer legion was most terrifying in the soul formation that it created.

    However, giant snowballs started to be rapidly flung over from the perimeter of the base at this moment.

    Wherever they passed, all the mining machines were quickly destroyed. The burly man who flung the metal pir earlier also looked into the sky, and roared. His body started to balloon in size. In just a matter of seconds, Ju Zi watched him grow to a height of more than one hundred and twenty meters.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King had a reputation for having the strongest body in the continent, and he didn¡¯t earn it from nothing. Soul masters and soul engineers weren¡¯t unfamiliar with soul beasts. However, this was the first time the soul engineers from the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion had seen such a massive soul beast.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King roared into the sky and crouched down slightly before leaping up. His huge figure was like a cannon shell as he collided with the linked defensive barrier in the sky. At the same time, the giant snowballs were already hitting them from all directions now.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡±

    The linked defensive barrier shook tremendously, and all the soul engineers within it turned extremely pale. The Fire Phoenix Douluo was also stunned for a moment. She was also slightly dyed from firing her soul tool.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo could tell how strong the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was the moment he revealed his true size. She wasn¡¯t a pure soul master, but she had some understanding of soul beasts. If he could transform into a human, he had to be a savage beast!He¡¯s definitely a soul beast; this is not a Martial Soul True Body unleashed by a soul master. A Martial Soul True Body is an energy body, but this is definitely his true form.

    There was one savage beast to their side, and there was a ball of terrifying light descending from above. Which one should they choose to resist?

    ¡°Sky.¡± Ju Zi made the decision for the Fire Phoenix Douluo. At this moment, she tried to calm herself as she faced the immense Tai Tan Snowdevil King.

    The aerial threat directly threatened the soul formation below. Although the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was strong, the soul formation could still resist him if it was deployed perfectly. As one of the strongest soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire, Ju Zi was confident that they could deal with any problems that arose once they unleashed their full fighting strength.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo shouted and exerted strength with both hands as she pushed up. As a sonorous phoenix roar sounded, a fire phoenix was actually released from her hands. It fluttered its phoenix wings and flew towards the plummeting ball of light.

 Chapter 477.2 - Almost Mastered

    <h4 ss>Chapter 477.2: Almost Mastered</h4>

    This was a powerful ss 9 soul tool that the Fire Phoenix Douluo had personally created. It was called Soaring Phoenix, and was a pure offensive soul tool. It could reach a temperature of over a thousand degrees Celsius, and possessed great explosive strength. It could only be used once before it became useless, but it was much more powerful than most ordinary ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. However, its shoring was that it couldn¡¯t reach as far as a stationary soul cannon shell. However, it was very suitable for usage within a fixed region.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King was slightly stunned when he saw the fire phoenix rising into the sky. Although it wasn¡¯t flying towards him, he could still sense the immense soul power undtions it emitted.Can a human really unleash such an attack? That human isn¡¯t that strong either!

    Huo Yuhao mentioned that humans are capable of inventing weapons. This must be one of them. It¡¯s indeed strong!Originally, the Tai Tan Snowdevil King had looked down on humans. However, his opinion slowly changed when he realized that his previous two attacks couldn¡¯t topple the linked defensive barrier, and after he saw the rising fire phoenix.

    The huge ball in the sky was only five hundred meters from the ground now. At this moment, the Soaring Phoenix blew apart, and received its attack!

    Blue and fiery-red formed two parallel lines in the air. These parallel lines expanded suddenly, and a region covering hundreds of square kilometers was instantly engulfed by these two colors. Ice and fire raged as they battled with each other. It was also at this moment that the soul engineers of the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion finally entered their soul formation, and started to control theirrge offensive soul tools.

    Between ice and fire, fire was evidently being drained more quickly. After all, this was the ice ins of the Extreme North! In this extremely cold part of the world, all fire-type abilities were greatly diminished. This process was even continuous.

    It was at this moment that a ball of icy-blue light suddenly drilled out from the fire and instantly crashed down,nding directly within the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul formation.

    When it hit the ground, the light dispersed, revealing a figure. Wasn¡¯t he Huo Yuhao?

    When Huo Yuhaonded, his body immediately turned illusory. The huge figure that had descended from the sky earlier was naturally the Ice Bear King. Huo Yuhao had already guessed that the Phoenix Soul Engineer would have some way of tackling him, given their abilities. At the same time, he was also adapting to the situation. Everything, including the Tai Tan Snowdevil King and the Tai Tan Snowdevils¡¯ attacks, was under his control.

    A white halo immediately spread after he concealed his body with his Imitation. At the same time, a golden whirlpool appeared above the Fire Phoenix Douluo¡¯s head.

    They were his third and fourth soul skills, Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual Confusion.

    In terms of cultivation, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯tpare to the Fire Phoenix Douluo. However, his immense spiritual power couldpare to a Titled Douluo. Under the effect of his spiritual soul core, he unleashed two soul skills. Suddenly, the Fire Phoenix Douluo was sent into a momentary trance. Within this soul formation, all the soul engineers felt as if their soul power had leaked out of their bodies. A strong sense of weakness quickly caused them to turn dizzy.

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement, a huge vertical eye appeared at the center of the soul formation, and the space within the soul formation immediately distorted. Clearly no sound was made, but every soul engineer felt as if deafening thunder had sounded in their ears.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Martial Soul True Body, the Demonic Eyes of the Asura, along with his Spiritual st.

    A few spiritual-type soul skills were unleashed simultaneously. All the soul engineers from the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion staggered after being hit by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t unleash the full power of his Spiritual st because he wanted to maximize the area it covered. Otherwise, some of the soul engineers who were closest to him would have been blown apart from the st.

    Huo Yuhao stomped the ground with his right foot before the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass surfaced above his head. Following this, the ground shook, and countless ice spikes formed a dazzling icy flower with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at the center. It was the Star Anise Omnithrust.

    Under the enhancement of the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, the Star Anise Omnithrust was unleashed with full force. The soul engineers all had automated protective barriers on their bodies. They were only flung away from the Star Anise Omnithrust, but the soul formation that was deployed wasn¡¯t protected by a defensive barrier! Or rather, without any soul engineers controlling it, there was no way the soul formation could be protected.

    The soul tools in this formation were rather tough. Even when hit by the Star Anise Omnithrust, only small parts of them were damaged. However, they were all knocked over by the impact.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s series of attacks didn¡¯t cause too much harm to the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. However, it cause the soul formation to bepletely suppressed.

    When Ju Zi saw that huge vertical eye, she already knew who was here. Huo Yuhao was simply too quick. After he unleashed his Spiritual st, he returned to his original form almost instantly. When he stomped with his right leg, he was just looking at her.

    After this, countless ice spikes were unleashed. Around the perimeter, several massive figures changed into their original forms after a series of collisions. The powerful Tai Tan Snowdevils had already charged into the base with the help of the blizzard and Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao stood arrogantly in the center of the soul formation. When Ju Zi finally gritted her teeth and gave the order to all the soul engineers to focus their attacks on Huo Yuhao, another huge figure fell from the sky, shielding him. A giant ice wall absorbed all the attacks. At this moment, these soul engineers couldn¡¯t even think about attacking Huo Yuhao without their soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao remained where he was. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny had already opened. Sunray patterns filled his forehead. Right now, he was at the center of the battlefield. Whether it was the Ice Bear King, the Tai Tan Snowdevil King or the Tai Tan Snowdevils, they were all within range of his Spiritual Detection Sharing. The entire battlefield had beenpletely engulfed by his Spiritual Detection. Every Tai Tan Snowdevil was under hismand, including the Tai Tan Snowdevil King.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevils didn¡¯t kill the ordinary soldiers. Instead, they were furiously destroying all the structures. All the facilities that the Sun Moon Empire had tirelessly built to mine rare metals were torn apart under the hands of these Tai Tan Snowdevils. Metal pieces were flying everywhere.

    It took the soul engineers in the soul formation some effort before they shook off the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement, Spiritual st and Star Anise Omnithrust. By then, they discovered that they couldn¡¯t do anything at all. The Ice Bear King released a strong, chilly aura from his body as he stood within the soul formation. All the soul tools were quickly being frozen.

    Huo Yuhao was already showing mercy. After all, the soul engineers in the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion were female. If he had followed his attacks up with his Ice Explosion Technique, those who were of lower cultivations would have been critically hurt. However, he didn¡¯t want to kill too many people, which stopped him from doing that. All the soul tools were just frozen under the control of the Ice Bear King.

    The soul engineers could only quickly flee in all directions. They were all scattered from one another. Even if they could attack, how could they possibly threaten the Ice Bear King?

    Ju Zi turned slightly pale. When Huo Yuhao led the Ice Bear King to upy the soul formation, she knew that she had already lost this battle. Without the soul formation, she couldn¡¯t possibly threaten the Tai Tan Snowdevils even if she could survive.

    These Tai Tan Snowdevils were simply too scary. ss 4 and 5 soul tools were ineffective against them. Their destructive abilities had even destroyed all the mining facilities in and around the base.

    These Tai Tan Snowdevils had massive limbs and sharp ws. Even the tough metals seemed like paper in front of them. Right now, more than a hundred Tai Tan Snowdevils were gathering towards the center. The Tai Tan Snowdevil King had even grabbed another thick metal pir, and smashed it against the linked defensive formation in the air.

    Ju Zi gritted her teeth and couldn¡¯t help but think ¨Cthis fellow is heartless. I¡¯ve been worrying over him for so long, but he¡¯s brought me such a huge ¡®surprise¡¯ with his return.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know what Ju Zi was thinking about. Things had reached such a stage that the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was clearly unable to clean up the mess anymore.

    Huo Yuhao flipped up, and jumped onto the Ice Bear King¡¯s back. The Ice Bear King roared into the sky. Countless ice picks danced in the air and shot straight towards the linked defensive formation. The Ice Bear King turned around quickly and charged away with Huo Yuhao on his back.

    He¡¯s leaving? He¡¯s leaving just like that?

    Ju Zi was stunned. When she saw the frozen soul formation on the ground, she heaved a sigh of relief. Although they had suffered heavy losses this time, they had still managed to preserve their soul formation. This meant that she still had a chance of making aeback.

    However, this thought onlysted for a second before she was brought back to the harsh realities of life.

    Tremendous booms started resonating through the air. Explosions sounded from the soul formation one after another. The huge soul tools were blown apart, and debris scattered in the air. Bits of metal flew everywhere, and the core formation blew apart, causing an even louder explosion. The entire soul formation seemed as if it had been ignited as it kept on exploding.

    Ice Explosion Technique!

 Chapter 477.3 - : Almost Mastered

    <h4 ss>Chapter 477.3: Almost Mastered</h4>

    The ferocious Ice Explosion Technique caused everything below to turn into an ocean of ice. The charging Ice Bear King released icy-blue halos from his body as he charged away. The ice elements in the air were instantly turned into another blizzard, that swept over the entire ce.

    Everything became unclear again. The blizzard caused heaven and earth to darken.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t give the order to attack anymore. She gathered all her soul engineers andmanded them to maintain their linked defense.

    This time, the blizzard didn¡¯tst as long as before. By the time blizzard was about to end, the Tai Tan Snowdevils, Ice Bear King and Huo Yuhao had alreadypletely vanished.

    The chilly winds in the Extreme North continued to whiz, but the explosions had already ceased. Things turned peaceful once again. Due to the blizzard, the ground was already covered in white. Even at night, the silky-white snow still refracted some light.

    At this moment, a deep voice sounded, ¡°This is yourst warning. Humans, leave the Extreme North. This is not a ce you should be. If there¡¯s a next time, we won¡¯t be merciful. All life will be turned into ice and snow.¡±

    This voice came with the winds, and echoed throughout the camp. It was deafening. It sounded as if the heavens had raged.

    This was¡­

    Not all the soul engineers had seen the human figure that had appeared in their midst. After all, Huo Yuhao had unleashed his Imitation to conceal himself right from the start.

    At this moment, all the soul engineers turned pale when they heard this voice.

    This was only a warning. It was a warning from the ice ins of the Extreme North.

    Every empire had a limited understanding of the world of soul beasts in the Extreme North. This was because the soul beasts here were only helpful to ice-type soul masters. Almost no soul master woulde here to get a soul ring. Under such a circumstance, their understanding of the ice ins of the Extreme North was extremely limited.

    The giants that were more than a hundred meters tall, and the terrifying giant bear that appeared earlier left deep impressions in the minds of these soul engineers.

    As the Hand that Protects the Nation in the Sun Moon Empire, they were actually very confident in themselves. Their confidence even bordered on arrogance. This was their first time suffering such a heavy setback ever since they were established. Even though there weren¡¯t many casualties, they had still suffered massive losses. Almost all the aerial surveince soul tools were destroyed. The soul formation below had also suffered the same fate. After tirelessly building these facilities for half a month, almost nothing was left. Arge number of tents had been destroyed, and thousands of soldiers were left shivering in the cold. Was this how powerful the ice ins of the Extreme North were?

    What kind of strength existed here? Did they incur the wrath of this ce by trying to mine rare metals here?

    The soul engineers weren¡¯t the only ones who heard the voice. The ordinary soldiers heard it too. Compared to the soul engineers, the ordinary soldiers were more afraid of gods. Adding that to the fact that it was bitingly cold right now, the soldiers¡¯ morale was greatly affected.

    Ju Zi quietly drifted in mid-air. The others didn¡¯t know, but how could she not be aware?

    Even though she only got a nce before Huo Yuhao had concealed himself, she could already tell that what she saw was right. It was him.

    It had to be his abilities. Even though he was much stronger nowpared to before, his Martial Soul True Body was unique.

    It¡¯s him. He didn¡¯t just bring reinforcements from Shrek Academy; he brought many soul beasts from the ice ins of the Extreme North too.No matter how intelligent Ju Zi was, she couldn¡¯t understand why the soul beasts would listen to Huo Yuhao. Furthermore, the battle earlier didn¡¯t seem to have been initiated by the soul beasts. It had to be a scheme, a ploy. Not many had died, but all the soul tools had been destroyed. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t manage to cause many problems for the enemy. This was clearly an ambush led by someone!

    At this moment, Ju Zi couldn¡¯t consider so many things anymore. She gritted her teeth and groaned furiously, then immediately gave out a series of orders.

    First, the soldiers whose tents had been destroyed needed to be helped. They would be temporarily moved to the tents that had been protected by the linked defensive formation.

    Even if it was overcrowded, they had no choice anymore. Furthermore, she instructed all the soul engineers to let out their tents to the soldiers who were injured.

    The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was well-equipped ¨C every soul engineer had her own tent. Even though their individual tens weren¡¯t veryrge, they were still sufficient to amodate a few people. In addition, tents made from mature cow leather were much warmer than ordinary tents. They were very appropriate for amodating casualties.

    At the same time, the fire-type abilities of the soul engineers also be the best way to help the soldiers keep warm. The entire base started to get busy. Even though morale was low, the soldiers became less affected by daylight, because Ju Zi handled the situation very well. It was important to know that she had even let out her own tent for the injured soldiers. This act won the hearts of her soldiers, and stopped their morale from falling even further.

    When things had finally been settled, the sky was already brightening. When Ju Zi saw all the damaged soul tools, she was on the verge of crying, even though she was normally very tough.

    Not only had they lost this battle, they had lost tragically too. Although there weren¡¯t many casualties, they had suffered major losses in terms of their machines.

    Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re too ruthless!Ju Zi gritted her teeth as she thought.

    However, her expression slowly turned gentler as she recalled what had happened in the fight. How could she not tell that Huo Yuhao was actually being merciful? Otherwise, those powerful soul beasts would have had many opportunitiesunch a massacre.

    If that had happened, more than half of the ordinary soldiers would have been killed, and even the soul engineers within the soul formation would not have survived. When the soul formation was destroyed, Huo Yuhao and the terrifying soul beasts had a ripe opportunities to encircle and kill them.

    But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t do so. He didn¡¯t let the powerful soul beasts do that. Instead, he engaged purely in destruction. After gaining the absolute advantage, he decided to retreat. Ju Zi knew that they had their linked soul tools as a guarantee, and could kill some of the giant soul beasts. However, what was the point of killing only one or two of them?

    Those giants were too terrifying. Their defensive strength was the strongest among all the soul beasts that she had ever seen. The price to pay to kill even one of them would have been very high. What if they drained all their soul power, and couldn¡¯t maintain their linked defensive barrier anymore? They could only flee. But what would be the result of fleeing? It was leaving behind a twenty-five-thousand-man army!

    The soul engineer legion might be able to flee, but the ordinary soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to do so.

    When she thought until here, Ju Zi felt less aggrieved. Her nemesis was ultimately her ownck of knowledge. She had lost this round, and she had lost it badly.

    ¡°Hmph! You better notnd in my hands.¡± Ju Zi thought to herself fiercely. Her face started to show a tinge of red. This was because she found out that even she felt helpless when she thought of this.

    Huo Yuhao led the Tai Tan Snowdevils as they retreated. They returned to their temporary base fifty kilometers away. However, they hadn¡¯t won effortlessly like Ju Zi thought.

    There was a huge burn covering more than ten square meters on the Ice Bear King¡¯s chest. He was pretty hurt.

    The Fire Phoenix Douluo¡¯s Soaring Phoenix was very strong. It was much stronger than Huo Yuhao had expected. The Ice Bear King had used his Ice Bear Meteor, his strongest offensive soul skill. However, he was still hurt after colliding with the Soaring Phoenix after he was weakened by the linked offensive soul tools.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King had already turned back into his human form, and stood beside Huo Yuhao. The Ice Bear King did the same. However, he was seated instead. He grimaced as he circted his soul power to treat his wound.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe that humans could invent weapons to deal with us. But it seems like I was wrong. Humans are already so strong.¡± He had been fighting the Ice Bear King for many years, thus he naturally knew how strong he was. The Ice Bear King¡¯s Ice Bear Meteor had caused him massive problems before. However, it didn¡¯t have much effect after shing with the humans¡¯ attacks.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King agreed with Huo Yuhao that they shouldn¡¯t massacre the humans. The ice ins of the Extreme North were a promisednd that wasn¡¯t suitable for humans to live in. There wasn¡¯t any need to kill humans; they just needed to chase them away.

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°My n wasn¡¯t perfect. That¡¯s why Little Bai was hurt. Little Bai, how are you feeling now?¡±

    The Ice Bear King turned around andid on the ground, allowing his burning wound toe into contact with the icy ground. He shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I can still hold on. Grandpa, I don¡¯t me you. You warned me, but I was over-confident. I wouldn¡¯t be in this state if I had tried to avoid their attacks. Ah Tai is actually right ¨C humans are scary. Although we had the absolute advantage earlier, we would still have needed to pay a huge price if we wanted to annihte thempletely.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°This was why I decided to just teach them a lesson after our sudden attack before retreating. I¡¯m grateful for all your help. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many casualties this time.¡±

 Chapter 478.1 - Who Isnt Kindhearted?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 478.1: Who Isn¡¯t Kindhearted?</h4>

    Ah Tai nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You are the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress¡¯panion, and that means you will always be the Extreme North¡¯s friend. If ever you need our help in the future, don¡¯t hesitate to send someone here to give us instructions.¡± He bent down as he spoke, and passed his palm face-up in front of Huo Yuhao.

    He was in human form, but he was still a lot more muscr than Huo Yuhao was. There was an icy-blue snowke on his broad palm, which seemed like it was made from ice and snow. However, Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise when he took it that the snowke was actually lukewarm. But he could clearly feel that the terrifying aura of Ultimate Ice contained within it.

    ¡°This is the Snow Empress¡¯ Writ, and it¡¯s personally given by the Snow Empress. If you need anything in the future, just send someone to the Extreme North with that Snow Empress¡¯ Writ, and we will follow any instruction or request you have.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t decline his offer, and he put the Snow Empress¡¯ Writ in his storage soul tool. The Extreme North¡¯s strength was very formidable. Furthermore, the Extreme North bordered both the Heavenly Soul and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s northern territories. Perhaps he would actually need their help in the future.

    The Tai Tan Snowdevil King stood up straight. ¡°We havepleted our task, and we shall take our leave. Please send my regards to the Snow Empress.¡±

    ¡°Ah Tai.¡± Blue light glowed as the Snow Empress glimmered beside Huo Yuhao.

    The Snowdevil King hurriedly bowed to greet her as she appeared, and the Ice Bear King made his posture a little more morous.

    The Snow Empress stared at the Snowdevil King seriously and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the Extreme North to you, Ah Tai. I¡¯ll give you this ¨C with this, you will be able to survive one more breakthrough.¡± The Snow Empress waved her hand as she spoke, and a ray of blue light flew towards the Snowdevil King.

    The Snowdevil King caught it subconsciously, and his eyes changed drastically in the next moment. He knelt down in front of the Snow Emperor with a ¡°kerplunk¡±, and his eyes were covered with mist.

    ¡°Thank you, Snow Empress. I will forever remember your favor of lengthening my life.¡± He kowtowed three times at the Snow Empress respectfully before he got back on his feet and strode away with his tribe of Tai Tan Snowdevils.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew what the Snow Empress had given him, but he had no intention of stopping her. He knew that the Snow Empress was helping him establish camaraderie. His connection with the Extreme North would be seamlessly intimate with this rtionship.

    The Ice Bear King side-eyed the Tai Tan Snowdevil King enviously and grunted as he muttered under his breath, ¡°What are you so happy about? I¡¯ll have my own in the future.¡±

    The Snow Empress nced back at him and said, ¡°You shall follow Yuhao for now. Take these few days to treat your wounds, and we will depart when you¡¯re better.¡± The second part of her sentence was targeted at Huo Yuhao, and she disappeared into his body after that.

    The Ice Bear King nodded obediently as his plump frame plopped back down onto the snow. The snow¡¯s temperature was so low that normal people would lose their lives lying down on such a surface, but the Ice Bear King seemed like he was enjoying himself.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and gazed at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp in the distance, and a faint smile gradually appeared on his face.

    I was defeated thest time around, Ju zi, but I have pulled one back this time. I hope you understand what I¡¯m trying to tell you, and leave this ce as quickly as possible.

    He wasn¡¯t worried that the lesson he had given her wasn¡¯t sufficient. So many bases and structures had been destroyed, and no matter how reluctant Ju Zi was, she couldn¡¯t reconstruct everything and continue excavating within such a short period of time. In the end, it wasn¡¯t easy for her to transport all those structural instations in the first ce. The cost of excavation was also exorbitant, and she probably couldn¡¯t put the same batch together within two months.

    Huo Yuhao did consider taking some of those rare metals back, but this ce was so cold, and doing so would be a terribly difficult task. His individual strength was limited after all. He also considered asking the Tai Tan Snowdevils to help, but the Tai Tan Snowdevil King was only here because of the Snow Empress¡¯ favor, and he couldn¡¯t justmand the new ruler of the Extreme North. He gave up thoughts of this endeavor.

    After this lesson, the Sun Moon Empire would have to think long and hard if they wanted to try to excavate the rare metals here again. Huo Yuhao could do a lot more during this period of time, and he would have time to ry this information to the academy. The academy would contact the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, and they were bound to do something.

    Huo Yuhao told the Ice Bear King to continue treating his wounds here while he snuck back towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp to scout it out.

    Huo Yuhao had a lot less trouble without the aerial surveince soul tools. He didn¡¯t have to worry about anything at all with his concealment abilities.

    Huo Yuhao gazed down from a distance, and he could how wretched the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp was. The sky was already bright by now, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was clearly hard at work. They were collecting and salvaging their broken and damaged machines, and they seemed like they were taking apart their camp at the same time.

    A faint smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.Are they finally going to leave?

    Damaged machines weren¡¯t the most painful losses, as machines could be replenished and repaired. However, many of their tents had been destroyed, and that meant many soldiers no longer had shelter or a ce to rest. That was fatal in a chilly ce like the Extreme North! Since Ju Zi couldmand her soldiers with strict obedience, then she had to have a rtively good reputation and prestige within her army, so she couldn¡¯t just disregard these soldiers. Furthermore, she still had to consider that he would notify the Dou Ling Empire. Retreating was her only choice under such circumstances.

    As for those minerals and whatnot that the army had already excavated, he would just let them take them away. He could no longer do anything to stop them. After all, they hadn¡¯t managed to excavate much.

    Indeed, after a morning of readjustment, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer legion put away many of their damaged or destroyed soul tools. They were damaged, but the rare metals inside them were still very precious. They could still use those rare metals after repairing or recycling them, so they couldn¡¯t just waste those soul tools.

    Midday passed, and the army had their meals before they moved out and proceeded towards the south, back into the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory. The Fire Phoenix Legion was positioned at the rear.

    Huo Yuhao watched them slowly leave, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of loss andment in his heart. He was finally standing on opposite sides from Ju Zi in the end ¨C how could he face her again in the future under such circumstances?!Haih, I hope we don¡¯t meet again on the battlefield. But since she¡¯s one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s marshals, can we really avoid meeting each other on the battlefield again?

    Huo Yuhao was still doubtful in his mind when he suddenly noticed that a sphere of red light emerged in the barren army camp. The fiery red light was flickering very faintly, but it was very ring amidst the white and snowy ground.

    Eh?

    Huo Yuhao was too far away, so he couldn¡¯t see clearly even with his Spirit Eyes and Purple Demon Eyes. He had to activate his Eye of Destiny as he swept across to that area.

    He quickly discovered that someone was standing in the snow, and this red light came from her body. Wasn¡¯t that Ju Zi?

    In this moment, Ju Zi¡¯s pretty pale face flowed with grief and dismal beauty, and she was staring in his direction.

    She¡¯s waiting for me? She guessed that I woulde here to scout.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart quiver as he heaved a sigh, and he finally flew in Ju Zi¡¯s direction.

    Ju Zi could see him flying towards her from some distance away, and the sadness in her expression gradually receded. A slight smile appeared on her lips, and she thought to herself that her arch-enemy did have a conscience after all.

    Huo Yuhao drifted to the ground about five meters away from Ju Zi. They stared into each other¡¯s eyes, and their expressions were both deep andplicated.

    ¡°You¡¯ve won, this time.¡± Ju Zi grunted softly; she was evidently a little upset.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t want to win. If only we weren¡¯t standing on opposite sides.

    ¡°Then stand over on my side!¡± Ju Zi retorted furiously, ¡°If youe to me, we will no longer be standing on opposite sides, no?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grew silent. He paused for a moment before he said slowly, ¡°We have our own wishes and creeds. I know that if you insist on continuing down this path, you cannot convince me. Can¡¯t you see that I haven¡¯t attempted to convince you?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ve prepared a trap here?¡± Ju Zi suddenly said coldly, ¡°Have you forgotten what I said to you that day? Your heart is too soft. There¡¯s a saying that thepassionate cannot hold military authority. If I had been in your shoesst night, I would have unleashed a massacre when I had the absolute advantage. I would have done as much as I could to weaken my enemies¡¯ strength, and best if I could do away with myself, the mastermind. That would have been the only way to get something done once and for all. But you didn¡¯t do so, and you still dare toe see me at such a close distance. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I have prepared another ambush? You can¡¯t have the same luck to avoid capture every time, and when I¡¯m prepared, it¡¯s impossible for you to capture me. At least, you can¡¯t do so within a short period of time.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coolly. ¡°But I have never considered you as my enemy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s simple sentence dissolved Ju Zi¡¯s fierce expression, and she just stared at him nkly.

    I have never considered you as my enemy.This was such a simple sentence, but it flicked at Ju Zi¡¯s heartstrings forcefully.

    The fury on her face disappeared, and a in smile took its ce. She heaved a faint sigh as she muttered to herself, ¡°You live up to your name as the man that I have chosen. No matter how foolish you are, you are still foolishly cute. But we can only be opponents in the end. You¡¯ve won this time, but you may not the next time. I hope that we will cross paths again aste as possible because I truly don¡¯t want you as my opponent. That¡¯s not because you are hard to deal with, but because I can¡¯t bring myself to do anything to you. You may leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her quietly and said, ¡°Can this really not be changed, Ju Zi?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and answered, ¡°No.¡±

    Huo Yuhao no longer tried to advise her. He knew that she had made up her mind a long time ago, and he only asked his question was because he was still hanging onto a fine thread of hope.

 Chapter 478.2 - Who Isnt Kindhearted?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 478.2: Who Isn¡¯t Kindhearted?</h4>

    Ju Zi looked up into the sky and muttered to herself, ¡°Perhaps I will give you a present the next time we meet. But I can¡¯t give that to you.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at her suspiciously; he didn¡¯t understand what she was talking about.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± Ju Zi asked again furiously.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and said, ¡°Farewell. If we meet again, I wish that we won¡¯t have to be enemies. I truly hope that you will still be my senior that I studied with back then, and the same senior who helped treat my injuries. I¡¯m leaving, Ju Zi, and you must take care of yourself. If the dayes that we finally don¡¯t have to fight to the death on the battlefield, I will try my best to protect you and fulfill your wishes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her deeply before he rose into the sky and flew far into the distance.

    Ju Zi stomped her foot heavily as he watched him disappear over the horizon. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± She began to shout indignantly, and her entire being seemed to descend into hysteria.

    She managed to calm herself down after a moment as she said angrily, ¡°Ju Zi, Ju Zi ¨C you say that his heart is soft, but isn¡¯t yours as well? Why can¡¯t you do anything to him? You know very well that he¡¯s possibly the hardest enemy to deal with, and you should kill him. You will no longer have any worries if he is dead, and you will be able to do what you want with nothing in your way.¡±

    She was still talking to herself when circles of fiery-red figures gradually appeared a hundred meters around her. Four enormous soul tools slowly rose as a red shadow swiftly came to Ju Zi¡¯s side. It was the Fire Phoneix Douluo, Luan Feng.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give you the order,mander?¡± Luan Feng frowned as she asked Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi turned towards her, and her eyes slowly turned moist as she suddenly plunged into Luan Feng¡¯s arms and sobbed uncontrobly.

    Luan Feng was momentarily stunned, and then she suddenly understood something as she heaved a faint sigh and hugged Ju Zi as she shook her head exasperatedly.

    Huo Yuhao was still hovering in midair in the distance as he watched everything that was happening on the ground, and a forced smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°Ju Zi, did you know that I would rather you have given the order to make a move against me? If that were the case, perhaps I would have been able to harden my heart to deal with you in the future. But because of your softness, my heart cannot be hardened to do anything to you!¡±

    Ju Zi was so scheming, how could he be tricked once again? How could he not have considered that she could have arranged an ambush? Only his spiritual form was there instead of his original body, and if Ju Zi did give the order to attack him, his spiritual form had many ways to escape.

    Huo Yuhao was a lot more careful because of the mistake that he had made previously.

    But Ju Zi didn¡¯t make a move, and he couldn¡¯t say anything heartless either. They had shed and sparks flew, but everything had finally dissolved into a heartbreaking farewell.

    Ju Zi was angry with herself, but wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao also hating himself for having a soft heart?

    Ju Zi left, and she took her trusted subjects with her. The Extreme North grew calm once more, and all that was left were the marks of excavation.

    Huo Yuhao returned to where the Ice Bear King was resting, and he sat down beside him with his legs crossed as he started to meditate. He quickly calmed himself down as he took this opportunity to cultivate in the Extreme North¡¯s bitter cold.

    Three days quickly passed, and the Ice Bear King¡¯s wounds were fully stabilized. Huo Yuhao finally returned to his journey with the Ice Bear King once more, and they went straight for Dragon City. He still had to rendezvous with Nan Qiuqiu, who was waiting for him there.

    Dragon City wasn¡¯t affected by the Sun Moon Empire at all, and everything was at it was before, though the city was still being prated by soul tools and technology. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools were still snaking their way through the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s aristocrats and citizens¡¯ way of life.

    Huo Yuhao took the Ice Bear King, who was in human form, back to the cloth store.

    Nan Qiuqiu was already very worried from waiting, and she was immediately overjoyed when he returned.

    ¡°You still know toe back. You¡¯ve been gone for so many days, but you didn¡¯t send a message at all.¡± Nan Qiuqiu nted her hands on her waist as she shouted angrily at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao ced his index finger on his lips as he lowered his voice and exined. ¡°I was in the Extreme North over the past few days, so how could I have sent a message back to you? There¡¯s someone else here, calm down.¡±

    Only now did Nan Qiuqiu realize that a round fellow had followed Huo Yuhao inside. This person¡¯s waist, head, and torso were all circr, and his egg-like tummy entered the courtyard first before she saw his fat face, which was all smiles.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Nan Qiuqiu asked suspiciously.

    The Ice Bear King didn¡¯t wait for Huo Yuhao to introduce him, and he took a few quick steps forward as he said to Nan Qiuqiu respectfully, ¡°You must be grandmother. Greetings, grandmother. I am Little Bai.¡±

    ¡°Grand¡­ grandmother¡­¡± Nan Qiuqiu stared at him with ck jaws and widened eyes. Huo Yuhao felt his eyes go ck, and he couldn¡¯t help but p the Ice Bear King on the head. ¡°She¡¯s not your grandmother. Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡±

    The Ice Bear King withdrew his head like a turtle and said aggrievedly, ¡°Grandfather, thisdy is quite pretty, so I thought she was my grandmother. So, she¡¯s not!¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu stared at Little Bai¡¯s enormous torso before she turned towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Wait, wait. What is happening, exactly? You have to exin this to me. You¡¯ve been gone for half a month, and you bring back a fat grandson back with you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered with a forced smile. ¡°He¡¯s my distant rtive, and I am his senior.¡± He could only exin everything like that. Otherwise, Nan Qiuqiu would probably hammer him with a lot more questions with that immensely curious personality of hers.

    Distant rtive?Nan Qiuqiu nced at Little Bai a few times suspiciously. She felt that this fatty wasn¡¯t simple at all.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Qiuqiu, I ran into quite a big problem this time. I managed to figure out what the army was here for. They were here to excavate rare metals at the Extreme North¡¯s borders, and they have already discovered where the veins of rare metals are. They have retreated, but I cannot guarantee that they won¡¯t return in the future. We have to ry this information back as soon as possible, so that the academy can be prepared for a response.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu asked, ¡°Then what about the matter that eldest senior brother entrusted to us? Are we not going?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that still has to be done,¡± Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, ¡°That¡¯s the reason why we have to split up. I¡¯ll write a letter, and you¡¯ll deliver it to eldest senior brother so that he can pass it to Elder Xuan personally. I willplete the task that eldest senior brother has given us.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyebrows rose as she retorted, ¡°Hmph, I knew it ¨C you just aren¡¯t willing to do anything with me, and you¡¯re always looking for ways to chase me away.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Shit, isn¡¯t this happening because the ns can¡¯t keep up with what¡¯s happening? This matter is too important. Furthermore, I¡¯ll use a container to store a piece of Divine Ice Crystal, and you¡¯ll bring that back for teacher Xuan so that he can inspect it and decide whether it¡¯s suitable for crafting soul tools, and what kinds of soul tools the crystal is appropriate for. There¡¯s something in it for you too.¡±

    There was quite arge amount of the crystal, and everything came from the Earthdragon Sect. Nan Qiuqiu would definitely get a piece of whatever soul tool they could craft out of it. Of course, those Divine Ice Crystals wouldn¡¯t have their ice spirits. That wasn¡¯t because Huo Yuhao was stingy, but because those without Ultimate Ice martial souls couldn¡¯t use ice spirits at all. Divine Ice Crystals without ice spirits were just top-tier rare metals, and soul tools could still be made from them through certain methods.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s expression became a little better after she heard his words. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you this time, then. But remember ¨C you owe me.¡±

    ¡°What do I owe you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Nan Qiuqiu grunted and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care. You just owe me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wrote the letter before he passed a piece of Divine Ice Crystal to Nan Qiuqiu so that she could take them back. He didn¡¯t give her all of it, because it wasn¡¯t safe, as she would be holding too many precious items with her.

    Huo Yuhao escorted Nan Qiuqiu out of Dragon City to express how apologetic he was. He watched her depart before he turned around and went deep into the Heavenly Soul Empire with the Ice Bear King, in the direction of the Setting Sun Forest.

    The Setting Sun Forest wasn¡¯t far from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital, Heaven Dou City. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh inside when he thought about Heaven Dou City, because that was where the Tang Sect had originated! But now, the city was in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s hands, and he had to help the Heavenly Soul Empire retake this city in the future, if that was possible.

    Huo Yuhao had already decided how he was going to proceed. He had to visit the Setting Sun Forest to check if Big Mao and Second Mao were alright, and if they were fine, then all was well. Then he would have to scout around the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territories. He was by himself, and it was thus a lot easier for him to conduct reconnaissance duties of any kind. He wanted to see the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s deployments, and he also wanted to find out how many of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s men were inside the Heavenly Soul Empire. He also wanted to search for traces of Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao.

    This process would probably take quite a long time, and that was one of the reasons why he didn¡¯t want to take Nan Qiuqiu along. It was a lot easier for him to escape alone, but things would be different if Nan Qiuqiu was with him.

    Huo Yuhao relied on his powerful Spiritual Detection as he flew through the air. Even though he ran into some of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools, he managed to evade them cleverly.

    Huo Yuhao was concerned about the Ice Bear King¡¯s injuries, so he deliberately controlled his flying speed. They arrived outside Heaven Dou City after two days.

    Heaven Dou City¡¯s defenses were a lot tighterpared to Dragon City. Huo Yuhao could see from far away that there were many aerial surveince soul tools above the city. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s g swayed in the wind on the city wall, and there were many soldiers patrolling and standing guard.

    He couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside the city clearly, but he didn¡¯t dare to go any closer from the air.

    Huo Yuhao stared at Heaven Dou City, and he thought that the Sun Moon Empire had to have many soldiers stationed inside, judging from the situation. Heaven Dou City was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital city, and it was one of the most renowned and ancient cities on the continent. The Heavenly Soul Empire must haveunched continuous assaults or ambushes from their forces in the shadows, and that was probably the reason why the defenses around Heaven Dou City were so tight. If those reclusive sects were the ones making moves, Heaven Dou City was evidently their best target.

 Chapter 478.3 - Who Isnt Kindhearted?

    Chapter 478.3: Who Isn¡¯t Kindhearted?

    There have to be powerful soul masters here, since there are so many soldiers standing guard. The Holy Ghost Church probably has men here too, and I¡¯ll take a look once I¡¯m back from the Setting Sun Forest.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and went straight for the Setting Sun Forest. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Princess Wei Na and the others from the Body Sect were doing as he flew. Thest time they had met at Radiant City, they were still so powerful, but they were now citizens who had lost their country.

    The Setting Sun Forest was very close to Heaven Dou City, and Huo Yuhao could soon see the dense forest from a distance. There were faint flickers of brilliant colors deep in the forest ¨C of course, those were fatal.

    ¡°Be careful, Little Bai. This forest has a very toxic miasma inside.¡± Huo Yuhao warned the Ice Bear King beside him.

    The Ice Bear King chuckled and said, ¡°Rest assured, grandfather. Poison is what I¡¯m least afraid of. Besides poisons like that belonging to the Ice Empress, the soul beasts of the Extreme North rely on our extremely low temperatures to resist most kinds of strong poisons. It¡¯s all good ¨C let¡¯s go.¡±

    That¡¯s true. My Ultimate Ice isn¡¯t afraid of poison, and the Ice Bear King is much stronger than I am. The Snow Empress has truly found a good helper for me, and everything is a lot safer with this fellow around. This was the reason why Huo Yuhao felt confident investigating Heaven Dou City earlier today.

    Huo Yuhao took the Ice Bear King into the Setting Sun Forest, and he went down the same familiar path as the Ice Bear King followed beside him.

    Huo Yuhao was very different from when he first came here back then. He was still extremely weak back then, and he didn¡¯t understand anything about what was happening here. Now, he was a formidable Soul Sage who was almost a Soul Douluo. His soul power had been increasing rapidly, or even exponentially, after continuously absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence every day over the past few days. Huo Yuhao could even feel that he was close to that bottleneck, and that discovery actually surprised him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was only at Rank 74 when he left Shrek City. A little more than a month had gone by, but he could already feel that he was pushing towards the next bottleneck. That cultivation speed was simply too quick.

    Of course, one of the most important reasons was that he had absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and the Snow Empress was there to guide him. In addition to him forming his soul core, his soul power cultivation speed was greatly increased. His soul core continuously helped him increase his soul power even when he was not cultivating.

    The Icefire Yin Yang Well quickly came into view. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice to expel the miasma as he took Little Bai into the valley.

    A man and a bear descended from the sky right into the valley. However, Huo Yuhao was immediately taken aback when they entered the valley.

    The Icefire Yin Yang Well was still a paradise on earth thest time he was here, but many things were different now.

    There were many different nts growing densely inside the valley around the Icefire Yin Yang Well, but everything clearly looked a lot more chaotic.

    Many nts on the periphery had disappeared, and some areas even revealed empty earth. Only the immortal herbs and nts in the inner circles appeared as they were. Furthermore, such a ce that was filled with life did seem a little disarrayed. Some of the immortal herbs in the inner circle seemed like they had shifted around.

    What happened? Did someonee inside?

    Huo Yuhao continued to think as he walked towards the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± He wasn¡¯t even near the Icefire Yin Yang Well when a crying voice rang out.

    The Ice Bear King was startled as he turned around vigntly. He could see arge pinkish flower that was swaying its head around, and it was clearly emanating grievous emotions.

    ¡°How are you, You You?¡± Therge pinkish flower was the Delicate Silk Immortal, and Huo Yuhao hurriedly greeted her.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal was clearly full of resentment. ¡°No ¨C I¡¯m not good at all. Ever since you guys sent in those two bastards, our nts haven¡¯t been well.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. Only then did he realize that the mess around the Icefire Yin Yang Well was rted to Big Mao and Second Mao.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, You You? Have Big Mao and Second Mao caused you trouble?¡± Huo Yuhao asked a little anxiously.

    ¡°They have caused more than trouble!¡± The Delicate Silk Immortal answered sorrowfully, ¡°If not for the fact that some of us still have some strength, we would probably have be meals in their bellies. They¡¯re not bears ¨C they¡¯re two pigs! Look at the outeryers. Originally, there were all kinds of herbs and nts there were thousands of years old, but they have eaten them all. They are also very cunning, and have considered eating us more than once. We didn¡¯t dare to kill them because of you. The home that we have relied on for subsistence has be so tattered. If you didn¡¯te, we might have risked everything we have to deal with them, and that¡¯s because they have be far too powerful. If we don¡¯t deal with them soon, they might just eat every single one of us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Big Mao and Second Mao to cause so much trouble. He hurriedly apologized, ¡°Sorry, sorry. I didn¡¯t know they would be like that. I¡¯m here to take them away this time, don¡¯t you worry.¡±

    You You heaved a sigh of relief, and many immortal herbs and nts released simr emotions around them. They had to be wary of those two fellows eating them every day, and living a life like that was truly difficult!

    ¡°Eh, this ce seems very fun! That water is interesting.¡± The Ice Bear King didn¡¯t pay attention to Huo Yuhao and You You¡¯s conversation. Instead, his attention was focused on the Extreme Chill Icespring. He eximed happily as he spoke, and he strode towards it.

    Huo Yuhao was caught off-guard as Little Bai leapt into the air and went right down towards the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s voice froze, and it was clearly a little stunned. Is this human retarded? Why is he jumping straight into the Icespring?

    ¡°Is your friendmitting suicide, Huo Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯ll be fine.¡± Huo Yuhao said a little exasperatedly.

    ¡°Kerplunk!¡± The Ice Bear King plopped right into the Extreme Chill Icepsring, and quickly disappeared into the water.

    ¡°You You, where are Big Mao and Second Mao? Let me take them away.¡± Huo Yuhao asked the Delicate Silk Immortal.

    The Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s enormous flowerhead gestured to one side and said, ¡°They¡¯re over there. Those two fellows are either eating or sleeping to digest some herbs. They are fast asleep. Their digestive abilities are too strong ¨C they eat every day and digest every day, and they absorb everything especially quickly. Go take a look. Take them away as fast you can ¨C we can¡¯t stand them for a minute longer.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Calm down. I¡¯ll just take them away.¡± Huo Yuhao felt very guilty that Big Mao and Second Mao had caused so much harm to them. This ce was a ce that the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, Tang San, had been to before, after all. He couldn¡¯t just let this ce be ruined!

    He swiftly went in the direction that You You had pointed out, and the herbs and nts opened a path for him as they let him walk as he liked.

    Big Mao and Second Mao were lying down in the outeryer. There were quite a few nts and herbs beside them, and there was even some residue around the corners of Big Mao¡¯s mouth. Criminals wouldn¡¯t want to be caught, but these two fellows didn¡¯t care at all!

    However, Huo Yuhao was astonished when he saw them. These two fellows were changing far too quickly.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s appetite was incredible, and Huo Yuhao had already known that when they were still in the Tang Sect. The food that they had to gather to feed them was equivalent to the volume that everyone in the Tang Sect ate every day. However, they were less than three meters tall when they left the Tang Sect. Less than a year had gone by, but Big Mao and Second Mao were at least seven meters tall now. Even though they were still quite a distance away from bing fully-grown Darkgolden Terrorw Bears, their growth was just too quick. Their current size and build meant they were at least Darkgolden Terrorw Bears with a thousand years of cultivation.

    A Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s strength couldn¡¯t be measured by the number of cultivating years that normal soul beasts were measured by. Thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were feared by even ten thousand year soul beasts, just like the first Darkgolden Terrorw Bear that Huo Yuhao had encountered back then.

    Seems like they¡¯ve been causing too much destruction, but they are growing very quickly!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that back when Bei Bei sent Big Mao and Second Mao into this ce, You You and the other immortal herbs had allowed them to stay because of Huo Yuhao. That was because the valley where the Icefire Yin Yang Well was located was veryrge, and all sorts of herbs such as ginseng and huangqi could be seen everywhere. They were all very nutritious and beneficial herbs. From the immortal herbs¡¯ perspective, those two bears could eat for a few hundred years, and they still wouldn¡¯t finish eating those things.

    But what they didn¡¯t know was that the Darkgolden Terrorw Bears¡¯ appetite couldn¡¯t be judged from their size. They possessed far stronger digestive abilities than normal living beings, and they had eaten nonstop ever since they had arrived.

    They were still eating normal food back at the Tang Sect, and they digested normal food normally. Even though they still ate a lot back then, their appetite wasn¡¯t that outrageous. But ever since they arrived, the herbs and nts in this ce were considered rare and exotic herbs, and every single species took their form from condensingrge amounts of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. The Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were very good at absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. Big Mao and Second Mao would eat gluttonously every day. Then they would sleep, and digest everything as they slept before eating gluttonously again.

    Humans would have exploded from therge amounts of nutrients if they ate so many herbs every day. However, the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s were enormous, and had a frightening capacity to absorb all the vital energies of heaven and earth into their bodies. They ate quickly, and digested quickly as well. This was the reason why Huo Yuhao came across such a sight.

 Chapter 479.1 - Heaven Dou City

    Chapter 479.1: Heaven Dou City

    Just as the Delicate Silk Immortal had said, if some more time were to pass, and Big Mao and Second Mao became sufficiently powerful, they would probably make a move on those immortal herbs. Those immortal herbs were nt-type soul beasts, and they weren¡¯t adept in battle. On the other hand, Darkgolden Terrorw Bears were almost the most frightening soul beasts, and battle was their forte. Their ancestors in the ancient times were probably individuals that could match up to the giant dragon!

    Huo Yuhao stared at these two exasperatedly, but he was feeling happy inside. Big Mao and Second Mao¡¯s growth undoubtedly added a lot of strength to the Tang Sect once more.

    ¡°Wa, this feels so good, just so good. Grandfather, I don¡¯t want to leave. It¡¯s toofortable here.¡± The Ice Bear King¡¯s voice rang out from the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    Huo Yuhao snapped his head around. The Ice Bear King was swimming joyously and carefreely within the Extreme Icechill Spring in his original form, and his body was emanating icy blue light. He did seem like he was enjoying himself a lot.

    You You was rendered speechless, and the other immortal herbs descended into silence.

    They had thought Big Mao and Second Mao wererge enough, but they truly paled inparison to this one in front of them. Furthermore, the Ice Bear King, who was still swimming happily, didn¡¯t mask his aura at all, and the frightening ice-type undtions caused the zing Delicate Apricot, who was on the zing Sunspring¡¯s side, to quiver uncontrobly.

    The two little bears had already given them enough trouble. If this extrarge bear had a go, he probably wouldn¡¯t even need a few days to devour every single nt in this ce. All the nts in this ce feared for their safety, and nobody dared to make a sound. They were afraid to infuriate Huo Yuhao or that enormous bear.

    Huo Yuhao cursed under his breath as he activated his spectral demine, and he hurled Big Mao and Second Mao with one hand each into the demine. He erected a border inside the ne to protect the bears from being harmed by the undead outside before he arrived beside the Extreme Chill Icespring.

    He was naturally unafraid of the Extreme Chill Icespring at his current cultivation. The temperature around the Extreme Chill Icespring was simr to that around the Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern, and was probably higher than the cavern¡¯s inner areas. The salient feature of this ce was that the mouth of the spring coexisted with the zing Sunspring.

    ¡°Grandfather, my injuries are healing very quickly in this ce. But I¡¯m a little hungry.¡±

    Every single nt around the Icefire Yin Yang Well almost shriveled when they heard that he was hungry. This time, their entire bodies were trembling.

    Huo Yuhao almostughed out loud when he saw how they were reacting. He could clearly remember, back when he was first here, how high and mighty these nts were.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find something for you to eat when we¡¯re out. Are you saying that the Extreme Chill Icespring helps you with your recovery?¡±

    The Ice Bear King immediately nodded seriously and said, ¡°This ce is filled with much origin energy of heaven and earth, and it¡¯s just sofortable. I don¡¯t want to leave anymore. Why don¡¯t you let me stay here, grandfather, and you cane get me after you finish your business?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao hesitated.

    ¡°No!¡± You You immediately cried out in agony. ¡°I beg you, Huo Yuhao, take him away. I will give you whatever you want, even if what you want is more than your ancestor Tang San¡¯s limits. You can have whatever you want. We will cooperate as long as you don¡¯t let him hurt us. Please take him away. Otherwise, we will be doomed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was all smiles when he heard the flower¡¯s words and said, ¡°How ashamed I am ¨C I have already received so much help from you guys. How can I get anything more?¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal didn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t something that you want. We are giving things to you of our own will. Every single one of us will give you something. Besides the Bluesilver Emperor that we can¡¯t do anything about, the things we can give you should be sufficient for you to aplish a lot of things. I just wish that you will leave immediately after taking those things.¡±

    The Delicate Silk Immortal shook its flowerhead gently as it spoke, and the Delicate Silk Immortal Pill that Huo Yuhao had seen before flew out.

    The pinkish pill emanated an alluring fragrance as it drifted towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao caught it subconsciously.

    The pill was lukewarm, and it shone with pinkish hues in his hands. Its gentle aroma gave him an incredibly refreshing andfortable feeling.

    You You was a little depressed. ¡°Is that enough?¡±

    ¡°I was about to take the bear away without asking anything from you guys. However, he¡¯s injured, and I¡¯ll stay here with him for two days before we leave.¡± Huo Yuhao spoke the truth. Even though the immortal herbs and nts here had been hostile to him before, he did get quite a lot of help from this ce. He didn¡¯t harbor any resentment or hatred at all towards these nts.

    Furthermore, his ancestor Tang San had left this ce behind. How could he let the Ice Bear King cause destruction here?

    But You You didn¡¯t feel that way. The flower immediately thought Huo Yuhao was being sarcastic when it heard his words, and it immediately used the nt¡¯snguage tomunicate with the other nts.

    It didn¡¯t take long before an entire pile of all kinds of good stuff that immortal nts produced appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. For instance, the zing Delicate Apricot¡¯s zing Rubber was in that stack. The zing Delicate Apricot was evidently afraid of Huo Yuhao holding a grudge against it, and it almost took out every single bit of its zing rubber.

    The other nts made their own contributions, and almost everything was the best that they could produce.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely taken aback. He didn¡¯t expect that the destruction that Big Mao and Second Mao had caused would lead to something like this.

    He didn¡¯t intend to take anything from those nts, but if the nts were so generous and giving everything out of their own free will, he would do himself wrong by not epting their gifts.

    Thus, Huo Yuhao acted ording to the various records inside the Poison Scripture that Tang San had left behind, and he used various methods to keep all these absolutely precious items and essences.

    There wasn¡¯t any burden on his conscience. After all, he hadn¡¯t harmed the nts here. Essences were precious, but the many nts that had more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation around the Icefire Yin Yang Well that was like a cornucopia wouldn¡¯t take long to recover after cultivating for a period of time. You You and the others were most afraid that Huo Yuhao would destroy everything here to get what he wanted.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao understood that many of these nts were afraid of the Snow Empress and the Ice Bear King, who was happily swimming in the water. His individual strength wasn¡¯t enough to threaten these nts.

    Huo Yuhao sincerely expressed his gratitude to the immortal herbs¡¯ generous gifts, and the nts looked on eagerly as he pulled the Ice Bear King away.

    The Ice Bear King did recover a lot more quickly in this ce, but the nts weren¡¯t assured at all! Huo Yuhao had taken gifts from them, and he would be ashamed if he dallied any longer. The Ice Bear King wouldn¡¯t need too long to recover outside anyway.

    Huo Yuhao still wanted tough out loud as he left the Setting Sun Forest. Fortune has shone upon me ¨C and I couldn¡¯t even stop it from happening! Oh, my ancestor, I didn¡¯t ask them for anything! They wanted to give everything to me of their own will.

    Huo Yuhao touched his face and thought, am I being a little shameless? However, those precious essences and treasures are useless if they remain in that ce. In my hands, at least I can save people and help people.

    Huo Yuhao was confident that with the Delicate Silk Immortal Pill, even if he couldn¡¯tpletely heal Tang Ya, he could still suppress the evil soul power within her body to a certain extent.

    It¡¯s time to visit Heaven Dou City to take a look.

    A dash of coldness flickered beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The Sun Moon Empire, and the Holy Ghost Church ¨C no matter what, I will not let your ns seed.

    The journey from the Setting Sun Forest to Heaven Dou City wasn¡¯t far, but he was extra careful. Hended when he was fifty kilometers from Heaven Dou City, and changed into regr clothes that normal citizens wore. He also used Imitation to readjust his appearance and facial features before he traveled towards Heaven Dou City.

    As for the Ice Bear King, his appearance was unfamiliar in the first ce. Even though he was a little fatter than he should be, he was just some fatty if he deliberately concealed his aura.

    They arrived outside Heaven Dou City¡¯s city wall in the evening.

    Dusk was falling over the city as the sunset glow crept over the horizon. zing red clouds viewed from outside the city seemed to nket the entire city in ayer of reddish-golden hues, and everything was dazzling and gorgeous.

    Huo Yuhao and the Ice Bear King lined up at the gate, and went through inspection.

    ¡°Where are you from, and what is your business in Heaven Dou City?¡±

    There was a team of fifty soldiers at the gate. Twenty were responsible for guarding the gate, while thirty others were responsible for interrogations and inspections.

    Huo Yuhao had a wide arsenal of reasons and whatnot, and he invented a name for himself and the Ice Bear King as they smoked through the gates.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soldiers didn¡¯t deliberately cause any trouble for them. They were holding soul power detectors in their hands, and they could whether someone was a soul master by sweeping over that individual. If someone wasn¡¯t a soul master, asking a few questions was sufficient before the soldiers would let that person through.

    Soul power detectors were useful against typical soul masters, but it waspletely useless against someone like Huo Yuhao, who was adept at concealing himself. As for the Ice Bear King, his ability to conceal himself was possibly even stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, and he was more direct. The Ice Bear King withdrew his soul power into his soul core, and the thickyer of fat on his body severed any kind of undtions from the soul power detectors.

    Heaven Dou City was still bustling and flourishing. Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to sweep around after entering the city, and he could still discover the marks of battle. That was especially so around the city wall.

    Evidently, both parties had undergone an epic battle when the Sun Moon Empire invaded Heaven Dou City.

    Heaven Dou City is where the Tang Sect originated from!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists tightly. Don¡¯t you worry, Teacher Xiao Ya. I¡¯ll help you take back our ce of origin in the future, no matter what.

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya were considered family. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter Shrek Academy if not for them, and even if he fused with the Skydream Iceworm, he couldn¡¯t possibly have aplished what he had today. Therefore, he had gratitude for the two of them that came from deep within his heart. The Holy Ghost Church had captured Tang Ya, and she had be the evil sect¡¯s Sacred Lady. Besides Bei Bei, he was the one that felt the most pain. Furthermore, there was still Ma Xiaotao, who he saw as an elder sister.

 Chapter 479.3 - Heaven Dou City

    Volume 34, Chapter 479.3: Heaven Dou City

    One hour went by before the Ice Bear King had his fill. More than a third of the dried meat inside the granary had disappeared¡­

    Huo Yuhao only made his move at this moment, and he used his extrarge storage soul tool to store the rest of the dried meat. He could feed those bears for two or three meals with that. Feeding bears was truly a difficult task!

    They had their fill, and Huo Yuhao sent all three bears into his spectral demine to rest. This time, he didn¡¯t even erect any borders. With the Ice Bear King around, his aura itself would ward off most of the undead creatures.

    Little Bai changed back into his original body once they entered the spectral demine.

    Big Mao and Second Mao immediately grew silent when they were still wondering why Little Bai could eat so much. They were all bears, and while the Darkgolden Terrorw Bear¡¯s bloodline was considered superior to that of the Ice Bears, the Ice Bear King was so much older than they were! He was as powerful as a Savage Beast. Therefore, the two little bears naturally became little brothers to the big bear.

    The Ice Bear King loved these two little bears. He had countless little brothers back in the Extreme North, and now that he finally had little brothers to boss around after he left, how could he not be happy?

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t care about how the three bears were messing around inside his spectral demine as he snuck out of the granary and went towards the city center.

    Huo Yuhao had to find evil soul masters if he wanted to get any information about the Holy Ghost Church. He realized when he was scouting earlier that many soul masters inhabited Heaven Dou City¡¯s royal pce, which had originally belonged to the Heavenly Soul Empire. There were quite a few with formidable soul power undtions amongst them.

    Huo Yuhao paused as he came near the royal pce, and he turned around as he turned into a rtively darker street by the side. He turned a few more corners, and then vanished into a shadowy corner.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attempt to enter the royal pce directly. There were many powerful individuals here, and the pce¡¯s defenses were undoubtedly the tightest. He would likely run into some spiritual barriers if he went in too hastily. If he was discovered, he couldn¡¯t be sure if there were powerful soul masters who were adept with spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao concentrated his spiritual power, and he channeled his Ultimate Ice soul power to readjust his body¡¯s temperature. His body temperature quickly became one with the air around him, and he squinted a little as he used Spiritual Detection on the royal pce once more. This time, he was entirely concealed with Imitation.

    Huo Yuhao had many formidable offensive soul skills, using his Ultimate Ice or his spiritual power. However, he only had one true divine skill in his arsenal ¨C and that was Imitation.

    Imitation allowed him to conceal himself, and he could even change the way he looked. In addition to the support from his powerful spiritual power, he could devise entirely unpredictable and mutable battle tactics.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation and Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Discement could both be said to be divine skills that wereplementary to their martial souls.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s other soul skills were important, but they were rtively less important than Imitation, because his other soul skills could be substituted with other soul skills.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power entered the royal pce once more, and he quickly locked on to a smallke near him. Thiske was undoubtedly manmade, and its water was so clear that the bottom could be seen. It wasn¡¯t very deep ¨C barely more than a meter ¨C and there were many exotic flowers and nts growing around thekeside. This was like a garden inside the pce.

    This dark and shady corner where Huo Yuhao chose to hide himself evidently wasn¡¯t a casual choice; he came to this ce because he was eyeing thiske beforehand.

    There were soldiers patrolling the royal pce, but the chances that they would patrol this secluded corner were a lot lower. After all, there were many soul tools monitoring this area, and the patrols wereparatively targeted at blind spots, and the most important ces.

    This is the ce. Huo Yuhao activated his Eye of Destiny, and strengthened his Spiritual Detection once more. He adjusted his senses to their most sensitive states as he observed everything that was happening around thekeside. Only when he confirmed that there was nothing wrong around thekeside did he jump over the wall and enter the royal pce.

    The royal pce¡¯s walls were almostpletely covered by oscition detectors and thermal detectors. The opportunity that Huo Yuhao chose to enter was right after an oscition detector swept over. These oscition detectors rotated horizontally, and Huo Yuhao could never discover their rhythm without Spiritual Detection. He was making perfect use of this rhythm in this moment. Following that short window of time after he jumped over the wall, he dashed and arrived by thekeside with a few ups and downs before he discreetly submerged himself in theke¡¯s water.

    None of the surveince soul tool would target the water, and that was the reason why he was absolutely safe there. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could do a lot of things underwater.

    Huo Yuhao held his breath as he controlled his body to sink to thekebed. The water wasn¡¯t deep, and if it wasn¡¯t already dark, he could be very easily discovered within the clear and transparent water, but discovering him under the cover of darkness was far too difficult.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes gradually shone with pale blue colors after entering the water, and the temperature around him swiftly began to decline.

    This smallke¡¯s surface area was about five hundred square meters, and it was considered exceptionally scenic. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, the loweryer of thekewater began to turn into ice.

    In normal low temperatures, ice would definitely begin to form from the surface before it would spread downward. That was because ice had lower density, and would thus appear on the surface of the water.

    However, ice began to spread from the bottom of theke under Huo Yuhao¡¯s forceful control. Furthermore, the ice was secured to thekebed, and this caused the low temperatures to spread from the bottom up. A thickyer of ice appeared after some time, and the ice stopped forming when it was about ten centimeters away from the surface. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body emerged from the surface, and he discreetly hid himself in a corner that wouldn¡¯t be scanned by any surveince soul tools.

    From the outside, theke was still full of water, and the water¡¯s surface was still very calm. But anybody jumping into theke would realize that the water was only ten centimeters deep, and everything below that was solid ice.

    Only Huo Yuhao could achieve this level of control. Furthermore, he managed to vary the solid ice¡¯s temperature in different areas, and that was something that typical people couldn¡¯t aplish.

    If the temperature above the ice was too low, then the ten centimeters right below the water¡¯s surface would quickly turn into ice as well. Huo Yuhao¡¯s n would be foiled if a patrolling soldier saw everything. On the other hand, if the ice¡¯s temperature was too high, then the ice would be quickly melted by the water around it, and Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to do what he wanted. Therefore, he had to control the ice¡¯s temperature very delicately.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding towards ice and water had be a lot deeper over the past weeks, and his control over ice and water became a lot easier and more casual.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave. Hey prostrate on the surface of the ice, and he pressed his left hand underwater as he held a Milk Bottle in his right hand. He absorbed soul power from the Milk Bottle as he continuously channeled Ice Explosion into the ice beneath the water.

    Huo Yuhao could detonate any kind of ice. However, only ice that was infused with Ice Explosion would possess the greatest explosiveness.

    He had used this method back then to surprise even the Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao. That was enough to show how formidable Ice Explosion was. This was also an attack that couldn¡¯t be directly used, yet was almost considered a divine skill, which had an importance second only to Imitation.

    Huo Yuhao continued for a full fifteen minutes before he stopped. He moved, and continued the same act. Theke¡¯s surface was a little big for Ice Explosion, and infusing Ice Explosion into just one spot wouldn¡¯t achieve the desired strength.

    Another fifteen minutes passed before Huo Yuhao stood back up, and he used Spiritual Detection to open a path as he snuck deep into the royal pce.

    The various surveince soul tools on the royal pce¡¯s outeryer were greatest in number, and also the most sensitive. After all, prevention was better than a cure, and there were much fewer surveince soul tools in the pce¡¯s inner regions. There were many people inside the royal pce, so surveince soul tools weren¡¯t that practical. These soul tools would only be effective if they were searching for someone under certain special circumstances. If that happened, handheld surveince soul tools would be sufficient.

    Huo Yuhao continued secretly into the royal pce. He would stop every once in a while to inspect everything around him closely before continuing. At this point, he was most afraid of the formless spiritual barriers, and even he could only detect spiritual barriers from a close distance away. If his spiritual power touched a spiritual barrier, the person who was controlling the spiritual barrier would directly locate his position if they were strong enough.

    Fortunately, spiritual barriers weren¡¯tmon at all. Huo Yuhao was about one-third of his way in as he pushed forward, and he still hadn¡¯t discovered any spiritual barriers.

    Huo Yuhao paused, and he stood in a dimly lit region between two pavilions. He briefly replenished his soul power and readjusted his spiritual power so that he was in peak condition before his eyes started to glow. Faint rose-gold colors flickered, and his Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead. All three of his eyes were radiating rose-gold hues, and that was especially so inside his Eye of Destiny, as a ck whirlpool could be faintly seen ¨C that was Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core, that belonged to his Spirit Eyes.

    People who were familiar with him would immediately understand after witnessing him in this state that Huo Yuhao was about to use a spiritual-type soul skill with his full strength.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed Spiritual Detection to its highest possible level in the next moment, and it spread in all directions with his body at the center. It only took a few blinks of the eye before he epassed the entire pce.

    The reason why he had to go deep into the pce was because of this. It would be harder to lock down his position if he was inside the pce, and the reason why he did this was to startle and alert his enemies.

 Chapter 480.1 - The Godly Ice Explosion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 480.1: The Godly Ice Explosion</h4>

    At the same time, he wanted to see if the Sun Moon Empire had installed any spiritual barriers inside the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce. If they did, the ce in which they did so had to be the most important. Either an important figure or object was bound to be there. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered. He was confident in his ability to flee this ce quickly.

    He instantly unleashed his Spiritual Detection, and a three-dimensional structure of the entire pce appeared in his head. He squinted his eyes and sensed the slight changes around him. He also fully imprinted the three-dimensional structure of the pce in his mind using his immense spiritual power. This would be important for his next visit here.

    Indeed, just like he had expected, he detected three ces where spiritual powers interacted. This meant that there were spiritual barriers in those three ces. Those three ces were all located near the center of the pce.

    However, no rm sounded. The pce was very quiet, as if the spiritual barriers that had been touched didn¡¯t have any effect at all.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯tcent at all. After detecting for three seconds, he instantly shut off his Spiritual Detection. At the same time, he quickly unleashed his Spiritual Interference Domain and used his spiritual avatar to leave behind a streak of his spiritual power to maintain his Spiritual Interference where he was. He instantly teleported fifty meters away before fleeing in a direction that he had identified earlier.

    He had found out many things after that brief period of Spiritual Detection.

    Indeed, a few seconds after he teleported away, two ck figures had already silentlye to where he was. A huge ck web, carrying a slightly fishy smell, fell from the sky and instantly engulfed the streak of spiritual power that Huo Yuhao left behind.

    His spiritual power immediately dissipated and disappeared. His Spiritual Interference Domain also vanished, and everything turned dark once again.

    ¡°What?¡± A slightly surprised sound resonated. Following this, two figures fell to the ground.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s no one?¡± An elderly-sounding voice was heard.

    The other person was also puzzled, and said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be the case! Earlier, I sensed that the person unleashing his spiritual power was over here. I can¡¯t be wrong. This person¡¯s spiritual power was strong. He might be a spiritual-type Titled Douluo. I didn¡¯t expect someone as strong as him among the remaining losers in the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, he¡¯s very sensitive. After discovering our spiritual barrier, he quickly fled. But it¡¯s not so easy for him to flee.¡± The voice of this person talking was very sharp, but their gender was unclear. His frail figure was concealed by a ck veil. The person beside him was a tall andrge elder. His sinister gaze was still shing amidst the darkness. He had long, greyish hair that flowed behind his back, while his burly figure was also concealed by his ck clothing.

    There was an image of a ball of white me on their chests.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s follow his spiritual aura to find him. He can¡¯t escape.¡± The frail man in ck snorted coldly, and a deep purple halo was released from his body. This halo was like an oscition as it spread outward. During this process, slight oscitions appeared in the direction that Huo Yuhao had escaped from earlier.

    ¡°Oh? This fellow seems to be able to teleport. I only discovered traces of him fifty meters away. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s me. Hmph. Let¡¯s go and chase him.¡± As he spoke, the frail man in ck immediately leaped up and charged into the sky like a bolt of lightning. He pursued Huo Yuhao in the direction that he had escaped in.

    The other elder followed closely behind him with his toes touching the ground. He let out intense white light from his body. At the same time, nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

    The colors of these nine soul rings were very weird. Two of them were yellow, two of them were purple, and five were ck. It was an ordinarybination of colors, but each soul ring had a blurryyer of color on it. This caused the original, bright colors of the soul rings to be much dimmer. This was especially so for the five ck soul rings. If not for the fact that they could bepared to the pitch-ck clothing he was in, the difference in their colors might actually be overlooked.

    Without a doubt, this elder was a Titled Douluo, whereas the frail man in ck was actually surrounded by ayer of distorted light. Traces of yellow, purple and ck could be seen, but it was unclear how many soul rings he possessed.

    The two figures quickly chased in a specific direction. Very soon, they came to the smallkeside that Huo Yuhao had used to hide.

    While the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce was very expansive, that was mainly because of the structures in the pce. For powerful soul masters like Huo Yuhao, they quickly came to the boundaries of the pce as they unleashed their full strength.

    Huo Yuhao was above theke. If he moved forward any further, he would be within the range of the surveince soul tools surrounding the pce. His Spiritual Detection was still in use. Due to his all-around detection earlier, he clearly knew where all the spiritual barriers were. Right now, he just needed to move his Spiritual Detection around those three spiritual barriers, and the entire pce would basically be under his detection.

    He naturally discovered the two people that were chasing him. The two of them were very quick. That elder was a Titled Douluo. As for the other man, Huo Yuhao was unable to clearly tell. However, the other guy had to at least be an advanced-tier Soul Douluo if he wasn¡¯t a Titled Douluo, judging from his spiritual undtions.

    Evil soul master?A cold grin surfaced at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips. Following this, he charged straight towards a wall of the pce. At this moment, he seemed not to care about being discovered by the surveince soul tools.

    ¡°Ring ring ring!¡± Deafening rms sounded in the next moment. The entire pce was rmed. Beams of light subtly appeared in the sky. Evidently, the aerial surveince soul tools were scanning in this direction.

    Not only this, beams of soul rays started to surface from above the pce walls. They were all sweeping towards his direction. The Sun Moon Empire did well in erecting a defense as strong as this even though they had only upied the Heavenly Soul Empire for a short period of time.

    A cold and mysterious look appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He twisted his body in the air before his soul thruster lit up. Instantly, he charged towards the streets outside the pce. He unleashed his Imitation, and immediately disappeared.

    Even if there were oscition detectors, they still needed time to adjust ande over. By the time they arrived , Huo Yuhao would be long gone. It was impossible to follow him directly, given that his Imitation was in use.

    Two figures were also chasing him at great speed. Just as they flew above theke, tremendous booms sounded.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡±

    The entireke seemed to have been mined with countless bombs. A terrifying explosion ensued, and almost the entire Heaven Dou City could hear them. Amidst the resonating booms, theke became the most frightening explosive. Countless ice kes flew everywhere, and the immense explosive force blew apart theyer of ice that had formed on the surface of theke.

    This explosion was too sudden. There weren¡¯t any clues before it happened. When it urred, the frail man in ck and the elder were both astonished. They were both pure soul masters, thus they didn¡¯t have any automatic defensive soul tools on them. When the explosion urred, they could only subconsciously circte their soul power to resist it. Both their bodies were instantly flung high up into the air.

    The frightening explosive force continued to surge upwards as theke instantly expanded to five times its original size. The huge structures around it were immediately taken down by this explosion. Even the wide and thick pce walls copsed.

    The strength of this explosion was equivalent to an all-out attack from an ice-type Titled Douluo. Although Huo Yuhao was a Soul Sage, he had been umting power there for almost an hour. He had drained a lot of his soul power before hepleted his Ice Explosion Technique. In addition, he had frozen theke water into ice beforehand. The entire process took a lot of effort.

    He wanted to achieve a result just like this.

    The surrounding distorted lights around the frail soul master disappeared following the explosion, revealing his eight soul rings. He was already coughing up blood in the air.

    When Huo Yuhao had escaped earlier, he sneakily stuck close to theke¡¯s surface as he flew. For this frail soul master to follow his spiritual trail, he naturally had to follow Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape route closely. This was why both of them were almost at the center of the explosion, and were sent high up into the air by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Explosion Technique.

    The elder was faring much better, given that he was a Titled Douluo. Although he was caught unawares, he still relied on his abilities to neutralize most of the impact. The other soul master wasn¡¯t so fortunate. He was only a Soul Douluo, and he was a spiritual-type soul master. He wasn¡¯t adept at defense. As a result, he was immediately hurt critically by the explosion. His legs were blown off, and his soul power also became very messy in his body.

    The excruciating pain caused his aura to turn into a huge mess. He was already screaming tragically in the air. Blood was flowing from his pores. Fortunately, his cultivation was rather strong, which saved his life. If he were only a Soul Sage, he would have lost his life to Huo Yuhao¡¯s umted Ice Explosion Technique.

 Chapter 480.2 - The Godly Ice Explosion

    <h4 ss>Volume 34, Chapter 480.2: The Godly Ice Explosion</h4>

    That Titled Douluo¡¯s face was also covered in ash from the explosion. Although his limbs weren¡¯t blown off, the shirt he was wearing was in tatters now. He spat out blood in the air, and his blood quickly turned into ice before falling to the ground.

    Both he and that frail soul master were evil soul masters. When evil soul masters were influenced by their own evil strength, they would be very self-centered. Naturally, the Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t bother with the other soul master right now. As he tried to stabilize himself in the air, he quickly unleashed a defensive soul skill and hid within ayer of thick greyish fog. At the same time, he quickly retreated.

    The other soul master couldn¡¯t adapt at all. As he was critically hurt, he had already fallen from the air by. He was iling as he tried to circte his soul power to control his body. However, he couldn¡¯t do it in the end.

    At this moment, he suddenly a chill down his body. This chill didn¡¯te from the temperature of the outside world; it originated from his own senses.

    As a spiritual-type Soul Douluo who was an evil soul master, his senses had always been very acute. When this feeling came, he realized that something was amiss. He desperately screamed, ¡°Save me!¡±

    The elder who was rapidly retreating heard his call the moment he exited the radius of the remaining shockwaves of the explosion. After hearing his calls, he was furious. It was because of him that they were caught in the ambush.Aren¡¯t you just falling from the sky? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll fall to death even though you¡¯re a Soul Douluo? Why are you screaming so loud? Even if you¡¯re hurt badly, your injuries aren¡¯t lethal.The elder had no intention of saving him at all.

    However, it was also at this moment that he was shocked to find out that the dark sky seemed to have slightly distorted in the space a little ways away from the man in ck. Following this, a beam of golden light shed before it prated the head of the frail man in ck.

    The frail man¡¯s body was quickly shriveling up as he fell from the sky, and that golden light also revealed its true appearance. It was a long spear that was sharp on both sides. The spear exuded blinding, petrifying golden light.

    Disastrous!The Titled Douluo seemed to have realized something. His figure quickly shed before he charged straight towards the sky.

    However, that beam of golden light vanished in the next instant. Following this, there seemed to be a distorted figure that shed past. In the next moment, everything returned to normal once again.

    ¡°Scoundrel!¡± The Titled Douluo shouted furiously, and a huge patch of thick greyish fog pursued that distorted figure. Wherever it passed, sting sounds resonated through the air. However, his attacks were evidently futile. He could only hit the air.

    When that frail man in ck was killed, he realized that the enemy¡¯s target was that actually that frail man in ck. The reason was very simple. He was adept at spiritual abilities.

    From the start until the end, they had not seen the appearance of the enemy. However, without a doubt, this enemy was a spiritual-type soul master. Of course, in the eyes of the Titled Douluo, the enemy was a spiritual-type Titled Douluo. To this enemy, this elder wasn¡¯t the true threat. This was because he could conceal himself. Even given the elder¡¯s cultivation, and even if he unleashed all his senses, he could only discover his enemy within a certain region. On the other hand, that Soul Douluo was different. With him around, it was like having a pair of eyes. It was much easier dealing with the spiritual-type Titled Douluo. Obviously, the spiritual-type Titled Douluo wanted to kill the Soul Douluo, because that would greatly reduce their control over him.

    There were very few spiritual-type martial souls in the world of soul masters. There weren¡¯t many spiritual-type soul masters, even in the Holy Ghost Church.

    There were more spiritual-type evil soul masterspared to ordinary soul masters. However, in just a few years, three of them had already died. It was important to know that these evil soul masters were very crucial to the Holy Ghost Church, even though they had very weird temperaments. This Rank 87 spiritual-type Soul Douluo had now died. How could they possibly catch the enemy now?

    Indeed, the person who had killed the Soul Douluo was Huo Yuhao. After he charged out from the pce, he found the most appropriate time to use his Ice Explosion Technique with the help of his Spiritual Detection.

    As for turning back to attack, it was originally not in his n. He had only thought of that idea suddenly. He didn¡¯t intend to deal with the frail man initially. After all, it was his first time seeing him and sensing his threat.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao took action was because he wanted to act when his Ice Explosion Technique was the most effective.

    He controlled his Ice Explosion Technique with the help of his Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t charge too far out then. He stopped and turned back, and struck just outside the pce walls.

    The reason why he had returned was because he saw the Titled Douluo elder abandoning his partner, leaving him exposed in the air.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t fit to be called an Ultimate Soldier if he didn¡¯t seize the opportunity.

    Throwing the Golden Dragon Spear from afar was Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s ultimate skill. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t as strong as her, but he wasn¡¯t weak either after fusing with the soul rings she had turned into. Furthermore, he had strengths that she didn¡¯t have too.

    Why did the Golden Dragon Spear appear after the Titled Douluo saw a distortion in the dark sky?

    This was because Huo Yuhao had used his Imitation on the Golden Dragon Spear just as he threw it out.

    This wasn¡¯t just a simple use of his spiritual-type soul skill. It involved attention to detail. The process was veryplex.

    First, he had to leave a streak of his spiritual sense and spiritual power on the Golden Dragon Spear. He could only do this after his spiritual power materialized. In addition, he was only able toplete such a rapid fusion of his soul and spiritual powers after he had formed his soul core.

    After this, he imprinted his Imitation onto his streak of spiritual power and used it just as he threw the Golden Dragon Spear out.

    Simply speaking, his Imitation was actually unleashed through his Golden Dragon Spear. This was why it waspletely concealed in the darkness. It only revealed itself when it arrived in front of the frail man in ck.

    Even when it appeared, it was fully under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. This was because he still had to ensure that his spiritual power continued to move his Golden Dragon Spear andplete the attack. The Golden Dragon Spear thus absorbed the life energy of the frail man. His life energy was directly kept by Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. On the Golden Dragon Spear, it was like an avatar with its own spiritual power and life energy. This avatar controlled the spear to fly back to him as fast as possible. As it flew back, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation was unleashed again. This allowed the Golden Dragon Spear to move like the wind and instantly conceal itself.

    This was why Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack actually drained a lot of his effort, even though it was just a simple strike. It was onlypleted through his immense spiritual control.

    As for the elder, he had discovered Huo Yuhao toote. How was it going to be easy for him to pursue him now?

    The immense soul power undtions caused by the Ice Explosion Technique didn¡¯t only blow apart all the surveince soul tools in this region of the pce, but it also caused great interference to the aerial surveince soul tools in the air. It was only possible to locate Huo Yuhao using another spiritual-type soul master.

    Huo Yuhao moved through streets and alleys as he hid in the darkness. He only stopped after he was sure that he was in a safe ce.

    Right now, his breathing was a little quick. However, there was an excited look in his eyes.

    Ultimate Soldier! This was a true Ultimate Soldier! Sneaking into the enemy¡¯s base, killing an influential figure and fleeing far away. From the start until the end, he wasn¡¯t even exposed. The enemy didn¡¯t even know who had made such an attack.

    This feeling was great!

    From the earlier all-around surveince in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce, Huo Yuhao had already clearly found out that there was only one spiritual-type soul master in the entire pce. It was that guy. Without any soul tools, that guy wasn¡¯t able to pose a threat to him.

    Although spiritual surveince soul tools could locate him, they still had to be controlled by soul engineers. Compared to soul masters, they weren¡¯t very adaptable. Moreover, they couldn¡¯t track him. Unless the enemy could use spiritual surveince soul tools in conjunction with oscition and thermal detectors, as well as lock onto his position the moment he was detected, there was no way he could be detected, given current soul tool technology.

    Huo Yuhao had always been monitoring the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool technology throughout this period of war. This was why he was so confident.

    When hended in Ju Zi¡¯s trap thest time, it was because he had been too careless. He had underestimated the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, which caused him to be exposed. But it was a good lesson. At least he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be exposed in the future when it came to simr situations.

    His direct fighting abilities right now were already very strong. More importantly, he was great at concealing himself. This was actually the most terrifying part about him.

 Chapter 480.3 - The Godly Ice Explosion

    Chapter 480.3: The Godly Ice Explosion

    The reason why Ju Zi thought that Huo Yuhao would be her greatest enemy in the future was precisely because of this reason. Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability to conceal himself made him much more dangerous than ordinary Titled Douluo. It was most terrifying when a person¡¯s traces couldn¡¯t be found! Moreover, given Ju Zi¡¯s understanding of Huo Yuhao, she knew his potential. He possessed an Ultimate martial soul, and he already had seven soul rings. There was no doubt that he would be a Titled Douluo in the near future. A Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul was even more terrifying than a Titled Douluo who was an evil soul master.

    Huo Yuhao entered through the window as usual when he returned to his hotel. He had already calmed down by now. After killing that spiritual-type Soul Douluo, he had managed to achieve his aim for this mission. However, this would have greatly rmed the enemy too. During this period of time, the Sun Moon Empire would surely increase their surveince in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce. This was inevitable. But could he continue to wait any further?

    The best way was naturally to wait for them to lower their guard before continuing his surveince. The enemy might be more rxed after a period of tension, which would then provide a great opportunity for him.

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t wait any further! There were still many things he had to do. He had to quickly gather information from here. Furthermore, through the earlier all-around surveince, he was certain that neither Ma Xiaotao nor Tang Ya were in the Imperial Pce. They were both Holy Ladies in the Holy Ghost Church, and they were very respected. If they were in Heaven Dou City, they would surely be in the Imperial Pce. Since they weren¡¯t, the likelihood that they were in this city was very small.

    When he thought until here, Huo Yuhao¡¯s good mood diminished slightly. Without being able to find Ma Xiaotao and Tang Ya, it meant that his most important target of this mission wasn¡¯t achieved. How could he be happy then?

    What should I do? Should I try to capture an evil soul master to gather information? Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. That was the stupidest idea. Perhaps it might be effective, but it wasn¡¯t going to be easy. In addition, those evil soul masters might not know where Tang Ya was. But it seemed like he just had to give it a go.

    He sat cross-legged and pondered for a moment. After this, he decided that he couldn¡¯t think of a better n. It seemed like capturing an evil soul master and searching his memories was the best he could do.

    After deciding on this strategy, he had another goal to reach. He thought about it for a moment before he started to perfect his n.

    If he wanted to find an evil soul master, the best ce to do so was naturally the Imperial Pce. However, he had just caused a ruckus in the pce. The security in the pce was bound to be very tight now. Under such a circumstance, how could he possibly capture a lone evil soul master? This was a huge problem for him.

    Furthermore, the evil soul master that he captured couldn¡¯t be too weak either. Otherwise, it would be difficult to get any information from him.

    After formting a n, Huo Yuhao slowly entered into meditation and continued to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence into his body.

    He felt as if his cultivation was improving by leaps and bounds following every session of meditation after he started to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. His soul power kept on getting stronger, and he was slowly bing a Soul Douluo. If not for the fact that he wasn¡¯t ready, he would really like to try out what standard his cultivation had reached. ording to his own estimates, he should at least be Rank 77 by now. This also meant that his soul power had improved significantly. He had reaped great rewards.

    The next morning, Huo Yuhao entered his spectral demine and fed the three bears. After this, he went to the streets again, and proceeded in the direction of the Imperial Pce.

    As he walked the streets, he paid attention to all the chatter around him. Many people were discussing the explosive boom that came from the pce. It was even rumored that the perimeter of the pce was out of bounds right now.

    Huo Yuhao kept on walking towards the pce, and only returned after making one round around it.

    He discovered that the person in charge of Heaven Dou City from the Sun Moon Empire was still very rational. He didn¡¯t seal off the entire city or make it out of bounds because of what had happenedst night. The only area that was out of bounds was the street that he was on yesterday. This was because this street was where a part of the pce walls had blown apart. It was under repair now. Apart from this, everything in the pce appeared to be fine, at least from the outside. He didn¡¯t survey the inside of the pce using his spiritual power.

    He had already unleashed his greatest spiritual powerst night. There was no way the enemy wouldn¡¯t be wary of him. Any spiritual barriers or simr soul tools would certainly be in use now. If he carried out any Spiritual Detection, he would be sending himself straight into a trap. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t really believe the Sun Moon Empire had any way of finding him, he wasn¡¯t going to take the risk.

    After returning to the hotel, Huo Yuhao called the Ice Bear King out from his spectral demine.

    Given his individual abilities, he wasn¡¯t really very impressive in Heaven Dou City. However, it was different if he had Little Bai¡¯s help. Furthermore, he had some other ns.

    ¡°Grandpa, what kind of ce is that? It¡¯s really fun. Those skeletons are really interesting. But why are they running away from me?¡± Little Bai asked excitedly.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t set any boundaries for him in the demine. He had allowed him to bring Big Mao and Second Mao out to y.

    When Electrolux created this demine, he had made it so that the specters in the demine could evolve. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know where they got their energy from. ording to the memories that Electrolux left behind, it should have its origins in spatial strength. As for how Electrolux managed to do that, he had no clue at all. It seemed to be a strength from another world. Unless his cultivation could reach that of Electrolux, there was no way he could possibly find any clues.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is a demine that one of my teachers left behind for me. It¡¯s a parallel dimension of our world, and only I can open it. Since you like it here, I¡¯ll let you enter a few more times in the future. However, we¡¯ve things to do now. You must follow my n.¡±

    Huo Yuhao recounted his n to the Ice Bear King. He knew that the Ice Bear King was rather simple-minded, and wouldn¡¯t be able to remember a n that was tooplex. This was why he tried to simplify the mission that he gave the Ice Bear King. As for theplicated stuff, he left it for himself.

    After settling the n, Huo Yuhao and Ice Bear King remained in the hotel to rest.

    Two dayster.

    The streets of Heaven Dou City were still very crowded. It was already evening now, and the sky had just turned dark. This was the time when business was booming for hotels and restaurants. Apart from those who were going home, there were a lot of people who were proceeding towards restaurants and eating ces.

    Huo Yuhao slowly walked among the crowd. After two days of observation, the situation in the pce had already quieted down. The damaged pce walls had already been repaired. As for what was going on in the pce, he didn¡¯t manage to find out anything through his Spiritual Detection. Today was the day he was going to truly take action.

    The Imperial Pce was already within sight from afar. Huo Yuhao naturally walked towards it. After this, he sat in a small restaurant not far from the pce. He ordered some dishes and sat there alone, eating by himself.

    It was at this moment that a figure silently came to the outside of the pce walls. The light around his body was distorted. It was as if this figure hadpletely assimted with the air. It was just that streaks of air could be seen slightly distorting under the dim night lights.

    If he revealed his figure right now, everyone who had ever seen him would be shocked. This was because he was also Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao slowly walked with his toes on the ground. He leaped up, and arrived above the pce walls. He silently unleashed his Spiritual Detection towards the inside of the pce.

    Indeed, just like he had expected, the defensive instations in the pce weren¡¯t any different from before. After all, it was quite unrealistic to install more oscition and thermal detectors. The pce was so huge. How could they possibly find so many more spiritual surveince soul tools in such a short period of time?

    Huo Yuhao found a spot that the oscition detectors didn¡¯t cover, exploiting it to sneak into the pce. He quickly moved into the depths of the pce.

    The number of patrolling guards hadn¡¯t been increased either. Perhaps the Sun Moon Empire thought that ordinary soldiers didn¡¯t have any effect on Titled Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao went going deeper and deeper into the pce. Everything seemed to be business as usual. His Spiritual Detection was controlled within one hundred meters from him. He didn¡¯t carry out any detection on arge scale.

    He only stopped when he was around five hundred meters from the center of the pce, where he silently hid in a dark corner.

    It was also at this moment that the air started to undte a little. Following this, snow started to fall from the sky.

    At the start, it was only a few snowkes, but slowly, the wind became stronger and stronger. More and more snowkes started to fall. Patches of snowkes were being blown about by the raging winds. In just a short period of time, the entire pce was covered in a blizzard.

    It was weird, but this blizzard only engulfed the inside of the pce. It didn¡¯t leak out to any other parts of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    At this moment, the people who were passing by not far from the pce were shocked. It was their first time seeing the pce being engulfed by a blizzard. Such a phenomenon would only ur in the Extreme North. Although Heaven Dou City was quite close to the north, and it would also snow in the winter, it was impossible for there to be a blizzard.

    This blizzard was very strong. When the snowkes scratched the structures in the pce, piercing scratching sounds could be heard. The inside of the pce was a mess right now. Many of the patrolling guards were hurt by the blizzard. Furthermore, the temperature in the pce was also falling dramatically. From the original ten degrees Celsius, the temperature soon fell to negative twenty degrees Celsius. The confusion and mess in the pce worsened due to this extremely cold temperature.

 Chapter 481.1 - The Darkness Dragon Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 481.1: The Darkness Dragon Emperor</h4>

    Shadows dashed out continuously from the structures inside the royal pce. There were soul masters and soul engineers, but they couldn¡¯t do anything even if they were outside. How were they to face such a sinister change in the weather?

    Several intelligent soul engineers immediately realized that the problem was probably in the sky. Everyone flew separately into the air to investigate.

    However, they quickly ran into trouble once they actually went up into the sky. The further they went, the stronger the blizzard was, and fierce gales blew as their flying-type soul tools couldn¡¯t support them any further. Many soul engineers were directly blown back down, and they fell to their certain and miserable deaths.

    Three elderly men appeared on a rtively tall roof inside the royal pce at the same time. One of them was the evil Titled Douluo that he had seen before. The two other elderly men seemed a lot more normal, and nine soul rings flickered on each of their bodies.

    These were three Titled Douluo!

    Huo Yuhao was still hidden within a dark and shadowy corner, but he could observe everything that was happening around him with Spiritual Detection.

    There was no doubt that this blizzard came from the Ice Bear King, and his execution was very simr to how it was back in the Extreme North.

    The Ice Bear King quietly left Heaven Dou City before he followed Huo Yuhao¡¯s instructions as he took to the skies from a ce where the surveince soul tools above Heaven Dou City couldn¡¯t reach. He went more than four thousand meters above into the sky, far higher than the aerial surveince soul tools could reach, before he flew above the royal pce and threw this blizzard towards the ground.

    This was the strength of top-tier individuals. The Ice Bear King wasn¡¯t yet like an Ultimate Douluo, but his strength wasparable to that of a Rank 96 or Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, even though his control over ice and snow wasn¡¯t at the level of the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress, who could control Ultimate Ice, it was sufficient for his blizzard to reach one hundred degrees below zero.

    That was a very frightening number. The blizzard¡¯s strength became a lot weaker as it came down from the sky, but it could still reach thirty to forty degrees below zero. That was an enormous threat to normal people.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Hallmaster Jing?¡± An evil soul master lowered his voice and asked.

    The person standing in the middle of the three elderly men was, surprisingly, someone who Huo Yuhao was very familiar with ¨C Jing Hongchen, the Illustrious Virtue Hall¡¯s hallmaster.

    Yes ¨C Jing Hongchen wasn¡¯t in the Illustrious Virtue Hall during the tremendous explosion in Radiant City. He wasn¡¯t the only one that wasn¡¯t there ¨C his two grandchildren weren¡¯t there either. They were heavily injured during the grandpetition, so they were receiving treatment from the royal pce¡¯s imperial physician. Jing Hongchen was protecting them by their side, and he was looking over his grandchildren. It was because of that that they managed to avoid the disaster.

    Still, the great explosion had dealt a heavy blow to Jing Hongchen. The Illustrious Virtue Hall waspletely ruined, and his entire life¡¯s worth of blood and sweat was buried beneath rubble just like that. In addition to his grandchildren being heavily injured, he fell extremely sick because of these blows, and even his cultivation took a hit. Following Xiao Hongchen¡¯s gradual recovery, and in addition to the fact that Xu Tianran still relied heavily on him after ascending to the throne, his emotions were slowly able to recover.

    Jing Hongchen remained here as leader of Heaven Dou City after they conquered the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s capital.

    Heaven Dou City was considered one of the most poprrge cities in the Douluo Continent. Furthermore, it was positioned in the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s central and northern region that was lying towards the west. They could use this ce as a stronghold, and this was thus a very important transition stop for storing food and transporting soldiers. This ce held very important strategic importance for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion against the continent.

    Xu Tianran personally gave the order for Jing Hongchen to hold down the fort here, which also disyed that Xu Tianran had sufficient trust in him.

    The war was started a little hastily. That was the reason why the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall was still being reconstructed. The Sun Moon Empire had to bear a great burden by starting this war, and even though they had gained the upper hand under Ju Zi¡¯s appropriate battle strategies, their supply lines had been stretched longer and longer with the passage of time. They needed soldiers to stand guard over the territories that they had conquered from the Heavenly Soul Empire, while they had to fight back against the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s scattered attacks in their conquered territories, as well as against the reclusive sects, who were hidden away in the dark. They expended a lot of resources and men every day, and that was the reason why the Sun Moon Empire had channeled and mobilized as much resources and power they could into this war. Jing Honchen was a ss 9 soul engineer who was loyal to Xu Tianran, and he was naturally given an important responsibility.

    However, the Holy Ghost Church was starting to be increasingly outrageous within the Sun Moon Empire. Their Supreme Leader had requested that a soul master from the Holy Ghost Church to take a position of vice-city leader in anyrge city that the Sun Moon Empire had conquered.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s seniormanders expressed their strict opposition to that request at first. However, the Holy Ghost Church was just too powerful, especially because they had two Ultimate Douluo. They were very useful for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion, so Xu Tianran had no choice but to amodate their demands. He knew that the Holy Ghost Church was a little toorge for efficient organization, but he had no choice, because he wanted to expand his territory.

    The strategy that Xu Tianran had in his heart was actually very simple ¨C he wanted to continue using the Holy Ghost Church to expand the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory, and with the passage of war, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s strength would undoubtedly be expended continuously.

    The Holy Ghost Church was an organization of evil soul masters. Evil soul masters were indeed powerful, but at the same time, powerful evil soul masters had their own problems ¨C the problem of replenishing their numbers.

    The Holy Ghost Church only attained the scale that they were at today after umting their strength for thousands of years in the darkness. This wasn¡¯t done within one or two days. Once they had sustained too many deaths and losses, their overall strength would be continuously weakened.

    As the Sun Moon Empire dominated more territory, their national strength only became stronger, while the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family would have more soul masters and soul engineers tomand. When the time came, the Sun Moon Empire would be increasingly stronger, while the Holy Ghost Church would be continuously weaker, and Xu Tianran wouldn¡¯t be afraid that the Holy Ghost Church would turn against them. Furthermore, the two Ultimate Douluo were powerful, but they were already more than two hundred years old. They were very near the human limits, and who knew when these two would just pass away from old age. What Xu Tianran was truly afraid of were these two Ultimate Douluo.

    The result of Xu Tianran amodating the Holy Ghost Church in Heaven Dou City was another Titled Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church here together with Jing Hongchen. This Elder¡¯s title was Nightmare, and he was rare soul master who was adept with illusions. His martial soul was the Nightmare Demon, a soul beast that had very poor fighting skills, but extremely powerful illusory powers. That was the reason why his martial soul was very rare.

    The Nightmare Douluo hadn¡¯t unleashed his true powers when Huo Yuhao faced him that day. Both soul masters and normal citizens would enter a dream-like state when struck by his illusory attacks. If that happened, then the Nightmare Douluo could kill that individual, and he could even control them in battle. The final result was that the person who was put into a nightmare would die regardless, while all that resentment and fear after death was most beneficial for the Nightmare Douluo¡¯s cultivation.

    The Nightmare Douluo once sent an entire vige into a nightmare due to some private benefit a long time ago, and he became a public enemy. He was chased down by many soul masters, but his illusions were far too powerful, and he finally broke out while killing many of the soul masters who were chasing him. He all but disappeared in the end, and vanished off the grid. He was then recruited by the Holy Ghost Church.

    The Nightmare Douluo wasn¡¯t much of a threat to top-tier soul masters. Illusions were hardly effective against Transcendent Douluo, but if his nightmares were used against normal citizens or soldiers, then the destruction that he could cause could even surpass that of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. Therefore, his status in the Holy Ghost Church was rtively high, and he was one the few who were consecrated by the Holy Ghost. His status was even above an Elder. Back when the Sun Moon Empire was attacking Heaven Dou City, the Nightmare Douluo had used his formidable illusions to confuse many soldiers on the city wall. He made them attack and murder each other, which created an incredible opportunity for the Sun Moon Empire, and he had remained after the city was broken.

    The Nightmare Douluo today didn¡¯t kill as much as he did back then. At his level, normal citizens and even low-tier soul masters and their resentment inside a nightmare were no longer enough to aid his cultivation. He needed soul masters at a certain standard so that he could improve. More urately put, the more powerful a soul master¡¯s spiritual power, the stronger the resentment after dying under his nightmares. That kind of resentment was the most beneficial for him.

    ¡°Speak, Hallmaster Jing!¡± The Nightmare Douluo¡¯s face darkened as he pushed Jing Hongchen to speak.

    Jing Hongchen frowned and said, ¡°I can only conclude that this isn¡¯t something created by soul tools. This should be a soul master¡¯s ability, and this person has to be a Transcendent Douluo to bring such an enormous blizzard down upon us. I¡¯ll take a look up in the sky. I¡¯ll leave this ce to the two of you.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± the Nightmare Douluo hurriedly stopped Jing Hongchen, ¡°Hallmaster Jing, if you discover that Titled Douluo with formidable spiritual power, you have to notify me. We will try our best to capture him, and as long as we capture him, I¡¯ll do anything for you if you need me in the future.¡±

    Jing Hongchen nced at him and nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± With that, he flew high into the sky. The powerful winds in the blizzard weren¡¯t enough to block him, as he was a ss 9 soul engineer, and they could only reduce his speed.

    The Nightmare Douluo was furious after Huo Yuhao had escaped the other day, but he couldn¡¯t find any traces of him at all. However, he had felt very excited after that day ¨C Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-type soul master, and if he perished under his nightmares, then that soul master¡¯s resentment would be extremely beneficial for him. From his perspective, Huo Yuhao should be a spiritual-type Titled Douluo. He was very clear that his nightmares and illusory abilities were insufficient to directly kill a spiritual-type Titled Douluo. However, he would have a much higher chance of sess after severely injuring that person, while the resentment produced after killing them would be the same. This person¡¯s death could even help his soul power, which had been stagnant for a long time, improve once more.

 Chapter 481.2 - The Darkness Dragon Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 481.2: The Darkness Dragon Emperor</h4>

    The Nightmare Douluo was at Rank 91, and evil soul masters had a very difficult time improving after reaching theter stages of cultivation.

    The Holy Ghost Church had been umting strength for so many years, and they had umted quite a few Titled Douluo. However, Transcendent Douluo were few and far between, and there were just several of them. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how difficult it was to be an evil Transcendent Douluo.

    Therefore, the Nightmare Douluo was extremely interested in capturing Huo Yuhao, and that was why he didn¡¯t hold back in asking Jing Hongchen for help. Aerial battle wasn¡¯t his forte, and in terms of direct fighting strength, the ss 9 soul engineer Jing Hongchen was much stronger than he was.

    Huo Yuhao had been observing Jing Hongchen and the other two through Spiritual Detection. He wasn¡¯t worried at all as Jing Hongchen rose into the sky, as the Ice Bear King¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t something that Jing Hongchen could easily fight against. Battles that urred five thousand meters up in the sky were based on absolute strength, as many soul tools would be weakened. Of course, Jing Hongchen had many ways of preserving his own life, and Little Bai wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him even though Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t defeat him. Furthermore, Little Bai had already aplished the first step of his task. He should already be retreating, and he probably wouldn¡¯t sh with Jing Hongchen.

    The royal pce was still in a state of disarray at this moment. The blizzard¡¯s viciousness wasn¡¯t what caused the chaos, as this was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal pce after all. The structures inside were tough, far stronger than the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s tents back in the Extreme North. The blizzard couldn¡¯t cause much harm if they stayed inside their rooms. Of course, that was also because this blizzard came from five thousand meters high in the sky. The blizzard¡¯s strength would be very different if the Ice Bear King had unleashed it from the ground.

    The thing that was causing such disarray in the royal pce was the increasingly dropping temperature. Soul masters would also be affected once the temperature reached thirty degrees below zero, and these effects weren¡¯t minor. Normal soldiers couldn¡¯t even move around at all.

    More and more soul masters and soul engineers appeared outside. It was very difficult to pass down orders in such a tremendous blizzard, and they could only fight against it passively as they resisted the biting cold.

    The soul power undtions and spiritual undtions within the royal pce were very messy under such circumstances. Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection once more, and he avoided the two Titled Douluo on the roof as he stretched his Spiritual Detection toward those areas with a lot of people. He had to find a single target so that he could make a move.

    An evil soul master¡¯s soul power undtions were vastly different from those of normal soul masters, and their auras were different as well. It wasn¡¯t difficult to find an evil soul master. Huo Yuhao wanted to find an evil Soul Sage. Such an individual would be considered rtively powerful and higher up in the hierarchy, so he had to know quite a few secrets.

    Indeed, Huo Yuhao quickly found his target after his spiritual power webbed out. There were several evil soul masters clustered together amid the chaos, gathered in a room about four hundred meters away from him.

    There was one person who was clearly the leader of the group, and the others all had rtively weaker cultivations.

    This individual was a Soul Sage, and he emanated bluish-gray soul power undtions that circled around his body. The other evil soul masters all had four or five soul rings, and there were five of them altogether.

    That¡¯s him,Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes squinted as he immediately made his move.

    He snuck towards that location in a sh, and quickly came close behind that evil soul master. His eyes flickered as he closed in on the room, and he sent a single strike of Spiritual Shock against one of the four-ringed evil soul masters.

    The four-ringed Soul Ancestor made a stifled grunt as he gradually crumbled to the ground. Blood flowed from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth as he didn¡¯t seem like he could live through this.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± The Soul Sage roared as he dashed out of the room in a sh and immediately caught sight of Huo Yuhao, who had just turned to run away.

    An enemy! Evil soul masters were typically quite conceited, even though one of their own had perished. Huo Yuhao deliberately created an image that presented himself in this evil soul master¡¯s eyes as a seven-ringed Soul Sage with two yellow, two purple, and three ck soul rings.

    Evil soul masters always believed that they were invincible against others of the same rank. The evil soul master saw that his enemy was just a Soul Sage, and he elerated in pursuit of Huo Yuhao without figuring out his actual strength.

    The two Titled Douluo immediately noticed the disturbance from the rooftop far away, but they didn¡¯t move at all. The reason was simple; it was because of the number of soul rings that Huo Yuhao disyed.

    Soul rings were an absolute representation of one¡¯s strength for most soul masters. Their enemy was just a Soul Sage, and there was already an evil Soul Sage in pursuit, so these two Titled Douluo didn¡¯t have to interfere at all. They still had to pay attention to the big picture to prevent any top-tier individuals appearing among their enemies¡¯ ranks.

    Huo Yuhao escaped very quickly. All the surveince soul tools were severely affected by the blizzard in the sky, and they couldn¡¯t lock down on his position, and so Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t attacked by soul tools because they didn¡¯t have a lock on his location.

    The Nightmare Douluo would never have expected that the vicious blizzard in the sky was meant to create space for Huo Yuhao to escape in this moment. Furthermore, he would never have expected that a blizzard of such an enormous scale was just so that Huo Yuhao could capture an evil soul master, rather than for an ambush.

    The evil soul master who was chasing Huo Yuhao was also very quick. Three skeletal heads that were emanating dark green mes encircled his body, and spurted from behind him. Those mes continuously boosted his speed, and he was slowly bearing down on Huo Yuhao.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal ce wasn¡¯t small, but it wouldn¡¯t take a Soul Sage very long to leave its premises at full strength.

    It would appear that Huo Yuhao using the Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard to trick a Soul Sage was a little bit overkill. But in reality, Huo Yuhao would have wasted a lot more time and energy looking for an opportunity if that didn¡¯t happen, and his current n was much quicker and more straightforward.

    The royal pce was a mess in this moment. That was Blizzard¡¯s most fearsome characteristic in group battles. Huo Yuhaomented in his heart as he ran, as he thought about how fantastic it would have been if his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice could reach such an enormous size. Even if his domain attack didn¡¯t possess such destructiveness, simply creating such disarray whileplementing his Imitation would greatly increase his undercover abilities.

    The royal pce¡¯s wall was in front of him, and the Soul Sage who was chasing him was about thirty meters behind him, in range for most offensive soul skills.

    There were two rows and a total of eight small soul thrusters on Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, and they activated at the same time as they immediately propelled his body forward. Huo Yuhao was like a cannonball as he arrived at the pce wall in the blink of an eye.

    The evil soul master behind him almost vomited blood. He felt like he was getting in range to attack his enemy, and he was just about to unleash a soul skill to attack Huo Yuhao when he elerated and escaped his grasp. That feeling was just too hard to bear.

    Can he really be that lucky?The evil Soul Sage was furious as he hurriedly elerated in pursuit.

    How could he know that everything was under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control with Spiritual Detection, and that it had nothing do with luck? The truth was that, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, he could use many different ways to shake his opponent off in terms of speed. The reason why he used soul thrusters was because he wanted to conceal his powers as much as possible.

    Huo Yuhao leapt into the sky as he tapped his foot gently against the pce wall, and bolted out. He didn¡¯t go up into the sky, as there were many aerial surveince soul tools above him. Even though the blizzard had destroyed some, there were still some left.

    Huo Yuhao found the Ice Bear King with Spiritual Detection. He asked the Ice Bear King to leave the city first and wait for him outside.

    That was because Huo Yuhao had already sensed that Jing Hongchen was searching for the Ice Bear King¡¯s traces high in the sky, so calling to the Ice Bear King for aid would be counterproductive.

    The evil soul master behind him was close in pursuit. The threerge skeletal heads around him radiated green light, and he seemed to be using his full strength as he charged at Huo Yuhao at breakneck speed.

    A faint and cold smile surfaced beneath Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.It¡¯s about time. There¡¯s a lot less surveince and monitoring outside the royal pce, while the blizzard has covered the royal pce. I have to take him down as quickly as possible.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and raced along the pce wall. The evil Soul Sage was about to attack when Huo Yuhao used his soul thrusters to shake him off once more. They would arrive in a rtively spacious area if they continued forward, as the streets close to the royal pce were extremely wide and spacious. They were in the dark of night, so there wasn¡¯t anybody outside the royal pce.

    The evil soul master became even more furious.This fellow is too slippery. Does he really think that he can shake me off within Heaven Dou City?Even though he didn¡¯t really know how to use soul tools, he was very clear about what the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools could do. He believed that soul engineers would chase Huo Yuhao down very quickly to help him capture this guy. But for a person like him, who was so arrogant and perhaps even twisted, he didn¡¯t wish for others to interfere.

    However, he suddenly realized that the Soul Sage who was running away in front of him slowed, and the distance between them was closed in an instant.

    Is he tired? He can no longer explosively unleash soul power?

    The evil Soul Sage was overjoyed. He pointed his right hand at Huo Yuhao, and a sharp howl could be heard as one of the three skeletal heads orbiting around him flew out and sted straight at Huo Yuhao.

    This evil Soul Sage¡¯s martial soul was very extraordinary. His mother had passed away when he was born from a difficult birth, and they were inside the wilderness. He remained in the wilderness for several days before someone rescued him, and the toxins from his mother¡¯s corpse flowed into his body, which caused his martial soul to have such intense mutations.

    His martial soul became a Skeletal Head after mutating. Furthermore, he was different from normal soul masters. Normal soul masters¡¯ martial souls themselves would evolve and improve as they became stronger, and as soul masters obtained higher cultivation ranks. But his martial soul was extremely peculiar, as he would gain another Skeletal Head with each extra soul ring. He had only released three Skeletal Heads so far, and that was just part of his full strength.

 Chapter 481.3 - The Darkness Dragon Emperor

    <h4 ss>Chapter 481.3: The Darkness Dragon Emperor</h4>

    A skeletal head flew towards Huo Yuhao at this moment, and it released a yellow circle from its surface. It wasing right at Huo Yuhao as the skull suddenly opened its mouth, and the skeletal head rapidly swelled as it chomped down on Huo Yuhao. The skull itself shone with intense green light.

    Huo Yuhao could feel a tremendous force pulling on him. This force wasn¡¯t targeted at his body, but was targeted at his spirit instead. This terrifying pulling force seemed like it was going to consume his entire spirit.

    He lives up to his name as an evil soul master! He¡¯s going straight for the spirit.

    Huo Yuhao was a lot slower than before. Otherwise, the evil soul master wouldn¡¯t have caught up with him. He didn¡¯t rely on his soul thrusters to widen the gap like before, but tapped the tip of his foot gently on the ground as he spun around.

    What the evil soul master saw were Huo Yuhao¡¯s glowing eyes. Those eyes had boundless rity, and two rose-gold beams of light fired from those eyes in the next moment.

    The evil Soul Sage felt like a giant mallet hammered on his spiritual sea in that instant as torrential waves stirred up inside his spiritual sea. He howled agonizingly as green light shone from his body while he plummeted from the sky. The giant skull which had its mouth open against Huo Yuhao froze in midair at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao vanished into thin air with a sh. He reappeared right in front of the evil Soul Sage as he used his left leg soul bone¡¯s skill, Instant Teleportation.

    One versus one, and soul master against soul master was what Huo Yuhao was best at. Back when he was still on exchange at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he had once relied on his own strength to defeat every single one of their members without taking a single loss.

    His formidable individual fighting strength was disyed once more. Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Shock, and even though his opponent was a Soul Sage and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use his Eye of Destiny, the evil Soul Sage bled from his mouth and nose as his spirit was severely damaged.

    The evil Soul Sage fought with his life to recover, so that he could regain control of his body. However, Spiritual Shock wasn¡¯t something that was easy to deal with.

    The evil Soul Sage stared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes that were right in front of him. He felt a chill run down his spine, and only then did he realize that his opponent was probably much less simple than he had imagined. In this moment, this was the first time that he wished soul engineers woulde and rescue him.

    But how would that be possible? Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was in control of everything, and how could Huo Yuhao make his move if he didn¡¯t find the most suitable opportunity? Since he had made his move, how could he still give his opponent a chance to retaliate?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings immediately disappeared, as those were conjured with Imitation. How could he disy his soul rings¡¯ true colors for evil soul masters to see? There were still aerial surveince soul tools monitoring them from above as well.

    The air around them contorted vigorously as the evil Soul Sage groaned once more.

    Spiritual st.

    This was a Spiritual st unleashed right at his head. The evil Soul Sage was still affected by what had happened before, and he couldn¡¯t resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st at all as the torturous pain made him cry out painfully once more.

    Light shaped like a whirlpool appeared above his head. Spiritual Confusion, another of Huo Yuhao¡¯s powerful single-target control skills. Huo Yuhao would take control until the end, since he started it. Huo Yuhao had always been training in both offense and control. He mostly yed the role of an assault-type soul master, but his control-type abilities were more powerful.

    Even a Soul Douluo would have trouble tiding through three formidable spiritual-type soul skills used one after another. So what if his opponent was an evil soul master? Evil soul masters¡¯ spirits were stronger than typical soul masters, but that was useless against Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire being turned bluish-green. An enormous bluish-green pir of light sted from his skeleton. That was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath, one of the two great soul skills bestowed upon him by her skeleton.

    The evil Soul Sage no longer had any soul power to resist, and his spiritual sea was aplete mess, as he had been severely injured. This evil Soul Sage, who had always been so arrogant, immediately became a frozen statue.

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and pped the frozen statue before he disappeared into the air with it. He activated Imitation once more as he stored the frozen statue in his storage-type soul tool.

    Storage-type soul tools couldn¡¯t store living beings because there was no air inside. Any kind of living being inside would die, or they would have to break out with their own strength.

    But this evil Soul Sage was special. He wouldn¡¯t die for a while after being frozen by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. At least, he wouldn¡¯t need air. Huo Yuhao wanted to leave this ce first before dealing with him.

    Huo Yuhao had aplished his goal, and he turned as he was about to leave when everything seemed to change around him.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal pce, which was in disarray because of the blizzard, suddenly quieted down to the point where the silence was terrifying. Even the streets becamepletely silent, and that silence was the kind as if all sound had disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao was just about to leave, but he seemed like he was immobilized as he stood there, motionless. His entire body appeared listless.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid when he was facing an army of a few thousand soldiers, but beads of sweat started to appear on his face within a few short breaths. He tried his best to calm himself down, but his emotions were making him quiver uncontrobly. This pressure came entirely from his spirit, and this was the first time Huo Yuhao had experienced something as sinister as this since he began plying his craft.

    Of course, the royal pce didn¡¯t actually have no sounds, and the chaos couldn¡¯t settle down instantly. Everything suddenly grew quiet around him because he couldn¡¯t hear; he couldn¡¯t hear a single person.

    Suddenly, footsteps could be heard. Just footsteps, one person¡¯s footsteps. This was the only thing Huo Yuhao could hear with his current sense of hearing.

    A silhouette appeared at the end of the street and slowly walked towards him. There seemed to be a dense fog around him, and even a person as powerful as Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see everything about him. Huo Yuhao felt like all he could see was a patch of darkness, like this person was a darkness that consumed everything around him.

    This person had never appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, and this danger hade so suddenly. Everything was so sudden that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to defend himself.

    That silhouette wasn¡¯t walking too quickly or too slowly. Huo Yuhao was using Imitation to conceal his tracks, but that had no effect against that person. They finally came closer, and he was about ten meters away from Huo Yuhao before he stopped.

    The fog cleared, and Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    He knew this man.

    If Huo Yuhao had a ranking of the most powerful individuals on the Continent, this person before him would be ranked among the top three of those who were currently alive. At least, he would be ranked as such among those powerful individuals that Huo Yuhao had seen before.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that it¡¯s you. If Xishui hadn¡¯t told me about your existence, it would have been hard to believe that you¡¯d grown to such a standard after a few short years.¡±

    The voice sounded old, and there were tinges of benevolence and warmth, as if he were talking to a friend.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I am also surprised that I¡¯m able to see you here. Greetings, senior Long.¡±

    Yes, this person who seemed like he controlled everything around them, the person who had appeared before Huo Yuhao, and who seemed to have merged into the darkness, was one of the two Ultimate Douluo that he knew of, the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao. He was a man who had once shared a reputation with the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, and they belonged to the same generation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sunk right down when he saw Long Xiaoyao. He was very clear that a person like Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t someone that he could fight against. Long Xiaoyao was powerful to the point that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even properly imagine it.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mindset would probably have been better if this had happened before he had formed his soul core, and that was because he only understood after forming his soul core how much more powerful Ultimate Douluo werepared to Transcendent Douluo. Ultimate Douluo were humans who could fight against the Beast God, Di Tian, whose soul power was entirely presented as soul cores.

    Long Xiaoyao was d in ck, and his hair was all white. He wasn¡¯t much different from when Huo Yuhao had first seen him.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect to see him here was because Long Xiaoyao had never appeared on the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s battlefields amongst all the intelligence that Huo Yuhao knew about. In this moment, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s appearance undoubtedly severed every single one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape routes.

    ¡°Youngster, I still vividly remember the wager we had. You gave me a pleasant surprise back then, but you have given me so many more pleasant surprises in this moment. You are a Soul Sage, and judging from your soul power undtions, you¡¯re not far from bing a Soul Douluo. Brother Mu has taken in an excellent disciple!¡± Long Xiaoyao seemed toment a little as he spoke. He ced his hands behind his back and gazed into the sky. Who knew what he was thinking about?

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention my teacher. If teacher were still alive, he would be ashamed to stand with you.¡± Huo Yuhao answered coldly.

    His strength couldn¡¯t even begin topare to Long Xiaoyao¡¯s strength. However, Huo Yuhao was not afraid, as strength and authority couldn¡¯t bend his will. The Darkness Holy Dragon, Long Xiaoyao was following the Holy Ghost Church, and that was something that Huo Yuhao held in contempt.

    Long Xiaoyao frowned and said, ¡°You youngsters don¡¯t understand matters of the older generations.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly and said, ¡°No, I do not understand. All I know is that you have chosen to take the side of the evildoers, and who knows how many people you¡¯ve helped the Holy Ghost Church massacre? Many of the things that the Holy Ghost Church has done are a result of your existence. I really don¡¯t understand. At your level, why do you allow yourself to be used by evil soul masters, and why do you help them destroy lives and create cmities? Do you know that if this is allowed to continue, and if the Sun Moon Empire conquers the continent, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s next target will be to take over? When that happens, all of humanity will probably be the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s ves, and they will give their lives and everything they have for evil soul masters to cultivate. Is hell on earth something you want to see?¡±

 Chapter 482.1 - Eight Skills Fired Consecutively

    <h4 ss>Chapter 482.1: Eight Skills Fired Consecutively</h4>

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression changed slightly as he said hoarsely, ¡°It¡¯s not as serious as you make it out to be. Do you think evil soul masters are born evil? You and a great many other soul masters are wrong on this matter. The truth is, almost every evil soul master deserves pity, and that¡¯s because the world shuns them due to their martial souls¡¯ characteristics. They have had to go through much pain and bitterness in their earlier days, and that¡¯s the reason why their personalities are a little extreme. I believe that if the Sun Moon Empire conquers the continent in the end and corrects the reputation of evil soul masters, everything will be different. They will control themselves, and as for who rules over the continent, that¡¯s not something that I¡¯m concerned about.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, and hisughter was very disdainful. ¡°Yes, perhaps what you said does make some sense. There are many evil soul masters who deserved pity when they were younger. However, they start killing people because they have received unfair treatment, and they use all kinds of evil methods to strengthen themselves. How can that be the right thing to do? I may not know about others, but let¡¯s talk about the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui. I am willing to call her my senior because of my teacher, but it seems like she¡¯s the demon king among humanity.¡±

    ¡°You are not allowed to talk about Ye Xishui.¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes suddenly grew focused, and Huo Yuhao felt as if his body was held in ce by some tremendous power. This frightening strength was pressing against his body, like he was about to be ground into dust.

    However, he gritted his teeth and held on as he said with difficulty, ¡°Am I wrong? She¡¯s the Death God Douluo, and she controls the Death God Pagoda. The reason why the Death God Pagoda is so powerful is because it incinerates people¡¯s spirits when it fires at full strength, while thousands of spirits are burned through every time it fires. I saw it with my own eyes, and from what it looked like, there were at least tens of thousands of spirits inside. That means tens of thousands of lives! How many evil soul masters are there? Every single one of them is a life, but does this mean those people that they so mercilessly ughtered are not considered lives? Ye Xishui hasn¡¯t just been killing people. She has imprisoned their spirits, and she will ultimately incinerate their spirits for an attack, and eventually obliterate them. Are such brutal and cruel methods things you wish to see?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao fell silent after Huo Yuhao¡¯s string of usations. Of course, he knew that every single one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s words was true.

    Long Xiaoyao heaved a faint sigh and shook his head. ¡°I cannot turn back anymore. I am willing to do anything for Xishui, and the only thing I can do now is to restrain myself so that I don¡¯t kill people. I¡¯m not clear as to what the Holy Ghost Church has done, but I do know something. Xishui has told that after the continent is united, there will be a new order, and true peace will only happen when that timees.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said nothing more. He knew that he could no longer move the Dragon Emperor Douluo. He stared coldly at him, but he was full ofment in his heart. But he still had some hope.

    He couldn¡¯t fight against the Dragon Emperor Douluo by himself. However, he still had the Beast God¡¯s reverse scale on his body.

    Huo Yuhao had managed to escape with his life from the Death God Douluo¡¯s clutches with the reverse scale¡¯s protection. The Beast God would naturally appear if Long Xiaoyao attacked him, and he felt absolutely threatened. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao now had his soul core, and the amount of energy his body could sustain was greatly boosted after he absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Killing him wouldn¡¯t be that easy.

    Long Xiaoyao said inly, ¡°You¡¯re hoping for the Beast God¡¯s strength to protect you, eh.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes grew focused, but he said nothing.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled faintly when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s silent consent. ¡°Youngster, I am actually very interested in you. You¡¯re so young, yet you can reach such a cultivation rank. That is considered extremely prodigious. Xishui has long told me about your situation, and I definitely won¡¯t make the same mistake. In front of an Ultimate Douluo, you can¡¯t defend yourself just because you have some protective abilities. Furthermore¡­¡±

    Long Xiaoyao suddenly paused, and turned around towards a rooftop by the side of the street. He grabbed with his right hand through the air and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been watching for a while now. Come out,dy.¡±

    The quiet and dark world suddenly seemed to return to normal, and the sounds that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t hear reappeared once more.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A crisp exmation rang out as a shadow was pulled from the sky by a formless strength, and this shadow fell not far behind Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little relieved as the pressure Long Xiaoyao had unleashed against him vanishedpletely. He nced backwards subconsciously, and this time, he was truly astonished.

    Just as he couldn¡¯t sense Long Xiaoyao¡¯s presence, he also didn¡¯t sense this person¡¯s presence with Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was powerful, but it still had a focus. For instance, Huo Yuhao would only pay first attention to strong soul power undtions when he was using Spiritual Detection over arge area. He naturally wouldn¡¯t pay much attention normal citizens who didn¡¯t have any soul power undtions, since these people didn¡¯t threaten him much anyway. If somebody deliberately suppressed their soul power in a group of people with the right method, Huo Yuhao would have a hard time finding them. But if his opponent wanted to attack him, his opponent would have to channel soul power ande closer to him.

    There was only one reason why he didn¡¯t discover this person, and that was because this person was sufficiently familiar with him. This person knew about his Spiritual Detection, and this person had been hiding in the street beside the royal pce while concealing her soul power. She didn¡¯t make any moves at all.

    ¡°You¡­ why are you here?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was actually trembling, in contrast to his calmness before.

    He wasn¡¯t afraid at all if he faced against the Dragon Emperor Douluo by himself. The worst that could happen was death, and he had been at the borders of death countless times.

    But he could no longer keep his cool as he stared at this person in front of him, and that was because she looked identical to Dong¡¯er. She was Tang Wutong!

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯tnd on the ground stably, but she wasn¡¯t wretched enough to fall face-first into the ground. The Darkness Holy Dragon was still merciful against girls.

    She stood up and stared calmly at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curved into a forced smile. There was nothing more to be said. They were facing the Darkness Holy Dragon; how could they just run away even if they wanted to? There was no more meaning to pursuing the reason behind why Tang Wutong was here.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and said, ¡°What a pretty little girl. She has been hiding by the side for a while, and she has considered attacking me more than once after I showed up, but she just couldn¡¯t find an opportunity. With her around, I trust your Beast God¡¯s powers won¡¯t be that effective. Let¡¯s find another ce. This ce is too noisy.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao waved his hand as he spoke, and everything descended into silence and darkness once more. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong immediately felt a terrifying soul power undtion rise up in the next moment. This wave of soul power poured out in all directions, with them at the center.

    That formidable soul power was filled with darkness, but it was impossible to fight against. The soul power swept them up as the space around them began to contort. Huo Yuhao wanted to use Spiritual Detection to investigate what was going on, but his spiritual power couldn¡¯t leave his body at all.

    Is this an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s power?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was far from sufficient. However, he had encountered many top-tier individuals before, and his senses were extremely powerful. Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that the Darkness Holy Dragon¡¯s cultivation was probably higher than Ye Xishui¡¯s. They were both Ultimate Douluo, but the Darkness Holy Dragon¡¯s pure fighting strength was probably stronger. He wondered if his teacher was stronger than the Darkness Holy Dragon when he was in his prime.

    Tang Wutong subconsciously arrived beside Huo Yuhao, and she grabbed his arm nervously. Huo Yuhao turned back towards her as he channeled his soul power to protect them.

    Tang Wutong looked at him and asked, ¡°Do you really want to know why I¡¯m here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Do you really think that holds any meaning anymore? Why didn¡¯t you run when you saw the Darkness Holy Dragon?¡±

    ¡°Why should I run? Tang Wutong said inly, ¡°Furthermore, do you really think I can escape? His senses are different from your Spiritual Detection. You detect things as a whole, but his senses are very fine and delicate. When he appeared and discovered you while you were using Imitation, he naturally discovered me as well. I couldn¡¯t escape even if I wanted to.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Then why did youe?¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Eldest senior brother was worried about you, and after Qiuqiu returned, he asked someone to go and bring you to go back as quickly as possible. He didn¡¯t want you to continue searching for Tang Ya, and I am the messenger. I heard Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s report about your travels, and I figured that you¡¯d be looking for intel inside Heaven Dou City, so here I am. I just heard about that tremendous explosion inside the royal pce, so I began to search for your tracks. See, I¡¯ve only managed to find you now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what to say. Could he say that Tang Wutong was unlucky? But for some reason, he felt very safe and secure when he saw her.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon seems like he has some way to block the Beast God¡¯s strength. Am I going to die with Tang Wutong here today? That¡¯s not so bad. At least, even though she isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er, she looks exactly like her.

    Tang Wutong nced at him and said, ¡°What are you thinking about? Are you trying to escape?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s too difficult for us to run away in front of an Ultimate Douluo. I can feel that the Darkness Holy Dragon is probably stronger than the Death God Douluo, whom we¡¯ve encountered before. Why do you look like you¡¯re not worried at all?¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled, and her smile was just so beautiful. Her smile was just like Dong¡¯er¡¯s smile, except she didn¡¯t have Dong¡¯er¡¯s tenderness when she was looking at him. Instead, there was an extra tinge of courage.

    ¡°Why should I be worried? Will worrying ensure my safety? Since that¡¯s not going to happen, then there¡¯s no point in worrying. If we have to die, then we will die fighting. This isn¡¯t the first time that we¡¯ve fought side by side.¡±

 Chapter 482.2 - Eight Skills Fired Consecutively

    <h4 ss>Chapter 482.2: Eight Skills Fired Consecutively</h4>

    Huo Yuhao alsoughed. ¡°Yes! Even if we die, we will die fighting. I¡¯m very honored to experience this battle with you. At the very least, we are the rare few in the continent who have battled Ultimate Douluo one after another.¡±

    Tang Wutong released his arm and patted him gently on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°You, protect me? More like I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    Just as they were talking, the dark air around them suddenly stabilized as their surroundings became clear once more, and sound returned, along with sight. However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both momentarily stunned.

    They were no longer outside the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal pce. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of urbanization; they were clearly somewhere in the wilderness.

    What did that mean? It meant that the Darkness Holy Dragon had used his own strength to bring them both out of Heaven Dou City into the wilderness. That was just unbelievable. This was an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s power! Perhaps he didn¡¯t yet have the Beast God¡¯s ability to pierce through spacetime, but even then, to be able to bring them both to this ce unwittingly within such a short period of time was far beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding.

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo smiled as he watched their stern expressions. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you afraid?¡±

    Tang Wutong grunted contemptuously. ¡°Afraid? What¡¯s there to be afraid of? You¡¯ve just been alive for a few more years than we have. If we had lived in the same generation, you might be afraid of us.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Long Xiaoyaoughed, ¡°You¡¯re right. If we were in the same generation, I may not have been able to defeat you. You are prodigies of your generation, but I was also a prodigy back then. Now that I think about it, I feel like two hundred years is right before my eyes!¡±

    A tinge ofment appeared in his eyes as he spoke. He nodded gently in Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Come, the two of you can team up. Let me see what kind of fighting strength you prodigious youngsters can achieve. Don¡¯t think of escaping, because that¡¯s absolutely impossible. Fight with your full strength. Warriors who die on the battlefield die an honorable death.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong nced at each other, and they each saw the other¡¯s determination.

    Huo Yuhao took a slow step forward, and his Eye of Destiny gradually opened on his forehead.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t fight with him for point position. Instead, she took a step back and stood behind him.

    Their martial souls were unleashed at almost the same time, and seven soul rings swiftly rose into the air.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spirit Eyes. Seven soul rings that werepletely out of the ordinary swiftly appeared, and the most eye-catching one was his blood-red soul ring, which appeared at the end.

    His Spirit Eyes¡¯ sixth soul ring came from Wang Qiu¡¯er. The soul ring that she had given him was very special, and it was rose-gold in color. It didn¡¯t share the same color as normal soul rings, but it shared a color with his Eye of Destiny instead. His seventh soul ring came from a hundred thousand year Evileye Tyrant, and it was also red. These two soul rings were the most ring amongst his seven soul rings.

    Huo Yuhao began to release his formidable soul power, and his entire being seemed to faintly contort. He didn¡¯t move immediately, but was just standing there quietly as he stared at Long Xiaoyao. His seven soul rings glowed one after another.

    Long Xiaoyao seemed surprised when he saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings. This was the first time that he had seen such abination. However, the soul rings that he was looking at didn¡¯t include the hundred thousand year soul ring at the end.

    Even though it was a hundred thousand year soul ring, this arrangement was very normal. One of the two soul rings that attracted his attention was Huo Yuhao¡¯s rose-gold ring, his sixth one, which was filled with the power of destiny. The other one was his white soul ring, his first one, which looked like it was no different from a ten year soul ring.

    How powerful was the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo? This white ring looked like a ten year soul ring in normal people¡¯s eyes, but that wasn¡¯t the case to him.

    He was very clear on what ten year soul rings were like. They were white, but they radiated a drastically different aura. Even though the soul power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ten year soul ring waspletely contained, along with its aura, Huo Yuhao¡¯s white soul ring had a smoothness that ten year soul rings didn¡¯t have. Faint golden patterns could be seen on its surface, and that was absolutely something that ten year soul rings couldn¡¯t achieve.

    There¡¯s something wrong with this kid¡¯s soul rings!Long Xiaoyao thought to himself.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hasty to make his move at all. He was just standing there like a statue.

    Very smart!Long Xiaoyao praised Huo Yuhao in his mind.This kid knows that I, with my status, will never take the initiative to attack him without him making a move first. He wants to raise his aura and his abilities to their highest possible level before attacking me.But would that really be effective?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny gradually opened on his forehead. Rose-gold sun patterns of the stretched in all directions with his Eye of Destiny in the middle. His eyes slowly closed, like he was using his Eye of Destiny to view the world.

    The light in his Eye of Destiny was crystal clear. Even Long Xiaoyao felt like his Eye of Destiny possessed a strange gravitational force when he took but one look, as if this eye was going to consume his soul.

    Rose-gold patterns glowed as dense spiritual undtions strengthened at an incredible speed. Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t particrly concerned in the beginning, but an astonished expression quickly began to show on his elderly face.

    Such formidable spiritual power. Furthermore, his spiritual power is so pure and condensed. Even the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters, who use special methods to cultivate their spiritual power, can only reach such a level of spiritual power when they be Soul Douluo. How is this young man doing this?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power continued to strengthen amid Long Xiaoyao¡¯s surprise. His spiritual power wasn¡¯t just changing quantitatively; it was also changing qualitatively.

    Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t the only one who was astonished. Tang Wutong, who was standing behind him, was equally surprised.

    She had known Huo Yuhao for quite some time, and they had fought side by side before. Back in the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the two them went deep into enemy lines together. But because of the Death God Douluo¡¯s appearance, she didn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao¡¯s battle with Ye Xishui.

    Tang Wutong knew that Huo Yuhao was very strong, but she had always believed that her overall strength wasn¡¯t inferior to his. However, she was now starting to doubt that opinion. Huo Yuhao¡¯s continuously rising spiritual undtions were far stronger than what his cultivation rank could normally achieve.

    Condensed soul power gradually transformed into circles of rose-gold light. This light was very viscous, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became a little blurry amid all those contorting lights.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body gradually floated into the sky as his seventh blood-red soul ring flickered. Rose-gold patterns appeared behind his back, forming an image of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Everything within several hundred meters of him, which included the light around Long Xiaoyao, was tainted with the same colors.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed in amazement.Is his spiritual power close to that of a Titled Douluo¡¯s level? No, that¡¯s not right. His spiritual power is simr in strength to a Titled Douluo, but it is is more condensed, and is on another level.

    All of a sudden, blinding rose-gold patterns radiated all around Huo Yuhao, and his body seemed to vanish entirely within them.

    A vertical eye that seemed material suddenly appeared in midair, and the intense spiritual power undtions rose to their highest possible level.

    ¡°Materialization of spiritual power!¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes grew focused.

    The Huo Yuhao who was still sitting in a restaurant outside the royal pce suddenly dissipated as it disappeared into countless rose-gold light patterns that swiftly flew out of the city.

    Huo Yuhao had left that spiritual avatar as his contingency n, so that he could substitute it for his original body as he was running away to draw the soldiers chasing him away. However, this spiritual avatar lost its meaning when the Dragon Emperor Douluo appeared. As Huo Yuhao unleashed his spiritual power with his full strength, that thread of his spiritual power was immediately recalled by the Eye of the Asura.

    Radiant golden light transformed into an enormous pir of light as it surged into the sky. The rose-gold vertical eye was just hovering there, and a strange whirlpool spun rapidly within the coldness of the vertical eye¡¯s pupil. All of the space that was covered by its rose-gold light began to contort in this moment.

    For the first time, a truly astonished look appeared on the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s face. He had originally believed that he was already holding Huo Yuhao in high regard, but it seemed like his judgment was far from sufficient. The spiritual power that this youth disyed far surpassed that of normal Titled Douluo, and with Long Xiaoyao¡¯s two hundred years of experience, he could be entirely sure that even Transcendent Doulou would have a hard time reaching Huo Yuhao¡¯s level of spiritual power.

    Materializing spiritual power wasn¡¯t something that happened with improving one¡¯s soul power or cultivation rank. This was an attribute that formidable spiritual-type soul masters could achieve. Furthermore, Long Xiaoyao could feel a soul core within his materialized martial soul true body! This was the core of why he was so astonished.

    Huo Yuhao was a young Soul Sage, and yet he already possessed a soul core. It was also a soul core for a spiritual-type martial soul.

    Brother Mu, oh Brother Mu. What kind of disciple have you taken in?

    ¡°The judgement of destiny!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s ice-cold voice echoed through the twisting space, and a golden skull appeared soundlessly above Long Xiaoyao¡¯s head. The skull was shattered in the next moment as it transformed into countless motes of flowing light that flowed into Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body.

    Even an Ultimate Douluo like Long Xiaoyao couldn¡¯t resist the power of destiny. The darkness around him rippled vigorously, but couldn¡¯t dispel the golden light, and he could only allow them into his body.

    Yes, this was the Eye of Destiny¡¯s ability to unleash the judgement of destiny. It couldn¡¯t decide the oue of a battle, but it could change one¡¯s destiny.

    Long Xiaoyao chuckled as he muttered under his breath, ¡°I haven¡¯t been this surprised in a long time. Interesting, very interesting.¡±

    Two beams of light sted from the enormous vertical eye, one ck and the other white, as they circled around each other and went straight for Long Xiaoyao.

 Chapter 482.3 - Eight Skills Fired Consecutively

    <h4 ss>Volume 34, Chapter 482.3: Eight Skills Fired Consecutively</h4>

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s this?¡± Long Xiaoyao was still standing there, motionless, and he grinned as he allowed those two beams of light tond on his body.

    There weren¡¯t any soul power undtions, nor were there spiritual undtions. The ck and white beams didn¡¯t seem to do anything at all. However, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression changed a little when they actuallynded on him, and an inexplicable sense of danger immediately appeared in his mind.

    I can feel danger?

    ¡°Spiritual, Shock!¡± A voice with a strange tone rang out, and every syble uttered made the enormous vertical eye a little brighter. One could see that all the rose-gold light that the vertical eye was radiating had turned blood-red in this moment.

    A pir of light that was the same size as the vertical eye sted out in the next moment and went right for Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao snorted as his body, which was originally submerged within all the rose-gold colors, suddenly turned ck as a dragon roar that seemed toe from ancient ages could be heard. An enormous ck dragon head appeared in front of him as it howled deeply at all the rose-gold light around him.

    Spiritual power against spiritual power ¨C this was the arrogance that belonged to an Ultimate Douluo!

    Even though Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t a spiritual-type soul master, his mastery of spiritual power had already reached the limits of terrifying because he was an Ultimate Douluo.

    However, something that astonished the Dragon Emperor Douluo once more happened.

    The rose-gold pir of light that seemed unstoppable as it zipped through the air suddenly paused ¨C yes, it paused ¨C and a shadow suddenly appeared in front of it. It was Huo Yuhao, who was back in human form.

    A rose-gold wheel of light glowed behind his head. There were patterns of a Three-Eyed Golden Lion within this wheel.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body mmed almost directly into the giant ck dragon head, and he was immediately consumed by the darkness.

    Everything happened too suddenly, and Long Xiaoyao was momentarily stunned. Afterwards, he looked on in surprise as the ck dragon head that he had conjured with his spiritual power dissipated just like that. The figure was still hovering in midair, and the rose-gold pir that was reactivated enveloped that shadow before it wrapped around him and mmed brutally into Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body.

    The rose-gold pir¡¯s origin, the vertical eye, disappeared in that moment, and arge ck door filled with eerie and sinister auras took its ce.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was very pale as he stood at the gate¡¯s entrance. He was holding Tang Wutong with one of his hands, and her Radiant Dragon Butterfly¡¯s wings were outstretched.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Huo Yuhao dashed into the door as he pulled Tang Wutong along.

    There would only be one oue battling an Ultimate Douluo, and that was death and defeat!

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao had never considered fighting against the Dragon Emperor Douluo from the beginning. What he needed was an opportunity.

    Destiny¡¯s Judgment from the Eye of the Asura was the first step to creating this chance. Bad luck appearing on his opponent was equivalent to good luck standing on his side.

    ck and white lights crossed. Those were the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s two powerful soul skills conferred by his sixth soul ring, Spiritual Dispossession and Destiny¡¯s Demise. They instantly lowered his opponent¡¯s defense against both material and spiritual attacks.

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what kind of effect these two powerful soul skills could achieve against an Ultimate Douluo.

    What came next was his most powerful spiritual attack, the Eye of the Asura¡¯s Spiritual Shock! The rose-gold colors almost became blood-red when he was using his full strength.

    Huo Yuhao could only get closer to an Ultimate Douluo with spiritual attacks. He had actually paid an enormous price for that momentary pause in the middle, and cracks even appeared in his spiritual sea in that moment because of it.

    But it was that momentary pause that allowed him to dispel the Eye of the Asura, and use Instant Teleportation to appear in front of his own Spiritual Shock. What he leveraged was the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s arrogance, and he was betting that the Dragon Emperor Douluo would use spiritual power to fight against his own Spiritual Shock.

    He was sessful in his wager. He used his body to take a hit from the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s attack, and he used his soul skill that came from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s skull, Destiny¡¯s Adjudication. That soul skill allowed him to be immune to spiritual attacks thrice a day.

    Huo Yuhao managed to escape from the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s assault back then because of this soul skill.

    His chances were boosted once more!

    The ck door appeared because Huo Yuhao was already making his incantations when he became the Eye of the Asura. He relied on his spiritual soul core to do two things at the same time, and his body sustained an enormous burden as hepleted the summoning of his spectral demine.

    What Huo Yuhao needed was thest step in creating this opportunity. He made another bet, that his strongest form of Spiritual Shock could cause the Dragon Emperor Douluo to be momentarily stunned after taking a hit from Spiritual Dispossession.

    If every chance came through in the end, then he had a chance to take Tang Wutong into the spectral demine and escape from this ce.

    The Eye of the Asura, Destiny¡¯s Judgment, Spiritual Dispossession, Destiny¡¯s Demise, Spiritual Shock, Instant Teleportation, Destiny¡¯s Adjudication, and the opening of his spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao used eight soul skills one after another within such a short period of time, and he did all that so he could create a chance for him and Tang Wutong to run away.

    Did he seed?

    Darkness was starting to descend upon them as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies were about to disappear into thatrge door which connected them to the spectral demine.

    Everything in this world seemed to freeze amid the darkness.

    An elderly voice suddenly resonated through the air, which was already frozen and swallowed by darkness.

    ¡°Almost. You really almost seeded.¡±

    A gigantic ck dragon w flickered with dark purple light as it shed out across this dark space, right at the ck door that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had just escaped into.

    Therge ck door immediately broke apart as two bodies that were about to disappear suddenly became clear once more. They were forcibly pulled from the darkness surrounding them.

    The silent darkness vanished as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong copsed onto the ground almost at the same time.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes were full of fear as she helped Huo Yuhao back on his feet, who was faltering and about to fall back to the ground. Her expression became increasingly solemn.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo reappeared within their vision amid the darkness, but he was no longer smiling.

    His eyes were concentrated on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and there were unexinable emotions rippling through his eyes.

    ¡°Now, I must admit that you are much more talented and aplished than I was when I was younger,¡± Long Xiaoyao spoke sincerely, ¡°With your current spiritual power, and the fact that you already possess a soul core for your spiritual-type martial soul before your eighth soul ring, you will have a chance to challenge me when you be a Transcendent Douluo in the future. If, one day, you can be an Ultimate Douluo, then you will be on the same level as the Beast God and the Evil Emperor. If not for my Silent Darkness Domain, you would have sessfully escaped, and this episode would have probably be the greatest joke of myter days.¡±

    Huo Yuhao struggled from Tang Wutong¡¯s support. He wiped away the blood that wasing from his nose as he said coldly, ¡°We weren¡¯t able to escape in the end, were we?¡± His nose was bleeding not because the Darkness Holy Dragon had hurt him. Instead, that was because he had paid a huge price to unleash eight powerful soul skills with his full strength one after another. Every single soul skill was unleashed at its greatest possible level, and even his spiritual sea began to crack. His head was exploding with pain, and it was impossible for him to use spiritual attacks like he did before.

    ¡°But we haven¡¯t lost. We will never lose in any moment before we die.¡± Tang Wutong took a step forward from behind Huo Yuhao and stood in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. Tang Wutong snapped her head around and nced at him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you willing to trust me? If we hadbined our abilities back then, we might have seeded. You have too much machismo.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a little dazed in that instant as he saw her displeased expression. A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.If only she had been Dong¡¯er. If I had teamed up with Dong¡¯er, our n would have seeded!

    ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn!¡± Tang Wutong grunted coldly as she raced forward like a gust of wind. She was pretty, and she was aloof, and she seemed like the Goddess of Light that lit up the darkness around them in this moment. She had the determination of a moth pouncing towards fire, and an unwavering resolution.

    Her pinkish-blue hair swayed in the air like waves as she continued charging forward. Crisp dragon roars could be heard as brilliant golden mes zed behind her.

    A smile appeared on Long Xiaoyao¡¯s face once more as he stared at the determination and arrogance on Tang Wutong¡¯s face. He gradually raised his right hand.

    Right in this moment, Tang Wutong¡¯s body suddenly paused in midair as all seven of her soul rings shone.

    Her soul rings were also different from normal soul masters. ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, red! She had six ck rings and one red ring, six ten thousand year soul rings and a single hundred thousand year soul ring. This meant she had potential and talent that wasn¡¯t inferior to Huo Yuhao at all.

    One reason why Bei Bei went to look for Tang Wutong and asked her to ask Huo Yuhao to return, besides the fact that she looked just like Dong¡¯er, was because Bei Bei hoped that she could let Huo Yuhao slowly walk out from his thoughts and memories of Dong¡¯er. But there was yet another more important reason, and that was because she was sufficiently powerful. She had seven powerful soul rings that made her much more powerful than a typical Soul Sage.

    Her seven soul rings flickered as the radiance from her body flourished. The light pattern of a trident appeared on her forehead, and a tinge of blue immediately covered her otherwise golden frame.

    Tang Wutong raised her head a little amid the bluish-gold colors. She allowed her flowing long hair to drift and sway in the wind, and a bright dragon roar rang out from her mouth. This dragon roar was crisp and bright, and along with the intense bluish-golden light, an enormous dragon-shaped shadow gradually appeared with her body in the middle.

    That was a colossal dragon which was flickering with the colors of the rainbow. The dragon seemed very illusory, but there was a dignity and majesty within the illusion that seemed like it could dominate the ages.

 Chapter 483 - The Dragon Gods Descent

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 483: The Dragon God¡¯s Descent</h4>

    When it first appeared, the Dragon Emperor Douluo felt it the most acutely.

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had left him astonished earlier, he was horrified to see the seven-colored dragon projection that shone from Tang Wutong¡¯s body.

    If it was just the color or aura of this projection, the Dragon Emperor Douluo wouldn¡¯t have felt it so strongly. More importantly, it was the dominance of the projection that made him felt so overwhelmed. It was a dominance that originated from her lineage.

    ¡°Dragon God?¡± Long Xiaoyao shouted, and subconsciously staggered back.

    In the past, he and Mu En were called the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White. Mu En¡¯s title was the Dragon God, while he was the Dragon Emperor. However, such titles were onlypliments to their immense abilities. Their martial souls were the Radiant Holy Dragon and Darkness Holy Dragon respectively, which were both branches of the dragon species. The reason why they were so strong was because they were one of the authentic dragons.

    The Radiant Holy Dragon and Darkness Holy Dragon were both very respected, and were considered one of the more superior dragons. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s martial soul was in fact of the same lineage as Di Tian. However, the difference between his martial soul and Di Tian¡¯s was that Di Tian was the n master of the ck Dragons, since he was the Golden-Eyed ck Dragon King. If the Darkness Holy Dragon actually existed, it would at most be regarded as an honorary elder of the ck Dragons.

    The aura that Tang Wutong exuded from her body right now clearly belonged to that of dragons. However, it was much superior to the aura of the Radiant and Darkness Holy Dragons. Furthermore, that terrifying dominance from her aura only belonged to the original Dragon God!

    Even though the aura that came from Tang Wutong¡¯s body was slightly weaker, it was still different from that of the Darkness Holy Dragon.

    Her abilities weren¡¯t enough to threaten Long Xiaoyao, but her streak of dragon aurapletely suppressed Long Xiaoyao and his Darkness Holy Dragon, causing him to be fearful.

    Tang Wutong used the fourth soul skill of her Radiant Butterfly Goddess, Dragon God¡¯s Possession.

    The seven-colored dragon projection turned into ayer of thin seven-colored dragon scales on Tang Wutong¡¯s body. Her dragon scales extended all the way until her lower jaw. Only her head wasn¡¯t covered. After she was engulfed by a thinyer of dragon scales, her aura became more and more dominant.

    Behind her, a pair of wings that were also dyed in the same seven colors rose up. Her second soul ring also started to shine, causing a seven-colored glow to burn brightly. It was her second soul skill, Dragon God¡¯s Fury.

    A high-pitched dragon roar reverberated through the air, forming a huge seven-colored light de that chopped towards Long Xiaoyao¡¯s head. It was Tang Wutong¡¯s third soul skill, Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh.

    At this moment, even Long Xiaoyao couldn¡¯t confirm what Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul was. However, there was one thing he was clear about; the blood lineage and aura of the Dragon God were present in her martial soul.

    Earlier, he had thought that Huo Yuhao was the most special, far surpassing any generational talent. But right now, he immediately sensed that Tang Wutong was on the same tier as him when she unleashed her full strength! Even though he had been alive for more than two hundred years, he had never even heard of an inherited martial soul of the Dragon God before.

    He lifted his right hand and gently smacked it. The night sky behind him instantly turned pitch-ck.

    The Radiant Dragon God¡¯s sh was slowly dissipated by that darkness. However, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body actually shone with streaks of seven-colored light. Although they soon vanished, Tang Wutong¡¯s attack was still able to hit him. This showed the effect of the Dragon God¡¯s blood lineage in her attack.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t cease just like that. She continued to charge forward, but her body transformed.

    The seven-colored dragon projection appeared once again. However, it was no longer illusory this time. It was well and truly real.

    It was a small and delicate seven-colored dragon. A pair of butterfly-shaped dragon wings opened behind her back. Seven-colored scales reflected bright lights. This small seven-colored dragon was only seven meters long. It was very small and weakpared to a real dragon. Even most of the mature earthdragons were bigger than it.

    However, as it appeared, Long Xiaoyao took another step back.

    By unleashing the Dragon¡¯s God Possession through her Radiant Butterfly Goddess, it would naturally evolve into the Dragon God¡¯s Descent. Of course it wasn¡¯t the true Dragon God, but that streak of strength from the Dragon God¡¯s lineage was still unleashed to its greatest potential.

    The reason why Long Xiaoyao stepped back was because her Dragon God¡¯s aura had be stronger. If it were Ye Xishui, things might even still be better. But Long Xiaoyao¡¯s Darkness Holy Dragon naturally developed some fear in front of the Dragon God¡¯s aura. It was not something that could be made up for using his cultivation.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s wings shed down instantly. It was her Dragon Wings Guillotine!

    Long Xiaoyao lifted his right hand. Tang Wutong felt as if she had hit some kind of viscous fluid, which hindered her. It even felt as if she was stuck to something.

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± Another sonorous dragon roar sounded. The seven-colored dragon roared furiously at Long Xiaoyao, and Tang Wutong¡¯s fifth soul ring shone brightly. It was her fifth soul skill, Dragon God¡¯s Roar.

    A huge seven-colored dragon head appeared behind Tang Wutong. Following this roar, an intense seven-colored glow, which was around asrge as Tang Wutong, was released in Long Xiaoyao¡¯s direction.

    The ck current around Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body was greatly dissipated by this seven-colored glow.

    Tang Wutong unleashed her full strength, but why would Long Xiaoyao let her achieve what she wanted? He snorted coldly before the viscous ck moved up to the seven-colored dragon wings. The incredible difference in their cultivations couldn¡¯t be made up for just from the strength of Tang Wutong¡¯s lineage. Tang Wutong only felt a wave of invisible, dark aura suppressing her spiritual power. This lept her Dragon God¡¯s aura from spreading any further.

    At this moment, the surrounding temperature suddenly fell significantly. A snow-white figure appeared beside Tang Wutong and pressed her palm towards Long Xiaoyao¡¯s head.

    The temperature didn¡¯t actually fall. The chill came from within. Yes, it came from within Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body.

    ¡°What?¡± Long Xiaoyao was stunned. He immediately flipped his left palm to receive the iing palm.

    Empress¡¯ Sword, Empress¡¯ Palm, Empress¡¯ Chill! It was the Snow Empress and the Snowless cier.

    ¡°Grr¡ª¡ª¡± The Snow Empress snorted gently, and her snowy-white figure became illusory. A jade-green figure reced her, and a sinister white light swept past.

    Long Xiaoyao pointed with his finger, and a ring rang out. The jade-green figure instantly turned illusory before it backed off.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s left arm was quickly frozen from the consecutive strikes. Ayer of frost engulfed his entire arm. His arm turnedpletely numb. Even with his cultivation, he couldn¡¯t instantly neutralize it.

    Destiny¡¯s Demise had taken effect, and his material defense had been lowered. Otherwise, how could Long Xiaoyao be frozen, given that the Snow Empress and Ice Empress weren¡¯t in their original form?

    It was at this moment that a figure that exuded strong rose-gold light appeared. A palm also appeared with this figure.

    Weird emotional undtions spread in the air. Sorrow, yearning, love, pain and all kinds of other emotions gathered in this palm.

    It was the Haodong Palm, a palm whichsted eternally.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s right palm was controlling Tang Wutong, and his left palm was frozen. However, at this moment, he seemed very calm. He wasn¡¯t as stunned as before.

    He retracted his right palm and blocked Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    When their palms collided, Huo Yuhao was flung back. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body also jerked slightly, and he revealed a confused look in his eyes. At this instant, he seemed to have returned to two hundred years ago, when he was first making a name with Mu En and met Ye Xishui.

    White and jade-greenbined. Two hands were holding onto each other. The light projection re-formed.

    It was as if they had instantly arrived in another world. Everything around them instantly turned into and of ice and snow.

    The Ice Empress and Snow Empress disappeared. A rebuke that seemed toe from the ice ins of the Extreme North descended from the sky.

    Two giant beams of white and jade-green light instantly descended. The boundless darkness was crushed by that miraculous white and green, turning into powder.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body shook. In the next moment, he had already turned into an ice statue.

    Tang Wutong struggled and managed to break free from her restraints. She flew back into the air.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± The ice statue exploded, scattering ice everywhere.

    It was the Ice Explosion Technique. The ice formed from Ultimate Ice was immediately blown apart as the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses was unleashed.

    Huo Yuhao crashed to the ground and grabbed his left hand.

    Is it over?

    It wasn¡¯t just his Spirit Eyes that could unleash the strength of a Titled Douluo. When he used his full strength, he could do it with his Ultimate Ice martial soul too.

    After the Snow Empress recovered, the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses had already regained its full strength. The fusion of the Ice and Snow Empresses caused the temperature of Ultimate Ice to fall below negative two hundred and forty degrees Celsius. This terrifyingly low temperature instantly drained Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. However, he still managed toplete this strike because both the Ice and Snow Empresses had absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, giving him a stable foundation.

    This could alreadypare to the all-out attack of a Titled Douluo. The Dragon Emperor Douluo wascent. Along with Destiny¡¯s Demise and Spiritual Dispossession, as well as the judgment of destiny, he was struck with the greatest misfortune.

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo disappeared. It was as if he had died from the Ice Explosion Technique.

    Tang Wutong had already retreated to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, and pulled him up. The two of them looked at each other, revealing puzzled looks in their eyes.Win? Did we win?

    The answer was¡­

    No!

    Darkness, boundless, irresistible and terrifying darkness descended once again.

    Everything seemed to have stopped. Time, movement and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s blood and soul power slowed. At this moment, the two of them became statues. They stood there quietly, and only saw the dejected look in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Long Xiaoyao slowly walked out from the darkness just like he did when he first walked out from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce.

    His white hair looked a little messy now. His clothes were also a little messy. However, this was the worst it got for him.

    How could an Ultimate Douluo be killed so easily?

    ¡°The two of you have indeed given me a lot of surprises. I didn¡¯t expect young people to be so good nowadays. The new generation of youngsters has surpassed the older generations!¡±

    Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t feel down just because he was in a slightly pathetic state right now. On the contrary, he seemed to be very happy.

    He gestured towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move, but Tang Wutong directly flew towards andnded in front of him.

    From the start until the end, Tang Wutong wasn¡¯t able to move no matter how much she tried to circte her soul power. She could only watch as she was sucked over by Long Xiaoyao.

    ¡°What a beautiful youngdy! If I were two hundred years younger, I might even chase you.¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression turned cold.

    ¡°The game is over.¡±

    The darkness was removed, and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s hand was on Tang Wutong¡¯s shoulder. It was just a frail and elderly hand, but Tang Wutong felt as if everything in her body had been sealed. She couldn¡¯t even muster her strength, and only stood there just like that.

    Huo Yuhao fell to the ground. All the fighting earlier hadpletely drained him.

    Long Xiaoyao said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, do you know why I haven¡¯t killed you yet? Given my abilities, I just need one strike to kill you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be so easy. You¡¯re afraid that the Beast God will descend, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Long Xiaoyaoughed, ¡°I said that I have many methods of making you unable to use Di Tian¡¯s strength. Since you don¡¯t really believe me, we can give it a go right now.¡±

    As he spoke, he waved his hand at Huo Yuhao.

    A streak of ck light shed andnded in front of Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao lowered his head to look at it, he found out that it was a pitch-ck dagger that hadnded by the side of his foot.

    Long Xiaoyao pressed his hand on Tang Wutong¡¯s shoulder, while his other hand held a dagger that was identical to the one beside Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°You can choose between stabbing yourself or letting me stab her. You have nine tries, and each stab has to be on your backbone. You can choose the exact position. You¡¯ll stab once for every number I count. If you hesitate, she¡¯ll take the stabs for you. After nine stabs, both of you can leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect Long Xiaoyao to use such a method to threaten him.

    An Ultimate Douluo actually used a youngdy to threaten him.

 Chapter 484.1 - Game of Death

    Chapter 484.1: Game of Death

    Long Xiaoyaoughed lightly and said, ¡°Alright, let me also tell you that the poisonous darkness element in this dagger can¡¯t even be resisted by your Ultimate Ice. Of course, let¡¯s not even talk about her. Her body is light-type. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll lose half her life the moment she¡¯s stabbed. I¡¯ll give you one minute to consider. After that, our game will begin.¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, don¡¯t!¡± Tang Wutong shouted. She also realized at this moment that she had recovered her speaking ability.

    Huo Yuhao ignored her and slowly bent his waist. He picked up the dagger from the ground.

    The dagger was seamless. The hilt and the de seemed to have been carved from the same piece of metal. When held, the dagger felt icy-cold, and the darkness element in it wasn¡¯t something that Huo Yuhao fancied.

    ¡°Dragon Emperor Douluo, will you do everything that you promised?¡± Huo Yuhao straightened his back. Even though he was very pale, blood wasing from his nose and mouth, and he looked a little dogged right now, his back was still very straight. He was like a javelin as he stood where he was. As he faced Long Xiaoyao, he didn¡¯t even bother to refer to him as an elder. In his heart, Long Xiaoyao wasn¡¯t fit at all.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and replied, ¡°Given my identity, do you think I need to scam a fellow like you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly, ¡°Given your identity? You can even use a girl to threaten me. What else can you not do? It¡¯s a humiliation to my teacher that he once had the same status as you.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°What a razor-sharp tongue you have. You have no choice. Our game is about to begin.¡±

    As he spoke, he slowly lifted the arm that held the dagger. He pointed the de of the knife at Tang Wutong.

    After Tang Wutong shouted, she no longer made a sound. She only watched Huo Yuhao silently. At this moment, both of them had no choice. She only wanted to see how Huo Yuhao was going to deal with such a game of death. She knew that she was now a tool in their game. No matter what she said, she wouldn¡¯t be able to affect the proceedings.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression changed, and he shouted, ¡°One!¡±

    Huo Yuhao moved. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all. The short de in front of him turned into a streak of ck light and instantly stabbed into his belly.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but scream.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very calm. It was as if the dagger didn¡¯t stab into him at all. As the icy-cold dagger prated his flesh, he only felt a chill in his belly. It was as if a weird force was furiously sucking away his life energy. But the pain wasn¡¯t so strong. There was only a stronger and more ufortable numbing sensation. It was as if his tendon had been snapped. Even so, his expression didn¡¯t change. It was as if he was doing something very normal.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot. I need to add another rule.¡± Long Xiaoyao was still smiling. There was a weird look on his face right now. The dagger was still in the air.

    ¡°Are you reneging on your promise?¡± Huo Yuhao asked coldly.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Long Xiaoyao smiled as he said. ¡°I only want to tell you that every stab needs to have two holes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned cold. Tang Wutong tried to struggle. However, how could she break free from the hands of an Ultimate Douluo?

    Huo Yuhao stared at Long Xiaoyao, ¡°Is there anything else you want to add?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and answered, ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao pressed against the dagger that was in his belly. Suddenly, the dagger went deeper into his body. His facial expression also changed slightly. The sharp end of the dagger poked out from his back. However, no blood seeped out from either wound.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Long Xiaoyao shouted too. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re the disciple of Mu En. You¡¯re tough, but are you tough enough?¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at him coldly as he gripped the hilt of the dagger.

    ¡°Two!¡± Long Xiaoyao roared.

    Huo Yuhao used his right hand to pluck the dagger from his body before quickly stabbing it into the other side of his belly. When the dagger prated his flesh, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make too much noise. However, he shook tremendously when he plucked the dagger from his body. Two streams of dark blood spurted from his earlier wounds, before his blood started to flow from his body.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Tang Wutong shouted. At this moment, she had also turned pale. She only felt that things had turned blurry in front of her. However, the image of Huo Yuhao was deeply imprinted in her mind.

    Two stabs. He had stabbed himself twice without any hesitation. He didn¡¯t have the time to consider at all. Two stabs meant that there were four wounds on his body right now.

    Long Xiaoyaoughed, ¡°How does it feel? Light can bring life, but darkness can devour life. Isn¡¯t it great to personally feel life energy seeping out from your body? Don¡¯t worry, the darkness element in my dagger isn¡¯t very strong yet. With your abilities and spiritual power, you can handle a few more stabs if you¡¯re tough enough. Of course, she can also help you.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao, give the next stab to me!¡± Tang Wutong suddenly shouted. Tears flowed uncontrobly from her cheeks.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and muttered, ¡°Wutong, I have something to ask of you. Can I?¡±

    ¡°Three!¡± Long Xiaoyao interrupted him.

    ck lights shed and blood spurted. It was the third stab, and there were six wounds now!

    ¡°No¡ª¡ª¡± Tang Wutong shouted. Tears flowed from her face. She only felt that she was about to suffer a mental breakdown. Her heart ached, and this heart-ache left her breathless. She started to shake uncontrobly.

    ¡°Wutong, when I first entered Shrek Academy, I was only eleven years old. Then, I was a young man filled with hatred. I knew nothing. With the guidance of eldest senior and Teacher Xiao Ya, I earned the right to enter Shrek Academy. From then on, Shrek Academy became my family.¡±

    ¡°At the start, life was very bitter. I cultivated every day. I knew that I was less talented than the rest. This was why I need to put in more effort than everyone else.¡±

    ¡°I had a roommate then who was a clean freak, but who was veryzy too. He never cleaned the room. I was the one who cleaned the room. He was very gifted, almost one of the best in our generation. In addition, he was very handsome, and his abilities were great. When he first entered the academy, he became the center of attention. His name was Wang Dong.¡±

    Hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s story, Tang Wutong seemed a little dazed, and there was a blurry look in her eyes.

    ¡°Four!¡±

    ¡°No¡ª¡ª¡± She was immediately jolted awake from her blurred state of mind.

    ck lights shed, and the fourth stabnded. There were eight wounds now.

    The third stab was in the middle of his belly. The fourth stab was to the left of his intestines.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded a little weak. His shirt was already dyed ck from his blood. However, he was still staring at Tang Wutong.

    She wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, but she looked identical to Wang Dong¡¯er. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even feel pain at all. He even felt that he was blissful. Even if he died, he could still watch his favorite girl live. It seemed like it wasn¡¯t that sad after all.

    ¡°When Wang Dong and I first started, we had some kind of confrontation. But we became friends after we attended the academy together. I was trying to catch up to him. Suddenly, one day, we unwittingly found out that our martial souls were highlypatible. Hence, we went to the wilderness to test things out. We didn¡¯t expect our martial souls to fuse together, and we were able to unleash a fusion skill. It¡¯s just that we were still very weak then. After unleashing one fusion skill, our soul power would be drained. When we passed out from the fatigue, we would usually bete for school the next day, and we were punished together.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned gentler. Everything in the past reyed in his mind.

    ¡°After that, we were selected topete in our first Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament because of our impressive performance. We were reserve members. It¡¯s just that we didn¡¯t expect a few of our seniors to be hurt by evil soul masters, and they had to pull out. We reced them aspetitive squad members.¡±

    ¡°It was really tough then. However, we were ambitious. We worked hard, and faced our opponents with our greatest abilities. We performed miracle after miracle, turning the impossible into reality. Finally, we defended Shrek¡¯s glory. We won the tournament for Shrek! We were then given the title of ¡®Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡¯. That was one of the greatest glories of my life.¡±

    ¡°Five!¡±

    ck light shed, and the dagger stabbed again. It was the other side of Huo Yuhao¡¯s intestines. The tenth wound had been inflicted.

    This time, Tang Wutong didn¡¯t shout. She seemed to have beenpletely immersed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s story, and forgotten what situation they were in.

    ¡°After that, we got together again and experienced many things together. One day, the academy held a matchmaking session for the disciples of the inner courtyard. Only those from the inner courtyard could participate, so that the male and female students could have a chance to express their liking for someone. Everyone was normally so busy with their cultivation, and they¡¯re also very shy. The Sea God¡¯s Blind Date was our best opportunity. I also joined under peer pressure.¡±

 Chapter 484.2 - Game of Death

    Chapter 484.2: Game of Death¡°Who knew that I would meet her during the blind date? She had long, pinkish-blue hair, and was absolutely ravishing. She looked identical to Wang Dong. I still thought that she was Wang Dong¡¯s sister. However, I never expected Wang Dong to actually be Wang Dong¡¯er. She had always been by my side, but I foolishly didn¡¯t know it.¡±

    ¡°She called me a fool. Wasn¡¯t she right? However, I¡¯m willing to be her fool for life. Naturally, we got together. I really liked her. Everything that happened in the past reyed in my mind. Even in my dreams, I didn¡¯t expect to get together with my goddess. Yes, she¡¯s my goddess.¡±

    ¡°Wutong, you aren¡¯t the first person to look like her. There was another girl who looked exactly like her. That girl was called Wang Qiu¡¯er. I met her before and after the blind date. Then, I even thought that they were the same person. It was only afterward that I realized that they were different.¡±

    ¡°I liked Dong¡¯er, but Qiu¡¯er gradually walked into my world. She helped me and saved me. More weirdly, she was even able to form a fusion skill with me. However, I only have Dong¡¯er in my heart.¡±

    ¡°Six!¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice softened a little, but he continued to shout.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and stabbed himself.

    ck light shed once again. It was the sixth stab, and there were twelve wounds now.

    His body shook as this stabnded. He also staggered back two steps. The ground was covered in ck blood. His face had also turned from pale-white to dim-gold. His entire aura seemed to be there yet not be there at the same time. Even his pupils started to turn grey.

    ¡°Yuhao, stop. Please, I beg you. Please stop. Leave thest three stabs for me, alright?¡± Tang Wutong was already sobbing uncontrobly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and said, ¡°I¡¯m a man. Even if you don¡¯t look like her, I¡¯ll still do it for you. I¡¯ll protect my partner and my friend. We are friends, aren¡¯t we? Finish listening to my story first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been very troubled. I was certain that I liked Dong¡¯er, but I didn¡¯t want to harm Qiu¡¯er either. Qiu¡¯er started to like me from some unknown period of time. I was sandwiched between her and Dong¡¯er. I didn¡¯t know what to do. As a result, all sorts of problems piled up.¡±

    ¡°Once, we entered a ce called the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley. There, we went through many ordeals. Eventually, Dong¡¯er saved me bymitting suicide. Then, Qiu¡¯er admitted defeat. However, Dong¡¯er didn¡¯t manage to wake from thea that she sustained in the process ofmitting suicide. I personally sent her back to her home, but that was thest time I saw her. When I returned again, she had already left. Her family told me that she had already awoken from hera.¡±

    ¡°The Douluo Continent is so vast. How could I find her? Not long before that incident, Qiu¡¯er had also died while saving me on a mission. I asked myself. Do I really not have Qiu¡¯er in my heart at all? No, I could feel that she left a deep impression in my heart. It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t split my heart into two. I¡¯ve already given it to Dong¡¯er. This is why Qiu¡¯er is the person I¡¯ve let down the most in my life.¡±

    ¡°Seven!¡±

    His hand lifted, and the dagger stabbed. This time, the ck light evidently slowed down slightly. It wasn¡¯t because Huo Yuhao¡¯s determination had fallen. It was because his body was a little overwhelmed because he was in such a weak state. This stab was closely connected to the sixth stab. They were both further to the sides of his intestines.

    He finally copsed after this stab. He sat down on the ground, in the puddle of his blood on the ground. His body was trembling slightly, and he needed his other hand to support himself to keep himself from fully copsing to the ground.

    ¡°Do you still remember? Wutong, I tried to pour my soul power into you that day. In fact, I took you as her, just without the memories. I really hoped that our martial souls would fuse to prove that you were her. But I failed. Our soul power can¡¯t fuse. It doesn¡¯t seem that our martial souls arepatible. Then, I realized that you aren¡¯t her. You are Tang Wutong. She is Wang Dong¡¯er. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. At that moment, I felt very tormented. I felt extremely tormented. I really wish that you were her! If that were the case, there would be light in my world once again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had already turnedpletely grey by now. His pupils seemed to have dted. He finally couldn¡¯t see Tang Wutong clearly anymore. There was only a blurry, pinkish-blue figure in front of him.

    ¡°I had two wishes in my life originally. My first wish was to avenge my mother. However, that has slowly faded away as time passed. That¡¯s because I¡¯ve slowly realized that my hatred is diminishing. My mom wouldn¡¯t want me to avenge her. Furthermore, I can¡¯t do it. I really can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°My other wish is to get together with Dong¡¯er. To live together with her. To wed her and have a few kids. To apany my kids every day. That¡¯s all I want.¡± As he spoke until here, Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears were already flowing from his eyes.

    He seemed to see himself and Wang Dong¡¯er together, and their kids running not far away from them.

    Tang Wutong was in a daze as she looked at him. It was as if she had beenpletely immersed in his tragic story.

    ¡°Eight!¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold and stiff.

    Huo Yuhao plucked out the ck dagger again. But when he stabbed himself once more, he had evidently lost his strength. He stabbed at his right chest, but the dagger swept across his rib. He had to exert force twice before it stabbed through his body.

    Right now, Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes had already turned hollow. She didn¡¯t even bother trying to stop him anymore.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was bing weaker and weaker. It was trembling, and he was stuttering, ¡°Wutong, if you see someone that looks identical to you in the future, she might just be my Dong¡¯er. Please take care of her, but don¡¯t tell her of everything between us. In fact, it¡¯s good if she forgets me. I¡¯m too much of a burden. Perhaps she¡¯ll be happier without me. I¡¯m happy as long as she¡¯s happy. Elder Long, I hope you stay true to your word. Don¡¯t make it difficult for her. Let her leave¡­ nine!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shouted out thest number on his own. His eyes suddenly brightened, and there was even a weird trace of light shining from his body. He plucked out the ck dagger and stabbed it towards his heart.

    He remembered everything that had happened between him and Dong¡¯er. Wasn¡¯t it sort of a relief for him? Right now, he only wanted to be free. Now, no one could stop him. Even Di Tian couldn¡¯t do so. This was because there was no sense of danger in his heart. Everything was done willingly.

    He really didn¡¯t want to live anymore. He felt very, very tired. There was a bitter look on his face right now.I¡¯m sorry, my partners. I can only shirk my responsibilities this way. I¡¯m not afraid of death. Death, to me, is like home. Dong¡¯er has forgotten me, Qiu¡¯er has died because of me, and I don¡¯t want revenge anymore. The Snow Empress, Ice Empress and Star Anise all have the origins of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. They can help someone else to improve and be a god.

    Everything seems to be perfect. I can finally leave this world. I want to find my mother.

    Due to his terminal lucidity, Huo Yuhao¡¯sst stab was stronger than the earlier eight stabs. No matter how strong he was, he would never be able to survive once this dagger stabbed into his heart.

    Tang Wutong copsedpletely when he stabbed himself again. She lost consciousness.

    ¡°Sqwelp!¡± The sharp dagger stabbed into his flesh and prated it. He had eighteen wounds on his body right now.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness blurred. He couldn¡¯t control his body as it fell back. However, there was a smile on his face. It was a smile of freedom and relief. In this world, there was nothing he longed for anymore. It was as if it was time for him to go because his time was up.

    Long Xiaoyao ced the unconscious Tang Wutong on the ground. He revealed a heavy look on his cold and elderly-looking face.

    ¡°What a passionate young man!¡± He sighed slightly and took a step out beforeing to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. He slowly squatted down and grabbed the ck dagger in his chest before pulling it out.

    Huo Yuhaoy there without moving. His life energy seemed to have disappeared.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. Their surroundings became dark and silent once again. Even the blood in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body stopped following.

    In this silent and dark world, he was the only one who could move. He slowly lifted his right hand and pressed it on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. He could clearly see streaks of ck current fading from the eighteen wounds on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. In a matter of seconds, the wounds were already covered in red.

    Light shed in Long Xiaoyao¡¯s hands, and a white bead appeared in his palm. He pressed his other hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest, as if he were sensing something.

    After a brief moment, there was a satisfied look on his face. After this, he ced the bead in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    Afterpleting all these, he bent over and carried Huo Yuhao up to a cleaner ce. He helped to strip his bloodstained shirt from his body.

 Chapter 484.3 - Game of Death

    <h4 ss>Chapter 484.3: Game of Death</h4>

    Huo Yuhao stopped losing blood under the coagtion effect of the silent and dark domain. However, when his body waspletely naked, his wounds were bared for the Dragon Emperor Douluo to see.

    A smile surfaced across Long Xiaoyao¡¯s face, ¡°If not for the fact that this dragon pill requires you to have no resistance, and that you must be in your absolute weakest state, why would I make you go through so much pain? Haih, to be honest, I was moved by you earlier, and almost couldn¡¯ty my hands on you. It¡¯s just that Mu En made me do this. In fact, you wouldn¡¯t need this dragon pill if you weren¡¯t improving so quickly. However, the time seems to be right now. This is because I can¡¯t stop Xishui. I shall leave the responsibility of resisting the Holy Ghost Church to you. Young fellow, you must do your best!¡±

    As he spoke, Long Xiaoyao moved his hands and turned Huo Yuhao¡¯s body continuously. His wounds were quickly stitched up. However, he was still very pale from losing so much blood.

    However, it was at this moment that ayer of dim golden light was exuded from the dragon pill in his mouth. The golden halo spread down to his entire body.

    Long Xiaoyao also carried Tang Wutong over and ced her beside him. The smile on his face intensified. ¡°What a touching scene! If such a youngdy doesn¡¯t fall for him, it¡¯ll be really weird. This young man is so dumb. Unless there are twins, how can you find two people who look so alike in this world? Surely there isn¡¯t a second Three-Eyed Golden Lion, right?¡±

    If Huo Yuhao were still alive, he would almost surely be shocked by Long Xiaoyao¡¯s words. Evidently, the Dragon Emperor Douluo was very aware of his matters.

    ¡­¡­

    Sun Moon Empire. Radiant City. Imperial Pce.

    Xu Tianran quietly sat in a chair that was decorated with all types of treasures and rubies. Not far in front of him, Ju Zi was kneeling with one knee on the ground and her head was lowered. From the side, it was clear that she looked a little pale.

    ¡°Get up. It isn¡¯t fully your fault.¡± Xu Tianran waved at her.

    Ju Zi lowered her head and said, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s my mistake. If I were more alert, we wouldn¡¯t have suffered such heavy losses. We¡¯ve lost soldiers and resources this time. Please punish me, Your Majesty.¡±

    Xu Tianran stood up and walked in front of Ju Zi, lifting her up. He gently patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, it happened too abruptly. Who would have expected the soul beasts in the Extreme North to suddenly turn violent? ording to what you mentioned, there were at least two savage beasts attacking you. They¡¯re likely to be two of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North. It already wasn¡¯t easy for you to escape. The conditions in the Extreme North are rigorous, unlike any other ce. It¡¯s simply too harsh. It¡¯s a ce that favors those ice-type soul beasts. It seems like we made a wrong strategic move this time, and ignored such an important aspect.¡±

    Ju Zi continued to lower her head and said, ¡°I am guilty.¡±

    Xu Tianran pulled her hand and walked all the way until the side, sitting down with her. ¡°What¡¯s the crime? Over the past year, you¡¯ve given your all for me and the empire. You¡¯ve be much thinner. You¡¯ve contributed so much to the empire and have risen quickly in the military. You are known as the female warrior of our military. What¡¯s a single mistake worth? No one is always victorious. When we fully upy the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, I¡¯ll let youmand the entire military to destroy those soul beasts in the Extreme North. Then, all the rare metals will still belong to us. With all those soul beasts around, I don¡¯t believe the Dou Ling Empire will be able to obtain anything either. You don¡¯t have to think so much.¡±

    Ju Zi lifted her head at this moment and was moved as she said, ¡°Your Majesty, thanks for sparing me.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled as he looked at her. After this, he sighed and said, ¡°The situation at the frontline is very stable now. We have taken over most parts of the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, our forces are a little overwhelmed because of the Star Luo Empire. This was especially so during the earlier stages of the war, when a lot of our resources were drained, and we weren¡¯t able to supply enough reinforcements to the frontline. Right now, we¡¯ll maintain the status quo and not rush into attacking further. Otherwise, we¡¯ll give the three empires opportunities if our fighting lines are overstretched.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s confidence was restored when they began talking about the frontline. She furrowed her brow slightly andmented, ¡°Although our fighting lines are a little overstretched now, the regions of the Heavenly Soul Empire that we¡¯ve upied are still considered quite stable. You are right. We must further stabilize the situation at the frontline. We must quickly get rid of the problems that the Star Luo Empire is bringing us from the back to resolve the dilemma. I suggest that we ask the Death God Douluo to attack the Ming Dou Mountain Range once again after we¡¯ve umted further resources. We¡¯ll be able to threaten the Star Luo Empire then. It¡¯s only when we strengthen our defense at the Ming Dou Mountain Range that we can continue to attack without any worries.¡±

    Xu Tianran smiled and said, ¡°My Ju Zi is a brilliant strategist now. All those elders from the military are impressed by you. You¡¯ll arrange these strategies. I¡¯ll tell them to the rest every time we have a mission.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please allow me to move off tomorrow and lead the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion to kill the Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters. I¡¯ll clean them out in the fastest possible time and give the Death God Douluo the opportunity to attack the Ming Dou Mountain Range.¡±

    Xu Tianran stood up. Along with the advancements of soul tool technology, the prosthetic legs that he had allowed him to be mobile.

    He shook his head gently and said, ¡°Ju Zi, while it¡¯s important, we can¡¯t finish it quickly. Leave it to someone else. I¡¯ve already requested help from Zhong Liwu from the Holy Ghost Church. The Death God Douluo is holding the fort at the border. She¡¯s the anchor. The Star Luo Empire is only making trouble for us. It¡¯s fine. They can¡¯t aplish anything.¡±

    Ju Zi was moved and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, do you have something else for me to do?¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s something important I need you to do. You¡¯re the only who can do it.¡±

    Ju Zi quickly got up and kneeled down beside Xu Tianran before saying, ¡°Your Majesty, please instruct me. As long as I can do it, I¡¯ll do anything.¡±

    Xu Tianran revealed a displeased look on his face and bent over to lift her up. ¡°Silly girl, I¡¯ve told you many times that we¡¯re married now. You don¡¯t have to be so ceremonial in front of me. Why don¡¯t you listen to me?¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her head and softly said, ¡°In my heart, you¡¯ll always be my master. I¡¯m only your servant. My life belongs to you. As long as you need it, I¡¯ll even die for you without any hesitation.¡±

    Even though Xu Tianran was an anti-hero, he was still a person. In his earlier years, his biological younger brother had tried to assassinate him, and he had almost died. Ju Zi had helped him escaped even though she was hurt. All these years, he had many powerful people around him. However, he only trusted Ju Zi.

    Xu Tianran embraced her. ¡°I told you that you¡¯re my wife, not my servant. It¡¯s like that now, and it¡¯ll remain like this in the future. In the future, you¡¯llmand the masses.¡±

    Ju Zi gently leaned on his shoulders and revealed a satisfied smile on her face. However, she was actually sighing in her heart.Your Majesty, do you really think I don¡¯t know your personality? If I don¡¯t appear obedient in front of you, you¡¯ll start to be skeptical. I understand you very well. This is why I must do this to earn your trust!

    ¡°Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?¡±

    Xu Tianran turned serious and said, ¡°When you left this time, the officials submitted a petition for something.¡±

    Ju Zi asked, ¡°What has left you so troubled? Who¡¯s the one who put you in a spot? I¡¯ll go and¡­¡± As she spoke until here, a cold look shed across her eyes.

    Xu Tianran shook his head and said, ¡°If it were anything else, who would dare to threaten me? However, this matter can¡¯t shut everyone¡¯s mouth. They want me to bear the Crown Prince while I¡¯m at the peak of my reign.¡±

    After hearing the words ¡®Crown Prince¡¯, Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help but tremble. She subconsciously lifted her head to look at Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran revealed a bitter smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who knows my secret. How can I bear a Crown Prince? Ever since I took over the throne, you have been my only Empress. Apart from you, I don¡¯t have any other concubines. In the eyes of others, I appear to be very loyal to you. However, you know the true reason.¡±

    Ju Zi naturally knew that Xu Tianran was infertile because of the injury he had sustained. He didn¡¯t need concubines at all. On the other hand, having concubines might make things worse. This concerned his dignity as an emperor and as a man.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t say anything. She didn¡¯t know what to say. This concerned Xu Tianran¡¯s face.

    Xu Tianran pondered and said, ¡°Right now, I need to have a kid. It has to be a male to shut everyone¡¯s mouth. Even if it¡¯s not, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll say anything much, as long as there¡¯s a kid. This is why you must remain in the pce for some time. You¡¯re still themander of the three armies, but don¡¯t personally enter the battlefield temporarily. Bear me a child first.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Ju Zi was a little dazed as she looked at Xu Tianran. After she was stunned for a moment, she lowered her voice and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, do you want us to adopt one?¡±

    Xu Tianran shook his head and snorted coldly, ¡°Those old fellows are watching me. How can I adopt and keep things from them? They have people in the infirmary. We can¡¯t mess this up. This is why we must make it real. Do you still remember? I mentioned that we can¡¯t artificially inseminate you. Even though I can¡¯t speak to anyone of this, I can still request a rtive to find a ¡®seedling¡¯ for you. This kid will be my heir.¡±

 Chapter 485.1 - Im Not Dead?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 485.1: I¡¯m Not Dead?</h4>

    Ju Zi was horrified. She turned around and kneeled once again. ¡°No, Your Majesty. No, I can¡¯t do that. How can I bear someone else¡¯s child? I¡¯m your Ju Zi, and will only be your Ju Zi. No, I don¡¯t agree.¡±

    Xu Tianran was a little stunned, and was also a little touched as he looked at Ju Zi. This was the first time she had dared to resist his orders ever since he had saved her. However, this resistance stroked his ego.

    ¡°If possible, no one will want his wife to have someone else¡¯s kid. However, I have no choice. I can only do this to shut everyone up. I¡¯ve even selected the candidate. He¡¯s an authentic bearer of the royal blood lineage, and he¡¯s a distant cousin of mine. Due to a mutation of his martial soul, he¡¯s not even a soul master now, and he holds a very lowly position in the royal family. Apart from you, no one else must know about this. I¡¯ll ask someone to teach you how to carry it out. After that, you¡¯ll retrieve the ¡®seedling¡¯ from his body and imnt it into your own body. After that, he¡¯ll be killed. No one will know this secret then. Don¡¯t worry, I am infertile. The child you bear will be ours. I¡¯ll treat him like our biological son. When I turn a hundred years, he¡¯ll inherit the throne. Perhaps we might rule the entire Douluo Continent by then.¡±

    Ju Zi lifted her head and looked at Xu Tianran pitifully, ¡°Your Majesty, is there no other way? I am really unwilling to do this.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression turned cold and he said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s final. Do you really think I want to do this? I feel heartache doing it too. Alright, with that sort of n, you¡¯ll be touched by another guy. Go and prepare first. I¡¯ll get someone to teach you how to do it, and I¡¯ll get the Imperial Physician to take a look at your body. These few days are the best time for you to be impregnated.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ju Zi shuddered a little and eventually agreed to his words. She kowtowed to him respectfully.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression turned gentler. He lifted her up for the third time and patted her back. ¡°Silly girl, don¡¯t think too much. I already told you that I¡¯ll treat the child you bear as our own. Only I have the right to be his father. You can go now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Ju Zi indignantly made her way out after bowing to Xu Tianran.

    After exiting, a heavy look gradually appeared on Ju Zi¡¯s face. However, there was a cold intent that shed across her eyes.

    Xu Tianran, why didn¡¯t I realize that I¡¯ll only be your pawn? Even the closest pawn is still a pawn.

    ¡­¡­

    When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he was stunned to discover that he was in a clean room. The room also looked very familiar to him. Everything around him was familiar, including the aura.

    Where am I?He was a little puzzled.

    Everything that had happened earlier reyed itself in his memories.

    Didn¡¯t I meet the Darkness Holy Dragon and Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao? Wasn¡¯t I stabbed nine times because of his threat? But why don¡¯t I feel any pain?

    He subconsciously touched his body, and was astonished to discover that there weren¡¯t any wounds at all. He then circted his soul power. His body drifted up above his bed, and there were suddenly strong soul power undtions in the room.

    This¡­

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he sensed everything. He discovered that this soul power was like a strong wave. Just by circting it slightly, it was actually surging.What¡¯s going on? Where exactly am I?

    ¡°Bang!¡± The door opened. A figure rushed in. Wasn¡¯t she Nan Qiuqiu?

    When she saw Huo Yuhao sitting up, Nan Qiuqiu was delighted. ¡°Ah, Yuhao, you¡¯re awake. You¡¯re finally awake. What happened exactly!? You were unconscious for seven days.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and was shocked as he asked, ¡°Am, am I really alive?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu took a few steps forward and pinched his arm with force.

    ¡°Aiyo, what are you doing?¡± Huo Yuhao screamed in pain.

    ¡°If you know that it¡¯s painful, it obviously means that you aren¡¯t in a dream. Of course you aren¡¯t dead.¡± Nan Qiuqiu snapped.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s already not easy for me toe back alive, but you still pinched me so hard. Are you still human?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu furrowed her brow and ced her hands on her waist. She was furious, ¡°How dare you mention it? You didn¡¯t even bring me on your adventure to Heaven Dou City. How did Tang Wutong find you the moment she was there? Didn¡¯t you say that she isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er?¡±

    After hearing her mention Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao was stunned, and asked, ¡°Did she send me back? Is she fine?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Nan Qiuqiu said coldly, ¡°She dumped you here before leaving. She didn¡¯t say anything at all, as if she were dumb.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and sighed in his heart.Tang Wutong isn¡¯t Dong¡¯er after all! Although I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m alive, it seems like the Dragon Emperor Douluo still let her off in the end. It¡¯s just that I was critically hurt then, and my life energy was about to fully disappear. Now that I think of it, it seemed like thest stab was blocked by something before it reached my body. That prevented my heart from being struck. Don¡¯t tell me the Dragon Emperor Douluo did it intentionally? He¡¯s the only one who could do that at that point in time.

    However, how did I survive? My injuries were so critical. Furthermore, I don¡¯t even feel any pain now. On the other hand, my soul power even seems to have improved. I feel as if I have touched a bottleneck. What exactly is going on?

    Huo Yuhao was filled with doubts as he climbed up from the bed. He moved his body. Indeed, it was filled with strength! Everything felt unbelievably good.

    It was good to be alive. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao felt that a lot of the pressure on him had been relieved after he went through that near-death experience. The look in his eyes was much more vibrantpared to before. He couldn¡¯t help but think of what Wang Dong¡¯er had said to him. Relieving stress from time to time was good for cultivation.Yes, I¡¯ve really been under a lot of pressure. I didn¡¯t expect this to relieve so much pressure, although the way it was done wasn¡¯t very nice.

    ¡°Hey, what are you thinking of?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was displeased as she questioned Huo Yuhao, seeing that he had gone quiet all of a sudden.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing. Alright, Qiuqiu, how was I when I returned?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu answered, ¡°Pretty good! You were just in aa. There was nothing else really. Tang Wutong didn¡¯t say anything else. She just seemed very confused. Eldest senior didn¡¯t probe further upon seeing that you were fine.¡±

    I was fine when I returned? My wounds disappeared? It seems like I can only ask Tang Wutong to know what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°Qiuqiu, I¡¯ll go and see eldest senior first.¡± As he spoke, he walked out.

    Nan Qiuqiu chased after him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you promised me. Teacher Xuan seems to be very excited after seeing the metal that you brought back.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be excluded.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled.

    When Huo Yuhao saw Bei Bei, Bei Bei was dealing with a lot of things. Seeing him entering, Bei Bei was delighted before his expression sank.

    ¡°Little junior, you are really incorrigible! I won¡¯t let you leave the sect easily no matter what. Every time you leave, you have to get into some trouble. Tell me, what happened this time? Why were you in aa, and Wutong had to bring you back? She didn¡¯t want to say anything. Surely you can tell me what¡¯s going on, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed as he said, ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t be angry! Nothing happened really. I went to Heaven Dou City to capture an evil soul master, as well as to find out where Teacher Xiao Ya and Sister Xiaotao are at. I searched the city. They aren¡¯t there. After that, I met a strong opponent when capturing an evil soul master, which drained me. I might have fallen into aa because of that. Oh yes, I almost forgot!¡±

    When he mentioned the evil soul master, Huo Yuhao immediately thought of two important questions. He wondered if the evil soul master he had sealed in his storage-type soul tool was alive after so many days. In addition, the Ice Bear King could still be in Heaven Dou City!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Bei Bei jumped in shock when he heard Huo Yuhao shout.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything, but hurriedly poured in his soul power into his storage-type soul tool. A light shed before an ice statue appeared in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had improvedpared to before. He had frozen the evil soul master for at least seven to eight days, but there weren¡¯t any signs that it was going to melt. It wasn¡¯t even damaged in the slightest. The evil soul master that was frozen was still astonished, and even terrified.

    Bei Bei was stunned as he asked, ¡°This is? An evil soul master you caught?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes! It took me quite a lot of effort to capture this fellow.¡± When he faced the Darkness Holy Dragon, he wasn¡¯t fearful at all. However, now that he thought of it, he was actually pretty terrified then. When it came to Long Xiaoyao¡¯s cultivation, it was not something that he could surveil using his Spiritual Detection. This was because Long Xiaoyao was spiritually much stronger than him. It was very easy for him to unleash a spiritual barrier that kept out Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Huo Yuhao had no way of dealing with Long Xiaoyao directly.

    Of course, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s spiritual power was stronger than his in terms of absolute volume rather than the level of it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had reached the concrete-material realm. Even the Dragon Emperor Douluo wasn¡¯t at that realm yet. This was the advantage of a spiritual-type soul master. Just like Long Xiaoyao had said, if Huo Yuhao purely cultivated his Spirit Eyes to the standard of a Transcendent Douluo, he might actually be able to fight him. In fact, Huo Yuhao had the confidence of challenging Long Xiaoyao when he considered his Ultimate Ice.

 Chapter 485.2 - Im Not Dead?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 485.2: I¡¯m Not Dead?</h4>

    Bei Bei came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. When he saw the ice-sealed evil soul master, he couldn¡¯t bother with ming Huo Yuhao anymore. After all, it was possible to obtain information about Tang Ya from this evil soul master! Even though he was normally veryposed, his breathing got heavier now.

    Bei Bei lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Can he still recover after being frozen?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°He¡¯ll be fine if it¡¯s within the short-term. However, he has been frozen for quite a while. I didn¡¯t expect to be unconscious for so long. Now I¡¯m not confident anymore. However, logically speaking, I still have a chance. After all, this evil soul master is a Soul Sage. Even if he¡¯s frozen, his soul power can still protect his body. Let me give it a try.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand and pressed against the ice statue.

    Gentle ice elements were sucked out under his meticulous control, fusing into his body. This was his second time circting his soul power after waking up from hisa. Right now, he was much more aware than he had been when he had just woken up. Suddenly, he felt how consolidated his soul power was. It wasn¡¯t just his soul power. His spiritual power had increased too. His soul core had be more and more abstruse, as if it were one with the boundless sky around it. This soul core could devour all like a ck hole.

    What did Long Xiaoyao do to me? Why do I feel such an obvious improvement in my powers? No, when I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll need to take a look in the academy, and see how strong my soul power has be.

    The ice statue slowly melted under Huo Yuhao¡¯s immacte control. However, no water dripped out. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, the ice elements vaporized into the air as soon as the ice melted. This was why the room seemed a little moister than usual.

    Slowly, the ice disappeared. The original form of the evil soul master was also revealed. Hisplexion became softer, but his bodily functions were still not working.

    Very soon, the ice meltedpletely. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned dim-grey, and he muttered a few incantations. After this, he smacked the evil soul master¡¯s left chest.

    It was his third martial soul, his Necromancer martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use his Ultimate Ice or Spirit Eyes¡¯ spiritual power to summon this evil soul master. Otherwise, the other party would develop a great resistance against it due to the massive difference in the elemental types, and it would harm him. At such a moment, the powers of his Necromancer martial soul would be useful. To some extent, a part of Huo Yuhao¡¯s powers belonged to the same origins as evil soul masters when he used his Necromancer martial soul.

    A dark and sinister power surged into the evil soul master¡¯s body, stimting his heart. The pressure exerted on his heart caused his blood to flow once again. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, his blood started to flow with some rhythm once again. After this, Huo Yuhao started to summon his brain.

    Everything around him became distorted. Huo Yuhao was using his Imitation right now.

    His Imitationbined with his Spiritual Interference Domain, causing the lights in Bei Bei¡¯s office to dim. In addition, the entire room was filled with a sinister aura.

    Huo Yuhao shot a look at Bei Bei. Bei Bei nodded and called Nan Qiuqiu to a dark corner of the room. Although she didn¡¯t know what Huo Yuhao was going to do, she knew that he must have some n to deal with the evil soul master.

    Just like what Huo Yuhao had mentioned, the life energy of an evil soul master who was a Soul Sage was very strong. This evil soul master¡¯s heartbeat was slowly returning to normal. It was enough to send blood to all parts of his body. He was also slowly regaining his awareness.

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. It seemed like this evil soul master hadn¡¯t suffered any real harm. In this way, he was more confident in waking this evil soul master from his sleep. His vital signs were all fine. He wasn¡¯t too heavily hurt from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a huge ck veil from his storage-type soul tool before he put it on. He felt even more sinister and mysterious right now. Dim-greyish air currents revolved around him. As he lifted his left hand, he used his Imitation to form a magic staff with a skull-shaped gem at the top of it. He stood there silently and waited.

    Finally, that evil soul master slowly regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he suddenly felt that he was in afortable environment. Furthermore, there were even rings of air revolving around him, supporting his body so that he didn¡¯t fall.

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± He was evidently a little confused, as he had just awoken.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice became low-pitched and hoarse. He coldly said, ¡°Are you asking where you are?¡± As he spoke, he snorted, and his immense spiritual power gently touched the evil soul master¡¯s head.

    The evil soul master was shocked, and immediately regained even further awareness. When he saw Huo Yuhao and the greyish current around him, he was shocked. Huo Yuhao was exuding a very strong spectral aura. Right now, the undtions that Huo Yuhao had managed to imitate were actually those of a Titled Douluo.

    He was the most adept at this. He was imitating his own teacher, Electrolux, right now. Even though he didn¡¯t have the same divine sense as Electrolux, he could still imitate his aura.

    This evil soul master wasn¡¯t fully conscious, and his soul power was still in the process of recovery. His senses weren¡¯t very acute. It was like the break of dawn, when someone just woke up from their sleep. He only felt as if Huo Yuhao were extremely strong, but his aura was the same. It was the aura of evil soul masters.

    The evil soul master was unsure as he asked, ¡°You, you are¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know who I am.¡± Huo Yuhao said coldy, ¡°You just need to tell me what happened. Why did you faint by the side of the pce? Who knocked you out?¡±

    The evil Soul Sage subconsciously answered, ¡°A Soul Sage invaded the pce and killed one of my subordinates. After I discovered him, I immediately chased him. I gained the upper hand at first, but that person suddenly turned around. I fell into a trance before my entire body felt very cold. After that, I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling the truth? Did you miss anything?¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly. At the same time, he was also silently unleashing his spiritual power to influence the evil Soul Sage¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Of course I am. Who exactly are you?¡± The evil Soul Sage seemed to clear his mind at this moment. He also looked a little skeptical as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to care who I am.¡± Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I already said that knowing more won¡¯t help you. You just need to know that Sect Leader Zhong Li sent me over to supervise all of you.¡±

    ¡°You, you¡¯re from the Imperial Shrine?¡± The evil Soul Sage seemed to have heard something terrifying, and his voice started trembling.

    Imperial Shrine?Huo Yuhao was moved. He seemed to remember people calling the Holy Ghost Church that before.Then Long Xiaoyao seems to be a member of the Imperial Shrine. He must hold a high position too.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. Tell me, what else have you missed? Also, what does the person who knocked you out look like?¡±

    The evil Soul Sageughed bitterly. ¡°I really don¡¯t remember, Sir.¡±

    ¡°Since you can¡¯t remember, I¡¯ll help you do so. Don¡¯t resist, otherwise you¡¯ll bear the ramifications.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao started reciting incantations. His voice became low-pitched and hoarse, but there seemed to be some special magical power about it.

    The evil Soul Sage looked at him dumbfoundedly and let him recite his incantations. Bei Bei also started to break out in a sweat.This guy is too brazen. Although I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing, trouble might brew if that evil Soul Sage fights back and attacks him.

    However, Huo Yuhao was very good at this. In addition, his Necromancer abilities were too simr to those of evil soul masters, such that the evil Soul Sage threw away his doubts after sensing Huo Yuhao¡¯s strong necromantic aura. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was simply too strong. He couldn¡¯t resist at all. Moreover, the Imperial Shrine was very respected in the Holy Ghost Church. The evil Soul Sage wasn¡¯t in any position to put up any resistance.

    Ayer of pale white light drifted up from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he started reciting incantations. Slowly, this pale white light formed mes, which started burning between him and the evil Soul Sage.

    The evil Soul Sage felt his spirit being sucked away just by taking a look. Slowly, he began to appear very daze and lost. He seemed to enter a very weird state, as if he had lost his spirit.

    This was the Fire of Spiritual Control. It was a strong spell that Electrolux had once used to control some powerful individuals before. However, this spell caused a great bacsh too. Unless the other party¡¯s cultivation was far weaker, even Electrolux wouldn¡¯t use it easily.

    Although the evil Soul Sage had around the same soul power cultivation as Huo Yuhao, their spiritual powers were vastly different. Moreover, the evil Soul Sage was still very weak after he was unfrozen. How could he possibly resist the Fire of Spiritual Control?

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Huo Yuhao asked coldly.

    ¡°I¡¯m called Chu Yanwei.¡± The evil soul master replied dazedly.

    ¡°What is your mission in the Heavenly Soul Empire?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°My mission is to aid the Nightmare Douluo and supervise the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s control over the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, I¡¯m here to gather more resources. I am to listen to the Nightmare Douluo¡¯s instructions.¡±

    ¡°Where are the two Holy Ladies?¡± After preparing for so long, Huo Yuhao finally asked the question he was most concerned about.

    In the corner, Bei Bei also clenched his fists and stared at Chu Yanwei.

 Chapter 485.3 - Im Not Dead?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 485.3: I¡¯m Not Dead?</h4>

    Chu Yanwei was still a little dazed as he replied, ¡°Out of the two Holy Ladies, one of them is at the frontline. The other one seems to be in trouble. I heard she was locked away and imprisoned at headquarters.¡±

    Frontline and headquarters!

    Huo Yuhao was delighted, and continued probing, ¡°Where is the headquarters?¡±

    ¡°Headquarters? It¡¯s¡­¡± Just as he spoke until here, his pupils dted. Following this, he started to shake tremendously, and his body began to balloon at an incredible speed.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. He turned around and leaped towards Nan Qiuqiu and Bei Bei. At the same time, he quickly switched his martial soul to his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. He smacked Chu Yanwei¡¯s body, causing it to expand at a slower speed.

    Three figures rushed out of the room simultaneously. After this, a loud explosion sound was heard.

    There were even sizzling sounds along with the explosion. Bei Bei¡¯s office was blown apart. The huge explosive force went all the way into the sky, forming a greyish mushroom cloud. It was about to spread.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to dy any further. He mimicked a lifting action, and a strong tornado was unleashed from his hands. His Ultimate Ice soul power shot into the sky, turning into countless snowkes. These snowkes engulfed the greyish fog in the air before sending it further up into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao charged up following this, controlling his snowkes. He froze them before turning them into a giant, greyish ice ball. After that, he put this ball away in his storage-type soul tool. This prevented the lethal poison from spreading.

    This explosion rmed the entire Tang Sect. Very soon, many senior figures from the Tang Sect gathered.

    ¡°Little junior, are you hurt?¡± Bei Bei flew to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head beforending.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just didn¡¯t expect that some kind of curse was actually ced on Chu Yanwei¡¯s body by some senior evil soul master. This soul master¡¯s method is really weird.¡±

    Bei Bei was also given a shock. He could still clearly remember that the explosion of an evil soul master¡¯s corpse that hurt many of his seniors during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament when he was still a reserve squad member of Shrek Academy. That was also the reason why they were chosen topete for the academy.

    It was a Soul Sage who had blown up earlier. Fortunately, the body of that Soul Sage was very weak, which was why the strength of the explosion wasn¡¯t too great. Otherwise, the three of them might not have been able to escape in time.

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°Little junior, what¡¯s this curse you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it must have been ced by a Titled Douluo. This Titled Douluo must have grown some kind of weird soul power in Chu Yanwei¡¯s body. There¡¯s even a spiritual aura to this soul power which is tightly connected to Chu Yanwei¡¯s own soul and spiritual origins. When he¡¯s about to reveal some secret, he would initiate an explosion using his own soul and spiritual power, just like what we saw earlier. Evidently, anything on the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters is top secret.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°However, we¡¯ve already achieved our goal. Teacher Xiao Ya is at the frontlines of the Heavenly Soul Empire. This is valuable information. Sister Xiaotao is at the headquarters. It seems like she¡¯s unable to repress the evil fire in her. We must think of a way to quickly find her so that I can help her. Otherwise, she¡¯ll do a lot of things she doesn¡¯t want to once she loses her rationality.¡±

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t explicitly say anything, Bei Bei understood what he meant. Right now, everyone else had already surrounded them.

    Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao and even He Caitou were here. Seeing that Huo Yuhao had awoken, they were all delighted. They only knew what had happened after asking him.

    Xu Sanshi looked at Bei Bei. ¡°How? No matter where, I¡¯ll follow you. When are we setting off?¡±

    There was aplex look in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. He unwittingly clenched his fist, and his breathing had evidently be heavier.

    This was their first time receiving urate information on Tang Ya ever since their second tournament. It would be a lie to say that he wasn¡¯t anxious at all. However, the Sun Moon Empire had deployed a few soul engineer legions at the frontline. There were evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church there too. It would be extremely difficult for them to save Xiao Ya. Furthermore, the Tang Sect was in a very important developmental stage right now. If everyone was brought along on this mission, failure would affect the future development of the sect.

    ¡°For my own selfish reasons, I can¡¯t¡­¡± Bei Bei said achingly.

    ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t put it that way. If not for Teacher Xiao Ya, there wouldn¡¯t be a Tang Sect. Third senior is right. No matter what, we¡¯ll follow you on this trip. We must save Teacher Xiao Ya.¡± Huo Yuhao said with determination.

    Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, He Caitou, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan all nodded their heads. They all looked very determined.

    ¡°Thanks, thanks everyone.¡± Bei Bei peered into the sky. Normally, he was veryposed. However, he was clenching his lips tightly right now. He was well-aware that they would face many problems if they all went on this trip. Although they were from the Tang Sect, everyone knew that the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were almost the same. Once they embroiled themselves in the war, it undoubtedly meant that Shrek Academy would be joining the war. This would affect the entire academy!

    ¡°Bei Bei, make your choice.¡± Xu Sanshi said.

    Bei Bei looked at everyone and said heavily, ¡°This matter is of vital importance. I can¡¯t decide alone. It¡¯s not even something that the Tang Sect can decide. Go get busy first. I¡¯ll ask Elder Xuan and see what he thinks.¡±

    Everyone nodded. If they wanted to save Tang Ya, they would need to consult the academy first. In addition, they would be more likely to seed if they had the academy¡¯s support.

    ¡°Little junior, follow me.¡± Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao returned to his room to wash up and change his clothes. As he changed his clothes, he couldn¡¯t help but think about where his bloodstained clothes had disappeared to.Did Tang Wutong change my clothes for me? I really have to ask her what happened when I go to the academy this time.

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao left the Tang Sect and rushed to the academy. On the way, Bei Bei told him about the sect¡¯s development during this period of time.

    ording to the academy¡¯s n, the three soul engineer legions were in the process of being established. A huge amount of resources had been gathered, and the Tang Sect and the Soul Tool Department of the academy were doing their best to establish these three soul engineer legions.

    The threat posed by the Sun Moon Empire was simply too great, such that the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire had great support for their efforts.

    In terms of soul tool technology, these two empires weregging slightly behind. At least they weren¡¯t on the same level as Shrek Academy. The academy agreed to supply soul tools to them at cost price when they had manufactured sufficient soul tools. These soul tools could be used to resist the Sun Moon Empire.

    ording to their current progress, the soul engineer legions would be fully equipped in less than a year¡¯s time. The three soul engineer legions were already being trained under Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo¡¯s tutge. All the inner courtyard students were involved in the training. They were going to be the main force in the future, and they were also going to be the elite force. In terms of soul masters, Shrek Academy never had to fear anyone else.

    The Tang Sect was basically on the right track now. There were more and more disciples in the sect too. Many of them came from the academy, especially from the Soul Tool Hall. Basically, the sect was the same entity as Shrek¡¯s Soul Tool Department. The students nurtured by the academy had to be tested in the Soul Tool Hall first. This was a win-win situation for both the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. Furthermore, the students had many rare metals to experiment with. This was especially beneficial to their cultivation, which was met with great approval from the vast majority of teachers and students.

    It wasn¡¯t far to travel from the sect to the academy. In just a while, the two of them were already at the east gate of the academy.

    Ever since the new Shrek City was built, the academy was fully epassed within the city. It was no longer at the edge of the city anymore. Huo Yuhao also asked about the situation at the Spirit Pagoda. The overall development of the Spirit Pagoda was stalled by the war. However, the academy had experienced great development. Following the increase in the number of sessful Spirits, more old and dying soul beasts were willing to offer themselves. Furthermore, the establishment of the Spirit Pagoda also reduced the number of humans entering the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt for soul beasts. This fulfilled Huo Yuhao¡¯s wish when he had first established the Spirit Pagoda. Indeed, there were a few good things going on.

 Chapter 486.1 - Elder Xuan is Wise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 486.1: Elder Xuan is Wise</h4>

    After entering the academy, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei slowed down.

    Bei Bei was a little puzzled as he asked, ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s going on between you and Wutong? Why did she leave without saying a word after sending you back that day?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was helpless as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m unsure too! We faced danger then. She must have saved me. Perhaps she was hurt or too tired. That¡¯s why she was rushing back to the academy to rest.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to tell Bei Bei that he took nine stabs for Tang Wutong. If he did, he didn¡¯t know how Bei Bei would admonish him. He wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone else but Bei Bei. It was like facing Dai Luoli. He had always considered Bei Bei like his own biological elder brother.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Since she saved you, you should go and visit her after we report to Elder Xuan. This time, Wutong has really treated you well by going so far to save you. I can tell that she likes you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face. However, he didn¡¯t outright reject Bei Bei. He only nodded slightly.

    Bei Bei brought him as the two of them went to Sea God¡¯s Ind. They rushed straight to Sea God¡¯s Pavilion under Bei Bei¡¯s lead.

    When they were outside the pavilion, Huo Yuhao stopped in front of the Golden Tree before kowtowing. Bei Bei did the same.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m back alive. I faced Long Xiaoyao this time, but I don¡¯t know why he let me off. Is it because of you? Or something else? Why did my cultivation improve after I took the nine stabs? And why aren¡¯t there any wounds on my body?¡±

    Regarding this mystery, he could only ask Tang Wutongter on. However, he could roughly remember that Tang Wutong had fainted before hepletely lost consciousness.How would she know anything if that¡¯s the case? It would probably be too difficult for her.

    Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly as he thought until here.

    ¡°Why are you sighing? Both of you,e in.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s voice came from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei stood up and walked into the pavilion. Among the younger generation, only the two of them and Zhang Lexuan could enter and leave the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion freely. This was because they were all members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Without a doubt, they were going to be the leading figures of Shrek Academy in the future.

    Elder Xuan was already waiting for them on the first level. He looked at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Yuhao, why do you create a different problem every time you leave? You¡¯re a problem ma indeed!¡±

    Huo Yuhao tensed up.Don¡¯t tell me that Wutong has already told Elder Xuan about our meeting with the Darkness Holy Dragon? Elder senior will still scold me if Elder Xuan blurts it out!

    However, he had no other choice, since things were already at this stage. He only thickened his skin andughed, ¡°Elder Xuan, I don¡¯t know whether I¡¯m fortunate or not. However, I did earn some merit this time! Even if I was wrong in some way, I should be able to make amends for it.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and answered, ¡°You did make a mistake, which is to cause trouble for me. However, you did well in the Extreme North. Tell me, how did you spoil the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ns? Logically speaking, you can¡¯t deal with an entire soul engineer legion on your own. Qiuqiu¡¯s words were also very ambiguous. She also doesn¡¯t know what you did.¡±

    Hup Yuhao coughed. ¡°It¡¯s like that. Elder Xuan, I¡¯ve got some things to report to you. In fact, do you still remember the Spirit that I have?¡±

    Elder Xuan thought for a moment before asking, ¡°Are you talking about that youngdy? The cute one?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded hurriedly and answered, ¡°Yes, her.¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. How could I not remember such a cute youngdy? Why? What has she got to do with this?¡± Elder Xuan was puzzled. Even Bei Bei was curious. Even though he all along knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength was a little mysterious, this had to do with Huo Yuhao¡¯s own privacy. If he didn¡¯t say anything, he wouldn¡¯t ask. But right now, his curiosity was piqued.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°She isn¡¯t some young girl. Talking about her background, it¡¯s actually quite impressive.¡±

    He recounted how he came upon the embryo of the Snow Empress when he was in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, as well as how he fused with the Snow Empress. He also talked about how the Snow Empress had created a Spirit.

    After hearing his story, Elder Xuan and Bei Bei were in awe!

    The things that happened to Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be described by the word ¡®magical¡¯ anymore. A human had actually fused with the Snow Empress, ranked third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. The Snow Empress was only inferior to Di Tian and the Evileye Tyrant King, and her cultivation was around seven hundred thousand years.

    When the Snow Empress was at her peak, even if Mu En were still alive, he might not even be able to fight her. If it was in the ice ins of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress could even fight the Beast God! Such a supernatural being had actually be Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit.

    No wonder this kid¡¯s Ultimate Ice abilities rose so quickly. Ultimate Ice is such a difficult ability to cultivate, but he was able to be a Soul Sage just like Bei Bei and the rest. So this is why.

    ¡°I led the Snow Empress to the core of the Extreme North. Under hermand, the strongest species of soul beast in the Extreme North, the Tai Tan Snowdevils, agreed to help me. I led them and came up with a simple n to destroy the base and facilities that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military had set up. Given the harsh conditions, they couldn¡¯t survive without their facilities. This was why they could only retreat. Believe me, with the threat of those soul beasts, and given the Sun Moon Empire is so far away, they won¡¯t be able to do anything in the short-term.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s lips twisted after he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s story. He said, ¡°That works? You¡¯re actually able to tap into the power of the soul beasts in the Extreme North. It¡¯s really¡­¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Huo Yuhao chuckled. He was blowing his horn a bit, but he was also slightly proud of himself.

    Elder Xuan red at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy. Don¡¯t be so reckless when you face something like this in the future. Can¡¯t you at least send news back to the academy and wait for reinforcements first? Do you really not trust us at all?¡±

    Although Elder Xuan was admonishing Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao still felt very warm in his heart.Yes! Shrek Academy is just like my home.

    ¡°Yes, I was wrong, Elder Xuan. I¡¯ll keep that in mind in the future.¡± Huo Yuhao admitted his mistake very obediently.

    Elder Xuan wanted to scold him further, but he stopped upon seeing that Huo Yuhao was so repentant. After all, he was already a grown-up. He couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°You are eager to admit your mistakes, but you won¡¯t change your character.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head in embarrassment while Bei Bei nodded in agreement.

    Huo Yuhao quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, both of us are here to tell you about Teacher Xiao Ya. We caught an evil soul master when we went to Heaven Dou City. We managed to find out that she¡¯s at the frontlines.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was secretly relieved when he said that. Elder Xuan didn¡¯t seem to know about him and Tang Wutong. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be let off so easily.

    Bei Bei was anxious, and rushed to tell Elder Xuan about what Chu Yanwei had revealed.

    Elder Xuan pondered for a moment. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, form a team in the Tang Sect. I¡¯ll think about who I should send with you.¡±

    Bei Bei was evidently a little stunned. He probed, ¡°Elder Xuan, we¡¯re going to save Xiao Ya. Will it affect the academy?¡±

    Elder Xuan nced at him. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re worried about. Don¡¯t tell me that the Sun Moon Empire doesn¡¯t know that we¡¯re going to deal with them? Not only do we have to seed in saving her this time, but we must also do something useful. This will boost confidence in the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. At the same time, we¡¯ll bring the Sun Moon Empire back to the ground. We must think of a way to confuse them.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes brightened, and he said, ¡°Elder Xuan is wise.¡±

    Elder Xuan snapped, ¡°Stop bootlicking. Tell me then, how am I wise?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Elder Xuan, I¡¯m a little confused. Come, Yuhao, tell him.¡± As he spoke, he dragged Huo Yuhao over.

    Eldest senior, you¡¯re dishonorable!Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly in his heart, but he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud. He thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re clear in the other areas, but as for the confusion part, we just have to exclude soul engineers. We¡¯ll use traditional soul masters from the academy to fight. The Sun Moon Empire will still think that we¡¯re mainlyposed of soul masters. Even if our Soul Tool Department has developed, it can¡¯tpare to our soul masters.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°That¡¯s it. Right now, Lin¡¯er and Duoduo are busy with the Soul Tool Department. I¡¯ll ask Shaozhe to follow both of you instead. He can represent the academy. However, the lessons and training in the academy are quite tight on schedule. I can¡¯t allocate many people to go with you. I¡¯ll ask Elder Song to go too. With the two of them around, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems protecting you.¡±

    In Shrek Academy, Elder Song was only inferior to Elder Xuan. Her Greenshadow Godly Eagle had yed a very important role during the beast wave.

    With two Transcendent Douluo backing them up, their chances of sess were greatly increased. Bei Bei rubbed his hands in excitement. ¡°Thanks, Elder Xuan. Thank you.¡±

 Chapter 486.2 - Elder Xuan is Wise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 486.2: Elder Xuan is Wise</h4>

    Elder Xuan smiled and asked, ¡°What are you thanking me for? I already said that Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect are just like one family. Xiao Ya is the real sect leader of the Tang Sect. Shouldn¡¯t we save her? However, do you have any way of removing the evil poison in her body?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned slightly grim, and he answered, ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult. However, we have to save her first before we even have a chance.¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s fine for both of you to go this time, but please be careful. Think about who you want to bring along with you on this trip. You should be the ones holding the fort at the Tang Sect, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll still be anxious even if you remain in the sect. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better for you to go. But you still need to arrange things in the Tang Sect first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do so.¡± Bei Bei replied excitedly.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, how¡¯s Tang Wutong? She saved me. I¡¯m nning to go take a look at her.¡± Huo Yuhao probed by asking Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°You can¡¯t find her now. She¡¯s in closed-door cultivation.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with her either. She seems a little distracted after saving you. She asked permission from me to enter closed-door cultivation. No one is to disturb her. She¡¯s very talented, and is even not inferior to you. I hope this round of cultivation will do her some good.¡±

    After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t insist anymore. He returned to the Tang Sect after leaving the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion with Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei immediately got busy. He didn¡¯t know when they would return once they left on this trip. Things were still very busy in the Tang Sect. Naturally, he had to make ns before leaving.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t idle either. He returned to his room and immediately summoned the Snow Empress from his spiritual sea. The situation of the Ice Bear King was unknown, but he believed the Snow Empress had a way of finding him.

    He slightly sighed and thought to himself.I¡¯m afraid the Snow Empress will scold me this time. I was really resigned to dying then. I really feel a little ufortable facing the Snow Empress, Ice Empress and Brother Skydream.

    But I have no choice. No matter what, this issue has to be settled.Since he had no choice, he gritted his teeth and summoned the Snow Empress from his spiritual sea.

    A figure shed before the Snow Empress appeared. Just like Huo Yuhao had expected, she was staring at him with a cold look. It was as if he was going to be in great trouble.

    ¡°I was wrong.¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his head and used the same trick he had used on Elder Xuan earlier.

    The Snow Empress didn¡¯t say anything as she looked at him.

    ¡°Snow Empress, I admit my mistake. I¡­¡±

    ¡°Boo!¡± The Snow Empress suddenlyughed. She couldn¡¯t maintain the cold expression on her face anymore, and a captivating smile surfaced.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously lifted his head. When he saw herughing, he was shocked.

    ¡°What, what are youughing at?¡±

    The Snow Empress suddenly turned serious and snorted, ¡°What do you think? What do you think I¡¯mughing at?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know! I¡¯d rather you scold me instead. I¡¯ll feel better then.¡±

    The Snow Empress snapped, ¡°Daddy, are you so miserable?¡±

    Huo Yuhao got goosebumps when she called him ¡®daddy¡¯. ¡°I think calling me that is even worse than scolding me.¡±

    The Snow Empress was furious, ¡°I¡¯ll keep calling you that. Daddy, daddy, daddy¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened to her listlessly, and didn¡¯t dare to resist at all. Who asked him to be the one at fault?

    The room became quiet once again. The Snow Empress looked at him just like that, but he didn¡¯t dare to look back at her. He only lowered his head.

    After a brief moment, the Snow Empressughed once again. ¡°You¡¯re indeed a fool. No wonder Wang Dong¡¯er called you that when you were still together. Did you really think the Darkness Holy Dragon wanted to kill you? And that we¡¯d watch and let you die? He didn¡¯t have the intention of killing you from the beginning. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been so simple.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao lifted his head and looked at the Snow Empress in a daze.

    The Snow Empress snorted coldly. ¡°Did you not understand me? That day, right from the start, the Darkness Holy Dragon had no intention of killing you. I don¡¯t know what you were thinking. Given his cultivation, he would have countless ways to kill you. He can even avoid Di Tian. However, he didn¡¯t have the intention. Didn¡¯t you notice that? If he wanted to kill you, what would be the point of dragging you outside the city? The city is his territory. What would be the point of dragging you outside the city?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, ¡°He didn¡¯t want to kill me? Why did he threaten me then? And why did hey his hands on me?¡±

    The Snow Empress answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t understand at the start either. I only felt that he neither wanted to kill you nor harbored any evil intentions toward Tang Wutong. Otherwise, do you really think you could have attacked so many times? If he didn¡¯t give in to you, you would already have been restrained by his domain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°That¡¯s weird then. If Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t want to hurt me or Wutong, what was the point of appearing? Snow Empress, tell me, quickly.¡±

    The Snow Empress said coldly, ¡°Before I reveal his true intentions, let¡¯s talk about us first. You wanted to abandon us, right? Tell me, what should we do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was helpless as heughed bitterly, ¡°I had no choice then! Did you really expect me to be confident in the face of an Ultimate Douluo? I had no choice. I only knew that Long Xiaoyao would keep his promise. The poison in his dagger could have killed Tang Wutong. I¡¯d rather take the poison in her ce. At least one of us would be alive to ry information. I¡¯m a man. I couldn¡¯t have let a girl take stabs for me! Furthermore, I remember the Ice Empress mentioning before that your origins have been consolidated after absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Even if I died, all of you could still find new bodies.¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re really a fool. Ice was only saying that. Furthermore, she was only speaking theoretically. Right now, let me tell you for real. In fact, our lives are tied to you. If you die, we die. Skydream might still be able to leave your body. However, have you forgotten? When you were forming your soul core, he left the remnants of his spiritual origin to you. It¡¯s like allowing a part of his Spirit to fuse with you. He¡¯s already a part of you. If you let him go, would you still have a conscience?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    The Snow Empress snorted coldly and continued, saying, ¡°Furthermore, can Ice leave? She¡¯s your second martial soul, and her origin power is in your soul bone. If you die and she¡¯s able to escape, she¡¯ll have less than one percent of her original strength. She¡¯ll dissipate before she can even find a new body. Among all of us, Star Anise is the most likely to escape. That¡¯s because Star Anise is a pure Spirit. After absorbing some ice essence, its origin is stable, and it¡¯s the only one who can find a new owner.¡±

    After speaking until here, the Snow Empress paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Lastly, me. Initially, your teacher burned the origin of his divine sense to save me so that I could be your Spirit. Otherwise, how could you have handled my immense strength, given how weak you were back then? My origin has long been interlinked with your Spirit through your teacher¡¯s divine sense. He saved me out of goodwill. However, he also tied me to you in order to save you. If you die, I¡¯ll be the next. Do you understand?¡±

    It was indeed Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time learning about his connection with his four Spirits. He felt very guilty now. The Snow Empress¡¯ words were very clear to him. If he died, all his Spirits, excluding the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, would be buried with him!

    Suddenly, his face turned red. He didn¡¯t know what to say. He had only achieved what he had today with the help of his Spirits. However, he had thought of giving up then.

    The Snow Empress groaned, ¡°I¡¯m telling you all this to make you understand. You aren¡¯t living for one person now, but for everyone. Yes, you might have faced some obstacles in your love life. However, you¡¯re a man. Can¡¯t you live without love?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head as he said, ¡°Snow Empress, I was in the wrong. I won¡¯t do it again.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± The Snow Empress gently acknowledged his words and said, ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to act like this. In fact, we aren¡¯t angry with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head again after hearing her words. ¡°Not angry with me?¡± He sounded a little astonished.

    The look in the Snow Empress¡¯ eyes had evidently turned gentler. She sighed slightly and said, ¡°We can understand what you¡¯re going through, and it¡¯s not easy. All these years, you¡¯ve been cultivating tirelessly and facing all sorts of dangers. You¡¯ve even been spiritually affected. To be honest, you¡¯re already very tough and resilient among all humans. If it were someone else the other day, he would have made the same choice too. This is why you shouldn¡¯t think too much. We can understand your decision. You¡¯re tired. The pressure on you has been too great.¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you something else. Remember that we are your Spirits. We are one with you. No matter what you do in the future, you must treasure yourself. It¡¯s the same as treasuring us. Moreover, you don¡¯t have to treat us as burdens or misgivings. We¡¯re part of you. That¡¯s why we should try to help you shoulder whatever burdens you have instead of giving you more pressure.¡±

 Chapter 486.3 - Elder Xuan is Wise

    <h4 ss>Chapter 486.3: Elder Xuan is Wise</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes started to turn red as he looked at the Snow Empress. In fact, in his heart, whether it was the Skydream Iceworm or the Ice Empress, they were reasons for why he felt stressed. He clearly knew what their objectives were in following him. If he couldn¡¯t fulfil them, he would be letting them down!

    The Snow Empress¡¯ words moved him greatly, and caused thest streak of distance between him and the Spirits in his body to vanishpletely.

    ¡°Thanks, Snow Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao sobbed.

    ¡°Call me Snow Lady. We know you¡¯re tired. That¡¯s why we won¡¯t force you in the future. Rest when it¡¯s time to rest, and rx when it¡¯s time to rx. Even against strong opponents, you have us. Long Xiaoyao was right. As an Ultimate Douluo, he has many ways of isting your connection with Di Tian. However, he doesn¡¯t know that you and I are the same entity. I¡¯m not some kind of greenhorn. As long as I¡¯m around, I can get into contact with the Beast God anytime I want, and inform him that you¡¯re in danger. Doesn¡¯t Di Tian want to restrict you? He¡¯s the first person you can turn to. You might as well make good use of him. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t have to be overly concerned for your own safety. Of course, it¡¯s still best to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Snow Lady. What about Little Bai? He¡¯s still at Heaven Dou City. I nned to ask you if you can contact him. I¡¯ll go to Heaven Dou City to find him now.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to Heaven Dou City.¡± The Snow Empressughed as she said, ¡°I already knew that you were going to ask me this. When Tang Wutong left with you, I had already signaled to Little Bai to tag along. In fact, I would have asked Little Bai to go over if not for the fact that Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t n to kill you. With him around, you should be able to retreat safely.¡±

    ¡°Where is he now?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, surprised.

    ¡°Outside Shrek City.¡± The Snow Empress said, ¡°I asked him to wait in the wilderness. Go and fetch him. After that, I believe that your fusion with him can begin.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was startled, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. When you were hurt that day, Long Xiaoyao first dispelled the poison from your body before healing your wounds. ording to his words, he wanted to drain your soul and spiritual power, as well as your energy, before letting you consume that thing. Once you absorb it, its effect will be greatest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, ¡°What thing? What exactly is that? What did Long Xiaoyao do to me?¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and was a little envious as she looked at him and said, ¡°That day, Long Xiaoyao gave you a dragon pill.¡±

    ¡°Dragon pill? What is that?¡± He asked, stunned.

    ¡°What?¡± The Snow Empress was speechless as she asked, ¡°You don¡¯t know what a dragon pill is? Oh, no wonder. It¡¯s a treasure in this world that you basically can¡¯t find.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was curious as he looked at her. He was waiting for her to exin.

    The Snow Empress continued, ¡°That¡¯s why a dragon pill is a pill from a dragon.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress couldn¡¯t help but chortle after seeing Huo Yuhao¡¯s speechless look, ¡°I¡¯m not wrong! Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s because your exnation is too good. A pill from a dragon. Why don¡¯t you call it a dragon¡¯s egg instead?¡±

    The Snow Empressughed, ¡°Dragon¡¯s egg? The effect of a dragon¡¯s egg isn¡¯t even as great as a dragon pill. Can you fertilize a dragon¡¯s egg? Even if you can, can you wait for it to grow up? A dragon takes many years to grow from a fetus to an adult.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a dragon pill, then?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    The Snow Empress answered, ¡°A dragon pill is an energy body that slowly forms after a Giant Dragon bes an adult. It contains the blood lineage of a Giant Dragon, as well as its origin strength. It¡¯s something a Giant Dragon uses to develop its spiritual senses. You can take it like this. A dragon pill from a Giant Dragon is like the soul core of a human soul master. It¡¯s even more important than a soul core. You have to kill a Giant Dragon to obtain its dragon pill.¡±

    ¡°So fierce? Why did Long Xiaoyao give me such a pill then? What effect will it have on me?¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked. It sounded like it was a great thing!

    The Snow Empress answered, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. However, I might have overheard that it had something to do with someone called Mu En. Mu En seemed to have asked for a favor. That¡¯s why he gave it to you.¡±

    ¡°Teacher?¡± Huo Yuhao said. ¡°Mu En is my teacher! Together, they were known as the Twin Dragons of ck and White. He was also an Ultimate Douluo, and thest Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He¡¯s very strong, and his martial soul is the Radiant Holy Dragon.¡±

    The Snow Empress was enlightened, ¡°I see. I don¡¯t know where they got that dragon pill. You really have it good.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me what a dragon pill is used for.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°Its greatest effect is to cleanse your body and strengthen your blood and bones. Simply put, after you consume the dragon pill, your body will be as strong as a Giant Dragon¡¯s. Even when you try to break through to be an Ultimate Douluo, you don¡¯t have to worry about your body not being strong enough.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. As an elite student of Shrek Academy, he naturally understood what a soul master¡¯s physical strength had to do with his cultivation. Usually, a soul master¡¯s physical strength was what limited him during theter stages of cultivation. This was especially relevant at the tier of Transcendent Douluo. Most times, it was because a soul master couldn¡¯t handle the surge of soul power.

    If the Snow Empress is right, does that mean I would have no problems cultivating all the way to an Ultimate Douluo in the future? It¡¯s not just a great thing! This dragon pill is indeed very powerful. Teacher, did you ask Long Xiaoyao for help? But why is he with the Holy Ghost Church then?

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was lost. He didn¡¯t understand what kind of agreement Long Xiaoyao had with his teacher to lead to what had happened. However, no matter what, it was great to have consumed a dragon pill.

    ¡°That is why your soul power reached all the way to a bottleneck. The dragon pill is transforming your body, and has taken form inside your body. Otherwise you would have imploded, given your cultivation. Long Xiaoyao must have been prepared.

    ¡°He used a part of the dragon pill¡¯s strength on your body, while the rest of its strength was used topress it in your chest. In the future, if you can form a soul core there, the strength contained within the dragon pill will be of great help to you. Long Xiaoyao has given you a big gift. Right now, we really see hope in you. It¡¯s not just because of your intelligence or talent. It¡¯s more because of your abilities. Do you understand?¡±

    After hearing the Snow Empress¡¯ words, Huo Yuhao still didn¡¯t understand, and looked at her with a confused look.

    ¡°You¡¯re really dumb. Had your brain turned to dust after being stabbed a few times?¡± The Snow Empress rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Think about it. How many different types of strength are there in your body? First, you have the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. I¡¯ve already absorbed arge part of the ice essence. You absorbed part of it too, and it¡¯s still in your blood. In fact, it will be of use when you try to reach Rank 90 and be a Titled Douluo. As you already have a soul core, it¡¯s much more difficult to form a second one. You¡¯ll need enough energy to support your endeavor. Otherwise, why did you think I would ask them to store all the ice essence? It¡¯s for when you form your second soul core.¡±

    ¡°While the dragon pill that Long Xiaoyao gave you might seem to contain less energy than our ice essence, it¡¯s still very immense. Furthermore, the strength of that dragon pill is much more dominant, and it¡¯s greatly helpful to your body. That¡¯s why ording to your current situation, you should form your second soul core in your chest and absorb the strength of that dragon pill. In that way, your body will evolve once again when you form your second soul core with the dragon pill as its core. Earlier, I mentioned that your strength would be simr to that of a Giant Dragon. What I meant was that it would happen after you absorb the strength of the dragon pill. But not now. Although you¡¯ve been strengthened, you¡¯re stillckingpared to a true Giant Dragon. However, things will be different after you absorb the strength of a dragon pill. Even your spiritual sea will be as stable as a Giant Dragon¡¯s then. So will your body. When you fight Di Tian in the future, you¡¯ll at least stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°This also means that you can form an unprecedented third soul core when you be an Ultimate Douluo in the future with both a dragon pill and the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words.Three soul cores sounds pretty good! I really have hope to be an Ultimate Douluo.

    The Snow Empress was annoyed. ¡°What kind of expression is that? Do you know what three soul cores means?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled and asked, ¡°Is it considered remarkable? Di Tian¡¯s soul power seems toe from his soul cores. How many soul cores does he have?¡±

    ¡°Idiot. With two main soul cores working together, one¡¯s soul power will be as powerful as Di Tian¡¯s. I¡¯m not too sure whether Di Tian has a third main soul core. He should. This means that your abilities will be as great as Di Tian¡¯s if you form three soul cores. You¡¯ll definitely be the strongest human in thest ten thousand years.¡±

 Chapter 487.1 - Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 487.1: Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!</h4>

    ¡°So fierce?¡± Huo Yuhao finally understood why the Snow Empress said she could see hope in the future from his strength. If he could possess power like that of Di Tian, then that meant he would be at the pinnacle of the world. When that happened, as long as he could obtain the Godly Seat, then bing a God would be the most natural oue.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it. I understand. Thank you, Snow Lady.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged sincerely. The Snow Lady was both teacher and friend to him now. She had been immensely helpful to him ever since the Snow Empress had truly awakened, and that was the case both on the battlefield and in teaching.

    The Snow Empress grunted and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for thanks. Even though I did say that you can rx when you should, you can¡¯t go overboard with that. You have to work hard at what you need to do. Alright, go and get Little Bai. I figure he¡¯s probably starving.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat. Wasn¡¯t that right? So many days had gone by, and yet he hadn¡¯t given Little Bai anything to eat.Right, there¡¯s still Big Mao and Second Mao too. They¡¯re still in my spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao allowed the Snow Lady to return to his body as he left the room. He found Nan Qiuqiu before he released Big Mao and Second Mao so that she could take them to get something to eat. He quickly ran out of the city.

    Huo Yuhao quickly found the Ice Bear King, Little Bai, with the Snow Empress¡¯ guidance.

    The Ice Bear King was still at a small river not far from Shrek City, and he was napping carefreely. He was still in human form with his enormous and protruding tummy, and he dipped his hands into the river water from time to time. He didn¡¯t even have to look, yet he grabbed a fish or two with every dip as he tossed them into his mouth before he swallowed them with a few bites.

    But how many small fish could there be outside the city? Furthermore, they weren¡¯t very big, and Huo Yuhao could tell from hiszy demeanor that his appetite was clearly unsatiated.

    ¡°Little Bai!¡± Huo Yuhao found him with Spiritual Detection from far away as he hurriedly called out.

    The Ice Bear King sprang to his feet when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice. He moved deceptively fast as he stared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction with a look of pleasant surprise.

    Huo Yuhao was suspicious about whether this fellow was staring at him so passionately and eagerly because he was hungry, or because he was starting to miss him.

    ¡°You¡¯re here, grandfather. I¡¯m starving.¡± Little Bai was almost stammering as he spoke. He even nudged his hands into his clothes as he put on a very pitiful look.

    Huo Yuhao stared at him as he shook his head exasperatedly. If this were made known to the public, who would believe that this ¡°man¡± was one of the strongest savage beasts in the Extreme North!? He looked just like a hungry little child with that aggrieved expression on his face.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Have your fill.¡± Huo Yuhao took out a pile of dried meat and fish from his storage-type soul tool for the Ice Bear King to eat.

    Huo Yuhao had his own ns. He wanted to bring this fellow back after feeding him. Otherwise, when he began to eat his fill inside the Tang Sect, he could possibly astonish the entire Tang Sect. He might possibly even cause mass panic and hysteria!

    There was no doubt that Huo Yuhao wanted to bring the Ice Bear King on his subsequent expedition to the frontlines. He had worked together with him twice now, and understood quite a bit about his strength from those experiences. Furthermore, his teamwork with the Ice Bear King and theirbined fighting strength was very effective, especially in limiting the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools. The Ice Bear King was someone who could rival a Transcendent Douluo¡¯s strength.

    The Ice Bear King couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else as long as he had something to eat. He just sat down and gobbled his food tedly.

    The Ice Bear King patted his stomach after munching for a good hour. Was it strange that this fellow immediately became so energetic and lively once he was full? Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless as he looked on.

    ¡°Where are we going now, grandfather?¡± The Ice Bear King immediately asked Huo Yuhao.

    The Snow Empress immediately came out from Huo Yuhao with a sh of white light and appeared in front of the Ice Bear King.

    ¡°Mother!¡± The Ice Bear King immediatelyy prostrate on the ground when he saw her, and he called out to her intimately.

    The Snow Empress blushed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me mother. Address me as Snow Empress next time.¡± She turned towards Huo Yuhao after that and asked, ¡°Yuhao, do you n to fuse with him right now, or a little whileter?¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood what she was trying to say. ¡°Are you saying that my soul power has reached Rank 80?¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and replied, ¡°Even though you¡¯ve only just reached that stage, you are actually at Rank 80. You should have no problem absorbing another soul ring, and that¡¯s the same with a Spirit. Little Bai won¡¯t resist you in any way, and after he bes your Spirit, your soul power will be boosted by at least another two ranks. That¡¯s because you have Ultimate Ice. Otherwise, a normal soul master¡¯s soul power would be boosted by at least four or five ranks.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard her words. Soul masters needed to umte much more soul power to raise their soul power by another rank after reaching Rank 80. A soul master reached a different stage after every ten ranks, and the journey after reaching Rank 80 had been coined the path to heaven. Bing a Titled Douluo was heaven, but how easy could it be to move towards bing a Titled Douluo?

    But that wasn¡¯t too surprising. Little Bai was a savage beast with more than two hundred thousand years of cultivation. Huo Yuhao would definitely receive a great boost in his cultivation after absorbing the Ice Bear King as a Spirit. He could even raise his soul power by two ranks even with his Ultimate Ice. That was strength that belonged to a Soul Douluo!

    Huo Yuhao hesitated, but then shook his head and said, ¡°Snow Lady, I can¡¯t bear to leave him. Is it really appropriate that he bes my Spirit?¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to hesitate about that. I wouldn¡¯t have been so certainst time. Have you forgotten what I just told you? Even I have seen hope in you, so you fusing with Little Bai is good for him. He won¡¯t disappear because of that anyway, and his consciousness will still be around. Even if you ask Ah Tai to do this, he would be willing to go for such an opportunity. This is an opportunity that soul beasts like us can only dream of. Therefore, you don¡¯t have to deliberate at all. Little Bai will definitely be willing.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m willing, I¡¯m willing.¡± Little Bai chimed in from the side without any hesitation.

    Huo Yuhao thought to himself in exasperation,Little Bai, oh Little Bai. You must have no idea what we¡¯re talking about, and you¡¯re just in a hurry to profess your loyalty. But this fellow is so cutely straightforward and honest.

    Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment, then said, ¡°Snow Empress, I think I¡¯m not going to fuse with Little Bai for now. I am about to go to the frontlines, where the Sun Moon Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire are locked in battle. Little Bai¡¯s support will be very important for us there. Let¡¯s wait until after our expedition. Furthermore, my soul power has just reached Rank 80, and my cultivation isn¡¯t stable or consolidated yet. I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡±

    The Snow Empress replied, ¡°That¡¯s up to you, then, as Little Bai can do it anytime. Bring him along, and you can fuse with him whenever you feel the need to. External strength is not as important as your own strength no matter how powerful it is. Furthermore, I can feel that Little Bai is bing increasingly close to his day of tribtion. Take him along, and you can absorb him as your Spirit as soon as you feel that something is amiss.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head and said, ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll rescue teacher Xiao Ya, and then I¡¯ll fuse with Little Bai immediately afterwards.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took the Ice Bear King back to the Tang Sect. He emphasized to Little Bai once more not to address him as ¡°grandfather¡± before entering the Tang Sect, and Little Bai was like a curious baby as he asked questions nonstop. In the end, Huo Yuhao told him that he wouldn¡¯t give him food to eat if he continued asking, and only then did he quiet down.

    ¡°Eh, who¡¯s that? Master.¡± Huo Yuhao ran into Na Na as soon as he stepped into the door.

    Several years had gone by, and Na Na¡¯s spirit and liveliness were vastly different from when she had first met Huo Yuhao. Na Na was both pretty and capable today, and she worked as a butler to the Tang Sect. Her status within the Tang Sect had grown exponentially, but the only characteristic that she couldn¡¯t shake off was that she would always address Huo Yuhao as ¡°master¡± every time they met. Huo Yuhao was toozy to correct her after a while.

    ¡°This is my friend,¡± Huo Yuhao introduced the Ice Bear King to Na Na.

    Na Na smiled at the Ice Bear King and said, ¡°Wee to the Tang Sect.¡±

    The Ice Bear King stared at Na Na and said, ¡°Hello, prettydy.¡± He had almost never had any contact with humans before, and he almost began to drool when he saw the beautiful Na Na.

    Huo Yuhao nudged him from the side, and only then did the Ice Bear King return to normal. He scratched his head embarrassedly before he followed Huo Yuhao inside.

    Bei Bei¡¯s office was torn apart by the explosion, and it was still undergoing repairs as he decided to move into the conference room to deal with administrative matters.

    He had arranged a series of jobs because he was in a hurry to rescue Tang Ya. He had gathered the Tang Sect¡¯s senior-level individuals for a meeting, and they had to discuss who was to participate in this operation. He was the eldest senior brother, but the Tang Sect¡¯s internal affairs and atmosphere had always been harmonious.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, you should let me go, no matter what. It¡¯s my turn.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had just stepped in through the door when he heard his second senior brother, He Caitou¡¯s voice. There was a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

    Bei Bei chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, Caitou. By rights, I should let you go out to take a walk, but you know about our situation in the Tang Sect. Teacher Xuan can¡¯t deal with everything by himself, and you are the best with soul tools next to our little junior brother. I am most assured with you directing things. You are stable, and I have decided to let you take over my role temporarily. What do you think?¡±

    He Caitou seemed a little depressed as he shook his head. ¡°No. Let me go, eldest senior brother. Why don¡¯t you let little junior brother remain? He¡¯s better than me at everything. With him around, everything within the Tang Sect will be dealt with neatly and impably. He hasn¡¯t been staying within our walls for quite some time, and he¡¯s always running into danger when he¡¯s outside. I think we should let him calm down a little inside the Tang Sect, and he can also help relieve your burdens.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t backstab me, second senior brother!¡± Huo Yuhao chimed in with augh.

 Chapter 487.2 - Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 487.2: Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!</h4>

    He Caitou turned around to look at him, andughed. ¡°What backstab? I would say the same even if you were in front of me. You have been too wild outside recently. We have been the ones dealing with so much of the sect¡¯s internal affairs, and it¡¯s your turn to stay back this time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not very good at resolving the sect¡¯s internal affairs! Eldest senior brother won¡¯t rest assured giving me those responsibilities, right? I¡¯m better at fighting instead. Furthermore, I¡¯m the Tang Sect¡¯s main control-type soul master, and if I¡¯m not there, everyone¡¯s strength will be greatly diminished.¡±

    He was a little worried that Bei Bei wouldn¡¯t let him go. Huo Yuhao¡¯s individual fighting strength was one of the best within the Tang Sect. More importantly, he was the only true control-type soul master within the Tang Sect. Everyone¡¯s overall fighting strength would be greatly boosted with him around. Furthermore, he had always been the one inmand in battles.

    Bei Bei nodded slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite impossible to fight in the outside world without little junior brother. The truth is, I do want him to keep him here to deal with the sect¡¯s internal affairs. Haih, we¡¯ll do that after this operation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nced at He Caitou proudly as He Caitou retorted dejectedly, ¡°You can¡¯t be biased, eldest senior brother! Don¡¯t we have Dean Yan and Elder Songmanding the team this time? Little junior brother¡¯s absence won¡¯t mean much.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately said virtuously, ¡°You can¡¯t say that, second senior brother. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools are developing very quickly, and I have been fighting against them consistently. I have a deep understanding of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s way of battle. Furthermore, the situation at the frontlines is still a mystery, and we don¡¯t know where teacher Xiao Ya is located. With my Spiritual Detection, searching for her will be a lot easier. Elder Xuan has already said: we have to confuse our opponents as much as possible in this operation. Your fighting strength with soul tools is so formidable, second senior brother, so what if we expose our academy¡¯s soul tool standards to them? Won¡¯t that undermine ourplete n?¡±

    He Caitou was rendered speechless by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. The truth was that He Caitou staying behind was most appropriate this time. However, he hadn¡¯t been outside for a long time, and was itching to do something. More importantly, Xiao Xiao was also participating in this expedition, and he was a little worried inside, as he wanted to protect her.

    ¡°I agree to let him stay behind.¡± A deep voice could be heard at this moment.

    Everyone turned towards where this voice came from, and it was Xuan Ziwen, who was sitting just below Bei Bei¡¯s position.

    Everyone else¡¯s words were probably not so effective, but Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words immediately made He Caitou smile.

    Who was Xuan ZIwen? He was the master of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, and he deserved much credit for the Tang Sect¡¯s recent developments. He held a very high status within the Tang Sect, and everyone in the Tang Sect¡¯s senior levels treated him with respect, like a teacher. He was Huo Yuhao¡¯s teacher in the first ce, and even Bei Bei had to respect his opinions.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately crumbled. ¡°Teacher Xuan, you¡­¡±

    Xuan Ziwen grunted and said ¡°You still have the audacity to talk back to me? How long have you spent not studying soul tool construction? Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re already a ss 7 soul engineer. Furthermore, I would not allow it even if you wanted to forgo your development as a soul engineer.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Xuan Ziwen confusedly. He remembered very clearly that he had made an agreement with teacher Xuan that they would focus on using all sorts of soul tools, and they would focus less on forging soul tools. They would focus more of their attention towards developing his abilities as a soul master. He had twin martial souls after all, and he was already a high-tier soul master at his current rank. His normal cultivation speed would be affected if he continued to train as both soul master and soul engineer at the same time.

    Of course, that was the reason Huo Yuhao had given back then when he was discussing it with Xuan Ziwen. The truth however, was that ever since he had obtained his spiritual soul core, and after he had absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, training as a soul engineer at the same time wouldn¡¯t affect his cultivation speed much.

    Xuan Ziwen snickered and said, ¡°You dug this hole for yourself, Yuhao. Do you remember those rare metals that you let Qiuqiu bring back here?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the Divine Ice Crystals?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m talking about those Divine Ice Crystals. I have never seen that kind of rare metal before, and I began to inspect it once she brought it back. I used all sorts of methods to investigate this rare metal¡¯s characteristics, and I have finallye to a conclusion.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen stood up as he stopped there. He surveyed everyone in the Tang Sect before he lowered his voice and said, ¡°The Divine Ice Crystal¡¯s quality isparable to any of the top-tier rare metals in the world today. Furthermore, it can only be equal or better. This means that the Divine Ice Crystals can be used to forge ss 9 soul tools, and it can even be used as materials for forging ss 10 soul tools. I¡¯ve heard from Qiuqiu that you obtained quite a bit of these things!¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded and said, ¡°Yes! I have obtained quite a bit of it. Teacher Xuan, I¡¯ll give it all to you. What do you think? After all, you can just forge a suitable soul tool for me when the timees.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen chuckled once more, and hisughter evidently meant something else as Huo Yuhao felt a chill run down his spine.

    Xuan Ziwen continued, ¡°Yes, the Divine Ice Crystal is very precious. However, you probably didn¡¯t realize that I can¡¯t craft things with the Divine Ice Crystals after inspecting them.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Xuan Ziwen in shock. ¡°Why?¡± Teacher Xuan had officially be a ss 9 soul engineer. Even though he had just broken through to ss 9, that was only because Xuan Ziwen had been restricted by his own soul power. In terms of his knowledge regarding soul tools and forging them, he was one of the best across the entire continent.

    What use were rare metals that not even Teacher Xuan could use to forge, no matter how precious they were?

    Xuan Ziwenughed coldly and said, ¡°That¡¯s because the Divine Ice Crystals will continuously release intense chills when used. This chilly air is at least one hundred degrees below zero, and at such temperatures, not even I canplete the job, even though I¡¯m already a Titled Douluo. Both engraving formation arrays and crafting tools require the utmost concentration, and not a single mistake can be made. How can I craft soul tools with them under such circumstances? This means that the Divine Ice Crystals are very good stuff, but you are the only one who can forge them into soul tools. That¡¯s because you are the only one with an Ultimate Ice martial soul, so you¡¯re not afraid of the cold exuding from that rare metal.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression froze, and only now did he understand what was meant by shooting himself in the foot. Wasn¡¯t that right? Teacher Xuan¡¯s words meant that he was probably the only one who could forge the Divine Ice Crystals into soul tools within the Tang Sect, and possibly within the entire academy. Furthermore, such top-tier materials had to be used to forge top-tier soul tools, and that couldn¡¯t be done without a lot of effort. He was still a ss 7 soul engineer in terms of forging soul tools. Teacher Xuan didn¡¯t want him to leave, and that was evidently because he wanted Huo Yuhao to continue learning about forging soul tools from him!

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, since these Divine Ice Crystals will release very low temperatures during forging, will that affect its quality? If all the coldness within was released, it won¡¯t have any value even if the forging is sessful.¡± Huo Yuhao asked probingly.

    Xuan Ziwen continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, because I¡¯ve conducted experiments a long time ago. I have called the Divine Ice Crystal a top-tier rare metal; how could I take it so seriously if I couldn¡¯t even resolve a problem a like that? Divine Ice Crystals will release very low temperatures when struck from the outside, or when soul power is infused into them, but once those actions stop, the low temperatures will recede. This means that its own energies will be contained, and it will maintain its original state. The constant change in its temperature means there¡¯s nothing I can do to it. Otherwise, I would have already attempted to forge soul tools with it. What do you have left to say?¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Can this wait until after I return?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Xuan Ziwen said decisively, ¡°you have been hanging around outside for so long, and you haven¡¯t been paying much attention to forging soul tools or working hard as a soul engineer. You will lose your skills if this continues. Don¡¯t think you can do what you like just because you¡¯re talented. You are still young, but your future will be limited if your heart isn¡¯t in the right ce. It¡¯s time for you to focus and curb your distractions. Therefore, I am not allowing you to go this time. You¡¯ll stay in the Tang Sect and deal with its internal affairs as you learn about crafting soul tools with me.¡±

    ¡°Very wise, Teacher Xuan!¡± He Caitou boot-licked at an appropriate time.

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even try. He can¡¯t go, and you can¡¯t go either. Yuhao is right that now is the time to keep a low profile and umte our strength. We cannot expose our strength at crafting soul tools to the Sun Moon Empire. Furthermore, your development in forging soul tools has reached the standard of a ss 8 soul engineer, so you¡¯d better stay at the academy to learn. I predict that once your soul power breaks through Rank 80, you will be a ss 8 soul engineer.¡±

    He Caitou pulled a long face and said, ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as it seems! I¡¯m only at Rank 75, Teacher Xuan.¡±

    ¡°You have to remain steady on your path,¡± Xuan Ziwen said inly, ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯ll be the only one left if you leave. Doesn¡¯t that mean all the work is going to be piled onto me? You won¡¯t be very useful even if you go, so you¡¯d better stay here and do some work. You can go out and do whatever you want once our three soul engineer legions have been established. For now, you are to do some hardbor for me.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± He Caitou dropped back into his seat. How could he dare to displease Teacher Xuan? He was still hoping for him to guide him to be a ss 9 soul engineer.

    Even though He Caitou was a little low-spirited because he hadn¡¯t been going out, his individual cultivation and his prowess with and understanding of soul tools had been improving exponentially over the past year. His strength was a far cry from what it was back in the day. Therefore, he didn¡¯t dare to retort even though he was depressed.

 Chapter 487.3 - Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 487.3: Huo Yuhao is Not Allowed to Go!</h4>

    Bei Bei nced at Huo Yuhao. He was still quite hesitant, as their operation¡¯s chances of sess would be greatly boosted if Huo Yuhao was present. However, Xuan Ziwen had given so much blood and sweat for the Tang Sect, and not even he could speak out against his wishes.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, what do I have to do so that you¡¯ll let me go? Actually, I haven¡¯t been cking in recent days!¡±

    Xuan Ziwen snickered and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t been cking? Alright! It¡¯s simple to prove that you haven¡¯t been cking. Soul engineers will use the soul engineers¡¯ method; all you have to do is forge a ss 8 soul tool for me and show that you can use it. Only then will you prove to me that you haven¡¯t been cking. Furthermore, you have to be able to use it perfectly. Otherwise, you will stay inside the sect, and not even think about going anywhere. And you can¡¯t leave until you be a Soul Douluo and until you can forge a ss 8 soul tool. What do you think of my idea, sect leader?¡¯

    Bei Bei nced at Xuan Ziwen, and then turned around to look at Huo Yuhao with a helpless look. Bei Bei would have pped his hands in apuse for what Xuan Ziwen was doing if they weren¡¯t heading out to rescue Xiao Ya. However, this operation was extremely dangerous, and everyone would be able to predict their opponents¡¯ moves preemptively with Huo Yuhao around. But he couldn¡¯t contradict Xuan Ziwen and cause him to lose face, so he could only nod as he said, ¡°I agree.¡±

    Bei Bei thought to himself,Little junior brother, oh, little junior brother. Make your own luck. Whose fault is it that you¡¯ve been spending so much time outside, to the point where not even teacher Xuan can look on anymore? There¡¯s nothing I can do to help you.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, that¡¯s too cruel. Can I forge a ss 7 soul tool instead?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m unaware that you have long been a ss 7 soul engineer. Even though there aren¡¯t many ss 7 soul tools you know to forge, crafting one with your spiritual power is not a problem, not to mention wielding one. You are a Soul Sage, and using a ss 7 soul tool is a piece of cake. There¡¯s no discussion. You have to forge a ss 8 soul tool.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°But, teacher Xuan, I haven¡¯t even seen a ss 8 soul tool¡¯s blueprint before. How can I do that?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen snapped, ¡°And you still have the cheek to tell me you haven¡¯t been cking?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Huo Yuhao knew that he probably couldn¡¯t get out of this. Teacher Xuan was extremely stubborn when he got serious, and nobody could say anything to change his mind. Huo Yuhao nced at everyone else, and realized exasperatedly that most of hispanions seemed to be rejoicing in his misfortune. Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s schadenfreude was most evident.

    Why isn¡¯t anyone helping me?Huo Yuhao was very aggrieved.

    ¡°Alright, teacher Xuan, I¡¯ll try. Can you give me blueprints for a ss 8 soul tool? If I can craft one and use it, you have to let me participate in this expedition. Can you give me a few days, eldest senior brother?¡±

    Bei Bei stared at him in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re really going to try, little junior brother?¡± A ss 8 soul tool?! Was that a joke? Before Xuan Ziwen had arrived in Shrek City, there were only several soul engineers within Shrek Academy who could forge ss 8 soul tools. Among them were Huo Yuhao and He Caitou¡¯s teacher, Fan Yu, along with Qian Duoduo, their vice-Dean. Not even the Valkyrie Douluo, Xian Lin¡¯er, was that confident in aplishing that task. In the end, Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s main focus was as a soul master. She was the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean back then more so because she wanted to gain some dignity back from Yan Shaozhe.

    Huo Yuhao was still so young! He was already struggling to craft a ss 7 soul tool back then, and it would be truly unbelievable if he could craft a ss 8 soul tool just like that.

    Bei Bei tilted his head and said, ¡°You are very stubbornly determined. If you want to try, then go for it. However, we will only wait three days for you, and then everyone will set off. I¡¯ll arrange some of the sect¡¯s various affairs within these three days, and you should make use of your time.¡±

    Since Bei Bei had approved Xuan Ziwen¡¯s request, he had to consider how to lead hispanions to rescue Tang Ya if Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t around. This was a serious matter, as they weren¡¯t that clear about the situation at the frontlines. He had to use these few days to gather some intelligence from the frontlines so that he could study it.

    Huo Yuhao was probably most adept at war and battle within the entire Tang Sect. No one else there had really participated in the war before, and even when they did, Huo Yuhao was the onemanding them. He Caitou and Huo Yuhao had participated in the Ultimate Soldier n before, but He Caitou was focused more on learning about support, mainly so that he could provide support for Huo Yuhao. Furthermore, He Caitou wasn¡¯t going this time either!

    Huo Yuhao had a look of exasperation as he said, ¡°Alright, three days, then. Teacher Xuan, please hurry and provide me with those blueprints. I will make that attempt now.¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed. ¡°You little rascal, now you know polish your spear before battle. You have been wilding so much outside, now it¡¯s time to sit down and focus. Go, let me see how you are going to craft a ss 8 soul tool. Oh, right, call me when you¡¯re about to start crafting it. Don¡¯t think you can smoke through this. Nobody can help you this time.¡±

    ¡°Do I look like someone who smokes through things?¡± Huo Yuhao retorted indignantly. However, his heart was pounding in his chest. The truth was that he had wanted to look for teacher Fan Yu so that he could ask for his help. Huo Yuhao was confident that he would have no problem using a ss 8 soul tool.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s idea of using a ss 8 soul tool perfectly meant that he wanted Huo Yuhao to unleash the soul tool¡¯s full potential and strength. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be so confident back then, but everything was different now because he actually had a cultivation rank that was worth eight soul rings! Even though he hadn¡¯t obtained his eighth soul ring, using a ss 8 soul tool wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    Seems like I can¡¯t take any shortcuts anymore,Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh inside.Since that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll just work hard at giving it a try. Teacher Xuan still doesn¡¯t know that I have a spiritual soul core, and I have improved a lot at controlling the more delicate and fine aspects of forging a soul tool. I might actually have a chance.

    Xuan Ziwen had already handed over a stack of blueprints. A high-level soul tool couldn¡¯t be detailed clearly with just one blueprint. The soul tool had to be spit into its shell, formation arrays, how it was assembled, how it was activated, and other crucialponents. Every blueprint detailed aponent, and the soul engineer still had to assemble everything after forging thoseponents and experiment with it to ensure that the soul tool would be perfect.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned gray when he saw those blueprints. Xuan Ziwen was undoubtedly deliberately trying to make things difficult for him. There were more than thirty blueprints in this stack; not even a ss 8 soul tool should be soplicated.Teacher Xuan is clearly certain and correct that I don¡¯t have a ss 8 soul tool of my own, so he deliberately found one that is hard to forge and extremelyplicated even amongst ss 8 soul tools for me. You¡¯re so mean, Teacher Xuan.

    Those were Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts, but he wasn¡¯t angry at all. Xuan Ziwen was doing this for his own good, and Huo Yuhao was very clear about that. He knew that it was about time for him to settle down and focus on studying and cultivation. However, they were going to rescue Tang Ya this time. How could he not participate?No matter, I¡¯m going to give everything in this attempt. It¡¯ll be my fault if I really can¡¯tplete this task.

    Huo Yuhao took the blueprints and immediately turned to leave.

    ¡°Hey, Yuhao, what about me?¡± The Ice Bear King, Little Bai pointed at his own nose and asked.

    Everyone had already noticed this fatso, but there was definitely no problem with him since Huo Yuhao was the one who had brought him back, so nobody asked any questions.

    Huo Yuhao thought about it and said, ¡°This is my friend, eldest senior brother. He wille with us to rescue teacher Xiao Ya. Can you arrange somewhere for him to stay? I will provide his food. I¡¯m going to take my leave. Second senior brother, can you apany me and help me prepare some materials?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was part of the Tang Sect¡¯s core, but he wasn¡¯t very familiar with the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall. This was especially so because the Soul Tool Hall had been continuously refurbished and renovated in recent months and years, and Huo Yuhao really didn¡¯t know where to find the rare metals that he would need. In order to prevent Teacher Xuan from trapping him even more, Huo Yuhao decided to ask He Caitou for help.

    He Caitou chortled as he stood up and apanied Huo Yuhao out. The truth was that he really wanted to see how Huo Yuhao could forge a ss 8 soul tool. He Caitou had been working very hard over the past year, and could even provide some help when Xuan Ziwen was crafting ss 8 soul tools. However, He Caitou wasn¡¯t confident at all in forging a ss 8 soul tool all by himself. After all, crafting a ss 8 soul tool was too delicate, and one needed formidable spiritual power and soul power for support. Furthermore, the materials needed for a ss 8 soul tool were very rare and precious. The more high-ss and rare a material was, the more soul power expended in forging a soul tool. Many techniques in crafting ss 8 soul tools had to bepleted in one go, and such a feat couldn¡¯t possibly be done without sufficiently powerful soul power.

    Huo Yuhao left with He Caitou, while Bei Bei and the others continued to discuss who would remain. He Caitou was definitely staying behind, while Na Na epted Bei Bei¡¯s order with a bitter look on her face. If Bei Bei wasn¡¯t there, the Tang Sect would descend into chaos if their great butler wasn¡¯t around.

    Bei Bei felt that the Tang Sect needed someone to hold down the fort. Jing Ziyan decided to stay behind after their final discussions. As everyone¡¯s strength increased, Jing Ziyan knew that her abilities were alreadygging behind the Tang Sect¡¯s prodigies, and she couldn¡¯t do much to help even if she participated. She had be a Soul Emperor far earlier than many of the Tang Sect¡¯s individuals, but amongst the Tang Sect¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, almost everyone now either had seven soul rings, or were almost there, besides Wang Dong¡¯er, who had gone missing while her soul power was only at Rank 67. Furthermore, her martial soul didn¡¯t have any advantages, and thus she decided to stay behind so that she could actually contribute to the Tang Sect. She was one with her husband anyway, and even if she didn¡¯t go, Ji Juechen would still definitely participate. The sword fanatic¡¯s thirst for battle was far too strong.

    Besides Jing Ziyan, Bei Bei decided after thorough consideration that he would bring along the rest of the Tang Sect¡¯s core individuals. This operation was very important, and Huo Yuhao might not be able to participate. It was evident that their operation would fail if they didn¡¯t have sufficient strength.

 Chapter 488.1 - Class 8 Decomposition Cannon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 488.1: ss 8 Dposition Cannon</h4>

    The final decision was for Bei Bei to take the leading role, while Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Ji Juechen, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu would all participate. Of course, Huo Yuhao would have a spot on the team if he could pass his test. However, nobody believed that he could actually do it.

    Bei Bei and four others from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were part of this operation, excluding Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. In addition to the sword fanatic, who was also a Sou Sage, along with Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, who were two Soul Emperors with special martial souls, their overall strength was unprecedentedly powerful.

    Of course, Bei Bei was very clear on the difference between having Huo Yuhao around and going on without him. Simply put, even if they encountered a Titled Douluo, Huo Yuhao would give them a chance to kill their opponent with these prodigies¡¯ prowess. Without Huo Yuhao, the best they could do was protect themselves.

    But Dean Yan and Elder Song, who were two Transcendent Douluo, would also participate in this expedition. Their chances were probably quite good.

    Bei Bei began to prepare intricately after he decided who was to participate in this expedition. He had to make sure that the Tang Sect¡¯s affairs were properly settled and arranged within the shortest possible time. At the same time, he had to make a trip to Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department so that he could request Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo¡¯s support, and so that these two Deans could help him temporarily look after the Tang Sect. To that end, the Tang Sect wouldn¡¯t run into any problems.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any energy to see how his eldest senior brother was arranging things; his thoughts were entirely upied by how to forge a ss 8 soul tool.

    There was only one set of blueprints, and he didn¡¯t get to choose. Since he didn¡¯t get to choose, then he had to rely on his own effort.

    Fortunately, he had He Caitou to help him. Even though he and He Caitou had conflicted with each other for a chance to participate in this expedition, they were brothers after all, and how could He Caitou sit by and watch when his brother was in trouble?

    The brothers entered one of the well-equipped silent rooms within the Soul Tool Hall. Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that the silent room¡¯syout was very particr and exquisite. There was an extremelyrge tform for crafting soul tools in the middle, and this tform¡¯s surface was silver-white, while there were all sorts of equipment and configurations around it. This seemed very simr from the one that he had used back in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, though this one was probably better. The reason was because there were some equipment and configurations that even he didn¡¯t know about.

    There were many metal racks and frames around the silent room. These racks weren¡¯t considered pleasing to the eye, but they were very practical, and that was because all sorts of rare metals were ced on these metal racks in all shapes and sizes. Typically, the more precious a rare metal was, the smaller the pieces on the racks would be.

    Forging soul tools would naturally be a lot more effective with a silent room such as this one.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with admiring the Soul Tool Hall¡¯s current development as he walked briskly before the table andid out the blueprints that Xuan Ziwen had given him. Then, he started to study them closely.

    This was the first time that he had seen such detailed andprehensive blueprints of a ss 8 soul tool, but this wasn¡¯t the first time that He Caitou had seen such blueprints.

    He Caitou¡¯s expression changed a little as he saw them. He couldn¡¯t help but utter, ¡°Teacher Xuan is cruel enough! Little junior brother, do you know what these blueprints are for?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still looking at the rare metals that this soul tool required, but he hurriedly turned his attention towards the name on the blueprints¡¯ first page when he heard He Caitou¡¯s words. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also became extremely spectacr when he saw the name.

    ¡°Dposition cannon!¡± The soul tool¡¯s name was just two simple words, but Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath.

    Of course he knew about dposition cannons, and such soul tools appeared in various sses. However, dposition cannons of the lowest ss urred as ss 6 soul tools.

    A dposition cannon was a single-target offensive soul tool, and its core principles included the element of space and making use of space¡¯s pyrolytic properties to create formidable destructive power. Dposition cannons were one of the hardest types of soul tools to forge no matter which ss they were in, while they were also considered one of the strongest single-target offensive soul tools within their respective sses.

    That was the reason why He Caitou remarked that Teacher Xuan was cruel. He was, indeed! Even Xuan Ziwen himself would have to put in some effort if he were to forge a ss 8 dposition cannon himself. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could vaguely remember that Xuan Ziwen had mentioned that ss 8 dposition cannons were impractical and a waste of time. It had formidable attacking power, but forging it required too much effort, while the time and effort needed to forge such a cannon was enough to forge three other ss 8 soul tools. Even though these individual soul tools would have weaker attacking strengths, the three of them added together would still be stronger overall than a single dposition cannon.

    Yet, Teacher Xuan has chosen to use this dposition cannon to stump me. Teacher Xuan, oh, Teacher Xuan. You are too cruel.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to cry, but no tears woulde. But what else could he do? There was nothing he could do against Teacher Xuan¡¯s authority.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a long sigh as he concentrated on studying those blueprints.

    Huo Yuhao had to make sure he knew what rare metals these blueprints required before he could gather those resources. He couldn¡¯t do anything more without sufficient materials, or everything else wouldn¡¯t matter, and he wouldn¡¯t even a chance to attempt this feat. What else was there to talk about?

    Fortunately, Xuan Ziwen just wanted to see what Huo Yuhao could do after cking for so long. Therefore, there were no problems with resources even though he deliberately chose a difficult ss 8 soul tool to pin him down.

    Shrek Academy had been receiving support from the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires in secret. They didn¡¯t have that many rare metals, but they could be considered well-equipped. Even though their haul couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s scale, the three empires¡¯bined national strengths were sufficient to support all kinds of research and soul tool production.

    Huo Yuhao used one hour to gather all the materials that he required with He Caitou¡¯s help, and only then did he begin perusing the blueprints for forging this soul tool. His expression quickly changed after just one look.

    Soplicated, this is just tooplicated! Teacher Xuan, you¡¯re asking for my life!

    Huo Yuhao felt like he couldn¡¯t take it anymore after going through the blueprints for a little while. Twenty-four pieces out of thirty were for designing formation arrays. Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯tin if twenty-four formation arrays were needed, because that was just a quantitative problem. He wouldn¡¯t have any trouble with that with his speed at crafting soul tools.

    The problem was that these twenty-four pieces actually depicted just three formation arrays, which meant that every formation array had eight pieces on average, and what did that mean? That meant every formation array was asplicated as one could get. Those weren¡¯t simple two-dimensional pictures ¨C they were all three-dimensional ¨C they even breached topics of four-dimensional spatial features.

    For instance, the most important formation array hovered within the soul tool. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had even heard of a formation array being used this way, not to mention ever having seen one.

    Huo Yuhao felt like he didn¡¯t know where to start.A ss 8 soul tool. It really is a ss 8 soul tool after all!

    Huo Yuhao heaved a long sigh.Does heaven want to punish me?

    Huo Yuhao began to scrutinize those blueprints after momentary sighs andments. He was never one to admit defeat just like that, and he had a defiant personality that made him stronger the more suffering he took.

    Huo Yuhao quickly immersed himself in his studies. He wasn¡¯t hasty to attempt to forge the soul tool, but he just studied and interpreted the blueprints intently.

    From Huo Yuhao¡¯s perspective, forging wasn¡¯t too difficult. Forging a ss 8 soul tool shouldn¡¯t be too difficult with his current soul power. That was especially so because he had support from his formidable spiritual power. With his spiritual soul core, Huo Yuhao was confident that his spiritual power wasn¡¯t inferior evenpared to a ss 9 soul engineer.

    The crucial problemy in understanding this soul tool¡¯s principles and its forging method before he could get any work started.

    He Caitou was still watching from one side in the beginning, but he quickly realized that Huo Yuhao had beenpletely absorbed into the blueprints. He Caitou was also staring at these blueprints seriously from the side, and even though these blueprints were soplicated that he wanted to vomit blood, they were still invaluable treasures for soul engineers like them! Not every soul engineer could obtain blueprints of such top-tier soul tools, and that was especially soul for the Douluo Continent¡¯s three original empires. Top-tier soul tool blueprints were considered extremely rare.

    However, He Caitou felt like he couldn¡¯t keep going anymore after observing for a short while. The ss 8 dposition cannon¡¯s blueprints were absolutely the mostplicated ones amongst the various blueprints of ss 8 soul tools that he had seen. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t justplicated. He Caitou felt like his head was spinning after just looking at those three-dimensional blueprints for a short while.

    He Caitou knew that he wascking in spiritual power. Even though he was already working very hard, he knew that his spiritual power could only catch up after his soul power passed Rank 85 for him to consider these blueprints.

    He stole a nce at Huo Yuhao, and discovered that Huo Yuhao was very seriously studying them, but he didn¡¯t seem like he waspletely lost. He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge of admiration and envy.Little junior brother¡¯s spiritual power is truly admirable!

    Soul engineers were more reliant on spiritual power in some sensepared to soul masters, and that was more the case as soul engineers became stronger.

    Time continued to pass. He Caitou apanied Huo Yuhao for another two hours inside the silent room before he left quietly, as he knew that he could no longer help him in here. He didn¡¯t know how much time would pass before Huo Yuhao would awaken from his contemtion.

    He Caitou left quietly, and informed the Tang Sect¡¯s other members that nobody was to disturb Huo Yuhao.

    One day passed in the blink of an eye, and Huo Yuhao had been inside the silent room from the beginning to the end. He Caitou came to visit him twice discreetly, and Xuan Ziwen even came to see Huo Yuhao once. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t speak, and neither did he move as he stared at those blueprints, like his entire being waspletely immersed within them.

    He Caitou sighed exasperatedly, while Xuan Ziwen was feeling happy inside. Of course, he knew how difficult it was to forge a ss 8 dposition cannon. This was meant to deliberately stump Huo Yuhao, after all.

    Xuan Ziwen was clear that bing a ss 9 soul engineer was his limit with his talents. That wasn¡¯t because his abilities at research weren¡¯t enough, but because he didn¡¯t have enough soul power. He couldn¡¯t possibly be a Transcendent Douluo in the future, and if he couldn¡¯t be a Transcendent Douluo, then he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to try to be a ss 10 soul engineer in the future.

 Chapter 488.2 - Class 8 Decomposition Cannon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 488.2: ss 8 Dposition Cannon</h4>

    Therefore, even though he had be a ss 9 soul engineer, his understanding about all that was far deeper than before. That was the reason why he came to realize how important Huo Yuhao was as a prodigy, and that only Huo Yuhao could carry on his legacy and work towards breaking through and bing a ss 10 soul engineer. Therefore, Xuan Ziwen gave some deep thought about this, and decided that he had to find some way to convince Huo Yuhao no matter what, so that he would properly learn about forging soul tools from him. Under such circumstances, he needed Huo Yuhao to remain. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t his intentions just be empty thoughts?

    Xuan Ziwen wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯tplete the dposition cannon, but he didn¡¯t wish to see Huo Yuhao not have any solutions at all. From what he could see, if Huo Yuhao could at least immerse himself within those blueprints, then he definitely would gain some understanding of them. That was enough for him.

    Huo Yuhao was a youngster who had just be a ss 7 soul engineer. What else could Xuan Ziwen expect from him, if Huo Yuhao could understand a ss 8 dposition cannon, which had aplexity that came close to a ss 9 soul tool? As long as Xuan Ziwen could guide him, and in addition to his continuously improving cultivation, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t need more than one or two years before he could be a ss 8 soul engineer. Xuan Ziwen was very clear about Huo Yuhao¡¯s talents. That fellow was just too talented. Not only was he intelligent, but he also had formidable spiritual power supporting him, so he had a much easier time forging soul tools than other soul engineers.

    On the second day, Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t moved or spoken, neither had he eaten or had anything to drink. He Caitou was starting to get worried, and he conveyed what he saw to Bei Bei. Bei Bei personally spoke with Xuan Ziwen, and he wanted to interrupt Huo Yuhao so that he could stop, but Xuan Ziwen stopped him.

    ¡°What? Stop? What kind of joke is this? Do you know how difficult it is for a soul engineer to be so immersed in his own studies? He can only truly experience the beauty of soul tools if he is frequently immersed in them and experiencing revtions from them; only then can he improve quickly. Not to mention two days, he can spend half a month not eating or drinking with that body of his without a problem. The deal has been struck anyway, you guys will wait three days for him. If he doesn¡¯te to after three days, you guys can just leave without him.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen stopped Bei Bei irritably. From his perspective, Huo Yuhao was like a qualified soul engineer in his current state. He was more than eager for Huo Yuhao to continue being in such a state.

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t convince Xuan Ziwen, so he had no choice but to allow He Caitou to continue sending food and water to Huo Yuhao.

    But Huo Yuhao paid no attention to all that. His eyes didn¡¯t shift away from those blueprints. He Caitou once observed Huo Yuhao closely for a little while, as he was afraid that Huo Yuhao was in a daze from scrutinizing those blueprints, but he quickly realized that Huo Yuhao waspletely fine.

    The reason was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was changing throughout the process. Sometimes he would frown, and sometimes he would express pleasant joy. There was a time when Huo Yuhao even mmed the table with his hand, which startled He Caitou.

    It was evident that Huo Yuhao was just immersed in his own research, and there was nothing wrong with him.

    Two days had gone by while Huo Yuhao was still like that. The third day quickly arrived.

    Bei Bei had already made all the necessary arrangements for the Tang Sect. Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo, their two Deans, had agreed to his request to take care of the Tang Sect, and they told Bei Bei toplete his task assuredly. However, Elder Xuan had also given them a time limit; everyone had toe back within one month, whether or not they could rescue Tang Ya. The Tang Sect needed them after all, and the Tang Sect¡¯s development was rted to their resistance against the Sun Moon Empire in the future.

    ¡°The third day ising, and little junior brother seems like he won¡¯t being with us.¡± Bei Bei said helplessly to Xu Sanshi.

    They were about to depart the next day, so they made some final preparations.

    Xu Sanshi pulled a long face and replied, ¡°I wonder why teacher Xuan is so determined this time. I¡¯m honestly not confident at all without little junior brother around! I didn¡¯t feel that wayst time, and he has always been the one nning strategies and whatnot. We¡¯re about to go onto the battlefield by ourselves this time, and I am a little lost about where to start.¡±

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Seems like we have to train a little. Otherwise, won¡¯t we beughingstocks?¡±

    Xu Sanshi snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew. Who will be the main control-type soul master without Yuhao? You, or me? Or who else? Not even sister Ziyan is going, and Ziyan can still be considered a half control-type soul master. Seems like Xiao Xiao has to take this role, but her control only works within a small area of effect, and when the battle is spread out over arger area, she probably can¡¯t keep everything under control. Bei Bei, why don¡¯t we look for Teacher Xuan to convince him to let Yuhao go this time? He¡¯ll learn properly when he gets back.¡±

    Bei Bei sighed and said, ¡°I know how important little junior brother is. However, Teacher Xuan¡¯s attitude is very resolute. You know that the Tang Sect couldn¡¯t have developed so quickly in recent months and years without him, and we couldn¡¯t have had so much support from the academy. Teacher Xuan doesn¡¯t typically ask anything of us, so I can¡¯t reject his request this time when he is so determined. Furthermore, he usually has a casual personality, but he¡¯s very stubborn when he¡¯s decided on something. I¡¯ll only infuriate him if I look for him again. Forget it, let¡¯s just work hard by ourselves. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have too much trouble rescuing Xiao Ya with Elder Song and Dean Yan around.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s all we can do,¡± Xu Sanshi replied exasperatedly, ¡°alright, I¡¯m going back.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stood up as he spoke, when a voice suddenly came from outside. ¡°Done, he¡¯s done.¡±

    Both Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were momentarily stunned as He Caitou charged in from outside with an excited look on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s done?¡± Xu Sanshi asked confusedly.

    He Caitou said excitedly, ¡°Little junior brother is done going through the blueprints, and he¡¯s starting to forge the soul tool. He¡¯s asked me to look for Teacher Xuan. I¡¯m here to ry this good news before calling him.¡±

    Xu Sanshi shook his head helplessly and said, ¡°Are you alright, second senior brother? Are you saying that he will seed after he¡¯s done going through the blueprints? Won¡¯t that make bing a ss 8 soul engineer too easy? You can go look for Teacher Xuan.¡±

    ¡°Yes! He might not seed at forging the soul tool even though he¡¯s done with the blueprints,¡± He Caitou forced augh as he pped his forehead, ¡°I just watched little junior brother stare at blueprints for three days, and my thoughts went sideways that he would definitely seed when I saw that he was finally getting down to crafting it.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing sideways about that. Little junior brother might actually seed. Isn¡¯t he very adept at creating miracles?¡±

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°I also think there¡¯s hope. That¡¯s because soul engineers have to understand a soul tool¡¯s principles before forging it, and they have to figure out a soul tool¡¯s blueprints such as this one that they¡¯ve never seen before. Little junior brother has been going through them for almost three days, and he¡¯s finally getting to work. Perhaps he¡¯s doing that because he¡¯s out of time, or perhaps he has really understood them. I¡¯m leaning towards thetter, as little junior brother never does things without thinking. Therefore, he will only have a chance at forging the soul tool if he can understand those blueprints. Even if he isn¡¯t yet a Soul Douluo, he has twin martial souls, so his soul power is stronger than most other soul masters at the same rank. Maybe he can really do it, and his spiritual power is just so formidable. Alright, I¡¯m going to look for Teacher Xuan, and you guys can go take a look if you¡¯re interested. Let¡¯s cheer little junior brother on together, and hope that he¡¯ll seed.¡±

    He Caitou ran out excitedly after his speech to notify Xuan Ziwen.

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi exchanged a look, and they almost uttered at the same time, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was done with the blueprints, but he didn¡¯t start forging immediately. Instead, he drank some water, but didn¡¯t eat anything as he sat down with his legs crossed while he began to meditate.

    Huo Yuhao had spent almost three days on these blueprints, and he had consumed a lot of energy doing that. How could he craft a ss 8 soul tool without his energy in perfect condition? This was his first attempt!

    Huo Yuhao was still meditating when Xuan Ziwen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou slunk into the silent room, and he seemed to be deep in meditation.

    Everyone besides Xuan Ziwen was a little stunned when they what he was like.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded instead and said, ¡°That¡¯s good, he still knows that he should regain his energy before making this attempt. Seems like he¡¯s very confident! Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±

    Waiting around was typically very torturous. At least, that was the case for most people, but Huo Yuhao quickly gave them a reason to remove that torturous feeling, because something was happening to his body.

    Huo Yuhao only had faint soul power undtions before, but as time continued to pass, those undtions started to change. Furthermore, those changes were extremely weird.

    Faint gold colors began to emanate from inside his body. That was very normal for most people, as they would think that it was just his soul power presented externally. Most people could reach this state when they were unbridled and they didn¡¯t need anyone to protect them.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was just so dominant. A terrifying aura that resembled that of an ancient awakening beast rippled from his body as the faint golden light continued to flow out in waves. Everyone inside the silent room, including Xuajn Ziwen, began to felt a little stifled, and found it difficult to breathe.

    ¡°Is he using Imitation when he¡¯s meditating?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked snappily.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Bei Bei¡¯s expression became solemn. He was well-aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, and they were inside the Tang Sect. How could he be using soul skills when he was meditating? But what was going on with that golden light that was emanating from his body?

 Chapter 488.3 - Class 8 Decomposition Cannon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 488.3: ss 8 Dposition Cannon</h4>

    Huo Yuhao quickly gave his answer as fine,pact scales began to appear on his skin. These scales were diamond-shaped, and even appeared three-dimensional, as the center of every scale protruded upwards. Under such circumstances, there were many reflections off the surface of these scales, and that made the faint golden light radiating from his body even more brilliant and eye-catching. Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable aura continued to rise, and every instance gave everyone a kind of frightening pressure.

    ¡°If we hadn¡¯t been so used to spending so much time with this fellow, we¡¯d probably think he¡¯s a savage beast in human form!¡± Xu Sanshi said admiringly.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura that resembled a savage beast finally stabilized. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. At least they didn¡¯t have to channel soul power to resist that tremendous pressure. But their eyes quickly widened, because a strange ck whirlpool gradually appeared in the middle of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows. Everyone felt their spiritual seas quiver vigorously when that whirlpool appeared, and formidable spiritual power was immediately unleashed from within it like a hurricane.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was released for just an instant, but that instant sent everyone stumbling backwards uncontrobly.

    His spiritual power was released and withdrawn in a single instant, but it was released again in the next moment.

    ¡°I can¡¯t handle it anymore. I¡¯ll step out for a little while.¡± Xu Sanshi turned and left the silent room with a stifled look on his face.

    Bei Bei and the others also walked out with strange expressions on their faces. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was too strange, and under such circumstances, they were continuously sustaining spiritual shocks. That was more painful than being in a fight, because they couldn¡¯t fight against it either, as resisting would likely create shocks to Huo Yuhao.

    The only person who didn¡¯t leave was Teacher Xuan, who was already a ss 9 soul engineer.

    Xuan Ziwen stared at Huo Yuhao with widened eyes, and his mouth hung slightly agape as a look of disbelief filled his eyes.

    That¡­ what is that whirlpool?

    The others in the Tang Sect didn¡¯t know, and that was because they weren¡¯t at that level yet, but Xuan Ziwen was!

    Shrek Academy had wanted to express their gratitude for his contributions to the Soul Tool Department, and several Transcendent Douluo had personally helped him from his soul core. Even though his foundations weren¡¯t very secure, as he barely became a Titled Douluo, and he could be stuck at Rank 91 for his entire life, Xuan Ziwen could probably spend his entire lifetime without bing a Titled Douluo otherwise with his foundations. If he couldn¡¯t do that, he couldn¡¯t be a ss 9 soul engineer.

    He knew how difficult it was to form a soul core because he had done it himself. Back then, he felt as if he had died, and he felt very deeply about how powerful and frightening a soul core was.

    But what was he looking at now? The center of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyebrows was filled with formidable spiritual power undtions, and it seemed to release and withdraw spiritual power along with his breathing. It seemed like a soul core!

    But how¡¯s that possible? He¡¯s just a Soul Sage, so how can he have a soul core? It was very difficult for me to form my own soul core when I was breaking through to be a Titled Douluo. Wouldn¡¯t he have a much harder time forming a soul core as a Soul Sage?

    But judging from the spiritual undtions that areing from the center of his eyebrows, that is a soul core! God! Will this fellow give me a very pleasant surprise? No, that¡¯s not possible. Even if his spiritual power is strong enough, he can¡¯t possibly finish forging a ss 8 soul tool like this one. Forging soul tools requires more than just powerful soul power. A soul engineer also needs powerful soul power to support him. Otherwise, the soul engineer will find it very difficult toplete everything in one go. He also has to be able to use a ss 8 soul tool perfectly in our deal, and a dposition cannon expends a lot of soul power.

    Xuan Ziwen gradually calmed down as his thoughts stopped there. However, when he felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual undtions and felt his own undtions from his soul core, he still discovered some differences. At least, what made him more gratified was that Huo Yuhao¡¯sthingthat was simr to a soul core couldn¡¯tpare to his own soul core in terms of overall strength.

    Then that is definitely not a soul core. Yes, doesn¡¯t he have that Eye of Destiny? Maybe this is his Eye of Destiny¡¯s unique appearance.Xuan Ziwen continued to console himself. He had never heard of a Titled Douluo who could establish a soul core between his eyebrows.

    Xuan Ziwen turned and left as well. Staying in the silent room and continuously resisting Huo Yuhao¡¯s sporadically appearing spiritual power wasn¡¯tfortable at all.

    Everyone was still outside when he left the room. Huo Yuhao was still meditating, so they naturally stayed back to protect their junior brother.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t you think Yuhao¡¯s aura is a little strange? Why do I not remember him having such formidable spiritual power before? Can it be that he has run into another miracle in the time he¡¯s spent outside?¡± Xu Sanshi asked curiously.

    He Caitou was deep in thought as he nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t remember his spiritual power being that powerful. Furthermore, his soul power seems to have changed. I have no idea where that aura that resembles a savage beastes from, and the golden light radiating from his body doesn¡¯t seem to being from his soul power. It goes from in to out, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Feels like he himself has turned golden.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m a soul engineer, not a soul master. You have to bring these questions to the Titled Douluo in Shrek Academy. Anyway, I don¡¯t care what he¡¯s doing, and he¡¯s not leaving unless he can forge a ss 8 soul tool.¡±

    Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi exchanged a helpless look. They still wanted to try to convince Xuan Ziwen, but it seemed like they should dispel that thought to prevent the bitterness of being rejected.

    Huo Yuhao meditated for a shorter time than everyone imagined he would. Two hourster, the soul power undtions from inside the room gradually receded, and a gentle hum that resembled a dragon¡¯s roar could be heard.

    ¡°This fellow. If he¡¯s done, then he¡¯s done. Why is he calling out?¡± Xu Sanshiughed as he chided, and he was the first back inside the silent room.

    However, he realized something was wrong once he came back, and that was because Huo Yuhao was still sitting there with his legs crossed and his mouth clothed. The dragon hum from his body was still resonating, but that sound seemed toe from his chest. The dragon hum was faint, and it seemed to form a feedback loop with his soul power as it resonated.

    What¡¯s happening?Xu Sanshi turned around and nced at Bei Bei. Bei Bei had a dragon-type martial soul, and if he didn¡¯t know, Bei Bei should know.

    However, Bei Bei¡¯s expression showed the same astonishment. It was evident that he couldn¡¯t understand anything that was happening with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was startled as he gradually opened his eyes. His senior brothers and sisters were all here, and even Ji Juechen, the sword maniac, was here.

    Ji Juechen almost wasn¡¯t in time, but Jing Ziyan immediately ran to call him when she witnessed the strange things happening to Huo Yuhao. Ji Juechen was very interested in and curious about any kind of special circumstances, especially when they were happening to Huo Yuhao. Therefore, he hurried over as quickly as possible. But he couldn¡¯t understand anything that was happening to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re all here, eldest senior brother?¡± Huo Yuhao sprang to his feet.

    Huo Yuhao waspletely reinvigorated, and he was in his peak condition after more than two hours of meditation.

    At his current cultivation rank, not eating for a few days wasn¡¯t a big deal. Furthermore, he possessed immense energy from the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and that was enough to sustain his energy expenditure. Even if he didn¡¯t meditate, his soul power would be continuously rising, as his spiritual soul core¡¯s greatest benefit was that it helped a soul master cultivate in every instant.

    Xuan Ziwen took a few steps forward and came before Huo Yuhao. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s not much time left, and nighttime has befallen us. If you haven¡¯t forge the dposition cannon before daybreak, then you will stay here with me.¡±

    Even though he suspected that Huo Yuhao already had his own soul core, now wasn¡¯t the time to ask him. Xuan Ziwen had to wait for him to stay back before asking him. From his perspective, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly forge a ss 8 soul tool no matter how prodigious he was.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re very cruel, Teacher Xuan. You didn¡¯t have to give me such aplicated one even if you want me to forge a ss 8 soul tool. This soul tool breaches knowledge about space, and you would have stumped me if I hadn¡¯t gained some understanding of spatial power in recent weeks.¡±

    ¡°What? You understand something about spatial power?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s expression was full of disregard. ¡°Do you know what spatial power is? That¡¯s something that only Titled Douluo or stronger individuals are worthy of studying. You little rascal, hurry up if you¡¯re going to it, and stop dying. I will be watching from the beginning to the end so nobody can help you cheat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to cheat. Even though I¡¯m not that confident, I¡¯m still going to try. Let me warm up.¡±

    He walked behind the working tform as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately calmed down as he entered the are around the working tform, and even his aura seemed to be warm and calm. Xuan Ziwen was very satisfied about that point. Even though his prized student hadn¡¯t been conducting any research into soul tools or forging them in recent months, he didn¡¯t throw away too much regarding forging soul tools. At the very least, Huo Yuhao¡¯s theory and concepts were still sound.

    Huo Yuhao was just standing there quietly, and he was silent for about thirty seconds as he adjusted his breathing, heart rate, soul power undtions, and even his spiritual power. He allowed every inch of his aura to enter a certain rhythm.

    Xuan Ziwen still had a scornful look on his face in the beginning, but his expression quickly gave way to one of surprise, and that was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s current state was too simr to that of a very powerful soul engineer.

 Chapter 489.1 - The Eighteen Ice Needles

    Chapter 489.1: The Eighteen Ice Needles

    Adjusting one¡¯s breathing and spiritual power are things that I¡¯ve not taught him before! How did he manage to do it? Xuan Ziwen was puzzled as he looked at Huo Yuhao. Right now, he was more and more interested to know how his student managed to achieve such a standard.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao moved. He wasn¡¯t quick. He casually grabbed a piece of rare metal and ced it in a mold. After that, he lifted a forging hammer and started to hammer the piece of rare metal.

    Is he making the outer shell first? Xuan Ziwen revealed a skeptical look on his face.

    For a soul engineer, the core formation should always be produced first when making a soul tool. This was because creating the outer shell of even an advanced-tier soul tool wasn¡¯t very difficult. The real difficultyy in the core formation.

    However, Huo Yuhao wanted to manufacture the outer shell first. What was he doing?

    In fact, he had thought too highly of Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao only chose to make the outer shell first for one reason. He was too raw!

    He had not seriously manufactured a soul tool for a long time! Thest time he did so was during the tournament in Radiant City. Even though he had managed to understand the blueprint over the past two days, what if he made a mistake if he started with the core formation? He had to practice first and get used to the feeling of making a soul tool. This was what he did.

    A slight error when making the outer shell could be rectified. However, the core formation would be useless with even the slightest problem. He would then have to start over again, which was a waste of resources.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want that to happen. This was why he started with the outer shell first to get back into the feeling of making soul tools.

    ¡°Ding, ding, ding¡­¡± A series of crisp sounds resonated. At the start, Huo Yuhao was still rather slow. However, he gradually picked up speed.

    This was because the rare metal in front of him was very clear. Every minor detail on it was under his perusal. Under such a circumstance, he didn¡¯t need to think too much. In addition, he felt that he was simply too slow, given how strong his spiritual power was. This was why he naturally picked up speed. In others¡¯ eyes, he actually looked pretty quick.

    As he forged the metal, it sounded as if raindrops were drumming rhythmically against banana leaves. Not only was it pleasant, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements were also very delightful.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded repeatedly as he watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements. There were generally two ways to make the outer shell of a soul tool. In one, the metal could be directly punched after creating a mold. This would allow the metal to take shape in one go. This was more applicable forrger-scale soul tools. The second way was to use Huo Yuhao¡¯s current method of forging the metal himself.

    It wasparatively easy to forge the metal on the carving table, since there were all sorts of equipment he could turn to.

    However, Huo Yuhao was so quick that Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t achieve the same standard if he were in his ce. What this required was stability and uracy. At the same time, one¡¯s observations had to be quick.

    The inner parts of a piece of rare metal weren¡¯tpletely stable. This was applicable across all rare metals. This was why any changes to a rare metal had to be carefully observed when it was being forged, even if it was only for an outer shell. This allowed for the most effective use of rare metals.

    Although Huo Yuhao was quick, he was urate. Under his control, the lines on the metal were forged such that they were very neat. From this, it was evident how sturdy his basic foundation was. Xuan Ziwen was originally very displeased with howckluster Huo Yuhao was performing during this period of time, but this displeasure slowly faded away. No matter what, Huo Yuhao was a student that he had nurtured!

    Very quickly, the first piece of the outer shell was created. It was time for the second piece.

    With the first piece as experience, Huo Yuhao quickly adapted, and found it much easier with the second piece of the outer shell. Furthermore, the soul power undtions that he released from his body soon disappeared.

    Oh? This kid is using his own strength to forge the metal? Won¡¯t his muscles be sore?

    Sore? Huo Yuhao felt as if he had the strength of a ten thousand year soul beast even if he didn¡¯t use his soul power. Ever since he had fused with Wang Qiu¡¯er, his strength had grown significantly. More recently, he had even absorbed Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence and a dragon pill. With these two treasures, he felt as if he were a human savage beast. When he fully absorbed all the medicinal power of the dragon pill, he would truly be a human savage beast.

    Although rare metals were tough, he was already as strong as a Titled Douluo. This was nothing to him.

    Very soon, Xuan Ziwen discovered that his worries were unfounded. Piece after piece of the outer shell was created by Huo Yuhao. Furthermore, he was also getting faster and faster. Giving up the use of his soul power had no effect on him at all. asionally, he even lifted his head tough. Even still, the forging hammer stillnded very urately on the rare metals before him.

    A genius is a genius! Xuan Ziwen raved in his heart. From Huo Yuhao, he fully understood how a spiritual-type soul master always had an edge over ordinary soul masters with regards to creating and researching soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao only took an hour to create the outer shell of a ss 8 dposition cannon, which required more than forty external essories.

    Every part of the outer shell presented a beautiful streamlined design. Even with Xuan Ziwen¡¯s strict standards, there were no ws at all.

    Afterpleting the outer shell, Huo Yuhao moved slightly. After that, he started to move the pieces of the soul tool on the carving table.

    Everyone knew that he was about to start on the core formation, which was the most important part of a soul tool.

    It was evident howplex the core formation of a ss 8 soul tool was. Moreover, this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first attempt at a ss 8 soul tool! Not to even mention that Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t confident about his chances, everyone around also didn¡¯t think that he would seed.

    However, Huo Yuhao was veryposed right now. His expression was very calm, and there was even a confident smile on his face. This baffled many people. They knew Huo Yuhao very well, and knew that he was great at creating miracles. This was the reason why they were willing to wait here and witness the birth of a miracle.

    Xuan Ziwen only stood there quietly and watched. He wasn¡¯t rushing Huo Yuhao, only waiting for him to do his stuff.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a piece of rare metal and focused. At the same time, he lifted his right hand and made a grabbing gesture toward that piece of rare metal. His eyes also turned dim-golden.

    His gentle spiritual power was like ady¡¯s hand. Itnded gently on that piece of rare metal. To others, Huo Yuhao was only unleashing his spiritual power. However, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that the piece of rare metal started to show closely-woven lines. These lines were the blueprint that he remembered.

    Even though he had long since memorized the blueprint, he still carefully projected it on the rare metal using his spiritual power to ensure that things went smoothly.

    He didn¡¯t use the carving knife on the table. Each of the fingertips of his right hand now had dark gold des at the end of them. Wasn¡¯t this his Darkgolden Terrorws?

    However, he didn¡¯t fully unleash his Darkgolden Terrorws. He only revealed an inch. In this way, he could achieve the same effects as using a carving knife. His Darkgolden Terrorws couldpare to most of the carving knives on the carving knife leaderboard.

    It wasn¡¯t that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to use his Life Guardian de. It was because his Life Guardian de had grown toorge. It was no longer in the shape of a carving knife. It wouldn¡¯t be very smooth using it.

    His five fingers gently tapped the rare metal before his wrist started moving. Suddenly, everyone saw a dark-golden light sh before five slivers of rare metal slipped off the original piece.

    Carving using five des simultaneously?

    He Caitou opened his eyes wide. Even Xuan Ziwen was stunned.

    Following this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s five fingers started to move gently and rhythmically. It was as if he were gently caressing the rare metal. Slivers continued to fall from the piece he was working on. The outeryer was soon being carved out. Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions weren¡¯t quick, but He Caitou and Xuan Ziwen both knew that his carving method was much faster than the traditional method of carving a core formation.

    The general shape of the core formation was soon carved out.

    However, a smile soon surfaced on Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face.

    That¡¯s right. Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions were shocking, but pleasing. However, he realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions weren¡¯t that magical. During this carving process, Huo Yuhao had only carved the outer shape of the core formation. He hadn¡¯t touched the most delicate part of it yet. He only simplified the carving process for the outside. The true essence of the core formation would depend on how well he didter on. Furthermore, this was only one of the twenty-four core formations required.

    The difficulty of creating this ss 8 soul tooly in how tobine twenty-four core formations into three core formations. This required all twenty-four formations to bepletely wless throughout the entire process. During thebination of these formations, immense soul and spiritual power was needed as support before the entire process could bepleted.

 Chapter 489.2 - The Eighteen Ice Needles

    <h4 ss>Chapter 489.2: The Eighteen Ice Needles</h4>

    Huo Yuhao indeed slowed down. He retracted his other four fingers before using his left hand to pick up the rare metal. Only his right index finger continued to make minor carvings on the metal. Even though he was still quick, he was now much slower than before.

    Metal scraps continued to fall, and Huo Yuhao was extremely focused.

    Even though it was only the first out of twenty-four core formations, it was still much moreplex than the central core formations of many ss 7 soul tools. The more advanced the soul tool, the more difficult it was to make. It was just like soul masters and soul engineers ¨C the higher the cultivation, the more difficult it was to achieve.

    Xuan Ziwen felt a sense of nostalgia as he watched Huo Yuhao. Then, when he was still in the Sun Moon Empire, he had relied on a ss 8 dposition cannon to be the youngest ss 8 soul engineer in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. At the same time, he became their chief researcher!

    He was really high-spirited then. It was a pity that his power was restricted in the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Eventually, he was poached by Huo Yuhao, and came to the Tang Sect.

    However, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t regret his choice at all. Ever since he hade to the Tang Sect, he had shown respect. At the same time, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy didn¡¯t skimp on providing him with all types of resources. Otherwise, how could he have be a ss 9 soul engineer in such a short period of time?

    Although Xuan Ziwen knew that he wasn¡¯t inferior to anyone else in terms of soul tool research, he was also very aware that his foundation in terms of his soul power cultivation was very poor. Initially, he had relied on all sorts of medicine to be a Soul Douluo. Before he reached ss 9, he believed that anyone with seven rings in the Tang Sect could easily defeat him if he didn¡¯t use a soul tool.

    Normally, he was very busy with work. He didn¡¯t even have time to think about daily matters. Now that he finally had the time to rest, all types of thoughts ran through his mind. However, he was still very fixated on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was going faster and faster. From his initial unfamiliarity, he slowly regained the feeling of making a soul tool. Even he himself was delightfully surprised by that.

    This rare metal seemed to have been erged in his eyes. Even some very minor details were attended to under his meticulous observation.

    At the start, he didn¡¯t dare to use any carving techniques. However, as time passed, he found things much easier using his spiritual power as a guide.

    Very soon, his first core formation had beenpleted. He carefully ced it at a corner of the carving table. He then picked up his second piece of rare metal and started to carve it.

    Xuan Ziwen took a few steps forward and silently picked up that first core formation, carefully observing it. After a brief moment, he nodded and put it back in its original position.

    This kid has indeed not been cking.This was the appraisal that Xuan Ziwen gave after seeing the core formation.

    From the fact that Huo Yuhao could create a core formation in such a short period of time, it was evident that he was a qualified ss 7 soul engineer. He was even one of the more experienced ones.Perhaps I should let him try one of the simpler ss 8 soul tools. He might sessfully create them.

    Of course, this was only an instantaneous thought in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mind.

    Huo Yuhao was already getting faster and faster. The creation of the second core formation took only four-fifths of the time he needed to make the first core formation.

    All twenty-four core formations were being built for the same goal. There were three groups of eight, and each group had their own simrities. Furthermore, they were also interlinked in some aspects.

    Huo Yuhao took two hours to finish the first group of core formations. The eight formations were neatly arranged on the table.

    Xuan Ziwen revealed a weird expression on his face when he saw this.

    He could still clearly remember that he had taken a total of six days to finish creating a ss 8 dposition cannon when he was still a ss 8 soul engineer. As for the first group of core formations, it had taken him three days.

    It was the same core formations. The first group was the most difficult. It was only at theter stages that one could proceed faster as he grasped the technique.

    This kid has actually seeded? At least it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s made a mistake. It¡¯ll be even easierter on. Surely he hasn¡¯t made a mistake, has he?

    Xuan Ziwen wanted to remind Huo Yuhao that he could take a break halfway into making an advanced soul tool to recharge.

    However, when he looked at Huo Yuhao, he immediately discovered that Huo Yuhao was very energetic. He didn¡¯t seem the least bit tired at all!

    He doesn¡¯t need to rest then.Xuan Ziwen thought to himself wickedly.

    He turned around and walked out. He found that it was already dark outside. From the sky, it seemed like it was six hours to daybreak.

    Hmph, if he can¡¯t finish before daybreak, it won¡¯t count even if he seeds in the end. Furthermore, so what if he seeds? If it can¡¯t be used, he¡¯ll still lose.

    Even Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t realize that his mentality had already changed. At the start, he had believed that Huo Yuhao was destined to fail. Right now, he was already starting to think of ways to keep Huo Yuhao behind. The change wasn¡¯t gradual.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know what Xuan Ziwen was thinking. He waspletely invested right now.

    It was indeed much easier toplete the second grouppared to the first group. However, he wasn¡¯tcent at all. This was because he knew that any ws could result in total failure.

    This was a ss 8 soul tool. He needed to pour in soul power to link theponents. If there were problems with the internal structure of the core formations, the entire formation would be disabled. When that happened, his efforts would be futile, and he would have wasted precious rare metals too. That was something he didn¡¯t hope to see.

    One by one¡­

    As Huo Yuhao did his work, he was also counting. As time passed, he felt that his movements were getting more and more fluid.

    I¡¯ve seemed to be better from not practicing! Hehe, Teacher Xuan should be rather astonished.

    However, this thought only shed across his mind before disappearing. This was because he almost made a mistake from being this slightly distracted.

    In fact, his improvement from ack of practice was an anomaly. As for the reason, it was because his cultivation had risen too quickly. Using his immense spiritual power as support and his originally sturdy foundation, he managed to remain error-free as he had immersed himself in the research of soul tools over the past few days.

    No matter howplex the core formations of a ss 8 soul tool were, they were still core formations. What was needed was only more effort, soul power and experience.

    Huo Yuhao definitely sorelycked experience. However, he had an advantage in the other aspects. The soul power of a soul master with twin martial souls was greater than most other soul masters of the same tier. Right now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had only reached Rank 80, but he had the soul power of an ordinary Rank 85 Soul Douluo. This also meant that his actual cultivation wasn¡¯t too far from a Titled Douluo. After all, he already had a soul core!

    The second group waspleted!

    Huo Yuhao let out a long breath. After he finished his second group of core formations, he finally lifted his head and stretched his neck to rx.

    ¡°What time is it, eldest senior?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°It¡¯s only four more hours to daybreak.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao responded before he got to work once again.

    The rest had already returned to rest. Only Bei Bei, Ji Juechen, Xuan Ziwen and He Caitou remained in the room.

    It was normal for He Caitou and Xuan Ziwen to remain behind. However, Ji Juechen caught everyone by surprise by staying as well. He didn¡¯t say anything either, and only stood where he was like a target board. He silently observed Huo Yuhao. There were undtions in his eyes, as if he were thinking of something.

    The others didn¡¯t disturb him. This Sword Fanatic had a different mindset from ordinary people. However, his cultivation speed didn¡¯tgpared to those from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Right now, he was sparring less and less with the others. However, there was an obvious improvement every time he did so. In addition, he had identified one opponent, and kept going to that opponent. This relieved the pressure on many others. This person that he had identified was Xu Sanshi.

    Ever since Xu Sanshi gained the Xuanwu Shield and fused with the Golden Tortoise, his abilities were on the rise. He had even beaten Ji Juechen. In addition, his defense was so strong that he was unafraid against Ji Juechen.

    In the Tang Sect, Ji Juechen was known for having the strongest offense, while Xu Sanshi had the strongest defense. It was only right for the two of them to spar. Xu Sanshi avoided Ji Juechen, as he didn¡¯t want him to find him.

    Huo Yuhao only took one hour to finish the second group of core formations. However, he slowed down on the third group. This was because the third group of core formations was the mostplex. The requirements for precision were also much greater. There was one formation that was in the center of the entire formation. This formation was the smallest, but the mostplex.

    It was only the size of a cherry, but the patterns that had to be carved on it were veryplex. There were easily two or three times more patterns in this one than there were in the others.

    Huo Yuhao firstpleted the seven other formations in the third group before he started on this mostplex formation.

    He was very careful, and slowed himself down. The golden lights in his eyes were much brighter than before. This was because he was afraid of making even the slightest error.

    Xuan Ziwen silently watched at one side. He had a look of admiration by now. He didn¡¯t know what to say about this student in front of him.

 Chapter 489.3 - The Eighteen Ice Needles

    <h4 ss>Chapter 489.3: The Eighteen Ice Needles</h4>

    He Caitou was slumped at one side. Originally, he had thought that Huo Yuhao had wasted his learning on soul tools after more than a year of hard work, and that he would have caught up with him because of that. However, it seemed like he didn¡¯t manage to do so. He even seemed to havegged further behind. The gap between their talents couldn¡¯t be closed so easily with hard work!

    However, his slump onlysted for an instant. He Caitou was also very tenacious. Even if he couldn¡¯t catch up right now, that didn¡¯t mean he would forever be behind. At a certain standard, persistence, luck and intelligence all yed very important roles.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped as he was halfway through carving his core formation. Xuan Ziwen was surprised when he stopped. Although he really wished for Huo Yuhao to stay and learn more about soul tools with him, he also subtly hoped that Huo Yuhao would seed.

    Sessfully creating an advanced-tier soul tool was a great confidence booster for a soul engineer. This was why he felt very conflicted right now.

    It was very critical for a soul engineer to finish a core formation in one go. Stopping halfway was a recipe for disaster!

    However, following this, Xuan Ziwen saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny slowly opening.

    Rose-gold sun rays spread from the Eye of Destiny. Very soon, they covered his entire forehead. The spiritual undtions in the room suddenly became very strong. Whether it was He Caitou, Bei Bei, Xuan Ziwen or Ji Juechen, they could clearly sense that their spiritual seas started to surge under the stimtion of that immense spiritual power.

    His spiritual power is so strong! Is it really possible for a Soul Sage to possess such immense spiritual power?

    Xuan Ziwen suddenly lifted his hand and shut his mouth. This was the only way he wouldn¡¯t exim.

    He only took a nce at the Eye of Destiny before he saw the deep whirlpool within it. As he quickly shifted his gaze away, he was already shocked in his heart. If it was only a guess earlier, he was fully certain now.Yes, Huo Yuhao has a soul core. It¡¯s even a spiritual soul core. He only has seven rings, seven rings!

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s actions didn¡¯t catch anyone else¡¯s attention. This was because they also saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s reaction was the quickest. He had the strongest willpower. In his heart, there was only his sword and Jing Ziyan. There was nothing else. This was why he quickly shut his eyes when he found out that Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t right. At the same time, he started to think about his sword intent. This helped him to break free from the weird spiritual undtions.

    Bei Bei was like Ji Juechen. Although he wasn¡¯t as pure as Ji Juechen, his willpower was still very strong. Once he discovered that something was amiss, he immediately lifted his hand to cover his eyes. At the same time, he unleashed his Radiant Holy Dragon and circted his soul power to protect his spiritual sea. This was why he wasn¡¯t too greatly affected.

    Xuan Ziwen was a Titled Douluo. Although he was astonished, he was fine.

    He Caitou was the only one who was in trouble.

    He was originally astonished by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul engineering talents. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened, he only felt dizzy before he was drawn in by Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core. He couldn¡¯t shift his eyes away, and subconsciously took a step forward.

    However, he discovered something was wrong after taking this step. He tried to shut his eyes, but he realized he couldn¡¯t do so.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was simply too strong. Furthermore, his soul core was spinning at the greatest speed the moment he opened his Eye of Destiny because he was too focused. This was why he was so greatly affected.

    Fortunately, there were others in the room.

    Xuan Ziwen immediately rushed to He Caitou¡¯s side and quickly covered his eyes. He then smacked He Caitou¡¯s shoulder with his other hand.

    He Caitou jolted awake from his astonishment. As he twisted his head to look at Xuan Ziwen, there was already a horrified look on his face.

    Xuan Ziwen sighed and shook his head to signal He Caitou not to look at Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao had already resumed carving. This time, he was evidently faster. Scraps of metal slipped off his fingernail. The small metal ball seemed to be dancing in his hands.

    Can he really seed?

    No one knew the answer to this question, including Huo Yuhao himself.

    However, that tiny metal ball kept on changing. The dense patterns on it increased and increased. At the very end, the entire metal ball was shaped like a fretwork, and strange soul power undtions gradually surfaced within it.

    Xuan Ziwen took in a deep breath before slowing letting it out. Before, he had used an entire day to finish this core formation. It was also then that he felt as if he had reached the peak of his abilities in terms of soul tool production.

    He would never forget that feeling. But right now, Huo Yuhao proved to be in better shape than he was back then. Furthermore, he had seen the blueprint for less than three days. He didn¡¯t have any experience or knowledge of how to create ss 8 soul tools!

    Two hours passed. Huo Yuhao finally slowed down. There were beads of perspiration falling off his forehead. However, he was still as focused as ever. He didn¡¯t waver at all. His immense spiritual power ensured that he was still fully concentrated.

    He¡¯s about to finish it!Xuan Ziwen subconsciously clenched his fists.

    Yes, I¡¯m about to finish it!Huo Yuhao said to himself.

    He was only left with the final step, but this was a very difficult step to take. Thisst carving required him to twist his de eighteen times consecutively in one go before the patterns could be engraved. This didn¡¯t just require control of his spiritual power, but also strong soul power to support this motion. This was because thisst carving was inside the rare metal. He needed to condense his soul power into a thin needle to perform the carving. Even a needle-shaped tool wouldn¡¯t work, because it wouldn¡¯t be sharp enough. Also, the angle couldn¡¯t be controlled as freely as it could with his soul power.

    This piece of rare metal in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was very tough. He needed to carve it using his soul power, twist his ¡®needle¡¯ eighteen times consecutively, and do everything with the same magnitude of strength. Unless one was a Soul Douluo, all of these were almost impossible.

    Xuan Ziwen had the urge to ask Huo Yuhao to stop right now and let him finish this final step. In this way, Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous efforts wouldn¡¯t be wasted. Otherwise, if he failed, it would deal a huge blow to him.

    Just as he was hesitating, Huo Yuhao had already started.

    His left thumb and index finger pressed gently against the core formation. Even though he only touched it with his fingertips, his grip was still very sturdy. He had also retracted his Darkgolden Terrorws. A small, jade-green needle-shaped light slowly appeared on his fingertip.

    Ice needle!

    Following this, Huo Yuhao moved his fingers. His body shone with jade-green light, while the ice needle that he had formed pierced into the core formation delicately. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, it started to twist.

    The entire thing was a little raw. It wasn¡¯t perfectly smooth. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop at all. His Eye of Destiny shone even brighter, illuminating his soul core.

    Hepleted this eighteen-rotation carving. He didn¡¯t even know some of the techniques because he had never learned them before. However, how did heplete it? Using his own way, he drained twice the amount of soul power.

    Xuan Ziwen was filled with questions and astonishment right now. He couldn¡¯t believe that someone could be so talented.

    However, whether he believed it or not, Huo Yuhao still continued. In addition, he was still pouring out his soul power with even greater speed. The small core formation was already exuding dim silver light. This was evidently the result of pouring in his soul power. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t his ice-type soul power, but his pure soul power. There weren¡¯t any elements to this soul power.

    This also meant that Huo Yuhao was multi-tasking right now.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s facial muscles were contorting. However, he was already numb in his heart. Was this a miracle? No, it wasn¡¯t a miracle to him anymore. It was aplete wonder.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± A light sound was heard. Huo Yuhao¡¯s jade-green ice needle brought out thest scrap of metal. The core formation had already been activated as Huo Yuhao poured in his soul power, and it now magically drifted in mid-air. There were tiny but obvious spatial cracks around the dim silver light. There were indeed spatial elements!

    This most vital core formation had finally beenpleted. Huo Yuhao let out a long breath and held onto the carving table as he panted.

    All twenty-four core formations had beenpleted, along with the outer shell of this soul tool. What Huo Yuhao had to do next was piece them all together before he was fully finished. Without a doubt, this assembly process would require greater soul power and technique. However, was he troubled?

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head and smiled at Xuan Ziwen. ¡°Teacher Xuan, do we still have time?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen turned gloomy. ¡°Cut the crap. Be serious.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s attitude was very positive, and he respectfully acknowledged Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words. After that, he immediately began, and started to piece theponents together.

    Doesn¡¯t he need to rest for a while?

    His arms opened to either side of his body. After this, he raised them up. Suddenly, the other seven core formations in the third group all flew up and drifted in mid-air.

 Chapter 490 - Im Rank 80

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 490: I¡¯m Rank 80</h4>

    There was an invisible air current around Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms that was guiding these pieces of metal.

    ¡°Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.¡± Bei Bei muttered softly.

    The seven pieces of metal slowly gathered. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, they were congregating towards the silver ball that drifted in the air.

    This works?This time, Xuan Ziwen was watching with a learning attitude.

    Among the three groups of core formations, this was the group that was the most difficult to form. The difficultyy in the fact that the core formations had to be joined together as the soul master poured his soul power into them. There wasn¡¯t any room for error at all.

    Even if he could do it, he would still need some tools toplete it. But right now, he was only using his own abilities. Wasn¡¯t he afraid that his soul power was insufficient?

    His spiritual soul core spun quickly, and provided arge amount of soul and spiritual power to Huo Yuhao. The seven core formations that were in the air were under his strict observation. He adjusted their positions and slowly but steadily joined them together.

    When they were only an inch from the silver ball, Huo Yuhao stopped them, then poured his soul power into all of them at the same time. Immediately, these seven core formations brightened and exuded gentle silver light. At this point, Huo Yuhao carefully controlled them as theybined.

    With his Spiritual Detection in action, he didn¡¯t need to worry about any errors.

    ¡°ng!¡± An apple-sized group of core formations had been formed. Blinding silver light was rapidly sucking away Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power.

    Among these eight core formations, there were energy-storing core formations. This ss 8 dposition cannon had to maintain the cirction of soul power within it as a means of stabilizing the spatial power.

    Xuan Ziwen waspletely in a daze right now.How did Huo Yuhao make this process seem so simple?

    Huo Yuhao let out a long breath as he saw the silver metal ball drifting in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ve finallypleted the critical step.¡±

    Following this, he joined the other two groups of core formations. Since he had already joined the most difficult group, the other two groups were naturally not a problem for him. The next step would be the instation process.

    The dark sky slowly turned deep blue. Dawn was about to arrive. Huo Yuhao carried the one and-a-half-meter ss 8 dposition cannon that was shining with dim silver light as he stood in front of Xuan Ziwen.

    He has actuallypleted it.

    Xuan Ziwen subconsciously took the cannon in his arms. He didn¡¯t even need to test it. He had personally watched Huo Yuhao create it. Even though he didn¡¯t use a conventional method, he didn¡¯t make any mistakes throughout the entire process.

    Huo Yuhao pulled a chair over and sat down. ¡°I¡¯ve finally finished it within the time limit. Teacher Xuan, can I go this time?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen used one hand to hold the cannon as he grabbed Huo Yuhao with his other hand, saying, ¡°Yuhao, did you learn how to create soul tools from someone else?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°No! Didn¡¯t you see how raw I was?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s lips moved, ¡°Raw? You call this raw? You managed to make a ss 8 soul tool after seeing the blueprint for only three days. It¡¯s even aplex dposition cannon. You dare to call this raw?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed. ¡°Teacher Xuan, have you forgotten? I was able to make a soul tool above my ss before! When I was a ss 5 soul engineer, I could already make a ss 6 soul tool. That¡¯s why it¡¯s really nothing much. My spiritual power is above average. I have a natural advantage when creating the core formations.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was a little speechless now. A genius indeed couldn¡¯t be measured usingmon logic!This kid has be a ss 8 soul engineer just like that? Isn¡¯t this too ridiculous?

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t go. I want you to remain and learn the basic knowledge of a ss 8 soul engineer under me. I have the confidence that you¡¯ll be a ss 9 soul engineer as long as you can be a Titled Douluo in the future. Furthermore, what we reallyck now is a talented soul engineer. No matter what, you can¡¯t leave this time.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Seeing how persistent Xuan Ziwen was, Huo Yuhao waspletely annoyed now. ¡°Teacher Xuan, you can¡¯t go back on your word! Didn¡¯t we agree? If I make this dposition cannon, you¡¯ll let me go. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back within a month.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was adamant. ¡°No. Do you know how precious one month is? If the war continues, do you know when the enemy wille? Furthermore, I¡¯m not going back on my word. You haven¡¯t finished this dposition cannon. Don¡¯t tell me that you can make this soul tool unleash its full strength, even though an eight-ringed Soul Douluo would find it difficult?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned weird as he looked at Xuan Ziwen.

    Bei Bei patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Yuhao, why don¡¯t you stay behind? I¡¯ve already arranged things on the other side.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, eldest senior. It would be fine if it were something else. But we¡¯re going to save Teacher Xiao Ya this time. I have to go. Teacher Xuan, though I don¡¯t wish to contradict you, I have to tell you that I can perfect the use of this dposition cannon if that means that I can participate in the mission.¡±

    ¡°Rascal, are you out of your mind? It¡¯s already not easy for you to create a ss 8 soul tool. You still want to go above your ss and try to use it? Creating it and using it are two different concepts.¡± Xuan Ziwen rambled furiously.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, my soul power is already at Rank 80. In addition, I have twin martial souls. I have a natural advantage in terms of the total amount of soul power I have. Additionally, the purity of my soul power and the recovery ability of my spiritual soul core means that I can even try a ss 9 soul tool.¡±

    ¡°What? Rank 80?¡± Xuan Ziwen wasn¡¯t the only one who eximed this time. Bei Bei, He Caitou and Xuan Ziwen all eximed at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, ¡°When I got those Ice Divine Crystals, I inadvertently discovered some Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Only I can absorb that thing. That is why I made great progress. Oh, yes, eldest senior, I went to the Icefire Yin Yang Well and brought back some good stuff. I¡¯ll share it with everyer. The nt-type soul beasts in the well gave it to me. It¡¯s the essence that they produced themselves. I believe it can help everyone¡¯s cultivation.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao before turning to Xuan Ziwen. He probed, ¡°Teacher Xuan, surely Yuhao wasn¡¯t cking, right?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s breathing had evidently be a little unbnced. ¡°ck your head.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned his head and left.

    Just as Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao thought he was angry, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice sounded from afar. ¡°One month, just one month. One monthter, you¡¯d better get back. Do you understand me? You won¡¯t be able to leave then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted. He knew that he had finally convinced Teacher Xuan.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t persist in asking Huo Yuhao to test the cannon. This was because he believed Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t lying.Rank 80? He¡¯s already Rank 80 at his age? He must have set a record in Shrek Academy¡¯s history.

    Xuan Ziwen appeared to be furious as he left. However, he was actually very delighted. Huo Yuhao¡¯s foundation was there. He had full confidence that he could nurture Huo Yuhao into a true ss 8 soul engineer in the future.

    ¡°This matter is finally settled.¡± Huo Yuhao only wanted to sleep right now. He had drained a lot of his energy over the past three days and nights.

    ¡°Little junior, are you fine? If not, we can leave a dayter,¡± Bei Bei asked concernedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, eldest senior. We can¡¯t make Dean Yan and Elder Song wait for us. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll grab a biteter. I¡¯ll take this time to meditate for two hours and eat just before we leave.¡±

    Bei Bei was in a good mood too. With Huo Yuhao around, he was more confident in their mission this time. This was especially after he realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had reached Rank 80. This also meant that the Tang Sect finally had a Soul Douluo apart from Teacher Xuan.

    ¡°Little junior, keep the stuff that you brought back from the Icefire Yin Yang Well with you first. There¡¯s bound to be casualties because of the war. We¡¯ll give them to whoever needs them. It¡¯s a waste to directly use it to increase our cultivations. Furthermore, we are cultivating quite well right now.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words and immediately started to meditate. There was nothing better than meditating to restore his energy right now.

    Daybreak.

    The sky had already turned bright, and Bei Bei led those from the Tang Sect outside Shrek Academy as they silently waited.

    Huo Yuhao was still a little listless even though he had already grabbed a bite. However, some of his energy had been restored after resting for two hours. He could only rest after getting to the frontlines, but Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t too far from the fighting.

    Not long afterward, Dean Yan Shaozhe and Elder Song walked out from the academy.

    ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan.¡± Bei Bei hurriedly rushed up to receive them.

    Elder Song smiled and asked, ¡°Are you guys ready?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all ready,¡± Bei Bei answered.

    Elder Song was the most senior, and was also the strongest. Right now, it was evident that she was leading the rest.

    Bei Bei was leading the people from the Tang Sect. With Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, Ji Juechen, Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi with him, they indeed had a strong lineup for this mission. Only a few leading figures from the Soul Tool Hall remained in the Tang Sect. Xuan Ziwen, He Caitou, Gao Dalou, Na Na and Jing Ziyan were all holding the fort at headquarters.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move out.¡± Elder Song waved her hand. She was already flying in the air.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded at everyone else before he flew up.

    Ever since thest beast wave and after he was emotionally hurt, he had been keeping a low profile. Now that he was following Elder Song to the frontline, and considering that Elder Song was Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s mother, he became even more reserved.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect followed behind the two Transcendent Douluo and proceeded towards the frontline.

    Shrek City was within the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory. It was located to the southeast of the empire. Even though more than two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory had been upied, the west of Shrek City was still under the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s control. Apart from this, the empire still controlled most of the southeast parts of its borders.

    The south of the empire was linked to the Star Luo Empire. To prevent the Sun Moon Empire from attacking them from the south, the Star Luo Empire did their best to support the Heavenly Soul Empire. This helped the remaining troops of the Heavenly Soul Empire regain some stability. East of the Heavenly Soul Empire was the Dou Ling Empire. Close to half of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s troops were in the Heavenly Soul Empire trying to resist the Sun Moon Empire. The three empires of the original Douluo Continent could be said to be banding together to fight amon enemy.

    The team from Shrek needed to cross the ins of the Heavenly Soul Empire and reach the north of it before proceeding to the northwest. In less than five hundred kilometers, they would reach the frontline. This showed how close the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was from Shrek City.

    For someone as strong as Elder Song, flying for two hours at her fastest speed would bring her to the frontline. With the Tang Sect team with her, they would need around four hours. From afar, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base could be seen on the ground.

    This was the first time that everyone from the Tang Sect had seen a battlefield of such a scale. Compared to the borders of the Star Luo Empire, the battlefield here was muchrger.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire had set up their formation in a city known as Heavenly Spirit City. As they had too many soldiers, they had no choice but to extend their formation outside the city. Most of the army was quite spread out. This was to keep them all from being targeted by a single powerful soul tool. Ever since the start of the war, the Heavenly Soul Empire had on many asions suffered under the hands of stationary soul cannons.

    There were close to five hundred thousand soldiers in the three empires. The Heavenly Soul Empire had the most soldiers here.

    A number greater than a hundred thousand was already very impressive, not to even mention five hundred thousand. Peering from the sky, it appeared as if there were an infinite number of soldiers.

    On the other side, the Sun Moon Empire had around three hundred thousand soldiers twenty-five kilometers from the borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    The weather was very good today. This was why the entire battlefield was visible. This was especially so for Huo Yuhao, who used his Spirit Eyes. He could even see the aerial surveince soul tools over the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    What a vast battlefield!Although the Star Luo Empire had many soldiers, most of the empire was covered in mountainous regions, and the scale of its army was also not as great as that of the Heavenly Soul and Sun Moon Empires. This was why it wasn¡¯t very obvious that they had many soldiers.

    ¡°Rest for a moment.¡± Elder Song asked everyone to stop. They weren¡¯t too far from Heavenly Spirit City. In a war, misunderstandings arose easily. To prevent this, it wasn¡¯t wise for them to advance recklessly.

 Chapter 491.1 - Reaching the Frontline

    <h4 ss>Chapter 491.1: Reaching the Frontline</h4>

    Elder Song lifted her hand, and a beam of light shot out. It suddenly exploded not far in front of her, turning into a green image. It was the symbol of Shrek Academy.

    Not long afterward, more than ten figures approached from the distance.

    Huo Yuhao was immediately stunned. This was because he could immediately see that Princess Wei Na of the Heavenly Soul Empire was flying in the front. The soul masters with her were quite strong too. They were at least seven-ringed Soul Sages. It seemed like the academy had notified them that Elder Song and Dean Yan were leading a team over. This was why there was such a distinguished wee.

    The rest didn¡¯t know, but Huo Yuhao was clearly aware that Princess Wei Na¡¯s status in the Heavenly Soul Empire was like Princess Jiujiu¡¯s status in the Star Luo Empire.

    Very soon, Princess Wei Na and the rest were in front of them. They stopped thirty meters away.

    ¡°Greetings, you must be Elder Song. I am Wei Na from the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡± Princess Wei Na greeted Elder Song. Those who were strong were usually well-respected.

    Elder Song smiled and said, ¡°Princess Wei Na, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony.¡±

    Wei Na quickly turned to Huo Yuhao. After nodding slightly at him, she gestured for Elder Song to follow her. The soul masters with Wei Na also made way for those from Shrek Academy to proceed towards Heavenly Spirit City.

    Wei Na and Elder Song flew side-by-side. As they flew, Wei Na softly described the current situation at the frontline.

    Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears weren¡¯t as strong as his eyes, he could still hear Wei Na¡¯s words, as she didn¡¯t intentionally lower her voice.

    ¡°Princess Wei Na, how¡¯s the situation at the frontline right now?¡± Elder Song asked Wei Na.

    Princess Wei Na replied, ¡°It¡¯s still considered quite stable. Ever since the Star Luo Empire attacked the Sun Moon Empire, the pressure on us has been greatly alleviated. This has been especially so over the past month. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attacks have already ceased. They¡¯re only trying to stabilize their own territories now. At the same time, they are still trying to prevent all our surveince. The most difficult thing for us now is to survey them. In terms of surveince soul tools, we are reallygging behind.¡±

    It¡¯s still a problem of surveince!Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage in this area was simply too great.

    Princess Wei Na didn¡¯t look too well. Her face was pale, and her eyes were slightly red. Evidently, she was overworked. Her empire¡¯snd had been invaded. As an important member of the imperial family, she was under great pressure. It was rumored that the imperial family of the Heavenly Soul Empire had suffered heavy damages when the empire was invaded. Then, the Emperor even fought himself, and sustained critical injuries.

    Heavenly Spirit City was arge-scale city in the center of the Heavenly Soul Empire. It wasn¡¯t considered very far from Heaven Dou City. After the capital was lost, this city was thest barrier that the empire had. If they lost Heavenly Spirit City, there would be a wide expanse ofnd behind it that the Sun Moon Empire could upy.

    Princess Wei Na said to Elder Song, ¡°Elder Song, my father wanted to personallye to receive all of you. However, he has yet to recover from his injuries. This was why he sent me over. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Elder Song shrugged off the apology and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony right now. We have amon enemy. Also, the academy has been receiving support from the Heavenly Soul Empire all this while. It¡¯s only right that we help you on the battlefield. Your Highness, you should know our n, right?¡±

    As she spoke until here, Elder Song¡¯s gaze turned sharp.

    Princess Wei Na nodded gently, and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The n that Elder Song referred to was naturally the three soul engineer legions that Shrek Academy was establishing. Currently, only the core members of the three empires of the Douluo Continent knew about this n. By asking this question, Elder Song was confirming Wei Na¡¯s status in the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Everyone proceeded towards Heavenly Spirit City. Currently, the city had beenpletely revamped. Huo Yuhao saw the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Tang Sect had manufactured on top of the city walls. There were even quite a number of them. It seemed like all the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the empire had bought from the Tang Sect, as long as they were in perfect condition, were out.

    There were very few civilians in the city. Soldiers were everywhere.

    Princess Wei Na said, ¡°The civilians of the city have been evacuated to a safer ce. Right now, this has be a military establishment. It¡¯s also ourst line of defense.¡± As she spoke until here, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. She revealed a slightly sad look in her eyes.

    A few months ago, who would have expected the great Heavenly Soul Empire to be embroiled in such a tragic state?

    After entering the city, Princess Wei Na personally arranged the amodations for those from Shrek Academy. They were temporarily allowed to stay within Heavenly Spirit City. After that, she personally escorted Elder Song and Dean Yan to meet the seniormanders of the coalition army that had formed between the three empires.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect remained behind to rest.

    Huo Yuhao was already too tired by now. Once they were given their amodations, he immediately went to his room to meditate. He was in great need of a rest.

    When he awoke from his meditation, the sky had already turned dark. It was evidently evening now.

    Huo Yuhao let out a breath as he walked out from his room. He felt very refreshed. His great spiritual power and life energy meant that he had abnormal recovery abilities. Furthermore, he was still absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his blood, and his soul power was thus increasing steadily. He was consolidating his Rank 80 cultivation.

    The Ice Bear King had naturally followed him on this trip. However, he was a savage beast. Ordinary soul masters couldn¡¯t recognize him, but there were Body Sect members at the frontline. Those who were stronger could naturally recognize the Ice Bear King. If they wanted to deal with him, trouble would ensue. Although it wasn¡¯t a big possibility, Huo Yuhao still asked the Ice Bear King to rest in his spectral demine. There, he had prepared sufficient food. In fact, t was all the food that he had stolen from the ration warehouse in the Heaven Dou City. With that food around, the Ice Bear King wouldn¡¯t need to worry for at least the next half month.

    ¡°Are you awake?¡± A gentle voice sounded. Huo Yuhao turned his head to take a look, and saw Ye Guyi standing not far away from him.

    They were all allocated a room within a small courtyard. This was why they entered the courtyard the moment they stepped out of their rooms.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°Guyi, your cultivation has been improving well!¡± This was his first solo interaction with Ye Guyi since he had returned. From the soul power undtions that she released, he could clearly tell that her cultivation should be around Rank 70. She must have had experienced great progress during her closed-door cultivation.

    Ye Guyi smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m still far from you. You¡¯re my target.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a little too ambitious!¡±

    Ye Guyi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°I¡¯m only speaking the truth.¡±

    ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± Nan Qiuqiu suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She took a few steps to reach Ye Guyi and said warily to Huo Yuhao, ¡°I¡¯ve experienced great improvement too. Why haven¡¯t you praised me before?¡±

    Huo Yuhao helplessly said, ¡°You¡¯ve experienced great improvement? Why can¡¯t I tell? I only think that you¡¯ve been idling all the time.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Nan Qiuqiu was furious, and was about to act up.

    At this moment, a knocking sound was heard from the door to the courtyard.

    Nan Qiuqiu red at Huo Yuhao first before going to open the door.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a stunned look when he saw who was outside. Wasn¡¯t that Princess Wei Na?

    ¡°Your Highness?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was shocked.

    Wei Na smiled and asked, ¡°Can Ie in?¡±

    ¡°Please do.¡± Nan Qiuqiu immediately made way.

    After meeting with the seniormanders in the afternoon, Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe had expressed that their sole intention foring here was just to save people. Of course, they would do their best to help the empire. It was just that the possibility of a fight breaking out now was very slim, given that the situation was very stable.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what was going on, but Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu were clearly aware.Why is Her Highness here?

    After entering the courtyard, Wei Na naturally turned to Huo Yuhao. She revealed a surprised look on her face when she saw him and said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re here. I came here to look for you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Huo Yuhao pointed at his nose and asked.

    Princess Wei Na nodded and replied, ¡°Yes! Can we talk in your room? I have something to tell you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°Alright then. Your Highness, please.¡± As he spoke, he led Princess Wei Na into his room.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes widened when she saw Wei Na closing the door. She turned to Ye Guyi and said, ¡°Sister Guyi, see. This guy is attracting the attention ofdies everywhere he goes. I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s so attractive about him.¡±

    Ye Guyiughed and answered, ¡°What attracting the attention ofdies? You¡¯re thinking too much.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu wasn¡¯t pleased as she said, ¡°How am I thinking too much? If he¡¯s not attracting attention, why did Her Highnesse to find him? Isn¡¯t she one of the seniormanders in the Heavenly Soul Empire? I heard she holds an important position too. If it¡¯s for official matters, she should find eldest senior even if she doesn¡¯t find Elder Song or Dean Yan. Why did shee to find him? There must be something going on between the two of them.¡±

 Chapter 491.2 - Reaching the Frontline

    <h4 ss>Chapter 491.2: Reaching the Frontline</h4>

    Ye Guyi knocked her head and said, ¡°What have you been thinking about? Why can¡¯t you think properly? Obviously, there¡¯s only a very ceremonial interaction between Her Highness and Yuhao. Furthermore, her empire is already in such distress. How would she have time for rtionships? There must be some official matters. Don¡¯t forget that Yuhao is very symbolic of the Tang Sect. Even eldest senior has to consult his opinions on many matters. In addition, he is very adept at surveince. I think it might have to do with that.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu blinked and said, ¡°Hey, Sister Guyi, I¡¯ve discovered that you¡¯ve be smarter!¡±

    Ye Guyi snapped as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t. It¡¯s just that you got dumb. The more concerned you are, the more distressed you¡¯ll be. You even persuaded me earlier. Why do I feel that you¡¯re sinking in deeper and deeper?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s face turned red before she denied the allegation.

    Ye Guyi smiled, ¡°You know for yourself whether it¡¯s true. Whatever you said to me before, say it to yourself now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao invited Wei Na to take a seat, while he sat in the opposite chair. ¡°Apologies, Your Highness, I¡¯ve only just moved in. There¡¯s nothing I can serve you with.¡±

    Wei Na shook her head and sighed lightly, ¡°I don¡¯t have the mood to deal with all that now. However, the temperature in your room is a little low!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he replied, ¡°I was cultivating earlier. Have you forgotten my martial soul?¡±

    Wei Na was suddenly enlightened. ¡°Oh, right. Yes, you have an Ultimate Ice martial soul.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Your Highness, I wonder what you are here for?¡±

    Wei Na lifted her head to look at Huo Yuhao. There was a deep look in her eyes, as if there were some kind of special emotional undtion contained within.

    Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was strong, he still grew a little awkward as she stared at him like this. He was too embarrassed to probe.

    At this moment, Wei Na kneeled down in front of Huo Yuhao and kowtowed to him. ¡°Yuhao, please save the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair was already standing from her stare earlier. However, he was astonished by what she did right now, and immediately rushed forward to lift her up.

    ¡°Your Highness, what are you doing? We can talk.¡±

    Wei Na allowed Huo Yuhao to lift her up. However, she was already tearing up when she faced Huo Yuhao again.

    A woman¡¯s tears were very lethal. When he saw the tears in her eyes, Huo Yuhao felt very sour in his heart.Princess Wei Na was very awe-inspiring before! But now, she¡­

    As he thought until here, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh and said, ¡°Your Highness, if you have anything to tell me, just tell me directly. I¡¯ll help you in whatever way I can.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Wei Na sobbed as she nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I lost myposure. I¡¯ve been under far too much pressure during this period of time. It feels so good to see you again. I still remember the first time we met!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything, but just sat there quietly. If he really took her as a weak youngdy, he would bemitting a very foolish error. Princess Jiujiu was already very impressive. However, Huo Yuhao thought more highly of Princess Wei Na.

    Wei Na rubbed her tears away when she saw that he had no reaction. She said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire hase too abruptly. They¡¯vepletely sealed off our surveince on them. Initially, I was delighted that we had the Body Sect with us. I even thought that our overall strength was superior to the Star Luo Empire. However, who knew that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools were of such impressive standards? When I first saw that great explosion that tore our defensive line apart, how our advanced-tier soul masters were killed and how our enemies werepletely fine under their linked defensive barrier, I realized how foolish my thinking was.¡±

    She seemed a little distracted and lost as she spoke until here. She wasn¡¯t trying to earn pity from this, but it was her true feelings. She had gone through too much over the past few months. The empire had copsed, countless lives were lost, and everything seemed to be greatly connected to soul tools.

    After sighing, Wei Na turned her attention to Huo Yuhao. ¡°When I first saw you, I had already realized the importance of soul tools. Honestly speaking, even though we¡¯ve lost very heavily, we would have been in a worse state if not for the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Tang Sect has produced. I heard about your exploits in the Star Luo Empire. You were the one who helped the Star Luo Empire regain control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, that relieved the pressure on us. Although you didn¡¯t directly participate in the war, you are still a benefactor of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Even though the Heavenly Soul Empire is in decline, I can still make decisions. I can give you a knighthood.¡±

    She was filled with hope as she looked at Huo Yuhao at this point. She waited eagerly for his answer.

    Huo Yuhao was in shock right now.This Princess Wei Na is indeed very impressive! How did she know I helped the Star Luo Empire regain control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range? The Star Luo Empire wouldn¡¯t have publicly revealed any of the details of that. Furthermore, she also knows that I was offered a knighthood by the Star Luo Empire. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have suggested that to me.

    A knighthood in the Heavenly Soul Empire is still very good even though the empire is only left with one-third of its original territories. In terms of intelligence, the Heavenly Soul Empire should be ahead of the Star Luo Empire.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness. Perhaps you already know that I was offered a knighthood by the Star Luo Empire. But I¡¯m doing that because of some personal matters. I¡¯m not being greedy. I appreciate your offer.¡±

    Princess Wei Na sighed in her heart. She was already very open with her words, but Huo Yuhao still rejected her outright.

    ¡°Yuhao, you know the situation we¡¯re in. I can offer you more, but it can only happen once we are faring better. If you have any needs, please feel free to tell me.¡±

    She¡¯s only talking about benefits. It seems like she¡¯s after something big.

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before answering seriously, ¡°Your Highness, I have nothing I need. My needs are the academy¡¯s needs. As long as the Heavenly Soul Empire continues to support the academy, everything¡¯s fine. If you need help, feel free to ask me.¡±

    What a stubborn fellow!Wei Na was secretly depressed, but the look on her face turned more and more mncholic.

    ¡°I just hope that you can help the Heavenly Soul Empire one day. We won¡¯t forget your contributions. If we can do it and you need it, just tell us. This promise is for forever. Honestly speaking, I¡¯m only here today to build a good rtionship with you. You don¡¯t have to think too much. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here to pull you over. Furthermore, I was determined before I even came. No matter what request you have, we¡¯ll do our best to fulfil it. That includes my body.¡± Princess Wei Na lowered her voice. When she finished speaking, she had already lowered her head. Her voice was soft, but it was audible enough for Huo Yuhao.

    She was very beautiful, and she was also being flirtatious now. To any man, she was devastatingly attractive. Even Huo Yuhao was slightly moved when he saw her like that.

    ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to be like that. We have amon enemy now. Everyone knows that we¡¯re doomed if the Heavenly Soul Empire is destroyed by the Sun Moon Empire. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll do our best to help you. It¡¯s just that you should know that Shrek is working with all the empires. What we can do now is only to stall for time. While the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools are powerful, they aren¡¯t as strong as the three empiresbined. After upying so muchnd, they¡¯ll need time to settle in. This time is very valuable to us.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wei Na nodded gently before she stood up and said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ve already told you my intentions clearly. Since you don¡¯t have any requests, I¡¯ll leave first. There are still things I need to settle. It¡¯s still the same. If you have anything in the future that you need us to help you with, we will support you without any hesitation.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded slightly before he stood up and sent her to the door.

    She suddenly turned around when she reached the door. She looked at him with a sharp gaze.

    Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback, and only heard Wei Na whisper, ¡°Do you have that kind of male problem?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused, and his face turned red. He didn¡¯t expect the elegant Princess Wei Na to ask such a question.

    Wei Na chuckled before leaving. As she left, she muttered to herself, ¡°I¡¯m finally feeling better.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips shuddered as he watched her leave. Even though he knew that Princess Wei Na was only being herself at the end, it was too ridiculous.

    Princess Wei Na left, and Bei Bei appeared from the side. Heughed, ¡°Little junior, was she here to bribe you?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as he nodded. He had already felt that Bei Bei wasn¡¯t far from them just now. Although Princess Wei Na wasn¡¯t being very loud earlier, Bei Bei could still hear her, given his cultivation.

 Chapter 491.3 - Reaching the Frontline

    <h4 ss>Chapter 491.3: Reaching the Frontline</h4>

    Bei Beiughed, ¡°You¡¯re in demand right now! Isn¡¯t it good being the Prince Consort?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned ck. ¡°Eldest senior, even you¡¯reughing at me.¡±

    ¡°Haha! Little junior, a man must never say no!¡± Bei Beiughed before walking off.

    Huo Yuhao immediately chased after him and asked, ¡°Eldest senior, when do we take action?¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°We¡¯ll discuss that after dinner. Elder Song and Dean Yan are both back. Elder Song said that the Heavenly Soul Empire hopes that we can help them with surveince. It seems like they know what you did for the Star Luo Empire. They want to fully use us! Princess Wei Na probably came to find you for that reason. She¡¯s a cleverdy. She knows that you¡¯re adept in this area, and how important you are to the Tang Sect. She might even know that you¡¯ll be one of the mainmanders of the three soul engineer legions in the future. Bribing you will be beneficial to the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°I think so too.¡±

    Bei Bei nced at him amusedly, ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t exclude the possibility that she¡¯s really into you. After all, my little junior is a man of many talents. You are fit enough to be with Her Highness.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°Eldest senior, stop mocking me already. We have to perform surveince. If we don¡¯t, we can¡¯t find Teacher Xiao Ya. It¡¯s fine if we coordinate with them in this area. Furthermore, we¡¯ll need their help if we want to save Teacher Xiao Ya. Without the war as a cover, it¡¯s impossible for us to enter the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned serious as they talked about saving Tang Ya. In fact, no one was more anxiouspared to him. Tang Ya had disappeared for so long. It had been so many years. In all these years, Bei Bei had been in torment. He was like that when he didn¡¯t have news of her. When he received news of her, she had already be a Holy Lady of the Holy Ghost Church. He clearly knew where his lover was, but he couldn¡¯t save her. Right now, it was clear how tortured he must feel.

    Now that he finally had a chance to find her, he was undoubtedly very anxious. However, the conflict between both armies involved close to a million soldiers. How easy was it to find someone from a million people? Furthermore, Tang Ya was on the enemy¡¯s side right now, and none of them knew how strong she was. In addition, she should be surrounded by powerful individuals from the Holy Ghost Church. To save her, a n had to be hatched first.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have dinner. After dinner, we¡¯ll start nning.¡± Bei Bei grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder and walked towards the guest hall.

    Dinner was very scrumptious. The Heavenly Soul Empire went to great efforts to prepare this dinner for them. Elder Song and Dean Yan sat in the main seats, while those from the Tang Sect formed a circle.

    Everyone ate very quickly. The food consisted of rare delicacies that were very nourishing to soul masters¡¯ bodies. However, everyone was concerned about their mission this time, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to rave about how delicious the food was.

    Dinner ended quickly, and there were servants who helped them to clean up the dining table. Elder Song then said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about our mission.¡±

    Everyone unwittingly sat up straight. Even Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯t an exception. In front of Elder Song, he was a junior.

    After pondering for a moment, Elder Song turned her attention to Yan Shaozhe and asked, ¡°Shaozhe, what¡¯s your opinion?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°I¡¯ll first talk about what we learned from the Heavenly Soul Empire today. Currently, the Heavenly Soul, Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires are all gathered somewhere. Over here, there are nine soul master legions and more than twenty Titled Douluo. The overall strength is rather great. The marshal of the three armies is a prince from the Heavenly Soul Empire known as Shuai Xue. He hopes that we can help the Heavenly Soul Empire weaken the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince abilities. At the same time, he provided some information on their army. He¡¯ll coordinate with us for this mission.¡±

    Elder Song added, ¡°Their request is still quite reasonable. After all, we only have eleven people. It¡¯s impossible for us to change the entire situation of the war. However, we can still weaken the enemy¡¯s surveince abilities.¡±

    Elder Song was one of the strongest agility-type soul masters currently living. She was a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo. If she made an appearance, it would be very easy for her to destroy some of the surveince soul tools, unless the Sun Moon Empire had some kind of strict set-up.

    Elder Song turned her attention to Bei Bei. ¡°Bei Bei, tell me your opinions.¡± Bei Bei was the leader of the Tang Sect, and one of the symbolic figures of the academy too.

    Bei Bei nodded and replied, ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan, our main aim here is to save Xiao Ya before we do our best to help the Heavenly Soul Empire, under the condition that we can ensure our personal safety. That¡¯s why I think we should perform our own surveince first, and find out where Xiao Ya is. At the same time, we can find out what the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s set-up is before we decide on the best course of action.¡±

    Elder Song nodded slightly and was amused as she looked at Huo Yuhao. She asked, ¡°Come, our little surveince hero. How do you think we should act with regards to the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s exploits at the Ming Dou Mountain Range had long spread to the academy. As an important member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Song naturally knew what had happened. After hearing Elder Song¡¯s words, even Yan Shaozhe revealed a grin on his face.

    Before Huo Yuhao had even grown up, Yan Shaozhe had already thought very highly of him. Now, Huo Yuhao was all grown up, and was one of the symbolic figures of the younger generation of soul masters. He was also the soul master with the highest potential in the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao rarely returned to Shrek Academy now. Even if he did, he would leave shortly thereafter. Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t know the extent of his abilities. In terms of seniority, Huo Yuhao was still considered his little junior.

    Huo Yuhao coughed and replied, ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan, I¡¯m no hero. If we¡¯re talking about surveince, I think I should be fine performing super-high aerial surveince on the Sun Moon Empire. Given my understanding of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools, I believe they can only keep their soul tools at an altitude of three thousand meters. As long as I¡¯m above that altitude, I can basically confirm their overall situation. However, as it¡¯s too high up, the details might be a little vague. I can perform this surveince.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult to pinpoint Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s location. My Spiritual Detection can only work within a certain region. Furthermore, there are bound to be spiritual barriers around certain soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire. Once my Spiritual Detection touches those barriers, I will immediately be discovered. If I¡¯m within range, I¡¯ll definitely be attacked. If the Sun Moon Empire discovers me, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. It¡¯s quite difficult to retreatpletely.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I suggest that we need to at least fight them once if we want to bring Teacher Xiao Ya back. Or we can ambush them in the night. It¡¯s only when we interact that I can bring reliable information back, but only if we can sufficiently protect ourselves.¡±

    As for how he was going to survey the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao naturally already had a n. After his many rounds of surveince during the war, he was slowly gaining experience. During his Ultimate Soldier n training, he also slowly made it a part of him. Moreover, his ability to protect himself had grown significantly as his abilities grew. He even had the Ice Bear King as his trump card. He knew that he had the confidence of fighting any enemy if the fight was small-scale. Even against a Titled Douluo, he believed he could still retreat sessfully.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Elder Song was even more amused. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re a talent that we nurtured from our Ultimate Soldier n. If we want to spark a fight, we¡¯ll need the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s help. We¡¯ll also need to be careful. You should know that the Sun Moon Empire has soul engineer legions, and they react very quickly. Their attacks are also very lethal because of their linked soul tools. If things go awry, we run the risk of suffering heavy casualties.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve thought of this already. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t have too many people around if we want to ambush them. However, we¡¯ll need strong individuals. If we can deploy some of the Titled Douluo from the Heavenly Soul Empire, it would be fantastic.¡±

    ¡°What do you think about leading this fight?¡± Elder Song asked.

    ¡°Me?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned, and hurriedly said, ¡°How can I? You and Dean Yan are both around. I¡¯m only a small soldier under the two of you.¡±

    Elder Songughed. ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to be modest. If you¡¯re talking about fighting a war, Shaozhe and I are both not experienced enough. You¡¯ve already participated in many fights against the Sun Moon Empire, and you know their soul engineer legions better than us. We¡¯re not real soldiers. Whoever¡¯s capable will lead us. Let¡¯s do this. From now on, all ten of us. including me and Shaozhe. will be under yourmand. As for liaising with the Heavenly Soul Empire, I¡¯ll do it. What do you guys think?¡±

    Those from the Tang Sect naturally weren¡¯t in a position to say anything, but they were all stunned. They didn¡¯t think Elder Song would think so highly of Huo Yuhao.

    Yan Shaoze said without any hesitation, ¡°I think it¡¯s feasible. Elder Song, you¡¯re wise.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly as he looked at Elder Song and Dean Yan.Why do both of them look so sly with their smiles? Am I not being put in a spot? I have tomand both of them¡­

    Elder Song said with a straight face, ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t have to be stressed. We aren¡¯t joking around with you. You¡¯ll lead this mission, and we¡¯ll do our best to coordinate with you. You¡¯re the only one who truly knows what¡¯s going on with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions. Furthermore, we¡¯ve never fought a real soul engineer legion before. You should know that our individual strengths are less prominent with the existence of linked soul tools. Otherwise, the Heavenly Soul Empire wouldn¡¯t be in such a state with the help of the Body Sect.¡±

 Chapter 492.1 - Surveillance Begins

    <h4 ss>Chapter 492.1: Surveince Begins</h4>

    Elder Song said, ¡°I agree with what you described earlier, but I¡¯ll need a more detailed n. Devise a n tonight, and we¡¯ll discuss it with the Heavenly Soul Empire tomorrow, so that the mission can start quickly.¡±

    ¡°Elder Song, I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao still wanted to say something, but he was stopped by Elder Song. ¡°Young man, never decline to shoulder a responsibility. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re also one of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Don¡¯t throw the face of your teacher!¡±

    What else could Huo Yuhao say now that Elder Mu had been brought into the conversation? He took a deep breath and nodded seriously. ¡°Thank you, Elder Song and Dean Yan, for your trust in me. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Elder Song smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t me us for doing this. We¡¯re already old, and our brains aren¡¯t working as well as they used to. You¡¯re about the right age. Alright, discuss your n. If you need us to do anything, you can just inform us tomorrow. We¡¯ll go and rest first.¡±

    After she finished speaking, Elder Song stood up and proceeded to her room.

    She was truly feeling rxed after pushing the responsibility away!

    Elder Song¡¯s trust indeed gave Huo Yuhao pressure. He smiled bitterly at Bei Bei, but Bei Bei turned his head away while revealing a slight grin on his face.

    When Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t agree to let Huo Yuhao join this mission, Bei Bei had felt very depressed. He knew very well what Huo Yuhao could do. Elder Song¡¯s words had resonated with him. In the entire Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao was the one who had interacted most with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions. He had even attained impressive results. Without him, the Star Luo Empire couldn¡¯t have regained control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, and the entire situation of the war would have been very different right now.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that he was already an expert on military matters in Shrek Academy. While Elder song appeared to be pushing the responsibility onto him, she was in fact cing her trust in him, and hoped that this could help to further train him.

    In the future, the academy was going to send three soul engineer legions to join the war. They would need an outstanding marshal. The soul engineer legions were formed by students and teachers, as well as externally-hired soul masters. All of them had joined willingly. All three empires of the original Douluo Continent would surely be watching them very closely. During a Conference of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, it had already been decided that the three soul engineer legions could only be led by someone from Shrek, and not anyone else from the other three empires. It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t be trusted. It was that this project involved their interests, and there might be a conflict of interests if the soul engineer legions were led by any of the empires.

    But Shrek City was only a city, and Shrek Academy was a soul master and soul engineer academy. It wasn¡¯t a military academy. There were very few who knew much about military matters. In such a situation, someone like Huo Yuhao was needed to help alleviate the pressure on the academy.

    As a result, Elder Song intentionally wanted to build Huo Yuhao¡¯s expertise in military matters. At the same time, it was a test for him. Earlier, the operations that Huo Yuhao were a part of didn¡¯t involve anyone from the senior management of Shrek Academy. This time, Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe could directly observe his abilities.

    This battlefield was definitely the best ce for him to demonstrate his abilities.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the intention behind Elder Song¡¯s decision. He was only a little stressed out right now.For me tomand Elder Song and Dean Yan, it¡¯s really a little¡­

    Elder Song left, but Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t. He nodded at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make a detailed n. Everyone, contribute your thoughts.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Yuhao, you should be the oneing up with the n. I only have one request. In this n, our safety must be the first priority, especially for you. You must not expose yourself to any danger. Otherwise, I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t save Xiao Ya. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. How was it possible for them to avoid danger if they wanted to rescue Tang Ya? However, he still nodded and said, ¡°The overall n is in the direction that I mentioned earlier. I¡¯ll need a few days. First, we¡¯ll survey the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army at an extremely high altitude. At the same time, we need to gather some information on the Sun Moon Empire from the Heavenly Soul Empire. For example, how many soul engineer legions does the Sun Moon Empire have? How many advanced-tier soul engineers do they have? What kind of advanced-tier soul tools do they have? Of course, I¡¯ll verify all these through my surveince. The Sun Moon Empire is definitely prepared. They¡¯ll use some kind of method to hide their strength and power.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s still the same words. Whether it¡¯s your surveince or our operation, safetyes first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s discuss the n in detail.¡±

    He lifted his head to look at the others, who turned their attention to him. Xu Sanshi even directly said, ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t look down on us. Since Elder Song has given you the reins, we¡¯re all your soldiers now. We¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s not easy being the one in charge! Third senior,e up with an idea too.¡±

    Xu Sanshi immediately shook his head and said, ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯m not skilled in this anymore. You can decide.¡±

    Huo Yuhao then looked at the rest, and they also turned their heads away. When his gaze reached Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, both of them burst outughing.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in annoyance and said, ¡°Since this is the case, we¡¯ll begin with the surveince first. After that, we¡¯lle up with a detailed n.¡±

    Without sufficient intelligence and surveince, he couldn¡¯te up with a concrete n.

    ¡°Do I need toe with you?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No. Dean Yan, you can rest. I¡¯ll perform surveince tonight. The Sun Moon Empire will never discover me, unless they¡¯ve developed a new aerial surveince soul tool.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and replied, ¡°Alright then, you can go then. Take care of your safety. Let our contacts from the Heavenly Soul Empire escort you out of the city. You¡¯ll only go into the sky when you leave the city, so as to prevent any misunderstandings.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Heavenly Spirit City was on high alert right now. Although the Heavenly Soul Empire couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Empire in terms of aerial surveince soul tools, there were still some aerial surveince soul tools around.

    After Huo Yuhao found his contact from the army, the contact immediately reported to his superiors.

    In just a while, Princess Wei Na personally came over.

    The moment they met, she eagerly asked, ¡°Are you going to survey the Sun Moon Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°Yes! Any operation has to be built on credible intelligence from a surveince mission.¡±

    Wei Na thought for a moment before saying, ¡°I would like to go with you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked. ¡°What kind of joke are you ying? How can someone as important as you follow me? Although it¡¯s not that dangerous, it should never happen.¡±

    Wei Na smiled and said, ¡°Please let me go. I¡¯ve been in the background all this while and never participated in any fighting at the frontline. I only want to do something for my empire. In fact, if not for this thought, I would have left with Aotian.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide. ¡°Aotian? Long Aotian?¡± He clearly remembered that the Body Sect had appeared during the Soul Dueling Tournament. Long Aotian, who possessed a Whitesilver-level Body Soul, was very strong. No one from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters could challenge him in a duel. Furthermore, Long Aotian was Princess Wei Na¡¯s fianc¨¦.

    Wei Na sadly replied, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s gone. Otherwise, why would I have suggested those conditions to you? To protect me, he died from a soul ray unleashed by a ss 9 soul tool. I wanted to leave him with then, but I had no choice but to remain alive for my country. Aotian is dead and so is my heart. Yuhao, I don¡¯t want to talk too much. Just let me go with you. You should know that I also have twin martial souls. Furthermore, my two martial souls are quite simr to yours. Although they are weaker, you¡¯ll find things easier with my aid. I¡¯m already a Soul Emperor now. I won¡¯t burden you.¡±

    Right now, Princess Wei Na was being truthful. As he saw the sorrowful look in her eyes and thought of Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t bring himself to reject her. He only nodded and said, ¡°Alright, but you have to listen to me.¡±

    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s a promise.¡± Wei Na rubbed her tears away before nodding at Huo Yuhao.

    Long Aotian was actually dead. Now that he thought of their fight on the tournament stage, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel heavy in his heart.

    Wei Na led Huo Yuhao to the outside of the city. With her around, a lot of trouble was avoided while they left the city.

    Huo Yuhao softly asked, ¡°Your Highness, how great are the Body Sect¡¯s losses?¡±

    Wei Na¡¯s body stiffened up, and she turned to Huo Yuhao.

    Seeing her red eyes, he hurriedly added, ¡°You can forget it if it¡¯s not convenient to reveal the figures.¡±

    Wei Na smiled bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. The Body Sect had eleven Titled Douluo, but three are currently dead, including my teacher. Another four are critically injured. They can¡¯t join the war for now. More than a third of the Body Sect¡¯s disciples are dead too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked after hearing her words. ¡°There are so many casualties?¡±

 Chapter 492.2 - Surveillance Begins

    <h4 ss>Chapter 492.2: Surveince Begins</h4>

    Wei Na nodded and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire once targeted us in an execution when they attacked Heaven Dou City. They ambushed us in the night and used some kind of special soul tool to disrupt our aerial surveince soul tools. After that, a soul engineer legion suddenly appeared above Heaven Dou City. They locked onto specific, strong individuals on our side using their own aerial surveince soul tools and tried to assassinate them. It was then that we suffered heavy losses. There were also many evil soul masters with them. If not for the fact that my teacher chased them away even with his injuries, the imperial family would have been wiped out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was silent. The advantage that the Sun Moon Empire had in terms of soul tools meant that they could use a lot of strategies. If not for Wei Na¡¯s words, he wouldn¡¯t have expected the Sun Moon Empire toe up with such a tactic. Interference soul tool? They were indeed exploiting their advantages!

    Wei Na looked at Huo Yuhao seriously and said, ¡°Let me go with you. Although my abilities are beneath yours, I¡¯m the most suitable person to help you. I¡¯m just like you. I have twin martial souls. And if you remember, you should know that our martial souls are simr.¡±

    Simr? Huo Yuhao was slightly moved when he heard this.Yes! Princess Wei Na¡¯s twin martial souls are indeed quite simr to mine. One of her martial souls is a Snow Lotus, an auxiliary and healing-type martial soul. It also contains the elements of ice and snow. Her other martial soul is even stronger. It¡¯s her brain. Even in the Body Sect, she was one of the most talented. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been rated so highly.

    Her Whitesilver-level Body Sect had gone through its second mutation, and she was once the main control-type soul master of the Snowdemon Sect¡¯s team.

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao was hesitating, Wei Na hurriedly said, ¡°Furthermore, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble if I¡¯m around. I have a signaler that belongs to the Heavenly Soul Empire. With me around, you won¡¯t have to worry about being mistaken for the enemy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed softly as he saw how persistent she was. He said, ¡°Alright then. However, you must listen to me. Since you¡¯re going with me, I have to ensure your safety.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Wei Na agreed without any hesitation.

    The signaler on Wei Na would definitely make things much more convenient. The two of them took off right from the ground and proceeded straight for the sky.

    Just like Wei Na had said, her cultivation was that of a Soul Emperor now. Along with a flying-type soul tool, she was quick in the air. Even though the Heavenly Soul Empiregged far behind the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tools, Wei Na still had ess to the best soul tools in the empire, since she was a princess.

    Huo Yuhao shot straight up into the sky with her and rose higher and higher. He didn¡¯t unt his skills either, and also used a flying-type soul tool to fly.

    The two of them were far off from the ground in just a while. The scenery below them also became more and more blurry.

    When both of them were more than two thousand meters in the sky, Wei Na slowed down. After all, she was only a Soul Emperor. Even though her Snow Lotus helped her to resist the cold, her soul power would start to be drained at a much quicker speed the higher she flew.

    However, she didn¡¯t trouble Huo Yuhao. The flying-type soul tool behind her shone subtly. Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed that at least four Milk Bottles had released soul power undtions into her flying-type soul tool, continuously pouring in soul power.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t face such a problem. Very soon, the two of them were close to three thousand meters in the sky.

    At such an altitude, Wei Na was evidently a little overwhelmed. Her flying speed dropped greatly. She looked at Huo Yuhao beside her. From the start until the end, Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying remained very normal. Although he didn¡¯t use any special abilities or speed, Wei Na was still very impressed with him. They were both the same age, and he was even slightly younger, but he was already so strong.It seems like he is indeed much stronger than he was before. No wonder the Star Luo Empire said that it was his surveince that helped them regain control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    ¡°Yuhao, is this altitude fine?¡± Wei Na asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Not yet. This only puts us in line with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s high altitude aerial surveince soul tools. We need to go higher to prevent being discovered.¡±

    Wei Na was confused as she asked, ¡°But can we even see anything if we fly further up? It¡¯s night time too.¡±

    There were soul masters from the Heavenly Soul Empire who could fly even higher. A Titled Douluo could reach an altitude of up to five thousand meters. However, such an altitude put one very far from the ground. It was difficult to see anything, much less perform any surveince. Moreover, this didn¡¯t include the presence of clouds and fog that might reduce visibility.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Have you forgotten? My martial soul is my eyes.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Wei Na didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure shed, and he arrived behind Wei Na. She subconsciously turned towards him. Huo Yuhao extended his right hand and grabbed the center of her flying-type soul tool. Wei Na suddenly felt that her body was lighter. Following this, she rose into the sky at a much faster speed. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s charge, they flew higher and higher.

    This¡­

    Just as Wei Na was shocked, she couldn¡¯t help but re-evaluate her judgment of Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation. She also possessed a spiritual-type martial soul, and it was the strongest Body Soul one could have, the brain. Although her Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t rival Huo Yuhao¡¯s, she could still clearly sense the changes in him from such close distance. At least, she knew that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t using any Milk Bottles to aid him. His soul power undtions became stronger as they flew up once again. However, her Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t detect how strong Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was.

    She sighed silently in her heart. Initially, when she had joined the Body Sect, she had thought that she was the best soul master along with Long Aotian in the younger generation of soul masters. However, after she interacted with those from Shrek Academy, she fully understood that those from Shrek weren¡¯t inferior to her at all. Huo Yuhao was one of them. He was so far ahead of her that she couldn¡¯t even tell how strong he was anymore.

    They continued rising until they reached an altitude of four thousand meters. Huo Yuhao slowed down at this altitude. Although his cultivation wasn¡¯t weak, he would drain too much of his energy if he continued to go any higher.

    Furthermore, in Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion, they were at an altitude that was no longer detectable by high altitude aerial surveince soul tools. They started to fly horizontally now. He led Princess Wei Na towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base.

    At this moment, soul power undtions spread from his body. Following this, Huo Yuhao sensed pure and gentle soul power surging into his body. There was even a redolent aura that came with it. Suddenly, his spiritual and soul power were greatly replenished. They might even have been boosted. He felt much more energetic now.

    Wei Na nodded at him as he lowered it to look at her. In her palm, there was a snow lotus that exuded a gentle glow.

    With Huo Yuhao helping her fly, what Wei Na had to do was resist the cold. She didn¡¯t want to be a burden. By unleashing her Snow Lotus, she also greatly replenished Huo Yuhao¡¯s energy.

    At this moment, Wei Na sensed gentle spiritual undtionsing from Huo Yuhao. The light around his body distorted slightly.

    Wei Na¡¯s spiritual power was also rather strong. She immediately realized what he was doing and asked in shock, ¡°Are you using your spiritual-type soul skill to distort light?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I have a soul skill called Imitation. I can assimte with my surroundings and conceal myself.¡±

    Wei Na suddenly understood, and said, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so good at surveince. This is why. Concealing yourself before using your Spiritual Detection to perform surveince. You can even use your ice-type soul power to avoid thermal detectors. I understand now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound, but he was impressed with how clever she was.

    However, Wei Na was only excited for a moment before she looked a little slumped. Even though she knew how Huo Yuhao did it, she couldn¡¯t copy him. Her martial soul was her brain, not her eyes. Her vision was much weaker than his. Instead, her brain could unleash offensive soul skills. For example, the Banshee¡¯s Wail that she had once unleashed brought a lot of problems to the Tang Sect¡¯s team.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes weren¡¯t as strong as Wei Na¡¯s Brain. However, he had a natural advantage over her. When he obtained his first soul ring from the Skydream Iceworm, it was already destined that no one could rival the talent of his spiritual-type martial soul anymore.

    All the soul rings that he had obtained after that were mostly auxiliary. However, it was precisely because he gave up his offensiveness that his Spirit Eyes became stronger. In terms of control, he held a natural advantage. To ordinary soul masters, even for soul masters with twin martial souls like Na Na, they wouldn¡¯t forgo their offensiveness when they added more soul rings.

    Very soon, they slowly came closer to the sky directly above the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base. Huo Yuhao looked down. He didn¡¯t use his Spiritual Detection, but purely used his Spirit Eyes to see. He didn¡¯t want to rm anyone. As he gained more and more experience, he became more and more cautious too.

 Chapter 492.3 - Surveillance Begins

    <h4 ss>Chapter 492.3: Surveince Begins</h4>

    As he observed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military base, he also unleashed his Spiritual Detection Sharing. Wei Na only felt that everything in front of her had brightened, and the pitch-ck night sky had all of a sudden be clear. The image in front of her was quickly erged.

    Her body shook slightly from the astonishment.This is a godly skill! At least, it is during surveince. If our empire had such a talented soul master, we wouldn¡¯t have been defeated so badly.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire had finally realized the importance of surveince after paying the price of losing two-thirds of itsnd following the appearance of a new generation of soul tools.

    In terms of fighting strength, the Heavenly Soul Empire wasn¡¯t so inferior to the Sun Moon Empire that they were invaded and battered so easily. Apart from soul tools, the Heavenly Soul Empire alsocked greatly in their surveince abilities. From the start until the end, the Heavenly Soul Empire was the passive one, and didn¡¯t even know when the enemy would appear, or how much strength they possessed. This was why they had lost so badly.

    Just as Wei Na was in shock, Huo Yuhao had already carefully observed the setup of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base.

    He had fought the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies quite a number of times. As a result, he could roughly tell what their setup was.

    Very soon, his expression turned grim, and he was stunned.

    If he had to describe their base, he would describe it as imprable.

    The entire base was shaped like a long snake. However, it wasn¡¯tpletely horizontal. Rather, it was built in such a way that it fit the geographical structure of thend. More importantly, Huo Yuhao discovered five soul formations in the base. Each of these soul formations could only be built by an entire soul engineer legion.

    This meant that the Sun Moon Empire had five soul engineer legions here. Not to even mention the number of soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation there were here, five soul engineer legions were already sufficient to ensure that they were well-protected. If a full-blown conflict happened here, they would be extremely destructive. The Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯t gotten to starting one yet, probably because they had been greatly drained in their previous fights, and needed time to recuperate and regroup.

    What Huo Yuhao saw was also seen by Princess Wei Na. She had some understanding of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. Through this surveince, she also got a clearer look at things that she wasn¡¯t aware of before.

    Huo Yuhao sighed slightly and said, ¡°Five soul formations. Even an Ultimate Douluo would find it difficult to breach their base. Your Highness, how many soul engineer legions from the Hand that Protects the Nation are here?¡±

    Wei Na replied, ¡°Two. One is the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, and the other is the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sank once again. Among the five soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation, the strongest was undoubtedly the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. The remaining four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had differences in their abilities. Among them, the strongest was the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, followed by the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion and the Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. The weakest was the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion were both here. This represented more than half the strength of the four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions. No wonder the Heavenly Soul Empire found things so difficult here.

    ¡°Alright, this is all we can see from such an altitude. We have to return.¡± Huo Yuhao said to Wei Na.

    In fact, if he were the only one, he would carry out a series of surveince passes. He might even go lower, or use his Spiritual Detection. However, he couldn¡¯t do that with Princess Wei Na around. He had to ensure her safety.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt an omen. This omen didn¡¯te from his Spiritual Detection or soul power undtions. It came from his Three-Eyed Golden Lion skull. It was the warning given to him by his power of destiny.

    Not right!

    He subconsciously looked down, and discovered that one of the soul formations below was shining with red light.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. Following this, he grabbed Wei Na¡¯s flying-type soul tool with both his hands and spun around in the sky, flinging her away with all his strength.

    By the time she reacted, her body was already flung like a cannon shell. Huo Yuhao quickly rose into the sky.

    By tossing her away, Huo Yuhao had already wasted some valuable time that he could have used to flee. It would be very difficult to avoid the enemy¡¯s attack now. He could only rise further into the sky. The higher the altitude, the weaker soul power was. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao even used his Instant Teleportation to go higher up.

    Just as he finished this, a beam of red light shot into the sky. It grazed through four thousand meters of sky and engulfed Huo Yuhao.

    This beam of red light was more than a hundred meters wide. Although it only shed once before disappearing, its aura was overwhelming, and made it seemed as if the entire sky had been pierced.

    When Wei Na saw the red light sweeping past from the distance before Huo Yuhao was engulfed by it, she opened her mouth in shock, and waspletely stunned in ce. At an altitude of four thousand meters without Huo Yuhao¡¯s help, she only barely managed to keep herself up in the sky.

    Before she reacted even further, Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice suddenly sounded in her head. ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    Following this, a ck figure shed past and grabbed her. As Huo Yuhao unleashed his Imitation once again, he quickly fled into the distance at his quickest possible speed.

    Fortunately, that red light only struck once before it eventually dimmed and disappeared.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you fine?¡± Princess Wei Na only reacted now. Although she didn¡¯t know what that red light was, she at least knew that it wasn¡¯t fireworks. How strong did it have to be if it could travel four thousand meters into the sky? If not for Huo Yuhao, she would have been dead by now.

    What Wei Na didn¡¯t see was that pitch-ck scales were slowly fading away on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, while his clothes had already been torn apart.

    Huo Yuhao only truly knew how terrifying that strike was after experiencing it.

    Furthermore, he knew exactly where it came from.

    It hade from linked offensive soul tools. It had to be!

    Right now, Huo Yuhao waspletely astonished. That red light was high-energy and high-heat. The instantaneous surge of temperature sparked by that red light even melted his Ice Emperor Armor. Huo Yuhao had even unleashed a ss 6 Invincible Barrier, but it was vaporized too. Eventually, he had used Di Tian¡¯s reverse scale to protect his body. However, his clothes weren¡¯t that fortunate.

    Huo Yuhao clearly knew that he would have been critically hurt even if he didn¡¯t die, if not for Di Tian¡¯s strength.

    It was pertinent to note that the red light only struck him after travelling four thousand meters up into the sky! If it was closer, it would have been even more terrifying.

    Fortunately, the same attack didn¡¯te again. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base also appeared to be very peaceful.

    Huo Yuhao brought Princess Wei Na all the way until they were above Heaven Dou City before theynded. When Princess Wei Na could control her own flying again, Huo Yuhao retrieved a new set of clothes to wear.

    That was a real scare!Huo Yuhao¡¯s hair was still standing on end.

    When the two of themnded, Huo Yuhao saw that Princess Wei Na was very pale. He wasn¡¯t faring much better either.

    Although she was still scared out of her wits, Princess Wei Na couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, what was that attack earlier? How did the Sun Moon Empire discover us and lock onto our position?¡± Understanding the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s setup was very important to the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, that attack should havee from linked offensive soul tools. This means that one of the soul engineer legions locked onto us, and a linked attack was fired from their soul formation. Although it was weakened as it progressed through the air, it was still very strong.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how they locked onto us. However, it had to be through a surveince soul tool. It seems like the Sun Moon Empire has made new progress in terms of ground-based surveince soul tools. They¡¯re actually able to see four thousand meters into the air.¡±

    After hearing his words, Princess Wei Na couldn¡¯t help but turn gloomy. Originally, the gap between the Heavenly Soul Empire and Sun Moon Empire was already very great. If this gap was widened further, wouldn¡¯t that signify destruction for the Heavenly Soul Empire?

    Huo Yuhao tried tofort her upon seeing her expression. ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t be too worried. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ground-based surveince soul tools can¡¯t produce a wide effect even if they detect up to a further distance. They can¡¯t sweep the sky. We must have triggered one of their ground-based surveince soul tools identally. Otherwise, the attacks should havee in waves. We weren¡¯t attacked after the first strike. They must have lost track of us.¡±

    Wei Naughed bitterly, ¡°You don¡¯t have tofort me. I know the difference between us and the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯m sorry I dragged you down. If not for me, you wouldn¡¯t have been hit by that beam of light.¡± She was smart. She clearly knew what had happened earlier. If Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t bothered with her and just fled, he would have been able to escape the attack.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re allies. Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. However, I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll tighten their defenses after this incident. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t bring you along the next time.¡±

 Chapter 493.1 - Juzi, Seed

    <h4 ss>Chapter 493.1: Juzi, Seed</h4>

    Wei Na tilted her head slightly and reached into her pockets, retrieved a small pouch, and gave it to Huo Yuhao. ¡°This is the highest-tier signal soul tool from our side. If you have this, you will never be attacked by friendly forces.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood the princess¡¯ intentions, and he didn¡¯t reject her gift as he took it and ced it in his own pocket.

    Wei Na stared at him deeply and said, ¡°Yuhao, gratitude cannot be voiced for the great favors that you have given us. I will remember that. I need to hurry back so that I can log what I¡¯ve seen today. Intelligence like that is far too precious.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned around and walked into his own courtyard after watching Wei Na leave. He contemted his experiences in the air as he walked.

    Such powerful linked offensive soul tools! An attack like that would probably severely injure even a Titled Douluo. Fortunately, I had imitation to conceal myself continuously so I didn¡¯t have to suffer continuous attacks. Otherwise, the consequences could have been disastrous. At the least, Princess Wei Na wouldn¡¯t have returned with her life.

    However, Huo Yuhao was starting to feel that the Beast God¡¯s reverse scale had its benefits, and increasingly so. At least, it provided protection for him in his most perilous moments. Otherwise, he would need quite some time to recover if he returned with severe injuries, even though his own body was quite tough.

    What can we do to find Teacher Xiao Ya? The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp is like a metal te. It¡¯s just too difficult.

    Huo Yuhao returned to his room with those questions, and removed his outer shirt as he crossed his legs and meditated.

    Huo Yuhao reported the results of his investigation to Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe at daybreak. However, he didn¡¯t mention that Princess Wei Na went with him, and only told them that he discovered the linked offensive soul tool¡¯s attack and evaded it before he hurried back.

    Everyone¡¯s faces grew solemn when they heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s description. Elder Song lowered her voice and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I apany you tonight? That attack is powerful, but I should have no problem protecting you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said, ¡°That¡¯s perfect. But, Elder Song, there is something else I want to do.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Elder Song nced at Huo Yuhao confusedly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°I want to see just how far the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ground-based aerial surveince soul tools can reach. We can only win our battles if we understand our enemies fully.¡±

    Elder Song nodded. She believed that with her around, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s linked offensive soul tools couldn¡¯t possibly hurt Huo Yuhao no matter how powerful they were.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t obtain any urate information, but he could guess that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advances in ground-based aerial surveince soul tools likely urred because of the multiple losses that he had caused them one after another. Their ground-based aerial surveince soul tools were probably developed specifically for him. Furthermore, he could be sure that they were oscition detectors.

    To be able to target oscition detectors so high up in the sky was extremely astonishing, even if their waves werepressed. The Sun Moon Empire had an absolute advantage in their industrial capabilities.

    ¡­¡­

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City, inside the royal pce.

    There was a silent, veryrge room. It was almost two hundred square meters, while it was ornamented with the luxury and spectacle that only the royal family could have.

    A handsome youth was sitting next to a table and eating some delicious food, and he seemed like he was really enjoying himself.

    ¡°Dum, dum, dum!¡± A soft knocking could be heard at the door.

    The youth¡¯s eyes immediately lit up as he swiftly stood up and nced in the door¡¯s direction. ¡°Pleasee in.¡±

    The door opened, and a beautifuldy dressed in pce clothes walked in. Her hair was tied into a bun above her head, and her luxurious golden dress made her seem even more noble and elegant. Her skin was fair and almost translucent, like water woulde out if someone squeezed her skin.

    The door closed, and the room¡¯s atmosphere instantly became a lot more pleasant with such a gorgeousdy inside.

    ¡°Royal sister.¡± The youth discreetly swallowed some saliva as he called out softly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The girl blushed a little, and she seemed shy and bashful as she gradually walked towards the table. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me to sit down¡±?

    ¡°Oh, oh. Please sit down.¡± The expensively-dressed youth spoke a little awkwardly.

    The girl gradually sat down as she lowered her head and said embarrassedly, ¡°I¡¯m a little nervous, royal brother.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a little nervous, too. Why don¡¯t you eat something first, sister?¡± The youth stared at the girl¡¯s neck, which resembled that of an elegant swan, and the passion in his eyes was slowly sparked as even his voice began to tremble a little.

    He had been pining after this girl for a long time, but had never had the guts to do anything about it. Who knew that such a fantastic opportunity would befall him today? This was much more wonderful than a snack from the gods! This snack wasn¡¯t just a snack, it was also absolutely delicious.

    The girl gradually lifted her head as she bit down on her lower lip and said gently, ¡°Do you really dare to, royal brother?¡±

    The youth was momentarily stunned before he snickered and said, ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t normally dare to. But this is an order, and is something that my royal brother wants me to do. What else should I be afraid of? My brother has already shut me in for so many days to keep this secret. But I felt that everything was worth it no matter what price I had to pay when I saw you. You¡¯re so beautiful, royal sister.¡±

    The girl smiled inly and said, ¡°Since you know that he wants to keep this secret, aren¡¯t you afraid that once the thing is done, he will kill you for it?¡±

    The youthughed and said, ¡°How is that possible? We are cousins, and in the family hierarchy, I¡¯m ranked among the first few who will be heir to the throne. Without the family¡¯s order, who dares to touch me? My brother hasn¡¯t been on the throne for too long, and even though he seems quite stable up there, if he dares to touch me, hmph!¡±

    The young girl heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, royal brother, and you have underestimated your brother¡¯s methods. If he were so merciful, how could he be emperor?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The youth¡¯s expression changed a little as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°What do you mean, royal sister?¡±

    The young girl smiled and shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything. I just want you to understand before you die.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± The youth suddenly stood up. Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizzinesse over his head as he stared at the girl in front of him with an incredulous look in his eyes.

    The girl slowly stood up, and the faint but fragrant aroma on her body dampened as she made a grab at the youth. The youth¡¯s body immediately flew backwards andnded on the bed as he lost consciousness.

    The young girl¡¯s face, which originally had a faint smile on it, immediately turned cold. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, royal brother. me your brother if you wish to me someone.¡± She held a sharp spike-shaped object in her hands as she spoke and walked towards the bed.

    Fifteen minutester.

    The girl appeared inside a royal hall.

    ¡°It¡¯s done, Your Majesty.¡± The girl spoke gently. The person sitting on the throne was none other than the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, Xu Tianran, while this luxuriously-dressed girl was Ju Zi.

    ¡°Thank you, Ju Zi. Please stand up.¡± Xu Tianran waved his hand at her with a smile on her face. However, one could see upon closer inspection that his smile contained a kind of awkwardness and bitterness that was hard to detect.

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Go and prepare. You have to begin as soon as possible to maintain activity. The royal doctor is already prepared.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Ju Zi nodded gently as she turned to leave.

    She had just walked out of the hall when a dark shadow soundlessly appeared where she was before. He knelt down on one knee toward Xu Tianran and said, ¡°Prince Tianhe has passed away, and it¡¯s confirmed that the empress did it herself. His life was taken in one hit, his heart was pierced, and he died.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you may leave. Tell the royal doctor to see me after his inspection,¡± Xu Tianran answered coldly.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The dark shadow departed soundlessly as Xu Tianran gradually stood up and paced around the room with his prosthetic legs.

    His face was overcast. Prince Tianhe¡¯s blood was very pure, and even though he waszy and didn¡¯t have a high cultivation rank, he was the most suitable target.

    Xu Tianran felt as if his heart had been cut by a knife. Even though he had always treated Ju Zi as one of his most important chess pieces, they had spent so many years together, so how could he not develop any feelings for her? However, he couldn¡¯t do what normal males could, and the royal family needed an heir. Thus, he had to devise such a devious n.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t need to have any physical contact with Prince Tianhe even if she wanted his seed. That could be aplished with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technology. What was amusing was that Prince Tianhe thought he had taken the advantage. His death by Ju Zi¡¯s hands was also Xu Tianran¡¯s order.

    The reason why Xu Tianran chose to do this was simple. Ju Zi couldn¡¯t go back once she killed Prince Tianhe, because her life would be over if this piece of news was spread. At the same time, Prince Tianhe would be the future heir¡¯s true father if she was taking his seed. How could Xu Tianran allow such a person to live in the world? He wouldn¡¯t be afraid of Ju Zi telling her crown prince anything in the future if he died at her hands. At the same time, this was a measure to tie Ju Zi even closer to himself.

    Xu Tianran knew that his actions were very selfish and very cruel, and that was especially so for Ju Zi, who had always been loyal to him. However, he couldn¡¯t rest if he hadn¡¯t done all this. He was one of the most ambitious and ruthless characters of his time, he would never let anything escape his grasp.

    I¡¯llpensate Ju Zi slowly in the future! But before that¡­

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes shed coldly as his thoughts stopped there.

    It didn¡¯t take long before an elderly royal doctor walked in from outside and knelt down in front of Xu Tianran.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Xu Tianran asked coldly.

    The royal physician deliberately lowered his voice and said, ¡°Your Majesty, the empress is still perfect.¡±

 Chapter 493.2 - Juzi, Seed

    <h4 ss>Chapter 493.2: Juzi, Seed</h4>

    The iciness on Xu Tianran¡¯s face mostly vanished after he heard his words. He felt as if an enormous burden had been lifted from his chest as he muttered under his breath, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ju Zi, I was overthinking. I will treat you well as long as you don¡¯t betray me.¡± He then said to the man kneeling on the floor, ¡°You may go, royal physician, and take care of the Empress. Make sure this goes well.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± The royal physician said respectfully, ¡°rest assured, Your Majesty, as I have checked the Empress¡¯ body many times. She is very healthy, and today is the most opportune time for her to be pregnant. I am more than ny percent confident that I can help the Empress get pregnant.¡±

    The royal physician was just speaking his mind honestly, but he waspletely unaware that hisst sentence sounded vaguely ambiguous, and Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes flickered murderously in response. Of course, from the beginning to the end, he was never going to let anybody who had anything to do with this live.

    ¡°Go. Once it¡¯splete, I will reward you heavily.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡±

    Ju Zi was also in a silent room. She was lying down on a bed, only covered by a clean white gown. Her eyes were very calm, but there was a dash of coldness deep within them.

    Xu Tianran, Xu Tianran, Xu Tianran!

    Ju Zi repeated that name continuously in her heart.

    Xu Tianran, I haven¡¯t misjudged you after all. I have been so loyal to you, but you treat me like that. Good, very good! It¡¯s a pity that no matter how intelligent you are, you are clueless that I have already been prepared for all this. How could I bear a child for a stranger?

    ¡°Are you ready, Empress? You might feel some pain in a while.¡± The royal physician¡¯s warm voice could be heard.

    ¡°Alright, royal physician. You may begin.¡± Ju Zi answered inly.

    ¡°Alright, then. Please give me the seed that you have prepared.¡± The royal physician spoke respectfully.

    Ju Zi lifted her hand, and a small metal tube appeared in the center of her palm as she slowly passed it to the physician. There was a tinge of tenderness on her facial expression at this moment, and the name ¡°Xu Tianran¡± gradually disappeared from her mind, while another name took its ce¡­

    ¡­¡­

    High up in the night sky.

    Four thousand five hundred meters. This was an altitude of four thousand five hundred meters. Huo Yuhao was hovering silently in midair; he had already appeared once more above the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp. He made sure he was as vignt as he could be while he quietly observed the army camp beneath him. At the same time, he tried to sense whatever dangers could appear at any moment.

    Four thousand five hundred meters. I wonder if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ground-based aerial surveince soul tools can still discover me.Huo Yuhao squinted a little as he bided his time quietly.

    Several minutes quickly passed, but nothing was happening beneath him. The red light that he had encountered the previous night didn¡¯t appear.

    A faint smile gradually appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    His eyes gazed at something faintly discernible in the distance, at a cloud that was drifting through the air. He maintained his original position, quietly awaiting something.

    Suddenly, a ball of ck mist descended from the sky without warning and nketed his position.

    Huo Yuhao looked a little shocked as he immediately dispelled his Imitation and revealed himself from the air.

    ¡°Tsk, tsk! I thought, which other powerful soul master could it be? But you¡¯re just a little kid. You¡¯re just a Soul Sage, and you dare to spy on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp?¡± A hoarse voice that wasn¡¯t pleasing to the ear could be heard. Two ck shadows suddenly appeared fifty meters away from Huo Yuhao as the cloud that he was staring at disappeared.

    Large and disheveled ck mist bore down on him in a circle from all directions and surrounded Huo Yuhao, while the two ck shadows stared at him vigorously.

    Two yellow, two purple, and five ck soul rings glowed on the person who was speaking. The other ck shadow, who didn¡¯t make a sound, had an even strongerbination of soul rings. He had one yellow, three purple, and five ck soul rings.

    They were both Titled Douluo. Furthermore, the auras emanating from their bodies felt very sinister and evil.

    ¡°Evil soul masters?¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in surprise.

    ¡°Kid, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote for you to realize that?¡± The man in ck who was speaking before drifted towards Huo Yuhao as he spoke. A bluish-ck light gradually grewrger behind him. This bluish-ck light shadow looked incredibly terrifying. In the beginning, it looked like a skull, but Huo Yuhao could only see after it swelled that it was a pale human face. He couldn¡¯t even tell if this face was male or female, but there were countless disgusting bluish-ck maggots crawling all over it.

    The other man in ck didn¡¯t make a sound from the beginning to the end. Light glowed from behind him as well, but this light was dark green, and condensed into an enormous centipede with a single eye on its forehead that swayed gently in the air.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face waspletely pale.Wow, two evil Titled Douluo.

    Evil Titled Douluo were frightening individualsparable to Transcendent Douluo in the world of soul masters! Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to tremble from fright.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to be afraid. The two of us wouldn¡¯t have had to make this trip if we didn¡¯t have to capture you alive. Alright, kid, follow us down. Otherwise, I¡¯ll let you have a taste of my Avenging Spirit Mask. I¡¯ll let it consume your spirit bit by bit, and that feeling, tsk, tsk¡­¡±

    Avenging Spirit Mask. This was the first time Huo Yuhao had heard of a martial soul like that. It seemed like a mutated martial soul, and it was definitely an evil martial soul.

    ¡°Two seniors, I¡¯m just a scout responsible for collecting intelligence. Why do you have to cause trouble for me?¡± Huo Yuhao forced augh as he spoke.

    ¡°Hahahaha! Kid, you don¡¯t have to insult us with words. Are you going to let us capture you without resisting, or do we have to make a move on you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I can let you capture me, but can I know your titles? At least, I will know whose hands I¡¯ve fallen into.¡±

    The evil soul master who possessed the Avenging Spirit Mask said, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in telling you. I am the Masquerade Douluo, and this is the Heavenly Centipede Douluo.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to meet again. You¡¯re a spy after all.¡± A familiar voice could be heard, and it came from the Heavenly Centipede Douluo, who hadn¡¯t spoken at all until this point. He suddenly lifted the ck veil that was covering his face and revealed himself.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed a little when he saw him, and that was because he knew this evil soul master. He was the Duskwater Alliance Master, and he seemed to be the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Second Elder.

    Huo Yuhao had always been careful, and that was the reason why he would always change his appearance even when he was conducting aerial surveince. However, the look that he had chosen to take on was the same as the identity he had used to participate in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, Tang Wu. That was the reason why he was immediately recognized by Nangong Wan.

    ¡°We finally meet again, Alliance Master Nangong.¡± Huo Yuhao replied, but his expression seemed a lot calmer than before.

    Nangong Wan gritted his teeth when he saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao had helped the Duskwater Alliance eventually win the championship during the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, and he took away all his prizes. Nangong Wan was prepared to take him in as his disciple back then, but because Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance was far too outstanding, and especially because of his necromancy, even the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s vice-leader paid attention to him. She believed that he was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Son, who had yet to appear in this world. But who knew that Huo Yuhao would immediately disappear after thepetition, and take away countless rare metals, the Sunmoon Divine Needle, and a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, Annihtion Storm.

    The Sunmoon Divine Needle was still alright, as the Starsky Douluo, Ye Yulin had taken that out. However, it wasn¡¯t easy for the Holy Ghost Church to obtain Annihtion Storm, and the original intention was for it to urge soul engineers to put effort into thepetition. But Huo Yuhao had vanished into thin air, in the mess of that enormous explosion, without a trace.

    In the aftermath of the great explosion, Nangong Wan had tried hard to find him, but how could he find Tang Wu? And now he had met Huo Yuhao once more today, and Nangong Wan could tell from where he had appeared that he was a spy. Furthermore, he was the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s spy. How could he not be angry?

    The vice-leader had berated him for not being able to find Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time. Should I call you Tang Wu, or by another name?¡± Nangong Wan said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao smiled inly and said, ¡°You can just call me Tang Wu.¡± Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to reveal his identity. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t just a soul engineer when he met Nangong Wan back then. He had also presented himself as a necromancer.

    ¡°Alright, Tang Wu. I want to see how you can run away this time!¡± Nangong Wan said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao grinned and said, ¡°Run? Why would I run? The two of you are the ones who shouldn¡¯t run awayter.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The Masquerade Douluo and the Heavenly Centipede Douluo were momentarily stunned as a green shadow bolted towards them like a ghost from far away. It took but a few blinks of the eye for her to arrive beside Huo Yuhao. Wasn¡¯t that the Greenshadow Douluo, Elder Song?

    Huo Yuhao had departed at the same time as Elder Song, but they didn¡¯t travel together. Huo Yuhao was attracting the attention of the ground-based aerial surveince soul tools from four thousand five hundred meters up in the sky, while Elder Song watched him from six thousand meters. Six thousand meters was the limit that humans could reach, and nobody but Transcendent Douluo could reach that altitude. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t possibly reach that height.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect two evil Titled Douluo who wanted to capture him alive. This was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. If he could capture a Titled Douluo, it would be a lot easier for him to discover Tang Ya¡¯s location.

 Chapter 493.3 - Juzi, Seed

    <h4 ss>Chapter 493.3: Juzi, Seed</h4>

    The Heavenly Centipede Douluo and the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s expressions froze a little when Elder Song appeared, because they hadn¡¯t sensed this powerful individual¡¯s presence around them before this. Furthermore, Elder Song had arrived way too quickly; she was already in front of them when they had just seen her. They could tell from just her speed that she was undoubtedly a Transcendent Douluo.

    Elder Song hovered calmly in midair. Her expression was very casual and in, but that was enough to give those two evil soul masters immense pressure.

    Not being able to sense their opponent¡¯s aura was most frightening for individuals who were at least Titled Douluo. The reason was because they saw with their own eyes that Elder Song had descended from above, and with her speed, she had to have been at an altitude of more than five thousand five hundred meters. Yet, she could conceal her aura so nicely, so she was definitely a Transcendent Douluo.

    An evil soul master¡¯s advantage wasn¡¯t that obvious anymore at a Transcendent Douluo¡¯s level. Furthermore, evil soul masters themselves had difficulty bing Titled Douluo, while bing a Transcendent Douluo was even more challenging.

    The Masquerade Douluo was at Rank 91, while Nangong Wan was a little stronger at Rank 92.

    Nangong Wan¡¯s eyes squinted a little as intense silver light shone from them. The giant centipede projection behind him seemed toe alive as it twisted, while his nine soul rings flickered faintly.

    The Masquerade Douluo¡¯s sinister aura became increasingly dense, and that frightening human face continued forward as it seemed to envelop Huo Yuhao and Elder Song.

    Elder Song was just standing there, yet she seemed incredibly casual, as she didn¡¯t even unleash her martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly moved. He retreated instead of pushing forward, and disappeared behind Elder Song with a sh.

    Everyone began to move together, and the two evil soul masters immediately made their moves along with Huo Yuhao.

    The enormous human face behind the Masquerade Douluo suddenly pushed forward and loomed over Huo Yuhao and Elder Song. Agonizing cries echoed throughout the skies, and they sounded extremely frightening. The Masquerade Douluo¡¯s second, third, and fourth soul rings glowed one after another. The projection became so huge that the Heavenly Centipede Douluo waspletely blocked behind it.

    Huo Yuhao was already behind Elder Song, but he could still feel an intense force tugging at his soul, as if it were about to tear his spirit apart. Furthermore, he could feel threads of eerie chill bearing down on him from all directions.

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curved into a cold smile.Are we fighting with spiritual power now?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings immediately covered his entire body, as he used Imitation to disy normal colors, while his third soul ring glowed and transformed into a white circle ¨C Mass Enfeeblement.

    Huo Yuhao had already linked up with Elder Song by sharing his Spiritual Detection, and he stretched his Spiritual Detection over the entire area around them. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just cover the battlefield; he even covered arge area around the battlefield. He would definitely discover any other enemies should they appear.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao was working together in battle with a soul master as powerful as Elder Song was. He felt a little nervous, but he was more excited, as battling with and against Titled Douluo was an experience that was far too precious. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t in any danger at all with an individual as powerful as Elder Song around.

    Mass Enfeeblement¡¯s effects were extremely evident, as the human face that was bearing down on them became a little more illusory.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny suddenly opened at the same time. However, the evil soul masters couldn¡¯t see what he was doing because Elder Song was standing in front of him.

    The rose-gold Eye of Destiny immediately became a cross between ck and white, and it became so deep that it resembled the distant starry skies as the uncanny aura of destiny permeated the air. Huo Yuhao¡¯s sixth soul ring suddenly flickered.

    The two evil soul masters couldn¡¯t feel what Huo Yuhao was doing, but Elder Song¡¯s senses were very evident. She could feel a kind of radiance piercing her back when Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny started to change color, and that strange undtion even made her feel a sense of danger. That wasn¡¯t soul power, nor was it spiritual power; it was an unknown force to Elder Song. Just as the two evil soul masters felt about her, uncertainties were the most frightening.

    The battle erupted in a split second. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement had just taken effect when the human face arrived before Elder Song.

    Elder Song raised her right hand and used it as a de as she sliced it across the sky. A dark green shadow shed and disappeared as the human face was immediately cut in two, but that wasn¡¯t all. The dim green shadow that didn¡¯t seem very strong at all immediately arrived in front of the Masquerade Douluo.

    The Masquerade Douluo felt his heart skip a beat. The light in front of him contorted a little as he swiftly retreated, and his body quivered in the next moment as the dark shadow vanished. However, there seemed to be some kind of liquid energy that dissipated in front of him.

    The enormous dark green centipede stretched across the heavens in this moment, and it sted venomous dark green fog towards Elder Song. This venomous fog was very unique, and it appeared as countless tiny particles as it covered the sky. Elder Song pushed her palm forward, and her powerful soul power prated through the venomous fog, yet did nothing to stop it.

    Right at this moment, a dark beam fired soundlessly from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny and struck the Masquerade Douluo, who was still retreating in the distance.

    It was nighttime, and the light high up in the sky was already dim. The beam¡¯s ck colors were the same as that of the night sky, while it also didn¡¯t have any soul power or spiritual power undtions.

    Elder Song felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s ck beam most deeply when he fired it. She felt goosebumps break out over her body, and she felt astonished once more.

    The venomous fog wasn¡¯t dispelled, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stump someone as powerful as Elder Song was. Green light shed as she took Huo Yuhao several dozen meters away and escaped the venomous fog¡¯s area of effect. Elder Song was an agility-type soul master after all.

    The Masquerade Douluo shivered coldly when he was struck by that ck beam. Something unknown happened, but an ominous feeling immediately coursed over his entire body.

    What¡¯s wrong with me?The Masquerade Douluo was shocked, but his attacks didn¡¯t stop. He raised his hands as his fingers began to move like he was controlling something. Huo Yuhao and Elder Song had shifted horizontally in an instant, but twisting shadows immediately began to tremble vigorously around their bodies.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Elder Song¡¯s face changed a little, because she could clearly feel that these twisting shadows seemed to contain a very strange power that seemed to make her reactions and movements slow. She didn¡¯t just feel her movements slow, but she could even feel that her mind and thoughts were also slowing.

    That is¡­

    A control-type soul master. Is the Masquerade Douluo actually a control-type soul master?

    There was no question that the Heavenly Centipede Douluo was an assault-type soul master, and an assault-type soul master cooperating with a control-type soul master was the best guarantee for unleashing their full potential.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo had worked together. Nangong Wan immediatelyunched his assault on the other side once the Masquerade Douluo made his move.

    The centipede¡¯s shadow suddenly grew material, while Nangong Wan¡¯s own body vanished. The giant centipede that was flickering with dark green colors immediately swelled, and its gigantic frame immediately crashed against Elder Song and Huo Yuhao. It took a but a breath before it grew to over fifty meters long, while its hundreds of pairs of legs bore down on Huo Yuhao and Elder Song.

    Martial soul true body!

    A Titled Douluo¡¯s most powerful attack was when he transformed into his martial soul true body andunched a direct attack. Not even the Beast God, Di Tian was an exception to this fact.

    Soul masters with beast souls had a simr style of battle to top-tier soul beasts once they became Soul Sages.

    Elder Song was slowed as Nangong Wan began his assault. The Masquerade Douluo shone with light, but the human face from before didn¡¯t reappear. Instead, more illusory shadows revealed themselves. They were clearly maggots that were pale white in color, and they surrounded Elder Song and Huo Yuhao as they seemed like they were forming a formation. Strange spiritual undtions emanated from each maggot, and interfered with Huo Yuhao and Elder Song.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny glowed once more in this moment, as the air around him and Elder Song over several tens of square meters shook intensely. Those were soul power undtions, and those quakes came from his spirit and his soul.

    Spiritual st!

    Soundless explosions detonated as the maggots that were radiating spiritual undtions immediately froze, and their restrictive effects suddenly ended.

    Elder Song¡¯s eyes immediately became clear as green light erupted from her body. She didn¡¯t bother with the giant centipede that was rushing towards her, and an eagle¡¯s call rang out as she transformed into an intense green beam and went straight for the Masquerade Douluo.

    She was a Rank 97 Titled Douluo, and her speed was just too frightening when she was using her full strength.

    Agility-type soul masters were known for their speed and attacking capabilities, while they were rtively weaker in defense. And Elder Song could be said to be one of the strongest agility-type soul masters in the world today.

    If anybody could see what she was doing, they would see that Elder Song almost immediately transformed into a Greenshadow Godly Eagle as she charged forward. This Greenshadow Godly Eagle wasn¡¯t very big. Its wingspan stretched to less than four meters. It was a lot smaller and less intimidatingpared to that enormous centipede, but the eagle¡¯s most terrifying characteristic was the fact that nobody could see it clearly. Not even Huo Yuhao could see her with his Spirit Eyes, and that was because she was simply too quick. She was so quick that she almost reached the speed that Instant Teleportation could reach. Huo Yuhao could faintly see some afterimages sh across the air as Elder Song appeared behind the Masquerade Douluo. Countless maggots immediately exploded and melted into goo as they dissipated in the air wherever she crossed.

    The Masquerade Douluo¡¯s title was not because his martial soul was a mask. The Masquerade Douluo¡¯s martial soul was a Demonic Maggot, and it was a strange martial soul that required consuming human souls to evolve. Furthermore, the Masquerade Douluo was most fond of consuming the brains of all kinds of living creatures. His martial soul would improve with every instance of consumption.

 Chapter 494.1 - Spineless Nangong Wan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 494.1: Spineless Nangong Wan</h4>

    He was considered half a spiritual-type soul master. However, he had many evil tricks up his sleeves too. His Demonic Maggot also contained a lethal poison. This was why his abilities were actually mixed.

    Right now, the Masquerade Douluo was already very stiff in the air. He was just like the maggots that were struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual st earlier.

    This isn¡¯t good!Nangong Wan was horrified. Although he didn¡¯t know how the Masquerade Douluo was, he knew that the situation wasn¡¯t good from how stiff his body was, and how Elder Song had appeared behind him.

    How is this possible? No matter what, the Masquerade Douluo is a Titled Douluo! Even an Ultimate Douluo can¡¯t kill him instantly.To be a Titled Douluo, one had to be very strong. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the strength of a soul core. However, why did the Masquerade Douluo seem like he was¡­

    However, Elder Song¡¯s attack also exposed Huo Yuhao. It was as if Huo Yuhao was facing the Heavenly Centipede Nangong Wan.

    The huge centipede crashed down on him with a terrifying and dominant aura.

    However, what Nangong Wan only saw a grin on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    A projection shed before Huo Yuhao transformed into the Masquerade Douluo. At this moment, Nangong Wan was already so close that he couldn¡¯t retract his attack.

    As a dark-green light shed, the Masquerade Douluo was instantly torn to pieces. Under the effect of the poison from the Heavenly Centipede True Body, he was instantly dissolved, and turned into dark-green liquid that dripped down.

    Is Masquerade dead?Nangong Wan was horrified. Although he didn¡¯t know how Huo Yuhao had switched the Masquerade Douluo over, it was evident that the Masquerade Douluo had been dealt a lethal blow, given how he waspletely helpless against his attack.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao nicely appeared where the Masquerade Douluo was earlier. He had used his Spiritual Duplication to duplicate the Xuanwu Discement.

    He had used the Xuanwu Discement many times, and had started to really like this soul skill.It¡¯s definitely a life-saving ultimate skill! The only problem is that I need to find Xu Sanshi to duplicate it again every three times I use it.

    Nangong Wan wasn¡¯t the only one who was astonished by the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s death. Even Elder Song was shocked. She would never expect a Titled Douluo to be so weak. In fact, the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s defense copsed the moment they had shed with each other.

    Originally, Elder Song had thought that the Masquerade Douluo was critically hurt by her only.

    Everything happened too quickly. When Nangong Wanpletely disintegrated the Masquerade Douluo, Huo Yuhao had already slipped behind Elder Song.

    Nangong Wan tensed up before his Heavenly Centipede True Body squirmed. After this, he opened his mouth wide and released a poisonous fog that engulfed Elder Song and Huo Yuhao.

    I can¡¯t fight anymore. The Masquerade Douluo¡¯s death was too weird.He was so weirded out that he started to be fearful. Although he knew that he was stronger than the Masquerade Douluo, he also knew that this difference wasn¡¯t very big. He didn¡¯t want to die here. This was why he had already made up his mind to flee just as he released his poisonous fog.

    His poisonous fog was very strong. It was his origin skill. No soul power could sweep it away. It could only be avoided. It could even cover arge area. It was the best skill he could use to escape.

    However, at this moment, the temperature of the air fell significantly. The already chilly night sky turned even colder. Following this, thick snow started to fall from the sky.

    The poisonous fog that he released contained water too. Suddenly, the water in the fog froze, causing the fog to be much thinner. After this, a blizzard raged. Although the fog couldn¡¯t be dissipated by soul power, it was still useless against the snow that fell. The extremely low temperature also greatly restricted Nangong Wan¡¯s speed.

    An illusory beam of rose-gold light seemed to turn from illusory to real at this moment as itnded on Nangong Wan.

    Nangong Wan groaned, and his spirit shook tremendously. He immediately detached from his Heavenly Centipede True Body.

    A green projection arrived in front of Nangong Wan. All Nangong Wan saw was a mighty Greenshadow Godly Eagle.

    Birds were the natural nemesis of scorpions. This was even more so for the Greenshadow Godly Eagle. Nangong Wan, who had just sustained an attack from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, could only conjure his soul power to forcefully sh with Elder Song.

    The absolute difference in their abilities was demonstrated at this moment. Nangong Wan groaned before he was flung away, spitting blood.

    Elder Song¡¯s Greenshadow Godly Eagle immediately flew above his head. It was exactly at this moment that a weird white whirlpool appeared above Nangong Wan.

    He only felt very confused and blurred after he was dealt such a heavy blow. He wanted to use his protective skill, but he couldn¡¯t do it. The Greenshadow Godly Eagle was now above him, and the eagle pierced its sharp talons into his shoulders.

    Sharp soul power instantly surged into Nangong Wan¡¯s body. He screamed in pain once again. His own soul power had been sealed, and he had lost the ability to resist.

    From the start until the end, the fightsted less than a minute. Out of the two evil Titled Douluo, one was killed, and the other was captured.

    The Greenshadow Godly Eagle turned to look at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao seemed to be very free right now. He flew towards Elder Song and gave her a thumbs-up. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Elder Song.¡±

    The eagle opened its mouth, and Elder Song¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°You! It seems like my decision was right to let youmand this operation. Let¡¯s go.¡± As she spoke, she had already fluttered her wings, and turned into a streak of green light before charging straight toward Heavenly Spirit City. Huo Yuhao used his Imitation to hide himself once again before following closely behind her.

    Elder Song¡¯spliment wasn¡¯t without justification. Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities left her very impressed. The fight earlier was a sh between three Titled Douluo, but in fact, Elder Song clearly knew that the entire fight was under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. He was definitely a deserved control-type soul master.

    From his Mass Enfeeblement at the start, Huo Yuhao used some kind of method to weaken the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s defense. After that, Elder Song unleashed her full strength at the Masquerade Douluo. That was because Huo Yuhao had asked her to do it through his Spiritual Detection. Otherwise, why would Elder Song abandon Huo Yuhao to attack the Masquerade Douluo just as the Heavenly Centipede was approaching him?

    Elder Song didn¡¯t think of that. Naturally, their enemies didn¡¯t think of that either. This was how the Masquerade Douluo was killed.

    Huo Yuhao controlled the entire proceedings, using his Xuanwu Discement to escape from danger. Just as the Heavenly Centipede wanted to escape, he used a domain-type skill to neutralize the poisonous fog. At the same time, he used his spiritual-type attack to stall Nangong Wan and knock him out of his Martial Soul True Body. Elder Song came at that point, preventing him from protecting himself with all his strength. Huo Yuhao had even ¡®offered¡¯ Nangong Wan his Spiritual Confusion before Elder Song attacked.

    Elder Song believed that she could win against both Titled Douluo even if she fought them herself. However, it would have been very difficult to keep them in the fight. It would have already been good enough if she could kill one of them. However, it would have taken time. The Masquerade Douluo controlled, while the Heavenly Centipede attacked. If theyplemented each other well, they wouldn¡¯t have been easy to deal with.

    However, those two evil soul masters werepletely under Huo Yuhao¡¯s thumb, and got outyed. Although they might not have been aware of his abilities, one couldn¡¯t discount his power either.

    What Elder Song truly felt was that all her abilities seemed to have been boosted when she fought alongside Huo Yuhao. During the fighting, it was an unprecedentedly great feeling. Right now, she understood why he was such a symbolic figure in the Tang Sect. He was very strong.

    As there were two evil soul masters dealing with Elder Song and Huo Yuhao, the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t send anyone else to attack. When they realized something was amiss, Elder Song and Huo Yuhao had already vanished. The two evil soul masters had also vanished.

    They silently returned to Heavenly Spirit City. Nangong Wan had already been knocked out by Elder Song, and they brought him back to the courtyard.

    The rest hadn¡¯t gone to sleep yet. They were waiting for Huo Yuhao and Elder Song to return.

    ¡°Eh, Elder Song, who is this?¡± Nan Qiuqiu was waiting in the courtyard. When she saw Huo Yuhao and Elder Song returning with Nangong Wan, she immediately rushed up to receive them.

    Elder Song smiled and answered, ¡°We¡¯ve caught an evil soul master. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get something if we question him.¡±

    The rest all walked out from their rooms. Yan Shaozhe received them. As he saw Nangong Wan, he revealed a pensive look on his face.

    Nangong Wan looked very pathetic right now. His shoulders were already stained red with blood. Elder Song had crippled the passageways in his arms and sealed his soul power. He waspletely disabled now.

    ¡°Elder Song, why is this person so familiar to me?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked doubtfully.

    Elder Song replied, ¡°You¡¯re right if he¡¯s familiar to you. He¡¯s Nangong Wan, the Heavenly Centipede.¡±

 Chapter 494.2 - Spineless Nangong Wan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 494.2: Spineless Nangong Wan</h4>

    Yan Shaozhe instantly opened his eyes wide, ¡°That¡¯s actually the Heavenly Centipede Douluo, Nangong Wan? No wonder he seemed so familiar. When I was out exploring after I graduated from the academy, I once interacted with him. His martial soul was very difficult to deal with, especially with the poison in it. I wanted to kill him then, but his poison was too strong. Eventually, he escaped. I didn¡¯t expect him tond in your hands today.¡±

    Elder Song shook her head and said, ¡°He didn¡¯t exactlynd in my hands. Yuhao and I teamed up to capture him. To be honest, I¡¯m starting to like the idea of fighting alongside Yuhao. With him around, I feel that my powers have increased.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t expect Elder Song to think so highly of Huo Yuhao andughed, ¡°Elder Song, don¡¯t spoil my little junior like that.¡±

    Elder Song chortled and said, ¡°I mean what I say. Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power is not inferior to any spiritual-type Titled Douluo. Apart from his cultivation being slightly weaker, his control and auxiliary abilities are definitely not inferior to a Titled Douluo. For fights at our tier, it would be of great help if he were around.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as he said, ¡°Elder Song, you praise me too much.¡±

    Elder Song smiled without saying anything. Yan Shaozheughed, ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t be so humble. Come, tell us how you faced the Heavenly Centipede Douluo and describe the entire fighting process.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Elder Song. After Elder Song gave him permission, he described how he had met and fought the two evil soul masters in detail.

    After hearing that he had killed another evil Titled Douluo, Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯tugh anymore.

    As they were not that strong yet, those from the Tang Sect didn¡¯t participate in fights against Titled Douluo. However, Yan Shaozhe was clearly aware of the abilities of evil Titled Douluo.

    He knew how frustrating they were to deal with him. He questioned whether he could deal with two evil soul masters in such a short time even if he teamed up with Elder Song. From Huo Yuhao¡¯s description, it seemed like the two evil soul masters were killed even before they managed to unleash their full strength.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes are very mysterious. No wonder Elder Song is so in awe of him. No wonder he¡¯s a leading figure of the new generation! No wonder teacher mentioned that the academy would have a pir once Yuhao grows up. The academy¡¯s reputation as the top academy on the continent is destined to continue on.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Yan Shaozhe suddenly turned serious and looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yes? Dean Yan.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t understand why Yan Shaozhe had suddenly be so serious.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°After this operation ends, don¡¯t go out so often anymore. Remain in the Tang Sect or on Sea God¡¯s Ind to cultivate. It¡¯s best if you wait until your cultivation reaches that of a Titled Douluo before you leave again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Yan Shaozhe to say this. He revealed a bitter smile on his face. The Tang Sect already had a Teacher Xuan who wouldn¡¯t let him leave the sect. Now there was Dean Yan as well.

    Elder Song nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Shaozhe is right. After we return this time, I¡¯ll talk to Elder Xuan. Don¡¯t leave Shrek City so easily in the future.¡±

    ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan, why is that?¡± Xiao Xiao asked, puzzled.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and answered, ¡°The academy can¡¯t afford to lose him. Yuhao is too important to the academy¡¯s future. Even though soul tools have be the trend ofte, individual abilities are still of critical importance at the highest level. In the future, the academy will need someone who is very strong. Yuhao is shaping up to be this person. He was like teacher back then. He¡¯s even surpassed him. This is why we can¡¯t let him take any risks.¡±

    Elder Song nodded. Shepletely agreed with Yan Shaozhe¡¯s point of view.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°Titled Douluo¡­ that¡¯ll take some time. But¡­¡±

    ¡°There are no buts,¡± Elder Song said, ¡°no matter what happens, nothing is more important than your sessful development. Whatever you want to achieve outside, the academy can help you. However, you must remain within Shrek City. Bei Bei, you are responsible for watching him after we return. If he sneaks off, I¡¯ll question you.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bei Bei revealed a smile on his face. He secretly thought to himself.It seems like I don¡¯t have to worry about little junior¡¯s safety for some time now.

    Huo Yuhao coughed and said, ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan, we should interrogate Nangong Wan first. Let¡¯s see if we can find out where Teacher Xiao Ya is.¡±

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be difficult. Evil soul masters are very twisted. They aren¡¯t afraid of dying. Furthermore, we can¡¯t force them to say anything. What ideas do you have?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I can use my spiritual power to interfere with his thoughts and question him from there on, forcing him to tell the truth. However, my spiritual power must be far beyond his before I can do that, and he¡¯s a Titled Douluo. Even if his soul power is sealed, his spiritual power is still very strong. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be difficult.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes shone with a cold light. ¡°That¡¯s simple. I¡¯ll just make him sufficiently weak. A person¡¯s mind is greatly connected to his body. When someone is weakened beyond a certain degree, his mind will also be weak and vulnerable. You can exploit that opportunity to question him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll give it a go.¡±

    ¡°Everyone else can go back and rest. Shaozhe, Yuhao, follow me.¡± Elder Song grabbed Nangong Wan with one hand and walked toward a room where no one was staying.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Elder Song, let me tag along.¡± He was really anxious about Tang Ya¡¯s whereabouts.

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°Alright, you cane along.¡±

    The four of them led Nangong Wan into the room. Elder Song passed Nangong Wan over to Yan Shaozhe and said, ¡°Shaozhe, you can take over.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°Let me take a look at his condition first to first check whether he has any restrictions ced on him.¡±

    Gentle white light shone from Yan Shaozhe¡¯s hand. He used his palms to quickly p Nangong Wan¡¯s body.

    As he started pping, Nangong Wan started shaking. At the beginning, the shaking was very gentle. However, as Yan Shaozhe pped him even harder, Nangong Wan¡¯s body started to shake more and more.

    To a Titled Douluo, the power of his soul core was the core of his strength. Elder Song was using her soul power to seal Nangong Wan¡¯s soul core such that it spun at a slower speed. From there, it would be unable to provide him enough soul power.

    Yan Shaozhe only checked for fifteen minutes before he stopped. He nodded at Elder Song and said, ¡°It should be fine. Even the Holy Ghost Church will find it difficult to put any restrictions on him, given his cultivation!¡±

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start then. What do you n to do?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes shed coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll cripple his soul core first and allow his soul power to dissipate. In this way, he won¡¯t harm anyone anymore. Furthermore, without his soul power to support him, his body will be very weak, even with his great spiritual power.¡±

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do that then. You can do it. I¡¯ll protect you. Yuhao, be prepared. After we cripple his soul power, we don¡¯t know what kind of reaction we will elicit. We need to keep from descending into hysteria.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao walked to one side and sat cross-legged on a chair. He temporarily took a rest to restore his energy.

    Yan Shaozhe stood in front of the bed that they hadid Nangong Wan out in. His hands formed a ring in front of his body. Gentle white soul power surged out, and gradually turned dim gold. The soul power undtions that were released also started to dance like mes. The soul power slowly formed a whirlpool that drifted above Nangong Wan.

    It wasn¡¯t easy trying to cripple a Titled Douluo¡¯s soul core. It was like what had happened when Huo Yuhao performed the test. A huge explosion could ur if one¡¯s soul core was affected. If the soul core of a Titled Douluo exploded, it could potentially be very dangerous.

    If a Titled Douluo died, just like the Masquerade Douluo, things would still be fine. This was because the soul core of a dead Titled Douluo would shrink and slowly vanish as he gradually lost his life energy. Even if an explosion urred, it would happen in another dimension. It wouldn¡¯t affect this world.

    However, to cripple a soul master¡¯s soul core before he was dead was much more troublesome. A soul master¡¯s soul core depended on the soul master¡¯s life energy. To cripple his soul core, the soul power in his soul core had to be guided out, and the soul core had to be destroyed just as it was at its weakest point.

    The white mes that revolved above Nangong Wan spun even faster. A white whirlpool subtly appeared in front of Yan Shaozhe¡¯s belly. That was where his soul core was located at.

    Yan Shaozhe was a Transcendent Douluo. As Elder Mu¡¯s inheriting disciple and the dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, he was very strong. His Radiant Phoenix was a top-ranked martial soul, and he was a Transcendent Douluo. All these years, his soul power had been slowly improving. He was now a Rank 96 Titled Douluo. Compared to Elder Song, he was only inferior by one rank. Although the difference in this one rank was very great, Yan Shaozhe might not be much weaker than Elder Song if he fought her with his full strength, considering that his martial soul was much stronger.

    Right now, the aura of his soul core was released. Huo Yuhao, who was resting, had some kind of feeling. He didn¡¯t need to open his eyes, and he only silently sensed the soul power undtions from Yan Shaozhe¡¯s body. He was secretly impressed.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s soul power was also circting in a whirlpool-state around his soul core. However, the cirction of his soul power was much slowerpared to Huo Yuhao. That was because his soul power waspletely fluid.

 Chapter 494.3 - Spineless Nangong Wan

    <h4 ss>Chapter 494.3: Spineless Nangong Wan</h4>

    If Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core was like a tornado in the sky, then Yan Shaozhe¡¯s soul core was like a huge whirlpool that could devour everything in the ocean. The soul power that it contained was much greater.

    A Titled Douluo is indeed a Titled Douluo!As Huo Yuhao was secretly in awe, he was also reflecting on himself. As his abilities increased, his self-confidence also grew. He was even confident of fighting some Titled Douluo. However, the aura that Yan Shaozhe exuded right now made him fully aware of how far inferior he was.

    Wasn¡¯t that the case? Although he appeared to have controlled the fight earlier, that was because Elder Song was around! If not for her, he would be dead against an evil Titled Douluo even if it was just a duel. If those two evil Titled Douluo had unleashed their full strength right from the start, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take advantage or even handle a fight at that tier.

    Elder Song and Dean Yan were both right. He had to be stronger. After he returned this time, he had to work harder on his cultivation as he learned about soul tools from Teacher Xuan. At least he had to fully absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body first.

    As Huo Yuhao was thinking about all that, Yan Shaozhe began.

    The white whirlpool above Nangong Wan slowly descended. The sharp part of itnded directly on Nangong Wan¡¯s dantian.

    When it touched Nangong Wan¡¯s body, Nangong Wan shuddered and regained consciousness.

    When he saw the me on his body as he awoke, he was astonished. He clearly felt that his soul power was quickly seeping out from his dantian. It slowly dissipated, and as it dissipated, it entered another dimension.

    They, they¡¯re trying to cripple my soul power.

    Nangong Wan was horrified as he said, ¡°No, no¡­ you can¡¯t do this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve harmed so many people,¡± Yan Shaozhe said coldly, ¡°we are only carrying out justice. We are already being very merciful by not killing you. It¡¯s a good thing to get rid of your abilities as an evil soul master.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I beg you. Leave me some soul power. I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want.¡± To a Titled Douluo, the dissipation of his soul power was too terrifying. He was too used to having great strength. The moment he lost it all would be more tormenting than death itself.

    Yan Shaozhe was moved and asked, ¡°Oh? You¡¯ll let me do whatever I want?¡±

    Nangong Wan couldn¡¯t move, and could only speak, ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ll do anything you want. If you need me to, I can be an undercover agent in the Holy Ghost Church. You can put restrictions on my body. As long as you let me keep my soul power, I¡¯m willing to do anything.¡±

    Elder Song furrowed her brow and looked at Yan Shaozhe. On the other side, Huo Yuhao had also slowly opened his eyes. They didn¡¯t expect Nangong Wan to be so spineless.

    ¡°Alright, let me ask you a few questions first.¡± Yan Shaozhe said. However, the whirlpool was still sucking away his soul power.

    Nangong Wan answered in pain, ¡°Can you stop sucking away my soul power first?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe snorted coldly and said, ¡°As long as a Titled Douluo¡¯s soul core isn¡¯t destroyed, isn¡¯t it easy to restore his soul power? We can leave it like this. It¡¯ll keep you awake too. Let me ask you now. Answer me as quickly as possible. If you hesitate, I¡¯ll destroy your soul core. You only have one chance. Don¡¯t test my determination.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Ask me then.¡± Nangong Wan knew that he was doomed. In front of a Transcendent Douluo, there was no way he could take his chances.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked.

    After hearing his question, Nangong Wan was stunned, thenughed bitterly. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. Before I entered the church, and all those who were able to enter the headquarters, had restrictions ced on them. Once we reveal anything, the restriction will be triggered. Surely you don¡¯t want me to blow apart, right?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was afraid in his heart. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous experience, he would have his doubts. However, he was convinced this time. In spite of this, he remained very stern. ¡°You¡¯re a Titled Douluo. Who can ce those restrictions on you?¡± As he spoke, he immediately strengthened the suction of Nangong Wan¡¯s soul power.

    Nangong Wan hurriedly said, ¡°I really can¡¯t say anything. Our Supreme Leader was the one who personally ced the restrictions on us. Apart from her, the sect leader, vice-sect leader and the Chief of the Worship Hall, everyone else in the sect has had restrictions ced on them. Once we mention where our headquarters is, we¡¯ll immediately blow up and die.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brow. ¡°Does this mean that the Holy Ghost Church can take your life at any time if you betray them?¡±

    Nangong Wan said, ¡°That won¡¯t happen. It¡¯s not easy cing restrictions on someone to control them. The Supreme Leader¡¯s curse can only be triggered through a very specific way. It¡¯s only when I entertain the thought of revealing the specific ce in my head. Apart from this, there won¡¯t be any other effect.¡±

    ¡°So this curse can¡¯t be removed?¡± Yan Shaozhe asked.

    Nangong Wanughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. If someone¡¯s spiritual power is greater than the Supreme Leader¡¯s, this curse can still be removed. However, it¡¯s too difficult. The Supreme Leader is an Ultimate Douluo. She¡¯s too strong.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and asked, ¡°Alright, let me ask you then. How many people are there in the Holy Ghost Church? How are they divided?¡±

    This time, Nangong Wan didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediately said, ¡°The most powerful figure in the Holy Ghost Church is our Supreme Leader, who is also the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Death God Douluo. Apart from her, we also have our sect leader and vice-sect leader. They are married. Our sect leader is called Zhongli Wu, while our vice-sect leader is called Feng Ling. We have eight honorary elders below them, who are all Titled Douluo. There are evil soul masters of different tiers underneath these eight elders. Apart from all of us, there are also special people in our church, including the two Holy Ladies. Great hope has been ced on them. They are very talented. That¡¯s why they hold important positions in the church. They¡¯re even more important than the eight honorary elders.¡±

    ¡°The evil soul masters in the Holy Ghost Church Worship Hall are the strongest. The Hallmaster of the Worship Hall, who is also the Chief of the Worship Hall, is the Darkness Holy Dragon and Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao. He has eleven others in the Worship Hall under him. They are all Titled Douluo, and five of them are even Transcendent Douluo. Including the Chief, there are twelve of them. Their statuses are very high in the church. Only the Supreme Leader canmand them. Even the sect leader can¡¯t do so.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe and Elder Song looked at each other. They had really benefited greatly from catching Nangong Wan this time. Such information was too valuable to Shrek Academy and the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. Finally, they had some knowledge of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s internal structure.

    ording to Nangong Wan, the Holy Ghost Church had more than twenty Titled Douluo, including two Ultimate Douluo. They were indeed very strong!

    Bei Bei continued asking from one side, ¡°Why aren¡¯t the eight honorary elders in the Worship Hall if they are Titled Douluo too?¡±

    Nangong Wan replied, ¡°The Worshipped are hired by the church. They aren¡¯t all evil soul masters. The eight elders have lineages rted to the church. That¡¯s why they¡¯re different. Furthermore, those that are evil soul masters in the Worship Hall are all very talented. Their martial souls are also very strong. For example, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng is one of them.¡±

    Bei Bei asked again, ¡°Apart from you and the Masquerade Douluo, who else from the Holy Ghost Church is at the frontline? Is the Masquerade Douluo one of the eight honorary elders?¡±

    Nangong Wan answered, ¡°Masquerade is ranked seventh among the elders. Apart from the two of us, the sect leader is also at the frontline. There¡¯s the sect leader, a Holy Lady and six members from the Worship Hall. Excluding me and Masquerade, there are two other honorary elders here. I¡¯m ranked second among the elders. Out of the other two elders, one is the Third Elder, the Dark Lightning Douluo. Although his soul power is only at Rank 92, he¡¯s also a ss 9 soul engineer. His abilities aren¡¯t beneath mine. The other one is the Fourth Elder, the Netherworld Douluo. His martial soul is a Netherworld Sword, and he¡¯s at Rank 93.¡±

    After hearing the words ¡®Third Elder¡¯ and ¡®Fourth Elder¡¯, Huo Yuhao suddenly jumped off from his seat. He revealed a hateful look on his face.

    If not for their ambush then, Wang Qiu¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice herself. Huo Yuhao deeply hated the both of them!

    Yan Shaozhe squinted and muttered to himself, ¡°The Holy Ghost Church is really relentless! They actually have eleven evil Titled Douluo. This time, we killed one of them and captured another one, but there are still nine left. These evil soul masters are definitely more terrifying than ss 9 stationary soul cannons if they join the war. I remember news from the Heavenly Soul Empire that purported that the borders of the empire were only breached because of the evil soul masters, and the great casualties they caused. The same happened when Heaven Dou City was attacked.

    Huo Yuhao came to the bedside at this moment, suppressing his hatred and asked, ¡°What are your Holy Ladies called? And where are they?¡±

    Nangong Wan said, ¡°They have no name. We call them ¡®Holy Lady¡¯ directly. The one at the frontline right now is the Bluesilver Holy Lady. The other one, known as the Phoenix Holy Lady, is with the vice-sect leader. The Bluesilver Holy Lady follows the sect leader, as he holds an important position. He stays in the tent next to the central tent in the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s area. It¡¯s easy to identify because it¡¯s golden. The Bluesilver Holy Lady stays in a tent beside his.¡±

 Chapter 495.1 - Sneaking In

    Chapter 495.1: Sneaking In

    Teacher Xiao Ya is indeed in the base. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened, and he turned to Bei Bei. Bei Bei already looked pretty agitated right now. He finally knew where she was, and had an opportunity to save her. Suddenly, Bei Bei was overwhelmed, and subconsciously clenched his fists.

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you retain your soul power, seeing that you are so cooperative.¡± As he spoke, he retracted the whirlpool above Nangong Wan and pped his forehead with his right hand, knocking Nangong Wan unconscious once again.

    The entire room descended into momentary silence. They had obtained valuable information after capturing Nangong Wan. Not only did they find out where Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao were, but they also understood more about the internal structure of the Holy Ghost Church. This was very helpful to Shrek Academy to deal with the Holy Ghost Church in the future.

    Huo Yuhao looked at Yan Shaozhe and asked, ¡°Dean Yan, since we have urate information, can we nning how we¡¯re going to carry out our operation?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was amused as he looked at him and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree that you¡¯dmand the operation? Of course you¡¯lle up with the n. What ideas do you have?¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered with being modest right now and immediately replied, ¡°If we want to save Teacher Xiao Ya, we can only bait her out. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s set-up is too strong. Five soul formations are enough to kill any expert. We need to bait Teacher Xiao Ya out. Otherwise, there¡¯s no other way.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe squinted and said, ¡°How do we do that then? Unless it¡¯s a full-scale battle, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s sect leader might not appear. Tang Ya will naturally not appear then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why it¡¯s difficult. If we fight all-out, the Heavenly Soul Empire will suffer heavy losses. Even if the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t have sufficient resources tost the entire fight, they¡¯ll still be very strong once they attack. They still have a lot of evil soul masters to help them. That¡¯s why I believe that the Heavenly Soul Empire wouldn¡¯t be willing to cooperate with us if that were the n. If that¡¯s the case, we only have one other solution.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Elder Song, Yan Shaozhe and Bei Bei focused their attention on Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light and he turned to Nangong Wan before saying, ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Bei Bei shouted without any hesitation. His eyes were filled with horror.

    Although Huo Yuhao only said a few words, Bei Bei knew exactly what he wanted to do.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do it. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± Elder Songmented. ¡°You want to use him to enter the base? Have you even thought of what would happen if you were recognized? There are many powerful individuals in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s sect leader is even holding the fort. How can you sneak in so easily?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Elder Song, Dean Yan, eldest senior, don¡¯t worry. Since I came up with his idea, I¡¯m naturally confident that it¡¯ll work. Although there¡¯s some risk, it¡¯s not as bad as all of you think. Elder Song, take a look.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao spun once. Suddenly, his aura changed greatly, and his body rapidly transformed. After hepleted his turn, his look hadpletely changed. Didn¡¯t he look just like the Masquerade Douluo? Even his aura was identical. It was sinister and cold. There were no discrepancies at all.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Earlier, Elder Song and Huo Yuhao had faced the two evil Titled Douluo together. Right now, she was astonished when she saw the changes that happened to Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Song was a Rank 97 Titled Douluo. However, she couldn¡¯t tell that anything wrong with Huo Yuhao just by using her naked eyes.

    Elder Song increased her spiritual power and swept it across Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao shuddered slightly, but a wave of spiritual power was suddenly deflected back. It even carried a sinister aura. Just like before, there wasn¡¯t any difference from the Masquerade Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hands, and pitch-ck maggots started to surface in mid-air. Every maggot carried strong spiritual undtions. They reached toward Elder Song like a huge web.

    However, Elder Song felt something wrong when she came into contact with this huge web. Earlier, the soul skill that the Masquerade Douluo had unleashed caused her entire person, including her spirit, to slow slightly. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill only left her slightly weaker. There was a difference when it came to strength, but the sinister aura remained.

    Elder Song said, ¡°Your soul skill seems to be off, but it appears very simr on the surface.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It definitely won¡¯t be the same. However, with my Imitation and Nangong Wan¡¯s help, there shouldn¡¯t be too many problems. Nangong Wan holds an even higher position than the Masquerade Douluo. I¡¯ll ask him about some of the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s habitster. After we return, I won¡¯t be easy to recognize with Nangong Wan leading the way. Even the sect leader can¡¯t tell who I am withoutying his hands on me.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous. I can¡¯t implicate you to save Xiao Ya. Little junior, I know that you want to save her too. If not for the fact that I¡¯m helpless, I would have volunteered to sneak in instead. However, you¡¯re different. You¡¯re the future hope of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. I can¡¯t make you take this risk. If something happens to you, how could I ount to the academy and the rest of our teammates?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, we have no other way right now. We can only do this so that we can achieve our aim in the shortest time possible. Furthermore, who says that I¡¯m going alone? All of you will follow me. I can¡¯t fight by myself.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Bei Bei, Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe were stunned as they looked at Huo Yuhao. Is he not going alone? However, there were so many, of them and none of them had Imitation like Huo Yuhao. How could they sneak in too?

    Huo Yuhao smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°Let¡¯s make a simple n and take advantage of the time that we have to sneak into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base first. After that, we can discuss our detailed n. We¡­¡±

    He lowered his voice and exined the n once. After hearing his n, Bei Bei looked enlightened, whereas Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe were getting increasingly shocked.

    One hourter.

    The night sky was still dark, but the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base wasn¡¯t peaceful.

    The sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church was standing in the center of themander¡¯s tent of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Crusading Army. The marshal of this army was a very notable general in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi returned to the empire, and had other ns. The army was nowmanded by this marshal. Although he was already more than seventy years old, he was still a Soul Douluo. He was called Lin Hai. Although his cultivation wasn¡¯t great, his influence in the Sun Moon Empire was still great, as he hailed from a family of military men, and he was also a Duke.

    Initially, when Ju Zi had entered the army, he had helped her a lot. He was also of the same lineage as Xu Tianran. Otherwise, Xu Tianran wouldn¡¯t have passed him the reins of the three armies.

    Lin Hai had another advantage that enabled him to be marshal of the three armies. It was his abilities. Weak abilities weren¡¯t always necessarily a bad thing. Just because he wasn¡¯t a Titled Douluo, he couldn¡¯tmand the stronger ss 9 soul engineer legion, even though his influence in the army was very great. This was why he could onlymand the ordinary soldiers. While the legionmanders of the soul engineer legions had to listen to his instructions, they still acted with great autonomy.

    Ju Zi could truly ensure strict obedience to her instructions andmand the entire army. It wasn¡¯t because of her abilities, but because of her mysterious and unpredictable strategies that left the three armies shocked. Right now, Ju Zi was being called the ¡®Female God of War¡¯ in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Lin Hai didn¡¯t possess the same unpredictability as Ju Zi, but he was more sturdy as a person. What was needed now was bnce. He was naturally the most suitable person tomand the three armies.

    However, Lin Hai wasn¡¯t in a good mood today. Yesterday, their ground-based surveince soul tools had discovered enemies sneaking about in the sky. Then, they fired a linked attack, but couldn¡¯t lock onto the enemies because they were too far away. This was why he didn¡¯t know what had happened. However, he gave the order to increase their surveince of the sky after that incident.

    Indeed, the enemies appeared again today. Just as Lin Hai was about to attack the sky with even greater intensity, the sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church wanted to get people to capture their enemies alive. After all, enemies that could conceal themselves were very difficult to take precautions against. It was better for them to capture them and find out where their abilities came from.

    The sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church was also the Imperial Tutor. At the same time, he had the authority to supervise Lin Hai. Lin Hai naturally couldn¡¯t stop him, given that he had made such a proposition. As a result, the Heavenly Centipede Douluo and Masquerade Douluo were deployed. To Zhongli Wu, two evil Titled Douluo were enough to capture their enemies.

    However, who could guess that Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo would disappear? Even the ground-based surveince soul tools only discovered strong soul power undtions before the two of them vanished.

    They were two evil Titled Douluo. The Holy Ghost Church had been around for so many years, but there weren¡¯t many evil Titled Douluo. Zhongli Wu held Nangong Wan in high regard. Although he wasn¡¯t young anymore, his Heavenly Centipede could still improve. If he was lucky enough, he might still be a Transcendent Douluo. Now that both of them were missing, how could Zhongli Wu not be furious?

 Chapter 495.2 - Sneaking In

    <h4 ss>Chapter 495.2: Sneaking In</h4>

    ¡°Still no news? Are your people dumb?¡± Zhongli Wu said coldly to Lin Hai.

    Although Zhongli Wu wouldn¡¯t admit it, he still admired Ju Zi a lot. When the Star Luo Empire snatched the Ming Dou Mountain Range back, Zhongli Wu felt that it was unbelievable. His own mother couldn¡¯t stop the Star Luo Empire. He was in great disbelief. After that, Ye Xishui mentioned that someone had used Di Tian¡¯s strength to keep her at bay. It was then Zhongli Wu finally understood.

    Although the Star Luo Empire had regained control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range and caused trouble at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders, the Heavenly Soul Empire had already lost two-thirds of theirnd. Even their capital had been taken. All these were the merit of Ju Zi. This was why Zhongli Wu would have been much more polite if Ju Zi were here. However, he believed that Lin Hai was only a puppet.

    ¡°All the surveince soul tools are operating at their highest efficiency. Also, we¡¯ve sent out more than ten soul engineer teams to search the sky. Indeed, we haven¡¯t found anything.¡± Lin Hai also knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend Zhongli Wu. He could only exin the situation once again.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light.Don¡¯t tell me they have many skilled individuals over there hiding in the sky? Impossible, the surveince soul tools here have been in use all this while. There¡¯s even monitoring of the sky using ground-based telescopes. Unless they can all conceal themselves, how can they disappear in the sky?

    As it¡¯s night time, the ground-based telescopes are much less effective. However, even so, any major movements would still be discovered. Furthermore, Nangong Wan and Masquerade are both Titled Douluo. Even if the enemies are strong, they should be able to handle them for some time. At least they should be able to send distress signals. I don¡¯t understand how they could go missing.

    Just as Zhongli Wu was puzzled, frantic footstep noises were heard. ¡°Repor¡ª¡ª¡±

    Lin Hai straightened his face. ¡°Tell me, what have you found?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Marshal. The Heavenly Centipede Douluo and Masquerade Douluo are back.¡±

    After hearing his words, Lin Hai heaved a sigh of relief.The two of them are finally back. Now, I wonder how this guy will continue to put me in a spot.

    Zhongli Wu also appeared much moreposed, and said, ¡°Tell them that I¡¯m here. Ask them toe see me.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡± The soldier rying the message acknowledged his order and quickly rushed off.

    Not long afterward, the curtains to themander¡¯s tent opened, and two people walked in.

    Nangong Wan was walking slightly in front. He quickly arrived in front of Zhongli Wu and bowed before saying, ¡°Sect leader.¡±

    The Masquerade Douluo followed closely behind him and did the same.

    Zhongli Wu asked, ¡°Why have both of you disappeared for so long? What happened?¡±

    Nangong Wan looked very grim. ¡°That fellow was very cunning. After we discovered him, we hid in the clouds and got closer to him. However, he discovered us before we got close to him. He¡¯s a spiritual-type Titled Douluo, but his abilities are ordinary. However, he was very quick, and his senses were also very acute. After discovering us, he immediately turned around and fled. He had someone to help him. When we chased him to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s base, we were afraid of falling into their trap, so we stopped and turned back.¡±

    Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t suspect Nangong Wan. It was normal. How easy was it to harm two Titled Douluo?

    Zhongli Wu nodded and asked, ¡°What other discoveries have you made?¡±

    Nangong Wan replied, ¡°Yes, sect leader. We seemed to have seen some people from Shrek Academy. Whoever helped that Titled Douluo seemed to havee from Shrek Academy. We saw one of their signals. Because of that, we didn¡¯t venture further, as we were afraid of falling into their trap.¡±

    ¡°Shrek Academy?¡± Zhongli Wu was slightly moved when he heard these words. All this while, the Holy Ghost Church had felt that their greatest enemy wasn¡¯t the Body Sect, but Shrek Academy.

    Shrek Academy had been around for thousands of years. Furthermore, they had students from all around the world. In the three empires of the original Douluo Continent, many military figures hailed from Shrek Academy. Once Shrek Academy announced their wish to ept students, the response would be overwhelming. This was why the Sun Moon Empire had failed when they started the first war. Shrek Academy¡¯s intervention caused everything to be futile.

    It had been some time since this war had started. Although Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t openly joined in the war, the Death God Douluo imed that someone from Shrek Academy had intervened during the Ming Dou Mountain Range incident. Now there were people from Shrek Academy here too?

    Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo stood at one side and silently waited as Zhongli Wu pondered.

    ¡°Did you clearly see what martial souls those from Shrek Academy possessed?¡± Zhongli Wu asked.

    Nangong Wan replied, ¡°I only saw one. It was from a Transcendent Douluo. His martial soul was a golden phoenix. His abilities were very great. Even if I challenged him to a duel, I wouldn¡¯t be confident of beating him.¡±

    ¡°Golden phoenix? Transcendent Douluo? Yan Shaozhe?¡± A cold look surfaced on Zhongli Wu¡¯s face.Yan Shaozhe, the Radiant Phoenix Douluo. He¡¯s actually personally here. It seems like Shrek Academy is about to intervene.

    As he spoke until here, Zhongli Wu¡¯s expression turned grimmer and grimmer. Although Shrek Academy no longer had an Ultimate Douluo, the Holy Ghost Church had never once let down their guard against them. Even though the Holy Ghost Church was at its peak now, and even had two Ultimate Douluo, they didn¡¯t have the idea of directly attacking Shrek Academy.

    This was especially since Shrek Academy had forced the Great Star Dou Forest to retreat not long ago, which further enhanced the academy¡¯s reputation as the top academy on the continent. Although the Holy Ghost Church wasn¡¯t aware of what had truly happened, the Great Star Dou Forest was still the number one soul beast forest in the world. Out of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, five were in the Great Star Dou Forest. This even included Di Tian! Even so, none of them could take down Shrek City. This showed how strong Shrek City was.

    The Holy Ghost Church was going to deal with Shrek Academy sooner orter. However, they had no intention of using their abilities to deal with them directly. They wanted to borrow the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strength. No matter how strong Shrek Academy was, it was still a soul master academy. Their values would be deeply rooted. Although the academy had been investing greatly in soul tools in recent years, Zhongli Wu still felt that it was insufficient. Could they possibly catch up so quickly?

    No matter how imprable Shrek City was, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive if Zhongli Wu led soul engineer legions to attack them, and fired ss 9 stationary soul cannons at them.

    However, Zhongli Wu was a little depressed that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao had said that they couldn¡¯t attack Shrek Academy directly no matter what. Without the support of the two of them, Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t dare to make any ns to attack Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Since they¡¯re here, we¡¯ll let theme at us. Marshal Lin Hai.¡± Zhongli Wu turned to Lin Hai.

    Lin Hai immediately stood up, and respectfully said, ¡°Imperial Tutor, please give me your orders.¡±

    Zhongli Wu said, ¡°Get your men to be more cautious and step up surveince. Once you discover something, inform me quickly. I want to see what Yan Shaozhe is up to.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Hai respectfully acknowledged his words.

    Zhongli Wu turned to Nangong Wan and said, ¡°Nangong, Masquerade, go and rest. Both of you have done well this time by bringing back important news. However, don¡¯t chase our enemies recklessly in the future. Shrek Academy is very sly. Once you fall into their trap, you¡¯ll be in big trouble. Both of you are important to the church. I hope nothing happens to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡± Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo bowed at the same time.

    Zhongli Wu waved them off and said, ¡°Alright, both of you are dismissed.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo turned around and left.

    Just as they reached the opening of the tent, Zhongli Wu suddenly called, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo both stopped. The Masquerade Douluo stiffened up, but it was only slightly. It wasn¡¯t obvious.

    Zhongli Wu said, ¡°Masquerade, you¡¯ve already stagnated for some time. Stop thinking about ying with women. Work harder. Although your martial soul isn¡¯t very strong, it¡¯s very special. If you can be a Transcendent Douluo in the future, it¡¯ll be very helpful to the church.¡±

 Chapter 495.3 - Sneaking In

    Chapter 495.3: Sneaking In

    ¡°Sect leader, you also know that it¡¯s difficult to cultivate my Demonic Maggot. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not working hard. It¡¯s just that my Demonic Maggot hasn¡¯t been able to gain anything from devouring the spirits of ordinary humans after I became a Titled Douluo. I can only achieve something if I devour the spirit of a Titled Douluo. Why don¡¯t you give me some resources when the war continues?¡± The Masquerade Douluoughed.

    Zhongli Wu furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Enough with that. The church still has uses for the spirits of Titled Douluo. Even if your Demonic Maggot devours their spirits, it¡¯s not just one or two that will help you improve. It¡¯s such a waste. Although we are evil soul masters, stop trying to use shortcuts to achieve your goal. Work hard on your cultivation. You can improve in that way too. Look at Nangong. He¡¯s already Rank 93 now. When he reaches Rank 94, the church will turn resources toward him and quickly help him be a Transcendent Douluo. If you stay in your current state, you can only remain as one of the lousier elders we have.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll work harder.¡± The Masquerade Douluo said a little awkwardly.

    ¡°You can go.¡± Zhongli Wu gestured again. The Masquerade Douluo felt as if he had been given a big let off, and walked out with Nangong Wan.

    After exiting themander¡¯s tent, Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo looked at each other. The originally sinister look in the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s eyes became clearer, and he nodded gently.

    Nangong Wan led him toward the left. Their tents were not far in that direction.

    The real Masquerade Douluo had died at Elder Song¡¯s hands. Without a doubt, the Masquerade Douluo now was an imitation. Huo Yuhao was imitating him.

    When Zhongli Wu had called out to him earlier, Huo Yuhao had tensed up. He clearly knew that if he was exposed in such a core area of the base, he would find it extremely difficult to escape from the sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church even if he had the protection of Di Tian¡¯s reverse scale.

    Fortunately, he had found out some details on the Masquerade Douluo from Nangong Wan before he came here. This was why he managed to bluff his way through.

    Nangong Wan sent the Masquerade Douluo to his tent before speaking through his soul power, ¡°When are you going to remove my restrictions?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°When we finish this mission, we¡¯ll remove the restrictions. Shrek Academy isn¡¯t the Holy Ghost Church. We¡¯ll keep our promises. As long as you cooperate with us, we won¡¯t hurt you. We¡¯ll even help you keep up the pretense. When you finish this mission, you¡¯ll be free and continue to be an elder of the Holy Ghost Church. Of course, whatever you want to do in the future, it¡¯ll be your business. However, if you continue to harm others, you¡¯llnd in our hands again.¡±

    Nangong Wanughed bitterly as he nodded. He pointed to Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent before turning and leaving. He didn¡¯t fully trust Huo Yuhao. However, not believing Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t believe Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy¡¯s reputation on the continent was very notable. Earlier, Yan Shaozhe and Elder Song had guaranteed that he would be given his freedom if he helped them toplete this mission. Right now, the restrictions in Nangong Wan¡¯s body were ced by Huo Yuhao using necromancy after Yan Shaozhe sucked away his soul power. In fact, the restrictions weren¡¯t lethal, but they would be very painful if they were triggered.

    After all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t too far off from his. These restrictions would onlyst for three days too. Of course, Nangong Wan didn¡¯t know all this. He only knew that his spiritual sea would be in excruciating pain if he tried to trigger the restrictions.

    Huo Yuhao bent over and entered his tent.

    The evil soul masters were treated very well in this camp. This tent was veryrge. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately changed when stepped in.

    There was a strong fragrance in the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s tent. This fragrance carried the smell of aphrodisiac. Not only that, but there was also a sinister aura that apanied it.

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re back.¡± A soft-spoken voice was heard. Two simply-dressed young girls received him immediately. Their faces were slightly red, and their breathing carried the aura of aphrodisiacs. Evidently, they were influenced by those drugs.

    These two young girls were very pretty, but the look in their eyes was hollow. It was as if they had lost their souls.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Stay away from me. Put your clothes on. I don¡¯t need your services today.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The two girls were stunned, but they didn¡¯t dare to say anything, and immediately dressed up before leaving when they felt the killing intenting from Huo Yuhao.

    When they left, the tent immediately smelled more refreshing.

    Huo Yuhao pulled the curtains open to get rid of the smell. Although he only had a brief interaction with both girls earlier, he could still feel that the aphrodisiacs came from their bodies. This meant that their bodies had been modified. The way that the Holy Ghost Church harmed people could really make one bristle with anger.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use his Spiritual Detection to observe his surroundings. He was in a very important area of the base. Everyone from the Holy Ghost Church stayed within this core region. Defense was undoubtedly very tight in such a region. If there was a spiritual barrier or a powerful individual around, he would immediately be detected.

    This was why Huo Yuhao only looked out from his windows after pulling his curtains open and sensed his surroundings. When fresher air circted into his tent, he immediately shut the windows.

    The decoration inside this tent was quite ssy. There was a huge carpet made out of animal skin that wasid on the ground, and a huge bed in the center of the tent. At the front, there was a table, a sofa and daily tools.

    After sending the two young girls out, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of the Holy Ghost Church suspecting anything. Earlier, Zhongli Wu had told him to stop being so obsessed with sex. He was only listening to orders.

    After closing the curtains, the entire tent became much quieter. It was also much dimmer. There were only a few dim soulmps that were still on.

    Evil soul masters didn¡¯t enjoy bright environments. Such dimness gave off a very sinister feel.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t get onto the bed. To him, the Masquerade Douluo must have had been on it with many young girls. It was too dirty. He pulled out a chair and sat cross-legged on it. After this, he carefully unleashed his spiritual power.

    His Spiritual Detection was limited to his tent, but every single nook and cranny was within his detection.

    He wanted to make sure that this ce was fine before he proceeded with the next step of his operation.

    A few minutester, he opened his eyes once again and nodded. This is more like where an evil Titled Douluo should stay. There aren¡¯t any surveince precautions taken in this tent, and there are also no surveince soul tools that cover it.

    This was great news. Huo Yuhao unleashed his soul power once again. This time, he formed a spiritual barrier and isted the inside of the tent from the rest of the outside world. At this moment, he would immediately discover it if someone tried to use their spiritual power in this tent. It was just like when he was discovered.

    Afterpleting this set-up, Huo Yuhao started to mutter incantations. He was very soft. Unless one were in this room, it would be impossible to hear him.

    The Masquerade Douluo was also partly adept at spiritual power. This was why it was easier for Huo Yuhao to keep up his false appearance if he imitated him. The evil soul master aura of the Masquerade Douluo could be imitated, while his spiritual power wasn¡¯t weaker than the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s was.

    As he started chanting, the space in front of him started to distort. Halos shed, and a pitch-ck door slowly opened in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao verified that no one had breached his spiritual barrier before he took a step into that door.

    He came into another dimension, his spectral demine.

    On a bald mountain, Elder Song, Yan Shaozhe and everyone from the Tang Sect was waiting for him. Apart from them, there was also the Ice Bear King.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect had entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine. They didn¡¯t have too much of a reaction when they first entered, but Yan Shaozhe and Elder Song were both astonished.

    They hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to be capable of this. It was because they were strong that they understood what a demine meant.

    Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe immediately realized where the spectral army came from when they were fighting the Great Star Dou Forest when they saw the boundless sea of spectres.

    However, neither of them asked any questions about it.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s n, there was no way he could rescue Tang Ya alone.

    Tang Ya¡¯s current abilities were unknown. However, they knew she was at least an evil Soul Sage. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t harm her either. It was impossible to capture her quickly. Furthermore, any movement in this base would be immediately discovered.

    This was why Huo Yuhao had no choice but to expose his spectral demine to them, and let everyone rest inside it. When he entered it, it meant that everyone had assembled. Right now, the first step of the n had beenpleted.

    ¡°How is it, Yuhao?¡± Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly and recounted everything that had happened to them.

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°Alright, take care then. You don¡¯t have to worry about us. We¡¯ll be waiting for you. When you think the time is right, we¡¯ll begin the mission.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao had entered to say hi to everyone, and tell them that he had sessfully snuck into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base.

    Yan Shaozhe furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Yuhao, you should expedite your n. The longer you stay there, the more you run the risk of being exposed.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged once again.

    Elder Songughed, ¡°Shaozhe, I think you¡¯ve yet to limate to the environment here.¡±

 Chapter 496.1 - The Walking Corpse Tang Ya

    Chapter 496.1: The Walking Corpse Tang Ya

    Wasn¡¯t that right? Yan Shaozhe¡¯s martial soul was a Radiant Phoenix, and all his abilities were based on the element of light, while the demine was inhabited by undead creatures. Yan Shaozhe and Ye Guyi felt the most ufortable. If Ye Guyi hadn¡¯t already tried and realized that killing these undead creatures didn¡¯t improve her cultivation, she would probably have charged around to ughter some undead.

    Yan Shaozhe directly admitted it, and said, ¡°Yes! I truly don¡¯t like the feeling of this ce. Yuhao, you have to tell me how you got this demine when we go back. I believe not even an Ultimate Douluo can possibly possess a ce like this.¡±

    ¡°Yes. One of my teachers left this ce for me,¡± Huo Yuhao needed to keep this secret very strictly before, but as he became stronger, he didn¡¯t need to keep it so excessively anymore. After all, he increasingly required this ability, just as he had told Elder Xuan without hesitation back then about how he had a Necromancer martial soul.

    Huo Yuhao retreated from within the ck door, and began to chant as the spectral gate closed. Everything within the tent returned to normal.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n wasn¡¯tplicated. He was to go undercover in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp, and his next step was to find some way to locate where Tang Ya was staying. Then, he would attempt to get closer to her, and figure out what was happening there. Afterwards, he would find a suitable opportunity to make a move and rescue her.

    Huo Yuhao had already nned how he was to escape. He would have no choice but to draw upon his abilities as a necromancer when that happened. They only had a chance to escape if he could create sufficient chaos.

    Huo Yuhao and the others had already conveyed their ns to the Heavenly Soul Empire before they departed. The Heavenly Soul Empire would feint an attack right before Huo Yuhao and the others would make their move, but a feint attack would be all. The attack was meant to attract their enemies¡¯ attention so that they could maneuver andplete their mission better.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire was very supportive of their n, and that was especially so after finding out that Elder Song had defeated and killed an evil Titled Douluo. Huo Yuhao had also promised that he would try his best to disrupt and destroy things within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp.

    Huo Yuhao was the only sessful product from the Ultimate Soldier n, and he was best at concealing himself, assassinations, and carrying out missions. Creating some trouble inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all.

    He began to contemte his n as he sat down with his legs crossed, and he tried all he could to make sure that his n wasplete. Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength would be very inadequate if he was by himself, but he had a very good helper now.

    The sky was bing brighter outside, and the break of dawn meant a new day was about to begin.

    Huo Yuhao exited the tent and stared at the blue skies as he gazed far into the east while he quietly absorbed the thread of purple energy that rose there.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Nangong Wan walked briskly towards him. Their eyes met for a moment, and Nangong Wan smiled as he walked over and said, ¡°Up so early, Masquerade? Come, let¡¯s go grab something to eat.¡±

    Nangong Wan didn¡¯t rest either the previous night. He was even more worried than Huo Yuhao himself that his identity would be revealed, because he would be in deep trouble if Huo Yuhao¡¯s identity was discovered. When that happened, life and death wasn¡¯t the problem, because he would rather die than be alive. Nangong Wan was too aware of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s methods.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t waste words.

    They proceeded towards the canteen under Nangong Wan¡¯s guidance. Nangong Wan projected his voice with his mind as they walked, and he introduced the ces where they walked by.

    Nangong Wan was very useful as a spy, because Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use Spiritual Detection to investigate the camp directly. This was especially so because they were inside the army camp¡¯s core section, and there were many powerful evil soul masters wherever they went. They were going towards where the soul engineer legions were camped, and it was imperative for Huo Yuhao to know where they ate, where they showered, where they typically exercised or moved around in the day, and which areas were forbidden or the most dangerous. He could only make sure that his n wasplete with sufficient intelligence.

    ¡°The Holy Lady typically has her breakfast very early in the day, and it should be about now. We should go see her.¡± Nangong Wan passed a message to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao answered with his mind without altering his expression. ¡°Avoid interacting with other people to keep from exposing us.¡±

    Nangong Wan replied, ¡°That won¡¯t be much of a problem. Us evil soul masters have our own personalities, and I¡¯m better with people, so I¡¯m more acquainted and friendly with many evil soul masters. But you don¡¯t interact much with them, so even if you don¡¯t say a word, they won¡¯t say anything to you even if you run into them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    They arrived in front of an enormous tent as they spoke.

    Typical soldiers and even officers got their meals from the army cooks before they went back to have them in their own mess. Only high-level army officials had their own canteen spots, while evil soul masters naturally had better treatment. The soul engineer legions and high-level army officials were also unwilling to eat with evil soul masters, so even though their canteen wasn¡¯t big, it was almost exclusively for evil soul masters to eat.

    There were some evil soul masters who were here to eat even though it was still early. They bowed respectfully when they saw Huo Yuhao and Nangong Wan. Status differences were very clear within an organization like the Holy Ghost Church, and strength was status. If those who were weaker dared to offend those who were stronger, nobody would speak out for the perpetrator even if he was killed.

    There were more than ten tables in the dining tent, and each table could seat about six people.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body quivered once he entered the tent, and his eyes were almost guided by his consciousness as he immediately saw Tang Ya, who was eating at the innermost table.

    Tang Ya was wearing a long ck dress, with bright blue flowery patterns on the edges. This clearly showed that her status was different from the others, since most individuals in the Holy Ghost Church only had a pure ck cloak. Elders like Nangong Wan and the Masquerade Douluo had silver patterns at the edges of their robes, and Nangong Wan had had told Huo Yuhao that people from the Worship Hall¡¯s had golden patterns. The Supreme Leader that Huo Yuhao had seen before had golden patterns all over his robe, and it appeared most luxurious and pretty.

    Huo Yuhao and Nangong Wan exchanged a look, and Nangong Wan took him all the way inside until they were in front of Tang Ya¡¯s table as Nangong Wan said respectfully, ¡°Holy Lady.¡±

    Tang Ya looked up at them as she nodded with a in look in her eyes. She didn¡¯t say anything, however.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions rippled faintly when he saw her eyes. Tang Ya¡¯s eyes were extremely cold, as if there weren¡¯t any emotions in them at all, and her pupils werepletely gray. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t detect any kind of life from her body.

    Huo Yuhao had interrogated the Delicate Silk Immortal about Tang Ya¡¯s situation before. You You had told him that Tang Ya was under an evil spell, and she was badly poisoned. Her Delicate Silk Immortal Pill could dispel the toxins in Tang Ya¡¯s body. At least, her pill could gradually remove and suppress those toxins. However, she still needed the Bluesilver Emperor to awaken her martial soul¡¯s life energy. Otherwise, her life energy would flow away together with those evil toxins, and she would ultimately die.

    The dishes in front of Tang Ya were very simple, but they looked very exquisite. There were evil soul masters at the other tables, but not a single one dared to sit at her table, as if this table was exclusively prepared for her.

    Nangong Wan and Huo Yuhao walked to another table and sat down as they got their breakfast. Breakfast was very sumptuous, and was prepared with ingredients that were very nutritious and beneficial for evil soul masters. Only evil soul masters had such special treatment.

    Huo Yuhao ate as he quietly felt the changes in Tang Ya¡¯s aura. Her life energy was undting very weakly, as if her entire being no longer had any life energy. However, Huo Yuhao could feel an intense sense of rm from her as she sat there, as if there was an enormous beast hidden within her body.

    Huo Yuhao could feel his heart tie up into knots as he ate his breakfast in silence. He could still remember when he first met teacher Xiao Ya, and how lively and cheerful she was. She was with his eldest senior brother back then, and they were like a couple made in heaven! She made the decision and allowed him to join the Tang Sect, and then she used the Tang Sect¡¯s only spot to let him enter Shrek Academy. It could be said that Tang Ya and Bei Bei had given him a new life, and Huo Yuhao had always kept this favor deep within his heart. Huo Yuhao¡¯s pain and agony as he witnessed Tang Ya¡¯s current situation wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine. He truly didn¡¯t know how Bei Bei would react if he saw her like this.

    Huo Yuhao made a silent vow to himself. Teacher Xiao Ya, we will definitely save you from this ce no matter what. We have to help you return to normal.

    Just as Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions were riling up, a voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Second brother, Old Seven, you guys are early today!¡±

    ¡°Old Seven¡± naturally referred to the Masquerade Douluo, while ¡°second brother¡± referred to Nangong Wan.

    Huo Yuhao immediately withdrew his emotions as he raised his head. However, his emotions quivered vigorously for a moment when he saw who hade.

    The person who was speaking to them was the one who was adept with soul tools in the Holy Ghost Church, the Third Elder that Huo Yuhao harbored a deep hatred for. Back then, those three Elders had forced him to burn his spiritual sea before Wang Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself to save him.

    It could be said that Qiu¡¯er died at the hands of the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect to run into this person so quickly.

    However, he had long known that he was here because of what Nangong Wan had described to him, so he did have some mental preparation. He quickly returned to normal after his emotions rippled a little.

    Nangong Wan said appropriately, ¡°We¡¯re not early. It¡¯s just that we didn¡¯t sleep muchst night. Someone from the Heavenly Soul Empire came over and was conducting surveince high up in the sky. We went up to take a look, and chased them all the way back to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s side. I think we¡¯re in a bit of trouble, Old Three. We have discovered people from Shrek Academy, and we¡¯ve heard from the Supreme Leader that the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, the Radiant Phoenix Douluo, Yan Shaozhe is here.¡±

 Chapter 496.2 - The Walking Corpse Tang Ya

    Chapter 496.2: The Walking Corpse Tang Ya

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe?¡± The Third Elder immediately shifted his attention to Nangong Wan as he said confusedly, ¡°Yan Shaozhe? Was he the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En¡¯s disciple back then? He should be a Transcendent Douluo by now.¡±

    Nangong Wan nodded and said, ¡°That isn¡¯t all. If I remember correctly, he is also the next heir of Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    The Third Elder sat down beside Nangong Wan and grunted coldly as he said, ¡°Let hime. After all, our battle with Shrek Academy is a matter of ¡®when¡¯, not ¡®if¡¯. We have more than ten thousand soldiers in our great army, and we also have the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s five great soul engineer legions, while the Supreme Leader is holding down the fort in person. Even if all of Shrek Academy¡¯s elites were here, their effectiveness on a battlefield such as this one would be very limited.¡±

    Nangong Wan chuckled and said, ¡°That sounds about right. Hurry up and eat.¡±

    The Third Elder looked up at Huo Yuhao, who was beside Nangong Wan, and asked, ¡°Old Seven, I heard you¡¯ve chased your two mistresses away?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression darkened as he replied, ¡°Third brother, don¡¯t pick on my scabs. The Supreme Leader scolded me yesterday, so how can I not change? If you¡¯re interested, those two girls can belong to you. I¡¯m just afraid that you can¡¯t take it.¡±

    The Third Elderughed and said, ¡°Nonsense. You know I don¡¯t like such things.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed coldly and said, ¡°How can that be? Why do I remember that you imprisoned ady back then? It¡¯s not that you don¡¯t like such things, but that you are very focused in your love, hahaha!¡±

    The Third Elder blushed as he said suspiciously, ¡°How did you know that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was naturally referring to the Third Elder imprisoning Nan Shuishui, which not even Nangong Wan knew about. Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°As long as you¡¯ve done something, somebody will know. You¡¯re already so old, third brother, so why are you still embarrassed? Alright, I¡¯ve had my fill. I¡¯m going back, and you can continue chatting with second brother. I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, so I¡¯m going back to cultivate so that the Supreme Leader can¡¯t say that I¡¯ve beenzy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up after his speech and walked out. He didn¡¯t want to say anymore, as he was bound to say something wrong if he did. It was better to minimize any interaction with these evil soul masters.

    The Third Elder said unhappily to Nangong Wan, ¡°Second brother, why does Old Seven seem so weird today?¡±

    Nangong Wanughed and replied, ¡°That¡¯s probably because he isn¡¯t in such a good mood after the Supreme Leader chided himst night. But you know what¡¯s up with Old Seven, it¡¯s very difficult for him to improve with that martial soul of his.¡±

    Huo Yuhao saw that Tang Ya had also stood up to walk out before he left the canteen, and an idea urred to him as he slowed his steps.

    Tang Ya maintained a steady pace as she walked towards her tent after leaving the canteen. The evil soul masters didn¡¯t reside very far from the canteen. Huo Yuhao naturally shared a path with her, and he pretended to run into her as he slowed and said respectfully, ¡°Holy Lady.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tang Ya acknowledged as she walked across his path, expressionless. She didn¡¯t pay any attention to him at all.

    Huo Yuhao made a quick judgment in his mind. From Tang Ya¡¯s current situation, her mind had to be affected by some kind of restriction or spell, and her martial soul had been infected by evil toxins. However, those evil toxins were catalyzing her growth and improvement, and from the aura that she was giving off, she should be an eight-ringed Soul Douluo.

    Evil soul masters cultivate really quickly! Back then, teacher Xiao Ya was still quite some distance away from eldest senior brother¡¯s cultivation, but she has surpassed him now.

    Huo Yuhao watched Tang Ya disappear into her tent before he returned to his own.

    Today¡¯s result is good. At least, I¡¯ve seen Tang Ya, and that proves Nangong Wan¡¯s intel is urate. Now, I have to figure out how to take her away.

    Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and began to meditate as he returned to his room, but his brain began to spin rapidly.

    How can I take Teacher Xiao Ya away safely? Furthermore, I have to ensure that we don¡¯t sustain any injuries or losses.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp was rather peaceful because there were no battles, and only the asional sounds of training soldiers could be heard from time to time. This area where the evil soul masters resided was separated from the rest, and there were no soldiers patrolling this area, so there wasn¡¯t much noise.

    A day quickly passed. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t wait for Nangong Wan to arrive at midday as he went ahead to the canteen to eat. He deliberately went ahead early to avoid the powerful evil soul masters before he returned to his tent to continue cultivating.

    From the other evil soul masters¡¯ perspective, the Seventh Elder began to put in effort after the Supreme Leader had scolded him, so nobody suspected him.

    Darkness befell the heavens as the sky becamepletely dark before Huo Yuhao opened his eyes in his tent.

    The tent was very dim, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were bright like the stars in the night sky.

    It¡¯s time to test the waters. A thread of white light emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and his entire body seemed to quiver as the light around him contorted a little.

    A figure appeared soundlessly in front of him. This figure seemed small and cute, and it was about asrge as an infant, but it looked identical to Huo Yuhao.

    The light became increasingly material, like it was a real tiny person. This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar, that he had conjured with his concrete-material spiritual power.

    Huo Yuhao had created a spiritual soul core, so his spiritual avatar was much stronger than before. His spiritual avatar could use some of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skills, and people couldn¡¯t even tell that his avatar was made from energy just by looking with their eyes.

    The mini-Huo Yuhao nced at his original body before he vanished into the air with a sh. Yes, that was Imitation.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar could only use his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills. However, using a soul skill would consume part of his spiritual avatar¡¯s origin energy, and once his avatar¡¯s origin energy was depleted, it would crumble.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar left the tent under the cover of Imitation, and soundlessly approached Tang Ya¡¯s tent. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go inside once he arrived outside Tang Ya¡¯s tent. Who knew whether Tang Ya had a spiritual barrier around her? Huo Yuhao would reveal his original body if he was discovered, and everything that he had discovered before would go to waste.

    Huo Yuhao circled around Tang Ya¡¯s tent before he circled another time around arge golden tent not far from there before he snuck further away.

    He wouldn¡¯t go into a tent to investigate things right now, because he could be easily ambushed or trapped if he did so. He had to be sure about the army camp¡¯s situation as a whole before anything else. Furthermore, there was a more important ce he had to find.

    Huo Yuhao could only use his spiritual avatar to walk briskly around the army camp because he couldn¡¯t use Spiritual Detection, though he could walk around very freely and casually because of Imitation.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp undoubtedly had all kinds of surveince soul tools, but these surveince soul tools were directed outwards, not inwards.

    Who would be so bored as to investigate their own soldiers¡¯ situation? The reason why Huo Yuhao made his spiritual avatar so small was both to conserve spiritual power and also because a small body was harder for the surveince soul tools to detect.

    Huo Yuhao moved very quickly, and he went almost one full round around the army camp before he quietly returned to his own tent. His spiritual avatar returned to his original body, and everything returned to normal.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes opened again, and the ¡°Masquerade Douluo¡±¡¯s expression became extremely solemn.

    Huo Yuhao could see a lot more clearly after investigating at such close proximity. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯syout was seamless, and almost entirely imprable.

    There were many soldiers guarding their five soul tool fronts. There were no surveince soul tools pointed inwards in the army camp¡¯s other ces, but there were some around the five soul tool fronts. Everybody who came near had to be interrogated.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to let his spiritual avatar go close to those soul tool fronts. Furthermore, he could feel that there were linked formations which were continuously activated within those fronts. Even though he wasn¡¯t sure that they were doing, he had no doubt that they possessed formidable defensive or offensive capabilities. One misstep and he would be discovered, and be cannon fodder.

    Huo Yuhao had originally hoped to find one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s storage soul tools, or a warehouse that housed stationary soul cannon shells, which he could detonate at the appropriate time. He would create much chaos in the army camp if that happened, and cooperating with the Heavenly Soul Empire when the time came would be most effective.

    But it seemed like he had to change his n, because he couldn¡¯t find any warehouses that stored soul tools. There was no question that these warehouses were contained within those soul tool fronts, which meant that he would have to break through the soul tool front¡¯s defenses if he wanted to bomb those warehouses. Not even Elder Song could do that even if she was here, not to mention Huo Yuhao.

    What should I do? Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes squinted as he contemted long and hard. This was very important for him, because insufficient chaos wouldn¡¯t give them sufficient time.

    The night was peaceful, and everything seemed to return to tranquility. The Sun Moon Empire increased their ground-based aerial surveince, but they didn¡¯t discover anything. The Heavenly Soul Empire also seemed particrly calm and quiet.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters discovered that, over the past two days, their Seventh Elder had be particrly hardworking. He didn¡¯t touch any girls, and he remained in his tent to cultivate effortfully. He was almost not seen at all in the day.

    Dinner, on the second night.

    Huo Yuhao deliberately called Nangong Wan before eating dinner, and they walked towards the evil soul masters¡¯ canteen together.

    ¡°Third Elder, can you find an empty and remote ce for me? It would be better if this ce wasn¡¯t inside this core area, and best if it was near any of the five soul tool forts. That ce must be quiet and uninhabited.¡± Huo Yuhao passed a message to Nangong Wan with his mind.

 Chapter 496.3 - The Walking Corpse Tang Ya

    <h4 ss>Chapter 496.3: The Walking Corpse Tang Ya</h4>

    Nangong Wan was momentarily stunned. He forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s a little difficult. The areas closer to those soul tool fronts are heavily guarded, and well-equipped with all sorts of surveince soul tools. It¡¯s almost impossible to do something around them without being discovered. Are you guys ready to make your move?¡± A worried expression appeared on his face as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, Third Elder. We will give you a way out even when we execute our n. You have to help me find such a ce as fast as possible, and if it really isn¡¯t possible, a location slightly further away from those soul tool fronts is also eptable, but it has to be further away from where we are. Only then can we move ording to our n.¡±

    Nangong Wan knew that he no longer had a choice. He was most afraid of Huo Yuhao¡¯s identity being revealed, because Huo Yuhao had returned with him as the Masquerade Douluo. Nangong Wan would also be exposed if Huo Yuhao was discovered.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    Nangong Wan scurried away after dinner. He was much more familiar with the situation inside the army camp than Huo Yuhao was.

    Nangong Wan came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent to find him after two hours.

    ¡°There¡¯s a solution, Tang Wu.¡± Nangong Wan still thought Huo Yuhao was Tang Wu up until now.

    Huo Yuhao frowned and replied, ¡°Call me Masquerade.¡±

    Nangong Wan froze for a moment. ¡°Alright, Masquerade, I think we have an opportunity, and it¡¯s quite a good one at that. The Holy Ghost Church has the authority to supervise and survey the army. The Supreme Leader has just passed the order for us to patrol several soul tool fronts tomorrow afternoon. The two fronts that belong to two of the Hand that Protects the Nation¡¯s two soul engineer legions are a little more troublesome because they don¡¯t show us much respect. The other three fronts that are responsible for defense that belong to normal soul engineer legions are more polite toward us. Why don¡¯t we take a trip down together, so you can find an opportunity?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was ted when he heard the news. ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, let¡¯s do it then. Tell the Supreme Leader that I will apany you on patrol tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Nangong Wan acknowledged, and he hesitated before he then continued, ¡°If you execute your n tomorrow, what happens to me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find an appropriate solution for you. When everything happens, I¡¯ll fake my death, and all you have to do is pretend you have no idea about anything. As for the restrictions on your body, we will help you remove them once we fully execute our n. You¡¯re a smart man, and you should understand that something bad will happen to you if you foil our n.¡±

    Nangong Wan hurriedly said, ¡°Of course, of course. Don¡¯t worry, as long as you keep your promise to remove my restrictions, I will help you as much as possible even if you look for me again next time.¡± Nangong Wan had taken Huo Yuhao, the ¡°Masquerade Douluo¡±, back together with him, and that meant he had a hold on Nangong Wan. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t at all worried that Nangong Wan would expose him in their operation. As for what would happen afterwards, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t consider that too seriously. Who knew how things would unfold? How could Nangong Wan follow his instructions if there wasn¡¯t something to threaten him with?

    But rescuing Tang Ya was of the utmost importance for everyone from Shrek.

    Huo Yuhao immediately sealed his tent with a spiritual barrier once he escorted Nangong Wan away before he swiftly summoned his spectral gate and began to discuss his n with hispanions. The most importantponent of his n was executable with Nangong Wan¡¯s intel, and the next step was to iron out the rest of the n perfectly. They would act tomorrow night.

    Huo Yuhao returned to his tent after discussing inside his spectral demine for two hours. His spiritual barrier was very normal, and it wasn¡¯t triggered at all, but Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rest. Instead, he conjured another spiritual avatar as he sent it out of his tent, and he followed the path that he had scouted several days ago as he swiftly left the camp and disappeared into the distance.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools that pointed outward covered every corner, but not every kind of soul tool could do that task.

    Huo Yuhao found a few loopholes after investigating for two days. His spiritual avatar wasn¡¯t afraid of thermal detectors, and he also had help from Imitation. Huo Yuhao evaded the oscition detectors and spiritual detectors before he slipped out of the camp and went straight for Heaven Dou City. His spiritual avatar was carrying the signal soul tool that Princess Wei Na had given him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar returned quietly after two hours, and it slipped back into the army camp with the same method as it swiftly returned to his tent and integrated back into his body.

    Preparations were mostlyplete, and the next step had to be left until tomorrow.

    It waste into the night, and Huo Yuhao nced in the direction of Tang Ya¡¯s tent before he closed his eyes and began to meditate. He had to maintain his peak spiritual condition for tomorrow¡¯s operation.

    Huo Yuhao got up very early in the morning, and cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes before he proceeded towards the canteen.

    He was walking when he suddenly sensed something, and subconsciously turned to look back, and he saw Tang Ya, who was calmly walking in the same direction.

    Huo Yuhao had seen Tang Ya a few times over the past two days, but Tang Ya almost never spoke with anyone. She was like as statue, or rather, she was like the walking dead.

    But Huo Yuhao could be sure that Tang Ya hadn¡¯tpletely lost her consciousness. Otherwise, what use would this Holy Lady be for the Holy Ghost Church to use in the future? The Holy Ghost Church was probably hoping that she and Ma Xiaotao would carry the Holy Ghost Church forward. How would that be possible if they were just puppets?

    ¡°Holy Lady,¡± Huo Yuhao stopped and walked over to Tang Ya as he bowed.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Tang Ya nodded, but she still responded as coldly as ever.

    Just as Huo Yuhao thought she would walk past him to eat, Tang Ya suddenly stopped and turned around to face him. She said coldly, ¡°Seventh Elder, your aura seems to have changed. Are you having any problems with cultivation recently?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This was the first time that he had heard Tang Ya speak aftering into this ce undercover. Tang Ya¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t very different from back then, but her voice no longer had any emotions, like she was just a machine talking.

    ¡°Holy Lady, what kind of changes are you talking about?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was very stable. He wasn¡¯t caught off-guard by the sudden change in circumstances, and he asked her a question instead with a smile on his face.

    Tang Ya seemed taken aback as she frowned and said, ¡°I can¡¯t quite put a finger on it. I just find that your aura has be more intimate than before, like there¡¯s more familiarity. You¡¯re not as despicable as before.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Tang Ya didn¡¯t attempt to mask her feelings when she said that she despised the Masquerade Douluo. That surprised Huo Yuhao, because even though Tang Ya was the Holy Lady, she was just a Soul Douluo! She wasn¡¯t polite at all to this ¡°Elder¡±.

    ¡°Bluesilver.¡± An elderly voice could be heard at this moment. Huo Yuhao felt his entire body tense up when he heard this voice, and he hurriedly took a few steps back as he spoke respectfully to where this voice wasing from. ¡°Greetings, Supreme Leader.¡±

    Didn¡¯t that old voice belong to the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Supreme Leader, Zhongli Wu?

    Tang Ya wasn¡¯t as reverent as Huo Yuhao was. Instead, she simply bowed faintly as a gesture in Zhongli Wu¡¯s direction.

    Zhongli Wu came beside Tang Ya and removed the hood on his head.

    This was the first time that Huo Yuhao got a look at the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Supreme Leader at such close proximity.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s hair was short and silver, and his hair was very thin and dense, and very sharp and tough, like steel needles. His eyebrows were thick, his eyes were bright, and he was actually extremely handsome. His eyes were dark purple, and faintly exuded a deep and profound aura. Nobody could feel his aura as an evil soul master just by looking at his physical appearance.

    He looked very young, and if not for his silver hair, he would have passed a middle-aged man. But Huo Yuhao knew that Zhongli Wu was only one generation younger than his teacher, Mu En, and the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui. He was probably more than a hundred and eighty years old, yet he still looked very young.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say much,¡± Tang Ya responded coldly to Zhongli Wu¡¯s doubts, and Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

    Zhongli Wu smiled faintly and said, ¡°Are you still hating on Seventh Elder? He didn¡¯t mean to scare you back then. I didn¡¯t expect you hold grudges. I¡¯ve already instructed him not to unleash his Demonic Maggot in front of you, no matter what, so you don¡¯t have to worry. Come, let¡¯s eat.¡±

    Zhongli Wu immediately grabbed Tang Ya¡¯s hand as he spoke, and they walked towards the canteen.

    Eh?Huo Yuhao felt a little strange when he witnessed how intimate Zhongli Wu was with Tang Ya.Can it be that Zhongli Wu is pining after teacher Xiao Ya? But he¡¯s already a hundred and eighty years old.

    Huo Yuhao watched Zhongli Wu and Tang Ya walk towards the canteen, and he could only grit his teeth and follow at the back to prevent any suspicion.

    Zhongli Wu suddenly stopped walking at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat.Has he discovered something?

    Zhongli Wu turned around to look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Masquerade, you cannote along. The Blusilver Holy Lady doesn¡¯t have much of an appetite with you around. Go back, and have your mealter.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was overjoyed when he heard those words, and he bowed respectfully toward Zhongli Wu like a great burden had been lifted from his chest before he turned to leave.Who wants to eat with you guys!?

    Huo Yuhao swiftly returned to his tent, and exhaled deeply once he stepped in.That was so close! Teacher Xiao Ya seems to have discovered something. Fortunately, she seems a little dense and inarticte, and she didn¡¯t bring it up to Zhongli Wu.

    For Huo Yuhao, the safest choice would be to run away as quickly as possible so that he could prevent any unforeseen dangers. But could he really leave? Everything that he had prepared and worked for would be wasted if he did.

    I can¡¯t leave, so I¡¯m going to take a chance. I have to bet that Teacher Xiao Ya hasn¡¯t recognized me, and she hasn¡¯t mentioned anything to Zhongli Wu.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little nervous as his thoughts stopped there. Everything that he had worked for would be wasted if he was discovered now, and he would also find himself trapped in dire danger.

 Chapter 497 - Second Soul Engineer Legion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 497: Second Soul Engineer Legion</h4>

    Huo Yuhao recalled the interactions between Tang Ya and Zhongli Wu previously, and discovered some useful things. For example, the Masquerade Douluo had used his Demonic Maggot to scare Tang Ya and cast a shadow in her heart. Furthermore, Zhongli Wu pampered her a lot. It didn¡¯t seem like they had romantic feelings between them. Rather, it felt like Zhongli Wu was protecting her. What kind of feeling was it? It was very weird.

    Waiting was sometimes a torture, especially in the situation that Huo Yuhao was facing.

    Waiting for an hour was like waiting for half a century. Finally, Huo Yuhao calmed himself down.Things should be fine since there¡¯s been no reaction for half a day. It seems like I¡¯m in luck.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After walking out from the tent, Huo Yuhao observed his surroundings as he proceeded towards the canteen. Indeed, Tang Ya and Zhongli Wu were no longer there. Things were very normal. He went to find Nangong Wan again. Seeing that he was fine, he verified that he had averted the crisis.

    The afternoon passed just like that. Huo Yuhao onlypletely calmed down after lunch. He meditated in his tent for an hour before Nangong Wan came to find him.

    ¡°Seven, let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± Nangong Wan¡¯s voice rose outside the tent.

    Huo Yuhao drifted up and walked out of the tent. Not only was Nangong Wan around, but there were also six other evil soul masters with weaker cultivations. They all had at least six rings. ording to what Nangong Wan had told Huo Yuhao, the Holy Ghost Church sent only those who were at least Soul Emperors to the frontline. There were very few evil soul masters, and nurturing them wasn¡¯t easy. It was very likely they would die at the front lines. That was why only those who could protect themselves were sent over.

    ¡°Go.¡± Huo Yuhao calmly said, and followed Nangong Wan.

    Nangong Wan said, ¡°Three and Four have been sent to supervise the Fourth Soul Engineer Legion. Let¡¯s go take a look at the Second Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Having Nangong Wan as a mole was very effective. The intelligence that he brought to Shrek Academy gave the Academy a new understanding of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s setup.

    The Sun Moon Empire had originally only had ten soul engineer legions. However, all the other soul engineer legions from other empires were brought under their control after the war started, allowing them to form another five soul engineer legions. In this way, the Sun Moon Empire now had a total of fifteen soul engineer legions.

    Among them, the five soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation were the strongest. The other ten soul engineer legions were ordered.

    Right now, there were five soul engineer legions at the front line. Apart from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion, there were also the Second, Third and Fourth Soul Engineer Legions.

    As for the other ten soul engineer legions, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was stationed in the capital. Unless they weremanded by Xu Tianran personally, they wouldn¡¯t leave easily. The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was also in the capital right now. The Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion had teamed up with two other soul engineer legions to deal with the soul master teams from the Star Luo Empire that were scattered all over the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories. The remaining soul engineer legions were also arranged in their own ways.

    The Sun Moon Empire relied on these five soul engineer legions and their elite soul tools at the front lines to suppress the coalition army of the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. In fact, the Heavenly Soul Empire had been battered so heavily that they were quite afraid by now. In the fights before, they had suffered heavy casualties. To keep Heavenly Spirit City intact was already the best that they could achieve at this stage. The initiativey in the hands of the Sun Moon Empire now.

    The Sun Moon Empire had their own ns. In the report that Ju Zi gave to Xu Tianran, they indicated that they wanted to consolidate the new territories they had obtained from the Heavenly Soul Empire first.

    Given the strength of the Sun Moon Empire, they could definitely take the entire Heavenly Soul Empire down. However, that would also mean that the Sun Moon Empire would need to protect morend. When that happened, the Sun Moon Empire would also have to take on the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires directly.

    Once the Heavenly Soul Empire was destroyed, the remaining two empires would have no choice except to fight all-out. Along with the threat of Shrek City, the Sun Moon Empire would also have no other option but to fight. To the overall ns of the Sun Moon Empire, this wasn¡¯t a good thing. At least, it wasn¡¯t good if they weren¡¯t prepared. Without the confidence of attainingplete victory, Ju Zi suggested that the Sun Moon Empire shouldn¡¯t rush to destroy the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Xu Tianran adopted her suggestion. As he consolidated the territories that they had, he quickly adjusted their resources to produce more soul tool essories. Through soul tool technology, he slowly influenced the people in the parts of the Heavenly Soul Empire that had fallen to the Sun Moon Empire. This would gradually get them to ept reality.

    War couldn¡¯t achieve their aims immediately. Ju Zi¡¯s n would take as long as ten years. In herplete n, domination of the continent would take at least that long. Although Xu Tianran thought that this was a little too long, her detailed n still managed to convince him. Even the seniormanders of the Sun Moon Empire approved of her n after reviewing it. The n raised Ju Zi¡¯s reputation in the Sun Moon Empire.

    After this n was drafted, she had headed into the north to gather rare metals. However, she had bumped into Huo Yuhao, who had ruined her n.

    Ju Zi¡¯s status in the military was very important to Xu Tianran. As a result, he even took the initiative to cover up her setback. An unbeaten female god of war was very helpful for morale. It was something that mustn¡¯t be affected easily.

    Currently, the five soul engineer legions at the frontline had been there for some time. Among them, the Imperial Dragon and Terrorw Soul Engineer Legions were very strong. They didn¡¯t even give face to the Holy Ghost Church. The Holy Ghost Church had faced quite a few problems trying to supervise these two soul engineer legions. They only took orders directly from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family.

    Although Zhongli Wu had wanted to force a check on them, the Holy Ghost Church still had many objectives to be achieved in the Sun Moon Empire. It wasn¡¯t advisable for him to offend Xu Tianran. After all, Xu Tianran was the Emperor. The Sun Moon Empire was also very influential and powerful now. Although the Holy Ghost Church was also very powerful, and even had two Ultimate Douluo, how could a sectpete with an entire empire in terms of overall abilities?

    As a result, Zhongli Wu could only bear it and perform circumstantial supervision on them.

    While the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were unwilling, the other three ordinary soul engineer legions were helpless. Just like how Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t want to offend Xu Tianran, Xu Tianran also didn¡¯t want to offend the Holy Ghost Church. There was something that he shared with the Holy Ghost Church: they wanted to borrow each other¡¯s strength to deal with Shrek Academy.

    While Shrek Academy hadn¡¯t seemed to do anything in the war so far, both Xu Tianran and Zhongli Wu were very wary of them!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Nangong Wan alerted Huo Yuhao. There was a soul formation not far in front of them.

    There were already seniormanders from the Second Soul Engineer Legion waiting outside the soul formation after they received their orders. The person standing in front was a middle-aged man around fifty years old. He was tall and burly, and his aura was overwhelming. He was obviously a Soul Douluo.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡± That middle-aged man came up to receive them. Your Majesty was how they referred to Titled Douluo. In the world of Titled Douluo, they didn¡¯t call one another that. However, it was how lower-ranked soul masters showed their respect when they saw Titled Douluo.

    ¡°Show us the way.¡± Nangong Wan was much more arrogant when he saw these ordinary soul masters. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say anything.

    This middle-aged man was the legionmander of the Second Soul Engineer Legion, Guo Nu. He was a Soul Douluo, and a ss 8 soul engineer.

    Ordinary soul engineer legions were led by ss 8 soul engineers. After all, there were very few ss 9 soul engineers, even in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Guo Nu stood to one side and gave way to the both of them. He personally showed them the way.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time entering a soul formation of the Sun Moon Empire without fighting them.

    After entering, he immediately sensed a strong killing aura sweeping across him. Lethal soul tools were neatly arranged, almost all long-range soul cannons. Looking in from the outside, it really looked like a forest of steel.

    Huo Yuhao made an estimate as he looked over. There were more than a hundred long-range soul cannons!

    As for why they were of different sses, it was because their effective ranges and strengths were different. Not only could they ovep one another, but they could also conserve soul power for short-range attacks.

    These soul cannons were just covering the perimeter. There wererger soul tools in the middle. There was even a ss 9 soul tool, and soul tools that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the names to.

    Soon enough, Huo Yuhao saw the elongated warehouses in the soul formation. Overall, they looked narrow and long, and they were ced to the sides of the soul formation, so that they could replenish it at anytime.

    There were five hundred soul engineers in this ordinary soul engineer legion. Not only were they fully equipped with soul tools, they even had linked soul tools. Once they attacked, they were very destructive. The soul tools they had were definitely much stronger than the ones Shrek City had before.

    Di Tian¡¯s wariness of humans was not unfounded. As soul tools developed, the bnce between soul beasts and humans was disrupted. Although soul beasts had the Beast God, humans were overall getting much stronger than soul beasts.

    Given such a soul formation, even a hundred thousand-man army might not be able to breach it! Linked soul tools could greatly harm them before the soul tools exhausted their power. This was also why a soul engineer legion was so terrifying.

    They simply toured the soul formation in a round of supervision. To the other soul engineers, this was a routine inspection, and it wasn¡¯t their first time. However, Huo Yuhao was delighted. Although he couldn¡¯t imprint the production method of every soul tool there into memory, he could still remember the arrangement of this soul formation, the uses of the soul tools, and how they coordinated with one another. This was undoubtedly great knowledge for the future three soul engineer legions of Shrek Academy.

    ¡°Are both of youing to our side to rest and take a cup of tea?¡± Guo Nu asked respectfully.

    He didn¡¯t dare to treat evil soul masters poorly. He wasn¡¯t even a Titled Douluo. His soul engineer legion was also not as great as the soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation. He couldn¡¯t afford to offend these powerful evil soul masters.

    ¡°Alright, we shall do so. I wonder if Commander Guo has any good stuff?¡± Nangong Wan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared them for both of you,¡± Guo Na replied softly.

    Guo Nu¡¯s tent was to the left of the soul formation. Everymander of a soul engineer legion had his own tent.

    The so-called ¡®getting a cup of tea¡¯ was in fact a feast. Guo Nu had long prepared things. He invited Huo Yuhao, Nangong Wan, and the six evil soul masters into his tent for the feast. He first gave them a toast before asking his subordinates to bring some other stuff in.

    Guo Nu smiled as he said, ¡°Your Majesty, please put in some good words for me in front of the Imperial Tutor.¡± After this, he gestured, and a few of his subordinates opened a few cases.

    The aura of metal mixed with a killing aura was released. Nangong Wan¡¯s eyes brightened, and he subconsciously said, ¡°This is great stuff! Although they aren¡¯t very strong, they are still decent enough.¡±

    There were four cases. One of them contained three ss 7 stationary soul cannon shells. The other three cases contained ss 5 stationary soul cannon shells. There were ten of them in each case.

    Although they were only ss 5 and 7 soul cannon shells, there were arge number of them. If they were sold, they could be exchanged for an astronomical number of gold soul coins.

    Soul engineer legionscked everything except for soul tools. Furthermore, Guo Nu was clearly aware that evil soul masters loved stationary soul cannon shells. They were powerful, and had a great effective range. At any time, they were strategic resources. Even if they were sold somewhere else and to any empire, they were well-loved.

    ¡°Seven, keep them for now. We can divide themter. Commander Guo is too kind. It seems like the Second Soul Engineer Legion will only get stronger under your leadership.¡±

    Although Nangong Wan was greedy, his own life was more important. He gave all of them to Huo Yuhao as a gift. At the very least, he hoped Huo Yuhao would be more willing to remove his restrictions in the future.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. This was good stuff. He had used almost all of the stationary soul cannon shells he had obtained from Radiant City during the beast wave. What hecked right now was advanced stationary soul cannon shells.

 Chapter 498.1 - Annihilation Storm

    <h4 ss>Chapter 498.1: Annihtion Storm</h4>

    Seeing that Huo Yuhao had stashed the stationary soul cannon shells, Guo Na felt that he had no choice, even though he felt pained by his decision. If he didn¡¯t build up his rtionship with these evil soul masters, he didn¡¯t know what kind of problems he would face in the future.

    After putting all the stationary soul cannon shells away, Huo Yuhao returned to their table and lifted a wine cup with his right hand. ¡°Thanks, Commander Guo, for your precious gift. Come, let me give you a toast.¡±

    Guo Nu quickly stood up and drank with Huo Yuhao.

    As Huo Yuhao drank, he gently touched Nangong Wan with his toes. When he sat down, Nangong Wan immediately raised his wine cup and gave Guo Nu a toast as well.

    Taking this opportunity, Huo Yuhao rubbed his right hand across his forehead. It seemed like he was fixing his hair, but an almost invisible ball of distorted light went under the table just as his hand went down. If one could observe it more closely, one might discover that there seemed to be something inside the sphere¡­

    After eating a full meal, Guo Nu personally sent Huo Yuhao, Nangong Wan, and the rest out of the soul formation. After the evil soul masters had left, his expression also turned colder. As long as one was a real soul master, or even a soul engineer, who would fancy interacting with evil soul masters, who killed without blinking an eye?

    He sighed silently.I hope nothing goes wrong with relying on evil soul masters to achieve domination.He shook his head a little helplessly before he turned around.

    However, he didn¡¯t know that a ball of white light had slipped out from under the table in his tent. It quickly hid in a dark corner to the side.

    As Nangong Wan and Huo Yuhao walked back, Nangong Wan nced curiously at Huo Yuhao. He asked, ¡°Have you done it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nangong Wan was even more stunned. He didn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao doing anything at all! Huo Yuhao had only signaled him to give Guo Nu a toast once.Don¡¯t tell me that he did it then?

    When Huo Yuhao saw his puzzled look, he said, ¡°If you could tell, don¡¯t you think Guo Nu could tell too? Don¡¯t worry. When things are done, I¡¯ll fulfill my promise to you.¡±

    Nangong Wan nodded. He had no choice now but to believe Huo Yuhao. He trusted Shrek¡¯s credibility.

    After returning to his tent, Huo Yuhao sat down cross-legged and circted his soul power. He forced the alcohol that he had consumed earlier out of his body. The first step of the n had beenpleted. The next step was to be carried outter tonight.

    He entered meditation, continuing to cultivate. Even in enemy territory, he kept on improving his abilities. Without sufficient ability, he couldn¡¯t do anything. With something as good as the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body, along with the help of his spiritual soul core, he felt that his daily cultivation rewarded him greatly. This feeling spurred him on to work even harder.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Night fell. As usual, Huo Yuhao went to the canteen to eat his dinner. After that, he silently returned to his tent. The other evil soul masters were also acting as they usually did.

    After thesest few days of observation, Huo Yuhao had familiarized himself with the surroundings of his camp. He used his spiritual power to observe the route that Tang Ya had to take. After verifying that she had returned to her tent, he entered meditation and waited.

    He had realized that her routine was very simr to his. Apart from her daily meals, she would cultivate in her own tent. From the outside, one could subtly hear her breathing. Evil soul masters were very rxed here. Even Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t summon them together for anything.

    Huo Yuhao had seen the elders and worshippers here. There were two Transcendent Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Worship Hall here as well. They weren¡¯t all evil soul masters. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng was here, also from the Worship Hall. He was staying not far from Tang Ya. When Tang Ya went to the canteen to eat, Huo Yuhao saw that Zhang Peng sat beside her on a few asions. He was the only other person who could sit beside her, apart from Zhongli Wu.

    Zhang Peng was by her side the first time Huo Yuhao saw Tang Ya as an evil soul master. In his opinion, Zhang Peng was probably assigned to protect her. While Tang Ya¡¯s cultivation couldn¡¯tpare to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s, the Holy Ghost Church did this to supervise her training and protect her.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo wasn¡¯t someone who could be dealt with easily. He was bound to be a barrier to their efforts in the near future.

    Although Huo Yuhao already had a n, he didn¡¯t know what would happen during the process of carrying it out. He could only take it one step at a time. He hoped that everything would progress in the right direction.

    The sky turned darker and darker, and the base also quieted down. After a day of training, the ordinary soldiers also returned to their own bunks to rest. Only the night guards continued their patrols. Of course, the defenses of the soul formations were still very strict, even at night.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The tent of the Commanderof the Second Soul Engineer Legion¡­

    After having dinner, Guo Nu carried out a few administrative duties after he returned. His tent was where he discussed things with his subordinates. He didn¡¯t sleep there.

    After finishing his administrative matters, Guo Nu left themander¡¯s tent and went to take a look at his soul formation. Before he slept every night, he would carry out a routine check to keep any problems from cropping up. After that, he would return to his own tent to rest.

    As he stepped out from his tent, a ball of white light slowly crept out from the corner. It had done very well to conceal its aura earlier. Guo Nu didn¡¯t discover anything, even though he was a Soul Douluo.

    After it appeared, it silently took from and gradually expanded. It slowly adopted a human form, ending up looking like Huo Yuhao.

    That afternoon, Huo Yuhao had left this ball of spiritual power in the tent just as Nangong Wan was raising a toast to Guo Nu. To ensure that it couldst long enough, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attach a soul skill to it. He only used Imitation.

    After adopting a human form, this spiritual body looked a little illusory. As time passed, it had still lost a lot of spiritual power. However, it still had enough toplete Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    A small ring appeared on the spiritual entity¡¯s hand as it flipped its wrist, and light shed. It was the Starlight Sapphire Ring. When Huo Yuhao had left behind this ball of light, it was this ring that was left inside of it.

    The ring shone with light, and Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face. He retrieved a long box from the ring and ced it on the table inside the tent.

    He looked a little unwilling when he saw this box. If he had any other choice, he wouldn¡¯t have chosen to take it out.

    His spiritual power spread and formed a spiritual barrier inside the tent, isting the auras both inside and outside the tent.

    Nangong Wan had informed him of the habits of the legionmanders of the soul engineer legions. Huo Yuhao knew that Guo Nu wouldn¡¯t return after leaving. He would go straight to sleep after his routine check. This tent was the safest ce to be right now. No surveince soul tools would be covering this area, either.

    After setting up this spiritual barrier, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual entity looked much more illusory. He had turned almostpletely transparent.

    He carefully opened the box.

    As the box opened, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual entity was the first to bear the brunt of it. An tremendous shock shook him. If his spiritual power wasn¡¯t strong enough, his spiritual entity would have been dissipated.

    Huo Yuhao was also horrified. Fortunately, his spiritual power was in the concrete-material realm. Otherwise, he would have been in big trouble.

    There was a long cannon shell lying inside the box. What was released earlier was the aura of armored cavalry. When it swept by, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual entity had almost dissipated.

    If Nangong Wan saw this, he would immediately recognize it. That was because he had once used this cannon shell to spur soul engineers to obtain good results in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, back when he was still the Duskwater Alliance Master.

    Huo Yuhao had absconded with this cannon shell and other items during the major explosion in Radiant City. He had kept this ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell all this while, and given the rest of the items to the Tang Sect.

    Sensing the auraing from this ss 9 cannon shell, Huo Yuhao was in awe.This is a true strategic weapon!Xuan Ziwen had once told him that even a ss 9 soul engineer would need three to six months and a lot of rare metals toplete the production of such a soul tool. Every time such a soul tool was created, it also drained the energy of a ss 9 soul engineer greatly. As a result, such a strategic weapon was very rare, even in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Initially, the Sun Moon Empire had breached the Ming Dou Mountain Range using three such ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells, blowing a canyon open in the mountains. Huo Yuhao still remembered the event clearly. This was his first time trying something as terrifying as this!

 Chapter 498.2 - Annihilation Storm

    <h4 ss>Chapter 498.2: Annihtion Storm</h4>

    It was a little too much for Huo Yuhao to use a ss 9 soul tool, given his current cultivation. However, a stationary soul cannon shell was different. The thing about this shell was that it wasn¡¯t difficult to operate, it just had to be detonated. It was basically just an extremely terrifying bomb. The energy it needed was contained within it, and didn¡¯t need any soul master to pour in his soul energy. Of course, it was a different thing when using a specialized soul cannon to fire a long-range attack with it.

    If possible, Huo Yuhao was far more willing to fire it using a soul cannon. It was an ultra long-range weapon that could reach more than fifteen kilometers away, far more powerful than an ordinary shell. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t aware of what its furthest range was, only a ss 9 soul engineer would know the exact distance.

    However, he had no choice right now. This shell was the best option he had!

    His spiritual entity lifted the massive shell with both hands. Huo Yuhao twisted around to take a look before walking behind the main seat in the tent, mounting it.

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to fire this ss 9 stationary soul cannon. Its core formation just had to be triggered. As a ss 7 soul engineer who had manufactured a ss 8 soul tool, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Huo Yuhao to trigger the core formation of this soul cannon.

    After cing the soul cannon shell, Huo Yuhao put the box away. The box was still valuable, as it could iste the aura of a ss 9 soul cannon shell.

    After settling everything, his spiritual entity didn¡¯t leave. If he wanted to trigger it at the best moment, he had to do it personally, rather than setting a time for it to detonate on its own. Because of this, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to lose some of the spiritual power that he had left in his spiritual entity. He could only try to escape when the time came. If he couldn¡¯t, he could only ept his fate.

    Afterpleting all this, he had already opened his eyes in his own tent, and started muttering some incantations. A spiritual barrier formed inside his own tent.

    Not long afterward, a pitch-ck door slowly opened, and figures started to silently walk out from it. The tent, which was originally quite spacious, became a little cramped quickly.

    The Ice Bear King was thest to walk out. He was so huge that he took up the most space in the tent.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you ready?¡± Elder Song asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already installed a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell called Annihtion Storm. It¡¯s a ss 9 soul tool that is specifically targeted to destroy metal. It¡¯s very destructive. Furthermore, it causes destruction from the inside out. That soul engineer legion will definitely be annihted. I just don¡¯t know how many people will die because of it.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯re too soft. This is war, and people die. What we need to do is to end it quickly to prevent more people from dying because of it. Destroying strategic machines will save more people. Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. After enduring many fights, he had already epted some aspects of war.

    Elder Song said, ¡°It¡¯s about time. Get ready to take action.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at the timer that he had prepared beforehand and nodded at Elder Song, ¡°We¡¯ll help the Heavenly Soul Empire destroy a soul engineer legion this time. This will greatly alleviate the pressure on them. It can also be considered repayment to them for re-deploying their army.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection and connected his mind to his teammates.

    His Spiritual Detection slowly spread out. He had already surveyed his surroundings, and covered every inch that didn¡¯t have a spiritual barrier. He provided a detailedyout of the area to his teammates, especially the tent that Tang Ya stayed in.

    ¡°I hope everyone can listen to mymandster. After we save Teacher Xiao Ya, we still need to return here and re-enter my spectral demine. We¡¯re only safe when that happens. We¡¯ll then think of a way to escape.¡±

    Elder Song said, ¡°Yes. From now on, we¡¯ll listen to yourmands.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little astonished when he looked at Elder Song. He only saw the encouragement in her eyes.

    He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Huo Yuhao focused and switched his thoughts to his spiritual entity.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The evil soul masters were stationed at the core of the entire base. This base contained more than a hundred thousand men, spreading more than fifty kilometers in every direction. The second soul formation was located near the edge of the base closest to the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Huo Yuhao squinted, and a mysterious look shed across his eyes. His spiritual entity also started to take action. His hands were pressed tightly against the shell and a streak of spiritual power poured in. This triggered the core formation of the Annihtion Storm.

    A terrifying pressure was released from the Annihtion Storm. Huo Yuhao only felt that his spiritual entity was about to be torn apart, while the Annihtion Storm shone brightly, and emanated a bright metallic glow.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to stall further. His spiritual entity was blown apart. He used the strength of the explosion to force a streak of his spiritual power to drill its way out of the tent. It quickly rose as fast as it could into the sky. He could only use this short period of time to preserve his spiritual power. Although it was only a streak, he would still be critically hurt if it was destroyed.

    ¡ª

    Guo Nu walked into his soul formation. His routine check was about to end. Although he was very familiar with his own legion, he would still feel a sense of pride every time he patrolled his soul formation.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Almost all the soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire that served in the military felt that they were an invincible presence on the continent. In their eyes, the three empires of the original Douluo Continentgged far behind them. Very soon, they would be conquered by the Sun Moon Empire. Only the Sun Moon Empire was fit to rule the entire continent, and help the continent develop further.

    This is what you call a forest of steel!Guo Nu nodded in satisfaction as he took ast look at his soul formation. Surveince to the outside were lessened today after orders came down from the top. In this way, the soul engineers had less of a workload. Otherwise, the soul engineers had to be divided into three shifts every day to operate the surveince soul tools. At least half the soul engineers needed to pour their soul power into the soul tools every day to maintain them. Although this was the most effective, it weakened the fighting strength of the soul engineer legions.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for Guo Nu to climb to his current position. He took good care of his subordinates. In his heart, they were his most precious resource. Comparatively, soul tools weren¡¯t as important. If soul tools were drained, they could be replenished. However, soul engineers couldn¡¯t be easily reced.

    Just as Guo Nu was about to return to his tent, he suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t right. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to have changed.

    As a ss 8 Soul Douluo, his senses were still quite acute, even though he wasn¡¯t a traditional soul master. When he realized something was amiss, he subconsciously turned in the direction that he felt something from. What he saw was a strange light shing from hismander¡¯s tent.

    Eh? What¡¯s going on?Guo Nu was rmed.

    There seemed to be an intense beam of lighting from the tent, gradually strengthening. An invisible killing aura was also rising from the tent at an incredible speed. However, it seemed to have been suppressed, so the beam of light wasn¡¯tpletely unleashed from the tent.

    This is not right. Something¡¯s going wrong.

    Guo Nu shouted, ¡°Everyone, be careful! Unleash our linked defense! Quickly!¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t know what was going on, he was always very prudent. However, it was alreadyte at night. Apart from the soul engineers on duty, the other soul engineers were already sleeping. Under such circumstances, not many heard his shouts.

    Guo Nu quickly unleashed his ss 8 protective soul barrier and rushed in the direction of hismand tent. At the same time, he sounded the rm.

    Suddenly, the entire soul formation rang with deafening rms. Even the troops stationed at the perimeter could hear them clearly.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were elites that were well trained and very experienced. The Second Soul Engineer Legion was one of the original ten soul engineer legions, and they were all veterans.

    Once the rm sounded, the soul engineers on duty immediately reacted. Beams from soul rays shone. The first to be activated was the linked defensive formation. A filmyyer of white light immediately shone. Promptly, a second linked defensive formation was unleashed within the soul formation.

    However, it was also at this moment that the light in themander¡¯s tent was fully unleashed.

    Guo Nu had already rushed in front of the tent at this moment. He pulled the curtains apart. As he pulled them apart, he immediately unleashed an Invincible Barrier.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what was inside themander¡¯s tent, he could still sense an extraordinary presence inside from the intense light, and a growing killing aura. This was why he was especially wary.

    When the curtains were pulled open, a strong aura swept towards him. Guo Nu¡¯s ss 8 barrier immediately shook. Cracks appeared in the surface of his protective barrier, while the terrifyingly sharp killing aura immediately burst out of the tent. The tent and everything inside it was torn to pieces.

 Chapter 498.3 - Annihilation Storm

    <h4 ss>Volume 35, Chapter 498.3: Annihtion Storm</h4>

    This, this is¡­

    Guo Nu suddenly opened his eyes wide. He finally saw what was releasing the light. It was a stationary shell! As a ss 8 soul engineer, Guo Nu was also very adept at creating all types of soul tools. He could immediately recognize what that shell was.

    His voice cracked as he eximed, ¡°A ss 9, a ss 9 stationary shell!¡±

    As he eximed, he immediately turned and ran away. At this moment, he hated his parents for only giving him a single pair of legs. He ran as fast as he could.

    However, at this instant, Guo Nu suddenly felt that everything around him had turned illusory, and became unreal. The entire spatial dimension seemed to have been torn to pieces instantly. This included his ss 8 protective soul barrier and his Invincible Barrier.

    Guo Nu was dazed. He only felt that his body and spirit had flown into the air, and were flying higher and higher. Everything around him was unreal. Below him, an unprecedentedly bright light made his distorted reality even more surreal¡­ and then, he didn¡¯t know what happened anymore¡­

    ss 9 stationary shells were known as the most destructive ss 9 soul tools. This was because it was very difficult to construct a ss 9 stationary shell that wasn¡¯t weaker than a ss 9 soul tool. In the process of making it, one didn¡¯t have to worry about whether the shell could handle its explosive nature. As a result, ss 9 stationary shells were the symbols of extremity.

    More simply put, the power of a ss 9 stationary shell was equivalent to an all-out attack from an Ultimate Douluo. It could even cover arger region!

    Guo Nu wasn¡¯t weak. He was a ss 8 soul engineer. However, he had no chance against a ss 9 shell from such a short distance away, no chance at all.

    Annihtion Storm!

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the true strength of this stationary shell. He had absconded with the shell before Nangong Wan could warn him.

    Right now, this shell that the Holy Ghost Church had used a lot of effort to obtain in the past fully unleashed its strength.

    The first step was only a terrifying explosion followed by an extreme surge in temperature and heavy pressure. During the explosion, thin bearings were released from the shell. Each of these bearings was only the size of a fingernail. They scattered very quickly during the explosion. They prated almost anything, but they would stick to metal the moment they touched it.

    They were called Metal Bombs, and were ss 3 soul tools. However, they were also stationary soul tools, and could only be used once.

    Metal Bombs were also known for destroying soul tools. They were made from special and rare metals called Golden Fusion Crystals. These rare metals could fuse with most other metals. Soul engineers used a special point about this rare metal to carve high-explosive core formations on the crystals.

    Once these crystals touched other metals and fused, the high-explosive core formations in them woulde into effect. Because the crystals were already inside metal, the explosion would ur inside the metal. As a result, the metal would be turned into smithereens during the explosion and scattered, thereby causing even more damage.

    These secondary explosions were the reason why this ss 9 shell was called Annihtion Storm.

    When creating this Annihtion Storm, one thousand and eighty Metal Bombs had to be created, before being ced inside the Annihtion Storm. After that, Golden Fusion Crystals had to be used, while creating a protectiveyer to prevent the Metal Bombs from touching any other metals. The protectiveyer was a vacuum that contained spatial power. This could only be done using some veryplex core formations. A strong defensive core formation was then ced on the surface, while all types of explosive core formations were installed inside, along with someplex core formations to support them. The result was this Annihtion Storm.

    Once it blew apart, the explosive strength that it unleashed was like an ordinary ss 9 high-explosive stationary shell. After that, the Metal Bombs inside would be scattered in a region spanning a kilometer across. These Metal Bombs would generate a second explosion when they touched any other metals.

    As a result, this Annihtion Storm was much stronger when there were a lot of metals around. However, its true explosive strength was still weaker than the stationary shells that the Sun Moon Empire had used to bomb the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the true strength of this Annihtion Storm, he knew that it had something to do with metals. This time, his target was the soul formation. Moreover, there was no better choice for him, so he unleashed the Annihtion Storm here.

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d make such a correct choice.

    Under the terrifying explosion, the entire soul formation became like a high-temperature, high-pressure ocean. Almost the entire soul formation suffered from the shockwaves as tremendous booms resonated through the air.

    It was a ss 9 stationary shell. It was so terrifying that anyone would shudder just looking at it.

    The right thing that Guo Nu did before he died was tomand his men to unleash their linked defensive formation. The soul formation of the Second Soul Engineer Legion was engulfed by that linked defensive formation immediately.

    When this defensive formation was used too suddenly, it first needed Milk Bottles to provide soul power. If itsted too long, soul masters needed to pour their own soul power in.

    As a result, the explosion of the Annihtion Storm was like an explosion within the linked defensive formation. The protective strength of this linked defensive formation was quite impressive. Even though it instantly came under enormous pressure and was slowly breaking down, it still managed to resist the Annihtion Storm at its peak strength.

    However, there was still a w in this. Because the explosive strength of the Annihtion Storm couldn¡¯t spread out, it naturally took effect on everything within the formation.

    Almost all the soul engineers were killed instantly. These soul engineers averaged three rings. How could they possibly resist the strength of the Annihtion Storm? The Metal Bombs that flew outnded inside the formation as they were blocked by the formation itself.

    However, there were soul tools everywhere inside the soul formation! What were soul tools made from? Metal!

    Metal Bombs were veryplementary to metals. This meant that they became even more explosive as a result of this. Only a few rare metals couldn¡¯t be destroyed by these Metal Bombs.

    However, the soul tools used by the Second Soul Engineer Legion weren¡¯t the best in the Sun Moon Empire. How could they possibly be made from the rarest metals?

    Suddenly, the Metal Bombs that were deflected found their carriers.

    In the next moment, a second round of explosions urred.

    The linked defensive formation copsed. Broken pieces of metal were flung everywhere.

    Linked defensive formations were supposed to be stronger, but they were mainly used to block external attacks. Since when were they used to contain attacks? It wasn¡¯t easy for this linked defensive formation to contain the first explosion. However, as all the soul tools were destroyed, the linked defensive formation also copsed. It had no chance against the second round of explosions.

    The nearby tents were immediately torn to pieces. The broken pieces of metal were flung more than a thousand meters away. Within this region, almost no soldier survived. The explosion and flying metal shrapnel opened a huge gap in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base in just a couple seconds.

    The explosions were so tremendous that the entire base was alerted!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At the core region where the evil soul masters were stationed, all the evil soul masters rushed out of their tents, and only saw surging lights in the distance.

    Suddenly, deafening rms rang out across the entire base. Linked defensive formations in the various soul formations were unleashed. These linked defensive formations appeared extremely bright at night.

    Zhongli Wu also walked out from his tent. Seeing the bright lights in the distance, he was also astonished.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where is that ce?¡± Zhongli Wu shouted.

    Evil soul masters were very united. Many evil soul masters immediately gathered towards Zhongli Wu. Huo Yuhao estimated that there were around forty soul masters here. Apart from the Titled Douluo, the rest were all at least Soul Emperors.

    Tang Ya naturally walked out from her tent. She looked as indifferent as ever, not much different from before. The Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng was beside her. He looked on in shock, very grim.

    Zhongli Wu was very calm, and said, ¡°An enemy attack! Everyone, be prepared to defend! Don¡¯t separate from the group without my orders.¡±

    Screams rang out in the distance. The sky above Heavenly Spirit City brightened, and countless soul masters, emanating light from their bodies, shone brightly on the horizon.

    This was¡­

 Chapter 499.1 - An All-out Decisive Battle?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 499.1: An All-out Decisive Battle?</h4>

    Zhongli Wu was astonished. Just from what he could see, there were more than three thousand soul masters flying in the air, which meant every single one of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s main forces who could use flying-type soul tools. Were the Heavenly Soul Empire making ast-ditch attempt?

    The Third Elder walked swiftly in front of Zhongli Wu and whispered, ¡°Supreme Leader, the explosion should be from where the second soul engineer legion is stationed. Judging from how forceful the explosion was and the soul power undtions in the air, it¡¯s very likely to have been from a stationary soul cannon shell.¡±

    Zhongli Wu was both shocked and furious. ¡°What? A stationary soul cannon shell? Isn¡¯t the Sun Moon Empire the only one who possesses things as terrifyingly destructive as that? How did the Heavenly Soul Empiree to have one of those? Even if they did, how did they fire it into our camp? What has happened to our surveince soul tools?¡±

    Of course, none of the evil soul masters next to him could answer his questions.

    Huo Yuhao was standing among the other evil soul masters like Nangong Wan was, but his attention was fully concentrated on Tang Ya. He was waiting for an opportunity, and this opportunity was slowly forming after the enormous explosion, which, along with the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s attack, looked like an all-out assault had begun!

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reaction was quick. Even though the explosion caught everyone off-guard, the entire camp began to move even as the hurricane of metal was wreaking havoc. Orders were given one after another, and Lin Hai, who was the marshal, had already entered themand tent, and was directing his army.

    The other four soul tool fronts weren¡¯t affected by any aftershocks or ripples. They activated their linked defensive formations, and they also began to charge their linked offensive soul tools to prepare for battle.

    Back when the Sun Moon Empire was constructing their base in this ce, they had been prepared for a long, drawn-out battle. They had camped several dozen kilometers from Heavenly Spirit City.

    There were only several special stationary soul cannon shells that could reach that far. Therefore, not even their linked offensive formations could cross that distance. They had to wait for the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s powerful individuals toe within range before they could retaliate.

    A messenger swiftly ran over and announced, ¡°Imperial Tutor, Commander Lin Hai invites you to discuss matters in themander¡¯s tent.¡±

    Zhongli Wu nodded and said, ¡°Please follow me, Consecrates. Everyone else will remain here. Do not leave unless absolutely necessary.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The group of evil soul masters bowed in acknowledgement.

    Zhongli Wu brought six Consecrates, including the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, and proceeded quickly towards themand tent. The other evil soul masters all remained behind, including Tang Ya.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t take Tang Ya away. He could see his opportunitying.

    There were more than thirty evil soul masters remaining. There were four Titled Douluo within this group, ¡®including¡¯ Huo Yuhao, who was impersonating the Masquerade Douluo; Nangong Wan, the Third Elder, and the Fourth Elder.

    That meant their real enemies were only the Third and Fourth Elders. Tang Ya was probably the strongest one out of the other evil soul masters. Even though there were several Soul Douluo, they were few in number.

    Deafening war cries could be heard in the skies over Heavenly Spirit City, like there weren¡¯t just many soul masters moving out in the sky. It looked like their army was also pushing forward over the ground.

    The Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t understand why the Heavenly Soul Empire had chosen tounch an assault at night, because nighttime wasn¡¯t beneficial for their foot soldiers! Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire had several soul tool fronts in ce, and with how strong they were, even Titled Douluo would be going towards certain death if they charged them. The Heavenly Soul Empire would have to pay with far too many lives without Heavenly Spirit City¡¯s protection to reach them.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t dare to underestimate their enemies, even if that was the case. Therge explosion in the second soul engineer legion camp was enough to shock everyone. If the Heavenly Soul Empire could do that, what else could they do?

    Huo Yuhao gestured at Nangong Wan with his eyes, and Nangong Wan nodded at him softly.

    Nobody knew what the enormous explosion was, but Nangong Wan could faintly guess. The only thing he didn¡¯t understand was exactly how Huo Yuhao had managed to ce the stationary soul cannon shell into the second soul engineer legion¡¯s camp.

    A thread of spiritual power drifted over to Huo Yuhao and integrated into this body. Spiritual power was formless, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone discovering it at all. He withdrew that thread, and could feel his spirit rejuvenate. The linked defensive dome had helped him, because his spiritual avatar had just barely risen into the sky enough before Annihtion Storm exploded. Guo Nu had ordered the linked defensive dome¡¯s activation, which blocked the explosion¡¯s first st, and gave Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar the chance to escape and return.

    ¡°Second brother, let me go back and get something. I¡¯ll be back in no time,¡± Huo Yuhao said to Nangong Wan.

    Nangong Wan nodded and said, ¡°Go,e back as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged before he proceeded towards his own tent.

    The four Elders took charge of this group. Even though Zhongli Wu had just instructed them to remain here, he didn¡¯t say that they absolutely couldn¡¯t leave. The Masquerade Douluo was an Elder, so nobody stopped him.

    The rtionship between Elders was different from that between the Consecrates. There were evil soul masters among the Consecrates, and powerful foreign soul masters. Even though they had a very high status, their rtionships with one another weren¡¯t intimate at all. The Elders were different, as they had almost grown up together in the Holy Ghost Church, and had been together for several decades now, some even more than a century. They had a good rtionship with each other. The Masquerade Douluo didn¡¯t quite fit into the group, but he was still friendly enough with the other Elders. Therefore, the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder didn¡¯t speak out against him.

    Huo Yuhao quickly moved towards his tent, and returned in the blink of an eye. Nangong Wan nced at him and nodded gently, but nobody was paying attention to them.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soldiers were fully mobilized. The army gathered swiftly, and military orders were passed out one after another from themand tent. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers were gathering at the soul tool fronts, and even appeared in the sky. Even though they were far fewer in numberpared to the Heavenly Soul Empire, everyone knew that soul engineers had a great advantage on a battlefield against soul masters. They were an entire body with their linked soul tools.

    The explosion caused by Annihtion Storm was starting to recede and settle down. The terrifying explosion had engulfed almost a quarter of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main camp. Even though only the areas near the explosion¡¯s epicenter had sustained heavy losses, the explosion brought chaos and panic to the entire army.

    Themand tent had to direct and prepare their army to defend against their enemies, and they also had to console their soldiers and take care of the wounded at the same time. The entire Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp appeared to fall into disarray.

    The Third Elder frowned and wondered aloud, ¡°That¡¯s weird¡­ why would a stationary soul cannon shell explode in our own camp?¡±

    ¡°Could it have been an ident?¡± the Fourth Elder asked.

    The Third Elder shook his head and nced at him disdainfully. ¡°You¡¯re so ignorant. The second soul engineer legion doesn¡¯t even have a stationary soul cannon shell with their status, so how could it be identally triggered? Even the beast-ranked soul engineer legions have one at most, and they¡¯re under strict protection. We don¡¯t even have a single one in our army camp because the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions used their stock in the war before this.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s going on?¡± the Fourth Elder asked, confused. ¡°Can it be that spies have snuck into our camp despite our strict defenses? At least, I¡¯m confident that nobody has that ability.¡±

    Nangong Wan cut in appropriately and said, ¡°Back when Old Seven and I went around the Heavenly Soul Empire, we discovered that Shrek Academy¡¯s people had appeared. Can this be them? It seems we have sustained incrediblyrge losses this time, and a soul engineer legion has disappeared just like that! We aren¡¯t even talking about how many normal soldiers we¡¯ve lost yet.¡±

    The Third Elder frowned even more tightly and said, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s no wonder the Supreme Leader isn¡¯t letting us go outside. Otherwise, I would want to see what kind of stationary soul cannon shell that was.¡±

    Nangong Wan said, ¡°The Supreme Leader is doing this for our own good; he¡¯s concerned about everyone¡¯s safety. You don¡¯t have to talk so much.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Third Elder scanned the other evil soul masters. Everyone lowered their heads at the same time when they met his gaze, except for Tang Ya.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Second brother, why don¡¯t I take a look at themand tent? I want to find out exactly what is going on.¡±

    Nangong Wan answered, ¡°Go. But I reckon the Supreme Leader isn¡¯t in a good mood, so you¡¯d best be careful.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged as he walked towards themand tent. Evil soul masters like them, especially those who were Titled Douluo, had a transcendent status within the army camp. Even though they were on high alert and heightened vignce, nobody dared to stop them.

    The Third Elder watched Huo Yuhao leave, and he couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°Masquerade has been a lot more normal over the past few days. I think being with him is a lot morefortable than before. I heard that he hasn¡¯t been ruining girls after the Supreme Leader chided him that day?¡±

    Nangong Wan chuckled and said, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s afraid that the Supreme Leader will punish him.¡±

    The Third Elder grunted and said, ¡°He knows how to be afraid? This isn¡¯t the first or second time that the Supreme Leader has chided him for that bad habit of his. Seems like he has promised him something this time. Do you know what that is, second brother?¡±

    Nangong Wan shook his head and said, ¡°That, I don¡¯t know. You¡¯d have to ask him or the Supreme Leader if you want to know. Him being more normal is a good thing.¡±

    The Fourth Elder chortled and said, ¡°Yes, that fellow is the most abnormal between us brothers. He¡¯s always living in his own world, so being more normal is a good thing. We can do anything if us brothers are united.¡±

    Just as he was talking in amusement, the Third Elder suddenly frowned andmented, ¡°Why do I feel like it¡¯s a little cold? Is the weather changing too?¡±

 Chapter 499.2 - An All-out Decisive Battle?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 499.2: An All-out Decisive Battle?</h4>

    Nangong Wan stared at him doubtfully and said, ¡°Are you getting old? How are you feeling cold? Why don¡¯t I feel cold?¡±

    Boom!

    There was no warning at all as Nangong Wan¡¯s body suddenly froze, and he was sted forward like a cannonball. He crashed into four or five rtively weaker evil soul masters as he flew and sent them flying away, every single one of them crying out in pain as blood spewed from their mouths. Their bodies were all twisted from the collision, and they didn¡¯t seem like they could live through that.

    ¡°Second brother!¡± Both the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were astonished.

    The change happened too abruptly. A blurry green shadow appeared almost instantly beside the Third Elder, and an incredibly sharp aura descended upon him.

    The Third Elder was startled, caught off-guard. He believed himself strong, but his enemy¡¯s soul power undtions suppressed him so much that he found it hard to breathe. He pped his hands subconsciously as he activated his ss 9 protective soul barrier and his Invincible Barrier at the same time.

    Intense explosions could be heard as his ss 9 protective soul barrier was torn apart. Golden light flickered continuously on his Invincible Barrier, and it seemed like it was cracking apart.

    An Invincible Barrier¡¯s greatest problem was that it could only be crafted at ss 7. It was more suitable for rtively weaker soul masters, and it was most effective at that standard. However, it was a lot less effective for and against Titled Douluo.

    The green shadow gradually materialized: it was Elder Song!

    Elder Song broke through the Third Elder¡¯s external defenses with a single strike. Her attacks were lightning quick as countless green shadows engulfed him.

    Blinding golden mes lit up the sky on the other side. Deep booming phoenix calls were heard as the Fourth Elder was enveloped in a sphere of radiant mes. His Netherworld Sword flew up and down, but he could barely hold on as he was beaten back continuously.

    Silhouettes appeared at the same time all around them, and they swiftlyunched an assault against the evil soul masters, who were so startled that they froze instinctively.

    These people had appeared all too suddenly. Six or seven evil soul masters were heavily injured from their attacks as soon as they appeared, and in addition to Nangong Wan, who was sent flying away, a third of the evil soul masters¡¯ strength was shaved off.

    Shrek Academy was the one responsible for this sudden ambush.

    ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n, this battle had to be fought and ended as quickly as possible. Huo Yuhao was escorting hispanions out when he returned to his tent before this.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Supreme Leader led six Consecrates to themand tent, so these evil soul masters¡¯ overall strength was a lot weaker. How could Huo Yuhao let go of such an opportunity?

    The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s assault was just a feint. They had no intention of shing head-on with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool forts, and their attack happened at the time they had agreed on.

    To ensure that everything would be perfect, Huo Yuhao told Princess Wei Na that there were two key points to tonight¡¯s operation. First, they had to agree on a time, and secondly, the Heavenly Soul Empire had to wait until the Sun Moon Empire was in chaos and disarray from the explosion.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire was only tounch their feint attack when both things happened. If the explosion didn¡¯t ur, then the feint was to be canceled.

    The n was more sessful than they had expected. The Heavenly Soul Empire were overjoyed when they saw such a powerful explosion going off in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp, and several senior officers even believed that the Heavenly Soul Empire should take this chance tounch an all-out offensive. However, this idea was rejected by the other higher-ups, with Wei Na at the helm.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire wouldn¡¯tunch an offensive like that unless they had absolute confidence, because they couldn¡¯t afford to sustain the losses. The army outside Heavenly Spirit City was thest of what the Heavenly Soul Empire could muster, and if they lost this strength, then the Heavenly Soul Empire wouldn¡¯t be able to recover.

    Huo Yuhao had used Imitation to bring everyone out of his tent, and with cover from Imitation and his formidable spiritual power, not even powerful Titled Douluo like the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder realized what was happening. Of course, for that to happen, Nangong Wan had to do what he needed to do.

    He had secretly released his soul power when they were conversing and created a barrier behind them, and trying as much as possible to block off their sense of their surroundings, allowing Shrek Academy to ambush them like that when they made their move.

    What was Huo Yuhao doing? He had an important task. Many of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s senior officials and some of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s most powerful individuals were gathered at themand tent, which their battle was happening not far from. Their n would have to be abandoned prematurely if the Supreme Leader came to rescue hispanions, if he realized that something was wrong. Furthermore, their lives would be in danger!

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao went to themand tent to ce a spiritual barrier outside it, and cut off any soul power undtions and sound from the outside world.

    Even Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe would have trouble doing this, because they had to aplish that task with soul power, and soul power undtions were too easily discovered.

    Huo Yuhao could rely on his formidable spiritual power, and with Imitation, his Spiritual Interference Domain, and his immensely powerful control over his spiritual power, finishing this task was a lot easier.

    Huo Yuhao had seemed to leave quietly and casually, but he had already used his full strength. He had left a hidden spiritual avatar at the battlefield, and used Imitation through his spiritual avatar to conceal everyone from Shrek. On the other side, he had tried his best to form the strongest spiritual barrier that he could conjure so that he couldpletely separate themander¡¯s tent from the outside world, just so Zhongli Wu wouldn¡¯t discover what was happening here.

    Huo Yuhao was clear that he couldn¡¯t do this for long, because if he wanted to cut off sound and soul power undtions, he would have to cut off everything, and it would be rtively quiet inside themand tent. Zhongli Wu probably wouldn¡¯t realize what was happening for a short period of time, but that was hard to say if a longer time passed.

    The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder were suppressed in an instant when Shrekunched an all-out attack. After all, they were facing two Transcendent Douluo, and that was especially true when Elder Song was a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine her fighting strength with her incredible speed.

    But evil soul masters did have quite an advantagepared to other soul masters of the same rank. The Third Elder and the Fourth Elder weren¡¯tpletely run over even though they were at an absolute disadvantage.

    A barrier that resembled a web of lightning appeared around the Third Elder and blocked Elder Song¡¯s relentless assault; it was a soul tool he had used to protect himself.

    The Third Elder¡¯s title was Dark Lightning, the Dark Lightning Douluo, and he was a soul engineer at the same time. He had fused his martial soul with a soul tool that he had created himself, and possessed a set of unique fighting abilities. He amplified the power of his soul skills with soul tools, and all his attacks possessed the force of Dark Lightning. This Dark Lightning possessed the formidable element of lightning along with a thread of evil, an evil that could only be absorbed from a pile of dead people. The Third Elder¡¯s powers became stronger when there were more dead people around.

    The Annihtion Storm had just killed many soul engineers and soldiers in the explosion, and all that dark and evil aura wasn¡¯t far from this ce. The Third Elder could channel some of that, and he used his full strength as he unleashed his Dark Lightning and released all sorts of protective soul tools. Only then could he barely protect his life under Elder Song¡¯s swift and ferocious onught.

    But the Third Elder was feeling terribly bitter. It didn¡¯t take long before Elder Song had damaged one of his three strongest soul tools, while the other two tools also had problems to varied extents under Elder Song¡¯s formidable attacks. These losses by themselves gave him a heartache.

    The Fourth Elder¡¯s situation was even worse than the Third Elder. The Fourth Elder¡¯s title was Netherworld, the Netherworld Douluo, and his martial soul was the Netherworld Sword.

    Back then, he had teamed up with the Third Elder and forced Huo Yuhao to burn his spiritual sea to escape. But he was now facing the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, the Dragon Emperor Douluo Mu En¡¯s eldest disciple, and the next heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Yan Shaozhe was one rank beneath Elder Song in terms of cultivation, but his potential was a lot greater. Back then, Mu En had hopes that he could be an Ultimate Douluo, since only Ultimate Douluo were worthy of bing Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s martial soul, the Radiant Phoenix, gave him the title of Radiant Phoenix Douluo. His Radiant Phoenix was a fusion between light and fire, just like Bei Bei¡¯s Radiant Holy Dragon was a fusion between light and lightning. Even though he didn¡¯t have a pure Ultimate martial soul, thebination of the elements of light and fire was a fantastic counter to the Netherworld Douluo¡¯s abilities. There was an enormous gap between their cultivations at the same time. The Netherworld Douluo was already bleeding all over his face, and he had sustained rtively severe injuries as he fought for his life. He didn¡¯t hesitate to burn his soul power, and he channeled his soul core to the highest possible level before he could even defend himself against Yan Shaozhe¡¯s attacks. However, even if he could stay alive in the end, he would be so heavily injured that his cultivation would probably regress.

    Shrek Academy had gained an absolute advantage in these two battles, while the other battles weren¡¯t considered too difficult. The reason for that was because Shrek had, besides two Transcendent Douluo, a Savage Beast!

    The Ice Bear King, Little Bai, was thest to make his move, because he needed time to charge up his attack. When he walked out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation, a formidable blizzard howled out and wreaked havoc. Under his deliberate control, the blizzard was maintained only around the evil soul masters, and barreled towards them.

    Back then, he had brought his Blizzard down from the sky and held back the entire Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. He was now unleashing it from the ground, and its force was much more terrifying.

    However, Huo Yuhao was afraid that the blizzard would be too strong, and the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Supreme Leader would be startled. Therefore, he had asked Little Bai to reduce his blizzard¡¯s strength. Otherwise, the blizzard would have been even more frightening.

    Little Bai almost suppressed the rest of the evil soul masters all by himself. The gap in their cultivations and the frightening power of Ultimate Ice meant that those evil soul masters, who were only Soul Douluo at best, could only fight to protect their lives.

 Chapter 499.3 - An All-out Decisive Battle?

    Chapter 499.3: An All-out Decisive Battle?

    Shrek Academy¡¯s team had appeared way too suddenly. The evil soul masters didn¡¯t expect, even in their wildest dreams, that so many enemies would appear in the core areas of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp, and that their enemies would be so powerful. They were caught off-guard from the get-go.

    Tang Ya was possibly the calmest out of all the evil soul masters. She reacted immediately after Nangong Wan was sent hurtling away. Dark blue light flickered on her body and eight soul rings swiftly appeared around her. She actually had seven ck rings and one red ring; nobody knew how the Holy Ghost Church had helped her soul rings evolve like that.

    Dark blue Dark Bluesilver vines immediately burst through the air one after another as they whipped towards Elder Song in an attempt to help the Third Elder deal with her.

    But how powerful was Elder Song? Her Greenshadow Godly Eagle was wind-type, and Tang Ya¡¯s Dark Bluesilver Vines were sliced into pieces by formless wind des before they came too close to her. Tang Ya couldn¡¯t possibly hurt her even if Elder Song wasn¡¯t targeting her.

    Just as Tang Ya was about to unleash her most powerful soul skill, she suddenly saw a person appear in front of her. This person¡¯s entire body flickered with streaks of lightning, a man who was full of passion and emotion.

    She was just about to unleash an attack at full strength, but for some reason, she froze when she saw this man, and didn¡¯t unleash her next soul skill.

    ¡°Xiao¡­ Ya¡­¡± Bei Bei¡¯s voice trembled, sounding like a whimper. He couldn¡¯t control his emotions at all when he saw Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya was still as beautiful as ever, but she didn¡¯t have her liveliness and her energy from before, and seemed like a statue, like the walking dead.

    Huo Yuhao had already seen what Tang Ya was like, but he didn¡¯t dare tell Bei Bei, because he was afraid that Bei Bei would be sad. Bei Bei could now feel his heart knotting up painfully as he saw what Tang Ya was like.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, Xiao Ya, I¡¯m Bei Bei! Do¡­ do you remember me?¡± Tears flowed down Bei Bei¡¯s cheeks uncontrobly, and even though he was releasing his martial soul, he didn¡¯t have any will to fight at all. His entire body was just quivering before her.

    Tears didn¡¯te easy from a real man. Ever since Xiao Ya had gone missing, Bei Bei had been going through agonizing torture in his heart. He believed that it was his fault for not taking care of Xiao Ya that she had ended up in the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s hands.

    Thest time they met was on thepetition stage. When Tang Ya used her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear and impaled him, he had really wanted to just let go and liberate himself. He was absolutely willing, even if he had to die in Tang Ya¡¯s embrace.

    This was the second time that they had met after that time, now among endless soldiers, and in the darkness of the night. Bei Bei stared at Tang Ya, who was like a zombie, and he couldn¡¯t control his emotions at all.

    Tang Ya stared at Bei Bei, who had tears covering his entire face. She seemed a little frozen as well, but her hand was still slowly rising in Bei Bei¡¯s direction. Her eyes suddenly became cold in the next moment, and countless dark blue shadows lunged right at Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei just stood there, motionless. He still didn¡¯t believe that Tang Ya would harm him, even at a time like this.

    ¡°What are you doing, Bei Bei?¡± Xu Sanshi shouted in shock, and a golden light appeared in front of him in the next moment. An enormous shield protected Bei Bei behind it, blocking all the blue shadows going right for him.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body trembled as he snapped around at Xu Sanshi, who was rushing to his side. ¡°Don¡¯t interfere, Sanshi! I don¡¯t believe Xiao Ya will harm me.¡±

    Xu Sanshi retorted angrily, ¡°Are you insane? Can you not see that she has been brainwashed, and her mind is being controlled? We have to leave as quickly as possible! Little junior brother cannot keep that up for too long! What kind of romantic game are you ying at now? If you want to move Xiao Ya and let her recover, you have to wait for when everyone has returned safely. Why are you so muddled? Are you trying to kill everyone?¡±

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t stop as he hollered furiously at Bei Bei. His Xuanwu Shield became a shield wall as he blocked all the area attacks from Tang Ya¡¯s Dark Bluesilver Grass.

    Even though Tang Ya was already an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, Xu Sanshi¡¯s strength had increased exponentially ever since he had fused with his Spirit. His Golden Tortoise was hovering beside him, and it released circles of golden light one after another that greatly boosted his Xuanwu Shield.

    Bei Bei was momentarily stunned after Xu Sanshi berated him. However, some rity finally returned to his eyes as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was wrong.¡± He swiftly came out from behind Xu Sanshi¡¯s shield as he spoke, and he pounced right at Tang Ya amidst flickering golden lightning, unleashing his Radiant Holy Dragon.

    Bei Bei used Thunderous Dragon w, his first soul skill, and shed at Tang Ya as he used Vigorous Thunderbolt, his second soul skill, at the same time. Thousands of streaks of lightning permeated the skies as they sliced away the Dark Blusilver Grass in the air.

    An elegant white stallion flickering with golden light appeared before Bei Bei, and dragon scales immediately covered Bei Bei¡¯s body. It was Bei Bei¡¯s Spirit, his Heavenly Dragon Horse.

    Back then, Bei Bei¡¯s Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon had officially evolved into a Radiant Holy Dragon after he fused with the Heavenly Dragon Horse. Bei Bei¡¯s aura now swelled as his Spirit appeared. Even though he wasn¡¯t using his martial soul true body, his fighting strength was near that standard with the Heavenly Dragon Horse¡¯s support.

    Tang Ya¡¯s eyes were ice-cold from the beginning to the end. She raised her hands and made a grab with her left hand in the air as her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear gradually took form. She pushed out with her right hand towards Bei Bei, and an enormous bluish-ck web opened up. It blocked his Thunderous Dragon w before it reached for him.

    The web was bingrger andrger as it flew, and it could hold its own against Bei Bei¡¯s radiant lightning.

    Bei Bei stomped his right foot heavily on the ground as the lightning on his body flourished. That was his third soul skill, Thunderous Fury!

    Golden circles of light were released beneath his feet in the next moment. He used Dragon Emperor¡¯s Realm Quake, and his aura rose incredibly quickly to an extremely fearsome level.

    This was the reason why Bei Bei didn¡¯t use his martial soul true body. His fighting strength would be even stronger if he was in his martial soul true body, but his Dragon Emperor¡¯s Realm Quake could only be used at its full strength with Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture. His martial soul true body didn¡¯t have such delicate control, and at the bottom of it all, he was still afraid that he would hurt Tang Ya.

    A pair of enormous dragon ws rose as they shed at the enormous web. Therge web dropped down and closed up as it trapped him inside.

    Bei Bei fixed his gaze as he shouted, and tore to his sides savagely. He realized as he was tearing that the web was both extremely viscous and tough at the same time, and he couldn¡¯t tear open this web even with his strength.

    Furthermore, there were many bluish-ck spikes on this web, which released extremely pure energies of darkness that attempted to worm their way into his body. Bei Bei would have been injured as he shed against those spikes if not for his Radiant Holy Dragon¡¯s scales protecting him.

    But Bei Bei was a powerful Soul Sage, after all. With his Heavenly Dragon Horse supporting him, he used Dragon Emperor Demonic Rupture as blinding golden light shot into the air. Intense energies of light gave way to pure power as therge web was torn in two. As he tossed those two pieces away, they were thrown towards two evil soul masters in the distance.

    However, Bei Bei could clearly feel his scalp going numb in this moment. Tang Ya¡¯s Bluesilver Tyrant Spear had taken form, and the tip of the spear was pointed right at him. She was in a stance like she was going to throw it.

    In this moment, Tang Ya was the only person that Bei Bei could see. He could still vividly remember, back on thepetition stage, Tang Ya had used her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear to impale him. He didn¡¯t dodgest time, and he had used his passionate and warm blood to meet Tang Ya¡¯s attack. He wanted Tang Ya to feel the love that he had for her in his blood. Back then, Bei Bei felt that Tang Ya seemed to recover part of her memory from his repeated calls.

    They were almost in the exact same situation in this moment. Many emotions surfaced in Bei Bei¡¯s mind as he faced her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear once more.

    Tang Ya clutched her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear as she stared at the man who had just torn apart her Spiderweb Binding. She seemed to be momentarily stunned, and her ice-cold eyes flowed with a tinge of hesitation.

    Xu Sanshi arrived beside Bei Bei with a single stride. He wasn¡¯t afraid of her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear, and his Xuanwu Shield was at the ready.

    ¡°Sanshi!¡± Bei Bei suddenly growled.

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Sanshi turned around at him.

    Bei Bei stared at him deeply and said, ¡°Leave this to me. Trust me!¡±

    Xu Sanshi quivered as he said solemnly, ¡°Bei Bei!¡±

    Bei Bei lowered his voice. ¡°Trust me!¡±

    Xu Sanshi took a deep breath. He held onto his golden Xuanwu Shield as he took a step back. However, he didn¡¯t leave the battle.

    The Ice Bear King, Little Bai, was controlling the entire battlefield; Shrek Academy¡¯s warriors had the absolute upper hand even though they were few in number.

    The most intimidating ones from the Tang Sect were Ji Juechen and Ye Guyi. Ji Juechen¡¯s Judgment Sword unleashed formidable sword intent, and every swing of his sword was a nightmare for those evil soul masters.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s situation was even better. Her martial soul was a Holy Angel, while her type wasn¡¯t light. Instead, her martial soul was a holy-type martial soul. Her aura would be strengthened every time she killed an evil soul master, and here, she immediately surpassed the strength of a normal Soul Sage.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s martial soul was one of the strongest ones within the entire Tang Sect. In terms of just martial souls, her martial soul probably surpassed either of Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    The element of holiness contained within a Holy Angel was extremely rare, and was born to fight against evil. A Holy Angel would be strengthened every time it killed something evil.

    Ye Guyi had just ughtered an evil Soul Emperor, dissipating his martial soul into dust and nothingness. What she gained from this kill was equivalent to cultivating for three months by herself.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to find something evil from day to day, but the Holy Ghost Church was a most suitable opponent for Ye Guyi to strengthen herself with. Furthermore, almost every single evil soul master¡¯s abilities would be countered before her Holy Angel.

    The element of light could counter evil, but it wasn¡¯t as strong. Evil soul masters had been investigating how to deal with the element of light for many years, and they had a set of their own methods. However, there wasn¡¯t much they could do against the element of holiness. Holiness was a natural counter to them, and holiness always trumped evil, so it was a one-sided affair. The reason why the element of holiness was so powerful was that it had almost no natural enemies, while it could counter all evil and darkness.

 Chapter 500.1 - Phoenix Covering Retreat

    <h4 ss>Chapter 500.1: Phoenix Covering Retreat</h4>

    An avenging spirit flew in front of Ye Guyi. If she were an ordinary Soul Emperor, she would have to be very cautious when facing an evil soul master. If she wasn¡¯t cautious enough, her spiritual sea might be affected. However, against Ye Guyi, she only shone with golden light before the avenging spirit screamed tragically and vanished. The power of purification even caused the avenging spirit to be sucked into Ye Guyi¡¯s body to replenish her and increase her cultivation.

    As a result, Ye Guyi¡¯s fighting strength was fully unleashed as she fought under the Ice Bear King¡¯s protection. She was the nightmare of every evil soul master.

    Huo Yuhao had risked everything to save her before because she could naturally curb evil soul masters. As Ye Guyi¡¯s abilities increased, her deterrence against evil soul masters grew stronger, too.

    Ye Guyi was already close to bing a Soul Sage. After this fight, she was confident that she could make a breakthrough to be a Soul Sage. When that happened, her Holy Angel would have four wings, and her overall abilities would greatly increase. She wouldn¡¯t be afraid even against an evil Soul Douluo!

    Nan Qiuqiu followed beside Ye Guyi, coordinating with her. Ye Guyi¡¯s Holy Angel was the most effective against evil soul masters, while Nan Qiuqiu was using her Ruby Dragon¡¯s Annihtion abilities to protect her, enabling Ye Guyi¡¯s offensive power to be unleashed to the limit.

    It wasn¡¯t just Nan Qiuqiu. Xiao Xiao was also protecting Ye Guyi. Her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was used as a control-type martial soul to iste Ye Guyi from their enemies. This prevented too many enemies from appearing directly in front of her, allowing Ye Guyi to better unleash her abilities.

    Apart from the three of them, everyone else also demonstrated their powers. Jiang Nannan¡¯s abilities had greatly increased ever since she had fused with the Ruby Soft Tendon Python¡¯s Spirit. Right now, a python over three meters long ran riot on the battlefield. The strangest part of it was that it possessed the abilities that Jiang Nannan had. Just this alone was enough to make it as strong as Xu Sanshi¡¯s Golden Tortoise.

    Jiang Nannan had already transformed into her Martial Soul True Body at this moment, but it wasn¡¯t her Softbone Rabbit. Rather, she had fused her True Body into her Ruby Soft Tendon Python, increasing her Spirit¡¯s abilities greatly. She relied on the size of her python to disrupt proceedings on the battlefield, and the evil soul masters were unable to gather.

    ¡°Xiao Ya!¡± Bei Bei shouted at Tang Ya, who had already raised her Bluesilver Tyrant Spear.

    Tang Ya¡¯s body shook. She was already hesitating a little. When she heard Bei Bei¡¯s call, her actions slowed even further.

    Bei Bei removed his Dragon Emperor¡¯s Realm Quake and slowly walked towards Tang Ya. With every step he took, his body dimmed slightly. After three steps, his dragon scales hadpletely disappeared, and his martial soul had even been retracted. He revealed his true appearance.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, I¡¯m Bei Bei. Do you remember me?¡± Bei Bei walked towards Tang Ya.

    Xu Sanshi held his Golden Xuanwu Shield tightly, and suddenly swept his hand across his body. His shield flew out and struck a few evil Soul Emperors that were charging over.

    He was worried about Bei Bei. However, he couldn¡¯t stop him at this moment. From that earlier moment, he had already seen the determined look in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. Even though he was very close to Bei Bei, it was his first time seeing such a look in his eyes.

    He knew that Bei Bei had already made up his mind. No matter what, he had to try. As a brother, he couldn¡¯t stop him. If he were in such a situation with Jiang Nannan, he would also do the same thing.

    Bei Bei,e on!Xu Sanshi shouted silently, and focused his gaze on Tang Ya. Once something went wrong, he would dash in to save Bei Bei immediately.

    Tang Ya was a little dazed as she stood there. There was still arge bunch of dark Bluesilver Grass dancing around her feet. However, they didn¡¯t attack. The sharp Bluesilver Tyrant Spear shed with a dark-blue light. Its dominant aura made it felt like it could pierce through the sky. However, she didn¡¯t thrust it toward Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei was still walking toward her. His gaze became even gentler, and there wasn¡¯t even a streak of soul power undtionsing from him.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, I won¡¯t do anything to you. How can I possibly hurt you? You are my Xiao Ya, and you¡¯ll always be. If you want to attack, then kill me. I¡¯m willing even if my blood stains your body.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡± Tang Ya suddenly shouted. This was also her first time speaking on this battlefield. Her voice was no longer as cold and indifferent as it was before. Rather, she sounded a little afraid and panicky.

    After hearing her speak, Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh of relief. Tang Ya¡¯s emotions were roused after seeing Bei Bei. This meant that he was still in her memory.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t listen to Tang Ya, and continued to walk forward. He wasn¡¯t very far from Tang Ya to begin with, and now, he was almost in front of her.

    ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡± Tang Ya¡¯s voice turned a little sharper. Her icy-cold eyes were filled with indecision.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, Xiao Ya¡­ I¡¯m Bei Bei.¡± Bei Bei continued to walk forward. He was calling Tang Ya¡¯s name as if he were calling his own wife.

    Finally, he was in front of her. She didn¡¯t move her spear. It was even shaking in her grip.

    Bei Bei was now right in front of the spear, but he didn¡¯t stop. He walked directly into the spear, and the tip of the spear pierced his shoulder. There was a trace of red on the tip of the spear, which spread along the dark patterns on it.

    As Tang Ya¡¯s cultivation increased, the spear was able to absorb blood. As it absorbed blood, it also fused the dark poison elements inside it into the enemy¡¯s blood.

    Bei Bei turned pale, but his gaze was still as gentle as ever. ¡°Xiao Ya, I¡¯m Bei Bei.¡±

    Seeing that the tip of her spear had pierced Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder, Tang Ya was stunned, and just looked at him in a daze. It was like she was looking at some unbelievable thing.

    Bei Bei moved another inch forward. Immediately, the spear pierced deeper into him. From the start until the end, Bei Bei didn¡¯t reveal a painful look on his face. There was only a gentle look throughout.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, I¡¯m Bei Bei,¡± Bei Bei continued to call softly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Tang Ya started to shout frantically, and furiously let go of the spear in her hand. Without her soul power, her spear immediately dissipated, and turned into streaks of dark-blue light that disappeared into the air. The Bluesilver Grass around Tang Ya also instantly disappeared. Her face was very pale, and her body started to shake tremendously. Her hands were on her head.

    ¡°My head hurts. It hurts so, so much.¡±

    Bei Bei resisted the pain in his shoulder and rushed forward, hugging Tang Ya.

    Even though Tang Ya¡¯s body was icy-cold right now, and was filled with an intense aura of darkness, when Bei Bei hugged her, tears flowed from her eyes uncontrobly.

    How many years had it been? Ever since Tang Ya went missing, it had been many years. He was finally able to hold her in his arms again.

    Xiao Ya, you don¡¯t know how blissful I feel right now. No matter what price I have to pay, I¡¯ll treat you.

    Seeing that Bei Bei had seeded, Xu Sanshi was delighted. He charged towards Bei Bei and whispered, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go quickly, so that we can ask little junior to leave.¡±

    Bei Bei twisted to look at him and nodded quickly. After that, he carried Tang Ya away and fled towards the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s tent. The door to the spectral demine was already open¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Themand tent of the Sun Moon Empire¡­

    As the Imperial Tutor and leader of the Holy Ghost Church, Zhongli Wu sat in the main seat. Even Lin Hai was only sitting by his side.

    Arge number of orders had already been passed down. The entire base was busy with this fight.

    Zhongli Wu was very grim. Apart from Lin Hai, there were also many othermanders from the Sun Moon Empire inside the tent. As Zhongli Wu and the six Consecrated from the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Worship Hall were inside the tent, they were all afraid.

    ¡°Why is no one reporting after so long? What¡¯s with your soldiers?¡± Zhongli Wu asked Lin Hai.

    Lin Hai furrowed his brow and said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be happening. It¡¯s been some time. The messengers should be constantly reporting information.¡±

    After a series of orders were passed down earlier, themand tent had quieted down. They had been waiting for some time already, but no further messengers had arrived. How was the fight continuing on without anymands?

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zhongli Wu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He stood up immediately. ¡°Things aren¡¯t right. Why is it so quiet? Even if themand tent can iste noise quite well, there should be some movement outside. Let¡¯s go out and take a look.¡± As he spoke, he headed out.

    Of course no messengers came. This was because the ¡°Masquerade Douluo¡± was outside. After setting up the spiritual barrier, Huo Yuhao had already stopped three waves of messengers. With the spiritual barrier isting all noises from outside, those three waves of messengers were tricked into a dark corner beside themand tent through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference Domain. They were also unconscious.

    The curtains of the tent were pulled open, and Zhongli Wu was the first to walk out. Seeing that Zhongli Wu hade out, Huo Yuhao was rmed. Things hadn¡¯t finished on the other side; not everyone had retreated yet.

    Huo Yuhao knew that they were fighting for time right now. Every second would make his teammates safer. Bei Bei had just picked up Xiao Ya, and was about to retreat towards his tent!

 Chapter 500.2 - Phoenix Covering Retreat

    Chapter 500.2: Phoenix Covering Retreat

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection engulfed the entire battlefield. He knew everything that was happening. Time! Time!

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something, and quickly rushed forward two steps. He screamed in panic, ¡°Sect leader, things aren¡¯t going well. We¡¯ve been ambushed by people from Shrek Academy!¡± Although he was screaming, he was blocking Zhongli Wu¡¯s path.

    ¡°What?¡± After walking out of the tent, Zhongli Wu immediately sensed something amiss. What¡¯s with that weird soul power undtion in the air? Why did I not sense anything earlier?

    However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with that at this moment. He hurriedly shouted, ¡°All Consecrated, follow me to deal with the enemy!¡±

    However, a strong blizzard suddenly raged in at that moment!

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand, the Ice Bear King had been suppressing his abilities all this while, and didn¡¯t unleash his Blizzard at its full strength.

    But now, the area covered by the Blizzard instantly expanded. Visibility was greatly reduced, preventing the Sect Leader and the Consecrated of the Holy Ghost Church from seeing clearly. All sensing through soul power was reduced to its weakest because of this extremely powerful domain-type soul skill.

    Zhongli Wu shouted furiously and smacked his right hand forward. A ball of strong purple light was released from his palm. This purple light spread through the air, turning into dark purple balls. Wherever these balls passed, the snowkes in the air would melt and disappear. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with the Blizzard at all, and charged directly towards the battlefield.

    He was very confident in his abilities as a Titled Douluo.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    On the other side, everyone from Shrek Academy also quickly fled as they saw Bei Bei carrying Xiao Ya away.

    Elder Song smacked her palm toward the Third Elder, critically hurting him, spitting out blood in the process. However, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal him a final, lethal blow before she turned into a streak of jade-green light that immediately shed away, shooting straight towards Zhongli Wu. If no one stopped the oing Holy Ghost Church members, they wouldn¡¯t be able to flee.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s sixth soul ring rose. The reason why he and Elder Song couldn¡¯t kill the Third and Fourth Elders quickly was because they were suppressing their power. They couldn¡¯t risk generating strong soul power undtions that Zhongli Wu might discover.

    Huo Yuhao was able to iste noise and soul power undtions, but the truth would still be exposed if the tremors in the ground were too strong. But at this moment, there was nothing for them to hide anymore. Yan Shaozhe unleashed his full powers.

    A bright golden phoenix fluttered its wings and collided with the Fourth Elder. At the same time, it flew straight towards the oing evil soul masters, and forced the evil soul masters pestering the people from the Tang Sect back. They naturally took this opportunity to charge straight back to Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. Yan Shaozhe followed Elder Song closely. After he fused into the back of the golden phoenix, he unleashed his Martial Soul True Body. His ninth soul ring also shone.

    ¡°Ji!¡­¡± A sonorous and deafening phoenix scream rose. Yan Shaozhe¡¯s Phoenix True Body grew incredibly in size, his wings extending more than a hundred meters across. Strong phoenix mes rose before they shot towards the ground.

    Every one of these mes was shaped like a phoenix. The strong aura of light even caused Little Bai¡¯s Blizzard to dissipate temporarily.

    The originally dark sky brightened up at this moment. A bright golden fire was burning, and the Radiant Phoenix in the sky was shining with an elegant radiance.

    This was Yan Shaozhe¡¯s ninth soul skill, Phoenix Descent. It was his strongest soul skill.

    At this instant, he seemed to havepletely transformed into a true God Beast Phoenix.

    The strong light element suppressed Zhongli Wu and the six Consecrated, stalling them slightly, just long enough for the mes to engulf them.

    Zhongli Wu and the others had charged out anxiously when they realized the pressing situation on the battlefield, whereas Yan Shaozhe was warned by Huo Yuhao. He was already prepared, and didn¡¯t hesitate to unleash his strongest soul skill.

    Elder Song also shone with green light. She had turned into her Greenshadow Godly Eagle before Yan Shaozhe had transformed. When the Phoenix Descent was unleashed, the Godly Eagle instantly shed in the air. At that instant, even Huo Yuhao only saw a green light shing by, followed by the appearance of a jade-green light.

    Right now, the Greenshadow Godly Eagle was no longer like a martial soul anymore. It was more like an artistic piece that had been carved from jade. The speed of the eagle reached its extreme as she reached Zhongli Wu.

    Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t have time to unleash his Martial Soul True Body. As he had no choice, he could only defend with all his might. Under such a circumstance, Elder Song¡¯s abilities were unleashed to their greatest. Along with the fact that the evil soul masters had to resist the mes from the Phoenix True Body, all seven of them were flung away as they were struck by Elder Song.

    It was Elder Song¡¯s ninth soul skill, Emerald Refinement!

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s cultivation was close to Elder Song¡¯s, but he was an evil soul master. If they were in a duel, Elder Song could only use her speed to fight him. She might not be his match.

    However, given the current situation, Zhongli Wu was still flung away, even though he wasn¡¯t hurt.

    Huo Yuhao let out a tragic scream within the mes before he disappeared.

    After all, the mes came from a Transcendent Douluo. Its terrifying power could kill an ordinary Titled Douluo.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect took this opportunity to rush into Huo Yuhao¡¯s tent. They concealed themselves within the Blizzard and made their way into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine.

    A white halo was suddenly released from the mes: Mass Enfeeblement! The surrounding space distorted from his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    Zhongli Wu wanted to fly back, but he suddenly felt a wave of strong spiritual power striking him. He groaned in the air and his body shone with purple light. However, his body only shook, and he stopped.

    ¡°Yuhao, leave!¡± Yan Shaozhe ordered.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he was helpless in a fight of this tier. He had hit Zongli Wu with his strongest Spiritual Shock, but only felt a spiritual bacsh. He didn¡¯t dare to stop, and quickly fled. At the same time, he said to Nangong Wan, who was ying dead, ¡°The restrictions in your spiritual sea will disappear after three days. You don¡¯t have to do anything.¡±

    Nangong Wan was ying dead after he was knocked away. To make it even more real, he even intentionally hurt himself, breaking a few of his bones. After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t do anything but believe. If he tried to probe further, he might expose himself.

    Huo Yuhao called the Ice Bear King and quickly retreated into his tent. A beam of jade-green light shone behind them. They only felt that they became lighter before they rushed into the tent.

    ¡°Quickly, go!¡± Elder Song¡¯s voice came to them.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°No, Elder Song. Leave with Little Bai first. I¡¯ll wait for Dean Yan. I need to shut this door myself. If I leave, it could be exposed.¡±

    Elder Song said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You don¡¯t have to care about him. Shaozhe has a way of escaping. Let¡¯s leave first, quick!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was doubtful, but he couldn¡¯t suspect Elder Song¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t dare to stall any further, and quickly entered the door with Little Bai.

    Elder Song followed them. After entering the demine, Elder Song immediately said to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Shut the door.¡±

    ¡°Dean Yan¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at Elder Song. Are we not waiting for Dean Yan?

    Elder Song smiled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Shaozhe really has a way of escaping. Do you really think it¡¯s so easy being the Dean of the Martial Soul Department? He shares the same teacher as you. If he¡¯s not capable enough, how could he be the heir to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?¡±

    Huo Yuhao quickly shut the door. As the door shut, the entire demine was dissociated from the Douluo Continent. At this moment, the evil soul masters couldn¡¯t find them no matter how strong they were.

    Of course, if Huo Yuhao and the others wanted to return, they would still need to return to the base. However, it would only be him then. It would be much easier for him to flee in those circumstances. He didn¡¯t need to rush things now. It was better for things to settle down first.

    In the n that Huo Yuhao had set, Yan Shaozhe had volunteered to cover any retreat. Huo Yuhao naturally knew how strong he was. Such an arrangement was naturally appropriate.

    However, things didn¡¯t proceed as smoothly as nned. After the explosion, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s sect leader didn¡¯t send anyone to check on things. This was a surprise to Huo Yuhao. He had underestimated how selfish evil soul masters were.

    Themand tent was too close to the battlefield. The sect leader had still managed to discover an issue. It would be too dangerous for him to cover any retreat. Even if he wanted to, he didn¡¯t possess the ability to do so! He was even afraid that Nangong Wan would expose his disguise as the Masquerade Douluo. However, it would be fine if everyone could retreat safely. However, who knew that Yan Shaozhe wouldn¡¯t choose to leave? The n was almost perfect. The only w was that Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t leave with them.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao figured that Dean Yan must have some kind of trump card as he saw the smile on Elder Song¡¯s face.

    The Blizzard disappeared, but the phoenix mes were still raging. The entire sky was illuminated by golden light.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s flying soul engineers were quickly assembling in this direction. This was where themand tent was, at the core of the entire base. If things went wrong here, there would be great trouble.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s Phoenix Descent greatly suppressed Zhongli Wu and the six Consecrated, and they weren¡¯t able to break free from his mes.

 Chapter 500.3 - Phoenix Covering Retreat

    <h4 ss>Chapter 500.3: Phoenix Covering Retreat</h4>

    Not only did these phoenix mes contain a pure aura of life, but they were also burning like mes of Ultimate Fire. To be caught within these phoenix mes was like being dragged into a quagmire. Although the evil soul masters were very strong, and there were even a few Transcendent Douluo among them, they could only passively defend as they were suppressed by the mes.

    Yan Shaozhe controlled the mes immactely, and didn¡¯t care how fast he was being drained. Whichever evil soul master tried to charge over was immediately struck by the mes he was controlling.

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Zhongli Wu snorted coldly. He wasn¡¯t anxious anymore. His body shed with purple light, and he allowed the mes to attack him. He stood there without moving.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s overwhelming attack was aimed at arge area. Even if he were a Transcendent Douluo, he would be greatly drained, yet he ignored all costs. Under such circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t be able tost long. Once he couldn¡¯t hold on anymore, he would be doomed.

    There were so many evil soul masters. Was it even possible they could not deal with a Transcendent Douluo in a weakened state?

    The Masquerade Douluo had disappeared within the mes. Zhongli Wu personally witnessed it. He felt extremely sorry! Every Titled Douluo was an important asset to the Holy Ghost Church, even though the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s cultivation was likely to remain stagnant.

    Furthermore, he didn¡¯t know how many losses his side had incurred. How were the Second, Third, and Fourth Elders?

    Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re dead too? Impossible! From that earlier aura, there seemed to only be three Transcendent Douluo from Shrek Academy. How could they kill four of our Titled Douluo, although there¡¯s only three of them? They even did it so quickly!

    Zhongli Wu had already calmed down as he basked in the mes. However, he couldn¡¯t understand why Shrek Academy would suddenly attack.

    Such a short ambush can¡¯t possibly cause any damage. How did they get in? They just attacked us, and now they¡¯re leaving? They even got the Radiant Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe to cover their retreat. This is unbelievable. If they¡¯re trading the Masquerade Douluo for the Radiant Phoenix Douluo, it¡¯s definitely not worth it! The Radiant Phoenix Douluo is the heir to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. If not for the fact that Elder Mu died too early, Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t have be the Master at all. Yan Shaozhe would have been the next Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion!

    After pondering for a moment, Zhongli Wu finally had a clue. No matter what was happening, he had to do his best to kill Yan Shaozhe. As long as Yan Shaozhe died, the losses they had suffered this time would be worth it.

    The mes grew weaker and weaker. Just like Zhongli Wu had judged, even a Transcendent Douluo couldn¡¯tst long maintaining such a strong attack.

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe!¡± A cold and sinister voice rang across the sky. Even the mes retracted slightly as they were suppressed.

    Before the mes werepletely extinguished, Zhongli Wu snorted, and his back started to shine with purple light. He turned into an elderly, purplish figure, which pointed in Yan Shaozhe¡¯s direction. Zhongli Wu¡¯s eighth soul ring shed with light.

    A streak of purplish light as thin as a needle instantly swept across the sky. Wherever that streak of purplish light passed, even the mes were instantly pierced.

    Yan Shaozhe groaned in the air.

    Zhongli Wu shed away, and he finally broke free from the mes, which were also extinguished at this moment.

    Yan Shaozhe regained his human form andnded on the ground, staggering a little. There was a ball of purplish me burning on his chest.

    He struggled to support himself. The sixConsecratedhad already quickly surrounded him. Two were in the sky and four were on the ground, trapping him. Zhongli Wu was in front of him. This was a trap even a Transcendent Douluo like him couldn¡¯t break free from.

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe, where do you think you¡¯re escaping to?¡± Zhongli Wu cursed coldly.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled. ¡°Why should I run? Since I chose to stay, I have no intention of leaving! You¡¯ve been thinking too much.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zhongli Wu was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Yan Shaozhe to be soposed, even though he was encircled and had been struck by his eighth soul skill, the Godly Death Needle.

    The Godly Death Needle looked as thin as a strand of hair, but it was so strong that it could pierce through a mountain. It was specifically used to ovee all types of protective soul skills. Among all the current soul skills that Zhongli Wu knew about, none of them could resist his Godly Death Needle. To avoid being hurt, one could only try to avoid it. However, the Godly Death Needle could lock onto its targets, and wasn¡¯t that easy to avoid!

    The purplish me on Yan Shaozhe¡¯s chest came from the Godly Death Needle. He was using the strength of his phoenix mes to resist the Godly Death Needle. Zhongli Wu wasn¡¯t bothered by the fact at all. If his Godly Death Needle were so easy to deal with, it wouldn¡¯t be fit to be his eighth soul skill.

    When this needle entered any biological entity, it would spark a kind of me called the Withering me. No matter what the elemental type of a soul power was, it would be destroyed under the Withering me. It was like a soul master burning his soul power and spiritual sea. This Withering me expedited thebustion of one¡¯s soul power and spiritual sea, and the soul master couldn¡¯t possibly extinguish the me. During the process ofbustion, no overwhelming fighting strength was unleashed. Instead, the soul master would slowly experience a decline.

    Zhongli Wu nced around at the others from the Holy Ghost Church and said coldly, ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re going to get lucky?¡± He looked extremely grim.

    Not many of the people from the Holy Ghost Church could stand up. The Third and Fourth Elders appeared to be critically hurt, and struggled to crawl to their feet. Nangong Wan even acted like he couldn¡¯t get up. Worse, the Bluesilver Holy Lady was nowhere to be seen!

    Zhongli Wu was now intent on exacting revenge. Thisst thing infuriated him like nothing else!

    It was important to know that the Bluesilver Holy Lady and the Phoenix Holy Lady were the sessors that he had nurtured. The Phoenix Holy Lady was still receiving treatment at the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters because of the evil fire in her body. On the other hand, things were going very smoothly with the Bluesilver Holy Lady. ording to the current situation, her mind would bepletely purified, and she wouldpletely lose her sense of self.

    They were known as sessors not because they would rule the Holy Ghost Church in the future, but because they would be some of the strongest individuals in the church.

    Zhongli Wu was very aware that his mother and Long Xiaoyao were already very old. It was difficult to tell how much longer they could live. How could an evil soul master sect like the Holy Ghost Church remain powerful without any Ultimate Douluo? If the two of them died, everyone was bound to gang up on them!

    The Holy Ghost Church had a secret method that could stimte a Soul Master¡¯s abilities, allowing their followers to grow rapidly. However, there was a negative side to this secret method. Itpletely corroded a person¡¯s mind, and they would believe that they were just killing machines.

    With such a secret method, an extremely talented soul master could be gradually improved, and could possibly be an Ultimate Douluo. However, the soul master had to be introspective, his body had to be pure enough, and his martial soul had to be appropriate.

    Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao were candidates that he had found suitable. Comparatively speaking, Ma Xiaotao was much more talented. After her phoenix mes fused with the evil fire, it would evolve into Ultimate Fire. Once she became an Ultimate Douluo, she would be an Ultimate Fire Douluo. She would be even stronger than Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao.

    However, Ma Xiaotao wasn¡¯t verypatible with the secret method, exactly because she was too talented, and her mes were too domineering. It was very difficult to corrode her mind. Although there was some effect, her mind wasn¡¯t greatly affected, even after all this time.

    Although Tang Ya wasn¡¯t as talented as Ma Xiaotao, she was much morepatible with the secret method. After she consumed the medicine, her mind had beenpletely devoured by the evil poison. Her cultivation had increased greatly. In terms of rank, she was almost at Ma Xiaotao¡¯s standard.

    Once Tang Ya became a Titled Douluo, the secret method would bepleted. When that happened, only some special articles would be needed to help keep her under control. In the future, she was bound to be the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s biggest trump card. When Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were no longer around, Tang Ya would be present to ensure that the Holy Ghost Church couldst another hundred years without falling.

    Because of how important she was, Zhongli Wu had kept the Scorpion Tiger Douluo with her to protect her. However, Tang Ya had disappeared! It was important to know that the Holy Ghost Church had used a lot of resources on Tang Ya! After all, Zhongli Wu wasn¡¯t just nurturing an extremely powerful Ultimate Douluo. He also had to ensure that she would enjoy great longevity after she became an Ultimate Douluo. It was the only way he could maximize the benefits to the sect.

    Tang Ya¡¯s disappearance was even more heartbreaking than the Masquerade Douluo¡¯s death. He was so furious now that he wanted topletely annihte Shrek Academy right now!

    ¡°Yan Shaozhe, where did you take the Bluesilver Holy Lady?¡± Zhongli Wu asked coldly.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and said, ¡°What Bluesilver Holy Lady? I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Zhongli Wu snorted furiously, ¡°You¡¯re already here; why are you still acting? Do you really think I won¡¯t dare to kill you? No, that would be too easy on you. I¡¯ll make you my puppet, a puppet that¡¯s a Transcendent Douluo¡­ our soul will never reincarnate!¡±

    After hearing his threats, Yan Shaozhe was still smiling, and appeared veryposed. ¡°Zhongli Wu, you think too much. Quickly, go and save those who are hurt. I won¡¯t y with you anymore. Bye!¡±

    As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe suddenly burned with golden mes. Even the purple mes on his chest were devoured by these golden mes. Then, he slowly disappeared into the fires!

 Chapter 501.1 - Detoxing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 501.1: Detoxing</h4>

    The golden mes were so scorching that the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Consecrated all unwittingly took a step back, not daring to touch the mes. It felt like Yan Shaozhe was burning his own spirit and body right now, purifying everything he had from this world.

    ¡°Is, is he mad? He¡¯s killing himself?¡± Zhongli Wu was in a daze when he saw the burning mes, andpletely stunned. He didn¡¯t understand why Yan Shaozhe would make such a choice.

    The mes slowly extinguished. Yan Shaozhe had disappeared, along with any trace of his aura.

    Zhongli Wu should have been delighted that the Dean of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy and the heir to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was dead. However, he felt that Yan Shaozhe had died too easily as a Transcendent Douluo. If it were him, he would have done his best to fight his way out, even if he was encircled.

    Right, where¡¯s the rest of those from Shrek Academy?

    When I first came out of the tent earlier, I saw at least seven or eight people from Shrek Academy. However, they were protected by the phoenix mes and concealed by the blizzard. Yan Shaozhe was fighting so hard to cover them. However, he¡¯s the Dean of their Martial Soul Department. No, something isn¡¯t right¡­

    ¡°Quick, go search for them! We must not let them escape!¡± As he spoke, Zhongli Wu shed away, flying towards the location where the people from the Holy Ghost Church were gathered earlier.

    He turned very grim when he came to where everyone from the Holy Ghost Church had assembled. On the ground was corpse after corpse. In just this short period of time, more than ten people from the Holy Ghost Church had died. Although most of them were Soul Emperors, they were still the elites of the church, since they were sent to the front line.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to nurture an evil soul master. Now that ten of them had died in one go, Zhongli Wu felt his heart ache. It wasn¡¯t just ten of them. The Masquerade Douluo had also been burned to death, and the Bluesilver Holy Lady was missing. Twelve were gone, including two extremely important individuals.

    Zhongli Wu felt his blood surging. He was about to spit out blood. ¡°Bastard!¡± he shouted furiously.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At this moment, those in themand tent had also reacted. Lin Hai came over, too. For some reason, he was gloating inside when he saw those dead evil soul masters.

    No one liked evil soul masters, even the soldiers on the same side as them. Evil soul masters couldn¡¯t even be considered humans in the eyes of ordinary people. But everyone had to be prudent in front of them. Even Lin Hai wasn¡¯t an exception.

    ¡°Imperial Tutor, I¡¯ve already summoned the leaders of the soul engineer legions we have in the sky. They also didn¡¯t see how the raiders escaped. I¡¯ve already given an order to search the entire base for them. All surveince soul tools are operating to find them, too. The Heavenly Soul Empire has also retreated. It seems like they nned this attack; it was an ambush. How bad are your losses over here?¡±

    Zhongli Wu took a few deep breaths and tried to suppress his rage.How bad are my losses? Incredibly bad!However, Lin Hai was already doing very well to cope with the situation. Even if he wanted to rage, he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Alright, please help me find them. Even if you have to dig one meter into the ground, I want them found!¡± Zhongli Wu ordered coldly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Hai acknowledged his words before turning and leaving. He wasn¡¯t willing to stay too long. It was too dangerous, given how Zhongli Wu looked like a walking volcano right now.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The entire base got busy. Lin Hai even got his men to dig one meter into the ground. After all, the people from Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t possibly have vanished into thin air, they must have had some way of leaving. There were soul engineers and surveince soul tools in the sky. Even if they could conceal themselves, they couldn¡¯t have possibly escaped their encirclement!

    All the tents in the core region of the base were temporarily dismantled before the ground was dug up.

    However, nothing came up even after two days. Not only was Zhongli Wu extremely infuriated, even Lin Hai was confused.Don¡¯t tell me they really can disappear into thin air? If Shrek Academy possesses such mysterious and magical powers, they would definitely be a much greater threat¡­

    ¡ª¡ª

    As the Sun Moon Empire was puzzling over this matter, those from Shrek Academy were doing very well in the demine. The only worrying thing was Tang Ya¡¯s condition.

    They had returned to the demine and sealed it shut. Even if the Sun Moon Empire dug ten meters into the ground, they couldn¡¯t possibly find them.

    After Yan Shaozhe disappeared, none of their enemies could find any trace of them. Under the cover of the blizzard and phoenix mes, no one saw how they had escaped the scene.

    Tang Ya wasn¡¯t in very good shape. Shey in Bei Bei¡¯s arms with her eyes closed. She was terrifyingly pale, and clutching her head in her hands, evidently in great pain.

    ¡°Yuhao, what do we do?¡± Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao like he was asking for help.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°ording to what the Delicate Silk Immortal told me, Teacher Xiao Ya should have been affected by some kind of evil poison. This poison has already spread to every part of her body, including her martial soul and spiritual sea.

    ¡°The Delicate Silk Immortal gave me a spiritual pill that she cultivated. It should be able to expel some of the poison. However, the problem is that the poison has fused too deeply with Teacher Xiao Ya. As she slowly detoxifies, her life energy might also slowly dissipate. She¡¯ll grow weaker and weaker. This is why we need to find the Bluesilver Emperor, to fuse her life energy with her martial soul. By absorbing the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s strength, she¡¯ll be able to stimte the origin of her martial soul, re-igniting her life energy. This will allow her to live.¡±

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°What should we do with her now? What if we don¡¯t treat her now? Wasn¡¯t she doing very well in the Holy Ghost Church?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to maintain her condition, seeing how she is now. She was greatly affected when she saw you, and her consciousness is slowlying back. This has caused a reaction in the evil poison in her body. If she continues to take in more evil poison, she might be able to maintain her condition, but she¡¯ll be more poisoned.

    ¡°Furthermore, we don¡¯t have any evil poison to give her. We need to start detoxifying her. Otherwise, once the poison runs riot in her body, even an immortal won¡¯t be able to save her life.¡±

    Bei Bei took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He asked, ¡°Yuhao, tell me the truth. If we continue to detoxify her, how much longer can she live?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I can¡¯t tell; it depends on how fast she¡¯s being cleansed. In my opinion, she¡¯ll onlyst half a year to a year¡¯s time, somewhere within that range.¡±

    Bei Bei remained quiet. When he saw how pale Tang Ya was, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start. Within half a year, I¡¯ll do my best to find the Bluesilver Emperor for her. If I can¡¯t, that¡¯s it for her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed silently in his heart when he saw how desperate Bei Bei looked. There was no other way. They couldn¡¯t possibly return her to the Holy Ghost Church.

    ¡°Alright, let me check her body first.¡± He was already familiar with the Poison Scripture passed down in the Tang Sect, and was one of the best in terms of his understanding of all types of lethal poison.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved the pill, which was releasing a dim pinkish glow, and letting out a light fragrance. When everyone smelled this scent, they couldn¡¯t help but feel refreshed. Even Ye Guyi felt much more rxed.

    When this pinkish glow touched Tang Ya, the pill shone slightly brighter. The glow also instantly turned darker.

    Tang Ya¡¯s body shook, and she trembled a little.

    Very soon, dark-blue patterns surfaced on her skin. It was like the patterns on her dark Bluesilver Grass.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved a needle and pricked Tang Ya¡¯s finger. A drop of blood fell out. The pill received this drop of blood, which was slightly darker in hue than normal blood.

    The pill was originally faintly pinkish in color, but it turned dark pink after receiving that drop of blood. The drop of blood seemed to have vaporized, and a dark blue fog gradually rose from the pill.

    Huo Yuhao used his other hand to cover the top of the pill, unleashing his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer. Under the effect of the aura of Ultimate Ice, the fog that rose up immediately condensed into powder and attached to the frozen ice crystals.

    The drop of blood was purified, but it turned light pink, not the normal color of blood. The life energy of this blood was dissipating rapidly. Although it still possessed the characteristics of blood, it was visibly different from normal blood.

    When he saw all this, even Bei Bei understood what Huo Yuhao was talking about earlier.

    The evil poison hadpletely infiltrated her body. It wasn¡¯t just her blood. Her bones, meridians, and even her spirit and martial soul had been affected. The evil poison hadpletely linked with her life energy. Detoxifying her was the same as releasing her life energy!

 Chapter 501.2 - Detoxing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 501.2: Detoxing</h4>

    Huo Yuhao turned his palm around and took a detailed look at the dark-blue powder. At the same time, he unleashed his spiritual power to boost his olfactory sense and vision, in a bid to recognize what this poison was.

    He still held some hope in his heart. Given therge number of treasures that he had obtained from the Icefire Yin Yang Well, they should be sufficient if they could expel the poison in Tang Ya¡¯s body.

    But very soon, he was disappointed. After a brief moment, he lifted his head to look at Bei Bei. He shook his head gently and said, ¡°Eldest senior, there¡¯s no other way. I¡¯ve already felt it clearly. This evil poison is veryplex. It¡¯s a kind of lethal poison made from a mix of other poisons, formed by mixing many other lethal poisons. As it has fused with Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s life energy, itsponents can¡¯t be independently identified. Furthermore, there are also strong spiritual undtionsing from this evil poison. They should belong to the person who injected this poison into Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s body. I have no way of separating her life energy from the poison or identifying itsponents.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded lightly and replied, ¡°I understand. Yuhao, you¡¯ve done your best.¡±

    ¡°Yes. But don¡¯t worry, eldest senior, I¡¯ve some confidence in keeping her alive. Given her current condition, if she continues getting poisoned, I¡¯m afraid that the poison wouldpletely take over her entire body within half a year¡¯s time. When that happens, her spirit will be devoured by the evil poison. There wouldn¡¯t be any way of waking her up then.

    ¡°Right now, detoxifying her requires half a year. This means that she won¡¯t die within the next half a year during the cleansing process. However, her life energy will keep on dissipating. The more conscious she is, the weaker she¡¯ll be. When her memories finally return, that will be the time when her life energy is almost drained.

    ¡°However, I have the Life Guardian de. From now on, she can carry it with her wherever she goes. Her life energy will be continually replenished from the life aura of the de. In this way, she¡¯ll be able to survive for a year, at the very least. This gives us enough time to locate the Bluesilver Emperor.¡±

    After hearing his words, Bei Bei was delighted. ¡°That¡¯ll be great! Thanks, Yuhao!¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me for anything. This is the least I can do. I also hope that Teacher Xiao Ya can recover!¡±

    Xu Sanshi asked from one side, ¡°Yuhao, if the life energy from your Life Guardian de is so strong, can¡¯t it help her recover? Can¡¯t her life energy bepletely replenished by it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It might be a possibility if it were someone else. However, it won¡¯t do in her situation. Her life origin is also being taken apart as her life energy dissipates. The same goes for her martial soul. This also means that her life energy is like water, and her body is like a container. Only sufficient water can sustain her. However, the container is now broken. No matter how much water you pour in, the water will still flow out.

    ¡°We can say that water is constantly flowing into the container, which stops it from bingpletely empty at a slower rate. She can live longer. However, the container can only be repaired if we find the Bluesilver Emperor. If we can, her life energy will solidify on its own, and she¡¯ll recover even if there¡¯s no replenishment from elsewhere.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was enlightened. ¡°So that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s actually so confusing.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Alright, Yuhao, you can begin now. No matter what happens in the end, we¡¯ve already done our best.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Eldest senior, hug Teacher Xiao Ya tightly. She¡¯ll be in real painter. However, this first step is very crucial. At least it can guarantee that her body won¡¯t continue to be damaged by the evil poison.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Bei Bei hugged Tang Ya tightly. Right now, he was as pale as she was. He had never been so tense.

    Huo Yuhao brought the pill in front of Tang Ya. This pill contained the essence of the Delicate Silk Immortal¡¯s years of cultivation. It was even more effective in detoxification than the Delicate Silk Immortal herself.

    A gentle pink light surged into Tang Ya¡¯s body under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. She shuddered as those purplish-ck patterns appeared on her skin once again.

    The pinkish glow from the Delicate Silk Immortal Pill touched the dark-blue. Tang Ya¡¯s body started to ripple. The purplish-ck patterns seemed to be pulled apart by the pinkish light as it rippled on Tang Ya¡¯s skin.

    Her body started shaking hard. Dark-blue beads of sweat instantly surfaced on her forehead.

    Huo Yuhao depressed his palm slightly as he held the pill with his other hand. The diamond ice crystals of his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer engulfed his palm. He used the Tang Sect¡¯s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to suck the beads of perspiration on Tang Ya¡¯s forehead that contained poison into his palm. When the beads touched Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, they quickly froze.

    Slowly, a dark-blue ice crystal appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm as dark-blue beads of sweat kept flying out from Tang Ya¡¯s body. The beads even flew out from her shirt into the air.

    Elder Song waved her hand and said, ¡°Girls can remain. Guys, go to one side and cultivate. Don¡¯t stay here to watch.¡±

    Xu Sanshi and the rest immediately revealed a weird expression on their faces. However, they still turned around and walked to one side to cultivate. Only Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu remained.

    Elder Song was afraid that Tang Ya¡¯s clothes would be torn during this treatment process. Huo Yuhao was trying to treat her, and thus he had no choice but to remain. However, the rest of the guys had to leave.

    Tang Ya¡¯s body shook even harder. However, her life aura was getting weaker and weaker.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened. A beam of gentle spiritual power engulfed Tang Ya¡¯s forehead, helping to stabilize her spiritual sea. At the same time, a streak of jade-green lightning shot out and drifted above her forehead. After this, the streak of lightning slowlynded and stuck to her chest. It was the Life Guardian de.

    The moment the Life Guardian de appeared, the air was filled with a strong aura of life.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed, and a distorted projection formed beside his body. It actually became another him. This distorted projection appeared a little illusory, but it soon became more real.

    Elder Song was secretly shocked.Concrete-material spiritual power!

    The Huo Yuhao that was slowly taking form silently walked forward and came to Tang Ya¡¯s side. He summoned his spiritual power and poured it into the Life Guardian de. He directed the life energy in the Life Guardian de to flow into Tang Ya¡¯s body.

    It was only at this moment that a slight pinkish glow returned to Tang Ya¡¯s face. Although her life energy was still dissipating, the life energy that was being poured into her body was much stronger. At least, it was capable of maintaining her own energy level.

    Bei Bei still looked as pale as ever, now able to fully sense what Huo Yuhao was talking about earlier.

    After the immense life energy from the Life Guardian de flowed into Tang Ya¡¯s body, it would slowly seep out from the pores over her entire body and enter his. It made Bei Bei feel like his body was being nourished instead.

    If this were his normal cultivation time, Bei Bei would definitely be happy with such a situation. An increase in his soul power would mean a strengthening of any soul master¡¯s body. It was very beneficial to his future cultivation.

    However, how could Bei Bei be happy with the current situation he was in? Life energy was seeping out from Tang Ya¡¯s body. This meant that she wasn¡¯t absorbing anything!

    Time passed, second by second. The dark-blue poisonous ice crystal in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was already asrge as his palm. The beadsing from Tang Ya¡¯s body started to fade in color.

    Tang Ya¡¯s body finally calmed down under the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and the life energy of the Life Guardian de. She slowly fell into a deep sleep.

    After the poisonous ice crystals expanded another round, Huo Yuhao retracted the immortal pill. At the same time, he put the block of ice crystals into his storage-type soul tool. Under the extremely low temperature of his Ultimate Ice, it wouldn¡¯t be able to cause any further trouble.

    Huo Yuhao also heaved a sigh of relief. He stood up, but his spiritual entity was still controlling the output of life energy into Tang Ya¡¯s body to maintain the life energy inside her body.

    Although this couldn¡¯t strengthen her life energy, one¡¯s bodily functions would recover at a faster speed if one had sufficient life energy, so his efforts weren¡¯t for nothing.

    Bei Bei was anxious as he looked at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao nodded at him. ¡°Eldest senior, don¡¯t worry. Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s condition is still quite stable. After this round of detoxification, the poison on the surface has all been sucked out. She won¡¯t be corroded any further, but this will make her weaker. You¡¯ll still need to take care of her.¡±

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°Will she regain her awareness when she wakes up?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to be difficult. I¡¯m not sure what will really happen. However, the evil poison has invaded her body for too long. Her spiritual sea has been seriously affected. She¡¯ll need time even if she recovers.

    ¡°Furthermore, more poison has to be expelled from her body before she can recover. Eldest senior, you should speak more with her. This will greatly help her in recovering her memories. Reminisce about some personal things.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks, Yuhao.¡± Bei Bei knew that this was the best result they could have achieved. ¡°How long will this pouring of life energy into herst?¡±

 Chapter 501.3 - Detoxing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 501.3: Detoxing</h4>

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection and sensed Tang Ya¡¯s pulse as well as her physical condition. After pondering for a brief moment, he said, ¡°Around an hour. Allow Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s bodily functions to slowly recover under the stimtion of life energy. In this way, she¡¯ll be able to live longer. As long as we find the Bluesilver Emperor in the meantime and summon Tang Ya¡¯s martial soul, as well as her original life energy, we¡¯ll be able to treat her. When we pour in life energy then, it won¡¯t disappear. She¡¯ll be able to produce her own life energy too!¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, Bei Bei felt more relieved. After the first round of detoxification, Xiao Ya¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t going to worsen anymore. What he had to do now was locate the Bluesilver Emperor.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior, I suddenly thought of an idea. Listen to it and see whether it¡¯s feasible.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Bei Bei¡¯s eyes brightened.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Due to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion and the expansion of Shrek City, Shrek City is currently the safest ce on the continent. At least this is what everyone from the three empires in the original Douluo Continent thinks. In Shrek City, there are powers from every empire.

    ¡°Over the years, the Tang Sect has slowly grown in name. In my opinion, we should announce a mission to locate the Bluesilver Emperor. Whoever can provide reliable information and helps us to locate the Bluesilver Emperor will be owed a favor under the sect¡¯s name, as long as whatever he wants us to do isn¡¯t morally wrong. Or, we can repay him by giving him a batch of soul tools. After all, we are limited on our own. However, if we can tap into the strength of the entire Douluo Continent, we¡¯ll be more able to find the Bluesilver Emperor.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Bei Bei was slightly stunned. After that, he furrowed his brow and said, ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that. We can¡¯t ce such a huge burden on the sect because of Xiao Ya. We won¡¯t know what whoever helps us will want. I can¡¯t bring so much trouble to the sect because of me and Tang Ya. Even if we have to repay someone, it should be under my name.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head in reply. ¡°No, eldest senior. You are not persuasive enough. I¡¯m afraid that you don¡¯t want to hear this. No matter who it is, our individual abilities can¡¯t convince entire empires to help us search for something.

    ¡°However, the Tang Sect is different. Right now, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent have used the soul tools that we¡¯ve produced. They also know of our close rtionship with the Academy. Given this, we¡¯ll be able to attract their attention once we announce this mission. From there, they¡¯ll help us to find the Bluesilver Emperor.¡±

    Bei Bei sighed and said, ¡°Yuhao, I recognize your good intentions. However, we can¡¯t do this. It took very long for the Tang Sect to achieve what it has today. We can¡¯t do this for Xiao Ya¡­¡±

    ¡°Why not? We think it¡¯s workable,¡± Jiang Nannan suddenly interrupted.

    ¡°Nannan¡­¡± Bei Bei lifted his head to look at Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan looked very determined. ¡°Bei Bei, do you still remember why we joined the Tang Sect? We didn¡¯t aim to own such a strong sect. We are teammates and friends. Honestly, Xiao Ya is the real sect leader of the Tang Sect. You are only acting on her behalf and assuming her authority because she hasn¡¯t been around. Now that our real sect leader is in trouble, shouldn¡¯t we do our best to help her?

    ¡°Furthermore, it¡¯s not just her. No matter who faces such trouble in the sect, we¡¯ll do everything we can to save him or her. It¡¯s only this way that we can demonstrate how united the Tang Sect is, so that every disciple of the sect is willing to do his best for the sect, and treats the sect as his family. I think Yuhao¡¯s idea is workable.¡±

    After hearing Jiang Nannan¡¯s words, Bei Bei went silent. Right now, he only felt a warm flow in his chest. All these years, he had been living in pain because of Xiao Ya¡¯s disappearance. He had ced all of his energy into his cultivation and developing the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan¡¯s words didn¡¯t just bring him warmth. They made him feel a sense of kinship, especially when she talked about the unity of the Tang Sect.That¡¯s right, the Tang Sect is very united!

    Jiang Nannan turned her head after seeing Bei Bei lower his, and said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao, it¡¯s set. After we return, we¡¯ll announce this mission. I believe that there will be interested parties.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao immediately agreed.

    Bei Bei let out a long breath and nodded gently, saying, ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m thanking all of you on behalf of Xiao Ya.¡±

    Xiao Xiaoughed, ¡°Eldest senior, why are you thanking all of us on behalf of Teacher Xiao Ya? We¡¯re all friends! This is what we should be doing!¡±

    With this n, Bei Bei was instantly in a better mood. If they were unable to find the Bluesilver Emperor, even with the strength of the entire Douluo Continent, Tang Ya¡¯s fate might indeed be sealed¡­

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°I also believe that Yuhao¡¯s n is workable. Tang Ya is indeed the only heir to the Tang Sect. The Sect and Shrek Academy possess thousands of years of ties. I believe the Academy will support the Sect in this matter. However, please forgive the Academy, because we can¡¯t use our name, given our involvements in many areas. However, the Academy will try its best to help no matter what conditions the person who finds the Bluesilver Emperor requests.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Elder Song,¡± Bei Bei said gratefully. Elder Song held a very important position in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, only inferior to Elder Xuan. With Elder Song¡¯s support, it was almost a guarantee that Dean Xian Lin¡¯er and Qian Duoduo would also express their support. In addition, along with Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Elder Song¡¯s votes, they already had five votes in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, close to half the total votes.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Things temporarily settled down in the demine. The mission this time had been sessfullypleted. Not only did they manage to save Tang Ya, they even used a ss 9 stationary shell to destroy an entire soul engineer legion of the Sun Moon Empire. This alleviated some of the pressure on the Heavenly Soul Empire at the front line.

    Of course, this was only possible because the shell was detonated inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base. If not for Nangong Wan, they wouldn¡¯t have aplished this. Although the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army still seemed to be very disciplined, they were already facing internal chaos. Investigations were underway, causing great disruptions.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire was delightfully surprised by this. Although their surveince was limited, they naturally knew about what had happened, given the great uproar that had ensued because of the ss 9 stationary shell. It was so powerful that its effects could be clearly witnessed even from tens of kilometers away. They were already informed in detail of where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were by Huo Yuhao¡¯s surveince, and so could piece the puzzle together.

    If not for the fact that Wei Na was leading the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s army then, and took the initiative to carry on with the original n, they might actually have turned the act into a real show.

    Because of this matter, the marshals of the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires were very displeased. They thought that the Heavenly Soul Empire was too conservative, and hadn¡¯t exploited such a great opportunity.

    In fact, the Heavenly Soul Empire had their own difficulties. Naturally, they knew that this was a great opportunity. However, the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t seem to be in a bad state. Also, the armies that were gathered were already all the remaining forces that the Heavenly Soul Empire had. Once the fight fully broke out, they couldn¡¯t possibly let the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires lead the lines, they had to be the first to act. When that happened, they were bound to suffer heavy losses.

    They might not even win this fight. Even if they did, it would be a hard-fought and tragic victory. Even if the Sun Moon Empire was forced back temporarily, what if they came back again? If the Heavenly Soul Empire sustained great casualties, how could they possibly revive their empire? Even if they could, they wouldn¡¯t be able to protect it!

    The Sun Moon Empire posed a great threat. However, if the Heavenly Soul Empire weakened to a certain point, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s threat also fell, the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empires might actually be able to threaten the Heavenly Soul Empire. As a result, given such a conflict of interests, the Heavenly Soul Empire still decided to follow their original n.

    The facts proved that their decision was right. Although the Sun Moon Empire suffered heavy losses, they weren¡¯t on the brink of copse. If there really was a fight, no one knew who would prevail. No matter what, the Heavenly Soul Empire was bound to sustain heavy losses as the aggressors. They had to breach the other four soul formations that the Sun Moon Empire had set up!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    After the incident, there was a great uproar in the Sun Moon Empire. The loss of a soul engineer legion seemed to have caused Lin Hai to age overnight. He was the only one to shoulder this responsibility. Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church had also sustained heavy losses. One of their elders was dead, one of their Holy Ladies had disappeared, and many evil soul masters had been killed. This responsibility was definitely not going to be shouldered by Zhongli Wu!

    There were widespread investigations going on in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base. However, three days had passed, and it still seemed like those from Shrek had vanished into thin air. There were no clues to their whereabouts at all.

    The only thing that Zhongli Wu felt was fortunate was that Nangong Wan, the Third Elder, and the Fourth Elder all survived, even though they had sustained critical injuries. The life energy of a Titled Douluo was very strong. After a certain period of recuperation, they would be able to recover.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Night of the fourth day¡­

    A ck crack silently appeared inside a pitch-ck tent. A figure silently appeared out of it.

    It was very quiet in this tent, where the Masquerade Douluo had stayed before he died. Although he was dead, no one had touched his tent, even though investigations were being carried out in the base.

    This figure was hiding in a dark corner. He let out his Spiritual Detection to sense the changes in his surroundings. After a brief moment, another person walked out from the crack after the figure verified that the coast was clear.

    If someone saw him now, they would be astonished to realize that the two figures looked exactly the same. They were both Huo Yuhao!

 Chapter 502.1 - The Medicine Refinement Plan!

    Chapter 502.1: The Medicine Refinement n!

    The first figure that appeared was actually Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual avatar. Once bitten, twice shy, and Huo Yuhao was a lot more careful after the painful lesson he had learned from his previous experience. He used his spiritual avatar to investigate what was happening outside, and his original body appeared only when he made sure there was no danger. It was a lot safer.

    The ck crack closed, and the two shadows disappeared into the air at the same time with Imitation. They snuck out of the tent together.

    Security within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp was clearly a lot tighter than before. There were soldiers patrolling even where the evil soul masters resided.

    The patrolling soldiers carried specific types of surveince soul tools. They didn¡¯t use them to investigate inside the tents, but they swept across the air and the ground continuously, aiming to detect soul masters who were adept at concealing themselves, and prevent them from sneaking inside.

    However, such simple surveince was useless against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao used his avatar to scout the path ahead, keeping his Spiritual Detection within a fixed range. He didn¡¯t touch any tents at all, and inched forward carefully from memory.

    Huo Yuhao needed a safe spot to bring hispanions back safely. Wherever he opened therge gate to his spectral demine, it would have to reappear at the same location if reopened from within. Hence Huo Yuhao had appeared in the tent that he had stayed in before.

    The Holy Ghost Church definitely didn¡¯t know his spectral demine¡¯s characteristics. The only thing he was worried about was that Nangong Wan would reveal something, and if his identity as the Masquerade Douluo was revealed, his enemies would have the chance to set a trap.

    Reality proved that Nangong Wan was still quite intelligent. He was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Second Elder, and he had probably concealed his betrayal very well. That was equivalent to covering Huo Yuhao¡¯s identity, and so his stealthy operations were a lot more rxed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It took a full hour, but Huo Yuhao finally left the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp after going past many patrols and surveince soul tools.

    It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to get out with his abilities if he wanted to; increasing the number of patrols was futile. As long as they didn¡¯t do continuous nket sweeps, he would always be able to find cracks in the defense. He had been through so many battles, undercover operations, and reconnaissance missions that he had be increasingly familiar and adept with his skills in these areas.

    But even after he was out, he didn¡¯t let down his guard at all. He swiftly flew towards the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s camp, and went straight into the territory that the Heavenly Soul Empire controlled before he flying into the sky and proceeding towards Heavenly Spirit City.

    Huo Yuhao was actually the most worried about Yan Shaozhe, as Elder Song would always smile and say nothing when he asked her about him.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao finally returned to the small courtyard that Shrek Academy has been assigned to. He was startled as he entered the courtyard, because he witnessed Yan Shaozhe and Princess Wei Naing out from the living room, chatting as they walked.

    Huo Yuhao descended from the sky, immediately alerting Yan Shaozhe, who saw who it was. Relieved, he said, ¡°You¡¯re finally back, Yuhao. You have pretty good restraint! Is everyone alright?¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ yes, we¡¯re fine. Dean, you¡­¡± Huo Yuhao spoke with his eyes wide and his jaw agape.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled as he ced his index finger on his lips. Princess Wei Na quickly stepped forward as she faced Huo Yuhao with a look of pleasant surprise on her face. ¡°You¡¯re back, Yuhao! How is it? Where¡¯s everyone else?¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal his secret in front of Princess Wei Na. He replied hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, princess, everyone else is safe. I¡¯m back here to check on things.¡±

    Wei Na eximed, ¡°Shrek is worthy of their name! There hasn¡¯t been anything we could do with the Sun Moon Empire, but a single operation from Shrek Academy has destroyed one of their soul engineer legions! If we can destroy another one or two of them, we might really be able to sound the horns for an assault.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°That¡¯s easier said than done! We relied on cheap tricks this time. The Sun Moon Empire has made sufficient preparations against it happening so easily. To tell you the truth, princess, we had to use a stationary soul cannon shell that we obtained from the Sun Moon Empire a long time ago. If you want us to execute another operation like that, you¡¯ll have to give us a weapon of that standard before anything else. I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have any.¡±

    It was Princess Wei Na¡¯s turn tough bitterly. She couldn¡¯t even bring out a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell, let alone a ss 9 one!

    The Heavenly Soul Empire had lost a lot of their territory, equivalent to losingrge amounts of resources. They barely had enough to sustain their armies, while they had to rely on the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire for anything else.

    Princess Wei Na said sincerely, ¡°Anyhow, I have to thank everyone for this operation. With what has happened, the Sun Moon Empire shouldn¡¯t beunching any offensives against us in the near future, which should give us sufficient time to prepare and build up our strength. We will develop as many soul tools as we can, and think of ways to hold them back at the same time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded, but said nothing else.

    Wei Na still wanted to chat with him for a little bit, but she saw that Yan Shaozhe had been standing there waiting the whole time. It was clear that they had internal matters they wanted to discuss, so she could only take her leave.

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao swiftly took a few steps forward after he watched the princess leave and came before Yan Shaozhe. He grabbed the Dean¡¯s arms subconsciously and looked him up and down.

    ¡°Dean Yan, you, you¡¯re¡­¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and said, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who¡¯s confused. I think the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Supreme Leader, Zhongli Wu is probably even more perplexed. He must still be wondering how the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department died just like that. Hahaha!¡±

    Huo Yuhao released his hands and whispered, ¡°How did you escape?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled and replied, ¡°Little junior brother, even though there¡¯s a huge age gap between us, you should still address me as senior brother. I am your true eldest senior brother! As for how I managed to escape, it¡¯s actually very simple¡­¡±

    He leaned beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear and whispered something, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened after listening to his exnation. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a magical¡­¡±

    Yan Shaozhe ced his index finger to his lips andughed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as you know, but you can¡¯t talk about it. This is your senior brother¡¯s secret to saving his life.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll keep your secret.¡± Huo Yuhao felt his heart skip a beat. Yan Shaozhe¡¯s secret was just too magical, but he also had to keep this secret. Otherwise, if malicious people knew about it, they could specifically target his ability, and his skill wouldn¡¯t be effective anymore.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go into the room. Get everyone out, and we can return.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao began to chant as they returned to the living room, and opened his spectral demine. Yan Shaozhe looked on as Elder Song and the others came out of the demine one after another. He couldn¡¯t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Yuhao, even though I really don¡¯t like this ability of yours, I have to say that it can be considered a godly skill when used in certain situations! You have contributed even a secret like this to the Academy, that¡¯s¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°The Academy is my home. The Academy has given me everything that I have today, and I belong to the Academy. There¡¯s nothing to say about contributions.¡±

    Elder Song smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. On the other hand, the Academy will belong to you guys in the future. Alright, it¡¯s time for us to bid farewell to the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Even though their mission had many twists and turns, they had finallypleted their task. They had helped the Heavenly Soul Empireplete their reconnaissance and dealt a huge blow to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. Most importantly, they had managed to rescue Tang Ya!

    Their mission had killed many birds with one stone. They had to return to the Academy as quickly as possible, because Elder Song, Dean Yan, and everyone from the Tang Sect had many things they had to deal with, after all.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Let¡¯s bid our farewells tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll take this opportunity to write down everything that I have learned in detail, and hand that to the Heavenly Soul Empire. That should help them.¡±

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡ª

    They stayed for another night, and everyone regained their peak condition besides Tang Ya. The Ice Bear King, Little Bai, chose to remain in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine.

    Everyone bid their farewells to the Heavenly Soul Empire the next day. The Heavenly Soul Empire longed for them to stay, but everyone from Shrek Academy still refused politely as they left Heavenly Spirit and returned to Shrek Academy.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    The Tang Sect, Shrek City¡­

    Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe immediately returned to Shrek Academy once they returned to Shrek City. They also had to report this mission to the Academy and record it.

    Everyone from the Tang Sect naturally returned there.

    Tang Ya had awoken from her deep slumber. After her treatment that day, she had fallen into a deep slumber for a day and a night beforeing to. The sinister aura on her body was a lot weaker after she woke up, but her mind was still not clear. She still appeared very muddleheaded, and there wasn¡¯t any color in her eyes. Fortunately, her aura of an evil soul master was no longer as dense, though her soul power seemed to dissipate a little along with those evil toxins. She was no longer aggressive.

    Bei Bei apanied her every day to speak to her, but Tang Ya never said anything from the beginning to the end. She was just sitting there like a stone, and she would do that for the entire day. Bei Bei had to help her eat, sleep, bathe, and even when she had to go to the toilet, like she had lost her basic ability to live.

    Bei Bei wasn¡¯t unhappy about any of that. He took care of Tang Ya patiently, and rejected Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan¡¯s offers to share his burden. He told them that he owed Tang Ya far too much over these years, and it took them so much effort to finally take her back. He was perfectly willing to protect her like this for eternity; to love her, and care for her.

 Chapter 502.2 - The Medicine Refinement Plan!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 502.2: The Medicine Refinement n!</h4>

    ¡°Look, Xiao Ya, the Tang Sect is right in front of us.¡± Everyone from the Tang Sect was escorting Bei Bei and Tang Ya, and they were finally back at the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect¡¯s main gate was within sight.

    Tang Ya still seemed very dazed, and she could barely walk forward as Bei Bei supported her. Her entire being seemed like a walking undead.

    ¡°Do you still remember, Xiao Ya? You told me back then that your greatest wish was for the Tang Sect to recover, and regain their former glory. That was also yourte parents¡¯ wish. The truth is, I have been working hard ever since to find a way to rebuild the Tang Sect. I wanted to give you a pleasant surprise, but it¡¯s my fault that you decided to leave because I didn¡¯t try harder to understand your thoughts. That¡¯s the reason why so many things happened afterwards.

    ¡°Look, I have rebuilt the Tang Sect for you, and it grows stronger by the day. You have to recover as quickly as possible! Nannan is right, you are the rightful leader of the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect needs you to support it. How can you do that by being like this?¡± Bei Bei whispered into Tang Ya¡¯s ear.

    Everyone walked towards the Tang Sect as he spoke.

    Tang Ya¡¯s eyes were still dazed, but when she saw the Tang Sect¡¯s name on the que that hung over its main gate, her eyes trembled faintly as her lips quivered. ¡°The Tang Sect¡­¡±

    Even though her voice was very, very soft, everyone from the Tang Sect were at least Soul Emperors. Everyone could hear her.

    Bei Bei¡¯s body shook as he stared at Tang Ya with a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

    Tang Ya was still looking at therge words on the que. There seemed to be something more in her eyes, and her lips were still quivering. But she couldn¡¯t say another word.

    Everyone naturally stopped. They paused, and nobody disturbed her as they just let her stare at those words. There was finally something that could affect her memory, which was just fantastic.

    Tang Ya¡¯s eyes seemed to recover their confusion after a few moments. She leaned into Bei Bei¡¯s embrace, and the color in her eyes disappeared.

    Bei Bei said softly, ¡°Yes, this is the Tang Sect, and it¡¯s our home. You will stay here from today onwards, and I will apany you always. Is that okay?¡±

    Of course, Tang Ya wouldn¡¯t respond, but only then did everyone start escorting them once more, and walk into the Tang Sect.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Everyone started getting back to work once they came back. They hadn¡¯t left for a long time, and they came back much earlier than the month they had predicted. However, there was still quite a bit of work piled up.

    Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao and the others went to handle those affairs, while Huo Yuhao apanied Bei Bei to settle Tang Ya in.

    Bei Bei stared at Xiao Ya, who was lying down on the bed, as he whispered to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Did you hear that, Yuhao? Xiao Ya said, ¡®the Tang Sect¡¯!¡± Bei Bei¡¯s eyes grew excited as he spoke, like a little child at the moment.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded and said, ¡°I did, of course I heard her. This is probably Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s deepest memory. Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior brother; her memory will definitely recover as long as we continuously dispel those evil poisons. You have to continue speaking to her, as that will help catalyze her recovery. I will delegate some tasks right away, and once that is done, there are some other ns that I want to speak to you about.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What ns? If it isn¡¯tplicated, then just tell me now. I¡¯ve spoken to Sanshi, and he¡¯ll help me with some of my work for some time toe. I will spend more time apanying Xiao Ya.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°It¡¯s notplicated. I brought back some natural treasures when I brought Big Mao and Second Mao back.¡± With that, he recounted how Big Mao and Second Mao ate all those herbs and medicines inside the Icefire Yin Yang Well back in the Setting Sun Forest.

    Bei Bei didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry after listening to his story. ¡°Those two fellows! But it seems like a bad thing has changed into a good one. I didn¡¯t pay much attention when you told mest time. Seems like you¡¯ve brought back quite a harvest?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It is quite copious. I have taken away almost all the fruits and whatnot which they gestated that can be considered immortal herbs. Even if they¡¯re considered hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, they need thousands of years to gestate good stuff like this.¡±

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°You know, eldest senior brother, that the situation in the continent is very unclear. Even though the Sun Moon Empire has temporarily halted their invasion, war can break out again at any time, judging by the way they do things. Once the Heavenly Soul Empire can¡¯t stop the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army, the Academy will quickly receive the brunt of their attack.

    ¡°Furthermore, both the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Ghost Church have perceived our Academy as a thorn in their side, and they would be more than happy to see us gone. Therefore, we have to make our preparations early if we want to be sufficiently effective in this war.

    ¡°When we were resting in my spectral demine several days ago, I closely studied the poison and medicine manual that Tang San, our ancestor, left behind. Tang San has detailedprehensively what those natural treasures do, and how some herbsplement each other, and how some herbs reject each other. I am certain that everyone¡¯s cultivation will increase exponentially after consuming these herbs. The Tang Sect¡¯s overall strength will be greatly boosted afterwards!

    ¡°I think I should process these herbs soon. What do you think?¡±

    Bei Bei answered without hesitation, ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! Of course you may! What do you require the Tang Sect to help you with?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Eldest senior brother, I just need you to convince Teacher Xuan to give me some time. I will learn about forging soul tools from him once I finish processing the herbs.¡±

    Bei Beiughed. ¡°So you¡¯re worried about that. Don¡¯t worry, even though Teacher Xuan is extremely stubborn, he seems to have conceded after you crafted that ss 8 soul tool. Furthermore, he isn¡¯t an unreasonable person; you have a suitable reason, and you¡¯re doing this for everyone. He won¡¯t disagree. But are you confident in being able to do all that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Tang San¡¯s medicine manual points out that these natural treasures will already have very strong effects when consumed individually. But because these herbs have their own special characteristics, they will also have side effects when consumed unless they¡¯re especially suitable for a particr martial soul or body type. Forging pills from these herbs means I will attempt to fuse their unique characteristics together, which requires great control. I should have no problem with that with my Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°Furthermore, the things that I have brought back are of even higher quality than the herbs that Tang San has detailed. If I can refine them correctly, they will be greatly beneficial to the Tang Sect.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Alright, go ahead. I fully support you on this. I¡¯ll look for Teacher Xuan in a little bit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Bei Bei instructed him, ¡°But don¡¯t mention this to others, because you can¡¯t give everyone too much hope. The more hope they have, the more disappointed they¡¯ll be.¡±

    Huo Yuhao understood the meaning in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. He knew that his eldest senior brother was trying to protect him. Everything would be fine if he was sessful, but if he wasn¡¯t, Bei Bei was afraid that everyone would have differing opinions.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Bei Bei took care of Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao immediately left the Tang Sect. He had to delegate some tasks before purchasing some secondary materials. Forging and processing herbs wasn¡¯t that simple, and even though he had just told Bei Bei that he was confident, he didn¡¯t dare to be careless or overconfident at all. These were natural treasures, and weren¡¯t something that money could buy. He would regret it immensely if something went wrong!

    The tasks that he had to delegate were simple, and Huo Yuhao had already discussed them with Elder Song on the way back.

    Elder Song oversaw all the auctions within Shrek City. She had told Huo Yuhao to look for the auctioneers, and tell them that he was to announce this task through an auction. Elder Song had already sent people to give the auctioneers a heads-up after entering the city.

    The bounty, after the Tang Sect thoroughly discussed it, was finally set at a promise from the Tang Sect for a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell or a soul tool of the same ss.

    That was a bounty sufficient to drive people crazy. Both ss 8 soul tools and a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell were priceless treasures, and only the Sun Moon Empire had them.

    Huo Yuhao had already thought things through. If the person who imed the bounty chose a soul tool, then he had Hongchen¡¯s Blessing, which Jing Hongchen had given him, and he could take that one out. As for a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell, Xuan Ziwen was already attempting to forge one. Huo Yuhao believed that with his abilities, crafting one wouldn¡¯t be very difficult.

    As for other things and ss 8 stationary soul cannon shells, there was a limit to them, and the Tang Sect could sustain the costs.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    Huo Yuhao ced the bounty sessfully after Elder Song had given the auctioneers a heads-up, and went ahead and purchased some necessities for forging pills from herbs before he walked back to the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao calcted a few things. He would run a few experiments first with normal herbs, and would only use those natural treasures once he was practiced and more familiar with the process.

    He really hoped that something woulde of this. The Tang Sect would benefit greatly if this happened, and he still intended to give the Academy some, as well!

    But all that was forter. He would have to wait until he sessfully created those pills¡­

 Chapter 502.3 - The Medicine Refinement Plan!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 502.3: The Medicine Refinement n!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was just about to reach the main gate when he saw someone walking towards him. They seemed to be walking towards the Tang Sect, and Huo Yuhao hurriedly elerated when he saw this person as he eximed in pleasant surprise, ¡°Eldest senior sister?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the person who was walking towards him the eldest senior sister of Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, Zhang Lexuan? She was also one of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s members.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was starting to undergo a generational change. Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Zhang Lexuan were elites of the younger generation, and were all part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Zhang Lexuan was also startled when she saw Huo Yuhao. Sheughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s convenient, I was going to look for you. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d meet you here.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You¡¯re looking for me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked in surprise. He was looking Zhang Lexuan up and down at the same time.

    Zhang Lexuan was wearing a long blue dress today, which made her look even more slender. There was a faint smile on her pretty face that exuded good cheer, and she seemed to be drastically different from before.

    There had always been a tinge of mncholy between her eyes back then, but she couldn¡¯t appear any more normal today. Huo Yuhao was very happy for her. Even though the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley made him lose Dong¡¯er, their experience there wasn¡¯t entirely bad. At least, his eldest senior sister had lost her memory of her feelings towards Bei Bei, which was a great thing for her. She had managed to discard her heaviest burden.

    Huo Yuhao had heard that his eldest senior sister had epted one of the inner courtyard¡¯s teachers, and they were dating now. Furthermore, his eldest senior sister had already be one of the inner courtyard¡¯s teachers as well, and her cultivation was improving greatly. Her status within the Academy was getting higher and higher.

    ¡°Come in and have a seat, eldest senior sister.¡± Huo Yuhao was a disciple of the Tang Sect, and he naturally had to y the host. He hurriedly gestured courteously for Zhang Lexuan to enter.

    Zhang Lexuan chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to find you. Since I¡¯ve run into you, I¡¯m not going inside. I¡¯ll just tell you.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Me?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Zhang Lexuan in shock.

    Zhang Lexuan replied, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s so hard to catch you. Who else can I be looking for? You¡¯re always running around outside every day, so where would I go to find you? Let me ask you, have you graduated from the Academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. He had forgotten about that. Ever since he came back from the bigpetition, he hadn¡¯t studied in the Academy¡¯s curriculum.

    Zhang Lexuan was a little speechless. ¡°You¡¯re part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after all, so how embarrassing will it be when people find out that you haven¡¯t even officially graduated from the Academy? You should have no problem graduating from the inner courtyard with your current abilities, but we still need you to do some paperwork.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°But the others from the Tang Sect¡­¡±

    Zhang Lexuan grunted and said, ¡°Everyone else has alreadypleted their paperwork; you¡¯re the only one left. You can consider yourself graduated once you pass the inner courtyard¡¯s graduation assessment, and only then can you say you¡¯re a graduate from Shrek Academy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Alright then, let me take the test. Eldest senior sister, when do you think it¡¯s appropriate for me to go?¡± Zhang Lexuan was right. Even though he was really busy, it was better for him to officially graduate from the Academy.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°You¡¯ve just returned, so you can rest for a few days. Oh, yes, there¡¯s something else. Everyone else is no longer considered a student from the inner courtyard, because they have graduated. But you haven¡¯t, and you¡¯re also single, while the next season¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date is about to begin. You have to participate, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Zhang Lexuan in astonishment. ¡°I have to participate in the Fated Blind Date, eldest senior sister?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded seriously and said, ¡°That¡¯s the Academy¡¯s rules. All single boys and girls from the inner courtyard have to participate. You¡¯re part of the Academy, and you still haven¡¯t officially graduated. How can you not participate?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ eldest senior sister, let¡¯s forget about that. You know that I already have Dong¡¯er, and even though she¡¯s missing, I can¡¯t go back to participate in the Fated Blind Date anymore.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a little dim as he spoke.

    Zhang Lexuan heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°Yuhao, I understand your feelings, and I also feel very sorry for you. Dong¡¯er is a good girl. However, the Academy¡¯s rules cannot be broken, right? You have to give me face. Let¡¯s do it like this: you¡¯ll just be there to participate, and I¡¯ll ask all the girls not to choose you. You won¡¯t be affected that way.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled a long face. ¡°I have a lot of things to do right now, eldest senior sister. You know that this is crunch time for the Tang Sect.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s face sank. ¡°Do you still want your graduation certificate, Huo Yuhao? Let me tell you, if you can¡¯t pass this, nobody will give you a graduation certificate, even if you¡¯re part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zhang Lexuan was firming up, and her dignity as his eldest senior sister immediately came up. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to argue against her.

    Zhang Lexuan thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it like this. You¡¯re walking over the event anyway, and you still have to deal with graduation paperwork. Why don¡¯t youe to the inner courtyard during the night of the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, and you¡¯ll participate in the event at night, and I¡¯ll arrange for your graduation assessment on the following morning, then I¡¯ll help you deal with your paperwork. You can save the most time that way.¡±

    Huo Yuhao really couldn¡¯t turn her down anymore. He could only ept his fate. ¡°Alright, eldest senior sister, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan¡¯s frown turned into a smile as she said, ¡°That¡¯s better! It¡¯s a deal, then. The Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date will be held five days from now, and if you dare to note, hmph! The Tang Sect will not know peace.¡± Zhang Lexuan turned and strode away after leaving this threat.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was full of exasperation as he watched her leave. He really couldn¡¯t afford to offend his eldest senior sister!

    But¡­ she was right. He couldn¡¯t break the Academy¡¯s rules. Furthermore, getting his graduation certificate was also very important. He would just be there to walk through the event.

    Five days from now. I can¡¯t forget about that¡­

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao walked into the Tang Sect as he thought, and immediately began to contemte and research forging those pills.

    Huo Yuhao needed specific tools to do this. He needed a furnace, and he needed sufficient warmth in the fire.

    A pill furnace was simple. All he had to do was make a soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao began to draw a blueprint for that soul tool as he contemted. No matter what, he was still a ss 7 soul engineer who could forge a ss 8 soul tool. Even though he hadn¡¯t seriously studied forging soul tools for a few years, a small problem like this couldn¡¯t stump him.

    The pill furnace had to satisfy several conditions. First, it had to be strong enough to resist high temperatures. Second, it had to produce high temperatures. Third, it had to be able to control its temperature. Fourth, the furnace itself couldn¡¯t have any effect on these herbs at all.

    He should be able to start forging pills after satisfying these conditions.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to forge a soul tool while satisfying these conditions¡­

    ¡ª

    Just as Huo Yuhao was just about toplete his blueprint, a knock came from outside

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously, without even looking up.

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± A very dissatisfied voice could be heard from outside.

    ¡°Ah?¡± The person who owned this voice was one of the people that Huo Yuhao feared the most. He hurriedly stood up and opened the door.

    ¡°Why are you here, Teacher Xuan?¡± Huo Yuhao greeted Xuan Ziwen with a sheepish smile on his face.

    Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and said, ¡°You dirty fellow. You¡¯re back rather quickly, but you used Bei Bei as your shield as soon as you came back. Do you think I¡¯ll let you go? How many days do you need to forge whatever pills? Give me an urate estimate.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said, ¡°How can I give you a proper estimate, Teacher Xuan? This is also my first time, and I still have to do some experiments. You know that we have to conduct experiments every time we craft a new soul tool! It¡¯s simr for forging pills. I was just drawing up some blueprints for a pill furnace. Don¡¯t worry, once I¡¯m done with my pills, I will immediately learn about soul tools from you. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°A blueprint for a pill furnace? Let me take a look.¡± It was his first reaction when he heard ¡°soul tool¡±.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly handed over the blueprint that he had just drawn.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t have to ask what Huo Yuhao needed from his pill furnace; he understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions with a few nces.

    However, his first reaction after looking through the blueprint was to p his hand upside Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    ¡°Aiyo, why did you hit me, Teacher Xuan?¡± Huo Yuhao said aggrievedly.

    Xuan Ziwen snapped, ¡°Idiot, to think you¡¯re a ss 7 soul engineer! Don¡¯t tell others that you¡¯re my disciple, because I can¡¯t take that embarrassment. Look at what you¡¯re drawing; what is that? It would be surprising if you could actually forge pills sessfully with this thing of yours. Just waiting to waste some resources.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao admired Xuan Ziwen the most in terms of forging soul tools. Xuan Ziwen wouldn¡¯t speak without thinking about this, and he was very strict about his research with soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly sought advice humbly. ¡°Teacher Xuan, can you tell me what¡¯s wrong with my blueprint? Help me.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and said, ¡°Now you want to learn? You have never been willing to properly learn about forging soul tools from me over the years, and you feel embarrassed now? You messed up something as simple as this! Hmph!

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can do this well with that spiritual power of yours. No matter how formidable your spiritual power is, if you don¡¯t have sufficient experience, if you don¡¯t have the newest theories and principles, all that is wasted. Let me just touch on two things to tell you why your furnace is useless.

    ¡°First, let me ask you, how can your furnace ensure that the herbs¡¯ medicinal effects won¡¯t be lost? Do you not know that herbs that are considered natural treasures will release their medicinal effects once they¡¯re used? Can metal seal the furnace so that these medicinal effects won¡¯t be lost? Once these medicinal effects are lost, everything that¡¯s good will flow away. Are you preparing a furnace full of dregs for everyone?¡±

 Chapter 503.1 - You Need a Class 9 Pill Furnace!

    Chapter 503.1: You Need a ss 9 Pill Furnace!

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that he had neglected an important problem.

    Xuan Ziwen followed by saying, ¡°Secondly, let me ask you. When origin energy of heaven and earth is gathered andpressed within a certain region, what will happen when the toolpressing it has its own limit?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao started to perspire.

    Xuan Ziwenughed coldly. ¡°It will blow apart! Even you will be blown apart! Do you not know how much origin energy there is in these treasures? Haven¡¯t you eaten them before? Can¡¯t you imagine at all? Do you really think a furnace is enough? What a joke! If you can¡¯t solve these two problems, you¡¯ll only be wasting resources.¡±

    As he spoke, he threw the blueprint at Huo Yuhao¡¯s face before turning and leaving.

    ¡°Hey! Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t go! I was wrong, I was wrong. Please advise me!¡± Xuan Ziwen pointed out the problems, but not the solutions. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t think of anything to deal with these two problems. He immediately chased after Xuan Ziwen.

    Although Xuan Ziwen was walking away, he revealed a weird grin on his face. He thought to himself. Rascal, you¡¯ll definitely be tricked this time, won¡¯t you? Hehe!

    After hearing from Bei Bei that Huo Yuhao wanted to use precious treasures to cultivate medicine, he had already anticipated that there would be problems with the furnace. The reason was very simple. When Xuan Ziwen was in the Sun Moon Empire, there was a soul engineer that he shared great ties with who was in charge of cultivating medicines for the imperial family.

    Why were there so many soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire? It was because they could be cultivated using a lot of medicine. The soul engineers who weren¡¯t talented could consume medicine to increase their cultivation speed.

    In this aspect, the Sun Moon Empire held an absolute advantage over the other empires. Xuan Ziwen was also not talented in terms of his martial soul, so he had also resorted to using medicine to increase his cultivation.

    His cultivation had reached nine rings through medicinal help, too. However, he realized that the medicines in Shrek weren¡¯t cultivated before they were consumed, even though they were top quality. This was a waste of medicine.

    However, he didn¡¯t say anything because he had his own important research to do, and also because he wasn¡¯t very adept at cultivating pills.

    Hearing what Huo Yuhao wanted to do this time, he rushed over. The reason was very simple. The furnace he needed had to be an advanced-tier soul tool if such precious treasures were used as materials to cultivate medicine. The higher the quality of the materials, the higher the requirements for the furnace. This was what that Sun Moon Empire¡¯s pill-cultivating soul engineer had told him before.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what the treasures Huo Yuhao had brought back were or what their quality was, he could roughly guess from Bei Bei¡¯s simple description that at least a ss 9 furnace would be needed! Given Huo Yuhao¡¯s current abilities, he couldn¡¯t possibly produce a ss 9 soul tool. Xuan Ziwen knew that blueprint was worthless no matter how detailed or well-drawn it was, because Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t solve a very simple problem:pressing the origin energy that was released. Without it, an explosion was the only oue.

    How could Huo Yuhao know about Xuan Ziwen¡¯s experience? He even pursued him after being admonished. Xuan Ziwen had killed two birds with one stone.

    ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Xuan Ziwen stopped in his tracks and looked at Huo Yuhao coldly.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly and respectfully said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I was wrong. I¡¯ll put more effort into learning soul tool production from you.¡± He was also very intelligent. He knew that Xuan Ziwen was doing this as a show for him. How could he not understand what his intentions were?

    Xuan Ziwen snorted disdainfully and replied, ¡°Do I have to teach you even if you¡¯re willing to learn? Twin martial souls and Ultimate Ice. Go on then. Go and be your soul master.¡± As he spoke, he turned around and left.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure immediately shed, and he blocked Xuan Ziwen¡¯s path. He was full of smiles as he said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I know I was in the wrong. Even if it¡¯s a death sentence, there¡¯s still time for repentance. You should give me a chance to turn over a new leaf. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll learn under you seriously. In the future, I¡¯ll do my best to be a ss 9 soul engineer. I won¡¯t give up anymore. What do you think?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen appeared to be in a better mood now. He snorted once and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Counting on the fact that you appear more sincere today, I¡¯ll agree reluctantly. However, remember that I¡¯m nurturing you not purely because I want you to be a ss 9 soul engineer. Although ss 9 soul engineers are very rare, they aren¡¯t the extreme.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°So, what do you want to do?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen revealed an intense and passionate look in his eyes. He stared at Huo Yuhao until goosebumps started to appear on Yuhao¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Before I die, I hope I can nurture a ss 10 soul engineer, and help him reach the peak of soul engineers! My talent is limited. I¡¯ll never be a ss 10 soul engineer. However, you are a prodigy. I believe that I can do it. Just work hard. This time, I won¡¯t let you leave the Tang Sect easily before you be a ss 9 soul engineer. Whatevermitments you have, I want you to throw them aside.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly turned grim, and smiled bitterly at Xuan Ziwen.

    ss 9 soul engineer. How is it that easy? First, I need to be a Titled Douluo. That doesn¡¯t happen in a day or two.

    Xuan Ziwenughed coldly and said, ¡°Are you unwilling? It¡¯s up to you. Do whatever you want.¡± As he spoke, he walked leisurely away.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t go!¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly chased after him, andughed bitterly. ¡°See, I barely have eight rings now. How easy is it for me to reach nine rings? Moreover, I still need to be a ss 9 soul engineer. Aren¡¯t your requirements a little too high? Yes, I guarantee that I¡¯ll work hard. Should you not rx your demands? How about a ss 8 soul engineer?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t even bother with him. He continued to walk forward as if he didn¡¯t hear anything.

    Huo Yuhao was also helpless now. He knew that he couldn¡¯t seed without Teacher Xuan¡¯s help this time. However, wasn¡¯t it a little too strict to stop him from leaving the Tang Sect before he became a ss 9 soul engineer? If he wasn¡¯t fortunate, wouldn¡¯t that take him from eight to ten years?

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, Teacher Xuan!¡± Seeing that Xuan Ziwen was getting further and further away, Huo Yuhao continued chasing after him. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Alright, I agree. However, I can¡¯t absolutely not leave the sect. I¡¯ll try not to leave Shrek City. However, if there¡¯s something important, especially when the Academy requests it, I¡¯ll need to go.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen also knew that he couldn¡¯t force Huo Yuhao too much. He nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Shrek Academy was very supportive of his research, and they shared a good rtionship. In addition, Xuan Ziwen also knew that Huo Yuhao was one of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. If the Academy had something for him to do, Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t possibly stop him.

    With his words, Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. Before he could say anything else, Xuan Ziwen added, ¡°Rascal, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re plotting, If you try to use the Academy to sneak off, don¡¯t me me for being unkind. I won¡¯t show any mercy then. I¡¯ll leave the Tang Sect just like how I left the Illustrious Virtue Hall.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Teacher Xuan, am I that sort of person? Why would I use the Academy as an excuse to sneak off? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll study seriously.¡± Although Huo Yuhao felt a little guilty, he still spoke the truth in his heart. This was no time to offend Xuan Ziwen!

    Xuan Ziwen nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Alright, follow me then. We have to design your furnace properly. We need a ss 9 furnace for stability.¡±

    ¡°ss 9!¡± Huo Yuhao was really shocked.

    Xuan Ziwenughed coldly and said, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s so easy to refine treasures? Without a ss 9 furnace, you won¡¯t be able to contain the aura of such good stuff. Not only do you have to seal it, you¡¯ll have topress it, too! All the details have to be considered. You have no room for failure. Do you really think you¡¯re performing an experiment?¡±

    Huo Yuhao wanted to reply ¡®yes!¡¯. He had brought back a lot of good stuff this time. Although he couldn¡¯t perform an experiment using the same materials, it was still possible for him to choose one that wasn¡¯t too expensive. However, he didn¡¯t dare say that. Xuan Ziwen was very serious!

    Instead, he humbly asked, ¡°Teacher Xuan, what should we do?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen said as he walked, ¡°We¡¯ll perfect the blueprint over these next few years. I had a friend who was a pill-cultivating master; I heard him exining how to cultivate pills before. However, he didn¡¯t create a ss 9 furnace back then, he only thought of it. You must join in the design. Although your cultivation and experience arecking, your spiritual power is strong enough. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to take a look at someplex blueprints. You¡¯ll be my assistant when I make the furnace.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Seeing the serious look on Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face, Huo Yuhao was touched. He knew that it was very valuable to be able to apany a ss 9 soul engineer in his attempt to make a ss 9 soul tool! Xuan Ziwen was bound to advise him during the process. Such an experience would be beneficial to him in his efforts to be a ss 9 soul engineer himself.

    Huo Yuhao followed Xuan Ziwen to hisboratory. Xuan Ziwen was always very quick in doing whatever he wanted, especially in the area of soul tools.

 Chapter 503.2 - You Need a Class 9 Pill Furnace!

    Chapter 503.2: You Need a ss 9 Pill Furnace!

    He took out a piece of white paper and immediately made a simple drawing.

    To produce aplex soul tool, the first thing to do was to list out the requirements. After that, solutions had to be devised. The third step was to create the necessary formations using those solutions. Then, the formations had to be linked with one another. During this process of linkage, it was important to simplify things withoutpromising usefulness. Thest step was to perform a mechanical run-in.

    After these five steps, the core formations could then be worked on. The outer shells were then created based on how the core formations came out.

    The entire process was ratherplicated.

    When Huo Yuhao sessfully created the ss 8 dposition cannon, he was still some way off from the standards of a ss 8 soul engineer. After all, the blueprint that he had then was provided by Xuan Ziwen.

    As Xuan Ziwen drew out a blueprint, he muttered to himself, ¡°First is the choice of materials. Since our pill furnace will be ss 9, we need to consider the materials that we will use. Even though using core formations can generate energypression and istion, the materials used have to be resilient and resistant enough to iste external substances. At the same time, it needs to be a good conductor of heat¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood at one side and listened to Xuan Ziwen seriously as he looked at the blueprint being drawn up. Everything being said was for his benefit.

    During the process of research, time always passed very quickly.

    Xuan Ziwen was indeed a ss 9 soul engineer. It had only been a day, but Huo Yuhao was already feeling pretty overwhelmed, even given the strength of his spiritual power. He had to meditate to restore it. However, Xuan Ziwen was still forgoing food and sleep for his research. The blueprint that he was drawing up already made up a stack of paper.

    Theplexity of ss 9 soul tools was far beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations. This ss 9 soul tool was formed by multiple ss 8 soul tools. Not only did it involve the knowledge of spatial systems, but temporal systems, too. Every detail deviated greatly from what Huo Yuhao had learned in the past.

    Furthermore, in the process of creating a ss 9 soul tool, every rare metal used was absolutely precious. It was very difficult to carve each and every one of them. Not only did one require great soul power, but one also needed tobine his soul and spiritual power. Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power, theplicated core formations were still astonishing to him. He waspletely bamboozled.

    He didn¡¯t understand everything Xuan Ziwen was talking about. However, Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all. He continued to ramble on, and didn¡¯t repeat himself at all, letting Huo Yuhao work out everything by himself. He only asked Huo Yuhao questions asionally. If he got them right, they would continue. If he was wrong, he would be admonished.

    ¡ª

    In the blink of an eye, three days passed. A prototype had been made. Xuan Ziwen was already on the fourth step of the blueprint, the simplification andbination of the required formations.

    Thisbination wasn¡¯t just for the purpose of eventuallying up with a core formation. Rather, through the simplification, they hoped that the core formation could also be simplified. This would make it less difficult to create.

    Of course, this was only a rtive statement. A ss 9 soul tool still required a great amount of effort to forge.

    ss 9 stationary shells were even more difficult. This was because the core formations of a ss 9 stationary shell required very detailed and extreme designs, in addition to theplexity of it, so that it could produce the greatest strength when it blew apart. As a result, it could detonate anytime during the production process.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± A soft voice came from outside. Huo Yuhao turned around and saw He Caitou waving to him.

    Huo Yuhao took a look at Xuan Ziwen, who signaled that he could go over. His gaze was fixated on his blueprint from start to finish.

    Huo Yuhao walked over in front of He Caitou. He lowered his voice, ¡°Second senior, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    He Caitou lowered his voice. ¡°I came here to find you. You and Teacher Xuan have already been here for three days. It¡¯s time to rest when it¡¯s time to rest. You should remind him, too. This was what eldest senior said to me. Another thing: don¡¯t forget you have to make a trip to the Academy the day after tomorrow. Eldest senior sister sent someone to remind you today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh.¡± Huo Yuhao recalled now. He had agreed to Zhang Lexuan¡¯s request to join the Fated Blind Date. At the same time, he needed to get his graduation certificate.

    He smacked his forehead and replied, ¡°Thank heaven that you reminded me. Otherwise, I would really have forgotten! Thanks, second senior.¡±

    He Caitou smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re brothers. You don¡¯t have to thank me. What are you and Teacher Xuan researching?¡±

    ¡°A pill furnace,¡± Huo Yuhao replied. Although Bei Bei didn¡¯t allow him to talk about cultivating pills, it was fine to mention a pill furnace.

    He Caitou was curious. ¡°A pill furnace? For what purpose?¡±

    ¡°To cultivate pills,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Teacher Xuan wants to make an advanced-tier pill furnace. This is so that pills can be cultivated for disciples of the sect to consume, which would quicken their cultivation speed.¡±

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes brightened and hemented, ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯m anxious after seeing that all of your cultivations have been increasing significantly!¡± Ever since he became a Soul Sage, He Caitou felt that his cultivation speed had beengging behind. It wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t working hard enough; it was because of his martial soul.

    He Caitou was a food-type soul master. It was harder for a food-type soul master to cultivate during theter stages of his cultivation, and much more difficult for a food-type soul master to increase his soul powerpared to an ordinary soul master. However, with the right medicine, it would be much easier. Regarding this, He Caitou had always been very epting. He was a soul engineer, too. Most soul engineers relied on medicine to improve. It would be great for him to have medicines to consume. If his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, it would affect his ability to be a ss 8 or 9 soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious. When the pill furnace is done, we can try it.¡±

    He Caitou nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll return first. The past few years have been tiring. However, I still feel a sense of achievement when I see soul tools being created. Learn well from Teacher Xuan. Little junior, you are much more talented than me. You must do your best!¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

    ¡ª¡ª

    He Caitou left and Huo Yuhao returned to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s side. He continued to analyze the blueprint along with his teacher.

    Over thesest few days, Xuan Ziwen was rather satisfied with Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t left his side during the past three days. Furthermore, he was actually very pleased inside, even though he was scolding Huo Yuhao frequently. Huo Yuhao was very intelligent, even smarter than he was before. Regarding his descriptions, he was always able to draw inferences about other cases. At times, he even came up with suggestions that stunned his teacher.

    Xuan Ziwen was rather pleased to have such a clever student. However, he always acted fierce to prevent him from being overly full of himself. Talents had to be restrained a little to prevent them from getting arrogant.

    Huo Yuhao was indeed much more intelligent than he was before. The reason was very simple: Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s sacrifice. Wang Qiu¡¯er had given him the Skull of Destiny. Not only did it increase Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, but it also greatly enhanced his intelligence, though even Huo Yuhao was unsure of how that had happened.

    In fact, if not for the fact that his intelligence had greatly increased, his cultivation wouldn¡¯t have grown at such a rapid speed, even if he consumed the rarest substances and fused with arge amount of life energy.

    ¡ª¡ª

    In the blink of an eye, another day passed. It was easy for one to forgo sleep and food when one was deep in research. It was only when He Caitou came to find Huo Yuhao again that he remembered he needed to make a trip to the Academy.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t stop him. He had to collect his graduation certificate, after all. They were already at thest stage of their blueprint. Given Huo Yuhao¡¯s current abilities, he wouldn¡¯t be able toprehend this stage. It was a point where nothing could be allowed to go wrong. If something did, all the precious materials would go to waste!

    After exiting Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory, Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. It was unprecedentedlyfortable feeling the surge of fresh air into his lungs.

    ¡°Second senior, I¡¯ll go first. Please help me tell eldest senior that I¡¯ll be back tomorrow morning.¡± It was bright outside, but Huo Yuhao had been in theboratory for many days. He hadn¡¯t tracked the time at all.

    He Caitou stopped him and asked, ¡°Little junior, are you nning to go just like that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Of course! What other way is there?¡±

    He Caitou was speechless. ¡°Little junior, eldest senior sister mentioned that you are going for the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. You are the face of the Tang Sect now. Look at you. You¡¯ve not changed your clothes since you returned. You¡¯ve not showered for many days either, and your hair is a mess. If you go like this, she¡¯ll send you back. Go and tidy up before getting some food. Freshen up first.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± If not for He Caitou¡¯s reminder, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have realized that he had so many problems right now. He hadn¡¯t showered in days, and had skipped a few meals. He had been immersed in the world of soul tools. He seemed so slipshod right now. How could he represent the Tang Sect like this?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned red, and he said, ¡°I¡¯ll return now. Thanks for your reminder, second senior.¡±

    He Caitouughed, ¡°You! Quickly, go. Eldest senior has already prepared clothes for you. Go and represent the Tang Sect. Recruit more students. You must be more presentable, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Huo Yuhao replied. He felt warm inside. Eldest senior is so busy taking care of Teacher Xiao Ya, but he hasn¡¯t forgotten about me. His concern makes me feel as if he¡¯s my biological elder brother.

 Chapter 503.3 - You Need a Class 9 Pill Furnace!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 503.3: You Need a ss 9 Pill Furnace!</h4>

    Before Huo Yuhao returned to his room, he first tried to determine the position of the sun.It¡¯s still morning, less than two hours to noon. It seems like eldest senior deliberately asked second senior to call me so that I¡¯d have time to tidy myself up.

    A set of brand new clothes wasid on the table in the room. Huo Yuhao quickly took a hot bath, and afterwards all his fatigue seemed to have disappeared. Given his current cultivation, he was fine even if he didn¡¯t sleep for a few days.

    Just when he had finished showering and was prepared to put on his clothes, he suddenly heard an anxious voice calling him in his head.¡°Yuhao, Yuhao!¡±

    The Snow Empress¡¯ call jolted Huo Yuhao awake. He hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ice Empress?¡±

    A white light shed, and the Snow Empress appeared in front of him. She appeared very anxious, ¡°Where¡¯s Little Bai? When he was still in your demine, I had already sensed something amiss. Quickly, let him out. I¡¯m afraid he might face a bottleneck soon.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was given a scare. The Ice Bear King and Snow Empress were closely connected. The Snow Empress had saved him, and transferred some of her abilities to him. This was how he became the Ice Bear King. They had a tight connection. If the Snow Empress said something like this, she must have discovered something.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to dy any further. He quickly recited a few incantations and opened the door that led to his demine. He entered the demine along with the Snow Empress.

    When he came in, he waspletely shocked. There was an unprecedented change in his demine.

    The entire sky was dark and gloomy. Bolts of lightning intersected in the sky. Immense pressure bore down from the skies, suppressing the countless specters on the ground. Some of the stronger ones roared at the bolts of lightning, as if they were trying to resist the heavens.

    The Ice Bear King was standing on a mountain, just standing there quietly. Right now, he appeared very calm. He was still in his human form, and there were still some food scraps on the sides of his lips. His gaze was deep and long. There was even a sense of self-mockery and disdain to it.

    As he stood there, he really seemed to have be the core of the entire demine at this moment.

    Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky onto Little Bai¡¯s head. Little Bai roared furiously, and his hair all stood on end. Ayer of icy-blue light surfaced to resist the lightning. As it shed with the bolt of lightning, the lightning dissipated, and Little Bai¡¯s body shook a little. There was an electrifying look in his eyes after this happened.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished as he watched beside the Snow Empress. The Snow Empress appeared very serious and said, ¡°It¡¯s started, it¡¯s actually started. I didn¡¯t expect your demine to be so close to reality, a Lightning Catastrophe can actually happen here! This is a catastrophe that soul beasts have to face every hundred thousand years. Although the catastrophe faced by each soul beast is different, it is without a doubt that a Lightning Catastrophe is the most dangerous. No wonder I always had this feeling that Little Bai wouldn¡¯t be able to survive this catastrophe. It¡¯s actually a Lightning Catastrophe!¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What should we do now? Can we help him resist the Lightning Catastrophe?¡±

    The Snow Empress shook her head and replied, ¡°No, you can¡¯t. You¡¯ll only be courting death. Your cultivation is too weak. If I still had my original body, we might still stand a chance. However, it¡¯s not possible, I¡¯m only a spiritual entity now. I¡¯m afraid of lightning. I¡¯ll also be courting death if I go and help him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao anxiously asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that we can only watch? What if he dies if he can¡¯t resist it anymore? Is there no way at all?¡±

    At this moment, another bolt of lightning struck. Little Bai found it more difficult to resist the lightning this time. Not only did he stagger, but he also returned to his original form. A patch of hair on his shoulders had already been charred.

    ¡°We have no other way right now,¡± the Snow Empress said decisively. ¡°We can only leave him to it. This fellow is too greedy. If he had returned to the Douluo Continent with you, we would have known about any catastrophe before it arrived. However, he can¡¯t sense anything here, he can only suffer. If he¡¯s able to hold on, that¡¯ll be great. Even if he can¡¯t, he won¡¯t bepletely decimated. As long as a streak of his spiritual sense is left, we can still transform it and bring him back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at the Snow Empress. He was helpless right now. The Snow Empress had experienced such a catastrophe seven times. She was more experienced, and he could only listen to her advice.

    Fortunately, the lightning was only targeting Little Bai. The sky was getting darker and darker. Thick clouds were gathering above the mountain. If the lightning targeted the specters, this demine would surely be ravaged.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    Two consecutive bolts of lightning struck. Little Bai summoned his soul power to its maximum, and an icy-blue shield surfaced above his head, resisting those two bolts of lightning. However, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense Little Bai¡¯s aura growing weaker.

    The power of lightning was great, and contained the natural qi of heaven and earth. Huo Yuhao felt as if his body had been baptized by the thunderous natural qi when he felt it so close to him.

    Little Bai peered into the sky and roared. His massive body squirmed a little. Following this, a beam of icy-blue light shot into the sky, charging straight for the clouds. Instantly, everything within a region spanning a thousand meters in diameter was turned into ice and snow. Snowkes danced in the air, and the temperature fell dramatically.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t harmed even though he was in this region, since his martial soul was Ultimate Ice, and he also had the Snow Empress with him.

    Little Bai was retaliating. Huo Yuhao opened his eyes wide to see what Little Bai had achieved.

    The truth, however, was that Little Bai¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t very effective.

    Bolts of lightning struck down and dismantled the beam of light that he unleashed. Even though there was still a streak of light that hit the clouds, weakening them, Little Bai¡¯s body was already shaking uncontrobly as the streak of light dissipated. The soul power undtions that came from his body had weakened considerably, too.

    The earlier attack was already his strongest strike. Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress rushed over. The Ice Bear King had already been facing the lightning for some time. His soul power was almost drained.

    The clouds seemed to be infuriated. Bolts of lightning struck towards Little Bai.

    Little Bai didn¡¯t appear to be out of hope when he peered into the sky. There was only a persistent look on his face. An icy-blue whirlpool slowly appeared on his forehead. The surrounding air currents seemed to undte tremendously, and the bolts of lightning were resisted just like that.

    Huo Yuhao saw a core shaped like a snowke at the center of that rapidly spinning whirlpool. It was Little Bai¡¯s soul core. It turned out that one¡¯s soul core could be used like that¡­

    When Huo Yuhao saw the soul core, he heaved a sigh of relief. This was power that only a Titled Douluo or a hundred-thousand-year soul beast possessed! He and his teammates had killed Titled Douluo before. However, they were always very fortunate. If the Titled Douluo they had killed had unleashed their soul cores, their fighting strength would have been significantly greater. However, Huo Yuhao could tell that this was Little Bai¡¯sst resort. Once his soul core was damaged, his life would be in great danger, and his cultivation would fall significantly. He might evenpletely lose his cultivation. It was why Titled Douluo rarely relied on the strength of their soul core.

    To Huo Yuhao, observing this fight was a good way of umting experience. Personally witnessing a soul beast oveing a catastrophe was very rare among human soul masters.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom!¡­

    Bolts of lightning continued to fall. Little Bai¡¯s soul core was still capable of resisting them initially. However, his aura gradually started to weaken, and his soul core started to shake unstably. Given his condition, the strength of his soul core couldn¡¯tpletely protect his body anymore. Patches of ck started to appear on his body. He was also forced to sit on the ground by the lightning striking him. His gaze was also bing dimmer and dimmer.

    BOOM!

    Yet another ball of lightning struck. Little Bai was flung into the air as an explosion reverberated across the demine. The air currents surrounding his soul core instantly disappeared, leaving his soul core exposed.

    ¡°Little Bai!¡± Huo Yuhao screamed. He sprinted forward without any hesitation.

    ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t go!¡± The Snow Empress didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be so quick. She was already toote before she could stop him. Huo Yuhao instantly teleported above Little Bai. He mimicked a lifting action, and his immense Ultimate Ice soul power was unleashed from his body.

    Another ball-shaped bolt of lightning formed in the sky and crashed down toward Little Bai, Huo Yuhao ced himself between the ball of lightning and Little Bai.

    There was a decisive look in his eyes. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous. However, if he didn¡¯t do this, he wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive himself.

    He couldn¡¯t forget how Little Bai had apanied him and called him ¡°Grandpa¡±. Without Little Bai, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to breach Heaven Dou City. Without Little Bai, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist Ju Zi, or sneak into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base.

    Little Bai had been with him all this while, silently contributing to his cause. Apart from eating, he didn¡¯t ask for anything else. Every time he took action, he gave his all. He even got injured. Although Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expressed his gratitude, he knew all this in his heart.

 Chapter 504 - The Beast Gods Bewilderment

    Chapter 504: The Beast God¡¯s Bewilderment

    The Ice Bear King was very innocent. He appeared very foolish, but was very determined. Even though he knew that the Snow Empress had lost her original body, he still listened to her, precisely because she had saved him and brought him up. He treated the Snow Empress like his mother, and treated Huo Yuhao as his grandfather.

    If the Ice Bear King was in a life or death situation and Huo Yuhao only stood by one side watching, how could he be fit to be the Ice Bear King¡¯s partner?

    This was why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate at all. To him, any price he had to pay was nothingpared to that clear feeling in his heart. He was willing to take the risk for Little Bai.

    However, he wasn¡¯tpletely irrational. He wanted to rely on the reverse scale. Although he didn¡¯t know whether it could resist the lightning, he still did it willingly.

    As the ball-shaped lightning fell from the sky, the terrifying natural qi instantly engulfed Huo Yuhao. The Snow Empress wanted to rush over, but was flung away by the immense natural qi.

    The Ice Bear King was filled with astonishment. He had copsed on the ground and clearly sensed his life dissipating away. He also clearly saw how that ball of lightningpletely engulfed Huo Yuhao, who was so smallpared to him, but appeared so tall and mighty in mid-air right now.

    ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± Little Bai was sobbing. He could no longer remain as calm as he was before. Two big beads of tears rolled down from the sides of his eyes. He could clearly sense the concern that came from Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± the Snow Empress shouted. At this moment, she was also filled with astonishment. It was her first time seeing a human risking everything to save a soul beast. Even if he had the Beast God¡¯s reverse scale, how could he be sure that the Beast God would appear at this moment to save him? Moreover, this was the spectral demine, not the Douluo Continent. Even if Di Tian was here, could he do anything?

    Before any answer was known, Huo Yuhao still charged over without hesitation. What did this show? It showed his attachment to Little Bai. If he was already like that to Little Bai, how would he treat the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and the Skydream Iceworm? It would naturally be better.

    At this moment, the Snow Empress was filled with gratitude. She wasn¡¯t just grateful that Huo Yuhao had saved Little Bai. She was also grateful that he had shown her the kind side of humans. The Snow Empress knew that if Huo Yuhao survived this ordeal, she and the other Spirits would no longer have any other barriers with him anymore.

    A sonorous dragon roar eventually sounded out. However, the voice also sounded like it was in torment. A pitch-ck glow spread out and engulfed all the lightning. Huo Yuhao fell from the sky and crashed to the ground. In the sky, a pitch-ck dragon w remained in mid-air, and grabbing towards the catastrophic clouds.

    At the same time, a furious voice sounded, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you are really courting death. If you die in the forest, I could still steal your destiny. You rascal!¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled. However, the smile onlysted for a moment before it froze in ce. That was because of the w.

    The w grabbed towards the sky. The catastrophic clouds were so strong that they had almost killed the Ice Bear King. However, they were crushed by the w.

    ¡°Dragon! God¡¯s! w!¡± the Snow Empress said, word by word. At the same time, she also took the opportunity to vanish into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body just as Di Tian was too distracted to notice.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao felt as if his body was about to disintegrate. However, he wasn¡¯t in pain, because he waspletely numb at this point. All his bones, muscles, passageways and even his spiritual sea were numb at this point.

    However, what he found very surprising was that he felt an itch. It was both ufortable andfortable at the same time.

    What was going on?

    The catastrophic clouds disappeared. The Beast God¡¯s voice sounded once again. ¡°Yuhao, what are you doing? Why is there a Lightning Catastrophe? How dare you use your own body to get in the way of a Lightning Catastrophe? If you do this one more time, you can go and die!¡±

    Di Tian was indeed infuriated. Although he had used his w to destroy the catastrophe, he was the one who suffered the greatest impact of the lightning when he was summoned by the reverse scale. It was important to know that it was thest stage of the catastrophe, which was when it unleashed its strongest attack. Even a three-hundred-thousand-year soul beast like the Ice Bear King couldn¡¯t handle it! Di Tian rushed over using spatial power, and suffered such a strong attack immediately. It was understandable how much pain he was in. He was really hurt.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face and touched hispletely charred hair. He chortled, ¡°Beast God, thanks. I was just helping a friend. If I didn¡¯t, he would have died.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The dragon w disappeared. A near-transparent ck projection surfaced in mid-air. Di Tian couldn¡¯t truly transcend time and arrive here with his real body, especially since they weren¡¯t on the Douluo Continent. The fact that he was able to do even this much fully demonstrated his deep understanding of spatial power. Regarding that fact, Huo Yuhao was truly petrified. Di Tian was much stronger than he had imagined!

    Di Tian looked around, and revealed a weird look on his face. ¡°What is this ce? It¡¯s not the Douluo Continent. It seems to be a parallel spatial dimension. Eh, is this a demine? How is this possible? Was this a demine created by a mortal being?¡±

    As Di Tian spoke, the astonishment in his voice became more and more obvious.

    In the Douluo Continent, he recognized himself as the strongest existence. He was also the closest to bing a god. His senses were far more acute than any other Ultimate Douluo or Savage Beast. It was because of his sensitivity, especially towards spatial power, that he was able to be the strongest out of the Ten Great Savage Beasts in the Douluo Continent.

    Even so, he wasn¡¯tpletely confident in creating such a demine!

    This wasn¡¯t aplete ne, because he couldn¡¯t sense aplete ecology in this ne. There was no aura of the gods in this demine, either. This also meant that it had to be the work of a mortal being. If that was the case, how strong was the person who had created this ne? At the very least, the Beast God was inferior to him. It seemed like there was someone stronger than him, someone who was between a god and him that existed. To him, this wasn¡¯t a huge blow. Rather, it was an exciting discovery!

    It had been awhile since Di Tian had the motivation to cultivate. It was because he clearly knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly be a god, even if he worked harder. He could only maintain his current state. However, after witnessing the existence of such a demine, how could he not be delighted? If his abilities could increase such that he could create such a demine, would he be able to survive the next Catastrophe and possibly live for another hundred thousand years?

    After realizing all this, Di Tian was suddenly very motivated. The fury he had for Huo Yuhao earlier also mostly dissipated.

    When he turned his attention to Huo Yuhao again, he naturally noticed the Ice Bear King.

    ¡°Ah, an ice-type Savage Beast with a three-hundred-thousand-year cultivation. Are you from the Extreme North?¡± The Beast God was a little puzzled as he looked at the Ice Bear King.

    The Ice Bear King didn¡¯t utter a sound. Right now, he was only looking at Huo Yuhao. There was a look of closeness in his eyes, as if he were looking at his own father or kin.

    The Beast God was very powerful. He knew from the look in the Ice Bear King¡¯s eyes that Huo Yuhao had been resisting the attack on his behalf. The astonishment that the Snow Empress experienced earlier came to him, too!

    Although the Ice Bear King didn¡¯te from the Great Star Dou Forest, he was also a soul beast. Di Tian considered himself the king of all soul beasts in the Douluo Continent. All soul beasts were like his people. When he saw how Huo Yuhao had risked his life to save a Savage Beast, his anger dissipated even further.

    Huo Yuhao asked Di Tian, ¡°Beast God, can you save him? He¡¯s critically hurt from resisting the Lightning Catastrophe.¡±

    Di Tian descended from the sky andnded beside Huo Yuhao. He only took a few nces at the Ice Bear King before he said, ¡°I can¡¯t save him. His origin is greatly damaged from resisting the Lightning Catastrophe, and his soul core has also cracked. The only way to save him now is to make him your Spirit. Eh, how has your soul power reached Rank 80 so quickly?¡±

    Although Di Tian¡¯s reverse scale was on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he could only sense what was going on whenever Huo Yuhao felt the aura in the godly realm, or when he was in danger. He couldn¡¯t monitor Huo Yuhao all the time. Right now, he was shocked to realize that Huo Yuhao was already at Rank 80. This fellow¡¯s cultivation is increasing too quickly.

    ¡°Is there really no way?¡± Huo Yuhao asked anxiously, ¡°You¡¯ve ovee eight Catastrophes. You¡¯re so experienced. Come, save him!¡±

    Di Tian snorted and said, ¡°Given my current status, why would I lie to you? If I can¡¯t save him, I can¡¯t. Aren¡¯t you Rank 80 now? Quickly, fuse with him. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote. Since you saved him, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s willing to be your Spirit.¡±

    After hearing Di Tian¡¯s words, Little Bai was already nodding repeatedly before Huo Yuhao even opened his mouth. Not only was there a look of excitement in his eyes, but there was even great eagerness.

    Huo Yuhao knew that there was no other way. If even Di Tian couldn¡¯t save him, Little Bai wouldn¡¯t be able to live. He pursed his lips, and then nodded at Little Bai.

    Little Bai¡¯s eyes brightened immediately. It was as if he experienced a surge of energy just before he died. He forcibly turned himself around and bowed in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Di Tian said, ¡°Begin then. I¡¯ll protect you. After you fuse with him, I have something important to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t say much. After he expressed his gratitude, he immediately started to recite the incantations for an equal contract.

    In terms of fusing with Spirits, Huo Yuhao had the greatest experience out of all soul masters. He was the person who had established the profession of a Spirit Transmission Master, and the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda.

    A formation gradually appeared below Huo Yuhao and the Ice Bear King. Huo Yuhao sensed the Ice Bear King¡¯s intent, and slowly released his spiritual power, summoning him.

    The Ice Bear King slowly lifted one of his front paws and extended a finger to Huo Yuhao.

    His finger was too thick. Even when Huo Yuhao ced his entire palm on the Ice Bear King¡¯s finger, it couldn¡¯t even cover the fingertip.

    A gentle icy-blue light rippled from the Ice Bear King¡¯s body. He was a Savage Beast that had survived two Catastrophes. After experiencing this Lightning Catastrophe, he was technically a Savage Beast that had been through three Catastrophes. It was just that he could survive no longer.

    A dim blue glow also appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    ¡°Eh!¡± When he saw the changes to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, Di Tian eximed gently in surprise. However, he didn¡¯t say anything further.

    The icy-blue glow released from Little Bai¡¯s body turned into rings that engulfed Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was stunned to realize that Little Bai¡¯s origin strength waspletelypatible with his. There wasn¡¯t any rejection during the fusion process at all. He also didn¡¯t feel bloated because Little Bai¡¯s origin strength was too great. After he fused Little Bai¡¯s strength into his body, it quickly fused with his soul power. It even helped to absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his blood.

    Huo Yuhao turned ice blue. The seven soul rings of his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion also gradually surfaced.

    Red, orange, orange, orange, orange, red, and red. Seven soul rings shone brightly.

    In a normal fight, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t reveal the colors of his soul rings, it was equivalent to telling his opponents that he was extraordinary. However, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He definitely didn¡¯t dare to be careless, and did his best for this fusion. His soul rings were thus in their original form and color.

    Di Tian¡¯s pupils shrank a little. He was in awe. This kid is indeed extraordinary! No wonder he can attract the calls of the godly realm. I must monitor him more closely. No matter what, I can¡¯t let him bring the aura of the Destiny God Beast into the godly realm¡­

    The Ice Bear King¡¯s body slowly copsed, and his life aura slowly disappeared. A brand-new red soul ring with three golden patterns slowly rose from his feet.

    From this moment on, Huo Yuhao had truly be a Soul Douluo. He was now an eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect his Ultimate Ice martial soul to be the first to reach eight rings.

    In fact, it was bing increasingly more difficult to add soul rings to his main martial soul. It was too difficult to find a spiritual-type soul beast. Furthermore, as the number of Spirits he had increased, Huo Yuhao became even less willing to kill soul beasts to increase the number of soul rings he had.

 Chapter 505.1 - Xiao Bai the Jiangshi

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 505.1: Xiao Bai the Jiangshi</h4>

    This fusion provided enough strength that his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion no longer needed any soul rings. This wasn¡¯t a small thing. If his spiritual sea couldn¡¯t handle the spiritual strength of his Spirits, everything would be for naught. The impact on him would also be very great, and it might be a possibility that his spiritual sea would be crushed.

    It wasn¡¯t possible for someone to replicate the method by which Huo Yuhao had fused with five Spirits. He was only able to do so because his spiritual power was in the concrete-material realm, and also because he possessed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny, as well as his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul core.

    The icy-blue glow slowly faded. Huo Yuhao only felt that he was continuously improving. The soul power in his body kept on rising. The pleasure of experiencing a breakthrough made him feel as if he were about to fly.

    His body was filled with strength. The remaining Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence instantly melted and fused into his body.

    The Ice Bear King¡¯s body was already stiff. His life aura hadpletely vanished. However, a brand-new life was slowly taking form in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Little Bai¡¯s Spirit was slowly forming.

    The Ice Bear King was a soul beast who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Logically speaking, he should be able to give Huo Yuhao a soul bone. But Huo Yuhao was stunned that no soul bone appeared. It was just his Spirit that formed.

    A red eighth soul ring fully demonstrated the strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

    He slowly stood up and looked at the Ice Bear King¡¯s massive corpse. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but sigh.Little Bai, I still couldn¡¯t help you in the end.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want Little Bai to be his Spirit after he developed feelings for him. By bing his Spirit, it meant that Little Bai would lose his body. To a certain extent, he was dead. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t fully confident of bing a god! If he was able to help Little Bai ovee his bottleneck, he would have been able to live for another hundred thousand years.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was feeling a little down, the Beast God Di Tian suddenly eximed in astonishment, ¡°Oh, what¡¯s going on? Undead?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought that some specters were venturing towards them. He wanted to take a look, but he was shocked to realize that Little Bai¡¯s charred corpse had actually moved. After this, the corpse gradually sat up.

    This¡­

    Huo Yuhao was wide-eyed in shock as he looked at Little Bai. Little Bai straightened his back. His body was still gigantic, but the charred bits started to fall off his body. After this, he let out a deep roar.

    His roar was very special. Compared to his original roar, it was much sharper and weirder. However, the specters that thought that things had returned to normal following the lightning catastrophe actually looked in his direction.

    After this, Huo Yuhao sensed some kind of special strength gathering in this direction and into Little Bai¡¯s body. His aura was increasing at an rming speed.

    As the charred bits fell off of his body, Little Bai¡¯s skin grew ayer of greyish fur, still shing with dim-blue light. Little Bai¡¯s eyes also turned grey, and a weird glow kept on transforming him.

    ¡°Has he be an undead?¡± Huo Yuhao muttered to himself in shock.

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°It seems so. It seems that he has been restricted by this world. It¡¯s the work of this demine. Even after he became your Spirit, it seems like some of his spirit is still in his own body. After that, his body slowly transformed into an undead. He was originally a Savage Beast, which means he was very strong, and his body is still resilient enough. Although he was lethally hurt earlier, he seems to have be stronger after bing undead. His aura isn¡¯t weak at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face. He didn¡¯t know whether it was a good thing that Little Bai had be undead¡­

    At this moment, a white light shed. Little Bai, who had turned into his human form, appeared beside Huo Yuhao. When he saw his original body was roaring into the sky, he was also astonished.

    He had justpleted the Spirit fusion, and still hadn¡¯t sensed the changes to his own body before this situation surfaced.

    As the Beast God was around, the Snow Empress couldn¡¯t appear. As a result, Little Bai ran out on his own.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished as he asked Little Bai, ¡°Little Bai, what¡¯s going on? Can you sense the changes to your body?¡±

    Little Bai replied, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ll try.¡± As he spoke, he shut his eyes, and the gentle power of his spiritual origin cautiously extended towards his body.

    His body, which was absorbing the spectral aura from the demine, immediately sensed it when Little Bai tried to reach over. His body immediately turned around and looked back at him.

    As the four eyes met, Little Bai and his spectral body shook. In the next moment, Little Bai revealed a delighted look on his face.

    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ve connected with it. It¡¯s still me! I can sense my own aura.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused, and scratched his head. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Little Bai replied, ¡°It seems like I was restricted by the rules of this world when I tried to be your Spirit. A streak of my spirit still remains in my body. Without me controlling my own body, it started to change ording to the rules of this world. That¡¯s what happened. I should be a vampire, as humans would call it. However, I feel stronger even though I¡¯m a vampire now, especially my body. However, I need to absorb more energy first. Hehe, I already told you that I love this ce. It¡¯s great, I can live as two entities now. This is amazing!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was also in a bit of a daze. He didn¡¯t know whether this was a good or a bad thing. However, since it had already happened, and Little Bai could connect to his own body, things were already considered not too bad. At least he wouldn¡¯t be attacked. If Little Bai¡¯s corpse was even stronger than Little Bai was originally, it wouldn¡¯t have an opponent in this demine, and could rule the entire ce. It was indeed not a bad thing.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re fine. Little Bai, return to my body first and let me sense the changes. You¡¯ve just be my Spirit. You can¡¯t waste too much of your origin strength.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Little Bai immediately agreed. He disappeared into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body after staring at Huo Yuhao with a stirring look in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao turned to the Beast God. Di Tian was annoyed as he said with a weird expression, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re bing more and more unclear to me. Tell me about the history of this demine. It couldn¡¯t have just appeared out of thin air. How did you find this ce?¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao decided to tell the truth. There was no point in hiding things from Di Tian. Although his reverse scale had restricted his connection with the godly realm, Di Tian had still saved him on many asions. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t like him, but he didn¡¯t hate him either. He only treated him as a target that he wanted to reach in the future.

    ¡°This demine was created by a teacher of mine. He was called Electrolux, the Divine Law of Necromancy. He was a noble existence that hailed from another world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao recounted how he had managed to fuse with Electrolux, and how he was guided by him, gaining strong necromantic abilities in the process.

    Di Tian didn¡¯t doubt him at all or pose any questions. He only listened seriously.

    The Divine Law of Necromancy came from another world. Electrolux even had his own divine sense. All these were considered rather inspirational to Di Tian. Regarding this, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think it was critical. Even if Di Tian learned anything from this, he couldn¡¯t be a god.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve told me everything I need to know. This demine is rather good. You must preserve it well. It can be part of your power. Given your current abilities, you can already use it to a great extent. You must be careful in the future. Stop getting into trouble, I can¡¯t always save you. Do you understand?¡± Di Tian said seriously.

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, elder Di Tian, for saving my life!¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at Di Tian.

    The projection that was Di Tian disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It just vanished into thin air. Huo Yuhao was secretly in awe.Elder Di Tian is indeed the strongest existence on the continent! When can my control of spatial power reach his standard?

    Little Bai¡¯s corpse was still absorbing the spectral power in the demine to transform itself. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to stay too long, as he still had things to attend to. If not for the fact that Little Bai had suddenly faced an urgent problem, he would have already tidied himself up and gotten ready to leave for Shrek Academy.

    When Huo Yuhao returned to the Tang Sect and his own room, he was feeling depressed.

    The reason was very simple. His hair¡­

    Was that heavenly lightning so easily resisted? Even though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t clear about what kind of effect the lightning had on his body, he could clearly see the frazzled hairs on his head right now.

    His hair was neither long nor short. It just reached his shoulders. Now that it was all sticking out like a porcupine. He couldn¡¯t even press it down. How could he see anyone like this?

    He couldn¡¯t help it, he had to take a bath again. Enough water finally restored his hair to normal. However, as he was struck by lightning, his hair was still curly after returning to normal. But the effect wasn¡¯t that bad. At least he didn¡¯t be ugly¡­

 Chapter 505.2 - Xiao Bai the Jiangshi

    Chapter 505.2: Xiao Bai the Jiangshi

    Looking at the sky outside, it was already dark. Huo Yuhao quickly dressed in the new clothes that Bei Bei had given him. They fit well. He was wearing a white warrior robe, which only had a few essories. However, many parts of the robe were made from silk. Even though the robe was white, it refracted light to differing degrees, and made Huo Yuhao look very elegant in it.

    Huo Yuhao also felt more energized and refreshed as he donned the robe.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt his first sense of excitement after fusing with Little Bai as his fifth Spirit. This excitement didn¡¯te from his Spirit, but from the fact that he was now an eight-ringed Soul Douluo.

    A Soul Douluo was only inferior to Titled Douluo! Huo Yuhao was barely twenty years old. No one in the history of Shrek Academy was able to achieve what he had at this age.

    Zhang Lexuan became a Soul Douluo when she was thirty, and she was already the pride of Shrek Academy back then.

    Huo Yuhao shuddered when he thought of her. He didn¡¯t dare to dy any further. He didn¡¯t even bother with eating, and quickly rushed towards Shrek Academy. If he waste, she might be infuriated with him. He couldn¡¯t afford to offend her, he still had to graduate!

    Huo Yuhao rushed all the way to Shrek Academy. School had already ended, and the students were all streaming out. The gates of the Academy were far more crowded than they were when he had entered for his first time, so long ago. Due to the expansion of Shrek City, the entire Academy was now a busy area.

    It took some effort to squeeze through the gates. Just as he was prepared to enter the Academy, he heard some students discussing something.

    ¡°I heard there¡¯ll be a Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date in the inner courtyard tonight, on the Sea God¡¯s Lake. Furthermore, this year¡¯s Fated Blind Date is different from previous years. Even those not from the inner courtyard are allowed to observe the event. This is unprecedented, but I¡¯m not sure what the reason for it is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t. My cousin is from the inner courtyard. This time, the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date is open to outer courtyard disciples because it¡¯s being used as a way to stimte us to work harder. It¡¯s only by working hard and bing an inner courtyard disciple that we can participate in a Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. It¡¯s important to know that our seniors who take part in the Blind Dates are extremely talented. It would be great to have such a partner. Furthermore, I¡¯ve heard that the sess rate is high. A lot of seniors were unwilling to reveal their feelings when they were still in the outer courtyard. They can take this chance to reveal them all. Of course, I¡¯ve also heard that it¡¯s important for one to be strong enough if they want to achieve anything in the Blind Date.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we need to work hard! I¡¯m going to work hard. One day, I must stand on the Sea God¡¯s Lake and participate in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date! Let¡¯s go and get something to eat quick. We¡¯ll rush back after we finish eating and get a good spot. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to see anything.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do. I¡¯m prepared to buy a magnifying soul tool. With that thing, I can even see the sleeves of our seniors clearly. In addition, it¡¯s not that expensive, either. The Tang Sect has just released a new batch of them. Do you want one?¡±

    ¡°What? There¡¯s something as good as that? Of course I want it. I can still use it to peep at girls in the future¡­¡±

    As he listened up to that point, Huo Yuhao became nostalgic. I really didn¡¯t expect outer courtyard students to be allowed to observe the Fated Blind Date. It seems those two juniors are right. Permitting them to observe the event can help stimte their cultivation. This isn¡¯t really a bad thing.

    It feels so much better than when I just joined the Academy! How great would it be if I could watch the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date with Dong¡¯er?

    As he thought of Wang Dong¡¯er, Huo Yuhao felt a bit of heartache, and gently shook his head. He quickened his pace as he headed towards the inner Academy.

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Academy was very crowded. Huo Yuhao put his student badge on his chest, so no one stopped him. However, he knew fewer of the students now that a few batches had graduated. At most, a few students thought that he was dressed rather weirdly, because almost all the students took pride in wearing the uniform of the Academy.

    When Huo Yuhao made his way to the shore of Sea God¡¯s Lake, he was stunned to realize that the sky was still bright. It was barely evening, but there were already people seated at the better spots. He came to a spot on the shore that was close to theke itself, and saw a young outer courtyard student just settling down. There was a mat that could seat more than ten people on the ground. He seemed to have just finished setting it up, and the edges of the mat were pressed down with various items. After he finished, he tidied up the mat as he sat down in satisfaction on it.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Junior, why are you taking up so much space?¡±

    The outer courtyard student didn¡¯t even lift his head and replied, ¡°Who says that I¡¯m alone? I¡¯m here to reserve seats for others. There¡¯s more than ten of us. They went to get some food, and will be back soon.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°All of you have indeed allocated your duties well!¡±

    That studentughed in return, ¡°Yes! If we don¡¯te early, we won¡¯t have good spots. We¡¯re already so tired from cultivating every day. This is a good opportunity to rx. All of us treasure this opportunity. It¡¯s excellent to be able to witness how our seniors are going to seek love. We came here to set our own targets.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re not here just to skive. However, it¡¯s also good to take a breather every now and then.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± This outer courtyard student felt something amiss when he heard how Huo Yuhao was advising him. He lifted his head and looked at him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s robe caught a lot of attention. After that, he saw the badge on Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    The badge given to the inner courtyard disciples was red. There was also an image of a Shrek Monster on it. It was extremely obvious on Huo Yuhao¡¯s white robe.

    ¡°Ah! A senior from the inner courtyard. Are you a senior from the inner courtyard?¡± The outer courtyard student was immediately impressed.

    The inner courtyard disciples in Shrek Academy were highly respected. They were even more respected than some teachers in the outer courtyard. After all, inner courtyard disciples all had at least five soul rings. The more outstanding ones even had seven rings. If this was the outer courtyard, they would already be a Dean. Furthermore, they were all young, and extremely talented.

    The outer courtyard students were already talented, and the inner courtyard students were even more so. Normally, inner courtyard students rarely interacted with outer courtyard students, as they were very busy with their cultivation. So this outer courtyard student was very excited when he met an inner courtyard disciple.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Yes! Nice to meet you, junior.¡±

    The outer courtyard student jumped up excitedly. ¡°Senior, I¡¯m called Jin Sha. My friends call me Sandbag. You can call me that, too! Are you going to Sea God¡¯s Ind?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    The outer courtyard student was shaking with excitement as he asked, ¡°Will you be going to the Sea God Pavilion¡¯s Blind Date tonight?!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°It¡¯s the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. You¡¯ve said something wrong.¡±

    ¡°Er, er¡­ I¡¯m too excited. I was at a loss for words.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡±

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great! Senior, I envy you so much! I wonder when I can participate?!¡± Jin Sha said excitedly.

    Huo Yuhao saw his uniform; he was a Year 3 or 4 student. From his soul power undtions, it seemed like he had three rings.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get your chance if you work hard. Let¡¯s work hard together, junior. I¡¯ll go and register first. If we¡¯re fated to meet again, we¡¯ll meet each other again.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao waved his hand before he flew up and towards the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°Bye, senior!¡± Jin Sha waved back at Huo Yuhao.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was already more than ten meters away. He touched the surface of theke with his toes as he proceeded towards the Sea God¡¯s Paviliom.

    To Huo Yuhao, this was very easy. However, Jin Sha was filled with admiration and envy. As he watched Huo Yuhao slowly disappear into the distance, he couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself, ¡°When can I as be as strong as this senior? He can fly over water without even unleashing his martial soul. He¡¯s really powerful! He has to be at least a Soul Emperor!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know that Jin Sha was evaluating how strong he was. Very soon, he reached Sea God¡¯s Ind. After reaching the ind, he naturally went straight to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He didn¡¯t know where to register for the Blind Date.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was as calm and quiet as ever. The refreshing and fragrant air gave one an invigorating feeling. It was indescribablyfortable.

    Huo Yuhao knelt down in front of the Golden Tree and respectfully kowtowed thrice. After this, he stood up and walked into the Pavilion.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was very quiet right now. After entering, he didn¡¯t sense anyone¡¯s aura. He couldn¡¯t use his Spiritual Detection either, as he didn¡¯t want to rm the elders.

    He was feeling a little depressed right now. It was already evening, but he didn¡¯t know where to go for the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date! There wasn¡¯t even anyone to ask.

    However, at this moment, his stomach started growling. He hadn¡¯t eaten in a few days, and his stomach was revolting.

    As he thought of eating, Huo Yuhao started to salivate. The food in the inner courtyard had always been very tempting. To ensure that the students were fully nourished for their cultivation, the food in the inner courtyard had always been made from the best ingredients on the continent, and delicately prepared.

    Not only was the food nourishing, it was also very tasty. It was one of the programs that the inner courtyard disciples enjoyed most. When they were still at the Academy, Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters would constantly find excuses toe over to Sea God¡¯s Ind and have a meal. They wouldn¡¯t leave without filling their stomachs.

 Chapter 505.3 - Xiao Bai the Jiangshi

    <h4 ss>Chapter 505.3: Xiao Bai the Jiangshi</h4>

    Since he couldn¡¯t find anyone, he figured he might as well go to the canteen, where he might run into someone, as well as grab a bite to eat.

    Huo Yuhao walked out from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and rushed straight to the canteen in the inner courtyard.

    It was meal time. When he went into the canteen, he saw many familiar faces. Furthermore, the food in the inner courtyard had been prepared. Some people were queuing up, while some were already eating.

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Huo Yuhao? What a rare guest! How does he have time toe to the inner courtyard?¡± some unfriendly voices spoke up. When Huo Yuhao turned his head, he immediately saw a familiar face. It was Wu Feng, the person who had opposed him when he first came into the Academy.

    It had been a long time since he had met her. Wu Feng appeared less sinister than she had in the past. Her body was much more slender, and she was also much more voluptuous. She looked a little bit like Ma Xiaotao back then.

    Ning Tian was seated beside Wu Feng. When he saw Huo Yuhao, his expression also turned slightly weird.

    They had gone through the Love Querying test in the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley. Finally, Ning Tian had managed to change her gender, from a ¡®she¡¯ to a ¡®he¡¯.

    When she returned, Ning Tian spent a long time trying to adapt. It was only because of Wu Feng¡¯s help that she managed to gradually adapt to bing a guy. At the same time, she fell in love with her male identity. After all, she could now openly be together with Wu Feng after she became a man. She could also be the true heir to the Seven Treasures zed Sect.

    After that, the two of them cultivated together in the inner courtyard. Due to theirpatibility, they improved very quickly. They thought Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to their cultivation speed, as he was too busy outside. Perhaps their gap had already been reduced significantly.

    ¡°Wu Feng, how are you?¡± Huo Yuhao greeted Wu Feng. At the same time, he nodded at Ning Tian. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯tment much on her gender change.

    It wasn¡¯t just Wu Feng and Ning Tian who were there. After hearing their conversation, a few familiar faces came over. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were among them, along with Xie Huanyue.

    They were once rising figures in the outer courtyard. Many years had passed since then. Right now, Wu Feng, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu had be the elite disciples of the inner courtyard.

    As they developed, the older generation of disciples, led by Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming, had already graduated. They were now involved in some enterprises rted to Shrek City. Although they hadn¡¯t left the Academy, they were no longer part of the inner courtyard. Among the new generation of disciples, Dai Huabin was currently the strongest. He was now close to bing a Soul Sage. Although some of the more experienced inner courtyard disciples were stronger than him, it didn¡¯t change the fact that he was one of the leading figures in the younger generation of disciples.

    When Dai Huabin saw Huo Yuhao, he was not as indifferent and hostile as he was before. However, he didn¡¯t appear overly friendly, either. He nodded back before pulling Zhu Lu away to get their food.

    Wu Feng snorted and replied, ¡°I was doing well, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that well. Why are you here? Are you still an inner courtyard disciple? I¡¯ve never seen you cultivating in the inner courtyard.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯ve not officially graduated. I¡¯m here today to take the graduation test.¡±

    Wu Feng¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Graduation test? It seems like you¡¯re confident. Our graduation test is very difficult.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let me try then. If I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll continue working hard. Take a seat, I¡¯ll go get something to eat.¡± As he spoke, he turned around and went to get some food. He really was quite hungry by now.

    ¡ª

    The food in the inner courtyard was as scrumptious as ever. Huo Yuhao got a big portion of emerald sea cucumber and another portion of stewed dragon meat, as well as some hibiscus crystal rice. He found a corner and started eating.

    The inner courtyard disciples in the canteen weren¡¯t just people that Huo Yuhao was familiar with. There were some who he didn¡¯t recognize. There were other guys anddies who were curious when they saw Wu Feng talking to him. They were all inner courtyard disciples, but they had never seen Huo Yuhao before. Naturally, they were curious.

    Although Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t particrly handsome, he had a very special aura. Even in a canteen full of elites, he became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention when he entered.

    ¡ª

    Wu Feng twisted her lips and whispered to Ning Tian, ¡°Brother Tian, what do you think Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation is at right now? Do you think he¡¯s a Soul Sage yet?¡±

    Ning Tian replied, ¡°I guess so. He¡¯s been a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion since some time ago. He enjoys much greater privilegespared to the rest of us. Although I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s been busy with all this while, it feels like he¡¯s much stronger than he was before.¡±

    Wu Feng snorted and said, ¡°So what if he¡¯s stronger? We¡¯ve been working so hard recently. We¡¯ll be able to close the gap. He bloomed early. But if he doesn¡¯t work hard, he¡¯ll soon be overtaken. When we¡¯re Titled Douluo, we don¡¯t know who will be stronger.¡±

    Ning Tian shook his head as he chuckled. He didn¡¯t say anything. In fact, both he and Wu Feng knew that they couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao in terms of talent. Wu Feng wouldn¡¯t admit it only because of her own pride. They all knew that Huo Yuhao had long since transcended their level.

    They had always treated Huo Yuhao as their target. As for whether they could catch up to him, it was unknown.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones who treated Huo Yuhao as a target. Xie Huanyue and the rest whispered at this moment, ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be difficult to catch up to him! He even established the Spirit Pagoda. When all of you are at seven rings, are you going to choose to fuse with Spirits?¡±

    After hearing Xie Huanyue¡¯s words, Wu Feng and Ning Tian looked at one another, and couldn¡¯t hide their desire.

    They had seen how effective Spirits were. Right now, everyone knew that Spirits greatly enhanced the abilities of soul masters. If a Spirit was used well, it could be far more powerful than soul rings. To most soul masters, fusing with a strong Spirit to be their origin Spirit was the best. At least up until now, no one had fused with two Spirits as Huo Yuhao had.

    Xie Huanyue lowered her voice, ¡°If you want to fuse with a Spirit, it¡¯s best not to offend him. He holds an important position in the Spirit Pagoda. Even the elders in the Spirit Pagoda respect his opinions. If hees up with any tricks, we¡¯ll be unable to do anything.¡±

    Wu Feng was petrified, and retracted some of her initial hostility. To genius soul masters like them, their future abilities and cultivation couldn¡¯t be taken lightly!

    Ning Tianughed as he shook his head and said, ¡°If Huo Yuhao was so petty, he wouldn¡¯t be so sessful now. You don¡¯t have to worry about this. However, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s simply back for the graduation test.¡±

    Wu Feng was stunned as she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re talking about the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date tonight?¡±

    Ning Tian nodded and said, ¡°He might participate. Otherwise, why did hee back within these two days to take the test? Wang Dong¡¯er is missing, and he hasn¡¯t graduated. He¡¯s also single. ording to the rules of the inner courtyard, he has to participate!¡±

    Wu Feng¡¯s expression turned weird as she looked at Ning Tian.

    Ning Tian turned red and asked, ¡°Why are you looking at me? It¡¯s all in the past.¡±

    Wu Feng coughed and said, ¡°Nothing, I¡¯ll keep a close watch on you! Let¡¯s go and watch tonight.¡±

    Ning Tian nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We can watch from the boat.¡±

    ¡ª

    As they were discussing things, Huo Yuhao was having a good time with his meal. The food didn¡¯t disappoint him. As he ate, he felt a warm feeling in his belly, which slowly flowed out to his arms. He was feeling extremely rxed.

    Even though he had the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body, and didn¡¯t need to eat since he could get his nutrients from the ice essence, it was much more satisfying to gain his strength through eating. Who would not want delicacies? Huo Yuhao was often starving when he was a child. He treasured and enjoyed food a lot.

    He gobbled up all his food and left nothing at all on his te.

    Just as he was finished eating, someone knocked on his table.

    Huo Yuhao ate hisst mouthful of rice, puzzled as he lifted his head. Being disturbed while eating wasn¡¯t very proper. Initially, he thought it was Wu Feng or Dai Huabin. However, he discovered it was a middle-aged man he didn¡¯t know when he lifted his head.

    This man looked as if he was thirty-some years old. He appeared very solemn, and asked coldly, ¡°Who asked you to eat in the inner courtyard canteen? Who are you? Tell me your name!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°I¡¯m a disciple of the inner courtyard. Why can¡¯t I eat in the inner courtyard?¡±

    The middle-aged man snorted, ¡°Do we have such a disciple? Not even wearing your uniform?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was a little awkward. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! You must be a teacher in the inner courtyard. I¡¯ve not been in the inner courtyard for some time, and my uniform no longer fit me. That is why I¡¯m dressed in something else. Look, this is my badge.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao quickly removed his badge from his chest and passed it over.

 Chapter 506.1 - He is Huo Yuhao!

    Volume 36: Moving Forwards, Chapter 506.1: He is Huo Yuhao!

    The middle-aged man took his badge and immediately turned to leave. ¡°You¡¯re following me to the academic affairs office.¡± He began to walk as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. This guy¡¯s a little insensitive. Does he think I¡¯m just some loser trying to get free food?

    ¡°Please wait. I don¡¯t think I have the time,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly stood up and followed him.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have time?¡± The middle-aged man frowned, and his face was still as cold as ever.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to participate in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date!¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression was full of disdain. ¡°You? You are to participate in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date? You¡¯re going to follow me to deal with this issue of freeloading. I don¡¯t care if you were once a student from the inner courtyard. At the very least, you aren¡¯t considered one now. I have never seen you before. And even if you were,ing back to the inner courtyard to get free food goes against the Academy¡¯s rules. Follow me to be investigated, and if I find out that you¡¯re here often to freeload, even if you were once a student from the inner courtyard, I will cancel your status as a student and take away your graduation certificate.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is it this serious just for a meal? Furthermore, I¡¯m still a student from the inner courtyard!¡±

    The middle-aged manughed coldly. ¡°The Academy has been too lenient. That¡¯s the reason why viins like you have thrived and seeded. Food in the inner courtyard is so precious; how can it be given to a person like you who rips people off just like that? Just look at how much you¡¯ve eaten. Do you know how much this food is worth?¡±

    This middle-aged man had stopped Huo Yuhao, and his voice wasn¡¯t soft at all. Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, Ning Tian, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu all heard him.

    Their expressions were all a little strange at this moment. However, even Wu Feng, who was never friendly towards Huo Yuhao, didn¡¯t have a sadistic look on her face. This teacher was going a little overboard. Even if a student who had graduated from the inner courtyard came back for a meal, how could that lead to his graduation certificate being stripped? Since when did Shrek Academy be so tyrannical?

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh. He would probably have reacted angrily if he hadn¡¯t been in Shrek Academy. However, he had always treated Shrek Academy as his home! He respected every single one of Shrek Academy¡¯s teachers, and so he forced down the fury in his heart as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this: I¡¯ll pay for the food that I¡¯ve just eaten. I really can¡¯t afford this dy.¡± He had already promised his eldest senior sister, and would probably run into big trouble if he didn¡¯t hurry over in time. What if his eldest senior sister didn¡¯t let him graduate?

    ¡°Pay? You¡¯re thinking of paying now?¡± The middle-aged man instantly felt like he had grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s tail. ¡°Where were you earlier? Furthermore, how do I know if this is the first time that you¡¯ve been freeloading from the Academy? Follow me back to be investigated. We¡¯ll revisit this once the investigation isplete.¡±

    He turned to walk out as he spoke.

    ¡°Please wait, teacher,¡± Ning Tian strode over and blocked this middle-aged teacher¡¯s path. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen you before, teacher? I can vouch that he¡¯s part of the inner courtyard.¡±

    The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned. ¡°I¡¯m a new teacher who handles discipline. You don¡¯t know me, but I know you. Your name is Ning Tian, and youe from the Seven Treasures zed Sect. You can vouch for him? Are you sure? If you¡¯re covering for him, then you will also be punished.¡±

    Ning Tian frowned and said, ¡°Teacher, he¡¯s often not around because he¡¯s usually outside carrying out missions. That¡¯s the reason why you¡¯ve never seen him. Even though you¡¯re responsible for enforcing discipline, you can¡¯t be so unreasonable. You haven¡¯t even asked his name, so how do you know he¡¯s not part of the inner courtyard? If there¡¯s someone who is most worthy of eating in this canteen right now, it¡¯s not me, and it¡¯s not anybody else here. It¡¯s not even you. It¡¯s him.¡±

    The middle-aged man was already convinced when Ning Tian stood forward to vouch for Huo Yuhao, but he erupted furiously when he heard her words. ¡°Does that mean a student has a higher status than me, as a teacher? Do you know I can punish you for humiliating a teacher for what you¡¯ve said, ording to the Academy¡¯s disciplinary rules?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Huo Yuhao and Ning Tian were both holding back because they were concerned about the Academy, but there was someone here who didn¡¯t have a good temper!

    Wu Feng wouldn¡¯t have said anything if this middle-aged man was targeting Huo Yuhao, but she wouldn¡¯t have it if he was targeting Ning Tian! Her fiery temper immediately exploded as she arrived beside Ning Tian in a sh.

    ¡°You suspect our identity as students in the inner courtyard, but we¡¯re starting to suspect your identity as a teacher. We¡¯ve never seen you before, so what do you have to prove that you¡¯re a disciplinary teacher? Since when has Shrek Academy said that former students can¡¯t eat in the Academy? When have we had this rule? You¡¯re embarrassing yourself! Detain all of us if you can!¡±

    The man was infuriated when Wu Feng talked back to him. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll take every single one of you away! I want to see what else you all have to say in front of the Academy¡¯s rules!¡±

    ¡°Teacher, we have to be reasonable, and that¡¯s required even for a teacher. I think you were probably hired from outside, and you must¡¯ve had a hard time passing the Academy¡¯s test. Don¡¯t ruin yourself!¡± Xie Huanyue said grimly as he stood up as well.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu walked over slowly, and they circled around this middle-aged man from the other side. The other students from the inner courtyard all stood up and surrounded him. Everyone had a ck look on their faces.

    Of course, students weren¡¯t allowed to offend teachers. However, this was Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard, and the students from the inner courtyard had a different statuspared to students from the outer courtyard. In Shrek Academy, even students from the inner courtyard could be teachers if they were willing to go to the outer courtyard.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s words had already incurred public anger. Even though most of these students didn¡¯t know who Huo Yuhao was, they all had sentiments attached to their Academy¡¯s canteen. If everyone who wanted toe back for a free meal like Huo Yuhao did would be punished by the Academy, and might even have their graduation certificates confiscated, that made everyone conflicted. Even though they didn¡¯t say anything, they still surrounded this teacher from the inner courtyard.

    ¡°Stop this, everyone. This is just a misunderstanding,¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly interjected. He nced at Ning Tian, and a grateful look appeared in his eyes. Ning Tian had been the first to step forward.

    Ning Tian smiled faintly and said, ¡°We have never thought about offending and talking back to our teachers, but shouldn¡¯t teachers respect us students, as well? Yuhao, you should take your leave because you¡¯re busy. We¡¯ll deal with this. Wu Feng, can you please look for Dean Cai? I¡¯ve just seen her, she should still be in the inner courtyard. Please ask her toe and deal with this. If we are really wrong, then we will admit our mistakes and let the Academy punish us however they like. Otherwise, we must ask the Academy for an exnation!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded in Ning Tian¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Alright, sorry for the trouble.¡± That was the most appropriate way to deal with this matter. He didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer and hurriedly walked out.

    ¡°You may not leave!¡± The middle-aged man suddenly reached out and grabbed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm. The aura on his body red up at the same time, and soul rings swiftly rose from beneath his feet. They suddenly emanated soul power and immediately pushed everyone around him a few steps backward.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect this teacher to be so dissatisfied with the result that he would actually decide to make a move against him. The teacher¡¯s palm contained a formidable soul skill, and eight soul rings had risen from beneath his feet. Being able to be a teacher in Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard meant that he was quite strong.

    However, his eight soul rings weren¡¯t in the optimalbination. He had two yellow, three purple, and three ck soul rings. Even though it was considered good, it wasn¡¯t considered much within Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard.

    A cold light flickered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He had been holding back again and again, but this man just didn¡¯t know when to stop. Even the nicest people had a threshold, not to mention Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao raised his left hand, and his palm immediately became jade-green in color. He didn¡¯t release his martial soul, but he pressed his hand toward the middle-aged man¡¯s palm just like that.

    The middle-aged man grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm. He had thought this through, and disyed his cultivation rank as a Soul Douluo to intimidate these students from the inner courtyard. Just as Xie Huanyue had guessed, he was an external staff member who had just arrived recently.

    One often felt good about bing a teacher at Shrek Academy, and that was the reason why he naturally felt a little arrogant. Today, he had witnessed Huo Yuhao eating in the Academy¡¯s canteen without his uniform, while he was also in charge of discipline. He immediately wanted to stamp his presence among the inner courtyard students, but who knew that doing so would incur resentment from so many students? He had thought this through. He would detain the first perpetrator before he would intimidate the other students. Then, he would leave to prove whether this student in white clothes was guilty or innocent. When that happened, he would have a chance to push forward or to retreat.

    As he grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand, it gave him a very warm and damp feeling upon contact, but just as he wanted to gather his strength to channel his soul power into Huo Yuhao, he realized to his fear and surprise that Yuhao¡¯s hand had be as tough as steel. He couldn¡¯t move Huo Yuhao no matter how much strength he used.

    ¡°Teachers cannot attack students in the Academy. Shrek is an Academy, not a prison,¡± Huo Yuhao stated in a low voice.

    The middle-aged man felt a wave of intense chille from Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm, and his entire body shivered from the cold. In the next moment, he could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes had be extremely deep and profound, and he felt like his entire soul was being sucked into them.

    Huo Yuhao shook his wrist lightly and flung the teacher¡¯s hand away. However, he still didn¡¯t attack. Instead, he took a step forward and nted his feet in front of the man as the formidable aura of a Savage Beast erupted from his body!

    Huo Yuhao controlled this aura, and only the students in a small radius around him could feel it. That included Wu Feng, Dai Huabin, and the others, who swiftly stumbled backwards with frightened looks on their faces.

 Chapter 506.2 - He is Huo Yuhao!

    Chapter 506.2: He is Huo Yuhao!

    The middle-aged man stumbled backwards as this aura intimidated him. He lost his bnce, and fell down on the ground just like that. His face had turned ghastly pale.

    He had never expected this youth who looked about twenty to exude such a frightening aura. It was like something that came from a Savage Beast in human form!

    Huo Yuhao turned around at Ning Tian, who also had a frightened look on his face. He nodded in his direction and said, ¡°Just go ording to what you said, and invite Dean Cai to deal with this. Thank you for today, everyone; I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± Huo Yuhao left the canteen with a single step, and disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight.

    Ning Tian and Wu Feng exchanged a nce. Ning Tian¡¯s eyes were full of fear, while Wu Feng¡¯s eyes were full of exasperation. The corner of Wu Feng¡¯s mouth twitched as sheughed bitterly and shook her head. She was just talking about surpassing Huo Yuhao, and he immediately gave her a show a strength!

    Even if this teacher wasn¡¯t considered a powerful soul master, he was a Soul Douluo. Otherwise, how could he be an external staff member working for Shrek Academy? But even a teacher like this couldn¡¯t seem to resist Huo Yuhao at all. Even though it had to do with his carelessness, the pressure that came from Huo Yuhao was even more frightening than a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao shook off the teacher¡¯s grasp so easily. Did that mean his cultivation was¡­

    They weren¡¯t the only ones reacting this way. Those who were familiar with him, including Xie Huanyue, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu, were all speechless.

    Xie Huanyue forced augh and said, ¡°We¡¯ll always be dejected if we keepparing ourselves to him! Looks like we won¡¯t ever catch up to him in this life¡­¡±

    Wu Feng turned and left. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Dean Cai.¡±

    The other students from the inner courtyard wereing to from their astonishment. Someone muttered under his breath, ¡°I think that senior said he¡¯s going to attend the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date! I have to hurry, too, it¡¯s about time.¡±

    The other students who were single, especially the girls, thronged out and vanished in the blink of an eye. Those who already had partners stayed behind and surrounded the wretched, formerly arrogant teacher.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao was also stumped once he left the canteen, because he had forgotten where he was supposed to assemble for the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date.

    Uh¡­

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just head to thekeside. The event is held at theke anyway, so that can¡¯t be wrong. He could still remember where he had started the other time.

    Huo Yuhao immediately elerated after he thought that, and ran towards the ce where he hadst participated in the event; where he had stepped onto thekewater.

    Huo Yuhao quickly knew that his guess was right because he could see students from the inner courtyard, dressed in red uniforms, walking towards theke in pairs and trios. They were walking in the same direction, and it was clear that these people were going to attend the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. He couldn¡¯t be wrong as long as he followed them.

    Huo Yuhao was a little dejected. If he had known better, he would have found a red uniform to wear. My white clothes might be a little too ring when I go onto Sea God¡¯s Laketer.

    But he couldn¡¯t care about that much anymore. He would risk beingte if he went to change, and that would spell big trouble.

    ¡°Eh, aren¡¯t you Yuhao? Eldest senior sister was just worrying about looking for you, afraid that you won¡¯t show up. It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re here.¡± Two silhouettes quickly hurried to his side, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt relieved when he saw them. They were old acquaintances.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, senior sister Han, greetings.¡± Wang Yan was the teacher who had led Huo Yuhao¡¯s team in the first season of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and he was with his girlfriend, a former student from the inner courtyard who was second only to their eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan. She was Han Ruoruo, who had already be a teacher.

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s set of soul skills back then still left a deep impression on Huo Yuhao, and he still had some lingering fears now that he thought about them.

    Wang Yan seemed a lot more cheerfulpared to all those years ago. He smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally back, Yuhao! Lexuan was worried out of her mind before this, and she even sent someone to look for you at the Tang Sect. It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re here. Let¡¯s go, quickly. We can¡¯t bete.¡±

    Han Ruoruo smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, we won¡¯t forgive you if you dare to bete. Eldest senior sister and I will be the hosts.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Eldest senior sister has ordered me, so how could I dare to bete? I went to grab something to eat in the canteen, and when I finished my food, I realized that I¡¯d forgotten where we were supposed to assemble. It was great to run into you guys. But it doesn¡¯t really matter whether or not I¡¯m there. If not for the Academy¡¯s rules, I wouldn¡¯t be here to share in the fun. I¡¯m just here to go through the motions, anyway.¡±

    Han Ruoruo¡¯s beautiful eyes rippled a little as sheughed and said, ¡°You still have to be there, even if you¡¯re only there to go through the motions. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    They walked towards theke together. The sky hadn¡¯t turnedpletely dark, and he was actually earlier than he was back when he had first participated in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. The male students from the inner courtyard hadn¡¯tpletely assembled yet, while the female students were specifically guided somewhere else.

    Huo Yuhao had gone through the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date once before. He stared at theke¡¯s surface that shone in the light of dusk, and fell into a bit of a daze. He could clearly remember how Dong¡¯er had appeared in front of him that time with her true appearance, how she had called him ¡°idiot¡±, and how she seemed like she was being sassy and ming him while carrying a tinge of embarrassment and happiness. Huo Yuhao would never forget it¡­

    How great would it be if I could return to that moment! Huo Yuhao clenched his fists subconsciously, and his feelings and yearning for Dong¡¯er were suddenly raised to their highest possible level in that moment.

    ¡°Are you alright, Yuhao?¡± Han Ruoruo asked in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was much strongerpared to back then, and it naturally flowed out as his emotions surged up. The formidable spiritual aura even caused someone as powerful as Han Ruoruo to react in shock.

    Huo Yuhao was awakened from his memories, and hurriedly calmed down as he forced a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright, senior sister.¡±

    Han Ruoruo smiled back. ¡°As long as you¡¯re alright. I¡¯m the host, so I¡¯m going to go ahead and get busy. You two can wait here. Someone wille when it¡¯s time to begin.¡± She waved to Wang Yan and Huo Yuhao and drifted away.

    Huo Yuhao watched Wang Yan¡¯s eyes as they followed Han Ruoruo, which only withdrew when she could no longer be seen. Huo Yuhao giggled and said, ¡°Teacher Wang, you¡¯re deep in the river of love!¡±

    Wang Yan blushed. ¡°Nonsense. Let me warn you, Yuhao, I¡¯m one of the assessors for your graduation test tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You¡¯re an assessor? Then you have to be a little more lenient when the timees,¡± Huo Yuhao said with a faint smile on his face.

    Wang Yan snickered and said, ¡°Yuhao! Let me remind you: don¡¯t think tomorrow¡¯s test is easy. Many people are waiting to ¡®take care of you¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Take care of me? Why?¡±

    Wang Yan patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said sincerely, ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t quite understand the assessment criteria for our inner courtyard¡¯s students to graduate! Let me brief you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly humbled himself and said, ¡°Thank you, teacher Wang. What exactly will happen?¡±

    Wang Yan chortled and said, ¡°Every one of the inner courtyard¡¯s students can be said to be prodigies chosen by heaven. Every one of them has outstanding talent, and they all have varying strengths. You guys are both outstanding and hardworking at the same time, which is the reason why you can stand a ss above the rest and be part of the inner courtyard. If you wish to graduate from the inner courtyard, then you have to meet the Academy¡¯s standards in your strongest suit. Therefore, the inner courtyard¡¯s graduation assessment is different for every student, and everyone has different tasks.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± For some reason, Huo Yuhao had an ominous feeling about this test, even though his cultivation was already at eight rings. He could tell from Wang Yan¡¯s words that they didn¡¯t n to be nice to him! His graduation assessment was supposed to just be going through the motions, but it didn¡¯t seem that easy after all.

    ¡°Teacher Wang, then how is this graduation assessment going to be carried out?¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    Wang Yan continued, ¡°I don¡¯t quite know how the assessment is going to be executed, but it¡¯s definitely not going to be easy. I¡¯ve heard that Elder Xuan has personally designed your graduation assessment. You¡¯re the youngest, unprecedentedly so, member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. You have contributed much to the Academy, and the Academy has to nurture you well because of that. Therefore, your assessment has to be especially strict!

    ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion will convene to discuss your examination tasks, but I¡¯m not too sure about the details. I suspect the test won¡¯t be too easy, so good luck! I¡¯m only one of the main assessors for you tomorrow, there are seven in total. I know that Dean Yan, Dean Cai, Dean Xian, and Zhang Lexuan are a few of the remaining six, but I¡¯m not sure who the other two are.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw slowly dropped as he listened to Wang Yan. His graduation assessment had brought the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion together for a conference, and he had seven judges? What was happening? Tomorrow¡¯s test¡­

    Teacher Xuan is watching me closely, and the Academy doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re going to give me a good time. Life is too hard to live¡­

    Wang Yanughed in amusement as he watched Huo Yuhao¡¯s depressed look. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. That¡¯s the Academy¡¯s care and concern for you. If you can¡¯t pass the assessment, you can just continue studying and cultivating in the Academy, at worst. Look at your eldest senior sister, she¡¯s be a teacher in the Academy. You¡¯re part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, so you can do the same!¡±

    Huo Yuhao had a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn¡¯t think much about it before, but right now, Teacher Xuan was forcing him to learn about forging soul tools properly, and Huo Yuhao had to attend him. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to forge a proper pill furnace, and he couldn¡¯t raise the Tang Sect¡¯s overall strength. Therefore, he had to pass the graduation assessment tomorrow, no matter what!

 Chapter 506.3 - He is Huo Yuhao!

    Chapter 506.3: He is Huo Yuhao!

    Huo Yuhao calmed down as his thoughts stopped there. He would deal with problems as they came. The teachers still didn¡¯t know that he had officially be an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, so the assessment shouldn¡¯t be that difficult with that advantage. After all, the Academy¡¯s teachers and even the Elders didn¡¯t know the full depth of his abilities. He had five powerful Spirits to support him, so how could he not even pass a graduation assessment?

    Huo Yuhao felt a lot better after thinking things through.

    The sky had gradually darkened by this time. Light dotted the shores of the Sea God¡¯s Lake, and Huo Yuhao could see with his Spirit Eyes that the outer courtyard students had already formed arge circle around theke. That was especially true for those at the front, as they were squeezed right to the edge of the shore.

    ¡°Male students who are participating in the Blind Date, get ready!¡± somebody hollered at everyone, and the male students from the inner courtyard who had already gathered swiftly assembled at thekeside.

    ¡°Hurry, and go. Don¡¯t bete,¡± Wang Yan ordered Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Alright! Teacher Wang, you have to go easy on me tomorrow! You have also taught me, and if I can¡¯t pass the graduation assessment, it wouldn¡¯t look good on you, would it?¡±

    Wang Yanughed and said, ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion now, and your status is much higher than mine. Furthermore, I have never really taught you anything, so I can¡¯t help you. You¡¯ll have to rely on yourself!¡±

    Huo Yuhao no longer had time to continue chatting with Wang Yan, and he vanished and reappeared at thekeside in a sh. There were so many eyes watching, and even if he was just going through the motions, he had to be a little serious. His mind was filled with tomorrow¡¯s graduation test, and he didn¡¯t have much energy to think about the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Theke¡¯s surface was dark, and it was hard to see anything through the rolling mists. Huo Yuhao arrived by thekeside and stood behind the throngs of male students. He was still thinking about how he would face the test tomorrow.

    Arge boat sailed in from the distance. The boat waspletely lit up; the inner courtyard¡¯s teachers and elders were here to observe the ceremony. Elder Xuan sat at the front of the boat, hugging thatrge wine bottle that he hadn¡¯t used for a long time. There was a te of chicken legs beside him, and he appeared as casual as ever.

    Elder Song, Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin¡¯er, and the other Elders, along some of the inner courtyard¡¯s teachers, were all on the boat. Cai Mei¡¯er was the only one who was absent.

    Dean Cai was still dealing with a certain wretched, newly-hired teacher. When he discovered that the student from the inner courtyard who he had threatened and whose badge he had confiscated was the youngest member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in Shrek Academy¡¯s history, he couldn¡¯t be any more depressed. He wasn¡¯t able to make a disy of strength to the inner courtyard¡¯s students, and instead, the inner courtyard¡¯s students gave him one instead, using Huo Yuhao¡¯s prestige.

    Just like in all the previous years, there were students from the inner courtyard who were participating in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date for the first time, and there were some who had been here before. Those who had participated before knew what was going on, while those who were here for the first time were filled with eager anticipation.

    Life in the Academy, all studying and cultivation, was undoubtedly stale and dry. An activity like this for the young male and female students was a fantastic opportunity to disy their abilities, and also a good chance to get a partner.

    Therge boat didn¡¯t sail to the shore, instead stopping in the middle of theke. Beams shot out from theke¡¯s surface, and light rippled through the air as the outer courtyard students who were here to watch erupted in cheers and apuse.

    There were sixteen beams of light in total, all pale gold. There was a girl in a long white dress standing quietly on top of every beam, and all sixteen girls were dressed in the same manner. They wore the same conical bamboo hats as before on their heads, and a white veil three feet long draped down and covered their facespletely.

    Standing in the faint clow of the columns of light, they were just like elegant fairies on theke¡¯s surface. Their transcendent beauty was extremely eye-catching.

    The light on theke¡¯s surface awakened Huo Yuhao from his contemtion. When he looked up at the ¡°fairies¡± on theke¡¯s surface, he was a little dazed, and felt like his hair was standing on end. The emotional changes made his heart beat faster.

    Yes! Even if he was just here to go through the motions, how could he remain calm when he was once again part of the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date?

    Everything was almost identical to back when he had first participated. Back then, one of the girls underneath those conical bamboo hats was his Dong¡¯er! Huo Yuhao felt like he was dreaming as he stared at the scene in front of him, and couldn¡¯t control his emotions.

    The sixteen girls were spread out in single file. They were facing thekeside, just standing there quietly as the male students on thekeside were eagerly raring to go. The outer courtyard students on thekesides were probably even more excited than the participating inner courtyard students, and each cheer and apuse was louder than thest.

    Right at this moment, two slightly stronger beams of white light shot into the air, and two more figures appeared.

    They were both incredibly beautiful. The one on the left was d in a flowing white dress: Han Ruoruo! She had managed to get a change of clothes and even put on some makeup during this time, and was like a snow lotus blooming on the icy mountains as white light shone down on her.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, was naturally to her right. Just like back when he had first participated in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, Zhang Lexuan was in a long yellow dress, like a blooming tulip unrivaled in beauty.

    The outer courtyard students cheered even more vigorously when the two gorgeous women appeared. The shore of Sea God¡¯s Ind was a bit further away, but they were still clearly audible.

    Love was the topic of eternity, and something that youths both male and female yearned for the most. The outer courtyard students were still young, and the Academy had been very strict on them. Their longings were very satisfied even if they could only watch this event. This was the first time that the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date had been opened for the outer courtyard to watch.

    Han Ruoruo raised her voice and began to speak. ¡°The meeting of fate upon the Sea God¡¯s Lake! Love is found in but a moment, as Shrek lives on for a hundred centuries. Wee, everyone, to this beautiful evening by the Sea God¡¯s Lake! The annual Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date is about to begin. I am tonight¡¯s host, and I am representing myself and my eldest senior sister to wish good luck to all students from the inner courtyard who are participating that they might find the love that they want and deserve!

    ¡°At the same time, wee to all Elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and teachers who are here to watch. I speak on behalf of the students to express our sincere gratitude to our teachers. Without your patient nurturing and support, we would not have achieved what we have today. To our juniors from the outer courtyard, if you wish to obtain a love that the Academy approves of, and to confess to the person that you love, then you have to work hard and cultivate, and try to be part of the inner courtyard one day.¡±

    Cheers and apuse erupted once more. The students from the outer courtyard, especially the male students, seemed like they were on stimnts. If not for the fact that they had to watch the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, the beautiful Han Ruoruo¡¯s words was enough to make them forget about how tired they were from their continuous cultivating, and they couldn¡¯t wait to go back and continue!

    Yan Shaozhe was sitting in therge boat. He smiled and said, ¡°Seems like the decision to let the little fellows from the outer courtyard watch was an extremely correct one. When the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date is over, I can guarantee that they will have a cultivation ¡®climax¡¯. The event has just begun. I¡¯m sure the effects will be even betterter on.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er grunted coldly as she muttered under her breath, ¡°Sleazy.¡±

    There was nothing Yan Shaozhe could do against her quip. He could only stop talking as he shook his head helplessly.

    Zhang Lexuan continued the speech. Her voice travelled far and wide as she said, ¡°Now, let us invite all the male students who are participating in the blind date to prepare themselves. Thirty-six pirs will appear on theke¡¯s surface after this, and the students closest to our Sea God¡¯s fairies will proceed to the first round. The students at the back are not likely to receive a suitable cing in the first round. So, pay attention, everyone. No matter what methods you use, as long as yound on the leaves of the water lilies where the pirs of light are, you will have taken that spot. Do not fall into the water, as that will strip you of your right to continue in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date.

    ¡°Get ready, everyone! Three, two, one, begin!¡±

    Thirty-six pirs of light suddenly shot out from underneath theke¡¯s surface. These pirs were neatly separated into three rows, every row about five meters apart from each other, and distributed equally about a hundred meters away from the female students, roughly two hundred meters away from the shore.

    The students from the inner courtyard immediately made their moves once Zhang Lexuan finished speaking, like bolts of lightning as they swiftly pounced towards those pirs of light. They all wanted to gain the upper hand and disy their abilities, as it was the best way to gain the heart of the girls that they liked.

    Huo Yuhao was the only one who didn¡¯t immediately move. Everything before him was just like how he and Dong¡¯er had fixed their rtionship! Although the people were different, everything in front of him seemed identical.

    The male students had already soared into the air as they rushed towards those pirs, and Huo Yuhao slowly drifted out from thekeside. He didn¡¯t disy any of his abilities as he followed behind, and wasst as hended on a water lily. However, he didn¡¯t release his martial soul at all, and he even used Imitation to change his white clothes to red. He didn¡¯t want to be the center of attention,as he was just going through the motions anyway. All he had to do was to maintain a low profile.

    All the students were in ce. The students who had obtained positions in the first row were all overjoyed, and smiled happily. Everything was difficult in the beginning, and they had a big advantage because they had finished the first step properly. They were the only ones who had this row, and that meant they could be seen directly by the young women.

    The Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date wasn¡¯t just a chance to confess, it was also a chance to disy their strength and abilities. Who didn¡¯t want the Academy to notice and pay attention to them?

 Chapter 507.1 - Im Only Here to Show My Face

    <h4 ss>Chapter 507.1: I¡¯m Only Here to Show My Face</h4>

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date on the Sea God¡¯s Lake. Tonight, we¡¯re going to hold our annual Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date again. I believe everyone has been waiting for a long time.

    ¡°The Blind Date will be divided into five segments. Everyone, be prepared! Let me emphasize once more: once you drop into the water, you¡¯ll be out no matter whether you¡¯re a guy or a girl!

    ¡°We¡¯ll also choose the most beautiful Sea God¡¯s Fairy and the luckiest guy. However, what you need to do is to first unveil the Sea God¡¯s Fairies. This is also the first step the male students have to take to demonstrate their abilities.¡±

    Han Ruoruo continued after this, ¡°That¡¯s right! In that case, let¡¯s begin our first segment, Mutual Feelings. We¡¯ll begin from the left side of the first row. Every male student can do their best to demonstrate their abilities and try to remove the bamboo hat on a female student¡¯s head. However, you better not go overboard with your actions. Otherwise, the female students might not be polite, and retaliate. I can only pretend that I didn¡¯t see anything if that happens. In addition, don¡¯t fall into the water, just like eldest senior sister mentioned!

    ¡°First male student, you can begin!¡±

    The moment Han Ruoruo stopped talking, the first male student drifted up. His seven soul rings shone brightly. Obviously, he was a Soul Sage from the inner courtyard. He flew into the air without aid and proceeded in the direction of the veiled young women.

    Huo Yuhao had regained his focus by now. As he saw the flying male student, he nodded in approval.The abilities of inner courtyard students are still as strong as ever. This male student seems to be slightly bigger than me. I think he¡¯s an agility-type soul master. He¡¯s really quick. No wonder he was able to snatch first ce.

    A hundred meters was a short distance to cover for a Soul Sage. This young man had evidently been to past Fated Blind Dates before. Just as he was about to reach the veiled girls, he lifted both his hands abruptly, and a gust of strong wind generated from his soul power instantly swept diagonally upward. At the same time, this gust of wind was blowing the dresses and bamboo hats off of the female students.

    This was a cunning move. What would the young women choose when their dresses and bamboo hats were being blown up at the same time?

    Exmations could be heard. Some of the less experienced female students instantly pressed down their dresses, and forgot to use their own soul skills. Their bamboo hats were immediately blown off their heads.

    There were sixteen of them in total. In just a matter of seconds, half of the female students¡¯ bamboo hats were already blown off, and their actual appearances were revealed.

    ¡°Sorry, juniors and seniors!¡± the young manughed. There was even a perverted look in his eyes. He turned around in the air and didn¡¯t even try to remove the bamboo hats of the remaining girls, just making ready to leave.

    ¡°Pervert!¡± someone shouted angrily. Among the female students, one of them in a rtively central position suddenly lifted her hand in his direction. It didn¡¯t seem like she had used a soul skill. She only punched her fist out,and a low-pitched dragon¡¯s roar arose. A golden ball of energy shaped like a fist was unleashed towards the sly male student.

    Her bamboo hat hadn¡¯t been removed Themale student was delighted right now. The ball of energy was about to strike him, but he wasn¡¯t too bothered, because the aura of that female student wasn¡¯t very strong.

    He used both his hands to resist it and almost wanted to rely on its momentum to send the strike back. However, he immediately sensed something amiss when his palms touched the ball of energy.

    There was an extremely fierce and domineering undtion of soul power within that ball of energy. It immediately blew apart when he touched it!

    Even though he used a defensive soul skill to protect himself, he was still flung away from the explosion. His protective soul skill was destroyed, and he crashed towards the water surface free fall.

    However, he was an inner courtyard disciple, after all. He took a deep breath and stabilized the surging energy in his body. A pair of silver wings instantly opened up on his back. He fluttered them gently before he managed to rapidly return andnd gently on a lotus leaf.

    The outer courtyard disciples cheered from the shore for this inner courtyard senior¡¯s magnificent performance. However, they didn¡¯t know that he had already broken out in a cold sweat. The energy in his body was surging madly. He kept on summoning his soul power to dispel the dominant and invasive soul power that he was subjected to earlier.

    Who is she? She¡¯s strong. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s not just a Soul Sage. It¡¯s very possible that she¡¯s a Soul Douluo. My god! There¡¯s even a Soul Douluo among the female students. Does that mean that we¡¯re going to be greatly restrained?

    The Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date wasn¡¯t just a blind date. To some extent, it was a healthypetition between the male and female students. This Soul Sage believed that he was one of the stronger male students in attendance today. However, he was immediately disadvantaged when he was attacked. There was no doubt that he was feeling demoralized.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a doubtful look as he stood inst ce on the third row. The young woman¡¯s voice that he had heard earlier sounded very familiar. However, he didn¡¯t manage to catch it too clearly, as she had spoken very briefly.

    Han Ruoruoughed. ¡°Female student eight, you can¡¯t attack the male students directly unless the other party has invaded the cylindrical region where you are standing. However, we¡¯ll make an exception, since male student one was indeed a little overboard. There¡¯ll not be any further exceptions.¡±

    After hearing her words, the young men heaved a sigh of relief. Thedies were too fierce! If all of them attacked at the same time, wouldn¡¯t that mean that anyone who approached them would end up in the water?

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Alright, male student two, it¡¯s your turn. Be gentlemanly.¡±

    Learning from the lesson of the first male student, the second male student was a little hesitant. The female students were all prepared this time. He returned without making any progress. None of the female students were unveiled by him.

    There were sixteen female students in total. At the very start, eight of them had already lost their bamboo hats. This was truly very rare in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. However, all the male students after the first one would find it difficult to achieve anything simrly impressive. The female students who were able to keep their hats on after the first round were not weak in ability or focus.

    The thirty-six male students took their turns one by one. It was only after some time that another bamboo hat was removed.

    Huo Yuhao was thest, just observing the performances of the male students in front of him. There were three Soul Sages among the male students, the rest either Soul Emperors or Soul Kings. This was already very impressive. However, the problem of the stronger female students in Shrek¡¯s inner courtyard remained. Apart from female student eight, at least four other female students were already Soul Sages. All of them were pretty strong.

    As a result, when it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn, there were still four female students with bamboo hats left.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯ve been looking for you for half a day. Yuhao, why are you at the back? The more you cultivate, the further back you go! We have four bamboo hats that have not been removed. It¡¯s your turn now.¡± Zhang Lexuan called out to Huo Yuhao. When she did, Elder Xuan and the rest immediately turned their attention to Huo Yuhao from their boat.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly in his heart.Eldest senior sister, didn¡¯t you say that I could juste for show? Why did you call my name?

    However, even though he had that mindset, he still had to properly show his face since he was here. He really didn¡¯t want to be disqualified by falling into the water. It was his graduation test tomorrow. Wang Yan had also reminded him that he didn¡¯t want to offend Zhang Lexuan right now.

    Huo Yuhao stepped off of his lotus leaf. Yes, he walked slowly towards the female students. He didn¡¯t appear as dazzling or impressive as the students before him. His soul rings didn¡¯t even shine. He just walked over calmly.

    Zhang Lexuan was a little amused as she muttered to herself, ¡°This fellow is really onlying here just to show his face!¡±

    On the shore, the outer courtyard students were confused when they saw thisst inner courtyard senior.

    ¡°Eh, look at this. How is this senior able to walk so freely on theke¡¯s surface? What kind of ability is that?¡±

    ¡°I believe he should be a Soul Sage, and he¡¯s deliberately controlling his altitude. However, how is he able to do it so easily?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. This senior¡¯s abilities are ice-type. He can freeze ayer of ice below him as he walks. This is why he finds it so easy. He wouldn¡¯t find it so easy if he were flying.¡± The person speaking was Jin Sha, who Huo Yuhao had met earlier. Him being able to say that wasn¡¯t because his vision was very clear. Given the lighting and distance, how could he possibly see everything clearly? He had deliberately observed Huo Yuhao as he went to the ind earlier.

    Just as the outer courtyard students were all engaged in discussion, Huo Yuhao arrived in front of the veiled women.

    Initially, he had nned to make one pass around these female students before returning. However, Zhang Lexuan was watching him intently. If he really did nothing, she probably wouldn¡¯t let him off.

    As he thought about it, he mysteriously arrived in front of female student eight, who he had found familiar earlier on. He reached out for her bamboo hat.

    Yes, he just reached out. He wasn¡¯t quick at all. There was no difference between his speed and that of an ordinary person. To Huo Yuhao, given the ability that this female student demonstrated earlier, she would be able to easily block him. After that, he could just return to where he had been standing.

    However, he was astonished to discover that she had no intention of protecting her bamboo hat. She let Huo Yuhao grab the edge of it without moving.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Huo Yuhao had no chance of retracting his hand now. Could he just not take her hat off? That would be utter disrespect for both her and the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date!

    What was going to happen to him?

 Chapter 507.2 - Im Only Here to Show My Face

    Chapter 507.2: I¡¯m Only Here to Show My Face

    As he had no choice, he could only take the hat off. To avoid a scenario where the female student had forgotten to stop him, he purposely slowed down. If she resisted even a little, he would immediately let go and put the hat back.

    However, things didn¡¯t go as he wished. From start to finish, she had no intention ofying her hands on him. She let him take off her hat and reveal her true appearance.

    There was a long veil below the hat. Huo Yuhao only shifted the veil away after he lifted it up over the top of her face. It was only then that he saw her appearance.

    His hand went stiff. Initially, he appeared very helpless. However, he was fixated on the girl right now. Even the ice under his feet started to crack, and seemed like it would buckle at any time.

    In front of him was a cheeky-looking face. The girl looked like a fairy that had descended onto the mortal world, illuminated by the beam of golden light, and entuated by her long, white dress.

    Her pinkish-blue hair flowed out behind her. There wereplex undtions in her wless eyes. Her exquisite, porcin-like face reflected a golden glow. Every part of her was perfect, so perfect that she left those watching breathless. At this instant, all the Sea God Fairies around her paled inparison. It was like the beam of golden light reflecting off her face was the only thing shining so brightly.

    Not far away, the other young men who had joined the Fated Blind Date were all stunned. At this moment, they couldn¡¯t be bothered looking at anyone else. In their eyes, there was only this Sea God¡¯s Fairy.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was trembling as he held the bamboo hat. His eyes revealed strong emotions surging through him.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± he eximed unwittingly and the ice under him quickly froze up even more. This spread, and all the Sea God¡¯s Fairies suddenly felt the surface beneath them harden. They no longer needed to worry about their lotus leaves flipping over.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing had quickened. His lips were trembling too.

    Ever since he hade to this Fated Blind Date, he had begun to yearn for Wang Dong¡¯er more and more. Right now, he felt as if he had returned to many years ago, after seeing this girl who looked identical to Wang Dong¡¯er. He had returned to that beautiful and unforgettable night.

    Dong¡¯er, my Dong¡¯er, are you back?

    He threw the bamboo hat away and couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Right now, his mind was in turmoil. He didn¡¯t even know what to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m Tang Wutong?¡± She sounded both cold and emotional at the same time, and brought the overly-excited Huo Yuhao back to earth with her words.

    Tang Wutong! Yes! She¡¯s Tang Wutong¡­

    Huo Yuhao was as stunned as if cold water had been poured on him. When he saw that familiar face and curly hair, it dawned on him that she was Tang Wutong. Yes! She¡¯s Tang Wutong. Dong¡¯er has straight hair. Only Qiu¡¯er and the Goddess of Light in my heart have curly hair. She¡¯s Tang Wutong. She¡¯s not Dong¡¯er.

    Tang Wutong just stared at Huo Yuhao and saw how he turned from being extremely delighted to disappointed. He seemed to have lost his soul in his heartache.

    But, I¡¯m Tang Wutong! I¡¯m really not Wang Dong¡¯er, or Wang Qiu¡¯er. I¡¯m Tang Wutong!

    Huo Yuhao had been through a lot in his life. After a brief moment of emotional turmoil, he still managed to clear his mind eventually. He mocked himself and nodded at Tang Wutong. After that, he fled without another word. He quickly returned to his ce in thest row.

    He didn¡¯t even try to talk to her? When they saw this, the male students in the inner courtyard were all astonished.

    An absolute beauty who had let him take off her bamboo hat! What did that mean? This meant she was interested in him! However, he didn¡¯t even say anything, and left just like that?

    ¡°Wow, so beautiful, so beautiful!¡±

    Those from the outer courtyard could see what was going on using telescopic soul tools. Tang Wutong immediately became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention.

    Yes, she was too beautiful. No matter who it was, she was the focus of all attention.

    Han Ruoruo and Zhang Lexuan looked at one another, and Zhang Lexuan nodded at Han Ruoruo.

    ¡°It¡¯s the second segment next!¡± Han Ruoruo said loudly, ¡°After the first segment, it¡¯s time for the female students to express who they are interested in. The second segment is called Love at First Sight!

    ¡°The rules are very simple. Every female student has a button to control the soulmp below her. They can light theirmps for every male student. As long as they keep amp on for a male student, that male student can remain for the next segment. However, those who don¡¯t make it will have to leave. Before the second segment starts, we¡¯ll arrange the male students in terms of the number of bamboo hats they removed earlier.¡±

    Among the five segments of the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, the second segment took the least amount of time. However, it was a major test for the male students. They would be eliminated, no matter how strong or outstanding, if no female student left her light on for them. After all, there were many more male students than female students. As a result, this segment was used as a means of simplifying the process of the Fated Blind Date.

    Huo Yuhao was originally in thest row, and wanted to remain there. However, since he had taken off Tang Wutong¡¯s bamboo hat and there were only eight people who managed to do the same, he was in the first row now. The first Soul Sage who had taken off eight bamboo hats was to his right in the first row.

    ¡°All Sea God¡¯s Fairies, please consider your options carefully. You will be given one minute. You must think carefully! Furthermore, let me emphasize that if you don¡¯t leave a light on for any of the male students, it will mean that you are giving up on this event.¡±

    The female students each had their own ns. They were all separated, and seemed very quiet now. No one knew who they were interested in.

    ¡ª

    A minute passed very quickly. At Zhang Lexuan¡¯s signal, Han Ruoruo continued to emcee.

    ¡°Alright, our second segment is about to begin. First, all Sea God¡¯s Fairies, please leave your lights on for the male students. In this second segment, it doesn¡¯t mean that you are choosing someone if you leave your light on for him. You can give him a chance if you have a good impression of him. At the same time, you are giving yourself a chance. I¡¯m sure the other party will take note of you if you leave a light on for him.¡±

    The first to face the test was the Soul Sage who had taken off eight bamboo hats earlier.

    ¡°Three, two, one. Please light yourmps for the first male student.¡±

    Almost instantly, half of themps were extinguished. After this, a few othermps were extinguished.

    The first male student¡¯s heart was in his throat now. No matter how strong he was, he had to leave this stage if no female students chose him. Right now, he regretted going overboard earlier. His impression among the female students had fallen dramatically after female student eight called him perverted.

    Fortunately, he was a Soul Sage, which still made him attractive. Furthermore, they were all inner courtyard disciples. At the very least, they were still acquainted with him. Finally, fivemps remained lit. He was fortunately not eliminated¡­

    The rest of the male students started to get nervous after seeing that the first of them being dealt such a huge blow right from the start. God knew what the female students were thinking¡­

    There were too many young men! There were sixteen female students, but thirty-six male students. Thedies in the inner courtyard were very popr. A nervous atmosphere quickly clouded the entireke.

    However, the male students in the first row performed well in the first round. They were the strongest of the young men. As for the next few young men who stepped up, more than half the female students kept their lights on for each of them.

    The second segment carried on very quickly. Although Huo Yuhao was in a rather backward position in the first row, it was soon his turn.

    ¡°Next, let¡¯s leave ourmps on for the male student in the eighth position. Three, two, one, begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was still in a bit of a daze. He had mistaken Tang Wutong for Wang Dong¡¯er, which was a huge blow to him. His yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er was at its greatest right now, leaving him feeling very weak. He only wanted to quickly leave this ce and return to his quarters, and just hoped that all the lights would be extinguished. That way, he could just directly leave.

    However, things didn¡¯t go as nned. None of the sixteenmps were extinguished. They were all left lit for him.

    Not to mention Huo Yuhao himself, even Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo were astonished.

    It was important to note that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t perform too impressively earlier, even though he had taken Tang Wutong¡¯s bamboo hat off. Instead, he was the least eye-catching. Why did thedies leave theirmps on for him? What was going on?

 Chapter 507.3 - Im Only Here to Show My Face

    <h4 ss>Chapter 507.3: I¡¯m Only Here to Show My Face</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. He only wanted to quickly leave, so why was he more well-liked now than he was in the previous blind date?

    He could still clearly remember that there were seventeen Sea God Fairies thest time he was here. In the second segment, onemp was extinguished for him, by Wu Feng. This time, all sixteenmps were still lit for him. None of the other students who went before him managed to keep all sixteenmps lit.

    In fact, this wasn¡¯t because of good fortune.

    The inner courtyard female students were all intelligent and strong. In addition, they had great taste.

    There were two main reasons why Huo Yuhao had all themps lit for him. First, it was his ¡®performance¡¯ in the canteen. There had been a few female students taking their meal. They personally saw how Huo Yuhao frightened that middle-aged teacher without even unleashing his martial soul! How strong was that? Furthermore, he had a very special aura about him, even though he wasn¡¯t particrly handsome. No matter what, he easily caught their attention.

    The second reason was because of Tang Wutong.

    Although Tang Wutong had not been in the Academy for a long time and was only a teaching assistant, she was still a student of the inner courtyard. She held two identities at once. Normally, she interacted quite a lot with the young women of the inner courtyard, and they respected her. After Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and the rest of the female seniors from the previous generation of students left, Tang Wutong was now the backbone of the current generation of female students in the inner courtyard. Furthermore, she was an exceptional beauty.

    When the other female students saw how Tang Wutong allowed Huo Yuhao to remove her bamboo hat without resisting, they were all astonished. This also deepened their interest in him.

    If even Tang Wutong approved of him, could he be ordinary?

    Thus, this magical result.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twisted a little. However, no matter what, everyone was vain to some extent. He felt slightly better after seeing that sixteenmps had been kept on for him. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t just fall into theke as an escape measure¡­

    The segment continued. From the second row onwards, the male students weren¡¯t so lucky anymore. Since they didn¡¯t remove any bamboo hats, they didn¡¯t leave any deep impressions on the female students. Very soon, many of them were out of the blind date as all themps were extinguished for them.

    When the second segment ended, eighteen of the young men had been eliminated. It was the highest elimination rate in recent years, exactly half of the young men were gone. Even so, there were still two more young men left then young women.

    The high elimination rate had something to do with the female students, too. They were all very outstanding, and good catches. Naturally, they were more demanding when it came to choosing their partners. Given the current situation, the ratio of female to male students was almost one-to-one. The young men who remained bore high hopes that they could return with ady in their arms!

    ¡ª¡ª

    After the second segment ended, the remaining male students were rearranged again.

    Huo Yuhao, who only wanted to show his face at this ceremony, was arranged in first ce after all themps were kept lit for him. He was now in the limelight.

    This time, Zhang Lexuan was the one who spoke.

    ¡°After the first two segments, I believe all of you should have some simple understanding of one another. Next, we shall begin the third segment, Love at Second Sight. This time, all female students should take note that you can¡¯t choose randomly as you did in the second segment. Once you make a choice, you must take responsibility for your choice. Every male student has a minute to introduce himself. After his self-introduction, he needs toe to me and tell me the number of the Sea God¡¯s Fairy that he fancies. After all the male students have made their introductions, the female students will make their choices. Your choice in this segment will be your final choice. You can¡¯t go back on it. After the choices are made, we¡¯ll proceed to the fourth segment.

    ¡°Male students, please take note that you can demonstrate what you believe is your greatest ability when you introduce yourself. You can also introduce your cultivation and other things. As long as you believe your words can capture the heart of your desired partner, you can mention anything. This time, we¡¯ll mess up the order and pick who goes first through lots, for the purpose of fairness.¡±

    After hearing that, Huo Yuhao immediately heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn¡¯t fully recall theseter segments. However, it was a good thing that he wasn¡¯t going to go first. He was just here to show his face.

    ¡°The first person we¡¯ve picked out is Huo Yuhao!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s face suddenly stiffened up again.Why am I still the first to go after picking lots?

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you can introduce yourself. You have one minute.¡± Zhang Lexuan was definitely amused as she looked at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Uh, okay.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her words and started to introduce himself.

    ¡°Hi everyone. My name is Huo Yuhao.¡± Huo Yuhao drifted forward a few steps as he controlled the lotus leaf beneath him.

    Yes, he only said this line.

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Zhang Lexuan was infuriated.This fellow is indeed doing all he can to avoid the limelight!

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Zhang Lexuan. He thought to himself.Since I¡¯m just here to show my face, you can¡¯t possibly force me to say more than I want.

    However, who knew that his simple introduction piqued the curiosity of the female students?

    Zhang Lexuan snorted and said, ¡°Your introduction is too simple. It won¡¯t be fair when our Sea God¡¯s Fairies make their choices. Since you¡¯re shy, I¡¯ll speak on your behalf.¡±

    I¡¯m shy?Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry.

    Zhang Lexuan cheerfully said, ¡°Huo Yuhao is a student of the inner courtyard and a disciple of the Tang Sect.¡±

    After hearing this, Huo Yuhao felt rather pleased. This was all true. Furthermore, she was advertising the Tang Sect. Why did he not realize that this was a good way of advertising the Tang Sect? Everyone from the inner courtyard was here.

    However, Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words after this left him looking more and more bitter.

    ¡°He joined Shrek Academy at the age of eleven and managed to emerge as eventual champion during his first test after joining the Academy, along with two of his teammates. After that, he revealed his shocking talent. He possesses twin martial souls. Thest time the Academy evaluated his abilities, we concluded that he was a Soul Sage. Currently, we are unsure of his abilities.

    ¡°He has taken part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament twice. The first time, he was a substitute, but he eventually became the main force of the team. In thest fight, he turned the tables and defended Shrek¡¯s glory, emerging as the eventual champion. From then on, he was named as one of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, along with his teammates. At the same time, he is also the main control-type soul master among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. He¡¯s their core and spiritual figure.

    ¡°During the second tournament, he represented the Tang Sect, but there wasn¡¯t any result in the tournament due to a sinister ploy by the Sun Moon Empire. However, the top two teams back then belonged to both the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. His outstanding performance undoubtedly made him the most outstanding participant of the tournament.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing. Huo Yuhao is the person who established the Spirit Pagoda. He¡¯s the inventor of Spirits, and is the current Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda.

    ¡°Apart from this, he has also contributed greatly to the Academy. There are many things that we can¡¯t reveal. However, the contributions that he has made have earned him a ce in history as the youngest ever member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He¡¯s the pride of the inner courtyard, and a current elite.¡±

    After hearing Zhang Lexuan¡¯s introduction, the entire ce went quiet. Everyone waspletely silent. All the Sea God¡¯s Fairies opened their mouths in shock as they stared at Huo Yuhao. The other male students were equally shocked.

    If the other parts of the introduction didn¡¯t astound them, then finding out that Huo Yuhao was the one who invented Spirits and the person who established the Spirit Pagoda had deeply astonished them.

    All this while, no one really knew his name because he had a call sign in the Academy. The Eye of the Asura, founder of the Spirit Pagoda, was a familiar character that every student in the Academy knew!

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s youngest member and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda! These two identities were considered sacred in Shrek Academy!

    Jin Sha¡¯s jaw was almost on the ground by now. He couldn¡¯t believe that the person that he had talked to was actually a legendary senior from the Academy. He didn¡¯t even dare tell his fellow students that were with him, because he knew that no one would believe him.

    After finishing her introduction, Zhang Lexuan smiled as she looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, are you satisfied with my introduction of you?¡±

    What else could Huo Yuhao say? There was no way he could avoid attention now. He could only shake his head helplessly.

    It was only now that the shore of theke started to be rowdy.

    Xian Lin¡¯er furrowed her brow on the boat and said to Elder Xuan, ¡°Is it a good idea to put Yuhao out like that? He doesn¡¯t seem too pleased!¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s so bad about this? He¡¯s going to be the leading figure of the new generation. It¡¯s time that everyone got familiar with him. Otherwise, he¡¯ll always skive.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe nodded and said, ¡°I agree with Elder Xuan. Let me see! Given his current cultivation speed, he¡¯ll be able to take over from you directly! Hehe!¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to skive?¡± Elder Xuan snapped.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled without saying anything. When he saw the helpless look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, he was gloating inside.

 Chapter 508.1 - A Blind Date Alone?

    Chapter 508.1: A Blind Date Alone?

    Zhang Lexuan looked at Huo Yuhao again before continuing, ¡°Because we have a phenomenal member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion here today, we have decided to make some amendments to the usual rules for our Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date in order to make it fair for everyone. Now that we have reached this segment, I suggest that we allow this esteemed member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to proceed with all remaining segments first. All female students will be allowed to select him as your preferred candidate, but rest assured that all of you would still be able to select other candidates subsequently. This new measure will ensure a certain degree of fairness for the other male candidates. After all, even the Eye of the Asura can only leave with a single Sea God¡¯s Fairy.¡±

    After Zhang Lexuan finished her speech, she won the apuse and praise of all the other male students.

    After all, who couldpete with the Eye of the Asura? With him around, there was no way that the girls would choose anyone else! Even if there were some who did not show any interest in him, they were definitely in the minority. Since the original rules of the third round dictated that all of the girls could only choose their preferred male student once, this would mean that they would not be able to choose anyone else after selecting Huo Yuhao. Because Huo Yuhao ultimately could only leave with one person, this would be massively unfair for the rest of the young men. If the rules were not changed, wouldn¡¯t they end up being sideshows for Huo Yuhao¡¯s performance?

    Hence, Zhang Lexuan¡¯s suggestion was timely, and immensely well-received by everyone.

    Huo Yuhao replied to Zhang Lexuan with a resigned tone, ¡°Eldest senior sister, why must you push me into the limelight¡­ But since things havee to this, I¡¯ll just go on andplete the remaining segments. Let¡¯s not hold up the Blind Date for the others.¡±

    Aftering to terms with his current situation, he just wanted toplete the segments as quickly as possible and retire to prepare for tomorrow¡¯s test.

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and announced, ¡°Alright, now let us begin the third segment, which will be specially conducted for the Eye of the Asura. Ladies, you may now begin to select him as your preferred candidate. If you have the slightest bit of inclination towards him, I would urge you not to miss this great opportunity. He will begin his graduation examination tomorrow, which means this will be hisst time participating in our Fated Blind Date!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned after hearing Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words. Is Eldest Senior Sister dead-set on messing up my world?

    The way to indicate interest was still the same as before, to leave theirmp on for him. As everyone had expected, because thedies had two chances to leave theirmps on, all of themps present were left lit for him!

    Huo Yuhao was simply the brightest star among the other students around him. To soul masters, one¡¯s ability would always be more important than one¡¯s looks. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was not bad-looking. Even the haughtiestdies from the inner courtyard could not help but marvel at his fabled experiences.

    Hence, they all mustered their courage to give themselves a chance at being paired with the Eye of the Asura. After all, even if they were not chosen by him, they had nothing to lose because they could always choose another candidate.

    Despite seeing all sixteenmps lit for him, Huo Yuhao was surprisingly calm. He knew that he was just going through the motions. The stares from the crowd would not be able to do anything to him. So what if all themps were still lit? There was only room for Dong¡¯er and Dong¡¯er alone in his heart. He knew he just had to let them run the show, and he would leave immediately after everything ended.

    Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo nced at the sixteenmps and nodded gently.

    Han Ruoruo announced, ¡°After Mutual Feelings, Love at First Sight and Love at Second Sight, it¡¯s time to let fate decide the romance for our next three lives! Hence, our fourth segment is called Destined In Three Lives! During this segment, I urge the other male students to pay attention to the proceedings. After all, it will be your turn very soon!

    ¡°During this segment, thedies will take turns making their way to the one they have selected to introduce themselves. Huo Yuhao, please take a step forward. Even though some of you, and I believe all of you know who I¡¯m referring to, have plenty of charisma and are capable of attracting more than one female student, I must offer all of you an important reminder. At the end of this segment, if any of the male students are to end up without any interest from a single female student, I¡¯m sorry, but you will have to leave our Fated Blind Date. The rest of the young men will proceed to the final segment.¡±

    It was one thing to select a male student as your preferred partner; it was another to possess the courage to step forward and confess to him. Under normal circumstances, Love at Second Sight was the segment where the female students would express their interest in the male students. However, it was only when the young women stepped forward and confessed courageously that everyone could determine how sincere their feelings were.

    Hence, Destined in Three Lives could very well be the most important segment.

    ¡°Alright! Now let us give our female students three minutes to make up their minds. After three minutes, all of you must make your decision. As of now, I can see that most of you admire Huo Yuhao, and that is definitely understandable. After all, he is really outstanding. However, I must say that he isn¡¯t a guy who is suitable for every girl. When a guy is too outstanding, you must ask yourself if you possess the ability to hold his attention. While you still have a chance to continue with the Fated Blind Date after getting rejected by Huo Yuhao, the other male students will have taken note of your earlier decision regarding him. Hence, I urge all of our Sea God¡¯s Fairies to think twice before you make your decision. Your three minutes begin now!¡±

    Huo Yuhao gently controlled the lilypad beneath his feet and glided out gracefully before everyone. It appeared eldest senior sister had helped alleviate some of the worries on his mind. The worst thing that could have happened was for him to spoil the entire atmosphere at the Fated Blind Date. That would have been terrible!

    The best thing would be for everyone to not select him. He would then be able to go through the entire process peacefully and smoothly.

    After hearing Zhang Lexuan¡¯s words, many female students began to question themselves. Am I able to upy a ce in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart? Even though standing firm on their decision would grant them an opportunity to be with him, it was apparent that the chances were extremely slim. In fact, they had noticed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was fairly emotionless, and he had not even focused his eyes on any of them so far.

    It was only during the time he had lifted up Tang Wutong¡¯s bamboo hat that he had revealed a shocked expression. But even then, he had regained hisposure very quickly. In fact, the way he left Tang Wutong behind looked as though he was trying to escape from her¡­

    Most of the young women felt that they could not hold a candle to Tang Wutong. If Wutong could not attract Huo Yuhao, they were definitely not confident in their looks or ability. An overly outstanding guy could very easily make ady insecure. All of the female students in the inner courtyard were not dumb, and while they hesitated over their decision initially, they made up their minds very quickly.

    Three minutes passed very quickly, and Han Ruoruo spoke. ¡°Time¡¯s up! Now we will begin with Destined in Three Lives. Because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s special circumstances, we will first begin by determining how many of you are willing to select him as your preferred male student. Afterwards, we will begin with the self-introductions. Now, I will extinguish all of themps, and when I say begin, please light yourmps if you want to choose Huo Yuhao as your preferred partner.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡±came a voice from the crowd. The person who spoke was none other than Tang Wutong.

    Han Ruoruo said, ¡°Wutong, is there a problem?¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded, and glided forward on her lilypad. She left the area illuminated by the beam of light before turning around to face the fifteen otherdies.

    ¡°Sisters, I have a request to make. I¡¯m only here today for one person. And thus, I hope all of you can give me this chance. Can all of you do me this favor?¡±

    Her words might have appeared to be a little ambiguous, but it was in for everyone to see what she meant. Even though she spoke slowly, most of thedies could sense the anxiety and desperation in her words.

    Zhang Lexuan frowned and spoke, ¡°Wutong, it¡¯s not right for you to pressure others to give up on Huo Yuhao. It¡¯s not fair to the rest of them.¡±

    Tang Wutong took a deep breath before replying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Eldest Senior Sister! But, I¡­ I¡­¡± She suddenly stopped speaking as her emotions became increasingly muddled.

    And to everyone¡¯s surprise, she bowed before all of the other female students and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I was too anxious¡­ Let¡¯s treat it as though I didn¡¯t say anything. Let¡¯s continue with the proceedings.¡± Following which, she controlled her lilypad and glided back to her previous position. Her head was now lowered as her eyebrows were locked into a deep frown. No one was sure what was on her mind, but they could all tell that she seemed to be in some sort of pain.

    After observing how she had acted, Huo Yuhao was simrly shocked. What¡¯s going on? It can¡¯t be because of me, right¡­? Wutong, you better not be like Qiu¡¯er¡­ My heart belongs to someone already¡­

    Zhang Lexuan spoke sternly, ¡°I want to remind all of you to not act in the same way as Tang Wutong did. Whoever messes up the proceedings of the Fated Blind Date will be kicked out. Let¡¯s ignore what she said and continue with the proceedings. Can we now extinguish the lights from themps?¡±

    The sixteen beams of light vanished, and all sixteen female students were enshrouded in darkness.

    ¡°We now invite our female students to make their decisions. For those who are willing to introduce yourselves and disy your abilities to Huo Yuhao, you may now light yourmp!¡± Han Ruoruo announced authoritatively.

    The first golden light appeared from Tang Wutong.

    A cold feeling gripped Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Wutong, why¡­?

    Following that, three othermps lit up. Two of themps belonged to two women who up until now had not lifted their bamboo hats. Thest light belonged to an extremely beautiful female student. Even though she paled a little inparison to Tang Wutong, she was still undeniably very attractive.

    It was clear that thedies who ended up choosing Huo Yuhao possessed immense courage, and the confidence to challenge their mainpetitor: Tang Wutong!

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and spoke, ¡°It seems like we have four Fairies who have chosen Huo Yuhao. Can I invite all four of you to step forward£¿¡±

    The four lilypads floated forward until they were fifty meters in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Zhang Lexuan announced, ¡°Since Tang Wutong messed up earlier, she will be thest to introduce herself. We shall now invite our female students to take turns and introduce themselves to Huo Yuhao. The order will go like this: Fairy #3, #6, #11, and then finally #8. So without further ado, let us invite Sea God¡¯s Fairy #3 to begin her introduction. Fairy #3, you have yet to remove your bamboo hat. Would you like to remove it now?¡±

    ¡°I would like to remove it now.¡± The voice of Fairy #3 was bright and loud. She lifted her hand and removed her bamboo hat.

    This young woman¡¯s figure was very bnced, and exuded a very feminine kind of attractiveness. Her face only had a thinyer of makeup, and her big eyes were very attractive. Her short hair coupled with her brows gave her the look of a very beautiful heroine.

    Zhang Lexuan announced, ¡°You may now begin your introduction!¡±

 Chapter 508.2 - A Blind Date Alone?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 508.2: A Blind Date Alone?</h4>

    Fairy #3 nodded and spoke. ¡°Hello Huo Yuhao! I am Bai Se, but everyone calls me Xiao Bai. As of now, I¡¯m a six-ringed Soul Emperor, which is a long way from you. To be honest, even before I entered the inner courtyard, I had already heard about your achievements in the Academy. Even though I entered the inner courtyard two years before you, you overtook me with so much ease. If I were to be very frank, I would say my feelings are borne out of curiosity rather than mere attraction. I have always revered strong soul masters and hence, whoever wants to take me as their partner must first defeat me. Even if you don¡¯t choose me, I would challenge you to a duel in theter segment. That¡¯s all I have to say. It¡¯s up to you to choose me or not!¡±

    This self-introduction was truly badass¡­ She didn¡¯t waste any time with flowery words, andid her credentials and thoughts bare. She was a true badass heroine!

    Huo Yuhao nodded politely as he remained silent.

    Zhang Lexuan was resigned as she shook her head.Xiao Bai¡­ You¡¯re still as blunt as ever¡­ It seems like it will be rather difficult for you to find a husband in the future¡­ You¡¯re no different from a man¡­

    ¡°Alright. Now let us wee Fairy #6!¡±

    Fairy #6 was a gentle-lookingdy who had not been wearing a bamboo hat. She stepped forward before gently bowing before Huo Yuhao. She spoke softly, ¡°Hello Senior Huo, my name is Mu Yue. Simr to Xiao Bai, I heard about your incredible stories some time ago. Because I just entered the inner courtyard this year, my abilities are probably not worth mentioning. I just want you to know that I really admire you a lot. Your stories have been my source of motivation, to challenge myself and be better. Even though today is my first time meeting you in person, you have already left an indelible mark in my mind.¡±

    Her introduction was even shorter than Xiao Bai¡¯s, and she did not mention much about herself. But her self-introduction showed a lot more affection than Xiao Bai¡¯s. Furthermore, Mu Yue had an enormous advantage in her voice. The way she talked was very gentle and melodic. Even Huo Yuhao was surprised at how perfect her voice was.

    Simr to how he reacted to Xiao Bai¡¯s introduction, Huo Yuhao nodded silently.

    ¡°Now let us wee Fairy #11.¡± Zhang Lexuan announced. ¡°You can also choose whether you want to remove your bamboo hat for Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, eldest senior sister. As of now, I don¡¯t want to remove my bamboo hat. I hope that Huo Yuhao can take it off for me.¡± A calm and clear voice rang out from underneath the bamboo hat. Even though her voice was almost a monotone, one could sense the emotions brimming in her choice of words.

    ¡°Hi Huo Yuhao, my name is Su Tong. I¡¯m a seven-ringed Soul Sage, and my martial soul is the Icesky Snow Lady.¡± Her introduction was even shorter than the twodies before her. However, herst line was enough to catch Huo Yuhao¡¯s attention.Icesky Snow Lady?!Unless¡­ Su Tong also possesses Ultimate Ice?

    From what Huo Yuhao knew, even in the Extreme North, the Snow Empress was the only Icesky Snow Lady around. There was no other known Icesky Snow Ladies. No one had expected to find someone with the Icesky Snow Lady martial soul among humans.

    Huo Yuhao was not the only one shocked by Su Tong¡¯s words. Even Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, and some of the higher-ups from Shrek Academy were taken aback by her words.

    Elder Xuan turned around and asked Yan Shaozhe, ¡°Shaozhe, what¡¯s going on? When did we have a student with an Icesky Snow Lady martial soul in our inner courtyard? Why was I not informed of this?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe gave an awkwardugh. ¡°Elder Xuan, even I was not aware of this. Su Tong was only admitted into the Academy recently. When she just entered, she told us her Martial Soul was a Snow Spirit, a powerful Ice element Martial Soul. She never told us her Martial Soul was actually an Icesky Snow Lady, and we never detected her Ultimate Ice ability. It seems like she must have purposely concealed her abilities¡­ None of us expected her to do so.¡±

    Elder Xuan paused before saying, ¡°How old is Su Tong this year?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe replied, ¡°She¡¯s twenty¡ªquite a bit older than Huo Yuhao. However, she possesses an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. It is notoriously hard for a twenty-year-old to train one¡¯s Ultimate Ice to the Soul Sage level. Her future must be unbelievably bright.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see. Who knows? Yuhao might be able to uncover more unknown things about her.¡±

    Bai Se, Mu Yue, and Su Tong were all attractive candidates in their own ways.

    Bai Se exuded the vibes of an energetic and driven heroine. Mu Yue was unbelievably gentle, while Su Tong, like Huo Yuhao, possessed Ultimate Ice, and was enshrouded in an air of mystery.

    But even then, they were unable to overshadow Tang Wutong.

    Zhang Lexuan looked at Tang Wutong and announced, ¡°Fairy #8, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    While the threedies were giving their self-introductions, Tang Wutong was just standing there silently, asionally frowning and stealing nces at Huo Yuhao. She had a confused look on her face as a tinge of mncholy crept across it. Her anxious breathing could not hide the uneasy feelings in her heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m Tang Wutong.¡± And that was all she said.

    There seemed to be some sort of strange pattern in the way thedies introduced themselves. Their introductions simply got shorter.

    Zhang Lexuan frowned at Tang Wutong before announcing, ¡°Now that we are done with the self-introductions, we can move onto thest segment, Eternal Love! Yuhao, it is now your turn to choose one of thesedies. After you have made your decision, you may leave with her. However, if someone opposes you and challenges you to a duel, you must win in order to leave with thedy whom you have selected. Failure to win means that you have to return home empty-handed. Of course, you may choose from the Fairies who did not select you. If you choose any of them, they have the right to challenge you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. He already knew Zhang Lexuan had simplified the instructions given for the Eternal Love segment. After all, it was not his first time attending the Fated Blind Date, and he could still remember arge part of the rules.

    Just when he was about to announce his decision ¡ª that he did not want to choose any of them ¡ª and leave, Zhang Lexuan continued, ¡°Because we have four Fairies who have chosen you, they will now take turns to give you a one-minute confession. We will adhere to the same sequence as before. Bai Se, you may begin.¡±

    Bai Se stared at Huo Yuhao as she glided forward on her lilypad. ¡°Senior Huo, today is our first time meeting each other in person. To be honest, I only admire strong people, and that is why I chose you. But I must admit that we probably do not hold any romantic feelings for one another. Hence, even if you were to choose someone else, I won¡¯t feel too upset about it. Even if you choose me, I will still find a chance to spar with you. To summarize what I have just said, rather than be your girlfriend, I¡¯m more inclined to spar with you. If you were to trash me in a battle, who knows? I might just fall in love with you.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao was just going through the motions, he was still very much amused by Bai Se¡¯s words. In fact, her confession could be summed up as the following:You can make whatever decision you want, but I must fight you!

    She was a true badass¡­ Whoever married her in the future would most definitely have an enjoyable marriage¡­ She was definitely one in a million!

    Han Ruoruo announced, ¡°Mu Yue, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Mu Yue followed Bai Se as she maneuvered her way in front of Huo Yuhao. She took a short pause before confessing, ¡°Senior Huo, in my eyes, admiration and reverence is the precursor for love. Before I met you in person, I had heard so much about you. I know I don¡¯t have much of an advantage before my outstanding senior sisters, but I still will stand forward to confess. This might just be the bravest thing I have done in the past ten years. I won¡¯t regret my decision, because I really like you. Even if you don¡¯t choose me, you will always be a hero in my heart, forever and always.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded politely in her direction to acknowledge her feelings.Her eyes and voice are too gentle¡­If he didn¡¯t already have someone whom he loved, he might have wavered under such circumstances.

    ¡°Su Tong, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Su Tong did not glide forward on her lilypad; instead, she stood where she was and kept her bamboo hat on her head. The same calm and border-line monotone voice came forth again. ¡°I know both of us possess Ultimate Ice. That¡¯s why I¡¯m curious to find out how different we are in terms of our power. You might be the brightest star from Shrek Academy, but I¡¯m also very confident in my abilities. If you can use your powers to take the bamboo hat off my head, I will leave with you.¡±

    If they were to categorize Bai Se as badass and Mu Yue as gentle, Su Tong would undeniably be haughty. Her haughtiness exuded from her words, and made many of the spectators rather ufortable.

    Huo Yuhao remained calm as he nodded politely, just as before. However, he had already shifted his attention to Tang Wutong.

    Even though he knew very well that Tang Wutong was not Wang Dong¡¯er, he could not resist looking at her beautiful face.

    ¡°Tang Wutong, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Zhang Lexuan announced.

    Tang Wutong nodded as she looked up and stared right into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. The lilypad beneath her did not move, but it began to give off a golden radiance.

    ¡°Yuhao, we have not known each other for long. But during our first encounter, you mistook me for Wang Dong¡¯er, and hugged me. I was very angry back then, and really wanted to kill you. Afterwards, we had a couple more interactions, and I started to look beyond the initial hatred I had for you. I began to see some of your qualities: your calm, your quick thinking, and more. Whenever your group faced any form of danger, you were always the one rushing to the front and protecting your peers, sometimes at the expense of your own safety. It was during that time that I found my hatred towards you slowly disappearing¡­¡±

    Compared to her self-introduction, Tang Wutong¡¯s confession seemed more like a slow recitation of her memories with Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was a bit taken aback by her words. He could still remember how happy he was when he had first ¡°met¡± Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Afterwards, when we were all by the river, you grilled fish for all of us. After our feast, Nannan came over to tell me how you actually only wanted to grill fish for me. That was the most delicious meal I had ever had. What surprised me most was how eating the fish that you grilled for me gave me an indescribable feeling. At that moment, I felt lost. I don¡¯t know how to describe that feeling, but I just felt like I really admired you. It was an admiration, or rather, a sense of attraction that came from the bottom of my heart. Even though I could not put my feelings into words back then, I felt really really happy. Otherwise, I would not have allowed you to inject your soul power into me back then at the military camp. You should know very well what that means to a soul master.¡±

 Chapter 508.3 - A Blind Date Alone?

    Chapter 508.3: A Blind Date Alone?

    Every soul master¡¯s way of cultivation, especially their cirction path, was their biggest secret. Even though Huo Yuhao might not have been able to find out much about Tang Wutong¡¯s cirction path, being given permission to inject his soul power into her was already an immense hint as to how she felt about him.

    After hearing what Tang Wutong said, Huo Yuhao revealed an expression of regret. He really regretted attempting to verify Tang Wutong¡¯s identity. If he had not tried to do so, he could still live happily in the illusion that she was actually Wang Dong¡¯er¡­ even if ¡°Wang Dong¡¯er¡± refused to be with him. But his attempt to verify her identitypletely destroyed the illusion, and left Huo Yuhao with no hope. Hepletely gave up on Tang Wutong after realizing that she was not Wang Dong¡¯er.

    As Tang Wutong paused, Zhang Lexuan interjected, ¡°Tang Wutong, are you done with your confession?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head fervently and rified, ¡°Not yet. Let me finish what I have to say.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan frowned, ¡°Then you¡¯d better hurry. If you take up too much time, it would be unfair to the others.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Tang Wutong replied, before hastily shifting her gaze back to Huo Yuhao. ¡°I¡¯m running out of time, but there¡¯s so much I want to say to you. Yuhao, I am standing before you today just like I did back then, when you chose me even before you saw my appearance. Can you take me with you today? I have so much to say to you!¡±

    He stared calmly at Tang Wutong, but his heart was wrenching with pain. Tang Wutong¡­ Why must you bring up such things¡­? You are not Dong¡¯er, and never will be! Even though you may look like her, you are ultimately not her¡­ How can I take you with me£¿

    Zhang Lexuan announced, ¡°Alright! Now that everyone is done, it¡¯s now Yuhao¡¯s turn to make his decision. Yuhao, the time is now yours.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo before turning his attention to the fourdies before him. He sighed and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m deeply grateful for the attention and affection which all of you have showered upon me. But to be very honest, I didn¡¯t intend toe today. I already have a certaindy in my heart¡­ a girl who I met at my previous Fated Blind Date. We met each other back then and got together. However, something peculiar happened to her, and she has disappeared. Even now, I¡¯m unable to find her.

    ¡°However, this doesn¡¯t change the fact that my heart can only contain her and no one else. Until the end of my life, I can only love her and her only. The only reason why I attended this Blind Date is because all single students of the inner courtyard must attend. Because of this, I¡¯m terribly sorry for what I have put all of you through. Bai Se and Su Tong, feel free to look for me for a duel whenever either of you wish. I¡¯m open to such challenges.¡±

    With that, he turned around to look at Zhang Lexuan before saying, ¡°Eldest senior sister, let¡¯s call it a day. I will take my leave now and not interfere with the other students¡¯ blind date.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Huo Yuhao nodded at Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo and turned to leave.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± At this very moment, three voices simultaneously demanded that he stop.

    Huo Yuhao turned around, and realized that the three voices belonged to Bai Se, Su Tong, and Tang Wutong.

    Bai Se spoke anxiously, ¡°You can¡¯t leave like this. Do you know how hard it is to bump into you in person? If I were to miss this opportunity to spar with you today, I¡¯m not sure how long I would have to wait before I got to see you in person again. Let¡¯s just spar today!¡±

    Su Tong gave him a cold sneer. ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if you didn¡¯t choose us, you should at the very least spar with us before leaving. I want to prove to everyone present that I am stronger than you.¡±

    After both of them rified their reasons, it was Tang Wutong¡¯s turn to speak, but she merely bit her lip and kept quiet. No one knew what was on her mind. But slowly, she looked back up at Huo Yuhao with a determined stare.

    Huo Yuhao frowned as memories of Wang Dong¡¯er were awakened by this Fated Blind Date. Burdened by the heartache from those memories, all Huo Yuhao wanted to do was leave this Blind Date and find a quiet corner to hide. However, thesedies were overbearing, and they were getting on his nerves.

    ¡°Okay. Since both of you are so interested in challenging me, why don¡¯t I perform two moves, and both of you try to replicate them? If either of you can replicate them, I will willingly concede defeat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was not particrly loud, but everyone present, regardless of whether they were above theke or all the way at thekeside, could hear him clearly.

    At that very instant, the students from the outer courtyard stood up in unison in excitement. They were about to witness Huo Yuhao ¡ª the owner of the Eyes of the Asura, the Academy¡¯s youngest ever member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, and the inventor of Spirits ¡ª perform before their very eyes!

    Was he really going to demonstrate his abilities in front of everyone? Oh, what a sight that would be! The students from the Outer Courtyard had long wanted to see Spirits ¡ª an important lesson module within Shrek Academy which had been made famous by word of mouth ¡ª with their own eyes.

    Nothing could beat watching the inventor use what he had invented, right? Everyone had huge expectations for the uing disy from Huo Yuhao.

    Just when everyone was hyped up for what they were about to see, Huo Yuhao took a step forward and left the lilypad beneath him. As he stood calmly above the surface of theke, a thick circle of ice with a diameter of roughly two meters formed beneath his feet and took his weight.

    Huo Yuhao nodded politely towards Bai Se before gazing up at the sky. At that very instant, his eyes appeared to lose focus, as though his attention had drifted off and away into the skies. However, this onlysted for a short while before a massive change followed. An incredibly strong sense of nostalgia rippled out into the surroundings from him. His emotions appeared to be pouring out of his gaze.

    He took a step forward off the ice into the empty space before him. Huo Yuhao levitated above theke as his soul rings started to rise from his feet.

    Every soul ring¡¯s color was pristine and free from any form of adulteration. The white, ck, gold and red rings were all equally impressive as all seven rings shone brilliantly with their individual colors. The energying off of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was way beyond what any normal seven-ringed Soul Sage could produce.

    The outer courtyard students by theke were not able to differentiate it, but the inner courtyard students, who were a lot nearer, were all stupefied.

    Even though he only had seven soul rings, Huo Yuhao seemed to be giving off the energy levels of an eight-ringed Soul Sage! Unless¡­he has already be an eight-ringed Soul Sage? But if that is the case, why would he only have seven rings?

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would not give away the answer. Before anyone knew it, he suddenly struck a fist up towards the sky.

    At that very instant, his whole body turned golden. In fact, the soul rings surrounding him all turned golden as well. The intent from his punch left a deep impression in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Everyone present could feel a powerful feeling of nostalgia surging from the depths of their hearts. Images of the ones they missed the most formed in everyone¡¯s minds simultaneously.

    Some missed their mothers, while others missed their fathers. But what wasmon between those mental images was the love they all had for the ones whom they missed the most.

    The power of that fist¡¯s intent was so strong that even the Titled Douluo on the ship were affected by the yearning for one¡¯s loved one. At that very instant, everyone, including Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, and the other powerful Douluo, had their emotions affected to different extents by Huo Yuhao¡¯s move.

    Immediately following this moving performance, a powerful golden glow exploded into the air as his golden fist transformed into a pir of golden radiance shooting straight up into the heavens, illuminating the entirety of the Sea God¡¯s Lake, and the whole of the Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    At that very instant, all of Shrek Academy was painted in gold.

    Bai Se, who was standing just opposite Huo Yuhao, waspletely stunned by what she had just seen. How was she going to replicate such a powerful move executed by the guy who was floating in mid-air before her? The move Huo Yuhao had performed contained a scary amount of spiritual intent, and Bai Se was certain that she would be severely injured or even killed if such a blownded on her. She knew very well that even if she were currently at the Soul Sage level, instead of her current Soul Emperor level, she would not have been able to take the blow! Why is the intensity of the soul power fluctuations radiating from his body beyond that of an ordinary Soul Sage? Is¡­Is he still human?

    At this very instant, Bai Se realized Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure was indelibly imprinted in her mind. His magnificent golden figure was now an immovable image in the depths of her heart.

    As the golden color in the sky gradually faded away, the students from Shrek Academy slowly collected themselves after witnessing Huo Yuhao¡¯s move. However, just when they thought they had recovered from the shock, they were met with another unbelievable sight.

    Yes, it appeared that something in the sky had once again surprised them. There was another person. Someonepletely golden.

    This person¡¯s silhouette was incredibly beautiful. Her long dress weighed down perfectly, her long hair covered her back gracefully, while her beauty glowed in a gentle yet alluring way. She appeared to be looking into the distance, as though she were waiting or yearning for someone.

    The students from the outer courtyard could not see it clearly, but those from the inner courtyard who were participating in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date were shocked, because the levitating person looked exactly like Tang Wutong!

    Only those who had seen Wang Dong¡¯er before knew that that person was not Tang Wutong. Wang Dong¡¯er, the former Goddess of Light, used to have wavy hair, but the person levitating in the air had straight hair. But yes, that person was none other than Wang Dong¡¯er¡­ the person who had stolen away Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart.

    This scene was utterly breathtaking: Wang Dong¡¯er was gazing down at Huo Yuhao from high up in the air, while Huo Yuhao returned her stare lovingly from a lower altitude. The entire Sea God¡¯s Lake was theirs, and everyone else present was invisible.

    No one wanted to let out a scream of excitement or exhration anymore. While they were all shocked beyond belief, they did not want to spoil the beautiful scene, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s ¡°reunion¡±, taking ce before their eyes.

 Chapter 509.1 - Fusion! Shes Back!

    Chapter 509.1: Fusion! She¡¯s Back!

    Tang Wutong was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao not far from her. Right now, for some reason, she felt that the distance between him and her was so far that it was unbridgeable.

    Tang Wutong took in a deep breath and tried to get rid of that feeling. However, everything was in vain. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to forget the look in his eyes as he gazed at Wang Dong¡¯er. She was now immersed in Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s world.

    Finally, the golden projection in the sky slowly dimmed down as Huo Yuhao looked on reluctantly. The night sky became quiet once again, and all of Shrek Academy seemed to quiet down with it.

    Is this even humanly possible? How did he do this?, were the questions in every student¡¯s mind.

    Only the more experienced inner courtyard students and teachers could roughly guess that it was the most advanced self-invented soul skill of a soul master. Only the most outstanding soul masters could do something like this. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s self-invented soul skill fused his martial soul, soul power, and spiritual power. It even contained his emotions, his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er!

    It was the Fist of Remembrance, a fist containing a surging feeling of remembrance!

    The yearning in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes was slowly withdrawn. What reced it was a deep look. He looked at Bai Se again and nodded to her, ¡°Do you still want to challenge me now?¡±

    Bai Seughed bitterly and shook her head. She replied, ¡°Although I knew that the gap between you and me was huge, I didn¡¯t expect it to be that huge. I¡¯ve already lost my courage to challenge you. I¡¯ll consider it again when I have the courage.¡±

    As she finished speaking, she paused for a moment and took a serious look at Huo Yuhao before saying, ¡°However, senior, did you know? After you demonstrated this move, I¡¯ve be even more curious about you. I¡¯ve even developed an admiration for you. To me, admiration should be the precondition for love. I won¡¯t give up easily, I¡¯ll work harder to understand you. I heard that you¡¯re from the Tang Sect. After I graduate, I want to join the Tang Sect!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°The Tang Sect wees you, and I ept your challenge anytime.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bai Se answered. After this, she turned to Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo and said with a high-pitched voice, ¡°Seniors, I¡¯ve already decided to pull out of this Fated Blind Date. After seeing what Senior Yuhao has demonstrated, I¡¯m only keen on cultivating further. I¡¯ll make a move first.¡± After she finished speaking, she jumped away and proceeded towards the shore.

    After watching her leave, Zhang Lexuan revealed a frustrated look on her face. She thought to herself, Yuhao is too charismatic. He can ¡®infect¡¯ anyone everywhere he goes!

    Huo Yuhao had already turned his attention to number eleven, Su Tong. Su Tong still had her bamboo hat and veil over her head, the veil still covering her face. At least on the surface, no one could tell what her feelings were.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s seven soul rings slowly winked out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to demonstrate your abilities to me ,too? What I want to see are not your self-invented soul skills.¡± Su Tong said to Huo Yuhao in a high-pitched voice. However, if she could hear her voice right now, she would definitely be stunned to discover that shecked some of the self-confidence she normally possessed.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll satisfy you, then.¡±

    Soul rings started to rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body again. However, everyone was shocked to find out that the soul rings that re-emerged weren¡¯t the same color as they were before. They were different now!

    Of the seven soul rings that rose earlier, the first one was white. This time, the first soul ring to rise was red, blood-red! It was as red as Shrek Academy¡¯s uniform, even deeper and darker! It was a red that represented strength!

    ¡°Hundred-thousand-year soul ring!¡± many people eximed in astonishment.

    What followed were the rest of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings. They left everyone inplete shock.

    There were seven more soul rings after the first one, four orange and three red ones. In total, there were eight soul rings. Half were orange, and half were red.

    A red soul ring was a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. This was basic knowledge that every soul master knew. But what did orange represent? The students from Shrek Academy, whether they were from the inner or outer courtyards, had never heard of orange soul rings before. They didn¡¯t even know what an orange soul ring represented. Everyone was bbergasted. They looked at Huo Yuhao like he was a freak.

    Huo Yuhao gradually lit up with a jade-green glow. All eight soul rings were quietly drifting around him. The clear water of the Sea God¡¯s Lake started to crystallize at an rming speed.

    Very soon, a tough icyyer spread all the way beneath the feet of both the male and female students on Sea God¡¯s Lake. As the surface beneath them hardened, they were able to rx in controlling their soul power. The speed of the crystallization was even increasing. In just a matter of seconds, the entire Sea God¡¯s Lake rippled with ayer of icy fog.

    Yes, Sea God¡¯s Lake had frozen up. The entirety of Sea God¡¯s Lake was covered with ice.

    The temperature in the air dipped significantly in just a short period of time. Everyone could sense the intense chill. However, the outer courtyard students could still handle the chill, as the chill only came from the surface of theke.

    Without even using a soul skill or performing any visible action, Huo Yuhao managed to freeze the entire Sea God¡¯s Lake. Although Sea God¡¯s Lake wasn¡¯t a trueke, it was still expansive. How easy was it to freeze the whole thing?

    Moreover, Huo Yuhao had unleashed eight soul rings, and the color of every soul ring was astonishing.

    The students of Shrek had all heard that he had twin martial souls. However, it was their first time seeing twin martial souls with their own eyes.

    He had two martial souls. One was seven-ringed, and the other was eight-ringed. He was a Soul Douluo, a Soul Douluo who was barely twenty years old!

    If Huo Yuhao was only a myth in the Academy in the past, he was now transforming ording to the myth right now.

    ¡ª

    Even Elder Xuan was astonished. ¡°Since when did this fellow have eight soul rings? They¡¯re even hundred-thousand-year soul rings!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe took this opportunity to say, ¡°Elder Xuan, now do you believe that he doesn¡¯t have to wait until the future to rece me, right? He can just directly take over from you.¡±

    ¡ª

    Huo Yuhao calmly said to Su Tong, who was standing where she was without saying anything or moving an inch, ¡°If you can turn theke back into water, you win. You should know that ice-type controllers like us take control of temperature first. I¡¯m not taking advantage of you in any way.¡±

    Su Tong nodded silently. However, she didn¡¯t say anything before suddenly jumping up and heading. Everyone around knew that she couldn¡¯t undo what Huo Yuhao had managed to do so easily.

    Huo Yuhao turned to Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo and said, ¡°Seniors, let¡¯s leave theke frozen. It will melt slowly on its own. It¡¯ll also make things easier for the other students of this Fated Blind Date. Apologies for taking everyone¡¯s time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded at the male and female students to acknowledge them. I should be able to leave now. The Academy invited me over because they wanted me to demonstrate my abilities and inspire everyone to cultivate. I¡¯ve helped them achieve their goal.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    Huo Yuhao appeared slightly dissatisfied as he was halted once again. He wasn¡¯t in a good mood right now. He was starting to be a little angry as he was stopped over and over again. However, his anger dissipated when he saw the person who had halted him.

    There was no moreplicated look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes now. Her determined gaze was shing with golden light. Even though she wasn¡¯t Wang Dong¡¯er, she still looked very simr to her. No matter what, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t bring himself to be angry with her.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already demonstrated your abilities to them. What about me?¡± Tang Wutong said calmly.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°Tang Wutong, are you challenging me?¡±

    ¡°Why not, since the rules allow it?¡± Tang Wutong replied calmly.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to fight you. I¡¯m not in the mood, either. You should know that I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°What if I insist?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed, and he said coldly, ¡°How do you want to fight, then?¡±

    Tang Wutong revealed a smile. It seemed rather weird. It appeared to be a teasing smile, but very ufortable, too. When the two expressions came together, it indeed made her smile appear a little odd.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he saw her smile. For some reason, he felt something was about to happen.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t want to fight you either. Although I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll lose to you, you taught me that day that I shouldn¡¯t bite the hand that fed me.¡±

    ¡°What do you want, then?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°Do you still remember our time in the Star Luo Empire? Back then, you used your soul power to check my power before you left. I agreed to your request back then. Right now, I want to do the same to you. I want to try what you did. Is that considered fair? I¡¯ve already let you check me. If you want to leave, you can do so.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Tang Wutong to make such a request. He was a little confused, as he couldn¡¯t figure out what her goal was.

    ¡°Why, are you scared?¡± Tang Wutong looked a little provocative as she stared at him.

 Chapter 509.2 - Fusion! Shes Back!

    Chapter 509.2: Fusion! She¡¯s Back!

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. However, I just want to know what you¡¯re checking for. What are you trying to feel in me?¡± He was clearly unconvinced that Tang Wutong only wanted to sense his soul power.

    Tang Wutong pursed her lips and answered, ¡°Did you tell me the reason when you did this to me before? You only patronized me with a few words.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Do it then.¡± Huo Yuhao only wanted to leave now. Furthermore, he was also confident that Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t harm him.

    The surface of theke was already frozen solid. Tang Wutong directly walked off of her lotus leaf towards Huo Yuhao.

    Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo didn¡¯t stop her. Everyone was watching quietly. Huo Yuhao was also unaware what Tang Wutong was going to do, much less the rest of the people.

    The distance between them closed quickly, Tang Wutong stopped in front of Huo Yuhao. She nodded at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t answer, and only quietly spread his arms. It actually looked like he was about to catch her.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s face turned red. After hesitating slightly, she lifted her hands and ced them on his.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s hands were soft and delicate. One could be aroused even touching her tender palms. Huo Yuhao was startled, and tried to force himself to detach Wang Dong¡¯er from his thoughts. However, he realized that he couldn¡¯t do so.

    Tang Wutong and Wang Dong¡¯er were simply too alike. Even if they were different people, it was almost impossible to not link them together.

    It wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time sensing her soul power, and she gradually poured her soul power into his hands.

    Precisely because he had experienced it before, he knew that Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power was extraordinary. Although it wasn¡¯t like his Ultimate martial soul, Huo Yuhao felt that her soul power was even stronger than his Ultimate Ice soul power. Her soul power contained something that wasn¡¯t in his soul power, something that seemed extraordinary and seemed to have been enhanced.

    As for what it was, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t say in detail. However, he was certain that it existed.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist at all. He allowed Tang Wutong to freely pour her soul power into him and touch his soul power.

    As his cultivation increased, the quality of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was not that far from Tang Wutong¡¯s, especially after he absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, even though there were still some qualitative differences.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly saw Tang Wutong smiling. He was a little stunned when he looked at her, as he didn¡¯t know why she was smiling.

    It was at this time that a pair of huge golden wings appeared behind Tang Wutong. Soul rings also started to surface from her feet.

    ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, ck, red, and red.

    There were actually eight soul rings. They were even fullyplementary. There were six ten-thousand-year soul rings and two hundred-thousand-year soul rings.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished at this moment. He also didn¡¯t know that Tang Wutong was actually a Soul Douluo. She actually has eight rings already. She went into closed-door cultivation earlier so that she could obtain eight rings?

    However, even if she has eight rings and wants to demonstrate her abilities to me, what¡¯s the point of doing so?

    There were dense scaly patterns on her wings, which were dragon wings. Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul was the powerful Radiant Dragon God¡¯s Butterfly. Although they were dragon wings, they were still shaped like butterfly wings.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was confused about what Tang Wutong was doing, her forehead suddenly lit up. A golden trident was exuding a strong glow.

    Huo Yuhao felt instantly felt dizzy when he saw the glow from the golden trident. However, there was a weird sense of closeness, as well.

    An astonishing scene appeared. Tang Wutong¡¯s wings fluttered gently, and streaks of golden light started to spread out like fog. As these streaks of light quickly spread, they actually surged towards the trident on her forehead, and were quickly absorbed by the golden trident.

    This was¡­

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he looked at Tang Wutong. He was the closest to her, and her soul power was inside him, and he could feel it most acutely. However, he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    It wasn¡¯t just Tang Wutong¡¯s wings that had experienced changes. Even the soul power that was pouring into his body was experiencing changes. Some of the changes were more obvious: the something in her soul power that Huo Yuhao had sensed earlier was rapidly weakening, whereas that familiar and close feeling he had sensed was bing stronger and stronger. The intense discrimination of his soul power was also gradually disappearing.

    Her soul power and martial soul are actually changing? Is this even possible? Don¡¯t tell me that this is her self-invented soul skill?

    Huo Yuhao was a genius, and believed that he had a deep understanding of soul masters, since he was the person who had invented Spirits. Moreover, there were also the Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Skydream Iceworm within him. Much of their knowledge had been imparted to him.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t get a reply when he tried to call to them. All of them, including the Ice Bear King and the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, were asleep. They didn¡¯t respond at all.

    Slowly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes opened wider and wider. Tang Wutong¡¯s wings were gradually changing¡­

    First, her scales became illusory, as if they had been absorbed by the wings. The dragon scales gradually disappeared. The original golden glow also slowly dimmed. The edges of the wings started to turn a dim blue. Furthermore, that color was slowly intensifying.

    ¡°This, this¡­¡±

    The soul power that Tang Wutong poured into him slowly started to change. It was bing more and moreplementary to his soul power, and even started to entangle itself with it. After this, it even¡­

    Slowly! Gradually! Fused!

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze right now. Fuse? It actually fused? Even though the speed of fusion is slow, it¡¯s still fusing! It¡¯s slow, but continuous!

    It¡¯s as if¡­ it¡¯s like it was before¡­

    Haodong Power!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was shaking. He had only patronizingly raised his hands, but now he subconsciously tightened his grip on hers. The way he looked at her also started to change.

    The draw from Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead was bing stronger and stronger as golden light fused with the golden trident. The wings behind her back and the scales on her wings hadpletely disappeared, and were quickly turning blue. There was now a V-shaped golden pattern covering the blue of her wings.

    It was no longer the Radiant Dragon God¡¯s Butterfly. It was¡­the Radiant Butterfly Goddess!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart waspletely gripped right now. At this moment, the pain in his heart hadpletely disappeared. What reced it was only a strong sense of suffocation.

    It was his first time experiencing what a miraculous recovery was. At this instant, the seemingly pitch-ck night sky had finally brightened up.

    Tang Wutong looked at Huo Yuhao. There seemed to be boundless love and yearning in her captivating eyes. She smiled, and her difort seemed to have disappeared. What was left was only that teasing look. However, there was a crystal-clear tear in her eyes at the same time.

    On the boat, everyone, including Elder Xuan, stood up. They were all stunned. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what was going on, and neither did they. No one could guess what had actually happened to Tang Wutong.

    Finally, thest streak of golden light was absorbed by Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident. What was left was only thebination of blue and gold, thebination that he was most familiar with. Thebination that he had been thinking of all this time.

    ¡°Am, am I in a dream?¡± Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he looked at Tang Wutong. His voice was trembling madly. It was trembling so much that it didn¡¯t even seem like he was talking.

    ¡°Idiot,¡± Tang Wutong snorted.

    Idiot? What a familiar word! Huo Yuhao only felt a stinging feeling in his eyes, and tears flowed out uncontrobly.

    At this moment, there wasn¡¯t any derogatory connotation to this call. It made him feel as if the entire world was blissful.

    All the negative emotions in his heart seemed to have been split apart and swept away at this moment.

    He wanted to say something, but there was something in his throat. He couldn¡¯t say a single word more.

    At this moment, soul power surged from Tang Wutong¡¯s hands. It was very strong, and instantly surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. During this process, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mysterious Heaven Technique was subconsciously fusing with it.

    Yes! This was the Haodong Power that they both possessed!

    Thest time they had fused was on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s battlefield. Back then, Huo Yuhao was not even a Soul Emperor. Now, they were both Soul Douluo!

    The immense soul power raged through Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The soul core on his forehead was stimted, and opened up. His soul power was being enhanced at an rming speed.

    It was unprecedentedly strong. Huo Yuhao only felt that countless whirlpools seemed to have appeared in his fluid soul power. Every whirlpool was crazily absorbing andpressing soul power, making him stronger and stronger.

    He was in control of his soul power. It started to take form as it flowed from his right hand through him, out from his left hand, and entered Tang Wutong.

 Chapter 509.3 - Fusion! Shes Back!

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 509.3: Fusion! She¡¯s Back!</h4>

    Tang Wutong pulled Huo Yuhao with both her hands. She pulled so hard that he took a step forward. She was now in his embrace. Suddenly, both their bodies lit up, and their eight soul rings released a fascinating and unprecedentedly bright glow.

    Huo Yuhao disappeared. A huge vertical eye that was filled with gentleness and love appeared where he was previously.

    Eye of the Asura!

    Tang Wutong also disappeared, and turned into a giant but beautiful Radiant Butterfly Goddess. Her wings closed up and engulfed that vertical eye.

    All the lights retracted instantly. When they shone again, everyone couldn¡¯t help but squint.

    A tri-colored beam made of blue, gold and jade-green light appeared. The vertical eye, which seemed so abstruse, as if it were another dimension on its own, shot out from this beam of light.

    The tri-colored beam of light shot a thousand meters into the sky before turning into a huge beam that seemed to support the entire sky.

    On the shore, Bei Bei was now in tears as he witnessed everything. He muttered to himself, ¡°A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.¡±

    Yes! Wasn¡¯t that tri-colored beam of light Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s fusion skill, A Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence?

    Ten years ago, they had used this powerful fusion skill to earn their reputation in Shrek Academy.

    Ten yearster, this fusion skill revealed its true brilliance. It was more than a hundred times stronger. A sense of awe could be felt everywhere in the air. That beam of golden light seemed to have permanently imprinted itself on the sky.

    The huge vertical eye rose into the sky. Two projections lit up at either side of the vertical eye. On one side, there was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, which was shining with diamond ice crystals and a jade-green glow. The other side waspletely ck. However, there was a weird golden pattern that shed. It was the dense and heavy Clear Sky Hammer.

    The two projections instantly fused into the vertical eye. Suddenly, the vertical eye changed. A jade-green hammer surfaced as distorted lights shone. The hammer struck the sky.

    There weren¡¯t any resounding sounds to be heard. However, the entire Shrek Academy shook slightly. A jade-green halo that spanned more than a hundred meters in diameter appeared in the sky. The inside of this halo was a deep, ck and hollow hole.

    Yes, it had hammered the sky until it cracked!

    Xu Sanshi was grabbing tightly onto Bei Bei¡¯s shoulder. He was muttering word by word, ¡°ze! Amidst! The! Frost! The! Heavenly! Emperor¡¯s! Hammer!

    The sky cracked. The two sides of the hammer revealed different projections once again. One side was the rose-gold Eye of the Asura, while the other side was still the pitch-ck Clear Sky Hammer.

    Both the Eye and the Clear Sky Hammer fused together. The originally jade-green hammer suddenly turned golden. Following this, it disintegrated. Countless small golden hammers shed past within a region covering a thousand meters in diameter. Strong spiritual undtions caused everyone to feel stunned.

    Jiang Nannan sobbed as she threw herself into Xu Sanshi¡¯s arms. He Caitou¡¯s voice trembled as he said, ¡°Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest. She¡¯s back. Dong¡¯er is back!¡±

    Everything soon returned to a peaceful state. The Ice Jade Empress and Radiant Butterfly Goddess silently surfaced. They gazed at each other.

    In the next moment, they performed theirst fusion.

    As they fused, there was only a golden pattern left in the sky. Following this, a captivating leg walked out from the hole. A bright golden figure quietly appeared in the void.

    She was wearing an elegant golden dress. On her forehead, there was a vertical eye with sunray patterns. She was holding a long dragon pike in her left hand. In her right hand, there was golden trident that was filled with dominance, strength and elegance.

    Her wavy pinkish-blue hair drooped behind her back all the way down to her feet. As she appeared, everything around her lost its gloss.

    A gentle icy fog circled her body, and snowkes started to dance in the air.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light!¡±

    Yes, she was back.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were all very emotional at this point.

    They were all good friends with Wang Dong¡¯er! When Wang Dong¡¯er was still in aa, Huo Yuhao was depressed. But how could they not be depressed too? They only avoided mentioning her name in front of Huo Yuhao because they were afraid of triggering his emotions further. However, this didn¡¯t mean that they weren¡¯t sad! It was just like how Huo Yuhao was also very worried about Tang Ya, and risked his life to save her. They were teammates, close friends, sworn friends and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Right now, they were all very emotional when they saw the familiar Golden Road, Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer, Spiritual Tempest and Raiment of Light.

    In fact, they had known that Tang Wutong was here for the Blind Date. Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo also knew, but they didn¡¯t tell Huo Yuhao beforehand. This was because they were afraid of making him feel conflicted. At the same time, they wanted to give him a surprise.

    Right now, they couldn¡¯t contain themselves when they saw what was happening, even though they had already predicted this long ago.

    The Goddess of Light descended from the sky as she was surrounded by icy fog, dim golden light, and the ravishing and holy looks of the Goddess of Light, as well as the Eye of Destiny on her forehead. Even Yan Shaozhe was in awe, even though he was a Transcendent Douluo.

    Everyone could sense how strong the Goddess of Light was. This was the fusion of light and ice, and the best form that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er could adopt together. No, it should be the best form that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could adopt together.

    The Goddess of Light gentlynded on the icy surface. She scanned the entire ce, and a slight smile appeared on her face.

    Initially, Huo Yuhao had controlled three of the four fusion skills that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er shared. Only this Goddess of Light was mainly controlled by Wang Dong¡¯er. At the same time, this fusion skill was the most extreme out of the four fusion skills.

    This was because the Goddess of Light possessed almost all the abilities that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er had. Shebined their powers perfectly.

    The Goddess of Light had appeared once again. Right now, this Goddess of Light was thebination of the eight-ringed Huo Yuhao and eight-ringed Tang Wutong!

    A fusion skill which was abination of the powers of two eight-ringed soul masters should be as strong as the abilities of a Titled Douluo. Currently, they were two of the strongest in the world of soul masters. As for how strong the Goddess of Light was, no one knew as of now.

    The Goddess of Light lifted her head to look at the sky, revealing aplex look in her eyes. Following this, a gentle, golden glow rippled from her body. Everything seemed to turn illusory within this golden glow.

    Two figures separated from the Goddess of Light. Under the golden light, they turned back into Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Four eyes met. Huo Yuhao was already in tears. A tall, big man was now crying like a child. Huo Yuhao had turned his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er into the Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. Right now, his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er had turned into love and tears.

    He hadn¡¯t expected such a surprise today. This surprise enhanced his life and made him long for life. It was everything; it was the courage to carry on living, the will to pursue excellence and the confidence to reach for the godly realm.

    When Wang Dong¡¯er was in aa, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire world had turned grey, but it was now colorful once again.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao hugged her. He hugged her tightly, as if he wanted to make her a part of him. He only felt that his mind and heart were being enhanced right now. His soul power was surging, and their Haodong Power was unleashed the instant he hugged Tang Wutong. His passageways widened, and thick soul power undtions surrounded both him and Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutongy in his embrace. Her arms circled around his waist and back. She gently said, ¡°I¡¯m Tang Wutong, not Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not important. It¡¯s not important right now.¡± Huo Yuhao said agitatedly. He wasn¡¯t willing to let go of her anymore. He had found his love again. This feeling made him feel as if he had earned a new life.

    Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo looked at each other and smiled. The two of them said together, ¡°A union has been made. Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t say anything else right now. His heart was already filled by the person in his arms. He gently touched the icy surface with his toes and shot into the sky. In the next instant, he turned into a beam of golden light that disappeared deep into Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    It was only at this instant that everyone on Sea God¡¯s Lake and the shore of Sea God¡¯s Lake reacted. Although most people didn¡¯t know what had happened, they saw what the result was. They saw that astonishing yet touching scene.

    Suddenly, the atmosphere at the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date was raised to the extreme.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t return to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He hugged Tang Wutong as he flew to the tform that they had fought on together before. This was the quietest ce on the ind right now. They wouldn¡¯t be disturbed.

    Huo Yuhao continued to hug her tightly even as theynded. It was as if he really wanted to fuse her with him.

    It was only now that Huo Yuhao felt that everything that had happened before was unreal. Yes, it was unreal.

    There was nothing more appropriate than the Haodong Power to prove Tang Wutong¡¯s identity. The Haodong Power only belonged to him and her!

    Even though it was much stronger than it was before, its origin was still the same. He was too familiar with this. He was too familiar.

 Chapter 510.1 - You Still Have to Go Through My Father

    <h4 ss>Chapter 510.1: You Still Have to Go Through My Father</h4>

    Tang Wutong leaned into Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms as she quietly felt his passionately burning heartbeat. They shared this embrace, and two slender shadows stretched out under the moonlight.

    Tang Wutong pushed Huo Yuhao away gently after a long while, and stood straight from within his arms.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and stared into her eyes. Tang Wutong felt her heart skip a beat, as his gaze was just too passionate, hot enough to melt steel.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands were still around her waist, and he didn¡¯t rx his grip at all, like she would immediately leave him if he did.

    Tang Wutong said gently, ¡°Give me some time, okay?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°What¡¯s up with you, Dong¡¯er?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head gently. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, I¡¯m Tang Wutong. I¡¯m not Wang Dong¡¯er. Really, I¡¯m Tang Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at her in surprise. He responded confusedly, ¡°Dong¡¯er, didn¡¯t youe here to reunite with me on the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date because you¡¯ve recovered your memory?¡±

    Tang Wutong gently shook her head and said, ¡°More urately put, I have recovered the memory that belonged to Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was even more perplexed. He stared at her in confusion and asked, ¡°What¡¯s happened, exactly, Dong¡¯er?¡±

    Tang Wutong said gently, ¡°Just call me Tang Wutong from now on. That¡¯s my real name. Dong¡¯er is a fake name I used back then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately nodded. Her name was secondary to him; what was most important was Tang Wutong as a person.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes seemed a little a blurry as she smiled bitterly and said, ¡°To be frank, I had to think long and hard about meeting with you on the Sea God¡¯s Lake today, and that¡¯s because I know I¡¯m not entirely ready yet. Listen to me, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes instantly became a little more nervous. Even though he was very excited because of his reunion with Dong¡¯er, he could tell from Tang Wutong¡¯s expression that things didn¡¯t appear that simple. How could he not be nervous?

    Tang Wutong held his hand and pulled him over to a t surface beside them and sat down.

    ¡°Do you remember that day? The Dragon Emperor Douluo forced us into a corner, and you stabbed yourself nine times to save me.¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s voice trembled a little as she spoke. Even though that had happened a long time ago, she could feel her heart and soul quivering when she thought back to what had happened that day.

    ¡°That day, when I watched you plunge that knife into your own body with a in and emotionless look on your face, my entire heart tied itself into a painful knot, and I was hurting so much. Only then did I realize what suffocating heartache felt like. I will never forget that feeling.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d already developed some positive feelings towards you by then, but there was no way I could identify what that feeling was. But I knew that you didn¡¯t stab yourself with that knife for me because you liked me, you did it because I was yourpanion. Perhaps, part of the reason was also because I look very, very simr to Wang Dong¡¯er. Furthermore, what I saw in your eyes wasn¡¯t pain ¨C it was liberation. Yes, liberation. In that moment, I suddenly felt so terribly afraid, and that wasn¡¯t just because of the pain that you were suffering. More of that was because of your eyes that seemed like you were liberating yourself. Only then could I clearly see how deep your love for Wang Dong¡¯er was.¡±

    ¡°I was struck a little deeper with every stab, and my emotions quickly crumbled. When I watched you stab yourself for thest time, when you were definitely going to die, I felt like something somewhere deep in my heart had cracked apart. That pain was indescribable, and in that moment, I seemed to lift some kind of seal as countless things surged through my brain. I passed out.¡±

    ¡°When I woke up and saw you next to me and that you weren¡¯t dead, nothing seemed bad about the situation. I was a little lost because there were too many memories in my mind. That made me panic and afraid, and my entire being was lost and confused. I didn¡¯t like that feeling, but I seemed to like how those memories returned to me. Therefore, I carried you and took you back to the Tang Sect. I returned to Sea God¡¯s Ind after taking you back, and I told everyone I was going into closed-door cultivation so that I could sort out these messy memories.¡±

    ¡°I gradually began to understand that, yes, your initial judgment wasn¡¯t wrong, and I am Wang Dong¡¯er. Rather, I used to be Wang Dong¡¯er, your Wang Dong¡¯er. But Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories aren¡¯t the only ones in my mind. Have you not realized? Back when I was Wang Dong¡¯er and when I was together with you, I never spoke to you about my childhood. That¡¯s because Wang Dong¡¯er back then didn¡¯t remember anything that happened in her childhood. And now I, Tang Wutong, and not Wang Dong¡¯er, am aplete version of myself. Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories are of those years that she spent with you. Other than that, I have many memories about my childhood, some remnants of which havee through Wang Qiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but for the moment, Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories have taken charge amidst all my memories. Memories of my childhood and those remnants from Wang Qiu¡¯er seems to have merged together with those main memories. I¡¯m lost and I don¡¯t know what to do, but I do know that I cannot lose you, you¡¯re just too important to me. But I cannot lie to you, and I cannot tell you that I am purely Wang Don¡¯ger, because I am Tang Wutong. I am Tang Wutong, who was once Wang Dong¡¯er. Aside from my childhood memories and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s remnants, I have the memories spent with you that belong to Tang Wutong. These memories are making me confused and frightened, and I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re willing to ept me like this. I haven¡¯t been able to sort through everything yet, and I need some time. I need some time to see myself clearly.¡±

    Huo Yuhao slipped into a bit of a daze as he listened to Tang Wutong¡¯s description, but his eyes gradually became gentle and tender once more. There wasn¡¯t just deep emotion in his eyes, they were also full of loving pity.

    Huo Yuhao opened his arms and took her into his embrace. He gently caressed her wavy pinkish-blue hair as he said gently, ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, silly girl. You became my Dong¡¯er from that moment when my soul power fused with yours and recreated our Haodong power. I can understand everything you¡¯re saying, and the reason why you¡¯ve be like that is because of that strange illness that you suffered from as a child. If I had known you were Dong¡¯er without her memory, even if you¡¯dpletely forgotten me, I would still find ways to make you like me all over again. Right now, your memories are just a little mixed up, so how can I not ept you? As long as I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re my Dong¡¯er, no, I should say that you¡¯re my Wutong, then I am content. I will love you, treasure you, and wait until you¡¯vepletely rediscovered yourself, until you¡¯vepletely merged your memories together. I have an entire lifetime to wait, so I¡¯m not worried or impatient. I¡¯m not worried at all. But this time, I will never let you leave my side again, no matter what. I will always protect you, and I will be wherever you are. Nobody can separate us anymore.¡±

    Tang Wutong listened to his confession that came from his heart, and her eyes slowly turned red as she leaned into his arms and gently shut her eyes. ¡°Do you know, Yuhao, I really wasn¡¯t ready at all. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t have a chance to prove to you that I¡¯m your Dong¡¯er, and I was also afraid that you would reject me because I¡¯m no longer purely Dong¡¯er. But I couldn¡¯t not try, because I didn¡¯t know if my future self would have a chance if I missed this chance. I¡¯m very happy, I¡¯m truly very, very happy. I will definitely work hard to merge all my memories together, with Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories guiding everything. But I¡¯ve realized that besides my childhood memories from which you are absent, all my memories are filled with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good enough!¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s elegant body suddenly tensed as she turned to look at him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Huo Yuhao was sensitive, and immediately felt that change.

    Tang Wutong frowned slightly and said, ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m afraid there will be trouble in the future because we are together. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to gain my father¡¯s approval first.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°I think I¡¯m considered outstanding among the younger generation. How can my father-inw not approve of me?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head gently and continued, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. I¡¯m my father¡¯s only daughter, and my father¡¯s love for me is definitely not beneath yours. He¡¯s said that anybody who wants to be his son-inw has to ept and pass his strict assessment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s normal. A father-inw testing his son-inw is natural. I will ept everything, no matter how difficult the tests are. Furthermore, I believe that he won¡¯t deliberately give me trouble if he knows how much I love you.¡±

    ¡°But, my father¡­¡± Tang Wutong stopped there, as the golden trident on her forehead suddenly flickered, and she swallowed the rest of her sentence. She blushed faintly, and her expression became a little strange.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t notice all that, and he just hugged her. His heart was full in this moment.

    Tang Wutong also leaned into his arms as she slowly closed her eyes. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the conflict and struggle that she had suffered in her heart, and an unsettling feeling echoed in her heart from time to time. Yet now, finally, she had managed to find her man once more in the second Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date that they had participated in together.

    She lifted her hand and gently touched the golden trident on her forehead. Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but pout a little, like she was trying to express cheeky displeasure to someone.

 Chapter 510.2 - You Still Have to Go Through My Father

    <h4 ss>Chapter 510.2: You Still Have to Go Through My Father</h4>

    It was daybreak, and the light of the morning sun stretched gradually from beyond the horizon as a gorgeous and transparent beam.

    It carried the gentle morning dew as it shone upon a beautiful couple in the Sparring Arena.

    Huo Yuhao gradually opened his eyes as purple light could be faintly seen from the bottom of his eyes, and he absorbed the purple energy that came from the white sun in the east. His entire being¡¯s aura seemed to be awakened.

    He lowered his head and stared at Tang Wutong, who was still sleeping soundly on hisp, and his eyes became incredibly tender.

    Yes, they slept for the entire night in this ce. They didn¡¯t confess anything more, and they just had each other¡¯s warm embraces as they felt each other¡¯s heartbeats and love. They slowly fell into slumber as they immersed themselves in that intoxicating sensation. The shadows in their hearts seemed to have been dispelled after this night, and as Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and saw the lighting from the horizon, all he felt was that his fatigue from the recent months was gone. His mind felt even more liberated than his body did.

    Huo Yuhao gently caressed Tang Wutong¡¯s long hair, and he realized that his feelings towards her seemed to have changedpared to a long time ago. There was more treasuring besides love, and there was nothing more joyous for him than for Dong¡¯er to return to his side. Just like he had told herst night, he wouldn¡¯t let her leave his side ever again, no matter what. He would protect her for his entire life.

    ¡°I was wondering where you two were. You¡¯re actually all the way out here. Did you sleep herest night?¡± A voice suddenly rang out in this moment, and Huo Yuhao was awakened from his thoughts. He turned around, and saw his eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, walking up from beneath them with an amused look on her face. She quickly arrived next to them.

    Tang Wutong woke up. She had slept lying down, and used Huo Yuhao¡¯s thigh as her pillow. She was sleeping veryfortably as she opened her blurry eyes and saw Zhang Lexuan. She hurriedly sat up as she lowered her head. She blushed as she said softly, ¡°Eldest senior sister.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan grinned and said, ¡°The two of you have been reunited after all, and I didn¡¯t waste my efforts this time. Seems like the two of you have settled everything?¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at Zhang Lexuan in shock. ¡°Eldest senior sister, so you already knew¡­¡±

    Zhang Lexuanughed. ¡°Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I¡¯d help her? Why would I arrange everything like that? Would I let the two of you confess to each other in private? But I wasn¡¯t very confident when the event was halfway through, because I didn¡¯t know how Tang Wutong would convince you, stubborn donkey. Seems like she did have a solution after all!¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head. What had happenedst night was no longer important for him. What was important was that he had managed to find Dong¡¯er once more. Rather, he managed to find Tang Wutong again.

    ¡°Eldest senior sister, why are you looking for me so early in the morning?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little displeased about Zhang Lexuan interrupting their warm and peaceful time together.

    Zhang Lexuan rolled her eyes and said ,¡±Yuhao, have you be forgetful? You must have forgotten about real business because you have Wutong. Do you still want to graduate?¡±

    ¡°Ah? Yes, I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao really did forget that he had his graduation assessment today! Furthermore, Teacher Wang Yan had told him that his graduation test would be difficult yesterday. He was still thinking about the assessment when he was participating in the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, and he was supposed to prepare for the test after going through the motions for the event. But Tang Wutong had recovered Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories, and their Haodong power had fused once more, and that made him forget about his testpletely.

    Only now when Zhang Lexuan brought it up did Huo Yuhao remember that he had such an important thing to do.

    ¡°You did forget, didn¡¯t you! Are you still taking the test? Let me tell you, if you don¡¯t take this test, you¡¯ll have to wait for at least three years before you can have another chance. Hurry up.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. Wutong,e with me.¡± Huo Yuhao turned around and grasped Tang Wutong¡¯s hands as he spoke. They were finally reunited, and he wouldn¡¯t let her leave his side, no matter when and what.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Wutong nodded in acknowledgement, there was some amusement in her eyes as she stared at him. She could feel his nervousness towards her, and she was very happy about that!

    The test naturally wouldn¡¯t happen so early in the morning. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong went to eat something before they arrived outside the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion together. Zhang Lexuan told him that the test would begin here.

    Their surroundings were very tranquil and peaceful when they arrived in front of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Nobody else was around, and Huo Yuhao led Tang Wutong as he knelt down in front of the Golden Tree and kowtowed respectfully.

    ¡°Do you know, teacher? I¡¯ve finally found Dong¡¯er again, and she¡¯s called Tang Wutong now. Her illness has been treated, and we are finally back together again. I will never let her go again, and I will always be beside her to protect and love her. I will take her as my wife, and you muste if you can on the day that we get married! You are my closest family, and we would be especially happy if you could give us your blessings.¡±

    Golden light seemed to flicker on the Golden Tree, as if the Dragon God Douluo Mu En was answering them.

    ¡°You¡¯re still young, and you¡¯re thinking about marrying? Weren¡¯t you always so depressed and lifeless before this?¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s teasing voice could be heard.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong stood up, but they were a little dazed as they turned around, because the formation that they could see was a little toorge.

    The Elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion streamed out from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion under Elder Xuan¡¯s lead. Elder Xuan walked at the forefront, while Elder Song and Elder Zhuang followed behind him. The other elders were behind them, along with the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean, Yan Shaozhe, the department¡¯s vice-Dean, Cai Mei¡¯er, the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean, Xian Lin¡¯er, and its vice-Dean, Qian Duoduo. Their eldest senior sister Zhang Lexuan, Bei Bei, Teacher Wang Yan, and Han Ruoruo followed at the back.

    Almost every single person from Shrek Academy¡¯s upper echelons had arrived.Am I not the only one taking the graduation test today?This thought surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Greetings, Elder Xuan, elders.¡± Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong hurriedly came forward to greet them.

    Elder Xuan could see that they were holding hands, and he couldn¡¯t help butugh as he said, ¡°Are you satisfied now? Let me tell you, if you want to leave Shrek City again, you may, but Wutong has to stay. You can go wherever you want, and we won¡¯t restrict you at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately said without hesitation, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going anywhere. I will be wherever Wutong is.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s attitude caused all the elders tough out loud.

    Elder Song couldn¡¯t help but smile and shake her head. ¡°Youngsters! Youngsters after all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao scratched his head embarrassingly. What he said was instinctive, and just came out of his mouth.

    Tang Wutong blushed even more, but she had no intention to withdraw her hand from Huo Yuhao¡¯s grasp.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about legitimate business. I¡¯ve heard from Lexuan that you¡¯re nning to pass the test and conclude your studies in the academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless.Do you not know what I want? My graduation test has already brought out the various elders. What are they trying to do?

    ¡°Yes! I have been studying in the academy for many years, and I wish to pass the test so that I can officially be a graduate from the inner courtyard.¡± He had other thoughts on his mind, but he was still very honest and politically correct on the surface. It seemed like this formation would be quite a challenge to ovee, so it was better to be a little more honest and sincere.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Good! That counts as an aplishment in your studies, and that¡¯s a very glorious thing for students. Because of your especially outstanding performance, everyone will observe today¡¯s graduation test. Lexuan! You will be the main supervisor. Tell him what today¡¯s test will be about.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Lexuan acknowledged as she stepped out and stared at Huo Yuhao amusingly. But for some reason, Huo Yuhao could feel that her smile wasn¡¯t a friendly one.

    ¡°The original n was to give you seven tasks, but after my report to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡¯s Elders, they have decided that because of your contributions to the academy, and because you¡¯re also part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, we will condense seven tasks into three.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s head swelled when he heard that there were seven.Seven condensed into three seems pretty good. But these three tasks will probably very difficult.

    Yes, Zhang Lexuan¡¯s subsequent words made Huo Yuhao react with utter shock.

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°First, because you¡¯ve epted teachings from both the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department, both departments will give you an assignment to aplish separately. These constitute the first two assignments, and they have been given by Dean Yan and Dean Xian respectively. Dean Xian¡¯s assignment for you is for you to forge a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell for the academy, and Dean Yan¡¯s assignment is for you to defeat him in battle¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao stared at Zhang Lexuan with wide eyes and open jaws, like he was witnessing the descent of God.

    This is the graduation test? What kind of test is this?

    His first assignment was to craft a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, and his second assignment was to defeat Dean Yan. Dean Yan was a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo who possessed the Radiant Phoenix as his martial soul! What kind of joke was that?

    Zhang Lexuan pretended she didn¡¯t hear Huo Yuhao¡¯s exmation as she continued, ¡°As for your third assignment, it¡¯s intended to test your integrated abilities. The academy will give you a third assignment once youplete the first two, and the academy will let you graduate once youplete that one.¡±

    Huo Yuhao waspletely speechless at this point. He nced at Zhang Lexuan, and then at Elder Xuan beside her. Heughed bitterly and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, do you think we can do it this way? I¡¯ll just remain a student at the academy, and I¡¯m not going to graduate. Is that okay?¡±

    Elder Xuan said amusingly, ¡°Yes, of course you may. The academy will be proud to always have a student like you. But I have to remind you of one thing! Huo Yuhao, the academy has a very explicit rule that students are not allowed to have intimate rtionships with teachers. Tang Wutong is now an assistant teacher for the academy. Therefore, there is a problem with the status between the two of you. You can continue being a student, but you won¡¯t be able to have this rtionship with Teacher Tang in the future. Do as you wish.¡±

 Chapter 510.3 - You Still Have to Go Through My Father

    Chapter 510.3: You Still Have to Go Through My Father

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao almost vomited blood. This is a conspiracy! This is such a devious plot!

    He could clearly smell a conspiracy, and it was a conspiracy indeed. He had just found Dong¡¯er, Tang Wutong, yesterday, and today¡¯s test was so incredibly difficult. They were even using Tang Wutong to threaten him. So treacherous! This is just too treacherous!

    ¡°Elder Xuan, are you sure that¡¯s right? Teacher Wang Yan and senior sister Han Ruoruo¡­¡± Huo Yuhao tried to talk back.

    Elder Xuan said casually, ¡°After they got together, Han Ruoruo immediately took her graduation test and passed it. She¡¯s now a teacher in the academy, so there¡¯s no problem with her status. You can do the same if you pass the graduation test!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was as gloomy as ever. ¡°Then is my test the same as senior sister Han?¡±

    Elder Xuan maintained his casual tone as he said, ¡°Why do you keep asking such foolish questions, child? What is our academy¡¯s mission? To nurture monsters, not normal people, right? Since that¡¯s the case, won¡¯t our students receive different graduation tests? Graduation tests for the inner courtyard¡¯s students are different for every person, don¡¯t you know that? Therefore, your test is definitely different from Han Ruoruo¡¯s test.¡±

    Zhang Lexuan nodded and said, ¡°Know how to be content, Yuhao. The academy is already being very lenient towards you. You have a long time limit for this assessment, so you don¡¯t have to be too greedy. You can justplete this test within three years.¡±

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Eldest senior sister, have the contents of my graduation test been reviewed and changed impromptu? Why don¡¯t I just take the original seven assignments?¡±

    Zhang Lexuan replied grandly, ¡°Yes, the test has been changed! We reviewed and changed the testst night. You have already disyed the strength of an eight-ringed soul master, and your eight rings are extraordinary. How can a normal assessment satisfy our requirements for this test?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Huo Yuhao was full of regret, and his regret was already turning his insides green. Why did I flex? Now, my test is truly very difficult.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°But there¡¯s no way I canplete this test! You know how difficult it is to craft a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, Dean Xian, so how can you give me such a difficult task? That¡¯s just too difficult. And, Dean Yan, you¡¯re a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo, and I¡¯ve just passed Rank 80. There¡¯s still an insurmountable gap between the two of us. I don¡¯t think I can reach your rank even after thirty years, not to mention three!¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop trying to undervalue yourself. How can I not know your abilities? You¡¯re most adept at creating miracles, and as for reaching rank 97 after thirty years, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need that long. Alright, why don¡¯t I give you some leeway? Don¡¯t you have martial soul fusion skills with Tang Wutong? My test shall allow you two to team up in battle. Consider your taskpleted if the two of you can team up and defeat me together.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°Then I shall give you some leeway as well. Don¡¯t you have Xuan Ziwen, that ss 9 soul engineer in the Tang Sect? Why don¡¯t we do it this way: you can team up with him, and he¡¯s allowed to help you. The two of you shall craft two ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells for the academy, and then you can consider your taskpleted.¡±

    That¡¯s extortion! That¡¯s just pure extortion ofbor! Huo Yuhao wanted to cry and break down. But he had just found Tang Wutong again, and his mood was just too good. He wanted to cry, but no tears came out.

    Elder Xuan pulled a generous face and said, ¡°Since everyone has decided to be lenient, then I shall as well. Before youplete your test within three years, I shall allow you to be together with Tang Wutong temporarily. But if you can¡¯tplete your tasks within three years, don¡¯t me me for breaking you two apart.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned ck. Is there much of a difference between you being lenient or not? Is there? Is there?!

    Yan Shaozhe grinned and said, ¡°Youngsters have to be confident in themselves. This is considered both pressure and motivation for you. Originally, we didn¡¯t intend to give you so much pressure, but now that you¡¯ve gotten together with Wutong, you must be in a very good mood, so that pressure must be liberated quite a bit. We can¡¯t progress without no pressure at all. Since your original pressure has been lifted, then we will naturally give you pressure again so that we can avoid you not being focused or not putting in effort.¡±

    Brutal!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t say anything to argue. The academy had been teaching and helping him over so many years so that he could gradually be one of the elites of the younger generation. Now, the academy wanted to give him trouble for his graduation assessment and give him pressure. What could he say?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was as ck as could be, and his expression was full of helplessness.

    Tang Wutong squeezed his hand.

    Huo Yuhao turned to Tang Wutong as she smiled and said, ¡°Dean Yan is right, having pressure isn¡¯t a bad thing. You¡¯re not the only one who needs to work hard. I have to as well. We can work hard together. Three years isn¡¯t considered a long time, but it isn¡¯t too short.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s encouragement was much more effective for Huo Yuhao than any mystical pill. He took a deep breath and turned back to his various Elders as he nodded and replied, ¡°Alright, I will definitely give my all to pass this graduation test.¡±

    Elder Xuan grinned and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t worry, during the time that you¡¯re cultivating, the academy won¡¯t assign any extra tasks to you. As for your final assessment, we will determine that ording to your circumstance and the situation on the Continent. You just have to work hard on cultivating when you go back. Your trip to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s frontlines has dealt a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire. You¡¯ve ruined one of their soul engineer legions, and killed an evil Titled Douluo. That must be quite a blow to them. The Sun Moon Empire shouldn¡¯t make anyrge movements for a while. News from the frontlines has told us that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s empress, who¡¯s known as the Sun Moon Valkyrie, is pregnant, and she shouldn¡¯t be cing herself at the frontlines for a while. That should give us enough time to prepare and gather ourselves.¡±

    The Sun Moon Valkyrie is pregnant?

    Huo Yuhao trembled a little as he heard those words. Of course, he knew who the Sun Moon Valkyrie was referring to.

    A feeling that was hard to describe rose from his heart. His rtionship with Ju Zi was vague and difficult to understand, but they were definitely not enemies.

    Back then, when he and her were together at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, he still didn¡¯t know that Dong¡¯er was a girl. Ju Zi could be said to be the first girl that had touched his heart. Afterwards, because of their respective identities and statuses, and also because of the target that Ju Zi had set for herself, they slowly drifted apart until they met again on the battlefield.

    Ju Zi remarked that Huo Yuhao was soft-hearted, but the truth was, how could she not be soft-hearted when facing him? Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t develop any kind of belligerence or unfriendliness towards her.

    Ju Zi is pregnant? The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, Xu Tianran¡¯s child. Even though Huo Yuhao knew that they didn¡¯t share that kind of sentiment or rtionship anymore, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sour and bitter inside. Perhaps it was normal for a guy to feel like that.

    ¡°Elders, since the graduation test is like that, then I¡¯m going to hurry back and work hard.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed helplessly as he turned to leave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry,¡± Elder Xuan stopped him.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao nced at Elder Xuan confusedly.

    Elder Xuan continued, ¡°Look, us elderly men have gathered for you. That¡¯s not easy! Furthermore, we can¡¯t let you make this trip for nothing. As the saying goes, if you know yourself and you know your enemy, then you will always emerge victorious. I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t really understand Shaozhe¡¯s abilities. Why don¡¯t the two of you have a practice battle with Shaozhe? First, so that we can see exactly how powerful the two of you are, and second, this will be a good chance for you to understand Shaozhe¡¯s abilities. In that case, you will have a target or guidelines for your subsequent cultivation.¡±

    A practice battle with our Dean, Yan Shaozhe?

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong exchanged a look. Who was Yan Shaozhe? He was the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, and he was the previous Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Mu En¡¯s eldest disciple. In some sense, he was still Huo Yuhao¡¯s senior brother, and he was also a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo. Yan Shaozhe¡¯s strength could be ranked within the top five in Shrek Academy, and his Radiant Phoenix also possessed some extremely mystical abilities.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had just recently attained their eighth soul rings, and in terms of strength, perhaps not even ten of them could match Yan Shaozhe. However, that was before considering their martial soul fusion skills.

    The truth was, the Elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had opened a conference overnight yesterday so that they could talk about Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul fusion skills. Of course, these Elders wouldn¡¯t give Huo Yuhao trouble just because they had nothing better to do. The reason why they had decided on these three incredibly difficult assessments was after they considered things in the long-term. These graduation assessments were meant to be difficult not because they wanted to give him trouble, but because they wanted him to spend more time cultivating hard in the academy and at the Tang Sect.

    The Elders could see Shrek Academy¡¯s immensely glorious future from Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s four martial soul fusion skills. These two soul masters were both considered top-tier soul masters, and they could unleash four different martial soul fusion skills. That meant that once they became Titled Douluo, they might be able to fight against an Ultimate Douluo!

    Shrek Academy was still weaker in terms of overall strengthpared to the Holy Ghost Church, and the only thing they could rely on was the academy¡¯s foundations umted over ten thousand years, in addition to theplicated rtionships between the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui, and the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.

    But if the Sun Moon Empire wanted to conquer the entire continent in the future, they couldn¡¯t possibly wrap around Shrek Academy. They would meet on the battlefield at some point. The academy was definitely at a disadvantage in terms of fighting strength at the highest level.

    Even though Shrek Academy and the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts had an intimate rtionship, when push came to shove, the Beast God Di Tian would never make a move for Shrek Academy.

    Not to mention the fact that Shrek Academy had dealt severe losses to the soul beasts during that beast invasion, huge losses to both human parties were beneficial for the world of soul beasts. That meant the soul beasts couldn¡¯t possibly help Shrek Academy in any way.

 Chapter 511 - Teamfight Against Yan Shaozhe

    Chapter 511: Teamfight Against Yan Shaozhe

    Given these problems, Shrek Academy was desperately in need of outstanding individuals who were capable of countering the upper echelon of the Holy Ghost Church. Although Elder Xuan was only a single step away from bing an Ultimate Douluo, he clearly knew how difficult it was to the step to Rank 99.

    As for Yan Shaozhe and XIan Lin¡¯er, they were still very far from bing Ultimate Douluo, despite already being Transcendent Douluo. They weren¡¯t the only ones that were far away either¡ªevery soul master within Shrek Academy shared this situation.

    As things stood, what could they do in the face of an Ultimate Douluo? Contrary to expectations, an opportunity had presented itself in the younger generation of soul masters.

    Honestly speaking, it was impossible for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to be Transcendent Douluo any time soon. However, there was still something special about them! Yesterday, all of the Sea God¡¯s Pavillion¡¯s elders had been astonished by the strength of their unleashed fusion skills. With their strength, how acute were their senses? The instant that each skill was unleashed, they¡¯d been able to clearly sense that both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s abilities had increased to the point that it left all of them shocked. This was definitely not something normally achievable by an eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

    Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were extremely talented. Furthermore, their fusion skills were the foundation for miracles.

    As a result of this, the academy had considered their options, before deciding that they would do everything in their power to help the pair improve their abilities. They would be the key to dealing with the Holy Ghost Church in the near future.

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know the elder¡¯s intentions. To him, Yan Shaozhe was simply here present to test their fighting strength. Of course, this was also part of the elder¡¯s ns.

    The aura released by their fusion skills was one thing, but the strength they contained was another. With sufficient pressure, they would either copse, or demonstrate an even greater level of strength.

    Every single elder of Shrek Academy was a research expert with many years of teaching experience. They all wanted to see just how much Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would improve from this fight, as well as how much help they could offer to the pair.

    Tang Wutong nodded at Huo Yuhao. Her gaze became sharper, and her strong belief flowed through his body alongside their Haodong Power. The name of this belief was ¡®victory¡¯!i

    Even though she knew how difficult such a feat would be, she was still determined to win. This was one of the qualities that a truly strong individual should possess.

    Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao had rekindled their knowledge of one another. She wasn¡¯t just his girlfriend, but his teammate and partner as well. Once, they¡¯d fought side-by-side not long after entering the academy. Ten yearster, today, they were still side-by-side, yet they now had the ability to challenge the Dean of Shrek¡¯s Martial Soul Department. How could they not be excited?

    Once he sensed Tang Wutong¡¯s strong fighting intent, Huo Yuhao¡¯s initially depressed emotions were wiped away. I¡¯ve already promised to protect her. Since she¡¯s so intent on winning, how could I cower away?

    He rapidly circted his soul power and interlinked it with Tang Wutong¡¯s, their Haodong Power fusing once agian.

    He discovered that a part of Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power had been filtered out, and that this portion was contained within the sunray pattern of the golden trident on her forehead. Without that portion of her soul power, she was like the old Wang Dong¡¯er; her martial soul was still the Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have any idea what that portion of her strength was. However, it was evident that it was of a higher standard than his own soul power.

    Initially, their martial souls hadn¡¯t been able to fuse due to this portion of her soul power. This had been why there¡¯d been so many misunderstandings.

    Huo Yuhao knew that Tang Wutong¡¯s fighting strength would be somewhat affected if she didn¡¯t use that portion of her soul power. However, this was two-sided, as it also meant that their Haodong Power could finally fuse. This was also what they were relying on to challenge Yan Shaozhe.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong looked at each other, before nodding. A strong aura emerged from both of them, while the will to win appeared in both of their eyes as they grasped each other¡¯s hand. Currently, the feeling that they gave off was as if they were both the same entity.

    When he sensed the strong fighting intenting from them, Yan Shaozhe nodded and smiled. ¡°Very good. Let¡¯s head to the practice arena. Just do your best.¡±

    Everyone followed Yan Shaozhe to the practice arena, which turned out to be the same ce that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had been at together yesterday.

    Besides the three of them, everyone else stood around the perimeter. Meanwhile, a few of the elders¡ªled by Elder Xuan¡ªset up restrictions around the arena. Soon afterwards, a giant barrier engulfed the arena.

    This practice arena had been constructed atop a mountain. When the restrictions were finished being constructed, they appeared very striking. The dim yellow glow of the barrier engulfed the entirety of the mountain-top.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong held each other¡¯s hand as they stood opposite Yan Shaozhe. Their soul power interlinked as it flowed, and their Haodong Power surged.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s physical strength exceeded others of the same rank, even after he¡¯d gained his eighth soul ring. With the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, Life¡¯s Gold, and the dragon pill that Long Xiaoyao had given him, he wasn¡¯t affected much despite how vigorous their Haodong Power was.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao simply felt like the soul power inside of him was surging. At times, it felt like whirlpools would appear. His purely fluid soul power was extremely pure; in fact, there were no impurities in it at all.

    When such strong soul power flowed into Tang Wutong¡¯s body, she didn¡¯t seem to feel ufortable at all either. Evidently, she was also strong enough to handle it.

    Their soul powers werepletelypatible. The fusion of their fighting strength was more than them just adding their fighting strength together.

    Their auras quickly rose, after which their strong fighting intent surged towards Yan Shaozhe and suppressed him.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled, and his body exuded a golden glow. Suddenly, the air within ten square meters of him started to ripple; it was as if was being baked by a strong fire. Under such a situation, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s immense fighting intent couldn¡¯t directly locate Yan Shaozhe¡¯s body, and could only remain suspended in the air.

    ¡°Come, little juniors. Show me how strong you two can get once you¡¯ve fused your martial souls.¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice echoed. Following this, a sonorous phoenix roar shook the sky, and an aura that had been repressed earlier was suddenly unleashed. A strong intent suddenly collided with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s fighting intent.

    Suddenly, the air of the practice arena became extremely violent. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s clothes creaked as they were blown about, but neither retreated. Huo Yuhao released a golden glow from his body, while a blue glow emerged from Tang Wutong¡¯s. The two glows then intersected and fused with one another, before spreading outwards and disintegrating the strong intent that Yan Shaozhe had unleashed.

    Elder Xuan and the others from Shrek nodded slightly when they saw this.

    After fusing their martial souls, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already as strong a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t simply as strong as a normal Titled Douluo. Else, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold their ground against a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo.

    Promising talents, promising talents! If they both be Titled Douluo in the future, they might just stand a chance against an Ultimate Douluo together.

    Elder Xuan nodded in satisfaction after he thought this. Next up, it was time to see how effective their skills were in a real fight. Under sufficient pressure, their fighting strength would definitely be fully unleashed.

    Huo Yuhao was the first to make a move, as a rose-gold vertical eye slowly opened on his forehead. When facing someone like Yan Shaozhe, how could he afford to hold back? He¡¯d immediately decided to use his strongest ability, the Eye of Destiny.

    As his Eye of Destiny opened, a strong light shed, andyers of blinding light filled the air. Afterwards, the cirction of all energy bodies around him seemed to slow down, and both Tang Wutong and his body¡¯s started to be illusory.

    This was his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    Not only that, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection engulfed the entire practice arena like a web, and he shared it with Tang Wutong.

    Given his current spiritual prowess, and the small range he was focusing on, he was able to see everything in the practice arena in minute detail.

    Even though Yan Shaozhe had concealed himself, Huo Yuhao was able to immediately locate him the moment that he fully unleashed his Spiritual Detection.

    His spiritual power was already at the standard for a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, only a spiritual-type Titled Douluo couldpare to him in terms of spiritual power, as his spiritual power had reached the concrete-material realm.

    Seven soul rings shone from his body, while eight shed from Tang Wutong¡¯s.

    Since only seven soul rings were present, it meant that Huo Yuhao was currently using his Spirit Eyes, rather than that his eight-ringed Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    His fourth soul ring shed, after which a whirlpool-shaped glow appeared above Yan Shaozhe. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion.

    Huo Yuhao had long ago thought of a fighting strategy for Yan Shaozhe: If he wanted to ovee him and emerge victorious, his only option was to take the initiative. Only through assaulting and controlling Yan Shaozhe could he prevent this Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo from unleashing his full abilities. They would only stand a chance if that happened.

    That was why Huo Yuhao had immediately used his Spiritual Interference Domain to protect Tang Wutong and himself initially. Afterwards, he¡¯d used his Spiritual Confusion to overpower Yan Shaozhe and control him.

    His Spiritual Confusion was a single-target control-type soul skill. While it was only his Spirit Eyes¡¯ fourth soul skill, it was the strongest and most effective soul skill he had when it came to controlling a single person.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s body turned slightly rigid when he was struck by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Confusion, and a slightly lost look appeared in his eyes for an instant.

    At that moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye lit up, and a blinding, rose-gold light shot out. This time, it was his Spiritual Shock.

    The Spiritual Shock from his Eye of Destiny might not be as strong as it was when he was in his Martial Soul True Body, but it could be used quickly. There was no umtion needed.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Yan Shaozhe to suddenly take half a step forwards despite suffering from his Spiritual Confusion. Afterwards, his body turned entirely golden, and a golden phoenix opened its wings behind him. Yan Shaozhe seemed to have safely entered his own world.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock struck him, Huo Yuhao felt as if his attack had struck nothing but air. At the same time, though, it didn¡¯t quite feel as if the air it had struck waspletely empty. However, the full strength of his Spiritual Shock wasn¡¯tpletely unleashed due to this.

    It was the first time that Huo Yuhao had seen something like this. He¡¯d only seen Yan Shaozhe exude a golden ring of light from his body, before returning to normal, despite his body being in a momentary state of shock.

    This was¡­

    This was Yan Shaozhe¡¯s realm. It was simr to Elder Mu¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s Descent. However, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s realm wasn¡¯t the same as Sovereign¡¯s Descent. Yan Shaozhe¡¯s own understanding was blended into it, something that belonged solely to him.

    How could the chief disciple of the Dragon God Douluo Mu En be so easily defeated? Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense Spiritual Shock had been blocked, just like that! Huo Yuhao was the one left somewhat shocked instead.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d attacked. Tang Wutong had made her move, too.

    The Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings opened up behind her back as her soul rings rose. When Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Shock, Tang Wutong had mimed a lifting action. Afterwards, a golden Hexagram Array had urately appeared beneath Yan Shaozhe¡¯s feet.

    Tang Wutong had calcted everything precisely. Even if Yan SHaozhe managed to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, he¡¯d still be affected by it and the Spiritual Confusion he¡¯d previously been struck with. He wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid her Hexagram Array then.

    Even though the part of her memory that belonged to Wang Dong¡¯er had only been restored for a short period of time, her coordination with Huo Yuhao seemed toe extremely naturally. Whenever their Haodong Power re-appeared, their chemistry re-appeared alongside it.

    Just as Tang Wutong had expected, Yan Shaozhe wasn¡¯tpletely fine despite managing to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. When the intense golden light from the Hexagram Array engulfed his body, he wasn¡¯t able to escape from the spot he was standing at.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sixth soul ring suddenly lit up as he did so. At the same time, the vertical eye on his forehead instantly changed from rose-gold to ck and white.

    Even Elder Xuan and those sitting outside of the arena shuddered when they saw this ck and white vertical eye.

    A sense of crisis almost instantly appeared in everyone¡¯s heads.

    What soul skill was this?!

    Everyone from Shrek Academy was already very clear in regards to Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. They knew that he was strong, but they didn¡¯t know that he could unleash a skill capable of making everyone present feel as if they were in a crisis.

 Chapter 512.1 - The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    Chapter 512.1: The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    What kind of soul skill is that, that it can do this?!

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t answer that. However, when his soul ring lit up, Tang Wutong was momentarily taken aback as she held his hand, and she subconsciously turned around to stare at him. Aplicated look shed through her eyes.

    There were some disconnected memories in her mind, besides those that belong to Wang Dong¡¯er, her childhood, and what happened afterwards; those pieces belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er. Currently, Huo Yuhao was using the soul skills that Wang Qiu¡¯er had bestowed upon him, Spiritual Dispossession and Destiny¡¯s Demise.

    A ck and white beam of light suddenly struck out across the sky, instantly striking Yan Shaozhe, who¡¯d been hit with the Hexagon Array.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were the only ones who could see this ck and white beam. The only thing the people spectating their battle could see was his Eye of Destiny, which had turned ck and white, shing faintly, and the air around them contorting slightly.

    Yan Shaozhe felt chills run down his spine, while goosebumps broke out all over his body as a cold that chilled him to the bone coursed through his body. He was a Transcendent Douluo, and his senses were extremely sensitive; such a sinister change gave him a rude shock!

    What kind of power was that?! It didn¡¯t contain any offensive effects, but why does it make me feel so rmed?

    Tang Wutong used her next soul skill immediately after Huo Yuhao was finished.

    Her second soul ring flickered, after which all the golden spots on her wings unleashed spheres of golden lights that sted towards Yan Shaozhe.

    Yan Shaozhe was surrounded by intense golden mes at this moment, and stepped out of her Hexagon Array. It was extremely difficult for Tang Wutong to hurt him with her soul skills considering the difference in their strength.

    Yan Shaozhe waved his right hand through the air, and a strangeyer of golden light nketed the sky. Tang Wutong¡¯s Light of the Butterfly Goddess disappeared into nothingness. However, the sense of danger that had given him goosebumps before was still present.

    What was that, exactly? Strong doubts surfaced in his mind, but he didn¡¯t dare to hold back due to the sense of danger he felt. He took another step back and punched out towards Huo Yuhao.

    It appeared that he was just simply throwing a punch through the air, but the entire Sparring Arena changed intensely as this punch charged forwards. At least, that was what Huo Yuhao could sense.

    Huo Yuhao felt as if the space surrounding the punch had copsed. Formidable restrictive forces pressed down on him from all directions, and squeezed him so hard that he almost couldn¡¯t breathe. This was clearly just a punch through the air, but he felt like the fist had appeared in front of him in an instant, and it was akin to an enormous, majestic mountain hurtling towards him in an unstoppable manner.

    This wasn¡¯t a soul skill. Rather, it was Yan Shaozhe¡¯s self-invented skill; a perfectly fused and formidable soul skill where he¡¯dbined all the energies and forces within his body.

    Huo Yuhao almost subconsciously wanted to use his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. Of his self-invented soul skills, he rarely used the Goddess of Light, as it wasn¡¯t as formidable as his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. Furthermore, using the Goddess of Light after Dong¡¯er vanished would immediately trigger his yearning for her.

    However, the moment he attempted to focus and unleash his Three Ultimate Haodong skills, his entire being froze a little.

    A long time had passed since he¡¯d invented his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills, thus he was extremely familiar with how they were used. He could perfectly fuse his emotions, soul power, and spiritual power to attain powerful effects.

    Theoretically, his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills should be even stronger with Haodong Power supporting him. However, when he attempted to unleash them, he realized with a sense of shock that he couldn¡¯t use them anymore. This was a matter of ability; he simply couldn¡¯t reach the emotional state required anymore.

    The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills were The Fist of Remembrance, which contained a feeling of resurgence; The Sword of Longing, which would never be forgotten; and finally, The Haodong Palm, which wouldst for eternity. Every strike was based on, andpleted, through his intense thoughts and yearning for Dong¡¯er.

    Huo Yuhao had to first channel intense longing for Dong¡¯er when he used his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills before he could unleash them naturally.

    But at this moment, Tang Wutong, who was also Wang Dong¡¯er, was right next to him. With his lover right beside him, how could there be any longing? Just as he¡¯d considered back then, his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills had be ineffective now that he¡¯d found Dong¡¯er again. Reality had proved his hypothesis, and he found that he could no longer use his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills.

    That moment of hesitation was enough for Yan Shaozhe¡¯s attack to arrive in front of him.

    Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao had fused their soul power, thus the two of them were acting as one. As such, Tang Wutong was the first to realize that something was wrong with Huo Yuhao.

    She basically didn¡¯t hesitate to take a step forwards and block for him. She raised her right hand over her head, and her eighth soul ring shed.

    Her entire body began to glow along side the light of her blood-red soul ring. She began to radiate a brilliant gold that carried circle after circle of bluish hues. She was like a small sun, with countless blue butterflies waltzing around her.

    Intense bluish-gold colors transformed into an enormous pir of light that met Yan Shaozhe¡¯s fist.

    When they met, an intense explosion urred, making the entire Sparring Arena tremble. The various Elders who were maintaining the protective dome had to inject more power into it in order to ensure that they blocked all of the explosive soul power undtions inside.

    Yan Shaozhe emerged from the explosion, while Tang Wutong stumbled backwards and fell into Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace.

    The absolute gap in their strength had caused all the color to drain from her pretty face. Even though she hadn¡¯t been heavily injured, the soul power in her body had been riled up, and ripples from their Haodong Power meant she and Huo Yuhao could feel their blood surging.

    Meanwhile, a look of surprise had appeared in Yan Shaozhe¡¯s eyes. Tang Wutong¡¯s attack hadn¡¯t been that simple. Even though he¡¯d gained the upper hand, Yan Shaozhe could still feel his soul power trembling after shing with her. He had to expend quite a bit of spiritual power to get his soul power back under control.

    That concussive power¡­

    Yan Shaozhe was the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, and had spent his entire life investigating different kinds of soul skills. He could immediately tell what was so frightening about the soul skill that Tang Wutong had just used.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his absolute advantage in terms of cultivation, and the fact that Tang Wutong didn¡¯t seem very familiar with this soul skill, the oue could¡¯ve been quite different¡­

    Yan Shaozhe was a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo, while Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could only barely reach Rank 90 with their Haodong Power. However, because their martial souls were very powerful, and because there were two of them, their ¡®Rank 90¡¯ was more formidable than typical Titled Douluo.

    But in the end, the gap between them was just toorge. There was an insurmountable gap between a Titled Douluo and a Transcendent Douluo!

    If both parties had the same level of soul power, of if Tang Wutong had gained the upper hand, then the soul skill that she had just used would have been extremely terrifying with its full strength unleashed.

    It had a high temperature, it contained the element of light, and it was very powerful. These three different elements were thenbined, their degree of fusionparable to that of a self-invented soul skill.

    Yan Shaozhe seemed like he¡¯d defended against the attack easily. However, the truth was, while he was very powerful, he was also adept with the element of light. His Radiant Phoenix possessed light and heat as two of its most salient characteristics, thus he had a natural resistance when defending against Tang Wutong¡¯s attack. But what if someone else had been her opponent? The situation would probably have had an entirely different oue.

    She fell gently, but Huo Yuhao felt an intense heartache. Tang Wutong had forcibly taken this hit for him because of his error, so how could he not be upset with himself for his mistake?

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously wrapped his arms around Tang Wutong¡¯s slim waist, his three eyes simultaneously bursting with light. His will to fight had truly been ignited.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, before grabbing Tang Wutong with one hand, and slowly raised his other. His seven soul rings suddenly became eight, and an intense blizzard rapidly descended upon the Sparring Arena.

    The temperature of the arena fell to an extremely low degree almost instantaneously, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong disappeared within the blizzard.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques: The Empress¡¯ Sword, The Empress¡¯ Palm, and The Empress¡¯ Chill. This was a fusion of The Empress¡¯ Chill and his Domain of Perpetual Ice into his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    After absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the temperatures that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice could reach were much more terrifying than before.

    Su Tong¡¯s martial soul was an Icesky Snow Lady, and was also a martial soul with Ultimate Ice, but she was still a far cry from Huo Yuhao in terms of how cold she could make her Ultimate Ice. It was why she¡¯d immediately admitted defeat after seeing Huo Yuhao freeze the entire surface of the Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    A temperature more than two hundred degrees below zero permeated the entire Sparring Arena almost instantly, and even Yan Shaozhe shivered, despite his cultivation.

    The advantage that Ultimate martial souls held became increasingly obvious as their cultivation increased. Yan Shaozhe¡¯s martial was the Radiant Phoenix, and was adept with both light and fire. At the very least, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice could counter his element of fire.

    No matter how profound or wild his Radiant Phoenix martial was, the mes that his martial soul granted him contained the Fire of Light, not Ultimate Fire. As such, he didn¡¯t have an advantage against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s grew serious for the first time; he could feel that Huo Yuhao was fully concentrated at this point.

    Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of Huo Yuhao, who was still a child in his eyes. However, that feeling of danger from before still hadn¡¯t disappeared and seemed to be guing him. This made him a little more careful, as the unknown was the most frightening.

    zing phoenix mes erupted out from Yan Shaozhe. What he wanted to do was very simple.

    In Shrek Academy¡¯s lessons about soul master battles, there was a ss about advantage. The first thing that soul masters had to do when battling each other was unleash their respective strengths and advantages as much as possible to suppress their opponent. What was Yan Shaozhe¡¯s greatest advantage against Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong? His soul power! There was an insurmountable gap in their ranks of soul power!

 Chapter 512.2 - The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    Chapter 512.2: The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    Therefore, even though he knew that his element was disadvantageous, he still chose to use his overwhelming strength without hesitation. As a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo, he relied on the strength of his soul power to instantly expand his Radiant Phoenix¡¯s mes.

    The Sparring Arena was only so big; as a Transcendent Douluo, he was entirely capable of covering itpletely in his phoenix mes. When that happened, Huo Yuhao would naturally no longer be able to keep his domain up, and thus would be forced into the open. Furthermore, Yan Shaozhe would beunching an all-round attack against him in the process.

    But something astonished Yan Shaozhe as he attempted to do so: As his phoenix mes fanned outwards, he realized that they didn¡¯t immediately melt the snowkes dancing through the air when they came into contact with one another. In fact, not only were they melting slowly, but they were also emanating intense chills in the process, which was causing him to expend more energy on his phoenix mes that he¡¯d calcted.

    What¡¯s happening?

    Yan Shaozhe had already channeled more than sixty percent of his soul power, but his phoenix mes had only managed to extend five meters out from him. Furthermore, the more they continued to expand, the more snowkes they encountered from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and the colder the chilly air released by those snowkes got. Yan Shaozhe quickly realized that, to his surprise, he¡¯d been suppressed, and that Huo Yuhao was actually using the quality of his soul power to suppress his own cultivation advantage.

    How is this possible? Their martial soul fusion should only give them the strength of a newly minted Titled Douluo! How could his Ultimate Ice be so strong? Tang Wutong doesn¡¯t possess any ice-type abilities!

    If Yan Shaozhe could see Huo Yuhao¡¯s current state, he would understand why he was at such a disadvantage.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was swaying gently atop Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder, while four other silhouettes floated behind him; all five of his Spirits were currently aiding him.

    Of Huo Yuhao¡¯s five great Spirits, the Skydream Iceworm possessed both ice-type abilities and spiritual power, while the other four all possessed Ultimate Ice!

    When Huo Yuhao had fused with the Ice Bear King, Little Bai hadn¡¯t just be his Spirit and soul ring; he¡¯d also improved his Ultimate Ice¡¯s quality once again.

    ording to the Snow Empress¡¯ words, the lowest temperature that Huo Yuhao could reach with his Ultimate Ice was two hundred and twenty degrees below zero. This temperature was already equivalent to what the Ice Empress could reach when she was at full strength!

    The Ice Empress had been ranked seventh among the Ten Great Savage beasts. Even though she hadn¡¯t been equivalent to an Ultimate Douluo when she was at full strength, she hadn¡¯t been that far off.

    All five of his Spirits had appeared simultaneously. Even though they couldn¡¯t boost his soul power with their amplifications, they could still boost his element as much as possible. Furthermore, Blizzard was the soul skill that the Ice Bear King had bestowed Huo Yuhao with for his eighth soul ring.

    Blizzard wasn¡¯t just a normal soul skill when it was fused into his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice; it was considered a formidable integrated soul skill that could be further amplified by his Spirits. This was why it had managed to aplish a certain level of suppression against even Yan Shaozhe¡¯s Rank 97 Radiant Phoenix.

    A faint smile gradually appeared on Yan Shaozhe¡¯s face as he felt the pressure exuded on him. He nodded lightly and eximed, ¡°Good, very good!¡± After all, the more powerful Huo Yuhao was, the happier he was. This practice battle had originally been intended to figure out the exact extent of Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength anyway.

    After he finished speaking, Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expressed suddenly became solemn. He ced one hand above the other, with his palms facing each other. The next moment, his entire body becamepletely golden, just like when he¡¯d defended himself against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    What was different this time was that gentle golden hues were emanating from his dantian, and a small yellow phoenix seemed to be frolicking in front of his dantian.

    Once this little golden phoenix emerged, his phoenix mes, which had been initially suppressed, seemed to almost be material and liquify as they zed outwards.

    This time, any snowkes that the golden liquid touched were immediately vaporized. The extremely high temperatures brought about by this golden liquid immediately dispelled the low temperatures brought about by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, as well as immediately beat back his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Receiving such a rude shock, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to withdraw his domain. He¡¯d almost instantly realized that if were to continue maintaining his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, that his soul power would bepletely expended in a matter of seconds. And he was expending Haodong power, which didn¡¯t solely belong to him!

    Yan Shaozhe reappeared in front of them, before looking at Huo Yuhao and nodding gently as he said, ¡°Little junior brother, your Ultimate Ice¡¯s quality was quite impressive. What did you feel?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily surprised, but his expression quickly changed somewhat as he blurted out, ¡°You used a self-invented soul skill to augment your own soul skills and soul power?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and said, ¡°Yes, this is a technique that I came up with some years ago and relied on to be Dean of the Martial Soul Department. You have to understand this a bit more: Even though soul tools are developing at a quickening pace in today¡¯s world, there¡¯s still boundless potential in soul masters that¡¯s waiting to be discovered.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged respectfully. He knew that Yan Shaozhe was giving him guidance with his status as his elder senior brother.

    Yan Shaozhe tilted his head and smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be dejected. I used my soul core¡¯s strength when I broke your domain just now. Your Ultimate Ice martial soul doesn¡¯t yet have a soul core, nor is your soul¡¯s quality as concentrated as mine. Furthermore, my self-invented soul skill augmented my Radiant Phoenix¡¯s mes and raised my soul skill¡¯s quality instantaneously to achieve such an effect. Do you understand when I say it like this?¡±

    A thought urred to Huo Yuhao after hearing Yan Shaozhe¡¯s words, and he seemed to understand something, yet at the same time wasn¡¯t quite able to ce what it was despite trying as hard as he could to puzzle it out.

    Yan Shaozhe smiled. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for today. We might not learn as much if we get greedy for more. I know that both you and Tang Wutong¡¯s strengths haven¡¯t beenpletely unleashed, but I hope that you two will improve even more during the next three years. The next time you two challenge me, I won¡¯t show any mercy.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for fulfilling our wishes, eldest senior brother,¡± Huo Yuhao got down on his knees in front of Yan Shaozhe. Even though Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t said much to them, what he had said and the battle they¡¯d had were enough to benefit him greatly.

    The person who was most capable of guiding and advising Huo Yuhao in Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t Elder Xuan, but rather Yan Shaozhe. The reason for that was because Yan Shaozhe could be considered to be of the same generation as Huo Yuhao, since they were both Elder Mu¡¯s disciples. However, Yan Shaozhe had be Elder Mu¡¯s disciple a lot earlier than Huo Yuhao had, so he had a much deeper understanding of Elder Mu¡¯s abilities. Thus, Huo Yuhao needed some time to digest what he¡¯d just learned from the battle they¡¯d just fought.

    Elder Xuan opened the protective dome and walked towards Yan Shaozhe with a faint smile on his face. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give those two little fellows a little more pressure?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe smiled back and said, ¡°Sometimes, too much pressure isn¡¯t a good thing. Yuhao doesn¡¯t need pressure right now; he¡¯s able to sense danger clearly as it is. He must¡¯ve felt and learned a lot of things from our battle. Furthermore, and to be frank, I¡¯m a little afraid of this kid. He gave me a good one, and I¡¯m still not sure which one of his abilities gave me goosebumps; it gave me a strong sense of danger. Even if I was able topletely suppress him if we continued, I was afraid to be caught off guard, and that I¡¯d end up losing.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Elder Xuan stared at Yan Shaozhe, his expression changing to one of surprise. ¡°You were afraid that you¡¯d lose?¡±

    Yan Shaozhe forced a smile as he said, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s not like I can hurt them, after all. And considering the fact that I couldn¡¯t unleash any killing moves, I might actually be hurt if those two kids were to fight with their full strength. I don¡¯t know what Yuhao used on me, but that sense of danger is still around, even now.¡±

    Elder Xuan chuckled and said, ¡°I felt it too. This kid is really quite different! He¡¯s been standing on a whole different level ever since he broke through and obtained his eighth soul ring. What he needs most right now is more time to umte his strength. I just hope that he manages to grow up as quickly as possible.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe continued, ¡°I¡¯m worried that we¡¯re being counterproductive by forcing him to grow too quickly. Therefore, I¡¯m not going to give them anymore pressure. Yuhao has managed to reach an extraordinary standard with his Ultimate Ice, and that probably has something to do with his Spirits. The temperature of his Ultimate Ice is also the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen. At the very least, it¡¯s never appeared before in the history of the academy. If I hadn¡¯t used my Primordial Phoenix mes, I might not have been able to touch him. I want to see the standard his Ultimate Ice soul power can reach after he obtains his soul core. From what I can tell, even without using his and Tang Wutong¡¯s Haodong Power, he should be able to give typical Titled Douluo a good fight.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°He should be able to grow up within three years. However¡­ I¡¯m not sure if the continent¡¯s three native empires will be able to hold on that long.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong immediately returned the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion after they left. Just as Yan Shaozhe had predicted, they¡¯d both had some revtions from the battle they¡¯d just fought, and needed to internalize what they¡¯d learnt as soon as possible. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t use his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills anymore, which had quite an effect on him. He needed to make some adjustments to his fighting style, since he couldn¡¯t use them anymore.

    Fusing self-invented soul skills with those from soul rings was something entirely new to Huo Yuhao; it was something that Shrek Academy¡¯s curriculum never even touched. Based on the abilities that Yan Shaozhe had just disyed, it was probably a technique that could only be cultivated by a Soul Douluo, at the very least. Thus, this was the most suitable time for him to start learning about such a concept.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d had revtions; Tang Wutong was the same. They both went back to Huo Yuhao¡¯s room and crossed their legs on the beds, cing their palms together. They channeled Haodong power as they cultivated.

 Chapter 512.3 - The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    Chapter 512.3: The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills

    This was the first time that they¡¯d cultivated together since their martial soul fusion. Compared to before, their Haodong Power was much denser and vaster. Huo Yuhao immediately felt his soul power improving, as well as the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence within his body being almostpletely assimted.

    What Yan Shaozhe hadn¡¯t known was that the main reason for his Ultimate Ice¡¯s rapid rate of improvement and its temperature being so low was due to the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t unleashed his full strength during the practice battle, nor had he truly unleashed his Spirits, which also needed to be considered as part of his fighting strength.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits were different from those of most soul masters. His Spirits¡¯ consciousnesses had been stabilized through the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, thus they themselves possessed a certain level of strength. Once they were fully unleashed, they would be able to support andplement one another. Plus, with the amount of experience that the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress had, they¡¯d probably have been able to hold out a bit longer against Yan Shaozhe, even though they couldn¡¯t possibly have defeated him.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong ced their palms against each other¡¯s, after which their soul power rippled and undted continuously within their bodies. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power improved conspicuously with every cirction. Even though a soul master needed an immense amount of soul power to increase their cultivation rank by even a single rank after they became a Soul Douluo, Huo Yuhao still felt that he¡¯d be able to reach the threshold of bing a Titled Douluo during the next three years with his current cultivation speed! As someone who possessed an Ultimate martial soul, once he became a Titled Douluo, he¡¯d have the strength to challenge a normal Transcendent Douluo by simply relying on his martial soul¡¯s strength.

    As time continued to pass, Huo Yuhao remainedpletely immersed in his revtions and realizations, his emotions incessantly rippling as he did so.

    Tang Wutong is Dong¡¯er, and she¡¯s back by my side. Just that single thought gave Huo Yuhao a lot of emotional rity. Even though he¡¯d lost his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills in the process, he didn¡¯t regret anything for even a second. What could bring him more joy or pleasant surprise than his lover returning to him?

    But at the same time, he quickly realized how important emotions were for self-invented soul skills.

    Emotions were considered to be a part of spiritual power, yet at the same time, they weren¡¯t equivalent; they could be considered an inexplicable force with an abstruse origin. Back then, the most important reason behind his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills being so powerful was due to them containing his intense emotions. At the same time, the repercussions and residual effects brought about after using them also stemmed from his emotions.

    Since emotions can increase the power of self-invented soul skills, does that mean that I can fuse my emotions into my other self-invented soul skills now that I¡¯ve lost my Three Ultimate Haodong Skills?

    The Goddess of Light was undoubtedly Huo Yuhao¡¯s fundamental self-invented soul skill; the truth was that he¡¯d adapted his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills from it. Thus, now that he couldn¡¯t use them anymore, it seemed that he¡¯d have to put more effort back into his Goddess of Light.

    The emotions that his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills relied on were longing and yearning. Now that Wutong was back by his side, those feelings had to transform¡ªbut into what?

    Love, yes, love is the answer.

    This thought had barely surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind when he suddenly felt an intense quiver in his spiritual sea. In the next moment, the love in his heart immediately flooded towards Tang Wutong like a tidal wave.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s beautiful frame trembled a little in response. Her spiritual sea had originally been extremely messy and chaotic, as Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s memory had only been awakened a short time ago, and she hadn¡¯t yet managed topletely integrate the memories of her childhood. She felt her heart and body quiver intensely as she was stimted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s intense feelings of love, and a dash of rosiness appeared on her cheeks as her lips gradually tilted into a faint smile.

    These dense feelings of love surging into her mind were akin to the most potent natural treasures as they nourished her spiritual sea and supported the fusion of her memories.

    Love was a notion for eternity¡ªonly love could trulyst forever.

    Whether she was Wang Dong¡¯er or Tang Wutong didn¡¯t matter¡ªher name was only abel. Tang Wutong had insisted that she was Tang Wutong, rather than Wang Dong¡¯er, because her memories hadn¡¯t beenpletely fused yet. In her heart, she¡¯d been a little afraid that her feelings towards Huo Yuhao weren¡¯t genuine, which had caused her to have a little resistance towards him in her heart ever since recovering her memories.

    But at this moment, as she was smothered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s dense feelings, her memories began to fuse at an elerated rate. Slowly, her entire being¡¯s emotions began to change as she was continuously buffeted by his love.

    Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s originally deep-seated love for Huo Yuhao was guided out and took the driver¡¯s seat, merging together with love that Huo Yuhao was emanating. Their Haodong Power quietly sublimated, while their love continued to ripple and undte away from and because of that sublimation. They weren¡¯t just fusing their martial souls anymore; their emotions and spirits were also fusing. This was the true meaning ofing together to be one.

    When Huo Yuhao felt the reciprocated loveing from Tang Wutong, he was overjoyed. Love was a mutual feeling, thus only with mutual love could it continue to sublimate and evolve. At this moment, the type of love that Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao were feeling was that type of sublimating love. Their overflowing emotions began to encircle their hearts and souls, and faint white halos appeared around their bodies. Gentle undtions could soon be seen as their bodies were cocooned in light.

    Their soul power, spiritual power, and spirits were being rinsed and doused in their dense feelings of love. Slowly but surely, their soul power was changing, and the golden light from within the trident on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead began to circte within her body. Strange transformations also began to happen to Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power and aura.

    I love you, Dong¡¯er. I love you, Wutong. Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was filled with love as it resonated within his mind.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt his spirits be invigorated, and in the next moment felt his spiritual power seem to leave his body. He¡¯d experienced a simr feeling before, but that was when he¡¯d channeled his spiritual power out of his body. Now that his spiritual power was in the concrete-material realm, his spiritual power leaving his body along with his spirit didn¡¯t mean anything was wrong.

    But this time seemed different. Huo Yuhao studied himself closely, only to realize to his astonishment that it wasn¡¯t his spiritual power that was leaving his body. Instead, it was his own, actual spirit leaving his body! Yes, just his spirit, without any spiritual power apanying it!

    Human spirits were extremely weak; once they left one¡¯s body, they would continuously dissipate. The moment that he realized his spirit was leaving his body, he quickly realized that there was also a faint whiteyer surrounding his spirit that seemed to be protecting it from dissipating.

    With his spirit currently in midair, Huo Yuhao could see Tang Wutong and himself with their palms pressed against each other¡¯s, cultivating. Gentle white light surrounded their bodies, and Huo Yuhao could still vividly feel their sublimating soul power, spiritual power, and emotions, despite currently looking down at himself.

    What¡¯s happening? Why has my spirit left my body by itself? Huo Yuhao attempted to control himself and return to his body, but he realized to his surprise that he couldn¡¯t make his spirit move at all.

    At the next moment, some kind of strange force appeared in the ether than instantly pulled his spirit out of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Once his spirit exited the Golden Tree, it began to rise into the sky.

    The sun was radiant outside, and shone down upon the entire Shrek Academy, but a shred of panic still appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. This was the first time that he¡¯de across such a strange situation; he had no idea what was going to happen.

    His spirit had left his body, and was continuously rising through the air. It wasn¡¯t a great feeling; Huo Yuhao could feel himself getting further and further away from his own body. Even though his senses were still connected, he couldn¡¯t control his spirit¡¯s movements in the sky at all!

    Why is this happening? What¡¯s happening to me? Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t find the answer, intense fear and panic beginning to permeate his mind.

    He had been through so much to get Tang Wutong back at his side, yet his spirit had still left his body in such a strange fashion. What exactly is happening? What¡¯s happened?! No, I don¡¯t want to leave. I don¡¯t want to leave Wutong, I still have to protect and love her!

    Intense fear and panic caused a wave of acute emotional ripples to spread from his spirit, as he tried to struggle out of the restraints binding his movements.

    Right at that moment, a gentle aura suddenly enveloped his spirit. This aura was extremely strange, as there seemed to be an immense amount of pure emotions undting within it. After it appeared, Huo Yuhao felt an incrediblyfortable feeling course through his spirit, as if he¡¯d been immersed in warm spring water. This nourishing feeling made him sofortable that he wanted to moan, all traces of panic, fear, and negative emotions disappearing without a trace. Instead, small feelings offort and trust had appeared.

    What exactly is happening?

    Huo Yuhao was extremely intelligent; if he couldn¡¯t at least make a guess about his situation, then he wouldn¡¯t be Huo Yuhao. The aura filled withfort that had nourished his spirit had immediately made him realize that his spirit leaving his body wasn¡¯t because of his own cultivation; rather, some external power had forcibly pulled his spirit from his body.

    All the negative feelings in his spirit had been washed away, thus all that was left wasplete astonishment.

    What kind of strength could forcibly pull my spirit out of my body? Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had already reached the concrete-material realm. Furthermore, he also had Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Destiny Skull and its skill Destiny¡¯s Adjudication, which granted him immunity to three spiritual-type attacks per day.

    Back then, the Evileye Tyrant King hadn¡¯t been able to kill Huo Yuhao with its incredibly powerful attack because he¡¯d used Destiny¡¯s Adjudication to escape with his life. However, this force that was currently controlling his spirit had rendered him unable to resist at all. How powerful would his opponent have to be to achieve this?

    Even though Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure why this was happening, he could feel that whoever was doing this to him had to be an extremely powerful individual who didn¡¯t harbor any ill intentions against him. Else, that person wouldn¡¯t have cated his negative emotions.

 Chapter 513.1 - Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    Chapter 513.1: Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    Unless this is the work of an Ultimate Douluo who has hidden himself from the prying eyes of the public? And it can¡¯t be just any Ultimate Douluo! He or she must be a spiritual-type Ultimate Douluo whose power far exceeds that of the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Death God Douluo! This is the only possible exnation! In fact, this Ultimate Douluo could very well be more powerful than the Beast God¡­ If not, why would the Beast God fail to protect me when I possess his reverse scale? There can only be one answer: the Beast God is not aware of this.

    ¡°Young fellow, stop guessing. Your guesses are all wrong.¡± Huo Yuhao heard a gentle voice from afar. Following which, he felt his senses turned inside out as everything that his soul could sense spiraled into a chaotic mess. He could feel a formless force transforming his surroundings into radiant colors before the colors started to pale into ck and white.

    The ck and white alternated continuously between one another as Huo Yuhao found himself morphing between countless forms. But regardless of how the external world changed, Huo Yuhao managed to keep his soul intact and out of harm¡¯s way.

    He managed to dispel all distractions from his mind and return to a calm state of mind by focusing on his spiritual energy and retaining it. After a temporary shock, he was able to collect himself. But he knew very well that regardless of what this external force was, it was not something that he could fend off. Hence, he knew there wasn¡¯t much point going against someone who was a lot more powerful than him, so chose to sit and wait for that person¡¯s next move. After all, they didn¡¯t seem to bear any malevolent intentions. He or she had merely abducted his soul. Since I can¡¯t figure out what you are up to, all I can do is wait.

    While it was only a short while, it felt like an eternity. His surroundings suddenly turned clear, and much to his surprise, Huo Yuhao found himself regaining control over his soul.

    He was in was a mountain valley¡ªa valley which did not seem to be particrly unique. It was filled with blooming flowers, as well as grass and trees which seemed to be radiating vitality. The tall, majestic trees spread their branches and leaves to form a shady canopy. Up above the valley in the sky, rainbow clouds floated by from time to time.

    Huo Yuhao had regained his human shape; but he was currently in his spiritual form. The only perception he had of the external world could only be described as fortable¡±.

    At this very moment, a peculiar thought formed in his head. How wonderful would it be if I could breathe in all the fresh air within this valley¡­ The air in this valley must be very refreshing¡­ It must be filled with the natural qi of heaven and earth!

    He found himself edging towards the depths of the valley subconsciously, and a pebbled path soon appeared before his feet. The path, which was sandwiched by the different flora beside it, extended into the depths of the valley. With the experience he had, Huo Yuhao was able to identify many treasured herbs and spices. However, there were still so many nts which he could not recognize. Every single one of them seemed to be brimming with spiritual energy.

    The winding path continued straight into the center of the valley. Huo Yuhao continued his walk for over ten minutes until the sight before his eyes transformed abruptly. A pavilion had appeared before his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao could see two people sitting within the pavilion. There was a good-looking young man on the left who looked approximately twenty-seven years old. His long golden hair covered his shoulders as he exuded an all-epassing Buddhist aura.

    There was an old man sitting opposite him. The old man¡¯s head was covered with snow-white hair, and his looks could not be iner. However, he did not seem to possess the fatigue and soulless vibes which gued most elderly people. Both of them did not seem to radiate any fluctuations of spiritual energy, and appeared to be engrossed in their game of chess.

    Huo Yuhao knew nothing about chess, but he was certain that the two people before him were the ones who had connected his soul to this heaven-like ce.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know where this ce was, he had already calmed himself down after being brought here. Huo Yuhao made his way to the pavilion slowly, and stopped by the chessboard. He stood there quietly and observed their game.

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to y chess, he knew that one should not speak while watching a game of chess. Not disturbing someone else¡¯s game was a matter of manners and being polite.

    This game of chess appeared to be ending soon. The old man¡¯s brows were locked in a frown for an extended period of time before he moved his chess piece hesitantly. Conversely, the young man reacted very quickly and confidently, as though everything was going ording to his calctions.

    ¡°Teacher, you have lost yourposure. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no chance of you beating me anymore,¡± the golden-haired young man smiled.

    The old man scoldedughingly, ¡°You little brat! Since we started ying chess, you have never given me a chance to win. Sometimes, I regret training and guiding you for all those years!¡±

    The young man revealed a smile. ¡°Alright. Come on! Don¡¯t be angry! How about this? I¡¯ll prepare our lunch for today.¡±

    The old man was visibly excited by the prospect of the young man¡¯s suggestion as he replied, ¡°Really?!¡±

    The young man nodded and reassured the old man, ¡°Cooking has always been an interest of mine! Why would I lie to you when you were the one who taught me how to cook?¡±

    The old man seemed to be very pleased as he surrendered the chess game and spoke, ¡°Okay okay! I surrender! Now go and prepare lunch for us!¡±

    The young man with the golden hair nodded and said, ¡°Okay. Could you put the chess pieces away for me?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The old man waved his hand, and before anyone could see how he did it, the chess pieces floated naturally and separated themselves into clusters of ck and white before returning to the boxes beside the chess board.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked by what he had just witnessed. The old man was able to move those pieces without giving away any fluctuation in his power!

    The young man with the golden hair stood up and stretched before heading to the other end of the pavilion. As he walked over there, he waved his hand at Huo Yuhao before saying, ¡°Come and join us, little friend.¡±

    Previously, when the young man was talking to the old man, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t sense anything wrong or unnatural with the way he spoke. But now that he was speaking to Huo Yuhao, he found to his surprise that the young man¡¯s voice was exactly the same as the voice he had heard after his soul was sucked out of his body. Is he the powerful guy who brought me here?

    However, there was no way he could turn the young man down at this moment. Thus, Huo Yuhao acknowledged the man¡¯s invitation and went after him.

    The old man remained seated where he was as his face revealed a smile. He muttered to himself, ¡°It seems like that little brat has also had moments when his emotions waver. If not, why would you be so anxious? But I must say your decision is quite unexpected¡­ In fact, it is borderline insane! This is literally snatching one¡¯s prey from the jaws of a tiger, isn¡¯t it? But I must say I like it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed the young man with the golden hair to the other end of the pavilion, and noticed a small courtyard not too far from it. The entire courtyard was made from wood, and there were a few children ying around in it. There was a beautifuldy dressed in a red dress taking care of the children. Not too far from them, another beautifuldy dressed in blue was eating something. All of them seemed to be very blissful.

    This was obviously a family who was happily residing in a paradise away from the prying eyes of normal people. Huo Yuhao suddenly felt envious of what he saw, even though he wasn¡¯t sure why he was feeling that way. When can I form a family with Wutong and live in a paradise like this? That would be so great¡­ We would have a few children, and live happily ever after.

    The young man with the golden hair smiled and asked, ¡°Are you very envious of what you¡¯re seeing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded without hesitation.

    The young man smiled awkwardly. ¡°Actually, if anyone were to lead such a life for an extended period of time, he or she would most definitely feel lonely. I have multiple wives, but they¡¯re often not around me. Only the two of them¡ªthe ones before you¡ªstayed to apany me. The rest of them left to go out and y, and I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll return.¡±

    ¡°Multiple wives?¡± Huo Yuhao had not expected the young man to share this with him. He could not help but shake his head and reply, ¡°Isn¡¯t one wife enough already? The more partners one has, the likelier it is for people to part ways.¡±

    The young man squeezed out a smile and replied, ¡°What you said makes sense. However, sometimes, it is not up to one to make that decision. Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. We¡¯re going to prepare lunch now. It¡¯s not easy keeping this huge group of people happy and full everyday!¡±

    As he spoke, he led Huo Yuhao into a room within the courtyard. It was almost as if the two beautifuldies and the children did not see them at all. They merely continued with what they were doing.

    The young man led Huo Yuhao into what seemed to be a kitchen. From outside the kitchen, it did not seem to be particrly big. But after entering the room, Huo Yuhao found much to his surprise that it was muchrger than it seems. It was at least a hundred square meters. All the ingredients were ced in an organized manner in a certain area within the kitchen, while another area was reserved for the actual cooking process.

    The young man instructed, ¡°You can just stand here and watch. How much you would learn will depend on how much you can infer and absorb.¡± As he finished his sentence, he made his way to the chopping area.

    At that very instant, Huo Yuhao could sense a change within the young man. His breathing suddenly be slightlybored as a strong wave of pressure suffocated Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul.

    Following which, the young man made his move. As he moved his right hand gently, his index and middle fingers extended into a small cloth bag next to the chopping board, and withdrew a small knife. The knife emerged from the bag with a reflective sh. It was less than five inches long, and its tip appeared to be very delicate. The de and the handle appeared to be equal in length. The de seemed to be exuding a Mayan blue sh, and there was also a scary-looking carving on the side of it.

    He waved his left hand and produced a huge empty te before him effortlessly. At the same time, nine simr-looking cucumbers flew towards him.

    Is he actually cooking? But why would he use such a small knife? That knife is even smaller than the carving knife I use to make soul tools¡­

    Huo Yuhao continued watching with many questions in his head.

 Chapter 513.2 - Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    Chapter 513.2: Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    The young man suddenly muttered in a melodic way, ¡°Startling changes begin where the masterful handnds. Carving strokes ripple through the masterpiece a hundred times. This ancient art shall oust eternity. The raised knife, like a crescent moon, will illuminate the cold spring.¡± A Mayan bluish glow¡ªthe knife¡ªrevolved around the te at a rate which made it hard for anyone to make out its shape. Even though it was hard to follow the movement of the knife, Huo Yuhao could make out the carvings on the cucumbers, which were made with every syble the young man muttered. Green pieces of cucumber skin were ejected by the knife as they drifted and fell to the side. After thest syble was uttered, a total of two hundred and sixty-one cuts had been delivered. A circle of cucumber skin fell neatly around the te, forming a perfect circr pattern of ck and green stripes. The size of the skin fragments were all exactly the same. But what was most astounding was the carving thaty above the circle of skin fragments.

    Nine jade-like dragon carvings carved out of cucumber stood proudly at the center of the te. The carvings were delicate, and possessed beautiful features like the horns, the whiskers and the pearls of a dragon.

    The amount of skill required to pull this off was just¡­ unbelievable!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It was the first time he had ever witnessed such remarkable knife-handling skills. This was beyond any mere carving act¡ªthis was the creation of a masterpiece. Huo Yuhao was extremely skilled at creating soul tools, and had spent plenty of time mastering the art of carving. However, all his work was done ording to diagrams and instructions. What he had just witnessed was art infused with creativity, and that was simply breathtaking.

    The young man with the golden hair stole a nce at Huo Yuhao, and revealed a smile. He extended his left hand and waved it. This act sent the huge te into the air. There was a denseyer of cloud which appeared to be holding the te in midair. The cloud gave off a cold aura which was not particrly intense.

    As the young man swept his left hand horizontally, the te began to spin at an unbelievable speed.

    Whenever the bottoms of the cucumbers spun before his eyes, the Mayan bluish glow¡ªthe knife¡ªwould flicker. After three rounds or so, even though Huo Yuhao had long lost count of how many cuts the knife had made, the young man¡¯s hand appeared to have only budged a bit. More green skin fragments fell to the bottoms of the cucumbers, forming the shape of nine clouds. They contrasted against the jade-green dragon tails which had just taken shape.

    At that very instant, it looked as though the nine cucumbers on the te hade to life. They looked like nine green dragons which were encircling the cloud-like support structure, which in turn was suspending the revolving te. The dragons looked so real that they appeared to be ying with one another and chatting amongst themselves.

    The young man with the golden hair made a tap with his left hand as a small, delicate ice ball formed at the tip of his finger. With a simple flick, the ice ball floated towards the te andnded at the center of all nine dragon heads.

    At that very instant, the nine cucumber dragons suddenly started to move. The nine green dragons leapt upwards to different heights and extended their bodies. That was when Huo Yuhao realized how the dragon bodies were merely connected by the thin fibers of the cucumber slices. Even though their connection appeared to be delicate and feeble, the dragons were never broken.

    The nine jade dragons werepeting against one another for the pearl-like ice ball as they leapt and ducked to fight for it. Under the cover of the icy cloud, it looked as though nine jade dragons hade to life. The te had be their world as the nine dragons wove in and out of the clouds in an unpredictable way.

    With a wave of his left hand, the te which carried the nine dragons glided to the side of the kitchen. The young man turned around and smiled at the stupefied Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°That is today¡¯s first dish. But I¡¯m sorry. You won¡¯t be able to try it.¡±

    It was only now that Huo Yuhao finally regained hisposure. He remarked, ¡°Senior¡­ Your knife-handling skills are out of this world. It¡¯s unbelievable!¡± At this moment, he could not find any words to describe his feelings.

    The young man merely smiled and asked, ¡°Do you want to learn it? The intricacies of my Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique have already been perfected and integrated by me over the years. It has nowe to the stage where it transcends all skills and techniques.¡±

    Huo Yuhao almost blurted out how much he wanted to learn it. But still, he managed to keep his wits about him as he hesitated. He asked, ¡°Your carving technique is beyond mystical. There must be some conditions which I have to fulfill in order for you to teach me, right?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair nodded and replied, ¡°Not bad¡­ You¡¯re pretty bright. You¡¯re right! There is no free lunch in this world! Take a look at my dish. Its name is Icy Clouds of the Nine Azure Dragons. It was my masterpiece when I first started to make a name for myself in the world of artistic carving.¡±

    Huo Yuhao remained focused as he asked, ¡°So what would you need me to do for you?¡±

    The young man smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It can only be a good thing. My condition is simple. If you want to learn my carving technique, you must inherit my Godly Seat.¡±

    ¡°Godly Seat?¡± After hearing these two words, Huo Yuhao was shocked beyond belief. He had finally connected the dots.

    The human before me¡ªno, the god before me¡ªis not human! No wonder he was able to abduct my soul and bring me to this paradise so easily! So, could this be the world of the gods? So, gods exist in this world?

    At this very instant, Huo Yuhao felt like he was going through a mental breakdown. He had so many questions in his head, yet he was still suffering from the shock which he had just heard.

    All this while, even though his aim was to attain a Godly Seat and help his Spirits move on to another world to live eternally, deep down inside, he was always doubtful about the existence of Gods.

    He was unable to determine if Gods really existed. Even though he had some sort of sensation which hinted at the possibility of their existence, it was but a very minor sensation. But at this very instant, when an actual God was standing before him, he could not conceal the excitement and shock inside him. Everything is real! The God Realm exists! Gods do exist! I can¡¯t believe it!

    The young man with the golden hair revealed a smile, ¡°Are you surprised? Actually, because of your cultivation and meditations, you have longe close to bing a God. However, to truly transcend your mortality and be a God, you¡¯ll still have to ovee plenty of challenges.¡±

    ¡°Please advise me.¡± Huo Yuhao politely asked the young man for advice. Huo Yuhao knew nothing about the God Realm, it. However, he really wanted to know everything and anything about it. Since he knew that the God before him was not malevolent, he decided to ask for more information.

    The young man with the golden hair smiled. ¡°Actually, what we term as the God Realm is but the ssification of people who have elevated their abilities to a level of purity which is simr to that of the natural elements. As our cultivation level increases, our understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth improves. This improved understanding allows us to enter this ce. You can actually think of the God Realm as a realm formed from the purest energies. It is like a world beyond many worlds.¡±

    ¡°Any cultivating human would be able to enter the God Realm when they possess both a Godly Seat and abilities which are sufficiently powerful to receive approval from the God Realm. It doesn¡¯t matter what their cultivation methods are.¡±

    ¡°Then how does a Godly Seate into y?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    The young man with the golden hair replied, ¡°At the end of the day, there is limited space in the God Realm. There is only a set amount of humans it can hold. Hence, in order to enter the God Realm, one needs a ce, or rather a seat, which belongs to him or her. Godly Seats have a veryplex rtionship with our understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Any change in the ownership of a Godly Seat would often hint at an iing change in the God Realm. Usually, there are a few possible scenarios or reasons why there would be a change in ownership of a Godly Seat. For example, if the owner happens to die in the pursuit of advancing his or her understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, a sessor is required to inherit his or her Godly Seat. Also, if an owner decides to leave the God Realm to seek knowledge and enlightenment which lies beyond the God Realm, he or she must give up his or her Godly Seat to an inheritor.¡±

    As he finished his sentence, he stared deeply at Huo Yuhao, as though he were suggesting something.

    Huo Yuhao spoke, ¡°So if you were to pass your Godly Seat to me, it would be for thetter reason? Then, how many Godly Seats are there in the God Realm?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair shook his head and admitted, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the answer to your question. Our God Realm controls a hundred and eight different worlds.. Among the different worlds, some of them are known as the Gifted Worlds, and the Douluo Continent happens to be one of them. A Gifted World is a world where its people are more gifted, and are much more likely to attain God status. Even though I did note from the same continent as you, I came from another Gifted World. The people who are truly in control of the number of Gods are those who preside over the God Realm Judicial Committee. The Committee consists of two Godkings and three judges.¡±

    ¡°If you can enter the God Realm in the future, you will naturally understand what I¡¯m talking about. In the God Realm, other than the five people on the Committee, the strongest Gods are called the Core Gods. There are thirty-two Core Gods in the God Realm. Under them are the rest of the Gods. And because I happen to be one of the thirty-two Core Gods, I assure you it would not be an insult to you if you were to ept my Godly Seat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Then why are the soul beasts in my continent unable to be Gods?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair smiled and shook his head. ¡°Actually, it is extremely difficult for any beast to evolve into a God. The God Realm has never stopped them from joining us. It is simply down to theirck of understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Most beasts¡ªother than those from advanced species like the dragons¡ªdo not possess a high intelligence when they are born. Even dragons take a long time to develop fundamental mental capabilities. Hence, most of them are unable to absorb their Xiantian energy during their birth. This bes a huge barrier for their future cultivation. Thus, even though humans do not live as long as beasts, our intelligence and absorption of our Xiantian energy allows us to possess incredible learning and cultivation abilitypared to other species. The moment our intelligence bes ours, our journey to bing stronger will be a lot smootherpared to any other species.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath as he tried to take everything in. ¡°Then why would you pass your Godly Seat to me? This is a paradise which you cannot find in the worlds of mortals. And here, you have your family with you. Isn¡¯t this good enough for you?¡±

 Chapter 513.3 - Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    Chapter 513.3: Godly Seat! Realm of the Gods!

    The young man revealed an awkward expression as he hesitated before sighing. He replied, ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you. While there are plenty of advantages thate with being a God, you will suffer from the sense of loneliness. Those Gods who can reside peacefully in the God Realm for prolonged periods of time are those who can withstand loneliness. Because a God can get anything he or she wants in the God Realm, there is an unfortunate absence of bliss and happiness. After passing my Godly Seat to you, I will bring my family to look for another God Realm, and experience what life is in the worlds beyond that.¡±

    ¡°Another God Realm?!¡± Huo Yuhao blurted, ¡°Hold on. There¡¯s more than one God Realm out there?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair smiled, ¡°Of course. Our God Realm might control a hundred and eight worlds, but what about the other worlds? Our worlds are boundless, and I believe there must be other God Realms in the vast space out there. And that is what I hope to do¡ªto journey out far beyond to find these realms. I have resided in this God Realm for many years, and continuing such a in life is not what I want. My children will descend into the mortal worlds to train after I leave with my wives to seek out the other God Realms. Who knows? I might return one day. Even though I would have lost my Godly Seat¡ªhopefully to you¡ªI can still create my own little haven in the God Realm with my abilities. After saying so much, what¡¯s your decision? Do you want to inherit my Godly Seat?¡±

    Huo Yuhao paused for a short while before asking, ¡°Senior, may I know why you chose me?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair replied, ¡°Because I have found many simrities between your experiences and mine. I have been silently observing what you have been through, and I feel that you have surpassed me in many ways. At the very least, you are a lot more faithful to your loved one.¡± While he was finishing up thisst line, he could not help but give an awkward smile. ¡°I was not able to remain faithful to my partner, and this failure affected my cultivation. Even though I was able to integrate my learnings and abilities before I attained God status, my unbing lifestyle had affected my cultivation. If not, with my abilities, I would have possessed the power to challenge one of the five seats in the Committee. I hope that you can surpass me after obtaining my Godly Seat, and ascend to the pinnacle of sess within the God Realm.¡±

    Ascend to the pinnacle of sess within the God Realm¡­? The young man¡¯s voice might be calm, but it invigorated thepetitiveness within Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath before asking the question that was guing him. ¡°So, what do you need me to do? Or rather, what kind of tests do I need to go through?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair nodded and said, ¡°You have already gone through enough tribtions in your life. Even though those challenges were not issued by me, I have seen how you have persevered through those tough times. Selecting the sessor to a Godly Seat has always been a process infused with a huge element of luck and chance. Your understanding and potential in ice-type techniques, as well as the way you invest your emotions into your soul skills, made me choose you. Of course, you will still have to go through other evaluations, but they will not be issued by me. I can now nt the godly seed within you. Once your cultivation level is high enough, I will ferry you into the God Realm. The ultimate test you will have to face is what you already know. You will have to stop all your otherpetitors who will be trying to stop you from qualifying for the God Realm. Once you are done with that, you will see me again.¡±

    There was absolutely no reason for Huo Yuhao to turn down his offer. As a human, he had long been cultivating and training to enter the God Realm!

    ¡°Senior, after I have be a God, can I bring my loved ones to the God Realm?¡±

    The young man with the golden hair smiled. ¡°Of course you can. After inheriting my Core Godly Seat and bing a God, you will have the right to bring some of your loved ones into the God Realm. As with any other world, the stronger you are, the more weight your words will carry in the God Realm. So if you want to bring more people into the God Realm, you will have to put in a lot more work and effort.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao no longer had any doubts. He respectfully bowed before the young man and announced, ¡°I am willing to inherit your Godly Seat.¡±

    After those simple words came out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth, the young man¡¯s body started to give off a golden glow. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul form also started to shine as his body took on a golden glow.

    The smile on the young man¡¯s face disappeared, and it was reced with a solemn and serious expression.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao! From today onwards, you will be the sessor to my Godly Seat. As a member of the God Realm, I am not allowed to interfere with matters in the worlds beneath the God Realm. However, after possessing my godly seed, your journey to bing stronger will be a lot smoother. My Godly Seat is named Emotion. The better you understand emotions, the smoother the process of inheritance will be.¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his right hand and extended his index finger before tapping Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead.

    At that instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body trembled. He felt as though his body had be clear and transparent. Under the intense trembling, his soul seemed to have been cleansed by a mysterious power.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual energy change. It did not be stronger. Instead, it had evolved into something grander and more deserving of reverence. This sensation felt strangely familiar; he had felt it during his encounters with the Cmity Necromancer, Electrolux.

    This must be what the divine sense feels like.

    ¡°Yes. That is what you people call divine sense. After epting my godly seed, a part of your consciousness in your soul will turn into divine sense. As your cultivation continues to improve, it will evolve more into a moreplete divine sense. But I must remind you not to release your divine sense at any point in time unless you are in a life-and-death situation. If someone were to take away your godly seed, you would die. Also, my Godly Seat will be wrested away from me. Thus, you must be extremely careful for yourself and for your family. I would suggest you keep your godly seed a secret. Do not tell anyone¡ªincluding your loved ones¡ªabout it.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Huo Yuhao respectfully acknowledged the man¡¯s instructions. His heart was brimming with happiness after sensing the improvement of his soul.

    The young man smiled. ¡°Besides giving you my godly seed, I have two other things for you. I believe they will allow you to grow faster, and be my sessor sooner. They will be nted into your body along with the divine sense I have given you. Remember my words: regardless of whether it pertains to your cultivation or your emotions, being faithful, dedicated and focused will be your greatest strength. Now go on.¡±

    As he spoke, the young man waved his hand, and Huo Yuhao felt his surroundings be illusory. At that very instant, his soul form could no longer sense or perceive his surroundings. He found himself surrounded by golden sparks, as though everything had ceased to be real.

    ¡°Remember me. I am the God of Emotions, and my name is Rong Nianbing.¡±

    As his mind reverberated with Rong Nianbing¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao slowly lost consciousness.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul disappeared before him, Rong Nianbing revealed a sly smile as he continued to prepare his delicacies.

    ¡°Did you choose that youngd because of his potential in cooking?¡± A light shed, and the old man who had yed chess with Rong Nianbing appeared by the young man¡¯s side.

    Rong Nianbing smiled. ¡°There¡¯s definitely a little bit of that. But it¡¯s a little toote to start learning now. Also, I needed him to take over my Godly Seat as soon as possible. If not, I would have taken him in as my disciple, and passed on the top-ss cooking skills you taught me in the past.¡±

    The old man hissed, ¡°But you might have gone overboard this time round! Thisd was already hand-picked by that guy. You should know very well how much that guy would hate you if he were to know that you¡¯ve intervened.¡±

    Rong Nianbing chuckled. ¡°That would be his fault for not seeing thising. Anyways, even if Huo Yuhao were to inherit my Godly Seat, it would still do him good. It would be so much better for him to gain the support of another Core God than for him to give up a Core Godly Seat, right? The only problem is that he can¡¯t afford to bezy anymore. But I can! Don¡¯t you want to travel with me to the other God Realms?¡±

    The old manughed, ¡°You are still the decisive one between us. Now that all is said and done, even if he were to uncover what we have done, he would have no way of reversing it. All he can do is vent his frustrations on that poord. You know what? I am starting to feel sorry for that young boy! All of you cunning folks are really bad people¡ªpicking on a young man like him.¡±

    Rong Nianbing replied casually, ¡°One can only improve and be better if he or she can handle the hardships of life. When I told him about my wish for him to ascend the pinnacle of this God Realm, I meant every single word I said. Also, I feel that my abilities are better suited to him. Don¡¯t you agree with me?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes. You¡¯re always right. Now go and prepare lunch. I¡¯m already famished.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my dear master.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Golden. It was still golden. When Huo Yuhao woke up, he realized he was still cultivating with Tang Wutong. They were still drawing upon their soul power and improving their Haodong Power.

    While they were basking in their mutual love for one another, their Haodong Power seemed to have improved. Within the rapidly flowing fluid, the golden spirals had expanded to twice their original size. Even though these spirals were unable topress as much soul power as soul cores, they were able to contain more soul power than the usual medium. This allowed their soul power to continually expand and increase as they mixed andbined with one another.

    Was all of that a dream? Could it be some sort of hallucination?

    After Huo Yuhao woke up, he started to think back to the out-of-body experience he had had earlier.

    That young man with the golden hair. That paradise. That pavilion.

    The God of Emotion, and the Godly Seat?

    Were those things real, or just products of my imagination?

    If it was all real, that would be insane! The Beast God Di Tian must have thought that he would be able to seal me with his reverse scale. But he didn¡¯t know it wouldn¡¯t even be able to detect it when a real God decided to intervene and take action.

    As he mulled over what had happened, Huo Yuhao focused on his soul power and felt the changes in it.

    Very soon, he realized¡ªmuch to his surprise¡ªthat the increase in strength and solidity of the Haodong Power whenever he and Tang Wutong circted it was not a result of any change in their cultivation methods. The spirals that allowed their soul power to be more condensed were the product of an inherent change within his soul power.

 Chapter 514.1 - Leaving Seclusion

    Chapter 514.1: Leaving Seclusion

    Huo Yuhao discovered a mysterious glisteningyer on top of the soul power in his Mysterious Heaven Technique. That glisteningyer felt very mystical, as though it was a blend of white and ck which merged with his soul power.

    As his cultivation increased, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had transformed into a faint golden color. This was a product of the continual improvement of his abilities. While his soul power remained golden, there was now an additional membrane-like exterior on the outside of his soul power. This light membrane was formed from the ck and white colors.

    With this additional membrane, Huo Yuhao suddenly discovered a leap in the quality of his soul power. It had be a lot more refined, and seemed to be pulsating. The rhythm at which his soul power was pulsating appeared to be directly linked to the movement or activity of his soul. It was almost as if his spiritual energy and soul power had fused together. In other words, they were no longer distinctpounds, but the same kind of energy.

    As he took a nce at Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao realized that the soul power that Tang Wutong had integrated into the Haodong Power had also transformed. Her soul power, which was originally golden, now had an additional violet tinge on its exterior. Huo Yuhao recognized this violet color! Back then when he first tried and failed to integrate with her martial soul, Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power had been exactly like this. He could still remember the grandeur it exuded very clearly.

    Previously, when they were trying to fuse their martial souls above the Sea God¡¯s Lake, Tang Wutong seemed to have called something back from the golden trident rune on her forehead. Now it was apparent that the strange thing she had called back was probably this violet membrane. And because Huo Yuhao had gained the ck and white light membrane and Tang Wutong had regained her violet membrane, both their soul powers had a fundamental transformation. However, the fusion of their martial souls was still seamless. Their Haodong Power was also undergoing a simr fundamental transformation.

    Unless everything I experienced was real? Huo Yuhao was in disbelief, but he knew that was the only possible answer.

    If that was the case, the additional membrane on his soul power could be exined. He would also know what had been added to his soul power. The ck and white membrane must be the divine sense the God of Emotions was referring to. If my martial soul is still able to fuse with Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul under such circumstances, does that mean Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power also possesses divine sense? After all, her soul power also has a membrane¡­ That would exin why I was unable to fuse with her martial soul! It was because she had divine sense, and her soul power was at a higher level than mine!

    After thinking it through, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind cleared up. Even though he didn¡¯t not know where and how Tang Wutong got her divine sense, he knew it would surely not be a bad thing! In fact, things could not be better! Their original Haodong Power was about 1.5 times their total soul power. But with the foundation of their respective divine sense, their Haodong Power gained another 50% from their condensed soul power. This meant that when they performed a fusion of their martial souls, their soul power alone would allow them to be on par with a Rank 92 Titled Douluo! Of course, their soul power regeneration ability would still be iparable to a Titled Douluo¡¯s, because they didn¡¯t possess the same soul core.

    But their martial souls were undeniably amongst the best martial souls out there! Besides, stamina was not the sole sess factor in battles. When it came to explosiveness, Huo Yuhao was very confident in his abilities.

    The God of Emotions. A Godly Seat. Have I really been chosen by a God?

    The return of his loved one and the gift of a Godly Seat had seemed to turn his life around. Everything started to seem wonderful, as though he had finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. This made the love in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart even stronger as the cirction of the Haodong Power became even smoother and more perfect. As Huo Yuhao steadied the thoughts in his mind and started to focus on the circtions, he continued cultivating with Tang Wutong.

    The golden trident rune on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead was glowing gently as the violet glow circted around it and entered her body. Compared to Huo Yuhao, she had already emptied her mind, and was fully focused on cultivation. Basking in Huo Yuhao¡¯s love, she was in undeniable bliss andfort.

    She was also undergoing a mysterious transformation. Arge part of the transformation was the fusion of her memories of the past. Those cloudy memories were fusing and integrating with her mind under the influence of Huo Yuhao¡¯s love. She was regaining everything, from her memories to her emotions.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°What? They¡¯re still not out yet?¡± Xu Sanshi eximed with a strange expression on his face as he looked at Bei Bei. ¡°It¡¯s already been so many days. Even newlyweds don¡¯t over-exert themselves to this extent, right? It¡¯s already been seven days since they sparred with Dean Yan and returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. I must say, they¡¯re really¡­ strong!¡±

    Bei Bei frowned and replied, ¡°Enough of that. Can you not use your dirty mind to measure the actions and thoughts of our little junior brother? They are not doing any of the ¡°over-exertions¡± you have in your dirty mind. I heard from Elder Xuan that both of them have been busy cultivating. And it appears that both of them have made significant progress. They have entered a state of deep meditation, and may even be in the Conscious State of Deep Meditation. After all, if we were topare our talents, Tang Wutong and little junior brother probably have the most out of the seven of us.¡±

    Xu Sanshi gave an awkward smile and replied, ¡°To be honest, I must say I wasn¡¯t very epting of the fact that he was more talented than us in the past. But since he returned the other time, I must say I can¡¯t help but agree with what you just said. Argh! There¡¯s no pointparing with one another. We really need to work harder. Wait, isn¡¯t little junior brother helping us concoct elixirs? I wonder how much they¡¯ll help us improve our abilities this time around¡­¡±

    Bei Bei hissed, ¡°Can you stop thinking about such things? Growth and improvement brought by external products will never truly belong to our bodies. Nothing beats improvement gained by our own training.¡±

    Xu Sanshi giggled, ¡°Ohe on! I¡¯m sure you share the same thoughts as me! We are very different from the usual soul engineers. Because we have been training hard from our youth, our foundation is extremely firm and secured. Besides, little junior brother only uses rare and precious herbs for his elixirs. They have hardly any side-effects or drawbacks. Oh, that¡¯s right, how is Xiao Ya been doing these few days?¡±

    After hearing Xu Sanshi mention Xiao Ya, Bei Bei¡¯s eyes softened visibly. ¡°She¡¯s in much better shape now, even though her body is still a little weak. It also appears that she has started to regain some of her memories. She is so lucky to have little junior brother¡¯s Life Guardian de by her side. Even though her life energy continues to leak away, she should be fine for the next two or three years.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping tabs on the different auctions. We have already dispatched the tasks, and we have started to see people returning with different medicines. Even though we have yet to see the real Bluesilver Emperor, things have started to look really positive as more powerful individuals join us in this task. I believe that with the additional manpower, we will be able to deliver the Bluesilver Emperor in no time.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded gently and said, ¡°I really hope so. We have already troubled so many people to help Xiao Ya.¡±

    Xu Sanshi rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Ohe on! We¡¯re a family. Xiao Ya is both the Sect Leader of the Tang Sect and also my sister-inw. How can we not help her?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled, ¡°Alright, alright. You should run along and train those young people now. All three of our Soul Engineer Legions¡¯bat powers have all been established. You should go and help them out. Little junior brother was right. The right way to go in the future is to integrate the power of soul masters and soul tools. We might have neglected soul tools all this while, but the Sun Moon Empire has been over-reliant on them. Their troops might perform well in groups, but when ites to individual unit strength, our newly trained soul engineers will most definitely be stronger than them.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and replied, ¡°I really hope we can make up for the gap between the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools and ours. Alright, that¡¯s enough for now. I shall take my leave.¡±

    As he finished his sentence, Xu Sanshi turned and left, while Bei Bei started to settle some of the work that needed to be done.

    ¡­¡­

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce.

    Dressed in a long, elegant white dress, Ju Zi sat in the courtyard quietly as she baskedzily under the warm, inviting sun.

    There was a fur scarf draped across her shoulders. Blush had been applied to her pretty face, which threatened to steal the limelight of anything and everything in her presence.

    There was also some pelt draped across her thighs. She gently stroked her abdomen with her right hand as her eyes radiated warmth and affection. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts from time to time, as though she had recalled something.

    ¡­¡­

    Roarrr! The low belting sound of a dragon echoed across the sky. The dense ripples of its soul power fused with its strong spiritual energy and rippled outwards slowly.

    The gigantic Golden Tree glowed as though it were absorbing this enormous amount of energy, which was dissipating through the air. It also seemed like it was trying to prevent any wasteful leakage of these precious energy waves.

    The dragon¡¯s roar was neither created by a man nor a dragon. It originated from a golden spiral. And this golden spiral was precisely the one between Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Their palms were raised against one another, and the golden spiral was circting and spiralling perfectly between them.

    The golden color was brilliant and piercing to the eye. It glittered as though there were countless sparks within it.

    Yes! That was their brand-new Haodong Power, which was entirely different from the old one.

    This Haodong Power was pure, and did not epass their individual divine sense. It was a perfect fusion.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong opened their eyes at almost the same time. If one were to pay attention to Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, one would see a tinge of purple in the depths of his eyes. At the center of his pupils, two shes of ck and white transformed into an arc and retreated into the depths of his pupils.

    A violet glow shed before retreating into Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. Her eyes appeared to be crystal clear, as though one could see into her beautiful soul.

    Both of them looked at each other and smiled before they broke their palms away from each other at the same time. The golden spiral before them transformed into four currents, which followed their palms and returned to their bodies.

 Chapter 514.2 - Leaving Seclusion

    Chapter 514.2: Leaving Seclusion

    Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wutong with both happiness and love brimming from his eyes.

    Even though she was blushing, Tang Wutong could not take her eyes off Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao opened his arms and brought her into his embrace. As he hugged her soft and warm body tightly, he could sense the Haodong Power which was still pulsating through their bodies. He gently said, ¡°Wutong, I am now certain that my Dong¡¯er has returned.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tang Wutong gently replied.

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°I should be the one thanking you instead. Do you know your return has given me a new lease on life?¡±

    Tang Wutong whispered, ¡°And why do you think it would be different for me? Do you know how I felt earlier?¡±

    ¡°What did it feel like?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°I feltplete. Finallyplete.¡±

    ¡°Complete?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Yes! Do you remember the day when I witnessed you take nine cuts for me? After the sight of you sustaining eighteen wounds awakened the memories in my head, I felt as if I was the product of many different souls. I had a lot of different memories in my head, and everything just felt super confusing. Even though Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories were the bulk of it, because she was only recently awakened, my memories and hers constantly came into conflict. Hence, I was in a lot of pain during that time. In fact, I didn¡¯t even know who I was¡ªTang Wutong or Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°But now it¡¯s different. Everything has be so much clearer. It no longer matters whether I¡¯m Tang Wutong or Wang Dong¡¯er. You have made me experience and understand a lot of things. Dong¡¯er¡¯s memories are nowpletely integrated with mine, and I am nowplete. I am both Tang Wutong and Wang Dong¡¯er. But no matter what my name is, you will always be my love.¡±

    As she spoke, she hugged Huo Yuhao tightly, and stuck her satisfied face into his embrace.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! No matter what your name is, you will always be my love.¡± Huo Yuhao repeated Tang Wutong¡¯s words.

    Sometimes, not speaking could be a stronger expression of love than any words. This session had allowed them to rediscover the love they had for one another. Even though Wang Dong¡¯er had changed her name, she was still the Dong¡¯er who loved him.

    ¡°If the two of you n to perform for all of us old folks, could you please hurry up? If not, can you scram back to your Tang Sect? In these seven days, both of you have absorbed a third of the energy from the Golden Tree. It probably won¡¯t recover from that anytime soon.¡± Elder Xuan¡¯s reprimanding voice echoed into their ears.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong jolted and moved away from one another with blushing faces. But at the same time, they were both taken aback by Elder Xuan¡¯s words.

    Seven days?! We¡¯ve been training for seven days?! Huo Yuhao was not as shocked, as his journey into the God Realm made the entire thing seem a bit longer. But Tang Wutong felt that she had merely taken a nap in Huo Yuhao¡¯s loving embrace.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Elder Xuan! We¡¯ll take our leave right away.¡± Huo Yuhao dragged Tang Wutong and fled from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    By the time they reached the outside of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, they noticed how faint the colors of the Golden Tree had be just over the course of these few days.

    Upon seeing this, both Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao felt an immense sense of gratitude towards their elders.

    The Golden Tree was the greatest asset and the most important foundation of Shrek Academy. Only its most outstanding disciples would be allowed to experience the origin energy of heaven and earth from the Golden Tree at an appropriate time. Afterwards, these disciples would then leave to carve out their own paths. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had experienced this previously, when Tang Wutong was still Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Afterwards, as Huo Yuhao gained a deeper understanding of the Academy, he started to understand how the Golden Tree by itself was a very peculiar organism. Many souls of Shrek Academy¡¯s seniors had stayed within the Tree. Beyond that, it could absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth from its surroundings and consolidate it into its center. Thus, cultivation within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was often extremely productive.

    But this did not mean that the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion could absorb the energy from the Golden Tree whenever they wished. In fact, all of its members had been extremely prudent, and often only absorbed a tiny bit of the origin energy. Most of them would leave the pavilion if they felt that they were about to break their training bottleneck, in fear of consuming too much energy from the Golden Tree¡ªunless they determined that they were in imminent danger.

    Previously, when the beast wave came, the almighty Beast God Di Tian had led the soul beast army from the Great Star Dou Forest. If not for the power of the Golden Tree, which Elder Mu and Elder Xuan borrowed to trap Di Tian, Shrek Academy might have turned into ruins.

    Hence, the Golden Tree could be said to be Shrek Academy¡¯sst line of defence. It was thus important for it to possess sufficient origin energy of heaven and earth.

    Because Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were absorbed in their Conscientious State of Deep Meditation, they would naturally be oblivious to the copious amount of origin energy of heaven and earth they absorbed from the Golden Tree. However, Elder Xuan and the other elders did not stop them at all during the entire process. Hence, Huo Yuhao felt immensely grateful towards them. He knew that both Wutong and him had absorbed arge part of Shrek Academy¡¯s resources!

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as both of them kneeled down and bowed in the direction of the Golden Tree. They were both thanking the elders and the Golden Tree for the origin energy of heaven and earth.

    In their short seven days of cultivation in the Conscientious State of Deep Meditation, their soul power had improved by an entire rank! This was a full rank increase after Rank 80!

    ¡°Wutong, do you want to follow me back to the Tang Sect? You can stay with me at the Tang Sect from now on.¡± Huo Yuhao whispered to Tang Wutong lovingly.

    Tang Wutong smiled, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll follow you wherever you go!¡± Her beautiful smile made Huo Yuhao feel like loving her as he squeezed her hand tightly.

    Both of them shed a smile at one another before they stood up and sprinted for the Tang Sect after leaving Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    Elder Xuan stood before his room¡¯s window and watched the couple leave as a smile formed on his face. He muttered to himself, ¡°What a pair of talented individuals! Even the heavens would be jealous of their talents! Elder Mu, it seems like we have finally found you a sessor. Regardless of what happens, we will help them grow quickly. Heroes are born in chaotic times! Let¡¯s just hope they¡¯ll have enough time to grow into the heroes we all deserve.¡±

    In the Tang Sect.

    ¡°Wee back, Dong¡¯er!¡± Jiang Nannan gave Tang Wutong a huge embrace as tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.

    News of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s return had spread within the Tang Sect, and everyone was excited to wee them back.

    Since the Fated Blind Date, everyone in the Tang Sect had learned how Tang Wutong was Wang Dong¡¯er. After knowing that Wang Dong¡¯er¡ªHuo Yuhao¡¯s love¡ªhad returned, some rejoiced, while some were feeling a little disappointed. But even the disappointed ones felt happy for both of them.

    Very soon, the higher-ups in the Tang Sect arrived.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Caitou, Xuan Ziwen, Gao Dalou, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, Na Na, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were all present. They were the pirs of Tang Sect, and nearly all of them had stayed behind. With their help, the Tang Sect seemed to be moving toward a bright future, as they helped to manufacture soul tools and continued to cultivate their own abilities.

    Bei Bei did note alone. There was another person in his embrace. And that person was none other than Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya was still looking very pale, but one could tell that she was a lot more spirited from the look in her eyes. As she stared at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, she revealed a faint smile.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother and Teacher Xiao Ya.¡± Huo Yuhao hastily stepped forward and gave Tang Ya a concerned look.

    Tang Ya smiled before giving him a cheeky reply. ¡°Yuhao, you know how to grill fish, right?¡±

    Those words were simple, but they surprised both Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei. Both of them stared at one another, and saw the excitement and hope in each other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, you have regained your memories?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Tang Ya excitedly.

    Tang Ya looked at him, but her eyes still seemed a little clouded. She muttered, ¡°Yuhao, the grilled fish was delicious.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied instantly, ¡°Yes! Teacher Xiao Ya, I will make them for you right away! Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Ya nodded.

    Tears started to well up in Bei Bei¡¯s eyes. While the poison in Tang Ya¡¯s body had been gradually removed after being rescued a few weeks ago, her body remained weak, and she could only barely recognize him. But after seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er today, she was actually able to point out the grilled fish she ate. This humongous improvement was more than enough to excite them and give them hope.

    Hence, today¡¯s lunch became grilled fish, and Huo Yuhao¡ªthe guy who was arguably the most important person in Tang Sect now¡ªbecame their master chef for the day. He grilled fish for Teacher Xiao Ya, Wutong, and all his otherpanions.

    As he watched his hands produce the sumptuous grilled fish, he found himself thinking about the God of Emotions uncontrobly. His culinary art must be at an impossible level¡­

    Everyone had lunch together in a joyous atmosphere. Even Tang Ya ate two whole grilled fish by herself before falling asleep in Bei Bei¡¯s embrace with a sweet smile.

    However, after the sumptuous lunch, Huo Yuhao started to get busy with work. There were simply too many things for him to do.

    The moment lunch was finished, Xuan Ziwen pulled Huo Yuhao into the Research Institute without any regard for his honeymoon. Huo Yuhao had disappeared for the past seven or eight days. If he had disappeared for any reason other than Tang Wutong, Xuan Ziwen would have reprimanded him. Even though he could understand why Huo Yuhao had to leave, Xuan Ziwen carried a face of displeasure at the dy that had urred.

    Resigned to his ill fate, Huo Yuhao could only follow Xuan Ziwen to the Research Institute. Huo Yuhao knew well that the Tang Sect was in no shortage of living space, and Tang Wutong would have no trouble finding a room. Hence, he could follow Xuan Ziwen to make soul tools without any worry for her. She had also reassured him that she could continue her cultivation in the Tang Sect, and that he could find her whenever he found time to do so.

 Chapter 514.3 - Leaving Seclusion

    Chapter 514.3: Leaving Seclusion

    After clearing all his worries of Tang Wutong off his mind, Huo Yuhao dove back into his research.

    ¡°The entire structure is almostplete. The manufacturing process is up next.¡± Xuan Ziwen looked pleased as he patted the thick stack of blueprints.

    He had never built this ss 9 soul tool before, as it had only been conceptualized recently. Even though the experience of their predecessors had yed a part in the soul tool¡¯s design, it was still something he deserved to be proud of.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°How do you want me to help you?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen chuckled, ¡°No, no. You will not be the one helping me. You have mixed up the order. I should be the one helping you. From today onwards, you will begin the construction of this ss 9 soul tool, and I will assist you in your work. If you bump into any problems, I will help you rectify them. Nevertheless, the entire process would be led and carried out by you.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m not ready for this! You can¡¯t push me this hard¡­¡±

    Xuan Ziwen teased him, ¡°Ohe on! Do you really think I don¡¯t know you¡¯ve already acquired your eighth ring? Besides, you previously built a ss 8 soul tool, and are somewhat qualified to be a ss 8 soul engineer. Besides, I¡¯m not pushing you too hard. I¡¯m merely varying my teaching methods ording to the capabilities and potential of my disciples. How can you bepared to any average student? You possess such powerful spiritual power, and have attained a sufficiently high cultivation. If it were only a ss 8 soul tool, there would have been no need for me to instruct you in person. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to figure it out if I give you time to slowly explore the designs. It will only be a matter of time before youplete the soul tool. ss 9 soul tools are somewhat equivalent to abination of twenty or thirty ss 8 soul tools. Once you figure out the intricacies behind it, crafting ss 8 soul tools will be a piece of cake for you in the future.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t underestimate this pill furnace. It contains over thirty different formation arrays, and every single one of them is required to master the construction of a ss 8 soul tool. As long as you can build the bulk of this soul tool, you can im the title of a ss 8 soul engineer. Okay, that¡¯s enough talking. You can start working now. Don¡¯t rush into it, and begin from the external shellyer. I have collected all the rare metals and ced them here. You have one day toplete the external shellyer. We will discuss the interior after you¡¯re done with that.¡± Following which, Xuan Ziwen gave a cheeky smile before leaving the Research Institute.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw dropped as he watched Xuan Ziwen leave. This is a freaking ss 9 soul tool! Seems like I need to tone down a bit. Being too outstanding can be bad sometimes¡­ If it were someone else instead of me, I¡¯m sure Teacher Xuan would not have done this¡­

    Huo Yuhao knew Xuan Ziwen¡¯s temperament very well. There was no chance of him changing his mind after he had made a decision. Since Teacher Xuan wants me to do it, bring it on then! But it¡¯s really quite a shame that I got myself into this mess just when I was finally reunited with Wutong. I thought I would finally have time to spend with her¡­

    But the mere thought of Wutong took away all the frustration in his heart as a blissful look appeared on his face. I will fight on just so I can better protect Wutong in the future!

    Because the design of this pill furnace was made by Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen, he was already very familiar with it. After having tried building a few outer shells and formation arrays, he was pretty confident about it.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao was able to iste the blueprints which pertained to the outer shellyer.

    And just as Xuan Ziwen had said, all the rare metals required to craft the pill furnace were all prepared and ready to be used. They were all neatly arranged in front of a wall at the corner of the Research Institute.

    However, after examining the outer shell¡¯s blueprints closely, Huo Yuhao started to doubt himself. With his current ability, building the outer shell of a soul tool¡ªeven a ss 9 soul tool¡ªwould not be a problem. However, the outer shell of this pill furnace was quite a bit different from a standard ss 9 soul tool.

    While it wasmon for ss 9 soul tools which were not closebat tools to be made from simpler outer shell materials, this pill furnace was the exception. Firstly, it had to be able to withstand high temperatures and pressure. Hence, even though it was just the outer shell, the material used to build the outer shell had to be carefully chosen. Being a perfectionist, Xuan Ziwen had chosen an exceptional metal¡ªscarlet devil essence¡ªto be one of the ingredients for the outer shell. It was an exceptionally rare fire-type metal.

    This rare fire-type metal contained a humongous amount of fire-type elemental energy. Its body itself was also incredibly tough. Because it contained fire-type elemental energy, it was resistant to all types of fire¡ªeven Ultimate Fire This ingredient was often used only for soul tools which were ss 8 and above because it was particrly hard to shape or carve. Because it was impossible to smelt it, one had to rely on his or her soul power to force its shape to change. During this process, one had to put up with a fire and poison attack from the scarlet devil essence.

    Scarlet devil essence was simply too rare and precious. Even Xuan Ziwen¡¯s pill furnace¡¯s outeryer could not be entirely constructed from it. Nevertheless, the pill furnace¡¯s interior was coated with a centimeter thickyer of scarlet devil essence. Huo Yuhao had no idea how Xuan Ziwen had managed to find so much of this precious metal.

    No wonder Teacher Xuan wanted me to build this outer shell¡­ Even though he was already a Titled Douluo and a ss 9 soul engineer, Teacher Xuan would still need at least 2 weeks to build this outer shell. Huo Yuhao might be talented, but it was simply not possible for him to bepared to Teacher Xuan when it came to raw, actual ability.

    Teacher Xuan¡­ How could you be so cruel to me?

    As he stared nkly at the huge block of scarlet devil essence, which was radiating immense heat, Huo Yuhao was speechless.

    As he coated his hands with diamond-like ice crystals, Huo Yuhao carefully lifted a block of scarlet devil essence that was roughly half a meter across. He ced it on the soul tool¡¯sboratory bench. Even though he was unwilling to experiment with this block of metal, Huo Yuhao had to admit that it was probably worth enough money to buy a small city. In fact, it was probably so precious that one would not be able to find it on the market.

    I wonder how many high-level fire-type soul tools I could build with this! I must not waste even a small chunk of it!

    What?! It¡¯s so heavy!

    Yes, the metal was impossibly heavy.

    Even though this metal block was not very big, it weighed close to 5 tonnes. It took a lot from Huo Yuhao to even shift it onto the bench.

    The immense heat from the metal made Huo Yuhao feel very ufortable. His ice-type martial soul did not enjoy being in close proximity to such high temperatures. Fortunately, his Extreme Ice was very resistant towards high temperatures. Under the protection of the Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer, he was able to stay out of harm¡¯s way.

    The biggest problem for the construction of this outer shell was this scarlet devil essence. How am I going to do it¡­? The Life Guardian de should be able to carve into this block of metal. However, it will only be able to do so by devouring the metal¡¯s energy. This would mean that the metal would lose a copious amount of its energy. If Teacher Xuan were to know about it, I would definitely be killed!

    Teacher Xuan, do you really think I¡¯m a God? How am I supposed to finish this in a single day?

    It seems like there¡¯s no other way¡­ I must find second senior brother to borrow his Darkness Green Dragon! Without a ranked carving knife¡¯s sharpness, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to carve anything on this metal. It seems like I must slowly dig out the metal from the center of this block before fixing the exterior and carving it into the shape of a shell! Just the thought of it makes me feel tired already¡­

    After making up his mind, Huo Yuhao stood up and got ready to look for Caitou to borrow his Darkness Green Dragon. However, just when he was about to turn and leave, an idea hit him.

    Mayan blue me enshrouds an immortal art. Carving dragons and phoenixes with a cold de.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao felt his forehead turn cold as his Eye of Destiny opened on its own. A sh of Mayan blue escaped from his eye and suspended itself before him.

    It was a small knife which was no longer than five inches. The tip of the de was very small and delicate, while the de and the handle were approximately the same length. The de was giving off a Mayan blue glow, while the sides of the de had a scary-looking carving.

    This is¡­

    After hesitating for a short while, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡°Startling changes begin where the masterful handnds. Carving strokes ripple through the masterpiece a hundred times. This ancient art shall oust eternity. The raised knife, like a crescent moon, will illuminate the cold spring.¡±

    The Ghostcarving Godly de!

    Yes, it was the Ghostcarving Godly de!

    Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered the mysterious God of Emotions, and the two gifts he had promised him. Could one of them be the Ghostcarving Godly de? Even though it appeared to be a simple carving knife used for cooking, it was still ultimately a knife used by a God in the God Realm. If a God had used it, would it be considered a godly weapon?

    Just as he was trying to calm himself from his shock, a strange memory began to surface explosively in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. These memories were like floodwaters which rushed into the center of his soul. Huo Yuhao felt as though there were countless slicing and cutting scenes which flitted before his eyes as he tried to control his spiritual sea to store these memories.

    If it were any other person than Huo Yuhao, they would have fallen into a state of panic the moment they found their head filled with a huge sea of unknown memories. However, Huo Yuhao was mentally strong, and even though he was taken aback by this, he was able to calm himself and store these memories in the depths of his soul.

    When a memory was imprinted onto a person¡¯s soul, it was as good as the person¡¯s. This memory happened to contain the documentation for a certain carving technique. This carving technique was no ordinary technique, as it seemed to contain some special and mystical portions within it.

    Huo Yuhao stood there quietly and closed his eyes as he tried to feel the intricacies behind the techniques within his newly-gained memories. As the shback ran it course in his head, he slowly lifted his right hand and grabbed the Ghostcarving Godly de before him.

    The Ghostcarving Godly de seemed to be alive as it gently adjusted itself in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands. It was like a beautiful cluster of blue me in his hand.

    As Huo Yuhao began to wave the knife in the air gently, the blue me¡ªor rather the de¡ªcarved out mystical lines and patterns in the air. Those lines and patterns glowed as pitch ck cracks started to form along them. Those lines were thin, and the cracks sealed themselves quickly after they were formed, but the air had undeniably cracked.

 Chapter 515.1 - The Seal on Tang Wutongs Body

    Chapter 515.1: The Seal on Tang Wutong¡¯s Body

    While Huo Yuhao was trying to figure out the technique, what left the deepest impression in his mind were some words from a familiar voice.

    ¡°The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique is the most difficult carving technique from my world. After bing a God, I invested my leisure time into its continual improvement and development. As they say, one¡¯s deep mastery of a single skill will open doors to many other skills. You can think of this as a gift from me. I hope you can put in the effort to understand the beauty and intricacies behind this skill. Using the Ghostcarving Godly de to perform the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique would grant you abilities beyond your imagination.¡±

    As he opened his eyes and saw the pulsating Mayan blue me before him, Huo Yuhao became unbelievably excited. Now, he was certain that everything he had experienced in the God Realm was real. Yes, everything was real!

    Both the Ghostcarving Godly de and the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique were gifts from the God of Emotions.

    Huo Yuhao was engulfed by passion and excitement. Even though the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique was mainly used for carving, Huo Yuhao knew it contained insights on the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. He was surprised by how much he had already learned in this short period of reminiscence, and knew how studying the technique more would help to shed light on the mysteries of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

    As he took another look at the block of scarlet devil essence, Huo Yuhao no longer showed the same unwillingness to work with it. All that was left was excitement.

    Let¡¯s see what the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance can do!

    Huo Yuhao was an incredibly fast learner¡ªthis could be seen from his multiple sesses with deep meditation. The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique was already imprinted in the depths of his soul. This was nned by the God of Emotions¡ªRong Nianbing¡ªso that he could pick up the technique quickly. Thus, any preliminary understand or even mastery would not be too challenging.

    Huo Yuhao waved his right hand as he watched the blue me¡ªthe de¡ªtwitch in his hand. Following which, the de shed forward at an unbelievable speed, leaving a mysterious yet alluring sh in its wake.

    At that very instant, a chip fell off the corner of the block of scarlet devil essence silently. It was only when itnded on the bench that the burning fire poison was released.

    So fast! It feels so good!

    Right now, Huo Yuhao felt as though the de had be an extension of his body. This sensation was simply incredible, and nearly addictive.

    Huo Yuhao waved his right hand again, and once more, the Mayan blue me appeared to merely jolt. As expected, the tough scarlet devil essence was sliced like a carrot by the Ghostcarving Godly de, which was sharp beyond belief.

    Slowly, Huo Yuhao started to pick up speed. Because he already possessed an important foundational ability when it came to carving, it was not too challenging for him to pick up the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique.

    The Ghostcarving Godly de did not seem to possess any additional ability beyond its incredible sharpness.

    It was definitely the sharpest weapon Huo Yuhao had seen in his life. Strangely, no matter how he used the de, the de of the Ghostcarving Godly de would neithere into contact with his fingers nor cut him in any way.

    Prior to the Ghostcarving Godly de, Huo Yuhao had also felt a simr affinity with other weapons. But this was the first time he actually felt a weapon connect with his soul. It was almost an extension of his consciousness and intentions. Hence, the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique would definitely be able to exercise the full capability of the Ghostcarving Godly de.

    After making a round of the Soul Tool Hall and instructing some of the disciples who he felt were gifted, Xuan Ziwen proceeded to where Caitou was.

    After Huo Yuhao, Caitou was definitely the most gifted one. What made Xuan Ziwen particrly pleased about Caitou was his passion and dedication to researching soul tools. Even though Caitou did not possess the earthshattering talents that Huo Yuhao had, Caitou¡¯s foundation was very strong, and his mind was dead set on soul tools. He had built a solid foundation as a ss 7 soul engineer, and in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes, Caitou was most definitely capable of bing a ss 9 soul engineer. In fact, Xuan Ziwen believed that Caitou might even surpass Huo Yuhao when it came to soul tool research.

    As he thought about this, Xuan Ziwen could not help but feel frustrated. Huo Yuhao, why can¡¯t you just dedicate your attention and efforts to soul tool research? You are so gifted, yet so unfocused when ites to such things. I can¡¯t imagine what you would be able to achieve if you were to put all your attention into the making of soul tools!

    Even though his mind harbored such intentions, Xuan Ziwen knew well enough that it was impossible for him to convince Huo Yuhao tomit to soul tools. He knew he was not the only one who held high hopes for Huo Yuhao. There were a whole bunch of people at Shrek Academy who wished Huo Yuhao would be a star in different fields.

    The fact that Huo Yuhao could take time off to learn how to make soul tools was already a big win for him. No matter what, Xuan Ziwen wanted Huo Yuhao to be a ss 9 soul engineer. Once he is able to build his own ss 9 soul tools, he will finally understand the absolute advantage soul tools hold over soul masters. Once ites to that stage, I will no longer need to worry about him not putting enough effort into soul tool research. I¡¯m sure if he puts all his effort into the making of soul tools, he has a good chance at bing a ss 10 soul engineer! After all, he has the potential to be an Ultimate Douluo!

    While he was thinking about all of these things, he arrived at Caitou¡¯s soul tool workshop. Because Caitou was under Xuan Ziwen¡¯s tutge ¡ªthe great soul tool researcher¡ªhe was able to make significant progress despite researching some immensely difficult ss 8 soul tools.

    Xuan Ziwen purposely stayed behind at Caitou¡¯s ce a little longer to provide detailed instructions and mentoring. Even though he held great expectations for Huo Yuhao, he held Caitou in simr importance. Caitou was a pure soul engineer, and Xuan Ziwen believed that sometimes, hard work was more important than innate talent. Caitou was definitely not a disciple worth neglecting nor giving up on! Even though Fan Yu¡¯s understanding of soul tools could not match Xuan Ziwen¡¯s, he was still able to help Caitou build up a solid foundation for the understanding of soul tools. As long as Caitou continued to work hard and ensured his soul power¡¯s growth was in stride with his soul tool research ability, it would not be long before he became a ss 9 soul engineer.

    Xuan Ziwen was never stingy when it came to sharing what he had learned and knew about soul tools. Because he was serious when it came to teaching, and Caitou was equally serious when it came to learning, the day passed quickly for both of them.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for dinner. Come, let¡¯s go and eat now.¡± Xuan Ziwen patted He Caitou¡¯s shoulder as a rare smile formed on his face. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re improving really quickly recently. It seems like you must have developed a deeper understanding of soul tools?¡±

    He Caitou smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you.¡±

    Xuan Ziwenughed, ¡°Oh,e on! The others might not know, but do you think I really can¡¯t tell? You might look honest and simple, but you¡¯re a very meticulous and hardworking person. You¡¯re so much better than Yuhao! It would be so good if he was half as hardworking as you.¡±

    As he heard Xuan Ziwen mention Huo Yuhao, Caitou could not help but ask, ¡°Teacher Xuan, why didn¡¯t you get Yuhao to study soul tool construction now that he¡¯s finally back?¡± He realized Xuan Ziwen had essentially spent his entire day at his ce.

    Xuan Ziwen smiled slyly and replied, ¡°Of course I won¡¯t let him go that easily. I have given him an extremely difficult task and told him toplete it in a single day. Come and follow me. I¡¯m going to show you how thisd is going to fail so badly. We must give him a punishment once in a while. If not, his ego would expand beyond proportions!¡±

    He Caitou smiled. ¡°Teacher Xuan, you have wronged Yuhao. He is not someone who would let praises go to his head easily.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! It is still important to wake thisd up when necessary. We need to stop him from bingcent. In a soul engineer¡¯s line of work, hard work is as important as talent. It¡¯s no use for him to only possess talent. If not for his solid foundation, I would have chased him out.¡±

    After hearing his teacher¡¯s words, He Caitou couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. ¡°Teacher Xuan, your words might sound tough, but they can¡¯t hide your love for Huo Yuhao. I don¡¯t think you could even bear to chase him away.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and threatened, ¡°I see! It seems like all of you brothers n to cover for one another, is that it? You little rascal! Do you want me to give you an impossible task tomorrow as well?¡±

    ¡°No! Just pretend I didn¡¯t say anything at all.¡± He Caitou was scared after hearing the threat from Xuan Ziwen. He quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s definitely time for Yuhao to be knocked down and reminded of what is required to be a sessful soul engineer. You should most definitely punish him to the best of your ability!¡±

    ¡°Are you still human? He¡¯s your junior brother, and yet you¡¯re trying to get him into trouble. How can I let someone like you inherit my skills? You¡¯d better watch how you carry yourself, or I¡¯ll chase you out!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± He Caitou¡¯s mouth twitched, but he knew there was nothing he could say.

    As Xuan Ziwen watched his disciple who was lost for words, he let out a rareugh. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go and see how Yuhao will make a joke out of himself.¡±

    As he spoke, he brought He Caitou to hisboratory.

    While Xuan Ziwen was not expecting to see any results from Huo Yuhao, he had still handed the task to him. He never nned for Huo Yuhao to finish it in a single day. In his mind, he knew it should take at least ten days before Huo Yuhao couldplete it.

    Scarlet devil essence was no joke. Even if it was Xuan Ziwen¡ªa proper Titled Douluo¡ªwho was doing it, it would take at least three days. Even so, he would be adversely affected by the fire poison from the scarlet devil essence. The only reason why he dared to let Huo Yuhao y with the scarlet devil essence was because Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Ice. With this ability, he shouldn¡¯t be hurt in the process of carving the metal.

    Very soon, both of them arrived at the doorstep of theboratory. However, Xuan Ziwen did not walk in directly. He merely poked his head in to see what Huo Yuhao was doing. But the moment he got a good look at what was going on inside, he exploded with rage.

    ¡°You spoiled rascal!¡± Xuan Ziwen cursed as he stomped into hisboratory.

    Even though He Caitou did not know what was going on, he rushed into theboratory behind Xuan Ziwen. Despite not knowing what Huo Yuhao had done, he knew from Xuan Ziwen¡¯s look that he was probably very angry. Caitou had noticed how his stare suddenly turned steely, and decided to rush in to help de-escte the situation.

    The moment he stepped in through the door and saw what Huo Yuhao was doing, Caitou immediately understood why Xuan Ziwen was so angry.

    Huo Yuhao was lying on the bench and sleeping. His breathing was unbelievably even, and his face was radiant a healthy flush. Anyone would be able to tell that he was taking afortable nap!

 Chapter 515.2 - The Seal on Tang Wutongs Body

    Chapter 515.2: The Seal on Tang Wutong¡¯s Body

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s hands were trembling with rage. He Caitou rushed forward and attempted to console him, ¡°Teacher Xuan, please don¡¯t be angry! Little junior brother must be very tired to have fallen asleep like this.¡± He Caitou definitely knew why Xuan Ziwen would be so angry. He hated it when his disciples did not focus on the work at hand when making soul tools. And falling asleep was definitely the biggest sin!

    Even if the person who was sleeping was Huo Yuhao, Xuan Ziwen would explode in rage. Or rather, it was precisely because the person who was sleeping was Huo Yuhao that caused Xuan Ziwen to fly into a rage. My poor little junior brother, why did you fall asleep? Even if you wanted to steal a nap, you should at least have been more careful, and not gotten caught!

    If looks could kill, Huo Yuhao would probably have withered there and then. After ring at Huo Yuhao, Xuan Ziwen started to look around as though he was looking for fighters who could help him beat Huo Yuhao up. Recognizing Xuan Ziwen¡¯s actions, He Caitou stepped forward and hugged Xuan Ziwen before pleading, ¡°Teacher Xuan, please don¡¯t be rash! Please don¡¯t be rash!¡±

    Even at this stage, He Caitou was still controlling his voice out of fear of waking Huo Yuhao up. One could see how much brotherly love they had for one another.

    But very soon, he realized that Xuan Ziwen¡¯s body had stiffened. Caitou thought that the anger might have harmed his teacher¡¯s body.

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Xuan Ziwen started to speak in a very strange tone.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, please don¡¯t be rash! I know Yuhao failed you. Why don¡¯t I wake him up for you to scold him?¡±

    ¡°Let go of me first.¡± Xuan Ziwen growled.

    ¡°No! I won¡¯t! You¡¯re a Titled Douluo. What if you kill Huo Yuhao?¡± He Caitou might be pleading, but his voice echoed the determination in his heart.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hit him.¡± Xuan Ziwen replied coldly.

    ¡°Really?¡± He Caitou was a little doubtful of what he had just heard.

    ¡°If you still insist on not letting me go, the first thing I do once I break free will be to chase you out!¡± Xuan Ziwen growled again.

    ¡°Alright¡­¡± He Caitou knew he could not go against his own teacher, and relented. After loosening his grip, he jumped before Xuan Ziwen and in front of Huo Yuhao. If he wanted to do anything to Huo Yuhao, he would have to go through him first.

    But to Caitou¡¯s surprise, Xuan Ziwen did not go straight for Huo Yuhao, nor did he attempt toy his hands on him. Instead, he made his way to the other end of the bench in theboratory. Caitou wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking at.

    With his curiosity piqued by his actions, He Caitou moved over and leaned in to steal a look. He realized there was a furnace which was approximately one meter in diameter on the bench. It was a huge circr furnace four feet deep. Its ancient design looked majestic, and was surrounded by thick walls. There was a lid above which fit perfectly over the furnace. In fact, if not for the experience he had as a ss 8 soul engineer, he would have thought that the lid was part of the furnace. There was simply no crack or lines for any air to escape.

    Is this the outer shell for the soul tool Teacher Xuan tasked Yuhao to build today? Didn¡¯t he promise that Yuhao would definitely not be able to finish it today? Unless Yuhao has pulled off another stunt again?

    With Caitou¡¯s understanding of Huo Yuhao, he was certain that he would never submit an inferior product just to get things over with. This meant that Huo Yuhao must havepleted the product before falling asleep. No wonder Teacher Xuan seems to have changed his mind on Huo Yuhao¡­

    At this very instant, Xuan Ziwen bent down, then leapt up onto the bench. Because the pill furnace was too big, it was impossible to catch a glimpse of theplete thing from below.

    The pill furnace was designed by Xuan Ziwen from scratch. Hence, he naturally knew where all the nooks and crannies were. After tapping some ces at the top of the furnace, Xuan Ziwen activated the outer shell.

    After being activated, the pill furnace released a gush of hot air, which instantly increased the temperature within the room by a few degrees.

    The look on Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face turned increasingly strange as a look of disbelief slowly reced his previous look of anger.

    ¡°What?! How is it possible? I don¡¯t believe it!¡± If he did not know for a fact that the Tang Sect only had one ss 9 soul engineer¡ªhimself¡ªhe would have thought that Huo Yuhao had found someone to do it for him. But this was simply impossible. Cultivation ability was not enough to build aplete outer shell. It also required a deep understanding of soul tools. In fact, there were only ten soul engineers that Xuan Ziwen knew who could finish the outer shell in a single day. Most importantly, all of them were in the Sun Moon Empire.

    How did this brat do it? Unless he¡¯s already be a nine-ringed Titled Douluo?

    No, that¡¯s impossible! Xuan Ziwen took a deep breath as he leapt off the bench.

    He Caitou scrutinized his teacher¡¯s expression and knew his guess was correct. He broke into an awkward smile. ¡°It seems like talent is more important than hard work. Of course, this doesn¡¯t undermine the importance of hard work! Teacher Xuan, you don¡¯t have to say anything to me. I¡¯m going to get my dinner now. You can chat with Yuhao without worrying about me!¡± After finishing his sentence, Caitou skipped off.

    As he stared at Caitou¡¯s back, Xuan Ziwen also broke into an awkward smile. He was originally the one who had wanted to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson. But somehow, it now seemed like Huo Yuhao would be the one teaching him a lesson!

    As he thought about this, he could not help but feel a little frustrated.

    While all of this was going on, Huo Yuhao started to wake up. After all, it would have been very difficult for anyone to sleep through thismotion. As he opened his blurry eyes, he noticed Xuan Ziwen standing in the room.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, you¡¯ve returned. What time is it now?¡± To be honest, Huo Yuhao did not consciously decide to fall asleep. He was just too tired after absorbing all the memories and going through them to learn the technique. His soul felt drained, and hence he fell asleep unknowingly. Of course, all of this was after he had persevered through the task at hand.

    Even though he was fully awake now, the mysterious carving technique still appeared to be flitting before his eyes, as though he was still going through the newly-acquired memories.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face did not look very friendly as he asked, ¡°Did you make this outer shell?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes!¡±

    Xuan Ziwen asked, ¡°What about the leftover scarlet devil essence?¡±

    ¡°I put it away over there.¡± Huo Yuhao pointed towards a corner of theboratory.

    Xuan Ziwen spoke calmly, ¡°Is this the kind of work you submit? I didn¡¯t know you epted lousy and inferior products.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw dropped. With his newly learned Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique, the unbelievably sharp Ghostcarving Godly de, and his carving skills, the product was perfect in his eyes! In fact, Huo Yuhao believed that this outer shell was the most exquisite soul tool he had ever built. How could it be lousy and inferior?

    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark. Let¡¯s go and grab our dinner.¡± After saying this, Xuan Ziwen turned and left. He did not ask any more questions because he was afraid that his heart might not be able to take it. However, he hadpletely recognized Huo Yuhao as a student of Shrek Academy in his heart.

    What a freak! Ahhhhh!

    During dinnertime, Huo Yuhao bumped into He Caitou, and he noticed how Caitou¡¯s stare was a little more peculiar than usual. Nheless, he did not think too much about it. He naturally looked for Tang Wutong the moment Teacher Xuan gave him permission to leave for dinner. With Wutong around, how could he notice anyone else?

    After finishing his dinner, Huo Yuhao went over to look for Xuan Ziwen and pleaded cheerfully, ¡°Teacher Xuan, now that I have finished the task you have given me, do you think I can go back to my room to cultivate tonight? You must understand that at the end of the day, I am still a soul master. I must not neglect my own training!¡±

    As he looked at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, who was holding his hand, Xuan Ziwen nodded unwillingly before leaving.

    Even until now, Xuan Ziwen was not fully convinced of Yuhao¡¯s work. Thed must have yed a clever trick! There must be something wrong with the outer shell!

    Huo Yuhao naturally did not know what Teacher Xuan was thinking. He was happily galloping away with Tang Wutong back to his room. The scent from Tang Wutong¡¯s body was enough to make him feel veryfortable.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s face started to blush as her heart started to beat faster and faster.

    Once they reached his room, Huo Yuhao quickly closed the door and activated a spiritual barrier, which cut off all connections within the room from the outer world.

    Tang Wutong naturally knew what he was doing as she took a few steps back in surprise.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave her a naughtyugh. ¡°Have you heard of the story of the big bad wolf and the sheep? Today, the big bad wolf will not let you go!¡±

    Tang Wutong was amused by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words as she burst intoughter. ¡°When a rabbit gets anxious, it will bite too!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s smile became even more wicked as he replied, ¡°Bring it on! I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡±

    As he spoke, he pounced towards Tang Wutong like a hungry wolf.

    Tang Wutong giggled and stepped aside agilely. Her figure flickered as shepletely avoided Huo Yuhao¡¯s pounce. It was a perfect execution of the Tang Sect¡¯s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

    ¡°The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track? I know that too.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed as he increased his speed. Countless figures started to pounce towards Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was shocked beyond belief. How bad can this guy get? Huo Yuhao not only used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but also executed Imitation and Spiritual Interference. This filled the whole room with multiple Huo Yuhaos. It was immensely difficult for Tang Wutong to differentiate between the real and fake ones in such a short period of time.

    After all, she could not punch them to tell them apart, right?

    Hence, before she could even react, she was already in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace.

    His little sheep was finally in his embrace! Huo Yuhao was unbelievably excited! After they had finally reunited, he had not shared any particrly intimate moments with Tang Wutong. Now that he had finally hugged her, she had nowhere to run or hide. As he gazed at her blushing face, Huo Yuhao found himself unable to resist the temptation before him. Very quickly, he moved his lips towards hers.

    As their lips came closer, it seemed like the room was about to be a stage for the pair of passionate lovers.

    However, just when Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips were about a millimeter away from Wutong¡¯s, Huo Yuhao felt a frightening aura from her body, following which, a golden light shed before his eyes as he was thrown across the room and into the wall by a powerful force. After colliding with the wall at the far end of the room, he slid down the surface of the wall like a wall painting that was falling off.

    This force not only acted on his body, but also impacted his soul. He felt as though he had just suffered a spiritual attack¡ªsomething he was not unfamiliar with. His body felt as though it had just been rammed by a mountain.

    The pain that was rippling through his soul and body turned Huo Yuhao¡¯s face into a wrinkled mess. W-What just happened¡­?

    A scream escaped from Tang Wutong¡¯s mouth as she flew over to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side to help him up.

 Chapter 515.3 - The Seal on Tang Wutongs Body

    Chapter 515.3: The Seal on Tang Wutong¡¯s Body

    ¡°Yuhao, are you alright?¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s concerned voice made Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart ache. He squeezed out a smile and replied, ¡°My dear, how could you be so cruel? Even if you don¡¯t want me to kiss you, there¡¯s no need to be so violent, right?¡±

    It was as if the fiery passion in his heart had been doused by a pail of cold water. The pain which his body was feeling was secondarypared to the pain felt by his heart!

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes started to be teary as shemented, ¡°No, no, it wasn¡¯t me. I didn¡¯t stop you from kissing me. It was my father who didn¡¯t want you to kiss me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw dropped. This concerns my future father-inw? As he saw the tears in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes, his heart softened immediately. He asked, ¡°So what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Tang Wutong raised her hand and pointed at the faint golden trident mark on her forehead. She exined, ¡°My father is worried that I would be taken advantage of in the outside world, and left a seal on my body. If anyone were to attempt to take advantage of my body, the rune would attack the person automatically.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gaped with wonder. ¡°Then why was the seal ineffective when we were facing the Dragon God Douluo?¡±

    Tang Wutong awkwardly replied, ¡°Well, he wasn¡¯t intending to vite me¡­¡±

    ¡°Err¡­¡± This future father-inw doesn¡¯t seem to be very helpful¡­ Why must he interfere with the things couples do?! Even though Huo Yuhao was fairly furious, there was nothing which he could really say about it. He could only console Tang Wutong, ¡°Come on, Wutong¡­ Don¡¯t cry¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not ming you. Look at how strong my body is! It¡¯s just another fall.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡¯s how things would unfold,¡± Tang Wutong replied apologetically, ¡°When my father gave me the seal, I still hadn¡¯t regained my memory. I really didn¡¯t know¡­ I will definitely ask my father to remove the seal the next time I see him.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao knew he shouldn¡¯t be too anxious about this, he still couldn¡¯t help but ask when Tang Wutong would be able to see her father again.

    She replied, ¡°I really don¡¯t know. It¡¯s so hard to find my father. No one really knows where he is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart wrench after hearing her reply. My future father-inw, how could you do this to me¡­? It¡¯s one thing for you to be hard to locate, but it¡¯s an entirely different matter to interfere with my blissful life with Wutong!

    However, Tang Wutong added, ¡°Anyways, he will definitely appear on the day of our marriage.¡±

    Marriage? This term seemed to be a fairly distant concept for Huo Yuhao. After pausing for a while, he replied, ¡°Wutong, then when shall we get married? Both of us have been through so much, and it has taken so much from me to find you back. Why don¡¯t you marry me now? I can¡¯t spend a day of my life without you.¡±

    Tang Wutong appeared to be lost as she replied, ¡°I will never leave you! Besides, we are still a little young to be married to one another, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed in disbelief. My dear, I am already slow enough. How did you also be slow after losing your memories?

    Before you lost your memory, we could still at the very least kiss one another. But now, we can¡¯t even kiss anymore.

    However, at this very instant, Huo Yuhao suddenly had an idea. His eyes appeared to be energized by the idea that hit him. ¡°My dear, do you know exactly how powerful your seal is? It seems like it has no qualms with me hugging you.¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed and replied, ¡°How would I know?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was evidently excited by her reply. He replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t we test it by doing some experiments? When the people above us implement restrictions on people like us, there are bound to be ways for us to circumvent these things. Perhaps your father is not as tyrannical as we think?¡±

    Tang Wutong was very sympathetic towards Huo Yuhao after his fall earlier. She could not bear to reject him after seeing the longing in his eyes as she nodded to give her consent.

    Huo Yuhao was over the moon as he eximed, ¡°My dear is still the best!¡±

    As he finished his sentence, he pounced towards her like a hungry wolf!

    ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± After three seconds, when Huo Yuhao increased the intensity of his hug, his scream could be heard once again. Fortunately, he had set up the spiritual barrier earlier.

    And screams were destined to be part of the theme for the night!

    It appeared that kisses were not allowed. Overly intense hugs were also not allowed. Certain areas on the body were also not allowed to be touched. They were not even allowed to lie side-by-side on the bed to rest. Huo Yuhao was merely lying on the bed to alleviate the pain in his body when the golden light shone again!

    In the end, Huo Yuhao could only focus on cultivating the Haodong Power with Tang Wutong on the bed while nursing the bruises he had sustained in his experiments. It was only when they were cultivating that the strange seal did not act up.

    Huo Yuhao was furious! Damn it! How can my future father-inw be so unreasonable? Can someone tell me how can I not be angry?

    But he knew it was futile to be angry about it. There was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was suffer in silence and wait till Wutong¡¯s father returned. Huo Yuhao had made up his mind to formally propose to Tang Wutong only after he had achieved a certain level of learning and understanding of soul tools under Xuan Ziwen, and graduated from Shrek Academy.

    However, there was a certain sense of unease which constantly lurked at the back of his head. A father-inw who leaves such seals on his daughter will probably be difficult to deal with¡­

    And he knew well enough that this future father-inw was probably very powerful!

    Huo Yuhao had previously asked Tang Wutong about him, but she was adamant to keep his information a secret. She exined how knowing more about her father would only damage their future rtionship.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to stop asking.

    Thus, what was meant to be a blissful night ended up as a night full of injuries for Huo Yuhao. Fortunately, he had good regenerative abilities and took only a night to recover. Nheless, it was still very painful for him to not be able to touch his loved one.

    It was only at the next morning when Huo Yuhao finally managed to console himself. No matter what, it was already a lot better to have Wutong beside him than not having her at all. As long as she was well, there was no good reason for him to be unhappy.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived, eh?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked in an unfriendly tone as he red at Huo Yuhao, who was just entering theboratory, with blood-red eyes.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a very good mood either. Even though he didn¡¯t have bloodshot eyes, he was visibly tired.

    ¡°Can you stop acting so uppity about it, you little rascal?¡± Xuan Ziwen suddenly growled.

    ¡°Huh? When did I start doing that?¡± Huo Yuhao was confused by Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words.

    Xuan Ziwen snorted before jabbing at the outer shell. He asked, ¡°Tell me! How did you do it? How did you do it in just one day? One single day. I don¡¯t believe you managed to pull it off without getting any external help.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sat on the chair and answered, ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about it if you don¡¯t believe me. You can only me yourself for not being around when I was carving it yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Xuan Ziwen had spent the entire night trying to find ws in the outer shell, to no avail.

    ¡°Alright. It seems like you¡¯re a tough nut to crack, eh? Now I want you to follow the papers and start on the formation arrays. You will be in charge of the entire process from now on.¡± Xuan Ziwen jabbed at the thick stack of formation arrays and informed Huo Yuhao of his new task viciously.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as he replied, ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me, Teacher Xuan! This is a ss 9 soul tool. I have just barely grazed the door of a ss 8 soul engineer.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you very capable?¡± Xuan Ziwen replied coldly, ¡°Just get on with it. I will be sure to sit around and watch you materialize it. This pill furnace has a total of thirteen main formation arrays. Every single one of them is formed from abination of nine ss 8 formation arrays. I will only let you leave after you make at least one of them. If not, you can prepare to sleep, eat and shit in thisboratory.¡±

    Coupled withst night¡¯s unfortunate events, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s tyrannical instructional method had angered Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°So be it! So what will happen if I am able to construct one formation array?¡± Huo Yuhao asked rebelliously.

    Xuan Ziwen let out a sinisterugh. ¡°If you are able to make one of them, you will then carry on andplete the other twelve formation arrays. Following which, you will assist me to assemble the pill furnace. When all of the above is done, I will give you a day off.¡±

    If not for his fear of wasting the blood in his stomach, Huo Yuhao would have spat a mouthful of blood onto Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face.

    ¡°Who¡¯s afraid of that? I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s impossible to finish!¡± Huo Yuhao gave a defiant answer. After witnessing how powerful the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique was, Huo Yuhao was brimming with confidence.

    The Ghostcarving Godly de was unbelievably powerful and mystical. Huo Yuhao not only made the outer shell yesterday, but also did a series of experiments with the de. The result of his experiments proved that the de was not only invincibly sharp, but also blind towards any element.

    This meant that it was able to slice through any material effortlessly regardless of its element. Huo Yuhao believed that it would not be unfair to rank this as the number one carving de after witnessing its dominating disy.

    One must understand that it was of the utmost importance for soul engineers to understand the element and type of material that was being handled in order to apply the appropriate carving techniques during the construction of soul tools. Every different kind of rare metal had its own special set of considerations. They were all tough in different ways. Coupled with their specific element types, it was extraordinarily difficult for soul engineers to exact their designs onto these metals.

    Powerful soul tools tended to utilize rare metals which were particrly strong and unorthodox. Their unorthodox characteristics usually meant they required unorthodox methods. That was why ss 9 soul engineers required the abilities of a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. It did not only require one to possess a Titled Douluo¡¯s ability to use them, but also the copious amount of soul power to impress and carve on these rare metals. Most importantly, high level formation arrays required one to finish the entire construction process in a single attempt.

    The Ghostcarving Godly de had undeniably solved this problem to a huge extent. Huo Yuhao no longer had to consider the different element types of the different rare metals, and this was enough to grant him a huge advantage in the construction of formation arrays. Besides, he had the support of the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance Carving Technique¡ªan equally powerful carving technique.

    Huo Yuhao held up the first diagram for the formation array and studied it carefully. One first had to understand the formation array in order to begin carving it. How was a soul engineer supposed to build something without understanding it? He or she would not know where to pay greater attention to.

    And this studying of diagrams consumed almost half of the day.

    Because Xuan Ziwen wanted to know what the mysterious method Huo Yuhao employed to build soul tools was, he nned to stay for the whole day to not only invigte the process, but also to satiate his curiosity.

 Chapter 516.1 - The Rain Dragons Dance

    Chapter 516.1: The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance

    However, Huo Yuhao managed to sit for half a day. Xuan Ziwen was rather pleased with that. At least this kid isn¡¯t impatient, and is quite clear about the basics. Given his spiritual power and intelligence, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to understand the core formation of a ss 9 soul tool.

    However, Xuan Ziwen started to be unable to take it after observing Huo Yuhao for some time. He didn¡¯t sleep almost the entire night! He was feeling a little fatigued by now.

    As a result, he unwittingly leaned on theboratory desk and fell asleep.

    He slept rather well. The Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall was now on the right track. What Xuan Ziwen needed to attend to was only some of his own research. He was much more rxedpared to before. However, he still had high expectations for himself. It was his first time sleeping in the day for many years.

    If he slept well, he would be in better spirits too.

    When Xuan Ziwen woke up from his nap, he only felt recharged and extremelyfortable.

    However, there was no one in theboratory when he opened his eyes. Yes, there was no one else apart from him. Huo Yuhao had left to some unknown ce.

    ¡°This rascal. Did he flee?¡± Xuan Ziwen was astonished. If Huo Yuhao really wanted to leave, he really had no choice too. If he ran away, Xuan Ziwen was certainly unable to bring him back!

    Xuan Ziwen leapt up in astonishment, and rushed out to find Huo Yuhao.

    At this moment, the door to theboratory opened, and Huo Yuhao walked leisurely in.

    ¡°Rascal, what are you doing? Did my words fall on deaf ears? Didn¡¯t I say that you can¡¯t go out?¡±

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Teacher Xuan, you told me to eat, poop and sleep in here. However, I must be able to do all these first! You don¡¯t even have a grain of rice here. I can¡¯t possibly starve myself. I¡¯m the flower of this empire, yet to fully bloom. I need nutrition. I only went to get some food from the canteen. I brought some for you too.¡±

    As he spoke, he carefully ced the lunchboxes in his hand on the table before taking one box for himself and digging in.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t even realize that he had maligned Huo Yuhao, and only grabbed one lunchbox before starting to stuff himself with food. The food in the Tang Sect had always been good. After sleeping an entire afternoon, it felt reallyfortable to stuff himself with delicacies!

    Very soon, he finished all his food. To defend his honor as a man, Xuan Ziwen took the initiative to clear the boxes and utensils.

    As he cleared up, he asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Have you learned something after seeing the blueprints for an entire afternoon?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m doing pretty well. I¡¯m getting ready to start on my second core formation.¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    Xuan Ziwen red at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s not good to be greedy. Digest the first one before going to the next. Each of these thirteen core formations is different. Each of them¡­¡±

    As he spoke until here, he couldn¡¯t continue anymore. This was because Huo Yuhao had stuffed a metal ball the size of a tangerine into his hand.

    This metal ball was hollow, and there were lights shining inside of it. There seemed to be some kind of cirction within itsplicated structure, based on the principles of heaven and earth.

    ¡°This, this¡­you¡¯vee up with this first core formation?¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice changed slightly. He was just like an adolescent whose voice broke for the first time.

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s not that difficult. I¡¯m already on my second one.¡± As he spoke, he started reading the second blueprint.

    Xuan Ziwen grabbed the first core formation and started to frantically search for something on theboratory table. Indeed, he found a patch of dense powder. It was something that was definitely left behind during the creation of a core formation.

    Huo Yuhao took an afternoon to understand the core formation of a ss 9 soul tool and finish constructing it.

    This time, Xuan Ziwen was the one who wanted to vomit blood. He knew that he wasn¡¯t capable of this. The creation of the core formation didn¡¯t drain as much soul power as carving the outer shell. However, the details were much finer.

    He managed toplete it? No, that¡¯s impossible!

    Xuan Ziwen quickly raised the core formation in his hand and used all the methods that he knew to analyze its structure. He did all he could to find a w or a problem with it.

    Two hours passed, but he didn¡¯t find anything wrong. There was no problem!

    How is this possible? How is this possible? Whatever was going on with Huo Yuhaopletely vited the principles of a soul master¡¯s development. Yes, it was a vition.

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t believe that this was real. He took a serious look at Huo Yuhao, who was invested in the second blueprint by now. His heart was contorting. However, Xuan Ziwen was determined not to miss out on watching Huo Yuhao create his second core formation. He had to watch it and find out for himself how Huo Yuhao managed to magically create a core formation in such a short period of time. He had to have some special method.

    A determined Xuan Ziwen was full of willpower. He just sat there and opened his eyes wide as he watched Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t neglect the smallest of details. He was just watching like that.

    Huo Yuhao was a little creeped out as he was being watched so intently. He asionally took a nce at Xuan Ziwen. However, he still thought that the blueprint he was reading was much more mesmerizing.

    He only put the blueprint of the second core formation down in the evening.

    He stood up and stretched. He even let out afortable groan.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Xuan Ziwen asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Xuan Ziwen asked, ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded seriously.

    ¡°What are you waiting for then? Why aren¡¯t you striking when the iron is hot, and working on the core formation?¡± Xuan Ziwen screamed.

    Huo Yuhao appeared a little indignant. ¡°But it¡¯s dinnertime! I¡¯ll go and grab dinner first. I¡¯ll start after dinner.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was anxious as he said, ¡°I can help you collect dinner!¡± As he spoke, he turned into aplete gentleman and left theboratory with the lunchboxes.

    However, there was some discrepancy in their judgment of when mealtime was, such that Xuan Ziwen waited a good fifteen minutes in the canteen before he came back with food. He was even rushing the staff in the canteen. Along with some dys in the journey, he took a total of thirty minutes.

    Xuan Ziwen was a little depressed. If I knew it was going to take so long, I would have let that kid go and collect dinner. At least he can rx for a bit. I wonder if he has started with the core formation. It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s started, but if he¡¯s skiving while I¡¯m collecting dinner¡­ hmph!

    As he returned, Xuan Ziwen saw Huo Yuhao sitting exactly where he was before. Huo Yuhao was shaking his head, as if he were thinking of something. However, there was nothing in his hands. They were empty.

    ¡°Well done, rascal. Do you really take me as your manualborer? You didn¡¯t even do anything at all.¡± Xuan Ziwen was unhappy as he threw the lunchboxes at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao jumped in shock. He quickly caught the lunchboxes. ¡°Teacher, what are you doing?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was furious, ¡°I went to collect dinner so that you¡¯d have more time to work on your core formation. I didn¡¯t leave you to rest!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± Huo Yuhao appeared very innocent as he spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re done? Where?¡± Xuan Ziwen was in disbelief.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed a metal ball from the side of the table and presented it to Xuan Ziwen, ¡°Here!¡±

    Xuan Ziwen subconsciously received the metal ball. He lowered his head and took a look at it. When he saw it, his eyes opened wide. This¡­

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered with scolding Huo Yuhao anymore. He quickly sat down at one side and analyzed the metal ball. A sneaky smile shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He ced the lunchboxes on the table and started to dig in. He had been using a lot of his energy over the past day.

    After he finished his food, he said very naturally, ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m almost done with all my work today. I¡¯ll go back and rest first. Goodbye!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xuan Ziwen¡¯s attention was all on the metal ball. He agreed subconsciously, and Huo Yuhao quickly fled.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t even react. He had mentioned that he wasn¡¯t going to let Huo Yuhao go earlier, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered now, as he was too dumbfounded by the metal ball in his hand.

    This was the second core formation out of the thirteen core formations needed for the pill furnace.

    Aplete second core formation! Just by touching it, Xuan Ziwen could sense from the soul power undtions from the ball that it was free of problems. It was exactly what he wanted. He checked the details carefully, and hoped to find some kind of w with it. However, everything was in vain. This core formation was perfect. It wasparable to the first core formation earlier.

    How is this possible? How is it possible! This is a core formation for a ss 9 soul tool!

    Even though a pill furnace wasn¡¯t considered one of the moreplex ss 9 soul tools and only barely made it as a ss 9 soul tool, it was still a ss 9 soul tool.

    Generally speaking, a ss 9 soul engineer would need at least three months to half a year toplete a ss 9 soul tool, even if he waspletely prepared. One of the most important reasons was that the core formations of a ss 9 soul tool were simply tooplex. Some mistakes were bound to be made during the process of creating them. When the soul engineer had to start over, resources and time would be wasted. As a result, the soul engineer had to be extremely focused, and tried to keep his energy level at its maximum. This was so that he could finish the core formations and ensure the greatest sess rate.

    Xuan Ziwen hadn¡¯t had time to teach Huo Yuhao yet. He wanted to let Huo Yuhao fail once first, and use the failure to teach him. This would make him remember his mistakes more clearly. However, who knew that Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t give him the chance to let him fail.

 Chapter 516.2 - The Rain Dragons Dance

    Chapter 516.2: The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance

    The entire process of creating the core formation was almost wless. Huo Yuhao managed to produce two core formations in just one day. Xuan Ziwen believed that he was very talented. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly create twopletely different core formations in one day. In his best condition, it was already remarkable if he could finish one core formation. And after he finished, he would still need some time to rest.

    Is this kid even human?

    How did he even manage to do this? Thirty minutes. I only took thirty minutes to collect dinner. Did he actually manage to finish during those thirty minutes?

    When Xuan Ziwen thought until here, he lifted his head and shouted, ¡°Yuhao, tell me honestly. How did you¡­¡± Just as he spoke until here, he realized that theboratory was already empty.

    It was only now that he realized he had agreed to let Huo Yuhao leave. He was instantly frustrated. This rascal knows how to exploit any opportunity!

    Xuan Ziwen believed in action. A few minutester, he appeared outside Huo Yuhao¡¯s room. ¡°Bang, bang, bang!¡± He started to bang on Huo Yuhao¡¯s door.

    Tang Wutong was the one who opened the door.

    After seeing Xuan Ziwen, she immediately raised her hand to signal him to hush.

    Xuan Ziwen was stunned, and softly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Huo Yuhao?¡±

    Tang Wutong whispered, ¡°He¡¯s asleep. He seems very tired. He went to sleep immediately after he returned.¡± As she said, she pointed inside the room and opened the door wide.

    Xuan Ziwen took a nce inside. It was true. Huo Yuhao was sprawled on his bed, fast asleep.

    It seemed like he had overused his brain. For some reason, Xuan Ziwen felt more appeased when he saw Huo Yuhao in this state.

    ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll talk tomorrow.¡± Xuan Ziwen turned around and left in annoyance. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were in the room together. He had no business being there. Although he was very crazy about his research, he couldn¡¯t possibly drag Huo Yuhao out.

    He turned around and left.

    Tang Wutong closed the door and walked to the bedside before sitting down.

    There was still a slight smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He had just returned, and fallen into a deep sleep. He had finished two core formations of a ss 9 soul tool in one day. Even though he had magical carving techniques and the Ghostcarving de, as well as his own supernatural spiritual power, it was still a great burden on him!

    During the entire process, Huo Yuhao was very focused. If it were someone else, they would have copsed. Reading the blueprints were already very exhausting. That was something the Ghostcarving de couldn¡¯t help with.

    In just a day, he had finished two core formations. That satisfied feeling supported him, but he couldn¡¯t take it when he came back.

    Tang Wutong felt a little heartache as she caressed his face and looked his slightly pale face. Shey down close beside him and hugged his waist from behind. She pressed her face against his wide back and closed her eyes.

    One minuteter.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I forgot.¡±

    Someone was full of tears!

    On the second morning, Huo Yuhao went into theboratory rubbing his head. Even though the bruise that he had sustained the previous night had disappeared due to his amazing recovery abilities, the pain still remained.

    My life is so bitter! He sighed.

    Who can I me? Wutong? She was only trying to get intimate. me my father-inw? I don¡¯t have the guts¡­

    I can only me myself for being unlucky!

    His good mood from finishing two core formations instantly dissipated.

    ¡°Rascal, you¡¯re finally here. Quickly, start on the third core formation.¡± Xuan Ziwen hands were on his waist and he jumped in front of Huo Yuhao. This gave Huo Yuhao such a scare that he almost whacked Xuan Ziwen.

    While Xuan Ziwen was a Titled Douluo, he might not be able to survive Huo Yuhao¡¯s hit.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, can¡¯t you just let me rest longer?¡± Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face as he walked into theboratory. He then sat down on a chair.

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t be bothered with his condition. He only stuffed the blueprint of the third core formation into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Quick, quit the bullshit.¡±

    Huo Yuhao picked up the blueprint, as he was afraid of Xuan Ziwen for some unknown reason, and started reading it.

    Xuan Ziwen had been wracking his brains for an entire night, but he still hadn¡¯t discovered what method Huo Yuhao had used to create his core formations. He didn¡¯t even have the slightest of clues.

    This was why he had been waiting here since the morning. He was waiting to see how Huo Yuhao managed to create the core formations. He was determined. He had already gotten someone to collect lunch. No matter what, he was going to remain here with Huo Yuhao. He had to see how Huo Yuhao managed to finish suchplex core formations in such a short period of time.

    Very soon, an entire morning passed, and lunch arrived.

    ¡°Wow, it smells great. Let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat.¡± Huo Yuhao put down his blueprint and started to eat.

    Xuan Ziwen red at him. ¡°Are you done with the blueprint?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not done yet. I¡¯m eating first.¡± Huo Yuhao was eating very soundly.

    ¡°How much longer will you need?¡± Xuan Ziwen probed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure!¡± Huo Yuhao answered subconsciously.

    ¡°Piak!¡± Xuan Ziwen pped his palm against Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was smacked down into his lunchbox. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± His voice was very high right now.

    Huo Yuhao indignantly lifted his head. One side of his face was covered in grains of rice. ¡°Teacher Xuan, what are you doing?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was infuriated. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for half a day, but you¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t know when you¡¯re going to be done?¡±

    Huo Yuhao appeared very indignant, and his eyes were filled with tears. ¡°But I really don¡¯t know! This is a blueprint of a core formation of a ss 9 soul tool. I¡¯m a ss 8 soul engineer. Isn¡¯t it normal that I can¡¯tprehend it in just half a day?¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    ¡°In addition, today¡¯s blueprint is a little moreplex. I think I¡¯ll need at least two days to finish it. I might not even be able to finish reading it. I was prepared to ask you about some of the things that I don¡¯t know after I have my lunch.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you finish two core formations yesterday?¡± Xuan Ziwen was unconvinced.

    ¡°I was more familiar with those two core formations. Furthermore, they wereparatively easier! Today¡¯s core formation is a little moreplex. It¡¯s the core of the entire core! How can I understand it so easily? I¡¯m not an immortal.¡± Huo Yuhao argued self-righteously.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t know how to respond.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and plucked the grains of rice off his face. He sobbed as he muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ve been working so hard, but I¡¯m not even allowed to eat. I even have to sustain a beating from you now. I can¡¯t live any longer. I¡¯ve forgotten everything I read in the morning because of your p. What should I do?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face turned ck¡­

    After half a day of being grumpy, Xuan Ziwen eventually pulled his own lunchbox over and started to stuff himself.

    Huo Yuhao was wide-eyed in shock as he thought to himself. Has he turned his anger into appetite?

    Xuan Ziwen startedter, but ate very quickly. He managed to finish his meal before Huo Yuhao. After finishing, he burped and sternly said, ¡°Continue reading. I¡¯m going out for a walk. Once you understand the blueprint, call me before you start on the core formation. I want to watch you. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, so you just want to see me work on the core formation. You should have said so earlier.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face turned ck again. He decided to immediately leave this sad and angry ce before he was driven mad.

    It was only after Xuan Ziwen left theboratory that Huo Yuhao revealed a smile. He had to umte some of the surprise to achieve the greatest effect. Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t be too anxious.

    The truth was that he couldn¡¯t finish a ss 9 soul tool in such a short period of time even if he was a genius.

    Huo Yuhao took a good three days before he managed to finish reading the blueprint of this third core formation. During this period of time, he received a lot of guidance from Xuan Ziwen. After these three days, Xuan Ziwen was much more appeased. Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of core formations still left him rather pleased. At least, he felt that he wasn¡¯t wasting his time teaching him.

    Draining his energy was actually great for increasing Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Many calctions and simtions were needed for the core formations. Huo Yuhao relied on his extraordinary spiritual power to maintain the intensity of his calctions. This was why he could understand the blueprints in such a short period of time. Regarding this, Xuan Ziwen was secretly in awe, even though he didn¡¯t say it.

    It¡¯s not easy having such a disciple!

    ¡°I¡¯m about to start.¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Xuan Ziwen.

    Huo Yuhao had asked for a rest after he managed toprehend the blueprint. It was already after dinner now. He adjusted himself and reached his peak state.

    Even though this third core formation wasn¡¯t the most difficult of all the core formations, it was still one of the most difficult to create. If he could ovee this hurdle, he would be close to creating a ss 9 soul tool.

    Xuan Ziwen was even more nervous than Huo Yuhao. Was it possible to create a ss 9 soul tool even if one only had eight rings? At least, nothing like this had ever happened before. How could Huo Yuhao maintain the intricate carvings using his de for such a long period of time? This was what Xuan Ziwen really wanted to find out.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Xuan Ziwen said. ¡°Don¡¯t rush, take your time. There are someplex parts where it¡¯s better for you to stop than to rush. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words, and ced a square piece of rare metal, which was around fifteen centimeters long, on theboratory desk. After this, he stretched and shut his eyes. He focused himself.

    Xuan Ziwen stood to one side and retracted his aura. He was afraid that even a streak of his aura would affect Huo Yuhao.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao opened both his hands. There was a sharp look in his eyes. After this¡­

    He turned his head and smiled at Xuan Ziwen, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m really going to start.¡±

 Chapter 516.3 - The Rain Dragons Dance

    Chapter 516.3: The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance

    ¡°¡­¡± If one¡¯s stare could kill, Huo Yuhao would bepletely filled with holes now.

    Just as Xuan Ziwen was about to explode in anger, Huo Yuhao made a move.

    He lifted his right hand and covered that piece of rare metal. Xuan Ziwen immediately stopped himself from saying what he wanted to say. He held it back so hard that his face turned red. He was truly in difort.

    However, he focused his gaze in the next moment. He could clearly see a streak of dark-blue me dancing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertips. He only gently rubbed his right hand over that piece of rare metal before ayer of fine powder fell and scattered proportionally around the piece of rare metal.

    This¡­

    Xuan Ziwen was the one who had chosen this piece of rare metal. Of course he knew how resilient it was. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to have summoned a lot of his soul power. Golden lights shed in his eyes, as if he had used his Spirit Eyes. What were the dark-blue mes that danced on his fingertips?

    As a ss 9 soul engineer, Xuan Ziwen was also very sharp. When he focused his gaze, he clearly saw a small carving de moving between Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers. This de emanated a dark-blue light. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingers were too agile and his movements were too quick, it seemed like dark-blue mes dancing on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fingertips.

    What carving de was this?

    Xiuan Ziwen naturally knew what carving des Huo Yuhao had. The most special among them all was his Life Guardian de. It was just that it was a little weird to use it as a carving de after it grew bigger. Huo Yuhao usually used normal carving des, or his own Darkgolden Terrorws. After all, the sharpness of his terrorws exceeded most other carving des. He could even use all five of his fingers and control them as freely as he wanted to.

    It was his first time seeing this dark-blue carving de. Suddenly, Xuan Ziwen guessed that Huo Yuhao was probably able to finish the carving of the core formations in such a short period of time because of this carving de.

    What happened next proved Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guess.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand kept on sweeping over the surface of the rare metal, while his left hand was performing some auxiliary work. He made use of the tools on theboratory desk and adjusted the position of the piece of metal.

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t see clearly. He had already focused on his attention, but he discovered that he still couldn¡¯t detect any signs of the carving de making carvings as Huo Yuhao moved his fingers.

    What left him very impressed was that Huo Yuhao was very precise with every cut he made even though he was so quick. The powder that scattered around was proportionally arranged around the perimeter of the ball. There weren¡¯t any signs of messiness. His carving technique was indeed magical!

    In fact, Xuan Ziwen knew many ss 9 soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire. However, he was entirely sure that the technique that Huo Yuhao was using now was certainly not the style of those ss 9 soul engineers. Furthermore, the piece of rare metal resembled a piece of tofu under his carving de. In just a while, the rough shape of the core formation was already achieved.

    At times, that dark-blue me shed down. At other times, it was like a thin needle that pierced the rare metal. asionally, it manifested itself as countless streaks of light. Xuan Ziwen was dazzled as he watched.

    Godly skill, it¡¯s a godly skill!

    Xuan Ziwen found it more and more difficult to breathe. He did his best to control it, but his heartbeat was getting faster and faster. Such a carving technique was like a godly skill. When did Huo Yuhao learn such a mysterious and unpredictable carving technique? It¡¯s too magical. With such a carving technique, it was no wonder he could carve the core formation of a ss 9 soul tool, even given his abilities as a ss 8 soul engineer.

    No, it¡¯s not just his carving technique. There must be something wrong with his carving de as well. Where does such a sharp carving de exist? Even the number one carving de on the leaderboard is only the best because of its elemental type. It can carry up to three elements at once. But Huo Yuhao¡¯s carving de doesn¡¯t exude any kind of elemental aura, even though it¡¯s definitely very sharp.

    Xuan Ziwen was very sharp. Very soon, he discovered the key point. To prevent his heavy breathing from affecting Huo Yuhao, he subconsciously covered his mouth.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very serious, and he appeared very focused. Once he entered his focused state, hepletely ignored the outside world.

    From his understanding over the past few days, he had already gotten used to the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance. Although he didn¡¯t have fullprehension of it, his understanding of it had gotten better and better.

    The more he understood it, the more he was astonished by its profundity. In Xuan Ziwen¡¯s eyes, it was a godly skill. Wasn¡¯t it exactly the same for Huo Yuhao?

    The Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance seemed like something that no human coulde up with.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao could learn this carving technique was because the God of Emotions had imprinted all the secrets of carving techniques in the depths of his spirit. He had also imparted all his understanding to Huo Yuhao. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent in this aspect couldn¡¯t be ignored.

    He had used carving des for ten years, and possessed a strong foundation. At the same time, he practiced with the Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapons. The agility of his fingers far exceeded that of ordinary people. In addition, his spiritual power was much greater than most people. Due to all these reasons, he was able to understand such a magical carving technique in such a short period of time.

    Time passed, second after second. Xuan Ziwen moved from his original state of astonishment to being bedazzled. He waspletely immersed by now.

    Even though he couldn¡¯tpletely see Huo Yuhao¡¯s carving technique, he still learned a lot. By using this carving technique, Huo Yuhao was using a different routepared to most traditional soul engineers. There were some characteristics that Xuan Ziwen could intercalibrate.

    How could he possibly miss out on such an opportunity?

    One hour, two hours!

    Theplexity of this core formation was far greater than the previous two core formations. A good two hours passed. When Huo Yuhao finally lifted his right hand, the Ghostcarving de turned into three streaks of light thatnded on the core formation and moved as if they were agile snakes. They twisted and turned, making cuts on the core formation. This was the final step.

    Then the de was put away, and the blue light disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao stretched out his left hand and touched the surface of the core formation with one finger.

    Xuan Ziwen couldn¡¯t stop him before he poured his soul power into the core formation.

    It was important to know that soul engineers would normally check whether a core formation was working before they would pour in their soul power into it to test it.

    However, Huo Yuhao seemed to have intentionally skipped this step.

    ¡°Weng¡ª¡ª¡± A soft buzz sounded. The entire core formation lit up. An orange-red light first shone inside before it started to spread from the holes in the core formation. Dense soul power undtions were released, and rings of orange-red light started to spread. The entire core formation was like an artistic piece that shone with bright light. It was smooth and bright.

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Xuan Ziwen shouted. His voice was trembling slightly, as he was too agitated.

    Huo Yuhao also let out a long breath. He sat on the chair behind him and was panting heavily. This was also his first time working on such aplex core formation. He waspletely certain that he would need several years to create such a core formation if he didn¡¯t know the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance.

    He was secretly grateful towards the God of Emotions in his heart. This carving technique was too appropriate for making soul tools. In his mind, he also unwittingly thought of the Icy Clouds of the Nine Azure Dragons that Nian Rongbing had carved. He revealed a slight grin on his face.

    However, his mind soon went empty. After overusing his brain, the first side effect was that his senses became a little dull and slow.

    Xuan Ziwen looked fondly at the core formation in front of him. After checking it again and again, he verified that it was trulypleted.

    When he looked at Huo Yuhao again, there was no longer an excoriating and critical look on his face. There was only a passionate look in his eyes now.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Xuan Ziwen gently called.

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were a little slow right now, he still shuddered a little when he heard Xuan Ziwen¡¯s voice. ¡°Teacher Xuan, what¡¯s wrong with you? Don¡¯t call to me like that. I¡¯ll get goosebumps.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen was smiling as he arrived in front of Huo Yuhao. After this, he grabbed his shoulders and shook him with great force. ¡°Tell me, tell me how this magical carving technique came about. Tell me, or I¡¯ll strangle you to death!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was dizzy from all the shaking. ¡°Calm down, calm down Teacher Xuan.¡±

    How could Xuan Ziwen calm down right now? Huo Yuhao used his actions to create miracle after miracle. A ss 8 soul engineer that had just obtained eight rings was able toe up with such an important core formation for a ss 9 soul tool in such a short period of time. It was a miracle in the history of soul engineers! How could he possibly calm down?

    Finally, Huo Yuhao used his Instant Teleportation to break free from Xuan Ziwen¡¯s grasp. After this, he retrieved his Ghostcarving de and passed it to Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen felt a sinister aura when he grabbed hold of the de. The sharpness of the de even stopped him from taking an extra nce at it.

    When he tried to use it, the de turned into a streak of blue light that flew back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s vertical eye before disappearing.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t even think about using it. This de has already fused with me and be a part of me. It won¡¯t be used by anyone else.¡± Huo Yuhao could subtly sense a special aura from his carving de. It was like a living entity. When Xuan Ziwen touched it, it generated a strong resistance.

    Xuan Ziwen asked, ¡°What about the carving technique? What¡¯s with that? Yuhao, tell me. How have I treated you over these few years?¡±

 Chapter 517.1 - Qiankun Fortune Pill

    Chapter 517.1: Qiankun Fortune Pill

    ¡°Stop, you don¡¯t have to continue. I know what you want to say. Isn¡¯t it just a carving technique? I¡¯ll teach you, alright?¡± Huo Yuhao immediately continued. He was very intelligent! How could he not know what Xuan Ziwen wanted?

    Xuan Ziwen was delighted when he heard that. However, his face also turned serious after that momentary delight. He took two steps back and widened the gap between Huo Yuhao and himself before bowing to him.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked, and quickly jumped to one side. ¡°Teacher Xuan, what are you doing? I don¡¯t deserve such good fortune.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen replied, ¡°This is only right. Even though I don¡¯t know where your carving technique came from, I¡¯m certain that this technique of yours has set a precedent in the world of soul masters. Although we can¡¯t exclude the importance of your magical carving de in yourpletion of the core formation, we also can¡¯t deny the fact that your carving technique is very important too! It¡¯s not going overboard to call it a godly skill. If you are willing to impart this carving technique to me, I¡¯ll even call you teacher in the future.¡±

    Teacher Xuan is indeed mad! In terms of martial soul cultivation, Ji Juechen is the craziest. But in terms of soul tools, Teacher Xuan is the craziest.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, don¡¯t say things like that. You¡¯ll always be my teacher. Honestly speaking, I only attained this carving technique unintentionally. It¡¯s very profound. I¡¯ve not fullyprehended it yet. If you want to learn it, I won¡¯t keep it to myself. You can learn it with second senior. I¡¯ll impart it to both of you. However, it¡¯ll depend on how much both of you can understand.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xuan Ziwen acknowledged. He didn¡¯t express any further words of gratitude. He was dragged to the Tang Sect by Huo Yuhao. How much had he contributed to the sect since then? When Huo Yuhao agreed to impart this carving technique to him, he decided in his heart that he was going to dedicate the rest of his life to the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t know about this psychological change in Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mind. He was exhausted by now, and wanted to return to rest.

    Over these few days, he had slowly gotten used to that weird seal between Tang Wutong and him. The two of them would be fine if they cultivated, but not if they got intimate with each other.

    At the start, he was still a little ufortable. After all, he had spent a lot of effort trying to get Tang Wutong back. He really wanted to get intimate with her!

    However, he was too exhausted over these few days. Every day after he finished making soul tools, he would have a weird blissful feeling when he returned to his room and saw Tang Wutong. They ate together and cultivated together at night. A gentle embrace, kiss and peck on the cheek left the two of them very blissful. His original depression also gradually disappeared and left him veryforted. He even started to like this lifestyle.

    He took one month toplete all thirteen core formations. Ever since he had finished the third core formation, Xuan Ziwen had decisively passed all the work to him.

    However, the ss 9 soul tool still wasn¡¯t made by Huo Yuhao alone.

    Even though he used his Ghostcarving de toplete the outer shell and all the core formations, he was still not good enough toplete the final instation and testing step. After a few failures, he let Xuan Ziwenplete the assembly of the soul tool to prevent the core formations from being damaged.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou learned a lot from this entire process. However, it still didn¡¯t help Huo Yuhao be a ss 9 soul engineer in one day.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mind this at all. He didn¡¯t possess the abilities of a ss 9 soul engineer initially. If not for the magic of the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do everything he had.

    Over the past month, Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities in terms of soul tools increased by leaps and bounds. His own research, Xuan Ziwen¡¯s guidance and the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance formed apatiblebination that helped him to improve greatly.

    He also imparted the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance to Xuan Ziwen and He Caitou. It was very profound, and understanding it was very difficult. Furthermore, the two of them didn¡¯t have the Ghostcarving de, and thus they were very slow in learning. However, even so, they still learned a lot when theybined their own carving techniques with this new technique. The three of them managed to improve very quickly as a result.

    A scarlet-red light shot into the sky and illuminated the entireboratory.

    A gentle icy-blue barrier engulfed this scarlet-red light and prevented the high temperature that was used to melt metals from burning theb down.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Xuan Ziwen pped his hands, and appeared very excited.

    The huge furnace was ced on theboratory desk. It wasn¡¯t covered, and was what the red light earlier hade from.

    Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were standing at the sides. They both appeared very delighted.

    After a month of hard work, this ss 9 soul tool was finallypleted.

    Even Xuan Ziwen was very pleased when he saw thispleted product. To a ss 9 soul engineer, being able to create a ss 9 soul tool, especially one that he had researched on his own, was a very satisfying thing!

    As he was excited, Xuan Ziwen subconsciously nced at Huo Yuhao. He knew that this pill furnace wouldn¡¯t have been constructed so quickly without his Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance. He even secretly sighed in his heart. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was a little higher and his experience was a little more tempered, he would have immediately be a ss 9 soul engineer with this new carving technique.

    ¡°It¡¯s finallypleted.¡± Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. Afterpleting the pill furnace, it meant that he could finally begin cultivating pills! This was a joyous thing for the entire Tang Sect.

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°When are you nning to begin?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯ll perform some tests over the next few days first and try out this furnace. After this, I can start the production of pills. I¡¯ll use some ordinary medicinal herbs to umte some experience first.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t waste resources.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Over the next few days, Huo Yuhao was immersed in his attempts to try out pill cultivation. It had to be said that a top-grade pill furnace was extremely helpful in his cultivation of pills. Controlling the fire and consolidating the medicinal power could all bepleted using a pill furnace!

    Rather than umting experience, it was more that he was familiarizing himself with the pill furnace.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to be careless either. The resources used to cultivate pills were very valuable! Wasting even a little was already very painful.

    This was why he used five days to umte experience. He cultivated a few ordinary medicines and tried them himself. It was only after deciding that they were effective enough that he started to prepare to cultivate pills.

    As a result, Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory waspleted upied by Huo Yuhao. Although pill cultivation wasn¡¯t as troublesome as creating a soul tool, it was still not an easy thing to do too. Huo Yuhao brought back more than ten different types of valuable treasures. First, he had to dispense the medicines first. After that, he could begin cultivating pills. This time, he didn¡¯t even return to his own residence. He kept himself busy in theboratory. Every day, Tang Wutong brought food and beverages for him.

    Day after day passed. Apart from Tang Wutong, even Xuan Ziwen had not returned to theboratory.

    Tang Wutong only brought him food every day. After that, she would apany him in his cultivation to recover his energy.

    No one had expected Huo Yuhao to spend more time cultivating pills than he had taken to create the pill furnace itself.

    If not for the fact that Tang Wutong passed them news that Huo Yuhao was fine, everyone in the Tang Sect would have gotten very anxious.

    Three months. Huo Yuhao spent an entire three months in theboratory.

    ¡°Alright. This batch of resources has to be in ce as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Soul Tool Hall will be bare of resources.¡± Bei Bei instructed a Tang Sect disciple.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The disciple acknowledged his words and quickly left.

    ¡°Take a rest.¡± A gentle voice sounded behind Bei Bei, and a pair of delicate hands were ced on his shoulders.

    Bei Bei¡¯s pensive gaze immediately turned gentle. He grabbed the little hands on his shoulders and pulled the owner of those hands toward himself. He ced her down on his legs and gently embraced her.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, how are you feeling today?¡± Bei Bei asked softly.

    Tang Ya twisted her lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s always the same. It¡¯s neither good nor bad. It¡¯s really not afortable feeling!¡±

    Bei Bei revealed a slight grin on his face when he saw her acting like this. However, his grin was filled with some bitterness too.

    Yes, Tang Ya¡¯s memories had basically been restored.

    After Huo Yuhao purged the toxins from her body, Tang Ya slowly regained her awareness, and her memory also gradually recovered. Even her cultivation was preserved. However, she couldn¡¯t use her cultivation right now, as her body was too weak.

    A few months had passed. She had slimmed down greatly, even though she wasn¡¯t very fat to begin with. The more she slimmed down, the thinner she became. Her skin turned an unhealthy pale-white shade, and she lost some of her energy.

    Initially, Bei Bei was very happy when he saw that Tang Ya had regained her awareness. However, he then discovered that he was more unhappy after Tang Ya regained her memories.

    Four months had passed since the mission had been announced. At times, someone would bring something simr to the Bluesilver Emperor. However, none of these proimed Bluesilver Emperors worked.

    As time passed, fewer and fewer people came. This showed how rare the Bluesilver Emperor was. Bei Bei was very busy with his work everyday, and he still had to spend time with Tang Ya. Recently, he felt more and more fatigued.

    Compared to the bitterness in his heart, Tang Ya was very happy after recovering her memories. When she saw that the Tang Sect was already in such a state, she seemed to be glowing.

 Chapter 517.2 - Qiankun Fortune Pill

    Chapter 517.2: Qiankun Fortune Pill

    However, even if she was in a much better state of mind, her body was still affected by the poison. She called herself a funnel before, because she kept losing the life energy that she absorbed from the Life Guardian de. However, it was also because of this that she was able to maintain her current condition. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t even be able to get out of bed right now.

    Bei Bei exerted a little more force with his arm and brought Tang Ya closer to him. He was afraid that she would leave him if he wasn¡¯t careful enough. He couldn¡¯t imagine what he would do if that happened. He couldn¡¯t imagine how pained he would be.

    ¡°Bei Bei.¡± Tang Ya gently called his name.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Bei Bei softly acknowledged.

    Tang Ya softly said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m very spoiled? If not for the fact that I left, so many things wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault. I couldn¡¯t protect you.¡± Bei Bei looked at Tang Ya, and his face was filled with guilt. ¡°If I had understood your thoughts better and showed you more concern, so many things wouldn¡¯t have happened, and you wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much. Xiao Ya, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll treat you no matter what.¡±

    Tang Ya smiled and said, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be like this. Am I not alive and well? If you want to make me happy, you need to be happy yourself. Even if I can¡¯t live much longer, do you really wish to see me in pain even as I draw myst breath? Be happy with me, okay?¡±

    Bei Bei smiled. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Tang Ya brought her face to his and whispered, ¡°Bei Bei, I want to bear you a son, and we¡¯ll name him as a Tang. Alright? Otherwise, the Tang Sect won¡¯t have anymore descendants.¡±

    Bei Bei was shocked and immediately responded. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Don¡¯t you love me?¡± Tang Ya immediately pursed her lips. Although she had recovered her memories, her character had also reverted to her teenage days too.

    Bei Beiughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t name him as a Tang, but that you can¡¯t bear a child. Given your current condition¡­¡±

    Tang Ya shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I can do it. My life energy iscking, but our life energiesbined can still produce a new life. He can live on my behalf. How great would that be? If I die and can¡¯t remain by your side, he can be with you. You won¡¯t feel lonely either, right?¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s body shook, and tears surged from his eyes. He hugged her tightly as he lost control of his emotions. ¡°No, no, Xiao Ya, I won¡¯t let you die. You must not die. If you dare to die, I¡¯ll apany you.¡±

    Tang Ya caressed Bei Bei¡¯s hair. The look in her eyes was very gentle. ¡°Silly, where can you find someone who doesn¡¯t die? It¡¯s only a matter of timing. I don¡¯t feel indignant at all! You¡¯ve alreadypleted my greatest wish, and you love me so much too. Even though I¡¯ve not lived for a long time, I¡¯ve done what I wanted to. I have no regrets! I only want to bear you a child, alright?¡±

    Bei Bei couldn¡¯t even answer her. Right now, he was sobbing uncontrobly.

    ¡°Bei Bei, Bei Bei.¡± At this moment, a voice sounded from outside.

    Tang Ya immediately broke free from Bei Bei¡¯s embrace. Bei Bei also hurriedly wiped away his tears. He was the decision-maker in the Tang Sect. He couldn¡¯t possibly let anyone see him like this.

    Xu Sanshi rushed in. Only he was capable of rushing into Bei Bei¡¯s room and making such a hugemotion.

    Once he entered, he felt something wrong with the atmosphere. He saw the displeased look in Tang Ya¡¯s eyes before he saw Bei Bei¡¯s slightly red eyes.

    He coughed. ¡°Have Ie at a bad time? Should Ie backter?¡± Xu Sanshi was about to turn around and leave.

    ¡°Cut the crap. Say whatever you have to say.¡± Bei Bei snapped. He understood Xu Sanshi¡¯s character very well. From his voice, he could tell that something had happened, and it had to be something good.

    ¡°It seems like little junior is about to exit his closed-door cultivation. There¡¯s a very strong medicinal smelling from theboratory. It¡¯s everywhere now. Do you want to take a look?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory was in the basement, and it was well-sealed. If the medicinal smell could diffuse from theboratory, it showed how strong the smell was.

    After hearing Xu Sanshi¡¯s words, Bei Bei was also jolted awake. Although he knew that no medicine Huo Yuhao came up with could treat Tang Ya, he still bore a glimmer of hope in his heart.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡±

    Indeed, it was like as Xu Sanshi described. In fact, when Bei Bei left his room, he could immediately smell the medicine. It was very light, but refreshing. By just sniffing it a little, Bei Bei felt as if his soul power had been stimted.

    Bei Bei thought of something, and said to Xu Sanshi, ¡°Sanshi, quickly call all the Tang Sect disciples and gather at the practice arena. Everyone can meditate together.¡±

    Xu Sanshi had been his partner for many years. He immediately understood what Bei Bei meant, ¡°Yes! Why didn¡¯t I think of this? I¡¯ll go right now. You and Xiao Ya can proceed to theboratory first.¡±

    The two of them split the work well. Bei Bei held onto Tang Ya¡¯s hands and quickly rushed towards the basement of the Soul Tool Hall.

    The closer they came to the Soul Tool Hall, the stronger the medicinal smell was. Even by sniffing it, they felt extremelyfortable. Even Tang Ya developed a reddish glow on her face.

    This medicine is very strong! What kind of medicine has little junior cultivated? It¡¯s actually so strong.

    When they came to the entrance of the basement of the Soul Tool Hall, the rest of the senior management of the Tang Sect had already gathered there.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s all go down.¡± Bei Bei waved to everyone before saying to Na Na, ¡°Na Na, I¡¯ve asked Sanshi to gather the disciples. Whether they¡¯re from the Soul Tool Hall or any other halls, immediately bring them to the basement and gather outside theboratory after they arrive.¡±

    The undergroundboratory area of the Tang Sect was veryrge. It could hold a few thousand people at once. There were more than five hundred Tang Sect disciples in the Tang Sect right now, but it was still easy to hold them.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Na Na acknowledged.

    The rest quickly entered the basement.

    The medicinal smell in the basement was even stronger. Xuan Ziwen was astonished. ¡°Yuhao is really impressive! What kind of medicine has he cultivated? Just by smelling it, I think it¡¯s more effective than the medicine I consumedst time. We can¡¯t waste it. Quick.¡±

    He was the one who had researched the pill furnace. Naturally, he was very familiar with it. It was a ss 9 soul tool. There was a vent hole that prevented the umtion of pressure inside the furnace. At times, the pressure would be released. Undoubtedly, this was how the medicinal smell had spread out.

    If the medicinal smell that diffused in this way was already so good, how strong was the medicine?

    Inside theboratory.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one cultivating the medicine. Behind him stood Tang Wutong.

    Although Huo Yuhao could barely make a ss 9 soul tool, he only had eight soul rings. He couldn¡¯t operate a ss 9 soul tool.

    However, he could do so with Tang Wutong¡¯s help.

    Over the past few months, he had cultivated with her using his Haodong Power. Their new Haodong Power had fused godly elements, which greatly helped in their cultivation. Furthermore, the fusion of their soul power was getting stronger and stronger.

    With Tang Wutong¡¯s support, Huo Yuhao could easily pour out the soul power of a Titled Douluo right now. It was definitely fine for him to continue cultivating.

    Right now, the entire pill furnace was golden-red. The four vent holes at the top of the furnace would asionally sizzle and release gas.

    The entireboratory was now filled with the fragrance of medicine. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could both sense the medicinal smell seeping through their bodies. That feeling was very magical. It felt as if their entire bodies had been cleansed.

    They were about to seed.

    Huo Yuhao had been cultivating this batch of pills for a long time. More urately speaking, this batch of pills contained all the valuable treasures that he had brought back.

    Over the past three months, he had cultivated these pills twenty times. ording to the differentpositions of the medicines, he dispensed them and cultivated them, extracting their essence and removing their impurities. After he finished, he cultivated all of them together to produce this final batch of pills.

    Such pills were some of the strongest, ording to the records left behind by Tang San. They could even be considered immortal pills, and were collectively known as Qiankun Fortune Pills.

    If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao had ¡®cleaned out¡¯ the entire Icefire Yin Yang Well and extracted the essences of the immortal nts around the well, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to try cultivating these pills.

    A ss 9 pill furnace was too strong. In his previous attempts, the essences Huo Yuhao cultivated were close to bing pills. However, the cultivation process was too simple, which caused him to be a little more ambitious. Since he had a ss 9 pill furnace and aplete list of resources, why shouldn¡¯t he try making Qiankun Fortune Pills?

    This was what he had achieved as a result.

    It was just that he didn¡¯t expect that cultivating these pills would be so difficult. When he first started, he only relied on his own strength and that of the pill furnace. However, as time passed, the essences of the resources were quickly extracted. When they mixed together, the amount of power that was released became greater and greater. Even the ss 9 pill furnace was unable to contain so much power.

    Huo Yuhao had no choice but to use his soul power to maintain the production process.

    From the first day he started on this batch of pills, it had already been forty-nine days. He managed on his own for the first twenty days. After that, he needed Tang Wutong to help him.

 Chapter 517.3 - Qiankun Fortune Pill

    Chapter 517.3: Qiankun Fortune Pill

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was stunned to find out that this pill furnace was easier to control using the Haodong Powerpared to when he used his own strength. In addition, the effect seemed to be better too. The strong medicinalposition in the furnace seemed to submit to the Haodong Power.

    This wasn¡¯t just because the Haodong Power was much stronger than Huo Yuhao¡¯s individual soul power. It seemed like the Haodong Power contained some kind of strength that the essences of the medicine had no choice but to submit to.

    Right now, the medicinal fluid inside the furnace had fully taken form. Huo Yuhao was down to thest step of the cultivation, which was forming the pills.

    What this meant was that the essences inside the furnace had to bepressed further to turn them into pills. This process was the simplestpared to the other steps, but it was the most draining too.

    When Huo Yuhao started on this step, the ss 9 furnace seemed to be unable to take it, and needed to release some pressure first.

    Fortunately, the medicinal essences were stabilized with Tang Wutong¡¯s help.

    As their soul power flowed in their bodies, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong both shone with golden light. The bright and transparent golden light caused the glow emanating from their bodies to be stronger and stronger.

    On Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead, his Eye of Destiny was already opened. In the center of his pupil, a whirlpool formed by his soul core was spinning rapidly. However, on a closer look, it was clear that this rapidly-spinning whirlpool was no longer as ck and deep as before. Rather, it was formed from ck and white. The mysterious ck and white continuously formed the images of Yin and Yang, and a weird spiritual undtion was revolving around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    As for Tang Wutong, the golden trident on her forehead was very clear. It exuded an elegant yet domineering aura.

    Their Haodong Power formed a massive golden whirlpool with their bodies at the center. This whirlpool was spinning rapidly.

    The diameter of this golden whirlpool was around three meters, but it didn¡¯t expand further. Within it, there was immense soul power. At the core of this whirlpool, a crystal entity that resembled that of a soul core seemed to have taken form.

    A soul core from a martial soul fusion? Regarding this, even Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were unsure.

    Their soul core presented itself in a jujube-like shape. Not long after their Haodong Power consolidated, it appeared. As they cultivated further and further, this soul core also became more and more evident.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could only sense that there was an extremely terrifyingpressed soul power contained within their soul core.

    They had been cultivating over the past few months, but hadn¡¯t had a chance to fight yet. After all, Huo Yuhao was very busy with his learning and research. However, he deeply believed that their martial soul fusion had to be a hundred and twenty percent now, if it had been a hundred percent before.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡± The vent holes were sizzling again. Following this, the entire furnace turned a blinding gold.

    Strong golden lights shed, and a fragrance swept over the entire ce. After this, the lights retracted once again before shooting into the sky. The temperature in the entireboratory rose quickly.

    Arge number of rare metals started to soften under this high temperature.

    Huo Yuhao stretched out his hands in front of him, and an icy-blue glow was instantly released from his body, turning into a massive barrier that engulfed the golden lights. This helped to iste the extremely high temperature.

    Dim light shone, and Huo Yuhao revealed an icy-cold and mysterious look on his face. He pointed at the furnace with his right hand.

    While it seemed like a simple action, it actually helped to stabilize the furnace, which was shaking tremendously. This wasn¡¯t the effect of his Ultimate Ice, but a result of his spiritual power.

    His Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul core released unprecedently strong spiritual undtions, and immense spiritual pressure descended,pressing the medicinal energy that was stirring in the furnace.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao only felt that his emotions were like a hill and he was like a mountain, as he suppressed the undtions of the medicinal energy.

    Emotions, was this the power of emotions?

    Before he saw the God of Emotions, Huo Yuhao¡¯s use of his emotional strength wasn¡¯t deliberate. It only happened because his yearning for Wang Dong¡¯er was too intense.

    Right now, his action was deliberate. He had actually seeded. Right now, his emotions were terrifying.

    When he fused such power into his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao only felt that his spirit, spiritual power and emotions had fused into one entity.

    Immense soul power undtions were released under such conditions, fusing with the strange spiritual undtions.

    Tang Wutong, who was seated by Huo Yuhao, had already opened her eyes. She waspletely astonished. Whatever Huo Yuhao felt, she felt the same too.

    What kind of strength is this? It¡¯s so powerful. At that instant, she only felt that Huo Yuhao had be a mighty mountain in front of her. He was immovable, andpletely domineering. Even she felt that he was irresistible, even though she had fused with him to generate their Haodong Power.

    The golden light from the furnace slowly turned golden-red before gradually dimming. The medicinal energy that was seeping out finally retracted into the furnace.

    Huo Yuhao let out a long breath, and his emotions also became less intense.

    The pills were done!

    Even as the mighty feeling disappeared, Huo Yuhao was still Huo Yuhao.

    Tang Wutong pulled her palms back and took a deep breath. She slowly stood up.

    ¡°Was it sessful?¡± She asked softly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao turned around and smiled.

    Huo Yuhao then stood up and came in front of the pill furnace with Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°It seems like your strength seemed to change earlier? What kind of strength was that? It can actually suppress medicinal energy. At that moment, I could even sense that you didn¡¯t use much of the Haodong Power either.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Do you still remember my Three Ultimate Haodong Skills?¡±

    Tang Wutong revealed a warm look in her eyes when she heard the words ¡®Three Ultimate Haodong Skills¡¯, and nodded. How could she not remember? Before she regained her memories, she had personally witnessed him using them. Back then, Huo Yuhao had used his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills to astonish the Death God Douluo. She only truly understood that strong sense of yearning after she recovered.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and gently hugged her waist, saying, ¡°The reason why my Three Ultimate Haodong Skills are so strong is because I fused everything in my life into them. During the fusion process, the catalyst was my emotions, my yearning for you. This helped me to discover the profundity of emotions.¡±

    ¡°The same soul master with the same abilities can unleash different fighting strengths under different emotions. If he can properly control his emotions and fuse them with his abilities, he can greatly increase their power. Earlier, I tried to fuse my emotions and the spiritual power of my Spirit Eyes together before using everything I had to ensure aplete fusion. In that way, I was able to unleash two hundred percent of my abilities through my emotional undtions.¡±

    Tang Wutong appeared pensive. ¡°Such a self-created soul skill isn¡¯t simple! I shall try it too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as effective as the original Three Ultimate Haodong Skills, even though I¡¯ve managed toprehend some of the mysteries within them. You should know that I relied on my Three Ultimate Haodong Skills to kill an evil Soul Douluo when I was still a Soul Emperor. Come, I¡¯ll let you sense my emotions.¡±

    As he spoke, a strong sense of love mixed with his spiritual power spread towards Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was stunned. Following this, her ears turned red. She seemed to be tearing up a little as she looked at Huo Yuhao.

    She couldn¡¯t resist his love at all.

    ¡°Alright, everyone¡¯s waiting outside. Quickly, open the furnace.¡± Tang Wutong said softly as she leaned against Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao immediately stepped back. The mysterious, sealed power on Tang Wutong¡¯s body was too terrifying. He had tried to resist it before, but the final result was that he got bruised. Furthermore, the more he resisted, the more tragic he became.

    Huo Yuhao had used the furnace until he was very familiar with it. He touched the furnace a few times before it released ayer of soul power undtions. Following this, the temperature of the furnace rose again. It was releasing the heat and pressure inside it.

    Huo Yuhao waved his right hand, and ayer of Ultimate Ice formed a meter away from the furnace, dissipating the heat.

    Thissted for ten minutes before the heat inside the furnace was fully dissipated. Huo Yuhao mimicked a lifting action, and the cover of the furnace slowly rose with a creak. The medicinal fragrance that had disappeared earlier immediately swept the air.

    The fragrance was only released for an instant, but Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt as if their pores had been opened. They were greedily absorbing the essence of heaven and earth into their bodies.

    Something even stranger appeared. Ayer of light surged out of the furnace and formed a smooth glow. Within this glow shone lights that resembled the intersection of sunrays and moonlight.

    The Qiankun Fortune Pills werepleted!

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head to look inside the furnace. He also didn¡¯t know how many pills he could cultivate. He had used almost all the materials he had, as he had wanted to maximize the effect of the medicine.

    When he looked at the Qiankun Fortune Pills, he couldn¡¯t help but reveal an astonished look on his face.

    The pills were milky-white and smooth. Every pill was covered in fog, and was the size of a fingernail. There weren¡¯t many of them. It seemed like there were only seven pills. Yes, there were exactly seven pills.

 Chapter 518 - How Do We Split the Pills?

    Chapter 518: How Do We Split the Pills?

    They were forged from more than forty different natural treasures! But there were only seven pills?

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but frown at the number.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s inner circle had more than seven people. Besides Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, there was Xuan Ziwen, Gao Dalou, Na Na, Ye Guyi, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and Nan Qiuqiu.

    There were only seven pills, so who would get one, and who wouldn¡¯t? Furthermore, this Yin Yang Fortune Pill was imed to contain the good fortune of heaven and earth, and it couldpletely change a person¡¯s body and soul. The reason why Huo Yuhao had insisted on making these was because he had hoped for the Yin Yang Fortune Pill to improve Tang Ya¡¯s body. Even though it wouldn¡¯t release her life energy like the Bluesilver Emperor would, but if it could rely on its fortune of heaven and earth topletely change her body, then it could guarantee that her life wouldn¡¯t be in danger, at least.

    But there were only seven pills, so dividing them was a tough problem.

    Tang Wutong could see what Huo Yuhao saw. She squeezed his hand and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao. At least the forging was sessful. Let¡¯s get everyone together to discuss how to divide this. I won¡¯t take one. After all, I already have eight soul rings, and our cultivation speed isn¡¯t that slow, as we can cultivate together with Haodong power.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s words were like water from a clear spring that rinsed Huo Yuhao¡¯s anxious and restless heart. He pulled her tightly into his embrace and said, ¡°What else is there to want but a lover like you!¡±

    Strangely, Tang Wutong¡¯s seal didn¡¯t act up this time.

    Huo Yuhao took out a jade bottle and put all seven pills inside, and only then did he open the gate to theboratory and walk out with Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao was startled just as he stepped out. Arge mass of the Tang Sect¡¯s disciples were seated outside; it looked like almost every single one of them was here.

    A thick and aromatic smell of medicinal fragrance wafted out once theb¡¯s door was open, and permeated the entire Soul Tool Hall¡¯s underground foundations.

    Bei Bei and the others hurriedly came forward.

    ¡°Is the pill-forging sessful, little junior brother?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior brother, it¡¯s sessful. But¡­¡± A bitter smile appeared on his face as he spoke.

    Bei Bei felt his heart skip a beat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Huo Yuhao had already wasted four months so that he could forge this batch of pills! At least, it was a waste from Bei Bei¡¯s perspective, because Huo Yuhao could achieve excellent results if he had used the past four months to cultivate. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate to spend his precious time on the Tang Sect. Everyone was full of gratitude, even though they didn¡¯t say much.

    Huo Yuhao whispered, ¡°There¡¯s too few. Let¡¯s speak outside, eldest senior brother.¡±

    Bei Bei immediately understood as he nodded and said without changing his expression, ¡°All of the Tang Sect¡¯s disciples, remain here to cultivate and absorb the medicinal effects. Everyone above the status of vice-Hall Master, follow me out for a meeting.¡±

    Everyone stepped out one after another as they arrived inside the Tang Sect¡¯s conference hall.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale because he was too tired. The others didn¡¯t know that the number of pills that he had forged was very few, but everyone could tell from his and Bei Bei¡¯s expressions that something was wrong, that a problem had urred with the pill-forging.

    Bei Bei and Tang Ya sat in the seats of honor, while Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen sat beside them.

    Bei Bei nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao had to take responsibility at a time like this, and he stood up and said, ¡°Teacher Xuan, my senior brothers and sisters, the pill-forging was sessful. I have used the natural treasures that I brought back from the Yin Yang Icefire Well, and I forged them into a batch of pills. This pill is called the Yin Yang Fortune Pill, and it¡¯s the best kind of pill that the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, Tang San, recorded in his archives. It is imed to contain the good fortune of heaven and earth.¡±

    He took out the jade bottle as he spoke and ced it on the tabletop.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on the jade bottle.

    ¡°This is my first attempt, but all of the medicines and herbs were only enough to make this one batch. Therefore, I don¡¯t know how strong the Yin Yang Fortune Pill¡¯s effects are going to be. But there¡¯s a problem with the number of pills forged, because there¡¯s only sevenplete ones.¡±

    Seven?

    Everyone was momentarily stunned when they heard that number, and the conference hall immediately fell silent.

    Every single one of them knew from the benefit they had gained from the thick medicinal aroma from before that Huo Yuhao¡¯s pill was out of the ordinary, but nobody expected that there would only be seven. There were already more than ten individuals seated here. How could they divide the pills if there were only seven?

    Right in this moment, Xuan Ziwen suddenly stood up and said, ¡°You guys can decide among yourselves how you wish to split the pills. I¡¯m already old, so I don¡¯t need to eat this thing. Besides, I¡¯m already a ss 9 soul engineer, and I don¡¯t have a long future of growth ahead of me. I¡¯ll go back to the Soul Tool Hall to check on how those little fellows are doing with their cultivation.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s expression was very sincere and decisive. There were only seven pills from the batch, and he was the first who chose to give up his im. He was very clear about these pills¡¯ value, and he had also helped Huo Yuhaoplete the pill furnace. However, he knew that these extremely valuable pills would be much more effective for youngsters, and that was the reason why he chose to relinquish his im without any hesitation at all.

    Such noble character and unquestionable integrity!

    ¡°No, teacher Xuan. Please wait for a moment, and let me finish.¡± Huo Yuhao stopped Xuan Ziwen and didn¡¯t let him leave.

    Xuan Ziwen was momentarily stunned as he nced at Huo Yuhao, and a questioning look appeared in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head lightly at him and said, ¡°Please let me finish.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen had given so much blood and sweat, and he had contributed so much so that the Tang Sect could be where they were today. He probably contributed more than anybody else here. When Huo Yuhao first began to forge the Yin Yang Fortune Pill, he had already decided that Teacher Xuan had to get one, even if it would only serve to prolong his life and promote his longevity. Sometimes, affection and sentiment couldn¡¯t be measured with profit or benefit.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Huo Yuhao. Everybody was selfish, especially in front of natural treasures such as this. But selfishness had to be distinguished with circumstance.

    The Tang Sect was built upon everyone¡¯s teamwork and unity ever since their establishment to the scale that they were at today. Every single one of them depended on and was attached to this group, and they were full of affection for each other as well.

    Nobody wanted these external objects to affect their love for each other, which didn¡¯te easy. At a time like this, Huo Yuhao, who was the one who had brought back all these natural treasures, and who was also the one who had put in so much effort so that these pills could be forged, was undoubtedly the person who was most worthy of deciding how they would be divided.

    Huo Yuhao just stood there as he briefly calmed his emotions before he lowered his voice and said, ¡°This bottle contains seven pills in total. I¡¯m the one who made them, and the number is limited. Let me decide how to split them.¡±

    Everyone had the same reaction to Huo Yuhao taking the initiative to speak those words, but they were more even more relieved.

    ording to the typical manner that the Tang Sect did things, there was usually a democratic discussion when something big came up. But there were so many of them, but only seven pills, so how were they to be divided? Huo Yuhao took the initiative to shoulder this responsibility, so everyone felt more relieved. At least, whether or not they would receive a pill in the end, they didn¡¯t have to shoulder that responsibility.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Huo Yuhao was just about to continue when Bei Bei suddenly stood up and interrupted him.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to look at Bei Bei, and Bei Bei stared at him deeply and said, ¡°Before Yuhao divides these pills, let me say a few words. No matter how these seven pills are going to be divided, nobody can object. The truth is, Yuhao has forged these seven pills all by himself, and we cannot use our emotions or our affections to split them. Instead, we should divide these pills based on our contributions. Teacher Xuan needs to have one. Without the pill furnace that came up with, this batch wouldn¡¯t even be here today. Yuhao, I hope that you will be as fair as you can when you divide these pills. Every single person here is a part of the Tang Sect, and the Tang Sect wouldn¡¯t be here without everyone. Whatever your decision is will be the Tang Sect¡¯smon consensus.¡±

    Bei Bei was too familiar with Huo Yuhao. He said those words because he knew that Huo Yuhao was shouldering all the responsibility by taking the initiative to divide these pills. There were seven pills, so some would receive one, while others wouldn¡¯t. Would those that didn¡¯t receive one feel resentful? That resentment would be projected onto the person who had decided the split. That was the reason why Bei Bei emphasized that, because he didn¡¯t want Huo Yuhao to bear this responsibility alone.

    Bei Bei¡¯s heart was actually in a lot of pain. He was the Tang Set¡¯s main director, and he was the only one who was worthy enough to request the responsibility of dividing the pills from Huo Yuhao among everyone here. But he couldn¡¯t do that, because if he had that responsibility, he couldn¡¯t give one to himself or to Xiao Ya to show that he was being fair. But, even if he didn¡¯t want one, what about Tang Ya? He was truly hoping that this pill could prolong her life! Therefore, he gritted his teeth, and didn¡¯t make that request in the end.

    Huo Yuhao nodded in Bei Bei¡¯s direction before he turned back to everyone. The faint smile on his face was still there. ¡°Eldest senior brother, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous. The truth is, even though there are so few pills, it¡¯s not that difficult to split them. Everyone might have misunderstood that seven pills can only be divided among seven people. You guys are thinking that there¡¯s more than ten of us here, so about half of us won¡¯t get any? Actually, it¡¯s not like that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how strong the Yin Yang Fortune Pill¡¯s effects are, but the level of natural treasures contained absolutely cannot be replicated, and it¡¯s not too much to call them God-level herbs. Since that¡¯s the case, why do we have to take one pill each? One person taking one pill each might even be counterproductive. We can always split one pill among several people. It¡¯s also less dangerous that way, and we can be fairer to everyone. Isn¡¯t that great? Therefore, you don¡¯t have to be nervous, everyone.¡±

    Everyone was first taken aback when they heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, but their expressions immediately rxed in the next moment. Wasn¡¯t that right? Who decided that one pill could only go to one person?

    Bei Bei was also momentarily stunned before heughed out loud. Yes! I wasn¡¯t thinking straight because I was too concerned.

    Huo Yuhao saw that everyone had be more rxed before he nodded and said with a straight face, ¡°The Yin Yang Fortune Pills have been forged, and what we have to do next is try them out. There are records in the archives that the Yin Yang Fortune Pills contain the good fortune of heaven and earth, and we really don¡¯t know what they can do with such a vague and broad description. Therefore, I have decided to test it first, to see how strong the medicinal effects are, then I¡¯ll decide how to divide it. Everyone who¡¯s seated here cannot escape, and everyone will test the pills with me. I will take one from the seven and dissolve it in water before dividing it equally for everyone. We will feel the medicinal effects together and see exactly to what extent they affect us. Of course, that doesn¡¯t include teacher Xiao Ya. Her body is weak, so she will use it only after we finish testing its effects. We will decide how to divide the remaining six pills after we have finished testing them.¡±

    Everyone nodded at the same time when they heard his words. Xuan Ziwenughed and said, ¡°Since everyone has a piece of the cake, then I won¡¯t be so polite anymore. Count me in.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Yuhao, keep the pills first. Let¡¯s do it this way: everyone can go back and have a good rest and gather some strength so that we can take the pills together tomorrow and see how they affect us. Sanshi and I will check on the rest of the Tang Sect disciples and see how the medicinal aroma is affecting them.¡±

    The conference was initially a little tense, but after Huo Yuhao¡¯s clever suggestion, the mood became a lot more rxed. Everyone was to try the Yin Yang Fortune Pill¡¯s effects, and even if someone didn¡¯t get a pill in the end, at least they had tried it!

    Everyone left to deal with their own matters. Bei Bei hugged Huo Yuhao across the shoulders andughed as he said, ¡°Nicely done, little junior brother. Did you know that I was really shocked when you said that there were only seven pills! We¡¯ll be in trouble if this causes some infighting within the sect.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Eldest senior brother, I don¡¯t think you have to worry about that. With the rtionships that we have with each other, even if some of us don¡¯t get the pill in the end, everyone won¡¯tin that much.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head gently and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish for anyone to have any negative feelings in their hearts. No matter what, your decision to divide it this way is great. Do you have something in mind?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I feel like the Yin Yang Fortune Pill¡¯s effects might be stronger than I imagined. But I can only be sure what the exact extent is after experimenting. I hope that I can give the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion one pill when I¡¯m dividing themter. The Tang Sect wouldn¡¯t be where it is today without the academy¡¯s support.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded in approval. ¡°That should be done. I was going to remind you if you didn¡¯t mention it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Of the remaining pills, one will be given to Teacher Xiao Ya to treat her illness. There will be four remaining pills, and if the effects are good enough, I think two should be dissolved into water for everyone to use, and we will leave two more in the Tang Sect just in case.¡±

    Bei Bei tilted his head slightly and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s good. I¡¯ll rest assured if that¡¯s your n. Alright, you¡¯ve been working so hard for so long, hurry up and get some rest.¡±

    The night passed peacefully.

    Morning on the second day.

    The various members of the Tang Sect¡¯s inner circle gathered in their conference hall.

    Bei Bei had been here very early, and he said excitedly when everyone was gathered, ¡°Yesterday, almost every single one of the Tang Sect¡¯s disciples went into deep meditation after absorbing the Yin Yang Fortune Pills¡¯ medicinal aroma. Less than ten percent of them are awake at this moment.¡± With that, the smile on his face became even more radiant.

 Chapter 519.1 - One and a Half Years

    <h4 ss>Chapter 519.1: One and a Half Years</h4>

    Deep meditation?Everyone from the Tang Sect was stunned when they heard those words. Several hundred people in deep meditation at the same time?

    Bei Beiughed. He was always so refined and elegant, and he rarely expressed too much happiness or anger, but there was clearly excitement in his eyes.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t misspeak, and you guys heard that right. Everyone went into deep meditation, and those who came to earliest only did so at daybreak. Some of those who have woken up have told me that their entire bodies feel very smooth and clear, while many of their impurities have been expelled. I conducted a simple checkup on them, and discovered that their soul power hasn¡¯t improved much, but their martial soul¡¯s quality seems to have improved, while their bodies have be stronger. Those who have woken up are the Tang Sect¡¯s weakest disciples, and they areparatively less talented. That also means that the more talented you are, the longer you will be in deep meditation.¡±

    Everyone exchanged nces, and incredulity flickered in their eyes.

    What was deep meditation? That was a state that every soul master dreamed of achieving, and a single episode of deep meditation could bring realizations and understanding that was more important than cultivating for several years. Deep cultivation was a process which would directly give a deep understanding of one¡¯s martial soul, soul power, and soul skills. It was just like sudden enlightenment, as a sudden enlightenment boosted one¡¯s potential.

    Back then, Huo Yuhao had an extremely long episode of deep meditation back at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Even though that episode was long, it didn¡¯t really boost his soul power, but it was that episode that consolidated his foundation as one of the elites of the younger generation. From that, one could see how important deep meditation was for soul masters.

    This was an improvement of one¡¯s talents! However, several hundred soul masters going through deep meditation at the same time was an event that had never happened before across the Douluo Continent¡¯s entire history. Something like that was impossible to imagine, but everything was clearly happening because of the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s medicinal aroma.

    Even the pill¡¯s medicinal aroma could produce such immense effects, so how intense would the effects of the pill itself be? Everyone¡¯s eyes began to burn with passion inside the conference hall.

    A crystal bottle was brought out and filled to the brim with clear water, while over a dozen smaller cups were taken out at the same time. Bei Bei nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He took out the jade bottle that contained the Qiankun Fortune Pills as everyone looked on passionately. Once he opened the bottle, a strange aroma wafted out.

    This fragrance wasn¡¯t thick, but it was extremely prative. Everyone could smell it as soon as it was released, and a feeling that numbed their skulls surfaced as they felt like all their pores had been opened in the next moment. It was a veryfortable and rxing sensation.

    The pill itself was white and lustrous, and there seemed to be clouds drifting around inside it, as if the pill itself contained life energy.

    Huo Yuhao covered the jade bottle and ced a single Qiankun Fortune Pill into the crystal bottle.

    The crystal bottle also had a cap. Huo Yuhao immediately covered the bottle with its cap after tossing in the pill so that its medicinal effects wouldn¡¯t dissipate.

    A strange scene urred once the Qiankun Fortune Pill fell into the water. The originally clear and still water began to boil and roil, and everything inside it became foggy and cloudy.

    The white fog gradually turned golden, and then an even stranger thing happened. Scenes that reflected the sun and moon¡¯s glory seemed to sh and flicker within the golden liquid, and the crystal bottle radiated with intense and brilliant light.

    Everyone exchanged looks, and nobody could hide the bedazzlement in their eyes.

    Huo Yuhao was the person who had crafted the pill, and he couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath before he said, ¡°The Qiankun Fortune Pill does live up to its im of containing the good fortune of heaven and earth. From my perspective, I think we have done this right by ident. With its medicinal effects, we may not be able to handle it if we had taken one pill each. At least, we absolutely cannot ingest one pill in one go. Otherwise, we might run into big trouble.¡±

    From when Bei Bei was talking about the Tang Sect¡¯s disciples going through deep meditation together to the strange scenes that they were witnessing from the Qiankun Fortune Pill now, everyone could see its frightening medicinal powers. Nobody expected that a tiny pill like that could possess such forceful and terrifying effects.

    Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to observe, and only reopened the bottle after the golden liquid inside the crystal bottle hadpletely settled down. He poured the liquid equally into all the little cups that had been taken out.

    This time, perhaps because the pill had been dissolved into water, its fragrance was more than ten times denser than before.

    ¡°Hurry and drink it. Don¡¯t let its medicinal effects dissipate,¡± Huo Yuhao immediately reminded everyone after pouring everything out.

    Everyone no longer dared to dy as they took their respective cups and finished the fluid in one gulp.

    The fluid was in and tasteless, and it didn¡¯t seem that much different from drinking clear water. But before anyone could start guessing or sensing the changes to their body, everyone felt a wave of burning heat rising up and coursing over their bodies.

    The people here belonged to the Tang Sect¡¯s inner circle, and they were naturally different from the other disciples. The individual with the lowest cultivation rank was a Soul Emperor, while they were also prepared before ingesting the fluid. They immediately sat down and crossed their legs one by one and began to meditate in an attempt to catalyze the medicinal effects with their soul power.

    But they realized after sitting down that they didn¡¯t have to catalyze anything at all. The medicinal effects reached every corner of their bodies after releasing itself, and the terrifying medicinal powers barged around through their passageways forcibly. Everyone could see a patch of gold when they looked inside themselves.

    Tang Ya was the only one who didn¡¯t drink. But she could smell the dense medicinal aroma in the air, and even though she was weak, she could still feel that refreshing andfortable sensation.

    Furthermore, she could observe most clearly because she was an onlooker. A golden hue appeared over everyone¡¯s bodies after they ingested the fluid. That golden color wasn¡¯t soul power. Instead, it was a kind of air flow that seemed very obscure and faint. The medicinal aroma inside the conference hall didn¡¯t dampen because they had consumed the medicinal fluids, but became denser instead, like everyone¡¯s bodies couldn¡¯t hold back the medicinal fragrance. This time, the aroma was emanating from everyone¡¯s bodies.

    Such powerful medicinal effects! This was a single Qiankun Fortune Pill split into more than a dozen servings, and even then, it still possessed such intense effects. Tang Ya couldn¡¯t help but draw in a cold breath.

    Bei Bei had already told her that Huo Yuhao had decided to give one of the pills to her, but now, that decision didn¡¯t seem very realistic. Tang Ya knew that her body was weak, and if she took one pill all by herself, she would probably be so weak that the pill would make her much worse! Fortunately, everyone else went ahead to try the pill¡¯s effects before she had.

    Huo Yuhao could feel his soul power roiling in his body. He and Tang Wutong had the highest cultivation rank among everyone here besides Xuan Ziwen, the soul engineer. The truth was, in terms of how pure their soul power was and in terms of total volume, Huo Yuhao probably even surpassed Xuan Ziwen.

    That was the reason why what he felt was the most vivid. The medicinal fluid almost didn¡¯t stop when it entered his body, and it began to spread from his abdomen. Huo Yuhao immediately felt like his soul power began to undte and spurt like a geyser from the pill¡¯s effects. The soul power inside his passageways, his skeleton, and his organs began to turn a pure gold.

    But Huo Yuhao could still maintain rity in his mind in this moment. Even though the formidable medicinal strength was stimting him to the point where he almost couldn¡¯t move, he still managed to spin around as soon as possible while he pulled Tang Wutong¡¯s hands up and ced their palms together. Haodong power naturally began to circte between them.

    Strangely, the initially intense medicinal effects immediately settled down when they began to channel Haodong power, just like tidal waves from arge surging river suddenly flowing into the boundless ocean.

    Their expressions immediately became rxed. The medicinal effects were still strong, but there seemed to be a special force inside their Haodong power that could suppress the medicinal effects instead of allowing them to spreadpletely and wreak havoc.

    Huo Yuhao was experiencing a very special sensation. He felt like the Qiankun Fortune Pill was a catalyzer, a catalyzer for soul power. Tang Wutong and his soul power was improving at a surprising speed under the effects of this catalyzer, resembling the rising of the tide.

    Furthermore, their soul power wasn¡¯t the only thing that was changing; even their spirits were being nourished along with their passageways. Their bodies became smooth and clear, while there were already very few impurities within their bodies. In this moment, the Qiankun Fortune Pill made them feel like their entire body was transparent, and that purest and most direct improvement caused a faint smile to appear on both their faces.

    The medicine¡¯s effects were absorbed extremely quickly, but because their passageways were also being refined by the pill, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t feel any swelling in their bodies.

    The entire process took but fifteen minutes, while the pill¡¯s effects were almostpletely absorbed. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong realized to their pleasant surprise that their soul power rank had clearly improved a lot, by a difference of almost two ranks.

    A single Qiankun Fortune Pill was split into more than ten different servings, while their cultivation were already past 80! Furthermore, improving their soul power was secondary, while strengthening their own bodies was absolutely beneficial for bing a Titled Douluo in the future.

    They opened their eyes at the same time, as if by telepathy. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong looked at each other, and they could see the joy in each other¡¯s eyes. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had almost reached Rank 83 after the previous four months of hard work and assiduous cultivation before consuming the medicinal fluid, while Tang Wutong¡¯s situation was simr to his.

    After consuming the medicine, their cultivation had improved enormously after just a short fifteen minutes. They didn¡¯t just break through Rank 83, they even broke through Rank 84, and they were now right between Rank 84 and Rank 85.

 Chapter 519.2 - One and a Half Years

    <h4 ss>Chapter 519.2: One and a Half Years</h4>

    They were already eight-ringed Soul Douluo, and improving one¡¯s cultivation was an extremely slow and difficult affair once a soul master obtained their eighth soul ring. But they weren¡¯t normal people, and their soul power possessed special characteristics that normal soul masters didn¡¯t. In addition to the effects of their Haodong power, their cultivation speed was already faster than normal people. This time, they were overjoyed because their cultivation had directly improved by so much due to the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects. Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that if he and Tang Wutong took one entire pill each, they could possibly directly break through to be Titled Douluo. This pill¡¯s effects were just too powerful.

    However, they were quickly jolted back to reality after feeling their improved cultivation ranks, and the reason was simple: the others¡¯ situations were vastly different from theirs, and some were even in some trouble.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong smiled at each other, and immediately felt the excessively dense medicinal aroma inside the conference hall as they subconsciously turned towards the other individuals beside them.

    Their facial expressions changed a little with that nce.

    Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were doing alright because their cultivation ranks were rtively higher. Even though their eyebrows were locked in a faint frown, they could still hold on, while the medicinal auras that they were emanating weren¡¯t considered too dense. However, the others who had rtively lower cultivation ranks like Gao Dalou, Nan Qiuqiu, and Na Na were in trouble.

    The golden light on their bodies was the strongest, and golden light could even be faintly seen along their veins under their skin, while their bodies were trembling vigorously.

    All Tang Ya could do was worry as she looked on from the side. Her body was weak, and even though she still had her soul power, she couldn¡¯t muster it at all because of those evil toxins. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t even know how to deal with the situation at hand.

    ¡°Wutong, quick!¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong and arrived behind Gao Dalou in a sh. Gao Dalou¡¯s cultivation wasparatively lower than the rest, and he was also a soul engineer, so his soul power was quite a far cry from the soul masters who had studied in Shrek Academy. The same was true for his bodily strength.

    The Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects were just too strong. Gao Dalou didn¡¯t have Haodong power, and the forceful medicinal effects wreaked havoc inside his body as they barged around hysterically. Even though they were refining and improving his passageways and increasing his soul power, the process was pummeling his body. His entire frame was swollen, like he was a bomb that could explode at any moment.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong and arrived behind him swiftly. They reached out with one palm each and pressed them against his back, while they held each other¡¯s hands at the same time.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, their Haodog power had a suppressive effect against the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects. Just like back when Huo Yuhao had first attempted to fuse his martial soul with Tang Wutong¡¯s, this suppression was entirely hierarchical, like these forces and energies had their own ranks and hierarchy.

    The medicinal effects in Gao Dalou¡¯s body immediately settled down after the Haodong power coursed through him, and he heaved a deep sigh of relief. Soul power flowed within his body as he swiftly absorbed the pill¡¯s effects.

    However, their Haodong power unwittingly absorbed some of the medicinal effects once it entered his body. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t want that to happen. Those bits and pieces that attached themselves to their Haodong power were parts that Gao Dalou couldn¡¯t absorb at all. Differences in physiques also meant a world of difference in one¡¯s ability to absorb natural treasures.

    Gao Dalou¡¯s situation stabilized after a few minutes. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong withdrew their palms as they arrived behind Na Na.

    Na Na was already a Soul Emperor, but she also started off as a soul engineer, and she was just a closebat soul engineer. In addition to her martial soul¡¯s special characteristics, her body was rtively weaker. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong used the same method to help her stabilize her body.

    The two of them then judged ording to how quickly theirpanions were absorbing the pill¡¯s effects and their respective situations, and helped them resolve their problems ordingly.

    The difference in everyone¡¯s cultivations could be seen from how they were absorbing the pill¡¯s effects. In the end, the other five who were part of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Xuan Ziwen, and Ji Juechen didn¡¯t need Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s help, as theypleted the absorption by themselves. They helped everyone else to varying extents, and Ye Guyi was the best off among those who required help.

    There was a saying that kindness would always be rewarded. In the process of going to everyone¡¯s aid, those leftover medicinal effects that everyone couldn¡¯t absorb naturally entered Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies. When everyone¡¯s situations were stabilized, their cultivation ranks broke through to Rank 85 at almost the same time.

    Huo Yuhao waved his right hand and released ayer of spiritual power as they separated the conference hall from the outside world, and the medicine¡¯s fragrance permeated the air. This fragrance was also beneficial, and everyone could absorb some of its effects as they cultivated. They couldn¡¯t afford to waste the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects, not even a little bit.

    Huo Yuhao directed the entire situation as he quietly observed Tang Ya.

    Tang Ya didn¡¯t take the pill, but she had absorbed quite a bit of the pill¡¯s aroma after all the time that had passed.

    Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection, and observed that even though the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s medicinal aroma didn¡¯t help her eliminate the toxins in her body, and neither could it awaken her martial soul¡¯s power, it could refine and improve her body, and it strengthened her resistance and immune system.

    In other words, even though Tang Ya¡¯s circumstance didn¡¯t improve, the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s aroma slowed her deterioration.

    Simply put, the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s aroma strengthened Tang Ya¡¯s physique, and caused her life energy to flow away at an even slower speed. In addition to the fact that the Life Guardian de was continuously supplying her with life energy, Tang Ya¡¯s circumstances were already starting to change for the better. At least, her life would definitely be prolonged.

    Huo Yuhao was immediately ted with that discovery. In the end, Tang Ya hadn¡¯t actually taken the pill yet. Of course, Huo Yuhao knew that she couldn¡¯t directly take a single pill, as its effects were too strong, but that didn¡¯t mean that she couldn¡¯t take any at all. The effects would be the same as long as the pill was diluted like it was today before it was fed to her bit by bit! That way, her situation could first be stabilized so that they would have more time in the future to search for the Bluesilver Emperor so that her martial soul could be awakened.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief with that judgment.Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s problems are finally resolved.

    Everyone who was absorbing the medicinal effects came to one after another with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help. Those who had absorbed rtively less woke up earlier, and Gao Dalou was the first who recovered from his meditation.

    Gao Dalou just bolted away after recovering. He had no choice but to run, as the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects forced out all the impurities in his body. He was covered with ayer of dirt and filth, and reeked terribly. He loved alcohol with his life, and his body wasn¡¯t that strong in the first ce. Even though he didn¡¯t absorb much of the medicine¡¯s effects this time, the improvements and ameliorations that he had experienced were the greatest.

    Everyone¡¯s circumstances weren¡¯t that different from Gao Dalou, and they returned to their respective rooms after waking up one after another to clean themselves up.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Ji Juechen were thest to wake up. They were even a littleter than Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen didn¡¯t say much after he woke up, but he gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up. His cultivation rank was the highest, and it didn¡¯t seem like his body had improved much on the surface, as he had consumed many medicines in the past to refine and improve his body. However, he was clear that all the hidden problems in his body had been eliminated after consuming the Qiankun Fortune Pill, and his soul power was showing signs of improvement. This meant that if he worked hard to cultivate, he still had a chance to increase his soul power. That was absolutely an unexpected surprise!

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Ji Juechen had the least impurities in their bodies. Even though their bodies were still a little sticky, they didn¡¯t have to run away immediately afterpleting their absorption.

    ¡°How do you feel, eldest senior brother?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Bei Bei concernedly. These three hadpletely absorbed the pill¡¯s effects.

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°I feel fantastic.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed heartily and said, ¡°I don¡¯t just feel fantastic. I feel like I¡¯m on cloud nine! I can feel that my soul power has improved by five ranks, and I¡¯m almost at the bottleneck to Rank 80. I suspect Bei Bei has experienced something simr.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded, confirming Xu Sanshi¡¯s words.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the most important part. I can feel that my martial soul¡¯s intrinsic quality has also improved, and my spirit has been nourished. My cultivation in the future should be much quicker and more efficient.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If you¡¯re reached the bottleneck at Rank 80, why don¡¯t you guys try to add another Spirit? That should be fine, considering your spiritual power.¡±

    But Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi shook their heads at the same time. Bei Bei said, ¡°We have a lot of chemistry with our Spirits, we don¡¯t need another one. Furthermore, our Spirits have more abilities that they can bestow upon us, and that¡¯s sufficient for us to increase our strength and abilities. When the time is right, we will naturally obtain our eighth soul rings.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a long breath. That was just the effects of a single Qiankun Fortune Pill! The entire group benefited from just a single pill. Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei had the highest cultivations among everyone else. Their soul power had increased by around five ranks, so how about their otherpanions who only had around six soul rings? Their cultivations had to increase by a lot more.

    Huo Yuhao was very happy. He hadn¡¯t wasted his time over the past few months after all, as raising the Tang Sect¡¯s overall strength was very important.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother, when are you going to let Teacher Xiao Ya take the pill?¡± Huo Yuhao asked Bei Bei.

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°The Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s medicinal effects are too strong. I don¡¯t think Xiao Ya can take one by herself. Why don¡¯t we do it like we have done today? We can divide the rest of the pills among everyone else.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Any medicine is most effective when you first consume it. Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s situation is unique, and dilution is a must. Furthermore, she has to consume less every time than we did today, but she can do it continuously so that she can digest and absorb its effects. This time, I am confident of ensuring that Teacher Xiao Ya¡¯s body won¡¯t deteriorate any further.¡± With that, he told Bei Bei about what he had observed from Tang Ya¡¯s body and his own judgment.

 Chapter 519.3 - One and a Half Years

    Chapter 519.3: One and a Half Years

    Bei Bei was overjoyed. ¡°Great! That¡¯s just great. However, somehow, I feel like Xiao Ya doesn¡¯t need an entire pill¡¯s effects. Little junior brother, you and Tang Wutong should consume the rest of the pills. The two of you are the Tang Sect¡¯s strongest fighting force now, and only the two of you can fight like Titled Douluo with your martial soul fusion. The academy has high hopes for the two of you. I suggest that the two of you take one more pill each, so that the you can be Titled Douluo as quickly as possible.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, increasing our soul power by relying on our own cultivation is best. Using medicine to boost our cultivation, even if they¡¯re natural treasures, is not as consolidated or solidpared to doing so through our own cultivation. We have already drawn upon a lot of medicinal effects this time, and we still have to rely on our own cultivation to stabilize and consolidate. We will be spoiling things by undue haste if we take any more. With our current cultivation speed, we can still increase our cultivation rtively quickly even without pills and medicine.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and answered, ¡°Then do it your way.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°As for the remaining six pills, can I ask that you give one of them to Elder Xuan, eldest senior brother? Tell him the effects these pills had on us, and I hope that he can use one to raise his cultivation rank to be an Ultimate Douluo. One of the remaining five will be given to teacher Xiao Ya to treat her, and thest four will be dealt with ording to the n that we originally discussed. However, we have to push back the date that we n to consume another one. We have to wait for at least three months before we consume another one, and then another three months before we do so again. That way, we can maximize the pill¡¯s effects, and we can also give everyone sufficient time to stabilize and consolidate their cultivation.¡±

    Bei Bei answered, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it your way. But you should give the pill to Elder Xuan yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, you and Teacher Xiao Ya are the Tang Sect¡¯s leaders! This is the Tang Sect¡¯s gift to the academy, not just my own.¡±

    Bei Bei immediately understood what he was trying to say, and stared deeply into Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes before he patted his shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Eldest senior brother, after this, I n to use my time mainly for studying soul tools and closed-door cultivation. I am afraid I won¡¯t be able to help you with the sect¡¯s affairs.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the Tang Sect¡¯s affairs. Everyone else and I will deal with them. The most important thing for you is to work hard to increase your cultivation along with Tang Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The Tang Sect passed an order to keep the episode with the Qiankun Fortune Pill quiet, and nobody was allowed to spread news of it to the outside world. The truth was, only the Tang Sect¡¯s core members knew exactly how strong the Qiankun Fortune Pill¡¯s effects were.

    A single pill was sent to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and Elder Xuan went into closed-door cultivation afterwards, but he wasn¡¯t the only one. The Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean Yan Shaozhe, and the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean Xian Lin¡¯er apanied him.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong also entered a state of semi closed-door cultivation. Huo Yuhao would take out six hours everyday to learn about forging soul tools from Xuan Ziwen, and he would spend the remainder of his day cultivating with Tang Wutong.

    The Tang Sect became busier than before, and everything was going ording to n.

    The Sun Moon Empire grew quiet, seemingly because the detonation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Annihtion Storm had dealt an overwhelmingly heavy blow to them. The frontlines were also very peaceful. The Sun Moon Empire seemed to do nothing else besides consolidating the territory that they had conquered from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    The soul master legions that the Star Luo Empire had sent into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory to do battle were also gradually withdrawn, as the Sun Moon Empire had mustered their rtively stronger soul engineer legions to exterminate them. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s soul masters experienced heavy losses after several skirmishes, and they had no choice but to retreat back through the Ming Dou Mountain Range to rest and readjust.

    However, with the Ming Dou Mountain Range as a barrier and their experience from before, the Star Luo Empire had temporarily stabilized their defensive perimeter along their borders. The White Tiger Duke was still personally holding down the fort as they maintained their standoff against the Sun Moon Empire.

    The war seemed to havee to a temporary pause. But there was still one thing that made the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire very concerned.

    Even though the war seemed to have paused temporarily, the Sun Moon Empire had strengthened their lockdown on surveince and intelligence. They continuously transported aerial and ground-based surveince soul tools toward the border so that they could shut down all information as tightly as possible.

    It became overwhelmingly difficult for the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires to conduct any reconnaissance within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territories.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory was already thergest within the Douluo Continent, and in addition to two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, the surface area of their territory was now considerablyrger. Everyone knew that the war wouldn¡¯t just end here, and when it erupted once more, it would likely be a thunderous and possibly final and all-out invasion that the Sun Moon Empire would bring.

    Everyone was just umting their strength and waiting. What they werepeting about was how quickly they could umte strength.

    Half a year passed, and everything was still very quiet and peaceful. The Sun Moon Empire seemed like they had ceased their belligerence, and they even reduced the troops that they had stationed along the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders.

    However, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territories that the Sun Moon Empire had conquered appeared far too tranquil. Half a year had gone by, but there were rarely any uprisings and whatnot, and even the reclusive sects seemed like they had given up on resisting and fighting back.

    Six months flew by one after another, and a year and a half had gone by since Huo Yuhao forged the Qiankun Fortune Pills. He had already been cultivating within Shrek City for almost two years.

    Within these two years, the Tang Sect¡¯s disciples were almost about to forget that there was such an elite individual inside the Tang Sect, not to mention outsiders.

    ¡°Whew,¡± Huo Yuhao gradually opened his eyes as he exhaled deeply, but his eyes were filled with exasperation.

    Tang Wutong was sitting opposite him, and she patted his hands as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can do it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly and said, ¡°I had already guessed that this would be difficult, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be difficult to this extent.¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled faintly and said, ¡°But everything will be different once you seed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as I have you by my side, I will never give up. Furthermore, I am more confident.¡±

    They had remained inside the Tang Sect¡¯s underground base to cultivate after consuming the Qiankun Fortune Pill. This ce was the quietest, and it was conducive and convenient for Huo Yuhao to learn from Xuan Ziwen.

    Tang Wutong returned to her own room to cultivate after eating lunch, while Huo Yuhao arrived at Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory as usual.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan,¡± Huo Yuhao had just stepped into the door when he saw Xuan Ziwen sitting there with a nk look on his face.

    Xuan Ziwen appeared younger than he was one-and-a-half years ago. Even though he was deep in thought, his eyes were still incredibly sharp.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s members had consumed three of the remaining Qiankun Fortune Pills as a group, and everyone received unexpected benefits. Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had all obtained eight soul rings, and Ji Juechen had reached Rank 89. He was just one step away from bing a Titled Douluo.

    But Ji Juechen wasn¡¯t considered the strongest within the Tang Sect, and neither was Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was just like him, still stuck at Rank 89.

    Huo Yuhao should have broken through a long time ago in theory, but he had reached a tremendous bottleneck. This bottleneck stemmed from the soul core that he had formed.

    He had already guessed that he would have a lot of trouble forming his second soul core because he already possessed his first one, but the difficulty far exceeded his expectations.

    The medicinal fluids that came from dissolving three Qiankun Fortune Pills had already raised his cultivation to 89 a year ago, but he was still at Rank 89 even after one year. This was so even though he was cultivating with Haodong power. Furthermore, he was in closed-door cultivation, and he toiled day and night to cultivate without a single second of idleness. Yet, he still remained at Rank 89.

    Therefore, he wasn¡¯t the strongest individual within the Tang Sect. Now, the Tang Sect truly possessed a homebred Titled Douluo besides Xuan Ziwen, who was a ss 9 soul engineer. That person was Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong had broken through seven months ago, and finally earned her title. She gave herself the title of Winter Butterfly.

    The Winter Butterfly Douluo, Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Winter¡± was so that she couldmemorate that she was once Wang Dong¡¯er, and ¡°Butterfly¡± was naturally because of her martial soul.

    Tang Wutong had already formed her soul core sessfully, and was now a Titled Douluo. How could Huo Yuhao not be worried? But forming his second soul core wasn¡¯t something that he could just aplish hastily.

    He wouldn¡¯t have reached Rank 89 so quickly without his first soul core, but forming his second soul core was just far too difficult.

    But his mentality was still positive. Even though he was eager to improve, he wasn¡¯t impatient because he had Tang Wutong by his side. Soul masters could umte their cultivation. Just as Tang Wutong had said, even though forming his second soul core was difficult, his cultivation would increase rapidly once that was sessful, and he would swiftly reach another level.

    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± Xuan Ziwen waved to Huo Yuhao and gestured for him to sit down.

    Huo Yuhao sat down on a chair next to Xuan Ziwen and asked, ¡°How is it? Have you made any headway?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen sighed and shook his head.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly attempted to console him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Xuan. We have already taken ny-nine out of a hundred steps, we just have this final hup. We¡¯ll take it slow, and we will continue only after we have found the best way to move forward. You¡¯re tiring yourself out too much nowadays. Why don¡¯t you take a break?¡±

    A faint smile appeared at the corner of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s mouth. ¡°Who says I haven¡¯t? I have hupped something out.¡±

    Even though his expression appeared a little indecent when he was saying those words, Huo Yuhao still widened his eyes as he said with a shaky voice, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ve seeded?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen nodded gently and said, ¡°At least, in theory.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw hung open as his eyes were open wide. ¡°Then why did you shake your head?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen answered, ¡°I shook my head because it cannot be replicated. Even though forging it is extremely difficult, we can stillplete it between the two of us. But the conditions for using it are too demanding, and I can¡¯t think of anybody else in the world who can use it besides you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°You¡¯re not very nice, Teacher Xuan.¡±

 Chapter 520.1 - Assassinate Xu Tianran?

    Chapter 520.1: Assassinate Xu Tianran?

    Xuan Ziwen twisted his lips and said, ¡°How am I not being kind? At least I¡¯m not hiding and withholding anything. I¡¯ve imparted everything that I know to you. Otherwise, how could you have be a ss 9 soul engineer?¡±

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was a true ss 9 soul engineer now. Even though he was not a Titled Douluo yet, he hadpleted the production of a ss 9 soul tool. This was unquestionable.

    Huo Yuhao understood what Xuan Ziwen was saying. ¡°Teacher Xuan, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not teaching you. It¡¯s that you aren¡¯t understanding.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen snapped, ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t have the Ghostcarving de!¡±

    It had been a year and a half, but Xuan Ziwen and He Caitou still didn¡¯t manage to learn the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance. They had only learned very minor parts of it. Theirprehension wasn¡¯t deep enough, which meant that the strength of the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance couldn¡¯t be fully unleashed.

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for that!¡± Huo Yuhao said helplessly, ¡°This Ghostcarving de has picked its owner. I have no choice.¡±

    The reason why he could be a ss 9 soul engineer so quickly was because he had the Ghostcarving de and knew the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance. The more he used and understood them, the more he understood the mysteries of the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance. He had learned a lot. This was the same for his self-created soul skills.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, when can we start?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Xuan Ziwen said, ¡°No rush. I¡¯ll conceptualize it first. Since you¡¯re almost done with the outer shell, I¡¯ll design a n for this core part. Then we¡¯ll discuss where to go from there. There¡¯s no rush to take action. Given your current abilities, there should be no problem producing it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Xuan Ziwen appeared pensive. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve been thinking of how to make more extensive use of this model. If it works out, I believe we can change the entire world of soul tools!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°How is it so easy? Haven¡¯t we already conceptualized it? We wanted to produce a spiritual energy amplifier to amplify spiritual energy, but it¡¯s too difficult. First, we don¡¯t know how to start. Secondly, who¡¯s going to test it?¡±

    Xuan Ziwen alsoughed bitterly, ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no way of testing this thing. Furthermore, we can¡¯t make any headway. Let¡¯s take things slow. Let¡¯s finish whatever you have first. Once we finish it, we can stun the world of soul engineers. When that happens, hehe¡­¡±

    At this moment, a bald head poked through the door from outside.

    Xuan Ziwen nced up, and snapped, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    He Caitou walked in from outside and chuckled, ¡°I was afraid of disturbing the both of you.¡± He was now an official ss 8 soul engineer too, since his soul power cultivation had reached eight rings.

    As a food-type soul master, it was very difficult to increase his cultivation. The Qiankun Fortune Pill was the most effective on him.

    He Caitou sat in a chair and said, ¡°Yuhao, can you make a trip to the academy? I heard Elder Xuan and the others have ended their retreat.¡±

    After hearing He Caitou¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. Elder Xuan has exited his cultivation? That¡¯s great!

    When the Tang Sect gave one Qiankun Fortune Pill to Shrek Academy, Elder Xuan went into closed-door cultivation with Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er. This was also decided after a conference in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    The reason why only the three of them took the pill instead of the rest of the elders was because the future of the academy was taken into consideration.

    The effect of the Qiankun Fortune Pill was indeed miraculous, but there were still limits. In addition, the condition of the person consuming the pill had to be taken into consideration too.

    For a six-ringed or seven-ringed soul master, the effect would be much greater. However, for a Titled Douluo, the effect was much less pronounced. This was especially so for these Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy.

    Hence, Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er were chosen to consume the pill after much consideration. Elder Xuan was an obvious candidate because he was the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo. He had the most hope of bing an Ultimate Douluo. What Shrek Academycked most right now was an Ultimate Douluo. As for Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er, they were considered some of the younger ones in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. However, they were already Transcendent Douluo. They had the greatest potential for improving further. Yan Shaozhe was already a Rank 96 Titled Douluo. Xian Lin¡¯er was also a Rank 95 Titled Douluo. They were going to be the future pirs of Shrek Academy.

    As a result, the three of them went into closed-door cultivation together and consumed the Qiankun Fortune Pill to break through their bottlenecks.

    Even the elders of Shrek Academy didn¡¯t expect them to be in closed-door cultivation for so long. They went into cultivation for one and-a-half years. How could Huo Yuhao not be surprised when He Caitou said that they had exited their retreat? He was most concerned about whether Elder Xuan had made a breakthrough and became another Ultimate Douluo after Elder Mu. If he was sessful, it would be very beneficial for the academy and the Tang Sect.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Xuan Ziwen.

    Xuan Ziwen nodded at him and said, ¡°You can go. You don¡¯t have toe over the next few days. I believe that I¡¯ll need ten to fifteen days for my initial design. You can return after half a month.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was officially a ss 9 soul engineer now. It also seemed like he was going to be better than Xuan Ziwen too. Hence, Xuan Ziwen was less strict on him. In terms of designing soul tools, Xuan Ziwen was much more experienced. Furthermore, designing soul tools was very time-consuming. Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was rising very quickly. Furthermore, he was also very young, and his potential was unlimited. Seeing that Huo Yuhao was already a ss 9 soul engineer, Xuan Ziwen offered him much more freedom.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao was delighted. He finally had time to rest. The amount of energy he drained everyday from researching soul tools was much more than the amount of energy he drained from cultivating. Even though it was only six hours, his brain was operating at very high levels! He was extremely tired every day.

    After exiting theboratory, Huo Yuhao asked He Caitou, ¡°Second senior, did the academy call anyone else apart from me?¡±

    He Caitou chortled and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s quickly find Wutong and bring her along. He called for eldest senior, you and Wutong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little embarrassed as heughed. He Caitou immediately knew what he was thinking.

    Tang Wutong was just preparing to begin her meditation when Huo Yuhao returned. She was a little surprised, and quickly changed when she heard that the academy was calling her. After that, she went to the academy with Huo Yuhao.

    After exiting the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if his entire body had rxed. He had not been out for a long time. It wasn¡¯t just him. Tang Wutong had the same feeling too.

    It had been close to two years since the two of them had reconciled with each other, and begun cultivating together, but the number of times they had left the Tang Sect in that time could be counted on one hand.

    Very soon, they entered the inner city of Shrek.

    Shrek City had been through enormous changes over the past few years. On the surface, the outer city didn¡¯t look too different from the inner city. The only difference was that the exterior of the outer city appeared to be much more modern than the inner city.

    The headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda was now in the outer city. This also brought Shrek City closer to the center of the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. Many soul masters came to Shrek City. The number of businessmen was even greater, and most of them came from the original Heavenly Soul Empire.

    After the Heavenly Soul Empire was upied by the Sun Moon Empire, these businessmen feared for their safety. For those who could, they chose to migrate. Naturally, Shrek City was their choice.

    Shrek City was protected by Shrek Academy. It was a city that had even resisted the strength of a beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest! It was definitely much safer than any empire on the original Douluo Continent.

    In this way, Shrek City became much more vibrant. In just a few years, the city was now a concrete jungle. Furthermore, Shrek Academy had also learned from the strengths of the Sun Moon Empire, installing many soul tools in the new city. This earned the approval of many of the new migrants.

    Widespread use of soul tools brought convenience. In the areas that the Sun Moon Empire upied, some of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s citizens were still resisting the Sun Moon Empire. However, no such problem existed in Shrek City. Everyone only had good words for Shrek City.

    ¡°The changes to Shrek City have been immense!¡± Tang Wutong was in awe.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes! Right now, the scale of Shrek City isparable to the Sun Moon Empire. Apart from the fact that we still need to work on our soul tools, the scale and poprity of the city is indeedparable.¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled and said, ¡°Yes! I¡¯m starting to like Shrek more and more.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and nced at her. She turned slightly red, but there was a look of bliss on her face.

    ¡°My dear, you¡¯re already a Titled Douluo. We¡¯re not young anymore. Should we invite your family over and discuss our marriage?¡±

    Tang Wutong turned red and rolled her eyes at him. She said, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m old?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m only trying to settle this matter as soon as possible. I can¡¯t just wait forever! I¡¯ve already been battered by your seal countless times. I¡¯m starting to be traumatized!¡±

    When Tang Wutong thought about how pathetic he was, she chortled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t rush. I¡¯ll find a way to contact my father.¡± When she mentioned her father, a worried look shed across her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t notice the change in her expression. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s not waste time and make Elder Xuan wait for us.¡±

 Chapter 520.2 - Assassinate Xu Tianran?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 520.2: Assassinate Xu Tianran?</h4>

    The establishment of the new Shrek City caused Shrek Academy to be situated in the center. Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department were both expanded. The Soul Tool Department and the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall established close connections with each other, with the Soul Tool Department sending many talents to the Soul Tool Hall.

    Although it was morning now, all the students were in ss. When the two of them walked into the academy, the entire academy was quiet.

    They crossed Sea God¡¯s Lake and came to Sea God¡¯s Ind. The moment theynded on the ind, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong saw someone familiar.

    They were very obvious as they flew across theke. That person naturally saw them too.

    ¡°Su Tong? How are you? It¡¯s been awhile.¡± Huo Yuhao greeted her.

    That familiar person was Su Tong, who possessed the Icesky Snow Lady and demonstrated her Ultimate Ice abilities during the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date.

    When she saw Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, she was also slightly stunned. She was very pretty, and possessed the Icesky Snow Lady. Furthermore, she had a very elegant and cold aura about her.

    When she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s greeting, she only nodded at him, but didn¡¯t say anything. She turned around and left.

    Tang Wutong covered her mouth andughed. She said, ¡°It seems like she still hates you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s also a problem to be too handsome. Are you very proud of yourself?¡±

    Tang Wutong twisted her lips and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. When I was dressed like a guy back then, where were you? Why couldn¡¯t I see that you were handsome?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Whether a guy is handsome can only be judged by ady. The number one beauty in this world has already chosen me and be my wife. Doesn¡¯t this mean I¡¯m the most handsome guy in this world?¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes and wanted to retort, but couldn¡¯t really argue. ¡°Since when did you be so thick-skinned?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been tortured by your seal every day. If I wasn¡¯t thick-skinned enough, I would have been disfigured by now, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Tang Wutongughed and said, ¡°Stop acting pitiful. Let¡¯s quickly go, and not make Elder Xuan and the rest wait for us.¡±

    When Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao walked into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, the long table in the main hall of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was already fully seated. Apart from Huo Yuhao, the rest of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were present. Bei Bei was also one step ahead of him.

    Elder Xuan was in the main seat. It didn¡¯t seem like his appearance had changed at all. However, Huo Yuhao could still subtly feel something different about him.

    Compared to before, his aura seemed to be much gentler and calmer. No soul power or spiritual undtions could be sensed from him. He seemed like an ordinary old man. Even his eyes appeared ordinary. However, his eyes couldn¡¯t be so clear if he was just an ordinary old man.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here. Come, take a seat. Wutong, take a seat too.¡± Elder Xuan smiled as he nodded at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    It was only now that Huo Yuhao realized that there were two empty seats. It turned out that there was an extra chair beside his seat.

    It was important to know that the circr table represented the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, even though it only seemed like an ordinary table. Only members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were fit to sit around this table!

    Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao were the two existing Tang Sect disciples who were part of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Bei Bei represented the Tang Sect, while Huo Yuhao had earned his position because of his contributions to the academy. What about Tang Wutong? What did it mean that she had a seat today? Did it mean that the Tang Sect had another member in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion?

    Since Tang Wutong had restored her memories, she had naturally returned to the Tang Sect. She was a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters!

    Huo Yuhao felt weird. Naturally, Tang Wutong had the same feeling. However, the two of them quickly sat down. They were alreadyte. Therefore, they didn¡¯t dare to waste everyone¡¯s time any further.

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong and said, ¡°Don¡¯t the both of you feel weird? There¡¯s actually nothing to feel weirded out by. That Qiankun Fortune Pill was enough to earn the Tang Sect another seat here. Furthermore, the Tang Sect has been getting stronger day after day over the past few years. The sectplements the academy. It¡¯s only right that we increase the number of allocations of seats to the sect. Wutong, you are the first member of the Tang Sect to be a Titled Douluo. You shall take this seat temporarily.¡±

    If he was guessing earlier, Huo Yuhao could confirm it now. He immediately said with surprise, ¡°Elder Xuan, have you seeded?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and there was aforted look in his eyes. He answered, ¡°I¡¯ve finally ovee thest stage. It wasn¡¯t easy! This bottleneck has been troubling me for years. I can¡¯t even count how long I¡¯ve been stuck. However, I¡¯ve learned many things from this experience. It¡¯s a step to heaven. No wonder it was so difficult.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. ¡°Congrattions, Elder Xuan.¡±

    Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, ¡°I feel a little regretful when I think of it. Such a magical pill like the Qiankun Fortune Pill shouldn¡¯t be wasted on an old man like me. It should be given to younger people like the two of you. Alright, I won¡¯t dwell on this. We¡¯ll get to our main topic.¡±

    ¡°Before both of you came, we¡¯d already voted, and decided that a new seat shall be given to the Tang Sect. Apart from you, we¡¯ve already agreed on that through voting. Let¡¯s get to the topic of our discussion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. He turned his gaze to Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er. The two of them also appeared much more vibrant. They had also benefited greatly from more than a year of closed-door cultivation. Given Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s original cultivation, an increase of just one rank in their cultivation was still a massive increase. At the tier of a Transcendent Douluo, one rank was one entire level!

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire hasn¡¯t made a move over the past two years. They are so quiet I¡¯m a little afraid. However, they¡¯ve sealed all information even more tightly than before. Almost all their borders are covered with aerial surveince soul tools. The three empires of the original Douluo Continent have exhausted all the means at their disposal, but they¡¯ve not gotten any concrete information.

    ¡°Xu Tianran is very ambitious. His disability has also made him an anti-hero. Not long ago, ambassadors from the three empires came together and invited us to join them on a mission. They didn¡¯t reveal any details, but they said it was targeted at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City. They hope we can send someone strong to join them. Everyone, please tell me what you think.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, what¡¯s their goal?¡±

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Assassinate Xu Tianran. Their reason is also very good. Xu Tianran only seeded the throne not long ago, but he¡¯s already invading other empires. He¡¯s also achieved outstanding results. If Yuhao didn¡¯t help the Star Luo Empire regain control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, I¡¯m afraid bigger problems would have surfaced. Furthermore, Xu Tianran¡¯s position in the Sun Moon Empire has also stabilized through this war. He¡¯s gotten rid of all his enemies, including his brothers that fought with him for the position of Emperor. He¡¯s very brutal, but he¡¯s effective. He¡¯s aggressively developing offensive soul tools. We¡¯ve been umting our strength over the past two years, but the Sun Moon Empire has been doing the same. I believe they¡¯ll attack on all fronts again in the future. This time, they¡¯ll be even more powerful than before, and we¡¯ll have a harder time resisting them.¡±

    Elder Xuan paused for a moment as he spoke until here. Then, he said, ¡°From this assassination n, we can tell that the three empires have also detected this danger that¡¯s brewing. This is why they¡¯ve decided to make a move. Assassinating Xu Tianran won¡¯t be easy. He¡¯s bound to be surrounded by powerful individuals. However, the mission has already been put into motion. It can¡¯t be stopped anymore. Not many people will be involved, but they are all very strong. They didn¡¯te here in the belief that we¡¯ll definitely help them. After all, we are still a neutral force, since there¡¯s no war. They only hope to borrow one person from us.¡±

    Borrow?

    All the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were shocked when they heard the word ¡®borrow¡¯. They were here to borrow one person? Who was that person?

    Only Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile when he heard Elder Xuan¡¯s words. The rest couldn¡¯t guess, but how could he not? It was indeed not good to be overly famous!

    Although he was very famous among ordinary soul masters, he rarely appeared. However, who didn¡¯t know how effective he was?

    Without his surveince and help, the Star Luo Empire wouldn¡¯t have regained control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. It was also his pration that greatly weakened the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s frontline army. Without even mentioning the rest, his concealment and ability to resist aerial surveince soul tools was highly looked upon by the three empires.

    Huo Yuhao guessed it. So did Bei Bei and Tang Wutong.

    To be honest, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to leave this time. He was stuck at Rank 89. It had been almost a year. He had been working very hard to try to reach the next rank, but he couldn¡¯t do it. Furthermore, Tang Wutong was back at his side. He had already started to like this peaceful life over the past two years. He really didn¡¯t want to take a risk now that he had a loved one by his side.

    Elder Xuan turned his attention to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, tell me what you think.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°If the academy wants me to go, I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ll listen to the instructions of the academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you like to torture yourself? Why do you look so forced now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lifted his head, and appeared calm again. He smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not! However, Elder Xuan, can you consider this my graduation test if I leave this time?¡±

 Chapter 520.3 - Assassinate Xu Tianran?

    Chapter 520.3: Assassinate Xu Tianran?

    He had not forgotten his graduation test. He had already produced two ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells for Shrek Academy. As for challenging Dean Yan Shaozhe, he had not done so, as he was in closed-door cultivation. However, two out of the three years that the academy had given him had passed.

    Originally, Huo Yuhao had wanted to be a Titled Douluo first before challenging Yan Shaozhe along with Tang Wutong. Should that happen, he would be more confident. However, it seemed like he couldn¡¯t do it beforepleting this mission.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Alright, this mission is tough enough. We¡¯ll use it as your graduation test. I can also promise you that you won¡¯t need to challenge Shaozhe after you finish this mission. It would mean that you are qualified enough to graduate.¡±

    After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s expressions turned weird. Huo Yuhao¡¯s graduation test could be the most difficult in the history of Shrek Academy. At least, no one had done something like this before.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go on this mission, then.¡±

    ¡°Elder Xuan, I¡¯ll go with him.¡± Tang Wutong said without hesitation.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at her and shook his head seriously. He could take the risk, but he was not bringing Tang Wutong along with him on this dangerous mission. Even though he knew that his fighting strength was much greater with her around, it was not something that he wanted. There was nothing more important than her safety.

    Tang Wutong also looked at him and smiled. She said, ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll y hide and seek with you again. Do you think it¡¯s better for me to remain by your side and be protected by you, or for me to leave and you to be unable to find me when you get back?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Her words stumped Huo Yuhao. He couldn¡¯t possibly run the risk of losing her again. Suddenly, there was a bitter smile on his face.

    Tang Wutong said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to scare you. I¡¯m thinking of a way to bring my father here to see you. If you leave and my fatheres, he¡¯ll insist on leaving with me. I can¡¯t reject him. This is why I can only follow you to ensure that we are always together.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t say anything else, and onlyughed bitterly. ¡°You can follow me, but you have to listen to me.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s expression turned gentler, and she hugged his arm, saying, ¡°Since when have I disobeyed you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned red. It wasn¡¯t that he was easily embarrassed. It was because this was a conference in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion! They had to be the first couple to do this in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Bei Bei held in hisughter and lowered his head. The elders didn¡¯t have any misgivings, and only started chuckling.

    Elder Xuan smiled, ¡°Younger people are indeed more energetic! Alright, we¡¯ll do it this way. Yuhao and Wutong will go. Yuhao will be the leader. If Wutong doesn¡¯t listen to you, I give you permission to smack her butt.¡±

    This time, Tang Wutong was the one who turned red. Sheined, ¡°Elder Xuan, you¡¯re teaching him the wrong things.¡±

    Elder Xuanughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m always like this. You should have known when you first met me.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t he right? When they first met him, he was a drunkard. Apart from drinking, he was always eating chicken drumsticks.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Elder Xuan, should the Tang Sect send a few more people to follow Yuhao and Wutong? I¡¯m still a little worried. The Sun Moon Empire¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan gestured and replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s not always better with more people. It might be easier to escape with fewer people. Given Yuhao and Wutong¡¯s abilities, they should be able to escape easily. Yuhao, you must remember that you aren¡¯t the one leading this mission. It¡¯s mainly being spearheaded by those from the three empires in the Douluo Continent. What you have to do is coordinate with them. Don¡¯t risk your life. When ites to the assassination, you don¡¯t have to be a part of it. This was why I agreed with them. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t let you go. Your job is to help conceal everyone. Once you meet with any danger, you must quickly abscond no matter what. You must treat your safety as the first priority. Understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, ¡°Elder Xuan, I know my limits. I¡¯ll do my best to help them. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I won¡¯t force the issue.¡± He might still be willing to risk his own life if it was before finding Tang Wutong. As for now, he wanted to safely live out his life with Tang Wutong! He was more afraid of death than anyone else!

    After this, issues regarding Shrek City and the training of the soul engineer legions were discussed.

    Currently, Shrek Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions had been established. They had been fully equipped half a year ago. Right now, the soul engineers were undergoing training.

    For the soul engineer legions to demonstrate their greatest fighting strength, it was something that couldn¡¯t be aplished overnight. They had to coordinate perfectly with one another first.

    As one of the three soul engineer legionmanders, Huo Yuhao still hadn¡¯t had a chance to train with his own soul engineers.

    However, the strength of the three soul engineer legions could be seen after all the continuous training. They now had a certain standard of fighting strength. However, everything regarding these three soul engineer legions was being kept a secret. Even the three empires in the original Douluo Continent didn¡¯t know anything about these three soul engineer legions. They only knew that Shrek Academy would be using them to deal with the Sun Moon Empire in the future.

    As time passed, the Tang Sect strengthened the equipment of the three soul engineer legions, especially in terms of stationary soul cannon shells. After Huo Yuhao seeded in inventing ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells using simplified materials, many more stationary soul cannon shells were produced over the past two years.Some of them were left in Shrek City, while the rest of them were sold to the three empires as a means of strengthening their armies.

    At the same time, the Tang Sect also used the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons to increase their revenue. In just a short two years, the Tang Sect¡¯s wealth had increased significantly.

    As for the exact numbers, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very clear. Bei Bei was the one settling it. Compared to the others, he and Tang Wutong¡¯s most important mission was to increase their own cultivation. After all, they would be the Tang Sect¡¯s greatest fighting strength in the future.

    The conference only ended after two hours. Elder Xuan kept Huo Yuhao and Yang Wutong behind.

    As he watched the rest leave, Elder Xuan nodded at the two of them and said, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Elder Xuan brought both of them into his room. Huo Yuhao closed the door and excitedly said, ¡°Elder Xuan, congrattions once again. You¡¯ve finally be an Ultimate Douluo.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to be an Ultimate Douluo! I finally found some tricks to doing it. It¡¯s going to be as difficult for you to be a Titled Douluo as it was for me to be an Ultimate Douluo. One problem you¡¯ll face is the formation of your second soul core. You can only be a Titled Douluo by forming your second soul core. However, once you seed, there¡¯ll be no one as strong as you. This is because you¡¯ll have two soul cores. These two soul cores will help you to be a Transcendent Douluo as quickly as possible. Of course, you¡¯ll need to learn how to form your third soul core when you want to be an Ultimate Douluo in the future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened. He knew that Elder Xuan wanted to impart some tricks for forming his second soul core. It was right in time. Right now, he was most concerned about when he could be a Titled Douluo.

    When he formed his first soul core, he was very confident. He felt that it wasn¡¯t going to be difficult for him to form his second soul core in the future. At most, he would only be stuck at a bottleneck for some time. However, over the past nine months, he had been struggling at this bottleneck. It was only then that he realized how scary it was.

    During the process of forming his second soul core, his first soul core would undoubtedly be involved. He couldn¡¯t stabilize his second soul core even with his spiritual power. At the start, he couldn¡¯t even form a soul power whirlpool. Although his control had increased over time, he couldn¡¯t stabilize his soul power whirlpool every time. It would be destroyed quickly. From there, he lost all chance of making a breakthrough.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°If you want to form your second soul core, the greatest problem is not with your cultivation. With my cultivation, I could have already be an Ultimate Douluo. The real problem is with your control ¨C control over your soul power, spiritual power, and your first soul core.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. What Elder Xuan mentioned were the problems he was facing.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The sessful formation of your first soul core can greatly help you topress your soul power and make it even more immense. When the quality of your soul power improves by leaps and bounds, you¡¯ll experience massive improvements in terms of the strength, volume and restoration ability of your soul power. This is why your abilities transform significantly when you be a Titled Douluo. The formation of your second soul core will differ greatly from the formation of your first soul core. This is also why it¡¯ll be so difficult for you to be an Ultimate Douluo. The formation of your second soul core can ur in many different ways, ording to my years of experience. These different ways will lead to different effects.¡±

    Oh? There are different ways of forming my second soul core? Elder Xuan¡¯s words undoubtedly opened another door for Huo Yuhao. He listened to Elder Xuan very seriously along with Tang Wutong. These were exactly the problems that they were facing.

    Elder Xuan continued, saying, ¡°When Elder Mu first guided me, he was pointing me in the direction of ¡®Resonance¡¯. He was also saying that the first problem I¡¯ll need to settle before my second soul core forms is the disruption caused by my first soul core.¡±

    ¡°When your first soul core forms, it bes the core of your soul power. All your soul power will circte around it as the center. Simply put, your first soul core is like a circle, and all your soul power revolves around it. Your first soul core has a great impact on your soul power. This is why your soul power can bepressed as much as possible using your first soul core.¡±

 Chapter 521.1 - Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 521.1: Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core</h4>

    ¡°When you want to form your second soul core, you¡¯ll inevitably infringe upon your first soul core. Instead of there being one center, there¡¯ll be two centers. Your first soul core will generate intense resistance. This is because you are disrupting the cirction of your first soul core by forming your second soul core. That¡¯s why it bes particrly difficult, and you¡¯ll face a lot of interference.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. Elder Xuan¡¯s description fit the situation he was facing right now exactly.

    Elder Xuan continued, ¡°It seems like you understand what I¡¯m saying! Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve already begun trying to form your second soul core?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been on it for some time, but I¡¯ve not managed to make much progress. Otherwise, why would Wutong a Titled Douluo, but not me? We¡¯ve been cultivating together, and the standard of our soul power roughly the same. This second soul core has been troubling me for a long time.¡±

    As he looked at Tang Wutong before looking at Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Impressive! Yuhao, you must remember never to rush trying to form your second soul core. If you are overly zealous, you might run amok. When that happens, even an immortal can¡¯t save you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao was petrified. When Elder Xuan mentioned the words ¡®run amok¡¯, there was an obvious terrified look in his eyes. If even someone like him could be terrified, it showed how frightening running amok was.

    Elder Xuanughed bitterly. ¡°It almost happened to me once. I was much younger then, and therefore much more impulsive. If not for the fact that Elder Mu was by my side and helped me with the trouble, you guys wouldn¡¯t be able to see me. Even so, Iy in bed for a good three years before I recovered my vital energy. For the next ten years, I didn¡¯t dare to try forming my second soul core.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°So frightening?¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded seriously and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very terrifying. Don¡¯t forget that the sessful formation of your first soul core means that your soul core is basically a soul power grenade that has been greatlypressed. When it¡¯s stable, it is a source of soul power. But if it isn¡¯t stable, its explosiveness is demonstrated. Once it blows apart, not even a streak of your spirit will be left behind. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s terrifying? When I almost ran amok, there was a slight crack on the surface of my soul core before Elder Mu forcefully covered it. That¡¯s why the worst didn¡¯t happen. Otherwise, I would have been finished.¡±

    ¡°Alright, since you are already at this stage, you should be able to sense it deeply. I¡¯ll continue talking and you¡¯ll continue to listen to me intently. It¡¯ll be useful for your future breakthrough.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged respectfully.

    Elder Xuan continued, saying, ¡°There are two known methods of forming your second soul core. Most soul masters choose the first method, Resonance, which I mentioned earlier. To prevent your second soul core from disrupting your first soul core, you must first listen to your first soul core and respect its existence. During the formation of your second soul core, you must first find the rhythm and frequency of the cirction of your first soul core. When you attempt to form your second soul core, you must first resonate with your first soul core. This will minimize any disruption. Your second soul core must circte andpress to the standard of your first soul core, before picking up speed and creating two centers instead of one. What¡¯s needed is soul powerpression and revolution. However, the new core will be along the straight line of the diameter of the two circlesbined. Since it¡¯s bigger, it can consolidate andpress more soul power. This is the reason why Ultimate Douluo are so strong.¡±

    So that¡¯s why!

    If not for Elder Xuan¡¯s exnation, Huo Yuhao would have taken another ten years to understand this concept. He might not have even learned the technique, and faced the possibility of running amok.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Although it¡¯s difficult to form your second soul core through resonance, you can seed if you keep trying and your soul power and control are strong enough. Just like Elder Mu, the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Death God Douluo and myself, you should be walking this path.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was curious as he asked, ¡°Elder Xuan, how de you know that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao also took this path?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and said, ¡°If they didn¡¯t, the result would bepletely different.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the second method?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Using resonance to form your second soul core isparatively safer. This is because your first soul core is still the main one. The formation of your second soul core will follow the frequency of revolution of your first soul core, and thus not many problems will ur between your first and second soul cores. However, if you use another method to form your second soul core, the danger is much greater. Of course, the benefit is as great as the danger. The other method is ¡®Yin Yang Complement¡¯.

    ¡°Yin Yang Complement?¡± Just like Resonance, this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first timeing across such a cultivation term.

    Elder Xuan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s Yin Yang Complement. What this means is that the second soul core will follow a different path from the first soul core during its formation. It¡¯ll be like forming a new soul core from scratch. The second soul core will have nothing to do with the first soul core. It¡¯ll also be fully disrupted by the first soul core. If your soul power revolves towards the left when you first form your first soul core, then your second soul core has to revolve towards the right. Everything must bepletely different from the first soul core.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°How is that possible? Didn¡¯t you say that the first soul core bes the center of all my soul power after it forms? If my second soul core revolves in the opposite direction from my first soul core, wouldn¡¯t it be a target, and cause me to run amok?¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°No, you¡¯re right. Your second soul core must revolve in the opposite direction as your first soul core within the sphere of influence of your first soul core. While the resistance is very great, you can achieve independence of your second soul core as long as it canplete a revolution. Let me now tell you how you can easily run amok given certain conditions. It happens the most easily when there¡¯s chaos during the process of forming your soul core, rather than when your soul core revolves. You¡¯ll face a major problem when any sort of chaos leads to disruption in the entire process. As a result, you should only use the Yin Yang Complement if you are strong enough and persistent enough. You must maintain the counter-revolution with all your might, and slowly allow your second soul core to form its own world within the control of your first soul core. This will make it truly independent, and immunize itself from the disruption of the first soul core. Then, it can improve and strengthen to reach the same standard as your first soul core. Once the strengths of your two soul cores are simr, there¡¯ll be one major conflict. During this conflict, an explosive-like fusion will ur. If it seeds, your second soul core will be formed. From there, an extremely strong twin soul core bnced by Yin and Yang will be formed. If you fail, you die!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Even though this was just Elder Xuan¡¯s description, he could already sense how difficult it was to achieve such a bnce.

    ¡°Surely there isn¡¯t anyone who¡¯s chosen this method, right? It¡¯s too dangerous. Furthermore, what will it be like even if you seed, given that your two soul cores are revolving in opposite directions? Wouldn¡¯t there always be a conflict within your body?¡±

    Elder Xuan smiled and shook his head, ¡°There are still those who try. Although I¡¯ve never heard of any human soul master seeding as of yet, the twin soul core that¡¯s formed is the strongest if sess is attained. Let me ask you, how should a whirlpool move such that it¡¯s at its fastest speed?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just by revolving?¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°The correct answer is abination of push and pull. Think about it. If two whirlpools move in two opposite directions, what will happen between these two whirlpools? Any soul power that¡¯s stuck between the two whirlpools will immediately form another whirlpool due to the opposing forces, but this new whirlpool will be forced away.¡±

    After listening to Elder Xuan¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao only heard a loud boom in his head. A very important doubt that he had had all this while was finally answered.

    He said almost immediately, ¡°Elder Xuan, did Di Tian use the Yin Yang Complement?¡±

    Elder Xuan was stunned. ¡°You actually guessed it. That¡¯s right. He did use that method. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so strong. The reason why he seeded was because he had been umting his strength for a long time. Furthermore, he¡¯s physically strong. As for how he did it, I¡¯m not sure. However, I think he¡¯s the only one who has seeded among all the known individuals and soul beasts. As a result, it¡¯s without a doubt that he¡¯s the strongest among all Ultimate Douluo. If he fights with all his strength, I don¡¯t think Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui would be his match even if theybined forces.

    Di Tian had always been Huo Yuhao¡¯s goal. The more he understood this Beast God, the more he felt how terrifying he was.

    He had actually used the Yin Yang Complement to form his twin soul core. As he thought of how Di Tian circted his soul power, it all made sense to him.Yes, his soul power appears as small whirlpools. That must be the effect of a bnce of Yin and Yang. Each of those small whirlpools contains immense soul power. Compared to ordinary an Ultimate Douluo, the amount of soul power he can store is much greater. No wonder even his projection can scare off Ye Xishui. He¡¯s indeed the Beast God!

 Chapter 521.2 - Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 521.2: Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core</h4>

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be thinking about the Yin Yang Complement. It¡¯s too dangerous. While your body is strong, you can¡¯tpare yourself to the Beast God. After all, humans and soul beasts are biologically different. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t go and take the risk. Just follow the principle of Resonance to cultivate. You possess Ultimate Ice and twin martial souls. As long as your second soul core forms sessfully and you work towards your third soul core to be an Ultimate Douluo, it¡¯s not impossible for you to reach Di Tian¡¯s abilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly in his heart.If it¡¯s already so difficult to form my second soul core, what about my third soul core? I¡¯m afraid no one in the history of Shrek Academy has cultivated a third soul core.

    Elder Xuan then provided more advice to Huo Yuhao. He revealed everything that he had experienced to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Alright, you just need to remember what I said. Don¡¯t attempt a breakthrough anytime soon. It¡¯s very dangerous. I must be around to protect you when you try. This is so that the risk you are facing is at its lowest.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged his words.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°The mission will take ce in ten days. Meet the rest of the people who are going over the following days. You are very familiar with the meeting ce, which is the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Both of you can proceed there first and rendezvous at the White Tiger Duke¡¯s camp. When everyone is there, you¡¯ll set off. Remember what I said. Both of you are there to help only. Aren¡¯t you very good at concealment? Don¡¯t reveal all your abilities. Don¡¯t be a target. That applies for both you and Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Elder Xuan, don¡¯t worry. To protect Wutong, I won¡¯t take the risk.¡± Huo Yuhao assured Elder Xuan once again.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t too worried about this mission. In fact, he was a little skeptical of such a mission. Was it so easy to assassinate the leader of an empire? Furthermore, whether they would like to admit it or not, thebined power of the Sun Moon Empire was the greatest in all the empires of the Douluo Continent. He was very familiar with the defensive strength of their soul tools. Assassinating Xu Tianran would be extremely difficult.

    However, since Elder Xuan let him go, he still had to make this trip. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t against it. However, he didn¡¯t hold any hope of achieving any results on this mission.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t purely there for a show, he made up his mind to regard safety as the main priority. He wasn¡¯t going to take any unnecessary risks.

    With their brand-new Haodong Power, Tang Wutong and his fighting strength was much greater than before. Along with the fact that his survival ability on a battlefield was very great and he had a wealth of experience, he was very confident of preserving his own life.

    After returning to the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao immediately pulled Tang Wutong back to his room to meditate. He could only focus during his meditation. He needed to fully understand what Elder Xuan was describing earlier, and turn his experience intoprehension.

    Over the next few days, Huo Yuhao did some preparatory work. It was only on the ninth day that he and Tang Wutong bade goodbye to the rest of the Tang Sect. They quietly left Shrek City and proceeded towards the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders.

    After entering the borders of the Star Luo Empire, Huo Yuhao was astonished to find out that there were aerial surveince soul tools in the Star Luo Empire. Although there weren¡¯t many of them, it was better to have some than not to have any at all. Evidently, Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t the only one that had intensified their research in this area. After suffering during the war, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent also strengthened their research in this area. It wasn¡¯t possible to catch up to the Sun Moon Empire, but it was better than nothing.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong held hands as they flew through the sky. Their soul power circted in their bodies, and they both had a flying-type soul tool on their backs.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s flying-type soul tools were made by Huo Yuhao personally. They were ss 9 soul tools.

    Compared to other ss 9 soul engineers, Huo Yuhao¡¯s greatest advantage was the speed with which he produced ss 9 soul tools. He didn¡¯t design these two flying-type soul tools. Rather, Xuan Ziwen was the one who designed them. He only produced them, which took five months in total. Although they weren¡¯t the best ss 9 soul tools, they were definitely exquisite work.

    They were dim-blue. Such a color helped the soul tools blend into the sky. At such a level, remaining hidden was more important than the superficial design of the soul tool.

    As their circted their soul power, the speed of their flying-type soul tools was immediately increased to the speed of sound. Of course, the length of time that they could maintain such a speed, as well as how quick they were depleted, was directly rted to the volume of their soul power. With Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s current cultivation, they could only maintain such a sonic speed for about fifteen minutes. However, if they used their Haodong Power, that time would be increased to an hour. An hour was sufficient for them to cross half the empire. This was why Huo Yuhao was very confident that they could protect themselves.

    ss 9 soul tools would definitely not just have one ability. These two flying-type soul tools were equipped with soul thrusters. If these thrusters were boosted, they would be able to travel up to three times the speed of sound. Even that could only be maintained for a moment, there were many asions that unexpected effects could be achieved.

    Of course, not just anyone could use such an ability. This was because the burden on one¡¯s body as a result of using this ability was very great. Any soul master with less than seven rings would blow apart due to the immense pressure when traveling at such a great speed.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both talented. Tang Wutong was already a Titled Douluo, while Huo Yuhao was at Rank 89. Both of them could use such an ability.

    Xuan Ziwen called these two flying-type soul tools Supersonic Wings. Xuan Ziwen was even proud enough to im that these two flying-type soul tools were capable of being ranked among the top ten flying-type soul tools on the continent. This was because ss 9 soul engineers would rarely focus their energy on producing such soul tools.

    To produce a ss 9 soul tool, a ss 9 soul engineer must be willing to sacrifice a lot of energy. At the same time, he must possess sufficient resources too.

    Originally, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect didn¡¯t have a lot of rare metals. However, as time passed, the development and prosperity of Shrek City attracted a lot of businessmen. This provided Shrek City and the Tang Sect with a lot of new resources.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s soul tools were also being sold. Soul tools were very profitable. By trading soul tools for rare metals, the Tang Sect managed to gather sufficient resources. While the Sun Moon Empire had many ss 9 soul engineers, the demand for resources was also very high. However, only Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao required resources in Shrek City. This was why all the top-grade materials were all with them, and enough to support their production demands.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong maintained one-fourth the speed of sound as they flew. This was already very quick, and it was also a speed that ensured that they would remain in their best condition. With the cirction of their Haodong Power, they could maintain a bnce between the depletion and restoration of their abilities.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Wutong?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tang Wutong nced at him.

    Huo Yuhao squinted and said, ¡°What would you think if I chose the Yin Yang Complement to cultivate my second soul core?¡±

    Tang Wutong was astonished and replied, ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t take the risk! Didn¡¯t Elder Xuan mention that it¡¯s very dangerous?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°It is, but the benefits are great too. If I seed, I believe I can be as strong as a Transcendent Douluo when I be a Titled Douluo. I still remember how Di Tian¡¯s strength descended upon me when I faced Ye Xishui at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. I clearly felt that his soul power appeared in the form of soul cores. It was extremely strong. Every streak of his soul power was forcefullypressed. He could even force the Death God Douluo away although my body was very weak back then. In the future, I will need to fight the Beast God. If my second soul core is weaker than his, it¡¯ll be very difficult for me to challenge him in the future.¡±

    Tang Wutong creased her brows. ¡°However, it¡¯s too dangerous. Furthermore, even if you use Resonance to cultivate your second soul core, you can still cultivate a third soul core in the future! When that happens, you can still challenge the Beast God with three soul cores. In addition, why do you need to challenge the Beast God?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°I have my own difficulties. Di Tian gave me a piece of his reverse scale. He says that it protects me, but it¡¯s actually spying on me. Once my future cultivation reaches a certain standard, or once I develop some kind of special understanding, it¡¯ll interfere with me. To remove this reverse scale, I need to defeat Di Tian. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to reach the peak in the future.¡±

    As he spoke, he opened the buttons at the front of his shirt and revealed the piece of reverse scale to Tang Wutong.

    When Tang Wutong saw he pitch-ck reverse scale, an angry look shed across her eyes. ¡°Di Tian, hmph!¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed her hand and said, ¡°This is why I need to choose the best method at every stage of my cultivation. It¡¯s only then that I can challenge him. After all, Di Tian has dominated the continent for years. There¡¯s a reason why he¡¯s the strongest.¡±

 Chapter 521.3 - Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 521.3: Two Cultivation Methods of the Second Soul Core</h4>

    Tang Wutong turned her head and looked at Huo Yuhao. She asked seriously, ¡°If you used the Yin Yang Complement, how confident are you? Also, have you ever thought of the fact that you¡¯ll have to cultivate a third soul core? Otherwise, you won¡¯t be a Titled Douluo. If you use Resonance instead, you¡¯ll use the same method when ites to your third soul core. It¡¯s just more difficultpared to your second soul core. However, how are you going to do it if you used the Yin Yang Complement? At least, I don¡¯t have a clue. Di Tian has been famous for hundreds of thousands of years, but he only has two soul cores. Doesn¡¯t he want a third soul core? He must not have seeded so far. This shows how difficult it is to cultivate a third soul core after using the Yin Yang Complement to cultivate a second soul core.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± After listening to Tang Wutong¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao nodded. He definitely knew that her words were very logical. However, he was indignant!

    ¡°Wutong, whichever method you use, a third soul core has always been a myth. When I chose to form my first soul core, I did it to increase the speed of my cultivation. I¡¯m not sure if I can continue to create miracles when ites to my third soul core. However, I believe that I can challenge the Beast God even if I don¡¯t be an Ultimate Douluo if I use the Yin Yang Complement to cultivate my second soul core. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m also a ss 9 soul engineer. When I be a Transcendent Douluo in the future, I can try to be a ss 10 soul engineer. That¡¯s why I really want to try.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°How confident are you then? Or rather, what can you rely on? If it¡¯s too dangerous, I won¡¯t let you try at all.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯m a little confident. I¡¯ve been cultivating every day. You should be able to sense how strong my body is.¡±

    After hearing his words, Tang Wutong turned slightly red. ¡°Who¡¯s sensing your body?¡±

    Huo Yuhao also chuckled, ¡°See, thinking isn¡¯t healthy. I¡¯m talking about my physical strength. I¡¯ve taken a lot of treasures. I¡¯ve also been nourished by the Life Gold. My life energy is much stronger than most ordinary soul masters. I¡¯m confident in this aspect. While almost all the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in my body has been absorbed, there¡¯s still some left in my spirit. Once I try for my second soul core, this strength can be tapped into. Forming a soul core requires a lot of energy. It should be able to satisfy this requirement. Also, my spiritual power is strong enough.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been tirelessly cultivating over the past two years. I¡¯m also astonished by the improvements to my spiritual power. I¡¯m not sure about the exact level of my spiritual power now, but I feel that I¡¯m at the tier of a Transcendent Douluo. This will help me with the control of my soul power, which far exceeds that of ordinary people.¡±

    ¡°I really want to give it a go. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, I¡¯ll invite Elder Xuan to protect me. I¡¯m sure I can deal with any danger in time.¡±

    Seeing that he was so persistent, Tang Wutong nodded after pondering for a moment. She replied, ¡°Alright then. You can give it a go. However, you must not force the issue.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted. In fact, if he couldn¡¯t force it, he wouldn¡¯t want to hide anything from Tang Wutong. Even if there was a possibility that they would be separated, he would rather give up on his cultivation.

    Tang Wutong revealed a slight smile on her face. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll choose the same path as you when I reach Rank 98 in the future. You¡¯ll need to impart your experience to me then.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as hemented, ¡°You¡¯re sopetitive!¡±

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°I¡¯m notpetitive. I just cannotg behind you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop her. Given her abilities, she wasn¡¯t any weaker than him, especially in terms of her talent. Huo Yuhao could subtly sense that her abilities and potential had be a little unpredictable ever since she had returned as Tang Wutong.

    When Tang Wutong became a Titled Douluo, it was when Huo Yuhao was creating a ss 9 soul tool with Xuan Ziwen. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how she made a breakthrough, but he knew that she owned her own Spirit after that. Her ninth soul ring was her Spirit.

    As for cultivating her second soul core, it was still too early. She had to try first before she could determine anything. If Huo Yuhao opposed her now, he was just looking for trouble.

    Their journey was very peaceful. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t possibly detect them. The two of them were close to the Ming Dou Mountain Range by noon time.

    The Ming Dou Mountain Range was a very important location. Here, there were many more aerial surveince soul tools. Furthermore, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s army had also been re-deployed. Even though it was difficult to tell what the re-deployment was like, it seemed like there had been major changes. Without a doubt, these changes were made in ordance to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s fighting strategy.

    When they were still fifty kilometers from the Ming Dou Mountain Range, Huo Yuhao deliberately held onto Tang Wutong and slowed down. They were then discovered by the aerial surveince soul tools.

    This was to avoid any unnecessary trouble. After this, both of them drifted in the air and waited.

    Indeed, the Star Luo Empire reacted very quickly. In just a short period of time, a group of soul masters flew towards them using flying-type soul tools.

    There were ten of them. Perhaps it was because the Star Luo Empire had managed to get an upper hand over the Sun Moon Empire when they used such small groups, but they had started to fancy them.

    This group of soul masters was very friendly. Evidently, they had been waiting near the aerial surveince soul tools. In addition, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong came from the maind. It was more likely that they were friendly instead of hostile.

    Huo Yuhao retrieved the letter for this mission that Elder Xuan had passed to him. He was immediately recognized and led towards the Ming Dou Mountain Range by this group of soul masters.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao felt different every time he came to the Ming Dou Mountain Range. He was about to meet the White Tiger Duke again. This time, he was much less hateful than before. However, there was some reluctance on his part to face the White Tiger Duke again.

    Every time he thought of how the White Tiger Duke had hugged him and flown into the sky, he would have some kind of weird feeling. Even if he was unwilling to admit it, he knew that he was proud to have such a father. Without the White Tiger Duke, the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders wouldn¡¯t be in such a state. In addition, the pressure on the Heavenly Soul Empire wouldn¡¯t have fallen so quickly either.

    The White Tiger Duke was indeed a cornerstone figure!

    Tang Wutong whispered, ¡°You¡¯re a little nervous.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh, ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡±

    Tang Wutong chuckled and said, ¡°How dare you deny it? Your hands are already full of sweat. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m by your side.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao felt much more relieved.

    The main peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range was where the Death God Douluo and Di Tian had shed. Right now, the White Tiger Duke¡¯smander tent was located on this main peak.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were escorted there.

    Evidently, the mountain had been through some changes. It was very t now. The edges of it bristled with soul tools, which made it seem as if there were soul formations present. Among them were Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. They were even present in the greatest numbers.

    Slightly further back were other tents. The White Tiger Duke had chosen this mountain to ce hismander tent because the view was the best from here. The situation in the Sun Moon Empire could be most easily observed from this mountaintop.

    In terms of surveince, the Star Luo Empire had indeed put in a lot of hard work. At least in terms of defense, these surveince soul tools had helped greatly. On a few asions, some small-scale prations by soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire were discovered, and dealt with in time.

    As theynded, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were directly led into the tent by the group of soul masters that had received them.

    Before he even entered, Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection, as he often did. There were more than ten people in the tent. Each of their auras was also very dominant, and fairly strong. However, none of them noticed Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Tang Wutong as he walked into the tent. Once he entered, he became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention.

    There was a huge table in the center of the tent. The White Tiger Duke was standing at the edge of the center of the table. When he saw Huo Yuhao, a surprised look shed across his face.

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Luoli were both there as well, behind the White Tiger Duke. Dai Yueheng was dressed like a general, while Dai Luoli was dressed as a bodyguard.

    Huo Yuhao was familiar with many of the people around the table. Among them, the one who caught his attention the most was Du Busi. He was actually here.

    It was rumored that he had suffered critical injuries when at the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire, and only barely managed to escape. It seemed like he had recovered from his injuries.

    Apart from Du Busi, Princess Wei Na and Princess Jiujiu were also here. As for the rest, they were all Titled Douluo. There were even some Transcendent Douluo there.

    When he saw Huo Yuhao, the White Tiger Duke immediately came up to receive him. Heughed and opened his arms towards him. ¡°Yuhao, you are finally here. It¡¯s great to see you again!¡±

    Before Huo Yuhao had time to react, the White Tiger Duke gave him an embrace.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart tremble. He subconsciously opened his arms and hugged him back. However, there was a slight throbbing look in his eyes.

    After the hug, the White Tiger Duke also said hi to Tang Wutong. When he looked at Huo Yuhao again, there was a teasing look on his face. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had held hands and walked in together earlier. He had clearly seen it.

 Chapter 522.1 - Missions, Plans

    <h4 ss>Chapter 522.1: Missions, ns</h4>

    Dai Luoli had been following the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, and he stared at Huo Yuhao with eyes brimming with excitement. He wanted to say something, but Huo Yuhao stopped him with a look.

    Princess Wei Na and Princess Jiujiu came forward to make their greetings one after another.

    From their perspective, Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯tpare to these people standing inside the tent in terms of strength. But in terms of status, he was either at the same status with everyone else, or perhaps even greater. He could be considered a key figure who had turned the tide of battle!

    Huo Yuhao greeted everyone one after another.

    The Titled Douluo had different expressions when they looked at him. The Body Douluo, Du Busi had no expression at all, but the other Titled Douluo mostly reacted with shock.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were thest to arrive out of everyone who was participating in this operation. Some of the others had been here for a day or two, while there were some who had been here for six or seven days. Even though Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯tte, that disparity caused some of the most powerful individuals in the world of soul masters to be displeased.

    The White Tiger Duke held Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and walked inside with him before he turned to everyone else and said, ¡°Come, let me make an introduction. Huo Yuhao is a gifted student from Shrek Academy, and he is known as the Eye of the Asura. Don¡¯t look down on him because he¡¯s young. Back then, he was a great help to us, and the Star Luo Empire probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to retake the Ming Dou Mountain Range without him.¡±

    The Titled Douluo who were here were naturally split into three different parties ording to which empire they were from. The Titled Douluo who were from the Star Luo Empire all smiled and tilted their heads slightly as a gesture of amiability and friendliness. They had fought side by side with Huo Yuhao back then, and they had sufficiently experienced the tremendous benefit that his Spiritual Detection conferred on the battlefield. Furthermore, he had triggered the Beast God¡¯s strength in an epic battle against the Death God Douluo. That gave the Giant Hammer Douluo, the Shattered Star Douluo, and the others a deep andsting impression.

    The Titled Douluo from the Heavenly Soul Empire wereparatively more boastful and arrogant. Even though they knew this individual was closely and directly rted to the tremendous explosion that had urred inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, many of Shrek Academy¡¯s powerful individuals were there after all. From their perspective, that sess was more attributable to Elder Song and Yan Shaozhe¡¯s abilities.

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo were most unfamiliar with Huo Yuhao. These Titled Douluo were the ones who were clearly displeased that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had arrived so long after everyone else did.

    What were Titled Douluo? They held strategic importance within a nation, and any Titled Douluo enjoyed an extremely elevated status in their respective empires. They all possessed a kind of arrogance and pride that was unique to them.

    One of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo looked on as the White Tiger Duke was so warm and passionate to Huo Yuhao even though he had arrivedte. He smiled inly and said, ¡°You¡¯re too modest, Duke. We know that credit for reiming the Ming Dou Mountain Range belongs to you!¡±

    The White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t stupid, and he could immediately tell the displeasure in this elderly man¡¯s tone. He hurriedly said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Come, Yuhao. Let me make the introductions. This is the Heavenly Sun Douluo, and he¡¯s from the Dou Ling Empire. He¡¯s a hundred and fifty years old, and he¡¯s belongs to the world of soul masters¡¯ older generation. He¡¯s a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo, and he¡¯s very powerful. This operation is directed mainly by the Body Douluo and the Heavenly Sun Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Heavenly Sun Douluo.¡± Huo Yuhao gave the Heavenly Sun Douluo a light bow. He probably wasn¡¯t that different from him in terms of seniority. Huo Yuhao was the Dragon God Douluo Mu En¡¯s disciple, and Elder Mu had been more than two hundred years old when he had passed away. Therefore, Huo Yuhao was actually considered very senior, as he was here as Shrek Academy¡¯s representative.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo saw that Huo Yuhao only bowed a little, and displeasure immediately appeared in his eyes. He said inly, ¡°Heroes emerge from the younger generation after all! The new generation of youngsters is better than the older ones. Seems like us old ones are indeed quickly retreating from history.¡±

    Princess Wei Naughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Heavenly Sun Douluo. You¡¯re old, but still strong and healthy. You can still reign supreme over the world of soul masters for another hundred years without any problems.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s attitude was a lot better towards Princess Wei Na as he chuckled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t live for another hundred years. Perhaps brother Du might have a chance.¡±

    Du Busi said inly, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s not tter each other. Since everyone is here, let¡¯s prepare for the operation, as time is of the essence. Dai Hao, you¡¯re the one who came up with the n. Tell us about it.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded and said, ¡°Our operation is called the Emperor Killing Operation, and will be jointly executed by five Titled Douluo each from the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and the Star Luo Empire. We will proceed to the Sun Moon Empire and assassinate the emperor, Xu Tianran.¡±

    ¡°Even though Xu Tianran is still young, he¡¯s an incredibly ruthless and ambitious character of his generation. War in the future is inevitable as long as he¡¯s around. The Sun Moon Empire is bing stronger, and we will lose the initiative and end up on the back foot if we don¡¯t make a move. The Sun Moon Empire will descend into chaos if we can assassinate Xu Tianran. His brothers will definitely fight with each other for the throne. After all, his son hasn¡¯t been born for too long, and it¡¯ll be hard for him to ascend to the throne when he¡¯s only a year old.¡±

    A thought urred to Huo Yuhao as he heard the White Tiger Duke¡¯s words.Xu Tianran¡¯s son¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean he¡¯s also Ju Zi¡¯s child? Ju Zi has given him a child.

    Ju Zi¡¯s voice and smile surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and a kind of difort surfaced in his heart. No matter what, he shared some sentiments with her back then. He had saved her life before, and she had saved his. This time, their operation was targeted at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, Xu Tianran, who was also Ju Zi¡¯s husband! If they sessfully assassinated Xu Tianran, Ju Zi would no longer have a husband, and her child would no longer have a father.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh inside as his thoughts stopped there. Ju Zi was right that his heart was too soft, especially toward people that he cared about.

    Not even Tang Wutong knew about the thoughts that were surfacing in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. She thought that he was a little moody because he had met the White Tiger Duke.

    The White Tiger Duke continued, ¡°It is undoubtedly extremely difficult to assassinate Xu Tianran. But the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires will benefit greatly if our operation is sessful. That¡¯s the reason why I have invited everyone to take this risk in this operation. From my perspective, the most crucialponent of our operation is how we are to enter the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory and infiltrate Radiant City. As long as we can infiltrate Radiant City undetected, we will have practicallypleted half of our mission.¡±

    ¡°Our spies in the Sun Moon Empire have risked death to ry some intel to us. Roughly seven days from now, Xu Tianran will participate in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Grand Sacrificial Ceremony. He¡¯s the emperor, so he will undoubtedly be the one performing the sacrificial rites at the ceremony. That¡¯s the best opportunity for us to execute our mission.¡±

    ¡°Of course, there will undoubtedly be many powerful individuals by his side during the ceremony. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire is adept with all kinds of soul tools. Xu Tianran definitely has a formidable automatic soul tool on him. Therefore, we have to draw the expert fighters by his side away if we wish to assassinate him. So, we have to split our operation into two parts.¡±

    ¡°All fifteen members will be divided into two teams. The Body Douluo will lead one, while the Heavenly Sun Douluo will lead the other. The Body Douluo will lead the four other Transcendent Douluo, with the exception of the Heavenly Sun Douluo, and they will prepare to give Xu Tianran a thunderous and fatal blow. The Heavenly Sun Douluo will take the others to create a diversion during the day of the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony.¡±

    ¡°The target of our diversion will be the arsenals inside Radiant City. There are many arsenals in Radiant City, but the most important arsenal is in the city¡¯s eastern outskirts. It¡¯s rtively far from where the ceremony will be held, and it storesrge masses of sealed Milk Bottles and stationary soul cannon shells. Once the arsenal is attacked, the disturbance will berge enough that Xu Tianran will be alerted. They will be sent into disarray, and the Body Douluo¡¯s opportunity will arise when that happens. They will attack Xu Tianran amid the chaos, and everyone will retreat after a single strike. Please be safe, everyone, whether or not the mission is sessful.¡±

    The n didn¡¯t sound veryplicated, but there were definitely many problems with the details.

    How they were to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire and then Radiant City would be a very important problem before they could even execute their mission. The n wasn¡¯t very intricate, and everything had to be yed by ear.

    Huo Yuhao frowned a little after listening to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s n. A n that was as vague as this definitely had less than a fifty percent chance of sess. Furthermore, their assassination target was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor. How could the White Tiger Duke have a n like that? This wasn¡¯t like his standard at all! The White Tiger Duke shouldn¡¯t make a mistake like that with his intelligence.

    This operation had an absolutely magnificent lineup. The Body Sect¡¯s leader, Du Busi was still a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, even if he his cultivation hadn¡¯t increased for a long time. He was second only to an Ultimate Douluo. And even though the Heavenly Sun Douluo seemed a little displeased with Huo Yuhao, he was still a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo; he was likely to be the strongest individual in the Dou Ling Empire. They were at the helm of this operation. If the operation failed and they died in the process, it would be a fatal blow to the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires!

    Huo Yuhao had many doubts in his mind, but he was the youngest here, so it wasn¡¯t very appropriate for him to ask too much.

    Du Busi nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s roughly the n, but we have to talk more about the details. There isn¡¯t much time left, and we have to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire as quickly as possible.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded as he turned towards Huo Yuhao beside him. ¡°Yuhao, concealment and infiltration are your strengths. Do you have a way of bringing everyone into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory without being discovered?¡±

 Chapter 522.2 - Missions, Plans

    <h4 ss>Chapter 522.2: Missions, ns</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Entering the Sun Moon Empire isn¡¯t difficult, but there are aerial and super-high aerial surveince soul tools everywhere inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. After our previous encounters, the Sun Moon Empire have worked hard on their ground-based aerial surveince soul tools. Therefore, in order for us not to avoid being discovered after entering the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory as much as possible, I think the best way is to proceed on foot. The aerial surveince soul tools cannot have oscition or thermal detectors attached to them, so as long as we avoid the big cities, we shouldn¡¯t have a problem reaching Radiant City¡¯s proximity peacefully. We¡¯ll break into groups once we reach Radiant City, and we¡¯ll disguise ourselves before he sneak our way into Radiant City. That should also not be difficult. But¡­¡±

    He paused for a moment.

    The White Tiger Duke asked, ¡°But what?

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°If we wish to reach Radiant City without leaving a trace at all, I hope that everyone can listen to mymands along the way, at least before we reach Radiant City. That is the only way for me to guarantee that I can bring everyone to the right location.¡±

    ¡°Listen to yourmands? Little fellow, how old are you?¡± One of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo asked disdainfully.

    The White Tiger Duke frowned, and he was about to say something when the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Shattered Star Douluo lowered his voice and said, ¡°We will listen to whoever is better. We concede that Yuhao is better than we are at concealment and infiltration, and I agree for him to lead us into Radiant City, and I will listen to hismands.¡±

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo nodded one after another and expressed their approval.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you that confident, little fellow?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. He didn¡¯t seem affected at all by the doubts that the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo were projecting onto him. ¡°If everyone is willing to listen to mymands during the process, then I do have some confidence. Of course, I am not asking any of you to do anything, I just hope that everyone will move ording to my Spiritual Detection when we are executing the mission, so that we can avoid leaving any traces behind.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluoughed and turned towards Du Busi. ¡°Brother Du, the youngsters are so impressive nowadays! At least, they are definitely much more confident than we were back in the day.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± Du Busi said coldly.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s face froze. Du Busi actually agreed? He had an arrogant and prideful personality, but he was willing to let this little fellow lead the operation?

    Du Busi nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Since we are to proceed on foot, time is of the essence. We will leave tomorrow morning.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and acknowledged, ¡°Alright.¡±

    The Titled Douluo returned to their respective tents to rest, while the White Tiger Duke requested for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to remain because he wanted to hold a weing dinner for them.

    A tableful of food that wasn¡¯t considered too sumptuous was set out in themander¡¯s tent. There was meat and rice, but there wasn¡¯t any alcohol. The White Tiger Duke had banned alcohol in his camp, and he led by example.

    ¡°Yuhao, wee back to the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Let me use tea in ce of wine and raise a toast to you.¡± The White Tiger Duke raised his teacup to express his sentiments to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao touched the White Tiger Duke¡¯s teacup gently with his own and said inly, ¡°You¡¯re too polite, Duke.¡± Huo Yuhao finally rxed after interacting with the White Tiger Duke. He stared at the man, who clearly seemed a lot more worn out than before, and he realized helplessly that his own hatred for this man seemed to have be increasingly faint.

    ¡°You have travelled far, and you must be hungry. You should hurry and have something to eat.¡± The White Tiger Dukeughed as he spoke.

    Princess Jiujiu and Dai Yueheng apanied them for dinner. Dai Luoli didn¡¯t seem worthy enough to sit at this table due to his status in the army.

    Dai Yueheng was sitting opposite Huo Yuhao, andplicated looks appeared in his eyes from time to time. He was already an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, and in terms of cultivation, he was even more outstanding than the White Tiger Duke was back when they were the same age. However, his advantage didn¡¯t seem like anything in front of Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was seven years younger than he was, but he had already established a resounding reputation in the world of soul masters.

    That was especially so for the Spirit Pagoda, which had been developing at an exponential rate over recent years. The Star Luo Empire had their own branch of the Spirit Pagoda, and all soul masters would be proud that they could obtain a Spirit for themselves. The organization¡¯s status in the world of soul masters naturally rose ordingly through the ranks, and their influence increased and expanded at an incredible speed. And the young Huo Yuhao, who was right before him, could be considered the founder of the Spirit Pagoda!

    Princess Jiujiu was also staring at Huo Yuhao as strange colors flickered in her beautiful eyes. Huo Yuhao gave her a different feeling every time they met. For instance, what she felt about him in this moment was an immeasurable depth. Yes, she couldn¡¯t even tell what cultivation rank he had reached.

    They enjoyed their dinner and exchanged some tea before the White Tiger Duke asked someone to light themps inside the tent.

    Dai Luoli and Princess Jiujiu left. The White Tiger Duke, Huo Yuhao, and Tang Wutong remained inside themander¡¯s tent.

    ¡°You have something to say to me, sir?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    The White Tiger Duke nodded gently as he turned towards Huo Yuhao. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Yuhao, this operation is extremely dangerous. If not for the fact that your abilities are far too important, I wouldn¡¯t have asked Shrek Academy to let youe. You have to remember that your responsibility is to take them safely into Radiant City, but concealing them will be sufficient. You don¡¯t need to participate when they begin their attack, and once you detect that something is wrong, you have to escape and return. Do not care about the others. Do you understand?¡±

    A thought urred to Huo Yuhao, and he could clearly read between the White Tiger Duke¡¯s lines.

    ¡°Lord Duke, this operation has mobilized perhaps the most elite soul masters across the continent¡¯s three original empires. To be frank, I don¡¯t quite favor this mission. The n is not detailed and thorough enough, and our enemies are too powerful. Our chances of sess are really not favorable. If I act ording to your words and don¡¯t participate in the attack, what will happen to them if I leave by myself? If they perish in the Sun Moon Empire, the impact to us¡­¡±

    The White Tiger Duke fell silent. Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were incredibly sharp, and he discovered, to his surprise, that a dash of embarrassment shed across the bottom of Dai Hao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao, I cannot exin too much to you. You have to remember to act ording to what I¡¯ve said, and ensure your own safety above all else.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression gradually became solemn as he listened to the Duke¡¯s words. Even though he didn¡¯t exin things explicitly, he had spoken clearly enough, and it was evident that this mission had some nuances to it. It definitely wasn¡¯t as simple as it appeared on the outside. But the White Tiger Duke was unwilling to exin what these nuances were, and something was clearly holding him back.

    ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t probe any further. Even though he hadn¡¯t interacted much with the White Tiger Duke, they were rted by blood after all! Even he didn¡¯t expect himself to subconsciously trust his father, even though they had never identified as father and son.

    The White Tiger Duke nodded seriously and said, ¡°Please act ording to what I¡¯ve said. Do remember that.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were arranged to stay in a tent on the mountaintop, and allocated one room each. But of course, they chose to sleep together.

    Tang Wutong shut the door as she lowered her voice and said, ¡°It seems like there are many problems with this operation! The White Tiger Duke is trying to warn you.¡± She could see that Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes seemed a little strange. Others didn¡¯t know about his rtionship with the White Tiger Duke, but how could she not know? Judging from his emotions, his hostility against the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t seem as strong as before. This was fantastic from Tang Wutong¡¯s perspective, since no matter what, they were father and son after all! Furthermore, she knew that this hatred had been bothering Huo Yuhao for a long time.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°He must have his reasons for not being able to exin. I don¡¯t think there will be any problems in the first part of this mission, but it¡¯s hard to say what the situation will be like after entering Radiant City. In the end, our task is to bring those Titled Douluo into Radiant City, and what they do has nothing to do with us as long as weplete our task. What the White Tiger Duke was trying to tell me was exactly that, and that¡¯s why he kept reminding me again and again.¡±

    Tang Wutong looked on as Huo Yuhao looked like he was contemting. She asked probingly, ¡°He seems very concerned about you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoo nced at her. ¡°Just ask whatever you wish to ask, Wutong. We don¡¯t have to beat about the bush with each other.¡±

    Tang Wutong punched his shoulder gently and said, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying, I¡¯m just concerned about you. I think that your hostility towards him doesn¡¯t seem as strong as before.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°Even though I¡¯m not willing to admit it, that appears to be happening. In the days that you were gone, I went back to see my mother¡¯s grave. It has been repaired and renovated, and he should be responsible for that. Afterwards, when we fought in the Star Luo Empire, we interacted a little more. I have been affected, and that¡¯s inevitable. But I have to avenge my mother.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded silently and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that after everything else. No matter what their mission¡¯s target is, their final goal is the same: to deal as heavy a blow as they can to the Sun Moon Empire so that their invasion can be dyed. Let¡¯s return to the academy afterpleting our task.¡±

    She didn¡¯t continue the conversation, like she wanted to avoid talking about it. The reason for that was because she understood that trying to change the hatred in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart overnight wasn¡¯t possible. In the end, he had been bullied a lot when he was young, and his mother had died from her illness. These things were closely rted to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion, and she could thus only gradually reduce the hatred in his heart. Even if he had to take his revenge in the future, at least he would control himself in what he would do.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°You¡¯re right. No matter what their target is during this operation, their final aim will be the same. We just have to do what we have to do. There¡¯s only one person I want to protect, and that¡¯s you.¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled. ¡°I¡¯m a Titled Douluo, so we¡¯ll see who has to protect who.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°You can protect me too! Come, protect me, quickly.¡± He opened his arms to Tang Wutong as he spoke.

 Chapter 522.3 - Missions, Plans

    Chapter 522.3: Missions, ns

    Tang Wutongughed as she dodged away. ¡°Have you forgotten how much it hurts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately pulled a long face. ¡°My dear, you have to ask your father toe when we go back this time and remove his seal. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to go crazy.¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled. ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty good this way. You¡¯ll just have a slight taste of it. Isn¡¯t it always wonderful to have something to look forward to?¡±

    Huo Yuhao put on a depressed face and said, ¡°You are beautiful. I have been too stifled.¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed as she said, ¡°Hurry up and cultivate. All you know to do is speak frivolous things.¡±

    Two people sat opposite each other in a tent not far from them. It was the Body Douluo, Du Busi, and the Heavenly Sun Douluo.

    ¡°Brother Du, are we really going to listen to that little fellow¡¯smands along the way?¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo asked Du Busi with a little displeasure in his voice.

    Du Busi nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate that little kid, Heavenly Sun. He¡¯s surprised me more than once already, and he has a spiritual-type martial soul. He has very unique abilities concerning concealment. Our operation is about to begin, are you a little nervous? Otherwise, why are you so flustered?¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not possible that I¡¯m not even a little nervous. Looking at the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s situation, I¡¯m truly worried about the Dou Ling Empire! The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s national strength is inferior to the Heavenly Soul Empire. Once the war starts again, if the Heavenly Soul Empire cannot hold our enemies back, we will fall as well. Therefore, our operation needs to happen. However, I don¡¯t trust that little fellow who¡¯s just a little older than twenty. He¡¯s too young. If we are exposed before we even enter Radiant City, then we don¡¯t have a chance at all.¡±

    Du Busi said inly, ¡°That¡¯s why I said you¡¯re being nervous. Have you not paid attention to that youngster¡¯s aura? Can you tell what his cultivation rank is?¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo was momentarily surprised. ¡°He probably has around seven soul rings. I felt their soul power undtions before this, and they¡¯re both around seven soul rings.¡±

    The Body Douluo, Du Busi shook his head and said, ¡°No, you will realize after closer scrutiny that their true strengths are very unlike what they appear on the surface. Their soul power undtions of a seven-ringed soul master are fake. That kid¡¯s spiritual power is extremely strong, and even I was almost fooled. However, I realized upon closer inspection that his spiritual power is deep and vast like the ocean. I cannot tell what his true cultivation is, but it¡¯s definitely not at seven rings.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo didn¡¯t really believe him. ¡°He¡¯s only a little more than twenty. Even if he¡¯s from Shrek Academy, seven soul rings is already quite impressive.¡±

    Du Busi answered, ¡°You can inspect him a little more closely tomorrow. What I¡¯m sure of is that if we wish to enter the Sun Moon Empire without leaving any tracks, letting the little fellowmand us should have the best effect.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll just let himmand us.¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo was evidently a little fearful of Du Busi, and he didn¡¯t continue discussing the problem.

    ¡°Is the news from Radiant City reliable, Brother Du?¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo lowered his voice and asked.

    Du Busi nodded and said, ¡°We have already confirmed our intel. They are my elite disciples, and there should be no problem with their info. After you seed, you have to escape immediately. You don¡¯t have to worry about me because I have people providing support on the inside. Safety won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Alright, be careful.¡±

    Everyone gathered once more in the White Tiger Duke¡¯smand tent after breakfast in the morning on the second day.

    Huo Yuhao was still holding Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, and that wasn¡¯t just to disy how intimate they were with each other. He also wanted to keep them in their strongest condition, but they were the only ones who knew that, of course.

    The White Tiger Duke lowered his voice and said, ¡°Everyone, this operation is extremely important. It is rted to the direction in which the war will proceed in the future. But please remember, everyone, that you are the cornerstones of your respective empires, and if our mission is unsessful, you have to ensure your own safety. We still have hope as long as you guys are around.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s words were heavy, but very sentimental and sincere. Everyone¡¯s expressions changed.

    The Body Douluo, Du Busi heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d end up like this. There was once a time when I had absolute faith that we could keep our enemies beyond our walls, but it now seems like that¡¯s justughable. We have been living in a cave, and that has caused us tog too far behind. We can only give our all on this mission. No matter what, we have to seed. We appreciate your thoughts, Duke, but if we don¡¯t put our lives on the line for this mission, then we have almost no chance of sess. We have to give everything we have for our countries, no matter what. Alright, let¡¯s move out.¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s status in the world of soul masters was very impressive; he was on the same level as Shrek Academy¡¯s elder Xuan. The White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao was just a junior in front of him.

    ¡°Be careful along the way. Good luck, everyone, and Godspeed. May you return with sess.¡± Dai Hao took a step back as he spoke, and bowed solemnly at everyone.

    Du Busi turned towards everyone and surveyed them before he took the first stride out from themander¡¯s tent. The Heavenly Sun Douluo followed closely behind, and the rest of the Titled Douluo walked out after him. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong walked at the end.

    Du Busi didn¡¯t continue walking forward when he left the tent. Instead, his eyes fell on Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°From now on, kid, we will all listen to yourmands before we enter Radiant City. Don¡¯t worry, nobody will give you any trouble along the way, since I¡¯m the one that¡¯s saying this. Everyone will listen to you, and that includes me. Now, what do we do?¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s words were extremely overbearing and dominant. Only a person with his cultivation and his status in the world of soul masters could convince the other fourteen Titled Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao stared at the mighty Body Douluo in surprise. He didn¡¯t expect that Du Busi would be so supportive of him, as he knew that the Body Douluo had had some run-ins with his teacher back in the day. It seemed like he had left everything behind because his nation was in danger. He should have understood many things after the serious injury that he had sustained thest time around.

    Du Busi was so supportive, and Huo Yuhao naturally had something to show for it. He hurriedly bowed in Du Busi¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Thank you for your trust, sir. I can¡¯t say that I¡¯llmand everyone, but I hope that we can all safely enter the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. Afterwards, I will use some methods to help everyone conceal yourselves. Therefore, I hope that everyone can listen to what I say along the way. I will be most confident that way.¡±

    Du Busi smiled inly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be polite. Give us something real.¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that if he couldn¡¯t disy some of his abilities right now, these Titled Douluo wouldn¡¯t be sopliant. Everyone respected strength in the world of soul masters. That had been the way ten thousand years ago, and was still the way ten thousand yearster today. Even though Huo Yuhao was already a ss 9 soul engineer, he was still willing to call himself a soul master. Perhaps that was because he hailed from Shrek Academy as a soul master.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes glowed, and golden light flickered faintly at the bottom of his eyes, while gentle spiritual undtions emanated soundlessly. These undtions enveloped all sixteen Titled Douluos, including Tang Wutong.

    None of these Titled Douluo detected his spiritual power, and only when Huo Yuhao shared his Spiritual Detection and entered their spiritual world did they realize what was going on.

    Every single one of the Titled Douluo from the three native empires, including Du Busi, changed their expressions in the next moment.

    When they realized that spiritual power had entered their own spiritual worlds, they attempted to push back against it. A soul master¡¯s spiritual sea was the core of their control over their own spirit. How could they just let someone enter?

    Only the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo, who had experienced Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection before, didn¡¯t resist at all.

    But whether they were resisting or not didn¡¯t matter, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detectionpleted the fusion very easily. That also meant that resistance was futile.

    Spiritual Detection was like arge gauze, and all the Titled Douluo¡¯s spiritual power was like water that rushed through the gauze. All that spiritual power couldn¡¯t stop it from moving forward.

    Even the Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire, who were rtively more familiar with Huo Yuhao, didn¡¯t think his Spiritual Detection was so magical. Huo Yuhao just directly connected their spiritual power, and they didn¡¯t need to do anything at all.

    The world around them becamepletely three-dimensional in the next moment, and three-dimensional images from three hundred and sixty degrees around them immediately appeared in the Titled Douluo¡¯s minds. They felt like they had an eye looking down from the sky, and everything became much clearer.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo and the other soul masters from the Dou Ling Empire were most unfamiliar with Huo Yuhao, and when they felt how mystical Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was, looks of astonishment appeared on their faces.

    What made them even more surprised came afterward. The three-dimensional images three hundred and sixty degrees around them immediately expanded once they were connected, and began webbing out towards the distance. Everyone was just standing where they were, but their vision was beginning to stretch far into the distance, and it didn¡¯t take long beforerge masses of the Ming Dou Mountain Range were within their sight.

    The Body Douluo, Du Busi turned towards Huo Yuhao as strange lights flickered in his eyes. ¡°Such formidable spiritual power. Have your eyes awakened for the second time, kid?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily taken aback before he shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if my eyes have awakened for the second time, but my martial soul has mutated before.¡±

    Du Busi heaved a sigh and said, ¡°That¡¯s a pity. If only we¡¯d met a little earlier, I would have been willing to take you as myst disciple so that Mu En fellow didn¡¯t have it easy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned a little when he heard Du Busi addressing his teacher respectfully. Du Busi was incredibly sharp, and immediately saw the displeasure in his eyes. He smiled inly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be unhappy. Even if Mu En were still alive, I could still address him like that. My big brother wouldn¡¯t be dead if not for him.¡±

    A faint dash of deep and profound emotions circled in his eyes.

 Chapter 523.1 - A Display of Strength

    <h4 ss>, Chapter 523.1: A Disy of Strength</h4>

    ¡°Alright, those are times long gone, so let¡¯s not talk about them anymore. Let¡¯s go. Let me see what other unique and magical qualities your spiritual power possesses. Speaking of which, the Body Sect is also adept with using spiritual power, but there¡¯s quite a gap whenpared to you. Your spiritual power alone has the standard of a Titled Douluo, so you are absolutely worthy of participating in this operation with us.¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s cultivation and vision were incredible. Even though he only felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power for a brief moment, he could immediately make an urate judgment.

    ¡°Alright, let me lead the way.¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong as he spoke, and they rose into the air at the same time. They didn¡¯t release their martial souls; they were just using soul power to channel the flying-type soul tool behind their backs. Wings stretched out behind them as they gradually hovered in midair.

    The other fifteen Titled Douluo rose into the air one after another, but they experienced another strange scene as they flew into the sky. They realized to their surprise that, with Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao actually presented a flight course in their minds, and everyone¡¯s flight course was different. These Titled Douluo flew ording to the charted flight course, and immediately formed a circr formation in the sky as they enveloped Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong in the center.

    ¡°Great multitasking,¡± Du Busi praised once more. He didn¡¯t hide his admiration for Huo Yuhao at all.

    Huo Yuhao nodded in his direction before he channeled his spiritual power once more, and passed precise forward paths to the Titled Douluo.

    Everyone flew up at the same time, and they proceeded in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s under Huo Yuhao¡¯smand.

    The air contorted faintly just as they surged into the sky, and all seventeen people disappeared into the air just like that.

    Everyone was surprised yet again. The other Titled Douluo felt a sh in front of their eyes before everyone else disappeared around them. But strangely, through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, they could feel everyone¡¯s precise locations in their minds. This also meant that what they could see with Spiritual Detection was vastly different from what they could see with their eyes.

    This is¡­ mass concealment?

    Du Busi attempted to use his spiritual power to sense the people around him, but the Body Douluo was truly astonished this time. The reason was because he realized that, even with his spiritual power, he had to unleash his spiritual power to the highest possible level if he wanted to sense the others¡¯ locations. Afterwards, he still had to judge ording to the exact locations that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection provided before he could make out the details, and only then could he feel some faint spiritual undtions.

    As for everyone else, which included the Heavenly Sun Douluo, they couldn¡¯t feel anything at all. They felt like everyone had just vanished into thin air.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo no longer underestimated Huo Yuhao at all. What he had aplished right now was far more important and effective than any of the Titled Douluo were in this operation. With an ability that could conceal everyone from sight, they could reach the Sun Moon Empire without expending too much effort. Furthermore, once theypleted their task, retreating would also be a lot easier. They would have a better guarantee of their safety.

    The White Tiger Duke was the one who had suggested that Shrek Academy send Huo Yuhao on this operation, because he had the best understanding of his mighty reconnaissance, investigation, and concealment abilities.

    The Titled Douluo were all full of praise for the White Tiger Duke¡¯s decision in this moment. They no longer underestimated Huo Yuhao, were instead full of curiosity.

    Their speed began to gradually increase under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control, and they began to rise high into the sky.

    Everyone could feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was stretching far into the distance. Nobody felt much in the beginning, but their expressions began to change when it reached more than three thousand meters into the distance.

    Before this, they had some doubts when the Body Douluo had remarked that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had reached a Titled Douluo¡¯s standard, and they had thought Du Busi was exaggerating things. But now they began to understand that Du Busi wasn¡¯t exaggerating at all. How could anyone sustain Spiritual Detection over such arge area without possessing strength of a Titled Douluo¡¯s spiritual power?

    Three thousand meters was just the beginning. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao reached four thousand meters, then five thousand, then six thousand. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection stretched all the way to ten thousand meters, the Body Douluo couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Kid, your spiritual power has the standard of a Transcendent Douluo!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and replied, ¡°You tter me, sir. I¡¯m just cutting some corners with my soul skill.¡±

    Du Busi chortled, but said nothing more.

    It was a soul skill, but it was a hundred thousand year soul skill! The higher Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was, the more he could feel and experience exactly how powerful the hundred thousand year soul skill that his brother Skydream had bestowed upon him all those years ago was. Those four hundred thousand year soul skills consolidated his Spirit Eyes¡¯ foundations.

    Huo Yuhao was very modest, but nobody dared to underestimate him anymore. Titled Douluo could reach urate conclusions from just a single glimpse, and even though they didn¡¯t know how formidable his fighting strength was, they could be sure that this youngster¡¯s potential in the future was boundless.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, which could reach an incredibly far distance, quickly began to have practical uses. Large masses of all kinds of surveince soul tools had already appeared in his vision, and the Titled Douluo could sense them all through Spiritual Detection.

    These surveince soul tools covered between three thousand and five thousand meters of airspace, and it was an all-round detection with all kinds of surveince soul tools. They covered almost all the space below five thousand meters.

    The effect of Huo Yuhao taking the Titled Douluo further up was presented in this moment. They had no choice but to keep flying up, because unless they were higher in the sky, they couldn¡¯t pass by all the dense and tight surveince soul tools without being detected.

    Passing through the border was undoubtedly the most difficult part, and everyone understood that. They continued rising through the air under Huo Yuhao¡¯s guidance with Spiritual Detection.

    Those who could participate in this operation were the best of the best in the world of soul masters. There weren¡¯t any who were at Rank 90; every single Titled Douluo was at least Rank 93. There were at least half who were also Transcendent Douluos.

    Therefore, going five thousand meters into the air didn¡¯t trouble them at all.

    But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t satisfied with just five thousand meters. He continued bringing everyone higher into the sky after reaching five thousand meters.

    Any height above five thousand meters was practically forbidden to humans, and the further they went, the more gaps between their cultivation ranks began to show.

    Nothing much happened to the Transcendent Douluo, but those who weren¡¯t yet Transcendent Douluo gradually began to slow down.

    But what astonished them was that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, who were holding each other¡¯s hands, didn¡¯t decelerate due to the cold or because the air was thin. They seemed like their situation wasn¡¯t that much different from the various Transcendent Douluo.

    They surprised everyone yet again as they continued taking them up. Huo Yuhao stopped rising only when they reached over six thousand meters in the sky, and only then did he bring everyone towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory.

    Huo Yuhao was already a ss 9 soul engineer. He and Xuan Ziwen had conducted a series of research and experiments regarding all kinds of surveince soul tools over the past two years, and therefore, he couldn¡¯t be more familiar with these soul tools. High altitude aerial surveince soul tools could only conduct surveince downwards; only a very small minority could survey both up and down at the same time. This type was extremely dangerous for everyone here, so that was the reason why Huo Yuhao continued to go up.

    All soul tools would be much less effective above five thousand meters, and that was the same for high altitude aerial surveince soul tools. Even though two years had gone by since then, these two years weren¡¯t enough for surveince soul tools to be advanced to another level.

    Therefore, two yearster, ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s urate judgment with Spiritual Detection, all the surveince soul tools, whether they were on the ground or in the sky, were insufficient to reach altitudes of more than six thousand meters.

    As casual as the Transcendent Douluos were, they still aided the other Titled Douluo to rise to greater heights at the same time as they continued forward and flew towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory.

    Admiration was starting to appear in those Titled Doulou¡¯s minds. The reconnaissance and concealment abilities that Huo Yuhao had disyed was just one part of it; the other was the absolute strength that the two of them were disying.

    Rank 93 Titled Douluo had a lot of trouble flying at six thousand meters, but Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong appeared extremely casual from the beginning to the end. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was the main control-type soul master, and he was leading all the other Titled Douluo.

    He was multitasking, yet he could maintain flight at such a high altitude so casually. That was sufficient to prove his and Tang Wutong¡¯s strength.

    Of course, these Titled Douluo didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had ss 9 flying-type soul tools behind their backs! This pair of flying-type soul tools allowed them to conserve soul power as much as possible, and allowed them to fly at extremely high altitudes.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo was already filled with astonishment. He didn¡¯t just stop underestimating Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, but he even treated them with caution and wariness.

    Typically, one had to be at least a Titled Douluo to fly at more than five thousand meters. Furthermore, going another thousand meters above five thousand was another challenge altogether. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help to fly to six thousand meters, and even if their flying-type soul tools were special, that was sufficient to disy their abilities. This meant they were at least Titled Douluo.

    How old are they? The White Tiger Duke did say that they were around twenty years old. That¡¯s just hard to imagine, and I can¡¯t see them straight anymore. Shrek Academy has managed to nurture Titled Douluo who are only a little more than twenty. They have lived up to their name of being an academy of monsters!

 Chapter 523.2 - A Display of Strength

    <h4 ss>Chapter 523.2: A Disy of Strength</h4>

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯t the only ones who these Titled Douluo were paying attention to. Even Shrek Academy¡¯s status within their minds was greatly elevated because of the abilities that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were disying.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t aware of the psychological changes that were happening in these Titled Douluo¡¯s minds, but he could guess some of them. Even though he had the Body Douluo¡¯s support and he could lead these formidable individuals, their statuses within the world of soul masters were too high. If he didn¡¯t show some prowess, he couldn¡¯t convince them at all. But now there seemed to be no problem at all.

    The truth was, they weren¡¯t the only ones who were astonished; even Huo Yuhao himself was surprised by his spiritual power.

    He almost didn¡¯t leave Shrek City at all when he was cultivating hard for the past two years, and he barely even left the Tang Sect. Tang Wutong had returned to his side, and even though that mysterious seal was affecting him, his heart and mind had been very clear and unperturbed over the past two years because he was with the person he loved. He was also cultivating with the help of Haodong power, and his improvement was exponential.

    Huo Yuhao had always believed that he was increasing more of his soul power, but only today did he realize that his spiritual power had also grown to an incredibly powerful standard without his knowledge. His spiritual power had grown to a level that he almost found unbelievable.

    He didn¡¯t feel like he was expending any spiritual power at all when he was using Spiritual Detection, and he could only feel his consciousness stretching out like the entire world was in his grasp. That feeling was very magical, and it also contained an inexplicable profundity. Therefore, he unwittingly expanded his detection¡¯s area of effect to more than ten thousand meters.

    He could feel almost everything in the skies above and the ground below at a whim, and the surveince soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire had deployed both in the air and on the ground were within his detection range. Huo Yuhao also discovered to his surprise as he was using Spiritual Detection that he could even sense those surveince soul tools¡¯ detection range.

    The reason why he could sense that was because the energy waves that these surveince soul tools were releasing, no matter what type they were, were conducted through energy. Thermal and oscition detectors, as surveince soul tools that relied on vision, had a very small range. They were what the Sun Moon Empire was researching.

    Now that Huo Yuhao could vividly sense all these energy waves, he could naturally and casually take everyone away from danger, circle past these soul tools¡¯ detection ranges, and directly towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s inner territory. They began to elerate, and an altitude of six thousand meters was the maximum that practically all surveince soul tools could reach.

    But Huo Yuhao also realized that the Sun Moon Empire actually had a kind of ultra-long range aerial surveince soul tool on the ground. A soul tool like that could release a powerful energy beam that surged high into the sky, and it could reach even ten thousand meters in the air to conduct surveince. But it also had one fatal w: the beam could only sweep continuously through the sky. It couldn¡¯t conduct surveince over an entire area at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao understood that feature very easily. Just as he was using Spiritual Detection, the distance that he could reach when he was detecting in a single direction was vastly different from when he was detecting over an area. The Sun Moon Empire had probably developed a soul tool like that bypressing an oscition detector¡¯s surveince capability andpromising on area of effect so that it could achieve a longer range.

    A single surveince soul tool like that was naturally ineffective, but if there were many, and if they crossed each other as they made their sweeps, such a setup would be effective to some extent. However, it appeared like the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t have many of these surveince soul tools, so Huo Yuhao and the others didn¡¯t run into too much trouble.

    Faint light flickered as a dash of ice-cold light shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. His consciousness continued to stretch outward, and he almost couldn¡¯t control the desire in his heart. He wanted to see exactly how far his Spiritual Detection could reach.

    When his Spiritual Detection¡¯s area had reached more than fifteen thousand meters, he finally suppressed the impulse in his heart. The reason was because he discovered to his astonishment that he still hadn¡¯t reached his limit.

    How¡¯s that possible?The difference from before and now was far toorge, and he was pushing his detection out in all directions!

    This didn¡¯t seem like something that normal growth in spiritual power could achieve. Huo Yuhao began to understand through this period of experience that his spiritual power was actually increasing at an incredible speed because of his spiritual soul core, but he wasn¡¯t that sure about it on typical days, because his spiritual power waspressed and gathered within his soul core. Forming a soul core in one¡¯s dantian was extremely rare in the world of soul masters, and how effective that turned out to be far exceeded Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations.

    But that feeling of his consciousness extending, like heaven and earth were in his grasp, evidently wasn¡¯t because of his spiritual power¡¯s skyrocketing growth. Instead, it stemmed from another kind of power.

    This feeling was simr to when Huo Yuhao had first met the Cmity Necromancer, Electrolux¡¯s aura.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao could faintly see that this had to have something to do with his entry into the mystical God Realm, and with the approval that he received from the God of Emotion. His spiritual power, or perhaps his consciousness, seemed to have gone through certain qualitative changes. These qualitative changes allowed his spiritual power and spirit to reach a whole new level. If he went ording to how his teacher, Electrolux had said before, this level was called Divine Sense.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao understood that his divine sense was still iplete, and could only be considered half of the real thing because it came from a Godly Seat¡¯s approval. But even then, the benefits conferred upon him were quite conspicuous. Not even he could tell what kind of level his all-out fighting strength could reach.

    Huo Yuhao sensed his body¡¯s transformations as he brought everyone sessfully into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. His spiritual power¡¯s tremendous growth caused him to change his thought process. With the range and area that his Spiritual Detection could reach, he didn¡¯t have to worry about any surveince soul tools at all. Naturally, they didn¡¯t have to progress on foot. Flying at high speed through the air could save a lot of time.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao immediately lowered their altitude once they passed through the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince lockdown perimeter. They went down to about three thousand meters, while their flight speed elerated swiftly as he brought the group of Titled Douluo deep into the Sun Moon Empire.

    These Titled Douluo were starting to be a little numb. They were feeling far too many mystical things because Huo Yuhao was sharing his Spiritual Detection with them.

    Many Titled Douluo were prepared to die to ensure that this mission was a sess. However, their moods were a lot better than before at this point. With such a magicalpanion who was so adept at concealment and surveince around, there was no doubt that their sess rate and guarantee of safety were greatly improved. Huo Yuhao¡¯s status in every Titled Douluo¡¯s mind was rising continuously.

    They flew for four hours before Huo Yuhao reduced his speed and took everyone down into a dense, thick forest.

    They were all Titled Douluo, and their flight speeds were just too terrifying. The Ming Dou Mountain Range was bordering the Sun Moon Empire in the first ce, and once they entered the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory, it took them four hours toe close to Radiant City.

    Everyone drifted to the ground. Huo Yuhao stretched his Spiritual Detection far into the distance once more within this dense forest, and all that was happening within this forest and within his Spiritual Detection¡¯s area of effect was telling him that they were absolutely safe.

    Huo Yuhao stopped using Imitation and stopped sharing his Spiritual Detection as he smiled and turned towards the Titled Douluo. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while, everyone, and readjust ourselves. We¡¯re not far from Radiant City, and we¡¯ll enter in the evening.¡±

    Du Busi stared at Huo Yuhao with a strange look in his eyes. ¡°Kid, you have given me too many surprises. How did you do all that?¡±

    The other Titled Douluo¡¯s eyes were also trained on Huo Yuhao, and strange expressions filled every single one of their eyes. There was also something in their eyes that wasn¡¯t there before: equality.

    Yes, in this moment, they were treating Huo Yuhao as someone who shared the same standard and prowess as they did.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The truth is, Wutong and my martial souls can fuse. Therefore, weplement and support each other, and only then can we achieve things that normal soul masters cannot. This isn¡¯t my individual strength.¡± He raised his hand, which was holding Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, as he spoke.

    A thought urred to Du Busi as he heard his words, and only then did he realize that he had overlooked the incredibly beautiful girl who barely spoke, who had been following beside Huo Yuhao this entire time.

    ¡°Martial soul fusion? That¡¯s just extraordinary! If I remember correctly, you have twin martial souls, while your spiritual-type martial soul should be mainly used for control and detection. Your other martial soul possesses Ultimate Ice, and it¡¯s mainly used for battle. If not for the fact that the circumstances don¡¯t allow it, I would truly wish to see exactly what kind of strength you can reach. Shrek Academy will no longer have to worry about anything for the next century with you in their future.¡±

    Du Busi was full ofment as he spoke. His Body Sect had many prodigious soul masters, but they would obviously lose their luster whenpared to Huo Yuhao. They weren¡¯t even at the same standard. Du Busi could tell that this youth, who was just a little more than twenty years old, hadpletely grown up. He was now positioned among the most powerful individuals in the world of soul masters, while his greatest advantage was his age. He was just a little more than twenty, and this meant he would undoubtedly be a Transcendent Douluo in the future. At the same time, he had a high chance of bing an Ultimate Douluo.

 Chapter 523.3 - A Display of Strength

    Chapter 523.3: A Disy of Strength

    Not even Du Busi could guess how terrifying an Ultimate Douluo who possessed twin martial souls and an Ultimate martial soul would be, but he understood that as long as Huo Yuhao was given some more time, Shrek Academy and Shrek City would extremely secure no matter who controlled this world in the future.

    No matter how soul tools developed in the future, when a person¡¯s strength reached the pinnacle of the world, he would still be the most intimidating and the best deterrent. Wasn¡¯t the Beast God in the Great Star Dou Forest like that? Even if the Sun Moon Empire conquered the entire continent in the future, would they dare to provoke the Beast God?

    The Beast God had already mastered thews of space, and not even an Ultimate Douluo could stop him if he truly wanted to assassinate somebody! Therefore, even a ruthless and ambitious character like Xu Tianran would never think of attacking the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Huo Yuhao would likely be Shrek Academy¡¯s deterrence in the same regard in the future.

    Huo Yuhao smiled bashfully and said, ¡°Please rest, everyone. I have just expended a lot of energy, so I¡¯ll go ahead and recover.¡± He pulled Tang Wutong to one side and sat down as he spoke, and they ced their palms together as they meditated to recover.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use as much energy as he said he had. His spiritual power¡¯s formidable strength had something to do with their martial soul fusion, but more came from his own abilities.

    Tang Wutong stared at Huo Yuhao, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Huo Yuhao would make all the decisions when they were outside. She didn¡¯t want to attract too much attention, and she didn¡¯t have to prove anything.

    The sun gradually began to set in the west, and the sky was slowly covered with beautiful reddish-gold colors, and anyone looking down from the sky over Radiant City would still have a feeling of obscurity.

    This wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time in Radiant City, but his impression was a little different every time.

    He was filled with admiration and shock in the beginning, and that was because he didn¡¯t understand much about the world of soul tools. But now, he wasn¡¯t just shocked. Instead, he felt a little fearful.

    The tremendous explosion in Radiant City back then was incredibly frightening, but what was the ultimate result? The ultimate result was that, within several years, Radiant City hadpletely recovered. Furthermore, their buildings were even higherpared to back then, and the depth that they contained was much more profound andplex.

    Huo Yuhao was already a ss 9 soul engineer, and he could understand a lot of things. Radiant City wasn¡¯t as simple as a normal city. It didn¡¯t have sprawling city walls, and there weren¡¯trge numbers of guards. But what Huo Yuhao saw was Radiant City¡¯s seemingly chaotic but actually extremely practical structural setups. These structures were like fulcrums in an enormous web, and weren¡¯t as simple as just structures. They contained tremendous soul power undtions.

    Huo Yuhao had heard from Xuan Ziwen that the Sun Moon Empire had some core secrets regarding their soul tool research, and not even Xuan Ziwen, who was the number one research fellow back then, was sure about what these secrets were.

    The Sun Moon Empire had another ce besides their Illustrious Virtue Hall called the Imperial Consecration Hall. It was called a ¡°consecration hall¡±, but it was better named the Imperial Research Center. Almost all of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ss 9 soul engineers were members of this research center, and one was only worthy of joining this research center when one became a ss 9 soul engineer.

    That ce controlled all of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s true secrets regarding soul tools, and these secrets included a kind of soul tool known as high-energypression array soul tools.

    This type of soul tool could store soul power in massive amounts, and could absorb energy from the external world to sustain itself. The only problem was that such soul tools were too bulky, and there was no way to transport them. That was the reason why they weren¡¯t directly inserted into the war, and only Radiant City had such things around.

    But these high-energypression array soul tools also possessed incredibly formidable power. An array like that could store soul power equivalent to that of a hundred Titled Douluobined. ording to Xuan Ziwen¡¯s judgment, Radiant City had a total of four of these exorbitantly expensive and enormous high-energypression soul tools. What they were used for was to provide Radiant City with enough energy to sustain their overall defenses.

    Only individuals from the Imperial Research Center knew exactly how these soul tools looked and worked, but they had to be absolutely terrifying.

    Soul power equivalent to four hundred Titled Douluo was a force terrifying enough to construct a defensive barrier for the entire city! Xuan Ziwen had also told Huo Yuhao that if the Sun Moon Empire could make these high-energypression array soul tools smaller, then apocalypse would descend upon the continent¡¯s other empires. When that happened, the Sun Moon Empire would possess batches of soul tools simr to the Death God at their disposal, and ss 10 soul tools would appear immediately afterward.

    Xuan Ziwen was proud and arrogant, but he told Huo Yuhao very clearly that finalizing research on something like high-energypression array soul tools wasn¡¯t something that a single soul engineer could achieve. That was the result of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s many ss 9 soul engineers¡¯ research over many years. A single soul engineer could only master part of the technology¡¯sponents, and every one of this soul tool¡¯s importantponents was equivalent to a ss 9 soul tool. This gap in soul tool technology wasn¡¯t something that could be covered within ten or twenty years, or even within a hundred years.

    Therefore, Xuan Ziwen had already privately given his pessimistic opinion about the war. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s foundations were just too powerful, and they also had sufficient resources. What they needed now was to gradually convert their foundations in soul tool technology umted over the years into practical uses for war. When that happened, who could stop their forward march?

    That was the reason why Huo Yuhao felt fearful in this moment. That frightful sensation was too evident when he viewed Radiant City as a ss 9 soul engineer. Radiant City was like a frightening Transcendent soul beast in his eyes, and it was just lying there, prostrate. Nobody knew when it would truly sh its fangs.

    Huo Yuhao even found the Holy Ghost Churchughable. That frightening sect that seemed to control many of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s core existences, which also possessed formidable strength in two Ultimate Douluo, was perhaps just a joke in front of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s true foundations. However, the Sun Moon Empire needed them right now. If the day came when Xu Tianran believed that his wings were fully outstretched, and when the might of soul tools could be ced on full disy, the Holy Ghost Church would face a cmity that would probably exceed their expectations.

    Huo Yuhao gradually clenched his fist as Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words echoed in his mind. If you want to stop the Sun Moon Empire fromunching an invasion, there¡¯s only one thing you can do. You have to create a kind of power or forcerge enough to intimidate the entire Sun Moon Empire so that they won¡¯t dare to use their frightening soul tools so easily. That is the only way to give the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires sufficient time.

    When Xuan Ziwen was making that speech to Huo Yuhao, he also told him that he couldn¡¯t achieve such a feat. A ss 9 soul engineer was Xuan Ziwen¡¯s limit, and only a talented prodigy like Huo Yuhao had a chance to push through to be a ss 10 soul engineer, and create a terrifyingly apocalyptic soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel that deeply back then, but now he truly understood the meaning behind Xuan Ziwen¡¯s words.

    There were many more surveince soul tools of many different kinds inside Radiant City, and their surveince was much tighter. There was no question that some of the newly developed surveince soul tools would appear inside Radiant City, especially when it came to aerial surveince soul tools. There were many domain-rted surveince soul tools that Huo Yuhao wasing across for the first time.

    Huo Yuhao inspected everything closely and made his judgment before he brought the Titled Douluo down to the ground. Entering Radiant City across the ground was,paratively, the easiest way. The city didn¡¯t have any city walls after all, so they could enter from anywhere.

    Huo Yuhao made sure that the space in between everyone was a little tighter before he shared his Spiritual Detection. They circled around Radiant City for almost a third of its circumference, and only when the sky hadpletely darkened did they find a gap, which Huo Yuhao swiftly brought everyone through and into Radiant City.

    There were fewer surveince soul tools once they entered Radiant City, since the majority of them were aimed outward.

    Huo Yuhao stopped using Imitation when they reached a dark and shady corner. He turned to the Titled Douluo and whispered, ¡°Luck has been on our side, seniors, and I¡¯ve managed to bring everyone inside. I will now return my interimmand to you, Body Douluo. What do we do next?¡±

    Huo Yuhao strongly adhered to the White Tiger Duke¡¯s reminder, that his main task had beenpleted once he brought these Titled Douluo into Radiant City. He would naturally no longer be the one directing things after that.

    Huo Yuhao could tell from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s words back then that this operation wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed on the surface. There had to be deeper things within, but since the Duke wasn¡¯t willing to tell him what the true aim of their mission was, he couldn¡¯t probe any further. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t involve himself too much.

    The Body Douluo, Du Busi nodded and said, ¡°Change your appearances, everyone, and split up to find a ce to settle down. We have arrived earlier than we predicted, so we should get familiar with our environment. Three individuals will form one team. Yuhao, you and Tang Wutong will form a team with me. We will use the transmission soul tools that we have prepared tomunicate, and we will use codes when we talk to each other.¡±

    The Titled Douluo nodded one by one as they began to disguise themselves.

    They were evidently prepared as they swiftly changed into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s clothing before they made some simple changes to their facial appearance.

    Anyone who could be a powerful Titled Douluo wasn¡¯t simple, and it didn¡¯t take long before they dispersed.

    Du Busi disguised himself as a middle-aged man in his forties, and even his body became strangely different. His originally broad and towering frame became much smaller, to the point where he seemed weak and frail. The other two powerful individuals from the Body Sect had also disguised themselves as his servants, and they were extremely inconspicuous.

 Chapter 524.1 - Secret of the Body

    Volume 37, Chapter 524.1: Secret of the Body

    It was much simpler for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. They didn¡¯t even need to put on makeup. Through Imitation, they managed to retain their youthful looks, but their appearances changed. For example, Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes became smaller, and her pinkish-blue hair turned brown, amon hair color in the Sun Moon Empire. Some minor changes also made her look more ordinary. Although she still appeared delicate, she was not as ravishing as before.

    Du Busi smiled when he saw how they looked. He said, ¡°Not bad. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    After walking out of the dark alleyway, they didn¡¯t need to avoid the ordinary surveince soul tools due to their camouge. They righteously walked onto the streets and found an inn to stay in.

    Radiant City was very prosperous. Ever since the Sun Moon Empire upied two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯snd, Xu Tianran consolidated his position in the empire even further. His throne was now very stable, especially after Ju Zi bore him a Crown Prince.

    Xu Tianran and Ju Zi named their son Xu Yunhan. One month after his birth, he was named the Crown Prince.

    For an empire, a Crown Prince represented its future. Furthermore, Xu Tianran was disabled. This made a Crown Prince even more paramount.

    Ever since the Crown Prince was named, some of the doubts that came from the imperial family disappeared. Xu Tianran was finally respected as the Emperor.

    Ju Zi was also well-loved by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens. The story of how she became the Empress spread widely. She was just an ordinary civilian who was saved by Xu Tianran when he was still a Crown Prince. After that, she hurt herself seriously to save him, which touched him. Eventually, she became the Empress. With Xu Tianran¡¯s help, Ju Zi slowly revealed her extraordinary talent in military matters. After Xu Tianran ascended to the throne, she umted merits and became the Marshal of the Three Armies, leading the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army in its domination over the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Within the Sun Moon Empire, the story that spread was that the Heavenly Soul Empire would have beenpletely annexed if not for the fact that Ju Zi was pregnant, and had to return to the empire to nurse her baby.

    Ju Zi was also known as a Goddess of War. In some areas, she was even more outstanding than Xu Tianran.

    Undoubtedly, everything about Ju Zi was intentionally spread under Xu Tianran¡¯s orders. First, it was a means of making amends to her. Second, Xu Tianran was disabled and couldn¡¯t do many things on his own. He needed someone he trusted to perform tasks for him. Ju Zi was a female. If she wanted to be in the limelight, she needed to be more glorious. This was why Xu Tianran did so much to ensure that she shone as much as possible.

    Of course, there was one more reason why she was being pushed into the limelight. This was because she had earned the recognition of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. In a few fights, she demonstrated her talent, and won over many generals. Whenever she was involved in a fight, the Sun Moon Empire always made headway. When she returned to the empire, things changed at the frontline. She had earned her reputation as a Goddess of War.

    After settling down, Huo Yuhao told the Body Douluo before bringing Tang Wutong out to roam the streets.

    ¡°Yuhao, aren¡¯t you going to ask the Body Douluo about the true goal of this mission?¡± Tang Wutong asked him.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Why should I ask if he doesn¡¯t want to tell? I think we aren¡¯t the only ones in the dark. Many of the Titled Douluo on this mission probably don¡¯t know the true goal of this mission. Only the Body Douluo and Heavenly Sun Douluo know.¡±

    ¡°My mentality is different from before. I was fearless in the past. Then, I didn¡¯t have you by my side. I didn¡¯t know whether I could find you. However, things are different now. With you by my side, my greatest mission is to bring you back safely. I also hope to return safely with you. That¡¯s enough. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not probing too much. Why should I bring more trouble to myself?¡±

    Tang Wutong stopped in her tracks. As Huo Yuhao was holding her hand, he also naturally stopped.

    Tang Wutong looked at him, and there seemed to be something in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, ¡°What? Are you touched?¡±

    Tang Wutong lifted her hand and caressed his face. ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve matured.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed her hand. ¡°You¡¯ve recovered your memories this time and returned to my side. I¡¯ve thought over many things clearly. I don¡¯t want to be a hero that saves the world. I don¡¯t care about my reputation either. You are the most important thing in my heart. As long as you are by my side, so what if I lose the world?¡±

    ¡°I worked tirelessly in my cultivation and improved myself in the hope that I could better protect you and my loved ones. Wutong, I love you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very calm. So was his gaze. However, it was his words that made Tang Wutong tear up a little, and she was gently pulled into his embrace.

    ¡°Me too. I love you too, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to hug her too tightly. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being attacked by the seal, but afraid of attracting attention if he triggered it.

    They only hugged gently. However, he still felt very warm in his heart.

    At this moment, amotion could be heard on the streets. Fully armored Soldiers were running over.

    These soldiers were all very tall andrge. As they ran over, they appeared very domineering. They didn¡¯t try to avoid anyone at all. Those who couldn¡¯t react in time were knocked over.

    Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao were on the streets too, but they couldn¡¯t reveal their extraordinary speed right now. Huo Yuhao could only turn his body and block Tang Wutong. At the same time, he pushed her as they got out of the soldiers¡¯ way.

    The soldier running at the front knocked into Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. The resultant force did nothing to worry Huo Yuhao. However, he still staggered a few steps to the side. He even let out a groan. His acting was top-grade.

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed as he said, ¡°These people are really party poopers!¡±

    Tang Wutong chuckled andmented, ¡°This is not the effect of my father¡¯s seal.¡±

    The bystanders on the streets were also displeased. Of course, they weren¡¯t too loud with theirints.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Imperial Guards again. They¡¯re revolting. They don¡¯t treat us as humans at all. Recently, His Majesty has wanted to organize a Grand Sacrificial Ceremony. These Imperial Guards have beening out of the pce on many asions, and we¡¯re the ones suffering for it.¡±

    Imperial Guards?

    Huo Yuhao squinted. In the Sun Moon Empire, the imperial family held the greatest power. Among them, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was naturally the strongest. They are also called the Imperial Court Soul Engineer Legion, and were the strongest among the Hand that Protects the Nation. The Imperial Pce of Consecration, also known as the Research Institute, was next. As for how strong the Sun Moon Empire was, no one fully knew.

    There was going to be a Grand Sacrificial Ceremony. However, Huo Yuhao realized that assassinating Xu Tianran was almost impossible after entering Radiant City. Xu Tianran controlled the core strength of the Sun Moon Empire right now. How was it going to be easy to kill him?

    After making turns along the streets and grabbing a bite to eat, Huo Yuhao brought Tang Wutong back to their inn. Once they entered, he heard Du Busi¡¯s voice.

    Huo Yuhao asked Tang Wutong to return to their room first. He came to Du Busi¡¯s room.

    Du Busi was in a single room on his own. The other two Titled Douluo from the Body Sect also had their own rooms.

    When he saw Huo Yuhao, Du Busi raised his hand. The entire room was suddenly covered by a dim-green glow. If one wasn¡¯t observant enough, they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect any difference. However, Huo Yuhao was horrified to discover that his Spiritual Detection had been isted.

    Powerful.

    At Du Busi¡¯s level and cultivation, his soul and spiritual power were almostpletely fused. He was like Elder Xuan before ¨C one step from bing an Ultimate Douluo. However, it was a pity that he didn¡¯t have a Qiankun Fortune Pill to help him. In addition, he was critically hurt before. It would take some time before he couldplete thatst step.

    ¡°How is it? Did you discover anything while you were out?¡± Du Busi asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Things are normal in Radiant City. The surveince soul tools in the city have covered almost the entire city. However, more surveince soul tools are pointed towards the outside of the city rather than inside the city. The Grand Sacrificial Ceremony is indeed in progress. Everything fits the information that we¡¯ve been given.¡±

    Du Busi nodded and replied, ¡°Yuhao, we have another mission apart from assassinating Xu Tianran.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was shocked as he stared at Du Busi. Even though he had already deduced that, he was still astonished when Du Busi mentioned it. He knew exactly what this meant. It was Du Busi¡¯s recognition of him. However, at the same time, it also meant that Du Busi was dragging him into this mission.

    Huo Yuhao started to regret havinge. He was too young. If not for the fact that he had performed very well all this while, Du Busi wouldn¡¯t have recognized his abilities. If that didn¡¯t happen, he wouldn¡¯t be roped in on this side mission.

    Huo Yuhao continued to act stunned as he asked, ¡°What other mission is there? Are you talking about bombing the munitions warehouse?¡±

 Chapter 524.2 - Secret of the Body

    Chapter 524.2: Secret of the Body

    Du Busi shook his head and answered, ¡°Bombing their munitions warehouses is only our way of attracting their attention. In fact, you can¡¯t imagine how heavily guarded they are. That¡¯s why we just need to create chaos by bombing them. After that, we¡¯ll try to assassinate Xu Tianran. At the same time, there¡¯s another mission.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°There¡¯s another mission? The White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t tell me anything!¡±

    Du Busi said, ¡°That¡¯s because this important mission is supposed to bepleted by the Heavenly Sun Douluo and myself. Only the two of us know our true goal. Your Spiritual Detection is very strong. That¡¯s something we hadn¡¯t thought of before. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll won¡¯t give you the most difficult task. We¡¯ve already nned everything out. We hope that you can receive us when we finish it, no matter whether we seed or fail. Your job is to ensure that the Titled Douluo involved in this mission can escape sessfully.¡±

    After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao instantly heaved a sigh of relief. It was great that he didn¡¯t need to be exposed to danger. The Sun Moon Empire was a lion¡¯s den. If even Du Busi was being so prudent, it showed how difficult the uing mission was. It was best that he didn¡¯t need to be directly part of it. As for receiving them, that was the least he could do. Ensuring that the strength of the three empires in the original Douluo Continent was preserved was very critical in stopping the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to help everyone escape.¡± Huo Yuhao agreed without any hesitation.

    Du Busi was pleased, and he smiled. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll n an escape route. When the timees, you shall receive us from this route. Whether we seed or not, you should help everyone who returns. Once we meet you, our safety will be in your hands.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t agree immediately this time. He thought for a moment before nodding and saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Du Busi didn¡¯t immediately reveal the escape route. Rather, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a small booklet before passing it to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you met Mu En instead of me. I¡¯m giving you this booklet. Take it as a reward for helping us this time.¡±

    The booklet was the size of a palm, but Huo Yuhao was astonished to find out that it was very heavy when he received it. It had to weigh at least five kilos.

    The booklet was dim gold. There were four exquisitely written words on the cover, ¡°Secrets of the Body¡±.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned when he saw these four words. He immediately lifted his head to look at Du Busi, but only saw a gentle look in his eyes.

    ¡°Elder, I can¡¯t take this. It¡¯s too¡­¡± Huo Yuhao subconsciously passed the booklet back.

    Du Busi waved him off and refused to take the booklet back. He calmly said, ¡°Do you know how much the Body Sect has suffered during the fight between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire at the border?¡±

    ¡°Almost two-thirds of the elites in the Body Sect have died, including our few most talented soul masters from the younger generation. The Body Sect is only still around because I survived. However, once I die, the Body Sect will perish along with me.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is much stronger than I expected. In the past, I was too self-absorbed and self-confident. When we secretly attacked the Sun Moon Empire, we even dealt a huge blow to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Then, I was so confident that we could deal with them. However, that seems like a joke now. I was just like a frog in a well. I lost my relevance, which led to our destruction. However, I believe that the Body Sect can still survive. All the soul masters in the Body Sect are uniquely talented. Your martial soul is also a body soul. You should be able to sense the difference between a martial soul and a body soul.¡±

    ¡°We are much more talented than ordinary soul masters, and we canprehend things better. This allows us toplete the fusion of our soul and spiritual power more easily. In terms of abilities, we are far beyond those evil soul masters who don¡¯t have any future. However, we lost. But we didn¡¯t lose in terms of talent or abilities, but our vision. It was my mistake. That¡¯s why I have to do something for the sect no matter what.¡±

    ¡°This booklet contains many secrets of body souls. It¡¯s also the most important collection in the Body Sect. Only the Body Douluo can inherit this booklet. I¡¯m lending it to you temporarily. If I survive this mission, return it to me. If I die, please send it to Shrek Academy and ask the academy to return it to the Body Sect. In the meantime, I permit you to go through its contents.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me either. I¡¯m not just doing this to help you. At the same time, I hope to glorify body souls even further. Although you are Mu En¡¯s disciple, that doesn¡¯t take away the fact that you have a body soul. When your body soul bes stronger, you¡¯ll be a Body Douluo. Whether you are willing or not, it¡¯s the truth. If the Body Sect perishes in the future, please help me to pass down the heritage and preserve the spirit of the sect when you meet a soul master with a body soul in the future. Take it as a payment for reading the contents of this booklet. What do you think?¡±

    Was there any reason for Huo Yuhao to reject it? The answer was no.

    Huo Yuhao was still deep in thought when he walked out from Du Busi¡¯s room. Yes, he wasn¡¯t happy just because he had obtained the ¡®Secrets of the Body¡¯. From Du Busi¡¯s words, he could tell that he wasn¡¯t in good condition. Furthermore, it seemed like he was the only one who thought that he wouldn¡¯t return alive. It clearly felt as if he was entrusting the book to Huo Yuhao!

    He wasn¡¯t just entrusting the book. He was entrusting the entire Body Sect.

    After returning to his own room, Huo Yuhao sat down in a chair and opened the book. Tang Wutong came to his side. When she saw the words ¡®Secrets of the Body¡¯, she was also astonished.

    Huo Yuhao told her what Du Busi had told him quietly. After he finished, Tang Wutong furrowed her brow. ¡°Yuhao, the Heavenly Soul Empire is done.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a bitter smile on his face. He agreed with Tang Wutong. If even the Body Sect was in such bad shape that their sect leader had to entrust the entire sect to Huo Yuhao, it must mean that the Heavenly Soul Empire was doomed. Once theirst line of defense fell, the entire empire would be gone. The only thing they could do now was hang on as long as they could.

    From the Body Douluo¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao could tell that half of the elites of the Heavenly Soul Empire had been killed when the Sun Moon Empire first invaded Heaven Dou City. They were now truly crippled.

    Although Du Busi didn¡¯t reveal the true goal of this mission, it seemed like this mission was very important, given that he appeared to put all his eggs into one basket. However, it might also be that he was trying to deal onest blow to the Sun Moon Empire before he died.

    Huo Yuhao flipped open the first page of the book. The material used to make this book was unknown. Not only was it heavy, but it was also very tough.

    The first page didn¡¯t contain the contents of the book. It was a piece of paper that was stuffed into the book.

    ¡°I¡¯ve ruled the sect for more than two hundred years, but now I¡¯m the one who has doomed the sect. It¡¯s my fault. My arrogance has caused the sect to fall behind the times. One is bound to be abandoned if he falls behind the times. However, this should not be happening to the Body Sect. A body soul is a godly gift. It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have time to adapt to the times anymore. Anyone from the Body Sect should remember that soul tools are the future. In this future, we need to be able to stand out. Thebination of a body soul and soul tools will be bound to astonish the world ¨C Du Busi.¡±

    After reading these words, Huo Yuhao felt even more pressure. Given Du Busi¡¯s identity and status, he had actually said such self-defamatory words. This could only mean that something was destined to happen.

    However, thest few sentences left Huo Yuhao stunned.

    It had to do with thebination of body souls and soul tools. Isn¡¯t this the direction that Teacher Xuan and I discovered? We have a new n because of this new path.

    Yes, body souls allowed one toprehend things better. More importantly, a specific body part of a soul master would be much stronger if that part was a body soul.

    To put things into simpler terms, if a soul master¡¯s martial soul was his hand, he would be able to handle much stronger soul tools using his hand.

    It was just like Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. In his case, his eyes were able to handle much stronger soul tools.

    Du Busi knew what the future was going to be like. However, just like he mentioned, he had discovered it toote. He no longer had the opportunity to adapt.

    Huo Yuhao gently took the piece of paper out and saw that the front page of the book was inscribed with the words ¡®Godly Gift¡¯.

    There was a paragraph of words below it.

    ¡°Humans are a gift of the gods. They retained the intelligence of the gods. Among humans, there are those who preserve the divine power of gods.¡±

    The Body Sect clearly treated body souls as godly gifts. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fully agree with such an idea, the sect must have their own reasoning, since it was a legacy that had been passed down for years.

    As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao squinted and continued reading¡­

 Chapter 524.3 - Secret of the Body

    Volume 37, Chapter 524.3: Secret of the Body

    Five dayster.

    The atmosphere in Radiant City felt evidently more serious and imposingpared to normal. Early in the morning, the usually bustling city became very quiet. Apart from some stores that sold daily necessities, most of the stores chose to cease business for the day.

    This was because it was the day of the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony.

    The Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, would be at the outskirts of the city to attend the ceremony. He was going to pay his respects to heaven and earth, as well as the ancestors of the Sun Moon Empire.

    The territories of the Sun Moon Empire had expanded greatly in the short period of time after Xu Tianran ascended to the throne. This ceremony was more of a ceremony to unt his achievements. At the same time, he was warning everyone to be prepared for the day that he ruled over the entire continent

    Preparations for this Grand Sacrificial Ceremony had been in motion for many months. Many resources, including workers, money and materials, were tapped into for this ceremony.

    Many citizens streamed out of the city in the early hours of the day. They came to the outskirts and prepared to witness the beginning of this glorious ceremony.

    On the main streets of Radiant City, the soldiers wore helmets as they stood at the sides. The entire ce was heavily guarded. An intense, solemn aura filled the entire city.

    The citizens proceeded towards the southern outskirts in an orderly fashion under the eyes of the army.

    This ceremony was extremely grand. For it, the Sun Moon Empire had deployed an army of more than a hundred thousand men.

    At the southern outskirts, a huge sacrificial altar had already been constructed half a month ago. The altar was a tform that was weirdly-shaped. The left side was circr, while the right was like a crescent. The significance of such a design had to do with the Sun and the Moon, which symbolized the Sun Moon Empire.

    The circr sacrificial altar was more than ten thousand square meters in area, and up to a hundred feet high. It was madepletely from granite. There was even a six-story tform above the original tform. Each and every story of this tform was shaped exactly like the original tform, just that they were increasingly smaller in size. The tform at the top was only a thousand square meters in size.

    From the bottom to the top, the colors of the tforms were respectively red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue and violet. They represented the colors of the rainbow, and signified everything in heaven and earth.

    There was a total of eight stone stairways around the sacrificial altar. They all led to the top.

    This altar wasn¡¯t only used once. It was passed down from generation to generation, and its sole purpose was to pay respects to the heavens.

    The altar was heavily guarded. There were soul formations in each of the four cardinal directions. Even though the scale of the soul formations wasn¡¯t asrge as that of their soul engineer legions, these soul formations were constructed by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. The technology used was the most advanced as of yet.

    Of the hundred thousand man army that was deployed to this ceremony, forty thousand guarded the altar. The rest were stationed elsewhere. Most of the soldiers were responsible for maintaining order.

    The sky was already starting to turn bright. The sun shone on the majestic grand altar, which exuded a rainbow glow. From afar, it was a magnificent sight.

    All seven altarsbined reached a total height of a hundred feet, which was much higher than the tallest skyscraper in Radiant City. It was bound to be one of the symbolic structures of the Sun Moon Empire in the future.

    Under the soldiers¡¯ orders, the citizens were crowded around the altar until there was hardly any space left. There were more than twenty million citizens in the Sun Moon Empire. They formed the core of the empire. Even if there weren¡¯t ten million people here to watch today, there were still a couple of million. The entire ce was densely popted right now, and it was difficult to see the end of the sea of people.

    The time of the ceremony was set at around nine in the morning. The energy from the sun was the strongest then, and it signified the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s continuous rise in the future.

    In the distance, a group decked in bright yellow was slowly proceeding towards the sacrificial altar from Radiant City.

    As this group passed, the soldiers opened a path for them. At the front, there was a huge dragon sedan carried by a thousand and twenty-four men. The sedan was covered in silk satin, and there were images of flying dragons embroidered on the silk. However, the images of the Sun and Moon were embroidered in the most core positions of the sedan.

    This was Xu Tianran¡¯s dragon sedan. At this moment, Xu Tianran was seated in his sedan. He wore a nine-dragon, purplish-gold crown on his head, and was dressed in an elegant, brocade robe that was only fitting for the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi, who was sitting beside him, was also dressed in an extremely elegant, bright yellow pce robe. She wore a smile on her face, and her headdress was adorned with the most expensive gems.

    The curtains around the sedan were raised, so that all the citizens could see the most powerful couple in the world.

    ¡°Long live His Majesty!¡± The soldiers lifted their weapons and greeted Xu Tianran at the same time.

    Suddenly, all the citizens kneeled down in the direction of the sedan at the same time.

    Xu Tianran appeared very dignified as he sat on the sedan. He was also felt very proud of himself at this moment.

    When he lost his legs, his world seemed to turnpletely dark. However, he was now the ruler of the Sun Moon Empire. He was even the future ruler of the entire continent.

    When he saw the millions of people bowing down to him, Xu Tianran could sense luck and fortuneing his way. That feeling was magical.

    Paying respects to the heavens was only an act, but bringing the people together was important to stabilize the empire. Carrying out such a ceremony was what Xu Tianran wanted to do after he ascended to the throne.

    Over the past two years, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent had made rapid developments. They had developed their soul tools and recruited more soldiers. But wasn¡¯t it the same for the Sun Moon Empire?

    Xu Tianran got his rhythmpletely right. At the beginning, his position as the Emperor wasn¡¯t very stable. However, he stood his ground and initiated an invasion with the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s support.

    Why? It was to distract attention away from the internal conflicts in the empire. Whether his officials supported him or not, they knew what to do as long as they were intelligent enough. Defeating their enemies was the main priority.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t disappoint either. She relied on her wits and astonishing military talent to unleash the full advantages of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, dominating the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires. In the end, she attained marvelous results.

    Although the war had already stopped before the Heavenly Soul Empire waspletely upied, one couldn¡¯t deny the fact that Xu Tianran had expanded the Sun Moon Empire. At this point, he chose to slow down his attacks and solidify the empire¡¯s defenses after listening to Ju Zi¡¯s suggestion. Instead, the empire would turn to soul tool technology to earn the trust and respect of the people in the upied Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, Xu Tianran turned his attention inward.

    Due to the achievements made during the war, there were much fewer objections. Ju Zi¡¯s pregnancy and the birth of the Crown Prince also served to further consolidate Xu Tianran¡¯s position. In just a short two years, he hadpletely silenced all his doubters. He was now the true ruler of his empire.

    However, all of this still wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy his desires. He was too ambitious. He wanted to rule over the entire world and the entire Douluo Continent. He wanted to avenge the Holy War that the Sun Moon Empire had lost four thousand years ago.

    This was why he wanted to pay respects to the heavens. He wanted to use this ceremony to tell the world that the Douluo Continent belonged to him and the Sun Moon Empire. After this ceremony, the Holy War would begin.

    Ju Zi silently sat beside Xu Tianran. She could sense the heat from his body. It wasn¡¯t a change in his body temperature, but a manifestation of his ambitions. He was like the Sun as everyone watched him, releasing a bright yet dominant glow from his body.

    Ju Zi was wearing a grin on her face throughout. After she gave birth, she appeared even more ssy, elegant and mature. Her figure also became more voluptuous. Her originally smooth and delicate skin was even more moisturized now.

    Xu Tianran patted Ju Zi¡¯s hand and jolted her back to her senses.

    Ju Zi smiled as she said, ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty. You are the Emperor of Eternity.¡±

    Xu Tianran also revealed a smile on his face, ¡°No matter what I own, I¡¯ll share it with you. Are you still unhappy? I didn¡¯t bring the Crown Prince along because he¡¯s too young. He¡¯ll be scared to see so many people.¡±

    Ju Zi gently shook her head and replied, ¡°Why would I be unhappy? Your decision is right. I¡¯ve already thought it through.¡±

    Xu Tianran replied, ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. Once the ceremony is over, I¡¯ll follow you to see Yunhan.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ju Zi nodded.

    She naturally knew why Xu Tianran didn¡¯t want to bring her son for this ceremony. This was because he wasn¡¯t his biological son. Moreover, so what if they were biologically rted? Given his character, he wanted to be the Emperor of Eternity. His dream took precedence over everything else. To him, the Crown Prince was only a tool. Of course, she was also a tool.

    Finally, the dragon sedan arrived in front of the altar.

    Xu Tianran stood up and held Ju Zi¡¯s hand before slowing descending from the dragon sedan. After this, they walked up the altar.

    Right now, the bottom tform of the altar was filled with people. Those who were fit to be on the altar were all important figures in the Sun Moon Empire. To them, being here was an absolute honor.

    The cheers of the citizens were very rapturous. It was astounding! The soundwaves created by a few million people echoed extremely far away.

    Xu Tianran wore a smile on his face. Ju Zi wasn¡¯t the only one who could sense his gloss. Everyone on the altar could also sense it. Their hearts trembling, they kneeled down and bowed to him.

    They could sense that the Sun Moon Empire would rule the entire continent in the near future.

    Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t quick, but he was steady. When he reached the sixth tform, he naturally let go of Ju Zi¡¯s hand. Ju Zi stopped and watched as he climbed up to the seventh tform.

    Yes, he was the only one who ascended to the seventh tform.

    The seventh tform was adorned with many elegant patterns. A huge hexagram array reflected dim golden lights. In the center of this hexagram array, an image of the Sun and Moon was blinding. The Sun was golden, while the Moon was silver. Gold and silver intersected andplemented each other.

 Chapter 525: Du Busis Rage

    <strong>Volume 37, Chapter 525: Du Busi''s Rage</strong>

    There was a vigorous look of passion in Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes.

    Yes, only I, as the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire and future ruler of the entire continent and the entire world, wield the right to step onto the seventh tform of this Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar.

    He ascended step by step until he reached the center of the tform. When he was above the image of the Sun and Moon, he waspletely covered in a gold and silver glow.

    ¡°Ring, ring, ring¡ª¡ª¡± An rm that sounded like the groan of a giant beast sounded. The ceremony had officially begun.

    After this, a total of a hundred and eight firecrackers were set off. The sounds of these firecrackers echoed for more than fifty kilometers.

    Xu Tianran, who was at the top of the altar right now, was like the ruler of the entire world right now. He opened his arms wide and peered into the sky. He basked in the sunlight, and his face was filled with pride and mightiness.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡± The booms continued to sound, but the expressions of a few people started to change.

    These were intelligent people. The sounds of the firecrackers seemed a little weird; they seemed a little too loud.

    In the distance, there appeared to be lights shing from the east side of Radiant City.

    Xu Tianran didn¡¯t seem to hear anything. He continued with the ceremony.

    All types of sacrificial items were slowly raised along the sides of the seventh tform. These items were very specifically chosen over and over again.

    The firecrackers had ceased by now, but there were still boomsing from afar.

    Xu Tianran squinted and furrowed his brow slightly. However, he still continued with the ceremony. He gradually kneeled down and kowtowed to the heavens.

    He was supposed to rise after this and give a speech. After his speech, there would be a series ofplicated ceremonial processes.

    Some of the people on the lower tforms had quietly left. They proceeded eastwards. Though the Emperor couldn¡¯t personally go and find out what was happening, his subordinates could do so. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s biggest munitions warehouse was located in the eastern suburbs. There were many stationary soul cannon shells stored in it.

    After they were used in the war, stationary soul cannon shells had proven themselves to be the most effective on battlefields. The main reason for this was that their effective range was considerably great.

    The rest of the soul tools¡¯ effective ranges were rather limited. Only stationary soul cannon shells had an effective range so great that it could cover the entire expanse of the continent, even though that was just theoretical. With their current technology, they could be fired from tens of kilometers away. They were the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s lethal weapons.

    Furthermore, after the previous major explosion of their warehouse in Radiant City which caused major losses to the Sun Moon Empire, how would they dare to lower their guard?

    Eastern suburbs.

    Cannon shells were fired in quick session in the direction of the munitions warehouse. However, the weird thing was that they seemed to be fired from the void. No soul tools could be seen at all.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong held hands and quietly stood on the seemingly empty ground. However, the ground wasn¡¯t actually empty. Ten Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons had been unleashed to their full effect under the concealment of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo and nine other Titled Douluo were standing with both of them.

    If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain, the attack wouldn¡¯t have proceeded on so smoothly. However, it had indeed fooled the aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. At least, the attack was achieving its intended effect for now.

    The attack was being carried out sessfully, but of course it didn¡¯t cause any damage. In the distance, a bright yellow barrier engulfed the warehouse. It had been activated upon contact. When the cannon shells fired by the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons touched this barrier, only ripples were formed.

    Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were manufactured by the Tang Sect, while the ss 4 shells that they fired were designed by Huo Yuhao. He was naturally very familiar with them.

    Huo Yuhao was expressionless as he stood there. He sighed in his heart. ording to Du Busi¡¯s n, he and Tang Wutong would bid goodbye to the Heavenly Sun Douluo and the rest after the first round of attacks. They had to immediately prepare for the retreat and receive those who were carrying out the real mission.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°It¡¯s about time. People from the Sun Moon Empire are about to arrive. Let¡¯s make a move first. Both of you should quickly retreat. Follow the original n.¡±

    ¡°Alright elders, please take care.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo smiled and waved. He led the other nine Titled Douluo away. All of their bodies had an ethereal light film over them. After they exited Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain and were no longer concealed by his Imitation, they still needed to conceal themselves.

    This is? Concealment soul tool?

    Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he watched them leave.

    Concealment soul tools. I believe even the Sun Moon Empire is only in the experimental stage. I didn¡¯t expect these Titled Douluo to possess them already.

    However, Huo Yuhao was a ss 9 soul engineer. Very soon, he could tell what the catch was. They were indeed concealment soul tools, but it seemed like only Titled Douluo could operate them from the soul power undtions that were being released. These soul tools that they were using were probably just half-finished. They could only be effectively maintained through the immense soul power undtions of Titled Douluo. Compared to his own Imitation, these soul tools drained much more soul power.

    I hope they seed with their n!

    Huo Yuhao had no habit of wasting things. He quickly stopped firing the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and put them away in his Starlight Sapphire Ring.

    A cold look also surfaced on his face. The Sun Moon Empire reacts very quickly indeed. Their people are here after just a few attacks.

    A massive silver web suddenly appeared in the clear sky. It wasn¡¯t a real web, but was formed using energy. It covered several thousands of square meters, and it was quickly engulfing Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    It was capturing-type linked soul tool.

    The Sun Moon Empire indeed has all kinds of powerful soul tools! Huo Yuhao was only able to think of this because he wasposed enough.

    He grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand tightly, and blinding silver light instantly shone from their backs. At this instant, a deafening boom resonated through the air. Following this, both of them turned into two beams of flowing light and quickly shot into the distance.

    They were simply too quick. They were so quick that Huo Yuhao was unable to maintain his Imitation and domain. He had to fully focus his attention on protecting his body.

    However, this extreme speed enabled both of them to quickly flee from the engulfing web.

    Following this, a series of tremendous booms rang out from beneath the web.

    It was the high-explosive bomb that Huo Yuhao had left behind. The extreme temperature generated from the bomb was enough to wipe away any traces of them ever being there.

    Silver lights shed in the sky, and were naturally captured by the aerial surveince soul tools in the air. However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried at all. This was because they were already so quick that they were no longer afraid of being chased by any soldiers.

    They overcame the sound barrier as they traveled at supersonic speed. In an instant, they covered more than fifty kilometers.

    No matter how well-equipped the Sun Moon Empire was in terms of aerial surveince soul tools, they could only install these soul tools in and around Radiant City. They couldn¡¯t possibly cover the entire region.

    This was why Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong werepletely out of the range of the aerial surveince soul tools in just a matter of moments. When they slowed down, Huo Yuhao used his Imitation to conceal both of them again.

    Huo Yuhao peered into the distance as hended on a mountain. However, he wasn¡¯t looking at the eastern suburbs, but the southern suburbs where the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony was taking ce. I wonder how the Body Douluo and the rest are doing.

    The booms from the eastern suburbs had ceased after some time. Xu Tianran kowtowed again after he finished reciting his speech.

    At this moment, a weird aura could be felt in the air. The sky also turned ridiculously dark.

    The originally bright sunlight was blocked off by gloomy clouds. The Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar also turned dimmer instantly.

    The entire sky descended into darkness as the millions of citizens watched. Suddenly, the people began to feel terrified.

    Xu Tianran finally turned grim.

    This ceremony was chosen to be held on this auspicious day, which was determined after many rounds of verification. The gloomy clouds were certainly not a natural phenomenon. If it wasn¡¯t natural, it had to be the doing of humans.

    ¡°Xu Tianran, you are too ambitious. The heavens cannot stand you. I¡¯ll perform justice on behalf of the heavens today and deal with you.¡± Vigorous soundwaves sounded in the air. Everyone could clearly hear the words.

    Xu Tianran stood straight and coldly looked into the sky.

    In the sky, a giant that resembled a god tore the gloomy clouds apart and walked out.

    This giant was more than a hundred feet tall, and waspletely jade-green. There was even a purple fog surrounding him. Wasn¡¯t he the Body Douluo, Du Busi?

    Xu Tianran coldly said, ¡°Demonic arts. How dare you disrupt today¡¯s ceremony! Today, I shall you use your blood to pay respects to the heavens. I¡¯ll kill you, you demonic creature.¡±

    As he shouted, more than ten figures rose into the sky. Following this, a golden glow rose from the sides of the altar. It turned into a huge barrier thatpletely engulfed the altar.

    There were many imperial family members and senior officials from the Sun Moon Empire on the altar. Xu Tianran was wary as they faced Du Busi, who was almost an Ultimate Douluo. He couldn¡¯t afford to lose anyone here.

    And yet, he didn¡¯t really regard Du Busi very highly.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡ª¡±

    Tremendous booms sounded from the four corners. Tragic screams and cries were immediately heard.

    This time, Xu Tianran¡¯s expression changed. He was horrified as he roared, ¡°Du Busi, how dare you disregard the principles of soul masters and let your meny their hands on ordinary people?¡±

    There were millions of citizens here! The amount of destruction that could be caused was terrifying.

    ¡°My empire has fallen, and my sect is on the brink of copse. What principles do I still have to adhere to? The Body Sect has never had principles before either. If we are punished by the heavens, I¡¯ll shoulder all the punishment. Hahahahahaha.¡±

    Du Busiughed maniacally. He lifted his hands, and a terrifying aura was exuded from his body. It turned into a form of power that suppressed the ten figures that were rising up.

    At this moment, the gloomy clouds in the sky started to shake. A long sigh sounded. ¡°Old Du, why do you have to do this?¡±

    Du Busi focused his gaze. ¡°I knew you woulde. What about thatss? Ask her along as well.¡±

    A figure silently appeared in the air. He was dressed in a ck robe, and his white hair flowed freely. He was drifting high up in the sky, and had no intention of backing away. Any form of power that attempted to reach him was easily ovee by an invisible force. Nothing coulde within three feet of him.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon God Douluo Long Xiaoyao, who was a true Ultimate Douluo, had finally appeared.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, ¡°Du Busi, leave. You can still leave now. I wouldn¡¯t have appeared if you didn¡¯ty your hands on the ordinary citizens. If you massacre lives, you¡¯ll be filled with vengeance, and you¡¯ll never reincarnate.¡±

    Du Busiughed maniacally and said, ¡°Hahaha, this is funny. This is too funny. You¡¯re such a hypocrite. How dare you talk about massacring lives in front of me? You are in cahoots with them. How is it that you have the cheek to admonish me? Although Mu En is a big enemy of my sect, I respect him a lot. He protected Shrek City. What about you? For a woman, you are willing to work with evil soul masters. If Mu En were still alive, he¡¯d definitely be ashamed to be mentioned in the same breath as you.¡±

    The killings had already begun around the altar. They weren¡¯t just ordinary soul masters. They were Transcendent Douluo. They had hidden themselves among the crowd, and were now starting to be violent. Their violence turned the entire venue into a river of blood.

    Even though powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire rushed over immediately, how could they possibly stop this terrifying massacre?

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, ¡°How can you understand my thoughts? Stop the killings.¡±

    As he spoke, he punched in Du Busi¡¯s direction. Du Busi snorted coldly. He didn¡¯t move at all, and just extended his palm.

    Suddenly, the entire sky seemed to move with his palm. The winds started to rage.

    A ck fist of energy erged as it moved through the air. It collided with Du Busi¡¯s palm.

    There weren¡¯t anyrge noises. The sky only shook. The shaking might seem very gentle, but it stopped everyone on the ground. Even the golden barrier protecting the altar started to ripple.

    Du Busi roared into the skies. Following this, a blinding purplish me rose from his body. He instantly grew in size once again, until he was more than three hundred feet wide, and a thousand meters tall. His terrifying aura pushed the ten figures back to the ground. Some of the weaker ones were even crushed into powder.

 Chapter 526.1 - Du Busis Death

    Chapter 526.1: Du Busi¡¯s Death

    All these dead people were soul engineers. Even though they were able to utilize soul tools to enhance their fighting abilities to a level which could rival a Titled Douluo, their body¡¯s toughness was iparable to a Titled Douluo¡¯s. Hence, a lot of them perished immediately after Du Busi released his power.

    However, they were not the only ones who were affected by Du Busi. Even the Dragon God Douluo¡ªLong Xiaoyao¡ªfound himself rapidly descending after Du Busi released his power. He was in disbelief as he tried to steady his body.

    ¡°Du Busi, are you crazy? You actually ignited your own fire of life?! This will detonate your soul core!¡±

    Du Busi¡¯s eerieughter vanished as he said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want to do. I want to detonate my soul core and take all of you cursed people of the Sun Moon Empire down to hell with me. Listen to me, hypocrite! I am not afraid of death. I just want to see how the Sun Moon Empire can attack my homnd¡ªthe Heavenly Soul Empire, after everyone present dies with me! Hahahaha!¡±

    Long Xiaoyao was shocked by Du Busi¡¯s words. He had not expected Du Busi to make such a brutal decision.

    There was not a single person who was not afraid of death. In fact, the stronger a person was, the likelier he or she feared death. After all, only the strong and powerful could enjoy this world.

    When one had attained the Ultimate Douluo rank or was close to it, one could live beyond three hundred years if nothing unfortunate were to happen. Because Du Busi was the sect leader of the Body Sect and was responsible for protecting it, Long Xiaoyao did not expect him to choose to ignite his fire of life at this moment.

    One must understand that the intensity of the fire of life was proportional to the strength of the soul master. As the intensity of the fire of life increased, it would be harder to douse it. Such irreversible scenarios would definitely result in the death of the soul master. At the same time, this would enhance the soul master¡¯s abilities to an unprecedented level.

    At that very instant when Du Busi ignited his fire of life, his cultivation level had been forced to an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s level. And as the fire continued to rage, he was about to be stronger.

    Because he had already ignited his fire of life, Du Busi no longer had any reservations or worries. Once the fire of life had finished burning, it would start to disrupt his soul core.

    That soul core belonged to a Rank 98 Titled Douluo! One could only imagine how powerful the explosion would be!

    There were millions of lives beneath them. Once his soul core exploded, every life below them would be ravaged.

    From the above, it was clear why Titled Douluo were strategic pirs of strength for every empire. They possessed too much destructive power to be allowed to turn crazy and wreak havoc as they pleased.

    As soul tool technology improved in the Sun Moon Empire, some of them had started to disregard the abilities of soul masters. However, Du Busi was about to give them a timely reminder of the invincible power of soul masters by burning his fire of life. At this moment, he was like an unbelievably powerful, unstoppable ss 10 stationary soul cannon shell.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was very far from them, he noticed the change the moment Du Busi started burning his fire of life.

    When he saw Du Busi grow to about a thousand meters tall, Huo Yuhao became very worried.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s actually nning to do this. Now it makes perfect sense why he would hand the Secrets of the Body over to me. He didn¡¯t want it to vanish with his death!¡± Huo Yuhao gave a bitter smile.

    Tang Wutong frowned ¡°Doesn¡¯t he know that his actions will end millions of innocent lives? He¡¯s really¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed before replying, ¡°The copse of the empire must have hit him really hard. Even Xu Tianran probably didn¡¯t expect his Grand Sacrificial Ceremony to be the stage for Du Busi¡¯s self-sacrifice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao really wanted to stop Du Busi from sacrificing his life, but he did not possess the ability to do so. No one present could stop a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo who had ignited his fire of life. Even the Darkness Holy Dragon, an Ultimate Douluo, would not be able to do so.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he recalled something.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Something¡¯s wrong. I have to head over there right away. Wutong, I need you to wait for me here.¡± Following which, Huo Yuhao let go of Wutong¡¯s hand as he got ready to move towards Du Busi.

    Tang Wutong grabbed hold of him and asked frantically, ¡°What are you doing?! Do you want to die? There are so many powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire over there. There¡¯s no way we can stop Du Busi.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied anxiously, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to try and stop him. I understand that his move is too extreme. But Du Busi has missed something important!¡±

    It took a while before Tang Wutong understood what Huo Yuhao meant. ¡°Are you thinking what I am thinking?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded fervently. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m referring to the Holy Ghost Church. They are well-versed in many dark arts which pertain to souls and the dead spirits. If Du Busi were to detonate his own soul core, it would cause an unprecedented massacre. This catastrophic oue would only strengthen the Holy Ghost Church! If they were to acquire millions of souls, I have no idea how strong they will be. That¡¯s why I must make my way over there to either purify or lead the souls away if an explosion is to happen.¡±

    ¡°But this is too dangerous.¡± Tang Wutong naturally understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s considerations, but she did not loosen her grip on him.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head and gazed deeply into Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, he hugged her tightly before giving her an intense kiss.

    Tang Wutong was taken aback by his kiss. Following which, the strong golden seal shone before tossing Huo Yuhao away from her.

    ¡°Wutong, wait for me.¡± Aided by the momentum given by the seal, Huo Yuhao transformed intoet as he flew towards the southern region of Radiant City.

    As a man, there are certain things I must do! If I were to allow the Holy Ghost Church to be even stronger, an unbelievably scary future awaits all of us. In fact, it would be even worse than the Sun Moon Empire taking over the world.

    And that was why he had to go!

    Seeing how Du Busi could no longer be persuaded from his course of action, Long Xiaoyao shook his head as his body expanded against the wind. He transformed into a dragon that was more than five hundred meters long. Following which, he swung his dragon tail towards Du Busi aggressively.

    Long Xiaoyao was enraged by Du Busi¡¯s intent for heedless killing. He knew he had to stop him, and could not allow him to detonate his soul core.

    Meanwhile, at the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar, Xu Tianran appeared to have regained his calm. He slowly strolled down from the seventh floor to Ju Zi¡¯s side.

    Following which, he raised his hand and said calmly, ¡°Get ready to activate the high-energy beam.¡±

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± A tall old man with greying hair walked towards Xu Tianran with an unwilling look on his face.

    Xu Tianran looked at him seriously before saying, ¡°Dean, I am the leader of our country. If I can¡¯t even protect my own people, I will have failed as our leader. Without my people or their support, there is no point in me being King or Emperor. There will be no point in conquering this world at all.¡±

    The old man replied in a deep voice, ¡°But once we activate the high-energy beams, everything we have been preparing for will go down the drain. We will probably be unable to recover all the umted energies for a couple of decades. We would have no choice but to terminate our research.¡±

    Xu Tianran gave him a cold stare as he replied, ¡°Dean, do you think I don¡¯t know what is more important? Looking at how things are, we have no choice but to set whatever research we are doing aside for now.¡±

    The old man argued, ¡°But there¡¯s still the Holy Ghost Church. They belong to our empire, and would probably be very helpful when ites to reducing costs and damages if they were willing to put in a hundred percent and help us.¡±

    Xu Tianran burst intoughter, but his eyes were still ice cold. ¡°You want them to lend us a hand? If they were willing, they would have done so long ago. After all, the Darkness Holy Dragon is an exception! He was never fully controlled by the Holy Ghost Church. And where is the Holy Ghost Church now? They are waiting. Waiting for a chance. They can¡¯t wait for Du Busi to detonate his soul core and kill everyone. When that happens, imagine how powerful they will be with their newly-acquired millions of souls. Do you think I would still be the leader of this country when that happened? Dean, you can rest assured that your research will be set aside once they take over the Sun Moon Empire. They will definitely not allow powerful weapons to exist and threaten them. Now go on and set everything up.¡±

    The old man went silent. As he looked up and stared at the battle between the giant and the huge dragon, he felt a deep sense of resentment within him. Nheless, he relented with a long sigh before leaving.

    ¡°Your majesty.¡± Ju Zi purred as she grabbed his hand.

    Xu Tianran appeared to be at ease as he held her hand tightly. It seemed as though everything was under control. He was not making any preparations for any form of an emergency evacuation. However, Ju Zi¡¯s hand was in pain as he tightened his grip.

    As the battle in the air grew increasingly intense, Du Busi was somehow able to suppress the Darkness Holy Dragon under the enhancement from his burning fire of life. However, the battles around them had paused.

    The four Transcendent Douluo who had been creating chaos had long disappeared. It was impossible to catch a Transcendent Douluo who was determined to escape unless one had an intricate n set up in advance.

    The purple mes on Du Busi¡¯s body were getting very intense.

    Long Xiaoyao arched his head upwards and released a dragon¡¯s roar. The sound of his roar tore through the sky, as though he was calling for something. However, no matter how he roared, there did not seem to be a returning echo.

    As the battle raged on, the mes on Du Busi¡¯s body burned brighter and stronger. The sky seemed to be turning back and forth under the interchanging streaks of ck and purple.

    The ughter which was going on at ground level previously and the battle which was going on in the sky had created mass hysteria amongst the public.

    Fortunately, a huge army had been drafted especially for the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony. Under the control of the army and their soul tools, the four Transcendent Douluo had been chased away, and the situation had temporarily been transformed for the better. However, in that short period of time, tens of thousands of civilians had already been killed.

    In the distance.

    ¡°Mother, are we really not going to go there and help Uncle?¡± Zhong Liwu, who was dressed in a full-length ck robe, asked the pale Ye Xishui silently.

 Chapter 526.2 - Du Busis Death

    Chapter 526.2: Du Busi¡¯s Death

    ¡°Of course not. The tens of thousands of souls which we managed to reap earlier are barely enough to replenish what was depleted from the Death God Pagoda previously. Why should we stop Du Busi? Long Xiaoyao is a smart man. He knows when to give up and leave.¡± Ye Xishui gave the inest reply possible. It was impossible to see any emotions in her eyes.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Zhong Liwu did not dare to add anything else. Even though he was the actual Supreme Leader of the Holy Ghost Church, everyone knew who called the shots.

    As she watched the battle which was going on in midair, Ye Xishui remained extremely calm. A faint blood-red color asionally flickered in her eyes. Arge group of powerful cultivators from the Holy Ghost Church stood behind them. They had all gathered here and waited silently for instructions not long after Du Busi had emerged.

    Ye Xishui definitely knew what her son was worried about. Her son feared that Long Xiaoyao might be angered by what had just unfolded. She also knew that Long Xiaoyao was calling for her. If she joined in the battle and helped Long Xiaoyao subdue Du Busi, he might just be unable to detonate his soul core.

    However, why must I stop him? The deaths of millions of civilians would only be beneficial for the Holy Ghost Church. As a person who was only concerned about her interests, she would definitely not stop Du Busi.

    Long Xiaoyao¡­ Long Xiaoyao¡­!

    As the battle grew in intensity, the mes on Du Busi¡¯s body seemed to be material. Long Xiaoyao could no longer do anything about his mad attacks. All he could do was to try and stop Du Busi from descending.

    ¡°Long Xiaoyao, do you really think you can stop me? Stop shouting for her. Since I have dared toe today, I have already thought of everything. She won¡¯t being to help you.¡± Du Busi let out a burst of eerieughter.

    Long Xiaoyao was taken aback by his words. He had a strange realization that Du Busi might not be as mad as he seemed.

    ¡°Du Busi, why must you do this? Do you really think you can kill Xu Tianran like this? He has so many ss 9 soul engineers defending him. Even if your self-destruction is super strong, it won¡¯t be enough to kill him. The shield above the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar alone is enough to shave off half of the impact from your self-destruction. ughtering millions of lives will only do the Holy Ghost Church good. You are just helping them be stronger. It¡¯s not toote to stop. I can still help you to douse your burning fire of life and help you leave. How does that sound?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao was very clear with his words, but Du Busi continued tough. In fact, he seemed very happy about something.

    Suddenly, Du Busi¡¯s voice became very soft. His words could only reverberate within Long Xiaoyao¡¯s ears. ¡°My old pal, of course, I know what you¡¯re talking about. We have both lived for over two hundred years. Why would I not be able to consider that things that you¡¯ve said? Our thinking is just very different. I can see that you are still a person with a heart. If not, you would never have turned up here. The truth is my action is but a small part of the entire operation. Do you really think I want to die? Of course not. But I have already sustained certain injuries which I cannot recover from back when I fended off the invaders from the Sun Moon Empire previously. I am already too old.¡±

    ¡°Just like Mu En who was just living out his life after sustaining a serious injury, I can feel my own abilities deteriorating every day. Let¡¯s not talk about bing an Ultimate Douluo. I¡¯m not even confident of remaining a Transcendent Douluo in a few years¡¯ time. I have at most ten more years to live.¡±

    ¡°Ten years is a long enough time for a normal human. But for people like us, it is nothing. That¡¯s why I would rather not have these ten years. The most heroic death for a soul master is to die before the eyes of the public. In fact, I have already won. Do you know that?¡±

    Even though Long Xiao was staring at Du Busi and listening to his words, both of them were still entangled in battle. However, there was no hatred or anger in his eyes. What remained was nothing but sorrow and mncholy. Is another person from my times really about to die?

    It was almost as if Du Busi had finally found someone to converse with him as he continued. ¡°My appearance today is part of a carefully crafted n. There¡¯s no chance of me dying in vain. In my eyes, since I am about to die, the rules no longer mean anything. Do you really think the millions of lives below us can be so easily taken away? You have spent a fair bit of time in the Sun Moon Empire. Do you really not know what trump cards they¡¯re hiding under their sleeves? They will definitely try their best to protect their people. If not, the millions of deaths would shake the foundation of Xu Tianran¡¯s rule. But whatever trump cards they deploy will most definitely take a lot out of them. In the future, when they have to face the other nations, they will definitely be a lot weaker.¡±

    ¡°This is my first objective. As long as Xu Tianran isn¡¯t mentally retarded, he will definitely help me achieve it. My second objective is naturally you. I knew Ye Xishui would definitely note after starting thismotion. However, I was sure you would. I was purposely shouting around in that manner previously to attract someone else¡¯s attention. Do you really think I still don¡¯t know you well enough? You must have a reason for staying around her. I don¡¯t want to know the exact reason. All I know is that now that you are on the opposing side, you won¡¯t feel too good after I die. I don¡¯t think you can deny that, right?¡±

    ¡°My third objective pertains to Ye Xishui. She must be lurking around somewhere with her disciples and grand-disciples, waiting to pounce in and reap the fruits of our hard work. The sheer number of souls from the dead people would be too enticing for them to turn down. I have considered how they would not be able to resist this temptation before deciding to do what I am doing now. I have now sessfully drawn Ye Xishui and her underlings here. The greed of evil soul masters will be their downfall.¡±

    ¡°Once I am done with my three objectives, I can allow my old body to die. I am not the only one here this time around. Once my objectives have been achieved, the remaining ones will naturally be aplished by the others. I have already attracted enough firepower, right? Hahahahaha!¡±

    After hearing Du Busi¡¯s words, Long Xiaoyao became very quiet. Du Busi has really drafted a very well-crafted n this time round. He has managed to predict how we would all act. Xu Tianran. Ye Xishui. And me. All of us.

    It was because he had already known how they would all act based on how events would unfold that he was willing to give up his life to gather everyone here.

    But then what is his true objective?

    ¡°Long Xiaoyao, I have always been very easy-going and carefree all my life. Failing to defeat Mu En is one of the biggest regrets in my life. However, I have managed to live longer than him. In the future, if you want to describe me as a despicable person, I will dly ept it as praise from you. Time is almost up. I want you to help me see how big an explosion I can create with my abilities. Oh yes, I actually have a fourth objective. I want to assassinate Xu Tianran. No matter whether I seed or not, I want to try. If not, how can I rest in peace, right?¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Du Busi suddenly burst into a fit of madughter. Following which, his body suddenly froze in mid-air.

    It was as if the entire sky had frozen, and all the energy pulses stopped at this very instant. Even Long Xiaoyao was no exception.

    Just as Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes widened in shock, a denseyer of ck started to vanish in the next instant. A mysterious ring of silver-white light started to appear around him.

    That ring of white light rubbed and collided against the static space around it vigorously.

    Du Busi revealed a sly smile as he took ast look at Long Xiaoyao. Following which, his thousand meter-tall body shrank rapidly towards the center of his stomach.

    At that very instant, it was as if a ck hole had formed in the middle of the sky. Copious amounts of natural qi of heaven and earth gravitated towards the center of the ck hole.

    Because of how suddenly Du Busi¡¯s body had shrunk, everyone present, including the millions of civilians of the Sun Moon Empire, felt as if they were being sucked by something in the air. The tens of thousands of people that were closer to the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar were even lifted into the air by the force of attraction. Their feet left the ground as they floated a couple of meters into the air.

    Just when some of these people started to regain theirposure, chaos broke loose again as screams and shouts could be heard everywhere as they tried to struggle against the force of attraction.

    Du Busi had vanished, and what had reced him was a huge piece of crystal, entirely jade-green, and radiating a jade-green glow onto its pitch ck surroundings. It seemed as though it could swallow all the darkness around it. Even the silver glow from Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body was being consumed by it.

    Long Xiaoyao revealed a bitter smile. You are truly remarkable! He could sense this soul core had been enhanced to the level that belonged to an Ultimate Douluo. The only difference was how an Ultimate Douluo had two soul cores, and Du Busi only had one.

    Du Busi had burned all of his power and energy, including his soul. At this very instant, everything turned silent. But it was merely the calm before the impending storm.

    Is iting now? Everyone stopped breathing as they looked up into the sky. They could sense that a catastrophe was about to hit them.

    However, at this very instant, the air in the direction of Radiant City suddenly became illuminated. Four gentle white beams of light shot up into the sky without any warning.

    These four pirs of light were initially not particrly noticeable. They were only as thick as water pails, but they immediately began to expand at an unbelievable rate.

    Very soon, these four beams had a diameter of over a hundred meters as they pierced deep into the sky, their powerful light unimpeded by the grey clouds.

    The energy bound within the jade-green soul core seemed to be agitated by the white light, as it started to emit a low humming sound. The space around the soul core started to show signs of cracking.

 Chapter 526.3 - Du Busis Death

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 526.3: Du Busi¡¯s Death</h4>

    Even though Xu Tianran was still affected by Du Busi¡¯s soul core, he was still able to move around under the protection from the golden shield above the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar. As he reascended to the seventh floor of the Sacrificial Altar, he pointed at the sky with his right hand as a long golden sword appeared in his hand. Following which, his bright voice echoed into the distance within the Sun Moon Empire.

    ¡°I have been doted upon by the heavens, and have since inherited this throne. May the heavens above us protect the citizens of the Sun Moon Empire against whoever might dare to challenge their fury. Today, I shall borrow the power of the heavens and suppress whoever threatens our way of living. He or she shall perish, never to be reborn. May the light of our Sun Moon Empire shine upon ournd forever and always.¡±

    At the very next instant, Xu Tianran¡¯s body started to radiate a golden glow. A cold and solemn look formed on his face as a bolt of purple lightning emerged from his body. Suddenly, his body started to emit a purple-gold sh, which contrasted against the dark skies as he became the center of attention.

    With his sword pointed towards the sky, he made a waving motion as though he weremanding something. Following which, the four humongous beams of light in the distance suddenly left their original path as they started to bend and shoot across the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar.

    Even though Du Busi¡¯s soul core had locked up the surrounding space, it was useless against the four gigantic beams of light, which spread out and became a gigantic horizontal barrier.

    At this very instant, the charging of the soul core seemed to have ended, and it started to plunge toward the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar.

    A piercing white light shed as the barrier formed just in time to envelope the millions of lives below it, including half of the Radiant City, which was not too far away.

    ¡°Chinkkkkkk!¡±

    This bright ringing sound would be a sound which the millions of lives would never forget.

    At this very instant, the world¡¯s time and space came to a standstill. This time round, even Xu Tianran, who was standing within the barrier, stopped moving.

    ¡°Booommmmm!¡±

    A jade-green glow started to expand as huge patches of darkness bloomed behind it. This time around, they did note in the form of dark clouds. It was almost as if night had descended upon the world. There seemed to be countless stars and constetions in this ¡°sky¡±. But there was definitely more darkness in this ¡°sky¡±, which appeared to be consuming everything in its way.

    The huge white barrier started to tremble as its powerful glow started to quiver under the pressure from the jade-green glow.

    The overwhelming pressure from the jade-green glow, which seemed like the Heavenly Might, started to increase to its maximum.

    Xu Tianran started to show signs of unease and disbelief. As he stood firm to withstand the immense pressureing from above him, he started to find it difficult to breathe.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s nine soul rings started to rise as a giant purple dragon¡ªhis martial soul¡ªtook form behind his back. That was his true strength¡ªnine rings! The Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire might be around thirty years old, but he was already a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, he owned a powerful martial soul¡ªa Purplebrilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon.

    As he focused and directed his energies into the sky, his powerful abilities were now fully revealed. However, he faced Heavenly Might. Heavenly Might summoned by Du Busi.

    Nevertheless, the jade-green glow was still kept outside by the enhanced white barrier.

    However, Xu Tianran, who had been proudly standing above the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar, started to vomit blood as he copsed onto the ground.

    ¡°Booommmm!¡±

    The deafening sound echoed for several moments before it stopped.

    Beneath the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar, the civilians who were suspended in mid-air fell down as chaos broke out within the city. The scary explosion left behind a sky filled with zing white light. Huge waves of soul power rippled across the sky, travelling more than a hundred miles away and shaving the peaks off the mountains nearest to the city.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Ju Zi was the first to get to the Sun Moon Sacrificial Altar. Just now, at the moment right before the huge explosion hit the barrier, she felt as if her throat had been ensnared in someone¡¯s grip. Because she was the nearest to the seventh floor, she could feel the direct impact. Xu Tianran¡¯s heavy injury was not a result of Du Busi¡¯s mad soul core explosion, but the effects of his thoughts, which had manifested in the form of Heavenly Might.

    Yes, the soul core explosion was indiscriminate, but its attack on everything around it was blocked by the mystical power originating from Radiant City. However, after the explosion had begun, Du Busi¡¯s purest desire to murder Xu Tianran prated through the two defence lines andnded on Xu Tianran.

    The self-destruction of an Ultimate Douluo was simply this frightening. If Xu Tianran had not achieved the rank of a Titled Douluo, his soul would have been shattered into a million pieces.

    Du Busi had achieved all four of his objectives¡ªjust as he had promised before his death. Even though he had pretended to be the bait here, the real target had always been to destroy Xu Tianran.

    Ju Zi hugged Xu Tianran as she frantically attempted to inject her soul power into his body. However, she found much to her surprise that she was unable to do so. There was a serious conflict between Du Busi¡¯s mad spiritual power and Xu Tianran¡¯s own spiritual power within his body. They were like fire and water¡ªunamodating towards one another. Because of this battle which was raging within Xu Tianran¡¯s body, his mouth and nose started to bleed as his face became increasingly pale.

    Right now, Ju Zi demonstrated her ability as the War God Empress to stay calm in tense situations. She immediately scooped Xu Tianran from the ground and retrieved his sound amplifying soul tool. She announced, ¡°My dear people, our Emperor had used himself as the conduit to draw upon the power of the heavens to destroy our enemy. While the enemy has died, our Emperor has also sustained some injuries. I, as the War God Empress appointed by the Emperor himself, promise that as long as the Emperor and I are around, we can definitely safeguard the prosperity of our Sun Moon Empire. Our Emperor has only sustained some minor injuries. All of you can rest assured that he will be fine. Now, please follow the army¡¯s orders and return to Radiant City. Anyone who dares to make trouble shall face the death penalty!¡±

    The chaos outside subsided after the people heard Ju Zi¡¯s words.

    ¡°God of War! God of War! God of War!¡± The army suddenly started to cheer in unison. Their united cheering covered the chaotic noise in the city.

    As the Empress and Goddess of War of the Sun Moon Empire, Ju Zi¡¯s position in the army had long been elevated to that of a military idol. Under Xu Tianran¡¯s designs, her reputation had long surpassed that of its most important generals.

    After hearing her words, the soldiers in the army released a celebratory cheer that came from the bottom of their hearts. After all, an impending disaster had just been stopped by their Emperor. At this moment, the civilians started to calm down as they started to join in the cheers.

    No matter what, even though the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony had been disrupted, millions of civilians had witnessed something awe-inspiring. At least in their eyes, justice had triumphed over evil, and evil had been vanquished.

    As the dark clouds in the sky slowly scattered, thend was once again irradiated with warm sunlight. Everything¡ªincluding Long Xiaoyao¡ªwhich was previously in the sky had disappeared.

    Huo Yuhao had observed the progression of events from afar. He was overwhelmed with sadness after witnessing the death of Du Busi. Even though he did not understand his objectives, and had only interacted with him a few times, Huo Yuhao had seen how he had detonated his own soul core for his country. How could he not feel sad for him? Furthermore, the Secrets of the Body was still with him.

    Huo Yuhao lowered his body and bowed solemnly at the sky, which was beginning to clear up.

    ¡°Du Busi, regardless of what has happened, you are undeniably a hero for your country and its people. I will definitely bring your heroic stories back to the Heavenly Soul Empire. I will also pass on your Secrets of the Body. You can rest assured that I will do my best to bring the rest away.¡±

    Without the catastrophe and countless deaths that Huo Yuhao had expected, he naturally had no need to purify any souls.

    He did not know when Tang Wutong appeared by his side.

    As he looked at her, Huo Yuhao felt guilty about what he had done earlier. ¡°Wutong, I am sorry. I was rash again.¡±

    Tang Wutong stepped forward and held his hand. ¡°I understand. There¡¯s nothing inherently wrong with what you did. But next time, do not leave me behind. I want to be with you regardless of whether we live or die. As long as we are together, we will have better odds of surviving anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held her hands tightly and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the meeting point. If I did not guess wrongly, Du Busi¡¯s sacrifice was meant to pin down the enemies near the Sacrificial Altar. This would probably mean that the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s side should almost be done. Let¡¯s meet up with them and return to the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Both of them leapt up into the air and disappeared into the sky as they flew towards the pre-nned meeting point.

    It was undeniable that Du Busi¡¯s death was a brilliant move. The leaders of Radiant City were all busy trying to maintain order after the explosion, and did not have the time to bother with anything else.

    Because the Emperor was heavily injured, the Sun Moon Empirecked a leader who could organize the country. It was the best time to leave the scene under such chaotic conditions.

    Just now, he had managed to catch a glimpse of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s War God Empress¡ªJu Zi. She had be a lot more elegant and beautiful.Ju Zi, you will probably be heading back onto the battlefield in the near future. Do you know how much I wish we won¡¯t meet on the battlefield?

    The meeting point was at the suburban area of the eastern district. This ce was nearest to the Star Luo Empire. Huo Yuhao had originally thought that the n to misdirect them was a little too simple. But after he saw how Du Busi detonated his soul core, he realized how carefully crafted the n was.

    By the time Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong reached the meeting point, there were already four Titled Douluo waiting there.

    All of them were Transcendent Douluo, and did not seem particrly pleased with what had just happened. Two of them happened to hail from the Body Sect, and they had obviously witnessed Du Busi¡¯s self-destruction.

    ¡°My condolences.¡± There was nothing else Huo Yuhao could say as he dragged Tang Wutong to retreat to a corner.

    The atmosphere was simply too suffocating. After witnessing one of the most powerful and revered cultivators in the world of soul masters fall, they were all still trying to grapple with what had just happened. It was a huge blow for everyone.

 Chapter 527.1 - The Crown Prince!

    Chapter 527.1: The Crown Prince!

    Ten shadows returned soundlessly fifteen minutester. The Heavenly Sun Douluo was in the lead, and he was holding a bag as he immediately lowered his voice once he touched the ground and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Radiant City has increased security across the entire city, so let¡¯s get out of here. You¡¯re back inmand, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could tell from the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s solemn expression that he knew about the Body Douluo¡¯s death.

    He nodded, and immediately shared Spiritual Detection with everyone. The others didn¡¯t dy as they rose into the air and surged toward the sky.

    But Huo Yuhao had just taken everyone into the air when a dumbfounded look appeared on his face. His spiritual power was incredibly sharp, and the first thing had to do to share his Spiritual Detection was to cover everyone around him. There should be sixteen people including the Titled Douluo, Tang Wutong, and himself, because the Body Douluo would be missing from their initial lineup.

    But when he brought everyone into the air, he could clearly hear a seventeenth heartbeat. There was another life form in the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s grasp.

    What is that?

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously stretched his Spiritual Detection over, and the first thing he felt was a gentle but weak spiritual undtion. It was a world apartpared to those Titled Douluo, but this gentle spiritual undtion made his heart tremble vigorously as an inexplicable sensation coursed over his entire body.

    The first thing that appeared in his Spiritual Detection was a small swaddling cloth, which contained a soundly sleeping infant. That heartbeat and spiritual undtion belonged to the infant!

    ¡­¡­

    Inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce!

    ¡°What? The crown prince has been¡­¡± Ju Zi stared at the servant girl who was reporting back to her, shaking all over. The color had drained from her facepletely.

    ¡°No, no¡­!¡± Ju Zi shouted hysterically as she charged crazily into her bedroom. Even a person as calm as she was fell apart when she discovered that her child had disappeared into thin air.

    She was very calm when the Body Douluo, Du Busi was detonating his soul core and causing an apocalyptic cmity.

    She was still calm when she watched her husband, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor, Xu Tianran fall from the sacrificial pedestal.

    But when she found out that her flesh and blood had suddenly gone missing, how could she keep her cool? She couldn¡¯t bother with anchoring the overall situation as she ran back into her bedroom, crazed.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°This child is¡­¡± Huo Yuhao stared at the Heavenly Sun Douluo with wide eyes and open jaw. Even though he could already faintly guess this incredibly young infant¡¯s identity, he still found it a little hard to believe.

    A shameful look appeared on the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s face. ¡°We don¡¯t have any other choice. How can we send the Sun Moon Empire into disarray without doing this? It¡¯s a pity that we couldn¡¯t assassinate Xu Tianran. Otherwise, the Sun Moon Empire would undoubtedly descend into chaos, and the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires would no longer be burdened.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astounded. Tang Wutong was equally astonished, because they never expected that the three empires¡¯ true goal of sending out fifteen Titled Douluo, with the price of the Body Douluo¡¯s suicidal sacrifice, was this tiny baby.

    Every doubt in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind evaporated in this moment. He finally understood what this operation¡¯s true mission was.

    They weren¡¯t here for a single task, they were here for two: assassinate Xu Tianran and kidnap his crown prince, Xu Yunhan.

    The reason why the Body Douluo, Du Busi was so willing to sacrifice himself probably had a lot to do with his body¡¯s condition. Otherwise, there was no reason for such a formidable individual to kill himself like that. He ced his own life on the line with the aim of assassinating Xu Tianran, and at the same time, he used his formidable strength to attract all the attention of Radiant City¡¯s core powers. He did that to create an opportunity for the Heavenly Sun Douluo and the others.

    Just as the Heavenly Sun Douluo had said, if Xu Tianran was assassinated and his son went missing, the Sun Moon Empire, which had just settled down, would descend into chaos.

    This situation was what the continent¡¯s three native empires wanted most, and this n was made perfect with the Body Douluo¡¯s sacrifice.

    But these were fifteen Titled Douluo! Some of the strongest individuals in the world actually made a move against an infant.

    Huo Yuhao finally understood why the White Tiger Duke had a shameful look on his face before they left the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They couldn¡¯t beat their enemies in a war, so they had to make a move on their children. No matter how cruel war was, such despicable methods filled his heart with contempt and disdain.

    This was especially so because the child that they had abducted wasn¡¯t just Xu Tianran¡¯s son, and he wasn¡¯t just the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince. He was also Ju Zi¡¯s son!

    The image of Ju Zi crumbling from grief almost immediately surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. Ju Zi was an orphan, and every single one of her family members had died horribly in a war. This had already caused her personality to twist slightly. Now that she had a child, her own flesh and blood, but her child was suddenly taken away from her. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the kind of blow that she would take.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo exined no further, and they quickly elerated into the distance. Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong along, and they were still using Imitation and Spiritual Detection to control the formation. But Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind felt very suffocated.

    The reason why the Body Douluo chose to sacrifice himself instead of personally kidnapping this child was probably also because of guilt and shame!

    But¡­ but how could they have such a n¡­

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes painfully.

    Tang Wutong passed a message to his mind. ¡°You have to remain calm, Yuhao. Let¡¯s leave this dangerous ce first before anything else.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded gently. He knew that there was nothing he could do, at least not right now. In front of fourteen Titled Douluo, and also when everyone¡¯s hearts were feeling heavy because of Du Busi¡¯s death, there was nothing he could say that would change things. Instead, his words would be counterproductive. They had to leave this ce first, and he had to fulfill his promise to the Body Douluo and take everyone back.

    Just thirty minutes after they departed, Radiant City exploded like a ho¡¯s nest that had been impaled. Every single powerful soul master, every individual from the Holy Ghost Church, and every soldier from the army moved out at once in search of their crown prince.

    Xu Tianran had woken up inside Radiant City¡¯s royal pce.

    He was leaning against the bed, and his face was as pale as could be, but his eyes were full of hatred and resentment.

    He was very severely injured, and not only his body was hurt. What was more frightening was that his spirit had been heavily damaged, and his spiritual sea was almost shattered. If the Body Douluo¡¯s final strike hadn¡¯t been blocked by those two barriers and his personal ss 9 spiritual-type defensive soul tool, he would probably have beenpletely annihted by that tremendous pressure.

    But his nightmare returned once he woke up. His crown prince, Xu Yunhan, had been kidnapped by unknown individuals.

    Xu Tianran had already murdered a bunch of people because of this. Even though his face was as white as paper, he couldn¡¯t hide the deep-seated murderousness in his eyes!

    ¡°Very good. Good, Body Douluo. Very good, Holy Ghost Church!¡± Xu Tianran gritted his teeth so hard that he almost shattered them.

    If the Body Douluo hadn¡¯t sacrificed himself, how could he have attracted everyone¡¯s attention? If the Holy Ghost Church hadn¡¯t been selfish, how could those powerful kidnappers have seeded?

    Xu Tianran was full of hate, and he wanted to kill everyone around him. He had just consolidated his throne, and this Grand Sacrificial Ceremony was to be the true starting point of his glorious empire. But something like this had to happen.

    The Grand Sacrificial Ceremony was forced to end, and so many citizens¡¯ lives were lost. This dealt a heavy blow to his reputation and influence, and more importantly, somebody had kidnapped his crown prince.

    ¡°Stop crying!¡± Xu Tianran growled at Ju Zi, who was kneeling beneath him. He began to cough uncontrobly after his exmation.

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression was possibly even paler than Xu Tianran¡¯s. Her voice was trembling as she said, ¡°Your Majesty, your majesty! You have to save Yunhan, you have to save him! He¡¯s only a year and three months old!¡±

    ¡°Get up.¡± Xu Tianran lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Ju Zi supported herself on the table beside her and struggled to stand up.

    Xu Tianran pointed at the bed in front of him, and Ju Zi went over to sit down. She looked like she had lost her spirit in this moment.

    ¡°Ju Zi, I understand what you¡¯re feeling. But right now, you have to understand what those people want by kidnapping Yunhan.¡±

    Of course Ju Zi understood. But the more she understood, the more dejected she felt. Her eyes were filled with a pleading expression as she said, ¡°Your Majesty, Yunhan is our child! He¡¯s your crown prince! No matter what, you have to save him. I¡¯m begging you. I¡¯m begging you!¡±

    A brutal look shed across Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes. ¡°Save him? How am I to save him? His kidnappers are definitely the Body Douluo¡¯s aplices, and their goal is simple. They wish to stop me from restarting the war, stop me from trampling all over the continent¡¯s three empires. Do they really think that they can stop me like that? If I can have one son, then I can have another. Since they have taken away the crown prince, then I will sacrifice their lives to pay for his. Ju Zi, you have to gather yourself immediately. I can let youmand the armies, andunch an invasion against them immediately. Use their blood to pay for our son!¡±

    ¡°No¡ª¡± Ju Zi screamed hysterically, and her expression immediately became as white as paper. She had never expected Xu Tianran to say something like that after but a moment of thought. His words were undoubtedly a death sentence for her son!

    All that talk about how he could have a second one because he had a first. The crown prince wasn¡¯t his flesh and blood in the first ce; he was just another tool. Of course, Xu Tianran wouldn¡¯t feel his heart ache. But Yunhan was her son! How could she not care about his safety?

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes grew fierce and sinister as he lifted his hand and grabbed Ju Zi by the neck. His insidious face brimmed with murderousness as he growled, ¡°You dare to go against me?¡±

 Chapter 527.2 - The Crown Prince!

    Chapter 527.2: The Crown Prince!

    Ju Zi¡¯s pretty face grew red and swollen as she found it hard to breathe, but her eyes were staring unblinkingly at Xu Tianran. She wasn¡¯t willing to give any quarter, and her entire body was quivering from anger.

    If she had felt any gratitude towards Xu Tianran before, then everything in her heart had vaporized in this moment.

    Had Xu Tianran not trained her into a tool when he brought her back all those years ago? She had saved his life afterwards, and in her heart, everything that she owed him had been returned.

    The reason why she was willing to do all kinds of things for him was because she wanted to get her revenge. But how could she not have any feelings at all when they had been together for so long?

    But Ju Zi truly understood how na?ve she was in this moment. How could any sentiment in the world fetter a man like that? All the yearning and feelings in her heart were but illusions, and she found herself soughable that she had ced so much hope on a person like that.

    Xu Tianran felt his heart skip a beat as he stared into her eyes. An intense pain jolted his brain as he subconsciously released his grip, and Ju Zi fell down beside him.

    Xu Tianran supported his forehead with his hand as he shut his eyes in agony.

    ¡°Forget it. Just settle this however you want. We¡¯ll try all we can to search for the crown prince, and we¡¯ll talk afterwards if that doesn¡¯t work out. You may go.¡±

    Ju Zi got onto her knees, trembling. She lowered her head, and her voice sounded hoarse and began to shake as she said to Xu Tianran, ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± With that, she crawled out of Xu Tianran¡¯s bedroom on her knees.

    What Xu Tianran couldn¡¯t see was that Ju Zi¡¯s eyes were filled with resentment and ferocity, but shepletely hid her murderousness and didn¡¯t show any of that at all.

    ¡­¡­

    Long Xiaoyao stood in a pitch-ck room without a single ray of light at all with his hands behind his back. His eyes were filled with destion.

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt?¡± A mildly hoarse and shrill voice could be heard, and ayer of dark red colors glowed inside the room. The Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui silently appeared not far behind him.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t tasted the feeling of being hurt in a long time. I didn¡¯t expect Old Poison to be so brutal and intense, that he would choose such a path. That he would rather die for his country in front of millions instead of living for a few years more. Another from our generation has fallen.¡±

    Ye Xishui said inly, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking me why I refused to help you? Don¡¯t you wish to interrogate me about that?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head. ¡°Why should I interrogate you? Why should I ask when I know the answer? The truth is, I¡¯ve always known who I am to you. But I¡¯m afraid there might not be much left for me to give you.¡±

    Ye Xishui¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold. ¡°I will not stop you if you want to leave. You can leave whenever you want to.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao turned around and stared at Ye Xishui¡¯s pale face. His voice immediately turned gentle, and he said, ¡°Xishui, I would have left a long time ago if I wanted to. Why would I wait to do that now? Since I made a promise back then that I would use the remainder of my life to pay you back for the sins that I havemitted, then I will stay true to my word. The reason why I said there might not be much left to give is because every person¡¯s life will eventuallye to an end! Du Busi¡¯s life has a limit, and so does mine.¡±

    Ye Xishui¡¯s body quivered as she arrived in front of Long Xiaoyao in a sh. Her fingers had blood-red fingernails, and she pressed her hand against Long Xiaoyao¡¯s chest.

    Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t move, nor did he attempt to stop her at all. He just let her nt her palm firmly on his chest.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s expression slowly changed after a few moments. ¡°You¡¯re so severely injured?!¡±

    Long Xiaoyaoughed, and hisughter was extremely warm. ¡°I¡¯m very happy to feel just a thread of your care and concern. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die for a while, and I still have to protect you for some time. No matter how you treat me, Xishui, you¡¯ll always be the only woman that I¡¯ve ever loved in my heart.¡±

    Ye Xishui¡¯s breathing suddenly became rushed, and her eyes turned ice-cold and evil as she stared insidiously at Long Xiaoyao. She spun around after a few moments and disappeared in a ray of red light.

    A dash of bitterness appeared on Long Xiaoyao¡¯s face. There wasn¡¯t any sadness, only a trace of deep regret. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°I have wanted to leave this world for a long time, but in the end, I still can¡¯t bear to lose you!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Crisp crying sounds echoed throughout the skies, and the Heavenly Sun Douluo who was soaring through the air suddenly paused. His expression also became a little awkward.

    ¡°Mama, mama, mama!¡± A childish voice rang out from the swaddling cloth, and this Rank 97 Titled Douluo¡¯s first reaction was to stop.

    The winds were strong, and he had been using his soul power to protect the bag of cloth in his bosom. He could feel some intense strugglinging from, and that came with vigorous bawling. This Transcendent Douluo no longer knew what to do.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo stopped, and everyone else stopped one after another as they stared at the bag at his chest.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo rxed his grip a little, and a tiny head poked out from within his arms.

    It was a beautiful little boy. His skin was as white as snow, and so tender that a drop of water could appear from a gentle squeeze. He had dark ck hair, and hisrge eyes were also ck. Even though he was crying so hard that mucus and tears were flowing all over his face, everybody who could see him couldn¡¯t help but give him praise ¨C what a beautiful little child!

    The clothes he was wearing were made from excellent fabric, and it made his tender skin even more eye-catching. His crying sounds were extremely bright and loud.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo had only been thinking aboutpleting his task. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince had been very quiet, because he was in a deep sleep when he had taken him away. But the group of Titled Douluo became a little helpless once he woke up.

    The youngest Titled Douluo participating in this operation was at least eighty years old, excluding Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Even if they had family when they were younger, they wouldn¡¯t personally raise a child with their status and identities!

    ¡°Uh, you¡¯re a girl, can you coax him?¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo arrived in front of Tang Wutong as he spoke and passed the child to her.

    Tang Wutong was a little dumbfounded. She was a girl, but she was still young and unmarried! Even though she spent all her time with Huo Yuhao, they had never done anything. She subconsciously took the little boy, and couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious and panicky because she didn¡¯t know how to hold him.

    Perhaps a female¡¯s glory began to show its power, because the little boy immediately stopped crying once he was in her arms. He blinked his enormous eyes as he stared at Tang Wutong, and stuck his index finger in his mouth. He seemed very curious.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo immediately heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the boy was no longer crying.

    ¡°Auntie, milk!¡± The little fellow suddenly spoke, and Tang Wutong¡¯s face flushed red. Furthermore, the little fellow didn¡¯t give her any chance at all as he stretched out his pudgy little hands to grab her shirt.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± There were still so many people around her, and Tang Wutong immediately screamed out loud.

    Huo Yuhao was also startled, and he almost didn¡¯t hesitate as he took the child from Tang Wutong¡¯s embrace.

    Tang Wutong had that mysterious seal on her body. If this little child identally touched a ce that he wasn¡¯t supposed to touch and triggered the seal, the retaliation produced wasn¡¯t something that a child who was barely more than a year old could take.

    ¡°Wa¡ª¡± The little boy didn¡¯t get what he wanted, and immediately began to bawl once more.

    Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t raised a child before either! He didn¡¯t know what to do, and reacted in a flurry as he hurriedly and gently patted the child¡¯s back in an attempt to cate him.

    Strangely, Huo Yuhao patted the child¡¯s back just a few times before the kid stopped crying once more, and stared at Huo Yuhao with thoserge ck eyes of his.

    He was just so cute. Anybody would want to pinch and squeeze those cute and chubby cheeks of his. Anybody would even feel like giving him a kiss.

    Furthermore, for some reason, an inexplicable feeling shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart when he stared into the baby¡¯s eyes.

    This is Ju Zi¡¯s child!

    ¡°Wa¡ª¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t get to think for long before the boy began to cry once more.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo frowned and said, ¡°What should we do? He¡¯s too noisy. Why don¡¯t we knock him out?¡±

    Tang Wutong immediately frowned. ¡°He¡¯s just a baby. How can you even say that? What if you hurt him? Is he hungry?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought about how the boy wanted to suckle her breast. He immediately said, ¡°He should be hungry. But a small infant like this should want to drink milk, yes?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes went to Tang Wutong once that was said.

    Tang Wutong was greatly embarrassed. ¡°Why are all of you staring at me? I¡­ I don¡¯t have any¡­¡±

    One of the Titled Douluo who was rtively more experienced said, ¡°This baby should be around a year and three months old. He should be able to eat normal food. Even though he can drink milk, that¡¯s not a necessity. We are quite some distance from Radiant City by now, so why don¡¯t we get him something to eat and let him calm down before anything else?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it seems like we have no choice.¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo felt a little humiliated when Tang Wutong chided him. But he thought about what he had said, and how had he wanted to make a move against a tiny baby who was barely more than a year old, and he felt extremely awkward and guilty, so he immediately agreed.

    Everyone descended from the sky and found a rtively obscure hill.

    Nobody had any experience feeding a baby. Finally, Huo Yuhao was the one who took that responsibility.

    No matter what, this boy was Ju Zi¡¯s son. He was very clear that there was nothing he could do or say to these Titled Douluo for now, so he would have to wait for everyone to leave the Sun Moon Empire before anything else. He had to protect this baby, no matter what, because the child was innocent no matter what his identity was. Furthermore, he was Ju Zi¡¯s flesh and blood!

    There wasn¡¯t any delicious or sumptuous food out in the wilderness. Huo Yuhao boiled some water he softened some dry rations by simmering them in water before he gave them to the little boy.

 Chapter 527.3 - The Crown Prince!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 527.3: The Crown Prince!</h4>

    This little fellow wasn¡¯t picky with his food. He was eating very happily, and naturally stopped crying because he had something to eat. But hisrge ck eyes were staring at Huo Yuhao from the beginning to the end.

    Reality proved that this one-year-old child wasn¡¯t just able to eat food for grown men; he could even walk. Even though he didn¡¯t walk very stably, the little child who should be Xu Yunhan began to walk by himself when Huo Yuhao let him go. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t ufortable with strangers, and he stopped crying once he was full. He was all smiles, and the way he smiled made all the Titled Douluo react with kind and amiable expressions. What a cute little baby!

    The little child returned in front of Huo Yuhao after circling around, and seemed to stare at him very seriously before he eximed babyishly, ¡°Daddy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao almost jumped to his feet in surprise.

    This child wasn¡¯t the only person to call him ¡°daddy¡±. The Snow Lady had called him that before. But Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that he was only awkward and embarrassed when the Snow Lady called him that, but when this little fellow called him that, he felt shaken.

    There seemed to be some kind of formless fate in theher that tied them together when the little boy uttered that word.

    Huo Yuhao possessed the Eye of Destiny, and he was extremely sensitive to it. He seemed to feel like his destiny was connected to this little fellow when the child called to him.

    He made his decision in that moment.

    Huo Yuhao took the baby back into his arms as he said teasingly, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Yunhan.¡± The baby replied very cleanly. Huo Yuhao realized from interacting with the baby that Xu Yunhan was already very good with words, even if he could only say a few. The baby had to be very familiar with those words, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be able to speak them.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously kissed the baby on his tender little cheeks. Xu Yunhan¡¯s chubby cheeks were soft and bouncy, and his smooth and tender skin was just like his mother¡¯s.

    ¡°Hehehe!¡± The little child seemed to feel ticklish as he withdrew his neck andughed.

    Huo Yuhaoughed as well. This kid was just too cute.

    Tang Wutong came over and began to tease little Yunhan with Huo Yuhao. She giggled and said, ¡°Seems like you¡¯re quite good with kids. Did you teach yourself?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°You might as well say that I¡¯m naturally talented. I will be an excellent father when we have kids in the future.¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed, but she didn¡¯t avoid his gentle gaze. Her eyes were brimming with happiness.

    A smiling face suddenly cut in between them in this moment, and tworge eyes stared at Tang Wutong seriously. ¡°Daddy, mine.¡±

    Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Your daddy isn¡¯t here, he¡¯s¡­¡± She suddenly paused when she said those words, and dejection appeared in her eyes as she nced at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s smile disappeared at the same time, and he gently caressed Xu Yunhan¡¯s head.

    Some more time passed as the little fellow fell asleep because he was full and tired from ying, and everyone took off once more. The Titled Douluo didn¡¯t say anything, but anybody would realize upon closer inspection that the atmosphere between everyone was conspicuously more tense.

    They were flying far too quickly, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory was so wide. Those who were pursuing them couldn¡¯t catch up because there was no way they could lock onto their positions.

    Huo Yuhao relied on his formidable Spiritual Detection as he sessfully took everyone across the border¡¯s defenses once more. They returned to the Ming Dou Mountain Range and directly descended towards the mountain range¡¯s main peak.

    The Titled Douluo¡¯s expressions were a lot more rxed when they returned. They were finally back, and even though their mission wasn¡¯t perfect, they had aplished at least half of it.

    They had heavily injured the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor, Xu Tianran, and managed to capture the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince, Xu Yunhan. But at the same time, the Body Douluo remained in the Sun Moon Empire forever, and would never return.

    The White Tiger Duke weed them personally. He stared at everyone¡¯s solemn expressions, and his eyes dimmed when he didn¡¯t see Du Busi.

    The White Tiger Duke turned to Huo Yuhao when they arrived inside themander¡¯s tent. ¡°Tell me what happened, Yuhao.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He was still carrying Xu Yunhan in his arms, and the little fellow was sleeping very soundly. He immediately recounted everything that he had seen on this mission in detail, except he didn¡¯t tell the White Tiger Duke about the Body Douluo handing him the Secrets of the Body.

    The White Tiger Duke shut his eyes painfully after listening to his report. After a few moments, he said, ¡°The Body Douluo realized his wish. He had already told me that before everyone departed. He couldn¡¯t recover from his old injuries, and he wanted to give his full strength to assassinate Xu Tianran on this mission. Back then, I already felt like something was wrong. And it seems like he had nned this a long time ago¡­¡±

    Everyone lowered their heads gloomily, especially those formidable individuals from the Body Sect. The Body Douluo¡¯s death undoubtedly meant the Body Sect¡¯s fall from glory. In addition to therge masses of their elites who had perished in the war, the Body Sect probably wouldn¡¯t regain their strength even after a few hundred years.

    The White Tiger Duke finally trained his eyes on Xu Yunhan, who was still in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. Aplicated look appeared in his eyes. Capturing the crown prince wasn¡¯t his idea. He had been heroic and valiant his entire life, but now he was using a child to threaten the Sun Moon Empire. He wasn¡¯t willing at all, from the bottom of his heart.

    But the Sun Moon Empire was far too powerful, and if they didn¡¯t have a n to counter them, the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t confident at all of defending his empire¡¯s territory when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s enormous empire descended upon them like a thunderstorm.

    Huo Yuhao turned to the White Tiger Duke with a calm look on his face. ¡°What shall we do with the child, Duke? What are you nning to do with him?¡± The word he used was ¡°you¡±, not ¡°us¡±.

    Hesitation appeared in the White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes as he said subconsciously, ¡°What suggestions do you have, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said without hesitation, ¡°War is an affair for men. It has nothing to do with children. No matter who he is, he¡¯s still a child. We are honorable men, so how can we use an infant to threaten our enemies? That¡¯s not honorable at all. Furthermore, with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor¡¯s personality, kidnapping the crown prince will lose its meaning, since he isn¡¯t dead. He can have one crown prince, so why can¡¯t he bear another?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were very precise. If the Body Douluo, Du Busi had assassinated Xu Tianran sessfully, then the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires wouldn¡¯t have to do anything if they captured the crown prince. The Sun Moon Empire would naturally descend into chaos because everyone would be fighting for control of the throne.

    The Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t have a leader, while the ruler had no heir. Who wouldn¡¯t want to rule over such a powerful empire?

    But Xu Tianran was still alive, so the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t truly be that chaotic. Kidnapping the crown prince under such circumstances perhaps wouldn¡¯t have its desired effect, unless Xu Tianran ced a lot of importance on that son of his, and was willing to pay a tremendous price for him. Otherwise, if he really did abandon the crown prince, then everything that everyone did would be meaningless.¡±

    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that capturing the crown prince is useless?¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s voice was suddenly a little higher than before. They went through so much to kidnap the crown prince, and even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s words sounded virtuous, he had still touched a nerve. That was especially so for the other Titled Douluo who were with the Heavenly Sun Douluo in capturing the crown prince. Everyone showed displeased expressions.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to offend. But if I had known that our mission¡¯s target was a child, nothing would have convinced me to participate.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo stared at him coldly and said, ¡°Child? This child¡¯s father is the one whomanded the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army to sweep over the Heavenly Soul Empire, and if that didn¡¯t happen, why would the Body Douluo sacrifice himself? His sacrifice created the opportunity for us to kidnap the crown prince. You¡¯re so young, but your tongue is sharp, and yet you think you stand on the moral high ground. Do you think that¡¯s enough to save your country? So what if we do despicable things for our country?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered inly, ¡°The reason why the Body Douluo chose to attack the sacrificial tform instead of personally kidnapping this child was probably because he felt it was beneath his dignity. Otherwise, on the day of the ceremony, all of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s high-level officials would be watching the sacrificial tform. Even without a diversion, what do you think the Body Douluo¡¯s chances would have been if he had snuck into the royal pce to kidnap this child, with his strength? Aren¡¯t you guys aware?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s faces changed once more as they heard his words. The Titled Douluo¡¯s expressions became even cker than before.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo turned to the White Tiger Duke and said, ¡°Duke, Huo Yuhao did contribute a lot to this operation, and he was a great help to us. Now that the mission has beenpleted, he can return to Shrek Academy. We should be the ones discussing whates next. He¡¯s a junior, and he doesn¡¯t have to continue participating.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded and turned to Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, the Heavenly Sun Douluo is right. You have already helped us a lot on this mission. You should go back and rest, and return to the academy as quickly as possible. We¡¯ll deal with the rest.¡±

    How could he not agree with what Huo Yuhao said deep in his heart? But their enemy was near, and he could only choose to protect Huo Yuhao as much as possible with so many Titled Douluo in front of them.

    The White Tiger Duke walked in front of Huo Yuhao and took Xu Yunhan from him as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was a little nk. He fixed his eyes on the White Tiger Duke, and when the Duke took the baby, Huo Yuhao suddenly asked, ¡°Duke, sir, if your son was the one who was kidnapped and your enemies wanted you to pay a price, would you do it?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was momentarily stunned. He suddenly felt that Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was a little blinding, but he still answered without hesitation, ¡°If my enemy¡¯s price was personal, then I would give my own life to save my child. But if my enemy¡¯s price was for me to betray my country, then I would avenge my son!¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenlyughed out loud and said, ¡°Good, good, you will avenge your son. You live up to your name as a loyal and righteous Duke! Haha, hahahaha!¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong along as heughed before he turned and left.

 Chapter 528.1 - Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutongs Strength!

    Chapter 528.1: Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s Strength!

    As he walked off, a Titled Douluo from the Dou Ling Empire couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°This kid is too arrogant. Although he¡¯s capable, it¡¯s still¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo turned grim. ¡°He¡¯s not just capable. When we were his age, we were nothing yet. His future is unlimited. In addition, are we reallyfortable with using a kid to threaten our enemy?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke sighed and said, ¡°Heavenly Sun, what suggestions do you have? What should we do next?¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°We should send a letter to the Sun Moon Empire under the name of our three empires and ask them to return the territories that they have taken from the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, there should also be a contract that prohibits any war from being started within the next hundred years. We¡¯ll then return the Crown Prince to him.¡±

    After hearing his words, the White Tiger Duke was stunned, and smiled bitterly. ¡°Elder Heavenly Sun, those conditions are a little too¡­¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo said, ¡°There¡¯s always a price to pay. If we don¡¯t set higher demands, how will we have the room to negotiate?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was a little conflicted right now. As he looked at the little fellow in his arms, he was at a loss as to what to do. He was someone with children, and not just one child. Even though he had killed many people in his life before, he still couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart when he saw a child in his arms in addition to what Huo Yuhao had said earlier.

    Huo Yuhao appeared much calmer after he returned to his room. He didn¡¯t utter a word and only sat on his bed.

    Tang Wutong apanied him and sat beside him. She grabbed his hand and ced it between her hands. After this, she lowered her head and said, ¡°Yuhao, go and do what you want to do. No matter what your decision is, I¡¯ll always be on your side. Even if¡­¡±

    As she spoke until here, she lifted her head to look at him. Huo Yuhao was also gazing at her by now. As their gazes met, the look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes became sharper. ¡°Even if you make the entire world your enemy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body shook, and he pulled her into his embrace. His voice was trembling, ¡°Alright, even if I make the entire world my enemy!¡± In his mind, both little Yunhan and the White Tiger Duke¡¯s face kept on appearing.

    Ju Zi, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely return your son to you. The war should never involve harming a little kid.

    In the future, we¡¯ll be enemies and I¡¯ll do my best to resist the Sun Moon Empire on the battlefield. However, I won¡¯t let your kide to any harm now. He¡¯s only a kid. In my heart, he isn¡¯t just some Crown Prince.

    The sky slowly turned dark. It was extremely dark on the mountains at night.

    Two figures silently appeared at the peak of the mountain, peering into the distance amidst the thick night fog.

    Tang Wutong was beside Huo Yuhao, helping to neaten his shirt.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very calm, but he clearly knew that this path that he had chosen would most likely change his future. However, he was very certain about his decision.

    Tang Wutong gently leaned on him and revealed a satisfied look on her face.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know what I¡¯m thinking of?¡± Tang Wutong asked softly.

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    There was a strong nostalgic look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Initially, you were still so small and weak when we first came to Shrek Academy. However, you defeated me using your persistence. Then, you left a deep impression in my mind. After that, we joined the freshman test and fought together, turning the impossible possible ¨C we emerged as the eventual champions. Now, we are going to fight together again. In fact, it seems like it¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Yes! They hadn¡¯t fought together in their peak condition in a long time. Ever since Huo Yuhao had been critically injured from retrieving the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, and had to sit in a wheelchair,.

    Huo Yuhao sighed a little and said, ¡°I hope we won¡¯t need to fight.¡±

    As they finished speaking, they had already disappeared into the night.

    Ever since Huo Yuhao, the Heavenly Sun Douluo and the rest returned, there was another tent beside the White Tiger Duke¡¯s tent. Two nannies were specially deployed to take care of Xu Yunhan.

    Xu Yunhan had been crying uncontrobly ever since he woke up and discovered that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t around. After a while, he couldn¡¯t stand the hunger, and fell asleep after eating something.

    His adaptability was actually very great. He was barely a year old, and didn¡¯t recognize anyone.

    The curtains moved slightly, and two figures arrived outside the tent.

    It was pitch-ck inside the tent right now. Little Yunhan was sleeping very soundly in his cot. The two nannies were sleeping at his side, ready to attend to the little fellow if there was a need to.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a gentle smile on his face, but he didn¡¯t make a sound. He walked towards the cot.

    At this moment, a long sigh could be heard outside the tent.

    ¡°Yuhao, why do you have to do this?¡± A low-pitched but firm voice echoed.

    Huo Yuhao acted like he didn¡¯t hear the voice and continued to walk towards the cot. He took Little Yunhan into his embrace. After this, he wrapped him up with a piece of cloth that he had prepared beforehand. With Tang Wutong¡¯s help, he wrapped him up tightly.

    How could he not have expected the White Tiger Duke to guess that he was going toe? However, he still came despite knowing that. This was because he clearly knew that he couldn¡¯t be fooled if little Yunhan wasn¡¯t here, given his Spiritual Detection. He would also be able to find little Yunhan¡¯s detailed location with his Spiritual Detection. This was why the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t move little Yunhan away. Huo Yuhao also went along with it, which brought him here.

    He gently caressed the little baby¡¯s soft ck hair. The gentle look on his face didn¡¯t change, ¡°Little fellow, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you until you return to your mother¡¯s side.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, and the two of them walked out of the tent.

    Outside the tent, more than ten figures were scattered in a semi-circle. The White Tiger Duke and Heavenly Sun Douluo were in the center.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo furrowed his brow, while the White Tiger Duke appeared as conflicted as before.

    Without a doubt, the Heavenly Sun Douluo was a little disdainful of Huo Yuhao in the beginning, but now, he was very impressed with Huo Yuhao, just like how the White Tiger Duke.

    They both knew that Huo Yuhao was going to be the main pir of Shrek Academy and a man of power in Shrek City in the future.

    If they could, they didn¡¯t want to offend someone like him and get into his bad books. However, Huo Yuhao was crossing the line by trying to take Xu Yunhan away.

    The Heavenly Soul Douluo said, ¡°Yuhao, we can take it as if nothing has happened if you leave the Crown Prince now. You can return to Shrek City.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°Since I¡¯m here, there¡¯s not backing out. We can¡¯t use a child as a bargaining chip in this war. We can¡¯t hurt him because of that. This is why I must take him away today. No matter what, I¡¯m leaving with him!¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s look turned sharper. ¡°How dare you? Do you really think you can escape with so many people here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were filled with resilience and a strong fighting intent, ¡°If I don¡¯t give it a try, how will I know? Even if I fail, at least I tried. If you want the kid back, you¡¯ll need to stop me first.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s clothes moved even though there was no wind. ¡°Alright, what an arrogant little man. I really want to see what abilities you possess apart from your detection and concealment abilities. How dare you talk so big?¡±

    As he spoke, the Heavenly Sun Douluo took a step forward. His entire body instantly started to shine. The strong light that came from his body made him seem like a rising sun. He reached forward with his right hand and grabbed towards Huo Yuhao.

    A golden hand appeared in the air and approached Huo Yuhao. The surrounding air distorted tremendously, and the temperature rose quickly. However, the weird thing was that the temperature only rose around Huo Yuhao. Nothing changed elsewhere. With his control of his soul power, this Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo was indeed very powerful.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward with his left foot. He ced his left palm in front of his chest and slowly pushed it forward. He wasn¡¯t quick, but the expressions of all the Titled Douluo changed when they saw him doing this.

    This was because all of them could sense that an ice mountain seemed to shift as Huo Yuhao pushed his palm forward. The immense aura that was released didn¡¯t seem to be weaker than that of the Heavenly Sun Douluo.

    Behind Huo Yuhao, a beam of jade-green light also started to shine. It was a ravishing beauty that was exuding a jade-green glow from her body. She was icy-cold as she stared at the Heavenly Sun Douluo.

    The heat in the air waspletely suppressed after she appeared. Even the light from the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s hand became much dimmer because of her.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move a single inch, but the hand that the Heavenly Sun Douluo formed was crushed in the air.

    A slightly red look appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, but it soon disappeared.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo was the most astonished by what he saw. He had thought that he already regarded Huo Yuhao very highly. However, it was only after seeing that that he realized he had underestimated Huo Yuhao. Even though he hadn¡¯t unleashed his full power yet, Huo Yuhao was still able to directly resist his attack. What did this mean? It meant that Huo Yuhao was strong enough to resist him.

    It was important to note that every single rank from a Transcendent Douluo on represented vastly different levels of abilities. To be able to resist the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s attack, Huo Yuhao had to at least possess the fighting strength of a Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo. None of the Titled Douluo around were able to do that!

 Chapter 528.2 - Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutongs Strength!

    Chapter 528.2: Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s Strength!

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes immediately shrank. He didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities to have grown to such a standard in just a short two years.

    This was astonishing. It was already very difficult to ept the fact that he was a Titled Douluo who was barely twenty, much less a Transcendent Douluo who was barely twenty.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t a Transcendent Douluo. He was still a Rank 89 Soul Douluo, yet to make his breakthrough. However, it must not be forgotten that he had a soul core. In terms of direct fighting strength, he was not weaker than a Titled Douluo.

    He even had Tang Wutong with him. When hebined his power with Tang Wutong, the fighting strength that they could generate was indeed at the tier of a Transcendent Douluo.

    Out of the three graduation tests that Shrek Academy set for Huo Yuhao, one of them involved Huo Yuhao being able to defeat Dean Yan Shaozhe.

    Yan Shaozhe was a ss 97 Transcendent Douluo now. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯t confident of beating him, but they were confident of escaping from him.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo was also Rank 97, but his abilities were still some way off from Yan Shaozhe. As a result, it was easy for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to resist the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s attack.

    Everything sounded very slow, but it actually happened in a sh. After his attack was dissipated, the Heavenly Soul Douluo¡¯s body instantly shone, and a blinding ball of sunlight also started to glow above his head.

    Countless streaks of blinding golden light turned into rays of light that shot toward Huo Yuhao.

    Lofty Lightrays! It was the Heavenly Soul Douluo¡¯s signature soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao remained unmoved. He slowly raised his right palm, which he had pushed forward earlier, and was now covered in diamond ice crystals.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s martial soul was fire-type. Although it was of a very high quality, it was still some way off from Ultimate Fire.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice martial soul was the jinx of fire-type martial souls. When his opponent¡¯s martial soul wasn¡¯t as strong as his, his martial soul would have an even greater effect.

    He mimicked a lifting action, and the jade-green projection behind him disappeared. What reced it was a fatso.

    This fatso was smiling from ear to ear, and his body exuded a strong icy-blue glow. He chuckled at the Heavenly Sun Douluo. Following this, a huge ball of icy-blue light shot violently into the air with Huo Yuhao at the center.

    This was the eighth soul skill of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Icy Meteor.

    Huo Yuhao clearly knew that it wasn¡¯t easy for him to break free from an encirclement by more than ten Titled Douluo. Among these Titled Douluo, five of them were Transcendent Douluo. Although thebination of Tang Wutong and his abilities were extraordinary, it wasn¡¯t possible for both of them to resist so many Titled Douluo at once.

    If they couldn¡¯t directly resist them, they could only find a means of escaping. Once they managed to put some distance between themselves and these Titled Douluo, Huo Yuhao could use his concealment abilities to flee. When that happened, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems even if there were many more Titled Douluo around.

    This was why he immediately used his strongest soul skills.

    When he first unleashed his Icy Meteor, it only appeared as a huge icy ball that was a meter in diameter. Nothing seemed to be very special about it. However, it kept growingrger as it rose. Furthermore, an icy aura was bing stronger and more violent inside this icy ball.

    When the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s lights struck this Icy Meteor, they were immediately dissipated. There wasn¡¯t any effect at all.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s expression changed slightly. If he wanted to unleash a powerful soul skill, he would need time to umte his power. Huo Yuhao was able to use his Icy Meteor immediately because he was already prepared, and also because he had the help of his Spirits.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had already appeared on his shoulder.

    This was why the Heavenly Sun Douluo didn¡¯t have time to unleash a powerful soul skill. He could only use his own immense strength to resist the Icy Meteor.

    ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s palms struck the Icy Meteor. In his opinion, Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were already at the standard of a Transcendent Douluo. At most, he would be flung away from trying to resist the attack.

    However, something unexpected happened. When his palms struck the Icy Meteor, the Icy Meteor stopped for a moment. However, it didn¡¯t blow apart. It didn¡¯t unleash any extraordinary power either.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo only felt as if there was ayer of glue on his palm, which glued it to the icy ball. Before he could even struggle, a weird yet terrifying power was violently unleashed from the Icy Meteor. It wasn¡¯t an attack, but a thrusting force.

    What was a meteor? It was an extremely rapid cluster of rock. This Icy Meteor wasn¡¯t an exception. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s precise control, its explosive strength wasn¡¯t unleashed. However, its speed was demonstrated almost instantly.

    As a result, all the Titled Douluo saw how terrifyingly quick the Ice Meteor was. It had really turned into a real meteor that flew into the distance.

    It didn¡¯t fly away on its own. The Heavenly Sun Douluo was still with it! This Ice Meteor was clearly taking the Heavenly Sun Douluo away with it. It was so quick that it appeared like a bolt of lightning.

    This meant that Huo Yuhao had forcefully dragged a Rank 97 Titled Douluo away in just a few shes, though whether he could harm the Heavenly Soul Douluo was another thing. At least he was able to iste the Heavenly Sun Douluo from the fight.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand didn¡¯t move down at all. The fatso behind his back changed to a ravishing yet mighty-lookingdy, who seemed to dominate the entire world.

    She was dressed in a long, white dress. She opened her arms behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Suddenly, an intense, deep-blue light turned into a huge beam of light that rose into the sky.

    Even the Heavenly Sun Douluo was greatly disadvantaged in the previous sh of hands. The rest of the Titled Douluo were slightly hesitant now. No one entertained the thought of striking first. This was because they were still unsure of how strong Huo Yuhao was.

    The beam of light shot into the sky. As it moved, countless snowkes danced in the air, and the entire region was covered in an icy fog.

    It was the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    It was just like how the Heavenly Sun Douluo focused all the heat on Huo Yuhao earlier. When Huo Yuhao unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, only the Titled Douluo were engulfed by this domain. Even the tents behind them were isted.

    However, even so, all the Titled Douluo felt as if they had lost track of Huo Yuhao instantly.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation increased, his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice naturally became much stronger. It became easy for him to iste all use of Spiritual Detection. After all, that was his signature ability!

    Strong spiritual undtions were also released from his body. His eyes had turnedpletely golden. On his forehead, his vertical eye lit up. It was his Eye of Destiny.

    Two rays of the Light of Destiny descended from the sky and struck both him and Tang Wutong. Luck was on their side now!

    Huo Yuhao held onto Tang Wutong¡¯s little hand, and she naturally went into his embrace. Suddenly, a huge golden vertical eye suddenly appeared.

    Right now, all the Titled Douluo were jolted to their senses. They used their powers to attempt to break out of the domain.

    However, this was a powerful domain-type skill that was abination of the Empress¡¯ Chill and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Domain of Perpetual Ice! Given how strong hisbination with Tang Wutong was as well as the Snow Empress¡¯ control of this skill, every Titled Douluo had to resist the blizzard and frenzied winds within the domain. They had to protect themselves before they could try breaking out.

    It was also at this moment that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s next soul skill was unleashed.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were as great as a Titled Douluo.

    Tang Wutong was already a Titled Douluo.

    The fusion skills unleashed by both of them were extremely powerful!

    A Golden Road which was thirty meters wide and infinitely long appeared.

    Five Titled Douluo were caught within this Golden Road. They only felt as if they had instantly fallen into a furnace. Their sensing of soul skills instantly vanished. Their own martial souls also disintegrated immediately. Even their clothes immediately melted. Suddenly, they were all petrified, and couldn¡¯t move at all.

    Among these five Titled Douluo, one of them was even a Transcendent Douluo. However, he was still stuck in the same situation.

    A purplish light projection suddenly rushed out at this moment. It was a huge, purplish dragon with butterfly wings. As it fluttered its wings, it was like a streak of flowing purple light. It was flying along the Golden Road.

    As it flew, countless small golden hammers scattered in the air. All the Titled Douluo that charged over were immediately stunned. They could only watch as the purplish light projection shot past. They couldn¡¯t chase after it at all.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest!

    The projection vanished amidst the golden light. The raging blizzard also slowly disappeared. What remained was only a bunch of Titled Douluo who were in shock as they looked at each other.

    There were more than ten Titled Douluo! Were they so weak that they couldn¡¯t keep two people here?

    Of course not. They didn¡¯t think of linking up at all! In their eyes, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were only juniors, no matter how talented they were. At most, they were only close to being Titled Douluo. The Heavenly Sun Douluo should have been enough to deal with both of them.

 Chapter 528.3 - Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutongs Strength!

    Chapter 528.3: Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s Strength!

    Moreover, they didn¡¯t think of harming Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Both of them came from Shrek Academy. If they harmed them, how could they ount to the academy? Because of this, they underestimated their opponents, and didn¡¯t give it their all.

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo returned, but he looked a little pathetic. The Icy Meteor had sent him extremely far away. At that instant, he couldn¡¯t resist, even though he wanted to. He could only muster his soul power to protect himself. When he finally umted enough strength to unleash a powerful soul skill, the Icy Meteor blew apart. The explosion didn¡¯t hurt him, but pushed him even further away. Undoubtedly, this was the result of Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual control.

    The rest of the Titled Douluo didn¡¯t pursue Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, as they had lost track of their auras. Furthermore, they were all in disbelief right now.

    Who would have thought that two youngsters who were barely twenty would managed to break free from an encirclement of more than ten Titled Douluo? They even managed to escape before any real fight had begun.

    The White Tiger Duke was also wide-eyed in shock. When he saw the frustrated Heavenly Sun Douluo, he was a little speechless too.

    ¡°Heavenly Sun, should we pursue him?¡± A Titled Douluo from the Dou Ling Empire asked.

    When the Heavenly Sun Douluo saw the Golden Road, there was an uncertain expression on his face. After a brief moment, he said in a weird voice, ¡°When we went to the Sun Moon Empire, we only had one target ¨C assassinate Xu Tianran. Eventually, the Body Douluo sacrificed his life to bring everyone back safely. This matter will end here.¡±

    After hearing the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s words, the White Tiger Duke heaved a sigh of relief. Without a doubt, the Heavenly Sun Douluo hadpromised. His words meant that he wouldn¡¯t pursue this matter any further. He would take it as if nothing had happened.

    This was undoubtedly the wisest choice. At least, they wouldn¡¯t offend Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao any further.

    This wasn¡¯t because of how much the Heavenly Sun Douluo admired Huo Yuhao. More importantly, it was because of the terrifying powers that he had revealed.

    He was already so strong, even though he was barely twenty. If he was able to escape from the hands of more than ten Titled Douluo now, what would he be like in ten years¡¯ time? There was no longer any way of seeing through him. Even the Rank 97 Heavenly Sun Douluo felt fearful because of him. Yes, fearful was the right word to use.

    Right now, they were sure that he was bound to be the person who would truly control Shrek City in the near future. He was definitely going to be an Ultimate Douluo! At least his abilities were unheard of, even for the Body Douluo when he was at Huo Yuhao¡¯s current age.

    Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls, of which one was an Ultimate martial soul and the other was a spiritual-type martial soul. His soul skills were immensely strong, and he even had Spirits, something that he hade up with on his own. Undoubtedly, he was a generational figure of the Douluo Continent. No one could see through him anymore.

    The White Tiger Duke walked in front of the Heavenly Sun Douluo. He sighed and said, ¡°It seems like we were really wrong. For someone like Huo Yuhao, we can say that he is a product of destiny. If he disagrees with something, it should be wrong.¡±

    The Heavenly Sun Douluo¡¯s facial muscles twisted, and he said, ¡°That rascal. He was really merciless! I was almost hurt just now. If I knew he was so strong, I would have gathered all the strength we could and attacked Xu Tianran. We might have seeded.¡±

    The Broken Star Douluoughed bitterly. ¡°If someone had told you that he was that strong, and could even resist you, would you believe it?¡±

    ¡°You wish. I¡¯m going now. Those from the Dou Ling Empire,e with me.¡± The Heavenly Sun Douluo didn¡¯t want to remain any longer. He took advantage of the night and quickly left with the Titled Douluo from the Dou Ling Empire.

    A few dayster, the news that the three empires from the original Douluo Continent had sent many soul masters to the Sun Moon Empire to assassinate Xu Tianran, along with news of the Body Douluo¡¯s death and Xu Tianran¡¯s critical injuries, quickly spread throughout the entire Douluo Continent.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army also started to act weirdly after that incident. ording to the intelligence gathered, many soldiers seemed to have been deployed within the Sun Moon Empire. It felt like something serious was about to break out.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were in the Sun Moon Empire right now.

    After leaving the Ming Dou Mountain Range, they took Xu Tianran on one round before they returned to the Sun Moon Empire.

    There weren¡¯t any Titled Douluo with them this time. The two of them were thus more agile, and managed to sneak their way back within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s borders.

    Little Yunhan was sleeping very sweetly. It was only at dawn on the second day that he woke up in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms.

    When he opened his eyes, he was about to cry. However, when he saw that he was in Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace, he smiled as he screamed, ¡°Daddy, daddy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao caressed his head and softly said, ¡°Call me uncle. I¡¯m not your father. I¡¯ll make you something nice to eatter. After you finish, I¡¯ll send you home, alright? Go home and find your mom.¡±

    ¡°Mommy, mommy!¡± Little Yunhan screamed twice, but then his eyes turned red, and he started to cry.

    Tang Wutong snapped, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. You triggered him by mentioning his father.¡±

    In the end, the temptation of food was much greater to a one-year-old kidpared to the temptation of meeting his mother.

    When Huo Yuhao made his signature fish soup and fed it to little Yunhan, he stopped crying. He was delighted as he feasted on the fish. Even though he was barely a year old, he was already very big. He ate a lot of fish and even drank the fish soup. He was extremely joyous.

    However, Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s inexperience with kids was still exposed. Yunhan had peed all over Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and only left him with a warm but wet feeling.

    They didn¡¯t have any children¡¯s clothing! They could only strip little Yunhan¡¯s pants before using Huo Yuhao¡¯s shirt to wrap him up.

    As he flew into the sky again and proceeded in the direction of Radiant City, Huo Yuhao sighed, ¡°Bringing up a child isn¡¯t easy!¡±

    Tang Wutongughed and replied, ¡°I wonder who it was that said that he would take care of our kid in the future?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not easy, but I didn¡¯t say I¡¯m not going to do it. If you are willing to give birth, I¡¯ll take care of every child that you bear.¡±

    Tang Wutong turned red. ¡°Wishful thinking. You have to earn my father¡¯s approval first.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°For someone as outstanding as me, I don¡¯t think I can fail even if he¡¯s extremely picky. When we return this time, let¡¯s invite him over.¡±

    Tang Wutong gently acknowledged his words.

    The two of them were in a rush. When they came close to Radiant City, they were both stunned.

    In just two days, the eastern suburb of Radiant City had beenpletely filled with soldiers. At least a few hundred thousand soldiers were gathered there. From afar, Huo Yuhao felt as if Radiant City was like a monster that was brewing with anger as he sensed it with his immense power of destiny. This monster was ready to bare its fangs at any time.

    Huo Yuhao turned serious immediately. It was indeed like he had expected. The Sun Moon Empire had no intention ofpromising because of Xu Yunhan¡¯s disappearance. On the contrary, the Sun Moon Empire seemed to have been enraged. Many soldiers were gathered here right now. Without a doubt, they were here to re-ignite the war!

    Arge-scale war couldn¡¯t be re-ignited at will. Although the Sun Moon Empire had been umting their strength for some time, they would still need to deploy arge number of reserves if they wanted to deploy their troops suddenly. They couldn¡¯t do it immediately, but it wouldn¡¯t take them long.

    Tang Wutong turned grim too. ¡°It seems like the Sun Moon Empire is going to attack more ferociously than before. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to be more difficult to deal with them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Even if we didn¡¯t snatch the Crown Prince, I believe Xu Tianran would have attacked a few days after the ceremony. But now, they have even more reason to do so.¡±

    Tang Wutong looked at Xu Yunhan. ¡°What should we do then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°No matter what, we need to bring this fellow back first. I¡¯ve said before that war has nothing to do with a kid. This is a confrontation between adults. I¡¯ll protect my empire and do my best to resist its enemies. However, I won¡¯t do anything lowly. We¡¯ll enter the city and return the kid.¡±

    Sneaking into Radiant City this time was far more difficult than the previous time.

    After the assassination incident, the city was under very strict supervision. Many more aerial surveince soul tools were installed,pletely covering Radiant City.

    It felt as if a big war was about to break out.

    However, this didn¡¯t stop Huo Yuhao. No matter how strong the aerial surveince soul tools were, there were still ws that he could exploit.

    He managed to find a w within an hour, and led Tang Wutong as they snuck into Radiant City before proceeding toward the imperial pce.

    They couldn¡¯t remain in Radiant City for a long time. They would leave quickly after returning little Yunhan.

    Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce.

    Ju Zi quietly sat in her own inner pce. Right now, she was dressed like a warrior, d in armor which was specially designed for her. It was a ss 9 soul tool. Among ss 9 soul tools, it was also one of the better ones.

 Chapter 529.1 - Dad, Hug Me!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 529.1: Dad, Hug Me!</h4>

    Even with Ju Zi¡¯s current strength, which wasn¡¯t more than a Soul Sage, she could temporarily possess a Titled Douluo¡¯s defensive capability and mobility for a short period of time using this set of armor.

    But Ju Zi was just sitting there holding a few sets of tiny clothes in her hands.

    She touched her cheek to the fabric and gently rubbed the clothes against her cheeks as transparent teardrops sttered down. Her eyes were full of despondence and helplessness.

    Even though she was an empress, she could clearly feel in this moment that there was nobody in the world who could help her.

    Yunhan, Yunhan, are you alright? Have those people hurt you?

    My son, my son, where are you!?

    No matter how tough a woman could be, she would still be incredibly weak and fragile when her child was involved.

    Xu Tianran was unwilling topromise for her, and there was no arguing the matter. Even though Ju Zi had an extremely exalted status within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, she still couldn¡¯t go against Xu Tianran, who was the true ruler.

    She wouldn¡¯t get her son back if Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t willing topromise, and she knew that Xu Tianran would make the same decision even if he had been the father of her child, though he might hesitate for a little longer.

    Xu Tianran, Xu Tianran! What an evil king. If my son dies, then one day, I will destroy you!

    Ju Zi bit down on her lower lip as her body quivered incessantly. Her tears had already moistened the tiny clothes in her hands.

    The war was about to start, and she was waiting for the army to gather. She hated Xu Tianran, and she hated those who had kidnapped her child even more. She wanted to go crazy, and she wanted to tell those who had kidnapped her son through war that she would annihte everything.

    Yes, a woman who had lost her child was absolutely one of the most frightening living beings on earth. There was no exception.

    ¡°Where are you, Yunhan? Do you know how much I miss you? Yunhan, my son, I will save you even if there¡¯s but the slightest chance. I will save you even if I can no longer be Empress, and I can no longer have my revenge. You are my life!¡±

    Tears flowed from her cheeks like a waterfall, and Ju Zi could no longer control herself.

    ¡°Are you really going to give up on your revenge?¡± A gentle voice travelled into Ju Zi¡¯s ears.

    Ju Zi trembled as she jumped up from her bed.

    This was her bedroom, the Empress¡¯ bedroom! There were many powerful individuals standing guard outside. Nobody could enter her bedroom without being discovered unless it was Xu Tianran himself.

    But this voice is just so crisp and bright, and it¡¯s familiar!

    Ju Zi¡¯s originally blurry and teary eyes immediately became sharp, and she ced her child¡¯s clothes to one side. She pressed something to her chest, and a rose helmet immediately rose from both sides of her shoulders andpletely covered her within.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, it¡¯s me. Ask your guards outside to leave and open the door, I want to see you.¡± That gentle voice rang out once more, and it was even more familiar this time.

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. She could tell who was here, and an incredulous look appeared in her teary eyes. She was like a statue as she remained fixated to the spot.

    She only reacted after several full seconds had gone by. She covered her mouth so she could force herself not to scream out loud, and patted her chest with her other hand continuously so she could calm herself down.

    She had no idea why he would appear inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal pce at a time like this. But his appearance was like a lifeline to her, in all her helplessness, grief, and agonizing. She felt like someone who had been drowning who had just grabbed onto a floating piece of wood.

    She forced down her emotions after a few moments as she walked to the gate and opened it before she lowered her voice and said, ¡°Leave, all of you. I want to be alone for a while. If I even hear anyone¡¯s breathing, I will hang you.¡±

    Her four servant girls, who were already quiet and shivering with fear, hurriedly took their leave. They were very aware that the Empress¡¯ mood hadn¡¯t been good for the past few days, and nobody dared to infuriate the Goddess of War at a time like this.

    Ju Zi pushed the gate open and stood at its entrance. She still wore a grievous expression on her face with traces of tears down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t know how long she had to keep the door open for him toe in, but she couldn¡¯t possibly ask all her secret guardians to leave. That would be too obvious.

    ¡°Alright, you can close the door.¡± That familiar voice rang out once more.

    Ju Zi shut the door and walked back into her bedroom.

    Two silhouettes that flowed like water appeared out of thin air.

    It¡¯s him, it really is him.

    The tears that she had just held back flowed out uncontrobly once more when she saw who hade to see her. But she didn¡¯t leap over in the end, because there was a figure next to him who she was familiar with, and full of jealousy.

    ¡°It¡¯s really you, Yuhao. Why have youe?¡±

    ¡°Mama?¡± A small arm that was like a tiny white lotus reached out from within Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms following her greeting.

    Ju Zi¡¯s voice froze. She stared at Huo Yuhao in disbelief, and then into his arms, and she became like a gust of wind as she dashed over and took the child from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands and into her own tight embrace. Ju Zi began to bawl uncontrobly.

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curved into a faint smile as he watched mother and son, reunited. His smile was filled with satisfaction, and no matter what he had given and the decisions he had made for this, he believed that everything was worth it.

    Huo Yuhao had lost his mother when he was just a child, and he knew how painful it was for a child to lose his or her mother. He watched as little Yunhan and Ju Zi were reunited with each other. He watched as this mother held her son so tightly in her arms. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was content, and he could almost see himself in his mother¡¯s embrace when he was a little child.

    Tears continued flowing down Ju Zi¡¯s cheeks as she hugged little Yunhan. The past two days were almost like two centuries for her, and not in her wildest dreams did she expect him to send her child back to her. But in this moment, her precious son who she loved so much was the only person in her heart, and in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried at all, and he was just standing there quietly with Tang Wutong next to him.

    Tang Wutong went up to his ear and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll go outside. You should speak to her.¡± She released Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand as she spoke and stepped out by herself.

    She had grown up and matured since she had regained her memory, and she knew when to let go of her man. It was like flying a kite; no matter how far the kite flew, what was there to be afraid of as long as the string was still in her hands?

    Ju Zi cried with little Yunhan in her arms for a long time. The little fellow was very well-behaved, and continuously wiped his mother¡¯s tears as he stared at his mother withrge, confused eyes.

    Something that he said finally stopped Ju Zi¡¯s tears.

    ¡°Daddy, did you bully mommy?¡±

    Ju Zi was stunned, and her tears stopped just like that.

    Huo Yuhao said a little awkwardly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why he keeps calling me that. Perhaps fate has brought me together with this little fellow.¡±

    Ju Zi muttered nkly, ¡°Fate, fate. It truly is fate!¡±

    Huo Yuhao coughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent your child back to you. I think you can guess what happened, and I have to leave as soon as possible. But you have to fabricate a story about how the child has returned so that you won¡¯t bring trouble upon yourself.¡±

    He turned and walked out as he spoke.

    Even though he knew he shouldn¡¯t be doing that, watching Ju Zi crying agonizingly with her child in her arms reminded him of the child¡¯s father, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor, Xu Tianran.

    He didn¡¯t know Wang Dong was Wang Dong¡¯er when he first met Ju Zi. She could be said to be the first girl to have entered his heart, but Ju Zi couldn¡¯t let go of the resentment and hatred in her heart, so they lost their chance to get together. Ju Zi chose Xu Tianran, but just as Huo Yuhao had left a deep imprint in her heart, Ju Zi had also left her mark on him.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Ju Zi stopped Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao paused in his tracks.

    Ju Zi stared at him, and her lips trembled as she asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°This child shouldn¡¯t be harmed by the war. I lost my mother, and I know how painful it is. In the beginning, I didn¡¯t know that this mission¡¯s target was actually your son. I would have stopped them from the start if I did. I have returned your child, so you must take care of him in the future.¡±

    Ju Zi bit down on her rosy lips as she stared at him with aplicated look in her eyes. ¡°What are you asking for in return?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he shook his head and said, ¡°If I make any requests of you, then what difference is there between those who kidnapped your son and me?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes became a little dazed. ¡°But did you not see the thousands and thousands of soldiers gathered outside Radiant City?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly became sharp. ¡°Perhaps we can only be enemies in this lifetime. But even if we are to be enemies, I can only meet you face to face on the battlefield. I will not use your child to threaten you.¡±

    Ju Zi lowered her head. ¡°You¡¯ll be in quite some trouble for bringing the child back, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°I will deal with it. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Ju Zi took a deep breath and raised her head bravely as she stared into his eyes. ¡°If I had agreed to leave with you back then instead of staying behind to chase after Xu Tianran, you would have chosen me and not her, right?¡±

    ¡°Her¡± was naturally referring to Tang Wutong, who was outside.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head and looked out. He had no intention of hiding anything from Tang Wutong, so he didn¡¯t want to cut his voice off from the outside.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know she was a girl back then. Perhaps¡­¡± Huo Yuhao had just said those words when Ju Zi dashed over with little Yunhan in her arms and fell into his arms. She hugged her child with one hand and wrapped the other tightly around him, and her tears began to flow uncontrobly once more.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, but he didn¡¯t have the heart to push her away in the end.

 Chapter 529.2 - Dad, Hug Me!

    Chapter 529.2: Dad, Hug Me!

    Ju Zi mumbled, ¡°I regret it. Yes, I regret it. Only in that moment when I lost my child did I realize that revenge isn¡¯t the first priority in my heart. When a person truly falls in love with another, that person can forget about his or her revenge. If I could make that choice again, I would have made a different one. I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao, it¡¯s my fault.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. His heart ached agonizingly as he listened to Ju Zi¡¯s words, but they both knew that there was nothing in the world that could reverse their regrets.

    Huo Yuhao patted Ju Zi¡¯s back gently before he struggled out from her embrace. He heaved a faint sigh, but said nothing more as he turned to walk out. He had already decided, but he was also looking back because of Ju Zi¡¯s words. Her words made him feel a little ufortable, but¡­

    ¡°Daddy, hug!¡± That babyish call stopped him once more.

    Huo Yuhao turned around, and nced warmly at little Yunhan in Ju Zi¡¯s arms. ¡°Be good, Yunhan. You have to listen to your mother.¡±

    Little Yunhan opened his arms. ¡°Daddy, hug¡­¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s voice was trembling. ¡°You should hug him one more time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated, but finally walked back in front of Ju Zi and took little Yunhan into his arms. For some reason, this little baby¡¯s cries seemed to touch something in his heart.

    Huo Yuhao hugged little Yunhan, and the baby naturally nted his tender cheeks on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. That appearance was exceptionally cute.

    Huo Yuhao patted his back softly, and his eyes became increasingly warm and gentle.

    Ju Zi began to cry even more uncontrobly when she saw that. She truly hoped that time would just freeze in this moment, that this moment would never change!

    But the child was finally returned to her arms, and she didn¡¯t even know how Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong left.

    Little Yunhan fell asleep in her arms. He was sleeping very soundly; this little fellow had always been very adaptable.

    Ju Zi¡¯s lips trembled as she repeated the same sentence to herself. ¡°He¡­ is actually¡­ your¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong snuck out of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal ce. If Xu Tianran found out that somebody could enter and exit his royal pce at a whim like this ce was uninhabited, who knew what he would think?

    Of course, that was also because Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong came in just for a spin, and they weren¡¯t executing any actual ns. Certain especially sensitive and powerful soul masters could discover them as soon as they could sense hostility and murderousness. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong maintained their cool from the beginning to the end, and that was one of the most important reasons why they could enter and leave so peacefully.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to like that child so much.¡± Tang Wutong whispered softly.

    Huo Yuhao turned around as he gently caressed her long hair.

    ¡°You¡¯re jealous?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Since she¡¯s missed her chance, then that chance will note back again, not unless time begins to flow backwards. Otherwise, you can only be mine.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. Even though Tang Wutong said she wasn¡¯t jealous, was she really not?

    Tang Wutong¡¯s next statement expressed her mentality.

    ¡°I will definitely bear a son for us in the future,¡± Tang Wutong said resolutely.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°That needs to happen. But I will love our child all the same whether we have a son or a daughter, and I will love them like I love you.¡±

    Tang Wutong pouted obstinately. ¡°You have to love me the most!¡±

    Huo Yuhao guffawed. ¡°Why are youpeting with our child?¡±

    They left Radiant City and flew into the air once more. They went back and forth between Radiant City and the Ming Dou Mountain Range within two days. Only they could bear such a burden with their ss 9 flying-type soul tools.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s face gradually became solemn as they raced through the sky. ¡°Yuhao, how do we ount for this matter when we return? I think they mightin to the academy. If they use you of coborating with the enemy¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°They won¡¯t, they¡¯re not so foolish. I was using Spiritual Detection over the main peak when we left, and I stopped only when we left its range. They had no intention to chase us, and this means we won¡¯t run into much trouble.¡±

    ¡°These Titled Douluo all have their own statuses and identities. Do you think they were very willing to capture little Yunhan? The truth is, no one there feltfortable in their hearts, including the White Tiger Duke. What we have done simply helped them make that decision. Besides, what good will using me of treason to the academy be for them? We have already disyed sufficient strength. Furthermore, the academy has always protected their incumbents, and the Titled Douluo know that too. The war is about to start up again, while the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires are hoping that we¡¯ll help them fight against the Sun Moon Empire. If I were them, pretending this matter never happened is the best oue.¡±

    Tang Wutong stared at Huo Yuhao with slightly dazed eyes. ¡°You have already thought about all this long ago?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No, but I can still make a rough judgment. Face and dignity is very important for Titled Douluo. Furthermore, the strength that we have disyed is sufficient for them to pay attention to us. They will need reconnaissance skills like mine in the war toe. I think the Dou Ling Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s Titled Douluo have already left, so let¡¯s go back to the Ming Dou Mountain Range for a bit, and we can prove our hypothesis. We can also pass on the news that the Sun Moon Empire has gathered its armies, and consider that making up for our transgressions.¡±

    Tang Wutong heaved a sigh. ¡°Won¡¯t they think that the Sun Moon Empire is gathering their armies because we have returned the crown prince?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Do girls be stupid when they get jealous? Silly girl, why do you ask such silly questions? First, the White Tiger Duke cannot make an erroneous judgment like that with his intelligence. How can the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires not know that Xu Tianran was making sacrifices so that he could restart the invasion? Their attempt to assassinate Xu Tianran was meant to stop this invasion from happening!¡±

    Tang Wutong hit him gently and said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who has be stupid.¡±

    It was dusk when they returned to the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    They had travelled several thousand kilometers back and forth over two days, and they also had to avoid the aerial surveince soul tools in their way. They were even engaged in battle. Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were extremely spent, despite their cultivation ranks.

    Theynded outside the White Tiger Duke¡¯s tent. Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection and quickly found the Duke, who was still dealing with military matters.

    To be safe, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go to see the White Tiger Duke directly. He used his concrete-immaterial spiritual power to conjure a projection to enter the White Tiger Duke¡¯s tent.

    The White Tiger Duke was still dealing with military matters that wereing in from everywhere. He had assumed control over the entire Western and Northwestern Field Armies, and could be called the number-one man in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s military. He had status, reputation, and was widely respected, while he controlled more than half of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s armies. He was probably the most powerful man beneath the emperor.

    The White Tiger Duke seemed to feel something as he suddenly raised his head. He saw a shadow appear not too far from him, though it didn¡¯t make any sound at all.

    The White Tiger Duke was startled, but he was Commander of the Three Armies, and his heart and mind were very calm. He identified the visitor after his initial astonishment, and heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Yuhao?¡±

    ¡°Lord Duke.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed slightly.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s expression immediately turned ck. ¡°You dare toe back. Are you aware that what you have done means a dozen Titled Douluo have achieved nothing in their mission?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I am simply doing what I think is right. Duke, did you not think that there was something wrong with the n? I will tell you the same thing. Kidnapping the crown prince doesn¡¯t achieve anything unless Xu Tianran is also dead. I have also proven this point when I was back in Radiant City before this. The Sun Moon Empire has already begun mustering their armies, and they will probably invade very soon.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was momentarily stunned. ¡°You returned him?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    The White Tiger Duke sighed and said, ¡°So be it. At least I¡¯ll feel a little better. The Heavenly Sun Douluo has said that this will be the end of this matter, and we shall pretend that this mission never happened. Therefore, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and answered, ¡°I wasn¡¯t worried about much in the first ce. But I still have to thank you, and the Heavenly Sun Douluo.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke said, ¡°You can say that to him yourself when you see him again.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies have already been assembled. I¡¯m afraid they willunch an all-out invasion in half a month to a month. I don¡¯t know if their target is the Heavenly Soul Empire, or if they¡¯re going for the Star Luo Empire. Therefore, you have to be more careful.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke frowned and said, ¡°The Heavenly Soul Empire is on the brink of annihtion, but the truth is, the Star Luo Empire is also faced with a great impending cmity! The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion means the Heavenly Soul Empire is in danger, but we aren¡¯t that much better.¡±

    Huo Yuhao fell silent. He knew what the White Tiger Duke was talking about.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s situation was the worst for the moment, as two-thirds of their territory had been conquered. The Star Luo Empire seemed prepared, and their armies seemed ready. They had a hundred thousand soldiers along the border, and they even had a natural stronghold like the Ming Dou Mountain Range to fortify.

    But was all that really the truth?

    The Sun Moon Empire had conquered much of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, and part of that territory was where the Heavenly Soul Empire had bordered the Star Luo Empire. Even though it was a hilly area, the ground was a lot tter therepared to the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    If the Sun Moon Empire wanted to attack the Star Luo Empire, they would naturallyunch an invasion from that side. The Sun Moon Empire could attack both the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire, and both parties would find it incredibly difficult to defend themselves even if they gave everything they had, no matter which side the Sun Moon Empire chose to attack first.

 Chapter 529.3 - Dad, Hug Me!

    Chapter 529.3: Dad, Hug Me!

    That was the reason why the White Tiger Duke had a headache. He couldn¡¯t possibly relinquish their defensive perimeter along the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Otherwise, if the Sun Moon Empire conquered the Ming Dou Mountain Range once more, the Star Luo Empire would be pushed into an even more backward position.

    But they couldn¡¯t not defend their northern front. Such a long battlefield was extremely unfavorable for the Star Luo Empire. The Dou Ling Empire behind them had it a lot better inparison. They had the Heavenly Soul Empire in front of them for defense, after all. Furthermore, once the Sun Moon Empire hadpletely overrun the Heavenly Soul Empire, they would undoubtedly have to face Shrek City. Shrek City¡¯s strength was an important form of invisible protection for the Dou Ling Empire. That was also one of the most important reasons why the Heavenly Sun Douluo decided to relent, because he didn¡¯t want to offend Shrek Academy.

    Huo Yuhao began to contemte. ¡°Duke, can wee in?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was shocked by his question.

    The tent¡¯s curtains were lifted in the next moment. The soldiers outside didn¡¯t realize at all as two figures materialized right in front of him. There was only one Huo Yuhao in the tent, but now there were two.

    The White Tiger Duke nced at the one on the right, and then the one on the left.

    He heaved a sigh of admiration. ¡°That is so amazing! Yuhao, did you know what we were all full of admiration for the strength you disyed when you broke out? Seems like you¡¯re all grown up now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°Duke, now is not the time topliment me. You should think about what you should do. I can report back to the academy once you make a decision so that we can do our best to cooperate with your ns.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke forced augh and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so anxious and worried if there was a good solution. You are very aware of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s fighting strength at the front, and ambushing them with sudden attacks is also very difficult. They are too flexible and mobile, and they can move around very quickly with their soul tools, especially those formidable soul engineer legions of theirs. I want to hear your advice.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is ultimately facing the continent¡¯s three empires all by themselves. Their military deployment covers a muchrger territory after conquering the Heavenly Soul Empire. Our battlefront is long, but in truth, the Sun Moon Empire faces the same situation. The only difference is that their military strength is concentrated along the nation¡¯s borders as much as possible, and they are having aparatively easier time because they have powerful soul tools. This also means that their inner regions are extremely empty.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke said, ¡°Everyone knows that, but it¡¯s no use even if we know that they have this weakness. The Sun Moon Empire have deployed many surveince soul tools along their borders. We cannot possibly go undiscovered if we mobilize our armies for an attack. They still have many soul tool forts along their borders, and any front can impede us for a period of time sufficient for them to send reinforcements.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°If we wish to defeat the Sun Moon Empire and achieve victory in this war, then we have to hold back their main forces effectively while gradually weakening them. This is the only way to put them up to their ears in work, and the only way we can execute a war of attrition against them. Just like when you sentrge masses of soul masters into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory to conduct gueri warfare back then.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke shook his head. ¡°That move is not effective anymore. The Sun Moon Empire have increased their production of aerial surveince soul tools over the past two years, and they have too many eyes in the sky. Our men will be going to their deaths if they attempt to infiltrate again, and we have already tried it. It wasn¡¯t effective, and we lost many men. Unless we have extraordinarily talented individuals like you who also possess formidable concealment abilities, nobody can possibly infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled when he heard the White Tiger Duke¡¯s words. He suddenly pped his hands and said excitedly, ¡°I have an idea, I have an idea!¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was momentarily stunned.

    Huo Yuhao took a few quick steps forward and came beside the Duke. He could naturally feel the White Tiger Duke¡¯s aura when he came near, and he couldn¡¯t help but think about the scene when he carried him high into the sky.

    But his emotions rippled for but a moment before he immediately returned to normal. He whispered something beside the White Tiger Duke¡¯s ears.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s pupils contracted as he listened, and he snapped his head around. ¡°Really? Can we really do that?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded forcefully and said, ¡°Theoretically, we can. The Sun Moon Empire will mobilize all their forces when they restart the war. If we don¡¯t take drastic measures, we have no chance of defeating their formidable soul engineer legions on the battlefield. We can only threaten them at their very core to have a chance of emerging victorious.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was extremely intelligent, and he immediately understood what he had to do when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao, you can leave the front lines to me. We will use our lives to prolong the battle even if we can¡¯t win so that we can keep them on the battlefield. I will immediatelymunicate with the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. The three empires will use ourbined strength to hold back the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces so that we can buy time for you and the academy. But you have to be quick, because I don¡¯t know how long we can hold out.¡±

    ¡°Alright, agreed. We¡¯re very tired, and we wish to rest here for the night over here. We will hurry back tomorrow morning.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke got to his feet. He became a little excited after listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    He pped Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder heavily and said, ¡°Excellent, Yuhao. If we can execute your n sessfully, I believe the Body Douluo¡¯s spirit in heaven will definitely bless you with good fortune.¡±

    Huo Yuhao seemed a little disoriented when the White Tiger Duke patted him on the shoulder with hisrge hand. He didn¡¯t recoverpletely even after he returned to the tent that he and Tang Wutong were staying in.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuhao?¡± Tang Wutong asked concernedly.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Is it because of the White Tiger Duke?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded as he forced augh and said, ¡°For some reason, I feel less and less hostility towards him.¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled faintly and said, ¡°That¡¯s a good thing! Just like Ju Zi said, revenge cannot block out love and kinship. You don¡¯t have to think too much. You should pay attention to what¡¯s at hand, and you can think about this again after dealing with the Sun Moon Empire. It¡¯s not toote to contemte your rtionship with him after beating the Sun Moon Empire back. Furthermore, your mother would be very happy that you¡¯re cooperating with the Duke like this if she had been alive.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression became a little dejected when she talked about his mother. Will mother really be happy? I only had one goal when I entered Shrek Academy back then, and that was to take revenge for my mother! But now, I am getting farther and farther away from iming my revenge.

    Soft knocking sounds suddenly came from outside.

    Huo Yuhao swept the area with his spiritual power, and knew who was here.

    ¡°Come in, Luoli.¡±

    Dai Luoli pushed the door open and stepped in. His eyes glowed when he saw Tang Wutong. Even though this wasn¡¯t his first time seeing her, this was still the first time that the brothers were interacting alone with Tang Wutong around.

    Dai Luoli took a few steps forward and said softly, ¡°Are you alright, brother? I¡¯ve heard that you conflicted with some Titled Douluo?¡±

    Tang Wutong was astonished when she heard the way that he addressed Huo Yuhao. She nced at Dai Luoli, and then at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly exined to her, ¡°Luoli is the only one who knows my true identity. Luoli, this is your sister-inw, Tang Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, sister-inw!¡± Dai Luoli hurriedly greeted Tang Wutong respectfully.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t heard much about Huo Yuhao over the past two years, and they hadn¡¯t met, none of that affected his admiration for his older brother.

    Dai Luoli had heard much from Dai Yueheng and his father about his older brother¡¯s legendary stories.

    Huo Yuhao represented Shrek Academy¡¯s elite youths, and he had invented Spirits. He was the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s honorary master, he had an Ultimate martial soul, and he led Shrek Academy¡¯s team to achieve glorious results twice in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Dueling Tournament. He was a legendary figure among the younger generation of soul masters, and possibly even across the entire world of soul masters.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had helped the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Western Field Army turn the tide of battle on several asions. Dai Luoli had witnessed those episodes personally. In his mind, his elder brother was his idol.

    Dai Luoli had been standing guard when Huo Yuhao returned. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hide his presence when he came out from the White Tiger Duke¡¯s tent, and Dai Luoli immediately came to find him after changing guards. He was afraid that his elder brother would be gone once more if he didn¡¯t go find him, and he didn¡¯t know when they would meet again. Two years had passed since thest time they separated!

    Tang Wutong smiled and nodded in Dai Luoli¡¯s direction. She was happy for Huo Yuhao, happy that he had at least recognized a rtive.

    ¡°Why are you here, Luoli?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Dai Luoli said, ¡°Nothing much, except we haven¡¯t seen each other for so long and I have missed you. Oh, brother, can you get me a Spirit some time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grinned and said, ¡°You¡¯re still a Soul King. It¡¯s a little too early for a Spirit. I will definitely find a suitable Spirit for you when you reach Rank 70.¡±

    It was easy for Huo Yuhao to identify Dai Luoli¡¯s cultivation rank with his strength. Dai Luoli had been growing very quickly over the past two years, and he should be around Rank 55 right now. His cultivation speed was considerably impressive for his age, and it was evident that his potential and talent had beenpletely activated whether or not his martial soul had truly awakened and mutated.

    Huo Yuhao would have rmended him to Shrek Academy to study if matters at the front lines hadn¡¯t been so pressing. Furthermore, the atmosphere at the front was very suitable for him to cultivate.

    Dai Luoli¡¯s martial soul became a Blood Tiger after mutating, and it was most suitable for fighting on the battlefield. Dai Luoli would improve quickest through continuous battle and training.

    Dai Luoli was extremely excited when he heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t worry brother, I will definitely work hard to cultivate.¡±

    Huo Yuhao inquired about his current cultivation situation, and gave him some pointers.

    Dai Luoli could tell that it was gettingte, and only then did he take his leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then, brother.¡±

 Chapter 530.1 - Frog Hopping Technique

    Chapter 530.1: Frog Hopping Technique

    ¡°Run along. I will be returning to Shrek Academy with your sister-inw tomorrow morning. I hope you will have be a Soul Emperor by the time I return.¡±

    ¡°Brother, I will definitely do my best.¡± Dai Luoli was about to turn and leave. However, he suddenly stopped and turned around. He had an awkward expression on his face as he asked, ¡°Brother, are you really not going to acknowledge him as your father? In these two years, he has aged a lot. If only you were by his side¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Huo Yuhao growled in displeasure.

    Dai Luoli was stunned.

    Huo Yuhao calmed down before continuing, ¡°Run along. I will naturally settle my business with him in the future.¡±

    After Dai Luoli left, Huo Yuhao rubbed his face with his hands. Tang Wutong stood behind him and massaged his shoulders.

    ¡°Wutong, I really don¡¯t know how to sort out my rtionship with him. To be honest, my hatred for him has been decreasing. But am I really not going to avenge my mother?¡± Huo Yuhao could only share his true thoughts with Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°Regardless of whether you n revenge or not, you should sort things out with him sooner orter. However, now is definitely not the right time. To be honest, don¡¯t you think that his days are numbered? If the Sun Moon Empire were tounch another attack on the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the Star Luo Empire might not be able to fend them off. Hence, the most pressing matter at hand is to win the battle which is about to unfold.¡±

    After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. There is no family without one¡¯s country.¡±

    After meditating for an entire night, both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt refreshed. Following which, they bade goodbye to the White Tiger Duke before returning to Shrek City.

    ¡­¡­

    At the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Pce.

    ¡°What? The Prince has returned?¡± Xu Tianran was shocked as he looked at Ju Zi, who was hugging the Prince and tearing up before him.

    Even though he did not have much feelings for the Prince, who was not his own child, he understood the importance of the existence of this prince for the stability of the Empire. Having a prince meant there was a sessor to the throne. Hence, he was bent on using all possible methods to allow Ju Zi to recover the Prince.

    Xu Tianran regained his calm and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Ju Zi was shedding tears of joy as she replied, ¡°I have no idea what happened. After checking on the soldiers this morning, I returned to find the Prince lying in the bed. He was just having fun by himself. I have no idea who sent him back.¡±

    The answer contained no useful information at all.

    Xu Tianran frowned and said, ¡°Previously, those Titled Douluo abducted the Prince to ckmail me. Why would they return the Prince so easily?¡±

    Could they have done it out of their conscience? Xu Tianran would never have believed such an idea. He did not believe in the existence of a conscience. In his eyes, interests and benefits governed our universe.

    Despite being interrogated about the details, Ju Zi remained very careful with her answers, and did not reveal any unnecessary details. She was a smart woman, and had fabricated a story along with all the minute details beforehand. She had merely dyed the news by a night.

    After checking with Ju Zi, Xu Tianran summoned the guards and interrogated them. There was no doubt that their lives had been turned upside down after they had failed to stop the intruders the other time. Other than random pieces of useless information, they were unable to provide anything useful.

    After punishing them for their failure the other time, Xu Tianran did not pursue the matter further. He ordered the Imperial Physician to make sure the Prince was alright and stopped all investigations.

    After all, he was still very trusting of Ju Zi. In fact, she could be said to be the person who he trusted the most. There was no one else he ced the same amount of trust in. Xu Tianran was even nning to rely on her to conquer the world for him.

    She had cried her heart out that day when the Prince disappeared. Xu Tianran had always felt bad for letting that incident happen. Now that the Prince had returned, he felt that asking too many questions would not be appropriate.

    ¡°It seems like those people must have started to panic after seeing our army assemble, and have decided to return the Prince to us. Do they really think this will stop me from my ambitions of conquering the world? They must be daydreaming. My Empress, our n will remain the same. After we are done with our preparations, you will still be the Commander of the Three Armies.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded as she hugged her son tightly. She whispered, ¡°Your Majesty, I have a small request to make.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Xu Tianran spoke.

    Ju Zi hesitated a while before continuing. ¡°The Prince¡¯s disappearance had taken a lot out of me. I can¡¯t stop ming myself for not protecting him properly. This time, because I will be leaving for an extended period of time for the campaign, I wish to bring the Prince along with me to prevent a repeat of this incident.¡±

    After hearing her words, Xu Tianran flew into a rage. ¡°What?! You want to bring the future leader of our Empire onto the battlefield?! Ju Zi, has your ego gone to your head? How dare you raise such a request to me!¡±

    Ju Zi copsed to her knees before Xu Tianran. She did not say anything as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s heart started to soften as he stood up and walked towards her. ¡°I cannot allow you to do this. How can I let the sessor to my throne leave the pce? You may rest assured that I will step up the pce security after you leave. I will make sure I get someone to protect the Prince and ensure that he does note to any harm. I guarantee you that all of the above will be done. You know very well that even though the Prince is not my own child, I have no chance of having my own child. In the future, every plot ofnd and drop of water I own will belong to him. Hence, you must put in your best into this campaign. The Three Armies will be ced under yourmand. When you return victorious, I will bring the Prince and wee you back personally. We will organize the biggest celebration for you when you return.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± There was nothing else Ju Zi could say.

    At this instant, little Yunhan, who was sound asleep in Ju Zi¡¯s embrace, woke up and eximed, ¡°Father!¡±

    Xu Tianran, who was looking very serious, found his body trembling after hearing what little Yunhan had just said.

    Regardless of who he was, he was ultimately still human. Being infertile was one of the biggest blows for him in his life. Little Yunhan¡¯s words had hit the softest part of his heart, making him feel guilty for making those remarks earlier.

    Hence, he helped Ju Zi up from the ground before patting on her shoulder. He said, ¡°Spend more time with him during these few days we have.¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Little Yunhan cried out again.

    Xu Tianran burst intoughter as he pinched little Yunhan¡¯s cheek. ¡°Yes, my little Prince. You must pray for the safety of your mother and wish for her to return victorious.¡±

    When Ju Zi carried Xu Yunhan out of the Imperial Study, her clothes were already drenched with sweat.

    Even though Xu Tianran enjoyed being addressed as little Yunhan¡¯s father, it was a nightmare for Ju Zi! This was because she knew little Yunhan was not calling for Xu Tianran. Ever since that little fellow learned how to speak, he had never called Xu Tianran father.

    Even though this was the first time little Yunhan was calling out openly, Ju Zi knew that he was actually calling out for Huo Yuhao!

    Toddlers would never lie. Ju Zi was really afraid that little Yunhan would give it away. Fortunately, little Yunahan did not say anything other than the word father.

    After bringing her son back to her room, Ju Zi let out a sigh of relief. However, she still had a very nervous expression on her face.

    After shutting the door, sheid her son on her bed as she gradually regained her calm. As she gently stroked little Yunhan¡¯s hair, she muttered, ¡°My dear baby, it¡¯s really in your nature to be like this! Don¡¯t worry! No matter how tough it might be, I will never let you suffer again.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°It seems like war is inevitable!¡± Elder Xuan sighed.

    Huo Yuhao reported all the events that had urred on his journey, including the time when he returned little Yunhan to Ju Zi.

    Elder Xuan did not ask too many questions, nor did he try to reprimand Huo Yuhao. All he did was let out a long sigh.

    ¡°This time round, even though we have managed to recharge and sharpen our capabilities, the Sun Moon Empire has also had the same two years to recuperate and recover what they have lost and expended. I can only imagine how devastating the war will be. Besides, as of now, we don¡¯t even know where they will strike. This is thergest problem at hand. Yuhao, share your thoughts on this with me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The current situation has already be fairly clear. The Sun Moon Empire continues to possess an absolute advantage over us. Their soul tool technology should still remain above our expectations. If I were to hazard a guess, Ju Zi should still be the Commander. From what I understand about her since she was also a student of Teacher Xuan, her military talents far exceed her talents as a soul engineer. She is well-versed in different military strategies, and will be a difficult opponent. She was the one who drafted the n to use their widely publicised attack on the Star Luo Empire as a decoy for their main attack on the Heavenly Soul Empire. Now, she possesses even greater strength, and it will be extremely difficult for us if we were to face her directly.¡±

    ¡°Since we can¡¯t match their abilities and power, we have no choice but to employ an unorthodox strategy. Based on my calctions, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely ce an army on the other side of the Ming Dou Mountain Range to monitor the troops of the Star Luo Empire and prevent them from invading. The bulk of their troops will enter the regions of the Heavenly Soul Empire they have already captured. This would allow them to link up with the troops that have fortified the border and intimidate the rest of the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, they can continue to threaten and deter the troops from the Star Luo Empire. Even though the area where the Star Luo Empire connects with the originalnd of the Heavenly Soul Empire is fairly treacherous, it is a lot less dangerous than the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Hence, no matter what, the Sun Moon Empire will never give up their advantage.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and asked, ¡°So what is this unorthodox strategy you were talking about?¡±

 Chapter 530.2 - Frog Hopping Technique

    Chapter 530.2: Frog Hopping Technique

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire must have drafted plenty of new soldiers after invading two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯snd. However, the fighting power of these new soldiers is ultimately limited. They will only send their strongest troops to the front line. Hence, this means that the defence of the Sun Moon Empire will be rtively weak. If we can dispatch an elite squad to strike the Sun Moon Empire from their backs, or even perform sabotage operations in Radiant City, the battle at the front lines would be a lot less intense. In fact, there¡¯s even a chance that the battle could dissolve.¡±

    ¡°After all, the original three nations of the Douluo Continent have plenty of resources. If we were to fight a protracted war, there is no reason for us to fear the Sun Moon Empire. And if the Sun Moon Empire were to continue to attack, they would only sink deeper into the regions within the original three nations. Their line of battle would only extend, rendering it impossible for them to return to protect their homnd.¡±

    Elder Xuan frowned. ¡°Your strategy sounds pretty good. However, it is near impossible for us to dispatch an elite squad to the interior of the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire has enough resources dedicated to surveince of both thend and sea routes which lead to theirnd. They would naturally be able to react the moment they detect our troops. I can¡¯t think of how we¡ªthe Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire¡ªcan transport our troops to the interior of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao gave a sly smile as he replied, ¡°It would naturally be impossible for the original three Empires. All of their troops have been ounted for by the Sun Moon Empire. Besides, their fighting power is far from sufficient. This elite squad must not only possess immense destructive capabilities and must be extremely flexible and agile, but they must also be able tond their blow with a single attempt, and sessfully flee onmand. If not, the effect of this strategy would be very limited.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°It seems like you already have someone in mind, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. At this juncture, there was no longer any need for him to withhold the information. ¡°Yes. I am referring to the three soul engineer legions which our Academy has painstakingly trained.¡±

    It had taken close to a year to assemble the equipment for these three soul engineer legions by tapping into the wealth and support of Shrek City and the three Empires since Xuan Ziwen gave his suggestion. They had been undergoing intensive training as they learned how to better utilize their equipment and gear.

    However, Xuan Ziwen, Huo Yuhao and the higher-ups in the Shrek Academy knew well enough that the capabilities of the three soul engineer legions were still not on par with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legions. The three soul engineer legions¡¯ abilities were all too singr. Out of the three legions, only one of them possessed airborne capabilities. Even though the other two had their own individual special abilities, their collective fighting power was still a long way from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s legions. Their ws were all too apparent.

    Nheless, they were the products of the blood and sweat that Shrek Academy had shed for the past two years. When Huo Yuhao suggested the deployment of these three soul engineer legions, Elder Xuan was taken aback. It was simply a very costly and risky investment!

    It was hard enough to figure out how to send them over to the Sun Moon Empire. Even if they were sessfully sent over there, how were they going to survive the battles that would no doubt take ce?

    These three soul engineer legions were formed from thousands of soul masters! They were essentially the foundation of the entire academy. If they were to all perish on this mission, Shrek Academy would suffer an unprecedented loss.

    Huo Yuhao naturally knew what Elder Xuan was worrying about. When he was on his way back, he had already rehearsed his n and fine tuned the details in his head.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, have you forgotten that I have the spectral demine? I know we won¡¯t be able to bring the thousands of soul masters in the legion into the Sun Moon Empire. However, if it¡¯s just me alone, those surveince soul tools would have no effect on me. They would essentially be blind. And this has already been ascertained from my repeated trips to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Elder Xuan was stunned. However, soon enough, a smile broke out on his face. His excitement tranted into a powerful spiritual wave which rippled out from his body and sent Huo Yuhao staggering a few steps backwards.

    That¡¯s right! Even though his spectral demine contains spectral creatures and has limited space, if Huo Yuhao were able to carve out a space to contain the troops, it would actually be possible to transport them to the back of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Elder Xuan found his heart beating faster.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It¡¯s better if we go with fewer people for such operations. Even bringing three legions would reduce our flexibility and agility, though my spectral demine would more thanpensate for it. We will be the most unpredictable unit ever. It would seem as though they had all been equipped with ss 9 flying-type soul tools. Even though it would take time to transport them, the amount of time required would still be very shortpared to conventional transportation means. As long as the three Empires are able to dy the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, I am confident that we can wreak havoc in the interior of the Sun Moon Empire. In fact, there¡¯s a good chance that we can threaten Radiant City. If that happens, we would have achieved something spectacr.¡±

    After hearing what Huo Yuhao had said, Elder Xuan took a deep breath before speaking with conviction. ¡°Let¡¯s get everyone in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion together for a conference to discuss this. We must only seed, and not fail. Yuhao, you must shoulder the responsibility for this operation.¡±

    Because the n was suggested by Huo Yuhao, he eptedmand without anyints.

    An hourter, everyone, including Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan, gathered together and started the conference.

    Huo Yuhao exined what he had shared with Elder Xuan to the rest who were not present earlier.

    After hearing his daring tactics, all the Elders within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion could not believe their ears. In fact, some of the Elders did not even know that Huo Yuhao possessed the spectral demine.

    ¡°Yuhao, how will you ensure that the spectral creatures in your spectral demine will not attack our people? Will your restrictive measure be guaranteed to work even when you¡¯re not around? You must understand that you will have to fly on the outside when you are transporting the spectral demine to the Sun Moon Empire. If anything happens inside the demine when you are outside, it might just turn out to be the biggest joke ever.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Can I invite all the Elders to enter my spectral demine? I believe it will be easier to show you what it actually is instead of trying to exin with words.¡±

    The Elders had all understood how the spectral demine would be the key to turning the tables. If they were not able to see it with their own eyes, how would they befortable with his n?

    After Huo Yuhao chanted some incantations, the pitch ck doors opened, and Huo Yuhao led the Elders into his spectral demine.

    The sky within the spectral demine was dark and grey. After entering, they felt a suffocating atmosphere. This pressure was exceptionally obvious to the living.

    A dark breeze blew across thend as a couple of skeleton soldiers strolled around aimlessly in the distance. After detecting the presence of living creatures, they looked up and started to move towards the group of people from the Shrek Academy.

    A golden light flickered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and immediately, those skeleton soldiers looked down again and fled.

    Those who had entered the demine before were not surprised by whaty before their eyes. However, those who were entering for the first time were particrly surprised by the absence of life in this grey plot ofnd.

    This was a parallel space which waspletely outside of the Douluo Continent! In their eyes, everything which existed within this space was unheard of.

    After the golden light faded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, he gave a cold stare as an ice-blue light formed behind him. Following which, a tall, burly fellow appeared behind him.

    ¡°Grandpa.¡± After seeing Huo Yuhao, he greeted him enthusiastically. He was none other than Little Bai¡ªthe Ice Bear King.

    Only a few people in the Shrek Academy knew Huo Yuhao¡¯s true strength. When the rest saw him release the Ice Bear King, many of them silently gasped in surprise.

    They were all powerful individuals within Shrek Academy, and were definitely more than capable of understanding what that meant for Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities.

    Because the Elders had all attained the rank of Titled Douluo, they could no longer possess spirits. However, this did not interfere with their interest and research into spirits. Conversely, their interest in spirits was a lot stronger than younger people.

    It was apparent that the fatty that Huo Yuhao had just released was one of his spirits. Huo Yuhao was the only soul master known to have multiple spirits.

    The fact that the spirit was able to take on a human form and solidify meant that the fatty was a beast with at least ten thousand years of cultivation before bing Huo Yuhao¡¯s spirit.

    However, most of the people seemed to have ignored how it addressed Huo Yuhao as his grandfather.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Little Bai as he instructed, ¡°Get yourself toe out.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡¯ Little Bai agreed as he turned around and released a deafening howl across the expansive ins.

    Even though this howl was not particrly bright, it was very special. As the sound wave travelled outwards, there were signs of ripples moving across the air. Strangely enough, the ripples did not seem to affect those who were present.

    It must have cultivated for more than ten thousand years!

    That was everyone¡¯s first reaction.

    It did not take long before a deep humming sound could be heard from afar. As the ground started to tremble, the group of people could see how the spectral creatures started to move away, as though they were fleeing from their natural predator.

    Before long, a gigantic figure appeared in their vision. Yes, it was humongous! Truly humongous!

    This big fellow was over a hundred meters tall. Its muscr body was even thicker and broader than some of the smaller mountains. It was covered in ayer of grey fur. When it was running, there was a faint bluish-grey air current that rippled about its body.

    The most peculiar thing about it was its eyes. There was a powerful blue me burning in its eye sockets. During its run, some of the mes escaped from the corner of its eyes.

    Even though the Elders of Shrek Academy were all extremely powerful, they still could not help but feel the pressure in the air when they saw this big fellow.

    ¡°What a big bear!¡± Zhang Lexuan gasped in shock.

 Chapter 530.3 - Frog Hopping Technique

    Chapter 530.3: Frog Hopping Technique

    Yes, that was a hundred meter-tall bear. Its appearance had sent all the spectral creatures, including the fearsome skeleton dragon which was flying high up in the sky, scurrying away. It was almost as if it were the king of the world of the undead.

    And that was, in fact, the truth!

    The gigantic bear only stopped after it reached the spot where the group was gathered. Now that it was nearer to them, the Elders could feel how strong its soul power was. In fact, it was radiating more than just soul power; it was also emanating a dense spectral aura.

    Little Bai waved its hand as the gigantic bear lowered its body. Little Bai leapt onto the bear¡¯s shoulder before the gigantic bear stood up again. Following which, it leaned its body forward as though it was bowing to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded to acknowledge the bow from the bear. Following which, he turned to the Elders and smiled. ¡°This gigantic bear was Little Bai¡¯s original physical form. Previously, Little Bai and I did our spirit fusion in the spectral demine. It was during that time when Little Bai¡¯s body started to change for unknown reasons. It somehow managed to remain alive. As a result, I was not able to acquire his soul bone. But in return, this made it even stronger than before. Now, it is the strongest fighter in my spectral demine. It is the true king of this ce and hence, I am certain that our soul masters will note to any harm under its protection.

    Huo Yuhao had given Little Bai¡¯s body the name Er Bai. Of course, it was named this way simply out of convenience.

    Previously when Er Bai was struck by the lightning, it managed to absorb the spectral aura in the spectral demine and form its own spiritual fire. Of course, its spiritual fire was formed from the remnants left by Little Bai when he transferred his spirit to Huo Yuhao.

    The main reason why Huo Yuhao did not take the soul bone from Little Bai¡¯s body was because the soul bone had be a source of energy for Er Bai.

    After these two years, Er Bai had already gained a stronghold in the spectral ne. Just as Huo Yuhao had described, he had already be the king of the spectral demine.

    Because Er Bai and Little Bai were connected by heart, even if Huo Yuhao was not in the spectral demine, he could monitor Er Bai¡¯s situation through Little Bai. Hence, it would not be a problem for him to take care of and protect the army which would be ced in the spectral demine in the future.

    Elder Song nodded and said, ¡°Yuhao, your demine is truly amazing. After seeing how things work in your demine, I am willing to support your suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder Song.¡± Huo Yuhao hastily thanked Elder Song.

    Subsequently, the rest of the Elders all nodded in agreement as they gave their consent to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n. To be honest, other than Huo Yuhao¡¯s unorthodox method, none of them had any idea that could bring hope to the current situation.

    Even though the Shrek Academy was very strong, it would still be very difficult for them to resist the armies of the Sun Moon Empire if they were tounch an attack against them. Furthermore, it would be impossible for the Sun Moon Empire to let go of Shrek Academy, especially after what they had done previously to rece the Sun Moon Continent¡¯s name with Douluo Continent. The hatred the Sun Moon Empire had for Shrek Academy had be one which concerned the pride of the Sun Moon Empire. Hence, Shrek Academy could only stand on the opposing side of the Sun Moon Empire. There was simply no other option.

    During these few years, Shrek Academy had made tremendous advancements in terms of their development of soul tools. Hence, many of the higher-ups in Shrek Academy recognized the power and importance of soul tools.

    Shrek Academy might have improved their powers tremendously by researching and harnessing the power of soul tools during these few years, but one could only imagine how much stronger the Sun Moon Empire would be, considering how much longer they had dabbled in soul tools. Because the development of soul tool was exponential, their powers could only exceed Shrek Academy¡¯s original calctions.

    Hence, the academy definitely did not possess the confidence that it would win its battle with the Sun Moon Empire. An unorthodox strategy was required to be victorious. Hence, Huo Yuhao¡¯s n was the most convincing strategy in the eyes of the Elders.

    In fact, that was probably the only way they could turn the tables. While the Sun Moon Empire definitely had their weaknesses, it would not be easy to expose them on the actual battlefield.

    After leaving the spectral demine, the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion Conference resumed. The atmosphere in the conference was visibly more optimistic. It was undeniable that the existence of the spectral demine had be Shrek Academy¡¯s trump card to go up against the Sun Moon Empire.

    Amongst the powerful Elders, some of them were particrly skilled in the art of war. Those Elders started to offer suggestions to further improve Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    It took them an entire day before the conference ended. Shrek Academy made the final decision to mobilize the three Soul Engineer Legions and adhere to Huo Yuhao¡¯s n. The academy would not be sending any higher-ups to participate in this operation. Instead, they would be heading to the frontlines of the Heavenly Soul Empire to deceive the troops from the Sun Moon Empire.

    This operation would mainly be organized by the Tang Sect. The powerful cultivators from the Tang Sect would leave their nest and take action against the Sun Moon Empire.

    After their discussions, it was time for the preparatory work. They had also decided on the mobilization time¡ªthe time when the Sun Moon Empire nned to move out.

    The three Soul Engineer Legions from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect consisted of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion, and the Fort Soul Engineer Legion.

    Amongst the three legions, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion had the fewest number of people. However, it was formed from their elite soul masters.

    Themander of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was originally Xian Lin¡¯er. Furthermore, there were about ten Titled Douluo in the entire Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. However, Shrek Academy had decided after the Conference to not participate in this operation directly. Hence, the ten Titled Douluo would not remain within the legion.

    This meant that the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion would now be led by newmanders. The newmander would be Bei Bei, while the vicemander would be Xu Sanshi. Jiang Nannan and the other powerful cultivators of the Tang Sect were also moved into this legion.

    Their total number would be two hundred soul masters. Every single one of them was at least a Soul Emperor. It was difficult even for the Sun Moon Empire to organize a legion with members at this level.

    Themander of the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion was Huo Yuhao, while its vicemander was Tang Wutong. They weremanding a legion of a thousand soul masters¡ªor rather soul engineers. They were equipped with three hundred top-ss huge Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. They were all ss 6 soul tools, and required their soul engineers to be at least ss 4 to utilize them. These cannons were all equipped withrge amounts of stationary soul cannon shells.

    Thest legion was formed from 1500 soul masters with rtively weaker cultivations. Their minimum cultivation level was a three-ringed Soul Elder. Theirmander was Caitou, while their vicemander was Xiao Xiao. They were equipped with three hundred of Xuan Ziwen¡¯s personally redesigned All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts.

    These three soul engineer legions were all built painstakingly by the Shrek Academy over two years.

    Actually, these legions had already started to take shape a year ago. Since then, they had been training hard and receiving improved equipment. Right now, they had started to be a formidable force, and would be the main fighting force for Huo Yuhao¡¯s n.

    When it came to surprise attacks, the quality of the soldiers was more important than quantity.

    In the military drill ground near the perimeter of Shrek City.

    The military drill ground seemed to have been transformed into a metallic forest as it emanated a scary aura.

    There were close to three thousand soul masters, three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, and three hundred All-Terrain Self-Driving Forts.

    Every single soul master in the three legions was overwhelmed with excitement. They were finally going to enter the battlefield after having trained for two long years.

    They had trained hard every single day as they tried their best to master their soul tools. In fact, many of them had once participated in the battle against the Great Star Dou Forest during the beast wave to protect Shrek City.

    They were the true elite forces of Shrek City. The truth was that these three legions had pretty much expended half of Shrek City¡¯s financial resources.

    Now, they were finally going to leave Shrek City to fight their formidable foe. Everyone wished they could be famous in this battle. Everyone wished to leave their beautiful name in the history books.

    There was no doubt that the war against the Sun Moon Empire was going to be a big opportunity for many people.

    All the higher-ups of the Tang Sect, including Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, Ji Juechen, and Jing Ziyan, were all dressed in their military gear as they observed their soldiers from the observation deck.

    Xuan Ziwen had gotten Na Na and Gao Dalou to stay at the Tang Sect with him to ensure the continuation of daily operations. Other than them, pretty much all of the higher-ups in Tang Sect had been mobilized.

    The threemanders of the legions had all agreed that Huo Yuhao would lead them.

    Bei Bei nodded towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°You should say a few words.¡±

    As the Chief Commander, Huo Yuhao knew it was not the time to back down from such things.

    After taking a few steps forward, Huo Yuhao looked at the thousands of soul masters who were standing beneath him. ¡°I am Huo Yuhao. I believe everyone already knows what kind of operation we are about tomence against the Sun Moon Empire. I only have one request for all of you. I need all of you to listen to the orders being issued. Regardless of what you see and discover after this, you must adhere to the orders which have been given to you. If we are able to emerge victorious and seed, our names will all be engraved in the glorious history of the Douluo Continent.¡±

    ¡°I believe all of you already know that I was the one who started the Spirit Pagoda from scratch. I can assure all of you that after we havepleted this operation, all of you will get spirit transmission priority.¡±

    ¡°This battle goes beyond defending the pride of our Academy. At the same time, it is about defending our country and our homnd. I believe many of you heree from the Heavenly Soul Empire. You should all be familiar with its current situation. We can¡¯t watch our country be ravaged in this war without doing anything. We must put in effort to defend our country.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was not using a sound amplifying soul tool, but his voice echoed in everyone¡¯s minds. His powerful spiritual energy was able to envelop the entire military drill ground.

    ¡°Our strategy will be different from everything you have known. I call it the Teleportation Tactic. Now, I will use my ability to allow all of you to rest in another world. All you have to do is rest up and get ready for the uing fight.¡±

    As he finished his speech, eight soul rings started to form around his body.

    Because of the appearance of the Spirit Pagoda, Huo Yuhao had long attained legendary status. But few people had actually witnessed him releasing his martial soul.

 Chapter 531.1 - Breaking in! The Raid Starts!

    Chapter 531.1: Breaking in! The Raid Starts!

    The Spirit Eyes had seven rings, while the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had eight. The rings of two different colors interchanged as they shone brilliantly. In the next instant, Huo Yuhao transformed into a gigantic eye that was floating in mid-air.

    A deep melodic chanting sound began as the higher-ups who were waiting on the observation deck returned to their legions.

    The Eye of the Asura! Yes, this was the Eye of the Asura! The soul masters from the three different legions were all screaming inside with excitement.

    Nine huge ck doors slowly opened before the observation deck.

    Actually, this was not the limit of Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability. It was just unnecessary for him to use all of his abilities.

    ¡°Get ready to enter.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice reverberated across the military drill ground.

    The Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion¡ªthe least mobile legion¡ªwas the first to move. They also happened to be the unit under Huo Yuhao. Under the control of the soul engineers, the three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons rolled towards the huge doors.

    After the repeated improvements Xuan Ziwen had made, these crossbow cannons now had tracks. When necessary, they were able to use their stored soul power to drive themselves forward. Even though their speed was still fairly limited, it was a lot better than having to rely on human strength all the time.

    It took a whole ten minutes for the three hundred crossbow cannons to fully enter the ck doors into the spectral demine.

    While they were slowly entering, two hundred figures had already activated their flying-type soul tools and were levitating in mid-air. This was none other than the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡ªthe only legion which possessed flight capabilities.

    The Fort Soul Engineer Legion spread out into a fan shape as every single All-Terrain Self-Driving Fort fully extended their long legs. Compared to the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion, they were a lot more agile and mobile. They formed a fan shape and guarded the nine huge doors as though they were the sweepers of the team.

    A few people stood at a corner of the military drill ground. As they watched the scene unfold before them, they could not help but nod. After these two years of rigorous training, these three legions now finally possessed true fighting power. It would depend on themander as to how they would actually perform on the battlefield.

    After the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion entered, it was the Fort Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s turn. They were a lot faster, and it took them only four minutes to enter. Last but not least was the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. They flew in from the top in an organized fashion, and only took two minutes.

    In total, the three legions¡ªwhich contained two thousand seven hundred people¡ªtook sixteen minutes topletely enter Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine. If one were to add in the time which Huo Yuhao used to chant the incantations, they would have used twenty minutes in total.

    This meant that they would be able to retreat from anywhere in twenty minutes. This was definitely contingent on Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability to escape detection, which had already been tested during his countless forays on the battlefield.

    After the nine ck doors were closed, the military drill ground returned to its formerly quiet state. One could only tell that there were many soul masters here previously from the tracks the heavy artillery and forts left on the ground.

    The Eye of the Asura morphed back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure. Afternding on the ground, he moved towards the group of individuals who were standing under the tree at the corner of the military drill ground.

    The leader amongst them was none other than Elder Xuan. The two Deans¡ªYan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er¡ªwere standing by his side.

    ¡°Elder Xuan!¡± Huo Yuhao greeted politely.

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°The ball is now in your court. Let¡¯s hope you can give us a much-needed miracle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°I am confident that we can pull it off. We will also have to depend on all of you for the battle at the frontline.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire might be strong, but do you really think the three original empires of the Douluo Continent are a joke? It won¡¯t be that easy for them to invade us. Anyways, I just received an update this morning. Just as we have predicted, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army has already entered what was formerly thend of the Heavenly Soul Empire. They are now moving towards the southeast region of the Heavenly Soul Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao started to break out into a sweat. It seems like time really waits for no man! At the same time, the figure of ady fleeted into his mind. Ju Zi, are you still themander leading the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army?

    I really don¡¯t want to bump into you on the battlefield!

    ¡°Yuhao, you can start moving out. Regardless of whether or not you seed, do your best to bring them back.¡± Elder Xuan instructed Huo Yuhao as he gave him a pat on the shoulder.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao answered politely. Following which, he bade goodbye to both Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er before flying up into the air. Then, he vanished as he sped towards the Sun Moon Empire.

    It would take time for the three legions to familiarize themselves with and ept their surroundings within the spectral demine. However, Huo Yuhao did not have to be overly concerned with these things. The other higher-ups of the Tang Sect had taken up the responsibility to brief the legions on the spectral demine. Also, he had already gotten Er Bai to chase away the spectral creatures and create a camping area for the three legions. At the very least, the soul masters would not be able to see any spectral creatures near their camping area. This would naturally make things smoother.

    Even though they had only left in the morning, by noontime, they had already arrived at the Ming Dou Mountain Range because of how fast Huo Yuhao was flying. However, the White Tiger Duke was not at the Ming Dou Mountain Range where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Western Army was camping. Instead, he had already led his elite troops to the north of the Star Luo Empire.

    This time round, the Sun Moon Empire did not conceal the route they were taking. Hence, the Star Luo Empire were also beginning to make preparations after receiving the news of their impending attack.

    Of course, there were still plenty of troops which camped at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, including five legions. Other than the troops, Princess Jiujiu was also here.

    ¡°Yuhao? Howe you¡¯re here?¡± Princess Jiujiu was extremely happy to see Huo Yuhao.

    As time passed, Huo Yuhao had started to gain the recognition and acknowledgement of the higher-ups in the different empires after showcasing his abilities. Besides, Huo Yuhao was still holding out for the title of Duke of the Star Luo Empire.

    After sitting down with Princess Jiujiu in the tent, Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Your Highness, do you have thetest news?¡±

    Princess Jiujiu said, ¡°I do have some news, but it might not be extremely urate. The only thing that is certain is that the Sun Moon Empire has assembled over three hundred thousand soldiers for their armies. It seems like all of them have been transported into the Heavenly Soul Empire. From the looks of it, they are probably going to link up with the troops that are already within the Heavenly Soul Empire. As to what they will do next, we have no reliable intelligence on that.¡±

    ¡°Other than this, the Sun Moon Empire has strengthened their defences at the borders of theirnd. In fact, they have ced at least two soul engineer legions on the other side of the Ming Dou Mountain Range to supplement their aerial surveince soul tools and existing troops. With their new setup, we can¡¯t even send a fly in to do any reconnaissance work. Yuhao, since you are here already, do you mind helping us do some reconnaissance work?¡±

    Even though he was looking into the Princess¡¯s hopeful eyes, Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Your Highness, I am sorry, but I do have another mission at hand. However, I can help you solve some of your reconnaissance problems.¡± Following which, Huo Yuhao gave her a sly smile.

    Princess Jiujiu seemed to have caught what Huo Yuhao was hinting as she said, ¡°That would be great. However, I must let you know how sly their surveince soul tools have be. They do not only possess a greater range, but also greater mobility and speed. They will flee the moment they detect any dubious movement. At the same time, the other soul tools in the area will stop any attempt from the enemy to intercept the surveince soul tool. Hence, this will be a challenging task. We have tried to use soul cannon shells to bomb the surveince soul tools multiple times, to no avail.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°These are probably the best prevention methods they can employ. But rest assured, I have my ways. Even though I won¡¯t be able to destroy all of them, I am confident I can take down at least some of them.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu was evidently excited by Huo Yuhao¡¯s reply. ¡°That would be great! If we can give the Sun Moon Empire some pressure from here, the battle at the frontline will be a lot easier for our people.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Then I shall begin to make my move. Afterwards, we will be inserting ourselves into the Sun Moon Empire to continue our battle. Goodbye, Your Majesty.¡±

    After bidding her goodbye, both Huo Yuhao and Princess Jiujiu stood up. She moved closer to Huo Yuhao and looked at him with an inexplicable look. She said, ¡°Yuhao, you are truly the most outstanding youth I¡¯ve ever seen. The Star Luo Empire will forever be your home. As long as you wish for it, the Empire can give you all the honor and glory you might want.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°In that case, if this operation were to bepleted sessfully, I shall return to ask for the title of Duke from Your Majesty.¡±

    Princess Jiujiu was a little shocked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s request. It was not the first time that he had asked about this title. However, he had never asked for anything other than the title¡ªnot even a plot ofnd. Why is he so persistent about the title?

    Of course, it was still more reassuring to know that he wanted something, instead of not wanting anything at all. Xu Jiujiu said, ¡°Yuhao, what is your mission actually about? Can you tell me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a short while before replying, ¡°I am leading some troops to perform a sabotage operation within the Sun Moon Empire just like the Duke did previously. If we seed, I am confident that we can threaten the foundation of the Sun Moon Empire and alleviate the pressure on our troops at the frontline.¡±

    It was apparent that the White Tiger Duke had not inform Xu Jiujiu of this n. After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, Xu Jiujiu was very much taken aback. ¡°You are going to bring an entire army into the Sun Moon Empire? Are they from the Shrek City Defense Army?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Pretty much. However, they are stronger than the Defense Army. I don¡¯t think it would be appropriate for me to reveal any more information. I just hope I can bring back good news soon. Alright. I¡¯ll see you around, Your Highness.¡±

    Xu Jiujiu saw Huo Yuhao to the edge of the main peak and watched him take off until his figure disappeared in the sky. Her emotions, which had been suppressed for the past few days seemed to have rxed a little. She clenched her fists and muttered to herself, ¡°Good luck, Yuhao!¡±

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would not share the secret of his spectral demine with Xu Jiujiu. Even though there would be a lot of people who would learn of his spectral ne after the war ended, he still believed he should keep it a secret¡ªat least for the time being.

 Chapter 531.2 - Breaking in! The Raid Starts!

    Chapter 531.2: Breaking in! The Raid Starts!

    As he became stronger, some of the things that he had to be extremely careful with before could now be treated with less caution.

    As a faint glow shed on his body, Huo Yuhao projected an ice-cold beam from his face. While he was flying, he had already unleashed his spiritual detection ability to search for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools, which were hiding somewhere in the sky.

    The current surveince soul tool setup used by the Sun Moon Empire was very different from the one they had used previously. These soul tools werepletely separated and spaced out. Even though they were able to cover a huge range, their arrangement was not in an extremely predictable pattern. In fact, the Sun Moon Empire had employed a dual surveince method by performing surveince from both thend and the air. The ovepping of their surveince range would increase the chances of detecting enemy movement and guaranteed better safety.

    Almost every surveince soul tool was protected by a soul tool on thend, and the aerial surveince soul tools were also acting as a radar for the soul tools on the ground. Hence, it could be said that they were highlyplementary, and would help improve their security to a huge extent.

    Nowadays, there were linked soul tools wherever soul tools were stationed in the Sun Moon Empire. These linked soul tools could perform both offensive and defensive operations. When it came to their offensive capabilities, they could kill a Titled Douluo in a split second. This was why linked soul tools were extremely scary. Because of their overwhelming power, even the powerful Body Sect could not stop the advance of the Sun Moon Empire

    Because the Sun Moon Empire had stepped up their security at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, neither the White Tiger Duke nor Princess Jiujiu could do anything to the Sun Moon Empire.

    If arge army were to attempt to prate these lines of soul tools, they would still be able to do so. Nheless, they would have to deal withrge numbers of casualties. In addition, they would not know what kind of security would be stationed in an ambush position due to the impossibility of doing any form of reconnaissance. Falling into an ambush after sustaining heavy losses from prating the thick lines of soul tools would be a cost even the Star Luo Empire could not undertake.

    Hence, the White Tiger Duke opted to defend the Ming Dou Mountain Range instead of taking the risk to attack.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection was ultimately limited, and could only detect arge party of troops. He could not get aplete picture of all the troops near the perimeter of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Nheless, this would not affect his mission.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would not be foolish enough to attack those aerial surveince tools. He would simply be a target for the soul tools lined up beneath him. In fact, they would not even have to take aim at him. They simply had to shoot upwards into the sky, and he would be in an extremely precarious position. One must remember that Huo Yuhao was not fighting alone.

    After going around the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince tools, Huo Yuhao flew straight into the Sun Moon Empire. He went straight to the nearest station where the Sun Moon Empire had set up a series of soul tools.

    He went up to them in an extremely delicate fashion before circling to the back of the area. He took a moment to use his spiritual detection to analyze thendscape of this station before finding a gap to get closer to them.

    From his spiritual detection, Huo Yuhao was able to tell that this station had over a hundred offensive soul tools and several types of soul tools which could help with surveince, defense, and auxiliary work. Outside of the station, there were five thousand normal soldiers who were tasked with defending this soul tool formation. The interior of the station was primarily manned by a few soul engineers. Their numbers were not veryrge¡ªjust over a hundred people. It was apparent that the soul tools were running on sealed milk bottles. The soul engineers simply had to control their daily consumption. After all, the most demanding soul tools were the offensive and defensive ones, and they did not have to be operated that often.

    After surveying the surroundings of this station, Huo Yuhao silently crept away and retreated to a blind spot where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools would not be able to detect him. He chanted a few incantations and opened his spectral demine.

    After entering the demine, Huo Yuhao met up with hispanions and shared his n.

    After listening to his n, all of them agreed to it, and the nine ck doors soon opened in an inconspicuous forest, and the heavy artillery started to roll out. Yes, it was none other than Huo Yuhao¡¯s Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion.

    The three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were able to line up in an organized fashion very quickly as they waited for orders to be issued. It was only now that they realized they had already arrived at the Sun Moon Empire in such a short amount of time. They were feeling both excited and amazed by this revtion.

    The higher-ups of the Tang Sect also emerged from the spectral demine.

    Tang Wutong naturally moved to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. Huo Yuhao announced, ¡°I want everyone to get ready to attack. Eldest senior brother, Wutong and I will head over to the station where the soul tools are. After sabotaging them, we will immediately return.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Take care.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he activated Imitation. He started to creep towards the ce where the soul tools were stationed.

    The soul tools stationed in that area were in fact very sensitive. However, their surveince ability was limited to a certain range. To put it simply, their surveince was useless on soldiers outside those ranges, Hence, those surveince soul tools were primarily used to keep watch on movement in the sky. When it came to watching the ground, that was the responsibility of the aerial surveince soul tools.

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power evolved again, oscition detectors were no longer useful against him. He could use his spiritual power to detect any oscition waves that were headed in his direction. He was also able to use his Ultimate Ice to change the temperature around him to avoid detection by thermal detectors. Hence, it was extremely hard for any soul tools to detect him. He was only vulnerable to the extremely rare spiritual power detectors and soul power detectors.

    These two detectors were extremely limited, as they could only detect fluctuations within an extremely short range.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could enter the camp of the normal soldiers without being detected.

    Right now, it was the middle of the afternoon. After lunch, the five thousand soldiers were taking their afternoon breaks. The lives of soldiers tended to be a lot more rxed when they were not in the middle of a war. Their routine usually included some training in the morning, breaks in the afternoon and patrols in the evening.

    As they went through the camp, they started to get closer to the ce where the soul tools were stationed.

    ¡°Yuhao, what should we do now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°There are only about a hundred soul engineers inside. The strongest one is but a seven-ringed Soul Sage. I believe he has yet to attain the level of a ss 7 soul engineer. Nheless, this area is enveloped by surveince from soul power detectors and spiritual power detectors. The soul engineers in this area must be carrying some sort of pass which allows them to roam around without being mistaken as an enemy. We would probably get found out the moment we stepped into the area. However, the soul tools in this area seem to be heavy weapons. Even though they might be very destructive and can activate the powers of linked soul tools, they probably won¡¯t be able to unleash their powers within the area.¡±

    Tang Wutong immediately caught what Huo Yuhao was hinting at. ¡°We are going to rush in?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shed her a smile. ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go.¡±

    After he finished his sentence, Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and dashed into the area like a lightning bolt. His eyes turned brilliant golden the moment he stepped into the area where the soul tools were stationed.

    Huo Yuhao might have twin martial souls and an Ultimate Strength martial soul, but the most frightening thing about him was not his fighting power. It was his invincible reconnaissance ability.

    Even though there were plenty of surveince soul tools and even some spiritual power detectors within the area, they were unable to stop Huo Yuhao¡¯s ability from scanning the entire camp.

    Huo Yuhao immediately grasped the locations of all the different soul engineers within this area. This information would be extremely helpful for his subsequent actions.

    The ce that Huo Yuhao had chosen to enter first was the resting area for the soul engineers who were in charge of protecting and controlling the soul tools.

    The resting area was ced in the center of the camp in order to protect them.

    Huo Yuhao dashed straight towards the center of the camp with both of his eyes shining with a golden color.

    The daily maintenance and surveince work for the area did not require many people. It was only during war when they required everyone to be working at any point in time. Hence, most of the soul engineers were congregated at the resting area. That was why Huo Yuhao chose to strike this area first.

    At the very instant when he stepped into the camp, a mysterious spiritual ripple spread out from his body.

    He was immediately detected by the spiritual power detectors as the rm within the camp went off. However, this would not be sufficient to stop him.

    Huo Yuhao activated his Eye of Destiny as his spiritual power was increased to its maximum. At this very instant, the entire resting area was within his control.

    As the saying went, amander must not go easy on the enemy¡¯s soldiers. As the Chief Commander of Shrek City¡¯s three Soul Engineer Legions, he had to be responsible for the safety of his troops, and more importantly, the hope and future of three Empires. Hence, he must not be merciful against these soul engineers!

    After hearing the deafening rm, the soul engineers within the resting area jumped up. However, an overwhelming spiritual power attacked them from within their minds.

    Spiritual st!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was almost invincible. Even Du Busi hadmended him on his spiritual power¡ªwhich was on par with that of a Transcendent Douluo¡ªbefore his death. With Tang Wutong¡¯s support and their Haodong Power, his spiritual power had received another significant boost.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time performing such a powerful spiritual st.

 Chapter 531.3 - Breaking in! The Raid Starts!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 531.3: Breaking in! The Raid Starts!</h4>

    A loud explosion could be heard from within the resting area. The explosion sound came from the heads of the soul engineers. All their heads had exploded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual st.

    At this very instant, all fifty soul engineers who were resting in the resting area had been killed.

    It was only now that the whole camp started to react to what had just happened. The linked soul tools started to establish a defensive barrier to cordon the area off from the rest of the world.

    It was a logical move for them to contain the intruders since there were only two people. Based on their calctions, it should be rtively easy to capture or kill them.

    Little did they expect their enemies to be so powerful.

    After unleashing a spiritual st, Huo Yuhao did not wait around. He grabbed Tang Wutong and flickered around the camp like a ghost.

    There were many defensive soul tools within the camp which were specially designed to fight against intruders. They shot severalser beams towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, but they just couldn¡¯t hit the couple who were flickering around in the camp.

    Huo Yuhao was not only capable of predicting where the beams would go because of his spiritual detection ability, but was also a ss 9 soul engineer! He had long discovered the ws in the arrangements of these soul tools.

    The biggest problem with these defensive soul tools was how they were arranged in a way so as to minimize damage to the soul tools within the camp. On top of this, their power was limited to protect the soldiers. This resulted in countless blind spots, which Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong dly took advantage of.

    With his spiritual st as a continuous ranged attacks, Huo Yuhao was able to unleash his powerful attacks without even seeing the soul engineers.

    The most powerful soul engineer among them was only a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Their self-defense soul tools were mainly focused on protecting against attacks which were physical or soul-power-based. Not everyone could be equipped with high-ss soul tools which could protect them against spiritual attacks. Other than the seven-ringed Soul Sage, which required Huo Yuhao to kill him with spiritual shock, the rest of them perished under Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual st. Spiritual attacks were no doubt the most effective way to kill soul engineers.

    It took them only a couple of minutes to kill all of them. In the end, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were the only ones still alive within the camp.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao entered the core area of the camp and shut down the linked defensive system with the help of his understanding of soul tools as a ss 9 soul engineer.

    The soldiers who were camped outside had already erupted into chaos. However, they did not dare to enter the area where the soul tools were stationed after the linked defensive system had vanished.

    The soul engineers in the camp were held in great esteem by the soldiers. Besides, there were already orders given to not enter the area unless they were given permission by the soul engineers.

    One must understand that any of the soul engineers would have a higher rank than themanders amongst the soldiers. Soul engineers had extremely high social statuses in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Afterpleting their sabotage work, Huo Yuhao concealed himself and Tang Wutong as they snuck out of the area where the soul tools were stationed. Following which, they elerated through the air with their ss 9 flying soul tools and returned to where they had hidden the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion.

    ¡°# 1 to #12, listen carefully. I want you to lock onto the coordinates that my spiritual energy is pointing at. Change your shells to ss 4 shells and get ready.¡±

    Because Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was projected with his spiritual energy, every single soul engineer in the legion could hear his words clearly.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao also informed hispanions within the spectral demine.

    Following which, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion and the Fort Soul Engineer Legion started to move out from the ck doors, and line up in their formations quickly.

    Hu Yuhao¡¯s eyes were radiating a certain glow as he used his spiritual energy to keep the doors open, lock onto the position of the aerial surveince soul tools, and fix the coordinates for the artillery with his Spiritual Sharing ability. He was capable of multitasking, and had fully exhibited the importance of his spiritual energy in war.

    Huo Yuhao gazed into the distance as a smile escaped from the corner of his mouth.

    Following which, twenty of the three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons started to take aim after receiving the coordinates from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sharing.

    At this very instant, Huo Yuhao was like their eyes. The long ck metallic barrels began their adjustments as they aimed towards the distant sky.

    After repeated improvements, the current cannons were far more urate than before.

    The earliest versions of the cannons had forty-eight barrels. Because they required sixteen barrels for every shot, they could fire three times consecutively. Afterwards, they would have to be set aside to cool before they could be used again.

    Now, regardless of whether it was their cooling mechanisms or their material, the cannons had improved tremendously, and could sustain extended periods of continuous firing.

    The sixteen barrels used to only be able to fire in a single direction. However, after Xuan Ziwen improved its design, it was now able to aim in a single direction with just two barrels. This would allow the cannon to be a lot more urate in its firing.

    ¡°Fire!¡± Huo Yuhao ordered.

    At that instant, twenty Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fired in unison with a deafening belch. Three hundred and twenty ss 4 shells ascended into the air instantly as they headed in the direction of the distant sky.

    He Caitou was standing by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side as he grabbed his own chest. The mere thought of the cost of these shells made his heart ache. Those were all stationary soul cannon shells! Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s newly researched manufacturing technique had helped to reduce the cost of producing these shells, it still cost a small fortune tounch a few hundred shells at once.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head and smiled at He Caitou. He said, ¡°Senior brother, don¡¯t worry about it. We will not be taking a loss. Those aerial surveince soul tools have the ability to dodge attacks. If we were to scrimp on the shells, they might not be enough to destroy them.¡±

    While they were speaking, a deafening explosion could be heard from the distant sky.

    Several balls of fire could be seen in the background. Because it was the middle of the day, the fireballs were not too obvious. However, it was still apparent enough that the balls of fire were not just timed explosions.

    ¡°We hit them!¡± He Caitou waved his fist in excitement.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°We have managed to clear all one hundred aerial surveince soul tools in the vicinity. Senior Brother, lead the Fort Soul Engineer Legion to clear up the camp I have just returned from. I have left plenty of spoils for you there.¡±

    The aerial surveince soul tools were useless to Huo Yuhao. They were of no use for the mission he was leading. In fact, Huo Yuhao was probably better than all those soul tools when it came to surveince and reconnaissance work. However, the soul tools in the camp were different. They were all high-quality heavy weapons¡ªthe fruits of thebor and research the Sun Moon Empire had done. In fact, such areas would usually contain precious resources like the Sealed Milk Bottles! They should also have plenty of stationary soul cannon shells. Even if this area did not have the strongest soul tools, they should still have an abundance of resources.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s words, He Caitou immediately understood what he meant. Following which, he joyfully led the Fort Soul Engineer Legion to collect their spoils.

    However, it was not just him who headed out. Bei Bei was also moving out with the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.

    Even though the three legions had trained for a long period of time, they had still not fought any battles in their capacity as soul engineers. Since this was already a sure victory for them, it would be good for them to go out and experience fighting. It would also be a good way for them to improve their capabilities.

    The oue was one which everyone had long expected. There was no other possible oue when five thousand normal foot soldiers met two soul engineer legions.

    Under the instructions of He Caitou and Bei Bei, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion and the Fort Soul Engineer Legion only used non-stationary soul cannon shells, soul rays, and simr expendable items to finish the soldiers off.

    The entire battle took less than twenty minutes, and the entire army of five thousand soldiers was obliterated. Without the protection of soul tools, these soldiers had pretty much no capabilities on the battlefield.

    While they were destroying the soldiers and collecting the spoils, Huo Yuhao had already ordered his Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion to return into the spectral demine. It was best for them to return first, since they were the slowest legion. After they had returned, it would be easier for Huo Yuhao to make his next move.

    Even though it was fairly tedious to disassemble the heavy weapons, the legion of soul engineers found it rtively easy with the help of the all-terrain self-driving forts.

    They first began to clear up the leftover supplies before disassembling the heavy soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong as both of them floated in mid-air. Huo Yuhao was observing the disassembly process while using his spiritual energy to detect any enemy movement in the distance.

    Tang Wutong smiled. ¡°Seems like it isn¡¯t too difficult to deal with the Sun Moon Empire!¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°This is but the start. Besides, the explosions in the air earlier must have alerted the other nearby camps. Their assistance is probablyte because of the precautionary measures they have to take and the long distance from their camps to this one. We must leave the moment I detect any movement from them.¡±

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Then what do we do with the equipment we can¡¯t bring along with us in time?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled before replying, ¡°We will of course destroy it. We can¡¯t leave it behind for them to use.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Even if their reinforcements were to arrive, they would probably lose to us too. Logically speaking, the Sun Moon Empire would not set up their soul tool camps with ovepping ranges. Hence, if the other camps can¡¯t reach the area here, their soul engineers would have no chance against us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, we can¡¯t assume all of that. Firstly, we can¡¯t afford to lose anyone. We only have this number of people. Hence, I cannot risk any of their lives. Not even a single one of them. I would rather we lose out on some of the spoils than give the enemy a chance to deal damage to us. Besides, there is also the possibility of us getting tangled in thebat and losing the chance to retreat. This is near the frontline, so there must be plenty of troops from the Sun Moon Empire around. Once we get caught in battle, our n will have failed. Hence, we must strike and leave immediately. We must make sure no one knows the profile of our army. The unknown enemy is often the scariest enemy. Our main goal is to exert pressure on the Sun Moon Empire! Oh! They¡¯re here!¡±

    Huo Yuhao solemnly gave the signal to begin retreating.

    The fellows from Tang Sect had spent so much time together. Because Huo Yuhao had been the main control-type soul master all along, they reacted ording to his warnings without any hesitation.

    After taking everything they had dismantled, the all-terrain self-driving forts started to shoot soul rays at the soul tools which they were unable to take with them. In a short amount of time, they transformed the soul tool camp into ruins.

 Chapter 532 - An Attack from Afar

    <h4 ss>Chapter 532: An Attack from Afar</h4>

    In the meantime, Huo Yuhao took his leave with Tang Wutong as they returned to the forest to look after the spectral gate.

    Even though the all-terrain self-driving forts could not move as fast as the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, which was in flight, they were not much slower than them. From the air, the forts were basically gigantic metallic balls running at an incredibly fast speed with their eight long legs. No terrain could stop them from advancing. Before long, they were all out of sight. When the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s reinforcements arrived, all they would see was the rubble.

    After entering the forest, the forts disappeared into the ck doors. With the experience they had gained from their previous entrance, they were a lot faster this time around. As the nine doors closed, everything became as serene as before. It was almost as though the legions had not appeared at all.

    Huo Yuhao had gone into the spectral demine along with the rest of them.

    Even though he was formerly trained in military tactics in the Ultimate Soldier n, what he had learned was primarily individual-based tactics. When it came to controlling arge number of troops, he knew he could not bepared to Ju Zi. However, the gap between him and her was not insurmountable. He believed that he was able to do so with the help of his powerful abilities and his spectral demine. This was apparent from the ease with which they were able to win the previous battle and retreat upon attaining victory.

    However, he still believed in the need to reflect and review what they had done well and what they could improve on. This was necessary for them in order to perform better during subsequent battles.

    As everyone gathered at the top of a knoll within the spectral demine, everyone could see the excitement written on each other¡¯s faces.

    This was not only Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time leading troops, but also Tang Sect¡¯s first time fighting in a battle! All three soul engineer legions had participated and showcased their different abilities on the battlefield.

    In fact, they were not able to showcase their full suite of capabilities because of how weak their opponent was. Nevertheless, the destruction they had caused and the resources they had looted had given the team¡¯s morale a huge boost.

    When they left the Tang Sect for this mission, Huo Yuhao had ordered them to bring only ten days of rations. Much of their storage space had been used to bring resources which would be useful for actualbat.

    His objective was simple. He wanted to use the loot from their previous battles as their resources for the next battle.

    They had managed to plunder a huge amount of rations from the Sun Moon Empire in their previous battle. These rations would be enough tost them for an extended period of time. In addition, they were also able to acquire several different kinds of soul tools. Those they were unable to bring away in time werepletely destroyed. The Sun Moon Empire had definitely suffered a huge loss.

    ¡°Yuhao, that was truly an incredible battle. If we keep this up, we¡¯re going to be rich! What¡¯s our next target? Are we going to focus on the next area where the soul tools are stationed? If we can destroy all of these areas established by the Sun Moon Empire outside of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, I¡¯m sure we can to strike fear deep into the heart of the Sun Moon Empire. At the same time, the Star Luo Empire would be able to help us upy their attention from the other end.¡± He Caitou was undoubtedly one of the most excited individuals among the rest. He had obviously forgotten his unhappiness with the generous usage of the stationary soul cannon shells.

    As he was the main person in charge of logistics and supplies, he was now feeling like a wealthy man.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, we have note here to attack such instations. Even though we do have the power to destroy all of these installed soul tools, that would undoubtedly expose our existence. Besides, I am sure the Sun Moon Empire has its means to counter these scenarios. If we were to be overly absorbed in these battles, we would definitely lose at some point in time. Because of how small our unit is, we cannot afford to lose anyone! Hence, we must not give them a chance to catch us. We must retreat quickly right after striking them. And we must do it in a clean and quick fashion.¡±

    He Caitou was surprised by Huo Yuhao¡¯s reply. ¡°So we¡¯re giving up on this battlefield? We¡¯re not continuing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°We need to adopt a macro perspective. Our intent is to influence the entire war, not just any small plot ofnd. Our biggest advantage is our speed! By ferrying everyone in the spectral demine, I can bring everyone to any corner of the Sun Moon Empire within two days. Hence, our best strategy is to strike them in different parts of their Empire. It would be a losing battle for us if we were to fight head-on with them.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded in agreement. ¡°Little junior brother is right. We cannot be overly content with our small victories. We need to stretch the battlefield across the entire Sun Moon Empire in order for them to feel the pain that we are about to deliver to them. We must make them panic by striking their most vulnerable parts. This will allow us to create the greatest amount of opportunity and, at the same time, give them the greatest amount of fear. As long as we can affect the foundation of their Empire and threaten their rule, we would have aplished our objective.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Yuhao, you are our Chief Commander. Everyone here is a member of our family. There¡¯s no need for you to be overly courteous. Just let us know where you want us to head to, and we will follow your orders without anyints. Let¡¯s give the Sun Moon Empire a lesson, and show them what happens when they mess with us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a faint smile. ¡°We should all rest up first and recover what we have expended earlier. I will also be resting for a short while before setting off for our next location. This time around, I want to y a game of chess against the Sun Moon Empire. I want them to receive news that their entire Empire is being attacked at multiple ces¡ªat the same time!¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao had expended quite a bit of his energy, it was not overly significant. He went to cultivate with Tang Wutong, whereas the others went for meetings with the higher-ups within their legions to perform after-action reviews.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Ju Zi was floating in mid-air silently while being surrounded by a sea of fiery red. The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was stationed around her as they looked to protect from any harm.

    As she looked into the distance, it seemed as though her mind had drifted away.

    It had been a while since the entire army had moved out. However, Ju Zi was still feeling very uneasy. The reason for her unease was simple¡ªit was because of that person.

    If her child was still unfound, she would perhaps not be as conflicted as she was right now. She would only feel enraged, and would channel the hatred within her into bloodlust as her troops stormed forward onto the battlefield.

    But now that her child had been returned to her, the hatred in her heart had be a lot fainter. Her child¡¯s return had resulted in an inexplicable change in her attitude. In fact, this newfound feeling was slowly taking over the deep hatred in her heart.

    And this feeling was directed towards her child¡ªdefinitely not towards her husband.

    Other than the child, the rest of her feelings was directed towards that person.

    That day, after Huo Yuhao had left, Ju Zi had cried for a long time. It was only after she had calmed down that she thought of this: he did not disappoint me.

    In her heart, Huo Yuhao¡¯s image was bing better, whereas Xu Tianran¡¯s was worsening.

    Nheless, Ju Zi continued to lead the army out for their conquest. She left her child in the pce because she was not allowed to bring the Crown Prince of a country out from Radiant City. The truth was that when she was requesting that liberty from Xu Tianran, she was still hopeful that she might be given permission to bring him out. In fact, it was more like she was trying to convince herself to give Xu Tianran onest chance.

    Unfortunately, Xu Tianran turned her down resolutely. And this made Ju Zi certain about the decision she was about to make. In her mind, a perfect n was gradually taking shape.

    Yuhao, where are you now? Will you be in the enemy¡¯s camp? I really don¡¯t want to see you on the battlefield. But I really miss you¡­

    A bitter expression formed on her delicate face. She was suffering from the conflict within her heart. But at the same time, she was excited by the possibilities whichy ahead.

    She started tough at herself.Back then, I even told him that his biggest problem was his emotional weakness. But why do I feel an inexplicable weakness in my heart whenever I think of him? Yuhao, oh, Yuhao¡­ I am really regretting my decision in the past¡­ If I had chosen you back then, and followed you to leave Radiant City, everything might have turned out differently. At the very least, I would have had a chance to fight for a ce by your side.

    However, she understood that there was not much point crying over spilled milk. There was no way she could undo what she had done after choosing to take this path. All she could do was try and make things easier for him.Huo Yuhao, you can rest assured that I will never hurt you regardless of the circumstances. Because you are my¡­

    As she thought about this, Ju Zi¡¯s heart softened once again. Right now, she did not resemble a War God Empress. She was more like a young girl who was thinking about her boyfriend.

    ¡°Issue my orders. Everyone is to rest for the next three days. Set up the defensive soul tools and be on high alert. Double the range of the aerial surveince soul tools and push them forward by a thousand meters. I want more visuals on the situation of the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires.¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    After the Crown Prince was returned, Xu Tianran had given at least half of the army to Ju Zi. In the current campaign, there were only a few ss 9 soul engineers who could influence her tactics. The position of the Commander of the Three Forces was slowly bing hers.

    The war must go on. In Ju Zi¡¯s heart, she knew it was impossible for her to let go of the hatred she had. In addition, she was no longer only fighting the war as a form of revenge. She was also building the foundation for her son¡¯s throne.

    When it came to this, Xu Tianran had made several good predictions. He knew that he was infertile, and only had the Crown Prince as his son. Regardless of how big the future of the Sun Moon Empire would be, it was ultimately going to be handed over to Xu Yunhan. That was why Xu Tianran was so daring to put so much power into Ju Zi¡¯s hands. Of course, he was also confident in his ability to rein her in.

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were flying across the sky with their hands interlocked with one another.

    After waking up from his cultivation and returning to that little forest, he realized how arge part of the sky above him was already covered by aerial surveince soul tools.

    After the area where the soul tools were stationed had been destroyed, it had alerted all of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops which were stationed near the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They were currently doing their best to find where their enemies were.

    This showed that Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous worries were legitimate. It was definitely not a wise decision to fight head-on with therge number of troops the Sun Moon Empire had stationed in this area.

    After activating Imitation, Huo Yuhao concealed both himself and Tang Wutong as they fled at the speed of sound with their ss 9 flying soul tools at full throttle.

    The aerial surveince soul tools were useless against Huo Yuhao. The Sun Moon Empire had spent several days trying to find this mysterious unit which had attacked them, but to no avail. The only news they had received was how arge legion of all-terrain self-driving forts had attacked them.

    During the battle, Huo Yuhao and his people did not kill everyone. After all, there were close to five thousand normal soldiers there. They had only nned to disrupt their operations and flee; they did not want to do any unnecessary killing.

    Without any other clues, this battle in which the Sun Moon Empire suffered huge losses could only be concluded as an unsolvable mystery. The news was delivered to Radiant City as soon as possible.

    Oak City was a mid-sized city in the northern part of the Sun Moon Empire. It was very close to the northern frontier. However, it was different from the frontiers of the original Douluo Continent. The Sun Moon Empire was surrounded by the ocean on its northern border. It bordered the Ice Sea¡ªthe expansive sea which was on the west of the core regions of the Extreme North.

    Even though it was called the Ice Sea, the sea was not actually frozen entirely. This name was merely given to it because of its incredibly low temperatures.

    Because of how low the temperature was, there were always blocks of ice floating on the surface of the water. asionally, one might even see an entire iceberg floating in the ocean. The weather at the Ice Sea was truly unbearable.

    Oak City might just be a mid-sized city, but it was already incrediblyrge considering how few cities there were in the northern parts of the Sun Moon Empire. It was the center ofmerce in the northern regions. Many specialties of the north were traded in Oak City before being transported to the southern parts of the Sun Moon Empire for sale.

    Some of these northern specialties included the fish in the Ice Sea. These fish were extremely popr among its people.

    The northern regions had a much lower poption density than the southern parts of the Sun Moon Empire. Because this ce was also very close to the west, it was considerably far from the Wastnd of the Extreme North, and was often considered the safest ce in the Sun Moon Empire. Hence, there weren¡¯t many troops stationed here. Only a thousand troops or so were in charge of the safety of Oak City, as well as some of the smaller cities in the vicinity.

    There were two figures which were silently standing on the top of a hill about fifty kilometers away from Oak City. They were looking at the city, which was uniformly grey in color.

    Oak City was extremely close to the Ice Sea. It was only about twenty-five kilometers away. Hence, it was possible to look at the Ice Sea by finding a vantage point at a higher altitude.

    ¡°What a great view! It¡¯s really different from what we¡¯re used to back where we stay!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed.

    Tang Wutong wrapped her arm around Huo Yuhao¡¯s arm before eximing, ¡°Yeah! Look at the Ice Sea in the distance. It looks so mysterious! I really want to check that ce out if we have time. There must be many soul beasts in the Ice Sea. I wonder how strong they are¡­ They must be pretty strong in order to survive under such harsh conditions.¡±

 Chapter 533.1 - Eastern Sun City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 533.1: Eastern Sun City</h4>

    Huo Yuhao began tough as he listened to her. The Extreme North¡¯s environment was a lot more brutal than this ce, but several of its most powerful soul beasts ultimately became his Spirits. He was only able to achieve his current strength because of his Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao was like a fish in water in this extremely chilly northern region. He had absolute faith that he could rely on his own strength to fight at a Titled Douluo¡¯s level; the environment¡¯s impact on his strength was very evident.

    ¡°When everything settles down, I will take you to every corner of the Douluo Continent. Haih, speaking of that, I feel really dejected. I¡¯m supposed to meet your father when I return, but I don¡¯t know how long this dy is going to take.¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled and said, ¡°Are you worried? Do you think we still have time to get married with the current situation in the continent?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, ¡°Even if we don¡¯t get married, I will ask your father after consulting him to remove that seal from your body. At the very least, I don¡¯t have to be so agonizingly stifled!¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed. ¡°Just control yourself and stop being so talkative. When do we start? The temperature here is too low, and not conducive for a prolonged battle. We should end it as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t we just scouted? Oak City almost has no ability to resist at all, so we¡¯re just going to pige it. We will leave immediately after the mission. Second senior brother should be prepared.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin,¡± Tang Wutong nodded as she spoke.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression grew solemn as deep incantations rang out on the mountaintop. There were no aerial surveince soul tools in a ce like this.

    Large ck doors opened, and enormous metal spheres strode out from those doors as they formed up neatly beneath the little mountain.

    Every metal sphere was like a porcupine, and all sorts of offensive soul tools shaped like spikes long and short protruded from their surface.

    He Caitou was sitting in thergest all-terrain self-driving fort, and he was the first to walk out. Only he and Xiao Xiao were sitting inside.

    He Caitou came beside Huo Yuhao, and the self-driving fort paused as He Caitou¡¯s voice echoed from within. ¡°Yuhao, Wutong, do you guys want toe in and sit down?¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged. AttackingOak Citywouldn¡¯t be very difficult, so they had only mobilized the Fort Soul Engineer Legion. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to be too involved, he only had to control the situation with his Spiritual Detection, and that was sufficient.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s reputation among the three soul engineer legions became greatly elevated after their battle the other day. Anyone who experienced how magical his Spiritual Detection was would be shaken by that formidable ability of his, whether they were soul masters or soul engineers.

    He Caitou had crafted this ss 8 all-terrain self-driving fort himself. It was bright silver in color, but five meters in diameter. He enjoyed all kinds of high-powered soul tools, so he had installed many different kinds of frighteningly destructive soul tools into his soul tool fort. This soul tool fort rivaled the strength of a ss 9 soul tool if He Caitou used his full strength to attack. The reason why it was a ss 8 soul tool was because the fort didn¡¯t contain a single soul tool installed that could reach the attacking force of a ss 9 soul tool.

    There were six seats installed inside. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong entered from the metal door at the back, but the fort still felt very spacious andfortable.

    Huo Yuhao nced He Caitou and Xiao Xiao, who were sitting on enormous chairs in the front, and heughed as he said, ¡°You know how to take care of yourself, second senior brother!¡±

    He Caitou turned around andughed. ¡°It¡¯s always better to be a little morefortable. How are we doing this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Oak City almost doesn¡¯t have any kind of defensive capabilities at all, so we can just force our way forward. I¡¯ve already scouted around. They mainly store food in their granaries and resource storage units, so we should target those ces. There¡¯s a treasury among their resource warehouses, so we¡¯ll retreat after cleaning out their granaries and that treasury. We will try to avoid hurting civilians as much as possible, we¡¯re not here to kill.¡±

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s move out, boys. Our target is the city fifty kilometers in front of us, and we are to do as much damage as we wish to its structures. But we have to minimize hurting people as much as possible.¡± He Caitou used his groupmunicator to give an order to every one of this soul engineer legion¡¯s members.

    His soul engineer legion was thergest one, with a thousand five hundred members. There were five people in each all-terrain self-driving fort, and each individual controlled different functions within them.

    Someone would be responsible for movement, while other people would be responsible for offense and defense, and two others were responsible for infusing soul power into the fort. All five individuals had to be adept at all their tasks so that they could switch around at any moment. That way, their all-terrain self-driving fort¡¯s functions could be realized as much as possible while maintaining continuous endurance and usage.

    He Caitou controlled his all-terrain self-driving fort and strode at lightning speed toward Oak City. The others got into formation and followed behind him as they charged straight forward.

    They tried to keep some space between each other in their formation as they pushed forward so that their firepower wouldn¡¯t ovep. They moved forward in an orderly fashion, and even though their formation wasn¡¯t considered entirely strict and wless, it was absolutely reasonable.

    They had been training for more than two years, and their standards from their training were adequately disyed. Fifty kilometers was barely an hour¡¯s journey for all-terrain self-driving forts.

    The reason why Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to use his necromancy nearer to Oak City because there were still aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. What he wanted to achieve was for the Sun Moon Empire to be confused about where this army hade from. They would be warned if Huo Yuhao destroyed their aerial surveince soul tools beforehand. Oak City¡¯s defenses werex, but if they were given warning early enough, cities which were rtively close by could still send reinforcements. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire could use backup aerial surveince soul tools when Huo Yuhao was using necromancy, and they would then discover where this mysterious army hade from. This was what Huo Yuhao wanted least, so he had to be careful in dealing with their defenses.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to use these battles to boost their soul engineer legions¡¯ adaptability at the same time, so he didn¡¯t have to go through so much trouble. It was time for them to exercise and move around after being stuck in his spectral demine for a day.

    The patrolling soldiers on Oak City¡¯s wall were wrapped in thick nkets because the weather was too cold. They would circle for a round or two before hiding from the wind behind the battlements. The patrolling teams switched every hour, and every team only had ten people. Patrols would sometimes even be cancelled during the coldest days of winter.

    At this moment, ten soldiers from the City Defense Army¡¯s firstrge team¡¯s third small team were patrolling on the city wall. Ten soldiers strolled aroundckadaisically on top of the city wall under their vice-captain¡¯s leadership.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk to boss about this damned weather, captain. We don¡¯t have to patrol anymore. There¡¯s nothing to see!¡± An old soldierined to his vice-captain.

    The vice-captain snapped, ¡°If you have the guts to do it yourself, then do it. The captain¡¯s mood hasn¡¯t been so good these few days.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯ve heard that the team captain has gone out in search of new experiences, but he was discovered by his wife? Is that true?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ask if you don¡¯t wish to be burned alive by the captain¡¯s wrath.¡±

    Everyone guffawed along with tacit mutual understanding.

    ¡°Captain, we want to pool our money to buy a drink of wine for you after our patrol is finished. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°A drink? I¡¯m on duty today, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Captain, the weather is so cold. Drinking some wine will help you execute your duties better.¡±

    ¡°Yes, alright. At least you fellows are filial. Eh, what¡¯s that sound?¡±

    ¡°Tch tch tch, tch tch tch¡­¡± Strange sounds travelled from the distance as the patrol gazed out from the city. It was but a nce before all ten pairs of pupils contracted at the same time.

    There were enormous metal spheres in the distance wherever their eyes could see. They didn¡¯t have enough sunlight, but these metal spheres were still reflecting icy brilliance as they charged towards Oak City at lightning speed.

    The vice-captain froze for a few moments before he yelled hysterically, ¡°Ambush¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Close the city gates, quick.¡±

    These soldiers were a little idle and ck, but seeing an attack of such scale sent chills straight into their hearts.

    They were in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory after all. Even though they were far in the north, these soldiers still had some understanding of soul tools. These soldiers knew that they couldn¡¯t defend themselves against an attack from an enormous soul engineer legion of such a scale. What they could do now was to call the soldiers below to close the city gates before they would¡­ run!

    The spherical all-terrain self-driving fort at the forefront suddenly flipped as it turned its belly forward and revealed an enormous cannon barrel that was one-and-a-half meters in diameter.

    The barrel itself wasn¡¯t long, but when it flipped around, the opening shed with freakish red light.

    This all-terrain self-driving fort was still roughly two kilometers from Oak City, but in the next moment, a radiant beam of red light sted from that frightening muzzle as it cut across two kilometers in an instant and smashed heavily against the closed city gates.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom!¡± Deafening booming sounds resonated across Oak City as the city¡¯s gates were blown to dust. Countless pieces and fragments were blown in all directions as several tens of meters of the city wall on both sides of the city gates copsed. An enormous hole was blown right through the city gates.

    Self-driving forts moving at full speed could cover two kilometers in the blink of an eye. The Fort Soul Engineer Legion that was spread out horizontally charged into the city gates.

 Chapter 533.2 - Eastern Sun City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 533.2: Eastern Sun City</h4>

    He Caitou controlled his machine and charged directly into the city through the enormous hole that he had blown open. Countless cannon barrels snapped open on the metal sphere, and more than twenty barrels that looked like spikes concentrated prating white light. More than twenty over beams of white light surged into the air in the next moment and pierced through the heavens.

    These soul tools were called long-range piercing cannons, and were ss 8 soul tools. This soul tool had the second longest range; stationary soul cannon shells could go farther.

    Booming sounds resonated in waves through the sky as shes of fire and light flickered again and again.

    This was the result of the Eye of the Asura working together with the Origin of Destruction, and piercing cannons that could lock onto its targets swept over all the surveince soul tools in the sky above Oak City. Oak City immediately became blind, so that they were temporarily unable to seek reinforcements from cities a little further away.

    Long-range transmission soul tools were starting to appear within the Sun Moon Empire as technology continued to advance. However, these transmission soul tools required satellites in the sky for transmission. Otherwise, they couldn¡¯t reach their extremely long ranges. The first things that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou locked onto were these satellites, as doing so meant Oak City was temporarily unable to send any information or messages out. Furthermore, their Fort Soul Engineer Legion wouldn¡¯t leave any traces behind.

    He Caitou stopped attacking once hepleted this attack. Instead, he stood fast and proudly in an empty space within the city¡¯s gates. Oak City didn¡¯t have any strength to resist at all, and He Caitou could trample through this city with his all-terrain self-driving fort even if he was all by himself.

    The Fort Soul Engineer Legion had entered the city by now, but the other members didn¡¯t charge in through the city gate. They instead scaled the city¡¯s walls.

    That was the reason why all-terrain self-driving forts were called that; walls couldn¡¯t stop them. Every self-driving fort¡¯s eight limbs were extremely sharp, just like eight long spears. Each limb had three different joints, and its toughestponent was at the bottom. It was crafted using a special kind of metal that was very hard and tough.

    These limbs could casually pierce into the city¡¯s walls through mechanical power, and could carry their heavy and bulky bodies as they climbed swiftly. The self-driving forts could scale the city¡¯s walls with a few motions, and could even attack with soul rays and soul cannons as they climbed.

    Somebody watching from the sky would be able to see a very spectacr scene. Three hundred all-terrain self-driving forts appeared on Oak City¡¯s walls at almost the same time before they quickly scaled it. Some remained to keep their vantage point, while others entered the city. From this moment onwards, Oak City had beenpletely taken over.

    This couldn¡¯t even be considered a battle, as everything was simply too easy, to the point where it would raise people¡¯s hackles.

    Taking over the government building and the several warehouses that Huo Yuhao had detected earlier happened fifteen minutester, as screaming and shouting could be heard everywhere in the city.

    He Caitou had ordered the Fort Soul Engineer Legion not to attack civilians, but they still did everything they could to destroy and damage several taller and more conspicuous buildings.

    Emptying warehouses was a simple task for soul engineers. Storage soul tools had limited space, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine had almost unlimited space!

    Before Huo Yuhao took off, he had ordered Er Bai to lead the undead creatures to create arge makeshift warehouse inside his spectral demine. This ce was more than suitable for storing all sorts of resources and items.

    One hourter, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared, and Oak City was in ruins.

    But when the soldiers who had previously hidden away came back out to check the damage, they realized that there had been very few casualties in the piging process. There were several who had been injured from the damaged buildings, but there were very few who had died.

    But they really wanted to cry when they inspected their warehouses. Their granaries had been emptied, and theirrge warehouses which were used to store rare items for trading were also emptied, while several of their major businesses had all been cleaned out.

    They were in the cold north, and that meant they were extremely dependent on food. Winter wasing, and it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the burden that empty granaries would have on Oak City. The citizens were already fearful and beginning to panic because of this sudden ambush, and their panic would be amplified when they saw that they no longer had any food.

    A long time ago, piging an entire city with an army which consisted of soul masters was impossible. But now, Huo Yuhao and the others had aplished this feat by relying on formidable soul tools.

    The Fort Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul masters were resting inside the spectral demine, but nobody could hide the excitement on their faces.

    Their excitement didn¡¯te from the resources and items they had piged. Instead, their excitement came from the feeling of battle. They were a group of amateur soul engineers who were fighting together, and that sensation of destruction when nobody could fight back against them simply felt too wonderful.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s senior members were gathered inside the warehouse. Bei Bei stared at the mountains of food and heaved a sigh as he said, ¡°If not for the fact that we were at war, stealing food from a city of citizens isn¡¯t anything to be proud of!¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed and said, ¡°Eh, why do I remember that you were the one who came up with this immoral idea? Why are you suddenly shedding crocodile tears?¡±

    Bei Bei shot a re at him. ¡°Food is part of a nation¡¯s core. We¡¯re here to wreak havoc and destroy things, so making our move on food is the easiest. Food isn¡¯t like soul tools. ces that are storingrge amounts of soul tools and materials are definitely heavily guarded, and we can¡¯t go head-to-head with our enemies. It¡¯s different for food. Any city¡¯s citizens need to eat, and we can choose ces like Oak City where they don¡¯t have sufficient strength to defend themselves. We can minimize losses andplete our mission as quickly as possible at the same time, and we can cause panic as well. My idea is excellent!¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded seriously and said, ¡°It is excellent! Just a little immoral!¡±

    ¡°So be it, for the Douluo Continent¡¯s future!¡± Bei Bei answered valiantly.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Oak City is an important city in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s northern territory, except their defenses were so ck because there¡¯s almost no possibility that a battle can ur here. The granaries in Oak City are very important for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s northern territory, as the food that is stored there covers tens of thousands of square kilometers in the north. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s entire northern territory will be greatly rmed after our ransacking.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s our next target?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao opened his map. He ced his finger on Oak City¡¯s position before he shifted his finger towards the east and stopped at another city. The city looked a lotrger than Oak City on the map.

    ¡°Eastern Sun City is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s number one city in their northern territories. It¡¯s the only city which can be considered arge city. Oak City was just an opportunity for us to train. Eastern Sun City is our most important objective in our northern invasion. We can retreat from the north as long as we conquer Eastern Sun City. Eastern Sun City contains thergest warehouses for storing food and all kinds of resources. There are twenty thousand proper soldiers stationed within the city. Furthermore, there must be soul tools defending it, and they are likely to be equipped with linked soul tools. There will be a single soul engineer legion stationed there under normal circumstances, as it is the most important stronghold in the north. But the Sun Moon Empire has mobilized their great armies for the invasion, which has resulted in an empty back rank. Eastern Sun City¡¯s soul engineer legion is likely to have been deployed, and there won¡¯t be many even if there are some who remain.¡±

    ¡°We have broken through Oak City so quickly, and it will need some time to report this to Eastern Sun City and request backup. We have destroyed their satellites after all, so there¡¯s no way they can make any long-range transmissions. Therefore, we have to attack Eastern Sun City, and quickly. Eastern Sun City will fall no matter what, and we will not sustain many losses.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Alright, then you can go.¡±

    He Caitou rubbed his palms together. ¡°Leave this to me and the Fort Soul Engineer Legion. What¡¯s twenty thousand soldiers? My enormous fort will sweep them clean.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head andughed as he said, ¡°We cannot becent, second senior brother. Attacking Eastern Sun City is very important, and we can¡¯t be sure how formidable its defenses are. Therefore, we have to change our tactics.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± He Caitou asked.

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and whispered something into his ear.

    Eastern Sun City was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s most important stronghold in the north. The city was positioned toward the eastern side of the Sun Moon empire¡¯s northern territory, and was less than a thousand kilometers from the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s original borders.

    Of course, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory in that direction had now been drawn into the Sun Moon Empire, while Eastern Sun City¡¯s strategic importance naturally became a lot smaller than before.

    But Eastern Sun City was still the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s most important stronghold in the north. The city was very close to the Ice Sea, and the soldiers and soul engineers stationed there were responsible for defending against any aquatic soul beasts that coulde out from the Ice Sea.

    Aquatic soul beasts that could live in the Ice Sea almost all possessed both ice-type and water-type abilities, and were very powerful. They would asionally attack as they attempted to hunt for food along the shore, and to kill humans.

    Therefore, Eastern Sun City had the responsibility of fighting them, and to prevent aquatic soul beasts from wreaking havoc along the shores.

    Aquatic soul beasts and soul beasts onnd were a little different, as most aquatic soul beasts lived in groups. Therefore, they would be very difficult to deal with once they started causing trouble. This was also the reason why Eastern Sun City was so heavily guarded.

    Eastern Sun City¡¯s walls were three hundred feet tall, and it could be considered a standardrge city. The city¡¯s walls were thick, and there were all sorts of offensive and defensive soul tools along the top of the city wall.

    There were more than seventy aerial surveince soul tools in the skies above the city, and they were responsible for watching several thousand square kilometers in Eastern Sun City¡¯s proximity.

 Chapter 533.3 - Eastern Sun City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 533.3: Eastern Sun City</h4>

    Even though Eastern Sun City was in the north, it was thergest city in that region, and thus was a busy and bustling city. Many northerners were proud of being able to live in Eastern Sun City, and this also meantnd within the city had exorbitant prices.

    It was evening, and there were fewer and fewer people near the city gates. They had to be prepared against aquatic soul beasts which could appear at any moment, so Eastern Sun City¡¯s gates would close every day after sundown.

    A man and a woman carrying simple luggage was walking towards the gates. They seemed very tall, but had normal appearances, and they looked like husband and wife.

    The soldiers responsible for standing guard were hiding from the cold in their bunks inside the city gates. Eastern Sun City was arge city, but they weren¡¯t strict with inspecting individuals who wereing into and out of the city. This wasn¡¯t very necessary, as nothing remotely rted to war had happened at Eastern Sun City for a long time besides fighting aquatic soul beasts, just like Oak City. This was especially so after much of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory had been conquered, and Eastern Sun City became a city towards the back of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory. There were all kinds of surveince soul tools in the sky, while their enemies wouldn¡¯t choose to attack this ce.

    The man and woman strode into the city easily.

    They were in the north, so the sky darkened rtively early. The sky had turnedpletely dark just as they entered the city.

    The girl nced at the youth next to her with a look of admiration in her eyes. ¡°You were right. Eastern Sun City¡¯s defenses are ck, like they aren¡¯t defending it at all.¡±

    There was no doubt that this man and woman were Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, who had used Imitation to change their appearances.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worship me. I¡¯m just a legend.¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry, legend. Are we going to find a ce to eat? It¡¯s still early.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t worried at all. There were more than two hundred and fifty kilometers between Oak City and Eastern Sun City, and Oak City would need at least a day to report any information to Eastern Sun City, even if they did so as soon as possible. Oak City¡¯s satellites and transmission soul tools had been destroyed after all, and their resources had been cleaned out. The first thing the local officials had to do was stabilize everything inside the city, while sending out information at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong needed but two hours to fly to Eastern Sun City. They had more than enough time to execute their n.

    They found a barbeque shop and walked in. The weather in the north was extremely cold, and people who lived here needed to replenish a lot of heat to sustain their daily work and activities. That was the reason why meat and wine were very wee inside the city.

    Roast meat and ale were considered the greatest luxuries for typical citizens. It was dinnertime, so the barbeque shop had quite a few customers. They were about eighty percent full.

    ¡°What do you guys want to eat?¡± The waiter trotted over and asked hastily.

    ¡°What do you guys have?¡± Huo Yuhao replied.

    The waiter answered, ¡°You must be from elsewhere. Eastern Sun City is famous for its roasted snow pork.¡±

    ¡°Snow pork? What¡¯s that?¡± Tang Wutong asked curiously.

    The waiter continued, ¡°We rear a species of small pigs, and they have a lot of fat, and taste very rich. Roasting them to about seventy percent is best. They can be marinated with all kinds of sauces, and are bestbined with a cup of our local specialty ¨C ale ¨C even Gods will salivate with thatbination!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed when he heard the waiter talk about salivating Gods. The image of the God of Emotions cooking surfaced in his mind. No matter how delicious the roast pork here was, it probably couldn¡¯tpare to his culinary skills.

    ¡°Alright. Get us some roasted snow pork, and give us some of your signature dishes as well, along with two cups of ale.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Please wait for a few moments, the food ising right up.¡± The waiter was like a gust of wind as he swiftly turned and left.

    Tang Wutong heaved a faint sigh and said, ¡°If only there weren¡¯t any war going on! Why does the Sun Moon Empire have to invade us?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°The thirst for power. A ruler will start an invasion at all costs in order to satisfy his desire for even more power, and the citizens are the ones who suffer in the end. Even though we are reacting passively and at a disadvantage, we are still the ones starting a war. The citizens are still the ones suffering. Even though we have a different starting point, the end result will not be that much different. The only thing we can do is try our best not to hurt those innocent citizens.¡±

    Tang Wutong could feel that Huo Yuhao was a little dispirited. She held his hand that was on the table and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think so much. We¡¯re doing this so that fewer people will suffer the fires of battle.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The main reason why arge city like Eastern Sun City has suchx defenses is because of its geographical location.¡±

    Golden light swirled beneath his eyes as he spoke, and he activated Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose this eatery for nothing. This barbeque shop was located in Eastern Sun City¡¯s central region, and the government office wasn¡¯t far from here. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection activated at maximum range around him from this location could reach everything within Eastern Sun City.

    Conducting surveince before executing their mission was Huo Yuhao¡¯s standard fighting strategy. Eastern Sun City was arge city after all, and it was different from Oak City. Huo Yuhao still had to be careful.

    His spiritual undtions actually became weaker rather than stronger when he was using Spiritual Detection as his spiritual power improved. But this weakness wasn¡¯t in terms of his detection capabilities. Instead, it was the spiritual undtions produced during the detection process that became weaker.

    It would be harder to discover his Spiritual Detection this way. Even spiritual detectors had to lock onto their targets¡¯ locations by sensing spiritual undtions. When spiritual undtions were weak to a certain extent, not even spiritual detectors could lock onto their targets.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s control over his Spiritual Detection was improving even as the spiritual detectors were evolving.

    Back when he had first faced off against the Death God, the Death God Douluo had discovered him because he had used Spiritual Detection, and that created a lot of trouble for him. He was almost unable to escape. But now, such circumstances wouldn¡¯t have happened.

    The reason for that was because Huo Yuhao could release a concrete-material spiritual avatar when he was sensing danger, and he would use this spiritual avatar to activate Spiritual Detection. That way, even if his enemies¡¯ spiritual detectors discovered him during the detection process, they would only be locking onto his spiritual avatar.

    Huo Yuhao could control his spiritual avatar to run in a different direction from his body. He didn¡¯t have to worry about anything as long as he kept a single thread of his spiritual power from that spiritual avatar. Therefore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s strongest characteristic wasn¡¯t his fighting ability, but rather his ability to survive.

    Huo Yuhao had a chance to survive even if he encountered extraordinarily powerful individuals like the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

    But he still needed some luck. In the end, Ultimate Douluo controlled the secret of space, and escaping from their hands wasn¡¯t easy at all. Huo Yuhao could still lose his life, even from a single shred of danger.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power expanded into the distance, and more than half of Eastern Sun City was quickly within his detection range. He didn¡¯t share his Spiritual Detection with Tang Wutong because there was too much information, and that would cause a rtivelyrge shock to her senses.

    It didn¡¯t take long before their roasted meat and ale were served. The waiter looked at Huo Yuhao, who was just sitting there with his head slightly lowered like he was dozing off. But the waiter didn¡¯t pay him too much mind because business was too busy, and he hurried away after putting down the food.

    There was a sharp knife on the te of roasted pork to cut thoserge pieces.

    Tang Wutong cut a piece and ced it into her mouth. Her eyes began to flow with pleasant surprise. Snow pork did taste different from normal pork. The snow pork was rich with fat, and all thatrd entered the lean meat after roasting. It was fragrant but not too greasy, and thick aromatic juices filled her entire mouth once she took a bite. It was very delicious.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to wake up from his brief nap after a few moments. He raised his head and nced at Tang Wutong with a faint smile on his face and said, ¡°How does it taste?¡±

    Tang Wutong had a sip of ale. ¡°It¡¯s very good, you should have some.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Huo Yuhao had a piece of roasted meat. He was as astonished and impressed as Tang Wutong was, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to clear the food that they had ordered. The ale wasn¡¯t that good, but it was fresh, and it was very effective at washing away the pork¡¯s oiliness.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a ce to stay.¡± Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand after paying the bill and stepped out of the barbeque shop as they walked towards a street in the east.

    The sky had already turned dark, and the weather was very cold. There was hardly anybody on the streets. Huo Yuhao wrapped an arm around Tang Wutong¡¯s slim waist as he asked gently, ¡°Are you cold?¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled as she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not cold! I enjoy this cool and refreshing feeling.¡± Of course, she wouldn¡¯t ask that same question back to Huo Yuhao. He was a soul master with Ultimate Ice.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°It would be more appropriate if we deployed the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion after this. We need to be agile, and it seems like we have to split up this time.¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little surprised. ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°A little. This city has a stronger military force than our initial judgment. They have roughly a hundred and fifty soul engineers, and there¡¯s a soul tool front inside Eastern Sun City, towards the northern side. It should be used to defend against aquatic soul beasts. It seems like aquatic soul beasts appear very often in this ce. Otherwise, there should be no reason for them to deploy a soul tool front in a ce like this. Furthermore, there are actually many powerful spiritual detectors around that soul tool front. I was already discovered from a slight contact before this, and might have been locked onto if I hadn¡¯t reacted quickly enough.¡±

    Tang Wutong thought for a moment. ¡°We might have some problems if we can¡¯t sneak our way inside. We will likely be exposed if we let them unleash their soul tool front¡¯s offensive and defensive capabilities. Even if we charge and force our way inside, they will have sufficient time to ry information out of the city.¡±

 Chapter 534.1 - Mermaids?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 534.1: Mermaids?</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s why we can only barge our way in. The strategic position of Eastern Sun City is very important to the Sun Moon Empire. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have stationed so many troops there. Once weplete our destruction of this ce, we¡¯ll greatly affect the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s deployment in the north. In this way, we¡¯ll be closer to our goal. That¡¯s why this fight cannot be avoided.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes brightened immediately, and she said, ¡°Yuhao, I have an idea. Since the Sun Moon Empire has installed a lot of spiritual detection soul tools within their soul formations in Eastern Sun City, such that you can¡¯t even use your spiritual power, does it mean that they are guarding against enemies who are adept at spiritual abilities? If that¡¯s the case, is it possible that they are guarding against aquatic soul beasts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something. He had known Tang Wutong for a long time. He immediately understood what she was thinking, ¡°Are you saying that there are spiritual-type aquaticsoul beasts here which can be my Spirit?¡±

    Ever since Huo Yuhao got the Ice Bear King as his Spirit, the soul rings of his Ultimate Ice martial soul were alreadypletely filled. The Ice Bear King gave him his eighth soul ring, and his remaining strength was sufficient to confer on him his ninth soul ring. When his second soul core sessfully formed, he would be a true nine-ringed Titled Douluo.

    However, things were different for his other martial soul. Currently, Huo Yuhao had five Spirits ¨C the Snow Empress, Ice Empress, Skydream Iceworm, Ice Bear King and Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. Four of his Spirits affected Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. But his Spirit Eyes only had seven rings so far.

    Huo Yuhao once swore that he would never kill a soul beast to obtain soul rings ever again. This made it even harder for him to obtain a spiritual-type soul ring. Although his spiritual power was very great right now, soul rings were still very significant for soul masters. This was applicable even for Huo Yuhao.

    If he could obtain thest two soul rings he needed for his Spirit Eyes, his spiritual abilities would definitely be greatly increased.

    Huo Yuhao was also trying to ride his luck. It would be great if he could get a spiritual-type Spirit and two more soul rings for his Spirit Eyes. Otherwise, he would just forget it. Anyway, he was still a Titled Douluo if he had nine soul rings for his Ultimate Ice martial soul. Although it would be regretful if he had two fewer soul rings for his spiritual-type martial soul, it wouldn¡¯t be too impactful.

    Right now, he immediately realized that he might stand a chance after Tang Wutong reminded him! If he could obtain a spiritual-type soul ring here, his abilities could improve further. The biggest benefit to increasing his spiritual power was increasing his probability of sess when he tried forming his second soul core in the future.

    Whichever method he used to form his second soul core, his spiritual control was very important. Even though his spiritual control was already very strong now, he was still some way off from the Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo who were trying to form their second soul core.

    Dim lights shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a pensive look in his eyes. After a brief moment, he said, ¡°If your conjecture is right, we¡¯ll need to make a trip to the Ice Sea.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Let¡¯s go together once we¡¯re finished with things over here.¡±

    Less than fifteen kilometers away from the northern city gates of the Eastern City was the northern side of the Ice Sea. It was very close.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if there was something moving in his spiritual sea. He thought of something, and generated a connection with his spiritual sea.

    ¡°You should ask me about something like this.¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ voice sounded.

    As Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power grew stronger, his Spirits had to go through his spiritual sea to inform him that they wanted to connect to him. Huo Yuhao rxed the control of his spiritual sea before their intentions were made known to him. He didn¡¯t do this intentionally. After his cultivation improved, his spiritual sea reached a solid state.

    Yes! Although the Ice Sea wasn¡¯t the ice ins of the Extreme North, it was still extremely cold. The Snow Lady was once the ruler of the ice ins of the Extreme North. Naturally, she knew best.

    Huo Yuhao smacked his own forehead. ¡°I was really stupid. It would have been easier for me to just ask the Snow Lady whether a spiritual-type soul beast can appear here.¡±

    He opened his Spiritual Interference Domain, and everything around him became slightly blurry. No matter whether it was the aerial surveince soul tools or those who passed by, they couldn¡¯t see anything for ten meters around him.

    ¡°Snow Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao gently called.

    Two beams of light shone at the same time. One was white, and the other was green. Two beauties appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. They were the Ice and Snow Empresses.

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°You are really dumb. You don¡¯t even know how to tap into your advantages. Who else is better equipped than my sister and I when ites to the Extreme North?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t mock me anymore. Are there any spiritual-type soul beasts in the northern Ice Sea?¡±

    The Snow Empress answered without any hesitation, ¡°Yes! Of course there are. Anything is possible in the sea.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing her words. He also didn¡¯t expect the Snow Empress to be so certain.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°It seems like neither of you are very familiar with aquatic soul beasts.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°Of course not. They aren¡¯t very useful for soul masters like us. Since that¡¯s the case, we don¡¯t have much research on them. Even in Shrek Academy, there are very few records on them. I vaguely recall that a million year soul beast once appeared. It was called the Deep Sea Devilwhale King. Our ancestor, Tang San, once obtained a soul ring from the sea.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°There are many aquatic soul beasts. In fact, there are more aquatic soul beasts than there are soul beasts onnd. Furthermore, they are very strong. Their overall abilities are above that ofnd soul beasts. The only advantage that soul beasts onnd possess is their outstanding fighting strength. I have to say that Di Tian is indeed very powerful. There was originally the Deep Sea Devilwhale King among aquatic soul beasts who was very strong. However, even he wasn¡¯t Di Tian¡¯s match. ording to what I know, in the aquatic regions close to the Douluo Continent, there are a few such aquatic soul beasts. As for what types of soul beasts exist in further aquatic regions, I have no clue. However, I can still confirm that none of them would be Di Tian¡¯s match even if they exist. Di Tian is already the extreme. If not for the fact that he can¡¯t be a god, he would have tried for it.¡±

    The Snow Empress and Di Tian weren¡¯t friends. It was also precisely because of this that her appraisal of him was honest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed slightly. His future goal was to defeat Di Tian! If he couldn¡¯t do so, he couldn¡¯t truly be a god and inherit the godly seat of the God of Emotions. It was only by defeating Di Tian that he could fulfil his goal. Right now, he didn¡¯t just learn how strong the Beast God was from one aspect. Di Tian was deservedly the strongest creature on the entire Douluo Continent.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Snow Empress, is there an aquatic soul beast that¡¯s adept at spiritual power in this Ice Sea? If there is, is it possible for it to be Yuhao¡¯s Spirit?¡±

    The Snow Empress hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°In the sea, there are many soul beasts that are adept at spiritual abilities. However, there¡¯s only one sufficiently strong species nearby. It¡¯s the Mermaids.¡±

    ¡°Mermaids?¡± Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both curious. They had never heard of such a name before.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°Mermaids are also known as genies in the sea. They are the best in terms of spiritual abilities among all the aquatic soul beasts that I know. Their upper bodies are like humans, while their lower bodies resemble that of fish. Most of them are female, and the females rule their species. Whether it¡¯s a male or a female, the upper half of a Mermaid is always very nice. The reason why they¡¯re called Mermaids is because of their leader, who is known as the Princess of the Sea. The Princess of the Sea is the ruler of this aquatic region. Among the few aquatic soul beasts that can im to have simr cultivation to mine, one of them is the Princess of the Sea.¡±

    ¡°Her spiritual power is extremely strong. If she¡¯s fighting in the sea, even the Evil Eye Tyrant might not be able to beat her. However, the Evil Eye Tyrant is definitely stronger onnd. Because of how strong they are and their spiritual abilities, many other species of aquatic soul beasts ally with them. Their overall abilities are rather strong.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Since aquatic soul beasts are so strong, why don¡¯t they venture ontond after their cultivation reaches a certain point? Wouldn¡¯t they benefit more?¡±

    The Ice Empress smiled slightly and said, ¡°You can¡¯t use the mentality ofnd bound soul beasts on aquatic soul beasts. To them, the sea is their habitat. It¡¯s where the living conditions fit them. Also, a big problem for them is that their abilities are greatly weakened when they leave the sea. The longer they are out of the sea, the more their lives will be in danger. Under such a condition, they are naturally not inclined to leave the sea.¡±

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°If Yuhao wants to obtain a Spirit from an aquatic soul beast, Mermaids are definitely a good choice. There are hundred thousand year Mermaids. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± As she spoke until here, she furrowed her brow before continuing, ¡°Mermaids feel that they are above others. They don¡¯t really respect any other species of soul beasts. Furthermore, they are very strong. Trying to convince them won¡¯t be easy. After all, aquatic soul beasts don¡¯t regard humans as their natural enemies. Even that empire that specializes in making soul tools never threatens them.¡±

 Chapter 534.2 - Mermaids?

    Chapter 534.2: Mermaids?

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯d like to try when the fight in Eastern Sun City is over.¡±

    Tang Wutong looked at the Snow and Ice Empresses and asked, ¡°Will there be any danger?¡±

    The Snow Empress replied, ¡°If you don¡¯t go to deep into the Ice Sea, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. I¡¯ll appear then. Even the Mermaid will need to show some face to me. At the same time, it will also depend on whether you get lucky. Although I believe that the probability of sess isn¡¯t huge, I¡¯ll still apany you since you want to go there.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it then. Please return now. We are about to begin our mission.¡±

    The Snow and Ice Empresses turned into two streaks of flowing light and returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao squinted slightly and said, ¡°If I can obtain my eighth soul ring this time, I can try for my second soul core after a period of consolidation. The probability of sess will also be greater.¡±

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Are you still sticking with the Yin Yang Complement? I still feel that it¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he said, ¡°I still have to give it a shot. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be convinced. My future goal is to defeat Di Tian. If I can¡¯t get a soul core that¡¯s as strong as his, how can I do so? Since I¡¯ll need to challenge him one day, I must do so in my best state. Even if I fail, I can still use the other method. My greatest advantage is my age. I still have enough time.¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You are really stubborn.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and got closer to her before pecking her on the cheek. After this, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t you like how stubborn I am?¡±

    ¡°Pui! Who likes your stubbornness?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s called persistence, isn¡¯t it? You like my persistence. Persistence and stubbornness are synonyms. There¡¯s not much difference between the two. Let¡¯s go and find a ce. I really wish to cuddle you and sleep.¡±

    Tang Wutongughed and said, ¡°Come on then! I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately turned bitter. ¡°Your seal wille and give me trouble even before three seconds is up. Haih, when can I see my father-inw, who¡¯s the only one who can solve this problem!¡±

    Tang Wutong also pinched the soft flesh on his waist and said, ¡°I think this is a rather good arrangement. Let¡¯s take it as a test for you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao appeared sorrowful, ¡°This test is too difficult.¡±

    As the two of them spoke, they approached a nearby inn.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in there.¡± Huo Yuhao led Tang Wutong into the inn. They asked for a room and used a gold soul coin to purchase a map of Eastern Sun City.

    This inn was squeaky clean. Apart from its cleanliness, there was nothing about it that could be raved about. However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯t there for a holiday.

    They entered their room and closed the door. Huo Yuhao then began to recite incantations. In just a few seconds, a pitch-ck door silently opened.

    Under the concealment of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, it was impossible to sense any energy undtionsing from this door.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Tang Wutong. Her body shed, and she entered the spectral demine. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t leave right now, as he had to maintain the energy barrier around the door. Otherwise, any soul master that passed by would be able to sense the sinister aura and immense soul power undtionsing from it.

    Not long afterward, Tang Wutong returned. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were with her. It was a gathering of the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    Bei Bei asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°I heard from Wutong that you¡¯ve encountered some trouble?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°A little, but it shouldn¡¯t be a huge problem. Eldest senior,e here and take a look.¡±

    Everyone gathered around a table, which was covered in the map that Huo Yuhao had purchased earlier. He had already marked out some points on it. Among them, he specially used a red marking for a ce in the north of the city.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Through the earlier use of my Spiritual Detection, I discovered that there are thirty thousand troops stationed in this city, as well as a soul master legion formed by a total of a hundred and fifty soul masters. Just inside the northern city gates, there¡¯s a soul formation, which I believe is stronger than the one that we destroyed before. The soul tools there are all the newest types. Furthermore, there are many spiritual detection soul tools. Honestly speaking, it does curb my Spiritual Detection and surveince abilities, such that I¡¯m unable to use my Spiritual Detection to clearly find out what¡¯s going on inside. Earlier, I unintentionally triggered their spiritual barrier. I¡¯m afraid that it has made them warier.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded slightly and said, ¡°The defense of this Eastern Sun City is beyond our expectation. What have you decided to do? If we¡¯re going tounch an assault, how confident are you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I thought about it earlier. Given the scale of this soul formation, we¡¯ll need our Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion to continuously attack and suppress them if we are tounch an assault. However, given the soul tools in this soul formation, I¡¯m afraid it will be able tost for quite some time. At the same time, it can even counterattack. We¡¯ll definitely sustain some losses then. If we use our Fort Soul Engineer Legion at the same time, we might be able to take it down as quickly as possible. However, we¡¯ll still sustain losses. If we go head-to-head with them, we¡¯ll expose our abilities. News will then spread from Eastern Sun City.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°It¡¯s best for us to avoid any losses. The power that we control is limited. If we can avoid any direct shes, it¡¯ll be the best.¡±

    Everyone nodded in agreement. They had amon agreement on this point.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s expertise in soul tool technology was unquestioned. As a result, there were a fewrge-scale soul tools among this soul formation that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou didn¡¯t recognize. They didn¡¯t have time right now to research them either. Thest time they attacked the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul formations, there were a few such soul tools around too.

    If these soul tools were lethal weapons, or if the linked soul tools in the soul formation had some kind of special use, Shrek Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions would likely suffer very heavy damage. This was certainly something they couldn¡¯t afford to risk.

    They had linked soul tools too, but each of the three soul engineer legions was differently equipped.

    The Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion that Huo Yuhao controlled were equipped with linked soul tools that could only be used for attacking, but not defending. This was the same for the Fort Soul Engineer Legion. This was because the resources that would be drained were far too great. It was only by attacking that they could conserve a lot of resources. After all, these three soul engineer legions were only supported by the wealth of Shrek Academy. They had no choice but to sacrifice certain aspects.

    Only the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was equipped with linked soul tools that could attack and defend at the same time.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s greatest problem was that it couldn¡¯t afford to sustain heavy losses. This was why they were afraid of being subjected to an all-out linked attack. The offensive strength of such an attack was even too overwhelming for a Titled Douluo. Losses and damages were certainly unavoidable.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This is why I¡¯ve decided not to use the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion after weighing our options. While the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion is offensively strong, it¡¯s not flexible enough. Against a huge city like Eastern Sun City, we need to be able to retreat anytime we want to. For this soul formation, we need to think of a way of oveing it from the inside. It¡¯s only in this way that we can minimize our losses and gain the most from it.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± He Caitou said without any hesitation. He was excited to have robbed a soul formation the other time. Every soul formation represented immense wealth! It was definitely good to loot a soul formation. Destruction would be a pity.

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°Yuhao, are you saying that we¡¯re going to stick with attacking from the inside?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°A soul formation is very strong. Whether it¡¯s in terms of defense or offense, it can achieve the best effect through linked soul tools. However, it has a w. It¡¯s that any linked soul tools that are fired using a soul formation are all targeted outward. To ovee this w, many aerial surveince soul tools have to be installed around the soul formation to keep enemies from getting close. My strength is that I can conceal myself and get close to the inside of such a soul formation, which would give me an opportunity to cause some destruction. Unless the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions can link together to attack and defend, I should be able to make a breakthrough using such a method.¡±

    ¡°The reason why this soul formation is so troublesome is because it has many spiritual detection soul tools and barriers. That¡¯s why even I run the risk of rming them if I sneak in.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made some estimates. Thergest spiritual barrier in this soul formation is around five hundred meters from the formation. That¡¯s also the maximum range of a spiritual barrier. Its greatest use is to prevent those who are adept at spiritual power from sneaking in. It doesn¡¯t work the same as aerial surveince soul tools.¡±

    ¡°If they are really guarding against the Mermaids, I¡¯m fairly sure that Mermaids don¡¯t possess any concealment abilities. At least, they can¡¯t escape the detection of oscition detectors. Along with such a spiritual barrier, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s enough for them.¡±

    ¡°However, our advantage is that we can avoid detection before we enter that spiritual barrier. That¡¯s why we can sneak in and cause destruction if we are able to cover those five hundred meters in the shortest time possible before the linked soul tools are able to take effect.¡±

 Chapter 534.3 - Mermaids?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 534.3: Mermaids?</h4>

    ¡°If they are automatic linked defensive soul tools, Teacher Xuan discovered that it takes around two to three seconds before the entire soul formation is activated after the soul tools are triggered. This will differ depending on the quality of the linked soul tools. This is why we need to cover that distance within two seconds to remain out of harm¡¯s way. Then, linked defensive soul tools will be useless against us.¡±

    As he spoke until here, Huo Yuhao paused for a moment before he continued, saying, ¡°However, there¡¯s still a problem ¨C our uncertainty of our enemy¡¯s strength. I scanned everything inside earlier, although it was at the price of rming the enemy. When I scanned the ce, I sensed that there were roughly a hundred and fifty soul engineers in the soul formation. However, I couldn¡¯t tell their exact strength, as I was too rushed. This also means that the problem that we¡¯ll face after sneaking in is how to quickly upy the soul formation and get rid of the enemies.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be a huge problem. Given our abilities, we should be able to fight even a Titled Douluo. Although Eastern City is an important fort, I don¡¯t think the Sun Moon Empire will deploy many Titled Douluo here. Now that the war is in full scale, Titled Douluo are very important on the battlefield, as they can threaten their enemies on a strategic scale. However, they would be less useful if they were over here. On the other hand, I think covering five hundred meters is a more difficult task. Can the two of you do it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If our flying-type soul tools are at full speed, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem. If we bring two people each with us, we should be able to scrape through.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°That¡¯s easy. Leave Caitou outside to liaise with us, while we charge in and quickly deal with the soul engineers. After that, we¡¯ll upy the soul formation.¡±

    He Caitou was a little dissatisfied as he asked, ¡°Why am I the one staying outside? My Fort Soul Engineer Legion isn¡¯t participating in the fight either.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°Of course you are the one staying outside. After we enter, we must do our best not to cause any destruction to the soul formation. Rather, we must onlyy our hands on the soul engineers. Those soul tools are extremely destructive. If we damage them, I¡¯ll see how sad you¡¯ll be.¡±

    He Caitou twisted his lips and said, ¡°That sounds logical. Alright then.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Yuhao, do you have anything to add?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°This time, our main force will be the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. They¡¯re the most flexible. Second senior shallmandeer them from the outside, and they¡¯ll be prepared to liaise with us at any time. If something happens to us, second senior will lead the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion to focus its firepower and destroy the linked defense of the soul formation. Given the strength of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, they should be able to do so within fifteen minutes. However, we must try to avoid a situation where the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion faces the offensive soul tools of the soul formation. People are more important than resources. We must not conserve any resources at all.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I know.¡± He Caitou nodded seriously.

    Jiang Nannan said, ¡°Yuhao, should we deploy our other two soul engineer legions outside the city just in case? If we face any problems, the other two soul engineer legions can coordinate with the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion to attack.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°There are many aerial surveince soul tools above Eastern Sun City. It¡¯ll be difficult to deploy the other two soul engineer legions. If the three soul engineer legions attack together, they¡¯ll indeed be very destructive. But the problem is that we¡¯ll be directly subjected to our own firepower once the enemy¡¯s linked defense is ovee, as we will be within the soul formation.¡±

    Jiang Nannan realized how immature her proposition was after listening to his exnation. She turned slightly red and said, ¡°Apologies, I didn¡¯t consider everything.¡±

    Xu Sanshi always didn¡¯t stand on the side of reason. He hugged Jiang Nannan and cheerfully said, ¡°No worries, no worries. You had a point too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao followed by saying, ¡°However, I¡¯ll still need to adjust our manpower. If it¡¯s the six of us that are going to charge in, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the idealbination.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°Yuhao, you don¡¯t need to have any misgivings. You are the chiefmander of this mission. Everyone will listen to you. Your word is final.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Our main goal this time is to kill people, or at least make those soul engineers lose their fighting strength. Under such a circumstance, our attack is of paramount importance. For safety purposes, we need to be defensively sound too. That¡¯s why I suggest that third senior has to go in. However, apart from him, we need to send our most offensive fighters in too. That¡¯s why fourth senior and Xiao Xiao should stay out. Eldest senior, third senior, Wutong, Brother Ji, Ye Guyi and I shall be the six entering. In that way, we can achieve the greatest effect. Ourbined destructiveness is the strongest.¡±

    Xiao Xiao twisted her lips and said, ¡°You¡¯re not bringing me along for the fun again. Alright, I¡¯ll stay outside with Caitou then.¡±

    Jiang Nannan nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with this arrangement too. I¡¯ll help Caitou prepare the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We¡¯ll start then. Seniors, I¡¯ll invite you guys out when I find a good spot. Get the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion to be fully equipped and ready to await orders.¡±

    Everyone nodded and quickly returned to the spectral demine through the door. Only Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong remained outside.

    After shutting the door, Huo Yuhao led Tang Wutong out of the inn and proceeded towards the north.

    The thirty thousand soldiers didn¡¯t scare them at all. Ordinary soldiers were just cannon fodder in front of soul engineers. Even if there were a few soul masters, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much trouble either. This was why Huo Yuhao¡¯s goal, to destroy the soul formation in Eastern Sun City first, was very precise. From there, they could control the entire city in the shortest time possible, and proceed with their strategic deployment.

    Since they were going to attack, they definitely couldn¡¯t do it from the inn they were staying in. Huo Yuhao and the few others could use his Imitation to conceal themselves. However, if the entire Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was to move out, they needed to gather and prepare first.

    Although aerial surveince soul tools had great surveince abilities, they weren¡¯t effective against concealed things or people. They weren¡¯t omnipotent. After all, the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t possibly use thermal detectors and oscition detectors to scan the city continuously. There were many people living in the city. Such surveince waspletely unnecessary.

    Where was the best ce for people to gather? There were two hundred people. Huo Yuhao had a clear idea of what to do, which was to gather everyone in the inn.

    In the distance, the northern city walls of Eastern Sun City were visible. Huo Yuhao squinted, and revealed a mysterious look in his eyes. The soul formation was not far in front of them anymore. This soul formation was very intricately constructed. It relied on the northern city walls. Some of the soul tools were located inside the city, while the others were on top of the city walls.

    However, as his Spiritual Detection was discovered earlier, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯tpletely ascertain what those soul tools were. This was why he was very prudent when it came to this fight. He had to fight with his greatest strength.

    Apart from Ye Guyi, those who were involved in this mission had at least eight rings. Tang Wutong even had nine rings. Such power was already extraordinary. Moreover, Huo Yuhao¡¯sbination with Tang Wutong made them as strong as a Transcendent Douluo. If nothing unexpected happened, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to charge in and take control of the soul formation.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection once again. Under his control, he avoided the soul formation, which was directly in front of him. Instead, he extended his Spiritual Detection to either side of the soul formation.

    Very soon, he found the ce that he was looking for. It was a hotel that was not far from the northern city walls.

    This hotel wasn¡¯t considered very huge. It only had three stories. The infrastructure also appeared rather decent, just that it looked slightly dpidated.

    After Huo Yuhao discovered it, he immediately used his Spiritual Detection to scan it.

    The upancy of this hotel wasn¡¯t very high. It was only thirty percent full. The third floor was very quiet and empty. The guests in this hotel were also ordinary people. No sign of soul power undtions could be detected.

    This discovery left Huo Yuhao very satisfied. He had sessfully found a ce to hide the members of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.

    He used his Imitation and disappeared into the night with Tang Wutong. After a brief moment, they appeared within the hotel.

    Time was not on his side. Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t ask for rooms. Not only would that leave traces behind, but it was also a massive waste of time.

    His gentle yet powerful spiritual power silently engulfed the entire building. In the next moment, his eyes shed with golden light.

    A weaker version of his Spiritual st was unleashed. Whether it was the staff or the guests in the hotel, they immediately felt dizzy. In the next moment, they all passed out, and the entire hotel instantly went silent.

    This was how terrifying a spiritual-type soul master could be. Huo Yuhao managed to quietly gain control of the entire hotel. This time, he didn¡¯t open too many of the spectral doors. He only opened three. The members of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion streamed out of the doors and started to rapidly upy the entire hotel.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s orders, all the guests in the hotel were gathered in the lobby and supervised. This was to prevent anyone from screaming hysterically if he or she awoke from unconsciousness.

    This hotel was in a prime location. It had three stories, and faced the soul formation at the northern city gates. The two hundred members of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion were hiding beside the windows in each room. Once the order was given, they could charge out immediately.

 Chapter 535.1 - Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 535.1: Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo</h4>

    Eastern Sun City was a northern city. If it was like Radiant City, soul power detectors would sweep the city immediately. If that happened, the appearance of arge number of soul masters would still be easily detectable. In Eastern Sun City, it was evident that there wasn¡¯t such arge-scale instation of surveince soul tools.

    The senior management of the Tang Sect were all gathered in the lobby. Huo Yuhao briefed Ji Juechen and Ye Guyi on his strategy.

    ¡°You canmand us.¡± Ji Juechen answered in the simplest of ways. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, he was always able to unleash his greatest fighting strength.

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless as he avoided the passionate gaze in Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes. He sighed helplessly. He knew exactly why Ji Juechen looked at him with such an expression. It was evident that he wanted to challenge him to a fight!

    When Huo Yuhao exited his closed-door cultivation after two years, Ji Juechen was the most excited. It was just that Huo Yuhao went with Tang Wutong on a mission immediately, after which they were recruited for this fight, thus Ji Juechen didn¡¯t have the time to challenge Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was indeed a little fearful of such a look in Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes. He was too crazy. Furthermore, over the past two years, Ji Juechen¡¯s abilities had been continuously improving too. Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t discern what his current standard was.

    It was important to note that Ji Juechen was the first among all of them to be a Soul Douluo. Although he was not yet a Titled Douluo, he was at least at Rank 88 or 89. More importantly, his abilities couldn¡¯t just be measured using his cultivation. His terrifying sword intent was also very frightening.

    Ji Juechen was close to bing a Titled Douluo. Along with his powerful sword intent, Huo Yuhao had no confidence of defeating him, even though he had always been very confident in himself. The reason was very simple. Ji Juechen was simply too aggressive.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a move then. Second senior, I¡¯ll leave things here to you. Wait for my signal.¡±

    He Caitou nodded at Huo Yuhao.

    After this, Huo Yuhao led Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Wutong, Ji Juechen and Ye Guyi out of the hotel. He unleashed his Imitation and concealed the six of them in the darkness of the night. Not only this, but his Spiritual Detection was also shared with his teammates. He sent everything that he detected to them.

    The hotel was very close to the northern city gates. Very soon, Huo Yuhao and the others were close. They only stopped when they were around five hundred meters away from the soul formation.

    The soul formation wasn¡¯t very well-lit. It appeared a little dim, and things seemed to be very quiet inside. As some buildings were blocking it, it was unclear what soul tools were inside.

    Huo Yuhao stood behind Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, while Tang Wutong was behind Ye Guyi and Ji Juechen. Their ss 9 flying-type soul tools opened at the same time.

    Through his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao said to the rest, ¡°When I shoutter, muster your soul power and protect yourselves, as the impact force from the high speed will be very great.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The rest acknowledged his words.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao turned to look at Tang Wutong. Their minds were linked, and they both nodded. Their soul power poured into their flying-type soul tools at an rming speed.

    Instantly, their ss 9 flying-type soul tools lit up at the same time. Blinding lights were released, such that they were no longer able to conceal themselves. This was especially so because of their soul power undtions.

    ¡°Charge!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. He and Tang Wutong both grabbed onto one arm of each teammate by their side. They instantly burst forward, and the immense thrusting force made them seem like missiles. They charged in the direction of the soul formation like bolts of lightning.

    Just as they fully unleashed their ss 9 soul tools, a deafening rm sounded inside the soul formation. The soul power undtions from a ss 9 soul tool were simply too strong. The soul power detectors in the soul formation instantly detected their presence.

    The entire soul formation lit up almost instantly. A gentle glow also shone from the linked defensive soul tools.

    The worst thing that could happen to a soul formation was for enemies to assault it out of the blue. This was why the linked defensive soul tools were immediately activated once there the rm sounded. The soul formation had to be protected before anything else was attended to.

    However, ss 9 soul tools were ss 9 soul tools! In an instant, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong and the rest had already achieved supersonic speed. In just a sh, they covered five hundred meters, and instantly crashed their way into the soul formation. As a result, the linked defense only came up after they had charged their way in.

    Huo Yuhao naturally didn¡¯t need to conceal them anymore. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection and engulfed the entire soul formation.

    In this soul formation with so many surveince soul tools, his Imitation was effectively useless.

    Countless soul rays were immediately fired, engulfing the six of them. The reaction speed was immensely quick. It was even faster than the soul formation at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Clearly, the soul engineers here were well-equipped and highly experienced.

    Huo Yuhao had no time to be astonished. He unleashed his Spiritual Detection in all directions. It was as if he didn¡¯t even see the countless soul rays that were being fired at him.

    Dark gold light scattered, and turned into a metal barrier. This barrier isted the soul rays. It was Xu Sanshi¡¯s doing.

    Behind Tang Wutong, her Radiant Butterfly Goddess¡¯ wings opened. Suddenly, it was striking in the direction of the soul rays. As tremendous booms sounded, the soul rays stopped firing.

    It was also at this moment that the entire soul formation lit up as bright as day. Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also changed slightly.

    Evidently, his expression changed because he had received bad news from his Spiritual Detection. The first problem that he discovered was that this soul formation was much bigger than he had expected. Furthermore, the soul tools at the top and bottom of the city walls formed two different linked defensive formations. This also meant that the linked defensive formation at the top of the city walls was still effective against them, even though they had already snuck into the soul formation.

    Apart from this, Huo Yuhao also sensed two strong auras inside this soul formation. Those were auras that threatened them. They probably came from Titled Douluo.

    There are actually two Titled Douluo holding the fort in such an extremely northern city? They are certainly full of tricks!However, Huo Yuhao immediately understood why the Sun Moon Empire had such an arrangement here. Evidently, the threat posed by aquatic soul beasts was rather dire. This was why they needed someone strong to hold the fort.

    Two Titled Douluo wasn¡¯t considered too scary. The scary thing was that these two Titled Douluo were likely ss 9 soul engineers too. The strength of a soul formation was clearly different with two ss 9 soul engineersmandeering it.

    While Huo Yuhao was making such a judgment, he reacted immediately. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny opened. Just as he spread his spiritual power without any conservation, he unleashed a strong strike of his Spiritual st.

    The soul engineers that were closer to the soul formation were instantly killed as their heads burst. At the same time, Ji Juechen, Ye Guyi, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi also charged in different directions under the guidance of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. They were all capable of fighting themselves. No matter how they were going to deal with the soul formation at the top of the city walls, they had to deal with things at the bottom first, since there were many more soul tools there. It was essential to suppress these soul tools before they dealt with the situation at the top of the city walls.

    In the hotel, He Caitou was standing in front of a window on the third story. He was quietly observing the soul formation. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and he shouted through his transmission soul tool, ¡°Brothers,e with me.¡± As he spoke, he charged forward like a bomb. He broke the window and flew outside.

    Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan and the rest followed closely behind. Two hundred Tang Sect soul engineers also charged out of the hotel. They rose into the air under He Caitou¡¯s leadership.

    They formed a circr formation, and a linked defense was instantly formed under He Caitou¡¯s orders. After this, every soul engineer lifted a high-explosive cannon to his shoulder and ferociously fired it in the direction of the northern city walls.

    This only happened because Huo Yuhao had just informed He Caitou through his Spiritual Detection to lead an all-out attack as a means of suppressing the soul formation at the top of the northern city walls.

    Otherwise, Huo Yuhao and the others might be fatally hurt if they tried to fight their way up. Once they dyed and allowed more soul engineers to link up, their mission would be more and more difficult.

    If they could suppress of the soul formation at the top of the city walls, the linked defensive formation would be quickly drained of soul power, and wouldn¡¯t have enough strength to deal with Huo Yuhao and the others as a result.

    Adapting to changes on a battlefield was important no matter when. With regards to this point, Huo Yuhao undoubtedly performed very well.

    Bei Bei and the other three charged in four different directions. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t move at all. Huo Yuhao only grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he unleashed his immense spiritual power towards one direction in the soul formation. His terrifying might even caused the air to shake a little.

    ¡°Scoundrels!¡± Someone shouted before two figures flew up from the soul formation. These two figures charged towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Both were elders who seemed to be around seventy years old. When they rose from the soul formation, the linked defensive formation of the entire soul formation seemed to be a little dimmer. A sinister aura spread and engulfed the entire ce, neutralizing Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power.

 Chapter 535.2 - Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 535.2: Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo</h4>

    Not soul engineers?Huo Yuhao made an urate judgment immediately. Not only were these two not soul engineers, but they were even a very familiar type of soul master ¨C evil soul masters! They were evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church.

    These two evil Titled Douluo were unfamiliar to Huo Yuhao. However, his expression immediately turned serious.

    Evil soul masters found it very easy in the early stages of their cultivation. They were able to improve by leaps and bounds. However, it was very difficult for an evil soul master to be a Titled Douluo. It was even harder for thempared to ordinary soul masters.

    As a result, evil soul masters that could be Titled Douluo were undoubtedly elites among evil soul masters. These two had to be honorary elders of the Holy Ghost Church even if they weren¡¯t from the Worship Hall.

    The Holy Ghost Church had actually deployed two evil soul masters here. It seemed like they must have hatched some kind of plot.

    Huo Yuhao squinted, and strengthened the release of his spiritual power. Right now, both he and Tang Wutong were within his Spiritual Interference Domain. The two evil soul masters couldn¡¯t tell their appearances. His immense spiritual power also kept the two evil soul masters busy, such that they couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else for now.

    Both parties were at a stalemate, but the battlefield was thundering. Lights were also scattering everywhere. The soul formation at the top of the northern city walls was also being intensely bombed. Its linked defense was on the verge of copsing.

    The Sun Moon Empire had deployed a total of a hundred and fifty soul engineers here. A hundred of them were at the bottom of the city walls, while the other fifty were deployed at the top. Although the soul engineers at the top used their powerful linked defense to resist the attack of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, they were also being drained much more quickly.

    If this were a normal situation where the enemies came from outside the city, the soul engineers in the city would be able to hang on. They could evenbine their linked defenses at the top and bottom of the walls, generating an even stronger defense.

    However, things were extremely chaotic at the bottom right now. Bei Bei and the other three were mercilessly killing soul engineers within the soul formation. How could anyone even be bothered by what was going on at the top?

    This was why Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were not anxious at all. Whether it was Bei Bei and the other three or He Caitou who managed to achieve what they wanted, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong stood to benefit. If they weren¡¯t anxious, they wouldn¡¯t easily reveal their own ws. This was the simplest fighting strategy, but it was very effective.

    The two evil soul masters soon realized this, and they turned extremely grim. While Huo Yuhao was stunned by them, they were also equally astonished by the fact that so many powerful individuals had appeared here. In addition, there was even a soul engineer legion.

    How strong was the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion? In the sky, every figure shone with the light of six soul rings. The entire soul engineer legion was made up of Soul Emperors!

    Perhaps the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion might be less well-equipped than the outstanding soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire. However, not a single soul engineer legion, even in the Sun Moon Empire, was as well-equipped with soul masters as the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. Not even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was an exception.

    Given this, the soul engineers at the top of the city walls were about to be taken down under the all-out attack of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.

    ¡°All of you are courting death!¡± The Titled Douluo on the left shouted before he lifted his right hand. His body immediately shone with two yellow, two purple and five ck soul rings. A pitch-ck g also appeared within his grasp.

    This entire g was ck, even up to its gpole. However, there subtly seemed to be countless purplish-ck indignant souls shing above this g.

    Myriad Soul Banner! This evil soul master¡¯s nickname was Myriad Soul. He was the Myriad Soul Douluo, a Rank 91 evil Titled Douluo.

    The other evil soul master by his side also unleashed his martial soul. The Myriad Soul Douluo was a Tool Soul Master, while he was a Beast Soul Master. His body immediately expanded, and his skin seemed as if it were going to tear apart. Thick greenish fog quickly spread from his body. Very soon, he was more than twenty meters tall, and his waistline grew to more than twenty meters. He was like a monster now. He was actually a living creature, an Abomination, that existed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine too.

    Huo Yuhao started to recite incantations. Tang Wutong shed, and came in front of him.

    He ced both his hands on her slim waist, maintaining their Haodong Power.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes suddenly turned extremely bright. Sonorous dragon roars rang through the air. In front of her, a huge golden dragon head gradually surfaced. Following this, the dragon head opened its mouth wide, and balls of golden light shot towards the two evil soul masters.

    This was the second soul skill of the Radiant Dragon Butterfly, Dragon God¡¯s Fury!

    It was important to remember that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could unleash the abilities of a Transcendent Douluo when they came together as one entity. This was Dragon God¡¯s Fury at the level of a Transcendent Douluo!

    Every ball of light appeared very real. Wherever they passed, the air would actually weirdly copse. It was as if the air was a wall, which was dented as the Dragon God¡¯s Fury shot past. It was indeed very weird.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s figure shed before he arrived in front them. His Myriad Soul Banner moved along with the winds, and tragic screams echoed as sinister winds blew. The banner was about to engulf the balls of light unleashed by Dragon God¡¯s Fury.

    Something weird happened at this moment. The balls of light suddenly unfurled in mid-air, turning into small golden dragons. These dragons bared their teeth as they wed towards the banner.

    The avenging spirits that were released from the Myriad Soul Banner were instantly torn apart as they faced the golden dragons, which were filled with an aura of light. Suddenly, the sky turned extremely bright, and the sinister aura that was previously in the air was swept away under the effect of Dragon God¡¯s Fury.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s expression changed immediately. These avenging spirits were the source of his strength. He shouted, and the third soul ring of his Myriad Soul Banner shone brightly.

    His Myriad Soul Banner erged ten times over, and reached towards all the small golden dragons.

    The Abomination Douluo had already taken a big step by now, and was charging towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    The erged Myriad Soul Banner was actually very resilient. When it engulfed all the small golden dragons, it seemed as if countless souls had devoured them. Instantly, it really felt as if Dragon God¡¯s Fury had beenpletely suppressed.

    A cold look shed across Tang Wutong¡¯s face. The golden dragon head in front of her shone brightly all of a sudden. Following this, tremendous booms rang from the Myriad Soul Banner.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo shouted in fury and quickly staggered back. The aura released from his Myriad Soul Banner seemed to weaken a little. Evidently, he had suffered greatly from Tang Wutong¡¯s retaliation.

    Evil soul masters could indeed curb most martial souls. However, Tang Wutong¡¯s top-grade Radiant Dragon Butterfly couldn¡¯t be curbed by any ordinary evil soul master. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao was reciting incantations right now, which affected the cirction of their Haodong Power, Tang Wutong would have been able to hurt the Myriad Soul Douluo with her earlier blow, given her abilities.

    At this moment, the Abomination Douluo rushed forward. He opened his arms, and a huge patch of greenish fog swept towards Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao. A dark-greenish fluid also seeped out from his skin as his terrifying figure approached.

    A huge chain also appeared in the Abomination Douluo¡¯s hand. On a closer look, one could discover that it was formed by linking skulls together. These skulls didn¡¯t belong to humans. Instead, they seemed toe from different living creatures. They were filled with intense vengeance and sinister auras. At the top of the chain, there was a hook made from an unknown bone structure.

    As the Abomination Douluo swung his hand forward, his huge chain whipped towards Tang Wutong¡¯s head.

    Compared to the Abomination Douluo, Tang Wutong was extremely small. However, she was still fearless in the face of such a powerful opponent. She lifted her arms in front of her body and sped her palms above her head. Her dragon wings came together at this point, engulfing Huo Yuhao within them.

    A giant de of light appeared in mid-air as if it had just cut open the heavens. It was more than ten meters long. As Tang Wutong swept her hands down, the huge de shed down, echoing the furious roar of a dragon at the same time.

    ¡°Ding!¡± The Abomination Douluo¡¯s chain collided against the de of light, and was instantly struck away. Three different projections suddenly appeared on the Abomination Douluo¡¯s body. He wanted to avoid the iing de.

    However, the de was simply too quick. As light shed, the Abomination Douluo roared furiously.

    The three projectionsbined to form one, and a huge wound appeared on the Abomination Douluo¡¯s shoulder. This was the result even after he used a defensive soul skill to take most of the offensive strength from the light de. Otherwise, he would be in an even more tragic state.

    Tang Wutong was forcefully resisting two evil Titled Douluo. Not only did she not lose out, but she even suppressed her opponents.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo had caught his breath by now. He was staring fiercely at Tang Wutong. His sixth soul ring lit up, and he raised his Myriad Soul Banner up high. His ck banner exuded a bluish rippling glow, causing it to appear deep-blue.

    This deep-blue was as deep as the color of the sea. Following this, twelve avenging spirits flew out from the banner.

    These avenging spirits were all deep-blue. They appeared to be different from ordinary avenging spirits. These spirits actually possessed a form of their own.

    One of them was even a living creature with a human body and a fish tail. This avenging spirit had long hair that flowed all the way behind his head. Its entire body even exuded a blue glow. It was just that there was spirit fire dancing in its eyes.

    The other eleven avenging spirits also took different forms. The only simr characteristic between all of them was that they were aquatic creatures. They should be aquatic soul beasts.This evil soul master actually controls the avenging spirits formed from aquatic soul beasts.

 Chapter 535.3 - Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo

    Chapter 535.3: Myriad Souls Douluo and the Abomination Douluo

    The avenging spirits of twelve aquatic soul beasts appeared. Apart from that mermaid avenging spirit, the other eleven avenging spirits flew towards Tang Wutong. Each of them released a powerful aura.

    The mermaid avenging spirit lifted her head. She seemed to sigh. After that, a weird voice was heard from her mouth.

    Her voice was captivating, but she sounded like she was sobbing. She made one feel like crying.

    Tang Wutong was stunned when she heard this voice. She was about to unleash her next soul skill, but she paused.

    It was also at this moment that the eleven avenging spirits encircled her. One of them, which looked like a shark, picked up speed, and charged in front of Tang Wutong. It opened its huge mouth and was about to bite her.

    While these avenging spirits were only spiritual entities, they could inflict more harm than real entities. This was because they could directly harm souls.

    However, Tang Wutong was Tang Wutong. She was a nine-ringed Titled Douluo. She was even a Titled Douluo with top-grade twin martial souls.

    Although the voice of the mermaid avenging spirit impacted her, she immediately regained her awareness she mimicked a lifting action. In front of her, a huge hexagram array that was more than five meters in diameter suddenly surfaced. Following this, a huge beam of light shot into the sky.

    Ever since she got back with Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong had separated some parts from her martial soul before fusing with them againter on. After her memory was fully restored, she was not only able to use every soul skill of her evolved martial souls, but she was also able to use the unevolved soul skills that Wang Dong¡¯er had possessed. Right now, she was using the Hexagram Array!

    The beam of light unleashed from the gigantic Hexagram Array was filled with spiritual undtions and an aura of light. The moment the shark avenging spirit touched it, it let out a tragic scream and was glued to it. It couldn¡¯t escape even if it wanted to.

    Tang Wutong forcefully stomped the ground with her left foot. Suddenly, the hexagram array shone brightly, and the light also intensified. The shark avenging spiritpletely melted as a result.

    At this moment, the other ten avenging spirits stalled. The reason why they were so strong was because they conserved some fighting capabilities, and even streaks of soul memories. This was why they could feel fearful too. Evidently, they knew that Tang Wutong couldpletely curb them.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t care about all that. As she stomped her foot, her fourth soul ring also lit up. A strangeyer of bluish-gold scales engulfed her body, turning into dazzling dragon armor. A huge golden dragon also started to revolve around her body.

    This was her fourth soul skill, Dragon God¡¯s Possession.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s figure shed, and she charged towards the Abomination Douluo. She punched her right fist into the air. Suddenly, a terrifying st rang in the air. This time, all space within a few hundred square meters seemed to copse. The Abomination Douluo, who had just caught his breath, was dyed for a moment. After this, he saw a bright golden fist in front of him.

    Compared to the Abomination Douluo, Tang Wutong was simply too small. However, at this instant, the Abomination Douluo felt a great sense of fear. It was as if this fist could crush the entire sky.

    When Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao were together, Huo Yuhao was generally the one who attacked. However, this didn¡¯t mean that she couldn¡¯t fight. On the contrary, Huo Yuhao might not even be able to beat Tang Wutong in a duel.

    After Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul evolved, Huo Yuhao had the feeling that it was like a fusion of Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s Radiant Butterfly Goddess and Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon. In terms of physical strength and power, it hadpletely inherited Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s best abilities. This was why Tang Wutong was extremely terrifying right now.

    As Tang Wutong charged out, she disabled her connection to Huo Yuhao. However, even so, she was still a Titled Douluo, and a powerful one at that!

    ¡°Boom!¡± A tremendous boom echoed. The Abomination Douluo used his fists to block her attack. He had already used all his strength and unleashed all his power. What he was most adept at was in fact his physical strength.

    However, the sh of fists caused him to be flung back. As for the tiny Tang Wutong, she remained motionless in the air.

    It was also at this moment that a pitch-ck door appeared behind Huo Yuhao. If not for the fact that he had finished reciting his incantations, Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t have left his side.

    A giant foot walked out from the pitch-ck door. What appeared next was a massive creature.

    It was a giant was even bigger than a Terror Knight! It was the Undead Ice Bear King, Er Bai!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move, and stood where he was. His spiritual senses had already covered the entire ce. The reason why he summoned Er Bai wasn¡¯t because he and Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t deal with the two evil Titled Douluo. Rather, he needed to control the entire scene. He was the chiefmander of the entire army, and not just fighting on his own. He had to minimize the number of casualties. Therefore, he had to focus on other aspects too, rather than just his own fight.

    If this was before, fighting two evil Titled Douluo would be potentially fatal. However, he didn¡¯t really regard them as a threat right now.

    Er Bai squeezed out from the door and immediately roared. He took a step forward. After this, he charged towards the Abomination Douluo.

    Tang Wutong drifted in mid-air. She waspletely covered in dragon armor, and her wings were open behind her back. As a golden dragon revolved around her body, she was like a goddess of war.

    She raised her right hand, and a beam of golden light shone. It was the Golden Dragon Spear that had belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er before.

    Every day, Huo Yuhao cultivated with Tang Wutong. As he familiarized himself with her abilities, he passed the Golden Dragon Spear to her. In her hands, it was indeed much stronger as she used it with her Radiant Dragon Butterfly.

    The spear drew an arc in the air, and a golden halo spread outward. The ten aquatic avenging spirits were forced back. At the same time, Tang Wutong turned her attention to the Myriad Soul Douluo.

    Whether it was the Myriad Soul Douluo or the Abomination Douluo, they didn¡¯t expect their opponents to be so strong. Tang Wutong¡¯s consecutive strikes left them very frustrated. Furthermore, they couldn¡¯t tell how strong she was. Was she a Transcendent Douluo? Only a Transcendent Douluo could possibly suppress them. Otherwise, she shouldn¡¯t be so strong even if she had a light-type martial soul.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo turned serious. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with what the Ice Bear King was. At this moment, Tang Wutong hadpletely locked onto him, and a life-or-death fight was about to break out.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s seventh soul ring shone, and he turned ethereal. After this, he swept his right hand down, and his banner fell to the ground. Following this, it expanded once again. As for the Myriad Soul Douluo, he turned into an intense ball of red light.

    A weird scene appeared. An image surfaced on the originally pitch-ck banner. This image was, blood-red and seemed to be simr to the Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s face. However, the image of him appeared to be much fiercer.

    Myriad Soul True Body! This was the Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s seventh soul skill. He had actually turned into an avenging spirit, and be the main soul of his banner.

    A low-pitched groan sounded. As sinister winds blew, the entire soul formation turned dimmer. A cold and sinister aura filled the air as the screams of countless avenging spirits echoed.

    Domain-type soul skill! After the Myriad Soul Douluo unleashed his Martial Soul True Body, he actually unleashed a domain-type ability. No wonder he was an evil Titled Douluo!

    Tang Wutong revealed a cold look on her face. Domain-type skill? A domain created by his banner would likely strengthen all his avenging spirits. However, does he really think that¡¯s going to work?

    The image of the Myriad Soul Douluo wasn¡¯t small. He had evidently realized that it wasn¡¯t enough for him to deal with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. He needed to deal with the others who had entered the soul formation too. This was why he used his strongest skill, Myriad Soul Domain.

    To use this domain-type skill, the requirements were very strict. First, he had to unleash his Martial Soul True Body. In addition, it was also his eighth soul skill.

    Thebination of two powerful soul skills enabled the Myriad Soul Douluo to unleash his greatest strength.

    Earlier, he was already very angry when Tang Wutong killed one of his aquatic avenging spirits. Seeing that the Undead Ice Bear King was out too, he knew that he no longer stood a chance if he didn¡¯t turn to his most powerful skill.

    Evil soul masters were most adept at fighting en masse. He had relied on his evil martial soul to turn the tables many times.

    Initially, when Huo Yuhao first faced evil soul masters, a corpse explosion had caused many elite members of Shrek Academy to suffer greatly. This was how Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had gained the opportunity to take part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    It was a pity that they weren¡¯t like they were before!

    The deep-blue mermaid avenging spirit expanded to three times its original size. The banner was no longer visible, but this mermaid avenging spirit was extremely obvious.

    Tang Wutong flew back. If it were any ordinary person in this Myriad Soul Domain, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything. However, as Huo Yuhao was around, did it really matter that she couldn¡¯t see anything?

    Tang Wutong came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side in a sh. After this, the temperature in the entire soul formation fell tremendously.

    Huo Yuhao was at the center of it. In the air, snowkes started to fall.

 Chapter 536.1 - The Eastern Sun Falls

    Chapter 536.1: The Eastern Sun Falls

    This was, in fact, the northernmost part of the northern area! Even though it was not as cold as the Extreme North Ice Field, it was way colder than anywhere else. Also, the Ice Sea was just outside of Eastern Sun City. There was plenty of water in the Ice Sea, so there would not be any problem with the water element here.

    When Huo Yuhao first came here, he predicted that his power should increase by at least twenty percent here.

    When Tang Wutong was shielding the blows for him, Huo Yuhao had already used his Spiritual Detection to scan the battlefield. He now had aplete picture of the battlefield, and had already established contact with He Caitou.

    Everything was under control. After confirming that no other idents would happen, he naturally would not go light on the enemy as he unleashed his true fighting power.

    After returning to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, Tang Wutong opened up her butterfly wings and protected his back. This time around, Huo Yuhao was at the front, and Tang Wutong was like a little bird as she hugged his waist from the back.

    If Tang Wutong¡¯s seal were to act up now, it would truly be a tragedy. However, she had long thought of this. Because she was wearing the Dragon God Armor, her body would note into direct contact with Huo Yuhao. This meant that the seal would naturally not act up.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned an ice-blue color as he faced the avenging spirits that were swarming towards him. Even though he was just standing there calmly, those spirits were unable to get near him and Tang Wutong. They were stuck outside of a five-meter radius around the couple.

    As Huo Yuhao unleashed the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, the entire area where the soul tools were installed started to experience a plunge in temperature. Because this area had activated their linked defense system, the cold air was trapped inside. Hence, the rate at which the temperature was dropping was faster than usual.

    The soul engineers who were trying to put up a struggle experienced a huge drop in their fighting power because of the extreme cold. Even though Ji Juechen and the others would also be affected by the cold, they were much stronger, and thus were not affected as much as the soul engineers.

    At this very instant, a loud cry could be heard. Following which, a pure white figure dashed out from the corner of the soul tool formation.

    Even though the avenging spirits were spirits, they were also simr to packets of energy, and were affected by the extremely low temperature. Their flying speed and fighting power were also heavily reduced.

    After this streak of white light emerged, the neighboring avenging spirits let out a deafening scream as they scrambled away from the white light in fear. As long as they came into contact with the white light, the avenging spirit would disintegrate. There was no chance for them to withstand the power of the white light. The Myriad Soul Domain no longer had any positive effects on them.

    As the pure white figure floated in mid-air, a pair of white wings opened up behind her back. The figure was wielding a white sword in her hands. She was none other than Ye Guyi¡ªthe cultivator with the Holy Angel martial soul.

    After controlling the situation, the next thing Huo Yuhao wanted to do was maximize profits. He not only wanted to make sure he maximized the number of spoils he could take away from this area, but he also wanted his peers to maximize what they could take away for themselves.

    Beyond acquiring soul tools and resources here, the one who could stand to gain the most among the Tang Sect was Ye Guyi¡ªthe cultivator who was the natural enemy of evil soul masters.

    Because she possessed the Holy Angel martial soul, she was able to improve her cultivation from killing evil soul masters and destroying their abilities. The Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s Myriad Soul Banner contained so many avenging spirits. If Yu Guyi were to cleanse and purify all of them, her cultivation would take a huge leap forward. This was why he did not immediately kill the two Titled Douluo evil soul masters. He merely unleashed his domain andpeted against them with it. He only wanted to trap the Myriad Soul Douluo to give Ye Guyi a chance to kill him.

    The avenging spirits had no chance against Ye Guyi as they disintegrated like the grass against a fire. All the avenging spirits were purified by her holy light. During the purification process, the pure energy released flowed into Ye Guyi¡¯s body and continually improved her cultivation.

    This was her first time fighting against evil soul masters since joining the Tang Sect. On top of that, the evil soul master she was facing was a Titled Douluo. With her current ability, she would not have been able to subdue a Titled Douluo even if she was his or her natural enemy. After all, as a Soul Sage, she was a lot weaker than a Soul Douluo. However, with the help of Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong and Er Bai, the odds were actually in her favor.

    As she waved the holy sword in her hand, she was almost invincible. As she flickered across the sky, arge amount of avenging spirits were vanquished, and the leftover spirits scattered in fear.

    A deafening howl roared through the air. It was the Myriad Soul Douluo screaming in pain. How could he not be anguished by the death of the spirits he had painstakingly umted in his Myriad Soul Banner? Not every dead person would produce an avenging spirit. Avenging spirits could only be formed from the death of a person or a beast with immense hatred. And the odds of that were one in ten.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo was only able to cultivate to his current level because of the blood and sweat he had shed to umte the avenging spirits in his Myriad Soul Banner. He had been staying at Eastern Sun City to target aquatic soul beasts so as to acquire their avenging spirits. This was because the avenging spirits formed from the bodies of the aquatic soul beasts were a great fit for his martial soul.

    Because of how Ye Guyi had rampaged around, the Myriad Soul Douluo had lost over a hundred avenging spirits. The spirits werepletely purified, and had no chance of reviving. As the number of avenging spirits in his banner decreased, his powers waned. Even though he had over a thousand avenging spirits, he could not sustain this rate of losses for long!

    After shouting in pain, the Myriad Soul Douluo increased the power of his Myriad Soul Banner. He steered his avenging spirits away from Ye Guyi and towards the other people, leaving gusts of wind buffeting against her.

    However, Ye Guyi was not fighting alone. While she might not be strong enough to fight the Myriad Soul Douluo alone, she had the help of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong!

    Huo Yuhao leaned slightly backwards, and a powerful light was released from both his body and Tang Wutong¡¯s. Arge eye¡ªthe Eye of the Asura¡ªappeared. A Radiant Dragon God¡¯s Butterfly danced around the eye.

    Following which, countless tiny ck hammers were projected at the speed of light in all directions.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest.

    Spiritual Tempest was thebination of the Spirit Eyes and the Clear Sky Hammer. It forged and strengthened Huo Yuhao¡¯s immensely powerful spiritual power before releasing it as a devastating blow.

    Martial soul fusion skill! It was a skill which was powerful enough to go up against a technique from a Transcendent Douluo. Back when they were facing more than ten Titled Douluo, Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao had managed to burst through their containment with this skill. The two evil soul masters would probably have no chance against it.

    The Spiritual Tempest avoided their own people in a delicate fashion, and attempted to expand its range to envelope their enemies.

    The Abomination Douluo, Myriad Soul Douluo and the avenging spirits released from the Myriad Soul Banner were all enveloped within the Spiritual Tempest.

    This was truly a full power attack released by both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Instantly, the avenging spirits that were flying clear of Ye Guyi found themselves frozen in mid-air. Their spiritual fire was solidified and frozen under the effects of Spiritual Tempest. Normally, the tempest would have destroyed arge number of the avenging spirits. However, Huo Yuhao was able to use his exceptional control to control the power of the tempest to create an advantage for Ye Guyi.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo and Abomination Douluo both let out a groan.

    The Myriad Soul Domain was also destroyed at that instant. Even if the two of them were to go up against Tang Wutong one-on-one, they would still find it hard to beat her. Furthermore, they were actually going up against a skill released by both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Hence, it took only a short while before the oue of the battle was decided.

    The biggest winner was naturally Ye Guyi. As she spread out the wings behind her back, she flickered across the sky like a bolt of lightning. Large numbers of avenging spirits were purified wherever her holy swordnded. As the winds of Spiritual Tempest blew through the area, Ye Guyi cleaned up after them.

    The avenging spirits that were hit by Spiritual Tempest and the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice could not dodge or defend themselves against Ye Guyi. They could only wait for their vengeance to be purified.

    The Myriad Soul Domain might be extremely powerful in the eyes of an average soul master. It could not only release tens of thousands of avenging spirits, but also enhance their power exponentially. However as strong as this skill might be, it would only work in Ye Guyi¡¯s favor.

    Huo Yuhao could sense with his spiritual detection that Ye Guyi¡¯s cultivation was shooting up at an insane rate.

    This could only be a result of the strength of the opponent she was facing. She was going up against a Titled Douluo evil soul master. In addition, he was the kind of soul master who umted avenging spirits. He was the perfect target for her to improve her cultivation.

    Over the past few years, Ye Guyi had never used such a method to improve her cultivation. Her foundation had always been solid and stable. Hence, this was a golden opportunity for her to consume the power of a Titled Douluo. It was impossible for her abilities to not improve.

    As her cultivation improved, the holy light she was emanating became stronger.

    After being caught in the spiritual tempest, the Myriad Soul Douluo took seven to eight seconds before he regained hisposure from his shock. But when he finally became calm again, he realized he had alreadye out of his martial soul true body. His Myriad Soul Banner¡¯s color had be a lot fainter, and only the most powerful avenging spirits were left around him.

    As for the Abomination Douluo, he was already pinned down by Er Bai. His back had been crushed, and a thickyer of dense ice had formed on his body.

    How could he stand a chance against Er Bai after suffering from the spiritual tempest? This was like fighting a battle against abination of a Transcendent Douluo who specialized in spiritual control and a Transcendent Douluo who specialized in assault. Even an evil soul master could not withstand such blows.

 Chapter 536.2 - The Eastern Sun Falls

    <h4 ss>Chapter 536.2: The Eastern Sun Falls</h4>

    However, Er Bai did not continue and kill the Abomination Douluo. Huo Yuhao had obviously ordered Er Bai to pin him down, but not kill him.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo knew the battle was over. There was no point in him trying to fight a losing battle. As his figure flickered, he sent the remaining avenging spirits around him on a final onught. The mermaid avenging spirit released a series of loud howls as its powerful spiritual attack rippled from its body.

    To protect his life, the Myriad Soul Douluo knew he had to sacrifice his avenging spirits to escape. He could always replenish his avenging spirits if they were to die. But if he were to lose his life, it would be the end for him.

    His reactions were extremely quick, but why would Huo Yuhao not have thought of restraining him? He would not have left him there alone if he didn¡¯t have the ability to control the situation.

    Just as the Myriad Soul Douluo was retreating, he suddenly saw a strange eye in front of him. The humongous eye released a purplish-gold sh before his eyes.

    Following which, the Myriad Soul Douluo felt as if a hammer which could have split the earth hit his head. After releasing a loud groan, his retreating body lost control and copsed to the ground with a loud thud.

    It was a spiritual shock from the martial soul true body version of the Eye of the Asura! The frighteningly powerful spiritual attack ensured the destruction of the Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Because of the huge loss of his avenging spirits, the Myriad Soul Douluo had already suffered a drop in his cultivation. After sustaining this blow, he immediately lost consciousness.

    The pure white holy light instantly transformed into a sharp sword which descended from the sky as though it was about to judge the evil beneath it. The sword stabbed straight into the chest of the Myriad Soul Douluo.

    Following which, Ye Guyi¡¯s body split from the holy sword. Afterwards, one could see copious amounts of grey energy current surging out from the chest of the Myriad Soul Douluo. While he was screaming in pain, he was unable to budge because he was pinned down by the holy sword.

    The four wings behind Ye Guyi¡¯s ck glistened like white jade as golden streaks of energy raced into her body from the hilt of the holy sword.

    Tonight¡¯s battle was definitely a night full of rewards for this Soul Sage.

    The Myriad Soul Douluo struggled for close to a minute before relenting. Finally, he transformed into ck ash under the holy sword before vanishing. After breaking free from their master¡¯s control, the remaining avenging spirits in the air were about to disperse and escape before they were stopped by Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power.

    Ye Guyi immediately turned around to continue her attack. She took close to fifteen minutes before she was able to purify the bulk of the avenging spirits.

    Among the avenging spirits, about a third of them were human. The rest of them were from soul beasts. While some of them were from thend, most of them were aquatic soul beasts.

    In the end, Huo Yuhao ask Ye Guyi to spare the mermaid avenging spirit.

    The spirit was putting up a fierce struggle against Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual interference domain. Its once beautiful face was now twisted by rage and hatred.

    Huo Yuhao let out a long sigh before chanting a purification spell.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s purification was a level above Ye Guyi¡¯s because he himself had inherited the power from Electrolux.

    A white light shone down from the skies and onto the mermaid avenging spirit.

    At that very instant, the spirit stopped struggling as streams of ck energy current separated from its soul. The hatred and anger which were written all over its face started to slowly disappear. Gradually, all that remained on its face was mncholy.

    Huo Yuhao released his spiritual power and attempted to establish contact with the mermaid. However, the mermaid spirit merely looked at him as it gently shook its head. Its eyes were brimming with sadness, but one could tell that it was a kind of sadness which one possessed aftering to terms with one¡¯s predicament.

    The mermaid nodded gently before opening her mouth to sing a melody.

    At this moment, the battle within the city had ended. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Ji Juechen were alling back from different directions. However, they all heard the mermaid spirit¡¯s singing.

    Her singing was beautiful, but sorrowful. It sounded as though she was sobbing as she shared her tragic story of being captured by the evil soul master through her song. Her spirit started to release spots of white light during her singing. As her voice became brighter, her body started to be fainter.

    Huo Yuhao sighed.After all, she had already be an avenging spirit!Even if he were to help her remove her vengeance, she was still unwilling tomunicate with him. Nheless, her soul was purified, and she must be feeling a lot better now.

    The mermaid¡¯s singingsted for a couple of minutes before diminishing to silence. As thest note was sung, everyone¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears.

    This mermaid spirit was particrly skilled in spiritual power. She was one of the strongest avenging spirits that the Myriad Soul Douluo had possessed. Now, during herst song, she was able to move everyone present.

    The mermaid¡¯s faint spiritual image turned around to face Huo Yuhao before bowing before him, as though she wanted to thank him for his help. Following which, a pale blue glow started to fly towards him. Once the glow started to move towards him, the spirit disintegrated into tiny white particles that vanished into thin air.

    Huo Yuhao could sense the kindness from the mermaid spirit, and extended his hand to receive the blue light.

    To his surprise, the blue light went through his palm beforending on his body. As the blue light enveloped him, Huo Yuhao felt as though he had been rinsed by warm water. He felt particrly refreshed, but nothing else other than that.

    Huo Yuhao was confident that he would be able to detect any problems with his powerful spiritual energy if there were any. But from the way things looked, there didn¡¯t seem to be any problem with the gift from the mermaid spirit.

    The Abomination Douluo who was temporarily ¡°spared¡± by Er Bai was naturally Huo Yuhao¡¯s gift to Ye Guyi. Without hesitating, Ye Guyi moved over to finish him off with her holy sword.

    The deaths of different evil soul masters gave her different degrees of improvement. Even though she gained a lot from the death of the Abomination Douluo, the power she gained was a lot less than what she had received from the Myriad Soul Douluo.

    After putting her holy sword away, Ye Guti realized the holy fire that was burning around her body was almost beyond her control. Even Er Bai refused to be in close proximity to her.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ye Guyi thanked Huo Yuhao before walking straight to the spectral gate behind him. She had purified far too many avenging spirits, and her body was bursting with purified energy. She needed to train immediately to digest this energy, or it would be wasted.

    The battle on the walls of the city was nearing its end. Under thebined attack of two hundred soul engineers, each at least a Soul Emperor, the resistance above the walls of the city was destroyed in no time. Even though they had tried to retaliate with their linked soul tools, which were controlled by fifty soul masters, their attack was very feeble, considering how they had to defend at the same time. They simply could not breach the linked defense set up by the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.

    The linked defense on the city wall was destroyed by the furious attacks of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.

    However, He Caitou was saddened to see so many soul tools destroyed in the battle! They were all precious soul tools which were very valuable!

    Thergemotion at the city walls naturally attracted the attention of Eastern Sun City¡¯s City Defense Army as they gravitated towards the walls. However, it was apparent that they would be of not much use. The Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion spread out in the air as they fired at the main road which led to the city walls. The series of shotspletely cut off the road the army was about to take to provide reinforcement to the walls without taking too many lives. Otherwise, it would just be a one-sided massacre if the army were to actuallye into direct conflict with the soul engineer legion.

    Bei Bei moved towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Who would have known that there would be two evil Titled Douluo? Fortunately, we had the two of you to take them down.¡± Even though he was mainly expressing his gratitude towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, he was also expressing his amazement at the current strength of the Tang Sect.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t managed to witness the full battle earlier, he could tell that Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao had won the battle fairly easily from theirposed expressions.

    The two of them were authentic Titled Douluo, and yet they could not put up a fight against Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. In fact, Huo Yuhao was even able to control the situation, and allow Ye Guyi to improve her cultivation. Compared to the battle at Oak City which had a few unexpected incidents, things went pretty smoothly this time. This exemplified how strong the Tang Sect had be.

    After the past few battles, everyone, including Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, had a brand new understanding of their own abilities. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could probably put up a fight against the Heavenly Sun Douluo¡ªwho was a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo!

    The advantage of using martial soul fusion skills on their top-ss martial souls was bing increasingly apparent as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong became stronger. At the same time, the gap between them and their peers was also bingrger. Without the Qiankun Fortune Pills, the gap between them would probably have beenrger.

    ¡°Senior brother, clear up the battlefield!¡± Huo Yuhao ordered He Caitou. This was He Caitou¡¯s favourite part of the battle.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao first located the equipment which was connected to the nearby aerial surveince soul tools before shutting the surveince soul tools down and bringing them in. Afterwards, he chanted his incantations to open a spectral gate and release the remaining two legions.

    Of course, the soul engineers came out of the spectral demine without their soul tools. After all, the dismantling work only required humanbor.

    The battle at Eastern Sun City was different from the one back at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Here, at the biggest city in the northern region of the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao and the others did not have to flee right after they attacked as they did at the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Even if news of their attack spread to other troops, it would take a long time for reinforcements to arrive. Thus, they could plunder the city at will.

 Chapter 536.3 - The Eastern Sun Falls

    <h4 ss>Chapter 536.3: The Eastern Sun Falls</h4>

    He Caitou led the way as he dismantled every single possible soul tool in the area and brought them back into the spectral demine. In fact, he even led the soul engineers to the top of the city wall to scavenge rare metal bits from the ruins.

    The sky had started to turn bright by the time they had finished dismantling and packing everything up.

    The troops who were nning to attack Huo Yuhao and the others were also fairly rational. They knew they were unable topete against the soul engineer legions, and hence they merely surrounded the area while they waited patiently for the reinforcements they had called for.

    The mission was not over after clearing the area of any remaining soul tools. It was now the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s turn to perform.

    Eastern Sun City¡¯s seven storehouses were plundered by the legions as they transportedrge amounts of resources, especially food, into the spectral demine.

    While Oak City was already considered a huge granary, it was nothingpared to Eastern Sun City. If the food in Oak City was to bepared to a small mountain, the food in Eastern Sun City could be an entire mountain range. In fact, the granary in Eastern Sun City had several special products from the Ice Sea, such as the skin of aquatic soul beasts, etc. There were plenty of resources and money for the legions to plunder.

    It was only in the afternoon on the next day when the plundering operation ended. The thirty thousand soldiers were pinned down near the northern city gate by the Fort Soul Engineer Legion until the entire operation ended. Afterwards, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion left the city and headed north.

    This operation affected more than just Eastern Sun City. It affected the entire northern region of the Sun Moon Empire.

    The newly acquired resources had exceeded the two storehouses built within the spectral demine. They had no choice but to erect another two additional storehouses to contain them.

    Right from the beginning of their mission, Huo Yuhao had never told the three legions to bring many rations. Their strategy was to fuel the next fight with their plunder from the previous fight.

    The rations which they had plundered from these two cities was already sufficient for them to survive for three to five years without any worries.

    The group of cultivators from the Tang Sect gathered on top of a small knoll in the spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°It seems like we have underestimated the Sun Moon Empire!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jiang Nannan asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Actually, our initial predictions were correct. The number of troops stationed in the northern part of the Sun Moon Empire was actually very limited. In fact, they were not viewed with much importance. Nheless, we still faced rtively strong resistance from them. If we had not nned for an unprepared foe, we might not have won so easily, especially with the number of soul tools they had. Hence, we must be extra careful with our subsequent operations. Also, after our two victories, I am certain the Sun Moon Empire will be responding with some sort of n. Thus, we must be even more unpredictable with our next move in order to achieve the best effect.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and said, ¡°Yuhao is correct. Our biggest advantage is this spectral demine. We are only able to move faster than any other troops because of it. In fact, we can probably appear at any corner of the continent within three days. Even if we can onlyunch a single shell at the enemy and flee, we can still achieve our objective. We must remember to not get entangled in a battle with our enemies. Yuhao, didn¡¯t you want to take a walk in the Ice Sea?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m about to go and take a look. Hopefully, I will be able to leave with some takeaways. In the meantime, I need everyone to remain in the spectral demine. Regardless of the oue of my trip to the Ice Sea, I will immediately head to the southern parts of the Sun Moon Empire. By shifting our attack from the north to the south, they will bepletely lost as to where exactly we n to strike. This will be a perfect way to cause panic in their backlines.¡±

    Xu Sanshi frowned and said, ¡°But the problem is that we don¡¯t really know how we¡¯re doing at the frontlines. If we can find out what¡¯s going on there, we might be able to strike at the Sun Moon Empire more effectively.¡±

    Bei Bei replied, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be too greedy about these things. It¡¯s already incredible for us to achieve what we have done. At least for now, the entire northern part of the Sun Moon Empire is a mess because of the food shortage we¡¯ve created. The Sun Moon Empire must devote resources and attention to solving this problem. At the same time, they will have to try and uncover our tracks. I am sure this will help our friends at the frontline. Once we expand the range of our operations, I am certain that the Sun Moon Empire will be even more chaotic, and when that happens, they will have no choice but to retreat.¡±

    Xu Sanshi asked, ¡°Little junior brother, do you need me to follow you to the Ice Sea? I¡¯m better with water. Judging from the camp the Sun Moon Empire had set up here, the aquatic soul beasts in the Ice Sea might cause you some problems. You need to be careful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You can rest assured, senior brother! Even in the worst case scenario, Wutong and I should be able to retreat safely. Don¡¯t forget, I have an Ultimate Ice martial soul. I do have a big advantage up here in the extreme north. If I need any help, I will summon all of you.¡±

    Xu Sanshi did not bug Yuhao any longer. After all, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already a level above them in terms of fighting ability.

    Ji Juechen, who had been keeping quiet at the side, suddenly asked, ¡°Yuhao, when can we spar?¡± He had finally asked the question that had been on his mind for the longest period of time.

    Just now during the battle, he did not face any formidable foes, but saw how Huo Yuhao was able to y around with the two evil soul masters. As a sparring maniac, how could he resist the temptation to ask Huo Yuhao to spar with him?

    Huo Yuhao looked at him helplessly before replying, ¡°Brother Ji, let¡¯s talk about it some other time. For now, can I get everyone to go and get some rest? We will head to the Ice Sea after finishing our preparations.¡±

    He did not want to spar with Ji Juechen now. Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent was no joke. Even if he were confident in his abilities, he still had to put in a hundred percent in order to beat Ji Juechen. Huo Yuhao did not want to waste energy on sparring right now. He still had plenty of work to do.

    Ji Juechen frowned as he looked towards the other people around him.

    Immediately, Bei Bei walked away and sat down before beginning his meditation. Xu Sanshi looked up at the sky as he whistled and strolled away with Jiang Nannan.

    He Caitou smiled awkwardly at Ji Juechen before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I¡¯m a soul engineer, so I won¡¯t be a good sparring partner for you. Actually, Ye Guyi should be a good partner. Her cultivation must have improved a lot after the previous battle. Why don¡¯t you spar with her once she¡¯s done with digesting the newly acquired energy?¡±

    Ye Guyi was currently cultivating in the storehouse, and soul engineers had been stationed there to protect her.

    Ji Juechen sighed in despair.Why is it so hard to find someone to spar with?!Everyone was now avoiding him. He improved the most from finding inspiration in his sparring or battles with strong opponents. It was not sufficient for him to train alone. No one desired a strong opponent more than him.

    Then, someone whom no one had expected stood up.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I give it a try?¡± The voice was tender, but one could still detect a tinge ofpetitiveness in it.

    Ji Juechen turned around, and was surprised to find out who had epted his challenge.

    The voice belonged to a female! But the person was not Tang Wutong¡ªthe strongest female soul master among them. She was also neither Jiang Nannan nor Ye Guyi. The person was also not Nan Qiuqiu, who was getting ready to watch the performance before her eyes. She was none other than Xiao Xiao¡ªthe one among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who rarely showed her abilities.

    Yes, the person who stood up and agreed to spar with Ji Juechen was none other than Xiao Xiao.

    The first person who expressed his shock was He Caitou. He frantically asked, ¡°Xiao Xiao, what are you doing? Are you crazy? How could you challenge Juechen? His sword intent is not something he can control properly.¡±

    Xiao Xiao red angrily at him and said, ¡°Why do you have such little confidence in me? Or are you just a chauvinist by heart?¡±

    ¡°Uhmmm¡­¡± He Caitou was lost for words after hearing her words. He was simply too doting towards her. Even though he might be really busy all the time, he was never stingy on the care and affection he had shown for Xiao Xiao. This also resulted in ack of opportunities for Xiao Xiao to get her hands dirty.

    The truth was that even though Xiao Xiao gave off the vibes of a little girl¡ªespecially among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters¡ªshe was actually a little older than Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. In fact, the three of them had won the freshmanpetition together when they had just entered Shrek Academy.

    Subsequently, she once again showed her abilities in the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.

    But after that time, Xiao Xiao rarely had the opportunity to spar and showcase her abilities. Even He Caitou did not know exactly how strong she had be.

    Ji Juechen stared at Xiao Xiao, but he did not belittle her because of her size. Instead, his eyes showed the respect and wariness he had for any challenger.

    Xiao Xiao stood there inly, but did not seem to reveal any ws in her stance.

    Jue Jichen was an expert at finding ws in an enemy¡¯s stance. Once the enemy revealed a w, he or she would face the wrath of his torrential attacks.

    However, Xiao Xiao seemed to have blended in with her surroundings. She was simply not exhibiting any ws at all.

    Xiao Xiao stared at Ji Juechen before announcing, ¡°Brother Ji, can I challenge you?¡±

    Ji Juechen hesitated a while before looking at Huo Yuhao, who was standing by the side.

    Huo Yuhao nodded without any hesitation.

    While the others might belittle Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao would never do so. A year ago, Xiao Xiao had already gained her own spirit with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help. Besides, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would never forget her true abilities.

    Huo Yuhao was not the only control system soul master among the new generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Xiao Xiao was the other one.

    However, she had taken a different path from Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao had chosen to focus on controlling and attacking, whereas Xiao Xiao chose to dedicate her training to controlling and defending.

    The rationale for these two different focuses was because of Huo Yuhao¡¯s twin martial souls. His Spirit Eyes would focus on controlling, while the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion would focus on attacking.

 Chapter 537.1 - Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute

    <h4 ss>Chapter 537.1: Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute</h4>

    What about Xiao Xiao? In fact, she also possessed twin martial souls! Yes, Xiao Xiao, the girl who usually kept a low profile, was a soul master with twin martial souls. Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, she was the third person, other than Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, who had twin martial souls. They were the cream of the crop among the new students of Shrek Academy back then.

    Even though Xiao Xiao rarely sparred with anyone, that did not mean she was weak. Under the powerful effects of the Qiankun Fortune Pill, her cultivation had improved tremendously. Also, she was the direct disciple of Elder Xuan, who was an actual Ultimate Douluo! If he was willing to hand his teachings over to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, why would he not teach his final disciple?

    Hence, amongst everyone present, Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly the person who had the most confidence in her.

    Seeing how Huo Yuhao had given his consent, Ji Juechen said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it then.¡±

    He Caitou became anxious as he tried to grab Xiao Xiao¡¯s arm. ¡°Xiao Xiao, you shouldn¡¯t! This is too dangerous. What am I going to do if something bad happens to you?¡±

    Xiao Xiao replied casually, ¡°Then go and find another person!¡±

    He Caitou was angered by her words. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®find another person¡¯? I only want you. Besides, you have already done that to me. You must take responsibility.¡±

    His words hit everyone like a bolt from the blue. After hearing He Caitou¡¯s words, Xu Sanshi immediately pulled Jiang Nannan back as they returned to listen to the juicy gossip.

    Bei Bei¡¯s eyes also widened in disbelief, while Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong looked at Xiao Xiao with a surprised expression.

    Xiao Xiao immediately became the center of attention. She started blushing as she red at He Caitou in a vicious manner. ¡°Can you not spout rubbish? You¡¯re spoiling my spiritual state. You¡¯re going to be responsible if I loseter. And stop asking weird questions like who will be responsible for you and who did what with you. If you continue to ask stupid questions like that, I will ignore you.¡±

    After seeing Xiao Xiao blush, He Caitou frantically said, ¡°How can you fight against Juechen when you¡¯re so flustered now? Come, let¡¯s go and cultivate by the side to calm your mind and heart down.¡±

    As he spoke, he was about to pull Xiao Xiao away.

    However, his pull was ineffective. Xiao Xiao¡¯s feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. Of course, He Caitou would not use his real strength to pull her away. However, he could sense the determination in her to spar with Ji Juechen.

    As he lowered his head to look at her, he was surprised by the look on her face.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes had grown calm, and the flustered look on her face had disappeared. What was left was a look of calmness and determination.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Caitou.¡± Xiao Xiao¡¯s voice was very gentle. ¡°I know you treat me well and are afraid that I will get hurt. I understand how you feel towards me. But you must know that I will not only be your wife in the future. At the same time, I will still be a member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters! All these years, I have seen how Yuhao has fought countless battles in the north and the south. All of you have also been busy with projects within the Tang Sect. But what about me? Under your protection, I have been like a bird who is unable to spread her wings. I know you care for me and dote on me. But I do not want to be a flower in a greenhouse. And I have the abilities to not be a flower in a greenhouse. I can stay strong without your protection. I am not just your lover and partner. In times of war, I can be yourpanion who can fight alongside you and help everyone.¡±

    ¡°I have never cut myself any ck on my training in all these years. And I train hard because I want to help everyone on the battlefield. But all of you have subconsciously excluded me from any dangerous or challenging tasks. I want this to stop, and I want to prove to all of you that I, Xiao Xiao, also possess the ability to be a true member of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. So please don¡¯t stop me, Caitou! Let me prove it to you, alright?¡±

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s words silenced everyone as they started to ask themselves if that was truly the case. Jiang Nannan empathized with her words most strongly. Other than Tang Wutong, she was the only female among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters along with Xiao Xiao. Even though Tang Wutong was able to fight alongside Huo Yuhao and had experienced so much, both Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were always living under the care and protection of everyone else.

    Hence, after hearing Xiao Xiao¡¯s words, which resonated strongly in her heart, she let go of Xu Sanshi¡¯s hand and walked towards Xiao Xiao. ¡°Xiao Xiao, I support you.¡±

    Xiao Xiao held Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand and smiled. She was truly beautiful.

    He Caitou was a little dazed after staring at her beautiful smile. It took him a while before he shook it off and revealed an understanding smile. He sighed before saying, ¡°I am sorry, Xiao Xiao. I must have neglected your feelings.¡±

    Xiao Xiao let go of Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand before walking towards He Caitou. She actually dove into his embrace in front of everyone. ¡°No, Caitou. I am really fortunate and blissful to have you. To be honest, I actually hesitated back then when I chose you. But afterwards, I understood how right I was to have chosen you. Caitou, I really enjoy receiving the care and concern you have for me. But I am so sad to see how hard you work every day. I really want to help you.¡±

    He Caitou hugged her tightly as he stared at her lovingly.

    Ji Juechen, who had been standing by the side, suddenly pped his forehead and muttered, ¡°Why do I suddenly feel like I¡¯m the antagonist of this show?¡±

    After hearing his words, everyone burst intoughter.

    Bei Bei smiled and replied, ¡°Brother Ju, you are truly the biggest antagonist in our Tang Sect. Who asked you to challenge people to fights every day?¡±

    Ji Juechen sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t really have a choice. In order to improve, I must find people to spar with. I am terribly sorry if I have inconvenienced you. But I will not change my ways, and will continue to challenge all of you to fights.¡±

    ¡°Then bring it on.¡± Xiao Xiao escaped from He Caitou¡¯s embrace, and her eyes were already burning with her desire to win.

    Ji Juechen nodded and said, ¡°Xiao Xiao, I will not go easy on you because you¡¯re a girl.¡±

    ¡°Who needs you to go easy on me? We don¡¯t even know who will be victorious yet.¡± As she spoke, she moved to a position that ced her moderately far away from Ji Juechen and opposite him.

    Now, no one would stop them from sparring. They slowly moved back to give them space.

    Tang Wutong whispered into Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear. ¡°If Xiao Xiao loses, it will be my turn next, okay?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°Are you itching to get into a battle after dealing with the two evil soul masters?¡±

    Tang Wutong waved her little fist in front of Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Nope. I just want you men to know that usdies are not that easy to bully. We are not weaker than men.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°Why do I have the feeling that I am your real target instead of Brother Ji?¡±

    Tang Wutong raised her head and replied, ¡°If I were to challenge you to a duel, would you ept it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re not being serious, right?¡±

    Tang Wutong replied, ¡°Why not? Yuhao, don¡¯t you feel like you can¡¯t find your own limits after our previous closed-door cultivation? It¡¯s bad for us to not be able to urately determine how strong we are. We will not be able to decide on the most effective way to deal with our enemies. Actually, Brother Ji¡¯s cultivation method has many areas that are worth learning from. Regardless of what abilities we possess, we are only able to truly understand those abilities by sparring and exercising them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao mulled over her words before saying, ¡°What you say makes sense. But I don¡¯t think I can get myself to attack you¡­¡±

    Tang Wutong burst intoughter and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡±

    ¡°Are you so certain that you can beat me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Tang Wutong answered proudly, ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m already a Titled Douluo, while you¡¯re still a Soul Douluo.¡±

    ¡°But I also have a soul core,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°this makes me pretty simr to a Titled Douluo!¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°If you don¡¯t agree with me, you can always challenge me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°So be it. Let¡¯s do it after Xiao Xiao and Brother Ji are done.¡±

    During their conversation, the way they stared into each other¡¯s eyes seemed as though they were about tounch into a brawl. But it only stayed that way for a short while before both of them burst intoughter.

    Yes! No matter what, they would never really fight with one another. Nheless, both of them were still fairlypetitive. In fact, they were both really excited at the prospect of sparring with one another. It was exactly because they understood each other so well that they could not be certain who would emerge victorious.

    Ji Juechen and Xiao Xiao faced each other and, withoutmunicating, both of them took a few steps back. Since it was a proper spar, it had to be fair. Both of them retreated until there were about fifty meters between them. Xiao Xiao specialized in mid-rangebat, while Ji Juechen was most adept at close quarters. If the distance was too far, it would not be fair to Ji Juechen. If it were too close, it would be unfair to Xiao Xiao.

    Fifty meters was just nice for both of them. Both Ji Juechen and Xiao Xiao stood upright and stared at each other. Xiao Xiao once again radiated a calm aura, as though she was bing one with her surroundings.

    This time, Ji Juechen was not the only one who felt that Xiao Xiao¡¯s abilities were unpredictable. Even her otherpanions could sense it.

    Bei Bei could not help but nod.That¡¯s right! Regardless of whether it¡¯s Xiao Xiao or Jiang Nannan, all of us have grown a lot. Even they are no longer little girls who everyone needs to protect. They can all take on the world themselves.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul rings started to rise from her feet. Her first soul ring was yellow, but the subsequent ones were all ck. All seven of her rings hung quietly around her as a flute appeared in her hands. The first martial soul which she released was not her main martial soul, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, but her second martial soul¡ªthe Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

 Chapter 537.2 - Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute

    <h4 ss>Chapter 537.2: Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute</h4>

    Xiao Xiao waved her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, and her seven soul rings were drawn by the motion of the flute, and contracted before falling onto it.

    Ji Juechen, who was standing opposite her, unsheathed his Judgement Sword. Just as he had said, he would not go easy on his opponents because of their gender.

    Ji Juechen revealed a determined look on his face as he wielded his sword with both hands. As he pointed the tip of the sword to the ground, he was able to conceal his aura. At that very instant, everyone could sense that his life energy had disappeared. Even though he was standing right in front of them, it was as if he was not there at all. Even Huo Yuhao, who possessed incredibly powerful spiritual energy, could not detect him.

    Even though they were not able to sense his presence, they could sense the energy from his sword. The Judgement Sword might not be reflecting any light, but it gave off the impression of a volcano that was about to erupt at any moment.

    Xiao Xiao had never once sparred with Ji Juechen. This time, she finally experienced the immense pressure that one would have to face by standing before this sword fanatic. No wonder no one wanted to spar with him. His sword intent was simply out of this world.

    Before making her move, Xiao Xiao already felt as though her entire person was imprisoned within a huge sword. And within the huge sword, there seemed to be hundreds and thousands of smaller swords which threatened to shred her to pieces.

    What a powerful sword intent! Is this how it feels to go up against the sword of the sword fanatic?

    At that instant, Xiao Xiao emanated a mysterious glow. Her small figure suddenly gave off an impressive aura which resembled that of a humongous mountain.

    At that moment, it seemed as though her body could decide the fate of her country. Even Ji Juechen¡¯s incredibly powerful sword intent was shattered when it reached a distance of ten meters from her. Xiao Xiao¡¯s body was enveloped by a ck glow which contained countless runes.

    Ji Juechen almost lost his bnce after his sword intent was shattered.

    His face twitched a little after realizing what had just happened. He was seldom caught off-guard¡ªeven when he faced Huo Yuhao. He had toned down his sword intent, and no longer released it overtly.

    Yes, Xiao Xiao had actually won their opening battle, in which Ji Juechen had pitted his sword intent against her aura!

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s aura could only be described as overwhelming!

    It could overwhelm people, and even overwhelm the destiny and aura of a country. That was the power of the cauldron. The true cauldron could suppress and overwhelm any aura!

    Hence, regardless of how powerful the opponent¡¯s aura was, there was only one possible oue. Their aura would be overwhelmed and suppressed by the cauldron. Hence, Xiao Xiao was near invincible when it came toparing the strength of one¡¯s aura. That was the mystical power of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    Despite releasing her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, Xiao Xiao used the power of her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. This showed that she had developed incredible control over two martial souls.

    At this very instant, her eyes brightened like shiny stars as she released a frightening amount of spiritual power.

    Just when Ji Juechen was trying to find his bnce, she started blowing her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    A sad but melodic tune started to emerge from the end of her flute. The air around them started to be very viscous. The first soul ring on Xiao Xiao¡¯s flute started to sparkle as its glow pulsed. The viscous air appeared to have been saturated by boundless fluid. Even the people who were spectating from the outside felt weighed down by the ¡°heavy¡± air around them.

    Dy! It was the first technique of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    Even though it was exactly the same technique, its power was alreadypletely different from what it was thest time she had showed it to the group.

    Back then, when Xiao Xiao executed this skill against her opponent, it could only slightly dy her opponent¡¯s movements. But now, her soul skill was actually capable of making people struggle to move.

    Ji Juechen stood there without moving. His aura might have been suppressed by Xiao Xiao previously, but he chose not to move even when he was up against her Dy. Since he was not moving, the soul skill did not affect him much.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes remained focused on Ji Juechen as she changed the flute¡¯s melody.

    The mncholic tune suddenly became gentle and bright. As the new tune emerged from the flute, one could see ripples of jade-green light emanating from Xiao Xiao¡¯s body. These ripples were like circles of thread which expanded towards Ji Juechen as they attempted to entangle him.

    Initially, they appeared to just be circles of light, but when they got closer to Ji Juechen, they suddenly solidified to be material. They seemed to be like rings which were trying to bind and trap him.

    Nheless, Ji Juechen chose to stay where he was. But just when the rings were about to ensnare him, they shattered to bits and pieces and fell to the ground. They were unable to restrict him at all.

    The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s second soul skill¡ªBinding Ring!

    This soul skill could be executed in a simple orplex fashion. It possessed a powerful binding ability, but its powers seemed to have lost their effect when they came into contact with Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s face did not reveal any emotional change after witnessing the disintegration of her binding rings. She carried on with her flute ying as more rings started to gravitate towards Ji Juechen. Other than this, she did not seem to be casting any other soul skill. It appeared that she was hoping to drag the battle on in this manner.

    After witnessing what Xiao Xiao was doing, Huo Yuhao nodded from the side of the sparring area. Xiao Xiao¡¯s strategy was sound. By suppressing Ji Juechen¡¯s aura with her advantage right from the start, Ji Juechen was unable to increase the power and range of his aura.

    Aura was an extremely importantponent within Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent. If his aura were to be increased to its maximum, his attack would be incredibly piercing and prating. What Xiao Xiao was doing now was dragging out the battle to expend his soul power and determination.

    It was important to note that Xiao Xiao¡¯s soul power was not weaker than Ji Juechen¡¯s. Even though Ji Juechen was almost at Rank 90, his martial soul was just a normal martial soul. He had only be strong because of his unique understanding of sword intent and the Judgement Sword¡ªa powerful ss 8 soul tool¡ªwhich he wielded.

    Compared to Ji Juechen, Xiao Xiao possessed twin martial souls. Her second martial soul had seven rings, and that would only strengthen her first martial soul. Even though her total amount of soul power might be less than Ji Juechen¡¯s, it was only slightly less. Besides, the possession of a strong martial soul would allow a soul master to recover more quickly. When it came to this, Xiao Xiao definitely had an advantage. Hence, even though it seemed unwise for her to drag the battle out, it was actually a good move. Ji Juechen had no chance to showcase the explosiveness of his sword intent.

    If he were to force his sword intent towards Xiao Xiao, he would expose himself to her attacks. In fact, as of now, Xiao Xiao did not have any ws or gaps which he could take advantage of. Hence, Ji Juechen seemed to be at a disadvantage currently.

    As their battle wore on, everyone held their breath as they waited for the next event to unfold.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s soul rings were unspectacr¡ªthey were just the ordinary soul rings. Nheless, he seemed very calm and collected as he stood still where he was. It was as though there was nothing in this world which he needed to be concerned about.

    Even though Xiao Xiao looked like a girl who would be flustered easily, she was simrly calm and collected. She might not appear to have frozen still like Ji Juechen, but she was still very stable and rxed, as though everything was under her control. She continued to apply pressure on Ji Juechen, keeping him from releasing his aura.

    Bei Bei, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi revealed expressions of disbelief. They were certain that they might not be able to face Ji Juechen with this amount ofposure!

    Xiao Xiao, have you really be this strong?

    Jiang Nannan clenched her fists as she rooted for Xiao Xiao in her heart. She was especially happy to see her showcase her true abilities.

    Very quickly, five minutes passed. Both of them were still in their original positions. If they were to continue in this fashion, it would probably take close to a day before they would finish expending all of their soul power.

    Ji Juechen frowned as he looked at the situation before him. This was not the feeling he wanted. He would have preferred his opponent to pressure him directly. Instead, Xiao Xiao was using her binding rings to harass him. He felt as though he was sinking into a marsh instead of fighting a fearsome battle. However, he was unable to detect any ws or gaps in his opponent¡¯s defence. If he were to strike haphazardly, he would expose himself to her.

    However, he knew it was definitely disadvantageous for him to drag the battle on like this!

    If there¡¯s no gap or hole in your defence, I shall find one, or even create one! So what if there¡¯s a hole in my defence? Let¡¯s see who will strike first!

    After making up his mind, Ji Juechen suddenly took a step forward with his left foot before stamping violently on the ground.

    The silence stopped instantly as an unbelievably sharp sword intent formed from Ji Juechen¡¯s body. The sword intent was greyish ck, and its sudden appearance shattered all of the binding rings which had just been released by the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. That powerful sword intent flew away from Ji Juechen and zoomed towards Xiao Xiao. In the blink of an eye, it was already right in front of her, and was ready to tear her apart.

    However, the moment Ji Juechen made his move, Xiao Xiao had already reacted to it. The flute in her hands suddenly released a piercing howl.

    Following which, her body became illusory as she split in two. Even though the sword intent had locked onto her, it went straight through her illusory figure, and did not harm her at all. After that, it was Xiao Xiao¡¯s time to retaliate.

    Right after the greyish ck sword intent passed through her, a jade-green image flew out of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and reached Ji Juechen almost instantly.

 Chapter 537.3 - Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute

    <h4 ss>Chapter 537.3: Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute</h4>

    Ji Juechen shed the Judgement Sword upwards, and a formidable sword aura steamrolled towards the image of the jade-green phoenix.

    The sword aura seemed to embody justice as it collided head-on with the green phoenix. However, the unexpected happened. Instead of shattering, the green phoenix magically melted and flowed along the sides of the sword aura as it continued to travel towards Ji Juechen.

    That¡¯s right. It flowed like a fluid before the green phoenix sshed onto Ji Juechen¡¯s body.

    At this juncture, everyone had started to gain a better appreciation of the situation.

    Even though Xiao Xiao could not match Ji Juechen, she was probably not too far away from him. There was also an additional reason why she dared to challenge him today. It was because he was not familiar with her.

    In fact, not many people within Tang Sect knew what soul skills Xiao Xiao possessed.

    After witnessing this Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s soul skills, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and the rest were all surprised.What is this soul skill? It seems like it¡¯s going to be very difficult to get away from the green light.

    Ji Juechen definitely experienced the difficulty firsthand.

    When he first saw the jade-green phoenix fly towards him, he thought that this would be an attack-type soul skill. However, he knew his guess was wrong the moment the sword aura pierced through the jade-green phoenix.

    He expected his sharp sword aura to shatter the phoenix upon contact. However, the soul skill did not end with its shattering. In fact, it had been agitated.

    The stream of jade-green light, which was very much like a viscous fluid,nded on Ji Juechen¡¯s body instantly. It seemed to have been drawn to his sword aura. However, Ji Juechen knew that it was only drawn to him because Xiao Xiao had locked it onto him. Otherwise, it would not havee straight to him.

    As the jade-green light melted into his body, he felt his entire body be heavier. It was as though he had just put on a thousand-pound suit of armor, and had lost all of his agility.

    In fact, he even realized that his blood flow and soul power had be sluggish. It was as though his entire person had be very sluggish and slow.

    What a powerful soul skill! What exactly is it?

    This was a question which only Xiao Xiao could answer. Its name was Phoenix Seal¡ªa sealing technique from the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.

    This soul skill was very powerful because of how indestructible it was. Unless it was obliterated on all fronts, it was practically unstoppable. Once it came into contact with an opponent, he or she would be in serious trouble. The jade-green Phoenix Seal would stick itself to the person like cotton candy. It would require an unreal amount of soul power to dissolve. Xiao Xiao had been trying to expend Ji Juechen¡¯s soul power right from the beginning. Now that her seal hadnded on him, it would only elerate the rate at which he was forced to burn his soul power.

    Afternding the seal on Ji Juechen¡¯s body sessfully, Xiao Xiao was over the moon, and the tune which she was blowing with her flute became even more melodic.

    Warm halos were now being released from the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. These halos transformed into jade-green phoenixes as they flew towards Ji Juechen.

    What a remarkable control-type soul skill!Everyone thought to themselves as they marvelled at Xiao Xiao¡¯s technique. Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute could have been equipped with attacking-type soul skills. But from the looks of the soul skills which she had executed, all of them seemed to be control-type. This also meant that she had dedicated her entire second martial soul to control-type soul skills. It was apparent that she chose to do this for the team.

    As an owner of twin martial souls, her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was already a defense-type control-type martial soul. If she were to only care about herself, she could have dedicated her second martial soul to attacking-type soul skills. This would have made her a more bnced soul master.

    But Xiao Xiao did not choose to do that. Instead, she chose to focus purely on control-type soul skills on her second martial soul. This was a team-oriented decision. Because her boyfriend¡ªHe Caitou¡ªwas already skilled in attacking-type soul skills, it would make perfect sense for her to focus on control-type skills toplement him, and improve their overall fighting power.

    At this instant, Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. He knew very well what kind of predicament he was in. Since Xiao Xiao did not stop releasing the phoenix seals, this meant that the effects of her seals could bepounded.

    While he remained there, Ji Juechen¡¯s aura suddenly changed. An indescribably sharp aura suddenly surged out from his body.

    At that very instant, even the light from his Judgement Sword was covered by the aura surging out from him. Ji Juechen had transformed into a long sword with an unparalleled aura exploding from his body.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s eyes were blurred by the sudden outburst of Ji Juechen¡¯s aura. Following which, Ji Juechen made his move. Countless sword auras surged from his body as though they were gushing out from every pore. A faint green energy was also ejected from his body along with the sword auras. The first phoenix seal had been broken.

    Ji Juechen lifted the Judgement Sword as though he was conducting the millions of sword auras which had been released from his body. Immediately, they formed a powerful wave which swept towards Xiao Xiao.

    The greyish ck sword auras were like a hurricane which swept across the ground that separated Xiao Xiao and Ji Juechen. The jade-green phoenixes which stood in the way of the huge hurricane were instantly shattered as they vanished into thin air.

    Ji Juechen was able to turn the tables in a single move. Also, he was able to lock on his aura onto Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s face was visibly paler. She could no longer sense her energy from Ji Juechen¡¯s body. Naturally, her methods would no longer be effective on him. Instead, she felt an unparalleled murderous intent from him.

    This murderous intent did not have a material form, but Xiao Xiao was certain that it existed. At that very instant, she felt as though every single pore on her body had been shut by the killing intent exhibited by Ji Juechen. The effect of the intent was so strong that her flute ying stopped momentarily.

    Following which, Ji Juechen made his move. He flew towards Xiao Xiao at lightning speed like a sharp sword tearing up the sky.

    This was Executioner¡¯s de¡ªJi Juechen¡¯s mostmonly used ability. It was a soul skill which he had invented by himself. This soul skill was often able to create miracles during battles, and had an attacking power that was unparalleled by other soul masters on his level.

    Xiao Xiao was startled by the sight before her, but she did not step back. This was undoubtedly a wise decision. She stopped ying the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, and instead she waved it in the air as though it were a short baton. After waving her flute, her delicate body once again became illusory. It was apparent that she had used the same soul skill which she had used to avoid Ji Juechen¡¯s previous attack.

    Phoenix Substitution!

    In addition, the seventh soul ring on the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute also started to shine.

    As the Executioner¡¯s de collided with its target, once again, it only managed to sh at Xiao Xiao¡¯s illusory figure. The most powerful thing about the Phoenix Substitution was its ability to allow its user to break free from a lock on by his or her opponent. Even Ji Juechen¡¯s sword intent could not strike Xiao Xiao.

    However, this time round, Ji Juechen was attacking with his own body. Hence, he stopped right next to Xiao Xiao¡¯s real body after destroying the illusory figure.

    The Judgement Sword¡¯s light became more intense as dense ck energy instantly surged around it. As Ji Juechen released his fearsome sword aura, the air around it started to crack and shatter.

    Ji Juechen knew that no soul skill could be continuously executed without stopping. Hence, heunched his attack precisely at the moment when Xiao Xiao was no longer able to use her Phoenix Substitution to evade his attack.

    However, something unexpected happened.

    Xiao Xiao¡¯s body transformed into a streak of green light before melting into the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. Following which, the flute released a bright phoenix screech as it opened its own humongous pair of green wings and transformed into a flying green phoenix.

    At the same time, arge green ring descended from the sky and bound Ji Juechen¡¯s body. Even though it was shattered almost immediately by Ji Juechen¡¯s dominating sword aura, it gave the green phoenix sufficient time to fly away.

    The green phoenix was actually the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s martial soul true body!

    Once again, Xiao Xiao was able to surprise her peers with her soul skills.

    The flying green phoenix extended its wings before pping them intensely as the sixth soul ring on its body started to glow. Following which, a green light descended from the sky.

    These green shadows looked like pirs from afar. However, once theynded, everyone realized that they were replicas of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute. Every single one of them had been magnified by at least ten times. The carvings of the nine phoenixes on it were particrly delicate.

    Afternding on the ground, those pirs became frozen, as though they were structures which had been there all along.

    Ji Juechen¡¯s body was originally poised to chase after Xiao Xiao. However, after the pirsnded, he found that he could not move.

    Phoenix Pirs!

    This was her sixth soul skill!

    The effect of these pirs was incredibly strong. After the skill was executed, there seemed to be an incredible attraction wherever the pirs covered. This force of attraction was not gravity, but sound waves. It was an unbelievably strong sound wave which was simr to the cry of a phoenix. The sound wave exploded from bottom to top within the regions where the pirs lined themselves up. Every single pir was producing a deafening sound wave which could cause a person to lose his or her concentration. If a weaker cultivator were to find himself within the pirs, he would probably have been shattered by the sound waves.

    As the green phoenix in the sky pped its wings again, the sound waves released by the phoenix pirs grew in intensity. If one were to pay attention to them, one would notice faint ripples in the air.

    Attacking with sound waves was the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute¡¯s true trump card. All its previous soul skills used sound waves, but their use was not as apparent as the Phoenix Pirs.

    This time around, Ji Juechen was truly bound by the sound waves, as his body trembled under their effect. The sound waves were everywhere, and there was no chance of evading them. It was the first time he was going up against an attack like this, and he could not adapt to it in time. While his body was shaking under the powerful sound waves, he was busy trying to muster the sword auras around him as he tried to free himself from the impact of the sound waves.

 Chapter 538.1 - Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong

    <h4 style="font-weight: 400;">Chapter 538.1: Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong</h4>

    <span>Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute might only have seven soul rings, but they were all ten-thousand-year soul rings, except for the one yellow hundred-year soul ring, which she had added back during the freshmanpetition to help Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong¡¯er.

    <span>The reason why she used her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute instead of her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron was that everyone was familiar with her flute. At the same time, her flute granted her immense controlling power.

    <span>Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes were not a pure control-type martial soul, but Xiao Xiao¡¯s Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute was.

    <span>Back then, when Elder Xuan was mentoring her, he once told her how the simplest method to be a truly powerful soul master was to be the best at a certain field. Regardless of what field it was, as long as one was able to be the best in that area, he or she would possess immense power!

    <span>Apparently, Xiao Xiao had subscribed to that belief, and had persisted with her decision. And reality showed that she had seeded. By using the powerful controlling ability of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, she was actually able to restrain Ji Juechen.

    <span>The green phoenix in the sky tucked its wings in, and Xiao Xiao reappeared in mid-air. Following which, a huge ck cauldron appeared.

    <span>When this cauldron appeared, the number of soul rings on Xiao Xiao¡¯s body increased from seven to eight!

    <span>That¡¯s right! Xiao Xiao had already attained the rank of a Soul Douluo! Her primary martial soul already had eight soul rings. She was now a powerful eight-ringed Soul Douluo with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.

    <span>As the fifth soul ring on Xiao Xiao¡¯s body lit up, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron expanded furiously against the wind. The matte ck cauldron seemed to embody immense authority as the surrounding air became increasingly dense and heavy. The cauldron seemed to have transformed into a humongous mountain as the people from the Tang Sect felt the immense pressure radiating from it.

    <span>The cauldron floated over Ji Juechen as it started to release a humming sound. It released countless humongous runes which started to circle around it.

    <span>At this instant, Ji Juechen, who was stuck within the formation formed by the phoenix pirs, seemed to have be frozen as he quietly stood where he was. However, his whole body had transformed into a greyish ck color.

    <span>Even though the sound waves from the phoenix pirs continued to attack him, they were unable to prate his defense. At this instant, Xiao Xiao felt an inexplicable sense of danger. Even though she seemed to have the upper-hand over Ji Juechen, she did not feel as though she had an advantage over him. Instead, she felt very ufortable, as though something ominous was about to happen.

    <span>Xiao Xiao released a low growl as she pointed in the direction of the cauldron with her right hand. At that instant, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron released a loud and powerful humming sound as it dropped from the sky toward Ji Juechen.

    <span>A powerful ck light was also ejected from the mouth of the cauldron. Endless authority descended from the heavens as the ck pir of light struck Ji Juechen ahead of the cauldron.

    <span>This was the fifth soul skill of Xiao Xiao¡¯sThreelives Soulcrush Cauldron¡ªThreelives Soulcrush. It was a powerful sealing soul skill which acted directly on the body and the soul.

    <span>Previously, with the help of the Threelives Soulcrush, Xiao Xiao was actually able to seal a powerful evil soul master and contribute to the team¡¯s sess.

    <span>However, the person she was facing now was Ji Juechen. The sword fanatic, Ji Juechen!

    <span>A bright cry escaped Ji Juechen¡¯s mouth, following which, a matte ck sword light erupted from the ground like ck ink.

    <span>Both the Threelives Soulcrush and the sword light from Ji Juechen were ck.

    <span>The two ck forces collided with a humongous impact.

    <span>Ji Juechen¡¯s figure rose up into the sky like a dragon ascending to the heavens. However, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had vanished in that instant.

    <span>That¡¯s right, it had somehow vanished.

    <span>The cauldron which was falling rapidly had disappeared without any warning. However, if one were to pay attention to Xiao Xiao, one would notice the sly smile that had formed on her face.

    <span>A humongous cauldron sneakily appeared below Ji Juechen¡¯s feet. The same ck pir enveloped and trapped Ji Juechen after he had exploded up into the sky with his maximum effort.

    <span>Ji Juechen was caught in that moment when he had just exerted strength on a previous soul skill, and was recovering his energy for the next blow. Hence, his body froze upon contact with the Threelives Soulcrush as he was sealed in mid-air.

    <span>A small thing that resembled a lizard rested itself silently on Xiao Xiao¡¯s shoulder. This thing seemed to be a little strange, as it looked different from a normal lizard. However, because it was hidden within a ball of dark light, no one could see its true appearance.

    <span>Nheless, it was its existence that allowed the Threelives Soulcrush technique to suddenly change positions. This allowed Xiao Xiao to trick Ji Juechen into exposing himself to her attacks.

    <span>After the Threelives Soulcrush waspleted, the matte ck cauldron suddenly expanded before releasing a powerful suction force. Ji Juechen was sucked into the cauldron.

    <span>The eighth ring on Xiao Xiao¡¯s body lit up, and nine humongous golden runes fell from the sky onto the cauldron. Instantly, the ck cauldron was dyed a uniform golden color as it dropped to the ground!

    <span>The phoenix pirs disappeared, leaving only the cauldron sparkling on the ground. The ten golden runes on the cauldron glowed intensely in an intermittent fashion, as though they were trying to resist powerful blows from within.

    <span>Xiao Xiao floated back to the ground as she looked at themotion before her with surprise. Even though she might have beaten Ji Juechen, she knew that she had not won by ability. She was only able to defeat him because of her tactics.

    <span>Ji Juechen was simply too unfamiliar with her abilities. Conversely, Xiao Xiao had watched so many of his spars with the others. Hence, she possessed a superior understanding of his abilities.

    <span>Ji Juechen¡¯s final attack¡ªhis Sword Fanatic Domain¡ªwas undoubtedly his greatest skill. Xiao Xiao¡¯s prior control was simply her way of waiting for that moment toe. When Ji Juechenunched his most powerful attack, it was also the time when he was most vulnerable to any form of attack. If he were to fail tond a blow in a single attempt, his aura and sword intent would drastically decrease.

    <span>Xiao Xiao had been waiting for this opportunity all along. Of course, she understood that Ji Juechen could have directed his final attack at her instead of her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. Even though he would most definitely get hurt, she would also not be able to escape unscathed. The truth was that even though Ji Juechen was a sword fanatic, he would still not put his own people in danger.

    <span>Xiao Xiao raised her right hand as the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron transformed into a streak of light before returning to her body. A deafening sword aura flickered as Ji Juechen reappeared within the spectral demine.

    <span>He looked slightly ragged after reappearing. There were many holes in his clothes, and his face seemed to be slightly pale. However, the spark in his eyes showed that he was actually very excited.

    <span>The scariest thing about the sword fanatic was how he was not afraid of losing. In fact, the more he lost, the more excited he would be. That was why everyone had a headache when facing him. The more they tried to put him down, the more he wanted to fight them.

    <span>¡°I have lost. That was very impressive!¡± Ji Juechen nodded as he looked at Xiao Xiao.

    <span>Xiao Xiao shook her head and said, ¡°No. I definitely can¡¯tpare to you when ites to our true abilities. You only lost because you did not understand my skills well enough. Also, you chose to go easy on me instead of putting me in harm¡¯s way. When we fight the next time, I will definitely lose to you. I can sense that you haven¡¯t even released your full fighting power.¡±

    <span>Ji Juechen shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s still a loss at the end of the day. I can sense that you did not go all-out on me either. It would be very difficult to say who would win if we were to fight to the death. But that would only result in serious injuries for both of us.¡±

    <span>Ji Juechen¡¯s words were usually very objective. Hence, his praise had elevated Xiao Xiao to a new status. It meant a lot about Xiao Xiao¡¯s ability when she was able to hold her own against the sword fanatic.

    <span>He Caitou gaped as he stared at Xiao Xiao. ¡°Xiao Xiao, I can¡¯t believe how strong you¡¯ve be. If we were to battle within a fixed physical range, I might not even be able to beat you.¡±

    <span>Xiao Xiao waved her little fist at He Caitou and said, ¡°So you better watch out! If you dare bully me in the future, I¡¯ll make sure I put you down.¡±

    <span>He Caitou gave her an awkward smile and said, ¡°You are the one who¡¯s bullying me every day now! When have I ever bullied you? Look, you even bit me yesterday.¡± Following which, he revealed a mark on his shoulder.

    <span>Xiao Xiao¡¯s face became red as she turned and fled. The people who were listening to their conversation burst intoughter.

    <span>¡°Alright, now that they¡¯re done, it¡¯s our turn!¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s voice attracted everyone¡¯s attention. They were confused about what she meant.

    <span>Ji Juechen¡¯s eyes lit up as he leapt forward. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do it!¡±

    <span>Huo Yuhaoughed angrily before saying, ¡°Hey! Hey! Hey! I¡¯m not letting you fight my wife. Besides, I don¡¯t think you can withstand her blows for even a minute with the current state you¡¯re in. My wife is no pushover.¡±

    <span>As he rified, he stepped onto the sparring ground with Tang Wutong.

    <span>Bei Bei looked at him and asked, ¡°Little junior brother, what are you trying to do?¡±

    <span>Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°Wutong was very inspired by what she saw, and mentioned to me how females should not be discriminated against. Hence, she challenged me to a duel.¡±

    <span>¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Even though a mocking look formed on Bei Bei¡¯s face, he did not dare to say anything. From the look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying, ¡°Good luck, buddy!¡±

    <span>Xu Sanshi did not seem to fear anything as he egged Huo Yuhao on, ¡°Little junior brother, go for it! You must fight for all the men in the world.¡±

    <span>Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes and said, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re quite a chauvinist, eh? Come, fight with me!¡±

    <span>Xu Sanshi shook his head fervently before saying, ¡°No way. Forget about it. Use your sleeping technique only after we return to our room. I promise I will definitely not resist.¡±

    <span>Jiang Nannanunched herself into the air as she kicked Xu Sanshi. However, she was already blushing.

    <span>Tang Wutong moved to the side of the sparring ground on her own. Huo Yuhao was also in no mood to care about what the others were talking about. Because he had been cultivating with Tang Wutong every day, he had a rough understanding of her ability. However, he had never faced her when she was in full fighting mode.

 Chapter 538.2 - Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong

    <h4 style="font-weight: 400;">Chapter 538.2: Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong</h4>

    <span>Before, when he duelled with Wang Qiu¡¯er, it was already very difficult for him to defeat her. Currently, Tang Wutong¡¯s current ability seemed to be abination of Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s and Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s abilities. She was also already a Titled Douluo. When it came to individual abilities, she was probably the strongest in the whole Tang Sect. Even though Huo Yuhao was boosted by his multiple spirits, he could not becent when going up against her.

    <span>After seeing how he had been excluded from this uing affair, Ji Juechen retreated to the side unwillingly. However, he was still very excited to watch a battle between two powerful cultivators. Watching their battle was still very useful for his cultivation.

    <span>After Ji Juechen retreated, Huo Yuhao took up his ce as he allowed his energy to calm down. As he watched Tang Wutong, who was walking further and further away, he started to focus on his target.

    <span>Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and the others stopped fooling around. Xiao Xiao had quietly returned as she took up a ce beside He Caitou.

    <span>To be honest, everyone knew well enough that the two strongest cultivators in Tang Sect were none other than Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. However, they were not certain exactly how strong these two were.

    <span>When Huo Yuhao teamed up with Tang Wutong to pin down the two evil soul masters, they had fully demonstrated the power of their martial soul fusion skills. However, that was still fundamentally different from facing off against one another.

    <span>One-on-one battles were the true demonstration of an individual¡¯s abilities. It would show everyone how strong they had be, and that was something that everyone from Tang Sect wanted to know.

    <span>Nan Qiuqiu, who was standing to one side moved over to talk to Tang Wutong. She waved her fist and cheered, ¡°Wutong, go for it! Beat him! Beat him until he loses all his teeth.¡±

    <span>Huo Yuhao was at a loss for words. ¡°Qiuqiu, do you really hate me that much?¡±

    <span>Nan Qiuqiu replied, ¡°This is no longer an issue of hatred. It¡¯s about the battle between the sexes. Ladies, am I right?¡±

    <span>Her words received support from her fellowdies.

    <span>Xu Sanshi then cheered loudly, ¡°Yuhao, you can do it. Brother Ji has already lost the first round. You must not lose again! If you lose, I am afraid every male in Tang Sect will have to walk around with our heads lowered.¡±

    <span>Huo Yuhao sighed.<i><span>That¡¯s easy for you to say. I don¡¯t think it will be an easy fight against Wutong!</i>

    <span>At this moment, Tang Wutong had already walked to a distance which would separate her from Huo Yuhao by about a hundred meters. When she turned around to face Huo Yuhao, her beautiful eyes showed the excitement in her heart. No one knew whether she was excited to fight, or excited by the prospect of destroying Huo Yuhao.

    <span>Huo Yuhao focused his gaze on Tang Wutong. Bei Bei walked forward a few steps before dering, ¡°I will be the referee for this duel. Are both of you ready?¡±

    <span>Compared to the previous duel between Ji Juechen and Xiao Xiao, this duel was obviously a lot more formal.

    <span>As of now, the higher-ups of Tang Sect were not the only spectators. After hearing themotion above the knoll, many of the soul engineers from the three legions had left their resting areas and surrounded the knoll to watch the uing duel.

    <span>After hearing that they were about to witness a duel between Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, all of them were visibly more excited than the duelists themselves.

    <span>Most of the soul engineers in the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion, and the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion were young people. Even the older ones were only middle-aged. They were all people who were full of bloodlust, and were raring to watch people fight. They were extremely interested to watch a battle between two top-ss soul masters.

    <span>Besides, quite a number of people within the legions had witnessed Huo Yuhao demonstrate his abilities during the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date. It was also then that he got together with Tang Wutong.

    <span>Even people who were not fortunate enough to see them at the Blind Date would have definitely heard about them. Now, they were about to watch them duel in front of their eyes. It was an opportunity not to be missed! As people quickly passed the message about the duel that was about to start, arge number of soul engineers had surrounded the sparring ground. Even though they were keeping a safe distance from the actual ground itself, their excitement was still infectious.

    <span>Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were not anxious about the duel at all. Both of them merely stood there as they waited patiently for the duel to officially begin. Even though the fight was about to start, both of them were perfectly fine with having the legions spectate their battle, because it was a good way to improve their morale.

    <span>Everyone wanted to be assured of the strength of theirmanders. A strongmander would not only lead them to victory, but would also be capable of keeping them safe.

    <span>Hence, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong chose to wait a little longer until everyone had found a safe viewing point before they nodded at Bei Bei.

    <span>Bei Bei naturally understood their intentions as he smiled. ¡°Both of you really have great chemistry! Are you ready?¡±

    <span>Once again, they nodded. Bei Bei raised his right hand before looking at both of them. Then, he lowered his hand rapidly as he announced, ¡°Start!¡±

    <span>As he announced the start of the duel, Tang Wutong made the first move. Her beautiful dragon wings opened up from her back as her soul rings ascended from her feet. The sight of this made the throngs of soul engineers cheer in delight.

    <span>They were not only cheering because she had nine soul rings. She possessed abination of soul rings which far exceeded the best-knownbination! The sight of Tang Wutong¡¯s red hundred-thousand-year soul ring made the crowd wild.

    <i><span>Is this the true strength of the wife of our Chief Commander? That¡¯s unbelievable! Will Chief Commander be able to beat her?</i>

    <span>After witnessing the powerful soul rings Tang Wutong possessed, everyone turned their attention to Huo Yuhao. Once again, they were stunned by what they saw.

    <span>Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes released a gentle golden glow as a humongous golden eye formed behind his back. Seven soul rings gently ascended from his feet. Even though there were only seven rings, their colors were overwhelmingly attention-grabbing.

    <span>The first soul ring was milky-white, with a circle of golden carvings. The second soul ring was already ck. The third, fourth and fifth soul rings were also ck in color. And to everyone¡¯s surprise, the sixth and seventh soul rings were red.

    <span>After the appearance of his seventh soul ring, the air around Huo Yuhao started to bend and twist, as though he were no longer real.

    <span>Tang Wutong slowly raised her right hand as her body emanated an intense golden glow, which spread outwards in the shape of a butterfly.

    <span>As she tapped the tip of her foot on the ground gently, she sprang forwards towards Huo Yuhao in flight. As her wings pped intensely behind her back, she had already flown a hundred meters and was right in front of Huo Yuhao before anyone could even see how she did it.

    <i><span>That¡¯s way too fast!</i><span>Everyone cheered in unison after witnessing her incredible speed.

    <span>Tang Wutong leaned slightly to the side as her right wing went straight for Huo Yuhao. A deafening howl could be heard as the dragon wing extended to form a gigantic de.

    <span>Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had be illusory the moment Tang Wutong dashed over. He had activated his Spiritual Interference Domain. While the wing cut through his figure, it was not able to hit his real body. Huo Yuhao had silently moved towards behind Tang Wutong right before everyone¡¯s eyes.

    <span>He threw out a simple punch at her back.

    <span>Even though the punch seemed extraordinarily simple, Tang Wutong froze after receiving the blow, as though she had be immobile. Huo Yuhao¡¯s punch seemed to contain a ck hole that was holding her in ce.

    <span>Tang Wutong closed and folded the wings behind her back before releasing them again violently as she hoped to use the sharp edges of her wings to counter Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    <span>However, at this instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shed as he released a spiritual st radiating from the center of his body into the area about ten meters from him.

    <span>The golden trident rune on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead flickered and absorbed most of the force from the spiritual st. This only dyed Wutong slightly, as her wings continued in their course and collided with Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist.

    <span>¡°Ping!¡± A loud metallic sound rang out.

    <span>Huo Yuhao retreated rapidly upon their collision. The others also noticed how the air around him had started to show signs of cracking and shattering. These cracks were caused by the sharpness of Tang Wutong¡¯s dragon wings.

    <span>However, things were also not easy for Tang Wutong. The golden light from Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist had followed the contours of her wings and flowed into her body. To her surprise, this golden glow caused her to lose her focus for a split second.

    <span>After being forced backwards, Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul ring lit up. A vertical beam of white light shone on Tang Wutong. Mass Enfeeblement! Of course, it had been focused on a single target under Huo Yuhao¡¯s superior control. Its power was naturally magnified as it became a lot more concentrated.

    <span>Following which, his fourth soul ring lit up. A mysterious whirlpool formed above Tang Wutong¡¯s head. If one were to pay attention to the whirlpool, one would notice the little vertical eye which was flickering within it. Spiritual Confusion!

    <span>After releasing two powerful control-type soul skills simultaneously, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings suddenly changed. The original seven rings became eight different soul rings. Even their colors had be different. As he raised his right hand, a gigantic deep blue sword appeared. Following which, the sword went for Tang Wutong¡¯s head as it followed the two powerful soul skills.

    <span>Snow Empress¡¯ Three Ultimate Techniques: Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    <span>This series of transformations was extremely rapid. Everyone found it hard to follow Huo Yuhao¡¯s movements, as his attacks were just too quick for their eyes. His transition from controlling to attacking was seamless. He did not seem like he was going easy on Tang Wutong at all.

    <span>Tang Wutong only lost her focus momentarily. When the Mass Enfeeblementnded on her body, she had already regained her focus. Her eyes revealed a sh as her body flipped on its own in mid-air. Afterwards, she raised her hands as her fourth soul ring lit up. Dragon God¡¯s Possession!

 Chapter 538.3 - Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong

    <h4>Chapter 538.3: Huo Yuhao VS Tang Wutong</h4>

    As the armor of dragon scales fitted itself onto Tang Wutong, her aura suddenly changed. Her powerful dragon aura blew away the Mass Enfeeblement. Even the dangerous Spiritual Confusion was blocked by the golden trident on her forehead.

    The shiny Golden Dragon Spear appeared and blocked the Unparalleled Chill¡¯s de.

    ¡°Clinggg!¡± Once again, another bright sound echoed through the air. The Unparalleled Chill shattered in mid-air, while Tang Wutong also fell to the ground from the impact, her entire body covered with ayer of frost.

    Huo Yuhao had been working on his Ultimate Ice, especially after he had absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence previously. After the Unparalleled Chill shattered, it released the extremely low temperature trapped within it. The soul engineers who were watching the duel felt the sudden drop in temperature, and quickly mustered their soul power to warm their bodies.

    Huo Yuhao let out a long growl as he elerated instead of retreating. He flew towards Tang Wutong as he pulled his right hand to his waist. The image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion appeared behind his back as a Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass formed on his shoulder. These increased the aura of his Ultimate Ice by orders of magnitude.

    Meanwhile, Tang Wutong fearlessly tapped the ground with her feet. Following which, a gigantic golden dragon appeared with a loud dragon roar. Afterwards, the dragon shrank rapidly, and wrapped itself around the Golden Dragon Spear. Tang Wutong pointed the tip of the spear at Huo Yuhao as both of them prepared for the other¡¯s next move.

    Within the blink of an eye, both of them were inches apart. But suddenly, both of their figures vanished simultaneously. At that very instant, the surrounding soul masters felt the effects of a powerful suction force. The suction force seemed to prate their minds as most of the soul masters were forced to take a step forward to steady their bodies. They were struggling against the power of the suction force.

    But then, in the next instant, both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong reappeared in the other¡¯s former positions.

    Both of them revealed a shocked expression on their faces. Following which, both their expressions revealed a look of amazement.<i>I can¡¯t believe we have so much chemistry. We¡¯re even using the same technique.</i>

    It seemed like both of them had executed Instant Teleportation at the same time. They had both wanted to teleport to the other person¡¯s back beforeunching an attack. But it seemed like both of them had foiled the other¡¯s n unintentionally. Even their tactics were exactly the same.

    Huo Yuhao was lost for words after he realized this, whereas Tang Wutong burst intoughter.

    But even then, their emotions would not get into the way of their fight.

    After teleporting to where Huo Yuhao was, Tang Wutong spun around as her Golden Dragon Spearshed back like a whip towards him.

    Huo Yuhao moved as he barely dodged the jab from Tang Wutong¡¯s spear. The current situation was starting to show the advantage that weapon wielders had over soul masters who did not wield weapons. Because Huo Yuhao did not have a weapon, he could only react passively to Tang Wutong¡¯s attacks.

    After barely dodging the attack from her spear, Huo Yuhao ced his right palm above the tip of the Golden Dragon Spear as he pressed it downwards.

    Suddenly, Tang Wutong injected her strength into the spear in an explosive manner. This sudden imbnce in energy caused Huo Yuhao to be tossed aside as though he had just been electrocuted. In addition, his hand was bursting with light and energy. It was apparent that he had expended copious amounts of soul power to barely block off the lifesteal ability of Tang Wutong¡¯s Golden Dragon Spear.

    Meanwhile, after suffering from a blow from the Snowless cier, the glow on the Golden Dragon Spear became slightly fainter. However, the golden dragon light, which had wrapped itself around the spear, suddenly intensified as it forced the cold aura out of the spear.

    Once again, Tang Wutong¡¯s body released an unbelievable amount of golden light as her soul power intensified once more. As she pped the wings behind her back, she chased after Huo Yuhao like aet. It took her no time at all to appear behind his back.

    In their previous collision, Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly the loser. He was at a disadvantage because he did not have a weapon.

    Tang Wutong was not about to let him catch his breath. A golden dragon head appeared in front of her chest and dragon let out a low roar. A streak of golden light emerged from the dragon¡¯s mouth as it shot straight towards Huo Yuhao. Dragon God¡¯s Roar!

    Tang Wutong¡¯s fifth soul skill was the skill which made the evil soul master suffer a lot previously. It was going to be very difficult for Huo Yuhao to evade this attack when it was fired at such a short distance from him.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s tactics could be said to be very unpredictable. Just when everyone thought that she was about to begin a closebat battle with Huo Yuhao after chasing after him, she suddenly released a ranged skill. And this ranged attack was released precisely before Huo Yuhao could predict her next move.

    Because Huo Yuhao could use his spiritual detection to predict Tang Wutong¡¯s moves, he was supposed to be able to know what she was about to do next. However, Tang Wutong now possessed superior soul power, and her attacks were unprecedentedly unpredictable. She was undoubtedly trying to reduce the advantage of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection by trying to be as unpredictable as possible.

    After being knocked away by the previous blow, hended in a position where he could look straight at Tang Wutong. As he saw the golden streak of light from the Dragon God¡¯s Roaring towards him, his face revealed a faint smile¡ªmuch to everyone¡¯s surprise.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened as his hands made a hugging motion in front of his chest.

    Then, a strange scene unfolded before their eyes. The airflow around his body suddenly became very violent and rapid. It was suddenly infused with an agitated Ultimate Ice aura as it formed a whirlpool around his body. He extended his left hand outwards while retracting his right hand as an icy blue whirlpool formed.

    ¡°Booommm!¡± A violet humming sound reverberated across the sparring ground. Once again, Huo Yuhao was thrown backwards before he slowed himself with his feet. However, Tang Wutong was no longer able to chase after him. Her body paused in mid-air as her eyes revealed her shock at what had just happened. Ayer of ice had formed on her Dragon God¡¯s Armor.

    Tang Wutong shook her body as though the Dragon God itself was shaking its armor. Theyer of ice shattered, but her speed was visibly slower than before. Huo Yuhao also took this opportunity to catch his breath. As he looked at Tang Wutong, he slowly raised his right hand as a tornado suddenly formed around his body.

    This was not any normal tornado. If one were to be precise, it was an Ice Snow Tornado.

    The tornado¡¯s diameter was only about five meters. But it was as tall as the heavens as it stood towering above everyone, with its top beyond anyone¡¯s field of view. Huo Yuhao seemed to have disappeared within the tornado.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes narrowed as she paused momentarily. She did not immediately attack as she let out a cold battle-cry. She raised the Golden Dragon Spear which she was wielding with her right hand as she pointed it at the tornado. At the same time, her small frame exploded with an invincible aura.

    Even Huo Yuhao had never seen this aura that Tang Wutong had just released. She released the pair of wings behind her back. At this instant, she seemed to have be a circle. With her body as the center of a greater circle, a blinding purple-gold glow illuminated her surroundings.

    The diameter of this purple-gold glow was a good ten meters. After its appearance, almost the entire spectral demine¡¯s aura seemed to have be agitated and more violent. If one were to pay attention to Tang Wutong¡¯s soul rings, one would notice that her eighth soul ring had just lit up.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s body disappeared as though she had transformed into a beautiful butterfly flying within the humongous purple-gold glow. At this instant, it seemed like the spectral demine had a sun for the first time, a beautiful purple-gold sun.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s jaw dropped as he witnessed the sight before him. ¡°That¡¯s way too insane. What the hell are they trying to do? They have been executing impossibly difficult moves one after another. Ji Juechen, are you still nning to challenge Wutong? I think they might still have some cards up their sleeves.¡±

    Ji Juechen had a worried look on his face. In his mind, he knew that he might have stood a chance against the previous moves that Tang Wutong had executed.

    But after he saw the purple-gold sun before his eyes, he knew that there was an impossible gap between them. In order to bridge this gap, he first had to attain the rank of a Titled Douluo. But was it really that easy to move from eight to nine rings? Ji Juechen¡¯s martial soul was not considered a strong one. It was more than just a game of probability as to whether he could get his soul core.

    Yes, the soul skill that Tang Wutong had just executed was her eighth soul skill¡ªDragon Dance of the Radiant Sun. It was an immensely powerful offensive soul skill.

    As the purple-gold sun slowly rose into the sky, the Radiant Dragon God¡¯s Butterfly danced within its glow. As the sun climbed higher into the sky, the pressure it released became even greater. All the soul masters who were watching the battle started to retreat from the area. No one wanted to be injured by this powerful soul skill.

    Countless spectral creatures which were prowling around the other end of the spectral demine howled in fear as though they were being attacked by the sun¡¯s glow. All of them started to flee as far as possible.

    Meanwhile, the Ice Snow Tornado that Huo Yuhao had created stood proud and tall. As the soul masters started to retreat further from the sparring ground, its size started to grow as it became more powerful.

    ¡°Yuhao, watch my Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun!¡± Tang Wutong warned Yuhao. In the next instant, the brightness of the sun grew to its maximum. Following which, a gigantic purple-gold pir of light tore the sky apart as it raced towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Snow Tornado.

    However, before the sun¡¯s blow even reached the tornado, the Ice Snow Tornado suddenly disintegrated. That was something no one had expected.

    Huo Yuhao had vanished. He was reced by two figures who were holding each other¡¯s hands.

    One was white as snow.

    The other was pale as ice.

    The Ice and Snow Empress were holding each other¡¯s hands as they carried a smile on their pretty faces. A simrly gigantic beam of light was released from their bodies as it elerated towards Tang Wutong¡¯s Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun.

    This pir was formed from thebination of the pure white color of snow and the pale jade color of ice. The two tones of light blended perfectly with one another as they released an invincible aura.

    Yes! This was the most powerful soul skill that Huo Yuhao had acquired after fusing with the Snow Empress. It was a skill that came with his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion martial soul¡¯s fifth soul ring. Ice and Snow Empress¡¯ Arrogance!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    A radiant sight unfolded before everyone¡¯s eyes. After colliding with one another, both the purple-gold glow and the ice jade glow exploded into sparks which flew everywhere as the burning brightness of the sun fought the intense cold.

    This collision caused the entire world to be shaken as the spectral demine trembled, and radiant sparks lingered in the air for an extended period of time.

    The soul masters had long be dazed from watching the battle before their eyes. Even though these blows were not targeted at them, they could still feel the frightening power within those attacks.

    <i>Is this the strength of a top-ss cultivator? What would happen if we were the ones receiving these blows?</i>

    It took a good ten seconds before the collision of the two soul skills to start showing signs of subsiding. In the end, the fight between Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao came to a deadlock. Neither of them could overwhelm the other.

 Chapter 539 - Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 539: Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger!</h4>

    Finally, the dazzling light dissipated. Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao also reappeared in mid-air. At least, it wasn¡¯t possible to find anything wrong with them just by looking at them.

    Well-matched?

    Tang Wutong fluttered her wings, and a sonic boom suddenly rang out. She turned into a beam of flowing light and charged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Both of them had just unleashed a powerful skill, which drained quite a lot of their soul power. They couldn¡¯t keep up such an expenditure. Given this, closebat was undoubtedly the best choice.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s figure shed, and she moved five meters in front of Huo Yuhao. Her Golden Dragon Spear turned into thousands of streaks of golden light that surrounded Huo Yuhao. A sonorous dragon roar sounded at the same time.

    Her spear gave her an advantage! Tang Wutong had a wealth of fighting experience. Through their earlier sh, she could tell that she had an advantage in the aspect of weapons.

    Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun versus the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses. Tang Wutong had originally believed that she could suppress Huo Yuhao. After all, he wasn¡¯t a Titled Douluo yet. Both of them even had twin martial souls. In terms of soul power, she should possess a distinct advantage over him. However, she was stunned to realize that not only did she not gain an advantage over him as they fought, but she even felt as if her entire body had been invaded by chilly energy. She knew that that was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was superior to her martial soul.

    She couldn¡¯t really ept this fact. She couldn¡¯t believe that her Radiant Dragon Butterfly was inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!

    Everyone waspetitive, including Tang Wutong. Furthermore, she had her own secrets. She already had nine rings. How could she possibly not gain the upper hand using her eighth soul skill against Huo Yuhao¡¯s fifth soul skill?

    In fact, she had neglected one matter, which was very important. It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s five Spirits.

    Yes, he only had eight rings. However, he had five powerful Spirits! When he first obtained the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, he wasn¡¯t the only one who managed to absorb it. His five Spirits absorbed it at the same time. His spiritual sense was strengthened, and his five Spirits all had some level of strength. Even if they couldn¡¯t fully rely on Huo Yuhao, they still had their own fighting strength.

    As a result, they could reflect some of their abilities onto Huo Yuhao when necessary. The earlier attack was an example of that. Clearly, the difference between Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao was in terms of Spirits.

    Huo Yuhao smiled when he saw thepetitive look in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes.

    My dear, did you really think that I had no chance against your Golden Dragon Spear?

    A trace of deep-blue light appeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand without any warning. At that instant, everything seemed to freeze up in the spectral demine.

    ¡°Ding!¡±

    A crisp ringing sounded. A tragic dragon scream also echoed at the same time. Tang Wutong shook tremendously. Her bright gold spear started to turn icy-blue right from the tip. At the same time, this icy-blue was spreading to her body. The streaks of light that she had formed also instantly vanished, turning into nothingness.

    Tang Wutong eximed in shock before she copsed to the ground.

    Huo Yuhao also shook slightly in the air. There was an intense look of astonishment in his eyes.

    At this moment, he was holding a dagger. It was a very weird dagger. It waspletely ck, and around thirty-six centimeters long. The hilt was around twelve centimeters long and five centimeters wide. The back of the dagger was very thick, but the de was thin. There was a blue, diamond-shaped gem at the bottom of the hilt. This gem shone with a dim and mysterious glow.

    The most special part about it was that there was a thinyer of white fog surrounding the de of this dagger. Thisyer of fog was formed by countless dense droplets of water. They weren¡¯t formed from the consolidation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power, and didn¡¯t experience any changes because of his soul power either.

    ¡°Dang!¡± The spear fell to the ground. Tang Wutong also copsed at the same time. She had no choice but to let go of her spear. If she didn¡¯t do that, the terrifying chill would have corroded her body through her spear.

    She couldn¡¯t possibly resist that terrifying chill with her soul power. It waspletely unimaginable.

    What was this?

    This was Tang Wutong¡¯s first time seeing the dagger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. Her spear had actually beenpletely defeated by that dagger.

    Huo Yuhao drifted andnded on the ground. Right now, there was a passionate look in his eyes. He thought to himself ¨Cno wonder it¡¯s a weapon from a god!At the start, the Ghostcarving de had shocked him greatly. Without it, he wouldn¡¯t have possibly be a ss 9 soul engineer in such a short period of time.

    Nian Rongbing, the God of Emotions, didn¡¯t give him one, but two daggers. The other one was in his hand right now.

    Huo Yuhao had never used this dagger before. It was his first time taking it out, and he had used it to curb the Golden Dragon Spear.

    When he first held this dagger, he sensed that his life seemed to be connected to it. Even his five Spirits felt it. When he waved the dagger, it was as if all the Ultimate Ice energy in heaven and earth had gathered around it. Huo Yuhao waspletely certain that the temperature of this dagger was below negative two hundred and fifty degree Celsius. Just by simply waving it, half the amount of soul power he had used on his Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses was drained. This was a testament to how much strength was needed to wield it. Even so, Huo Yuhao felt a little dizzy. Evidently, he wasn¡¯tpletely able to tap into the strength of this dagger with his current abilities.

    ¡°Wutong, are you ok?¡± Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wutong as he was in awe.

    Tang Wutong bit her lower lip and red at the dagger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ve not lost yet.¡±

    As she spoke, she suddenly pressed her own forehead with her right hand. Instantly, blinding light was released from her forehead.

    This was¡­

    Tang Wutong¡¯s terrifying might was instantly unleashed. At this instant, Huo Yuhao felt as if his entire body had turned rigid. He felt a little helpless at this point, as if he couldn¡¯t resist at all.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Everyone present had the same feeling.

    It was also at this instant that a weird feeling surfaced. A refreshing feeling flowed into his body from the dagger. Huo Yuhao suddenly felt as if the pressure on him had been alleviated considerably.

    Tang Wutong pointed her left hand at her spear, which was still on the ground. She also slowly moved her right hand.

    It was clear that there was an extra ball of intense golden light in her right hand. That ball of golden light appeared like a fluid. It fell from her hand andnded urately on the spear.

    The spear, which was covered in ayer of ice, had started to drift up. When Tang Wutong flung the ball of light at it, it started to shine with golden light. The originally toughyer of ice was scraped away with a deafening sound. Following this, theyer of ice broke, and a beam of golden light shot into the sky.

    A terrifying might spread at this moment. This time, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense his demine shaking tremendously. It was shaking because of Tang Wutong¡¯s golden light.

    Terrifying pressure spread in the air. The Golden Dragon Spear had transformed!

    It was no longer a spear. The tip divided into three, and it instantly turned into a golden trident. In addition, Huo Yuhao also discovered that the golden trident rune on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead had disappeared as a result.

    Tang Wutong groaned, but was a little provocative as she stared at Huo Yuhao. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s see whether your dagger can resist me this time.¡±

    The golden trident fell from the air, and Tang Wutong caught it with her hand. However, her body shook a little as she caught it. Evidently, using this golden trident took a huge toll on her too.

    What was going on?

    Before Huo Yuhao could think any further, Tang Wutong had already made her move. Her golden trident moved slightly in the air, and halos immediately shot toward Huo Yuhao.

    When Tang Wutong moved her golden trident, her dragon scale armor also turned golden.

    Her aura was simply too powerful and restraining. Even those from the Tang Sect were unable to take it, and had to step back. The surrounding soul masters naturally retreated even further.

    Huo Yuhao was very sharp. He shed with his dagger, and something strange happened. His dagger actually formed many dense projections. They appeared to be very chaotic and messy. However, on a closer look, they actually contained the principles of heaven and earth.

    The halos that were released from the golden trident were crushed as they shed with the dense projections. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s dagger could no longer freeze Tang Wutong¡¯s weapon.

    Tang Wutong was bing more and more astonished. She clearly knew how strong her move was. She didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to have been able to resist her attack.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao was under more pressure than she thought. Right now, he had already unleashed the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance that Nian Rongbing had imparted to him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s dagger had an extremely domineering name, Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger!

    This dagger had its own history. Before Nian Rongbing became the God of Emotions, this dagger was the first weapon he had obtained just as he was bing famous in his ne. This Morning Dew Dagger was a dagger made by a master smith whose martial soul was a Chill Dagger. After that, Nian Rongbing provided a rock of the Frozen Goddess to this master, who attached it to the dagger and named it the Morning Dew Dagger.

    This dagger followed Nian Rongbing everywhere, and was one of his most important weapons. After he became a god, this dagger remained by his side. It grew stronger as Nian Rongbing¡¯s divine sense became more and more acute. It was a true godly weapon.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t fully unleash the strength of this Morning Dew Dagger. He didn¡¯t have divine sense yet, and had yet to inherit the godly seat of the God of Emotions. This was why his soul power was rapidly drained as he unleashed his Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t drained without reason. As he used this dagger to unleash the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance, his understanding of the dagger became deeper. At the same time, it was also his first time sensing the secrets of this dagger.

    The rock of the Frozen Goddess on this dagger released a strong chilly energy. This energy further cultivated andpressed his soul power. After that, he poured his soul power into the dagger, mustering its true strength. The aura of divine sense was even released from the rock, further boosting his soul power. This was why he could partly unleash the strength of this godly weapon. It was also because of this that he was drained so quickly.

    Tang Wutong was equally drained as well. Her golden trident was abnormally heavy. Even though she was only using a projection of the trident, she still had to support a third of its actual weight. Furthermore, she was also using a godly skill.

    The two of them became slower and slower. Tang Wutong¡¯s face waspletely red, while Huo Yuhao turned paler and paler. Their soul power was being drained very rapidly.

    Whoever¡¯s soul power was drained first would immediately lose this fight.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao staggered a little, and his dagger also paused for a brief moment. The halos that were formed by Tang Wutong¡¯s trident hit him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body stiffened. He was restrained by the halos, and couldn¡¯t move a single inch.

    The tip of the golden trident was pointed at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest, but Tang Wutong pursed her red lips.

    Golden light shed, and the trident turned back into the Golden Dragon Spear. The golden halos on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also disappeared.

    It was only now that everyone watching the fight heaved a sigh of relief. The backs of their shirts werepletely drenched.

    This fight was simply too exciting. From the first sh to the subsequent unting of big moves to the final exchanges, it didn¡¯t seem very lively, but the sense of doom in the air was unprecedented.

    Ji Juechen was already very grim. This was because he knew that he didn¡¯t stand a chance against either Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong, given his current abilities.

    He was a sword fanatic, and thus he was especially sensitive towards weapons. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger and Tang Wutong¡¯s golden tridentpletely erased his desire to challenge either of them. This was because he knew that his Judgment Sword would immediately be crushed by those two weapons. The same would happen to his sword aura. This was the difference in their qualities. Even if he became a Titled Douluo, things would still not change. He would only possibly stand a chance if he was a Transcendent Douluo.

    How could the rest not feel the same way? They had learned that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already as strong as Titled Douluo. In addition, they weren¡¯t just as strong as ordinary Titled Douluo. They might even be able to challenge a Transcendent Douluo. No wonder their fusion skills were so strong.

 Chapter 540.1 - The Ice Sea

    <h4 ss>Volume 38: The Merfolk¡¯s Blessing, Chapter 540.1: The Ice Sea</h4>

    The practice battle was over. Tang Wutong withdrew her Golden Dragon Spear as she spun around and left.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly chased behind her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wutong?¡±

    Tang Wutong said nothing as she strode towards the tent she was resting in.

    ¡°They¡¯re at loggerheads now! For what? Does anyone know?¡± Xu Sanshi whispered.

    Everyone shook their heads nkly, and only Bei Bei thought for a moment as he said, ¡°Yuhao was deliberately giving Wutong a chance, and I think she found that out. That¡¯s the reason why she¡¯s upset.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why did I not see that?¡± Jiang Nannan was a little unconvinced.

    Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, ¡°We all know Yuhao¡¯s abilities. He was giving her a chance from the beginning. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have used Spiritual st when he was dodging away. He should have used Spiritual Shock. Furthermore, Yuhao didn¡¯t use his Eye of the Asura from the beginning to the end. He didn¡¯t use his martial soul true body.¡±

    Jiang Nannan asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Wutong not use her martial soul true body either?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head. ¡°No, she did. When Wutong was using her abilities rted to that purplish-gold sun, she was using them with her martial soul true body. Yuhao had also used Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses, but he didn¡¯t use his martial soul true body. As for their fight with their weapons in the end, I didn¡¯t understand that. But since Wutong is angry, there must clearly be a reason. Yuhao lost the fight a little too abruptly, and it didn¡¯t seem like he had depleted all his soul power.¡±

    Everyone understood things a little better as they listened to him.

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be sopetitive.¡±

    Bei Bei continued, ¡°She¡¯s a Titled Douluo after all! She mustn¡¯t feel very good because a Titled Douluo didn¡¯t defeat a Soul Douluo, even if she was fighting against Yuhao. She should have given her full strength in that fight. I didn¡¯t expect them to have trump cards like that.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already chased Tang Wutong back into her tent in this moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wutong? Talk to me. Don¡¯t be angry,¡± Huo Yuhao moved next to Tang Wutong with a sheepish smile on his face.

    Tang Wutong was still pouting.

    Something in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes shifted as he suddenly used Instant Teleportation and reappeared right opposite Tang Wutong, facing her, and pressed his lips against hers.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes immediately widened as her pouting red lips were kissed. The mild anger in her heart was like a vent as it dissipated immediately.

    But in the next moment, a certain someone yelled agonizingly as a powerful beam of golden light sted him away and sent him hurtling out of the tent, which now had a huge hole in it.

    The others from the Tang Sect all quivered as they looked on from a distance. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou exchanged nces as the same thought surfaced in their heads.It¡¯s not such a good thing after all that your wife is so strong!

    ¡°Yuhao,¡± Tang Wutong dashed out from her tent as she came beside Huo Yuhao, who was lying motionless on the ground. That st was very fierce and forceful, and even she could feel that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t take that hit easily.

    Huo Yuhao groaned as he struggled up from the ground. His body suddenly swayed just as he got to his feet, and he fell into Tang Wutong¡¯s arms.

    Tang Wutong was afraid that her seal would st him away once more, and she hurriedly supported him with her hands. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°No. My entire body is hurting, I can¡¯t take it anymore,¡± Huo Yuhao closed his eyes as he spoke with a pained look on his face.

    Tang Wutong hurriedly helped him back into her tent. There were thousands of people watching outside, what did they think was happening?

    Tang Wutong helped him onto the bed once they were back in the tent. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You had iting. Who asked you to kiss me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled. ¡°You¡¯re too cute when you pout. I couldn¡¯t resist, so I had to kiss your lips. Haih, when is my father-inw going to remove this seal?¡±

    Tang Wutong grunted and said, ¡°I won¡¯t agree even if Dad wants to remove my seal with your behaviour today.¡±

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong with my behaviour?¡± Huo Yuhao seemed aggrieved.

    Tang Wutong answered, ¡°Of course your behaviour was bad. You weren¡¯t using your full strength from the beginning to the end!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was full of denial. ¡°No! I just had a different fighting style. Did you not see me flipping all my trump cards in the end? But look at what¡¯s happening! We are the ones who are flipping each other¡¯s trump cards. Fortunately, there are no outsiders. Otherwise, we¡¯d be in real trouble.¡±

    Tang Wutong grunted again. ¡°If others don¡¯t understand you, how can I not? Your control over your spiritual power means you are entirely capable of switching more intricately between your martial souls, and you shouldn¡¯t be so disoriented and messy. Furthermore, how dare you say that youpletely depleted your soul power in the end?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°There was only a little bit left, so I couldn¡¯t just faint, could I? You were so full of energy, and since I would lose in the end anyway, it didn¡¯t make sense for me to drag it out any longer.¡±

    Tang Wutong pouted. ¡°Nonsense. I had almost expended all my soul power, and it¡¯s uncertain who would win in the end if we both expended all our soul power. Furthermore, your Spirits can fight independently. Why didn¡¯t you use them? And you didn¡¯t use your martial soul true body either. I don¡¯t need you to give me a chance.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed her around the waist and said, ¡°When did you be sopetitive? But weren¡¯t you holding back too? You didn¡¯t use your Clear Sky Hammer from the beginning to the end. Don¡¯t tell me that you only have one soul ring for that martial soul, because you have the ability to fuse two martial souls together.¡±

    The corner of Tang Wutong¡¯s mouth curved into a faint smile, but she said, ¡°I forgot.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at her tender and pretty face that was still fuming as he went up to her ear and whispered, ¡°I really want to bite you.¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying. Hurry up and cultivate to recover. Aren¡¯t we still going to the Ice Sea?¡±

    ¡°A bite won¡¯t dy us for too long. Come here!¡± Huo Yuhao came even closer with an indecent expression on his face.

    Tang Wutong dodged away. She was alert as she stared at him and said, ¡°Are you not afraid that my seal will st you away again? You¡¯re not in a very good state right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt a little defeated when he heard those words. The previous hit had been quite heavy, and he could still feel throbbing pains around his body even now.

    ¡°Father-inw, when will you appear? Please have mercy on me.¡± Huo Yuhao fell back onto the bed as he eximed up into the sky.

    Tang Wutoong pursed her lips into a smile and said, ¡°You should pray harder. My Daddy is almost never around.¡±

    Three battles had been fought, and Shrek Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions became more cohesive, while their fighting strength also improved. They crushed their opponents in every victory, and that was very beneficial for their confidence.

    They had pigedrge amounts of resources, and that covered the three legions¡¯ daily expenses and consumption. Morale was high and growing.

    But now, the fourth battle wouldn¡¯t happen for a long time. All the soul masters could only remain in the spectral demine to cultivate and wait.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong left his spectral demine quietly after resting for an evening.

    They appeared at the Ice Sea¡¯s shores. Bone-chilling winds billowed as they came out, and Tang Wutong shivered from the cold.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly took her into his arms as they flew high into the sky.

    They had stayed inside his spectral demine for a night, and it was already midday on the second day. They gazed in Eastern Sun City¡¯s direction from the sky, but couldn¡¯t see much. At least, there weren¡¯t any traces of reinforcements.

    Huo Yuhao had pocketed all the aerial surveince soul tools mercilessly after they finished piging the city, and stored them inside his spectral demine. The entire city immediately became both blind and deaf. They didn¡¯t have satellites to pass information on, and they couldn¡¯t send word ind within a short period of time for them to send reinforcements. Eastern Sun City was thergest city in the north, and they had to seek aid fromrge cities ind so that they could find military forces strong enough to support them.

    Their enemy was gone, so the most important matter for them was to send out information while redirecting food to the city.

    Eastern Sun City¡¯s first target was Oak City, which was the previous target of Huo Yuhao¡¯s team, when they sent out their messengers. Oak City was one of the most important food warehouses in the north, but it was a pity that their reply was a negative one. All the food left in Eastern Sun City was only enough to sustain their citizens for a week, and disaster would strike if that was dragged out any longer. Eastern Sun City¡¯s rulers were so busy that they were already up to their ears with work.

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what the exact situation was, he could still make a rough guess. He smiled at Tang Wutong and said, ¡°I estimate that Eastern Sun City will need a week to transmit any information to Radiant City. I wonder how Xu Tianran will react when he finds out what has happened.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Hopefully, he will turn his armies around in time. We will have achieved our goal if that happens.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°It won¡¯t be that simple. The Sun Moon Empire has mobilized their armies to start an invasion, and they won¡¯t change their strategies so easily just because their back ranks have be a little unstable. Therefore, matters at the frontlines won¡¯t change unless the danger in their back ranks reaches a certain threshold. Therefore, our mission has barely begun. When the timees that Xu Tianran feels that the chaos in his back ranks is threatening his rule, then we have a chance of sessfully drawing his armies at the front lines back.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go to the Ice Sea.¡±

    Huo Yuhao held her little hand, and Haodong power flowed through their bodies as they flew towards the Ice Sea.

    They were in the Extreme North, but the ocean¡¯s surface hadn¡¯tpletely frozen over. The ocean was vast and there was no end in sight, while there was warm water flowing beneath the cold waves. This resulted in enormous icebergs and ciers appearing above the ocean¡¯s surface, but the ocean wasn¡¯tpletely frozen over.

    Even then, the temperature in this ce was so low that normal people couldn¡¯t survive. Blocks of ice floated along the ocean¡¯s icy surface as chilly winds cut to the bone. The winds carried some of the ocean¡¯s pungent smells and chills as they whooshed by continuously.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold at all. Furthermore, his soul power recovered even more quickly in such an environment, like he was a fish in water.

 Chapter 540.2 - The Ice Sea

    <h4 ss>Chapter 540.2: The Ice Sea</h4>

    Tang Wutong needed to use her soul power to defend herself against the cold. But she was a Titled Douluo after all, and she wasn¡¯t called the Dragon Butterfly Douluo for nothing. This little bit of cold couldn¡¯t threaten her.

    ¡°If we were to fight on the Ice Sea, Wutong, you would be no match for me.¡± Huo Yuhaoughed as he spoke.

    Tang Wutong sounded a little unconvinced. ¡°How do you know if we haven¡¯t tried it? If you¡¯re unconvinced, we can fight again.¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to fight with you. If I beat you, my heart hurts. If I lose, my body hurts. This means it doesn¡¯t make sense for me to fight at all. How can I fight you?¡± Huo Yuhaoughed as he spoke.

    Tang Wutong hammered him gently, but she was all smiles.

    The two of them flew inward. They weren¡¯t flying very quickly, and they seemed very rxed, but Huo Yuhao was continuously sweeping the Ice Sea for disturbances with his spiritual power. He would even extend his spiritual power into the seawater to investigate.

    There were many aquatic beings swimming around beneath the icy surface, and there were quite a few aquatic soul beasts. However, they didn¡¯t dare to attack Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong once they sensed their formidable auras.

    The temperature continued to drop as they flew further towards the north, while the number of floating ice blocks continually increased. Enormous icebergs could be seen wherever they went, and there were some especially huge ones that looked like tiny inds.

    There were some aquatic soul beasts on the icy surface. They red at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, but they didn¡¯t dare toe close. Soul beasts were very sensitive, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t deliberately mask their auras. Normal soul beasts who had rtively low cultivations didn¡¯t dare to think about attacking them.

    They flew for fifteen minutes, and were now very far fromnd. Huo Yuhao summoned the Snow Empress from his spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Snow Empress, how are we going to find the Mermaids?¡±

    The Snow Empress appeared beside Huo Yuhao with a sh of white light. She took a deep breath as she came out, and her face was ovee with satisfaction. She was an Icesky Snow Lady, so icy environments like this were her favourite.

    The Snow Empress exined, ¡°Across history, Mermaids have lived deep in the Ice Sea. You have to continue outward. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be in much danger. Typical aquatic soul beasts can¡¯t fight against the strength and speed that the two of you possess. But when you meet formidable opponents that you can¡¯t defeat, fly up into the sky. Aquatic soul beasts will be increasingly weaker the further they are from the ocean; all aquatic soul beasts are limited by this fact no matter their cultivation. You should call me again after flying for another two hours at your current speed, and I will find a way to summon those Mermaids for you.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement. The Snow Empress¡¯ eyes were full of longing as she nced at the Ice Sea around her before she returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    It wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t want to fly above the Ice Sea along with Huo Yuhao. If she was outside while they were flying at high speeds, she would add to Huo Yuhao¡¯s burden and energy consumption.

    Huo Yuhao was much more confident after his battle with Tang Wutong yesterday. If he teamed up with her, not even typical Transcendent Douluos could defeat them. Even if certain opponents were more powerful, couldn¡¯t they run away if they couldn¡¯t beat them? Furthermore, they were on the Ice Sea, where his abilities were greatly amplified. Without talking about anything else, those tough ice blocks were all conductors for his Ice Explosion. He didn¡¯t have to fear anything even if he was faced withrge numbers of aquatic soul beasts.

    He held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they maintained their high speed at about a thousand meters above the ocean¡¯s surface while they proceeded further out. Huo Yuhao was confident, but he wasn¡¯t careless. He was using Spiritual Detection from the beginning to the end so that he could feel everything that was changing around him.

    Very few soul beasts appeared in the sky above the Ice Sea. At least, they hadn¡¯t discovered any soul beasts throughout their journey. It was clear that this ce was like a forbidden zone for flying soul beasts.

    An hour passed in the blink of an eye. They could no longer sense any kind ofnd, but more and more icebergs began to appear on the ocean¡¯s surface. The entire ocean appeared white as they gazed into the horizon, and it grew increasingly harder to see the water. The temperature in this ce was getting closer and closer to the temperature at the Extreme North¡¯s core regions.

    Huo Yuhao was holding Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, and he continuously used his Ice Empress Jade Scorpion to absorb the chill from her body into his own to dispel it. He could help Tang Wutong conserve some soul power to defend herself against the cold this way.

    ¡°There¡¯s nobody else besides us. This tranquility with only ice, snow, and the vast ocean does feel good!¡± Tang Wutong smiled as she spoke to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhaoughed and said, ¡°This ce is too quiet. It might feel curious and novel for a day or two, but you¡¯ll probably get too lonely if you have to stay in this ce for too long.¡±

    Tang Wutong winked and said, ¡°Do I have that low a tolerance for loneliness?¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°I¡¯m just talking about normal human conditions. I won¡¯t let you be lonely if you¡¯re with me.¡±

    ¡°I feel like eating your grilled fish!¡± Tang Wutongughed as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked as he hurriedly ced his index finger to his lips. ¡°My love, we are above arge ocean¡¯s surface. Even though the aquatic soul beasts beneath the Ice Sea are not all fish-type soul beasts, most of them are rted. If we grill fish in a ce like this, we¡¯re picking a fight with all the soul beasts here.¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just joking. Look at how scared you are.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression suddenly changed as his smile disappeared. His eyes grew focused as he stared in a certain direction, and he tugged on Tang Wutong as they began to slow down.

    There was a pair of icy-cold eyes staring right at them from an enormous iceberg in the distance.

    Those were enormous living beings, and there were several hundred of them lying prostrate on an iceberg. Huo Yuhao pulled on Tang Wutong because he could feel their intense hostility.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Tang Wutong stared into the distance curiously.

    Her vision couldn¡¯tpare to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, but she could still feel things in the distance with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    There were many ck soul beasts, and they were all of different sizes. Thergest ones were more than a dozen meters long, and emanated faint blue hues. The smallest ones were only a little longer than a meter, and every single one had two sharp tusks protruding from their mouths.

    ¡°Sea Devilwalruses! There are so many.¡± Huo Yuhao frowned a little.

    Sea Devilwalruses were a species of aquatic soul beasts that were very characteristic. Soul masters didn¡¯t understand much about aquatic soul beasts, but there had been an introduction to aquatic soul beasts back when they were studying in Shrek Academy.

    The Sea Devilwalrus was a species of soul beast that was considered rtively docile, and their most salient characteristic was their extraordinarily formidable defensive capabilities. A grown Sea Devilwalrus would be more than seven meters long, and a Sea Devilwalrus was considered an adult when it had more than a hundred years of cultivation. Its seven-meter-long frame was very muscr, and its skin was more than ten centimeters thick. Their skin was extremely tough, and very resistant to all kinds of physical attacks. Sea Devilwalruses residing in the Ice Sea were probably also very resistant to ice-type and fire-type attacks.

    Of course, all soul beasts had their strengths and weaknesses. Inparison to their formidable defenses, they came up short on offense and speed.

    Sea Devilwalruses only became a lot faster in the water; they were very slow when they were above water. They only possessed several abilities to control water or ice to attack, and those attacks weren¡¯t considered powerful.

    Sea Devilwalruses lived in herds, and ten over walruses formed a herd. Several hundred walruses appearing at the same time was, at least, not mentioned in Shrek Academy¡¯s teachings.

    Huo Yuhao made an urate judgment with just one look. ¡°These Sea Devilwalruses have very average cultivation ranks. The strongest ones are ten thousand year soul beasts, and there are three of them. There rest have varying cultivations, and there are even some with ten years. Seems like this ce is their natural habitat.¡±

    Huo Yuhao exined this to Tang Wutong as he pulled her onto a new route. Sea Devilwalruses at this cultivation didn¡¯t threaten them at all. Furthermore, they were flying a thousand meters in the sky. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of Sea Devilwalruses, even those with ten thousand year cultivations couldn¡¯t attack at a range of more than a thousand meters.

    They would just fly over them. From his perspective, this was just a small interlude in their journey across the Ice Sea.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were flying very quickly across the sky, and they were just about to fly over the iceberg that those walruses were group up on.

    Right at this moment, several leading Sea Devilwalruses took out some strange objects. They looked likerge light gold conch shells. Twelve walruses took out shells like that, and started blowing them forcefully as deep trumpeting sounds could be heard.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s expressions changed when they heard those sounds, because they could vividly feel that the air around them had tensed up. The airflow around them seemed topletely vanish in the next moment as they felt their bodies plummet rapidly.

    Any living being who wished to fly in the sky had to rely on airflow. They had to use their soul power to push against the air currents so that they could fly.

    When all the airflow and even physical substances had disappeared from the sky, they would be in something like an incredibly clean vacuum. They couldn¡¯t leverage anything, so they would plummet from the pull of gravity. Even the ss 9 flying-type soul tools behind their backs became useless in such circumstances. Outstretched wings that couldn¡¯t rely on any airflow were useless.

    Falling from a thousand meters in the sky wasn¡¯t funny at all. Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what those walruses had done, he could always keep his cool when faced with danger.

    Huo Yuhao tugged on Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as she immediately went behind him and wrapped her hands around his waist, while her dragon wings stretched as wide as they could.

    Even if there wasn¡¯t any airflow in the sky, they would still produce some resistance in the process of dropping down. They could reduce their falling speed as long as they could draw on some air resistance.

 Chapter 540.3 - The Ice Sea

    <h4 ss>Chapter 540.3: The Ice Sea</h4>

    Golden light erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. Tang Wutong could vividly feel through Huo Yuhao¡¯s shared Spiritual Detection that his spiritual power had locked onto a piece of floating ice on the ocean¡¯s surface directly beneath them.

    Huo Yuhao clenched his left fist in the next moment as that piece of floating ice exploded into a million pieces with a loud boom, and tremendous explosive forces carried air waves and seawater into the sky.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already around three hundred meters from the ocean¡¯s surface with their incredibly high speed.

    That air resistance pushed upwards as Tang Wutong¡¯s wings caught the wind and slowed them down. That air resistance dispelled their speedy plummet before they fell towards the ocean¡¯s surface once more.

    Falling from three hundred meters was not a big deal for formidable individuals as powerful as they were.

    Tang Wutong frowned as her eyes widened into a re at the herd of Sea Devilwalruses. An intense aura appeared around her as she raised her right hand, and her Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her grasp.

    It was no wonder that she was angry. They were just flying forward, minding their own business, and had no intention to provoke those walruses at all. Yet, these Sea Devilwalruses had suddenly attacked them, and that attack could have been fatal. If they didn¡¯t have a suitable response, falling from such an altitude would undoubtedly be fatal, because there were so many icebergs beneath them!

    The twelve Sea Devilwalruses who were blowing the golden conch shells were slightly taken aback as they watched the two of them descend peacefully. The leader howled into the sky, and several hundred walruses split into two teams to outnk Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Cold light flickered in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes as murderousness permeated the air.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong no longer attacked and killed soul beasts ever since they had fused with their spirits. However, they couldn¡¯t just sit back and wait to die if soul beasts provoked and attacked them instead!

    ¡°Wait, Wutong.¡± Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand.

    Tang Wutong nced at him, and her murderous aura immediately dissipated. Even though she was a little arrogant and stubborn at times, and even though she waspetitive when she fought against Huo Yuhao, he was always the one making decisions when they were outside. She had to give her man sufficient respect.

    Huo Yuhao stared at thergest Sea Devilwalrus who was in the lead, and he passed a message with his spiritual power. ¡°Why are you ambushing us? We harbor no ill intentions.¡±

    ¡°All humans deserve to die!¡± That Sea Devilwalrus only had ten thousand years of cultivation, and it was clear that it didn¡¯t have the ability to speak. However, it didn¡¯t have any problem conversing through its consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao shared its response with Tang Wutong through Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao frowned and replied, ¡°Not all humans deserve to die. We have no ill intentions in our journey into the Ice Sea. We only wish to look for the Mermaids. You have attacked us so rashly. Aren¡¯t you afraid of bringing disaster to your tribe?¡±

    Thergest walrus howled furiously. It waved the golden conch in its front limb strongly as that deep humming sound could be heard once more.

    ¡°All of you have to die! You dare toe here to find the Mermaids. All of you must die foring into the Ice Sea!¡± The walrus¡¯ speech was a little incoherent, but Huo Yuhao could clearly sense the intense hostilitying from it.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t here to be enemies with the aquatic soul beasts. On the contrary, he was hoping that he could establish a rtionship with the aquatic soul beasts like the one he had with the Great Star Dou Forest. If that was possible, then humans would have many more choices for Spirits. More soul masters would then choose Spirits, and they wouldn¡¯t have to kill soul beasts for soul rings.

    Therefore, he suppressed the anger in his heart as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make this mistake. I don¡¯t wish to kill or harm your tribesmen.¡±

    The Sea Devilwalruses had formed a circle around them in this moment, and they were moving toward Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong swiftly. Several walruses flickered with blue light as they sted ice bullets at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    These ice bullets were icy-blue, and there were very evident and intense soul power undtions as they zipped across the sky.

    Those were Ice Explosion Shells! That was one of the Sea Devilwarlrus¡¯ signature soul skills, and also considered their innate talent.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently when he realized that persuading them was futile. He increased his Spiritual Detection¡¯s range as he epassed all the walruses within it.

    Something that astonished all the walruses happened immediately afterwards.

    The Ice Explosion Shells that were flying toward Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong froze at the same time, and every single one detonated in the sky as they exploded into countless ice particles in all directions.

    The tiny particles of ice whooshed through the air, and they actually condensed into snowkes as they started to dance as a blizzard erupted from within.

    This blizzard came all too suddenly and too vigorously. The twelve Sea Devilwalruses hadn¡¯t even reacted as the blizzard swept their tribesmen into the air.

    Several hundred walruses danced and spun around in the sky, and they all screamed and hollered in shock and panic.

    The twelve leading walruses were stunned. They could almost see their tribesmen being mutted and eviscerated in the blizzard.

    Their enemy was so powerful. This was something they hadn¡¯t expected at all.

    Tang Wutong turned her head and nced at Huo Yuhao. She could see that his eighth soul ring was glowing. Huo Yuhao was using the Ice Bear¡¯s Blizzard. He wasn¡¯t using his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. He chose to use Blizzard instead because Blizzard was more explosive. However, its temperature wasn¡¯t as low as his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    The walruses which had surrounded and attacked them were all instantly swept away. Furthermore, the blizzard was starting to move towards the twelve leading walruses.

    Those twelve walruses werepletely taken aback. This was a frightening attack that was entirely like a cosmological phenomenon, and they couldn¡¯t even begin to think of resisting it.

    The walruses began to howl furiously after their momentary shock, and they sted bullets of ice at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong again and again. However, these bullets detonated by themselves not long after they were fired, and they couldn¡¯te close to Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong at all.

    The blizzard had arrived, and every single one of those twelve walruses lost all hope.

    But in the next moment, they realized to their surprise that the blizzard didn¡¯t attack them at all when it arrived. The walruses hadn¡¯t even reacted when the blizzard began to settle down, and Sea Devilwalruses drifted down from the sky on snowkes one after another as theynded stably next to them. Every single walrus was still in fear and panic, but they weren¡¯t hurt at all as theynded.

    There wasn¡¯t a single missing walrus when they reappeared next to their leaders as the blizzardpletely disappeared, like they hadn¡¯t charged out to surround and attack Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong at all.

    The walrus leaders¡¯ expressions changedpletely. They all had at least ten thousand years of cultivation, and they already possessed a certain level of intelligence. They could naturally tell how difficult what Huo Yuhao had just done was. Controlling a soul skill to such an extent was something that they couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine.

    Even though using a blizzard to sweep all the walruses into the air was also difficult, it could be done with sufficient strength. The blizzard could even kill every single one of those walruses.

    However, controlling the entire herd to fall from the sky andnd back on the ground without being hurt at all wasn¡¯t easy. Huo Yuhao had to be precise, down to every single walrus! A capacity for control like that far exceeded their imagination.

    This human is so powerful.

    The leading walruses put down the golden conch shells in their hands at the same time, and no longer harbored any thoughts to resist Huo Yuhao. Their opponent could have annihted their entire tribe if he wanted to.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong along. They didn¡¯t go any closer to the herd, and instead, Huo Yuhao passed a message with his consciousness to thergest walrus. ¡°Now do you understand that we harbor no ill intentions? If we were hostile, we couldpletely annihte your herd.¡±

    The walrus leader roared. ¡°The Mermaids have issued a prohibition. All humans who enter the Ice Sea are enemies, and they have to be annihted. Even if you let us go, there will be other aquatic soul beasts who will deal with you.¡± This was the reply from the leader of the walruses, but he had already put down the golden conch in his hands.

    Huo Yuhao stared at the golden conch curiously and asked, ¡°What is that? Why did it make us fall from the sky?¡±

    ¡°Sacred Conch, seals the sky!¡± The Sea Devilwalrus didn¡¯t hide anything at all.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong exchanged a nce, and they could see the seriousness in each other¡¯s eyes.

    One of the greatest reasons why they were confident of venturing into the Ice Sea was because they could fly. Most aquatic soul beasts couldn¡¯t fly, and even if they could, these soul beasts couldn¡¯tpete with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong in terms of flight speed. That meant they could retreat whenever they wanted to. Sea Devilwalruses were evidently not considered extremely formidable among aquatic soul beasts, but they were equipped with those Sacred Conch Shells, which could lock down the sky. This meant that aquatic soul beasts had to have grasped and developed many simr methods and measures.

    They couldn¡¯t fight in the sky, but they could force humans or soul beasts flying through the air to drop down. It was no wonder there weren¡¯t any flying-type soul beasts in the air above this vast ocean space. Perhaps they had all gone extinct in the fight against the aquatic soul beasts.

    ¡°Farewell.¡± Huo Yuhao knew that there wasn¡¯t much reason to discuss anything with these walruses. However, their previous conflict wasn¡¯t entirely meaningless. First, they had discovered that the aquatic soul beasts had some measures to lock down the sky. Secondly, they found out about the Mermaids¡¯ resentment towards humans.

    They flew into the sky once more, but were now flying at a conspicuously lower altitude. After all, they would be at a great disadvantage if they fell after those measures that locked down the sky were used. They would be at a greater disadvantage the higher they flew.

    They maintained an altitude of five hundred meters above the ocean¡¯s surface. They wouldn¡¯t be hurt in any way if they fell from that height. Of course, the closer they were to the ocean¡¯s surface, the more trouble they could run into.

 Chapter 541.1 - Oceanic Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 541.1: Oceanic Soul Beasts</h4>

    Tang Wutong frowned as shemented, ¡°Yuhao, it seems like it¡¯s not likely that our n will turn out to be sessful!¡± She was the one who had suggested theye to the Ice Sea. But from the look of things, especially from how things had turned out with the Sea Devilwalruses, the chances of leaving with any takeaway were getting slimmer.

    Huo Yuhao consoled her, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll just ept whateveres our way. Since we were already so close to the Ice Sea, it¡¯s only right that wee here to take a look. I believe we have to me the Myriad Soul Douluo for the sour rtionship between Humans and Merfolk. Judging from the number of avenging spirits he had, he must have offended plenty of aquatic soul creatures. And we don¡¯t even know how many soul beasts he needs to kill before getting a single avenging spirit. I¡¯m not surprised that the Merfolk hate us when he chose not to spare even the descendants of the Princess of the Sea. This tension is probably the reason why Eastern Sun City has started to install soul tools to counter attacks from the aquatic soul beasts.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°From the current look of things, it¡¯s going to be very difficult for us to move around. On top of not being able to leave with anything useful, we might even find ourselves in trouble.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°With the help of the Ice and Snow Empresses, I believe the situation won¡¯t be as bad as you think. Let¡¯s look deeper, we might just find something useful. We will stop at the distance the Snow Empress told us earlier. If things truly turn bad, we¡¯ll leave right away.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Wutong nodded in agreement. With the power of theirbined abilities, they really had a good chance of escaping unscathed.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao frowned as he warned Tang Wutong. ¡°It¡¯sing again. Be careful. Don¡¯t hurt or kill any of the aquatic soul beasts.¡±

    Tang Wutong naturally understood what he meant. As long as they did not injure any aquatic soul beasts, their mission could still be sessful.

    While they were talking, a streak of grey light suddenly shot out from the ocean. In the blink of an eye, the light was already in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Because of his spiritual detection, Huo Yuhao had long been aware of the movement of this unknown entity. He pulled Tang Wutong and dodged the light as it streaked past and ascended higher into the sky before plunging back down in a parabolic arc. It found a small crevice on an iceberg and crept back into the Ice Sea.

    Even though the entity took only a split second to do all of the above, Huo Yuhao was able to see what it was because of the powerful vision granted by his Spirit Eyes.

    It was a very strange-looking fish that was shaped like a long de. It was ck, and about two meters long. It was like a bolt of lightning, and was able to move at an impossibly fast speed. If not for Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection, it might have been difficult for Huo Yuhao to dodge its attack.

    From the look of the sharpness of its aura, its attacking prowess should be more or less simr to Ji Juechen¡¯s normal sword aura. In addition, the fact that it was able tounch itself from the sea to a height of five hundred meters was a sign of the attacking power it possessed.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both shocked by what they had just seen. Once again, they had witnessed how different aquatic soul beasts were from the usual soul beasts. However, this time around, they were not able to identify the species of the soul beast.

    Before they could even mull over it, another grey streak of light appeared. This time, Tang Wutong had be the target.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they executed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track by pulling one another. Although they managed to sessfully dodge the fish¡¯s attack, Huo Yuhao was visibly worried by what had just happened.

    ¡°Holy! There are so many of these weird fish under the water. I think we need to go higher.¡± As he spoke, he increased the power of the ss 9 flying soul tool behind his back as he brought Tang Wutong to a higher altitude. These weird fish might be fast and strong, but they should have a maximum attacking range. As long as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong got to a sufficiently high altitude, they should not be a need to fear them anymore.

    However, just when they were about to ascend, a loud cracking sound caught their attention.

    A deafening cracking sound echoed outwards across the expansive sea as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong watched a gigantic iceberg shatter, revealing the dark blue seawater beneath it.

    The seawater started to be vtile as a giant whirlpool formed after the iceberg shattered. A powerful suction force was released by the whirlpool as it threatened to suck in everything around it. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt as though they were about to sink into a marsh. When Huo Yuhao tried to rev up the power of his soul tool, he realized its force had been countered by the suction force.

    At this very instant, ten of the weird de-shaped fish leapt out from the whirlpool and went straight for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. This time around, they had sealed off all possible escape routes.

    What a good ambush!Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong gasped at the same time.

    Even though the gigantic whirlpool was unable to drag them down, this was already the second type of flight disabling skill they had seen the aquatic soul beasts use. Even though it was theoretically possible for them to force themselves away from the attraction of the whirlpool, they were not only facing the problem of the whirlpool. At the same time, they had to figure out how to handle the attacks from the fish! This meant that they could not focus their energies on escaping from the pull of the whirlpool. These fish were really intelligent in the timing of their attack.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong with his right hand as she moved behind him. This would effectively reduce their surface area. Tang Wutong spread out the wings behind her back as she executed her Dragon God¡¯s Fury. With the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual detection, golden light pellets were directed toward different fish as they sped towards them.

    But the attacks from the de-shaped fish were indeed powerful. They were actually able to slice the light pellets in half upon colliding with them.

    However, Tang Wutong was no pushover either. She detonated some of the light pellets before they reached the fish, and their explosive power sted the fish away.

    The de-shaped fish were not only strong in their attacks and extremely quick, but also fairly resistant to blows. After being sted away, they were not injured in any way. All they did was fall back into the sea.

    Nheless, Dragon God¡¯s Fury had sessfully blocked the attacks from the fish, and bought precious time for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to react.

    A spark emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes as the image of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion appeared behind him. A bright jade light projected itself from his chest into the whirlpool beneath him.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± As the streak of jade light entered the whirlpool, the rapid dark blue whirlpool paused. Following which, the whirlpool gradually disappeared as a thick icy fog rose from the water and froze that area up again.

    Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath!

    Since you wanted to suck me in, I shall freeze you up!

    The de-shaped fish did not appear again, and the whirlpool was resealed. The threat seemed to have ended. However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were still visibly worried.

    Compared to the attacks from the group of Sea Devilwalruses, the attack this time round was significantly stronger. Other than the de-shaped fish underneath the water, there must have been a powerful aquatic soul beast which had started the whirlpool. By using his spiritual detection ability, Huo Yuhao was able to see this aquatic soul beast.

    When his Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath entered the seawater, the aquatic soul beast suddenly dove deeper into the water. It used the resistance of the water to neutralize the impact of Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack, and managed to escape without any injuries.

    It was a humongous blue whale, and the whirlpool was created by its blowhole. This whale was more than sixty meters long, and possessed powerful soul power. It had cultivated for at least fifty thousand years.

    And those de-shaped fish were like its minions. They followed the whale after it left. The truth was that the de-shaped fish had notunched a full-scale attack on Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong previously. The whale had over a hundred such de-shaped fish.

    While the de-shaped fish had incredible attacking power, defensive capabilities, and speed, Huo Yuhao discovered that they had a weakness. They were unable tounch another attack afterunching themselves into the air until they had returned to the sea.

    Every entity would naturally be restricted by thews of nature. Even the powerful de-shaped fish were no exception.

    Huo Yuhao mulled over what they should do next as he floated in mid-air with Tang Wutong. After a short while, he said to her, ¡°We can¡¯t go any deeper. The hostility and hatred the aquatic soul beasts have for us humans is a lot deeper than I had thought. I can¡¯t risk your safety like this. Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a very decisive individual. When he sensed that the danger in the sea ahead was unpredictable, he immediately made the decision to leave. He grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he revved the ss 9 flying soul tool to its maximum possible speed. Together, they flew back on the same path they had taken earlier.

    Tang Wutong could sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s worry as she smiled and asked, ¡°If I wasn¡¯t around, would you have continued to venture deeper?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t have. Even if you were not around, I still wouldn¡¯t have risked my life doing so because you would still be around somewhere, waiting for me. I will always think about you first before doing anything foolish. Of course, if you are referring to the time when you were missing and when I was in my worst moments, I just might have risked it and ventured further.¡±

    Tang Wutong was very touched by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words as she tightened her grip on his hand. ¡°Yuhao, do you know how happy I am to hear what you just said?¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned his head and shed her a smile. ¡°Were you touched by my words?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡± Tang Wutong stared at him with a serious look on her face. She continued, ¡°Actually, after truly falling in love with a guy, a girl would not wish for her guy to be overly outstanding or powerful. She just wants him to be safe, and to be with her forever.¡±

    As they locked eyes, Huo Yuhao nodded with an equally serious look on his face. ¡°I will take care of myself. I won¡¯t let you worry unnecessarily.¡±

    Right now, both of them were flying at a very fast speed, at least twice the speed at which they had been flying when they were venturing out into the sea. At their current speed, they should take at most an hour to return tond. No matter how strong an aquatic soul beast was, it would definitely be a lot weaker onnd. That was why they were still unable to threaten Eastern Sun City even till now.

    Just when Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were starting to rx, Huo Yuhao suddenly frowned.

    Tang Wutong immediately sensed the change in his mood. ¡°Yuhao, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Something isn¡¯t right.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered seriously.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Tang Wutong asked.

 Chapter 541.2 - Oceanic Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 541.2: Oceanic Soul Beasts</h4>

    Huo Yuhao slowed down and said, ¡°We seem to be going deeper into the Ice Sea instead of returning tond.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Tang Wutong asked. ¡°That can¡¯t be the case! From the position of the sun, we should be flying in the right direction, right?¡±

    The more Huo Yuhao thought about this, the more he felt that something was wrong. He decided to stop and close his eyes as he tried to sense his surroundings. After a short while, he opened his eyes as a worried expression formed on his face. ¡°Damn it. I think we¡¯ve been tricked.¡±

    After hearing his words, Tang Wutong tensed up as her Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her hand.

    Huo Yuhao was very worried about what had just happened. Despite his superior spiritual power, he had actually flown for close to an hour before realizing something was wrong. One could only imagine what would happen next.

    ¡°What did you discover?¡± Tang Wutong asked softly.

    Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said, ¡°I only noticed the problem now because I didn¡¯t discover anything strange. The temperature change was the only clue that alerted me.¡±

    ¡°With the speed that we were flying at, if we were heading fornd, the temperature should have increased by now. But if you pay attention to our ambient temperature, you can tell that it has decreased. It was especially significant when we just flew over that region.¡±

    After hearing his words, Tang Wutong immediately understood what he meant. ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯ve been caught in an illusion?¡± This was the only possible exnation, especially when the position of the sun told them that they were heading in the right direction. At their cultivation, it was nearly impossible for them to misjudge things like direction. The only possible answer was that they had fallen into a trap.

    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Tang Wutong asked calmly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened as he replied, ¡°We must first destroy this illusion. If not, regardless of which direction we fly in, we would only continue in the direction our opponent wants. The power of this illusion is very strong indeed.¡±

    As he spoke, a line formed of rose gold light extended from the top to the bottom of his forehead. His Eye of Destiny was slowly opening.

    The rose golden sunray patterns expanded on his forehead with the Eye of Destiny at their center.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, and used his Eye of Destiny to observe the world around him. This time, he was finally able to see something.

    Even though his surroundings seemed to be fairly calm and still, there were actually some gentle energy ripples around him. These energy ripples were of the spiritual type. As he gazed at the sky with his Eye of Destiny, Huo Yuhao was finally able to see the true position of the sun. This discovery also allowed him to finally understand the mechanism behind this illusion.

    The illusion was using spiritual power to distort their determination of the sun¡¯s position. The most incredible thing about this illusion was how it did not require a lot of spiritual power to maintain it. The changes it invoked were also very gradual and minimal. Hence, it was terribly hard to notice this illusion. Even Huo Yuhao was tricked by it.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they activated the ss 9 flying soul tools behind their backs. In the next instant, they activated the Haodong Power within their bodies as they powered their soul tools to send them speeding in the right direction at the fastest speed possible.

    However, at that instant, a cold voice rang in their ears. ¡°Since the two of you are already here, why leave so hastily?¡±

    Suddenly, dark blue light surged from the Ice Sea. It was not a wave, but pure energy ripples. The moment the dark blue light surged out, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt as if they had collided with an extremely viscous fluid. Their flying speed dropped drastically.

    Following which, the dark blue light became increasingly dense. Even though their bodies did not seem to be receiving any blows, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt as though the world had spun around, and the sky and ocean had swapped positions in the next instant.

    This was a power which could rival the authority of the heavens. Even with their incredibly high cultivations, they were unable to resist this transformation.

    All Huo Yuhao could do was keep Tang Wutong in his embrace as he tried to protect her with his body. At the same time, he activated his Invincible Barrier, as well as his Ice Empress¡¯ Armor. He was exhausting everything he had to protect them.

    The sensationsted for a few moments. When the energy ripples finally stopped, Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao felt a cold sensation on their bodies. To their surprise, they had already appeared in a deep blue world.

    This deep blue world was no special domain. It was the sea!

    Yes! In this short amount of time, their surroundings had undergone a mysterious transformation. Both of them had ended up in the sea, even though they were in the air just moments ago. Right now, both of them had an extremely worried expression on their faces.

    The ocean was the home of the aquatic soul beasts. Their flying advantage was no longer present under these circumstances. When they looked up, all they could see was the same dark blue color. Not a single bit of light could prate the thick dark blue water. Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes, he could not see beyond a hundred meters.

    Their bodies were being pounded by the immense water pressure and the icy currents in the sea. In this ce, they were unable to breathe, and had to suffer the impact of the water pressure. The sea had be their natural enemy as it continuously tried to pressurize and contain them.

    Tang Wutong was startled by what had happened. When she tried to budge, Huo Yuhao hugged her tighter as he kept her in his embrace.

    It was fine for cultivators at their level to not breathe for short periods of time. As he hugged Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao intensified the power of his Eye of Destiny.

    The rose gold glow illuminated the surrounding seawater, allowing Huo Yuhao to notice the hundreds of different aquatic soul beasts that were only a couple of hundred meters away from them.

    Among them were a couple of beautiful mermaids and mermen, which were in front of the other soul beasts. They were wielding long spears and unknown pieces of coral as they red at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong with much hatred.

    Huo Yuhao released his spiritual power into his surroundings as he attempted to use spiritual detection, amplified by his Eye of Destiny, to scan the furthest he could.

    He needed to find a way out before he could decide what to do next. If not, they would be trapped here with nothing to look forward to but their own deaths. With their current cultivation, they were able to rece their normal breathing with internal breathing. However, they could only maintain that for about an hour, and at the cost of a copious amount of soul power. This meant that if they were not able to escape from this ce in an hour, they would drown here.

    ¡°Humans, stop your meaningless struggle. This is our world¡ªthe great sea. The power of the ocean will not allow you to achieve anything meaningful with your spiritual power. Regardless of how strong your spiritual power is, it will still be suppressed by the ocean. This is the power of the Sea God!¡±

    A very cold spiritual intent was transmitted into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao naturally traced where the intent wasing from as he looked in that direction.

    He saw a beautiful mermaid. The mermaid was about three meters long. Her upper body was modeled after the female human anatomy. Two white shells were used to cover the private areas in front of her chest. That was all the torso apparel she had.

    She had a head of long blue hair which did not seem to float about in the water. Instead, it seemed to be frozen in ce. She was wielding a long silver spear in her hand. Her lower body consisted of a gigantic fish tail. There were many deep blue scales on the fishtail, which reflected the rose gold light from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny beautifully.

    There was a silver crown above the mermaid¡¯s forehead. In the center of the crown was a blue gem, which symbolized her status.

    Other than her, there were over a hundred merfolk present. Every single one of them was radiating powerful spiritual fluctuations. In addition, Huo Yuhao realized that all of their spiritual fluctuations were linked, like a. When he attempted to use his spiritual detection to project his spiritual power, the would repel it, resulting in him being unable to detect whaty in the distance.

    Martial soulbination skill! They were using an actual martial soulbination skill!

    A martial soulbination skill was different from a martial soul fusion skill. A martial soul fusion skill was the fusion of either different or simr martial souls to increase their power exponentially and produce an entirely different kind of power. Meanwhile, a martial soulbination skill was mainly just the sum of each other.

    Martial soulbination skills existed amongst human soul masters. But Huo Yuhao had not heard of hundreds of aquatic soul beasts executing a martial soulbination skill together.

    No wonder they were able to set a trap without me knowing¡­ No wonder they can use such an incredible power to bring Wutong and I into the ocean¡­ They were using the power of a martial soulbination skill!

    Huo Yuhao could sense that amongst the mermaids and mermen in front of him, the most powerful aquatic soul beast was the mermaid that had transmitted her spiritual intent to him. However, she was but a soul beast which had cultivated for about a hundred thousand years, and was still a fair bit away from reaching two hundred thousand years. Other than her, there were no other soul beasts that had cultivated for more than a hundred thousand years.

    Huo Yuhao was certain that no single soul beast in front of them would be able to defeat either him or Tang Wutong if they were to fight one-on-one.

    However, the situation would be entirely different if the throng of mermaids and mermen were to collectively release a martial soulbination skill. Even though the skill would not be enhanced like a martial soul fusion skill, the power would still grow to insane proportions when all their powers were stacked together.

    When the spiritual power of over a hundred mermaids and mermen was added together, it could definitely be on par with a Transcendent Douluo. Huo Yuhao instantly became very worried about the sight before him.

    ¡°My beautiful mermaids and mermen, wee in peace. We havee here to look for the Princess of the Sea to discuss some things.¡± Huo Yuhao projected his spiritual intent outwards as Tang Wutong closed her eyes and circted her soul power. She was trying to activate their Haodong Power to slow down their body processes and maintain their internal breathing. This would hopefully extend the duration which they could stay underwater as long as possible.

 Chapter 541.3 - Oceanic Soul Beasts

    <h4 ss>Chapter 541.3: Oceanic Soul Beasts</h4>

    ¡°You filthy humans, don¡¯t try to seduce us with your disgusting words. Stop resisting and we will grant you a peaceful death. If not, we will tear both of you to pieces.¡± The mermaid with the crown seemed to bear immense hatred for humans. When she was transmitting her spiritual intent, she had an intensely furious expression on her face.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°My beautiful mermaids and mermen, if you have been tracking our movements, you will have realized that we have not harmed a single soul beast since we have entered the Ice Sea. We only wish to make a mutually beneficial exchange with you. We really don¡¯t harbor any malevolent intentions.¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap! Kill them!¡± The mermaid seemed to have lost her patience as she pointed the long silver spear in her hands at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Instantly, a humongous formed by their collective spiritual power wasunched in their direction.

    Huo Yuhao was enraged by their reaction to his words. Since entering the Ice Sea, he had been trying to control his emotions. He took care to make sure he did not hurt any aquatic soul beasts. But after being repeatedly attacked by the aquatic soul beasts, he had had enough. Even the nicest soul in the world had a limit for such things.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± Huo Yuhao shed an angry stare as he hugged Tang Wutong with his left hand while lifting his right hand. An icy blue light formed in his hand.

    A ck dagger that radiated a cloudy glow appeared. An icy blue gem sparkled from the hilt of the dagger.

    Yes, it was the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger!

    After appearing, the dagger caused the temperature of the surrounding water to plunge rapidly. This drop in temperature spread outwards at an insane speed. Other than the area where Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were standing, the seawater around them started to freeze rapidly.

    By using his Ultimate Ice to activate the Morning Dew Dagger, Huo Yuhao was able to reduce the temperature of his environment to extremely low temperatures. But at the same time, the collective spiritual power of a hundred mermaids and mermen was about to hit them.

    Their spiritual power was effectively at the same level as an Ultimate Douluo. However, Huo Yuhao did not fear it. He merely pumped in more Ultimate Ice power into the Morning Dew Dagger as he tried to expand the volume of the frozen area under the sea.

    ¡°Booomm!¡± When the spiritual power reached a distance that was about ten meters from him, a mysterious barrier was formed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The martial soulbination skill released by the merfolk collided with this barrier, and the skill disintegrated instantly. It was no longer able to cause any harm to Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Th-This is impossible!¡± The mermaid with the crown cried out in disbelief. It was the first time that she had seen a human withstand the that they had collectively formed with their spiritual power. This was simply unbelievable. Judging from Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura, she felt that he was not supposed to be capable of that!

    And while she was stunned, the space around her started to distort. A mermaid that was floating beside her suddenly disappeared, and was reced by a proud and tall figure in an insidious fashion.

    At this instant, the beautiful mermaid with the crown was still shocked beyond belief. The other soul beasts were still focused on the Ultimate Ice created by Huo Yuhao. No one would have thought that there would be a change in the situation right next to the mermaid with the crown.

    Xuanwu Discement! Yes, Huo Yuhao had executed Xuanwu Discement¡ªthe soul skill which he had replicated from Xu Sanshi, and the technique which had saved his life countless times.

    Eye of Destiny, Spiritual Shock!

    After moving to the mermaid¡¯s side, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s turn to strike!

    He really did not want to harm any of the aquatic soul beasts. However, they were starting to threaten his safety. Most importantly, they were starting to threaten Tang Wutong¡¯s safety. He could never and would never allow them to harm her! Thus, he was not nning to go easy on them.

    Because everyone was focused on the rapidly expanding ice ball, no one would have thought that Huo Yuhao would leave it. They did not expect him to move closer to them.

    Just when the mermaid started to sense the impending danger, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual shock hit her.

    Because it wasunched from the powerful Eye of Destiny at such a short range, one could only imagine its power.

    The mermaid screamed in pain as her head was forced backwards. However, the crown on her head seemed to release a powerful blue glow which negated a fair bit of the impact from the spiritual shock. Nheless, she felt as if her head had exploded as her mind wentpletely nk. She momentarily lost all ability to resist .

    Indeed, Huo Yuhao had gone easy on Tang Wutong when they were duelling¡ªjust as she had urately pointed out. With his incredible control over his spiritual power, it was impossible for his soul skills to have any disjointedness. Right now, he was exhibiting his true power.

    Upon releasing his spiritual shock, the star anise had already crept out of his shoulder. Its blue light expanded to its surroundings. It seemed as though Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had been enveloped by a powerful icy blue glow.

    Star Anise Icy Coagtion!

    It was incredibly effective to execute Star Anise Icy Coagtion in the Ice Sea. Both Huo Yuhao and the star anise were surprised at the powerful effect of this soul skill. Upon releasing it, Huo Yuhao felt as though his body was about to burst. His incredible soul power seemed to be causing his body and its passageways to expand.

    Without hesitating, Huo Yuhao continued, executing the Star Anise Omnithrust.

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as its center, countless ice spikes were released in every direction, and headed for the soul beasts around him.

    The aquatic soul beasts that had been carefully selected to ambush Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were all fairly powerful. After their initial confusion, they had already regained theirposure. However, it was toote. The ice spikes were alreadying for them.

    The aquatic soul beasts frantically tried to activate their defensive soul skills in an attempt to block them. However, they discovered much to their surprise that the ice spikes did not have any pointy edges. Instead, the tips of the ice spikes were shaped like a ball. Hence, upon colliding with their bodies, the spikes simply knocked the aquatic soul beasts away without piercing into any of them.

    With the help of these two powerful soul skills, Huo Yuhao was now able to create a one-on-one situation with the mermaid with the crown.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny radiated a rose gold spark. It seemed like he was really not going to go easy on her.

    Weakness, Confusion!

    Just when the mermaid was starting to recover from the spiritual shock, she started to feel giddy. Her spiritual sea was in chaos once again.

    Huo Yuhao extended his left hand as he attempted to grab the mermaid¡¯s neck. Ayer of blue ice crystals formed automatically as they tried to block Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. It was apparent that this was her innate defensive ability.

    Unfortunately, she was going up against Huo Yuhao¡ªa soul master with Ultimate Ice.

    As Huo Yuhao suddenly clenched his fist, a loud explosion could be heard.

    The ice crystals instantly exploded as the mermaid within them let out a grunt of pain. Huo Yuhao¡¯s left hand continued to stretch forward as he grabbed her neck. He injected his Ultimate Ice soul power into her body and prevented the soul power in her body from circting. At the same time, he released five golden des from his right hand which spun around her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle! If not, I will kill her immediately!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s icy spiritual intent was transmitted to every single aquatic soul beast around him.

    As he passed this message to them, he retreated with the mermaid to the side of the ice ball he had formed from the Morning Dew Dagger.

    Because ice was less dense than water, the ice ball was bound to float upwards. As Huo Yuhao controlled the mermaid and leaned against the ice ball, he floated up with it. The most important thing for him now was to escape from the sea into the world outside, which contained fresh air. That was the only way he could continue his fight with these aquatic soul beasts.

    After being overwhelmed by the Star Anise Omnithrust, they saw how Huo Yuhao had controlled the mermaid with the crown after they had regrouped. And just as Huo Yuhao had expected, they did not dare to make a move after seeing how their leader was being held hostage.

    The mermaid with the crown had awakened by now. She red angrily at Huo Yuhao, and tried to use her spiritual power to attack him. However, she immediately realized her spiritual sea had been locked by Huo Yuhao. There was no way she could retaliate against him.

    The truth was that the mermaid¡¯s ability was actually not much weaker than Huo Yuhao¡¯s. The main reason for herck of sess was that Huo Yuhao was able to curb her abilities to arge extent.

    The collective spiritual illusion the merfolks had created was undeniably powerful. Even Huo Yuhao¡ªa soul master who specialized in spiritual abilities¡ªwas tricked by it.

    However, when it came to individual spiritual power, she was a lot weaker than Huo Yuhao. Her strongest ability was, in fact, nothing whenpared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Because of this, her fighting power became a lot weaker. Hence, she had absolutely no chance against Huo Yuhao¡¯s surprise attack.

    However, the mermaid still could not wrap her head around how Huo Yuhao was able to fend off their collective spiritual attack. Even the leader of the entire mermaid race would not have been able to take the blow head-on.How was this human able to do it?

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would never reveal how he did it. He was only able to pull it off because of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny. It pretty much granted him immunity against three spiritual attacks every day. And this immunity was absolute and unconditional.

    Previously, he had relied on this ability to survive against the humongous spiritual blows from the Evileye Tyrant. It was thest thing that Wang Qiu¡¯er had given him. Once again, it protected him at this critical moment.

    As the ice ball continued its ascent, the other soul beasts kept a good distance from it. Huo Yuhao quietly let out a sigh of relief. They would be out of the ocean soon. Once they left the ocean, their chances of staying alive would be a lot greater. By holding the mermaid hostage, Huo Yuhao had a good chance of escaping the Ice Sea unscathed.

    Previously, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong did not know how deep within the sea they were. As the ball continued in its ascent, they realized that their surroundings had only be slightly brighter. They were probably at least a couple thousand meters under the water.No wonder the pressure was so high!However, at the rate at which they were ascending, they should be able to leave the water before they ran out of breath.

 Chapter 542.1 - Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse

    <h4 ss>Chapter 542.1: Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse</h4>

    ¡°I am really sorry. I didn¡¯t want it to end like this. We really did note with any bad intentions.¡± Huo Yuhao tried his best to exin to the mermaid with the crown. Even though he did not know exactly was her status amongst the Merfolk was, he believed that she was probably a mermaid with a decent status, considering how she had already cultivated for a hundred thousand years.

    The mermaid showed no sign of forgiveness as she red back at him with hateful eyes.

    Huo Yuhao sighed after seeing how his friendly gesture was not reciprocated by the mermaid. He knew it was probably impossible to reverse her attitude towards humans. Even though he didn¡¯t know why the mermaid hated humans so much, he couldn¡¯t care less, as all he wanted to do now was bring Tang Wutong to safety. He was not so naive to believe that he could solve the sour mermaid-human rtionship by himself.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao sensed that something was wrong. His senses were particrly acute because his Eye of Destiny had been open all this time.

    The speed at which the ice ball was ascending suddenly decreased, as the small amount of light that was starting to show in the ocean disappeared.

    Shit!

    Immediately, Huo Yuhao hugged the mermaid tighter as his heart sank. He knew it was impossible for him to kill his hostage. If he were to kill her, the rest of the soul beasts would never let him leave. Right now, he could sense the transformations within the water. However, he was unable to pinpoint where exactly they wereing from. If he was unable to detect the source of the transformations, it suggested how powerful his opponent was.

    The mermaid was blushing, yet angry at the same time. It was her first time being so close to a person of the opposite gender. She had never gotten so close to a male aquatic soul beast, much less a human male.

    This human¡¯s aura is exceptionally strong. His spiritual power is especially powerful. He is probably the human with the strongest spiritual power I¡¯ve ever met.In her eyes, Huo Yuhao also had a very different scent. He did not have the same ocean smell that her peers possessed, and this was something that was quite refreshing to her. Huo Yuhao ced one of his hands around her waist as he wrapped the other hand around her neck.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not know that the most sensitive region on a mermaid¡¯s body was their neck. If he were to release his hands right now, he would realize how the mermaid¡¯s neck was flushing.

    ¡°Human, there is no way you can escape.¡±

    A mysterious energy suddenly appeared as Huo Yuhao watched the mermaid in his arms dissolve into bubbles and disappear. Following which, it seemed as though this entire region¡¯s space was sealed as all water currents stopped.

    An invincible pressure started to act on him from all directions. Huo Yuhao had been barely sustaining himself on his internal breathing, and his face grew pale after feeling the increase in pressure. He suddenly felt the possibility of his impending death. He knew he could not hold on much longer.

    A bright blue light could suddenly be seen in the middle of the seawater. It was a pir of light which came from the bottom of the sea. It shot towards Huo Yuhao and stopped at a region approximately three hundred meters away from him and Tang Wutong. Following which, two figures appeared.

    One of them happened to be the same mermaid with the crown. The other mermaid happened to be one which they had not seen before.

    This new mermaid looked very peculiar. Its size and figure was pretty simr to that of the one which wore the crown. However, her crown was golden. In fact, even the scales on her fishtail were golden. The immense pressure that was acting on Huo Yuhao came from this mermaid, which looked like a beautiful middle-aged woman.

    If their battleground was not in the ocean and Huo Yuhao was able to team up with Tang Wutong, he might have stood a chance against them. However, he was deep in the sea in his opponents¡¯ home ground. There was almost no chance that he would be able to escape today. And that was because he had already recognized the mermaid¡¯s identity.

    There was only one possible person in the entire sea who could possess such incredible power.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness!¡± Even though Huo Yuhao might not be able to move, he could still send his greetings through his spiritual intent.

    ¡°Human, why did youe to our homnd? Do you still want to pollute our Sea? You have already harmed so many of our people. Is it still not enough for you?¡± The Princess of the Sea¡¯s voice might be threatening, but she did not immediately attack Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao gave her an awkward smile. ¡° I am sorry, Your Highness. I am really not aware of what my fellow humans have done to the Merfolk. I can only vouch for myself and my partner that wee in peace. The reason why we are here is that we hope to discuss something with you. If you are willing to give me a chance to speak, I will dly allow myself to be captured and share with you what we hope to discuss.¡±

    ¡°Since you are the one who rules this sea, you should naturally know everything that happens in this area. In that case, you should know how both of us did not harm any aquatic soul beasts throughout our entire journey in the Ice Sea. We really don¡¯t have any bad intentions. I believe that there will always be good and bad people in both the human race and among the Merfolk. Even though I don¡¯t think I am a perfect person, I can guarantee that Ie in peace.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea frowned as she looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Do you really think both of you would still be alive if you had harmed my people? Tell me what you are here for. I will give you a chance to persuade me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao let out a sigh of relief. As long as he had a chance to speak, he had a chance to live.

    However, the mermaid which was wearing a silver crown interjected, ¡°No Mother, you must not give these despicable humans another chance. Have you forgotten? When they first interacted with us, they seduced us to trust them with their words. And what did they do in the end? If not for them, my sister would not have¡­¡±

    As she spoke, she, who was obviously a mermaid princess, started to tear up.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised to see how her tears streamed out in a glistening fashion before transforming into white round pearls that floated in the seawater.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, my child. Tearing up will only drain your life energy. Don¡¯t worry. I promise you I will make sure they pay for what they have done.¡± It was apparent that the Princess of the Sea was very doting towards her daughter.

    Shit!After hearing what she said, Huo Yuhao started to panic. He quickly mustered the soul power in his body as he tried to break free from her control.

    However, the Princess of the Sea definitely called the shots in the ocean. Besides, she possessed the ability of an Ultimate Douluo.

    The Princess of the Sea waved her left hand, and the seawater around Huo Yuhao started to contort vigorously, and apply immense pressure on him. It was almost as though the entire sea was her weapon.

    As Huo Yuhao tried to forcefully release his soul power and execute a soul skill, he felt a powerful spiritual energy suppress his spiritual sea and body.

    This was not just a spiritual-type soul skill, but a suppressive attack based purely on spiritual power.

    It had been a while since Huo Yuhao hadst faced an opponent who had spiritual power that was more powerful than his. The Princess of the Sea¡¯s spiritual power was beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s imagination. Perhaps only the Evileye Tyrant would be able to beat her in spiritual power.

    It was not long before the suffocating sensation returned again. Huo Yuhao knew that he could not hold it any longer. It was simply too disadvantageous for him to fight in the sea.

    Am I really going to die here? No. No way. I must bring Wutong out. Even if ites at the expense of my life, I must save her!

    In this situation which concerned Wutong¡¯s life and death, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    The sunray patterns around the Eye of Destiny on his forehead started to shine as its rose gold glow turned the surrounding seawater golden.

    Ayer of rose gold light sparkled behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back as a gigantic eye slowly opened.

    Huo Yuhao knew that there was still a slim chance that he might survive the Princess of the Sea¡¯s attack. This was because he still had the Beast God¡¯s seal on him. When he was about to die, Di Tian would definitely think of a way to save him. However, Tang Wutong did not have the same kind of protection. The thick ice that was surrounding her was starting to break under the immense pressure applied by the Princess of the Sea. The pressure would act instantly on her body the moment the ice ball caved in. By then, even if he managed to stay alive, Tang Wutong would die in the sea.

    Back when she was still Dong¡¯er, she had already left him once. Huo Yuhao had vowed to keep her out of harm¡¯s way and never put her in any form of danger again.

    As the determination in heart grew stronger, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea exploded like a geyser. A powerful golden glow expanded into the surroundings from Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. The eye that was behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back also started to be less illusory. Initially, it seemed to be purely rose gold. But as it became increasingly material, it started to be bronze, then silver, before finally turning golden.

    If Du Busi were still alive, he would have recognized this as a symptom of the second awakening of a Body Soul. In fact, a golden awakening meant that it was the highest tier and most powerful transformation!

    ¡°Huh?¡± The Princess of the Sea was surprised to see how Huo Yuhao was able to put up a fight against her spiritual power.

    How is this human who is at most twenty years old able to possess such powerful spiritual power? I can¡¯t believe my eyes!

    The Princess of the Sea¡¯s eyes lit up. Of course, she would not be giving Huo Yuhao any chance of escaping. Her eyes turned a crystal clear blue as blue ripples were released from them. These waves rolled towards Huo Yuhao in an overwhelming fashion.

 Chapter 542.2 - Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse

    Chapter 542.2: Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was a lot weaker than the Princess of the Sea when it came to soul power and cultivation. This was further exacerbated by the fact that they werepeting in the sea. The only possible way he couldpete with her was through his spiritual power. Hence, he could only watch the blue ripples envelope his entire body.

    Immediately, Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead emanated a rose gold light. He should be feeling fortunate that the Princess of the Sea had once again chosen tounch a spiritual attack at him. After all, the Merfolk were best known for their spiritual abilities.

    Once again, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Three-Eyed Golden Lion Skull of Destiny provided him immunity from the second spiritual attack of the day. It was able to block the Princess of the Sea¡¯s attack, and bought Huo Yuhao precious time to act.

    Lights started to sparkle in his Eye of Destiny as all three of Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned golden. While the Princess of the Sea¡¯s attack enveloped his body, he would escape unscathed and surprise the Princess with his attack.

    Three streaks of pure golden light were projected from his body into the seawater. In the blink of an eye, the light had already sped past all three hundred meters of seawater andnded on the Princess of the Sea¡¯s body.

    Spiritual Shock! It was a spiritual shock released when he was in his three-eyes state.

    When the three golden streaksnded on her body, the gigantic eye behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back flickered with a golden light before disappearing. In the next instant, it had silently reappeared behind the Princess.

    The Princess of the Sea instantly tossed her daughter out of the way as her body immediately turned a rose gold color¡ªthe same color as the gigantic eye.

    Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Spell!

    This was an extremely powerful ability the Huo Yuhao had developed in the moment of inspiration when his Body Soul awakened for the second time.

    This was not a soul skill but abination of his soul skills, spiritual power, soul power, and the power of destiny from the Eye of Destiny that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had given him. It was an entirely self-created soul skill whichbined all of the above.

    Even though the Princess of the Sea was incredibly powerful, she was unable to break free from the seal of the Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Spell. She could only rely on her spiritual power to defend herself from the impact of this powerful soul skill, and was unable to release any sort of power into her surroundings.

    Huo Yuhao was instantly freed from his shackles. Without hesitating, he turned around and mmed into the ice ball behind him with his left palm.

    The ice ball exploded as a path suddenly appeared.

    And a purple golden light¡ªTang Wutong¡ªemerged from the ice ball.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as both of them made a dash for the surface. Even though they were in the sea, Huo Yuhao activated the ss 9 flying soul tool behind his back as it elerated their ascent to an incredibly fast speed, simr to the de-shaped fish.

    At this instant, a piercing scream echoed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s brain. Huo Yuhao¡¯s stare immediately turned cold as he looked behind him. The mermaid with the silver crown was chasing after them. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes immediately revealed his burning desire to kill her.

    For the greater part of their journey, they had not threatened the lives of any aquatic soul beasts. In fact, they were the ones who had been threatened constantly. In the end, even the Princess of the Sea had decided to take action against them.

    Even though the Princess of the Sea was temporarily sealed, her daughter still persistently chased after them as she tried to stop them from escaping. This made Huo Yuhao terribly angry.

    ¡°Do you really think I don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s body immediately radiated a powerful murderous intent. At this instant, the Haodong Power between him and Tang Wutong had already been established.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and released a Darkgolden Terrorw towards the mermaid.

    Instantly, a gigantic w appeared at a distance of a hundred meters from him. The w was able to shatter all the surrounding seawater with its sharpness.

    Even though the mermaid was still a fair distance away, she could sense the sharpness and power of the w. Her face immediately turned pale.

    While the Merfolk were known for their spiritual gifts, they did not possess particrly outstanding defensive abilities. Even though she was a mermaid with close to a hundred thousand years of cultivation, her closebat ability was rtively weak. Hence, she was captured by Huo Yuhao fairly easily.

    Thus, as the w came towards her in a suppressive manner, the mermaid had no choice but to slow down as she controlled the surrounding seawater to improve her defense.

    Huo Yuhao made good use of this opportunity to continue elerating with Tang Wutong. However, the w did not collide with the mermaid head-on. It merely swept horizontally before hitting her as it blocked her path.

    The mermaid was surprised that her defense was not challenged by the w. Just when she was about to continue to chase after them, she realized that the Darkgolden Terrorw was able to turn itself around in the seawater and follow her. It was able to follow her in a peculiar fashion wherever she tried to move as it attempted to block her from pursuing Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    This was the first time that the mermaid had encountered a soul skill which was ¡°alive¡± even after being released.What¡¯s going on?

    Of course, she did not know that this was a result of Huo Yuhao having attained a high level of spiritual power. His spiritual power had already been given material form. When heunched the Darkgolden Terrorw, he had injected a sliver of spiritual power into it.

    The mermaid merely had to increase her speed and go around the w to escape from it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s w would not have been able to keep up with her. After all, there was only so much control the sliver of spiritual power could grant. Nheless, the w which had seemed to be ¡°alive¡± had mentally overwhelmed the mermaid to the extent that she did not attempt to try and beat it.

    Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong continued their ascent as they neared the surface of the water.

    ¡°Whoosh! Whoosh!¡± Two loud sshing sounds could be heard as both of them emerged from the sea and flew straight up into the sky.

    Tang Wutong hugged Huo Yuhao the moment they managed to get back into the sky

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was incredibly pale. After leaving the high-pressure environment within the deep sea, his mouth and nose were bleeding. His entire aura had be a lot weaker.

    ¡°Yuhao, are you okay?¡± Tang Wutong asked frantically.

    Huo Yuhao waved his hand as he attempted to reassure her that he was fine. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that I expended too much spiritual power in a short amount of time. Don¡¯t worry about me. We better leave quickly. I don¡¯t think my seal can hold the Princess of the Sea much longer.¡±

    How could Huo Yuhao create the Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Spell and escape a life-threatening situation without paying the price for it? In fact, it had taken a lot out of him for him to achieve both of those things. He was almost out of spiritual power now. The only reason why he was able to continue his ascent was that he simply had incredibly strong and powerful spiritual power.

    Tang Wutong held Huo Yuhao in her embrace as she increased the speed of their flight. Huo Yuhao breathed heavily as he tried to suppress the dizziness in his head that was trying to overwhelm him. Afterwards, he mustered his soul power and changed his martial soul.

    His Spirit Eyes were instantly reced with an aura of Ultimate Ice. At the same time, he summoned the Snow Empress.

    The Snow Empress was able to sense what had happened outside¡ªespecially after the hugemotion in his spiritual sea. A few of his spirits had already been awakened by what had happened. Huo Yuhao might have released them just now if he was able to free up some time during the battle to do just that. However, the pressure exerted on him was simply too much for him to do anything else.

    After the Snow Empress left his body, her expression also showed her disbelief at what had just happened. She had not expected the usually gentle and weing Princess of the Sea to be so inhuman and ruthless in the way she responded to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    After summoning the Snow Empress, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes as he allowed himself to fall unconscious. The Snow Empress turned to Tang Wutong before nodding. ¡°Wutong, he has only fainted because of the huge amount of spiritual energy he has used. From now on, I will control his body and cooperate with you. Yuhao¡¯s seal can only hold the Princess for a short while. There will most likely be a battle after it fails. It would be best if I can persuade the Princess to let us go. If not, we can only do our best to keep ourselves alive.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded as she revealed an equally cold stare. ¡°I will do my best to work with you, Snow Empress.¡±

    After finishing her sentence, the Snow Empress fused back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and assumed control of it.

    It was a logical decision by Huo Yuhao to select the Snow Empress to assume control of his body, because she was the spirit with the strongest spiritual power. The Snow Empress immediately drew upon his soul power to lift his right hand. The ring on his right hand lit up as crystal clear armor appeared in mid-air.

    This set of armor was deep blue. However, its color was very different from the sea¡¯s dark blue color. It was not only full of life, but also seemed to possess a primordial aura. When it appeared, it seemed to cause the surrounding temperature to plunge.

    The Snow Empress lifted her left hand and tapped gently on the armor. Instantly, the armor disassembled itself into over ten different streaks of light that fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    This was a full suit of armor that wasposed of several tes that resembled bs of dark blue crystal. Every single te was carved exquisitely as they fit perfectly with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    After donning the armor, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to have be considerablyrger. Every single te reflected the light from its surroundings. From afar, Huo Yuhao looked like a human-shaped sapphire gem as he radiated a warm blue glow.

    The Snow Empress controlled Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as she helped him put on the helmet. At this instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to be radiating an intensely cold aura. Even Tang Eutong could not help but use her soul power to inste her body from the cold.

    The Snow Empress let go of Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. After all, she was not able to use Huo Yuhao¡¯s body to perform any martial soul fusion skills and use the Haodong Power with Tang Wutong. Ultimately, she was not Huo Yuhao.

    However, after putting on this armor, the aura that Huo Yuhao was releasing had already surpassed Tang Wutong. This meant that his aura was already more powerful than that of a Titled Douluo.

    As Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, one could notice how his eyes were entirely blue. Those were the Snow Empress¡¯s eyes. The aura he was releasing continued to intensify as it steadily became stronger.

    Yes, this was the armor that Huo Yuhao and Xuan Ziwen had painstakingly researched and developed over the past two years. Xuan Ziwen had imed that this was an irreplicable super human-shaped soul tool¡ªthe Icy War God¡¯s Armor!

    The entire armor was built from the Divine Ice Crystals that Huo Yuhao had brought back the other time. There were two sets of armor. One of them was the normal version, and the other one was the one Huo Yuhao was wearing right now.

 Chapter 542.3 - Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse

    <h4 ss>Chapter 542.3: Asura Three-Eyed Godsealing Curse</h4>

    The normal version had been given to Nan Qiuqiu because Huo Yuhao would not have been able to get so many Divine Ice Crystals without her mother¡¯s help. The armor Huo Yuhao was wearing was made of Divine Ice Crystals which contained ice spirits. In other words, this set of armor possessed life energy.

    The formation arrays within the interior of the armor were all carved from Divine Ice Crystals. They were allpleted by Huo Yuhao, who had used his Ghostcarving de and Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger. Without these two items, he would not have been able to even cut the crystals.

    Huo Yuhao could not bear to wear this set of armor all the time. Because his cultivation was stillcking a bit, he did not have the ability to fully control the immense power of the armor.

    Xuan Ziwen had said that this was one of the most perfect products he had ever seen in his life. All of the diagrams and papers werepleted by Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao together. However, Huo Yuhao did all the work, Xuan Ziwen while supervised him.

    Xuan Ziwen had said that this armor could not be used by anyone else. Without an Ultimate Ice martial soul, there was no hope for a cultivator to control this armor after wearing it. At the same time, Xuan Ziwen had factored in Huo Yuhao¡¯s personal characteristics when designing the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. He had also managed to design the Spiritual Control system that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Illustrious Virtue Hall had been unable to produce sessfully despite multiple attempts.

    This Spiritual Control system¡¯s functionalities were contingent on the user¡¯s powerful spiritual ability and his or her ability to withstand spiritual pressure. These criteria made it almost impossible for any normal person to use this armor. If a normal cultivator were to attempt to connect his or her spiritual power to the system, the person would either immediately die from the shattering of his or her spiritual sea, or turn into a lunatic.

    The armor was designed with all these considerations in mind. However, Xuan Ziwen admitted that he was not sure if Huo Yuhao was able to fully harness the potential of this ss 9 soul tool. Nheless, it would at the very least be able to perform at the level of a top-tier ss 9 soul tool. With this armor, he was confident of challenging any ss 9 soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The most mystical part about the armor was its main material. It was impossible to find another armor in a million years which was built from Divine Ice Crystals with ice spirits!

    Huo Yuhao had never worn it for two main reasons. First, he was confident in his own abilities. Second, he was not confident of being able to control the armor properly. He was worried that he might identally kill a soul beast if he were to put on the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. If that were to happen, there would be no chance of repairing his rtionship with the Merfolk.

    Afterwards, both Tang Wutong and he were suddenly transported into the deep ocean. Hence, he never found an opportunity to put the armor on. But right now, under the control of the Snow Empress, he was about to put on this top-tier ss 9 soul tool outside of Tang Sect for the first time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The Snow Empress signalled Tang Wutong. Following which, she activated the flying soul tool that came along with the armor, and they sped back in the direction they came from.

    The Icy War God¡¯s Armor was a human-shaped soul tool. The biggest advantage of human-shaped soul tools was how they were aprehensive fit for their users.

    The entire design of the armor was conceptualized with closebat in mind. This was necessary to harness the powerful effects of the Divine Ice Crystal, as well as Huo Yuhao¡¯s very own Ultimate Ice martial soul¡¯s power.

    Of course, closebat, in this case, did not mean a purely physical kind ofbat. It merely meantbat within a short range.

    After flying for a couple of minutes, the sea beneath them started to be tumultuous. Waves crashed against one another with increasing intensity as the seawater reached higher and higher against the buffeting winds.

    The Snow Empress had long foreseen this, and hence, she brought Tang Wutong higher up into the sky.

    The powerful martial soulbination skill that the Merfolks had used to disce the sky and sea could only be used within a certain range. Beyond this range, the effects would be heavily reduced, or even be rendered ineffective.

    As the seawater beneath them continued to surge, the Snow Empress brought Tang Wutong to an altitude of four thousand meters. This was an altitude that normal merfolk would never be able to reach. The threat from their martial soulbination technique was naturally invalid at this height.

    The Princess of the Sea emerged from the ocean with a furious look on her face. She rode on a wave, with her gigantic fishtail swinging at the back. Her daughter stood by her side as both of them surged into the skies with the support of the seawater and waves beneath them.

    With their current cultivations, they would naturally be unable to fly. Also, when they left the seawater, their powers would be reduced drastically. Hence, they had to use the seawater to support them into the skies.

    After all, the Ice Sea was a vast sea. When the Princess of the Sea put in more power to lift herself higher, more water vapor would be released into the air, resulting in increased humidity.

    As the air became increasingly viscous and humid, the absolute speed advantage that the Ice Empress and Tang Wutong possessed disappeared. They had no choice but to slow down.

    Tang Wutong realized how both Huo Yuhao and herself had belittled the Merfolk. They might not be able to fly, but they still possessed several methods to counter flying entities.

    At this instant, streaks of grey light suddenly shot up from the surface of the sea as they sped in the direction of the Snow Empress and Tang Wutong.

    Even though Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had encountered these soul beats before, they did not know what they were.

    However, the Snow Empress knew they were called Demonic des. They were an extremely special kind of fish. Their bodies were incredibly sharp and tough. Even though they might not possess any elemental characteristics, they had incredible prative ability.

    After every attack, they had to retreat into the sea to elerate before their next attack.

    Actually, they were not supposed to be able to attack at such a high altitude. They were only able to do after the Princess of the Sea had raised the sea level.

    The Snow Empress let out a cold snort as she tapped the air with her hand. The rich water element in the air was also beneficial for entities which specialized in ice-type abilities.

    Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    Large snowkes started to materialize out of thin air as strong winds started blowing in the sky. The Demonic des which had just risen into the air were immediately blown away by the snowy winds. They were unable to get close to the Snow Empress and Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The Princess of the Sea was obviously surprised by what she had just seen. Both the Snow Empress and her were the leaders of the Extreme North. While she governed the sea, the Snow Empress governed the Extreme North Ice Field. Hence, she had definitely seen the Snow Empress execute her three ultimate techniques.

    While the Ice Sea was definitely the home ground of the Princess of the Sea, the Snow Empress could also share the home ground advantage because of its cold environment.

    ¡°Empress¡¯ Chill! How is a human supposed to know the Snow Empress¡¯ skill? Unless¡­¡± The Princess of the Sea could not believe that an entity as strong as the Snow Empress would actually be a human¡¯s soul ring.

    The attack from the sea started to subside, and the Snow Empress and Tang Wutong also stayed where they were. After all, it was almost impossible for them to breach the encirclement¡ªformed from throngs of aquatic soul beasts¡ªled by the Princess of the Sea at the Ice Sea.

    ¡°Princess of the Sea!¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ clear voice reverberated in the air. She slowly descended from the sky as she kept her gaze on the Princess of the Sea, who was floating on a wave crest.

    ¡°This voice¡­ you are?¡± The Princess of the Sea was a little confused as she stared at Huo Yuhao, who was wearing full-body armor.

    A projection flickered as the Snow Empress drifted out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before floating beside him. Following which, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned jade-green as the Ice Empress took control of his body.

    ¡°Snow Empress?¡± After seeing the Snow Empress in her material form, the Princess of the Sea was shocked beyond belief.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. It¡¯s been so long since we¡¯ve seen each other. How have you been?¡± The Snow Empress nodded politely.

    In the Extreme North, while the Ice Sea was under the jurisdiction of the Princess of the Sea, the strongest entity was still the Snow Empress. Hence, among the soul beasts of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress was still the strongest.

    The Princess of the Sea frowned. ¡°Snow Empress, why are you here? Do you know what¡¯s with this human? Please don¡¯t tell me you came here with him.¡±

    The Snow Empress nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I came here with him. We were nning to discuss some matters with you. But I did not expect the usually gentle Princess to be so aggressive as to attack us directly.¡±

    A strange expression flickered across the Princess¡¯ face. ¡°Snow Empress, are you intending to help him put in a few good words? Do you know how much harm humans have done to us¡ªaquatic soul beasts¡ªin the past few years?¡±

    The Snow Empress was stunned as she asked, ¡°How were the humans able to harm your people when all of you are in the middle of the Ice Sea? Forgive me, but I really haven¡¯t heard of this before.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea gritted her teeth angrily as she replied, ¡°Humans have been hurting us for the past few years. Two years ago, a few humans entered the Ice Sea to look for me. They were extremely powerful, and we were hopelessly naive because of our limited interactions with them. We would not actively attack them as long as they didn¡¯t hurt our people.¡±

    ¡°And when these people found me, they asked me to cooperate with them. I was very perplexed because I did not know of many matters in which it was possible for humans to coborate with us aquatic soul beasts. Driven by my curiosity, I dug deeper.¡±

    ¡°Those humans told me how they were trying to invent an entirely new cultivation method. This new method would enable humans to gain abilities which were simr to those of soul rings without killing any soul beasts. They told me how this could potentially resolve the conflict and animosity between soul beasts and humans.¡±

    After hearing what the Princess of the Sea had said, Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Even the Snow Empress was shocked by what she had just heard. Both of them looked into each other¡¯s eyes. None of them had thought that the issue would be soplicated.

    The Princess of the Sea continued, ¡°Human soul masters are often required to hunt soul beasts in order to obtain soul rings. Because we¡ªaquatic soul beasts¡ªrarelye into contact with humans, we are seldom the hunting targets of humans. Hence, we didn¡¯t possess much hatred or animosity with them. Thus, after hearing what they had to say, we became even more rxed as we inquired about the details of their n.¡±

    ¡°They said they hade up with an ability called Spirits. When dying soul beasts be spirits, their lives will be extended. In fact, the stronger the soul beast, the likelier it was for it to strengthen the human soul master and extend his or her life after it became a Spirit. In return, the soul beast was also able to extend its life. As long as it continued to live, anything was possible in the future.¡±

 Chapter 543.1 - The Sea God Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 543.1: The Sea God Descends</h4>

    ¡°The lifespans of aquatic soul beasts are very limited. If we are unable to ovee this limit, we will basically age and die. The prospect of extending our lives even for just a couple of decades would already be incredible! Besides, the thought of being able to experience the humans¡¯ world was equally enticing. Hence, we became really interested in his idea. Afterwards, those humans released a spirit for us to see. It was indeed very mystical to lose one¡¯s body, but not one¡¯s soul. It was also my first time witnessing something so special!¡±

    ¡°After thinking about it, I decided to try and coborate with them. Those people told me how there were many humans who were hoping to get some spirits. However, the soul beast would have to undergo some ceremonies, which must be conducted onnd. Those ceremonies needed some formations, and those formations could not be ced in the middle of the sea. I was too foolish back then, and believed them without any hesitation. I gathered some of the merfolk who were on the brink of death and sent them to the shore. I sent over a thousand merfolk to the shore without knowing that that would be thest time I would see them.¡±

    ¡°After a month passed, I sent a few merfolk to check with the humans. I wanted to know if the spirit ceremonies had been performed sessfully. Those humans told us how the merfolk I had sent over had all sessfully be spirits. In addition, they told me that they realized how aquatic beasts were more suitable to be spirits than normal soul beasts. The stronger aquatic soul beasts were even able to split just a sliver of their soul to be spirits. The remaining soul could still stay within its main body. After the main body died, the part of the soul which was in the human¡¯s body could continue being a spirit. It was as if it had gained an extra life. This would also allow the human which had this special spirit to live longer, or even live as long as us aquatic soul beasts. They convinced us that it would be a win-win situation if we were to hand them some of our stronger aquatic soul beasts for experimentation.¡±

    After hearing what the Princess of the Sea had said, Tang Wutong felt a chill run down her spine. She had never expected someone to use the Spirits that Huo Yuhao had researched for their own evil agenda. On top of that, they had brought trouble to the entire Merfolk race. Without asking the Princess, she already knew who these humans were.

    The Princess¡¯ eyes were full of hatred as shemented, ¡°I was so foolish. I couldn¡¯t see through their ploy, and actually agreed to their arrangements. In addition, I ordered my daughter to bring my people to the shore to assist them with their experimentation.¡±

    ¡°Those despicable humans didn¡¯t know that Merfolk royalty are able to sense each other spiritually. In addition, we can actuallymunicate with one other over long distances through spiritual means. A few dayster, my little daughter passed a message to me and told me how we had been duped by the humans. Those despicable humans lied about their ability to transfer spirits. Our first batch of merfolk had all been tricked by the humans to release their spirits before they were all made into avenging spirits. This time around, they had even nned to use the stronger members of our race to make soul beast puppets. They were really cruel and ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Even though I was shocked, I quickly assembled my people to rescue my little daughter. However, those despicable humans were ready for us. Our rescue was not only unsessful, but we also lost countless merfolk in the battle. After all, once we leave the seawater, our powers decrease drastically. In the end, I barely managed to rescue my little daughter. Even then, she had already been tortured until she was at her limit. ¡°

    When she stopped here, the Princess of the Sea and the mermaid with the silver crown were already tearing up.

    ¡°Snow Empress, tell me, how am I supposed to not hate those despicable humans? Afterwards, I regrouped my people, and weunched countless attacks on them. However, they were always able to repel our attacks with their strange weapons. Now, I have already given the order to kill any human who dares to enter the Ice Sea!¡±

    As she spoke till here, the Princess no longer tried to conceal her murderous intent.

    The Snow Empress frowned immediately.I can¡¯t believe this¡­ Now I know why the Princess of the Sea¡ªwho was usually very gentle and kind¡ªhas be so hateful. She had actually been through so many unfortunate events. It must have pained her to see her own people die, and how her own daughter almost lost her life. What could be worse than watching one¡¯s own people transform into avenging spirits, never to be reborn? Her hatred for humans is very understandable.

    Tang Wutong eximed, ¡°Your Highness, all of you have been duped. Those people aren¡¯t even the creator of Spirits. Yuhao is the one who created them.¡± As she spoke, she pointed at, Huo Yuhao who was standing beside her.

    The Princess of the Seaughed coldly and said, ¡°So are you now going to ask me if I want to coborate with you? Do you really think I will still believe you despicable humans and your stupid Spirits project? I will never agree to your requests again¡ªeven if you get the Snow Empress to ask on your behalf.¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and said, ¡°Princess of the Sea, this entire thing is a misunderstanding. Those humans who had cheated all of you are scum among the human soul masters. They are called evil soul masters. There is an organization within the Sun Moon Empire which is called the Holy Ghost Church. It consists of only evil soul masters, who employ all sorts of devilish methods to strengthen their abilities. The fellows who had transformed your people into avenging spirits have just been killed by these two humans. I can also vouch for the fact that Yuhao is the real researcher who came up with Spirits.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea was doubtful of the Snow Empress¡¯ words. ¡°How can you prove that?¡±

    The Snow Empress replied inly, ¡°Because I am the first soul beast in the entire continent which was sessfully transformed into a Spirit. I am Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Both the Princess of the Sea and her daughter eximed in disbelief. They could not fathom why a powerful soul beast like the Snow Empress would actually submit to be a human¡¯s Spirit. On top of that, they did not understand why the Snow Empress was trying to persuade them for Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Yo-You¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress stared at the startled Princess of the Sea as she sighed. Following which, she shared how she was captured by human soul masters when she was trying to rebuild herself and transform into a foetus. She then went on to exin how she bumped into Huo Yuhao, and became his Spirit.

    However, as she exined, the Snow Empress became increasingly uncertain of convincing the two mermaids. She realized how their eyes became increasingly aloof. It was apparent that they did not really believe what she was saying.

    ¡°The Spirits system that Yuhao has developed is extremely beneficial. It can drastically reduce the number of killings between humans and soul beasts. At the same time, it can also reduce the conflict and animosity between humans and soul beasts.¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± The Princess of the Sea suddenly interrupted the Snow Empress. ¡°Stop talking. Your glib tongue will not be enough to dupe me again. You can¡¯t be the Snow Empress. With the power that she has, how could she be a human¡¯s Spirit? I don¡¯t know how you humans managed to replicate her image, and even her powers. But all of you are going to die today. My little daughter is about to die, and today, all of you will join her, and keep herpany on herst journey.¡±

    As she spoke, the Princess of the Sea released a loud battle cry as she pushed her hands forward. The seawater immediately surged upwards before transforming into countless waves which rolled towards the Snow Empress, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    The Snow Empress stared coldly at the iing waves. She knew that it was no longer possible to reach a peaceful resolution. As she let out a sigh, she quickly returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and regained control over his body from the Ice Empress.

    A dark blue light instantly expanded from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body into his surroundings. This time round, it was no longer the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, but pure Ultimate Ice soul power.

    An unexpected scene unfolded before everyone¡¯s eyes. Those humongous waves suddenly froze when they about a couple of dozen meters from Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. They had transformed into thick blocks of ice in mid-air before dropping back down into the sea.

    Those were humongous ice blocks! Hence, they released a deafening sound when theynded in the water.

    This unexpected power was due to the boost provided by the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. Under the influence of the Divine Ice Crystals and the Ice Spirits within them, the armor was able to absorb ice-type elemental energy from the air and replenish the energy within the armor on its own. At the same time, it had an amplifying ability which amplified Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power by at least three times.

    Because it possessed an internal regenerative ability and external amplification ability, calling it the armor of the generation would not be an overstatement. On top of these, it possessed incredible offensive and defensive capabilities.

    As the gigantic ice blocksnded in the sea, the Snow Empress controlled Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand as she made him clench his fist. Instantly, a second loud sound could be heard. The ice blocks exploded under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control as shockwaves spread out far across the sea. All sorts of floating ice structures were immediately destroyed by the ice shards and the shockwaves. Their destruction guaranteed the destruction of their neighboring ice blocks as a chain reaction formed on the ocean¡¯s surface.

    Ice Explosion!

    This time around, Huo Yuhao was not the one who executed the Ice Explosion. This was because the person who was controlling Huo Yuhao when he clenched his fist was the Ice Empress!

    Ice Explosion was an extremely powerful ability which belonged to the Ice Jade Scorpions. Previously, when the Ice Empress chose to be Huo Yuhao¡¯s second martial soul on top of bing his soul ring, she was unable to hand this soul skill over to him. However, when it came to controlling the Ice Explosion skill, the Ice Empress was definitely better than the Snow Empress.

    Hence, she not only detonated the blocks of ice that fell from the sky, but also the icebergs within a few thousand meter radius.

    That insane explosive power instantly caused the entire expansive Ice Sea to be extremely chaotic.

    Among Huo Yuhao¡¯s five most powerful Spirits, the Ice Empress had the worst temper. The Ice Empress was infuriated after watching how the Princess of the Sea was so demanding and unreasonable even after the Snow Empress had tried to personally convince her otherwise. She could not bear to see how the Princess of the Sea threatened to kill Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Hence, the Ice Empress chose to detonate the icebergs around them. This sent the entire sea into a frenzy, which the Princess of the Sea could not turn a blind eye to. Even though both herself and her daughter would not be in trouble, the countless aquatic soul beasts in the sea would be in serious peril.

    The Princess of the Sea had no choice but to focus fully on controlling the seawater to counter the powerful explosion started by Ice Explosion. She had to contain the explosion in order to prevent it from affecting the underwater world.

    The Snow Empress hesitated for a short while before signalling Tang Wutong. Together, they flew away into the distance.

 Chapter 543.2 - The Sea God Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 543.2: The Sea God Descends</h4>

    With the ice explosions distracting the Princess of the Sea, it would be a while before she could catch up to them. The Snow Empress felt that it was unlikely that the Princess of the Sea would chase after them anymore.

    However, it seemed as though the Snow Empress had underestimated the Princess¡¯ hatred for humans. Just when they had flown out a bit, a gigantic wave was raised again as it pursued them.

    This time around, the Snow Empress was not nning to run away anymore. Huo Yuhao¡¯s dark blue eyes flickered, following which, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass emerged from his shoulder. The Ice Empress, Little Bai, and the Skydream Iceworm were also released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as they floated behind him.

    While Tang Wutong was silently standing where she was, she could sense clearly the anger boiling within the Snow Empress.

    Back when the Snow Empress was still in the Extreme North, she was probably of equal status to the Princess of the Sea. In fact, she was more powerful than the Princess of the Sea. However, the Princess did not seem to care about this, nor did she show any respect to the Snow Empress. With the ego and pride the Snow Empress had, how could she let this go so easily?

    Since you really want to fight, bring it on!

    The Snow Empress stared coldly at the Princess and her daughter, who were riding on a tall wave crest. She said coldly, ¡°Princess of the Sea, are you dead set on fighting me to the death today?¡±

    The Princess of the Sea returned an equally cold stare. ¡°Snow Empress, I don¡¯t care whether you are real or fake or some sort of Spirit. I just want you to know that my little daughter¡ªwho has the royal blood of the Merfolk flowing in her golden veins¡ªis my sessor. Now that she is about to die, the entire Merfolk race could go extinct. In that case, do you think I still have anything holding me back? These despicable humans must all die.¡±

    As she spoke, she raised her hands as she transformed the ocean around her into water arrows. These arrows went straight for the Spirits, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, who were floating in mid-air.

    ¡°Oh really?¡± The Snow Empress replied coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s see who will be the one dying today!¡±

    The Icy War God¡¯s Armor radiated a deep blue glow as the water arrows which were rapidly ascending transformed into ice crystals before falling back into the sea. The Ice Empress, who was beside the Snow Empress, pressed her hands down as some of the ice arrows changed direction, and sped downwards instead.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass released its Star Anise Icy Coagtion as it furiously absorbed the ice-type elemental energy from the air. The air above the Ice Sea was definitely not only the Princess¡¯ home ground. The ice-type Spirits alsomanded the same home ground advantage.

    Er Bai released a blinding white light from its body as the air around it started to be very vtile and violent. The Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard!

    At this point in time, winds and clouds were surging over the backdrop of humongous waves on the surface of the Ice Sea. A huge battle was about to unfold.

    The Skydream Iceworm had transformed into a golden light before appearing in front of Tang Wutong. Tang Wutong lifted her hand and reached out for the Life Reflection Shield.

    As she held the Life Reflection Shield with her left hand and the Golden Dragon Spear with her right hand, she released a powerful golden aura as she floated in mid-air. She was charging her power for the inevitable blow she would deliver.

    She might not be moving now, but once sheunched herself into the fight, she would definitely create an incredible impact.

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter seemed to have revised their strategy this time around. She sent gigantic water pirs from the Ice Sea into the sky. The pirs were aimed at both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Even though the Ultimate Ice soul power was able to freeze these pirs, the continuous water flow within them would immediately flush the ice bs into Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. There was no chance of themnding straight back into the sea.

    In addition, the Princess of the Sea was a powerful soul beast which had cultivated for over six hundred thousand years, and ruled the vast ocean. She had long seen through the fact that the Snow Empress was only relying on the strengths of the humans for this battle. Even though the Snow Empress might be able to put up a fight when it came to soul skills and other fancy abilities, she would not be able topare with the Princess of the Sea when it came to pure power. Hence, the Princess of the Sea chose the simplest method¡ªto dominate! Even though it would be very taxing on her body, she wanted to dominate Huo Yuhao¡ªwho was under the control of the Snow Empress¡ªby defeating him with herrger soul power reserves.

    On top of that, the Princess of the Sea began her melodic singing as she released rings of blue light into her surroundings. It was impossible to avoid them as they drifted towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    The Snow Empress and Tang Wutong immediately shut off their sense of hearing. However, the Princess¡¯ voice was also a form of spiritual attack. Hence, it was useless to just shut off one¡¯s sense of hearing.

    If Huo Yuhao was still awake, he would definitely know a way to stop it. However, the Snow Empress could only use Huo Yuhao¡¯s body to release her abilities. She was not able to control his spiritual power. If the Skydream Iceworm had not fusedpletely with Huo Yuhao, she might still be able to control some of his spiritual power. However, after Huo Yuhao had fused the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny with his body, she was no longer able to control his spiritual power.

    A powerful dizzying sensation started to sweep towards them. The Princess¡¯ spiritual power was simply too strong. Under the suppression of her superior soul power and the constant shockwaves of her spiritual power, the Snow Empress was unable to release her attacking power effectively. The Princess¡¯ power was definitelyparable to that of a human Ultimate Douluo.

    Because Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were unable to perform their martial soul fusion, even with the support of the Spirits, they were fighting a losing battle.

    The Princess of the Sea stared coldly at her opponents, who were being pushed back by countless blocks of thick ice. She knew that victory was imminent. Even though these humans were extremely powerful¡ªespecially when they had the help of the Snow Empress¡ªthey would not be able to stand up to her overwhelming power.

    My dear daughter! Mother will avenge you. If you really die in the future, I will use countless human lives to pray for your soul!

    The Snow Empress gritted her teeth as she tried to fend off the furious attacks which wereing her way. If not for the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, she would have long since crumbled. After all, Huo Yuhao had not even be a Titled Douluo. Even though he already possessed a soul core, it was ultimately still a spiritual-type soul core. Under such circumstances, the soul skills he could execute were very limited. The assistance provided by his Spirits were all built on the foundation of his original soul power. Even though this granted him a boost in power, this boost was ultimately limited.

    Huo Yuhao might be able to put up with the attacks for longer if he was awake and was able to use the Haodong Power with Tang Wutong. However, the Snow Empress was unable to hold off the attacks any longer. The boost provided by the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was still not able to put Huo Yuhao on par with an Ultimate Douluo!

    What do I do now? Are we really going to perish here? Huo Yuhao had just managed to establish contact with a God. There was a really good chance that he could set us free in the future. How can I just die here like this?

    ¡°Booommm!¡±

    Suddenly, a loud metallic sound could be heard. Following which, a blinding golden light appeared beside Huo Yuhao.

    After the golden light appeared, it was actually able to stop the rapidly ascending blocks of ice. No matter how the seawater tried to push it upwards, the thick block of ice just would not budge.

    This is¡­

    Everyone, including the Princess of the Sea, the Snow Empress and the Spirits, were all focused on Tang Wutong.

    Yes, this overwhelming golden light wasing from Tang Wutong¡¯s body.

    Right now, Tang Wutong had closed her eyes as a gigantic ball of purple-gold light radiated from her back. This was her eighth soul skill¡ªthe Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun.

    The Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun¡¯s huge amount of energy was highly concentrated as it continued to radiate pressure and power to block the Princess¡¯ attack.

    However, both the Snow Empress and the Princess of the Sea could tell that Tang Wutong would not be able to maintain the sun for too long. After all, it was ultimately a soul skill, and there was a limit as to how long soul masters could maintain their soul skills.

    The Princess of the Seaughed coldly after determining that Tang Wutong¡¯s soul skill was but her final struggle. She continued to inject her spiritual power into her voice as her singing became increasingly melodic. However, she did not activate her stronger soul skills.

    The more powerful a soul skill was, the likelier it was to expose the user defensively after execution. Previously, Huo Yuhao was able to neutralize her strongest attack and seal her. This left a deep impression on the Princess of the Sea. Hence, now that she had the upper hand, she was content with maintaining her lead. She was not anxious to win at all, because she knew she could oust Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao when it came to soul power.

    The Snow Empress took in a deep breath as she turned around to look at the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress gave her a gentle nod as she turned around and floated to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. The image of the Snow Empress emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and fused instantly with the Ice Empress. A powerful ice jade color light suddenly appeared, and instantly increased in intensity!

    Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses!

    This was probably theirst chance to fight to the end.

    Even though they knew how slim their chances were, they knew they had to try in order to even have a chance of surviving.

    However, no one would have expected what would happen next.

    As the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses transformed into a gigantic pir of light that pushed the thick block of ice in the air towards the Princess of the Sea, Tang Wutong chose to keep her Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun close to her body instead of assisting the Ice and Snow Empresses with their attacks. It seemed as though she had given up on attacking when the best opportunity had just revealed itself to her.

    The five Spirits were shocked by what she had just done.What is she thinking?

    Under the protection of the purple golden sun, Tang Wutong, who was floating in mid-air, tapped her forehead with her right hand. Following which, her ninth soul ring lit up!

    Even Huo Yuhao had not seen Tang Wutong use her ninth soul skill. They might share an intimate rtionship, but he had never asked her about it. After all, soul skills were the biggest secrets for soul masters. If Tang Wutong did not share her ninth soul skill with him, Huo Yuhao would never ask her about it because he respected her decision.

    But now, when they were in serious peril, Tang Wutong decided to activate her blood-red ninth soul ring for the first time.

    As the red light continued to expand into its surroundings, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress immediately understood what Tang Wutong was trying to do after seeing how the ninth ring lit up. Tang Wutong did not release the Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun to attack the Princess of the Sea. She had released it to protect herself as she used the time to execute her ninth soul skill. It was apparent that her ninth soul skill required a long time to charge up before it could be released.

    The Princess of the Sea felt her heart skip a beat as an inexplicable sense of panic hit her. She was shocked by what she was seeing. Immediately, she did not care about wasting soul power anymore as her eyes turned golden. She moved her gigantic fishtail as a golden image appeared behind her back. The image was identical to her.

 Chapter 543.3 - The Sea God Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 543.3: The Sea God Descends</h4>

    The image lifted her hands as a blue hexagonal crystal appeared in mid-air.

    Just when the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empress was about to hit her, it was blocked by this crystal. The attack disintegrated immediately, and the Princess of the Sea remained unharmed.

    ¡°Is this¡­ the Ocean Heart?¡± The Snow Empress asked in disbelief.

    The Ocean Heart was a fabled super soul skill which only Merfolk with the golden bloodline could control and use. It could grant its user immunity from any energy-based attack once. Following which, it would transfer the energy within the attack it had absorbed to the user, allowing them tobine that power with their own power for their next attack.

    As the Princess held the Ocean Heart, she neutralized the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses and absorbed its energy. Following which, her entire body turned a brilliant gold as her spiritual energy surged and caused huge waves throughout the entire Ice Sea.

    The Princess of the Sea raised the Ocean Heart high up in the sky as a blue pir of light shot straight up into the sky at Tang Wutong.

    This blue pir contained an insane amount of energy. It consisted of water-type elemental energy, Ultimate Ice energy from the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses, and the insane spiritual energy from the Princess of the Sea.

    This attack was called the Curse of the Ocean Heart! It was truly the strongest attack the Princess of the Sea was capable of.

    When the blue light was released, the entire sky above the Ice Sea darkened. Countless lightning bolts flickered in the sky, as though the sky was about to crack and fall.

    The Snow Empress and Ice Empress were both stunned by the powerful blowing their way. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass started to tremble in fear, while Little Bai¡¯s jaws dropped as it stopped its storm.

    The streak of blue light was going straight for Tang Wutong, and destroying everything that stood between it and her.

    The Snow Empress definitely knew how powerful the streak of light was. Before she became a Spirit, she was also able to kill her enemies with a single blow from her Snowless cier after setting up her domain. Unless it was truly necessary, soul beasts which possessed such high cultivation levels would never use such deadly techniques. The Princess of the Sea must have felt sufficiently threatened by Tang Wutong¡¯s ninth soul skill to have decided to use her Ocean Heart.

    One must know that the Ocean Heart would require a month to recharge before it could be used again!

    At this instant, Tang Wutong seemed to be in her own world. She appeared to bepletely oblivious to her surroundings. As the blue light continued to get closer to her, she did not show any signs of resistance.

    A golden light shed as it moved in front of Tang Wutong. It was the Life Reflection Shield, which hadnded in her hands.

    At this crucial moment, the Skydream Iceworm was the only one who was still able to keep himself clear-headed.

    It definitely knew that he would not be able to block this blow. However, he just wanted to fight for some time for Tang Wutong. At this instant, he was just thinking about all the things that had happened between Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, as well as the tribtions he had ovee with Huo Yuhao. He had no hesitation or any ulterior motives. All he wanted to do was protect Tang Wutong for that short instant for Huo Yuhao.

    And then, at that very instant, Huo Yuhao¡ªwho had been unconscious¡ªwas suddenly awakened by some mysterious energy. His eyes suddenly lit up with fear and determination.

    ¡°Dong¡¯er! Wutong!¡±

    A blinding light shed as all four Spirits were thrown aside by Huo Yuhao. He immediately nted himself before Tang Wutong just when the blue light was only three meters away from her. He extended his right hand to grab the Life Reflection Shield from Tang Wutong before swinging it out of the way.

    He turned around to face Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes slowly closed as he fell back into his unconscious state. However, his face revealed a satisfied smile.

    He did not know what the blue light was. In fact, his entire ¡°awakening¡± was purely subconscious. However, he was already satisfied with what had just happened. He was able to take the blow for his loved one. What could be more satisfying than waking up for this short instant to do that?

    The Skydream Iceworm morphed back into its human form after being tossed out of the way. Tears were already streaming down his face as he tried to control his emotions. The other Spirits rushed towards Huo Yuhao after realizing what he was about to do as they tried to block the blow for him. However, it was toote. The Curse of the Ocean Heart was already at his back.

    At that instant, the five Spirits¡¯ minds nked out. They naturally knew why Huo Yuhao would push them out of the way.

    Because they had all previously absorbed the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, the foundation of their spiritual awareness was very stable. Even if he were to die, they would still be able to live on and pursue their goals through alternate means. Their lives would not be threatened, at least in the short run. Huo Yuhao did not want them to die for him!

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter were also shocked to see Huo Yuhao put his body in front of Tang Wutong without any hesitation. They were very ufortable seeing his demonstration of love.

    This human is actually willing to sacrifice himself to save hispanions! Does he really deserve to die?

    However, it was already toote. The attack released by the Princess of the Sea had already reached Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. The Princess of the Sea did not believe that he would be able to withstand this attack. Both Tang Wutong¡ªthe human which seemed to threaten her¡ªand Huo Yuhao would most definitely disintegrate into pieces.

    When the Curse was about a foot away from Huo Yuhao, the Icy War God¡¯s Armor started to release dark blue ripples. It was trying to radiate as much Ultimate Ice as possible to resist the Curse.

    However, no matter how strong a soul tool was, its user had to be strong enough to harness its potential!

    A low humming sound could be heard from the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. It was almost as though it was crying for its owner.

    A long and loud sigh could be heard from a position in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao was thrown out of the way like a gunny sack.

    That streak of blue light that was merely inches away from his body did not manage to hit him.

    Tang Wutong floated silently in mid-air, as though she had already lost consciousness. The Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun which was behind her back had also disappeared. She closed her eyes and slept like a sleeping beauty.

    A trident which was glistening with a brilliant golden glow was suspended before her. The Curse of the Ocean Heartnded directly on the tip of the trident.

    The Princess¡¯ strongest attack¡ªwhich rivalled that of an Ultimate Douluo¡ªwas neutralized. The Princess¡¯ jaw dropped as she watched the Ocean Heart, which was in her hand, disintegrate.

    An illusory hand formed on the pole of the trident as an illusory figure appeared out of thin air.

    Even though the person was not in his actual physical form, he was instantly able to calm the entire Ice Sea when he appeared. There were no longer any ripples or waves in the entire ocean.

    He had long blue hair that resembled a waterfall. His long hair that reached his feet was the backdrop for his mighty figure and broad shoulders. The man wore a majestic blue robe, which seemed to ripple like water. If one were to pay close attention to his robe, one would lose his or her soul in the depths of the dark blue of his robe.

    Even though his handsome face hinted that he was under thirty years old, he had a pair of sunken eyes that were very alluring. His eyes seemed to look empty, yet at the same time, they appeared to epass everything in the universe. asionally, a sh of purple flickered across his eyes. It seemed to hint at the inevitable passing of beauty in our world, as well as the astounding truths of life and death.

    The Snow Empress, Ice Empress, Skydream Ice Worm, Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, and the Ice Bear King had all be frozen in mid-air after the faint figure appeared. Their spirit forms were no longer able to move.

    Huo Yuhao, who had been tossed aside was also floating peacefully in mid-air.

    The daughter of the Princess started to tremble vigorously. She lowered her head and did not dare to even steal a nce at the figure.

    The beautiful Princess of the Sea¡¯s eyes widened as the scales on her gigantic fishtail suddenly curled up. She realized she had lost all connection with the sea. Her power was decreasing at an impossible rate.

    However, she was not overly concerned by that. Her attention had already been fully absorbed by the golden trident before her, as well as the illusory figure wielding it.

    ¡°Yo-You are¡­¡± The Princess of the Sea¡¯s voice trembled, not out of fear, but because of her excitement.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt them. Bring them to your little daughter, and they will help you. Don¡¯t let hatred blind you.¡± The voice projected from the image was extremely gentle. However, in the ears of the Princess and her daughter, it was filled with authority.

    The image gently raised the trident in his hand. Following which, the trident released an unparalleled golden light. Instantly, the entire Ice Sea turned golden as the golden light rippled within and across the water. Every single aquatic soul beast in the Ice Sea felt as though they had been purified spiritually. All of their negative emotions seemed to have vanished.

    And this included both the Princess and her daughter. They found the long lost calm within their hearts, and no longer felt the hatred they had felt towards Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, and humans in general.

    The illusory image walked towards Tang Wutong as he lifted his hand and stroked her long hair dotingly. Following which, the image flickered and returned to Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead, along with the golden trident. The golden trident brand reappeared on her forehead before disappearing again.

    The golden color in the seawater slowly faded away as the five Spirits in the air slowly regained the ability to move. All of them felt as though they had just woken up from a dream.

 Chapter 544.1 - Tears of the Mermaid Princess

    <h4 ss>Chapter 544.1: Tears of the Mermaid Princess</h4>

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± Huo Yuhao was suddenly freefalling toward the ocean.

    He had been tossed quite a distance away before this, so he was rtively far from his Spirits as he was falling, while Tang Wutong was still unconscious as she hovered in midair.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± The Snow Empress eximed as she flew as fast as she could in his direction.

    The Princess of the Sea raised her right hand at Huo Yuhao, and a beam of blue light struck his body.

    ¡°No¡ª¡± The Snow Empress shouted as Huo Yuhao¡¯s other spirits pounced in his direction as quickly as they could. But how could they be faster than the Princess of the Sea, who was firing a beam of blue light at him?

    Blue light permeated the air as it swallowed Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s five Spirits could feel their souls quiver in that instant, and an unspeakable fear coursed over their bodies. They couldn¡¯t imagine how their futures would be if they lost Huo Yuhao in this moment.

    But their eyes shone brilliantly once more in the next moment.

    The blue light that enveloped Huo Yuhao¡¯s body immediately transformed into ayer of blue air bubbles that cocooned him. He stopped falling, and hovered in midair once more as it allowed the Snow Empress to jump over.

    Theyer of air bubbles didn¡¯t have any offensive or defensive capabilities, like all it could do was float. The Snow Empress almost immediately returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and controlled him.

    The murderousness in the Princess of the Sea and her daughter¡¯s eyes hadpletely vanished, and gentle blue light now shone from their bodies.

    The Princess nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Snow Empress. Looks like we did have a misunderstanding before this.¡±

    The Snow Empress reoriented herself and attempted to recall what had just happened. She felt extremely astonished and in disbelief, as her heart was still filled with fear even to this moment because she was afraid of losing Huo Yuhao. At the same time, she was also fearful of the shadow that Tang Wutong¡¯s ninth soul skill had drawn out.

    That shadow had suppressed everything around it when it appeared. It was more easily exined for Spirits because they were in their spiritual forms, and their original strength was long gone. But the Princess of the Sea and her daughter weren¡¯t like that! The Princess had more than six hundred thousand years of cultivation, and she would be ranked in the top four among the Ten Great Savage Beasts if she was ranked with the ones onnd. But she didn¡¯t have any intention to resist that shadow. What kind of soul skill was that, that it could achieve such an effect?!

    Tang Wutong had reopened her eyes by now. Ayer of bluish-golden light flickered and disappeared in the instant when she opened her eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± She screamed as well before she raced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction and hugged him. Tang Wutong was still unleashing her martial soul, but it was evident that her ninth soul ring had turned gray. One couldn¡¯t even see that it was there without inspecting her closely.

    The Princess and her daughter left the ocean¡¯s surface and flew towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Their hostility waspletely gone by now, and all that was left was an apologetic expression.

    They flew in front of Tang Wutong and bowed to her respectfully. ¡°Greetings, Messenger of the Sea God. We express our apologies for our behaviour before this. You are our beacon and guide, and we pray that the Sea God¡¯s light will shine upon us for eternity.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°Now you should understand that we don¡¯t harbor ill intentions?¡±

    The Princess nodded hurriedly and said, ¡°Are the two of you, my valued guests, willing toe into our ocean?¡±

    She could vividly remember every single word that the shadow had just said to her, and her eyes were full of eagerness and urgency as she spoke.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ voice came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as she said, ¡°It¡¯s toote for you to understand. Let¡¯s go, Wutong. Forget about them. If you hadn¡¯t unleashed that ability of yours before this, both you and Yuhao would be in the ocean feeding fish by now.¡±

    The Princess¡¯ expression changed drastically as she forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Snow Empress. Give us a chance. My daughter is about to die, and it¡¯s my fault. If you can save my daughter, I will agree to whatever price you wish us to pay.¡±

    Her voice was full of grief and agony. Her daughter beside her began to sob at the same time, and she bent down for a deep bow.

    ¡°You decide, Wutong.¡± The Snow Empress¡¯ voice became a little more friendly. They were all soul beasts after all. Furthermore, their conflict with humans that the Princess had just told her about moved her in the end.

    Tang Wutong nodded in the Princess¡¯ direction and said, ¡°Take us to your child.¡±

    The Princess was overjoyed. She bowed deeply at Tang Wutong before she raised her hands, and gentle blue light enveloped everyone. It transformed into an enormous blue air bubble before it sank into the sea.

    The Princess lived up to her name as the Ice Sea¡¯s ruler. The blue bubblended on the ocean¡¯s surface, and the seawater split around it. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of hindrance as the bubble took them deeper into the ocean. They couldn¡¯t feel a single bit of underwater pressure, and they could even breathe casually.

    The seawater¡¯s color grew dark. They could only see the things around them with the light shining faintly from the blue air bubble, but their visibility was low.

    All the aquatic soul beasts beneath the ocean automatically backed away when they felt this air bubble¡¯s aura.

    They were descending very quickly, and they only started to slow after roughly ten minutes. The depths of the ocean began to light up.

    Tang Wutong looked, and her beautiful eyes were ovee with astonishment.

    An enormous patch of buildings that resembled halls and pces were just standing there, deep beneath the ocean. They emanated faint blue colors, and lit up the surrounding several dozen kilometers. There were mermaids swimming through and around them, and every single one of these buildings was made from corals in the oceans, and all sorts of rare minerals.

    They weren¡¯t like true human structures, but they possessed the ocean¡¯s characteristics. For instance, Tang Wutong witnessed a mermaid who had juste out from a gigantic seashell that was five meters tall, and was swimming around swiftly in the ocean.

    This is the underwater world! It¡¯s magnificent.

    All the merfolk swimming around stopped when the Princess of the Sea and her daughter returned. They lowered their heads respectfully and expressed their reverence.

    The Princess waved her hand, and only then did those merfolk swim away once more. They didn¡¯t dare toe near, and only those who were especially daring would stare curiously at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong in the air bubble. Some were confused, while most felt hostile.

    The Princess controlled the air bubble and floated to some structures that werepletely made from corals. This building was also thergest one in this underwater world.

    The bubble gradually grew smaller as the two mermaids emerged from within it. They left two elongated bubbles that covered Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could breathe on their own with these bubbles around, and they wouldn¡¯t feel the seawater¡¯s pressure around them.

    ¡°My two honored guests, please.¡± The Princess used her consciousness to pass a message, and gestured at them at the same time before she went ahead to lead the way.

    This coral pce was extremelyrge. It was thirty meters tall and more than a hundred meters wide. A building of such scale was rarely seen even in the human world. This pce radiated dense soul power undtions, and the building itself possessed certain offensive and defensive capabilities. Considering how deep this pce was beneath the ocean, there was no doubt about its safety.

    The Princess and her daughter escorted Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong as they drifted inward. Of course, the Snow Empress was still controlling Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s unconsciousness was even more absolute after he blocked an attack for Tang Wutong. Even his five Spirits couldn¡¯t feel his spiritual undtions at all; he was in a deep slumber. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how costly using that Godsealing Spell was to him.

    The Princess and her daughter took them all the way into the pce¡¯s innermost regions, and stopped when they arrived at a pristinely white room that was constructed entirely from corals.

    The two mermaids were already ovee with grief and sadness in this moment, because they could clearly feel that their loved one¡¯s life force was bing increasingly weaker.

    They opened the coral door and took Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong inside.

    The room was huge, and there were all kinds of ornaments and decorations inside. There were pearls the size of human heads, shells that were translucent like crystals, and gorgeous seven-colored corals. Every single item wouldmand exorbitant prices in the human world.

    There was a bed in the center of the room. The bed was also white, and it seemed a little like jade as it emanated faint chills.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had seen something like that before. It was ice jade.

    Back when Huo Yuhao had first discovered the Clear Sky Sect, he hadpleted his Spirit fusion with the Snow Empress on ice jade, and had nearly made a grave mistake.

    There was a young mermaid lying on this bed of ice jade. She looked very simr to the other young princess, except she was a little smaller and more petite. She had flowing blue hair and a golden tail, and still radiated astonishing beauty even though she was just lying there in a deep sleep.

    However, her life force was so weak that it was almost undetectable. Her face was ghastly pale, and it carried a tinge of defeat. It appeared like her life wasing to an end.

    The Princess and her daughter sobbed uncontrobly as their pearly tears floated through the water and radiated faint white light.

    The Princess of the Sea turned around and went down on her knees toward Tang Wutong. ¡°I¡¯m begging you, please save my child. If you can save my child, I promise I will fulfill whatever request you have.¡±

    Tang Wutong arrived in front of the mermaid princess who was in a deep slumber, and she observed her condition closely before she shook her head gently and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Princess of the Sea. There¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±

 Chapter 544.2 - Tears of the Mermaid Princess

    <h4 ss>Chapter 544.2: Tears of the Mermaid Princess</h4>

    The Princess of the Sea was momentarily stunned as tears burst out from her eyes once more. This time, her tears became like golden pearls as the entire underwater world seemed to quiver from her sobbing.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible. The Sea God just said that you guys can save my child, so you definitely can. I¡¯m begging you, please save my daughter. I¡¯m willing to pay for my disrespect before this with my life.¡± The Princess was sobbing uncontrobly.

    Tang Wutong shook her head and said, ¡°Princess, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to help you, but I really don¡¯t have that ability. Perhaps, there might be something he could do if he were still awake. But he¡¯s been knocked unconscious from the battle he just had with you, and he¡¯s expended too much spiritual power.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea finally understood that she had brought this upon herself! She nced at her daughter on the ice jade bed and then at Huo Yuhao before she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°If he¡¯s consumed too much spiritual power, then I have a solution.¡±

    She raised her hand as she spoke and waved it in the water. The golden pearls that she had shed as tears gathered in front of her once more. The Princess hesitated no more, and the golden pearls glowed under her control and flew in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    A mermaid¡¯s tears were the most valuable pearls in the world, and they contained pure spiritual energy. If normal people could obtain even a single tear, their intelligence would be enhanced, and they would even find longevity from the nourishing of their spirit.

    The Princess of the Sea was queen of the mermaids, and golden pearls like that only appeared when she was in extreme grief. Every single golden pearl was part of her spiritual origin, and they would naturally return to her body if they dissipated in the ocean¡¯s water. But in this moment, she directly passed the energy in her tears to Huo Yuhao. In other words, she was fusing part of her spiritual origin with him!

    Faint golden light circled around Huo Yuhao as they gradually diffused into his body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual aura immediately grew dense, and the Snow Empress gave up control over his body as well. She allowed Huo Yuhao to absorb the Princess¡¯ spiritual power in that air bubble.

    Every golden pearlnded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead before disappearing inside.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened soundlessly after a few moments, and his translucent soul core deep inside his pupil spun rapidly as it absorbed the Princess¡¯ vast spiritual origin from those golden pearls.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core was initially as deep as it could be, and everything around it was like a ck hole. However, after absorbing that spiritual power, the dark soul core was slowly tainted with a goldenyer as its rotation slowed. However, its aura became increasingly stable.

    Cultivating soul cores was the most difficult task for soul masters. Why was it so hard to improve after bing a Titled Douluo? The reason was because a Titled Douluo had to continuously consolidate his soul core if he wished to improve his cultivation, and he had to increase his soul core¡¯s strength and stability. How difficult was that? Furthermore, this was a task that external forces couldn¡¯t help with at all in typical circumstances.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have been blessed from his misfortune. The Princess was a soul beast who could be considered one of the most adept with spiritual power in the world. Her spiritual power wasn¡¯t overbearing and dominant like the Evileye Tyrant King, but was instead filled with warmth and gentleness like the ocean¡¯s water, and these golden pearls were tears that came from her spiritual origin, so they contained her purest spiritual power. There weren¡¯t any impurities in them.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t run into any trouble throughout the fusion process, and the golden pearls greatly nourished his soul core.

    Changing a soul core¡¯s fundamental qualities through cultivation was extremely difficult. What was happening to Huo Yuhao meant his spiritual soul core wasn¡¯t at its original standard anymore, and it was going through a qualitative improvement.

    How hard was it to undergo a qualitative improvement like that at his level of spiritual power? This qualitative change would definitely be enormously helpful for him to form his second soul core. His control would be greatly improved.

    The Princess stopped after forty-nine golden pearls fused with Huo Yuhao. Her face had be a little pale, and her spiritual aura was conspicuously weaker than before.

    She would need tens of thousands of years of nourishment to recover after consuming so much of her spiritual origin. Of course, that wasn¡¯t important to the Princess of the Sea. The most important matter for her was to save her child!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was nourished so much that he finally, gradually woke up from his deep slumber.

    The first feeling he had when he opened his eyes was how clear this world was. He didn¡¯t need Spiritual Detection for everything around him to be in his senses, and that feeling was just too magical.

    Eh? Is this the underwater world?

    Huo Yuhao regained his memory as he immediately snapped his head to one side. He heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw a pair ofrge pinkish-blue eyes staring right at him.

    Huo Yuhao felt very warm and wonderful when he saw Tang Wutong¡¯s concerned eyes as she stared at him. She was most concerned about him, no matter when and where!

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Tang Wutong held his hand and gently leaned against him.

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Huo Yuhao reoriented himself before he turned towards the Princess of the Sea.

    The Princess seemed very frail, but her eyes were filled with hope as she stared at Huo Yuhao and begged, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my respected human friend. We have misunderstood you before this, and I am begging you to heal my daughter. If you can save her, the Merfolk are willing to do anything to return this favor.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what had happened, he could tell from the Princess¡¯ attitude that they should have reconciled their conflict.

    Huo Yuhao then turned to the mermaid princess lying on the ice jade bed. Of course, he understood what the Princess of the Sea was saying. That was especially so because this mermaid princess¡¯ aura had be extremely weak. It wouldn¡¯t be long before she would leave this world forever.

    ¡°Alright, let me take a look at your daughter first.¡± He didn¡¯t have time to ask about what had happened as he arrived next to the ice jade bed. The air bubble that was protecting him shifted and followed his footsteps very strangely.

    Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection, and it stretched like an enormous web over the mermaid princess.

    Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that his spiritual power seemed to have undergone another qualitative enhancement. It had be like his Purple Demon Eyes, and possessed a kind of ability that could go into very intricate detail. Furthermore, his spiritual power had be a lot more consolidated.

    Huo Yuhao inspected her closely for a while, and discovered what the mermaid princess¡¯ problem was as he frowned tightly.

    ¡°The princess¡¯ situation is not very optimistic. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the ability to heal her.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter¡¯s faces changed drastically when they heard his words, and their eyes grew dim.

    They were also very adept with spiritual power, and had already conducted all kinds of checks on their little princess. Naturally, they knew what the problem was.

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°The princess¡¯ spirit must have been severely injured. There isn¡¯t any problem with her body, but her spirit has been separated from her body. Furthermore, her spirit is fragmented and iplete, while her origin has been heavily damaged. This is the reason why her spiritual sea and her life energy are dissipating so quickly. I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t make it another day. If not for the fact that the princess¡¯ spiritual power is sufficiently strong, she might have¡­¡±

    The Princess forced back her grief and asked, ¡°Is there really nothing you can do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment. ¡°Princess of the Sea, can you tell me how she became like this? What kind of enemy hurt her? I need to know what kind of injury her spirit has suffered before I can think of a way to help her.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea hurriedly nodded before she recounted the same story she had told the Snow empress.

    Huo Yuhao immediately understood after listening to her description. ¡°It seems like the princess must have been hurt by evil soul masters. That evil soul master wanted to turn her spirit into an avenging spirit, so he used special methods to strip her soul away. He filled her spirit with intense resentment and hatred during the extraction process, as only then can the princess¡¯ soul maintain its tremendous strength after bing an avenging spirit. But he hadn¡¯tpleted his extraction process when you rescued her, and that¡¯s the cause of this current situation. Did you see what the princess was like when her soul was being stripped away? I need to know what happened, and how much of her spirit has been taken away, and which part. That¡¯s the only way I can save her.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know all that. She was like that when I rescued her, and we couldn¡¯t stay in that ce for long, so we hurried back. We thought that we would definitely have a way to save her with our own abilities, but¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao frowned and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I can only take a risk and try.¡±

    The Princess didn¡¯t hesitate at all. ¡°That¡¯s alright, just do what you need to. The child is bound to die if you don¡¯t try, and even if you fail, that¡¯s just her bad luck.¡±

    The Princess¡¯ trust made Huo Yuhao rx a little. He nodded and said, ¡°I have to find out how her soul was being stripped away. I will use abilities simr to that of an evil soul master during the searching process, so please don¡¯t misunderstand.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will protect you.¡± The Princess answered without any hesitation. She only had a single thread of hope left in her heart, and she would probably lose her child forever if she let this opportunity slip. She had already decided that this little daughter would eventually be her heir!

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He was brimming with spiritual power in this moment, and could use any spiritual-type ability very casually.

 Chapter 544.3 - Tears of the Mermaid Princess

    <h4 ss>Chapter 544.3: Tears of the Mermaid Princess</h4>

    Deep chanting sounds could be heard as a gray soul ring appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and his aura became dark and sinister.

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter would have panicked in fear if he hadn¡¯t warned them beforehand. But Huo Yuhao¡¯s words and the shadow that Tang Wutong had released before this calmed them down, and they stared earnestly at Huo Yuhao. This was theirst hope.

    The incantations were lengthy as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body radiated dense spiritual power continuously, gradually forming a gray glyph in front of him.

    This glyph was very unique. It looked like a human face, and it was still blurry in the beginning, but gradually appeared to be identical to the mermaid princess¡¯ appearance, who was still unconscious. But it waspletely gray.

    ¡°Go!¡± Huo Yuhao growled as his incantations stopped.

    The glyph that was shaped like a human face swiftly floated towards the mermaid princess, and descended andnded on her face.

    The mermaid princess¡¯ body quivered vigorously once before she began to tremble, and an illusory picture drifted out from her head.

    The image wasn¡¯trge, only half a meter in diameter. But it was clear enough for everyone to see.

    The image presented the mermaid princess, but she was tied onto a wooden frame with more than ten metal chains. Wasn¡¯t that the Myriad Soul Douluo standing in front of her?

    The Myriad Soul Douluo was chanting something, and he waved the Myriad Soul Banner in his hands continuously. Enormous avenging spirits howled from time to time as they encircled the mermaid princess.

    There were many strange tools and itemsid out around her. There were skulls, and there were other soul beasts¡¯ bones and skeletons.

    The mermaid princess cried out agonizingly again and again, and her body trembled vigorously. She was clearly in a lot of pain.

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter couldn¡¯t bear to look, and they closed their eyes.

    Time Reversal! This was a powerful necromantic spell that Electrolux had left behind for Huo Yuhao. It demanded too much from an individual¡¯s soul, which was why Huo Yuhao had never used it. He was taking a risk by attempting it today, and he didn¡¯t think that he would seed on his first try. Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power was the important guarantee so that he couldplete this spell. Of course, that was also because the mermaid princess was unconscious, and couldn¡¯t possibly resist him.

    The shadows in the image were illusory, and some were a little blurry. It was evident how much pain the mermaid princess was in back then.

    It didn¡¯t take long before another illusory shadow appeared from her head. This image was just like her own head, but it looked very sinister, as her eyes were bloodshot.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned when he saw this. He immediately recalled that, back during his fight with the Myriad Soul Douluo, wasn¡¯t this the most formidable avenging spirit in his Myriad Soul Banner?

    So, so the Myriad Soul Douluo¡¯s mermaid avenging spirit came from this mermaid princess.

    The situation in the image changed once more. The Myriad Soul Douluo seemed to be startled, and he stopped his incantations as he swung his Myriad Soul Banner. The mermaid avenging spirit was sucked into it before he walked away.

    The images stopped as the shadows dissipated, and everything returned to its original state. The mermaid princess¡¯ circumstance seemed to be worse on the ice jade bed, and her life energy was almost undetectable.

    ¡°So? Can she be saved?¡± The Princess of the Sea asked eagerly.

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible. The princess¡¯ soul has taken a fatal injury, and maybe not even a God can do anything about this. From what we just saw, that evil soul master must have taken away part of her soul. He used certain methods to frighten her, and he gave her the most intense pain and agony so that she developed all kinds of negative feelings. When these negative feelings started entering her soul, the evil soul master used special methods to extract these negative feelings and fused them with part of her soul. He then stripped away that part of her soul and transformed it into an avenging spirit. If you hadn¡¯t appeared in time, the princess might have reallypletely be an avenging spirit. If that had happened, the evil soul master would have definitely be a lot more powerful.¡±

    ¡°But even then, her spiritual origin has been damaged, and only half of her soul remains. She can¡¯t possibly survive something like this, and her spiritual sea ispletely dried up, while that is the same for her life energy. She is faced with certain death.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea fell silent when she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. Of course, she knew that his words were true. She had tried everything she could over the past few days to try and heal her daughter, but everything was futile. Huo Yuhao¡¯s description confirmed her own spections, and no matter how much she wasn¡¯t willing to admit it, she knew that it was the truth.

    ¡°Is there really nothing you can do?¡± The Princess of the Sea¡¯s other daughter, the mermaid princess with the silver crown, asked worriedly.

    Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment, then said, ¡°There is a very slim chance that perhaps I can prolong the mermaid princess¡¯ life. But I cannot guarantee that it will be sessful. Furthermore, even if I do seed, she won¡¯t be the same mermaid princess as before.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea¡¯s eyes glowed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what she bes as long as she can survive.¡± She was just a mother in this moment, and she had already given up any thought of her little daughter taking over her throne. All she wanted was for her daughter to live!

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a few moments, then said, ¡°I can try to fuse with her spirit. If I¡¯m sessful, then she will continue living as a Spirit. If I fail, then¡­ her spirit will vanish.¡±

    The Princess and her daughter¡¯s expressions changed when they heard those words.

    Her spirit would vanish! That meant she would be obliterated from the world, and would disappear forever.

    Faint light flickered as Huo Yuhao turned towards the Princess of the Sea. ¡°If we don¡¯t try this, her spirit will dissipate. You are aware of her current state, and we can¡¯t rely on any other force to keep her fragmented soul together. Her soul is like a crystal that ispletely cracked open, and part of it has been taken away. We can only use the contract so that those cracks can be pieced back together and healed. Please, make your decision quickly. The longer you drag this out, the lower our chance of sess.¡±

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Tang Wutong suddenly called his name.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to Tang Wutong. She shook her head at him, and her eyes were full of disapproval.

    They had been together for so long, and they understood each other¡¯s thoughts very well. He naturally knew why Tang Wutong would object.

    This mermaid princess who was in deep slumber had suffered so much pain and agony by human hands, and she would definitely awaken during the process.

    The most important requirement for Spirit fusion was that the soul beast had to be cooperative. Everything would be futile if that wasn¡¯t the case.

    The mermaid princess had suffered so much pain at the hands of that evil soul master. How could she cooperate with Huo Yuhao? He would have to take a very vigorous bacsh if he failed.

    The mermaid princess was a hundred thousand year soul beast, and she was also a spiritual-type soul beast. If she fought against Huo Yuhao, the bacsh would be very strong, and he would likely be severely injured! His chances of sess would be a lot smaller than any of his previous fusions.

    That was the reason why Tang Wutong objected. She believed that he was wasting his time.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head at her gently, and determination surfaced in his eyes.

    He was determined to help the mermaid princess, but that wasn¡¯t because he wanted a Spirit out of this so that he could give his Spirit Eyes its eighth soul ring. The reason he wanted to do this was because he sought understanding from these aquatic soul beasts.

    Their expedition deep into the Ice Sea had allowed him to witness how vast and formidable the aquatic soul beasts were, and he had witnessed how powerful they were.

    If aquatic soul beasts continued to view humans as enemies, then rivers would run with blood in the future. Even though the Ice Sea was within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory, this was still something that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to see. He hoped that Spirits could be spread to every corner of the earth, and that was the reason why this opportunity was so important. The Princess of the Sea would trust him if he seeded, and that would be extremely beneficial for aquatic soul beasts to joint the Spirit Pagoda¡¯s endeavors in the future. When that happened, more soul masters wouldn¡¯t need to hunt and kill soul beasts for soul rings. That was the best oue.

    So, Huo Yuhao was willing to take this risk. He could feel that his spiritual power was improving. He wasn¡¯t sure whether or not this attempt would be sessful, but he still had to try, even if it would result in him being severely injured!

    A deep voice rang out in this moment. The Princess of the Sea sniffled as she said, ¡°Alright, I agree. Please do it. You will always be our friend, no matter how this turns out.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned towards the Princess, and then at her daughter next to her. He nodded heavily in their direction before he came beside the ice jade bed.

    If Tang Wutong hadn¡¯t released her ninth soul ring, they would never trust a human. But their hostility hadpletely disappeared after that shadow appeared from her ninth soul ring, and it even dispelled all the murderousness and resentment in every other aquatic soul beast¡¯s hearts in this area.

    There was only hope in the Princess and her daughter¡¯s hearts.

    Faint light flickered as ice-cold light radiated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Deep incantations could be heard once more.

    They were at the bottom of the ocean. He was limited by his circumstances, so there was no way he could carve a magic formation to support him. The mermaid princess¡¯ situation also meant that he couldn¡¯t dy any further, and he had to begin right away.

 Chapter 545.1 - Merfolks Blessing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 545.1: Merfolk¡¯s Blessing</h4>

    This time, it was probably Huo Yuhao¡¯s least confident attempt in fusing with a Spirit, apart from the time when he had fused the Snow Empress. However, it was also his most important fusion.

    Low-pitched incantations echoed in the seawater. Huo Yuhao released gentle spiritual undtions from his body. These undtions spread towards the Mermaid on the Frigid Jade Bed, releasing a gentle aura.

    The Mermaid was deep in sleep. Her soul had been crushed and the spiritual power in her spiritual sea was close to drying up. Her soul power had already ceased to exist, and her life energy was almost fully drained. Everything pointed to the fact that she was about to die.

    However, she was still very beautiful in this state. Her giant tail still shone with a dim, golden glow.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was also dim gold. As he recited incantations, his spiritual power engulfed her body and covered her in ayer of gold. It also seemed to give her ayer of life energy.

    Soft and gentle incantations echoed continually. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body also turned golden. An ethereal projection of a hexagram array appeared underneath his feet. He was well into the recitation of his incantations.

    Tang Wutong, the Princess of the Sea and the others were all watching intently from one side. In this aquatic world, there wasn¡¯t any danger from the outside world. The real danger only came from the fusion process.

    No one knew what the result would be, but they were all praying for sess.

    Slowly, a strange aura came from the sleeping Mermaid. This aura manifested as streaks of golden light. These streaks of light were released from her head. As they were released, they crystallized, and dense soul undtions also appeared.

    The Princess of the Sea grabbed the hand of her eldest daughter tightly. The streaks of golden light were the remnants of the soul energy of her youngest daughter¡¯s soul. Once they dissipated, any indication of her youngest daughter¡¯s life would cease to exist. She would be truly dead.

    Huo Yuhao appeared as calm as could be. He gently moved his hands in the air to fit the rhythm of his incantations.

    The soul energy released from the Mermaid started to gather under his control. Slowly, it took a humanoid appearance of a human. It was the appearance of the Mermaid.

    It was just that she had no expression right now. It didn¡¯t seem any different to her sleeping self.

    The Princess of the Sea was very tense when she saw this. She knew that Huo Yuhao¡¯spression of her soul energy using his spiritual power could onlyst for some time. Once he let go, her daughter¡¯s soul energy couldn¡¯t possibly return to her body. This also meant that there was no room for regret now.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t going to back out. He only had one chance, and there wasn¡¯t any room for failure.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice became more high-pitched as he recited the incantations. His Eye of Destiny alsopletely lit up, and a beam of golden light shot out of it, striking the soul of the Mermaid.

    The gentle soul undtions started to be more intense. The Mermaid¡¯s soul started to gradually open her eyes.

    When she opened her eyes, she immediately revealed her emotions. She was even very emotional.

    Fear, it was extreme fear!

    She waspletely at a loss. She was so fearful that there was only terror, sorrow, fear, and all other types of negative emotions in her eyes.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s heart sank. She clearly knew how difficult it was to fuse with a Spirit under such conditions!

    Huo Yuhao shook a little, but he didn¡¯t stop reciting the incantations. His eyes were still fixated on the Mermaid, as he tried tomunicate with her on a spiritual level.

    The Mermaid¡¯s soul was struggling intensely to break free. Her powerful soul energy could be felt. She was struggling as hard as she could to destroy and break free from the restraints she had been ced under.

    However, she would forever leave this world if she managed to do so!

    At this moment, the Princess of the Sea and her daughter were very anxious. The Princess of the Sea really wanted tofort her daughter! However, she couldn¡¯t do so. She could do so at all! Right now, the sleeping Mermaid could only see Huo Yuhao, as she was stimted by his spiritual power. She couldn¡¯t see anyone else, and waspletely immersed in his incantations. Only Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power surrounded her, and he was the only one trying tofort her.

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± The Mermaid was struggling as hard as she could. The entire contract was shaking tremendously. Huo Yuhao¡¯s hexagram array even started to crack.

    The spiritual power of this Mermaid was very strong, even stronger than that of her elder sister. Even though only a part of her soul remained, she was still resisting so hard that Huo Yuhao was about to cave in. After all, he hadpletely let himself go as he recited the incantations. He had no ability to resist at all. He waspletely subjected to any impact inflicted on him by the other party¡¯s soul.

    Fresh blood flowed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth, nose and ears. At this point, they were just pitting their spiritual power against each other. No, they weren¡¯t fighting at all. Rather, Huo Yuhao was trying to persuade the Mermaid. If he couldn¡¯t do so, he would undoubtedly suffer a major bacsh. In addition to that, he would failpletely.

    Tang Wutong clenched her fists. At this point, no one could help Huo Yuhao. It was just a spiritual interaction. Furthermore, it had nothing to do with the strength of one¡¯s spiritual power.

    Such an equal contract could only be fulfilled if both parties were willing. Otherwise, failure was inevitable.

    Huo Yuhao was holding on as well as he could right now. This was why he was suffering from a bacsh. Otherwise, he could have given up on the contract earlier, and allowed the Mermaid¡¯s soul to dissipate.

    However, how could he possibly do that?

    The Princess of the Sea could no longer bear to watch. From the condition Huo Yuhao was in, she could tell that he was already trying his best. He couldn¡¯t do any better.My little girl, are your really fated to die like this?

    Huo Yuhao was also bing more and more dejected as time passed. The negative emotions experienced by this Mermaid were much worse than he had expected. He couldn¡¯t sense any positive emotionsing from her at all. Her negative emotions were raging. When she felt that she was a human, she immediately resisted with all her might. Under this circumstance, hanging on even for a while longer took a huge toll on him, much lesspleting the equal contract.

    What should I do? What should I do?Huo Yuhao tried to think of various solutions, but this was his first time experiencing such a situation! What kind of appropriate solution could he think of? He could only try his best tost a little longer, and hope that this Mermaid would experience a change in her emotions. That would give him an opportunity to exin himself.

    However, things didn¡¯t go the way he wanted. Not only did her emotions not show any signs of changing, but they even became more frenzied. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea started to show little cracks as it shed with her spiritual power.

    I can¡¯t hold on. I think I really can¡¯t hold on anymore.Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly to himself. He couldn¡¯t use his life to exchange for more time! There were still five other Spirits in his spiritual sea. Once there was critical damage to his spiritual sea, his five other Spirits would also be critically hurt.

    He sighed to himself. Although he was very unwilling, he also recognized that there was no other way. He could only choose to give up.

    The contract was at its peak right now. The souls of both parties were starting to interact. Even though the Mermaid greatly ostracized Huo Yuhao, their souls still had a chance to interact under an equal contract.

    This was going to be his only try. If this Mermaid didn¡¯t show any signs of improving after they interacted, Huo Yuhao would have to end this fusion. Otherwise, he might suffer irreparable injuries.

    Once their souls interacted, everything happened ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations. The Mermaid¡¯s soul immediately jumped away in fear, as if she had been greatly shocked.

    No, it¡¯s still not working. Do I really have to give up?

    Just as Huo Yuhao was feeling hopeless, the Mermaid¡¯s soul actually calmed down for a moment. Following this, she seemed to be in a slight daze, and just stared at Huo Yuhao.

    What? She¡¯s no longer attacking me? She¡¯s no longer trying to break free from me?

    Huo Yuhao was also a little perplexed. He had tried so hard earlier, but didn¡¯t achieve anything. Why was it that things were on the brink of changing now that he was about to give up?

    At this moment, ayer of white light appeared within Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul. Thisyer of white light wasn¡¯t under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. Then, it separated from his soul and drifted in mid-air.

    After this, theyer of white light expanded until it transformed into an image. It looked the same as that Mermaid!

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when he saw this. The Princess of the Sea and her other daughter were also astonished.

    This was¡­

    This was clearly her soul origin! Although only a streak of it was left, it seemed to contain something within it.

    As the white light shed, itnded on the Mermaid¡¯s body. Suddenly, she calmed down. The way she looked at Huo Yuhao also changed.

    Her gaze turned much gentler. When she looked at Huo Yuhao, she seemed to be sighing softly. Her soul also started to experience changes. Originally, it only had a face. However, it soon grew bigger, and a body started to appear. It adopted the look of a Mermaid as it drifted in mid-air.

    This¡­

    ¡°This is¡­ a Merfolk¡¯s Blessing.¡± The Princess of the Sea eximed.

    Tang Wutong was confused as she looked at the Princess of the Sea. She asked, ¡°Elder, what¡¯s a Merfolk¡¯s Blessing?¡±

 Chapter 545.2 - Merfolks Blessing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 545.2: Merfolk¡¯s Blessing</h4>

    The Princess of the Sea said, ¡°We Mermaids are known for our spiritual power. Each of us has the opportunity to offer a blessing once in our lives. The person that¡¯s blessed by us will be fortunate, and he¡¯ll forever be seen as a friend to Merfolk. If it¡¯s someone from our species, it¡¯s a show of love. This person has actually received a Mermaid¡¯s Blessing. In addition, it¡¯s from my pitiful daughter! How, how is this possible? What has happened?¡±

    Tang Wutong suddenly recalled what had happened during that fight. She was astonished as she said, ¡°I think I know what¡¯s going on. Before we came here, we teamed up to kill the evil soul master who harmed your daughter. Among the avenging spirits that belonged to him, one had the appearance of a mermaid. Yuhao used his power of purification to cleanse her. Before that mermaid avenging spirit disappeared, it released a spot of white light thatnded on Yuhao¡¯s body. Is that likely to be the Mermaid¡¯s Blessing that you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    The Princess of the Sea teared up once again. This time, her tears weren¡¯t golden. They appeared as clear-white pearls. They were tears of bliss and guilt. She felt guilty for how she had targeted Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong in the past, and blissful because her daughter was able to survive.

    The mermaid seemed to recognize Huo Yuhao after the fusion was granted a Mermaid¡¯s Blessing. She no longer appeared fearful anymore. There was only a look of kinship and gratitude in her eyes.

    The incantations and the contract continued. Without any resistance, everything was sessful

    Golden flowing light surrounded Huo Yuhao and the mermaid. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea contained five powerful Spirits as of now. In fact, it was already at its bottleneck previously. However, it was further enriched by the golden pearls. Furthermore, with the Princess of the Sea¡¯s golden pearls, his spiritual sea was extremelypatible with this mermaid.

    As their spiritual powers interacted, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel as if his spiritual power had reached a bottleneck. On the contrary, the cracks that had formed in his spiritual sea earlier quickly healed, and his spiritual sea was even expanding at a rapid speed.

    This was absolutely a delightful surprise. Was this the effect of a spiritual-type Spirit?

    Before this, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have a pure spiritual-type Spirit. This mermaid was his first.

    During the fusion process, the mermaid could also sense the memories that Huo Yuhao let go of. Her expression turned gentler and gentler. Her lower body gradually turned pure gold after she lost her soul. After this, her body started to turn into light before transforming into spots of golden light that drifted up.

    The mermaid didn¡¯t absorb these spots of golden light. When Huo Yuhao finally finished reciting his incantations, her body had already turnedpletely golden. She moved her tail slightly beforending on his shoulder.

    The bubbles that were originally around Huo Yuhao were crushed. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel suffocated at all. It was as if air had surged into his pores from all directions. In addition, he could clearly feel his spiritual power growing very quickly. It didn¡¯t seem that there was an upper limit either. His spiritual soul core expanded. The dim gold of the golden pearls earlier turned bright gold now. His entire spiritual sea grew by more than a third. In his spiritual sea, the seawater was no longer viscous, butpletely solid. The color of the seawater was also much deeper.

    His immense spiritual power spread, and even left the surface of the sea. He could sense everything around the sea and the entire underwater pce by now.

    The mermaid finally saw her mother and elder sister. There was a sorrowful look in her eyes, but there was also a look of delight now that she had gotten a new life. Right now, she wasn¡¯t stable as a Spirit yet. This was why she still couldn¡¯t speak.

    She gently moved her tail, and the golden lights that were formed from her body drifted out beforending on her elder sister.

    Suddenly, her crown turned from silver to gold, and her silver tail also turned golden.

    This was the strength of her lineage! The mermaid who had just be Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit fused the strength of her lineage and passed it on to her elder sister.

    She passed the golden Merfolk lineage of to her elder sister, so that her elder sister could continue to pass it down and be the next Princess of the Sea. This was thest thing that she had left in the sea. From now on, she was no longer part of the Merfolk, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s sixth Spirit!

    The Princess of the Sea and her daughter were both tearing up by now.

    From the memories of this mermaid, Huo Yuhao learned that she was called Li Ya, and her elder sister was called Li Jing.

    Dim light shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a smile on his face, ¡°Elder, I was lucky to have been sessful. Although her Highness cannot recover, she can at least live in a different state. As long as I¡¯m alive, she¡¯ll exist.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the ground and went into meditation. Although the mermaid was close to dying before she became his Spirit, she still carried the golden blood and lineage of the Mermaids! Her spiritual power was extremely great, even greater than her elder sister.

    Huo Yuhao fused with her as a Spirit, causing his spiritual sea to balloon. Even his soul core evolved. He needed time to digest and adapt to everything.

    White light shed, and the Snow Empress appeared out of thin air in front of the Princess of the Sea. She smiled at her and said, ¡°Princess of the Sea, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t think I¡¯m fake now, right?¡±

    The Princess of the Sea lowered her head in guilt and answered, ¡°Apologies, Snow Empress. I was blinded by hate. If not for the Sea God¡¯s warning, we would havemitted a serious error. However, I don¡¯t understand why you and the Ice Empress became Spirits of this young fellow. What¡¯s so special about him?¡±

    The Snow Empress sighed and said, ¡°If I had to guess, he¡¯s a man of destiny. All of you cane out now.¡±

    As the Snow Empress called, the other four Spirits also separated themselves from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and appeared in front of the Princess of the Sea.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°Let me introduce her first. You know Ice, so I won¡¯t say much about her. This is Skydream. In terms of cultivation, he was the strongest in the ice ins of the Extreme North. He¡¯s also the only one in the continent right now whose cultivation is above a million years.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea was stunned as she looked at the Skydream Iceworm, ¡°A million years¡­¡± As a six hundred thousand year aquatic soul beast, she clearly knew how difficult it was to achieve a breakthrough at such an advanced stage of cultivation.It¡¯s unbelievable to know that a soul beast in the ice ins can actually reach a million year cultivation.¡±

    The Skydream Icewormughed bitterly. ¡°Snow Empress, don¡¯t overpraise me. I¡¯m just food to many soul beasts. Princess of the Sea, I know you are worried about your daughter. In fact, let me enlighten you with my experience.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm recounted how he had be Huo Yuhao¡¯s first soul ring, and how the Ice Empress became his second martial soul.

    Just like the Snow Empress mentioned, the Ice Empress, Snow Empress and Skydream Iceworm¡¯s fusion with Huo Yuhao was a stroke of fate, whereas the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and Ice Bear King did it of their own ord.

    After listening to the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s ount, the Princess of the Sea finally understood why Huo Yuhao was so magical, and how he had managed toe up with Spirits, which was unheard of before.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°We didn¡¯t have any confidence when we first followed Yuhao. However, as time passed, his character and abilities earned our recognition. He¡¯s currently working towards the goal that he promised Skydream when he first fused with him. If he manages to fulfil it one day, we¡¯ll be able to rise to the heavens with him, and break free from the restraints of this world.¡±

    After hearing the Snow Empress¡¯ words, the Princess of the Sea¡¯s eyes brightened.While the Snow and Ice Empresses are taking a gamble, this young fellow¡¯s fortune has been raised to a very high standard, given the amount of strength that he has gathered. Perhaps he might really stand a chance at breaking free from the restraints of this world. When that happens¡­

    The Princess of the Sea started to be envious, and her imagination started to run wild. After a brief moment, she restrained the stroke of impulse in her heart.

    She knew that her daughter carried the hope of the Mermaids when she had fused with Huo Yuhao. While she had the desire to do the same thing, she knew that she had just reached a six hundred thousand year cultivation, and still had a long time to live. The aquatic soul beasts of the Ice Sea still needed her. Furthermore, bing a god was almost a dream! This was why she eventually restrained her desire.

    She then turned her attention to Tang Wutong, ¡°You and the Sea God are¡­¡±

    The Princess of the Sea and Li Jing weren¡¯t the only curious ones. Huo Yuhao¡¯s five Spirits were also equally curious.

    The changes in thete stages of the fight happened because of Tang Wutong. If not for that strange projection she summoned, they would all have been stranded here, and Huo Yuhao would have perished.

    Tang Wutong smiled and replied, ¡°Myst soul skill is called Descent of the Sea God.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea shuddered a little, and muttered, ¡°Descent of the Sea God. Indeed, it¡¯s indeed the Sea God!¡± She lifted her head to look at Tang Wutong once again, and saw the deep gaze in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t probe further, and only bowed respectfully to her.

    Tang Wutong returned the bow, and didn¡¯t exin further.

    The Ice and Snow Empresses looked at each other. They were both astonished as they looked at Tang Wutong.

 Chapter 545.3 - Merfolks Blessing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 545.3: Merfolk¡¯s Blessing</h4>

    Sea God¡¯s Descent? Is she actually a god? This soul skill is too strong.Even though Tang Wutong¡¯s soul ring turned grey after unleashing that soul skill, and she probably needed a lot of time to recover before being able to unleash it, it was their first time seeing a soul skill that was that powerful. What soul beast or Spirit could possibly give her such a soul ring?

    Tang Wutong settled down in the underwater world and waited for Huo Yuhao¡¯s meditation to end. Just as they were deep in the sea, a huge storm was brewing in the Sun Moon Empire.

    The Imperial Pce of the Sun Moon Empire!

    Xu Tianran was seated on his throne, and there was strong killing intent in his eyes. Hundreds of officials were kneeling down in front of him. The entire pce was filled with a tense atmosphere. No one even dared to breathe loudly.

    ¡°Are all of you aware? In just a short few days, a soul formation at the Ming Dou Mountain Range was attacked and destroyed. Following that, Oak City and Eastern Sun City were attacked and looted. The intelligence that we obtained has actually only indicated that the other party is a group of soul engineers. As for how many of them there were or what soul tools they used, it is unclear. Who can tell me where this soul engineer legion came from, and how they snuck into our borders? Or do they actually belong to us?¡±

    Xu Tianran was shouting by the time he was finished. His furious roars echoed throughout the entire pce.

    The officials were all terrified. They didn¡¯t dare to say anything impulsive in front of Xu Tianran in his state of fury.

    ¡°Military Chief, tell me! What¡¯s going on?¡± Xu Tianran red at the Military Chief, who was standing in the front row.

    The Military Chief was already more than sixty. He had no choice but to straighten his back and furrow his brow as he said, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve also been pondering this issue after receiving the news. It¡¯s likely to be the work of those from the Star Luo Empire at the border of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. After all, it¡¯s close to their empire. If they used some special method to hide from our aerial surveince soul tools andunch an all-out assault, it¡¯s possible for them toplete such an ambush.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Xu Tianran roared, ¡°Hide? How can they do that? You¡¯re the Military Chief. Don¡¯t you know how many aerial surveince soul tools we have deployed at the border? This time, all our aerial surveince soul tools were wiped clean. We¡¯ve suffered heavy losses. The attack even came from within our territories, and not from the Ming Dou Mountain Range. You say it¡¯s the work of the Star Luo Empire. Where¡¯s the proof? Where is it? How many enemies were there?¡±

    The Military Chiefughed bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s something I can¡¯t understand either. To attack such arge-scale soul formation of ours, it¡¯s important for them to be immensely strong. However, they didn¡¯t leave any traces behind when our reinforcements arrived. The guards that survived the attack only imed to have seen soul tools simr to our all-terrain self-driving forts. They were present inrge numbers too. They overwhelmed us, which led to defeat. As for where those self-driving forts disappeared to, we are also unaware. As news was passed to Radiant City, the border troops deployed almost all our aerial surveince soul tools to sweep the area, hoping to find where the problem was. However, we were disappointed. We didn¡¯t find any clues. We only found possible traces that an army might have been stationed in a patch of forest. That¡¯s all. Our enemies seem to have vanished into thin air.¡±

    ¡°What about Oak City and Eastern City? Did they also vanish into thin air?¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s fury seemed to have been restrained a little.

    The Military Chief said, ¡°Given the current situation, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s the case. We obtained more detailed intelligence from both cities. Oak City was also subjected to a simr attack. The enemy¡¯s attack was simply too much for a city like Oak City to defend against. The city was quickly looted in a short period of time. Not long afterward, Eastern Sun City was attacked. However, the soul engineer legion that attacked Eastern Sun City didn¡¯t use any self-driving forts. Rather, it was an elite, fully-equipped soul engineer legion. They were simply too strong. Even the two Titled Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church suffered at their hands. All our resources in the soul formation and warehouses in Eastern Sun City werepletely looted.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s breathing became heavier. He was panting inrge breaths. Clearly, he was enraged.

    Normally, he was able to control his emotions. However, how could he possibly remain calm after receiving so much bad news? The reason why he was furious was actually because he was terrified.

    How could he tolerate someone else in his backyard? He didn¡¯t even know the background of his enemies, and his empire had been subjected to such huge blows. It was very worrying for him.

    Right now, the Sun Moon Empire wasunching a very heavy assault on the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. At such a time, news of victory was spreading very quickly from the frontlines. Under Ju Zi¡¯s leadership, the Sun Moon Empire relentlessly attacked the other territories and achieved sess. This should be a period of sess for the nation. However, news of instability wasing from the back end.

    One, perhaps two, soul engineer legions had entered the empire. However, their aerial surveince soul tools didn¡¯t reveal anything. No one even knew how they had managed to sneak in. This soul engineer legion was extremely effective. Clearly, the empire was at great risk.

    Under such a circumstance, Xu Tianran was even gued by nightmares. How could he not be furious?

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± An elder beside the Military Chief lifted his head. He was even older, perhaps around seventy. He was the Chief Minister, the head of all the Ministers.

    ¡°Chief Minister, please speak.¡± Xu Tianran was much more courteous towards this Chief Minister. Without his support, there was no way he could have stabilized his position as Emperor.

    ¡°Your Majesty, now is not the time to be angry. We need to find this group of enemies first and destroy them at all costs. That¡¯s important to alleviate any worries at the frontlines.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded slightly. He was an anti-hero. Although things were disastrous at the back end, he didn¡¯t think of pulling Ju Zi and the army back.

    Currently, it was very possible that the soul engineer legion hailed from one of the three other empires on the Douluo Continent. He had already sent people to inform Ju Zi of what was happening, and find out whether there were any important legions that were missing at the front lines.

    If this soul engineer legion came from one of the three empires and was sent into the Sun Moon Empire, their goal would be very easy to understand ¨C restrain and destabilize the morale of the army at the front line. Once the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army retreated from the front line, the empire would have been tricked.

    Xu Tianran gestured and said, ¡°Everyone, rise. Prepare a seat for the Chief Minister.¡±

    After hearing that his tone of voice was not as furious as it was before, all the officials secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The atmosphere in the pce also rxed much more.

    The Chief Minister didn¡¯t stand on ceremony either. He had been through three Emperors, and was very well respected. As he sat and looked at the other officials, it seemed like he was looking down on them.

    ¡°What suggestions do you have?¡± Xu Tianran asked.

    The Military Chief replied, ¡°Given the current situation, we must first stabilize the north before getting rid of this group of thieves.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed bitterly. ¡°These thieves have really captured the correct timing. This is when we are the emptiest inside. We¡¯ve sent out most of our soul engineer legions for this war. Only the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion is stationed in Radiant City, as well as two other soul engineer legions defending more important sites. To counter a soul engineer legion, we need another soul engineer legion. We¡¯re a little overwhelmed now!¡±

    The Chief Minister said, ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures. I think we need to determine where this group of thieves are first before we can target them. When necessary, we should use our greatest strength.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The Military Chief reacted anxiously after hearing that. ¡°Your Majesty, Radiant City is the most important!¡±

    The Chief Minister furrowed his brow and said, ¡°If we don¡¯t use our greatest fighting strength, we¡¯ll only appear powerful. At such an important period, what other suggestions do you have if you don¡¯t adopt mine?¡±

    The Military Chief went silent. He had many suggestions, but couldn¡¯t achieve anything without the means! To unite the entire Douluo Continent, the Sun Moon Empire had gone all-in, sending out all their main fighting soul engineer legions. All types of soul tools were also being manufactured. At the same time, new soul engineer legions were also being trained. However, time was still needed for the results to be seen.

    Over the past two years, the warehouses had been depleted to advance the speed of developing soul tools. If not for the fact that resources were being shipped back from the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire would have been unable to proceed further. However, simrly, the officials realized the benefits of war after they saw the benefits of upying the Heavenly Soul Empire. This was why Ju Zi had gained a lot of recognition from leading the army.

    ¡°Military Chief, how¡¯s the training for our new army going?¡± Xu Tianran asked.

    The Military Chief replied, ¡°Currently, we are seeing progress for the four new armies that we¡¯ve been training. However, we are stillcking in equipment. Only two new armies are equipped well enough for fighting. All our factories are operating at full capacity, but we¡¯ll still need half a year for all four armies to be fully equipped.¡±

    These new soul engineer legions were all equipped with ss 4 linked soul tools, and the soul masters in these legions had to have at least three rings. This was already the best the Sun Moon Empire could do. Many soul masters were even recruited from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

 Chapter 546 - Destruction of Heavenly Soul City

    <h4 ss>Chapter 546: Destruction of Heavenly Soul City</h4>

    The Sun Moon Empire might be the best in terms of soul tools, but they had their own problems too. In terms of soul masters, there was arge difference between them and the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. If not for the fact that they had recruited a batch of soul masters from the Heavenly Soul Empire, they would probably not have been able to form these four new armies. Furthermore, many of those three-ringed soul masters had relied on medication to reach their cultivations. It wasn¡¯t stable.

    However, whether their abilities were stable or not wasn¡¯t important. The most important thing was whether they could use soul tools. Because of this, the Sun Moon Empire had used all its resources to manufacture soul tools, and hoped to quickly equip its new soul engineer legions. With these legions and their soul formations, they would be strong everywhere!

    Xu Tianran nodded. He knew it very well in his heart, and quickly said, ¡°Quickly equip the first two armies with the newly manufactured soul tools. They must be prepared to obey any orders.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡± The Military Chief acknowledged his words.

    Xu Tianran turned to his Chief Minister and said, ¡°Chief Minister, please continue.¡±

    The Chief Minister said, ¡°We have to quickly tap into our strengths if we want to find those guys. I suggest we deploy the Preparatory Troops to the north to conduct a carpet search. At the same time, we¡¯ll activate the farmers to search the wilderness. Whoever can provide satisfactory information will be greatly rewarded. We can first determine where they are before taking them out in one fell swoop!¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, I suggest that you quickly give orders to send rations to the north. Eastern Sun City and Oak City have been looted, causing rations in the north to be sorelycking. We need to supplement them quickly. Otherwise, there¡¯ll be chaos among the people.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll follow the Chief Minister¡¯s suggestions.¡±

    ¡°Report!¡± Outside the pce, an anxious shout could be heard.

    All the officials broke out into a cold sweat as they watched the reporting soldier. If he hade earlier, when Xu Tianran was still furious, his life would have been in danger!

    That soldier didn¡¯t wait outside, but charged into the pce holding a token instead. The guards outside the pce quickly gave way when they saw his token. They didn¡¯t stop him at all.

    All the officials were also astonished when they saw the token in this trooper¡¯s hand. A Flying zon!

    This so-called Flying zon was an information transmission method invented by the Sun Moon Empire. Whoever carried this Flying zon was at least a six-ringed soul engineer. He would be equipped with a powerful flying-type soul tool. Under urgent conditions, he would be allowed to use this Flying zon. It was the fastest way of transmitting information.

    Xu Tianran set a rule. As long as the messenger had a Flying zon, it had to be presented in front of him no matter when it arrived. This was even if he was sleeping in the middle of the night. Every Flying zon soul engineer had such a token. In the Sun Moon Empire, he would be given any help he needed no matter which county he passed through.

    The soul engineer quickly entered the pce and kneeled down on one knee in the middle of the hall. ¡°Your Majesty, a Flying zon from the front lines.¡±

    ¡°Report!¡± Xu Tianran became a little tense. At such a time, only Ju Zi had the right to use such an information transmission method. This also meant that this Flying zon hade from her.

    Under what circumstances would such a transmission method be used instead of long-distance transmission through aerial surveince soul tools?

    The bad news from the north had already dampened Xu Tianran¡¯s mood. He was really afraid of further bad news.

    A box that was formed using a confidential soul tool was brought in front of Xu Tianran. There was a secret marking on the box, an arrangement between Ju Zi and Xu Tianran. Only he knew how to open this box.

    After pressing the box a few times and entering a series of words, the box ¡®clicked¡¯ and opened, revealing a neatly folded piece of paper.

    At this point, all the officials were quiet. They were really afraid of bad newsing from the front lines.

    Xu Tianran opened the piece of paper. It only had two lines of writing on it. He nced at it before he stood up suddenly. As it affected his prosthetic leg, his body even shook a little before he managed to stabilize himself as he shot up from his throne.

    All the officials shuddered at the same time when he stood up. What was going on¡­

    Xu Tianran stood where he was with an indescribable,plex look on his face. After a full minute, he slowly put the piece of paper down. Then, his gaze swept across his officials.

    Even the Chief Minister knew that something big had happened. He slowly stood up from his seat too.

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°The War God Empress sends news that our army fought the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires during the wee hours of the morning, defeating them! The Imperial Family of the Heavenly Soul Empire has been wiped out, and all surviving members of the regime have been removed. The remaining troops of the Dou Ling Empire have all fled under the protection of Shrek Academy! In three days, our army will upy the entire Heavenly Soul Empire apart from Shrek City!¡±

    Inside the pce, it was so silent that one could hear a pin drop!

    The Chief Minister¡¯s beard shook, and he immediately fell to his knees. He eximed, ¡°The heavens have blessed the Sun Moon Empire!¡±

    ¡°The heavens have blessed the Sun Moon Empire. Long live His Majesty!¡± All the officials only reacted now, and they all fell to their knees.

    Xu Tianranughed. Hisughter was filled with coldness and excitement. The paper in his hand had already been crushed.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire, one of the empires with the longest history in the Douluo Continent, has been wiped out by me! The territories of the Sun Moon Empire have expanded once again! In the near future, the entire Douluo Continent will be under me. When that happens, I¡¯ll rename the entire continent the Sun Moon Continent!

    ¡­¡­

    Tang Wutong sat quietly beside Huo Yuhao and only watched him silently.

    Both of them had been here in this underwater world for some time, but she didn¡¯t know how many days had passed.

    After that mermaidpleted her Spirit Fusion, Huo Yuhao went into deep meditation, and released strong spiritual undtions from his entire body.

    Li Ya, the mermaid, was the first pure spiritual-type Spirit that Huo Yuhao had fused with. She had even been a hundred thousand year soul beast. Her spiritual origin and soul energy were strong, far beyond Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations. Although her soul was critically hurt, her fusion with Huo Yuhao still managed to upgrade his spiritual sea significantly.

    In his deep meditation, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was seething. His solid spiritual sea also started to revolve like a whirlpool. His soul core became more stable, and its internal revolutions actually slowed down by more than ten timespared to before. However, thepressed soul power in it also became ten times more viscous too.

    The tier of his spiritual strength was increasing, enabling him to bepletely immersed in his deep meditation. He even obtained the different types of secret tricks that Merfolks used to control spiritual power from Li Ya. It was a very magical feeling for Huo Yuhao. To him, this was extremely important.

    I believe eldest senior and the others must be very anxious now.Tang Wutong silently thought to herself. However, she liked this feeling for some reason. She was just silently protecting Huo Yuhao and watching him cultivate. It was a very nice and peaceful feeling.

    In this deep underwater world, no one woulde to disturb them.

    Regarding Spirits, Tang Wutong had already had a detailed chat with the Princess of the Sea about them. Since Huo Yuhao was cultivating, she reced him inpleting the mission.

    With her earlier Sea God¡¯s Descent, and how Huo Yuhao had offered Li Ya an alternative way of living, everything was very sessful. The Princess of the Sea agreed to coordinate with humans when it came to Spirit Fusion in the future. However, this was only an outlook. After all, the Ice Sea could only be entered from the Ice Sea, whereas the ice ins of the Extreme North were in the Douluo Continent.

    When Yuhao wakes up from his cultivation, he should be thrown into the war again. I wonder what the situation is like outside. The Sun Moon Empire should know what we¡¯re doing over here by now. I wonder if they¡¯ll pull their troops back. Perhaps not. After all, we¡¯ve not done enough yet.

    We haven¡¯t made contact with the spectral demine. Eldest senior and the rest must certainly be anxious. However, the warehouses are full of food. It can support three soul engineer legions for a long time. As for water, Yuhao specially constructed a reservoir when they initially entered the demine. At the same time, he used necromancy to cleanse it. Bei Bei is personally in charge of watching it. He should be able to maintain at least three months of clean water.

    Just as Tang Wutong was deep in her thoughts, she suddenly furrowed her brow, and subconsciously turned to Huo Yuhao

    The immense spiritual undtionsing from his body suddenly retracted, and his entire body shuddered.

    ¡°He¡¯s about to wake up.¡± Tang Wutong was delightfully surprised as she looked at him.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to shine extremely brightly. The bright light even caused Tang Wutong to shut her eyes temporarily and turn around. The entire underwater world turned extremely bright.

    Strong spiritual undtions were released, and a golden figure separated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    This figure was around two meters tall, and she was ravishing. The paleness and weakness from before hadpletely vanished. She had sky-blue eyes and hair, which flowed behind her back. There was a golden crown on her head. When she appeared, it seemed as if captivating music was ying in the sea.

    Yes, it was Li Ya!

    When the Princess of the Sea and Li Jing sensed this, they immediately rushed over.

    When the three of them reunited once again, they all hugged and cried.

    Huo Yuhao also finally opened his eyes now. The color of his eyes hadn¡¯t changed, and he no longer exuded bright light anymore. However, Tang Wutong sensed something indescribable when she saw his eyes again. Something in his eyes had changed. It was as if they could cut through heaven and earth.

    The surrounding seawater separated on its own, and allowed Tang Wutong to finally have a feel of the ground.

    Huo Yuhao drifted up and came in front of her, giving her an embrace. ¡°My love, sorry to have worried you.¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little astonished as she looked at him and asked, ¡°You can control seawater too?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°Of course not. But Li Ya can. She¡¯s now my Spirit. I can control some of her abilities. Take a look!¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao lifted his right arm. There was a thinyer of golden scales on it. Clearly, it was the same type of scales as were on Li Ya¡¯s tail.

    All this while, Huo Yuhao had already possessed the rest of the soul bones he needed. He even had the Darkgolden Terrorws. He onlycked a right arm bone. Li Ya had possessed thest soul bone he needed. After the fusion waspleted, he finally had a soul bone for every part of his body. This was the best a soul master could achieve.

    As Huo Yuhao had not yet be a Titled Douluo, Tang Wutong felt that her abilities were a little better than his. However, even she couldn¡¯t see through him after this fusion, even though she was the most familiar with him. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly how strong he was.

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong and only proceeded forward after the three mermaids had separated from one another. Then, he bowed to the Princess of the Sea.

    Li Ya¡¯s eyes were red. Although she wasn¡¯t nourished by the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence like Huo Yuhao¡¯s other Spirits, it was important to note that Huo Yuhao had managed to sessfully form a spiritual soul core. After Li Ya fused with him, he benefited greatly. However, his pure and immense spiritual power didn¡¯t just nourish her soul. It also enhanced it. It was crucial not to forget that there was a streak of divine sense in Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul!

    Although it was only just a little, it was still very helpful for a spiritual-type soul beast.

    Li Ya nodded gently at Huo Yuhao and she became slightly embarrassed, ¡°Thanks, Yuhao. You gave me a new life. You cleansed my hatred. You are my benefactor. I¡¯ll follow you forever.¡±

    After listening to her words, Tang Wutong felt that it was a little awkward. Fortunately, Li Ya didn¡¯t adopt the appearance of a female human. She managed to calm herself down. She clearly knew how deep Huo Yuhao¡¯s feelings were for her. Even Wang Qiu¡¯er, who looked exactly like her, couldn¡¯t win him over!

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Li Ya and smiled. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s fate that decreed you were able to survive.¡±

    The Princess of the Sea sighed and said, ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±

    As she looked at Li Ya before looking at Li Jing, who had just inherited Li Ya¡¯s lineage and whose tail had just turned golden, the Princess of the Sea let out a long sigh. This was the best result they could get, the fortunate part out of the misfortune.

    Huo Yuhao also didn¡¯t know how long he had been here. He quickly asked the Princess of the Sea, who shocked him with her reply.

 Chapter 547.1 - Repeated Blows

    <h4 ss>Chapter 547.1: Repeated Blows</h4>

    ¡°What? We¡¯ve already been here for ten days?¡± After hearing her words, Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression immediately changed.

    Afterpleting his fusion with Li Ya, he had clearly felt his spiritual power growing until its limit. Furthermore, he was also certain that his spiritual soul core had reached the tier of a Transcendent Douluo. He even wanted to use this opportunity to form his second soul core. This was because there was no safer ce than this underwater world.

    However, after listening to the words of the Princess of the Sea, he immediately removed that thought from his head. He could not dy any further. Things outside were probably much more chaotic after ten days. He didn¡¯t know what the situation was like at the front lines. He was also unable to deal any repeated blows to the Sun Moon Empire. The earlier strategy that he came up with was likely to be greatly affected. In addition, his teammates were also waiting anxiously in the demine.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t be bothered about the reluctance of the Princess of the Sea to leave her daughter right now. He quickly bade goodbye to them. Under the personal escort of the Princess of the Sea, he drifted towards the surface.

    No matter how unwilling the Princess of the Sea was, she needed to part ways with her daughter. After the pair bade each other farewell, Li Ya fused back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong unleashed their ss 9 flying-type soul tools and immediately activated them to reach their highest speed. They flew towards the Sun Moon Empire.

    Tang Wutong grabbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand tightly as she felt how tense he was. ¡°Since time has already passed, there¡¯s no point brooding over it. Although ten days isn¡¯t very short, it¡¯s also not that long over the course of a war. You don¡¯t have to be too worried either. When we return, we can immediately begin our operation.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± After this buffer period, Huo Yuhao finally calmed down. Being anxious wasn¡¯t going to solve the problem. The best way was to continue his operation.

    The return journey was much smoother thaning to the Ice Sea. The entire aquatic world treated Huo Yuhao as their best human friend because of his fusion with Li Ya.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong only took an hour before they returned to shore as they drained their soul power without any further thought.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a mysterious look on his face before he even stepped onnd. He immediately muttered a few incantations before opening the spectral door.

    Ten days had also passed in the spectral demine.

    Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were still very emotionally stable. However, they were still a little anxious, given that a long time had passed.

    Why is Huo Yuhao still not back or contacted anyone yet? Something must have happened to him. Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s met with danger in the Ice Sea?

    Furthermore, they couldn¡¯t leave the demine without him. All they could do was wait around. If something really happened to him, they would most likely be trapped here for their entire lives, or at least until their supply of food and water ran out.

    Just as everyone was bing more and more anxious, the spectral door finally opened, much to their relief. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had finally returned.

    ¡°Yuhao, where have you been? Why are you back only now?¡± Jiang Nannan snapped as she saw Huo Yuhao. It would have been great even if he had only sent a letter! Over the past ten days, they had felt very tortured. They still had to train the members of the three soul engineer legions.

    Huo Yuhao immediately called for a meeting and recounted everything he had experienced in the Ice Sea.

    After hearing his words, everyone stopped ming him. They only had lingering fear in their hearts. Huo Yuhao felt the same way too.

    ¡°Eldest senior, before I carry out any mission on my own in the future, I must first release all of you from this demine. Otherwise, if I¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, quit this depressing talk. Now is not the time to talk about that. What should we do next? Do you have any ideas?¡± Bei Bei said.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and opened up a map. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve been dyed in the Ice Sea for ten days. It¡¯s both a good and bad thing. Because of this ten day buffer, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely subconsciously think that we passed through their borders in the same manner as when we appeared in the south, just that we used some kind of method to avoid their aerial surveince soul tools. We must be quick, and deal them a heavier blow.¡±

    ¡°Xu Tianran is an anti-hero. If we don¡¯t inflict pain that¡¯s intolerable on him, he won¡¯t pull his troops from the front lines easily. That¡¯s why we must be quick and vicious. I just don¡¯t know what the situation at the front line is right now.¡±

    Only Huo Yuhao could return to Shrek Academy to gather intelligence. Under such a circumstance, returning to gather intelligence was meaningless. He would waste more time if he went there and returned. Even if he knew what was going on at the front lines, wouldn¡¯t he still need to return to target the Sun Moon Empire if he wanted to change the situation of the war?

    This was why Huo Yuhao quickly figured that he needed to stay and continue to inflict internal damage on the Sun Moon Empire. In that way, they would be forced to pull their troops back. This was the real strategy.

    After a simplemunication of the n to the rest, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong left the demine again after the meeting ended.

    In fact, the three soul engineer legions in the demine should be let out for a short breather. However, time was tight. There was ack of time for them to do so. Only news of Huo Yuhao¡¯s return was ryed to them, and they were allowed to watch as Huo Yuhao left again. At the same time, they were informed that the next fight was about to break out again.

    After hearing that a fight was about to break out soon, the members of the three soul engineer legions all rubbed their palms in excitement. Their morale was boosted once again, which left Huo Yuhao in shock.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that Bei Bei had set up a merit system while he had been gone. The main point of this system was to reward those who contributed significantly.

    The resources, gems and gold soul coins that they had obtained earlier were mostly given out by Bei Bei. Bei Bei told every soul engineer in the three soul engineer legions that they would be handsomely rewarded once they attained victory in any fight. They could choose from gold soul coins, soul tools, and other resources. As for how much they were rewarded, it depended on the merit they umted.

    After setting this system up, he immediately handed out rewards. Over the past ten days, morale didn¡¯t fall because of the presence of these rewards. In addition, with the news that they were about to fight, how could these soul engineers not be excited, given the potential benefits they could reap?

    These soul engineers were all intelligent. Many of them chose not to take gold soul coins. Almost all of them wanted soul tools. From the earlier looting sessions they had participated in, which soul engineer didn¡¯t manage to equip himself with more soul tools? The stronger a soul engineer was, the more advantages he would have. This was because more advanced soul tools could only be used by stronger soul engineers!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Fort Soul Engineer Legion reaped the greatest rewards. The Fort Soul Engineer Legion inherited all the heavy soul tools they had looted in the fights earlier.

    The other two soul engineer legions had no use for these heavy soul tools. Since this was the case, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, and took control of all the heavy soul tools. After all, Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons couldn¡¯t move very quickly. What was the disadvantage of having more heavy weapons? As a result, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s strength grew the most. It was just that they became more and more inflexible as a result.

    After leaving the demine, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong held hands as they rose into the sky. They proceeded towards the south of the Sun Moon Empire.

    As they flew in the air, Huo Yuhao also unleashed his Spiritual Detection.

    The overall size of his spiritual sea had grown by a third. His soul core and spiritual power had also changed dramatically. The most direct benefit that he obtained was that his Spiritual Detection¡¯s effective range had reached a diameter of more than twenty thousand meters, twice what it was before. This number even exceeded the effective range of the most advanced aerial surveince soul tool that the Sun Moon Empire could manufacture. Just this skill could be considered an absolute divine skill in war!

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao found many soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire in the wilderness. They were scattered, and seemed to be searching for something.

    While things were bleak in Eastern Sun City, the city wasn¡¯t too chaotic. However, no soul engineer legion was present there.

    It seems like the Sun Moon Empire has responded quite quickly. Rations should have been sent to re-supply Eastern Sun City. Otherwise, things wouldn¡¯t be so stable.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t going to attack Eastern Sun City at this point. The benefits that could be reaped from so were very small. Furthermore, that would only serve to expose his tracks.

    He unleashed his Imitation, which concealed both him and Tang Wutong in the air. Under the effect of Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power, even oscition detectors couldn¡¯t detect his presence now, much less aerial surveince soul tools. As for spiritual power detectors, they could at most cover the size of a military camp. Huo Yuhao had made himselfpletely invisible to the Sun Moon Empire.

    They flew quickly through the air. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rest at all as he flew with Tang Wutong. They flew for four hours before they slowed down and returned to the ground to rest.

    Huo Yuhao opened the map and conducted a simple check of where they were. Through the changes in the air temperature, Huo Yuhao waspletely sure that they were in the south of the Sun Moon Empire.

 Chapter 547.2 - Repeated Blows

    <h4 ss>Chapter 547.2: Repeated Blows</h4>

    Huo Yuhao sensed the humid air and was annoyed as hemented, ¡°I still prefer the cold in the north! Over there, my fighting strength is higher by at least thirty percent.¡±

    Tang Wutong covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t your journey to the Ice Sea teach you enough lessons?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded deeply and replied, ¡°Of course it has. This journey has taught me not to run and fight in someone else¡¯s ce. I won¡¯t even stand a chance. While the Princess of the Sea is powerful, we might still have stood a chance of fleeing even if we can¡¯t defeat her onnd or at a fairer venue. However, in the depths of the sea, we were really trapped, and had nowhere to run.¡±

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Have you chosen a target?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and pointed at the map.

    Seajoy City!

    A smirk appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips. It was not his first time visiting this ce. When he and the others from the Tang Sect snuck into the Sun Moon Empire by water to save the young talents who were participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament, they passed by this city. They had even rented a boat there.

    Huo Yuhao chose to attack this city for two reasons. First, it was an important port in the south of the Sun Moon Empire. Second, it was a way to confuse the Sun Moon Empire. At least, they might be misled that enemies could be trying to invade them from the sea.

    After half a day, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong appeared in Seajoy City.

    Huo Yuhao re-exited the city after making one round around it. He opened the spectral door outside the city and summoned the three soul engineer legions.

    The city was very small. There was no need to deploy so much manpower. However, the soul engineers had been stuck in the demine for too long. Hence, Huo Yuhao wanted to let them out for a breather. Seajoy City was the perfect ce to do so.

    The defense in the south was much cker than in the north. This was because the aquatic soul beasts in the south were weaker than those in the north. Furthermore, they were only active in the deep sea. The Sun Moon Empire had specialized fleets to capture oceanic creatures in the southern sea regions. After all, there weren¡¯t any icebergs or other such extreme weather in the south. It made carrying out operations much easier.

    There were only two thousand soldiers stationed in Seajoy City. They were only ordinary soldiers, and their abilities were all mixed.

    Thirty Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were fired at the same time. One side of the city walls was immediately destroyed. Next was a simple step ¨C pige!

    The threergest warehouses in Seajoy City werepletely cleaned out. Not only were there rations in these three warehouses, but there were also many special products and money that came from several southern coastal cities. Compared to the north, there was much more money, and much fewer rations. After all, the city was by the sea, which meant that food was not in short supply.

    After piging the entire city, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even usher the soul engineers back into the spectral door. Instead, he directly sent them out.

    The Tang Sect and Fort Soul Engineer Legions scattered in two different directions, attacking two different nearby cities.

    The southern cities were richer than the northern cities, and there were many more of them too. From the situation in Seajoy City, it could be inferred that the defenses in the other nearby cities weren¡¯t going to be very strong either. This was especially so since the two nearby cities that they attacked were even smaller.

    In just one day, three cities werepletely plundered. As food wasn¡¯t scarce in the south, Huo Yuhao even decided not to rob the food from these cities. He only targeted the money, as well as trying to find rare metals. Although there weren¡¯t many rare metals in these southern cities, there were still some aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. Taking them down was equivalent to obtaining rare metals!

    After the three cities werepletely plundered, Huo Yuhao re-opened the spectral door in the wilderness and sent the three soul engineer legions back into his spectral demine.

    After this one day of activity, they became much more refreshed and energetic. This was especially since a lot of the money that was looted was divided and given to them directly.

    These soul engineers were very free inside the demine. Under the organization of those from the Tang Sect, the three soul engineer legions even started to explore the boulder houses in the demine. Even though this demine wasn¡¯t the most aesthetic of ces, it had great utility. It was beginning to develop some scale. They could even leave their valuables in the demine when they went out to fight. This enabled them to be equipped properly for fights.

    After returning to the demine, Huo Yuhao checked the map and chose other, more populous cities. These cities were their targets for the next day.

    Just like this, Huo Yuhao mysteriously led the three soul engineer legions and overran twelve medium-sized cities in the south of the Sun Moon Empire.

    He didn¡¯t choose major cities, as they were likely to be better defended. In addition, the medium-sized cities werecking in manpower, as the front line needed men. Those twelve cities were plunderedpletely. The amount of money that was taken could fill countless giant warehouses. Right now, the soul engineers weren¡¯t even tempted by gold soul coins anymore; there was a mountain of them in the demine.

    From those twelve cities, quite a lot of rare metals were also taken from the private collections of the nobility. Twenty-six various aerial surveince soul tools were also obtained. Although most of them were directly shot down and were damaged beyond repair, the rare metals used to construct them were still useful! It was all good stuff.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Bang!¡± Xu Tianran smacked the table beside him, and there was a strong killing intent in his eyes.

    Five days ago, good news came from the front lines. The Sun Moon Empire hadpletely overrun the Heavenly Soul Empire. This also meant that the Heavenly Soul Empire was utterly ruined, and annexed into the Sun Moon Empire.

    This good news left Xu Tianran, a person who craved power, in very high spirits.

    However, bad news started to pour in only a few days after he heard the good news.

    There weren¡¯t any traces of the soul engineer legion that had caused chaos in the north. It was as if they didn¡¯t exist at all. Then the south was subjected to a barrage of attacks. In just a few days, twelve emergency reports were received from twelve different cities in the south. The coastal cities in that area were all in danger, causing a crisis.

    It was important to know that those cities were very important to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s economy. The yearly revenue from a medium-sized city in the south was equivalent to that of a major city in the north.

    Although there weren¡¯t many casualties in those twelve cities, fear quickly spread, and the amount of destruction that those cities had been subjected to was also very great. Those living in the south were all terrified, which served to destabilize Xu Tianran¡¯s reign!

    Don¡¯t tell me that those people who were still in the north a few weeks ago have mysteriously gone to the south? How is that possible?

    ¡°Your Majesty! I believe that those thieves must have travelled by water.¡± The Chief Minister said.

    Xu Tianran looked at him, ¡°By water? They attacked the north previously. How can they reach there by water?¡±

    The Ice Sea was to the north of the north of the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, the Ice Sea was adjacent to the ice ins of the Extreme North. The conditions in the ice ins were very rigorous. No one knew what a further ce would be like. To move across the ice ins through the north was impossible.

    The Chief Minister said, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s not impossible. What if they didn¡¯te from the north right from the start? We have a lot of troops at our borders in the north. We also have many aerial surveince soul tools. It¡¯s not easy for a fly to enter, much less a soul engineer legion. The only ce that our surveince soul tools can¡¯t reach is the sea. If those thieves moved out from the southern ports of the Star Luo Empire and moved around our southern sea using a ship before proceeding to the north along our western shoreline, they would be able to move around two-thirds of our shoreline and reach the north. Although there are icebergs in the Ice Sea, there are very few of them nearer tond. We also have few aerial surveince soul tools installed there. It¡¯s possible that Oak City and Eastern Sun City were taken down that way.¡±

    ¡°These fellows are very cunning. After they overran Oak City and Eastern Sun City, they immediately escaped on their ship and returned via their original route. They went all the way to the south. When they reached the south, they attacked once again. The journey from north to south is thousands of kilometers long. It gave us the feeling that we are facing many enemies. Once they finished their attacks, they can immediately escape on their ship again. We wouldn¡¯t be able to find any traces of them. From the south, it¡¯s also possible to return to the Star Luo Empire at any time. It¡¯s a brilliant n!¡±

    After hearing the Chief Minister¡¯s words, Xu Tianran was shocked.That¡¯s indeed possible! It¡¯s actually very possible.If that was really the case, it could well exin why he was so confused.

    ¡°But why are they not attacking our western cities?¡± Xu Tianran was a little confused.

    The Chief Minister answered, ¡°The reason why they are not attacking our western cities is mainly because they¡¯re too far from the Star Luo Empire. Radiant City is also quite close to the west. Once we discover a real-time situation and send a strong soul engineer legion to deal with them, they would be exposed. Furthermore, it¡¯s much easier for us to guess what their purpose is if they move from north to west. If they directly return to the south, they can attack and defend. It¡¯s more advantageous for them.¡±

    Xu Tianran squinted. ¡°Chief Minister, what do you think we should do then?¡±

    A cold look shed across the Chief Minister¡¯s face and he said, ¡°Your Majesty, we must be decisive. These thieves are very cunning. Theirmander must be very intelligent. Our shoreline is so wide. In the depths of the sea, it¡¯s almost impossible to find any traces of them. Since they can move from north to south in just over ten days, it¡¯s likely that they¡¯ve already calcted for the presence of icebergs in the Ice Sea. Thus, their ship must be protected and moved by soul tools. It¡¯s likely that there¡¯s a soul formation on their ship. Since they can¡¯t challenge us directly, they are taking the indirect way. Such an enemy is like a parasite. We must get rid of them quickly. Otherwise, they¡¯ll cause more destruction, and shake the foundation of our economy.¡±

 Chapter 547.3 - Repeated Blows

    <h4 ss>Chapter 547.3: Repeated Blows</h4>

    Xu Tianran squinted and said, ¡°Do you mean¡­¡±

    The Chief Minister nodded. ¡°Your Majesty, we must be decisive. No matter how strong these thieves are, they won¡¯t be able to challenge our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. They have been active in the southern coastal cities this time, so they are likely to still be there. We can send more aerial surveince soul tools to watch that area, and also silently send out the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. At the same time, we can send a few members of the Worship Hall to follow them. Once we discover their exact location, we¡¯ll destroy them as quickly as possible. We can then regain everything we¡¯ve lost and stabilize the south.¡±

    After pausing for a moment, he added, ¡°The Empress is making a lot of progress at the front lines right now. We must stabilize things at the back and give her the appropriate support.¡±

    Xu Tianran hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll follow you then.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    He Caitou looked at all the soul tools that were piled up like a mountain, and couldn¡¯t stop grinning. Although only some of them were still usable, the rare metals that could be obtained from these soul tools were already considered very valuable.

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯m a little regretful. Before we set out, we should have brought our manufacturing line from the Soul Tool Hall with us. When everyone is bored and has nothing to do, they can manufacture soul tools in the demine. In this way, wouldn¡¯t it be more effective?¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled at one side. ¡°Caitou, this isn¡¯t a bad idea. It¡¯s a constructive suggestion. The past few days have been good. I wonder what Xu Tianran is feeling right now. We¡¯ve caused so many problems in the south. Yuhao, where are we going next?¡±

    After attacking twelve cities, the three soul engineer legions of Shrek were unhurt. This greatly boosted their confidence. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defenses were simply too weak. No one from the three soul engineer legions had even been hurt so far, and they hadn¡¯t suffered any significant losses. The damage they had caused to the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t be measured by money alone either.

    Thest few cities among the twelve that were taken down even had all their city walls destroyed before the three soul engineer legions retreated. The soul tools used by the soul engineer legions were powered by the soul power of the soul engineers. They quickly recovered their soul power after they returned to the demine.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We¡¯ve attacked for five days straight. Radiant City should have received news. Along with our earlier attack on the north, I believe the Sun Moon Empire must be devising a n to deal with us. However, we¡¯ve not shaken their foundation yet. If we want to them to pull their front line troops back, we need Xu Tianran to be fearful. That¡¯s why we need to continue with our mission.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The only way to make Xu Tianran fearful enough to recall his troops at all costs is by attacking Radiant City.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    After hearing his words, all the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were astonished. They all opened their mouths wide in shock.

    Although their previous victories had left them extremely confident, they weren¡¯t so confident that they believed they could take down Radiant City.

    What kind of ce was Radiant City? It was the capital of the Sun Moon Empire. It was also the biggest city in the world. They had all been to Radiant City before. Tall buildings were everywhere, and many powerful soul tools were hidden there too. Huo Yuhao even imed that there was a terrifying soul tool that could gather soul power before unleashing it when he went therest time. It definitely wasn¡¯t inferior to the Death God. Given this, wasn¡¯t attacking Radiant City suicide?

    After all, Radiant City had the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s trump card, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. At the same time, many powerful individuals were guarding the city.

    After sensing everyone¡¯s astonishment and doubts, Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I¡¯m not talking about a literal attack. As long as we make Xu Tianran fear for his life, it¡¯s enough.¡±

    ¡°Xu Tianran is an anti-hero. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s research into soul tools is definitely well beyond the other three empires of the original Douluo Continent. However, Xu Tianran can¡¯t do anything without them. We attacked the north before the south, but did not encounter any effective resistance. This means that the Sun Moon Empire is actually very hollow at the back. Furthermore, as soul engineer legions be more and more important in wars, the Sun Moon Empire is bing more and more disinterested in recruiting ordinary soldiers. Even with many soldiers, they wouldn¡¯t be able to pose a threat to us.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯ve also continuously caused a lot of damage and losses to the Sun Moon Empire. They can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing. Even if things are going smoothly at the front lines, how can Xu Tianran govern his empire if things are bad at the back? As a result, they¡¯ll definitely target us. To doom our soul engineer legions, the Sun Moon Empire can only resort to sending their strongest fighting force, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    ¡°While the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion holds an important position in the Sun Moon Empire and cannot be deployed easily, they can still be moved at critical moments. Although I don¡¯t know how many soul engineer legions there are in the empire, I¡¯m afraid only this elite soul engineer legion can truly defeat us. This is why we must wait for an opportunity, and wait for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion toe out. When that happens, Radiant City will be empty! Even if there are soul formations there, Wutong and I can still sneak in and perform an ambush. We don¡¯t need to really attack Radiant City. As long as we leave some marks in Xu Tianran¡¯s pce, I believe he won¡¯t be in a good mood.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis, everyone looked at each other, and there were rich emotions on their faces.

    Xu Sanshi asked, ¡°Yuhao, did you think of this a long time ago?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, ¡°Not really. I only made several discoveries during this period of time, which led to the development of such an idea.¡±

    Bei Bei asked ¡°Yuhao, if that¡¯s the case, I suggest we expose ourselves more. How can we bait them without leaving traces of ourselves?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°That¡¯s what I think too.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s continue to run riot in the south. The southern coastal cities are the furthest from Radiant City. Next, our mission will bepleted by the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao also looked at him and smiled. The others also wore devious smiles.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s n was to attack the enemy at a spot that needed to be preserved. If the Sun Moon Empire sent any other soul engineer legion, they would only suffer defeat. Once the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion arrived, their opportunity would have arrived as well.

    Heavenly Sea City!

    It was an important port in the south of the Sun Moon Empire. There was a plot ofnd in the southeast of the Sun Moon Empire that extended all the way into the sea. It was a natural harbor. Heavenly Sea City was built on this plot ofnd. It was also an important training and mustering ground. The biggest shipyard in the Sun Moon Empire was also at Heavenly Sea City.

    Ever since the war began, the navy that was stationed at Heavenly Sea City was sent out to seal the surrounding regions around the Star Luo Empire. However, Heavenly Sea City remained the most defensively sound city in the south of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ten thousand soldiers and arge-scale soul formation were also deployed here. There were also seven medium-sized warships here too.

    Such a deployment wasn¡¯t because of the Star Luo Empire. Rather, it was used to defend against aquatic soul beasts like Oak City and Eastern Sun City.

    There were many aquatic soul beasts, but very few of them were truly strong. The truly strong ones were mostly in the deeper waters. They rarely came to the shallower parts. However, even so, it didn¡¯t hurt to be wary. This was because there were simply too many aquatic soul beasts. Once a beast wave started, it would likely lead to heavy losses to the port.

    Things were also more jittery in Heavenly Sea City over the past few days. There were two hundred soul engineers stationed here. They were responsible for protecting and using the soul formations.

    The soul formations in Heavenly Sea City were not in the city, but outside, less than three kilometers from the harborfront.

    While Heavenly Sea City was built on a plot ofnd that extended into the sea, it was elevated. Even when storms and typhoons raged, the waves that formed didn¡¯t really affect the city. There was a cliff close to five hundred meters high close to the sea.

    The soul formations in Heavenly Sea City were all activated during this period of time. Their linked defenses remained active, while the aerial surveince soul tools in the sky were constantly drifting around. They were used to guard against any enemies that might suddenly appear.

    It was no wonder they were so worried. In just a short five days, twelve cities had been overrun andpletely looted. Although Heavenly Sea City was still fine, everyone became very anxious when news of their mysterious enemies spread. These mysterious enemies had even formed a soul engineer legion. The city gates were sealed, and businessmen, as well as citizens, were checked more stringently as they passed.

    The mayor of the city even requested that the soul formations to be moved into the city. However, he was denied.

    Was it so easy to moverge-scale formations? Some of therger soul formations were extremely heavy. Furthermore, what if their enemies took the opportunity to strike when they were moving?

 Chapter 548.1 - The Spiritual Force in Plants

    <h4 ss>Volume 39, Chapter 548.1: The Spiritual Force in nts</h4>

    That was the reason why this soul engineer legion¡¯smander vehemently denied the master of Heavenly Sea City¡¯s request. Even though he was themander of a soul engineer legion that wasn¡¯t up to standards, he could hold his own against the master of Heavenly Sea City, who was a Count. Soul engineers had the highest status within the Sun Moon Empire.

    They were on high alert and preparing themselves, but could they really stay safe?

    Huo Yuhao was standing on the shore less than five kilometers from Heavenly Sea City. He gazed in the direction of the city¡¯s harbor as he couldn¡¯t help but admire it. ¡°What a excellent harbor! Thend that Heavenly Sea City has been built on is rtively elevated, but the ground around them slopes downward. They can build a harbor near the ocean, and look over itfortably from Heavenly Sea City. The harbor has tradeing in from both sides of the city. What a fantastic ce!¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes. ¡°Are you crying crocodile tears? Are you not going to attack them after praising their magnificent harbor?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied casually, ¡°Praising and admiring it is one thing, attacking and destroying it is another. It¡¯s not my fault that this empire¡¯s ruler has insisted on starting a war and invading our country. Why do I have to be the viin here if not for that fact?¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Heavenly Sea City is on high alert, and they are sufficiently prepared. They are more well-equipped than Eastern Sun City was. This may not be easy!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said, ¡°Nothing is impossible! Heavenly Sea City¡¯s defensive capabilities are better than Easter Sun City¡¯s defenses, but its weakness is also very obvious. Their soul tool front isn¡¯t inside the city, so what does that mean? That means their linked defensive formations can¡¯t effectively defend the city. Why do we have to do things the hard way?¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he spoke and disappeared into thin air.

    Darkness covered the skies, and that was good news for Heavenly Sea City¡¯s soldiers.

    Heavenly Sea City was a developedmercial city, and it was also where an important military harbor was located, and their armies were of a high quality. The southern regions were flourishing and bustling, and life was peaceful. Soldiers were treated extremely well from day to day, and there were rarely days when they were especially exhausted.

    Ever since the recent appearance of that mysterious enemy who had broken through twelve cities and piged them, Heavenly Sea City¡¯s atmosphere had be extremely tense and nervous.

    Heavenly Sea City was one of thergest cities along the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s southern shore. There were docks and battleships, and it was rich with resources.

    Those twelve cities were wealthy, but there was still quite a gap between them and Heavenly Sea City.

    That was the reason why Radiant City had sent a strict order that Heavenly Sea City had to be defended. They were to ry any information as soon as they obtained any. Heavenly Sea City had also be one of the cities along the empire¡¯s southern shores which was most likely to be attacked.

    The city defense army became vignt for that very reason. They increased their daily patrols, and their inspection process for merchants and civiliansing and going also became much tighter. Every single individual entering the city had to go through both soul power detectors and spiritual power detectors. They would have to go through more interrogation and investigation if they were found to be soul masters.

    The city hustled for a day, and the sun was finally setting as it went down towards the west. Their tense and busy day was about to end.

    The city¡¯s thick gates were slowly shut, and that meant the city defense army could finally get to rest.

    The sky gradually turned dark. On some ins five kilometers from Heavenly Sea City, light began to bend and contort.

    Aerial surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t discover such fine details by looking down from above. As for oscition detectors that conducted searches closer to the ground, they would only be activated once those aerial surveince soul tools discovered something. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t be scouring this area.

    Shadows and figures popped out one after another under the cover of those contorting light rays, as ninerge pitch-ck doors opened up at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao was standing in front of these nine doors, and those contorting light rays were a result of his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    His domain¡¯s strength allowed him to cover a thousand square meters. That was sufficient to cover the ninerge doors, which were his spectral gates.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve this before. First, his Spiritual Interference Domain wasn¡¯t that strong, and it was hard for him to cover himself if he had to use this domain and necromancy at the same time. His domain¡¯s area of effect was also much smaller before.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had undergone a qualitative change once more after he fused with the mermaid princess. Now, his Spiritual Interference Domain had truly matured into an extremely powerful domain-type ability.

    Furthermore, a thousand square meters wasn¡¯t his limit. What he was doing with his domain¡¯s formidable interference capabilities was equivalent to rendering everything within this area invisible.

    Even though Spiritual Interference Domain still left traces and wasn¡¯t as intricate and fine as Imitation, it had a range and area of effect that Imitation couldn¡¯t match up to at all.

    Two hundred armed soldiers from the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion stepped out soundlessly from those spectral gates under the cover of his Spiritual Interference Domain.

    Nobody made a sound, and they immediately formed up with guidance from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection after they appeared and waited quietly.

    Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

    The others from Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had stepped out from those spectral gates one after another, along with the rest of the Tang Sect¡¯s stronger individuals.

    ¡°Second senior brother!¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged He Caitou.

    He Caitou chuckled. He shook his hands, and a series of metal nging sounds could be heard as a heavy cannon appeared on each of his shoulders.

    He raised those cannons and pointed them towards the sky.

    Faint golden light flickered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡± A series of dull booming sounds could be heard as ck cannon shells were fired one after another. They couldn¡¯t be told apart from the darkness because the sky had already turned dark, and not even aerial surveince soul tools could identify them.

    Fireworks exploded through the sky after several seconds as the eyes above Heavenly Sea City were shattered.

    Bei Bei waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Move out!¡±

    The Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion surged into the sky at the same time. They opened their flying-type soul tools behind their backs as they flew towards Heavenly Sea City.

    Heavenly Sea City no longer had any eyes in the sky to monitor the situation, so nobody could possibly know where this soul engineer legion hade from. Those aerial surveince soul tools that were detonated triggered the rm, but so what? Heavenly Sea City¡¯s soul tool front was on the other side of the city.

    Several minutester, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, which was spaced out in a horizontal single file, appeared outside Heavenly Sea City. They didn¡¯t stop at all as they immediately assaulted Heavenly Sea City¡¯s thick city walls. More urately put, they were bombarding the city¡¯s walls with everything they had!

    A ss 5 high-powered soul cannon had enough strength to blow a hole more than ten meters wide and three meters deep in those thick city walls.

    What about two hundred ss 5 high-powered cannons?

    Two rounds. Only two rounds of bombardment were required before Heavenly Sea City¡¯s northern city walls had be a pile of rubble.

    ¡°Enter the city!¡± Bei Bei gave the order as the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul engineers immediately charged into the city. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection guided them straight to the city¡¯s warehouses.

    Huo Yuhaomanded the soul engineer legion while locking onto the city¡¯s soul tool front, which was outside the city, at the same time.

    There was no way the soul tool front wasn¡¯t aware of the tremendous disturbance on this side. However, they no longer had their aerial surveince soul tools in the sky, so what if they had a soul tool front? They were blind. Did they dare to bombard their own city to deal with their enemies? That wasn¡¯t a possibility at all.

    The soul tool front couldn¡¯t defend the city, so Huo Yuhao would just let it defend the harbor.

    The master of Heavenly Sea City had just gone to sleep before he was jolted awake by deafening booming sounds. He had just gotten dressed when the reports came in.

    The northern city wall had been broken through, and their enemies had appeared. There were at least two hundred soul engineers, and they had already charged into the city, where they were going straight for the city¡¯s warehouses. Heavenly Sea City had lost contact with all their aerial surveince soul tools; they were likely to have been damaged or destroyed, judging from the explosions in the sky.

    The Sun Moon Empire had put in a lot of effort to improve their aerial surveince soul tools¡¯ cover. However, any cover was futile against Huo Yuhao¡¯s otherworldly Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°Quick, request aid from the soul engineer legions!¡± The master of the city could only make that one exmation.

    The messenger swiftly departed as the city master sat back down on his bed. His eyes had be a little vacant.

    ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t we discovered any traces at all before the enemy appeared right in front us? What are those aerial surveince soul tools for? No wonder! It¡¯s no wonder those twelve cities have fallen before us, and not a single piece of information was obtained before they fell. This enemy is too frightening. Does this mean they can render themselves invisible? Why are those aerial surveince soul tools so useless against them?¡±

    Hemented agonizingly. He was very clear what the city¡¯s fall meant for him, and the situation that he was most afraid of had happened in the end.

    This wouldn¡¯t have happened if those soul engineers had been willing to shift their soul tool front into the city!But it was far toote to think about any of that.

    The Count was a smart man. He knew that the soul tool front over there couldn¡¯t do anything without the aerial surveince soul tools, and it was impossible for them to send their ss 3 soul engineers out of their soul tool front to rescue the city. Their superiors wouldn¡¯t fault them as long as they defended their soul tool front, and if their superiors had to me somebody, it would just be him.

    A pained smile appeared on the Count¡¯s face. Heavenly Sea City had fallen.

    Yes, everything was within Huo Yuhao¡¯s calctions. What he wanted to execute was a hit-and-run. They were to strike the city once and quickly before retreating at once without any dy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aim was to pige the city. Destroying the soul tool front outside the city would of course be fantastic. He would very much rather the soul tool front¡¯s soul engineerse to rescue the city.

 Chapter 548.2 - The Spiritual Force in Plants

    <h4 ss>Chapter 548.2: The Spiritual Force in nts</h4>

    No matter how advanced or formidable the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools were, everything would be futile if only ss 3 soul engineers were using them.

    Both legions had the same number of people. One side was filled with ss 3 soul engineers, while the other was filled with ss 6 soul engineers, and it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what the oue would be if both sides shed.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao was hoping for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers to get aggressive and charge out from their turtle shell. He was hoping they would charge into the city and fight with him.

    If they dared toe, Huo Yuhao and the others would probably annihte those two hundred soul engineers with several mass attacks. They would probably destroy the harbor outside at the same time.

    Unfortunately, whether it was because the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers were smart or cowardly, they didn¡¯t appear on the battlefield in Heavenly Sea City after all. All they did was activate their linked defensive formations to the highest possible level.

    Heavenly Sea City was arge city, and the piging continued until daybreak the next day.

    When the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s two hundred people who were like kings of the night retreated, Heavenly Sea City had descended into utter chaos.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know before he came that there was an underwater mine in the ocean close to Heavenly Sea City, and it produced a kind of rare metal known as Deep Sea Silver. This rare metal was extremely valuable, and it was an excellent material for forging stationary soul cannon shells. This metal was very tough, and it was most suitable for constructing long-range stationary soul cannon shells.

    Huo Yuhao found a warehouse in Heavenly Sea City that was half-filled with these things, and he packed them into his spectral demine.

    As for other resources and money, how much did they actually pige? Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t sure himself. He opened a spectral gate inside Heavenly Sea City¡¯s warehouses and flew away dramatically after pocketing everything.

    The soul tool front outside Heavenly Sea City didn¡¯t attack at all from the beginning to the end, and the piging was nowplete.

    Huo Yuhao left the city, and stopped at a ce that was rtively far away. There were no aerial surveince soul tools in this ce, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered at all.

    A spectral gate opened as the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s two hundred members returned to their spectral demine as quickly as they could.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go back. Instead, he remained outside and found a rtively obscure ce before he went into hiding by himself. He didn¡¯t even bring Tang Wutong this time.

    They had piged thirteen southern cities continuously, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s southern shores were inplete disarray. That was sufficient for now.

    What Huo Yuhao had to do next was wait. He had to wait and see if his judgment was correct.

    The mission at Heavenly Sea City had been dyed by a daypared to the twelve cities which came before. Everything had been smooth and sessful, so he had to wait and see if his strategic goal would be realized.

    Huo Yuhao found a small hill and quietlyy down in a thicket. He stared at the blue sky and the rolling white clouds above him, and he felt a certain inexplicablefort and satisfaction.

    The most luxurious thing for him was to just sit there and daydream without thinking about anything, and he was enjoying that rare but wonderful moment right now.

    All kinds of images and pictures shed before his eyes, and everything that had happened in his life surfaced continuously. He was most unwilling to reminisce about his experiences with Wang Qiu¡¯er and Wang Dong¡¯er, but those memories appeared uncontrobly in his mind.

    Qiu¡¯er, are you truly part of Wutong? Wutong isn¡¯t just Dong¡¯er. I can sense your presence in her. If that¡¯s the case, then that¡¯s just fantastic.

    There were several important women in Huo Yuhao¡¯s life. His mother was most important to him when he was a child, and his mother¡¯s passing dealt a heavy blow to him. The most fortunate thing that had ever happened to him was when he had met Wang Dong¡¯er, and being together with her gradually made him forget about his hatred and resentment, and helped him find peace. That was the reason why he could aplish what he had today.

    What about Qiu¡¯er? She¡¯s still an integral part of my life that I can¡¯t live without. Qiu¡¯er has taught me many things, and I didn¡¯t ept her love from the beginning to the end. Even so, she had always been quietly giving and giving. Soul beasts have feelings too! The person that I have let down the most is Qiu¡¯er.

    What will the Continent be like in the future?Huo Yuhao felt a little lost in his heart. Their n was probably theirst chance, and if they couldn¡¯t achieve their goal, the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires would be in danger.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools were too strong. Unless Huo Yuhao could destroy the entire empire, the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires would be swallowed sooner orter.

    It seemed impossible for them to close the gap in soul tool technology for now. The gap was too great. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royalty had been holding back for so long, and they probably had sufficient strength long ago. But they were always just suppressing themselves.

    Huo Yuhao had fought the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions. He had to say that even though the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion consisted entirely of Soul Emperors, they had no chance of victory if they had to fight against one of the five legions from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hand that Protects the Nation, if both sides had equal numbers. This wasn¡¯t just because of the gap in their technology. It was also because of the discrepancy in the soul engineers¡¯ understanding of soul tools.

    Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire still had Ju Zi. Ju Zi¡¯s talent atmanding on the battlefield was extraordinary. She was still holding back a little when she faced him, but what about the Douluo Continent¡¯s three empires? How powerful could she be if she unleashed her full potential?

    Huo Yuhao could still vividly remember when the Ming Dou Mountain Range was first broken through. Who would have thought that that event was just a diversion?

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies were powerful, and they had an intelligentmander. The Sun Moon Empire was practically invincible on the Continent! The truth was, there wasn¡¯t much that could hold their own against them in direct battle.

    Everything will be futile if we don¡¯t destroy the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools haven¡¯t been able to detect me, but after suffering huge losses, they probably won¡¯t need too long toe up with a soul tool that can find me, considering how advanced their technology is. What I can do now is dy things as much as possible, and prolong the time that the Sun Moon Empire needs to sweep over the entire continent.

    A bitter expression appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as his thoughts stopped there.

    He was starting to understand the Heavenly Sun Douluo, who he had participated in the same mission with. Those Titled Douluo were undoubtedly very proud and arrogant. How could they make a move against an infant unless they really had no other choice? They clearly didn¡¯t try to stop Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong with their full strength when the two of them were breaking out.

    Huo Yuhao was still very confident in his own abilities before he ventured to the Ice Sea. But after that expedition, he understood that Titled Douluo were just Titled Douluo, while Transcendent Douluo were just Transcendent Douluo. Back at the Ming Dou Mountain Range when he was breaking out with Tang Wutong, more of why he was sessful was because those Titled Douluo and Transcendent Douluos didn¡¯t work together to attack him and Tang Wutong! Otherwise, it would have been almost impossible for them to leave.

    Before, a single Ultimate Douluo could intimidate and threaten an entire country. Following the development of soul tool technology, personal fighting strength was waning continuously.

    Many soul masters still didn¡¯t properly understand that fact. At least, the Holy Ghost Church hadn¡¯t grasped that reality yet.

    Back when Huo Yuhao had encountered the Holy Ghost Church for the first time, he didn¡¯t understand why the Sun Moon Empire would work with such an evil sect. Those evil soul masters were so cruel and evil, and their existence would undoubtedly bring cmity to all life. What would the Sun Moon Empire be like if the Holy Ghost Church held power in the end?

    But as he continued to fight the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao witnessed more and more of their truly formidable soul tool technology. He gradually understood that the Holy Ghost Church was just one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s chess pieces. Two Ultimate Douluo were extremely powerful, but how would they fare against a soul engineer legion¡¯s linked soul tools? Would they still emerge victorious? Whether the Holy Ghost Church wanted to or not, and even if they were sufficiently prepared, could they really threaten Xu Tianran¡¯s rule?

    Xu Tianran was a terrifying figure. The deep-seated and hidden strength of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family was even more frightening. Only ces like the royal pce and the worship hall were considered the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s true core!

    The Sun Moon Empire had made sufficient use of the Holy Ghost Church, and they were making use of them to fight the Douluo Continent¡¯s soul masters. When the Continent was truly united under one ruler in the future and when their soul cannons were turned around, how could they not have enough reason to deal with such an evil sect?

    Huo Yuhao was starting to feel cold sweat breaking out through his shirt. He slowly realized that he seemed to see through some things only when he truly sat down quietly to think.

    The Sun Moon Empire is so terrifying!

    I wonder how the front line is doing. Canbining the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s strength cause some trouble for Ju Zi?

    Ju Zi was also one of the most important girls in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, for no other reason than the fact that she was the first woman who had entered his heart, and that was enough.

    Huo Yuhao could still vividly remember how he had felt when he first met her, and their experience of going through life and death together afterward left a deep mark in his heart. He still didn¡¯t know that Dong¡¯er was a girl back then. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what the future would have been like if Ju Zi had chosen him back then, and whether he would truly be with her.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t answer that question, and his mind was always filled with mixed emotions when he thought about her.

    Ju Zi said he was too soft-hearted. Yes, Huo Yuhao was soft-hearted when he was facing her. But wasn¡¯t she the same when she was facing him? But she was wife to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s emperor, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s War God Empress. If the Sun Moon Empire continued to invade in the future, he would have to face her sooner orter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes became a little dim when he thought about the future. He truly couldn¡¯t see how the future would unfurl.

 Chapter 548.3 - The Spiritual Force in Plants

    <h4 ss>Chapter 548.3: The Spiritual Force in nts</h4>

    Personally, his aim was to be a member of the God Realm. But what about the Douluo Continent? Would the Sun Moon Empire really conquer everything, and rename it the Sun Moon Continent?

    No, absolutely not! The Douluo Continent will be the Douluo Continent, and I am part of the Douluo Continent. I cannot let that happen no matter what price I have to pay.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as his thoughts stopped there. He gathered his mind once more, and his spiritual power transformed into countless tentacles as they stretched across the ground in all directions.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t lying here to rest. He was waiting, and he was hoping that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces would appear.

    Heavenly Sea City was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s most important coastal city in the south. Furthermore, this ce was very far from Radiant City. Once the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s main forces appeared, the next part of his n could continue. If his n was sessful in the end, he could see some hope for the Douluo Continent.

    The thing that Huo Yuhao hoped for most was what the Body Douluo had sacrificed himself to achieve, and that was to kill Xu Tianran!

    Xu Tianran was a ruthless and ambitious character, and Huo Yuhao still felt a little fearful towards him. He didn¡¯t know why he felt like that, but he was certain that the Sun Moon Empire would fall into disarray if he died. The Douluo Continent could at least catch their breath if that happened.

    As for Ju Zi, even though she was formidablemander, Huo Yuhao never treated her like an enemy in his heart for some reason.

    Huo Yuhao was aware of this problem. He knew that the reason why he couldn¡¯t be amander of an army like Ju Zi was because his heart was too soft.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was still contemting as he released his spiritual power, but a strange feeling suddenly appeared in his spiritual sea.

    This sensation was very unique. He realized to his shock that there were countless faint spiritual undtions within his Spiritual Detection¡¯s range.

    They were fearful and afraid. They were trying to dodge away, but couldn¡¯t run away at all.

    Every spiritual undtion was extremely fine and delicate, and a single thought from Huo Yuhao could destroy them. But this was the first time Huo Yuhao had felt so many instances of his spiritual power at the same time. This was his first experience after his spiritual power hadpletely entered a very detailed and intricate level.

    These faint spiritual tentacles didn¡¯te from his enemies, or from a formidable individual. They came from the nts that were growing in the earth!

    These nts ranged from a small de of Bluesilver Grass to arge tree that was several dozen meters tall. Every nt possessed its own spiritual power. Some were strong, while others were weak, but they were mostly weak and frail. They were evidently feeling frightened because they could feel Huo Yuhao¡¯s powerful spiritual power.

    That feeling was just too strange. Huo Yuhao discovered for the first time that nts had spiritual power; even the small Bluesilver Grass was no exception.

    That feeling was just too magical. Huo Yuhao subconsciously expressed his friendliness, while he made his spiritual power gentler as he stretched it out even further.

    His friendliness was instantly returned. Those frightened and fearful spiritual tentacles immediately stopped trembling, and conveyed excited and happy thoughts to Huo Yuhao.

    Their thoughts and minds were so simple. But Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was still filled with happiness and satisfaction in this moment.

    A single spiritual tentacle didn¡¯t count for anything, but when thousands and millions of spiritual tentacles were conveying their happiness, how could you not be happy? Huo Yuhao was like that, and so he was happy and ted that the friendliness he had released was immediately returned. Furthermore, those strange spiritual tentacles were fusing with his spiritual power, to the point where his Spiritual Detection could vividly sense the intricate changes that were happening to these nts.

    That sensation was extremely strange and unique, like Huo Yuhao had be the leader of all the nts within five kilometers around him, and his minions and subordinates were reporting their feelings to him. The nts¡¯ spiritual tentacles amplified him, and Huo Yuhao was consuming less and less spiritual power from using Spiritual Detection. Furthermore, the more spiritual tentacles that returned his friendliness there were, the less spiritual power he consumed.

    That¡¯s so magical. Spiritual power can actually be used this way.Huo Yuhao finally understood how, during his previous encounter, so many aquatic soul beasts could be linked together. That was especially so for the merfolk¡¯s martial soulbination skills. The reason why they couldplete their martial soulbination skill probably wasn¡¯t because their blood and descent were very simr, but because their spiritual power was extremely well-connected.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have grasped some of the spiritual world¡¯s profundities.

    He no longer held back as he pushed his Spiritual Detection outward as much as he could, and the benevolence in his heart increased continuously. He felt the feedback that those nts were giving him, and he expressed his love for them at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was unwittingly extended very far, and his spiritual power gradually reached its limit. But Huo Yuhao waspletely stunned at this point.

    Yes, he was astonished. He realized to his intense shock that his spiritual power¡¯s range could reach more than fifty thousand meters in diameter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection normally had a limit of twenty thousand meters! That was already a stunning figure, but that figure now stood at fifty thousand meters.

    Even though this diameter was calcted with his body at the center, and it couldn¡¯t be used in a single direction, he had already surpassed everything in history, and created another miracle. Huo Yuhao believed that not even Ultimate Douluo could stretch their spiritual power across fifty kilometers!

    A diameter of fifty thousand meters meant a diameter of fifty kilometers. What an extraordinarily vast area of effect!

    Not only was Heavenly Sea City within his senses, but several other cities were also within range of his senses as well.

    Furthermore, his Spiritual Detection worked differently this time. It didn¡¯t project everything into his mind three-dimensionally. After reaching fifty thousand kilometers, everything in Huo Yuhao¡¯s vision came from the nts that were cooperating with him. He was viewing the world through their feelings and vision. But that was already sufficient! Even though Spiritual Detection like that wasn¡¯t asplete as his three-dimensional Spiritual Detection was, conducting investigations through those nts¡¯ spiritual undtions was a lot more discreet.

    What kind of spiritual detectors would conduct investigations against a nt¡¯s spiritual power? A nt¡¯s spiritual power was too weak, it was entirely negligible.

    Huo Yuhao had unwittingly discovered such a mystical ability. How could he not be happy? Furthermore, he could obtain some simple information from these nts. Even though that information wasn¡¯t much, it was direct and easy to understand.

    Huo Yuhao rxed as he felt his spiritual power extend outwards. He was like the king of all the nts within his Spiritual Detection, and all the nts around him were reporting their thoughts and feelings to him.

    A nt¡¯s thoughts were very simple. If you expressed your benevolence to them, they would express their friendliness to you. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was extremely strong.

    There were some nt-type soul beasts within his Spiritual Detection, but most nt-type soul beasts were extremely weak. Their subordination to Huo Yuhao was even moreplete, because they could sense exactly how formidable his spiritual power was.

    Suddenly, a thought urred to Huo Yuhao. He asked a question with his Spiritual Detection, and used his consciousness to reach all the nts within his spiritual power¡¯s range.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect was, after several minutes, a single consciousness that was responding to him appeared in his mind. He was so excited that he jumped to his feet from the thicket he was in.

    The question he had asked those nts was simple.Have you seen the Bluesilver Emperor? The king of the Bluesilver Grass?

    nts understood each other best, and Huo Yuhao only had a tiny shred of hope that his question would be answered. But he received a very definite reply after a few short minutes! Yes, he received a definite reply!

    Tang Ya¡¯s body was still very weak and frail. Even though ingesting the Qiankun Fortune Pill meant she was no longer deteriorating towards death, her abilities werepletely gone. She even needed to lean on something for support when she walked. How could Huo Yuhao be willing to see her like that?

    He never expected that the Bluesilver Emperor, which he had tried so hard to find within the Douluo Continent¡¯s three native empires to no avail, would be discovered in the Sun Moon Empire. This was truly an unexpected surprise!

    Huo Yuhao regted his breathing and tried his best to stabilize his emotions. Afterwards, he expressed benevolence towards that spiritual undtion that was giving him a definite reply, and concentrated his Spiritual Detection in that direction to search for the living being that was answering him.

    Huo Yuhao was very calm. He knew that he had to be very careful. He knew from how sensitive the nts¡¯ spiritual tentacles were that if overly eager emotions appeared in his spiritual undtions, he could very easily be removed from his current state. Establishing a connection once more would probably be extremely difficult.

    Gentle spiritual undtions that were filled with friendliness travelled soundlessly towards that living being that was giving him a definite reply.

    Huo Yuhao quickly discovered that nt, which had conspicuously stronger spiritual undtions that typical nts. When his spiritual power locked onto it, he realized to his surprise that it was a datura flower.

    This flower was no longer just a flower. It was a soul beast, and its cultivation rank was close to a ten year soul beast. Its intelligence was just starting to open up, and there was a single thread of it. It was like an infant which had just been born for a little while, and it only possessed but a few basic and blurry instincts.

 Chapter 549.1 - Opening - Phantoms in the Sky

    <h4 ss>Chapter 549.1: Opening ¨C Phantoms in the Sky</h4>

    nt-type soul beasts¡¯ intelligence was activated more slowly than animal soul beasts. They could only be considered intelligent after they had a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t go near, because he was afraid that he would startle thisrge flower. He was a human after all, and soul beasts were very sensitive towards humans.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s benevolent spiritual power circled over as he conveyed his emotions to that datura flower and inquired patiently.

    The datura flower told him that its pollen had sensed the Bluesilver Emperor at a valley not far from this ce.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power could almost cover fifty kilometers! He quickly found that valley.

    He hadn¡¯t discovered anything different about that ce, but under the datura flower¡¯s guidance, he immediately sensed how different the nts in this valley were from the outside world.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power could reach fifty kilometers in diameter because of these nts, but there weren¡¯t nts in every single corner within this range. He couldn¡¯t feel any spiritual tentacles in ces where there were no nts, so he couldn¡¯t get their help from those areas.

    But when he inspected that valley closely, he noticed that there were many nts growing in this valley. However, not a single nt released their spiritual tentacles to merge with his.

    Seems like that must be the ce!

    Huo Yuhao could feel himself getting excited. They had been searching for so long, and they had announced so many bounties over the past two years, while they had increased the rewards more than once. Even then, they couldn¡¯t find the Bluesilver Emperor at all. He hadn¡¯t expected to find a clue in this ce.

    He was just about to stand up and proceed towards that valley to search when he sensed something, andy back down in the thicket. He was using Imitation, and he was just like a bush himself, as he didn¡¯t release any part of his aura at all.

    Huo Yuhao widened his eyes in surprise.Damn, the Sun Moon Empire is worried after all!

    Beyond the horizon at the limits of his senses, Huo Yuhao could feel arge mass of aerial surveince soul tools flying towards Heavenly Sea City.

    There were aerial surveince soul tools both high in the sky and closer to the ground, and some were only five hundred meters above the ground. He didn¡¯t use Spiritual Detection to detect them directly because they were too far away, so he could only observe them through the nts around them.

    Huo Yuhao noticed several dozen surveince soul tools that were extremely close to the ground roaming around by observing everything, and many silhouettes surged high across the sky at the same time.

    Seems like my judgment is correct. The Sun Moon Empire is concentrating their stronger forces to eradicate us.

    A faint smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. Two pieces of good news had appeared one after another. How could he not be happy?

    He had to take a rain check for that valley, but the valley wasn¡¯t about to uproot itself and run away. He would execute his mission first before returning to search for the Bluesilver Emperor.

    Huo Yuhao was just lying there quietly, and it didn¡¯t take long before those lower surveince soul tools reached his location and swept past him!

    Those surveince soul tools that were responsible for surveince lower to the ground contained thermal detectors, oscition detectors, and even spiritual detectors.

    Even though there were rtively fewer spiritual detectors, there were enough to give Huo Yuhao a surprise.Has the Sun Moon Empire really understood? Even if they haven¡¯t yet understood, they must have considered problems in that respect, and they¡¯ve increased their spiritual detection capabilities.

    How lucky!

    Those spiritual detectors swept across Huo Yuhao, but didn¡¯t react at all. Their spiritual undtions didn¡¯t discover anything out of the ordinary.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t give them a chance to discover anything. His spiritual aura had be identical to the nts around him, like he waspletely assimted into the thicket. Huo Yuhao also regted his body temperature to be identical to everything around him, and his soul power waspletely shut off. In addition to Imitation, he was just like a shrub. Spiritual detectors wouldn¡¯t detect his presence even if they were just a foot in front of him as long as he didn¡¯t move.

    Those lower surveince soul tools quickly flew by, and the aerial surveince soul tools appeared immediately afterwards.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to use Spiritual Detection to conduct a deep investigation. He could use his own Spirit Eyes to see those aerial surveince soul tools very clearly.

    It didn¡¯t take long before he witnessed hundreds of aerial surveince soul tools whiz by in the sky above him. They were dispersed as they flew in all directions, and all kinds of surveince waves covered a tremendous surface area as they were like an enormous web that nketed everything around Heavenly Sea City.

    A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.Go search! You¡¯ll never find us.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly froze in this moment.

    Shadows formed neat lines roughly a thousand meters in the sky as they flew rapidly in Heavenly Sea City¡¯s direction. Dark golden colors flickered on their bodies, and they were still rtively conspicuous as the sun shone on them. Their silhouettes would be especially blurry during nighttime, and the light around them contorted faintly.

    Huo Yuhao drew a cold breath at what he saw. A single term appeared in his mind: human-shaped soul tools!

    Has the Sun Moon Empire really developed human-shaped soul tools?

    Yes, those dark golden shadows were soul engineers who were all covered in dark golden armor.

    How could Huo Yuhao not tell if that armor was just normal armor, or human-shaped soul tools? Yes, those were human-shaped soul tools.

    Every single human-shaped soul tool was about three meters tall, and they werepletely covered in dark golden armor. There were three pairs of flying-type soul tools outstretched behind their backs as they raced through the air.

    There were three hundred people. Three hundred people raced above him in an instant, and every single person emanated frightening auras.

    The location of the eyes on their helmets radiated faint red colors. Light bent around them, and they seemed to assimte into the air around them. Except, they were in the sky, and they didn¡¯t seem like they could find anything to integrate into.

    Huo Yuhao swallowed some saliva. What he was most worried about had happened after all. The Sun Moon Empire had finally made a breakthrough in their research into human-shaped soul tools, and their development seemed extremely strong.

    ording to his investigations, the strongest legion in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hand that Protects the Nation was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion, and they were formed from three hundred soul engineers who were at least Soul Kings.

    But when these soul engineers flew over him, how could Soul Kingspare with their soul power undtions?

    Not even Soul Sages could match up to the strength of those soul power undtions. They clearly belonged to Soul Douluo, and that was especially so for the several dozen soul engineers who were flying at the forefront. Every single one had auras that were so deep and profound that they were undoubtedly Titled Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao had always known that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was strong, but he didn¡¯t expect them to be that powerful.

    A soul engineer legion like that could reach Heavenly Sea City from Radiant City in less than four hours if they flew with their full strength.

    They quickly flew over Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao stood up quietly, and took a deep breath as he gazed in the direction they were flying in.The Sun Moon Empire! This is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strength!

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly as he forced down the helplessness in his heart. He surged into the sky, and his ss 9 flying-type soul tool opened and activated at once.

    ¡°Boom¨C¡± A dull boom could be heard as Huo Yuhao¡¯s body broke the sound barrier and raced in Radiant City¡¯s direction.

    Time, time! What he needed most was time. He wanted Radiant City to feel rmed and fearful, so time was most important for him. He had toplete his mission before the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion returned to Radiant City.

    It was already afternoon, and evening woulde in two hours. Huo Yuhao could reach Radiant City before evening if everything went smoothly. The Imperial Soul Engineer Legion would take some time to search for them, and they would also need about four hours for their journey. It was likely that they couldn¡¯t return to Radiant City by tonight.

    And once he started operating inside Radiant City, he trusted that the Sun Moon Empire would find a way to inform the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion and seek their aid. From that moment onwards, he would only have four hours. What he could aplish within those four hours was up to his own ability.

    Huo Yuhao was resilient and determined. After his initial shock from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s formidable equipment, he quickly calmed down as he tried to recall everything he had seen while he surged through the sky.

    The Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t possibly have more than three hundred Soul Douluo. That was impossible! Not even the Star Luo Empire, which had the most soul masters, had so many high-level soul masters.

    But the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul engineers had auras that were clearly no different from that of a Soul Douluo. This meant that the soul engineers¡¯ armor possessed excellent amplification effects, and they were probably ss 8 soul tools.

    A single ss 8 soul tool wasn¡¯t much, but what about three hundred of them? What kind of power was that? The Sun Moon Empire had enough power to fight the Holy Ghost Church with just this single soul engineer legion. At least, they would have enough to intimidate and deter them from making any rash moves.

    But the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t have what many eight-ringed individuals, so how were they using these ss 8 soul tools? This was a doubt that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t wrap his head around.

    Using soul tools which belonged to higher sses wasn¡¯t impossible under normal circumstances, but a single ss was the limit. Soul tools with higher sses had more requirements and conditions, and they became increasingly harder for soul engineers of lower sses to use.

 Chapter 549.2 - Opening - Phantoms in the Sky

    <h4 ss>Chapter 549.2: Opening ¨C Phantoms in the Sky</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was referring to normal soul masters. Graduates from Shrek Academy almost all possessed the ability to use soul tools above their ss, and that was due to their stable and consolidated foundations with their cultivation. But what about the Sun Moon Empire? Most of their soul masters relied on medicine or certain auxiliary soul tools to boost their soul power. But what about their foundations? They probably didn¡¯t have any foundations, and everything was the result of undue haste. Many soul engineers found it difficult to improve further after obtaining three soul rings, not to mention using soul tools above their current ss. Only several three-ringed soul engineers using a single ss 4 soul tool could be sessful.

    Under such circumstances, if the Imperial Soul Engineering Legion¡¯s soul engineers were all Soul Kings, how could they cross three sses and use ss 8 soul tools that only Soul Douluo could use?

    Even if the Sun Moon Empire had some way to raise their cultivation to six-ringed Soul Emperors, they still couldn¡¯t use ss 8 soul tools. Boosting a soul master¡¯s cultivation beyond Soul Emperor using medicine was futile unless the medicines used were natural treasures. Normal medicine wouldn¡¯t be useful at all. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t believe that the Sun Moon Empire could forge something like the Qiankun Fortune Pill. If that was possible, Xu Tianran himself would probably have be an Ultimate Douluo a long time ago.

    These doubts circled in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, and it was clear that he wouldn¡¯t find the answer. Unless he faced the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion head-to-head, all he could do for now was specte.

    Facing them head-to-head?

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as that phrase urred to him. How were they going to fight?

    Three hundred soul engineers who were at least ss 8 didn¡¯t even need linked soul tools. If they gathered their fire, even the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui, and the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao, would have to run away, not to mention himself. If they used linked soul tools and locked onto their target, that destructive force could probably incinerate and vaporize an entire city in the blink of an eye.

    Such ultimate power hadn¡¯t been used on the battlefield yet. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the oue if they appeared on the battlefield.

    Compared to this soul engineer legion which was fully equipped with human-shaped soul tools, the equipment of Shrek Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions was no different from that of a beggar.

    Huo Yuhao felt his heart sink when that thought urred to him. His good mood because his n was sessful and because he had found the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s whereabouts vanished into thin air.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to maintain prolonged flight, so he kept his speed at the speed of sound. This was the only way that he could fly continuously while expending a lot of soul power.

    A ss 9 soul tool firing at full power could achieve an incredible speed. Huo Yuhao could see Radiant City far in front of him after a little over the hour.

    There were aerial and low-altitude surveince soul tools in the skies above and around Radiant City. The Sun Moon Empire had be even more wealthy after they conquered more than two-thirds of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory. Over the past two years, they had probably used all the wealth and resources that they had obtained from the Heavenly Soul Empire on developing soul tools to reach where they were today.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fly directly into Radiant City. He didn¡¯t fully understand Radiant City¡¯s soul tools, and could even feel a tinge of fear from the bottom of his heart. He didn¡¯t know how advanced the Sun Moon Empire had be with their soul tool technology. That was especially so when he witnessed their sessful construction of human-shaped soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao descended to the ground when he was about twenty-five kilometers from Radiant City. He used Imitation and hurried along, and he was a much smaller target on the ground. He used Spiritual Detection as far as he could to avoid any surveince soul tools that could discover his traces.

    Radiant City was a city without walls, but that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t have strong defenses. On the contrary, Radiant City possessed high-energypression array soul tools, and the city¡¯s offensive and defensive capabilities were the absolute best on the continent.

    Huo Yuhao found an unassuming bush five kilometers from Radiant City and stopped. Hey down on the ground and replenished what he had consumed from flying at high speeds while attempting to extend his consciousness once more to feel the nts¡¯ spiritual undtions around him.

    Huo Yuhao quickly seeded following his previous experiment. These nts¡¯ situations were simr, especially so because Huo Yuhao directly released benevolent spiritual undtions and quickly attained their approval. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual tentacles swiftly merged with those nts¡¯ spiritual tentacles as he stretched them out into the distance.

    This was undoubtedly the safest surveince method. Huo Yuhao risked being discovered by abilities like spiritual barriers if he used Spiritual Detection for surveince, but extending his spiritual tentacles through those nts meant there was no way he could be discovered.

    Radiant City was a city like a forest of metal and steel. But even then, there were quite a few nts within it, and they were evenly distributed throughout the city.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power stretched out and quickly entered Radiant City. However, his spiritual power could stretch out with himself at the center when he connected with those nts, though he couldn¡¯t project his spiritual power in a single direction. Therefore, he could only reach twenty-five kilometers in Radiant City¡¯s direction. In addition to the five kilometers between Radiant City and himself, he could only reach twenty kilometers into Radiant City.

    Twenty kilometers could cover typical cities several times over, but Radiant City was just toorge. Huo Yuhao was twenty kilometers in, but he couldn¡¯t even reach half of Radiant City.

    But that was sufficient for now.

    Radiant City¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools were mostly located around the city. But Huo Yuhao would be making a grave mistake if he thought this meant that they had fewer surveince soul tools inside the city.

    The surveince soul tools inside Radiant City were all on the ground, and they seamlessly covered every single corner.

    Radiant City lived up to its reputation after all! Large cities along the southern shores like Heavenly Sea City were a far cry from Radiant City. Huo Yuhao¡¯s first thought after his spiritual power reached its limit was that Radiant City was impregnable.

    Yes, Radiant City gave him a feeling that it was impregnable.

    That was just incredible. A city asrge as that could give him a feeling that it was impregnable? That almost made him feel a little abnormal.

    This wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time at Radiant City, and every visit gave him different sensations. There was no doubt that Radiant City had changed a lot over the past two years, but one couldn¡¯t observe those changes simply by looking with his or her eyes. Only someone who could investigate and observe every inch of the city could discover the city¡¯s frightening hidden strength.

    Perhaps not even the Holy Ghost Church is aware¡­

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curved into a mocking smile. If the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui knew of the strength hidden within Radiant City, who knew how she would feel.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t reach the royal pce from his current position, but he tried his best to stretch his spiritual power ever further. He discovered something that piqued his interest: a high-energypression array soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao was currently on Radiant City¡¯s southern side, and the high-energypression array soul tool he had discovered was also on Radiant City¡¯s southern side. A patch of buildings and structures encircled this high-energypression array soul tool, and there was also an enormous soul tool front deployed in the area. A hundred and fifty soul engineers were responsible for guarding it, and Huo Yuhao could tell from this soul tool front¡¯s scale that their offensive and defensive capabilities could probably cover half of Radiant City.

    Radiant City¡¯s four corners were probably arranged in simr fashion.

    Back when the Body Douluo hadunched a hysterical assault which he had paid for with his life, Xu Tianran had relied on the tremendous soul power stored within these high-energypression array soul tools and unleashed thergest protective barrier in history to protect himself.

    Even though those defenses didn¡¯t allow him topletely dispel the Body Douluo¡¯s attack, that was mostly because they were far too scattered. Huo Yuhao had witnessed how frightening high-energypression array soul tools could be from that episode, and the soul power contained within such soul tools was just too vast. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the kind of explosive fighting strength that a single soul tool front could achieve by relying on even one such soul tool.

    Four such high-energypression soul tools were enough to make Radiant City impregnable.

    No, not four. There must be more than four!

    Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of how Radiant City¡¯s imperial pce suddenly became like a stronghold when it came under attack. That transformation could only be achieved with tremendous power, and it had to be supported by an equally vast power. This also meant that there was likely to be another high-energypression array soul tool inside the imperial pce.

    Impressive, Sun Moon Empire!Radiant City could truly be described as impregnable with defenses like that. That was especially so if the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was inside Radiant City. This meant that, in this world, only a God would probably have the strength to damage and destroy Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but think about the God of Emotions, Rong Nianbing. His strength was far from enough. At least, he didn¡¯t have enough strength to unleash the Morning Dew Dagger¡¯s full potential. Otherwise, how the Princess of the Sea force him into such a sorry position in the Ice Sea?

    Huo Yuhao circled around Radiant City for about a quarter of its circumference before heid down in the vegetation and continued his investigation. Radiant City¡¯s circumstances were almost identical to his spections, and there was arge soul tool front deployed on every side, each of which drew power from a high-energypression array soul tool, while there were soul engineers operating it from within.

    Huo Yuhao discovered after several attempts that if he wanted to use his spiritual power to detect the nts¡¯ spiritual undtions, his body also had to be in contact with nts.

    For instance, he would have to lie down in Bluesilver Grass, or in a thicket. He could also lean against a tree trunk. If his body wasn¡¯t touching any nts, there was no way he could sense their spiritual undtions.

 Chapter 549.3 - Opening - Phantoms in the Sky

    <h4 ss>Chapter 549.3: Opening ¨C Phantoms in the Sky</h4>

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. At least, the Imperial Soul Engineering Legion wouldn¡¯t return tonight without an rm. Therefore, he still had enough time.

    He didn¡¯t enter Radiant City, instead relying on his Spiritual Interference Domain and Imitation as he hid behind arge tree, opened a spectral gate, and returned to his spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao had already informed everyone about the n, so all three soul engineer legions had made their preparations to take off inside his spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao immediately called a meeting once he returned, and gathered all the Tang Sect¡¯s senior members.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t tell Bei Bei that he had discovered the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s whereabouts. Now was not the time to tell him about that, because it would affect his mood. Huo Yuhao simply told everyone what he had discovered in his surveince of Radiant City.

    Everyone¡¯s faces turned ck as they listened to his description, and that was especially so when they heard Huo Yuhao describe the Imperial Soul Engineering Legion.

    ¡°This is more troublesome than we thought,¡± Bei Bei frowned as he spoke. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire can¡¯t possibly guess our n, but Radiant City¡¯s defenses are probably already at their weakest. This is the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s capital, and their defenses are undoubtedly tight and strict. Judging by the current situation, it¡¯ll be very difficult for us to cause any significant losses to Radiant City. It¡¯s hard for us not to be discovered even with your Spiritual Interference Domain, unless we can destroy the aerial surveince soul tools around Radiant City as soon as possible. But if we do that, the city will be warned.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°It is quite difficult to destroy the aerial surveince soul tools aroundRadiant City, because they¡¯re are all linked to a soul tool front beneath them. That enormous soul tool front will attempt to intercept as soon as an attack is discovered.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°It is hard for us to seed with the current situation. Why don¡¯t we choose another target? Even if we don¡¯t attack Radiant City, I believe that they will bring their armies back as long as we can cause utter chaos within the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is already cing a lot of emphasis on us. The only thing is they don¡¯t understand how we operate. This opportunity will onlye once in a blue moon, and the Sun Moon Empire will be a lot less mobile without the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion around. The Sun Moon Empire losing their flexibility and mobility gives us a chance to retreat. Therefore, we cannot give up this opportunity, no matter what. We will never know when another opportunity like this will arise again.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled faintly at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Seems like you already have a n, little junior brother. How do we go about it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes closed into slits. ¡°We have to start from those aerial surveince soul tools. Aerial surveince soul tools are very expensive, and destroying one will already give the Sun Moon Empire some heartache. Furthermore, we can onlyplete our ambush by destroying those aerial surveince soul tools. My n is as such¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao briefly exined what he was thinking.

    Everyone nodded as they listened to his description, but Tang Wutong was the only one who frowned. ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous, Yuhao. If you¡¯re discovered, you will be immediately attacked by linked soul tools. Even though we all trust in your ability, those linked soul tools¡¯ offensive powers are far too strong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have the confidence before getting Li Ya as my Spirit, because the Sun Moon Empire has advanced their research into spiritual detectors. But fusing with Li Ya has elevated my spiritual power to a much more intricate level, and I can mask and imitate everything around me more perfectly. This means that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools will have a hard time detecting me, while only spiritual detectors can do that in the first ce. However, the greatest problem with a spiritual detector is its range. I can tell from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s current deployment of spiritual detectors that their current research product only has a range of about five hundred meters. Under such circumstances, I can just do what I need to do high in the sky, and target those aerial surveince soul tools and ignore the low-altitude ones, and they won¡¯t discover me. Those aerial surveince soul tools linking together with the soul tool front on the ground is most effective because there¡¯s sufficient space for the soul tool front to intercept any attacks against them. Those low-altitude surveince soul tools are a lot easier to deal with.¡±

    Everyone nodded continuously as they listened to Huo Yuhao¡¯s convincing discussion. Tang Wutong was the only one who still had some hesitation in her eyes as she stared at him.

    ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s settled. You have to be careful, Yuhao. Nobody can help you on this, and you have to prioritize your safety above everything else. You have to leave as soon as something goes wrong. At most, we¡¯ll just abandon this opportunity altogether.¡± Bei Bei reminded Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior brother. I will be as careful as I can. The Sun Moon Empire is too confident in their aerial surveince soul tools. After this mission, they will realize that we aren¡¯t moving quickly from ce to ce by sea, and they will be confused about our abilities. Since that¡¯s the case, we shall give them a good one this time.¡±

    Tang Wutong arrived beside Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Let me go with you. We can back each other up if we¡¯re together.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No, Wutong. It¡¯s different this time. I¡¯ll be a more flexible by myself, and I won¡¯t be discovered so easily. With my current spiritual power, it¡¯s likely that I won¡¯t be discovered even if spiritual detectors sweep over me. But if you¡¯re around, the spiritual detectors and oscition detectors can easily spot you if they sweep over you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    Tang Wutong quietly reached out and pinched his waist as she red at him threateningly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s facial muscles twitched. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be as careful as I can possibly be, for you.¡±

    Tang Wutong gently leaned into his arm. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled He Caitou with him and went straight over to the warehouses. Bei Bei immediately gathered the three soul engineer legions and prepared for battle. He ordered the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion over to the warehouses to shift something.

    The sky had already turnedpletely dark when Huo Yuhao came out of the spectral demine an hourter. He gazed at Radiant City in the distance, and he could see light and fire across thousands of homes. He had to concede that this city, which was thergest one on the continent, would leave a very deep impression on anybodying here for the first time. The city¡¯s scenes at night were the most beautiful that Huo Yuhao had ever seen.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh.I¡¯m sorry, Radiant City¡¯s peace is destined to be broken tonight.

    Huo Yuhao already had his Icy War God¡¯s Armor on by now. He used his spiritual power to control the dark blue hues so that they didn¡¯t shine, and his entire body seemed to disappear into the night sky. Not a single trace of his armor¡¯s intense chills was released.

    Huo Yuhao would be extremely careful even without Tang Wutong¡¯s reminder. His life and death was linked to the three soul engineer legions, because his spectral demine was a double-edged sword. If Huo Yuhao was alive, everyone inside his spectral demine could be an army of ghost soldiers, but if he died, then everyone in the Tang Sect and the three soul engineer legions would never leave his spectral demine.

    This wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to release everyone before he came out. They were too close to Radiant City, and everyone would be easily discovered if they came outside.

    Therefore, he had to take this risk. He wasn¡¯t taking this risk for himself. He was representing several thousand soul engineers. He was also representing the Douluo Continent¡¯sst hope. He didn¡¯t have a choice not to be careful!

    With his Icy War God¡¯s Armor, Huo Yuhao could vividly feel thick soul power flowing through the armor and entering his body continuously. The armor was almost like part of his skin, and perhaps even part of his skeleton. He didn¡¯t feel any difort or difference, besides the fact that his entire body became a little fatter.

    Huo Yuhao controlling the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was different from when the Snow Empress was doing it. The reason was because unleashing this human-shaped soul tool¡¯s full potential required Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. The Snow Empress didn¡¯t understand it enough, so she could only use it to amplify her abilities and defend herself.

    The armor¡¯s wings gradually opened behind it. It was a ss 9 soul tool, but it was different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying-shaped soul tool. The Icy War God¡¯s Armor didn¡¯t consume Huo Yuhao¡¯s own soul power, so it could take him over seven thousand meters in the air. This fact alone was something that no other soul tool in the world could achieve.

    There were two great dangers at high altitudes: lower temperatures and thin air. The Icy War God¡¯s Armor negated the extreme cold¡¯s effects, and the armor itself could absorb energy from the low temperatures around it and feed that energy back to Huo Yuhao. Thin air was fatal to other soul masters, and was a condition they couldn¡¯t recover from. But that wasn¡¯t a problem for the Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    Huo Yuhao had already attempted to go beyond ten thousand meters in the sky with this human-shaped soul tool. That was an entirely different world, and he wouldn¡¯t fall even if he didn¡¯t use any soul power to control himself. He would just be hovering in very thin air, and that feeling was both mystical and frightening at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know if he was the first human to fly at such a height, but he didn¡¯t see any other living beings at that altitude.

    He tapped his feet against the ground as his wings sted off. He used his Spiritual Detection to open a path under the cover of Imitation, and surged into the air in the moment when there weren¡¯t any surveince soul tools sweeping his path.

    The Icy War God¡¯s Armor¡¯s energy was all contained inside it, and Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have to release any soul power at all for his armor to take him high into the sky. What he needed was tomunicate with his armor through his consciousness.

    Huo Yuhao reached a thousand meters in the blink of an eye. Most low-altitude surveince soul tools were no longer effective at this height, but Huo Yuhao was going even higher.

    Two thousand meters, three thousand meters, four thousand meters, five thousand meters.

    He went all the way to six thousand meters before he controlled his armor to stabilize himself as he hovered in midair.

 Chapter 550.1 - The Attack Starts!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 550.1: The Attack Starts!</h4>

    The temperature at an altitude of six thousand meters was very low, but such low temperatures were considered a good source of replenishment for the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. The thin air was filled with elements of ice, which the Icy War God¡¯s Armor processed to replenish the energy that it expended before it stored the energy that it was absorbing,pressed it, and fed back a portion of it to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was full of admiration for this armor.I¡¯m like a Transcendent Douluo with this armor on! Even though the Sun Moon Empire has already produced human-shaped soul tools, mine is crafted from unrivaled materials, and it has cost Teacher Xuan many years of thought and effort. This super human-shaped soul tool is also crafted from the Tang Sect¡¯s mechanical technology, so the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s human-shaped soul tools are still rtively weaker.

    Huo Yuhao was already starting to move as he thought. His Spiritual Detection expanded as far as he could push it. He was six thousand meters in the sky, and he didn¡¯t believe that the Sun Moon Empire could ce any spiritual barriers at this height.

    Not even high altitude aerial surveince soul tools could be ced at this height.

    But Huo Yuhao was still full of praises for the capabilities of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools. At least, he discovered that there were still aerial surveince soul tools five thousand meters in the sky, and even though there weren¡¯t many, every single one was rtivelyrge, and their construction was extremely intricate and sophisticated. If not for his mission, Huo Yuhao would really want to take one back to study it.

    Huo Yuhao floated forward, and the first things he went for were those high altitude aerial surveince soul tools that were flying around five thousand meters in the sky.

    He observed quietly for a few moments, and he could already tell what kind of soul tool they were.

    These are clearly satellites!They were used for transmissions andmunication, and they were enormous. They could transmit all kinds of information within two hundred and fifty kilometers, and as long as there was one such soul tool within two hundred and fifty kilometers, the Sun Moon Empire would be able to transmit information across long distances. They wouldn¡¯t even have a problemmunicating at a range of more than five thousand kilometers.

    But these satellites didn¡¯t possess any offensive or defensive capabilities, and they weren¡¯t able to detect anything around them.

    Huo Yuhao slowly came up to a satellite as he ced a small round metal piece that was about the size of his palm within a tiny crack.

    Huo Yuhao was using both Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain at the same time. He activated his personal defenses to the highest possible level to prepare for worst case scenarios, and his Spiritual Detection covered a vast area around him from the beginning to the end. He was prepared to retreat at any moment. After all, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure about the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools.

    The first metal te was installed sessfully without anything changing at all.

    Huo Yuhao retreated silently afterpleting his task. He observed for a few moments, and surveyed the surveince soul tools around him to see if anything was happening. The nearest soul tool front beneath him remained stable and quiet, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

    The first attempt was most important, because itid the foundations for what he was about to do next.

    Huo Yuhao quickly began to shift around in the sky. He wasn¡¯t afraid of troubling himself, as the surveince soul tools five thousand meters up were furthest away from each other. He didn¡¯t move down to the soul tools beneath him to install those metal tes. He installed the metal tes on all the aerial surveince soul tools above Radiant City at that height, and only then did he fly down to four thousand meters.

    He continued in a simr fashion. Even though he was flying very quickly, three hours had gone by after he finished installing the metal tes on the aerial surveince soul tools three thousand meters up.

    There were sixty-three surveince soul tools of many different kinds three thousand meters in the sky, and every one was very far from the others. Huo Yuhao also had to be very careful, and that was an important reason why he was taking so long. If he didn¡¯t have his Icy War God¡¯s Armor, he would even have to take breaks before continuing.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s following task was even harder, because there were more than four hundred surveince soul tools of all kinds between an altitude of five hundred meters and one thousand meters. There were around two hundred and seventy at a thousand meters, and there were more than one hundred and sixty at five hundred meters.

    Huo Yuhao nned to forgo the surveince soul tools at five hundred meters. He would deal with themter on, but he had to install the metal ces on the surveince soul tools at one thousand meters.

    But this altitude was also the most dangerous. The surveince soul tools hovering at a thousand meters were inherently extremely powerful, while the surveince soul tools at five hundred meters would sweep both toward the ground and into the air. Therefore, Huo Yuhao had to use Spiritual Detection to avoid the surveince soul tools that could discover him as much as possible.

    Huo Yuhao paused for a little in the air and readjusted his condition.

    He rxed for a little before he reduced his Spiritual Detection¡¯s range, which was initially spread over arge area, to a small but intricate area of effect. He kept his Spiritual Detection¡¯s range to around a thousand meters in diameter so that he could conduct a more detailed surveince of all the energy changes around him. This included the surveince soul tools¡¯ waves and undtions, and how they were changing.

    Everything was within his grasp as he drifted down. He didn¡¯t cause any disturbance at all as he arrived next to a surveince soul tool that was patrolling in a pattern. He flicked his wrist dexterously as he sent another metal te into a blind spot that the soul tool itself couldn¡¯t detect. Huo Yuhao somersaulted in the air with a sh as his flying-type soul tool elerated and moved him a hundred meters horizontally. He avoided several spiritual surveince waves as he flew.

    Huo Yuhao quickly changed directions as he shifted to another side and floated downwards, and he dealt with another surveince soul tool with yet another dexterous flick of his wrist.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s understanding of hidden weapons meant he was still confident of doing this properly even if he had to do it over long distances. But doing that was a lot less discreet than going up close to those surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao had to be very careful with each instation. He couldn¡¯t allow any mistakes at all. He could expose himself with even a tiny error. What he was doing would determine whether his n could be executed sessfully, so how could he afford to be careless?

    Huo Yuhao was moving a lot faster here than he was at the higher altitudes. He turned, spun, and danced through the air as he stuck metal tes to aerial surveince soul tools continuously. His movement was like rolling clouds and flowing water as he didn¡¯t stop at all, and all those surveince soul tools had nowhere to hide under his Spiritual Detection.

    Anybody who could watch those surveince waves in the sky would be overwhelmed with admiration at what Huo Yuhao was doing. Every movement and every eleration zipped through and between dozens of intersecting surveince waves at the same time. There were some close shaves where Huo Yuhao had to use Instant Teleportation to avoid them.

    Even though not every kind of surveince wave could discover him, Huo Yuhao had to put safety first as he tried his best to keep any wave from touching him.

    After hepleted thest instation at one thousand meters, he paused in the air before he elerated and disappeared beyond the horizon.

    Huo Yuhao could feel some dizziness in his brain, which was a sign of consuming too much energy. He had consumed too much energy and not spiritual power, because he could still take this with his spiritual power.

    The sky had turned dark, as most of themps and lights that resembled the stars in the night sky had disappeared. Huo Yuhao flew far into the distance and descended to the ground at a rtively obscure and remote area.

    He crossed his legs and sat down on the ground as he panted deep and heavily. Huo Yuhao¡¯s face was a little pale, and his eyes were filled with fatigue. However, there was also excitement in his eyes.

    Huo Yuhao was entirely certain that nobody else in the Douluo Continent could achieve what he had just done. Not even Ultimate Douluo could do that.

    Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky. Even though he couldn¡¯t see the surveince soul tools he had worked on, his eyes were full of satisfaction in this moment.

    A gorgeous shadow emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was Li Ya, the mermaid princess. She sat down beside him just like that, and brought her tail up close and ced her arms around it like a young girl sitting on the ground hugging her knees.

    A beautiful song could be heard, but Huo Yuhao was the only person who could hear it. Wonderful melodies circled around his spiritual sea, and his fatigue disappeared like silk spun from cocoons. He was recovering all the spiritual power that he had expended at an incredible speed.

    This wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill. Instead, this was the mermaid princess¡¯ innate ability. She didn¡¯t speak to him, but was just singing so beautifully with a faint smile on her face.

    Everything was dark around him, but it was also quiet and tranquil. Huo Yuhao quickly entered meditation as he listened to Li Ya¡¯s song.

    He was still this mission¡¯s main director, and he had to recover what he had expended as quickly as possible.

    Consuming soul power was nothing much. He hadn¡¯t consumed much soul power because he had his Icy War God¡¯s Armor to replenish him. However, Huo Yuhao needed to rest because he had used too much spiritual power, and especially so when consuming too much energy made him feel fatigued.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core absorbed spiritual power continuously as Li Ya sang to him, and that elerated his regeneration.

    Huo Yuhao got back to his feet after an hour, and his eyes were already full of life and vigor.

    Li Ya didn¡¯t go back into his body. Instead, she just hovered quietly beside him.

    Huo Yuhao raised his right hand as deep chanting sounds could be heard, and a grey soul ring appeared on his body.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that Li Ya had seen his grey soul ring, so she didn¡¯t feel conflicted or resistant at all. Huo Yuhao was in such a state when hepleted the contract with her after all. This ring was evil, filled with light and a little strange, but she was slowly starting to ept it.

    Huo Yuhao had begun to chant his spell, and deep and dull incantations rang out. Huo Yuhao used Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain so that he could hide Li Ya and himself.

 Chapter 550.2 - The Attack Starts!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 550.2: The Attack Starts!</h4>

    Li Ya hovered next to Huo Yuhao, and a mystical scene urred. Soul rings appeared from the bottom of her mermaid¡¯s tail one after another, and one would realize upon closer inspection that they were the soul rings Huo Yuhao had attached to his Spirit Eyes, every single one of them.

    The eighth soul ring, the one that was blood red, glowed as Huo Yuhao¡¯s incantations were suddenly mixed with another crisp and bright voice.

    Every glyph or word that he chanted was apanied by an identical one in this crisp and bright voice, and this voice belonged to Li Ya.

    Li Ya was a hundred thousand year soul beast, and she had given a total of four soul skills to Huo Yuhao. Two were from soul rings, and two were from soul bones.

    The soul skill that she was using on Huo Yuhao¡¯s behalf was one from her soul rings: Mermaid¡¯s Duet.

    The reason why his eight soul rings attached to his Spirit Eyes would appear on Li Ya¡¯s body was because of one of her soul bone skills that she had bestowed on Huo Yuhao, Merfolk Control.

    Merfolk Control was entirely auxiliary, but it was very effective. It could release a merfolk¡¯s spirit when absolutely necessary to control Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skills, and it could unleash his other soul skills on its own while expending only half of the spiritual power normally required.

    That was just a soul skill. That wasn¡¯t just a soul bone for Huo Yuhao as, more importantly, he had Li Ya as his Spirit! Therefore, Li Ya using this soul skill meant that she was temporarily controlling his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills as his Spirit, and the overall effect was undoubtedly superior.

    Merfolk Control¡¯s effect on normal soul masters probably wasn¡¯t that evident, but it was very different for Huo Yuhao because he had twin martial souls! Even though he could switch between his martial souls, switching still required energy. He also couldn¡¯t unleash them as quickly as he could when he was in his normal state.

    But that was different with Merfolk Control. Li Ya could support him ording to his whims. When Huo Yuhao was using his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion in battle, Li Ya could use all kinds of auxiliary spiritual-type soul skills to help him. That was like another Huo Yuhao appearing temporarily to fight. He could also save half of his spiritual power when using his Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul bone would have to consume soul power as he was conserving spiritual power.

    However, Merfolk Control couldn¡¯t grasp every single soul skill. First, she could only use those spiritual-type soul skills. She couldn¡¯t use Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny, or the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s destiny skull¡¯s soul skills.

    This meant that Li Ya couldn¡¯t use Spiritual st, Destiny¡¯s Demise, Spiritual Dispossession, and Destiny¡¯s Adjudication, because those had belonged to Wang Qiu¡¯er. When she sacrificed herself for Huo Yuhao, he became the only one who could use her strength.

    Merfolk¡¯s Duet, which was his eighth soul skill, wasparable to Merfolk Control. Merfolk¡¯s Duet could double the effects of any of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual-type soul skills.

    That didn¡¯t include those soul skills that Wang Qiu¡¯er had bestowed on Huo Yuhao, but that was enough!

    For instance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s incantations were considered a spiritual-type soul skill, while this was also considered his third martial soul.

    What was the effect of doubling his necromantic spells¡¯ effects?

    The answer was quickly presented in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Eighteen spectral gates quickly opened and spaced out in a line. Huo Yuhao had to strengthen his Spiritual Interference Domain¡¯s area of affect so that he could cover every single gate.

    Huo Yuhao nced at Li Ya with a surprised look on his face, and she gave him a sweet smile. Merfolk¡¯s Duet only consumed half of what he would normally need for soul power and spiritual power with Merfolk Control.

    What did eighteen spectral gates mean? This meant that Shrek Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legios coulde out and retreat twice as fast as they would have otherwise!

    Huo Yuhao nodded in Li Ya¡¯s direction before he turned towards Radiant City. There was a remote in his hands.

    ¡°The show is about to begin!¡±

    Huo Yuhao pressed the button on his remote heavily as he spoke, a thread of strange undtions mixed with soul power and spiritual power travelled into the distance.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡±

    The silent night sky above Radiant City was suddenly jolted by deafening booms as enormous sparks and flowing lights crackled above Radiant City.

    The city¡¯s peace was disturbed, and ear-piercing rms could be heard in the next moment as all kinds of surveince soul tools in the sky were fully activated. Radiant City¡¯s fourrge soul tool fronts were also fully activated at the same time.

    But would that be useful?

    The corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth curved into a mocking smile as he continued pressing the remote in his hands.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom¡­¡±

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!¡±

    Intense explosions rang out continuously high in the air, as the loud sounds of those detonations travelled far through the sky. Brilliant fireworks crackled one after another in the sky.

    The soul engineers within their respective soul tool fronts inside Radiant City were allpletely stunned by what they were witnessing.

    The reason was because they hadn¡¯t detected any attacks at all, so why would their aerial surveince soul tools explode one after another?

    The screens that those aerial surveince soul tools were connected to on the ground went ck at once as exmations could be heard in every corner of the city.

    But that didn¡¯t change how those aerial surveince soul tools were exploding in the sky.

    The sky above Radiant City was like a magnificent firework show as intricate fireworks crackled again and again. There were many different colors, and there were many different sizes. A vast area of the sky above Radiant City was lit up.

    Xu Tianran was jolted awake amid the loud explosions. When he rushed out from the royal pce and witnessed the sparks and fireworks in the sky, he froze.

    What¡­ what is going on? What exactly has happened?

    Nobody could answer him. As the aerial surveince soul tools in the sky continued to explode, Radiant City¡¯s defense system waspletely activated. Soul engineers got to their battle stations and posts as they tried to control all kinds of surveince soul tools and attempt to discover some trace of what was happening.

    But the explosions in the sky didn¡¯t seem like they were going to stop at all. Radiant City couldn¡¯t get anything from their monitoring; the only thing they could get was darkness in that instant after the explosion!

    Radiant City was destined to be overwhelmed by darkness this night. The royal pce¡¯s linked defenses were activated as those terrifying explosions continued, covering the entire pce. The four soul tool fronts didn¡¯t activate their defenses, because they would have to use their high-poweredpression array soul tools if they did. They had expended much from thest time they used it, and they couldn¡¯t even activate it again. They had to conserve power so that they could defend the soul tool fronts. At a time like this, who would care about the citizens?

    Everything had happened too abruptly, to the point where Radiant City¡¯s imperial guard couldn¡¯t react in time. The entire city descended into chaos amid the explosions in the sky that were like rolling thunder.

    Radiant City had bepletely blind, and that was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first step.

    Just as those explosions were happening, Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were swiftly pushed out from those eighteen ck spectral gates one after another.

    The soul engineers didn¡¯t make a sound at all, but when they saw the brilliant fireworks that were lighting up the sky in the distance, they opened their mouths in shock.

    They almost didn¡¯t know where they were, but this firework show was the grandest one they had ever witnessed in their lifetimes.

    A cold dash of light flickered across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He withdrew the remote in his hands. The first step was the most important one, and he finallypleted this task that he had spent so much energy and almost half of the entire night on.

    Huo Yuhao shared Spiritual Detection with everyone and ryed his instructions.

    Three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons formed up in a single line as they quickly got into formation.

    After the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion came out, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul masters and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul masters quickly rushed out from those eighteen spectral gates.

    The Fort Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul engineers didn¡¯t appear with their forts. Most of them were pushing some heavy soul tools as they appeared beside the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion.

    They quickly set those soul tools up, and He Caitou was theirmander.

    The Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul engineers were wearing their equipment and supporting the other two legions from one side, and everyone nervously got to work.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and regted his breathing as he listened quietly to the explosions in the sky. Tang Wutong, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and the rest of the Tang Sect¡¯s senior members arrived beside him as they gazed into the distance.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes flowed with astonishment and respect as they witnessed the magnificent fireworks in the sky. Huo Yuhao had aplished this by himself! He was like the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s nightmare, and he made what was impossible, possible. He could still find loopholes and weaknesses in Radiant City¡¯s airtight defenses.

    The explosions far in the sky finally stopped after about a dozen minutes. Metal fragments and dust fell from the sky as dense smoke covered the entire city.

    Radiant City was dark before, but the entire city lit up once more as the city¡¯s defense army was mobilized. They increased their vignce and defenses across the city, and activated their backup aerial surveince soul tools and released them into the air. The royal pce¡¯s linked defensive barrier was still being maintained.

    But right at this moment, the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons divided into three rows as they formed up behind Huo Yuhao.

    The dark cannons emanated sinister auras, and every single soul engineer¡¯s breathing was rough and heavy. The stunning scenes of the night far in the distance had already told them where they were, and those who were smarter could already figure out what had just happened.

 Chapter 550.3 - The Attack Starts!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 550.3: The Attack Starts!</h4>

    Even though they didn¡¯t know how theirmander detonated the aerial surveince soul tools above Radiant City, they understood that they would forever remember today¡¯s battle. They didn¡¯t know if such a scene would happen again in the future, but they were brimming with belligerence and the will to fight.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly opened his eyes, and everyone could see two beams of golden light that were each about a meter wide and almost material st out from his eyes.

    Terrifying spiritual undtions burst forward unforgivingly, and the same voice appeared in every single soul engineer¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Stationary soul cannon shells, prepare to fire.¡±

    Every Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon could hold forty-eight shells. They would only use Milk Bottles and the soul masters¡¯ soul power under normal circumstances topress and amplify before firing.

    But today was different. They had received an order before they moved out, that those forty-eight shells would be changed for stationary soul cannon shells. This meant that every Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon now contained forty-eight stationary soul cannon shells. The shells that the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion were loading were almost half of the Tang Sect¡¯s annual production.

    Spiritual Detection allowed the dark sky in those soul engineers¡¯ eyes to be three-dimensional images, and every single person had a different target.

    ¡°Fire!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted as the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fired at the same time, for the first time in history.

    ¡°Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­¡± Howling sounds appeared one after another. The rhythm was rich, like a grand and magnificent symphony.

    Pirs of fire and light shed from behind the Tang Sect¡¯s members as they left brilliant trails behind them as they flew towards Radiant City.

    Three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons fired at the same time, and every st fired sixteen stationary soul cannon shells.

    He Caitou¡¯s facial muscles twitched continuously as he looked on. That was all precious money!

    Four thousand eight hundred stationary soul cannon shells were all fired at once. Even the Sun Moon Empire, who had mastered the most powerful soul tool technology, wouldn¡¯t do something like this.

    But Huo Yuhao did that. He wasn¡¯t stingy at all as he sted away.

    Four thousand eight hundred stationary soul cannon shells rose into the air, and in that moment, those bright and brilliant shes dispersed and flew in all directions. They were like flowers thrown into the air, and that feeling was filled with wonder.

    Bei Bei muttered under his breath, ¡°Did little junior brother integrate the Tang Sect¡¯s hidden weapon techniques into artillery fire?¡±

    The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were being developed continuously. Every two cannon barrels could aim at one target. Under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible for the aimers to hit eight different targets with sixteen barrels.

    But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have this problem. Huo Yuhao could divide his mind with his frightening spiritual power, and it was he who gave those cannon crews all two hundred and forty precise targets.

    Those cannons were fired in order and not at the same time, and that was the reason why everything came together like a symphony.

    Those explosions naturally urred one after another.

    The aerial surveince soul tools had been almost entirely annihted, but the low-altitude soul tools at five hundred meters were still around. Even though most of them just swept across the ground for surveince, they gave immediate feedback when so many soul cannon shells appeared at the same time in the distance.

    The four soul tool fronts around Radiant City activated their linked defenses almost as soon as was possible. They didn¡¯t know what their enemies were attacking, so that was undoubtedly the best response.

    Intense explosions first came from these four corners!

    Radiant City¡¯s soul tool fronts no longer had their aerial surveince tools, so they were in a disadvantaged position. They could only use their internal ground-based aerial surveince soul tools to lock onto those stationary soul cannon shells that were flying over.

    But everything happened too suddenly and too quickly, and they couldn¡¯t possibly intercept every single shell.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡±

    Explosions rang out from Radiant City¡¯s four corners. Some shells exploded in the sky, and some exploded on a soul tool front¡¯s defensive barrier. Firecrackers seemed to fall towards the ground as they sparked in every corner.

    Just as these explosions continued at the city¡¯s four corners, sparks and shes appeared once more in the sky. But these explosions were a lot closer to the ground, because the low-altitude surveince soul tools were the ones that were being blown up!

    Almost half of the more than two hundred low-altitude surveince soul tools were eradicated in the blink of an eye. The four soul tool fronts could barely struggle to defend themselves, not to mention the fact that they didn¡¯t have the time to cooperate with their low-altitude surveince soul tools so that their soul tool fronts could intercept those attacks.

    ¡°Second round, fire!¡±

    Huo Yuhao had already given his second order to fire when the fireworks cracked open at the city¡¯s four corners.

    ¡°Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­¡± A second symphony could be heard as another four thousand eight hundred stationary soul cannon shells were fired, and rocketed toward Radiant City.

    He Caitou closed his eyes painfully, but the Tang Sect¡¯s soul engineers were more ovee with shock and passion.

    This was a modern battle! They wereunching long-range attacks against their enemies by relying on firepower. Every one of them was confident because their enemies were far away, and there were eighteen spectral gates behind them that they could retreat through. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how high their morale was.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡±

    The explosions were almost seamlessly connected. This time, more shells were aimed into the air besides suppressing those four soul tool fronts.

    There were almost no more low-altitude surveince soul tools after that round, and some of Radiant City¡¯s backup aerial surveince soul tools hadn¡¯t even reached their optimal locations before they were sted back to the ground.

    ¡°Prepare for the third round. Second senior brother! Give it to me.¡± Huo Yuhao reached out with his right hand to He Caitou, who had appeared next to him.

    He Caitou¡¯s eyes were full of longing, and he couldn¡¯t bear toply, but he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate for even a second at a time like this. Light shed as an enormous cannon with a silver barrel appeared in his hands, and he passed it to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao reached out and grabbed this heavy cannon, which was two meters long and had a barrel opening with a diameter of two hundred and fifty millimeters, and ced it on his shoulder.

    Huo Yuhao went down on one knee and peered through the scope. His left hand held the cannon barrel, and he trained it in front of him while he wrapped his right hand around the central part of the barrel¡¯s thickest part. He was like a statue, and he didn¡¯t move at all.

    ¡°Xu Tianran, take a hit from my Tai Ah!¡±

    ¡°Third wave, fire!¡±

    ¡°Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­¡±

    Every stationary soul cannon shell stored in the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons was finally fired in thest wave, down to the veryst one.

    Forty thousand eight hundred ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells surged into the air. This time, they didn¡¯t disperse, as they only had one target.

    The four soul tool fronts defending Radiant City at its four corners had all been bombarded by hundreds of stationary soul cannon shells. Even though they were only ss 4 shells, they were still stationary soul cannon shells!

    They couldn¡¯t use their high-poweredpression array soul tools, and their linked defenses were falling apart under such circumstances. The soul engineers and soul masters within those soul tool fronts had consumed too much of their soul power, and two-thirds of their backup Milk Bottles.

    Nine thousand six hundred stationary soul cannon shells had been fired in the previous two rounds! An attack of this scale was unprecedented for Radiant City¡¯s soul tool fronts ever since their establishment.

    But how could they have the capacity to resist the third wave?

    All four thousand eight hundred stationary soul cannon shells in the third wave were aimed at the royal pce. The shells zipped across the sky and appeared above the royal pce in the blink of an eye.

    But right at this moment, the royal pce¡¯s outermost walls suddenly lit up as sixteen golden pirs surged into the sky.

    These sixteen pirs of light burst straight up to more than five hundred meters in the sky. They swept across the heavens as they cooperated with each other excellently.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­¡±

    Explosions crackled continuously across the sky. The stationary soul cannon shells didn¡¯t fall, and most of them were detonated in the sky as those sixteen pirs swept over them.

    These pirs¡¯ trajectories were evidently premeditated, as they swept across the areas that had the densest concentration of stationary soul cannon shells.

    The remaining ss 4 stationary soul cannon shells fell inside the royal pce, but most of them couldn¡¯t do anything at all as they shed against the pce¡¯s formidable defensive barrier. They created pretty ripples one after another before they were destroyed.

    The sixteen golden pirs were like sixteen divine pirs that protected the royal pce.

    But just as they were sweeping across the sky, another beam of white light hovered five thousand meters in the sky above the royal pce.

    It was a beam of white light that resembled a white spear, with its tip pointed downward. Its entire body radiated bright white colors, and as those sixteen golden pirs moved, it also moved.

    It disappeared in a sh!

    This white beam of light was just too quick. It seemed to descend from the heavens as it pierced right through the explosions beneath it.

    Anybody who could see clearly would realize that this white beam adjusted its angle continuously as it flew, and it avoided the most concentrated regions of those explosions. It didn¡¯t allow any of the explosive forces to touch it.

    The sixteen pirs didn¡¯t manage to eradicate all the stationary soul cannon shells in the end, and there were still some who collided with the royal pce¡¯s protective barrier.

    Right at this moment, the white beam of light that seemed like a shooting star also arrived, and immediately struck the barrier¡¯s surface.

    ¡°Tch¡ª¡± Ear-piercing sounds could be heard as the white beam began to spin vigorously. It was like a drill as it impaled the royal pce¡¯s protective barrier.

    rms rang out within the soul protective barrier, and the light radiating from the protective barrier grew extremely intense as it worked at maximum capacity.

 Chapter 551 - The Retreat Starts!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 551: The Retreat Starts!</h4>

    However, the white light continued to drill inwards at an incredibly fast and stable rate. Even though it was making a super annoying sound, it was truly a sight to behold.

    Streaks of light from the interior of the pce flew towards this white light as they attempted to destroy it.

    However, it was during this short period of time when the white light suddenly froze before dipping downwards. Even though it did not prate the barrier, it was stuck on the surface of the pce¡¯s protective barrier.

    Just when the soul engineers who were responsible for defending the interior of the Pce were about to let out a sigh of relief, an even finer streak of white light drilled out from its tip before entering the interior of the Pce.

    Even though the walls of the Pce were incredibly thick and firm, the white light was able to drill itself in without making any noise at all.

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    Xu Tianran had been standing in front of his sleeping chamber, and had just witnessed the series of events which happened in the sky. He immediately knew something bad was about to happen the moment he saw the white light dip.

    An intense purple light exploded from his body as a purple-gold human-shaped soul tool enveloped his body instantly. At the same time, Xu Tianran bent down and brought his limbs close to his body to minimize his surface area. He increased the intensity of the purple-gold light around him as he tried to use the light to protect his body.

    He was able to do all of the above in an incredibly short amount of time. No one present would have been able to catch what he was doing with their eyes.

    Just when Xu Tianran was finished, the entire Pce started to tremble!

    ¡°Booommm!¡±

    A deafening explosion could be heard from the bottom of the Pce. Following which, a white pir of light shot straight up into the sky from the ground.

    This pir was not very big initially. It was only about as thick as an arm. However, it rapidly expanded as it encroached into the space around it. In addition, it radiated white ripples towards its surroundings.

    At this very instant, every single building in the Pce was enveloped in a golden barrier. The barriers were trying to shield the buildings from the white light.

    However, the white light was just too powerful for the barriers, as it consumed the buildings with ease.

    The pce guards were effectively useless against such overwhelming power. They were instantly vaporized when the white light enveloped them.

    However, at this instant, the Sun Moon Empire started to show their trump cards.

    Countless images lit up one after another within the Pce. Even though these images were of several different colors, all of them transformed into barriers as theyunched themselves towards the white light.

    At the same time, the protective soul barriers within the Pce started to concentrate their energy and contract. The sixteen golden pirsunched themselves towards the white light as they formed more barriers to contain it.

    The ce that the white light hadnded in was the central area of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce.

    Right now, Xu Tianran could sense an incredibly frightening amount of soul power ravaging his body.

    Countless streaks of light were exploding from his body. All of these streaks wereing from the defensive soul tools which had been designed for him by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers. The soul tools were being destroyed by the invincibly sharp soul power as they put in theirst bit of effort to defend their user.

    Even though Xu Tianran was swept up in the powerful white ripples, he was ultimately able to survive because of his human-shaped soul tool, as well as the powerful defensive soul tools.

    However, when he crept out from the white light, there were already several cracks in his human-shaped soul tool. On top of being covered with dirt, his leg prosthetics had also been torn to pieces. Hence, he could only use his arms and body to crawl out.

    Outside of Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao was struggling as he tried to pass the gigantic silver barrel to He Caitou.

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    The three hundred heavy artillery pieces sped towards the Spectral Gate. At the same time, a golden light lit up from their sides and formed a golden barrier that enveloped all of the heavy artillery and the Spectral Gate.

    Huo Yuhao bit the tip of his tongue lightly as he tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Tang Wutong was continuously injecting her spiritual power into him to stabilize the state of his body.

    Li Ya silently appeared as she released Merfolk Control once again. Ripples of light dissipated from her body as they turned the interior of the protective soul barrier cloudy and opaque.

    Just when they were about to be done with their preparations, streaks of light could be seen shooting up into the air from the distance as they headed for where Huo Yuhao and his peers were.

    This reaction was expected of Radiant City! After all, it was the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, and the biggest city in the entire world.

    After being repeatedly attacked, it was finally Radiant City¡¯s turn to retaliate.

    Even though they did not have the help of aerial surveince soul tools to locate the precise position of Huo Yuhao and his peers, they could roughly tell where they were from the location where the stationary soul cannon shells shot into the sky. Hence, they decided to suppress Huo Yuhao and his peers with carpet bombing, and prevent them from continuing their attack.

    However, all of this was within Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations. Hence, he had deployed the linked defensive barriers he had looted from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Eastern Sun City and the soul tool front at the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    These soul tools were the pride of the Sun Moon Empire. However, they were now protecting the people of Tang Sect with the support of milk bottles.

    While the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion was retreating into the Spectral Gate, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion were in charge of sweeping the group and covering them from the rear. Huo Yuhao and the rest were scheduled to be thest few to enter.

    Even though the carpet bombing method was effective at coveringrge areas, its attack was too spread out to strike anything effectively.

    Although there were a few explosions above the barrier asionally, they were not able to prate the barrier.

    Very soon, the three hundred cannons had entered the Spectral Gate.

    The eighteen doors had allowed them to retreat at twice the usual rate. It only took them ten minutes topletely retreat. This also meant that the rest of the people would be able to enter at an even faster rate.

    After the enormous explosion, almost eighty percent of the Pce had turned into ruins.

    Streaks of light rose into the sky above the Pce. Three of them flew straight towards where Huo Yuhao and his peers were. Their movement was so fast that they resembled bolts of lightning.

    Huo Yuhao had been monitoring every single movement within the Radiant City with his Spiritual Detection.

    After sensing the movement of those three different figures, he was mildly startled. Those three figures were radiating immensely powerful auras.

    They were all ss 9 soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empires¡¯s Imperial Shrine!

    A pir of light which consisted of two colors¡ªsilver and gold¡ªsuddenly fell from the sky and mmed into the linked defense barrier. The barrier instantly became bright gold and silver as it released a deafening screeching sound. As the barrier tried to fend off the attack, the soul energy stored in the milk bottles decreased rapidly.

    This is¡­

    The Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    The Starsky Douluo was here!

    Even though Huo Yuhao frowned upon realizing that, he was not afraid of him.

    He had long foreseen that this would happen. No matter how sudden their attack was, they were only ten miles away from Radiant City. This distance was nothing for ss 9 soul engineers. Hence, he was expecting them to attack them as they were retreating.

    This was why he had nned for himself and the stronger cultivators within the Tang Sect to stay at the back of the group.

    Huo Yuhao ordered, ¡°There are three ss 9 soul engineersing our way. Wutong and I will take the Starsky Douluo. Eldest senior brother, you will take the ss 9 soul engineer on the left. Third senior brother, you will be in charge of the one on the right. Fifth senior sister and Ji Juechen, both of you will assist eldest senior brother. Guyi and Qiuqiu, both of you will help third senior brother. Fourth senior sister, you will help ensure that the rest can retreat smoothly. Second senior brother, I will need you to provide us with covering fire, and to assist us wherever necessary! Let¡¯s move out!¡±

    The destructive ability of three ss 9 soul engineers was definitely more than what three Titled Douluo could achieve. If they were to fight one-on-one, a Titled Douluo would not fear a ss 9 soul engineer. However, when the soul engineer was given sufficient time and distance, his or her destructive ability would be incredibly strong. Hence, Huo Yuhao and the others had to seize the initiative and attack them before they destroyed the barrier. If not, countless Tang Sect soul engineers would perish under their attacks.

    The most important thing for the legions now was time. Huo Yuhao was definitely able to get the three legions to fight the three ss 9 soul engineers. In fact, the soul engineers would definitely not be able to defeat a single legion of two hundred soul engineers.

    However, now was not the time for them to get entangled in a battle. If they were to continue to fight and dy their retreat, they might not be able to leave anymore when more reinforcements arrived.

    It was important to understand that they were still within the attacking radius of the nearest soul tool instation. Hence, Huo Yuhao had decisively ordered everyone to retreat instead of bracing themselves for battle.

    The three ss 9 soul engineers might be powerful, but so were the higher-ups of Tang Sect. If the Tang Sect¡¯s high-ups were the only ones involved in the battle, it would also be a lot easier for all of them to retreat together. After all, they had developed impable chemistry after working with one another for all these years.

    Ye Yulin stared coldly at the light barrier beneath him from afar. Because of how the light waves were bending around each other, it was impossible for him to see what was within the barrier. However, he could tell from the flickering of the light that there were a lot of people inside it. Nheless, he was unable to tell what they were doing.

    Ye Yulin did not try to get closer to them, even though he was very confident in his abilities. After seeing how they were able to prate the defenses of the Pce, he believed that these attackers were fairly strong. In addition, he believed thest streak of white light must have been a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell which was built specifically to prate protective barriers.

    Nheless, he also understood how the cannon shell must have expended a lot of energy to drill through the barrier. Hence, the explosion within the interior of the pce did not seem to possess the power that a true ss 9 cannon shell was supposed to have. However, it was still undeniable that the shell had dealt a lot of damage to the pce.

    The mission for him and the other two ss 9 soul engineers was to dy these people. As long as they were able to dy them till the other reinforcements from Radiant City arrived, they would be able tounch an all-out attack on this group of people who had caused an incredible amount of damage to Radiant City.

    To be honest, Ye Yulin was not overly enraged by the destruction around him. After all, the losses belonged to the empire, and not him. He was more curious about the person who was able to organize such a powerful sneak attack on Radiant City. This group of people was somehow able to take down all of the aerial surveince soul tools above Radiant City! Also, they were able to suppress the four soul tool instations around Radiant City and prevent them from supporting the city. They had most definitely used more than a thousand shells in the attack earlier. This was not something that any small group could aplish. It must have been organized by another empire.

    On top of that, the Sun Moon Empire was somehow totally unaware of this force. They werepletely oblivious the whole time this force transported their ammunition to Radiant City. Even if this group were to attack with stationary soul cannon shells, they would have tounch them somewhere close to the city.How did they manage to pull it off?

    After releasing the Sunmoon Divine Needle, Ye Yulin began to recover his soul power through a milk bottle. Even though his soul tool was incredibly powerful, it tended to consume a lot of soul power. At this instant, he saw a few figures flying out of the linked defense barrier, and two of them were heading in his direction.

    After letting out a cold grunt, Ye Yulin swung his right hand in the air as multiple streaks of light ascended into the sky. The way these streaks of light left his body made it seem as though they had grown out from him. As they climbed higher into the sky, they rapidly grew bigger before transforming into intensely bright balls of light. They were like stars that were floating above Ye Yulin¡¯s head.

    There was a reason why he was called the Starsky Douluo. When it came to pure fighting power, Ye Yulin was definitely one of the best in the Sun Moon Empire. After his stars gathered in the sky, he locked his spiritual power on the iing enemies.

    However, he suddenly felt an intense sense of danger within his heart. He immediately looked at the two cultivators who were flying towards him. He realized there was a purple-gold glow in one of their eyes.

    His automatic spiritual defense soul tools were instantly activated. A ne that was hanging in front of his chest suddenly exploded with blinding light as a spiritual barrier instantly formed in front of him.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A loud metallic sound could be heard. Ye Yulin naturally ducked his head as he looked at the state of his Sobering Ne. Several cracks could already be seen forming on it.

    What a powerful spiritual attack!

    Even though his Sobering Ne was able to negate arge part of the attack, the violet spiritual ripples still made Ye Yulin temporarily incapable of locking onto his opponent. Hence, his two opponents were able to get within a hundred meters of him with their incredible speed.

    Ye Yulin was a ss 9 soul engineer who was skilled in fighting. Hence, he did not panic as he made a tapping motion with his right hand in a calm and collected fashion. At that instant, multiple streaks of light were released from the balls of light above his head. They collectively formed a huge as they attempted to block his two opponents¡¯ path.

    At the same time, Ye Yulin retreated at an incredible speed. He left a sequence of faint figures that resembled him as he moved a distance of five hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

    A soul engineer who specialized in long-range attacks must possess the following important skills: defending, reacting, and evading.

    The two people who were charging towards Ye Yulin were none other than Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao had left Li Ya within the protective soul barrier to maintain the Spiritual Interference Domain, so as to maintain the secrecy of the entire force¡¯s numbers.

    Meanwhile, the few of them had rushed out to engage the ss 9 soul engineers.

    Ye Yulin was truly very powerful. The streaks of light that were heavily intertwined in front of him contained an immense amount of destructive power. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to just barge through the. He could only pull Tang Wutong aside as they paused their attack. This allowed Ye Yulin to increase his distance from them.

    Tang Wutong extended the wings behind her back as she paused and floated in mid-air. Huo Yuhao also did not go after Ye Yulin. However, his eyes were still sparkling as his Spiritual Detection ability remained fully focused and locked onto the Starsky Douluo¡¯s body.

    Tang Wutong grabbed onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor at his waist as she released countless balls of light from her wings. The balls were going straight for the ¡°stars¡± in the sky which were released by Ye Yulin.

    After stopping and stabilizing his body, Ye Yuline nced around at his surroundings coldly before locking onto his two opponents. He started to charge his Sunmoon Divine Needle, which was getting ready at a higher altitude.

    Of course, he was able to tell that the two soul masters nearing him were both Titled Douluo. However, it was the person who was wearing the dark blue human-shaped soul tool that surprised him more.

    The person¡¯s human-shaped soul tool might be smaller than the one researched by the Sun Moon Empire. However, its smaller size did not mean that it would be weaker. The aura radiating from the person created an inexplicable sense of fear within him. Despite his wealth of experience, he was unable to tell what material that human-shaped soul tool was made of. The material seemed to provide depth in color, yet it was remarkably clear, as though it was carved entirely out of gemstones. At the same time, he was unable to detect any soul power rippling out from the person. The person¡¯s presence seemed to be concealed by the armor. This made the their movements extremely unpredictable.

    Hence, Ye Yulin was preparing to use his strongest possible attack to attempt to destroy them. Now he was genuinely curious about whaty beneath the barrier. As long as they were still here, they would not be able to run away when his reinforcements arrived shortly.

    While he was thinking about it, Ye Yulin transmitted a series of encoded messages through hismunication soul tool. He believed that the nearest soul tool instation would provide him with long-range fire support shortly. However, their target would not be the two people before him; it would be the protective soul barrier.

    However, at this instant, Ye Yulin was surprised to see an orange-red light emerging from the protective soul barrier beneath him.

    The streak of orange-red light was flying at an insanely quick speed, but it was constantly twisting and turning in its flight path.

    This is¡­

    Ye Yulin¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. This was a guiding re!

    These people have actually developed guiding res!He could not believe what he was seeing.

    Guiding res were basically designed to counter areas where powerful soul tools were installed. A guiding re contained immense soul power ripples which could attract the attention of all surrounding surveince soul tools. And because most of the soul tools that were designed to intercept enemy attacks were all designed to fire upon detection, the guiding re was able to get the entire instation to fire at it. This would allow Huo Yuhao and his peers to waste their enemy¡¯s ammunition and energy. At the same time, it would be the perfect decoy when they prepared tounch their real attack on the enemy.

    And as expected, the guiding re was heading towards the soul tool deployment area which was closest to Radiant City.

    I can¡¯t believe these fellows are actually so well-prepared!

    Just as Ye Yulin had predicted, right after the guiding re shot out, a ck figure emerged. If Ye Yulin did not notice themotion down there, he might have missed the ck figure.

    However, after appearing, the ck figure immediately disappeared from Ye Yulin¡¯s vision.

    This¡­

    Shit!Ye Yulin immediately shouted into hismunication soul tool. ¡°Defense. I want everyone to go into full defense mode. Be careful of the guiding re and any sneak attacks. Do not prioritize providing support fire anymore.¡±

    Tonight¡¯s sneak attack was simply too sudden for Radiant City to handle. Even till now, all of the soul engineers were still unclear about the potential extent of this attack, and whether there was going to be a follow up to it. Hence, their utmost priority was to protect Radiant City instead of killing their enemies. Having seen how powerful the initial attack was, Ye Yulin knew he had to be extra careful. He did not want to be responsible for any failure to defend against the second wave.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face revealed a sly smile. However, his expression was not visible to anyone, because his entire body was concealed within the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. He gently raised his right hand as a deep blue dagger appeared in his hand. There was ayer of white icy dew on the surface of the dagger¡¯s de.

    Yes, it was the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger!

    Tang Wutong held onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist¡ªor rather his armor¡ªtightly before she spun three hundred and sixty degrees in the air. Following which, she tossed Huo Yuhao outwards in the direction of the Starsky Douluo.

    After being thrown out a hundred meters, his entire body suddenly radiated an intense white light as he sped across the sky like a meteor. He resembled a bolt of lightning that was about to strike Ye Yulin.

    Icy Meteor! This was the ability Little White had given Huo Yuhao. It was able to instantly increase Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying speed to three times his usual speed. At the same time, his Ultimate Ice¡¯s explosive ability and defensive ability were doubled.

    The most powerful thing about Icy Meteor was its singr collision. It only had one chance to strike its target, just as a meteor only had one attempt to hit any astral body. When Huo Yuhao was using the Icy Meteor, he was able to enhance his offensive power to that of an Ultimate Ice Titled Douluo. And because he was also wearing the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, it was pretty much equivalent to an all-out attack from a Transcendent Douluo!

    Hence, Ye Yulin felt immensely threatened by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy Meteor. Even though he had just released the soul skill, Ye Yulin already felt as though the meteor had hit him.

    Ye Yulin was immensely startled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s power.This is definitely the power of a Transcendent Douluo!

    Ye Yulin had always been very confident in his abilities. He believed that as long as he kept a respectable distance between him and his opponent, he was even capable of fending off the attacks of a Transcendent Douluo!

    A soul engineer must put an adequate distance between him and his opponent in order to showcase his abilities. However, there were no such requirements for soul masters.

    Hence, if the battle were to be fought within a certain range, a soul master would most definitely win.

    As the ball of white light rapidly erged before his eyes, Ye Yulin did not even hesitate as he activated his Sunmoon Divine Needle, which had just finished charging.

    After he had repeatedly improved his Sunmoon Divine Needle, its attacking power had be far greater than before. Even a Transcendent Douluo would suffer tremendously under its attack. At the very least, the attacker would be struck down from the sky.

    The gold and silver pir of light descended from the sky instantly. Even though it was not particrly radiant, it contained an insane amount of destructive energy.

    Only a fool would try to block the Sunmoon Divine Needle head-on.

    Ye Yulin gazed from afar as he watched the impending collision between this pseudo-Transcendent Douluo and his Sunmoon Divine Needle.

    Suddenly, the white light disappeared. However, the person who was within the white light reappeared.

    What is he thinking? Is he trying to kill himself? Without the protection of his powerful soul skill, he will die.Ye Yulin was very puzzled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s actions.

    However, he saw that person waving his hand towards him.

    The other two battles had already begun. One of them was led by the Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi, as he fought alongside the Holy Angel, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu.

    Even though Xu Sanshi was only an eight-ringed soul master, his defensive ability was unparalleled among all known martial souls after his martial soul had evolved into the Xuanwu Shield.

    With the full-power defense of his Xuanwu Shield protecting him, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu, the three of them charged towards a ss 9 soul engineer.

    Even though they might not be soul engineers, they were still well-equipped with soul tools!

    The three of them might not possess ss 9 flying soul tools, but they were still supported by soul thrusters. After all, it was not possible to produce that many ss 9 flying soul tools in such a short amount of time.

    A powerful soul master¡¯s body was definitely a lot stronger than that of a soul engineer. Hence, the thrust force which came from their soul thrusters was very powerful.

    Xu Sanshi initiated the attack, since his body was the toughest among the three of them. He was instantly able to break the sound barrier when he revved up the three ss 9 soul thrusters behind his back. With his Xuanwu Shield in front of him, Xu Sanshi was like another meteor on the battlefield as he closed in on the ss 9 soul engineer.

    This ss 9 soul engineer was the weakest one among the three soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao did not determine their rtive strengths based on their soul power. This was because it was incredibly hard to determine the soul power of a ss 9 soul engineer. They had too many soul tools providing support and boosting their power. Even their attacking means were probably heavily influenced by their soul tools. Hence, soul power would be a bad gauge of their abilities.

    Huo Yuhao had based his estimation on their rtive spiritual power. This ss 9 soul engineer had the weakest spiritual power among his peers. Spiritual power was the most important factor in theter stages of training for soul engineers.

    With the help of the soul thrusters, Xu Sanshi brought the twodies towards this soul engineer. The soul engineer immediately lost hisposure as he started to use different soul tools to repeatedly attack Xu Sanshi and the girls. He was trying to stop them from getting closer to him.

    However, there was a reason why Xu Sanshi was called the Eternal Defense. A series of mystical ripples formed on the Xuanwu Shield as it negated arge part of the attacksunched by the soul engineer. They were effectively unstoppable.

    However, the ss 9 soul engineer also possessed a fair bit ofbat experience. While he continued attacking Xu Sanshi and the rest, he activated his own soul thruster, which was on his chest, as he rapidly retreated in a bid to increase the distance between him and Xu Sanshi.

    It was clear that ording to Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrangement, Bei Bei¡¯s group was rtively stronger. Bei Bei, Xiao Xiao, and Ji Juechen were all eight-ringed Soul Douluo. In fact, they were not just any Soul Douluo. Their cumtive power would definitely be stronger than that of a Titled Douluo. Xiao Xiao was adept at controlling and defending, whereas Ji Juechen was extremelypetent in attacking. Bei Bei, on the other hand, was very versatile. Hence, even Huo Yuhao would not even be confident of defeating them if they were to team up against him.

    On the other hand, Xu Sanshi¡¯s team seemed to be rtively weaker. But looks could be deceiving.

    After their previous battle with the Myriad Soul Douluo, Ye Guyi had spent a considerable amount of time meditating and digesting her gains. Huo Yuhao could only roughly guess how strong she was now. Her soul power should be close to Rank 80. She was probably only justcking her eighth soul ring.

    The Holy Angel martial soul was one of the top-tier martial souls in the world. With the power of her martial soul, Ye Guyi would be a formidable force. Her Holy Angel would truly awaken once she attained her eighth ring. In the future, when she reached the Titled Douluo rank, her powers would not be weaker than that of a cultivator who possessed an Ultimate Strength martial soul.

    Even though Nan Qiuqiu might be a little weaker than the rest, she was still a Soul Sage. On top of that, she possessed the Annihtion martial soul. The power of the Rouge Dragon was starting to show after she had attained the rank of a Soul Sage. In addition, she was also wearing a set of Icy War God¡¯s Armor. Even though her armor did not possess the same spiritual control system and was not made of Divine Ice Crystals, which contained ice spirits, Xuan Ziwen had already enhanced this human-shaped soul tool to its maximum potential. Because Nan Qiuqiu received this armor earlier than Huo Yuhao, she was already very familiar with it. Nheless, the most important person in this trio was still Xu Sanshi. His individual ability was even more effective than Bei Bei¡¯s on the battlefield. The power of his Xuanwu Shield, which could be shown in team fights, was simply overwhelming.

    For example, right now when the ss 9 soul engineer released his soul thruster and retreated rapidly, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield lit up as his Golden Tortoise appeared behind his back silently.

    The light on the Xuanwu Shield suddenly became illusory. Following which, the ss 9 soul engineer felt as though his body was being gripped by a hand. It was almost as if he were being tugged tightly by some mysterious force. Before he could react, the world around him seemed to have flipped as he appeared in front of Xu Sanshi. This was the enhanced version of Xuanwu Discement ¡ª Xuanwu Summoning. After the Xuanwu martial soul was truly awakened, Xu Sanshi possessed the powerful ability to instantly pull his opponent towards him. No matter how strong the opponent was, he would be able to pull them in till he or she was right in front of him. As long as the opponent was within a hundred meters of him, he or she would definitely be vulnerable to this soul skill.

    Simr to the Xuanwu Discement, this was an amazing soul skill! It was especially so for a defense-type soul master. He could help his peers escape from theirmon enemy in an instant. Also, he could pull his opponent towards him in the blink of an eye. On top of that, the Xuanwu Summoning¡ªwhich was the enhanced version of the Xuanwu Discement¡ªwas a soul skill that even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Duplication could not copy. Xu Sanshi was the only one who could use it. The ss 9 soul engineer immediately started to panic as he activated his protective soul barrier and his Invincible Barrier. Layers of light enveloped his body like a cocoon.

    While Xu Sanshi was performing the Xuanwu Summoning, the fifth soul ring on his body lit up. The Golden Tortoise behind his back immediately fused with his body. Following which, his entire body¡ªwhich now resembled a gigantic tortoise¡ªcollided heavily against the barrier of the ss 9 soul engineer before him.

    Turtle God¡¯s Strike!

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s fifth soul skill!

    This soul skill¡¯s attacking power was considerably strong. It also happened to be one of the few attacking soul skills Xu Sanshi possessed. In fact, it was closer to being a soul skill that could be used both offensively and defensively than a purely attacking-type soul skill.

    The enormous vibration, coupled with the awkwardness of being pulled right in front of his opponent, created a sense of fear within the ss 9 soul engineer¡¯s heart. However, he soon realized that his opponent¡¯s attacking power was not very strong. After all, Xu Sanshi only had eight rings!

    His barrier was still able to protect his body. In addition, he was also knocked away by the blow, which helped him increase the distance between himself and his opponents.

    It was a good thing for a soul engineer toe out from a battle unscathed. It would be even better for the soul engineer to have a good amount of distance between himself and his opponent.

    However, just before he could indulge in this satisfying thought, the space around him started to contort, and seemed as though it had started to cease to be real.

    A light shed, and the ss 9 soul engineer who had been knocked away suddenly disappeared in mid-air, and was reced by a dark blue figure who was none other than Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Booomm!¡± The gold and silver pir of light mmed heavily into the ce where Huo Yuhao was supposed to be. However, Huo Yuhao was no longer there to receive the blow. The person who was trying to withstand the full blow of the Sunmoon Divine Needle had be the ss 9 soul engineer who was knocked away by Xu Sanshi. Everything was ording Huo Yuhao¡¯s n. All three battles were being monitored by Huo Yuhao through his Spiritual Detection.

    When Xu Sanshi was rushing towards the ss 9 soul engineer at full speed, Huo Yuhao had already shared his n with him through Spiritual Sharing.

    The chemistry that Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters had was simply incredible. When Xu Sanshi used his Xuanwu Summoning to pull the ss 9 soul engineer towards him, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu stopped their attacks temporarily as Xu Sanshi knocked the soul engineer away . All of this were done in support of Huo Yuhao¡¯s n!

    The Turtle God¡¯s Strike knocked the soul engineer to a position thet was closer to Huo Yuhao, who used his Spiritual Duplication on the Xuanwu Discement before changing ces with the ss 9 soul engineer. Hence, the Sunmoon Divine Needle that was supposed tond on Huo Yuhao ended upnding on the ss 9 soul engineer.

    Even though everything seemed to be very slow in the above description, events unfolded rapidly the moment both sides came into contact.

    When the Starsky Douluo realized that something was wrong, his Sunmoon Divine Needle had already been tossed out in the direction of the ss 9 soul engineer.

    The Sunmoon Divine Needle¡¯s attacking prowess was ranked among the top five ss 9 soul tools. It was not to be doubted. Huo Yuhao had urately determined that the ss 9 soul engineer that Xu Sanshi had faced was the weakest among the three Sun Moon Empire soul engineers.

    All of his barriers disintegrated instantly under the power of the Sunmoon Divine Needle. However, it was undeniable that this ss 9 soul engineer had incredible survivability. Just when his entire body was about to be enveloped by the Sunmoon Divine Needle¡¯s attack, a silver light suddenly shed from his body as his entire body was transported to an area thirty meters away. He managed to escape alive.

    Nheless, there were huge patches on his body that were already charred. He also spat out a mouthful of blood.

    A bright streak of light flew across the sky as a gigantic purple-gold pir of light appeared. This pir illuminated the entire vast ck sky, as though dawn had arrived.

 Chapter 552.1 - Activate the Guiding Cannon!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 552.1: Activate the Guiding Cannon!</h4>

    The ss 9 soul engineer, who thought he had just managed to escape from the jaws of death, was consumed by the intense purple-gold light before he could even let out a scream. The few remaining defensive methods he had did not even stand a chance against this streak of purple-gold light.

    How could Huo Yuhao¡¯s n beplete without Tang Wutong¡¯s involvement? The Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun was the final blow!

    Thebined efforts of everyone helped y a ss 9 soul engineer.

    After realizing he had attacked the wrong person, the Starsky Douluo revealed an expression of grief and regret. His expression worsened when he saw how hispanion perished under the Dragon Dance of the Radiant Sun. His eyes revealed a hint of hesitation.

    And right now, the soul tool instation he had feared was about to be attacked did not seem to be under any form of threat from the enemies.

    Ye Yulin immediately understood that they had been duped. The guiding re was real, but the dark figure that followed after it was not any powerful offensive soul tool. It was a misjudgement he had made under the pressure of his circumstances. And because of his error, the soul tool front was not able to provide support fire.

    Just when Ye Yulin wanted to contact them again, a huge pressure started to act on him.

    A dark blue entity was heading towards him after forming an elegant parabolic flight path in the night sky. The speed at which the person was moving could only be achieved with the help of a ss 9 flying soul tool.

    Ye Yulin could no longer afford to ponder how his enemies were able to secure the help of such a powerful ss 9 soul engineer. He immediately turned and escaped without any hesitation.

    After releasing the Sunmoon Divine Needle twice in a row, he had expended a considerable amount of his soul power. On top of that, he had already witnessed the death of hispanion with his own eyes. There were a total of five soul masters circling around him. Even though he was very egotistical, he was not foolish enough to think that he would be able to go up against five powerful opponents at the same time.

    Hence, he chose to flee without hesitating. After all, he also possessed a ss 9 flying soul tool!

    At this instant, streaks of light exploded in the distant sky. Following which, there seemed to be a mysterious wave which rippled through the air.

    Bastard!Ye Yulin was enraged to see those streaks of light. Of course he knew what those things were. Those soul cannon shells were not destructive. They were called interference shells. After exploding, they were able to release powerful interference waves which could temporarily disable allmunication and surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s objective was apparent, because there were no surveince soul tools near them. He was trying to cut off allmunication between Ye Yulin and the other troops of the Sun Moon Empire. In fact, he had just been about to signal the soul tool front.

    Ye Yulin seemed to be increasingly frustrated with how events were unfolding. In fact, there was also a growing sense of fear in his heart. His enemy was somehow able to predict every single action he was about to make. Huo Yuhao always seemed to be one move ahead of him. Hence, he was not ready to becent. There was no point in trying to dy these enemies anymore. It was of the utmost importance for him to escape and save his own life.

    On the other side, the ss 9 soul engineer who was facing Bei Bei and the rest was also in a dangerous predicament. He made a few feints before releasing a series of powerful attacks to force them back. Following which, he also released his ss 9 flying soul tool and tried to flee. Of course, the path he chose to take fell within the effective radius of the interference shell.

    Huo Yuhao and the others pretended to chase after them for a short while before quickly returning to the protective soul barrier.

    After their short battle with the soul engineers, most of the heavy artillery had already retreated into the spectral demine.

    In this short amount of time, one of the soul engineers had fallen, while the other two had fled. It was truly an exciting battle for the higher-ups of Tang Sect. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao immediately focused his spiritual power to maintain the spectral gate, which had started to fade.

    Previously, the gate had been kept opened by Li Ya. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao returned just when she was about to run out of energy.

    After sessfully exiting the area that the interference waves affected, the soul engineers immediately contacted the soul tool front. The soul tools began to charge their long-range weapons with energy as they aimed at the linked defensive barrier where Huo Yuhao and the rest were.

    Right now, all of them were racing against time. There were more figures emerging from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Pce as they raced towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s position.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had expected, they were lucky that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was not around. If not, they would definitely not be able to flee.

    Meanwhile, a blinding white pir of light surged into the sky from Radiant City! Its powerful re instantly illuminated half of the entire city. The people who were closer to the white light felt as though day and night had been reversed.

    Just as his surroundings were illuminated by the white light, the faces of Huo Yuhao and his peers who had yet to retreat also became white.

    Huo Yuhao was instantly alerted by this powerful beam. Even though they were almost done with retreating, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion were still not done yet. They needed a little more time.

    Even though they didn¡¯t know exactly how powerful the white light was because of how far away it was, Huo Yuhao knew that the white light was definitely released by whichever soul legion was defending Radiant City. They must have revved up their linked offensive soul tools in order to generate so much power. Even if it was done without the support of the high-energypression array soul tools, its power was still not to be underestimated.

    The entire sky¡ªalong with its clouds¡ªhad turned white. Even though the white pir at Radiant City had disappeared, the white color in the sky was bing increasingly intense with every moment that passed.

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze on the sky. There was a gigantic white ball of light, which was at least a hundred meters wide, high up in the sky. It was following an incredible parabolic path as it headed for him and the others.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had been feeding his peers with his observations. Hence, hispanions were all able to see what he had seen. Xu Sanshi immediately lowered his body without any hesitation as he prepared tounch himself into the air.

    As the strongest defense-type soul master among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Xu Sanshi knew he had to be the one to block the ball. This was especially true because he possessed both the Xuanwu Shield and the Golden Tortoise spirit.

    Jiang Nannan became incredibly tense as she prepared to soar into the air with him. She knew it was impossible to hold him back in such moments. Hence, she decided to join him instead!

    ¡°Hold up.¡± Huo Yuhao flickered to their backs as he ced his hands on their arms to stop them from flying up.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± Xu Sanshi growled angrily at Huo Yuhao. In his eyes, this was not the time to hesitate. If they dyed their response, the entire team could be wiped out.

    ¡°There seems to be a problem with its aim!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted.

    At this instant, the gigantic white ball was already descending from the sky. There was a trail of white smoke behind it as it raced towards the group. Even though it was not moving very quickly, it exerted a frightening amount of pressure on everyone¡ªincluding those who were under the linked defensive barrier.

    It only took a few seconds before the ball fully descended from the sky andnded heavily at a ce roughly two hundred meters away from their linked defensive barrier.

    The ground initially trembled lightly before the vibration¡¯s amplitude increased tremendously. Their vision started to blur as the ground beneath them appeared to melt under the constant shockwaves rippling through the ground.

    The white shockwaves collided with the linked defensive barrier in an extremely violent fashion.

    ¡°Beep! Beep! Beep!¡± A deafening rm started to ring. The linked defensive barrier was showing signs of crumbling under the immense pressure from the shockwaves.

    At this instant, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion was almost done with their retreat. Only the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion and Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters were still waiting in the barrier.

    ¡°Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, listen to my orders! Get ready tounch our linked offensive soul tools! As for the rest of you, retreat! Eldest senior brother, leave with the rest of them.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice echoed in everyone¡¯s ears.

    Bei Bei growled, ¡°No way. I¡¯m the one in charge of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. You¡¯re the one who needs to leave first.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately turned around to look at Bei Bei before speaking with a serious tone. ¡°Eldest senior brother, I will stay behind with Dong¡¯er to lead the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion. Please trust me. I would never put my loved one¡¯s lives in danger. There will only be hope for us to bring the entire Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion to safety if I stay behind. Trust me! The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion is not in Radiant City right now.¡±

    Having shared an intimate rtionship all these years, Bei Bei was definitely able to understand what Huo Yuhao was hinting at. He looked at Huo Yuhao before saying, ¡°We will wait for you then. Everyone, I need you to retreat with me.¡± Following which, he waved his hand at his junior brothers and sisters as they charged through the spectral gate.

    At this instant, another streak of powerful white light wasunched from Radiant City into the air. Once again, the blinding white light illuminated the city as the frightening power reappeared within the linked defensive barrier.

    Everyone knew that the linked defensive barrier would definitely be unable to withstand another blow. It was no longer supported by any soul engineers, and its materials were notparable to that of their enemies.

    The only reason why the previous attack missed was that they did not have any aerial surveince soul tools to help them lock onto their target. It was merelyunched with some primitive calctions done by a few ss 9 soul engineers. Since it only deviated from the target by two hundred meters, this time around, they were not going to miss.

    ¡°Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, follow me up into the sky.¡± Huo Yuhao ordered as he pulled Wang Dong¡¯er¡¯s hand and led their ascent.

 Chapter 552.2 - Activate the Guiding Cannon!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 552.2: Activate the Guiding Cannon!</h4>

    The Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was the most powerful soul engineer legion among the three legions. It not only had the best equipment but also the strongest soul masters. They consisted only of soul masters with at least six rings. In fact, they were all direct disciples of the masters within Shrek Academy. They not only revered Huo Yuhao greatly, but also idolized him. Previously, Huo Yuhao had already led them to countless victories. Hence, none of them hesitated when he gave them the order to fly. All of them started to ascend into the sky as they followed the directions given by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection.

    After ascending into the sky, Huo Yuhao did not immediately evade the enemy¡¯s attack. He merely gazed at the gigantic ball of light, which was formed from the white pir of light that surged up into the sky.

    Beneath the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, thest few members of the Fort Soul Engineer Legion and the higher-ups of Tang Sect had entered the spectral gate.

    ¡°Prepare to fire the guided cannon!¡±

    Every single soul engineer within the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion lined themselves up as they ced a small yellow cannon on their shoulders.

    ¡°Take my position as the center. Fire at full power.¡±

    Huo Yuhao ced a simrly small cannon on his shoulder. However, his cannon was golden.

    The golden beam of light that was sted out of the cannon ascended only thirty meters before stopping in mid-air. A golden ball was formed rapidly at the tip of the golden beam of light.

    At this instant, the white ball which was fired from Radiant City had reached its maximum height, and was starting to fall towards them.

    Two hundred streaks of yellow light were subsequently fired in the next two seconds. They were not aimed at the white light of light. Instead, all of themnded on the ball that Huo Yuhao had fired.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up, and the strength of his spiritual power was raised to its maximum. At the very next instant, the cannon on his shoulder vibrated and released a powerful golden pir of light that had a diameter of more than ten meters.

    The white light and the golden light seemed to instantly fuse in mid-air. While the golden beam seemed to pale inparison to the gigantic ball of white light, it was somehow able to stop the ball in its tracks. Following which, a goldenyer of light formed on the ball of white light.

    Upon seeing that, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion cheered triumphantly.

    Huo Yuhao made a tossing action with his hand, and the ball of white light flew out far away as it headed back towards Radiant City.

    Yes, this was the power of the guided cannon¡ªone of the linked offensive soul tools that the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion possessed. These powerful cannons were usually used to handle top-tier stationary soul cannon shells fired by their enemies. However, this time around, Huo Yuhao used it to counter the enemy¡¯s linked offensive soul tool.

    Guided cannon shells did not possess any offensive power on their own. Instead, it used the most gentle and flexible of ways to counter the soul power in the enemy¡¯s attacks.

    It was only after the frightening ball of white light was sent towards Radiant City that Huo Yuhao was finally able to look at the damage beneath him.

    From high above, he was able to see the insane amount of destructive energy in the previous ball of white light that Radiant City hadunched towards them. There was a huge crater which was over two hundred meters deep and a thousand meters wide. Everything was gone except for a small patch of ground that Tang Sect¡¯s linked defensive barrier had protected.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Huo Yuhao waved his hand and brought the two hundred soul engineers along with him. At the same time, the eighteen spectral gates closed.

    Everything had gone ording to his n. After ascending high into the sky with the rest of the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, Huo Yuhao and everyone else was finally out of the attacking range of Radiant City¡¯s soul tool deployment area.

    If he had chosen to retreat through the spectral gate earlier, he would most definitely not have been able to escape before the second ball of white lightnded on them.

    Meanwhile, the biggest problem at Radiant City was that they didn¡¯t have a strong soul engineer legion that could pursue Huo Yuhao and his team. Even though the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was weaker than the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, it was far superior to any normal soul engineer legion. In addition, most of their aerial surveince soul tools had already been destroyed. Without any reconnaissance ability, they would not be able to go after Huo Yuhao and his team effectively. Hence, Huo Yuhao could convince Bei Bei to let him stay behind after mentioning how the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was not present. This was because the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion could only retreat safely if Huo Yuhao were to stay behind with them.

    As the frightening ball of white light headed back towards the Radiant City, Huo Yuhao believed that its power could definitely rival that of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. The soul tool deployment area within Radiant City was also definitely one of the strongest deployment areas he had ever seen.

    If this toy were tond within the city¡­

    At this instant, another white pir of light surged up into the sky in an inclined fashion. It shot towards the ball of white light that was heading for Radiant City. The ball was instantly hit by the white pir.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud explosion could be heard from all the way up in the sky. Once again, the entire sky turned a bright white. This time around, Radiant City was illuminated by the explosion.

    ¡°What a shame!¡± Huo Yuhao sighed as he shook his head. They were still not able to deal a greater blow to Radiant City.

    However, after this blow, they now had enough time to retreat. Without any aerial surveince soul tools to lock onto them, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was able to retreat rapidly without any threat from the soul tool deployment areas within Radiant City.

    However, it was still possible for them to be chased by high-level soul engineers. However, other than guiding the white ball away, the guided cannon shell would probably have deterred the stronger soul engineers from doing so!

    Even if the enemy was a high-level ss 9 soul engineer, or even the Deathgod Douluo herself, he or she would have to consider if his or her own abilities were sufficient to deal with a powerful soul engineer legion which was able to use linked offensive soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao held onto Tang Wutong as they increased their altitude. He had ordered their two hundred soul engineers to fly into the distance, while both of them would sweep behind them.

    Huo Yuhao released his Spiritual Detection in all directions. He was keeping an eye on the situation in Radiant City. He wanted to make sure that no one wasing after them.

    The truth was that the frightening high altitude collision earlier had released powerful shockwaves. Even though the position of the explosion was not within the interior of Radiant City, the shockwaves had pretty much made it impossible for anyone to fly out of the city. Even if someone wanted to go after them, he or she would be deterred for safety reasons. In addition, all the aerial surveince soul tools that had just ascended into the sky were also destroyed by the big explosion. There was essentially nothing left of them. It would be near impossible for them to monitor Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s movements.

    It was only now that Huo Yuhao finally heaved a sigh of relief. Following which, he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they chased after the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion ahead of them.

    After flying close to fifty kilometers and making many deliberate turns to shake off any possible surveince tools or troops that might be following them, Huo Yuhao led all of them into a small forest. Even though he was struggling with his spiritual fatigue, he repeated the incantations to open the spectral gate. However, because he was spiritually incapable of opening nine doors, he was only able to open three doors for them to enter with Li Ya¡¯s help.

    Following which, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, along with Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao, streamed into the spectral demine. Even though they did not lose a single person in this huge battle, all of them were in dire need of a rest.

    The bright colors above the Radiant Citysted for a good ten minutes before the sky started to darken again. However, the entire city had been consumed by mass hysteria.

    Even though there were not many civilian casualties, everyone, regardless of their status, was awakened by the hugemotion above their homes. Even though they were no longer asleep, none of them dared to leave their homes. Most of them were just looking at the events which were unfolding from their windows.

    Hence, they were able to see the numerous mystical sights which were happening in the sky above them. In addition, they heard plenty of frightening explosions. Most importantly, they witnessed a huge explosion in the direction of the pce.

    The closer a person stayed to the pce, the higher the status a person usually had. Even though the Pce did not allow any high-level structures near itspound, the explosion was still visible from a distance. The sight of the scary ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell ripping through the pce¡¯syers of defenses before striking the core area of the pce startled everyone who managed to catch a glimpse of it.

    The pce was not just any other ce within Radiant City. It was the core of the entire Sun Moon Empire! Even though Xu Tianran had just ascended the throne not too long ago, he was able to bring enormous progress to the entire Empire as he conquered arge part of the Heavenly Soul Empire. In fact, his reputation was sky high after it was recently dered that the Heavenly Soul Empire had fallen into the hands of the Sun Moon Empire. He was already canonized as this generation¡¯s holy leader.

    However, his reputation would definitely take a huge hit due to what had just happened. In fact, no one knew whether their leader was even still alive. How could anyone sleep without knowing what was going on in the pce? It was bound to be a sleepless night for everyone within Radiant City.

    Countless rms, explosive sounds and human voices could be heard everywhere within Radiant City. They were further worsened by the messy lightsing from different soul tools as fragments and shards fell from the sky. The world¡¯s number one city had turned into a mess. The adverse impact that Huo Yuhao and his team had left on Radiant City far exceeded the actual destruction they had dealt.

    In the pce within Radiant City.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s face was as pale as death. Other than the rage and anger in his eyes, he pretty much resembled a dead man.

    This was probably his biggest setback since ascending the throne. Xu Tianran had never expected that he ¨C an Emperor of an empire with the strongest soul tools ¨C would be directly attacked by soul tools from his very own pce.

    The stationary soul cannon shell had left a particrly deep impression on him. Its powerful prative ability was unparalleled by any of the ss 9 soul tools within the Sun Moon Empire. Even though its overall power was not invincibly strong, he would have guessed that that cannon shell was specially designed to counter the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s linked defensive barrier.

 Chapter 552.3 - Activate the Guiding Cannon!

    <h4 ss>Volume 39, Chapter 552.3: Activate the Guiding Cannon!</h4>

    Xu Tianran was certain that there was not a single linked defensive barrier in the Pce which could have blocked that blow. In other words, if Huo Yuhao and his group had possessed a sufficient quantity of those shells, they would have been able to destroy the entire Sun Moon Empire. That was a scary prospect for him to think about.

    If that kind of stationary soul cannon shell was not invented by the Sun Moon Empire, it must havee from one of the three original Empires.However, since when did they have the ability to manufacture such powerful soul tools?

    Ye Xishui, who was dressed in a long ck robe, stood beside Xu Tianran. Because she was also staying within the Pce, she was able to react immediately after the explosion. However, because she did not stay at the core area of the Pce, she did not sustain any direct injuries from the explosion.

    She chose to stay behind to protect Xu Tianran instead of going after the enemy because there was nothing more important than the Emperor¡¯s life.

    As Xu Tianran began to gain greater control over the Empire, Ye Xishui realized that she was starting to lose control over him. His power was increasing steadily, and the Sun Moon Empire seemed to be a lot tougher than she had thought.

    However, under such circumstances, Ye Xishui could only allow the Holy Ghost Church to develop in this manner. At the end of the day, Xu Tianran was almost like her disciple, and was¡ªat least for now¡ªone of the most ardent supporters of the Holy Ghost Church within the royal family. It was crucial to protect his life right now, when the Sun Moon Empire was going to war with the other Empires. If he were to somehow die during this time, there would be no guarantee that his sessor would support the Holy Ghost Church in the same way.

    Ye Xishui had originally thought that she would be able to control everything. However, she had started to doubt herself. After witnessing thetest soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire was developing, she started to fear the powers they exhibited. She was also not confident of going up against the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    It was important to note that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion only took orders from the Emperor himself.

    Hence, after weighing the pros and cons from several perspectives, Ye Xishui decided to fully support Xu Tianran. At the same time, she would try to figure out how to exert greater influence on the Sun Moon Empire. Thus, she did not go after Huo Yuhao and his group.

    Xu Tianran coughed loudly as he spat out a mouthful of blood. The servants by his side immediately handed him a clean towel to.

    Xu Tianran revealed a frustrated look on his face as he threw the towel aside angrily. Instead of using the towel, he wiped his mouth furiously with the back of his hand.

    Actually, Xu Tianran was extremely gifted in cultivation. However, his gifts were adversely affected after a very tragic incident. When he was younger, he lost his legs while trying to wrest the throne from his brothers. At that time, he lost a lot of blood and vitality. Because of this, he was only able to attain the rank of Titled Douluo after using all sorts of top-tier medicinal herbs. However, his actual abilities were still a little short of a Titled Douluo.

    Previously, when Du Busi sacrificed his life to strike a deadly blow against him, Xu Tianran had sustained an extremely serious injury. Even though he had been undergoing therapies and all sorts of conditioning training, he was unable to fully recover from those injuries. Now, he was attacked by a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. It was truly a series of unfortunate events for him. As his injuries piled up, the origins of his martial soul and spiritual power could only recover through protracted rest and conditioning. Even though he had tried to undergo therapies with the help of healing-type soul masters, the effects were not particrly promising. In addition, the loss of his two legs had burdened his body tremendously, and would dy any form of recovery.

    The Imperial Physician was afraid to tell him the truth. However, Ye Xishui had told him that even with the support of the best herbs in the entire world, he could at best live for another fifty years. Because he was currently about forty to fifty years old, he could at most live to a hundred. This was simply too short for an Emperor who had attained the rank of Titled Douluo.

    How could Xu Tianran be in a good mood under such circumstances?

    More figures started to appear by Xu Tianran¡¯s side. All of them were silent as they stood by him. It could be said that Radiant City had just suffered its biggest setback ever. In fact, it was even worse than the huge explosion in the underground ammunition depot. Even though that explosion had affected half of the city and resulted in civilian casualties and damages, it was ultimately an internal mistake. It was not because of Radiant City¡¯s inherentck of defensive strength.

    This time round, the Pce had been directly attacked! Their enemies were somehow able to prate their defenses and hurt the Emperor directly. This was a huge blow to the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire.

    While Xu Tianran¡¯s body had to be fully supported by a chair, he did not show any signs of fatigue. He knew well enough that he must not allow his body to copse at this important juncture. If not, the optimistic image he had just constructed would crumble.

    ¡°Is the Prime Minister here?¡± Xu Tianran asked with a hoarse voice.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I have just arrived.¡± The Prime Minister appeared from behind as he bowed before Xu Tianran. It was apparent that he was panicking as he addressed him.

    Xu Tianran stared at him coldly before saying, ¡°Is this the enemy you were referring to? The enemy who can change directions at top speed on the ocean?¡±

    The Prime Minister revealed a bitter expression as he replied, ¡°I understand. It¡¯s my fault.¡±

    ¡°You may stand by the side for now,¡± Xu Tianran ordered coldly. The Prime Minister was no longer entitled to a seat.

    All the ministers rushed over at the first instant. It was not only an important moment to dere one¡¯s loyalty to Xu Tianran, but also to understand the Emperor¡¯s situation. If Xu Tianran were truly dead after this attack, they would begin to hatch their own individual ns.

    The members of the royal family were the earliest to arrive. Even though the Princes who had fought him for the throne had all died, it was not possible for Xu Tianran to put all their descendants and family members to death. That was something which the seniors in the royal family would never allow. If he were to really do that, he would anger some of the people who were eyeing his throne, and spur them to act rashly.

    Hence, it was important to note that there was more than one person present who was hoping for Xu Tianran to die.

    ¡°Is the Prince okay?¡± Xu Tianran asked.

    A member of the Hall of Consecration quickly stepped forward before saying, ¡°The Prince¡¯s pce was protected by the Eternal Star Domain. Your Majesty, rest assured that all is well.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Tianran nodded. How could he not know that the Prince was protected by a soul tool? The Eternal Star Domain was known as the strongest defensive soul tool in the entire Sun Moon Empire. It was supposed to be used to protect his quarters. However, since Ju Zi had left to campaign, Xu Tianran had ced the Eternal Star Domain with the Prince to reassure her that the Prince would be safe even when she was not around.

    Even though the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell earlier was incredibly powerful, its power was insufficient to breach the defense of the Eternal Star Domain. Hence, the Prince was naturally safe and sound.

    It was apparent that Xu Tianran had purposely asked that question in front of certain individuals just so that those people could hear the answer and dismiss certain thoughts that were forming in their heads.

    After hearing how the Prince was fine, there were some faces that were visibly disappointed. As long as the Prince was still alive, even if Xu Tianran were to die, they would not have a chance of bing the Emperor.

    Xu Tianran seemed to reveal a mocking smile before he asked an old man beside him. ¡°Elder Kong, when is the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion returning?¡±

    This man who was addressed as Elder Kong was a tall and burly man. He had short and spiky grey hair, and was wearing a yellow long robe. Such robes were supposed to be worn only by members of the royal family, though it was apparent from his surname that he did not belong to the royal family.

    All this while, he had been standing on the other side of Xu Tianran. His face revealed a calm and collected expression, as though he had nothing to do with what had just happened. However, if one were to pay closer attention to him, one would notice the shapeless energy he was radiating, which formed a barrier over himself and Xu Tianran. It was almost as if he was his guardian.

    Elder Kong was, in fact, standing closer to Xu Tianran than Ye Xishui, and the aura he radiated did not pale significantly inparison to hers.

    After hearing his words, Xu Tianran nodded gently before ordering, ¡°Tell them it is my order that they track down our enemies at all costs. Is Elder Ye back?¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, I am here.¡± Two people were walking very quickly towards the Emperor from afar. It was illegal to fly above the Pce. This rule still applied to anyone from the Hall of Consecration.

    Ye Yulin was in no better state than Xu Tianran. While Xu Tianran was heavily injured, Ye Yulin was very frustrated.

    During that humongous explosion earlier, he had been caught by the shockwave while he was in the air. Even though he tried to rapidly descend to avoid it, he still lost two precious defensive sool tools in his bid to keep himself alive.

    The energy storm in the air made it impossible for him to track the enemy¡¯s movements. He was only able to roughly make out the shape of several soul tools within the linked defensive barrier before hended on the ground. Other than the soul tools, he could not tell how many people were inside the cloudy barrier.

    ¡°Elder Ye, who were those people? Have you found out who they are?¡± Xu Tianran was surprisingly calm when he asked this question.

    Anger would only harm his already injured body even more. It was only appropriate for a great character to stay calm in critical moments like this.

    Ye Yulin spoke with a deep voice. ¡°Our enemies are very strong, and they are probably from the other three Empires. If I¡¯m not wrong, they have more than one soul engineer legion.¡±

    After Ye Yulin finished his sentence, the room went silent.

    They had more than one soul engineer legion? What does this mean?

    It was still understandable if this attack was carried out by one or two individuals with the help of powerful soul tools. After all, there were bound to be people who could sneak past the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools. However, something must be wrong if an entire legion could sneak past the surveince soul tools. On top of that, more than one legion managed to sneak in!

    Ye Yulin continued, ¡°Your Majesty, I have already dispatched my people to investigate this matter. I would rmend that we stop our attacks temporarily. Our enemies might have retreated, but they have left some clues behind.¡±

    Xu Tianran stares at Ye Yulin before saying,¡± I need you to tell me the details. I want to know more about these enemies.¡±

 Chapter 553 - An Attack from Shrek?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 553: An Attack from Shrek?</h4>

    Ye Yulin squinted and said, ¡°Without a doubt, these enemiese from the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. I rushed there and saw a protective soul barrier. That means that those people constructed a soul formation outside Radiant City as a defensive measure. This soul formation was also constructed at such an opportune time. It seems to coincide with the period of time that our aerial surveince soul tools were chain-bombed. It¡¯s terrifying if they had nned and calcted everything. This would also mean that they are the ones responsible for bombing our soul tools.¡±

    Xu Tianran took in a deep breath and suppressed his anger. ¡°Can someone tell me how our aerial surveince soul tools were bombed? If our enemies were responsible for it, how did they do so without anyone¡¯s knowledge?¡±

    Another Worshipped said, ¡°ording to my observation and judgment, our aerial surveince soul tools are likely to have self-destructed. If it was the work of our enemies, we would have discovered it immediately. At the same time, we would have used our soul formations to stop them. Whatever it is, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to destroy all our surveince soul tools.¡±

    ¡°Self-destructed?¡± Xu Tianran red. Following this, he felt an excruciating pain in his chest, and had no choice but to suppress his anger once again.

    That Worshippedughed bitterly. ¡°From the current situation, that seems to be the case. If it wasn¡¯t, there is another possibility, that explosive charges were installed on our aerial surveince soul tools. That¡¯s the only way they could all be bombed at the same time under some kind of control. This also means that it¡¯s likely our enemies possess some kind of ability that helped them to escape the detection of our soul tools, and at the same time, sneak their way to install explosive charges on them.¡±

    Once he said this, everyone went silent.

    His analysis was shocking. If the invading enemies were able to mysteriously sneak their way past the aerial surveince soul tools, did that also mean that they could also sneak into the pce? Wouldn¡¯t they be able to do anything they wanted if that was the case?

    This time, the ss 9 stationary soul shell only exploded after breaking through their defense. What if their enemies had ced a ss 9 stationary soul shell in the pce? It was unimaginable.

    Ye Yulin nodded and said, ¡°Old Shen is right. I find it very weird too. The light was distorted in their soul formation. Given my ocr and spiritual power, I was still unable to tell what was going on. Then, three of us advanced at the same time, and seven to eight enemies came forward to deal with us. They were very strong. I believe they had to be at least Soul Douluo. However, most of them weren¡¯t soul engineers, but soul masters. Their martial souls were very strong too, especially that of the leader. He seemed to be wearing a human-shaped soul tool, which exuded an extremely strong chilly energy. They coordinated with one another very well. Also¡­¡±

    Ye Yulin recounted his fight with Huo Yuhao and the rest. After his recounting, most of the senior officials in the Sun Moon Empire found it ridiculous. Such opponents couldn¡¯t be dealt with easily!

    ¡°From the situation then, I believe that they must have possessed some kind of concealment-type soul tool. That¡¯s why they were able to get close to Radiant City without being detected. Some of the stronger ones can even iste the detection abilities of most of our surveince soul tools. At the same time, they also possessed soul tools that are offensively strong. I believe there were at least two thousand stationary soul cannon shells raining down on our soul formations. Only the three empires of the original Douluo Continent are capable ofing up with something like this. Perhaps this was their trump card.¡±

    ¡°On the battlefield, they can¡¯t challenge the War God Empress. That¡¯s why they came up with such a strategy. They exploited our hollowness at the back and attacked us. However, I don¡¯t understand how they were able to move so quickly. They were just in the south, but soon came close to Radiant City. Even if they were all soul engineers, it¡¯s not possible that all of them have been equipped with ss 8 flying-type soul tools.¡±

    Xu Tianran furrowed his brow and also went into deep thought. This was really an iprehensible situation. Every one of them was confused. This was because they hadn¡¯t found out what their enemies were really like.

    The more unknown an enemy, the more terrifying he was. This was something that everyone understood.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± At this moment, Ye Xishui suddenly spoke.

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Tianran turned toward Ye Xishui, and suddenly became respectful. Ye Xishui was an Ultimate Douluo. In terms of cultivation, she was already the best in the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, she even controlled the Death God.

    ¡°Tell me what you think.¡± Xu Tianran didn¡¯t directly call her Ye Xishui. He had a more personal connection with her, but everyone knew that she held true authority in the Holy Ghost Church. That was why he naturally didn¡¯t dare to directly call her by her name in front of all the gathered officials.

    Ye Xishui said, ¡°They don¡¯t have toe from the three empires to possess such strength. Don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s another ce that¡¯s capable of all this.¡±

    Xu Tianran suddenly thought of something, and his expression instantly changed. ¡°Are you talking about Shrek Academy?¡±

    Ye Xishui nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m talking about them. Think about it, Your Majesty. The Heavenly Soul Empire was wiped out on the battlefield. While Shrek Academy stepped in, they only managed to save some of the remaining members of the regime. They didn¡¯t manage to achieve anything substantial. That¡¯s not very characteristic of Shrek Academy. What happened wasn¡¯t a true representation of their strength. Perhaps they did really conserve their strength. However, why can¡¯t it be that Shrek Academy wasn¡¯t at full strength?¡±

    ¡°ording to our intelligence, Shrek City has been expanding over the past few years. It has something to do with the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. Remember that kid called Huo Yuhao? After constructing the Spirit Pagoda, he ended the hostility between the Great Star Dou Forest and Shrek Academy. A few years ago, he demonstrated his concealment abilities when the Star Luo Empire regained control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Then, he was only discovered because he triggered my spiritual barrier. He even borrowed the Beast God Di Tian¡¯s strength to resist me. He also appeared on the battlefield once, and caused us to lose many aerial surveince soul tools. It seems like he¡¯s the one responsible for all this. If he¡¯s the one who came up with the new soul tools that Shrek Academy has developed, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised at all.¡±

    After hearing Ye Xishui¡¯s words, Xu Tianran also recalled Huo Yuhao. However, he continued furrowing his brow. ¡°Is that even possible? How old is he? He wasn¡¯t even twenty when he represented the Tang Sect in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Although years have passed, he¡¯s still barely twenty.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s impression of Huo Yuhao was still very deep. This wasn¡¯t just because he was very strong. It was also because he appeared in a wheelchair back then. That left a deep impression on him.

    Ye Xishui snorted. ¡°Nothing is impossible. He¡¯s the closed-door disciple of the Dragon God Douluo Mu En. He also possesses twin martial souls. Earlier, Ye Yulin mentioned that his opponent wore a human-shaped soul tool, and exuded intense chilly energy from his body. I think it¡¯s likely that it¡¯s this kid. He possesses an Ultimate Ice martial soul.¡±

    Xu Tianran was in disbelief as he said, ¡°However, Old Ye said that his opponent¡¯s ability was definitely at the standard of a Titled Douluo. Without the use of powerful soul tools, he wasn¡¯t confident of defeating his opponent.¡±

    Ye Xishui sighed and said, ¡°Your Majesty, you must not be deceived by appearances. Furthermore, there are extremely talented people in this world. From the current situation, the three empires, or rather, the two empires, aren¡¯t the only ones who can truly threaten us. It¡¯s Shrek Academy. Your Majesty, you just need to give the order to the War God Empress to assault Shrek City and destroy them. Then, the mastermind will also cave in naturally. When that happens, no matter what methods they use to fight, they must return to Shrek City. On an open battlefield, they won¡¯t be able to achieve much.¡±

    ¡°You must not do that.¡± The Chief Minister stood up and said, ¡°I think that now is not yet the time to challenge Shrek Academy directly. Your Majesty, please think through it first.¡±

    ¡°Chief Minister, please tell me what you think.¡± Xu Tianran nodded at him, signaling him to speak his thoughts. Although there were problems with the Chief Minister¡¯s strategy this time, it was mainly because their enemies were too extraordinary. They couldn¡¯t be judged usingmon logic. After calming down, Xu Tianran was in a much better mood. He still valued the opinion of his wise Chief Minister very much. He was also aware of Ye Xishui¡¯s hatred of Shrek Academy. That was why it was inevitable that she would mix some of her personal opinions into her professional judgment.

    The Chief Minister said, ¡°Earlier, the Supreme Worshipped also mentioned that Shrek Academy has a long history. They were already the number one academy on the continent ten thousand years ago. We don¡¯t know how strong they are. The most recent war involving Shrek City was the beast wave from the Great Star Dou Forest. As the habitat of the strongest soul beasts on this continent, including five out of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, the Great Star Dou Forest is very strong and terrifying. Even so, Shrek City remained firm, though it was subjected to a relentless beast wave. Shrek City even used some kind of special power to keep Di Tian from appearing on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°The Supreme Worshipped also mentioned earlier that Huo Yuhao can borrow Di Tian¡¯s strength. What does this mean? If we turn our attention to Shrek City, we might catalyze an alliance between Shrek City and the Great Star Dou Forest. When that happens, it might lead to aplete disaster for our army.¡±

    ¡°I believe that Shrek Academy is still the most neutral force on the continent. Even though it¡¯s likely to be more inclined towards the three empires due to its geographical location, and once fought us because of the three empires, things are different this time. The Heavenly Soul Empire has already been wiped out. If we defeat both the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires, Shrek City will have no choice but topromise even if it doesn¡¯t want to. The prerequisite is that we don¡¯t touch them. At least speaking from the current situation, we cannot treat Shrek City as our main target. Otherwise, the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires can use Shrek City as a core to resist our army. Along with the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, I can¡¯t imagine the consequences.¡±

    ¡°Rubbish!¡± Ye Xishui shouted coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t know anything. The Great Star Dou Forest and Shrek Academy teaming up together? That¡¯s nonsense. Although Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Pagoda has made rtions more cordial between the forest and the academy, you must not forget the inherent dilemma that exists between humans and soul beasts. Will soul beastse forward inrge numbers to aid humans? That¡¯s just ridiculous. They can¡¯t wait for humans to kill one another. Then, no humans will try to obtain soul rings anymore. Your analysis is just in stupid.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only thinking for the empire,¡± The Chief Minister replied coldly, ¡°please watch your words. Shrek Academy is a holy ground to the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. In addition, it¡¯s the same for many hidden sects. They share a close rtionship, and this has been the case for thousands of years. Once we target Shrek Academy, it¡¯s like inviting all the sects in the three empires toe together to fight us. Is that going to be beneficial for the empire?¡±

    After listening to the Chief Minister¡¯s words, Xu Tianran couldn¡¯t help but nod. Shrek Academy was too significant. Thousands of years ago, they had teamed up with the three empires of the original Douluo Continent to defeat the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire and the Sun Moon Continent were then fused into the Douluo Continent.

    This time, the Sun Moon Empire was the aggressor. Suddenly, they had upied the Heavenly Soul Empire in such a short period of time. The three empires had misjudged the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage in terms of soul tools. This was an important reason for their failure.

    Shrek Academy was not yet involved in the war. And in fact, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage in terms of soul tool technology was even greater this time. From the current situation at least, Shrek Academy still had yet to fully join in the war.

 Chapter 554.1 - Elder Kong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 554.1: Elder Kong</h4>

    Ye Xishui said, ¡°Shrek Academy will join the war sooner orter. What¡¯s the difference if it¡¯s now or if it¡¯ster? Furthermore, this matter clearly has something to do with Shrek Academy. Attacking Shrek Academy is the most direct and effective option. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re going to ignore the fundamentals? Do you have a better n?¡±

    The Chief Minister said, ¡°We¡¯ve already upied the entire Heavenly Soul Empire. At this time, consolidation is key. We can ask the War God Empress to temporarily send some stronger individuals back. We can continue the war once we take care of things internally. At the same time, we can also consolidate our reign over the Heavenly Soul Empire, and use their wealth to further our research and manufacturing of soul tools. Stability should be our utmost priority. Your Majesty, it¡¯s very important to stabilize our back! Without the War God Empress to protect you, I¡¯m a little worried about your safety.¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t need a woman to protect me. I have the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. However, we need to find these enemies in our territories quickly. Does anyone have a good n?¡±

    He swept his gaze across all the senior officials. Most of them were silent.

    Ye Xishui said coldly, ¡°Your Majesty, my opinion ispletely professional. Huo Yuhao relied on his spiritual power to conceal himself. If he has really cultivated to a Titled Douluo in a short few years, he¡¯s likely to be a major threat to our empire as a Titled Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul. We need to get rid of him as quickly as possible. We¡¯ve not even invented concealment-type soul tools yet, thus it¡¯s impossible for Shrek Academy to have done so. In my opinion, that soul engineer legion that snuck into our territories is likely to have relied on Huo Yuhao¡¯s concealment abilities. If we attack Shrek Academy, at least we¡¯ll force him and his soul engineer legion to retreat. That¡¯s the best way.¡±

    ¡°If Your Majesty wants to rule the entire continent, you¡¯ll need to deal with Shrek Academy soon. The conflict between us and Shrek can never be resolved. A victor must be decided. Don¡¯t tell me you want to wait until they be more powerful? As long as the War God Empress quickly destroys Shrek City, the world of soul masters would most certainly be divided. I believe that she can do this, given her military intelligence. As long as Your Majesty agrees, I¡¯m willing to lead the Holy Ghost Church to coordinate with the War God Empress.¡±

    The Chief Minister hurriedly said, ¡°Your Majesty, you must not do that. Your Majesty, there¡¯ll be no going back once you do that. If you don¡¯t seed, all our previous victories will have been for nothing! Please think it through. We are in an advantageous situation right now. It¡¯s best to pursue stability.¡±

    Ye Xishui finally became angry. An icy-cold chilly intent shot out from her eyes. The surrounding temperature fell dramatically, and she unleashed a terrifying oppressive force.

    Once the Death God was infuriated, even the weather could change. Everyone could sense her terrifying aura, which threatened to tear their bodies apart.

    At this moment, Elder Kong, who had been standing beside Xu Tianran all this while, took a step forward. Green lights shed on his body, and a gentle force spread out. It reached towards Ye Xishui, shing with her aura.

    Ye Xishui snorted coldly, and Elder Kong also shook slightly. Although he was slightly disadvantaged, he didn¡¯t suffer too greatly.

    Elder Kong looked at Ye Xishui. He was now directly facing the Death God Douluo.

    Both of them were pitting their auras against each other, and they didn¡¯t give in at all.

    When Ye Xishui erupted in anger, the Chief Minister immediately turned pale. However, everything returned to normal once Elder Kong made a move. Elder Kong was notpletely overwhelmed when he faced the Death God Douluo by himself. If this spread, it would astonish the world of soul masters and soul engineers.

    Ye Xishui groaned, ¡°Kong Deming, do you really have to pit yourself against me?¡±

    Elder Kong replied, ¡°This is the Imperial Pce. Supreme Worshipped, please watch your behavior in front of His Majesty.¡±

    Ye Xishui twisted her head to look at Xu Tianran, ¡°Your Majesty, is this what you want?¡±

    Xu Tianran coughed. ¡°Supreme Worshipped, please calm down. I know you are only thinking for the empire. However, we need to really ponder this matter. It has too many implications. Where¡¯s the Military Chief?¡±

    The Military Chief rushed out from a corner. ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°Tell me your suggestions,¡± Xu Tianran demanded.

    Ye Xishui stood to one side and silently looked at Xu Tianran. She retracted her aura, but continued to look cold. She felt that he was straying out of her control.

    Ye Xishui very well knew who Kong Deming was. He was the Master of the Worship Hall of the Sun Moon Empire. He was one-quarter royal blood, and was only loyal to the imperial family. He was also the top soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Yes, the strongest soul engineer in the Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t the Death God Douluo Ye Xishui, but this person who only appeared to be inferior to her. Ye Xishui even had to admit that she was inferior to him.

    Kong Deming was already more than one hundred and fifty years old. He was the chief of all the ss 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire, and a Rank 94 Titled Douluo. However, very few people knew that he had twin martial souls. Not only was he the strongest soul engineer in the empire, but he was also a very strong soul master.

    If not for the fact that he ced most of his energy on researching soul tools, he might not actually be inferior to Ye Xishui, Long Xiaoyao and any other Ultimate Douluo in terms of his cultivation.

    He was also the closest to bing a ss 10 soul engineer.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s knowledge of soul tools wasn¡¯t very good. After all, she was a soul master. Her Death God was mainly constructed by Kong Deming. That¡¯s why even Ye Xishui had to give in to Kong Deming a little too. She was well-aware of how strong he was.

    If she had to appraise Kong Deming, she could only use the word ¡®unpredictable¡¯. This was because no one had seen Kong Deming make a move for at least fifty years. No one knew how powerful he actually was. Whether it was Long Xiaoyao or Ye Xishui, they had no confidence in beating him. This showed how strong he was.

    Initially, Kong Deming rarely came out from the Worship Hall. He devoted all his energy to his soul tool research. It was only recently that he finally appeared in public after he sessfully researched human-shaped soul tools.

    What left Ye Xishui surprised was that Kong Deming actually fully supported Xu Tianran. He waspletely on his side. Ye Xishui had no choice but to refrain from offending him, and her perception of Xu Tianran also changed. She knew that she couldn¡¯t threaten his life.

    When the explosion urred, Kong Deming was researching soul tools in his ownboratory. If he were by Xu Tianran¡¯s side, Xu Tianran wouldn¡¯t have been hurt.

    When Kong Deming stepped out, all the other soul engineers immediately unleashed their auras, whichbined with his. This was power! He was the true number one soul engineer of the Sun Moon Empire. Even Jing Hongchen had to be respectful to him. The same applied to Ye Yulin.

    Seeing that Ye Xishui had retracted her aura, Kong Deming also returned to Xu Tianran¡¯s side, and his own aura returned to normal too.

    As the Military Chief spoke, he also nced at both of them asionally, especially Kong Deming. Seeing that Elder Kong didn¡¯t give any gestures, he continued speaking.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I think that both the Supreme Worshipped and Chief Minister are both right. However, both their ideas are wed in their own way. Given the current situation, being overly aggressive or overly conservative is not ideal.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xu Tianran was a little stunned as he looked at the Military Chief. He had called him out to act as a bnce between both the Chief Minister and Supreme Worshipped. Who knew that he actually had a constructive suggestion? This gave Xu Tianran a delightful surprise.

    The Military Chief said, ¡°The Chief Minister¡¯s proposition is indeed apt, but we are doing very well now. If we call the War God Empress back right now, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll miss out on a good opportunity. But this is also not the time to attack Shrek Academy. That¡¯s why both their suggestions are problematic.¡±

    The Chief Minister snorted coldly and jibed, ¡°Stop beating around the bush. If you have a n, just say it.¡±

    The Military Chief looked at the Chief Minister. Everyone knew that neither of them liked each other. The Military Chief was also usually the one that was constantly repressed. In terms of abilities or experience, he was inferior to the Chief Minister. His only advantage was his age.

    The Military Chief confidently said, ¡°Why not do it this way? We shall inform the War God Empress about the situation in the empire and let her decide what to do. Our enemies are very active right now, and their strategy is a little unclear. In terms of military matters, Her Majesty is the next best, apart from Your Majesty. Why don¡¯t we let her judge the situation and give you suggestions? She¡¯s at the front line, and thus she¡¯s naturally more aware of the situation there. If she thinks it¡¯s a good time to attack Shrek Academy, I think you can make a decision.¡±

    The Military Chief was clever in the sense that he could correctly judge the rtionship between Xu Tianran and Ju Zi.

    As the Emperor, Xu Tianran would only pass the authority of the entire military to someone if he trusted that person. Moreover, the Crown Prince came from the Empress. No one would suspect her loyalty to the empire and Xu Tianran. Currently, no one challenged the Crown Prince for the throne. Given this, how could Xu Tianran not possibly trust his wife?

 Chapter 554.2 - Elder Kong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 554.2: Elder Kong</h4>

    The Chief Minister didn¡¯t have any good ideas, so he pushed all the responsibility to Ju Zi. His analysis was also very logical. That¡¯s why his idea wasn¡¯t a reflection of his abilities, but how he was very politically intelligent.

    Indeed, the Chief Minister¡¯s expression changed when he heard his words. However, he couldn¡¯t rebut him at all.

    On the other side, the Death God Douluo Ye Xishui also furrowed her brow. After this, she slowly nodded.

    They only agreed with the Military Chief¡¯s words because Ju Zi was both loyal to the empire and also very strong.

    Ju Zi was the one who had led the empire to victory over the Heavenly Soul Empire. Ye Xishui had joined in that operation too. After attacking the Ming Dou Mountain Range, she suddenly turned back and assaulted the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, all information was sealed. This series of missions was part of the fighting strategy that had yed a very crucial role in the war.

    After this, the Sun Moon Empire was relentless, and upied most parts of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Some people evenmented that the Sun Moon Empire would have dominated the entire continent by now if not for the fact that the War God Empress was pregnant with the Crown Prince.

    After Xu Tianran listened to the Military Chief, he appeared much more cheerful.Yes! It¡¯s necessary to get Ju Zi¡¯s opinion right now. After all, she¡¯s the one in control of the front lines. She¡¯ll know how to deal with the current situation.

    Xu Tianran turned to Kong Deming and asked, ¡°Elder Kong, what suggestions do you have?¡±

    Kong Deming said, ¡°Our enemies were also a little lucky to have sessfully pulled off their attacks. At the same time, they must have known that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion is not in Radiant City from some unknown channel. If you want me to judge the situation, I believe that our enemies might not just possess concealment abilities, but also spatial abilities.¡±

    ¡°Spatial abilities?¡± After hearing these two words, Xu Tianran was astonished. So was Ye Xishui.

    If someone else said this, they wouldugh it off. However, Kong Deming was different. He was currently the person with the most expertise in soul tool research.

    As for spatial abilities, only Ye Xishui among everybody present could be associated with it. Only an Ultimate Douluo could really develop any kind of spatial abilities. Even Kong Deming couldn¡¯t. There was also an unbridgeable gap between current soul tool technology and spatial abilities.

    After Ye Yulin listened to Kong Deming¡¯s words, he seemed to be very pensive.

    Xu Tianran said, ¡°Elder Kong, please be more specific.¡±

    Kong Deming nodded and said, ¡°Little Ye just recounted the entire story, but he missed out one point. He thought that the enemies are two soul engineer legions. However, he only saw one legion retreating. What about the other legion then? The other soul engineer legion should be the one firing all the shells. From the fired shells, I believe they came from Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons, which are manufactured by the Tang Sect. We¡¯ve also obtained Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons from the Heavenly Soul Empire. I¡¯ve taken a simple look at them.¡±

    ¡°The internal structure of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons manufactured by the Tang Sect is very exquisite, but these cannons have self-destructionponents. I couldn¡¯t really examine them well. There are some elements of non-core formations that were used in these cannons. I believe this is the reason for the Tang Sect¡¯s meteoric rise. Such Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons can continuously fire shells, and the number of shells that can be fired is great. However, they aren¡¯t small. Given this, they¡¯ll need arge number of such cannons if tens of thousands of shells are to be fired. This is very important. They were only able to suppress us because they had so many shells. They should have more than a hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. If they want to retreat, they can¡¯t possibly do it with just a single individual¡¯s concealment soul skill. Even an Ultimate Douluo can¡¯t do that. This is why I believe they must possess some kind of spatial ability, which allows for the rapid shifting of all these soul tools.¡±

    Xu Tianran was horrified. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a spatial soul tool? How is that possible? Even you¡­¡±

    Kong Deming gestured and said, ¡°I¡¯ve indeed not researched any soul tools rted to spatial abilities, but I can¡¯t be sure that there¡¯s no talent in this world who¡¯s capable of doing it. However, from the current situation and the foundation of soul tool technology that¡¯s currently present, I believe it¡¯s difficult for spatial soul tools to have been invented. After all, spatial storage is already the limit. The transport of people, and at such arge scale, is yet to exist. We have to investigate this matter carefully. If it¡¯s really a spatial soul tool, we must risk everything to obtain it. That¡¯ll be very significant to the development of our soul tools.¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded and said, ¡°What do you suggest then?¡±

    Kong Deming said, ¡°Let¡¯s report the situation to the War God Empress first. If the Supreme Worshipped is right, Huo Yuhao is likely to be the one responsible for the spatial soul tool, or for concealing two soul engineer legions. We must bring him here and make him confess everything. I¡¯m also very interested in this young man, who has invented Spirits and established the Spirit Pagoda. There¡¯s one thing the Death God Douluo was right about. This young man is bound to be our nemesis in the future. If we can¡¯t win him over, we must get rid of him quickly.¡±

    At this moment, a loud boom suddenly sounded from afar.

    Kong Deming subconsciously blocked Xu Tianran, and bright green light immediately covered both of them. The other soul engineers present also quickly reacted. They instantly unleashed their strongest defensive-type soul tools.

    The earlier attack left them extremely rmed. This sudden boom scared them.

    Ye Yulin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The sound came from the soul formation that previously belonged to our enemies. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re back?

    Kong Deming furrowed his brow. ¡°No. The sound doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±

    In just a matter of seconds, news was transmitted over. The soul formation, where many soul tools were left over, experienced a chain explosion. All the remaining soul tools werepletely blown apart. In addition, it was also learned that those soul tools all came from the Sun Moon Empire.

    Xu Tianran almost spat out blood again. He immediately dismissed the meeting. He wanted to write a letter to the War God Empress personally. At the same time, martialw was imposed. There were strict checks to sieve out any possible enemies.

    While Radiant City was on high alert, the atmosphere in the spectral demine was very joyous.

    Three hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were all sessfully brought back. Even though they fired more than half their remaining stock of soul cannon shells and caused very little damage to the Sun Moon Empire, they still managed to achieve their strategic goal. The depletion of material resources was nothingpared to the sess of their strategic n.

    After meditating for an entire day, Huo Yuhao finally recovered to his peak state.

    Without even guessing, he knew that the surrounding atmosphere in Radiant City was very tense. He didn¡¯t rush to go out either. After Bei Bei heard that he was awake, he immediately called for a meeting.

    Right now, there was no aura of death in the spectral demine. The three soul engineer legions were all celebrating. It was no wonder they were like that. Although they had fired many soul cannon shells this time, they were fighting Radiant City! It was the core of their enemies¡¯ backyard.

    They had managed to escapepletely unharmed in such a fight. It was unimaginable.

    Whether it was the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion or the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion, they all gained invaluable experience during this fight. Even though it wasn¡¯t a direct sh, the atmosphere had been very tense. Huo Yuhao¡¯smandeering had left a deep impression on the soul engineers in these two soul engineer legions. It was also very beneficial to their future development.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a delightful smile on his face. He sped his palms in front of his chest. As he looked at his teammates sitting around him, he greeted them before taking a seat beside Bei Bei.

    Tang Wutong also came with him, and sat beside him.

    Bei Bei was all smiles right now. ¡°rm bells should be ringing for the Sun Moon Empire this time. Our experiment has also seeded. It¡¯s just that we don¡¯t how Xu Tianran is. We don¡¯t know if he¡¯s been killed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. There are many defensive instations in the imperial pce, along with many soul engineers. It might still be possible if it were before they researched human-shaped soul tools. However, the possibility is very low right now. It seems like Xu Tianran has many defensive-type soul tools on him, which protect him very well. However, I don¡¯t believe that we¡¯ve not had any influence over him. We bombed the pce this time. I wonder what their reaction will be.¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed, ¡°The best situation is if they pull their people back from the front lines. In that case, we¡¯ll have achieved our goal. Furthermore, we can continue to cause trouble in the Sun Moon Empire in the future, restraining and weakening them. In the near future, we might even bring the Sun Moon Empire down.¡±

    Bei Bei snapped, ¡°If it were that easy, would our empire be in so much torment? After the attack on Radiant City, they¡¯ll definitely target us. The Sun Moon Empire is technologically advanced. They might research soul tools to target us specifically. Yuhao, that¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t enter Radiant City anymore.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. Bei Bei had rejected the suggestion that he was about to propose. Heughed bitterly. ¡°Eldest senior, how did you know what I nned to do? I only want to see how we¡¯ve fared. At the same time, I want to know more about the situation at the front lines. After all, information should flow most smoothly in Radiant City.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head determinedly and said, ¡°Our operation was already very dangerous. I can¡¯t let you continue to take risks. What¡¯ve we achieved is already very good. Under such a circumstance, we must try to stabilize our situation first. If we want to obtain intelligence, I¡¯d rather we waste more time trying to gather it at the front lines. After all, given your speed, you can fly there and back in a day. We can¡¯t touch Radiant City anymore. There are too many strong people there. If things go awry, you might be trapped. Then, all we¡¯ve done will go to waste.¡±

 Chapter 554.3 - Elder Kong

    <h4 ss>Chapter 554.3: Elder Kong</h4>

    Seeing that he was so determined, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t persist. If he was the brains and life and soul of the team, Bei Bei was the backbone. He had the utmost respect for his eldest senior.

    Bei Bei said, ¡°We need to stay as far from Radiant City as possible. Yuhao, when the sky is dark, go out and quickly return. Let¡¯s return to the academy and take a look. We want to bring news back, and also take a look at the situation at the front line before we proceed with our next operation.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao had no objections to Bei Bei¡¯s suggestion. It was better to stabilize things too. However, he didn¡¯t mention that he one other thing to do before he returned.

    Among everyone, He Caitou was the only one who was a little unhappy. He said, ¡°Yuhao, let¡¯s attack more soul formations in the Sun Moon Empire when we return. We¡¯ve been greatly drained this time too!¡±

    Xu Sanshiughed, ¡°Caitou, since when have you be a ve to money?¡±

    He Caitou snapped, ¡°It¡¯s money! Do you know how many soul cannon shells we¡¯ve used this time? We even left a defensive soul formation. I feel heart-ache! It¡¯s not easy to manufacture. We don¡¯t have the manufacturing ability of the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Bei Beimented, ¡°Caitou is right. When we return, let¡¯s not attack Radiant City. We¡¯ll mainly attack ces where there are soul formations, and try our best to cause destruction. From there, we can improve our abilities.¡±

    He Caitou was thinking about gold soul coins, and he muttered to himself, ¡°If only we could rob the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. If our Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion can change into human-shaped soul tools too, who¡¯s going to be afraid of them? Hehe.¡±

    ¡°Cheh!¡± Everyone scowled at him.

    Were they even capable of challenging the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion now?

    Only Huo Yuhao looked a little pensive.

    Plundering the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was definitely not possible. However, they could learn new things if they could obtain a human-shaped soul tool from the Sun Moon Soul Engineer Legion and pass it to Teacher Xuan. This would greatly benefit Shrek Academy in their development of human-shaped soul tools in the future.

    After all, only Huo Yuhao and Nan Qiuqiu were equipped with human-shaped soul tools, even though Teacher Xuan had managed to create a few. They were used for closebat, and couldn¡¯t be replicated.

    If they couldn¡¯t be replicated, they couldn¡¯t be mass produced. This wasn¡¯t a good thing. Huo Yuhao was a ss 9 soul engineer himself. He was also curious how the Sun Moon Empire managed to mass produce human-shaped soul tools. It was important to know that the strength of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions would rise by another tier now that they had managed to mass produce human-shaped soul tools. They would be even more difficult to deal with.

    Everyone continued to rest. When night fell, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong silently left the spectral demine and re-appeared in the small forest where they had opened the spectral door.

    The wind was gentle, and the night was extremely quiet. The fragrance of nts lingered in the air, and the buzzing of bugs and chirping of birds could be heard.

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they walked out from the spectral demine. They took in a deep breath. The night breeze was refreshing, and they immediately felt invigorated.

    No matter how safe the spectral demine was, it wasn¡¯t asfortable as the Douluo Continent. This was where they truly belonged!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t rush to leave, but leaned against a tree.

    Tang Wutong was a little curious as she looked at him. She asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao ced his index finger on his lips and gestured to her, ¡°Shh!¡± After this, he called her over with his hand.

    Tang Wutong walked in front of him, and became even more puzzled.

    Huo Yuhao pulled her to his side and let her lean on his shoulder. He gently caressed her pinkish-blue hair. He also shared his spiritual world with her using his Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    Spiritual Detection Sharing? Tang Wutong had the feeling that Huo Yuhao was acting weirdly. However, her eyes unwittingly opened wide in the next instant.

    This¡­

    His spiritual senses extended without any boundaries. This wasn¡¯t very strange. However, joyous and gentle undtions were nourishing her spiritual world within his spiritual senses.

    There seemed to be countless little living spirits that were telling her how beautiful the world was. They were telling her about themselves. Her spiritual power fused into that ocean of joy, while her spiritual senses also spread outward.

    It was a beautiful feeling. Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual power wasn¡¯t as strong as Huo Yuhao¡¯s. This was why she felt it more deeply as she was immersed in this world. Her own spiritual power was also enhanced amidst this feeling.

    If it were someone else, Huo Yuhao might not have been able to do this. After all, he couldn¡¯t share the minor changes in his spiritual world with anyone else. However, Tang Wutong was different. Their martial souls werepatible, and they even had Haodong Power. They were very closely connected. This was why he and Tang Wutong were like a single entity when hepletely let go of his body. It was as if they had unleashed the Raiment of Light and summoned the Goddess of Light. In this situation, Tang Wutong could clearly sense everything that he sensed.

    As time passed, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong seemed to fuse with their surroundings. They became a part of the nts around them. If one didn¡¯t use their eyes to see, it would be impossible to detect their auras at all.

    When Tang Wutong reopened her eyes, the sky was already hazily bright. The chirping and buzzing of birds and bugs became much softer. The forest was moist as dew formed. It was dawn.

    Huo Yuhao opened his eyes along with her. The two of them looked at each other and revealed grins on their faces. They were so telepathic that they didn¡¯t need tomunicate with words anymore.

    In just a few hours, Tang Wutong seemed to havepletely changed. She improved significantly after her spiritual worldpletely fused with the world of nts.

    Cultivating under such a circumstance was equivalent to receiving the help of countless nts. At the same time, their spiritual power was helping the nts too. These nts that cultivated along with them were definitely more likely to be nt-type soul beasts in the future, and develop their own sentience and intelligence.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong took out their dry rations and ate a simple meal. After this, they continued on their journey. Through his observation of the outside world using his spiritual power that was connected to the nts, Huo Yuhao had determined that the surrounding environment was safe.

    After flying for a while, Tang Wutong revealed a strange look. ¡°Aren¡¯t we returning? This ce doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± The direction they should be taking to return was supposed to be east, but Huo Yuhao was clearly dragging her to the west.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°I want to give eldest senior a surprise. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t mention this earlier. You¡¯ll knowter.¡±

    Tang Wutong pursed her lips, but didn¡¯t probe further. She shut her eyes and let Huo Yuhao guide her as they flew, and she continued to understand the feeling that those nts gave herst night.

    Such an enhancement was extremely important to her. She was already a Titled Douluo. If she wanted to further improve her cultivation, it was very critical for her to raise her spiritual cultivation. This would definitely speed up the increase of her abilities.

    They proceeded west, and went around Radiant City. Although aerial surveince soul tools asionally appeared where they passed, Huo Yuhao would always be able to find them beforehand. His spiritual power was very strong. He was in fact the strongest surveince soul tool in the world right now. There was no need for him to worry about being found out.

    They made a round from the west before making one big round and flying towards the south. Undoubtedly, they were getting further and further from Shrek Academy as they flew in this direction.

    After flying for a good two hours, Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Yuhao, what are we going to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed mysteriously and replied, ¡°Do you still remember what happenedst night? I want to bring you to the ce where I first had that feeling. You¡¯ll naturally understand when we get there. We¡¯re almost there. Don¡¯t be anxious.¡±

    Another hour passed. Huo Yuhao finally proceeded towards ground level as he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. Right now, the sky had already turned bright, and the sun was shining very strongly. The temperature in the south was much higher than in the north. Right now, the ground temperature was no longer low. Heat was quickly invading their bodies. However, Huo Yuhao exuded a cool and refreshing aura, dissipating all the heat.

    Huo Yuhao guided Tang Wutong to the ground, and exined the situation. He roughly confirmed their location before heid down with Tang Wutong.

    His spiritual senses extended once again, spreading outward. Under the enhancement of the nts, it spread extremely far.

    Not long afterward, Huo Yuhao stood up. Right now, Tang Wutong had a good idea of what was going on. Huo Yuhao must have had discovered something. Whatever he discovered was undoubtedly very important too. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t rush here at such a time.

    He rose up, and didn¡¯t use any flying-type soul tools. Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong and quickly proceeded in one direction. Very quickly, a mountain valley appeared within their sights.

    ¡°It should be here!¡± Looking down from the edge of the mountain valley, the cliff seemed rather smooth. Thick Bluesilver Grass grew everywhere. The refreshing fragrance of grass swept over with the wind. There were many varieties of colorful flowers in this grass. They were beautiful. This ocean of grass and fresh flowers spread all the way into the mountain valley. It felt as if it were embellished with gems.

 Chapter 555.1 - Qiuers Heart

    <h4 ss>Chapter 555.1: Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Heart</h4>

    ¡°This ce is beautiful.¡± Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but enthuse.

    Huo Yuhao chortled, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s beautiful. Come, let¡¯s go down and have a look.¡± He held onto Tang Wutong as he flew up. This time, they didn¡¯tnd on the ground again. They relied on their soul power to maintain their altitude. They were only thirty centimeters from the ground, but refused to step on it. How could they bear to step on this Bluesilver Grass?

    The more they ventured into the mountain valley, the more refreshing the air became. There was even a slight flowery fragrance. asionally, bees and butterflies flew over to feed on nectar and pollinate flowers. It was like a paradise.

    Very soon, they came to the bottom of the valley. There weren¡¯t any tall trees here, but Bluesilver Grass continued to carpet the entire valley. No soil was exposed at all.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were full of bliss as he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. From the environment here, it seemed like there was a huge possibility that they could find it.

    Lights shed in his eyes again. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power extended downward, like water flowing down. This time, he didn¡¯t fuse his spiritual power with the nts, but relied solely on his own spiritual power to survey his surroundings.

    Once his spiritual power spread, the entire mountain valley was under his surveince.

    At this moment, the Bluesilver Grasses, which was originally very calm, started to shake. Following this, patches of grass seemed to sense something. They all spiked up, as if they were pricks. The harmony was reced by a sinister and hostile aura.

    ¡°They¡¯re panicking.¡± Tang Wutong said, stunned.

    As her spiritual senses were enhanced the previous night, she was currently extremely sensitive to the aura of nts. She believed that Huo Yuhao could also sense what she sensed.

    However, Huo Yuhao was unmoved. He was silently sensing the hostilitying from the Bluesilver Grass around him.

    It was pure hostility. The reason was simple too. This was because Huo Yuhao was snooping around. Pure Bluesilver Grass didn¡¯t possess such an ability. The reason why they were able to react in this manner was because there was something like Huo Yuhao that was spiritually connected to them. This something was even closer to them than Huo Yuhao when he connected with nts.

    Huo Yuhaoughed. This time, he had truly verified it.

    The strong hostility that came from the Bluesilver Grass affected his Spiritual Detection. However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to have any reaction to it. He maintained hisposure and continued to pour out his spiritual power.

    Behind him, a dim golden projection started to appear. It had the appearance of the Emperor Beast. At the same time, his Eye of Destiny also opened. The Light of Destiny gently shone. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power also grew significantly stronger.

    The hostility of the Bluesilver Grass was immediately crushed under Huo Yuhao¡¯s immense spiritual power. It was also at this moment that Huo Yuhao lifted his head. A streak of gentle white light shot out from his Eye of Destiny. It shot through the air before turning into countless spots of white light. These spots of white light fell from the sky, resembling a light rain. This light rain covered the entire mountain valley.

    Tang Wutong also basked in this rain. It was very new andfortable for her. It was a strength that came from fortune. Even though it couldn¡¯t change anything directly, it influenced the future.

    Destiny¡¯s Adjudication!

    The valley rapidly quieted down. The Bluesilver Grass also turned from hard to soft. Everything seemed to turn back to normal. For these nts that could only perform the most basic of functions, their senses were simple and direct, but very acute.

    The fortune that Huo Yuhao brought upon them and the aura of the Emperor Beast left them very excited. The hostility that had formed earlier vanishedpletely.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°Senior, why don¡¯t youe out to meet me? I don¡¯t harbor any ill intentions.¡±

    ¡°Emperor Beast. You actually have the aura of the Emperor Beast. How?¡± A low-pitched voice sounded from afar

    ¡°It¡¯s because she was my lover.¡± Even though Tang Wutong was around, Huo Yuhao still dared to say this.

    Wang Qiu¡¯er had sacrificed everything for him. So what if she was a soul beast? She would always own a part of his heart.

    Tang Wutong acted like she didn¡¯t hear that. Her expression didn¡¯t change, and she even appearedforted. Such a man was deserving of her love!

    That voice was silent for a moment. ¡°However, your lover has be your ability.¡±

    Huo Yuhao also went silent. After this, he slowlynded. The Bluesilver Grass on the ground automatically swayed, and let him sit cross-legged on the ground. Tang Wutong sat down beside him.

    Huo Yuhao let go of her hand, and there was a change in his expression. A sorrowful look surfaced.

    He wasn¡¯t willing to recall those memories. However, he had no choice if he wanted to help Teacher Xiao Ya.

    He shut his eyes, and Wang Qiu¡¯er appeared in his mind.

    That handkerchief that was blown by the wind and the ravishing beauty of the Goddess of Light started surfacing in his memories.

    ¡°I¡¯m Wang Qiu¡¯er!¡± A cold voice echoed in his mind.

    It was a low-pitched roar, which was exactly her style when she unleashed her power.

    Her Golden Spear formed countless projections in her hand. Her immense strength helped her defeat opponent after opponent.

    Her cold yet silent gaze was a representation of the warmth in her heart. Beneath her cold exterior, she was actually very passionate and emotional.

    He was avoiding her, but she was persistent and reluctant. Everything that happened in the past ¨C every scene, every matter, and every item ¨C surfaced in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    It was only at the end, when she burned herself without any hesitation for him and turned into an intense sacrificial me, that he realized that he had been wrong. Actually, she was already part of his heart, no matter how much he didn¡¯t want to admit it.

    He was heartbroken,pletely heartbroken.

    After her sacrifice, he had not attempted to recall what had happened then. This was because he was afraid. He was really afraid. He was afraid of such pain. Right now, he found it very stifling and difficult to breathe when he was struck by this excruciating pain.

    Tears had long since covered his face. His entire body was shaking tremendously, and dim golden lights rippled in the air. His sorrow affected the Bluesilver Grass and flowers around him.

    They drooped down as if they had withered. They mourned along with him.

    A dim golden projection slowly became real behind him. The projection walked in front of him and raised a paw, wanting to touch him. However, she didn¡¯t do so in the end. She only lowered her head, and her eyes were filled with sorrow and reluctance.

    At this moment, a thin white palm stretched over, grabbing its front paw. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lifted its head in astonishment, and all she saw was a sincere-looking face. There was a very sad and mncholic look on this face.

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded at her. The look in its eyes also became much gentler.

    As golden light shed, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s projection fused into Tang Wutong¡¯s body. Tang Wutong shook a little before she opened her eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡±

    A gentle call jolted Huo Yuhao to his senses. He was now covered in tears as he slowly opened his eyes.

    This voice was too familiar. The coldness and tone of this voice wrenched at his heart.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Huo Yuhao sobbed.

    A hand reached over. It was slender and long. As it pulled at him, Huo Yuhao was lifted from the ground.

    He was stunned. He saw a pair of cold eyes. It was a familiar coldness, and a familiar face. There was also a sense of warmth contained within that coldness.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, Qiu¡¯er!¡± Huo Yuhao waspletely stunned. His excruciating pain immediately turned into a wave of emotions. He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

    Qiu¡¯er, she was Qiu¡¯er.

    She leaned into his embrace, and the coldness in her eyes gradually dissipated. What reced it was satisfaction. It was satisfaction that came from her heart.

    No sealed strength forced them apart. They hugged tightly just like that. The pain that Huo Yuhao felt in his heart gradually vanished amidst this gentleness. He also radiated more vigor now.

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, is this really you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. In fact, I¡¯ve always wanted to be with you. Don¡¯t be sad. To me, this might actually be the best result.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Huo Yuhao wanted to say something, but he was caught speechless once again.

    ¡°There are no buts. When I made this choice, I thought that it was the best for us. I fused into your body and became a part of you. No force can separate us anymore. This is what I wanted! Furthermore, the power of my soul and origin fused into the sleeping Dong¡¯er, under the control of the power of destiny. This is why she has both mine and Dong¡¯er¡¯s abilities, now that she has recovered her memories. She¡¯s a fusion of Dong¡¯er and myself. My soul is in your body, and my abilities are with her. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never really left you!¡±

 Chapter 555.2 - Qiuers Heart

    Chapter 555.2: Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Heart</h4>

    ¡°Yuhao, do you know how happy I am? This is my first time feeling your love for me. This is already enough for me. Stay happy with Dong¡¯er. Whether she¡¯s Dong¡¯er or Tang Wutong, she¡¯s your greatest love. I¡¯m only a part of what you truly love. When I first transformed myself into her, I¡¯d already lost. I can¡¯t beat her, ever. I love you, but she loves you more. You have a little crush for me, but your entire heart belongs to her. This is already the best result. Don¡¯t be as sad. This is the future. I¡¯ll be even sadder if you¡¯re like this. When you miss me, you can hug Wutong. If you¡¯re together with her, it¡¯ll be like you and I are together. You, me and her are no longer separable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he listened to Wang Qiu¡¯er. He finally understood why Dong¡¯er¡¯s martial soul experienced such a mutation after she became Tang Wutong, and how she was able to use the Golden Spear. It turned out that Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s strength was indeed in her body!

    ¡°Qiu¡¯er, you¡¯ve sacrificed too much for me.¡±

    Wang Qiu¡¯er smiled and said, ¡°Before I sacrificed myself for you, weren¡¯t you willing to sacrifice your own life for me? Even though you were in despair then, I was still very satisfied. Yuhao, I love you. You must take care of yourself. Remember, I¡¯m always by your side. I¡¯m always here.

    As she spoke, she lifted her hand and gently caressed Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny, as well as his entire forehead.

    Yes! That was where the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny was.

    Dim gold separated from Tang Wutong¡¯s body and re-fused into Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao only sensed an indescribable gentleness sweeping over him, relieving the pain and sorrow in his heart.

    Tang Wutong was still in his arms. She didn¡¯t get up. Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears also stopped flowing.Yes! Qiu¡¯er has always been inside my body.

    Forever!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s tears finally dried up, and he lowered his head to look at the person in his arms. He gently touched her long, wavy, pinkish-blue hair. Huo Yuhao finally called, ¡°Wutong.¡±

    Tang Wutong lifted her head and gave him a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Huo Yuhao said softly.

    Tang Wutong red at him. ¡°I need to punish you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    Warm, smooth red lips touched his own. That gentle touch and fragrance mixed with the love of Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er immediately reminded Huo Yuhao of everything.

    In the next instant, golden light shone brightly, and Huo Yuhao flew up. He drew a beautiful arc in the air.

    His flying-type soul tool opened up behind him. He poured out his soul power and managed to stabilize himself in the air.

    It seemed that Wang Dong¡¯er still minded his rtionship with Wang Qiu¡¯er. However, he felt overwhelmingly ecstatic when he was kissed. At that instant, he could sense two different sets of love.

    He controlled his body in the air, and his eyes had already be clear by now. Tang Wutong gazed deeply at him. He chuckled and flew back beside Tang Wutong, holding her hands.

    ¡°The world of humans is indeed veryplex. I didn¡¯t expect you to obtain the love of the Emperor Beast!¡± The low-pitched voice from before let out a sigh.

    ¡°Do you believe me now?¡± Huo Yuhao asked. The greatest pain and sorrow in his heart had been invoked, but he had managed to see Wang Qiu¡¯er. He finally understood everything. This wasn¡¯t just pain to him; it was an escape too. It made his spiritual awareness much clearer as well.

    ¡°Okay, so what are you here for?¡± The voice asked.

    Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°I have a very important friend. She was affected by evil soul masters. She suffered critical injuries. Her martial soul is a Bluesilver Grass. If we want her to recover, she¡¯ll need your power. That¡¯s why I hope we can get a leaf from you. Of course, I won¡¯t take it for nothing. You can list your conditions. As long as I can fulfil them, I¡¯ll do my best. I only want to make an exchange.¡±

    That low-pitched voice went silent for a moment. ¡°You are very strong. I can sense a lot of danger from your body. You also have the help of the Emperor Beast. You can defeat me easily and take me back. Why do you not do that?¡±

    ¡°I swore I¡¯d never attack a soul beast unless I¡¯m trying to defend myself, Huo Yuhao replied sincerely, ¡°That¡¯s why I only want to make an exchange with you.¡±

    The voice was astonished. ¡°As a human soul master, you actually swore not to kill soul beasts?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes! After I established Spirits, I could avoid killing soul beasts to obtain their powers.¡± He described what Spirits were, and even released the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was also a nt-type soul beast. It had the most acute senses when it came to other nt-type soul beasts.

    Indeed, the voice became much gentler after he saw the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s story.

    ¡°Thanks for thinking for soul beasts. Just based on this, I think I can help you. However, I¡­¡±

    As he spoke until here, he went silent for a bit.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart tightened. He had finally found this Bluesilver Emperor. If he was unwilling, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t force him at all because of his vow.What should I do if that¡¯s the case? Teacher Xiao Ya is still waiting for him to save her!

    ¡°If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. If possible, I¡¯ll do my best to help you.¡± Although Huo Yuhao knew that he was being very rushed, he was aware that there was no room for mistakes.

    That low-pitched voice sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already lived in this world for a hundred and ny thousand years. However, I¡¯m still only a Bluesilver Grass. Even though I¡¯m already an Emperor, I still can¡¯t ovee the heavenly punishment that¡¯s about toe due to my innate abilities. That¡¯s why I¡¯m about to die. Perhaps, your n can bring me new life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was delighted when heard this. However, he still asked, ¡°However, you can choose to be reborn. Can¡¯t soul beasts choose to be reborn when they reach a bottleneck?¡±

    ¡°You are mistaken. That¡¯s only at the hundred thousand year mark. After that, you can¡¯t take that path anymore if you don¡¯t choose to be reborn after a certain period of time. I¡¯m already close to the two hundred thousand year stage. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t do it anymore. Perhaps some powerful soul beasts can think of another way. However, I can¡¯t do that, because of my own lineage.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was only enlightened now. A Bluesilver Grass would still face problems with its lineage even if it became a Bluesilver Emperor. Under such a circumstance, it would be unable to be like the Snow Empress ¨C able to be reborn even if its cultivation was very high. It sounded logical too. Given the Snow Empress¡¯ talent as the Icesky Snow Lady and seven hundred thousand year cultivation, she could only choose to be reborn as an embryo, which eventually led to a catastrophe. She eventually became Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit. Compared to the Snow Empress, the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s cultivation was far inferior.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°As long as you are willing, it¡¯s not a problem. I can bring you back to fuse with my friend. Don¡¯t worry, my friend is incredibly talented. She¡¯s only two years older than me, but she already has eight rings. If you can give her a ninth soul ring in the near future, I believe she¡¯ll be one of the strongest humans.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I shall trouble you then.¡± The Bluesilver Emperor said satisfactorily.

    At this moment, the Bluesilver Grass in the valley started to shake. They weren¡¯t fearful and hostile this time. Rather, they were excited and agitated.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to sense the presence of giant pythons slithering over from all directions.

    Blue vines started to rise up, and they eventually gathered together. Every vine appeared smooth and transparent. They were clear like blue crystals. However, there seemed to be veins inside these vines, and these veins seemed to be moving.

    The vines quickly wrapped around one another, and formed the appearance of a human. This human nodded at Huo Yuhao before moving towards him. It revolved around him and gradually adopted the entire form of a human.

    However, this human form wasn¡¯t the manifestation of a savage beast, but the product of vines twisting around one another. It was as if it had been woven. The originally thick vines also shrank too. They were only as thick as human thumbs now. It appeared very strange.

    ¡°We¡¯ll follow you.¡± The Bluesilver Emperor said.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at him and said, ¡°Thanks for your trust.¡±

    The Bluesilver Emperor pursed his lips and seemed to be smiling. ¡°In fact, I believe in the Emperor Beast¡¯s taste. She can¡¯t be wrong.¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little curious as she looked at the Bluesilver Emperor. Right now, she fully understood why Huo Yuhao was here. It was just that there was an extra special look in her eyes when she looked at the Bluesilver Emperor.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at the Bluesilver Emperor and said, ¡°Please follow us then.¡± He held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and gradually flew out. At the same time, he extended his Spiritual Antenna towards the Bluesilver Emperor.

    At the start, the Bluesilver Emperor hesitated for a moment. However, he was soon very astonished, as he realized that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Antenna contained spiritual undtions that belonged to nts. Even though he was only simting it, it felt very close and kind. Subconsciously, the Bluesilver Emperor also released his spiritual power to connect with Huo Yuhao.

    As their spiritual senses connected, Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Detection, and transmitted everything that he sensed to the Bluesilver Emperor.

 Chapter 555.3 - Qiuers Heart

    <h4 ss>Chapter 555.3: Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Heart</h4>

    The Bluesilver Emperor shook. He was astonished as he stared at Huo Yuhao with eyes, made from vines. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your spiritual power to be so strong.¡±

    Strong spiritual undtions were released from the Bluesilver Emperor and reflected onto Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao sensed every single change that happened to the entire mountain valley. The Bluesilver Emperor used himself as an intermediary to connect with every Bluesilver Grass in the mountain valley.

    One human and one soul beast looked at each other, and smiled. They felt each other¡¯s sincerity. At the same time, they picked up speed and rose into the sky.

    The Bluesilver Emperor sighed. ¡°If your martial soul waspatible with mine, I might have chosen you. You are very strong. Although my innate abilities can¡¯tpare to many powerful soul beasts, Bluesilver Grass have very acute senses. From your body, I can sense that you have a bright future.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, ¡°When you see my friend, you won¡¯t be disappointed. Her martial soul is a Bluesilver Emperor. You should know that there are very few humans that can cultivate Bluesilver Grass. There was one person who managed to sessfully do so in the past, and this person was very powerful. That person is also my elder.¡±

    The Bluesilver Emperor nodded and said, ¡°I know who you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he looked at the Bluesilver Emperor. ¡°You know about him?¡±

    The Bluesilver Emperor nodded and replied, ¡°Although our species is small and weak, our life energy is actually the most prosperous among all nts. We also have the highest poption among all the nt species in this world. Our roots are connected by our spiritual senses. This is why we can sense if anything big happens to one of us.¡±

    ¡°It is almost as rare to find Bluesilver Grass that can cultivate as it is to find a human soul master with a Bluesilver Grass martial soul. It requires great fortune. We can only cultivate if we are aided by the power of heaven and earth. I was baptized thrice by heavenly lightning. The power of the lightning spirit exists in my body, which haspletely transformed me. I¡¯m also aware of the person you¡¯re talking about. She had the purest lineage, and was of royal blood. That individual you are talking about is her kid, who broke free from the restraints of this world and became a god. Speaking of her, I think it¡¯s only right that I address her as ¡®Your Majesty¡¯.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect that the Bluesilver Emperor had such a connection with Tang San¡¯s mother. This was a good thing. This helped to close the gap between them.

    ¡°It seems like all of you have a deep history with my elder. My friend is the current sect leader of the Tang Sect, which was established by Tang San. Speaking of her, she¡¯s a direct descendant of Tang San. It seems like the Tang Sect has a great affinity with your species!¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s actually the case? That¡¯s great then.¡± The Bluesilver Emperor was feeling in better spirits now. After witnessing the immense spiritual power that Huo Yuhao unleashed, he was now very confident in this mission. nt-type soul beasts were much more simple-mindedpared to animal-type soul beasts. However, they were much more sensitive. From Huo Yuhao, he could sense kindness and justice. In addition, the Emperor Beast also yed an important role in his decision. This was why he made his decision without thinking too much about it. Now that he heard this, he felt that his decision was the perfectly right choice.

    Right now, they were already high up in the air. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong picked up speed at the same time.

    Flying was naturally not the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s strength. However, this wasn¡¯t a major problem. Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong with one hand and the Bluesilver Emperor with his other hand. To give the Bluesilver Emperor even more confidence, Huo Yuhao increased his speed, and flew along the south of the Sun Moon Empire towards the Star Luo Empire. He was lightning quick, and rapidly reached supersonic speed.

    After the series of blows that had been dealt to them, the Sun Moon Empire withdrew all its defenses to Radiant City. It was even possible to im that they had temporarily given up on their defenses in the outer cities. No more aerial surveince soul tools were in ce to carry out surveince. It was a far smoother journey than Huo Yuhao had expected. Since they were far from Radiant City, they didn¡¯t run into any trouble. Very soon, they entered the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders, and proceeded straight to Shrek City.

    ¡­¡­

    A g was flying high in the Heavenly Soul Empire. There was an army within the borders of the empire, but it was extremelyrge. On an extremelyrge g, an image of a golden sun and silver moon was shining brightly.

    The soldiers were lined up in one single file, which extended for hundreds of kilometers in the Heavenly Soul Empire, or rather, the Sun Moon Empire. This was because the Heavenly Soul Empire had ceased to exist.

    This army consisted of more than seven hundred thousand soldiers. Most of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s elite soldiers were here.

    From afar, the army looked like a giant dragon. The formation that it adopted was veryplex, but itpletely and perfectly covered the perimeter of a massive military base.

    Even by scanning from above, it was impossible to tell how many soul formations there were in this base. The only certainty was that it waspletely closed off to people.

    This was the border. However, it wasn¡¯t just the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, it was the border of the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires. At a corner of this border less than a hundred kilometers from where the army was stationed was Shrek City.

    There was a gold-redmander¡¯s tent that was more than ten meters high in this base. More than a thousand people could fit into this tent without it being overcrowded. But at this moment, there were very few people in the tent.

    Ju Zi was in the main seat. She was dressed in fiery-red armor. The phoenix image on her armor seemed real and alive. It wasn¡¯t just ordinary armor. It was custom-made for her, and Kong Deming was the one who personally came up with this human-shaped soul tool. It wasn¡¯t used for attacking, but it was extremely effective for defensive purposes. Kong Deming told Ju Zi that even an Ultimate Douluo would need more than three strikes to ovee the defenses of this human-shaped soul tool.

    Ju Zi had six subordinates with her. The youngest one was already a middle-aged man. There were three elders among the six too. Every one of them exuded a strong aura. However, they didn¡¯t move a single inch. asionally, they would nce at Ju Zi. They were all in admiration of her.

    Ju Zi was holding onto a letter. Between the six of them, there was even a guy who was kneeling on one knee. The letter had been brought here by this man, an envoy from Radiant City.

    The letter wasn¡¯t very long. She finished reading it very quickly. After she finished, she put it down, and her brow furrowed. After this, she stood up.

    After she stood up, the six subordinates unwittingly took a step back, and opened up some space in the middle for her.

    A person, especially someone whomanded a huge army, who held an important position for a long time would gradually develop some kind of might and dominance. This was the same for Ju Zi.

    After she became the War God Empress, her temperamentpletely changed. She became more reserved, but also more majestic.

    She slowly walked down. She kept thinking and pondering as she walked.

    There wasn¡¯t a single sound in the tent. Everyone was fixated on her, and they waited silently.

    After a brief moment, Ju Zi stopped and asked the envoy, ¡°What were His Majesty¡¯s instructions?¡±

    The envoy said, ¡°War God Empress, His Majesty said that everything will be decided by you.¡±

    Ju Zi squinted and nodded. She said, ¡°Alright, you can leave. I¡¯ll need to think of how to reply to His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The envoy respectfully took his leave. Whoever waited between six ss 9 soul engineers would undoubtedly be subjected to immense pressure! He couldn¡¯t wait to leave.

    Ju Zi returned to her seat and said, ¡°His Majesty has sent news that the empire was attacked by an unknown enemy. More than ten cities were plundered. Even Radiant City was attacked. The enemies used some kind of special method to sneak to a ce near Radiant City before firing thousands of low-grade cannon shells. They even used a ss 9 soul cannon shell. The Imperial Pce was breached, and heavy damage was incurred. As the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was sent to search for these enemies and was not in the capital, these enemies weren¡¯t caught in time. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. Preliminary investigations reveal that there were at least two soul engineer legions. Elder Kong said that these enemies might possibly be able to conceal themselves, and possess spatial abilities.¡±

    After hearing Ju Zi¡¯s words, the six ss 9 soul engineers¡¯ expressions changed.

    What was the greatest fear of an army? It was that things weren¡¯t stable at the back! Under normal conditions, things at the back could be stabilized by sending some reinforcements back. They were now in control of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Although they weren¡¯t afraid of ack of reinforcements, internal instability within the empire would affect proceedings at the front line.

    One elder who was standing at the left said, ¡°Marshal, we must not let news of this spread. We must seal all information.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°Whatever I say will stay between the seven of us. What do you think?¡±

    The elder who had just spokenmented, ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable. It¡¯s impossible!¡±

    Ju Zi revealed a weird look on her face. ¡°I have the same thought too. There are many aerial surveince soul tools around the empire. Perhaps the three empires of the original Douluo Continent cane up with two soul engineer legions. However, they shouldn¡¯t be too strong. Concealment and spatial abilities? This is a joke. Even our empire hasn¡¯te up with something like that. How did they manage to do so?¡±

    An elder on the right said, ¡°Marshal, perhaps it¡¯s the doing of some powerful soul masters?¡±

    Ju Zi answered, ¡°In Elder Kong¡¯s analysis, he mentioned that powerful soul masters can conceal themselves using soul skills. However, if they are bringing along two soul engineer legions with three hundred heavy cannons, that ispletely impossible. Currently, they are unsure of how the enemies managed to do so. However, the problem is that the enemies are unpredictable. It¡¯s difficult to track them. This time, are we are the ones suffering because of ack of surveince and intelligence?¡±

 Chapter 556.1 - Ju Zis Terrifying Plots

    <h4 ss>Chapter 556.1: Ju Zi¡¯s Terrifying Plots</h4>

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s absolute fighting ability was not the only reason they were able to win all their battles and eventually conquer the Heavenly Soul Empire. Their incredibly powerful surveince and countersurveince abilities were also important contributing factors to their victories.

    When the war had just started, the Heavenly Soul Empire was actually able to put up a decent fight. After all, it had a huge amount of reserves as an old Empire. In addition, it had the support of the Body Sect, which gave it a significant boost in its capabilities.

    However, their blows were often useless against the Sun Moon Empire. For strange reasons, they were always unable to deal a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire. On the other hand, the Sun Moon Empire was always able to identify the crucial weaknesses within the Heavenly Soul Empire, and deal heavy blows based on these weaknesses. Over time, the Heavenly Soul Empire could only sumb to its demise.

    This time round, the blows which were suffered by the inner parts of the Sun Moon Empire were like a mirror image of the battle between the Sun Moon Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, even until now, they were still unable to determine where exactly their enemies were.

    However, Ju Zi saw an extremely familiar name on the letter. Huo Yuhao!

    There was only one piece of information which was certain from the message that was handed over to them from Radiant City. And that information was Huo Yuhao¡¯s name.

    Yuhao, was that really you?

    Even though Ju Zi was thinking about him, her face remained calm andposed.

    The old man on the left said, ¡°This is truly a big problem. We must figure out what exactly is going on soon. Otherwise, we have no way to determine what our next course of action should be. Marshal, we must not retreat in times like this! Now that our troops have rested for a good ten days after taking over the whole of the Heavenly Soul Empire, our morale is at its peak. This is the best time for us to attack, no matter where we strike. If we allow the internal affairs of our Empire to influence our decision, we will not be able to achieve as much as we want. This is the perfect time to conquer the whole continent.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded gently.

    The old man on the right also nodded. He said, ¡°Our Majesty has the protection of the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. As long as they stay within Radiant City, Radiant City will never fall. Even if those soul engineers were able to infiltrate our territory, their numbers are ultimately limited. They can only do so much damage to our instations with their two soul engineer legions. However, we have millions of troops at ourmand. We can definitely do more damage than them.¡±

    ¡°Elder Su, watch your words.¡± Ju Zi frowned as she reprimanded him.

    Elder Su revealed a faint smile and said, ¡°When the general is away from the Emperor, the general must make decisions based on his or her own discretion. Marshal, you must be decisive, and not allow this matter to affect you. I believe His Majesty will understand your decision. Our tactics are already finalized. If we were to make any amendments now, it would truly be disadvantageous for all of us!¡±

    Ju Zi sighed and said, ¡°Of course I know what things are like right now. However, how can we fight confidently when Our Majesty is in danger? I believe all of you are elders within the Hall of Consecration. I need some time to think this through. We should not rush out a decision on important matters like this. Otherwise, even if we were to emerge victorious on the front lines, we will still be scolded by the masses when we return to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    ¡°Who would dare to do that?!¡± Elder Su was obviously an ill-tempered old man. He immediately strode forward as his aura surged. He said coldly, ¡°You have been serving the empire wholeheartedly, and have put your female body at the frontlines. We were only able to achieve all that we have with your intelligent tactics. If those old fools try to be funny, I will kill their entire families.¡±

    Even though his words were very extreme, the five other ss 9 soul engineers in the tent did not go against him. Instead, they nodded gently. They might not share the same ill temper as him, but they all agreed with what he said.

    Ju Zi stood up as her face revealed a gentle smile. She nodded towards the six ss 9 soul engineers and said, ¡°I thank you all for your support. I will try my best to make a decision as soon as possible. The troops must not catch wind of this news. I will need all six of you to keep this a secret.¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The six ss 9 soul engineers answered as they bowed before her.

    The first Worshipped on the left nodded and said, ¡°Marshall, we shall leave you to rest. We will now take our leave. Regardless of your decision, we will definitely support you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The six Worshipped left one by one, leaving Ju Zi alone in the humongous Commander¡¯s Tent.

    As Ju Zi sat on her seat, the fearsome and authoritative look on her face started to fade. Now, she started to look like ady once again.

    She sat there in a daze for a good long moment before standing up again. She moved over to the sand model at the side of the tent before strategizing their next move.

    The Sun Moon Empire army she was leading was currently in a very special position. This position granted her three different options. The first and most direct option was to attack Shrek City. However, everyone knew that this was not the wisest decision. Ju Zi was naturally able to see the problems the Prime Minister had identified. In addition, she really wanted to avoid any conflict with Shrek Academy. She knew how important it was to him!

    After the previous incident where her son was abducted, she had changed a lot. A lot of the things she used to value were now viewed with less importance. And some of the things she had tried her best to suppress in the past were now gushing from her heart.

    There were several delicately crafted little gs on the sand model. Those gs were important chess pieces which she hadid out across their area of operation. Most of them were gathered at the border of the Star Luo Empire.

    No one could really understand the intentions behind her strategic arrangements. Even though the six Worshipped could guess what she was trying to do, they were ultimately guesses.

    From the current situation, it was wisest for them to attack the Star Luo Empire. This was because both the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire bordered the Sun Moon Empire. By conquering the Star Luo Empire, four-fifths of the entire continent would belong to the Sun Moon Empire.

    Of course, the Star Luo Empire could not bepared to the Heavenly Soul Empire. Its area was simr to that of the Sun Moon Empire, and was equivalent to the sum of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. It was an empire which hadsted for ten thousand years, and no one really knew how many reserves and resources it had.

    The Star Luo Empire also had the White Tiger Duke waiting at the borders, with a hundred thousand troops ready for battle.

    Ju Zi had positioned three hundred thousand troops at the border of the Star Luo Empire. There was a soul tool deployment area for every fifty thousand troops. Hence, they upied six different locations of tactical importance. This arrangement kept the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops at bay, as they did not dare to make any moves. At the same time, she had arranged for two soul engineer legions to be on standby to reinforce any group when necessary.

    The Star Luo Empire had tried to test the waters a few times, but had always returned in defeat.

    There was a simr arrangement at the Dou Ling Empire. From the look of things, Ju Zi¡¯s army had already established their positions against all their enemies. They could advance to attack and retreat to defend at will.

    These were all aplished by Ju Zi in just a few months. Before she had led the armies out for their conquest, she had already started making these arrangements.

    Even though the battle seemed very chaotic and messy, everything was, in fact, under her control.

    Ju Zi was not only adept at unorthodox military tactics. This time round, she had also disyed her ability tomand and lead on the battlefield. She had only used five soul engineer legions to destroy the bulk of the coalition army formed by the Heavenly Soul Empire and Dou Ling Empires. She was even able to restrict the abilities of the Shrek Academy, and keep them from fighting at their full potential.

    The remaining troops of the Heavenly Soul Empire did not actually perish in the battle. They had merely retreated back into Shrek City after seeing how they were fighting a losing battle.

    After expanding, Shrek City was definitely capable of housing the seventy thousand strong army. At the same time, it also epted quite a few elites and powerful soul masters from the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, the troops from the Dou Ling Empire could not retreat into Shrek City. After all, they still had to defend their empire! Hence, they had no choice but to return to the Dou Ling Empire and defend their borders.

    In this short amount of time, Ju Zi was constantly running through possible permutations for her battle tactics in her head. The Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire had been on high alert and extremely tense for the past few days as they braced themselves for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attack. Conversely, her troops had been recharging and resting for the past ten days. With their improved morale, they were in their best possible state.

    ¡°Yuhao, is it really you?¡± Ju Zi muttered to herself. ¡°If it really is you, I wouldn¡¯t find it strange at all. It was a brilliant move you made there!¡±

    ¡°How can a general act based on his or her own discretion? This is aplete joke. Xu Tianran would never stop controlling me even if I am at the front lines.¡± She revealed a cold look on her face as she smiled. ¡°Xu Tianran, I wonder if you have been injured again¡­¡±

    ¡°It seems like all of my preparations were appropriate. It¡¯s time to unveil some of these things. Yuhao, thank you for helping me create this condition. I will wait for you here. I am really looking forward to seeing you again. Even if it¡¯s on the battlefield.¡±

    Whenever she mentioned Huo Yuhao¡¯s name in her heart, the coldness in her eyes would be reced by a warm and loving look as a satisfied smile crept across her face.

    She gradually extended her right hand as she clenched her fist above the sand model. Everything was under her control!

    Two hourster, the War God Empress¡¯ orders started to pass around the entire army. Every single officer was to report to the Commander¡¯s Tent to receive their next set of orders.

    A very solemn and serious aura was emanating from the Commander¡¯s Tent. Ju Zi was wearing her armor and red-gold helmet as she sat in her seat. There was another person seated on her left, who waspletely concealed in a long ck robe. Even though he had been trying to conceal it, the people around him could still sense a very creepy and frightening auraing from his body.

    Another person was standing behind the man in ck. If Huo Yuhao were here, he might be able to recognize her. She was none other than the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church¡ªFeng Ling.

    The only person who could get Feng Ling to stand behind him must be the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church¡ªZhongli Wu!

    Yes, Zhongli Wu was actually at the front lines with the rest of the army.

    The other powerful cultivators of the Sun Moon Empire¡ªincluding Jing Hongchen¡ªwere standing beneath Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling. Even though the cultivators from the Holy Ghost Church could not be seen, that did not mean they were not present.

 Chapter 556.2 - Ju Zis Terrifying Plots

    <h4 ss>Chapter 556.2: Ju Zi¡¯s Terrifying Plots</h4>

    Another group of formidable individuals was standing on the other side. One of them was the leader of the six ss 9 soul engineers who had met with Ju Zi previously. In total, there were more than twenty Titled Douluo and ss 9 soul engineers within the Commander¡¯s tent.

    Other than these individuals, the higher-ups from the armies were all present as they lined themselves up ording to their ranks. They were themanders of the Hand that Protects the Nation¡ªthe four most powerful soul engineer legions in the Sun Moon Empire, themanders of the normal soul engineer legions, and the other relevantmanders respectively.

    All of these people constituted the military leadership ss within the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi nodded at the group of people before her and said, ¡°After much rest, our army¡¯s morale is sky-high. Now is definitely the best time for us to strike our enemies. Listen up! The first, third, and fifth legions are to make their way towards Shrek City and beseige our enemies. The Evileye Soul Engineer Legion and the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion are to cooperate with their movements and set up camp fifty kilometers away from Shrek City. After establishing your soul tool deployment areas, get ready to attack the city.¡±

    ¡°After the camps have been established by our legions, the rest of you will proceed ording to our nned movement lineup and wait for further orders.¡±

    After hearing Ju Zi¡¯s words, Zhongli Wu was startled. Previously, he had actually requested to use the troops on Shrek City after setting up camp here. However, Ju Zi had rejected his request. He did not expect the War God Empress to finally decide on attacking Shrek City. This was good news for the Holy Ghost Church. They had always viewed Shrek City as a thorn in their side.

    Even though he was a little surprised by her orders, Zhongli Wu was not against them.

    Hence, the army copsed their tents and marched towards Shrek City with morale high. If the aura they were exuding were material, it would probably have crushed the city walls. By evening, the entire Sun Moon Empire army had set up camp fifty kilometers from Shrek City. They were able to surround half of the city.

    However, there was no reaction from Shrek City. Their doors remained firmly shut.

    As nightfall descended, a series of explosion awakened Shrek City.

    Lines of brilliant mes illuminated the dark sky as they formed a series of characters which were visible from any corner in Shrek City. ¡°Give us Huo Yuhao within ten days, or we will kill everyone within the city!¡±

    As he floated peacefully in the night sky, Huo Yuhao gazed at the bright characters in the sky and frowned.

    He was just about to reach the Shrek Academy after his long flight. It was not the kind of greeting he was expecting.

    To hand me over in ten days¡¯ time?

    Does the Sun Moon Empire actually want to trap Shrek City?

    Tang Wutong was also surprised by the sight before them. She turned around and shot a puzzled look at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Isn¡¯t Ju Zi the Commander of the Three Armies? What is she nning to do?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s discuss it after we return to the Academy.¡± As he spoke, he held onto Tang Wutong and the Bluesilver Emperor before speeding off in the direction of Shrek Academy. With his Imitation soul skill and Spiritual Interference Domain, he was able to return to Shrek City without rming anyone.

    Before he returned to the Academy, he first headed back to the Tang Sect. After stepping into the gates, he gathered all the higher-ups.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± When Bei Bei saw the Bluesilver Emperor which was standing by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, his jaw dropped.

    Even though he was not a hundred percent sure that it was the Bluesilver Emperor that could save Tang Ya¡¯s life, he was pretty confident that Huo Yuhao had managed to bring it back.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, the Sun Moon Empire has surrounded Shrek City. We should head over to the Academy immediately. This is the Bluesilver Emperor. I managed to find it in the Sun Moon Empire. Third senior brother, can I trouble you to prepare amodations for him? Eldest senior brother, let¡¯s head over to the Academy. After we have confirmed the situation at the Academy, I wille back to treat Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Bei Bei¡¯s excitement was apparent as his breathing became rapid. However, as the big brother within Tang Sect, he was able to control his emotions and stayposed. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s head over to the Academy.¡±

    After leaving for such a long time, they were still not able to rest, even though they had just returned. Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Tang Wutong ran towards the Academy. The rest of them continued with the work which had been left undone during the period of time when they had left the Tang Sect.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong and Bei Bei reached the Academy.

    When they arrived at the gate, they were stopped by two figures which leapt in front of them.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The two youths were wearing the Shrek Academy uniform. They were only able to recognize the faces of Huo Yuhao and the rest after challenging them.

    Their eyes widened in disbelief as one of them eximed, ¡°Senior Huo?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°We are going to enter the inner courtyard. This night sentry duty thing has only been added recently, right?¡± It was important to note that the old Shrek Academy never closed their doors, even at night. They had never employed any defensive measures.

    That student nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Ever since the Heavenly Soul Empire fell, the Academy has been stepping up our security measures. We are going through very difficult times indeed.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The three of them eximed in unison. None of them had known that the Heavenly Soul Empire had been conquered. After hearing the news from this student, they were all utterly shocked.

    No wonder the Sun Moon Empire could push their troops to Shrek City¡­ The Heavenly Soul Empire has really fallen¡­

    Even though Huo Yuhao was not a citizen of the Heavenly Soul Empire, Bei Bei was. Suddenly, a heavy silence fell across the group.

    Tang Wutong broke the silence and asked, ¡°Is there any procedure we need to undergo before entering the Academy?¡±

    The two students did not dare to look straight at Tang Wutong¡¯s beautiful face. They shook their heads frantically. ¡°No. No. Please proceed.¡±

    The three of them entered the Academy and arrived at Sea God¡¯s Lake. All of the leapt up at the same time and flew directly to Sea God¡¯s Ind.

    The news of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s fall was simply too shocking. Huo Yuhao could still remember the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s setup at the frontlines when he personally visited that area previously. Even though they could not bepared to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s powerful soul engineer legions, they should not have been able to be destroyed so quickly. Its demise meant that there was no longer a buffer between Shrek City and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops. At the same time, it also meant that the Sun Moon Empire was one step closer towards their dream of conquering the entire continent. Next, they could target the Star Luo or Dou Ling Empire as they wished. Things were truly looking bad for the other empires on the continent.

    Huo Yuhao and the others had thought that their efforts in the Sun Moon Empire could influence the battle at the front line. However, they did not expect the Heavenly Soul Empire to crumble so easily. This made their attempts to induce fear and panic within the Sun Moon Empire less effective than they could have been.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was frowning, he stopped at the Golden Tree and kneeled before it along with Tang Wutong. Bei Bei kneeled down as he joined them to pay their respects.

    ¡°Teacher, we have returned. I hope we are not toote.¡± Huo Yuhao kowtowed to the Golden Tree thrice as he greeted it respectfully.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was well-illuminated. When Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong and Bei Bei walked into the hall, all of the Elders were already there. There was also another familiar face present in the hall. She was none other than Princess Wei Na from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    After seeing the three people walked in, Princess Wei Na could not help but stand up. Compared to the previous time they met had her, she seemed to have aged quite a bit. Her skin had lost its original youthful radiance, and her face had grown a lot paler. One could see the sadness and sorrow in her eyes.

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Wei Na greeted softly as tears welled up in her eyes.

    After seeing that Princess Wei Na was present in the hall, Huo Yuhao felt an inexplicable sense of sadness in his heart. This meant that the Heavenly Soul Empire had really fallen to the Sun Moon Empire. If not, she would never have been able to break Shrek Academy¡¯s tradition and enter the hall as someone who was not a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Elder Xuan waved his hand at the three of them and said, ¡°The three of you are just in time. Please sit.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao answered politely as the three of them sat down.

    All the Elders had very worried and solemn looks on their face. This was going to be one of the biggest challenges the academy had ever faced. It was probably more difficult than the beast wave which started in the Great Star Dou Forest previously.

    During the beast wave, Shrek Academy was at most involved in traditionalbat. However, this time around, they were going up against some of the top soul tool technologies in the entire Douluo Continent. No one would dare to say they were confident of winning this battle.

    Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Did you all see the fireworks outside?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. To his surprise, Elder Xuan actually revealed a gentle smile.

    Elder Xuan said calmly, ¡°You should be able to tell from the fireworks that your team has achieved a fair bit of sess. Even though your operations in the Sun Moon Empire were not enough to get them to retreat, at the very least, they caused them some panic. If not, they would not have sent their troops to surround Shrek City. So why don¡¯t you share what all of you have done with us.¡±

    Ever since he had be an Ultimate Douluo, Elder Xuan had be a lot moreposed and steady. In fact, Huo Yuhao felt that he was starting to resemble Elder Mu.

    Even though the current situation was extremely pressing, Elder Xuan did not ask them for their opinions on how to handle their enemies. Instead, he asked them how their trip was, and whether they bumped into any significant problems. His wisdom was exemplified in his decision to change the topic so as to improve the tense atmosphere.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°After leaving the Academy, I headed directly to the Ming Dou Mountain Range. Following which, I entered the Sun Moon Empire¡­¡±

    As they listened to his story, the Elders nodded along. They were particrly moved when he got to the part about their attack on the Radiant City, and how they had bombed the Pce with a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. After hearing what Huo Yuhao said, the Princess was so excited that she grabbed the edge of the table by her side.

    However, Huo Yuhao omitted the parts about the spectral demine during his report. After all, this was his greatest secret. No matter what, the Princess was still an outsider.

 Chapter 556.3 - Ju Zis Terrifying Plots

    <h4 ss>Chapter 556.3: Ju Zi¡¯s Terrifying Plots</h4>

    ¡°¡­After leaving Radiant City, we took a short rest to reorganize ourselves. Because we didn¡¯t hear about the news, we returned. Just now, we caught wind of news about how the Heavenly Soul Empire¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded. ¡°I see. The Sun Moon Empire would never have changed their battle ns if all of you were to only attack those normal cities. But you exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations by sessfully attacking Radiant City. After that, the Sun Moon Empire had no choice but to view all of you with great importance. It also seems like your team left some tracks behind which allowed them to trace you. Hence, they are demanding us to turn you over to them within ten days.¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a while before saying, ¡°Elder Xuan, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that simple.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Elder Xuan seemed to be curious about what Huo Yuhao was hinting at. ¡°Tell me what you think about this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very likely for the Sun Moon Empire to pass orders to the front line to demand that the academy turn me in. After all, they would probably think I¡¯m still in the Sun Moon Empire. Also, it would be impossible for the Academy to contact me in ten days. Furthermore, they should know that it would be futile to ask the Academy to turn me in!¡±

    Zhang Lexuan said, ¡°Could they be using this as an excuse to attack the Academy?¡±

    Once again, Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The time they are giving us is way too long. Ten days is considered very long for a battle that uses soul tools. If they are willing to give us ten days to turn me in, it doesn¡¯t look like they intend to attack us directly. Of course, there¡¯s still a possibility that they¡¯re just trying to numb us beforeunching an attack. But from the looks of things, I think that¡¯s quite unlikely.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Princess Wei Na asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The current Commander of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Three Armies is the War God Empress. I actually know her personally from back when I was in the Sun Moon Empire for the exchange program. She was my senior sister back then, as we learned and studied under amon teacher. Hence, we have a pretty decent rtionship.¡±

    While he talked about his rtionship with Ju Zi, Tang Wutong pinched his thigh under the table.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao did not show any expression of pain on his face as he continued, ¡°This senior sister of mine was not particrly gifted in building soul tools or cultivating. However, she possessed immense gifts when it came to military affairs. Previously, she was the one who came up with the entire n to feint an attack on the Ming Dou Mountain Range before striking the Heavenly Soul Empire. After prating the borders of the Heavenly Soul Empire, she returned to the Sun Moon Empire to give birth to their Prince. During that time, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was particrly quiet due to her absence. However, she has now returned. She is very clever with her tactics, and does not indulge in any meaningless battles. If she knew it was impossible for the Academy to turn me in, there must be some deeper reason why she nted her troops around Shrek City. In my opinion, it isn¡¯t likely that they would attack the Academy directly.¡±

    Dean Yan said, ¡°But we cannot eliminate this possibility. Otherwise, if they were tounch an all-out attack on us, the blood and sweat which has been invested in the Academy for the past ten thousand years would be destroyed in an instant. We cannot afford to let that happen.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and nodded. ¡°This is exactly why Ju Zi is so smart. She understands how we have no choice but to rescue Shrek City and the Academy, and hence employed this method to control us. In fact, at this very instant, both Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire would love to see the Sun Moon Empire do this to us.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Tang Wutong could not help but ask.

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. If the Sun Moon Empire were to attack us, how can Shrek Academy not defend itself? This would make us and our location an important pivot in the war. The only way for us to stand a chance would be to gather all the troops from the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires. And since both empires are fairly close to us, they can definitely send their troops over in ten days.¡±

    After hearing his exnation, a heavy silence fell upon the room. They were all beginning to sense the true intentions behind her moves. This was an borate yet overt scheme designed by Ju Zi. By threatening the enemy, the enemy¡¯s allies would have to rescue them. This would create a tactical space for Ju Zi¡¯s troops to attack or retreat. No one would know what she had in mind for her next move.

    If Ju Zi were to attack, Shrek Academy would definitely not be able to fend them off by themselves. Hence, they had to call for external reinforcement. Shrek Academy was simply unable to afford any losses!

    However, what if the Sun Moon Empire chose to hold their horses and wait it out when the reinforcements finally arrived? Or what if they chose to take other actions instead? How should the academy react?

    At this instant, the entire Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was quiet. Everyone seemed to be very frustrated and depressed by their current circumstances. The Sun Moon Empire had only moved their troops forward by fifty kilometers and fired some fireworks. But this was enough to cause a headache for Shrek Academy.

    Even Elder Xuan, who was usually extremely calm andposed, started to frown. It was apparent that he was bing very worried about the circumstances.

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°Elder Xuan, is it possible for us to get help from the Great Star Dou Forest? After all, we have been sharing a pleasant cooperative rtionship with them all this while. The Spirit Pagoda is also based in our city. If we can get them to help, it would be a lot easier to stop the Sun Moon Empire from attacking us.¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°I know the Beast God the best. It¡¯s impossible to ask him to help us. In fact, he can¡¯t wait for us humans to kill one another and weaken the human race¡¯s power. This would grant soul beasts a greater amount of living space. After all, this battle is mainly taking ce between soul masters and soul engineers, who both need soul rings. It would be a blessing for every soul beast if more soul masters were to die.¡±

    Qian Duoduo said, ¡°Then what if we were to attack instead? After receiving our signal for help, the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire would definitely send their troops over as fast as possible. Under these circumstances, do you think we would stand a chance if we were to fight them head-on with our full power? At the very least, we can stop them from doing other things.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It will be very difficult for us to fight them head-on. They would only have to convert their soul tool deployment areas into forts to protect themselves from our attacks. Even if we were eventually able to prate their defenses, it would be at great cost. The chances of us doing that are just too slim. Our only advantage is that we have a greater number of individuals who are highly skilled inbat. However, our collective strength is a long way from theirs.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°Then what should we do? We can¡¯t defend, right? It will be hard to defend against them.¡±

    Tang Wutong suddenly spoke. ¡°I think the best thing for us to do now is wait. We should not ask for help from the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires. This will allow them to focus on defending their own borders.¡±

    After hearing what she said, Huo Yuhao immediately looked at her. This was exactly what he had wanted to suggest. However, he was a little hesitant about voicing this controversial opinion.

    ¡°Huh? Why is that so?¡± Elder Xuan was surprised by Tang Wutong¡¯s suggestion. The other Elders did not seem to be very receptive to it either. They did not seem to be very impressed by what she had said. Tang Wutong¡¯s suggestion was a quick recipe for the fall of Shrek City.

    Tang Wutong looked at Huo Yuhao before letting out a cold grunt. ¡°There are some words which might be hard for you to say. Since that¡¯s the case, I will help you say them. I suggested this because the chances that Ju Zi will attack Shrek City are impossibly slim. As long as we allow Huo Yuhao to meet her and convince her that he is truly in the city, she would never order her army to attack Shrek City.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was still confused by her words. ¡°How is that possible? Unless she is scared of Yuhao?¡±

    Tang Wutong pouted beforeining, ¡°She¡¯s not afraid of him. In fact, she likes him a lot. I believe she will never harm Yuhao. Hence, as long as she knows he is in the city, it is unlikely that she will order her troops to attack it. In my opinion, I believe that her demand for us to turn Huo Yuhao over is but a smokescreen she has created.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The Elders were very surprised by her words.The War God Empress of the Sun Moon Empire actually likes Huo Yuhao?This was an unbelievable piece of news!

    Huo Yuhao blushed after hearing what Tang Wutong said. Tang Wutong also realized that her emotions were not very appropriate as she turned around before sticking out her tongue at Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Song, who had been keeping quiet all this while, suddenly interjected. ¡°That would be too childish of her. This war is supposed to be part of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s n to conquer the entire continent. It concerns the lives of millions. I don¡¯t think the War God Empress would allow her emotions to affect her decisions.¡±

    After hearing Elder Song¡¯s words, the other Elders could not help but nod. Tang Wutong¡¯s opinion seemed to be borne out of her jealousy. It was still hard for them to believe that the Commander of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Three Armies would allow her decisions to be contingent on her feelings for Huo Yuhao.

    It was no longer appropriate for Huo Yuhao to add anyments to the conversation. Actually, his thoughts were simr to Tang Wutong¡¯s. When he saw the fireworks earlier, he had already guessed that it was a smokescreen set up by Ju Zi. However, she probably hadn¡¯t expected him to return to the Academy so quickly to see the fireworks.

    It was a brilliant smokescreen. With over six hundred thousand troops pressuring and threatening Shrek City, the Academy would be forced to make a move. And in moments like this, if he were to make the same suggestion as Tang Wutong, he would only receive the same denigration and disapproval from the Elders.

    Elder Xuanmented, ¡°This situation is extremelyplex, and we must defend against it at all costs. Shrek City currently has over a hundred thousand troops. Now that the few of you have returned, we are in much better shape. We need to get the three soul engineer legions ready for battle as soon as possible. In addition, we need to start preparing our own soul tool deployment areas. Lexuan, can you inform the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire to step up their defenses, but prepare to assist us when necessary.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡± Zhang Lexuan acknowledged.

    ¡°Roger.¡± Huo Yuhao hesitated before agreeing to follow through with the orders.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s request was already apromise between the two conflicting opinions. After all, as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, he had to prioritize the survival of Shrek City and Shrek Academy.

    The subsequent discussion pertained to the details about their defense ns. Princess Wei Na also expressed the support of the remaining Heavenly Soul Empire troops to protect Shrek City.

    The meeting continued tillte into the night.

    After it ended, Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei left the Academy and returned to the Tang Sect.

    Bei Bei seemed to be lost in his thoughts before he asked Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, I feel like something isn¡¯t quite right. Doesn¡¯t it feel like we¡¯re being led on?¡±

 Chapter 557.1 - Awakening

    <h4 ss>Chapter 557.1: Awakening</h4>

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Perhaps it was a mistake for us to return. We not only failed to force them to retreat, but also fell into their trap at Shrek City. Now, we can no longer threaten the Sun Moon Empire on their soil. It seems like all of our ns have disintegrated, Also, Wutong is right. I believe that with Ju Zi¡¯s intelligence, she would definitely not set her aim on Shrek City. The Sun Moon Empire would definitely not waste their resources on attacking a fort which would be reinforced by the full power of two empires.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. I should not have phrased it that way. If you were the one analyzing the problem instead, you might just have been able to convince the Elders.¡± Tang Wutong lowered her head like a guilty kid.

    Huo Yuhao held her hand and shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault. Even if I were the one who mentioned it, the oue would not have changed. Ju Zi is just too smart for us. Her overt scheme forces the Academy to save itself. After all, she understands how no one in the Academy would ever bet on its safety. That¡¯s why her tactics are so powerful!¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°However, we can¡¯t just leave things like this either. We must think of a way. If not, things will get really dangerous.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°How about this? Wutong, you head back to the Academy and find out more about the deployment of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s troops from the inner courtyard. Try and see if you know where the White Tiger Duke and the main forces of the Star Luo Empire are. Eldest senior brother, let¡¯s head back to treat Teacher Xiao Ya. After we are done with that, I will make a trip to find the White Tiger Duke to exin about theplexity of the current situation to him. I will also remind him to take care of himself, and to keep an eye on the situation. As for the Dou Ling Empire, I will head there immediately after I¡¯m done with the Star Luo Empire. Because we only know the Heavenly Sun Douluo, I guess we can only ask him for help. Let¡¯s try and see if we can convince the Dou Ling Empire to limit the number of troops they n to send over to reinforce us.¡±

    ¡°A couple of thousand years ago, under the leadership of the Academy, we were able to gather the power of all three empires to defeat the main force of the Sun Moon Empire. This sent them fleeing back home in defeat, and set the foundation for a few thousand years of peace. I am just worried that the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire are still somehow subscribed to this belief, which is now outdated. If they still believe in it, they will definitely send out all their troops. Then things will be really ugly. Now that the Sun Moon Empire has the upper hand, we can only react to their moves.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Huo Yuhao felt an inexplicable sense of powerlessness in his heart. He realized how small his individual efforts were, and how useless they were when it came to changing the current circumstances.

    He had originally thought that the destruction he had created within the Sun Moon Empire would do wonders. However, contrary to his expectations, Ju Zi was even more ruthless and tactical in the control of her troops. He felt like he had run out of moves.

    I am still not strong enough!

    ¡°Yuhao.¡± Tang Wutong suddenly called to him.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at her.

    Tang Wutong moved in front of him. She was not much shorter than him, so their eyes were pretty much level. She stared intensely at Huo Yuhao before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t lose your confidence!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled, but he immediately understood what she meant. He nodded gently, and revealed a determined smile.

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Previously when our teacher handed the baton to us, he hoped that we could one day be the pirs of the Academy. He wanted us to protect and develop the Academy with our lives. We must not disappoint our teacher. Yuhao, you must be thinking about how small your individual efforts are, right? After seeing how the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s huge army is knocking on our door, you feel that our individual abilities can no longer influence the oue of this war, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened as he turned to look at Tang Wutong. ¡°Wutong, you really understand me! Those were the thoughts that were in my head.¡±

    Tang Wutong continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. An individual might seem very tiny whenpared to arge group. However, if an individual were to be extremely strong and powerful, he or she will influence the oue of the war in one way or another. Even if others cannot do it, I believe you can. Don¡¯t forget you are the only Ultimate Soldier nurtured by Shrek Academy! Besides, you were never fighting alone. You have me, eldest senior brother and all of ourpanions in the Tang Sect. In fact, you have the support of the entire academy. Remember this: never give up on yourself at any point in time. You are blessed with gifts that others can only dream of. You have your twin martial souls and the spectral demine. If there is one person who can change the fate of the continent, it¡¯s you! The only problem is that both of us are not strong enough yet. We need to be stronger to control the proceedings of this war.¡±

    Bei Bei smiled as he looked at Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao. ¡°Wutong is right. We should never give up. Even if we were to fail in the end, at least we tried our best, and did it with no regrets.¡±

    Huo Yuhao became silent. His mind was indeed a mess earlier. Tang Wutong¡¯s words helped to wake him up from his messy thoughts.

    After seeing Huo Yuhao starting to think again, Tang Wutong kept quiet and held his hand. She was trying to use the warmth of her hand to show her support.

    Ju Zi, Ju Zi, you have really stumped me this time around! If I make a wrong move, I will lose everything I have.Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was racing as this thought recurred over and over again

    Sometimes, a sly ploy was easier to deal with than an overt scheme. An overt scheme which forced people to take action was the hardest to deal with.

    If I want to break out of her scheme, I must make an unorthodox move!

    The strength of an individual? Ultimate Soldier?

    Suddenly, Tang Wutong¡¯s words shed through Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    He suddenly recalled what his mother had told him before her death.

    ¡°Yuhao, it seems like you will have to walk the road ahead alone. Mother cannot apany you anymore. Remember, in this world, you are the only person who you can rely on. You can only do what you want, and protect what you want only when you be stronger.¡±

    I must rely on myself!

    Boommm!

    The puzzle in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head was finally shattered. A powerful spiritual wave radiated from his head and sent ripples into the sky above him.

    The clouds in the sky started to separate, and the stars became visible again.

    After taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao spoke with eyes sparkling with excitement. ¡°Eldest senior brother and Wutong, we must not make the wrong move now. I need both of you to follow what I just said earlier. Wutong, I need you to head back to the Academy to find out where the White Tiger Duke is right now. Then, I need eldest senior brother to find him and ry our current situation to him. You must convince him not to send all his troops over. Get him to form an elite legion which can move out at any time.¡±

    ¡°Wutong, I need you to head to Dou Ling Empire. You¡¯re the only other person who knows the Heavenly Sun Douluo. Find him and ry the same message to him. If I¡¯m not wrong, Ju Zi¡¯s real target is probably the Dou Ling Empire, because it is currently the weakest. Sometimes, the simplest answer is the correct one.¡±

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Then what about you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao brought her into his embrace as he stroked her long hair. ¡°I will first treat Teacher Xiao Ya. Following which, I will begin closed-door cultivation, and push to be a Titled Douluo. You¡¯re right. If there¡¯s one person who can change the oue by himself, that person will have to be me. I am the only person who can infiltrate the enemy¡¯s camp. As the Ultimate Soldier, I must do it to the best of my ability!¡±

    Tang Wutong went silent before she nodded fervently. Following which, she turned around and ran back to the Academy. She understood the danger Huo Yuhao was getting into. But at the same time, she understood that this was the best possible option now. Once Huo Yuhao obtained his second soul core, he would not just be any normal Titled Douluo!

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao with sadness in his eyes. ¡°Yuhao, you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao raised his hand and stopped Bei Bei from speaking. He smiled and said, ¡°Eldest senior brother, as a man, I must not cower from any challenge. Let me have a good fight with Ju Zi. Since she is using an overt scheme, I shall do the same. Let¡¯s see who will emerge victorious in the end.¡±

    After returning to the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao realized that everyone was busy with work. There was only one person sitting in the hall.

    Tang Ya was still looking very pale. She looked like a pitiful lily as she sat there alone. Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart hurt to see her like this. He could still remember her as the bubbly and cute Teacher Xiao Ya!

    However, there was now a look of excitement on her face. Her hands were holding the edges of her shirt as she waited nervously for Huo Yuhao to return.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya!¡± Huo Yuhao strode quickly across the hall. Bei Bei was somehow slower than him as tears started to well up in his eyes.

    It had been a few years since they had rescued Tang Ya. However, Bei Bei could tell that she had never truly been happy.

    Her unhappiness was not because of her ownck of health. She felt unhappy because she saw how she was unable to contribute to the sess of the Tang Sect.

    Rebuilding the Tang Sect had always been her dream. She had previously chosen to leave Bei Bei in order to achieve this dream. This showed how important the Tang Sect was to her. Now that the rebuilding of the Tang Sect had begun, she was unable to contribute anything as the leader. She could only watch everyone toil hard every day, or even put their lives on the line. The psychological stress far outweighed the physical pain she was undergoing.

    Tang Ya¡¯s condition had stabilized with the help of the Qiankun Fortune Pills and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Life Guardian de. However, she was still a youngdy who was extremely weak.

 Chapter 557.2 - Awakening

    <h4 ss>Chapter 557.2: Awakening</h4>

    After hearing the news that Huo Yuhao had returned with the Bluesilver Emperor, how could Tang Ya not be happy when she finally had a chance of recovering?

    ¡°Thank you, Yuhao!¡± After seeing Yuhao, Tang Ya immediately stood up as tears streamed down her face.

    Huo Yuhao immediately said, ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, there¡¯s no need for you to thank me like this. If you and eldest senior brother didn¡¯t take me in back then, I wouldn¡¯t be here today. Now, I¡¯m going to start treating you. We can catch up after you¡¯ve recovered, okay?¡±

    As he spoke, he started to release his Spiritual Detection, and located the Bluesilver Emperor within the Tang Sect.

    Bei Bei walked over to Xiao Ya and hugged her lightly. Right now, the gentle big brother of the Tang Sect was somehow speechless. He had so much love for Tang Ya, and had probably suffered more than she had after seeing her in a miserable state.

    After waiting for so many years, a healthy Tang Ya was finally going to return to his side. How could he not be ted?

    Within a short while, the Bluesilver Emperor had entered the hall. It knew Tang Ya was its target the moment it stepped into the ball. Her Bluesilver Grass martial soul was already very weak, even though it was still around. As the Emperor of the Bluesilver Grass, it was naturally able to sense the state of her martial soul.

    ¡°Hello, Bluesilver Emperor!¡± Bei Bei was finally able to put down his overwhelming emotions and speak again. He bowed before the Bluesilver Emperor with utmost sincerity along with Xiao Ya.

    Huo Yuhao spoke. ¡°Senior, this is my eldest senior brother, and she is Teacher Xiao Ya. I believe you should have been able to tell that her martial soul has been severely injured. Hence, we need your help. My eldest senior brother has also sworn not to hunt any soul beasts unless he is attacked by them.¡±

    The Bluesilver Emperor nodded and gave a straightforward reply. ¡°Then let¡¯s begin with her treatment. We can talk about the restter.¡±

    As it spoke, the Bluesilver Emperor raised its hand, which was made out of thick vines, before shaking it lightly. A blue crystal clear vine floated out andnded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    They had been working so hard to find the Bluesilver Emperor, and had even announced to the entire continent that they were willing to reward the person who could bring the Bluesilver Emperor to Tang Ya. However, all of their efforts had failed until now. The Bluesilver Emperor had finally arrived at the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao turned around and looked at Bei Bei. ¡°Eldest senior brother, let¡¯s find a meditation room and begin the treatment. Bluesilver Emperor, I assume you¡¯re joining us, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will also take a look at her.¡± The Bluesilver Emperor nodded. After all, it was very likely that Xiao Ya would be the owner of its Spirit. Hence, it made sense for it to show some concern for her.

    It was extremely easy to find a meditation room in the Tang Sect. They chose a meditation room in the rear courtyard and started to begin their preparations. Bei Bei was in charge of safeguarding the treatment process, while Huo Yuhao treated Tang Ya. The Bluesilver Emperor would supervise the process by the side.

    ¡°Teacher Xiao Ya, I need you to sit up straight and cross your legs. Afterwards, rx your body as I try to awaken your martial soul. You will then try to circte your own soul power. But remember to take it easy and not rush into it, alright?¡±

    Tang Ya nodded. But she knew it was impossible for her to not be anxious! She was even more hungry for power than before. But she also understood how important it was for her to be calm in such critical moments.

    After taking a deep breath, Tang Ya forced herself to calm down as she crossed her legs and sat properly.

    The Bluesilver Emperor suddenly raised its hands before lowering them above Tang Ya¡¯s head. Suddenly, a shower of faint blue lightnded on Tang Ya¡¯s body.

    The people in Tang Sect had tried many different therapeutic methods and soul skills, to no avail. However, under the illumination of this blue light, she seemed to have be a lot calmer, and rxed.

    Tang Ya shed a grateful smile towards the Bluesilver Emperor before nodding at it.

    Huo Yuhao moved towards Tang Ya as he held the vine from the Bluesilver Emperor in his hand and injected the pure soul power from his Mysterious Heaven Technique into it. The Bluesilver Emperor vine immediately radiated an intense blue glow.

    Tang Ya¡¯s small body started to tremble, as though something within her body was resonating with the vine¡¯s aura. Even though the life energy in her body had stopped disappearing because of the Qiankun Fortune Pills, it was no longer increasing. However, at this instant, she felt an inexplicable warmth in her body, as though something was being awakened.

    Huo Yuhao increased the amount of soul power injected into the vine, until the Bluesilver Emperor vine exploded with a popping sound. It transformed into countless motes of blue dust, which floated in the air.

    At this moment, it was time for Huo Yuhao to showcase his powerful control ability. Under the control of his soul power, the dust continued to spread evenly into the air before entering her body through her pores and nose.

    Tang Ya¡¯s body started to tremble lightly as her skin started to glow with a faint blue color.

    Huo Yuhao let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like everything was going ording to n. Now, the ball was in Tang Ya¡¯s court.

    The main use of the Bluesilver Grass vine was to awaken Tang Ya¡¯s own Bluesilver Grass martial soul. Her martial soul had be a lot weaker after its dark parts had been removed. Because the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s aura was very strong, it should be able to awaken her martial soul and revitalize it. If everything went ording to n, her cultivation and abilities should return to their original states. She would also start umting life energy again, and hence be considered as having truly recovered.

    Tang Ya held on as she sensed the energy within her body starting to awaken. However, it seemed like the energy which was trying to stir her own energy was a little weak. Even though she could sense it, she was unable to borrow its power to activate her own energy.

    Tang Ya started to panic! She only had one shot, and if this failed, the oue was unthinkable.

    As the panic in her heart intensified, she became more helpless. She was starting to lose touch with the energy within her body. As a result, the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s energy and effects started to weaken.

    No, this can¡¯t be it!

    Tan Ya became really anxious as she tried her best to attract the energy. Because of her panicking, the energy from the Bluesilver Emperor started to be messy and convoluted.

    Huo Yuhao was also startled by the sight before him. He had been using his Spiritual Detection to monitor Tang Ya¡¯s situation. He also became worried after seeing how her energy flow was bing chaotic. However, no one present could help her! This concerned one¡¯s control over one¡¯s martial soul. It was not something that soul power from external sources could help. It concerned her special rtionship with her martial soul.

    At this instant, a blue figure suddenly appeared behind Tang Ya. He raised his arms as several vines swarmed out and wrapped themselves around her body. Following which, his body started to radiate a powerful blue glow as it started to release a powerful aura.

    That was not the aura from his soul power. It originated from the martial soul¡¯s bloodline aura.

    It was the Bluesilver Emperor!

    Tang Ya¡¯s body trembled violently for a short while before it stabilized. One would be able to see a small blue glow radiating from her dantian. Conversely, the light from the Bluesilver Emperor¡¯s vines was partially concealed by the bodies of the veins, resulting in a mystical sight.

    Did it seed?Huo Yuhao turned around to look at Bei Bei with excitement in his eyes. He realized Bei Bei was looking at him with hopeful eyes as well. Both of them were very anxious to know the results. It seemed like the Bluesilver Emperor had made a critical intervention at the most crucial moment.

    Huo Yuhao could sense that this was a sessful attempt.

    As expected, Tang Ya¡¯s breathing started to be stable as her body stopped trembling. She started to possess her own soul power fluctuations.

    The Bluesilver Emperor loosened its vines which were wrapped around her as it returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    ¡°The martial soul in her body has already been awakened. It is truly one of the purest Bluesilver Grass I have ever seen. In addition, she also seems to possess the true Bluesilver Grass royal blood. Thank you, Huo Yuhao. You have helped me find a really good host. If I can really fuse with her and be her Spirit, I am certain we will share a fruitful symbiotic rtionship. Thank you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei bowed in unison to the Bluesilver Emperor. ¡°We should be the one thanking you. Without your help just now, she would have been in serious danger.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s breathing finally stabilized as the soul power fluctuations from her body started to be stronger. Even though the increase was not significant, and her current soul power was probably only at the Soul Schr level, this improvement could be sensed by Huo Yuhao. Bei Bei was also able to sense it through Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Sharing.

    ¡°It seems like Teacher Xiao Ya will need to cultivate under closed-door conditions for an extended period of time. This time around, I am certain that she will recover all of her soul power after her closed-door cultivation. When that dayes, we will just need to provide her with tonics and herbs to help her get back to her best state. Eldest senior brother, why don¡¯t we get third senior brother to head to the Star Luo Empire instead? You can stay behind to apany Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and said, ¡°Everyone is busy with their own responsibilities. I think it¡¯s still better for me to head to the Star Luo Empire. I think I will be a lot more persuasive as a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion than third senior brother. Yuhao, I will leave right away after you help me pen the letter. I will go and talk to Nannan and Xiao Xiao and get them to take care of Xiao Ya for me.¡±

    Bei Bei was raring to contribute to the war. Now that Tang Ya was well on her way to recuperation, it was almost as if all his worries had disappeared. As his emotions improved, his entire mental state seemed to have bepletely different.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Since they had no time to lose, Huo Yuhao did not waste any time with formalities.

    By the time Bei Bei was done rying instructions to Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao was done with the letter. After receiving the letter, Bei Bei immediately left for the Star Luo Empire without resting at all.

    After passing some reminders to Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao left for the Soul Tool Hall. He went straight to Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory.

    Before his closed-door cultivation, he had some things he wanted to ask Teacher Xuan.

    Huo Yuhao knocked twice on theboratory¡¯s metallic door.

    There did not seem to be any response from within theboratory. Huo Yuhao was used to this, and he opened the door and entered quietly.

    Xuan Ziwen was busy constructing a soul tool within theboratory¡ªjust as Huo Yuhao had expected. He did not even look up to see who had entered.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, I¡¯m back.¡± Huo Yuhao announced softly.

 Chapter 557.3 - Awakening

    <h4 ss>Chapter 557.3: Awakening</h4>

    ¡°I know that. But I also heard that you expended close to sixty percent of our stationary soul cannon shells. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Cough! Cough! Tha-That¡¯s true. I can¡¯t believe second senior brother betrayed me!¡± Huo Yuhao sighed.

    Xuan Ziwen simply gave an emotionless reply. ¡°Soul tools are meant to be used anyways. He couldn¡¯t have betrayed you in the first ce. The most important thing is whether you managed to witness the effects of the explosions. Were the effects up to our expectations? I can¡¯t believe you just used over ten thousand stationary soul cannon shells so casually. You really are a failure! Why couldn¡¯t you have mixed in some fake shells instead of only using real ones? You know well enough that it wouldn¡¯t have been able to breach the Radiant City¡¯s defenses anyways.¡±

    Huo Yuhao let out an awkwardugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that much back then. The situation was already tense enough. But I admit I was wrong to have used so many shells, Teacher Xuan.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen waved his hand to dismiss Huo Yuhao¡¯s apology. ¡°Our stationary soul cannon shells must still becking power. The fact that we only expended the energy in their defensive soul tools after firing over ten thousand shells proves that we need to improve our cannon shells. We should at least caused their soul tools to overheat. It really wasn¡¯t worth it to fire all of those shells. Anyways, I have recently made some adjustments to our cannon shells. Now, we will start categorizing the different shells we n to manufacture.¡±

    ¡°Huh? How do you n to categorize them?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Xuan Ziwen exined, ¡°Previously, when we were manufacturing the stationary soul cannon shells in bulk, they werergely built for huge explosions. They would destroy whatever was in their way with high temperature and heat, as well as their explosiveness. Because of this, most of the current protective soul barriers¡ªespecially linked defensive barriers¡ªare built to counter thebination of heat, temperature and explosiveness. Just now, Caitou gave me a report on the events which urred during the battle. It seems like Tai Ah¡¯s effects far exceeded my expectations.¡±

    Tai Ah was the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell which had prated the defenses of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Pce. It was also personally designed by Xuan Ziwen.

    ¡°Hence, I have decided to vary the types of stationary soul cannon shells we will manufacture in the future. We will have shells which will provide ranged offensive capabilities and prative capabilities. To be honest, shells which can prate barriers often have better effects. Recently, I havee up with a new stationary soul cannon shell called the Clustered Piercing Shell. Its manufacturing cost is almost twice that of the stationary soul cannon shell you came up with. This was because it requires rare metals to construct. However, you can only imagine how powerful its destructive ability is! Previously, I had already rushed out the first batch of these Clustered Piercing Shells. If you are leaving for an operation again, you can bring some of them along with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I am afraid we won¡¯t be going anywhere anytime soon. The current situation is not looking good and thus, I have made new ns.¡±

    Xuan Ziwen raised his hand to stop Huo Yuhao from continuing. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me about what goes on outside. As long as the Tang Sect is still around, I will never leave this ce. I am only concerned with my own research. As for the other things, the responsibility will lie in all of your hands. Now that you have already be a ss 9 soul engineer, there¡¯s nothing left for me to teach you. What you can achieve will depend on how hard you work. I have also heard about the mass manufacturing of human-shaped soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire. Haha! This idea might not be as good as it seems. Just give me some time to think about this, and I will let you know what I feel about it. With the current soul tool technology avable, even Teacher Kong might not be able to manufacture a human-shaped soul tool without any undesired side-effects.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Kong? Who¡¯s that?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    Xuan Ziwen red at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°He is my teacher. The Hallmaster of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hall of Consecration! He is also the most powerful soul engineer in the entire Sun Moon Empire. He is your grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°Cough! Cough! I didn¡¯t know someone like that existed. You never mentioned him to me before, right?¡± Huo Yuhao was very startled to hear that.

    Xuan Ziwen red at him before reprimanding him. ¡°That¡¯s not my fault. You can only me yourself for being dumb. Just use your head to think. As a young man back then who was only a ss 9 soul engineer, how could I be the lead researcher at the Virtuous Hall if not for special reasons? They only gave me the title because I was Teacher Kong¡¯s disciple. Almost half of the ss 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire have received some sort of guidance from Teacher Kong. In fact, Teacher Kong is so great that I don¡¯t even know where his limits lie. He¡¯s definitely not weaker than any Ultimate Douluo, and should be extremely dangerous. In my opinion, Xu Tianran must have gotten Teacher Kong¡¯s support. If not, it would not have been so easy for him to be the Emperor!¡±

    Huo Yuhao started to be a little worried. Even though Teacher Kong was his grandmaster, he was on the enemy¡¯s side! It was definitely not a good thing to have such a strong opponent.

    ¡°Teacher Xuan, in that case, I will be beginning my closed-door cultivation. You can work hard, but do remember to take care of your health.¡± Huo Yuhao said.

    Xuan Ziwen waved his hand as though he were chasing a fly away. ¡°You may take your leave. Next time, if you don¡¯t have anything important to say, please don¡¯te and waste my time. Also, you can rest assured that after eating your Qiankun Fortune Pills, I won¡¯t be dying anytime soon. Now that I think of it, all of you are treating myboratory as a sweatshop! I am but an oppressedborer.¡±

    Huo Yuhao gave an awkward smile and thought to himself.How can any of us force you to do something you don¡¯t want to do with that temper of yours?!

    After leaving Xuan Ziwen¡¯sboratory, Huo Yuhao entered his ownboratory. Even though he had been absent for quite a while, it had been kept clean by the Tang Sect staff.

    Huo Yuhao closed the heavy metallic door and then bolted it. At the same time, he activated the rm system which would inform anyone who approached the door about his closed-door cultivation.

    This was the safest and quietest area within the entire Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao walked back and forth within hisboratory as he tried to tidy up his thought process. Following which, he leapt onto the bench which he used to build soul tools before sitting down with his legs crossed.

    ¡°I can only allow events outside to unfold by themselves. Without any change to the current situation, the Elders in the Academy would never change their strategy. I have also done my best when it came to both the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Now it is up to them to decide what¡¯s best for everyone and for themselves. The only thing I can do now is make myself as strong as possible, and turn the tide of the battle at its most crucial moment. I can do it, and must do it.¡±

    After convincing himself that his decision was correct, Huo Yuhao clenched his fists and slowly closed his eyes. His body started to rx as the soul power in his body began to circte on its own.

    When Tang Wutong mentioned his status as the Ultimate Soldier, Huo Yuhao immediately understood what she meant. His soul power had been stuck at Rank 89 for a while, and he had been unable to be a Titled Douluo. Even though he was already capable of defeating any normal Titled Douluo, bing a true Titled Douluo would still enhance his powers¡ªjust as it would for any soul master. The more gifted a soul master was, the greater the enhancement.

    Furthermore, Huo Yuhao already had his first soul core. Once his second soul core formed, his soul power would be not much different from that of an Ultimate Douluo. In the future, his soul power would also improve at an unimaginable rate.

    Huo Yuhao had actually been umting soul power all this while. In fact, he had been doing so for a long time. When he acquired the eighth soul ring of his Spirit Eyes in the Ice Sea, his Spiritual Sea had transformed once again, resulting in a huge boost to his spiritual power. Following which, he was influenced by the nts, and improved his understanding of Totality. Now, he had fulfilled all the conditions to push for his second soul core. He was definitely not inferior to any Rank 98 soul master when it came to his spiritual control.

    He needed to be stronger in order for his words to weigh more, and for him to possess the ability to better influence the battlefield. This was the n that Huo Yuhao had finally settled on.

    An individual¡¯s effort might be small, but sometimes, he or she might still be able to turn the tables with his or her own efforts. Even though Huo Yuhao might not be able to do so right now, he might gain the ability to do so if he were to be stronger. Since there were no better options, it would be wisest for him to strengthen and enhance his capabilities.

    Thus, Huo Yuhao had decided to begin closed-door cultivation.

    In fact, the way in which he nned to cultivate was a lot different from what Tang Wutong had in mind.

    In Tang Wutong¡¯s opinion, the best way for Huo Yuhao to cultivate his soul core was to use the Resonance method. However, Huo Yuhao disagreed with what she felt. He knew that he had to be as strong as someone like the Beast God. If he could notpare to Di Tian, there was no way he could seed on the battlefield. Hence, the only option for him was to tread the same path as Di Tian. In fact, he was aiming to do better than him, to be even stronger than the Beast God.

    After bing certain of his target, Huo Yuhao allowed the soul power in his body to circte on its own. He stabilized the soul core which was near his forehead as he allowed his spiritual power to circte around his soul core.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core was now the center of all of his power. His spiritual power was revolving around the soul core in its immediate orbit. Following which, his soul power circted around the soul core on an outer orbit.

    If one were to observe his Spiritual Sea, one would notice a gigantic rhombus-shaped sun in the center of it. This sun was his soul core. Even though his spiritual power had be so dense that it was almost solid, it continued to revolve around the soul core.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao prepared to attempt to form his second soul core.

    ording to Elder Xuan, the initiating of his second soul core should be fairly simple after the strenuous initiation of his first soul core. This was because his second soul core would be initiated within the dantian¡ªthe ce where his soul power was stored. Hence, it should be a lot easier to construct his soul core there.

    However, after umting his soul power all this while, Huo Yuhao had other thoughts.

    Even though it was easy to create one¡¯s soul core in the dantian, it might not be the most beneficial option for his future development.

    This was because he was not nning on going for the Resonance cultivation method. He wanted to use the Yin Yang Complement method instead.

    The term Yin Yang Complement meant theplementary rtionship between opposites. Once he seeded in the cultivation of his soul core in his dantian, the two soul cores in his body would circte the surrounding energy in opposite directions. This would allow them to draw upon each other¡¯s strengths andplement one another, just like a pair of gears. His soul power and spiritual power would circte from his dantian all the way to his forehead.

    However, what would happen after Huo Yuhao reached Rank 98?

    Even though by then he might already possess the ability to hold his own against an Ultimate Douluo, he would still not be considered as one. In order to reach Rank 99 and be an Ultimate Douluo, he needed to improve himself with his soul cores as his foundation. This meant that he would have to create a third soul core.

    If his two soul cores had already upied the path from his dantian to his forehead by using the Yin Yang Complement method, where else could he initiate his third soul core?

 Chapter 558.1 - Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 558.1: Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core</h4>

    There were only three ces where humans could create their soul cores. They were the forehead area between the eyebrows, the chest, and the dantian. If he were to set up his second soul core in his dantian, he could forget about creating a third soul core in his chest. In order to do that, he would have to first cut off the connection between his two soul cores. And that would be tantamount to suicide!

    This also meant that if Huo Yuhao decided to create his second soul core in his dantian, he would have no chance of creating a third soul core. No matter how strong he eventually became, he would never be considered a true Ultimate Douluo. In other words, he would not be able to inherit the God of Emotions¡¯ Godly Seat.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao had long decided to not only create his soul core with the Yin Yang Complement method, but also create it at his chest area. This allowed him to create his third soul core in his dantian in the future. When the time arrived, his third soul core would only face interference from the soul core in his chest.

    ¡°Ice Empress, are you there?¡± Huo Yuhao was trying tomunicate with the Ice Empress inside him.

    ¡°Yes? Is there a problem?¡± The Ice Empress¡¯ voice rang inside him.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡° I¡¯m going to start on my second soul core and push for Titled Douluo. I was thinking of using the Yin Yang Complement method to achieve that. I might need to trouble you to help me with that. This is because my body contains your Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone, and your power is strongest in my chest area¡ªthe area where I n to create my second soul core. For my second soul core, I n to use our Ultimate Ice soul power as the main force to create it. If my n seeds, my first soul core would control my spiritual power, while my second soul core would control my soul power. Both my soul cores wouldplement one another, and allow both soul power and spiritual power tomunicate with one another, forming a perfect fusion between these powers. This would allow my soul skills and abilities to possess both powers simultaneously.¡±

    After hearing what Huo Yuhao said, the Ice Empress went silent before sighing. ¡°Do you know how hard this is going to be?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how hard it will be. But regardless of its difficulty, I n to give it a try. Do you think you can help me?¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°Of course I am going to help you. I must say you are truly extremely gifted and very intelligent. The path you are choosing to tread is probably the most extreme of methods among those who possess Ultimate Ice, or even among all cultivators in the world. Such extreme cultivation methods will often give you endless potential.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao did not expect the Ice Empress to shower him with praise after expressing her doubts at his chances of sess.

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°In the world of soul beasts, all those who possess true wisdom and powerful abilities chose the path you n to take. However, only one¡ªDi Tian¡ªhas seeded. That is why he is the strongest soul beast in the world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled by her words. ¡°Does that mean you have actually tried this approach?¡±

    The Ice Empress said, ¡°No. I don¡¯t have the right conditions to attempt this. This was because I had not attained what was equivalent to the humans¡¯ Ultimate Douluo rank, and was not able to construct my second soul ring. However, the Snow Empress actually tried it before.¡±

    ¡°Snow Empress!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed in excitement.

    Following which, the Snow Empress¡¯ voice could be heard. ¡°Yes! I have tried it before. If I had actually seeded, I would not have feared Di Tian at all. My abilities would be at least on par with his. However, I failed. My origin was heavily damaged, and I lost the ability to push for higher powers. Hence, I could only choose to transform into an embryo¡ªsomething which you have fortuitously benefited from.¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not know that the Snow Empress had such an eventful life before meeting him. After hearing her story, he was exhrated. If the Snow Empress had tried it before, she must possess some valuable experience. Right now, nothing was more important and valuable than experience!

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°I have tried it before, so I know better than others how difficult this path is going to be. Di Tian did not seed because his determination and resilience were stronger than mine, but because his Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡¯s body was sufficiently tough. In order toplete the Yin Yang Complement cultivation method, one has to split one¡¯s spiritual power and soul powerpletely before fusing them together again. This will take an enormous toll on one¡¯s body, and requires an incredible degree of control.¡±

    ¡°Your current spiritual power should be sufficient for you to meet the second condition. However, because you are but human, the strength of your body would never be able topare to us soul beasts. We¡ªas soul beasts¡ªchoose not to use the Resonance cultivation method because the structure of our bodies does not allow us to do that. Our cirction passageways are built very differently from yours, and we do not possess such good acupoints. Hence, we only have two ces to create our soul cores. This limitation is why we will never be able to be a God. And these two positions will not allow any resonance to ur. This forces us to choose the Yin Yang Complement method. Yuhao, are you sure you really want to do this? If you fail, you will have to suffer very serious consequences.¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation. ¡°No matter what, I am going to give it a try. If I seed, we will have set up a good foundation for my eventual development into a God. If I fail¡­¡±

    He suddenly paused for a short while before continuing with an even more determined tone. ¡°I will not fail unless I die!¡±

    Without the courage and determination to go all-out, how could a human stand any chance of breaking the barrier of mortality?

    A heavy silence fell upon the room as both the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress went quiet.

    After a short while, the Snow Empress replied solemnly, ¡°In that case, we will bet our lives on you. All six of us will help you. I don¡¯t believe that you can still fail with all of our help. Yuhao, just focus on your own cultivationter. Don¡¯t care about us and what we will doter. We will put in our best, and leave no what-ifs behind.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded and closed his eyes.

    Instead of starting immediately, Huo Yuhao began to adjust his psychological state. Sess was only possible if he was in the best state of mind. When it came to such crucial moments, it was always good to be patient, and to make sure all preparations were done properly.

    Streaks of light started to leave his body.

    The first ones to emerge from his body were the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress. They were the two strongest Spirits among the six of them.

    Following which, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, Little Bai, the Skydream Iceworm, and Li Ya appeared one by one.

    The six Spirits gathered around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Snow Empress looked at the other five Spirits before saying, ¡°I believe you have all heard what Yuhao has said. While this closed-door cultivation is extremely important for him, it is equally important for all of us. We have been using his body as a foundation to continue living. If anything were to happen to him, all of us would be in trouble too. If he seeds, we will have seeded as well. Hence, I need everyone to help him ovee this challenge at all costs together. Don¡¯t worry about expending our energy, because once he seeds, he will be able to use the new soul core formed from this Yin Yang Complement method for our benefit. In addition, just as he has already mentioned, his sess would be a huge step forward in our journey to be Gods with him. This is amon goal which we all share after bing his Spirits.¡±

    The five other Spirits nodded in unison. The Skydream Iceworm was visibly excited as he said, ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for so long. Now that Yuhao is finally going to make a huge step in that direction, I will definitely support him with my life.¡±

    The Ice Empress nced at him and said, ¡°Skydream, I need to warn you to not use all of your power to help him. You already fused your origin with him lest time. I need you to tone it down a little bit this time around. Trust us. We can do it.¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm was startled to hear the Ice Empress¡¯ words. He looked over to the Ice Empress, only to see her turn away immediately.

    The Snow Empress was frustrated by his actions as she said, ¡°What are you looking at? She is worried about you. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s body started to tremble, but he did not tease anyone with his words. He simply nodded to acknowledge the Snow Empress¡¯ words.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass shook its leaves gently to express its support. Among the six different Spirits, it was probably the weakest.

    The Snow Empress continued, ¡°The new soul core that Yuhao ns to create with the Yin Yang Complement is going to be of the Ultimate Ice type. Under such circumstances, we will require an enormous amount of Ultimate Ice energy. Li Ya, I need you to assist Yuhao to stabilize the spiritual soul core in his Spiritual Sea. If need be, dy its interference on the work on our side.¡±

    Li Ya nodded. Even though she had only joined not too long ago, as a mermaid princess, she possessed wisdom which exceeded that of an average human. She naturally understood the gravity of the situation.

    The Snow Empress continued to delegate work as she announced, ¡°Skydream, you will assist Li Ya, as your origin is infused with his. It will be easier for you to help coordinate things there. At the same time, I need you to keep watch on his body¡¯s situation. We must not allow his body to fail. Do you understand?¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm nodded.

    The Snow Empress raised the Ice Empress¡¯ hand and said, ¡°The Ice Empress will be anchoring our efforts today. This is because Huo Yuhao ns to create his soul core at his chest area¡ªthe area where the Ice Empress¡¯ Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone is. While I will assist the Ice Empress, I need Little Bai and Star Anise to join us, because all four of us possess Ultimate Ice soul power. We will work together to help Yuhao form his soul core. Star Anise, you will be in charge of stabilizing the process. Little Bai, you will protect Yuhao¡¯s body while we form the soul core. The Ice Empress and I will be moving his soul power towards his chest.¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The three Ultimate Ice Spirits replied in unison.

    In just a few lines, the Snow Empress was able to arrange everything properly.

    The Snow Empress took onest look at the five other Spirits before saying, ¡°We can only seed. If all else fails, we don¡¯t. We must work together to make it happen.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The five Spirits cheered.

    The Snow Empress came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side and patted his shoulder gently.

    ¡°Thank you, Snow Empress.¡± Huo Yuhao had heard the entire conversation between his six Spirits. When he opened his eyes, it was possible to see the fog radiating within his pupils.

 Chapter 558.2 - Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 558.2: Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core</h4>

    The Snow Empress smiled and said, ¡°What are you thanking me for? Your body is no longer only yours. It now belongs to all of us. If all seven of us put our minds to the task, I am sure there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t achieve. However, before you begin, I will rmend that you get the Life Guardian de back. Its copious amount of life energy should be beneficial for you. Previously, when Di Tian formed his second soul core with the Yin Yang Complement, he did it next to the Lake of Life, which was full of life energy. I believe it will definitely be of good use.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing her suggestion.That¡¯s right! How could I have forgotten about the Life Guardian de? Now that Teacher Xiao Ya is starting to recover, she will have no use for it. Instead, it could turn out to be very useful for me.

    Huo Yuhao immediately leapt off the bench and ran out to look for Tang Ya.

    The six Spirits stayed where they were instead of following him. After all, he would only be a short distance away from them. It was okay for them to leave his side for a short while.

    The Snow Empress whispered into the Ice Empress¡¯ ear. After hearing what she had to say, the Ice Empress¡¯ face revealed a look of disbelief. She turned to look at the Snow Empress and said, ¡°You¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled as her eyes showed the pride she had in her heart!

    ¡°Even though I was not able to seed back then, I must help Yuhao seed at all costs!¡±

    The Ice Empress nodded gently. ¡°Snow Empress, I understand now.¡±

    The Snow Empress started to blush. ¡°What do you understand?¡±

    The Ice Empress burst intoughter. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say what I understand!¡±

    While they were chatting with one another, Huo Yuhao returned with the Life Guardian de.

    Since it had absorbed the Life Gold brought out by the Golden Tortoise, the Life Guardian de had transformed into the Life Guardian Sword. Its jade green body radiated dense life energy. After Huo Yuhao closed the door, the entireboratory was filled with the dense life energy radiated by the sword.

    Even though the life energy was mainly useful for Huo Yuhao, it was also able to nourish the spiritual sense of the six Spirits. Their faces revealed satisfied expressions.

    The Snow Empress nodded towards Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get ready. I will share my experience with you so that you can avoid making the same mistakes I did. You just have to follow what I say.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was pretty much done with his mental preparation. He was in his best possible form while being nourished by the dense life energy released by the Life Guardian Sword.

    After crossing his legs, Huo Yuhao ced the Life Guardian Sword across his knees. He closed his eyes and allowed his soul power to circte through the Mysterious Heaven Technique¡¯s cirction path.

    Huo Yuhao had been stuck at Rank 89 for a fairly long period of time. Even though he had been unable to make a breakthrough, he had not stopped cultivating with Tang Wutong. Hence, he had soul power in abundance.

    After beginning to circte his soul power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to contain huge waves, which rippled through him. His soul power was extremely viscous, and had a very firm texture.

    After circting his soul power for a single round, his soul power started to circte in endless session on its own as his spiritual power grew richer and fuller. When his soul power neared his head, it would be attracted by the soul core, revolving and beingpressed around it.

    His six Spirits all returned to his body. Li Ya and the Skydream Iceworm were keeping watch over his spiritual sea, while the other four Spirits went to his chest to sense the transformation of his soul power.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ voice rang out in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. ¡°Yuhao, the first thing you need to do is extract your soul power from your soul core. You should only leave your spiritual power in your soul core.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao acknowledged her instructions as he circted his soul power. He was trying to draw away the soul powerpressed about the soul core near his forehead.

    This was not an easy task. After all, there was only so much his body could take. After obtaining his first soul core, it had been helping him topress his soul power, allowing him to possess more. After drawing out the soul power, it would flood into his passageways. Very soon, his passageways would be engorged, leaving no space for the soul power to go.

    ¡°Yuhao, continue and do not stop,¡± the Snow Empress reminded Huo Yuhao.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao could sense a slight trembling in the bones around his chest and back. Those bones started to radiate a jade green glow. The huge amount of soul power stored in his body was being absorbed by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone. As his soul power entered the torso bone, space was being created within his passageways.

    Huo Yuhao was ted after he began to understand what the Ice Empress and Snow Empress were up to. He did not dare to becent as he rapidly controlled thepressed soul power which was leaving the spiritual soul core between his eyebrows.

    Everything seemed to be going very smoothly. It was normal for soul masters to expend soul power, especially during battles. Because his spiritual soul core was mainly housing his spiritual energy, his highly condensed spiritual energy was closest to it.

    After his soul power was drawn out from the spiritual soul core, his spiritual soul core became a lot livelier. His spiritual sea started to circte rapidly as his spiritual energy was released.

    Usually, the released spiritual energy would naturally attract the origin energy of heaven and earth. This energy would transform into Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power after it was absorbed into his body. This soul power would then be consumed to make up for the soul power expended earlier.

    This was why soul cores were so powerful. As long as their owner gave them enough time, they could help their owners recover their soul power without requiring them to meditate.

    However, it was apparent that Huo Yuhao currently did not need his soul core to help him regenerate soul power.

    A faintyer of white light formed over Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin. It was set up by the Skydream Iceworm.

    Skydream was the one who had the deepest understanding of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body!

    When Huo Yuhao first met the Skydream Iceworm, he had fused with it, and made it his first soul ring. Back then, Huo Yuhao was still like a nk piece of paper. Throughout all these years, as Huo Yuhao developed his powers, the Skydream Iceworm had been watching over his development. Hence, he was extremely familiar with his body and its situation.

    Before the Snow Empress instructed him to do so, Skydream had already done the right thing, which was to draw away Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and block off all connection between Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core and the surrounding origin energy of heaven and earth. This would prevent the energy from going near his soul core and transforming into new soul power.

    This naturally made the spiritual energy released by the soul core a lot stronger. The resistance from its surroundings became the force which drove its cirction.

    At that instant, Li Ya also made her move. She wrapped her gentle spiritual power around the soul core to slow down the speed it was revolving at. It was vital for her to suppress it to a small extent.

    Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao was trying his best to extract thepressed soul power from his soul core.

    The bacsh from the soul core started after Huo Yuhao had extracted more than seventy percent of thepressed soul power. The powerful attractive force of his soul core made the spiritual barrier set up by the Skydream Iceworm tremble. Even though Li Ya was trying her best to restrain the soul core, she only managed to reduce its attractive force by the slightest bit.

    This was the power of a soul core! Once it was formed, it became the source of the soul master¡¯s power. How could it be suppressed so easily?

    Huo Yuhao was an extremely resilient person. Even though he started to feel some resistance around his soul core, he did not n to give up or change his ns as he continued to extract hispressed soul power to the best of his ability.

    This was the moment when the mermaid princess started to show her strength. Instead of slowing the rotation of the soul core, her primary objective was to keep it stable.

    This would allow Huo Yuhao to fully focus on the extraction of his soul power instead of having to divert his attention to his soul core. An unstable soul core was likely to explode. Even though it had already be a soul core and was fairly resistant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s endless extracting, which did not give it any chance to recover soul power, could still affect the soul core. He was supposed to expend his energy to protect and stabilize it. However, he was fortunate to have Li Ya around to help him with that.

    The Skydream Iceworm had also greatly enhanced the diversion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power, as he ensured that his power did note into contact with his surroundings.

    At this instant, no one dared to ck off as they put in their best to ensure the process could proceed smoothly.

    As the minutes ticked away, Huo Yuhao could sense the increasingly intense trembling of his spiritual sea under the pressure from his soul core. It was trying its best to release spiritual energy to replenish the soul power which he had drawn away. In the meantime, Li Ya was doing her best to envelop the soul core and keep it still. The Skydream Iceworm continued to wrap itself around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as it tried to prevent his spiritual energy froming into contact with his surroundings.

    On the other hand, the four Ultimate Ice Spirits were more rxed. The Ice Empress was busier because she was using the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone to absorb the soul power being drawn out by Huo Yuhao.

    This was the time when everyone could appreciate the true strength of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone. It had absorbed close to fifty percent of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. Even then, it did not seem like it was reaching full capacity anytime soon. It merely took on a greener color without giving Huo Yuhao a bloated sensation.

    With the help of his six Spirits, it had been rtively easy for Huo Yuhao so far. He had not faced any difficulty or challenge with the entire process.

    As the torso bone started to absorb more soul power, the soul power fluctuations became greater. This resulted in an increasingly violent soul core. Li Ya was already starting to struggle with it. Controlling the spiritual soul core was the equivalent of facing off with Huo Yuhao¡¯s insanely superior spiritual power.

    ¡°Yuhao, control your soul core. Slow it down,¡± the Ice Empress advised.

    With just a signal from his intent, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core immediately came under his control. The violent soul core stabilized instantly.

    Li Ya was released from her task as she took a break in his spiritual sea. Now that Huo Yuhao was busy trying to control his spiritual soul core, he could no longer focus his energy on moving his soul power.

    Right now, he was trying to suppress the innate ability of his soul core. The result of suppressing a soul core was a greater retaliation from it. It would try to put up a fight against the restraining powers ced on it.

    An incredibly powerful attractive force suddenly formed in his dantian and extracted thest bit of Ultimate Ice soul power from his soul core. This force was naturally provided by the Snow Empress. She had finally made her move!

    Huo Yuhao could sense a rhombus-shaped ice crystal appearing within his dantian. It possessed an extremely strong attractive force, which drew in all of his soul power. During the process of attraction, it was actually able topress his soul power, just like a soul core!

 Chapter 558.3 - Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 558.3: Complementing Yin and Yang, the Second Soul Core</h4>

    The aura that was radiating from the ice crystal belonged to the Snow Empress.

    What is she doing?!

    Huo Yuhao was certain that the Snow Empress could control his Ultimate Ice soul power. But he also knew that she should not be able to absorb it. Hence, she must have expended a lot of her spiritual awareness in order topress his soul power.

    However, there was no time for him to ask any questions right now. Since she had already begun the process, it could not be stopped.

    As his spiritual power continued to circte, the air around it trembled gently. Because Huo Yuhao was the owner of the spiritual soul core, his control over the soul core was definitely a lot better than Li Ya¡¯s. After his focus was shifted onto the spiritual soul core, he managed to make it fall into a half-asleep state, which allowed him to extract his soul power without any interference from it. Half of the soul power was fused into the rhombus-shaped crystal near the Snow Empress, while the other half was absorbed by the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone, which was being controlled by the Ice Empress.

    The soul power within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to be less and less.

    Finally, after an extremely long time, the spiritual soul core¡¯s surroundings no longer had any soul power fluctuations. All of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power had left the soul core and entered his body.

    Even then, the Ice Empress and Snow Empress did not stop what they were doing. They continued to absorb and attract the soul power. Hence, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was starting to be emptied of soul power.

    Huo Yuhao was starting to understand what the two Empresses were nning to do. With their help, he could save an enormous amount of effort for the formation of his second soul core!Yes, I must seed!

    The Ice Empress and Snow Empress seemed as though they had elerated their attraction and absorption rate at the same time. The soul power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body seemed to be vanishing at an increasing rate. Very soon, all of his soul power was concentrated at those two ces, leaving his entire body devoid of soul power. This made him feel weak as the trembling of his spiritual soul core intensified. It was craving energy! Even though it was a spiritual soul core, its thirst for soul power was still considerable.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ voice rang inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. ¡°Yuhao, I am about to begin now. The subsequent process will probably be painful. When I start to form your second soul core, your spiritual soul core will put up a strong resistance. This is because it will subconsciously believe that someone is here to invade its territory. Hence, it will retaliate violently. What you need to do is to stabilize it at all costs. Try your best to stop it from interfering with my work. Li Ya, be prepared to help Yuhao when necessary. Skydream, I need you to continue to protect us from the external environment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao acknowledged the Snow Empress¡¯ words with a thought. At the same time, he tried to gather his spiritual power in readiness for the next step.

    It was definitely an extremely ufortable thing to curb one¡¯s innate ability. However, Huo Yuhao was able to pull it off because of his superior control that came along with his spiritual power.

    Suddenly, a small stream of soul power emerged within Huo Yuhao¡¯s empty body.

    This stream of soul power¡ªwhich wasing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s dantian¡ªwas released from the rhombus-shaped ice crystal formed by the Snow Empress.

    The rhombus-shaped crystal was surrounded by the Ultimate Ice soul power that was revolving around it. This soul power was extremely dense, as it appeared to be almost solid. After releasing this single strand of soul power, it did not seem to affect the cluster of soul power that was revolving around the crystal.

    This streak of soul power floated upwards gently until it reached Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. It first paused there before beginning to circte in that area.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core had always been rotating clockwise. However, this strand of soul power seemed to be rotating counterclockwise after pausing at his chest and transforming into a tiny dot.

    Its tiny revolutions did not seem to create any significant fluctuations or ripples.

    However, there was a strand of soul power which linked this dot all the way back to the dantian, where all the soul power that the Snow Empress had absorbed was stored.

    In other words, this meant that the tiny bit of soul power that was circting there was bing stronger under the control of the Snow Empress.

    The speed of its rotation was not particrly fast. The rate at which its power was increasing was not particrly fast either. However, its rotation was extremely stable. Meanwhile, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone was glistening under the Ice Empress¡¯ control as it formed a partition between the external world and Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. It seemed to prevent the external environment from detecting the energy within Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Yuhao, we cannotpletely iste the Ultimate Ice soul power which is rotating counterclockwise in your chest. If we allow that to happen, your spiritual soul core and new soul core would be destructively ipatible once we remove the partition between them. Your body would not be able to contain the destructive conflict between them, and eventually explode. Hence, we must allow your spiritual soul core to continually adapt to its existence. We must train it to ept its existence instead of rejecting it. This process is also the hardest step in the entire set of procedures. The final push is about to begin. Make sure you get yourself ready.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do this.¡± Huo Yuhao answered. He was no longer concentrating on the situation urring in his dantian and chest area. He focused all his energy on his spiritual soul core.

    As the rotation of the Ultimate Ice soul power at his chest started to elerate, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core seemed to have detected this change, and started to be restless. It first started to tremble lightly before beginning its resistance against Huo Yuhao¡¯s intent.

    Because this was his soul core, Huo Yuhao knew exactly what it was trying to do. It wanted to elerate its rotation and use its powerful spiritual power to destroy the ¡°new fellow¡± which was trying to challenge its authority.

    As Huo Yuhao increased his efforts to control it, the trembling and vibration of the spiritual core became increasingly intense. The Ultimate Ice soul power at his chest area gradually increased to a size which was simr to that of a grain of rice.

    Huo Yuhao continued to rein his spiritual soul core in and tried to prevent it from interfering with the Ultimate Ice soul power.

    In the meantime, the Snow Empress was trying to continue the formation of the Ultimate Ice soul power in a stable manner. Just as she had exined to Huo Yuhao earlier, she was doing it slowly, so as to allow the spiritual soul core to get used to the existence of a new soul core. However, this adaptation phase naturally had to begin with violent resistance.

    Huo Yuhao was starting to feel an intensifying sense of dizziness. When he was trying to fight against his own spiritual soul core, he was effectively fighting against his own source of spiritual power!

    Huo Yuhao was starting to see illusions, even though he had been trying to fight back against them. However, the control he was exerting over his spiritual soul core was already causing his spiritual sea to tremble.

    At this instant, a melodic song entered his ear. It was Li Ya, who was trying to release her spiritual power. He spiritual power seemed to be filled with the power of temptation as her singing tempted the spiritual sea to stabilize. It also seemed to possess the power to alleviate Huo Yuhao¡¯s pain and soothe the soul core.

    In the meantime, the Ultimate Ice soul power¡¯s revolutions were not only bing stronger, but also faster.

    Even with Li Ya¡¯s help, Huo Yuhao was only to catch a breather before the powerful sensation returned again.

    ¡°Yuhao, you can rx your control on the soul core. You must not suppress it entirely. That would be bad for both soul cores in the future.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡±

    Rx my control?The moment Huo Yuhao toned down his suppressive efforts, he realized that the soul core became a lot harder to control than when it was fully suppressed.

    After seeing an opportunity to release spiritual power, the spiritual soul core took advantage of it, and radiated spiritual power fervently. The spiritual power raced towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest as it tried to destroy the tiny bit of Ultimate Ice soul power that was rotating there.

    A jade light shed, and his entire chest area was sealed. The Ice Empress had made her move! Her Ultimate Ice soul power blocked the spiritual power and protected the new origin within it.

    When his spiritual power collided with the Ice Empress¡¯ Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body spasmed intensely. It was as if the blood flow in all of his passageways had been reversed. It was an incredibly awful feeling.

    The spiritual soul core, which had tasted a tiny bit of freedom after Huo Yuhao had loosened his control over it, started to run wild as it tried to release more spiritual power to ovee the Ice Empress¡¯ Ultimate Ice. This meant that Huo Yuhao had to somehow strike a bnce between ensuring the release of spiritual power and controlling the amount that was actually released by the spiritual soul core. This was a lot more difficult than just suppressing the soul core entirely.

    While the Ice Empress was focusing on defending against the aggressive spiritual power, the Snow Empress continued to control the formation of the new soul core. The rate at which Ultimate Ice soul power was being transported was now finally starting to increase.

    The soul power core, which was only the size of a grain of rice, very soon became the size of a bean. The waves of spiritual attacks also became increasingly intense as they became more driven to ovee the Ice Empress¡¯ defense.

    Huo Yuhao started to feel waves of excruciating pain as the spiritual power attacks became more intense. While he was trying to cope with the pain, he still had to control his spiritual soul core and withstand the weak feeling that wasing from his spiritual sea.

    He was only able to barely push through the pain with the help of his invincibly strong determination. His determination did not waver at all throughout the entire process.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s resilience also gave the six Spirits plenty of confidence that they would all seed.

    Faint white glows started to appear in the bones and passageways in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. A cooling sensation seemed to soothe the piercing pain which came with the collision between the spiritual power and the Ultimate Ice formed by the Ice Empress.

    This cooling sensation was created by Little Bai. Little Bai had started to protect Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Even though Huo Yuhao felt a little better, he did not becent. This was because his spiritual soul core was bing increasingly violent as the Ultimate Ice soul power in his chest area started to coagte and take shape.

    As Huo Yuhao focused on his intent to control the spiritual soul core, he became increasingly confident in his odds of forming his second soul core in his chest. He felt that if he were to still fail even with the help of his six Spirits, he would have failed the gifts he had been blessed with!

    After stabilizing his mental state, he also realized that his body was no longer in as much pain as before. He silently mustered his spiritual power as he tried to maintain control over his spiritual soul core. He tried to slow its rotation while maintaining a steady and continuous stream of spiritual power which exited the soul core and collided with the Ultimate Ice soul power.

    Because the Ultimate Ice soul power at Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest was continually expanding, its rotation speed and the rate at which it was absorbing the Ultimate Ice soul power were increasing and bing stronger as well. At the same time, Huo Yuhao started to feel a painful sensation in his chest.

    After all, it was rotating in the reverse direction! This reverse rotation was directly acting on his body! Hence, Huo Yuhao had to suffer twice the amount of pain from both rotations.

    Huo Yuhao continued to feel a sharp piercing sensationing from his chest area. The pain was extremely suffocating. Nevertheless, Huo Yuhao did not seem to be struggling with the pain.

    However, he soon discovered something that startled him. The ice crystal that the Snow Empress had transformed into was actually ascending and leaving his dantian area.

    This rhombus-shaped ice crystal and the Ultimate Ice soul power which had taken shape at his chest had been linked by soul power. However, there seemed to be a change in their mutual attraction now. The soul power at his chest seemed to be attracting the ice crystal beneath it. The small cluster of soul power was actually pulling the ice crystal formed by the Snow Empress upwards.

    This¡­

    What is the Snow Empress trying to do?

    Huo Yuhao did not really understand what she was trying to do. However, he understood how trust was of the utmost importance now. Hence, he would neither doubt nor ask her what she was nning to do.

 Chapter 559.1 - Elder Mus Protection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 559.1: Elder Mu¡¯s Protection</h4>

    As the Snow Empress¡¯ ice crystal rose, his soul power gathered more and more around his chest. The pain he suffered became more and more excruciating. His spiritual soul core also struggled more too. When the two feelingsbined, they greatly multiplied the pain that Huo Yuhao was being subjected to!

    The Ice Empress¡¯ strength was still very stable. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spine was his core, while his ribs were his support. Overall, they formed a protective soul barrier. However, Huo Yuhao discovered that the Ice Empress was no longer isting all her spiritual power. Instead, she poured in one small streak of her spiritual power. This streak was a hundred to a thousand times thinner than a hair. This streak of soul powernded on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power.

    When this happened, the revolution of his Ultimate Ice soul power became much slower than it was when he absorbed soul power. However, it was still revolving persistently. That streak of spiritual power was influenced by it, and was continuously beingshed at.

    This was truly getting close. It was turning from resistance into fusion. It was just that the sh of the two parties left Huo Yuhao feeling much more pain.

    His soul core was expanding, while the spiritual power that the Ice Empress unleashed was also strengthening. However, it was strengthening at a slower speed than the increase in the soul core¡¯s size. Huo Yuhao was in even more excruciating pain.

    The Ice Bear King continued to unleash his power, consolidating Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways and bones. His bones were still fine, since they had the support of the Ice Jade Empress¡¯ backbone. However, his heart and lungs were inside his body. There were also many important passageways. As they were continuously under attack, Huo Yuhao was inevitably under great torture.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ ice crystal rose to a spot which was less than three inches from that ball of soul power before it stopped. It hung below his thoracic cage. In this way, she was able to pour out her soul power at a much faster speed.

    When the size of her Ultimate Ice soul core was about the size of a jujube, it stopped expanding. However, it became brighter and brighter as it kept on revolving.

    Even by observing Huo Yuhao from the outside, one could discover that his backbone had turned jade-green, and there was a ball of bluish-white light in his chest that was bing brighter and brighter.

    The pain was only getting worse, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s control remained very stable. If this were another soul master, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the pain at this magnitude. At least, he wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain control so well. However, Huo Yuhao remained unmoved.

    Just as Huo Yuhao was in his closed-door cultivation, Shrek City also started to get busy. Inside the city, there were all types of instations, which the Tang Sect had provided a lot of help with.

    ¡°What? Huo Yuhao has retreated into closed-door cultivation? What about the three soul engineer legions in Shrek? Where are they?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er stood in front of Xu Sanshi and appeared very anxious.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Xu Sanshi was also a little speechless. When he had returned to the academy, Huo Yuhao had only let them out. The three soul engineer legions were still resting in his spectral demine.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao had retreated into closed-door cultivation. Bei Bei and Tang Wutong were not around either. In fact, Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s aura turned a little unbnced. ¡°Since when has Yuhao be so unreliable? What time is it? Why is he in closed-door cultivation? What is he doing?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er paced up and down.

    Xu Sanshi was also a little helpless. Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao were both not around. He was the one taking care of matters in the Tang Sect right now, but he had to face Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s wrath.

    ¡°Come, bring me to find Yuhao. If he¡¯s not too deep in his closed-door cultivation, I¡¯ll ask him to release the three soul engineer legions first before we n. Do you know that there are more than six hundred thousand soldiers from the Sun Moon Empire situated fifty kilometers from Shrek City? They have at least eight soul engineer legions there watching us. They are ready tounch an attack against us at any time.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was in a daze. He really didn¡¯t know. After hearing Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s words, his goosebumps also stood. ¡°However, Dean Xian, Yuhao is in closed-door cultivation. What should I do if I disturb him and cause him to run amok?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was feeling more and more depressed now. She had always been very concerned about Huo Yuhao. However, how could she not be anxious right now, given that Huo Yuhao chose to retreat into closed-door cultivation but didn¡¯t let the three soul engineer legions out of his demine?

    In fact, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t do this on purpose. He had forgotten about it. He had been very immersed in his thoughts, and thinking about how he should deal with the current situation. After he thought of a n, he immediately executed it. However, he forgot how important the three soul engineer legions were to Shrek City.

    ¡°Do you really think I don¡¯t know how important his closed-door cultivation is? However, this concerns the life and death of the academy. If the Sun Moon Empire attacks, what should we do if our defense isn¡¯t strong enough?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er was furious as she asked, ¡°What is Yuhao thinking? Bei Bei and Tang Wutong aren¡¯t around either. Have the three of them gone mad?¡±

    ¡°Dean Xian, don¡¯t panic. It won¡¯t help even if you¡¯re anxious.¡± Jiang Nannan opened her mouth. She walked in front of Xian Lin¡¯er and said, ¡°Dean Yan, why don¡¯t we do it this way? We¡¯ll bring you to where Yuhao is first. Given your cultivation, you should be able to sense his condition. If you think he can be woken up, we¡¯ll do so. If not, I believe you won¡¯t insist on it either. After all, if Yuhao runs amok, he wouldn¡¯t be able to recite the incantations that link to the spectral demine. When that happens, you won¡¯t be able to recall the three soul engineer legions either.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er stomped her foot. ¡°We can only do it that way. Bring me to take a look.¡±

    If someone else did something like this, Xian Lin¡¯er would have rushed in, given her temperament. However, she was a little helpless against the Tang Sect.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s development over the past few years was very significant to Shrek City. Without the Tang Sect¡¯s weapons, Shrek Academy wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive the beast wave started by the Great Star Dou Forest. As a result, the Tang Sect¡¯s status in Shrek City had continuously been on the rise.

    Moreover, more than a year ago, Huo Yuhao had used many valuable medicines to cultivate the Qiankun Fortune Pill. He even selflessly gave one to the academy. This helped Elder Xuan to sessfully achieve a breakthrough and be an Ultimate Douluo. She and Yan Shaozhe had also consolidated their own foundations, and could possibly be Ultimate Douluo in the future. They didn¡¯t forget this favor!

    This was why Xian Lin¡¯er suppressed her rage even though Huo Yuhao felt very unreliable right now.

    Under Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan¡¯s guidance, Xian Lin¡¯er came to the Soul Tool Hall.

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan both knew where Huo Yuhao¡¯sboratory was. Very soon, they arrived. However, they were stopped before they got close. He Caitou was the one who stopped them.

    ¡°Sanshi, Nannan, what are the two of you doing? Little junior is in closed-door cultivation in theboratory. No one can get close to him. What if you disturb him?¡±

    Although Xuan Ziwen appeared to be very unconcerned about Huo Yuhao¡¯s closed-door cultivation, he had actually informed He Caitou when Huo Yuhao began his closed-door cultivation. He Caitou immediately dropped everything he was doing, and came over to protect him.

    Xu Sanshiughed bitterly. ¡°Caitou, something big has happened. Little junior forgot to release the three soul engineer legions. That¡¯s why Dean Xian is here to find him. How far along in his closed-door cultivation is he now?¡±

    He Caitou was stunned for a moment. He looked at the displeased Xian Lin¡¯er andughed bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. However, we must not disturb him. You can sense that the aura he¡¯s released is terrifying.¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed to theboratory, which wasn¡¯t far away.

    Xian Lin¡¯er squinted and slowly released her spiritual power close to Huo Yuhao¡¯sboratory.

    Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were standing close to He Caitou. Although they didn¡¯t do anything obvious, they were actually subconsciously helping He Caitou stop Xian Lin¡¯er. If she raged and nned to find him, they could stop her too.

    At such a critical moment, they had to side with their junior.

    However, they had nned for naught. Xian Lin¡¯er only sensed a little before her expression changed greatly, and she took a step back.

    Theboratory was sealed very well. The thick metal isted most of the aura. However, Xian Lin¡¯er could sense the changes that were going on in theboratory if even only a little bit of it leaked out.

    Yes, the aura inside was terrifying. It was chaotic and terrifying!

    ¡°Why is it so chaotic? What is Yuhao doing? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s run amok?¡± Xian Lin¡¯er eximed.

    When she said this, He Caitou and the other two were immediately shocked. If Huo Yuhao really ran amok, it would be a disaster for the entire Tang Sect.

    Xu Sanshi was anxious. ¡°Run amok? Dean Xian, are you sure?¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was in a daze, and she furrowed her brow. She continued to silently sense what was going on. The longer she sensed, the more her expression changed. After a brief moment, her expression suddenly changed dramatically. ¡°I know what he¡¯s doing. He¡¯s actually going for his second soul core. No wonder his aura is so chaotic. It¡¯s just¡­ why is his attempt so different from Elder Xuan?¡±

    If it were someone else, they might not be so certain. However, Xian Lin¡¯er was different. She had gone into closed-door cultivation with Elder Xuan, and personally sensed the change in his aura when he tried to make a breakthrough.

    Back then, Elder Xuan chose her and Yan Shaozhe to apany him in his cultivation. This was because the two of them were the most likely to reach the same tier. Consuming the Qiankun Fortune Pill was the best for them.

    This was why Xian Lin¡¯er could tell what Huo Yuhao was doing.

 Chapter 559.2 - Elder Mus Protection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 559.2: Elder Mu¡¯s Protection</h4>

    In Shrek Academy, very few people knew that Huo Yuhao already had a spiritual soul core. But Elder Xuan didn¡¯t hide anything from Yan Shaozhe or Xian Lin¡¯er. After all, they were the future pirs of Shrek Academy, just like Huo Yuhao.

    Over the past few years, Huo Yuhao had been developing rapidly. He was so fast that he was even close to their generation of soul masters.

    He was now trying for his second soul core? If he managed to sessfully do so, he could possibly be the first person in Shrek¡¯s history to possess two soul cores as a Titled Douluo!

    In this way, he was bound to be a ss 98 Transcendent Douluo in the future. The time he took to do so would also be very short. No bottleneck could possibly stop him at the tier of a Transcendent Douluo. The only thing that could stop him was if he tried to make a breakthrough to Rank 99 from Rank 98. This was because he would need to have three soul cores then, which would be unprecedented.

    No one knew if Huo Yuhao would seed. However, Xian Lin¡¯er was very aware that he would possess the abilities of a Transcendent Douluo when he formed his second soul core, no matter what rank his soul power was at. Furthermore, he would be a Transcendent Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul. His cultivation might even exceed hers.

    Her anger slowly dissipated. The formation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s second soul core would be extremely significant for Shrek Academy! However, given how chaotic his aura was right now, what if he ran amok?

    Xian Lin¡¯er furrowed her brow and said, ¡°Yuhao must be trying for his second soul core. However, I¡¯m still a little unsure of his current condition. Watch over him closely. Don¡¯t let anyone get close to him, and don¡¯t disturb him either. When soul masters try for their second soul core, the conditions are bound to be veryplex. Things can change instantly. I¡¯ll go and ask Elder Xuan. He¡¯s the only one who has experience in this matter.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was always very direct and straightforward. After she finished speaking, she left.

    Forming his second soul core?

    He Caitou, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan all looked at one another. Their soul powers were all above Rank 80, but they were still some distance from bing Titled Douluo. However, they would only need one more soul ring to be a Titled Douluo.

    Among Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were currently the closest to Rank 90, followed by He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao.

    The Qiankun Fortune Pill indeed had the power of changing fortunes. They had consumed the pill a long time ago, but its effects had not worn out yet. This was why the cultivation speed of everyone from the Tang Sect was slightly faster than ordinary soul masters.

    He Caitou sighed and said, ¡°Yuhao is widening the gap further and further away from us!¡±

    Xu Sanshi alsoughed bitterly. ¡°I still remember how I kicked him into the air with one leg when I first met him. However, I was ckmailed by Bei Bei then.¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s face turned red and she said, ¡°How dare you mention it? ckmailing you was a let off for you. You should have been whacked.¡±

    Xu Sanshi chuckled, ¡°Can you bear to do that? You already had a crush on me then, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Hey, do you have to be so shameless? You still weren¡¯t good enough back then.¡±

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°I hope little junior is sessful. If he seeds this time, the Tang Sect will really be a lot stronger. Wutong is already a Titled Douluo. If little junior is one too, their fighting strength will only continue to increase when theybine their powers. In my opinion, they might even be stronger than an ordinary Transcendent Douluo. They might even be as strong as an Ultimate Douluo.¡±

    Elder Xuan came very quickly. Less than ten minutes after Xian Lin¡¯er left, she rushed back with Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan stood at the door of Huo Yuhao¡¯sboratory and silently sensed what was going on. No one was as experienced as him. Elder Xuan had experienced many failures when he tried to form his second soul core. This was why he was very familiar with such an aura.

    He only turned around after standing there for a full fifteen minutes. There was a serious look on his face. ¡°That¡¯s right, Lin¡¯er is right. Yuhao is trying to form his second soul core now. From now on, I¡¯ll personally watch over him. No one is allowed to get close to him or disturb him. No one is even supposed to make any loud noises.¡±

    As he spoke, Elder Xuan sat cross-legged right outside the door of theboratory.

    Xian Lin¡¯er was astonished as she looked at Elder Xuan. ¡°Elder Xuan, what about the academy? The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops areing soon!¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and asked, ¡°Lin¡¯er, do you still not understand? Yuhao agreed with Wutong¡¯s judgment during the meeting. He only didn¡¯t mention anything because of the academy. We are too concerned about the academy¡¯s safety. We didn¡¯t believe his judgment. He knew he couldn¡¯t do anything, so he returned to cultivate. As for the three soul engineer legions, there are only two reasons why he didn¡¯t let them out. One is that he¡¯s acting rashly. That¡¯s highly unlikely though. As for the other reason, it¡¯s that he¡¯s trying to conserve the strength of our active forces.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was doubtful. ¡°Surely not. If his judgment is right, the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t even attack us. Naturally, the three soul engineer legions would be untouched too.¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°You are still not far-sighted enough. Let me ask you, if the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empirese to reinforce us, can the academy just sit and watch if one of them is attacked? When that happens, we would have no choice but to send our soul engineer legions to help them. Not sending our soul engineer legions and having no soul engineer legions are two different things. Yuhao must have done this for a reason.¡±

    Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t have guessed that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t really thinking a lot then. He had really forgotten¡­

    Xian Lin¡¯er lowered her head. After remaining silent for a brief moment she said, ¡°Elder Xuan, we can¡¯t becent either. Even if there¡¯s only a one in a thousand possibility, we must be ready to adapt to the circumstances. The academy has stood here for ten thousand years.¡±

    Elder Xuan replied, ¡°Return. You and Shaozhe can handle things in the academy. I¡¯ll stand guard here. If Yuhao manages to make a breakthrough, perhaps everything will be settled.¡±

    An astonished look shed across Xian Lin¡¯er¡¯s eyes.Huo Yuhao can settle everything if he makes a breakthrough? Is that even possible? After all, he¡¯s only one person! Even given Elder Xuan¡¯s strength, he¡¯s already unable to do anything. Even if Yuhao has twin soul cores, how could he possiblypare to Elder Xuan?

    However, she didn¡¯t reveal her doubts. Seeing that Elder Xuan was determined to remain, she could only return and report the situation to the rest of the members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    After Xian Lin¡¯er left, Xu Sanshi and the rest were also chased away by Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan sat outside Huo Yuhao¡¯s door by himself. There was a heavy look on his face.

    Yuhao, you¡¯re really bold. You actually chose this path!

    Given Elder Xuan¡¯s understanding of second soul cores, how could he not tell that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t using Resonance to form his second soul core? On the contrary, he was extremely clear.

    Only the Yin-Yang Complement could cause such a chaotic aura. However, there was a determined force that was hanging on amidst the chaos. This also meant that Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in danger of running amok as of yet.

    Although Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t possibly cultivate his soul core using the Yin Yang Complement, he was still very curious, and eager to learn more about this cultivation method. This was why he was determined to stay. Furthermore, what he had said earlier was right too. If Huo Yuhao could cultivate his second soul core using the Yin Yang Complement, he could be another Beast God in the future.

    In terms of innate talent, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body wasn¡¯t as physically strong as the Beast God. However, he had immense qualities that soul beasts didn¡¯t possess ¨C twin martial souls and Spirits. If he managed to form twin soul cores using the Yin Yang Complement, Elder Xuan believed that his abilities could catch up to those of the Beast God even if his cultivation was restricted at Rank 98.

    It was important not to forget that Huo Yuhao was adept at concealment. His immense spiritual power could change the entire war!

    Such an intelligent young man! He¡¯s still able to make the correct choice even in such a chaotic and passive situation. No wonder he¡¯s Elder Mu¡¯s closed-door disciple. Elder Mu, you should really know how much I envy you.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know anything about the outside world. Right now, he was already on the verge of caving in.

    On his chest, the force of Ultimate Ice was spinning faster and faster. The streak of spiritual power that the Ice Empress had released couldn¡¯t stop it. It even spun in the opposite direction as it was sucked in.

    In this way, the spiritual power started to distort. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core was touched, and it started to retaliate in anger.

    Although Huo Yuhao was trying his best to stop it, the spiritual power released from his spiritual soul core couldn¡¯t be contained, even with his willpower.

    The Ice Empress and Snow Empress maintained theirposure, but Huo Yuhao felt that his body was about to be torn apart by these two different forces. The pain was indescribable, but it definitely exceeded the level he had been subjected to when he fused with the Ice Empress.

    Don¡¯t tell me that I can¡¯t hold on anymore?The immense pain made Huo Yuhao¡¯s determination waver for the first time.

    If one observed him from outside at this moment, they would be terrified. Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin was seeping dense pearls of blood. When these pearls of blood appeared, they immediately froze before dropping off his skin.

    The aura in the entireboratory immediately was messy and out of control. The rare metals in theboratory were all nging together.

    The temperature in theboratory had also dropped to negative one hundred degrees Celsius. There were even ice kes dancing in the air.

    Hang on! No matter what, I have to hang on!

    Huo Yuhao bit his tongue, and a piercing pain came from his tongue. This caused him to be even more focused. Once again, he tried to stop his spiritual soul core from erupting.

 Chapter 559.3 - Elder Mus Protection

    <h4 ss>Chapter 559.3: Elder Mu¡¯s Protection</h4>

    His soul core was stable enough. It was only fiercely resisting as it was provoked. However, it didn¡¯t waver at all. This was a blessing among all the misfortunes.

    Li Ya was already doing her best to aid Huo Yuhao. Her voice was already hoarse from singing, but she still continued. Because of her help, Huo Yuhao waspletely focused on his control.

    He couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be like if he tried this method of cultivation before he fused with Li Ya. However, he was certain that he wouldn¡¯t have been able tost until this point.

    Bright light shed from his body. The Ultimate Ice soul power released by the Ice Empress was strong and prosperous. Every time, she managed to block out most of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power.

    This wasn¡¯t just the strength of Ultimate Ice anymore. There was also the strength of the Ice Empress¡¯ spiritual origin. It was only through supplementing her spiritual power that she could sessfully resist.

    The soul power around the Snow Empress¡¯ ice crystals was continuously poured out. At this moment, she seemed to neglect the fact that Huo Yuhao could possibly suffer from immense pain. She waspletely doing her own thing.

    The Ice Bear King was also almost at his limit. He was protecting Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways, bones and internal organs. However, the two forces that revolved in different directions were still intensely attacking Huo Yuhao¡¯s body!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power could still hang on, but his body was on the verge of copse.

    Although his body had been enhanced by the Life Gold, and he possessed extraordinarily immense life energy, the violent forces in his body were eventually too much for a human body to bear.

    His passageways were about to tear, and his internal organs were also on the brink of failure as they were squeezed and distorted. However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t do anything else except hold on. Blood was already starting toe out of his mouth. This was a sign of his capiries rupturing. If this continued, his body would be torn apart by the forces it was attempting to contain, and his spiritual soul core would blow apart as a result.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ ice crystals shone a little, just as she was about to make a move.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s dantian lit up. Following this, ayer of golden light quickly surged out from his dantian and rapidly spread throughout his entire body.

    Whether it was spiritual power that was unleashed from his spiritual core or the Ultimate Ice power around his chest, they couldn¡¯t prevent this golden force from appearing.

    This was because this golden force waspletely fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood. In just a few breaths, his passageways had turnedpletely golden. Even his blood and internal organs turned golden.

    From outside, Huo Yuhao was just like a golden statue, shining brightly with golden light. Furthermore, there was a denseyer of scales on his skin. These scales were also pure gold. They gradually expanded until they covered his entire body. Only his face maintained a human appearance.

    They were dragon scales! Yes, that¡¯s right, they were dragon scales. The scales of a Holy Radiant Dragon!

    The excruciating pain in his body was alleviated slightly. Huo Yuhao was also very astonished. He didn¡¯t know where this hade from. The golden invasion caused his passageways, bones and internal organs to be bigger and bigger. In addition, it was even directly fusing with his body and bing a part of him.

    This was¡­

    It was a very familiar aura of light. However, it neither came from Wang Qiu¡¯er¡¯s Golden Dragon nor the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Instead¡­

    Radiant Holy Dragon. Yes! This is clearly the strength of a Radiant Holy Dragon.

    Furthermore, it¡¯s not like a Radiant Holy Dragon that eldest senior can turn into. Its strength is much purer and denser than eldest senior. Don¡¯t tell me this is teacher¡¯s strength? Is that even possible?

    Shrek Academy, Sea God¡¯s Ind, Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. The Golden Tree!

    Gentle, golden light shone from the Golden Tree. Everyone could sense the gentle undtions that came from the golden light.

    All the elders walked out from Sea God¡¯s Ind. They came in front of the Golden Tree, including Xian Lin¡¯er.

    A ball of golden light rose from the Golden Tree, and drifted above the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Elder Song focused her gaze. Although she couldn¡¯t see what was inside the ball of golden light, she could sense the familiar aura that came from it.

    The ball of golden light stopped in the air, and seemed to greet all the elders. Following this, it turned into a beam of flowing light, and flew towards the Tang Sect.

    Elder Xuan silently stood guard outside Huo Yuhao¡¯sboratory. When Huo Yuhao¡¯s golden strength was invoked, Elder Xuan immediately sensed it from outside.

    This is¡­

    What a strong power of light. However, since when did Yuhao possess such strong power?

    Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t give him an answer. Elder Xuan only revealed an unsure look in his eyes.

    At this moment, a benevolent aura swept by. Golden light shone, and a projection appeared out of thin air in front of Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Elder Mu?¡± Elder Xuan jumped up almost instantly, and was shocked as he looked at the projection in front of him.

    Elder Mu smiled at Elder Xuan and nodded at him. After this, he drifted in front of him and gently patted his shoulder. A thought was also transmitted into Elder Xuan¡¯s head.

    ¡°Shrek will depend on you in the future. Little Xuan, take care.¡±

    Before Elder Xuan could say anything, the golden projection that Elder Mu had turned into flew past him and through the metal door.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s body shook tremendously. Following this, an ominous feeling arose. He couldn¡¯t help but scream, ¡°Elder Mu!¡±

    He quickly turned around. As he looked at the huge steel door behind him, he couldn¡¯t control his emotions.

    The golden projection that Elder Mu had turned into silently appeared in theboratory, in front of Huo Yuhao.

    He revealed a peaceful look on his face as he looked at Huo Yuhao struggling.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve chosen a very tough path to embark on. However, what you¡¯ve done is correct, whether it¡¯s for Shrek or the three empires. It¡¯s almost impossible for a human to cultivate using the Yin Yang Complement. I shall give you a hand.¡±

    Golden light shed, and Elder Mu re-transformed into a ball of golden light, and charged directly into Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    Gentleness and warmth spread throughout Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He was in torment and pain earlier, but it was very soothing right now.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief and almost fainted as he instantaneously rxed. However, that warm and genial strength immediately engulfed his spiritual power and kept him in his current state. His spiritual power immediately calmed down.

    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s really you!¡±

    When Huo Yuhao saw Elder Mu in his spiritual sea, he immediately became very emotional. His spiritual power took form and turned into a projection of him. This projection kowtowed.

    Elder Mu smiled as he looked at his closed-door disciple. He smiled and let Huo Yuhao kowtow. After this, he drifted forward and arrived in front of him. He caressed his head gently. ¡°Kid,e here.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up and looked at Elder Mu. His spiritual entity couldn¡¯t cry, but feelings of happiness spread from him.

    The feeling of seeing a loved one when one was in extreme pain was indescribable. Huo Yuhao felt protected with Elder Mu around!

    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Huo Yuhao sobbed.

    Elder Mu smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like a kid anymore. Yuhao, you¡¯ve grown up. You¡¯ve done great. You¡¯ve done much better than I expected. As your teacher, I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

    ¡°Although I¡¯ve not been by your side all these years, I¡¯ve heard of most of the things that have happened to you from Little Xuan. I also personally observed you myself. You¡¯ve done really well.¡±

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao called once again.

    Elder Mu said, ¡°This time, you chose the Yin Yang Complement to cultivate. Although it¡¯s reckless, it isn¡¯t wrong to some extent. Shrek needs someone who is powerful enough to change situations. Such a person hasn¡¯t appeared for years. Ten thousand years ago, our ancestor Tang San used his abilities to change situations, building Shrek¡¯s foundation. Ten thousand yearster, I believe you have that potential too.¡±

    ¡°If not for the fact that you activated the strength of the dragon pill in your body, I wouldn¡¯t have known you were capable of this. Since you are already doing it, I shall help you on this journey.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished as he looked at Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu nodded and said, ¡°Xiaoyao should be the one who helped you consume it. You should have seen him once before.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished as he looked at Elder Mu.

    Elder Mu replied, ¡°Yes! I was the one who asked him to give you the dragon pill when the time was right.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t he from the Holy Ghost Church? He belongs with the evil soul masters. Why would he help us?¡±

    Elder Mu shook his head and answered, ¡°Xiaoyao isn¡¯t an evil soul master. He¡¯s a poor soul. He¡¯s trapped by love. I had no choice but to get out of it then, but he¡¯s been trapped. Because of some wrongdoings hemitted in the past, he chose to atone for them. That¡¯s why things are like this. However, he¡¯s still a soul master from the three empires. Before I died, I met him, passed the dragon pill to him, and implored him to give it to you when the time was right. At the same time, I also asked him to protect you if you were in danger.¡±

    ¡°Protect me?¡± Huo Yuhao could still clearly remember the pain from being stabbed so many times!

    Elder Mu smiled and nodded. He said, ¡°If he wanted to kill you, you would have already died. If not for the fact that he is secretly protecting you, I¡¯m afraid that the Holy Ghost Church wouldn¡¯t be dealing with you this way. You¡¯ll understand in the future. As for the dragon pill¡­¡±

 Chapter 560 - Secret of the Dragon Pill

    <h4 ss>Chapter 560: Secret of the Dragon Pill</h4>

    Elder Mu paused for a while before continuing, ¡°I happened toe across the Dragon Pill at an ancient ruin a long time ago. It was the carcass of a light type giant dragon soul beast. If I did not see wrongly back then, it should be a Light Dragon¡ªthe natural enemy of the Darkness Dragons, which Di Tian belongs to. After dying, the Light Dragon¡¯s essence and energy naturally became a Dragon Pill. However, because the energy within this pill is extremely violent, humans are unable to absorb them into our bodies directly.¡±

    ¡°After acquiring it, I had been keeping it with me all this time, Even though I was not able to ingest its energy directly, the huge amount of energy within it was still extremely beneficial for my cultivation. With its help, I was able to build on my innate gifts, and elerate my training and development. I borrowed the energy from the Dragon Pill for my training all the way to Rank 98, when I finally formed my second soul core with the Resonance technique. If not, I might have even stayed at Rank 98 longer than Xuan Zi.¡±

    ¡°Hence, it could be said that the birth of every Ultimate Douluoes with the presence of an enormous amount of luck. It was definitely true for me, and I believe it was the same way for Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.¡±

    ¡°I have actually tried to help others with this Dragon Pill. However, it has always failed. Their bodies were simply unable to withstand its domineering aura. More often than not, their martial souls were also ipatible with its energy. Hence, I decided to store the Dragon Pill within my body, and use my Radiant Holy Dragon soul power to refine it. The process of transforming the energy within the pill was a very long one. It stayed within my body for close to a hundred years.¡±

    ¡°You probably know about the rest of the events that unfolded afterwards. I had a huge fight with Du Busi, the sect leader of the Body Sect, and left the battle with several heavy injuries. Back then, I wanted to look for Xishui for some special reasons, and had to recover quickly. I immediately thought of the Dragon Pill, which I had been refining for a long time. I believed that it would no longer be a problem for me to ingest its energy. Hence, I tried to empty all the pill¡¯s energy into my body. I believed that I might be able to alert the Gods within the God Realm and gain a chance to join them if I were able to pull it off.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I still underestimated the full amount of energy and essence that a giant dragon was able to put into a Dragon Pill. After absorbing its energy for a short while, I started to realize that something was wrong. When I was at my peak, the Dragon Pill was unable to harm me. Hence, I thought that the violent and domineering aura within it had disappeared. I did not expect it to have concealed itself within the pill. Once I started ingesting the energy, it rapidly released itself to cause havoc within my body after sensing how I had been weakened by Du Busi.¡±

    ¡°I was originally a lot more powerful than him. Even though I was heavily injured, I was not hurt in an extremely serious manner. However, absorbing the Dragon Pill was a grave mistake. It damaged my organs and sources of energy, which caused me to be who I waster. I almost died in the process of trying to suppress the Dragon Pill. However, the rage and violence within the pill had ravaged my body. I essentially spent the subsequent decades of my life fighting the Dragon Pill¡¯s rage and violence, until my body started to degenerate.¡±

    ¡°However, after refining the pill for a hundred years and absorbing all the rage and violence within it, the energy within the pill had been purified. It could now be absorbed by cultivators who did not possess dragon martial souls. Hence, I originally wanted to give it to Bei Bei. With its help, Bei Bei would have a good chance of bing an Ultimate Douluo in the future. However, it just so happened that I met you. When I realized you had an Ultimate martial soul, I immediately changed my mind. This was because I knew how hard it was to train with an Ultimate martial soul in the early stages. Even though it would be extremely smooth sailing during the intermediate stages, it would be extremely difficult again when the cultivator tried to form his second soul core to be an Ultimate Douluo. If you were to only rely on yourself, your body would struggle to withstand the impact and power when you tried to form your second soul core. Hence, I decided to hold onto the Dragon Pill and observe your situation before making a decision.¡±

    ¡°Your performance and potential truly impressed me. In addition, you are an extremely kind person who values hard work. Hence, before I died, I decided to pass this pill to you. However, the energy within the pill was ultimately too destructive for you to absorb directly. Also, you did not possess the ability to absorb it back then. Thus, I looked for Xiaoyao, and asked him to take of you on my behalf. I told him to hand the Dragon Pill over to you at an appropriate moment.¡±

    ¡°If my guess is correct, you must have nearly been killed by his attacks when you met him previously. However, you must understand that he was not targeting you. He only wanted to ensure your body remained empty and clear of any impurities. The energy within the Dragon Pill is not supposed to be fused with your soul power. It is supposed to be fused into your blood. This will grant you some of the abilities that dragons possess, and allow you to break free of your human limitations. With the talents and gifts you possess, I was certain that the Dragon Pill would give you a good chance to create a miracle.¡±

    ¡°However, I did not expect this day to arrive so soon. In addition, your decision is also beyond what we had expected and nned for. I can¡¯t believe you chose to use the Yin Yang Complement technique! You are really brave. You should know how many soul beasts failed and died after choosing this path. This is a path that cannot be walked, even with the toughness of soul beasts¡¯ bodies. Yet you still stood by your beliefs, and wanted to do it with a human¡¯s body. With the amount of courage and determination you have, I am proud to call you my disciple. Since you have chosen this path, as your teacher, I must help you regardless of what it takes. Now that the energy within the Dragon Pill had been drawn out, you can continue cultivating it while I control it and help you fuse it into your blood. This will allow you to possess the physical strength of a dragon, and greatly improve your odds of sess.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you, teacher!¡± Huo Yuhao could feel an encouraging sense of warmth within his heart. Even though his teacher might be dead in the physical sense, he had never stopped caring for him. In fact, Elder Mu had already thought about the path ahead, and had made ns to make things easier for him. Huo Yuhao knew he could only repay his teacher by ensuring the survival and prosperity of Shrek Academy!

    Now was not the time to indulge in overly lengthy conversations. Huo Yuhao could sense how the energy shockwaves within his body were bing more intense. The energy from the Dragon Pill which had just fused with his blood also seemed to be particrly unstable.

    However, Huo Yuhao decided to focus on controlling his spiritual soul core as he shifted his intent back to his spiritual sea. Controlling his spiritual soul core was the key to everything, and the most important step for the entire procedure.

    His control of the spiritual soul core proceeded extremely smoothly. The pain that Huo Yuhao was suffering from was also alleviated to arge extent with the nourishment provided by the Dragon Pill. This allowed him to better focus his energy and attention on the task at hand.

    Elder Mu¡¯s gentle aura fused rapidly into Huo Yuhao¡¯s blood. The unstable energy from the Dragon Pill started to circte in Huo Yuhao¡¯s passageways under Elder Mu¡¯s guidance. Some of the mystical energy started to fuse with his internal organs as well.

    The speed at which they were fusing was extremely quick. The scales on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to be pointed as they grew thicker and grander.

    This Dragon Pill had, in fact, been adjusting to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body after it had been inserted into him back then. It only reacted violently after the initial intense agitation. It had long started to adapt to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and Huo Yuhao had been absorbing it subconsciously during his cultivation.

    Elder Mu had informed Long Xiaoyao to pass the pill to Huo Yuhao for him to use it when he was forming his second soul core. However, neither of them had expected Huo Yuhao to use the Dragon Pill¡¯s energy so soon.

    As the gentle soul power fluctuations circted through the surrounding air, the entireboratory¡¯s atmosphere seemed to calm down after the appearance of the Dragon Pill.

    The ice crystal formed by the Snow Empress no longer seemed to be on the brink of overexertion. It merely continued to control Huo Yuhao¡¯s second soul core in a stable and continuous fashion. The soul core continued to absorb the power of Ultimate Ice as it rotated in the opposite direction as Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core in a determined manner.

    Because the power released by the spiritual soul core was being limited by Huo Yuhao, it was ultimately unable to disrupt the formation of the Ultimate Ice soul core. However, the spiritual soul core never stopped fighting against Huo Yuhao as it released countless spiritual fluctuations that attacked his body.

    However, the power of the Dragon Pill was truly formidable. Huo Yuhao only felt the bountiful energy surging through his body. Before, he had felt as though his body was about to be torn apart by the spiritual fluctuations. However, it was now a lot easier for him to withstand the pressure. Even though it was still painful, he no longer felt like he was about to disintegrate. As each second and minute continued to pass, Huo Yuhao started to be a lot more rxed.

    Suddenly, Elder Mu¡¯s aura disappeared, as Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body took on a uniform golden color.

    The soul core at his chest had grown to twice its original size. It now resembled a blue ice crystal as its speed continued to elerate.

    Because Huo Yuhao was now able to withstand greater impacts, the Snow Empress had decided to speed up the soul core formation process. The faster the process ended, the less pain Huo Yuhao had to suffer.

    However, this peaceful state did notst very long. Very soon, the pain began to intensify again. The power within the spiritual soul core seemed to be endless as it started tounch an increasingly intense onught on Huo Yuhao¡¯s second soul core. The familiar painful sensation seemed to have returned.

    Huo Yuhao knew he had to persevere through this no matter what¡ªespecially after his teacher had helped him pull through once with the power of the Dragon Pill.

    Huo Yuhao tried to hold on with every ounce of energy within his body. However, it was bing increasingly hard for him to control his spiritual soul core. This was because both soul cores had to continually engage and interact with one another in order toplete the Yin Yang Complement technique. As his second soul core became stronger, the spiritual power the Ice Empress required Huo Yuhao to release from his spiritual soul core had to be greater. As the spiritual soul core released more spiritual power, it became even harder for Huo Yuhao to control it. Something could happen with the spiritual soul core at any point. After agitating it for a prolonged period of time, the spiritual soul core, which had just begun to be stable, started to tremble and lose its stability.

    What do I do now?At this instant, Huo Yuhao started to panic. Everyone had put in so much effort to help him seed. If he were to fail now, he would not only sustain serious injuries, but also lose the opportunity to attempt this again in the near future. In fact, he might also lose his life if he were to fail.

    As the intense pain fluctuated between his chest and head, Huo Yuhao grew increasingly dizzy. He was on the verge of going unconscious. If he were to really faint, his spiritual soul core would go out of control.

    ¡°My child, please help me defend Shrek City and the Academy. Take good care of the Tang Sect. I will always be proud of you.¡± Elder Mu¡¯s old voice rang in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Following which, an incredibly powerful burst of spiritual power radiated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    This spiritual power gave off the same aura as his own. Huo Yuhao only felt his controlling ability increase as a golden sea appeared around his spiritual soul core.

    This golden sea was not his own spiritual sea. It contained spiritual power that did not belong to him. After this sea of spiritual power appeared, his spiritual soul core, which was putting up intense resistance, instantly stabilized. On top of that, it started to greedily absorb the pure spiritual power within the golden sea. During this process, it no longer behaved in an aggressive manner.

    It was as though a powerful cultivator had suddenly stumbled upon a treasure trove when they were going after their enemy. They would definitely choose to temporarily let their enemy go as they focused on the treasures.

    As the spiritual soul core started to stabilize, the dizziness and pain Huo Yuhao was feeling naturally subsided. He was shocked to discover how he was able to control his spiritual power with greater ease. After being enveloped by the golden sea, his spiritual soul core was a lot more obedient. At the same time, Huo Yuhao could no longer sense the resistance his soul core had towards his Ultimate Ice soul core.

    ¡°Yuhao, this is all I can do for you. You will have to walk the path ahead alone. I believe that you will be able to carve out a path that belongs to you. I will take my leave first.¡±

    As the golden light flickered, Elder Mu disappeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness.

    Teacher¡­

    If he could cry, tears would have been streaming all over Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. His teacher¡¯s selfless assistance had once again helped him ovee a significant challenge.

    A golden image left the metallic door that separated theboratory from the courtyard.

    Elder Mu appeared in front of Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan was pacing outside the door anxiously while waiting for Elder Mu to reappear. After seeing him, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. The conversation he had had with Elder Mu earlier had given him an ominous feeling. Elder Mu was like a teacher and a friend to him. If he did not know that Elder Mu had been nurturing his own spiritual sense within the Golden Tree, Elder Xuan might have been even sadder than Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Mu revealed a warm smile on his wrinkled face as he stared at Elder Xuan. ¡°Xuan Zi, I will need you to take care of Shrek City and Shrek Academy for me. Don¡¯t tell Yuhao about this. Just pretend that I¡¯m still in the Golden Tree¡­¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Elder Mu¡¯s golden image shattered into countless golden particles that disappeared into the air.

    Elder Xuan was stunned by what he had just witnessed.

    He could no longer sense Elder Mu¡¯s presence!

    Elder Mu, Elder Mu!

    Elder Xuan stumbled backwards as he tried to take everything in. Even with his Ultimate Douluo ability, he almost tripped and fell down. His entire body was trembling intensely as he longed to scream and express his pain. However, his rationality held him back.

 Chapter 561.1 - Frantically Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 561.1: Frantically Cultivating</h4>

    In the Imperial Pce within Radiant City, the Sun Moon Empire.

    A secret letter was lying on Xu Tianran¡¯s desk. There was an adorable orange mandarin (Ju Zi) logo at the opening of the envelope.

    After receiving this letter, Xu Tianran couldn¡¯t help but reveal a gentle smile.It seems like Ju Zi¡¯s letter is finally here. I wonder how she¡¯ll handle the current situation.

    A thorough search had been conducted for the past few days, but they were still unable to locate their enemies. It seemed as though they had disappeared without leaving a trace after sneaking an attack on Radiant City. This waspletely unbelievable.

    Xu Tianran was starting to worry that the enemies really possessed some sort of spatial technology like Elder Kong had suggested. If his foes really possessed such technologies, their next attack could take ce within Radiant City!

    After opening the envelope, Xu Tianran took out the letter. This envelope had been sealed with a certain kind of soul tool that was able to destroy the letter if the person did not know how to properly unseal the envelope.

    Ju Zi¡¯s beautiful handwriting decorated the entire letter. Her words seemed to convey the respect she had for Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran already felt happier just from looking at her words. He started to wonder if he had gone overboard when Ju Zi asked him about whether she could bring the Prince to the battlefield with her. He felt that perhaps his reply should have been more positive. However, he believed that he had already repaid her loyalty with the trust he had shown her by giving her control over the army.

    As he thought about this, Xu Tianran began to read the contents of the letter. While he was reading, the changes in his facial expression were extremely drastic. While he revealed a startled expression at times, he was more often than not admiring what Ju Zi had done. He was full of praise for her.

    I can¡¯t believe she thought of such a good way to tackle the cumbersome situation. She really is the War God Empress of the Sun Moon Empire! Ju Zi is really the person I trust the most.

    The main theme of Ju Zi¡¯s letter only contained these three words.

    Do not attack!

    They would surround Shrek City, but would not attack it. She nned to draw all the forces that shared a rtionship with Shrek City to the ce where their current camp was set up. They would set up their defensive lines outside their camp and reinforce these lines with their linked defensive soul tools. They would not initiate an attack, as they gave Shrek City a rtively long deadline to turn Huo Yuhao in. Once the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire¡¯s troops gathered at Shrek City, they would have achieved their objective. They could then be a lot more flexible with who their real target was.

    And if the enemy force that attacked Radiant City were to be in contact with the Shrek Academy, they would definitely retreat unconditionally to help defend Shrek City. The two soul engineer legions would definitely be useful for the battle at Shrek City. This meant that regardless of what capabilities this team possessed, they could only use them to fight the Sun Moon Empire directly on the battlefield. And when it came to such head-on battles, the Sun Moon Empire was almost invincible.

    ¡°Good, good, good!¡± Xu Tianran eximed in delight. His injuries seemed to have gotten better by a little bit. He immediately penned a reply, and ordered his subordinates to rush his letter to the front line.

    He told Ju Zi to decide the next course of action by herself, and not to worry about the situation back at Radiant City. He informed her that the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion had returned to Radiant City to protect the pce, and was waiting for favorable news from the front line.

    Once again, Ju Zi had used her wisdom to gain more trust from Xu Tianran. He seemed to believe that the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire had already fallen into his hands. He felt that Shrek City was but another city after all. It should not be impossible to destroy it.

    To be honest, Xu Tianran did not want to destroy Shrek City. Instead, he wanted to see Shrek City bow to him, because that would give him the strongest sense of aplishment.

    When Xu Tianran was younger, he had once fantasized about the Shrek Academy¡ªthe number one academy on the entire continent. Xu Tianran would only be happier if Shrek City would willingly join and be a part of the Sun Moon Empire. If that were to happen, every secret about soul masters that the academy would uncover would belong to the Sun Moon Empire. They might be able to draw some insights from martial souls and find a way to heal limbs¡ªespecially that limb which only males had¡­

    Xu Tianran immediately became uncontrobly excited the moment this idea entered his head. A powerful desire enveloped his mind as he thought about Ju Zi. How could he not love his beautiful and capable War God Empress? She was his Empress, after all! However, he was somehow unable to conquer her body physically, and such miseries were deadly for any man. Even Xu Tianran¡ªthe Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire¡ªwas no exception.

    In the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Commander¡¯s Tent outside of Shrek City!

    Ju Zi was sitting in the Commander¡¯s seat as she read the reconnaissance reports which had been submitted to her. A faint smile was forming on her face.

    Shrek City? Why would I attack Shrek City? This Academy holds great significance to that man. Regardless of what happens, I will never destroy Shrek City and the Academy recklessly. However, this will not affect my ns to attack the other empires¡ªespecially the Star Luo Empire!

    Even though the hatred within Ju Zi¡¯s heart had slowly faded away, that did not necessarily mean she had forgotten about it. Conversely, she now felt as if everything was under her control, and looked forward to that day¡¯s arrival.

    If the Star Luo Empire had not destroyed my homnd and turned me into a helpless orphan, I would not have met Xu Tianran.

    Hence, she knew she must destroy the Star Luo Empire in the future in order to relieve herself from the deep hatred whichy in her heart.

    However, her current target was not the Star Luo Empire.

    ¡°Empress!¡± A dark figure suddenly appeared in the Commander¡¯s Tent without any warning.

    Ju Zi had long been ustomed to the way this person arrived. She stood up slowly and shed a smile. ¡°Imperial Tutor, you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhongli Wu nodded as he strolled closer to Ju Zi before stopping. ¡°Empress, have you decided when we will attack Shrek City?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°There are still eight more days before the deadline arrives. You need to be patient.¡±

    ¡°Empress, do you really n to be honest with Shrek City?¡± Zhongli Wu replied coldly, ¡°I believe the academy had already started to ask for help from all over the entire continent. Before long, reinforcements from Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire will arrive. When that happens, we will need to sustain huge costs in order to destroy them. You must think about the injuries and deaths we will have to sustain when that happens. With our current strength, we can tten Shrek City anytime as we will.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head gently and said, ¡°I believe Imperial Tutor must be extremely familiar with Shrek Academy. Since that¡¯s the case, what do you think will be the cost for our victory if we are to force an attack on them right now?¡±

    Zhongli Wu was a little startled as he replied, ¡°Shrek Academy has taken in the remaining bastards from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Even if we were to factor in their own city defense army, their numbers would still pale inparison to ours. After all, we have an eight hundred thousand strong army, with eight soul engineer legions. We should be able to destroy their defensive lines just with our soul engineer legions.¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°No, it won¡¯t be that simple. Based on the data we have collected, it seems like Shrek Academy already possesses the ability to manufacture ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. As for the exact number of shells which they have produced, we have yet to obtain any reliable data. In addition, the academy has countless powerful soul masters. Almost every single elder within the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion possesses abilities which rivalled that of a Transcendent Douluo. If we were to force their hand, I am unsure what this powerful academy with over ten thousand years of history is capable of. Right now, the best strategy for us is to surround them, but not attack them. As for the reinforcements you were mentioning earlier, they are the people I want to see the most. It would best if they were to turn up here.¡±

    Zhongli Wu squinted after listening to Ju Zi¡¯s words. He was not a fool, as he seemed to have sensed something after hearing what she said. ¡°Empress, does this mean you don¡¯t n to attack Shrek City?¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°It is not the right time yet. The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion have just set off the night beforest. Our army camp looks the same, but we already have fifty thousand troops leaving the camp and cooperating with the two soul engineer legions. We just need to attract Shrek Academy¡¯s attention here at the front line. Even though it is not the right time to attack, we can stillunch feint attacks once in a while.¡±

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s breathing started to be uneven as he said authoritatively, ¡°With the current power we have, we can definitely take them down if we were to put in our best effort. Even if they try to retaliate, we definitely possess the ability to suppress them. Once Shrek City falls, the psychological support that the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire depend on will disappear. This means the entire continent will definitely be ours sooner orter. I don¡¯t understand why you want to dy the entire n!¡±

    Ju Zi replied inly, ¡°Imperial Tutor, I want to remind you of your appointment. You are the military supervisor¡ªnot themander. When it pertains to tactical and strategic matters, I will be the one calling the shots. If you are unsatisfied with any of my ns, feel free to take it up with His Majesty. If His Majesty does not agree with my ns, I am definitely willing to change them.¡±

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s breathing started to be rapid. For inexplicable reasons, he seemed to fear Ju Zi a little. But of course, he did not fear her for her fighting power. He could definitely destroy Ju Zi easily in a fight with the ability that she possessed. However, she was truly frightening when it came to leading troops and strategizing warfare. It was almost as though she was assisted by God himself.

    Even though Zhongli Wu was not a young man anymore, he was still unable to fully appreciate and understand her military arrangements. Nheless, her inspiring tactics were always able to decide victory, even when he did not understand them.

    Hence, he really did not dare to offend Ju Zi. Furthermore, she had the support of multiple ss 9 soul engineers around her. Even though he had brought several powerful cultivators from the Holy Ghost Church along with him, soul engineers were not as frightened of evil soul masters as regr soul masters were.

    ¡°Hmph! Take care then, Empress.¡± Zhongli Wu waved the sleeve of his robe as he turned and left.

    Ju Zi looked at the back of his figure and shed a faint smile. ¡°In that case, I will not be sending you off.¡±

 Chapter 561.2 - Frantically Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 561.2: Frantically Cultivating</h4>

    It wasmon for themander and the military supervisor from any country and any point in time in history to share conflicting opinions. After all, there was a reason why military supervisors existed.

    Zhongli Wu was naturally not the military supervisor who Xu Tianran wanted to send over. However, the Holy Ghost Church was simply too powerful, so he had no choice but to do so. The Holy Ghost Ghost had long been trying to create a bigger presence within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    However, the effects of their participation had never gone particrly well. After all, evil soul masters were often ostracized by most people¡ªregardless of whether they were soul masters or soul engineers.

    After watching Zhongli Wu leave the tent, Ju Zi squinted as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

    These annoying evil soul masters¡­ With them around, it will be very difficult for me to execute my n perfectly. If there¡¯s a chance¡­

    Their use for the Holy Ghost Church had been diminishing for a while. After the Body Sect had beenpletely destroyed, the only use for the Holy Ghost Church was to fight against the powerful cultivators from Shrek Academy. If not for the existence of two Ultimate Douluo within the Holy Ghost Church, Xu Tianran would have long since employed a method to force them to surrender to him.

    When it came to dealing with the Holy Ghost Church, both Ju Zi and Xu Tianran had the same ideas. This sect which was full of evil soul masters was bound to create trouble for them in the future. Once the Sun Moon Empire conquered the entire continent, the Holy Ghost Church would definitely think of a way to wrest the throne for themselves. With regards to how exactly they would do it, both Xu Tianran and Ju Zi were certain that those mysterious evil soul masters must have their own ways to achieve that.

    Knowing how her son would be the future ruler of the entire continent, Ju Zi was determined to not let the Holy Ghost Church seed in their scheme.

    However, the thought of her son made Ju Zi¡¯s body tremble as the harsh look in her eyes became gentler.

    Before she left Radiant City, she had gotten the help of an extremely powerful individual within the Sun Moon Empire to protect her son. She was not afraid that an external enemy would target her son. On the contrary, she was worried about the Holy Ghost Church! Now, she was most afraid that the Holy Ghost Church would take action against her son, Xu Yunhan. That would truly be horrifying.

    The actual battle on the battlefield must end as soon as possible. It was only after the war had ended that she could finally return to Radiant City and make her next move.

    A faint cold look appeared in Ju Zi¡¯s pupils. The task which she was about to embark on was not just about conquering the entire continent. Besides, there was no need to rush the process.

    Within the Tang Sect in Shrek City.

    ¡°Hummmm!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core vibrated intensely as it continued to radiate powerful spiritual fluctuations from within his body.

    His Eye of Destiny had somehow opened itself without him even knowing about it. The light from the spiritual soul core sparkled within the dark room. However, it never stopped vibrating and trembling in an unstable manner.

    Huo Yuhao looked more determined than ever.

    The fluid-like spiritual power that Elder Mu had left for him to control the spiritual soul core had already disappeared. After absorbing that spiritual power, his spiritual soul core had be a lot stronger. At the same time, it had also bought precious time for Huo Yuhao.

    Now, the Ultimate Ice soul core at his chest area had be a lot stronger andrger as well. The speed at which it was rotating was no longer observable by the human eye.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know exactly how much longer he persevered with Elder Mu¡¯s help, but he had witnessed the Ultimate Ice soul core at his chest area grow more than three times its original size in this amount of time.

    Even though the Ultimate Ice soul core had yet to take on a shape, it was no longer as fragile and feeble as before. It had be a lot stronger, and seemed to be as solid as an ice crystal. The effects of its rotation speed on his spiritual soul core were also bing greater.

    The mutual collision between the two soul cores caused Huo Yuhao to tremble uncontrobly.

    Once again, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress showcased their abilities. In fact, they had been going about their tasks in an extremely stable manner.

    Under the effects of the Dragon Pill, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had be a lot stronger. He was at the very least able to persevere till now.

    Even though the Star Anise was not making any moves, Little Bai had been supporting Huo Yuhao by using his power to fortify his passageways and internal organs.

    Li Ya had taken a break after Elder Mu¡¯s spiritual power had fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Now, she was getting ready to lend a hand when necessary.

    Right now, the Yin Yang Complement technique was at a stage where it was already toote to back out. Huo Yuhao was clear that if he were to fail now, he would not only be sustaining injuries. This was because the Ultimate Ice ball of energy at his chest area had already be considerably strong. It had already absorbed close to thirty percent of his soul power.

    Even though this amount of soul power was still insufficient to form a soul core, thepressed extreme energy was still able to blow his dragon blood enhanced body to pieces if it were to explode.

    He stabilized his focus and continued his current state. After all the tribtions he had gone through, Huo Yuhao was able to keep himself calm and focused during times like this.

    If he were to still fail even with the help of his six Spirits and Elder Mu, there was little chance that he could seed in the future.

    Hence, he had to persevere and push on no matter what. He only had one shot at this.

    Right now, his spiritual soul core was rotating in a furious manner. It was apparent that the spiritual power that Elder Mu had injected into his head was only able to temporarily dy it. At the same time, it had nourished the spiritual soul core and made it a lot stronger. The energy that the spiritual soul core was radiating now was bing a lot stronger. It was attacking Huo Yuhao¡¯s determination like waves hitting the shore.

    The spiritual power that was released by the spiritual soul core under Huo Yuhao¡¯s control would immediately be torn up by the Ultimate Ice soul core whenever it got close to it. The spiritual soul core would then have no choice but to gather the torn bits and reabsorb them. Hence, the spiritual soul core was bing increasingly enraged. How could it sit and wait as someone attempted to snatch its territory?

    The temperature in theboratory started to dip as the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass crept out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body silently. Its icy blue leaves radiated a gentle glow, which seemed to be dissipating its energy.

    Star Anise Icy Coagtion!

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was rapidly absorbing the Ultimate Ice aura in the air before it transferred it back into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The energy was then passed over to the Snow Empress for her to replenish her expended energy.

    Huo Yuhao was unable to sense all of this because all of his attention had already been invested in his spiritual soul core.

    After an unknown amount of time had passed, the intense pain which came from the spiritual soul core¡¯s mindless ravaging pushed Huo Yuhao to his limits once again. His body¡ªwhich had been nourished and enhanced by the Dragon Pill¡ªwas showing signs of tearing up again.

    Even though Li Ya had already jumped in to help him, she was no longer able to restrain the spiritual soul core, which was practically going insane by now. She could only help to slightly stabilize the energy within it.

    Suddenly, an icy blue current moved upwards.

    The Snow Empress¡¯ ice crystal had finally moved once again. It was heading upwards again. The Snow Empress¡¯ spiritual aura was as cold and tough as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Sigh of the Snow Goddess. It instantly pierced Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core without any difficulty. It was as if the soul core had a bucket of ice water poured on it, and it paused momentarily.

    Following which, the ice crystal which was formed by the Snow Empress suddenly exploded to form streaks of energy which gushed towards the rapidly rotating ball of Ultimate Ice soul power.

    Snow Empress!

    Even though Huo Yuhao was in an unbelievable amount of pain, he could still sense what the Snow Empress had done for him.

    Although he did not know what kind of harm the Snow Empress had inflicted upon herself, he was still able to sense her determination to help him at all costs.

    Snow Empress!

    ¡°Hummmm!¡± The ball of Ultimate Ice energy which was at his chest started to vibrate with an unprecedented intensity before huge amounts of energy spurted out of it like a geyser.

    Huo Yuhao felt his chest contract rapidly as the spiritual power which was swarming towards his chest disintegrated instantly. The pain he had been withstanding also disappeared temporarily.

    The Ultimate Ice energy that was released from the ice crystal¡¯s explosion was very pure. It was like ice belts, whichtched themselves onto the ball of Ultimate Ice energy.

    Instead of slowing down, the ball of Ultimate Ice energy was somehow able to rotate faster after the ice belts attached themselves to it. During its rapid rotation, the ball of Ultimate Ice energy was constantly emitting a loud humming sound. The Ultimate Ice energy within the ball was being heavilypressed at an insane speed as a powerful sensation was released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest to his surroundings.

    The ball of Ultimate Ice energy was actually able to expand itself to ten times its original size in a couple of seconds. Just when it was about to take up Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire chest cavity, it suddenly contracted to its original size, as though it waspressed by a mysterious force.

    The color of the soul core had also changed along with the series of strange transformations. It had be dark blue. One could also notice a patch of darkness surrounding the crystal clear dark blue ball of energy.

    Soul core? Is this how it¡¯s supposed to look like? At the very least, it looks like a soul core that has begun to take shape.

    Huo Yuhao was startled by the sight before him. Based on his estimations, he should have required thrice as much as time as it had taken, and an enormous amount of Ultimate Ice energy, to reach the current state of his soul core! However, the Snow Empress¡¯ sudden intervention seemed to have allowed the soul core to directly take shape. The rapid transformation was no longer just awe-inspiring¡ªit was simply miraculous!

    Snow Empress, what exactly did you do?

    The spiritual soul coreunched an attack once again after being temporarily stunned by the Snow Empress¡¯ spiritual shock. This time around, Huo Yuhao was not able topletely block the unparalleled spiritual power that was going straight for the Ultimate Ice soul core, which had just taken shape in Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest. The intense spiritual power fluctuations seemed to illustrate the murderous intent that his spiritual soul core had towards his Ultimate Ice soul core.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not sense any pain at this instant. Instead, he felt a mysterious cooling sensation in his chest.

    Just when the crazy spiritual power was about to collide with the Ultimate Ice soul core, a powerful intent infused with Ultimate Ice energy suddenly surged out and froze the spiritual power instantly.

    Yes, it had just frozen the spiritual power.

    Spiritual power can actually be frozen?Huo Yuhao was utterly shocked by what he had just witnessed.

 Chapter 561.3 - Frantically Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 561.3: Frantically Cultivating</h4>

    Streaks of Ultimate Ice energy ascended like sashes as they streamed towards the spiritual soul core. It seemed like they were nning to retaliate against the spiritual soul core.

    What Huo Yuhao could not see was how the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass was already trembling intensely as it tried to release its Star Anise Icy Coagtion with the maximum possible power. Its every single leaf had be transparent as it tried to devour every single bit of ice-type elemental energy within the room. During this process, strong gusts of icy wind started to blow within the room.

    Little Bai¡¯s protection over Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had also suddenly stopped. Countless tiny balls of white energy were surging towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul core and fusing with it under its control.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone was also releasing jade green fluid towards the Ultimate Ice soul core under the Ice Empress¡¯ control.

    ¡°In my name, Spirit of the Icesky Snow Lady, Fuse!¡±

    ¡°Booommm!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body started to tremble. He felt as if his chest and entire body had exploded at this instant, rendering him incapable of thinking. His entire intent and consciousness seemed to be ravaged by a mysterious force. Along with his spiritual soul core, his mind wentpletely nk.

    ¡­¡­

    In the ughtering Grounds within the Core Region of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The Lake of Life was so still that it resembled a gigantic emerald gem. It was surrounded by nts that were full of vitality. One could sense the life energy that the Lake of Life was emitting by simply breathing the air around it.

    Unfortunately, this was forbidden ground for all living things which possessed power.

    ¡°Boooomm¡± An intense explosion interrupted mother nature¡¯s peace and serenity. A ck figure rose from the center of the Lake of Life, sending water sshing everywhere.

    Theke water was immediately transformed into mist, which encircled the ck figure before being absorbed by him. Following which, the ck figure continued to float in mid-air.

    His long hair drooped down by the sides of his face, while his pitch ck pupils radiated a golden glow. However, the depths of his pupils revealed how he was currently shocked beyond belief.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t I sense his existence anymore?¡± The handsome man muttered to himself.

    As the world¡¯s strongest individual and the champion amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, Di Tian had always been extremely confident in his abilities.

    No matter how strong humans were able to be, no one could ever move him from his title as the world¡¯s strongest individual.

    Di Tian floated towards the side of theke as he began to think about the different possibilities.

    He moved his right hand in the air in a mysterious parabolic manner as a ck rune instantly appeared in mid-air.

    A ck fog permeated the air as the golden glow in Di Tian¡¯s eyes flickered. However, a worried expression suddenly formed on his face in the next instant.

    Yes, I can¡¯t seem to sense him anymore. I wonder why¡­

    Something extremely important must have happened in order to rouse him from his sleep. And this matter must concern the future of the entire Great Star Dou Forest.

    His aura has disappeared.

    He was clearly able to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura just a while ago. However, Huo Yuhao¡ªwho possessed his reverse scale¡ªhad seemed to suddenly vanish without a trace.

    In his eyes, the only possible exnation for this was death!

    However, he knew that his reverse scale was not only able to monitor Huo Yuhao, but also protect him at the same time. The moment he was in any danger, his reverse scale would immediately inform him. And as the Beast God, he would definitely be able to rescue Huo Yuhao at that instant.

    Even though Di Tian admired Huo Yuhao for creating the Spirit Pagoda and temporarily alleviating the conflict between humans and soul beasts, Huo Yuhao was ultimately a human who had the potential to be used in his eyes.

    He could not afford to allow him to die, because Huo Yuhao¡¯s body contained the power of destiny, which had belonged to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. As long as he was alive, the power of destiny would continue to keep watch over the Great Star Dou Forest. Even though it would not be as strong as when the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still around, it was still of great use.

    At the same time, he could not allow Huo Yuhao to be too strong. He was a human who was incredibly gifted. If he were to be a God one day, the Great Star Dou Forest would also lose the protection of the power of destiny.

    Hence, Di Tian had been keeping a close eye on Huo Yuhao¡¯s transformations and growth. Once Huo Yuhao was capable of attracting the attention of the God Realm, he would seal off his power without any hesitation to stop him frommunicating with the God Realm. He would not even care about what Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinions were.

    There is a limit to how strong a human can be. I am already at the limits of mortality in this world. This is no way a human can defeat me.

    However, it was under these circumstances that Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura had suddenly vanished. Di Tian had no answer to this phenomenon.

    Di Tian was extremely confident in his reverse scale. After all, it was not just any normal scale. It could essentially act as a clone. With the help of his reverse scale, he could urately pinpoint where Huo Yuhao was, and use his mastery of spatialws to transport portions of his energy to that location.

    However, he was not only unable to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s presence, but also the aura of his own reverse scale. How could he not be surprised?

    If he were unable to sense the existence of his own reverse scale, he would naturally be unable to transfer his powers and check on Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation.

    Something is wrong. There must be a problem somewhere.Di Tian squinted. He must not allow the power of destiny to escape from his grasp.

    There must be something going on at Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. He must have used some ability to temporarily cut off the connection betweenme and my reverse scale. This ability must be the reason why I can¡¯t sense him. There must be a reason why he¡¯s trying to cut off this connection.

    I must find out what¡¯s going on. There¡¯s no way I can let this continue without knowing what¡¯s happening. Hisst known location was Shrek City.

    Worstes to worst, I will break his arms and legs and keep him with me in the Great Star Dou Forest forever. I will then figure out a way to extend his life. Even though the power of destiny might experience some problems, that¡¯s still better than losing it entirely.

    As Di Tian took a step forward, he suddenly vanished into thin air. When he reappeared again, he was already a thousand meters in the air. His figure flickered once again as the sky tore open to reveal a gaping hole. He stepped into the hole before the hole sealed up. Once again, the powerful Beast God had disappeared.

    Shrek City was already very close to the Great Star Dou Forest after its expansion.

    After a minute had passed, Di Tian¡¯s ck figure reappeared in mid-air as he triggered Shrek City¡¯s deafening rm system.

    The soul tools from Tang Sect and the Shrek Academy¡¯s Soul Tool Hall had been developing rapidly. They now possessed aerial surveince soul tools both on the ground and in the air. However,pared to the Sun Moon Empire, they were stillcking quite a bit in both the quantity and quality of their soul tools.

    The surveince soul tools within Shrek City were immediately able to pick up the presence of an individual in the sky. Multiple soul tools from the ground and the city walls instantly locked their weapons onto the ck colored figure

    Seeing how there was only one intruder, ten soul engineers from the city defense army leapt into the sky as they tried to chase the ck figure down.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± A cold grunt echoed in the air as the entire sky appeared to tremble at that instant. The ten figures which had just started to ascend into the sky immediately felt a frightening force pressing onto them from the sky. They were actually forced back to the ground by this mysterious force. Because they were falling from a rtively high altitude, quite a few of them were injured by the fall.

    ¡°Get Huo Yuhao toe out. I have a few questions for him.¡± Di Tian put his hands behind his back as he floated in mid-air. He did not seem to show any care or concern for Shrek City¡¯s defense system.

    The sound of the rm system suddenly changed from its previous piercing sound into a rapid wailing sound. This was a sign that a powerful enemy had intruded into the Academy¡¯spound.

    A couple of figures ascended into the sky from above Shrek Academy. The one who was leading them was none other than Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department within Shrek Academy!

    Yan Shaozhe was apanied by Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo, Cai Mei¡¯er, and Zhang Lexuan.

    When they saw the Beast God floating in mid-air, a worried look appeared on all their faces.

    This was not an entity they could afford to offend! Previously, Elder Xuan and Elder Mu were only able to seal him for a short period of time after linking their powers. He only left after being persuaded by Huo Yuhao. If not, Shrek City could have been in serious danger back then.

    ¡°Beast God, it has been a while since west met. How have you been doing? May I know why you have visited Shrek Academy?¡± Yan Shaozhe used his hands to make a splitting motion as white intense mes appeared before transforming into two gigantic wings, which tore apart the pressure that was pervading the air. Following which, he brought the group of people with him up into the air until they reached the same altitude as Di Tian.

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as he eximed, ¡°Yan Shaozhe, you have improved very quickly!¡±

    The current Dean of the Martial Soul Department¡¯s cultivation was already close to Elder Xuan¡¯s before he had be an Ultimate Douluo. Even though he had not officially reached Rank 98, he was on the brink of doing so.

    Di Tian had not expected a Transcendent Douluo to improve his cultivation so rapidly.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s own martial soul was a top-tier martial soul. Coupled with the assistance of the Qiankun Fortune Pills, Yan Shaozhe was able to improve his cultivation very rapidly. In a few months¡¯ time, he would be able to reach Rank 98. As for whether he could eventually reach Rank 99, it would depend on his luck and his ability to understand and draw insights from the universe.

    Even so, his current ability had already surpassed Elder Song. He had be the number one soul master within Shrek Academy other than Elder Xuan. Even though Elder Xuan had already cultivated at Rank 98 for an extended period of time, he was ultimately an agility-type soul master. There would still be a gap between him and Yan Shaozhe when it came to the power of their martial souls.

    ¡°I am embarrassed by yourvish praises, Beast God. Compared to you, I am really nothing. There must be a reason for you to grace our Academy in such a domineering manner. Unless you are here to help us defend against our enemies?¡± As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe pointed outside of the city.

    Di Tian was actually stumped by his proposition. He could not help but turn his head to take a look at what was happening outside the city. Even though the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was more than fifty kilometers away, Di Tian was naturally able to see them clearly with the eyesight that he had. His pupils rapidly contracted as he sensed danger from among the troops. This meant that someone in the camp possessed a power which could threaten him.

    ¡°I am not here to help you. All of you will have to resolve your human problems by yourselves. I am here to look for Huo Yuhao. Let him out. I have questions for him¡± Di Tian answered coldly. He would not be duped that easily. In fact, he did not have a favorable impression of any human.

 Chapter 562.1 - The Power of the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 562.1: The Power of the Beast God</h4>

    Yan Shaozhe seemed a little stunned. ¡°Yuhao? He¡¯s back? I didn¡¯t know that! He left the academy not too long ago to go to the Sun Moon Empire for a mission, and I haven¡¯t seen him since.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er was standing behind him, and she rolled her eyes.This guy can just spout bullshit so naturally. To think that he¡¯s already at Rank 97.

    ¡°Bullshit. I clearly felt his aura inside Shrek City,¡± Di Tian¡¯s eyes flickered coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t try to smoke me, Yan Shaozhe. You have sixty seconds to hand him over. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not being polite.¡±

    ¡°And how are you going to be impolite, Beast God?¡± An elderly voice rang out as a beam of yellow light surged into the sky. This formidable aura crushed the pressure that the Di Tian hadid out in the sky. This yellow beam of light arrived in front of Di Tian in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Di Tian stared at Elder Xuan, who had just appeared in front of him, and he was astonished yet again. He was already surprised at how Yan Shaozhe had improved, but he wasn¡¯t concerned about someone who was only at Rank 97. But Elder Xuan was different, and he could clearly feel Elder Xuan¡¯s second soul core.

    That wasn¡¯t something that just any living being could have. It was a true second soul core, one that reflected an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s strength!

    There were many transcendent soul beasts who had several hundred thousand years of cultivation, who had the strength to rival a human Ultimate Douluo, and their total soul power volume could definitely match up. But their chances of victory in an actual battle against an Ultimate Douluo wereparatively low, and the reason was because an Ultimate Douluo possessed a second soul core. It was incredibly hard for soul beasts to form their second soul core, since they could only achieve that through the Yin Yang Complement method.

    The only two among the Ten Great Savage Beasts who had trulypleted their second soul cores were the Beast God and the Evileye Tyrant King. That was the reason why the Evileye Tyrant King had dared to challenge him back then.

    Of course, savage beasts would be incredibly powerful after forming their second soul core. Di Tian even believed that all the Ultimate Douluo in the world would be no match for him, even if they gathered together.

    However, Di Tian deeply understood how formidable Ultimate Douluos were, even though he had such an opinion. He was strong enough to defeat an Ultimate Douluo, but he would also have to pay a price if he wanted to kill that Ultimate Douluo. Therefore, he was greatly surprised when he felt that Elder Xuan had be an Ultimate Douluo. He was clear that Elder Xuan had been stuck at Rank 98 for many years, and with a human¡¯s natural physique, it was almost impossible for him to continue moving forward. And yet, he had done it.

    Di Tian muttered coldly, ¡°Xuan Zi, do you really think that you can fight me just because you¡¯ve be an Ultimate Douluo?¡±

    Elder Xuan stared back coldly. ¡°There is only one way to find out. Shrek and the Great Star Dou Forest have been at peace over the past few years, and we have tried to promote the Spirit Pagoda as much as possible. We have greatly reduced the hunting and killing of soul beasts inside your Great Star Dou Forest throughout the process. I don¡¯t know what it is that you want today, but do you really think that you can get away with provoking Shrek like this? Di Tian, if you don¡¯t give me an exnation today, we will not let you go in peace.¡±

    Elder Xuan dominated reason, and the first thing he did when he arrived was to seize the initiative.

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes flickered faintly. The truth was that the Great Star Dou Forest and Shrek were actually in a honeymoon period over the past few years. Both sides cooperated well, and there were much fewer deaths inside the Great Star Dou Forest. That was especially so after Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and the others swore inside that Spirit Pagoda that they would never hurt another soul beast. That made Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, extremely touched. That also pulled their rtionship even closer.

    This time, he hade forward brashly to ask for Huo Yuhao because the changes he had felt in his body were quite uncalled for and unreasonable. Di Tian didn¡¯t really know what to say after Elder Xuan chided him fiercely.

    Peace between both parties was very beneficial. Di Tian wanted to pluck Huo Yuhao from Shrek City, but doing so would undoubtedly affect the peaceful outlook that they had established over the past few years.

    But how could he let this go if he didn¡¯t find Huo Yuhao? He desperately wanted to know what had happened to Huo Yuhao, and the reason why he couldn¡¯t even feel his reverse scale¡¯s aura.

    ¡°Xuan Zi, the reason why I¡¯m here today is because there are some things I wish to ask Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m not trying to provoke or antagonize Shrek. Call him out, and I¡¯ll leave after asking him a few questions.¡± Di Tian was formidable, but he had his scruples and concerns. Hisrgest one was his kin inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and his tone softened a little.

    Elder Xuan heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Beast God, Yuhao is heavily injured because he had to fight a formidable enemy. He¡¯s barely breathing at the moment because he has suffered some kind of powerful attack. If you are really concerned about him, then you should help us fight against this formidable enemy.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been hurt by a formidable enemy?¡± Di Tian did believe part of what Elder Xuan had said. Certain incredibly powerful attacks such as the one he had witnessed from the Death God Douluo¡¯s Death God Pagoda could possibly temporarily disable his reverse scale. If that was what had happened, then everything could be exined.

    Di Tian would never help humans resolve their own battles. However, the Great Star Dou Forest could be considered in some sense to be Shrek Academy¡¯s ally. The Great Star Dou Forest pretending they didn¡¯t know and not showing up was one thing, but Di Tian couldn¡¯t really say no if he was told in public.

    Di Tian hesitated before he said, ¡°Shrek has ten thousand years of foundations. How can Shrek have any problems dealing with such small and weak enemies? We¡¯ll talk about all that afterwards; let me take a look at him first. I will find a way to treat him if his injuries are overly severe. You have to understand that I, too, do not wish him dead. He possesses the Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s power of destiny after all. Take me to him.¡±

    Elder Xuan cussed in his mind.It¡¯s hard to trick him after all because of his experience. Di Tian is such a tough nut to crack.How could he take Di Tian to see Huo Yuhao?

    Elder Xuan naturally understood that the Beast God¡¯s sudden appearance had something to do with Huo Yuhao breaking through and creating his second soul core. Even though he didn¡¯t know how the Beast God could sense that, this was the only viable exnation. Di Tian¡¯s arrival at this time also proved one thing, and that was the fact that Huo Yuhao was just about to seed. Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t let Di Tian disturb Huo Yuhao at such an important time, no matter what.

    Elder Xuan heaved a faint sigh, and he shook his head exasperatedly yet resolutely. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that, Beast God. We have already treated Yuhao¡¯s injuries, and he¡¯s resting at the moment. Our doctors have specifically instructed that nobody is to disturb him. Why don¡¯t we do it this way: you can stay in the academy for now, and I¡¯ll take you to him once he¡¯s a little better.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± The Beast God¡¯s eyes flickered, as he could tell that something wasn¡¯t right. He grunted coldly and said, ¡°You¡¯re trying to buy time, Xuan Zi. Get him out here or take me to him. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not being polite. I have been alive for several hundred thousand years, and I have seen too much of humanity¡¯s trickery. You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can lie to me.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression changed as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Beast God, are you trying to vite our pact and antagonize us humans?¡±

    The Beast God¡¯s face turned ck. He did just want to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation, and he didn¡¯t want to affect what both parties shared through the Spirit Pagoda. That arrangement was beneficial for the entire Great Star Dou Forest, after all.

    The Beast God hesitated for a moment before he made up his mind. The power of destiny was more important, because that was an important guarantee for his breakthrough during his next bottleneck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself, Xuan Zi. My patience has its limits.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s heart sank as he stared at the Beast God¡¯s ice-cold eyes. He knew that he no longer had any wiggle room.

    ¡°Alright, since you have no sympathy for our situation, thene. You have to defeat me if you wish to disturb Yuhao¡¯s recovery.¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s eyes sparkled. He wasn¡¯t angry, but his majesty was evident as his flowing ck hair drifted in the wind. ¡°Are you challenging me?¡±

    Elder Xuanughed and answered, ¡°I haven¡¯t found a suitable enemy to test my abilities after bing an Ultimate Douluo. Since the Beast God is here today, then I have a perfect opportunity to test how far I am from the Continent¡¯s most powerful individual.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I won¡¯t go overboard. I will leave if you can hold off my onught for one hour. On the other hand, if you can¡¯t, I will not hurt anybody residing in Shrek City, and you¡¯ll take me to see Huo Yuhao. We won¡¯t affect our cooperation.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that after our fight.¡± He surged higher into the sky as he spoke.

    Di Tian didn¡¯t move at all. ck shadows shed as he reached an even higher altitude, and waited quietly.

    Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin¡¯er and the others didn¡¯t follow them. Instead, they retreated further away. They weren¡¯t powerful enough to affect a battle at an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s level, but watching and gaining revtions from this battle would be beneficial for their future advancement.

    The two silhouettes continued climbing through the air before they stopped at about five thousand meters from the ground.

    Soul rings emerged from Elder Xuan¡¯s body one after another, and his heavy and solemn aura immediately tainted the entire sky yellow.

    Di Tian hovered proudly in midair and quietly observed Elder Xuan¡¯s soul power undtions. A contemptuous expression appeared from the corner of his mouth as he said, ¡°Xuan Zi, you still only possess a human¡¯s Resonance soul core. Even though I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ve managed this, you should understand that you don¡¯t have much of a chance against me.¡±

    Elder Xuan grunted coldly and said, ¡°How would I know if I don¡¯t try? Do give me some pointers, Beast God.¡± Elder Xuan raised his right hand as he spoke and pushed it towards Di Tian.

    The heavens trembled vigorously, and intense yellow light condensed into an enormous Godly Taotie Bull more than a thousand meters tall behind Elder Xuan¡¯s back. The bull flickered continuously, and it was extremely magnificent.

 Chapter 562.2 - The Power of the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 562.2: The Power of the Beast God</h4>

    At their level, any simple movement was an extremely powerful attack. They simplified everything, and soul skills weren¡¯t that important anymore.

    Di Tian was still standing there, motionless. A ck beam of light sted from his chest, and Elder Xuan felt the air in front of him begin to twist and contort vigorously as he pushed out with his palm. A terrifying suction force appeared in the next moment andpletely absorbed his palm¡¯s force.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Elder Xuan was startled. ¡°Spatial power?¡±

    Di Tian said inly, ¡°I have been at this level for several hundred thousand years longer than you have. You are still a far cry from me in terms of your understanding in this respect. Even though soul beasts cannot be Gods because we are limited by the God Realm, no human in the Douluo Continent could ever be my match.¡±

    Elder Xuan grunted coldly as he ced his palms in a circle in front of his chest. The Godly Taotie Bull behind his back roared fearsomely as a dense and material sphere of dirty yellow light appeared between his palms.

    This sphere appeared very peculiar. Its insides seemed material, but there were separate pieces floating on its surface. Every piece radiated with strange light, and some even seemed like there was water flowing between them.

    ¡°Eh?¡± It was Di Tian¡¯s turn to be surprised. ¡°You¡¯re recreating the Continent?¡±

    ¡°Take this,¡± Elder Xuan said inly, ¡°Heaven and Earth Resonance.¡± He pushed his hands forward slowly, and his movement was very gradual as the yellow sphere slowly rose and flew towards Di Tian at an incredibly slow speed.

    But right at this moment, a mystical event urred. The ground beneath them, including Shrek City, the vast ins outside the city, and even the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp, began to radiate starry yellow light as they flew into the sky. The great earth and everything that the naked eye could see seemed to awaken in that moment, and those dots of yellow light emanated dense earth-type energy as they surged hysterically towards the sky.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was already aware when those two formidable individuals rose high into the sky.

    Ju Zi arrived outside as her ss 9 soul engineers escorted her. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s powerful individuals also appeared outside with her.

    When the enormous Godly Taotie Bull that was a thousand meters long appeared behind Elder Xuan, the first person to react in shock was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s supreme leader, Zhongli Wu.

    ¡°Ultimate Douluo? Xuan Zi of Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion has be an Ultimate Douluo?¡± Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes were full of shock and incredulity.

    Evil soul masters did have an advantage over normal soul masters, but that advantage would cease to exist at a Transcendent Douluo¡¯s level. Zhongli Wu was more than aware of what an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s appearance meant for them. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s two Ultimate Douluo were not with them.

    Typical soul tools couldn¡¯t hurt Ultimate Douluo. Zhongli Wu felt for the first time that Ju Zi¡¯s refusal to attack seemed reasonable, because Shrek Academy¡¯s foundations were truly thick and solid. It hadn¡¯t been long since Elder Mu¡¯s death, and yet another Ultimate Douluo had already appeared.

    But who was his opponent?

    Di Tian was just a ck shadow, and he didn¡¯t show his aura. Everyone from the Sun Moon Empire was specting who could oppose an Ultimate Douluo. Who could that be?

    Ju Zi frowned, as she didn¡¯t know what was happening either. An Ultimate Douluo had appeared in Shrek Academy, and that was big news. Furthermore, he had an opponent, and it appeared like both parties were about to fight it out. That was strange. If both Ultimate Douluo belonged to Shrek Academy, then her n would probably run into trouble. Ultimate Douluo were symbols of eternity and invincibility, so Ju Zi¡¯s camp would probably be in trouble if an Ultimate Douluo was bent on causing destruction.

    Right at this moment, as those tiny,pact yellow spots began rising from the earth, Zhongli Wu¡¯s expression changed drastically as he looked on. Zhongli Wu was a Transcendent Douluo, and he understood what this meant.

    ¡°Xuan Zi hasn¡¯t just be an Ultimate Douluo. He has also grasped his martial soul¡¯s true power. This is a cosmic phenomenon that happens when a soul master feeds his martial soul back to heaven and earth. He¡¯s using such a formidable attack from the get-go. Who exactly is his opponent?¡±

    The sky suddenly darkened at this moment. Elder Xuan¡¯s yellow radiance had lit up the sky, but now the horizon was starting to turn dark and gloomy. A bright dragon roar could be heard as an enormous dragon head appeared from behind the ck shadow.

    Thisrge dragon head was also more than a thousand meters tall like Elder Xuan¡¯s Godly Taotie Bull, but the dragon head was much more material and condensed, like an actual dragon had descended upon the world. But even a real dragon wouldn¡¯t have such a massive size!

    Shadows flickered as the dragon descended upon the world, and terrifying auras rippled outward. Purplish-ck rays of light dripped from the sky like raindrops, and these rays naturally broke apart after falling to a certain height into circles of dark purple light. They blocked the yellow light dots which were rising from the ground, and didn¡¯t allow a single dot to rise into the sky.

    That was¡­

    ¡°Can Dragon Uncle be here? This is the ck Dragon. Can it be Uncle¡¯s Darkness Holy Dragon? But¡­¡± Zhongli Wu was both surprised and confused, but he quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t right, because he could see a pair of golden eyes.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not Dragon Uncle. That, that is¡­ that¡¯s the Beast God, Di Tian, the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King, the most powerful individual in the world, the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s dictator. It¡¯s the Beast God, Di Tian!¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire fell silent when that was spoken.

    Even though they knew that the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts would never get involved in a war between humans, the Beast God¡¯s reputation was just too famous. He was already known as the most powerful individual in the world today.

    Back at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, the Death God Douluo didn¡¯t have any advantage at all against Huo Yuhao when he drew upon the Beast God¡¯s strength through his reverse scale. It wasn¡¯t hard to see exactly how formidable the Beast God was.

    But in this moment, that ck shadow in the sky was evidently not a projection of the Beast God; the Beast God was actually here. It was no wonder that Elder Xuan, who was an Ultimate Douluo, would give his full strength from the very beginning, and he had to use his strongest abilities to fight him. Who would dare to hold back against the Beast God?

    Terrifying auras resonated through the heavens, and the Sun Moon Empire could feel shivers running down their spines.

    There was a hysterical voice shouting in Zhongli Wu¡¯s heart. The Beast God was acting out against Shrek City, so what did that mean? That meant their opportunity had arrived! If the Beast God could break the city, then their n of not staging an offensive was no longer important. Shrek City would undoubtedly crumble when that happened, and nobody could resist that temptation under such circumstances.

    However, no matter how intense that voice was in his head, Zhongli Wu couldn¡¯t say a single word as he stood there, because the overbearing pressure from the sky was filling him with fear.

    This was pressure from the most powerful individual in the world, pressure from the Beast God!

    Powerful individuals were powerful individuals after all. When the Sun Moon Empire heard that the ck shadow in the sky was the Beast God, Di Tian, their first reaction was to retreat subconsciously instead of taking this opportunity to attack Shrek City.

    Ju Zi¡¯s clear and cold voice rang out in this moment. ¡°Pass my order: all soul tool fronts, prepare. Charge all long-range linked offensive soul tools and prepare to fire.¡±

    Her voice was soft, but she announced her orders through a loudspeaker so that every soul engineer around could hear her.

    Those soul engineers who were startled and frightened seemed to quiver before they came to. Even Zhongli Wu felt a little shameful, because not even he could match up to a little girl at a time like this.

    But he quickly exined this away to himself, because the unknowing wasn¡¯t guilty. She definitely didn¡¯t know how powerful the Beast God was.

    The heavens and the earth transformed into a beautiful and spectacr sight. Purplish-ck and yellow colors that were filled with dots of energy intertwined and fought against each other, while Elder Xuan¡¯s sphere came closer and closer to Di Tian.

    Di Tian stared at Elder Xuan coldly. ¡°Do you really wish to fight to the death, Xuan Zi? You should know that Shrek Academy can¡¯t possibly defend themselves against those enemy forces outside without you.¡±

    Di Tian wouldn¡¯t participate in a war between humans, but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t know what was happening.

    Elder Xuan said inly, ¡°I¡¯m not the one who wishes to fight to myst breath. You are provoking us, and I am Shrek Academy¡¯s guardian. How can I sit by and watch? You don¡¯t have to be rejoicing at our predicament. How is Shrek Academy¡¯s destruction any good for the Great Star Dou Forest? The Sun Moon Empire is very powerful. Let me ask you, if the Sun Moon Empire truly conquers the entire Continent some day, will they ignore and overlook the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s soul beasts? When that happens, the great forest will simply be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s backyard. They will take whatever soul rings they wish. When that happens, not even you will be able to do anything about it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some balls!¡± Di Tian eximed furiously as he punched out with his fist.

    The Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡¯s shadow roared fearsomely as he punched out.

    Elder Xuan didn¡¯t show any weakness at all. His eyes turned crystal yellow, and the Godly Taotie Bull behind his back charged forward and shed with the ck Dragon King.

    Elder Xuan had triggered the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s Taotie bloodline with Elder Mu¡¯s help when hest battled the Beast God. He managed to swallow Di Tian with his Taotie, so that he couldn¡¯t participate in the beast wave, and that bought Shrek Academy sufficient time. But now, Elder Xuan had be an Ultimate Douluo. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t use his own strength to trigger his Taotie¡¯s true power.

    The collision between them and their enormous martial souls happened at almost the same time.

 Chapter 562.3 - The Power of the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 562.3: The Power of the Beast God</h4>

    The sky suddenly darkened before light exploded through the air. Frightening soul power undtions rippled high in the sky as all the clouds and mist within several hundred square kilometers in the sky dissipated. However, not a single ray of sunlight peeked through the sky; all that could be seen were yellow and purplish-ck colors resisting each other.

    That terrifying yet magnificent aura shocked everyone watching.

    Shrek City and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army were all watching this earth-shaking sight, but there were very few who truly understood what all that meant. However, everyone was aware that this battle was very important for Shrek Academy.

    Zhongli Wu arrived quietly next to Ju Zi and whispered, ¡°When do we attack,mander?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head gently and said, ¡°Now is not the time. We¡¯ll wait until the battle is decided. We have to wait and see. Imperial Tutor, I wish to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ask.¡± Zhongli Wu turned towards Ju Zi confusedly. The War God Empress would seldom ask questions humbly, from what he remembered.

    Ju Zi lowered her voice and said, ¡°From your perspective, howrge a threat do you think the Beast God is to us?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a veryrge threat.¡± Zhongli Wu replied almost without hesitation. ¡°The Beast God is known as the most powerful in the individual in the world. The Great Star Dou Forest has a cornerstone with him around, and no matter who wishes to hunt soul beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest, they will have to be very careful. That includes my mother.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled faintly and said, ¡°Unfortunately, you already have your ninth soul ring. Otherwise, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to hunt and kill him. If somebody can obtain the Beast God as his soul ring, perhaps that person will take over as the strongest in the world.¡±

    Zhongli Wu had never expected Ju Zi to say something like this, and he was momentarily taken aback.Taking the Beast God as my soul ring?Not even he had considered something like this. In other words, unless soul masters were insane, nobody would ever consider that possibility.

    But that was the Beast God, Di Tian!

    Human desire was endless, and humans were greedy. Zhongli Wu hadn¡¯t thought about that before Ju Zi brought it up. But when she spoke of that possibility, his heart immediately burned with passion.

    ¡°A soul ring won¡¯t be possible. But if I turn part of the Beast God¡¯s spirit and part of his original body into a puppet¡­¡± Avarice and greed chewed at Zhongli Wu¡¯s heart like a million little maggots.

    ¡°Commander, I don¡¯t need Di Tian as a soul ring. I would rather give it to the Emperor if that¡¯s possible. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s secret methods, inbination with our soul engineers¡¯ most advanced soul tools, can likely preserve the Beast God¡¯s soul ring for a long time. The Emperor has already be a Titled Douluo, but the crown prince hasn¡¯t! Furthermore, the Beast God won¡¯t just produce a soul ring. He will definitely produce a soul bone. If we leave his soul ring and his soul bone for the crown prince, the crown prince shall be the most powerful individual in the world in the future.¡±

    Ju Zi felt a tingle in her heart as she listened to his words. But she quickly recovered as sheughed coldly inside. She was trying to bait him, but he turned her words around and tried to bait her instead.The Beast God¡¯s soul ring? Hmph, his soul ring may not even be suitable for my son.

    Only Ju Zi was clear that her son couldn¡¯t possibly have a dragon-type martial soul like Xu Tianran did. Furthermore, Di Tian¡¯s element was darkness, while his soul ring would undoubtedly be incredibly powerful. There was a very low chance that his soul ring would be suitable for her son.

    However, her face revealed eagerness and passion even as those thoughts ran through her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not ideal, Imperial Tutor. The most valuable parts of the Beast God are his soul ring and his soul bone. How can we give them to the royal family? If we wish to kill the Beast God, we need your support, Imperial Tutor!¡±

    Zhongli Wu smiled faintly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be polite,mander. We¡¯ll just take what we both need. I just want the Beast God¡¯s corpse, and the royal family has no use for it anyway. His corpse will be much more useful if you are to give it to us.¡±

    Ju Zi answered without hesitation, ¡°If we can really kill the Beast God, we will have aplished a great feat, and we will all benefit. We¡¯ll do everything ording to your will, Imperial Tutor.¡±

    Zhongli Wu clenched his fists subconsciously. He knew very well what would happen if he could obtain the Beast God¡¯s corpse. He only had to preserve part of the Beast God¡¯s spirit, and he could craft a puppet out of the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King. He would be the most powerful individual in the world with the Beast God¡¯s physical strength! He could even rely on this puppet to directly break through to be an Ultimate Douluo.

    But Zhongli Wu was also very shrewd and calctive. He was extremely excited in his heart, but his expression didn¡¯t reveal anything as he said, ¡°We cannot be hasty if we wish to fight the Beast God. We have to wait for the best opportunity to strike, and hope that Elder Xuan can severely injure him. The best oue is if Elder Xuan himself dies at the Beast God¡¯s hands. We can kill two birds with one stone if that happens. Don¡¯t worry,mander. The Holy Ghost Church will not hold back when the timees.¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°Alright, I willmand all the soul tool fronts¡¯ offensive soul tools to cooperate with you. Let¡¯s just keep waiting.¡±

    Zhongli Wu contemted momentarily before he said, ¡°This matter is extremely important, Commander. Let me go and make some preparations.¡±

    ¡°Alright, do as you wish, Imperial Tutor.¡± Ju Zi hurriedly replied.

    Zhongli Wu left, and he took the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters with him as they swiftly turned to leave.

    A faint smile appeared on Ju Zi¡¯s face as he watched their backs, but her smile was charged with cold murderousness.

    I¡¯ll have to wish you good luck then, Imperial Tutor.

    Elder Su suddenly appeared beside Ju Zi and asked softly, ¡°Commander, are we really helping the Holy Ghost Church obtain the Beast God¡¯s corpse?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled inly and said, ¡°Of course, as long as we can kill the Beast God.¡±

    Elder Su was shocked for a moment before a thin smile quickly appeared on his face.What a fantastic scheme to kill two birds with one stone! Themander lives up to her name after all. She¡¯s set a trap for the Holy Ghost Church in such a short period of time.This tremendous temptation was undoubtedly the best bait for the greedy Holy Ghost Church.

    Two silhouettes separated in the sky as Elder Xuan retreated all the way between his Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s two horns before he stabilized himself. The Beast God¡¯s formidable strength was on full disy in this moment, as he was just pushed back a little more than ten meters.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s face turned a little red as he felt his heart pulsing with fear. The Beast God wasn¡¯t known as the world¡¯s most powerful individual for nothing, and his strength exceeded his expectations.

    When he shed with the Beast God, all he could feel was how deep Di Tian¡¯s power was. Elder Xuan could feel almost no end to Di Tian¡¯s strength, and his frightening strength instantly vaporized his attack. Furthermore, Di Tian seemed to be holding back, and that was the reason why Elder Xuan could retreat in one piece.

    ¡°You should be able to tell, Xuan Zi, that you are still too far from me. Go, bring Huo Yuhao out. I only wish to ask him a few questions. I won¡¯t do anything to him. I don¡¯t wish to kill you.¡± Di Tian said inly.

    Elder Xuan grunted coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve won.¡± He took a step forward as he spoke, and the Godly Taotie Bull behind him growled deeply. Elder Xuan disappeared into thin air just like that, and the bull¡¯s initially illusory figure grew material.

    This was Elder Xuan¡¯s martial soul true body, Godly Taotie Bull.

    The heavens and the earth, darkness and soil were in conflict, but the element of earth¡¯s power was beingpletely suppressed. It couldn¡¯t go higher than a hundred meters above the surface.

    The Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s long horns glowed with circles of yellow light before the bull suddenly elerated and charged right at the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King.

    The bull charged crazily as rolling thunder seemed to boom through the heavens. Frightening explosions could be heard, like the entire sky was being trampled apart.

    Circles of yellow light expanded beneath the bull¡¯s feet and covered the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡¯s body. It was controlling gravity, and tremendous gravity tore at the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡¯s body in an attempt to arrest it.

    Di Tian heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Since you wish to die, I will give you a lesson that you will never forget.¡± He turned around as he spoke, and pressed his right hand against the ck Dragon King¡¯s head before he wheeled his arms into the air.

    A strange sight urred as the enormous ck Dragon King that was more than a thousand meters long began to concentrate towards Di tian¡¯s wheeling right arm like a whale sucking in water.

    Di Tian¡¯s arm had just wheeled over his head when arge sword appeared in his hand.

    This sword¡¯s hilt was three feet long, and the de was eight feet long. The hilt was ck, and resembled a ck dragon. The de was dark purple, and the terrifying sword intent seemed to tear an enormous hole in the sky when the sword appeared. Enormous circles of ck light appeared behind Di Tian¡¯s back, and it was like a ck hole that seemed to swallow everything.

    The Tang Sect members were watching this battle in the sky from their courtyard inside Shrek City.

    The Sword Maniac, Ji Juechen, suddenly trembled when he watched Di Tian turn his shadow into a sword, and he grunted as blood flowed from his nostrils.

    Jing Ziyan hurriedly supported him and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Juechen?¡±

    Ji Juechen shook his head softly, but there was determination in his eyes. Only he knew what had just happened. In that moment, he used his own sword intent to feel Di Tian¡¯s sword intent, and that was the reason why that had happened.

    Such formidable sword intent. Is this the sword intent that belongs to the most powerful individual in the world? His sword intent is his own martial soul, and it¡¯s also his overwhelming and domineering will. And¡­ and that frightening strength.

    Ji Juechen continued to think as he crossed his legs, sat down on the ground, and started meditating. This moment¡¯s revtion was far too important for him.

    Ji Juechen had been stuck as a Soul Douluo for a long time, and couldn¡¯t break through at all, because there was no way he could form his own soul core. Ji Juechen¡¯s cultivation method was different from everyone, and he had to find the path that belonged to him alone if he wished to be a Titled Douluo.

 Chapter 563.1 - Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 563.1: Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion</h4>

    The Dark Dragon¡¯s Sword!

    A purple light formed a powerful beam and shed downwards. The sky was torn apart as every ounce of gravity was destroyed and ground into dust. The Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s enormous body was somehow immobilized by the torn-up sky, as it found itself unable to dodge the sword. Following which, the frightening Dark Dragon¡¯s Sword was about to reach the area between the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s horns.

    ¡°Boooommm!¡± A deafening sound exploded in the sky.

    Two yellow glows, which were circting around one another between Elder Xuan¡¯s horns, had actually blocked Di Tian¡¯s sword. However, the Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s enormous body was now falling rapidly from the sky. It fell from five thousand meters to two thousand meters. Because it was about a thousand meters tall, it looked almost as if it were about to crash into Shrek City.

    The Godly Taotie Bull let out a deafening roar as yellow plumes of clouds separated from its feet and struggled to support its body.

    Di Tian continued to float where he was as he pointed the gigantic sword in his hand at Elder Xuan. His eyes were extremely frightening, as they resembled that of the Devilgod himself.

    This was absolute power. The absolute power of the world¡¯s strongest individual.

    Elder Xuan suddenly felt powerless. Di Tian had already controlled all spatial power. Most importantly, he had realized the power gap between a second soul core built from the Resonance technique and a soul core built from the Yin Yang Complement technique. The density of Di Tian¡¯s soul power was not something his soul power couldpare to. The frightening dark aura continued to devour his earth-type elemental energy greedily.

    However, he knew that he could not retreat. He must not allow Di Tian to disturb Huo Yuhao at this crucial moment. If not, Yuhao might never be able to push past his current bottleneck. He might even die instantly.

    Elder Xuan closed his eyes as the shback of Elder Mu reminding him of his wishes before his death shed across his eyes. His enormous Godly Taotie Bull body did not fly straight up into the sky. Instead, it waited down there patiently.

    The figure revolved, and the Godly Taotie Bull disappeared. Elder Xuan reappeared as his powerful aura vanished.

    Di Tian¡¯s face revealed a faint smile. In his eyes, Elder Xuan was about to give up.

    If Elder Xuan were to even give up on his own Martial Soul True Body, what else would he fight Di Tian with?

    However, Di Tian started to be worried again in no time.Is Elder Xuan really going to consent like this?

    A primordial aura started to radiate from Elder Xuan¡¯s body. A low but resonant dragon roar echoed in the sky as ayer of pale yellow mes rose around Elder Xuan¡¯s body.

    That ancient aura contained the authority and might of the Dragons. Even Di Tian¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but contract under the pressure of that aura.

    This was not the first time he had sensed this aura. Previously, when the Great Star Dou Forest had started the beast wave, he had experienced it firsthand. Even with his power, he was only able to break free from it after a few days.

    Yes, he was sensing the power of the Taotie from Elder Xuan¡¯s body.

    ¡°Xuan Zi, are you crazy? You actually want to fight with your life on the line?¡± Di Tian was both furious and shocked by what he was seeing. ¡°I have repeatedly gone easy on you, yet you don¡¯t seem to know how to retreat. Do you really think I don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡±

    It was usually impossible for Elder Xuan to draw upon the power of the Taotie within his blood. However, if he burned his soul power and forced his soul core to release all of his power, it became possible.

    It was not fatal for an Ultimate Douluo to burn his or her own soul power. As long as their soul core remained intact, the Ultimate Douluo would have a chance of recovering. However, burning one¡¯s soul power was still extremely demanding on one¡¯s body. It would definitely take a long time for the cultivator to recover and recuperate. Right now, Elder Xuan was burning his soul power as he tried to summon that bit of pure Taotie power within his blood.

    Because both the Taotie and Di Tian were Dragons, Elder Xuan could only stand a chance against Di Tian by harnessing the power of the Taotie to dy him from confronting Huo Yuhao.

    Elder Xuan did not know how long he could withstand the furious attacks of Di Tian. However, he knew he had to do what he could to fight for as much time as possible for Huo Yuhao.

    Di Tian became increasingly worried as he saw how Elder Xuan did not n on revealing anything to him. Now he was certain that Huo Yuhao must be doing something which could not be revealed to the rest of the world. In addition, Elder Xuan must know what was going on in order to put his life on the line to defend him. From the bnce of interests, this meant that whatever Huo Yuhao was doing was of equal value to the life of an Ultimate Douluo.

    Di Tian was the Beast God, and he possessed the domineering Golden Eyes ck Dragon King bloodline.

    Even though he was not exactly sure what was going on, he was certain that this would not be a good thing for the Great Star Dou Forest. If not, Elder Xuan would not have tried to evade his questions.

    Aftering to this realization, Di Tian was able to toss away all of his former reservations as a frightening golden glow lit up in his eyes. The soul beasts who were familiar with him would recognize this. This was Di Tian¡¯s scariest state. This meant that he had developed murderous intent.

    The gigantic Dark Dragon Sword rose once again as it brought strong winds and heavy clouds in the sky. The dense purple-ck clouds seemed to turn the entire world dark, while Di Tian slowly took on a dark purple color in mid-air. His entire body seemed to have turned into the same color as his Dark Dragon¡¯s Sword.

    A mystical sight started to form behind Di Tian¡¯s back. A ck sun and a purple moon appeared behind him as they ovepped and illuminated one another. Di Tian¡¯s frightening aura began to surge once again at an incredible rate. This gave the surrounding people the impression that the dark clouds in the sky were about to fall and crush everything beneath them.

    Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin¡¯er, and the others all revealed shocked expressions. This was the real aura of the Beast God¡ªthe most powerful individual in the world!Is Di Tian about to go all-out on Elder Xuan?Even with their collective abilities, they felt as if they would not even be able to stand a chance against Di Tian.

    Elder Xuan seemed to be unfazed by the mystical sight forming in the sky. He continued to float in mid-air indignantly as the faint yellow me around his body became increasingly intense. A mystical faint figure also started to form behind his back.

    This faint figure had the head of a human, but the body of a goat. Its head was extremelyrge. It was the Taotie¡ªone of the nine sons of the Dragon God! The Godly Taotie Bull¡¯s Taotie bloodline was finally unleashed by Elder Xuan.

    The Beast God¡¯s aura seemed to weaken a little in the presence of the Taotie¡¯s aura. After all, the Taotie¡¯s bloodline power had the ability to suppress and curb the abilities of the Darkness Dragon bloodline.

    Previously, Elder Mu and Elder Xuan had to work together to activate the Taotie power to seal him. This was something that Di Tian remembered very clearly. This time around, he was not prepared to let the same thing happen again. He did not know how much more time Huo Yuhao needed to be done with his thing. What if he were to be done when he was in the midst of being sealed?

    Di Tian let out a cold grunt as he¡ªthe most powerful individual in the world¡ªsuddenly knelt in the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest in front of everyone. He sheathed the Dark Dragon Sword behind him, and appeared to be paying respects to something in that direction. The way he was paying respects resembled the gestures people made in military ceremonies.

    What is he doing?

    Everyone was stunned.Could there be someone in our world who is worthy of Di Tian¡¯s reverence?That would be unbelievable.

    Elder Xuan was equally startled by what Di Tian was doing. While he was trying to muster his Taotie aura towards Di Tian to suppress his Golden Eyes ck Dragon King¡¯s aura, Di Tian was bowing in the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest.Why is he doing that? Unless he has some other motives?

    At this instant, the color of the sky above the Great Star Dou Forest suddenly changed.

    The sky suddenly took on the seven different colors of the rainbow without any warning. The colored lights rotated amongst one another as though a God were about to descend from the heavens.

    When the lights appeared, they were actually able to dye the dense purple-ck clouds that Di Tian had released with their colors. Following which, Di Tian¡¯s aura transformed overwhelmingly.

    His aura was originally extremely domineering. However, under the influence of the rainbow lights, Di Tian¡¯s aura seemed to be grander and more majestic. When he stood up again, his golden pupils had be silver. Even though the sword in his hand did not change, the thousand-meter radius around him seemed to have undergone some sort of spatial transformation, as it turned into a silver domain.

    What is this?

    Elder Xuan would not be the only one who did not know what this was. Even if all the past leaders of Shrek Academy were to witness this, they would also not be able to identify what power Di Tian was using now.

    The only thing that Elder Xuan could distinguish was that this was not Di Tian¡¯s own power. He seemed to have borrowed power from some other entity. Nheless, what did he actually borrow?

    While he was still in shock, an authoritative force suddenly descended from the sky. The gigantic Taotie that was behind Elder Xuan started to tremble before exhibiting the tendency to bow down to this authoritative force.

    This can¡¯t be it.This was the first thought that entered Elder Xuan¡¯s head.

    Back then, both he and Elder Mu had used the power of the Taotie to suppress Di Tian. The authority in the blood of the Taotie¡ªone of the nine sons of the Dragon God¡ªwas enough to force the Golden Eyes ck Dragon King to bow down to it.

    However, at this instant, the situation seemed to have been reversed. The Taotie was now about to bow down to Di Tian, who was in the sky. How could this be happening? What kind of power did Di Tian borrow?

    This instantaneous transformation not only startled Elder Xuan, but the people in Shrek City, as well as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops, were also startled by the sight before them. None of the powerful cultivators had expected this to happen.

    Even though they might not know how Elder Xuan¡¯s Taotie should have suppressed Di Tian, they were still surprised that Di Tian was actually able to borrow power from a mysterious source within the Great Star Dou Forest. This was a frightening revtion. Was there another powerful individual hidden within the Great Star Dou Forest? Or was there some hidden treasure or source of power that no one knew about?

    Di Tian stared coldly at Elder Xuan as he raised the Dark Dragon Sword above his head.

    Elder Xuan discovered that the earth-type elemental energy which he was supposed to control with ease was suddenly beyond his control. It was cowering in fear from the aura Di Tian was emitting. It was as if a subordinate was bowing down to his or her superior.

    How could Di Tian¡ªan individual who possessed dark-type elemental energy¡ªaffect earth-type elements?

    Elder Xuan¡¯s heart sank as he realized how he would be unable to seal Di Tian even if he were to continue burning his soul power. When Di Tiannded the blow from his sword, it would definitely be earth-shattering.

 Chapter 563.2 - Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 563.2: Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion</h4>

    ¡°Beast God, why are you venting your rage on others? Come at me if I am the one you¡¯re looking for. Huo Yuhao will be here waiting for you.¡± A bright voice suddenly rang in the sky without any warning. Even though this voice did not appear to be particrly loud, the entire battlefield, including the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops, which were camped fifty kilometers away from Shrek City, could hear his words clearly.

    Huo Yuhao!

    The same words entered everyone¡¯s ears, but different people reacted to this differently.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up just when he was starting to lose hope. He immediately doused the mes on his body, which were burning his soul power, as the Taotie behind his back vanished.

    After regaining his Godly Taotie Bull martial soul, he was no longer that affected by Di Tian.

    Even though it was the same name, it induced a different emotion within Ju Zi. Now she knew that Di Tian had intruded into Shrek City to find Huo Yuhao. This also confirmed her suspicion that Huo Yuhao was really in Shrek City. At this instant, she was overwhelmed by several emotions as her mind turnedpletely nk after hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice.

    A jade green light shed as a figure soared up into the sky from within Shrek City. In the blink of an eye, the jade green figure was able to reach an incredibly high altitude. The powerful pressure released by Di Tian¡¯s body did not seem to work on him.

    The image flickered as the jade green light stopped next to Elder Xuan. This person was none other than Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was now wearing the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. However, his body was radiating a jade blue glow underneath the armor. Elder Xuan could immediately sense the reduction in the surrounding pressure the moment Huo Yuhao moved closer to him. The pressure acting on him was essentially halved by his presence.

    Elder Xuan was surprised to see Huo Yuhao next to him. He whispered, ¡°Did you seed?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Elder Xuanughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s great! That¡¯s great! Di Tian, weren¡¯t you looking for Yuhao? Yuhao is now here.¡±

    Di Tian¡¯s expression changed as he stared at Huo Yuhao. He was startled to find himself no longer able to see through the young man before him. He could not tell what cultivation Huo Yuhao had attained.

    ¡°Di Tian, how have you been? I have something I want to return to you. I want to thank you for protecting me for all these years.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s wrist shook as a grey light surged towards Di Tian.

    Di Tian waved his right hand in the air as his aura weakened a little bit.

    He did not need to see what he had caught to know what exactly was in his palm. It was the ck Dragon¡¯s reverse scale which he had given to Huo Yuhao previously to seal and monitor him.

    He was actually able to remove the reverse scale from his body? This means that his power must have reached the heights of mine momentarily to even be able to remove my scale.

    Ultimate Douluo? No, that¡¯s impossible. He was still a Soul Douluo who was unable to attain the Titled Douluo rank not too long ago! How could he be an Ultimate Douluo in such a short amount of time?

    The same questions formed in Ju Zi¡¯s mind as she watched from afar.

    She had already known how powerful Huo Yuhao had be thest time she saw him at the pce in Radiant City. However, he was definitely not this strong! When did he develop the ability to stand unfazed before a battle between an Ultimate Douluo and the strongest individual in the world? It seemed like the Beast God had also be a little nervous after he had appeared.

    There was a calm expression on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he stared at the Beast God and expressed his respects.

    ¡°You actually managed to break free from my reverse scale. If I do not guess wrongly, there can only be one exnation.¡± The Beast God was able to speak calmly after recovering from his momentary shock.

    Huo Yuhao lifted the visor on his armor as he shed a smile. ¡°Beast God, do you dare to fight me?¡±

    What?

    After hearing his words, everyone, including the people from Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Empire, was shocked beyond belief. There were many people who knew Huo Yuhao, and they could not believe their ears when they heard him challenging the Beast God¡ªthe strongest individual in the world¡ªto a fight.

    How old is he? How much power does he actually possess? What is he banking on to beat the Beast God? Isn¡¯t he just seeking his own death?

    What surprised them even more was how the Beast God actually nodded in approval. Di Tian pointed his Dark Dragon Sword at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Sure. Let me see what you have learned and understood.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils lit up after hearing Di Tian¡¯s response. One of his pupils waspletely golden, while the other one radiated a jade blue glow.

    At this instant, he was brimming with confidence. Even he himself did not know how strong he had be.

    Yes, he had seeded. With the help of hispanions and Elder Mu, he had finally seeded.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Ice Spirit Fusion!¡±

    ¡°Boooommm!¡±

    As the Snow Empress¡¯ intent entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart, he felt as if he was blown into a million pieces by the insane amount of energy.

    At that instant, he waspletely unable to sense his own soul cores and body. Everything seemed to have turned nk.

    This sensationsted for an unknown amount of time before he slowly regained his senses.

    An extremely familiar energy was enveloping his spiritual soul core, which had many tiny cracks around it.

    It was the presence of this energy that prevented it from shattering. Right now, his spiritual soul core was repairing itself at an insane rate.

    Waves of mystical energy were being released constantly from his body. When Huo Yuhao took a closer look at his body, he realized that it hadpletely transformed.

    A crystal clear white soul core was rotating quietly at his chest. Its size was slightly bigger than the spiritual soul core. There seemed to be a human figure flickering within it.

    This is¡­

    The Snow Empress?

    Huo Yuhao was able to recognize the figure in his soul core instantly. The figure was none other than the Snow Empress.

    The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s torso bone was no longer glowing. At this instant, his bones had turned a brilliant golden color after being nourished by the Dragon Pill. The Ice Empress¡¯ aura had be so weak that he could barely sense it.

    Huo Yuhao had no idea what had happened. But at this instant, he realized he was no longer able tomunicate with the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, Little Bai, and the rest. Even Li Ya had fallen into a deep slumber.

    ¡°Skydream!¡± Huo Yuhao was finally, fully awake. He recognized the mystical energy which was encircling his spiritual soul core. It belonged to the Skydream Iceworm!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s exmation seemed to have awakened the Skydream Iceworm. However, Skydream did not seem to be able to respond. The mystical energy simply disappeared as the Skydream Iceworm transformed into a streak of light which vanished in his spiritual sea.

    Now, he had lost all contact with his six Spirits.

    He finally had two soul cores. His spiritual soul core was bright golden, while the Ultimate Ice soul core at his chest was white.

    The two soul cores were now rotating in opposite directions. The energy they were releasing was fusing at a point thaty between them. That point was where all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s power began. Tiny spirals, which were formed after the power released by the two soul cores had collided, flowed into the passageways within his body. This purepressed soul power and spiritual power was healing Huo Yuhao¡¯s broken body at an incredible speed.

    The Life Guardian Sword was also naturally nourishing Huo Yuhao¡¯s body with the dense life energy it was radiating. It was almost as if Huo Yuhao was getting a brand new body.

    ¡­¡­

    The memory shed across his mind for an instant before vanishing. To be honest, even Huo Yuhao did not know how he had managed to seed. His six Spirits were now all asleep, and were unable to answer any of his queries. He just knew that he had somehow managed to seed. He believed that his six Spirits must have paid a hefty price to assist him.

    After his body hadpletely recovered, he noticed the ck Dragon¡¯s reverse scale on the floor. Immediately, he sensed that the Beast God was high up in the sky above him.

    Hence, he left the room and came to where they were to face the Beast God. And at this moment, he did not fear Di Tian.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure flickered, and disappeared from Elder Xuan¡¯s side. When his body flickered again, he was already a few kilometers away from the parameters of Shrek City.

    Di Tian let out a cold grunt as he took a huge stride in the air and appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. As he lifted the Dark Dragon Sword in his hand, the sky started to darken. It was as if the entire intent of heaven and earth was in his control as he smashed the power of the natural elements into Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao pressed the visor down onto his face as the Icy War God¡¯s Armor released a bright jade blue glow. Following which, a short dagger appeared in his hand. Huo Yuhao immediately raised his arm as a four foot-long blue light appeared on the de of the dagger. In addition, there seemed to be ayer of thin mist surrounding the de.

    The surrounding air seemed toe to a standstill as extreme cold permeated throughout the air. Even the Sun Moon Empire soldiers, which were a long way from the battle could sense the plunge in temperature.

    Di Tian¡¯s pupils suddenly contracted as the Dark Dragon¡¯s Sword in his hand went straight for Huo Yuhao.

    The purple-ck sword light ripped apart the space between them and left a gaping hole as it went straight for Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    The sword not only contained the power of darkness, but also spatial power. The Beast God¡¯s powery in how he was able tobine and fuse both his dark-type and spatial powers. At this instant, for unknown reasons, the power he had borrowed from the Great Star Dou Forest had started to recede like the tide.

    Huo Yuhao did not try to avoid the sword as he waved the dagger in his hand to block the sword lighting from Di Tian. This was a power which even Elder Xuan could not block directly!

    A gasp of surprise could be heard from behind Elder Xuan. Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin¡¯er and the rest had arrived by his side.

    They had all been stupefied when they heard Huo Yuhao challenge Di Tian. They could not understand what Huo Yuhao was trying to do.Can he challenge the Beast God with the power he possesses?

    ¡°Clinggg!¡± A bright metallic sound echoed from high up in the sky. An unexpected sight unfolded before everyone¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 563.3 - Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 563.3: Complementing Yin and Yang, Yuhao Leaves Seclusion</h4>

    The ck gaping hole in the sky, which was created by Di Tian, now had ayer of white light on it. All the spatial energy had suddenly been isted by the white light. It was almost as if the opening was now sealed, and was no longer able to release its energy.

    Huo Yuhao was only able to stabilize his body after flying backward for close to a thousand meters. However, his backward movement had helped him absorb some of the force exerted on him by Di Tian. On the other hand, Di Tian¡¯s body was now covered in ayer of thick frost. The frost only shattered and fell after he shook his body intensely, and only fully disintegrated after itnded on the ground.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao did not gain the upper hand. Compared to Di Tian, his abilities were still considered rtively undeveloped. However, every observer present ced their hands over their mouths subconsciously. What had they just witnessed? They had just seen a human, who was just a little more than twenty years old, block Di Tian¡¯s blow directly.

    Di Tian was frowning as he reflected on the interaction earlier. No one had a deeper impression of the collision than him. Even though the frost on the surface of his body had shattered, he could still feel how retarded the cirction of his blood and soul power had be. This was caused by the extreme temperatures of the frost.

    He was actually able to seal my spatial energy and inflict his Ultimate Ice on my body?

    In the meantime, Huo Yuhao was not feeling too well after the collision. Purple-ck lines were flickering on his body. However, they quickly faded away under the jade blue light released by the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. No one knew his current state because his body was concealed by the human-shaped soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly vanished after his figure faded away like a mirage. Even the Beast God, who had been focusing on Huo Yuhao, could only sense a slight distortion in the air before losing his target.

    A worried expression started to form on Di Tian¡¯s face. He had finally concluded that he had underestimated Huo Yuhao.

    This young man was a lot more powerful than he had imagined.

    Yes, he seeded.

    That¡¯s right. He must have seeded. If not, there would be no way that he could have blocked my attack without having first attained the Ultimate Douluo rank.

    The Yin Yang Complement technique. He was actually able to form his second soul core using the Yin Yang Complement technique with a human body. I can¡¯t let this go on. I must stop his development no matter what. If not, it will be impossible to control him in the future.

    The Beast God took a deep breath before raising the Dark Dragon Sword in his hand. Following which, he closed his eyes. He had no intent to kill Huo Yuhao. However, he had to take him away today and imprison him within the Great Star Dou Empire at all costs. The Beast God nned to destroy the power which Huo Yuhao had painstakingly cultivated, and leave him and the power of destiny within the Great Star Dou Forest forever.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s body reappeared again, he appeared behind Di Tian. The Icy War God¡¯s Armor instantly released a brilliant jade blue smoke behind it as it sped up and carried Huo Yuhao forward by nearly five kilometers. Huo Yuhao was getting nearer to the Sun Moon Empire troops.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Ju Zi eximed as she ordered, ¡°All soul tool deployment areas, get ready!¡±

    Yes, she had to ensure her troops were ready for what could happen next. Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly trying to bring whatever destruction his sh with Di Tian would create to the Sun Moon Empire military camp instead of Shrek City.

    The fact that Huo Yuhao was able to withstand a single blow from Di Tian meant that he was pretty close to the level of an Ultimate Douluo, even if he was not quite there yet. If Di Tian¡ªthe current strongest individual in the world¡ªwere to sh with him above the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp, it would probably bring apocalyptic destruction to the troops and their equipment.

    Di Tian seemed to be acting a little strange. He was not going after Huo Yuhao. Instead, he was just wielding his Dark Dragon Sword with a single hand, and standing there as though he had been frozen.

    However, Huo Yuhao was still running. With his cultivation, it only required him to sprint a few moments to cover tens of kilometers. Before long, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops were beneath him.

    Countless virtual images appeared from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he disappeared. He only left a distorted glow in his ce after his disappearance.

    He had executed his Spiritual Interference Domain. He wanted to make sure no one beneath him was able to pinpoint his exact location.

    The soul tool deployment areas were unable to attack at this instant. They could only watch as their surveince soul tools tried their best to locate where exactly he was.

    At this instant, Di Tian suddenly made his move. His movement was extremely simple and elegant as he flipped in mid-air before wielding his Dark Dragon Sword with his two hands instead of one. The gigantic sword suddenly released a blinding purple-ck sword light in the air. However, the sword light merely appeared for a short while before disappearing.

    It was strange to see Di Tian¡¯s attack disappear after he seemed to have made an all-out sh in the air.

    However, the entire sky began to contort and twist as the dense purple-ck clouds which were hanging over thend beneath them started to disappear. The sun reappeared and continued its irradiation of sunlight on thend beneath it. However, no one could sense the warmth from its rays.

    Elder Xuan felt as if his heart had skipped a beat at that instant. Di Tian, who had justpleted his shing motion, seemed to have returned to his formerly calm and collected state. However, he had turned around as he gazed in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    Huo Yuhao reappeared. However, this time around, he was no longer in mid-air, but on the ground. He was standing inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    He was standing there quietly, as though he had sensed something. His hands were wielding the dagger in his hand as he looked around warily.

    The surrounding soldiers were able to notice his presence instantly. However, no one dared to confront him. In fact, even the surrounding soul engineers did not possess the courage to do so.

    None of them were foolish enough to believe that they could challenge a person who had just managed to withstand a blow from Di Tian.

    The temperature of the air around Huo Yuhao plunged instantly. Any ce within a thousand meters of him was now permeated with a chilling aura. The entire Icy War God¡¯s Armor which he was wearing had now taken on a jade blue color. The Morning Dew Dagger which was in his hand was now emanating a radiant glow.

    A chilling current surged within the white icy mist. A figure slowly formed behind Huo Yuhao.

    This figure had long golden hair. It was floating behind Huo Yuhao as it revealed a smile on its face. One of its pupils was ck, while the one was white.

    Huo Yuhao let out a grunt as he suddenly waved his Morning Dew Dagger upwards.

    This action was extremely sinct, but it contained a lot of force.

    In the meantime, Ju Zi¡¯s orders were being disseminated across her army. ¡°All soul tool deployment areas and linked defensive soul tools, activate at full power. Do not hold back.¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire was fortunate to have had their soul engineers ready to set up their soul tool deployment areas. All of their linked defensive and offensive soul tools were already charged and ready for use.

    Ju Zi¡¯s orders could be implemented right away after they were broadcasted andmunicated through sound amplifying soul tools andmunication soul tools.

    Several radiant barriers quickly formed above the military camps as they enveloped therge volume of space beneath them.

    At this instant, an inconspicuous crack suddenly formed in front of Huo Yuhao. Following which, a purple light flickered from within it.

    Huo Yuhao moved his Morning Dew Dagger and managed to block the blow from the purple light.

    ¡°Clingggg!¡±

    A bright metallic sound echoed in the air. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was vibrating intensely, as though he had just been electrocuted. The insane amount of destructive energy spread to every single corner of his body.

    At that instant, his two Yin Yang Complement soul cores seemed to have stopped working. In fact, Huo Yuhao found himself incapable of thinking.

    ¡°Hummmm!¡± The Morning Dew Dagger released a bright humming sound as its de began to tremble. In fact, it was trembling so fast that it appeared to be in possession of multiple des.

    Multiple deep blue whirlpools began to form on the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. The ground beneath Huo Yuhao started to vibrate as those whirlpools started to fall to the ground from Huo Yuhao¡¯s armor. Afternding on the ground, those whirlpools began to expand furiously.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao felt as though everything inside him had stopped. Following which, he could sense the frightening power being channeled into his body by the Dark Dragon Sword tearing up everything within him.

    This sensation felt horrible. In fact, it was unbelievably frightening.

    Two figures started to appear behind him.

    Those two figures looked very simr to the ones which had formed behind Di Tian earlier. They were also a sun and a moon. However, while Di Tian had a ck sun and a purple moon, Huo Yuhao¡¯s sun was golden, and his moon was a brilliant blue.

    After they appeared, a mystical energy started to appear in his body. This energy was like a powerful glue which rbined the parts of his body that had been shredded by Di Tian¡¯s attack.

    Di Tian was observing all of this from afar. Previously, he had only guessed that Huo Yuhao had sessfully formed his second soul core with the Yin Yang Complement technique. Now, he was certain that Huo Yuhao had managed to pull it off.

    The mystical appearance of a sun and a moon was the signature of the Yin Yang Complement technique.He has actually managed to cultivate his second soul core using the Yin Yang Complement technique. He has managed to aplish a feat which no human has ever done.

    Even Di Tian was starting to fear the potential that Huo Yuhao was disying.This young man is growing too quickly.Even though Di Tian did not believe Huo Yuhao could form his third soul core to be an Ultimate Douluo, he was still a little wary of the power and potential he was exhibiting. Di Tian believed that he must not be given the room and time to be even more powerful.

    Just when Di Tian was thinking about what to do with him, a horrifying change was underway in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    The little whirlpools which hadnded on the ground from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had transformed into humongous hurricanes which were sweeping across thend beneath them and destroying anything in their way.

    These hurricanes were all dark blue. To be precise, their colors were abination of ck and blue.

    They contained both Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice and Di Tian¡¯s dark-type energy. They essentially dark and ice hurricanes of sorts.

    Huo Yuhao and Di Tian¡¯s sh had inflicted horrifying destruction to their surroundings.

    The tents which were within a thousand meters from Huo Yuhao had all turned a dark blue color before disintegrating into powder. Nothing within them was spared a simr fate.

 Chapter 564.1 - Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea

    <h4 ss>Chapter 564.1: Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea</h4>

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp was actually designed with several considerations in mind. Every camp surrounded a single soul tool deployment area. The soul tool deployment area would then be able to activate its linked defensive soul tools to protect the camp when they were attacked by their enemies.

    When the multiple dark blue hurricanes began to expand, they were already almost touching the linked defensive barriers. The four nearest linked defensive barriers turned dark blue within a few seconds. Even though they did not disintegrate instantly like the tents, the linked defensive barriers began to consume an insane amount of energy.

    Every soul engineer within these soul tool deployment areas was frantically trying to inject soul power into their various soul tools. They were very well aware that they would have no chance of surviving if they were to allow the dark blue hurricane to sweep into the soul deployment area.

    Huo Yuhao paused for a little more than ten seconds before he regained his ability to move. Even though his body was a little shaky, he was still able to stand up and stabilize himself immediately.

    When he looked up at Di Tian in the sky again, his eyes reflected the fear in his heart.

    After this recent breakthrough, he now possessed his second soul core. He could sense from his own soul power that he was definitely stronger than someone who had just be a Titled Douluo. He believed he was somewhere between Rank 92 and 93. In addition, his soul power had undergone a transformative change because his second soul core was formed from the Yin Yang Complement technique. Every single strand of soul power had beenpressed, and his Ultimate Ice and spiritual power were now perfectly fused. His martial souls were no longer individual, and could fuse perfectly without any deliberate control.

    Huo Yuhao believed his power now exceeded that of any normal Transcendent Douluo. At the same time, one must remember the Icy War God¡¯s Armor on his body!

    The boost given to him by the world¡¯s strongest human-shaped soul tool was immense. After this breakthrough, he was finally able to fully control the capabilities of the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, as well as some of the capabilities of the Morning Dew Dagger. These were the reasons why he was confident of challenging Di Tian.

    However, it was only after shing with Di Tian head-on that Huo Yuhao fully understood why Di Tian was called the strongest individual in the world. His strength and abilities were still way above his expectations.

    Just that previous blow alone was sufficient to make Huo Yuhao realize how he had underestimated Di Tian¡¯s power. If Di Tian were to have followed up that blow and pursued him, Huo Yuhao would have been dead by now.

    Of course, Elder Xuan, who was watching vigntly by the side, would never allow Di Tian to take action against Huo Yuhao. However, this was enough to show the enormous gap between his and Di Tian¡¯s abilities.

    He should be proud of his feat of blocking Di Tian¡¯s blow at his current tender age. However, it was still not enough in Huo Yuhao¡¯s opinion. It was still a long way off from what he had expected from himself.

    Huo Yuhao kept his gaze on Di Tian as he panted lightly. He slowly raised the Morning Dew Dagger in his hand as he channeled the soul power in his body into the dagger continuously. Following which, he circted the same soul power back into his body as every bit of cold elemental energy was absorbed into his body.

    Even though he did not have the help of his Spirits, the Morning Dew Dagger was able to make up for it. It was only after he had truly experienced its might that Huo Yuhao finally knew how powerful the dagger was. If he did not have the Morning Dew Dagger and the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, which together had negated close to seventy percent of Di Tian¡¯s blow, he would have died there and then. How could Huo Yuhao have taken Di Tian¡¯s frightening blow, which was infused with darkness and spatial energy, on his own?

    ¡°Boom! Boom!¡±

    Two linked defensive barriers shattered at the same time. Following which, everything within the soul tool deployment areas was enveloped by the dark blue hurricanes.

    It was important to note that there were fifty thousand soldiers within each of the soul tool deployment areas. In addition, there were several precious soul tools and soul engineers inside as well.

    However, their other protective soul barriers managed to withstand the hurricanes as the remaining dark blue hurricanes slowly faded away.

    Huo Yuhao was confused as to why Di Tian did not continue attacking him. Suddenly, a mystical power suddenly emerged within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    It was a dark red light which was extremely slim, yet very long. It suddenly appeared after the two soul tool deployment areas were destroyed. After appearing in mid-air, it stopped right above the two soul tool deployment areas.

    Following which, countless enraged and extremely fearful avenging spirits started to gravitate rapidly to the dark red light. The dark red light was expanding at an incredible speed before it formed a long spear in mid-air.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Di Tian was a little startled as he stared at the dark red spear warily.

    Huo Yuhao was also looking at that long spear. He was naturally able to sense that it was aimed at Di Tian with his superior spiritual detection ability.

    At the same time, Ju Zi, who was hiding in the core area of the camp, ordered coldly, ¡° Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, get ready! Fire! Concentrate your firepower on Di Tian!¡±

    Streaks of light started to rise from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp as they transformed into a beam of the purest red light, which surged towards Di Tian, who was hovering in mid-air.

    The reaction from the Sun Moon Empire shocked the powerful cultivators from Shrek Academy. They would never have expected the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legion to attack Di Tian.Isn¡¯t that the same as seeking one¡¯s own death? Unless the Sun Moon Empire is able to recognize the need for humans to unite against soul beasts? That can¡¯t be it. That is not something the Sun Moon Empire would do!

    Of course, that was impossible. Right from the beginning, Ju Zi had been trying to get Zhongli Wu to attack Di Tian. Now, she was alsomanding the soul engineer legions to strike Di Tian. There was only one reason for her decisions. She wanted to help Huo Yuhao!

    Ju Zi had never nned to attack Shrek Academy. After Huo Yuhao had returned her son to her, revenge was no longer the most important thing in this world. In her eyes, the most important things for her were the two men in her life. One of them was Xu Yunhan, while the other one was naturally¡­

    Hence, Ju Zi had already made up her mind the moment Huo Yuhao suddenly appeared on the battlefield. She was initially not nning to make a move. After all, it was best for Di Tian and the Holy Ghost Church to be engaged in a mutually disadvantageous battle. However, she could not care anymore after seeing how Di Tian shed his sword at Huo Yuhao. When she saw that, she felt as if her heart had almost stopped. That sensation was simply unbearable!

    Thus, she did not hesitate to order her troops to attack Di Tian. She simply could not afford to allow Di Tian to attack Huo Yuhao again.

    Of course, there was no one present here who could understand her true intentions. Even Huo Yuhao, who was involved in this whole saga, could not tell why she was making these decisions. After all, no one would have expected the Sun Moon Empire¡¯smander to make her decisions based on her feelings for a single man. Besides, Ju Zi¡¯s orders had been given at an extremely timely moment. She issued the orders precisely when Zhongli Wu first made his move. This seemed more like abined effort with the Holy Ghost Church rather than a selfish decision. Hence, no one would challenge her decision.

    The reason why Di Tian did not continue to attack Huo Yuhao was because Elder Xuan was watching vigntly by the side. On top of that, he was a little lost right now. He did not know what he should do to Huo Yuhao. While he was aware that he must not kill him, he was also aware that catching him would be extremely challenging.

    The presence of the powerful soul masters from the Shrek Academy was bound to make things difficult for him. On top of that, Huo Yuhao had already acquired his second soul core using the Yin Yang Complement technique. If he were unable to put up a fight, he would definitely be able to flee sessfully. Di Tian was not confident of abducting Huo Yuhao when he was also up against the powerful cultivators from Shrek Academy and Elder Xuan¡ªan Ultimate Douluo.

    Just when he was hesitating, the attacks from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools reached him.

    Di Tian let out a cold grunt as he waved his humongous hand in front of him. Instantly, a ck light formed before him. The ck light was like an expanded dragon scale with pointed edges. It floated before Di Tian as it attempted to block the linked offensive soul tool attacksing towards him.

    However, it was only able to block the soul tools for a short instant.

    The pitch ck scale seemed to pause for a while as a look of surprise flickered across Di Tian¡¯s usually calm face. Following which, he instantly vanished from where he was. More than ten streaks of light shot through the ck scale and tore the void behind him to shreds.

    Di Tian reappeared a couple of hundred meters from where he had been. A frustrated expression had reced the shocked look on his face. He could not imagine how these humans were able to be so powerful. The power of the humans¡¯ attacks had already exceeded his expectations. What exactly was that power? The total energy stored in the attack had already exceeded the power he had. It was simply too frightening for him.Was it possible for humans or a group of soul masters to collectively produce such power?

    Back when heunched the beast wave against Shrek City, Di Tian had witnessed the destructive ability of soul tools. Even though he had been wary then, those soul tools were not as powerful as the ones he was witnessing now.

    However, it was very different now. These soul tools were clearly able to threaten him. This was a frightening prospect for him to fathom. The existence of such weapons meant that the Great Star Dou Forest could be in danger at any moment!

    The beams from the linked offensive soul tools did not disappear after prating Di Tian¡¯s ck scale. Instead, they swept horizontally as they tried to chase after him.

    This was an opportunity that Huo Yuhao would definitely seize. Of course, he did not intend to attack Di Tian. He was going to flee.

    In a flicker, he concealed himself within the air as he sped out of the range of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    At the same time, he used his spiritual power to contact the people from Shrek Academy. Through his Spiritual Detection Sharing ability, he was able to direct everyone back to Shrek City.

    Huo Yuhao was already very satisfied to have destroyed two soul tool deployment areas with Di TIan¡¯s help. This was effectively equivalent to a tenth of the entire Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops.

    In addition, it was good that Di Tian was now fighting the Sun Moon Empire. Such battles were better viewed from afar.

    The destructive ability of the linked offensive soul tools was simply overwhelming. Di Tian might be fine if he were only hit once. However, if all of them were tond on his body, even he might not be able to take it!

 Chapter 564.2 - Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea

    <h4 ss>Chapter 564.2: Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea</h4>

    Di Tian flickered around the sky as he used his mastery over spatial power to avoid the attacks of these linked offensive soul tools. At the same time, he lifted the Dark Dragon Sword in his hand.

    These despicable humans! How dare they try to attack me! They shall pay the price for their audacity!

    At this instant, a deafening howl suddenly echoed in the sky. A dark red light flickered in the air.

    When the dark red light vanished, the sky suddenly turned red. It now resembled an ocean of blood as red clouds surged in the sky.

    Di Tian immediately tried to step into the space before him which he had opened up. However, he was shocked to discover that the space around him had been sealed. He was actually unable to break this spatial barrier to freely flicker around.

    It was during this short moment when the linked offensive soul tools started to sweep towards him again.

    Di Tian was ultimately Di Tian. Even though he was shocked, he was able to react in time. He swept the Dark Dragon Sword in his hand horizontally as he ripped the space next to him apart. This was enough to absorb more than two-thirds of the linked offensive soul tools, while the remaining thirdnded on his body.

    The ck sun and purple moon suddenly appeared behind him again as Di Tian¡¯s body paused in mid-air. After some of the linked offensive soul tools swept past his body, the aura his body was radiating instantly became overwhelmingly intense as his eyes lit up with a golden glow. It was apparent that the Beast God had been enraged.

    However, at this instant, a sh of dark red suddenly appeared before him without any warning as it pierced right into his chest.

    It was a devilish looking, long, and blood-red spear. It was so frighteningly red that it seemed as though fresh blood was about to drip from its tip. What was most scary about it was how Di Tian was suddenly surrounded by a sea of blood which immobilized him before the spear appeared. There was no way he could have evaded the spear¡¯s attack.

    This must be the thing that sealed the space around me!Di Tian immediately understood that at the first instant. However, this red spear had simply caught him off-guard. At the same time, Di Tian was busy trying to deal with the attacks from the linked offensive soul tools. Under such circumstances, the long red spear was able to pierce into his chest.

    Di Tian¡¯s body was tougher than any known rare metal. Hence, after he was pierced, Di Tian released a loud cry as he swept his Dark Dragon Sword horizontally before him.

    A painful grinding sound could be heard as the red spear was sliced in half. However, the tip of the spear suddenly drilled itself into Di Tian¡¯s body. Countless vengeful howls could be heard echoing about in the sky. The blood sea was also fervently trying to consume Di Tian. At this moment, the linked offensive soul tools had finally stopped their attacks. Such powerful attacks were often incapable of being executed in a sustained fashion. Otherwise, the soul tools would overheat, and end up being damaged. However, they had already yed their part. The red spear was the real weapon that could actually harm the Beast God.

    Di Tian¡¯s body was trembling in the air as he furiously shed his Dark Dragon Sword downwards in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire military camp.

    The blood sea was forcefully ripped apart as a dragon¡¯s roar echoed in the sky. The linked defensive protective barrier of a soul deployment area within the Sun Moon Empire military camp immediately cracked. A streak of purple-ck sword light shed and headed for one of the tents.

    A sh of blood-colored light emerged from the tent instantly as it countered the sword light which wasing down on it.

    Four of the twelve evil soul masters who were sitting with their legs crossed in the tent spat out a mouthful of blood at the same instant. Zhongli Wu¡¯s face also turned pale.

    Di Tian¡¯s howl could be heard from fifty kilometers away. He raised the Dark Dragon Sword in his hand before shing it at the blood sea. Another crack formed in the sky, and he crept into it despite knowing how the space around him had been sealed. Nheless, he disappeared into the crack.

    The blood sea continued to ripple furiously as it circted in the air in search of Di Tian. However, it eventually disintegrated after failing to locate its target.

    A dissatisfied look formed on Zhongli Wu¡¯s face. ¡°How could he have fled like this? Nheless, he has been pierced by the red spear, and must now be seriously injured. Follow me into the Great Star Dou Forest.¡± As he spoke, he quickly rose from where he was as he led a group of evil soul masters to chase Di Tian into the Great Star Dou Forest.

    With their group¡¯s ability, even if all twelve of them were to link up together, it was still unlikely that they could harm Di Tian. However, they had not only used their own powers for the blow earlier. They had borrowed the vengeance from tens of thousands of avenging spirits. Zhongli Wu had burned these spirits into the red spear that had pierced Di Tian. It was able to seal all the space around him in that instant and deal a heavy blow to him. Even though the spear was unable to prate Di Tian¡¯s body fully, a part of it had sessfully pierced through his body and released the frightening vengeance into him. The frightening vengeance would wreak havoc within his body until he was fully consumed by it.

    This was why Zhongli Wu was so eager to hunt him down. If they were really able to take Di Tian down, the Holy Ghost Church would truly be unstoppable. He would then take over Di Tian as the strongest individual in the world!

    After witnessing this scene, Huo Yuhao, Elder Xuan, and the rest were able to finally heave a sigh of relief. The Beast God was finally gone. He would probably not threaten Huo Yuhao for the time being.

    It was only after Huo Yuhao lifted his Icy War God¡¯s Armor¡¯s visor that Elder Xuan saw how pale his face was.

    ¡°Wah!¡± Huo Yuhao spat out a mouthful of blood as his body started to sway left and right. He was only able to not fall with the help of Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk after we have return.¡± Elder Xuan supported Huo Yuhao with his arm as he mustered his soul power and brought both of them back to Shrek City. Yan Shaozhe and the others followed behind them.

    The battle which had just urred had so many close shaves. At the same time, it had allowed them to witness the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s frightening capabilities.

    Even Di Tian could not gain the upper hand over the linked offensive soul tools with the power he possessed. On top of that, the Sun Moon Empire had the backing of the Holy Ghost Church. The Holy Ghost Church was even able to hurt the Beast God, and force him to retreat.

    The people from Shrek Academy had not even found the time to celebrate Huo Yuhao¡¯s sess before they were once again overwhelmed by that demoralizing revtion.

    Elder Xuan brought Huo Yuhao back to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion directly. When they came before the Golden Tree, Huo Yuhao knelt before it and prayed to it just as before.

    ¡°Teacher, thank you for lending me a hand. I have finally made a breakthrough, andpleted my second soul core. You can rest assured that I will definitely do my best to defend Shrek City, and stop the Sun Moon Empire from destroying our Academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan, who was standing beside Huo Yuhao, turned around and hid his face from him. He naturally knew that Elder Mu would not be able to hear Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice again. However, how could he bear to tell him the truth?

    After paying his respects to the Golden Tree, Huo Yuhao stood up and returned to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion with Elder Xuan.

    ¡°How are you?¡± Elder Xuan asked. Even though both of them had two soul cores, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation method was entirely different from his. Even Elder Xuan was unable to use his soul power to see the condition of his body.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. My body is just a little shaken after taking the Beast God¡¯s blow. However, my body¡¯s regenerative ability seems to have be a lot more powerful than it was previously. I should be fine in no time.¡°

    Elder Xuan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. Anyways, congrattions! You now finally own your second soul core. And it¡¯s a second soul core formed from the Yin Yang Complement technique. I believe that you should be able to surpass me in no time, and be the number one soul master in our Academy. In fact, you might even possess the ability to challenge the Beast God. Di Tian must havee to look for trouble after sensing that you were about to make your breakthrough. Fortunately, we managed to tide over his attacks. In fact, I believe that Di Tian might also be in a sticky situation right now. Just now, I saw a group of evil soul masters heading in the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest. Di Tian must have sustained serious injuries, and now they¡¯re going to hunt him down.¡±

    A sly smile formed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Those evil soul masters have no idea what they¡¯re getting into. They must be mad to even think about hunting the Beast God.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded in agreement. ¡°The Great Star Dou Forest does not only have Di Tian. It also houses the Emerald Swan, the Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, and many other powerful soul beasts. Those evil soul masters might not be able to get the better of them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think Emerald Swan and the rest can actually hold up against those evil soul masters. The collective strength and power they are able to draw from is immense. They must have absorbed the souls of the soldiers which were killed by the spillovers released by my battle with Di Tian. That¡¯s why they were able to harm Di Tian. With the power that they now wield, they would be equivalent to a few Transcendent Douluo. However, they have probably overestimated the extent of the injuries the Beast God has sustained.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Elder Xuan was surprised by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. ¡°Is it not serious enough? I thought the attack was already pretty powerful.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Yes, it was very powerful. It contained the vengeance of tens of thousands of avenging spirits, and possessed immense destructive power. However, it is also important to note that Di Tian also possesses Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores. With these soul cores, it will be extremely difficult for him to sustain heavy injuries.¡±

    ¡°Quick, tell me what¡¯s so special about your Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores, ¡± Elder Xuan asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°After the Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores are formed, the power of the two soul cores will fuse with one another. If I were to phrase it another way, the powers would be reorganized, purified andpressed after colliding against one another. This allows my soul power to possess spiritual power and Ultimate Ice characteristics. At the same time, the brand new soul power will also take the form of a whirlpool. This whirlpool-shaped soul power was definitely the product of the fusion between my soul power and spiritual power. It possesses extremely destructive capabilities. At the same time, it is also able topress my soul power to the mostpact state possible. I can sense how the total volume of my soul power had increased to three times its original amount after I made my breakthrough. In addition, my fighting power has increased to five times what it was before my soul powerpression.¡±

    ¡°The brand new soul power produced by the Yin Yang Complement technique is extremely resistant to any external energy or power. Even though the vengeance from the spear was extremely intense, I believe Di Tian¡¯s Yin Yang Equilibrium soul power, which he must have cultivated for many years, will definitely be able to dissolve the vengeance. Besides, his body is dark-type. Even though he should definitely be injured, his injuries should not be as serious as the evil soul masters have imagined. Those evil soul masters are really unwise to intrude into the Great Star Dou Forest and challenge the Beast God on his home ground.¡±

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s exnation, Elder Xuan exhaled deeply.It seems like it¡¯s really not easy for any soul master to fight the Beast God¡ªespecially with the power he possesses!

 Chapter 564.3 - Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea

    <h4 ss>Chapter 564.3: Injuring the Beast God, Holy Ghost Blood Sea</h4>

    Even though the status of soul engineers had been on the rise¡ªin fact, they seemed to be overtaking soul masters in terms of prestige¡ªas soul tools continued to be more advanced, the most powerful individuals still remained at the top of the pyramid.

    For example, the Beast God was definitely able to flee no matter how many soul engineers were sent after him. No one would be able to hold him down. And if he were to go all-out and attack, he would definitely be more frightening than any soul engineer legion.

    As he thought about soul engineer legions, Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled the short interaction he had with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. It was truly a force not to be meddled with. If they were to sh head-on with the Beast God, who knew if they could actually y him? Huo Yuhao knew that he would eventually have to face the world¡¯s most powerful soul engineer legion in the future when they shed head-on with the Sun Moon Empire.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, you¡¯ve said enough. Go and treat your injuries. I will keep watch over you. You should consolidate your powers now that you¡¯ve made your breakthrough. It would have been great if Wutong was around. Who knows? Both of you might just be able to stand up to Di Tian if both of you were to link up together.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed an awkward smile as he shook his head. ¡°I am afraid there might now be a problem with my martial soul fusion with Wutong after my breakthrough. My soul power has fundamentally changed, and might not be able to fuse with her soul power anymore. However, I think our martial soul fusion skills should still be usable. If she is around, I think both of us should be able to defend ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Where did this little brat run off to? Why is Wutong not with you at such an important time?¡± Elder Xuan asked.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Elder Xuan, I shan¡¯t hide it from you. I have gotten her to go to the Dou Ling Empire and persuade the people there not to send their troops over to Shrek City.¡±

    Elder Xuan did not seem to be surprised by what Huo Yuhao had revealed. Instead, he sighed and said, ¡°Yuhao, do you know what will happen if everyone were to know what you have done?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s really obvious that this is a trap. I really don¡¯t want them to fall into this trap. At the same time, I know my actions will not be able to change the oue. The Dou Ling Empire and Star Luo Empire will not be able to pass up this chance to cooperate with us and defeat the Sun Moon Empire. However, if they were to reallye and assist us, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and said, ¡°Even though Wutong was fairly emotional the other day, I could tell that what she had suggested was very likely true. However, you must understand that no matter how likely her proposition was, the Academy can never take such risks. This is because we simply cannot afford to fail. Hence, when such moments arrive, we have no choice but to prioritize the survival of our Academy.¡±

    ¡°Even though we were able to inflict some damage on the Sun Moon Empire thanks to your efforts, at the same time, we caught a glimpse of how powerful their army has be. Even Di Tian had no choice but to avoid a direct blow from some of their attacks. Needless to say, we would probably not be able to withstand their blows either. If we were really to sh head-on, what do you think our odds of beating them are?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°I understand your dilemma. Hence, I can only do what I can to improve the situation. Following which, I went into my closed-door cultivation and attempted to make my breakthrough in the hopes of threatening the Sun Moon Empire with my new abilities. Elder Xuan, once I have recovered, I hope to pay a visit to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.¡±

    Elder Xuan¡¯s eyes widened slightly before he replied, ¡°Sure, go ahead. In fact, this is a good time to do that.¡± He did not bother asking what Huo Yuhao nned to do at the camp. After hearing what Wutong had said previously, he could roughly guess that Huo Yuhao and the War God Empress had a peculiar rtionship going on. Now that the evil soul masters had headed to the Great Star Dou Forest, it was a good chance for him to find her.

    Elder Xuan personally sent Huo Yuhao to his room in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before ordering his people to head to the Tang Sect and inform the people there that Huo Yuhao was well.

    After crossing his legs and sitting up straight, Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind returned to its tranquil state. Following which, he began to recount the collision he had had with Di Tian.

    That blow from Di Tian must have been close to his full power. Even though his dark-type power was not particrly frightening, it became invincible once it wasbined with his spatial power

    The Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores in his body started to rotate as small whirlpools of soul power started to circte within his passageways, releasing a mystical sensation.

    Even though Huo Yuhao had sustained some concussive injuries, they were not particrly serious because of his Icy War God¡¯s Armor. In addition, he had fully absorbed the energy from the Dragon Pill. This gave his body strength and resistance which was beyond that of any human.

    The soul power which was infused with his spiritual power and Ultimate Ice circted along the path dictated by the Mysterious Heaven Technique under his control. After a few circtions, the injuries in his body vanished.

    Even though it was unbelievably tough to use the Yin Yang Complement technique to cultivate one¡¯s second soul core, it promised many incredible benefits after it waspleted.

    Even Huo Yuhao was unable to urately measure how much soul power he could control now. However, he was certain that he should be able to take on powerful cultivators like Yan Shaozhe one-on-one even if he didn¡¯t have Tang Wutong with him.

    Having a second soul core formed from the Yin Yang Complement technique granted him regenerative ability that was far beyond that of a Titled Douluo or Transcendent Douluo, who both only had one soul core. He had a massive advantage over them when it came to his soul power¡¯s strength and flexibility, as well as the duality of his soul power.

    Di Tian¡¯s soul power also possessed dual characteristics. However, his duality was a fusion of his dark-type power and spatial power. It was important to note that the spatial power did not belong to him. Instead, he had spent hundreds of thousands of years umting and experimenting to gain an understanding of the spatial power which surrounded him. Following which, he integrated this understanding of spatial power into his own dark-type power and used his spatial power to rece his rtively weak spiritual power. Hence, Di Tian¡¯s soul power actually contained three different kinds of power. However, his spiritual power was rtively weaker than the others.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he still had a long way to go. Acquiring his second soul core was equivalent to opening a new door of possibilities. There was plenty for him to explore and look forward to.

    While he had started to get the hang of how to use his Icy War God¡¯s Armor, he had onlye into contact with the tip of the iceberg when it came to the capabilities of his Morning Dew Dagger.

    After all, the Morning Dew Dagger was an actual godly weapon! Today, the Morning Dew Dagger had already helped him negate arge part of the power from Di Tian¡¯s sh, which had transcended space. Otherwise, he would definitely have sustained heavier injuries. However, Huo Yuhao believed that his life would not be at any risk. He could sense that Di Tian did not want to kill him.

    Of course, he would not feel grateful towards the Beast God because of this. He was very clear why Di Tian did not want to kill him.

    As nightfall came, Huo Yuhao gently stretched as he floated from his bed to the ground. As he stretched, his entire body radiated a powerful aura. It was as though he were a gigantic dragon

    Afterpleting the cultivation of his second soul core, Huo Yuhao had officially stepped into the league of the most powerful cultivators. Even though Shrek Academy had plenty of powerful cultivators, he was definitely qualified to call himself one of them now.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, and allowed the air to circte within his body before exhaling. The air that escaped from his mouth seemed as though it had left his body in a spiral manner. Even though there was no soul power in his breath, Huo Yuhao felt as though everything around him was in his control.

    After his fight with Di Tian and the cultivation he had justpleted, he had now developed a basic understanding of his body¡¯s current situation.

    As of now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power should be somewhere around Rank 92. His actual soul power volume was closer to that of a Rank 96 Transcendent Douluo. However, his soul power possessed dual characteristics, and had been formed through Yin Yang Equilibrium. At the same time, his soul power possessed rapid regenerative ability, and was a lot more flexible than normal soul power. Coupled with his twin martial souls, he would not even be at a disadvantage if he were to fight with a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo based solely on soul power. If he were to bump into powerful cultivators like Long Xiaoyao again, he still might not be able to defeat them, but he would not be powerless like before.

    He was able to melt into the night sky by developing that intent. There was no need for him to deliberately execute a soul skill.

    This was obviously an ability that belonged to a Transcendent Douluo. After bing a Transcendent Douluo, one¡¯s soul skills would fuse perfectly with one¡¯s body. The soul skill would naturally be executed ording to one¡¯s intent. There was no need to deliberately release one¡¯s martial soul or activate one¡¯s soul rings. The speed of the execution would hence be faster as the power of the effect became enhanced.

    As he floated out of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao soared high up into the sky before vanishing out of sight.

    Elder Xuan, who had been meditating in his own room, opened his eyes as he revealed a warm smile.Elder Mu, I have found you a sessor.

    The azure sky was very clear. Perhaps it was because the battle earlier in the day had blown away all the clouds and mist. The night view was spectacr.

    Countless stars decorated the sky. They were like sparkling diamonds sewn on a dark blue piece of silk. The view was particrly moving.

    Because of the radiant moon, the night did not seem as dark and depressing as it would have been. The moon allowed Huo Yuhao to look far ahead.

    While he was flying through the sky, the sensations which were attacking his senses werepletely different from before.

    After acquiring his second soul core, everything seemed to have changed. His cultivation level, senses, spiritual power, and even his understanding of the world had be different.

    If his understanding of the world was formerly but the tip of the iceberg, he was now capable of appreciating everything, and drawing out the universalws that governed the patterns around him. He felt as if he could be in control of anything and everything around him, no matter what circumstances he found himself in.

    This sensation was particrly special and pleasant. Even Huo Yuhao was unable to exin why it felt this special. He merely felt that even the smallest particles in the air could transform under his control and ording to his intent.

    And the original three-dimensional world that Huo Yuhao was familiar with now seemed to have disintegrated into isted segments. After acquiring his second soul core, he seemed to have understood some ideas about the spaces and the gaps between dimensions. Even though he was far from reaching Di Tian¡¯s level, he believed he would be able to eventually attain a deep understanding of spatial power if he were to continue developing his understanding of this state.

    He no longer seemed to require any soul power to fly. It was as if the air had be a part of his body. With simple intent, the air would propel his body forward. Controlling the speed of his motion was also controble by his intent.

 Chapter 565.1 - Abduction!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 565.1: Abduction!</h4>

    It turned out that he no longer needed a flying-type soul tool after gaining his second soul core. As for his speed limit, Huo Yuhao gave that an attempt too. He was definitely faster than supersonic speed. Once he reached a certain speed, he felt that he was able to break through space.

    It was only now that he realized that the Beast God¡¯s ability to transcend space wasn¡¯t very special. It was achievable once his speed reached a certain extreme, and once he was able to understand the mysteries of space. He couldn¡¯t do so now, but he would find a way to do it in the future.

    The formation of his second soul core opened a new door for him. The existence of this door also gave him the opportunity to work towards the peak of this world.

    He soon covered fifty kilometers just as he was silentlyprehending everything.

    Huo Yuhao let all types of soul tools scan his body, but he wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered. This was because he was like a part of the air right now.

    Even the Beast God couldn¡¯t do this, as he didn¡¯t have Imitation. After forming his second soul core, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation had also reached a peak. It was no longer just simply imitating. It was more like a transformation. He could transform into anything he wanted to, including air.

    The destruction caused in the day could still be seen. Watching from the sky, it was clear that one entire region waspletely empty. Even from the sky, Huo Yuhao could still sense the aura of darkness and Ultimate Iceing from that section. This plot ofnd would take a long time to neutralize these forces. Before they were neutralized, no living matter could survive here. Even any living organism above it was affected.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was unleashed like a huge web. The entire Sun Moon Empire camp was covered. Very soon, Huo Yuhao found who he wanted.

    He drifted down andnded in the base.

    Ju Zi was distracted in her seat at this moment. There was an uncertain look in her eyes. One couldn¡¯t me her for feeling this way. She was still very confused.

    In the day, she had watched as Di Tian stuck Huo Yuhao with a sword. That was also a very key reason why she was determined to attack the Beast God.

    Everything that had happened afterward was under her control. The only thing she was unsure about was how Huo Yuhao was. He actually shed against the Beast God. Although he was much stronger than he was before, would the Beast God¡¯s attack have left him with serious injuries?

    ¡°Can I enter?¡± A clear voice sounded from outside, which caused Ju Zi to lift her head.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± After she asked, she subconsciously covered her mouth. This was because she realized that the voice didn¡¯te from outside the tent, but was ringing inside her head

    ¡°Whoosh whoosh!¡± A few figures quickly dashed into the tent.

    ¡°Marshal, what¡¯s going on?¡± The people who entered were all dressed in fiery-red human-shaped soul tools. They were members of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.

    Among the five soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation, only Ju Zi¡¯s thirty bodyguards, the team and vice-team leaders of the respective soul engineer legions, and the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were equipped with human-shaped soul tools.

    These guards that were standing guard outside Ju Zi¡¯s tent were all elites among the elites in the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.

    Ju Zi waved her hand and said, ¡°Nothing. I might have heard wrongly earlier. All of you can leave now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± While the guards were a little perplexed, they still retreated after performing a simple check of the tent.

    Ju Zi returned to her seat and sat down. She gently pressed her right hand to her chair handle. Around the tent, a spiritual barrier silently went off.

    In that short period of time earlier, she had already known whose voice that was.Is he here? Is he really here?

    ¡°Ju Zi.¡± The voice sounded once again. Ju Zi was stunned. She subconsciously covered her mouth. This was because she was astonished to discover that Huo Yuhao had appeared in front of her without any warning.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Ju Zi was in a daze. Before she could even open her mouth, Huo Yuhao had already pulled her over with one hand.

    At this instant, countless images surfaced in Ju Zi¡¯s head. She subconsciously wanted to grab the handle on the other side. However, she stopped after her hand moved slightly. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t restraining her. Instead, she stopped of her own ord.

    A sorrowful feeling surged in her heart.Is he finally going to make a move on me? Has he made up his mind?

    Ju Zi mocked herself and shut her eyes. She had many tricks up her sleeve to deal with Huo Yuhao. The tent was full of traps. If she used the instations in the tent to stop Huo Yuhao for even a moment, she was confident that someone woulde to save her.

    However, she didn¡¯t do so. Rather, she didn¡¯t do anything. At this instant, she even felt as if the shackles on her had been removed. Dying under his hands was probably the best relief that she could get.

    Huo Yuhao ced his hand on Ju Zi¡¯s shoulder. Following this, a pitch-ck door appeared behind him. Lights shed, and both he and Ju Zi vanished into that door.

    Ju Zi only felt that her soul had left her body. Everything around her distorted, but there was a weird force protecting her. Nothing in the outside world could touch her body.

    And then, everything returned to normal. Ju Zi¡¯s legs shook, and she found her footing again.

    Everything around her brightened up. The air was slightly cold and sinister. When Ju Zi opened her eyes, she discovered that she was on a little mountain with Huo Yuhao. Not far from this mountain was a huge base. There were many soul engineers training there. The lighting here was also dimmer than usual, like it was night time.

    Ju Zi was shocked as she asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Where are we?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°This is my ce.¡±

    ¡°Your ce?¡± Ju Zi was curious. She wasn¡¯t afraid of dying in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms. Right now, she wasn¡¯t fearful at all.

    Huo Yuhao asked a little cheekily, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll tell you the secret of this ce?¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°Whatever. Why did you bring me here?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed slightly, ¡°For no reason. We are friends. I only invited you here as a guest. Can¡¯t I do that? Let¡¯s go and get a cup of tea.¡±

    As he spoke, he proceeded in the direction of the base.

    Ju Zi stomped the ground. Although she didn¡¯t know what was going on, she still followed him. For some reason, she felt that she would be in grave danger if she left his side.

    Ju Zi wasn¡¯t wearing any armor right now, only a red dress. It seemed like she was a young but richdy.

    ¡°Marshal!¡± The soldiers all came up to greet Huo Yuhao when they saw him. They were all delightfully surprised to see him.

    Huo Yuhao and the others from the Tang Sect had been gone for some time without returning. Although there was food and water here, they were still very lonely. The three soul engineer legions were loving the war against the Sun Moon Empire. It was truly exciting. Furthermore, they were also very happy to plunder the Sun Moon Empire.

    It was also their first time seeing Ju Zi. When they saw her, they appeared very yful. Although Ju Zi wasn¡¯t as pretty as Tang Wutong, she had a very special aura about her. This left a deep impression on others, especially her delicate skin. These soul engineers unwittingly took another few nces at her.

    Huo Yuhao brought Ju Zi to where he stayed in the base.

    Although Ju Zi kept on following him, she was still observing everything around her. Since she hadn¡¯t died, everything here was very important to her. Being observant had be a habit that she followed in her life.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t bother her, and didn¡¯t stop her either.

    After entering his room, someone delivered tea and some snacks. After this period of restructuring, this base was already very simr one on to the Douluo Continent.

    ¡°Please, enjoy some tea.¡± Huo Yuhao raised his own teacup and took a sip.

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t move, only silently sat and watched.

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he asked, ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡±

    ¡°Tell me, where is this ce? Yuhao, I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a big secret.¡± Ju Zi said with a serious face.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier that this is my ce?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. ¡°You can control spatial power?¡±

    After hearing her question, Huo Yuhao was astonished. ¡°Can you actually tell?¡±

    Ju Zi groaned, ¡°While I might not be particrly strong, you must not forget that I¡¯m the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s War God Empress. I¡¯m always in touch with the most senior officials in the Sun Moon Empire, especially their top soul engineers. In terms of my experience, I¡¯m notckingpared to others. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t believe you can control such a big plot of space, given your abilities. This isn¡¯t just ordinary spatial power anymore. Even Di Tian couldn¡¯t possibly create an entire ne that belongs to him. I understand everything now. The sneak attacks on the Sun Moon Empire were indeedmitted by you. With such a ne and your flying speed, you can indeed appear in any corner of the Sun Moon Empire. No wonder you were so difficult to deal with. Even His Majesty was hurt by your attack.¡±

 Chapter 565.2 - Abduction!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 565.2: Abduction!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°So Xu Tianran really was hurt. It¡¯s a pity we couldn¡¯t kill him. Otherwise, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army would copse on its own.¡±

    Ju Zi suddenlyughed. ¡°I think so too. It¡¯s a pity that you didn¡¯t kill him. However, I have to tell you that the Sun Moon Empire wouldn¡¯t be in chaos even after he dies. This is because I¡¯m still here.¡±

    ¡°What if you were dead too?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold.

    The smile on Ju Zi¡¯s face became even more captivating, ¡°Don¡¯t try to scare me. That trick won¡¯t work on me. I¡¯ve already seen through you. If you could really bear to kill me, you wouldn¡¯t have brought me here. You would have killed me when we were in the tent earlier.¡±

    As she spoke, she leaned on the sides of the table and stood up. Then, she moved in front of Huo Yuhao and looked at him, saying, ¡°You can¡¯t bear to kill me, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was forced to move back a little. As he looked at Ju Zi, he felt very helpless. She was simply too clever! Yes, he wouldn¡¯t have brought her here if he was determined to kill her.

    ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t bear to kill you. However, since you¡¯re here and have seen my greatest secret, do you really think I¡¯ll let you off?¡±

    Ju Ziughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not important whether I go back. The more important thing is, how will the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army react if I go missing? Should I analyze things for you? If you n on keeping me captive, I would say that¡¯s a wrong move.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he looked at her. In fact, he had really wanted to keep her captive in here. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have brought her here.

    In terms of military matters, Ju Zi was an absolute genius. Without their marshal, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army would be without a leader. When that happened, there was bound to be internal chaos. That would make them easier to deal with.

    Ju Ziughed and said, ¡°If I¡¯m around, Shrek City will be fine. However, I can¡¯t guarantee that if I go missing. I can even say that Shrek City will be in danger. Think about it. If I¡¯m missing, wouldn¡¯t Shrek naturally be the most likely culprit? Given that, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army and my subordinates will first think of attacking Shrek and asking for me.¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m held captive here, I can¡¯t send any instructions. Once they can¡¯t find me, they¡¯ll definitely enact vengeance on Shrek City. Do you really think that Shrek can handle our army? You should have seen how strong we were when we dealt with Di Tian today.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I can bring you back to Shrek City and make you appear on the city walls. Once your subordinates see that you¡¯re there, will they dare to attack the city?¡±

    Ju Ziughed coldly and replied, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. In this world, there are at least two people who canmand the army. One is my husband, who¡¯s the current Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. Once I¡¯m captured, they¡¯ll immediately send word back to Radiant City. My husband can even forsake his own son. What do you think he¡¯ll do for me? Furthermore, that would only give him the perfect reason to attack Shrek City. If I¡¯m dead, he can easily find another person to rece me. That person is the military supervisor of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, Zhong Liwu. You should know how vicious the Holy Ghost Church is. If I¡¯m in the army, I can still suppress them. Once I¡¯m gone, you should know about the hatred between the Holy Ghost Church and Shrek City. He can¡¯t wait toy his hands on Shrek City. When that happens, he¡¯ll definitely activate all my subordinates to attack. In addition, he also wants me dead. If I¡¯m dead, there¡¯s one less person in the empire that can restrain him. Isn¡¯t that a good thing for him? He can kill two birds with one stone.¡±

    ¡°If they can destroy Shrek City, those from the Holy Ghost Church are willing to pay any price. After destroying Shrek, they¡¯ll strengthen their control over the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army andunch an all-out war. When that happens, who can stop them? Do you really think that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is better under their control, or mine?¡±

    Ju Zi left Huo Yuhao wide-eyed in shock with her words. As he looked at her serious face, he couldn¡¯t speak for a long time.

    His reason for finding Ju Zi today had been very simple. He wanted to hold her captive to alleviate the crisis that Shrek was currently facing. At least he could threaten the Sun Moon Empire, so that they wouldn¡¯t act recklessly. After that, he could also judge who Ju Zi¡¯s real target was.

    However, Huo Yuhao hesitated after hearing her words. This was because every word she said made sense.

    Ju Zi raised her teacup and blew into it. She blew the tea leaf on the surface away and tasted the tea. She revealed a relieved look on her face. ¡°Drinking a cup of hot tea is really a joy. Didn¡¯t you want to keep me captive here? You can go now. Don¡¯t worry. I know this is your independent space. Anyway, I can¡¯t escape. You just need to ask someone to send me three meals every day. I can¡¯t wait for some rest. I really have to thank you. Go on, you can go. Quickly, return. Otherwise, things wouldn¡¯t be great for Shrek if a master like you isn¡¯t around.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at how calm Ju Zi was as she sipped her tea. He sighed and said, ¡°Ju Zi, did you know? I was almost tempted to kill you after hearing your words.¡±

    The teacup in Ju Zi¡¯s hand shook slightly, and she smiled. She ced the teacup on the table before staring at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Alright! Do it then. At least keep my corpse intact after you kill me. Please bury me too. In fact, I¡¯m more interested in staying in your heart. If you kill me, you¡¯ll be unsettled for the rest of your life. You¡¯ll remember me forever then. I¡¯ll be satisfied if that¡¯s the case. Come on, do it.¡±

    As she spoke, she had already shut her eyes. Her long eyshes touched the bottom half of her face. She was abnormally calm.

    Huo Yuhao only felt something stuck in his chest as he looked at Ju Zi. He slowly stood up. If he really wanted to kill her, would he have waited until now?

    Huo Yuhao let out a long sigh as he left the room and took in a deep breath of the cold air in the demine. He knew that he had lost. Although he held Ju Zi captive here, he still lost to her eventually!

    Ju Zi shut her eyes for a brief moment and didn¡¯t move at all. When she reopened her eyes, Huo Yuhao was no longer in the room.

    She also stood up and revealed a fierce look on her face, ¡°This guy has no conscience! To think that I risked fighting the Beast God trying to save him. Hmph, guys really are jerks.¡±

    After she finished speaking, she alsoughed. Eventually, did he also noty a hand on her?

    She picked up her teacup once again. She didn¡¯t leave the room, but continued to sip her tea quietly. After she finished her own teacup, she took Huo Yuhao¡¯s teacup and slowly sipped on it too. She didn¡¯t mind that he had used it earlier.

    After the pot of tea was finished, Huo Yuhao returned to the room. When he saw that Ju Zi was holding his teacup, he was stunned for a moment.

    ¡°Ju Zi, what do you want? Are you really helping Xu Tianran rule the continent? You should know that this war will kill many people. Your family died in war. Why are you so intent on continuing this war?

    Ju Zi turned cold. ¡°I¡¯m continuing this war? Huo Yuhao, ask yourself. If I wasn¡¯t in this war, would it not happen? If I¡¯m not around, will the Sun Moon Empire lose its ambition? Without me, can you deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tools? That¡¯s right, war kills people. However, I can touch my heart and tell you one thing. At least the number of people dying in this war is the lowest ever in history when I¡¯m the one orchestrating everything.¡±

    ¡°Things change in this world. The Douluo Continent requires a powerful nation to unite and rule it. Why aren¡¯t the three empires as strong as the Sun Moon Empire? It¡¯s because they are technologically inferior. A unified empire can use technology to the benefit of its citizens. You should also have noticed that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technology has entered the Heavenly Soul Empire after we upied it. At the start, their people were still very resistant, and unwilling to listen. However, as time passed, aren¡¯t they already slowly starting to recognize us? This is the charm of technology. People¡¯s lives will only get better with progressive technology, and the future will also be brighter. That¡¯s why I believe that a unified empire is absolutely necessary. Of course, who rules this empire is a different thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao silently listened to Ju Zi. After hearing her words, he gently shook his head. ¡°We have different beliefs. We can¡¯t watch as our empires get attacked. That¡¯s why I was unwilling to face everything at the start. However, I¡¯ll need to face things eventually. We are on opposing sides. The Sun Moon Empire is very strong, but it might not be able to rule the entire continent in the future. The foundation of the three empires of the original Douluo Continent can¡¯t be corroded so easily. If things go bad, the people who really suffer are the civilians.¡±

 Chapter 565.3 - Abduction!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 565.3: Abduction!</h4>

    Ju Zi said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say all that to me. We don¡¯t have a consensus when ites to this. I have no desire for power or authority. I followed Xu Tianran for revenge. However, my desire to exact revenge has slowly died down over the past few years. Now, I have a son. I must pave the way for him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve also seen how Xu Tianran treats my son. Thest time, little Yunhan almost died outside. If you didn¡¯t bring him back, I can¡¯t imagine what would have happened to him. That¡¯s why I must be strong and make my son the most powerful person in this world. I¡¯m not fighting for Xu Tianran, but my son. In the future, my son will be the true master of this world. No one can stop me. The only way is to kill me. If you are intent enough, I can tell you a secret.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. ¡°Using your life in exchange for a secret? What is it?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled, and her gaze turned gentler as she looked at him. ¡°It¡¯s a secret you¡¯ll never guess. However, you can only know if you are determined enough to kill me. When you stab my heart, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°You¡¯ve already seen through me clearly. You know I won¡¯ty my hands on you. That¡¯s why you¡¯re so calm. I can¡¯t even hold you captive right now. However, you¡¯ve also seen this independent dimension of mine. If I want to intentionally cause destruction, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely be greatly affected.¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°You can try then. Let¡¯s see whether I unify the continent faster, or you cause damage to the Sun Moon Empire faster.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried at all? Don¡¯t forget that Xu Tianran was once hurt by me.¡±

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Yuhao, if you can do one thing, I might be able to dy the invasion of the Douluo Continent.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Huo Yuhao was curious as he looked at her.

    ¡°Help me kill Xu Tianran!¡± Ju Zi eximed with the utmost seriousness.

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected her to say this. ¡°He¡¯s your husband! You, you want to murder your husband?¡±

    Ju Ziughed coldly. ¡°Husband? He was never my husband. Neither was I ever his wife. I¡¯m only a tool for him to use. Or rather, everyone around him are like tools to him. This includes my son. Originally, I still had some feelings for him. I wouldn¡¯t be here today if not for him. However, I no longer owed him anything the day he decided to forsake our son. In the near future, I must kill him. My son can only ascend the throne if he¡¯s dead. All the problems will cease to exist as a result of that. That¡¯s why you must kill him to dy the invasion of the Douluo Continent. I¡¯ll only have the freedom to pull our troops back if we kill him. Of course, I still need to deal with the Holy Ghost Church after he¡¯s dead. It¡¯s also because of this that I won¡¯t unite the continent temporarily. So what do you think? If you can do that, I can promise that no war will be waged in the next ten years. You can also help the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires develop over those ten years. Let¡¯s see whether they can catch up to the Sun Moon Empire. If you can do that, this world will still be split into three.¡±

    Huo Yuhao felt as if it were his first time meeting Ju Zi. He stared at her, and couldn¡¯t utter a word for some time.

    Ju Zi had actually asked him to kill Xu Tianran. She was very unfamiliar to him in this manner. Right now, it seemed like she was only genuine when talking about her son.

    ¡°Ju Zi, I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be like this. No matter what, Xu Tianran is the father of your son! Although I really wish for him to die, you shouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t want you to be a cold-blooded creature.¡±

    Ju Ziughed coldly. ¡°Father of my son? If that¡¯s the case, would he haveid his hands on his son? Although I¡¯m not a good person, I¡¯m a person of flesh and blood. I¡¯m a real woman. However, Xu Tianran isn¡¯t a real man. He didn¡¯t just lose his legs when he was attacked by his biological younger brother. He also lost his manhood. My son is mine. He has no rtion to Xu Tianran. To have a Crown Prince and stabilize his throne, he forced me to artificially inseminate a kid. Did you know that? Do you know how much I¡¯ve suffered over these years?¡±

    Tears flowed as sheughed coldly. Ju Zi was shaking uncontrobly.

    Huo Yuhao was also in a daze. Of course he didn¡¯t know that she had suffered so much.

    Xu Tianran and Ju Zi were actually only husband and wife in name. He had even forced Ju Zi to artificially inseminate herself. This had to be the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s greatest secret. If it spread, both Xu Tianran and Ju Zi would be doomed.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t thinking about this. He only realized why Ju Zi hated Xu Tianran. A man, who was her husband, actually let her inseminate herself with some other guy¡¯s semen. How cruel was this? To a woman, this was even more cruel.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ju Zi. I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    Ju Zi took a few steps forward and came in front of him. She lifted her head to look at him. Right now, both of them were less than thirty centimeters apart.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to apologize. Although I hate Xu Tianran, I love my son. That¡¯s why you can help me kill Xu Tianran, if that¡¯s possible. However, you must never harm little Yunhan. If you can do this, I don¡¯t need you to care about anything else. I¡¯ll think of a way to stop the Sun Moon Empire from waging a war for the next ten years. What do you think?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was really moved. The Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires could achieve a lot in ten years. Although there was still a huge gap between these two empires and the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tool technology, they had the opportunity to catch up if they had ten years to n and prepare. After ten years, he would also be stronger. When that happened, he could possibly control the entire war.

    However, this matter involved many things. Huo Yuhao was still hesitant. ¡°Let me consider it.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush. However, don¡¯t worry. No matter what, I won¡¯t really attack Shrek City. You told me that the city is your home. Why would I destroy your home?¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°What¡¯s your true intention? Apart from forcing me back from the Sun Moon Empire, what else do you want if you are not intending to attack Shrek? Is your target the Dou Ling Empire or the Star Luo Empire?¡±

    Ju Zi looked at him and smiled without saying anything.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her. ¡°Answer my question and I¡¯ll send you back.¡±

    Ju Zi sighed and replied, ¡°So what if I answer you? Even I promise not to attack Shrek Academy, will those from the academy believe you? Even if they do, will you take a risk with the academy?¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°You¡¯ve calcted it perfectly already!¡±

    Ju Zi chuckled, ¡°Yes! Am I not clever? However, I don¡¯t really think I¡¯m smart. If I were, I wouldn¡¯t have let you get away back then. Then there wouldn¡¯t be Wang Dong¡¯er.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned his head away and avoided her passionate gaze. He sighed and said, ¡°Come on, let me send you back.¡±

    Ju Ziughed, ¡°What are you so scared of? I won¡¯t eat you.¡± As she spoke, she took a step forward and came closer to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously took half a step back. He lifted his right hand and pressed it on her shoulder to keep her at arm¡¯s length.

    ¡°Is she really that good?¡± Ju Zi asked as she stared at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao silently looked at Ju Zi, but he didn¡¯t utter a word. When he was still learning in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, he didn¡¯t know that Wang Dong¡¯er was a girl. If he had known that then, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to ept anyone else in his heart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s feelings for Ju Zi wereplex. Indeed, Ju Zi was the first girl to walk into his heart. It was just that he was very confused about that feeling. Then, Huo Yuhao had felt a yearning in his heart. After this, he realized that his yearning was actually for Wang Dong¡¯er.

    Things changed with the passage of time. He was really dumbfounded when Ju Zi asked him such a question now. He wasn¡¯t willing to harm her, but he couldn¡¯t just speak blindly.

    Ju Zi only watched him silently. After a while, her tears started to flow. ¡°Yuhao, I only hope that you remember that I won¡¯t harm two people in this world ¨C my son and you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook a little. Given his spiritual cultivation, he could naturally sense that her words were filled with emotions. They weren¡¯t a pretense.

    He nodded gently before he revealed a long look on his face, ¡°I¡¯m really not willing to face you on the battlefield. At least we¡¯re still friends.¡±

    Ju Zi asked, ¡°Can you give me a hug?¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment. Eventually, he opened his arms wide and gently hugged her . However, he didn¡¯t pull her close to him.

    Ju Zi pushed him away, ¡°You¡¯re really patronizing. But I¡¯m happy enough.¡± After she finished speaking, she suddenly turned around and ran away. She ran outside.

    Huo Yuhao quickly followed her outside.

    As she stood in the base, Ju Zi looked into the distance. In the distance, the soil was barren, and there were still many hills. There was nothing green, and no sign of life could be seen.

    ¡°It¡¯s really magical. I don¡¯t know why such a ce exists. I know you won¡¯t tell me. I won¡¯t probe either. Send me back. After I return, I¡¯m still the War God Empress. Everything I told you earlier still holds.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao gently sighed. He didn¡¯t recite any incantations before a pitch-ck door opened behind them. Huo Yuhao grabbed Ju Zi¡¯s shoulder with one hand. Their figures shed. They crossed the threshold and vanished.

 Chapter 566.1 - My Target is the Dou Ling Empire

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 566.1: My Target is the Dou Ling Empire</h4>

    The light changed once again as everything seemed to have returned to normal. Huo Yuhao brought Ju Zi out of the huge ck door as they returned to her tent.

    Ju Zi turned around and took ast glimpse at the mystical sight behind her. Even now, she was still slightly startled by the experience she had just had. ¡°So this is your deepest secret that you have been hiding from everyone?¡± she asked gently.

    Huo Yuhao did not answer. All he did was stare at her asplex emotions overwhelmed him.

    Ju Zi continued, ¡°You¡¯re still too kind. You had a great opportunity to kill me just now¡ªor at the very least imprison me. Actually, I was notpletely truthful earlier. If I am not around, the army might just attack Shrek City. However, with the power that all of you possess, you will still have a good chance of surviving our attacks. As long as you are able to withstand the first wave of attacks, you might just stand a chance at defeating us. However, you have just let this chance slip away. Now that I am back here, there¡¯s no way you can catch me again as long as I choose not to allow you to do so.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°I know.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, and she asked, ¡°Then why did you send me back?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t make up my mind. You¡¯re right. I am just too kind. However, I hope that you will never challenge my limits again. You should not be overly confident about your abilities either. If I really have to kill you someday, you will never be able to run away from me.¡±

    Ju Zi revealed a smile on her face. It seemed as though she was not worried in the slightest about Huo Yuhao¡¯s threatening words. ¡°If you really have this capability, you should kill that man first. If you kill him, I will adhere to our ten-year promise.¡±

    Huo Yuhao squinted his eyes as multiple thoughts fleeted across his mind. He knew it was somewhat against his conscience to kill Ju Zi. However, he had no psychological barrier when it came to killing that man. Nheless, would he really be that easy to kill? Huo Yuhao knew he had to take down the entire Imperial Soul Engineer Legion in Radiant City in order to kill him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Huo Yuhao waved his hand at Ju Zi before beginning to fade into the air.

    Ju Zi was a little frustrated by his response as she suddenly spoke, ¡°I will tell you who my target is.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao, who was about to leave the tent, suddenly stopped and reappeared. He turned around and stared at Ju Zi in disbelief.

    Ju Zi stood up and walked towards Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, believe it or not, I only called you and promised to tell you this secret because I wanted to see you once more before you leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled by her words. As he sensed her affection for him, his mind turned into aplete mess.

    ¡°My target is the Dou Ling Empire. You probably could have guessed it as well. You were just unsure if your guess was correct, that¡¯s all.¡± Ju Zi smiled.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her and nodded. Following which, his body flickered as he vanished into thin air.

    Ju Zi stood where she was as a faint smile appeared on her face. It was as though Huo Yuhao had never left her. It was only after a good long while that the smile on her face faded away. Following which, she was back to her usual professional self as she returned to hermander¡¯s seat. Afterward, she reactivated the spiritual barrier she had shut down as she started to ponder something.

    After leaving the Commander¡¯s Tent, Huo Yuhao soared up into the sky. Every single detection wave and fluctuation from the surrounding surveince soul tools was instantly tricked by his Imitation.

    He only stopped when he reached an altitude of five thousand meters.

    He turned around to look at the huge Sun Moon Empire camp beneath him. Huo Yuhao was a little disappointed in himself for not having the determination to deal with Ju Zi once and for all.

    Even though she behaved in a gentle manner in front of him, Huo Yuhao could sense how scary she was. From the start till the end, he did not manage to seize the initiative in their interaction. Ju Zi had delicately used every weakness in his heart to her advantage. It was truly frightening to see such a woman as your enemy¡¯smander.

    After all, she was not called the War God Empress for nothing!

    Huo Yuhao felt that the scariest part about Ju Zi was how she had only spoken the truth. Her rigorous analysis of her schemes and how her opponents would react had forced him to dismiss any ideas of imprisoning her.

    It would definitely be more challenging to fend off an enraged Sun Moon Empire led by the Holy Ghost Church than to handle a calm and collected Ju Zi. Shrek City could not afford to be involved in a head-on sh like that.

    In addition, Ju Zi had a good grasp of what was on his mind. She knew where his limitsy, and how Huo Yuhao would definitely let her go after she revealed to him that she would never attack Shrek City. She had also urately predicted that Huo Yuhao would believe her without any doubt. Perhaps this was because she had shut off the spiritual barrier and put down her defenses before him. She knew Huo Yuhao would never attack her after she did all of that.

    The air high up in the sky was extremely refreshing. After his short pause in the air, Huo Yuhao sped back to Shrek Academy.

    Just as Elder Xuan had said, the only thing he could do after failing to convince the Elders in Shrek Academy was to stop Ju Zi¡¯s operations.

    After returning to Shrek City, Huo Yuhao headed straight for the military drill ground. Following which, he opened the Spectral Gate to release the three soul engineer legions back into their own respective training areas. At the same time, they brought out huge amounts of resources and rations.

    These resources were sufficient for Shrek City to set up multiple soul tool deployment areas within the city. With the addition of the three soul engineer legions, Shrek City¡¯s defenses would definitely be improved tremendously. They would even be able to hold off the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s all-out attack for an extended period of time.

    After finishing all of these things, the sun had started to rise. Huo Yuhao headed back to the Tang Sect instead of returning to the Academy. He had already given instructions for the leaders within the soul engineer legions to submit their reports on the progress of their tasks at the military drill ground to the Academy.

    Huo Yuhao was surprised to learn that Bei Bei and Tang Wutong had already returned to the Tang Sect.

    He could not care about disrupting their rest as he dashed to his room to look for Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Wutong, how did it go?¡±

    Even though dawn was only barely breaking, Tang Wutong was able to leap out of her bed to hug Huo Yuhao right after she was woken up. That was the responsiveness of a Titled Douluo!

    After returning, she had heard about Huo Yuhao from the others. Even though the others might not be entirely sure what he had done, Tang Wutong had no trouble guessing what Huo Yuhao did while she was away.

    In fact, she was clear that he had sent her away so as to prevent her from influencing his decision. If she was around, she would have definitely not allowed him to cultivate his second soul core with the Yin Yang Complement technique at this critical time.

    ¡°Bang!¡± The power of the seal was absolutely frightening. While Tang Wutong was hugging Huo Yuhao tightly, Huo Yuhao was not spared by the seal. The seal forced him away from Tang Wutong and threw him across the room.

    Huo Yuhao was forced into the wall before he slid down andnded on the floor. He was exasperated to discover how powerful his future father-inw¡¯s seal was. The seal was actually able to adjust its power based on his current strength.

    Even though he now possessed two soul cores, he still felt a lot of pain after being tossed aside by the seal. At this instant, Huo Yuhao started to question how powerful his future father-inw exactly was. His seal was so powerful that it could adjust its power based on the other person¡¯s ability. It was important to note that Huo Yuhao could even flee sessfully from an Ultimate Douluo. However, he stood no chance against the seal at all. He had thought that he would be able to hug Wutong properly now, but it seemed like he was still a long way from being able to do that!

    Tang Wutong let out a cold grunt and said, ¡°I hugged you because I was very worried about you. But you deserve to be tossed aside by the seal. How dare you attempt to force a breakthrough when I¡¯m not around? Have you ever considered my feelings? What should I do if you had failed?¡± As she spoke, her eyes started to turn red as tears welled up in them.

    Following which, Tang Wutong sniffed a few times before racing forward to Huo Yuhao. She picked him up before sniffing his body.

    Shit!Huo Yuhao started to panic, but he ensured that his anxiety did not show on his face.

    ¡°Exin.¡± Tang Wutong let out a burst of coldughter as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. He could see the rage within the violet pupils of her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he tried to squeeze out a reply. ¡°Weren¡¯t we talking about serious matters? How did it go with the Dou Ling Empire? Any news from them? Did they listen to what you had to say? Did you manage to find the Heavenly Sun Douluo?¡±

    Tang Wutong pouted and said, ¡°I managed to find the Heavenly Sun Douluo and passed your message to him. But it was apparent that they were not persuaded by my words. In fact, elite troops from the Dou Ling Empire are already on their way to Shrek City. They should be here by tomorrow at thetest. When I reached their empire, they had already dispatched their elite troops. They had sent four soul master legions and two hundred troops in total.¡±

    Huo Yuhao facepalmed and eximed, ¡°Shit! Ju Zi¡¯s nning to attack Dou Ling Empire.¡±

    After hearing his words, Tang Wutong showed a serious expression as she asked, ¡°Exin yourself. Why is there a perfumed scent on your body?¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed as he lowered his head and started sharing how he had nned to abduct Ju Zi, but ended up being persuaded by her. He did not dare to hide anything from Tang Wutong. After all, her big round eyes seemed as though they could see through any of his lies¡ªeven if they were white lies. Hence, he decided that it was better for him to be truthful than to be caught lying. After all, that would be detrimental for their rtionship. On top of that, Huo Yuhao did not think he had been unfaithful towards her!

    Tang Wutong was visibly angrier after hearing his exnation.

    ¡°So you hugged just because she asked you to?¡±

    ¡°I only hugged her shoulders lightly!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still wrong.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how unreasonable women be once they¡¯re jealous!¡±

    ¡°So what if I¡¯m unreasonable? Go and find her if you want. Who knows? She might order her troops to retreat if you promise to marry her. In fact, they might even turn around and overthrow Xu Tianran. You would have effectively saved all of us!¡± Tang Wutong replied sarcastically.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Alright, I was wrong. I will definitely bring you along the next time I look for her.¡±

    ¡°You must be punished if you have done something wrong.¡± Tang Wutong red coldly at him.

    ¡°I need to be punished? I have already admitted that I was wrong.¡± Huo Yuhao looked at her with innocent eyes.

    Tang Wutong suddenly pounced on him and gave him a deep and intense kiss.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes widened as a warm and beautiful sensation traveled straight into his brain. His mind immediately wentpletely nk. Even his Yin Ying Complement soul cores seemed to be powerless in this situation.

    Following which, it was needless to say that he ended up in the wall again.

 Chapter 566.2 - My Target is the Dou Ling Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 566.2: My Target is the Dou Ling Empire</h4>

    Huo Yuhao experienced an inexplicably blissful feeling when he was sliding down from the wall again. Ultimately, his Yin Yang Complement soul cores were still very useful. The pain he felt from being thrown by the seal disappeared much faster than before. The pain was nothing if he could be kissed like this all the time. No matter how strong the seal was, he did not have to fear it, especially when his skin was now unbelievably thick after absorbing the Dragon Pill.

    Hehehe! My future father-inw, let¡¯s see how much longer your seal can hold me back.

    Huo Yuhao regained his bnce and stood up as he shed a cheeky smile at Tang Wutong.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Tang Wutong could sense that Huo Yuhao had some naughty ideas in his head.

    Huo Yuhao giggled and said, ¡°Nothing much. I was just thinking that I deserved to be punished a few more times, since you wanted to punish me earlier.¡±

    Before Tang Wutong could react, Huo Yuhao pounced in her direction. Tang Wutong tried to evade, but Huo Yuhao was able to urately determine the direction she was heading with his Spiritual Detection. Before she could flee, he had already hugged her and nted his lips on hers.

    ¡°Mhhmm¡­¡± Tang Wutong was trying to break away from his clutches. However, Huo Yuhao was once again tossed away by the seal in the very next instant. The powerful seal had once again ¡°punished¡± him.

    This time round, Huo Yuhao leaped up before he had even reached the floor, and pounced towards Tang Wutong again. ¡°Let¡¯s try again! I need a tougher punishment!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Tang Wutong had learned her lesson, as she immediately activated her Instant Teleportation Left Leg Bone and flickered away.

    However, just when she was about to reappear at another corner of the room, she saw a person with a sly smile before her.

    Both of them shared the same soul skill, and had formerly fused their martial souls. After acquiring his second soul core, Huo Yuhao had a much deeper mastery of spatial power. Hence, he was able to use his Spiritual Detection and sensitivity towards the spatial power around him to urately determine where Tang Wutong would reappear.

    Just when Tang Wutong thought she was about to be forcefully kissed by Huo Yuhao again, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. He said, ¡°Wutong, let¡¯s stop the punishment here. I have received news from Ju Zi that they¡¯re nning to attack the Dou Ling Empire. However, as of now, we are unable to convince the Elders in the Academy about her n. I think we have no choice but to make a trip ourselves. Is eldest senior brother back?¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°He is back. I heard that the Star Luo Empire was a lot more receptive. They left some of their elite troops in theirnd even though they¡¯re still sending some of their people over.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°We can¡¯t care about what they n to do anymore. I will head over and send my regards to eldest senior brother before we leave. We need to head over to the Dou Ling Empire and see if we can stop the Sun Moon Empire from attacking them. Ju Zi will not be able to bring too many of her troops, because she has to keep some of them here to preserve their fighting power on the main battlefield, and to continue deceiving us. She¡¯ll most likely send her soul engineer legions to attack the weakest point in the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s lines.¡±

    Tang Wutong answered, ¡°Alright. You can go ahead and look for eldest senior brother. I¡¯ll pack my stuff, and we¡¯ll leave right afterward.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Huo Yuhao replied as he turned around and stepped out of the room. However, he suddenly stopped moving as he turned around and looked at Tang Wutong. He asked gently, ¡°Are you tired?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head gently and replied, ¡°Nope. As long as I¡¯m with you, it¡¯s okay to be a little more tired than usual. However, just promise me that you won¡¯t risk your life when I¡¯m not around. Do you know how scared I was when I wasn¡¯t with you during that period of time? I was so afraid that I would lose you when I came back only to find out that you weren¡¯t here. I heard that even Di Tian came after you while I was away.¡±

    Huo Yuhao brushed his hand through Tang Wutong¡¯s long violet hair and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll never risk my life like this again. I only did this because I was confident that I could pull it off. Right now, Di Tian is entangled in his own affairs, and will not be looking for me in the near future. However, I must share a piece of good news with you. I have managed to remove the reverse scale that Di Tian nted on me during my breakthrough. Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave. You can pack your stuff in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Tang Wutong answered as Huo Yuhao left the room and went to look for Bei Bei.

    He was looking for Bei Bei not only for updates on the Star Luo Empire, but also because of Tang Ya. Now that Tang Ya was beginning her recovery process, her own Bluesilver Grass martial soul was naturally reawakened. However, she had not been able topletely fuse with the Bluesilver Emperor. After all, she had not yet reached a bottleneck in her cultivation, and could only allow the Bluesilver Emperor to be her Spirit when she finally reached Rank 90. Huo Yuhao was going to check on her current situation. This was especially important since he had taken the Life Guardian Sword away from her.

    ¡°Eldest senior brother.¡± Huo Yuhao did not use his Spiritual Detection to check on the situation in Bei Bei¡¯s room. After all, this would infringe on Bei Bei and Tang Ya¡¯s privacy. His voice was not particrly loud, but it was still able to prate through the door.

    ¡°Eh? Little junior brother.¡± After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice, Huo Yuhao was able to hear someone putting on their clothes in the room. Following which, he heard a dissatisfied female grunt. It was obvious that someone in the room was displeased with being interrupted.

    It did not take too long before Bei Bei stepped out of the room. He did not seem to be tired at all. In fact, he seemed to have a radiant glow around him.

    Huo Yuhao asked awkwardly, ¡°Eldest senior brother, how is Teacher Xiao Ya doing?¡±

    ¡°Well, erm, she¡¯s doing very well.¡± Bei Bei replied in an equally awkward fashion.

    Huo Yuhao was definitely able to tell what they were doing. He suddenly felt that the predicament he shared with Tang Wutong was very tragic.My dear future father-inw, when will you appear before us?

    ¡°I paid a visit to the Star Luo Empire, and the White Tiger Duke seemed to share the same sentiments as us after hearing your analysis. However, he believes that Shrek City is equally important. Hence, he still decided to send a part of his elite troops over while maintaining a tight defense at the Star Luo Empire. To be honest, the Star Luo Empire is collectively quite powerful. The Sun Moon Empire might not be able to take them down if they don¡¯t mobilize their full power. He also asked me to send you his regards. I also shared with him how we managed to attack the Sun Moon Empire from its within. The White Tiger Duke said he also wanted to see if there¡¯s any way he can deal more blows to them. He believes that we can¡¯t wait passively like this any longer.¡±

    ¡°Alright, eldest senior brother. Now I am clear about the current situation. The Sun Moon Empire ns to attack the Dou Ling Empire. Hence, I am going to pay a visit to the Dou Ling Empire with Wutong. If we happen to bump into any of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions along the way, we will definitely crush them. I have brought all three soul engineer legions back into Shrek City. I will need your help to arrange them for the city¡¯s defense.¡±

    Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, ¡°Little junior brother, I heard that you have be a Titled Douluo?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I was very lucky to have made my breakthrough. Eldest senior brother, you can rest assured that as long as Wutong and I are together, we will be able to retreat safely even if we can¡¯t take down our enemies.¡±

    Bei Bei nodded and replied, ¡°I have never found the need to be worried about the two of you. I will handle matters in the Academy. However, you might be a little vulnerable if it¡¯s just the two of you. Should I get Sanshi and the rest to follow you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a while before replying, ¡°The Academy should be pretty safe for now. In that case, I¡¯ll probably get them to join us.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to set off now?¡± Bei Bei asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Time waits for no man. I believe the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops must have already set off. The earlier we leave, the likelier it is for us to stop them.¡±

    He understood Ju Zi too well. Even though she might have revealed her target to him, she had probably executed her n already. It was likely that the Sun Moon Empire had made their move, and were entering from another side the moment the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elite troops left. Because the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and Dou Ling Empire was very long, it would be difficult for the Dou Ling Empire to defend against such an incursion.

    Bei Bei asked, ¡°Who do you n to bring along with you?¡±

    ¡°Third senior brother, fourth senior sister, Brother Ji, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu,¡± Huo Yuhao replied decisively, ¡°if we bring too many people, we¡¯ll lose the element of surprise. I think just a few of us should suffice. I will leave second eldest brother to assist Teacher Xuan with soul tools. Since he¡¯s not going, fifth senior sister should also stay behind. It wouldn¡¯t be nice to separate them.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s follow your n then. Let¡¯s go and get them to get ready.¡±

    Fortunately, most soul masters spent arge part of their nights meditating. Hence, there was no such thing as disturbing their sleep. Huo Yuhao was able to get all of them ready within fifteen minutes.

    After getting Tang Wutong to join the rest of them, Huo Yuhao opened the spectral gate instead of getting everyone to fly and leave. He brought everyone into the spectral demine so that they could continue cultivating in the campsite within the demine while he flew alone. This would allow him to move faster than if everyone were to fly with him. At the same time, the others could continue to rest in the spectral demine and keep themselves in their best possible form.

    Huo Yuhao bade goodbye to Bei Bei, but did not inform the Academy of the details of his trip. Once again, he leapt up into the sky and flew in the direction of the Dou Ling Empire.

    After he ascended into the sky, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and released his spiritual power into his surroundings. He was relying entirely on his Spiritual Detection to sense the world around him. Flying was no longer an activity which consumed his energy. In fact, he could even rest and cultivate while he was flying.

    While he was flying in the sky, he was actually able to develop a deeper understanding of spaces. While he continued to increase his flight speed, he tried to grapple with the transformations in his body, as well as the changes in the surrounding spatial energy during his flight.

    Where exactly will the Sun Moon Empire strike?As the only Ultimate Soldier trained by the program, Huo Yuhao was going through the major cities on the mental map of Dou Ling Empire that had formed in his mind.

    The city closest to Shrek Academy might not be the best location for the Sun Moon Empire to strike. After all, they could bump into the elite troops from Dou Ling Empire. If he were to try and rationalize what they would do, Huo Yuhao believed that they would try to strike at a ce which was the furthest from Shrek City. However, the Dou Ling Empire was enormous. Where should he start looking? He knew he had to acquire some intelligence before he could make a decision.

 Chapter 566.3 - My Target is the Dou Ling Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 566.3: My Target is the Dou Ling Empire</h4>

    Even though Huo Yuhao was able to allow his spiritual power to cover an enormous area around him, it was ultimately limited. He would never be able to scan the entire border of a country in a short amount of time.

    While he was flying in the air, he also gazed in the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest. He wondered if Di Tian had managed to defeat those evil soul masters. Deep in his heart, he actually wanted the Beast God to emerge victorious.

    Even though Di Tian was against him, he only wanted the best for the Great Star Dou Forest, and for himself. Compared to the Beast God, those evil soul masters were a lot more vicious, and were terrible people. Huo Yuhao would be pleased if they were to die at Di Tian¡¯s hands.

    Huo Yuhao believed that he should seriously consider Ju Zi¡¯s proposition if he were able to sessfully save the Dou Ling Empire. It was ultimately a good deal for them if killing Xu Tianran could be traded for ten years of peace. The current Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was not something any empire could defend against. There was another reason why Ju Zi chose to set up camp outside of Shrek City. She wanted a ce for her troops to reorganize. If she really were to attack, everyone would suffer huge losses. Perhaps she meant it when she said that she was trying her best to reduce casualties in this war.

    The thought of Ju Zi gave Huo Yuhao a serious headache. She had be increasingly frightening, and was now a full-fledged cunningmander. She was no longer his dear senior sister.

    Shrek Academy was at the intersection between the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, and the Star Luo Empire. Hence, Huo Yuhao was able to enter the Dou Ling Empire in no time. Very soon, he was able to see the elite troops that were being dispatched by the Dou Ling Empire to reinforce Shrek City. When he looked down at them, he saw how the troops spanned the horizon. It seemed as though they were boundless!

    Because he knew that he would not be able to stop them from camping at Shrek City, Huo Yuhao could only continue flying in the opposite direction. He flew northwards along the border of the Dou Ling Empire. By flying in this direction, Huo Yuhao would have a good chance of discovering traces of his enemies.

    In the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military camp.

    A series of orders had been issued from the Commander¡¯s Tent as the two soul tool deployment areas that nked the entire military camp moved out under the night sky. After leaving the main camp, they moved forward gradually by five kilometers before setting up camp and reestablishing the soul tool deployment areas.

    After assembling these two soul tool deployment areas, another two units moved forward.

    When morning arrived, twelve soul tool deployment areas were alreadypleted outside of the main camp. Following which, the Sun Moon Empire army moved forward another five kilometers.

    This meant that they were only forty-five kilometers from Shrek Academy.

    They had simply moved forward five kilometers without giving any warning or showing any signs of belligerence. Their actions caused the entire Shrek City to be increasingly nervous.

    The city defense army had already been stationed on the city walls as they prepared themselves to face the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops. The three soul engineer legions that Huo Yuhao had left behind were quickly dispatched to the northern city gate to set up a soul tool deployment area with the soul tools they had looted from the Sun Moon Empire. All sorts of supplies were also being transported to the different units.

    The first batch of reinforcements from the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire had also arrived. They were listening to the orders issued by Shrek Academy. During such moments, both Empires had chosen to trust the Shrek Academy as they allowed the academy tomand their elite troops.

    Four thousand years ago, the final battle against the Sun Moon Continent was exactly the same. They were able to collectively suppress the enemy and force the Sun Moon Continent to be part of the Douluo Continent.

    Four thousand yearster, the same scene seemed to be repeating itself. Both the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire were hoping that Shrek Academy could repeat their feat from four thousand years ago and defeat their strongestmon enemy. Of course, the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s remaining troops were also banking on victory to resurrect their empire.

    However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s attack never came. After moving forward five kilometers, they kept to their formation and stayed there. In fact, they did not even send out skirmishers to test the strength of Shrek City¡¯s defenses. However, the pressure their troops had created after moving forward was still a lot greater than before.

    If the more powerful stationary soul cannon shells were fired from that distance, they could reach Shrek City. Hence, how could Shrek City sit and wait without making the necessary defensive preparations?

    Elder Xuan and the other Elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion only heard about Huo Yuhao¡¯s disappearance the next afternoon. However, Huo Yuhao had, at the very least, left three soul engineer legions behind this time around.

    Because Elder Xuan could not bear to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s reputation tank, he told the other Elders that he had dispatched Huo Yuhao on a secret mission.

    In fact, Elder Xuan really wanted to believe that Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops was correct. However, no one would dare to take risks with the fate of Shrek City on the line. At least for now, the Sun Moon Empire did not seem to be retreating anytime soon.

    There were only three days left before the ten day deadline Ju Zi had given was up. The atmosphere in Shrek City became tenser than before.

    More elite troops from the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire started to gather within Shrek City as they prepared for the uing battle. The soul tools which had been manufactured by the Tang Sect were all being transported to the top of the city walls.

    When both the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire saw the Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions, they felt a lot more confident about their odds of defending the city. It was almost as though they were able to see Sun Moon Empire¡¯s defeat just by looking at them.

    Ju Zi was sitting upright within the Commander¡¯s Tent as she sipped on bird¡¯s nest porridge. She seemed to be very carefree, as though she had already forgotten aboutst night¡¯s incident.

    Of course, she did not believe that Huo Yuhao would be able to do anything to stop her ns after she had revealed them to him. After all, the two soul engineer legions had long since left for the Dou Ling Empire while she was moving her troops closer to Shrek City. Now that the operation was about to begin, there was no way Yuhao could stop them in time. Most importantly, he would never be able to convince the people in Shrek City after she had moved her army forward by five kilometers.

    Three dayster, if Shrek Academy was still unable to turn Huo Yuhao over, she would simply give them a few more days. When the elite troops from the Dou Ling Empire received news that their empire had been attacked, she would thenunch a feint attack.

    Yuhao, Yuhao, do you really think you can achieve anything by yourself when you are fighting against absolute power? However, I must say you are really the kind of guy I like. Your future is extremely bright¡ªespecially when you already possess such power when you are just a bit more than twenty years old. If only you could rule the Sun Moon Empire together with me in the future¡­

    After finishing her bird¡¯s nest porridge, Ju Zi returned to her tent as she sat down and began her cultivation. A gentler expression soon formed on her face.

    Yunhan, how are you doing? Do you know how much Mother misses you?

    When evening arrived, Huo Yuhao had almost finished flying through the entire northern part of the Dou Ling Empire. He was only able toplete his scouting so quickly by flying faster than the speed of sound. However, he did not seem to have gained any valuable intelligence from his scouting. He did not manage to find any traces of battle.

    The borders of the Dou Ling Empire were fairly secure. There were close to three hundred thousand troops stationed at the border. On top of that, there were all sorts of surveince soul tools deployed there. Even though their soul tools were still iparable to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s, they were still a lot better than what they had had a couple of years ago.

    The Dou Ling Empire had benefited from having the Heavenly Soul Empire as their natural barrier against the Sun Moon Empire. Even though they were rtively weaker than the other empires, they were spared from the endless attacks the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire had to face from the Sun Moon Empire for the past few years, and were able to develop substantially.

    Huo Yuhao had already flown to the northernmost part of the Dou Ling Empire. If he were to fly any further north, he would be entering the Extreme North Ice Field.

    Even if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were very confident in their abilities, they would neverunch an attack on the Dou Ling Empire from the Extreme North Ice Field!

    However, Huo Yuhao had not seen their troops at all throughout his entire flight.This is impossible. Unless Ju Zi tricked me?

    When he thought about this possibility, Huo Yuhao suddenly became very worried. If Ju Zi were to have tricked him, it would be a massive problem. There was no way he could find out where her troops had gone. What would happen if she were tounch an attack on Shrek Academy now?

    As these thoughts flooded into his head, the first thing that urred to Huo Yuhao was to immediately return to Shrek City. However, he was soon able to calm himself down.

    As he recounted the expressions Ju Zi had while she was talking, as well as her spiritual fluctuations, Huo Yuhao could not believe that she was lying to him. All the signs indicated that she must have been telling the truth. But if that was the case, why was he unable to find the troops that she had dispatched? Where exactly were those troops?

    Huo Yuhao decided to stop flying to think about the situation calmly. Hended before sitting down and crossing his legs.

    He was trying to think from Ju Zi¡¯s perspective.What would I do if I were in her shoes?

    As my army closes in on Shrek City, forcing the Dou Ling Empire and Star Luo Empire to reinforce Shrek Academy, what kind of attack would be deadliest to either the Star Luo Empire or the Dou Ling Empire?

    It was impossible for Ju Zi to dispatch too many troops because she had to preserve the strength of her front line. In fact, the news received from the remaining troops of the Heavenly Soul Empire had shown how Ju Zi was still wielding the same amount of power as before. This also meant that she did not dispatch any normal troops at all.

    This meant that Huo Yuhao¡¯s guess should have been entirely correct. Ju Zi must have only dispatched soul engineer legions. Every legion had a few hundred individuals, and they would be inconspicuous whenpared to an army of a few hundred thousand people. Their departure would also not affect the soul tool deployment areas.

    If she had only sent a single soul engineer legion, they might not possess enough firepower. Hence, it was likely that she had sent two or three soul engineer legions. However, why were they not attacking the border? The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s defense line was stillplete, and there were no signs of any previous attacks. The Dou Ling Empire had somehow managed to send their elite troops to Shrek City while keeping their defenses in proper order. This was about the best they could do. Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that he might have been thinking too much.

 Chapter 567 - To Behead the Sun Moon Empire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 567: To Behead the Sun Moon Empire</h4>

    The uneasiness in his heart was growing more intense. He had developed an acute sense of destiny after gaining the power of destiny which had been passed on to him by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Hence, whenever he started to feel uneasy, it usually meant that something was actually about to happen.

    What exactly is going on here?

    Huo Yuhao pped his forehead and asked himself what he would do if he were Ju Zi.

    If they only had two soul engineer legions, it would be of little use to prate the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s defensive lines forcefully. After all, they would not even be able to upy and defend the cities they might conquer without any troopsing to back them up. No matter how strong a soul engineer legion was, the manpower it had was still limited!

    Under such circumstances, they can only sabotage¡­

    Wait, that¡¯s it! They can only sabotage!

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He thought of a possibility¡ªa possible action which he had done not too long ago.

    That¡¯s right! Ju Zi¡¯s current situation was exactly the same as the time when he brought his three soul engineer legions to perform sabotage operations within the Sun Moon Empire.

    The only difference was that Ju Zi¡¯s soul engineer legions would not possess the ability to turn invisible. However, when it came to pure fighting power, her soul engineer legions¡ªwhich were all legions that were on par with the Hand that Protects the Nation¡ªwere definitely more powerful than the Academy¡¯s three soul engineer legions.

    Even though the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s borders were fairly well defended, it would not be impossible for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions to evade detection from their aerial surveince soul tools. If that was the case¡­

    Huo Yuhao suddenly understood what was going on. At the same time, cold sweat started to trickle down his back.

    What Ju Zi had nned to do was very simple. She was merely repeating what he did in the Sun Moon Empire. She would not allow the two soul engineer legions to run around and perform sabotage operations all over Dou Ling Empire to create panic. After all, without the protection of the spectral demine, the soul engineer legions would ultimately be destroyed if they were to strike deep into the Dou Ling Empire on their own.

    However, what if she only had a single target? In other words, what if she was only thinking of attacking a single city? How would that pan out£¿

    More cold sweat started to trickle down Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.That¡¯s right. That must be it.

    Ju Zi was targeting the capital of the Dou Ling Empire! Huo Yuhao immediately ascended into the sky without any hesitation as he increased his speed to the maximum. He headed straight for the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s capital.

    There was nothing which was more fear-inducing than to destroy the capital and exterminate the royal family of the Dou Ling Empire.

    Huo Yuhao had once attempted to do this in the Sun Moon Empire, but failed. However, this time around, the Dou Ling Empire had already sent their elite troops to Shrek City, and thus the defense within their capital must be very weak. Without their powerful troops and cultivators, how could they fend off the two soul engineer legions that were nning tounch a surprise attack on them?

    Ju Zi, Ju Zi! You really are a very scary woman!

    Once again, Huo Yuhao developed the thought to kill Ju Zi. Every single n that she had formted seemed so simple, yet so deadly at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao kept elerating as his figure transformed into aser beam. Once in a while, he would disappear into space before reappearing somewhere far ahead. He was so quick that there were repeated sonic booms in the air.

    Huo Yuhao understood that the chances of him actually making a difference had be very slim. If Ju Zi had already set all of this up before even setting off to Shrek City, her soul engineer legions¡ªregardless of how many people there were¡ªwould definitely have enough time to head to the capital after infiltrating the Dou Ling Empire.

    Of course, they would definitely not be able to move as quickly as he did back in the Sun Moon Empire. But so what? Their current speed would be more than enough. As long as they could disguise themselves onnd and take the more obscure paths, they would definitely be able to reach Dou Ling City¡ªthe capital of Dou Ling Empire.

    Even though soul tool development within the Dou Ling Empire had been very quick for the past few years, their aerial surveince soul tool technology was still verycking. It was impossible for them to dispatch arge number of aerial surveince soul tools like the Sun Moon Empire did.

    There were simply too many possible ways that they could attack Dou Ling City. Even Huo Yuhao could think of multiple ways to use the two soul engineer legions to deal a devastating blow to the capital of the Dou Ling Empire.

    It was impossible for the soul engineer legions to not bring ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells on such a mission. How was the capital going to defend itself against such attacks?

    As Huo Yuhao continued to speed through the air, he closed his eyes. He had always been losing to Ju Zi when it came to such tactics!

    If only I could have figured all of this out earlier¡­

    If this is about to unfold at the Dou Ling Empire, will the same happen in the Star Luo Empire? I hope Ju Zi didn¡¯t lie to me. She better not do the same thing to the Star Luo Empire.

    However, at least the Star Luo Empire still had his father around. Even if something were to happen to the royal family, the White Tiger Duke would still be around to ay everyone¡¯s fears. The empire would not be consumed by mass hysteria overnight. Hence, Ju Zi had made the right decision tond a devastating blow against the Dou Ling Empire first. All hell would definitely break loose within Dou Ling Empire. And when that happened, her next target would be¡­

    After streamlining his thought process, everything became a lot clearer.

    Ju Zi¡¯s real target was ultimately the Star Luo Empire! When chaos broke loose within Dou Ling Empire, their troops would naturally return to their own empire. Nothing was more important than stabilizing their own empire from within.

    Under such circumstances, the Star Luo Empire would lose a natural ally, and Ju Zi would then be able to go all-out on the Star Luo Empire.

    As long as she was able to take the Star Luo Empire down, the Dou Ling Empire would not even be a problem. She should be able to get them to surrender to the Sun Moon Empire easily.

    Besides, the Star Luo Empire was connected to the Sunoon Empire geographically. Huo Yuhao knew that the Star Luo Empire would have no chance of defending themselves if the Sun Moon Empire were to call their Imperial Soul Engineer Legion in for help. The Sun Moon Empire would then be able to sandwich the Star Luo Empire from both sides.

    He did not have an answer to the problem whichy before him. This seemed too much like a lost cause. The whole of Ju Zi¡¯s strategy had formed in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. But he was unable to think of a way to counter it. At the same time, Huo Yuhao recognized that his realization might have been toote.

    However, he knew he still had to head over to Dou Ling City. If he could reach it on time, he might still be able to rescue some members of the royal family.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s flying speed was simply impossible. While he was still at the border of Dou Ling Empire at dawn, he was already deep in the territory of the Dou Ling Empire when the sun finally started to rise. He was getting closer to Dou Ling City.

    However, at this instant, Huo Yuhao could sense continuous, intense soul power fluctuations from afar.

    It seems like I was right.

    Huo Yuhao sped forward without any hesitation as Dou Ling City came into view. However, when he looked down to gaze at the city, Huo Yuhao could not help but lose hope.

    He could clearly see the thick, dense smoke which was rising up from Dou Ling City. The volume of smoke definitely could not be released by a few chimneys. Upon closer scrutiny, it seemed as though the entire city was in mes. It was a truly frightening sight.

    Intense soul power fluctuations continued to radiate from that direction. As Huo Yuhao continued to get closer to the city, he started to hear the sounds of explosions.

    While Huo Yuhao knew the exact location of Dou Ling City, he did not know where its pce was. However, how likely was it that the pce could be spared from the fire that was spreading across the entire city?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer to that question was negative. He closed his eyes as a painful expression formed on his face. He knew he had arrived toote!

    However, when he opened his eyes again, they shed with an intense murderous intent.

    His body flickered as he threw himself across the sky in a parabolic arc towards Dou Ling City. Huo Yuhao was able to see arge number of people flickering within the dense smoke from afar. He saw a few familiar blue figures, as well as some figures that glowed with dark yellow light.

    It was the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. Ju Zi had really sent out one of Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Hand that Protects the Nation. The other soul engineer legion should also belong to the Hand that Protects the Nation.Dark yellow soul tools¡­? Could they be from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion? The best soul engineer legion among the four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions?

    Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth as fury and rage shed across his eyes. He released his spiritual power entirely as it enveloped the entire city.

    Since there was no way he could stop them, he nned to avenge all the dead people in Dou Ling City.

    After enveloping the city with his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao detected a sizeable area about fifteen kilometers away from Dou Ling City within an inconspicuous forest that bristled with soul tools.

    The size of this soul tool deployment area was at least three times the size of an average Sun Moon Empire soul tool deployment area. From his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao was able to tell that those soul tools were the most advanced models from the Sun Moon Empire.

    The fact that the soul tool deployment area was ced in such an obscure position meant that they must have started attacking from that ce. At the same time, the forest would provide the best cover and concealment during their escape.

    So what if they were to lose it if they were able toplete their attack on Dou Ling City?

    I must destroy their path of retreat.

    Huo Yuhao could urately sense the presence of about fifty soul engineers stationed within the soul tool deployment area with his Spiritual Detection. On top of that, their linked defensive barrier was half-open. If something unfortunate were to happen in Dou Ling City, they could at the very least defend themselves.

    Huo Yuhao could not help but admire the wealth of experience that the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had. They had even prepared sufficient resources to retreat safely.

    Unfortunately, you have bumped into me. In that case¡­

    Huo Yuhaonded quietly at a spot that was not too far from the soul tool deployment area. He silently opened his Spectral Gate and released hispanions.

    Before he even tried to exin anything to them, Huo Yuhao had dashed towards the soul tool deployment area in front of their eyes.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor immediately formed on his body as its deep blue glow fused with him.

    While he was sprinting towards the soul tool deployment area, the soul engineers within the instation were unable to detect his movement with their surveince soul tools because of his Imitation.

    A thin streak of Mayan blue light which was not overly ring flickered past them. And at the very next instant, Huo Yuhao crept in from the top of the protective soul barrier.

    A deafening rm began to ring within the soul tool deployment area. However, was there any point in that anymore?

    After Huo Yuhao sessfully reached the linked defensive barrier, even fifty elite soul engineers would be powerless against his enraged Eyes of the Asura.

    Instead of using his Morning Dew Dagger, Huo Yuhao used his Ghostcarving de to rip apart the half-activated linked defensive barrier.

    The Ghostcarving de had an immensely destructive effect on any energy form or object. In fact, it was more destructive than the Life Guardian Sword in this regard.

    After slicing the barrier with his Ghostcarving de, Huo Yuhao dashed into the soul tool deployment area. His Spiritual Detection had already given him the positions of where the soul engineers were.

    As his body flickered, he darted towards one of those positions.

    After hearing the rm, the fifty soul engineers within the area had already reacted to it. All sorts of soul tools were radiating with their own light. The surveince soul tools were already trying to pinpoint where the intruder wasing from.

    Has the barrier been destroyed?The soul engineers who were stationed in the area were all shocked beyond belief. They had believed that the protective soul barrier was so tough that even a Transcendent Douluo wouldn¡¯t be able to break it! On top of that, their surveince soul tools did not even give them warning. How was that possible?

    After that, they caught sight of Huo Yuhao¡¯s figure as he appeared before them. There was no longer a need for him to use his Imitation to conceal himself.

    The interior of the soul tool deployment area was also protected by soul tools, just in case it was breached by their enemies.

    After showing himself, ten streaks of Soul Light Rays immediately fired towards him. These Soul Light Rays were designed with extremely vicious intentions. They consisted of Prative Rays, Scorching Rays, and Dposing Rays, a type of ray which was inconspicuous, yet extremely destructive.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not even try to avoid these attacks. He simply allowed them tond.

    The Soul Light Rays could not prate the Icy War God¡¯s Armor at all. Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and made a pressing motion with it as a golden light shed in his eyes.

    A series of explosions could be heard as the heads of the eight soul engineers who were standing closest to him exploded instantly. Huo Yuhao¡¯s current spiritual power was definitely on par with that of any Ultimate Douluo. Even though these soul engineers were members of the Hand that Protects the Nation, they were only cultivators with four or five rings. They were like paper in front of his Spiritual st.

    Following which, an intense chill spread within the soul tool deployment area from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was able to instantly envelop the entire area.

    Those soul engineers within the area who were trying to attack Huo Yuhao could not help but abandon that idea as they mustered their soul power to counter the impending impact of the cold.

    Those soul engineers who were weaker were frozen in mere seconds, while the stronger ones found their movement restricted by the extreme cold.

 Chapter 568.1 - A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 568.1: A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke</h4>

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t trigger Ice Explosion, because now wasn¡¯t a good time to do that. This soul tool front¡¯s soul tools were very advanced, and destroying one would be a sizeable loss. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce was doing, but he would still attempt to reduce losses as much as possible.

    He took a step out and vanished into the soul tool front. He was two hundred meters away when he reappeared, next to an enormous soul tool inside the front.

    Someone was just dashing out from thisrge soul tool right at this moment. He saw Huo Yuhao, and he was momentarily stunned before he raised his hand and fired a soul ray at him.

    This person was the soul tool front¡¯s strongest individual, a ss 8 soul engineer.

    Huo Yuhao grunted coldly. He didn¡¯t care about that ss 8 soul ray, and a circle of blue light rippled on his Icy War God¡¯s Armor before the soul ray¡¯s destructiveness waspletely dispelled. Huo Yuhao pushed out with his right hand, and dark golden light sliced across the sky like a rainbow as it immediately covered that ss 8 soul engineer¡¯s body.

    Golden light glowed as an Invincible Barrier appeared. ss 8 soul engineers had many different ways to protect themselves, and this soul engineer was no exception.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t tell who Huo Yuhao was, his status in the Sun Moon Empire meant he had seen human-shaped soul tools before. The person before him was radiating an intimidating and magnificent aura, and was someone that he absolutely couldn¡¯t fight against. He activated his Invincible Barrier, and then activated his soul thruster at his chest before his body bolted backward. He wanted to run.

    It was a pity, because his ss 7 Invincible Barrier that he had always been proud of dropped to the ground in the next moment.

    The Invincible Barrier¡¯s defenses were excellent, but a tremendous force still smashed it heavily to the ground. Five shocking cracks appeared on the barrier¡¯s surface, like it could shatter at any moment.

    Five chilly waves coursed in from those cracks, and the ss 8 soul engineer hurriedly activated another protective soul barrier. Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t give him another chance.

    Huo Yuhao tapped his foot on the ground and appeared in front of that Invincible Barrier. He pressed his left hand simply on the barrier¡¯s surface before he turned and left.

    The golden barrier immediately turned icy blue, and the person holding the Invincible Barrier had bepletely motionless. He had be a statue of ice.

    Empress¡¯ Palm, Snowless cier!

    Not even an Invincible Barrier could block Snowless cier¡¯s extreme chills. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was at an unrivaled standard after obtaining his second soul core, and his Empress¡¯ Palm resembled the Snow Empress¡¯ glory during her strongest days.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the entire soul tool front, and he didn¡¯t discover any other living people. He swiftly reached the main control tform and withdrew his Ultimate Ice¡¯s chill at the same time. Huo Yuhao opened the soul protective barrier and allowed hispanions to enter from outside.

    ¡°Third senior brother, you guys will remain here and guard this soul tool front. Activate the linked defensive barrier and wait for my return. You¡¯reing with me, Wutong. We¡¯ll take a look at Dou Ling City. The Sun Moon Empire has deployed two soul engineer legions to ambush the city, and I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re already in a dire situation.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he quickly finished his speech and soared into the sky towards Dou Ling City.

    Tang Wutong was the first person to feel something different as they held hands. She realized to her surprise that her soul power couldn¡¯t fuse with Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power like before to form Haodong power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power seemed to be solid, and didn¡¯t allow her soul power to enter.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his flight toward Dou Ling City as he exined his soul power¡¯s current situation to her.

    Tang Wutong frowned. ¡°That means I have to obtain my Yin Yang Complement soul core before I can use Haodong power with you again?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m the first human to possess a second soul core through the Yin Yang Complement method, after all. We can slowly try in the future to see if you can adjust so that our martial souls can fuse again. I think we can still use our martial soul fusion skills.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Now clearly wasn¡¯t the time to discuss this question, as they arrived above Ling Dou City as they spoke.

    There were fires everywhere inside the city, especially toward the city¡¯s central areas. mes burned into the sky as dense smoke covered everything, and nothing could be seen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sank. Even though he couldn¡¯t see, he could still sense with his Spiritual Detection! There was an enormous crater that was more than three hundred meters in diameter, and it was almost fifty meters deep. All the structures around that crater had been reduced to rubble and dust, and judging from the buildings around it, that area was likely to have been Dou Ling City¡¯s royal pce!

    The Sun Moon Empire is so cruel. The Evil Tyrant and Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legions are so cruel. Since they are so cruel, don¡¯t me me for not being nice.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power erupted. His Spiritual Detection had been covering the city when he was breaking through that soul tool front, and all of the soul engineer legions¡¯ members were within his detection range.

    These soul engineers still didn¡¯t know that their soul tool front at the back had been breached, and they were still wreaking havoc within Dou Ling City.

    Dou Ling City¡¯s surviving forces were almostpletely wiped out. The thing that had bombarded the royal pce was undoubtedly a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, and those two soul engineer legions were currently assaulting the city without any restraint. They were particrly searching for soul masters and soul engineers to attack.

    However, they weren¡¯t careless, even though they were very outrageous. The soul engineers formed groups of ten and moved together, and anybody who had the guts to resist were attacked with their full strength at once and killed. The soul engineer legions were also attacking severalrge buildings to destroy them and cause chaos.

    Dou Ling City¡¯s city defense army wasn¡¯t small, but there were very few who were considered formidable. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elite soul masters had all travelled toward Shrek City, while most of their powerful individuals had been inside the royal pce, which had been blown up, and the city had sustained heavy losses. How could they gather to fight against two soul engineer legions at a time like this?

    It seemed like the Imperial Dragon and Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions had been holding back for quite some time. They had had to search for the blind spots in the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s surveince, and infiltrate the empire¡¯s territory. They didn¡¯t dare to cross anyrge cities, so they had to proceed through the wilderness and suburbs. They used their surveince soul tools to scout ahead bit by bit, and it was a long and hard journey to reach Dou Ling City. Today was the day that they had decided tounch an offensive.

    If Huo Yuhao had beenter by another two hours, these two soul engineer legions would probably have already disappeared after their feat.

    Huo Yuhao stretched out his spiritual power as he pulled Tang Wutong and disappeared into the smoke. He was using Imitation, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered at all.

    A team of soul engineers swiftly crossed in front of them, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong followed them on a whim.

    These soul engineers belonged to the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. This legion was the fastest among the four beast-ranked legions, and Huo Yuhao hated them the most, because they had been the ones who had surrounded and attacked him and Wang Qiu¡¯er. Wang Qiu¡¯er probably wouldn¡¯t have had to sacrifice herself if not for this legion.

    Huo Yuhao was eager because of his hatred and resentment. He didn¡¯t wait for long before he waved his right hand, and a giant Darkgolden Terrorw a hundred meters long cut across the sky.

    These soul engineers didn¡¯t react at all before therge w shed through them. They all had at least four soul rings, and were all equipped with automatic defensive soul tools. However, their cultivations were too low. How could these four-ringed and five-ringed soul engineers do anything against a Titled Douluo without linked soul tools?

    The smoke became Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s best cover. Ten soul engineers perished from a single sessful strike, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong started searching for the next group of soul engineers along the periphery.

    These two beast-ranked legions¡¯ soul engineers were still formidable. If they could gather and unleash their linked offensive soul tools, Huo Yuhao would still have to tuck tail and run, even with his current cultivation.

    But they were too arrogant. They had already taken down Dou Ling City, and they had already worked together to take out almost all of their strongest individuals. Seven Titled Douluo had perished under their linked offensive soul tools, and only then did they disperse to sweep the battlefield.

    These soul engineers had storage-type soul tools, and this was the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s capital city. How could they not pige?

    Greed was a sin, and it was because of greed that they didn¡¯t know that they had be the hunted.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was all too effective at a time like this. He didn¡¯t touch the soul engineers who had more than seven soul rings, but he specifically went for rtively weaker soul engineers.

    Huo Yuhao wanted to kill them with one hit, so he didn¡¯t give his opponents any chance to notify theirpanions.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t do anything from the beginning to the end, whether Huo Yuhao used his Darkgolden Terrorws or Spiritual st.

    Huo Yuhao killed more than two hundred soul engineers in a short while.

    The beast-ranked soul engineer legions were very strict in picking soul engineers. These soul engineers had to be strong enough, they had to be young, and they had to have potential. They had to go through tough training before they were cherry picked and enlisted.

    Every beast-ranked soul engineer legion officially consisted of three hundred people. Huo Yuhao had now dealt with more than half of a soul engineer legion, in addition to those fifty back at the soul tool front.

    The Imperial Dragon and Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions had lost about half of their initial number.

    But it was in this moment that both soul engineer legions¡¯ leaders finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right, because they couldn¡¯t contact many of their subordinates.

 Chapter 568.2 - A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 568.2: A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke</h4>

    They were still piging excitedly before this, but the legion itself wasn¡¯t huge, and there were only so many people. They were also in enemy territory, so they were stillparatively careful. They wouldmunicate with every small team leader after a period of time to confirm everyone¡¯s locations.

    But when they were establishingmunication once more, they realized to their surprise that many small teams weren¡¯t responding, like they had gone missing just like that.

    The two soul engineer legions¡¯ leaders were running scared. They immediately gave the order to gather in the sky and take a roll call.

    Dou Ling City was in ruins. The city defense army were still blindly defending themselves against the soul engineer legions¡¯ attacks, and the city was full of agonizing cries and chaos. Citizens were holed up in their houses, and nobody knew when a stationary soul cannon shell wouldnd in their homes. Their walls didn¡¯t give them any security at all.

    The attacks suddenly stopped at this moment. Shadows began flying high into the sky one after another, and they were evidently gathering.

    ¡°I think they¡¯ve realized,¡± Tang Wutong whispered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ear.

    Huo Yuhao scoffed and said, ¡°A soul engineer legion together is an extremely formidable entity, but if they are separated, they will die. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions have won too many victories, that¡¯s the reason they¡¯re so arrogant, and this hubris is an important reason why they¡¯re losing their lives. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll obliterate them so that we can avenge the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s dead.¡±

    Huo Yuhao grasped Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and drifted upward as he spoke before they bolted into the air like a sh of lightning.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong became almost entirely like air with Imitation covering them, and they arrived at the soul engineers¡¯ assembly point quicker than the soul engineers themselves.

    Huo Yuhao could see six soul engineers hovering in midair with one look.

    ording to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s beast-ranked soul engineer legions¡¯ organizational structure, every soul engineer legion had three legionmanders, one headmander and two vicemanders.

    These few should be theirmanders. There were two headmanders, who were both ss 9 soul engineers, and there were four vicemanders, who were ss 8 soul engineers. Huo Yuhao had already dealt with another ss 8 soul engineer back at the soul tool front. These two soul engineer legions had sent their best forces to participate in this operation.

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and waited quietly.

    There were more soul engineers flying up from below at this moment, and they were all gathering at their assembly point.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move, and he just waited quietly with Tang Wutong not far from thosemanders.

    The sixmanders¡¯ expressions were bing increasingly darker. There was no way they couldn¡¯t, because there were far too few flying up from below. Furthermore, they were mostly missing entire small teams.

    These small teams didn¡¯t evenmunicate at all.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander was called Xia Xuanchen, and he was recing the Manic Bull Douluo, Wang Yiheng. He was initially vicemander before the Tang Sect dealt with Wang Yiheng, and was then promoted to headmander. His strength was stillparatively lower than the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander.

    ¡°Old Xu, something doesn¡¯t seem right! We might be in trouble. Why are we missing so many people?¡±

    The person he referred to as ¡°Old Xu¡± was the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s headmander, Xu Tianyuan. He belonged to the royal family, and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was under many of the royal family members¡¯ control. They weren¡¯t entirely obedient to the Emperor¡¯s authority, and this legion could be considered one of the strongest forces that the royal family controlled.

    Xu Tianyuan was also part of the royal family, and he should be considered Xu Tianran¡¯s older cousin in terms of seniority. But the truth was, he was much older than Xu Tianran was, and his status was one of the highest among the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able tomand the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s strength was second only to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion. Their names were very simr, but they represented very different strengths.

    The royal family was especially formidable when they came together for certain designations, such as when the many princes were vying for the throne.

    However, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had always been rather neutral. They didn¡¯t lean toward any prince, and their neutrality was the reason for their continued existence. They only served the royal family, and furthered their needs.

    ¡°Yes, something¡¯s wrong. Why are we missing so many people? Can it be because those little bastards are piging until they¡¯ve forgotten about discipline?¡± Xu Tianyuan himself found that a little hard to believe when he spoke of that possibility.

    Xia Xuanchen forced augh and said, ¡°That¡¯s not quite possible, is it? Even if they¡¯re off piging, it¡¯s not possible that we can¡¯tmunicate with them. The small team leaders can¡¯t be so shortsighted.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan nodded as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°If nobody else assembles, we will activate our linked defensive barrier and retreat. We¡¯ve achieved our goal, anyway.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen hesitated, then said, ¡°But we¡¯re missing so many brothers.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan gritted his teeth and replied, ¡°What can we do if our enemy has powerful individuals hidden within the city? This is the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s capital city, and I believe news of this ambush has already been sent out. Reinforcements will arrive very soon. Since we have aplished our mission and we can¡¯t afford to deal with anything else, we¡¯ll retreat before considering other things. Safetyes first.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Even though they were bothmanders of beast-ranked soul engineer legions, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander, Xu Tianyuan, was the leader of this operation. Xia Xuanchen felt bad about his subordinates, but he had to be decisive at a time like this.

    More and more soul engineers began gathering around them.

    Xu Tianyuan suddenly developed a strange sensation at this moment, and Xia Xuanchen felt the same way.

    They were both ss 9 soul engineers, and they had to be one of the better ones among their fellows for them to bemanders of beast-ranked soul engineer legions.

    ¡°Careful,¡± Xia Xuanchen growled before he swung his right hand, and a brilliant silver warhammer suddenly appeared in his grip before it sted out into some empty space.

    ¡°Eh?¡± A faint exmation could be heard as countless small golden hammers erupted from nothingness and expanded in all directions.

    Xia Xuanchen¡¯s hammer was very effective. The silver light diluted some of the golden light when the golden light erupted, but that was it.

    Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan grunted before they flew backwards, and blood ran down their mouths and noses.

    The strength of the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions¡¯manders were disyed at a time like this. In that moment when the golden light that had appeared out of nowhere erupted, both Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan patted their chests at almost the same time.

    A formidable strength exploded forth from their human-shaped soul tools, and tremendous propulsion forces sted out in circles.

    These propulsion forces didn¡¯t just propel them out like an arrow, but also propelled their vicemanders and the other soul engineers who had just assembled around them toward the periphery. They were like snowkes and flowers dancing through the sky for a moment.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest!

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s figures appeared from the air. That previous attack was Spiritual Tempest, one of their formidable martial soul fusion skills.

    However, not even Huo Yuhao had expected the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s powerful individuals to react so quickly. They chose the best method to deal with Spiritual Tempest.

    The twomanders had erupted with powerful propulsion forces that even Tang Wutong and he were affected by to a certain extent. The other three hundred soul engineers also instantly dispersed, and most of them avoided Spiritual Tempest¡¯s area of effect.

    But most didn¡¯t mean all of them, and the heads of some thirty-odd soul engineers closest to Spiritual Tempest¡¯s epicenter exploded in the air. Blood spurted from the tops of their heads as their corpses plummeted toward the ground.

    The four vicemanders were stunned from that formidable spiritual shock, but Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen weren¡¯t. Their human-shaped soul tools were ss 9 soul tools, which were equipped with strong defensive capabilities. Furthermore, individuals at their level were undoubtedly equipped with soul tools that could protect them against spiritual attacks.

    Therefore, even though they took the brunt of the attack and also felt dizzy, they sacrificed two of their precious defensive soul tools meant for spiritual attacks before they forcibly protected themselves against Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s Spiritual Tempest.

    Huo Yuhao trained his eyes on Xia Xuanchen, especially that silver hammer in his hands.

    That silver hammer wasn¡¯t a soul tool. Instead, it was a martial soul. A ss 9 soul engineer had actually used his martial soul at such a crucial moment, and this meant that Xia Xuanchen wasn¡¯t just a soul engineer. He was a true Titled Douluo at the same time.

    There are truly many powerful individuals hidden within the Sun Moon Empire!

    But Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t stop. He was faced with hundreds of soul engineers, and any pause meant that his enemies would team up against him. He took this opportunity when both soul engineer legions were in disarray, and he and Tang Wutong pounced at Xia Xuanchen with a sh.

    The stronger their opponent, the quicker they had to destroy them. Furthermore, these twomanders were very effective atmanding their soul engineer legions. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had to kill them first before they coulde closer to destroying these two soul engineer legions.

    Xia Xuanchen could tell that he was Huo Yuhao¡¯s target when he caught the look in his eyes. Silver light emerged from his body as he released a ss 9 protective barrier.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong arrived in a sh. A bright and crisp dragon roar rang out from Tang Wutong¡¯s body as she punched at Xia Xuanchen¡¯s barrier, while Huo Yuhao pushed out with his left hand.

    Their attacks seemed simple and unassuming, but Xia Xuanchen¡¯s senses saved him once more in that moment. He could feel the terrifying power contained in that fist and palm. They seemed so simple, but they made him feel like his life was in danger.

 Chapter 568.3 - A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke

    <h4 ss>Chapter 568.3: A Surprise Attack within the Cover of Smoke</h4>

    Xia Xuanchen didn¡¯t hesitate. Light radiated from his body as a crystal suddenly appeared in his hands. This crystal was oval, and about the size of an infant¡¯s head. There were many intricate and sophisticated carvings on its surface, and it emanated majesty from the moment it appeared.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s palm and fistnded on his soul protective barrier at almost the same time. Frightening spiritual power and soul powerbined as an ear-piercing sound rang from the ss 9 protective barrier. Cracks appeared in the crystal, and terrifying chills and the domineering aura of Tang Wutong¡¯s Radiant Dragon Butterfly flooded into them.

    Right at this moment, that oval crystal erupted with ayer of brilliant golden light. A formidable propulsion force forcibly pushed Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong backward, and that wasn¡¯t all. The crystal stone covered Xia Xuanchen¡¯s body with ayer of golden light that was shaped like an eggshell.

    Xu Tianyuan¡¯s eyes were ovee with greed when he saw the crystal stone in Xia Xuanchen¡¯s hands. Of course he knew what that was. That was a priceless treasure for all soul engineers, even for ss 9 soul engineers?

    What is that?

    Huo Yuhao was taken aback. His Ultimate Ice was very prative, and after he gained his second soul core through the Yin Yang Complement method, normal protective barriers couldn¡¯t block his Snowless cier.

    But in that moment, Xia Xuanchen¡¯s defensive capabilities repelled his Ultimate Ice, and also produced such forceful propulsions. That wasn¡¯t something that typical soul tools could achieve. What exactly was in his hands?

    ¡°Linked ring, lock on!¡± Xia Xuanchen roared hysterically.

    It seemed like he had defended himself against Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s attack casually, but only he knew what was happening to him. If not for that strange eggshell in his hands, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice would have probably frozen him solid. Even though he probably wouldn¡¯t die, his opponents¡¯ onught wouldn¡¯t just stop with that. He would undoubtedly meet his demise if his opponents were allowed to chain their attacks.

    Even though it hadn¡¯t been long since he took over as the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander, his reputation and influence within his legion were still rtively high. The Evileye Tyrant Legion¡¯s remaining soul engineers quickly activated their linked soul tools as he roared hismand.

    This linked ring was specifically meant to deal with enemies who had broken through to their most important areas. Not even Huo Yuhao could deny that the Sun Moon Empire was still far ahead in terms of training andmanding their soul engineer legions.

    Circles of blue light glowed one after another, and swiftly formed a circle as intense soul power undtions appeared.

    ¡°Linked ring, defensive barrier.¡± Xu Tianyuan¡¯s reaction speed wasn¡¯t slow either. He gave his order as soon as was possible.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s quality was the highest among the four beast-ranked legions, and they moved equally swiftly. Xu Tianyuan¡¯s goal was simple: he wanted to surround Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. With their linked defense and offense, how could they not kill their opponents with over three hundred soul engineers working together, no matter how formidable their opponents were.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh inside.These beast-ranked soul engineer legions are indeed difficult to deal with! If not for those soul engineers that we killed in the chaos before this, we might not have had a chance.

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce was in an irreversible situation. However, Huo Yuhao had to find some way to obliterate these two beast-ranked soul engineer legions when they were detached from the main army, no matter what. But it was evident that he couldn¡¯t do so now. Even Ultimate Douluo had to avoid two soul engineer legions who hadpleted their linkup.

    Arge ck door appeared. Huo Yuhao no longer needed any incantations to open a single spectral gate, and he could almost do so immediately.

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they disappeared into the spectral gate with a sh.

    They could be chased by linked attacks if they ran away, while running out of the linked defense may not bepletely safe. Any kind of concealment soul skills would be futile if those linked attacks were executed over an area.

    But what Huo Yuhao did, when he escaped into another ne, not even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion could do anything to them, not to mention these two soul engineer legions.

    Xia Xuanchen flew next to Xu Tianyuan with a tinge of fear in his heart as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

    ¡°That was close. They¡¯re extremely powerful, and what¡¯s more frightening is that they have concealment abilities,¡± Xia Xuanchen said to Xu Tianyuan.

    Xu Tianyuan nced at the oval crystal in his Xia Xuanchen¡¯s hand. He frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about that escape ability that they just disyed. Their auras vanished into thin air. Can that be spatial power? But only Ultimate Douluo can master spatial power. Since when has the Dou Ling Empire possessed such formidable individuals?¡±

    Xia Xuanchen forced augh. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and retreat. No matter where these two are from, it appears that our brothers we¡¯ve lost contact with have met their demise. We should hurry back to the soul tool front, then we can pack up and leave. Ensure that everyone maintains the linked defense so that we can avoid being ambushed again. We have to leave as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Tianyuan nodded understandingly.

    They were deep behind enemy lines all by themselves, after all. If they were on the battlefield at the front lines, even if their enemies were even more powerful, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid because of their soul engineer legions¡¯bined strength. However, there were two incredibly strong individuals hiding near them, and they felt like they had thorns in their backs. They could be ambushed at any moment, so retreating back into the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory was the best solution. They had sustained severe losses on this mission, but they had aplished their mission. They had still managed to do something veryudable.

    The two ss 9 soul engineers discussed logistics for a moment before they led their legions back toward their soul tool front. Even though they were already prepared to lose their soul tool front from the beginning, the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s resistance was much weaker than they had imagined, judging from their current situation. A single ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell had immediately dealt with the entire royal pce, and if not for those two powerful people who had appeared afterwards, their two legions would be almost perfectly victorious.

    The two soul engineer legions changed formations once more. This time, they tried to keep some space between them, because the twomanders had seen how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s group attacks were from his Spiritual Tempest. Therefore, they maintained their ring-shaped formation, but they formed two rings, with onerger than the other.

    The Evileye Tyrant Legion was outside, while the Imperial Dragon Legion was inside. The Evileye Tyrant Legion was responsible for maintaining their linked defenses, while the Imperial Dragon Legion would rest inside. They could switch to maintain their defenses like that, and if they ran into anything, a single soul engineer legion was sufficient for defense. The other legion would augment their defenses, and it could also turn defense into offense.

    If they didn¡¯t run into any more enemies, they could proceed at a steady pace by switching around. They were naturally not afraid of running into the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s forces. Unless the Dou Ling Empire concentrated all their soul masters to surround and attack them, they probably didn¡¯t have a chance at all. The empire¡¯s elite forces had all gone to Shrek City, so these two soul engineer legions¡¯bined strength was almost invincible.

    The two legionmanders were almost perfect in theirmand of their respective soul engineer legions, but their faces were so dark that it was frightening when they returned to their soul tool front.

    The soul tool front¡¯s defenses were still open, but they couldn¡¯tmunicate with anybody inside. Afterwards, they witnessed the soul tool front¡¯s linked offensive soul tools charging up. They were aimed directly at them.

    But what could they do? Their opponents had actually taken over their soul tool front beforehand, whichpletely exceeded their expectations. They were deep behind enemy lines, and they didn¡¯t even have any time to think. They turned to run, and flew toward the Sun Moon Empire as quickly as possible.

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know that there was barely anybody inside the soul tool front. They were using the soul tool front¡¯s soul power reserves to activate its linked defensive and offensive soul tools, which came from Milk Bottles. They couldn¡¯t have kept that up for long.

    If these two soul engineer legions kept their distance and maintained a continuous onught, perhaps they would sustain some losses, but taking back their soul tool front would be rtively easy.

    But just as when Huo Yuhao was faced with Ju Zi, when he clearly knew that her target wasn¡¯t Shrek City, Shrek City still couldn¡¯t reduce their vignce and alertness. This was the same reason why these two soul engineer legions couldn¡¯t stay for any longer despite knowing that the soul engineers inside that soul tool front weren¡¯t strong. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s ambush had left a deep shadow in their hearts.

    The two legions hadn¡¯t flown away for long when Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong appeared outside the soul tool front.

    They rendezvoused with theirpanions before Huo Yuhao immediately found Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Sanshi, Dou Ling City¡¯s situation isn¡¯t great. The city has suffered a destructive onught, and the royal pce ispletely destroyed. I don¡¯t know if anybody from the royal family is still alive. Let¡¯s do it this way. You guys will stay here and proceed toward Dou Ling City. Reveal our identities as Shrek Academy¡¯s members, help them restore order, and search for any members of the royal family who are still alive. Wutong and I will pursue those two soul engineer legions. I don¡¯t believe they can fly all the way back to the Sun Moon Empire. They will have to rest along the way, and that will be our chance. We will take this opportunity when they are separated to try and keep these two legions in the Dou Ling Empire forever. We will avenge the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and said, ¡°Alright, then go. Leave Dou Ling City to us. You¡¯re right, but¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh inside, and everything he could say was toote. The Sun Moon Empire was too cunning. They didn¡¯t just target the Dou Ling Empire; they directly executed an assassination mission against the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce. Their formidable soul engineer legions could fully unleash their frightening offensive capabilities in a skirmish like this. If the Star Luo Empire ran into a simr situation, they probably wouldn¡¯t do any better than the Dou Ling Empire had. Ultimately, they lost on surveince and intelligence.

 Chapter 569.1 - Xu Sanshis Experiences

    <h4 ss>Chapter 569.1: Xu Sanshi¡¯s Experiences</h4>

    If they were in the Sun Moon Empire, unless they were like Huo Yuhao and possessed abilities that could conceal entire groups and utilize spatial power, they couldn¡¯t possibly seed in any ambushes with that almost airtight surveince coverage.

    They no longer had to leave anyone behind in their soul tool front. They could wait until the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s situation stabilized before sending someone back to im it.

    Huo Yuhao grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they soared into the sky and flew in the direction that those two soul engineer legions had left in.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection couldn¡¯t cover an entire country, but pursuing two soul engineer legions wasn¡¯t much.

    Inside Dou Ling City.

    Smoke and dust permeated the air as most of the royal pcey in ruins from its center after that frightening onught. Only the outer walls were still standing in tatters.

    There were agonizing cries everywhere in the city, and the entire city was in chaos.

    The city defense army wasn¡¯t small, but they could only nkly attempt to maintain order. The royal pce had been destroyed, and that practically eradicated the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s citizens¡¯ mainstay.

    Xu Sanshi took Jiang Nannan, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ji Juechen as they arrived beneath Dou Ling City¡¯s walls. They watched the smoke and dust as their expressions became increasingly ck.

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t just have the Heavenly Soul Empire in his blood, as half of his blood came from the Dou Ling Empire, but his mother was also the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s previous princess, the previous emperor¡¯s youngest sister, who was the current emperor¡¯s aunt. Of course, the prerequisite was that the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s emperor was still alive.

    Xu Sanshi had followed his mother to the Dou Ling Empire when he was young, and he had seen his cousin, the Emperor, once, though they rarely contacted each other afterwards.

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family had vehemently disapproved when his mother had married his father. His mother was the previous emperor¡¯s favourite daughter. But the proud princess finally chose her own prince charming, and she eloped with Xu Sanshi¡¯s father. When she came back, she came back with Xu Sanshi.

    Therefore, the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family ostracized Xu Sanshi¡¯s family. This matter was considered his deepest secret; not even Jiang Nannan knew about it.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s heart filled with many emotions as he watched Dou Ling City mired in dust and smoke. This was his mother¡¯s old home, no matter what! Some blood of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family still ran through his blood after all.

    ¡°Open the gates.¡± Xu Sanshi gazed at the battlement. The gates were closed at this moment, and soldiers patrolled the battlement in solemnity and dejection.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± The bows and soul tools on the battlement immediately aimed downward. Everyone within the city was still shaky, fearful, and as tense as could be. Under such circumstances, any suspicious figure who appeared could be attacked.

    ¡°We hail from Shrek Academy. We are here to assist you.¡± Xu Sanshi spoke as he lowered his voice.

    ¡°Shrek Academy? How can you prove that?¡± The general on the city walls could barely keep his cool.

    Xu Sanshi raised his hand and shed his identity token as a student from Shrek Academy¡¯s inner courtyard.

    Telescopic soul tools were necessary for every empire, and those on the city walls quickly saw his identity token before they made him toss it onto the city wall.

    Xu Sanshi was worried and impatient, but there was nothing he could do at a time like this, and tossed out his token forcefully.

    The token reached the top of the city walls, where it was quickly verified before the city gates were finally opened.

    A general that was a little older than thirty came out. Even though Xu Sanshi and the others seemed young, he didn¡¯t dare to disrespect them at all, as anybody who came from Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t be judged by their age. The inner courtyard students who were barely more than twenty ae already possessed extremely formidable prowess.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation like inside the city?¡± Xu Sanshi asked the general.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. The enemies¡¯ attack came without warning. They appeared suddenly, and directly attacked the royal pce before attacking all our important positions. We have sustained heavy losses! The royal pce¡­¡±

    The general¡¯s face was ovee with grief as he stopped there. Even though he didn¡¯t know exactly how the royal pce was doing, he could see the dire situation by gazing in the pce¡¯s direction from the battlements. The general had been standing guard on the battlements when the royal pce had been bombarded by that ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, and he felt like the end of the world hade in that moment. The entire pce became an enormous orange-red sphere of light, and the terrifying onught came afterward.

    The soul engineers who were fighting back inside the city were massacred by their frightening enemies before they started going after the city defense army. Even though the army wasn¡¯t small, they suffered severe losses because they weren¡¯t organized and weren¡¯t able to retaliate. Severalrge buildings werepletelyid to ruin.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression was extremely dark, but he was able to keep his cool.

    ¡°Even though we can¡¯t be sure if the royal family has any survivors, I hope you can cooperate with me right now to restore order within Dou Ling City. Ourpanions have repelled the enemy, and both soul engineer legions have retreated. Nobody will attack you for now. Therefore, you don¡¯t have to guard the city gates anymore. Take your men and follow me into the city. We¡¯ll maintain order immediately.¡±

    ¡°Ah? I can¡¯t do that.¡± The general immediately declined, while his eyes also grew suspicious as he stared at Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi wanted him to abandon his city gates, but how could he do that?

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t exin. Instead, he pulled off a ne from his neck.

    The chain itself was silver, and very thin, but the pendant hanging beneath was very peculiar. It was a faint golden token, with six jewels embedded on its surface. Every jewel had a different shape and size, but the jewels together formed the words ¡°Dou Ling¡±, and were also emanating faint soul power undtions.

    The general was astonished when he saw this pendant. He turned his eyes back to Xu Sanshi before he went down on one knee.

    ¡°Greetings, prince.¡±

    Prince?Jiang Nannan, Nan Qiuqiu, Ye Guyi and Ji Juechen were all surprised when they heard that word. Since when had Xu Sanshi be the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s prince?

    Of course, they didn¡¯t know that the previous emperor had given this pendant to his mother when she was his favourite daughter.

    This ne was a symbol of the royal family, and also a symbol of status within the royal family. This ne could only be given when princes obtained their titles, and there were only a few of these pendants inside the Dou Ling Empire.

    Back then, this pendant had been given to Xu Sanshi¡¯s mother because she was doted upon. This meant that Xu Sanshi¡¯s grandfather had bestowed upon his mother a status that wasn¡¯t inferior to a prince.

    Afterwards, when Xu Sanshi¡¯s mother had eloped with his father, the pendant became a souvenir. The furious emperor even wanted to take it back, but Xu Sanshi¡¯s mother had hidden it very well. She didn¡¯t want to hand it over, no matter what, and imed that she wanted to keep it as a souvenir. In the end, it became part of Xu Sanhshi¡¯s property after he grew up.

    Not even Xu Sanshi himself had imagined that he would use this pendant one day. How he had dreaded this day! But at a time like this, the blood of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family flowed in his body. He had to take responsibility!

    Xu Sanshi retrieved the ne and put it back over his neck. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°At ease. Our affairs are urgent. Follow me into the city immediately, and withdraw the city defense army so that we can maintain internal order. We cannot allow Dou Ling City to descend into chaos again, no matter what. We can¡¯t allow any more people to die.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The general swiftly got to his feet, and his originally vacant and sorrowful eyes brimmed with confidence. Even though he didn¡¯t know who this prince was, and he had never even seen him before, at least someone from the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family was still around. This meant that there was yet hope! As long as Dou Ling City didn¡¯t fall into irreversible chaos, there was still a chance to turn things around.

    The general immediately gave out orders, and withdrew a thousand five hundred soldiers from the two thousand responsible for guarding the city walls. He led them personally as they followed Xu Sanshi and the others into the city. Dou Ling City really needed to be stabilized at a time like this.

    Xu Sanshi revealed his identity and entered Dou Ling City to restore order on this side.

    On the other side, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had caught up with those two soul engineer legions.

    They could see their strict and neat formations in the distance. Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh inside as he turned towards Tang Wutong and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire is far better at training, nurturing, andmanding their soul engineers than we are. Look at their formation, and their linked soul tools. They are much more advanced than we are. They live up to their names as beast-ranked soul engineer legions after all.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°Then what do we do? I think it¡¯s unlikely that we can keep them here in their current state. Linked soul tools are truly too irritating.¡±

    If the soul engineer legions didn¡¯t have linked soul tools, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could ambush and obliterate all of these soul engineers by relying on his mysterious Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain.

    But with the legions¡¯ linked defensive barriers, that chance had been reduced to almost zero. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s legions weren¡¯t afraid of being ambushed as long as they could maintain their linked defensive barrier, and with their strength and preparations against an ambush, that didn¡¯t seem like a very difficult task. They just had to maintain their defenses at a certain level.

    Huo Yuhao contemted for a moment as his eyes closed into slits. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Do they really think they can escape my pursuit like that? I wish to see if they can maintain their defenses longer, or if our pursuit is more vicious.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s storage ring glowed as he spoke, and a single soul cannon appeared in his hands.

    This soul cannon wasn¡¯trge, and its opening was only about thirty centimeters in diameter. It waspletely ck, and radiated gentle soul power undtions.

    Huo Yuhao infused his soul power into the cannon, and the cannon immediately hummed softly. He ced it on his shoulder, and didn¡¯t even have to aim as he pressed the button to fire.

 Chapter 569.2 - Xu Sanshis Experiences

    <h4 ss>Chapter 569.2: Xu Sanshi¡¯s Experiences</h4>

    A blinding red light erupted from the cannon and sted toward the two soul engineer legions in the distance.

    This was a normal bursting cannon, and its effects were very simple. It could produce an intense explosive force and high temperatures to cause destructiveness.

    Huo Yuhao had crafted this bursting cannon by himself. It was a ss 7 soul tool, but its offensive power was only about that of a ss 5 soul tool.

    There was a big difference between a ss 7 soul tool and a ss 5 soul tool. Since its offensive capability was only that of a ss 5 soul tool, then why was the soul tool itself ss 7? The reason was simple: because Huo Yuhao had tried to maximize other aspects. In this case, it was the cannon¡¯s range.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s bursting cannon could achieve a range of ten kilometers, which was ten thousand meters. That could already rival certain stationary soul cannon shells. Even Xuan Ziwen had praised him when he crafted this ss 7 soul tool.

    Xuan Ziwen was very strict and demanding, and he typically didn¡¯t praise his students unless they had made some extraordinary achievements. Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly the person who had received the mostpliments from Xuan Ziwen, but even then, those instances were few and far between.

    A soul cannon that wasn¡¯t a stationary soul tool that could fire at such an extraordinary range was something very rarely seen in the history of soul engineers. Even Xuan Ziwen himself probably couldn¡¯t do it better than Huo Yuhao if he had done it himself.

    There was a reason why Huo Yuhao had crafted this soul cannon, and his goal was simple. He wanted to be able to bait his enemies when necessary.

    Stationary soul cannon shells were too expensive, and they were also single-use items. Even though Huo Yuhao had expended many rare metals when crafting this soul cannon, and those rare metals were also considered the extremely precious kinds, he could use this soul cannon again and again!

    Huo Yuhao had fired his cannon, and the cannon shell elerated through the air. The cannon shell was streamlined, and it was like a date seed as it went straight for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s two soul engineer legions in the distance.

    This shell¡¯s velocity as it left the barrel wasn¡¯t considered quick, but what was frightening was its eleration afterward. The shell immediately sped up after flying for a hundred meters, and the shell itself split as part of the original shell propelled it forward, so that the other half could continue sting forward at an incredible speed.

    Everything was aplished in an energy state! It wasn¡¯t hard to see how extraordinary this was.

    ¡°Boom!¡± An explosion apanied an orange-red spark as the shell detonated on the soul engineer legions¡¯ defensive barrier.

    When Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had ambushed the two legions before this in the beginning, those soul engineers who had survived didn¡¯t really know what had happened. After Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden attack that almost killed Xia Xuanchen, and in addition to their sharp decline in numbers, they would be fools if they didn¡¯t know what was happening under such circumstances.

    Therefore, these soul engineers were extremely tense even as they maintained their linked defensive barrier while flying forward.

    When the single soul cannon shell exploded on their defensive barrier, almost every soul engineer¡¯s first reaction was to raise their linked defense barrier to its highest possible level.

    The Evil Tyrant Legion wasn¡¯t the only one; even the Imperial Dragon Legion behaved in the same fashion. Two soul engineer legions¡¯ linked defensive barriers instantly took shape, and they even began charging their linked offensive soul tools so that they could be prepared to attack at any moment. Their reactions were stunningly quick, all extremely correct and precise.

    Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen, as those legions¡¯manders, couldn¡¯t find any problems with their responses at all.

    But a problem did appear. This problem was both simple and direct: where was the enemy?

    A single soul cannon was fired, but they couldn¡¯t find any traces of their enemy at all. Furthermore, that attack was just a simple soul cannon strike that didn¡¯t do anything to them at all.

    The Sun Moon Empire had almost rendered bursting cannons obsolete, because that soul tool didn¡¯t have any special characteristics at all. Only certain cities would use bursting cannons for defense, and broadly speaking, beast-ranked soul engineer legions rarely used them. They preferred more destructive weapons such as piercing cannons, which were more effective against protective soul barriers, or dposition cannons and whatnot.

    They paused in midair for almost five minutes, and their linked soul tools were maintained at their highest possible levels from the beginning to the end. But their enemy never appeared.

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, and held his bursting cannon with the other. A cold grin appeared on his face as Tang Wutong nced at him confusedly. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°I¡¯m just telling them that I¡¯m here, so that they¡¯ll be more careful and more vignt.¡±

    Tang Wutong was extremely intelligent, and she immediately understood what Huo Yuhao was trying to say after a moment¡¯s contemtion. ¡°You¡¯re making them maintain their peak condition at all times! You¡¯re so evil.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I¡¯m evil? They¡¯re not nice people, either. Haih, I wonder how Dou Ling City¡¯s doing. I do hope that third senior brother and the others can help stabilize the situation there. At least, I hope they can maintain internal order.¡±

    Tang Wutongmented, ¡°Their scheme is so cruel and cunning. If the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elites at the front lines find out about their royal pce, they might just charge out from Shrek City for a showdown with the Sun Moon Empire. If they do that, they will have fallen into Ju Zi¡¯s trap. Ju Zi is so good at this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded silently. He was also more worried about what Tang Wutong was worried about. Ju Zi¡¯s n just made you helpless in trying to foil it.

    ¡°No matter what, we have to obliterate these two soul engineer legions before anything else. We can¡¯t fight the Sun Moon Empire on an open battlefield anymore, so the only thing we can do is weaken their forces continuously. They can produce many soul tools, but training elite and outstanding soul engineers takes time. As long as we can weaken their soul engineer forces continuously, the day wille when the Sun Moon Empire is no longer so formidable.¡±

    The two legions realized that they had been tricked as Huo Yuhao spoke, and they continued on their way. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to search for them, but Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were too powerful. They didn¡¯t dare to disperse at all! They could only ensure their safety by maintaining their linked defensive barriers, but that meant that they had to continuously expend soul power.

    They had already fought back at Ling Dou City. No matter how many elites the Dou Ling Empire had mobilized, Dou Ling City was the empire¡¯s capital city after all, and it still had to be defended to quite an extent. The two beast-ranked legions had already expended quite some strength dealing with the city defense army.

    They had suffered Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s ambush afterwards, and retreated immediately. They hadn¡¯t had any proper rest from the beginning until now. At the very least, they had to continue flying.

    A soul engineer¡¯s soul power was very limited. Even in the world of soul masters, not many could regenerate their soul power in battle like Huo Yuhao could, to the point that flying wasn¡¯t a problem for him at all.

    Even Titled Douluo would still have to expend some energy when maintaining high flight speeds, not to mention the fact that most soul engineers in the two legions only had around four soul rings.

    They relied on their flying-type soul tools, Milk Bottles, and other equipment to continue flying for prolonged periods. But this period was ultimately limited, no matter how long it might be, not to mention the fact that they had to maintain their linked defensive barriers as well.

    Therefore, the two legionmanders¡¯ expressions darkened when they realized that their enemy hadn¡¯t appeared. They understood what their enemy was doing.

    There was a very simple yet effective tactic on the battlefield, and that was harassment.

    Harassment meant you couldn¡¯t leave as quickly as you could. Harassment meant you had to maintain vignce, and that you didn¡¯t have a chance to rest at all.

    That wasn¡¯t a problem for top-tier soul engineers, but their subordinates couldn¡¯t do that. Their soul power would bepletely expended given enough time, and when the time came when they couldn¡¯t maintain their linked defensive formation, then perhaps the end of their world would arrive.

    ¡°What should we do, brother Xia?¡± Xu Tianyuan whispered at Xia Xuanchen. He didn¡¯t want his men to hear him, because not everyone understood the tough situation they were in.

    Xia Xuanchen¡¯s expression was ck. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re in a lot of trouble, brother Xu. Our enemies are both powerful and meticulous. Since they¡¯ve chosen to harass us like this, then they will definitely keep doing it. The only thing we can do is conserve soul power as much as possible, and put as much distance as possible between us and Dou Ling City. Afterwards, we have to find a ce to rest.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan asked, ¡°Are you saying that we have to find a rtively remote area, and one legion will stand guard while the other legion rests, so that we can allow our men to recover their soul power?¡±

    Xia Xuanchen nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s our only option. These two are extremely formidable, and they are able to jump through space. We may not be able to stop them even if we set a trap, and we will have to pay a hefty price for that attempt. Right now, we can only be conservative, and keep this up as long as we can. As long as we can allow our brothers to recover continuously so that they can maintain their fighting strength, I believe the two of them will retreat, given enough time.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan punched his palm as he spoke with a livid expression. ¡°We¡¯re too stifled. If I ever catch those two fellows, I¡¯ll rip their bodies into a million pieces.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen forced augh and said, ¡°Remain calm, brother Xu. Our brothers are watching. This is the only thing we can do. At least, those two don¡¯t dare to attack us in the open. It¡¯s too bad we¡¯re so close to Dou Ling City.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just do it your way. We¡¯ll ask everyone to elerate and put some distance between us and Dou Ling City before touching down to rest.¡± Xu Tianyuan was a decisive man, and the two men only discussed it for a few moments before they immediately ordered their soul engineers to elerate and fly into the distance.

 Chapter 569.3 - Xu Sanshis Experiences

    <h4 ss>Chapter 569.3: Xu Sanshi¡¯s Experiences</h4>

    Another bursting cannon shell flew at them right at this moment, and exploded against their protective barrier.

    The two soul engineer legions¡¯ tensed-up and sensitive state couldn¡¯t be resolved in a few moments. They were just elerating when they subconsciously unleashed their linked defenses to boost its strength, and their movement subsequently paused.

    ¡°Over there! The shell came from over there. Why isn¡¯t themander ordering us to attack?¡± Even though the soul engineers couldn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, they could still tell where the cannon shell came from.

    They were members of beast-ranked soul engineer legions, and they were typically very arrogant and full of themselves. These soul engineers were starting to grow furious after Huo Yuhao provoked them a second time.

    ¡°Keep your cool, everyone. The Imperial Dragon Legion will not use their linked defensive barrier. The Evil Tyrant Legion will continue maintaining their barrier. Ignore all attacks and continue flying forward.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen calmly gave the order. He was very clear that his enemy, who was in the shadows, hoped to see them fall into disarray. His enemy hoped to see them attack.

    The soul engineers¡¯ soul power would be consumed even more quickly if they used their linked offensive soul tools. His enemy would have aplished his goal if that happened, while their linked attacks would definitely be useless. Xia Xuanchen had directly shed with those two before, and he was very clear about how powerful they were. They were Transcendent Douluo at least, and they couldn¡¯t be normal Transcendent Douluo. If he didn¡¯t have that mysterious crystal stone, he would have been severely injured even if he wasn¡¯t killed right away. Furthermore, they also possessed sinister concealment abilities and mastery over spatial power, which forced him to be careful and meticulous. They were in a lot of trouble if one of them was even an Ultimate Douluo, and that person could possibly obliterate them all if he unleashed his full strength!

    Therefore, maintaining their defenses was a must, but conserving their soul power was also a must. Since their opponent didn¡¯t dare to mount a frontal assault, that meant that his enemies weren¡¯t confident of breaking through by forcing an attack. Right now, they werepeting to see who was more patient.

    Yes, they werepeting in patience. Huo Yuhao was also very patient. Back when he was training as part of the Ultimate Soldier n,peting with patience was one of his training¡¯s very important aspects.

    He was also waiting to see who was more patient. He was as patient as anyone could possibly be.

    Huo Yuhao fired once, and then changed angles before he fired again.

    Ten kilometers was definitely safe. Huo Yuhao¡¯s enemy was a huge target, and his enemy couldn¡¯t lock onto his position. This made them perfect target practice, and his enemy would have range problems if they wanted to hit him. His enemy couldn¡¯t possibly touch him without using stationary soul cannon shells, and such shells were very evident when they were fired. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would have sufficient time to dodge even if his enemies used a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. Therefore, their safety wasn¡¯t a problem. What Huo Yuhao had to do under such circumstances was continue harassing his enemy so that he could irritate those two soul engineer legions as much as possible.

    Huo Yuhao executed his n as he fired a cannon shell every one or two minutes.

    The two soul engineer legions couldn¡¯t really adapt in the beginning. Soul engineers continued strengthening their linked defenses as Huo Yuhao continued to attack them, but everyone knew the story of the boy who cried wolf. These soul engineers started to adapt after a while. Their enemy was just firing with a bursting cannon, and every single one of these soul engineers possessed soul tools with stronger attacking capabilities than that bursting cannon.

    Aren¡¯t you just harassing us? All we have to do is ignore you. We can rest after flying for a little while longer.

    Huo Yuhao continued to harass them even after an hour. However, the Imperial Dragon Legion and Evileye Tyrant Legion¡¯s soul engineers no longer strengthened their linked defensive barrier. The Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯s soul engineers didn¡¯t even release their own linked defensive barrier anymore, and both parties seemed to be at an impasse. Huo Yuhao¡¯s harassment also seemed to lose its effectiveness.

    Huo Yuhao fired another bursting cannon shell before he suddenly withdrew the cannon with a sh of silver light. Another new soul cannon suddenly appeared on his shoulder in the next moment. This soul cannon was different from the bursting cannon. First, it was longer.

    This soul cannon was more than three meters long, and even Huo Yuhao¡¯s long frame seemed uncoordinated when he was carrying it on his shoulder. Second, this cannon¡¯s style was different. This soul cannon looked like a long spear. The spear¡¯s tip was at the front, while the back of it looked something like an umbre, like the tip of a gun, and then there was the spear¡¯s shaft. Only the section on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder seemed rtively thicker.

    When Huo Yuhao infused his soul power into it, the entire soul cannon radiated peculiar dark green colors.

    Circle after circle of dark green hues coursed forward before all the light concentrated at the cannon¡¯s tip. The green light was deep and profound, and one could see upon closer inspection that there was actually a tiny ck hole that had appeared at this soul tool¡¯s tip.

    This ck hole wasn¡¯t the kind that swallowed everything. Instead, it was a phenomenon that would happen when the air shattered.

    Normally, offensive strength and speed could tear the air apart when they reached a certain level, and this phenomenon would appear. But the space that had been torn apart would swiftly close back together, while the broken space that was happening right now was continuous. The gash didn¡¯t seem like it was about to close at all.

    Tang Wutong was purely a soul master, and she didn¡¯t understand anything about soul engineers at all. But even so, she could feel how terrifying this soul tool was.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t fire casually this time. Instead, he activated Spiritual Detection as he lifted that soul cannon to his shoulder and aimed.

    He was sharing his Spiritual Detection with Tang Wutong, and she could naturally see who he was aiming at: one of the Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯s soul engineers, who was in the inner circle and resting.

    ¡°Tch¡ª¡± An ear-piercing st could be heard as a dark green ray burst forth. Huo Yuhao released Tang Wutong¡¯s hand in the moment right before he fired, and his body dashed forward like a lightning bolt. Huo Yuhao crossed several thousand meters in a few seconds as he flew forward at full speed, and he neared his enemy¡¯s defensive soul barrier.

    Huo Yuhao was less than three kilometers away from the protective barrier when the dark green ray was fired. Everything had been calcted through Spiritual Detection.

    The dark green light shed once before it disappeared, and it was like an extended arrow as it struck the linked defensive barrier.

    The barrier quivered as a trace of green suddenly appeared on its surface. The barrier didn¡¯t seem any different on the whole, but a small hole appeared at the spot where the barrier had been struck.

    The Imperial Dragon Legion and Evil Tyrant Legion¡¯s soul engineers witnessed a harrowing sight in the next moment. Even if they could live through this ordeal, they would never forget what they saw.

    The dark green ray fell urately on a soul engineer from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineering Legion.

    This soul engineer¡¯s automatic protective barrier was immediately activated, but was obliterated in the next moment. And then his entire body was annihted.

    The soul engineer¡¯s body quivered faintly as the dark green ray struck him, and he couldn¡¯t even cry out before his body was vaporized into countless green specks that dissipated into the air.

    Those green dots drifted through the air and seemed to contain a strange force. They couldn¡¯t fly out because of the legions¡¯ defensive barrier.

    Startled cries could be heard as almost every soul engineer activated their protective soul barriers at the same time.

    That green beam was just too frightening. Even though they were soul engineers, they had never seen something so sinister before. How could anyone know that that green light was threatening their lives?

    Huo Yuhao turned and left after his sessful strike and escaped into the distance.

    Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan looked on with widen eyes and ck jaws, and their hearts were beating out off their chests. Normal soul engineers couldn¡¯t recognize what that was, but how could they not know?

    That soul tool could pierce through their linked defensive barrier and instantly annihte one of the Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯s soul engineers. Wasn¡¯t that a formidable ss 9 single-target offensive soul tool, a super dposition cannon?

    Back then, Huo Yuhao had convinced Xuan Ziwen with a ss 8 dposition cannon. The one he was using wasn¡¯t a ss 9 cannon. It was a ss 9 dposition cannon.

    Dposition cannons were terribly frightening no matter what ss they were. Anybody who was struck had almost no chance to survive.

    A dposition cannon¡¯s most salient characteristic was its ability to dpose all energy. Any protective barrier was like paper to such a cannon, and if the target wished to stop a dposition cannon¡¯s attack, the target¡¯s defensive capabilities had to be three times stronger than the dposition cannon¡¯s attacking force.

    Not even a ss 9 soul engineer unleashing his protective soul barrier with his full strength could block a ss 9 dposition cannon¡¯s attack. A linked defensive barrier had to be raised to an extremely high level to stand a chance against a ss 9 dposition cannon.

    These two soul engineers could block this attack if they were at their peak condition. But they were too far from their peak condition right now.

    They had lost more than two hundred people, while only half their number was maintaining their linked defensive barrier. They didn¡¯t have a chance at stopping that dposition cannon!

    A single life was taken just like that. But that wasn¡¯t the most frightening fact, because the most frightening fact was that the two legions¡¯ soul engineers began to feel intense fear riling their hearts.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone. Continue maintaining the linked defensive barrier. That was a ss 9 dposition cannon, and it cannot be fired continuously. Even ss 9 soul engineers can only fire it once a day,¡± Xia Xuanchen didn¡¯t hesitate as he hollered at his soul engineers.

    Even though dposition cannons couldn¡¯t be used continuously, Xia Xuanchen was spouting nonsense when he imed that the cannon could only be fired once per day. But he had no choice but to make that im, because his legion would fall apart otherwise.

    Xu Tianyuan nced at Xia Xuanchen. He didn¡¯t stop him, but his expression was turning darker and darker.

    Their enemies weren¡¯t just Transcendent Douluo. There was a ss 9 soul engineer, and that was something they hadn¡¯t expected even in their wildest dreams.

    The bursting cannon that was being fired at long range before this could be considered a normal soul tool that any soul master could use. But they had never heard of the Douluo Continent¡¯s empires possessing a ss 9 dposition cannon!

 Chapter 570.1 - Change of Plans

    <h4 ss>Chapter 570.1: Change of ns</h4>

    The price of a ss 9 dposition cannon was exorbitant. Even they were not equipped with these cannons.

    On top of that, this enemy they were facing could not be detected by any of the surveince soul tools they had brought with them.

    When the ss 9 dposition cannon was fired, the two ss 9 soul engineers had immediately activated the strongest surveince abilities they possessed. After all, a ss 9 dposition cannon could only be fired within three thousand meters. However, they were still unable to pinpoint where that person was. This meant that they could only react passively to that person¡¯s attacks. How were they supposed to not develop a fear of Huo Yuhao?

    Xu Tianyuan started to be panicky. He knew it would take them close to eight hours before they reached the territory of the Sun Moon Empire¡ªwhich was also the formernd of the Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, they had to do their best to avoid any encounters with troops from the Dou Ling Empire.

    If this unknown enemy were to follow them throughout the entire eight hours, it would be a massive disaster for both soul engineer legions. In fact, the current situation of the two soul engineer legions simply would not allow them to maintain their defenses and fly at the same time for eight hours. They had to descend to rest and reorganize their forces.

    What should we do?

    Xu Tianran gritted his teeth as hemunicated with Xia Xuanchen. ¡°We need to let everyone rest. Right now, our teams¡¯ morale isn¡¯t doing very well. If heunches another dposition cannon and sessfully kills another person, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±

    Xi Xuanchen looked at him and asked, ¡°Brother Xu, what do you think we should do then?¡±

    Xu Tianran replied, ¡°We need to descend right away. My Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion will take turns with your legion to maintain our defenses. At the same time, we need to make sure our groups huddle together. This will make the linked defensive barrier thicker, and will help to reduce the effectiveness of the dposition cannon. Even though we might not be able to stick too close to one another in the air due to the possibility of collisions, we can do so on the ground. Let¡¯s continue discussing this after we let our people recover their energy. We need to think of a way to handle this.¡±

    ¡°I guess we have no choice but to follow what you say.¡± Xia Xuanchen was also out of ideas.

    Both of them immediately gave the order to the remaining members of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion and Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion to descend.

    They chose to rest up and reorganize their forces within a forest. They used their soul tools to clear some of the trees to create an empty plot ofnd to set up camp. The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion would take the outer ring, while the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion would take the inner one. Both legions would take turns to maintain their defenses.

    At the same time, because of their rtively morepact formation, the strength of their linked defensive barrier was also enhanced.

    Xia Xuanchen, Xu Tianyuan and some of the other vicemanders gathered. They could see the looks of dread on each other¡¯s faces.

    They were all members of the Hand that Protects The Nation. Even within the Sun Moon Empire, they were all extremely highly regarded. Even Xu Tianran would speak to them courteously when he bumped into them. This was especially true for Xu Tianyuan, considering how he was part of the royal family.

    However, they were in serious trouble this time around. Their enemy who was hiding in the dark was simply too difficult to handle. The biggest problem was finding their enemy. What was the use of their firepower if they couldn¡¯t even locate a target? They could only passively wait for the enemy to attack them.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t wait like this. If we continue to wait for him to attack, we will eventually be destroyed by him. In fact, once we lose a substantial number of soul engineers, the others might just start a mutiny.¡± Xia Xuanchen hammered his fist into the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

    Xu Tianyuan nodded and said, ¡°We must find a way to lure these two people out before we kill them. We still have a long way to go before we reach our destination. Even if we were to enter what was formerly the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s territory, we would still have to fly towards Shrek City and link up with the rest of the army. It would simply take too much time. If this continues, most of us will probably perish along the way.¡±

    The vicemanders nodded as they waited for orders from their superiors.

    ¡°Brother Xia, you¡¯re the quick-witted one among us. Propose something we can work on. Even if it¡¯s a little risky, it¡¯s still better than not having anything to work with.¡± Xu Tianyuan said.

    Xia Xuanchen nodded and said, ¡°I think our central strategy revolves around our need to lure him out beforeunching an all-out attack against him. From what I have observed, both of them are extremely powerful. They¡¯re probably¡ªat the very least¡ªTranscendent Douluo. One of them could either be a ss 9 soul engineer, or a soul master who possesses a ss 9 dposition cannon. To locate them, we must first destroy their means of turning themselves invisible.¡±

    ¡°Previously, we have already tried to use a variety of surveince soul tools, but to no avail. The range of the spiritual surveince soul tools is too small. They can¡¯t be used to locate them. Thus, we have no choice but to go back to basics. First, we will have to bait them into attacking us. Following which, we will employ the carpet bombing method to identify their exact position. Based on our previous observations, they need a bit of time before they can disappear. As long as we are prepared to concentrate our attacking power on them, there¡¯s no way they can escape without being heavily injured. Once they are heavily injured, they¡¯ll probably stop chasing after us. And we would then have achieved our objective.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan¡¯s eyes lit up as he nodded in agreement. ¡°Sounds good! Let¡¯s follow what you have just proposed. We¡¯ll first allow everyone to rest up. Afterward, we will need our guys to get ready to do some carpet bombing, while I will bring our four vicemanders tounched a mini linked offensive attack. I believe our firepower should be sufficient if we focus all of it on one of them. Brother Xia, I need you tomand the rest of our people, including my Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. As long as they dare toe near us, I am certain they will not be able to retreat without being injured.¡±

    As he looked at the vicious look on Xia Xuanchen¡¯s face, Xu Tianyuan nodded earnestly. ¡°Since Brother Xu is agreeable, let¡¯s do this then. We will work together and get rid of this troublesome duo. This will also allow us to return earlier to report on our work. Now that Dou Ling City has been destroyed, the Dou Ling Empire must be a mess. Who knows? The Commander might have a change of ns, and require us to provide support.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Tianyuan might have agreed verbally, but his eyes seemed to show the doubt he had in his mind. Simr to his dislike for Xu Tianran, he was also not a big fan of Ju Zi. However, he had to admit that the War God Empress was incredibly capable. Many of the people in the royal family, as well as the Elders of the Sun Moon Empire, could neither find a reason to reject her appointment as the Marshal nor afford to disobey her orders. As of now, her poprity in the Sun Moon Empire as the War God Empress was sky-high. In fact, her reputation might have even exceeded Xu Tianran¡¯s to a certain extent. This was especially true after the Heavenly Soul Empire fell victim to her tactics.

    As Xia Xuanchen left to prepare the rest of the legions for the trap, Xu Tianyuan and the four vicemanders sat down and began their rest. The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion did not dare to treat their work lightly as they concentrated on maintaining the linked defensive barrier to protect everyone.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were observing everything from above as they floated in the sky.

    ¡°That single blow of yours must have frightened them. Look how they have decided tond and protect themselves in that tight formation of theirs. Will their linked defensive barrier be stronger because of that formation?¡± Tang Wutong asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Yes. From the looks of their current formation, the dposition cannon should still be able to prate their barrier. However, it probably won¡¯t have enough energy left to kill a person. It seems like these two soul engineer legions will be a lot more difficult to kill than I thought. However, I can already guess what they¡¯re about to do next.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Tang Wutong asked curiously.

    Huo Yuhao exined, ¡°Even though the dposition cannon might not be able to deal with them, it should be enough to deter them from returning to the sky. When they are flying, soul engineers must keep a safe distance from one another, because their flying soul tools eject soul power. This distance might be negligible if there are only one or two people flying together. But if they have a few hundred people flying together, they have to spread their linked defensive barrier outwards. This causes the barrier to thin out, resulting in it losing the ability to block my dposition cannon. And once the number of dead people increases, the legions will crumble from within. After all, none of them would know who the next target would be. Hence, if I were theirmander, and I wanted to ensure that all of them retreat safely instead of being blown to bits by me, my next step would involve luring us out before taking us down.¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled and replied, ¡°Then that would be simple. As long as we don¡¯t react to their bait and never appear in front of them, we will be safe. I don¡¯t see how else they can handle us. As long as we wait till they set off again before we make our next move, there¡¯s no way they can trouble us.¡±

    However, Huo Yuhao shook his head as his eyes shed with a steely look. ¡°Since they want to bait us out with an intentional mistake, let¡¯s take the bait. In fact, we will grab it with all of our strength, and crush whatever hopes they still have. Let¡¯s go and make our preparations.¡±

    As he spoke, he grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand before turning around and flying into the distance.

    In the meantime, the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was taking a break by meditating, while the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion maintained their defensive infrastructure. They were already a considerable distance from Dou Ling City. It was unlikely that there would be any soldiers chasing after them, considering how chaotic Dou Ling City should be right now.

    Very soon, two hours had passed, and the soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion had basically recovered their soul power. However, they had no time to refill their milk bottles.

    Now it was time to rotate, as it became the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s turn to rest, while the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion maintained the linked defensive barrier.

    Xia Xuanchen was able tomand both legions in a seamless manner, while Xu Tianyuan and the four vicemanders continued their meditation, as though everything that was happening around them did not concern them.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had flown up again to see what the current situation was like. After seeing how disciplined they were, Huo Yuhao could not help but frown. His enemies were harder to deal with than he had thought. They were surprisinglyposed, even when they were threatened by two powerful soul masters.

    ¡°The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s soul engineers have basically recovered their soul power. Now it¡¯s the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s turn. Regardless of whether they n to bait us or leave, they must first get back into their best state. It¡¯s apparent that they want to see who is more patient!¡± Huo Yuhao exined to Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong grabbed his arm and smiled. ¡°Why should we hurry when they¡¯re not even hurrying? Let¡¯s get back down.¡±

    A thought suddenly appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. ¡°Wutong, since they have given us ample time, I have an idea. Destroying these two soul engineer legions might not achieve the best effect.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes widened.

 Chapter 570.2 - Change of Plans

    <h4 ss>Chapter 570.2: Change of ns</h4>

    Huo Yuhao whispered next to Tang Wutong¡¯s ear as he exined his idea to her. Immediately, Tang Wutong revealed a strange expression on her face. ¡°That¡¯s so bad of you! Hmph! Do you dare to say that you aren¡¯t doing this for Ju Zi?¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately tried to rify, ¡°Of course not. If I remember correctly, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion is the most powerful legion that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family controls directly. The royal family must value this soul engineer legion with great importance. Ju Zi is not the only one who knows how to set up an overt scheme, is she? There is no longer any chance of us winning the war in a direct manner. After the pce in Dou Ling City was destroyed, we don¡¯t even know if any members of their royal family are still alive. Hence, we can only turn the tables around bit by bit. I want you to take ten thousand steps back and consider this. If the Sun Moon Empire were to conquer the entire continent in the future, wouldn¡¯t it be better for it to be under Ju Zi¡¯s control rather than Xu Tianran or the Holy Ghost Church?

    Tang Wutong burst intoughter and said, ¡°Look at how nervous you¡¯ve be. I was only testing you. Do you really think I don¡¯t trust you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao also smiled and said, ¡°Of course I know you will believe me. But I still think there¡¯s a need to exin. It is a form of respect for you. Come, let¡¯s descend.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and disappeared into the woods. Of course, the ce they descended to was quite far from where the two soul engineer legions were.

    In the meantime, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion were still patiently recovering their soul power. It had been a long time since they were attacked by Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Even though the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion would not becent because of this, they were still grateful for the peace that they had been enjoying for the past few hours.

    It now seemed like Xu Tianyuan was right to say that the enemy only had one chance to strike them with the ss 9 dposition cannon.

    Xia Xuanchen had been monitoring their surroundings for any movement. In fact, he did not even dare to sit down and cultivate. The next thing he was about to do was set up the trap. This trap had to trick the enemy into believing that both of them had a chance of defeating the legions.

    He was ultimately different from the soul engineers under him. He could never rx when he knew that his enemies were still out there lurking around. He believed that they would not give up so easily after following them into the forest. It wasmon for strong soul masters to have patience that could oust most people. How could they have attained their powers without the ability to withstand loneliness and be patient?

    A significant amount of time went by very quickly. Very soon, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion would all have fully recovered the soul power they had expended. Following which, it would be time for them toplete their trap. This also happened to be the most dangerous moment. It was understood by everyone that some of them had to be sacrificed in order to bait their enemies. However, Xia Xuanchen could not help but feel a sense of fear about his mysterious, powerful enemies, who seemed to be wielding ss 9 dposition cannons.

    ¡°Commander, one of our surveince soul tools has indicated that someone is heading in our direction.¡± A soul engineer from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion suddenly reported. His words startled Xia Xuanchen.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing? How many of them?¡± Xia Xuanchen immediately became very alert as he questioned his subordinate rapidly.Could they have lost their patience?

    ¡°There are a lot of them. They seem to being towards us bynd. On top of that, they are currently surrounding us.¡± The soul engineer who was providing the update was visibly nervous, because the size of the enemy force was simply enormous. The only possible people who they could encounter in the Dou Ling Empire must be their enemies. And these enemies seemed to have managed to pinpoint their location, and were now surrounding them.

    A solemn look formed on Xia Xuanchen¡¯s face.Their reinforcements have arrived? If that¡¯s the case, the odds against us have be a lot worse.However, he was not really afraid of their reinforcements. After all, the Dou Ling Empire was the weakest empire on the Douluo Continent. In fact, they did not even have a proper soul engineer legion. No matter how many people¡ªincluding soul masters¡ªthey had sent to surround them, Xia Xuanchen would not be afraid of them. After all, they were going up against two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions that were part of the Hand that Protects the Nation. Even though these legions had lost more than a third of their people, the bulk of their force¡ªespecially the most powerful soul engineers¡ªwere still present.

    ¡°Get everyone other than the fivemanders to get ready for battle.¡± Xia Xuanchen ordered.

    He was no longer concerned about the trap for now. He knew he had to focus on fending off the enemies that were surrounding them before he could think about the trap. In fact, he believed their attack could help act as a trap or bait for his two other enemies. He might just be able to kill two birds with one stone.

    While he was issuing orders, Xia Xuanchen quickly moved over to the surveince soul tools. It was apparent that running their aerial surveince soul tools in a foreignnd would not be as effective as running them in their own territory. Hence, they had only broughtnd surveince soul tools with them. Even though they had a smaller range, they were a lot more urate.

    Xia Xuanchen could see a lot of red dots scattered on the screen of the surveince soul tool. If every red dot represented a single enemy, he was actually unable to determine how many people they were up against.

    These enemies were apparently very calm andposed as they moved towards them slowly. Even though they were not moving very fast, they had alreadypletely surrounded them, and were advancing at a very steady speed.

    As of now, the soul engineers still did not know what their enemies looked like. The dense forest prevented them from seeing their enemies. However, it was enough for them to know that their enemies were approaching them.

    Every single soul engineer within the legions was ready for battle. This included the soul engineers from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, who had recovered arge portion of their energy, but were ultimately still not fully recharged.

    After taking some time to analyze their situation, Xia Xuanchen ordered, ¡°Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, fire your Soul Light Rays and clear the trees that are blocking our way.¡±

    Fighting in forests had always been rtively disadvantageous for soul engineers. This was because soul engineers specialized in ranged attacks. It was a lot harder for them to take aim when there were trees surrounding them.

    After hearing Xia Xuanchen¡¯s orders, streaks of blue rays started to sweep around them as they cleared every tree within a thousand meters of them. This created arge amount of space outside the linked defensive barrier. There would be no hiding for any enemy who chose to appear before them. They would be subjected to the powerful soul tool attacks from both legions.

    After a short and intense wait, the soul engineers could finally see their enemies.

    However, they could not help but shudder after seeing what their enemies looked like.

    No matter how strong their enemies were, the members of the two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had never experienced fear before the battle had even begun. However, these enemies before them were able to strike fear in their hearts. Because they were not humans.

    What are those things?

    Huge skeletal structures wielding irregr bone knives were trodding towards them. Some of them were just armed with a single bone.

    A few of them were green zombies, which were hopping forward. Some of those zombies had humongous stomachs as foul-smelling liquid dripped from their bodies.

    On top of that, some of their enemies were extremely strange-looking. They saw headless knights, humongous frankensteins, and all sorts of scary-looking creatures they had never seen before in their entire life. All of these creatures were radiating a powerful aura of death.

    No normal human being would feel good after sensing such a powerful, dense aura of death.

    These soul engineers were no exception. Xia Xuanchen was also not exempt from this rule. He had never expected the calm and patient enemy he had imagined in his mind to be a spectral army.

    This was simply beyond his imagination. He had never expected to be facing an enemy like this.

    Xia Xuanchen ran towards Xu Tianyuan without any hesitation as he woke themander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion up.

    When Xu Tianyuan and the other four vicemanders were woken up from their meditation, their jaws dropped upon seeing the spectral creatures trodding towards them.

    Xu Tianyuan immediately flew into a rage as he clenched his fist and eximed, ¡°Those bastards! I knew it! I was wondering how our enemies could have gotten their hands on ss 9 dposition cannons! After all, those cannons are guarded with secrecy, even within our empire. Now everything¡¯s starting to make sense. I can still remember how resistant I was back then when His Majesty wanted to form an alliance with the Holy Ghost Church. I remember telling him how we should never associate ourselves with those evil soul masters. I am now certain that those evil soul masters are targeting us after learning about our independent mission. They have taken advantage of a golden opportunity to eradicate us while we are still in the Dou Ling Empire.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan was not the only one who had these thoughts. Even Xia Xuanchen and the other vicemanders shared the same sentiments.

    One of the vicemanders from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion spoke aggressively, ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any powerful cultivators from the Dou Ling Empire who can threaten us. If there is someone like that, he or she would have been dispatched to the main battlefield. If they had someone who could conceal themselves and control spatial power to a certain extent, they would have sent him to perform reconnaissance work, and stop us from destroying the Heavenly Soul Empire. It seems like the truth has finallye to light. Those evil soul masters from the despicable Holy Ghost Church! Our army has never been on good terms with them. I can see how they are trying to take this opportunity to weaken the army and the War God Empress¡¯ strength. By doing this, they would have triumphed over us. Who would know the nature of our death now that we are far away from any ally? They¡¯ve probably sent more than two evil soul masters, judging from the number of spectral creatures.¡±

    After hearing the vicemander¡¯s words, Xia Xuanchen¡¯s face revealed the deep hatred he had developed for the Holy Ghost Church. Now that the evil soul masters had revealed themselves, this meant that they were confident of killing all of them here. They were certain that this secret would be buried with their bodies. It was truly a matter of life and death for both parties.

    Xu Tianyuan spoke coldly, ¡°It won¡¯t be so easy for them to kill us. Brother Xia, right now, we can only fight with our lives in order to survive. Those evil soul masters must be hiding somewhere. We need to put all of our trump cards on the table. We need to let them know that our beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions are not to be meddled with.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen nodded and said, ¡°Brother Xu, you can rest assured that during important junctures like this, my Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion will not scrimp on resources. We will definitely do our best to fight for ourmon survival. Today, I shall lead our brothers to victory along with you, Brother Xu. Once we get back to the camp, we will give those bastards from the Holy Ghost Church hell!¡±

 Chapter 570.3 - Change of Plans

    <h4 ss>Chapter 570.3: Change of ns</h4>

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll give them hell when we get back!¡± A few of the vicemanders eximed furiously in unison.

    Soon, they started to take out all sorts of soul tools and started to take aim. Suddenly, an unknown signal was issued from outside of their linked defensive barrier. Following which, the spectral creatures which were slowly trodding towards them suddenly charged towards the barrier like floodwater during the monsoon season.

    Soul Light Rays and soul cannons fired repeatedly at the spectral creatures under themand of a few of the more powerful soul engineers. At that instant, countless spectral creatures were blown to pieces. Their bones, organs and all sorts of strange innards were scattered all over the ground.

    Huo Yuhao was floating in the sky as he watched the entire battle from a distance with Tang Wutong.

    Both of them were slightly startled by the firepower the two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were exhibiting.

    Even though they had always regarded these two soul engineer legions highly, they still could not help but gasp after witnessing the power they wielded.

    By now, it should be apparent that these spectral creatures came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spectral demine. The number of spectral creatures his spectral demine contained was seemingly limitless. Even Huo Yuhao did not know where they wereing from. He was only aware that there was a maximum number of spectral creatures which could exist within his spectral demine at any point in time. After this limit was reached, the total count would not increase. However, if any of the spectral creatures were to die or disappear, the demine would regenerate new spectral creatures to make up for the deficit.

    Now, Er Bai, Little Bai¡¯s original body, had truly be the king among all the spectral creatures within the spectral demine. He ruled over almost every single spectral creature within the demine. Most of the spectral creatures, with the exception of the powerful ones like the Bone Dragon, abided by his orders. Hence, when Huo Yuhao activated his Spectral Cmity, the spell was a lot more powerful with Er Bai leading the spectral creatures.

    However, the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions¡¯ destructive power was simply too overwhelming. The Abomination was one of the most powerful spectral creatures within the entire spectral demine. It was nearly invincible onnd. Even though it was humongous and possessed incredible defensive power, it was still extremely agile and fast.

    However, its powerful body, which it had always been proud of, could not withstand the devastating blows from the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions. There was no way they could get close to the linked defensive barrier. In addition, because of their huge size, they were easy targets for the soul engineers. Hence, countless Abominations copsed to the ground after shrieking theirst howl.

    More and more spectral creatures were turning into carcasses outside the protective soul barrier. However, the wave of spectral creatures that were swarming towards the protective soul barrier appeared to be endless.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was not trying to kill these soul engineers, he was not prepared to let them go so easily. If they were allowed to return to the Sun Moon Empire without a challenge, he would not be able to achieve his objective.

    Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen were oblivious towards his movements in the sky. Huo Yuhao had just put away a soul tool that probably symbolized death in their eyes. It had belonged to the Starsky Douluo. It was the Sunmoon Divine Needle!

    With Huo Yuhao¡¯s current ability, he was definitely able to harness the full potential of the Sunmoon Divine Needle. He had originally nned to use it to destroy the trap they had nned to bait him with. Following which, he would destroy all of the soul engineers with Tang Wutong with any method and skill that they possessed. After all, they had more than just Spiritual Tempest as their martial soul fusion skill!

    However, he decided against that. He felt that the Sunmoon Divine Needle was not very suitable for the circumstances before them. Even though it was incredibly powerful, it was also easy to recognize, Once he used the Sunmoon Divine Needle, he would have blown his cover. It would be extremely disadvantageous for Huo Yuhao to allow the enemy to know who he was. Hence, he decided not to use it. After all, he was the only other known user other than Ye Yulin.

    Every single soul engineer in the protective soul barrier was in a hyper-excited state as they rapidly fired the soul tools in their hands. As they saw how the spectral creatures copsed and died before their eyes, they felt as though an unknown primal need within their bodies had been satiated.

    Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen slowly heaved a sigh of relief. Even though these spectral creatures looked extremely fearsome, they were still unable to stand up to the firepower of the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions.

    Since that was the case, they no longer found a need to worry about them. No matter how strong the evil soul masters were, they would eventually tire themselves out from sustaining their continuous summoning of so many spectral creatures. And when that moment eventually arrived, it would be the legions¡¯ turn to retaliate and kill them.

    After all, every beast lord-ranked soul engineer legion had their own trump card. As the legionmanders, Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen wielded the best soul tools in the legions. For example, the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell and the high energypression milk bottles were soul tools which were only carried around by the legionmanders.

    High energypression milk bottles were built from a new technology that the Sun Moon Empire had recently developed. Every single milk bottle was worth as much as a ss 9 soul tool. It could contain as much soul power as a ss 7 soul engineer possessed.

    On first sight, it seemed as though the cost-benefit analysis of this milk bottle did not make much sense. However, it was important to note that a ss 7 soul engineer was equivalent to a Soul Sage. A Soul Sage was at an entirely different level from a Soul Emperor. The amount of soul power a Soul Sage could store was hence definitely an impressive amount.

    To put it simply, if a ss 5 soul engineer were to wield a high energypression milk bottle, he would be able to fight continuously for several hours with his ss 5 soul tool without worrying about running out of soul power.

    As for the power of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell, there was no need to exin how destructive and effective it was in wartime.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion mainly stocked up on high energypression milk bottles, while the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was the legion with the greatest number of ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells among the Hand that Protects the Nation. This was something that even Xu Tianran did not know.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had always been led by a member of the royal family. Even though these members were extremely loyal to the royal family, that did not mean that they must be loyal to the Emperor at that point in time. Hence, they would usually hide and stock up whatever ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells they were given.

    Among all the ss 9 soul engineers, only a selected group of soul engineers knew how to make ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. The royal family of the Sun Moon Empire not only controlled the wealth of the empire, but also all sorts of rare metals! Hence, by exchanging rare metals for ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells with the ss 9 soul engineers, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was able to stock up on these weapons, and be more powerful.

    This was something that only the legionmanders of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion knew. Hence, if the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were to go all-out, even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion might not be able to defeat them. The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was effectively bribing their way to victory!

    This was also why the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was extremely highly regarded by members of the royal family. In fact, most of them felt that as long as they could control the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, they could, to some extent, control the entire destiny of the Sun Moon EMpire.

    Xu Tianyuan was the currentmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. As a person who was obsessed with power, he would most definitely bring a huge pile of those weapons that could decide the destiny of an empire.

    However, the ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells they had used to bomb Dou Ling City were the ones which were drafted for use by the army. They did not belong to him. However, he was now prepared to use all of his trump cards to ensure his legion¡¯s survival.

    Even though the deaths of the soul engineers from his Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion caused him a lot of pain, he knew how the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion would not truly be weaker as long as he held onto these trump cards.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom¡­¡± Countless spectral creatures continued to crumble under the ferocious attacks of the soul engineer legions. Smoke was starting to envelop the group as horrifying howls from the dying spectral creatures threatened to deafen the soul engineers.

    After a short moment, the world around them suddenly became quiet. Every single spectral creature which was within sight of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion had been shredded to pieces.

    Is it finally over?

    The soul engineers within the linked defensive barrier were all panting. Fatigue caught up with them as the adrenaline in their bodies started to wear off.

    Xia Xuanchen looked at the screen of a surveince soul tool before ordering, ¡°Do not drop your guard. It is not over yet. Our enemies are still here. They seem to be clustering together right now.¡±

    Yes. Even though there were no longer any spectral creatures near them, the screen showed what there were stillrge numbers of spectral creatures surrounding them deeper in the woods. These spectral creatures could attack them at any moment.

    This short pause was a good chance for the tense soul engineer legions to catch their breath. It was easy for them to tire themselves out if they were to maintain their fast-paced attacks for extended periods of time.

    It seems like there are really evil soul masters controlling these spectral creatures from behind the scenes. They have probably stopped their attacks after watching how we were able to ughter their spectral creatures with ease. Instead of intentionally stopping to control the rhythm of the battle, they probably stopped out of fear.

    It is said that evil soul masters have to give up a lot to breed and nurture their own avenging spirits or spectral creatures. Every single death means that they¡¯re a little weaker than before. Hmph! Let¡¯s see how much longer you evil soul masters can maintain your attack. Our soul engineer legions have never backed down from head-on battles like this!

    Both Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan shared the same sentiments. Unfortunately, they did not know that the person who was controlling the spectral army was not in the least bit concerned about the deaths of his spectral creatures.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s current spiritual power was already leaps and bounds ahead of his original spiritual power. Back when his spectral creatures were dying under the legions¡¯ fire, he had already noticed some of the finer details that most people would have missed out on.

    After every spectral creature died, its carcass would release an inconspicuous energy fluctuation. This streak of energy would return to the spectral demine through the spectral gate.

    Initially, Huo Yuhao thought he was seeing things. However, upon closer scrutiny, he realized that he was not hallucinating. The streak of energy was actually the spectral creature¡¯s spirit fire.

    This also meant that only the body of the spectral creature had died. The spectral creature¡¯s spirit fire would just return into the spectral demine.

    It was important to note that the spirit fires, which belonged to the spectral creatures within the spectral demine, were created by the Cmity Necromancer Electrolux himself. There was actually light-type energy within every single spirit. Hence, even Ye Guyi¡ªwho was extremely adept at purification¡ªcould not purify the spirits within the spectral demine.

 Chapter 571.1 - The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 571.1: The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion</h4>

    If their spirit fire wasn¡¯tpletely extinguished, these spectral creatures wouldn¡¯t truly die. They could re-absorb power from the spectral demine and re-form their bodies.

    However, a lot of energy had to be expended to reconstruct undead from spirit fire. The source of this energy was the spectral demine.

    Through his understanding of spectral demines over these past few years, Huo Yuhao had graduallye to understand that the spectral demine was a spatial dimension that Electrolux had opened on his own. It wasn¡¯t as stable as a main dimensional ne like the Douluo Continent. More simply put, the spectral demine was like a dimensional ne that was formed using pure energy. Everything inside it was made using energy.

    During the process of creation, Electrolux must have used some kind of unknown method to pour in extremely stable energy. This stable power was enough to ensure self-sufficiency. Once the spectral creatures were released from inside to fight, this stable energy would be drained.

    Of course, the energy was drained at an extremely slow speed.

    However, if this persisted and the energy wasn¡¯t replenished, the energy in the demine would sooner orter bepletely drained. When that happened, the entire demine would copse.

    Of course, such a situation wasn¡¯t realistic.

    The more he understood necromancy, the more Huo Yuhao admired and respected Electrolux.

    When Electrolux was creating the spectral demine, he didn¡¯t just make it stable. He even created a magical flow.

    This flow was simr to photosynthesis after nts absorbed water.

    If the spectral creatures in the demine died in the outside world, some of the energy in the demine would indeed be lost. However, this loss would be very little. In that case, how was the energy in the demine replenished? It was actually a very simple process ¨C through the non-spectral creatures that went in and out of the demine.

    Simply put, if Huo Yuhao opened his demine and walked in, all the energy in his body would receive some kind of special guidance and transformation within it. A part of his aura would cause a chemical reaction inside the demine, thereby increasing the amount of energy in the demine. This reaction would only stop after the internal energy of the demine was saturated.

    What aura did Huo Yuhao bring in? It was light.

    It was the aura of light from the outside world. The aura of light that came from sunlight and from one¡¯s heart were the sources of such energy.

    As a result, if the inheritor of the demine possessed the aura of light in his body, and their abilities weren¡¯t evil in nature, there wasn¡¯t a very high risk that the demine would be drained of energy.

    Huo Yuhao had brought in three soul engineer legions before! How strong was the power of light that came from three thousand people? As a result, the energy in the demine was in a saturated state.

    Even so, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t overly drain the energy in the demine. After all, these spectral creatures were the foundation of this demine. If he drained the energy of this ne too much, there would be problems. Moreover, their existence constituted an army for Huo Yuhao. Although it wasn¡¯t very convenient to use them on the battlefield, they were still very useful in special circumstances, such as now.

    What did an army need? Apart from strength, it needed a marshal!

    This was also the reason why Huo Yuhao let the spectral army take a break temporarily.

    Although the goal of the spectral army was to expend the energy of these two soul engineer legions and not to defeat them, it was still very draining for them to do so. It was naturally best for them to conserve as much as possible.

    Suddenly, low-pitched incantations could be heard from all directions. Liches started to straighten their bodies among the spectral creatures. They raised bone staffs. Right now, they were reciting the same incantations as Huo Yuhao.

    A terrifying spectral aura quickly rose, and a dense greyish fog engulfed the entire forest. All living creatures in the forest quickly ran for their lives. They didn¡¯t dare toe into contact with the greyish fog.

    A terrifying strength was brewing. Both the Imperial Dragon and Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions were under immense pressure right now. They unwittingly increased the strength of their protective soul barriers. This was because they didn¡¯t know how strong of an attack they were going to be subjected to next, and they also didn¡¯t know when it woulde.

    They were being drained physically and mentally.

    Spectral creatures were naturally ugly and fierce. Any ordinary human¡¯s first reaction when facing spectral creatures would be fear and anxiety. Under such a circumstance, they would be mentally drained much faster than they would be in a normal fight. This was what Huo Yuhao was trying to achieve too.

    Right now, the situation was like that. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect that the spectral creatures would be able to drain these two soul engineer legions so much.

    The recovery of their mental fatigue was even slower than the recovery of their soul power.

    The two soul engineer legions had been consecutively attacked by Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Many soul engineer lives were lost. Right now, they were all rmed and scared. How could they not be fearful in the face of so many spectral creatures?

    Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan¡¯s train of thought was very clear. In fact, they were well-aware that the enemy in hiding didn¡¯t have the intention of defeating two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions using a spectral army. The enemy¡¯s true intention should have been to force them back into the sky.

    Since this was the case, there must be some kind of trap in the air. If the enemy was an evil soul master, it was highly possible that he wasn¡¯t the only one.

    This was why both legionmanders were veryposed right now. They could only wait for the enemy to reveal himself. They weren¡¯t too concerned about the spectral army. However, they had neglected their soul engineers¡¯ psychological changes.

    The incantationssted for a minute. Following this, a greyish air current swept towards the linked defensive barrier formed by the two soul engineer legions.

    Without any orders, all types of soul tools were immediately unleashed. They were used to dissipate the greyish air current that was surging towards them.

    However, the two soul engineer legions were astonished to find that their attacks didn¡¯t have any effect on the greyish air current.

    Yes, there wasn¡¯t any effect at all. It didn¡¯t even achieve the slightest effect.

    How¡¯s this possible?The same thought appeared in everyone¡¯s mind.

    After this, they found that the greyish air current stopped when it was some distance away from them. After this, it settled to the ground. It didn¡¯t invade their defensive formation.

    Just as the soul engineers heaved a sigh of relief, their eyes opened wide at the next instant.

    The bones and mangled corpses that were originally on the ground re-formed as they were nourished by the greyish air current. They turned into skeletons and vampires that crawled up from the ground.

    It was important to know that there were many spectral creatures that had died on the battlefield under the hands of soul tools. Right now, the revival of these spectral creatures caused the entire ce to be popted.

    The more terrifying thing was that every soul engineer developed the belief that spectral creatures couldn¡¯t die any further. This was the scariest part.

    In fact, spectral creatures could only remain ¡®alive¡¯ for a restricted period of time. However, these soul engineers didn¡¯t know that! They also didn¡¯t notice that these spectral creatures that were revived weren¡¯t as strong as the Abominations and Terror Knights. They were only skeletons and vampires, which were on the lower tiers among spectral creatures.

    Humans could unleash terrifying strength in the face of fear. This was something not to be doubted.

    As a result, the fighting strength of the two soul engineer legions waspletely unleashed.

    Dazzling lights struck the spectral army, causing many of the spectral creatures to be torn to pieces.

    The skeletons and vampires took only a few steps before they were torn apart.

    Countless soul engineers were roaring furiously. They were unleashing their strongest soul tools in the most maniacal way possible. They were attacking furiously.

    An energy storm raged, and frightening soul rays and cannon shells caused this entire region to turn into a region of death.

    There were no longer any corpses. When the spectral creatures copsed this time, their bodies directly turned to dust. Even the ground started to cave in a little because of this intense sh between the spectral creatures and the two soul engineer legions.

    From above, only a huge ball of light could be seen. Nothing else could be seen at all.

    At the very start, Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen were veryforted by the offensive strength of their two soul engineer legions. However, they felt that something was amiss very soon. Their soul engineer legions were a little too fierce, and there seemed to be something wrong with their morale. It wasn¡¯t just at a high; there was something else.

    Fear? Xia Xuanchen soon realized that his soul engineers were all fearful right now.

    He had finally realized it. However, his realization came toote.

 Chapter 571.2 - The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 571.2: The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion</h4>

    Xia Xuanchen shouted almost without hesitation. Hemanded everyone to stop attacking. However, every soul tool was currently being unleashed at full power as the hundreds of soul engineers did their best to muster the greatest of their offensive ability. How far could his voice travel? No one heard him. Everyone was frantically and furiously attacking. There was only one thought in their heads ¨C decimate all the spectral creatures in front of them.

    The situation was a little out of control right now.

    Xia Xuanchen tried to knock a few soul engineers down. However, these soul engineers immediately jumped up after they were knocked down. After they jumped up, they continued attacking. Unless they were knocked out, they wouldn¡¯t stop at all.

    Such a frantic attack only slowly ceased after five minutes, when there were not many spectral creatures left to kill.

    Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan both looked very glum.

    While soul engineers were well-respected in the army, they were still soldiers in the end. The duty of soldiers was to listen to orders. Once soldiers stopped listening to orders, it meant that the entire army was out of control. That was the most terrifying thing.

    For the soul engineers that stopped, their fear slowly vanished as they were excited. They hadpletely killed all the spectral creatures. There was even no sight of any broken limbs on the ground.

    However, all of them were very fatigued as their fear disappeared. Many of them dropped to the ground panting. This was the after-effect of over-excitement.

    At this moment, they might not be physically exhausted, but they were certainly mentally exhausted!

    Xia Xuanchen suddenly thought of something, and his figure shed. He rushed towards the few soul engineers among the legion who were in charge of surveince.

    However, it was a pity that he was still a step too slow. A soul engineer who was in charge of surveince subconsciously eximed, ¡°Why, why are there still so many spectral creatures outside?¡±

    Xia Xuanchen shut him up. However, he had already said something that he shouldn¡¯t have before Xia Xuanchen could cover his mouth.

    The soul engineers who were both excited and fatigued right now were immediately stunned when they heard his words.

    There¡¯s more? There¡¯s more of them?What about the hard work that they had put in earlier?

    A deeper fear than before immediately swept over them at this point.

    A few soul engineers who were weaker and greatly drained from earlier suffered mental breakdowns. They charged towards the outside of the protective soul barrier as they screamed frantically. They were trying to flee. All of their faces were contorted at this point.

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang, bang¡­¡±

    Soul rays shot out urately. Headshot!

    The first six soul engineers who had charged out immediately copsed into a pool of blood.

    All the soul engineers subconsciously turned their attention to where the soul rays came from. They only saw the grim-looking Xu Tianyuan.

    ¡°Silence! Whoever dares to rebel shall be killed.¡± Xu Tianyuan¡¯s cold voice could be heard by every soul engineer. This also roused their fear of military discipline.

    Xu Tianyuan raised his right hand, and apletely jade-blue soul cannon shell appeared in his hand. ¡°What¡¯s there to be frantic about? All of you are useless. Have you forgotten who you are? Who are we? We are part of the Hand that Protects the Nation of the Sun Moon Empire. We are a beast lord-ranked soul engineer legion, a strength to behold. No matter what enemy we face, they can only submit to us. What¡¯s there to fear? Do you see this? Do you see what¡¯s in my hand? It¡¯s a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell.¡±

    ¡°So what if there¡¯s another attack like earlier, but only ten or hundred times stronger? We can easily destroy them. Are all of you scared just because they¡¯re ugly spectral creatures?¡±

    ¡°Observe, watch closely. See how many spectral creatures will survive this time.¡± As he spoke, Xu Tianyuan¡¯s hand shed with light again, and a giant cannon appeared on his shoulder. A vice-legionmander personally inserted the jade-blue shell into the cannon.

    Xu Tianyuan didn¡¯t even deliberately aim. As a jade-blue light shone, the shell immediately shot out.

    In the forest in the distance, a terrifying jade-blue light brightened the entire sky. A massive wave of energy swept over them, and it seemed like the entire world had turned jade-blue at this instant.

    The detector in the observer¡¯s hand revealed that more than a third of the red spots had disappeared. No traces were left behind.

    This was the strength of a top-grade shell!

    The soul engineers¡¯ morale and sense of fear slowly returned to normal as the jade-blue light shed. The soul engineers lowered their heads. They stood up and repented for their behavior earlier.

    Xia Xuanchen silently heaved a sigh of relief, and gave a thumbs-up to Xu Tianyuan.

    However, Xu Tianyuan knew things weren¡¯t all that smooth. Earlier, he shouldn¡¯t have used that ss 9 shell no matter what. Those spectral creatures were only summoned by evil soul masters. They weren¡¯t capable of finding the evil soul masters. The ss 9 shell would only serve to make their enemies more prudent, and therefore more difficult to deal with in the future.

    However, did he have a choice? The morale of his troops had been very low, and they were about to carry out a mutiny. He couldn¡¯t think of a better way to react to the situation.

    What he didn¡¯t know was that Huo Yuhao was a little unsettled right now. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to use a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell.

    Fortunately, his Spiritual Detection covered the entire ce. He felt that things weren¡¯t right when Xu Tianyuan took out the ss 9 shell. He immediately ordered his spectral army to divide into two files and retreat to the sides of the trajectory that the shell was moving in.

    Even so, his spectral army still sustained heavy losses. Of course, both he and Tang Wutong managed to hide far away.

    Although Huo Yuhao had gained the upper hand in this confrontation, his advantage was greatly reduced after the other party unleashed a ss 9 shell.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao had a ss 9 shell with him too. However, he couldn¡¯t bear to use it. He would not touch it unless the situation was truly desperate. It was simply too valuable.

    He¡¯s gone all-out by using a ss 9 shell.After a moment of temporary shock, Huo Yuhao quickly calmed himself down.

    The enemy chose to use a ss 9 shell even when he wasn¡¯t supposed to use it no matter the circumstance. What did that signify? It meant that the enemy had lost a little control after being subjected to pressure by him.

    The six soul engineer legions who had attempted to flee earlier were the best proof. Since this was the case, Huo Yuhao was bent on applying more pressure. Furthermore, he was going to try another method.

    Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s orders, the spectral army quickly retreated. The destructiveness of a ss 9 shell was simply too terrifying. Any living creature would be decimated under such an attack. Even an Ultimate Douluo wouldn¡¯t dare to directly resist the strength of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell.

    To prevent sustaining more losses, Huo Yuhaomanded his spectral army to cease attacking. After all, did he only have one strategy?

    It was crucial to remember that he wasn¡¯t just a powerful Titled Douluo. He was also a ss 9 soul engineer. As a soul engineer, he was very familiar with the abilities of a soul engineer. For example, a linked defensive barrier might be able to iste energy and spiritual attacks, but it couldn¡¯t iste the effects of temperature.

    While temperature was also a form of energy, the difference was that it could be conducted in many ways apart from air. It was almost impossible topletely iste temperature changes. At least, it wasn¡¯t usible based on current soul tool technology.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone. The spectral creatures have vanished.¡±

    Rapturous cheers sounded within the protective soul barrier.

    Xu Tianyuan really heaved a sigh of relief this time. At the same time, he felt very proud of himself. The enemy had finally retreated after he used a ss 9 shell. Did this also mean that their attacks would cease? Yes! How many people could remainposed in the face of a ss 9 shell? If the shell killed a portion of their enemies earlier, it would be even more perfect.

    Xia Xuanchen also appeared much more rxed. He came to Xu Tianyuan¡¯s side and whispered, ¡°Brother Xu, let everyone rest first. We can¡¯t leave in such a state.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Tianyuan nodded. The earlier outburst had caused many of the soul engineers earlier to be greatly drained, whether it was in terms of their spiritual or soul power. They couldn¡¯t possibly leave without resting. At the same time, they needed to observe the situation further to determine whether their enemies had really retreated.

    ¡°Members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion are in charge of maintaining the protective soul barrier. Members of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, take the time to rest.¡± Xu Tianyuan immediately gave an order.

    ¡°Brother Xia, should we continue with our earlier n?¡± Xu Tianyuan softly asked Xia Xuanchen.

    Xia Xuanchen replied, ¡°Even if we want to continue on with it, we still have to wait for some time. Let everyone recover first.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan was astonished as he said, ¡°The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s weather is so weird. It¡¯s always so gloomy. Eh, it¡¯s snowing?¡±

    It was already deep into autumn. The Dou Ling Empire was close to the north of the Douluo Continent, while its capital, Dou Ling City, was also close to the north of the empire. This was why its temperature was lowerpared to other empires.

    Snowkes started to fall from the sky, and they drifted before theynded on the ground. It was only after a short while before the ground turned into a patch of white.

    Normally, low temperatures weren¡¯t an issue for these soul masters. The soul engineers of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer were still chortling as they saw their protective soul barrier being engulfed by ayer of snow.

 Chapter 571.3 - The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion

    Chapter 571.3: The Terrifying Beast Lord Soul Engineer Legion

    The protective soul barrier didn¡¯t have any temperature on its own. However, the great number of soul rays and shells that had been used to attack earlier caused the temperature inside and outside the barrier to differ slightly.

    This was why the snow quickly melted when it fell on the barrier. However, ayer of snow still formed on the barrier, as there was simply too much snow falling. From afar, it seemed like a giant white semicircr object. It was very interesting.

    ¡°The temperature in the Dou Ling Empire is really ridiculous. It¡¯s really getting a little cold.¡± One soul engineer said softly. At the same time, he pulled his clothes closer to the center of his body.

    Many soul engineers were sweating from their earlier outburst. As it snowed, the temperature fell drastically. Many of them started to pull their clothes closer to the center of their bodies as a means of keeping warm.

    The snow gradually got heavier and heavier. On the surface of the barrier, the umted snow also started to thicken. The temperature didn¡¯t fall further, but the soul engineers inside the barrier still felt cold.

    Xu Tianyuanmanded a few people to start a fire to keep the rest warm. At the same time, they were also taking turns to eat.

    Very soon, piping hot soup was sent to Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen. Both of them were still full of soul power. They didn¡¯t need to meditate. After taking a few mouthfuls of soup, their bodies started to warm up. They also began to rx.

    ¡°Brother Xia! I didn¡¯t expect things to be so sessful at the front line and problematic at the back end for this mission.¡±

    A cold light shed in Xia Xuanchen¡¯s eyes. He downed his soup and said, ¡°When we return, we must not rest until we deal with the Holy Ghost Church. How dare theyy their hands on us? They must be sick of living.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan squinted and exuded a killer aura. ¡°Holy Ghost Church, bloody Holy Ghost Church. I wonder if they¡¯re gone. Right now, I actually do wish they haven¡¯t left. It¡¯s a pity that our detectors can¡¯t find their exact location. Otherwise, even if a ss 9 shell can¡¯t kill them, it¡¯ll still be enough to skin them. Since when have we be so passive?¡±

    Xia Xuanchen said, ¡°I really hate that fellow who can conceal himself. It¡¯s our first time meeting such a soul master. He can conceal himself and prevent us from finding him. Otherwise, he¡¯d be dead even if he were an Ultimate Douluo, given thebined strength of our two soul engineer legions.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that for now. Let¡¯s rest first. Later, we still need to carry out our n.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at the detectors. We can¡¯t see the outside because of the snow. We can only observe using our detectors. It¡¯s best if we avoid any problems.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan said, ¡°Things should be fine for now. My shell would have hurt many of them. In my opinion, they would have escaped if they¡¯re clever enough.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen nodded, but he was very cautious, and therefore he still went to check.

    He returned very quickly. Everything appeared to be fine outside. No enemies had appeared.

    The temperature inside the barrier was rising due to the fire that had been lit. However, the temperature outside the barrier was very low due to the falling snow. Very soon, ayer of ice formed on the surface of the barrier due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the barrier. Furthermore, thisyer of ice was thickening.

    No discoveries were made by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s detectors, but right now, there was one person silently standing outside the protective soul barrier.

    This person¡¯s body temperature was exactly the same as the external air temperature. Thermal detectors were useless against him. Even the oscitions released by oscition detectors couldn¡¯t manage to detect anything abnormal as they passed through his body. No one discovered any special changes that came from his body.

    This person stood outside just like that. His left hand was still on thatyer of ice.

    The temperature outside was already below zero. The snowkes in the sky were getting thicker and thicker as they drifted. It was just that theyer of ice blocked the view of those covered by the barrier.

    No one realized that there were a few strange forces within thatyer of ice. The undtionsing from these few forces weren¡¯t very strong, but they fused perfectly with ice. They also helped to iste the temperature inside and outside the barrier.

    Thermal detectors were used to detect external heat, but they couldn¡¯t judge external temperature. This was why the soul engineers within the barrier didn¡¯t know that the temperature in the outside world was dropping very rapidly.

    Time passed second after second. The snow outside the barrier kept getting thicker and thicker along with theyer of ice.

    After taking turns to rest and eat, the Imperial Dragon and Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions remained for another four hours. They were even taking turns to sleep and, used sleep to recover their minds.

    Right now, all of them were feeling rather optimistic.

    Xu Tianyuan was delighted as hemented, ¡°There¡¯s no movement outside. It seems like they¡¯ve really retreated. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have let us fully recover.¡± After four hours of rest, he and Xia Xuanchen were back in their peak condition.

    However, he forgot that they had wasted four hours of time, even though they had managed to recover within these four hours. To some people, four hours was sufficient to do many things.

    ¡°Brother Xu, should we leave now?¡± Xia Xuanchen asked Xu Tianyuan.

    Xu Tianyuan nodded and said, ¡°Theyer of ice and snow is already quite thick. We should leave soon and return. Let¡¯s be more wary of any enemiester.¡±

    Xia Xuanchen nodded and said, ¡°Everyone, be alert. Every ten of you will form one team and unleash a linked defensive barrier. Keep a tight formation. We¡¯re preparing to leave.¡±

    All the soul engineers were excited as they discovered that they were about to leave. They had been in here for a long time. They had even fought earlier. They wanted to return and get some proper rest.

    Protective soul barriers were formed, and the massive barrier that was covering everyone slowly weakened.

    However, they were astonished to discover that there was still a semicircr barrier outside even though their own protective soul barrier had weakened. It was a barrier made out of ice and snow!

    ¡°All the snow has turned to ice!¡± Thergest protective soul barrier had nowpletely disappeared, and was reced by smaller protective soul barriers. The snow outside didn¡¯t continue to fall. It was like they were in a house made of ice. It was very special.

    ¡°Try using soul rays.¡± Xia Xuanchen said.

    Immediately, a soul engineer unleashed a soul ray. Suddenly, a hole appeared, revealing sunlight from outside. At the same time, a gust of chilly air rushed in from this hole.

    ¡°Haha, this is really interesting. I didn¡¯t know that our protective soul barrier could still make a house.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen were both astonished. It was also their first time encountering something like this. However, they couldn¡¯t afford to remain here any longer. Xu Tianyuan immediately gave an order, ¡°Every small team will be a unit. Every unit will fire a soul ray to get rid of thisyer of ice. We¡¯ll immediately rise into the air once we leave. We must remain close to one another. Begin.¡±

    The row of soul engineers in front immediately raised their soul tools and fired at theyer of ice!

    A series of cracking sounds were heard. Theyer of ice was destroyed, revealing the outside world.

    Gusts of indescribably chilly air immediately over swept them. These gusts of air struck the barriers that the soul engineers had formed earlier. While the air currents were blocked, the chill still engulfed everyone.

    It was really a world of ice and snow outside. Only white could be seen. Snowkes were dancing everywhere amidst raging winds. They werepletely unaware that the outside world had be like that because theyer of ice had blocked their vision earlier.

    Just as they were astonished, they also felt the chill invading their bodies.

    The temperature dropped to below negative fifty degrees Celsius almost instantly. This was even after their protective soul barriers had isted part of the cold.

    Every soul engineer felt as if ice water had been poured on them. Their blood was about to freeze. Such a sudden change caused them to shudder. All of them subconsciously shuddered, and their movements also became a little stiff.

    However, they were soul masters. They quickly circted their soul power and tried to resist the chill that was invading their bodies. However, this didn¡¯t seem to work at all.

    ¡°This is not good.¡± If Xu Tianyuan and Xia Xuanchen couldn¡¯t tell that something was wrong at this point, they were not fit to be legionmanders.

    This extreme level of chill was beyond their idea of ordinary. It was even getting worse, especially when the snowkes made nging noises as they scraped the surface of the protective soul barriers.

    ¡°Rush out! Rise into the sky.¡± Xia Xuanchen shouted without any hesitation.

    Right now, rushing out was their main priority. Evidently, they had fallen into the enemies¡¯ trap. They couldn¡¯t think about how they did this at this point. However, such a soul skill couldn¡¯t possibly engulf the entire world no matter how strong it was. Once they rushed out and rose into the sky, they would naturally escape the cold.

    Xia Xuanchen reacted very quickly. He was also the first to rush out.

    However, it was also at this moment that the snow dome that had left them in awe earlier blew apart without any warning.

    ¡°Boom boom boom!¡±

    As tremendous booms rang out, countless blocks of Ultimate Ice blew apart. The terrifying explosive force instantly turned into extremely strong air currents that engulfed the protective soul barriers that the soul engineers had formed.

    Earlier, ten people had been assigned to one protective soul barrier. This meant that there were many protective soul barriers subjected to this terrifying explosive force.

    Thebination of ten soul masters with cultivations between four rings and five rings was still quite strong. However, they didn¡¯t stand a chance against a Titled Douluo. This was the difference in absolute strength.

 Chapter 572.1 - Perfect Surprise Attack

    Chapter 572.1: Perfect Surprise Attack

    No one expected this explosion at all. This was because they couldn¡¯t sense any soul power undtionsing from outside earlier. Given this, none of them were prepared. Furthermore, all of them were also affected by the extreme chill. They weren¡¯t able to unleash their soul power to the greatest of their abilities.

    When this huge explosion urred, the weakest four soul engineer teams, who were also closest to theyer of ice, were instantly torn to pieces!

    Forty soul engineers were blown apart just like that! Xia Xuanchen, who was about to rush out, was also flung back by the terrifying explosive force.

    Suddenly, chaos ensued.

    They unleashed their defense to their maximum capabilities!

    Blinding golden light shone, and Xu Tianyuan shot out a beam of golden light from his chest. This beam of golden light turned into a barrier that attempted to resist the falling snowkes. He quickly rushed to Xia Xuanchen¡¯s side. Both of them joined forces to lift a protective soul barrier and rushed forward.

    The explosion came too quickly, and it was terrifying. However, it also disappeared very quickly.

    After the explosive force vanished, they found that three more out of the thirty-plus soul engineer small teams had their protective soul barriers crushed, as they weren¡¯t strong enough. Although they weren¡¯t directly blown apart, they all froze into ice statues due to the extremely low temperature.

    The more frightening thing was that they blew apart just after they turned into ice statues, and the remnants of their corpses scattered across the ground. It was aplete mess.

    Seventy soul engineers had turned into dust just like that. The protective soul barriers of a few small teams were also blown apart. However, they tried their best to summon their soul power, and managed to seal their barriers amidst the chaos. This was the reason why they managed to avert disaster.

    As they rushed out from the ice and snow, the two ss 9 soul engineers unleashed their strongest attacks at the same time. They swept in all directions. Soul rays and cannons fired everywhere.

    At this moment, the two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions still demonstrated their quality even though they had suffered heavy losses. Every small team chose to rise into the sky at the first instant. In addition, they stuck very close to one another too.

    Xu Tianyuan, Xia Xuanchen and the four vice-legionmanders were thest to fly up. They showed why they were themanders, as they watched the retreat of their troops.

    Just like Xia Xuanchen had predicted earlier, the chill in the air gradually disappeared after they rose five hundred meters into the air. Everything reverted to normal.

    However, most of the soul engineers were also pale from being frozen.

    Seventy out of the three hundred soul engineers had been lost. There were two soul engineer legions at the start, but now there was only one left.

    Xia Xuanchen looked very grim. He waspletely pale. The reason was very simple. Among the seven small teams that had been wiped out earlier, six of them had belonged to his Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was the most adept at speed. However, there was still a gap between the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion in terms of absolute ability. As a result, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion fully demonstrated their advantage in terms of overall abilities right now. They sustained considerably fewer losses.

    Xu Tianyuan scanned the area, and found out what the problem was. He tapped Xia Xuanchen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Old Xia, don¡¯t panic. When we return, we¡¯ll give you more men from the reserve regiment. We have to use our linked defensive formation. We must not let our enemies take advantage of us again.¡±

    This explosion came too abruptly, leaving them at a loss as to what to do. Xia Xuanchen and Xu Tianyuan thought that they were already being very cautious. However, who knew that they were still tricked. Even up until now, they didn¡¯t know where that explosion, which was as strong as a ss 8 stationary soul cannon shell, came from, and how those blocks of ice were blown apart.

    They re-activated their linked defensive formation. For safety¡¯s sake, the soul engineers from the two soul engineer legions unleashed this formation together. The light that came from their protective soul barrier was also extremely pure.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s fly further first before speaking. For someone to have created that situation earlier, it must be some kind of domain-type ability. Such an ability is also very draining. Although we can¡¯t find those scoundrels, I believe it won¡¯t be easy for them to pursue us. Let¡¯s leave this ce first.¡±

    The soul engineer legions quickly flew toward the west. It was very draining for two soul engineer legions to maintain a protective soul barrier and fly at the same time. They couldn¡¯t continue flying for too long. However, they couldn¡¯t be bothered about that at this point. It was paramount for them to leave this dangerous region.

    Xu Tianyuan looked much better than Xia Xuanchen. At least his side didn¡¯t suffer as much. Xia Xuanchen might have felt a little better after beingforted by Xu Tianyuan, but he was still very grim. The difference between the reserve troops and the official troops was still very big. A lot of time was needed to nurture a qualified member of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. This time, he had really incurred a huge loss! Almost two-thirds of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was gone.

    At this moment, an anxious voice sounded. ¡°Commander, thisrade seems to be unable to hold on anymore.¡±

    Xu Tianyuan turned his head, and saw a soul engineer of the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion carrying another person not far behind him. The soul engineer that was being carried looked very pale. One of his arms and one of his legs were broken. He looked terrifyingly pale, as he had lost too much blood. Even his eyes were dim and lifeless.

    Xu Tianyuan¡¯s face contorted a little. He also turned a little gloomy. He drifted to the side of this soul engineer and sighed, ¡°Comrade, have a safe journey. When we return, I¡¯ll think of a way to avenge you.¡±

    As he spoke, he lifted his head and pressed it against that injured soul engineer¡¯s forehead.

    This was a rule in the army. If an injured person couldn¡¯t be saved in time, hismander could help him die, and he would die as a hero on the battlefield. Not only would he be given a grand burial after he returned, but his family would also be given a generous pension. Even hismander had to personally extend his condolences to his family.

    That soul engineer revealed aforted look on his face. He shut his eyes and was ready to ept his imminent death.

    Xu Tianyuan didn¡¯t use too much strength. He had originally nned to retract his soul power the moment he touched this soul engineer¡¯s forehead. Otherwise, he might destroy the soul engineer¡¯s corpse if he used too much strength. He was also arade. Xu Tianyuan couldn¡¯t bear toy his hands on him.

    Xia Xuanchen turned around. No matter who, he wouldn¡¯t be willing to see something like this. The rest of the soul engineers all lowered their heads.

    At this moment, Xu Tianyuan¡¯s body shook. That injured soul engineer silently pressed his palm on his chest.

    Xu Tianyuan had originally thought it was a subconscious action. However, an indescribable sense of crisis rose in his heart in the next moment.

    He didn¡¯t even need to react before his automatic protective soul barrier and Invincible Barrier activated.

    Blinding lights and intense soul power undtions rmed everyone.

    It was a pity that they reacted toote.

    A deep-blue whirlpool had silently appeared on Xu Tianyuan¡¯s chest. He was a ss 9 soul engineer, but his protective soul barrier and Invincible Barrier were both torn to pieces by this whirlpool. That pale-white hand also pressed against Xu Tianyuan¡¯s chest at this point.

    Following this, a terrifying Spiritual st exploded out from the center of the injured soul engineer¡¯s body.

    The soul engineers that were closest to him were immediately blown apart. Even the vice-legionmanders were flung far away by the frightening impact of the spiritual power.

    Xia Xuanchen was no exception. He was flung dozens of meters away.

    His body stiffened in mid-air. His flying-type soul tool also immediately went out.

    That injured soul engineer and the soul engineer who had reported earlier were instantly vaporized.

    After this, the linked defensive barrier distorted slightly. Two figures also disappearedpletely.

    The linked defensive barrier only served to iste external attacks. It couldn¡¯t defend against any attacks that came from within. The people inside could leave, but no one from the outside could enter.

    Only the linked defensive barrier of a soul formation could be controlled to work both externally and internally.

    It was only after those two figures disappeared that Xu Tianyuan knocked into the barrier just like the other soul engineers.

    Xia Xuanchen rushed over instantly and tried to pull him back.

    However, it was toote!

    ¡°Boom!¡± Xu Tianyuan¡¯s body instantly blew apart and turned into countless pieces, scattering all around.

    Xia Xuanchen¡¯s protective soul barrier was immediately activated, which protected him from harm. However, many soul engineers around him were blown up or injured. Those two people had actually escaped without leaving any traces.

    ¡°Bastards! Bastards-¡ª¡ª!¡± Xia Xuanchen roared furiously. All the soul engineers from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion were all reacting sorrowfully too.

    Xu Tianyuan hadmanded this soul engineer legion for a long time now. Now that he was dead, the impact on the entire Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was very great.

    Who would have expected that a ss 9 soul engineer and a prince of the empire would die just like this? He couldn¡¯t resist his enemies at all.

    Every soul engineer let out sorrowful cries. However, they didn¡¯t even see their enemies clearly. They didn¡¯t even know how their enemies had snuck in.

    A few thousand meters away, Huo Yuhao slowly appeared as he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. Of course, only they could see each other. Those from the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t see them at all.

    Without a doubt, those two that had attacked Xu Tianyuan earlier were Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. More urately speaking, it was a perfect surprise attack and assassination.

 Chapter 572.2 - Perfect Surprise Attack

    <h4 ss>Chapter 572.2: Perfect Surprise Attack</h4>

    If they had attacked with all their might earlier, it was likely that very few soul engineers within the protective soul barrier would have survived. The two soul engineer legions might even have beenpletely wiped out.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t do so. They had a more far-sighted n. This n was much more significant for destroying the entire Sun Moon Empire army.

    Huo Yuhao had controlled the snow and used his Ice Explosion Technique. As for how he managed to force the soul engineers to rise into the sky, he had actually in fact only used a part of the strength of his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    If Huo Yuhao had really wanted to wipe them out, he would have fully unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice as the soul engineers rose into the sky. The soul engineers were in groups of ten. Very few of them would have been able to resist such a strong attack.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t do that. He only used his Ice Explosion Technique to destroy a few small teams. At the same time, he quickly snuck in as a few of the small teams revealed ws. He killed two of them and used his Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain to sessfully blend in.

    When the linked defensive barrier was fully unleashed, he had actually achieved his goal.

    If Huo Yuhao were an ordinary Transcendent Douluo, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to kill a ss 9 soul engineer so easily. However, he already had his second soul core right now, his Ultimate Ice second soul core. This meant that he could directly tap into the strength of his second soul core. The deep-blue whirlpool earlier had been a physical manifestation of the strength of his second soul core.

    His Ultimate Ice soul corebined with his Snowless cier!

    All it took was one palm strike to kill.

    Xu Tianyuan was killed almost instantly. Then, Huo Yuhao calmly fled with Tang Wutong. He used his Spiritual st instead of his Spiritual Tempest. He was already being very merciful. This was because he needed to conserve energy for them to return. They became one of the factors causing instability in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Of course, he left something special before he left. This left a deeper impression in the minds of these Sun Moon Empire soul engineers.

    The flying inside the protective soul barrier had stopped by now. The remaining soul engineers in the two soul engineer legions were only half their original number.

    Xia Xuanchen¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t just be considered gloomy anymore. He was even in a bit of a daze. He had some understanding of Xu Tianyuan¡¯s abilities. As a ss 9 soul engineer, Xu Tianyuan was equipped with the best soul tools, even though he wasn¡¯t the strongest himself.

    He had human-shaped soul tools, automatic defensive soul tools and the treasure of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion on him. Wait a minute, where¡¯s the treasure?

    Xia Xuanchen immediately realized an important problem. His eyes brightened, and he quickly searched for it inside the barrier.

    Within the linked defensive barrier, Xu Tianyuan¡¯s belongings would still remain even if his body blew apart.

    However, Xia Xuanchen immediately turned very grim when he couldn¡¯t find anything after searching for a long time.

    It¡¯s gone? The treasure of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion is gone. This means that our enemies have taken it. This also means that those who attacked us were here for the treasure, rather than to kill us.

    Yes! Evil soul masters pursued such objectives!

    At this moment, someone¡¯s heavy breathing jolted Xia Xuanchen awake. He subconsciously looked to his surroundings. He was stunned to find out that more than ten soul engineers had turnedpletely pale. However, their eyes were blood-red. Their auras were also very heavy.

    ¡°Not good. It¡¯s the ability of evil soul masters. They¡¯ve been controlled. Kill them!¡± Xia Xuanchen shouted, and made a move first.

    After a few more breaths, Xia Xuanchen¡¯s furious roars echoed in the barrier. ¡°Bastards. Holy Ghost Church, I¡¯ll not let you off!¡±

    In the distance, Tang Wutong sighed. ¡°Yuhao, I feel a little ufortable inside.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hugged her slender waist. ¡°I know. However, this is war. People die in wars. In fact, even though I meddled with their bodies, they should be able to recover on their own after some time. I can only try my best not to kill using necromancy. Do you think I¡¯ve be crueler?¡±

    Tang Wutong gently shook her head and said, ¡°No, you¡¯re right. War is cruel. If our enemies don¡¯t die, you will be the one to die. If we kill one more soul engineer from the other party, we can save lives on our side.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and revealed a glow on his face. He coldly said, ¡°Ju Zi was right. I was too soft in the past. This is war. If we want to control and change it, we need to change these habits. However, fret not. I¡¯ll try to stay true to my heart.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯ve been misunderstanding in the past. Wutong, losing to Ju Zi on the battlefield is actually very normal. This is because our overall abilities are some way off from the Sun Moon Empire. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve always been led by the nose by Ju Zi. However, this doesn¡¯t mean that we don¡¯t stand a chance. If we can¡¯t seed overtly, we can only scheme. We can only use other ways to defeat them if we can¡¯t beat them openly. This is what I can do as an Ultimate Soldier. Let¡¯s go. We should return and see how things are in Dou Ling City. I hope we can help them achieve stability and minimize any chaos.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Wutong nodded, and they turned around and flew in the direction of Dou Ling City.

    They retreated, but the remaining members of the two soul engineer legions were still leaving slowly. They were all filled with rage, like a soul cannon shell. They could blow apart at any time!

    Dou Ling City.

    When Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong returned to Dou Ling City, they were stunned to realize that smoke was not longer billowing from the city. Furthermore, the overall situation seemed to be rather stable too.

    The sky had turned dark by now. There wasn¡¯t anyone on the streets, but there were many soldiers patrolling. Evidently, there was a curfew in the city.

    Huo Yuhao secretly heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this. He led Tang Wutong as they silently entered the city. At the same time, he unleashed his Spiritual Detection to find his teammates.

    The area his Spiritual Detection could cover was simply too big under the effect of his twin soul cores. Although it wasn¡¯t enough to cover the entire city, they were still able to quickly find traces of Xu Sanshi and the others, given their speed.

    Finding them was also very easy. This was because Xu Sanshi and the others were close to the ruins of the imperial pce.

    They had been there for ten hours.

    Huo Yuhao directlymunicated with Xu Sanshi using his Spiritual Detection. At the same time, he brought Tang Wutong towards them.

    Lights shed, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong silently appeared beside Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu and Ji Juechen.

    They weren¡¯t the only five here right now. There were a lot of people standing in the ruins of the imperial pce. Many of them were still wearing armor.

    When two people suddenly appeared, they reacted very agitatedly. Suddenly, soul power undtions surged, and many people unleashed their martial souls.

    Xu Sanshi lifted his hand and said, ¡°They¡¯re on our side. They¡¯re my juniors.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished to discover that Xu Sanshi sounded very awe-inspiring. After hearing his words, the soldiers and soul masters calmed down. However, they were still shocked to see Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Yes!How did these two get in? How did no one noticed them? What kind of powers do they possess?

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be asking Xu Sanshi something with his eyes. Xu Sanshi also turned his head to look at him. When he saw Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes, Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sank. His eyes had turned red, and the whites of his eyes were filled with streaks of blood.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing such a situation. Normally, Xu Sanshi was very happy-go-lucky. Among the members of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, he was definitely the clown. He was very strong, but he shared a good rtionship with everyone else. He was even like Jiang Nannan¡¯s punching bag.

    But right now, Xu Sanshi released a strong killing intent from his body. His entire demeanor had changed.

    ¡°Little junior, how are those soul engineers?¡± Xu Sanshi asked. His voice also sounded very hoarse.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The two soul engineer legions were the Imperial Dragon and Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions. We killed half of them, including the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. The rest fled. However, they don¡¯t know that we are the ones who ambushed them. Under my guise, they should have mistaken evil soul masters as the culprits.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thanks Yuhao.¡± Xu Sanshi nodded and turned his head again. Not only did his killing intent not go down, but it was even trending towards a rise.

    Huo Yuhao shiftedterally. He came to Jiang Nannan¡¯s side and softly asked, ¡°Fourth senior, what¡¯s wrong with third senior? What¡¯s with these soldiers too? How are things in Dou Ling City? Has the imperial family¡­¡±

    Jiang Nannan shut him up using her eyes. After this, she transmitted to him, ¡°Things aren¡¯t good. The Sun Moon Empire chose a very good time to attack. It was when the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s imperial family was gathering. That¡¯s why almost the entire imperial family has been killed. They were all bombed to death. Things are very chaotic in Dou Ling City. Even I didn¡¯t know that the royal blood of the Dou Ling Empire runs in Sanshi¡¯s body. He used some kind of token to enter the city. After that, he gradually curbed the troops and maintained order. This is the reason why the chaos has been suppressed. We were all gathered here now waiting for you to return. At the same time, we are discussing our next move.¡±

 Chapter 572.3 - Perfect Surprise Attack

    <h4 ss>Chapter 572.3: Perfect Surprise Attack</h4>

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s imperial family has been wiped out? Everyone is dead?

    Although he had figured out this was the likely result earlier, Huo Yuhao still couldn¡¯t help but turn grim when he heard it.The Sun Moon Empire is really too vicious. Ju Zi is too vicious!

    Right now, he was a little regretful that he hadn¡¯t killed everyone from the two soul engineer legions to avenge the Dou Ling Empire.

    However, Huo Yuhao was also shocked that Xu Sanshi was actually of royal blood. None of them were aware of it earlier! They really only found out by chance.

    It was more useful for Xu Sanshi to exploit his royal identity rather than his identity as a student of Shrek Academy. No wonder he was able to maintain order in Dou Ling City within such a short period of time.

    However, this was still not enough! The Dou Ling Empire needed a backbone right now.

    ¡°Your Highness, the imperial family is bare now. We need your leadership.¡± An old general who was about sixty years old took a few steps forward before he knelt on one knee.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression changed unpredictably as he looked at him.

    Not far away, another elder who was roughly the same age and who was wearing an official uniform said, ¡°No. We still need to consider his identity. How can we make a decision so hastily?¡±

    The old general was furious. ¡°Screw your nonsense. I¡¯ve tolerated you for so long. If not for your hesitance, we would¡¯vee together to chase after those bastards. If you dare to spout further nonsense, I¡¯ll kill you right now.¡±

    ¡°Commander Li, now is not the time to act rashly. Anything regarding the imperial family is of paramount importance!¡± That elderughed bitterly.

    The general who was addressed as ¡®Commander Li¡¯ said, ¡°We¡¯ve already seen what His Highness has done ever since he came. If not for the fact that he came in time to maintain order in the city, the city would have been in great chaos. It wouldn¡¯t have hung on until now. Right now, the elites from the empire have gone to Shrek as reinforcements. If there¡¯s internal chaos within Dou Ling City, the Sun Moon Empire will surely exploit the situation. His Highness has already proven with actions that his identity is real. He¡¯s likely to be the sole survivor of the imperial family. If we don¡¯t protect him, who else do we protect?¡±

    That elder in the official uniform was the chief of all the officials in the Dou Ling Empire, and the current Premier. He appeared very grim, and he was also very hesitant. If the empire was without a leader, there would certainly be big problems. At such a time, the Dou Ling Empire would crack if such a problem appeared. It might even break apart.

    However, how could the throne of an empire be passed on so easily? What if this person was a spy from the Sun Moon Empire? Even though he had a token with him, surely the Sun Moon Empire was capable of smuggling or stealing it through improper means if they wanted to, right?

    This was why this Premier was very hesitant. He didn¡¯t dare to agree to the suggestion.

    At this moment, Xu Sanshi opened his mouth. He hoarsely said, ¡°I¡¯m not coveting the throne. However, the Dou Ling Empire has been subjected to such a great blow. Even if we want to find the other members of the imperial family, we¡¯ll still need time. That¡¯s why I need to temporarily assume control of the throne. Premier, I understand your concerns. Let me tell you about my background.¡±

    When he said this, all the officials that were present were immediately drawn to him.

    A man had to be capable of doing things. At such a moment, Xu Sanshi stepped up not because he wanted authority, but because he wanted to save the Dou Ling Empire.

    ¡°My surname is Xu, and my full name is Xu Sanshi. Honestly, I¡¯m not proud to im to be a member of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s imperial family. This is because my parents¡¯ marriage wasn¡¯t met with blessings from the imperial family, which caused them to elope.¡±

    When he said this, a few of the older officials revealed pensive looks on their faces. This story appeared to be very familiar.

    Xu Sanshi continued speaking, ¡°Yes, my mother was called Xue Ying. The Emperor of the Dou Ling Empire was my biological uncle. My father is the master of the Mysterious Underworld Family. I¡¯m sure everyone can recall this. I was still a kid when Ist came to the Dou Ling Empire.¡±

    The Premier revealed an enlightened look on his face. ¡°So you are actually the son of Princess Xue Ying? The token that you have belongs to her too?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded silently.

    The Premier said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we can recognize you. Since you inherited the token from Her Highness, that also means that you are at least a Prince. Right now, you are the only remaining member of the imperial family. We can ept you as a Prince. However, you have to prove that your mother was Princess Xue Ying.¡±

    Xu Sanshi calmly said, ¡°I inherited my father¡¯s martial soul, which doesn¡¯t belong to the imperial family. However, I believe that the martial soul of our Mysterious Underworld Family is still quite reputable in the continent. Everyone, please watch carefully.¡±

    As he spoke, Xu Sanshi lifted his hand. A pitch-ck shield silently appeared in front of everyone.

    A dim golden glow soon spread from this shield. Very soon, the surface of the shield turned golden. A small snake was slowly slithering on this turtle-shaped shield.

    Xuanwu Shield!

    Yes, Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle had longed evolved into the Xuanwu Shield!

    Commander Li was perplexed as he asked, ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t this the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle? It¡¯s supposed to be ck.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, mine is no longer a pure Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle. The martial soul of my family possesses a certain blood lineage of a Xuanwu. I was lucky to have stimted this blood lineage during my cultivation, causing my Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle to evolve into the Xuanwu Shield.¡±

    As he spoke, his soul rings slowly rose from his feet.

    When everyone saw eight soul rings around his body, they were shocked. The entire ce also descended into silence.

    Most of the officials who knew Princess Xue Ying could roughly gauge how old he was.He¡¯s only twenty-plus years of age! He can¡¯t even be thirty yet. Does he actually have eight rings at this age? What does this mean? It means he¡¯s an absolute genius!

    The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was already one of the strongest defensive-type martial souls. What about the Xuanwu Shield? It was even more legendary.

    Who would have expected Xu Sanshi to possess such a legendary martial soul? He even had eight rings. It was really unbelievable.

    The Premier was the mostposed right now. He subconsciously asked, ¡°Your Highness, how did your martial soul mutate? ording to my knowledge, even the current master of the Mysterious Underworld Family didn¡¯t experience sess with a mutation of his martial soul. I¡¯ve not heard of anyone in the past few generations of the Mysterious Underworld Family who has managed to sessfully evolve his martial soul into a Xuanwu Shield.¡±

    Although he was putting out his doubts, it was evident from his greeting that he had in fact recognized Xu Sanshi¡¯s identity.

    Xu Sanshi nodded. He naturally knew that he would be posed this question.

    ¡°Everyone, I have another identity. I¡¯m actually from Shrek Academy!¡± As he spoke, he retrieved a badge that only belonged to inner courtyard students in Shrek Academy and wore it in front of his chest.

    ¡°Regarding this, you can send someone to verify it with Shrek. As my teammates and I twice represented the academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament and emerged as champions, we were given the title of ¡®Shrek Seven Monsters¡¯ for defending the glory of the academy.¡±

    ¡°All of you should also know that we have another genius in the academy. He¡¯s also one of the members of Shrek Seven Monsters. He came up with a very special ability known as Spirits. He used Spirits to alleviate the need for soul masters to kill soul beasts, as soul masters can still obtain abilities that are simr to soul rings from Spirits. They are even stronger than soul rings. I¡¯m also one of the beneficiaries of his invention. Currently, I have a hundred thousand year Spirit, a Golden Tortoise.¡±

    Yes, it was a hundred thousand year Spirit! In fact, everyone saw that his eighth soul ring was blood-red. This was why they were so astonished.

    However, they were all stirred when Xu Sanshi unleashed his Golden Tortoise.

    Of course the senior officials of the Dou Ling Empire knew about Spirits. Those who could obtain Spirits were among the minority. There were even fewer people who could obtain such a powerful Spirit.

    Spirits had created a huge uproar in the world of soul masters. The Dou Ling Empire had even constructed its own Spirit Pagoda, and started to dig deeper into the mysteries of Spirits.

    Right now, Xu Sanshi had unleashed his Spirit, which was extremely strong. How could everyone not be moved?

    However, they were even more astonished after this.

    ¡°Earlier, Shrek Academy was threatened by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. That¡¯s why we asked the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires for help. However, the academy discovered that this might be a ploy. The Sun Moon Empire took this opportunity toy its hands on the Dou Ling Empire. That¡¯s why we were sent over. Even though there¡¯s only seven of us here, I believe the tragedy might not have happened if we were here earlier. This is because there¡¯s someone else here too. He¡¯s currently the second strongest soul master in Shrek Academy, only inferior to the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Elder Xuan, who¡¯s an Ultimate Douluo. This person is also the future Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, Huo Yuhao.¡±

 Chapter 573.1 - Prince Xu Sanshi

    <h4 ss>Chapter 573.1: Prince Xu Sanshi</h4>

    The second strongest person in Shrek Academy! Even though he was only the second strongest, it was still equally shocking!

    After all, Shrek Academy was not just any institution. Even the Sun Moon Empire had to admit that it was not one of the strongest academies, but the strongest academy in the world.

    Even though the Holy Ghost Church had been building up reserves of power for thousands of years, they still did not dare to use the evil soul masters they had nurtured tounch an attack on Shrek Academy. They did not dare to challenge Shrek Academy even though they had two Ultimate Douluo. And that was because of the huge amount of reserves it had built up over tens of thousands of years.

    Back when the soul beastsunched the beast wave against Shrek City, they were ultimately still unable to destroy Shrek City even though they had five of the Ten Great Savage Beasts among them. This showed exactly how powerful Shrek Academy was.

    One could only imagine how powerful their second strongest cultivator was. On top of that, this person was rumored to be the founder of the Spirit Pagoda. This piece of information further shocked everyone from the Dou Ling Empire.

    Huo Yuhao was not particrly pleased with his third senior brother¡¯s introduction of him. However, he knew he should not make him look bad in front of the Dou Ling Empire. Hence, he stepped forward and stood beside Xu Sanshi as he nodded towards the people whom Xu Sanshi was addressing.

    When the higher-ups from the Dou Ling Empire saw how Huo Yuhao was even younger than Xu Sanshi, they seemed to be mildly amused..

    Xu Sanshi immediately rified, ¡°I will urge everyone not to doubt his abilities just because of his tender age. He is, in fact, a talent which is only produced once in a thousand years from our Academy. He currently already possesses the ability of a Transcendent Douluo, and also has twin martial souls. Just now, he personally went after the two Sun Moon Empire soul engineer legions which attacked us, and has already confirmed their identities. They were the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions¡ªthe Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. Yuhao and his beloved pursued the legions, and destroyed more than half of their soul engineers. On top of that, they were able to kill the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. If they were not concerned about the situation at Dou Ling City, they would probably have killed every single enemy who had attacked our city.¡±

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s words were indeed a little exaggerated. He had merely said what he understood and guessed. Little did he know that his guesses were actually spot-on.

    The old prime minister¡¯s jaw dropped as he looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Are you really the pagoda master of the Spirit Pagoda?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded gently and said, ¡°Yes, I am. I know it¡¯s a little hard to believe it because of my age. In that case, let me try to provide some evidence to support these ims.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao strode forward. At the next instant, an immensely powerful aura exploded from his body as his soul rings started to gradually rise from his feet.

    When everyone saw how his first soul ring was white, they could not help but frown.Isn¡¯t a white soul ring a ten-year soul ring?

    However, they soon noticed how the white soul ring was radiating a brilliant golden color. Following which, ck rings started to rise from his feet. When it reached the sixth soul ring, they saw a rose gold soul ring. Afterward, the remaining soul rings were all red.

    This meant that the colors of Huo Yuhao¡¯s nine soul rings were gold, ck, ck, ck, ck, rose gold, red, red, and red.

    What kind of soul ring collection is this?!

    However, this was not going to be thest thing which would startle them. Huo Yuhao squinted as he released his invincible spiritual power and enveloped the entire ruins of the pce.

    Everyone could sense a gentle stream of spiritual power flowing into his or her spiritual sea. Following which, they could see more than half of Dou Ling City from their spiritual seas.

    They were not only seeing the silhouette, but every single detail of the city.

    It was important to note that there were close to a thousand people present before them! How much spiritual power did it require to share these images with so many people?

    To be honest, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes only had eight soul rings. His Ultimate Ice martial soul was the one with nine soul rings.

    However, Huo Yuhao had used his Imitation to make some slight adjustments to his abilities to leave a deeper impression on the crowd. After all, his spiritual power was already on par with that of an Ultimate Douluo. It did not matter whether he was short a single soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao was very clear about what he had to do right now. He needed to help his third senior brother stabilize the current situation. If possible, he wanted to help his third senior brother be Emperor.

    The Dou Ling Empire needed stability more than anything right now. It was only possible to quell their fears by demonstrating strong power. This would then convince them to acknowledge his third senior brother¡¯s status and identity.

    This also happened to be the first time Huo Yuhao had tried to perform Spiritual Detection Sharing on a few thousand people. It was not as simple as what he did when he was leading the soul engineer legion. He did not have to project the details of close to half a city to more than a thousand people back then!

    The two soul cores within Huo Yuhao were rotating furiously as they tried to replenish the spiritual power he was expending. Even though his current Spiritual Detection Sharing was consuming a lot of spiritual power, he was definitely able to maintain it for an extended period of time.

    After a couple of minutes, Huo Yuhao ended his Spiritual Detection Sharing and returned to Xu Sanshi¡¯s side. He said, ¡°I believe everyone present was able to see the current situation of Dou Ling City. To be honest, the entire incident was very tragic. We had, in fact, already reached the Dou Ling Empire before the attack after receiving news that the Sun Moon Empire would definitely attack the Dou Ling Empire. However, we did not know where the enemy was, or how they would try to attack you. Hence, we focused our efforts on the borders, and wasted too much time there.¡±

    ¡°Who would have known that the Sun Moon Empire would try to sneak in and head straight to Dou Ling City without anyone knowing? By the time we discovered what they were trying to do, it was already toote. We could not stop the tragedy from unfolding in time. Regardless of whether it is my third senior brother or my other peers from the Shrek Academy, we only have one objective, and that is to help the Dou Ling Empire. We are not here to wrest away any political power. I hope all of you can believe that wee in peace.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s words made the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s military staff blush in embarrassment. His words meant that the entire Dou Ling Empire¡¯s security troops were not even aware that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s two soul engineer legions had managed to sneak past the security at the borders and move towards the capital. If they wanted to push the me on someone, the military staff and generals present should all have been put to death.

    At this instant, a heavy silence fell upon the crowd. The strength Huo Yuhao had demonstrated had already convinced everyone of his power. His feat of using his own spiritual power to share the entire situation of the Dou Ling City with all of them was truly unheard of!

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s identity was more or less confirmed. At most, they would send some people over to Shrek Academy to verify it onest time.

    So what was going to happen next?

    The prime minister walked towards Xu Sanshi before kneeling on the ground with one knee. ¡°Your Highness, the Dou Ling Empire is currently in an extremely precarious predicament. Now that we have verified your identity, can I get Your Highness to lead us and rebuild the pce? In addition, I hope that Your Highness can temporarily take over His Majesty¡¯s position to provide some much-needed reassurance to our people.¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded gently. He no longer had any reservations at this point. Usually, he would never have chosen to stay here to be a Prince, or take on any kind of high-level administrative position. However, now that the Dou Ling Empire was on the verge of crumbling, he had no choice, especially when his mother was the Princess of this empire. He could not allow the Dou Ling Empire to fall before his eyes.

    There would be a huge political problem within the Dou Ling Empire if the royal family had no descendants to take the throne. The entire empire would be fragmented as everyone would try to seize political power and set up their own government. And when that happened, the empire would copse by itself. How would the Star Luo Empire then protect itself against the Sun Moon Empire without support from the Dou Ling Empire?

    Hence, it was undeniable that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s mission had been very sessful. If not for Xu Sanshi¡¯s unexpected appearance, it would still have been very sessful even if the two beast lord-leveled soul engineer legions were all killed.

    Huo Yuhao sighed in despair. Right now, the only thing he could do was support Xu Sanshi.

    The surrounding ministers and staff started to kneel down before Xu Sanshi after the prime minister and Commander Li had done so. All of them started to pay their respects.

    From the looks of the current situation, Xu Sanshi was definitely the aptest sessor to the throne. It was most important for the Dou Ling Empire to stabilize the hearts of its people and its military.

    Xu Sanshi got both the prime minister and Commander Li to stay behind as the three of them held an emergency meeting to make three important decisions. The first decision was to make sure that news of the attack on the pce was kept secret.

    The second decision was that Xu Sanshi would continue to chair the court meetings as the prince regent, since he was the only possible sessor from the royal family.

    The third decision was to prioritize providing reassurance to the people within Dou Ling City. After all, they could not afford to lose the confidence of their people. They would announce to the citizens that the pce did not sustain heavy losses, and that the majority of the royal family was only hurt. Only a few of them were dead because of the explosion. The prince regent would take over the duty of ruling the empire only because His Majesty was currently injured.

    They would definitely not allow the elite troops at Shrek City to hear of this news. The worst thing that could happen to the Dou Ling Empire was chaos! It would be a huge tragedy if their army at the front line were to mutiny. It would also be terrible if the people in their empire started to lose confidence in the royal family and decided to overthrow them.

    Besides, it was not the right time to get the elite troops to return. It was vital for them to stabilize the capital before discussing what their next move should be.

    It was hence expected that Xu Sanshi would temporarily stay in Dou Ling City.

    After discussing with Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao decided to allow Jiang Nannan, Ji Juechen, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu to stay behind and assist him. After all, it would be too much for him to handle alone. In the meantime, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would speedily return to Shrek City and ry what had happened to the Academy. They needed to change their strategy and act when the opportunity arose.

    After all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s n for both the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was far from over. In order to control how the following events would turn out, he needed to understand the current situation of the two legions.

 Chapter 573.2 - Prince Xu Sanshi

    <h4 ss>Chapter 573.2: Prince Xu Sanshi</h4>

    ¡°Third senior brother, good luck with your work here.¡± Huo Yuhao hugged Xu Sanshi and gave him a pat on the back.

    Xu Sanshi sighed before saying, ¡°I never expected something like this to happen. I¡¯ll pen a letter right away and get my family members and my mother toe here. I really hope my mother won¡¯t do something foolish after seeing¡­¡±

    As he spoke, he became even more depressed, After all, the royal family of the Dou Ling Empire was his family! Now that they had been wiped out, how could he not be depressed?

    ¡°Yuhao, I¡¯ll settle things over here. Even though I don¡¯t have much experience in governing an empire, I¡¯ll do my best to make sure everything stays stable. I¡¯ll need your help to take care of matters at the Academy, as well as the Dou Ling Empire troops at the front line. The Dou Ling Empire cannot afford to take another hit like this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Third senior brother, try your best to stabilize things here as soon as possible. It would also be good if you could start on the reconstruction of the pce immediately. I will try to dy your army¡¯s return while you settle these things. The war has only just begun, and I have no idea what the future will hold for all of us. However, regardless of how things might turn out, we will all do our best to defend ournd against the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    After bidding goodbye to Xu Sanshi and the other people from Dou Ling Empire, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong flew back to Shrek City overnight.

    Reality proved Huo Yuhao¡¯s prediction correct. Of course, it was not entirely his own prediction when Ju Zi had already informed him personally. Even though she had not lied to him about her n, Huo Yuhao took a little too long to fully grasp her n.

    While the two of them were flying across the night sky, Huo Yuhao revealed a solemn expression, while Tang Wutong could not help but frown.

    Yes, the war had only just begun. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was still at Shrek City. Now, the entire continent was bing increasingly chaotic. The Sun Moon Empire had undeniably gotten the upper hand. If things were to continue this way, no one could be sure when they would suddenlyunch an all-out attack on them.

    This time around, even though they had managed to take out what was equivalent to a beast-ranked soul engineer legion, the entire royal family of the Dou Ling Empire had been wiped out. This meant that internal problems within the Dou Ling Empire would start to surface, and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s fighting power would definitely decrease.

    The next target for the Sun Moon Empire would definitely not be Dou Ling Empire. They would go for the Star Luo Empire. Once the Star Luo Empire was out of the picture, taking down Dou Ling Empire would be a piece of cake. It seemed like Huo Yuhao would have no choice but to fight alongside that man.

    When he thought about this, Huo Yuhao could not help but reveal an awkward expression.

    After going through so much, the hatred in his heart was a lot less intense than before. This was especially true after seeing what had happened to Ju Zi. She had given up on too many things because of the hatred in her heart. Even though she was now the War God Empress, she was not leading a blissful life!

    Perhaps, the right time for Huo Yuhao to settle his rtionship with that man wasing soon.

    As this thought surfaced in his mind, Huo Yuhao could not help but feel a little apprehensive about meeting him again. He was not very willing to face that man¡ªthe person whom he had once hated unconditionally but had now started to gain some respect from Huo Yuhao.

    By the time Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong returned to Shrek City, it was almost dawn. Shrek City was very quiet, but the belligerence in the air was palpable.

    After Shrek City was rebuilt, it was a lotrger than before. It was almost as big as the entire Radiant City. Right now, Shrek City was housing hundreds of thousands of troops, which were elite troops from the Star Luo and Dou Ling empires. They seemed to be ready to decide victory once and for all with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. Of course, the remaining troops of the Heavenly Soul Empire were also within Shrek City.

    The current Heavenly Soul Empire army had about seventy thousand people. Even though they had lost a lot of their elite troops, those who were able to survive were truly the cream of the crop from the Heavenly Soul Empire. In fact, some of the survivors were members of the Body Sect.

    However, the fact was that both the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Body Sect had already been destroyed by the Sun Moon Empire. They were now a long way from what they were in the past. Whenever Huo Yuhao thought about Princess Wei Na¡¯s pale face and soulless eyes, he could not help but sigh. Wars were truly cruel things.

    After flying straight into the academy and across Sea God¡¯s Lake, theynded on Sea God¡¯s Ind. There was no time for them to rest. After all, every new piece of information could decide the oue of the war.

    Even though Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already Titled Douluo, they would still feel tired like normal people. However, now was definitely not the time for them to catch up on any form of rest.

    Both of them sped into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. As usual, Huo Yuhao prayed before the Golden Tree before stepping into the pavilion.

    They did not try to conceal their auras, and their arrival awakened the Elders from their meditation.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong stood silently as they waited in the hall.

    Tang Wutong squeezed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°Yuhao, be careful with your wordster. Don¡¯t mess it up.¡±

    Huo Yuhao naturally understood what she meant as he nodded.

    It did not take too long before the Elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion started toe down the staircase. After seeing how disheveled they looked, the Elders revealed a look of surprise. They had thought that both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were still in Tang Sect. Elder Xuan had given an alternative exnation for their absence from the conference for the past few days. He had told them that Huo Yuhao had chosen to stay in the Tang Sect to consolidate his currently unstable powers after making his breakthrough.

    When Elder Xuan saw the frustration written on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, he was already able to make an educated guess as to what had probably happened. He gradually headed over to his seat as he waved towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. ¡°Yuhao, Wutong, take a seat.¡±

    However, Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I am sorry, Elder Xuan. I don¡¯t think I can get myself to sit down. I would prefer to stand.¡±

    Elder Xuan took a deep breath as a light shed in his eyes. He saw the determined the look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    He nodded and said, ¡°Okay then. I believe both of you must have something to say. If not, you would not havee here to wake us up with your spiritual auras before dawn.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded before bowing before the Elders with Tang Wutong. After straightening his back, he said, ¡°I have just returned from the Dou Ling Empire with Wutong.¡±

    ¡°The Dou Ling Empire?¡± After hearing what he had said, the Elders present could not help but gasp in surprise.

    Elder Song couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What were you doing in Dou Ling Empire?¡±

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes as a look of pain formed on his face. ¡°I went to Dou Ling Empire to witness the death of their entire royal family.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± After hearing his words, everyone¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Even Elder Xuan lost hisposure as he stood up and red at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Yuhao, you must take responsibility for your words!¡±

    Yuhaoined, ¡°Responsibility? Sure, I can take responsibility for everything. However, no matter how responsible I am, can I resurrect the thousands of lives of the royal family who have perished? Just a while ago, Dou Ling City was attacked by two beast-ranked soul engineer legions dispatched by the Sun Moon Empire. The capital of the Dou Ling Empire was bombed by a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. The entire pce was reduced to rubble, and no one from the royal family was found alive after the explosion. This was because the entire royal family was attending a gathering in the pce. Hence, no one was spared from the explosion. By the time I arrived, the entire city was already enshrouded in smoke.¡±

    Following which, he borated on how he had brought his peers from Tang Sect to the Dou Ling Empire, and how he had guessed the method of operation the Sun Moon Empire had nned to take. Afterward, he moved on to share what had happened at the pce, as well as how he handled the two soul engineer legions.

    Huo Yuhao spoke with an unnaturally low voice. The pain and desperation in his voice were obvious.

    ¡°No matter how many Sun Moon Empire soul engineers I kill, I can never reverse what has happened to the royal family! The Sun Moon Empire has employed methods which are extremely vicious, and it has already calcted how Dou Ling Empire will crumble because of this attack. In the meantime, the elite troops from the Dou Ling Empire are waiting for an improbable battle within our city walls.¡±

    A heavy silence fell upon the hall in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Following which, the Elders¡¯ breathing became more intense.

    In their eyes, it was unimaginable that the pce of the Dou King Empire would be attacked.

    Elder Zhuang couldn¡¯t help but ask angrily, ¡°What was the army stationed in the Dou Ling Empire doing? How could they not know when two entire soul engineer legions infiltrated theirnd?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Even if it was the Star Luo Empire, the oue would not have been much different. The Sun Moon Empire definitely has a technological advantage which grants them the ability to sneak a few hundred soul engineers in without being detected. After all, all the empires have an incredibly long border. The main problem is that the elite troops from the Dou Ling Empire were not present. They had all been dispatched to reinforce Shrek City. The Sun Moon Empire struck them when the capital was at its most vulnerable state. Otherwise, would they have fallen so easily?¡±

    One of the Elders apparently took Huo Yuhao¡¯s words very personally as he said coldly, ¡°In that case, are you ming us for this unfortunate event? Are you ming us for not listening to your suggestion? Do you expect us to give up on defending Shrek City? Do you think they would stop sending reinforcements if we told them to do so?¡±

    Huo Yuhao went silent. Of course, he knew he could not me the Elders for this tragedy. Everyone present here had the Academy¡¯s interest at heart.

    He shook his head and apologized, ¡°I am sorry for losing control of my emotions earlier. I just can¡¯t forget the image of the pce turning into ruins before my eyes. I am really sorry. I don¡¯t think I am suitable to remain as a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion anymore. I hereby request that the Elders remove my appointment.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong backward as they bowed politely before the Elders before turning around to leave.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Elder Song eximed furiously as he called out to Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 573.3 - Prince Xu Sanshi

    <h4 ss>Chapter 573.3: Prince Xu Sanshi</h4>

    At this moment, not every Elder from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was present. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei¡¯er, Xian Lin¡¯er, Qian Duoduo, and Zhang Lexuan were absent from the current conversation. As the younger members of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, they had all set off for the front line, ready to take on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s forces.

    Hence, the Elders who stayed behind at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion were the older ones.

    Huo Yuhao stopped walking, but his head remained lowered.

    Elder Song scolded, ¡°This is the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion¡ªnot your Tang Sect. Do you think you cane and go as you please? Do you think you can just quit as you wish?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s head remained lowered as he kept quiet.

    Elder Song stared coldly at him before continuing, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You must be thinking that our decision was wrong. You must be ming the attack on Dou Ling Empire and the deaths of the royal family on our request for help! Am I right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Elder Song, that¡¯s not true. It¡¯s just that sometimes, I feel that the Academy is weighed down by too many responsibilities. Our heritage, which is over ten thousand years old, is both the foundation of our strength and an immense burden on our shoulders. This burden stops us from analyzing our situation rationally. In fact, it makes us overly conservative about everything we do. I just want to say that I am not ming the Academy for everything that has happened. I am just feeling a little down. However, this war is far from over. Right after this, I intend to head to the battlefield and continue fighting.¡±

    ¡°If we were to fight the Sun Moon Empire head-on, there¡¯s absolutely no chance of us winning. Hence, I can only rely on unorthodox methods. In other words, I might need to rely on what is seemingly unscrupulous to weaken their forces. This is the only way that we might stand a chance against them. I cannot allow the Academy to be shamed because of what I n to do. Hence¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± After hearing his exnation, the Elders present seemed to have lost their rage as a look of surprise formed on their faces.

    They had all thought that Huo Yuhao wanted to leave the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion because he had lost his temper. Little did they expect him to want to leave because of a mature consideration.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Yuhao, do you really think that we can¡¯t tolerate any scheming ploys or some unscrupulous methods? Even though the Academy¡¯s reputation is extremely important, it should not be allowed to be a burden to our strategies. You are right to say that our Academy¡¯s heritage is sometimes a burden. However, it is a burden that we need to take on and be responsible for. I admit that we need to ept partial responsibility for the death of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family. However, Shrek City cannot afford to fall at all costs. This is something that cannot be debated.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I am sorry, Elder Xuan. In order to go up against the Sun Moon Empire, I might even utilize abilities which are simr to those of evil soul masters. This is something the Academy has never allowed. I cannot allow the Academy to lose its reputation because of my actions. I can imagine how the Sun Moon Empire would use this reason to attack the Academy in the future. I can only avoid shaming the Academy by leaving all of you.¡±

    Elder Xuan spoke inly, ¡°Foolishd, you¡¯re thinking too much. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw dropped. How could it be fine for people to spread news that Shrek Academy had produced evil soul masters?

    ¡°Even though evil soul masters are our enemies, there is no power in the world that is objectively right or wrong. There are only evil people who harbor ill intentions against other humans. Powerful abilities when utilized in times of war aremonly considered evil abilities. But when they are used in other areas in beneficial ways, they are usually considered good abilities. This is the same for the abilities of evil soul masters. Do you really think we don¡¯t know how you once utilized that power to help the Academy when the beast wave attacked us previously? If you remember correctly, none of us reprimanded you for that.¡±

    ¡°On top of that, the Academy¡¯s ten thousand years of heritage has indeed given us a huge responsibility. However, at the same time, it has given us a reputation which will not be easily shaken by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s rumors. Do you know why the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army doesn¡¯t dare to make a move on us? Other than you as a personal reason, they fear that they might lose the support of their soldiers and soul engineers if they were to attack us.¡±

    ¡°After all, our Academy is the number one academy in the entire world. It is where every soul master in the world dreams of joining. No soul master would treat us lightly, and the soul masters and soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire are no exception.¡±

    ¡°As for what happened to the Dou Ling Empire, we are all very sorry to hear about their tragic fate. However, we can¡¯t change what has already happened. All we can do is help the Dou Ling Empire stabilize their empire. At the same time, we can help protect them from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. Yuhao, just go ahead and do whatever you had in mind. The only thing which we, the old fellows, can do is stay within Shrek City and ensure that the bulk of their army stays here.¡±

    Elder Song slowly walked towards Huo Yuhao. She was a lot shorter than him, and hence could only tilt her head upwards in order to look him in the eyes.

    ¡°Young one, sometimes, when ites to certain things, we just have to change the way we look at them. Even if the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire were to fall, as long as their elites remain alive within Shrek City, there will still be hope.¡±

    ¡°Our Academy has already released all our soul tool research findings, as well as the information regarding martial souls in our library, to all the elite soul masters from the three empires currently staying within Shrek City. We might not be a country, and might not be the best when ites to war, but our strength lies in passing on knowledge and tradition!¡±

    After hearing Elder Song¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao was startled! He had never expected the Academy to be using this method to counter the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s schemes.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire, Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire¡¯s elite troopsrgely consisted of soul masters! There were more than ten thousand soul masters currently in Shrek City. That was almost a third of the total number of soul masters within the entire continent. It was probably close to half of the total number of soul masters within the three original empires of the Douluo Continent.

    Shrek Academy was actually choosing to release all the research findings they had on soul tools, as well as the cultivation methods they had developed over their ten thousand years of history, to all these soul masters. This meant that all of these soul masters were, to a certain extent, being nurtured by Shrek Academy. Even if the war turned out to be a disaster for all three empires, as long as these soul masters were to inherit the spirit and learnings of Shrek Academy, they would always have a chance at restoring the three original empires of the Douluo Continent.

    It seemed like the Academy had its own unique way of handling its responsibilities. It was, in fact, protecting the three original empires in its own way. This selfless spirit transformed the doubt in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart into guilt.

    The look in Elder Song¡¯s eyes turned softer as she gently patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Young man, it is good that you have a kind and brave heart. But you must remember that the Academy will never be your burden or your sole responsibility at any point in time. As long as we old fellows are still around, we won¡¯t allow you to take on every responsibility out there. It is only after all of us have passed away when your generation will take the baton from us. And before that happens, the Academy will only be a supportive force behind you. We already chose to believe in you unconditionally the moment you became a member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. So go ahead and do what you want to do.¡±

    ¡°Elder Song¡­¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice started to tremble. In fact, tears were starting to well up in Tang Wutong¡¯s eyes.

    Elder Xuan stood up and walked to Elder Song¡¯s side as he revealed a solemn expression. ¡°Elder Song is right. As long as we are alive, we will bear this heavy responsibility. But you are also not wrong to say that we have been overly conservative and protective of what the Academy has achieved. Indeed, we arecking the mentality and courage to do what is ultimately right. You have already matured and grown a lot. Now, you possess the ability to protect yourself. So run along and do what you think needs to be done. I believe that the two of you will be able to turn the tables. And while you¡¯re working on that, Shrek City will never fall into the hands of our enemies when all of us present here are still alive.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly took a few steps backward before he kneeled down with a loud thud. He lowered his torso to pay his respects to every single Elder present. After doing so thrice, he stood up again and left the hall with Tang Wutong.

    As Elder Xuan watched him leave, he revealed a heartening smile on his face. ¡°Thisd has really matured. I really admire Elder Mu for having such a great disciple. As long as he is around, the spirit of Shrek Academy will never be extinguished. I¡¯m really curious as to what he can achieve in the future.¡±

    Elder Song gazed into the distance as she said, ¡°Thisd is right. We¡¯ve been bundling too many responsibilities onto ourselves. I really hope that the continent can tide through this difficult period together.¡±

    Elder Xuan asked, ¡°What do you think thisd¡¯s next move will be?¡±

    Elder Zhuang stood up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can guess what he¡¯s up to next. But judging from the look on his face, it should probably be something that will be extremely shocking to the rest of the world. If not, he would never have chosen to leave the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion at this juncture with the character he has.¡±

    Elder Xuan started to frown. It seemed as though he might have an inkling of what Huo Yuhao was about to do.

    After leaving the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, Huo Yuhao held onto Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they left Shrek Academy for the Tang Sect.

    Bei Bei had not taken his rest. In fact, no one from Tang Sect had rested at all.

    Since the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army had camped outside Shrek City, the entire Tang Sect had been working like a machine. The reason was that only the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall was capable of producing the powerful soul tools that could strengthen the defensive capabilities of Shrek Academy.

    This time around, the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire did not only sent their elite soul masters and troops, but they had also broughtrge amounts of rare metals with them.

    Now that Shrek Academy had shared its research findings with everyone, the different empires no longer cared about personal interests as they pooled their resources to protect each other¡¯s empires. The Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s fall was an important reminder for them to unite and fight off theirmon enemy!

    With sufficient materials, the soul engineers within Shrek Academy could begin their work. Averaging only four hours of rest every day, the soul engineers invested the rest of their time working on soul tools.

    Even though Bei Bei did not know how to build soul tools, as the eldest senior brother of the Tang Sect, he helped to delegate the work along with Tang Ya. Some of the soul masters from the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire who had the gifts to be soul engineers even volunteered to help out under their instruction.

    This was not only a learning process for them, as they tried their best to help alleviate the manpower shortage problem in the Tang Sect.

    Hence, the Tang Sect had been running with a heavy toll on its manpower.

    ¡°Little junior brother.¡° A tired Bei Bei¡¯s heart sank after seeing the unpleasant expression on Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s faces.

    The first thought that hit him was that something wrong must have happened. ¡°Where are Sanshi and the rest? Did they get¡­¡± Bei Bei gasped.

 Chapter 574 - Ive Come!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 574: I¡¯ve Come!</h4>

    Tang Ya wasn¡¯t far away, and she hurried over when she heard his voice. Even though she still hadn¡¯t fused with the Bluesilver Emperor, her martial soul was recovering, and she had recovered her strength as an eight-ringed soul master in this time.

    The evil soul masters had hurt her badly, but she had managed to keep her strength and improvements. She had recovered her martial soul, and her prowess was increasing linearly. She was now considered one of the stronger ones within the Tang Sect.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, ¡°They¡¯re fine. Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior brother. But the Dou Ling Empire is in trouble.¡±

    There were many people around them, so the four of them went into a silent room as Huo Yuhao recounted the entire journey.

    Bei Bei¡¯s expression turned ck as he listened to his words. An entire country¡¯s royal pce was ttened just like that! If not for the fact that Xu Sanshi had the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal blood in his veins, their problem would be much bigger than this, and the Dou Ling Empire would probably crumble and implode.

    Bei Bei heaved a sigh and said, ¡°The continent¡¯s situation is no longer something we can control. We can only do all we can now, and hope for the best. Do you have any suggestions, little junior brother?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, ¡°The academy has too much responsibility because they have to protect themselves. The academy cannot abandon Shrek City¡¯s defenses, even though they¡¯re aware that our enemy will not attack. The Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire¡¯s elites are also inside Shrek City. If this continues, when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great armyunches an all-out attack, neither country will be able to stop the Sun Moon Empire no matter who they choose to target. The academy has preserved the two empire¡¯s elites, but we cannot allow the Sun Moon Empire to destroy the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire just like that. Therefore, our top priority is to draw the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army away from Shrek City. At least, their target will be a lot more evident after retreating. When that happens, we will have it easier, whether we are trying to hold them back or fighting against them. At the very least, we will not be dragged by our noses.¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is like a bone stuck in our throats. Shrek City¡¯s position has tied up the Star Luo and Dou Ling empire, and they¡¯re not having a good time.¡±

    Bei Bei said, ¡°But what can we do so that the Sun Moon Empire will retreat? That¡¯s almost impossible. They got away with destroying the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce this time, and that manner can even be replicated.¡±

    ¡°I have an idea,¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly said.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Tang Wutong was astonished when she heard his words, not to mention Bei Bei or Tang Ya.

    ¡°You have an idea? What¡¯s your idea?¡± Bei Bei said in surprise.

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists subconsciously. ¡°The only way to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s overt scheme is to surprise them! And I am the surprise factor. I¡¯m going for a rest, eldest senior brother, Teacher Xiao Ya.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned to leave as he finished his statement without even exining things properly.

    Bei Bei frowned, but he didn¡¯t chase after Huo Yuhao and allowed him to leave. Tang Wutong hurriedly followed behind him.

    Tang Ya nudged Bei Bei and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking him what he intends to do?¡±

    Bei Bei shook his head and replied, ¡°I trust him, so I¡¯m not going to ask. Yuhao has grown much more than we have over the past few years, and his personality has be increasingly stable and mature. If somebody else were to go through this matter, that person would probably have panicked a long time ago, and wouldn¡¯t know what to do at all. But he¡¯s not panicking, can¡¯t you see? His eyes are determined, and it¡¯s clear that he¡¯s had a n all along. Since that¡¯s the case, why should I ask? All we must do is deal with our own matters adequately. Our operation can continue once the Sun Moon Empire retreats.¡±

    Tang Ya nodded and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go do some work.¡±

    Huo Yuhao returned to his room, and Tang Wutong followed him inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s your solution?¡± Bei Bei didn¡¯t ask, but that didn¡¯t mean that Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t. She also trusted Huo Yuhao, but she was much more worried about him at the same time!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t tell Bei Bei about how he had tried to resign at the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion before this. Even though he wasn¡¯t sessful, Tang Wutong could tell from his mannerisms what he was about to do.

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply, and he contemted for a few moments before he pulled Tang Wutong over and whispered something into her ear.

    ¡°What? You¡­ but will they agree?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled inly and said, ¡°I will make them agree. This n has more than one goal.¡±

    Tang Wutong was worried. ¡°But you¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°What? Do you not trust my strength?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Tang Wutong retorted.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No, my n cannot bepleted like that. Furthermore, we can¡¯t fuse our martial souls because martial soul fusion skills consume too much energy, and are not suitable for prolonged battles. Don¡¯t worry, you can sit back and watch my enemies, and you can watch your husband massacre everyone!¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t married you yet!¡± Tang Wutong snapped unhappily.

    ¡°Yes, my dear. When is my father-inwing back? I can¡¯t wait any longer. Come, let me give you a kiss. My skin is quite thick anyway.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The sun was already high in the sky as it shone over the great earth.

    A new day had begun, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s deadline for Shrek City was here.

    However, strangely, the Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t doing anything at all. They weren¡¯t even pushing forward. They just stayed forty-five kilometers from Shrek City.

    This distance wasn¡¯t considered close, but it wasn¡¯t considered very far either. Soul engineers would only need about fifteen minutes of flying at full speed before they couldunch an onught against Shrek City.

    Shrek City had been wary and vignt over the past few days. Now time was up, and nobody knew whether the Sun Moon Empire would make their move. Every soul engineer in the city was nervously prepared for battle with their soul tools, and there were quite a few stronger soul masters patrolling outside the city.

    Shrek City¡¯s surveince soul tools were inferior to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s, but Shrek City had a lot more soul masters than they did.

    Simply put, if the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t have their formidable soul tool fronts and linked soul tools, Shrek City might not lose if they fought head-on!

    The atmosphere between both parties was a little tense, and an epic battle could ur at any moment.

    The quieter the Sun Moon Empire was, the stronger the feeling of pressure before a rainstorm.

    Right in this moment, a single person appeared soundlessly on Shrek City¡¯s battlements. No, he wasn¡¯t the only one. Someone else stepped out after that person appeared, her long, pinkish-blue hair draped behind her back as she stood next to him.

    Huo Yuhao gazed into the distance. Even though the Sun Moon Empire was forty-five kilometers away, the weather was good, and he could still roughly see what was going on with his vision.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great army was still over there.

    Tang Wutong stood beside him quietly, and she pulled over her long hair from behind her back and began tob it.

    Combing hair on Shrek City¡¯s battlements wasn¡¯t something that just anyone would do.

    Themanders on top of Shrek¡¯s city walls responsible for patrolling stood near him as they looked on silently with respectful expressions on their faces.

    Everyone knew what Huo Yuhao looked like. Ever since that day when he had bravely challenged the Beast God, Shrek City¡¯s soul masters and the two empires¡¯ soul masters could all recognize him.

    Huo Yuhao did lose that day, but he managed to survive after the Beast God had attacked him at full strength. That proved how powerful he was. The Beast God, Di Tian was the strongest individual on the continent, stronger than even an Ultimate Douluo!

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t waste any words at all as he stood on the battlements. Furthermore, the main defensive force which was on the city walls was the Heavy Artillery Soul Engineer Legion, and Huo Yuhao was theirmander anyway.

    He just stood there in silence and continued to watch. Tang Wutong finished styling her hair as braids fell down to her hips, and extended to the top of her head. Her hair was tied into a scorpion braid.

    ¡°You should still stay here,¡± Huo Yuhao nced at his lover exasperatedly.

    Tang Wutong shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have to participate, but I have to be beside you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao caressed her head as he came up next to her cheek and kissed her gently. ¡°You smell good.¡±

    Tang Wutong was embarrassed. ¡°Everyone is looking.¡±

    ¡°Let them look, I¡¯m kissing my wife. Let¡¯s go, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he spoke, and they soared into the sky as everyone looked on. Nobody saw them use flying-type soul tools as they flew toward the Sun Moon Empire just like that.

    ¡°They¡¯ve¡­ they¡¯ve flown away?¡± Shrek¡¯s city defense army looked on with widened eyes and ck jaws.What¡¯s happening? They¡¯re flying away just like that? Why¡­ why are they flying toward the Sun Moon Empire? What are they trying to do?

    ¡°Quick, report to the academy. Tell them that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong have gone toward the Sun Moon Empire camp.¡± They thought about the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s demand for Shrek City to hand Huo Yuhao over, and the city defense army¡¯s general began to sweat. Who knew what they were doing? Were they handing themselves over?

    Faint light flickered as a dash of ice-cold light shed across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He flew through the air as his spiritual power surged forth like a tidal wave. However, his spiritual power went up into the sky instead of toward the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s terrifying Spiritual Detection covered a vast area as aerial surveince soul tools appeared one after another within his senses.

    Shrek Academy had many powerful individuals, and that was the reason why the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t dare to allow their aerial surveince soul tools to fly too close to Shrek City to avoid any losses. But these aerials surveince soul tools had nowhere to hide in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power.

    But they had already discovered his presence at this point, and they immediately retreated towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp like a wave.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t hide themselves. Huo Yuhao had an ¡°excellent¡± reputation in the Sun Moon Empire. Besides his prowess, Huo Yuhao had destroyed the greatest number of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools. Therefore, once the soul engineers who were controlling the aerial surveince soul tools discovered him and immediately reported to their superiors, they hurriedly withdrew their surveince soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao withdrew his consciousness in the next moment. He wanted this oue. The Sun Moon Empire had given them pressure all this time, but this time, it was his turn to give them some pressure. This was the only way that his n could continue.

    They quickly covered the remaining distance to the camp, and it didn¡¯t take long before the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp appeared clearly in Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s vision.

    Huo Yuhao squinted slightly, his expression as cold and solemn as ever. Huo Yuhao was as calm as he could be under such circumstances.

    Dense energy waves appeared from the Sun Moon Empire. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could evidently feel the concentrating energy from the ground even though they were in the sky, as soul tool fronts began operating one after another as they locked onto Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    A single person could do nothing against these soul tool fronts no matter how formidable that person was. The Sun Moon Empire had already proved that fact with the Beast God. Even though the Beast God had also destroyed a soul tool front, the Sun Moon Empire had managed to force him away to the point where evil soul masters took that opportunity to hurt him.

    Huo Yuhao was strong, but he was still just a single person.

    However, the soul engineers who were locking onto Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have that thought for a long time before something happened.

    Huo Yuhao vanished.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong vanished at almost the same time in midair. They didn¡¯t leave any traces at all, so all the waves that were locking onto them immediately became useless.

    Huo Yuhao was strong enough to conceal himself even before he became a Titled Douluo, not to mention now. Shaking off those surveince soul tools was simply too easy. The difference between Huo Yuhao and Di Tian was that Di Tian could manipte spatial power, but Huo Yuhao relied on his martial soul¡¯s strength to integrate himself into his surroundings. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could imitate any kind of energy wave with his formidable spiritual senses. Even a few Ultimate Douluo probably wouldn¡¯t be entirely certain of finding him under such circumstances, let alone these surveince soul tools. At least, these soul tools couldn¡¯t do that with their current technological standard.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong vanished, but the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp didn¡¯t loosen up because of that. The soul engineers were very clear, no matter what ss they were, about what would happen to them if a Transcendent Douluo managed to infiltrate their soul tool front, or if one came close to them.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s sh with Di Tian gave them a deep impression and lesson. There were still traces of the frightening fusion of darkness and ice on the ground, and those traces weren¡¯t something that could be dispelled within a short period of time.

    A sigh could be heard from the sky before Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice traveled far into the distance.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys want Shrek City to hand me over? I¡¯m here now. Who¡¯sing to receive me?¡±

 Chapter 575.1 - Ive Come!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 575.1: I¡¯ve Come!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was very in and monotonous, but it travelled far into the distance as it covered the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s entire camp. However, not a single surveince soul tool could detect his exact location, and the tense atmosphere became even more intense.

    Ju Zi could naturally hear his voice from hermander¡¯s tent. Furthermore, several messengers were already reporting what was happening outside to her.

    Ju Zi was still feeling a little mncholic. The reason for that was that she had just received news about the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander, Xia Xuanchen, through their transmission soul tools.

    The Evileye Tyrant and Imperial Dragon Legions had been sessful in their ambush against Ling Dou City, and they had sessfully destroyed Dou Ling City¡¯s royal pce. But just as they were prepared to retreat, many evil soul masters appeared to ambush them, which resulted in the two legions sustaining heavy losses. Even the Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯smander, Xu Tianyuan, had perished.

    Ju Zi¡¯s first reaction was to restrict this news when she received it. At least, she had to do it before Xia Xuanchen and the others got back.

    Evil soul masters ambushing two beast-ranked soul engineer legions was big news, and she couldn¡¯t hush this matter up even with her reputation as the War God Empress.

    What did beast-ranked soul engineer legions represent? They represented the military, not to mention that the Imperial Dragon Legion was involved. The Imperial Dragon Legion represented the royal family.

    Xu Tianran himself would have to deal with this matter carefully even if he were here himself, because this matter involved both the military and the royal family, let alone Ju Zi.

    And the evil soul masters? They represented the Holy Ghost Church, who had two Ultimate Douluo! Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s supreme leader, Zhongli Wu, was supervisor to their army right now.

    Ju Z I didn¡¯t understand why the Holy Ghost Church would suddenly ambush two beast-ranked soul engineer legions, but she believed Xia Xuanchen.

    From her perspective, Xia Xuanchen was the weakest among the four beast-ranked soul engineer legions¡¯manders. However, he had the clearest mind, and that was the reason why she gave him that heavy responsibility.

    Xia Xuanchen had analyzed the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s aim in detail in his transmission. The Holy Ghost Church was antagonizing the military, and they were going after the soul engineer legions¡¯ strength. At the same time, they went after the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion¡¯smander, Xu Tianyuan. The storage-type soul tool that Xu Tianyuan was carrying on his body had disappeared during the attack, and there were likely to be several ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells in that storage soul tool. They didn¡¯t know how many there were exactly.

    Was that reason enough? That reason wasn¡¯t enough for normal people. Attacking two beast-ranked legions was big news, after all! But for the Holy Ghost Church, who had always been selfish, and who had only cared about themselves to the point where they didn¡¯t care about innocent lives, this reason couldn¡¯t be any more normal.

    Ju Zi was very clear what the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s true leader, Ye Xishui, used to charge her Death God.

    Not long ago, the Holy Ghost Church had used several tens of thousands of spirits from soldiers who had perished to attack the Beast God. Furthermore, Zhongli Wu had personally led a team to chase down and kill Di Tian.

    Zhongli Wu and the others had returned. There had been more than ten evil soul masters when they had left, but a third of them had disappeared when they returned. Zhongli Wu¡¯s expression had been stern and solemn, and it was evident that their n wasn¡¯t sessful. The Beast God wasn¡¯t that easily assassinated, and this oue also benefited Ju Zi. This was what she had hoped to see.

    However, there was an uproar within the army when Zhongli Wu and the others used the souls of dead soldiers for that purpose.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s powerful individuals got away with it, but Ju Zi had to take a lot of pressure.

    There was a reason for the army¡¯s fury. Soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country, and they were already heroes, but their souls after their passing ended up being used by Holy Ghost Church¡¯s evil soul masters. They were even converted into avenging spirits, and that was a fact that the army couldn¡¯t tolerate at all. The conflict between the Holy Ghost Church and the military was continuously building up. Under such circumstances, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that the news that Xia Xuanchen had brought back wouldn¡¯t just be lighting a fuse. That news would cause a violent conflict between the army and the Holy Ghost Church.

    Ju Zi wasn¡¯t that afraid of the Holy Ghost Church. The military had many formidable individuals, and there were quite a number of ss 9 soul engineers. The army even had several beast-ranked soul engineer legions supporting them.

    But what about Radiant City? There were two evil soul masters there, and one of them was the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s foundations were also at Radiant City. If something happened here, the Holy Ghost Church would make a move in their capital.

    She didn¡¯t care about Xu Tianran¡¯s life, but she cared about her son¡¯s life! Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire was in an excellent position. She couldn¡¯t afford for it to fall into disarray.

    Ju Zi was even more conflicted under such circumstances, and she found it difficult to make a decision despite her intelligence and calibre. She could only temporarily suppress the army¡¯s fury. At least, she couldn¡¯t let a conflict happen between the army and the Holy Ghost Church before her setup wasplete. That wasn¡¯t beneficial for her.

    Furthermore, Ju Zi felt a little strange. Who did the Holy Ghost Church deploy to ambush the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions?

    Ju Zi had a rough estimate of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s soul masters. The Sun Moon Empire had also thoroughly investigated that matter before.

    Ju Zi was very aware of those two soul engineer legions¡¯ capabilities. Even if they were more rxed after their sessful attack on Dou Ling City, anybody who wanted to ambush them had to be extremely powerful.

    Undead creatures? Many undead creatures. That does sound like the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s methods.But there were a few doubts in Xia Xuanchen¡¯s report that attracted her attention.

    Their enemies could hide themselves. That fact alone made Ju Zi¡¯s heart skip a beat.

    There were soul masters who knew how to conceal themselves, and there were also evil soul masters who could do the same. But she knew of only one person who was adept at hiding himself and fighting battles alone! Furthermore, Xia Xuanchen also told her that there was somebody who possessed incredible abilities of ice and snow among the evil soul masters who had attacked them. The evil soul masters had relied on a kind of domain-type ability of ice and snow to create a death trap and besiege them.

    Ice and snow? Stealth capabilities?

    Ju Zi wouldn¡¯t be fit to be known as the War God Empress if she still didn¡¯t suspecthimwhen these two capabilities existed at the same time.

    Ju Zi could only force augh when she thought about that person.

    Ju Zi finally had a taste of her own medicine, and how awkward the situation was. She knew what her opponent was doing, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn¡¯t even expose her opponent¡¯s identity.

    Wasn¡¯t that right? She was positive that Huo Yuhao was likely the perpetrator who had ambushed the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions, and the Tang Sect¡¯s other members had probably assisted him as well. But she couldn¡¯t reveal that. Why couldn¡¯t she? Because she also wanted to deal with the Holy Ghost Church! Huo Yuhao had crushed two of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s beast-ranked soul engineer legions and framed the Holy Ghost Church. In some sense, he was helping her.

    But the timing wasn¡¯t right, was it? Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had also killed Xu Tianyuan. Xu Tianyuan was a prince who held the highest authority! His death meant the royal family¡¯s strength and authority would be reshuffled once more, and she had had a decent rtionship with Xu Tianyuan.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s act messed everything up, but she simply couldn¡¯t reveal his identity.

    She would waste her past efforts if she did that. If the army and the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s rtionship was bridged, and if both the army and the Holy Ghost Church wanted to attack Shrek City, then that would be worse for her.

    Ju Zi had made use of Shrek Academy¡¯s responsibility to defend themselves many times, while Huo Yuhao was the one who was using her in this moment. Ju Zi had to admit that she shouldn¡¯t have told Huo Yuhao back then that she was targeting the Dou Ling Empire, because that fellow was just too smart.

    But Ju Zi didn¡¯t feel like she had lost. Dou Ling City¡¯s royal pce wasid to ruin, and even if both beast-ranked soul engineer legions were massacred in the end, she would still be the ultimate victor. Reality proved that Huo Yuhao and the others were toote after all.

    The situation was very messy, and that forced Ju Zi to divide her mind to deal with all sorts of problems. She was still very busy with work when she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice from outside.

    Ju Zi¡¯s first reaction when she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was,So the person who ambushed the two legions wasn¡¯t him?

    Yes! If he was the one who did it, why would he be back so quickly? And what is he trying to do? Does he really think that I wish to capture him? Or is he trying to use our rtionship to stump me? No, that¡¯s not how he does things.

    Ju Zi was a little taken aback, and her mind felt a little nk. Just as Huo Yuhao himself had said, he had to give Ju Zi a surprise to deal with her. He had seeded for the moment.

    Xia Xuanchen¡¯s report meant that the two legions¡¯ remaining soldiers would only return to the army at night.

    That was because they had to cover a lot of ground, and another reason was that they had be extremely tense and rmed after Huo Yuhao ambushed them continuously. They had no choice but to be careful! Furthermore, their previous exploits made them extremely fatigued. They were already trying their best to reach their camp by nightfall.

    Therefore, Ju Zi immediately realized after her momentary nkness that Huo Yuhao was probably still using her.

    A smart person who wished to trump another had to think more meticulously. If Huo Yuhao had precisely calcted the time that these two legions needed to return, what was he doing, exactly?

    ¡°Pass my order. The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion is to be mobilized, and they will escort me to take a look at what that fellow is doing. All soul tool fronts, prepare linked defenses but hold fire. Notify all soul engineers ss 8 and above to gather in the sky and prepare for battle.¡±

    Ju Zi gave a series of orders before she walked out of her tent.

 Chapter 575.2 - Ive Come!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 575.2: I¡¯ve Come!</h4>

    Ju Zi wasn¡¯t concerned about her own safety at all, but Huo Yuhao was the one who was provoking her! She didn¡¯t believe that he could take her life no matter how they fought each other. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have returned alive from that mystical demine.

    Faint light flickered in the air, and every soul engineer from the Sun Moon Empire pulled long faces. They couldn¡¯t lock onto their enemy. What was happening? This meant that this fellow could enter their camp as and when he wanted!

    ¡°Safety first,mander. We don¡¯t know where that person is.¡± Ju Zi had just stepped out from her tent when several ss 9 soul engineers surrounded her. Furthermore, they released a linked defensive barrier and contained her within it.

    Ju Zi smiled faintly and waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright. He doesn¡¯t dare to venture too deeply into our camp. He won¡¯t be able to escape if hees in. Let¡¯s go and see what he¡¯s doing.¡±

    These words were simply intended for those around her. Ju Zi was very clear about how strong Huo Yuhao¡¯s survival abilities were after finding out about his demine.

    ¡°Commander, the Fire Phoenix Legion has been assembled.¡±

    Ju Zi nodded. ¡°The Fire Phoenix Legion shall follow me into the air. Activate the legion¡¯s linked defensive barrier.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were still in the sky, but they were concealed with Imitation, and nobody could see where they were.

    Light continued to flicker as a single sphere of light glowed in the sky. A fiery-red sphere slowly rose from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s camp in the next moment.

    The sphere was translucent, and what was happening inside could be faintly observed. The Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s soul engineers were all wearing fiery-red soul tools, and their equipment was especially ring.

    The Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s status among the four beast-ranked soul engineer legions was initially second only to the Imperial Dragon Legion. Ever since Ju Zi took over and after she received Xu Tianran¡¯s adamant support, along with her rising reputation as the War God Empress, the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s status was growing increasinglyparable to the Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯s status.

    Beams of light red one after another in the sky. The air was clearly twisting and contorting a little due to the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s linked defensive barrier. This was a phenomenon due to high temperatures, as the Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s soul tools were mainly fire-type weapons.

    Ju Zi was hovering inside the sphere. She was wearing a magnificent human-shaped soul tool that was golden-red in color which perfectly protected her body. Brilliant and flowing light coursed around this human-shaped soul tool, and this soul tool was different from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s other human-shaped soul tools that Huo Yuhao had seen. Even though he was only observing from afar, Huo Yuhao could faintly feel that this human-shaped soul tool¡¯s capabilities wereparable to that of his Icy War God¡¯s Armor. This set was possibly even superior in some respects. For instance, Ju Zi could use this human-shaped soul tool which was conspicuously at the pinnacle of ss 9 soul tools even with her cultivation rank. This meant that her human-shaped soul tool could reduce its demand for using it. This characteristic was something that the Icy War God¡¯s Armor didn¡¯t have.

    Of course, it also depended on who was wearing this human-shaped soul tool. Ju Zi was wearing this human-shaped soul tool more for her personal protection than anything else.

    Huo Yuhao reappeared in midair with a solemn look on his face. Many soul tools beneath him locked onto him once more as he revealed himself.

    However, the soul engineers responsible for locking onto his position quickly realized to their astonishment that they seemed to be locking onto nothingness. They couldn¡¯t detect any living presence at all.

    Huo Yuhao was now a veteran, so he wouldn¡¯t put himself in danger. What he was doing was actually very simple: he used Spiritual Interference Domain and created a hologram a hundred meters away from him. The soul engineers could lock onto that as much as they wished, but they still wouldn¡¯t find his precise location. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection covered the entire ce. As long as it didn¡¯t touch any spiritual barriers, any soul tool that was about to fire would appear within his detection range, hence he wouldn¡¯t have any problem dodging attacks.

    ¡°You¡¯re the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s War God Empress?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s icy-cold voice travelled into the distance. However, his tone seemed to change a little when he was uttering thest few sybles.

    There was no way his tone couldn¡¯t change. There was a small hand pinching his waist and twisting his flesh a hundred and eighty degrees.

    Keep pretending!Tang Wutong thought to herself resentfully.

    Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao coldly as she lowered her voice and replied, ¡°Yes, I am the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Empress. I am also this army¡¯smander. I didn¡¯t expect you to show yourself. Since you¡¯re here, then don¡¯t resist capture. Seems like Shrek City can¡¯t protect you after all!¡±

    Their eyes were both very cold. They were so far apart, and there was also a protective barrier around her, so they couldn¡¯t see each other¡¯s eyes clearly. But strange sensations appeared in their hearts in this moment.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that they were encountering each other on the battlefield. However, this was the first time that they were facing each other with their initial identities as everybody else looked on, and as enemies.

    Ju Zi wasn¡¯t careless because Huo Yuhao was her opponent. On the contrary, she felt a lot more alert and wary because Huo Yuhao was the one who was hovering in the sky opposite her.

    It didn¡¯t matter that she had gained the upper hand during their previous few encounters. She was very clear with her understanding of Huo Yuhao about how terrifying an opponent he could be if he unleashed his potential. Reality also proved this fact, because the damage that Huo Yuhao had singlehandedly dealt to the Sun Moon Empire rivaled that of the entire Heavenly Soul Empire. How many surveince soul tools had he destroyed, not to mention soul engineers, soul tool fronts, and whatnot?

    Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao in the distance, and she was already very certain that Huo Yuhao was the perpetrator who had ambushed the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions.It has to be him!

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I¡¯m responsible for my own actions. You¡¯ve asked for me, and so I am here. I have already detached myself from Shrek City at the same time. Right now, I represent only myself. Catch me if you can. Whoever isn¡¯t convinced cane get me.¡±

    Ju Zi grunted coldly and retorted, ¡°You seem very confident of yourself. Do you really think that you can fight against my army of a hundred thousand men all by yourself? You only have two choices: submit to us or die!¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed. ¡°You want me to submit? Dream on. Who are you to ask me to surrender? Because of those soul tools that you have beneath you? If you understand me, then you should know that those soul tools are useless against me. I¡¯m here today to tell you that I will be a gue to your army from today onward. I will follow you wherever you go. Perhaps killing you will not be easy, but I am confident of killing your subordinates. Your linked defensive barriers cannot be activated continuously, and they can¡¯t cover your entire army, can they?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was projected into the distance with his spiritual power, and every one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s generals¡¯ expressions changed drastically when he said those words.

    They had all seen Huo Yuhao¡¯s prowess before. Even though they didn¡¯t know what rank he was at exactly, he could take a hit from the Beast God and survive. He had to be a Titled Douluo, at the very least.

    Normal Titled Douluo weren¡¯t a big deal, because they couldn¡¯t hide from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s various surveince soul tools. They would be blown into bits before they coulde near the empire¡¯s army.

    But this fellow was different! Even though they didn¡¯t know how he was doing what he did, they knew that could use his abilities to hide from all of their surveince soul tools. If a formidable individual like him was determined to massacre and assassinate everyone without any care for his identity, and could not be detected, then everyone would be in danger.

    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t target the normal soldiers. Instead, generals and soul engineers would undoubtedly be his targets.

    They would probably be fine for one or two days, but what if this was done over a long period of time? How many people would he kill? Nobody knew.

    Of course, they weren¡¯tpletely helpless, but dealing with somebody like that wasn¡¯t an easy task at all!

    The entire Sun Moon Empire¡¯s atmosphere became a little tense and down.

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression turned dark as she said coldly, ¡°Since when have Shrek Academy¡¯s graduates be so shameless?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. ¡°This is war, and there is only victory or defeat. The winner bes king, and the loser bes an ouw. You must know this, Empress, don¡¯t you? Yes, we are no match for you on an open battlefield, and Shrek Academy has already expelled me because of you. Now, I am independent, and I have nothing left to lose. I don¡¯t even have a ce to eat. Why can¡¯t I have my catharsis? And you, those who have taken away my livelihood, shall be my targets.¡±

    Ju Zi rolled her eyes.Since when has he be so shameless?

    ¡°I can give you your livelihood. If you join the Sun Moon Empire, I can decide to forgive everything that you¡¯ve done. Furthermore, I can appoint you as one of the royal family¡¯s Worshipped. We can give you everything you require.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, and hisughter was extremely exaggerated. ¡°Really? If that¡¯s the case, I can think about it! My demands aren¡¯t that high. I¡¯ve heard that the War God Empress is quite pretty. I already have a wife, so I can¡¯t take you as my wife, but surely you can be my concubine. You can just be my concubine.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Ju Zi appeared furious. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army beneath them fell into an uproar. What was that? That was in humiliation!

    Ju Zi had a glorious reputation within the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military. She was known as a goddess of war, and she was a military genius that the world could onlye across once in a blue moon. In this moment, she was being humiliated by her opponent on the battlefield. Furthermore, Xu Tianran only had this one Empress since she became the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Empress, and he didn¡¯t have any mistresses or concubines. Huo Yuhao¡¯s words were equivalent to humiliating the entire Sun Moon Empire.

    The Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s soul engineers all felt indignant at the injustice. If not for Ju Zi¡¯s dignity her authority, they would haveshed out a long time ago.

 Chapter 575.3 - Ive Come!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 575.3: I¡¯ve Come!</h4>

    But no matter how furious the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s generals and soul engineers were, they would never expect that their War God Empress was feeling very conflicted in this moment.

    Bastard! You¡¯re such a bastard. How can you say such things in front of everyone? You have to tell me such things in private. Who knows, I might even agree. Do you know that I think of that every passing day, and I would rather be your concubine than this empress!

    Ju Zi¡¯s heart was trembling faintly, and her breathing wasn¡¯t very bnced. The Fire Phoenix Legion¡¯s formidable individuals beside her thought that she was boiling with fury, and nobody dared to utter a word. They were all waiting for her to give the order.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die, Huo Yuhao!¡± Ju Zi¡¯s words were almost squeezed out from between her teeth.

    But she didn¡¯t know that Huo Yuhao, who was still in the shadows, didn¡¯t feel very good in this moment. Tang Wutong was punishing him angrily.

    Huo Yuhao used his consciousness to continuously exin to her that he was doing this to infuriate the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s powerful individuals so that he could execute the next step in his n. Unfortunately, Tang Wutong was just a jealous woman right now.

    ¡°What? Do you not agree, empress? So what you said about giving me whatever I want means nothing? In that case, I know how to say meaningless words too.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that we can¡¯t do anything to you?¡± Ju Zi said coldly, ¡°Huo Yuhao, do you believe that I can¡¯t give the order right now to attack Shrek City and massacre the entire city? I will annihte your academy¡¯s ten thousand years of foundations, and I will remove Shrek Academy from the face of the earth for eternity.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied coldly, ¡°If you dare to do that, I will do all I can to murder every single person from the Sun Moon Empire, including the empire¡¯s citizens, even if that takes my whole life and myst breath. I will not make any exceptions. I will do that until the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s blood no longer runs through this world.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t the only one who was astonished when Huo Yuhao said those words. Shrek Academy¡¯s senior members who had flown into the air in the distance were also in shock.

    They finally understood why Huo Yuhao would go to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilionst night to resign, which appeared a little impulsive. He probably wasn¡¯t impulsive at all when that happened, and he already had a n in his mind.

    What was he saying? He was a Titled Douluo, and he was threatening to make a move against innocent civilians, even though he was targeting the Sun Moon Empire. What did that mean? This meant that he would be a machine of ughter and murder, and he would be the entire continent¡¯s enemy. He would be an assassin.

    Not even evil soul masters dared to say something like this. Huo Yuhao would be a public enemy to the entire world of soul masters, and everyone would be against him. Not even the Star Luo Empire or the Dou Ling Empire would protect him, because what he had threatened to do was forbidden. This was absolutely forbidden! This was something that couldn¡¯t be tolerated at all in the world of soul masters, and also in the world of soul engineers.

    The strong wouldn¡¯t prey upon innocent civilians. This was an unspoken rule that applied especially to Titled Douluo.

    A Titled Douluo¡¯s destructive power was incredible, and killing ten thousand normal civilians within a day wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Apocalypse would descend upon the world, and rivers would run with blood!

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t just opposing the Sun Moon Empire when he said those words. He ced himself on opposite ends with the entire continent. He was going against humanity!

    Elder Xuan was hovering in the air as his facial muscles suddenly twitched conspicuously.

    Elder Song stared at Elder Xuan with a stunned look on her face. ¡°Is he really going to do that?¡±

    Elder Xuan forced augh and answered, ¡°The question now is whether or not he will do this. He¡¯s thrown his reputation out the window with his words. I don¡¯t know what he wants to do. It¡¯s no wonder that he wants to relinquish everything he has in Shrek Academy! This child never fails to surprise us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m proud!¡± Qian Duoduo suddenly chimed in from the side.

    Xian Lin¡¯er pped his bald head and snapped, ¡°What are you proud of?¡±

    Qian Duoduo chortled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think Yuhao is truly starting to be like an Ultimate Soldier? What is an Ultimate Soldier? An Ultimate Soldier can turn the tide of battle all by himself, even if he¡¯s faced with thousands and thousands of soldiers and enemies. Huo Yuhao is beginning to embody that essence, and that may not be a bad thing. As for what he just said, my fellow elders, have you guys heard anything?¡±

    Elder Zhuang was the first to shake his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything. We¡¯re too far away.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe heaved a sigh and said, ¡°Yes! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with my ears nowadays, they¡¯re not working very well. I need to go back and clean them out. Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t travelling towards us, and I don¡¯t think anybody in Shrek City has heard anything either. This kid is always mumbling, who knows what he¡¯s talking about?¡±

    The corner of Elder Xuan¡¯s mouth twitched again. He heaved a sigh as well and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been drinking wine for a long time, but Yuhao angered mest night to the point that I had a few drinks, to the point where my head is still a little dizzy today. No, I can¡¯t fly anymore. Let me rest on the battlements for a few moments. This kid will never lose, so what are we still doing here? Come, let¡¯s go back.¡±

    Elder Song¡¯s heart was twitching instead.Damn, you¡¯re an Ultimate Douluo, and you¡¯re saying that you can¡¯t fly anymore. Who will believe that? Do you really believe that yourself?

    Elder Xuan stared deeply at Elder Song and said, ¡°There are some things that, if you keep telling yourself again and again, you¡¯ll believe in time.¡±

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army of one hundred thousand fell intoplete silence in the distance.

    The normal soldiers, who were originally detached because this battle of greats was none of their business, suddenly opened their eyes wide.

    Their surveince soul tools also immediately detected that Shrek City¡¯s soul masters who had flown out were going back. What did that mean? At the very least, this meant in their eyes that Shrek City had given up on Huo Yuhao. He was truly alone in this moment.

    Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao, and her eyes were as ck as could be. Her feelings were incredibly conflicted and messy in this moment. She had never expected that Huo Yuhao, who had always been kind and goodhearted, would say something like this. Of course, she didn¡¯t believe that Huo Yuhao would do anything to normal civilians, but he was subjecting himself to universal condemnation with those words!

    Have I really forced this to happen? Is it because the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family have beenpletely annihted in Ling Dou City? Have I forced him to do this? Yuhao!Ju Zi¡¯s heart softened a little in this moment, and even her wariness towards Huo Yuhao seemed to change a little because of her softening heart.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Ju Zi¡¯s voice was still as cold as ever, but she wasn¡¯t as forceful and domineering as before.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I¡¯m all by myself anyway, and I¡¯ll just pit myself against you for all of eternity.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Ju Zi roared angrily.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°You can try, and see if I dare to or not. I¡¯m not using my own life in this wager anyway. There are many people here.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s body quivered. ¡°You¡¯re a Titled Douluo, and yet you dare to target innocent civilians. Are you not afraid of the heavens smiting you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I would rather be struck by the heavens than have my country destroyed. The heavens will smite me, but that will save many lives that I wish to protect. So what if the heavens strike me down?¡±

    Ju Zi seemed a little flustered. ¡°What exactly do you want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as he looked up to the sky. ¡°I am not sure if your trip here to ask the academy to hand me over is your original intention. But since you¡¯ve made that request, then I am here. But catching me isn¡¯t that easy. Why don¡¯t we have a wager in front of these two armies?¡±

    ¡°Wager?¡± Ju Zi¡¯s lowered guard was immediately raised once more when she heard that word.

    Wager? What does he want to wager on?Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao confusedly.

    ¡°What do you wish to wager?¡± Ju Zi lowered her voice as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°You guys are most afraid of my abilities to conceal myself, and I do not wish to see you destroy my country. Even though I no longer have any ties to Shrek City, I still wish to protect it. We will fight ten battles to determine the victor. I will take on ten people by myself, who will take turns to fight me one-on-one. We will fight to the death, and the winner will continue, while the loser dies! If you guys can kill me in ten rounds, then everything will be over. If I win all ten rounds, then you will withdraw your army, and you cannot attack Shrek Academy within three years. We will execute this wager immediately if you agree, and if you don¡¯t, then be prepared to pay with your civilians¡¯ lives.¡±

    Ju Zi had a sudden revtion. Huo Yuhao had been foreshadowing this for a long time. This was his final goal after pressuring and threatening like that.

    That is so smart! He¡¯s using his own strength and threats to tie down the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies. He¡¯s forcing me to finish this wager with him.

    Ju Zi¡¯s army of one hundred thousand was watching, and if the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t take this wager, that meant the empire didn¡¯t care about their soldiers¡¯ safety. The army would fall into disarray, and as long as Huo Yuhao could create several small incidents and damage, that could lead to an event that the military dreaded most: rebellion!

    Ju Zi couldn¡¯t ept that possibility, and neither could her generals.

    Therefore, Huo Yuhao had paid with his own reputation to tie the entire Sun Moon Empire army down.

    Furthermore, he was still so young, and he still wasn¡¯t an Ultimate Douluo. He wasn¡¯t even a Transcendent Douluo. He had demanded to take on ten people one after another all by himself under such circumstances, so there was no reason for the Sun Moon Empire to reject.

    This fellow!

    The pressure on Shrek would disappear if the Sun Moon Empire withdrew their army from Shrek City. Subsequently, the army¡¯s n to move against the Star Luo Empire would likely have to change.Yuhao, Yuhao, you have given me a very difficult problem.

    Ju Zi¡¯s mind spun rapidly in that short period of time.

    Right in this moment, a voice suddenly appeared in her mind. This voice was very soft, but it was unnaturally clear.

    ¡°Evil soul masters are ourmon enemy.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ju Zi felt her heart skip a beat. She had never expected that Huo Yuhao could still project his consciousness into her mind with such a formidable linked defensive barrier protecting her. At the same time, she immediately understood what he wanted to do.

 Chapter 576.1 - One on Ten!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 576.1: One on Ten!</h4>

    Getting the army to retreat was but one of his objectives. The other objective was targeted at the Holy Ghost Church.

    Yes! The Holy Ghost Church was theirmon enemy. However, targeting the Holy Ghost Church now was something that conflicted with Ju Zi¡¯s n. However, Huo Yuhao could no longer be bothered with this. Now that he was in front of so many people, he had no choice.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I can¡¯t believe you are foolish enough to attempt to challenge ten of my people just by yourself. We definitely have no qualms betting with you. However, it doesn¡¯t seem to be fair, does it? If we were to lose, our entire army has to retreat. And if you were to lose, it will just be the loss of a single life. Aren¡¯t you thinking too highly of yourself? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re quite there yet.¡± Ju Zi sneered.

    Huo Yuhao really wanted to give Ju Zi a big thumbs up for the great teamwork she was showing!

    It was really incredible for her to be able to instantly understand what he meant despite the tension in the atmosphere.

    The main targets Huo Yuhao had in mind were naturally the evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church. The safety of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was definitely not enough to motivate the evil soul masters to act. After all, those evil soul masters would prefer to witness more deaths so they could capture the spirits to improve their cultivation. Hence, Huo Yuhao knew he needed something to attract all of them. And he naturally needed to produce these things himself.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I definitely can¡¯t bepared with your entire army. However, I can offer a few more things on top of my life.¡±

    As he spoke, a huge ck door opened beside him. Following which, a massive creature crept out from the huge door.

    After the massive creature appeared, countless observers could not help but gasp in fear.

    What is that?It was a gigantic bear which over fifty meters tall that was radiating an insanely frightening aura! Its fur was somehow grey, while its eyes were blood-red. It seemed as though there were mes burning in its eyes.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao retrieved a dagger from his hand. It was a dagger whose de was radiating an icy blue color.

    The dagger flew up into the sky, and instantly, the surrounding temperature plunged. The linked defensive barrier formed by the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, which was quite a distance away, started to fade. Snowkes also started to fall from the sky.

    If Xia Xuanchen were here, he might have been able to connect the dots after seeing the ck door and the Morning Dew Dagger Huo Yuhao had just released.

    Unfortunately, he had yet to return. Everything was within Huo Yuhao¡¯s expectations and under his control.

    Jiangshi Ice Bear King, Er Bai, and the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger.

    ¡°These two items are the most precious items I have. This dagger is a godly weapon. If not for it, I would not have been able to block Di Tian¡¯s blow. Let me show you what it can do.¡±

    As he spoke, the Morning Dew Dagger suddenly turned vertical in mid-air before it transformed into a blue light that shot straight towards the linked defensive barrier set up by the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.

    Before Ju Zi even gave the order, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion instinctively enhanced the protective soul barrier to its maximum defensive potential.

    However, the fiery red glow on the linked defensive barrier immediately faded the moment the dagger came into contact with it. The entire barrier turned dark blue instead before a series of loud explosive noises could be heard.

    A deep cut could be seen on the outer side of the linked defensive barrier. The barrier was a hair¡¯s breadth from being torn open by the dagger.

    It was important to note that this was a full-power linked defensive barrier which was established by a beast lord-ranked soul engineer legion.

    The Morning Dew Dagger was actually able to create such an effect just from a gentle tap. The most frightening thing was how it was able to ovee its elemental disadvantage. Its fearsome extreme coldness was actually able to prate the protective soul barrier and be felt by the Fire Phoenix soul engineers. The fiery red color radiating from their bodies became a lot fainter. They could not believe that a single dagger was able to achieve so much.

    After retracting his Morning Dew Dagger, Huo Yuhao spoke inly, ¡°As for my pet over here, I believe there¡¯s no need for me to exin much. Those who dabble in spirits and spectral matters should naturally understand what it is. Isn¡¯t that right, Leader Zhongli Wu? I know you¡¯re scrutinizing it. Why don¡¯t youe out?¡±

    A purple-ck light suddenly soared into the sky. Zhongli Wu, the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church, had revealed his figure in the air.

    His eyes revealed the greed he had for Er Bai. He didn¡¯t even bother to look at Huo Yuhao as his eyes werepletely focused on Er Bai¡¯s body.

    Even as the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church, Zhongli Wu was unable to tell how Huo Yuhao was able to transform such a powerful soul beast into a spectral creature. However, he was absolutely sure that this spectral creature was likely to be stronger than it was in its previous life.

    It must have been a Savage Beast in its past life in order to release such a powerful aura. Turning Savage Beasts into spectral puppets had always been one of Zhongli Wu¡¯s goals.

    Previously when he went after Di Tian, he was hoping to turn Di Tian into his puppet. If he were to seed, he believed he would be the strongest individual in the entire world.

    Unfortunately, the Beast God¡¯s power had far exceeded his expectations, and the Holy Ghost Church had sustained huge losses in their attempt to hunt the Beast God down. Even Zhongli Wu was injured during the attempt, and he had only barely recovered after taking a rest. The only reason why they were able to flee from the Great Star Dou Forest was that the Beast God was already injured, and they were still sufficiently sensible to flee before their situation worsened. If not, their bodies might have had to stay within the Great Star Dou Forest forever.

    The forces within the Great Star Dou Forest were far more powerful than they had imagined.

    ¡°Military supervisor.¡± Ju Zi looked at Zhongli Wu as though she was asking him for advice.

    As the military supervisor, Zhongli Wu had a lot of authority in the army. He was not in charge of anyone, but was supposed to supervise Ju Zi. Whenever Ju Zi had to make an important decision, she needed to get his approval. A military retreat was an example of an important decision.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s greed was apparent as he nodded and said, ¡°I think what he is offering is sufficiently precious.¡± After finishing his sentence, he did not even look at Huo Yuhao as he turned around and flew down to the Sun Moon Empire camp.

    Even though his answer was not exactly direct, Zhongli Wu had undoubtedly expressed his opinion.

    Just as Ju Zi wanted to talk to Huo Yuhao, a purple-ck light suddenly shed, and Zhongli Wu had returned.

    He shot a peculiar look at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Huo Yuhao, if you are to lose, we can also choose not to kill you. As long as you join my Holy Ghost Church, I can spare your life.¡±

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s words might have sounded very offensive in the ears of others, they were nothing for the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. On top of that, after seeing how Huo Yuhao was able to showcase Er Bai and hearing some of the stories about him, he was already certain that Huo Yuhao must possess some secrets about evil soul masters. He not only wanted to know all of these secrets, but also nurture Huo Yuhao into a member of the Holy Ghost Church. With the talents that he possessed, he felt that he might have a chance at bing the Holy Son of the Holy Ghost Church!

    It would definitely be a great blow to Shrek Academy if the Dragon God Douluo¡¯s disciple were to join the Holy Ghost Church.

    Zhongli Wu was not in the least bit worried about whether Huo Yuhao really wanted to join the Holy Ghost Church. He was confident of transforming any person¡ªno matter what type of person he or she was¡ªinto an evil soul master.

    Huo Yuhao smiled at Zhongli Wu and said, ¡°Sure! As long as all of you can defeat me, I am perfectly fine with joining the Holy Ghost Church. After all, I am no longer part of any organization.¡±

    Zhongli Wu also smiled. In fact, he was very happy. ¡°Then I guess we have a promise.¡±

    Ju Zi watched the sly foxes who were smiling before her and couldn¡¯t help but wonder who was actually falling into the other person¡¯s trap.Zhongli Wu, should I start mourning for you now?

    Zhongli Wu was naturally unaware of what Ju Zi was thinking as he turned around and flew back to the camp.

    Ju Zi eximed, ¡°Alright since our military supervisor has already agreed to this gamble, I shall agree to it as well. The battle shall begin in two hours¡¯ time at the space between our camp and Shrek City. The victor will be decided after ten rounds of battle!¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything. He merely looked Ju Zi in the eye. Following which, he grabbed Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and flew towards the t ground behind them. The virtual image of him which he had created in the air disappeared after he left. Following which, Er Bai and the Morning Dew Dagger also turned into light that vanished into thin air.

    The Sun Moon Empire army and Shrek City were about forty-five kilometers apart. The midpoint between these two locations was hence about twenty-two kilometers or so. It was undoubtedly the safest distance for both parties, as well as the fairest location to conduct the battle.

    Afternding on the ground, Huo Yuhao crossed his legs and sat down before beginning to meditate. Tang Wutong merely stood behind him silently as she kept watch over him.

    Meanwhile, Ju Zi brought the members of her Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion into the camp.

    Very soon, a meeting was held within the Commander¡¯s Tent.

    Every soldier andmander from the Sun Moon Empire had witnessed what had happened in the sky. Hence, Ju Zi did not need to introduce the challenge to the people present. After everyone had gathered in the tent, she immediately fired two questions at the rest of them.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao has challenged our army. After receiving approval from the military supervisor, we have decided to ept his challenge. In that case, we now have two problems before us. First, who are the ten people who should represent us? Second, who should keep the items that Huo Yuhao has promised to give up if he were to lose the challenge.¡±

    Zhongli Wu was sitting next to Ju Zi. When she raised these two questions, he nced at her before his brows furrowed together. No one knew what he was thinking about.

    There were many powerful individuals within the Commander¡¯s Tent. The elite troops from the Sun Moon Empire were all present in this camp. Other than the powerful evil soul masters, several ss 9 soul engineers were also present. And this included several powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Consecration Hall.

    One of the ss 9 soul engineers stepped forward and said, ¡°The winnings should naturally belong to the empire. I am willing to fight for the empire and get rid of that haughty rascal.¡±

    Another ss 9 soul engineer nodded in approval.

    These ss 9 soul engineers were not idiots. After seeing Zhongli Wu fly up into the sky, they could tell that he was very much attracted by Er Bai. They would definitely not allow him toy his hands on the Ice Bear King. Hence, they were all expressing their disagreement. At the same time, these ss 9 soul engineers were all expressing their interest to put their lives on the line for the empire to fight Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 576.2 - One on Ten!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 576.2: One on Ten!</h4>

    Then, Ju Zi looked over to Zhongli Wu and asked, ¡°Military supervisor, what do you think about this?¡±

    Zhongli Wu said, ¡°Logically speaking, what they have said is entirely correct. All war spoils should be kept by the empire.¡±

    As he finished his sentence, he scanned the ss 9 soul engineers with his cold gaze. The ss 9 soul engineers who fell under his gaze revealed an awkward expression. Even though they were all extremely powerful, they were still a little fearful of the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church.

    ¡°However!¡± It was within everyone¡¯s expectation that Zhongli Wu would not stop at that sentence. ¡°Since Huo Yuhao dares to challenge us, he must possess some special abilities. He is known to be adept at concealing himself, and seems to possess extremely powerful fighting abilities. He can also evade attacks from soul tools extremely well. Hence, it might be better for soul masters to go up against him rather than soul engineers. From the soul power fluctuations he has exhibited so far, I don¡¯t think he has be a Transcendent Douluo. After all, he is only a bit more than twenty years old. Among the two items which he has shown us, the short dagger is an ice-type godly weapon. I believe everyone has seen how powerful it is, and I agree that it should belong to the empire. As for the other item, I am certain that it is a spectral creature. It doesn¡¯t have any direct use for our country. I believe that it can only be controlled by the Holy Ghost Church. We are the only ones capable of harnessing its power for the betterment of the empire.¡±

    One of the ss 9 soul engineers who was formerly addressed by Ju Zi as Elder Su stood out and eximed, ¡°Does this mean that our military supervisor ns to keep the war spoils for himself?¡±

    Zhongli Wu stood up straight as he attempted to intimidate the others with his imposing figure. ¡°Of course I will not be taking the spectral creature without contributing anything. I believe everyone here treasures his or her life a lot. No one would willingly put their lives on the line to fight to the death with Huo Yuhao. In that case, why not allow the Holy Ghost Church to be the main fighting force for the challenge against Huo Yuhao? As long as we can defeat him, it should make sense for us to take away one of the items which are not directly useful for the country. Isn¡¯t that right, Marshal?¡±

    He did not even look the ss 9 soul engineers in the eyes as he turned around to look at Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi looked at Zhongli Wu as a thought formed in her head.Yuhao! Yuhao! You have really made a brilliant move this time around! Everything seems to be going ording to your ns! It seems like you have predicted what Zhongli Wu would do. If not, you would never have shed that item to tempt him. In that case, there¡¯s no reason why I shouldn¡¯t assist you to take on ourmon enemy. However, are you really confident that you can defeat them?

    As Ju Zi thought about it, she nodded gently. ¡°Alright. Since the military supervisor has agreed to take on this responsibility, I shall hand this battle over to him. However, this battle concerns the pride of our army. At the same time, it also concerns the arrangement of our military strategy. Hence, there is no room for failure. Military supervisor, are you ready to receive an official military order?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhongli Wu was caught off guard by Ju Zi¡¯s words. An official military order? What was an official military order? When a person did not manage to achieve what was stated in an official military order, he or she would have to be punished by militaryw. This was something that was usually given only for tasks which were extremely important. Zhongli Wu did not expect Ju Zi to ask him to receive an official military order. It was apparent that she did not want him toy his hands on the powerful spectral creature.

    However, Zhongli Wu was not overly concerned about receiving an official military order. After all, Huo Yuhao was so much younger than him. He felt that he had been foolish to challenge them. In fact, he believed that it wasughable for him to propose such a battle format. Zhongli Wu felt that Huo Yuhao would not stand a chance against the power of the Holy Ghost Church. If the Holy Ghost Church were to fail, he believed he would have failed as their Leader.

    Under the intense scrutiny of the surrounding ss 9 soul engineers, Zhongli Wu nodded slowly and said, ¡°Sure, I will now take on your official military order. I am willing to be punished by militaryw if I fail to defeat Huo Yuhao with my people from the Holy Ghost Church!¡±

    Very soon, under the supervision of the other people in the tent, Zhongli Wu penned down the official military order. Even as the Imperial Tutor and the military supervisor, he could not amend it once it had been issued. No one was exempted from this rule.

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°Alright. In that case, I wish you good luck, and that you will return victorious.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Zhongli Wu released an angry grunt as he waved his sleeve and left the Commander¡¯s Tent furiously. Following which, the evil soul masters which had followed him into the tent left behind him.

    After watching him leave, Elder Su and the other ss 9 soul engineers quickly crowded over to Ju Zi¡¯s side.

    Elder Su said, ¡°Marshal, are we really going to allow those evil soul masters to deal with Huo Yuhao? The aura released by the spectral creature is really frightening. Even though we don¡¯t know where ites from, the Holy Ghost Church will definitely be a lot stronger if it were to fall into Zhongli Wu¡¯s hands!¡±

    The other ss 9 soul engineers were also visibly worried about the possible disaster that could happen.

    Ju Zi waved her hand and replied inly, ¡°Huo Yuhao is a smart person. After all, he is the disciple of Mu En, the youngest member of the Shrek Academy¡¯s Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and also the Heir to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. Do you all think that an intelligent person like him wouldmit to a suicidal situation? Even if a conflict were to ur between him and the Academy, he would never do something like that. Besides, I could tell from the way he conversed with me today how assured he was about his chances. In that case, he must have something up his sleeve to be so confident. Since the military supervisor is so enthusiastic about the whole challenge, I felt that there would be no harm for him to give it a try. After all, he probably doesn¡¯t have enough people to form the ten-man team. If he can¡¯t pull it off, we will figure out a way to solve the problem. And if he were to somehow win, we will also figure something out.¡±

    After hearing what she said, the powerful soul engineers went silent. Ju Zi¡¯s passive and somewhat conservative attitude was not exactly a bad option for the current situation.

    Huo Yuhao sat quietly on the expansive ins between the Sun Moon Empire camp and Shrek City. The soul power in his body was fluctuating in a sustained and stable manner. However, even though Tang Wutong was standing right beside him, she was unable to detect even a single bit of the soul power fluctuations from his body.

    This was why his two soul cores were so scary. Huo Yuhao was able to rely on his soul cores topress all of his soul power into tiny spirals in his body. These spirals were the result of a perfect fusion between spiritual power and soul power. His soul cores would only absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth from his surroundings, and would definitely not release any energy easily. Hence, even Zhongli Wu was unable to tell exactly how powerful Huo Yuhao was. He could only make a guess from his breathing that Huo Yuhao had not be a Transcendent Douluo.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao might not have truly attained the Transcendent Douluo rank. However, he had twin martial souls and a second soul core. His Rank 93 soul power was not something that any other Rank 93 Titled Douluo could match.

    The Icy War God¡¯s Armor was already on his body. The human-shaped soul tool was able to keep all of its essence in its interior, and did not release a single bit of Ultimate Ice aura into the surrounding air. Hence, Huo Yuhao¡¯s surroundings appeared to be frighteningly quiet.

    Going one against ten was something that had never happened before in the world of soul masters. Huo Yuhao was like a rash young man who had acted on an impulse after running out of options. Was he really going to end his life in such a violent manner?

    On top of the city wall which surrounded Shrek City.

    The Elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion had all arrived. The higher-ups from the Tang Sect had also just arrived.

    Even Bei Bei did not know what Huo Yuhao was intending to do. And now, there was already no one who could stop him from continuing what he had nned.

    Tang Ya squeezed Bei Bei¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°Bei Bei, do you think Yuhao can really do it?¡±

    Bei Bei nodded fervently. ¡°He can definitely do it. Since he has already suggested it to them, he must be able to do it. We must believe in him. Yuhao definitely possesses the ability to do it. He is only doing all of this to force the Sun Moon Empire army to retreat. He would not have done it if he were not confident of pulling it off. At the same time, he probably wants to take advantage of this battle to take down some of the more powerful individuals within the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Tang Ya¡¯s worries did not seem to have lessened by Bei Bei¡¯s words. ¡°However, why do I feel that he is not fully confident that he will be able to triumph over all of them? It feels like he is putting himself into an extremely dangerous situation!¡±

    Elder Xuan, who was not too far from both of them, overheard what Tang Ya said. He turned his head and nodded. He said, ¡°That¡¯s right. He wants to put himself into a suicidal situation. He wants to be reborn after ¡®dying¡¯. I am sure he knows what he¡¯s doing, even though I don¡¯t know exactly what his n is. However, I believe that improving his own cultivation is one of his objectives.¡±

    ¡°There is this saying that there will be a huge amount of fear when one is ced in a life-and-death situation. Huo Yuhao wants to improve himself by putting himself under immense pressure and fear. He is very different from any other normal Titled Douluo, because he already possesses his second soul core. This grants him the ability to grow and improve rapidly. He is yearning for power to be stronger and change the current situation on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°That is why he is making this decision. He wants to be stimted by battle to activate his potential and be stronger. This would definitely speed up the process of him bing a Transcendent Douluo. I don¡¯t think he has even considered the possibility of failure. On top of that, this is probably not his only objective. He must have made ns for something else too. If he were to sessfully triumph over the ten people, he would definitely attain a new level of understanding of his abilities, and be a lot stronger. In fact, he might even be able to push for Transcendent Douluo directly.¡±

    Yes, only Elder Xuan was qualified toment about Huo Yuhao. This was because he was the only other person present who had two soul cores. However, Huo Yuhao had formed his second soul core from the Yin Yang Complement technique, whereas Elder Xuan had formed his from the Resonance technique.

 Chapter 576.3 - One on Ten!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 576.3: One on Ten!</h4>

    After gaining his second soul core, Elder Xuan did not only find his abilities greatly enhanced, but also saw the true powerful effects of a second soul core. The enhancement did not just stop at thepression of soul power, but it also increased his potential to new heights.

    Elder Xuan was thinking about the possibilities Huo Yuhao would unlock if he were to sessfully form his third soul core when he became an Ultimate Douluo rank after perfecting his second soul core. When that happened, Huo Yuhao would truly be one of the most outstanding soul masters ever. At the same time, he would definitely be able to ovee the limits imposed by this world. Even if he were not able to inherit a Godly Seat, he should be freed from the restrictions at Rank 99 once he formed his third soul core.

    At the end of the day, all of the above were just guesses made by Elder Xuan. However, those guesses were what he hoped Huo Yuhao could achieve. Of course, he knew how hard forming the third soul core would be after experiencing the challenge of forming his second soul core.

    Yuhao, Yuhao! Do you really have to push yourself so hard to be stronger?

    Was this really what Huo Yuhao had nned? No, it was not entirely true.

    Just as Elder Xuan had urately predicted, Huo Yuhao already had aplete n. Improving himself was indeed one of the important parts of the n. However, he did not intend to put his life on the line just to force some sort of breakthrough. Instead, he wanted to gain a better understanding of the new abilities he had just acquired by fighting in a life-and-death situation.

    It had already been a few days since he had formed his second soul core with the Yin Yang Complement technique. However, he still had not fully understood the capabilities of his second soul core.

    By forcing himself to fight with powerful cultivators, he would be able to understand the intricacies behind his second soul core as soon as possible.

    He was the second being in the world to possess a second soul core formed from the Yin Yang Complement technique. The first being was the Beast God.

    Even though Di Tian was able to take on human form, he was ultimately a soul beast. Huo Yuhao was indisputably the first human to form his second soul core with the Yin Yang Complement technique. Hence, no one could teach him how to use his second soul core, or how powerful his second soul core actually was. Hence, he had to explore all of these by himself.

    If Huo Yuhao had enough time, he would definitely have chosen to explore its capabilities in a more rigorous and slower manner. That would be the ideal way to prepare himself to take on the challenge to be a God in the future. However, time was definitely a luxury for him now.

    Hence, he had no choice but to agitate his body with battles to see what capabilities he now possessed after forming his second soul core. It was the fastest way for him to urately determine how much power he possessed. The greater the adversity, the more potential he could try to squeeze from his body. This was something he had learned when he had first participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

    Compared to back then, his powers and abilities had grown exponentially. However, Huo Yuhao still believed that putting oneself under immense pressure was the best way to learn more about one¡¯s abilities regardless of one¡¯s current standing.

    Very soon, two hours passed, and it was almost time for the battle.

    Neat contingents of troops started to move out from the Sun Moon Empire camp.

    There were not many people who left their military camp. There were less than a thousand people in total. However, all of them were soul engineers who were fully armed. They had activated their linked defensive barriers as they started to head towards Huo Yuhao, who was roughly twenty-two kilometers away from them. These contingents were surrounding a group of powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire.

    Shrek City also opened their gates. Even though Huo Yuhao had seemed to cut off his connections with the Academy, Elder Xuan had his own reasons for dispatching some of his forces. After all, it was not possible for the Academy to sit and wait as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers advanced closer to the city.

    Shrek City seemed to have only sent soul masters into the air. In fact, they sent more than a thousand soul masters who were all at least Soul Sages into the air.

    The ones who were flying at the front of this contingent were the Elders of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and the elite cultivators from the three empires.

    None of them held any bad feelings towards Huo Yuhao, because they could not even hear what he had said to the Sun Moon Empire army! Elder Xuan only informed them of how Huo Yuhao had nned to take on ten different individuals to solve their current predicament.

    Huo Yuhao was a hero in everyone¡¯s eyes!

    The way both parties sent out a force of close to a thousand individuals towards the battleground made it seem as though everything had been nned in advance.

    If the battle was conducted in a one-on-one fashion, the Sun Moon Empire would have no chance of beating Shrek Academy even if they were to double the number of people they had. However, this was ultimately war. In a battle which included soul engineers, concepts about one-on-one battles were non-existent.

    Elder Xuan brought his group of people to a position which was roughly five hundred meters from Huo Yuhao before stopping. He also did not allow anyone to go over and interact with him. All they did was line themselves up and watch the uing battle silently.

    At this crucial moment, Elder Xuan did not wish for anyone to disturb Huo Yuhao.

    The Sun Moon Empire troops also stopped five hundred meters away from Huo Yuhao. This meant that they were about a thousand meters away from Elder Xuan and the powerful cultivators of Shrek Academy.

    A distance of a single kilometer separated both parties. A battle, which would definitely go down in history as one of the most important battles in the world of soul masters, was about to take ce in the space between these parties.

    Ju Zi was still looking brilliant as ever in her armor. After her subordinate brought a huge chair over, she sat down in the chair as she gazed at Huo Yuhao. As the Commander of the Three Armies, she was the only person here who was qualified to sit down. Even Zhongli Wu¡ªthe military supervisor¡ªwas not entitled to do so.

    Zhongli Wu stared coldly at Huo Yuhao as a light flickered in his eyes. It was unclear what was on his mind. However, the aura he was radiating was bing more and more intense by the minute.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was still meditating, he could sense the series of transformations urring around him. However, he chose to ignore all of these movements.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, let the ten battles begin.¡± Zhongli Wu announced as his low but thunderous voice traveled towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was only after hearing Zhongli Wu¡¯s words that Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes slowly.

    At the instant when Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, Zhongli Wu felt his heart beat faster. He saw a mystical pair of eyes before him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were differently colored. One of them was a brilliant gold. Even though it did not radiate a particrly bright light, it seemed to possess the endless depth of the sun. His other eye was flickering with an azure blue light. It seemed to embody the vastness of the big blue ocean.

    The different-colored lights in his eyes onlysted for a short while before they regained their original color. In fact, this entire transformation happened without him releasing any aura at all. However, this was sufficient to make the powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire wary of him.

    Just as Ju Zi had put it, courage was not enough to drive a person to challenge ten people to a battle. It was important to note that this was not the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. There was an age limit in the tournament, which usually helped to ensure thatpetitors were of simr ranks. However, this was a matter of life and death on the battlefield. No one would hesitate to send his or her strongest members to battle. Huo Yuhao was definitely going to be up against the most powerful individuals from the Sun Moon Empire.

    Even though the Death God Douluo, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s most powerful soul engineers were not present, they still possessed top-ss power which even the Shrek Academy had to be wary of!

    Huo Yuhao floated above the ground before standing up. Following which, he turned around to nod in Tang Wutong¡¯s direction.

    Tang Wutong stared deeply into his eyes before stepping forward to hug him. She whispered something in his ear before walking back to where Elder Xuan and the rest were. However, she did not join them, as she chose to observe Huo Yuhao from a hundred meters in front of Elder Xuan and the rest.

    Huo Yuhao stared at Zhongli Wu before looking at Ju Zi, who was sitting in her chair. He said, ¡°Bring it on. Let¡¯s start with the first one!¡±

    When Huo Yuhao mentioned how he was ready to begin with the first one, Ju Zi could not help but think of the time she had spent with Huo Yuhao at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. It was then that Huo Yuhao had once challenged the powerful students of the Academy. Back then, he also did not cower as he used his power and abilities to go up against those students.

    That was him¡ªa powerful individual with heroic qualities, but also a soft heart.

    More than ten years had passed, and he had grown to be one of the most powerful soul masters in the entire world. If he were able to win today¡¯s battle, he would undoubtedly be one of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s biggest threats in the future. He would also naturally be a beacon of hope for the three other empires.

    This was destined to be a battle in which Huo Yuhao would truly be famous. Even if he were to die, he would still be a hero of the three original empires of the Douluo Continent.

    Ju Zi was overwhelmed by a multitude of feelings as she kept quiet. It seemed as though she had handed the entire battle over to Zhongli Wu.

    Zhongli Wu let out a cold grunt as he waved his hand. A ck figureunched himself forward towards Huo Yuhao from Zhongli Wu¡¯s side.

    This was a person who was wrapped tightly in his ck cloak. There was no way one could see his appearance at all. He was like a cloud of ck fog when he flew towards Huo Yuhao. His aura was rapidly bing stronger. The power of darkness within his aura was brimming with evil vibes as it exploded like a geyser. Even though he had only flown a few hundred meters, huge clusters of dark clouds had already gathered above his head. They seemed to be swarming towards Huo Yuhao as they threatened to block all sunlight from reaching him.

    This person¡¯s name was Wu Yun. Even though he was not one of the eight Elders within the Holy Ghost Church, he was one of the most powerful soul masters within the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Hall of Consecration.

    Actually, he was not a purebred evil soul master. He had been mistaken by others as an evil soul master and was, in fact, being hunted down by others because of his dark-type martial soul. In a fit of anger, he killed all the people who were going after him and chose to join the Holy Ghost Church. After several years of cultivation, he finally became a true evil soul master.

 Chapter 577.1 - First Fight, Extermination!

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 577.1: First Fight, Extermination!</h4>

    He was one of the evil soul masters who went after the Beast God with Zhongli Wu. That endeavor could be considered a huge failure, especially with the number of casualties they had sustained. However, he was the only one who managed to emerge unscathed.

    Simr to Di Tian, he also possessed dark-type power. When they were going after the Beast God, he was able to develop a much deeper understanding of dark-type powers by sensing Di Tian¡¯s aura, as well as observing how he controlled his dark-type power. After returning from the hunt, he not only did not sustain any injuries, but also improved his soul power, and had be a Transcendent Douluo. He managed to make a breakthrough past a bottleneck which had restricted his development for several years.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao was actually facing an evil soul master who was a Transcendent Douluo for his first battle. On top of that, the evil soul master specialized in dark-type power!

    The dark clouds that hung over the sky rolled towards Huo Yuhao and instantly enveloped his entire body.

    After reaching the rank of Titled Douluo, the execution of soul skills was no longer the sole deciding factor in battles. Aura, soul skills, self-created soul skills, and identifying weaknesses were all important factors which could decide the oue of a battle.

    Huo Yuhao stood there without moving the whole time. He could definitely feel the immense pressure exerted on him by his opponent. In fact, this pressure felt strangely familiar. This was because the Beast God was thest person to exert that much pressure on him, and helped unlock his potential!

    Even though this evil soul master was also skilled in dark-type power, he was a long way from matching Di Tian¡¯s powers.

    Dark-type powers¡­?

    Huo Yuhao revealed a faint smile as the visor of his Icy War God¡¯s Armor descended over his face. His entire body was now fully enveloped by his armor. Following which, the Icy War God¡¯s Armor emanated a familiar dark blue light.

    The Icy War God¡¯s Armor was not just any armor. It was a human-shaped tool which was controlled not by Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, but by his invincible spiritual power.

    While Xuan Ziwen was making the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, he had considered Huo Yuhao¡¯s impossibly strong aptitude in spiritual power, and hence adjusted the armor such that it demanded an unbelievably huge amount of spiritual power from its user. Hence, a normal human being would never be able to activate the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. Once he or she managed to activate it, the person would find his or her spiritual power emptied by the armor.

    The entire Icy War God¡¯s Armor was controlled by one¡¯s intent. Because of how the dark clouds hadpletely enveloped Huo Yuhao, he was no longer able to see anything in the dark. Even his powerful Spiritual Detection seemed to have been trapped in a marshy swamp of darkness. Formless pressure was surging towards him from all directions.

    However, would this power be sufficient to restrict Huo Yuhao?

    ¡°Spiritual st!¡± Huo Yuhao enunciated those words slowly. Even though he did not shout them, the two thousand powerful spectators around him could hear his words audibly.

    Following which, everyone present felt as though their spiritual power had been influenced by Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack. Even the dark clouds that had enshrouded Huo Yuhao started to surge violently.

    An intense vibration started to travel through the dark-type clouds as Wu Yun started to feel a mystical energying into contact with the soul power he had released into those clouds. Even though his soul power was not directly affected by this mystical energy, the spiritual power he had used to control his soul power was being disintegrated by the mysterious energy. The clouds which had broken free from his control started to rise back into the sky. This strange sight resembled the mushroom clouds which usually formed after huge explosions.

    A figure instantly flickered from within the mushroom cloud into the sky as the dark blue light on his body gave away his identity. Yes, he was none other than Huo Yuhao!

    After ascending into the sky, Huo Yuhao, who was wearing his Icy War God¡¯s Armor, seemed like a God who was about to descend to thend of mortals. His gaze was already locked onto Wu Yun, who was now enveloped by the dark clouds.

    A transparent crystal at the forehead of the Icy War God¡¯s Armor suddenly cracked. Following which, a streak of purple-golden light was emitted as a mystical sight formed before everyone¡¯s eyes. Initially, the streak of light was purple-gold when it was just emitted. However, it gradually turned rose gold in the air. Then, when it prated into the dark clouds, it mysteriously changed into a pure golden color. A streak of light was somehow able to change colors three times in the air. How mystical was that?

    A loud grunt could be heard as the dark clouds started to tremble violently.

    Following which, a streak of dark blue light tore across the sky as it surged into them.

    The dark clouds seemed to be melting like snow the moment they came into contact with the dark blue light as they disintegrated into fine ck smoke that scattered everywhere.

    Wu Yun¡¯s figure was revealed. He was currently rapidly retreating as he started to show signs of panic. A pair of ck wings had formed behind his back. However, the wings were not part of a flying-type soul tool. They were given to him by his martial soul.

    His martial soul was the Darkness Crow. It was dark-type martial soul, which was extremely rare.

    The wings behind Wu Yun¡¯s back seemed to be alive as the feathers on them emitted cksers that intertwined to form a in front of him. They were trying to block the streak of dark blue light that was going straight for him.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    The dak blue light just straight through the. Even though the did not break apart, its original ck color turned dark blue.

    A figure silently appeared at the tip of the dark blue sword.

    Huo Yuhao had disappeared from the sky, and had seemed to use the sword light as a bridge to appear in front of Wu Yun.

    Wu Yun¡¯s movements seemed to be very messy. It was apparent that he had been affected by the blownded on him by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. However, he was still able to retaliate.

    The two yellow, two purple, and five ck rings on his body gave him the confidence that he could still retaliate against Huo Yuhao. His sixth ring, which was ck, suddenly expanded as his entire body suddenly became illusory.

    His sixth soul skill, Darkening.

    Even though his consciousness had been a bit blurred by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, he was still able to activate his abilities. Darkening would allow him to negate seventy percent of all physical attacks and soul power attacks instantly. However, it would also mean that he would not be able to attack in that short period of time.

    Wu Yun needed the five seconds of buffer time to shake off the effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s previous Spiritual Shock.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not attack him at the first instant possible. Instead, he eximed a single word.

    ¡°Explode!¡±

    A light flickered within the Eye of Destiny on his forehead.

    Following which, Wu Yun¡¯s entire body started to tremble intensely. His body, which had just started to undergo Darkening, was somehow returned to its original state under the effects of the mystical Spiritual st. On top of that, a ck figure also exploded out from his body.

    This is¡­

    After seeing this, even Zhongli Wu could not help but gasp in surprise.

    Is this spirit detachment? When did Huo Yuhaounch another spiritual attack on Wu Yun?

    Huo Yuhao naturally did notunch a second spiritual attack. He had only released his Spiritual Shock once.

    Even though it was just a single attack, the power of a Spiritual Shock released with the Eye of Destiny must not be underestimated. Its power was fully released in a single instant only because Huo Yuhao had feared that Wu Yun had some alternative defensive means. He had only chosen to detonate the Spiritual Shock when Wu Yun was injured.

    It was undoubtedly the best time to detonate Spiritual Shock right now. Wu Yun was not a soul engineer, and hence did not possess any defensive soul tools which could block spiritual attacks. Even though he was already a Transcendent Douluo, he was facing Huo Yuhao, whose spiritual power was on par with an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s.

    Wu Yun¡¯s body flew backward in an uncontroble fashion. At that instant, all the characteristics of his martial soul that his body had adopted all vanished. The ck image which had been ejected from his body was trying its best to return. However, why would Huo Yuhao give him a chance to do that?

    An image flickered as Huo Yuhao vanished once again. When he reappeared, he was at a position between Wu Yun and his spirit.

    Huo Yuhao swung his left hand backward, while he threw his right hand forward.

    A mystical vortex suddenly appeared above Wu Yun¡¯s spirit. The spirit, which was rapidly flying towards his body, suddenly stopped in mid-air.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A soft sound could be heard as Wu Yun¡¯s body flew backward once again.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack on Wu Yun¡¯s body did not seem to be particrly strong. After all, Wu Yun was already a Transcendent Douluo. His body was definitely stronger than any normal rare metal.

    Wu Yun¡¯s body flew back by about fifty meters. Even though his spirit had been detached from his body, his body still possessed certain reflexes, which allowed him to slow himself down as he tried to regain his bnce.

    Without looking him in the eye, Huo Yuhao faced his spirit as a light flickered across his eyes. A streak of rose gold light suddenly shot out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    It was another Spiritual Shock!

    ¡°Boom!¡± The spirit instantly disintegrated into countless grains of light, which started to surge back towards Wu Yun¡¯s body.

    This time, Huo Yuhao did not try to stop them from reuniting.

    The spirit of a Transcendent Douluo was already considered very stable. Even after striking it with two waves of Spiritual Shock, Wu Yun¡¯s soul could still not bepletely destroyed. Even so, his soul was definitely heavily damaged.

    After his spirit fused back into his body, blood started to spurt from Wu Yun¡¯s mouth and nose.

    He immediately lifted his head, and the hood that had covered his head fell down. His fairly good-looking face was revealed to the spectators. Other than the fact that his face was a little pale, he looked no different from any normal human being.

    However, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Huo Yuhao as though he wanted to say something. Nheless, he seemed to be unable to speak for some strange reason.

    Following which, a mystical vortex suddenly appeared behind Wu Yun. The vortex was abination of blue and gold colors. The moment the vortex appeared, Wu Yun¡¯s body immediately took on the samebination of colors as the vortex.

    ¡°Boooommmm!¡±

    Wu Yun¡¯s body was instantly shattered and powderized. His already shattered soul was destroyed in this huge explosion. There was nothing left of it at all.

    From the start till the end of the battle, the entire process only took a short while. Wu Yun, the Transcendent Douluo who possessed the Darkness Crow martial soul, and the first evil soul master to represent the Sun Moon Empire, had fallen!

    A heavy silence fell upon everyone present as Huo Yuhao stood calmly where he was before turning around to face the Sun Moon Empire.

 Chapter 577.2 - First Fight, Extermination!

    Chapter 577.2: First Fight, Extermination!

    Everyone had gone silent. Even Zhongli Wu, who had been brimming with confidence, became quiet.

    During the two hours before the battle, Zhongli Wu had made a series of ns, and Wu Yun was the first pawn he had decided to send out.

    Zhongli Wu was definitely able to guess what Ju Zi had managed to guess. Huo Yuhao must have the necessary credentials to possess the courage to step forward and challenge ten opponents.

    On top of that, Zhongli Wu must have tried to understand Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities and fighting style. He knew Huo Yuhao was but a Titled Douluo. Hence, his n was carefully constructed with several considerations in mind.

    Zhongli Wu only had a single objective for sending Wu Yun out in the first battle. He wanted to use the strength and viscosity of Wu Yun¡¯s dark-type powers to burn away Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power. This would create opportunities for the subsequent opponents Huo Yuhao would have to face. In fact, Zhongli Wu had instructed Wu Yun to surrender when necessary.

    After all, it was not easy to nurture an evil soul master to a Titled Douluo. Furthermore, Wu Yun had just sessfully be a Transcendent Douluo. Once he was able to consolidate his abilities, he would definitely be a huge asset to the Holy Ghost Church.

    A Transcendent Douluo had an enormous advantage over a Titled Douluo when it came to survivability. Hence, Zhongli Wu had nned for the first battle to be a protracted one. Even if Huo Yuhao were able to use his Ultimate Ice to suppress the dark clouds, he would have to exhaust a lot of his soul power and techniques in order to triumph over Wu Yun.

    However, little did he expect Wu Yun to perish in just a few short encounters. Even his soul had been destroyed. In fact, Wu Yun did not even have a chance to unleash his martial soul true body. He was simply killed while he was trying to probe Huo Yuhao to see what he had up his sleeves.

    Has Huo Yuhao really be so powerful?

    These thoughts fleeted in the minds of the powerful soul masters and soul engineers from both sides who were spectating the battle.

    As they went through the entire battle in their heads again, they realized that Huo Yuhao did not make many moves. In fact, they did not even remember seeing him release the soul rings from his body. However, his extremely powerful Spiritual Shock left a deep impression on everyone. A Transcendent Douluo was somehow unable to block his Spiritual Shocks, and had died because of his spiritual attacks. How strong must Huo Yuhao be in order to have pulled this off?

    Those who were capable of keener observations would have noticed the huge explosion which happened in the end. It seemed to be some sort of ability Huo Yuhao possessed. It was important to note that an eight-ringed Soul Douluo might not even be able to kill a Transcendent Douluo even if the Transcendent Douluo were to just stand there and allow the Soul Douluo to attack him for twenty-four hours straight. On top of that, Huo Yuhao did not even seem to be using any kind of soul skills. He was somehow able to kill Wu Yun with a gentle movement of his palms.

    Even if Wu Yun did not possess a spirit, and hence could not effectively control his body, it did not change the fact that his body was still impossibly strong, and his soul power was still present within his body! What kind of ability would allow Huo Yuhao have to have to achieve that feat?

    His Yin Yang Complement soul cores! This was the answer which very few people actually knew.

    When Huo Yuhao had nted his palm on Wu Yun¡¯s body, he had transferred his Yin Yang Complement soul power into his body. The soul power he had transferred was an extremely unstable vortex. To put it simply, Huo Yuhao nted a mini soul core which drilled into Wu Yun¡¯s body. And this soul core was controlled by Huo Yuhao.

    The explosion of a soul core within Wu Yun¡¯s body was bound to kill him. Without his spirit to control his soul power to defend against the explosive force, he would never be able to survive no matter how strong his body was. It was important to note that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core not only contained Ultimate Ice, but also his spiritual power.

    Hence, Wu Yun¡¯s already shattered spirit could never have survived the explosion formed from the powerful Yin Yang Complement soul power. His spirit was simply destroyed!

    So powerful!

    Ju Zi¡¯s heart started to beat faster as she started to grasp a better appreciation of Huo Yuhao¡¯s power.

    No wonder he was able to pursue my two beast-ranked soul engineer legions with such ease.

    I can¡¯t believe how strong he¡¯s be. Yuhao, you really are a generational talent! You are definitely the right heir to inherit Shrek Academy.

    Ju Zi was amazed by the powers Huo Yuhao had exhibited. At the same time, she was bing depressed. The more powerful Huo Yuhao became, the likelier he was to remain her enemy.

    Ju Zi could still remember the words Huo Yuhao had said to her earlier. If he really wanted to continue harassing the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, she would have no choice but to ask the Death God Douluo for help. And when that happened, it would definitely be a fight to the death.

    ¡°Can the second fighter please step forward?¡± Just when everyone was staring at Huo Yuhao as though he was an actual War God, he suddenly spoke.

    Yes, now that the first one was dead, it was time for the Sun Moon Empire to send out their second representative! The battle had only just begun.

    Zhongli Wu was visibly angered by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words. After all, he had just lost an evil soul master who had just attained the Transcendent Douluo rank! It had taken him many years to develop and nurture a Transcendent Douluo, only for Huo Yuhao to take him down so easily. Wu Yun was an evil soul master who would rank in the top ten soul masters within the Holy Ghost Church.

    Wu Yun¡¯s death waspletely futile! He did not even manage to showcase his abilities, and was instantly killed by Huo Yuhao when he was still trying to probe him. This was a result of him not being sufficiently familiar with Huo Yuhao as well as the explosive power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. He did not even manage to drain much of Huo Yuhao¡¯s power.

    Zhongli Wu turned around to look at Ju Zi before whispering, ¡°Marshal, Huo Yuhao seems to possess extremely powerful spiritual power. We must borrow the power of spiritual defensive soul tools in order to deal with him. Hence, I need our ss 9 soul engineers to lend us a hand.¡±

    Ju Zi immediately frowned.

    Zhongli Wu was able to keep his wits about him and find out where the problemy even in such stressful situations. No wonder he was the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church!

    That was right! In the age of soul tools, it would be extremely difficult to beat Huo Yuhao without soul tools, especially when Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock was so powerful. However, once Zhongli Wu was able to equip his people with spiritual defensive soul tools, they should be able to withstand a few blows from Spiritual Shock. After all, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was limited. He would not be able to replicate his Spiritual Shock ten times.

    Ju Zi was definitely unable to turn Zhongli Wu¡¯s request down when there were so many people, including evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church, around her.

    She immediately turned around to look at the soul engineers behind her before asking, ¡°Is any of you willing to lend your spiritual defensive soul tool to the military supervisor?¡±

    There were about eleven ss 9 soul engineers behind Ju Zi, and all of them were top-ss soul engineers within the Sun Moon Empire. More than half of the ss 9 soul engineers in the entire Sun Moon Empire were present here. However, after hearing Ju Zi¡¯s words, all of them kept silent.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes widened in rage. He was angry to find out that no one was willing to help him!

    Huo Yuhao was definitely not going to rush them. After all, the longer they took to send out the next person, the more soul power and spiritual power he could recover. Of course, Zhongli Wu knew this as well.

    Zhongli Wu gritted his teeth and eximed, ¡°I will buy them!¡±

    There was no time for him to lose. Considering how much he wanted the Jiangshi Ice Bear King, as well as how there was no room for failure after receiving the military order, he knew he had no choice but to buy the spiritual defensive soul tools.

    After running its operations for so many years, the Holy Ghost Church possessed wealth which could rival the other empires.

    The soul engineers present were visibly attracted by the proposition of a purchase. After a short discussion, they produced a price list before Zhongli Wu.

    All eleven ss 9 soul engineers were like brothers from the same mother, as they produced the exact same price list as one another.

    A ss 9 spiritual defensive soul tool was definitely priceless. The ss 9 soul engineers would naturally only ept rare metals as the currency of the transaction.

    They requested ten types of rare metals, and one tonne of each type of rare metal in exchange for a single ss 9 spiritual defensive soul tool.

    Zhongli Wu could feel his heart bleeding after seeing what the ss 9 soul engineers had quoted. Even though the Holy Ghost Church was incredibly rich, rare metals weremodities which had great strategic value!

    The Duskwater Alliance, which Huo Yuhao had previously joined, specialized in trading rare metals. Even though the Holy Ghost Church had the quantity of the rare metals they had quoted, it was still a substantive cost.

    But could Zhongli Wu say no? The value of a Titled Douluo evil soul master was definitely a lot more than whatever rare metals they were demanding.

    I will make sure all of you pay for this! Zhongli Wu gritted his teeth and agreed to the prices offered by the ss 9 soul engineers, even though he knew they were simply trying to raid him when he was out of options.

    He purchased a single spiritual defensive soul tool, because he had no idea how long Huo Yuhao couldst against the next person he was about to send forward.

    Zhongli Wu was trying to buy as few spiritual defensive soul tools as possible. If he needed them again, he would buy themter.

    Even though the ss 9 soul engineers appeared to be very calm and collected, they were allughing deep down. It was a pleasant feeling to see how an evil soul master was forced to ept an unfair agreement. After all, soul engineers, like soul masters, were normal people. They would naturally not have a good impression of evil soul masters. On top of that, the rtionship between the Holy Ghost Church and the soul engineers was bing increasingly strained over the past few years.

    Zhongli Wu regretted not bringing some of the soul engineers from his Holy Ghost Church along for this war. He had left all of them behind in the Radiant City. If not, he would not have to agree to such an unfair deal.

    Following which, Zhongli Wu passed the spiritual defensive soul tool he had just bought to the person beside him. ¡°Little Feng, take care. Please prioritize your safety.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The person who was standing beside Zhongli Wu was the woman he loved. She was none other than Feng Ling, the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church!

    Zhongli Wu was going to send Feng Ling as Huo Yuhao¡¯s second opponent.

    Right from the beginning, Zhongli Wu had never nned to use all ten battles. He did not believe that Huo Yuhao had the ability tost for ten battles, even though he must have something up his sleeves. At the same time, he did not want to use all of his trump cards.

    There were more than ten powerful soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church who had followed the army to war. Every one of them was at least a Titled Douluo. Other than the two Ultimate Douluo, they pretty much formed the backbone of the Holy Ghost Church.

    However, after their previous battle, as well as the fight against Di Tian, they had lost a couple of people. The battle against Di Tian had been exceptionally costly. Currently, they only had nine people left, and two of those nine people were heavily injured.

    Hence, they could at best send out seven people. Among the seven people, only four of them¡ªincluding Zhongli Wu himself¡ªwere at the level of a Transcendent Douluo.

    It was extremely difficult to cultivate to be a Transcendent Douluo as an evil soul master. It was even more difficult to nurture one. Usually, an evil soul master would have an enormous advantage over a normal soul master even if they were at the same rank. It was not impossible for one evil soul master to fight against multiple normal soul masters. However, when it came to higher-ranked battles, the advantage would gradually diminish.

 Chapter 577.3 - First Fight, Extermination!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 577.3: First Fight, Extermination!</h4>

    For example, a two ringed evil soul master would definitely be able to ughter a huge number of normal two ringed soul masters with his or her own evil soul skills. However, the gap would be a lot smaller when a five ringed evil soul master fought against a five ringed soul master. Eventually, after both types of soul masters had reached Titled Douluo, evil soul masters would be more or less the same as normal soul masters, except for some advantages which were near negligible.

    Zhongli Wu had ranked him alongside his other Transcendent Douluo after Huo Yuhao had demonstrated the courage to fight ten different people. Even if Huo Yuhao was super arrogant, he would never have proposed such a ludicrous challenge if he did not even possess the abilities of a Transcendent Douluo.

    Hence, Zhongli Wu only nned to send the Transcendent Douluo under him to fight Huo Yuhao. Sending any Titled Douluo would just be a waste of his precious resources. After all, it was very difficult to train an evil soul master to be a Titled Douluo! Those dead Titled Douluo could have been war machines on the battlefield.

    Hence, the second person Huo Yuhao was about to fight was Feng Ling.

    Feng Ling was the second strongest evil soul master among those who had followed Zhongli Wu to the battlefield. She was right behind him in the pecking order. The fact that Zhongli Wu had decided to send her as the second person meant that he did not want to lose any more of his powerful evil soul masters.

    Feng Ling floated to a position which was about a hundred meters away from Huo Yuhao beforending on the ground.

    She was also robed in ck, even though she was not covering her head with a hood.

    She was undoubtedly beautiful, even though she was already a middle-aged woman. Her skin was still extremely fair, and she radiated a devilish, seductive aura.

    It was not the first time Huo Yuhao had seen the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. Previously when he first met Feng Ling, he could still remember clearly how pressuring it was to even be in her presence.

    This time when they finally met again, she had be his opponent.

    Feng Ling had a strange pair of eyes. Even though they were not particrly huge, they were alluring in a very different way. There were two dark red streaks which extended from the corners of her eyes to her temples. These streaks on her face gave her a very devilish look.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± Feng Ling spoke coldly.

    Huo Yuhao revealed a faint smile and said, ¡°Hello, Vice-Leader. We meet again.¡±

    Feng Ling replied coldly, ¡°You are Tang Wu, the person who participated in the Radiant City Elite Soul Engineering Tournament, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, ¡°That¡¯s right! It seems like the Vice-Leader is very observant.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Feng Ling¡¯s voice was bing colder as the ck robe on her body started to flutter, even though there was no wind at all. Suddenly a piercing phoenix roar could be heard from her body as her soul rings started to rise around her.

    Three purple, five ck, and one red ring!

    Her soul ringbination far exceeded the optimal soul ringbination. Her soul rings were radiating a brilliant glow onto their surroundings. She did not have a single hundred-year soul ring. Even her lousiest soul ring was a thousand-year soul ring.

    Even Huo Yuhao was a little startled after seeing her nine soul rings appear before his eyes. He was amazed at the power she had demonstrated.No wonder she¡¯s the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church.

    Huo Yuhao did not know exactly what rank Feng Ling was at. However, he could roughly tell from her aura that she should be somewhere around Rank 96. Because of the fact that she was an evil soul master, she could even be Rank 97. This Vice-Leader would definitely pose a bigger challenge than Wu Yun. On top of that, Feng Ling was now using a spiritual defensive soul tool. She would be a lot more resistant to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes¡¯ soul skills.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face revealed a faint glow as his Icy War God¡¯s Armor gave off a mystical glow under his control.

    Suddenly, the purple soul ring on Feng Ling¡¯s body started to emit a bright light. At the very next instant, a pair of dark purple wings extended behind her back.

    A powerful aura was instantly released as it swarmed and surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Phoenix wings? What kind of phoenix is this? Why are its wings purple?

    Huo Yuhao had previously seen Feng Ling in action. However, back then, Feng Ling did not go all-out. This time, the Vice-Leader of the Holy Ghost Church was undoubtedly going to use all of her powers to take him down.

    There were no mes at all despite the immense pressure the wings were radiating.That is¡­

    Darkness? Darkness Phoenix?

    No, that would be wrong. It can¡¯t be the Darkness Phoenix. The Darkness Phoenix¡¯s aura should be pure, and would definitely not be so cold.

    This must be the Evil Phoenix!

    Yes, this was Feng Ling¡¯s martial soul¡ªthe Evil Phoenix. This matched exactly with her title, which was the Evil Phoenix Douluo.

    The Evil Phoenix Douluo, Feng Ling!

    Intense soul power fluctuations were radiating from the gigantic Evil Phoenix wings as the surrounding light started to be dimmer. It seemed as though the entire sky had turned grey. A powerful, suffocating sensation made Huo Yuhao find it hard to breathe, even though he was within his Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    Feng Ling is really powerful!

    Yan Shaozhe, who was watching from the distance along with the other powerful individuals from the Shrek Academy, was startled as he muttered, ¡°Evil Phoenix? So she¡¯s actually the Evil Phoenix Douluo¡­ I can¡¯t believe Feng Ling is the person who is holding that title. It seems like she has also joined the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    After hearing what he was muttering, two people looked over at him with unfriendly eyes.

    One of them was naturally Cai Mei¡¯er¡ªYan Shaozhe¡¯s wife and the Vice-Dean of the Martial Soul Department. The other person was none other than Xian Lin¡¯er¡ªthe Valkyrie Douluo.

    Yan Shaozhe forced a cough as he quickly regained hisposure.

    Of course he knew who Feng Ling was. To be even more precise, he had once shared an ill-fated rtionship with her.

    Back then, when Yan Shaozhe had justpleted his training, he had been the most talented individual in the new batch of students from Shrek Academy. He was not only the disciple of the Dragon God Douluo, but was also extremely powerful and handsome. Coupled with his powerful martial soul¡ªthe Radiant Phoenix¡ªhe was blessed with every single thing which could make him sessful.

    However, Yan Shaozhe tended to be a little flirtatious when it came to rtionships. Otherwise, he would not have developed a poor rtionship with the Valkyrie Douluo.

    His rtionship with Feng Ling had happened before he had even gotten together with Xian Lin¡¯er. Back then, when he had justpleted his training, he had bumped into Feng Ling.

    Both of them had phoenixes as their martial souls. Back then, Feng Ling was a lot weaker, and the evil within her phoenix martial soul had yet to be awakened. Hence, it seemed a lot more like the Darkness Phoenix, especially when it was easy to mistake the evilness as dark-type energy.

    Even though the Radiant Phoenix had just met the Darkness Phoenix, Yan Shaozhe did not ostracize her. He felt that he did not have to do so because his very own teacher¡ªMu En¡ªwas also very good friends with Long Xiaoyao. In fact, the Radiant Holy Dragon and Darkness Holy Dragon even became a very inspirational tale for everyone in the Douluo Continent.

    Hence, instead of finding Feng Ling repulsive, he was very interested in her. After all, he might just be able to start another inspirational tale with her.

    Yan Shaozhe was young, handsome, powerful, and extremely charismatic. Before long, both of them got together, and became a lot closer very quickly.

    However, their blissful days did notst very long. After being together for about three months or so, Feng Ling¡¯s evil aura was suddenly awakened one day. In fact, if Yan Shaozhe were to only find out about itter, he would have been killed and consumed by her.

    This was a special kind of connection the Evil Phoenix had with the Radiant Phoenix. To be more precise, Feng Ling¡¯s Evil Phoenix was only able to awaken so quickly after Yan Shaozhe had developed an intimate rtionship with her.

    Hence, a huge battle broke out between Yan Shaozhe and Feng Ling. Yan Shaozhe was able to suppress Feng Ling with his superior powers. However, he could not bear to kill her. After all, he had already developed very powerful feelings for her. Feng Ling was the first woman in his life.

    In the end, he could not help but let Feng Ling flee. Afterward, he also left. From that day onwards, he had never seen Feng Ling again. Even though he managed to catch hold of news about her attaining the Titled Douluo rank, he had no idea where she was.

    Mu En had, in fact, reprimanded him severely because of this incident. The Evil Phoenix was one of the most gifted martial souls among the possible martial souls which evil soul masters could possess. This meant that Yan Shaozhe had let a powerful monster loose! No one would know how many people would have to suffer under her wrath.

    Back then, Mu En had made the exact mistake, and naturally did not want to see his disciple repeat the same mistake. In fact, he was more worried that Yan Shaozhe would fall too deeply in love with her.

    Hence, Yan Shaozhe was grounded for three years as he studied and trained hard within Shrek Academy. It was the three years of closed-door cultivation which helped him develop the ability to eventually be the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.

    After so many years, Yan Shaozhe finally saw Feng Ling again. The thoughts and feelings which were racing through his body and mind could only be understood by him alone.

    On the other hand, Feng Ling seemed to havepletely forgotten about him. She did not even try to steal a nce at him as she kept her gaze focused on Huo Yuhao. The powerful Evil Phoenix aura exploded like a geyser as it radiated from her body.

    Huo Yuhao and Feng Ling were now facing one another, but neither of them took the initiative to start the attack. Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was well concealed, whereas Feng Ling released her aura mboyantly. Her aura caused the weather within a thousand-meter radius to be extremely vtile. Even the powerful soul masters from both sides who were spectating had no choice but to release their soul power to defend themselves from her aura.

    ¡°Die!¡± Feng Ling let out a cold grunt as her figure flickered. A series of strange-looking figures were left behind her as she sped forward. The shape of the figures resembled a purple phoenix.

    Feng Ling¡¯s right hand suddenly became incredibly huge as it transformed into a gigantic purple w as she raced towards Huo Yuhao.

    It was a simple, direct attack. She did not use her martial soul true body. It was almost as though she did not learn from Wu Yun¡¯s lesson.

    Huo Yuhao neither retreated nor tried to evade her attack. Instead, he dug his toes into the ground beforeunching himself forward in a ferocious manner. Simrly, he raised his right hand and waved it furiously. A gigantic dark golden w which spanned a hundred meters immediately enveloped Feng Ling¡¯s body.

    Darkgolden Terrorw!

    After seeing the intense glow and the incredibly sharp aura of the Darkgolden Terrorw which threatened to tear anything in its way apart, even Zhongli Wu was startled. He had never imagined Huo Yuhao to be so powerful. The Darkgolden Terrorw Huo Yuhao had released was already on par with that of a hundred thousand year Darkgolden Terrorw Bear .

    Feng Ling released a cold grunt as the wings behind her folded together before she extended her right phoenix w to grab Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw. She was trying to use her small w against Huo Yuhao¡¯s humongous w!

    ¡°Cling!¡± A bright sound echoed in the air as a series of soul power explosions urred at the point of contact. The loud explosive sounds traveled through the surrounding air and into the ears of the surrounding spectators.

    The series of explosions released countless sharp auras which cut deep into the earth around them, resulting in humongous trenches around them.

    The troops from the Sun Moon Empire and the people from Shrek Academy had no choice but to activate their strongest defensive measures to protect themselves from the invincibly sharp fluctuations which radiated from Huo Yuhao and Feng Ling.

    Huo Yuhao remained stationary in the air, while Feng Ling had been forced backward by close to forty meters. Her ck long robe had been torn to pieces by the sharp aura, revealing the light armor built from ck scales she was wearing under it.

 Chapter 578.1 - Second Fight, Feng Ling

    <h4 ss>Chapter 578.1: Second Fight, Feng Ling</h4>

    Feng Ling waspletely decked in armor. Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how old she was, he was still in awe.Great figure.

    Huo Yuhao had gained the upper hand in their first sh. The strength of his Darkgolden Terrorw suppressed Feng Ling¡¯s Phoenix ws.

    Both of them seemed to have great chemistry with each other. They leapt into the sky at almost the same time and transformed into two different projections. Instantly, they shot more than a thousand meters into the sky.

    The sky was a battlefield for truly strong individuals. Otherwise, everything on the ground would be torn apart from the shockwaves generated during an intense sh between powerful individuals.

    They were a hundred meters away from each other. They continued to rise into the sky. No emotional undtions appeared in Feng Ling¡¯s eyes. She only red at Huo Yuhao. Just as she was rising, her own stature was also growing rapidly.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t any inferior. Dark-blue projections shed around his body. The higher it was, the colder the air temperature. The number of ice elements also increased. With the help of the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, these ice elements were quickly absorbed into his body before they were turned into a part of his strength.

    Terrifying soul power undtions rippled through the air. The fight between them immediately reached a peak.

    A sharp phoenix cry sounded. In mid-air, Feng Ling opened her wings once again. Behind her, the sky instantly turned purplish-ck. At the same time, a giant dark phoenix surfaced amidst the purplish-ck. Its appearance was very subtle.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s Phoenix was agile, elegant and holy. Feng Ling¡¯s Phoenix was sinister and evil! It seemed like it wanted to crush the sky.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A strange pop could be heard from around Feng Ling¡¯s body. Her first soul ring also popped. The evil energy around her, which was already very strong, started to grow many times stronger.

    ¡°Her soul skill is different from before.¡± Yan Shaozhe muttered to himself.

    He had once had a rtionship with Feng Ling. Back then, Feng Ling already had six rings, even though she wasn¡¯t as strong as she was right now. The soul skills that she demonstrated then were quite different from her soul skills right now.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°It must be a mutation after her Evil Phoenix awakened. As her martial soul mutated, her soul skills also mutated.¡±

    This was something that had happened to Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei. Generally speaking, a mutation of a martial soul would lead to mutations in soul skills.

    Yan Shaozhe said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Yuhao has underestimated his opponent this time. Feng Ling is already so strong. Zhong Liwu must be even stronger than her.¡±

    A smile surfaced on Elder Xuan¡¯s face, ¡°While Feng Ling is strong, Yuhao is no longer the same as before either. Today, he¡¯ll prove to everyone that he¡¯s one of the strongest in the world now. Shaozhe, he¡¯s already exceeded you in terms of cultivation and fighting strength. While Feng Ling is strong, she¡¯s still worse than you.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe was astonished. He hadn¡¯t expected Elder Xuan to have such a high opinion of Huo Yuhao. It was also at this moment that Huo Yuhao experienced a transformation.

    With his body as the center, a ball of blurry blue light shone in the air. At the start, it was deep-blue. However, as it spread, it turned dimmer and dimmer. When it had spread more than a hundred meters, it had turnedpletely white.

    This white was in great contrast with the purplish-ck that Feng Ling had unleashed. The white started to scatter and turn into countless snowkes, that twisted and turned in the air.

    The snowkes were pure-white, and carried a holy aura. When Feng Ling¡¯s evil energy spread towards Huo Yuhao, the snowkes were stirred, but they easily dispelled the evil energy. The evil energy couldn¡¯t get close to Huo Yuhao at all.

    At the very start, it felt as if Feng Ling had gained the upper hand. Her evil energy engulfed most of the region, and even engulfed the position that Huo Yuhao was standing in.

    However, this changed very soon. The snowkes around Huo Yuhao¡¯s body were continuously and steadily expanding. No matter how much Feng Ling tried to summon her evil energy, she couldn¡¯t breach the region covered by Huo Yuhao¡¯s snowkes. Her strength was suppressed and forced back by the falling snowkes.

    Originally, she had wanted to use her evil energy to influence Huo Yuhao. However, she was the one who was being influenced right now. Although she wasn¡¯t engulfed within his domain, the air temperature was still falling dramatically. Given her cultivation, she was still horrified when subjected to such a low temperature. The cirction of her soul power seemed to be affected too.

    Ultimate Ice is actually so terrifying?

    Eternal Domain of Perpetual Ice!

    Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice!

    Huo Yuhao had shut his eyes. Every snowke he felt was like a part of his feelings and emotions. They kept on extending.

    The evil energy that Feng Ling unleashed was very strong and pure. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage even when up against his Ultimate Ice.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice was no longer like it was before. After hepleted the fusion of his second soul core, his Ultimate Ice reached an entirely new tier.

    The strongest point of the Yin Yang Complement was that ¡®Yin¡¯ was in ¡®Yang¡¯ and ¡®Yang¡¯ was in ¡®Yin¡¯.

    The strength of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was many times greater than before after itbined Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Douluo spiritual power and thepressed, extremely low temperature of his Ultimate Ice.

    ¡°I can¡¯t allow this to continue!¡± Feng Ling immediately judged. If Huo Yuhao continued to suppress her using his domain, she would be in a far worse position as time passed. Since she was losing in the aspect of elements, she could only rely on pure fighting strength!

    Her pitch-ck seventh soul ring suddenly shone. Thick purplish-ck light instantly devoured her.

    After this, purplish-ck clouds separated in the sky, and a giant purplish-ck phoenix rushed out. It carried a dazzling purplish-ck tail me and brought strange ripples as it charged towards Huo Yuhao.

    As she was suppressed by the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Feng Ling finally resorted to using her Martial Soul True Body.

    From afar, her phoenix seemed to be very elegant and dazzling. However, it had a pair of blood-red eyes, whichpletely destroyed any elegance it might have possessed.

    Wherever this phoenix passed, the air would distort tremendously. There seemed to be countless, pathetic screams echoing around the purplish glow that came from the phoenix, and fierce-looking faces could be subtly seen.

    What was the evil part of this Evil Phoenix? It was through devouring other soul masters! The Evil Phoenix devoured the martial souls of other soul masters to improve.

    Comparatively speaking, Feng Ling had killed very littlepared to other evil soul masters. This was because she had to devour a martial soul that was simr to her own. Furthermore, it was only effective if the other party had a roughly simr cultivation.

    This was why she had wanted to devour Yan Shaozhe¡¯s martial soul when she first experienced her awakening.

    When the aura of her martial soul was fully unleashed, she became even keener to devour martial souls. Even though Huo Yuhao had an Ultimate martial soul, he was still affected. A fear that originated from his martial soul caused him to waver a little.

    Huo Yuhao drifted within his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. Against Feng Ling¡¯s attack, he didn¡¯t immediately unleash his True Body to resist it. Instead, he maintained his domain.

    Feng Ling was about to crash into his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. A Transcendent Douluo¡¯s True Body was extremely terrifying, especially when she fully demonstrated her ability to devour. Feng Ling had absolute confidence that she could break Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression was very serious. Suddenly, he made a hugging motion. Immediately, the snowkes in his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice gathered towards his body. They were moving directly towards his palms.

    Feng Ling¡¯s True Body stopped in the air.He¡¯s given up on his domain? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s going to unleash his True Body too?

    This was the first thought that arose in her mind.

    Following this, Feng Ling was in front of Huo Yuhao. A strong force of evil swept towards him. The Evil Phoenix True Body already had its mouth wide open, and was about to devour Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao still didn¡¯t unleash his True Body. He drifted in mid-air, as still as a statue.

    His Icy War God¡¯s Armor unleashed intense dark-blue light. Huo Yuhao gradually pushed his right hand out to resist Feng Ling¡¯s Evil Phoenix True Body.

    It was a sh betweenrge and small. Right now, the difference between Huo Yuhao and Feng Ling appeared to be very great.

    What is he doing? He¡¯s actually not avoiding the True Body of a Transcendent Douluo or unleashing his own True Body to resist? Is he really so confident?

    Just as everyone was puzzled, Feng Ling suddenly stopped in the air.

    Her gigantic True Body stopped in the air just like that. Following this, it was clear that a trace of icy-blue was spreading to the rest of the Evil Phoenix¡¯s body from its head.

    This¡­

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s pupils shrank.

    He, he¡¯s actually frozen Little Feng¡¯s True Body? What strength is this? Even an Ultimate Douluo couldn¡¯t possibly be so strong, right? Little Feng¡¯s Evil Phoenix is considered one of the strongest among evil soul masters!

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had only used his Snowless cier!

    The strength of his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was tapped by his soul core. He instantlypressed and gathered it before unleashing it using his Snowless cier.

    Feng Ling felt it the most. She felt that she wasn¡¯t just facing a palm, but a giant whirlpool of ice and snow. It was just that this whirlpool was formless. Her immense soul power was actually frozen by this formless Ultimate Ice. She was unable to move, and could only sense a terrifying chill engulfing her entire body.

 Chapter 578.2 - Second Fight, Feng Ling

    <h4 ss>Chapter 578.2: Second Fight, Feng Ling</h4>

    Could ice freeze soul power? Huo Yuhao gave her a definite answer to this question.

    A sharp scream sounded. Bright light suddenly exploded from the Evil Phoenix True Body. A purplish sun above its head tore the clouds apart before revealing itself. When this purplish sun appeared, the strength of the Evil Phoenix True Body instantly surged. Cracks started to appear on the frozen parts of its body.

    A huge purplish beam of light that was more than ten meters in diameter also shot out from the purplish sun. This beam shot straight towards Huo Yuhao.

    Powerful!This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first feeling. However, he had no intention of stepping back.

    His eyes shone with golden light before his body turned ethereal. Following this, a huge vertical eye that was more than ten meters tall also appeared in mid-air.

    It was his Martial Soul True Body, Eye of the Asura!

    Yes, Huo Yuhao had finally unleashed his True Body.

    When his Eye of the Asura appeared, time seemed to slow down. Everything seemed to have been dyed. The purplish beam of light that was shooting straight towards him was no exception.

    Time has be slower? Is this a soul skill, or¡­

    The Eye of the Asura was bright gold. Around the eye, there were dense yet dazzling rose-gold sunray patterns. A strange glow was being exuded.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time unleashing his True Body ever since he made his breakthrough.

    Bright gold light shot out in the next instant, aimed at that beam of purplish light.

    As gold and purple shed in the air, unprecedentedly bright lights were produced. Countless streaks of light scattered everywhere. It was very clear that two rings of light were spreading in a bnced manner. Within a region covering fifty square kilometers, this waspletely clear and visible.

    Direct sh! This was a direct confrontation. Huo Yuhao chose to resist Feng Ling¡¯s all-out attack the hard way.

    Just as the two different types of lights shed, an ethereal projection surfaced behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura. This projection was golden. It was huge, but ethereal.

    Destiny God Beast, Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

    The Three-Eyed Golden Lion appeared out of thin air. A rose-gold halo also rose from below the pupil of the Eye of the Asura. The color of the Eye of the Asura immediately changed. Two balls of light, ck and white, intersected, fusing and turning into the core of the pupil of the Eye of the Asura.

    Following this, these two balls of light shot out. They were aimed at Feng Ling, who had just struggled her way out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice.

    Although Feng Ling had struggled her way out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice, the terrifying chill had still invaded her body and soul. Even her spiritual sea was affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice.

    Feng Ling was certain that her True Body would really have beenpletely frozen if she were not a Transcendent Douluo and if she didn¡¯t immediately invoke the strength of her soul core. It would be impossible for her to break free if she waited until then.

    His Ultimate Ice is frightening. It can freeze soul and spiritual power!

    Even so, Feng Ling¡¯s expression was still very fierce and serious. There was no look of fear in the blood-red eyes of her True Body. There was only a look of arrogance!

    The ck and white lights reached her almost instantly. Feng Ling¡¯s first reaction was to dodge. Her immense True Body turned illusory, as if it had be transparent.

    However, something strange urred. The ck and white lights spread when theynded on her, and added twoyers of light to her body. They did not lose their effect just because her body had turned illusory.

    How was this possible?

    Feng Ling was in a daze. This ability of her True Body was able to easily neutralize any soul power or material attack. But how did Huo Yuhao manage this?

    Was it a spiritual attack? However, Feng Ling didn¡¯t sense any spiritual attack!

    What was going on? Feng Ling waspletely unaware. At this moment, his Eye of the Asura shot out a beam of light once again. This time, a beam of bright gold light shot straight at Feng Ling.

    Feng Ling groaned! A hostile look shed across her eyes. The purplish sun above her didn¡¯t instantly unleash an attack to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Rather, it shot out a beam of purple light towards the main body of the Eye of the Asura.

    She had the intention of perishing together with Huo Yuhao.

    In fact, Feng Ling was carrying a ss 9 spiritual defensive-type soul tool. She was confident of resisting Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. The Devouring Light of the Evil Phoenix that she unleashed couldn¡¯t be dealt with so easily.

    No one knew the true terrifying part of an Evil Phoenix. In fact, her origin strength came from spiritual attacks. She also devoured the spiritual origins of martial souls to strengthen her own body.

    The evil and devouring characteristics ignited by spiritual power was what spawned the purplish sun.

    This purplish sun was also Feng Ling¡¯s ninth soul skill, Sun of the Evil Phoenix. When she first became a Titled Douluo, she couldn¡¯t even use this hundred thousand year soul skill. She could only use it after she became a Transcendent Douluo.

    It was also precisely why she could be a Transcendent Douluo in a few decades, and be the vice-leader of the Holy Ghost Church.

    The Devouring Light of the Evil Phoenix unleashed by the Sun of the Evil Phoenix hadnded on the Eye of the Asura earlier. Suddenly, the Eye of the Asura was stained purple. The sunray patterns around the eye quickly retracted as a result, as if the eye had been greatly harmed.

    However, Feng Ling opened her eyes wide at the next instant. What she sensed was different from what others saw. She couldn¡¯t sense that Huo Yuhao had been attacked. This also meant that everything that had happened was just an illusion.

    Just as this feeling developed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock also hit her.

    At almost the next instant, Feng Ling¡¯s True Body was destroyed by that immensely powerful beam of golden light. She reverted to her original form, and her entire body was also engulfed by the beam of golden light.

    A ne released intense silver light to protect her. It demonstrated the strength of a ss 9 spiritual defensive-type soul tool.

    Feng Ling only felt that her heartbeat had quickened. When she faced Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock, she finally understood why Wu Yun was defeated so quickly. He was simply too strong. His spiritual power was simply too immense. She felt as if she were facing the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui.

    Fortunately, she had a ss 9 defensive-type soul tool. If it could block his attack, whatever was expended to create this soul tool would have been worth it.

    Feng Ling red at Huo Yuhao. Right now, the problem she was facing was that she had just been struck by his Spiritual Shock. She couldn¡¯t use her spiritual power to detect where he was. In this way, she couldn¡¯t tell what Huo Yuhao was really up to.

    ¡°Ka ka!¡± A slightly horrifying sound echoed.

    When Feng Ling lowered her head, she was astonished to find out that her ne was already on the verge of failing. There were already cracks in it.

    This¡­

    It¡¯s a ss 9 soul tool! It¡¯s actually beginning to fail because of that fellow¡¯s attack.

    An indescribable fear surged in her heart. In her mind, she couldn¡¯t help but think about the ck and white lights that had appeared on her body earlier.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura was destroyed by the Devouring Light of the Evil Phoenix. His Spiritual Shock also ended.

    ¡°Piang!¡± Feng Ling¡¯s soul tool cracked, but still finally managed to resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock.

    However, Feng Ling¡¯s fear didn¡¯t disappear. She only felt as if she was being watched by some kind of savage beast. It was a torturous feeling.

    Subconsciously, she unleashed her Martial Soul True Body again.

    However, it was also at this moment that she heard an anxious exmation.

    This was a very familiar voice. Didn¡¯t ite from Zhong Liwu?

    A huge vertical eye silently appeared behind Feng Ling. The Eye of the Asura seemed to have transcended space. It was dazzling gold, and ten meters high. The sunray patterns were also still shining around it.

    Yes, the Eye of the Asura hadn¡¯t been destroyed. It was still there!

    Golden light shot out. Compared to before, it might be a little weaker. However, it engulfed Feng Ling¡¯s entire body.

    Feng Ling¡¯s body turned rigid. Her True Body turned into countless streaks of purplish smoke that quickly dissipated.

    She was even more shocked to realize that there was no movement in her spiritual sea. Against such a spiritual attack, she waspletely unable to resist. The terrifying spiritual power instantly struck her brain.

    Feng Ling groaned, and her body shook in the air. After that, she passed out.

    The golden light retracted, and a hand grabbed her neck.

    Huo Yuhao also jolted himself out from his Eye of the Asura.

    The entire ce descended into silence.

    Second! She was the second to be defeated. She was even a Transcendent Douluo, the Evil Phoenix Douluo! The powerful vice-leader of the Holy Ghost Church was defeated just like that. If Huo Yuhao had wanted to kill her, he could have done so earlier.

    What Huo Yuhao did wasn¡¯tplicated at all. However, only he was capable of doing it.

    Before he unleashed his Spiritual Shock, it was evident that the divine skill the Three-Eyed Golden Lion conferred onto Huo Yuhao was used on Feng Ling. It was Destiny¡¯s Demise, Spiritual Reaving. All material and spiritual defenses could be ovee by this skill.

    While a ss 9 spiritual defensive-type soul tool was strong, it could only block Huo Yuhao¡¯s all-out attack.

    When he unleashed that strike earlier, Huo Yuhao had actually used his Spiritual Interference Domain too.

    His Spiritual Interference Domain had caused Feng Ling¡¯s lock-on and vision to be slightly off. This was why her Devouring Light of the Evil Phoenix didn¡¯t actually hit him, but a projection that Huo Yuhao had imitated through his Spiritual Interference Domain and Imitation.

 Chapter 578.3 - Second Fight, Feng Ling

    <h4 ss>Chapter 578.3: Second Fight, Feng Ling</h4>

    After this, things were much easier. He used his Instant Teleportation and sent the real Eye of the Asura behind Feng Ling. Following this came his second strike of Spiritual Shock.

    If Huo Yuhao had really wanted to, he could have really hurt Feng Ling by tapping into the strength of his Spiritual Reaving earlier. After that, he could even kill her.

    However, he didn¡¯t do so. Instead, he sealed Feng Ling¡¯s senses and spiritual sea before capturing her.

    He slowlynded on the ground. There was a strange glow in his eyes. After two consecutive fights, it seemed like he had won very easily. In fact, only he himself knew that he had to react very quickly during these two fights. He had to rely on his strengths to win these two fights easily.

    From the start until the end, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t conserve his strength at all. This was because he knew that the more he didn¡¯t want to unleash his soul power, the more he would be drained. He still had more fights after this. The recovery speed of his twin soul cores and the amount of soul power he had was unimaginable. However, even so, he couldn¡¯t possiblyst ten rounds.

    This was why he didn¡¯t kill Feng Ling. Instead, he grabbed her and gave himself some time to recover. Also¡­

    As hended on the ground, Huo Yuhao took lifted his visor. He grabbed Feng Ling with one hand and had no intention of rxing at all.

    Zhong Liwu stood where he was and didn¡¯t move. Feng Ling was already in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. Even if an Ultimate Douluo were here, he couldn¡¯t possibly save her from his hands. Once Huo Yuhao unleashed his Darkgolden Terrorws, he could tear Feng Ling¡¯s neck apart in an instant.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Zhong Liwu asked coldly. They were clever people. He wouldn¡¯t demand that Huo Yuhao release Feng Ling. Since Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t kill her, it meant that there was room for negotiation. He had to have some kind of agenda. To Zhong Liwu, Feng Ling was very important. Not only was she his right-hand man, but she was also his wife.

    Evil soul masters weren¡¯t devoid of emotions! This was even though Zhong Liwu didn¡¯t control Feng Ling using emotions!

    ¡°I want to exchange her for your other Holy Lady. I¡¯ll leave it up to you to decide whether a Holy Lady or your vice-sect leader is more important.¡± Huo Yuhao revealed his demands simply.

    Yes, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He couldn¡¯t find where the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters was. This was why he couldn¡¯t find Ma Xiaotao at all.

    Not long ago, Huo Yuhao attempted to use his Spiritual Detection to search for her before when they first entered Radiant City. However, he didn¡¯t find any trace of her. Since he couldn¡¯t find her, he could only turn to the Holy Ghost Church.

    After hearing Huo Yuhao¡¯s demand, Zhong Liwu focused his gaze. ¡°Keep daydreaming.¡±

    When he had first captured the two Holy Ladies, he had used the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s methods to stimte them and rapidly increase their cultivations. After that, the Bluesilver Holy Lady Tang Ya was captured by Huo Yuhao and the others. This left them with only the Fire Phoenix Holy Lady, Ma Xiaotao. Zhong Liwu had high hopes for Ma Xiaotao. She was close to bing a Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, she had an Ultimate martial soul! The evil energy of her Ultimate martial soul became fuel for her Ultimate Fire under the stimtion of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s special methods. Her abilities had grown significantly over the past few years. She was bound to be a pir of the Holy Ghost Church in the future.

    In Zhong Liwu¡¯s n, Ma Xiaotao could be an Ultimate Douluo in a decade¡¯s time. Once she seeded, she wouldpletely lose her own awareness and be a puppet, a puppet who was an Ultimate Douluo.

    Then, even though both Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao would eventually pass away, the Holy Ghost Church would still remain strong.

    This was why Zhong Liwu immediately rejected Huo Yuhao¡¯s demand the moment he mentioned Ma Xiaotao.

    He had feelings for Feng Ling. However, his feelings weren¡¯t importantpared to the future of the Holy Ghost Church. This was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s motto ¨C profit was the most important.

    ¡°Are you saying that you don¡¯t want her life anymore?¡± Huo Yuhao lifted Feng Ling high.

    A sharp, dark gold de shot out from his index finger, shining brightly. The tip of it came extremely close to Feng Ling¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhong Liwu shouted furiously.

    He was conflicted! He couldn¡¯t bear to watch Feng Ling die. It was his first time regretting this mission. If he hadn¡¯t personally requested to fight this battle, Wu Yun wouldn¡¯t have died, and Feng Ling wouldn¡¯t have fallen into Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    While the Vampire Ice Bear King was precious, he was still not worth itpared to two Transcendent Douluo! Zhong Liwu subconsciously clenched his fists.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Sect leader, you can take some time to consider. I¡¯m not in a rush either. I have ten rounds to fight. I can¡¯t wait to get some rest.¡± He pointed out his weakness, and even did it with a grin on his face. He wasn¡¯t afraid that Zhong Liwu wouldn¡¯t buy his words.

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s breathing became a little heavy. He was very aware that the generals of the Sun Moon Empire army were all looking at him from afar.

    He had already given a military order. If he failed, his reputation in the army would fall dramatically, even if he wasn¡¯t dealt with ording to militaryws.

    He was now caught in a bind. What should he do? All sorts of ideas rose in his mind. He really didn¡¯t know what to do right now.

    He couldn¡¯t bear to give Feng Ling up. However, he was even more unwilling to sacrifice the Fire Phoenix Holy Lady!

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s expression turned grim as he took in a deep breath. ¡°I can¡¯t pass the Fire Phoenix Holy Lady to you. She¡¯s already one of the pirs of the church. Even as the sect leader, I have no right to exchange her for Little Feng. If you are willing, I can make her fight you next. You can use your own abilities to snatch her away. If you can do that, I¡¯ll have nothing to say. However, I can¡¯t directly pass her to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise.¡± Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation.

    A cold light shed across Zhong Liwu¡¯s face. He waved towards the back.

    A terrifying aura swept over immediately. The cries of a phoenix sounded following this.

    It was different from the cries of Feng Ling¡¯s phoenix. Feng Ling¡¯s phoenix cries were sharp and shrill, whereas this phoenix cry was filled with dominance. It was extremely domineering! It rocked heaven and earth.

    A mighty aura exploded into the air. Scorching air currents surged. One person slowly walked out from the Sun Moon Empire crowd.

    She wasn¡¯t very quick, but every step she took left a fiery-red footprint on the ground. Fiery-red light shone from her without dissipating at all.

    She was wearing a red hat with a veil that covered her entire head. That mighty yet scorching aura exuded from her body.

    Huo Yuhao focused his gaze and stared at her.Is that you, elder sister?

    It was unknown what that red hat was made of. It didn¡¯t appear to be damaged even as it was subjected to the scorching air currents.

    Zhong Liwu turned around and walked towards a bunch of soul engineers. He gritted his teeth before grabbing another ss 9 spiritual defensive-type soul tool.

    This time, it was a bracelet. He returned in front of that person in red.

    The person in red lifted her left hand. Her palms were milky-white, but there were red air currentsing from them. Intense soul power undtions originated from her body, which couldn¡¯t be suppressed at all.

    Her scorching aura made her seem like a volcano that could erupt at any time.

    Zhong Liwu gave her the bracelet. After this, he turned to Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°She¡¯s here. You can let go of Feng Ling now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao coldly replied, ¡°How do I know if she¡¯s the one? Ask her to lift her veil and reveal her true appearance.¡±

    Zhong Liwu nodded and gestured at thedy.

    Thedy lifted her veil. When she revealed her appearance, Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils shrank.

    All these years, he had done his best to find Ma Xiaotao. However, he couldn¡¯t find her. Now that he saw her, his heart sank.

    Ma Xiaotao was still Ma Xiaotao. Her appearance had not changed at all. Time also didn¡¯t leave any marks on her beautiful face. However, her eyes had changed.

    Her eyes had turnedpletely red. Whether it was the ck or white part of her eyes, everything had turned red. It was even a deep red. It was as if blood could seep out of her eyes at any time.

    When she lifted her head and looked at Huo Yuhao, there was only a strong killing intent and terrifying evil energying from her eyes.

    Sister Xiaotao!Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart was shuddering.

    Sister Xiaotao, I was the one who harmed you! For various reasons, I couldn¡¯t leave with you when we first met. After that, we were attacked by the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Third and Fourth Elder, which caused Qiu¡¯er to sacrifice herself. After Qiu¡¯er sacrificed herself, Shrek Academy was struck by the beast wave. I had no choice but to return to Shrek. When I returned, I could no longer find any traces of you.

    When Huo Yuhao saw her yearster, today, he could clearly sense that she had lost a part of her soul. She had be a killing machine controlled by the Holy Ghost Church.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s killing intent grew instantly.Holy Ghost Church, Holy Ghost Church!

    An icy-cold look shed across his face. He stared at Zhong Liwu. A cold smile appeared on Zhong Liwu¡¯s face. He turned to Ma Xiaotao and said, ¡°Kill him.¡±

    There were so many people around. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t renege on his words. Huo Yuhao shook his right hand before he flung Feng Ling towards Zhong Liwu. At the same time, Ma Xiaotao was already like a ball of intense me as she charged towards him.

    The air immediately distorted due to the heat. Ma Xiaotao seemed to have gone crazy. She opened her arms wide and shot a phoenix-shaped, dark-red me towards Huo Yuhao.

    She immediately used her fourth soul skill, Phoenix Skywhistle.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s phoenix mes were much stronger nowpared to before. Her Ultimate Fire was mixed with some kind of terrifying energy that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even recognize. The me was aimed straight at him. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s nine soul rings instantly rose at the same time.

 Chapter 579.1 - Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady

    <h4 ss>Chapter 579.1: Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady</h4>

    Apart from the soul rings that Huo Yuhao was familiar with him, there was an extra blood-red ninth soul ring on her body.

    The Holy Ghost Church had gone all-out to nurture her. They even gave her a hundred thousand year soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao opened his arms, and a beam of jade-blue light shot out from his backbone. It was his Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath.

    Red and jade-blue shed in the air. It was a confrontation between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire.

    A deafening sound echoed, as if hot oil had been spilled onto ice and snow. A huge amount of fog rose instantly.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Fire Phoenix disappeared. Thest shockwave from Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath hit her, and caused her to shudder.

    In terms of cultivation, she was no longer as strong as Huo Yuhao. She wasn¡¯t as strong as that fellow she had almost killed in a manic rage back at thekeside of the Sea God¡¯s Lake.

    Her body turned cold, and Ma Xiaotao went into a bit of a daze. However, the aura of Ultimate Ice was quickly expelled by the phoenix mes in her body.

    Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire were two extreme strengths. Since time immemorial, they suppressed each other. As for which way it went, it depended on the cultivation of their owners.

    Her huge phoenix wings opened behind her back. She used her third soul skill, Soaring Phoenix. As her Soaring Phoenix grew stronger and stronger, Ma Xiaotao¡¯s stature kept growing. Phoenix mes reached towards Huo Yuhao.

    He couldn¡¯t fight her onnd.

    Huo Yuhao pointed his toes to the ground, as if he were about to shot into the sky. However, Ma Xiaotao was only filled with boundless killing intent and the innate desire to fight. Why would she be bothered where they were?

    Earlier, Feng Ling was already not in a very good mental state. However, she was already much betterpared to Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao was like a killing machine now.

    As she opened her mouth, she spat out a beam of dark red fire towards Huo Yuhao. It was her first soul skill, Phoenix Fireline, which was enhanced by her Soaring Phoenix.

    Not only this, but her entire body also started to smoke with burning mes. Her entire body released an indescribable yet immense aura. Then, she unleashed her second soul skill, Phoenix Baptism.

    Huo Yuhao had already beaten two evil soul masters. In terms of soul power cultivation, both Feng Ling and Wu Yun were above Ma Xiaotao. However, Huo Yuhao felt more strained when he fought Ma Xiaotao.

    The reason was very simple. Ma Xiaotao was in a manic state right now. Furthermore, her Ultimate Fire didn¡¯t fear Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t dare to go heavy on her!

    Given these restraints, Huo Yuhao was unable to fully unleash his abilities. Naturally, he was under some pressure.

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. He lifted his right hand and grabbed towards the Phoenix Fireline.

    Ayer of diamond ice crystals surfaced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    Ultimate Ice and Divine Ice Crystals, which were used to build the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, wereplementary. In terms of cultivation, Huo Yuhao was far superior to Ma Xiaotao, as he was enhanced by his Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer!

    The Phoenix Fireline was blocked, but Huo Yuhao was also astonished to find out that the diamond ice crystals on his Ice Empress¡¯ Pincer were about to melt under the attack of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Skyline. This was unthinkable. There was a huge gap between their cultivations. Why was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Fireline so strong?

    Just as Huo Yuhao was astonished, Ma Xiaotao had already turned into a Fire Phoenix and flew towards him.

    She was still using her Phoenix Skywhistle. The only difference was that her second and third soul skills, the Phoenix Baptism and Soaring Phoenix, enhanced her Phoenix Skywhistle this time. It was even stronger than before.

    Huo Yuhao squinted. An icy-blue halo spread from his body.

    Star Anise Ice Origin! It was a soul skill that originated from the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t in his best state right now. This was because his six Spirits were all in deep sleep. He was affected without his Spirits. He could only use the powers that belonged to his Spirits. There were even some special abilities he couldn¡¯t use.

    For example, he couldn¡¯t use theplete version of the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses when both the Ice and Snow Empress were asleep. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t use his Ultimate Ice True Body too. The Ice Empress was asleep. If he used the Ice Empress¡¯ True Body, he couldn¡¯t possibly unleash its essence. This was not to even mention that the Ultimate Ice True Body also depended on tapping into the Snow Empress¡¯ strength.

    However, even so, Huo Yuhao was still considered one of the strongest in the world of soul masters because of his Ultimate martial soul.

    Under the effect of the Star Anise Icy Origin, his Icy War God¡¯s Armor dazzled. He punched out a fist.

    It was just his fist; he didn¡¯t use any soul skills. However, at this instant, Huo Yuhao seemed to have fused with heaven and earth. Ma Xiaotao, who was against him, seemed to be subjected to the wrath of heaven and earth.

    ¡°Cluck¡ª¡ª¡± Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix Fireline was forcefully crushed, and she was thrown back. Her entire body seemed to be covered by ayer of diamond ice crystals. Even her ss 9 defensive-type soul tool on her wrist shone brightly. Evidently, it was taking effect. It was helping her resist Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power.

    Zhong Liwu had only just dispelled the Ultimate Ice soul power in Feng Ling¡¯s body right now. When he saw this scene, his expression changedpletely.

    That fist contained the principles of heaven and earth! He got the same feeling from his mother¡¯s body. However, it wasn¡¯t as intense. He also sensed that from Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body, which was a little stronger than his mother. Di Tian was the one who left him the deepest impression when it came to this feeling. It was just that Di Tian was a soul beast, and didn¡¯t seem to be able topletely fuse with heaven and earth. However, Huo Yuhao appeared to have originated from heaven and earth when he unleashed his fist earlier! He didn¡¯t use a lot of his soul power, but Ma Xiaotao was greatly disadvantaged.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t try to call out to Ma Xiaotao at this moment. This was because he was clearly aware that she was greatly poisoned. She wouldn¡¯t respond so easily. He needed to save her first before he had a chance to neutralize the toxins and wake her up.

    The first thing he had to do before he could save her was defeat her!

    Lights shed, and Huo Yuhao revealed a determined and serious look on his face. He forced Ma Xiaotao back with one fist, and felt the undtionsing from the two soul cores in his body bing a little more intense. The slight collision between his soul cores generated a whirlpool of soul power that seemed to strengthen the impact of his fist.

    Heaven was Yang, and Earth was Yin. Yin and Yangplemented each other ording to the principles of heaven and earth.

    Yes, this was the origin of his fist earlier. It was a perfectbination of his spiritual and Ultimate Ice soul power. If there was somethingcking, it could only be emotions!

    Yes, it was emotions!

    If it was before he met the God of Emotions Nian Rongbing, Huo Yuhao would perhaps not know why his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills were so strong. After that, he realized that it was because they fused his emotions. Soul skills without emotions were like soul skills without souls. The strength of a soul determined the potential and power of a soul skill.

    His Three Ultimate Haodong Skills were only so strong because they perfectly unleashed all his emotions. They were so strong that he could defeat an opponent that was much stronger than him in terms of cultivation.

    Right now, he was much stronger than before; evenpared to if he hadn¡¯t fused his emotions into his self-invented skill. When he unleashed this fist, his understanding of his Yin-Yang Complement twin soul cores suddenly deepened.

    ¡°Ang!¡± A sonorous phoenix roar sounded. A huge fire phoenix appeared in the air. It was the Phoenix True Body!

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t know what fear was in her manic state. There was only one thing in her mind right now, which was to kill.

    When she revealed her Phoenix True Body, she charged towards Huo Yuhao. The sky distorted, and there seemed to be an extrayer of ripples high up in the sky. The earth also distorted. The temperature turned terrifyingly high, and caused the battlefield to burn.

    Countless scorching meteors formed in the sky before they shot towards Huo Yuhao. This was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sixth soul skill, Phoenix Meteor Shower!

    Against this soul skill, Huo Yuhao was feeling very touched. A long time ago, Ma Xiaotao used this skill to help them win the championship during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament!

    Right now, he could still clearly remember how strong Ma Xiaotao was back then, how awe-inspiring she was. When he saw this soul skill again, he was very touched, even though the meteor shower wasing towards him.

    Snowkes drifted once again. Ice turned into spikes and bloomed like icy flowers in the sky.

    Star Anise Omnithrust!

    Every spike urately hit a meteor. When ice and fire shed, ice melted, and fire became weaker. Dazzling lights also turned into dazzling fireworks in the sky.

    Perhaps this fight wasn¡¯t the most dangerouspared to the previous two fights, but it was certainly the most eye-catching.

    The Star Anise Omnithrust managed to resist the Phoenix Meteor Shower. However, the Phoenix True Body was still charging towards Huo Yuhao with the Phoenix Skypierce.

    Undoubtedly, the best way for Huo Yuhao to react right now was to use his Ice Jade Empress¡¯ Scorpion True Body. Even without the Ice Empress¡¯ help, he was still confident of suppressing Ma Xiaotao using his Ultimate Ice True Body.

    However, he didn¡¯t do so. The reason was very simple. Ice and fire were two extremes. This was even more so between Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire. He was worried that he would hurt Ma Xiaotao using such extreme methods. If that happened, he would be regretful.

    Ever since his mother had died, Huo Yuhao had no close rtives. When he came to Shrek Academy, he seemed to have found his home. Ma Xiaotao also became like his biological elder sister. Even though they didn¡¯t spend a lot of time together, Huo Yuhao still considered her to be very important in his life.

 Chapter 579.2 - Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady

    <h4 ss>Chapter 579.2: Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady</h4>

    Moreover, Huo Yuhao med himself a lot fornding Ma Xiaotao in this state. He believed that she only ended up like this because he didn¡¯t leave with her immediately before. This was why he was willing to risk anything to save her.

    Ayer of diamond ice crystals surfaced on the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. It was the Ice Empress¡¯ Armor.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao sped his hands together in front of his chest. He unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    His eighth soul ring shone!

    He unleashed his Ice Bear Blizzard!

    The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice and Ice Bear Blizzard were unleashed at the same time, with Huo Yuhao at the center of both attacks.

    Right now, he was like the eye of a blizzard. A whirlpool of ice and snow that resembled a tornado swept towards Ma Xiaotao.

    By doing this, he was even stronger than when he unleashed his True Body. It was also much easier for him to maintain control. He wouldn¡¯t end the fight immediately, but approach the situation slowly. It was only by doing this that he could control his own attacking strength based on the changes to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power.

    The only shoring of doing this was that his soul power would be drained much more than if he used his True Body.

    Normally, soul masters would enter a weakened state after using their True Body. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t have such a concern. However, domain-type abilities could only be maintained by draining a lot of soul power, no matter what stage of cultivation a soul master was at.

    After Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Phoenix True Body was entangled in the Ice Bear Blizzard, it was as she had been chained up. The terrifying blizzard was challenging her Ultimate Fire, and a great amount of fog rose into the air. No one could see what was happening.

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s expression was very gloomy. However, there seemed to be a shifty look in his eyes.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that Zhong Liwu was only prepared for five out of the ten fights. Among the five fights, Ma Xiaotao was actually involved in one of them.

    What was more effective against Ultimate Ice than Ultimate Fire? It was just that Ma Xiaotao was supposed to be fourth on Zhong Liwu¡¯s list. She was shifted forward by one now, but it didn¡¯t affect his n too much.

    Of course Zhong Liwu was aware of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s background. She had been a top-performing student in Shrek Academy, and the immediate disciple of Yan Shaozhe. Huo Yuhao was also from Shrek Academy. It was only natural that she shared a close rtionship with him.

    This was why he wasn¡¯t worried about her safety when she was sent out to fight. Once Ma Xiaotao drained Huo Yuhao up to a certain point, it would be time for him to doom Huo Yuhao.

    In Zhong Liwu¡¯s mind, he wasn¡¯t the most concerned about the Ice Bear King, but Huo Yuhao himself.

    Ultimate Ice martial soul! If he could get a Holy Son with an Ultimate Ice martial soul and who was a Titled Douluo, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s strength would only stand to increase even if he lost the Bluesilver Holy Lady. In the future, he could have two Ultimate Douluo by his side. They were even Ultimate Douluo with Ultimate martial souls. Who else in this world could fight him then? Even those soul engineers would be helpless against him.

    An Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Ice Douluo was an extremely strongbination!

    If he could get this Holy Son, he wouldn¡¯t mind sacrificing more. This was because his appearance would only serve to offer the Holy Ghost Church unlimited potential.

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t just to be an Imperial Advisor of an empire. He wanted to be a ruler, the ruler of the entire continent. Whether it was the Douluo Continent or Sun Moon Continent, his goal was to rule.

    The Fire Phoenix was struggling in the sky. However, the Ice Bear Blizzard and Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice were only getting stronger and stronger.

    The heat in the air had already disappeared. What reced it was a refreshing chill. The air temperature changed drastically from high to low. This dramatic change left everyone in awe.

    Phoenix mes were released continuously. However, their temperature was quickly brought down when a snowkended on them.

    Suddenly, the Fire Phoenix stopped in the air. She opened her wings to their limit, and her body started revolving in the air. A dazzling halo was formed by her wings, and sonorous phoenix calls continued to echo. Dark red streaks of light started to expand, isting the blizzard.

    The Fire Phoenix also picked up speed. In just an instant, she came in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao only had time to lift his hand. He lifted his right hand in an attempt to stop the Fire Phoenix.

    It was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eighth soul skill, Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance!

    Scorching phoenix mes were already in front of Huo Yuhao. Two balls of blinding light shone behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    A sun and a moon appeared. The sun was gold, while the moon was blue. The sun and the moon intersected weirdly, causing Huo Yuhao to enter a special state.

    The phoenix mes struck his body, but they started to revolve tremendously. After this, they were flung away. The Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice also experienced weird changes.

    Snowkes started to conjoin in the air, forming lines of snow. After this, they tangled up and formed chains that started to entangle the Fire Phoenix from all directions.

    This was the improved version of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, Ice Snow Chain.

    Every chain was a consolidation and fusion of Ultimate Ice. When theynded on the Fire Phoenix, they caused her to shake tremendously. The temperature of the phoenix mes fell drastically. No matter how much Ma Xiaotao tried to muster her soul power, her mes couldn¡¯t get past Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    There was an unprecedently strong force in his palm. All the energy that rushed to his palm would instantly be flung away. They couldn¡¯t breach it.

    The shining sun and moon behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back became stronger and stronger. Even the Sun in the sky seemed to lose some of its glow in the face of Huo Yuhao¡¯s sun and moon.

    What kind of power is this?Everyone was astonished, but none of them knew anything about it.

    Even Zhong Liwu was astounded. However, he knew more than the rest. This was because he could still recall that he had seen a simr sun-moon projection behind Di Tian before. It was just that Di Tian¡¯s was much stronger. However, their auras were very simr.

    What kind of strength has he understood to make him so strong now?

    Just as Zhong Liwu was astounded, the look of delight in his eyes intensified. The stronger Huo Yuhao was, the stronger the future Holy Son of the Holy Ghost Church would be if his n seeded.

    Yes, what a brilliant Holy Son!

    As the chains entangled her further and further, the Fire Phoenix struggled less and less.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power fell significantly as she was restrained by the chains.

    Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh of relief. He had used the power of his twin soul cores, which enabled him to trap Ma Xiaotao without hurting her. It was important to know that this wasn¡¯t easy. It was actually very difficult.

    However, he had seeded. Even though he was drained, it was worth it.

    Just as he heaved a sigh of relief, the Fire Phoenix suddenly lifted her head. There was a manic streak of light that seemed toe from her eyes.

    What? This isn¡¯t good.

    Huo Yuhao was shocked. Just as he was about to react, it seemed like it was already toote.

    A terrifying ball of golden-red light was suddenly unleashed from Ma Xiaotao¡¯s True Body. The chains were instantly crushed. Heat dominated again, and the frightening explosive mes instantly devoured Huo Yuhao.

    Yes, this was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s ninth soul skill!

    Phoenix Nirvana.

    A phoenix and the fire of baptism led to nirvana and rebirth!

    In a state of nirvana, a phoenix was at its strongest and its weakest state. At the beginning of nirvana, a phoenix was at its strongest. At the end of nirvana, it was at its weakest. However, they both brought new life to the phoenix.

    This Phoenix Nirvana was Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strongest and ninth soul skill.

    If the enemy didn¡¯t die, she would most certainly die after unleashing her Phoenix Nirvana, since she would be in a weakened state for a month. However, this attack was at the standard of an Ultimate Douluo. If she could be a Transcendent Douluo in the future, even an Ultimate Douluo would need to fear such an attack from her.

    This was one of Zhong Liwu¡¯s trump cards. He wasn¡¯t afraid that Huo Yuhao would kill Ma Xiaotao. He was even less worried that Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t be able to unleash her Phoenix Nirvana.

    She didn¡¯t even need to umte for this soul skill. She could just unleash it with a thought. The price to pay was to be weak for a month. This was a testament to how much power she could unleash with this attack.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know that. This was why he was engulfed by her Phoenix Nirvana. The entire sky turned golden-red. It was as if countless golden-red flowing clouds were shaking the sky.

    Within a fifty kilometer radius from Shrek City to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base, a heatwave seemed to sweep over everything. The heat caused everyone to feel extremely fearful and frustrated.

    Tang Wutong stood where she was and watched everything in a daze. She didn¡¯t move. There was only a very unsettled look in her eyes.

    Zhong Liwu smiled. He was delighted.

    Was Huo Yuhao dead? Of course he wouldn¡¯t die. Zhong Liwu was very confident in Huo Yuhao. He was a Transcendent Douluo who possessed Ultimate Ice. He even had many powerful soul tools on his body as well as that divine de. How could he possibly die so easily?

    However, he would surely be skinned even if he didn¡¯t die.

    This was enough.

    The scorching golden-red messted for a good minute before they slowly disappeared.

    The first figure that appeared was drifting in mid-air.

    Strange golden-red runes spun around her body. She was calmly lying in the air. Her hair was flowing, and her eyes were shut. It was as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with her.

 Chapter 579.3 - Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady

    <h4 ss>Chapter 579.3: Third Fight, Holy Phoenix Lady</h4>

    Yes, she was Ma Xiaotao. At this moment, she was no longer the Phoenix Holy Lady. She had lost consciousness, and was drifting in the sky like a patch of red clouds, slowly falling to the ground.

    Zhong Liwu revealed a cold smile on his face. He pointed his toes to the ground and wanted to leap up to catch her.

    However, it was at this moment that a pitch-ck hole appeared below Ma Xiaotao without any warning. It was like a slit had opened up in the sky. Ma Xiaotao was instantly devoured, and the slit sealed up. She disappeared just like that. Not even her aura was left.

    Zhong Liwu waspletely dazed in the air.She¡¯s gone? The Phoenix Holy Lady is gone? What kind of power was that?

    An ethereal projection shed. Another person appeared in the air. It was Huo Yuhao.

    His Icy War God¡¯s Armor had dimmed significantly. Its original deep-blue hue had turned shallower. There were even scorch marks left behind on this ss 9 soul tool.

    His expression wasn¡¯t shown, as his visor was lowered. However, his Ultimate Ice aura remained.

    ¡°I¡¯ve won. This is my third one.¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly.

    Zhong Liwu lifted his head to look at him. The sinister look in his eyes turned even more intense. ¡°Huo Yuhao, where did you take my Phoenix Holy Lady?¡± His script definitely didn¡¯t involve her disappearance.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know that.¡±

    Zhong Liwu¡¯s eyes turned colder. ¡°Great, great, great!¡±

    What left Huo Yuhao surprised was that Zhong Liwu flew back to the ground after he finished saying those three words.

    Is this his only reaction?

    Yes, it was just like this. In Zhong Liwu¡¯s mind, would he be afraid that he couldn¡¯t get the Phoenix Holy Lady if his n seeded and he controlled Huo Yuhao?

    This was why he wasn¡¯t anxious. He suppressed his rage. However, he immediately waved at his own side after hended on the ground.

    The fourth person representing the Sun Moon Empire, or rather, the Holy Ghost Church, appeared!

    A ck figure leapt out and charged towards Huo Yuhao. This time, the Holy Ghost Church didn¡¯t give Huo Yuhao any buffer time.

    The Phoenix Holy Lady had been defeated and abducted by Huo Yuhao. But that was fine! Zhong Liwu had still managed to achieve his goal. He believed that Huo Yuhao would definitely have been greatly drained after that earlier attack, no matter how strong he was. How could he possibly survive the next round?

    Even so, he didn¡¯t personally fight in the fourth round. He never did anything he wasn¡¯t confident in. This was why the fourth round was still a prelude to his personal involvement.

    When that ck figure charged towards him, Huo Yuhao immediately recognized him.

    He was familiar. Yes, he was a very familiar person.

    He was the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng!

    When Huo Yuhao first met the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng was pursuing and trying to kill him. Then, Huo Yuhao had Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin¡¯er with him. Xian Lin¡¯er fought Zhang Peng, and they ended in a stalemate. That time, it was also Huo Yuhao¡¯s first meeting Long Xiaoyao. He only managed to chase Long Xiaoyao off through a wager.

    Not long ago, Huo Yuhao had learned from Mu En that Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t harbor any ill-intentions towards him. Otherwise, he would have been able to kill him at their first meeting.

    He was no longer as weak as he used to be. He was a powerful Titled Douluo now. This Scorpion Tiger Douluo was already a Transcendent Douluo back then. So many years had passed. His cultivation would have increased. Even though he wasn¡¯t as strong as Feng Ling, the difference wouldn¡¯t be too great either.

    Zhang Peng let out a low-pitched tiger roar before he appeared in front of Huo Yuhao. Behind him, a projection of a giant scorpion tiger surfaced. He instantly punched a fist towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened. Huo Yuhao unleashed his Spiritual Shock at the Scorpion Tiger Douluo.

    Huo Yuhao had always been very good at making use of his strengths. He was doing that right now.

    Zhang Peng groaned, and intense ck light was released from his body. It turned into a small mirror that shed with ck light in front of him.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock struck the mirror, it was instantly refracted.

    Oh? It can refract spiritual power? No wonder he didn¡¯t purchase a spiritual defensive-type soul tool, and no wonder Zhong Liwu sent him to fight. The Holy Ghost Church has strong foundations indeed!

    However, that small mirror still cracked, even though it had refracted Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Shock. Zhang Peng¡¯s body shook a little, and his fist arrived right in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao pushed his right hand forward. He was using his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, a skill that came from the Tang Sect¡¯s Secret Techniques.

    He was no longer the same Huo Yuhao who had just entered the sect. When he used his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, it felt very profound and magical.

    Zhang Peng only felt a strong suction forceing towards him, causing his fist to deviate to one side. At the same time, Huo Yuhao pressed his other hand against Zhang Peng¡¯s chest.

    Zhang Peng roared, and his entire body started to shine brightly. His body suddenly expanded, and his other arm straightened like a de. After this, he shed it towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder shook. The pull from his left hand and push from his right hand brought his palms together. Suddenly, strong whirlpool-like soul power was instantaneously unleashed. A terrifyingly strong destructive force was released. Before Zhang Peng¡¯s attack could even hit Huo Yuhao, he was already knocked far away.

    From the observers¡¯ point of view, there was nothing separating Huo Yuhao and Zhang Peng. However, Zhong Liwu revealed an evidently satisfied look on his face.

    From Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction, he could tell that his abilities had weakened slightlypared to before. He didn¡¯t even use his Ultimate Ice immediately. Evidently, he must have had been affected when he was resisting the Fire Phoenix Holy Lady earlier.

    Just as Zhang Peng moved back, he let out a tiger roar, revealing his True Body. A huge scorpion tiger appeared out of thin air. The sky turned dark. Following this, beams of ck light formed in the air. They turned into countless, shing ck needles, which shot towards Huo Yuhao.

    What is this?

    Scorpion Tail Needle!

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s lethal weapon was his scorpion tail. This was a very powerful soul skill that Zhang Peng possessed.

    The needles blocked off all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s escape routes. This was the type of attack that a Transcendent Douluo could unleash when he used his True Body.

    Huo Yuhao squirmed in the air. After this, he turned illusory. When the needles were about to hit him, he turned into broken pieces and disappeared into the air.

    Concealment?

    When they saw Huo Yuhao disappearing, the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire had the biggest reaction.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s concealment abilities had caused great problems for the Sun Moon Empire. Without such abilities, he couldn¡¯t have destroyed so many of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools! Without his concealment abilities, how could he have threatened the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army by himself?

    He finally used his concealment abilities in the fourth fight. This also confirmed everyone¡¯s suspicions that he was the one who had destroyed so many of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s aerial surveince soul tools. It was him!

    The needles swept past, but didn¡¯t hit anything. When Huo Yuhao reappeared, he was already above the Scorpion Tiger Douluo.

    A white halo silently flew out from Huo Yuhao beforending on Zhang Peng.

    The Scorpion Tiger Douluo only felt a little giddy, and he was soon engulfed by intense weakness.

    This was the upgraded version of Mass Enfeeblement, Singr Enfeeblement.

    Huo Yuhao could use his spiritual power in ways other than his Spiritual Shock. That small mirror that drifted above Zhang Peng could resist offensive spiritual attacks. However, it was helpless against such an auxiliary spiritual ability.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirit Eyes enabled him to adopt different ways of fighting. He didn¡¯t just have to fight directly.

    Just as he was weakened, Zhang Peng¡¯s figure shed, and he instantly picked up speed in the air. Wings extended from his ribs, enabling him to make a turn in the air. When he faced Huo Yuhao again, his needles shot from the sky once more. This time, they covered an even bigger area.

    His spiritual cultivation was far beneath Huo Yuhao. He had already unleashed all his spiritual power earlier, but he couldn¡¯t discover Huo Yuhao at all. Zhang Peng also knew that it was impossible for him to locate his enemy using his spiritual power. Since this was the case, he used his attack to seek Huo Yuhao.

    The needles seemed to have taken effect. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose to hide himself this time, but his body turned illusory.

    But when the needles flew past his body, his body only rippled. He didn¡¯t get hurt at all.

    It¡¯s not real?Zhang Peng was astonished.

    At this moment, he felt as if everyone in this world was spinning. Everything seemed to be unreal.

    Only those observing could tell that there was an extra whirlpool above his head. This whirlpool was revolving very quickly, as if it were sucking out Zhang Peng¡¯s soul.

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth soul skill, Spiritual Confusion.

    Huo Yuhao was only able to perfectly demonstrate the strength of this soul skill by strong spiritual suppression. He had the greatest advantage in terms of his spiritual power. Why would he not use it? He had only used a part of it in the earlier rounds. In this fight, he was counting on his spiritual power.

    Although his Spirit Eyes only had eight soul rings right now, Huo Yuhao still had the confidence to resist the strongest Ultimate Douluo in the world with it.

 Chapter 580.1 - The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 580.1: The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out</h4>

    Another Huo Yuhao suddenly appeared, and this time, he appeared behind the Scorpion Tiger Douluo. The Huo Yuhao who had appeared before was still in the sky. Two identical people appeared at the same time. How could that not be astonishing?

    Spiritual Interference Domain!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s second domain-type ability.

    Not many people paid attention to this domain because it wasn¡¯t as well-known as his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. But there were many instances where his Spiritual Interference Domain was much more fearsome than his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. Not a single one of the four soul skills that the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s million year soul ring had bestowed upon him were useless.

    Formidable soul power undtions erupted in the sky as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw sliced through the air and went straight for the Scorpion Tiger¡¯s enormous martial soul true body.

    Brutal force to break brutal force!

    Zhang Peng was affected by Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable Spiritual Confusion and single-target enfeeblement. He couldn¡¯t possibly dodge this attack.

    But just as Huo Yuhao¡¯s w struck Zhang Peng, he suddenly trembled vigorously before a dark golden beam of light erupted from his body.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s Scorpion Tiger True Body was torn to pieces in front of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw. However, a dark shadow suddenly appeared soundlessly behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Frightening sharp des went straight for Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart from behind.

    Exuviating Cicada! It was one of the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s automatic defensive soul skills, and this soul skill was known as a godly skillpared to his other soul skills.

    This soul skill was automatically triggered when Zhang Peng was struck with an attack that he couldn¡¯t defend himself against. If this automatic release was sessful, then his original body would be extracted, and he would use thirty percent of his soul power to instantly teleport himself to wherever he wanted. Zhang Peng had cultivated this soul skill to its highest possible level, and he could reach anywhere within a thousand meters with it. At the same time, Exuviating Cicada allowed him to use another thirty percent of his soul power to unleash an attack at his peak condition. However, he couldn¡¯t use any other soul skills during this time.

    Sixty percent of the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s soul power would be expended after this attack, so he would evidently be unable to continue the battle.

    This attack was excellent in a fight to the death, and it was also excellent in ambushing others! There would always be many strange and peculiar soul skills in the world of soul masters.

    Zhang Peng had thought that he would definitely win this battle when he first locked horns with Huo Yuhao because Huo Yuhao had already fought three times before this.

    But when they truly shed, Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power and his Spirit Eyes¡¯ various soul skills made Zhang Peng understand that he was no match for Huo Yuhao even when he had already expended so much energy.

    Spiritual Shock was no longer effective, so Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t use it, but Zhang Peng still couldn¡¯t take Huo Yuhao¡¯s other spiritual-type soul skills. The gap between their spiritual powers was just too vast.

    Therefore, Zhang Peng had no choice but to go all-in. In that moment when he was struck by Spiritual Confusion, Zhang Peng could have done something to weaken part of the soul skill¡¯s effects, but he decided against it. Instead, he chose to take the soul skill¡¯s entire effect. The reason for his choice was so that he could retaliate and end the battle with his Exuviating Cicada.

    Zhang Peng would defeat his enemy and win this battle if he was sessful, but if he wasn¡¯t, then he would turn and escape.

    Zhang Peng was a member of the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Worship Hall, but he never considered cing his life on the line for the Holy Ghost Church.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s idea was good, and his tiger ws were already right behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. Everything was going ording to n.

    Unfortunately, he forgot about something. Huo Yuhao still had another extraordinary skill, and that was Spiritual Detection!

    Spiritual Detection conferred three-dimensional detection to Huo Yuhao, and even if he didn¡¯t realize anything when Zhang Peng began his attack, his reappearance with all those soul power and spiritual power undtions in the air was long within Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses.

    Therefore, Zhang Peng¡¯s tiger ws still sliced through the air anticlimactically in the end.

    Missing an attack at full strength was even more agonizing than taking a heavy hit from an enemy. Zhang Peng almost vomited blood.

    And Huo Yuhao? He reappeared behind Zhang Peng¡¯s back. His Darkgolden Terrorw didn¡¯t grow bigger this time, but a five sharp dark golden about thirty centimeters long plunged into the Scorpion Tiger Douluo¡¯s back and protruded from his chest.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s body froze in midair. The corner of his mouth curved, as he was very unconvinced and unwilling about what had just happened. His eyes were filled with hysteria, and his soul power immediately erupted from his dantian.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s heart had been impaled, and he couldn¡¯t possibly continue living. He had dominated the world throughout his lifetime, and he wasn¡¯t willing to just die like this.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s stable soul core within his dantian was suddenly triggered by his riling soul power.

    Self-destruction! This was Zhang Peng¡¯s final choice. He had to take Huo Yuhao with him even if he had to die and disappear from the world. A Transcendent Douluo¡¯s self-destruction wasparable to that of a ss 9 stationary soul cannon shell. Zhang Peng chose such a brutal path, and he lived up to his name as the Scorpion Tiger Douluo.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s muscles immediately contracted, and even his skeleton was withdrawn toward his chest. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw was instantly stuck. Zhang Peng was using his full strength right before his death to tie Huo Yuhao down.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t dimming at all in this moment. There was only hysteria in his eyes, an otherworldly insanity, the kind that didn¡¯t belong to this world.

    Since he had chosen to self-destruct, then he had to pull Huo Yuhao down with him. He wouldn¡¯t give him a chance to survive at all.

    A Transcendent Douluo¡¯s eruption right before his death was absolutely terrifying. Not even an Ultimate Douluo could easily shake Zhang Peng¡¯s grip within a short period of time.

    Zhang Peng even raised his hands and used his own tiger ws to mp down on the Darkgolden Terrorws protruding from his chest. He used all the strength he had left to channel his soul core and stop Huo Yuhao from leaving.

    However, he couldn¡¯t see Huo Yuhao, who was still behind him. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t panic at all because of Zhang Peng¡¯s retaliation right before his death. His expression didn¡¯t even change. There was only pity in his eyes.

    This pity was towards a dying man, towards one who had been defeated, and towards a formidable individual.

    Huo Yuhao nted his left palm soundlessly on Zhang Peng¡¯s back, while his torso, which was almost pressed against Zhang Peng¡¯s back, erupted with intense bluish-green colors.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable Ice Empress¡¯ Wrath immediately swallowed Zhang Peng¡¯s body and bathed his entire body in bluish-green light. A cold sensation that chilled even his heart followed his veins as it coursed through his body. Zhang Peng didn¡¯t have any strength to resist this because they were so close together, and he was using his full strength to trap Huo Yuhao and trigger his own soul core.

    A Transcendent Douluo¡¯s retaliation right before his death was powerful. However, how could a Titled Douluo who had spiritual power that rivaled that of an Ultimate Douluo, who possessed two formidable soul cores and had an Ultimate Ice martial soul, be any weaker when he had the absolute upper hand?

    Zhang Peng¡¯s body immediately froze, and he realized to his intense fear that his rapidly exploding soul core¡¯s rotation was starting to slow after he was struck. Zhang Peng¡¯s blood was also starting to freeze, and every ounce of strength that he had left was quickly disappearing as his heart froze over.

    No!Zhang Peng wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, but his voice stuck in his throat. He could only wheeze, and he could no longer speak with that originally bright and clear voice of his.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Darkgolden Terrorw vanished, and Zhang Peng¡¯s blood, muscles, and skeleton had been frozen. He could no longer trap Huo Yuhao¡¯s ws.

    Zhang Peng¡¯s tiger ws crumbled and broke as the two figures separated in midair.

    Shadows flickered as Huo Yuhao reappeared a thousand meters away.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Bluish-green mes erupted in the air like firecrackers exploding through the sky. But a formidable soul master who had dominated the entire Continent, who was a Transcendent Douluo, was obliterated just like that.

    Huo Yuhao descended from the sky, and his aura seemed to be raised to its highest possible level in this moment.

    This battle wasn¡¯t that magnificent or spectacr, but everyone who was watching fell silent at the oue.

    This was the fourth one. This was already the fourth one, and two had perished in battle. Huo Yuhao used his formidable strength to tell everyone that what he had imed about ten battles wasn¡¯t an impossible task.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s expression was as ck as could be. However, there was no turning back for him. He was already sustaining such heavy losses, and if he still couldn¡¯t gain anything from it, the Holy Ghost Church would be taking an overwhelming blow in both their strength and their mental states. He was supervisor to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s entire army, and if his reputation suffered like that, how would those soul engineers who never had a good impression of him think about him?

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s dark and gloomy expression gradually turned cold. As matters were, he could only capture Huo Yuhao and win this battle so that he could make up for everything that had happened.

    Huo Yuhao gradually drifted down, while Zhongli Wu raised his head and stared at him with burning eyes. There was a tinge of hysteria in Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes amid all that iciness.

    The same hysteria in Zhongli Wu was vastly different from Zhang Peng. Zhang Peng¡¯s insanity was retaliating when on the brink of death, but Zhongli Wu¡¯s insanity was like a sharp knife plunging into Huo Yuhao¡¯s chest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing became a little rushed, and it seemed like he had expended a lot of energy from his four continuous battles. However, his eyes were still as calm as ever, and he wasn¡¯t affected by his breathing. Huo Yuhao stared back at Zhongli Wu sharply.

    If Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes were like a razor-sharp knife, then Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were like mountains of ice. No matter how sharp that knife was, it couldn¡¯t pierce through the mountain, which seemed like it was made from mysterious ice over ten thousand years, and descending from the sky with a crushing pressure.

    Nobody knew how much energy Huo Yuhao had expended besides himself, and Zhongli Wu could only make certain judgments based on the soul skills that Huo Yuhao had used in his previous fights.

 Chapter 580.2 - The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out

    <h4 ss>Chapter 580.2: The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes revealed a trace of ice-cold light as he stretched his arms out to his sides. Circles of icy blue light rippled from his Icy War God¡¯s Armor one after another, and formless ice elements condensed toward his body at an incredible speed.

    Star Anise Icy Coagtion!

    Zhongli Wu suddenly howled, and it sounded like a dragon¡¯s roar as his soul rings rose from beneath his feet. A formidable aura emerged and flourished.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s soul rings only had two colors: ck and red.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s expression changed drastically out of fear when he saw those soul rings.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s soul rings weren¡¯t like that when they hadst battled, but he had six ck and three red soul rings now! Hisbination wasn¡¯t that much inferior to Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    The colors of a soul master¡¯s soul rings didn¡¯t mean everything, but they were a symbol of a soul master¡¯s strength. Furthermore, Zhongli Wu was an evil soul master, and he was a Transcendent Douluo. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s supreme leader was stronger than anyone had expected.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression grew solemn. He was aware that after his previous four battles¡¯ consumption, his battle against Zhongli Wu would be the hardest moment today.

    If the previous evil soul masters¡¯ cultivation ranks were lower than Huo Yuhao¡¯s, then Zhongli Wu¡¯s true strength was definitelyparable to Huo Yuhao, and possibly even stronger. Huo Yuhao¡¯s only advantage was his two soul cores. His chances of victory against Zhongli would also decide his chances of sess in this one-versus-ten contest. This battle would determine the oue.

    Zhongli Wu pointed his right hand into the air as a ck soul ring flickered on his body, and an enormous staff appeared in his hand.

    This staff was ck all over, and another silhouette appeared behind his back when it appeared. This figure didn¡¯t seem very big, about the same size as Zhongli Wu¡¯s body. However, everyone who was watching could feel their hearts constrict when this shadow appeared.

    What was that?

    Yan Shaozhe had crossed paths with Zhongli Wu before, and even he wasn¡¯t entirely sure what Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul was.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression had be incredibly solemn as he watched in the distance. He muttered under his breath, ¡°Back then, Ye Xishui¡¯s martial soul mutated into a Blood Soul Demonpuppet. Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul seems superior to Ye Xishui¡¯s martial soul, and it must have mutated once more. But for some reason, it feels extraordinarily powerful. Its origins must be simr to Ye Xishui¡¯s Blood Soul Demonpuppet.¡±

    ¡°Ye Xishui¡¯s Blood Soul Demonpuppet is a martial soul that improves continuously by nourishing itself with human souls. This is one of the most important reasons why Elder Mu couldn¡¯t approve of her anymore, no matter what. Many humans have perished at Ye Xishui¡¯s hands, and Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul should have the same characteristics as hers. I just don¡¯t know how powerful he can be. This battle will be very difficult for Yuhao.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe forced augh and said, ¡°What this child is doing is too risky. He¡¯s challenging the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s powerful individuals all by himself. He really¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head gently. ¡°I can understand what he¡¯s thinking. He¡¯sying down the foundations for his future. At the same time, he really is confident to some extent. Perhaps he is estimating his chances at fifty percent, but fifty percent is enough to try. As long as he canplete this battle peacefully, then no matter who he faces afterwards, he will definitely be able to escape with his life even if he loses in the end. And if he lives after today¡¯s episode, then he will undoubtedly give everyone a big surprise.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Yan Shaozhe nced at Elder Xuan in surprise. ¡°Surprise? What surprise?¡±

    Elder Xuan nced back at Yan Shaozhe and said, ¡°We are soul masters, and we have to deal with any problem rationally. However, once our cultivation rank reaches a certain standard, we have to be passionate, and we have to be crazy, besides just umting and working hard. I havecked this insanity, and that¡¯s the reason why I have dallied for so long. What Yuhao is doing is relying on external forces to fully unleash his potential. When he obtained his second soul core, his potential far exceeded ours.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe started to think. Using battles to unleash one¡¯s potential? He did want to do that, but at his cultivation, finding a suitable opponent who could threaten his life was just too difficult. There were some in Shrek Academy, but who in the academy would wish to fight with him to the death? A showdown with outsiders to the death was too dangerous, and it was hard to find such opponents.

    Huo Yuhao had just recently obtained his second soul core, and he was doing this to train himself so that he could fuse with his two soul cores even more perfectly and seamlessly. He also wanted to stimte his immense potential at the same time so that he could prepare for the future. The future? What was Huo Yuhao¡¯s future like?

    Yan Shaozhe couldn¡¯t tell what Huo Yuhao¡¯s future would be like anymore. He was only praying for him, praying that he could emerge victorious against Zhongli Wu in this battle. However, he didn¡¯t approve of how Huo Yuhao was forcefully pressuring himself. He was up against a powerful evil soul master. How dangerous was that?

    Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Wu¡¯s battle had begun in the sky.

    Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t attack Huo Yuhao at once. He tapped his staff in the air as a deep howling sound could be heard, and the enormous head of some beast appeared in front of him.

    Surprisingly, it was a dragon¡¯s head. It was entirely ck, but it emanated translucent green light as intense green mes danced within its eyes. Chilly and sinister winds billowed through the air as the dragon head appeared.

    What was that?

    Yan Shaozhe had crossed paths with Zhongli Wu before, but he had been incinerating himself back then so that he could buy time for hispanions, while Zhongli Wu didn¡¯t give his full strength in that battle. Yan Shaozhe now watched as Zhongli Wu suddenly released an enormous dragon head. This dragon head seemed to be rted to his martial soul, yet it seemed like it wasn¡¯t. Yan Shaozhe was astonished.How powerful is Zhongli Wu, exactly?

    Not many people in the Holy Ghost Church knew what Zhongli Wu¡¯s true power was like, not to mention Yan Shaozhe.

    The enormous dragon head wasn¡¯t the end, it was just the beginning.

    Itsrge ck frame gradually snaked out, and the dragon¡¯s w quickly reached out as the dragon slowly revealed its tremendous body. This was a giant ck dragon! However, the differences were that this ck dragon didn¡¯t have scales, muscles, or flesh, but was formed entirely from ck bones. Even then, this ck dragon¡¯s aura wasparable to that of an actual dragon.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t attack Zhongli Wu as he was releasing his dragon. Instead, he just hovered quietly in midair and waited. He had his Icy War God¡¯s Armor covering him, so nobody could see his expression, while he was using Star Anise Icy Coagtion to swiftly recover his soul power.

    Why didn¡¯t Huo Yuhao take this opportunity to attack? Shrek Academy¡¯s various elders were all worried.

    The ck bone dragon took ten seconds to appear fully in front of everyone. The dragon was a hundred meters long, and its wingspan was also about a hundred meters wide. This size wasn¡¯t considered muchpared to a top-tier individual¡¯s martial soul true body. Soul masters like Elder Xuan¡¯s martial soul true body could easily reach a thousand meters.

    However, this ck bone dragon looked almost material! Furthermore, all sorts of illusions and images flickered in the sky as it appeared. There were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and they all belonged to soul beasts. There were countless soul beasts¡¯ agonizing cries echoing through the heavens, like there were uncountable avenging beast spirits crying out hysterically.

    How many soul beasts did Zhongli Wu have to kill to create something like this?

    Zhongli Wu was standing on the enormous bone dragon¡¯s skull. He was very smallpared to the bone dragon, but he gave off a stifling feeling that created a terrifying pressure.

    ¡°I discovered this set of dragon bones in some historical remains. The dragon¡¯s soul hadn¡¯t dissipated back then. Even though the dragon itself isn¡¯t considered a top-tier draconic species, and even though its bloodline isn¡¯t even pure, this dragon has a tinge of the Silver Dragon on its body. You¡¯ve probably heard of the history of the dragons, that the Dragon God split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King. In addition to the nine sons of the Dragon God, they were considered kings of their species. Their descendants all have a little of their blood in them. But the truth is, there are still some other secrets.¡±

    ¡°Only the Dragon God¡¯s nine sons passed on their bloodline. The Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King had no offspring. The Golden Dragon King met its demise for some unknown reason after the split, while the Silver Dragon King disappeared. That was the reason why the dragons fell from grace. However, the Dragon God releasedrge amounts of energy when he split into the two dragon kings. Some of that energy contained the Golden Dragon King¡¯s Ultimate Strength and the Silver Dragon King¡¯s control of the elements. Those dragons who were bathing in the Dragon God¡¯s favor were partially affected by those energies, and their ims afterward about how they possessed the Golden Dragon King or the Silver Dragon King¡¯s bloodline arises from this fact.¡±

    ¡°The Silver Dragon King blessed this dragon when it was still alive, therefore, the dragon¡¯s soul is undying, while it also possesses part of the Silver Dragon King¡¯s powers. This dragon is the strongest beast spirit among those that I possess, and it took me ten years to capture it, and I couldn¡¯t receive any external help during that period of time. Ten yearster, the dragon¡¯s strength enabled me to break through directly to be a Transcendent Douluo. Subsequently, I took over as the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s supreme leader.¡±

    ¡°Normally, I would never use this dragon¡¯s power, because it has be my origin beast spirit, and even part of my martial soul. Today, you can be proud that you¡¯ve forced me to unleash my Bone Dragon King.¡±

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s voice was deep and cold. The Bone Dragon King¡¯s aura became a little stronger, and the sky a little darker, with every syble he uttered. Zhongli Wu¡¯s soul rings flickered amid the ck light from the beginning to the end, and nobody could tell whether he was using his soul skills.

 Chapter 580.3 - The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out

    <h4 ss>Chapter 580.3: The Scorpion Tiger Dies and Zhong Li Comes Out</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re spouting so much nonsense.¡± Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll recover all my strength during this time?¡±

    Zhongli Wuughed out loud. ¡°So what if you recover? Do you really think you can challenge me one-on-one? Furthermore, what you¡¯ve expended before along with the Holy Lady¡¯s strength isn¡¯t that easy to recover from. I¡¯m spouting so much nonsense to you only because I¡¯m confident of defeating you. The heavens and the earth will change as the winds and clouds rumble!¡±

    A strange sight urred as Zhongli Wu eximed those words. The giant dragon beneath his feet suddenly turned green, and the dark clouds in the sky turned green at the same time. Strong winds gusted through the air, and the heavens and earth did seem to change in that moment.

    Wind! This was the power of wind, and Zhongli Wu waspletely unlike an evil soul master at this point.

    Strong winds billowed as tiny tornados appeared in the sky and swept toward Huo Yuhao. Frightening winds gusted at him, and the elements of water in the sky swiftly plummeted as Huo Yuhao¡¯s Star Anise Icy Coagtion was dispelled just like that.

    Such powerful winds. Is this the Silver Dragon King¡¯s mastery over the elements?

    This peculiar fighting style was entirely out of a normal soul master¡¯s scope, and not a single person could tell what soul skill Zhongli Wu was using. He was using his beast spirit to fight, and his beast spirit was entirely different from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits.

    Huo Yuhao was the only person who could understand a little about what was happening at a time like this.

    He still couldn¡¯t tell what Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul was, but he could be sure that Zhongli Wu had relied on his martial soul to capture this Bone Dragon King as his beast spirit. Zhongli Wu should be targeting soul beasts, but there were so many soul beasts¡¯ agonizing cries, while he only had one beast spirit. This meant that those soul beasts that Zhongli Wu had killed had probably be nourishment for this Bone Dragon King!

    It was no wonder he wanted to chase down and kill the Beast God, Di Tian. Of course, Zhongli Wu wouldn¡¯t use this Bone Dragon King to consume the Beast God if he was sessful. Instead, he would directly control the Beast God as his new beast spirit, and he would probably use that new beast spirit to consume this Bone Dragon King. Zhongli Wu¡¯s own strength increased continuously with this continuous cycle of the strong swallowing the strong. Zhongli Wu evolved with every instance.

    When Zhongli Wu¡¯s spirit was sufficiently powerful, he would consume other soul beasts to strengthen his beast spirit. When his own beast spirit wasn¡¯t strong enough, he would go the other way and change his beast spirit.

    Zhongli Wu himself probably wasn¡¯t sure how many soul beasts had died at his hands from the beginning of his career until now, when he was a Transcendent Douluo. His soul skills were probably all auxiliary skills to support his beast spirit.What a formidable evil soul master! He has his own salient characteristics and overbearing might.

    Huo Yuhao shook his arms amid the strong winds and swiftly soared into the sky. However, he realized to his surprise that he couldn¡¯t really control his body, as his attempt at breaking out wasn¡¯t sessful.

    Any kind of flight had to rely on air resistance and air flow, whether the individual flying was using the air in the sky or releasing air from his own body. When Huo Yuhao released his soul power once more, he found that the air around him had beenpletely sucked away. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul powernded in empty space, and his body barely moved before he stopped.

    Right at this moment, enormous green des of wind that were several meters long and about a meter thick cut down toward him from all directions. Ear-piercing crackles could be heard as gashes were opened in the air again and again. Huo Yuhao felt like the air around him had been shattered, and he was about to be torn apart.

    Strength like this is just too frightening.

    I can¡¯t fight, and I can¡¯t even control my own movement. What do I do? Do I take this head-on?

    These winds are actually so powerful!

    Huo Yuaho¡¯s eyes glowed as he swept his right arm in front of him, and he began to move.

    Light flickered as he vanished into thin air just like that. Right when everyone thought that he had used Instant Teleportation, he reappeared at his original spot.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s disappearance and reappearance coincidentally evaded the first few des. He to phase in and out on the spot, and his position seemed to change a little, but those changes weren¡¯t big.

    Zhongli Wu raised the staff in his hands, and his expression became even darker as he watched what was happening. However, there was only astonishment deep in his eyes.

    Normal soul masters couldn¡¯t tell what Huo Yuhao was doing at this moment, but how could he not know? Huo Yuhao was clearly using spatial power!

    Zhongli Wu was all too clear about who had the ability to control space. Ultimate Douluo, and only Ultimate Douluo, could control spatial power. How could Huo Yuhao aplish that?

    Zhongli Wu had seen such power from his mother and from the Darkness Holy Dragon, the Dragon Emperor Douluo. Zhongli Wu had also seen this from Di Tian when he was chasing him down. Di Tian had relied on his mastery over spatial power to repel Zhongli Wu and the others. Di Tian was clearly injured, but he could stillunch a series of retaliations to the point where Zhongli Wu and the others had to escape wretchedly. They would have perished in the end if they hadn¡¯t escaped quickly enough.

    But such powers shouldn¡¯t appear on Huo Yuhao! How old is he? What¡¯s his cultivation? How can he have mastered the secret of spatial power?

    Had Huo Yuhao really mastered spatial power? The answer was no, because Huo Yuhao only had a brief and superficial understanding of spatial power.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s suspicions were also correct, because only Ultimate Douluos could control spatial power. More urately put, only individuals with two soul cores could do so.

    A human with two soul cores could use his two soul cores¡¯ connection to sense and feel everything in the world more intricately. Spatial power was among those things.

    Those who formed two soul cores through the Yin Yang Complement method would have a much easier time feeling and sensing everything, because their strength was produced as Yin and Yang shed and fused in their bodies. There was a certain extent of spatial transformation embodied within them.

    Therefore, even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s control over spatial power was still very shallow, his ability to understand was even stronger than other Ultimate Douluo.

    Faint light flickered as Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression grew strange, because his understanding of spatial power grew deeper with every break through space.

    What was spatial power? Spatial power was just different nodes of time. One who wished to master the secrets of spatial power also had to master the transformations of time. The secrets contained within this were extraordinarily profound.

    Those des forced Huo Yuhao to understand spatial power a little better, and he couldn¡¯t evade every de because he was still a little unfamiliar with what he was doing. However, a single de couldn¡¯t really hurt him with his Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    The reason why he couldn¡¯t use spatial power to phase to somece else was because he wasn¡¯t familiar enough with it. If the Beast God had been here, so what if there wasn¡¯t any air around him to use? The Beast God would prate directly through space and appear right in front of Zhongli Wu.

    But even so, Zhongli Wu was still greatly astonished.

    The des suddenly stopped as the tornadoes appeared once more. There wasn¡¯t just a single tornado, but many small tornados concentrated and stacked together. The tornados were actually multiplying into each other as they became an evenrger one.

    The air was being torn apart, and some of the tornado¡¯s strength was even starting to create gashes in space.

    You can draw upon spatial power, can¡¯t you? Then I shall tear open space and mess everything up. Let¡¯s see how you can control space then.

    The Beast God would have been able to control space if he were here, but Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t really do that because he was just starting out.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body swayed amid the strong winds, and his Icy War God¡¯s Armor radiated intense dark blue light and blocked the winds around him. However, even lower-tier soul masters could tell that he was expending a lot of soul power to do this.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to care. His movements were very slow, and his arms slowly closed around his body as a strange force appeared as his hands wrapped around himself.

    That was a small air flow, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion¡¯s silhouette appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Huo Yuhao was protecting this sphere like a jewel as it gradually took shape, and it was rotating in a direction opposite to the tornado.

    Does he n to use this small air flow to resist my tornado? My tornado will just instantly consume it.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s face was filled with contempt, but he didn¡¯t do anything. He wanted to defeat Huo Yuhao, but he didn¡¯t want to kill him. He could only convert Huo Yuhao into the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s Holy Son by capturing him, and only then could he maximize his profit.

    Zhongli Wu had chosen to enter a war of attrition from the beginning, but who knew that he had to consume so much because of his tactics in the end.

    Zhongli Wu had sent four people, and two perished in battle, one was returned in exchange, while thest was just missing. Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength had far exceeded his expectations, and he had to be equivalent to a Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was a Transcendent Douluo with an Ultimate martial soul. There had to be something peculiar about that soul tool on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as well. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t possibly be a Transcendent Douluo at such a young age.

    But so what? Huo Yuhao still had to consume energy even if he was a Transcendent Douluo, and he would definitely be defeated if he expended energy continuously.

    Therefore, what Zhongli Wu wanted to see most was for Huo Yuhao to continue using his soul power. He could only admit defeat once he was beyond a certain threshold.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s tornado contained terrifying strength, but he had some way to minimize his own expenditure. This was his Bone Dragon King¡¯s doing, as it could perfectly control the element of wind so that he could minimize the soul power that he had to use.

    The airflow in Huo Yuhao¡¯s arms slowly became bigger, but the size was rtive. The small sphere started releasing its aura, but it was immediately broken once it touched the destructive cyclone.

 Chapter 581 - Fire Phoenix Transformation

    <h4 ss>Chapter 581: Fire Phoenix Transformation</h4>

    However, Zhongli Wu was unable to tell that Huo Yuhao was actually smiling under the Icy War God¡¯s Armor. In fact, he was revealing a very satisfied smile.

    He was smiling because this scenario was extremely simr to what he had experienced when he first tried to form his Yin Yang Complement soul cores! However, back then, it was a lot more dangerous than his current situation.

    Even though this tornado was extremely powerful, it was probably nothingpared to what he had to go through when he tried to form his first soul core.

    With the help of this tornado, he was improving his mastery over the icy storm he was forming with the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique. At the same time, he was gaining a better understanding of the element of air while he was being buffeted by the tornado.

    This was no longer something that was within the realm of soul skills. It was a form of understanding that was required to create one¡¯s own soul skills.

    Even though Di Tian had never properly exined it to Huo Yuhao, he had gradually discovered the biggest benefit of the Yin Yang Complement soul cores from his past few battles.

    The biggest benefit wasprehension!

    It was an enhanced ability toprehend thews of heaven and earth, and was not something that could be innately developed.

    Heaven and earth were split into Yin and Yang. The formation of his Yin Yang soul cores allowed Huo Yuhao to observe andprehend many things he could not even see in the past. These things included spatial power, elemental energy, and many other finer details.

    Hence, even while he was fighting his opponents, he was able to sense the changes in some of these power around him, and gain a betterprehension of these powers, even though the others would not be able to do so.

    Right now, he was appreciating the power of wind, as well as the secrets behind wind-type elemental energy.

    These wind-type elements were being forcefully controlled. However, It was apparent that both Zhongli Wu and his beast spirit¡ªthe Bone Dragon King¡ªwere simply relying on soul power to control these elements. After all, the Bone Dragon King was but a beast spirit, and not an actual dragon which had mastered the secrets of the element of air. Even though the Bone Dragon King had the ability to generate wind, it was not able to fully appreciate the intricacies behind wind-type power. Otherwise, it would no longer be the Bone Dragon King. It would have been the Silver Dragon King itself.

    Huo Yuhao was trying to sense the changes in the wind-type elements through his ice-type elements, as well as appreciate how gentle and agile the wind was.

    This was a golden opportunity for him to improve his understanding of wind power. How else was he going to find so much wind-type elemental energy under normal circumstances?

    As for the offensive power of the tornado, Huo Yuhao was not worried about it in the least. At the end of the day, Zhongli Wu was but a soul master, not a soul engineer. If a ss 9 soul engineer were to be the one attacking him instead, he would definitely not be using such a scattered form of attack.

    Even though the tornado was strong, its energy was very scattered. It would be extremely difficult for it to prate the Icy War God¡¯s Armor¡ªa top-tier ss 9 soul tool. Furthermore, the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was built for defense. The Divine Ice Crystals which were used to make the armor granted it immense defensive capabilities. On top of that, the wind from the tornado could not even bepared to Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire, which had been extremely destructive. Hence, the flickering light on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor was created intentionally by Huo Yuhao to dupe Zhongli Wu into believing that he was expending a lot of power to counter the tornado.

    However, Zhongli Wu would not be duped that easily. After all, he had a wealth of battle experience. In less than half a minute, he realized that something was amiss. He started to realize that the color of his tornado was starting to change.

    Its original green color was now infused with tinges of blue. This blue did not belong to his wind-type elements!

    What was Huo Yuhao¡¯s martial soul? His main martial soul was his Spirit Eyes. At every point in time, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was enshrouding the entire battlefield. He was immediately able to react the moment he discovered that Zhongli Wu¡¯s aura was starting to change.

    The extremely concentrated air current which was in his hand was suddenly released as it collided with the huge tornado. An unbelievable sight formed before everyone¡¯s eyes.

    The golden sun and blue moon which were behind Huo Yuhao suddenly fused together when the icy tornado he released collided with the huge tornado.

    The gigantic tornado suddenly paused in the air before disintegrating into tiny tornadoes which scrambled in every possible direction. The huge cluster of wind-type element energy instantly broke free from Zhongli Wu¡¯s control and scattered everywhere.

    Zhongli Wu was extremely frustrated after seeing how Huo Yuhao destroyed his tornado. He felt as though he had stripped a copious amount of elemental energy from his body at that instant. On top of that, he did not seem to be hurt at all.

    Zhongli Wu immediately recognized the problem at hand. Even though he was not aware of Huo Yuhao¡¯s two soul cores, he was starting to sense that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    The Bone Dragon King beneath his feet let out a low roar, following which, it tilted its humongous head upwards and released a green ball of light towards Huo Yuhao from its mouth.

    This ball of green light was not big. It was only about the size of a human head. This made it seem very disproportionate whenpared to the size of the Bone Dragon King.

    Zhongli Wu pointed at the ball of green light with the staff in his hand as the soul rings on his body shone. Streaks of lightnded on the ball of green light as the color of the ball became a lot darker.

    When Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection on the ball of light, he was instantly startled by what he detected.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know what Zhongli Wu¡¯s move was called, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver in fear. This sensation was extremely simr to what he had experienced when he first used his Spiritual Detection to analyze the dposition cannon shell. There was an insane amount of wind-type elemental energypressed within that tiny ball of light. Its power was definitely several times stronger than that of a dposition cannon.

    A streak of azure blue sword light descended from the sky and shed urately at the ball of light. Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword.

    The usually invincible Ultimate Ice was instantly pulverized the moment it came into contact with the ball of green light.

    Pulverized? Even my ice-type elemental energy was pulverized? How can Zhongli Wu control such concentrated and vtile wind-type energy? He must have borrowed that power from the Silver Dragon King!

    Very soon, the ball of green light was approaching Huo Yuhao. There was no way that he could use spatial power to evade the ball. After all, the surrounding space and void were already messed up by the violent and chaotic wind-type elemental energy. Huo Yuhao could not even use his Instant Teleportation.

    Even the Icy War God¡¯s Armor might not even be able to block this crazy ball of energy.

    In that case, I shall do this then!

    Huo Yuhao retracted his right first before punching it outwards!

    A sneer formed on Zhongli Wu¡¯s face.

    This ball of green light was called Extreme Wind. It was the strongest attack he could muster with the wind-type elemental energy he could control. By condensing the wind-type elements to an extremely dense state, he could slice an entire mountain with his Extreme Wind.

    Is he really nning to use his fist to block my Extreme Wind? I can¡¯t believe he isn¡¯t even using a soul skill to parry my attack.

    However, the sneering expression on his face onlysted for a short while. At the very next instant, the ball of green light disappeared!

    ¡°What?! This is impossible.¡± Zhongli Wu almost leaped out and eximed in rage.

    Even if Huo Yuhao was somehow able to survive after a humongous explosion, he would still be able to ept that as an oue. However, the green ball had somehow vanished. This was something he could not ept.

    That was a ball that contained incredibly violent and chaotic wind-type energy! How could it disappear just like this?

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would not be telling him the answer. When heunched his fist, he was actually borrowing the effects of spatial power.

    Even though the space and void around him had been messed up by the wind, he did not stop chanting his incantations. A small spatial gate had opened up before his fist after his incantations wereplete. This door was a spectral gate that led to the spectral demine. Hence, he was able to direct the Extreme Wind effortlessly into the spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao was definitely unable to urately determine how much damage the Extreme Wind would do within the spectral demine. However, he knew it would notnd at the same ce as where Ma Xiaotao was.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not manage to achieve this at no cost. He had to invest a lot of effort and energy to stabilize the space before his fist in order to direct the Extreme Wind into his spectral demine. If not for his increased understanding of spatial power, he might not have been able to pull it off.

    After the Extreme Wind vanished, the surrounding space became normal again. And Huo Yuhao¡¯s body disappeared at the very next instant.

    The dark sky above them suddenly became incredibly cold as snowkes started to fall from the sky.

    Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice.

    Even though Zhongli Wu was displeased with how things had turned out, he was able to regain hisposure very quickly. The air around him suddenly became extremely restless. The green wind vanished, to be reced by intense fire.

    The sky instantly turned red as the surrounding temperature, which had just plunged, started to rise again. Huge amounts of fiery meteors ravaged the sky as they collided with the snowkes released by Huo Yuhao.

    Is this what the Silver Dragon King can do? It has moved onto the element of fire after controlling the element of air!

    As the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice collided with the fiery meteor shower, brilliant shes of red and blue illuminated the sky.

    While the fiery meteor shower released by Zhongli Wu through his Bone Dragon King was not of Ultimate Fire, its quantity was a lot greater than what Huo Yuhao had summoned. With the support of his incredible soul power, the meteor shower brought its insanely destructive power almost everywhere. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice was unable to even fully take shape.

    Rings of fiery light were also radiating constantly around Zhongli Wu¡¯s body. This prevented Huo Yuhao from getting near him.

    The power of the fire was a lot more frightening than that of the wind previously. It was a lot more violent and explosive.

    The bones on the Bone Dragon King had turnedpletely red as it pped its huge wings. It was like a gigantic fire dragon.

    Neutralizing ice with fire was undoubtedly a wise decision. This was especially smart when Huo Yuhao had already expendedrge amounts of soul power in his previous battles.

    Zhongli Wu was following his n closely as he aimed to drain Huo Yuhao of his soul power. He would not be giving him any chance to retaliate.

    If they were topete purely based on techniques, Huo Yuhao might have a chance to showcase his abilities. However, when they werepeting on soul power, it would depend on who had a higher rank, and who hadrger reserves of soul power. Huo Yuhao would never be able to evade such attacks no matter how powerful his Spiritual Detection was. It was not hard for Zhongli Wu tounch attacks with huge areas of effect.

    Hence, very soon, Huo Yuhao reappeared in the sky. The effects of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice were still present, as snowkes neutralized every fiery meteor that was about to hit him.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to be suppressed by Zhongli Wu quite badly. Even the Icy War God¡¯s Armor on his body was starting to show charred marks.

    Zhongli Wu remained on the head of his Bone Dragon King. His face revealed a solemn expression, and no one could tell what he was feeling. However, everyone could tell that he had gained the upper hand in this battle.

    This type of battle was extremely shameless for the evil soul masters, especially when he was fighting Huo Yuhao, who was already weakened by his previous battles. However, evil soul masters would never be concerned with intangible things like shame.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s audible sigh could be heard by everyone who was spectating this battle. It seemed like he was at his wits¡¯ end.

    Even though Zhongli Wu was undeniably shameless, it was still a brilliant move. He had chosen tounch a head-on attack. Besides, he was even able to control the direction of his meteor shower to focus it on Huo Yuhao, forcing him to block the fiery meteors.

    Everyone knew what the oue would be if this were to continue.

    Is this the power of fire? Violent and cruel?While Huo Yuhao was sighing, he was actually smiling as he sensed the transformation in the fire-type elements around him.

    It was rumored that the Silver Dragon King could control the following elements: fire, water, earth, wind, light, dark, and space. He could also control mutated elements, which included lightning, ice, and many other elements.

    This Bone Dragon King was only blessed by the Silver Dragon King, and was definitely unable to control every single element. Huo Yuhao wished it could control more so that he could learn more about the different elements.

    When Huo Yuhao sensed that Zhongli Wu was about to use fire to curb his ice powers, he almost burst outughing.

    After all, he possessed Ultimate Ice! On top of that, his Icy War God¡¯s Armor was built from Divine Ice Crystals. It usually took more than ten thousand years just to form a small piece of such crystal. They were naturally extremely resistant to fire-type energy. If the wind earlier was not able to prate the armor, the fiery meteor shower would not even stand a chance. Huo Yuhao had no idea why Zhongli Wu had decided to use such a method to attack him.

    However, he admitted that it was a pretty good experience feeling the beauty of the fire-type element.

    Unfortunately, as someone who naturally possessed ice-type powers, Huo Yuhao would always struggle with developing a deep understanding of the element of fire, no matter how powerful hisprehension was. This was an elemental problem, and it was not rted to hisprehension ability.

    After seeing how ineffective his continuous fiery meteor shower was, Zhongli Wu waved the staff in his hand again as the Bone Dragon King tilted its head upwards to release a blue fiery ball at Huo Yuhao.

    Simr to the Extreme Wind earlier, this blue ming ball was undoubtedly insanely powerful.

    Of course, it disappeared in the same way as the Extreme Wind. Huo Yuhao could only apologize to the spectral demer.

    The sky suddenly quieted down in an eerie manner.

    So far, both sides had battled in a fairly bnced way, as though both parties were just trying to better understand each other¡¯s abilities. Even though it looked as though Huo Yuhao was at a disadvantage, Zhongli Wu had probably expended more soul power than him. At least, this was what Huo Yuhao believed. Even though he had also expended his soul power during this period of time, he was able to get away with expending less soul power because of his Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao.¡± Zhongli Wu¡¯s cold voice rang in the air.

    Huo Yuhao stared calmly at Zhongli Wu and replied, ¡°Yes? What do you have to say?¡±

    Zhongli Wu suddenly smiled. It seemed as though he was genuinely very happy. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re very smart? Do you really think you will be able to negate most of my attacks with minimal soul power by using your ss 9 soul tool?

    ¡°Huh?¡± Huo Yuhao was caught off-guard by Zhongli Wu¡¯s words. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Zhongli Wu shed a smile and said, ¡°I just want to tell you that you¡¯re wrong. I was just charging up my energy while I was throwing wind and fire at you!¡±

    ¡°Charging up energy?¡± Huo Yuhao was not sure what Zhongli Wu was saying.

    Zhongli Wu said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide it from you. After all, you will be one of us very soon.¡± Only Huo Yuhao could hear what he was saying.

 Chapter 582.1 - Whos Scheming Here?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 582.1: Who¡¯s Scheming Here?</h4>

    ¡°After all, my Bone Dragon King is not a real dragon. It cannot use the toughness of a dragon¡¯s body to negate the detrimental effects brought by its usage of different elements. Hence, it always requires time to make some adjustments to its body before releasing any elemental ability. Even though it has consumed so many spirits from the soul beasts I have fed it, it still needs this annoying warm-up phase. It can only perform at its greatest potential afterward. My Bone Dragon King might have only inherited the fire-type and wind-type elements from the Silver Dragon King, but its mastery of the two elements is almost perfect. Hence, what you will be facing up next is the frighteningbination of fire and wind.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, the light around Zhongli Wu¡¯s body suddenly intensified as the Bone Dragon King beneath him regained its ck color The sky above everyone suddenly turned both green and red.

    Once again, fiery meteors started to appear in the sky. However, they were all blue this time round.

    Gusts of green wind started to appear once more. It was well understood by everyone present that the wind would help that enhance the power of the fire! At the next instant, the blue fiery meteors were like cannon shells which sped straight towards Huo Yuhao.

    The frightening aura released by the meteor shower created a burning smell in the air. A scary suffocating atmosphere enveloped the entire area fifty kilometers from their battleground.

    Elder Xuan, who had managed to maintain hisposure all this while, suddenly revealed a startled expression. The aura Zhongli Wu was radiating right now was actually on par with his!

    Even an Ultimate Douluo like him would have to be extremely focused and careful when handling the attack Zhongli Wu had just released. In fact, he might even have to unleash his martial soul true body. Zhongli Wu¡¯s power had exceeded Elder Xuan¡¯s estimation.

    Zhongli Wu was obviously not an Ultimate Douluo yet. However, he was at least a Rank 97 Transcendent Douluo. The most frightening thing was how he was able to elevate his power to that of an Ultimate Douluo with his peculiar beast spirit. No wonder he was one of the greatest evil soul masters in this continent. If he were to sessfully be an Ultimate Douluo in the future, his abilities would definitely be a lot stronger than those of the Death God Douluo.

    How was Huo Yuhao going to handle an attack which even an Ultimate Douluo had to fear?

    Ju Zi had already stood up after seeing Zhongli Wu¡¯s attack. She was clenching her fists as she gazed intently at the sky. Of course, she would not stand up in joy because Zhongli Wu had gained the upper hand. Instead, she only stood up because she was worried about the man who was about to be caught between fire and wind.

    Can he really survive a blow like this?

    A faint light flickered as Huo Yuhao revealed a cold expression on his face.It¡¯s finally here! This is what Zhongli Wu is truly capable of. In that case, it¡¯s also time for him to see what I¡¯m capable of.

    A faint streak of icy blue light was released from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as it shot straight up into the sky. The fiery atmosphere in the sky was instantly weakened. An insane soul power fluctuation swept towards the fire and wind which were swarming towards Huo Yuhao as Zhongli Wu¡¯s attack paused for a short while.

    A blue pir of light more than ten meters in diameter shot straight into the sky and illuminated the sky above the fiery clouds. The blue moon that was behind Huo Yuhao became even more radiant. This also resulted in his Icy War God¡¯s Armor radiating a more intense blue light. His frightening Ultimate Ice was actually concentrating on his body.

    Zhongli Wu was not the only person who had not gone all-out in the previous moments. Huo Yuhao had also not used his full power to fend off the attacksunched at him by Zhongli Wu. Now, their battle had only just begun.

    A short dagger suddenly appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. After noticing the appearance of the dagger, Zhongli Wu¡¯s pupils contracted slightly. This was obviously one of the items Huo Yuhao had chosen to bet with. He had referred to it as a godly weapon.

    To be honest, Zhongli Wu was not particrly interested in this dagger. After all, a powerful weapon which was full of Ultimate Ice power was not of much use for him. However, no one would ever worry about having too many precious items. It would still be a good thing for him if he were actually able to get his hands on it.

    However, Zhongli Wu was genuinely interested to see how Huo Yuhao would use this dagger to defend himself against his wind-infused fiery meteor shower.

    Huo Yuhao gave him the answer he wanted very soon. Wielding the short dagger with his right hand, Huo Yuhao shed it forward with a gentle and moderately fast movement. A streak of blue dagger light was immediately emitted as light was projected forward close to ten meters.

    By then, the blue meteors were approaching Huo Yuhao. However, they immediately vanished uponing into contact with the sh of light released by the dagger. They did not even leave a single trace of smoke.

    Huo Yuhao started to increase the speed of his shing motion. He flitted across the sky like a gust of wind with nimble footsteps as the blue pir of light followed wherever he went. The pir was essentially functioning like a vacuum chamber, which ensured that the violent air current in the sky would not restrict his movements. He was as quick as lightning. With every sh he made, a meteor would vanish. The people around him were starting to notice how Huo Yuhao was actually moving so fast that the meteors were unable to catch up with him. Even though Zhongli Wu had used a lot more soul power to release such an overwhelming attack, its effects could not bepared with Huo Yuhao¡¯s, as only a small portion of his meteors would be able toe into contact with him.

    Huo Yuhao was starting to find a rhythm to this as he continually used the dagger in his hand to handle the meteors that wereing his way. No matter how the meteors tried to smash him, surround him, or encircle him, they just could not hit him.

    If one were to say that Zhongli Wu had held the upper hand throughout the course of the battle so far, then it would be apt to say that Huo Yuhao had managed to gain absolute control within the advantage that Zhongli Wu had seemingly created.

    The Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger! Huo Yuhao had finally found the perfect stage to showcase the true power of the dagger. Its powerful de light allowed it to slice through any me whichy before it. With the help of his Icy War God¡¯s Armor and the Morning Dew Dagger, Huo Yuhao was able to survive an onught which would even threaten the life of an Ultimate Douluo!

    Has he been withholding his power all this time?

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s jaw dropped as he stared at Huo Yuhao, who was flitting across the sky. He finally understood why Huo Yuhao dared to challenge Zhongli Wu, even after defeating four Transcendent Douluo. Huo Yuhao was a lot more powerful than what he had thought!Transcendent Douluo? A Transcendent Douluo with an Ultimate strength martial soul?It was probably not just that. Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s equipment yed an important role, they would never have been able to exhibit their power without his abilities.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao felt as though the Morning Dew Dagger had be an extension of his body. Every simple action he made was able to harness the dagger¡¯s brilliance.

    Wherever the sh of light radiated by the daggernded, the ice-type element in the air would immediately congregate. There was always ayer of icy mist surrounding the de of the dagger.

    This was the Morning Dew Dagger. The Morning Dew Dagger which was encrusted with the gem of the Frozen Goddess. This was a real godly weapon! Huo Yuhao knew that no one¡ªincluding Zhongli Wu and Ju Zi¡ªhad believed him when he had revealed how the Morning Dew Dagger was a godly weapon. This was because everyone in the world of soul masters believed that the strongest weapon ought to be a soul tool. In their eyes, a godly weapon was a ss 9 soul tool. However, it was apparent that the Morning Dew Dagger was not just any soul tool.

    This was a culmination of power and energy that did not exist in their world!

    A faint smile formed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He had never felt the need to try to convince others to believe him. He knew he just had to show it to them.

    The wind-infused fiery meteor showersted for a couple of minutes. When thest meteor was finally destroyed by the Morning Dew Dagger, the sky returned to its normal state. Even the Bone Dragon King returned to its original ck color.

    Zhongli Wu stared at Huo Yuhao, who was wielding the dagger in aposed manner, as he nodded gently. ¡°Now I finally believe that dagger is a godly weapon. There¡¯s no way you could have blocked my attack without it.¡±

    Huo Yuhao did not try to deny it as he nodded gently. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t lived for a hundred years more than me, you would not have been qualified to stand before me.¡±

    After hearing how Zhongli Wu was trying to poke at the fact that he had relied on a godly weapon, Huo Yuhao could not help but make fun of the pointless extra hundred years Zhongli Wu had lived. Even after cultivating for an additional hundred years, they were still somewhat on par.

    Zhongli Wu released a cold grunt as he raised the staff in his hand once again. The Bone Dragon King beneath him repeated the same action of tilting its head upwards. Its gigantic wings started to p in a vigorous manner as Zhongli Wu¡¯s body started to grow bigger at an incredibly fast rate. The image which had been suspended behind his back all this while was gradually fusing with his body. His seventh soul ring, which was red, started to radiate an intense light.

    This was the first time that Huo Yuhao was going to see Zhongli Wu unleash a soul skill. Was he about to use his martial soul true body?

    Aren¡¯t all of his soul skills of the strengthening kind? Then, what use does his martial soul true body have? Would it allow him to fuse with the Bone Dragon King?

    Even though Huo Yuhao was not sure what Zhongli Wu was up to, he was not overly concerned. After all, this battle was meant to be the biggest test for his abilities. The stronger the enemy, the better it was for him, as he would only learn more and be stronger.

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s worries were non-existent in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He had never thought that he would actually be killed by Zhongli Wu. This was the confidence that belonged to a soul master who possessed a pair of Yin Yang Complement soul cores.

    After bing ten meters tall, Zhongli Wu¡¯s body stopped growing. Right now, his entire body was enshrouded by darkness.

    Compared to the hundred meter or thousand meter-tall martial soul true body of a Titled Douluo, his ten meter-tall martial soul true body did not seem very impressive. However, Huo Yuhao was visibly startled¡ªeven though no one could see his facial expression under his visor¡ªafter Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul true body wasplete.

    The staff that Zhongli Wu had been holding also became bigger as Zhongli Wu expanded. His staff had evolved into a sickle after he had grown to his ten meter size. The de of the sickle was about ten meters long. Hence, it looked strangely disproportionate for a ten meter-tall Zhongli Wu to wield a ten meter-long sickle.

    However, after his transformation, an indescribable pressure started to exert itself on Huo Yuhao from all directions. The overwhelming, formless pressure made Huo Yuhao feel as though his spirit was about to be squeezed out from his body.

 Chapter 582.2 - Whos Scheming Here?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 582.2: Who¡¯s Scheming Here?</h4>

    This sensation was truly frightening. He was starting to understand what Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul was.

    His martial soul was not just one which only offered strengthening and support. Instead, his martial soul also possessed powerful fighting strength.

    This fighting strength was what Zhongli Wu had gained a result of the fusion between his spirit and his body, as well as the enhancement gained from his mutated martial soul.

    Simr to how Xu Sanshi¡¯s martial soul had evolved into the Xuanwu Shield, Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul was probably also continually evolving as his cultivation continued to improve. Its real name should be called the Death God Demonpuppet.

    Yes, the Death God Demonpuppet.

    The Death God Douluo¡¯s martial soul was the Blood Soul Demonpuppet. It was already an extremely powerful martial soul. However, Zhongli Wu¡¯s martial soul was even stronger than his mother¡¯s.

    Death God Douluo? From the current look of things, Zhongli Wu was more deserving of the title. After all, his martial soul true body was the Death God¡¯s true body itself! The Bone Dragon King must be the Death God¡¯s mount!

    This must be Zhongli Wu at his most powerful state. No wonder he did not panic at all when I repeatedly blocked his attacks. That¡¯s because he had been holding back all this while!

    Huo Yuhao did not release his martial soul true body. The Snow Empress and Ice Empress were still asleep, and the Eyes of the Asura were not ideal for closebat. And based on the situation before him, closebat seemed to be the only option. Neither of them would be able to run away from that.

    The Bone Dragon King let out a deafening roar as its gigantic body soared into the sky. Its frightening wings pped intensely as it blocked everyone¡¯s view of the sun and the clouds. It carried the Death God above its head as it surged towards Huo Yuhao.

    Even though its body was enormous, it was able to fly at an incredibly fast speed. Within a split second, the gigantic Death God¡¯s Sickle was right before Huo Yuhao.

    Six fire-wind vortexes also appeared around Huo Yuhao at this instant as they made sure that he couldn¡¯t move away to avoid Zhongli Wu¡¯s attack. The frightening suffocating sensation threatened to tear Huo Yuhao apart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes immediately radiated intense light. The Eye of Destiny on his forehead had long been activated, and a streak of purple-golden light mmed into the head of the Bone Dragon King.

    The green spirit fire instantly trembled vigorously. The six fire-wind vortexes disintegrated immediately as Zhongli Wu lost control over them, and they released a series of violent air currents.

    Even though Zhongli Wu was also caught in the air currents, he was not really affected by them, as he was a user of wind-type and fire-type power. The Death God¡¯s Sickle in his hand did not even budge as he continued to advance towards Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Cling!¡± Huo Yuhao had raised his Morning Dew Dagger to block Zhongli Wu¡¯s Death God¡¯s Sickle. Immediately, Huo Yuhao found himself thrown backward by the incredible force produced by the collision. While he was flying backward, his entire body was enshrouded by streaks of ck air. Those ck currents were somehow able to fuse into his body directly. In fact, most of them went straight for his head, as though they were trying to consume his soul.

    On the other hand, Zhongli Wu only shook a little on the head of the Bone Dragon King. He merely had to adjust his footing to find his bnce again. The Death God¡¯s Sickle in his hand now had an additional blueyer of ice on it. However, the blue ice was rapidly melting under the impact of the ck current released from Zhongli Wu¡¯s body.

    This was absolute power. The power of the Death God.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was being thrown backward by the force, his eyes were radiating with passion and enthusiasm. Yes, this was the pressure he wanted! Even Elder Xuan would not have been able to give him this stifling sensation. This was because Elder Xuan did not possess any murderous intent against him.

    The Yin Yang Complement soul cores within his body were rotating at an insane speed as the streaks of soul power which were perpetually colliding against one another produced a soul power vortex. It was running at a speed that was at least three times its normal speed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s power was continually ejected from his body into his surroundings.

    His soul cores were the true trump card he had against Zhongli Wu. Huo Yuhao¡¯s regenerative ability was way above any normal soul master because of his Yin Yang Complement soul cores. Hence, the soul power he had actually expended would always be less than what it seemed on the surface.

    However, Zhongli Wu¡¯s fighting strength had also exceeded his expectations. The Death God¡¯s Sickle was indeed very powerful! This sickle appeared to be the evolved state of the staff he had produced from his first soul skill. However, Huo Yuhao could tell with his Spiritual Detection that it was actually his eighth soul skill.

    Zhongli Wu had only be so strong because he had used his seventh soul skill¡ªDeath God True Body¡ªand his eighth soul skill¡ªDeath God¡¯s Sickle. He would definitely stand a chance against a real Ultimate Douluo with these two soul skills.

    After that collision, even the Ultimate Ice ability of the Morning Dew Dagger was unable topletely seal the death aura contained within the Death God¡¯s Sickle. This frightening death aura was actually eating away at Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at an incredibly fast speed. Even though the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was able to filter off a significant portion of it, some parts of it had still managed to creep into the armor. It was like a persistent worm that was able to eat through anything. Because of how hard it was to remove the death aura, it would be an extremely serious problem for anyone who was to find his or her body attacked by it.

    However, Huo Yuhao was the exception. After creeping into his body, the death aura was about to begin to devour his life energy. These streaks of death aura were able to strengthen themselves by devouring life energy until Huo Yuhao was dead. That was the power of the Death God!

    However, the streaks of death aura found themselves up against countless tiny vortexes after creeping into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. These vortexes contained Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power and Ultimate Ice. Even though the vortexes were not able to directly dissolve the death aura, they were able totch themselves onto the death aura. Following which, both of them would be ejected from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body under his careful control.

    There was also an extra coat of ck on the Morning Dew Dagger. If one were to go up close to look at it, one would realize that it was a small ck vortex which contained an incredibly frightening amount of power.

    ¡°You should surrender now. You will never stand a chance against me. I don¡¯t want to kill you. With the gifts you possess, you can definitely be my sessor at the Holy Ghost Church.¡± Zhongli Wu spoke coldly. Even then, his eyes showed the pity and admiration he had for Huo Yuhao¡¯s talent.

    Zhongli Wu was able to sense that Huo Yuhao was still not a Transcendent Douluo from their previous collision. Huo Yuhao was only able to parry his blow because of his human-shaped soul tool and the godly weapon. On the other hand, Zhongli Wu was an actual Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo! There was a gap between their abilities that could not be bridged. Just his beast spirit alone was enough to negate the difference between their martial souls.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head obstinately as he said, ¡°Tell me that again only after you have defeated me!¡± As he spoke, he raised the Morning Dew Dagger once again as a look of determination formed on his face. The violent wind-type and fire-type power continually attacked his body as his Icy War God¡¯s Armor radiated a powerful glow.

    How is he not affected by the death aura?Zhongli Wu¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.There¡¯s no way the death aura has not had any effect on him. He must have found a way to suppress it temporarily.

    The gigantic bone dragon let out another roar as it pped its wings before flying towards Huo Yuhao again. Even though Huo Yuhao had hurt it with his Spiritual Shock, the damage sustained by its soul was still limited because its soul was fused with Zhongli Wu¡¯s.

    Just when the gigantic dragon started to fly towards Huo Yuhao, Zhongli Wu made his move. He waved his gigantic Death God¡¯s Sickle once again as its scary ck de shed across the sky. The de seemed to have torn apart the space which separated it and Huo Yuhao as it instantly appeared before him.

    The attack was so fast that Huo Yuhao could only block it with his Morning Dew Dagger. Once again, he was knocked back by the powerful force. This time around, he did not even have the time to release his Spiritual Shock before the sickle came for him.

    While he was flying backwards due to the impact, streaks of ck fog flickered around him as they tried to devour him.

    The Bone Dragon King elerated as it appeared where Huo Yuhao hadnded almost instantly. It took aim as it swept its gigantic dragon tail towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s waist.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body flew away like a homerun baseball as he was hit once again. The Icy War God¡¯s Armor let out a deafening sound after it was hit by the dragon tail.

    The most frightening thing was howrge vortexes of fire-type and wind-type energy continued to attack his body even though he had been sent flying away from the Bone Dragon King.

    Throughout the entire attack, Zhongli Wu never left the head of the Bone Dragon King. Once again, he shed his Death God¡¯s Sickle as it tore apart the space before him. A ck image flickered before disappearing into the void.

    The same ck figure ripped apart the space Huo Yuhao would go by along his flight trajectory as he reappeared before him.

    The figure seemed like the spitting image of Zhongli Wu as it shed the sickle in its hand onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Everyone who was watching the battle could not help but hold their breath as they watched the sight before them unfold.

    That¡¯s it. Huo Yuhao is probably going to be finished this time around.

    ¡°Cling!¡± Just when everyone expected the sickle tond on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he suddenly turned his body in mid-air as he waved his Morning Dew Dagger towards the sickle at an impossible angle. He managed to block the deadly blow of the sickle with his dagger! However, his body was once again sent flying away. By now, his Icy War God¡¯s Armor was shrouded with death aura. It seemed as though he was about to be consumed by the ck streaks of energy.

    Huo Yuhao no longer tried to fight Zhongli Wu as he turned around and tried to fly into the distant sky.

    ¡°Are you trying to flee? I don¡¯t think you can run away from me.¡± Zhongli Wu let out a burst of coldughter. Because their spirits were fused, the Bone Dragon King immediately understood his intent as it pped its humongous wings. At the next instant, it was already more than a thousand meters from where it had been. It was almost as if they had teleported as they continued their pursuit of Huo Yuhao.

    Right now, it seemed as though the battle was finallying to an end. It was extraordinarily hard for soul masters above the Titled Douluo rank to turn the tables after their opponent had gained a serious upper hand.

    Huo Yuhao had undoubtedly sustained injuries after receiving those blows from Zhongli Wu and his Bone Dragon King. That was apparent from how he was unable to retaliate against their power.

    Right now, he was trying to flee so that he could suppress the power of the Death God which was trying to ravage his body. However, what would happen next? Zhongli Wu¡¯s attacks would simply continue. He had to figure out another way to handle him and his mount!

    While Zhongli Wu was chasing after Huo Yuhao, he was surprised to discover that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor was still functional. It was still elerating Huo Yuhao in an intermittent but explosive manner. The armor was able to increase the distance between Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Wu as they went around in circles.

    Such explosive eleration would be extremely demanding on the user¡¯s soul power.What is thisd trying to do?

    Zhongli Wu simply let out a burst of coldughter as he continued to go after Huo Yuhao. Even though the sky had turned dark, he was in no hurry at all. The blue pir that was shining on Huo Yuhao from the sky had gradually disappeared. Without support from this pir, Zhongli Wu believed that Huo Yuhao would not be able tost much longer.

 Chapter 582.3 - Whos Scheming Here?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 582.3: Who¡¯s Scheming Here?</h4>

    However, a strange white light suddenly shot towards Zhongli Wu and the Bone Dragon King at this instant.

    Zhongli Wu was startled by the white light, and he instinctively shed at it with his Death God¡¯s Sickle. However, the sickle was not able to block the light. The white light was somehow able to pass through the incredible Death God power andnd on the body of the Bone Dragon King.

    Zhongli Wu had already cultivated the Bone Dragon King to be his origin beast spirit. Hence, their spirits were already deeply intertwined. Even though the white light did not seem to have caused any harm to the Bone Dragon King, Zhongli Wu felt an intense sense of uneasiness in his heart.

    It was also at this instant that Huo Yuhao, who had been trying to flee from Zhongli Wu, suddenly turned around and released a mystical power from his body.

    The streaks of ck energy that were hanging onto his Icy War God¡¯s Armor were somehow transformed into tiny vortexes before they started to scatter towards Zhongli Wu.

    Those ck vortexes did not only contain the death aura that belonged to the Death God, but also Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice and spiritual power.

    Zhongli Wu was not prepared to becent as the Bone Dragon King beneath him released its powerful breath to neutralize the power stored within those tiny vortexes. However, because of this little interjection, its flying speed was affected.

    At this instant, Zhongli Wu suddenly heard Huo Yuhao release a cold grunt.

    He then noticed how the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, which was now cleared of all the ck energy streaks, had lost its dark blue glow. Instead, it now took on a crystalline grey color.

    A gigantic projection suddenly appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. This figure was extremely peculiar. It was actually a gigantic turtle. It was a gigantic turtle that waspletely golden.

    ¡°Hehe¡­ It¡¯s time for Huo Yuhao to retaliate!¡± Someone from the crowd that was gathered nearer to Shrek City sniggled to himself.

    A golden light flickered as it instantly attached itself to Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Wu. Following which, everyone was surprised to see how both of them had swapped positions at that very instant.

    Zhongli Wu had appeared where Huo Yuhao was, and Huo Yuhao was now standing above the head of the Bone Dragon King.

    Huo Yuhao was now wielding the Morning Dew Dagger with both of his hands. The dagger was now pointing downwards. Ayer of white light suddenly surged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before it gushed into the Morning Dew Dagger.

    The Bone Dragon King beneath Huo Yuhao started to panic as it attempted to break free from him. However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s feet remained rooted on the dragon¡¯s head as though they were glued to it.

    At the same time, a golden ring of light radiated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s head, and enveloped the entire head of the Bone Dragon King.

    ¡°Spiritual st!¡±

    A silent explosion urred around the Bone Dragon King¡¯s head. Its green spirit fire could now be seen from the crack in its skull caused by the Spiritual st.

    Zhongli Wu tried to rush back from where he had been teleported, but he could not help but let out a grunt of pain. His massive Death God True Body started to shrink rapidly.

    This is impossible. The Bone Dragon King¡¯s spirit fire is immensely powerful. This Spiritual st is obviously not as powerful as the previous Spiritual Shock! Why would it instantly sustain such a heavy injury?

    Unless it was because of the white light?

    Yes, it was because of the white light. That was one of the two divine skills the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had passed onto Huo Yuhao. It was called Spiritual Reaving. It was able to instantly reduce an enemy¡¯s spiritual defense to zero.

    Huo Yuhao immediately brought the sharp Morning Dew Dagger downwards and stabbed it deep into the skull of the Bone Dragon King.

    The Bone Dragon King let out a painful howl as cracks started to form on its skull. Streaks of white light instantly enveloped the head of the Bone Dragon King.

    Uponing into contact with the white light, its spirit fire was instantly doused. The humongous body of the Bone Dragon King immediately turned stiff and still.

    Purification power!

    Huo Yuhao had been intentionally acting in a passive manner as he allowed himself to be attacked continuously by Zhongli Wu and the Bone Dragon King. Even now, his mouth was still bleeding. He had done all of the above just so that he could buy himself enough time to chant his incantations.

    He had allowed the death aura released by Zhongli Wu to remain on his Icy War God¡¯s Armor just so that it could help him conceal the necromantic abilities he was about to unleash.

    This battle was not just aboutpeting against one another¡¯s power. It was a battle of wisdom and intellect.

    So at the end of the day, who had managed to trick who?

    While Zhongli Wu was dashing back to the Bone Dragon King, he suddenly stopped in mid-air as he released an inhuman shriek. Very soon, his massive Death God body transformed back into his human form. Zhongli Wu immediately vomitedrge amounts of blood from his mouth.

    Ultimately, the extremely powerful beast spirit was connected to Zhongli Wu. In fact, it was almost a part of him. Hence, Huo Yuhao was able to injure him very badly when he killed his beast spirit.

    This was something Zhongli Wu had not expected. He could not understand how his immensely powerful Bone Dragon King was unable to withstand a single blow from Huo Yuhao.

    At the end of the day, spectral creatures were still spectral creatures. No matter how strong the Bone Dragon King was, it would never be able to escape the limitations of a spectral creature.

    And Huo Yuhao was currently the only necromancer in the entire Douluo Continent!

    Purification power was the natural enemy of any spectral creature. Even if the spectral creature¡ªlike the Bone Dragon King¡ªwas extremely powerful, it would still be vulnerable to purification power. Thebination of Spiritual Shock, Spiritual st, and the Morning Dew Dagger was simply acting as a conduit for the final blow, which involved Huo Yuhao¡¯s purification power.

    Under such circumstances, the Bone Dragon King would never be able to withstand it, even though it was extremely powerful.

    Huo Yuhao had been waiting for this opportunity from the beginning of the battle until now. He had first improved himself by sensing the pressure from his opponent before unleashing the potential that was forced out by his opponent. Subsequently, he feigned weakness to tempt his opponent into attacking him before he retaliated at the most crucial moment. Everything went ording to his n.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s biggest mistake was that he had forgotten the fact that Huo Yuhao was actually a control-type soul master!

    The white purification power quickly spread across the massive body of the Bone Dragon King. It had nowpletely lost its soul, and the elements were no longer under its control.

    Zhongli Wu appeared to be frozen in mid-air as he stared at Huo Yuhao with hatred in his eyes. He did not feel that he deserved to lose! He could naturally see how Huo Yuhao was supposed to be weaker than him. After all, Huo Yuhao was only a Titled Douluo. He believed that Huo Yuhao had only defeated him by using an unknown power.

    However, he had forgotten how evil soul masters usually had an advantage over normal soul masters because of how unorthodox their skills were.

    When Zhongli Wu raised the staff in his hand again, his hand was already trembling. Once again, the frightening aura spread around him. It was almost as though his aura had not been affected by his injuries.

    Huo Yuhao also straightened his back as the dark blue light formed once again on his Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    The Morning Dew Dagger¡¯s de was also radiating a brilliant glow as its blinding light traveled across the sky. At the same time, the dagger was also emanating an Ultimate Ice aura from its de.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you have won.¡± Zhongli Wu nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. ¡°However, from this moment onwards, you will be considered one of the greatest enemies of our Holy Ghost Church. In the near future, we will definitely do whatever it takes to kill you instead of forcing you to join us. You seem to be in possession of a power which threatens me. No matter what, we will never allow you to be an Ultimate Douluo, because if that happens, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s days will be numbered. You might have won today, but you will definitely die the next time we meet.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Zhongli Wu¡¯s body suddenly released a blinding light. Following which, he transformed into a ck meteor as he sped into the distant sky. He did not even return to join the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    Now that he had lost, he definitely had to receive military punishment ording to the military order. Hence, he could only choose to leave for now.

    The other members of the Holy Ghost Church were at a loss right now. Even until now, they were still not quite sure how their leader had lost. It was simply beyondprehension.

    There was a deafening silence from the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s side, whereas the Shrek Academy¡¯s side cheered euphorically after a short pause.

    This was the fifth match. Huo Yuhao had already won his fifth battle!

    Huo Yuhao was actually able to kill two powerful evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church before abducting another person. Following which, he went on to defeat two more individuals. It was important to note that all of them were Transcendent Douluo. In fact, one of them was the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church!

    Regardless of whether Huo Yuhao was unable to win his remaining battles, he had undoubtedly made a name for himself after today.

    From this moment onwards, he was officially initiated into the group of individuals that every soul master on the Douluo Continent would revere.

    The gigantic Bone Dragon King¡¯s body dropped from the sky before shattering to pieces.

    Huo Yuhao descended with it, andnded at a ce which was not too far from the bones. He nted a single knee on the ground as he started to pant rapidly.

    It had been an extremely difficult battle for him. The attacks from the Death God¡¯s Sickle had ultimately injured him. In order to create an opportunity to turn the tables and conceal his necromantic abilities, he had had to bear with it. The cost of bearing those attacks were immense soul power expenditure and injuries.

    The dark blue light on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor continued to glow as he gradually stood up straight again.

    Because he was wearing his armor, no one could see him clearly. In fact, the light on the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was not the least bit dimmer than before.

    A heavy silence had fallen upon the Sun Moon Empire troops.

    After watching five Transcendent Douluo which were all evil soul masters crumble under Huo Yuhao¡¯s powers, none of them were confident of fighting him. They believed that even an Ultimate Douluo might not have achieved this feat with ease. However, Huo Yuhao was somehow able to pull it off.

    The ss 9 soul engineers who were standing behind Ju Zi revealed a look of fear.

    None of them wanted to die at Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands on this battlefield.

    Even though they knew that he had expended arge amount of soul power, no one dared to volunteer to fight him.

    After the leader of the Holy Ghost Church had been defeated, the remaining members of the Holy Ghost Church were not going to challenge Huo Yuhao anymore. Feng Ling led the remaining members to Ju Zi and bowed as one. Afterward, they did not say anything as they retreated to the back of the contingent.

    Zhongli Wu had fled, as he was not willing to ept military punishment. This also meant that he was no longer there to question Ju Zi¡¯s decisions. Without a military supervisor, the War God Empress was now the sole owner of the entire army.

 Chapter 583.1 - Blade Technique of the Gods Realm

    <strong>Chapter 583.1: de Technique of the God¡¯s Realm</strong>

    Ju Zi was ted after her objective had been achieved. The evil soul masters were finally killed and Zhongli Wu had been chased away with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help. Her n was finallypleted. So what if she were to retreat without attacking Shrek City? It was important to solve one¡¯s internal affairs before looking to tackle one¡¯s external problems. This was something she understood very well.

    However, her tion did notst very long. Worries and frustrations started to enter her mind. This was because Huo Yuhao was simply too strong!

    Ju Zi understood Huo Yuhao a lot better than any of the ss 9 soul engineers around her. It was definitely disadvantageous for him to exhibit such power in front of them.

    Even though Ju Zi had known that Huo Yuhao was the person who had been destroying huge amounts of aerial surveince soul tools within the Sun Moon Empire, the others did not know. Most of the people and higher-ups from the Sun Moon Empire did not even know of his existence.

    However, this was about to change. Huo Yuhao had shown how he was able to take down five powerful evil soul masters¡ªincluding the Leader¡ªfrom the Holy Ghost Church consecutively. He was definitely going to be famous after so many people had watched him achieve this feat before their eyes. At the same time, he would also be prioritized as the main killing target by the Sun Moon Empire.

    A young and brilliant soul master like him would definitely be one of the key members within Shrek Academy. In fact, he was most likely going to be one of the leaders within the entire world of soul masters. Now that he was trying to go against everything the Sun Moon Empire was doing, Xu Tianran would not be able to eat and sleep in peace without killing him. At the same time, the Holy Ghost Church would also be looking for an opportunity to exact their revenge.

    Ju Zi¡¯s mind was a mess. Huo Yuhao¡¯s incredible power was affecting the ns she hadid out. However, after her attitude changed, she was no longer that concerned with all of those ns she had prepared. She was more worried about Huo Yuhao getting into serious trouble.

    Huo Yuhao gradually stood up straight. Even though his breathing was still fairly rapid, there was no sign of weakness in his pupils. In fact, his eyes were extremely radiant.

    Huo Yuhao had pitted his courage and intelligence against Zhongli Wu in this battle and had managed to defeat him, despite the odds being against him. This battle had a tremendous effect on him. As the Yin Yang Complement soul cores rotated with an unbelievable speed within his body, the huge amount of soul power he had expended was recovering at an incredibly fast speed.

    Titled Douluo were extremely power because they possessed a soul core. Ultimate Douluos were able to tower above every other soul master because they possessed two soul cores!

    It was through such battles that Huo Yuhao was better able to understand the benefits his two soul cores offered to him. As of now, his abilities were not sufficiently matured to allow him to fight powerful soul masters like Zhongli Wu. He had to rely on external power like his Icy War God¡¯s Armor and the Morning Dew Dagger. However, he believed that he would not have any problem attaining the rank of an Ultimate Douluo with the help of his two soul cores.

    ¡°Next.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

    Just when everyone believed that he would try his best to dy the proceedings so that he could recover more soul power, he went ahead to request the next battle from the Sun Moon Empire.

    This entire challenge had started to take on a different vor after Zhongli Wu was defeated.

    Initially, no one had believed that Huo Yuhao would be able to aplish this feat. Now, the powerful individuals within the Sun Moon Empire were starting to fear him. After all, he had used his abilities to prove to everyone that it could be done.

    Without the Holy Ghost Church calling the shots, the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire all looked at Ju Zi.

    By now, Ju Zi was no longer absorbed in her thoughts. In fact, the gasp she had made earlier did not seem to have been noticed by the others. Or at the very least, no one understood why she gasped.

    ¡°Who among you is willing to take down Huo Yuhao?¡± Ju Zi asked in aposed manner.

    Right now, she had more than ten ss 9 soul engineers standing around her. There were legionmanders from the various soul engineer legions and several Worshipped from the Imperial Shrine. Only these ss 9 soul engineers would be qualified to fight Huo Yuhao.

    However, none of these soul engineers had attained the equivalent rank of a Transcendent Douluo. They could only rely on their soul tools if they were to fight him.

    Besides, they had all witnessed the previous battles. None of them were confident of defeating Huo Yuhao. After all, this was a battle which concerned their life and death. If even Zhongli Wu was defeated by him, it was very unlikely that they could return alive.

    There wasplete silence for a good few seconds as Ju Zi revealed a growingly furious expression. Some of the soul engineers who were weaker started to be embarrassed. It was extremely shameful that the Sun Moon Empire no longer had an individual who was brave enough to ept Huo Yuhao¡¯s challenge! All this while, the Sun Moon Empire had been invincible. They had never experienced such a shameful and humiliating situation.

    ¡°Marshal, I am willing to fight Huo Yuhao!¡± A bright voice could be heard from the back. A soul engineer from the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion stood up. One could tell that he was just a normal soul engineer from the soul tools which he was equipped with. He was at best a ss 5 soul engineer. However, one could tell that he was not afraid of Huo Yuhao at all from the gusto in his voice.

    After hearing what he said, every single ss 9 soul engineer revealed a frustrated look. At the same time, they were embarrassed that a ss 5 soul engineer was more willing to put his life on the line to protect the name of their empire than them.

    Then, another soul engineer stormed out and eximed, ¡°Can you not be a fool and overestimate your ability? Do you think you are qualified to represent our army? Scram, or I will punish you by militaryw!¡±

    This person who had stormed out was concealed within a ck human-shaped soul tool. There were two long des were sheathed behind his back. His entire body was radiating an extremely powerful piercing aura.

    One could see how the young soul engineer wanted to rebut what he had just been told. However, the young soul engineer ultimately lowered his head and retreated into the contingent.

    The soul engineer who was wearing a human-shaped soul tool turned around before bowing toward Ju Zi. ¡°Marshal, allow me to represent our empire!¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Take care, Commander Liao.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Marshal.¡±

    The soul engineer who had just stepped forward would definitely not have volunteered to fight Huo Yuhao if he had a choice. However, there was no way he could afford to not step forward. This was because he was Liao Mengkai¡ªthe legionmander of the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion.

    After seeing how his subordinate had the courage to represent the empire, there was no way he would be able to lead his soul engineer legion if he were to continue to cower. Hence, despite not having much confidence, he still stood up to take up the challenge.

    Amongst the Hand that Protects the Nation, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was undoubtedly the strongest. They were followed by the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. Thest three were the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, and the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was extremely powerful because of the resources they had hoarded. The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion had also improved a lot after the War God Empress had taken over. The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion specialized in speed. They were extremely great at pursuing enemies and then killing them. What about the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion? They were definitely the most unorthodox soul engineer legion among the five legions which formed the Hand that Protects the Nation.

    As stated in their name, the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion specialized in assault operations.

    The Darkgolden Terrorw Bear was known as the strongest assault-type soul beast. Its closebat ability was unparalleled among soul beasts of a simr level. The Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion was exactly the same. Other than some of the necessary linked defensive soul tools, all of their members specialized in closebat. This also meant that this soul engineer legion primarily consisted of closebat soul engineers.

    Ranged attacks were the mostmon attacking style among soul engineers. However, the fighting power of a closebat soul engineer was, in fact, a concept that was very simr to what Huo Yuhao had initially envisioned. He had wanted to see the fusion of the abilities a soul master and a soul engineer possessed.

    By relying on soul tools to enhance one¡¯s martial soul¡¯s fighting ability, one would be able to strengthen one¡¯s attacking power within a limited range. This was something all closebat soul engineers were trying to work towards.

    For example, Ji Juechen was essentially a closebat soul engineer. To a certain extent, Huo Yuhao was also a closebat soul engineer.

    Once one cultivated his closebat ability to their maximum potential, their overallbat ability would even outpower that of a ranged-attack. At the same time, one¡¯s survivability would be greatly enhanced.

    Hence, the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion was often dispatched to assault fortified structures. Their members were all extremely disciplined, and were not afraid of dying.

    Liao Mengkai was the legionmander of this soul engineer legion. This naturally meant that he was extremely skilled in closebat fighting.

    After deciding that he would ept the challenge, Liao Mengkai did not hesitate anymore as he leaped from where he was to where Huo Yuhao was currently standing. He immediately elerated through the air as he raced toward him.

    Even though no one knew how much soul power Huo Yuhao had expended in his previous battles, everyone knew that they must have taken a lot out of him. Hence, he knew that he had to try his best to reduce the amount of time Huo Yuhao could use to recover his power. This was the best way to improve his odds of defeating him. Even though a Titled Douluo possessed incredible regenerative ability, it was ultimately limited. In addition, recovering one¡¯s expended spiritual power was a lot more difficult than recovering soul power.

    When Liao Mengkai leaped into the air, the ck human-shaped soul tool on his body instantly released a dark golden glow. He grabbed the des which were sheathed behind his back with both hands before unsheathing them.

    His pair of des were matte ck, and did not seem to reflect any light at all. At the same time, they gave off the impression that they could devour anything that stood in their way. Even though they were radiating their sharp aura from a distance, everyone was still able to sense how intense their aura was. While they were being brought across the air, they seemed to be leaving two fine traces after slicing through the air.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detectionnded on him instantly.

    This person has an incredible amount of life energy!

    Huo Yuhao was startled to discover that the life energy this soul engineer was radiating was actuallyparable to his. It was a lot more powerful than what a normal Titled Douluo had.

    Even though one¡¯s life energy would not directly decide one¡¯s fighting power, a powerful individual with strong life energy tended to disy powerful abilities during battles, and was usually able to sustain highbat performance over extended periods of time.

    However, so what?

 Chapter 583.2 - Blade Technique of the Gods Realm

    <h4 ss>Chapter 583.2: de Technique of the God¡¯s Realm</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was floating in mid-air as he waited for Liao Mengkai¡¯s arrival.This person did not unleash his martial soul!This was something Huo Yuhao had urately determined.

    Normally, even soul engineers would first unleash their martial souls in battle to either strengthen or support their attacks. At the end of the day, any kind of boost would be better than nothing. Huo Yuhao had only seen one other person who relied purely on his soul power and soul tool. That person was none other than Ji Juechen.

    However, Huo Yuhao was able to tell that this person was treading on a different path from Ji Juechen. If he was nning to attack in a simr way as Ji Juechen, he would not have his human-shaped soul tool. His des would have sufficed.

    The light from his matte ck des intersected each other in the air as they formed a cross that sped towards Huo Yuhao. The sharpness of his des gave off the impression that the cross would be unstoppable.

    Huo Yuhao raised the Morning Dew Dagger in his hand as the de of the dagger instantly released an icy blue glow. The glow stabbed right into the center of the cross.

    The matte ck light from the des paused before turning white. Following which, they disintegrated into the air like the morning mist.

    Liao Mengkai¡¯s heart sank after watching this.

    It was one thing to spectate Huo Yuhao¡¯s battle with the five evil soul masters, and another thing to be up against him in person.

    Liao Mengkai could not seem to sense any pressure from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. It was almost as though he did not have any aura at all.

    However, this only served to put more pressure on Liao Mengkai. After all, he had seen how Huo Yuhao had taken down five Transcendent Douluo consecutively with his own eyes! The thought of going up against someone like Huo Yuhao crushed his morale as his battle intent weakened.

    After the first probing collision ended, Liao Mengkai appeared before Huo Yuhao at the very next moment.

    He had positioned one of his des to the front and the other to his back as he shed both of them towards Huo Yuhao.

    Soul engineers rarely used their martial soul true body, as it would affect the effects of their soul tools. However, it was even more rare to see people like him, who did not even unleash his own martial soul.

    The sharp light from his des was easily parried by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger. At the same time, Huo Yuhao lifted hisnd hand as a streak of dark blue sword light came towards Liao Mengkai.

    Unparalleled Chill, Empress¡¯ Sword!

    Liao Mengkai was the only person who could sense the chill that was traveling down his spine. Huo Yuhao had long been able to concentrate his Ultimate Ice after understanding the intricacies of the element of ice.

    Liao Mengkai¡¯s figure flickered as his entire body became a little illusory.

    ¡°Poof!¡± A soft sound could be heard as the Unparalleled Chill turned the ck figure into an ice sculpture before the sculpture started to fall from the sky. However, another ck figure had appeared on the other side of Huo Yuhao as it surged towards him with its brightly illuminated de.

    Huo Yuhao moved his body and teleported away instantly.

    However, the ck figure also vanished at that very instant. In addition, Huo Yuhao found himself unable to locate the person¡¯s position even with his Spiritual Detection.

    ¡°Huh?¡±Could this be¡­

    Huo Yuhao was visibly startled by what he had just witnessed.

    Until now, Liao Mengkai had not even unleashed his martial soul. Hence, his teleportation ability must have been granted to him by a soul tool.Could the human-shaped soul tool he is wearing now possess the ability to teleport? No, it can¡¯t be this simple. From the look of things, it¡¯s almost as if hepletely vanished. It¡¯s not the same as teleportation. This means that his human-shaped soul tool must possess some sort of ability which is very simr to spatial power. That would be insane!

    While Huo Yuhao was trying to understand Liao Mengkai¡¯s power, a figure had suddenly appeared behind him. The figure was wielding a ck de which was giving off a menacing ck glow.

    Because Huo Yuhao had been enveloping the entire battlefield with his Spiritual Detection, he was able to react instantly. The Icy War God¡¯s Armor immediately emitted ayer of dark blue light. When that matte ck de glow came near the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, it was almost as if it had sunk into a marsh. It instantly stopped as an extremely cold aura immediately attacked the ck figure.

    The effects of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice were always present. Even though he had be a lot more conservative with it, and had not released his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice again, he was still able to unleash the power of Ultimate Ice on his opponent by just activating his intent.

    Without hesitating at all, the ck light flickered, and Liao Mengkai vanished again. In that short instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger was about to stab into Liao Mengkai, but he vanished in the nick of time.

    This was exactly how assassins liked to fight. After failing tond their blows, they would immediately retreat to prepare for their next blow.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao was able to instantly understand what Liao Mengkai wanted to do. It appeared that Liao Mengkai had the same n as Zhongli Wu. Both of them wanted to expend his power. They wanted to use their various methods to burn his spiritual power and soul power.

    What a good move!

    Huo Yuhao revealed a cold smile.It might be very demanding for me to deal with Zhongli Wu. But do you really think it will be demanding for me to deal with you? A soul engineer who has not even reached Rank 95? You might have a human-shaped soul tool, but I have one too. On top of that, there are some things I have which you do not possess.

    Huo Yuhao gradually raised the Morning Dew Dagger in his hand until it rose above his head. The dark blue glow on the Icy War God¡¯s Armor suddenly weakened before it intensified and illuminated the area around him.

    After sensing this extremely intense cold, Liao Mengkai, who had just reappeared next to Huo Yuhao, immediately went back into the void without any hesitation.

    Huo Yuhao shed his Morning Dew Dagger outwards. At that instant, no one could see exactly what he was doing. His entire body was like a dark blue ball of light, where countless streaks of light were radiating from his body.

    At that instant, everything within a thousand meters of him was enveloped in a piercing de light. The icy blue light ripped apart all space easily.

    This was obviously an indiscriminate attack. Even when he was up against Zhongli Wu, Huo Yuhao had not unleashed such an attack.

    What kind of technique is this?

    Fortunately, Ji Juechen was not present. If not, the sword fanatic would definitely bug Huo Yuhao to spar with him after this battle. He would not have cared even if he were to lose. After Huo Yuhao had unleashed this technique, the entire sky had changed color, and now revealed a radiant picture. It was as though a gigantic icy blue dragon was flying in the sky. Every single scale on the dragon¡¯s body was immensely clear.

    Is this something a sword technique is supposed to be able to achieve?

    Everyone from Tang Sect was startled by what they had just witnessed. None of them knew when exactly Huo Yuhao had mastered this technique.

    After all, this technique did not belong to the Douluo Continent! It was passed on to Huo Yuhao by a God!

    Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance!

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao was using this technique on the battlefield. At the instant he unleashed this technique, he felt as though the soul power stored within his Yin Yang Complement soul cores was being gulped down furiously by the Morning Dew Dagger.

    The ck figure was forced out from his hiding spot within the void as Liao Mengkai frantically waved his des before him to protect himself.

    Nheless, he could not help but sustain thirteen cuts on his body.

    His ss 9 protective soul barrier was shattered!

    His invincible barrier was also shattered!

    One could also see the streaks of icy blue light that were left on his human-shaped soul tool. The piercing cold instantly prated his human-shaped soul tool and went straight into his bones.

    Even though his human-shaped soul tool was also ss 9, its defensive ability could not bepared to the frightening power of the Morning Dew Dagger.

    The formation arrays within the ss 9 human-shaped soul tool were instantly destroyed by the de light. If he had not been wearing an additional suit of ss 9 inner armor, he would have turned into an ice sculpture.

    It was frightening¡ªsimply too frightening. What kind of dagger technique could shred space over two thousand meters? Huo Yuhao was somehow able to restrain himself, and only use it now.How many trump cards does he actually possess?

    The powerful soul engineers and soul masters from the Sun Moon Empire could not help but tremble as they watched Huo Yuhao unleash that technique.

    However, they did not know that he was also regretting what he had just done.

    Even though the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance was able to startle everyone, it demanded too much from him. He realized how much soul power he had lost just because of that technique. Even the powerful regenerative ability of the Yin Yang Complement soul cores was not able topensate for the soul power he had spent.

    It took almost thirty seconds before the sky started to lose its peculiar appearance after it was carved and torn into the shape of a dragon. Now, the sky had turned into a sea of Ultimate Ice. It was clear how much soul power Huo Yuhao had expended to achieve this feat.

    ¡°Die!¡± A loud howl escaped from Liao Mengkai¡¯s mouth. Following which, two long matte ck des were released in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. They sped towards him like lightning, while Liao Mengkai started to drop towards the ground from the sky.

    Everyone knew there was only one reason why a person would toss out his or her weapon in the middle of a battle. This was because the person wanted to create an opportunity to escape.

    Even though a ss 9 soul engineer might not be able to match a top-ss soul master when it came to fighting power, their ability to survive was definitely a lot stronger than that of a soul master.

    If it were a soul master with an equal or even higher cultivation than Liao Mengkai who was on the receiving end of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance, he or she would have already been shredded to pieces. However, Liao Mengkai was still alive.

    Two matte ck des instantly appeared before Huo Yuhao one after another. The des were staggered by a single meter.

    A serious look immediately formed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. In fact, from his first battle until now, he had not revealed an expression this serious.

    Huo Yuhao raised his Morning Dew Dagger to deflect the first ck de. Following which, he did something which no one was unable to understand. He tilted his body slightly as he used his left shoulder to take on the attack of the second de.

    ¡°Tskk!¡± The long de pierced through his shoulder instantly. Even the powerful defensive ability of the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was unable to block the de.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯ shoulder did not seem to be bleeding. He simply stumbled before he fell from the sky.

    Tang Wutong immediately panicked after seeing him fall. She was about to dash over to catch him when she saw him raise his right hand and signal her not toe over.

    Following which, two loud thuds could be heard.

    Liao Mengkai and Huo Yuhao had crashed into the ground one after another.

    When Liao Mengkainded, his body fell forward in an unsightly manner before he rolled over into a sitting position. On the other hand, Huo Yuhaonded in an extremely steady manner. However, the de in his shoulder made him look very frightening.

 Chapter 583.3 - Blade Technique of the Gods Realm

    <h4 ss>Chapter 583.3: de Technique of the God¡¯s Realm</h4>

    ¡°HAHAHAHAH! It seems like you were shot down by my de.¡± Liao Mengkai let out a burst ofughter. He was obviously very pleased with himself for sessfully harming Huo Yuhao¡ªa feat which not even Zhongli Wu had managed to do.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Liao Mengkai. He said, ¡°I never expected to see someone like you who would dedicate your life to perfecting a single art. If I had not been watching you and sensing when you would release your martial soul, I would probably have been in a worse state. You were actually able to ignite your own life energy to freeze the flow of my internal energy. If I am not wrong, your martial soul should be a de, right?¡±

    Liao Mengkai nodded. He was impressed by how Huo Yuhao was able to deduce all of this during the battle. ¡°That¡¯s right. My martial soul is a de. To be more precise, it is a de soul! My de soul does not possess a true physical form. It is quite different from the usual weapon martial souls which you probably see. However, it is able to fuse into any metallic object perfectly. When I had just started to cultivate it, it was extremely weak and powerless. However, as I became stronger, I started to realize how powerful and useful it is.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued, ¡°Even though your previous attack looked as though it was intended to prevent me from going after you, you had actually fused your martial soul into your second de while you burned your life energy to restrict the flow of energy within my body. The first de was meant to be a distraction, as you had simply thrown it over in a fairly normal fashion. It seemed like you must have consumed a lot of tonics and herbs to strengthen your life energy.¡±

    ¡°Yes. In fact, I actually unleashed my ninth soul skill earlier. It is called Soulsplitting de! If I am to be honest, you are doomed. From the moment my de entered your body, you were bound to die even if you were to chop off your limb. After all, my Demonic God de is a ss 9 soul tool. The other de is a ss 9 soul tool. By using my Soulsplitting de to enhance my ss 9 soul tool, it is essentially indestructible. Even if you were an Ultimate Douluo, you would still die because your passageways would be severed by the destructive energy which will ravage your body. To be honest, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to freeze the flow of your internal energy if you had not fought so many people beforehand. After releasing that powerful technique of yours which exposed my location, you had expended too much power, and became vulnerable to my technique.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I admit that I have underestimated you. This is the price I have to pay for doing that. However, I want to remind you not to overestimate the power of your de soul. Even though it can hurt me, it will not be that easy to kill me.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao gripped the hilt of the Demonic God de with his right hand as he slowly pulled the five foot de out from his shoulder.

    Right now, Tang Wutong no longer dared to watch Huo Yuhao. Her fists were clenched as she wished she was the one in his ce! However, Huo Yuhao did not allow her to go over. After all, this battle against ten opponents was a battle which was exclusively his. It was a man¡¯s battle.

    Liao Mengkai was startled to see Huo Yuhao removing the de from his shoulder. He did not expect him to possess the energy to remove the de. ¡°What?! This can¡¯t be happening. Why do you still have the strength? Shouldn¡¯t you have used all of your soul power to suppress my de soul? Why do you still have the strength to remove the de?¡±

    Liao Mengkai had already ignited his life energy and used every single ounce of energy in his soul power tounch an all-out attack. Even though his attack was sessful, its effects fell short of his expectations.How could he still be able to remove the long de?

    There was actually another reason why Liao Mengkai was willing to go out and challenge Huo Yuhao today. He was, in fact, driven by his greed. He wanted Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger.

    As a powerful fighter who possessed a de soul, he believed that he ought to be able to control the Morning Dew Dagger even if he did not possess an Ultimate Ice martial soul. He believed that he had a good chance of bing a Transcendent Douluo if he were to couple his de soul with the godly weapon.

    It was important to note that one could only be a ss 10 soul engineer after attaining the abilities of a Transcendent Douluo. This was something he had been dreaming of for a long time.

    Liao Mengkai watched Huo Yuhao slowly remove the five foot de without spilling a single drop of blood. However, because Huo Yuhao had a visor over his face, no one could see his expression. Nheless, everyone believed that he was not in that much pain, since he was able to extract the de in a fairly steady manner.

    Finally, the entire Demonic God de was removed by Huo Yuhao. His body trembled a little as he held the ss 9 soul tool in his hand.

    The Demonic God de only had a single characteristic: its extreme sharpness!

    Simr to how Liao Mengkai went after the extreme in his fighting style, it was the same for his weapon. It was so sharp that even the Icy War God¡¯s Armor was unable to block it. Powered by his de soul, the attacking power which was unleashed by the Demonic God de at that instant was almost on par with that of a godly weapon. If Huo Yuhao had reacted slower and treated it as a normal attack, his heart would have been pierced by the Demonic God de.

    ¡°Ho-How were you able to do that?¡± Liao Mengkai asked Huo Yuhao in a dazed manner.

    Huo Yuhao wielded the Demonic God de in a reverse grip as he used the side of his palm to lift his visor. Even though his face appeared to be a little pale, Huo Yuhao revealed a calm andposed expression.

    ¡°I have kept you alive until now just so that I can show you how useless your attack is on me. You had no chance of killing me at all. Now, it¡¯s time for you to vanish from the surface of this earth!¡±

    ¡°Please show mercy!¡± Ju Zi eximed from her seat.

    However, this was the battlefield! There was no room for mercy in war!

    ¡°Boom!¡± An intense explosion could be heard. Liao Mengkai¡¯s body had exploded into pieces. Even till hisst breath, his eyes were still widened in disbelief.

    Liao Mengkai had ignited his life energy and given up on defending his body tounch his final attack. In fact, he had injected all his soul power into the weapon, and used his other soul tool to conceal the glow of his soul ring in order to unleash such a deadly blow. However, why was his enemy still alive?

    By banking everything on his final attack, it implied that he hadpletely given up on defending himself. However, the truth was that all of his passive defensive measures had already been shredded by the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance executed by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger.

    By the time Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice had permeated into Liao Mengkai¡¯s body and he had fallen to the ground, he was already seriously injured. Most of the passageways in his body were already frozen solid. Under such circumstances, the Ice Explosion was definitely all that was required to deal the finishing blow.

    Huo Yuhao gradually turned around to face the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. He stabbed the five foot long Demonic God de into the ground as he used it to support his body.

    Suddenly, he let out a serious cough as two streaks of blood shot out from his left shoulder like arrows. After leaving Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, these two streaks of blood formed the shape of a de as they turned around to attack Huo Yuhao.

    A golden light immediately shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead and enveloped the bloody de soul. Following which, the de soul exploded silently before vanishing into thin air.

    The blood stopped flowing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. It had only left some bloodstains on Huo Yuhao¡¯s Icy War God¡¯s Armor. He remained standing there as though nothing had happened.

    ¡°Next!¡±

    The blood did not make him look vulnerable or weak. In fact, it made him look a lot more intimidating. The contrast of the blood against his pale, cold face made him look like a devil who had just descended onto theirnd.

    Sixth. This was already the sixth person. Huo Yuhao was able to win all six battles with his superior abilities. He had killed three, injured two, and captured one.

    If Ju Zi was not exactly very upset by the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s failure earlier, it pained her to see the legionmander of the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion fall. After all, Liao Mengkai was a ss 9 soul engineer! On top of that, he was the legionmander of a soul engineer legion. It usually took a couple of decades to nurture a talent like him. Every ss 9 soul engineer like Liao Mengkai was a strategic resource of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi was starting to understand why Huo Yuhao had suggested this challenge. He was not only trying to force the Sun Moon Empire into a retreat, but also trying to reduce the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s power while improving his own abilities.

    Even though Ju Zi could not control the Holy Ghost Church, the Holy Ghost Church was still on the side of the Sun Moon Empire! Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s ruthless attacks, the Holy Ghost Church had sustained huge losses. Now, they were starting to lose their soul engineers. Even though the Sun Moon Empire had quite a few ss 9 soul engineers, they were still very limited! They did not have more than twenty ss 9 soul engineers even including those who were initiated in recent years. However, Huo Yuhao and his peers had already taken down more than one.

    On top of that, it also pained Ju Zi to see Huo Yuhao injured.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s breathing was slightlybored. It was evident that his injury was not light at all. Liao Mengkai¡¯s final attack was something he really had not expected. It was the first time he had seen such a powerful all-out attack.

    Liao Mengkai¡¯s attack was built on extreme sharpness. Hence, every single attribute which he possessed was developed with that consideration in mind. His invincibly sharp soul tool was greatly enhanced by his de soul to an incredibly frightening extent.

    By the time Huo Yuhao was able to sense its insane power with his Spiritual Detection, he immediately knew that there was no chance he would be able to block that de. Hence, he instantly used his Ultimate Ice to freeze and protect the passageways in his left shoulder to attempt to block it.

    At the end of the day, his Icy War God¡¯s Armor was still effective at defending him. It was able to negate about fifty percent of the de soul¡¯s power. After the remaining power had entered his body, it had started to try to ravage his body in a furious manner. Just as Liao Mengkai had predicted, it had tried to shred everything within his body to pieces.

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao possessed his Yin Yang Complement soul cores. With the nourishment they provided, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body had gained strength that put it on par with Di Tian¡¯s. The soul power vortex in his body had yed a big role in preventing Liao Mengkai¡¯s energy from tearing his body apart.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power vortex was able to lock onto the de soul before forcing it into a corner with its continuous rotation. This prevented the de soul from hurting his vital organs.

    Nheless, he still fell to the ground because he had trouble controlling his body in that moment.

    Eventually, he managed to use his soul power to force the de soul out of his body. In fact, the entire process was extremely risky. If he had not formed his Yin Yang Complement soul cores before this challenge, Liao Mengkai¡¯s attack would have been fatal. He would have died instantly.

    However, Huo Yuhao did not emerge from this costly battle without any benefits. While he sustained a serious injury, he gained a better understanding of his Yin Yang Complement soul cores and their useful effects.

    However, the truth was that performing the Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance with the Morning Dew Dagger had been too demanding on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Now, he was left with less than twenty percent of his original soul power. Many of his bodily functions were also slightly damaged. Nheless, he continued to stand there as he stared down the people from the Sun Moon Empire with cold eyes.

    At the same time, Huo Yuhao was trying his best to activate his Yin Yang Complement soul cores to recover his soul power. He was definitely going to fight on no matter what. After all, he still had his invincible spiritual power and¡­

 Chapter 584.1 - Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 584.1: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing</h4>

    Huo Yuhao began to chant his incantations in a low and deep voice. Under the influence of his Imitation and his Spiritual Interference Domain, no one could hear his incantations nor sensed what he was doing.

    Ju Zi took a deep breath before letting it out. She was no longer able to make decisions as the Commander of the Three Armies. The strength Huo Yuhao had demonstrated was extremely suffocating.

    How? What should I do next?The usually quick-witted Ju Zi found her mindpletely nk. While she was not willing to see Huo Yuhao die, she knew that if the Sun Moon Empire were to lose this challenge, the entire army¡¯s morale would take a huge hit. Everything she had done prior to this would go down the drain.

    ¡°Let me do it!¡± A loud exmation rang out from beside her. Elder Su, who had been standing next to Ju Zi, strode out to face Huo Yuhao.

    Ju Zi opened her mouth and wanted to stop him. However, no words escaped her. Even though she did not want to put Huo Yuhao¡¯s life in danger, she knew that she could not allow the morale of the army to be shaken.

    As Elder Su slowly walked towards the center of the battlefield, the various sool tools he had brought with him started to appear. The people who were watching the battle could hear the crisp metallic sounds as Elder Su¡¯s human-shaped soul tool started to form on his body.

    As Huo Yuhao stared at Elder Su, the pupils in his eyes contracted.

    He was able to tell from today¡¯s battles that the Sun Moon Empire must have mastered the core technology used to build human-shaped soul tools. In addition, they must have developed a certain method to use these human-shaped soul tools.

    Xuan Ziwen¡¯s research had shown that one needed significant spiritual power in order to exercise the precise control needed for a human-shaped soul tool to fit perfectly with one¡¯s body.

    It was important to note that the stronger the human-shaped soul tool was, the more spiritual power it consumed. Without superior spiritual power, it would be next to impossible to control a human-shaped soul tool like one¡¯s limbs.

    Huo Yuhao did not find it strange that these ss 9 soul engineers had their own human-shaped soul tools. He was more interested to find out how the other soul engineers within the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were able to use human-shaped soul tools. They must have used some sort of special method in order to achieve that.

    ¡°You are very powerful! I am very impressed with what you have achieved at such a tender age. I must say you are the most gifted soul master I have ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, we serve different masters. Whatever strength and power you possess will only be a greater justification for us to kill you. I promise I will destroy you at all costs.¡± Elder Su said solemnly.

    Huo Yuhao stared calmly at him and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s begin.¡±

    A huge ck gate suddenly formed behind him, following which, a massive body emerged after releasing a deafening howl. It was none other than the Jiangshi Ice Bear King, Er Bai!

    Now that Huo Yuhao was facing his seventh opponent, he could not help but call for reinforcements.

    Huo Yuhao leapt upward beforending on Er Bai¡¯s shoulder. Following which, he sat cross-legged his shoulder as though he were glued there.

    Er Bai looked up into the sky before releasing another deafening howl as it started to stomp towards Elder Su.

    Elder Su revealed a condescending look. It was important to note that he was not a closebat soul engineer, but one who specialized in ranged attacks. Even though Er Bai was humongous, and radiated an intensely powerful aura, it was nothing more than a clumsy target in Elder Su¡¯s eyes.

    Two red cannons appeared on the shoulder tes of his human-shaped soul tool. Those two cannons were not very big, but they instantly released two red soul rays towards Er Bai.

    When a soul engineer became a ss 9 soul engineer, the power of their soul tools could no longer be measured by their size.

    Because Er Bai was so big, it was an easy target even if Elder Su did not aim properly.

    However, an unexpected oue formed before everyone¡¯s eyes. Just when the two rays were about tond on Er Bai, Er Bai charged forward, and suddenly angled his body in an agile manner. In fact, it even pushed itself off the ground with the tips of its feet to avoid the two rays.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Elder Su¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. After all, he had onlyunched his soul rays after he had locked his cannons onto Er Bai.How was it able to avoid the rays?

    Spiritual Interference Domain and Spiritual Detection Sharing.

    That was the answer!

    It was Huo Yuhao¡¯s answer to the challenge Elder Su had given!

    While Elder Su was hesitating, Er Bai had gotten extremely close to him. It waved its humongous fist and nted it in Elder Su¡¯s direction. Its overwhelming aura caused the surrounding ground to sink even before its fist came into contact with it.

    Elder Su instantly retreated rapidly in a bid to evade Er Bai¡¯s attack as two streaks of light were released from the bottom of his feet.

    Er Bai looked up into the sky as it released another low growl. It opened its mouth as its white smoky breath surged out at Elder Su.

    A huge circr gem that was attached at the front of Elder Su¡¯s human-shaped soul tool suddenly emitted a powerful beam of light. The beam instantly went past the breath Er Bai had released andnded on Er Bai¡¯s body.

    Even with the help of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing, Er Bai was simply too big and too close to avoid this attack. Hence, it could only use its strong chest to take this blow.

    Because of the powerful speed his human-shaped soul tool had given him, Elder Su was able to instantly retreat and avoid Er Bai¡¯s breath after releasing his attack. This allowed him to widen the distance between him and Er Bai.

    However, he was shocked to see that Er Bai was able to shake off any effect the beam had on its body. Following which, it continued to charge towards Elder Su.

    How is this possible? That was a ss 8 Goldmelting Cannon.

    It was important to note that even a ss 9 soul engineer was not able to only possess ss 9 soul tools. This was because it was incredibly difficult to build ss 9 soul tools. On top of that, it often took too much time to build them.

    Tools like milk bottles were a lot less useful for soul engineers of higher sses. They simply did not have the time to replenish what they had expended. At the end of the day, one¡¯s soul core was still the most reliable source of soul power. Hence, it was extremely logical to see powerful soul engineers equip themselves with soul tools of different sses.

    Even though the Goldmelting Cannon was only a ss 8 soul tool, it was able to melt gold and any other simr metals. On top of that, it was focused on a single target. Hence, it was extremely powerful.

    However, it only left a faint ck mark on the gigantic bear¡¯s body. It didn¡¯t seem like it had managed to cause much harm to Er Bai.

    At that end of the day, there was still a difference between Er Bai and Little Bai. Little Bai was a powerful controller of ice and snow. Even though Er Bai had inherited Little Bai¡¯s body, it did not inherit Little Bai¡¯s ability to control ice and snow. Or rather, Er Bai only possessed a tiny bit of control over snow and ice. However, Er Bai also had its very own advantage¡ªits immensely tough body. After bing a spectral creature within the spectral demine, its body was affected by the aura within it, and had mutated. It definitely possessed the strongest body within the entire spectral demine. If not, it would never have be the king of the entire spectral demine.

    Hence, it was extremely difficult for a ss 8 soul tool to harm Er Bai. On top of that, the Goldmelting Cannon was a fire-type soul tool. It was natural for its effect to be weaker on Er Bai, who was an ice-type spectral creature.

    Er Bai stomped its left foot on the ground as it sent tremors and vibrations across the earth around it. As the earth trembled, everyone, including the Sun Moon Empire troops who were about five kilometers away, found the ground beneath them shaking and vibrating.

    By borrowing the reactive force from its stomp, Er Bai leapt into the air before rolling itself into a ball. Following which, it flew towards Elder Su like a massive rotating cannonball. The aura it possessed was simr to that of an icy meteor falling from the sky. This was the only ice ability Little Bai had passed on to Er Bai. Even though its Ultimate Ice ability wasckingpared to Little Bai¡¯s, Er Bai¡¯s physical power was definitely more powerful than what Little Bai could achieve.

    After recovering from his momentary shock, Elder Su immediately regained the speed he had lost. To be honest, he was not in the least bit scared of Er Bai. After all, speed was his specialty. On top of that, his ss 9 human-shaped soul tool was able to prevent him from being locked on by his opponent. This meant that Er Bai would never be able to lock onto his position.

    With a single flicker, Elder Su was able to maneuver his body and avoid Er Bai¡¯s attack. At the same time, a matte ck ss 9 soul cannon appeared on his shoulder. Since the ss 8 soul tool was not enough to take Er Bai down, Elder Su had decided to go with a ss 9 one. This time around, he also made sure to choose one which was not fire-type.

    Attacking power had never been a problem for any ss 9 soul engineer.

    However, just when Elder Su had finally locked onto Er Bai¡¯s position and fully charged his ss 9 soul cannon, his spiritual sea suddenly alerted him of an impending threat. This was an instinct which only Titled Douluo possessed.

    Elder Su was extremely trusting of his senses. This was because they had saved his life countless times. Without hesitating, he immediately stopped charging the soul tool on his shoulder as he flipped around and revved up his human-shaped soul tool in a bid to escape from whatever that wasing for him.

    A blue light suddenly flickered in the sky as Elder Su¡¯s rapid flipping motion suddenly froze. Following which, his body suddenly released a huge blood mist.

    If one were to pay close attention to Elder Su, one would notice a single hole in his ss 9 protective soul barrier, invincible barrier, and human-shaped soul tool which all lined up. Even though the hole was not very big, it was sufficient for it to be fatal. This was because they had all appeared at Elder Su¡¯s head.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Er Bai¡¯s massive bodynded onto the ground. Following which, a figure gradually appeared on its shoulder. He was none other than Huo Yuhao.

    However, Huo Yuhao was no longer sitting down and meditating on its shoulder. He was now standing on Er Bai¡¯s shoulder.

    A streak of blue light made a parabolic path in the air before returning to his original position.

    Elder Su¡¯s dead body fell from the sky andnded heavily on the ground. There was no longer any reaction from him.

    It had ended. The seventh battle had ended just like this. Another ss 9 soul engineer had fallen.

    However, no one knew why and how Elder Su had fallen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was swaying from left to right, but he grabbed Er Bai¡¯s head and managed to steady himself. Following which, he sat back down on Er Bai¡¯s shoulder. This time, he did not push the Sun Moon Empire for their next representative like before. Instead, he quietly sat down cross-legged.

    Ju Zi¡¯s face had turned very pale.

    From the beginning until now, the gigantic ice bear had just been a decoy. It was a decoy that had attracted Elder Su¡¯s attention! Huo Yuhao was still the one who dealt the final blow.

 Chapter 584.2 - Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 584.2: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing</h4>

    Ju Zi had already felt that something was amiss when the Ice Bear King had transformed into an icy meteor. She had realized that Huo Yuhao was no longer on its shoulder after it had turned into a meteor. However, Elder Su had beenpletely focused on Er Bai¡¯s massive body and powerful aura. He had totally forgotten about the deadly opponent he was up against.

    The bright blue light instantly reached Elder Su the moment it had appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. On top of that, it was able to determine exactly where Elder Su would try to dodge. Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack was built on his ability to predict Elder Su¡¯s thoughts and actions.

    After Elder Su¡¯s head was prated by the light, there was no chance of him surviving.

    Ju Zi closed her eyes as sadness and pain overwhelmed her heart. She had lost another valuable subordinate. This meant that she had already lost two ss 9 soul engineers!

    This was only the seventh round. If he were actually able to win all ten rounds, it meant that Huo Yuhao would be taking three more ss 9 soul engineers from her army.

    No, I can¡¯t let it go on like this. Even if the army¡¯s morale suffers, I have to make sure we don¡¯t lose any more ss 9 soul engineers.

    At this instant, Ju Zi knew that she had been duped by Huo Yuhao right from the start. Even though she was a very scheming person, she had still fallen prey to his ploy.

    It was now obvious that Huo Yuhao had used himself as bait to initiate this challenge. However, Ju Zi had forgotten how people from the Shrek Academy were the best when it came to one-on-one battles!

    Without their linked defensive soul tools or linked offensive soul tools, soul engineers did not possess much of an advantage against soul masters of a simr cultivation during one-on-one battles. This advantage was something that all of them, including Ju Zi, had taken for granted after their previous victories.

    Ju Zi closed her eyes before sighing guiltily. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s admit defeat.¡±

    ¡°No, Marshal. We have not lost yet. We are willing to take him on.¡± After seeing Elder Su die, the other ss 9 soul engineers were now extremely furious. This was because Elder Su was usually the friendliest one among them. After watching two of theirrades die, the fear in their hearts had been taken over by rage.

    ¡°I have already said it! We are going to admit defeat! This is an order.¡± Ju Zi suddenly opened her eyes and eximed furiously. ¡°I can¡¯t watch all of you die like this. We have made a mistake right from the beginning. We should never have agreed to fight one-on-one with people from Shrek Academy. We have been tricked. Now that we have lost, we must admit defeat. I will bear all of the consequences. Spread my orders and get the army to retreat immediately.¡±

    As she spoke, Ju ZI turned around as she strode towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army camp. Her voice was also transmitted by a sound amplifying soul tool.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, I admit that we have lost this time. However, our battle has only just begun. I really hope that you will be this lucky the next time around. Everyone from the Sun Moon Empire, retreat now!¡±

    The powerful soul engineers and the soul engineer legions from the Sun Moon Empire started to retreat slowly. As the rage in their hearts started to fade away, the ss 9 soul engineers started to feel relieved that they did not have to fight that frightening young man.

    Even though it looked as though he was pretty close to his limits, they knew that Huo Yuhao still had Er Bai around. In addition, they did not know what other trump cards he might be hiding up his sleeves. Hence, this was a challenge no one would willingly ept.

    After all, we all only have one life!

    A faint light was sparkling around Huo Yuhao as he rapidly absorbed the ice-type elements in the air to replenish what he had lost during the battle.

    In fact, he had only managed to survive till now because of the powerful regenerative ability granted by his Yin Yang Complement soul cores.

    He had heard Ju Zi¡¯s voice very clearly, and was a little disappointed to know that they had given up. After all, he really did possess more trump cards. If not for all of these trump cards he had hidden up his sleeve, he would never have proposed this challenge.

    In fact, Huo Yuhao was still holding onto the ring that had belonged to the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. He knew well enough that there were plenty of stationary soul cannon shells in it¡ªincluding several ss 9 ones.

    If he were really forced into a corner and caught in a life-threatening situation, Huo Yuhao would not hesitate to use these stationary soul cannon shells and expose the fact that he had killed the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.

    At the end of the day, those were ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells! Regardless of whether they were used against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions or their ss 9 soul engineers, they would definitely hurt his opponents. At the very least, they would be able to buy him enough time to rest up and recover the energy he had expended.

    Huo Yuhao could still remember the humongous stationary soul cannon shelluncher Teacher Xuan had designed specifically for Er Bai very clearly. That toy would definitely be able to allow him tounch multiple ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells.

    Ju Zi was indeed very smart. At the same time, she had the gumption and courage to make difficult decisions.

    To be honest, Huo Yuhao was no longer afraid of revealing the fact that he had killed the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. After all, he had already killed two Transcendent Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church and injured Zhongli Wu. At the same time, he had managed to save Ma Xiaotao. Under such circumstances, the Holy Ghost Church must have been weakened tremendously. Even if the Sun Moon Empire were to continue to receive help from them, they would not be much of a threat.

    Hence, whether he was able to make them the scapegoat was no longer that important. The most important thing was to kill as many ss 9 soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire as possible. If more of them were to die, there would be fewer powerful individuals who could pin Shrek Academy down. That would then be a huge sess for the academy!

    As he watched the soul engineer legions retreat, Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. At the end of the day, the ce he was currently waiting at was not safe. It would also be better for him to return to Shrek City before he began his recovery.

    Just when he was about to jump down from Er Bai¡¯s body, an extremely peculiar sensation suddenly swept across his body. It was as though someone was trying to choke him.

    Shit!

    Huo Yuhao immediately activated his Yin Yang Complement soul cores as he tried to break free from this sensation. However, it was already toote. His current ability paled inparison to his ability when he was at his peak.

    ck streaks of energy started to evaporate from the Icy War God¡¯s Armor as a ck figure formed behind him. A matte ck dagger also formed before it was suddenly thrust at Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body was sealed. He waspletely immobilized. There was no way he could avoid the dagger.

    Then, a loud scream suddenly echoed in the air at this critical moment. Following which, a streak of purple-gold instantly appeared before Huo Yuhao, almost as though it had teleported there.

    Nheless, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was still stabbed by the ck dagger. However, another figure had also appeared behind his back. She was none other than Tang Wutong, whose entire body was now radiating an intense purple-gold glow.

    Right after Ju Zi had announced their retreat, Tang Wutong was the first person to rush forward from Shrek Academy¡¯s side. After all, she was the one who understood Huo Yuhao¡¯s current situation best. When she saw how he was losing his bnce on Er Bai¡¯s shoulder, she knew that he was definitely not acting this time round. He must have expended too much energy, and sustained injuries.

    Hence, she wanted to be there for her man at the first moment to protect and treat him.

    When the ck figure started to form behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back, Tang Wutong was already less than a hundred meters from him. At that instant, she ignited her soul power and used their martial soul fusion skill to appear right behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had four martial soul fusion skills in total. Theirst one was the Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light.

    This was a skill that allowed both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to fuse their powers to unleash a stronger fighting power.

    When either of them executed this skill, the powers they possessed would draw both of them closer. Tang Wutong had used this skill along with her teleportation ability to attach herself to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. When the dagger was about to pierce both of them, Tang Wutong was able to separate Huo Yuhao from her on time. She had used her body to block the dagger for Huo Yuhao.

    After releasing a grunt, Tang Wutong¡¯s body suddenly released an unbelievably powerful aura. The purple-gold light she was emitting made her look like a purple-gold sun behind Huo Yuhao. Its intense radiant aura instantly caused the ck energy to surge violently, and no longer be able to attack Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao was finally able to move again. When he turned around to find that Tang Wutong had been stabbed in the chest, he felt as though his mind was about to explode.

    He immediately extended his arm to bring Tang Wutong into his embrace. Huo Yuhao released a deafening howl as he mmed his right first outwards in the direction of the ck figure.

    It was apparent that the ck figure was a physical manifestation of the Death God¡¯s power. This power originated from the Death God Demonpuppet. Yes, Zhongli Wu had never fled from where they had fought. In fact, he had nted his powers on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body in advance. Even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was not able to pick it up.

    The power of the Death God was only activated when Huo Yuhao was at his weakest and most rxed state. After all, Zhongli Wu¡¯s targets had always been Huo Yuhao and Er Bai. It was now clear that the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church had made alternative ns all along.

    At this instant, an image silently formed behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. Tang Wutong could see very clearly that the image was of a young man with long golden hair. Even though the young man had a smile on his face, Tang Wutong could not help but notice how the man¡¯s pupils were radiating different colored lights. One of his eyes was a ck vortex, while the other was a white vortex. This gave him an extremely peculiar look.

    A very special aura started to form on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. The fist he had punched out was originally radiating a golden light. However, while it was on its way to hit the ck figure, the light it was giving off instantly transformed into a ck and white vortex of light.

    ¡°Boom!¡± When the light of Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist mmed into the ck image, the image tried to resist it. However, the golden-haired man behind Huo Yuhao suddenly emitted an overwhelming radiance as the vortex on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist released a mystical power.

    Tang Wutong could sense the powerful mncholy and sadness radiating from the vortex on Huo Yuhao¡¯s fist. Following which, the ck image was shredded to pieces by the vortex before it vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 584.3 - Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 584.3: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Rong Nianbing</h4>

    In a dense outgrowth five kilometers from where Huo Yuhao was.

    Zhongli Wu released a loud grunt as he spat blood out from his mouth. His face had be paler than before. This time, he had really sustained serious injuries.

    Even though his beast spirit had fused with him, it was not aplete fusion. Only a part of its spirit had fused with Zhongli Wu¡¯s body. Zhongli Wu had actually left his martial soul true body on Huo Yuhao. In fact, he had left his martial soul¡ªthe Death God Demonpuppet¡ªwith Huo Yuhao.

    Zhongli Wu had felt that it was the best time to strike when Huo Yuhao had been weakened, and had lowered his guard. His Death God Demonpuppet was definitely more than met the eye. Even though it had been forced out of Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, it was still able to attach itself to him with the help of dead spirits.

    To put it simply after Huo Yuhao had killed a person, his body would be enshrouded by some death aura. However, this death aura would only be there for a short while. It would usually disappear after a while.

    However, Zhongli Wu¡¯s Death God Demonpuppet was able to attach itself to this death aura. Because of how the death aura was shapeless and formless, Huo Yuhao would never be able to detect it no matter how strong his spiritual power was. On the other hand, Zhongli Wu would be able to surprise his enemy with an attack from his Death God Demonpuppet.

    If Huo Yuhao was at his best condition, the surprise attack would have failed. He would simply break free from the immobilisation with his soul power. In fact, he could even retaliate with ease.

    However, the Death God Demonpuppet was exceptionally skilled at timing its surprise attack! After fighting so many battles, Huo Yuhao was already fairly drained. In fact, the insane blow he had released with his Ghostcarving de had almost consumed all of his spiritual power and soul power. If not, how would he be able to kill a ss 9 soul engineer so easily, and shock everyone who was watching the battle?

    Right now, Huo Yuhao had simply be too weak. He was so weak that Zhongli Wu saw a golden opportunity to attack him. This was, in fact, a great opportunity, as Zhongli Wu seeded in getting his Death God Demonpuppet tounch a surprise attack on Huo Yuhao.

    However, he had failed to consider how Huo Yuhao was no longer alone after the challenge was over. He hadpanions, friends, and most importantly, Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong had willingly sustained a life-threatening injury to block the blow for Huo Yuhao. This bought him precious time. As he threw his fist at the ck image, he developed a greater understanding of the power of emotions.

    The Three Ultimate Haodong Skills lost their effects the moment Tang Wutong had returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    However, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense how he was about to lose her. At that instant, his previous feelings of sadness, pain, and longingness for Dong¡¯er suddenly surged in his heart. The seed of emotion which was nted in him had finally sprouted. The fist he had thrown out had contained the essence of the Three Ultimate Haodong Skills. On top of that, the power of emotions had drawn power from Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions, spiritual power, and soul power as well as Huo Yuhao¡¯s grief. All of these powers were concentrated in that single punch. Hence, it was able to smash the Death God Demonpuppet into pieces.

    After his martial soul has been destroyed, Zhongli Wu instantly felt the pain and damage dealt to his body. This kind of injury was definitely inevitable. Zhongli Wu felt his soul power drop by two ranks instantly. On top of that, it would probably take a long time for him to actually recuperate from this injury.

    After punching the ck image, Huo Yuhao was near his limits. Nheless, he did not let go of Tang Wutong.

    Now that the Death God Demonpuppet was dead, the short dagger which was formed from the power of the Death God had also disintegrated. However, the intense death aura was still ravaging Tang Wutong¡¯s body from within.

    The purple-gold glow on her body was starting to be faint as her face became incredibly pale.

    Huo Yuhao stared at her as he gritted his teeth. His entire body was now trembling intensely.

    ¡°Wutong, Wutong¡­¡±

    A faint golden light was suddenly emitted from Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead. Following which, it projected Huo Yuhao¡¯s dreaded golden trident. It was as though Tang Wutong had gained another eye on her forehead.

    Following which, the image of the golden-haired man reappeared behind Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Rong Nianbing, what are you trying to do?¡± A cold voice rang in Huo Yuhao¡¯s and Tang Wutong¡¯s ears. This was a voice that only they could hear.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything. I am just trying to find a sessor for myself. I think Yuhao is very suitable. He is a person who is honest with himself and the people around him. Most importantly, he is a good young man. In fact, he has already started to develop an understanding of my power of emotions. If he were to continue like this, it won¡¯t be long before he truly bes qualified to take my ce.¡±

    ¡°Rong Nianbing! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that I¡¯ve already chosen him!¡± The cold voice rang again.

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t know! Even though I have monitored him and had seen how you have interacted with him, I have only seen you torture him. You have never given him any guidance or advice. On the other hand, I had even passed my godly seed to him already. I guess I can only say I¡¯m sorry! You were simply too slow, Brother Tang.¡±

    ¡°You-!¡± The person with the cold voice seemed to have be angered by Rong Nianbing¡¯s words.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao could no longer hold it any longer. He was overwhelmed by the dizzy sensation as his mind turnedpletely nk. However, he did not loosen his grip on Tang Wutong as he fainted with her in his embrace.

    ¡­¡­

    In the God Realm.

    White clouds enshrouded the tall mountains that encircled the God Realm. It seemed as though some sort of spiritual aura was enveloping the entire area as a mysterious fragrance drifted in the air.

    There were two people standing on top of the mountain. In fact, there was no one else other than the two of them.

    One of them was a man dressed in a long blue robe. He had long blue hair that was so long it touched the ground. He was wielding a golden trident, which was radiating a brilliant golden light.

    There was another man standing opposite him. However, that man was wearing a white chef¡¯s outfit. The only thing missing from his outfit was his hat. He stood there in a rxed manner with his arms crossed across his chest.

    ¡°Rong Nianbing, don¡¯t even think of leaving if you don¡¯t give me a reasonable exnation today!¡± The blue-haired man growled loudly.

    Rong Nianbing shed a smile and said, ¡°Tang San, can you stop growling like this? It¡¯s really not easy to find someone with good potential like Huo Yuhao. Now that I have found him, I can¡¯t just let him go like this, right? Also, I must have misunderstood your intentions. I thought you hated thatd after seeing you stop him from being intimate with your daughter. I can¡¯t help but pity him after seeing what you have done to him. You must have been displeased with his background to have done what you did to him. On the other hand, look at what I have done. Now that I have given my Godly Seat to him, he is now worthy of your daughter. At the end of the day, I am also a Tier One God. Even though I pale slightly inparison to you¡ªan actual Enforcer¡ªI believe my Godly Seat is still worth something.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Tang San stared intensely at Rong Nianbing. ¡°Rong Nianbing, do you dare to say that you didn¡¯t know what I had in mind! Let¡¯s not lie to one another and make things difficult. I will let it go if you take your Godly Seat back right now. If not, forgive me for being impolite.¡±

    Rong Nianbing brought his arms to the back of his head before saying, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Stop acting. Do you really think I don¡¯t know what kind of temper you have? You are a good person, and would definitely obey thews of the God Realm. There¡¯s no way you can do anything to me since I haven¡¯t broken any of thews. Why don¡¯t you just find another sessor for yourself?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say,¡± Tang San said coldly, ¡°tell me where am I going to find someone else? Do you really think anyone can inherit my Godly Seat? For all these years, all of you have been gettingzier. All of you have been putting more pressure on me. If not for the recent instability within the God Realm that required me to reduce my time spent monitoring Huo Yuhao, you would never have had a chance to steal him from me.¡±

    Rong Nianbing replied, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to take back my Godly Seat. This kid has already started to understand andprehend my power of emotions. If I were to take it away from him now, it would only cause irreversible harm to him. His development would definitely be adversely affected. When that happens, even you would not be able to get him to inherit your Godly Seat.¡±

    ¡°But then I admit I am somewhat at fault here. How about this? Before Huo Yuhao truly bes worthy enough to be a God, I will help share some of your responsibilities in the God Realm. I will only leave to travel after Huo Yuhao is able to shoulder my responsibilities. How does that sound?¡±

    Tang San let out a sigh as a bitter smile formed on his face. ¡°Do you not know that I am actually going after freedom?¡±

    Rong Nianbing replied, ¡°And am I not going after the same thing? At the end of the day, the God Realm has only be so unstable after Kindness and Evil fled. If not for those two shameless Godkings who have fled, you would not have had such a tough time in the God Realm.¡±

    Tang San¡¯s face started to contort with rage after hearing Rong Nianbing mentioned Kindness and Evil.

    ¡°Rong Nianbing, I will not let our matter rest just like this. It¡¯s true that I can¡¯t do anything to you. However, I want you to remember this. Now that you have decided to snatch Huo Yuhao from me, I will stop treating him as my sessor. You should know that Wutong is my daughter. I will make sure that he won¡¯t be able to be together with my daughter so easily.¡± Tang San vowed viciously.

    Rong Nianbing was startled by what he had just heard. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. Tang San, are you going to go harder on him? I am warning you not to go overboard with this.¡±

    Tang San let out a cold grunt and said, ¡°That will depend on your performance. We can talk more about it after you have fulfilled your promise. Have you not seen how my daughter has gotten hurt for that little rascal? I was still able to do something for her legally by thews that governed the God Realm because she is my blood kin. However, you would not be able to do anything unless he somehow evokes you again.¡±

    Rong Nianbing started to frown as he pleaded, ¡°Yuhao has led a very tough life. Tang San, can you just spare him for me?¡±

    Tang San waved his sleeve furiously as he drifted into the sky and disappeared amongst the clouds.

    Rong Nianbing¡¯s face revealed a frustrated look as he shook his head. He muttered to himself, ¡°Yuhao, Yuhao. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you. I am simply out of ideas! You only have yourself to me for falling in love with his daughter. However, I must admit that it feels great to steal something from Tang San under his nose. Hahahaha!¡±

    ¡°Tang San, are we really going to just let him go like this? What Rong Nianbing did is simply uneptable!¡±

    ¡°Xiao Wu, do you really think I would have lost to him? If I hadn¡¯t released the seal I had ced on Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura, do you think Rong Nianbing would have been able to sense his existence?¡±

    ¡°What? So you did it on purpose? Why? Weren¡¯t you bent on letting Huo Yuhao inherit your Godly Seat?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best for him to inherit a Godly Seat which is the most suitable for him. Rong Nianbing¡¯s Godly Seat is definitely more suitable for him. This also means that I probably won¡¯t be able to give away my Godly Seat anytime soon. Right now, the God Realm is not only unstable, but also seems to be bound for a huge change in the near future. I have scried from the skies that something big is about to happen¡ªeven though I have no idea what exactly it will be. Now that the two Godkings are no longer around, I must hold onto my Godly Seat to solve this problem. I am afraid we might have to postpone our traveling ns. I am so sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. As long as we¡¯re together, I am already very happy.¡±

 Chapter 585.1 - Burn! Ma Xiaotaos Extreme Fire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 585.1: Burn! Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Extreme Fire</h4>

    Stars filled the night sky when Huo Yuhao finally awoke from his deep slumber.

    There was an inexplicable soreness all over his body, but there seemed to be a lot of liveliness rippling through him at the same time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s vitality had recovered as his mind and body healed. His soul power began circting, and he could tell with a simple look inward that his Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores were rotating very stably.

    Furthermore, his dual soul cores had clearly improved.

    When Huo Yuhao¡¯s Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores had first taken shape, their whirlpool-like soul power had been very uneven, and changed with his soul power and spiritual power undtions, and even his breathing.

    But now, his soul cores were transforming. When his two soul cores¡¯ power shed, the tiny whirlpools of soul power were all the same size. Furthermore, hisrgest whirlpool from before couldn¡¯tpare to his soul power right now. Every whirlpool was also extremely stable, and his soul power condensed into both gold and blue. His spiritual power and his Ultimate Ice coexisted.

    Even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind and body were still fatigued, his soul power had recovered to his peak condition. Furthermore, his soul power had so evidently improved that there was no question that his cultivation had risen once more.

    This was the result of forcing himself to unleash his potential, and of his dual soul cores gradually integrating and taking shape. His one-versus-ten stunt wasn¡¯t wasted, and he managed to achieve his initial goal.

    However, his excitementsted for but a moment. His memory came back, and he immediately thought about what had transpired before he fell unconscious. Huo Yuhao almost immediately bounced to his feet and leapt from his bed.

    Wutong, how is she? Where is she?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power stretched out with a single thought, and he immediately discovered that he was back in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, and Tang Wutong was in a room not far from his.

    Huo Yuhao dashed to Tang Wutong¡¯s room as quickly as he could.

    Tang Wutong was in the room, and Xiao Xiao was sitting beside her bed and taking care of her. There was nobody else around, and Xiao Xiao hurriedly ced her index finger to her mouth as Huo Yuhao came in.

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists subconsciously. He was nowpletely awake.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, how is she?¡± Huo Yuhao whispered.

    Xiao Xiao shook her head softly as she stood up and pulled him out of the room.

    She stared at Huo Yuhao with aplicated look in her eyes as they stepped out. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s rtionship was the most turbulent among their generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. Even their eldest senior brother was back together with Xiao Ya.

    ¡°You have to remain calm, Yuhao.¡± Xiao Xiao was very clear on how he felt about Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he took a deep breath. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Tell me, I¡¯m very calm. At least, is Wutong still alive?¡±

    Xiao Xiao continued, ¡°Wutong¡¯s situation isn¡¯t very good. Elder Zhuang has taken a look at her. Death circtes within her body, and this aura of death is something that her soul power cannot dispel. It is already entangled with her soul power and spiritual power, and it has shut her consciousness down. That¡¯s why she¡¯s in aa. Nobody can extract that aura of death right now, because doing so can hurt Wutong¡¯s body. She can only rely on her own willpower, and she can only recover when her soul power and spiritual power can expel that aura of death from her body.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pursed his lips tightly.Wutong has fallen into aa.

    Back then, Wang Dong¡¯er fell into aa when he sent her back to the Clear Sky Sect, and now Wutong was in aa. Was history repeating itself?

    Huo Yuhao would have no dignity left to face the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s two leaders if he sent her back again.

    Xiao Xiao heaved a sigh and said, ¡°The two of you have been unconscious for three days. Don¡¯t worry, Yuhao, she will definitely recover.¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Has the aura of death in her body declined over the past three days?¡±

    Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, but she couldn¡¯t bear to lie in the end as she shook her head softly.

    Huo Yuhao closed his eyes painfully as he dashed back into the room and pounced beside Tang Wutong¡¯s bed. He held her hands tightly.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s hands were very cold, and her beautiful face was ghastly pale. There wasn¡¯t a single hint of color on her face, and her life energy was pitifully weak.

    Huo Yuhao extended a tiny thread of soul power into Tang Wutong¡¯s body, and he immediately understood what Xiao Xiao was telling him before. She was right; nobody could do anything to save Tang Wutong in her current state.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power had be very messy and disoriented. Her purplish-golden soul power wasyered with greyish-ck colors, and those dark hues hadpletely integrated into her soul power, and even into her veins. Fortunately, there seemed to be some special force protecting her organs and other vital parts. Otherwise, this aura of death could have already taken her life.

    Huo Yuhao quickly made an urate judgment that he couldn¡¯t treat Tang Wutong, at least not with his current strength. His best choice would be to take Tang Wutong back to the Clear Sky Sect.

    Only the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s two leaders understood Tang Wutong¡¯s cultivation best, and only they would know how to heal her.

    But I haven¡¯t been able to protect her yet again, so how can I face the two sect leaders if I go back there?Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know, but he knew that he had to go. What would happen to him was no longer important, because what was important was that Tang Wutong could get better.

    Huo Yuhao quickly made up his mind.

    He wasn¡¯t like he used to be, and even though his heart was filled with grief and pain, he still chose to stand up resiliently. To be ovee by intense grief was a disy of weakness, and he had to be strong.

    ¡°Xiao Xiao, can I trouble you to take care of her? I need to deal with some matters before I take her for treatment.¡± Huo Yuhao said to Xiao Xiao.

    Xiao Xiao nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Elder Xuan has made an exception to allow me into the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to look after Wutong. You have contributed greatly to the academy this time, so you can just go ahead and do what you wish to. We will do all we can to help you if you need our help, and we will do our best to help her recover.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao nodded before he stepped out of the room.

    Elder Xuan, Yan Shaozhe, and Xian Lin¡¯er were already waiting quietly outside.

    ¡°Elder Xuan,¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was trembling a little when he saw Elder Xuan, and the grief in his heart surged.

    Elder Xuan patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Yuhao. I¡¯m sorry that we haven¡¯t been able to protect you and Wutong.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°Elder Xuan, has the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army retreated?¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded and replied, ¡°They¡¯re gone, and it seems like they¡¯re retreating into the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s original territory. I don¡¯t know where they¡¯re going afterwards, because their lockdown on surveince is very tight.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°ording to our deal, she will leave the academy alone for now. Elder Xuan, there are some things I have to give you which will guarantee the academy¡¯s safety. Can you ask the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elites to return home as quickly as possible so that they can prepare to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion?¡±

    ¡°The Sun Moon Empire has taken quite a hit from what has transpired. I have destroyed one of their beast-ranked soul engineer legions, and several of their ss 9 soul engineers have perished in battle. The Holy Ghost Church is also severely hurt, and they¡¯ll need some time to adjust and regain their strength.¡±

    Elder Xuan took the storage ring that Huo Yuhao handed him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°This contains some ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells that I snatched from the Imperial Dragon Legion¡¯smander, along with some other soul tools. There are a total of fifteen ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells inside. If they¡¯re all fired at the same time, you can annihte everything within thousands of square kilometers. These cannon shells will have no problem ensuring the academy¡¯s safety.¡±

    Elder Xuan exhaled deeply. Huo Yuhao had truly solved one of the academy¡¯s major problems all by himself! With these stationary soul cannon shells, Shrek Academy no longer needed the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elites to guard the city. They could then use their strength directly against the Sun Moon Empire.

    Furthermore, even though Huo Yuhao¡¯s one-versus-ten battle wasn¡¯tpleted in the end, he had emerged victorious across seven battles. He had severely injured their opponents¡¯ powerful individuals, and dealt an unprecedented blow to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s morale and momentum. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army had been momentarily repelled.

    ¡°What are you going to do next, Yuhao? Wutong¡¯s situation¡­¡± Yan Shaozhe¡¯s voice seemed a little gloomy.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Dean Yan, I wish to treat sister Xiaotao first, and then I¡¯ll take Wutong for treatment. Only her family knows how to treat her. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll return after I leave, but I wish all of you can forgive me. Wutong¡¯s life is everything to me.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯er said, ¡°You¡¯re a good kid, Yuhao. Feel free to do whatever you need to. I like your personality of courageous love and emotion, and you¡¯ve done enough for the academy.¡±

    Elder Xuan patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder once more. ¡°Your reputation has been cemented with this battle. Come back as soon as you can, because the academy needs you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will return as soon as possible once Wutong¡¯s situation stabilizes.¡±

    Huo Yuhao bid his farewells to Elder Xuan and the two Deans as he left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He kowtowed in front of the Golden Tree once more before he began to chant further away, and opened his spectral gate.

    Elder Xuan and the two Deans looked on as the enormous ck gate opened, and Huo Yuhao vanished into the darkness.

    Yan Shaozhe heaved a faint sigh as he watched the gate that was swiftly closing. ¡°He has truly grown up. He still knows what¡¯s important, and he still knows what he should do even in a time like this. I was a far cry from him when I was his age.¡±

    Xian Lin¡¯erughed coldly. ¡°Especially about your emotions and your life.¡±

    Yan Shaozhe¡¯s mouth twitched, but he didn¡¯t say anything in response. He could never win an argument against Xian Lin¡¯er about this.

    Elder Xuan said, ¡°Shaozhe, gather the three empires¡¯manders immediately. We will open a meeting as soon as possible to devise a strategy against the Sun Moon Empire. We can rx a little because the Sun Moon Empire has retreated, but we to make the right move afterward. Otherwise, the War God Empress will astonish us once again.¡±

 Chapter 585.2 - Burn! Ma Xiaotaos Extreme Fire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 585.2: Burn! Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Extreme Fire</h4>

    Inside the spectral demine.

    Huo Yuhao stepped out from his spectral gate with a sh, but realized to his surprise once he came out that somewhere in the distance was an ocean of fire.

    Agonizing cries and furious roars could be heard as surging undead auras erupted both inside the sea of fire and around it.

    Huo Yuhao was this spectral demine¡¯s owner, and he could clearly feel that his entire demine¡¯s undead aura had been weakened by at least ten percent. What kind of destructive force could achieve that?

    Huo Yuhao howled into the air as he tapped his foot on the ground and soared into the sky. Flourishing Ultimate Ice swiftly permeated outward as he rose into the air, and the temperature quickly plummeted as enormous snowkes danced around his body.

    Huo Yuhao could get a better look from a higher altitude. Everything within five kilometers of a certain point was bathed in fire. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t choose a ce near the soul engineer legions¡¯ camps when he ced Ma Xiaotao into his spectral demine. Otherwise, all their resources stored inside the demine would have been destroyed.

    Ma Xiaotao was like a savage beast in human form as she charged around on the ground, and undead creatures were reduced to dust wherever she went.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Ultimate Fire wasn¡¯t pure, but still possessed immense destructive power. The undead creatures were not even afraid of Holy auras, but they were very fearful of her Ultimate Fire. All kinds of undead creatures couldn¡¯t really resist her Ultimate Fire.

    Fortunately, the overbearing Ma Xiaotao had infuriated several Ice Dragons inside the spectral demine, and those Ice Dragons had teamed up and barely stopped her hysterical massacre.

    Huo Yuhao pped his forehead. Er Bai was clearly not around, because he hadn¡¯t taken the jiangshi Ice Bear King back in when he fell unconscious. Otherwise, Ma Xiaotao wouldn¡¯t be so destructive if he were around tomand the other undead creatures.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice as his long howl traveled far into the distance. He was this ce¡¯s dictator, and those undead creatures had approved of him long ago as he continued to grow stronger.

    Ice Dragons were the strongest undead creatures inside his spectral demine. Of course, that was excluding Er Bai. These Ice Dragons¡¯ fighting strength could almostpare to that of a Titled Douluo, and three Ice Dragons teaming up could barely restrain Ma Xiaotao. They were all injured and battered, and they immediately roared deeply when they heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s howl to ask him for assistance.

    Ma Xiaotao seemed to sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura as she turned her head towards the sky. Her dark red eyes immediately radiated intense insanity. When enemies came face-to-face, their eyes would burn with hatred!

    Huo Yuhao had tossed her in before this, and she had recovered a little before she began to massacre everything around her. The Holy Ghost Church had carved murder into her bones a long time ago.

    Ma Xiaotao shouted angrily when she saw Huo Yuhao, and her phoenix wings pped as she dashed toward him like a shooting star.

    Huo Yuhao paused in the air as he immediately unleashed his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. Vigorous hurricanes of ice and snow immediately formed a giant whirlpool that swept toward Ma Xiaotao.

    Even though his mind was still a little fatigued, his Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores¡¯ regenerative ability had enabled him to fully recover his soul power.

    How could Ma Xiaotao be a match for him under such circumstances?

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice locked her downpletely. Ma Xiaotao was like a tiny moth struggling in a blizzard. She had already consumed much of her soul power because she had been fighting for a long time. She was now faced with Huo Yuhao, and his Ultimate Ice affected her soul power while she expended soul power continuously to the point where her soul power was finally depleted. Ma Xiaotao was so hysterical that she wanted to detonate her soul core, but Huo Yuhao dashed forward in the nick of time and used his Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice topletely immobilize her.

    Huo Yuhao brought Ma Xiaotao back to the ground. He stared at her frozen body and berserk expression as he heaved a long sigh.

    ¡°I¡¯ve let you down, sister. I wasn¡¯t able to rescue you earlier, and that¡¯s why you¡¯ve be like this.¡± Huo Yuhao opened his arms as he spoke and hugged Ma Xiaotao gently.

    Huo Yuhao hadpletely recovered from the injury he had sustained from the Demonic God¡¯s de due to his tremendous life energy. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power rippled, and his Ultimate Ice diffused into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body through his hug and suppressed the evil fire in her body.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power was just starting to recover because of her soul core, but her soul core now slowed down as the Ultimate Ice surged forcefully into her body.

    Huo Yuhao helped her cross her legs to sit down before he sat opposite her, and he used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to draw her palms forward and ce them against his as he slowly channeled his Ultimate Ice soul power, which was as pure as could be and mixed with his spiritual power, into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power entered Ma Xiaotao¡¯s passageways, and his heart twisted into a knot. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s situation was different from Tang Wutong. The aura of death hadpletely corroded Tang Wutong, while Ma Xiaotao was gued by evil. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s situation wasparatively better, but her passageways, skeleton, and organs had been eroded by evil qi for a long time, and that was troublesome, especially since that evil qi had vigorously invaded her spiritual sea.

    However, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t like how he had been when he had first attempted to treat Ma Xiaotao. There was nothing he could do back then, and he could only rely on his Ultimate Ice to suppress that evil. Everything was different now, and his spiritual power was so much stronger than all that time ago.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power forcefully suppressed Ma Xiaotao¡¯s evil fire under his intricate control, and he forced out the evil qi thread by thread, like he was extracting parasites from her body. Huo Yuhao had trouble guiding the evil qi out of her body in the beginning, but he began to chant a spell, and the evil qi became a lot more malleable when the power of purification gradually coursed through Ma Xiaotao¡¯s passageways. In other words, the evil qi was being directly purified.

    Huo Yuhao used his Ultimate Ice, his formidable spiritual power, and his power of purification as he gradually rinsed and cleansed every corner of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s body through those three channels. He dispelled every ounce of the evil qi, while he maintained her fire-type soul power.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s depletion and exhaustion from before proved very beneficial. She didn¡¯t have a vast pool of soul power, and Huo Yuhao had restricted her recovery. This enabled him to focus on her body from the beginning.

    Huo Yuhao took twelve hours to dispel all the evil qi from her body, and her spiritual sea was next.

    Ma Xiaotao could only truly awaken if the evil qi in her spiritual sea was also dispelled.

    This was undoubtedly a difficult process. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how sophisticated a person¡¯s spiritual sea could be, and furthermore, both parties were opposing each other.

    Huo Yuhao contemted deeply for a few moments before he finally decided to proceed with a rtively riskier method because he couldn¡¯t dy any further. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea was releasing evil qi from the beginning to the end, and if he didn¡¯t cleanse her spiritual seapletely, then everything he had just done could be wasted.

    Huo Yuhao controlled his thoughts as he used Spiritual Dispossession against Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Spiritual Dispossession could allow anyone¡¯s defenses against spiritual power to be instantly reduced to zero, and all defensive capabilities against spiritual power would bepletely dispelled.

    Huo Yuhao quickly used Spiritual st after he finished using Spiritual Dispossession.

    Under his delicate control, his Spiritual st was only fifty percent as strong as normal. Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea trembled vigorously as his Spiritual st coursed through it, and Huo Yuhao took this opportunity to inject a thread of his spiritual power that had the power of purification embedded within it into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea was entirely dark red. If Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was a golden ocean, then her spiritual sea was moltenva.

    Moltenva boiled and bubbled as the thread of purification power entered her spiritual sea. A single patch of dark redva immediately turned golden red, but theva immediately retaliated against Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power ferociously.

    It¡¯s effective!

    Huo Yuhao immediately made an urate judgment, and no longer held back as he fully unleashed his embedded purification power. Gentle white light covered arge patch of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea and fought valiantly against all the evil qi contained within it.

    Huo Yuhao took this opportunity to raise his right hand as he ced his finger in between Ma Xiaotao¡¯s eyebrows, and continuously infused his power of purification into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was protecting her, so his power of purification couldn¡¯t possibly hurt her brain. Furthermore, his control was very intricate and delicate, and he made his move against the core regions of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea. The power of purification would spread outward from those central areas, which meant it wouldn¡¯t touch her vital organs and parts around her spiritual sea prematurely.

    Time continued to pass, and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s sinister and twisted expression began to recede. Her dark and insidious face gradually regained some color and rosiness, as her evil qi was dispelled one drop after another.

    Huo Yuhao seemed like he was in a steamer basket asrge amounts of mist and water vapor effused from his body and rose through the air.

    This represented Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable spiritual power that could rival that of an Ultimate Douluo. Another person in his shoes would have crumbled a long time ago.

    Huo Yuhao had to use Spiritual Dispossession against Ma Xiaotao continuously, because only then could he ensure that his power of purification could enter continually.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power was slowly recovering through her soul core. There was still some evil qi contained in her soul power, but that evil qi was a lot fainter than before. Furthermore, she still couldn¡¯t do anything because Huo Yuhao had shut off her spiritual sea, and her eyes were closed as painful expressions appeared on her pretty face from time to time.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s power of purification finally dispelled thest thread of evil qi in Ma Xiaotao¡¯s spiritual sea. He took a deep breath, and slowly retracted his finger and ced it back onto her palm. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power rushed into her body, and the icy chill immediately gave Ma Xiaotao a cold shiver as she opened her eyes.

 Chapter 585.3 - Burn! Ma Xiaotaos Extreme Fire

    <h4 ss>Chapter 585.3: Burn! Ma Xiaotao¡¯s Extreme Fire</h4>

    Ma Xiaotao seemed a little lost when she first opened her eyes, but her soul seemed to return when she saw Huo Yuhao in front of her.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s face flowed with pleasant surprise, and she seemed like she wanted to say something, but she immediately felt Huo Yuhao¡¯s flourishing Ultimate Ice soul power that was coursing through her body, and she hurriedly channeled her own soul power to cooperate with him.

    Everything became a lot smoother once she started to cooperate. Huo Yuhao¡¯s formidable Yin Yang Equilibrium soul cores¡¯ spiritual power was overbearing, and terrifying soul power swept over her and quickly wiped out the evil qi in her body. Much of Ma Xiaotao¡¯s soul power was also purified.

    Much of her soul power was still filled with evil qi, and that would continue affecting her if he didn¡¯t cleanse it all.

    Huo Yuhao exhaled deeply as he withdrew his palms.

    Ma Xiaotao also took a deep breath, and her body felt veryfortable and rxed, but she felt a little empty at the same time. Her strength had plummeted, and she didn¡¯t just lose her Ultimate Fire. She had also lost almost a third of her soul power. Even though she would recover very quickly, she knew that there was something wrong with her martial soul, and that the evil qi in her body could rpse if she recovered her cultivation. The underlying problem was still there, but at least her mind was back to normal.

    Light shed on Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand at this moment as a jade box appeared in his hands.

    The box opened, and a golden-red paste that resembled honey appeared in front of Ma Xiaotao. A faint aroma that was mixed with dense and pure elements of fire immediately caught Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attention.

    Huo Yuhao came up to Ma Xiaotao and he fed the zing Rubber inside the box into Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mouth bit by bit.

    Ma Xiaotao didn¡¯t speak from the beginning to the end, and neither did she decline as she swallowed the zing Rubber piece by piece. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sister. I was too slow, and you¡¯ve suffered so much as a result. I will definitely fix you once and for all this time, and you will be a true soul master of Ultimate Fire after today. You will not have to worry about that evil qi anymore. This is called zing Rubber, and it¡¯s a fire-type immortal herb¡¯s essence. It will only appear after gestating for at least ten thousand years.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao felt the zing Rubber in her stomach as thick elements of fire rose within her body, and the weakness that she felt was immediately reced by a swelling feeling. Gorgeous rosy red colors radiated all over her body as those thick elements of fire continued swelling and rippling.

    Huo Yuaho couldn¡¯t help her anymore, because his Ultimate Ice would only be counterproductive if he injected it into her body now. How Ma Xiaotao would emerge from her cocoon was now up to her own cultivation process.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t doubt the zing Rubber¡¯s potency. He had almost squeezed the zing Delicate Apricot dry back then for this piece, and a hundred thousand year soul beast¡¯s essence should be sufficient to help Ma Xiaotao purify her martial soul.

    Ma Xiaotao quickly entered meditation, and Huo Yuhao finally heaved a sigh of relief. He had finally treated his elder sister sessfully, which had been one of his greatest wishes.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just leave, but instead sat opposite Ma Xiaotao and quietly channeled his soul power so that he could recover, while he protected her at the same time.

    Ma Xiaotao was absorbing the zing Rubber more quickly than he had expected, and she only took two hours before her aura began to transform drastically.

    The temperature around her began to rise continuously, and the ground beneath her feet turned dark red. Faint golden-red light shone twenty meters around her and pulsed with her breathing, and Huo Yuhao was forced further away because of that scorching aura so that he wouldn¡¯t be affected.

    ¡°Ang¡ª¡± A bright phoenix call echoed through the skies as a pair of golden-red phoenix wings stretched out behind Ma Xiaotao¡¯s back.

    Yes, her wings were golden-red, no longer dark red, as her fiery aura surged into the sky.

    Ma Xiaotao pped her wings heavily as she took herself high into the sky. There seemed to be another golden-red sun in the sky that shone over the great earth and triggered countless undead creatures¡¯ agonizing howls at the same time.

    Sunlight was an important part of life for the Douluo Continent, but such intense sunlight only meant death and destruction inside this spectral demine.

    Most of the undead creatures fell to the ground in fear and waited for this destructive and apocalyptic force to descend upon them.

    Fortunately, everything was just temporary.

    The golden-red light gradually receded in the sky, and Ma Xiaotao¡¯s fiery red hair regained its color. Every strand seemed to be formed from red jewels threaded together.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s attractive frame gradually drifted down as she arrived in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was already on his feet, and he stared at her with a faint smile on his face.

    ¡°Wee back, sister,¡± Huo Yuhao said with a smile.

    Ma Xiaotao opened her arms and gave him a bear hug. She was a buxom girl, and her busty body squeezed Huo Yuhao until he felt a little suffocated and awkward. But he felt more happiness and bliss.

    Ma Xiaotao kissed his cheek heavily as she looked up and said, ¡°Thank you, little brother.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°No, I was toote. You wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so much if I hade for you earlier.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I will take back what the Holy Ghost Church owes me someday. Where are we? Why are there so many undead creatures here? Watch me kill a whole bunch of them first.¡± She turned and was about to walk away as she spoke.

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s mind had recovered, and her fiery temper was also back.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly pulled her back as he briefly exined his spectral demine¡¯s origins, and only then did Ma Xiaotao change her mind.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go out, sister. Everyone in the academy is worried sick about you, and there are some things that I have to deal with.¡±

    The ck spectral gate reopened as Huo Yuhao took Ma Xiaotao back to the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    The Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was still radiating faint golden light, and the tall Golden Tree was still there. Everything that Ma Xiaotao was familiar with was still here, and tears fell from her eyes uncontrobly when she saw everything as she knelt on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m back. I¡¯m finally back! I¡¯m finally back home!¡± Ma Xiaotao started bawling, and she was like a wanderer who had returned home in this moment. She didn¡¯t seem like a formidable Titled Douluo at all.

    Roughly ten years had gone by since she had been captured. Those ten years passed like a dream! She had been immersed in evil qi and killing from the beginning to the end, and she didn¡¯t have control over her mind. Huo Yuhao had rescued her halfway for a period of time, and she tried to control herself, but she wasn¡¯t able to do that for long. She fell back into that dreadful cycle in the end.

    Her martial soul had finally sublimated, and she finally became a true soul master of Ultimate Fire. Evil qi would no longer cause her any trouble, and she felt like she had been reborn.

    Huo Yuhao knelt down beside Ma Xiaotao, but he didn¡¯t attempt to console her. She had been immensely affected by all that evil qi over these years, and her emotions had been stifled too much. Catharsis was definitely beneficial for her.

    Ma Xiaotao cried for fifteen minutes. There was someone else tearing up at the same time, but it wasn¡¯t Huo Yuhao. Instead, it was the Dean of Shrek Academy¡¯s Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe, who was standing in front of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.

    Ma Xiaotao finally cried until she was a little tired. She raised her head, and when she saw Yan Shaozhe, she immediately eximed at the top of her voice, ¡°Teacher!¡±

    Ma Xiaotao dashed into Yan Shaozhe¡¯s arms with a quick step, and continued crying uncontrobly.

    Yan Shaozhe had raised her since she was a child, and teacher and disciple were very close. Yan Shaozhe didn¡¯t have any kids, and he had always treated her like his own daughter. He had never given up searching for her even though she had been missing for so many years, but the world was vast, and the Holy Ghost Church was the one who had kidnapped her. How could he possibly find her?

    But now Ma Xiaotao had returned, and her mind was back to normal. How could Yan Shaozhe hold back his tears any longer?

    Ma Xiaotao¡¯s deafening cries finally attracted the elders¡¯ attention as they stepped out from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion one after another.

    Everyone revealed gratified expressions as they witnessed Ma Xiaotao¡¯s return, and that she was back to normal. Furthermore, her return represented an addition to the academy¡¯s strength. They had seen Ma Xiaotao¡¯s strength during her battle against Huo Yuhao. Even though she was still weaker inparison, she was still more talented overall than Zheng Lexuan. Ma Xiaotao was almost a Transcendent Douluo.

    She had been one of the inner courtyard¡¯s most outstanding students before she had been captured, and her return was definitely wonderful.

    Just when everyone was feeling happy and excited, Huo Yuhao quietly entered the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion and walked into Tang Wutong¡¯s room as he sat down next to her quietly.

    ¡°I wish to be alone with Wutong for a while. Is that alright, Xiao Xiao?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    Xiao Xiao nodded as she turned to leave.

    A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he stared at Tang Wutong¡¯s ghastly pale face as shey on her bed. He gentlybed her pinkish-blue hair before he kissed her gently on her tender cheeks.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done everything I can. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army has retreated, and sister Xiaotao has returned. Two of my wishes have been fulfilled. Even though there are some other things that require my attention, you are more important. We will go home right now, back to your home. No matter what those two sect leaders do to me, I have to help you recover. If you don¡¯t, then I will go wherever you go. I will never leave your side again for the rest of my life no matter what, even if I have to be a corpse.¡±

    Huo Yuhao took out a piece of paper as he spoke, and wrote some things before he ced the paper gently on a table beside him. He began chanting, and a spectral gate quietly opened.

 Chapter 586.1 - Sacrifice for Her?

    <h4 ss>Volume 43: The Ice-Spirit Douluo and the Dragon Butterfly Douluo, Chapter 586.1: Sacrifice for Her?</h4>

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time using the spectral door in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. This was really because he didn¡¯t want to rm anyone. Perhaps leaving just like this was the best choice. He didn¡¯t even know if he could return.

    He sent Tang Wutong into the spectral demine along with the bed before he silently left the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He found the Ice Bear King resting in a corner of the academy and sent him into the demine to protect Tang Wutong. After this, he left the academy.

    When Xiao Xiao came to Tang Wutong¡¯s room, all she saw was a piece of white paper.

    Very soon, this piece of white paper was in front of Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, eldest senior, elders and teammates, I¡¯m leaving with Wutong. Wutong is not in a very good condition. None of us know what to do. I¡¯m bringing her to find a physician. No matter what price I have to pay, I must heal her. She¡¯s very important to me. If she can¡¯t recover, I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t face this world calmly anymore. Everyone, please take care. Yuhao.¡±

    He sounded very calm, but everyone could sense the heavy fatigue in his words. They could sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s fatigue.

    Yes! He had been carrying a lot on his shoulders over these few years. With Tang Wutong around, at least he had a spiritual support. Now that she was heavily injured, Huo Yuhao chose to leave. More urately speaking, he didn¡¯t leave, but went to seek treatment for Tang Wutong. Her recovery would also determine whether his heart would change for the better.

    ¡°This kid is really pitiful. His heart is too heavy. I hope Wutong can recover.¡± Elder Xuan shut his eyes heavily. Huo Yuhao had done a lot for the academy. At such a time, who could me him? They could only wish him well.

    Ma Xiaotao silently stood beside Elder Xuan. She also saw what Huo Yuhao had left behind. Although she didn¡¯t know what had happened, there was a resilient look in her eyes right now.

    Go and do what you have to, little brother. I¡¯ll shoulder your responsibilities on your behalf!

    ¡°Elder Xuan, let me take over Yuhao¡¯s position in the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion now that he¡¯s left.¡± Ma Xiaotao asked Elder Xuan.

    No one thought that Ma Xiaotao was doing this to usurp power. When the entire continent was in turmoil, power also meant responsibilities.

    Elder Xuan nodded silently. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Ma Xiaotao looked at Xiao Xiao and asked, ¡°You are also part of the Tang Sect. Tell me, what happened to Yuhao when I was away?¡±

    After leaving Shrek City, Huo Yuhao felt very rxed. He hadn¡¯t experienced such a feeling for many years. Relief was perhaps the best word to use to describe his current feeling.

    Leaving everything behind wasn¡¯t easy. However, letting go was sometimes the key to understanding happiness.

    Was Huo Yuhao happy? He didn¡¯t know either. But he knew that he was relieved. It was finally time for him to temporarily give everything up. He really wanted to forget everything in this world and just protect Tang Wutong.

    If not for the fact that she was in aa, he wouldn¡¯t have made up his mind to do something like this. In his heart, there were still many things he had to do. However, they weren¡¯t important right now. What was more important than Tang Wutong?

    Lights shed in the sky as clouds swept past him. Unknowingly, Huo Yuhao was already flying at an extremely rapid speed. His Yin-Yang Complement soul cores seemed to be even morepatible as he was in such a relieved state. They no longer fought each other, but seemed to fuse together through the Yin-Yang Complement.

    Whirlpool-like soul power was generated in his body, and surged before dissipating at high speed. This dissipation was almost nothing to Huo Yuhao.

    From Shrek Academy to the Clearsky Sect, the distance wasn¡¯t considered too long.

    The Clearsky Sect was in the Heavenly Soul Empire. More urately speaking, it was now part of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao was simply too quick. He was so quick that the aerial surveince soul tools couldn¡¯t find him. But any surveince soul tool that came within reach of his senses couldn¡¯t escape his clutches.

    He didn¡¯t even need to use any energy. Ever since he had killed that ss 9 soul engineer, Huo Yuhao had developed a new understanding of the Tang Sect¡¯s Hidden Weapons. It was really like going back to the basics. That feeling was magical. This was why he could still destroy the core formation of an aerial surveince soul tool as long as he had a small piece of metal, even if the soul tool was thousands of meters away. From there, he could destroy the soul toolpletely.

    It was a very refreshing feeling. Right now, Huo Yuhao was seeking such excitement. This was why any aerial surveince soul tool he passed was ¡®unlucky¡¯. Many of them were destroyed.

    Sun Moon Empire army.

    Ju Zi quietly sat in themander¡¯s tent. Her Sin Memorandum had just been sent back to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City. This time, she had lost, and lost badly.

    Just as the army retreated, the remaining members of the Imperial Dragon and Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions returned. Just after they returned, the legionmander of the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion immediately went to confront the evil soul masters. There were less than three hundred soul engineers left in the two soul engineer legions. However, they were still as hostile as ever. The moment they entered the base, they immediately went to where the evil soul masters were stationed.

    At this moment, the evil soul masters were without a head. Zhong Liwu had disappeared, while the evil Transcendent Douluo were either dead or injured. Their overall strength had fallen.

    A violent confrontation was about to ensue.

    When the other soul engineer legions heard this news, they immediately rushed over to mediate. However, they also turned furious when they learned from the Imperial Dragon and Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legions that the Holy Ghost Church had ambushed those two soul engineer legions.

    It wasn¡¯t their first day getting annoyed by evil soul masters. This incident caused the entire base to descend into chaos.

    Even Ju Zi wouldn¡¯t be able to handle such chaos in the base.

    The eventual result was that almost all the evil Titled Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church ran away. However, those that were weaker were all torn apart by the enraged soul engineers.

    This issue was blown up. What was the Holy Ghost Church? It was the national church of the Sun Moon Empire! Even if it was an evil soul master sect, it was still a holy church that protected the empire.

    Many of the soul engineer legionmanders kneeled down in front of Ju Zi and asked for punishment.

    However, was it really possible to punish them now? These soul engineer legions were her supporters!

    As a result, Ju Zi could only temporarily station the army outside the original Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders. After that, she sent a Sin Memorandum to await punishment from the Emperor. It was only by doing this that she could reach the perfect resolution. Otherwise, there would be a revolt.

    Yuhao, you are really vicious! You always im to be soft-hearted. Aren¡¯t you showing me your toughness this time?

    No one knew who had attacked the two soul engineer legions from the Hand that Protects the Nation, but how could Ju Zi not know? Huo Yuhao possessed both ice-type abilities and the ability to summon spectres. Furthermore, she was the one who had personally told Huo Yuhao that the Sun Moon Empire wanted to attack the Dou Ling Empire.

    Yuhao, you¡¯re really smart. You actually guessed that I was going to carry out an assassination. Although you arrived a littlete, you were still able to maintain yourposure and use such a tactic to cause internal chaos within my army.

    Yes, you¡¯ve gotten your way. This time, there¡¯s internal chaos within the Sun Moon Empire. Along with our low morale, we won¡¯t be able to attack anytime soon. Such a good opportunity has gone to waste. There¡¯s also news from the Dou Ling Empire that there¡¯s a surviving member of the imperial family. This member fixed internal problems in Dou Ling City, so things weren¡¯t as bad as they were supposed to be.

    Ju Zi refused to believe that these matters had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao.

    Yuhao, this Yuhao! You are really much more powerful than I imagined. Have you finally matured during the war?

    I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s a blessing or misfortune to have you as my opponent. Yuhao, no wonder I¡¯m interested in you. Even though you¡¯ve caused me a lot of problems, why am I still so happy? Is it because I¡¯ve watched my man mature?

    In fact, I¡¯m more hopeful that you¡¯ll be the ruler of the entire continent in the future. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll do my best to help you. Our kid will be your future sessor. That¡¯s the perfect ending I hope to see. However, I know that that¡¯s almost impossible.

    Ju Zi locked up all themanders involved in attacking the Holy Ghost Church. She still had to do what was right on the surface. At the same time, she also convinced them. She was the leader of an army. Now that a problem had arisen, the me would be attributed to her first. If the Emperor condemned them, she would suffer all the consequences.

    ¡°Marshal, this matter has nothing to do with you. We are the culprits. You are the pir of our empire. Without you, we couldn¡¯t have wiped out the Heavenly Soul Empire and caused the entire continent to waver. How can we let you take any punishment for us?¡± A ss 9 soul engineer said agitatedly.

    Who would have expected the War God Empress to say that she would shoulder all the me? She was the Empress! She was also the Marshal of the army. She could attribute all the wrongdoings to the internal chaos. While any chaos could be linked to the marshal, the reason for this chaos could still acquit her of any wrongdoing.

    However, she didn¡¯t do so. This meant that she was willing to shoulder all responsibility. This left all the soul engineer legionmanders and Worshipped with a whole new outlook of this Empress. A marshal who was willing to shoulder all responsibility was definitely what any soldier would want to see.

 Chapter 586.2 - Sacrifice for Her?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 586.2: Sacrifice for Her?</h4>

    Ju Zi nodded gently and said, ¡°I should be responsible for this matter. I was the one who gave the order for the two soul engineer legions to attack the Dou Ling Empire. urate information can only be obtained from me. I can¡¯t report such a military mission to the military supervisor either. That¡¯s why the responsibility lies with me. All of you don¡¯t have to say anything else. Since I mentioned that I¡¯ll shoulder all the me, I¡¯ll do it. From a profit standpoint, punishing me alone can help to protect all of you, the pir of the empire.¡±

    Ju Zi sounded veryposed. However, how could all the soul engineers beposed when they heard her words? Suddenly, they all lowered their voices.

    They were clearly aware of what kind of responsibility she had to bear for this matter. By attacking the Holy Ghost Church, it was equivalent to causing a revolt, even if it was justified! The punishment for a revolt was the extermination of nine generations of one¡¯s n. Yes! By taking the me for everyone, Ju Zi was indeed minimizing all punishment. After all, she held such a respectable status in the empire.

    This War God Empress was once an orphan saved by the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. Many people tried to scheme against him when he decided to marry her. An Empress without a proper background was disallowed in the imperial family.

    If not for the fact that Xu Tianran ignored all the objections, Ju Zi wouldn¡¯t have be the Empress. Right now, herck of background was ideal. Because she was by herself, no matter how heavy the punishment was, she would be the only one punished.

    However, she was the Empress! She was even the War God Empress. Even though she appeared very calm, how could the soul engineers be calm?

    ¡°We are willing to share the me with you, Marshal. Even if we are killed, we will die without any regrets.¡± A soul engineer legionmander kneeled on the floor before kowtowing to her. This was a formality given only to an Emperor. As a legionmander, no one could make him kneel on both knees except for the Emperor.

    With the first came the second. Very soon, the entire tent was full of people kneeling down.

    Ju Zi kneeled too. Right now, she could no longer hold her cool. Her tears fell uncontrobly.

    ¡°Thank you,rades, for your unity. However, I must ept responsibility myself. The empire cannot survive without all of you. I only have one small request right now. I hope all of you can agree to it.¡±

    The oldest ss 9 soul engineer lifted his head to look at her. His expression was very fierce, but it was filled with sincerity.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please tell us. We¡¯ll do it as long as we can.¡± This soul engineer had already decided. At such a period of time, it was best for Ju Zi to bear the burden for everything herself. This was because she was likely to escape without punishment. After all, she had umted many merits. She might not die. As for them, they were doomed if they went to take the rap. The Holy Ghost Church and militaryw wouldn¡¯t let them off.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°With your trust, I can die without regrets. However, the Crown Prince is too young. If I die, there¡¯ll be another Empress in the future. I¡¯m only asking for your help as a mother. Please protect the Crown Prince and let him grow up happily. Even if he can¡¯t be the Emperor in the future, it¡¯s fine. Everything is good as long as he¡¯s safe.¡±

    Right now, Ju Zi appeared very cowardly, and was even filled with fear and sorrow. But it was also right now that she could truly touch others. The invincible War God Empress revealed her soft side. Such an atmosphere was too much even for these iron-blooded soldiers.

    Another ss 9 soul engineer suddenly stood up and came to lift Ju Zi to her feet. ¡°Marshal, we¡¯ll always be on your side no matter what. You won¡¯t die. No one will die. We control more than two-thirds the power of the empire. We¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± The old soul engineer appeared furious, ¡°Do you really want everyone to lose their life?¡±

    They couldn¡¯t continue after speaking until here. Ju Zi regained herposure andforted all the generals before sending them back to rest. As for how they were going to settle this matter, they were going to follow the original n. However, she had obtained what she wanted.

    At times, putting herself in the soldiers¡¯ shoes was more important. By doing so, she could win them over. By winning them over, she could then win over the entire world!

    Ju Zi took a solid step in the attainment of her target.

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t aware of all this. In fact, he just reached his destination.

    A thick snowy mountain was already within view. It was covered by fog, but the fog couldn¡¯t stop Huo Yuhao anymore. Even if there were powerful soul beasts amidst the fog, he couldn¡¯t be stopped.

    Gentle spiritual power spread, and Huo Yuhao sensed everything around him. He was like a spectre as he silently ascended Clear Sky Peak.

    At the top of the peak, Clear Sky Castle was still standing there as usual. Nothing seemed to have changed.

    This was Huo Yuhao¡¯s fourth time at the castle. Every time, he had a different feeling. He felt the best the first time. When he first came, he was well-treated by the two sect leaders. However, it was also here that he almost ttened the entire castle because of the Snow Empress¡¯ embryo.

    What was most unforgettable in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind was that his teacher, Electrolux, had left him forever here.

    Wang Dong¡¯er was unconscious the second time, and he was the one who personally brought her back. Then, he waspletely heartbroken. When he left that time, Wang Dong¡¯er ceased to exist.

    When he came for the third time, it was because he found out that Wang Dong¡¯er had left.

    This was the fourth time. It seemed like misfortune followed him every time he came. However, he had no choice if he wanted Tang Wutong to recover.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t knock on the door when he arrived in front of the castle. He didn¡¯t call anyone either. He only just kneeled down in front of the castle.

    Not long afterward, the door to the castle opened, and Tai Tan walked out.

    He didn¡¯t say anything to Huo Yuhao. He only walked in front of him before giving him a kick. This kick threw Huo Yuhao far back.

    Tai Tan used a lot of force with this kick. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was like a shell, and he was kicked all the way out of Clear Sky Peak.

    Tai Tan was merciless. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t resist either. The tremendous pain almost crushed his second soul core .

    He spat out mouthfuls of blood. However, he still appeared as relieved as he was earlier.

    He returned to the peak and silently came in front of Tai Tan. He kneeled down once again. He didn¡¯t say anything, and only lowered his head.

    Tai Tan looked coldly at him.Of course, I don¡¯t have to ask him anything. The only reason he¡¯s here is because Wutong is in trouble, judging from his demeanor.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Tai Tan asked.

    Huo Yuhao recited a few incantations, opening the spectral door. Tang Wutong was sent out and presented in front of Tai Tan.

    Tai Tan hugged Tang Wutong and returned to the castle. The door to the castle closed heavily, and a deep rumbling sound could be heard.

    No one came out from the castle after Tai Tan entered. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t move either. He only kneeled there and waited silently.

    He neither ate nor drank anything. For someone of his cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t die even if he kneeled down for a few months. Furthermore, his injuries also gradually recovered under the effect of his twin soul cores. He only needed one day to healpletely. He didn¡¯t even take any medicine.

    He kneeled down properly, and felt much better doing so.

    He had no intention of returning alive this time. If Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t be treated, he would kill himself for her. If she could be treated, he had to see her again even if it was at the expense of death. This was why he was kneeling down, not only to atone for his sins. He was also kneeling down to wait for results. This time, he wouldn¡¯t leave the peak no matter what happened. He was going to wait here until Tang Wutong was fine, or until she died.

    He was no longer sad. This was because he treated her as part of himself. If she was well, he would be well, and the reverse was also true. If she was a part of him, what was there for him to be sad about?

    Seven days and nights passed just like this.

    The cold caused ayer of frost to form on his body. Even when kneeling down, his soul power was still circting silently. ording to his estimates, his soul power should be around Rank 94 after the gains he had made during that big fight earlier, and after he formed his twin soul cores.

    For normal Titled Douluo, it was very difficult to improve further after crossing Rank 90. However, this wasn¡¯t an issue for him. The foundation set by his twin soul cores was too good. His improvement didn¡¯t stop at all. ording to Elder Xuan, he would at least reach Rank 98 without facing any bottlenecks. Of course, it was also precisely because of this that he would face a life-and-death situation when he reached Rank 98 and wanted to make a breakthrough to Rank 99.

    However, this wasn¡¯t on Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind right now. He had no desire to improve himself anymore. He only had one person on his mind.

    Another seven days passed. By now, fourteen days had passed. Huo Yuhao had already grown a beard from kneeling there. He was even like an ice statute right now. His entire body waspletely engulfed by a thickyer of frost.

    When the fifteenth day arrived, the door to the castle finally opened. Tai Tan was still the one who walked out.

    Tai Tan appeared very grim. When he walked out, Huo Yuhao immediately reacted. He subconsciously lifted his head, and the ice cracked.

    Tai Tan kicked him once again. However, it was much softer this time. At least Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t hurt this time.

 Chapter 586.3 - Sacrifice for Her?

    <h4 ss>Chapter 586.3: Sacrifice for Her?</h4>

    Although Huo Yuhao was still a little sloppy and his beard was still quite long when he flew back, there was no longer any ice or snow on his body.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Tai Tan turned around and went back into the castle after he said these two words.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly followed him. He could no longer keep calm. His heart was palpitating.How exactly is Wutong?He didn¡¯t know. It was time to determine his fate.

    After entering the castle, Tai Tan brought him to the main hall. He sat down himself, but didn¡¯t invite Huo Yuhao to take a seat.

    Niu Tian was also around. He was silently seated in the main seat, and appeared even more gloomy than Tai Tan.

    ¡°Wutong is not in good shape. Do you call this protecting her?¡± He said coldly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart sank. He didn¡¯t say anything, and only kneeled down.

    ¡°Get up. What¡¯s the point of having you here just to kneel down and kowtow to us? Even if you kneel for ten thousand years and be a turtle, will Wutong get better?¡± Tai Tan was furious.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly. ¡°I only have this body of mine. I won¡¯t harp on what I¡¯ve done wrong. As long as I can save Wutong, I¡¯m willing to do anything. If I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll go with her. We¡¯ll go to another world, and I¡¯ll protect her there.¡±

    Niu Tian¡¯s facial muscles contorted. ¡°Given a choice, I should have killed you the moment I saw you. At least we¡¯d spare our darling so much pain.¡±

    Huo Yuhao could onlyugh bitterly. Niu Tian was right. If Tang Wutong didn¡¯t follow him, she might not have suffered so much pain.

    ¡°Right now, there¡¯s only one way.¡± Niu Tian suddenly said.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Huo Yuhao was surprised as he looked at him. There was immediately an angry look in his eyes.

    ¡°However, you¡¯ll need to make a sacrifice,¡± Niu Tian said calmly, ¡°Are you willing to do so?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even ask what the sacrifice was. He agreed without any hesitation. He was even willing to give up his life for Tang Wutong. What more could he not do?

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Wutong¡¯s body has been corroded by the aura of death. This aura of death has already fused with her spiritual sea, which is keeping her unconscious. The only way right now is for her to force this aura of death out from her body using her own strength. This is the only way she can recover. However, she¡¯s not strong enough yet.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he asked, ¡°What should we do then?¡±

    Niu Tian answered, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you already have twin soul cores. Furthermore, they are Yin-Yang Complement twin soul cores. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately nodded. At the same time, he was astonished. It was important to know that even Zhong Liwu couldn¡¯t tell what his twin soul cores were, but this sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect could. Even with Huo Yuhao¡¯s sharpness, he couldn¡¯t tell how strong Niu Tian really was. Was it that Niu Tian was also an Ultimate Douluo? The only creature who could tell that he had Yin-Yang Complement soul cores was the Beast God, Di Tian!

    Niu Tian said, ¡°If we want Wutong to force the aura of death out from her body using her own strength, we need her to form twin soul cores too. They have to be formed using the Yin-Yang Complement too, so that she¡¯ll stand a chance of survival. The soul cores will also dispel the aura of death naturally. Neither myself nor my second brother can do it. Our powers are different from Wutong¡¯s. Our martial souls are also different. Only you can help her.¡±

    ¡°We have a special method in our sect which allows one to temporarily project his soul core into the body of another party. From there, one can help the other party to circte their soul power. However, the only requirement is that both parties need to have extremelypatible soul power. Wutong¡¯s soul core is also light-type. It¡¯s also her Radiant Butterfly Goddess soul power. There¡¯s only one way for her to most easily form her second soul core right now, which is through spiritual power. Your spiritual power is sufficiently strong too. This is why we need you to project your spiritual soul core into her spiritual sea and help her form her second soul core. From there, you canplete the formation using the Yin-Yang Complement. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Are there any risks?¡± Huo Yuhao asked.

    ¡°Yes. The thing about this method is that it helps the other party, but it harms yourself. Wutong isn¡¯t in much danger. As long as you are determined enough, the probability of sess will be high. However, you might lose your soul core in the process. You might even hurt your origin because of the internal damage to your soul cores. The worst result is that you¡¯ll be an idiot. Even if you don¡¯t, your powers will fall greatly. You might not ever be a Titled Douluo in the future.¡± Niu Tian said. ¡°This is why you should consider it very carefully. Once we begin, it¡¯s going to be very difficult to stop. Stopping it will instantly endanger Wutong¡¯s life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stood up and shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to consider anymore. Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    Tai Tan said, ¡°You must think it through carefully. Any injuries will be irreversible. Your twin soul cores are bound to be affected. ording to my knowledge, you are the first human in history toplete the formation of Yin-Yang Complement twin soul cores. It¡¯s likely that no one will follow in your footsteps either.¡±

    ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, Uncle Niu Tian, let¡¯s stop wasting time. If we dy any further, Wutong¡¯s body will be corroded even more by the aura of death. Let¡¯s begin now. As long as we can make Wutong better, I can even give you my life. Let¡¯s not even talk about lowering my cultivation. However, I have something that I need both your help with.¡±

    Niu Tian said, ¡°Tell me.¡±

    There was a determined look in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, ¡°If I be an idiot in the process, please kill me immediately before dumping my corpse. We don¡¯t need Wutong to see me in that state. Just tell her that I left her after sending her here.¡±

    Tai Tan was curious. ¡°Why?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°With her temperament, she¡¯ll want to take care of me forever if I be an idiot. She¡¯ll never be happy or blissful ever again. She¡¯ll be hurt if she knows I left. However, her pain will lessen over time. But she must never know I¡¯m dead. Otherwise, it¡¯ll only backfire. This is why I hope both of you can grant me this wish.¡±

    After hearing his words, Niu Tian and Tai Tan looked at him with a gentler expression on their faces. Niu Tian nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin then. Is there food to eat? I want to grab a bite and take a rest first so that I¡¯ll be in my best state. I must help Wutong recover.¡±

    Tai Tan said, ¡°Let me bring you some food.¡±

    Huo Yuhao ate scrumptiously and didn¡¯t bother about taste at all. Right now, he only saw food as a way to replenish his energy.

    After eating, he meditated a little. After two hours, he finally re-appeared in front of Tai Tan.

    Niu Tian had disappeared somewhere. Once again, Tai Tan asked Huo Yuhao whether he was regretful. After receiving a determined answer, he led Huo Yuhao to the top of the castle. They only stopped when they reached the top floor.

    There was only one room at the top. There were four windows around the room. The sea of clouds outside the castle could be clearly seen from this room. As the clouds drifted in the sky, it felt as if this was some kind of immortal realm.

    Tang Wutong was quietly lying down at the center of arge bed. She appeared very peaceful, as if she was in a deep sleep. But she looked very pale, and there was even an aura of death surrounding her body.

    The Death God Demonpuppet¡¯s attack was simply too strong. It was a miracle that she had actually survived.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face immediately contorted when he saw her.

    Whether it was Wang Dong¡¯er or Tang Wutong, they had both suffered a lot for him. Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how he could face Wang Dong¡¯er or Tang Wutong. If this carried on, he might actually go crazy.

    As a man, instead of protecting his own woman, he let her get critically hurt because of him. Such a feeling was very consuming.

    Huo Yuhao was in such pain. When he heard of this method to save Tang Wutong, he actually felt relieved in his heart. It was as if he had been freed from restraints.

    So what if he had to sacrifice his abilities for her?

    Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at Tai Tan, ¡°Uncle Tai Tan, how do we start?¡±

    Tai Tan said, ¡°Sit opposite Wutong. I¡¯ll lift her up. Your palms must touch. Then, I¡¯ll give you instructions on what to do.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao gave Tai Tan a hand in lifting Tang Wutong. They ced her in a seated position.

    Her head drooped, and her pinkish-blue hair flowed down. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but tear up when he saw like this.

    As their palms touched, his palms shook slightly.

    ¡°Cleanse your mind of impurities. Otherwise, you¡¯ll harm both her and yourself.¡± Tai Tan¡¯s voice sounded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears.

    Huo Yuhao was immediately rmed. He hurriedly focused and stabilized himself.

    Tai Tan said, ¡°Pour your soul power into Wutong¡¯s body slowly. Entangle your soul power with hers. After we control the aura of death and restrain it, it¡¯ll be less chaotic, even though the resistance will be even stronger. Once you fuse your soul power into her, the aura of death will certainly circte into your body through your soul power. If you want toplete this method, you must possess an aura of death too.¡±

    Huo Yuhao circted his soul power and slowly fused it with the aura of death in Tang Wutong¡¯s body. The entire fusion process was very slow. The aura of death wasn¡¯t very domineering. While it flowed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, it wasn¡¯t doing so very smoothly. This was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s twin soul cores were simply too strong. His soul power was shaped like a whirlpool. Once the aura of death entered his body, it was immediately swept away.

 Chapter 587.1 - Projection! Fusion!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 587.1: Projection! Fusion!</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was no longer as weak as he was after he fought ten people. Even if the Death God Demonpuppet stabbed him in the back right now, the aura of death would quickly be dispelled from his body by his twin soul cores.

    To guide the aura of death into his body, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to control his twin soul cores to circte soul power at a slower speed. This allowed his soul power to be gentler so that the aura of death could gradually enter and try to corrode his body.

    Tai Tan observed both of them by one side. When ayer of the aura of death started to surface on Huo Yuhao¡¯s skin, he said, ¡°You can pour your soul power into Wutong and try tomunicate with her soul power. While your soul power is different from hers, both of you can fuse your martial souls together. This means that your martial souls are still verypatible. At least she won¡¯t develop resistance. You must try to multitask. On the one hand, you have to try to interact with her soul power. On the other hand, you must try to push your spiritual power into her spiritual sea. Use your Eye of Destiny to release your spiritual power. The point of entry is at the same exact spot on Wutong¡¯s forehead.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t make a sound. His Eye of Destiny slowly opened. Rose-gold sunray patterns spread from his forehead as gentle spiritual power surged from his Eye of Destiny.

    Even with Tai Tan¡¯s cultivation, he was still astonished when Huo Yuhao released his pure spiritual power.This kid¡¯s abilities have indeed increased greatly.He walked behind Tang Wutong and lifted her head.

    Huo Yuhao carefully controlled his spiritual power, approaching Tang Wutong¡¯s brow with it. He was very aware of what was on her forehead, and where the golden trident pattern was. This pattern rarely appeared. It would only be activated when he touched any part of Tang Wutong¡¯s body with a seal, or if Tang Wutong intentionally activated it.It should be there since Uncle Tai Tan asked me to trigger it.

    Gentle spiritual undtions gradually transmitted from Tang Wutong¡¯s brow under the stimtion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s gentle spiritual power. Although these undtions weren¡¯t strong, it felt as if it was resisting any foreign invasion.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already so close to each other, but he could still sense the rejection the seal had towards him.

    Purely in terms of spiritual power, Huo Yuhao was close to the standard of an Ultimate Douluo. This slight rejection couldn¡¯t affect him. He only continued to use his spiritual power to stimte that particr spot on her forehead.

    Slowly, Tang Wutong lifted her head on her own. She no longer needed Tai Tan¡¯s help. Dim golden patterns started to appear on her forehead.

    At the very start, there was only a streak. However, the patterns slowly grew more extensive, and her spiritual undtions also became stronger and stronger.

    Huo Yuhao was astonished to discover that these spiritual undtions that Tang Wutong released made him want to submit to her.

    In terms of the strength of their spiritual powers, there was still a prettyrge gap. However, this was not important. The more important thing was the mighty and dominant feeling that Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual power projected. When it interacted with his spiritual power, it was as if it was looking down on it.

    Huo Yuhao had had such a feeling before, which had even caused a misunderstanding between him and Tang Wutong. It was when he had tried to fuse with Tang Wutong¡¯s martial soul not long after he met her. Back then, he had felt something like this from her soul power.

    As his cultivation increased, this feeling had slowly disappeared, and eventually vanished.

    Right now, this feeling appeared again. The golden trident became more and more apparent under the stimtion of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. The pressure that Huo Yuhao was under also grew stronger and stronger.

    ¡°Continue to pour out your soul and spiritual power. Don¡¯t stop.¡± Tai Tan¡¯s voice sounded once again.

    Huo Yuhao could only maintain the output of his spiritual and soul power. Tai Tan didn¡¯t teach him any secret methods. He only told Huo Yuhao to maintain such a state.

    Huo Yuhao possessed Yin-Yang Complement soul cores. Whether it was the recovery of his soul or spiritual power, he was one of the best in the world right now. Even an Ultimate Douluo might not beparable to him in this aspect. After all, he was the first person to cultivate Yin-Yang Complement soul cores.

    It was under such a condition that Huo Yuhao was able to maintain his current state. The recovery of his soul and spiritual power was faster than their output. To him, it was not an issue at all.

    As he poured in his soul power, the aura of death in her body seemed to bepletely forced out. There seemed to be much more of the aura of death seeping into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. To affect Tang Wutong¡¯s treatment, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even dispel the aura of death. He allowed it to circte within his body.

    However, his body was very sturdy right now. His passageways and organs were all exuding golden light. With his immense soul power and life energy, such external forces couldn¡¯t influence him at all. Everything that the aura of death was trying to do was in vain.

    The brightness of the sky gradually faded. As Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny was open, he knew that a day had passed.

    After day came night. After night, it was daytime again.

    In the blink of an eye, one day and one night had passed. Huo Yuhao was still in his original position.

    More of his soul power had entered Tang Wutong¡¯s body by now. It entangled itself with her soul power without impacting it. While Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power didn¡¯t fuse with his, it didn¡¯t reject his soul power either.

    On the spiritual level, Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident shone with blinding golden light as it was stimted by his spiritual power. As the intense golden light shone, the entire room was illuminated, and the might that the golden trident unleashed even left Huo Yuhao i feeling a little strenuous.

    At this moment, a sudden buzz came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. After this, a refreshing feeling instantly entered his Eye of Destiny. His rose-gold Eye of Destiny was covered by ayer of icy-blue light.

    When this glow appeared, the might that came from the golden trident suddenly disappeared. It vanished.

    This was¡­

    Huo Yuhao was delightfully surprised to discover the presence of this refreshing feeling. Wasn¡¯t it the aura of the Morning Dew Dagger?

    Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger. It was what he had inherited from the God of Emotions Nian Rongbing. After being subjected to external stimtion, the dagger naturally passed its aura to him.

    Don¡¯t tell me that the aura of the golden trident also belongs to a god? Otherwise, why does it need to be neutralized by the aura of another god?

    While he could no longer sense the aura of the golden trident, Huo Yuhao was still very confused.

    He started to pour out more spiritual power. The golden trident looked like a real entity right now. Not only was it shining brightly with golden light, but there was even a material feeling to it.

    ¡°Yuhao, summon your spiritual soul core fully. After that, force your spiritual soul core into Wutong¡¯s spiritual sea through the spiritual connection that you¡¯ve built with her, that golden trident.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hesitated a little. He didn¡¯t follow Tai Tan¡¯s instructions immediately.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for him to shift his soul core. A soul core was a soul master¡¯s foundation. Furthermore, stability was key. Once there were problems with one¡¯s soul core, an explosion could happen. Given Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities, the entire castle might be blown to pieces if his soul core exploded!

    This wasn¡¯t even what Huo Yuhao was most worried about. This was because he believed in his control. More importantly, could Tang Wutong withstand it? Could her spiritual sea withstand his soul core? Could his soul core be shifted over through their current spiritual connection?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m about to use our secret method. Just do what I say. Do you really think I¡¯m going to lie to you?¡± Tai Tan seemed to have read Huo Yuhao¡¯s thoughts, and immediately responded.

    Huo Yuhao had no choice right now. He could only believe Tai Tan. He gritted his teeth and started to control his spiritual soul core.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core was a golden whirlpool. At the depths of this whirlpool, there was a subtle golden crystal entity. Right now, his spiritual soul core started to gently shift under his intentional control.

    His spiritual soul core was in his Eye of Destiny. Or rather, it was connected to his Eye of Destiny. When he touched his spiritual soul core, it was immediately projected outwards from his Eye of Destiny.

    His bright golden spiritual soul core was revolving tremendously in his Eye of Destiny, but it was very stable. Furthermore, it was slowly bing clearer and clearer.

    The rose-gold sunray patterns disappeared, to be reced by golden radial patterns. Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead also shone with golden light that was as intense as the golden light that came from Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident. The entire room was engulfed with immense spiritual undtions. Even the entire castle was covered by ayer of golden light from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core.

    There was a sea of clouds outside the castle. The clouds that were closest to the castle were illuminated brightly. As golden light spread, the mountain peak that the Clear Sky Castle was on seemed to be an immortal paradise.

    Tai Tan was already seated cross-legged behind Tang Wutong by now. He was sensing the immense spiritual aura that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core released. There was a delighted look on his face.

    He started to recite incantations. He lifted his hands at the same time and pressed them against Tang Wutong¡¯s shoulders.

    Strange lights formed. As Tang Wutong was blocking him, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see Tai Tan slowly shrinking behind Tang Wutong. A gentle light projection also appeared in front of Tai Tan. There seemed to be a man with long blue hair seated cross-legged there.

    He lifted his hand and pressed one finger against the back of Tang Wutong¡¯s head.

 Chapter 587.2 - Projection! Fusion!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 587.2: Projection! Fusion!</h4>

    Suddenly, the light from the golden trident on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead retracted. After this, the light that had scattered earlier immediately gathered together before shooting towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    Golden light shone as the Eye of Destiny was hit. Huo Yuhao only felt his entire body shaking tremendously. He actually felt a strong suction force that was sucking his spiritual core out.

    The stable cirction of his spiritual soul core was disrupted, and its revolution became violently quick. This caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire head to turn golden.

    Outside the castle, all the clouds within a fifty kilometer radius shone with the same glow.

    Huo Yuhao tried to focus his gaze, but all he saw was that the golden light came from Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident. This suction force was like a bridge between him and Tang Wutong.

    There wasn¡¯t any reluctance on his part. Huo Yuhao did his best to use his spiritual power to push his spiritual core outward.

    It was important to know that his was a Yin-Yang Complement soul core. Once itpletely left his body, his Ultimate Ice soul core might actually blow apart.

    Huo Yuhao had already thought this over properly. He believed that Tai Tan also didn¡¯t know the characteristics of his Yin-Yang Complement soul cores. This was why he judged the oue in that manner. In fact, from the current situation, his Ultimate Ice soul core might immediately blow apart the moment his spiritual soul core left his body. When that happened, his entire body might actually explode.

    When he thought of this potential oue, Huo Yuhao also thought of a way to counteract it. Giving his spiritual soul core to Tang Wutong could save her. That was enough.

    He was also very self-confident. He was confident that he could control his Ultimate Ice soul core for at least a short period of time. If he was given time to recite incantations, that would be enough.

    If that happened, he would open his spectral door and enter his demine before shutting the door. He would then blow apart in his own demine.

    He might destroy the entire demine if he blew apart in there. Perhaps he might only destroy a part of it. He was fine with it as long as he didn¡¯t harm anyone.

    This was what he thought. It was very simple and direct. This was why he decisively chose to listen to Tai Tan¡¯s suggestion. When he came to save Tang Wutong, he had already expected death.

    If only one of the two of them could survive, he naturally wished that it was Tang Wutong.

    Dim lights shed in the air. The golden light that was shining from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body became stronger and stronger. As his spiritual soul core shifted out, the chain between his two soul cores was also pulled longer and longer. The cirction speed of his Ultimate Ice soul core also got faster and faster. It seemed like it was going to turn violent soon.

    Huo Yuhao perfectly demonstrated his control right now. He suppressed both his soul cores and contained their violent tendencies.

    His Eye of Destiny had turned into a golden whirlpool by now. Even the pupil was gone. Against the golden trident, the golden light that it let out also became more and more intense.

    ¡°Project!¡± A gentle voice sounded. Huo Yuhao could only tell that this voice didn¡¯t belong to Tai Tan. It didn¡¯t seem to belong to Niu Tian either.

    After this, Huo Yuhao felt a gentle beam of light striking his body. This beam of light felt warm, but there was an indescribable pressure that came with it. The pressure he was under earlier re-surfaced. It was even stronger now than it was before.

    What was this?

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. However, before he could even react, he felt his soul and spiritual power pouring out of his body. Following this, his spiritual soul core shook a little. Huo Yuhao only felt a strong turning force, and a sense of weakness immediately swept over his spiritual sea.

    A golden whirlpool appeared thirty centimeters in front of him. Wasn¡¯t that his spiritual soul core?

    However, Huo Yuhao was stunned that his spiritual soul core didn¡¯t disappear. It was still in his Eye of Destiny. It was just that its spiritual aura was weaker than what it was previously. It was at most only at one-tenth of what it was earlier.

    One-tenth of an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s spiritual power was still close to the standard of a Rank 90 Titled Douluo. However, the sense of weakness was still very overwhelming, as Huo Yuhao lost ny percent of his spiritual power so abruptly.

    It was a torturous feeling. At least this was what Huo Yuhao was feeling right now. His Ultimate Ice soul core also became stronger. The center of the chain connecting both soul cores was where both soul cores collided with each other, generating whirlpool-like soul power. However, it was rapidly shifting upward, and only stabilized after entering Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    His two soul cores became a little unbnced now. The whirlpool-like soul power that he generated contained the chill of Ultimate Ice, while his spiritual aura had evidently weakened.

    What was going on? Why was a part of his soul core able to be separated? Ny-ten separation?

    Projection? Earlier, that voice mentioned something about projection. What¡¯s that? Is this the secret method of the Clear Sky Sect? It¡¯s magical!

    Although Huo Yuhao was weak, he could still clearly see that the golden whirlpool was drifting in the air towards Tang Wutong, along the trajectory of the golden light released by the golden trident.

    It wasn¡¯t moving at an incredible speed, but it was very stable. It seemed to havepletely detached itself from Huo Yuhao¡¯s control. He couldn¡¯t even sense that part of his spiritual power. The cirction speed of his spiritual soul core also fell considerably. Just like Tai Tan had mentioned, his spiritual soul core had be extremely weak right now.

    ¡°Focus. When Wutong absorbs your spiritual soul core, she¡¯ll interact with the soul power that you poured into her body. At the same time, she¡¯ll stimte the resonance of your spiritual soul core. You must be careful. If you can¡¯t control your soul and spiritual power, you¡¯ll be an idiot. Do you understand?¡± Tai Tan¡¯s voice sounded once again. Yes, it was Tai Tan¡¯s voice this time. Huo Yuhao was certain.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao naturally couldn¡¯t say anything. He quickly focused, and did his best to tolerate the intense weakness. He also tried his best to sense the changes to the soul and spiritual power in his body.

    The golden whirlpool slowly came in front of Tang Wutong until it reached her golden trident. After this, the whirlpool stopped there.

    Tang Wutong was illuminated golden. Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that the soul power undtions in her body had be stronger. His soul power inside his body was also circting ording to these intense undtions, and was quickly being sucked by away Tang Wutong.

    If it were someone else, he might really think that Tang Wutong was sucking his power away to strengthen herself. At least, this method seemed like it was doing that. It was simr to an evil soul master¡¯s abilities.

    However, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think so. He would have no regrets even if he gave everything to her.

    This was why he didn¡¯t resist at all. He rxedpletely, and let Tang Wutong absorb his soul power. Tang Wutong¡¯s passageways became brighter and brighter as they were strengthened by soul power. The aura of death in her body seemed to realize that the situation wasn¡¯t good, and started to struggle in her body. However, it couldn¡¯t cause any damage, as it faced Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯sbined soul power.

    The golden whirlpool in front of Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident became smaller. Or rather, it was slowly being absorbed into Tang Wutong¡¯s body through the golden trident.

    Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that the soul core in Tang Wutong¡¯s dantian was surging. Immense soul power was shooting towards her head.

    He was very familiar with such a feeling. When he first cultivated his Yin-Yang Complement soul cores, didn¡¯t he face something like this? He only escaped death with Elder Mu and his Six Spirits¡¯ help, and became the first human in history to form Yin-Yang Complement soul cores.

    As he sensed the crisis Tang Wutong was in, Huo Yuhao immediately reacted. His soul power that was entangled with her started to rapidly move. There was only one goal ¨C slow down the cirction of Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power.

    After she was unconscious for so many days, Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power was in a resting phase. Due to this, her own functions were slightly slow.

    The volume of Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was greater than hers. After absorbing so much soul power earlier, Tang Wutong¡¯s soul core circted at a slower speed as Huo Yuhao moved this time. It was even being dyed.

    A golden whirlpool was taking form in Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual sea.

    She found it much easier to form her second soul corepared to Huo Yuhao. This spiritual soul core was already ready. She just had to absorb it. Her first soul core in her dantian was restrained by Huo Yuhao. In this way, Tang Wutong¡¯s cultivation speed would be much faster than Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao managed to do this as he used the fact that Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power didn¡¯t reject him. Of course, the more important thing was that it came from the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s secret method. Without this secret method, Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t have been able to absorb Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core no matter what. It was the kind of ability that didn¡¯t exist in the world of soul masters.

    There was a relieved look on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. He was already seeing the likelihood of sess. Golden light was still shining brightly on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead. However, she was about to fully absorb his spiritual soul core.

    It didn¡¯t even feel like Huo Yuhao was being forced to do this at all. Instead, he appeared very delighted. To be able to give something to Tang Wutong was the most blissful thing for him.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s soul core became more and more violent. Her soul power was also getting a little out of hand, such that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power could no longer restrain it.

 Chapter 587.3 - Projection! Fusion!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 587.3: Projection! Fusion!</h4>

    Without any hesitation, Huo Yuhao poured even more soul power into Tang Wutong¡¯s body and continued to restrain her soul core. At the same time, he also rxed a little. He also ¡®assaulted¡¯ Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual soul core with some of his soul power.

    Toplete the formation of Yin-Yang Complement soul cores, it was impossible to avoid a sh, and the soul cores had to adapt to each other. No one was more experienced than Huo Yuhao when it came to this.

    Of course, the Beast God Di Tian was also experienced too. However, the difference was that Huo Yuhao was human! Huo Yuhao was the first human to form Yin-Yang Complement soul cores. When it came to this, no one couldpare to him.

    The smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face widened. He also didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. He only felt himself getting weaker and weaker. Not only was ny percent of his spiritual power drained, but even his soul power was also drained.

    However, he felt much morefortable like this. His twin soul cores also became much more bnced. The only difference was that he could restore his soul power through his cultivation. However, in the spiritual power aspect, it felt as if someone had taken ny percent of his origin strength. So much time had passed, but he didn¡¯t exhibit any signs of recovery.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t seem to mind this. What could this count for? As long as Tang Wutong could recover, he was content. Right now, he only hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be a moron after all of this was over. He believed that Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t look down on him.

    In fact, he was even sure that she wouldn¡¯t leave him even if he became an idiot. This was why he wanted that guarantee from Niu Tian and Tai Tan. If he really became an idiot, he didn¡¯t want to be Tang Wutong¡¯s burden!

    The golden light from the golden trident finally retracted. Tang Wutong seemed to havepletely absorbed Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core. As her spiritual and soul powers shed, small, unstable whirlpools also started to form. Although they weren¡¯t very stable, they appeared continuously. This also meant that the two soul cores were starting to adapt to each other.

    This was good, this was very good!

    Seeing that sess was within reach, Huo Yuhao was delighted. He was aware that this was a sign that the Yin-Yang Complement twin soul cores were about to bepleted.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power was above Rank 90 already. Once her twin soul cores formed, it was almost certain that she would be a Transcendent Douluo. As for how much his cultivation would drop, Huo Yuhao was also unsure. He had no time to think about it either.

    Lights shed, and the soul power undtions in the air became stronger and stronger. Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. He even shut his Eye of Destiny. A strong sense of weakness quickly engulfed him, causing him to turn pale. However, there was still a slight smile on his face.

    A figure slowly stood up behind Tang Wutong. This figure had a slender figure, and his blue hair flowed behind his head. There was no w in his handsome and charming face.

    He looked at Huo Yuhao with aplex look in his eyes. After a brief moment, he gently sighed. He lifted his hand and pressed it against Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead. Suddenly, the golden trident shone. Something seemed to be injected into it, but it also seemed like something had disappeared.

    Two balls of light shone behind Tang Wutong. One was a golden sun, while the other was a purplish-gold moon. Gold and purple intersected, which was a captivating sight to behold.

    The blue-haired man smiled in satisfaction and nodded gently. As he waved his hand, a gentle beam of light covered Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s soul cores shook. Following this, her soul power suddenly surged out.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, which he had used to restrain Tang Wutong¡¯s soul core earlier, was sucked in, as if it was being swept away by a tornado. The chain between Tang Wutong¡¯s two soul cores also fully formed.

    A beam of golden light suddenly shot out from Tang Wutong¡¯s golden trident. It struck Huo Yuhao¡¯s brow. His Eye of Destiny opened on its own because of the stimtion of this external force.

    Following this, Huo Yuhao felt that the remnants of his spiritual power had beenpletely drawn out from his spiritual sea. He was leftpletely void of spiritual power.

    The whirlpool around his soul core disappeared. What was left was only a golden object, which wasn¡¯t very huge. At this instant, Huo Yuhao cked out, and lost all consciousness.

    Am I really going to be an idiot?This was thest thought in his head. If he had one more second to think, he would certainly have hoped that Niu Tian and Tai Tan would fulfil their promise ¨C bring his idiotic self away and vanishpletely from Tang Wutong¡¯s life.

    It wasn¡¯t just his spiritual power that waspletely drained. Even his soul power in his dantian was sucked away. Unprecedently bright light shone from Tang Wutong¡¯s body.

    This time, it was time for Tang Wutong to support Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as he sat there, his head slowly drooping.

    It was at this moment that a figure silently shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. It was a man who had long, golden hair.

    ¡°Is this enough?¡± The golden-haired man asked.

    The blue-haired man nodded gently and replied, ¡°Seeing that he¡¯s willing to sacrifice himself for Wutong, I¡¯ll forget about his session of your godly seat. However, he¡¯ll still need to work harder if he wants to marry my daughter.¡±

    As he spoke, the blue-haired man pushed his hands forward. Suddenly, the sun-moon radiance behind Tang Wutong¡¯s back shone brightly. The golden-haired man also mimicked a pressing action towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Behind Huo Yuhao, a golden sun and a blue moon suddenly appeared. It was just that they shone less brightly than Tang Wutong¡¯s golden sun and purplish moon.

    The golden lights were like a bridge. Both golden suns illuminated each other, and their golden lightsplemented each other. A gentle glow connected both suns.

    The golden sun behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back gradually became brighter as it was illuminated by the golden sun behind Tang Wutong. The strange thing was that immense spiritual undtions started toe from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Not only this, but the blue moon behind his back also released a beam of light, which intersected with the purplish moon behind Tang Wutong¡¯s back.

    As the suns and moons intersected, their soul and spiritual power also started to interact.

    The two soul cores inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to circte, and his whirlpool-like soul power spread.

    Streaks of ck air started to spread from Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s body. They diffused into the air before slowly disappearing.

    The golden-haired man snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is cheating? We can¡¯t intervene in anything below.¡±

    The blue-haired man replied, ¡°Cheating? I¡¯m not! I¡¯m only guiding my aura on my daughter¡¯s body. She¡¯s my flesh, and my blood runs in her. Who can say anything about this? As for Huo Yuhao, he¡¯s received feedback from my daughter¡¯s power because he saved her. That¡¯s why something like this has happened. It¡¯s not my doing. It¡¯s theirs. I¡¯m only using the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s secret method.¡±

    The golden-haired man was unconvinced. ¡°Clearly, you were the one who created that secret method.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Whatever. Alright, I¡¯m going. Are you?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Tang San, I suddenly feel like whacking you. I¡¯m not sure why. Furthermore, why do I have this feeling that I¡¯m not benefitting at all?¡±

    ¡°Not benefitting? Alright then! Let¡¯s switch. You can leave with your godly seat. I¡¯ll deal with him and let him inherit my position. I believe he won¡¯t reject me with Wutong around.¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going. I can¡¯t be bothered with you.¡± The blue-haired man took a step, and his body seemed to fuse with space. After this, he instantly vanished.

    The golden-haired man wore aplex expression on his face as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He lifted his hand and gently pressed it on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head. Then, he nodded his head in satisfaction.

    ¡°Trying to snatch my sessor? Dream on.¡± He also took a step forward before he disappeared into the air.

    Tai Tan came out from some unknown ce and chuckled, ¡°Is this considered a fight between immortals?¡±

    Niu Tian pushed open the door and walked in. ¡°What? Even if immortals fight, they can only do it above, not here. Let¡¯s not say anything more and just follow their instructions. This time, both of them are finally reaping rewards.¡±

    When Huo Yuhao gradually regained consciousness, he first felt warmth. His entire body also felt veryfortable.

    Am I still alive? Or am I in another world? It seems like one can still feel warmth in another world.

    He slowly regained his awareness.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯re still alive. You¡¯ve never been better.¡± A slightly interesting voice sounded. Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. After this, he felt a very familiar aura. He thought of something before taking a look in his spiritual sea.

    His spiritual sea was now a plot ofnd. Familiar figures started to appear in front of him.

    A handsome man was ying with his long, golden hair. At the same time, this man was smiling at him. He was wearing a long, white robe, which waspletely clean.

    ¡°Brother Skydream.¡± Huo Yuhao said agitatedly.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Skydream Iceworm in human form. There were also a few others around. For example, there was the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass also appeared in human form. It appeared as a simple and honest young man, and it was standing beside the Skydream Iceworm. On the other side, two beauties were staring at Huo Yuhao. Although they seemed aloof, they couldn¡¯t hide their delight.

    The chubby Ice Bear King was also smiling as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He opened his arms as he rushed over, giving Huo Yuhao a big bear hug.

    The captivating Princess Li Ya was also grinning as she watched Huo Yuhao. Captivating tunes came from her mouth, as if hundreds of birds were singing.

    ¡°All, all of you are awake? Or am I meeting you in another world?¡± Huo Yuhao almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath as he was hugged by the Ice Bear King. His voice was very unclear, but every one of his Spirits could tell what he was saying.

 Chapter 588 - Two Transcendent Douluos!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 588: Two Transcendent Douluos!</h4>

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we would all die so easily! After all, I have already lived for a million years. I am definitely tougher than you think. However, we are also not quite sure what happened. To be honest, we just felt an immense amount of energy surging into your body, which elerated our recovery. After that, we just woke up after one another. We were about to ask you what happened because we couldn¡¯t sense what was going on outside at all. Now that your spiritual power has be so strong, there¡¯s no way we can sense what is going on outside without your permission.¡±

    ¡°All of you are not dead? And you mentioned an immense amount of energy?¡± Huo Yuhao was also stunned by what he had just heard. He turned his head to look at the Ice Empress and Snow Empress, only to find them nodding.

    Suddenly, many questions started to form in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.Unless I hadn¡¯t turned into an idiot back then? Or could everything before me be a dream? No, no, that can¡¯t be right. I seem to be able to control everything around me. This means I must still be alive.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao felt a warm sensation in his heart. His entire body seemed to be brimming with power and strength.

    ¡°Let me go out and take a look.¡± Following which, he immediately returned to his body after signaling the slightest intent. At the same time, he was observing the situation of his body from within.

    He was immediately shocked by what he saw.

    The first things he saw were two vortexes, which belonged to his soul cores. Both vortexes were now close to twice their original size. The gems which were forming within the soul core vortexes were now a lot more apparent than before.

    The two different vortexes were golden and blue. Each of them was releasing an immensely powerful soul power which was fusing and interacting with one another. The brilliant golden-blue light was rippling between the two soul cores.

    The tiny soul power vortexes which were being released by the interactions between the two soul cores now resembled pearls. Because of how much energy was contained within them, one would mistake them as aplete material object rather than just a vortex of energy.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao was sensing this. It was simply magical. He felt as though his body was brimming with power, and that he had attained new heights in his cultivation.

    It was almost as if his passageways and organs had already disappeared. He felt as though his entire body had be uniform, just like an entire continent. His soul cores were like the sun and the moon which shone on this huge continent.

    The golden sun and blue moon had allowed him toprehend certainws which governed the universe. It seemed like his soul cores were not only sources of power.

    However, the transformations in his body were not what startled Huo Yuhao the most. Most importantly, why was all of this happening to him? If he was fine, was Tang Wutong also fine? How was she doing?

    Now that his consciousness hadpletely returned, Huo Yuhao gradually opened his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he instantly realized that he was still in the room at the top floor of the Clear Sky Sect. However, Tai Tan and Tang Wutong were no longer in the room. It seemed like he was the only person left here.

    Where is Wutong?

    While Huo Yuhao was startled, he found himself floating beforending on the ground with a single intent.

    Huo Yuhao immediately scanned his surroundings by releasing his Spiritual Detection.

    While he was executing his Spiritual Detection, he was surprised to find it working without mustering any of his spiritual power. It seemed like his techniques could now be activated with his intent. Following which, a three-dimensional diagram of Clear Sky Castle formed in his head. Every single living thing was presented in the diagram. In fact, even the slightest detail was captured by his Spiritual Detection.

    No, Tang Wutong doesn¡¯t seem to be here.He could only sense the mighty life energy of Tai Tan and Niu Tian.

    On top of that, he was now absolutely certain that the Sect Leader of the Clear Sky Sect, Niu Tian, must be an Ultimate Douluo. On the other hand, Tai Tan was at least a Transcendent Douluo. Both of their bodies seemed to possess an explosive type of power. The fact that the power they were releasing was already so powerful implied that they were probably in possession of something even more frightening within their bodies.

    Where¡¯s Wutong?Right now, this was the only thought on Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind. He instantly dashed out of the room before teleporting to where Tai Tan and Niu Tian were.

    Both Niu Tian and Tai Tan were sitting in a spacious room enjoying a cup of wine.

    They were both startled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s sudden appearance. After realizing that their intruder was Huo Yuhao, the startled looks on their faces broke out into faint smiles.

    ¡°Uncle Niu Tian and Uncle Tai Tan, where is Wutong? How is she doing? Has all the death aura within her body been expelled? Do you all know where she is? Did anything bad happen to her?¡± Huo Yuhao went on like a machine gun as he fired a series of questions at both Niu Tian and Tai Tan. They were, of course, caught off-guard by the number of questions being thrown at them.

    ¡°Okay, first, you need to rx.¡± Tai Tan chuckled.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s anxiety was written all over his face. How could he rx right now?

    Niu Tian pointed outside of the window and spoke, ¡°Go and see for yourself.¡±

    Huo Yuhao rose to the window as he peered out of it. He saw something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

    Pure white clouds were drifting about in the air as they rapidly morphed between different shapes. At times, they were surging about like violet waves in the sky before changing into all sorts of sculptures at the very next instant.

    A beautiful violet-colored figure was dancing gracefully within these rapidly changing clouds. As she stepped on the clouds enshrouding her figure, her body radiated a faint golden glow. She looked like a fairy emerging from the clouds.

    Coupled with her graceful dance and her long violet hair, she was radiating an irresistible attraction.

    A golden sun and a purple moon were suspended above her head as they showered her with radiant light. Their lights further enhanced her fairy-like image.

    As her powerful soul power fluctuations rippled across the sky, the clouds around her changed colors continuously.

    Huo Yuhao leaped up into the sky as he headed for the clouds. Gentle soul power fluctuations were rippling from his body. In fact, they were no longer soul power fluctuations. They were manifestations of his love for Tang Wutong.

    The pure feelings of love and admiration were, of course, the best possible emotions! An image that belonged to Rong Nianbing flickered behind Huo Yuhao, and the surrounding clouds turned golden in color at the next instant.

    Huo Yuhao opened his arms as he flew towards Tang Wutong. At this instant, there was nothing in his eyes but her beautiful figure.

    Tang Wutong had naturally seen him as a faint smile formed on her face. However, she moved aside and dodged Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace before hiding in the clouds with a giggle.

    Huo Yuhao was stunned, and he immediately dashed straight into the clouds. However, he realized that Tang Wutong was no longer in the cloud he had seen her enter. He immediately unleashed his Spiritual Detection only to find the surrounding clouds to be brimming with Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power. His Spiritual Detection was actually unable to locate her exact position.

    That¡¯s right! Now that she¡¯s in possession of Yin Yang Complement soul cores, her spiritual power and soul power would have fused perfectly. The soul power she had released must possess the characteristics of her spiritual power. That¡¯s why I won¡¯t be able to locate her with my Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao started to be anxious. He was really afraid that everything he was seeing was just an illusion. Right now, he only wanted to get close to her and touch her. He needed to make sure that everything was real.

    A blue moon silently ascended behind Huo Yuhao. Following which, Huo Yuhao nted his palm gently on the clouds.

    At that instant, he felt the blue soul core at his chest area rotate. The powerful blue vortex seemed to have appeared in his palm instantly.

    The huge patches of clouds outside of Clear Sky Castle were instantly enshrouded by extreme cold.

    Every single water-type element was frozen immediately. At that instant, every single cloud within fifty kilometers of Huo Yuhao transformed into chunks of ice which dropped to the ground.

    After the clouds dropped down, Huo Yuhao was able to see Tang Wutong again. She was shocked to see what Huo Yuhao had done. At the same time, it seemed like she was a little displeased with what Huo Yuhao had done to the beautiful clouds she had made.

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t care less about those clouds. He no longer wanted to be tortured by their separation. He immediately teleported to where Tang Wutong was as he opened his arms to hug her.

    Tang Wutong also teleported at the same time. However, she merely moved back by a single step. She extended her arms to hold Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    When Huo Yuhao felt the familiar warmth in his hands, he felt as though his heart was about to melt in bliss.

    Just when he was about to speak, he suddenly felt two streaks of soul power surging from Tang Wutong¡¯s body. Before he could even react, he realized his soul power had actually fused with Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power. Their bodies lit up at the same time.

    The golden sun and purple moon above Tang Wutong¡¯s head immediately drifted towards Huo Yuhao, while his golden sun and blue moon instantly appeared behind his back.

    The golden suns ovepped with one another before ascending further into the sky. The blue moon and purple moon ovepped with one another to be a violet full moon. The full moon¡¯s radiance ovepped with the golden sun¡¯s radiance to release an awe-inspiring sight.

    Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao¡¯s bodies became illusory at the same time. Following which, the light their bodies were radiating seemed to have be material and solid.

    Initially, the light seemed to dim before it suddenly exploded with blinding radiance. At that instant, Huo Yuhao felt as though his mind had turnedpletely nk. The explosive radiance they released seemed to have shattered the space around them.

    This must be fusion! My martial soul and Wutong¡¯s martial soul can finally fuse again!

    Yes, they were now able to fuse again. Now that Tang Wutong had acquired her Yin Yang Complement soul cores, their martial souls were nowpatible again.

    At the end of the day, their Haodong Power was still Haodong Power. However, it had undergone a tremendous transformation.

    Both of their soul cores had expanded by more than thirty percent. It was important to note that a thirty percent expansion in diameter meant that their volume would have gained an evenrger increase! Hence, their collective power had improved exponentially. In addition, both of their powers had also multiplied.

    This was the power of Yin Yang Complement soul cores.

    At this instant, both of them had a pair of Yin Yang Complement soul cores. If one were to look at them with a different perspective, both of them were also like a pair of soul cores. Huo Yuhao would be the Yang, while Tang Wutong would be the Yin. Hence, their Haodong Power would also receive a simr Yin Yang Complement boost. Such enhancement was definitely unprecedented in the history of soul masters.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong instantly fused together to be a single entity. Following which, they released a streak of golden light into the distant sky.

    The diameter of this golden beam of light was at least a hundred meters. It was so long that their eyes could not see the end.

    This was the first martial soul fusion skill they had unleashed when they had first fused their martial souls.

    The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.

    This was definitely the ultimate version of the skill! It was truly an endless golden road.

    Both of them seem to have transformed back into their normal forms immediately after they had taken on the shape of the gigantic eye. Huo Yuhao immediately brought Tang Wutong deeper into his embrace as he hugged her soft and scented body. This sensation allowed him to be sure that everything was real.

    Improving his cultivation was really not that important to him. As long as she was around and fine, that was enough.

    ¡°Why were you so foolish to block that dagger for me?¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice trembled as he choked on his words.

    Tang Wutong burst intoughter as sheughed, ¡°You¡¯re the foolish one. If you were in my ce, would you not have done that? You are my one and only love. Are you the only one that is allowed to protect me? Am I not allowed to protect you? We need gender equality in our rtionship.¡±

    HuoYuhao tightened his embrace as he whispered, ¡°Do you know that if you had really died there and then, I would definitely have taken my life and followed you. I want to be wherever you are.¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t bear to be separated from you, my dear fool!¡± Tang Wutong giggled. However, while she wasughing, tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

    At this instant, Niu Tian and Tai Tan were watching the couple who were locked in an embrace from the windows of Clear Sky Castle. Both of them revealed a warm smile on their faces.

    ¡°These two fellows have finally gotten together. I¡¯m really happy for them. It¡¯s exactly like how Wutong¡¯s mother got together with that fellow. That fellow must have been touched by how Yuhao was willing to give up his cultivation for Wutong. He must have seen how Yuhao wanted to fuse his Yin Yang Complement soul cores with her martial soul. This time around, both of them seemed to have benefited a lot from this tribtion. They have both be Transcendent Douluo. The fact that they have both attained the rank of a Transcendent Doluo at such a young age means that they probably have a chance to match the record of that person from ten thousand years ago!¡± Tai Tan remarked with admiration.

    Niu Tian coughed and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. If I remember correctly, I think you once liked Xiao Wu when she was in her human form, right?¡±

    ¡°Shhhhh! Can you not be so loud? Do you not know how easy it is for that fellow to be jealous? Look at how he has been torturing his future son-inw. I can only imagine what he would do to the person who tries to snatch away his woman.¡± Tai Tan spoke in a timid fashion which waspletely different from the usual machismo he showed.

    After hearing what Tai Tan had said, Niu Tian burst intoughter.

    Huo Yuhao was hugging Tang Wutong very tightly, and wished that he could bring her body as close as possible to his. After a short while, his mind started to clear up, and a question formed in his head.

    I am embracing Wutong tightly! How is that possible? Why isn¡¯t the seal reacting to it?

    As he thought about it, he tried to increase his grip around Tang Wutong.

    Still, there was no reaction.

    ¡°Can you be gentler?¡± Tang Wutong grumbled in her usual adorable way.

    Huo Yuhao immediately let go of Tang Wutong and asked her, ¡°Why is there no reaction?¡±

    Tang Wutong blushed and said, ¡°My father visited earlier. After seeing what you were willing to do for me, he¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao was immensely ted after hearing this. Even though Tang Wutong was not yet done with her sentence, only a fool would not understand what she was trying to say.

    ¡°Thank you, future father-inw! You¡¯re the best!¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately lowered his head as he stared at Tang Wutong with passionate eyes. He looked at the pink tender lips before his eyes as he slowly lowered his head.

    Tang Wutong immediately blushed, but she did not try to avoid Huo Yuhao. She raised her arms and ced them around his neck.

 Chapter 589.1 - Xu Sanshi Trapped

    <h4 ss>Chapter 589.1: Xu Sanshi Trapped</h4>

    The dispersed clouds drifted over from the distance, and the sky was covered once more with dream-like colors.

    He had her arms around her amid the clouds and mist, and she was leaning into him.

    ¡°I really thought I was going to lose you again, Wutong, do you know that? That feeling almost made me go insane. From today onward, I will give you my soul and my spirit, along with all the good, the bad, my weakness, and all my bad habits. They are very annoying, but there¡¯s only one good thing about them all: my love for you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re such a fool.¡±

    If not for Tai Tan beckoning, they would probably have sat in the clouds until the end of time.

    But they had to return to reality in the end, and they returned to Clear Sky Castle. Everything seemed different in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and the third time seemed to be the charm, as Clear Sky Castle¡¯s ominousness had ceased. He felt like extreme sorrow had turned into overwhelming joy.

    Tang Wutong blushed when she nced at Niu Tian and Tai Tan¡¯s amused eyes, and she pulled Huo Yuhao away and ran away.

    Clear Sky Castle¡¯s food was a little drab, but it was delicious in the two lovebirds¡¯ mouths. They had a sumptuous feast, and only then did Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong think about what had happened amid their pulsating love.

    ¡°Our martial souls can fuse again, and we can use Haodong power once more. What happened? I could clearly feel that you were sucking me dry! Why has my cultivation not dropped, but increased instead? I can feel that I should be a Transcendent Douluo, and you¡¯re about the same, too. Furthermore, we both have two soul cores now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked Tang Wutong a little curiously as shey in his arms.

    Tang Wutong shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, either. Everything was already like this when I woke up. Uncle Tai Tan said that you healed me through some secret technique, and I remember him saying that our martial soul and soul power levels have be identical after I obtained my second soul core. Afterwards, my soul power fed back into your body and formed Haodong power, and it began cultivating by itself. The Haodong power circted between us for nine days, and then we became like this.¡±

    ¡°Nine days? We¡¯ve been cultivating together for nine days?¡± Huo Yuaho asked in shock.

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°Uncle Tai Tan said that you¡¯ve taken me back for almost a month. Are you in a hurry to go back? If you are, let¡¯s go right now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao hugged her tightly and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not in any hurry. I already made up my mind before I came out, and I told everyone that I might not return. I¡¯ve helped the academy repel the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, and I¡¯ve fixed sister Xiaotao. The academy probably won¡¯t need me for the time being.¡±

    Huo Yuhao buried his head into Tang Wutong¡¯s shoulders, and he truly enjoyed this feeling. Tang Wutong was well again, and even if he had to live life all over again, he was willing to forget everything that had happened as long as he could live with her for eternity within Clear Sky Castle. He wouldn¡¯t care about all the chaos in the outside world anymore.

    Tang Wutong smiled as she caressed his hair. ¡°We can face anything blissfully as long as we¡¯re together! We cannot truly be here forever in peace, because there are still things that we cannot let go of. Humans aren¡¯t meant to live their lives just for themselves. You¡¯ve always been living for others, but do you know how many people will worry about you when you¡¯re not around, and how many people will worry about us? We have to return to the world that we belong to in the end. At least, we cannot run away or escape before the dust settles.¡±

    ¡°Nobody can hurt us now, and we are gradually gaining the ability to change the world. Since that¡¯s the case, we no longer have any reason to shun our responsibilities. The academy and the Tang Sect need our protection. Furthermore, there is still something that you¡¯ve yet to fulfill!¡±

    Huo Yuhao trembled as he looked up at Tang Wutong, and their gazes met. Of course, he knew what Tang Wutong was referring to.

    Even though she kept telling him to let this go, could he really do that? That wasn¡¯t possible. At least, that wasn¡¯t possible for now. He didn¡¯t just need time; more importantly, he had to face it.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as he nodded gently and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Since we can¡¯t shy away, then let us face the world. Perhaps our minds can truly face everything peacefully after all that we¡¯ve been through. But we¡¯re not leaving today, because we still have to stay in this bliss for another day. We won¡¯t have to think about anything, and I want to just apany you like this to watch the sunrise and the sunset. I want to apany you to watch the drifting clouds and floating mist.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    They were just sitting down together on Tang Wutong¡¯s bed. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t do anything, and they were just leaning against each other, and they barely even spoke. They were just admiring the beautiful scenery outside the window, listening to each other¡¯s heartbeats, and breathing each other in. They were just sitting there quietly, and in this moment, there was only bliss in their hearts.

    A new day had begun, and there was morning dew all around.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong enjoyed some warm soup and had some simple food, as happiness and bliss still permeated their hearts. They were truly different this time, as both their bodies and their souls had sublimated.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s fatigue, pain, and responsibility that they had umted for a long time seemed to have been cleansed over this month, and their eyes had be much clearer and brighter than before.

    ¡°Uncle Niu Tian, Uncle Tai Tan, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Huo Yuhao stood in front of the Clear Sky Sect¡¯s two leaders as he knelt in front of them.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know how he and Tang Wutong had managed to recover, or how his strength had improved, he knew that what had happened was closely rted to these two sect leaders, who were cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

    Niu Tian smiled faintly and said, ¡°Go. The two of you possess the strength to dominate the entire continent now. There are people who can defeat the two of you, but as long as you don¡¯t leave each other¡¯s side, almost nobody in the world can destroy you. Take care of Wutong. Otherwise, I¡¯ll whack you.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Huo Yuhao answered respectfully.

    Tai Tan pouted a little as he said, ¡°You¡¯re no fun at all. Go, go. Wutong, my good child,e back and see your uncle if you have time.¡±

    Tang Wutong stepped forward and gave Tai Tan and Niu Tian a bear hug. Her eyes were turning red as she soared into the sky with Huo Yuhao, and they held hands as they flew into the distance.

    Niu Tian¡¯s expression seemed very liberated as he watched them leave. ¡°We have basicallypleted our task, and we can return.¡±

    Tai Tan nodded. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s time to return.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong flew through the air, and the air seemed like soldiers who were obeying theirmands as they propelled them forward like rockets.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Where are we heading to first, Yuhao?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about that¡­¡±

    Tang Wutong giggled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not like you. Don¡¯t you always n meticulously before anything. Don¡¯t you always have a million ideas?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the Dou Ling Empire, to Dou Ling City. I wonder how third senior brother is doing handling things over there. More importantly, we don¡¯t know if the Sun Moon Empire is moving against Dou Ling City. The seed that I¡¯ve nted in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army should be enough to cause some infighting and chaos within their armies, but I don¡¯t know how much all that will develop.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s head to Dou Ling City. You have defeated Ju Zi, so the academy and the Tang Sect will be alright for now. The Dou Ling Empire is in the most danger. I¡¯m not sure if third senior brother and the others can hold on!¡±

    Inside Dou Ling City.

    Military reports were sent continuously into the royal pce¡¯s main hall.

    The tall, big person sitting atop the throne was none other than the Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi.

    Dou Ling City¡¯s royal pce had just suffered a destructive attack, and they rebuilt this makeshift main hall within a short period of time. The royal pce¡¯s original location appeared as empty as ever, and there was nothing all around.

    The city¡¯s subjects did suggest switching locations, and they mentioned that this ce was ominous. However, Xu Sanshi turned down their suggestions and said that they had to pick themselves up from where they fell.

    Therefore, the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce was being rebuilt in its original location, but everything was simple and unornamented.

    One month had gone by, and Xu Sanshi seemed very different from before. Hiszy smile that appeared on his face every day was gone, to be reced by dignity and majesty. However, he also appeared a lot older than before, even though only a month had gone by. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how much effort, blood, and sweat he had put into this.

    ¡°Report, Prince Regent, Dancing Cloud City has fallen. The city defense army fought to thest man so that the citizens and civilians can evacuate safely.¡±

    Another piece of bad news.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s expression was calm, but his face had turnedpletely ck. He grabbed his throne¡¯s armrest, and his knuckles turned white because he was using too much strength.

    Jiang Nannan was standing right beside him. She raised her hand and ced it gently on his shoulder in an attempt to console his riling emotions.

    Many things had transpired within the Dou Ling Empire over the past month.

    News of the royal pce¡¯s destruction couldn¡¯t bepletely hidden after all, and that news swiftly spread throughout the city and thends beyond. There were many different opinions and voices about that fact.

    The Dou Ling Empire was very strict about assigning territories to the royal family, but some from the royal family had branched away back in the early days. There were some who still held some kind of authority.

    The royal pce had been destroyed, and almost every single individual directly descended from the royal family had perished. There were some who started eyeing the throne when this apocalyptic news reached them, and everyone was fearful and unsettled within the empire. Several ambitious fellows quickly seemed like they were raring to make a move.

    Under such circumstances, Xu Sanshi had the support of Dou Ling Empire¡¯s subjects and soldiers as he swiftly gained control over several cities along Dou Ling City¡¯s periphery. Furthermore, he tried to withdraw his armies as much as possible so that he could concentrate and centralize them as much as he could.

    Part of this armyprised the elites who had journeyed to reinforce Shrek City, and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s internal regions could only stabilize if Xu Sanshi had the support of this elite army. Only then could he suppress those ambitious fellows such that they wouldn¡¯t make a move against him so easily.

 Chapter 589.2 - Xu Sanshi Trapped

    <h4 ss>Chapter 589.2: Xu Sanshi Trapped</h4>

    But how could that be easy? That elite army¡¯smander was a reputed general of the Dou Ling Empire, and though he had turned his army around when he received urate intelligence, he didn¡¯t return to Dou Ling City immediately, but temporarily stationed himself in arge southern city after entering the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s territory. On the surface, they imed that they wouldn¡¯t participate in a conflict within the royal family, and that they¡¯d only ept the most outstanding member of the royal family tomand them.

    They were clearly trying to wait out the conflict to extract any profits that were left over. If the general had some royal blood running in his veins, perhaps the situation would have been worse.

    Xu Sanshi was like a roasted pork on a spit under such circumstances, and the situation that he was facing was extremely difficult.

    Two of the imperial family¡¯s ns in the north had already started rebellions in the name of assisting the emperor. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s inner territories were empty in the first ce, so these two armies began pushing toward Dou Ling City as soon as was possible. One army beganmitting unspeakable misdeeds as they started killing and piging along the way. They murdered, stole, and robbed continuously to strengthen themselves.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s army on this side wasn¡¯t small, but because Dou Ling City¡¯s elites had been mobilized away before this, only normal soldiers were left in the city. Their fighting strength could only match one of those rebelling armies, and it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the kind of pressure that Xu Sanshi was under when both armies began pushing against him at the same time.

    Xu Sanshi would never hold onto his throne unreasonably, but he wouldn¡¯t give it away just like that. If he handed the throne over to someone incapable or to the wrong hands, that would spell a cmitous disaster for the entire Dou Ling Empire.

    Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire hadn¡¯tunched any invasions against the Dou Ling Empire over the past month. Otherwise, their situation could be a lot worse.

    Xu Sanshi had limited strength under his control, and he didn¡¯t have a good solution under such circumstances.

    He had disyed excellent capability when he first gained authority over Dou Ling City, and he swiftly handled the situation. However, he didn¡¯t have enough reputation or influence to control the entire empire. He didn¡¯t share the same surname as the royal family after all, and he wasn¡¯t a true heir to the throne.

    His family didn¡¯te forward to help him, and that was something he hadn¡¯t expected. Only his mother was here, who was a princess of the Dou Ling Empire.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s father had declined toe forward to help him because he didn¡¯t view the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s predicament very optimistically. Further, he couldn¡¯t risk his entire family. He was the leader of his family, so he had to consider his family¡¯s wellbeing.

    Xu Sanshi had trouble both from the inside and the outside, so how could he not be flustered? But what could he do? He could deploy some soldiers to fight those two armies who were rebelling against him, but that would only result in his army¡¯s obliteration. The only thing he could do was to give the order for the citizens and civilians who had suffered to evacuate. At the same time, he gave the order to establish a defensive perimeter with Dou Ling City in the center as quickly as possible. He had to defend himself against the two royal family¡¯s rebelling armies before he could negotiate with the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s elite army.

    Even though that elite army was sitting it out, the empire¡¯s subjects didn¡¯t give them any more trouble. There was a reason for them to sit this out, because the royal family was gone, and thest remaining few who had royal blood weren¡¯t even directly rted.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s bloodline was considered the purest, but his surname was Xu, not Xue, which was the royal family¡¯s surname. That became a big problem. Therefore, whoever was most outstanding would inherit the highest authority under such circumstances. What the Dou Ling Empire needed right now was an excellent leader.

    The elite army¡¯smander was testing Xu Sanshi and those two rebelling armies. Whoever emerged victorious in their conflict meant that person was strong enough to inherit the throne.

    The elite army¡¯s location was strategically important, and they swiftly established a defensive perimeter along the borders to prepare against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion, which coulde at any time. Therefore, nobody med thosemanders and generals even though they didn¡¯t heed Xu Sanshi¡¯s mobilization orders. Those generals andmanders weren¡¯t wrong in the eyes of many of the empire¡¯s subjects.

    Xu Sanshi did consider getting himself out of this mess and leaving, but could he really walk away like that? The two royal family¡¯s rebelling armies were definitely inadequate heirs, and the royal family¡¯s blood ran in Xu Sanshi¡¯s veins after all! He didn¡¯t want to see the Dou Ling Empire ruined at the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s hands just like that.

    Therefore, he decided to hold on after discussing it with his mother. Even if he had to leave in the future, he had to make sure that the empire¡¯s internal affairs were stabilized before anything else.

    Now, Xu Sanshi had dealt with all kinds of administrative matters, and even though he was a Soul Douluo, he still felt spent and fatigued. His civil and military officials were gone, and the royal pce¡¯s hall immediately became as empty as ever.

    ¡°Those two fellows shouldn¡¯t have any powerful individuals around them. Why don¡¯t we conduct an assassination operation? We¡¯ll solve all our problems if we kill them both.¡± Nan Qiuqiu clenched her fists as she suggested to Xu Sanshi.

    Nan Qiuqiu had felt extremely stifled over the past few days. Everything went rtively well in the beginning, but ever since the empire¡¯s elite army refused to reinforce the empire¡¯s capital city, and ever since those three forces began vying for the throne, Xu Sanshi¡¯s side had been at a disadvantage. Even Dou Ling City¡¯s civil and military officials¡¯ attitudes were starting to change.

    Xu Sanshi shook his head and said, ¡°The Dou Ling royal family blood is already gone. We cannot cause anymore bloodshed. I¡¯m not that keen on protecting my position, but I don¡¯t think that they can do this any better than I can. The empire is in danger, yet they¡¯ve chosen to start a rebellion for the throne at a time like this. They are extremely short-sighted, and they will definitely not make excellent rulers.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu snapped, ¡°Then what should we do? Do we have to wait until their soldiers arrive at our gates? If we don¡¯t kill them, uncountable innocents will die in war. Have you not heard? Several thousand soldiers defending their city have been massacred. Why should we keep people like that alive?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nced at Nan Qiuqiu and replied, ¡°Assassination isn¡¯t that easy to aplish. Those two fellows have dared to start a rebellion, and that means they must have at least one Titled Douluo supporting them. Otherwise, what would they have to fight for the throne? The elite army and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s formidable individuals are all sitting it out near the borders, and if we make a brash move and we fail, our position will deteriorate.¡±

    Ye Guyi muttered under her breath, ¡°If only Yuhao were here. I really didn¡¯t expect him to be so powerful. He challenged the Sun Moon Empire in a one-versus-ten battle, and he only used seven rounds to force the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army to retreat. The academy has given him a title: Eye of the Asura, the Spirit Ice Douluo. Wutong has also been titled as the Dragon Butterfly Douluo.¡±

    Xu Sanshi heaved a sigh and said, ¡°There¡¯s too much weight on Yuhao¡¯s shoulders. Eldest senior brother has told us that Wutong was heavily injured to save him, and little junior brother has disappeared with her to get her treated. We can only rely on ourselves at a time like this. Let¡¯s just wait for a little while more. The Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion is on the way, as long as they can reach us in time, all our problems will be resolved.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still too soft, Sanshi.¡± A gentle voice rang out in this moment, and a tall and slender middle-ageddy walked out from behind him.

    She was wearing a luxurious dress. Even though she wasn¡¯t so young anymore, she still had her charms and elegance. She also looked quite simr to Xu Sanshi.

    Yes, she was Xu Sanshi¡¯s mother, and also the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s princess, Xue Lingxun.

    ¡°Mother, why are you outside? Are you feeling better?¡± Xue Lingxun had arrived in Dou Ling City not too long ago, and when she witnessed the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal pce in a pile of dust and rubble while her rtives were all dead and gone, she fainted from her grief. She only started feeling a little better over the past few days.

    Xu Sanshi had asked for his mother to direct things, but judging from the situation, he had no choice but to take the lead himself.

    ¡°Son, any fight for the throne will always be cruel and brutal. This is no longer a problem of how important your bloodlines are at a time like this. Those two fellows who are rebelling in the royal pce¡¯s troubling times have very thin royal blood in their veins, and the fact that they can react so quickly means that they¡¯ve already had this idea for a long time. What you need to do in a situation like this is to eradicate all your problems when they first appear as quickly as possible. This girl is right. Your weakness will cause more people to die. If you can aplish it, you have to take down their leaders and win over their soldiers. You have to stabilize and gain authority over the empire¡¯s internal affairs as quickly as possible, and only then will the Dou Ling Empire have a chance at survival.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already met the minister. If you¡¯re unwilling to change your surname, that¡¯s up to you. But for the Dou Ling Empire, for your mother, I ask that Nannan and you let the Xue family adopt your first son in the future so that he can take over the royal throne. Is that alright? As long as you agree, the capital city¡¯s subjects and officials will fully support you to fight against those two traitors.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xue Lingxun¡¯s sudden suggestion stunned Xu Sanshi, while Jiang Nannan blushed from embarrassment.

    Xue Lingxun did like her future daughter-inw quite a lot, but Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan weren¡¯t officially married yet. Herment breached the topic of having a child, so how could she not feel embarrassed?

    Xu Sanshi nced at Jiang Nannan subconsciously, and Xue Lingxun turned around to face her at the same time. Her eyes instantly turned red, and she actually went down on her knees toward Jiang Nannan.

    Jiang Nannan was a Soul Douluo! She reacted once she realized that something wasn¡¯t right, and she took a quick step forward as she supported Xue Lingxun. Jiang Nannan applied strength with her soft and malleable waist as she helped Xue Lingxun back on her feet.

    ¡°What are you doing, aunt?¡± Jiang Nannan began to sweat on her forehead.

    Xue Lingxun sniffled and she said, ¡°Please take my kowtow, child. I am doing this for the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s millions of citizens, and I¡¯m doing this for the future of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family. I am begging you as the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s princess.¡±

    ¡°I promise you, aunt. Please don¡¯t cry.¡± Jiang Nannan had a kind heart, so how could she reject her in such a situation?

    Xue Lingxun was overjoyed as she grasped Jiang Nannan¡¯s hands tightly. ¡°You¡¯re such a good child. Thank you.¡±

 Chapter 589.3 - Xu Sanshi Trapped

    <h4 ss>Chapter 589.3: Xu Sanshi Trapped</h4>

    Xu Sanshi sounded a little blue as he said, ¡°You guys haven¡¯t asked me for my opinion! I should have a say about my own son!¡±

    ¡°Go away!¡± Xue Lingxun snapped as she rolled her eyes at him. She pulled Jiang Nannan and stepped behind happily, and she no longer seemed sad at all.

    Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eyes were wide open, and her jaws were ck as she stared at Xue Lingxun, whose grief had turned into bliss. She muttered under her breath, ¡°Third senior brother, your mother must have been an actress, right?¡±

    ¡°Nobody in the royal family is simple. I wonder how my father managed to win my mother over back then. Now, I understand a little about why my father has refused toe. Perhaps, if he¡¯s here, my mother will pressure him to make me change my surname.¡±

    Ji Juechen was standing at one side, and he hadn¡¯t been talking at all. But he suddenly eximed out loud, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Xu Sanshi reacted as soon as was possible, and light shed on his body as he immediately switched positions with Nan Qiuqiu.

    His Xuanwu Shield instantly appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Ding!¡± A crisp ng could be heard as sharp shards scattered in all directions, and the air was making sounds because it was being cut open. A ck shadow glimmered into view immediately afterward.

    There was a short dagger in this ck shadow¡¯s hands, and the entire dagger was dark purple as it radiated chilly light.

    The ck shadow shifted slightly when he missed, and he immediately moved away from the front of Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield and arrived at his nk before he stabbed out once more. The ck shadow was as fast as lightning.

    Even though Xu Sanshi was barely able to defend against the shadow¡¯s first attack in the nick of time, he realized to his surprise that his Xuanwu Shield¡¯s defensive capabilities weren¡¯t able topletely dissolve his opponent¡¯s attacking force. Part of the dagger¡¯s sharpness went through his shield and into his arm¡¯s passageways, and he could feel intense throbbing pain in his arms. If his soul power wasn¡¯t formidable enough, he would have been severely injured with that one hit.

    Such formidable attacking strength. He should be an agility-type soul master. No, more precisely, he should be an agility-type Titled Douluo!

    With his current defensive capabilities, even agility-type soul masters who were adept at offensive attacks couldn¡¯t directly break through his Xuanwu Shield¡¯s defenses with a simple attack like that. His opponent had to be a Titled Douluo at the very least to achieve that.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s body immediately shone with faint golden light, and the golden light turned into darkness as it rippled outward. It seemed like dark golden liquid as it epassed the space all around him.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s sixth soul skill, Xuanwu Domain.

    Xu Sanshi had a lot of experience in battle, and he used his domain-type ability as soon as he realized something was wrong.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Domain meant the assassin¡¯s speed would undoubtedly be heavily restricted.

    The three others responded as Xu Sanshi unleashed his domain.

    The Judgment Sword appeared in Ji Juechen¡¯s hands. However, he didn¡¯t move as he just stood there, and a single wave of sinister sword intent directly locked onto that assassin.

    The four of them weren¡¯t afraid of even a Titled Douluo with their cultivation.

    ¡°In the name of Holiness.¡± A clear voice rang out as a beam of golden light surged into the sky and covered the entire hall. Shadows and silhouettes appeared one after another as golden light shone upon them, and three pairs of white wings stretched out behind Ye Guyi¡¯s back. A six-winged Angel!

    Yes, the person with the highest cultivation among the four of them wasn¡¯t Ji Juechen or Xu Sanshi. They were still a step away from bing Titled Douluo, so Ye Guyi was the strongest one.

    Ye Guyi went into closed-door cultivation after she had purifiedrge amounts of avenging spirits, and she finally broke through and became another of the Tang Sect¡¯s Titled Douluo.

    Ye Guyi unleashed her Holy Light, and all kinds of concealing abilities were dispelled.

    Xu Sanshi used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Even though he wasn¡¯t as quick as his opponent was, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track¡¯s mystical and profound qualities enabled him to avoid his opponent¡¯s attacks that came in quick session. His Xuanwu Shield transformed into countless shield shadows that protected him at the same time, so that the assassin couldn¡¯t find a target.

    The assassin was also very experienced in battle. He could tell that he had lost his chance, and he could also feel the crazy sword intenting from Ji Juechen¡¯s body, so he chose to retreat as soon as was possible so that he could rendezvous with his own people.

    The royal pce was entirely silent in this moment. Holy Light shone on everyone, and more than twenty people emerged from the shadows. They swiftly dispersed and surrounded Xu Sanshi and the three others.

    Soul rings were glowing radiantly, and there were actually four Titled Douluo among these twenty people, while the rest were Soul Douluo, and only two of them seemed rtively weaker. One was a middle-aged man who looked a little over forty, and he was a Soul Sage. There was another youth who wore a chilly expression on his face, and he seemed like he was roughly thirty years old. He was a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s facial muscles twitched as he nced at Nan Qiuqiu, who wasn¡¯t far from him. ¡°Assassination.¡±

    Two figures swiftly returned from behind the hall. Wasn¡¯t that Jiang Nannan and Xue Lingxun? Over ten people surged in behind them, and there was a Titled Douluo at the helm, while the rest were also Soul Douluo and Soul Sages. Xu Sanshi and the others were surrounded.

    The youth with a chilly look on his faceughed coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even try running away or asking for reinforcements, because that¡¯s almost impossible. This lonely pce has no other survivors except for the few of you; we¡¯ve already dealt with all your personal guards. We have used ss 8 soul tools purchased from the Sun Moon Empire to iste this ce, so not a single sound will travel out even if an epic battle urs.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stared coldly at the youth before him as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Are you Xue Leng and Xue Kui?¡±

    The youthughed out loud, and hisughter was overflowing with arrogance. ¡°I am Prince Xue Leng, and this is Duke Xue Kui. You must be surprised that we have teamed up.¡±

    He pointed at the middle-aged man beside him as he spoke.

    ¡°Xue Leng, Xue Kui. Seems like you¡¯ve nned this from the start, haven¡¯t you?¡± Xu Sanshi¡¯s eyes turned to Xue Kui as he spoke.

    Xue Kui¡¯s physical appearance was average. He was the type who wouldn¡¯t attract any attention at all in a throng of people, and he even seemed a little dull. But who would have expected a middle-aged man like that to be a murderous monster?

    He was the one who had ravaged any city and the city¡¯s defensive forces that he hade across on his journey, the Lord of Luo An Province, Xue Kui.

    Xue Leng was the Lord of Tian He Province.

    Xue Leng¡¯s title was higher. His ancestors had once contributed greatly to the Dou Ling Empire a long time ago. Back when the Heaven Dou Empire had separated into the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire, Xue Leng¡¯s ancestors had helped the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family sessfully escape from the clutches and pursuit of the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal family. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s royal family had eventually seeded in establishing their own empire, and only then were his ancestors bestowed with a hereditary dukedom. Xue Leng¡¯s family was considered rtively noble in the Dou Ling Empire.

    Xue Kui¡¯s status was a lot lower. Even though he was also a Lord over a province, his title was Marquis.

    They had separately mustered their armies within their territories, and they raced to Dou Ling City in the name ofing to the Emperor¡¯s aid. Xue Leng showed a lot of restraint along the way, and he wouldn¡¯t do anything cruel to anyone unless his opponents attacked him first. Xue Kui was theplete opposite, and he rained hell on every city he came across.

    The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s inner regions were already empty, and his province¡¯s military forces were all strong and elite. They naturally swept over everyone in their path.

    Xue Leng and Xue Kui were clearly vying for the throne, but who would have thought that they would form an alliance? Furthermore, they seemed very familiar to each other, and even their appearances looked simr.

    Xue Kui lowered his voice and said, ¡°Xu Sanshi, your mistake was mixing yourself into this mess. Xue Leng would have been Emperor a long time ago if you hadn¡¯t been here. Today is the day you die.¡±

    Xu Sanshi stared at him coldly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re willing to ruin your own reputation. Why would you do that? Aren¡¯t you coveting the throne?¡±

    Xue Kuiughed coldly and replied, ¡°You¡¯re about to die, so I don¡¯t mind telling you. Xue Leng is actually my son. Back when I was travelling the provinces all those years ago, I identally acquainted myself with ady, who happened to be the wife of the previous Tian He Duke. There¡¯s no need for me to tell you what happens next, right? As for why I have chosen to pige and murder, I¡¯m doing that to contrast against my son. A red flower will be even more gorgeous with green leavesplementing it, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Xue Kui no longer had to speak. Xue Lingxun was fuming with rage, and she was so furious that she couldn¡¯t speak at all.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already nned this a long time ago?¡± Xu Sanshi lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Xue Kui smiled inly and said, ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s War God Empress has already promised us that, as long as she rules over the empire, the Dou Ling Empire will avoid imminent cmity as long as we submit to the Sun Moon Empire and be their vassal state. That is undoubtedly the best choice at a time like this; stubborn resistance is meaningless. The Sun Moon Empire is too powerful. We can¡¯t fight against them at all. We¡¯re doing this for the good of the empire.¡±

    Xue Lingxun raised her voice. ¡°Those two soul engineer legions that ambushed the capital ¨C were you the ones who let them in?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to ssh that dirty water on us,¡± Xue Kui replied coldly, ¡°we will never admit that. That happened only because the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions are too powerful. On the other hand, it happened also because the previous royal family was too weak. Now, everything is about to end. It¡¯s great that you¡¯re here, Xue Lingxun, because you and your son are the only remaining direct descendants of the royal family. Both of you shall die here today, and nobody will be able to stop my son from ascending to the throne after this.¡±

    Xue Leng grunted coldly and said, ¡°Why are we still wasting our breath on them? Go, I want them dead.¡± He took a step back as he spoke. Xue Kui, who seemed like he was forty years old when he was actually almost sixty, shifted backward at the same time.

    They had nned this for a long time, and they had finally arrived at the time when they would reap what they had sown.

 Chapter 590.1 - Desperate Straits

    <h4 ss>Chapter 590.1: Desperate Straits</h4>

    Xu Sanshi didn¡¯t have to guess to know that some of these powerful individuals before him were from the Sun Moon Empire. Else, it would have been impossible for those two provincial governors to gather so many powerful people. After all, Xu Sanshi and his peers were going up against five Titled Douluo, and a huge number of Soul Douluo and Soul Sages!

    On the other hand, there were only six people in total on Xu Sanshi¡¯s side. The only real Titled Douluo they had was Ye Guyi.

    It was obvious that this would be a one-sided affair if they were to fight with them. The only way for them to survive was to break out of their encirclement.

    Xu Sanshi took a step back and used his body to shield his mother. Even though Xue Lingxun was a princess, her cultivation was not particrly high. She was only able to attain the rank of a Soul Emperor even with her royal bloodline and the wealth of resources at her disposal. She was definitely the weakest one among all of them.

    Xu Sanshi lowered his head and said, ¡°Mother, I need you to climb onto my back. Today, both of us will live and die together.¡±

    Xue Lingxun seemed to be enraged by his words. ¡°What are you talking about? Just leave me and break out on your own. I don¡¯t need all of you to protect me.¡±

    ¡°Leave now. Sanshi, take your friends and leave now.¡±

    While they were speaking, Xue Kui, Xue Leng and the people they had brought along with them had begun to attack them.

    The five Titled Douluo split up at the same time as they covered five different directions. The rest of the Soul Douluo and Soul Sages surrounded Xu Sanshi and his peers.

    Ye Guyi¡¯s eyes revealed a golden glow as the wings behind her gently pped. Following which, she released a powerful holy aura as the nine soul rings on her body started to radiate an intense glow.

    It was apparent that both Xue Kui and Xue Leng had gained the upper hand from the current look of things. However, all of them knew that they could not afford to becent. This was because Xu Sanshi and his friends were from Shrek Academy. As long as one of them was able to escape, they would all die when he or she managed to get help from the Academy. Hence, they knew that they had to keep all of them here at all costs.

    The Titled Douluo assassin who had struck earlier suddenly vanished into thin air. It was apparent that he had used some sort of ability to conceal himself. The other four Titled Douluo upied the four different cardinal directions as they released their martial souls after taking up their positions.

    The Titled Douluo they were facing directly had a lion as his martial soul. The lion was radiating an intense fiery light. It was probably a Wildme Lion. It was apparent that he was an assault soul master.

    The two Titled Douluo on their left and right looked almost exactly the same. They were actually twins, and they wielded the same long pole, which was probably their martial souls.

    The soul master at their backs looked a little strange. He was more than twice the size of an average human. He was more than three meters tall, and was incredibly muscr. In fact, he did not even look like a human. And this was before he had even unleashed his martial soul.

    Based on Xu Sanshi¡¯s experience, he could tell straight away that this was a defensive soul master who specialized in power and strength. His main objective was to make sure that none of them could escape out the back.

    Even though there were no control soul masters¡ªthe most frightening kind of soul master¡ªamong them, it seemed like they would be more than sufficient to deal with Xu Sanshi and his friends.

    The Wildlion Douluo who was before them let out a deafening roar as his long hair took on a fiery red color. Following which, his thick mane expanded as dense fire-type elemental fluctuations swept towards the six of them.

    At this instant, the two Titled Douluo at the side also made their move. The poles in their hands suddenly expanded as they raised them high up in the air. After they hadpleted their transformation to be two gigantic pirs, the two Titled Douluo mmed them down to the ground.

    If only Yuhao were here.This was a thought which everyone shared at this instant. If only Yuhao were here, they would not fear this battle at all, even if he didn¡¯t participate directly. They would be a lot less fearful with him around tomand them even if they were outnumbered by their enemies.

    Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao was not here. They could only rely on their abilities.

    Xu Sanshi let out a low growl as his body expanded. At the very next instant, he released a golden glow as the Xuanwu Shield took on a brilliant golden color. Golden Tortoise¡¯s Possession!

    The first person on their side to make a move was Ye Guyi. She leapt and soared upwards as she spread the wings behind her back. Following which, one would notice the countless golden sparkling particles which were concentrating towards her body.

    Very soon, a golden holy sword appeared in her hand. At this instant, Ye Guyi looked just like a God who had descended from the skies.

    As she shed her holy sword forward, a streak of golden light ripped apart the mes that wereing their way. Following which, the sharp sword light raced towards the Wildlion Douluo. She did not seem to be concerned about the two gigantic pirs which wereing their way from the sides.

    At this instant, a rose-colored light suddenly lit up, but it did not directly participate directly in Ye Guyi¡¯s attack. Instead, it fused into the Holy Angel from the back before disappearing.

    Xu Sanshi suddenly tossed his Xuanwu Shield upwards. Following which, it transformed into a formation of shields which protected the group of people from the iing pirs.

    Xu Sanshi also released his intense and viscous Xuanwu¡¯s Domain to envelop himself and his peers. As long as the domain was present, the assassin who was hiding nearby would find his movement restricted. At the same time, all their enemies¡¯ attacks would be weakened and slowed.

    Even though they were going up against so many powerful opponents at once, the people from the Tang Sect were able to fight against them in an organized manner without panicking.

    The Wildlion Douluo let out a low growl before he punched both of his fists forward. At the same time, his second, third, and fourth soul rings all lit up together. Only a Titled Douluo would be able to execute three soul skills together seamlessly.

    The mes on his body instantly turned blue. As he punched his fists outwards, the image of a blue lion¡¯s head surged towards Ye Guyi¡¯s sword light.

    When the image collided with the sword light, the lion¡¯s head suddenly froze in mid-air. Following which, the blue image turned pink before vanishing into thin air. Following which, the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light instantly reached the Wildlion Douluo.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The Wildlion Douluo gasped in surprise as he quickly retreated. While his massive body suddenly contracted, he released an angry roar towards Ye Guyi and the rest.

    At this instant, his head turned into a lion¡¯s head as his sixth soul ring lit up. A vortex gushed out from the image¡¯s mouth and blocked the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light before it started to grind the sword light away at an incredible speed.

    Just when it seemed like the Wildlion Douluo¡¯s vortex had sessfully blocked the Holy Sword¡¯s attack, the Wildlion Douluo felt an inexplicable sense of fear in his heart. This was a fear that originated from deep within his spirit.

    Shit!

    A matte ck sword light suddenly appeared at this very instant. The position where this sword light appeared was very obscure. Because of how bright the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light was, the Wildlion Douluo was not able to notice the ck sword light. However, just when he thought his Lion Roar had blocked the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light, the matte ck sword light went straight for him.

    What is that? It¡¯s so sharp!

    His lion¡¯s roar was instantly sliced apart when it came into contact with the ck sword light. Even though the energy within the Lion Roar had reduced the power within the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light, the white sword light was still invincibly sharp. After destroying his sixth soul skill, the ck sword light intertwined with the Holy Sword¡¯s sword light as they surged towards the Wildlion Douluo.

    At this instant, the Wildlion Douluo broke out into a cold sweat.

    Everything was happening too quickly. Even though the Wildlion Douluo was in charge of the front, he was only supposed to feint an attack. The actual n was for everyone to execute a soul skill that was supposed to be enough to destroy all of them. They had all agreed to defeat the group of people from the Tang Sect in a stable manner at minimal cost. On top of that, because of the advantage they had in their collective strength, they were fairly confident about their chances of winning.

    However, they had not expected the Tang Sect¡¯s people to be able to release so much power at once. Even though they only had six people, three of them hade together to attack the front.

    Right now, it was already toote for the Wildlion Douluo to use unleash his martial soul true body. He could only let out a low growl as he released his eighth soul skill as quickly as possible. He wanted to use his powerful soul skill to attempt to block the sword lightsing his way.

    However, at this instant, Ye Guyi spread her wings out to their maximum before releasing a bright scream in the air.

    Suddenly, the sky above them was ripped apart. Following which, a beam of holy light shone down onto the Wildlion Douluo from the sky.

    This was an attack the Wildlion Douluo would never have been able to avoid. He felt his body tighten as the soul power within him began to burn furiously. The most frightening thing was how his eighth soul skill was interrupted just like that.

    Holy Light Illumination!

    This was one of Ye Guyi¡¯s soul skills which had evolved after she had added some of the new insights she hadprehended into the skill. This was supposed to be her first soul skill. However, she had now managed to add in the silencing ability¡ªan ability which allowed her to stop her opponent from executing their soul skills.

    After all, the Holy Angel martial soul was one of the most powerful martial souls in existence. It would not pale inparison to Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate martial soul. Ever since Ye Guyi had be a Titled Douluo, her individual fighting power was ahead of everyone except for Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. She was the third strongest individual within the Tang Sect.

    Even Ji Juechen and Xu Sanshi paled inparison to her.

    Ye Guyi understood that she had no choice but to be ruthless in her methods with the current situation they were in. This was the only way that everyone could possibly survive. Hence, she did not n to show any mercy to any of their enemies the moment they appeared before her.

    The biggest mistake the Wildlion Douluo had made was to underestimate her. At the end of the day, Ji Juechen and Nan Qiuqiu had both lent Ye Guyi a hand to assist her attacks. Their attack was abination of all three of their powers.

    This led the Wildlion Douluo to believe that the three of them had onlybined their powers because they were not strong enough individually. In fact, he felt that Ye Guyi was simply too young to be a proper Titled Douluo! On top of that, he could not even recognize her martial soul. He only saw how many feathers it had, and had no idea what it was.

    After all, not every soul master had the privilege of studying within Shrek Academy. They would definitely not have the same kind of exposure that the students had.

    Hence, the Wildlion Douluo was bound to pay the price for underestimating Ye Guyi once she released her powers for real.

 Chapter 590.2 - Desperate Straits

    <h4 ss>Chapter 590.2: Desperate Straits</h4>

    However, a golden light was automatically released at this instant. It seemed like the Wildlion Douluo was actually in possession of an invincible barrier.

    However, invincible barriers were not that useful in battles between Titled Douluo. His invincible barrier was shattered almost instantly by the ck and white sword lights. After shattering the barrier, the remaining streaks of sword lightnded on the Wildlion Douluo, whose soul skill had been interrupted earlier.

    The Wildlion Douluo grunted as a wound formed across his chest. He was fortunate enough to possess a fairly strong amount of soul power and an invincible barrier. If not, he would have suffered a far more serious injury.

    However, at this instant, the Angel Douluo, Ye Guyi, was already in berserk mode. She released anotheryer of brilliant golden light, which started to expand from her body into her surroundings.

    It looked like she was establishing a gigantic golden barrier around her peers. This was because Xue Kui, Xue Leng, and the soul masters they had brought along with them had released their ranged soul skills while she was fighting the Wildlion Douluo.

    Even though these soul skills were not particrly strong individually, their powers became significant whenbined! It was still fairly threatening when so many people were tounch an attack at them.

    Under such circumstances, Ye Guyi had no choice but to establish some defensive measures.

    All surrounding ranged attacks were immediately reflected the moment they came into contact with her golden light. When the golden light eventually gave way, all the remaining attacks were either deflected or blocked by thest ounce of power within the golden barrier. Even the two gigantic pirs released by the Titled Douluo at the side were slowed by the barrier before theynded on Xu Sanshi¡¯s Shield Wall.

    Instantly, a loud thud could be heard as the Shield Wall shook vigorously. Xu Sanshi let out a grunt, but he ultimately managed to block the gigantic beams.

    It seemed like the group had managed to hold off the firstbined attacks from their opponents with the collective defensive powers of Xu Sanshi and Ye Guyi.

    On the other hand, Ye Guyi had only just started. Just now, the barrier she had released was her own soul skill¡ªHoly Light Spiritual Formation. Following which, her entire body took on a brilliant golden color. As the golden light intensified, she looked as though she had been carved out of pure gold.

    At the same time, the wings behind her back had also taken on the same color. This was her seventh soul skill¡ªAngel True Body.

    At this instant, it seemed as though the Holy Angel had just descended from the World of the Gods. Her powerful holy aura was released into her surroundings, and her opponents could immediately feel an immense pressure from her aura.

    Following which, her eighth soul ring lit up. A golden figure instantly split from her body, and at the next instant, it had appeared behind the Wildlion Douluo.

    After being interrupted by Ye Guyi¡¯s soul skill, the Wildlion Douluo was trying to unleash his seventh soul skill¡ªhis martial soul true body. However, he found himself immobilized the minute the golden angel appeared behind him.

    The Wildlion Douluo felt as though his entire soul had been locked in position at that instant. He tried his best to resist that mysterious force. However, he was unable to break free from it. Following which, the golden image fused directly into the Wildlion Douluo¡¯s body.

    At the very instant, the Wildlion Douluo¡¯s body turned golden. As he breathed in and out, golden streaks of air were released from his nostrils and mouth.

    Everyone who was standing by the Wildlion Douluo was scared out of their wits by this frightening sight. At this instant, a streak of matte ck sword light shed across the crowd. It seemed as though the surrounding space was frozen at that moment. Following which, everyone could hear a cry from a Soul Douluo. When they turned around to see what had happened to him, they saw that his body had been sliced in two.

    On the battlefield, the sword fanatic, with his frightening sword intent, was always the person with the strongest attacking power.

    Ji Juechen had drawn first blood when he released his explosive fighting power.

    Even though Xue Kui and Xue Leng had retreated from them, they could not help be shocked by how Xu Sanshi¡¯s friend was able to kill their soul masters even after being surrounded by so many powerful soul masters. At that moment, they truly understood what it meant to be a graduate of Shrek Academy!

    After all, they had learned from their investigation that Xu Sanshi was one of this generation¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters.

    After sessfully ying someone with a single blow, Ji Juechen shed his Judgement Sword outwards again. Even though he did not manage to kill someone this time, he was able to force a good number of them backward.

    As the intense battle unfolded, the Wildlion Douluo suddenly released a loud howl. His body suddenly released a st of golden light. It was almost as if his soul had been stripped from his body. His pupils turnedpletely white as his body vibrated intensely. Huge amounts of fire-type soul power were spurting out from his pores before blood started to flow out from everywhere.

    A Titled Douluo was actually unable to defend himself after being hit by this soul skill. This was simply unimaginable.

    Every single soul master was stunned after seeing what had happened to the Wildlion Douluo. They could only tell that it was a result of Ye Guyi¡¯s eighth soul skill.

    Angel of Death!

    After the Wildlion Douluo had released all of the golden energy from his body, he started to burn in the golden light, which had transformed into a gigantic beam of light. The beam surged up into the sky as the Wildlion Douluo screamed in the burning light. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to escape from the light.

    Ye Guyi released another wave of Holy Light Spiritual Formation to negate the bulk of the attacks beingunched at them.

    Following which, Ye Guyi released an explosive amount of golden light again. Pairs of golden wings spread themselves one after another on her martial soul true body as her ninth soul ring lit up.

    At this instant, Xue Leng and Xue Kui started to be genuinely frightened.She¡¯s just too scary! Why does she have so much power when she seems to be only twenty years old? What kind of ability is she unleashing? Her eighth soul skill was already enough to destroy a Titled Douluo. What would happen if she unleashes her ninth soul skill?!

    Ye Guyi¡¯s six pairs of wings doubled instantly as they increased from the original six pairs to twelve pairs. Her aura continued to surge until it reached a frightening level of power. Even though she was releasing the same Holy Light Spiritual Formation, the soul masters with seven or eight rings were no longer able to damage her light barrier with their collective attacks.

    Her frightening abilities had already exceeded what these Dou Ling Empire soul masters could have imagined.

    To be honest, Xue Kui and Xue Leng had actually done proper research on Xu Sanshi and his peers before they had begun their operation. They believed they had a decent understanding of their abilities.

    However, they had not expected this group of youthful individuals, whose oldest person was at most thirty years old, to be so powerful.

    They were especially shocked by Ye Guyi, because they did not expect her to be the strongest individual amongst the group. In fact, they did not even know that she was a Titled Douluo¡ªmuch less a Titled Douluo who was so powerful!

    Now that Ye Guyi had twelve pair of wings, what did that mean? It meant that she was now an Archangel! She was no longer mortal, and had developed God-like powers!

    Hence, Ye Guyi¡¯s ninth soul skill was called Archangel¡¯s Descent, which was also known as the God of Angels!

    An insane amount of golden light was released from her body. She could only unleash and maintain this soul skill for ten seconds. However, she was able to wield power which could almost rival an Ultimate Douluo during those ten seconds. When she eventually became a Transcendent Douluo, the duration would be extended to thirty seconds.

    Even though one would not be able to do much in ten seconds, it was definitely sufficient to kill a good number of people.

    As the Holy Sword appeared in the Archangel¡¯s hand, Ye Guyi shed the sword forward as streaks of holy light rippled into her surroundings.

    The two Titled Douluo at the side who were wielding their poles received the most damage from the holy light. They could only try their best to use their martial soul true bodies to counter the holy light that shone onto them. By fusing into their long poles, they fought with their lives to counter the prowess of the Holy Sword.

    When the holy light ended, only half of their long poles remained intact. The other half had beenpletely destroyed by the holy light.

    In fact, there were more than six soul masters who werepletely purified by the holy light. The Titled Douluo at their rear was also knocked away by the powerful light from the Holy Sword.

    They would never have expected one person¡¯s explosive attack to be so powerful.

    ¡°Run now!¡± Xu Sanshi eximed. Following which, a golden light shed, and he swapped positions. When he reappeared, he was standing beside Xue Kui. On the other hand, Xue Leng had been disced to where Xu Sanshi was.

    Jiang Nannan was already waiting for Xue Leng to appear. She immediately put Xue Leng in a lock before smashing him into the ground.

    Xu Sanshi¡¯s Xuanwu Shield collided heavily with Xue Kui. Even though Xue Kui was able to muster his soul power in time, he was still mmed outwards. His entire body in a numb state after being affected by the Mysterious Underworld Quake.

    Xu Sanshi let out a warcry as he unleashed the power of his Golden Tortoise. He mmed the Xuanwu Shield in his hand into the ground as huge ck ripples spread outwards within his Xuanwu¡¯s Domain. The remaining soul masters immediately found themselves stumbling about on the rapidly shaking ground within the Xuanwu¡¯s Domain.

    Once again, the Judgement Sword in Ji Juechen¡¯s hand radiated ck and white light as another three soul masters fell prey to the sh of his sword. Following which, he led the way as he started to charge outwards.

    A gigantic soft tendon python separated itself from Jiang Nannan¡¯s body as it wrapped itself around Xue Leng. Following which, she held Xue Leng as her hostage and raised him up, forcing the soul masters to stay back. Afterward, she started to dash out from the back.

    In the meantime, Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s eighth soul ring lit up. She gave a cold stare as a gigantic image of her Rouge Dragon formed behind her back. The Rouge Dragon opened its mouth and released several pink balls of light, which exploded in the air one after another as they made sure no one could go after them.

    The eighth soul skill of the Rouge Dragon Annihtion martial soul¡ªAnnihtion Tempest.

    The frightening power of annihtion blocked all the soul skills that were being thrown at them from their backs. One Soul Sage who was rushing towards them went straight into the Annihtion Tempest and disappeared without leaving a trace.

    Xue Lingxun was not stupid. She knew that such opportunities were hard toe by as she dashed out behind Ji Juechen.

    Once again, Ye Guyi swept the Holy Sword in her hand horizontally as the Holy Light Spiritual Formation spread out to her surroundings again.

    Even though the God of Angels had ended, Ye Guyi¡¯s final Holy Light Spiritual Formation was enough to send the remaining Titled Douluo and soul masters flying after it expanded into its surroundings.

 Chapter 590.3 - Desperate Straits

    <h4 ss>Chapter 590.3: Desperate Straits</h4>

    Nan Qiuqiu immediately appeared beneath Ye Guyi as Ye Guyi fell from the sky. The twelve pairs of wings behind her back had vanished as she dropped onto Nan Qiuqiu¡¯s back. Right now, her face was unbelievably pale.

    After all, she had only be a Titled Douluo not too long ago, and her powers had not yet fully stabilized. On top of that, the God of Angels was a terribly demanding soul skill. Hence, she must have expended a lot of soul power to support her powerful attacks.

    After unleashing that soul skill, she was definitely out of gas for the short term. However, she had managed to clear a path for everyone with the explosive powers she had disyed.

    Just after Nan Qiuqiu adjusted Ye Guyi¡¯s position on her back, a ck figure suddenly appeared behind her. The figure was wielding onto a dark purple dagger as he attempted to plunge the dagger into Ye Guyi¡¯s back.

    By now, their opponents had unanimously decided that Ye Guyi¡ªthe person who possessed the mysterious angel martial soul¡ªwas the biggest threat. It was precisely because of her that they were unable to gain an upper hand over Xu Sanshi and his friends.

    Hence, the assassin had decided to get rid of her first.

    In fact, this assassin who was also a Titled Douluo had been hiding for a long time. Right now, after seeing how an opportunity had presented itself to him, he finally made his move.

    However, just when he was about to sessfully stab Ye Guyi, a figure suddenly appeared between him and Ye Guyi. This figure released a powerful golden glow that managed to block him.

    The person who had helped Ye Guyi block the dagger was none other than Jiang Nannan. She had used her fourth soul skill¡ªInvincible Golden Body.

    While the Titled Douluo was momentarily stunned, a gigantic pink hand appeared before him. It was the Hand of Annihtion. Nan Qiuqiu was enraged by what the assassin had tried to do, and immediately unleashed an attack at him.

    Following which, Jiang Nannan¡¯s soft tendon python was also released in his direction right after the Hand ofAnnihtion. The python was able to use all of Jiang Nannan¡¯s soul skills. That was what made it so powerful.

    To be honest, Jiang Nannan¡¯s spirit was the most practical amongst all of them.

    The soft tendon python swept its gigantic body sideways to force the assassin back. Even though the Hand ofAnnihtionhad been neutralized, it had bought precious time for the group.

    At the end of the day, the Pce was within Dou Ling City¡ªthe capital of the Dou Ling Empire.

    Even though they had employed soul tools to conceal the explosive battles which had unfolded within the pce, they would still have a chance of surviving once they escaped from where they were. As long as they could alert the troops who were stationed around the Pce, they had no need to fear these enemies.

    Xu Sanshi mmed his shield angrily at the wall as he knocked down a huge patch of the wall of the newly rebuilt pce. Xu Sanshi had never wanted to let Xue Kui go. With his current cultivation, Xue Kui was nothing in his eyes.

    A normal Soul Sage had no chance of resisting a Soul Douluo trained by Shrek Academy. On top of that, Xu Sanshi had almost attained the rank of a Titled Douluo.

    And there was a reason why he was called the Eternal Defense.

    Xu Sanshi raised his huge hands before sweeping them at Xue Kui. This was the mutated ability of the Xuanwu Discement. As the Golden Tortoise behind him shed with golden light, a gigantic golden hand appeared on Xue Kui¡¯s body before reeling him backward in a violent motion.

    However, at this instant, Xue Kui¡¯s and Xue Leng¡¯s bodies suddenly released a simr glow. Two streaks of silver light shed as both of them vanished at the same time.

    Teleportation? When did they get ahold of this kind of soul skill?

    No, that can¡¯t be it. It didn¡¯t seem like a soul skill. It seemed more like the power of a soul tool.

    Xu Sanshi was startled by what he had just seen. However, he knew that now was not the time to worry about it. He believed that he ought to dash out first. As he raised the Xuanwu Shield in his hand, he tried to dash out of the hall. As long as he was able to leave thispound, there was a chance he could call for help from the army.

    However, just when he had taken a step forward, he was thrown back into the hall at the next instant.

    A low humming sound could be heard as a bright orange light illuminated the hall.

    ¡°ss 9 soul engineer. There¡¯s a ss 9 soul engineer outside.¡± Xu Sanshi growled angrily.

    At this instant, his otherpanions led by Ji Juechen had arrived by his side. They arrived just in time to watch him get knocked back.

    After hearing Xu Sanshi mention a ss 9 soul engineer, a grave look formed on everyone¡¯s faces.

    If they were going for a one-on-one battle, Xu Sanshi would not have feared a ss 9 soul engineer. After all, he would definitely be able to put up with the soul engineer¡¯s attacks with his powerful defensive abilities even if he were not able to triumph over him. On the other hand, he might just be able to take down the ss 9 soul engineer if an opportunity arose.

    However, the situation before them waspletely different. After all, there were so many soul masters against them! Even though the Wildlion Douluo had died, there were still four Titled Douluo in the hall. While two of them might have been injured and weakened by Ye Guyi, they still had a fair amount of fighting power. Besides, they still had an assassin who was also a Titled Douluo, as well as a Titled Douluo who specialized in defense.

    Now that a ss 9 soul engineer was waiting for them outside the hall, it was near impossible for them to escape.

    How? What are we going to do?

    After releasing a series of powerful attacks, Ye Guyi¡¯s soul power had beenpletely sapped. Even though the others still had a substantial amount of soul power, it was going to be very difficult for them to repeat their previous performance.

    Now that Ye Guyi had lost her fighting power and they had to protect the rtively weaker Xue Lingxun, things had started to look very bad for them.

    Xue Leng¡¯s cold voice could be heard from the outside. ¡°All of you are going to die here. If not for my teacher¡¯s teleportation bag, all of you might just have been able to escape sessfully. However, we have nned for the worst. Hence, all of you are bound to die here. Kill them all. They¡¯re out of energy.¡±

    Right now, there were still more than twenty soul masters alive. The assassin had also revealed himself as the four Titled Douluo gathered the soul masters towards the group of individuals from the Tang Sect.

    A look of despair started to form on Xu Sanshi¡¯s and his friends¡¯ faces. Nan Qiuqiu gritted her teeth as she put Ye Guyi down onto the floor gently. Following which, she put on her Icy War God¡¯s Armor.

    Even though her Icy War God¡¯s Armor could not bepared to Huo Yuhao¡¯s, it was still able to give her powers which would put her almost on par with a Titled Douluo.

    Xue Lingxun might not possess a wealth of battle experience, but she still knew what to do right now. She understood that she would only burden the team if she were to try to get herself involved in the fighting. Hence, she stepped back to look after Ye Guyi.

    Right now, Ye Guyi was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She was holding two milk bottles, andpletely ignoring everything that was happening around her. She was trying her best to recover as much soul power as possible. It was already quite difficult to break out from their encirclement right now. All they could do was to try and win their fight with these enemies.

    It seemed like the ss 9 soul engineer was not nning oning in. After all, it was best for him to fight in a spacious environment. It was definitely not wise to fight a powerful soul master within a confined space like the hall. On top of that, everyone believed that the soul masters inside would be sufficient to deal with the remaining people from the Tang Sect.

    Xu Sanshi revealed a cold look on his face as he wielded his Xuanwu Shield and moved in front of Nan Qiuqiu. Ji Juechen and Nanqiuqiu stood by his side, while Jiang Nannan stood right behind him. The four of them had taken up positions to form a simple battle formation.

    The four Titled Douluo moved forward slowly, not wanting to rush into things. After all, the group before them had left a deep impression on them after witnessing their explosive power.

    In just a few moments, they were actually able to take down a Titled Douluo! Even though their Titled Douluo had also lost her fighting power temporarily, it was stillpletely different from being taken down directly.

    In addition, the powerful Titled Douluo was still trying to recover her soul power. Even though they did not want to give her too much time to recover, they did not dare to be too hasty. After all, everyone only had one life. If they were to take a risk with their lives, they might just die. Now that they had established an absolute advantage over them, they would definitely not do something so foolish.

    The Soul Douluo and Soul Sages behind the four Titled Douluo started to unleash their martial soul true bodies one after another. It was only when they had unleashed their martial soul true bodies that they could release their strongest powers.

    This was something they had to do¡ªto bulk up their overall fighting power with their martial soul true bodies. At this instant, an exciting battle was about to unfold.

    The tension in the air was palpable. The four Titled Douluo did not unleash their martial soul true bodies because they wanted to be more agile and flexible with their moves. After all, they simply had to block the attacks from Xu Sanshi and the rest. The rest of the attacking work could be done by the Soul Sages and Soul Douluo. Their attacks would be more than sufficient to overwhelm and kill them. Their tactic was truly vicious and powerful. After all, the group from the Tang Sect could not even retreat.

    All sorts of strange and peculiar martial soul true bodies started to form before their eyes as the atmosphere got even tenser. Xu Sanshi¡¯s body radiated a powerful glow as the Xuanwu Shield in his hand radiated a brilliant golden glow. As long as his opponents made their move, he would instantly unleash his Xuanwu True Body. He was confident that he would be able to hold off his enemies¡¯ attacks for a substantial amount of time with his Xuanwu True Body. After all, they did not call him the Eternal Defense for nothing.

    While they wanted to kill their enemies, they were not sure how many they could take down before the enemies killed them. Since they might not be able to leave, they had decided to take down as many of their enemies as possible.

    Just when the battle was about to break out between both parties, a cry could be heard from the outside the hall.

    ¡°Huh?¡± After hearing the sound, a worried expression formed on the four Titled Douluo¡¯s faces. After all, everyone in Xu Sanshi¡¯s group was in the hall. The only possible source of the scream was from their own people. That also meant that Xu Sanshi¡¯s reinforcements could have arrived.

    Under such circumstances, none of them dared to withhold any of their powers. The four Titled Douluo let out a battle cry in unison as they charged towards Xu Sanshi. The Soul Sages and Soul Douluo behind them also released their soul skills with every ounce of strength they had in their bodies. At that very instant, all sorts of soul skills swarmed towards Xu Sanshi from all directions.

    After all, Xu Sanshi was the only one with respectable defensive power. The rest of them might be strong offensively, but they were definitely not as skilled as Xu Sanshi in terms of defensive power. After Xu Sanshi was taken down, they would definitely be able to kill the rest of them in no time.

 Chapter 591.1 - The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 591.1: The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends</h4>

    However, the four Titled Douluo were surprised to see Xu Sanshi smile at this moment when they had expected to see him panic. They all saw a smile that sent shivers down their spines.

    Xu Sanshi suddenly turned around and exposed his back to these people in front of him. He waved his Xuanwu Shield in the air as his fourth soul ring lit up.

    This was one of Xu Sanshi¡¯s most powerful skills¡ªXuanwu Discement.

    After releasing a sh of light, Xu Sanshi disappeared before their eyes.

    All of those soul masters who were taking orders from Xue Kui and Xue Leng were stunned.Did he disappear just like this?Even though they did not know how he had escaped, they were certain that his peers from Tang Sect as well as his mother would perish under the huge wave of attacks.Did he really run away just like that?

    However, they were forced to dismiss that possibility at the next instant. After Xu Sanshi had disappeared, another figure instantly appeared in his ce.

    Following which, this figure released an invincibly powerful light.

    The surrounding air suddenly became intensely cold as the temperature of the entire hall plunged instantly. Countless icicles were released at Xue Kui and Xue Leng from that person¡¯s body.

    Those icicles were at least three meters long as they prated and blocked every single soul skill that wasing his way. Even the four Titled Douluo had no choice but to use their soul skills to attack those icicles to prevent them from piercing their bodies.

    The man who was dressed in a white long robe was able to block all of their attacks with a single soul skill after appearing in Xu Sanshi¡¯s former position.

    Those three-meter long icicles were so strong that the Soul Sages and Soul Douluo could not hold them off. In fact, they contained so much energy that even the four Titled Douluo were thrown back by the sheer force they exerted on them.

    ¡°Spiritual st.¡± The young man dressed in white announced with a low voice. Following which, the surrounding air suddenly became illusory.

    Every single soul master felt as though his or her head was hit by a gigantic hammer. Their bodies started to tremble vigorously as loud grunts of pain could be heard. Those soul masters who tried to release more soul skills after their previous ones were destroyed by the icicles found themselves interrupted. The Soul Sages naturally suffered the most, as they were instantly forced out of their martial soul true bodies before stumbling backward. Blood immediately gushed out from their mouths and nostrils. It was apparent that they had sustained serious injuries.

    ¡°Mass Enfeeblement.¡± A circle of white light expanded into the surroundings before enveloping Xue Leng, Xue Kui and the rest. A powerful sense of fatigue started to gue them as the white light sapped their energy.

    It seemed as though the young man dressed in white wanted to inform them of his every move as he announced once again, ¡°Spiritual Confusion.¡±

    Four vortexes appeared on the four Titled Douluo¡¯s bodies at the same time. Their sudden appearance seemed to have stunned the four of them.

    The young man raised his right hand as a deep blue light appeared in his palm. The dark blue light was shining from a long blue sword.

    Following which, the young man shed out with his sword as the four Titled Douluo transformed into ice sculptures. Because of how powerful the sh was, the ice sculptures flew backward after they formed.

    How powerful must that sh be to take down four Titled Douluo with a single blow?

    However, that was not the end.

    ¡°Blizzard.¡± Countless snowkes started to form out of nowhere in the air. Following which, a powerful blizzard began to gush towards the group of soul masters.

    Even though the temperature in front of the young man had plummeted to below minus two hundred degrees celsius at that instant, the temperature behind him was still warm andfortable.

    After being weakened by Mass Enfeeblement and Spiritual st, the Soul Sages and Soul Douluo who were used to winning their battles could only huddle up as they tried to warm their already frozen blood by mustering their soul power and soul skills to protect themselves.

    Unfortunately, all of their methods were futile. It was impossible for them to change the oue under the wrath of the powerful blizzard. Ultimately, they would all inevitably copse due to the insanely low temperature. The only difference was when they would copse, because they all had different cultivations. Within ten seconds, the side of the hall that was in front of that young man had turned into a world of ice.

    It took less than a minute for that person to finish all of them off. Now, the entire hall had be silent.

    At this instant, two familiar figures brought Xue Leng and Xue Kui into the hall.

    Xu Sanshi was holding onto Xue Kui, while a youngdy who had long violet hair grabbed Xue Leng¡¯s armor. Both Xue Leng¡¯s and Xue Kui¡¯s heads were lowered. It was apparent that they had already lost all hope.

    The young man dressed in white turned around and looked at the group of people from Tang Sect before smiling. ¡°Hi, did you miss me?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu rushed forward and punched his chest unapologetically. ¡°Why did you onlye now?¡±

    The young man revealed an awkward smile. ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little bit gentler?¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu rolled her eyes before replying, ¡°If you want tender love, go and look for your Wutong. Wutong, I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay.¡±

    That¡¯s right! The young man was none other than Huo Yuhao. And the youngdy who had entered the hall with Xu Sanshi was naturally Tang Wutong.

    The only reason why Xu Sanshi had smiled in the face of immense danger earlier was that he had sensed Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection Sharing! Huo Yuhao had told him to switch ces with him. Hence, he performed the Xuanwu Discement to send Huo Yuhao into the hall.

    Afterward, everything became really straightforward.

    The powerful soul masters who had troubled the rest of them were nothing to Huo Yuhao. He could take them down extremely easily.

    Ye Guyi no longer tried to meditate as she stood up and looked at Huo Yuhao in the same way as Ji Juechen. Both of them were staring at Huo Yuhao as though he was a freak.

    Huo Yuhao let out an awkwardugh. ¡°Can both of you stop looking at me like that? I¡¯ll really start to blush.¡±

    Ji Juechen stomped forward towards Huo Yuhao before ring at him with his piercing eyes. ¡°Tell me. How did you do it? Even if you became a Transcendent Douluo, you should not have been able to pull that off. In fact, how did you take all of them down without any powerful soul skills? I can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    This was probably the longest sentence the sword fanatic had constructed in a long time. In fact, he was stammering while he was speaking to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Wutong and I have regained our martial soul fusion. Now, the effects of our martial soul fusion can stillst for ten seconds under our control even if we have been separated. Hence, what all of you just witnessed in thest ten seconds of the battle was pure fighting power which was unbelievably close to that of an Ultimate Douluo. That, coupled with my Ultimate martial soul, was more than enough to take all of them down.¡±

    More than a month ago, before he had even be a Transcendent Douluo, he was able to force the entire Sun Moon Empire army to retreat by himself. There was no doubt that he would be able to do a lot more with his enhanced abilities. In fact, he no longer needed to wear his Icy War God¡¯s Armor to destroy all of these Titled Douluo who were picking on Xu Sanshi and his friends. After all, the strongest Titled Douluo among them was only Rank 92.

    However, these people were still alive even though they had been frozen by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice. Nheless, their lives were now entirely in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    Xu Sanshi threw Xue Kui to the ground and looked away. He was so angry that he didn¡¯t want to look him in the eye. He had long developed a murderous intent against Xue Kui and Xue Leng.

    At this instant, Xue Lingxun walked towards Xu Sanshi and asked, ¡°Sanshi, who is this? Is he a senior from the Academy? Why does he look so young? Senior, do you mind sharing with me how you take care of your skin?¡±

    An awkward look immediately formed on Xu Sanshi¡¯s face. Even though he loved his mother a lot, he could not deny that she wasn¡¯t really sharp at times. Of course, he also knew that if his mother were a little sharper, his father would not have been able to bring her away from the pce. Hence, he was still d that his mother was someone who was not very sharp mentally.

    ¡°Come on, Mother. He¡¯s not my senior. He¡¯s a fellow disciple. To be more precise, he is actually my junior brother. His name is Huo Yuhao. Do you remember the news that came not too long ago? He is the Eyes of the Asura¡ªthe person who managed to win seven consecutive battles against Transcendent Douluo and ss 9 soul engineers by himself. He is Huo Yuhao¡ªthe Spirit Ice Douluo. This is Tang Wutong, the Dragon Butterfly Douluo.¡±

    Xue Lingxun¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Huo Yuhao before looking back at Xu Sanshi.

    Huo Yuhao immediately moved forward with Tang Wutong to greet her. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Xu.¡±

    Xue Lingxun was still trying to take in the information her son had just shared with her. Suddenly, she turned around and pped Xu Sanshi¡¯s arm. ¡°You little rascal, you really are a failure! Look at him and how powerful he is. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re actually older than him.¡±

    At this moment, Xu Sanshi was not sure whether he shouldugh or cry. ¡°Mother, how can youpare me with freaks like him!? My little junior brother is really a monster among monsters. I¡¯m already doing quite well. I think it¡¯s important to be satisfied with the results of one¡¯s hard work instead of alwaysparing oneself with others!¡±

    Jiang Nannan forced a cough as she spoke, ¡°Sanshi and Mrs. Xu, don¡¯t you think we should settle the matters at hand first?¡±

    Xu Sanshi froze before nodding. Afterward, he turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao as though he were waiting for instructions.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I am your fighter for today. Here, I will only take instructions from you. I will do whatever you want me to. But you must be the one making those decisions. Of course, I can make them die anytime. Just let me know what you need me to do.¡±

    Xu Sanshi was a little stunned by what Huo Yuhao said. Afterward, he turned around to look at his mother.

    Xue Lingxun had be normal again. A murderous look formed on her face as she dered, ¡°They deserve to die.¡±

    Xu Sanshi remained silent before shaking his head. He said, ¡°I need all of you to stay here. Let me go out and get some people toe in. We need to find out what was actually going on before making decisions like these.¡±

    Because the barrier outside the hall had already been removed by Huo Yuhao, news of Xue Kui¡¯s and Xue Leng¡¯s betrayal was spread to the rest of the city within fifteen minutes. An hourter, all of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s generals and ministers in the city were gathered within the hall.

    Everything¡ªincluding Xue Kui and Xue Leng¡ªwas still as it was right after the battle. Xu Sanshi made sure that no one shifted the ice sculptures, nor did he let the father and son leave.

    By now, both Xue Leng and Xue Kui had given up all hope of surviving. There was no chance that they could escape from this huge group of powerful soul masters.

    As for the ss 9 soul engineer who was lurking outside, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had already tried their newly enhanced martial soul fusion skills on him. They hadbined their powers and given him a blow of their Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer. As many would have expected, he did not survive that blow even though he was in possession of several defensive soul tools.

 Chapter 591.2 - The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 591.2: The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends</h4>

    In fact, Huo Yuhao felt that it was a shame that they had snuffed him out just like that. After all, a ss 9 soul engineer was literally a walking treasure trove! That soul engineer probably had several valuable soul tools on him. However, he had fallen from the sky before Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could even rummage through his things.

    Xu Sanshi sat on the throne as his mother, Xue Lingxun, stood by his side, while Huo Yuhao and the rest stood by the sides of the hall.

    The generals and ministers could definitely see what had happened while they were away. Even now, the temperature within the hall was still fairly low. In fact, every general and minister could not help but shiver after stepping into the hall.

    It was still not that bad for those ministers and generals who had a rtively high cultivation. On the other hand, those ministers and generals who were not soul masters had no choice but to shiver as they waited for the rest of the people to enter the hall.

    Xue Kui and Xue Leng had been tied up by Huo Yuhao and thrown into the center of the floor before everyone. Both of their heads were lowered as they kept quiet. As for the other soul masters who had been transformed into ice sculptures, they were still frozen just as before. All of them were standing there in their original fighting stances before they had been frozen.

    W-What happened here?This was the same question that was on everyone¡¯s minds. Among them, there were still quite a few ministers and generals who could recognize Xue Kui and Xue Leng.

    In fact, some of them did not seem to be very pleased with what they were seeing.

    ¡°Prince Regent, w-what has happened here? Why are Xue Kui and Xue Leng here? And what¡¯s with all of these ice sculptures?¡± The Prime Minister stepped out and asked after nting one of his knees on the ground. He could no longer hold it anymore, and wanted to know what was going on. He did not go down on both of his knees because Xu Sanshi was still not the Emperor.

    Xu Sanshi maintained his solemn expression as he asked, ¡°Prime Minister, do you know who these two convicts are?¡±

    The Prime Minister replied, ¡°Yes, I do know them. This is Duke Xue Leng, the provincial governor of the Tian He Province, while the other person is Duke Xue Kui, the provincial governor of the Luo An Province. Why are they¡­¡±

    Xu Sanshi spoke inly, ¡°Do you still not understand why they are tied up like this? Those thirty-odd ice sculptures were people they had brought in. Among them are five Titled Douluo. Do you see the burn mark on the floor here? It was left behind by one of Xue Kui¡¯s people whom we killed earlier. If you were to get some of our guards to do a search outside the hall, you would probably find the dead body of a ss 9 soul engineer.¡±

    After hearing Xu Sanshi¡¯s exnation, everyone¡¯s jaws dropped. They definitely knew what it meant when he explicitly pointed out the ss 9 soul engineer. Those ministers and generals who had revealed a displeased expression were even more shocked after hearing what Xu Sanshi had said.

    It was a known fact that other than Shrek Academy, which had one or two ss 9 soul engineers, the rest of the ss 9 soul engineers on the continent were all from the Sun Moon Empire.

    It was naturally impossible for Xue Kui and Xue Leng to get someone from Shrek Academy to take orders from them. This made the answer extremely obvious. After all, the entire Pce of the Dou Ling Empire had just been destroyed by the Sun Moon Empire. On top of that, the entire royal family had been murdered by them. The entire Dou Ling Empire definitely hated the Sun Moon Empire to the core.

    ¡°Rubbish! There is no ss 9 soul engineer. Even if there was one, he or she would have been on your side. If not, how would you be able to defeat us with so few people? We had so many Titled Douluo with us.¡± Xue Leng angrily repudiated Xu Sanshi¡¯s ims. He knew that he would really lose all hope of surviving if he did not try to persuade the ministers to join his side.

    Xu Sanshi stood up before walking down the steps. ¡°Xue Leng, are you familiar with my background?¡±

    Xue Leng turned his head and looked away from him.

    Xu Sanshi said, ¡°I am from Shrek Academy and was given the honor of being a member of this generation¡¯s Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was camped just outside Shrek City not too long ago. As for how we managed to destroy all of your minions, I would only have to reveal a single name to convince all of you that what I have said is true.¡±

    As he spoke, he walked towards Huo Yuhao and exined, ¡°This person is my junior brother. I believe many of you must have met him before. Since that¡¯s the case, let me share his name with you. His name is Huo Yuhao. I believe all of you should know who he is, right?¡±

    ¡°Huo Yuhao?¡± The Prime Minister muttered to himself. But very quickly, he looked up again as a startled look formed on his face. ¡°Your Highness, didn¡¯t you mention to us that there was a person who had challenged the Sun Moon Empire to ten one-on-one battles, and won seven consecutive battles. That person eventually managed to force the War God Empress to admit defeat and retreat. Wasn¡¯t that person the Eyes of the Asura, the Spirit Ice Douluo¡ªHuo Yuhao?¡±

    Xu Sanshi nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. He is Huo Yuhao. In addition, Yuhao has confirmed that the enemies who assaulted our Pce and almost exterminated everyone within the royal family were the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡ªthe two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire. Yuhao and Wutong went after the two legions together and managed to take down more than half of them. In fact, they even managed to kill the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.¡±

    ¡°What a joke!¡± Xue Kui eximed. ¡°Do you know how powerful the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions are? They are part of the Hand that Protects the Nation¡ªthe strongest force the Sun Moon Empire possesses. Do you really think the two of them can take down those two soul engineer legions who destroyed the entire Pce? Are the linked soul tools they carry around just for show? Xu Sanshi, I can¡¯t believe you actually said something so absurd.¡± In hisst sentence, he purposely emphasized Xu Sanshi¡¯s surname.

    Xu Sanshi burst intoughter that echoed within the entire hall.

    ¡°The ignorant should never be med. Do you know how powerful my junior brother is? Oh, that¡¯s right. You didn¡¯t even see how your minions¡ªincluding the four Titled Douluo¡ªwere destroyed by my little junior brother with a single soul skill. Perhaps I need to let you know that my junior brother is an Ultimate Douluo. Do you understand what I have just said? An actual Ultimate Douluo who is only a little more than twenty years old.¡±

    After hearing what Xu Sanshi had said, everyone in the hall was shocked. Gasps of surprise could be heard from everywhere. At that instant, everyone turned their heads to look at Huo Yuhao.

    What was an Ultimate Douluo? Ultimate Douluo were so rare that they pretty much existed only in myths! The most powerful soul master in the entire Dou Ling Empire was the Heavenly Sun Douluo. Even then, he had not even reached Rank 98, and was definitely not an Ultimate Douluo.

    But now Xu Sanshi was iming that the young man before them who was only a little older than twenty had already attained the rank of an Ultimate Douluo. All of them simply could not believe what he had just said. In fact, even the Prime Minister seemed a bit doubtful about Xu Sanshi¡¯s words. After all, how was that possible? In the entire history of the Douluo Continent, there was only a single instance when a twenty-year-old young man had attained the rank of an Ultimate Douluo.

    In fact, they were not the only ones who were shocked. Even Huo Yuhao could not believe what Xu Sanshi had just said. He knew he was no Ultimate Douluo! After all, he had just be a Transcendent Douluo.What is third senior brother doing?

    Xu Sanshi gave a light chuckle before continuing, ¡°I know all of you cannot believe what I have just said. However, have you ever considered what the news from Shrek Academy was suggesting? My little junior brother won seven consecutive battles, and defeated evil soul masters and ss 9 soul engineers. Among them was Zhongli Wu¡ªthe Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. Even Zhongli Wu was defeated by my little junior brother. From that day onwards, my little junior brother received the title of Spirit Ice Douluo. Zhongli Wu was previously ascertained by the Academy to be a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo. This definitely lends credibility to what I have just said. It is alsomon knowledge that evil soul masters are usually more powerful than soul masters at the same rank as them. Hence, the fact that he was defeated by my little junior brother simply means that he is a real Ultimate Douluo. There¡¯s no other possible exnation. As for whether the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion and the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion were really attacked, and whether their legionmander was actually killed, all of you can go ahead and investigate the matter. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find out the truth.¡±

    As Xu Sanshi spoke, he became even more confident as he destroyed all of the arguments Xue Kui had put forth.

    Everything Xu Sanshi had raised was substantiated with facts. Huo Yuhao¡¯s feat before Shrek City was definitely true, and could never be faked. If Zhongli Wu was really defeated by Huo Yuhao, what else could it mean? Besides, there were also soul masters among the generals and ministers before Xu Sanshi. They naturally knew that battles consumed a lot of soul power. Prior to facing Zhongli Wu, Huo Yuhao had already taken on several Transcendent Douluos. Even though Ma Xiaotao had not attained the Transcendent Douluo rank, her Ultimate Fire martial soul gave her powers that were almost on par with that of a Transcendent Douluo.

    Even then, Huo Yuhao was somehow able to secure consecutive victories without any significant rest between the battles. Under such circumstances, the only logical exnation was that Huo Yuhao was an Ultimate Douluo.

    An Ultimate Douluo! An Ultimate Douluo was actually standing behind Xu Sanshi.

    It was important to note that an Ultimate Douluo had been the most powerful force of destruction before the appearance of ss 9 soul engineers. Before the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s recent rise, no other ce¡ªother than Shrek Academy¡ªhad had Ultimate Douluo.

    How powerful was an Ultimate Douluo? It was rumored that an Ultimate Douluo could shift mountains and fill the ocean. He or she would be able to destroy an entire city in the blink of an eye. If an Ultimate Douluo were to support the rule of an Emperor, it would be the best deterrence against any people who harbored ill intentions against the empire.

    Even though soul engineers were increasingly well regarded and had almost overtaken the status of soul masters in terms of prestige, everyone was starting to understand how a powerful soul engineer must first be a powerful soul master. This was a fact that Shrek Academy had disseminated to the rest of the continent.

    This was exactly why the Sun Moon Empire was so anxious to start the war. In fact, they had no choice but to attempt to conquer the entire continent in the shortest amount of time.

    Once the three empires¡¯ technological development started to pick up speed, they would definitely be able to overtake the Sun Moon Empire with the huge number of soul masters they had. However, no one knew how long they would need before they sessfully overtook the Sun Moon Empire.

    Hence, they could only try to conquer the entire continent while they still had an absolute advantage over the other empires. It was only after they had conquered the empire that they could be freed from all of these worries. But when that happened, the Sun Moon Empire would also have no choice but to admit that Shrek Academy¡¯s theory was right. They would have to merge the development of soul tools and soul masters.

    Hence, Ultimate Douluo were still the most powerful existence in the entire world. In fact, only a ss 10 soul engineer could bepared to an Ultimate Douluo.

    However, there was no record of a single ss 10 soul engineer in the history of soul engineers. Hence, Ultimate Douluo were definitely the strongest in the entire continent!

 Chapter 591.3 - The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends

    <h4 ss>Chapter 591.3: The Ice-Spirit Douluo Descends</h4>

    Hence, when the ministers and generals present in the hall started to believe that Huo Yuhao was an Ultimate Douluo, they changed the way they looked at Xu Sanshi. After seeing this transformation, Xue Kui and Xue Leng revealed grave expressions on their faces.

    They had not expected things to turn out this way. Also, they had not even known that Huo Yuhao was an Ultimate Douluo. Today, when they had brought their most powerful underlings with them along with a ss 9 soul engineer from the Sun Moon Empire, they had nned to go all-out to take down Xu Sanshi and his friends. After all, Xu Sanshi was from Shrek Academy, and they didn¡¯t know what kind of reinforcements the Academy would send to assist or avenge him. They knew they would definitely not be able to go up against the Academy. Hence, they knew that they had to kill Xu Sanshi after taking control of the situation before seizing the pce. And when that was done, both father and son would be able to seize the military and then the throne.

    Unfortunately, they had failed. And good things never happened to those who failed.

    Xu Sanshi strolled towards Xue Kui and Xue Leng before speaking inly, ¡°There is little royal blood left in the Dou Ling Empire. Yet both of you try tounch a coup for your own selfish reasons right after the Sun Moon Empire has threatened our empire. How dare the two of you try to lead your people to attack me? Neither of you can be spared.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, no¡­¡± The Prime Minister sensed that something bad was about to happen, but he was already toote.

    Xu Sanshi had raised both of his hands and ced them on Xue Kui¡¯s and Xue Leng¡¯s heads.

    At this instant, a few people rushed out from the group of generals as they tried to stop Xu Sanshi. However, a white figure shed before them.

    The surrounding temperature plunged again as those generals were instantly turned into ice sculptures. In fact, no one had even seen how Huo Yuhao managed to do it.

    There were actually quite a few soul masters with seven or eight rings among the generals. However, even they could not help but shudder after sensing the powerful soul power fluctuations radiating from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Following which, two loud thuds could be heard as both Xue Kui and Xue Leng started to bleed from their mouths and noses before copsing onto the ground.

    Xu Sanshi took out a handkerchief before using it to wipe his hands, which were not stained with their blood at all.

    ¡°It is a fact that both Xue Kui and Xue Leng tried tounch a coup against our empire. They deserved to be sentenced to death. However, because of the contributions their family and ancestors made for the empire, and how royal blood is currently scarce within the empire, their families shall be spared. However, their families will be demoted tomoners. Is everyone agreeable with my verdict?¡±

    The culprits were already dead. Besides, there was an Ultimate Douluo standing behind Xu Sanshi. Only a fool would dare to go against what he had just announced.

    Xu Sanshi spoke inly, ¡°I know some of you in the hall have some links to Xue Kui and Xue Leng. However, right now, our empire is short of talent and manpower. Hence, I can pretend as if nothing had happened to preserve the few resources our empire still possesses. I hope that all of you can value your lives andmit to the betterment of our empire. Prime Minister, I will leave it to you to decide who shall take overmand of Xue Kui and Xue Leng¡¯s troops.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The Prime Minister acknowledged with an unwilling look on his face.

    Following which, Xu Sanshi threw the handkerchief in his hand onto the face of the dead Xue Kui.

    ¡°Even though the internal conflict within the empire has been settled, we still have external problems to deal with. However, I must admit that I¡¯m not the best at leading an army or fighting wars. I believe that all of you can definitely do that better than me. I must also admit that the internal conflict started because of the power vacuum formed due to theck of an Emperor. Xue Kui and Xue Leng believed that I was greedy for power. They did not want a person with the surname of Xu to take away the empire built by the Xue family. This was the most important reason why they wanted to start a coup. I found it hrious because I had never wanted to be an Emperor. I have always been living a free and easy life. So let me nowy down a few important things.¡±

    As he spoke, Xu Sanshi raised his hands and took the purple-gold crown off his head. Following which, he returned to the throne and ced the crown on the seat.

    ¡°Now that the internal affairs of the empire have been temporarily stabilized, I think it¡¯s time for all of you to decide who shall inherit the throne. My mother will definitely be staying in the empire, and she will make the final decision as to who shall be the new Emperor. I will now give up my Prince Regent title. From today onwards, Xu Sanshi shall not have any ties or rtionship to the Dou Ling Empire. I have already done enough as someone who possesses royal blood.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Xu Sanshi walked to the side and grabbed Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand. Following which, he sauntered out of the hall.

    Every single minister and general was shocked by what they had just witnessed.

    What is going on? Is he quitting? Did he just quit his appointment as the Prince Regent and turn down his potential position as the Emperor?

    Right now, Xu Sanshi was the only male with royal blood in the entire Dou Ling Empire. Because of what Xue Kui and Xue Leng had done, their descendants no longer had a chance of seeding the throne.

    What will happen to the empire now that Xu Sanshi is leaving? Who¡¯s going to be the Emperor?The Prime Minister, who was usually very calm andposed, started to panic as he knelt down on the ground immediately. ¡°Your Highness, please stay!¡±

    The ministers and generals knelt down in unison as they eximed, ¡°Please stay, Your Highness.¡±

    Xu Sanshi held Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand as he stopped walking. ¡°I am both a member of Shrek Academy and a member of the Tang Sect. I don¡¯t usually spend my time mulling over political matters. In fact, I have always been a happy-go-lucky person. But ever since I have arrived at the Dou Ling Empire, I have stopped smiling. Every day, I am suffering under the immense pressure thates with my position. In addition, all of you have never given me your fullest support. But I understand why you chose to do that. After all, my surname is Xu, not Xue. This is a fundamental difference which is almost irreconcble. Also, I have never learned how to be an emperor, and have never wanted to learn it. I have no interest in bing the Emperor of the Dou Ling Empire. I have already made my decision, and none of you need to stop me. All of you should know that it would be futile. With my little junior brother around, none of you will be able to stop me. If all of you still want the Xue family to stay in power, please allow my mother to reign from behind the curtains. After all, she has the Xue surname. It will be a lot easier for you to ept her. In the future, after my wife has given birth to our first son, I will give him the surname of Xue. If no one opposes it, I will send him back here to receive his education in the Dou Ling Empire. That¡¯s all I have to say. Goodbye.¡±

    After that, Xu Sanshi held Jiang Nannan¡¯s hand before leaping upwards. Following which, both of them flew out of the pce from the hole in the roof.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ji Juechen transformed into seven streaks of light and followed right behind them.

    Xue Lingxun sat down at where Xu Sanshi used to sit as the edge of her mouth twitched on its own. She had not known that Xu Sanshi was nning to do this.How could that little rascal not inform me of his n in advance?

    And he just left like that? That¡¯s too unbing of him.After taking down all of his potentialpetitors, he left without even bidding a proper goodbye. This was his act of revenge for all the grievances he had felt. Even though the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s internal politics were now a lot more stable, how could they function without a leader? However, it was important to note that Xu Sanshi did not leave in an entirely irresponsible fashion. After all, there was a reason why he had made a proper introduction for Huo Yuhao before he left. He wanted to remind the ministers and generals that the Xue family had the support of an Ultimate Douluo. In addition, his mother was backed by Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. He wanted to let them know that they had better think twice before trying to seize political power from the Xue family.

    This was indeed a very shrewd move. However, Xue Lingxun could not help but feel that it was a wasteful act from her son to give up the throne so easily. She came to the conclusion that different types of people were made for different things.

    After soaring up into the sky, Xu Sanshi broke out into a loudugh. The smile which had been missing for a while had finally returned to his face.

    Jiang Nannan also revealed a gentle smile. She was definitely the person who understood Xu Sanshi best. She had seen how stressed he had be since he took on the Prince Regent position. Now that he was released from this stress, how could she not be happy?

    ¡°Sanshi, is it really okay for us to do this?¡± Jiang Nannan asked softly.

    Xu Sanshi stoppedughing, but his smile was still on his face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this? We have already done our best to stabilize the empire. After all, what¡¯s so good about being an emperor? Do you really think I care so much about such things? In this world, there are only a few things I truly care about¡ªmy parents, family, friends, and you. What¡¯s the use of having so much power? It won¡¯t be as fun as touring the world with you. I am so d I have broken free from the clutches of those fellows. Did you see how displeased they looked when we left? It was so hrious. They looked as though they had just eaten shit. Little junior brother, have you taken care of those people?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°I have taken care of them. Those soul masters were merely taking orders from Xue Kui and Xue Leng. I have interrogated them, and they have all expressed their desire to atone for their mistakes by working hard for their new leader. I have left a seal on them, and have passed the method to control the seal to your mother. If they are to harbor any malicious intent against your mother, they will die instantly.¡±

    As the sessor of a necromancer, it was not difficult for Huo Yuhao to nt such seals on people. With the help and support of those Titled Douluo, Soul Douluo, and Soul Sages, Xue Lingxun would be able to protect herself. This was also why Xu Sanshi was able to leave without any worries.

    ¡°I think I¡¯d go crazy if I were to continue to stay at that ce even after being freed from my responsibilities.¡± Xu Sanshi admitted.

    Huo Yuhao tried to change the topic. ¡°Third senior brother, how could you betray me like this? When have I be an Ultimate Douluo? Do you know that the words you have said today will spread across the entire continent like wildfire? Now that the Holy Ghost Church and the Sun Moon Empire areing after me, I already have enough trouble on my te.¡±

    Xu Sanshi gave him a naughty chuckle. ¡°Come on! Even though you¡¯re not yet an Ultimate Douluo, I believe you¡¯re not too much different from it, right? I might not have be a Titled Douluo, but I believe I can still tell certain things apart. The aura you released when you were dealing with those fellows was more or less on par with that of an Ultimate Douluo. The fact that you were able to freeze so many powerful soul masters with just a single soul skill means that your fighting power isparable to that of an Ultimate Douluo. On top of that, you have already told me what your martial soul fusion with Wutong can aplish. So you can stop pretending to the rest of us! The two of you are now somewhat equivalent to an Ultimate Douluo. In this case, I think the Tang Sect will really need to depend on you in the future. In fact, I don¡¯t think the Academy will let you go so easily either. You¡¯ll probably be the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion in no time. After all, with great poweres great responsibility.¡±

 Chapter 592.1 - Direction

    <h4 ss>Chapter 592.1: Direction</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face turned bitter, ¡°Third senior, you know how painful it is to be under heavy pressure. Am I not in pain then? Because of your words, I don¡¯t even dare to return to the academy anymore.¡±

    Xu Sanshi sighed and changed the topic. He said, ¡°When the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legiones and holds down the fort at Dou Ling City, watch my mom deal with those officials and generals. Even though she steps out of line with her words sometimes, she¡¯s still very intelligent. I inherited her intelligence. It¡¯s much better for her to control the empire. At least she grew up in the imperial pce. She must have learned some tips and tricks on how to be the ruler of an empire. What do I know? I¡¯ve been yed by those officials and generals. It appears that I¡¯m a prince, but none of my orders have worked out. They always seem to find a reason to challenge me. Things are better now. I can just walk away. The Tang Sect is much morefortable! As for your problem, you can settle it yourself. If you¡¯re really unwilling to handle it, I can help you tell the others. I¡¯ll just say you and Wutong are both fine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and said, ¡°Are you doing this for my own good? It concerns too many things in this world. How can I just put it down? Oh yes, third senior, how has the situation in the Sun Moon Empire been during this period of time I took Wutong for treatment? Has the Sun Moon Empire done anything?¡±

    Xu Sanshi shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. You should also know that the Sun Moon Empire is the best at hiding any information. If they really want to seal off any information, no one will know anything. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army has disappeared. They should be in the Heavenly Soul Empire. As for exactly where, no one knows. Who knows when they¡¯ll reappear? They only have two targets ¨C the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Oh right, it seems like the academy has be more generous. Not only have they asked the elites from the Dou Ling Empire to return, but they¡¯ve also sent the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion over to help. Why is this so?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled and answered, ¡°If you have so many ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells, you¡¯ll naturally be more generous.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Sanshi screamed. ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t tell me that you robbed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial pce? Otherwise, how could you have so many ss 9 shells? They¡¯re strategic resources. Even the Sun Moon Empire rarely uses them.¡±

    Huo Yuhao told him about how he had robbed the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. After hearing his story, Xu Sanshi gave him a thumbs-up. Xu Sanshi really wanted to kill everyone from those two soul engineer legions that Huo Yuhao had been up against.

    ¡°Yuhao, what are your ns after returning to the sect? Are you going to revamp the sect, or what?¡±

    Huo Yuhao thought about it for a moment before replying, ¡°The situation is a littleplicated right now. I need to gather first-hand intelligence before I can decide what to do. I won¡¯t return with all of you this time. When you see Elder Xuan after returning, ry the message that both Wutong and I are fine. We are going to the Sun Moon Empire to obtain some intelligence. We¡¯ll report back once we¡¯ve obtained something reliable. Furthermore, we¡¯ll also do something to try to dy their army.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I knew you were going to run away again. Alright, you can go. However, you must take care of your safety! Haih, I¡¯m really worrying too much. Given your current abilities, especially your concealment ability, it¡¯ll be difficult for anyone to deal with you. Not even an Ultimate Douluo will find it easy.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not that optimistic either. Nothing¡¯s impossible. Not only is the Holy Ghost Church after me, but I believe Di Tian is also watching me. He might appear at any time. Do you really think I can fight Di Tian given my current abilities?¡±

    Xu Sanshi shuddered a little. ¡°Little junior, don¡¯t scare me. If that¡¯s the case, we should split earlier. Both of you can still flee. What about us? It¡¯s best to have fewer people.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when he saw him acting afraid. Ye Guyi suddenly flew over and was a little indignant as she said, ¡°Why is he an Ultimate Douluo now? Huo Yuhao, challenge me to a duel if you dare.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at her and sincerely said, ¡°Guyi, thanks for your help this time. If not for you, everyone might not have hung on until we came.¡±

    Ye Guyi¡¯s face turned cold and she replied, ¡°You¡¯ve never treated me as one of you.¡±

    ¡°What? Why do you say that?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished as he looked at her.

    Ye Guyi coldly answered, ¡°I¡¯m also a part of the Tang Sect. It¡¯s only right that I protect myrades. Why are you thanking me in such a superior manner? I¡¯m challenging you to a duel!¡±

    Huo Yuhao was confused as he looked at her. He sighed and asked, ¡°Alright then. Where?¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Ye Guyi pointed to the sky. Her six wings fluttered as she rose into the air.

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he shook his head. He also flew up.

    Jiang Nannan furrowed her brow. Xu Sanshi was even more shocked. ¡°What is she trying to do? She wants to fight even though she just got here. Yuhao is also another one. Why did he agree?¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled at one side andmented, ¡°She¡¯s liked him for so long. It¡¯s only right that she¡¯s using him to vent right now.¡±

    Nan Qiuqiu was curious, ¡°You know about it?¡±

    Tang Wutong revealed a helpless look in her big, pinkish-blue eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not blind. Can¡¯t I tell how she looks at Yuhao? In fact, I think I¡¯m the one she really wants to challenge. However, she believes she can¡¯t stop if she fights me. That¡¯s why she¡¯s using Yuhao to vent. No worries, I don¡¯t mind letting her vent. It¡¯s all for the harmony of the sect.¡±

    Xu Sanshi gave her thumbs-up as he wore an admiring look on his face. ¡°Magnanimous! You have the demeanor of a big-hearted woman. Why don¡¯t you let Yuhao have a few mistresses? I believe the Tang Sect will grow big and strong if he¡¯s willing to open his mouth. Perhaps that War God Empress wille to the Tang Sect. Perhaps Shrek Academy is the one that will rule the continent in the end. Hahaha! Wutong, why are you looking at me like that? I feel a little ufortable.¡±

    Tang Wutong snapped at him, ¡°I think you¡¯re looking for it. Come, let me challenge you too. Ever since I became a Transcendent Douluo, I haven¡¯t really fought before. You can be my guinea pig. I can help you build your foundation to make a breakthrough as a Titled Douluo too. Sister Nannan, surely you won¡¯t stop me, right?¡±

    Jiang Nannan¡¯s expression was also back to normal now. ¡°Some people¡¯s mouths are just loose. They deserved to be beaten up. Wutong, don¡¯t leave any face for me.¡±

    As they were speaking, a fight had already begun in the air. Against Huo Yuhao, Ye Guyi had no intention of showing mercy. Her body immediately shone with golden light the moment she started. She unleashed her martial soul true body immediately.

    Huo Yuhao wore a bitter look on his face. He only focused on defending himself, and allowed Ye Guyi to assault him.

    However, he easily dispelled all her attacks.

    It had to be admitted that Ye Guyi¡¯s attacks were very strong. Huo Yuhao was also very impressed by them. When the fight was over, his shirt was already damaged in many areas. There were even a few spots that were charred, and he had to change before leaving.

    Ye Guyi was alsopletely drained. She only stopped her attacks after she used thest streak of her soul power.

    Huo Yuhao only paid the price of a piece of shirt. After the fight was over, Ye Guyi appeared to be more relieved. However, she still maintained her silence during the journey back.

    After an hour, they separated. Huo Yuhao held onto Tang Wutong as they proceeded in the direction of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Xu Sanshi waved them goodbye with one hand and used his other hand to rub the bruises on his face. Tang Wutong¡¯s abilities had increased drastically. Even his Xuanwu Shield wasn¡¯t sufficient to defend against her. However, Tang Wutong still gave Jiang Nannan some face. She didn¡¯t really whack him badly.Does thisss not know not to hit someone in the face?Xu Sanshi was displeased as heined to himself.

    In the distance, the Heavenly Soul Empire was within sight. Huo Yuhao was holding onto Tang Wutong, but there was a mncholic expression on his face.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire was gone. It had been wiped from the face of this earth.

    After the Sun Moon Empire upied the entire Heavenly Soul Empire, more than half the territories of the entire continent came under their control. Ever since the Douluo Continent had formed, no empire had upied such a huge proportion of the continent.

    Even if the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires teamed up, they weren¡¯t strong enough to fight the Sun Moon Empire. While one person¡¯s fighting strength could decide victory in a fight, it couldn¡¯t change the overall situation in the entire continent.

    Regarding this, Huo Yuhao was very clear.

    The Sun Moon Empire would never stop the war. As human-shaped soul tools kept on developing, their powers were going to increase by leaps and bounds in the short-term.

    From the human-shaped soul tools currently used by the Sun Moon Empire, it seemed like they were rather simple. Only the ss 9 ones were strong enough. It was unknown how those lower-tier soul engineers were able to control those human-shaped soul tools, but it was certain that they were still rather impressive.

    Under this circumstance, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions would be even stronger once they were able to equip their soul engineers with more human-shaped soul tools. If the human-shaped soul tools meant that the soul engineer legions could carry more stationary shells and Milk Bottles and increase their defensive strength, that was enough for their overall abilities to increase significantly.

 Chapter 592.2 - Direction

    <h4 ss>Chapter 592.2: Direction</h4>

    Human-shaped soul tools were already quite developed. In the near future, the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empire¡¯s fate would be sealed when ordinary soldiers could also use simplified soul tools.

    Huo Yuhao was a little lost when he thought until here. Since he knew that everything was in vain, why was he still doing it? The continent was going to be dominated by soul tools in the future. This was the natural oue as technology developed. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a bad thing for the continent to be unified. As long as the Sun Moon Empire was more restrained and passed down the good things of the original three empires, a unified empire wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.

    However, he would feel very panicky when he thought of this. His own empire could potentially be wiped out. This was definitely not something that would be joyous to anyone.

    No matter what the future was going to be like, he was going to do his best to protect his empire.

    Even if the Sun Moon Empire ruled the entire continent, he wouldn¡¯t be around anymore. Furthermore, the Soul Tool Hall was still improving day by day. In addition, both the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires were quickly developing their own soul tools. If they dyed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s unification of the continent, it might be possible for them to remove the threat that the Sun Moon Empire posed. When that happened, the continent would still remain divided. As more and more of their soul masters started using soul tools, the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires might actually have an opportunity to counter the Sun Moon Empire.

    Of course, this was the ideal situation. After the Heavenly Soul Empire was wiped out, didn¡¯t the Sun Moon Empire reorganize part of its soul masters?

    Not every soul master in the Heavenly Soul Empire had as much backbone as Du Busi. At least this wasn¡¯t the situation now. If not, how could the Sun Moon Empire form a few more soul engineer legions out of nothing? Where did the soul engineerse from? Weren¡¯t they just soul masters equipped with soul tools? Using soul tools wasn¡¯t very difficult. A soul master could use soul tools after some simple training. It was not as if they were required to manufacture them.

    The overall strength of the Sun Moon Empire was still very great! Whether it was the Star Luo or Dou Ling Empire that was destroyed next, it would result in an irreversible oue. Right now, the only hope they had was that internal problems would arise in the Sun Moon Empire. For example, Ju Zi¡¯s suggestion was one.

    If Xu Tianran could be killed, Ju Zi would give the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires ten years of buffer time. After ten years, who knew what the situation would be like? At least, Huo Yuhao could still reach Rank 98 within ten years and aim to be an Ultimate Douluo with three soul cores.

    If he really seeded, no one knew how powerful he would be. Perhaps soul tools could no longer threaten him. If that was the case, everything would be different. Moreover, could he really not change an entire war with his individual ability once his fighting strength reached an extreme? For example, could he possibly abduct Ju Zi and her son? If internal problems kept arising in the Sun Moon Empire, perhaps the threat they posed could really be removed.

    When he thought until here, Huo Yuhao felt more and more tortured. However, he started to understand why Du Busi was so proud that he chose to die instead. He really had no choice! His empire was on the brink of copse. If he didn¡¯t resort to such an extreme method, there was nothing he could change.

    However, could Huo Yuhao really do the same? No, he couldn¡¯t. Not even talking about anything else, he couldn¡¯t even convince himself.

    He also didn¡¯t know how Xu Yunhan was right now. When he thought of how close both of them were earlier, Huo Yuhao felt much more rxed. He had to have a few such kids with Tang Wutong in the future.Wutong is so pretty. Our kids should be very good-looking.

    As he gently held onto Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, he felt how delicate her small hand was. He felt a little passionate right now. His father-inw, whom he had not met before, had finally let him off. The seal had been removed. It seemed like he could do more things now.

    However, perhaps he might have been traumatized, or perhaps he treasured Wutong too much, but Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t done anything yet.

    As they entered the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders, they inevitably ran into high altitude aerial surveince soul tools drifting in the sky.

    Huo Yuhao would always have a fresh feeling when he saw these soul tools. This was because they were all modified.

    The Sun Moon Empire never once rxed on their research of soul tool technology. They kept on improving their soul tools. The pressure of war enabled them to fully understand the huge advantage that technology gave them.

    However, these surveince soul tools weren¡¯t modified as rapidly as the improvements in Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities. They were unable to find traces of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong no matter what.

    This in terrain in the Heavenly Soul Empire was very level. To find an army in such a huge empire wasn¡¯t easy. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t very anxious either. He only led Tang Wutong around within the empire. Whenever they reached a city, they would enter to seek intelligence, as well as try the local delicacies.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t just drifting without any purpose. First, he moved along the side of the Heavenly Soul Empire that was close to the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s borders. If the Sun Moon Empire wanted to attack the Dou Ling Empire, it had to station troops along this stretch. However, nothing like this happened. This meant that the Sun Moon Empire was unlikely to attack the Dou Ling Empire in the short-term. If it wasn¡¯t the Dou Ling Empire, was it the Star Luo Empire?

    This discovery left Huo Yuhao very tense. Precisely because he was very familiar with Ju Zi, he was more aware that Ju Zi hated the Star Luo Empire! Her family members had perished during a sh between the Star Luo Empire and Sun Moon Empire. As a result, she would bring the war to the Star Luo Empire once she had the slightest chance to do so. The reason why she hadn¡¯t targeted the Star Luo Empire earlier was because it was the strongest among the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. If the Sun Moon Empire dealt with the Star Luo Empire first, it would suffer much greater losses, especially if the Star Luo Empire had the support of Shrek Academy. If the Sun Moon Empire failed to take the Star Luo Empire down, it was also difficult to tell how greatly the Sun Moon Empire would be drained as the war went on.

    The White Tiger Duke was a reputable general. Everyone knew this. Ju Zi also regarded him as her most formidable opponent.

    Currently, the Star Luo Empire still threatened the Sun Moon Empire with their control of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They restrained part of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s forces.

    However, it was a very good time for the Sun Moon Empire to attack the Star Luo Empire right now. The Heavenly Soul Empire had already been wiped out and the Dou Ling Empire was facing internal chaos. They couldn¡¯t even protect themselves, much less help the Star Luo Empire. Apart from Shrek Academy¡¯s help, the Star Luo Empire didn¡¯t have any other external reinforcements. In terms of strength, the Star Luo Empire was still inferior to the Sun Moon Empire.

    When he thought until here, Huo Yuhao hurriedly led Tang Wutong deeper into the Heavenly Soul Empire. He wanted to take a look at Heaven Dou City first before proceeding to the Star Luo Empire¡¯s borders. If Ju Zi was really intent on attacking the Star Luo Empire, Huo Yuhao had to intervene.

    Even Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t realize that his concern for the White Tiger Duke had exceeded his hate for him as time passed.

    Heaven Dou City didn¡¯t seem any different from how it was before. After it went through war, it was devastated for a period of time. However, it was soon rebuilt by the Sun Moon Empire. Not only did it regain its former look, but it was also bing more and more prosperous after soul tools were introduced to the civilians in the city.

    Huo Yuhao had the illusion that this city hadn¡¯t been through a war when he entered. The streets were bustling with activity, and everyone appeared to be very happy. It was as if the pain that this city had once been through had vanished.

    Civilians were really the easiest people to satisfy. As long as they didn¡¯t go hungry, weren¡¯t cold and had a roof above their heads, they were content. As for who their ruler was, they weren¡¯t too bothered.

    Huo Yuhao sighed before gently shaking his head. He led Tang Wutong towards the imperial pce in the city.

    They had once met the Darkness Holy Dragon Long Xiaoyao here and almost died. However, they weren¡¯t so afraid of him now. The imperial pce was the best ce for them to obtain any intelligence.

    Huo Yuhao had already unleashed his omnidirectional Spiritual Detection. With his current cultivation, his Spiritual Detection was sufficient to cover half the entire city.

    There weren¡¯t many troops stationed in the city. After all, this was andlocked city, and wasn¡¯t the capital. It was just a huge city.

    The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t erect very strong defenses for the inner cities. It seemed like they didn¡¯t remember how Huo Yuhao had once destroyed many of their cities.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao had the idea of returning to lead his three soul engineer legions to cause trouble in the Sun Moon Empire once again, so that the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire had more time. However, it seemed like this idea was a little unrealistic right now.

    The academy needed to be defended, and the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was being sent to the Dou Ling Empire. As for the two other soul engineer legions, their situation wasn¡¯t very clear. Given how intent the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion was on protecting the academy, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be allowed to use the soul engineer legions now.

    It seemed like he could only cause destruction on his own.

    The imperial pce was within sight. Huo Yuhao could sense more and more soldiers, as well as many surveince soul tools inside the imperial pce scanning the outside. Some of these surveince soul tools were even unfamiliar to him.

    ¡°Do we go in? Or what?¡± Tang Wutong softly asked Huo Yuhao.

 Chapter 592.3 - Direction

    <h4 ss>Chapter 592.3: Direction</h4>

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, let¡¯s not enter for now. Let¡¯s observe a little longer first. There are some surveince soul tools that I¡¯m unfamiliar with. It¡¯s best to be careful.¡±

    Before he came to Heaven Dou City, Huo Yuhao was actually a little eager. If the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army needed a ce to reorganize, Heaven Dou City would be the most suitable ce to do so. There were plenty of resources here.

    It was a pity that there wasn¡¯t an army outside the city. Huo Yuhao even had the illusion that their army had disappeared. This was a very frightening feeling for him.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°Should we capture someone and interrogate him?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid only those in power will know any military secrets. Let¡¯s observe first before we find anyone. Once we find someone, we¡¯ll ¡®invite¡¯ him out at night.¡±

    As he spoke, he had already focused his Spiritual Detection inside the pce. He scanned the ce in detail.

    Very soon, Huo Yuhao found a very familiar figure. He had once met this person thest time he was here.

    He was Jing Hongchen, the Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    Of course, the original Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was long gone by now. The Illustrious Virtue Hall was also gone. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know if they had been rebuilt. However, it seemed like Jing Hongchen would have nothing to do with them even if they were rebuilt, judging from the fact that he was in this city now.

    While Jing Hongchen continued to back Xu Tianran, Xu Tianran still threw him one side after he gained the throne. Of course, Heaven Dou City was still very important. To be the mayor of this city was still considered good enough for Jing Hongchen.

    Not only did he find Jing Hongchen, but Huo Yuhao also discovered two very familiar people. Both of them had once given him a lot of trouble on apetition stage. Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t expected them to be alive.

    ¡°Wutong, guess who I found?¡± Huo Yuhao mysteriously asked Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was curious as she asked, ¡°Who? From your expression, it seems like it¡¯s someone we know.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. ¡°Do you still remember thatdy who once had a crush on you? She was really nice to you.¡± As he spoke until here, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    ¡°She had a crush on me?¡± Tang Wutong was stunned. After this, she recalled, ¡°Are you talking about Meng Hongchen? I always thought she had died in that huge explosion.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°No, she didn¡¯t die. She¡¯s in the pce right now. She¡¯s not the only one. Xiao Hongchen is also here. Enemies always cross the same path! We fought them to the death once. Xiao Hongchen was heavily hurt. I didn¡¯t expect him to survive. In addition, they aren¡¯t weak right now. They should be Soul Douluo. Even though they can¡¯tpare to us, they are still one of the better ones in the Sun Moon Empire. Come to think about it, they can¡¯t be considered soul engineers. They¡¯re more like soul masters. Xiao Hongchen¡¯s talent is astonishing. I wonder how their fighting strength is right now.¡±

    Tang Wutong¡¯s expression turned weird. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be enemies, but for some reason, you seem to be very excited talking about them. They¡¯re really our old foes. Yuhao, let them off this time. Let¡¯s not kill them, okay?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled as he nodded and said, ¡°I have the same feeling as you. Let¡¯s not kill them. I didn¡¯t have the intention of killing them either. Let¡¯s just pay them a visit. As for Jing Hongchen, we¡¯ll let him off as long as he tells us what we want to know. If not for the pressure they ced on me, I wouldn¡¯t have developed so quickly.¡±

    Both of them looked at each other and smiled. When a person¡¯s abilities reached a certain level, there were many things in the past that they didn¡¯t care about anymore. At least, this was what was happening to the two of them right now. Jing Hongchen¡¯s family could no longer pose any threat to them.

    Night fell. Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and confidently walked into the pce, camouged in the darkness of the night.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection and Imitationbined perfectly. Along with delicate control of his Snowy Domain of Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao managed to modify their body temperatures. He also used spatial power to alter any traces of their presence. With their twin soul cores, they could appear and disappear anytime and anywhere they wanted.

    Whether it was oscition detectors, thermal detectors or spiritual detectors, Huo Yuhao could anticipate them beforehand and react ordingly.

    Xu Sanshi was right. Huo Yuhao possessed some abilities that were on the level of an Ultimate Douluo. These surveince soul tools werepletely useless against him.

    Unless the Sun Moon Empire came up with a soul tool that could seal space, it would be very difficult for them to discover him at all.

    They walked into the pce as if they were walking into their garden.

    Heaven Dou City¡¯s Imperial Pce had a long history. When it still belonged to the Heavenly Soul Empire, the furnishings and decorations inside the pce weren¡¯t considered very new or modern. Instead they were very simple and ancient. It had appeared very dignified and awe-inspiring at the same time. It was just that some soulmps now affected the simple and ancient feel inside the pce.

    As he looked at the dirty spots on the walls, Huo Yuhao knew that the Sun Moon Empire had no intention of refurbishing this pce. It was a pity. It was really a pity.

    Huo Yuhao still recalled the significance of this city to the Tang Sect. The sect came from Heaven Dou City! There was even arge courtyard in this city that belonged to the Tang Sect. No matter what happened in the future, he was intent on reiming that courtyard. That was also Tang Ya¡¯s wish.

    Under the guidance of his Spiritual Detection, they quickly entered the pce.

    There were five hundred troops stationed inside the pce. Apart from them, there were another a hundred soul engineers. These soul engineers were responsible for a soul formation that was used to defend the entire pce. They coordinated with all types of surveince soul tools. To ordinary people, this ce was imprable.

    However, that wasn¡¯t true for Huo Yuhao.

    He revealed a smile on his face and led Tang Wutong to the front of a pce hall. He stopped a few steps in front of the door and shared his Spiritual Detection with Tang Wutong. A three-dimensional image appeared in their minds.

    Inside the pce hall.

    Jing Hongchen gently sipped on a cup of wine. There was afortable look on his elderly-looking face. ¡°Great wine, this is great wine! Such great wine is one of the best in the Heavenly Soul Empire. Even Xu Tianran might not have tasted such great wine in his life.¡±

    There was a strange expression on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Jing Hongchen was so domineering in the past, but he was relegated to tasting wine now. This waspletely not his style!

    When he was in control of the Illustrious Virtue Hall and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, his authority was unrivaled. The Illustrious Virtue Hall was one of the most prestigious research organizations in the Sun Moon Empire, along with the Worship Hall. It had yed a huge role in the development of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technology.

    However, his aura right now was much different from before. His cultivation even seemed to have fallen. It was very reflective of how his mentality had changed over the years.

    ¡°Grandpa, you should drink less.¡± Meng Hongchen was advising him from one side.

    Jing Hongchen snorted. ¡°What do I do if I don¡¯t drink? In this city, I¡¯m not needed unless something special happens. I¡¯m only a figurehead here. Xu Tianran, I helped you to where you are now, but I¡¯vended in such a state. You even excluded me from the rebuilding of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Since that¡¯s the case, what else can I do except drink and rot here?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen was furious as he said, ¡°Xu Tianran is too despicable. You contributed so much for him in the past. You supported him when no one did. But he¡¯s treated you like this. Isn¡¯t that just because he controls the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion now? He dared to kick you to one side and give the important roles to those around him. He¡¯s really despicable. He only steers clear of those from the Worship Hall. In my opinion, he wouldn¡¯t even care about the Worship Hall if his Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was stronger. Grandpa, I don¡¯t understand. Why didn¡¯t you go to the Worship Hall in the past?¡±

    Jing Hongchen sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling. I didn¡¯t have the face to do it! How can I face your great-grandfather after the Illustrious Virtue Hall was destroyed in my hands? How can I go to the Worship Hall if I have no face to see him? Why did you think I came here to take up this post? If Xu Tianran didn¡¯t tell your great-grandfather before he sent me here, would he have dared to treat me like this? Your great-grandfather didn¡¯t say anything because he wanted to punish me! What could I say? I could only go. I¡¯ll probably be stuck here for the rest of my life. However, don¡¯t learn from me. Both of you are extremely talented. All these years, both of you have been improving too. I¡¯m only keeping you here so that you¡¯ll shock the world one day. When both of you be Titled Douluo, our Hongchen family will rise once again. When that happens, both of you can find your great-grandfather. I no longer have any potential, but you still do. When you enter the Worship Hall, that¡¯ll be the day that the Hongchen family rises once again. When that happens, you must fight for control of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. It¡¯s the core of our empire!¡±

    After listening to Jing Hongchen¡¯s words, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen nodded. Xiao Hongchen even clenched his fists. ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll work hard. One day, we¡¯ll be the best!¡±

 Chapter 593.1 - Hongchen Family

    <h4 ss>Chapter 593.1: Hongchen Family</h4>

    Jing Hongchen looked at Xiao Hongchen and said, ¡°Kid, you were born at the wrong time! If you had avoided this period of time, you¡¯d be a leading figure in any other era. It¡¯s a pity that Shrek Academy has too many talents in this era. They¡¯ve suppressed you, such that you can¡¯t fulfil your potential. You¡¯ve even wasted a lot of potential trying to increase your cultivation, leaving side effects. Otherwise, you would have be a Titled Douluo given the amount of resources we¡¯ve poured into you.¡±

    When Xiao Hongchenpeted in of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament for the second time, he had used some kind of special method to increase his cultivation. He had stimted his own potential to quickly be a Soul Sage. He was preparing to shine in the tournament, but who knew that he would still lose tragically? He even almost lost his life. After that, he only recovered his vital energy after recuperating for five years. Although he had been cultivating tirelessly over the years, his cultivation stillgged too far behind his sister. He had just be a Soul Douluo, but Meng Hongchen was already at Rank 87. Soon, she would try to make a breakthrough to be a Titled Douluo.

    Xiao Hongchen walked in front of Jing Hongchen and grabbed his wine sk. He downed two mouthfuls from it. After this, his eyes turned red as he said, ¡°Shrek, it¡¯s all Shrek¡¯s fault. They were the ones who thwarted my destiny. One day, I¡¯llpletely destroy Shrek Academy if I manage to make my way into the Illustrious Virtue Hall and control it. I¡¯ll let Huo Yuhao and the rest watch as Shrek Academy is destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jing Hongchen snatched the sk back. He was furious as he said, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you can destroy Shrek Academy on your own? Remember, don¡¯t let this idea resurface again. Otherwise, you¡¯ll implicate our entire family with you. Do you understand?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen retorted, ¡°Grandpa, didn¡¯t you teach me to aim far and wide since my youth? Why can¡¯t I destroy Shrek Academy? Why?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know your limits.¡± A low-pitched voice sounded. The three of them were astonished at the same time. They turned in the direction of the voice. In the night, the lighting inside the pce was very dim. At this moment, two figures gradually appeared.

    They were all astonished when they saw the appearance of those two figures.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s reaction was the biggest. He almost leapt forward instantly. When he saw his enemy, he became agitated. How could he possibly keep calm?

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and silently stared at the three of them.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had both grown up. They were no longer as young as they looked in the past. Meng Hongchen was still as pretty as she was before. However, Xiao Hongchen¡¯s hair had already started to turn slightly grey, even though he was still less than thirty.

    Right now, he was about to spew mes from his eyes as he saw Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    However, he didn¡¯t leap out eventually. Just before he moved, Jing Hongchen pulled him back.

    Meng Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao in a daze. When she finally turned her attention to Tang Wutong, her face also turned pale. In her mind, she would never forget Wang Dong. He was her first crush! However, it had only ended in pain. After all these years, it still tortured her greatly.

    Meng Hongchen looked at Tang Wutong in a daze and muttered, ¡°What should I call you now?¡±

    Tang Wutong also looked a little awkward as she nodded at her. She replied, ¡°I¡¯m Tang Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Tang Wutong? Aren¡¯t you Wang Qiu¡¯er or Wang Dong¡¯er?¡± Meng Hongchen was a little astonished.

    Xiao Hongchen roared, ¡°Grandpa, let go of me!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jing Hongchen stood up suddenly. ¡°Piak!¡± Xiao Hongchen was pped.

    Right now, Jing Hongchen appeared more domineering than he was before. His terrifying and suppressive aura was unleashed towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. He didn¡¯t even move. The aura from Jing Hongchen disappeared once it was ten meters from him. Jing Hongchen couldn¡¯t even tell what skill he had used.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression changed, and he said, ¡°Both of you, leave right now. There¡¯s no need to get reinforcements. Quickly, leave this ce and return to Radiant City.¡± He was talking to Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going!¡± Xiao Hongchen still refused to listen after being pped. He had been suppressing his anger for many years. If not for Huo Yuhao, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a state. Would his cultivation have stalled for so many years? He was supposed to be a generational talent, but he couldn¡¯t even touch the peak of this world anymore. He was full of hate right now! He hated Huo Yuhao the most.

    ¡°Shut up! Get lost.¡± Jing Hongchen turned pale.This rascal. Is it time to be emotional? Even five evil Transcendent Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church lost to this young man. What does he intend on relying on to fight him?

    Jing Hongchen was once the head of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. He had many avenues to turn to for information. He didn¡¯t believe that the hundred soul engineers in the pce were capable of dealing with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Perhaps they were already dead.

    He was only relying on his own strength to seek an escape route for his two grandchildren right now.

    ¡°Grandpa, we won¡¯t leave. Even if we die today, we must die with you.¡± Meng Hongchen walked to Jing Hongchen¡¯s side, and ayer of white fog slowly surfaced from her body. She unleashed her Vermilion Clear Icetoad, and white air currents engulfed her. However, they didn¡¯t move towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. This was because she was aware that her lethal poison was useless against Ultimate Ice.

    Xiao Hongchen was also much more aware now. He gritted his teeth and stood on the other side of Jing Hongchen. Dark golden light shed from his body. He unleashed his Three-Legged Golden Toad and was prepared to fight.

    When he saw how the three of them were ready to fight, Huo Yuhaoughed. Then, he said, ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, would you believe me if I said we aren¡¯t here to hurt the three of you?¡±

    Jing Hongchen was stunned. However, he didn¡¯t rx because of this. ¡°What do you guys want then?¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had appeared here without any warning. Weren¡¯t they here for something? Jing Hongchen had heard that Huo Yuhao had once led soul engineer legions to cause trouble in the Sun Moon Empire, causing huge losses. Would he really show mercy now that he was here? It was important to know that the Sun Moon Empire had even surrounded Shrek City not long ago, but Huo Yuhao was the one who forced them to retreat.

    Huo Yuhao sighed slightly and replied, ¡°I really have no intention to kill anyone. To be honest, it¡¯s been many years, but what happened in the past still shes before our eyes. Although we were once opponents, we shouldn¡¯t be enemies if our empires aren¡¯t at war with each other. Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, I should thank both of you. Both of you trained me, so that I managed to develop more quickly.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s eyes turned red. ¡°Are you treating me as a stepping stone?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°Nope, never. I just have this feeling when I think of the past. We were notparable to both of you in the past. However, we had strong fighting wills. Eventually, we emerged victorious. It¡¯s just we didn¡¯t expect you to take such an extreme path. If you hadn¡¯t overly stimted your potential back then, we¡¯d still be opponents now. It¡¯s a pity.¡±

    ¡°Am I not fit to be your opponent now?¡± Xiao Hongchen was furious. He suddenly lifted his right hand, turning it into a dark gold metal barrel. A dark gold shell was instantly fired towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and lifted his right hand. He waved it gently, causing the temperature to suddenly fall. In the next instant, that dark golden shell disappeared.

    Only Tang Wutong saw a small slit in the air where the shell crossed it. That slit devoured the shell. As for where it exploded, she didn¡¯t know.

    As they were moving around the Heavenly Soul Empire over the past few years, they had been cultivating too. They were sensing spatial power. After all, spatial power might be the key to their breakthroughs to Ultimate Douluo in the future. Right now, they had developed some understanding of spatial power. Using it now had started to take effect.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression changed. He knew what power his grandson had just unleashed. He didn¡¯t expect it to hurt Huo Yuhao, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be neutralized so easily either.Huo Yuhao is indeed much stronger than I expected. How has he done this even though he¡¯s so young?

    Meng Hongchen was furious. ¡°Huo Yuhao, why are you unting your powers here? What do you really want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even look at her. Rather, he turned to Jing Hongchen. ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, we don¡¯t wish to kill anyone today. That¡¯s why I hope you can ask your grandchildren to curb their behavior. I only have one question to ask. Tell me the answer and we¡¯ll leave. I promise I won¡¯t harm them either.¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t answer you?¡± Jing Hongchen asked coldly.

    Huo Yuhao calmly replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind helping Shrek Academy remove some potential threats. I¡¯ve killed many members of the Sun Moon Empire over the past few years. I can¡¯t even count how many anymore. Two more wouldn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

 Chapter 593.2 - Hongchen Family

    <h4 ss>Chapter 593.2: Hongchen Family</h4>

    Huo Yuhao smiled, ¡°If you think it is, then it is one. So what if I threaten you?¡±

    Power was everything. Jing Hongchen was evidently scared out of his wits by Huo Yuhao. However, he couldn¡¯t do anything. He couldn¡¯t not be terrified. The three of them were not as strong as Huo Yuhao. Moreover, Tang Wutong was with him.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Jing Hongchen tolerated the humiliation and opened his arms wide to stop Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°I want to know where the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is right now. It¡¯s too troublesome to find them slowly, and I just so happened to pass by Heaven Dou City. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here to ask you. Give me urate information, and I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±

    Jing Hongchen was furious. ¡°You want me to betray my empire? No!¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. He didn¡¯t say anything else, and just pointed his right hand at Jing Hongchen. As he lifted it, a golden sun and blue moon slowly rose behind him. An unprecedentedly strong aura was instantly unleashed.

    Xu Sanshi was right. When Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong fused their martial souls, they possessed the abilities of an Ultimate Douluo!

    Jing Hongchen shouted, and his body shone with red light. A disc drifted in front of him, and bright red light shone. It turned into a huge screen that protected him and his two grandchildren.

    Huo Yuhao was a little empathetic as he looked at him. Then, he shook his head.

    Without a doubt, Jing Hongchen had unleashed his ss 9 defensive-type soul tool, Hongchen¡¯s Yearning. Compared to ordinary ss 9 soul engineers, Jing Hongchen was much stronger. He also had many powerful ss 9 soul tools with him. However, he was only a ss 9 soul engineer.

    An icy-blue glow shed before disappearing. In the sky, ayer of morning dew appeared.

    White scratch marks appeared on the surface of the Hongchen¡¯s Yearning. Jing Hongchen groaned and only felt as if his body was being separated. He felt as if he was being torn apart.

    It was a terrifying feeling. Jing Hongchen was frightened. Before he could even react further, Huo Yuhao was already within the Hongchen¡¯s Yearning, and Tang Wutong with him.

    The temperature fell to negative one hundred and fifty degree Celsius. The extremely low temperature was the best domain to use. Whether it was Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen or Meng Hongchen, they all felt as if their blood had coagted. Their soul power, blood and even aura weren¡¯t flowing properly. They had no choice but to circte their soul power to maintain their body temperatures.

    After this, they saw a smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t an arrogant smile, but it gave them the feeling that they couldn¡¯t resist him.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head at the three of them. As he moved his right hand, dark gold des of light appeared. He smacked down another of Jing Hongchen¡¯s ss 9 soul tools.

    A low-pitched dragon roar echoed in front of Tang Wutong. A purplish-gold dragon head spat out countless streaks of flowing light, suppressing Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, who could only struggle with all their might.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong used their Instant Teleportation and disappeared. When they reappeared, they were already in front of Xiao Hongchen.

    Xiao Hongchen, who was about to turn fluid, was locked in his current state by the low temperature. Huo Yuhao palmed the air, sealing the space around him. This caused Xiao Hongchen¡¯s body to freeze up immediately.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s body shone brightly with golden light. As a sonorous dragon roar echoed, Jing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen¡¯s attacks werepletely devoured by that purplish-gold light. They couldn¡¯t pose any threat to Huo Yuhao at all.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong returned to where they were as they instantly stepped back. However, Xiao Hongchen was in front of them right now. The dark gold Xiao Hongchen had beenpletely frozen.

    Huo Yuhao pressed his palm against Xiao Hongchen¡¯s head. He appeared very calm as he looked at Jing Hongchen.

    Jing Hongchen¡¯s body was shaking. It wasn¡¯t because he was furious, but because he was terrified.

    He¡¯s too strong. That¡¯s right, he¡¯s really that strong!After he personally witnessed it, he finally understood why Huo Yuhao said everything he did earlier, and why he had promised to let them off. The three of them were no longer fit to be his opponents. The revenge that Xiao Hongchen was harping on earlier was just a joke.

    An Ultimate Douluo who¡¯s only twenty plus years of age? It seems like this world is really about to change! The heavens gave the Sun Moon Empire such powerful soul tools, but they gave such a freak to the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. Who can challenge such a freak? At least it¡¯s not possible for me.

    Jing Hongchen shut his eyes in pain. He nodded at Huo Yuhao and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    If it was twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, he would have protected his own dignity even if it was at the expense of watching his biological grandson die in front of him, given his character as the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

    However, things were different now. He was old. He was an old man. He treasured his family more. He only had these two outstanding grandchildren now. They were his entire hope. They were also the hope of his family. Jing Hongchen¡¯s subordinates and friends were almost all dead from that huge explosion. Otherwise, why would he be in this state? This was why he had no choice. He could onlypromise, as long as he could save his grandchildren¡¯s lives.

    Huo Yuhao nodded. As he shook his hand, Xiao Hongchen was in front of Jing Hongchen again. The effect of ice on his body also disappeared. Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t even a little afraid that Jing Hongchen was going to go back on his word. If he could capture Xiao Hongchen once, he could do it again.

    Xiao Hongchen was still shuddering even after he returned to normal. He wasn¡¯t afraid, but was still shaking from the cold.

    He was a little dazed as he looked at Huo Yuhao. If he still had some energy when he was furious, he was only left with destion now. Yes, it was destion.

    What should I do? How can I resist him?He couldn¡¯t find the answer. He even understood that he might never find an answer for the rest of his life.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head at him and said, ¡°I know how to show gratitude. Thanks for putting pressure on me then. Thanks for being my opponent then. I won¡¯t kill you today. You don¡¯t have to be so frightened either. If you want to seek revenge, I wee you anytime. However, you need to work harder.¡±

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s face suddenly turned blood-red. He spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered.

    Jing Hongchen was furious. ¡°Go, please go. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is two hundred and fifty kilometers to the south of Heaven Dou City. They are resting at a ce surrounded by mountains. Go! Don¡¯t let me see either of you again.¡±

    If Huo Yuhao continued speaking, he might forever lose his grandson. His only wish was for them to leave now. The best thing was that he would never see them again.

    Huo Yuhao nodded at Jing Hongchen. ¡°Hallmaster Hongchen, take care.¡± After getting the answer he wanted, he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand before turning and leaving.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Jing Hongchen suddenly called.

    Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks and turned back to look. ¡°Hallmaster, what else do you have to say?¡±

    Jing Hongchen paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Huo Yuhao, I have something to tell you. Currently, the War God Empress is under investigation by His Majesty. I don¡¯t know why, but it has something to do with the Holy Ghost Church. I heard that the soul engineers in the army killed many of the lower-tier members of the Holy Ghost Church. Only the evil Titled Douluo managed to escape. There¡¯s also some confusion regarding this in the capital. That¡¯s also the reason why the army hasn¡¯t done anything yet. However, I also hear the War God Empress has deployed newly-trained soul engineers to fill up the gaps in the soul engineer legions. They are umting their strength.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he looked at Jing Hongchen. He hadn¡¯t expected him to say something like this.

    Jing Hongchen continued, saying, ¡°Currently, the newly-trained soul engineers should be on the way. I predict that His Majesty wouldn¡¯t want to offend the two Ultimate Douluo in the Holy Ghost Church over this matter. However, the strength under His Majesty is getting stronger and stronger. It¡¯s also not a fact that the two Ultimate Douluo are at an absolute advantage. At least the War God Empress should be fine. His Majesty trusts her the most. Furthermore, he¡¯ll still need to rely on her to help him in the war. It¡¯s a good opportunity now. As for what you can do, it¡¯ll depend on you. I shall not speak further. I shall just take it as a favor that I¡¯m repaying for not killing us.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Thanks for telling us.¡± After he finished, he held onto Tang Wutong and turned around before leaving.

    Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both astonished as they looked at their grandfather. They wouldn¡¯t have expected him to tell Huo Yuhao such a confidential secret.

    ¡°Neither of you can¡¯t understand why, right? I¡¯m telling him the truth. I didn¡¯t lie at all. Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m betraying my empire?¡± Jing Hongchen spoke self-mockingly.

    Xiao Hongchen¡¯s voice was a little hoarse as he asked, ¡°Grandpa, why did you do that?¡±

    Jing Hongchen looked at him coldly. ¡°Now do you know how ridiculous you were acting earlier? Let me tell you. Even if our empire rules the entire continent, Shrek Academy will be fine. The empire will not target the academy. The reason is simple. It¡¯s an academy, not an empire. This is also why Shrek Academy is very clever. They¡¯ve never leaned towards any side. They only influence soul masters and soul engineers. No matter which empire rules the continent, it¡¯ll want such a prestigious academy to stick around. This is why Shrek Academy has survived so long, and will continue to survive. If the empire really wants to destroy Shrek Academy, it might even catalyze its own downfall. This is because there are too many powerful individuals in the academy.¡±

 Chapter 593.3 - Hongchen Family

    <h4 ss>Chapter 593.3: Hongchen Family</h4>

    ¡°For example, there are many among the Heavenly Soul Empire who were from Shrek Academy that have already submitted to the Sun Moon Empire. They can submit after the Heavenly Soul Empire perished. However, do you believe that they¡¯ll immediately revolt if Shrek Academy is destroyed? Both of you have been to Shrek Academy before. Tell me, how does it feel over there?¡±

    Xiao Hongchen gritted his teeth and didn¡¯t say anything. Meng Hongchen said, ¡°It¡¯s really a learning institution that every soul master wants to go to. Even though we were ostracized by the students there, the teachers didn¡¯t do the same. As long as we asked, we got the correct answers. Over there, they have the best learning and cultivation atmosphere. Any student that hails from Shrek Academy is outstanding. Furthermore, everyone has a deep love for the academy. If possible, I would really love to go back there to learn. That¡¯s why I can understand why many of their inner courtyard students choose to remain with the academy.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Xiao Hongchen roared furiously.

    Jing Hongchen shook his head and said, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re too stubborn. Did you know? I¡¯ve been to Shrek Academy before, and really wanted to learn there once. That¡¯s also the reason why both of you were able to go there in the exchange. It¡¯s because I was relying on you to fulfil my dream! I know how outstanding their students are. Those whoe to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy will be aplished too, but I still couldn¡¯t help but send both of you there. It¡¯s not just me. Every soul master wants to go there. Everyone wants to go there, even His Majesty!¡±

    ¡°His Majesty?¡± Meng Hongchen eximed.

    Jing Hongchen nodded and answered, ¡°Believe it or not. If His Majesty rules the continent in the future, the Crown Prince will learn in Shrek Academy, as long as his safety can be guaranteed. This is the charm of Shrek Academy! That¡¯s why Shrek will be fine. Everything that Xiao mentioned earlier is just ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°As for why I told Huo Yuhao everything earlier, the reason is actually very simple. It¡¯s because I hope that he¡¯ll know, or rather, I don¡¯t wish to see the empire dominate the continent so quickly. If the empire sessfully rules the continent, soul engineers like us will lose our footing. As long as the war continues, both of you have the opportunity to shine in the Worship Hall in the future. This is why I did that. That¡¯s right, I betrayed my empire. However, I had to do it for my family.¡±

    Jing Hongchen shut his eyes in pain. ¡°Both of you must remember that you should never treat Huo Yuhao as your target anymore. Neither of you stand a chance. I¡¯ve never even heard of such an extraordinary genius emerging from Shrek Academy before. He¡¯s already fully developed. Even the two Ultimate Douluo in the Holy Ghost Church might not even be able to kill him. Once they die, the continent will belong to Huo Yuhao. If there¡¯s anyone in the history of the Douluo Continent who canpare to him, it has to be the founder of the Tang Sect, Tang San. Back then, Tang San led Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters as they established the Tang Sect. They dominated the entire continent, and he finally became a god. He defeated the Hallmaster of the Martial Soul Hall, who had already be a god. From there, he tore the Martial Soul Hall apart and helped his empire truly control the continent. After that, he rose into the godly realm and vanished. Although this is a legend, I believe that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong both possess the potential to be gods if such a realm exists. They are opponents that neither of you can challenge at all!¡±

    ¡°Gods?¡± When he heard this word, even Xiao Hongchen was stunned. He had never thought of it before. What did it mean to be a god? Were there really gods in this world? No one knew. However, this legend existed in Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.

    Even until now, the statues of the first generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters who became gods were still outside the gates of Shrek Academy.

    Jing Hongchen nodded seriously. ¡°It¡¯s really possible. Time will prove everything. Perhaps we can really see the appearance of gods in our lives.¡±

    Meng Hongchen waspletely confused by now, whereas Xiao Hongchen was in a daze. He didn¡¯t expect that the person he had always regarded as his greatest foe had the potential to be a god.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong didn¡¯t stay any longer after they left the pce. They flew into the sky. All the surveince soul tools were just a joke to them.

    ¡°Yuhao, do you believe Jing Hongchen?¡± Tang Wutong asked.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°Highly credible.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t understand.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°He¡¯s past his prime! Can¡¯t you tell? Jing Hongchen is already very displeased with the Sun Moon Empire. He was once the head of the Illustrious Virtue Hall and one of the best ss 9 soul engineers. What about now? Although he¡¯s the mayor of the Heaven Dou City and appears to be very glorified, he has actually already been excluded from the core of power in the Sun Moon Empire, by the work of Xu Tianran. How can he not hate him? From the words of his two grandchildren earlier, it does seem that he¡¯s indignant. Since that¡¯s the case, he needs his grandchildren to rise to the asion. Peace is never what powerful individuals need. They only stand a chance if this war continues. Jing Hongchen is just afraid that there will no longer be any chaos. Of course, he doesn¡¯t want us to really harm the Sun Moon Empire, but he doesn¡¯t want the Sun Moon Empire to rule the entire continent so quickly. It won¡¯t be beneficial for him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s actually so selfish?¡± Tang Wutong was a little scornful.

    Huo Yuhao felt a little heavy and said, ¡°That¡¯s not really it. With his family around, he can¡¯t just think about himself!¡± He thought of the White Tiger Duke.Did he ignore mom and me because¡­

    Am I really searching for excuses on his behalf?Huo Yuhao was shocked, but he found it amusing too.

    He could still deeply remember that he had secretly sworn to avenge his mother when he became the strongest person in the Douluo Continent when he left the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    He was already close to his goal of bing the strongest person on the continent. If he could be an Ultimate Douluo in the future, he could be the strongest person in this world. However, he was no longer as vengeful as he used to be. As he became stronger, a lot of his hate slowly dissipated.

    Huo Yuhao was very grateful to the academy and the Tang Sect. Without the guidance of the academy, he might have actually gone down the wrong path. Perhaps he might have be an evil soul master. It was precisely because the academy kept on changing his perspective and was concerned about his growth. The academy nurtured him to where he was today. It was also because of the encouragement he got from his teammates.

    Huo Yuhao was a grateful person. He had always been like this. He would use his whole life to repay this debt of gratitude.

    Dim starlight shed in the sky. The stars were extremely bright tonight. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong concealed themselves in the night sky using Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation, and flew towards the south.

    ¡°What should we do next? Kill those soul engineers? It¡¯s a good opportunity before they rendezvous with the army.¡± Tang Wutong said.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a good opportunity. Ju Zi once proposed this idea to me ¨C if I can kill Xu Tianran, she won¡¯t wage war for the next ten years. The Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires would be given the chance to get stronger.¡±

    ¡°What? She wants to kill her husband?¡± Tang Wutong was astonished.

    There was a bitter smile on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. ¡°It seems so. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking either. However, I¡¯ve got to admit that her proposition is tempting. That¡¯s why my next target is possibly Xu Tianran. Xu Tianran is an anti-hero. The Sun Moon Empire is really able to dominate the entire continent under his control. However, there¡¯ll certainly be chaos within the Sun Moon Empire if he dies. Ju Zi will need some time to stabilize her son¡¯s position in the empire. That¡¯s why the Sun Moon Empire would be unable to wage any war in the short-term, even if she goes back on her word. That¡¯s why killing Xu Tianran is my goal.¡±

    Tang Wutong said, ¡°So you¡¯re going to the Sun Moon Empire to discuss this matter with Ju Zi?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason. A lion will only negotiate with a tiger. If we don¡¯t demonstrate our strength, how can I possibly force her to keep her promise? That¡¯s why we must still act and weaken her forces. After that, we¡¯ll negotiate with her. In this way, she¡¯ll be more pressed. This is something we can¡¯t avoid. If possible, I don¡¯t wish to be enemies with her. Ju Zi is too clever, especially on the battlefield. Even I can¡¯t outwit her.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°The only w with Ju Zi is her individual ability. If she were stronger, she¡¯d really be too dangerous. Yuhao, will you kill her if she threatens the academy one day?¡±

    When she asked this, Tang Wutong looked very serious. When Huo Yuhao looked into her eyes, Tang Wutong revealed a guilty expression. She lowered her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. I still feel a little ufortable.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled her into his embrace and controlled their flying speed just like this.

 Chapter 594.1 - Army in the Valley

    <h4 ss>Chapter 594.1: Army in the Valley</h4>

    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Wutong. In this world, only Dong¡¯er and Qiu¡¯er are able to walk into my heart. Right now, whether it¡¯s Dong¡¯er or Qiu¡¯er, they¡¯re in fact you. That¡¯s why no one can affect our rtionship. Yes, I once liked Ju Zi. However, that¡¯s all in the past. Things might have been different if she was willing to be with me before I knew you were a girl. However, she didn¡¯t; she chose to walk her own path. Thus, I already know that it¡¯s forever impossible between us. That¡¯s why I only treat her as a friend. If she threatens the academy one day, I¡¯ll definitely not show any mercy.¡±

    When he said hisst sentence, Tang Wutong could clearly sense the killing intent in him.

    The academy was still the most important thing in his heart!

    Tang Wutong revealed a smile on her face and asked, ¡°What if I¡¯m the one threatening the academy? I know it¡¯s a stupid question, but I still want to ask you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned. After this, he immediately turned serious, ¡°You can¡¯t make jokes about that. If that day reallyes, I¡¯ll kill you too. The difference is that I¡¯ll kill myself after I kill you¡ªI¡¯ll kill myself for you. In that way, I¡¯ll protect our love and the academy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao. I¡¯ll not ask such a question in the future.¡± Tang Wutong hugged him tightly and seemed to want to alleviate his worries.

    Huo Yuhao softly caressed her long hair and said, ¡°I hope such a day neveres. I don¡¯t think Ju Zi will do that. After all, the academy is not an empire. No matter how mad Xu Tianran is, he wouldn¡¯t target the academy. For any ruler, the academy is the best supplier of talents. Moreover, the academy has such a long history. If someone wants to destroy it, he¡¯ll need to consider whether it¡¯s worth incurring the wrath of all the students of the academy.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll all give our all if the academy is destroyed.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded lightly and revealed a slight smile on his face, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s pick up speed. Let¡¯s observe the situation in the Sun Moon Empire first before we decide what to do. We need to weaken Ju Zi¡¯s abilities, but we can¡¯t do that too much. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire will adapt once we make a move. Something else might happen too. That is, the Holy Ghost Church might send someone to the army. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯ll get a little crowded. We just need to kill those soul engineers and nt it on the Holy Ghost Church. I¡¯ll not have any misgivings doing that.¡±

    Tang Wutong snapped, ¡°You¡¯re getting worse. Who do you think the Holy Ghost Church will send next? Will Ye Xishui personallye? There¡¯s also Zhong Liwu. After he attacked me that day, you greatly hurt his martial soul. I wonder how he is now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Zhong Liwu¡¯s origin must have been hurt too. Although I don¡¯t know how critical his injuries are, they shouldn¡¯t be light. He won¡¯t be able to recover in a month. That¡¯s why I believe the Holy Ghost Church can only send one person capable of striking fear into everyone¡¯s hearts ¨C Ye Xishui. It¡¯s just that Ye Xishui might not be able topare to an entire army. No matter how strong the Death God Douluo is, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army might not really be afraid of her with the linked soul tools they have. Even Di Tian didn¡¯t fare very well against them. I wonder whether his injuries have healed.¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes and asked, ¡°Are you concerned about him now? It¡¯s already good that he¡¯s not bothering you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll need to face him one day, even if I try to avoid him. I just hope that I can face him when I¡¯m stronger. I can only stand at the top of this world if I defeat him. Wutong, promise me that you won¡¯t stop me when I challenge him one day. You don¡¯t have to help me either. I¡¯ll use my own strength to beat him.¡±

    Tang Wutong was stunned. ¡°But we are together.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°To me, challenging Di Tian is not just a way of proving my strength. At the same time, it¡¯s a personal mission. It¡¯s a mission I have toplete.¡± In his mind, he recalled what Nian Rongbing had told him.

    To increase his cultivation and be a Transcendent Douluo, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense the strength of the God of Emotions getting greater and greater in his body. Perhaps it was the strength of a god.

    It was a strength that didn¡¯t belong to him. At least, it didn¡¯t belong to him yet. However, it was fusing with him.

    When he summoned this strength before, it was when Tang Wutong got hurt trying to save him. He unleashed the power of emotions and fused his emotions with his fighting strength. It was an important direction that he was gearing towards in the future too.

    Di Tian was already at the top of the world. Even if he became an Ultimate Douluo and had a third soul core, he might still be unable to defeat Di Tian. If he wanted to beat Di Tian, he had to fuse his power with his emotions. It was only through this way that he could achieve a breakthrough and truly inherit the title of the God of Emotions.

    He wasn¡¯t just doing this for himself now. Bing a god was also a route that he had to take if he wanted to free the six Spirits in his body. Furthermore, when that time came, he would definitely bring Tang Wutong along with him to the godly realm. Huo Yuhao had this thought ¨C since Tang Wutong was so strong, he could ask Nian Rongbing to find a title for her to inherit after he became the God of Emotions. To him, Nian Rongbing shouldn¡¯t reject his request.

    When he thought until here, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt very motivated. What was happier than knowing one¡¯s direction in life?

    Huo Yuhao rxed his embrace of Tang Wutong and held her hand once again. As the two of them spoke, they had already covered two hundred and fifty kilometers.

    In the distance, they of thend was presented in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind as he used his Spiritual Detection. Just like Jing Hongchen had described, there was a huge valley. The size of this valley was much bigger than the Icefire Yin Yang Well that they had been to before.

    Although there were many treasures and even two wells in the Icefire Yin Yang Well, it wasn¡¯t very huge. However, it was very different here. This valley was veryrge, far exceeding the size of an ordinary city.

    There was an entrance and exit at both sides of the valley. The terrain was very level. From the nts that grew here, it was evident that this was a treasure spot.

    Mountains of rocks surrounded the valley. Although they weren¡¯tpletely barren, there weren¡¯t many nts growing on these mountains. This was why only the rocks could be seen. While they weren¡¯t aesthetically pleasing, they were very tough. They were natural city walls.

    The Sun Moon Empire was hiding here. It was indeed very difficult to locate them. If not for Jing Hongchen¡¯s intelligence, Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t have found them here anytime soon.

    Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection to take a more detailed look. Indeed, there were many tents pitched in the valley. Furthermore, there were soul formations erected in four different directions, at the tops of the mountain peaks. The scale of these soul formations was rather great. It appeared that they were all helmed by beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions.

    Who are they trying to deal with? Surely not me, right?Huo Yuhao wondered curiously. Along with his previous guess, the answer had revealed itself to him.

    His n had ultimately seeded. Internal chaos had ensued as their soul engineers killed the evil soul masters. The Holy Ghost Church was definitely going to retaliate.I wonder how Ju Zi is going to deal with this matter. She didn¡¯t lead the army back to the empire. That shows that she¡¯s not willing to truly admit her mistake. As for how Xu Tianran is going to deal with this situation, I think it¡¯s obvious. He¡¯ll side with Ju Zi. While the Holy Ghost Church is important to the Sun Moon Empire, its primary purpose is to deal with Shrek Academy. Now that the academy is slowly not bing the most important opponent to the empire, the Holy Ghost Church is bing less and less important, especially after the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s destruction and the increase in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s overall strength following the investment of a huge amount of resources. However, Ju Zi is different. Her reputation in the army is only growing. She also represents Xu Tianran¡¯s interests. If she¡¯s heavily punished, it¡¯ll sh with his interests. That¡¯s why Xu Tianran should be on her side.

    The furious Death God Douluo will surely be here to look for trouble. I just don¡¯t know when she¡¯ll appear. However, it seems like she¡¯s not here yet. However, she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle so many soul engineers at once even if she manages to destroy a part of their soul formations! As for where Ju Zi is, I¡¯m afraid only she¡¯ll know. It won¡¯t be easy to find her.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao was considering things from Ye Xishui¡¯s perspective, rather than his own. He had his Spiritual Detection. Even if there were many times more soldiers, he would still be able to locate Ju Zi as long as he had enough time.

    He didn¡¯t directly proceed to find Ju Zi. He only checked the deployment of the soldiers on the terrain, as well as the positions of all the soul formations. After this, he flew further with Tang Wutong, through a route that soldiers would have to pass in order to reinforce the army in the valley.

    It was impossible to escape from Huo Yuhao¡¯s sight given his spiritual power.

    Tang Wutong asked, ¡°How is it? What¡¯s the deployment of soldiers like over here?¡±

 Chapter 594.2 - Army in the Valley

    <h4 ss>Chapter 594.2: Army in the Valley</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°The entire Sun Moon Empire army is here. Ju Zi should be here too. There are four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions helming soul formations at the mountain tops. In the mountain valley, there are eight other soul formations. Although they¡¯re weaker, they¡¯ve been built very close to one another. Theyplement the soul formations at the mountain tops very well. Above the valley, in a region covering a few hundred kilometers from the center, there are all types of aerial surveince soul tools. This is a trap! Even we would be discovered if we made any moves inside, and it wouldn¡¯t be easy to escape. Ju Zi is really vicious! She¡¯s targeting the Death God Douluo and the Darkness Holy Dragon. It¡¯s too domineering. Have they really fallen out so badly?¡±

    Tang Wutong chuckled andmented, ¡°It¡¯s all your doing. If you didn¡¯t frame them, things wouldn¡¯t be like this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao alsoughed. ¡°Do you know how I feel right now?¡±

    Tang Wutong was confused as she looked at him.

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Right now, I feel that we have to carefully make our way in from the outside and slowly tear apart her imprable defense. We¡¯ll then thwart her ns. Although it¡¯ll take some time, I feel confident for some reason.¡±

    ¡°If my earlier n didn¡¯t seed, the Holy Ghost Church would undoubtedly want to deal with me first. Two Ultimate Douluo won¡¯t be easy to deal with. However, it seems like Ju Zi is going to help us take the pressure this time. From her current setup, she must be pretty confident that the Death God Douluo wille and seek trouble. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have prepared like this. Let¡¯s watch and observe first, and let them fight among themselves. When they¡¯re almost done, let¡¯s step in. As for killing those reinforcements, of course it¡¯ll be the doing of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    Tang Wutongughed. ¡°You can do whatever you want. Anyway, if you are the antagonist, I¡¯m the woman of the antagonist.¡±

    ¡°Haha! I must be a thief, and you¡¯re the thief¡¯s wife.¡±

    ¡°Sounds bad. What thief¡¯s wife? I¡¯m much better than that!¡±

    The two of them quickly picked up speed and flew into the distance.

    Mountain valley. Commander¡¯s tent.

    Ju Zi was seated in themander¡¯s tent. Right now, her warrior robe was gone. She was only in an official uniform, just like how she was in the pce. She creased her brow and paced up and down the tent. No one knew what she was thinking about.

    After Xu Tianran¡¯s instructions were dyed for a long time, they finally reached her. Xu Tianran sternly admonished her for what she had done, but he didn¡¯t mention any punishment. He only said that she would be punished after she returned from the war against the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires.

    His edict was very interesting. Everyone could tell that he was protecting her. Only Ju Zi knew that he wasn¡¯t just protecting her; he was also weakening her!

    Evidently, Xu Tianran knew that the Holy Ghost Church would be mad after he passed this edict. Of course, he wasn¡¯t afraid of the Holy Ghost Church in Radiant City. He had the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to protect him. Along with the soul formations in Radiant City, even Ultimate Douluo couldn¡¯t easilyy their hands on him.

    Xu Tianran was also not the one who killed the soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church. It was Ju Zi¡¯s soul engineers in the army. She was even themander of the three armies. It would be a surprise if the Holy Ghost Church didn¡¯t vent their anger on her.

    Fortunately, she had entrusted her son to Xu Tianran before she left the imperial pce. It was unlikely that he woulde into any danger. Xu Tianran was being distrustful of her right now. He was always very distrustful. He must believe that she wielded too much power after they stabilized things in the Heavenly Soul Empire. This was why he was weakening her through the Holy Ghost Church.

    Of course, this matter could be argued the other way around too. He wished to borrow her strength to weaken the Holy Ghost Church. The only way to do so was to kill them all.

    The Sun Moon Empire had already demonstrated its absolute advantage on the continent. This meant that the Holy Ghost Church was expendable now. Given this, it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to wipe out the evil soul masters once and for all. At least, this was something that all the citizens and officials were willing to see. If so, why not?

    Xu Tianran was just going to be an observer. He was clearly aware that he had to stand on Ju Zi¡¯s side. She wielded a lot of power, and she was very clever too. As for the Holy Ghost Church, he didn¡¯t think too much of them. Now that the army had rebelled, it was equivalent to the Holy Ghost Church being ostracized by the Sun Moon Empire. They couldn¡¯t return to their former glory anymore.

    Just like Jing Hongchen, the Holy Ghost Church had served its purpose.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s greatest mistake was its arrogance. It was too arrogant, believing that the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t deal with Shrek Academy without them.

    When it came to this, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent had made the same mistake. They had looked down on the strength of soul tools.

    Xu Tianran and the Sun Moon Empire had used facts to prove that soul tools could help them dominate the entire continent. After this fact was established, what further use was the Holy Ghost Church? The evils of the Holy Ghost Church had already incurred a lot of wrath. Getting rid of thempletely was something everyone would be happy to see. The dirty spots of the past had to be cleaned, and they had to be cleanedpletely.

    What Xu Tianran wanted was to rule the entire continent properly, not in an evil manner.

    This was why he had thought of this good idea after pondering over it. He was going to let someone else settle his problem without implicating him.

    As for Ju Zi¡¯s life, did it really matterpared to his future? Of course, if she really died, he would still be very sad. At least, she was the most loyal and caring among all his subordinates. Xu Tianran had even thought of it. If Ju Zi died, he would announce to his people that he would not marry anyone else in the future. Anyway, he already had a Crown Prince. Whether he had an Empress didn¡¯t matter anymore.

    The cold smile on Ju Zi¡¯s face widened. She couldpletely see through Xu Tianran¡¯s mind right now. She could even imagine his expression when he gave this edict.

    A distrustful anti-hero. This was her appraisal of him. However, she despised him more and more right now.

    I wonder how Yuhao is. Tang Wutong was severely hurt by Zhong Liwu that night. Did he manage to treat her after he left?

    When she thought of Huo Yuhao, the coldness in Ju Zi¡¯s heart turned into worry. Even though she knew that he was her greatest threat in the future, she still couldn¡¯t help but think of him. If she had to lose to someone in the future, she wished it would be to Huo Yuhao. It wasn¡¯t shameful losing to someone she deeply loved. Perhaps it was even a form of bliss. When that happened, she might really be freed.

    All types of ideas surfaced in her mind. After two hours, she returned to her seat and sat down a little lethargically.

    After she willingly took the rap for her subordinates, her reputation in the army grew unprecedentedly high. All the generals admired and respected her.

    They were resting here because they were waiting for Xu Tianran¡¯s edict. Apart from admonishing Ju Zi, Xu Tianran had also instructed her to proceed with her attacks until they ruled the entire continent. Supplies would be sent over. As for the threat the Holy Ghost Church posed, he didn¡¯t mention a single word at all.

    Are you still thinking of using me as a tool to help you rule the entire continent?A cold look shed across Ju Zi¡¯s eyes.Xu Tianran, you¡¯re really bold! Your selfishness will doom you. You only have three to four years left to live. Unless I¡¯m dead, you are doomed!

    When she thought until here, Ju Zi looked very cold. Her entire face was filled with killing intent. Fortunately, she was the only one in the tent right now. No one saw her. The edict had already been crushed into waste paper in her hand.

    A boom suddenly sounded, jolting Ju Zi awake. She subconsciously put on her human-shaped soul tool and rushed outside to take a look.

    Once she exited the tent, she immediately saw the brightly-lit sky. On the mountaintops surrounding the mountain valley, four soul formations had already fully unleashed their linked defensive barriers. It was just that the lighting from the protective soul barrier in the southeast was much dimmer, and rocks were falling from the sky on that side.

    Fortunately, only soul engineers were stationed there. Not many people were hurt as soul rays were used to deal with the falling rocks.

    Advanced-tier soul engineers quickly gathered close to themander¡¯s tent. They all looked into the sky, and they appeared very serious.

    Only Ju Zi looked steady. There was even a scornful look on her face, ¡°What¡¯s meant toe will alwayse. It¡¯s a pity that she¡¯s more foolish than I thought. Is she really trying to ovee my defensive formations with brute force?¡±

    ¡°Marshal, we must not becent. After all, she¡¯s the strongest person in the empire. It¡¯s best to be prudent.¡±

    In the sky, a dark-red figure shed. There was a huge projection behind this figure. This projection was around a hundred meters tall, and waspletely dark red. There was a giant pointed tower surrounding its arms. Red light had just retracted from the tip of the tower.

    When the southeast side of the soul formations was attacked, the linked defensive barrier was automatically activated. However, it was still ovee. Huge losses were incurred. More than a third of the soul formation was wiped out. This was why the effect of the linked defensive barrier in this direction wasn¡¯t very ideal.

 Chapter 594.3 - Army in the Valley

    <h4 ss>Chapter 594.3: Army in the Valley</h4>

    Ye Xishui was the figure drifting in front. Behind her was her Blood Soul Demonpuppet, and that pointed pagoda was undoubtedly the soul tool that was hailed as the only soul tool close to being a ss 10 soul tool, the Death God Pagoda.

    The Death God Pagoda had almost threatened the life of Huo Yuhao. This time, it was facing Ju Zi.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s voice traveled far and wide. ¡°Empress, hand over all the killers and I¡¯ll leave. You¡¯ll still be the marshal. Otherwise, I¡¯ll not leave anyone alive. All soul engineers will die.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s voice was transmitted through a sound-amplifying soul tool. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. There are only loyal soldiers here. What killers are you talking about? Death God Douluo, as the Supreme Worshipped of the empire and sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church, how dare you kill my soldiers? Even if you bring this issue to His Majesty, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid of you. Do you really think you can fight me and my soul formations on your own? You¡¯re too na?ve.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ye Xishui roared furiously. Suddenly, her voice echoed everywhere. The entire mountain valley started shaking. Another ball of red light formed at the top of her Death God Pagoda. Although Ye Xishui didn¡¯t have Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection, her spiritual power was still at his standard. She could still use her voice to find someone.

    At this moment, a domineering beam of white light rose into the sky. This beam of white light instantly appeared in front of Ye Xishui.

    On a closer look, it was evident that this beam of light was formed from eight smaller beams of light. It was dazzling. Wherever it passed, space shattered. It also illuminated the entire night sky.

    At this moment, a low-pitched dragon roar sounded, and a huge pitch-ck figure blocked Ye Xishui. It was a giant ck dragon. It opened its mouth suddenly and let out its pitch-ck breath, which contrasted perfectly against the beam of white light.

    Just as the breath and beam of white light shed, countless spatial cracks seemed to form within the ck breath. Although it was forced back by the beam of white light, the beam of light was also rapidly weakened.

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression changed. She muttered, ¡°Dragon Emperor Douluo, you are indeed here too.¡±

    Yes, it was the Darkness Holy Dragon who had blocked the attack for Ye Xishui. That huge, ck dragon was undoubtedly his True Body.

    The terrifying collision in the air generated dazzling sparks, which only disappeared after the beam of white light hadpletely dissipated.

    The first linked attack was forcefully resisted by the Darkness Holy Dragon just like that.

    The legionmanders who had unleashed this attack turned pale. They hadn¡¯t expected a linked attack from eight soul formations to be resisted by the strength of a single soul master. It was already beyond what they couldprehend.

    However, that was only the start of their attack. Another four beams of light shot towards Ye Xishui. These four beams of light came from the four sides. They were unleashed by the four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions.

    Although these linked attacks by the soul engineer legions couldn¡¯tpare to the linked attack from before, the strength of every beam of light was still half that of the beam of white light earlier. When the four beams of light shot out, the sky immediately changed color.

    Linked attacks and defenses were the greatest strengths that soul engineers could rely on.

    This was also why Ju Zi was scornful when she saw that Ye Xishui wanted to fight her army directly.

    Against such an army, it was not the best choice for an Ultimate Douluo to fight head-on. She wouldn¡¯t be able to fully unleash her strength.

    Of course, that was also because the surveince soul tools she had set up were very effective. Apart from Huo Yuhao¡¯s special abilities, ordinary Titled Douluo, and even Ultimate Douluo, wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from those surveince soul tools. This was the reason for the current situation.

    A dark red beam light was unleashed at Ju Zi.

    The four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had just finished attacking, and were now frantically re-deploying their linked defensive barriers.

    Ye Xishui was very good at exploiting opportunities. She didn¡¯t even bother with the four beams of light. Instead, she exploited this opportunity to attack Ju Zi.

    Long Xiaoyao started to spin in the sky as he let out breath after breath. He dispelled the four beams of light. However, upon closer inspection, the ck air currents around his body had clearly be weaker.

    Bloody light inched closer. No wonder the Death God Pagoda was the world¡¯s strongest offensive soul tool. The linked defensive barriers set up by the four soul engineer legions were instantly broken, and the red light rained down towards Ju Zi.

    At this moment, Ju Zi only felt her body turning cold. She couldn¡¯t avoid it even if she wanted to. This was the terrifying effect of a soul tool that was close to being ss 10.

    However, the second line of defense was instantly activated. The eight soul formations inside the mountain valley shone brightly at the same time. Anotheryer of linked defensive barriers was erected above them, protecting Ju Zi.

    As the blood-red light and pure white linked defensive barriers collided, bright lights were released. It was as if countless streaks of bloody light had blown apart. However, they didn¡¯t just dissipate. Instead, they turned into blood-red avenging spirits that wed and chewed at the barrier. Piercing, scratching noises could be heard.

    The Light of the Death God was terrifying because it burned countless souls every time it was unleashed. From there, the strongest force of vengeance was formed. It wasn¡¯t just a soul power-driven attack. It also contained spiritual power.

    A linked defensive barrier formed by close to ten soul engineer legions was needed before the Light of the Death God could be resisted. The blood-red lights finally disappeared. However, even though many of the soldiers weren¡¯t hurt, they felt as if their souls had left their bodies. They were all feeling dizzy.

    The Death God Douluo was actually so strong?

    That was also Ju Zi¡¯s first time facing Ye Xishui. Her appraisal of the Death God Douluo was already very high in the past, but right now, she realized that her judgment might have been wed.

    Ye Xishui wasn¡¯t just an Ultimate Douluo. She was also a ss 9 soul engineer. Her own self-created soul tools might not be very strong, but her Death God Pagoda was one of the strongest soul tools in the world of soul engineers.

    She was even an evil Ultimate Douluo! When she unleashed her full strength, the offensive power she could demonstrate was beyond everyone¡¯s imagination. She didn¡¯t even defend herself. She poured her Ultimate Douluo cultivation into her Death God Pagoda. Along with the force of vengeance in her Death God Pagoda, she managed to resist ten soul engineer legions with her individual strength. This was absolute power!

    Long Xiaoyao also astonished everyone. After all, Ye Xishui¡¯s attack didn¡¯t manage to ovee the defensive formations of all twelve soul formations. However, Long Xiaoyao had helped Ye Xishui defend against all their attacks with just his own strength. Was he still human? Could a human really resist such terrifying attacks that were even capable of destroying an entire city?

    Even Di Tian was exposed by the Holy Ghost Church when he faced linked offensive soul tools. Was the Dragon Emperor Douluo stronger than Di Tian?

    At a ce very far away, two people were lying in an ordinary bush. Their eyes were both shut, but they held each other¡¯s hands very tightly.

    ¡°Yuhao, don¡¯t you think this is a good opportunity? If we¡­¡± Tang Wutong softly asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered, ¡°They won¡¯t give us an opportunity.¡±

    When the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Death God Douluo first arrived, they were already aware. After that, Huo Yuhao had brought Tang Wutong here. They weren¡¯t observing the fight with their eyes, but through his Spiritual Detection.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection engulfed the entire battlefield. He was watching from a sky-high perspective, and observed every change on the battlefield.

    The only feeling he had was that the two Ultimate Douluo were too domineering.

    No wonder they were Ultimate Douluo!

    Huo Yuhao could roughly guess that his and Tang Wutong¡¯sbined fighting strength was around the standard of an Ultimate Douluo. However, he had a different feeling when he watched them in action.

    What were Ultimate Douluo? They were the extremes of this world. They represented the limits that humans could reach. Not only were they very strong, but they were also very proud.

    When Ye Xishui arrived, she didn¡¯t think of using any other method to fight. She appeared directly above the mountain valley. She didn¡¯t even proceed to destroy the aerial surveince soul tools. She unleashed her Death God Pagoda just like that and attacked the mountain valley. How domineering was that?

    At least Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think of such a method when he was pondering how he should deal with this mountain valley. It was a method that was supposed to fail!

    However, Ye Xishui had relied on her abilities to carve a way out for herself. She had even almost threatened Ju Zi¡¯s life.

    Huo Yuhao was absolutely certain that Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui¡¯s abilities wereplementary.

    Even though their martial souls couldn¡¯t fuse, even Di Tian might not be able to defeat them if they were together.

    Ultimate Douluo couldn¡¯t possibly fuse their martial souls. This was because martial soul fusion at such a level would exceed the limits that this world had on power¡ªit reached the level of gods. Humans couldn¡¯t reach such a level. Even Huo Yuhao was well-aware that he and Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t be able to use their fusion skills once they became Ultimate Douluo.

 Chapter 595 - The Power of Two Ultimate Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 595: The Power of Two Ultimate Douluo</h4>

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo and Death God Douluo had teamed up. The Dragon Emperor Douluo defended, while the Death God Douluo attacked. Against more than ten soul formations, they didn¡¯t even have any intention of retreating. On the contrary, they even suppressed their enemy. This was a demonstration of their power!

    Of course, Huo Yuhao could also tell that this was the furthest they could go, even though they were very strong and powerful. After all, they were humans. Even though they were very strong, it was already very astonishing that could resist the world¡¯s strongestbination of soul tools. However, it was a different story if they really wanted to fight.

    Indeed, a huge, ck dragon silently appeared below Ye Xishui. It was carrying her. In the next instant, it carried her high into the air. It broke through space just like that before vanishing into the night. This caused the second round of linked attacks to hit nothing.

    While they avoided the attacks, they weren¡¯t fleeing. They just left. No power was great enough to retain them.

    Ju Zi was standing in front of her tent. Earlier, she had clearly sensed that she was very, very close to death.

    Very soon, news passed that sixty-seven soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion had died. The soul tools at the top of the mountains were greatly damaged. Only half the original strength of the soul formations could be used on now.

    It was just an attack by two people. However, that was sufficient to cripple the strongest army on the continent. This was even though the army was at its strongest. What a tragedy this was! But this was power, extreme power that humans could achieve at their limits.

    Ju Zi suddenly felt fearful. This was her first time having such a feeling. Right now, she truly understood that humans were truly the peak of this world once their abilities reached the peak. Could her army have resisted the two Ultimate Douluo if they had attacked them sneakily?

    Even Titled Douluo had their principles. They wouldn¡¯t hurt ordinary people. However, what could they rely on to rule this continent after their greatest fighting strength was wiped out? No wonder there were some who imed that Ultimate Douluo were the strongest strategic weapons in this world. It was indeed the case! ss 9 shells were far inferiorpared to them. Ultimately, Ju Zicked such power.

    Ju Zi silently returned to her tent. She gave the order to mend the soul formations. At the same time, she also instructed her army to be more alert. The linked defensive formations always had to be half-on. Once any enemy appeared, they were obliged to attack, no matter the price.

    Revenge was being sought on them. Next, it would depend on how they reacted to it.

    Today, the Death God Douluo¡¯s attack was undoubtedly just to test their strength. What was next? What would happen in the next fight? Ju Zi didn¡¯t know. For the first time, she felt that her destiny wasn¡¯t in her own hands.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong continued to lie prone. They only opened their eyes after the fight was over and the Darkness Holy Dragon had concealed himself and the Death God Douluo in space. When they looked at each other, they saw the horror in each other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°If it was us, how far could we have gone?¡± Tang Wutong asked Huo Yuhao a little doubtfully.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly and said, ¡°We¡¯d be able to resist one attack, and that¡¯s only if we have the Goddess of Light.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded gently. That was roughly what she had estimated too. It was only when the Goddess of Light was around that they could resist an all-out attack from the linked offensive soul tools earlier.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon resisted had five strikes consecutively. The first one was stronger, while the other four were weaker. When Huo Yuhao referred to resisting an attack, he was referring to an attack of the same standard as the first strike.

    The Darkness Holy Dragon is too strong!

    Huo Yuhao softly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Elder Long Xiaoyao to be so strong. If I¡¯m not wrong, his cultivation should still be below Ye Xishui.¡± After learning from his teacher that Long Xiaoyao had in fact been secretly helping him, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t feel so vengeful towards him anymore.

    ¡°Does your teacher know that you¡¯replimenting me like this?¡± A low-pitched voice suddenly sounded.

    Huo Yuhao subconsciously tightened his grip on Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. Both of them used Instant Teleportation at the same time before they were reappeared a hundred meters away. Immense soul power undtions also instantly rose from their bodies, reaching an extreme state. Both of them revealed horrified looks on their faces.

    It was important to know that they had been using Imitation to conceal themselves!

    A ck figure silently walked out from space. It was as if he had appeared from thin air. Another blood-red figure followed him out.

    The Death God Douluo appeared even younger now. It was just that her face was very pale. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s aura was also a little unstable, but his eyes weren¡¯t lifeless. Instead, they were glistering like stars in the sky.

    When he saw how wary Huo Yuhao was, Long Xiaoyao couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Good, you¡¯ve indeed improved a lot. No wonder Zhong Liwu suffered under your hands. I bet you didn¡¯t expect it. You didn¡¯t expect us to find the two of you, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao silently shook his head and bowed, ¡°Greetings, Dragon Emperor and Death God.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao ignored his greetings and continued speaking, ¡°We only discovered you not because your spiritual power is not concealing you well enough. On the contrary, your spiritual power seems to be greatly aplished. Even we can¡¯t discover you using our spiritual power. We only discovered you through our senses. You can¡¯t imagine how acute our senses are. You can only fuse with this world once you be an Ultimate Douluo. When that happens, you¡¯ll be part of this world. When something in this world threatens you, you can still trace the source even if you can¡¯t see it. This is how we found you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed a little awkwardly and said, ¡°Both of you are too awe-inspiring and domineering. We are very impressed, and could only cheer you on from afar. We have no ill intentions. If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll leave.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao turned around with Tang Wutong and was about to leave.

    ¡°Hold up!¡± Ye Xishui¡¯s rather hoarse voice echoed. Suddenly, it was as if thousands of avenging spirits were crying sorrowfully. A huge pressure fell from the skies and engulfed Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. There seemed to be a boundless night sky and shining stars in the depths of his eyes. His Ultimate Ice aura spread from his body and viciously collided with Ye Xishui¡¯s aura.

    A silent boom echoed through the air. A sh of auras was even more dangerous at their level than a real fight.

    If it were someone else with a lower cultivation, he would be instantly crushed into powder if he couldn¡¯t resist Ye Xishui¡¯s overwhelming aura.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook a little, and he took half a step back. Ye Xishui shook slightly, but she didn¡¯t step back. There was also an astonished look in her sinister, ice-cold eyes.

    She hadn¡¯t expected this young man to be capable of resisting her pressure. It was also her first time being resisted, apart from Long Xiaoyao. There were even a few kings of soul beasts who had tried before.

    Over the past few years, Di Tian was the only one who had put her at a disadvantage. However, she had still managed to escape safely, and Huo Yuhao had been critically hurt.

    Right now, she could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t borrowed Di Tian¡¯s strength, but he was still able to resist her power. This was no longer achievable by a Rank 98 Titled Douluo. Currently, it was as if his strength was at the tier of an Ultimate Doulou!

    How is this possible? How old is he? Has he formed his second soul core? Don¡¯t tell me that Zhong Liwu¡¯s words were true?

    The Dragon Emperor Douluo sighed slightly when he saw how astonished Ye Xishui was. ¡°Xishui, don¡¯t be like this. You¡¯ll only scare the kid.¡±

    Ye Xishui looked coldly at him, ¡°You should meddle less with my business. It seems like little Wu was right. This kid has alreadyprehended the profundity of second soul cores. He¡¯s relying on their martial soul fusion to forcefully increase his cultivation infinitely close to that of an Ultimate Douluo. I really want to see if he can fight my Death God Pagoda.¡±

    As she spoke, blood-red light shone brightly behind her. Her giant Blood Soul Demonpuppet also surfaced, and the Death God Pagoda reappeared. This time, it was facing Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed greatly. He had personally witnessed how powerful the Death God Pagoda was. Right now, it was impossible that he was not anxious facing the Death God Douluo in a duel.

    ¡°Xishui!¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice became even deeper.

    Ye Xishui coldly looked at him. ¡°Are you trying to help him?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and retorted, ¡°Watch your temper! You¡¯ve not changed even after all these years. It¡¯ll be difficult for us to kill them given that we aren¡¯t in our best condition. Since this is the case, why don¡¯t we chat with this young man? You¡¯ve already used your Death God Pagoda twice earlier. If you continue using it, you¡¯ll lose yourself amidst the hostility once again. Do you really want to be like those walking dead that only know how to kill?¡±

    ¡°I told you that I don¡¯t need you to meddle in my affairs!¡± Ye Xishui shouted back, ¡°No matter what I be, it has nothing to do with you. Long Xiaoyao, stop being sarcastic here. This kid has already threatened the Holy Ghost Church. If he didn¡¯t severely hurt Little Wu and kill those from the Worship Hall, how could that little thief have gotten what he wanted? Do you know how long it has taken for the Holy Ghost Church to be as powerful as it is right now? Now, that bastard Xu Tianran wants to seize this opportunity to get rid of us. I want to let him witness what our true strength is.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao was a little helpless as he shook his head. He said, ¡°Alright, stop ying. If you stay like this, I¡¯ll leave forever.¡±

    As he spoke, he suddenly started to cough. Although his coughing wasn¡¯t very loud, it caused Ye Xishui¡¯s expression to change greatly. Her earlier hostility suddenly disappeared. She immediately patted his back gently.

    ¡°Xiaoyao, Xiaoyao, don¡¯t be so uptight. What¡¯s wrong? Calm down. Are you okay?¡± Ye Xishui asked concernedly.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed as he turned slightly pale. ¡°I¡¯m too old. My blood isn¡¯t flowing very well. If I was at my peak, I wouldn¡¯t have been drained so much from those earlier attacks. But I¡¯m not hurt yet.¡±

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Ye Xishui was astonished.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Elder Long, you faced the linked attacks of more than ten soul engineer legions of the Sun Moon Empire. Their offensive strength was too strong. It¡¯s already unbelievable that a human can resist it. Moreover, you resisted it many times.¡±

    Ye Xishui¡¯s expression turned gentler. It was evident that she wasn¡¯t very well mentally.

    ¡°Alright, Xiaoyao, don¡¯t be anxious. I¡¯ll listen to you. I¡¯ll not harm those two kids.¡± As she spoke, her Blood Soul Demonpuppet vanished. Her fierce and aggressive aura also disappeared.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes were still very bright as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He wasn¡¯t affected just because his aura was weaker now. He stared at Huo Yuhao passionately and asked, ¡°Have you formed your second soul core?¡±

    Huo Yuhao silently nodded.

    Long Xiaoyao took in a deep breath and said, ¡°ording to what I know, you are the only soul master in the past few thousand years who has cultivated a second soul core before bing an Ultimate Douluo. You¡¯re still so young too. I see hope in you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m not the only one. Wutong has also seeded.¡± He didn¡¯t hide anything or tried to bluff Long Xiaoyao.

    Just like Long Xiaoyao was able to find them using his senses, Huo Yuhao could sense something specialing from him for some unknown reason. This feeling developed his trust towards him.

    ¡°She also has one?¡± Long Xiaoyao was stunned as he looked at Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Yes! I also thought of that. Unless she formed her second soul core, how could both of you have maintained your martial soul fusion? Very good, both of you are very good. No wonder you¡¯re Mu En¡¯s disciples.¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s smile was very genial. However, Huo Yuhao felt that it was very strange. It was just like Elder Mu was acting before he had passed on.

    He was astonished.Don¡¯t tell me that the Dragon Emperor Douluo is also¡­

 Chapter 596.1 - Dual Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 596.1: Dual Cultivating</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Long Xiaoyao.

    He¡¯s clearly bursting with energy. However, why is he just like teacher just before he passed away? What¡¯s going on?

    Ye Xishui was also a little stunned as she looked at Long Xiaoyao, ¡°Xiaoyao, are you fine? Are your injuries okay?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and replied, ¡°This small wound is nothing. I¡¯m fine, Yuhao. Both of you are also here to deal with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. There was nothing for him to hide.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and turned his head to look at Ye Xishui. ¡°Xishui, I can¡¯t help you if you want to harm these two kids. I owe Mu En too much. It¡¯s just like how I owe you. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t harm his disciples.¡±

    After hearing Mu En¡¯s name, Ye Xishui¡¯s entire body shook. Her originally sinister and cold-looking eyes revealed an extremelyplex look.

    She squinted and turned to Huo Yuhao. ¡°This is the second time. There¡¯s no third time. When I see both of you again, I¡¯ll definitely kill you. Xiaoyao, let¡¯s go.¡± As she spoke, she had already leapt up. After this, she flew into the distance.

    Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t immediately chase after Ye Xishui. Tnstead, he looked at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong with a gentle look in his eyes.

    ¡°Both of you have set a precedent in human history. However, don¡¯t be too arrogant. There¡¯s still a long way to go. Though both of you do have some abilities, there are many types of destructive forces in this world. You¡¯ll need to face them in the future. That¡¯s why you should take the time to cultivate more. Yuhao, when you reach Rank 98,e find me at Radiant City. There¡¯s something your teacher has left for both of you.¡±

    As he spoke, Long Xiaoyao stood up and retrieved a ck crystal stone before passing it to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°As long as you are in Radiant City, use your soul power to activate this stone. I¡¯ll find where you are ande to you. I¡¯m leaving now. Xishui is only here to vent her anger. Given her identity, she wouldn¡¯t keep attacking the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. After all, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s base is still in the Sun Moon Empire. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s going to do next. Both of you must be extra careful. Since she said that she¡¯ll deal with both of you the next time, she¡¯ll not go back on her words. Furthermore, both the Sun Moon Empire and Holy Ghost Church are determined to get rid of both of you, especially you, Yuhao. Your presence has already made Shrek Academy much brighter than it¡¯s supposed to be. That¡¯s why you must be prudent and careful no matter when.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, elder.¡± Huo Yuhao respectfully bowed to Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao waved his hands. A sorrowful look suddenly appeared in his eyes. He sighed before he drifted up and chased after Ye Xishui. He instantly disappeared.

    Tang Wutong stuck out her tongue as she watched him leave. She said, ¡°These Ultimate Douluo are indeed very strong! We¡¯re still very lousypared to them. What Elder Long is hinting is that we¡¯ve be a little inted after we¡¯ve be Transcendent Douluo. At times, it¡¯s better if we cultivate. Come on, let¡¯s start now.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little annoyed. ¡°There¡¯s such a beautiful view here, but we¡¯re going to cultivate. Won¡¯t it dampen our mood?¡±

    Tang Wutong chuckled and said, ¡°When we first entered the academy, who was the one who cultivated tirelessly and was unwilling to waste even a second? Don¡¯t tell me you are bingzy? We have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. I¡¯ll carry half for you in the future, but you¡¯ll still need to carry the other half. Come on!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Huo Yuhao leaped towards Tang Wutong immediately.

    Purplish-gold lights suddenly shed, and a huge dragon head blocked him off. Huo Yuhao screamed tragically and flew more than ten meters away.

    ¡°What, what are you doing?¡± Hey on the ground, extending his limbs andining to Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong revealed a sly look on her face. ¡°My father¡¯s seals don¡¯t seem to be fully gone. That¡¯s why¡­¡±

    After half a minute, both of them sat cross-legged on the grass. Their palms were sped together and they entered cultivation.

    This was their first cultivation together ever since they became Transcendent Douluo, and after Tang Wutong formed her second soul core.

    After their Haodong Power formed once again, they were able to cultivate using their martial soul fusion again. Before, they had used such a method to grow stronger and stronger.

    The interaction of their soul power in a fight and during their cultivation waspletely different. Huo Yuhao¡¯s whirlpool-like soul power poured into Tang Wutong¡¯s left hand through his right hand, and Tang Wutong¡¯s whirlpool-like soul power poured into Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand from her left hand.

    When their soul power poured into each other¡¯s bodies, their bodies shook, and bright lights shone from them.

    A golden sun and blue moon, as well as another golden sun and purplish moon, appeared at the same time.

    The golden suns were slowly getting closer to each other above their heads. After this, they fused together, and immense spiritual energy shot into the sky. A beam of strong golden sunlight tore the night sky apart. It was like a bright golden beam that held the sky together. The blue and purplish moons also shone brightly. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies started to be clear and transparent.

    It was even clear that four soul cores were rapidly revolving inside their bodies. The whirlpool-like soul power in their bodies kept on circting.

    The blue and purplish moons slowly drifted in between both of them, while the suns were above them.

    The two moons fused together just like that. The moonlight turned bluish-purple, and it was very bright.

    In the air, origin energy of heaven and earth surged towards their bodies. After surging into their bodies, it was crushed and filtered before it fused with their soul power.

    In just a day, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power hadpletely transformed. It felt brand-new to them now. It shone with a strange glow, which was abination of blue, purple and gold. Those three colors intersected with one another to produce a strange yet dazzling radiance. After this fusion, their soul power was also a few times stronger than it was before.

    Every whirlpool had a strong suction force, absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth into it.

    ¡°Should we run?¡± Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong opened their arms at the same time. After this, they both held onto each other¡¯s hands and concealed themselves in the night sky.

    They had no choice but to flee! They were so close to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. Who would have expected them to create so much noise just by cultivating? What were they waiting for if they didn¡¯t flee? At least they had to find a cave before they could cultivate again.

    Their Haodong Power was still joined, but what they found weird was that their soul power retained its original state. Their whirlpool-like soul power was still very strong. It was the result of their enhancement, however, the radiance that had appeared during their cultivation earlier had disappeared. The suction of air had also disappeared.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Tang Wutong asked Huo Yuhao. They were telepathically connected. Huo Yuhao naturally knew what she was asking.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he answered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the soul power we generated during our cultivation is already beyond the restraints of this world?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It might have been so before. However, it¡¯s clear that our abilities are still too weak after I witnessed the Darkness Holy Dragon¡¯s power earlier. I believe our fused soul power is barely at the realm of an Ultimate Douluo. I don¡¯t believe it has exceeded the restraints of this world.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on either. The only exnation I can think of is that our fusion is only perfect only if it¡¯spletely silent. We can¡¯t use that radiant whirlpool-like soul power to fight. It¡¯s only an alternative method for us to restore our soul power. Let¡¯s try more. Even if we can¡¯t use it to fight, it¡¯s still not bad to increase our recovery speed!¡±

    Both of them flew very far away and found a dense forest to hide in. Tang Wutong blew open a cave with her dominant aura, and both of them went inside.

    They were very excited by this new discovery. They were still quite traumatized after they were subjected to pressure by the two Ultimate Douluo earlier. Their thirst for power appeared once again. This time, it was unprecedentedly strong.

    Huo Yuhao used a few branches to cover the opening of the cave, to prevent any light from shining out. In a short while, a small cave took form.

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hands as they stood in the cave. ¡°Let¡¯s our focus our energy and try again. Let¡¯s see whether we can enter that state while standing up.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Wutong nodded.

    Their hands were connected once again. Their soul power circted in their bodies.

    The golden suns, blue moon and purplish moon appeared once again. After this, the radiant whirlpool started to glow once more.

    The difference from before was that their fusion was more rapid this time. Furthermore, a dazzling, spinning halo appeared around them after this fusion. Both of them felt that their soul power was being restored very quickly. It then started to slowly increase after reaching the peak of their restoration.

    While ¡®slow¡¯ was a subjective term, it had to be noted that it was very difficult for Transcendent Douluo to increase their abilities through cultivation. However, their soul power was slowly climbing. This meant that they could cultivate their abilities in such a state. Their cultivation speed was even faster than most ordinary Transcendent Douluo.

 Chapter 596.2 - Dual Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 596.2: Dual Cultivating</h4>

    As they looked at each other, they could see the excitement in each other¡¯s eyes. They knew that they had found another way to improve. While this couldn¡¯t be directly used on a battlefield, it was still very beneficial to them if they wanted tost in a fight. As long as they had a little time to rest, they could recharge and restore their energy at the fastest speed. They managed to fully tap into the advantages of having Yin-Yang Complement soul cores.

    Both of them quickly entered a cultivation state. Their four soul cores fused and intersected. As they resisted one another, brand-new soul power was unleashed once again. Their cultivations were also increasing dramatically.

    Originally, forming Yin-Yang Complement soul cores had already given them the potential to experience significant improvements in their cultivations. Tang Wutong had also managed to form Yin-Yang Complement soul cores with Huo Yuhao¡¯s help. This was unprecedented.

    Furthermore, most of Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual power in her spiritual soul core came from Huo Yuhao. She had absorbed, transformed and turned his spiritual power into her own spiritual power. This made their spiritual power even much morepatible. This was also why they had no problems fusing their martial souls, and once again generated Haodong Power.

    Of course, their Haodong Power was far, far stronger now than it was before.

    While they were threatened by the Death God Douluo earlier, Huo Yuhao was in fact not afraid of her at all. What he was afraid of was that Long Xiaoyao would do everything he could to help her.

    Ever since he had interacted with Long Xiaoyao, he became more and more curious about him. His abilities were undoubted, given that he was also from the same generation as Elder Mu. It wasn¡¯t even overboard to say that he was the strongest human in the world right now.

    However, why was he willing to be used by Ye Xishui? Since he could make his name along with Elder Mu, it also meant that his character wasn¡¯t too wed either. Or this was what Huo Yuhao felt, at the very least.

    Moreover, Elder Mu had also mentioned that he was helping him. However, Huo Yuhao realized that his help for Ye Xishui was always unselfish every time he saw him. It was definitely not a formality.

    But why is this so? Is he being controlled by her? Impossible! When Long Xiaoyao and Elder Mu made their name, Ye Xishui wasn¡¯t even so strong. So why could she controlled Long Xiaoyao so easily? It¡¯s really ridiculous for an Ultimate Douluo to be under this kind of restriction.

    However, if this isn¡¯t the case, why is he listening to her?This doubt kept on racing in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind.

    This was why he didn¡¯t dare to take the risk. Against the Death God Douluo, he and Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t be at too much of a disadvantage even if they couldn¡¯t beat her. However, things would be different if Long Xiaoyao got involved. They might not even have an opportunity to escape.

    This was why Huo Yuhao was very careful. He didn¡¯t even reveal his Morning Dew Dagger, because he wanted to only use it at the most critical of times ¨C when they had to escape.

    Fortunately, Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t abet Ye Xishui. Ye Xishui even chose not to attack, and left because she was giving Long Xiaoyao face. This also left Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong relieved.

    However, their thirst for strength also grew because of this incident. Their earlier satisfaction and perhaps arrogance had ceased to exist. To fight Ultimate Douluo, it was paramount for one to be one too. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s advice was indeed golden.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong quickly entered cultivation.

    Their soul power was around Rank 95 now. They had just be Transcendent Douluo. However, this wasn¡¯t really anything major. It wasn¡¯t the crux of the problem. Given their cultivation speed, Huo Yuhao waspletely confident of raising his soul power by another rank. In less than two years, they would be at Rank 98. This was the major benefit brought about by their Yin-Yang Complement soul cores.

    I wonder what teacher asked Long Xiaoyao to pass to us when we reach Rank 98?

    Huo Yuhao was actually very curious. This was because Mu En didn¡¯t mention this when he had helped him form his twin soul cores. This was why he was feeling rather anxious in his heart.

    If Elder Xuan knew the Dragon Emperor Douluo, he would have immediately told Huo Yuhao that the Dragon Emperor Douluo was lying. The reason was very simple. This was because Elder Mu had really passed away, and his soul had dissipated. If there was anything he had left for Huo Yuhao, he would have told Elder Xuan before he died.

    It was a pity that Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know all this. He was still thinking of finding the Dragon Emperor Douluo after he made a breakthrough, so as to find out what was actually going on.

    As time passed, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power was increasing under their mutual influence. Cultivation didn¡¯t affect Huo Yuhao¡¯s sense of the outside world. His immense spiritual power naturally formed a spiritual forcefield. This forcefield spread, and even the path connecting the Sun Moon Empire and that mountain valley was engulfed within it.

    Sun Moon Empire army,mander tent.

    Two days had passed.

    Ever since Ye Xishui had attacked, two days had passed. She didn¡¯t appear again. However, her single appearance had already left all the soldiers traumatized.

    She was too strong. The two of them had managed to resist the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s linked offensive attacks, and even almost destroyed their linked defensive soul tools. What kind of power did they possess? Two Ultimate Douluo were actually so terrifying. It was beyond everyone¡¯s imagination.

    Not many soldiers had been killed, but the surviving ones were under a great psychological burden. Because of this, many of the advanced-tier soul engineers had not even smiled for twoplete days.

    They finally realized the truth now. They finally understood how strong the Holy Ghost Church was. In terms of higher-endbat strength, they were still the best in the empire!

    News of the attack had been sent to the capital. However, it seemed to have disappeared. No news was transmitted back. It seemed like Xu Tianran had given up on them.

    ¡°Is it a lesson for us?¡± Ju Zi muttered.

    Two days were enough for her to think through many things.

    If the Death God Douluo was relentless, she wouldn¡¯t have used such a method. Even if she cared about face a lot, she could just use her Light of the Death God when our defenses are at their weakest every day, if she wanted to use brute force. The army would continuously suffer damage, and we¡¯d keep on living in fear. It would be almost impossible for us to chase after them too.

    However, she didn¡¯t so. This means that she¡¯s still very concerned about the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s position in the empire. She won¡¯t do anything anytime soon. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re up to next.

    Ju Zi was very unsettled. She was even more willing to face the violent Ye Xishui, rather than not face her at all.

    No matter what, I must destroy the Holy Ghost Church. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be any peace in the empire in the future.

    When she thought of the strengths of the two Ultimate Douluo, Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help but shudder. In the future, this empire would belong to her son. How could she tolerate outsiders in the empire? With them around, the rule of the empire would be greatly influenced.Son, don¡¯t worry. No matter how difficult it is, I¡¯ll help you get rid of these obstacles.

    Ju Zi was immediately inspired to fight when she thought of her son. Her earlier cowardice disappeared. To a mother, she wouldn¡¯t fear any enemy if it was to protect her own kid.

    ¡°Report!¡± A frantic voice shouted.

    Ju Zi calmed down a little before saying, ¡°Report.¡±

    ¡°The empire¡¯s reinforcements were attacked outside the valley. All of them have been killed. When we arrived to help them, there were only corpses. All their resources have been taken too.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ju Zi was aghast. She looked horrified, ¡°What have you discovered?¡±

    The messenger lifted his head. After hesitating for a moment, he replied, ¡°There are traces of spectral creatures. Our aerial surveince soul tools also discovered something like a Bone Dragon flying into the distance. The aura of spectral creatures has also been left behind. The thousand soul engineers that were sent to help have all been¡­¡±

    A thousand soul engineers! Even if they were from the reserves, they were still trained by the empire. With the help of these thousand soul engineers, she could replenish everything she had lost at the front lines. How could she not be enraged now that everything was gone?

    However, she also felt a little weird just as she was enraged. This was because she knew that Ye Xishui¡¯s attack had ended, and her attack was already enough to strike fear into her troops. Why did she attack again? The Holy Ghost Church was the prime suspect because of the spectral aura. Unless¡­

    Ju Zi thought of something, and immediately recalled the magical dimension.

    Yuhao, is it you?

    When she thought that Huo Yuhao could be nearby, Ju Zi started to be more energized. Her earlier rage also disappeared.

    If Yuhao is responsible for this, that exins it. However, no matter who did this, I¡¯m going to put the me on the Holy Ghost Church. There¡¯s nock of opportunities to deal with them. One such opportunity has arrived.

    ¡°Send an order to gather all the legion and vice-legionmanders in themander¡¯s tent for a meeting.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Ju Zi squinted.Since there¡¯s such a prime opportunity, don¡¯t me me for being vicious. If I don¡¯t use this opportunity well, I¡¯m not fit to be the War God Empress. Holy Ghost Church, be prepared to incur Xu Tianran¡¯s wrath.

    As she thought, she quickly walked to her desk and started to furiously pen a letter.

    After a while, all the legion and vice-legionmanders had gathered at themander¡¯s tent. There were even ss 9 soul engineers from the Worship Hall.

 Chapter 596.3 - Dual Cultivating

    <h4 ss>Chapter 596.3: Dual Cultivating</h4>

    Seeing that Ju Zi was writing something, they all stood there quietly. No one uttered a sound.

    Ju Zi had taken punishment as the marshal of the entire army. The Death God Douluo even arrived to attack her. These things made all hermanders very respectful of her. How could they possibly not follow such a leader? Even though she was a little young and ady, she was still a perfect leader, considering her sessful track record and responsible attitude.

    After waiting for around ten minutes, Ju Zi finally finished writing her letter. When she lifted her head again, her eyes were already red. It seemed like she was holding tears in.

    ¡°Marshal, what¡¯s going on? What has happened?¡± A ss 9 soul engineer asked, astonished.

    The other soul engineers andmanders were also perplexed. It was also their first time seeing Ju Zi like this. They couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. When did she be so fragile? What happened such that she was acting like that?

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t say anything. She bit her index finger and stamped the letter with her own blood.

    All themanders were astonished when they saw this.A blood letter? What is she doing?

    Ju Zi slowly stood up and walked forward. Her body was shaking. Her tears were already flowing uncontrobly.

    ¡°Commanders, Worshipped, I¡¯ve let everyone down.¡± Her tears flowed. Ju Zi shut her eyes in pain.

    The ss 9 soul engineer who had spoken earlier anxiously asked, ¡°Marshal, what¡¯s going on? No matter what, we¡¯ll stand on your side. Quick, tell us.¡±

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath and torturously answered, ¡°I¡¯ve received news that the soul engineer legion that the empire sent to reinforce us has been wiped out. They were killed not far from the mountain valley, along the path they had to take to reach us from the empire. A thousand soul engineers were killed, their souls were taken away, and our resources have been looted.¡± She added the line ¡®their souls were taken away¡¯.

    ¡°What?¡± Exmations echoed throughout the entire tent. Suddenly, all the soul engineers andmanders opened their eyes wide. The astonishment in their eyes was slowly turning to rage.

    Ju Zi shut her eyes in pain. ¡°From our aerial surveince soul tools, we discovered Bone Dragons fleeing the scene. At the same time, the aura of spectral creatures was also left behind.¡±

    Bone Dragon? These two words were sufficient.

    Not long ago, Zhong Liwu was riding a Bone Dragon as he fought Huo Yuhao outside Shrek City. Eventually, it had died at Huo Yuhao¡¯s hands.

    Bone Dragons had appeared once again. Everyone knew what it meant.

    ¡°Bastards!¡± One legionmander roared and clenched his fists so hard that they almost broke. His soul engineer legion had lost many men, and he had been awaiting reinforcements.

    Suddenly, he became overly agitated.

    Ju Zi bitterly said, ¡°I¡¯ve already written everything regarding this incident down. I¡¯ll immediately send it to His Majesty and implore him to take action. If this continues, our morale will certainly be affected. While our soldiers at the frontline are killing enemies for the empire, we are being stabbed in the back. How can we continue to fight and contribute to the empire if that¡¯s the case? Everyone, I¡¯m afraid my position as your leader is about to end. I¡¯ve already asked His Majesty to allow me to resign. In the future, I hope all of you can continue to assist His Majesty and share his burdens.¡±

    As she spoke, Ju Zi lifted her hands and removed her helmet. She turned around and walked to the front of the tent before putting it down on her desk.

    ¡°Marshal, you must not give up on us!¡± A vice-legionmander cried sorrowfully before he knelt down on one knee.

    ¡°Yes! Marshal, we need your leadership. Only you can lead us to rule this continent.¡± When the first person kneeled down, a second person started to do the same. Along with their hate for theirmon enemy, all themanders kneeled down immediately. Even the Worshipped bowed down to Ju Zi.

    Seeing everyone like that, Ju Zi wiped away the tears in her eyes. Her expression started to turn sinister and cold.

    ¡°I thank all of you for your support. Please rise.¡±

    After hearing that Ju Zi¡¯s voice had returned to normal, all of them stood up once again. They focused all their attention on her.

    There was a strong killing intenting from Ju Zi¡¯s eyes. ¡°How dare the Holy Ghost Church kill my soldiers? We cannot exist in the same world as them. Commanders, if we want to contribute to the empire, we need to rid ourselves of any dissidents, and kill these despicable and vicious Holy Ghost Church members. It¡¯s only through this that we can save our empire. Who is willing to write a blood letter to His Majesty along with me?¡±

    ¡°I am!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing¡­¡±

    Themanders were all united. After they were subjected to Ye Xishui¡¯s attack, their rage and displeasure at the Holy Ghost Church were reced by fear.

    However, when they heard that a thousand soul engineers had been killed by the Holy Ghost Church, their suppressed rage immediately erupted once again.

    Many of them left their blood on their letters. At the same time, they also left their own signatures. Thispleted a blood letter.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°Pass my order ¨C the army will proceed in the direction of the empire. We¡¯ll coordinate with His Majesty to get rid of the Holy Ghost Church. It¡¯s only by destroying the Holy Ghost Church that we can continue to expand the empire.¡±

    ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll listen to your orders.¡±

    When thesemanders left their blood on their letters, their fates were tied to the War God Empress.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army started to disassemble their soul formations, while the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions took turns to watch out for any dangers. The entire army then proceeded in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi¡¯s letter was immediately sent out. At the same time, the news was passed on. However, it wasn¡¯t to Xu Tianran. It was to the Worship Hall in Radiant City. The Worship Hall was the true backer of the army.

    As he watched the army proceeding in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao immediately realized that Ju Zi was exploiting this situation.

    It was almost time for him to find her. A grin appeared on his face. This was an opportunity he could not forgo.

    Huo Yuhao concealed himself in the void along with Tang Wutong. He immediately unleashed his Spiritual Detection to check the path in front of them, as they rapidly got closer and closer to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    In the sky, all types of aerial surveince soul tools were moving along with the army. At least two soul engineer legions were flying in the air. These two soul engineer legions were responsible for surveince and protecting the army.

    Only the members of the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had the ability to fly. This was why they were naturally responsible for guarding and patrolling.

    These soul engineers were helpless against Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. From afar, Huo Yuhao had already found Ju Zi using his Spiritual Detection.

    While Ju Zi was out on the battlefield, she was still the Empress. This was why she took a different sedan from the othermanders. She had her own sedan. Sixteen horses were responsible for pulling it, and the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion was responsible for guarding it.

    Huo Yuhao led Tang Wutong as they softlynded on her sedan. Tang Wutong let go of his hand said, ¡°Go in. I won¡¯t go. She might disrupt your n if she¡¯s hostile towards me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, ¡°You are indeed an understandingdy!¡±

    Tang Wutong was a little unimpressed by him, and replied, ¡°If I were really understanding, I should let you marry her too, right?¡±

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s difficult to handle too many beauties. You are enough for me. I¡¯m going now.¡± His Imitation covered a sufficientlyrge region. This was why Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t afraid of Tang Wutong being exposed.

    With a flip, he silently made his way into the sedan.

    The sedan was veryrge. In fact, it was an extremelyfortable carriage.

    There was almost ten square meters inside. There was a desk, a chair and even a bed.

    Right now, Ju Zi was the only one inside. She was thinking silently.

    Gentle spiritual undtions spread, sealing the entire sedan. No sound from inside could be heard outside.

    ¡°Oh?¡± After realizing that something was amiss, Ju Zi subconsciously lifted her head. She looked at the space in front of her, which was empty.

    ¡°Are you here?¡± she asked softly.

    ¡°How did you know it was me?¡± Huo Yuhao asked, a little stunned.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised that two Ultimate Douluo had found him. However, it was illogical that Ju Zi was able to discover him. With her abilities, she shouldn¡¯t be able to discover him when he used his Imitation!

    Ju Zi smiled and said, ¡°Instincts. I knew you woulde. That¡¯s why I asked all my servants to leave. I was waiting for you, and you indeed came.¡±

    Huo Yuhao silently surfaced and sat on a bench in front of Ju Zi.

    ¡°How are you? I¡¯ve not seen you for some time.¡± Huo Yuhao asked a few meaningless questions. Although he had isted all sound within the sedan, he shared everything that was happening with Tang Wutong. One reason was for safety. Secondly, he was afraid that Tang Wutong would be jealous. Of course, thetter reason was more important.

    Ju Zi snorted, ¡°How am I? How can I be well? I¡¯m not fine at all. Should I hate you, or thank you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Of course you should thank me. Whether it¡¯s you or Xu Tianran, both of you want to get rid of the Holy Ghost Church, am I right? It¡¯s just that neither of you have found an excuse to. This time, I¡¯m delivering an excuse to you. Shouldn¡¯t you thank me?¡±

 Chapter 597.1 - Working Together

    <h4 ss>Chapter 597.1: Working Together</h4>

    Ju Zi snapped, ¡°You destroyed my beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions and killed the legionmander of my Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. This time, you even killed my remaining soul engineers. I should be thanking you? You are an enemy of the empire.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill either. However, if I don¡¯t, I don¡¯t know how many people from the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires would be killed by those soul engineers. It¡¯s no longer significant to talk about this now. I¡¯m here to ask you, does what you said to me earlier still count?¡±

    Ju Zi was stunned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth twisted a little. ¡°Killing Xu Tianran.¡±

    Ju Zi was finally enlightened, and she smiled. She replied, ¡°So what if it counts? So what if it doesn¡¯t count? Are you going to kill me if I don¡¯t stay true to my word? I¡¯m just afraid you won¡¯t bear to. Only you can sneak into my sedan. Even an Ultimate Douluo can¡¯t do so.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was a little helpless as he shook his head. Tang Wutong was above the sedan. Everything she said could be heard by Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and replied, ¡°Although I shouldn¡¯t be encouraging you to kill your husband, Xu Tianran is an anti-hero. His existence will only pose a huge threat to the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires. Even if you go back on your word, I¡¯ll still target him. Furthermore, I won¡¯t show mercy just because of you.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and asked, ¡°Why would I go back on my word? I should be pleased. We are only husband and wife in name. We don¡¯t act like a couple. My kid isn¡¯t his either.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was dazed for a moment, and subconsciously whispered, ¡°Be careful with your words.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s smile turned even sweeter. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I don¡¯t believe that you didn¡¯t soundproof this sedan. No one can hear me. What are you so scared of?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smacked his forehead and looked at Ju Zi strangely. Earlier, she had told him about herplicated rtionship with Xu Tianran. However, it was his first time hearing that her son wasn¡¯t Xu Tianran¡¯s biological son. He was the Crown Prince!

    Huo Yuhao turned grim, ¡°Did he find someone for you, then¡­¡±

    Ju Zi answered, ¡°Yes, he found someone for me. After that, he made me kill that person. It¡¯s a pity that he didn¡¯t expect me to find someone else instead of the person he assigned to me. That¡¯s why he needs to die. If he doesn¡¯t, everything will be exposed when my son¡¯s martial soul awakens when he turns six. Then, we¡¯ll both be doomed. For my son, I must kill him. You should also understand why I asked you to kill him. To a mother, she¡¯ll turn crazy if anyone threatens her kid. She¡¯ll fight for her kid. That¡¯s why you must not doubt my words. I must kill Xu Tianran. We share the same opinion when ites to this, don¡¯t we?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished as he looked at Ju Zi. It was like his first time meeting her.Whose kid is Xu Yunhan? Who did Ju Zi bear her child with?Suddenly, he was confused.

    When she saw how shocked he was, Ju Zi said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to suspect anything. It¡¯s my greatest secret. I feel much better having revealed it. Alright, tell me, how are you nning to kill Xu Tianran?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and calmed himself. No matter whose kid it was, it theoretically had nothing to do with him. He shouldn¡¯t probe either. It might be better for him to know less.

    ¡°It¡¯ll depend on you. I need you to tell me Xu Tianran¡¯s work and rest timings, as well as deployments across the entire Sun Moon Imperial Pce. If I¡¯m not wrong, given the current situation the Sun Moon Empire is in, Xu Tianran¡¯s defense in the pce must be erected against Ultimate Douluo. Given that, we might find it difficult to flee even if we seed in killing him. That¡¯s why I need more details. It¡¯s only then that I can truly kill him.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had personally witnessed the Body Douluo¡¯s death when he went to Radiant City thest time. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t even hurt, even though Du Busi unleashed an all-out attack. This showed how protected he was.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t think that he was stronger than Du Busi. This was why he needed more intelligence from Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi nodded and said seriously, ¡°You¡¯re right. Xu Tianran is indeed defensively strong. There¡¯s even stuff that I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll tell you everything I know. To get close to him, I suggest that you follow me. You¡¯ll only have a chance to get close to him if you get close to me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. ¡°Follow you? You are followed by your female soul engineers from the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. How can I follow you?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled. ¡°Can this stop you? Can¡¯t you conceal yourself? Given your current abilities, who can discover you?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Nothing is absolute. Just when you were attacked a few days ago, Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao discovered me and Wutong. However, they didn¡¯ty their hands on us. They just left. Through their instincts, Ultimate Douluo can discover us. In addition, there should be very powerful soul engineers in the pce. They might be able to discover us. That¡¯s why your safety is greatlypromised if I follow you. You must think this over carefully.¡±

    Ju Zi furrowed her brow. ¡°That is indeed a problem. However, just don¡¯t get too close to me. You should be able to conceal your aura. Although there are female soul engineers with me, can¡¯t you just put on some makeup? Oh, you mentioned that Wutong is with you. Is she fine?¡±

    ¡°Of course. She¡¯s very fine,¡± Huo Yuhao answered.

    A cold look shed across Ju Zi¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s a pity.¡±

    ¡°Do you really wish me dead?¡± Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Ju Zi was consistently teasing Huo Yuhao.

    A projection appeared, and Tang Wutong appeared with it. She sat beside Huo Yuhao and held his arm. It was as if she was unting that he belonged to her.

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression changed, and she coldly retorted, ¡°Whether or not you¡¯re dead doesn¡¯t concern me. We are only working partners now.¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled and said, ¡°Oh, wise words. We are only working partners now. Then, please show some self-respect. Whatever it is, you are a married woman. Even if you can¡¯t share a proper rtionship with your husband, you should learn some dignity. That¡¯s the baseline a woman should never cross.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ju Zi rarely got angry. However, she was about to act up after she was triggered by Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Alright, stop squabbling.¡± Huo Yuhao interjected. ¡°Ju Zi, describe the situation in the pce. As for concealing myself within your Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, we¡¯ll discuss that again.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ju Zi nodded. She didn¡¯t want to continue further either. She was afraid that she would be able to take it, and would reveal an even more important secret. If that happened, there would be no turning back.

    Seeing how Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were acting, she knew she didn¡¯t stand a chance at all. So what if she revealed the secret? She would only create more dangers for her son in the future. Although Huo Yuhao was soft-hearted, he was a decisive person when it came to the bigger picture. If anyone knew, the ramifications were unthinkable.

    When she thought until here, Ju Zi suppressed her deepest secret even further. She started to tell both of them about the situation in the imperial pce.

    ¡°¡­this is basically what¡¯s going on in the pce. That¡¯s why Xu Tianran can theoretically not be killed. Your chances are slim. However, no matter what, we must try. I¡¯ll find someone to coordinate with you when ites to this.¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked, ¡°Are youmanding your army to return to the empire? Is the war not going to continue?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already framed the Holy Ghost Church for what you did. I won¡¯t directly bring the army back to the empire. If I did, Xu Tianran would surely suspect me. When we reach the border, I¡¯ll relieve myself of any military authority and lead some of my soul engineers towards the capital. There, I¡¯ll plead guilty in front of Xu Tianran. That will be your chance.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not encouraged to bring your entire army back. It¡¯ll be too obvious. Xu Tianran will also be more alert. What other ns do you have?¡±

    Ju Zi replied, ¡°I understand Xu Tianran very well. This time, I¡¯ve framed the Holy Ghost Church. One thousand soul engineers were killed. They are the main pirs of the empire. Xu Tianran won¡¯t be able to hold it in anymore after learning that they are dead. He might even consolidate whatever strength he has when I return before attacking the Holy Ghost Church and removing thempletely. When that happens, there¡¯s bound to be a violent confrontation. That¡¯s also going to be when Radiant City is at its most chaotic. That will be another chance to strike.¡±

    Tang Wutong twisted her lips. ¡°That¡¯s a really vicious ploy.¡±

    Ju Zi snorted, ¡°Come up with a better n if you can!¡±

    Tang Wutong smiled and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have to think of another n. Women don¡¯t always have to be so intelligent. If they were, what would be left for their lover to experience? I¡¯m stupid, but it¡¯s enough that Yuhao is clever.¡±

 Chapter 597.2 - Working Together

    <h4 ss>Chapter 597.2: Working Together</h4>

    ¡°Vicious!¡± Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but be impressed. Women were much more powerful when they bickered with one another.

    Indeed, Ju Zi¡¯s aura became a little unbnced after hearing Tang Wutong¡¯s words. She red at her fiercely.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll proceed with the detailed n once we reach Radiant City. Since you¡¯re going to ce me within your Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, do it quickly. We¡¯ll be nearby. I¡¯ll use my Spiritual Detection tomunicate with you. One dayter, I¡¯lle find you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ju Zi nodded obediently. She also changed her expression very quickly.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong silently disappeared. Ju Zi remained seated in the sedan, and everything returned to normal very soon.

    She shut her eyes and quietly thought.

    When it came to this matter, they had to seed. Ju Zi knew what shecked. Shecked someone powerful beside her.

    Undoubtedly, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s arrival had changed this. From how Huo Yuhao had defeated Zhong Liwu, it showed that he possessed the ability to kill Xu Tianran. This was even more usible since he was very skilled at concealment. When it came to this, even an Ultimate Douluo couldn¡¯tpare to him.

    This was why she had to seed this time, no matter what. If they missed out on this opportunity, it would be almost impossible.

    When she thought until here, Ju Zi started to think of a detailed n. She had a series of ns she wanted toplete. Many details still had to be perfected.

    After exiting the sedan, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong silently rose into the sky before they carefully maintained their distance from the Sun Moon Empire army.

    ¡°Hmph! She¡¯s bad!¡± Tang Wutongmented furiously.

    Seeing how furious she was, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butfort her, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. She¡¯s actually having it very hard. She¡¯s a woman, but she¡¯s under so much pressure.¡±

    ¡°Do you feel that much pity for her?¡± Tang Wutong smiled as she looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao instantly shut his mouth. It was not a good idea to piss Tang Wutong off at such a time.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s smile slowly turned into a heavy look. After this, she leaped into Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace and tightly hugged him around his waist. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m acting like a child. However, I can¡¯t help it. The others are fine. Are there really ack of girls who like you? Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know. Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu actually fancy you. However, for some reason, I don¡¯t think they pose any threat. Only Ju Zi is different. I feel that her rtionship with you is a little unclear. If not for the fact that I fully trust you, I might think that her child has something to do with you.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. How can that be possible? I¡¯m still a, still a¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tang Wutong looked very innocent.

    Huo Yuhao snapped, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it. Whatever it is, I¡¯m the same as you.¡±

    ¡°How can it be the same? You¡¯re a man, but I¡¯m a woman. How can we possibly be the same?¡± Tang Wutong was already fully grinning by now.

    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± Huo Yuhao lowered his head and looked at her seriously.

    Tang Wutong was intelligent. Before Huo Yuhao could make a move, she immediately jumped out of his embrace and turned around before fleeing. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to know!¡±

    ¡°Toote!¡± Huo Yuhao screamed before he pursued her.

    They chased after each other in the sky just like that. The earlier unhappiness also gradually disappeared.

    Sun Moon Empire. Radiant City. Imperial Pce.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Xu Tianran mmed the letter in his hand on the table. His servants immediately kneeled down. They were all shaking. They were afraid that he would vent his anger on them.

    Over the past few days, many servants had incurred his wrath, and paid the price of death as a result.

    ¡°Bastards! Is the Holy Ghost Church intent on revolting?¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s aura had turned unstable.

    Not long ago, he had pondered Ju Zi¡¯s Sin of Memorandum for some time before he responded.

    The Holy Ghost Church shared a tense rtionship with the army. That was something that had been true for some time. However, Xu Tianran was a little doubtful that the Holy Ghost Church would attack and loot from the army. At least, it wasn¡¯t an agenda that was in the best interests of the Holy Ghost Church.

    However, the truth was disyed in front of him. Two beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had suffered heavy losses. From the evidence, everything pointed to the evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church. This led to an intense reaction from the army.

    Zhong Liwu had disappeared to some unknown ce after his fight with Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t have an opportunity to exin. After that, the army started a mutiny. Many lower to mid-tier evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church were killed. Only the Titled Douluo managed to escape.

    This intensified the conflict, and Ye Xishui personally came to look for Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran expressed his intention to investigate this matter thoroughly. However, how was he supposed to do that? Although he was the Emperor, he wasn¡¯t the only one calling the shots in the empire.

    Among those who died, there was someone very important. It was the legionmander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, who represented the interests of the members of the imperial family.

    His death was also apanied by the loss of many high-tier stationary soul cannon shells that the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had umted for years. Almost all of them were gone. How much did that cost?

    The imperial family was the pir of the empire, and the leaders of the nobles. Their interests were too important. Even though Xu Tianran wielded great power, he couldn¡¯t ignore them!

    The losses suffered by the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion almost drove the members of the imperial family crazy. Xu Tianran was also under a lot of pressure. The War God Empress was also highly protected by these members of the imperial family. From different avenues, they managed to find out what was happening at the front line. They were very satisfied with Ju Zi¡¯s protection of her soul engineers. It was important to know that the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was responsible for killing the most evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church when the mutiny urred!

    The pressure from both sides was focused on Xu Tianran. His decision was obvious. The Holy Ghost Church was bing less and less of an asset. He couldn¡¯t shake the empire¡¯s foundations because of them. This was not to even mention that Ju Zi was his most trusted aide, who also contributed greatly to the empire. The Heavenly Soul Empire was now part of the Sun Moon Empire. Without any backend disturbance, the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires would suffer the same fate very soon. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t worried about this at all.

    With the resources of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire developed even more smoothly. Ju Zi also had a deep hatred for the Star Luo Empire. She was intent on attacking them. She had arranged them to be thest not because her hate for them had dissipated, but because she wanted to deal with them when the Sun Moon Empire was at its strongest.

    As a result, Xu Tianran wrote a memorandum to admonish her heavily. When she returned to the empire, she would be punished. However, this didn¡¯t have any real meaning. When it came to this matter, it was obvious that Xu Tianran no longer gave the Holy Ghost Church any face.

    However, this couldn¡¯t be helped either. If he cared too much about the Holy Ghost Church, what would happen to his own soul engineers? What would happen to the imperial family? What about the nobles?

    The evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church were ostracized. This was a good opportunity to slowly make them less powerful.

    When Ye Xishui left, Xu Tianran did consider that the Holy Ghost Church would take revenge. However, the Holy Ghost Church had also developed very quickly over these years because of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s support. Some of their soul masters with wed martial souls or with martial souls that were likely to mutate were taken under the wing of the Holy Ghost Church and trained using the methods of evil soul masters. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters was also in the Sun Moon Empire. No matter how displeased the Holy Ghost Church was, they couldn¡¯t possibly ignore their own foundation.

    However, it seemed like Xu Tianran had underestimated how evil these soul masters were. A thousand soul engineers, killed just like that! All their resources had also been looted. Apart from those from the Holy Ghost Church, who could have done this?Bone Dragon? Despicable Bone Dragon. Zhong Liwu, you didn¡¯t return to carry out your duties, but you killed my army. Very good, very good!

    A sinister smile surfaced on Xu Tianran¡¯s face. No matter how cruel he was, he still had to empathize with his soldiers¡¯ feelings.

    His soldiers had killed many enemies at the front line. While not many of them died at their enemies¡¯ hands, many of them were killed by those on the same side. If he looked at this from another perspective, he couldn¡¯t possibly tolerate this incident if he were a general.

    The blood print on every blood letter was very clear. He also had an impression of the names of those who had written the letters.How pressed must they be to write such letters? Ju Zi¡¯s letter is at the bottom of the pile. It¡¯s evident that she is under a lot of pressure.

    If I don¡¯t deal with this matter well, I¡¯ll most definitely shake the foundation of the empire. I can only cut my losses now.

    When he thought until here, his face turned even colder. His killing intent also appeared.

    ¡°Reporting. There¡¯s news from the War God Empress at the frontline.¡±

    ¡°Report.¡±

    This time,there were no letters. It was news transmitted using transmission soul tools. A special messenger noted down the contents and directly reported to Xu Tianran.

    When he saw this letter, Xu Tianran immediately turned grim. Ju Zi had reported to him that the morale of her soldiers was very low. They also hated the Holy Ghost Church to the core. They couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and wanted an exnation. To prevent any further mutiny, she had no choice but to ede to their request. She led the entire army to the border and was nning to station them near the Ming Dou Mountain Range. On the one hand, she was trying to strike fear in the heart of the Star Luo Empire. On the other hand, she wanted to quickly bring the generals back into Radiant City to receive further instructions.

 Chapter 597.3 - Working Together

    <h4 ss>Chapter 597.3: Working Together</h4>

    Although the message wasn¡¯t very clear, Xu Tianran could clearly sense the rage in it. Evidently, things were getting unstable at the front line. This was something that he really didn¡¯t want to see.

    ¡°Projection.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± A ck figure silently appeared behind Xu Tianran. Even though the lighting was very bright, he still appeared illusory. His appearance wasn¡¯t clear.

    ¡°Gather more information on the Holy Ghost Church. This is a secret mission. Do not be discovered. Ask the legionmander of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to find me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± The ck figure silently retreated before disappearing into a dark corner.

    A light shed in Xu Tianran¡¯s hand. The paper that had recorded the message was instantly crushed before it disappeared. He had already made a decision by now. His rage dissipated a little.

    Holy Ghost Church, what a Holy Ghost Church. Since you¡¯ve already be a disobedient dog, don¡¯t me me for being vicious.

    The only reason why Xu Tianran hesitated a little was because of the two Ultimate Douluo. However, he had done detailed background research on Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui. Their ages were already a problem, not to even mention anything else.

    Those from the same generation as them were all already dead. They were considered the oldest among humans. They were both more than two hundred years old. They might die at any time. Ultimate Douluo weren¡¯t immortals, unless they could reach their way into a higher realm.

    Whether the godly realm existed was a big question. However, from their current condition, it seemed unlikely that they were going to the godly realm.Ju Zi, if things are fine on your side, you just need to wait a few more years until those two are dead. It won¡¯t be a problem to attack the Holy Ghost Church then.

    Shrek City.

    ¡°Eh, Sanshi, why are you back?¡± Bei Bei was astonished when he saw Xu Sanshi.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be at Dou Ling City? Our Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion has already been sent over. Why are you back? Why are all of you back?¡±

    Bei Bei was astonished as he looked at all his teammates.

    Xu Sanshi chuckled and said, ¡°Who¡¯s willing to remain at that ce? I¡¯m about to go crazy. Bei Bei, listen to me and you¡¯ll understand.¡±

    He recounted how Huo Yuhao and the rest had managed to enter Dou Ling City, and exined how he had managed to stabilize it. He also mentioned how he was a prince, as well as the various obstacles they had faced there.

    After hearing his recount, Bei Bei¡¯s expression immediately turned gloomy. The internal problems in Dou Ling City had prevented Xu Sanshi from strutting his stuff. They were still experiencing internal chaos at such a time.

    Bei Bei only looked slightly more relieved when Xu Sanshi mentioned that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had saved them at the most critical of times.

    ¡°You are really useless too. All of you can¡¯t even deal with five Titled Douluo. Sanshi, it¡¯s not a bad idea for you to return either. Go and cultivate. Don¡¯te out until you¡¯ve be a Titled Douluo.¡± Bei Bei snapped.

    Xu Sanshi snorted and replied, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s very easy to be a Titled Douluo? Eh, surely not. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re¡­¡±

    Bei Bei chuckled, and was a little pleased as he said, ¡°I¡¯m feeling great. For some reason, my cultivation speed has increased significantly ever since Xiao Ya was treated. It has improved by leaps and bounds. Xiao Ya has also made a breakthrough. She just went to the Spirit Pagoda a few days ago and fused with the Bluesilver Emperor. Now, we have two more Titled Douluo in the Tang Sect. That¡¯s why all of you must work harder. Alright, if little junior and Wutong appeared at the same time, does that mean Wutong ispletely well?¡±

    Xu Sanshi was depressed as he looked at Bei Bei. Their cultivations had been simr all this while. Now that Bei Bei had be a Titled Douluo, he was really dealt a huge blow.

    ¡°Yes, Wutong is not only well, but she has even made a breakthrough with little junior. From little junior¡¯s words, it seems like they are both Transcendent Douluo. You are only a Titled Douluo. What¡¯s there to unt? Nannan, let¡¯s go and make breakthroughs too. This time, I won¡¯te out until I be a Titled Douluo.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Bei Bei pulled Xu Sanshi to one side and asked him about everything that had happened in Dou Ling City in detail once again. After he verified that the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion had arrived and Xue Lingxun was there to help, he let Xu Sanshi go. However, he didn¡¯t allow him to cultivate as of yet. He pulled him to Shrek Academy first.

    It was important to let the academy know what was happening in the Dou Ling Empire.

    Things in Shrek City were much more rxed after the Sun Moon Empire left. The elites from the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires also retreated. Shrek City had already regained its peace. Of course, this was all on the surface. No one knew when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army would appear once again. They also didn¡¯t know who their next target was. Given the situation in the continent, none of them could really rx their guard.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Haha!¡± Softughter sounded. Ju Zi covered her small mouth and couldn¡¯t help butugh again.

    There were two people in front of her. They werepletely covered by fiery-red human-shaped soul tools. Only their helmets were off, revealing their facial appearance.

    One was the captivating and awe-inspiring Tang Wutong. Her long pinkish-blue hair and fiery-red human-shaped soul tool were in contrast. This made her seem even more ravishing.

    The other person was more interesting. Huo Yuhao was the other person in the human-shaped soul tool. He hadn¡¯t put on makeup yet. However, the human-shaped soul tools of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion were designed ording to the figure of a female!

    Although this human-shaped soul tool that Ju Zi had obtained for Huo Yuhao had once belonged to a female soul engineer with a rather big build, there was still a big difference between a female and male figure.

    For example, the chest armor was poking out slightly, and was fiery-red. When Huo Yuhao wore it, it did seem slightly weird.

    Even Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help butugh softly.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? I can just not wear it, can I? I can just use my Imitation to produce one.¡± Huo Yuhao snapped and was about to strip off the human-shaped soul tool.

    ¡°Don¡¯t! Didn¡¯t you mention that extremely strong individuals will be able to realize if you change your figure or conceal yourself? Furthermore, I don¡¯t know what new soul tools there are in Radiant City. So, it¡¯s better for you to wear it. We won¡¯tugh at you anymore. Once you put on the helmet, who would know you are inside?¡±

    ¡°However, it¡¯s really too much!¡± Huo Yuhao said, furious.

    ¡°Haha!¡± Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. She burst outughing. How ridiculous was it for a guy to wear a female human-shaped soul tool? Even if he wore the helmet, they still knew that he was the one inside!

    Huo Yuhao red at Tang Wutong as if he was telling her that he would deal with her when they returned.

    Ju Zi rushed a few steps forward, as she was afraid that he would go back on his word. She personally helped him wear his helmet, covering his appearance. It was much better after she covered his face.

    Tang Wutong smiled as she said, ¡°What an awe-inspiring female warrior. You look pretty good just like this.¡± As she spoke, she also wore her helmet.

    This human-shaped soul tool had no effect on Tang Wutong. All the human-shaped soul tools of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion were enhanced by fire, and were equipped with all types of fire-type soul tools. Although Tang Wutong didn¡¯t possess fire-type soul power, her light-type soul power could still demonstrate some fire-type characteristics. This was why she could use this soul tool too. Although it didn¡¯t enhance her a lot, it didn¡¯t weaken her.

    Huo Yuhao was more tragic. Not only did this human-shaped soul tool not fit him, but it also contradicted his Ultimate Ice soul power, even though he could control it using his spiritual power. He would not feelfortable in it at all. He only felt better by changing to his Spirit Eyes. However, there was nothing in it to help his agility.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it like this. Both of you will follow me at all times, as if you are my bodyguards. You can trust all my bodyguards. No one will suspect you if you don¡¯t say anything.¡± Ju Zi said seriously to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Of course, she still couldn¡¯t hide the amusement in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao decided not to speak anymore.

    Ju Zi walked in front of Huo Yuhao and smiled. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m acting against my own interests? We are clearly enemies, but we¡¯re teaming up.¡±

    The army moved very quickly. When equipped with all types of soul tools, they were proceeding faster than other armies from the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. Some of the carriages were propelled using Milk Bottles, and they could even carry quite a lot of soldiers.

    After a few days of observation, Huo Yuhao gained a deeper understanding of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s advantage in terms of soul tool technology. Just like he had expected, more and more of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool technology was being used on ordinary people now. Even though Milk Bottles were expensive and could only be operated through the soul power of soul masters, it was no longer a dream for ordinary people to be soul masters in the future, given that there was such a beginning already.

    This was the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s real advantage. No wonder Ju Zi dared to promise not to attack the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires in the next ten years after he killed Xu Tianran. She was confident! The two empires wouldn¡¯t catch up in terms of soul tool technology within ten years. They couldn¡¯t even gather enough resources.

    Whether it was the mining and purification of rare metals or soul tool production, the Sun Moon Empire had too much of an advantage. Although Shrek Academy was doing its best to catch up, it was impossible for an academy to challenge the likes of an entire empire!

 Chapter 598.1 - The Grieving Ju Zi

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Volume 44: Legacy of the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Death God Douluo, Chapter 598.1: The Grieving Ju Zi</h4>

    The army was now getting a lot closer to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s border. However, their morale was extremely low. None of themanders were in a good mood, and such things were extremely infectious. Hence, even the soldiers below them were feeling it.

    Even though the army had secured multiple victories on this campaign, they were feeling very displeased after problems had emerged internally within the army. This was amon sentiment shared by the soul engineers and themanders. One could only imagine how furious they must have felt to encounter these things when a golden opportunity for them to leave their names in the history books had shown itself. They couldn¡¯t wait to skin the entire Holy Ghost Church alive.

    Ju Zi was naturally a lot moreposed than the rest. She was sitting in her carriage, but she would asionally lift the curtains to glimpse at what was outside. Her eyes would naturally drift to where Huo Yuhao¡ªwho was wearing a female outfit¡ªwas. Even though her face would not give off any hint of emotion, Huo Yuhao would still be able to tell from her eyes that she wasughing deep down inside.

    This was the first time that Huo Yuhao was being punished in this manner. In fact, Ju Zi was not only the oneughing at Huo Yuhao! Tang Wutong would also burst intoughter periodically¡ªeven though she had already been warned many times by the soul engineer who was in charge of military discipline.

    Hence, while Huo Yuhao was very frustrated by the punishment he had received, Ju Zi was actually very happy about it.

    Even though Huo Yuhao had recently caused her a lot of trouble and had enraged her multiple times, the displeasure in her heart was gradually being melted by his mere presence beside her. In fact, she wished that this road they were traveling on would never end. At the very least, this would mean that he would be able to stay by her side. She felt good just seeing him every day. Ju Zi wondered why she didn¡¯t feel the same way when they were back in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

    The speed at which the army was moving definitely could not bepared to that of a soul engineer legion. Even then, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s troops were able to fast march at a quicker pace than the other empires¡¯ troops. Within five days, the border between the Sun Moon Empire and what was originally the Heavenly Soul Empire was now within sight.

    Ju Zi chose to reorganize her troops at an area close to the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire. After getting her troops to set up camp at that area, she gave out an order to the surrounding cities to resupply the army with rations and other supplies. The army was to rest up at that area while they waited for her next orders. In the meantime, she brought the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, as well as the remaining soul engineers from the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, with her back to Radiant City. The ss 9 soul engineers from the Imperial Consecration Hall also followed her back to the capital of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Now that she had nned to confront the Holy Ghost Church, Ju Zi would definitely bring along all the manpower she had. Even though two of the three beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were no longer what they used to be, she still effectively had two soul engineer legions when all their manpower wasbined. At the same time, she had quite a few ss 9 soul engineers with her. They would definitely be able to protect themselves even if they were to bump into an Ultimate Douluo like Ye Xishui.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were flying not too far away from Ju Zi. After all, they were supposed to be her personal guards. Right now, Huo Yuhao was definitely feeling ufortable in the human-shaped soul tool, which did not fit very well with his body. Even though he knew it was mainly psychological rather than physical difort, he still could not help but feel frustrated with his outfit. He was constantly trying to release his Ultimate Ice aura to counter the fire-type elemental fluctuations which wereing from the human-shaped soul tool.

    ¡°Xiao Yu, can youe over here?¡± Ju Zi, who was flying in the air, suddenly turned around and waved at Huo Yuhao. Xiao Yu was the name she had given him. Every soul engineer from the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion knew that their Marshal liked Xiao Yu a lot.

    The selection criteria for the soul engineers within the soul engineer legions were very strict. This was especially true for the Marshal¡¯s personal guards. Because Ju Zi was the one who was supposed to handpick her personal guards, no one knew Xiao Yu¡¯s background. In fact, they did not even know what she looked like, as she was always wearing her human-shaped soul tool.

    Huo Yuhao flew towards Ju Zi unwillingly before transmitting a message. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±

    Ju Zi lifted her visor as she moved closer to Huo Yuhao before shing him a mesmerizing smile. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I need you to prepare a meal for me. I heard your family has passed down a recipe for delicious grilled fish.¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t!¡± Huo Yuhao replied coldly.

    This was not the first time that Ju Zi had tried to make his life difficult. Ever since he had be her personal guard, she had made all sorts of difficult requests.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao knew that she was only doing these to get closer to him. However, this was precisely why he was very wary of her. In fact, Huo Yuhao was very against giving in to her demands.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao heard Tang Wutong¡¯s voice in his ears. ¡°Go ahead and grill the fish for her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled, and turned around to look at Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was still flying in a very rxed manner. It did not seem like she was angry at all.When did she be so magnanimous? Is she still the Tang Wutong I know?Huo Yuhao was a bit doubtful about her words.

    ¡°It¡¯s really fine. I really don¡¯t mind. However, you must tell her that I want a share of the grilled fish. I really miss the grilled fish you used to make.¡± Tang Wutong revealed her true intentions.

    It seems like this girl is also craving some food.Compared to his attitude towards Ju Zi, Huo Yuhao was very willing to prepare grilled fish for Tang Wutong. As long as that was what she wanted, Huo Yuhao would definitely do his best to satisfy her wants.

    Ju Zi frowned and replied, ¡°If you can¡¯t even fulfill such a small request, how do you expect me to cooperate with you?¡± This was not the first time she had used this to threaten him. However, it was undeniable that it was fairly effective.

    Of course, Huo Yuhao had also given clear rejections if the request was too much. Hence, Ju Zi did not have high hopes that he would agree to her every single request.

    However, much to her surprise, Huo Yuhao actually nodded after hesitating for a short while. ¡°Alright. But Wutong and I must get a share of the fish too.¡± He purposely added himself into the picture just so that Ju Zi would not reject his condition outright.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ju Zi replied without any hesitation. Huo Yuhao could tell that she was over the moon from the look in her eyes.

    Is this really necessary just to eat a few grilled fish? Is she still the invincible War God Empress I know?

    An hourter, Ju Zi ordered the group to settle down by a huge river. Catching fish was a piece of cake for soul engineers.

    Very soon, several fresh fish were presented in front of Ju Zi. The generals and soul engineers had all settled down at a ce which was fairly far from where she was. After all, it was best if both genders could stay in different rest areas. Hence, Ju Zi would not have to share the food Huo Yuhao was about to prepare.

    Because Huo Yuhao was wearing the human-shaped soul tool, he could only use the exposed part of his hands to prepare the fish. He was able to clean the fish and remove their scales in a short amount of time.

    Huo Yuhao was already very familiar with the grilling process. He was able to set up a rack in no time. Very soon, the twodies could smell the scent of grilled fish.

    Ju Zi naturally took the first fish. After taking her first bite, she could not help but look up topliment Huo Yuhao. Her eyes widened in disbelief as he nodded furiously to express her satisfaction with Huo Yuhao¡¯s grilled fish.

    The second fish was offered to Tang Wutong. She simply sat by the side and enjoyed the fish Huo Yuhao had grilled for her.

    It wasmon knowledge that women tend to have a greater appetite than men when it came to good food. Bothdies devoured Huo Yuhao¡¯s grilled fish like nobody¡¯s business.

    Perhaps it was because of her greater fighting power, but Tang Wutong seemed to have a greater appetite than Ju Zi. While Tang Wutong was still grabbing the next grilled fish, Ju Zi was already full.

    During this time, Huo Yuhao had also eaten a few grilled fish. However, he really did not have to eat much at his current cultivation. Even if he were to go without eating anything for a few days, he would still be perfectly fine.

    Ju Zi leaned on a huge tree behind her as she nced at Tang Wutong, who was sitting not too far away from her. ¡°Are you not jealous that he is making grilled fish for me to eat?¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head as she continued to eat her grilled fish happily.

    Huo Yuhao walked towards her before wiping the oil at the corner of her mouth with a clean handkerchief. Tang Wutong looked up and shed a blissful smile at him.

    Even though Ju Zi was not able to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression because of the visor on his face, she could still imagine the loving look in his eyes. She couldn¡¯t help but remark jealously, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re not jealous at all. I think you don¡¯t know how to cherish your man. If Huo Yuhao were my man instead, I would definitely not allow him to prepare food for another woman!¡±

    Tang Wutong shook her head and smiled at Ju Zi. ¡°This is really nothing. Besides, the stuff he gives me is always different from what he gives others.¡±

    ¡°Different? How is it different?¡± As one would have expected of Ju Zi, she had been paying close attention to the way Huo Yuhao had been grilling the fish. She made sure that he had followed the exact same procedure for both their fish. Hence, she did not believe what Tang Wutong had just said.

    Tang Wutong extended the grilled fish in her hands to Ju Zi and said, ¡°Since you like him so much, why don¡¯t you try the fish he gave me?¡±

    As she spoke, she retraced her arm and peeled off a chunk of fish for Ju Zi. Tang Wutong had decided not to be so magnanimous.

    Ju Zi took the piece of fish from Tang Wutong suspiciously. Her rationality told her that she should not be eating the leftovers of amoner as the powerful War God Empress. However, the curiosity and affection within her ultimately won her over as she stuffed the piece into her mouth.

    It took Ju Zi only a few bites for her to be stunned by the vor. She sat still as she stared nkly at the space before her.

    The vor in her mouth was simply out of this world! The fish meat was tender and juicy. It seemed to possess some sort of special energy. Even though its vor was more or less simr to that of the meat she ate earlier, this special energy was what made the meat so special. It was almost as if the entire grilled fish had been enhanced.

    In the meantime, Tang Wutong continued to eat her grilled fish. She still had the same blissful look on her face as she savored every bite.

    Ju Zi was stunned for a good long while before she finally swallowed the fish in her mouth. At that instant, she felt an immense satisfaction overwhelm her entire body. She felt as though she was being brought into a warm and loving embrace.

    ¡°W-What did you add to her grilled fish?¡± Ju Zi turned her head and asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao spoke inly, ¡°You¡¯ve been watching me while I was grilling the fish. You should know well enough that I did not vary my procedure because of Tang Wutong or you.¡±

    ¡°However, why is the vor different? In fact, it tastes so much better. I don¡¯t care. I want that kind of fish too.¡± Ju Zi spoke viciously.

 Chapter 598.2 - The Grieving Ju Zi

    Chapter 598.2: The Grieving Ju Zi

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°I am sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can do it.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you do it? I don¡¯t care. I want it too!¡± Ju Zi was practically shouting at Huo Yuhao. In fact, she was so loud that some of the soul engineers from the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion who were guarding the area turned around to make sure that their Marshal was okay.

    Ju Zi waved her hand and told them that she was fine. She tried to slow her breathing as she looked at both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Why? Why are you not able to do it for me?¡± By now, her voice had softened.

    Huo Yuhao let out a gentle sigh before shaking his head. He did not go on to exin why as he looked away.

    Tang Wutong stood up and finished the grilled fish in her hand before exining to Ju Zi, ¡°The emotions were different. You need to stop making things difficult for him. He didn¡¯t do it on purpose. He simply had different emotions when he was grilling the fish for us. Hence, the vor will still be different, even though they were grilled in the same way. That¡¯s why I was never overly concerned that he was grilling fish for you. Unless I¡¯m willing to share my grilled fish for you, you will never be able to taste the vor of love.¡±

    Tang Wutong walked towards Huo Yuhao before she leaned into his body. ¡°The grilled fish was very delicious. I love you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was startled by her short, simple sentences. It was the first time that Tang Wutong had expressed her love towards Huo Yuhao in front of someone else. This was a pleasant surprise for him. Even though he knew that Tang Wutong was trying to piss Ju Zi off, he was certain that she meant every single word she had said to him.

    ¡°I love you too,¡± Huo Yuhao said. His heart had already melted after hearing what she had just said.

    Tears started to stream down Ju Zi¡¯s face in an uncontroble fashion as she watched them hug before her. She finally understood why Tang Wutong was willing to allow him to grill fish for her. She was neither trying to be kind, nor was she hungry. She had simply wanted to show her that she didn¡¯t stand a chance at wresting Huo Yuhao from her!

    She finally understood it was not that Tang Wutong was not jealous of her. In fact, Tang Wutong had always been jealous of her. She was trying to put her down in the strongest possible way. Even though Ju Zi knew that she needed to be strong in moments like this, she still couldn¡¯t help but cry.

    So what if I manage to conquer the entire continent? I have still lost to her. As long as he leaves his heart with her, I will never stand a chance.

    Her tears blurred her vision. Ju Zi turned around and wiped away the tears on her face. She covered her face with her visor before walking to the side silently. She started to walk away from them as she remained silent.

    ¡°Did I go overboard?¡± Tang Wutong snuggled against Huo Yuhao and asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re trying to get her to give up on me. There¡¯s already no chance that we can get together. Besides, I don¡¯t want her to hold any more feelings for me. What you¡¯ve done is correct. But I have to admit that Ju Zi is quite pitiful. You can tell that there is still kindness in her heart. She did not kill needlessly while she was conquering those cities. If not, I would have killed her despite our past rtionship. ¡±

    ¡°Past rtionship?¡± Tang Wutong looked up immediately. She was alerted by Huo Yuhao¡¯s usage of such words.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his visor before he nted a kiss on her red lips.

    It just so happened that Ju Zi had turned around at this very instant after reaching the riverbank. After seeing them kiss, she could not help but fly into a rage. She dashed towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong in a furious and mad manner.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally able to sense her movement. After all, his powerful cultivation meant that he was able to sense most of the movement in his surroundings. He let go of Tang Wutong before turning around to look at Ju Zi. Following which, he released a gentle stream of soul power which formed a barrier that blocked Ju Zi from getting near them.

    Ju Zi red at Huo Yuhao with blood-red eyes and shouted, ¡°Huo Yuhao, do you know how much I¡­¡±

    At that instant, the golden trident on Tang Wutong¡¯s forehead suddenly appeared before it emitted a golden ray of light thatnded on Ju Zi¡¯s body.

    Ju Zi trembled vigorously as she stumbled backward. It was almost as if she had discovered something extremely frightening. Her eyes widened in fear as she ended her sentence there and then.

    ¡°Wutong, what did you just do?¡± Huo Yuhao was startled as he turned around to look at her. Based on his understanding of her, Huo Yuhao knew that she would never harm Ju Zi even if she was jealous of her.

    ¡°Huh? I also have no idea what just happened.¡± Tang Wutong was equally worried as she quickly stepped forward to support Ju Zi. ¡°Ju Zi, are you alright? I really don¡¯t know what just happened.¡±

    Huo Yuhao believed that Tang Wutong would never lie to him. Besides, her tone and emotional fluctuations did not seem to suggest that she was lying. But then, what was that golden light?

    At this instant, their positions seemed to have been reversed. Ju Zi was now theposed one, while the other two were panicking over her. She shook her head and told Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m sorry for being so emotional. I just need to rest for a while.¡± Following which, she walked over to a big tree and sat down. Everything seemed to have be normal again.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong turned around to look at one another. Neither of them had any idea what had just happened. However, now that they no longer were in the mood to get intimate with one another, they simply sat down and rested up.

    At this moment, Ju Zi, who seemed to have returned to her usual calm state, was actually very confused. She was still trying to understand what had just happened to her. When that beam of golden lightnded on her, she felt as if her entire body had been pinned down by a mountain. She also heard an immensely authoritative and frightening voice talk to her inside her head.

    The person with the mysterious voice said something that doused all the feelings of injustice and frustration within her heart. His words woke her up and left her with nothing but fear.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to destroy you and your child, you would better keep what you want to say to yourself.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Without the entire army burdening them, the soul engineer legions were able to move at top speed. Because the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were all capable of flight, they were able to fly for a good two hours with the help of milk bottles before they needed tond and rest.

    Hence, they were able to see Radiant City in just slightly more than a day¡¯s time.

    While Ju Zi was flying with her human-shaped soul tool, she gazed at Radiant City, whichy before her. She knew that there was no room for failure. She must seed in what she had nned to do. If she were to fail, there would be no turning back. Of course, she had prepared for the worst. Even if she were to fail, she would not lose everything. However, she knew well enough that her loved one would definitely die if she were to fail.

    Even though she had already given up on him, and had understood that she had no hope of getting together with him, she was unable to give up her feelings for him! Hence, she was constantly being tormented by her feelings. However, Ju Zi knew that she had to focus on the task at hand.

    She took in a deep breath and allowed the cold air to calm her nerves and emotions. She had to seed. She could not fail, for her son, for herself, and for him.

    To be honest, conquering the entire continent had never been her priority. The most important thing for her was to control her own destiny. Aftermanding the army for so long, she definitely knew how the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s technological advantage would not disappear in just ten years. Hence, she was not anxious at all.

    However, she was very worried about her son. As her son continued to grow, it would soon be his turn to undergo the martial soul awakening ceremony. She had absolutely no idea what martial soul her son would inherit. Hence, she was really very scared for her son.

    She knew she could not afford to wait any longer. This was the best chance she had to take charge of her own destiny.

    At this moment, Huo Yuhao was also overwhelmed a wave of emotions. He could no longer remember how many times he had been to Radiant City. In fact, he had always left Radiant City with different impressions and feelings.

    He was initially very impressed with how the city was set up. Now, he felt as if he could control and destroy the city if he really wanted to. This was a transformation that came about as he became stronger.

    At the end of the day, one could only rely on one¡¯s abilities. One could only truly be confident after bing powerful. In addition, he now had someone he loved whom he could trust with his life. After their encounter with the two Ultimate Douluo, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had been training very hard, and were definitely improving faster than an average Transcendent Douluo could. In fact, Huo Yuhao believed that they would be able to reach Rank 98 earlier than he had previously projected.

    Radiant City, Xu Tianran, and the Holy Ghost Church, we are finally here. This time around, we must influence affairs from within the Sun Moon Empire. This is the only way we can fight for more time for the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire.

    Huo Yuhao was confident that both he and Tang Wutong would be able to be Ultimate Douluo by the time the war would start again in ten years¡¯ time. Both of them would be the first Ultimate Douluo in history to possess three soul cores. Even though soul tools would still be immensely powerful, he believed that they would be able to influence some of the events within the continent with their superior abilities.

    At the end of the day, Huo Yuhao did not believe that the three empires¡¯ soul tool technology would be able to catch up with the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s in these ten years. However, he felt that he would have a chance at deciding the oue of the war once he had be sufficiently powerful.

    A faint light flickered across Huo Yuhao¡¯s face as he shed a smile. Xu Tianran, let¡¯s have a proper fight this time.

    The three soul engineer legions started to descend when they were about twenty-five kilometers away from Radiant City. Afternding, they did not head towards Radiant City immediately. Instead, they stayed where they were and reorganized themselves.

    After all, it wasmon knowledge that flying above Radiant City was strictly forbidden. Unless they were given special permission by the Emperor, they would not be able to fly above the city. In fact, all of these returning troops had to be checked before they could enter Radiant City. Only military officers would be exempted from these checks. This was a rule everyone had to abide by.

 Chapter 598.3 - The Grieving Ju Zi

    Chapter 598.3: The Grieving Ju Zi

    News of their return instantly spread to the rest of the capital. Very soon, a soul engineer legion flew out from the center of Radiant City. It was apparent that they had been given special permission to fly.

    Even though this was not Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, he was still very impressed by them.

    Every single one of their soul engineers was wearing a thick human-shaped soul tool which could barely conceal their powerful auras. Compared to them, the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions looked very juvenile.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion consisted of only Soul Douluo. Their hundred-man team were all eight-ringed Soul Douluo¡ªor rather ss 8 soul engineers.

    It was immensely frightening that the Sun Moon Empire was able to gather so many powerful soul engineers and put them in a regimented environment. They were essentially Xu Tianran¡¯s trump card to anyone who tried to threaten the Sun Moon Empire. On top of that, Radiant City was continually improving and enhancing its defenses. Hence, Radiant City was also called the number one city on the entire continent.

    Huo Yuhao waited quietly behind Ju Zi.

    As the hundred soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion descended from the sky, a soul engineer in a human-shaped soul tool stepped forward to bow and greet Ju Zi.

    ¡°War God Empress, His Majesty has an order for you. He wants you to lead allmanders and generals who are vicemanders and above into the city. His Majesty will wee all of you personally at the Pce. The rest of the three soul engineer legions shall remain here and await further orders.¡±

    The soul legionmanders who were standing behind Ju Zi couldn¡¯t help but reveal a look of displeasure after hearing what that soul engineer had said. After all, they had just returned victorious after destroying the Heavenly Soul Empire. Instead of being weed in a ceremonious way, they had only sent a soul engineer from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to receive them. This was something they found hard to ept.

    Upon sensing the dissatisfaction behind her, Ju Zi raised her hand to demand silence from them. Following which, she went down on one knee before acknowledging the order.

    Afterward, Ju Zi removed the helmet of her human-shaped soul tool before passing it to Huo Yuhao, who was standing by her side. Following which, she led the vicemanders andmanders into Radiant City.

    That representative from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion immediately rified, ¡°War God Empress, His Majesty has granted special permission for you to fly in with themanders under you.¡±

    However, Ju Zi shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. How can we fly in just like that after returning from a war? That would be very disrespectful to His Majesty. We will walk in. I am sorry that I will have to trouble all of you to walk in with me to see His Majesty.¡±

    After finishing her sentence, she did not even turn her head as she continued walking in the direction of the Pce.

    As they were only her personal guards, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong naturally could not follow her. After all, Xu Tianran had already said that he only wanted themanders and vicemanders to enter the city. This meant that he did not want to see any soldier or guard enter the city. Hence, both of them could only wait here.

    Of course, Ju Zi knew that Xu Tianran was not trying to ill-treat her. His decision was founded solely on safety considerations. The three soul engineer legions should naturally not be allowed to enter Radiant City right after returning from a battle. But because of this, Ju Zi could be vulnerable if a soul master from the Holy Ghost Church were to attack her now. Hence, Xu Tianran had sent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to protect her.

    Of course, Ju Zi would not share her guess with the people around her. It was better that hermanders and vicemanders were displeased with Xu Tianran. It would only be advantageous to her n she.

    After watching Ju Zi leave, Tang Wutong transmitted a message to Huo Yuhao. ¡°What should we do now?¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a faint smile and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait here. I¡¯m sure Ju Zi will settle everything for us. When we returned to Radiant City, I could sense that she has be normal again. When she is in her usual state, she is definitely way better than us when ites to military and political affairs. We should just let her handle the problem.¡±

    Tang Wutong rolled her eyes and said, ¡°It seems like you have a lot of trust in her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao simply replied, ¡°There are no permanent enemies. This time, she needs our help. Even if she were to disregard the friendship we had in the past, she would not do anything disadvantageous to us before our mission is aplished. Besides, I have spread out my Spiritual Detection as much as possible. If she harbors any ill intentions against us, we can definitely react in time.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Tang Wutong did not say any more words of jealousy.

    One of the military officers who had been ordered to stay behind gave them instructions to rest up.

    The soul engineer legions started to set up camp where they were. Normally, they would have to set up soul tool deployment areas and install their soul tools to prepare for battle. However, now that they had returned to the outskirts of Radiant City, there was no longer a need for those procedures. In fact, they might even be suspected of treason if they were to do that.

    Inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Pce.

    Xu Tianran was leading the minister and generals under him as he waited by the Pce Gates silently.

    Ju Zi should have entered the city by now. However, she was still out of his sight. As he stared into the distant sky, Xu Tianran could not help but wonder why she had still not arrived.

    At this instant, a representative from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion flew back andnded not too far from Xu Tianran. He quickly dashed over before kneeling before him.

    ¡°Your Majesty, the War God Empress has led the Imperial Dragon, Evileye Tyrant, and Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legions back to Radiant City. The War God Empress has decided against flying into the city out of respect for you. Hence, she will still need a fair bit of time before she arrives at the Pce.¡±

    After hearing his words, Xu Tianran smiled to himself. Ju Zi, you have not disappointed me! It seems like you have not allowed your achievements to go to your head; I am very pleased to see that.

    ¡°Where did the War God Empress and themanders enter Radiant City?¡±

    The representative quickly answered Xu Tianran¡¯s question.

    Xu Tianran nodded as he turned around to face his ministers and generals. ¡°Our War God Empress has been undefeated, and has once again conquered morend for our empire. She has achieved a lot, and deserves to be rewarded. It is also rare that she understands our etiquette, and chooses not to fly into our city. I want all of you to follow me and wee her. We need to acknowledge the achievements of our army.¡±

    ¡°Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!¡± The ministers and generals cheered loudly in unison. At this instant, it was possible to tell that all of them had all sorts of expressions written on their faces. However, none of them dared to question what Xu Tianran had just said.

    The conflict between the army and the Holy Ghost Church was not something which could be hidden. After all, news of how Ye Xishui had tried to ambush the army had already spread back to Radiant City.

    Now that things hade to this stage, none of the ministers would support the Holy Ghost Church. After all, those evil soul masters were never well-liked among them.

    It was needless to say what the generals felt about the Holy Ghost Church. After all, the War God Empress was one of them. Even though she was the Empress, she had helped secure countless victories for the army and the empire over the past few years. Now that the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯snd had been added to the Sun Moon Empire, the status of the army and the generals would most likely overtake that of the ministers. Hence, the support the generals andmanders had for Ju Zi would only increase as the days went by.

    In fact, they were very impressed by how the War God Empress had volunteered to shoulder the responsibility for the soul engineers under her who had killed the evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church. In addition, she had even requested to be relieved from her appointment as the Marshal after that incident. How would she not be able to move these naive generals? Even the rich and powerful people within the Sun Moon Empire were now very supportive of Ju Zi.

    They would definitely not have any objections now that Xu Tianran wanted to wee the War God Empress personally.

    Even though Xu Tianran mentioned that he was going to receive Ju Zi personally, they were not actually walking quickly towards her and her group ofmanders. After all, it was going to be a few kilometers. However, it was not long before Ju Zi. who was dressed in her fiery red human-shaped soul tool, appeared in Xu Tianran¡¯s sight.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s eyesight was very good. He could see very clearly that she was not wearing her helmet. Her fatigue was clearly written over her face, even though her eyes showed the determination she had within her.

    It pained him to know that his Empress had suffered so much for him. This is my Empress! If only I could¡­ She really deserves my love! She has been fighting so hard for my ambitions and for the empire. Yet I am still so wary of her.

    Ju Zi, Ju Zi! Tell me, how is my heart not supposed to ache for you?

    As this thought drifted across his mind, Xu Tianran quickened his steps as he moved forward to receive her.

    Simrly, Ju Zi also increased her speed as she strode quickly towards Xu Tianran without using any of her soul tools.

    When they were about ten meters from each other, Ju Zi knelt down before him.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Her voice was trembling as tears streamed down from her face.

    By now, Xu Tianran was a lot more used to his prosthetic leg. He quickly strode forward and hugged Ju Zi, who was kneeling before him.

    Ju Zi hugged him tightly as she started to bawl loudly.

    The ministers and generals knew they should not move closer or interrupt this moment. They could tell how important Ju Zi was to Xu Tianran from the way he was hugging her.

    Themanders and vicemanders who had followed Ju Zi also knelt down. As they watched her cry, tears welled up in their eyes.

    This was especially true for Xia Xuanchen, the legionmander of the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. He was already very distraught after seeing so many of his subordinates die at the hands of the Holy Ghost Church. After returning to the army and seeing how the War God Empress had suffered so much for everyone, one could only imagine the intensity of the emotions pent up within him.

    The vicemanders of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion were also bawling uncontrobly. After all, almost the entire legion had been destroyed. On top of that, they had no idea where their soul tool supplies had gone. No one hated the Holy Ghost Church more than them. Previously, they were also the ones who had killed the greatest number of evil soul masters from the Holy Ghost Church.

    Xu Tianran spoke gently, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t cry, my dear Empress. Don¡¯t cry. All is well now that you have returned. I will make everything right for you.¡±

    After crying for a while longer, Ju Zi slowly broke free from Xu Tianran¡¯s embrace before taking two steps back. Following which, she kowtowed once more to Xu Tianran.

    ¡°I, the Marshal and Commander of the Three Armies, Ju Zi, shall now hand my appointment back to Your Majesty.¡± As she spoke, she handed her Commander¡¯s Seal back to Xu Tianran.

    Xu Tianran did not take the seal from her. Instead, he said, ¡°Rise, my Empress. Rise, my loyal subjects andmanders. All of you have done a lot for our empire. I have decided to reward all of you for expanding thend of the Sun Moon Empire. Follow me back to the Pce.¡±

    All of the ministers andmanders then followed Xu Tianran as he held Ju Zi¡¯s hand and strolled back to the Pce.

 Chapter 599.1 - Xu Tianrans Decision

    <h4 ss>Chapter 599.1: Xu Tianran¡¯s Decision</h4>

    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s my fault for not managing the army well. I am willing to ept any punishment.¡± Ju Zi whispered to Xu Tianran.

    However, Xu Tianran shook his head and turned to look at her. Compared to when she had just left, she had be a lot more frail. Her radiant skin had be a little duller. It was clear that she had suffered from a lot of stress during the war. Even Xu Tianran would not deny that Shrek Academy was extremely hard to deal with.

    Afterward, Ju Zi had also had to manage the conflict between hermanders and the Holy Ghost Church. One could only imagine the stress she had been under. It was telling how she had opted to return the Commander¡¯s Seal right after she had led the troops back to the capital.

    ¡°My dear Empress, why are you returning the seal?¡± Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi lowered her head and answered, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can return the trust Your Majesty has ced in me. Even though I am very willing to fight for Your Majesty, I am but a woman. At the end of the day, a woman will experience moments of fragility at times. Even though I am confident of taking down our enemies in war no matter how strong they are, I am powerless when ites to some of the pressureing from within our empire. I really want to be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of troops under me. But I am starting to doubt my ability to protect them. This responsibility is simply too heavy for me. It¡¯s not that I want to push it away, but I really recognize the limits of my abilities. Hence, I urge Your Majesty to look for someone else who is more capable. I only wish to be by Your Majesty¡¯s side, and spend time with Your Majesty and Little Yunhan.¡±

    Tears immediately welled up in Ju Zi¡¯s eyes the moment she mentioned her son. Xu Tianran could even feel that her hands were trembling.

    That¡¯s true! Even though she is exceptionally capable, she is but a woman¡ªady who simply wants to stay by her husband and child¡¯s side. It¡¯s so unfortunate that the kid is not my own son. If not¡­

    It pained Xu Tianran to see Ju Zi like this. He consoled her and replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You have already done very well. It is definitely time for us to settle some of the things you have mentioned. You can rest assured that I will definitely fight for the justice you deserve. You are definitely the person I can trust the most, and also the person who is closest to me. It¡¯s time for you to rest up properly now that you have returned. The army also needs to rest and be resupplied. We need to consolidate our control over the Heavenly Soul Empire. After all, I am still decently young; we are not in a hurry to conquer the entire continent. I will make sure that you will not have any other worries the next time you set off on campaign. As of now, no one is more deserving to be the Commander of the Three Armies. I want you to remain as the Marshal.¡±

    After returning to the Pce, Xu Tianran immediately announced the rewards that the army and themanders would get. Even though he did not seem to give many rewards to Ju Zi, it was clear that he still ced a lot of trust in his War God Empress. He was definitely going to end his rtionship with the Holy Ghost Church. That would be the biggest reward she could get.

    After the Three Armies received their rewards, Ju Zi immediately took off her human-shaped soul tool. She dashed to the back of the Pce to look for her son!

    Following which, she stayed away from the main hall of the Pce for the next three days. In fact, she did not even contact any of themanders she had brought back. She simply spent all her time with her son as she tried to be the best mother possible for Little Yunhan.

    Xu Tianran was naturally very pleased to see this. She definitely fit his idea of a good wife. She was capable, loyal and deserving of trust. Most importantly, she did not seem to possess any unwee ambitions.

    Even though he was still unable to get over the fact that he could not have his own child, he believed that this was probably the next best thing. In his eyes, Ju Zi would not be able to betray him, even if it were for her son. This meant that he could hand over his troops to her without any worries.

    In the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters.

    ¡°Mother, even though Xu Tianran has rewarded the army, he did not even mention how they tried to kill us. It seems like he has already decided to give up on us.¡± Zhong Liwu¡¯s face was extremely pale as he spoke to Ye Xishui.

    Ye Xishui was sitting in a seat as she listened to her son with an expressionless face. She said, ¡°Have you finished transporting our resources?¡±

    ¡°Most of them have already been shifted to the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯snd. Even though the Sun Moon Empire has taken over theirnd, it should take a while before they fully understand the situation over there. By then, we should be able to anchor down over there.¡±

    Ye Xishui replied, ¡°This time, we have really suffered a lot from this war. Without resting for a hundred years, it will be impossible for us to regain the strength that we have lost. I still can¡¯t believe that Xu Tianran would actually cut us off after using us. I will not let this matter rest just like this. Once our resources have beenpletely moved away, I will make sure they pay for this!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhong Liwu¡¯s eyes were full of hatred.

    After fighting with Huo Yuhao, he had hurt his martial soul and sustained several injuries which were extremely damaging to his body. Following which, he was bugged by the matters at the front line. Even now, the Titled Douluo under him were still unable to exin why the army had suddenly attacked them. In fact, he believed that the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s talk about how they and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had been attacked by evil soul masters was aplete joke. However, they were somehow able to produce a fairly persuasive argument.

    It was then that Ye Xishui had sensed that things were turning bad. The reason why she had chosen to attack the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was because she had wanted to see how Xu Tianran would react to it. It was important for her to determine his attitude towards the Holy Ghost Church.

    She knew that Xu Tianran had not pursued the matter with Ju Zi. Hence, she wanted to increase the pressure on him and see how he would react.

    However, she did not expect him to not do anything about it. In fact, he simply allowed the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army to return without saying anything.

    After seeing that things were turning for the worse, Ye Xishui immediately ordered her people within the Holy Ghost Church to transport the supplies and resources they had gained from the Sun Moon Empire to their secretir within thend of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    Ye Xishui definitely knew what kind of person Xu Tianran was. He would definitely destroy whoever tried to stop him at all costs.

    The Holy Ghost Church would definitely not be exempted from this rule. Now, only she and Long Xiaoyao could deter him from destroying the Holy Ghost Church. Once both of them were gone, Xu Tianran would definitely snuff them out.

    Hence, Ye Xishui had already made up her mind to move the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters elsewhere. This would give them precious time to recuperate while they waited for an opportunity to strike back.

    She was not too concerned about whether Xu Tianran nned to take down the Holy Ghost Church. After all, she had eyes and ears nted everywhere within the Sun Moon Empire. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s dominance in the Sun Moon Empire over the past few years had allowed her to build up an extensivework. She would definitely get hold of any news before heunched an attack on the Holy Ghost Church. After all, she also knew how to usemunication soul tools.

    ¡°Mother, how do you n to get back at the Sun Moon Empire? I must say that Ju Zi is a really formidable woman. We should definitely kill her when the first opportunity arises. After we take her down, we will have nothing to fear from Xu Tianran. Even though I don¡¯t like that woman, I must say that she¡¯s really the best Marshal in our generation. She is definitely more capable than the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire.¡± Zhong Liwu said.

    Ye Xishui nodded and said, ¡°I had already nned to kill her back in the valley. However, she was well-prepared back then. This time, Xu Tianran had also sent a hundred soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to protect her. Because they were all around her, it would be hard for me to kill her with a single blow. The Sun Moon Empire has really developed too quickly over the past few years. Soul masters are bing more and more worthless. No wonder they could destroy the Heavenly Soul Empire with ease. Liwu, I need you to gather all the people we have. I need you to take all the supplies and disciples who are seven-ringed and below with you. Even though I don¡¯t think Xu Tianran dares to turn on us yet, we need to prepare for the worst. I will now go and look for him. I need to know what he ns to do with the Holy Ghost Church, and how he ns to answer my questions.¡±

    As she spoke, Ye Xishui stood up and left the room.

    Zhong Liwu was startled by his mother¡¯s words. ¡°Mother, are you sure you won¡¯t be in danger?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no ce in this world that is truly life-threatening for me,¡± Ye Xishui replied arrogantly, ¡°you must remember that your mother is already an Ultimate Douluo. Besides, Long Xiaoyao is also around. The Sun Moon Empire would definitely have to think twice before meddling with two Ultimate Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will now go and prepare the things you have told me to do. However, please be careful. Don¡¯t let your anger hurt your body.¡± Zhong Liwu was showing care and concern for his mother.

    ¡°Alright, you may leave now.¡±

    After Zhong Liwu had left, Ye Xishui was the only person left in this dark room. She seemed to cut a lonely figure as she lowered her head and gazed into the distance.

    ¡°Is it really worth it? You should know that your goal is impossible to attain. Even if I were to support you fully, it would still be impossible.¡± A low, resigned voice echoed within the room.

    ¡°Have you even once tried your best to help me?¡± Ye Xishui asked coldly.

    A towering figure stepped out of the darkness. He was none other than the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao walked towards Ye Xishui and said, ¡°Xishui, stop while you still can. It is impossible for the Holy Ghost Church, a group of evil soul masters, to survive in the long run. No matter where you set up your headquarters, there will still be people who will go after you and try to destroy you. You should know how ambitious Xu Tianran is. Once he has aplished some of his objectives, he will definitely cut off all ties with the Holy Ghost Church. And it all boils down to the problem of evil soul masters. From the look of things, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely be able to conquer the entire continent in the near future. When that happens, that will be the end for the Holy Ghost Church. They will definitely emte what happened back then and try to cleanse the continent of all evil soul masters.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Ye Xishui suddenly exploded with rage.

    Long Xiaoyao kept quiet as Ye Xishui¡¯s rapid breathing echoed within the room.

    ¡°Is it really worth it?¡± Long Xiaoyao sighed and muttered.

 Chapter 599.2 - Xu Tianrans Decision

    Chapter 599.2: Xu Tianran¡¯s Decision

    Ye Xishui suddenly turned around and stared coldly at Long Xiaoyao. ¡°Mu En asked me the same question back then. Do you want to answer on my behalf?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body started to shudder vigorously. One could see the sadness in his eyes.

    After seeing how Long Xiaoyao had reacted to her words, Yi Xishui sighed and said, ¡°Forget about it, Xiaoyao. I am in the wrong. I should not have mentioned that. At the end of the day, you have spent more than a hundred years with me even if you were wrong back then. This is something Mu En and Zhongli Wu¡¯s father would never be able to do. I know you are the one who loves me the most. You must have struggled a lot and med yourself all these years. Do you know I have long wanted to tell you that I have forgiven you? But I am afraid that once I say that, you will leave me. And when that happens, I will no longer have someone I can trust with my heart.¡±

    The pain in Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes had disappeared. Tears started to well up in his eyes instead.

    Ye Xishui gently leaned on his body and allowed herself to enter his embrace. ¡°Now, I have really forgiven you. You don¡¯t have to feel bad about that incident anymore. You no longer owe me anything after all that you have done for all these years. Now, you can rest assured and leave. Do what you have always wanted to do. Don¡¯t let me burden you.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao gave her a bitter smile and asked, ¡°You have sensed that something bad is about to happen, right?¡±

    Ye Xishui¡¯s body froze.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s been a while since youst threatened me with that. However, I have already gotten used to being by your side. Do you know what I¡¯m trying to say? Even though I won¡¯t help you with your wrongdoings, I have always protected you and stood by your side. Hence, I am partially at fault for those things you have done. We are already on the same boat. Over the course of these hundred years, I have struggled a lot whenever I saw you kill and nurture your evil soul masters. However, I was willing to bear with the pain and conflict in my heart to stay by your side. This is because my love for you outweighs everything else. I am willing to continue to stay by your side even if I can¡¯t stop you from doing what¡¯s wrong. However, if karma does strike back at you one day, I am willing to take it on with you.¡±

    Tears started to stream from Ye Xishui¡¯s eyes. She used her fists to hit Long Xiaoyao¡¯s chest repeatedly.

    ¡°Why are you so dumb? Why are you so dumb?!¡±

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and hugged her even tighter than before. ¡°Because I love you! It¡¯s that simple. You were right. I can be proud to say that there¡¯s no one in this world who loves you more than I do.¡±

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had waited quietly for three days, but there was still no news from Ju Zi. However, they learned about how the army was rewarded for their achievements on the battlefield.

    The three soul engineer legions had been given permission to enter the city. They were naturally sent back to where they had been housed previously.

    Even though the Sun Moon Empire had conquered the Heavenly Soul Empire, they had suffered huge losses. This was especially true considering how many powerful soul engineers they had lost.

    Two of the four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions had been wrecked by their enemies. The thousand soul engineers they had dispatched to reinforce the others were alsopletely wiped out. On top of that, they had lost about five ss 9 soul engineers. Coupled with the resources and supplies they had expended, as well as the Holy Ghost Church problem, the Sun Moon Empire was fairly shaken by the war.

    Of course, this might also be a good chance for the Sun Moon Empire to start afresh for certain things. As long as they maintained their lead in terms of soul tool technology, it was only a matter of time before they made up for the soul engineers and soul tools they had lost.

    The Illustrious Virtue Hall had finished reconstruction, but it was no longer in the hands of Jing Hongchen. Arge amount of money had been invested in all sorts of research.

    A lot of soul tool technology had been exported to the Heavenly Soul Empire, but the bulk of them were soul tools which were mainly for civilian use. Not a single military-grade soul tool was sent to their newly-conquerednd. By using those soul tools which were used by civilians, the Sun Moon Empire had amassed a huge amount of wealth and resources from the Heavenly Soul Empire. These resources were all useful for the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s military development.

    As the Sun Moon Empire continued to improve its human-shaped soul tools, Huo Yuhao had once asked Ju Zi how their ss 5 and 6 soul engineers were able to use human-shaped soul tools. Even though Ju Zi did not reveal the answer to his question, Huo Yuhao was able to see a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao thought about it, and realized that there was only a single possibility.

    One would need sufficiently strong spiritual power to control a human-shaped soul tool¡ªat least that was the case for the current soul tool technology in use.

    How was one supposed to improve his or her spiritual power? One would usually find one¡¯s spiritual power enhanced after one had attained a higher cultivation. Individuals who were blessed with spiritual-type martial souls could develop their spiritual power separately. Other than these two normal ways, one could also stimte one¡¯s brain artificially to enhance one¡¯s spiritual power.

    If the Sun Moon Empire had achieved some results in this field, they might have used this method to artificially enhance their soul engineers¡¯ spiritual power to make them able to control the human-shaped soul tools.

    However, this also meant that these soul engineers would lose their potential. They would not be able to improve their cultivation in the future.

    Xuan Ziwen had once told Huo Yuhao about how the Sun Moon Empire had researched ways to heighten a human¡¯s spiritual power through methods of stimtion. However, they had never actually practiced them because of the powerful side-effects. Xuan Ziwen had admitted that he had no idea to what extent was the Sun Moon Empire able to suppress those side-effects. If the side-effects were truly that harsh, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion might not be that invincible after all.

    The army was rewarded for their acts of bravery, and was given good food and alcohol for the next two days. Subsequently, other than key personnel who were asked to stay behind, the rest of them were given a break.

    At the end of the day, soul engineers were extremely highly regarded, even within the army. There were not many restrictions imposed on them. It was the same even after they returned to Radiant City. In fact, they were given a ten-day break after they returned.

    As for how the three soul engineer legions nned to replenish their manpower, Huo Yuhao was not clear about that. However, it did not seem to be a big problem judging from the emotional fluctuations shown by themanders above.

    Huo Yuhao had been enveloping the entire military camp with his Spiritual Detection. One of the most valuable bits of intelligence which he had gotten was how the Sun Moon Empire had nned to take a longer time to reorganize their troops.

    The military order had already reached the army, which was still waiting at the southern border of the Heavenly Soul Empire. While they were locked in a standstill with the Star Luo Empire, they were being resupplied. The supplies naturally came from the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    It seemed like the Sun Moon Empire was really nning on resting up and reorganizing their troops. It did not look like they would go to war anytime soon. Even if Huo Yuhao and Ju Zi¡¯s n were to fail, the Sun Moon Empire probably wouldn¡¯tunch any major military operations within a year. This was definitely good news.

    However, this news was still fairly meaningless. After all, it was impossible to verify. Hence, the other empires, especially the Star Luo Empire, must still be on guard and get ready for war.

    Huo Yuhao had no idea how much the Star Luo Empire had developed in the past few years. He believed that they should have improved a fair bit without the stress and pressure of actually fighting a war.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but think of that man when he was thinking about the Star Luo Empire. He believed that he should really go back and settle that matter once he had taken down Xu Tianran and gotten a confirmation from Ju Zi that she would not invade either empire in the next ten years. He felt that it was also time for him to pay his respects to his mother.

    It pained Huo Yuhao to think about his mother. Even though his intense hatred was already gone, the bitterness and pain were still very present in his heart.

    Huo Yuhao would often think to himself how great it would be if his mother was still alive. He believed that he would definitely be able to give her a good life with his current abilities.

    Unfortunately, this was only something he could imagine. He knew that it was impossible to resurrect anyone. No matter how strong he had be, he would never be able to bring his mother back to life.

    Hence, he must settle that matter. He needed to look for him and get closure. Huo Yuhao knew it was necessary to make things right for his mother. On top of that, he also had scores to settle with that Duchess!

    Huo Yuhao was instantly infuriated by the thought of her. Even if he could choose not to exact revenge on the others, he would never let her go just like this. If not for the Duchess, his mother would never have died.

    Dai Huabin was still young and rash back then, so Huo Yuhao could forgive him. However, the Duchess could not be forgiven. After all, his mother would definitely still be alive if not for her.

    ¡°Yuhao? What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Tang Wutong squeezed Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand.

    Now that the soul engineers were taking a break, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong naturally left the camp. Huo Yuhao had also changed out from the annoying human-shaped soul tool he had had to wear for the past few days. After changing into normal clothes and disguising themselves with some simple makeup, they started to stroll leisurely through the streets of Radiant City.

    Tang Wutong was really enjoying the way they were walking these streets without any worries. However, she was ultimately still able to sense the change in Huo Yuhao¡¯s mood.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just thinking about my mother.¡±

    Tang Wutong squeezed his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it. Once we¡¯re done with this, let¡¯s go and pay respects to your mother, alright?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. But you should stop calling her my mother. She¡¯s now also your mother. I feel so sad that she¡¯s unable to see her beautiful daughter-inw.¡± After finishing his sentence, Huo Yuhao almost choked up with his emotions.

    Tang Wutong blushed and asked, ¡°Then when do you n to marry me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°If this thing proceeds smoothly, I will marry you after we have paid respects to my mother. Is that alright?¡±

    Tang Wutong was displeased with his answer. ¡°Is this how you propose to a girl?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed, ¡°I guess not. I will propose to you officially again once we get back.¡±

    Tang Wutong burst intoughter and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Do you think I¡¯d really care about such things after we¡¯ve been through so much together? Alright, I will promise you. I will definitely try my best to contact my parents once we are done with things over here. I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°What will you do?¡± Huo Yuhao teased her.

    ¡°Hmph! I won¡¯t tell you.¡± Tang Wutong turned around.

 Chapter 599.3 - Xu Tianrans Decision

    <h4 ss>Chapter 599.3: Xu Tianran¡¯s Decision</h4>

    ¡°Haha!¡± Huo Yuhao burst intoughter. It seemed almost as if he had already forgotten about all those things that had made him sad. He was always very happy when Tang Wutong was around.

    As they walked on, they soon came within the vicinity of the pce. Huo Yuhao was pretty familiar with the pce, after all, he had entered more than once.

    Today, he was simply walking around aimlessly with Tang Wutong. However, Huo Yuhao realized that three days had passed, and Ju Zi still had not contacted them. He felt that he should try to establish contact with her to determine what their next move ought to be.

    Huo Yuhao was confident that he would be able to sneak into the pce with Tang Wutong with ease.

    However, just when he came close to the outer wall of the pce, he suddenly sensed impending danger. This sensation was very sudden, but extremely intense.

    Tang Wutong, who had gotten ready to enter the pce with him, realized that he had stopped.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as he continued down the street. He remembered clearly that there was a barbeque store which had pretty good food. The smell of the burned charcoal was extremely dense, and their meat was very tender and juicy.

    There should not be that many people in the middle of the afternoon. I should bring Wutong along to eat some barbeque meat.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s memory was very good, and he managed to sessfully locate the restaurant. Both of them ordered some barbequedmb and beef, as well as some of their barbequed innards. On top of that, they requested two cups of wheat wine.

    It did not take very long before they were served. It was truly a remarkable dining experience to munch on barbequed meat and sip wheat wine.

    ¡°Why did you not enter the pce just now?¡± Tang Wutong transmitted her words to Huo Yuhao while munching on the meat normally.

    Huo Yuhao also replied by transmitting his thoughts to her. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I sensed something threatening just when I was about to enter. It was almost as though something bad was about to happen. Perhaps there¡¯s someone within the pce who is able to threaten our lives. It seems like the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools might have improved once again. This is really bad!¡±

    Tang Wutong was also startled. She knew how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power had be after both of them had be Transcendent Douluo. Even though his Spirit Eye was stillcking its ninth soul ring, his ability to sense danger was definitely on par with that of an Ultimate Douluo with the boost he had received from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

    Huo Yuhao had failed to detect the two Ultimate Douluo previously only because they were never in real danger. Hence, one could guess from Huo Yuhao¡¯s reaction that the pce was incredibly dangerous.

    I can¡¯t believe how strong the Sun Moon Empire has be!

    Because the barbequed meat was really fantastic, Tang Wutong revealed a very satisfied expression. Afterward, they sat where they were and asked for two more cups of wheat wine before sipping their wine slowly.

    In the meantime, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was creeping along the walls of the pce as he tried to envelop the entirepound with his spiritual power. However, he did not try to project his power into the pce. Instead, he simply wrapped it around thepound like a spiritual barrier and surveilled thepound from a vantage point.

    This method of surveince would definitely not give away his existence even if the pce had set up multiple surveince soul tools within itspound.

    On the surface, it seemed as though the pce was still its tranquil self. The guards who were on patrol were still moving around in an orderly fashion. The aerial surveince soul tools were still exactly the same as they were before.

    Could I have been wrong?Huo Yuhao was puzzled by what he was seeing.No, I can¡¯t be wrong. Even if I am wrong, I need to be very careful.

    After so many years of training, Huo Yuhao was able topose himself very quickly. Taking risks would only lead to disastrous oues. Even the most powerful soul masters were no exception to this rule.

    After heposed himself, he made sure his Spiritual Detection did not enter the pce as he observed the interior of the pce from the outside.

    He was not anxious at all. In fact, there were many ways he could survey the pce without entering it physically. He only needed to see if there was a point in employing those methods.

    Very soon, they were done with their second cup of wheat wine.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly stood up. Just when he was going to foot the bill, the expression on his face suddenly changed. Very quickly, he returned to where he was sitting and eximed, ¡°Can we have two more cups of wheat wine?¡±

    Tang Wutong was not startled by the sudden change of ns. She understood that Huo Yuhao must have discovered something to have decided to change their ns. She waited patiently for her third cup of wheat wine to be served.

    Huo Yuhao shared his Spiritual Detection with her so that she would be able to see what he was seeing.

    They were shocked to see a familiar figure striding towards the main gate of the pce from their vantage point. The figure was dressed in a big red robe. Her overpowering aura was radiating from her body in a haughty fashion.

    She was none other than the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui. Huo Yuhao believed that she must be intending to make some sort of statement to have decided toe to the pce at this time. After seeing her appear, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong naturally could not leave. Both of them hated Ye Xishui to the core. This fact would not change even though she had chosen not to attack them because of Long Xiaoyao.

    What is Ye Xishui doing at the pce in the middle of the day?It was important to note that evil soul masters often found their powers more limited in the afternoon. The reason was that their powers were often tied to spirits, and spirits were often weakened when daylight was strongest. Hence, it was very strange for the Death God Douluo to choose toe at this time.Did she not consider the possibility of a fight?

    As Ye Xishui strode into the pce, the guards by the door bowed to her in respect. No one dared to stop her as she continued to walk towards the inner part of the pce.

    However, Huo Yuhao was definitely able to sense the transformation within the pce from his vantage point after she entered the gates.

    Four lights suddenly appeared at the four corners of the pce. These lights were not very intense, and looked just like any normal light. They were not particrlyrge¡ªroughly ten meters in diameter or so. However, Huo Yuhao could feel the same threatening sensation once those lights lit up. In fact, the sensation was way more intense than before.

    Huo Yuhao became incredibly worried. At the very next instant, Huo Yuhao instantly understood what those lights were. It was important to note that he was a ss 9 soul engineer with a detection ability that even Ultimate Douluo would not be able to rival.

    Those are¡­

    Those are high-energypression array soul tools!

    Weren¡¯t those soul tools set up at the four corners of Radiant City? When did they install them within the pce too?They were a lot smaller than the high-energypression array soul tools that were installed around Radiant City. On top of that, they were not radiating any soul power. Hence, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were not able to tell exactly how powerful they were. However, they believed that these soul tools could not possibly be weak.

    Previously, those high-energypression array soul tools had left an extremely deep impression on Huo Yuhao. They had managed to protect over a hundred thousand civilians under themand of Xu Tianran. At the same time, they had protected his life. A Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo was unable to destroy it even after he ignited his own life energy.

    On top of that, Xu Tianran had only borrowed power from one of the four soul tools. This meant that they should probably be able to protect all of Radiant City if all four of them were activated at the same time. That would be an incredible amount of power!

    Of course, Huo Yuhao also knew that it would take a long time for them to store up so much power. Nheless, this was sufficiently impressive.

    Now, it seemed like even the pce was equipped with these soul tools. They were definitely more than sufficient to protect the entire pce regardless of whether they were used to attack or defend. In addition, if they were really high-energypression array soul tools, this meant that the Sun Moon Empire had already developed methods to produce smaller high-energypression array soul tools. It would not be long before they equipped their soul engineer legions with these frightening weapons! That would truly be a nightmare.

    Huo Yuhao did not know how they were recharging these high-energypression array soul tools. It would not be very practical for them to recharge them manually. Who knew how many soul masters they would need to be fully recharged?

    After seeing all of this, Huo Yuhao definitely could not leave. He needed to observe and learn more. After all, these high-energypression array soul tools concerned his next ns. It was likeliest for him to kill Xu Tianran within the pce. After assassinating him, he would have to flee from the pce safely.

    If Xu Tianran were able to control all of these high-energypression array soul tools, he would definitely be able to protect himself from any Ultimate Douluo who nned to assassinate him.

    Hence, Huo Yuhao knew he had to pay attention to the details.

    After taking a few steps into the pce, Ye Xishui suddenly stopped before she looked up into the sky.

    This shocked Huo Yuhao!What a powerful detection ability! Even though I was simply surveilling from the sky, she was able to tell that I was there. An Ultimate Douluo is really a lot more powerful than any Transcendent Douluo. However, I don¡¯t think she knows where we are.

    Just when Huo Yuhao was reassuring himself, a ck figure entered the barbeque restaurant.

    ¡°Give me a beef tenderloin. Make it very tender. I want it medium-well. Also, give me a cup of wheat wine.¡±

    Huo Yuhao immediately pped his forehead. Tang Wutong also let out a helpless sigh. The reason was that the person who had just entered the restaurant was none other than Long Xiaoyao.

    Both of them looked at one another as they saw the startled expression on each others¡¯ faces.

    Long Xiaoyao had naturally seen them. This powerful soul master walked towards their table, pulled out a chair and sat in front of both of them.

 Chapter 600.1 - Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 600.1: Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon</h4>

    Long Xiaoyao smiled as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to meet again so soon.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°Elder, your cultivation is unpredictable! I didn¡¯t expect you to find us even though we¡¯ve been so careful.¡± Although it was easy to put on makeup, Huo Yuhao naturally understood that they could no longer hide their identities after Long Xiaoyao discovered them.

    Long Xiaoyaoughed and said, ¡°What if I told you this was a coincidence. Would you believe me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twisted a little.I don¡¯t think I need to answer such a dumb question.He raised his cup of malt wine to express his sincerity before gulping the wine down. The bitter yet fragrant taste of the malt wine immediately overwhelmed his chest area. It was veryfortable, but the bitterness didn¡¯t disappear for a long time.

    This time, Ye Xishui was one of their targets.

    At this moment, the waiter had already delivered the food that Long Xiaoyao wanted.

    ¡°Grandpa Long, you haven¡¯t been here for a long time! Quickly,e and taste this delicious piece of beef tenderloin that our chef has chosen.¡± The waiter passionately put the food in front of him.

    ¡°Alright, help me thank him.¡± Long Xiaoyao chortled and started to cut up the beef tenderloin with a small knife.

    The waiter retreated, and Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You¡¯re already so old, yet you¡¯re still eating meat. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being aughing stock?¡±

    Long Xiaoyaoughed, ¡°Eating is a joy in life. It¡¯s something we have to do everyday from the day we are born until the day we die. I love meat. If I can¡¯t even eat meat, what¡¯s the point of living?¡± As he spoke, he started to gulp down wine and meat together.

    Huo Yuhao was a little pensive as he looked at Long Xiaoyao and said, ¡°Right now, I actually believe that our meeting is a coincidence.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said that we are fated, are we not? Share whatever you are seeing with me. I know you have that ability.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help it, and shared what he was seeing with Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao was definitely more familiar with the imperial pce than he was. He immediately discovered something wrong with the four corners of the pce.

    Long Xiaoyao was perplexed as he asked, ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that? Four corners are brightly lit?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, they should be high-energypression array soul tools. Elder Ye is also a ss 9 soul engineer. You should have heard of such a soul tool before.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°What did you say? They¡¯re high-energypression array soul tools? No, impossible. The Sun Moon Empire only has such soul tools outside the city. Why are they in the pce?¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I was supposed to check out the pce today. However, I had an ominous feeling before I entered. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. After that, I went to observe. Elder Ye seems to have just gone in.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s expression immediately turned grim. He took a big gulp of malt wine and squinted. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s power has really exceeded our expectations. Continue observing.¡± He didn¡¯t immediately leave after discovering the high-energypression array soul tools. He continued eating his beef and drinking his wine.

    Since he wasn¡¯t anxious, there was less of a need for Huo Yuhao to be anxious. However, he maintained his Spiritual Detection out of respect for Long Xiaoyao. He didn¡¯t check things out further. In his heart, he couldn¡¯t wait for Xu Tianran and Ye Xishui to fight. That would fit his interests.

    A huge piece of beef tenderloin was quickly consumed by Long Xiaoyao. He even had another cup of wine.

    Long Xiaoyao seemed to enjoy it a lot. He was all smiles as he looked at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Although Mu En is gone, he should beughing even in the afterlife since he¡¯s got a disciple like you! It¡¯d be great if I had a disciple like you.¡±

    If it were someone else, he would immediately give up everything to be Long Xiaoyao¡¯s disciple. However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already both the disciples of the Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly said.

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m being serious. When Mu En and I were your age, we were too inferiorpared to both of you. There are even a few fellows from the Tang Sect who aren¡¯t faring worse than us at their age.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how to react. He only smiled. In fact, he couldn¡¯t determine whether Long Xiaoyao was a friend or foe even up until now.

    Teacher said that he¡¯s secretly protecting me. However, he¡¯s also a supreme elder of the Holy Ghost Church! He¡¯s always been by Ye Xishui¡¯s side, helping hermit evil. Without him, the Holy Ghost Church wouldn¡¯t have been able to develop so quickly over the past few years. Its sess is closely tied to the Dragon God Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed. ¡°Little Huo, do you look down on me and think that I¡¯m a disgrace to have earned my reputation along with your teacher?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished. He honestly replied, ¡°There was once a period of time when I did think that way. However, I learned more after that. I guess you must have some things that you can¡¯t say.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao smiled, and seemed to be very happy. ¡°Very good. At least you¡¯re not lying to me. That¡¯s a virtue, even though white lies are important sometimes. You seem to be disapproving with your words. Do you think that I should not bemitting evil even if there are things that I can¡¯t say?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a mouthful of the malt wine and tried to hide his awkwardness. ¡°Elder, you¡¯re really very sharp. Nothing escapes your eyes. I apologize for my actions.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be apologetic about. Almost everyone thinks the same way as you. Even my friends and family think the same too. It¡¯s just I really have no choice.¡±

    He retracted his smile. What reced it was a look of unhappiness and pain that couldn¡¯t be wiped away.

    ¡°Let me tell you. There are many things which aren¡¯t that simple. I¡¯ve not told this matter to anyone before. If I don¡¯t say it now, I might not get a chance again. Do you want to listen to it?¡±

    Can we say no?Moreover, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both curious about his life.

    They nodded at the same time.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and revealed a lost look in his eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go way back to the start. Then, Mu En, Ye Xishui and I met one another when we traveling outside. Mu En and I met the earliest. We only knew each other through fighting. He had the Radiant Holy Dragon, while I had the Darkness Holy Dragon. We were each the other¡¯s nemesis. That¡¯s why we were foes the moment we met. Our cultivations were simr, and our ages were also around the same. How could we not bepetitive? Within a year, we fought seven times. Each time, the victor was different. Eventually, I lost one more time than him. Among the seven fights, I won three and he won four. He won against me, most notably during the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. He won against the team that I led. It was also then that I first met Ye Xishui. She was the only female soul master that could challenge us in terms of cultivation.¡±

    When he said that, a smile appeared on Long Xiaoyao¡¯s face. Whatever happened in the past was undoubtedly the best things that had happened in his life.

    ¡°After fighting for close to a year, we became closer because of one matter. We met a vige that was harmed by evil soul masters. The evil soul masters were on a killing spree. They were using human souls and corpses to cultivate. We passed that vige from different ces. When we saw the tragic state it was in, we couldn¡¯t help but intervene. When we finally killed all the evil soul masters, we realized that we were helping one another. Suddenly, weughed, and became good friends from then on.¡±

    ¡°Mu En is aposed person. I¡¯m more rebellious. To be honest, I was really slightly more handsome than your teacher then. Haha!¡± Long Xiaoyaoughed. He was evenughing very heartily.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t refute this point. Although Long Xiaoyao was already very old, he was still very big and tall. It was also clear how he looked when he was younger. Huo Yuhao even felt that the Darkness Holy Dragon was more handsome than him when he was younger.

    Long Xiaoyao followed with, ¡°We started to travel around the continent and faced many experiences. We also teamed up together quite frequently. Then, we were astonished to find out that our martial souls wereplementary even though their types werepletely different. We even managed to unleash a fusion skill once. Darkness and light can actuallye together. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s very magical?¡±

    Fusion skill? Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong stared at each other. This was really new information for them. Neither Elder Mu nor Elder Xuan had told them about this matter. Could darkness and light actually fuse?

    From Long Xiaoyao¡¯s description, he did have some differences with Elder Xuan then. It turned out that Elder Mu and Long Xiaoyao knew each other from the tournament.

    ¡°Mu En and I analysed the situation. We believe that we were able to use fusion skills because of the connection between our martial souls. Even though darkness and light were opposites, there was something we shared. It¡¯s that our martial souls are both dragons. We onlypleted our fusion because of this simrity in our lineages. However, our martial souls were only fifty percentpatible. An extremely destructive force could be generated when darkness and light shed as we fused our martial souls. However, it couldn¡¯t increase our cultivations. Compared to your fusion, we were a long way off.¡±

 Chapter 600.2 - Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 600.2: Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon</h4>

    ¡°Our rtionship got better and better, and we became very good friends. That was until one day, when we bumped into Ye Xishui again.¡±

    ¡°Ye Xishui was really beautiful when she was younger. Lass, she wasn¡¯t worsepared to you.¡± As he said that, there seemed to be a captivated look in Long Xiaoyao¡¯s eyes, even though he was already very old.

    ¡°She was both bubbly and cute then. Very soon, the three of us became very good friends who toured the continent together. Xishui had a very good personality. We were both young men too. Very soon, it became apparent that we liked her. Both of us discussed this matter privately. Since we both liked her, we¡¯d rely on our capabilities to win her heart. I was more confident than your teacher. After all, I was much better in the looks department. My powers weren¡¯t inferior to him either. I had the confidence of winning Xishui¡¯s heart. I even told him that the other party must ept her choice no matter what, and that we¡¯ll remain good friends no matter the oue. Mu En agreed.¡±

    ¡°To prevent jealousy from ruining our rtionship, Mu En and I decided to both find Xishui one day and confess. We hoped that she would make a choice. It was better for us to confess than hide our feelings. Xishui seemed to have been scared by us. She hesitated for half a day before she made her choice.¡±

    A bitter look appeared.

    Long Xiaoyao was helpless as he gently shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I would be the one to be rejected. Xishui chose Mu En. Even up until now, I can still remember how delighted Mu En was. It was something he couldn¡¯t hide. He leaped over and hugged her. He even spun three rounds with her in his embrace.¡±

    ¡°Even though we agreed to be good friends, I was still devastated then. I left without turning back. When Mu En came to chase after me, I ran with all my strength. He didn¡¯t chase after me because he had to take care of Xishui.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Elder Long, wait a minute. Why did I learn that Xishui didn¡¯t choose either of you? Instead, she wanted both of you to fight a yearter. The winner would get her! But neither of you went¡­¡±

    Long Xiaoyao snorted, ¡°You must have heard that from Little Xuan. He only heard it second-hand. While it¡¯s true that we did fightter, Xishui was already with him then. It¡¯s just that they kept it a secret.¡±

    After sighing, Long Xiaoyao said, ¡°I¡¯m actually a very proud person. I¡¯ve known this for a long time. That was the heaviest blow that I¡¯d suffered in my entire life. I walked the streets feeling very lost. Unknowingly, I walked out of the city and entered the wilderness. I was alone, and I didn¡¯t even know how long I walked. My heart waspletely broken. The pain of being jilted was excruciating. I hated Mu En then. I even hated Xishui. I didn¡¯t understand why she would choose him. I was confident that I was more handsome. I could tell from Xishui¡¯s eyes that she liked me.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you willugh at me, but I was really confident. However, she still chose Mu En in the end! Don¡¯t tell me that it was because he came from Shrek Academy? I was indignant. I was really indignant. However, I couldn¡¯t return. I had already promised Mu En that we¡¯d remain good friends no matter who she chose. I couldn¡¯t go back and fight for her again. That¡¯s why I left. When I left, I left for an entire year. I dominated the continent for that one year. I attacked the strong and helped the weak. I was much more heavy-handed and vicious than I used to be. In fact, I was looking for information about the two of them. Both of them dominated as a couple in the continent, and became leading figures in the younger generation of soul masters.¡±

    ¡°Time didn¡¯t make me feel better. Eventually, I still decided to go and find them. I wanted to personally witness how blissful they were. I knew that it wasn¡¯t going to be easy for me to escape my feelings. I¡¯m a stubborn person. That¡¯s why I eventually wanted to see. No matter what happened, I had to see.¡±

    ¡°Destiny decided that we should meet again. They were very blissful together. When Mu En saw me, he was a little awkward. Afterforting me, we even drank until we were both drunk. However, I was strangely calm then. I no longer med Mu En when I saw him. Your teacher is a good person. He¡¯s really a good person. I fully believe that he didn¡¯t y any tricks when we pursued Xishui. Liking someone can¡¯t change. If you like someone, you like that person. If you don¡¯t like someone, you don¡¯t like that person. Then, I suddenly felt that I was able to finally let go. That left me very happy. It was good to be able to let go. At least no one else had to be hurt anymore, and I myself didn¡¯t have to be hurt anymore.¡±

    ¡°Xishui was also very calm when she met me. She wasn¡¯t as close as she was a year ago. She had be very gentle by then. It seemed as if she was ready to be Mu En¡¯s wife. I wished both of them well.¡±

    ¡°I felt it to be unfair, which was why I proposed to fight Mu En. I hoped to use a fight to alleviate the pain in my heart. I fought Mu En in front of a bunch of people from Shrek Academy. I lost, and lost very tragically. Mu En had grown a lot in one year. Perhaps it was because of love. His overall abilities were a tier above mine. Of course, it might also be because I was dispirited for an entire year.¡±

    ¡°We went to drink. I indulged in a lot of alcohol and gotpletely wasted. Mu En was also drunk. When I woke up in the middle of the night, my head was splitting. In the room, only Mu En and I were around. Xishui had disappeared.¡±

    ¡°There was a note on the table. It was beside Mu En, and it was written by Xishui. She told him to wash up before returning to the room after he woke up. I knew that Xishui was a clean freak. She hadn¡¯t changed.¡±

    ¡°I took the note and walked out. I walked to her room. The door was open, and she seemed to be asleep. When I walked in, I smelled a fragrance. I wasn¡¯t too bothered then, and only silently walked to the bedside. I only wanted to take a look at her before leaving. Then, I thought that it would be myst time seeing her. In the future, I wouldn¡¯t see either of them anymore, in case it broke my heart.¡±

    ¡°When I walked to the bedside, Xishui¡¯s voice sounded. She said, ¡®Why are you up sote? I¡¯ve waited for you for a long time. You can¡¯t escape me today. Why do we have to wait until marriage before we are together? We can be together tonight. Do you smell the fragrance? Hehe, it¡¯s a poison that I made. It¡¯s called Fragrance of Spring Wind and Rain¡¯¡±

    ¡°After hearing her voice, I didn¡¯t dare to move. I was afraid of being found out. What was I supposed to do now that I had broken into her room? After hearing her words, I was astonished. Although I didn¡¯t know what the Fragrance of Spring Wind and Rain was, I could guess! A warm flow went straight into my brain. My rationality told me that I should flee and find a ce to neutralize the poison. However, I couldn¡¯t bear to leave. My heart was racing then. I did something that I regret for life. Xishui pulled me in. The room was very dark then. Her breathing was very quick. So was mine. When I touched her skin, the emotions that I had been suppressing for a year were unleashed. I leapt onto her like a beast.¡±

    After hearing until here, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong couldn¡¯t help but open their eyes wide.This is¡­ really a blessing in disguise! Not to even mention that Elder Xuan wouldn¡¯t know about this, I¡¯m sure Elder Mu doesn¡¯t know either, right?

    Suddenly, they didn¡¯t know what to say. Huo Yuhao was even secretly relieved that nothing like this had ever happened to them.

    Long Xiaoyao gulped down another cup of wine and shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°Another cup!¡±

    Even though many years had passed, it was evident he was still very bothered about this matter. The pain in his eyes couldn¡¯t be hidden.

    Huo Yuhao softly asked, ¡°Elder, it¡¯s been such a long time. What happened after that?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao sighed, ¡°When I woke up, Xishui was already up. She was seated beside me. There was a dagger in her hand, which she was slowly moving towards her chest. I was shocked. I quickly grabbed the de of the dagger, even though it cut me. My heart was very pained. I knew that I hadmitted a grave error. It was also at that moment that Mu En called for Xishui.¡±

    As he shut his eyes, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body was shaking slightly. More than a hundred years had passed, but when he thought of what had happened back then, he still couldn¡¯t control himself. This showed how awkward the situation was for him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s lips twisted.How can Long Xiaoyao be the only one who was tortured by this incident? Teacher and Ye Xishui were both victims too. Who could be med for this incident?

    Long Xiaoyao was wrong. He should have run away. However, he was deeply in love with Ye Xishui. Was his love wrong?

    What about Ye Xishui? Teacher was an honest man. She only poisoned him to get closer to him. She might even have been trying to make him less jealous. While her actions were a little extreme, were they wrong?

    As for teacher, he¡¯s the most pitiful. He doesn¡¯t even know what happened. His lover and his best friend actually¡­

 Chapter 600.3 - Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon

    <h4 ss>Chapter 600.3: Story of the Darkness Holy Dragon</h4>

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t ask any further. He put himself in their shoes. If he was any of them, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to ept fate.

    The malt wine arrived again. Long Xiaoyao gulped down more and more wine. An unhealthy flush surfaced on his face.

    The waiter hurriedly said, ¡°Elder Long, drink slower. It¡¯s not good for your body if you drink too quickly.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head softly. ¡°Take the cup. I¡¯m not drinking anymore. I¡¯ll just sit for a while longer.¡±

    ¡°Alright, no problem. You and your friends can sit as long as you want.¡± The waiter took the cup away.

    Long Xiaoyao opened his eyes once again. He looked at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong bitterly. It seemed like his story had ended.

    ¡°I owe Xishui. This debt cannot be repaid. That was her first time. I owe Mu En too. I can¡¯t repay my debt to him either. Now, you should know why I¡¯mmitting all this evil. I knew that Xishui was killing with her Holy Ghost Church, but I still chose to protect her. I thought that I could forget, but I can¡¯t. Even after seeing her for many decades, I can still remember everything clearly. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t stop her no matter what she does. I don¡¯t have that right. When Imitted that grave error, my life didn¡¯t belong to me anymore.¡±

    ¡°Compared to Mu En, Xishui was more hurt. I was the one who ruined her life. I love her, and I¡¯m willing to sacrifice everything for her. My life belongs to her too. I can only die before her. If she dies before me, I¡¯ll follow her. That¡¯s why no one can persuade me to leave her. My life has long been tied to hers.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s breathing became a little heavy. However, there was a relieved look on his face. It was his first time telling his story after so many years.

    Although he didn¡¯t finish his story, anyone could guess that what followed was a tragedy.

    Huo Yuhao was also having mixed feelings. He didn¡¯t know if he should pity the Darkness Holy Dragon or feel sad for his teacher. Perhaps, this tragedy was an arrangement of fate.

    Long Xiaoyao stood up and said, ¡°I should leave. Treasure the person in front of you, young man. Remember, find me when your cultivation reaches Rank 98. I¡¯ll go and fetch Xishui now.¡± After he finished speaking, he took big steps out.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong remained where they were without moving. The situation seemed to have be moreplex. After listening to Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui¡¯s story, they still couldn¡¯t change their stance, even though they pitied her for what had happened. After all, Ye Xishui was the true mastermind of the Holy Ghost Church. Under her leadership, the Holy Ghost Church had killed many people. Even Long Xiaoyao was suspected of helping her. That was a fact that couldn¡¯t be wiped away.

    They weren¡¯t going to be less hostile, but they were more understanding. Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand andughed bitterly, ¡°All this while, I felt that we¡¯ve suffered a lot. However, it¡¯s nothingpared to what teacher, Elder Long and Ye Xishui have gone through. We¡¯re quite lucky. At least we are together. I¡¯m really satisfied now. I really want to leave with you and find a quiet ce where we can live together. asionally, we can see our teammates. How great would that be?¡±

    Tang Wutong stood up and walked to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She sat in hisp and hugged his neck. Shepletely ced her face in his embrace.

    Huo Yuhao felt something wet. Tang Wutong¡¯s body was shaking slightly.

    She had been suppressing her emotions when Long Xiaoyao was telling his story earlier, but right now, shepletely let them go.

    ¡°Teacher is really too pitiful. I can imagine why he fought so hard against the Body Sect. Given his abilities, he wouldn¡¯t be hurt so easily. If not to protect Shrek, he might have chosen to free himself already. The pain he¡¯s been through must be even deeper than what Elder Long has been through.¡± Tang Wutong said softly.

    Huo Yuhao silently nodded.

    Mu En had never told them about what happened between him, Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao before. He had kept this secret to himself until the day he died.

    In Huo Yuhao¡¯s mind, Elder Mu¡¯s figure resurfaced. He recalled his elderly face, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes started to turn red.

    Sun Moon Empire, Imperial Pce.

    Ye Xishui was seated, and held a cup of tea in her hand. She was silently tasting the tea.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce was very particr when it came to serving tea. Only the best tea leaves that were half-fermented were chosen. They were specially prepared. Every year, there was very little production of such tea leaves. Only members of the imperial family were given the privilege to enjoy such tea.

    Ye Xishui was very calm right now.

    Xu Tianran was sitting in the main seat. Beside him was Ju Zi.

    ¡°Elder Ye, this matter might really be a misunderstanding. I still hope that you can be magnanimous. I¡¯m willing to make amends to the church. If there¡¯s anything you need, please tell me.¡± Xu Tianran appeared very courteous, and spoke with a smile on his face.

    Ju Zi was also decked in bright yellow beside him. She didn¡¯t say a word. She didn¡¯t even react at all.

    Ye Xishui put the cup of tea down. She turned to Ju Zi and said, ¡°Your Majesty, what if I want someone? What if I only want one person?¡±

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression stiffened. Even though he knew who Ye Xishui wanted, he still asked, ¡°Who do you want?¡±

    Ye Xishuiughed coldly, ¡°I want Her Majesty to follow me to the Holy Ghost Church. Is that possible?¡±

    Ju Zi sat there calmly and seemed to bepletely ready toply with any instructions Xu Tianran had for her. There was no expression on her face.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression changed slightly, and he replied, ¡°Elder Ye, I¡¯m afraid that cannot happen. My inner pce is too empty. I only have the Empress. We are very close to each other. This incident is a little weird. Why don¡¯t we talk after investigating carefully?¡±

    Ye Xishui waved him off and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to. If you want to condemn someone, you can always find an excuse. I don¡¯t expect you to investigate anything. Furthermore, from your actions, I know what your choice is. There is nothing else to say. I can understand what Your Majesty is thinking. I was only joking earlier. Since you¡¯ve decided to give us up, I only have one wish, which is for you to let the Holy Ghost Church off. I¡¯m willing to leave the empire with the church. We just want peace.¡±

    Xu Tianran was stunned as he looked at Ye Xishui. Was she still the Death God Douluo he knew? This wasn¡¯t something he knew she was capable of saying.What¡¯s going on? Why is she acting like this?

    Ye Xishui lifted her teacup and took a sip once again. She sighed, ¡°I¡¯m tired. I have no other wish in my life anymore. I just hope to live out the rest of my life in peace. Your Majesty, you have to admit that the church has contributed to the empire, even though we¡¯ve brought you a lot of trouble. I hope this will make you show some mercy on us. I¡¯ll be satisfied then.¡±

    Xu Tianranughed and asked, ¡°Elder Ye, what are you talking about? Whether your church wants to stay or leave is up to you. No matter what, the church will always be a partner to the empire. It¡¯s just that¡­ about your church being a national church¡­¡±

    Ye Xishuiughed slightly. ¡°It¡¯s just a title. We don¡¯t need it. You can take it back. I came here today just to tell you that we won¡¯t seek any vengeance. We just hope to obtain peace. That¡¯s all I wanted to say. Your Majesty, please take care. I¡¯m going to leave.¡±

    Ye Xishui stood up and slowly walked out. She seemed to be a little slow, and she also appeared very old.

    Xu Tianran stood up and gestured. However, he didn¡¯t move a single inch. He only watched as the Death God Douluo slowly walked out of the pce hall.

    Ju Zi was doubtful as she looked at Xu Tianran. She softly asked, ¡°Your Majesty, do you think she¡¯s for real?¡±

    Xu Tianran shrugged her off and revealed a cold smile on his face, ¡°Will she be so tame? The more she tries to look weak, the bigger the problem is. She¡¯s just trying to numb us. Not only do we have to carry on with our n, but we need to be quicker with it too.¡±

    A light shed in Ju Zi¡¯s eyes. ¡°So now¡­¡±

    Xu Tianran nodded, and swiped his right hand down with force.

    Ju Zi suddenly stood up and turned around before walking away.

    Ye Xishui revealed a relieved look on her face as she walked out of the pce hall. She had finally said what she had to say. It was really time for her to leave. No matter whether Xu Tianran believed her, what she had said was the truth. It was from the bottom of her heart.

    I¡¯m really tired after all these years. I¡¯m really tired. Teacher, no matter what, I¡¯ve lived up to what you wanted. In the future, I only want to live them for myself and him!

    As Ye Xishui continued walking, she was no longer as sluggish as before. What reced it was agility. It was an agility that appeared after she had put everything down.

    There was a smile on her face. Her pale-white face developed a slight red glow. She could finally put everything down now.

 Chapter 601.1 - Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 601.1: Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo</h4>

    It was already afternoon. The sun was moving towards the west, but it was still shining very brightly. She chose to enter the pce at this time to express her sincerity. In fact, for an evil soul master like her, noontime did affect her, although it wasn¡¯t too big.

    ¡°Didididi!¡± Deafening rms rang throughout the entire pce without any warning.

    Ye Xishui suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes turned cold. She knew what she was going to face next.

    Xu Tianran was still not going to let her off. She had given him such a good opportunity, perhaps even thest opportunity. However, he still made that choice.Xu Tianran, very good, very good! I really want to see what you can do to keep me here.

    As she smiled, Ye Xishui pointed her right hand to the sky and stood in palce without moving. Behind her, a blood-red projection had already silently surfaced. It was her martial soul, the Blood Soul Demonpuppet.

    A strong wave of spiritual pressure spread from Ye Xishui¡¯s body. All infrastructure within a hundred meter-radius of her was instantly crushed. Very quickly, a massive plot of emptynd was formed.

    Since they were alreadypletely at odds, there was no need for Ye Xishui to show any mercy.

    At this moment, four strong beams of light shot into the sky. These four beams of light were presented as a rainbow glow. When they rose into the sky, they quickly gathered towards the center before turning into a huge dome thatpletely engulfed the imperial pce within it. Suddenly, a dazzling rainbow glow covered the imperial pce. It was as if a beam of divine light had descended.

    It was a magical feeling, but Ye Xishui¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    As a ss 9 soul engineer, her understanding of soul tools was very deep, even though she didn¡¯t make her name producing soul tools. Moreover, this beam of light was very familiar. How could she not recognize high-energypression array soul tools? Precisely because she recognized them, she was aware of how terrifying they could be. They were capable of protecting an entire city.

    No matter how strong a person was, he was still human. When it came to Ye Xishui¡¯s standard, she could even guess that a god had limited strength. It was just beyond the standard of humans.

    However, the strength of high-energypression array soul tools could be increased without limits. Of course, perhaps this world might be destroyed if their strength was increased to a stage where even the ground couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    Theoretically, it was unlimited. Perhaps that might not manifest itself in reality, but it was certainly enough to deal with an Ultimate Douluo.

    Figures started to appear from within the imperial pce. There were pitch-ck human-shaped soul tools and terrifying pressure, and immense soul power undtions started to spread.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion! It was the thumb of the Hand that Protects the Nation. It was truly powerful.

    Apart from them, many soul engineers also rose into the sky along the perimeter of the pce. The Imperial Dragon, Evileye Tyrant and Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legions were all here. More than two thousand advanced-tier soul engineers had gathered within the imperial pce. An elder was drifting in mid-air at the centermost area of the pce. He was ring at Ye Xishui.

    ¡°Kong! De! Ming!¡± Ye Xishui shouted one word by one word.

    Kong Deming stared at her coldly. ¡°Elder Ye, I knew that we¡¯d fight one day. I just didn¡¯t think it would be so soon.¡±

    Ye Xishuiughed. Herughter was shrill, and hurt everyone¡¯s ears when they heard it, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve actually expected such a day toe. I just didn¡¯t expect Xu Tianran topletely ignore our past ties. Hehe, hehehehe.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m ignoring our past ties. It¡¯s just that we have no past ties to talk about. All these years, how many civilians have the Holy Ghost Church cruelly murdered? This time, you¡¯ve even attacked the army, hurting the morale of my soldiers. We could have seeded in one shot, but they had no choice but to return to the capital because of your attack. Elder Ye, do you know how many losses the Holy Ghost Church has brought to the empire? I don¡¯t care about our past ties? Then, let me ask you, where were you and your church when Du Busi was in the capital trying to kill me? I believe you wished I had died then. A chaotic empire is more beneficial for you, am I right?¡±

    Xu Tianran was in a golden-yellow human-shaped soul tool as he drifted in mid-air. Around him were at least ten ss 9 soul engineers. Ju Zi was half a step behind him.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear. ¡°If you want to condemn us, you can find any excuse to. Moreover, we can¡¯t even exin ourselves clearly even if all these dirty deeds have been med on us, given our reputation. War God Empress, your ploy is indeed brilliant! I just don¡¯t know one thing. When has the Holy Ghost Church offended you?¡± She didn¡¯t look at Xu Tianran, but turned her attention to Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi said, ¡°The Holy Ghost Church didn¡¯t offend me. You offended my army, my citizens and the peace of my empire. Evil cannot exist in an empire that¡¯s going to dominate the continent. No matter what reason you give, it¡¯s no longer important whether the Holy Ghost Church is the one that attacked the empire. More importantly, the Holy Ghost Church has to disappear from this world forever. It must not exist anymore.¡±

    Ye Xishui was enlightened. ¡°It seems like Your Majesty still wants to doom the church. I understand. What a strong formation! The father of soul tools, Kong Deming, is here. There are also many familiar faces and soul engineers, just to deal with me. It seems like Your Majesty still regards me very importantly. I¡¯m grateful. The only question is, can all of you keep me here today? If I leave today, I¡¯ll destroy one city every month, and use more avenging spirits to strengthen myself. I¡¯ll do this until the empire ispletely wiped out.¡±

    While she was smiling as she said all this, no one thought that she was bluffing. This was the scariest thing. The terrifying part wasn¡¯t the fact that she was being hysterical. The terrifying part was that there was a hint of rationality even though she was being hysterical.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s expression changed greatly. If Ye Xishui really escaped today, a disaster would befall the empire. In his heart, he slightly regretted his decision. After all, she was an Ultimate Douluo! Even if he couldn¡¯t use her, she shouldn¡¯t have be his enemy. The consequences were really unthinkable.

    However, since things were already like this, there was no room for regret. No matter what, the n had to proceed. Moreover, Xu Tianran also didn¡¯t think that she had a chance of survival. The Sun Moon Empire paid a huge price to set up this trap.

    The protective barrier formed by the four high-energypression array soul tools was so that Ye Xishui couldn¡¯t flee. It was also used to keep Long Xiaoyao froming to save her.

    They had even considered Long Xiaoyao¡¯s mentality when they came up with this n. After all, he wasn¡¯t an evil soul master. He had his own bottom line. No matter what, he wouldn¡¯ty his hands on ordinary citizens given his current status. As for how he would take revenge after Ye Xishui was killed, that was another matter. Ju Zi had informed him that Long Xiaoyao was hurt quite badly after the sh at the mountain valley. This was why this was a very rare opportunity that couldn¡¯t be missed.

    Kong Deming sighed and said, ¡°Ye Xishui, just from your words now, you deserve to die. Today, I¡¯ll restore justice on behalf of the heavens. I¡¯ll destroy your Blood Soul Demonpuppet.¡± As he spoke, Kong Deming raised his hands towards Ye Xishui. A beam of golden light shot out.

    Ye Xishui snorted coldly. She lifted her hand too and pointed at Kong Deming, and a beam of blood-red light shot towards him.

    Terrifying soul power undtions rose from the outer perimeter. The soul engineers were umting their power. Against the Death God Douluo, they had to give their all. This was why they had to use whatever strength they had.

    When the blood-red light was five meters from Kong Deming, it was blocked by ayer of golden light. The cries of countless avenging spirits echoed across the sky, but the golden light was not breached at all.

    The beam of golden light unleashed by Kong Deming turned into a golden halo when it was five meters from Ye Xishui, and was about to wrap itself around her.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s body suddenly turned illusory. In a sh, she escaped from the halo. The halonded on the ground and disappeared without a trace.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s shrillughter resonated throughout the entire pce. The Blood Soul Demonpuppet behind her shone brightly, and streaks of immense bloody lights were unleashed. They turned into giant avenging spirits in the air that rushed in all directions. Every avenging spirit was about the size of a human head. There were twelve of them. Once they appeared, a bloody rain seemed to strike the entire pce.

    Blood Soul Spell! This was the ultimate technique Ye Xishui was famous for. Every blood soul that she cultivated using this spell had been cultivated for centuries. Ten thousand avenging spirits devoured one another, and the remaining survivor became a blood soul. This blood soul even had to feed on avenging spirits for a long time to be stronger.

    When a blood soul just formed, it was only the size of a fingernail. How long did it take for a blood soul to reach the size of a human head? Not only did it have to devour avenging spirits, but it even had to devour the avenging spirit of a powerful individual. The stronger an avenging spirit was, the faster a blood soul would grow.

 Chapter 601.2 - Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 601.2: Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo</h4>

    Once such blood souls acted up, their vengeance would cause one¡¯s soul to lose control. Those whose cultivation wasn¡¯t strong enough might even experience their souls being drawn out from their bodies before being devoured. These blood souls were both domineering and vicious.

    The fight had only just started, but Ye Xishui had already unleashed her strongest skill. This showed that she was prepared to risk her life.

    Kong Deming turned serious when he saw the blood souls. ¡°One person to one. We must seal them and not let them escape.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his hands. They each fired a beam of golden light, trapping two blood souls.

    The ten ss 9 soul engineers around Xu Tianran quickly scattered. They each unleashed their greatest skills to control one blood soul.

    Ye Xishuiughed coldly. Bloody lights shone brightly in her eyes. Suddenly, her long hair turned blood-red. Her Blood Soul Demonpuppet surged into her body and fused with her.

    Suddenly, she grew twice asrge. The clear and transparent blood-red on her body made her seem as if she was carved from a ruby. Bloody air currents surged in the air and spread instantly.

    ¡°Boundless Blood Sea!¡± Ye Xishui screamed.

    The surrounding buildings were instantly vaporized when they were touched by the Boundless Blood Sea, which began spreading outward.

    No wonder she was an Ultimate Douluo and the strongest evil soul master in the Holy Ghost Church. Even in such a disadvantageous situation, she still managed to resist all the soul engineers around her! How confident was she?

    Xu Tianran roared furiously. There was a wand in his hand, which was only a few centimeters long. There was a rainbow gem the size of a fist on it. He lifted this wand and pointed it at Ye Xishui. Suddenly, a rainbow beam of light descended from the sky, striking towards Ye Xishui.

    This was the strength of a high-energypression array soul tool. He had used the fourpression array soul tools to protect the people of the Sun Moon Empire before. This time, he used this smallpression array soul tool to attack.

    Ye Xishui didn¡¯t dodge. In fact, she couldn¡¯t dodge at all. She made a lifting gesture. Suddenly, the blood sea surged upward and turned into a huge shield. It blocked the descending rainbow beam of light.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A tremendous boom sounded. A powerful shockwave immediately spread. The eleven ss 9 soul engineers immediately unleashed protective soul barriers. Along with the barrier unleashed by the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, they managed to block this shockwave and prevent it from spreading further.

    The terrifying explosion had just ended when a series of booms were continuously heard. The blood sea flipped and forcefully resisted the attack of the rainbow beam of light. However, those who were sharp could tell that the blood sea was shrinking. It was bing smaller under the attack of the high-energypression array soul tools.

    A grin appeared on Xu Tianran¡¯s face. Even an Ultimate Douluo stood no chance against high-energypression array soul tools.

    Today, he was relying mostly on thepression array soul tools. The soul engineers¡¯ main job was to protect him and the imperial pce. This n to kill was considered a first test. Once it was a sess, they would invest much more money into the research of high-energypression array soul tools.

    Ye Xishui waspletely unaware that the Sun Moon Empire had already pumped much more money into their research of high-energypression array soul tools than any other research. Kong Deming was leading the research, while seven ss 9 soul engineers formed the core members of the research team. The amount of resources and money that were drained couldn¡¯t be properly measured.

    This was the strength of soul tool technology.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in mid-air. She was still blood-red. Kong Deming instantly shifted in front of her, blocking her.

    They shed.

    Kong Deming was flung out, his entire body shining with golden light, while Ye Xishui returned to the sky.

    Countless streaks of lights were aimed at her. The linked attacks were about to be unleashed.

    The linked attacks of the other three beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were still fine. The most terrifying one was the one that came from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. It was a pitch-ck soul ray, as thick as a water vat. Wherever it passed, deep cracks would be left in the air that couldn¡¯t be mended.

    Even Ye Xishui¡¯s expression changed slightly when she sensed the power of this soul ray. It was not weaker than the attack fired by apression array soul tool.The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion is actually so strong? No wonder Xu Tianran dares toy his hands on me.

    Thinking about it was one thing. Dealing with it was another.

    Red lights shed, and three blood souls broke free from their restraints. They each blocked one linked attack from each of the three beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions. Those three blood souls cried out tragically, but the three linked attacks were resisted. And Ye Xishui directly resisted the attack from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion herself.

    She was hit! Xu Tianran was delighted. He was fully aware of how powerful the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s linked attack was. It couldn¡¯t be resisted by a human. Even an Ultimate Douluo couldn¡¯t do so.

    If Kong Deming was to appraise it, he would even im that a ss 10 soul engineer wouldn¡¯t be able to block such an attack. If even an Ultimate Douluo was helpless, perhaps only a god could possibly resist it.

    Was Ye Xishui dead?

    The Bloody light dissipated, scattered and vanished in the air¡± No traces were left. Ye Xishui didn¡¯t even scream.

    But, was she really dead?

    ¡°Be careful! She¡¯s not dead!¡± Kong Deming suddenly shouted.

    Following this, a blood soul that was originally restrained by a ss 9 soul engineer suddenly blew apart and turned into blood rain. Ye Xishui seemed to be reborn from this blood rain. She pressed her palm against the sky.

    That ss 9 soul engineer started to shine with countless streaks of light. They were activated protective barriers. However, a blood-red palm print still appeared at the next moment. His entire chest copsed. He spat out fresh blood and flew back. In the air, a blood soul separated from Ye Xishui¡¯s body and devoured the avenging spirit and soul that appeared after he died.

    Ye Xishui¡¯s body instantly shone brightly with blood-red light. A strong wave of blood energy was sucked into her body. That ss 9 soul engineer turned into ash, scattering in the air. A terrifying pressure immediately rose, and intense bloody lights shone in the sky.

    A ss 9 soul engineer had died just like that. Furthermore, his strength also further boosted Ye Xishui¡¯s powers.

    This was the terrifying ability that an evil Ultimate Douluo possessed. Even such an impressive linked attack couldn¡¯t kill her. She had even exploited the opportunity to kill a ss 9 soul engineer.

    However, Kong Deming noticed that there were only eleven blood souls now. Evidently, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion¡¯s attack wasn¡¯tpletely useless.

    A terrifying attack was unleashed next. A strong beam of light descended. A rainbow glow formed in the sky once again. It was the second attack of thepression array soul tools.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s face contorted a little. Just like how Ye Xishui didn¡¯t know he was this strong, he also didn¡¯t expect an Ultimate Douluo to be so terrifying at full strength. When Ye Xishui was trapped in a life-and-death situation, she still managed to so easily kill a ss 9 soul engineer under him.

    Ye Xishui groaned, and her body instantly turned blood-red. When that rainbow glownded, her entire body turned into a bloody fog and disappeared once again.

    After this, another blood soul blew apart. Just like before, she smacked her palm against a ss 9 soul engineer¡¯s chest. It was as if she had smacked a piece of tofu. That ss 9 soul engineer was killed just like that. His blood energy and soul were devoured. Although there was one less blood soul because of this, Ye Xishui¡¯s aura became stronger than before.

    What kind of special spell is this? Why is it so terrifying? Even though she has fewer and fewer blood souls, it¡¯s as if she¡¯s umting her power!This was terrifying, as no one could see where her limit was.

    ¡°Force the blood souls away. Force them in. Attack!¡± Kong Demingmanded loudly.

    No one knew Ye Xishui¡¯s weak spot. They could only give it a go. From the start, he didn¡¯t think that they could easily kill an Ultimate Douluo. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have made such heavy preparations. Right now, they could only try to prolong the fight. It was only this way that they could tire her out.

    Ye Xishui snorted coldly, and her body suddenly turned into countless blood projections, which swept out in all directions instantly.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, which was about to unleash their linked attack, lost their target instantly. It was almost impossible to lock onto her now.

    However, their manyyers of linked defensive barriers were still very effective. They managed to block the invasion of the bloody lights. The ss 9 soul engineers within the barriers also took this opportunity to retreat to the edges of the barriers.

    As the bloody lights dissipated and Ye Xishui reappeared, the barriers shrank in. This was a unified move performed by the remaining ss 9 soul engineers under Kong Deming.

    As immense pressure squeezed in, a frightening power rose. The ss 9 soul engineers instantly shifted. They moved to the outer perimeter just as the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion retracted their linked defense.

    The original n was to kill Ye Xishui in one move. Now that they couldn¡¯t do that anymore, they could only slowly drain her using their overall power. This was the backup n.

    In this backup n, the most important thing to do was to help everyone retreat.

    Two ss 9 soul engineers were already dead. This was something the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t ept. Veins were already visible on Xu Tianran¡¯s forehead. If not for fear that the high-energypression array soul tools would overheat, he would have attacked relentlessly by now.

 Chapter 601.3 - Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo

    <h4 ss>Chapter 601.3: Trap to Kill an Ultimate Douluo</h4>

    Ye Xishui drifted in mid-air and revealed a scornful look on her face. There were still ten blood souls surrounding her.

    ¡°The avenging spirits of two ss 9 soul engineers. Great stuff! However, soul engineers will only be soul engineers. The strength of their souls is still far from a true Titled Douluo. It¡¯s a pity.¡± As she spoke, she shook her head and sighed. The soul engineers watching her were furious.

    Ye Xishui coldly looked at Xu Tianran, ¡°Continue attacking if you want to kill me. I¡¯ll see how much you¡¯re willing to sacrifice. It¡¯s a pity that you might not seed.¡± As she spoke, she started to descend.

    She pressed her palm against the ground.

    Strong bloody lights spread along the ground. Deafening booms started to echo throughout the entire imperial pce.

    Xu Tianran and Kong Deming¡¯s expressions changed. They knew what Ye Xishui wanted. She couldn¡¯t ovee their aerial defense, and thus it was impossible for her to escape. However, evenpression array soul tools couldn¡¯t cover the ground. Although the ground defenses in the pce were still very impressive, they weren¡¯t good enough. At least, they weren¡¯t good enough to stop an Ultimate Douluo.

    The ground shook. The ground beneath Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong also shook at the same time.

    They were no longer in the store. They were on the streets. Just like many civilians, they saw the rainbow glow in the sky.

    Of course, the civilians didn¡¯t know what was happening. To them, it was verymon for something like this to happen in the Sun Moon Empire. Soul tool technology was very widespread here.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. From his perspective high up in the sky, he could see many things. However, his spiritual power couldn¡¯t enter the barrier formed by thepression array soul tools. He could only see what was going on inside.

    As the ground shook, he could roughly guess what Ye Xishui was doing. Yes, the ground might be her only route of escape. But had Xu Tianran really not prepared for this? It wasn¡¯t impossible to unleash a protective soul barrier underground, although it wasted a lot of time. Furthermore, it would be very difficult to control. Could it resist an Ultimate Douluo?

    Tang Wutong turned her head to look at Huo Yuhao. She asked, ¡°Who do you hope will win this fight?¡±

    ¡°Xu Tianran.¡± Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation.

    Tang Wutong was astonished. ¡°Aren¡¯t you sympathetic of Elder Ye after listening to Long Xiaoyao¡¯s story earlier?¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°but I¡¯ll still wish for Ye Xishui to be killed. There¡¯s no room for negotiation. Can you imagine it? What would happen if an enraged, evil Ultimate Douluo escapes? Even though I don¡¯t like the Sun Moon Empire, I don¡¯t wish to see any innocent civilians killed. That¡¯s why Ye Xishui must die. If she really escapes, we must risk everything to kill her. Even though we¡¯ll incur Elder Long¡¯s wrath, we have to do so.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was very hard-headed with his words. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all.

    Tang Wutong nodded silently and said, ¡°The fight has been going on for some time. Why hasn¡¯t anyone from the Holy Ghost Churche to assist Ye Xishui? Are they really so scared of death?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°No. This must be Ye Xishui¡¯s arrangement. It¡¯s easier for one person to escape. If the Holy Ghost Church is here, can they resist four soul engineer legions? They¡¯ll only send themselves to die. The Holy Ghost Church has suffered heavy losses recently. Ye Xishui must have had told them to leave first before she entered the pce herself. It¡¯s a pity. Up until now, we still don¡¯t know where their headquarters are. Otherwise, we could find many opportunities to make our move if we went over there now.¡±

    At this moment, a beam of ck light suddenlynded in front of Huo Yuhao. He raised his hand at grabbed at that beam of light.

    It was a ck piece of paper, with words in some kind of white pigment. When he saw the words on it, Huo Yuhao was astonished. He immediately held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand and turned around before leaving.

    Inside the pce, the ground only stopped shaking after a minute or so. A huge depression more than a hundred meters deep had appeared.

    It was hollow beneath the pce. When Ye Xishui used her palm strike, an entire cave was immediately formed.

    Ye Xishui jumped down without any hesitation. Because of this, she paid the price of two blood souls.

    Even though there might be traps underground, the geography underground was confusing. She only had a chance to escape if she exploited this confusion. This was why she had to face any arrangements Xu Tianran had made underground.

    Xu Tianran sighed and softly shook his head after Ye Xishui escaped underground. After this, a sly smile surfaced on his face. As he waved, the rainbow glow in the sky suddenly scattered. Immediately, he flew towards the sky with Ju Zi. It wasn¡¯t just him. Kong Deming, the ss 9 soul engineers and the four soul engineer legions all rose up.

    A ck figure appeared in the sky. It jumped into the pce without any hesitation. A low-pitched dragon roar sounded immediately after this.

    Xu Tianran clearly noticed this ck figure, but he didn¡¯t stop anyone from letting the figure enter. Instead, a wider smile surfaced on his face.

    The rainbow glow shone once again. The four high-energypression array soul tools unleashed stronger beams of lightpared to before. This time, even the underground of the pce was covered in a rainbow glow.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± A boom resonated underground. A beam of light lit up.

    Ye Xishui was flung into the air by this beam of light. She didn¡¯t manage to escape after all.

    Xu Tianranughed, ¡°Ye Xishui, you must not have expected this. I sacrificed my pce to deal with you. I¡¯m clearly aware of the price to pay to kill you. I drained you to force you to take risks. Otherwise, what if you had some other special ability? That¡¯s why this will be your grave. You must not have guessed the true purpose of my fourpression array soul tools. They are going to be your coffin. This is to protect Radiant City, and prevent the copse of the pce from affecting anything in the city. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect Long Xiaoyao to be so attached to you. This is the best ending. Goodbye, Death God Douluo. Go and find your Death God and the Dragon God Douluo. This is great.¡±

    As he spoke, Xu Tianran pressed a button at the bottom of his staff.

    The entire pce shook a little. Following this, an orange-red glow was unleashed from underground. This glow was very weak at the start. It only appeared from the slits. However, the slits soon became bigger and bigger. The glow also became bigger and bigger. The orange-red glow and the rainbow glow of thepression array soul tools intersected.

    Slight quaking sounds rumbled. It was important to know that this was even after there werepression array soul tools to protect the city. How terrifying must the quaking be to generate this?

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong weren¡¯t even out of Radiant City yet, but they turned around at almost the same time. What they saw was only a huge orange-red ball light rising from the imperial pce.

    Huo Yuhao instantly turned pale. ¡°Vicious. Xu Tianran is really vicious. He used his pce to deal with the Death God Douluo. I wonder how Elder Long is. Let¡¯s go back.¡± Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong and ran back without any hesitation. Long Xiaoyao¡¯s condition was unknown, but Ye Xishui was definitely doomed. This was Xu Tianran¡¯s killing blow. He must have been very confident.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s train of thought waspletely clear. He finally understood how Xu Tianran had managed to trick Ye Xishui.

    The imperial pce was aplete trap. ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells must have had been installed inside the pce. As for how many of them there were, he was unsure. However, there was definitely more than one or two if they wanted to kill an Ultimate Douluo.

    From the start until the end, thepression array soul tools were a bluff. Ye Xishui¡¯s attention was drawn to what they were capable of.

    They were indeed very strong. However, they were almost invincible when it came to defending. When they were used to attack, it did seem that they were still rather wed. However, Xu Tianran used them to defend! At the same time, the explosion was made even more destructive as it was confined. The Death God Douluo was most certainly dead!

    No wonder he had such a strong sense of crisis when he got close to the imperial pce. If he and Tang Wutong were in the pce, they would have been doomed too! Even if they could escape in time, they would still be encircled by the Sun Moon Empire. This proved that his senses were very urate. Not entering the pce saved both him and Tang Wutong.

    The orange-red glow was getting stronger and stronger. Even the glow from the Sun couldn¡¯tpare to it. If one watched from above, he would notice that there was an extra sun at the core of Radiant City. It was a sun that was shing with an intense red glow. This sun was dazzling, but it was filled with death.

    Xu Tianran had already flown up high. Even though his n was foolproof, and the soul tools were capable of withstanding the explosion, he still flew up high. There was no harm for him to be cautious, and this was something he did very well.

 Chapter 602 - Death of an Ultimate Douluo?

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 602: Death of an Ultimate Douluo?</h4>

    Ju Zi was behind Xu Tianran. This n had been conceptualized by both of them. Of course, Xu Tianran had had this n all along. She had merely helped him refine and perfect it. It was precisely because of this n that Xu Tianran was able to fullymit to his decision.

    The n had unfolded perfectly, and even the Darkness Holy Dragon was trapped within it. Both Ultimate Douluo from the Holy Ghost Church had fallen into their trap. The Holy Ghost Church was finished. Even if their remaining people were able to run away, they were no longer a threat. Without the two Ultimate Douluo, the Holy Ghost Church was no longer able to threaten the Sun Moon Empire. It would not be too difficult to exterminate the remaining evil soul masters.

    Right now, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was still by Xu Tianran¡¯s side, protecting him. The rest of the three beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions were scattered around the sky above the pce. All of their surveince soul tools were locked onto this area. If the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Death God Douluo were somehow able to survive their attack, they would receive a final devastating blow from these soul engineer legions. This was thest step of Xu Tianran¡¯s n.

    A huge number of troops had gathered towards the pce from all directions. The civilians had been escorted out as the troops made sure that there were no trespassers entering the pce right now.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were naturally exceptions. Under the protection of his Imitation, they were able to enter the cordoned-off area with ease.

    The bright orange light was still shining at this moment. It was clear how powerful that explosion was. Huo Yuhao would definitely not want to try to resist the devastating power within that explosion. The temperature had to be at least a few thousand degrees celsius. It was not something the human body could withstand. Even an Ultimate Ice Transcendent Douluo like him would not be able to withstand that heat.

    What a vicious n!

    Ju Zi, was this your n, or Xu Tianran¡¯s?

    Ju Zi was also looking at the explosion from the air. Like Xu Tianran, she also revealed a smile. However, her smile was a warm one instead of the chillingughter that Xu Tianran was giving out.

    All the important personnel within the pce, including Ju Zi¡¯s son, had already been evacuated. They had only left a few servants and guards to trick the Death God Douluo. At the end of the day, there were a few people who had to die with the Death God Douluo.

    The two of them had to die. If they were to live, Huo Yuhao would have to face them in the near future. Ju Zi knew that the Death God Douluo would never let Huo Yuhao go. Simrly, Huo Yuhao would never let her go. The only way to resolve this conflict was that one of them had to die.Yuhao, now that I have taken down two of your most powerful enemies, you should be a lot safer.

    After knowing that the man she loved was in a much safer state now, Ju Zi was very happy. However, some bitterness was infused into her happiness. The reason was that Huo Yuhao would never truly belong to her. However, she was still happy that she could do something for him. This was true even though she knew that he would not want her to help him.

    Ju Zi had always enjoyed solving problems through the simplest means. She was happy that the Holy Ghost Church problem wasing to an end. Nheless, it was quite a pity that Xu Tianran did not sustain many losses from this incident. There were still several powerful soul masters and soul engineers around him. Of course, Ju Zi¡¯s second n was about to unfold soon.

    It was a brilliant n to destroy the two Ultimate Douluo at the expense of the pce. Without the pce, there would be no high-energypression array soul tools. At the same time, the four high-energypression array soul tools around Radiant City were already being used to ensure the explosion within the pce did not tten the entire city.

    This was the perfect example of a good scheme. Ju Zi had managed tobine what she wanted to achieve and what would inevitably happen together in her n. She was able to be righteous while tricking her opponents into her trap. It seemed as though the power of destiny was fuelling her schemes.

    After seeing how sessful her n was, Ju Zi could not help but smile even wider. Even if that man would never be hers, there was another person who would always be hers. He was none other than her son.

    Her son¡¯s name, Yunhan, had a special rtionship with Huo Yuhao¡¯s name. The Yu character in Yuhao¡¯s name was like the rain to the cloud in Yunhan¡¯s Yun. Hao and Hanbined to mean vastness.

    Xu Tianran naturally did not know what his wife was thinking right now. At this moment, his body was filled with adrenaline. He was so excited to have taken down two Ultimate Douluo. This was definitely a first for the Sun Moon Empire. After all, Du Busi had not been killed by him. He hadmitted suicide. On top of that, he was not an Ultimate Douluo.

    This time round, his achievement would definitely go down in history. He would be revered by future generations.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xu Tianran let out a burst of deafeningughter that scared Ju Zi, who was by his side.

    ¡°Now that the Holy Ghost Church had been destroyed, it¡¯s time for us to focus on the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. Ju Zi, I will give you a year to reorganize our troops and replenish them with equipment, manpower, and supplies. A yearter, you will set off as the Marshal and conquer the entire continent for me. I want the entire Douluo Continent to tremble under our feet and shudder under the glow of our soul tools. Once thest empire had been destroyed, we shall rename Douluo Continent the Sun Moon Continent!¡±

    ¡°But I will not destroy Shrek Academy. Even though they have been going against me, they are still the pinnacle and shrine for all soul masters. At the end of the day, I am also a soul master. Once we have conquered the entire continent, I will make the Academy bow down to us. When that happens, I will put on the Academy¡¯s uniform and attend lessons there. After all, this was my childhood dream. I will then name it the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, and make sure it stays a part of our empire forever. They will ensure that we remain a powerful empire for the rest of history. ¡°

    ¡°Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!¡± The soul engineers from the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion cheered in unison.

    Everyone could see the excitement and anticipation in Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes. It was almost as if he had seen the entire continent bow down before him.

    Even though Kong Deming was standing quietly behind Xu Tianran, his eyes were sparkling with the same excitement as Xu Tianran¡¯s. At the end of the day, any citizen of the Sun Moon Empire would be excited by what he had just said.

    The bright orange light did not start to fade until fifteen minutes had passed. Even then, it was fading very slowly. On the other hand, the multi-colored barrier formed by the four high-energypression array soul tools had already be very faint. It had be so thin that its colors were almost no longer visible.

    The explosion within the barrier was simply too frightening. It was so powerful that the barrier formed by the high-energypression array soul tools had almost crumbled under its power.

    ¡°Ju Zi, you were right to direct a huge amount of energy from the high-energypression array soul tools in the outer city. Even though this means that the outer city¡¯s high-energypression array soul tools will need to recharge for a long time, it has allowed us to aplish our goal. If we had failed to contain the explosion, I believe we would have lost at least a third of Radiant City. It seems like you have made another great contribution again. Tell me, how should I reward you?¡±

    Ju Zi smiled and answered politely, ¡°As long as Your Majesty allows me to stay by your side and witness you seed in conquering the entire continent, that is enough for Ju Zi.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! You have put it very well!¡± Xu Tianranughed again. In fact, it had been a while since he had been so pleased and happy. He had not even been this excited back then when he had ascended the throne.

    The reason was that he was no longer the same person as before. Previously, Xu Tianran was not able to control the entirend before him. Now, he was truly the mightiest Emperor in the entire continent. Not only was he able to control the internal affairs within his empire, but he was also able to gain the support and reverence of his ministers and generals. Now that he had conquered the Heavenly Soul Empire and taken down the two Ultimate Douluo that were constantly bugging him, how could he not be exhrated?

    He no longer wanted to suppress his emotions. This was because there was no longer anyone in this world who could question him. He truly wanted to be the first and mightiest emperor of the entire continent!

    Xu Tianran was deeply impassioned by Ju Zi¡¯s words as he clenched his fists tightly. If not for his legs, he would definitely have moved out with his troops and witnessed the glorious act of his army trampling over the other empires with his own eyes!

    As the bright orange light continued to fade, he was slowly able to see the situation within the barrier formed by the high-energypression array soul tools.

    The area enveloped by the barrier appeared to be very clean. It did not look like it had just gone through a massive explosion. In fact, the entire ground was sparkling clean. That was because there was no more ground. All that was left was a gigantic crater. Red hotva surrounded the incredibly deep crater. The fiery liquid was still flowing within the crater, deepening it. Because of the high temperature of theva, the light within the barrier was contorted and bent.

    What was originally the pce now only consisted of the four high-energypression array soul tools at the four corners of itspound. They were the only things still intact after the explosion. However, even those soul tools were starting to burn up. Traces of ck smoke could be seening from them. It was apparent that they were starting to break down due to the immense energy released by the explosion.

    Xu Tianran did not feel that it was a bad deal to trade his pce for two Ultimate Douluo. This was a loss he could definitely afford.

    However, it was still undeniable that it was an incredible explosion! Ten ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells had been used. The two Ultimate Douluo should be pleased with how their deaths were ¡°celebrated¡±.

    All ten stationary soul cannon shells were of the same type. They were all high-energy, highly explosive, and heat-releasing.

    Just a single one of them would be sufficient to take down a normal city. One could only imagine the temperature and explosive forces released by ten of these stationary soul cannon shellspressed within this small area. A God might not even be able to survive this explosion.

    Xu Tianran was really happy to see how everything had unfolded. Now, all that was left to do was to clean up the mess.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud explosion could be heard from within the barrier. It seemed like one of the high-energypression array soul tools had finally given way, and exploded. It released dense ck smoke into the air as the multi-colored light barrier faded. Following which, a chain reaction urred as the three other high-energypression array soul tools exploded one after another. More ck smoke was released into the air.

    It seemed like all of them had been destroyed by the explosion. However, their purpose had already been realized. At the end of the day, the Sun Moon Empire had paid a hefty price to take down two Ultimate Douluo. They had lost two ss 9 soul engineers, arge number of guards and servants within the pce, four of thetest high-energypression array soul tools, and ten ss 9 stationary soul cannon shells. The value of these things would have been enough to build a huge city from scratch.

    However, Xu Tianran was still very happy. After all, the two Ultimate Douluo would have been able to destroy more than a huge city if they were tobine their powers.

    Without the multi-colored barrier, the heat from the explosion instantly surged out and scattered in all directions. At that instant, the ambient temperature within the entire Radiant City seemed to have risen by quite a bit. The ces which were nearer to the pce became incredibly sweltering.

    This was inevitable. Fortunately, Xu Tianran had prepared for this. He had organized a team to project beams of water into the huge crater within the pce.

    Huge amounts of steam were released at that moment. It was truly an impressive sight to behold.

    Xu Tianran, who was still floating in the air, smiled at Ju Zi and said, ¡°When we rebuild the pce, there is no longer a need to excavate. It is now a lot deeper than before. In fact, the underground walls should be incredibly tough now that they have been baked by the heat.¡±

    Suddenly, the beeping sound of an rm could be heard! The sound immediately alerted all the soul engineers from the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, who had been starting to lower their guard. They instantly activated their linked defensive barriers to protect Xu Tianran, Ju Zi, and the rest. The Emperor¡¯s safety was of the utmost importance.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xu Tianran eximed.

    ¡°Your Majesty, we have detected soul power and spiritual power fluctuations from the crater. The fluctuations are of incredible magnitude, and they are enveloping the entire pce.¡± One of the soul engineers reported to Xu Tianran. Now that the Sun Moon Empire had installed surveince soul tools above the pce, they were able to detect any movement or changes instantly.

    Xu Tianran was visibly frustrated by the news. ¡°Attack. I want all of you tounch an all-out attack on the pce.¡± He did not dare to imagine what would happen if both Ultimate Douluo were still alive.

    Suddenly, the steam turned into countless snowkes. Huge snowkes began to dance above the pce, and their extremely cold auras chased away the intense heat which was radiating from the crater. At the same time, they prevented the surveince soul tools from monitoring the events unfolding within the crater.

    A series of loud explosions continued to ring in the air as the crater within the pce became deeper with the attacks which thrown into it by the soul engineers. All sorts of lights from the explosions crushed the snowkes as Radiant City trembled under the explosive power of the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    Ju Zi could not help but clench her fists at the sight of this. She naturally recognized those snowkes.Idiot! Why are you here right now? Are you actually trying to save the Death God Douluo? Why?!

    Of course, Huo Yuhao would not be giving her an answer. The reason was that both he and Tang Wutong had already disappeared with the two Ultimate Douluo when the cannons were fired. The security established by the troops was nothing when it was up against Huo Yuhao¡¯s Imitation and Spiritual Interference Domain.

    The clothes on Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body had already disappeared. What was left were just the burned ck dragon scales on his body.

    On the other hand, Ye Xishui¡¯s body seemed to be giving off a radiant aura. At this moment, she seemed to have be a holy angel of sorts. However, her body was somewhat translucent. The Blood Soul Demonpuppet aura on her body had vanishedpletely.

 Chapter 603.1 - Dual Legacy

    <h4 ss>Chapter 603.1: Dual Legacy</h4>

    Long Xiaoyao was carrying Ye Xishui. There was a mysterious glow on Ye Xishui¡¯s face as she stared at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Surprisingly, she seemed to be very calm about the whole thing.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talkter and leave now!¡± This was the first thing Long Xiaoyao said after seeing Huo Yuhao.

    Prior to this, just when the barrier formed by the high-energypression array soul tools had disappeared, Huo Yuhao had received a transmitted message from Long Xiaoyao. He had been told by Long Xiaoyao to cover him.

    At that instant, Huo Yuhao actually hesitated. Even though he had only heard Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice, he felt that Ye Xishui was probably still alive. If he were to save Long Xiaoyao, he would also end up saving Ye Xishui.

    However, he decided after a short moment that favors and grudges were meant to be settled separately. He should return the favor to Long Xiaoyao before thinking about how he should exact his revenge on Ye Xishui. Even if Long Xiaoyao were to try and stop him, he would never let Ye Xishui get away scot-free. After all, it would be disastrous to let an evil soul master who was also an Ultimate Douluo get away.

    The chaotic explosions continued for a good fifteen minutes before they ended. By then, both Xu Tianran and Ju Zi were already very anxious. In fact, goosebumps had already formed on Xu Tianran¡¯s skin.

    If the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Death God Douluo were still somehow able to survive, he would definitely not be able to bear the consequences. In fact, no one would be able to take their wrath. The entire Sun Moon Empire would probably be destroyed by their rage and fury.

    ¡°Ju Zi, do you think they¡¯re dead?¡± Xu Tianran turned around and looked at Ju Zi.

    ¡°Dead, they must be dead!¡± Ju Zi eximed with determination. This was the first time she sensed cowardice from Xu Tianran. He was actually afraid of what might happen!

    ¡°Yes, they must be dead. They have to be dead.¡± Xu Tianran eximed.

    Right now, all of Radiant City had been locked down by the soldiers and soul engineers. However, their methods were useless against Huo Yuhao. Once he unleashed his Imitation, no one would be able to detect him, or the people whom he was bringing along with him.

    After traveling for a good fifty kilometers¡ªwhich was but a short moment for a Transcendent Douluo¡ªHuo Yuhao stopped within a small forest.

    He had to stop now. In fact, at this instant, he revealed a very serious and solemn expression. He was about to face a very difficult problem. Even though he really did not want to confront it, he knew he had to settle it now.

    After seeing how Huo Yuhao had stopped, Tang Wutong naturally stopped moving. She held hands with him as both of them turned around. Long Xiaoyao had been following behind them while carrying Ye Xishui on his back.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao noticed how Long Xiaoyao¡¯s scales had turned dark red. His old face had also be very red. However, it was not a healthy kind of red. In Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, all he saw was the aura of death.

    That¡¯s true! Even an Ultimate Douluo should not be able toe out alive from those frightening explosions. Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui are already more than two hundred years old, and are definitely past their peak. Hence, they should be in an extremely dire state.

    Long Xiaoyao ced Ye Xishui onto the ground gently as he propped her up to allow her to sit up straight. However, Ye Xishui raised one of her hands as she held onto Long Xiaoyao¡¯s shoulder. She wanted to stand next to him.

    What surprised both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong was how Ye Xishui had seemed to be younger.

    Long Xiaoyao was right. Ye Xishui was very beautiful when she was younger. In fact, she did not pale inparison to Tang Wutong at all.

    The gentle and radiant golden aura she was giving off made her seem very holy and sacred. This was exactly the same as the time Huo Yuhao had first seen Ye Guyi use her angel martial soul. Her skin was fair and porcin-like. The smile she had on her face seemed to tell Huo Yuhao that she had let go of all of her grudges. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were very shocked by the transformation in her look and attitude.

    They had no idea what the two Ultimate Douluo¡¯s current states were. They only knew that both of them seemed to be behaving in a strange way.

    Huo Yuhao could still sense the pure and powerful soul power fluctuations from Ye Xishui¡¯s body. She no longer seemed to have the aura that evil soul masters possessed. However, she didn¡¯t seem to be radiating any life energy either.

    On the other hand, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body was still radiating fairly powerful life energy fluctuations. However, Huo Yuhao could tell that they were deteriorating, and were terribly unstable.

    ¡°Senior Long.¡± Huo Yuhao forced himself to look at Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao sighed and said, ¡°I know. There¡¯s no chance that you will let Xishui go today. I understand where you¡¯reing from. Both of you should also be able to tell that we¡¯re almost dead. However, I don¡¯t know if I can fulfill my own wish before then. I had originally wanted you to find me after you reached Rank 98. But it seems like I¡¯m running out of time!¡±

    Huo Yuhao kept silent. He had heard Long Xiaoyao¡¯s story with Ye Xishui from Long Xiaoyao himself. In fact, he could understand the pain in his heart.

    ¡°Yuhao, can I ask something of you?¡± Long Xiaoyao asked.

    Huo Yuhao remained silent before saying, ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t involve me letting Senior Ye go, I can promise you any other thing.¡±

    Huo Yuhao knew that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao would never be able to defeat him and Tang Wutong in their current state.

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said, ¡°When I eventually die, I will naturally lose the ability to protect her. I just want you to promise me not to hurt her until I die. Can you kill her after I¡¯ve died?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body froze. His heart was pained to see an Ultimate Douluo going down on his knees for something so simple!

    After hesitating for a short while, Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°As long as Senior Ye doesn¡¯t try to flee, I can definitely do what you have requested of me.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao nodded and said, ¡°You can rest assured that you will not regret epting my request. I will definitely reward you for this.¡± As he spoke, he slowly turned around to face Ye Xishui. The look on his face was instantly reced with the gentlest expression.

    ¡°Xishui, you are really very beautiful. You have remained so beautiful while I have aged so much.¡± His voice was very gentle as he spoke slowly. It was as though he was confessing something.

    Ye Xishui shed a gentle smile on her beautiful face. ¡°No, we have both aged. I never thought that I would be able to be with you until ourst moments. I am so happy that things are ending this way. Don¡¯t be sad. This is the best ending that I can get.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice started to tremble. ¡°Xishui, have you really forgiven me? Are you really willing to forgive me for everything I did to you?¡±

    Ye Xishui smiled. She seemed to be genuinely happy.

    ¡°Xiaoyao, you¡¯re really an idiot. In fact, it¡¯s not just you. Mu En was also an idiot. Both of you are really idiots. Both of you have been yed by me all this while! It¡¯s just that both of you are too dumb to realize it. You¡¯re really a big idiot!¡±

    Even though she wasughing, tears were pouring down her face.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Long Xiaoyao stared nkly at her.

    Ye Xishui sighed and said, ¡°You gave way too much for me in this lifetime. Now that we have both reached thest moments of our lives, let me do something for you. Let me remove the baggage you have been carrying with you all this while, and leave our world happily. I can finally share a lot of things with you.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao was stunned. In fact, both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were stunned. What Ye Xishui was about to say was definitely something she had hidden with her life.

    ¡°What do you n to tell me?¡± Long Xiaoyao asked.

    Ye Xishui smiled inly. ¡°That thing. The thing you have always been feeling guilty about actually doesn¡¯t exist. If I were to rephrase what I just said, I meant that you did not have to feel guilty about it. The reason is that I had nned it all along. The person whom I was waiting for was you all along¡ªnot Mu En. I was willing to be married to you.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Long Xiaoyao could not believe what he had just heard. Huo Yuhao could see the fear in his eyes. Long Xiaoyao stared at Ye Xishui and said, ¡°Xishui, stop it. Stop speaking. I don¡¯t want you to spoil my impression of you. You were perfect back then, at least.¡±

    Ye Xishui shook her head and said, ¡°No, I want to say everything. If I can¡¯t let everything out, I can¡¯t bear to die. Actually, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. Even though you had been protecting me by my side and were even being used by me for all these years, you had not lost anything. The reason is that you have been protecting a woman who loves you from the bottom of her heart. Do you know that?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao stared at Ye Xishui in disbelief. Perhaps it was because of the current state of his body, but he was actually losing control of his emotions.

    Ye Xishui continued, ¡°Back then, when both of us and Mu En first participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, I had already gone there with an ulterior motive. Back then, I was already a part of the Holy Ghost Church. My sole intention was to identify the best talents among our generation. Hence, I met you and Mu En.¡±

    ¡°Both of you were so outstanding and powerful. In fact, I paled inparison to both of you. All of us were young back then, and it was easy for us to get together. On top of that, I had an agenda for getting close to both of you. Hence, both of you fell in love with me unknowingly. At the same time, I had also fallen in love with one of you.¡±

    ¡°You must have thought that Mu En was the one I had loved all this while, right? Now I can tell you truthfully that you¡¯ve been a big idiot. I loved you right from the beginning. In fact, I had never liked Mu En.¡±

 Chapter 603.2 - Dual Legacy

    <h4 ss>Chapter 603.2: Dual Legacy</h4>

    ¡°You were extroverted, handsome, and loved to show off. I fell in love with everything about you. Mu En was also great, but he was too much like a stone. He¡¯s not my type at all. Hence, you were the one who I had loved all this while.¡±

    ¡°However, I could not choose you. Zhongli Wu¡¯s father would never allow me to choose you because you were not a member of Shrek Academy. This was exactly why I was forced by him to choose Mu En instead of you.¡±

    After hearing what Ye Xishui had said, his mind turnedpletely nk. He had not expected the biggest misery in his life to have originated like this.

    Ye Xishui was still smiling, even though tears were streaming down her face.

    ¡°Afterward, we met again. It was during that time when I was tasked by Zhongli Wu¡¯s father to separate you. He told me how dangerous it was for the Holy Ghost Church to be up against two of the most gifted soul masters of my generation. Hence, I had to turn you against each other. That was the only way we could stop both of you from affecting the development of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    ¡°Hence, I proposed that n and used my body to bait you. After giving you my first time, I created a painful conflict for the three of us. However, only both of you were truly in pain. I had always known what I was doing. I was the Sacred Lady of the Holy Ghost Church! Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡­¡± Long Xiaoyao pointed at Ye Xishui as he spat out blood from his mouth.

    Ye Xishui stared at him gently and said, ¡°Xiaoyao, please don¡¯t be angry. You will only die too quickly for me to finish what I have to say. Perhaps you will be less angry after you have heard what I have to say.¡±

    ¡°After what happened then, I left. However, I did not regret what I had done. I had given my body to the person whom I truly loved. I knew that both you and Mu En would have to live a life of misery after that. However, I had no choice. Do you know that Zhongli Wu¡¯s father would have to kill both of you if my n had failed? Compared to watching him kill both of you, I would rather watch both of you suffer in misery! After all, you are my love, and Mu En was a big brother whom I looked up to! How could I not know how nice he was to me? Both of you have always been incredibly important in my heart. Hence, I needed to do that to protect both of you from the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    ¡°And I seeded. Both of you ended up bing Ultimate Douluo. Even though both of you were in pain and misery, we were at the very least still alive. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    ¡°After a few decades, Zhongli Wu¡¯s father forced me to bear him a son before he died. He told me how that was the only way he could hand over leadership over to me without any worries. Following which, he helped me be an Ultimate Douluo. That was when Ipletely became the enemy of Shrek Academy. As the Sacred Lady of the Holy Ghost Church, I could never really be with either of you.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how much I wanted to be with you that time we met after Zhongli Wu¡¯s father died? However, I knew I could not. The reason is that I was already the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. As the leader among all evil soul masters, I would ruin your reputation if I were to get together with you. I could only force you to follow me and protect me. This would allow you to continue to be regarded as the Dragon Emperor Douluo, instead of a member of the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    ¡°I am so happy that you have continued to follow me and protect me even after a hundred years. I might be an immoral and evil soul master, but I am still human. Do you really think I cannot see the feelings you have for me? However, I didn¡¯t dare to get together with you. I couldn¡¯t bear to see your name destroyed because of me. Hence, I could not let you know about the love I have for you.¡±

    ¡°Now, I can finally exim my love for you. Xiaoyao, I have always loved you and you alone. Even though you have followed me and suffered because of me for more than a hundred years, I must tell you that I am definitely deserving of your love. The reason is that I have borne a son for you. Do you know that?¡±

    ¡°W-What did you say?¡± Long Xiaoyao¡¯s jaw dropped after hearing what Ye Xishui had said. His body began to tremble.A son? Xishui has borne a son for me?However, it had already been more than a hundred years. Even if he was a powerful soul master, he would have probably died after a hundred years.

    ¡°You probably did not expect that. I knew you would have been very shocked after hearing what I had to say. To be honest, just like you, I have not seen him for more than a hundred years. I don¡¯t even know if he¡¯s still alive. I can¡¯t go and see him, because I can¡¯t bear to let him know that his mother is an evil soul master, and the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church. I only wish for him to lead a healthy life and be a normal human being. In fact, I don¡¯t even want him to be a soul master. Hence, I gave him the surname of Yan¡ªmy surname before I joined the Holy Ghost Church.¡±

    ¡°However, fate works in mysterious ways. Our grandson was actually able to get into Shrek Academy by his own merit. He eventually became a disciple of Mu En. If I had not known that his martial soul was the same as my second martial soul¡ªthe Radiant Phoenix, I would not have known that Mu En had epted our grandchild as his disciple. In fact, Mu En did his best to nurture him, and he ended up as the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.

    ¡°What?!¡± Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could not help but express their disbelief. If not for Ye Xishui¡¯s confession today, who would have known that Yan Shaozhe was actually Long Xiaoyao¡¯s and Ye Xishui¡¯s grandson?

    ¡°You¡¯re lying. You¡¯re trying to sow discord among the people within the Academy!¡± Tang Wutong eximed in rage.

    Ye Xishui smiled as she looked at Long Xiaoyao, who had already been stunned by everything she had said. ¡°Is there a need for me to sow discord when things have alreadye to this stage? Besides, as an Ultimate Douluo, do you think I have to go around and spoil rtionships? I am who I am. I say what I say. Of course, I will not go around spreading lies. Shaozhe should be our grandchild or great-grandchild, judging from his age. However, I have never tried to contact him. I have only gone to check on his bloodline and confirm that he is our descendant.¡±

    Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong back and shook his head. Tang Wutong simply could not believe what she was hearing.

    Long Xiaoyao frowned as he looked at Ye Xishui. ¡°Is this all real? I really can¡¯t believe it. Why? Why didn¡¯t you tell me all of this earlier?¡±

    Ye Xishui spoke inly, ¡°This is because I was the Sacred Lady of the Holy Ghost Church! I was the Leader of the Holy Ghost Church! I am the Supreme Leader of the Holy Ghost Church! What could I have told you? I have already done so many immoral and inhuman things. I have the blood of hundreds of thousands of lives on my hands. What would have changed if I told you all of this? So that you would fall deeper in love with me? So that you would be an evil soul master? So that we would drag all of our descendants into the Holy Ghost Church? No. I could not have said all of this to you. In fact, I can¡¯t even share them with anyone else. I could only bury all of it in my heart. I can only dream of the momentary sweet moments I had in my dreams. These sweet memories are what prevent me from bing the true destroyer of the world.¡±

    ¡°Look at this!¡± Ye Xishui raised her arms as a gentle golden me rose around her body. ¡°This is my real trump card. No one would have expected an evil soul master with the Blood Soul Demonpuppet to possess a second martial soul. Even Zhongli Wu¡¯s father didn¡¯t know that I had this martial soul. I did my best to hide it from everyone. The people from the Holy Ghost Church would definitely kill me if they knew I had this martial soul. Hence, I have hidden it for close to two hundred years. I had not expected it to be useful today. By using the phoenix¡¯s ability to rise from the ashes, I was able to save both of our lives.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head and said, ¡°I should not have entered. If it was just you alone, you might have been able to survive. You would not have had to ignite your life energy.¡±

    Ye Xishui shook her head and said, ¡°No, if you hadn¡¯t entered, I would really have died. My heart would have died. I really wanted you toe in. The only reason why I chose to enter the trap willingly is that I had already be tired of this world. I needed to find a ce where I could truly belong. I had nned all of this carefully. Do you think that Xu Tianran can actually trick me? Do you think his trap would have been sessful if I hadn¡¯t entered willingly? I was using thisst chance to see if you still loved me, just like a hundred years go. I am so d I was right. Xiaoyao, thank you for not disappointing me. I am really, really happy.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s breathing was bing more pained as he stared at Ye Xishui. However, he remained silent.

    Ye Xishui lifted her hand and stroked his face gently.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you keeping quiet?¡±

    ¡°You have made my life so miserable with all your lies!¡± Long Xiaoyao looked up into the sky and bellowed. At that instant, tears streamed from his old eyes. He would never have expected his struggles to be so meaningless. He did not know that he was bearing responsibility for a crime he had nevermitted.

    At this instant, he did not feel relieved or happy. He just felt as though he was empty. That sensation was a lot more painful than what he had gone through before.

 Chapter 603.3 - Dual Legacy

    <h4 ss>Chapter 603.3: Dual Legacy</h4>

    Ye Xishui spoke gently, ¡°Xiaoyao, this is ourst moment together in this world. Even though our lives are ending soon, I want to be your wife from this moment onwards. Will you be my husband? From now on, you no longer have to listen to my orders. I will do whatever you ask me to do and be a good wife, alright?¡±

    Long Xiaoyao stared at Ye Xishui and said, ¡°All this while, I thought that you were the person to whom I owed the greatest apology. Now, I finally realize that Mu En is the one whom we need to apologize to. He must have suffered a lot more pain than we went through. Even though he has died, he still did not know what actually happened all those years ago. You are really cruel to him!¡±

    Ye Xishui sighed and said, ¡°Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. We often underestimate time¡¯s ability to heal wounds. The reason why I have not visited him in all these years was so that I would not reawaken those painful memories. At the end of the day, he eventually had a family and took on responsibilities at Shrek Academy. Even if those painful memories were still a part of him, they would be but a small part of his existence. In my opinion, you suffered more by staying by my side.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao turned around and looked in the direction of Shrek Academy before saying, ¡°Brother Mu, who would have known that both of us were badly mistaken about the truth back then? The Holy Ghost Church had always been ourmon enemy! Xishui, you are right. At the very least, I¡¯ll know what actually happened before I die. I will not die like an ignorant fool. Brother Mu, it seems like I won¡¯t be able to repay what I owe you in this life! I guess I can only make it up to you by doing a favor for your disciple.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, he quickly turned around and looked at Ye Xishui. ¡°Xishui, are you really willing to follow everything I say?¡±

    Ye Xishui nodded silently.

    ¡°Okay! Even though you won¡¯t be able to make up for everything you have done, let¡¯s try to leave something behind on this continent. Let us do something for Brother Mu. How does that sound?¡±

    Ye Xishui smiled and said, ¡°I will do anything you ask me to.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao turned around to face Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. ¡°Yuhao, I had originally nned for you to look for me after you reached Rank 98. Previously, Xuan Zi had written to me about how you had managed to form Yin Yang Complement soul cores. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Yin Yang Complement? He actually did it?¡± Ye Xishui was very surprised by what she heard. ¡°No wonder he was able to take down so many of our evil soul masters. He had actually managed to form Yin Yang Complement Soul Cores, something which only Di Tian has managed to aplish. Tell me,d, how was your body able to withstand the frightening amount of pressure?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chose not to answer Ye Xishui¡¯s question. He merely nodded at Long Xiaoyao.

    ¡°Since you have already formed your second soul core before bing an Ultimate Douluo, this means that you will have to form your third soul core when you are pushing for Rank 99. I can foresee how that will be incredibly difficult. I originally wanted to help you in your final push, but it seems like I won¡¯t have a chance to help you anymore. As I continue to weaken before I die, there is no longer any use for me to hold onto my soul power. If I were to give it to you, it might actually help you to form your third soul core. At the very least, I would actually help you to make history. However, I don¡¯t think I can live to see you reach Rank 98. I guess I can only pass you the purest thing within my soul power, as well as some of the things I haveprehended in the past few years. This will be the only way I can repay Mu En.¡±

    ¡°Senior Long, I can¡¯t ept this.¡± Huo Yuhao held his hand before him. He was shocked to learn that Long Xiaoyao was actually looking for him for this.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t reject my offer. This is myst wish. If you were to reject me, I won¡¯t be able to rest in peace. Besides, I would rather pass what I have cultivated to someone rather than let it disintegrate into nothing. You don¡¯t have to worry about me handing all of my soul power to you. I will only be passing you the purest and most basic thing within my soul power. I will inject this pure energy into your body and allow you to digest it slowly. At the same time, it will probably help you establish a foundation for your future third soul core.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Long Xiaoyao turned around to look at Tang Wutong. ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect you to have formed your second soul core too. Is it also a Yin Yang Complement soul core?¡±

    Tang Wutong nced at Huo Yuhao before nodding. ¡°Yes. I only managed toplete it with Yuhao¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°Great! That¡¯s great! Xishui, I need you to hand your soul power to thisdy. This is my final request for you. We will leave our power in their hands.¡±

    Ye Xishui was a little stunned, but she immediately nodded before looking at Tang Wutong.

    However, Tang Wutong seemed to have a different idea. She shook her head violently and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want the power of an evil soul master.¡±

    Ye Xishui gave her a bitter smile before saying, ¡°I no longer have any power from my evil soul master self. In fact, all of my evil soul power, including the Death God Pagoda, was destroyed back at the Pce. Even my Blood Soul Demonpuppet martial soul and my very own body had been destroyed. Can¡¯t you tell that I no longer have a body? I am now but a body of energy. The only reason my soul did not shatter was because my cultivation was sufficiently high. I had originally only intended to protect Xiaoyao and get him out alive. I didn¡¯t know that he was already severely injured before then. Hence, his life is alsoing to an end. You can rest assured that my Radiant Phoenix martial soul has not been tainted with anyone¡¯s blood. It only contains the purest radiant power, which is also the kind and gentle side of me. Now, I am no longer the Death God Douluo. I am but Long Xiaoyao¡¯s wife. Ye Xishui has already died.¡±

    Tang Wutong frowned after hearing her words. She still could not ovee the psychological barrier in her heart.

    At this very instant, an extremely familiar voice rang in her head.

    ¡°She is right. She is no longer the Death God Douluo. All of the filthy things in her body died during the explosion. Help them fulfill their final wish.¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Tang Wutong eximed.

    Huo Yuhao, Long Xiaoyao, and Ye Xishui were shocked upon hearing what Tang Wutong had just said. It was important to note that they were all at the pinnacle of the world of soul masters. How could they not know if someone else was also present?

    Tang Wutong gave them an awkward smile and exined, ¡°Sorry! I suddenly remembered something my father told me. Alright. I will ept it. But I won¡¯t thank you for your gift.¡±

    Ye Xishui smiled. ¡°I have never asked anyone for gratitude. I am just doing what my husband wants. Xiaoyao is right. I owe Mu En too much. I¡¯m just d that I can do something for his disciple in thest few moments of my life.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned to face Long Xiaoyao, only to see the sincerity in his eyes. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion¡¯s Skull of Destiny did not give him any warning of impending danger. He knew that neither of them were trying to trick them.

    ¡°Senior Long, is there really no way to save you?¡± Huo Yuhao asked sadly.

    Long Xiaoyao flickered and reappeared behind him. ¡°I have exined myself already. I want to die before Xishui. Sit down.¡± As he spoke, he ced one of his hands on Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulder. Even though he was already severely injured, the Dragon Emperor Douluo was still incredibly strong. Huo Yuhao was forced into a sitting position.

    Tang Wutong also sat down before Huo Yuhao as they faced one another. They could see the sadness and shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui stood behind Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong respectively. They ced their palms behind both of their backs.

    ¡°You two can fuse your martial souls, right? I need both of you to start cultivating, and slowly receive our soul power.¡± Long Xiaoyao ordered.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Huo Yuhao raised his palms and ced them against Tang Wutong¡¯s. At that instant, their Haodong Power started to flow between them as countless little vortexes began to move between their bodies.

    Huo Yuhao had enveloped his Spiritual Detection around the four of them. Even though his intuition told him that he would not be in any danger, he knew that he should still be wary of Ye Xishui. After all, she was the most powerful evil soul master within the Holy Ghost Church! If Ye Xishui were to decide to do something bad to Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao would immediately use his Xuanwu Discement to switch ces with her. He believed that he should still be able to handle her blow, especially with the current state she was in.

    After a while, it seemed like Huo Yuhao¡¯s intuition was correct.

    Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui had inserted their soul power in a gentle way into both of their bodies.

    Long Xiaoyao eximed, ¡°Yin Yang Complement soul cores are truly remarkable! They are definitely one of the miracles of our world. I have never seen such pure and condensed soul power. In fact, they have fused so well. The two soul coresplement one another while providing the necessary opposing forces to build up strength and power. This is truly the best way to train.¡±

    Ye Xishui nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Even though I had twin martial souls, I did not dare to train my Radiant Phoenix. I have always hidden it from everyone. If not, I might also have had a chance to form my own Yin Yang Complement soul cores. Who knows? They might just be able to challenge Di Tian with their human bodies if they are able to be Ultimate Douluo.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and said, ¡°Then let us be a part of this miracle.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui continued to channel their soul power into Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies. The soul power they were transferring did not have any elemental type. It was the purest kind of soul power. Their soul power was able to immediately fuse with the Haodong Power without any conversion.

    No wonder they were Ultimate Douluo. They knew exactly how to use their soul power to help others.

    Both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were able to withstand the pressure from the soul power because of their Yin Yang Complement soul cores. Their bodies had be a lot more resistant to these forces after forming their second soul cores. The four soul cores in their bodies absorbed the pure soul power greedily as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s cultivation improved rapidly.

 Chapter 604.1 - Rank 98!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 604.1: Rank 98!</h4>

    After fifteen minutes, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power suddenly rose to Rank 96.

    In another hour, their soul power rose to Rank 97.

    Two hourster, they were Rank 98.

    In less than four hours, their cultivations had increased to Rank 98 with the help of the two Ultimate Douluo. When they reached that point, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s hands were no longer holding on to each other anymore.

    Just like they had judged earlier, their Haodong Power could no longer flow between them when their cultivation reached a certain tier. This was because it was too powerful. It was so strong that they themselves couldn¡¯t handle it anymore.

    It was only by letting go of each other¡¯s hands that the soul power circting in their bodies would weaken. This would open up more ces in their bodies to circte the immense soul power of an Ultimate Douluo.

    Although Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui transferred purified soul power into them, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong only realized how dense Ultimate Douluo soul power was when they received it. Their soul power feltpletely boundless.

    Huo Yuhao was well-aware that he and Tang Wutong might not win against either one of them even if they teamed up. It was much more likely that they would lose.

    The cultivations of these two individuals were simply too astonishing!

    As his soul power got stronger and stronger, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul cores started to gradually slow down. Huo Yuhao only felt that his body was ballooning more and more. It seemed like it could blow apart at any time.

    ¡°I want to set a foundation for the establishment of your third soul core. You have a very strong foundation now. Your first soul core is in your brow, while your second soul core is in your chest. Your dantian is free for your third soul core to upy. Next, your third soul core can only be space-type. Furthermore, your third soul core has to be woven in an alternatively up and down pattern. Finally, your three soul cores should be well-connected and well-linked to one another, to maximize their real power. I can¡¯t help you with the final cirction, but I can help you build a foundation in your dantian. In the future, what you have to do is link this third soul core with your other two soul cores. It¡¯s only through this that you can be an Ultimate Douluo. As for how strong you will be then, I wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯ll pray for you and Mu En from another world.¡±

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s voice appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. Following this, Huo Yuhao sensed that the soul power pouring into his body by Long Xiaoyao had surged to his dantian. At the same time, some of it had separated and isted the area above his chest.

    His cultivation is simply boundless! It¡¯s too powerful.

    An outline of small soul cores was quickly constructed. Huo Yuhao¡¯s two other soul cores were isted, and felt nothing.

    The cirction of soul power in his dantian was the same as that at his brow area.

    Huo Yuhao had never considered the problem of how to make three soul cores circte in tandem with one another. However, it would be an important consideration from now on.

    Even though Long Xiaoyao didn¡¯t mention it, Huo Yuhao knew that his three soul cores would bring him a lot of problems in the future if he didn¡¯t take them into consideration.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s body was also filled with soul power right now. However, she was in a more troublesome situation. This was because her first soul core was already in her dantian, even though her second soul core was in her brow. Only her chest could contain her third soul core. Her chest was where the soul power from her two current soul cores interacted. Her whirlpool-like soul power was generated there. How was she going to outline her third soul core?

    After pondering over it for a moment, Ye Xishui shared her thoughts with Long Xiaoyao.

    Long Xiaoyao had already helped Huo Yuhao with his third soul core. After he heard Ye Xishui¡¯s words, he immediately stood up and came in front of Tang Wutong. He sat cross-legged in front of her and sped his palms with her. He took the front, while Ye Xishui took the back. Tang Wutong was at the center.

    Long Xiaoyao said, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for her to construct her third soul core in this condition. We can only put her in the same situation as Yuhao before there¡¯s any possibility ofpletion. That¡¯s why we have to shift the positions of her soul cores.¡±

    Ye Xishui couldn¡¯t help butugh when she heard Long Xiaoyao¡¯s words, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I didn¡¯t expect us to team up together to do something good one day. It¡¯s a great feeling! Let¡¯s begin then. I¡¯ll lift her while you protect her. If we can¡¯t seed, there¡¯s no one else in this world who can. Even if we don¡¯t, there¡¯s no danger.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t she right? Even Di Tian could only win against one of them. If they both fought him at the same time, he might not actually win.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s soul core in her dantian was slowly lifted up, and gradually transferred to her chest.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s scales slowly turned blood-red, while Ye Xishui¡¯s body turned illusory.

    Huo Yuhao sat where he was cross-legged. He silently sensed the changes in his body.

    The soul power in both his soul cores was already fully nourished. His third soul core had started to form, but it was isted. The power used to iste his third soul core was a seal imnted in his body by Long Xiaoyao. As long as it wasn¡¯t removed, it would continue to iste his third soul core. However, once it was broken, he had to immediately try to fuse his three soul cores. Otherwise, he was bound to die once there was any chaos in his body.

    Even though he had directly absorbed Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power, there was still a part of it that he couldn¡¯t absorb yet.

    As an Ultimate Douluo, Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power was like essence. He had filtered out the elemental type of his soul power, but still transferred quite a lot of it to Huo Yuhao. As a result, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t absorb all his soul power. His body couldn¡¯t take it yet, not even though he was already so strong. This was because Rank 98 was already close to the extreme, while Rank 99 was the human limit!

    When he reached this tier, he fully understood the problems that came with great power. Huo Yuhao¡¯s senses were bing more and more acute. Every minor change that happened to his internal soul power was stirring. It felt as if he might blow apart and die if he didn¡¯t control his soul power well.

    The extra soul power waspressed in his dantian by Long Xiaoyao. It was where his third soul core was going to be. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how much soul power was going to be in his third soul core. He didn¡¯t even dare to use his spiritual power to check.

    He had to get used to his Rank 98 soul power before he could gradually control it. He could only try to form his third soul core after everything was clear. Otherwise, if he catalyzed a war between his current two soul cores and his third soul core, he was the only one who was going to suffer.

    Whether it was Long Xiaoyao or Ye Xishui, they had never faced this issue with a third soul core before. They were only trying things out, but it was an experiment that couldn¡¯t fail. This was because the experiments were conducted on Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s bodies! If they failed, the two of them would be wiped out.

    Tang Wutong¡¯s condition was gradually stabilizing. Even Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao felt that this was a little weird. Tang Wutong¡¯s passageways were very smooth. They didn¡¯t meet with any trouble at all. Furthermore, Tang Wutong¡¯s control was also very immacte. She wasn¡¯t in any danger at all.

    Because of this, it was much easier for them to pour in their soul power into her.

    After Long Xiaoyao returned to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side, he poured his remaining soul power into him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul core slowly took form. The whirlpool became bigger and bigger, before it started topress inward. Very soon, Huo Yuhao saw a pure-white entity appear.

    The reason why it was white was because it didn¡¯t have any elemental type. Huo Yuhao had to give it an elemental type in the future.

    It was terrifying. At least this was what Huo Yuhao thought. What if he failed? Of course, he knew that he could quickly make a breakthrough to be an Ultimate Douluo after he absorbed Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power. However, without a doubt, it was much more dangerous for external soul power to surge into his bodypared to the surge of his own soul power in his body.

    Of course, everything was rtive. If he relied on himself to cultivate and form his third soul core, he would certainly face the issue of ack of soul power. With an Ultimate Douluo setting the foundation for him now, he would not meet such a problem in the future.

    Since he had already decided, he could only carry on like this. It was such a rare opportunity. To Huo Yuhao, he wasn¡¯t very excited. Rather, he was extra careful.

    Time passed second by second. Huo Yuhao was consistently sensing the changes to the soul power in his body. Fortunately, everything was proceeding very smoothly. The barrier that Long Xiaoyao had ced in his chest was very solid. It didn¡¯t waver at all.

    The soul power that was pouring into his body grew fainter. After that, it became weaker. Finally, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body entered a state of calm when thest streak of soul power was poured into his body.

    As he opened his eyes, Huo Yuhao immediately turned to look behind him. He only saw Long Xiaoyao smiling behind him.

    Right now, Long Xiaoyao was much more elderly than he normally looked. Wrinkles were all over his face. Ye Xishui was in a different statepared to him. Only a dim projection of her was left behind. Even her appearance was unclear by now.

 Chapter 604.2 - Rank 98!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 604.2: Rank 98!</h4>

    ¡°Elder Long, how are you?¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly lifted Long Xiaoyao up.

    Long Xiaoyao smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Couldn¡¯t be better. During the process of transferring my soul power to you, I got everything clear in my head. There are no more regrets in my life. Xishui is right. I can finally leave without any regrets. The only person I¡¯ve let down is your teacher. Now, I¡¯m passing all my cultivation to you. I shall consider it my repayment to him. Go and do whatever you want. The Holy Ghost Church should indeed not exist in this world. Don¡¯t have any misgivings.¡±

    ¡°You must quickly cultivate and control the soul power in your body. When you finish adjusting yourself, you can charge towards your third soul core. Remember, don¡¯t be anxious. The only path you can take is space. You can onlyplete your third soul core if you understand the profundity of space. Both of you need toplement and protect each other in order to seed. I hope that both of you will be the first cases of humans with three soul cores. In that way, you won¡¯t waste the guidance that Mu En and I have given you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder.¡± Huo Yuhao respectfully acknowledged his words.

    He was both sympathetic of and inspired by Long Xiaoyao. However, he didn¡¯t fully agree with his methods. No matter what, he had aided the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s development for his own selfish reasons ¨C his rtionship with Ye Xishui. However, Long Xiaoyao was already on the brink of death. There was no need to continue ming him for anything. Furthermore, he had helped him a lot too.

    ¡°Elder Long, do you have anyst wishes?¡± Huo Yuhao asked softly.

    Long Xiaoyao shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m about to leave this world. I¡¯m finally free. If there¡¯s a next life, it¡¯ll be great if Xishui and I were just ordinary people! Xishui.¡±

    After hearing his call, Ye Xishui gradually flew over. Shended above him, and her gentle projection seemed to fuse with his body.

    A gust of wind blew.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s body flew up just like that, and seemed to turn into countless butterflies. Slowly, it turned into powder and dissipated. Only countless spots of light charged into the sky.

    There were ck and golden spots, that entangled with one another as they rose into the air.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong watched as these spots of light rose into the sky. Both of them bowed down. No matter what they had done in the past, they were already transcendent in this world! They deserved this respect. Moreover, they had also passed all the power they had left to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    In the future, whatever good deeds that he and Tang Wutong performed could be considered as helping to atone for their sins.

    ¡°Two Ultimate Douluo! Gone, just like that. It¡¯s unimaginable. I¡¯m afraid Elder Xuan is the only Ultimate Douluo on the continent now.¡± Tang Wutong said heavily.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious. In the near future, we¡¯ll be Ultimate Douluo too. Even though the process won¡¯t be simple, I¡¯m confident with you by my side.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Wutong gave him a sweet smile. Her body¡¯s condition was exactly the same as his right now. She was even faring a little better than him.

    Ye Xishui didn¡¯t lie. All her abilities that were rted to evil soul masters had disappeared during that massive explosion. The soul power of the Radiant Phoenix was also light-type. It was fullypatible with Tang Wutong, which made the entire fusion process abnormally smooth.

    The outline of Tang Wutong¡¯s third soul core had already formed. To allow it to ept the space element, Ye Xishui only left a part of the light element inside her third soul core. This was to aid Tang Wutong in her control over it.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t unleash our Haodong Power in the future.¡± Tang Wutong twisted her lips and appeared a little displeased.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯re already close to the peak of this world! However, we should still be able to use our fusion skills. If you don¡¯t believe me, we can find someone to test them on.¡±

    Tang Wutong was confused as she looked at him. She asked, ¡°Find who? Xu Tianran?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Now that Radiant City is on alert, it¡¯s not the time to touch Xu Tianran. You¡¯ve also seen it. He¡¯s too powerful. It¡¯s not good for us to be there right now. When we were still in Radiant City, Elder Long gave me a simplified map. I finally understand where the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters is. Before he died, thest words he told me were that we can deal with the Holy Ghost Church however we want.¡±

    ¡°Headquarters? Where is it?¡± Tang Wutong asked, astonished.

    Now that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were both dead, Zhong Liwu was the strongest in the church. Huo Yuhao had already defeated him before he became a Transcendent Douluo. Right now, it would naturally be even easier for him. Destroying the Holy Ghost Church was indeed of paramount importance now.

    Tang Wutong was a little excited as she said, ¡°What are we waiting for then? Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Rank 98! She and Huo Yuhao were both Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo now. Who was a better enemy for them to test their skills than the Holy Ghost Church?

    Both of them leaped up at the same time. They were still holding each other¡¯s hands, even though their Haodong Power no longer flowed between them. They rose straight into the sky before picking up speed.

    They didn¡¯t need any soul tools now. Their soul power quickly circted in their bodies. They were controlling the air. Two sonic sts rang out in the sky before they both disappeared.

    ¡­¡­

    Sun Moon Empire. Radiant City.

    ¡°Any discoveries?¡± Xu Tianran asked.

    Ju Zi nodded and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve activated everyone. We didn¡¯t find any clues though. The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters is too mysteriously located. I only know the rough location. ording to Ye Xishui, the Holy Ghost Church should be moving, but I¡¯m not sure what their current situation is. I¡¯ve already sent the army to search in that direction. I hope we can find them.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Tianran nodded. He still looked very grim. Up until now, he still couldn¡¯t verify that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were both dead. Their deaths were simply too crucial. If they were alive and took revenge anytime soon, the Sun Moon Empire would be in big trouble.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Ultimate Douluo to be so powerful. There¡¯s even a possibility that they aren¡¯t dead. It seems like I¡¯ve really underestimated soul masters. No wonder Shrek Academy could be sessful for so many years. This is the foundation of soul masters! It¡¯s a pity we don¡¯t have such talents or opportunities. If I wasn¡¯t hurt then, perhaps I might have stood a chance. But now, I don¡¯t. This time, if both of them are dead, I¡¯m afraid Elder Xuan from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion is the only remaining Ultimate Douluo. I wonder when the Sun Moon Empire will have its own Ultimate Douluo. When that happens, we¡¯ll be really strong.¡±

    Ju Zi smiled. She walked over and gently massaged his head.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long before that happens. When Your Majesty rules the entire continent, will you still be scared that you can¡¯t nurture an Ultimate Douluo, given the resources of the entire Douluo Continent?¡±

    Xu Tianran rxed a little. He gently patted Ju Zi¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Well said. You can go prepare now. I¡¯ll give you half a year¡¯s time, and the entire army. Deploy all resources. When we attack again, I want the remaining two empires to bepletely wiped out. Your greatest enemy is also in the Star Luo Empire. When are you nning to deal with them?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes turned cold, and she replied, ¡°I¡¯ll leave them forst. I want him to watch as his empire is trampled by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army. I want him to live in excruciating pain before he finally dies.¡±

    ¡°Haha, good. Well said. Let him suffer in pain before dying!¡± Xu Tianranughed.

    ¡­¡­

    Flying at high speed and controlling the air to propel oneself were two different concepts. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had this same thought right now.

    At Rank 98, they didn¡¯t need to drain their own soul power to fly anymore. They werepletely relying on the air to move their bodies ording to their wishes. As long as their bodies could take it, their speed was limitless.

    Even they didn¡¯t know how fast they could go. However, they felt as if they were moving thousands of kilometers in an instant.

    The scenery below them changed very quickly. When they passed through clouds, they would automatically dissipate. It was as if the clouds were giving way to them.

    From afar, Huo Yuhao saw the mountain range below him, and was astonished, ¡°We¡¯re here so quickly? We will be at our destination very soon. Wutong, our abilities are probably at the tier of an Ultimate Douluo.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How do you know that?¡± Tang Wutong asked Huo Yuhao curiously.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget. We already have Yin-Yang Complement soul cores. Along the way, I¡¯ve been trying to understand our control of the air. We were already Rank 95 Transcendent Douluo earlier, but the feeling is different now. This means that it¡¯s not just our soul power that increased. We were enhanced! What can enhance us to such a tier? Only if we are Ultimate Douluo. This also means that we are as strong as Ultimate Douluo, even though we¡¯ve not yet reached Rank 99. We¡¯re even Ultimate Douluo with Yin-Yang Complement soul cores.¡±

 Chapter 604.3 - Rank 98!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 604.3: Rank 98!</h4>

    Tang Wutong sighed slightly and said, ¡°I might have thought the same thing if it was before I met Elder Long and Ye Xishui. However, I beg to differ now. Ultimate Douluo have their own killer moves. They have their own understanding of this world. Perhaps our cultivations might have reached that tier, but we cannot considered Ultimate Douluo before we develop our own understanding. That¡¯s why we must continue to work harder. We¡¯ll definitely be able to reach that tier. When that happens, the world will be very different.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed as he said, ¡°Well said. I¡¯ll always be with you no matter what. We¡¯ll charge towards that tier and that world.¡±

    No matter what, his cultivation was already simr to that of an Ultimate Douluo! How could he not be excited? It was what he had been pursuing all this while.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Let me check.¡± Huo Yuhao controlled their speed as he held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. He slowed down.

    He had indeed been to this ce before. The dense forest in front of him turned from dark-green to pitch-ck. In the entire continent, only this forest had such a special characteristic. It was because this was the Evildemon Forest.

    Yes, the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters was in this forest. If not for the information provided by Long Xiaoyao, no one would have guessed this.

    In the Sun Moon Empire, the Evildemon Forest was like the Great Star Dou Forest in the Douluo Continent. The strongest soul beasts that lived in the Sun Moon Empire were in this forest. This included Evileye Tyrant King, ranked second among the Ten Great Savage Beasts

    Huo Yuhao had obtained the seventh soul ring of his Spirit Eyes here. He had killed a hundred thousand year Evileye Tyrant, before he was discovered by the Evileye Tyrant King and barely escaped death!

    He was different from how he was in the past right now. This time, he might not be afraid of those Evileye Tyrants anymore. However, what he didn¡¯t understand was why the Holy Ghost Church had located their headquarters here. It was no issue for those powerful evil soul masters. But what about the weaker evil soul masters? When they faced powerful soul beasts, their lives would be in danger.

    No matter what, it was good enough if he could find evil soul masters here. Without the protection of the Death God Douluo, no one here could stop them anymore.

    When hended, Huo Yuhao had already unleashed his Spiritual Detection. It was like a huge web that engulfed the entire forest.

    Long Xiaoyao had only told him about the Evildemon Forest. He didn¡¯t specify exactly where the Holy Ghost Church was in the forest.

    When Huo Yuhao surveyed the forest, he was very cautious. After all, there was a savage beast living here who was only inferior to Di Tian in the world of soul beasts. It was best not to offend the Evileye Tyrant King. It would help him avoid any unwanted trouble.

    Huo Yuhao had once swore that he wouldn¡¯t kill another soul beast unless he was attacked. This was why he wasn¡¯t going to provoke the Evileye Tyrant King, even though he wasn¡¯t afraid of him.

    His spiritual undtions continued to spread. Very soon, Huo Yuhao found his target.

    He knew his limits very well during this surveince process. Since the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s headquarters was in this forest, they would need resources. Furthermore, Radiant City was the core of the Sun Moon Empire. This was why their headquarters had to be closer to Radiant City if it was in this forest.

    The forest was fraught with dangers. To avoid any danger, it was best for the headquarters to be away from the core region. As a result, he was mainly surveying the perimeter of the forest facing Radiant City.

    And indeed, he quickly found a lot people who were hard at work.

    They were too obvious. They were moving too many resources out, piling them up in a plot of emptynd. After this, these resources were put into spatial storage-type soul tools by specialized people.

    It was unknown how many such storage-type soul tools they had. After the plot of emptynd was fully filled, the resources were quickly put away. After that, they started to move resources once again.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s first guess was that the headquarters was underground. This was because all the resources were being moved out from underground.

    He moved his Spiritual Detection downward. Given his current spiritual power, seeing underground was not an issue. As he ventured deeper down, he was suddenly astonished.

    What kind of project is this?Below the forest, there was a construction that was simr to a pce.

    This underground building was more than a thousand acres wide. It was made from granite, and was furnished with all kinds of decorations, making it appear very elegant.

    There were around a thousand people in this building right now, and most of them were busy. Among them, many were rtively weak, only having between three and six rings. However, there were still one to two hundred people with rather strong cultivations. They weremanding the weaker ones, who were moving the resources.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to check to know that he had found the correct ce. Apart from the Holy Ghost Church, who else would be so wealthy? From the resources that were being moved out, it was clear that there were rare metals, mountains of gold soul coins, and valuable treasures. Their worth was immeasurable. Although their wealth couldn¡¯tpare to the Sun Moon Empire, they were still as rich as Shrek Academy!These evil soul masters must have stolen and robbed all these items. Alright, this is great.

    If he couldn¡¯t verify this was the correct ce just from these material items, Huo Yuhao¡¯s suspicions were confirmed when he found Zhong Liwu and Feng Ling among the crowd of people.

    Nangong Wan was also there. There were also many other familiar faces.

    This was the ce!

    Zhong Liwu was watching grimly as his people worked. He asked Nangong Wan, ¡°Is there any news from the Supreme Elder?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. She hasn¡¯t brought back news even though she left in the morning.¡± Nangong Wan answered respectfully.

    Zhong Liwu furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Thest batch of resources have all been moved. Our people are also back too. Once we transport this batch, we can temporarily seal the exit. We¡¯lle back when we have the chance. This is the foundation of our church. We¡¯ll definitely be back one day.¡±

    Nangong Wan nodded and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll definitely be back. Sect leader, when will we leave?¡±

    Zhong Liwu replied without any hesitation, ¡°We¡¯ll immediately leave after we put everything away.¡±

    Nangong Wan was stunned. ¡°Aren¡¯t we waiting for the Supreme Elder and Elder Long?¡±

    Zhong Liwu shook his head and replied, ¡°No. She told us not to wait for her. I wonder what she¡¯s thinking. Since the Sun Moon Empire has already fallen out with us, why is she not instructing us to take revenge on them? Given her powers, how can they possibly stop her? I¡¯m not afraid for her safety. We¡¯ll leave immediately after we finish packing. Our people are our foundation. We just need to escape and umte our power before we¡¯ll rise again.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Nangong Wan respectfully acknowledged. Here, Zhong Liwu was the one in charge. Nangong Wan could only listen to instructions.

    At this moment, Feng Ling and Zhong Liwu lifted their heads at the same time and looked into the sky. Their expressions changed slightly.

    Nangong Wan and the other elders were slightly slower in reacting, but they also lifted their heads after a while.

    As Titled Douluo, their senses were very acute. The huge pressure that had suddenly appeared in the sky certainly caught their attention. How was it possible for them not to sense it?

    They were frantic when they sensed the terrifying pressure. The origin of this pressure was also unknown. At many times, the unknown was the most terrifying.

    At Zhong Liwu¡¯smand, a barrier of light immediately rose, engulfing all the evil soul masters within it.

    The Sun Moon Empire wasn¡¯t the only one with linked defensive barriers. The Holy Ghost Church had been their national church for a long time. They also had their own ways of preserving themselves. In addition, this was their headquarters!

    The sky slowly turned dark. Huge clouds started to gather. The weather seemed to turn chillier too.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go up and take a look.¡± Feng Ling said.

    Zhong Liwu pulled Feng Ling back and shook his head at her. ¡°They are not from the Sun Moon Empire. Soul engineers can¡¯t put this kind of pressure on us. There are very few people in the continent who can unleash such terrifying pressure. Send a distress signal.¡±

    ¡°Distress signal? Towards it?¡± Feng Ling was astonished as she looked at Zhong Liwu.

    Zhong Liwu nodded.

    In the next instant, a bright golden me rose into the sky. After it burst in the sky, another beam of golden light shot further up into the sky. It burst too, and turned into a golden umbre, which hung in the sky, only fading slowly.

    A beam of white light descended from the sky. It wasn¡¯t considered very strong. However, the expressions of the evil soul masters changed a little when it appeared. This was because the pressure that was being blocked by the linked defensive barrier got stronger. It was even much stronger than before.

    ¡°Chi!¡± Before the linked defensive barrier could even stop the white light, it had already been prated. The white light struck down.

    Zhong Liwu was the first to retreat. He fled far away.

    The difference between the Holy Ghost Church and Shrek Academy was that everyone in the Holy Ghost Church only thought of their own safety whenever there was danger. They didn¡¯t think of anyone else.

    A boom sounded at this moment. It was as if the ground had been torn open. A terrifying explosion caused the sky to change colors.

    It was the Tang Sect¡¯s special ss 9 stationary shell, Tai Ah!

    In the past, Huo Yuhao had once used this stationary shell to pierce a protective barrier in the Sun Moon Imperial Pce. How could a protective barrier by the Holy Ghost Church possibly stop it now?

    After the barrier was prated, it didn¡¯t copse immediately. The huge explosion that ensued happened within the region of the protective barrier.

    Even a Titled Douluo had to fear a ss 9 stationary shell! It was the most expensive weapon in the world.

    It was an important reason why a soul engineer could be stronger than a soul master.

 Chapter 605.1 - Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church

    <h4 ss>Chapter 605.1: Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church</h4>

    The explosionsted for more than ten seconds before it slowly faded away. When Zhong Liwu crawled up from the ground, all he saw was and wrecked by a devastating explosion.

    Many rare metals had been melted, and many resources had been vaporized. What hurt him the most was that many of the lower to mid-tier evil soul masters had disappeared without a trace. There was no other possibility, given the magnitude of this devastating attack.

    Who is it? Who¡¯s capable of finding this mysterious ce and using a stationary shell on it without any hesitation?

    Sun Moon Empire. It has to be Xu Tianran!

    Zhong Liwu had already turned pale green. He regretted not listening to his mother and evacuating the lower to mid-tier soul masters first. To save time, he made them all move the resources out.

    No one with less than seven rings could survive this explosion. Even those who had seven rings or more needed some subconscious help from the evil Titled Douluo to survive.

    The Holy Ghost Church¡¯s defense was normally not sox. However, they had dismantled a lot of their defenses because they had to move their resources. Who would have expected someone to attack at such an opportune time?Didn¡¯t mother go to Radiant City? How is it that the Sun Moon Empire is able to attack this ce? Furthermore, how did they know we¡¯re here?

    The ce was still burning. The protective soul barriers werepletely wrecked. The region that was blown up waspletely charred too.

    Less than a hundred evil soul masters had survived this explosion.

    Soul tools. This was the strength of a soul tool. More terrifyingly, this huge explosion hadpletely destroyed the future of the Holy Ghost Church!

    Zhong Liwu gritted his teeth, and his eyes turned red. However, following this, he felt the original burning temperature disappearing. What reced it was extreme cold.

    It was snow. Snowkes were falling from the sky. The dancing snowkes resembled penguin feathers.

    The hazy clouds were surrounded by snowkes. Very soon, the earth turned white. Even the charred region was covered by snow.

    The residual temperature of the ground seemed to be useless against these snowkes. The snowkes didn¡¯t even melt.

    Huo Yuhao drifted in mid-air like a sovereign watching his world. He held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand, and his Spiritual Detection had already covered arge area around him.

    The reason why he had used Tai Ah wasn¡¯t because he thought he couldn¡¯t deal with these evil soul masters. It was because he didn¡¯t want any loopholes.

    If any evil soul master escaped, disaster might ensue. This was why he had to be merciless if he wanted to get rid of all evil.

    Zhong Liwu seemed to sense something. After he got up, he immediately looked into the sky. There was a horrified look on his face. Right now, he felt as if he was being dissected and disyed in the open.

    As snowkes danced, the air temperature fell dramatically. Less than a hundred evil soul masters survived, and many of the survivors were injured. This was the strength of a ss 9 stationary soul shell. If one wasn¡¯t prepared to face it, it could be lethal. This was what had happened in the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s Imperial Pce. Right now, the Holy Ghost Church suffered the same fate.

    An extremely chilly aura descended. Some evil soul masters inadvertently touched those snowkes, and were shocked to realize that the snowkes were not as soft and weak as they looked. They were actually as hard as rocks. One would instantly sense an unprecedented chill invading his body the moment he touched it.

    It was bone-chilling. It was as if their marrow was about to be frozen right there and then.

    Soul masters were stronger than ordinary people. However, even a Titled Douluo couldn¡¯t survive for long when the temperature was negative one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius.

    As the snowkes descended, Zhong Liwu immediately knew who hade. What left him depressed was that this person¡¯s ability seemed to be stronger than it was in the previous fight.What? How is he able to grow so rapidly? Why is he so terrifying? How did he find this ce?

    ¡°Scatter, flee!¡± Zhong Liwu shouted. He suddenly increased his speed and charged deeper into the forest. Feng Ling followed closely behind.

    At this moment, a clear-white halo fell from the sky and engulfed all the evil soul masters. None of them were left out.

    ¡°Can you escape though?¡±

    The snowkes turned into terrifying, sharp weapons. As they danced in the air, they turned into sharp des. These des critically hurt the evil soul masters.

    Light projections fell from the sky. There were snow fairies, jade-green snowkes, and even giant bears. A massacre began.

    It was the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. This was the true, perfect version of the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. Even the Snow Empress couldn¡¯t unleash it to such a standard.

    This was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice fused the domain-type abilities of both the Ice and Snow Empresses. Itbined their strengths.

    Under such a low temperature, only someone who possessed Ultimate Ice could adapt. The Snow Empress, Ice Empress and Ice Bear King all descended.

    Once Huo Yuhao¡¯s second soul core waspleted, they were all able to make great use of his strength. It was as if they were as strong as they were before.

    No evil soul master could block their attack. Not a single one. All of them were like helpless little kids as they were continuously turned into ice statues or crushed into powder.

    The white halo that fell from the sky was Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement. There was no one else in the continent right now whose spiritual-type soul skills were as terrifying as Huo Yuhao¡¯s.

    The whirlpool-like soul power generated from his Yin-Yang Complement soul cores ensured that every soul skill was of two different types, spiritual and ice.

    As a result, every evil soul master didn¡¯t just feel weak when Huo Yuhao¡¯s Mass Enfeeblement struck them. They also felt a chill that invaded their spiritual seas. It was as if their consciousness was being frozen.

    The two Ultimate Douluo of the Holy Ghost Church were no longer around, and Huo Yuhao had already killed many of their Transcendent Douluo. The ones who remained weren¡¯t that strong.

    Right now, they only wanted to flee. They wanted to escape from this terrifying hell of ice and snow.

    Singing voices rang out, and the Princess of the Sea began singing in the air. Icy-blue halos spread out. It was an enhancement that the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass brought to the Snowy Domain of Ultimate Ice.

    Five Spirits. It was as if there were two Ultimate Douluo teaming up with three Transcendent Douluo. Although they couldn¡¯t limitlessly tap into Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength, it was enough to deal with these evil soul masters.

    Only Zhong Liwu and Feng Ling managed to rush out from the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice as they escaped immediately. They didn¡¯t flee far away, but started to venture deeper and deeper into the forest.

    There were many soul beasts inside the forest. It was only by rushing in that they might possibly survive.

    Zhong Liwu didn¡¯t even think of resisting Huo Yuhao. His injuries hadn¡¯t even healed since thest fight. His Bone Dragon King was also gone. Right now, he wasn¡¯t in his best state, and the aura that came from Huo Yuhao¡¯s domain made him extremely afraid.

    Ultimate Douluo, this was clearly the pressure that came from an Ultimate Douluo!

    He was very familiar with such pressure. He had experienced it from his own mother and Long Xiaoyao before. However, he hadn¡¯t expected Huo Yuhao to be an Ultimate Douluo so soon.

    He didn¡¯t even have any intention of guessing right now. He didn¡¯t have the time. Right now, he only wanted to flee. He wanted to flee far away. He had to preserve his life first.

    Zhong Liwu was no longer young. However, he was still very concerned about his own reputation. The longer he lived, the less reluctant he was to die.

    ¡°Stop.¡± A voice sounded from the sky. To Zhong Liwu, it was like lightning striking.

    Feng Ling roared, and mes started to burn on her body. The Dark Phoenix immediately rose. Strong mes burned everything around her, and thick smoke started to appear.

    Two figures descended from the sky. The mes that were burning the forest were instantly put out. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were holding hands as they descended in front of Feng Ling and Zhong Liwu.

    When he saw them, Zhong Liwu¡¯sst glimmer of hope was crushed. Yes, they clearly had the aura of Ultimate Douluo. And it wasn¡¯t just one person, it was both of them!

    Against two Ultimate Douluo, how could they survive?

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Out of respect for Elder Long and Elder Ye, I can preserve your corpses.¡±

    Zhong Liwu looked at Huo Yuhao coldly. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re going to win? You¡¯ve killed so many from the Holy Ghost Church today. If we can escape today, we¡¯ll use every means at our disposal to turn Shrek City into a ghost city.¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed sarcastically. ¡°First, you won¡¯t have that chance. Second, if the Holy Ghost Church is so capable, Shrek City would have long since ceased to exist. You weren¡¯t able to do it in the past, and you won¡¯t do it in the future. Do you think Shrek can be poisoned by you?¡±

    Tang Wutong let go of Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. She took a step forward towards Zhong Liwu and Feng Ling.

    Huo Yuhao still had to control the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, and his soul power was still being used by his five Spirits. On the other hand, she was in perfect condition.

    Feng Ling attacked first. She couldn¡¯t take the oppressive atmosphere anymore. Dark mes were unleashed. They didn¡¯t spread this time, but formed a line of fire aimed at Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutongughed coldly, and a blinding ring of sunlight shone behind her. The sunlight was purplish-gold, and it turned into a giant wheel of light behind her. Feng Ling¡¯s line of fire was crushed before it was even in front of Tang Wutong.

 Chapter 605.2 - Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church

    <h4 ss>Chapter 605.2: Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church</h4>

    Tang Wutong lifted her left hand, and a pitch-ck hammer with golden patterns appeared in her hand. She shook her wrist, and her Clear Sky Hammer hammered the air.

    A sonic st sounded. Within a hundred meters, all nts were decimated. A huge depression was even created in the ground.

    Feng Ling groaned and spat out fresh blood. Her eyes were filled with horror.

    As Tang Wutong waved that hammer, she only felt that the air had consolidated and turned into a huge hammer a hundred meters in diameter. After this, the huge hammer struck her.

    The Dark Phoenix¡¯s mes scattered and disappeared. Her legs also copsed into the ground.

    She couldn¡¯t resist at all as her powers werepletely suppressed.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s staff was already in his hand. Avenging spirits started to rise around him. No matter what, he was still a Rank 98 Titled Douluo. He couldn¡¯t wait and watch as he was killed. What he had to do was dy his death.

    The Death God Demonpuppet¡¯s shadow appeared behind him. Avenging spirits then appeared. They started to burn as they cried tragically, turning into balls of fire. After this, they were devoured by the Death God Demonpuppet.

    Zhongli Wu already looked very ferocious right now. Feng Ling looked up into the sky and roared. She instantly turned into a ck Fire Phoenix. As she roared, she unleashed a strong spiritual st. She was unleashing her True Body.

    Dragon wings opened up behind Tang Wutong as she summoned the Golden Dragon Spear with her right hand. After this, she pointed it at Zhongli Wu while she waved her hammer in the air.

    Every time the Dark Phoenix wanted to get close to her, she would immediately be flung away by invisible air currents. Every time she was hammered, the mes on her body would immediately weaken. This was a difference in absolute power.

    The sunlight behind Tang Wutong got stronger and stronger. A strong aura of light illuminated Zhongli Wu¡¯s body, such that he started to smoke. However, he tolerated the pain. His Death God Demonpuppet became more and more real as the mes of avenging spirits were continuously poured into it.

    Zhongli Wu¡¯s strength came from these avenging spirits, but right now, he actually burned all of them. This showed that he was going all-out.

    Huo Yuhao was standing not far away from Tang Wutong. However, he appeared very rxed. He was just acting as an audience.

    Suddenly, the strong aura released by the Dark Phoenix stopped in mid-air after it forcibly resisted Tang Wutong¡¯s hammer.

    Feng Ling¡¯s original form was slowly revealed. She looked very pale, and she spat out fresh blood. Her body also started to burn. It wasn¡¯t just her soul power that had beenbusted. The power of her soul was also burning.

    ¡°Wutong, be careful.¡± Huo Yuhao warned.

    Although Feng Ling was the vice-sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church by name, she was in fact being controlled by Zhongli Wu. For him, she was willing to burn her own soul and martial soul. It didn¡¯t seem like it was on her willing part.

    Feng Ling screamed tragically into the sky. Her body suddenly turned into a huge ball of ck-red fire. After this, she instantly fused with her own phoenix mes. Suddenly, the Fire Phoenix turnedpletely ck. She fluttered her wings with force. This time, she blocked Tang Wutong¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer. After this, she fell from the sky, not towards Tang Wutong, but towards Zhongli Wu.

    A cold smile appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Without a doubt, Feng Ling and Zhongli Wu were unleashing a secret spell of the Holy Ghost Church. As for what the effect would be, Huo Yuhao was unclear. However, he knew that it should be rather powerful, since it involved burning both Feng Ling and Zhongli Wu¡¯s avenging spirits as the price to pay. Perhaps it might temporarily offer them the powers of an Ultimate Douluo. After all, the powers of evil soul masters were rather weird and mysterious.

    However, how would Huo Yuhao give Zhongli Wu an opportunity to do so?

    His figure shed, and he came in front of Tang Wutong. He opened his arms wide and hugged her.

    A grin appeared on Tang Wutong¡¯s face. Her dragon wings reversed and engulfed Huo Yuhao. Following this, their bodies shone brightly.

    A vertical eye that shone with strange lights silently appeared. Gold, jade-green, dark blue, deep purple and other colors shed and alternated within this vertical eye.

    In the next instant, a beam of light that fused many different shades of colors shot out from the vertical eye.

    Huo Yuhao had to grasp the perfect timing. When he finally hugged Tang Wutong, it was just when Feng Ling and Zhongli Wu fused. At this moment, Zhongli Wu couldn¡¯t possibly move.

    The strange, multi-colored beam of light caused the vast region of space around it to be illuminated with ayer of strange light as it shot out.

    Zhongli Wu turned dark-red as Feng Ling fused with him. His Death God Demonpuppet was fusing with his real body, and his aura was rapidly bing stronger and stronger.

    It was at this moment that the multi-colored beam of light was in front of him. Zhongli Wu only felt his entire body shaking. After this, he felt as if the entire world had be different. He felt weirdly rxed. It was a rxation that came from deep within his heart. It was veryfortable.

    However, he could no longer feel his immense soul power. The Death God Demonpuppet seemed to have been snatched from him. His entire body became a golden statue. His immense power instantly vanished, like melting ice and snow.

    It was the Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s powerful fusion skill.

    The fusion skill unleashed by two individuals who were close to being Ultimate Douluo had in fact transcended the boundaries of this world. It was at the tier of demigods.

    No matter how strong the secret spell Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling had used was, how could itpare to the near-godly strength of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s attack?

    Feng Ling¡¯s strength disappeared along with her soul. No traces were left behind. Zhongli Wu¡¯s Death God Demonpuppet was also snatched away. Even his soul power was halved. When he struggled to escape, it felt as if he was older by tens of years.

    As Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s powers changed, their Golden Road also changed. The withering didn¡¯t just happen on martial souls and soul skills. It also happened on life energy.

    Zhongli Wu was already very old. After he was subjected to this Golden Road, his life energy was greatly drained. He seemed like an old man who was on the verge of death right now.

    ¡°Impossible, this is impossible. This is power that doesn¡¯t belong to humans. Even if it¡¯s my mother or Elder Long, they don¡¯t possess such strength. Why is it they can demonstrate such power?¡± Zhongli Wu whined. He didn¡¯t even use hisst trick before he was alreadypletely destroyed. This was too heavy of a blow to him, as the price he had to pay was his life.

    Beams and beams of light shot from the distance and only stopped when they were in front of Huo Yuhao. After this, they turned into balls of light and separately fused with his body.

    Zhongli Wu appeared even more grim when he saw these lights. Since his Spirits were back, it also meant that all the powerful individuals from the Holy Ghost Church were dealt with. None of them was alive anymore. The Holy Ghost Church was really wiped out.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao! You destroyed my Holy Ghost Church. Even if I be a ghost, I won¡¯t let you off.¡± Zhongli Wu was filled with hatred as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity. You can¡¯t even be a ghost. You¡¯ve harmed too many people in this life. Even if you be a ghost or an avenging spirit, you¡¯ll still be punished by the heavens. However, I won¡¯t give you that chance out of respect for Elder Long and Elder Ye Xishui. Do you think that you still can be a ghost?¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes turned golden. He slowly walked towards Zhongli Wu. His immense spiritual power turned into a huge barrier, engulfing them. As his terrifying spiritual undtions spread, they were capable of disabling the spiritual strength Zhongli Wu possessed.

    At this moment, the entire area shook tremendously. Terrifying spiritual power descended from the sky.

    A low-pitched, dominant, and cold voice echoed in the air.

    ¡°Who is it? How dare you disturb my sleep. Who dares to carry out a massacre in the Evildemon Forest?¡± As this voice sounded, the sky actually distorted and turned dark.

    Pitch-ck clouds started to crack. It was as if the entire sky had cracked open. A huge eye appeared in mid-air, focused on where Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong and Zhongli Wu were.

    ¡°Sovereign, you¡¯re finally here! Please punish these two who are here to disturb the peace of the Evildemon Forest!¡± Zhongli Wu screamed hysterically. The reinforcements he had been waiting for finally arrived.

    Yes, this was the Holy Ghost Church¡¯s final backer. If not for the permission that the Evileye Tyrant King gave, how would the Holy Ghost Church have been allowed to set up their headquarters in the Evildemon Forest? Even though it was only at the edge of the forest, it showed the rtionship they shared with the Evileye Tyrant King.

    With Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao around, they had the right to negotiate with the Evileye Tyrant King.

    This time, the Holy Ghost Church wouldn¡¯t have resorted to moving if not for the fact that Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao felt that their lives were about to reach their end.

    The Evileye Tyrant King wasn¡¯t some kind soul. Once the Holy Ghost Church could no longer stand at the same footing as him, he would definitely not mind them being destroyed. This was even though the Holy Ghost Church had given him a lot of benefits over the past few years. The Evildemon Forest was his territory. Of course he wouldn¡¯t want any humans to remain here.

 Chapter 605.3 - Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church

    <h4 ss>Chapter 605.3: Destruction of the Holy Ghost Church</h4>

    A beam of purplish-gold light shed. Zhong Liwu shook heavily as he screamed hysterically. The look in his eyes dimmed instantly before it gradually lost its color.

    No matter who came, Huo Yuhao was still determined to kill him. As the sect leader of the Holy Ghost Church, he had to die. This was non-negotiable.

    From this moment, the Holy Ghost Church had wiped off the face of this earth. This evil soul master sect, which had harmed many lives, was forever gone!

    ¡°Human, you¡¯ve offended my dignity. You need to pay the price.¡± The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s voice sounded. Following this, a dark red beam of light that was more than a kilometer long descended from the sky. It engulfed both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao was once been subjected to the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s attack. Back then, he had relied on his Spiritual Immunity to avert disaster before he fled the Evildemon Forest.

    This time, he was no longer the same Huo Yuhao who had only just be a Soul Sage.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were full of passion. Behind him, his huge vertical eye suddenly brightened. A rose-gold radiance instantly shone.

    It was his Martial Soul True Body, the Eye of the Asura!

    Compared to the dark red beam of light that descended from the sky, the rose-gold light that Huo Yuhao emitted was evidently weaker. The two beams of light shed in the air.

    The gloomy clouds shook tremendously. The huge dark red beam was blocked just like that. Its color was also quickly changing. There was an extrayer of icy-blue light around it. Furthermore, it was moving back towards its origin.

    Spiritual Shock! Huo Yuhao had unleashed the true strength of his Yin-Yang Complement soul power.

    ¡°What?¡± The Evileye Tyrant King was astonished as he groaned. After this, the dark-red beam of light quickly retracted all the way until it was only ten meters long. After this a terrifying spiritual windstorm was unleashed in mid-air.

    The sky instantly turned red, as if it were a patch of bloody sea. Tremendous spiritual undtions caused all the soul beasts in the Evildemon Forest to lie prone on the ground. They didn¡¯t dare to move at all. They felt the rageing from the Evileye Tyrant King. Here, the Evileye Tyrant King was the sovereign.

    Tang Wutong came to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She saw how serious Huo Yuhao was. After one sh, Huo Yuhao¡¯s nose and mouth were already bleeding.

    He¡¯s really capable of challenging Di Tian!

    When their spiritual powers shed, Huo Yuhao felt an indescribable pressure. The Evileye Turant King had actually fused both his immense spiritual and spatial power. Huo Yuhao had fused his Ultimate Ice into his spiritual power, whereas the Evileye Turant King¡¯s spiritual power was filled with a raging spatial storm. The terrifying spatial power almost tore Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual origin apart.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up.¡± Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand. They rose up and turned into projections. Instantly, they were high up in the sky.

    He had sworn not to easily kill soul beasts. There were many soul beasts living in this forest. Given the powers of the Evileye Tyrant King, many lives would be killed if they fought on the ground. This was why he brought the fight up to the sky.

    The immense pressure that was originally in the sky vanished as the terrifying spiritual windstorm raged. When Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong passed through that windstorm, they finally saw the Evileye Tyrant King.

    He was simply gigantic. He was a huge eye with a diameter of more than three hundred meters. There was a total of eighty-one tentacles that poked out from him, each of them around five hundred meters long, and wriggling in the air.

    Behind him, everything was dark red. It was an ocean of soul power. This was why it felt as if the apocalypse wasing when he appeared.

    ¡°Greetings, Evileye Tyrant. I am Huo Yuhao. I did note into the Evildemon Forest to disturb your sleep. It¡¯s just that the Holy Ghost Church has been killing human lives. I had to get rid of them. I seek your forgiveness.¡± Huo Yuhao said calmly to the Evileye Tyrant King.

    He had no intention of getting into the bad books of the Evileye Tyrant King. After all, he was one of the strongest creatures on the continent. He controlled the Evildemon Forest. All the soul beasts in the Sun Moon Continent were under his charge.

    The Spirit system was already achieving results as time passed. To further advertise it, the help of stronger creatures was needed. If he could convince the Evileye Tyrant King that Spirit Transmission was a possibility, it would be very helpful in promoting more harmonious rtions between humans and soul beasts. This was why Huo Yuhao was so polite.

    The Evileye Tyrant King opened his eye wide to look at Huo Yuhao. His voice echoed, ¡°Human, you are very powerful. You are the only human who¡¯s been able to directly challenge my spiritual power. However, you¡¯ve killed humans that have an agreement with us. I can¡¯t just let this matter rest. You must pay the price.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Evileye Tyrant, don¡¯t think that humans are weak just because you¡¯re strong. I don¡¯t wish to be enemies with you. However, this doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m afraid of you. We won¡¯t ede to any conditions. We just don¡¯t want to turn hostile with you. If you want to turn hostile, that¡¯s up to you. You can see whether you can take advantage of us.¡±

    ¡°Hehehehe!¡± The Evileye Tyrant King suddenlyughed loudly. His eighty-one tentacles kept on dancing in the air. The sky distorted once again. Immense spiritual power surged in the air. The all-engulfing pressure appeared once again.

    Huo Yuhao was also in admiration of this Evileye Tyrant King. He was able to project his spiritual sea outside of his body and create such powerful spiritual undtions. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even think he could do that. Perhaps he might possibly be able to do that once he formed his third soul core.

    However, just like he had said, he wasn¡¯t afraid of the Evileye Tyrant King. His confidence came from his abilities.

    ¡°Human, it¡¯s been awhile since someone spoke to me like this. Very well, I¡¯d really like to see how strong you are. If you can escape from my hands today, I¡¯ll let this matter rest. Otherwise, you shall remain aspost for this forest.¡±

    As he spoke, the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s eighty-one tentacles turned scarlet-red. They struck toward Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong from all directions.

    He was indeed very fierce! When he dared to leave his own territory to challenge Di Tian, it was a testament to how impulsive he was. It was impossible that he didn¡¯t sense that Tang Wutong was close to bing an Ultimate Douluo. However, he still chose to fight them despite that.

    Although Huo Yuhao had sworn never to actively kill soul beasts, he wouldn¡¯t show any mercy if he knew that a soul beast wanted his life. Furthermore, he stillcked one soul ring. Hecked the ninth soul ring of his Spirit Eyes. In this world, there was no one more suitable than the Evileye Tyrant King for his ninth soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao had twin martial souls. If he were an ordinary soul master, he couldn¡¯t possibly absorb the soul ring generated after the Evileye Tyrant King was killed. This was because the energy within it would simply be too much for him to handle.

    However, Huo Yuhao was different! His cultivation was already very close to that of an Ultimate Douluo. He even had twin soul cores. It was possible for him to absorb the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring.

    Huo Yuhao wore a heavy look on his face when he faced the tentacles. He didn¡¯t directly unleash his domain-type abilities. The Evileye Tyrant King was simply too strong.

    Although it was his first time fighting him, Huo Yuhao had faced Di Tian before. He was well-aware that creatures like the Evileye Tyrant King and the Beast God were at the peak of this world. Not even an ordinary Ultimate Douluo could fight them.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s control of spatial power was not inferior to the Beast God. This was why he could only prevail by surprise instead of fighting the long way. If the Evileye Tyrant King could even project his spiritual sea out of his body, how dense would his soul power be?

    Fog started to rise from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. His Morning Dew Dagger was already in his grasp. Tang Wutong was still holding her hammer in her left hand and spear in her right hand, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was fully linked to her.

    They weren¡¯t afraid even as they faced the Evileye Tyrant King. They were only excited. Their powers had just increased, but their foundations weren¡¯t very steady yet. Ever since they had reached Rank 95, they hadn¡¯t had a chance to properly consolidate their cultivations. To betterprehend their own cultivations and control the newfound powers they had umted, the best way was to fight!

    It was just like when Huo Yuhao suggested fighting ten soul masters on his own. It was after that incident that he built his foundation to be a Transcendent Douluo.

    Although the Evileye Tyrant King was strong, Huo Yuhao was very confident of retreating. Even if he couldn¡¯t win, he could still escape. Since this was the case, he was going to fight heartily. He wanted to use this as an opportunity to increase his live fighting experience.

    Using his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Huo Yuhao shifted with Tang Wiutong. With the help of his Spiritual Detection, it was as if only one of them was using their Instant Teleportation, even though both of them had used it at the same time.

    They crossed more than a hundred meters instantly. Huo Yuhao appeared in a region of space where there was only one tentacle. He shed his Morning Dew Dagger.

    In the sky, an icy-blue light projection shed before disappearing.

    When the tentacle hit the icy-blue projection, it was like a dark-red whip. More frighteningly, it even contained a bright-silver glow within it. As this glow shed, it was about to whip the icy-blue light apart.

 Chapter 606.1 - The Evileye Tyrant Perishes

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 606.1: The Evileye Tyrant Perishes</h4>

    However, lights suddenly shone brightly from that icy-blue light de. Silver and gold shed alternately. The temperature in the air dipped. After this, the de swiped past the tentacle.

    The Evileye Tyrant King screamed in pain. One of his tentacles had been chopped off by Huo Yuhao just like that. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s figures shed past just like that. As Huo Yuhao picked up speed, it felt as if he was rushing. However, he still managed to escape from the other tentacles.

    Rather than using pure strength to fight the Evileye Tyrant King, it was best to pit his technique against the Evileye Tyrant King. The Tyrant King didn¡¯t know Huo Yuhao had the Morning Dew Dagger. He was immediately at a disadvantage the moment they started fighting.

    However, at the same time, the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s wrath was awakened. His pupil darkened. After this, a dark-red wheel of light appeared at the perimeter of his sea of spiritual power.

    ¡°Om¡ª¡± The sky seemed to shake tremendously. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong felt as if there were thousands and thousands of spikes piercing their spiritual seas. After this, the spikes began pulling their spiritual seas out of their bodies.

    What kind of power is this?Huo Yuhao was astonished. It was his first time facing the Evileye Tyrant King. While his overall powers were inferior to Di Tian, he was undoubtedly the strongest when it came to spiritual power.

    If it were someone weaker, his spiritual sea would have been stripped from his body. Without a spiritual sea, one would be an idiot. How could he possibly resist then?

    Fortunately, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong both had spiritual soul cores. When they felt that immense pulling force on their spiritual seas, their spiritual soul cores quickly shook. Their spiritual power resisted the spikes that had entered. However, even so, they stalled for a moment. This gave the Evileye Tyrant King the chance to entangle his tentacles over them.

    However, it was also at this moment that an icy-blue glow shone from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. A clear and transparent tuft of grass appeared on his shoulder ¨C it was the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even need to control it. His Spirit immediately fired an attack on his behalf.

    Star Anise Omnithrust!

    Countless ice spikes fired from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. As the tentacles hit the ice spikes, remnants of ice scattered everywhere. However, they were eventually still blocked off, and didn¡¯t reach Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong.

    A deep-blue sword light appeared next. The Snow Empress was standing by Huo Yuhao¡¯s side. She used one of her Three Ultimate Techniques, Unparalleled Cold.

    More than ten tentacles were sent flying by this attack. Although the Unparalleled Cold wasn¡¯t as sharp as the Morning Dew Dagger, and couldn¡¯t directly cut them off, it still froze them under the effect of Ultimate Ice.

    The Ice Empress appeared beside the Snow Empress. Her eyes were shining with jade-green light. As she turned around, she revealed her Ice Empress True Body. She hooked her tail up, and a jade-green streak of light shot towards the Evileye Tyrant King.

    Even if Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t prepare this soul skill, the Ice Empress could still use it after she gradually restored her origin strength. Right now, it was as if Huo Yuhao had unleashed his martial soul.

    ¡°Eh!¡± The Evileye Tyrant King eximed once again. He shot out a beam of ck light from his pupil. When this beam of light shed with the streak of green light, countless sparks formed in the air. It was also at this moment that the Ice Empress closed up her pincers tightly. Suddenly, the tentacles that were frozen exploded.

    She didn¡¯t expect her attack to hurt the Evileye Tyrant King. She only wanted to get his attention and stall him from dealing with his frozen tentacles. Once this was done, she used her Ice Explosion Technique.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s tentacles were indeed very strong. Even the Ice Explosion Technique couldn¡¯t destroy them. Only some purplish blood sttered.

    ¡°Both of you have really infuriated me!¡± The Evileye Tyrant King roared in fury. All his tentacles straightened instantly. Right now, Huo Yuhao had only just regained his awareness after recovering from the spiritual attack earlier. He was also astonished to see that every tentacle at the front had a simr-looking eye as the Evileye Tyrant King himself. It was just that they were much smaller. Right now, every eye was shining with a strange glow.

    Apart from the one tentacle that Huo Yuhao had chopped off, the remaining eighty tentacles were all shing with dim light.

    ¡°Yuhao, be careful!¡± The Snow Empress shouted. At the same time, she turned around and vanished. She turned into a huge patch of snowkes and disappeared into her surroundings. She proceeded in the direction of the Evileye Tyrant King.

    She was the Snow Empress, ranked third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    The Evileye Tyrant King roared furiously. His eighty tentacles unleashed eighty pure ck rays. When they were fired, it felt as if the sky had changed color.

    The snowkes that the Snow Empress transformed into danced in the air. They avoided the rays. In any case, the rays weren¡¯t aimed at her. They were aimed at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao could clearly sense the trajectories of the soul rays using his Spiritual Detection, but he had no way of avoiding them. On a spiritual level, he was eventually still inferior to the Evileye Tyrant.

    Tang Wutong suddenly took a step forward. She came in front of Huo Yuhao and swung her Clear Sky Hammer. This time, the ck projection of a giant hammer surfaced behind her. When this hammer appeared, it grew in size along with the wind. Almost instantly, it was more than a hundred meters long. It hammered heavily in the air.

    This was Tang Wutong¡¯s Clear Sky Hammer True Body. Even Huo Yuhao was only seeing this ability for the first time.

    Tremendous booms sounded. The entire sky seemed to crack and copse. A great suction force caused Huo Yuhao and the Evileye Tyrant King to shake as they were pulled slightly.

    The ck rays that the Evileye Tyrant King had unleashed immediately scattered.

    However, they only scattered for a moment. At the next instant, they actually disappeared. When Tang Wutong discovered them again, they were already in front of both of them.

    It was spatial power. The Evileye Tyrant King had actuallybined his spatial and spiritual power very well.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t retreat. She used the hammer to block them. After this, a terrifying intent was unleashed from her body.

    A golden pattern started to spread on her Clear Sky Hammer. After this, the surrounding space turned silver with the Clear Sky Hammer at the center. After this, the void cracked. This time, the eighty ck rays were finally dissipated.

    This was spatial power too. However, Tang Wutong¡¯s spatial power was fused with the ultimate strength of her Clear Sky Hammer.

    The dissipated ck lights blew apart in the air. However, Tang Wutong was still struck by the shockwave. She shuddered, and her Clear Sky Hammer True Body vanished. A thought was also transmitted to Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Spiritual Numbness.¡±

    Tang Wutong shone brightly with golden light immediately after this. It was a sign that she was using her cultivation to fight the Evileye Tyrant King.

    At this moment, the Evileye Tyrant King suddenly released a violent and wild intent. Following this, his huge pupil turned fresh red. A giant beam of red light shot out.

    It was a terrifying beam of light that was around three hundred meters long! The snowkes that the Snow Empress had transformed into were all engulfed within it. It was also approaching Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    This was the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s strongest attack.

    Huo Yuhao only felt his spiritual sea being overwhelmed. It felt as if a catastrophic event was imminent. After probing with a few attacks, the Evileye Tyrant King finally used his strongest attack.

    The Snow Empress re-appeared in front of him. She fused with the Ice Empress. After his, a streak of icy-white and jade-greenbined before they shot out.

    Compared to the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s terrifying attack, this streak from the Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses was only ten meters long, and was much smaller. However, it protected both Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± A tremendous boom echoed in the air. A big hole seemed to have been blown open in the sky. A frightening spiritual intent was unleashed, along with the immense aura of Ultimate Ice. Spiritual undtions spread everywhere.

    Broken holes could be seen everywhere in the sky, which took a long time to close. The entire sky shook from the brutally strong intent on disy. This was the result of a sh between extremely powerful parties.

    The Ice and Snow Empresses were only Spirits after all, and weren¡¯t in their original forms. Otherwise, they might not be afraid of the Evileye Tyrant King if they teamed up. Right now, they could only use Huo Yuhao¡¯s strength. Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation was still a little way off from the Snow Empress at her peak.

    Huo Yuhao was a little pale after the sh. His soul power was surging. He still couldn¡¯t use the soul power in his dantian that belonged to Long Xiaoyao. As his soul power was being used up, thepressed soul power in his body started to stir.

    The Evileye Tyrant King is really strong! However, I can really finally face his attack directly.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s next attack didn¡¯t arrive immediately. His grim voice echoed throughout the sky. ¡°Good, very good. You¡¯ve actually made the Ice and Snow Empresses part of your strength. This is really unexpected. However, how dare you provoke me given your abilities? Today, this will be your burial ground.¡±

    His tentacles straightened once again. Eighty streaks of ck light were unleashed once again, and were once again used for spiritual numbness.

 Chapter 606.2 - The Evileye Tyrant Perishes

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 606.2: The Evileye Tyrant Perishes</h4>

    These rays contained the effects of spatial power. It was extremely difficult to destroy them. It was almost impossible to dodge them too. This made it extremely difficult to resist them.

    Tang Wutong struggled before she escaped from the first hit from spiritual numbness. As her figure shed, she arrived behind Huo Yuhao.

    Her body started to glow with ayer of purplish-gold light after she moved behind Huo Yuhao. She appeared very dignified, and a light fog rose around her.

    Huo Yuhao shone with blue light. His Icy War God Armor quickly engulfed his entire body. He lifted his Morning Dew Dagger and shed.

    A weird intent was released from his body. It was one of excitement. Even the Evileye Tyrant King was affected, and felt very joyous.

    The rays that had locked onto his enemies earlier suddenly took a turn and shot towards Huo Yuhao. It was where he used his dagger.

    A spatial crack suddenly opened, and swallowed all eighty rays.

    ¡°What? What kind of ability is this?¡± The Evileye Tyrant King was curious. This was because he was astonished to discover that he had lost control of his rays when Huo Yuhao shed.

    Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, ¡°Spiritual power! Don¡¯t tell me anyone else is prohibited from specializing in spiritual power apart from you?¡±

    Yes, he was using his power of emotions.

    After these years of training and cultivation, he had developed his own understanding of the power of emotions. Even though it wasn¡¯t very profound yet, it was still very useful to him.

    Earlier, he unleashed happiness, an emotion.

    While that sh seemed very ordinary, it was actually a self-created soul skill.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s pupil shrank a little. ¡°Spiritual power. Very good, kid. No matter what happens today, I must leave you here. If I let you develop any further, you might actually threaten me one day.¡±

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, ¡°I wanted to keep things harmonious between us, but you had to bring it to this stage. Since this is the case, I must kill you no matter what. You¡¯ll be my ninth soul ring. You are the one who first attacked us. Don¡¯t me us for being merciless.¡±

    As he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to experience changes. A beam of bright golden light was instantly unleashed from his body. At the same time, whether it was the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress or the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, they instantly fused back into his body.

    That beam of golden light broke the sky. The originally dark-red sky was instantly torn open. Then, another beam of golden light descended from the sky and met Huo Yuhao¡¯s. Dense icy fog started to spread from his body.

    Huge dragon wings opened up behind him. Tang Wutong, who was behind Huo Yuhao, disappeared. As he was in his Icy War God Armor, whatever was happening to his body couldn¡¯t be seen from the outside.

    He took a step forward, and a streak of silver light appeared in front of him. Suddenly, he transcended space.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Evileye Tyrant King was astonished. When that beam of golden light descended onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, he instantly felt as if Huo Yuhao hadpletely changed. His earlier aura hadpletely transformed, as if he had be a being of light.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s pupil shrank before dting. This time, he turnedpletely dark green. A terrifying killing aura spread from him.

    The sky also turned dark green. Only that beam of golden light that had struck Huo Yuhao remained.

    The silver light shed again. When Huo Yuhao re-appeared, he was a hundred meters in front of the Evileye Tyrant King.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s tentacles were furiously reaching for him, hoping to block him.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand and shed his Morning Dew Dagger. This time, the emotion that was unleashed was sorrow. The tentacles were guided to one side again as they were affected by this sorrow.

    ¡°Light of Destruction!¡± The tone of the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s voice was very weird. Every time he mentioned a word, the air would distort strangely. His terrifying spiritual power seemed to be a real entity. At the next instant, a dark green beam of light that was around a hundred meters long shot out at Huo Yuhao.

    What Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know was that the longer the lights unleashed by the Evileye Tyrant King, the weaker they were. Even Di Tian had to pay a huge price if he wanted to resist this Light of Destruction.

    However, what left the Evileye Tyrant King extremely astonished was that Huo Yuhao seemed to have be illusory after he suffered this attack. Nothing appeared to have affected him.

    If there were any changes to speak of, it was that there was a beautiful mermaid projection behind him. Captivating mermaid singing also started to sound.

    The Morning Dew Dagger shone extremely brightly. The air turned unprecedentedly chilly. The temperature reached negative two hundred and sixty degrees Celsius, slowing down the tentacles that were approaching.

    How is this possible? How is he fine after being struck by my Light of Destruction? Impossible, this is impossible.

    The Evileye Tyrant King was horrified. At this instant, he felt a huge sense of crisis.

    A strong beam of light was unleashed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Following this, a golden hammer rose from his back, and instantly arrived in front of the Evileye Tyrant King.

    They were too close. The instant pressure that surfaced caused the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s pupil to cave in a little. A strong spiritual barrier was immediately unleashed from his pupil, and shed with the golden hammer.

    The spiritual barrier was immediately frozen. After this, it started to crack, and golden lights shone in all directions.

    ze Amidst the Frost, Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s body shook a little, but he also demonstrated his transcendent abilities as the second-ranked of the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

    After he suffered this blow, his pupil turned deep-blue. After this, a three-meter long deep-blue light shot out from his pupil.

    When this deep-blue light appeared, time seemed to stop. Huo Yuhao, who was lifting his Morning Dew Dagger, waspletely restrained in mid-air at this instant. Everything around him was rapidlypressing. The deep-blue light was moving very slowly. However, the sky and the ground turned deep-blue just as it shifted. Everything about the Evileye Tyrant King turned deep-blue.

    Space-Time Light!

    This was the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s highest level of understanding. He had relied on this immense skill to escape from Di Tian¡¯s hands.

    He understood the strength of time through his understanding of spiritual power and space. This was the power of time that originated from his spiritual origin. The power of time could snatch away the spiritual origin of living creatures, causing their spiritual origins to weaken instantly.

    Even though Di Tian had critically hurt him, Di Tian had also needed a thousand years to recover to his peak state after he was struck by this Space-Time Light. This showed how powerful it was.

    When the deep-blue Space-Time Light struck Huo Yuhao, the frosty aura he had released turned deep-blue. His entire body also turned deep-blue.

    The Evileye Tyrant King finally heaved a sigh of relief. After he was able to unleash his Space-Time Light, the only creature who had managed to survive was Di Tian.

    In fact, the Evileye Tyrant King had to pay a huge price to unleash his Space-Time Light. He drained his own life energy to use it.

    It was important to know that his next catastrophe was imminent. It was almost fatal to him to have drained his life energy. However, the sense of crisis that Huo Yuhao had brought him earlier was simply too scary. When it came to his tier, he was very confident in his own senses. He didn¡¯t doubt them at all. This was why he used his Space-Time Light without any hesitation.

    ¡°Chi¡ª¡±

    The Evileye Tyrant King shook a little. A strong intent was instantly unleashed from his body.

    It was one of disbelief!

    Yes, he was in disbelief! This was because a sharp de that was shing with dense icy fog had stabbed right into the center of his pupil. A figure was holding that sharp de, with a hint of the deep-blue light from earlier still on him.

    His pupil was stuck close to his Evileye as it popped out. It was icy-blue now. Yes, it was icy-blue, not rose-gold.

    An icy-blue streak of light shot into the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s pupil. Following this, another streak of icy-blue light shot in once again as mermaid singing voices were heard.

    The Morning Dew Dagger hadpletely vanished. It waspletely stabbed into the huge eye.

    ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Tragic and furious screams caused the entire forest to shake. Many trees were crushed instantly.

    The Evileye Tyrant King flew back. One of his tentacles forcibly whipped at Huo Yuhao. After this, another beam of the Space-Time Light shot out and froze Huo Yuhao in mid-air.

    However, the Evileye Tyrant King was shaking tremendously. Icy-blue streaks were spreading across his pupil. No fresh blood flowed out, only boundless icy frost.

    Even up until now, the Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t understand why he had lost, or how he had been hit by Huo Yuhao¡¯s fatal blow.

 Chapter 606.3 - The Evileye Tyrant Perishes

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 606.3: The Evileye Tyrant Perishes</h4>

    Why? Why?

    Huo Yuhao was only dyed in the air for two seconds before he returned to normal. However, he didn¡¯t continue attacking. He turned around and fled. At that instant, he rushed out from the sonic st. Instantly, he traveled more than a hundred kilometers.

    He clenched his left hand and used his Ice Explosion Technique.

    From afar, a terrifying boom rocked the entire Evildemon Forest. Itsted very long without fading away.

    When the helmet was removed, it was not Huo Yuhao¡¯s face, but Tang Wutong¡¯s instead. No, more urately speaking, it should be the Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light.

    Yes, from the moment that lethal strike was unleashed, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already fused together. The Solitary Dance Amidst the Frost, Raiment of Light gave them the ability to directly resist the Evileye Tyrant King.

    From their earlier shes, Huo Yuhao deeply understood that he and Tang Wutong might not be the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s match. It was a difference in absolute ability. However, he still chose to fight.

    However, it was all heaven¡¯s will.

    Even with the Icy War God¡¯s Armor, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong could only directly resist the Evileye Tyrant King for a short period of time using their Raiment of Light. However, against the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s terrifying explosive strength and immensely strong spiritual power, they could only flee.

    However, they still managed to kill the Evileye Tyrant King. How?

    Only Huo Yuhao could answer why. He had used his immunity to three spiritual attacks.

    Huo Yuhao hadpletely neutralized the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s strongest three spiritual attacks using this immunity. It was also an important reason why he managed to survive.

    Since he didn¡¯t suffer from the attacks, he could easily use the buffer time after the Evileye Tyrant King attacked to counterattack with all his power.

    He used the Heavenly Emperor¡¯s Hammer to wreck the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual barrier.

    The two streaks of Spiritual Shock that were unleashed from the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess along with the Merfolk¡¯s Duet fatally wounded the Evileye Tyrant King.

    The close to absolute zero temperature of Ultimate Ice waspletely infused into his spiritual attacks. It was the strength of the Goddess of Light, abination of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s powers. Everything led to that ultimate strike.

    Tang Wutong dazedly drifted beside Huo Yuhao. Until now, both of them still felt as if they were in a dream.

    ¡°Have we, have we seeded?¡± Tang Wutong softly asked Huo Yuhao. ¡°That was a savage beast that¡¯s only inferior to Di Tian! He was ranked second among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wutong and hugged her. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve really seeded. We¡¯ve killed the Evileye Tyrant King. We¡¯ve really seeded!¡±

    It was a close and dangerous fight. Right now, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s soul power was at less than 20 percent. If Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui didn¡¯t increase their cultivations to Rank 98, they wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance at all.

    While Huo Yuhao was immunized from the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual attacks, that still had to be sustained. If not for the fact that their martial soul fusion made the Goddess of Light¡¯s strength almost boundless, they wouldn¡¯t have survived the Space-Time Light.

    Twice! Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t imagine the consequences if he wasn¡¯t immunized. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he would have be a moron.

    Right now, they had finally seeded. The Evileye Tyrant King had been killed just like that.

    ¡°Go, let¡¯s go.¡± Tang Wutong held onto Huo Yuhao. They both flew back towards the Evildemon Forest.

    The sky was still deep blue. The Evileye Tyrant King was simply too strong. Even until now, his aura had not fully dissipated.

    There were dark red patches of blood on the ground, as well as big lumps of the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s corpse. There were even a few items that caught Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s attention.

    First, there was the Morning Dew Dagger. It had not changed as it drifted in mid-air. Apart from the dagger, there was a dark red halo with seven golden patterns.

    In the center of the halo, there was a dark-blue pupil. It was only the size of a palm, but it was shing with a demonic glow.

    ¡°What is this? Soul bone?¡± Huo Yuhao was astonished to see what was in the center of the soul ring.

    For soul beasts with cultivations above a hundred thousand years, powerful hundred thousand year soul bones would appear along with their hundred thousand year soul rings. However, it was Huo Yuhao¡¯s first time seeing such a soul bone. Even in the records of Shrek Academy, there were no such soul bones.

    ¡°What kind of soul bone is this?¡± Tang Wutong asked, curious.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It seems like it¡¯s an external soul bone. It should be a pupil too. I just don¡¯t know how we should use it.¡±

    Tang Wutong was excited as she said, ¡°Of course, you have to directly absorb it. Your martial soul is your Spirit Eyes. It¡¯s the most suitable for absorbing such a soul bone. I didn¡¯t expect an eye to be a soul bone too! This is too magical.¡±

    Huo Yuhao brought Tang Wutong as they flew over. First, he grabbed the Morning Dew Dagger and put it away before guiding the soul ring and bone over using his spiritual power.

    When his spiritual power interacted with the soul ring, he instantly felt a strong sense of discriminationing from it.

    Evidently, it was the intent of the Evileye Tyrant King.

    However, this wasn¡¯t a problem for Huo Yuhao. If the Evileye Tyrant King were still alive, Huo Yuhao would naturally not be his foe. Now that he was already dead, Huo Yuhao probably possessed the strongest spiritual cultivation in the world. It was not an issue for him to guide the soul ring and bone over.

    He increased the output of his soul power, and guided the soul ring and bone to the ground.

    It was a hundred thousand year soul ring with seven golden patterns on it! Among all the soul rings Huo Yuhao had, only the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s million year soul ring was superior to it. But the Skydream Iceworm was far inferiorpared to the Evileye Tyrant King when he was alive. Even when he was at his million year cultivation, he would still have to beg for his life if he faced the Evileye Tyrant King.

    Now, the Evileye Tyrant King had actually transformed into a soul ring. To Huo Yuhao, he was no longer just delightfully surprised.

    Tang Wutong was excited. ¡°Quickly, absorb it. I¡¯ll protect you. Our soul powers recover very quickly. In this forest, no one else can threaten us apart from the Evileye Tyrant King. Quickly, absorb it. Perhaps you might start to touch the door to your third soul core.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Huo Yuhao agreed before he sat cross-legged on the ground.

    Just as he was about to absorb the soul ring, a white light shed before the Snow Empress crawled out.

    ¡°Yuhao, wait a minute.¡± The Snow Empress was very serious as she spoke to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Snow Empress?¡±

    The Snow Empress furrowed her brow and replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll meet with problems if you try to absorb the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao knew that the Snow Empress wouldn¡¯t warn him for nothing. He had never absorbed such a powerful soul ring before. He immediately stopped and listened to her exnation.

    The Snow Empress said, ¡°If that human Ultimate Douluo didn¡¯t give you his soul power, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Absorbing the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring would only make your cultivation much better. However, things are different now. You have too much soul power in your body. Although you¡¯ve just drained a lot, it¡¯ll recover very quickly. You can¡¯t immediately form your third soul core. Once you absorb the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring, you¡¯ll likely face a situation where there¡¯s too much soul power in your body. Eventually, you won¡¯t be able to release or absorb soul power. Your life might even be in danger.¡±

    ¡°This is indeed a problem. However, I didn¡¯t bring any soul ring-sealing soul tools.¡± Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. It was luck that he could kill the Evileye Tyrant King, as well as because of the spiritual immunity. If he didn¡¯t absorb this seven hundred thousand year soul ring, it would dissipate soon!

    Tang Wutong also creased her brow. She knew how dangerous it was earlier. In fact, both she and Huo Yuhao did conserve some power after they transformed into the Goddess of Light. They were ready to flee. Huo Yuhao even had three ss 9 stationary shells. No matter how strong the Evileye Tyrant King was, they were still enough to help them escape.

    Now that they had toiled to kill such a powerful creature, they couldn¡¯t bear to give up his soul ring! The soul bone was still fine. It could still be absorbedter. But what about the soul ring?

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t take the risk either. No one knew how much power was contained within a seven hundred thousand year soul ring. It was immense strength that could help even a Transcendent Douluo improve further! If something went wrong, it would be fatal.

    ¡°No worries, you still have me!¡± A naughty-sounding voice was heard. Following this, golden lights shed, and one more person appeared beside Huo Yuhao. It was the Skydream Iceworm, whom he had not seen for a long time.

    The Skydream Iceworm looked very delighted right now. He ced his hands behind his back, as if he was very satisfied.

    ¡°Brother Skydream, you have a n?¡± Huo Yuhao was delightfully surprised as he looked at the Skydream Iceworm.

 Chapter 607.1 - Yuhao Arrives

    <h4 ss>Chapter 607.1: Yuhao Arrives</h4>

    The Skydream Iceworm was delighted as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t fight. But I¡¯m very good at containing energy. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a million year soul beast. I slowly transferred my spiritual power to you, but I still possess my own strength. I¡¯ve cultivated for a million years, and spiritual power is my specialization. Don¡¯t worry and just absorb this soul ring. I¡¯ll help you store whatever spiritual power¡¯s left. When you can absorb it, I¡¯ll fuse this newly-found strength into your body. Won¡¯t that do? I can still be a container.¡±

    Huo Yuhao eyes brightened. Tang Wutong was also delighted. Yes! The Skydream Iceworm was a million year spiritual-type soul beast. Ignoring his ability to fight, he was actually very good at storing energy. He had transferred his spiritual origin to Huo Yuhao. Given the amount of energy he had released, it should be fine for him to store the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s seven hundred thousand year cultivation. Moreover, it was only his soul ring. It wasn¡¯t the immense spiritual power that the Evileye Tyrant King possessed.

    The Snow Empress furrowed her brow and asked, ¡°Skydream, are you really confident? The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power is different from yours. His is much more dominant. You must be cautious. Otherwise, if things go wrong¡­¡±

    The Skydream Iceworm rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Are you that unconfident? It¡¯s only a soul ring. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got it. Come on, what¡¯s there to hesitate about? Yuhao, quickly fuse with this soul ring. If you can obtain his Light of Time, you¡¯ll strike gold. Your understanding of spatial power will ascend to another level. You might even understand the profundity of time domains.¡±

    Huo Yuhao fully trusted the Skydream Iceworm. Without his fusion then, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten where he was today.

    He sat down without any hesitation. Using his spiritual power as a guide, he started to fuse with the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring. As for the eye bone, Tang Wutong put it away. It wasn¡¯t a good time to fuse with it now. He should only consider it when he was preparing to form his third soul core.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body shook tremendously as the dark-red soul ring was absorbed into his body. He only felt a terrifying spiritual intent which was strong, dominant and filled with indignation and destructive intent swarming his spiritual sea. It was surging, and was about to tear his spiritual sea apart.

    But Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t easily bullied. His spiritual soul core started to circte quickly. His spiritual power, which carried some characteristics of Ultimate Ice, was slowly freezing this spiritual intent before slowly breaking it down. It purified the new spiritual power so that it could fuse with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Skydream Iceworm¡¯s strength was demonstrated next. Just like he had mentioned earlier, he devoured all the purified spiritual power into his body before sealing it.

    With his help, Huo Yuhao¡¯s absorption went on smoothly. It had to be said that the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power was immense and dominant. He was indeed a seven hundred thousand year soul beast. Just the essence contained within his soul ring was enough topletely fill Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    At the very start, he could still filter the spiritual power, but after a certain stage, he could no longer do so. This was because he no longer had any time. As every second passed, arge amount of spiritual energy would be released from the soul ring, and fuse with his spiritual sea.

    The Skydream Iceworm was strong too. At such a time, he absorbed all that spiritual power without any hesitation. He didn¡¯t even let go of the spiritual power that resisted him.

    He revealed his original form in Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. The golden light patterns that had already vanished from his body were slowly being restored. It was just that were some blood-red patterns along with the golden light patterns. It was a manifestation of impure spiritual power.

    Even so, he still did Huo Yuhao a huge favour.

    Li Ya also appeared above Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    Even though she couldn¡¯t devour spiritual power like the Skydream Iceworm, she still did her best to filter some of the spiritual power for him. She dispelled some of the brutal and violent aura.

    In this way, it was much easier for Huo Yuhao to fuse it into his body.

    In this continent, only he was daring enough to fuse with six Spirits. Furthermore, every one of them was very loyal to him.

    Right now, there were no longer any conflicts between him and his Spirits. They wouldn¡¯t interfere with him either. Apart from their trust in him, they also saw hope in him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s encounter with the God of Emotions and subsequent recognition by were simply too overwhelming for these six Spirits.

    Even though they all shared the same goal, they didn¡¯t bear too much hope when it came to ascending to the ethereal godly realm. They were only feeling lucky that they made their current choice after truly sensing a godly aura, and after realizing how the godly realm treated soul beasts. By following Huo Yuhao, they could leave this world and enter that realm, obtaining new life! What was there to whine about? They would do their best to help Huo Yuhao, in the hope that they could obtain new life in that realm.

    It took three days and three nights before Huo Yuhao fused the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring into his body. It wasn¡¯t fullyplete. This was because the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s golden light patterns hadpletely filled his body. This was why Huo Yuhao still had to suffer from some of the brutal spiritual power.

    This left his spiritual sea very unpeaceful. It was as if a storm could break out at any time.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao¡¯s cultivation should be that of an Ultimate Douluo. He was even a twin martial soul Ultimate Douluo.

    He was also like a rubber ball now. He was filled with air, and could only do his best to keep himself from bursting. If things went wrong, it was likely he would face problems.

    ¡°Yuhao, the best solution now is to find a ce for you and Wutong to cultivate quietly. It¡¯ll probably take longer for your body to absorb so much energy if you do that. However, it¡¯s the safest option. Furthermore, both of you have the potential to be Ultimate Douluo.¡± The Snow Empress proposed.

    While Huo Yuhao was very powerful now, it was also very dangerous for him. If he faced a strong enemy and overused his powers, he might lose control of the energy that he had not assimted yet. He would face the danger of death if that happened. The reason why he couldn¡¯t absorb all that energy was because his body wasn¡¯t adapted enough to do so yet. If he wanted to be able to handle it, he had to cultivate more to make himself stronger.

    However, could Huo Yuhao really find a ce to cultivate now? The answer was no. There were still many matters to deal with in Radiant City.

    Huo Yuhao made a rough estimation. If he wanted topletely absorb the energy in his body and make a breakthrough as an Ultimate Douluo along with Tang Wutong, he would need at least three years.

    After they became Transcendent Douluo, their abilities were increasing too quickly. This made their foundations slightly unsteady. Given this, they couldn¡¯t possibly make another breakthrough in the short-term. They would run the risk of running amok.

    However, many things could happen in three years. At least, they couldn¡¯t enter closed-door cultivation now. First, they had to deal with the problems in Radiant City. It was only by killing Xu Tianran and making Ju Zi fulfil her ten-year promise that he could bring himself to cultivate and make a breakthrough.

    After listening to the Snow Empress¡¯ opinion, Huo Yuhao thought for a brief moment before saying to Tang Wutong, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s return to Radiant City.¡±

    He was telepathically connected to Tang Wutong. Naturally, she understood his worries. She nodded without any hesitation. At such a time, she had to support her man. Furthermore, things had to be settled at the Sun Moon Empire.

    Without the Holy Ghost Church, the Sun Moon Empire would be able to umte enough strength to attack in less than a year¡¯s time. This time, they were definitely going to work towards unifying the entire continent.

    Under such a circumstance, what they could most effectively do was fulfil their promise to Ju Zi. It was only in this way that the two empires would get some breathing space.

    Huo Yuhao knew that he could stop the Sun Moon Empire in the short-term, but he couldn¡¯t hold them off forever. After all, he had to challenge Di Tian the moment he became an Ultimate Douluo and epted the God of Emotions¡¯ seat. As for what would happen next, he didn¡¯t know. The future was unknown. However, the situation in the continent had already changed. The advent of technology had brought the entire continent under the control of soul tool technology. This was irreversible.

    After the Heavenly Soul Empire was invaded, there were many protests at the start. However, as soul tool technology slowly crept into people¡¯s lives, the protests became less and less vigorous.

    Ordinary citizens had very simple demands. As long as they could live in peace, had enough to eat, and could keep warm, they were content. Moreover, soul tool technology brought them a lot of conveniences. As time passed, they slowly got used to it. They even forgot what had happened before.

    It seemed like it was possible to reverse the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s dominance of the continent. However, no matter what, Huo Yuhao had to turn back time, since he was from the Star Luo Empire, and he had to do this for Shrek Academy too.

    Looking from afar, Radiant City was like a huge beast. Only the imperial pce seemed to be a little disharmonious.

 Chapter 607.2 - Yuhao Arrives

    <h4 ss>Chapter 607.2: Yuhao Arrives</h4>

    A few days had passed, but the imperial pce was still heavily guarded. Reconstruction was bound to begin soon. Given the power of the Sun Moon Empire, a new pce would be reconstructed in less than two years. It would even be more majestic than before, while it would most certainly be more defensively sound. This was the strength of technology.

    No one could stop the progress of technology. As technology continued to develop, all sorts of problems were developing in society. This also caused changes to the situation in the continent.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help but sigh heavily when he looked in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Tang Wutong held his hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? We should be able to influence proceedings in the entire continent given our current abilities. As long as you¡¯re vicious enough, we can kill Ju Zi after we kill Xu Tianran. There will certainly be chaos in the Sun Moon Empire. When that happens, they¡¯ll slow down. No matter who ascends the throne, we¡¯ll kill him, and turn the Sun Moon Empire into aplete mess. One day, the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires will catch up. We just need to protect the continent and stop the Sun Moon Empire from ruling the continent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°If everything is as simple as you think, it¡¯ll be great. It¡¯s a pity that the world isn¡¯t like this. It won¡¯t change ording to our imagination. If we kill Xu Tianran, there will be internal chaos in the Sun Moon Empire. However, Ju Zi¡¯s still around. With her power and influence in the military, she¡¯ll be able to control the entire situation. At least, it won¡¯t be too chaotic in the Sun Moon Empire. However, if we kill her, the entire Sun Moon Empire will really descend into chaos. The Sun Moon Empire is too powerful. If you let those soul engineer legions fight the Star Luo or Dou Ling Empires, they¡¯ll be almost invincible. Once they aren¡¯t restrained anymore and run riot, the entire continent will be affected. Countless lives will be lost to those soul engineers.¡±

    ¡°The reason why I¡¯ve been tolerating Ju Zi is because she doesn¡¯t kill for the sake of killing. Unless it¡¯s war, she¡¯s always been able to restrain her subordinates. Every fight is settled while minimizing casualties. If the continent is unified because of soul tool technology, Ju Zi is actually the most suitable person to rule the continent.

    ¡°In this world, whatever stays together too long will separate, and whatever¡¯s separated for too long wille together. The Heavenly Dou and Star Luo Empires had ruled the continent for thousands of years, and they¡¯ve been at odds for thousands of years too. When they destroyed the Martial Hall, many people thought that the continent would enter an era of peace. However, how long did it take? How long did it take for the Heavenly Dou Empire to split into the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires? The conflicts never stopped. This is why there are so many empires. Perhaps a unified empire might be a good thing for the future of the Douluo Continent. At least it¡¯s a good thing in the short-term.¡±

    Tang Wutong was astonished as she looked at Huo Yuhao. She asked, ¡°Are you in favor of the Sun Moon Empire ruling the entire continent?¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m saying all this because I don¡¯t want to see a chaotic continent. We¡¯re already strong enough, but we are unable to influence the entire continent. We can¡¯t turn the entire continent into a battlefield just because of what we want to see. Moreover, you¡¯ve seen what happened to Ye Xishui and Elder Long. Ultimate Douluo are no longer invincible as soul tool technology develops. In the future, the Sun Moon Empire might actually have ways to deal with us!¡±

    ¡°This is why we can rely on our own strength to influence the continent. However, we must know our limits. Comparatively speaking, Ultimate Douluo are usually more significant when ites to asserting a stance.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Wutong sighed gently. ¡°In fact, right now, I only hope that we can get as far away as possible from those conflicts. We¡¯ve been through too much over the past few years. I¡¯m tired! After we conclude our ten-year promise with Ju Zi, we¡¯ll proceed with our closed-door cultivation. We¡¯ll not care about anything, and be Ultimate Douluo first. After the ten years are over, we¡¯ll have done our best.¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and hugged her thin waist. She came into his embrace. Some things couldn¡¯t be resisted, such as the need to conform with the times. Who could say what the continent would be like in the future? Ten thousand years ago, who would have expected soul masters to be slowly reced by soul engineers, when the Martial Soul Hall ruled the continent? Did soul tools make soul masters so useless? A soul master legion was actually helpless against a soul engineer legion. This was unbelievable!

    Huo Yuhao was still very focused on finding Ju Zi as they spoke. The Sun Moon Imperial Pce had already been destroyed. However, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family was still in Radiant City. The few buildings near the pce were snapped up and heavily guarded by soldiers. Huo Yuhao discovered a few soul engineer legions using his Spiritual Detection. There was even aplete soul formation. Surveince soul tools were even more prevalent than before. Even if Xu Tianran wanted to visit the washroom, he would probably still be under the surveince of these soul tools. No one could escape them, no matter which building they were in.

    These buildings weren¡¯t very tall or big. The buildings around the pce weren¡¯t allowed to be too high. This was a requirement. The pce wasn¡¯t built very tall either. This was because tall buildings were easily attacked by soul tools. Of course, given the defenses around Radiant City, the new imperial pce would probably be much higher if Huo Yuhao hadn¡¯t managed to sessfully lead three soul engineer legions in a sessful attack.

    Ju Zi was in one of the rooms on the third storey of a building. Xu Tianran wasn¡¯t with her. He was in another building. The defense there was even stricter.

    Just by scanning slightly, Huo Yuhao understood why the defense was so strict there. Xu Tianran was evidently not confident that the two Ultimate Douluo were dead. This was why a situation like this appeared.

    It was no wonder he was so paranoid. Ultimate Douluo were too scary. Without being in the same tier, it was impossible for one to gauge how strong they were.

    If an Ultimate Douluo wanted to exact revenge, it was not something anyone could deal with. Xu Tianran must have had been living in fear over the past few days.

    ¡°Ju Zi is still the smartest!¡± Huo Yuhao sighed. When he sensed the changes in front of him, he even managed to roughly guess what she was thinking.

    After hearing his words, Tang Wutong was also slightly moved. She asked, ¡°Are you saying that the strict defense around here is also Ju Zi¡¯s ploy? What¡¯s the benefit of doing this? If their defense is too strict, it¡¯s not going to be beneficial for us!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, Ju Zi must have a backup n. This shouldn¡¯t be her only n. Think about it. After all, we and the Sun Moon Empire are in conflict. We can¡¯t be controlled by Ju Zi either. What would you do if you were her? If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t fulfill our promise. However, she has a deep hatred for Xu Tianran. It¡¯s not possible for her to not make a move. This is why she must have another n. This n should be hatched inside the Sun Moon Empire. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s already bribed some people.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s creating this atmosphere to cover things up. Once Xu Tianran dies, she can nt his death on the two Ultimate Douluo. It¡¯s impossible to verify that theory. What that happens, the empire will mourn together. Along with her influence in the army, it¡¯ll be much easier for her to control the entire empire. Those imperial family members can¡¯t fight her at all.¡±

    After listening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s analysis, Tang Wutong was shocked. However, she soonughing. She was evenughing very sweetly.

    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned.

    Tang Wutongughed, ¡°I¡¯mughing because didn¡¯t she lose to me even though she¡¯s so intelligent. This only proves I¡¯m smarter. What¡¯s so good about ruling the continent? How is she as free as us? Most importantly, you belong to me! Youpletely belong to me. I won¡¯t even give her a bit of you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t help butugh when he felt Tang Wutong¡¯s feelings. Although he was a little ufortable with Ju Zi¡¯s ambitions and cunning, it was still eptable to him. After all, she would be a sacrifice in the environment that she was in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s go and give her some help.¡± Huo Yuhao led Tang Wutong as they fused into the void. This time, they were borrowing the power of space.

    When they appeared again, they were already inside Radiant City, in a dark corner.

    They didn¡¯t reveal themselves. The perfectbination of Imitation and spatial control generated such an effect. Along with the adjustment of temperature and control of their spiritual undtions, Huo Yuhao managed to fuse with the air. At least, the current soul technology meant that it was almost impossible to expose them.

    Space broke open once again. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong entered the building Ju Zi was in.

    It was a luxurious and expansive hotel. Undoubtedly, it was the estate of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s imperial family.

    Ju Zi was in the biggest room on the third storey. There were more than ten maids in the room. Right now, she was with her son.

 Chapter 607.3 - Yuhao Arrives

    <h4 ss>Chapter 607.3: Yuhao Arrives</h4>

    Xu Yunhan was no longer the little fellow that needed to be carried all the time. He had grown quite significantly, and was running around. He was very cute, and was doted on by everyone.

    Ju Zi was sitting on a luxurious, high seat. When she looked at her son running around the room, there was a benevolent look on her face.

    How could anyone imagine the invincible War God Empress in this state?

    ¡°Yunhan, run slower. You¡¯re already sweating. Get some water.¡± Ju Zi waved to her son.

    Little Yunhan ran to her side and opened his eyes wide as he looked at his mother. There was a grin on his face. ¡°Mom, mom, I want milk.¡±

    Ju Zi twisted her lips. ¡°Rascal, you¡¯re already so old. I¡¯m long out of milk.¡±

    Little Yunhan was just like other little kids. He was very close to his mother, who had breastfed him since he was young. He climbed onto Ju Zi and was smiling as he rubbed his mother¡¯s chest.

    Ju Zi hugged Little Yunhan tightly. At this moment, he was everything in her heart. She only felt fulfilled when she hugged him. She didn¡¯t think of anything else right now. She waspletely immersed in the joy she shared with her son.

    ¡°Ju Zi.¡± A soft voice sounded in her ears.

    Ju Zi shuddered. Little Yunhan immediately sensed the changes to his mother. He lifted his head and looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, mom?¡±

    Ju Zi was stunned for a moment. Her eyes turned red. At the same time, the two most important men in her life appeared. It was an indescribable feeling.

    She wanted to tell the little fellow in her arms that the person he had once called his father was here. She even wanted to jump into that person¡¯s embrace with him!

    When she thought until here, she felt as if her heart was being scalded by hot water. She couldn¡¯t tell whether it was painful or relieving.

    Precisely because that day never seemed toe, she desired it so much when both of them were in front of her right now.

    After pausing for a few seconds, Ju Zi kissed her son when that voice didn¡¯t appear again. She said, ¡°Yunhan, I have something I need to deal with. Leave with aunty first.¡± As she spoke, she waved her hand. Naturally, a servant came over and took Little Yunhan away. Ju Zi waved her hand, and all her servants retreated.

    She walked to her work desk before sitting down. She forcibly tried to calm herself down before muttering, ¡°Don¡¯t reveal yourself. Once you reveal yourself, you will be discovered.¡±

    She really wanted to see him! However, that was obviously not a good choice. As she slowly calmed down, she couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished.

    Given the current defenses around here, she had originally thought that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong wouldn¡¯t be able to find her. This was because all the surveince soul tools in this building were targeted at Ultimate Douluo! Ju Zi couldn¡¯t even sleep every night, and could only meditate to restore her energy.

    She didn¡¯t even know how long this wouldst. Anyway, Xu Tianran had already given the order to await the revenge that coulde at any time. At the same time, the search for the two Ultimate Douluo had intensified. Before they were found, Xu Tianran was not going to rx.

    He still wanted to rule the entire continent. No one else was more afraid of death right now.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice sounded once again. ¡°We won¡¯t appear. I¡¯ve also scanned this ce thoroughly. Have you thought of what n you have? How are we going to deal with Xu Tianran?¡±

    Ju Zi revealed a bitter smile on her face and said, ¡°I had originally thought that you couldn¡¯t sneak in, and we¡¯d have to make another n. The defenses here are too strict. There aren¡¯t any loopholes. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion is with him. There are also many strong individuals protecting him. Unless we assault him, there¡¯s no way of killing him. However, an assault is impossible too! This is why we can only wait now. We¡¯ll wait for him to make a mistake. How long can the two of you wait?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer.¡± Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation. It wasn¡¯t that he was impatient. It was that the energy in his body had no patience!

    Right now, he was under huge pressure from the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power. Given the strength of his twin soul cores, he was even a little overwhelmed. Right now, what he needed was time to cultivate so that he could fuse the spiritual and soul power into his body. This was why he had to quickly settle things here.

    However, he couldn¡¯t wait until he finished cultivating before he returned. He had a feeling that this closed-door cultivation would be his longest one ever. It might take several years, or even a decade. No one knew. Things would change greatly within that span of time. This was why he had to settle things over here before he went to cultivate.

    Ju Zi furrowed her brow. ¡°You can¡¯t wait? I can¡¯t think of a better way now. Xu Tianran is very cautious right now. He only trusts the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion now, as well as those who are secretly in hiding around him. He¡¯s protected by them. There are also many powerful soul formations installed around this makeshift pce. Once there¡¯s any movement, they will immediately be activated. Although they¡¯re still weaker than high-energypression array soul tools, they are still effective against the attacks of Ultimate Douluo. Tell me, how are we supposed to touch him then?¡±

    When she saw the helplessness on Ju Zi¡¯s face, Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Ju Zi, let¡¯s be honest. If I¡¯m not wrong, you should have been involved in creating such a situation. The reason why you are doing this is because you want to frame those two Ultimate Douluo. Am I right? Since this is the case, you must have a backup n. You should have someone close to Xu Tianran. I won¡¯t y around with you either. I¡¯ll make an opportunity for you. I¡¯ll create a miracle for you. I don¡¯t care how you want to control the Sun Moon Empire in the future. As long as you fulfil your promise not to start a war in the next ten years, I¡¯m fine with anything else.¡±

    Ju Zi didn¡¯t appeared astonished. She sighed and said, ¡°Why do you understand me so well? Do you know that this isn¡¯t good? I¡¯ll continue to have ideas of you.¡±

    ¡°They can only remain as ideas then.¡± Tang Wutong said coldly.

    Ju Zi¡¯s expression changed, and she replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a good time now. I can create an opportunity for you, but your safety is not guaranteed. I don¡¯t want you to die here either. That¡¯s why I hope that both of you can wait for a more opportune time.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was persistent. ¡°No, we can¡¯t wait any longer. We must act now. As for our safety, you don¡¯t have to care. We have our own ways of escaping. You just need to make an opportunity for us.¡±

    Ju Zi was astonished as she asked, ¡°You¡¯re so confident?¡±

    ¡°I can tell you a few things,¡± Huo Yuhao said calmly, ¡°first, Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui are both dead. We helped them escape, but they died in front of us. As for the Holy Ghost Church, you don¡¯t have to worry about them. We¡¯ve killed almost all their senior officials. They won¡¯t be a threat anymore. Their headquarters is in the Evildemon Forest. We also destroyed their resources with a ss 9 shell. We even rmed the Evileye Tyrant King.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ju Zi was astonished as she stood up. She was really shocked now. Her eyes were wide open. What kind of existence was the Evileye Tyrant King?

    She didn¡¯t really have much of an understanding of things in the Douluo Continent. However, she had heard many legends about the Evileye Tyrant King as someone from the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire even had a soul engineer legion named after him. To some extent, the Evileye Tyrant King was like a symbol in the Sun Moon Empire.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong managed to escape unscathed after meeting the Evileye Tyrant King. This shows how strong they are.

    ¡°Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?¡± Ju Zi asked anxiously. While she was asking both of them, it was obvious who she was concerned about.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°He¡¯s dead. We killed him. Now, you should know why I¡¯m confident. Zhong Liwu and Feng Ling are both dead too. Take it as a gift from us. You shouldn¡¯t have any misgivings now. The priority now is to kill Xu Tianran. As for what will happen next, I don¡¯t care. I just hope you can fulfil your promise. After that, Wutong and I will proceed somewhere else to cultivate for some time.¡±

    Ju Zi was silent. She slightly lowered her head. She didn¡¯t let Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong look into her eyes. Huo Yuhao could sense that she was quickly thinking of something.

    He didn¡¯t rush her either. He only waited silently. Now, it was important to give her some time to think.

    A brief moment passed.

    When Ju Zi lifted her head again, the look in her eyes was already very determined. She wasn¡¯t as gentle as before. The War God Empress was back.

    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll go out for a while. We¡¯ll attack tonight.¡± After she finished speaking, she quickly walked out.

    Huo Yuhao was in fact very curious. Under such strict monitoring, how was she going to expedite the matter? It wasn¡¯t going to be easy for her to deploy her people! This was because all movements in the makeshift pce were monitored by surveince soul tools. She was also the War God Empress. There were bound to be many eyes on her now.

 Chapter 608.1 - Attack During the Feast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 608.1: Attack During the Feast</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection had enveloped the entirepound and was following Ju Zi.

    Much to his surprise, Ju Zi was actually looking for Xu Tianran. Along the way, she was not walking very quickly. In fact, there did not seem to be anything strange about the way she was walking.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection was definitely able to extract more information from his observations than normal surveince soul tools could.

    At the very least, those surveince soul tools would not be able to monitor her heart rate, pulse, and spiritual fluctuations. However, with Huo Yuhao¡¯s current ability, he was able to monitor all of these details.

    Hence, he had been sensing the transformations within Ju Zi. And it seemed like he had managed to identify some peculiarities.

    Firstly, Ju Zi was making too many unnecessary motions. While she was walking, she seemed to be scratching her head and adjusting her posture too often. Every time she made those little adjustments, her heart rate would increase. Even though the increase was not very significant, the change was apparent. On top of that, her spiritual fluctuations would also increase.

    This was definitely not something which could be caused by her body. It could only originate from her thoughts.

    It seemed like she was already prepared! Even though Huo Yuhao was using his Spiritual Detection, he could not be certain about what she had done.

    After a good twenty minutes, Ju Zi finally found Xu Tianran. Huo Yuhao was unable to tell what she was saying to him. An hourter, a few people took the same path Ju Zi had taken, and all of them had the same increased heart rate and spiritual fluctuations as her.

    There were only seven to eight people who exhibited the same characteristics as Ju Zi out of the few hundred people who had walked the same path. No one would have been able to detect what was wrong with them. This was simply something that surveince soul tools were not capable of.

    Huo Yuhao squinted and spoke to Tang Wutong. ¡°Ju Zi must have used some secret way ofmunicating. I don¡¯t know what method she¡¯s using, but it seems like it is working well.¡±

    Tang Wutong whispered to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Are we going to just wait like this? Do you think she¡¯ll threaten us? Did you notice how she exhibited significant emotional fluctuations when she was listening to how you had killed the Evileye Tyrant? She also seemed to be frightened. When a person starts to be frightened, he or she tends to do things that are hugely irrational. Even though she has feelings for you, it is apparent that her son is a lot more important than you. That¡¯s right. Her son. Where is her son? Can you see if you can find where her son is?¡±

    Huo Yuhao scanned his surroundings with his Spiritual Detection as he tried to find Little Yunhan.

    Very soon he realized thatright now,Xu Yunhan was in a room that was not too far from the room Ju Zi was in. It seemed like he had not been moved away. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong became a lot more rxed after confirming his location.

    Just as Tang Wutong had urately put it, Little Yunhan was the person whom Ju Zi cared about the most. Hence, it was clear that she did not harbor any ill intentions towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong from how she had left her son in that room. After all, she would never put her son¡¯s life at risk.

    It was four hourster when Ju Zi finally returned. The sky was turning dark, and it was almost nighttime.

    After opening the door, Ju Zi immediately sent her servants and maids away. She entered her room and made sure that she was the only one inside.

    She started to pant as she heaved a sigh of relief. After all, she was dealing with the Emperor of the biggest empire in the entire Douluo Continent! There would be no turning back if she were to fail. She would lose everything, and her son would lose his position if her ns were to be discovered. Ju Zi understood Xu Tianran too well. Hence, she was extremely careful with what she was doing.

    After returning to her desk, Ju Zi started to mutter to herself. ¡°After two hours, the sky will bepletely dark. The aerial surveince soul tools will all explode by themselves. The different surveince soul tools onnd will also be disabled temporarily. At least for the following hour, no one will be able to activate them. Hence, the two of you should take action after those surveince soul tools have exploded. Following which, both of you can escape while the entirepound falls into chaos.¡±

    ¡°In about an hour¡¯s time, it will be time for his dinner. Tonight, he has invited six ss 9 soul engineers for dinner. This is already a habit of his. I will ask Elder Kong to take care of my son. I have no clue about what else is going to happen. None of the six ss 9 soul engineers are under me. However, you can rest assured that all of the other ss 9 soul engineers will not be taking any action. The linked defensive barrier will only be released after the aerial surveince soul tools have exploded. The only people you need to worry are the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. They have been protecting thispound from the outside and are the nearest to Xu Tianran. Once he is in trouble, you can expect all of them to rush to his assistance instantly.¡±

    ¡°As of now, Xu Tianran has exactly eleven ss 9 defensive soul tools. All of them are activated automatically, and have a diverse set of defensive effects. They can block all kinds of attacks, including spiritual and physical ones. The Worshipped once concluded that even an Ultimate Douluo would not be able to destroy all of these soul tools within an hour¡¯s time. This will be your biggest challenge.¡±

    ¡°I suggest both of you concentrate on one type of attack. You should either choose tounch a physical attack or a spiritual attack. This would mean that you don¡¯t have to work against all of the different soul tools. In my opinion, it would be wiser for both of you to attack spiritually. After all, Huo Yuhao is most adept at this. On top of that, Xu Tianran had been mainly guarding against the two Ultimate Douluo, who specialized in physical attacks. Hence, he should possess at most four defensive soul tools which can guard against spiritual attacks. Yuhao, after hearing what I have said, are you still confident of pulling it off? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion will definitely rush over at the first instant. Even though the area is small, they just have to block the attacks for Xu Tianran to give him enough time to escape.¡±

    Huo Yuhao had been listening to everything Ju Zi had been saying. Her face was already a little flushed after she finished herst sentence.

    ¡°Do you not n to use your own people?¡± Huo Yuhao asked inly.

    Ju Zi¡¯s breathing became a little heavier. ¡°Well, if you have absolute confidence, I¡­¡±

    Huo Yuhao spoke inly, ¡°Who would dare to say that he or she was absolutely confident about a n like this? Since you already control the Imperial Consecration Hall, why don¡¯t you get them to help you too?¡±

    Ju Zi was startled by Huo Yuhao¡¯s words as she stood up immediately. ¡°W-What are you saying?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled and said, ¡°Am I wrong? Are you sure that you¡¯re not in control of the entire Imperial Consecration Hall despite being able tomand Elder Kong, who is definitely the leader among the ss 9 soul engineers?¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s breathing became even heavier as she stared at Huo Yuhao. After a short while, she revealed an awkward smile. ¡°You¡¯re really too smart. You are actually able to tell from the little things and words I have said that I have control over the Imperial Consecration Hall. This is something I haven¡¯t expected.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°To be honest, I wasn¡¯t very sure before this. Now, I am absolutely confident that that is the case. Actually, the words and actions you had made were not the things that gave you away. The biggest clue was the huge amount of confidence which you had in your n. What made you so sure that you will be able to control the entire Sun Moon Empire after Xu Tianran is taken down? If you were not supported by a powerful institution or organization, you would not be able to secure political power that easily. Even though you have an unbeatable reputation within the army, that¡¯s not enough¡ªat least for now. The support from the army will not allow you to suppress the royal family and protect your son¡¯s throne. If I didn¡¯t understand what you meant when you said that Elder Kong will help you protect your son, I would be really stupid. Even though I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ve managed to convince Elder Kong, your n should be a lot smoother with his support. In fact, you should have a pretty good chance even without our help. After all, you are Xu Tianran¡¯s Empress. No matter how powerful his soul tools are, there are bound to be gaps and ws you can take advantage of. Even if we don¡¯te to help you, you should be able to take action once he lowers his guard after some period of time.¡±

    Ju ZI suddenly smiled as she shook her head. ¡°I used to think that you used all your gifts on cultivating and bing a good soul master. I thought that your brains were not as good as mine. It seems like I was wrong. However, I am very happy, but I can¡¯t tell you why. You are right. I do have aplete n. Even without working with all of you, I still stand a good chance at seeding. Elder Kong¡¯s only request for me was to not use anyone from the Imperial Consecration Hall for this operation. He did not want the Imperial Consecration Hall to be associated with this operation¡ªregardless of whether it was sessful or not. After all, the Imperial Consecration Hall is supposed to support the Emperor regardless of the situation. Hence, I really can¡¯t get them to help us. Hence, I only had two options: both of you or myself.¡±

    As she spoke, Ju Zi slowly raised her hands to reveal her beautifully manicured nails. Her nails were colored with a pearl-like color.

    ¡°There is poison in my nails. Every single dish Xu Tianran eats is tested by someone. I have managed to bribe one of them to allow me to sneak a poisoned dish to him. I am confident that the n will seed because the poison will only be added when the dishes are being brought to the table.¡±

    ¡°However, death due to poisoning usually leads to a very chaotic situation. Hence, it would be best if we can kill him physically. Everyone would believe that it was but an act of revenge from the two Ultimate Douluo.¡±

 Chapter 608.2 - Attack During the Feast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 608.2: Attack During the Feast</h4>

    Huo Yuhao paused for a while before saying, ¡°I hope you will keep your promise.¡±

    Even though Ju Zi could not see Huo Yuhao, she seemed to be gazing into the distance at this moment. She answered, ¡°I will.¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Then we have an agreement.¡±

    Xu Tianran had been very anxious for the past few days. After the n, which he had believed was perfect, had failed, he had been in a foul mood.

    Right now, all of the higher ss fighting power had been deployed to defend the temporary pce. As one became more powerful, one usually valued his or her life a lot more. That was the reason why many emperors tend to seek ways to acquire immortality after aging.

    Xu Tianran was very afraid of death. He wanted to be the first Emperor to unite the entire continent. This was something he believed he had to do. Hence, he felt that he must not die.

    Even though his ss 9 soul engineers, including Elder Kong, had tried to persuade him with their analysis that the two Ultimate Douluo had a near-zero chance of survival, Xu Tianran could not help but worry. He was worried that the two Ultimate Douluo might still have a breath or two in them, and would be able to take him out with their final blow! Hence, he felt that there was a need for him to reinforce his defenses at all costs. He needed to guard against this possibility. It was of the utmost importance for him to survive in order to be the first Emperor in history to conquer the entire Douluo Continent.

    It was clear how anxious he was from the fact that he wore his human-shaped soul tool to sleep. On top of that, he made sure that his eleven ss 9 soul tools stayed on his body at all costs.

    There would be at least six ss 9 soul engineers guarding him at any time of the day, In addition, he had never left the temporary pce for the past few days. He seemed to have be overly cautious about everything.

    He had no idea how long he had to stay in this state. After all, there was no news about the two Ultimate Douluo. The absence of news and information simply made him more worried.

    ¡°Your Majesty, your meal is ready. Your guests have also arrived.¡± A servant politely informed Xu Tianran.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Tianran nodded and lifted the visor covering his face. He walked out of his room and entered the dining hall.

    Xu Tianran was so paranoid that he had ced several small protective soul barriers around the dining hall, just in case.

    The six ss 9 soul engineers had actually arrived for a while already. Other than dining with Xu Tianran, they were supposed to protect him. Of course, all of them believed that they were actually just there to reassure him that everything would be alright.

    After all, they believed that the two Ultimate Douluo could not have survived those explosions! However, no one dared to let Xu Tianran know that he was paranoid. The reason was that Xu Tianran had already killed more than ten servants who had told him that.

    ¡°Come on, make yourselves at home. Let¡¯s dig in.¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s words contrasted against the expression on his face. Even though there was a huge variety of incredible delicacies, he was definitely not in the mood for good food.

    Even though the six ss 9 soul engineers kept silent, they helped themselves to the food before them. Eating with a paranoid Emperor was not something which would be enjoyable for anyone. They only wanted to leave as soon as possible once they were done with their meal. After all, a ss 9 soul engineer led a very busy life. They had to make soul tools, test soul tools, design soul tools, and handle all sorts of administrative matters.

    After having a few cups of wine, Xu Tianran became a lot less tense. Perhaps it was because of his age and increased political power that he had started to like alcohol. In fact, he had been asking for wine to help him with his sleep.

    Once again, the servant stepped forward to refill Xu Tianran¡¯s cup. Xu Tianran raised the cup as he shed a smile. ¡°Come, let¡¯s drink together, and hope that our army will be able to conquer thest two empires and unite the entire continent.¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡± The six ss 9 soul engineers did not dare to disobey the Emperor as they eximed in unison.

    After seeing how cooperative they were, Xu Tianran naturally became a lot happier. After all, it definitely felt good to see how six powerful ss 9 soul engineers were obedient to one¡¯s orders. This was what was so great about ruling the world!

    Following which, all of them downed the cups of wine in their hands. This was something which was extremelymon at banquets and dinners. However, no one noticed how an inconspicuous vortex had formed in their cups when they brought them to their lips. That little vortex was dark blue, and was definitely very hard to notice, especially when it was formed within the dark red wine.

    Grape wine tended to be a little sour and sweet. However, all of them found the wine a lot more chilled than usual. It was a very different sensation from what they were used to. It was extremely refreshing.

    ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I am drinking with His Majesty, but this wine is really good!¡± An old ss 9 soul engineer remarked.

    Xu Tianran was startled by hisments. Immediately, he turned his head to look at the servant.

    How can the vor of the wine change when they all came from the same bottle?He was very certain that the servant had not changed the bottle. After all, he was so paranoid that he would have paid attention to all of these details.

    He wasforted by the fact that the servant did not seem to panic after he had turned around. In fact, he seemed a little clueless. He simply lowered his head and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, do you want another cup of wine?¡±

    Just when Xu Tianran was starting to doubt himself, he, along with the other six ss 9 soul engineers, felt something at the very next instant.

    The refreshing wine suddenly became ice-cold. Usually, the wine should be warmer after entering their bodies. However, it suddenly became frozen as it released a chilling aura from within all of their bodies.

    ¡°Shit!¡± A ss 9 soul engineer eximed as an icy mist started to form around his body. However, he was able to react very quickly. He immediately tried to use his soul power to force the wine out of his body.

    However, just when he was about to circte his soul power, he realized that his blood and soul power that came into contact with the wine had already frozen. In fact, any soul power that came into contact with the wine would immediately freeze. It was clear from the fact that it was able to freeze even forms of energy that the wine contained an incredible amount of power!

    Xu Tianran was naturally trying to force the wine out of his body. However, he was also startled to find his soul power freezing upon contact with the freezing aura from his body. This was unprecedented.Is it a kind of poison?This was his first guess. After all, there was nothing else within his knowledge that could have achieved the same effect. However, he was certain that his wine had been tested by his own people.How could the wine still be poisoned? This is impossible!

    Four ck figures immediately appeared behind Xu Tianran. One of them ced his hand on the neck of the servant who had poured wine for Xu Tianran as he lifted the servant up with his bare hand. Another soul engineer was surveilling his surroundings as his human-shaped soul tools radiated a brilliant glow. The other two ced their palms behind Xu Tianran as they inserted their powerful soul power into his body.

    ¡°Quick! Spread my orders! Seal the¡­¡± Xu Tianran eximed. However, he soon realized that it was getting harder for him to even speak. The reason was that his throat was starting to be frozen. In fact, icy mist was starting toe out of his mouth.

    What kind of poison is this?! It¡¯s so strong! Have Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui finally started to exact their revenge on me?

    Even though Xu Tianran was very frightened, he was fairlyposed. After all, there were a total of eleven Titled Douluo including him within this room. There was still the mighty Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion outside of the temporary pce. Even if the two Ultimate Douluo were to join hands, they would not be able to kill him so easily. No matter how powerful the poison was, it would not be able to kill him with his current cultivation. He would simply have to figure out how to get rid of the poison after the problem before him was settled.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Your orders would never be disseminated to the rest. Everything that is about to happen here will stay in this room¡±

    The ck figure who was surveilling his surroundingsunched himself in the direction of the voice, but was repelled by an invincible force. His entire human-shaped soul tool was immediately coated with ayer of ice and frost.

    The entire dining hall was now enshrouded by a faint, wavering light. Following which, the Titled Douluo in this room realized that they were no longer able to sense the world beyond the dining hall.

    W-What kind of power is this?

    Even though the six ss 9 soul engineers found the blood in their bodies growing increasingly cold, they were never going to give up just like this. They immediately activated their protective soul barriers to protect themselves before they moved over to surround Xu Tianran. Their eyes darted around vigntly as they tried to find out where the voice wasing from.

    Two figures started to appear before their eyes of Xu Tianran and the other powerful soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire.

    When Xu Tianran was finally able to get a good look at them, he was shocked. Even though he did not know who exactly they were, he was certain that he had seen them before.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re from Shrek Academy¡­¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at the person before him.

    ¡°Yes, I am Huo Yuhao from Shrek Academy. She¡¯s my girlfriend, Tang Wutong. You must have been surprised by our visit, Your Majesty.¡± Huo Yuhao smiled.

    Xu Tianran spoke coldly, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you¡¯re the one who challenged ten of the most powerful soul masters from my empire and defeated them, right?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

 Chapter 608.3 - Attack During the Feast

    <h4 ss>Chapter 608.3: Attack During the Feast</h4>

    Xu Tianran released a cold grunt and said, ¡°I have to admit that you¡¯re probably the brightest star within your generation. But how dare you try to infiltrate my pce and attack me on your own! Do you really think that the two of you can escape from my pce alive today?¡±

    Huo Yuhao chuckled. ¡°Your Majesty, you must be mistaken. You should be the one answering that question instead of me.¡±

    An image suddenly formed behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back.

    Every single soul engineer present was already extremely tense after Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had appeared before them. They instantly attacked Huo Yuhao once they saw the transformation behind his back.

    Powerful streaks of light were projected towards Huo Yuhao as powerful soul power fluctuations rippled across the entire dining hall, causing the entirepound to vibrate vigorously.

    A few of the sharper soul engineers decided against attacking Huo Yuhao. They chose to direct their attacks towards apound which was outside of the dining hall. They wanted to create amotion to alert the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, which was stationed outside. As long as they could alert them, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would have no choice but to flee. After all, they believed that they would not be able to fight against the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    However, they were shocked to discover how their attacks, which were fired in different directions ended up flying towards Huo Yuhao anyway. The rays of light that surrounded them started to contort and twist in a mysterious way.

    A mystical icy blue vortex started to revolve before Huo Yuhao. The rays of light in the room disintegrated into nothingness after they were caught by the vortex. At this instant, the figure behind Huo Yuhao formedpletely.

    The figure was a beautifuldy. While she had the torso and head of a female, she had a mystical fishtail on the lower half of her body. The mermaid had a pair of big eyes as she smiled at the soul engineers before her. Following which, she allowed her beautiful singing to enshroud the entire hall.

    At the very next instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul rings started to light up. There was no longer a need for him to conceal the colors of his rings.

    His first soul ring was no longer masked in white. It was presented in its original brilliant golden color. Huo Yuhao¡¯s least impressive soul rings were ck. However, the mostmon soul rings he had were red.

    Huo Yuhao transmitted his low voice into the soul engineers¡¯ ears. ¡°Spiritual st!¡±

    A gentle ripple swept across the hall as an intense light was released from the bodies of Xu Tianran and his soul engineers. All of their defensive soul tools which were designed to block spiritual attacks released a blinding light. At that instant, the entire hall was brightly lit by all of their soul tools.

    However, that wasn¡¯t all. Loud shattering sounds could be heard right after everyone was blinded by the lights from the soul tools. Everyone, including Xu Tianran, lost a spiritual defensive soul tool.

    There were, in fact, two soul engineers whose spiritual defensive soul tools did not shatter. The reason was that they did not even have a spiritual defensive soul tool to begin with.

    After all, spiritual defensive soul tools were one of the hardest soul tools to make among all ss 9 soul tools. This was why Zhongli Wu was very unwilling to concede to Ju Zi¡¯s terms back then.

    This was why not every ss 9 soul engineer was equipped with spiritual defensive soul tools. After all, it was fairly rare to encounter soul masters or soul beasts who were capable of unleashing spiritual attacks.

    However, those two soul engineers who were not equipped with spiritual defensive soul tools had to pay for their mistake tonight.

    Even though they had tried to counter the Spiritual st by increasing their spiritual power to the maximum their Spiritual Seas could generate, they still stood no chance against Huo Yuhao. After all, Huo Yuhao had just acquired the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s powerful spiritual soul ring.

    Blood started to gush from the noses and mouths of the two ss 9 soul engineers after they released a grunt. Both of their bodies started to sway to the left and right as they tried to steady themselves.

    Even though they were shocked by how powerful Huo Yuhao¡¯s attack was, those soul engineers tried their best to retaliate against him. However, it was at this very instant that Huo Yuhaounched a second wave of Spiritual st. Even though the second wave was not as strong as the first, it was equally frightening.

    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡± Two loud explosive souls could be heard as the heads of the two soul engineers who did not possess spiritual defensive soul tools exploded. Their blood and pieces of their brains sttered across the floor of the hall.

    However, no one could afford to show any sign of concern for them. They were already busy trying to fend off Huo Yuhao¡¯s second wave of Spiritual st.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Merfolk Duet allowed him tounch his spiritual attack twice consecutively. This made it an incredibly strong soul skill! The Merfolk Duet was definitely one of the strongest spiritual soul skills Huo Yuhao possessed. It was probably only second to the soul skills which the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had given him.

    When Huo Yuhao released his second wave of Spiritual st, every single soul engineer present released a painful grunt. They stumbled backward as they tried their best to use their spiritual defensive soul tools to block the st. However, their soul tools were already shattered.

    Xu Tianran was the only person who was somewhat fine. After all, four of the eleven ss 9 defensive soul tools on his body were spiritual defensive soul tools. On top of that, these four soul tools were definitely the highest quality soul tools within the entire Sun Moon Empire. Even though he looked a little shaken by the attacks, the two Spiritual sts had only destroyed one of his soul tools.

    While he was stumbling backward, Xu Tianran¡¯s chest emitted a powerful beam of light as it sent him flying backward.

    Regardless of whether it was in the pce or the temporary pce, Xu Tianran had always prepared several backup ns for him to flee in times of trouble. Right now, he was certain that he, along with his soul engineers, had already entered Huo Yuhao¡¯s powerful domain. The only way he could survive under such circumstances was to use the secret passageway under the floor, which was not far away from him. The passageway had been programmed to transmit a distress signal to his troops on the outside the moment he essed it. Hence, as long as he was able to reach the passageway, there was a good chance for him to stay alive.

    Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao was not prepared to let Xu Tianran do that. After all, he would not havee with just the fighting power he had just showcased.

    After releasing two Spiritual sts, Huo Yuhao began to unleash his other attacks.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± A series of explosions could be heard once again. Just when everyone was still trying to recover from the Spiritual sts, loud explosions echoed in the hall again. However, this time around, the attacks were noting from outside of their bodies. Instead, they wereing from within their bodies.

    The frozen blood and soul power in their bodies had suddenly exploded intensely! This was something that caught all of them by surprise!

    Everyone, including Xu Tianran, had drunk the wine which was contaminated by Huo Yuhao.

    Of course, the wine was not poisoned. It simply contained Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice soul power.

    It was important to note that it was exceptionally hard for a soul master to sneak his or her soul power into the drinks of Titled Douluo. The soul engineers were all Titled Douluo, and were very sensitive to any soul power or spiritual power fluctuations around them. Not anyone would be able to pull off what he had done. In fact, Huo Yuhao had only managed to contaminate their drinks because he had concealed his actions extremely well.

    Huo Yuhao was able to conceal his own aura and his soul power fluctuations with his powerful abilities. His Yin Yang Complement soul cores¡¯ soul power vortex also possessed the ability to conceal its traces. Coupled with his intentional efforts to mask the fluctuations of his soul power, Huo Yuhao was able to release seven Ultimate Ice soul power vortexes into their cups without raising any rms. Hence, Xu Tianran and the soul engineers had ingested his soul power along with the wine in their cups.

    His Ultimate Ice soul power was able to conceal itself, and explode only after it had entered their bodies. Hence, it was toote by the time they discovered that they had ingested something. The only reason why it could remain obscure was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was now infused with his spiritual power. Hence, he could continue to control the soul power vortexes even though they were away from his body.

    Now that the blood and soul power in their bodies were frozen in ice, Huo Yuhao could use his legendary soul skill on them. Ice Explosion!

    Even a Titled Douluo would not be able to handle an Ice Explosion taking ce from within them. Xu Tianran¡¯s plethora of defensive soul tools would not be able to protect him from within his body.

    Hence, the other five people immediately released a cry of pain after explosions took ce within their bodies. They instantly fell to the ground and lost all ability to retaliate.

    At the end of the day, a Titled Douluo¡¯s body was incredibly tough. Huo Yuhao was unable to put too much soul power into their wine, or else they would have discovered the vortex in their drinks. Hence, the explosion was not powerful enough to take their lives. However, the intense pain was not something they could handle easily.

    When Huo Yuhao made his move, Tang Wutong also began to take action.

    She instantly teleported behind the two men who were standing behind Xu Tianran. She released a radiant purple-gold glow as she unleashed two punches with both of her fists.

    Xu Tianran¡¯s guards were all very powerful individuals. However, how could they resist their opponents when they were at the level of an Ultimate Douluo?

    A blinding golden light was emitted as the human-shaped soul tools released a series of explosions. However, none of their soul tools were able to fend off the power of Tang Wutong¡¯s fist, which was releasing a dragon¡¯s roar. When Tang Wutong¡¯s punch eventuallynded on their human-shaped soul tools, the oue was already decided.

    After sending the two of them flying backward, Tang Wutong leapt into the air and flipped around as she collided with Huo Yuhao in mid-air.

    At this instant, they were like two balls of energy. Upon colliding with one another, their bodies fused as they released an invincibly powerful aura.

 Chapter 609 - The Emperor Falls!

    <h4>Chapter 609: The Emperor Falls!</h4>

    This time around, even Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Interference Domain was unable to conceal their aura. The powerful spiritual fluctuations which were released by them could be sensed by every single person within the temporary pce.

    A gigantic eye appeared in the air. This eye was golden, but its surroundings shone with a majestic purple-gold light. Its frightening radiance expanded at the next instant as small mystical hammers appeared throughout the entire hall.

    Mantra Amidst the Void, Spiritual Tempest! This was one of the four martial soul fusion skills Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong shared.

    This was also the most powerful spiritual attack amongst their martial soul fusion skills. They were no longer holding back, as they had to achieve their mission objective as quickly as possible.

    Right now, even if Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui were to be revived, they would also choose to avoid taking Huo Yuhao and Tang Wuton¡¯s soul skill head-on. Perhaps only the Evileye Tyrant would stand a chance against this spiritual attack.

    Of course, ifs and maybes were meaningless most of the time.

    The entire dining hall was instantly ravaged and shredded to pieces. Even though this was supposed to be a spiritual attack, it was so powerful that it was able to destroy material objects. The heads of those ss 9 soul engineers who were injured by the Ice Explosion and the Spiritual st eventually exploded after the soul tools on their bodies gave way.

    They were not the only victims of the powerful martial soul fusion skill. Xu Tianran¡¯s guards had no chance against the powerful and intense spiritual attack released by Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    This Spiritual Tempest was simply overwhelmingly frightening. Xu Tianran lost two powerful ss 9 spiritual defensive soul tools throughout the storm. This was sufficient to show how powerful their Spiritual Tempest was.

    At this moment, Xu Tianran was starting to lose hope. The throbbing pain within his body made it extremely difficult for him to flee.

    As of now, Tang Wutong was already wielding her Golden Dragon Spear, while Huo Yuhao held his small dagger.

    Huo Yuhao swept his dagger horizontally as a streak of icy blue light appeared before their eyes. The ten meters of space around Xu Tianran were instantly frozen. At that instant, the ambient temperature plunged to a temperature which was close to absolute zero. Xu Tianran mustered the remaining strength in his body to resist the intense cold which was attacking his body. The most frightening thing was how Huo Yuhao had only done this to temporarily immobilize Xu Tianran.

    Now that the dining hall had been destroyed by the Spiritual Tempest, the entire area was covered with dust and dirt. When Xu Tianran could finally see what was around him, he realized that the two people before him had transformed.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had vanished. Instead, two familiar pairs of eyes were now staring at him.

    They were none other than the Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui, and the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

    ¡°B-Both of you¡­¡± Xu Tianran was no longer able to make sense of reality. He could no longer be sure if the people who were standing before him were Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao or Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    If he had to make a choice, he would rather believe that the two people were Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao. After all, they were Ultimate Douluo! Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were still terribly young.

    Even if he were somehow able to survive today¡¯s attack, he would have no chance of conquering the continent if his foes were two Shrek Academy soul masters who possessed Transcendent Douluo abilities. He was already very well aware of how powerful an Ultimate Douluo was after witnessing the powers disyed by the Dragon Emperor Douluo and the Death God Douluo. As long as he or she was careful, an Ultimate Douluo was effectively invincible in this world.

    Unfortunately, the hope in his heart did not manage tost very long. Xu Tianran had noticed the eye on ¡°Long Xiaoyao¡±¡¯s forehead.

    The eye was sparkling as a beam of purple-gold light surged out from it andnded on Xu Tianran¡¯s head.

    Xu Tianran¡¯sst ss 9 spiritual defensive soul tool finally shattered. At this instant, he felt as though he had be naked.

    That¡¯s it. I¡¯m done!

    Xu Tianran closed his eyes in pain. He knew that his worries had been legitimate. He was simply too weak whenpared to the powerful soul masters of the Douluo Continent. At the end of the day, an Ultimate Douluo possessed enough power to destroy any political power.

    If he had another chance at things again, he would have tried to get Ye Xishui to forgive him at all costs. If Xu Tianran had the Death God Douluo protecting him, there was no way the two of them would be able to kill him.

    In the end, he was finally certain that the two people before him could not be Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao. Both Ultimate Douluo did not possess the Ultimate Ice ability, nor the ability to conceal themselves. Hence, they could only be Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Even though he did not know when they had be so powerful, he was certain that they were the ones behind his demise. Of course, all of this was no longer important.

    Huo Yuhao unleashed the Merfolk Duet again at this crucial moment. A second streak of purple-gold lightnded on Xu Tianran¡¯s body at the very next instant.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Xu Tianran¡¯s skull exploded as his blood and pieces of his brains sttered across the room. The Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was dead. In fact, he had died without an intact corpse.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong heaved a sigh of relief after killing Xu Tianran.

    Even though the entire sequence was within their control, they had actually expended a fair bit of energy and power to achieve this oue so quickly.

    Before making their move, they had already agreed to focus on spiritual attacks. Hence, Tang Wutong was not required to make too many attacks. Huo Yuhao was the main fighting force throughout the entire battle.

    The results justified their means. Xu Tianran had ultimately died under the power of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Merfolk Duet and Spiritual sts.

    Streaks of light started to flicker in the sky. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion had started to gather towards the dining hall. They were now establishing protective soul barriers as they tried to envelop the entirepound within their shield.

    Huo Yuhao released a long howl as a gigantic ck dragon soared into the air and transformed into an image that rammed into the barrier above them. At the same time, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong flickered before they vanished into thin air.

    Even though they were only here for a short amount of time, Huo Yuhao was certain that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s surveince soul tools must have already captured their appearances. This was enough, as they had created enough opportunities for Ju Zi.

    The linked defensive barrier would be a difficult problem to handle even for a powerful soul master. This was especially true when the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was the one who had established it.

    Unfortunately, they were now up against two Ultimate Douluo.

    Previously, when Xu Tianran was trying to contain Ye Xishui, he had used high-energypression array soul tools. This was because he knew that any linked defensive soul barrier would not be able to contain an Ultimate Douluo¡ªeven if it was established by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    This was exactly what happened.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Morning Dew Dagger sliced into the linked defensive soul barrier as he cut a slit in it effortlessly. Tang Wutong raised her fists and made a gaping hole where Huo Yuhao had cut. Both of them darted through the hole and concealed themselves with their Imitation as they disappeared into the night sky.

    All this time, Ju Zi had been waiting in her room anxiously. She could not help but shudder when she heard the loud explosion caused by the Spiritual Tempest. At that moment, she was overwhelmed by two different emotions.

    She was extremely excited. If Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were to seed, all her problems would be solved on their own.

    She was also overwhelmed by fear. Right now, she had already given up all hope on Huo Yuhao. She knew that there was no way that he would give up Tang Wutong for her. Now that Huo Yuhao had be so powerful, she could no longer control him. In fact, he was bing a threat to her rule over the Sun Moon Empire. Nheless, she really didn¡¯t want him and Tang Wutong to fail. She could not imagine what would happen to Huo Yuhao if they were to fail. This fear stemmed from a mother¡¯s love for her husband. It was not something which she could control with her rationality.

    ¡°Ju Zi!¡± At this instant, she heard a very familiar voice. The voice woke her up from the possibilities she was running through in her head. She instinctively eximed, ¡°Yuhao!¡±

    It was important to note that there were many servants present in her room at this moment.

    These servants were all surprised by her sudden exmation. Ju Zi instantly shed a cold stare after seeing their reaction. It seemed as though she was about to kill them to shut them up.

    However, she heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice once again. ¡°The Ju Zi I know would never kill innocent people.¡±

    Ju Zi took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. This was really not a good time to silence people. She eximed, ¡°I want all of you to scram out of this room. If anyone dares to spread any meaningless rumors around the pce, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± The servants scrambled out of the room. Ju Zi hastily called out to Huo Yuhao, ¡°Yuhao? Are the two of you alright?¡±

    At this instant, a series of loud rumbles could be heard from outside the room. Initially, it sounded as though there were a few shes of lightning across the sky. However, they soon grew in intensity as they gave off the impression that a huge storm was brewing above the temporary pce.

    The chain explosion Ju Zi had mentioned to Huo Yuhao had finally started. Theprehensive surveince system established by the aerial surveince soul tools was starting to lose its coverage.

    At the very next instant, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong appeared before Ju Zi. Now that the surveince soul tools had been destroyed, they no longer had to worry about being noticed.

    After seeing how Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were safe and sound, Ju Zi heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, she was overwhelmed by aplex emotion.

    ¡°Both of you¡­¡± Ju Zi instinctively spoke. However, she stopped as she found herself at a loss for words.

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°We have seeded. Xu Tianran is dead. I detonated his head with my spiritual attack. The ten people who were protecting him are also dead. Now, we can retreat after fulfilling our promise to you. It is now your turn to fulfill your end of the promise.¡±

    Ju Zi was ted after hearing what Huo Yuhao had told her. Her body started to tremble in excitement as she eximed, ¡°Dead? He¡¯s really dead?¡± Even though she refused to admit it, Xu Tianran had always been one of the biggest worries on her mind!

    Huo Yuhao stared at Ju Zi as various thoughts ran through his mind.

    ¡°Ju Zi, after we part ways today, we might not meet again if you fulfill your end of the promise. Take care of yourself.¡± Huo Yuhao sighed.

    At the end of the day, thedy before him was the first female to open up his heart. There was also a period of time when he had hoped that she would change her mind. However, they ultimately were not fated to be together.

    Huo Yuhao was naturally able to sense the regret in Ju Zi¡¯s heart. However, he knew that they could not turn back time. It was impossible for them to start over again now that they had missed the opportunity to do so earlier. He already had Tang Wutong, and was incapable of loving another person. In addition, he knew that Ju Zi would never be able to give up on what she had now. She wanted to fight for power for her son, and for the hatred in her heart.

    Huo Yuhao had already managed to secure ten years of peace for the Douluo Continent to recover and develop the necessary capabilities to try and defend against the Sun Moon Empire. He was not sure what would happen after those ten years.

    Just as he had said, this was possibly thest time he would see Ju Zi. After this, he would try to push for the rank of Ultimate Douluo. Following which, he would aim to enter the God Realm. If he was lucky enough to seed, he would no longer be able to intervene in the Douluo Continent''s affairs. Nheless, he was still very confused about the feelings he had for the God Realm. He had no idea what that world would be like.

    After hearing his words, Ju Zi''s face turned very pale. "W-Why? What are you nning to do?"

    Huo Yuhao sighed and said, "Just as I mentioned to you before, Wutong and I will be going into closed-door cultivation. We have be too powerful in too short an amount of time for our bodies to adjust. It¡¯s time for us to consolidate the power we have gained. I have no idea how long we will be cultivating, but I don''t think we will meet in the foreseeable years ahead. Nheless, I really hope that you will fulfill your end of the promise. If not, I won''t hesitate to kill you with my bare hands."

    After finishing his sentence, Huo Yuhao stared into her eyes before he turned around and held Tang Wutong''s hand. Following which, both of them vanished into thin air before her eyes.

    Tears started to stream down Ju Zi''s beautiful face as her body started to tremble vigorously.

    Did he leave just like this? At that instant, she felt that she had really lost him forever. This could really be thest time she saw him. Is this really the end? Is that it?

    "Ju Zi, why? Why did you make such a foolish decision back them? If you had chosen him back then and let go of all your hatred, you would have been a lot happier. Is revenge really that important? Is power really so important? Hahahaha!"

    Ju Ziughed at herself as tears continued to flow uncontrobly from her eyes. The servants who were waiting outside of the room could not help but shudder. Suddenly, a group of people rushed towards Ju Zi''s room.

    "We are here to see Her Majesty!"

 Chapter 610.1 - Takeover

    <h4 ss>Chapter 610.1: Takeover</h4>

    Huo Yuhao held Tang Wutong¡¯s hand as they flew through the air, while Radiant City was in aplete mess not far behind them.

    Radiant City was in disarray. Not just because of Xu Tianran¡¯s death, but also because many aerial surveince soul tools were exploding.

    Only a small number of people knew about Xu Tianran¡¯s death for the moment, but the entire city¡¯s citizens could see the exploding aerial surveince soul tools in the sky. That was something that couldn¡¯t be hidden.

    Radiant City had descended into chaos, and nobody knew how long it would take before it could settle down. However, Huo Yuhao was very confident in Ju Zi. She was too capable, and almost every situation was within her grasp. Since she had prepared to deal with Xu Tianran, she had definitely also prepared for what woulde afterward. Now was the time for her to flip her cards one after another.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong left just like that. He didn¡¯t even try to arrange anything, and neither did he obtain a definite answer from Ju Zi. He knew that they were leaving a little too abruptly. He also wanted to stay, and he wanted to watch Ju Zi reorganize the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s internal affairs, and execute her promise of not moving against the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire within ten years. That was her best choice. As long as he and Tang Wutong were around to intimidate the Sun Moon Empire, he believed that she wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything rash.

    But he had to leave. If he didn¡¯t leave, both he and Tang Wutong would probably not be able to leave ever again.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had rained hell upon Xu Tianran to destroy him during that epic battle, but serious problems surfaced in their bodies.

    Cracks were conspicuously tearing out over the barriers that Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui had left in their bodies, and these barriers could crumble at any moment. Once these barriers crumbled, they would both run the risk of going insane.

    This was especially so for Huo Yuhao, because the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power was still revolting violently within his spiritual sea. The Skydream Iceworm really couldn¡¯t hold on any longer, and he didn¡¯t even have time to take this news back to Shrek Academy at a time like this. They had to find a ce to cultivate. Otherwise, they would be faced with certain death!

    Therefore, he said a few brief sentences before he quickly took Tang Wutong away from Radiant City and toward the Heavenly Soul Empire.

    ¡°How are you, Yuhao?¡± Tang Wutong could clearly feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s palm was ice-cold, and his soul power was surging about vigorously within his body. His body radiated with strange light, and that was a sign of Huo Yuhao almost losing control over his soul power!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t look so good as he said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t hold on for much longer. We have to find a ce to cultivate. If not, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±

    Tang Wutong nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it here. We can¡¯t dy this any longer.¡± There was a valley beneath them. They couldn¡¯t be bothered with getting the direction right because of the big problems that had risen in their bodies, and they didn¡¯t know where they were. But they couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else as they immediately went down.

    Tang Wutong punched a hole in the side of the mountain, and she supported Huo Yuhao as they snuck inside. They didn¡¯t even have time to conceal themselves at a time like this.

    ¡°The two of you can rest assured as you cultivate. We¡¯ll protect you guys.¡± The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body at the same time. They had nervous expressions on their faces, because the soul power and spiritual power within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body were just too vast. Even with their experience and their knowledge, they had never seen such vast energy undtions, which seemed to go beyond this world¡¯s limits, and Huo Yuhao could explode at any moment. If that happened, then all the effort that they had put in before this would be wasted!

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t even express his gratitude. He was barely able to fly, and he was already controlling himself as much as he could.

    He sat down on the ground and immediately focused as he used all his spiritual power to control his soul power.

    Tang Wutong helped him cross his legs and sat opposite him. They could no longer use Haodong power to cultivate. Furthermore, the soul power within their bodies was too vast, so she couldn¡¯t help Huo Yuhao at all. She was facing a simrly huge problem, and she only observed Huo Yuhao for a moment and made sure that he wasn¡¯t in any danger before she started to meditate. The first thing she had to do was maintain that barrier in her body before anything else.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s barrier was starting to break apart irrevocably, as soul power that resembled tidal waves surged around in this body.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core had been filled by the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s formidable spiritual power, and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power had also filled his Ultimate Ice soul core to the brim. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was like an enormous balloon that had been pumped with as much air as it could take, and it was still being pumped continuously.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was already starting to swell. His veins bulged on his skin, and his body was an unhealthy red color. A golden sun and a blue moon flickered incessantly behind him, and the air would contort faintly with every flicker.

    Fortunately, Tang Wutong was sitting opposite him. A golden sun and a purple moon flickered behind her at the same time, and they resonated with Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura. This resonance, and perhaps also because of their Yin Yang Complement soul cores, barely suppressed that energy storm in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress stood guard at the cave entrance. The Ice Empress nced at the Snow Empress worriedly and asked, ¡°He¡¯s not in a very good state. Can he hold on?¡±

    The Snow Empress lowered her voice and said, ¡°He definitely can. Haven¡¯t we seeded in tiding through every single trouble and toil over these years, no matter what we¡¯ve faced? This is thest step he has to take, and if he can seed, then he will rise through the heavens. Our dream wille true. But if he fails¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled brightly as she spoke. ¡°So what if he fails? If not for him, we¡¯d probably have been dead a long time ago. Let¡¯s just apany him if he fails.¡±

    The Ice Empress was astonished. ¡°Have you made up your mind, Snow Empress?¡±

    The Snow Empress smiled faintly and replied, ¡°Are you really asking me that? Haven¡¯t you made up your mind too? You¡¯re just unwilling to admit it. Even though you¡¯re always so fierce toward the Skydream Iceworm every day, I can tell that your eyes have be increasingly tender and gentle. Seems like you¡¯ve truly found someone that you like. You have already decided to fuse your origin with Yuhao, haven¡¯t you? And you¡¯re going to do that because Skydream has alreadypleted his own fusion in order to help him. So we are left with our spiritual origin, and that¡¯s thest strength we can use to help him. We cannot be separated from him afterpleting this fusion, and even if he does seed in reaching that world in the end, we cannot separate ourselves from him. That¡¯s the true meaning of one for all, and all for one. I can¡¯t bear to leave you guys! So why can¡¯t I have made up my mind?¡±

    The Ice Empress held the Snow Empress¡¯ hand. She blushed as he said, ¡°Snow, I¡­ I didn¡¯t with that fellow¡­¡±

    The Snow Empress giggled and said, ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for hundreds of thousands of years. How can I not know what you¡¯re thinking about? Don¡¯t overthink this, because I¡¯m not trying to tease you. I am truly happy for the two of you! Aren¡¯t we all in a good ce right now?¡±

    ¡°Yes. No matter what, we have to help him pass this difficult test. Let me go first, Snow. Yuhao is in a terrible situation now, and he needs to stabilize himself.¡±

    ¡°Alright, go. I¡¯ll stay here.¡± The Snow Empress looked at the Ice Empress seriously, and she hugged her gently before she released her with a faint smile on her face.

    The Ice Empress skittered before the Snow Empress, and she gave her a peck on her face before she giggled and ran away.

    Huo Yuhao was in a terrible situation. One could say that he was in the worst condition that he had ever been in.

    There was just too much energy within his body. What he wanted most was to vent the vast energy out of his body, but he couldn¡¯t do that at all.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t control his soul power with his spiritual power, because his spiritual power was in a mess in the first ce. The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power had already been cleansed, but that spiritual power itself was violent, like it contained a formidable avenging spirit within it. It continued to wreak havoc, and it wanted to dominate Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    The Evileye Tyrant King had been a formidable soul beast with more than seven hundred thousand years of cultivation! Even though his body was dead, he could still retaliate while drawing hisst breath.It¡¯s no wonder I didn¡¯t feel any spiritual undtions after his death. He hid his spirit¡¯s strength within his soul ring, and he¡¯spressed vast amounts of spiritual power inside it.

    It¡¯s clear that the Evileye Tyrant King calcted precisely before his death that I had to absorb his soul core, and what he¡¯s trying to do now is possess me! He wants to possess my body.

    Huo Yuhao wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Evileye Tyrant King if Long Xiaoyao hadn¡¯t infused all that soul power into his body. He had the Skydream Iceworm and the Mermaid Princess, and his spiritual power was incredibly powerful in the first ce. Huo Yuhao still had his power of emotions, and the Evileye Tyrant King was unworthy ofpeting with him because he only had his spiritual origin left.

    But Huo Yuhao was in deep trouble right now, because the soul power within his body was revolting! His soul power was revolting to the point where he couldn¡¯t concentrate to deal with the Evileye Tyrant King, which was his biggest problem.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was chaotic. The Mermaid Princess and the Skydream Iceworm could barely hold on, and he was in the same situation. His mind was starting to feel groggy. Fortunately, his spiritual soul core was strong enough that the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spirit couldn¡¯t trulyplete the possession.

    But the oue would remain the same if this situation was allowed to continue.

 Chapter 610.2 - Takeover

    <h4 ss>Chapter 610.2: Takeover</h4>

    The Evileye Tyrant King was intelligent. He could clearly feel what Huo Yuhao was experiencing, because he wouldn¡¯t have done anything otherwise. What he could do was wait for an opportunity when something was happening to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Once Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t control the soul power within his body, and once the Evileye Tyrant Kingpletely unleashed his havoc, then Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul core would no longer be stable. That was the best time for possession.

    The Evileye Tyrant King was still pleased with being able to possess an Ultimate Douluo¡¯s body. He had had a chance to escape with his spirit when Huo Yuhao killed him, and he could even be reborn through one of his descendant¡¯s bodies. The Evileye Tyrant King had a very formidable spirit, and killing himpletely wasn¡¯t that easy.

    But he didn¡¯t choose that, because he had his eyes on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s strength would be greatly affected if he had chosen one of his descendants for rebirth, and he would need a long time to regain his peak condition. That was still possible back then, and all he needed was more time. That was the conservative choice.

    But he couldn¡¯t make the same choice this time because he was about to face his next tribtion, and his tribtion wouldn¡¯t care if he was severely injured or if he had been reborn through possession. The tribtion would target his soul, and the Evileye Tyrant King wasn¡¯t confident of sessfully making it through this great tribtion even if he was at his peak. He didn¡¯t have formidable life energy like the Beast God did, not to mention when he was already severely injured. He would truly meet his demise once that tribtion struck.

    Therefore, he chose to take the riskier path after some thought, and he chose to possess Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    Just as Huo Yuhao had guessed, the Evileye Tyrant King was certain that Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly abandon such a formidable soul ring, and the Evileye Tyrant King would still have time to possess one of his descendants even if Huo Yuhao did forgo it.

    And once Huo Yuhao absorbed his soul ring, the Evileye Tyrant King would aim to find a chance to possess his body.

    A soul beast¡¯s body couldn¡¯t conceal his aura, but a human body could! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had such a high cultivation and formidable soul power. If the Evileye Tyrant King could seed in possessing his body andplete his third soul core, then he would be absolutely confident of making it through his next tribtion. He could even use this human body to break through into the God Realm. The Evileye Tyrant King was ovee with intense greed, and that was the reason why he chose this riskier path. It seemed like his opportunity hade, and sess was within his grasp.

    Therefore, he wasn¡¯t hasty at all. He was waiting for something to happen to Huo Yuhao¡¯s body before he would make an all-out attack. He didn¡¯t want to ruin this body, because what would be the point of possession if that happened? He had to wait until Huo Yuhao was about to crumble before he could take control over his body. Afterwards, he would rely on his formidable spiritual power after fusing with Huo Yuhao¡¯s body to control the violent revolting soul power, suppress it, and slowly absorb it.

    The Evileye Tyrant King became increasingly satisfied with the current situation as he continued to think. Everything was going better than he had expected: a perfect body, a perfect type, and a spiritual sea that was so powerful that it could carry his spiritual power. There was still the soul power that was unabsorbed but extremely pure, and the shape of a third soul core was within reach. This was the best kind of gift that the heavens could give him!

    A bluish-green shadow glimmered into view behind Huo Yuhao in this moment. She wasn¡¯t considered extremely beautiful, but her ice-cold aura and majestic elegance, her perfect and alluring body, and her jade-green frame gave off a unique and exotic beauty.

    Tang Wutong was having it easier as she sat opposite Huo Yuhao. Her golden sun and purple moon¡¯s light flickered as they radiated and dimmed continuously. Even though she was unstable, her undtions weren¡¯t as vigorous.

    But Huo Yuhao¡¯s situation was a lot worse. His golden sun flourished, but his blue moon was exceptionally dim as thick mist steamed from his body. His clothes werepletely soaked asrge beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead.

    The Ice Empress took a deep breath. Her body became like her scorpion¡¯s tail, and glowed with brilliant jade-green light. That green color wasn¡¯t one that was filled with life, but one that was cold to the extreme. The mist that rose from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was immediately transformed into countless ice particles that drifted down, and the cavern was cleansed.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ eyes sparkled like two pirs of icy mes. She crossed her legs, sat down behind Huo Yuhao, and pressed one palm against his back. She moved closer to his body, and pressed her other hand on Huo Yuhao¡¯s dantian. Thick green mes burned within her eyes in the next moment, and green hues permeated the entire cavern.

    Not a single inch of iciness was released, and the Ice Empress slowly closed her eyes as she burned her spiritual sense, and a faint smile appeared on her beautiful face while her own voice echoed in her heart.

    You¡¯re so silly, Skydream. I¡¯m not very eloquent, and I don¡¯t really know what to say, but I can remember everything you¡¯ve done for me over the years. Even though I¡¯m cold, you¡¯ve melted me, and this is all I can do. This is the best kind of love I can give you. I¡¯m burning my spiritual sense, and we will no longer be separated.

    Icy waves surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, and the revolting soul power within his dantian immediately quieted. Not because his soul power stopped circting, but because it was frozen by those strange icy waves.

    Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power was formidable, but the Ice Empress was burning her spiritual sense, and the power of her spirit wasn¡¯t inferior to that of an Ultimate Douluo! That was pure freezing power, and both spiritual power and soul power would be instantly frozen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression became a lot calmer as the soul power within his dantian froze. He slowly took a deep breath, and his aura was as solemn as ever. There seemed to be dragon roars echoing through the air with his exhtion.

    Huo Yuhao was in the most pain that he could be in right before the Ice Empress began burning her spiritual sense. Of course, he knew that he had been tricked, and this was happening to him because he had been too eager for sess. However, he couldn¡¯t possibly have made another choice under those circumstances as he thought back over the situation. The Skydream Iceworm had given him a guarantee, and the seven hundred thousand year soul ring was so alluring that he couldn¡¯t possibly turn it away.

    Fortunately, the Skydream Iceworm was around. The Skydream Iceworm had absorbed much of the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul power inside his soul ring, and Huo Yuhao was only absorbing a small portion with his spiritual sea. This resulted in the Evileye Tyrant King only being able to mobilize part of his spiritual power when moving against Huo Yuhao, in an attempt to consume Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power to strengthen himself. The Evileye Tyrant King could only reabsorb the spiritual power from the Skydream Iceworm once he had strengthened himself to a certain extent.

    In other words, the Skydream Iceworm made the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s possession process much more challenging andplicated.

    But even then, the soul power in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was too violent, and shocked his body so much that he couldn¡¯t resist the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s absorption at all. Huo Yuhao was experiencing so much pain that he couldn¡¯t fight back at all.

    The Ice Empress burning her spiritual sense was like a lifeline to Huo Yuhao at a time like this, and the soul power within his body immediately settled down as he heaved a long sigh of relief. Huo Yuhao relied on his formidable spiritual power as he exhaled, and he readjusted and realigned all the disorganized soul power within his body. His Yin Yang Complement soul cores began to spin stably again, and immense gravitational forces appeared once more that withdrew and took back the chaotic soul power and spiritual power running through his passageways.

    The Evileye Tyrant King naturally discovered the big changes in Huo Yuhao as soon as they urred, and he turned pale with fright. He had already exposed himself, and he understood that if Huo Yuhao regained the upper hand, then there was nothing left for him but death!

    The Evileye Tyrant King no longer had his original body. Even though he had taken his spirit and his essence with him, he was still quite a far cry from Huo Yuhao, who was an Ultimate Douluo and had Yin Yang Complement soul cores. The Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t have a single chance if Huo Yuhao could concentrate all his attention on dealing with him.

    The Evileye Tyrant King had no choice at a time like this, and he didn¡¯t even have time to think as heunched his attack as soon as possible.

    The Evileye Tyrant King couldn¡¯t let Huo Yuhao catch his breath as the energy that he had hidden within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea erupted, and a single wheel of evil light glowed above it.

    Huo Yuhao had his legs crossed, and a blood-red Evileye surfaced behind his back. Evil light flickered as the entire cave was tainted red.

    Tang Wutong was already in meditation. Even though her situation was a lot better than Huo Yuhao, she had to concentrate fully if she wanted topletely absorb the vast soul power that Ye Xishui had left behind for her, and she had to do so while in meditation. Therefore, she didn¡¯t know such big problems were happening to him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body trembled, and a vertical eye gradually opened on his forehead. However, there were no longer any rose gold sun patterns around his vertical eye. Instead, there were strange dark red patterns thatwere like tiny snakes that climbed out from his vertical eye and began spreading throughout his head, like they were about to swallow his entire skull.

    The Evileye Tyrant King used his full strength in this attack. The Ice Empress, who was standing behind Huo Yuhao, was ovee with fear, as she didn¡¯t expect the Evileye Tyrant King to have hidden such formidable power within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, to the point where he almost couldn¡¯t resist at all.

    However, Huo Yuhao finally stabilized all the soul power within his body with the Ice Empress¡¯ help, though the intense agony made him feel like his spiritual sea was being torn apart. His spiritual sea¡¯s water had beenpletely solidified, and cracks began to appear as liquid that resembled dark redva emerged from those cracks. They quickly permeated across his entire spiritual sea, and the goal was simple: he had to consume this entire spiritual sea!

 Chapter 610.3 - Takeover

    <h4 ss>Chapter 610.3: Takeover</h4>

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s evil eye that was hovering above Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was bing increasingly clear and conspicuous as it unleashed its full strength and attempted to consume Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. The evil eye could start consuming Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core once it finished consuming his spiritual sea, and when that happened, the Evileye Tyrant King could almost control Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body. The Evileye Tyrant King had seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, and he believed it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to control the violent soul power.

    Huo Yuhao was in a very disadvantaged position, and he almost couldn¡¯t resist at all. The Evileye Tyrant King was consumingrge patches of his spiritual sea, and his own soul power was just starting to stabilize. Whirlpools mixed with soul power and spiritual power rushed towards his spiritual sea, but the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual origin kept blocking them, and didn¡¯t allow Huo Yuhao to help himself.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s aim was very precise: he wanted to dominate Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea at all costs. When that happened, and if he could arrest Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core, he could reduce Huo Yuhao¡¯s control to as low as it could get. Everything would be a lot easier.

    Huo Yuhao tried to break through several times before he suddenly stopped. He quietly adjusted his soul power and controlled his two soul cores¡¯ rotations. He seemed like he was temporarily giving up on his spiritual sea, and that made the Evileye Tyrant King extremely surprised.

    Does this child not want his spiritual sea anymore?

    The dark red colors continuously coveredrge patches of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. Dark red patterns also stretched to more ces on his face, and his expression appeared unnaturally sinister.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ figure behind him became increasingly illusory, though the freezing power produced from her burning her spiritual sense could at least ensure that the soul power within Huo Yuhao¡¯s dantian wouldn¡¯t cause him trouble for the time being.

    The entire process was very slow. Day passed into night, and night passed into day, while Huo Yuhao was facing a test of life and death.

    The Evileye Tyrant King became increasingly excited. He could clearly feel that Huo Yuhao¡¯s resistance was bing smaller and smaller. He wouldn¡¯t need too much time before he could control Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire spiritual sea, and when that happened, Huo Yuhao would have no chance to turn the tables.

    Huo Yuhao seemedpletely unaware of this fact. He was just channeling his soul power quietly, and he had alreadypletely withdrawn all his disorganized soul power and fused it back into his two soul cores. He could even absorb some of the soul power that the Ice Empress had frozen, and he fused it into his soul core. He cultivated at the same time, and allowed his Yin Yang Complement soul core¡¯s soul power to nourish his body, and to strengthen himself. The aura that he gave off resembled somebody who was preparing to break through to be an Ultimate Douluo, and to form a third soul core. He seemed topletely overlook the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s existence.

    The Evileye Tyrant King was anxious about that, because the unknown would always be most frightening. No living being would voluntarily relinquish control over his or her own body, so there had to be something amiss because Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t interfering with his attempt to control his spiritual sea. But he couldn¡¯t possibly ask him! And Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly answer him even if he did ask. Therefore, he became exceptionally careful as he continued dominating Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, but this extra care made him slow down a lot more.

    ¡­¡­

    Inside the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Radiant City.

    Martialw was finally lifted.

    Over an entire month! Radiant City had been subject to martialw for a month, and more than two hundred thousand soldiers had stood guard at every alleyway within Radiant City. All kinds of aerial surveince soul tools dotted the skies above, as the city spent a jittery month in sensitivity.

    All the shops and businesses in Radiant City had been temporarily closed over the past month. There was a vigorously resentful and grievous atmosphere in the air that chilled everyone¡¯s spines.

    The reason was because the Emperor who had expanded the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s territory by more than a third, and who had only ruled over the empire for a short while, had died for some unknown reason.

    The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t announce the reason for Xu Tianran¡¯s death; all they announced to the public was that the Emperor was dead. Radiant City descended into chaos in the following month, especially for the royal family, who were an utter mess.

    Xu Tianran was dead, and there were still many direct descendants of the royal bloodline. ording to thews, the person who would inherit the throne should be Xu Tianran¡¯s only son, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s crown prince, Xu Yunhan. However, Xu Yunhan was far too young, so how could the royal family¡¯s members not look for alternatives?

    Radiant City was in disarray. Different sides fought each other, and that was especially so for the royal family.

    The chaossted for half a month, and many private armies were mobilized outside Radiant City. The court was also as turbulent as could be.

    Ju Zi was the Empress, but she remained silent from the beginning to the end, as she was allegedly keeping watch next to Xu Tianran¡¯s coffin, and she didn¡¯t show herself at all. The Worship Hall also chose to remain silent. Therefore, everyone seemed to have tacitly agreed that they would allow the royal family¡¯s members to determine the eventual victor through their own capabilities.

    Therefore, several royal members who were rtively more powerful began to fight among each other, and everyone started to form alliances. However, what surprised them was the fact that many individuals chose to remain neutral as they were forming alliances, like they were waiting and looking for something.

    When Ju Zi reappeared in court with Xu Yunhan half a monthter, and in the moment that she ced Xu Yunhan on the throne, the royal subjects fell into an uproar.

    But this uproar didn¡¯tst for too long.

    Kong Deming, Master of the Worship Hall, announced that the Worship Hall only supported the crown prince, who was the rightful heir to the throne. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion also announced that they were loyal to the crown prince, along with the Fire Phoenix Legion, the Evileye Tyrant Legion, and the Terrorw Legion.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies that were stationed near the borders to readjust and replenish their ranks also announced that they supported the crown prince.

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, which Huo Yuhao had wrecked a long time ago, were all by themselves. Ju Zi turned the tides in court almost instantly, and all the royal family¡¯s members who were most involved in conflict, especially those who had employed private mercenaries, were directlybeled as traitors and charged with treason. They were stripped of their titles and incarcerated for life.

    Ju Zi sufficiently disyed her glory and majesty as the War God Empress, and she used the remaining half month to gain control over the entire Sun Moon Empire. She aided Xu Yunhan to ascend to the throne, and she used her status as the Empress andmander of the three armies to rule in ce of the Emperor.

    Xu Tianran was considered a very capable ruler in the eyes of many of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s citizens. But Ju Zi was also a very capable ruler, and she was also the War God Empress.

    The effects of many years of life and experience in the army, and in addition to Xu Tianran¡¯s almost unreserved support, were on full disy. Every single opposing voice was silenced within a very short period of time.

    Someone who belonged to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal family had found Elder Kong and expressed his disapproval towards Ju Zi. Elder Kong had asked him inly, ¡°Could you lead the empire to unite the continent, if the empire were given to you? Do you have the same status as the Empress does in the army?¡±

    Ju Zi wasn¡¯t just the Empress. She had also be a veteran and cornerstone within the military. Support from the military was always the most important as the generations of Emperors changed.

    The Sun Moon Empire still needed some time to rebuild their royal pce. Ju Zi handled all official business from the beginning to the end. The crown prince, Xu Yunhan, was still young, but he had already be Kong Deming¡¯s disciple. He was introduced to soul tools at a young age, while he began cultivating soul power in the most foundational fashion. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what his future would be like with top-tier soul engineers supporting him. Ju Zi believed that her son would be very talented in the future.

    Ju Zi stood quietly at her window, while her flowing yellow dress that stretched over the ground sufficiently disyed her majesty and elegance. She wore a crown adorned with all kinds of beautiful jewels on her forehead, while she revealed a single dash of white in front of her chest.

    Her hands were interlocked with her palms facing inward as she ced them on her abdomen. Her gaze went through the window in front of her as she stared at the clean night sky.

    She had been standing here for an entire hour, and she maintained this position from the beginning to the end, without moving an inch. There was some moisture on her long eyebrows, like her eyebrows were decorated with water crystals.

    ¡°Why did you have to tell me!¡± She muttered under her breath.

    ¡°Why did you have to tell me that you won¡¯t return for another few years?¡±

    ¡°Do you know the pressure that you give me when you¡¯re around, and that the hatred in my heart is also suppressed.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not around, and you¡¯re never by my side.¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to trust me? Why?¡±

    Tears rolled down her face, slipped across her exquisite chin and dripped down onto the ground. There seemed to be unlimited pain in her eyes.

    She seemed to make a very difficult decision after a long time, and she closed her eyes as her tears stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuhao.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The entire cavern had been filled with dark red colors. Tang Wutong, who was sitting in a corner with her legs crossed, was radiating a faint golden light that separated herself from the dark red colors. She was sitting there like a beautiful statue, and the golden sun and purple moon behind her flickered faintly, but were still iplete. She was in deep meditation, and she no longer felt anything about the outside world.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire face had be dark red, and frightening dark red patterns that were like tentacles stretched from his face, down through his neck, and straight for his chest.

    The dark red hues that were permeating across the entire cavern wereing from him. The enormous dark red eye behind his back hadpletely turned into the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s appearance. More urately put, it was a miniature Evileye Tyrant King.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to have lost all consciousness, and his breathing was so thin that it almost wasn¡¯t there. The Ice Empress¡¯ figure behind him had disappearedpletely, and there was only some bluish-green light that flickered incessantly beneath his chest.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea waspletely red, and there were only several fine golden patterns that could barely be seen within his dark red spiritual sea.

 Chapter 611.1 - The True Mastermind

    <h4 ss>Chapter 611.1: The True Mastermind</h4>

    An enormous vertical eye was hovering above his spiritual sea like a dark red sun, and its tentacles were wrapping itself around Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core. Those tentacles didn¡¯t force their way inside, but circled around it, and the frightening spiritual undtions caused Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea to be at least twice asrge. But clearly, that strength no longer belonged to Huo Yuhao.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s aura had filled Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire spiritual sea, and his formidable spiritual undtions almost seemed material.

    The final moments were imminent, and the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s heart was brimming with excitement.

    Such a long time had passed, and the Evileye Tyrant King hadn¡¯t felt any resistance from Huo Yuhao even when he had dominated his entire spiritual sea. Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t possibly resist at a time like this even if he wanted to. What could Huo Yuhao use to resist the Evileye Tyrant King? Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core almost couldn¡¯t muster any more spiritual power.Once I control his spiritual soul core and infuse my spiritual origin into it, then this possession will have reached its final stages.

    The Evileye Tyrant King was very satisfied with this body. At least, there was never any other human who had a body that could match this from his experience.

    Huo Yuhao had a perfect body, and his element was perfect. More importantly, he was still young!

    Youth was almost more important than strength for an aging soul beast who had more than seven hundred thousand years of cultivation! The Evileye Tyrant King could cultivate based on his experience if the possessed body wasn¡¯t strong enough, but if the body wasn¡¯t young enough, everything would be meaningless. Huo Yuhao was only a little more than twenty years old, but he was already an Ultimate Douluo, and he was going for an unprecedented third soul core. How could the Evileye Tyrant King not be satisfied with that?

    ¡°Let it begin! Huo Yuhao, your body will belong to me after this.¡± The Evileye Tyrant Kingunched his final invasion as heughed hysterically.

    Dark red waves surged within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea, and the turbulent tides and frightening spiritual power reached every corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea.

    The golden patterns that were already few in number were disappearing at an rming speed, and it wouldn¡¯t take more than a few breaths before any traces of Huo Yuhao would vanish.

    All the tentacles tightened, and wrapped themselves around Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core that was rotating rapidly immediately slowed because of those tentacles, and spun slower and slower.

    Terrifying spiritual power released immense pressure at the same time and suppressed Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, not giving him a chance to turn the tables. Dark red lines and patterns began to stretch down Huo Yuhao¡¯s neck like veins, and continued down his entire body.

    The vertical eye on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead hadpletely transformed into an Evil Eye, which was very vile and sinister.

    The possession¡¯s final step, domination!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s aura was almostpletely undetectable in this moment, like there was nothing he could do to change anything.

    Tang Wutong was sitting opposite Huo Yuhao, and strangely, the corner of her mouth curved into a gentle smile.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s projection was right behind Huo Yuhao, and that enormous eye had been observing Tang Wutong from the beginning to the end. He had to pay attention to her. Even though she couldn¡¯t stop what was happening within Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, there was one thing she could do: she could kill him.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body was very weak during the possession process. If Tang Wutong chose to kill him during this process, then everything the Evileye Tyrant King had done before this would have been meaningless.

    That was an important reason why the Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t hold back as he projected his spiritual power outward, and continued to monitor Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong didn¡¯t appear like she was doing anything from the beginning to the end, like she waspletely absorbed in her deep meditation. She naturally couldn¡¯t stop what was about to happen in such a state, but why, at such a crucial moment, was she smiling?

    An indescribable fear immediately appeared within the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s mind. He was a renowned ruthless character of his generation after all, and he didn¡¯t think about any underlying reasons at a time like this at all as he used his full strength to raise his spiritual power to the strongest possible level as he attacked Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core. Everything could only develop in his favor once he dominated Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core.

    Huo Yuhao had kept his cool, but right at this moment, his body suddenly trembled. The Evileye Tyrant King suddenly felt a joyous sensation in this moment.

    This happiness was like that of a night of consummation, or the announcement of winning top marks in an examination. That happiness came from his inner heart, and happiness like that was inexplicably contagious. The existence of this sensation was what caused all the dark red colors within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea to pause. The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power was excited and waltzing around amid this happiness, like he had lost control over his spiritual power.

    The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s expression changed drastically, but his heart was still filled with that intense happiness.What¡­ what¡¯s happening?The Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t understand what was happening at all.Why am I suddenly developing this sensation?

    The joyous atmosphere suddenly changed at this moment. Anger took over, and caused the dark red seawater to rile up turbulently.

    Dark red pirs of water surged into the sky one after another, like they had gone crazy, and they began sting in all directions. Some of them rushed towards the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual origin, while some others surged towards Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core.

    The Evileye Tyrant King was now truly ovee with fear. He was panicking, yet he was brimming with fury.Why? Why is this happening? Hasn¡¯t hepletely abandoned his spiritual sea? Why does he seem to have control over his spiritual sea at a time like this? Why? Why is all of this happening?

    Nobody could answer his question, and the only thing he could feel at a time like this was that fury in his mind.

    Grief came after anger, and all the hysteria seemed to disappear in an instant. The dark red spiritual sea settled down, but it was filled with boundless grief.

    Those long tentacles gradually slipped down from Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core because of that grief, and they quivered faintly as they limped weakly, like they were sobbing children.

    Everything settled down within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea in this moment, but specks of golden light appeared amid the dark red colors.

    Bliss came after grief. Yes, that was endless joy. However, this blissfulness didn¡¯t belong to the Evileye Tyrant King, but to Huo Yuhao instead.

    That was a kind of bliss that came from the bottom of his heart, the kind that was very contagious. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core began to rotate with unprecedented speed amid all that bliss, and dense spiritual undtions immediately enabled his spiritual soul core to radiate with golden light that shone over his entire spiritual sea. The dark red colors were reced with eye-catching reddish-gold hues.

    Fear. There was only endless fear left in the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s heart. The unknown would always be the most frightening, and everything that he was experiencing was unknown to him, despite his seven hundred thousand years of cultivation.

    Faint light flickered in the air continuously, and two silhouettes quietly glimmered into view beside Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core, and they were also radiating with blissful emotions.

    That was the Skydream Iceworm and the Mermaid Princess.

    They emanated gentle spiritual undtions, and their eyes were filled with disdain and contempt as they stared at the Evileye Tyrant King.

    A vigorous icy beam suddenly surged into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea without warning right at this moment. Everything that this icy beam touched froze, and this icy beam froze almost the entire dark red sea. Even the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual origin had been frozen.

    A beautiful figure appeared quietly within Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea. White ribbons trapped the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual origin, and her face flowed with faint smiles as rising icy mists froze everything in ce.

    The Snow Empress!

    The Snow Empress had been holding back for a long time, and she finally made her move.

    The Evileye Tyrant King didn¡¯t even know that the Snow Empress wasn¡¯t inside Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. From his perspective, Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits had been suppressed along with his spiritual sea. Only the Ice Empress had managed to escape outside, and she had already burned her power to save him.

    But what about the Snow Empress? The Snow Empress had been waiting outside quietly from the beginning to the end, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Except, the Evileye Tyrant King couldn¡¯t see her. The Snow Empress was outside the cavern, while Tang Wutong¡¯s aura concealed her, and she didn¡¯t reveal her aura at all. But at this moment, she was back!

    ¡°Evileye, you should be able to see the oue as things have developed until now. I should thank you for giving everything you have to my spiritual sea. If not for that, I would probably have needed at least ten years to increase my spiritual sea to a size that could sustain my third soul core¡¯s fusion. Therefore, I must thank you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice finally reappeared after being silent for so long. His voice was gentle and calm, and he didn¡¯t show any emotions at all.

    ¡°You! This is all part of your n?¡± The Evileye Tyrant King was both astonished and furious!

 Chapter 611.2 - The True Mastermind

    <h4 ss>Chapter 611.2: The True Mastermind</h4>

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°I was in my most difficult time when you firstunched your attack. When that happened, your spiritual power was in my brain, and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s immense soul power started revolting because I had used too much soul power. I was in trouble both from the outside and from the inside, and I could have crumbled at any moment. It was almost impossible for me to turn things around with my own strength. Then, you appeared.¡±

    ¡°Your biggest mistake was that you wanted to preserve my body too much. Therefore, you didn¡¯t attack my spiritual soul core as soon as was possible, and chose to control me instead, while assimting my spiritual sea at the same time. You did that because you were afraid that attacking my spiritual soul core would cause me to lose control over my soul power, and if that happened, you could only apany me as we blew up together.¡±

    ¡°That is all true. If you had chosen to attack my spiritual soul core instead, we would have perished together in the end. Fortunately, you didn¡¯t do that, and I have to thank you for that. You were unwilling to die, and so am I, because I still wish to apany my lover for all of eternity. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°I borrowed the Ice Empress¡¯ strength to temporarily seal Long Xiaoyao¡¯s violent and vigorous soul power as I readjusted and realigned my body at the same time. I didn¡¯t have any strength to retaliate against you at that point, and that was also when you had your greatest opportunity. If you had chosen to attack my spiritual soul core before using your formidable power to take over my body as quickly as possible, you might havepleted your possession. But you were too paranoid because I wasn¡¯t retaliating, and you reacted logically by attempting to dominate my spiritual sea for stability. Under normal circumstances, your decision would have been right, but I¡¯m different from normal people. My spiritual sea is no longer within human boundaries, because there is an aura from another world contained within it. Therefore, I wasn¡¯t afraid of you dominating my spiritual sea from the beginning to the end, because you cannot possibly be my spiritual sea¡¯s true master, and neither can you wipe out my consciousness.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, I reacted ording to what you were hoping for. I struggled for a few moments before I stopped, while I concentrated on my own soul power, to control it.¡±

    ¡°My effort over that period of time finally allowed me topletely withdraw and stabilize the disorganized and messy soul power within my body, and I even managed to gain control over some of Long Xiaoyao¡¯s soul power. My situation waspletely stabilized, while you also gave me a pleasant surprise because you integrated your spiritual origin into my spiritual sea. I initially believed that only mypanions, my Spirits, could do so, but it turned out that you could, too. Therefore, I have to thank you. Right now, I have wholly absorbed my ninth soul ring that you¡¯ve given me, and my spiritual power has exceeded that of any living being on the continent. Not even the Beast God, Di Tian, canpete with me in that respect. I believe that your spiritual power was probably at around the same standard even during your strongest times. Therefore, I must thank you.¡±

    ¡°I know you really wish to ask, how have I done all this? I should tell you, too, because you will die with unresolved grievances otherwise. What you just felt was happiness, anger, sorrow, and bliss. You felt the power of emotions, as my spiritual sea contains power that doesn¡¯t belong to this world: a godly seed. The God of Emotions has set his eyes upon me and my talents, and he¡¯s given me this opportunity. How can you dominate my spiritual sea with this godly seed around?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Evileye Tyrant King was over the top with fury, and his enormous Evil Eye radiated ck waves. However, how could he fight against the Snow Empress, who had also burned her spiritual sense to integrate herself into Huo Yuhao? The Snow Empress was third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and the Evileye Tyrant King would have had a hard time defeating her even during his strongest times, not to mention under these circumstances.

    A short de that was emanating faint mist hovered in midair, and the de was pointed downwards. Icy-blue sword light pointed right at the enormous Evil Eye projected in the sky.

    The Evil Eye had lost all color and liveliness, and there were only grey hues deep within his pupil: the color of hopelessness and defeat!

    Chilly sword light descended upon the Evil Eye mercilessly and brutally pierced into it. Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power, which had been held back over so many days, finally erupted.

    Those whirlpools that were mixed with spiritual power and soul power rose once more, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core guided them as they swiftly rushed into his spiritual sea.

    Whirlpools appeared one after another inside his dark red spiritual sea, and golden specks of light dispersed in all directions. Happiness, anger, sorrow, and bliss switched in between one another and suppressed the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power to the point that he couldn¡¯t control his own spiritual power effectively anymore. The Evileye Tyrant King could only look on as golden light fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea continuously, and his Morning Dew Dagger¡¯s icy radiance was breaking down and disintegrating the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s frozen spiritual sense piece by piece.

    Tang Wutong, who was sitting opposite Huo Yuhao with her legs crossed, opened her eyes and watched as the dark red patterns over Huo Yuhao¡¯s face gradually receded. The Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s projection behind his back dissipated, and she heaved a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes once more. This time, she no longer worried about anything as she entered deep meditation.

    ¡­¡­

    Three yearster.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s capital, Star Luo City.

    The sky was grey, and the stench of smoke and gunpowder permeated the air. The heavens were dim and gloomy, and dark clouds threatened to shower the city with a monsoon.

    Less than a third of Star Luo City¡¯s northern city walls were still standing, but defensive perimeters of soul tools could still be seen. The other three sides had the same setup as soul tools resembled a forest of metal as they protected the city.

    However, there was an evenrger and denser forest of metal outside this one.

    Fifty kilometers to Star Luo City¡¯s west, and fifty kilometers to Star Luo City¡¯s north, the air was filled with insidious murderousness, and all kinds of surveince soul tools dotted the skies. They were all pointed toward Star Luo City.

    Vast patches of soul tools that formed numerous soul tool fronts stretched across the earth, and they resembled an immense pincer that could pinch down on Star Luo City at any moment.

    Star Luo City was the three native empires¡¯ final defensive line. Yes, the city was theirst defense.

    The Heavenly Soul Empire was destroyed more than three years ago.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Emperor, Xu Tianran, had suddenly passed away not long afterward, and the crown prince, Xu Yunhan, ascended to the throne. The War God Empress ruled the empire on the new Emperor¡¯s behalf.

    The continent weed a period of peace that didn¡¯t evenst a year. When everyone believed that the Sun Moon Empire had descended into disarray and chaos to the point that the war would be dyed for another few years, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s great armiesunched another invasion without warning over two years ago.

    The Sun Moon Empire had deployed eight soul engineer legions, who had discreetly followed the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s northern borders towards the east and eventually broke through the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s northern borders. They ambushed the Dou Ling Empire so quickly that they couldn¡¯t even react.

    The invincible soul engineer legions used but eighteen days to fight their way outside Dou Ling City¡¯s gates.

    Dou Ling City was broken before Shrek City¡¯s reinforcements could arrive. Xue Lingxun took her remaining troops and escaped, and rendezvoused with Shrek City¡¯s soul engineer legions as they retreated continuously after consistent defeats.

    The War God Empress, Ju Zi, personally led seven other soul engineer legions and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s four hundred thousand-strong army toward the Ming Dou Mountain Range, which was on the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western border. The Sun Moon Empire unleashed a heavy bombardment against the Ming Dou Mountain Range thatsted for ten days, and forced the Star Luo Empire to mobilize their main forces towards the western regions to defend themselves so that they couldn¡¯t reinforce the Dou Ling Empire.

    In an attempt to break the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s pincer attack, the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao had personallymanded three legions of soul masters to ambush the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies along the Star Luo Empire¡¯s northern borders that had once belonged to the Heavenly Soul Empire. However, he suffered an irrevocable defeat as the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s first batch of linked defensive soul tools supported by high-energypression array soul tools unleashed their immense power along the Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s borders, and they repelled the White Tiger Duke¡¯s ambush just like that.

    The Dou Ling Empire had Shrek Academy¡¯s help, and they finally stabilized their southern regions into a standoff against the Sun Moon Empire. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s three hundred thousand soldiers that came a monthter entered the Dou Ling Empire through the Heavenly Soul Empire and consolidated their dominated territories, and theypletely conquered Dou Ling City, along with more than half of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s territories.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s invasion wasunched on all fronts, while the War God Empress, Ju Zi, personallymanded the three armies.

    Three gaping holes were blown through the Ming Dou Mountain Range one monthter, and the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies streamed in as they broke through the Star Luo Empire¡¯s defensive perimeters one after another with support from their soul engineer legions. They broke the Ming Dou Mountain Range and regained control over it.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s armies were beaten back continuously, and suffered heavy losses. Their five soul engineer legions that they had just established were almost utterly crippled as their inferior soul tool technology became the main reason for their defeat.

    The Dou Ling Empire managed to stabilize themselves with Shrek Academy¡¯s help on the other side. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything to push back against the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s formidable soul tool fronts.

    Shrek Academy couldn¡¯t be in two ces at once, and the academy couldn¡¯t support both empires at the same time. They could only choose to reinforce the Dou Ling Empire, because the empire was in an extremely dire situation.

    The continent descended into another impasse, but both the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire didn¡¯t know that Ju Zi¡¯s true motive wasn¡¯t to dominate the entire continent in one go. The Sun Moon Empire mobilized many workers and smiths after they dominated the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s northern regions, and they began excavating the mines and metals that they had discovered around the borders between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire under two beast-ranked soul engineer legions¡¯ protection.

    Large volumes of rare metals were transported back to the Sun Moon Empire, and they were used to build and improve upon all kinds of soul tools.

    The Sun Moon Empire reduced their budget on researching and building stationary soul cannon shells. Instead, they diverted their resources and budget towards high-energypression array soul tools. They decreased the size of their high-energypression array soul tools continuously while maintaining their strength as much as possible at the same time.

    Six monthster, Kong Deming led the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s Worship Hall as they achieved another breakthrough in their soul tool technology. They mastered the art of absorbing and storing light, and they absorbed and stored sunlight to be persistent and longsting fuel for their high-energypression array soul tools. Their equipment was oversized and clumsy even though they could store sunlight for a long time, but even so, they opened a new door for their soul tool technology.

 Chapter 611.3 - The True Mastermind

    <h4 ss>Chapter 611.3: The True Mastermind</h4>

    The Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire were clueless about that, and they could only develop their soul tools as much as possible with Shrek Academy¡¯s help so that they could attempt a fight to the death with the Sun Moon Empire in the future.

    One year ago.

    The Sun Moon Empire had suddenlyunched a fierce attack from the Ming Dou Mountain Range against the Star Luo Empire without any warning, and they mobilized twelve soul engineer legions with more than five hundred thousand soldiers. Thy only kept four soul engineer legions and two hundred thousand soldiers at the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s side, relying on their high-energypression array soul tools for defense.

    The Star Luo Empire suffered continuous defeats. The White Tiger Duke was a renownedmander of his generation, but his army¡¯s strength was at an absolute disadvantage, and he couldn¡¯t do much to retaliate. The Sun Moon Empire used but a month to conquer vast patches ofnd in the Star Luo Empire¡¯s western territory, and more than half of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s territory ended up in their enemy¡¯s hands.

    Shrek City¡¯s three soul engineer legions and Shrek Academy¡¯s powerful individuals arrived in the nick of time, and they brought new soul tools that the Tang Sect had invented and improvised. They were barely able to block the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ferocious invasion in the end.

    But nobody expected that, at a time like this, a single army with a few hundred people appeared inside the Dou Ling Empire like they had torn through space.

    More urately put, there were three hundred people. However, these three hundred had a legendary reputation: they were the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion! They were the Hand that Protects the Nation¡¯s thumb, and the only emperor-ranked soul engineer legion across the entire continent. Every one of them was equipped with a human-shaped soul tool, and each individual could reach a ss 8 soul engineer¡¯s standard. Four ss 9 soul engineers were at the helm, and they dealt the heaviest blow to the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s defending armies.

    This diversion wasn¡¯t that impressive, but because their overall strength was at an absolute advantage, this simple tactic achieved excellent results.

    Ju Zi made use of the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire¡¯s inertial thinking. From everyone¡¯s perspective, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion was a formidable and intimidating force, but their most important job was the protect Radiant City. But nobody considered the fact that Radiant City no longer needed protection with the current situation that the continent was in. Ju Zi discreetly mobilized the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion under such circumstances, and she deployed the legion onto the battlefield.

    They aplished their mission, and with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Legion at the helm of several soul engineer legions stationed inside the Dou Ling Empire cooperating with them, and in addition to the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s two hundred thousand soldiers, they pushed the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s armies back irrevocably. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s armies could no longer stop the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s forward march.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s greatest advantage had always been their control over surveince and intel. They relied on their absolute dominance in high altitude aerial surveince soul tools. The Star Luo Empire and Shrek Academy only received this news a monthter, and less than a hundred thousand of the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s remaining armies retreated out of the Dou Ling Empire under Xue Lingxun¡¯s leadership, entering Shrek City¡¯s territory. Only then did the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies stop their pursuit.

    Ju Zi had been keeping her promise to Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao¡¯s one-versus-ten challenge seemed to give everyone an extremely deep impression, and no matter how the war had developed, Shrek Academy was never attacked. This time was no exception, either. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering chased the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s remaining armies out of their own territory, and they conquered the entire Dou Ling Empire before they immediately withdrew their forces and returned to the Dou Ling Empire. They stationed their forces near the borders and constructed soul tool fronts. At this point, the Dou Ling Empire was no more; the Sun Moon Empire hadpletely conquered the Dou Ling Empire.

    The entire Star Luo Empire was devastated when they heard that nightmarish news. The Dou Ling Empire¡¯s destruction meant that the Sun Moon Empire was about to concentrate all their strength against them. How could the Star Luo Empire fight the Sun Moon Empire with their current strength? Their nation¡¯s destruction was but a matter of time.

    What happened subsequently proved that fact. The Sun Moon Empire paused their invasion after conquering the Dou Ling Empire, and it was evident that they were umting strength while consolidating their conquered territories.

    The Sun Moon Empire also began to change their tactics. They no longerunched frontal assaults, but they started to disperse their armies as they surrounded the Star Luo Empire from the Sun Moon Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Dou Ling Empire¡¯s borders. The Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t want to conquer the Star Luo Empire in one go, but they continuously assimted and ate into the Star Luo Empire¡¯s territory.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s overall strength was considered to be the strongest among the three native empires, but how much of their strength could they disy under such circumstances?

    Shrek Academy was supporting them as much as they could, but the academy¡¯s strength was limited. They could defend a city, but protecting an entire nation was just too difficult.

    Three years had gone by as the war progressed, ever since Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong went missing. Much of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s southernnds ended up in their enemy¡¯s hands, and circumstances were simr for the empire¡¯s other regions. The only area that was still within the Star Luo Empire¡¯s control was the area around Star Luo City, as more than eighty percent of the empire¡¯s territory ended up in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s hands.

    Everyone knew at this point that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s position to unite the entire continent was irreversible, but the Star Luo Empire was still hanging on by a thread as much as they could, and they were unwilling to give up even if there was but a single ounce of hope left.

    The Sun Moon Empire finallypleted their encirclement, which was the current situation, half a month ago, and they finallyunched their third ferocious invasion.

    Soul tools had be mainstream on the battlefield after so many years of war. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s research had already enabled them to use soul tools without soul power, and even normal soldiers could be equipped with soul tools in the near future. This was a byproduct of high-energypression array soul tools and their ability to utilize sunlight.

    A war with soul tools was a war of attrition, and a war of how many soul tools and reserves both sides could afford to lose. The Star Luo Empire could defend themselves temporarily, but they were but a single city in their current situation, but they were up against the entire continent!

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies were at the gates, and Star Luo City¡¯s millions of citizens were mired in a stifling atmosphere every day. The Star Luo Empire was left with four hundred thousand soldiers, the rest had either been annihted or had deserted to be part of the Sun Moon Empire. On the other side, the Sun Moon Empire had surrounded Star Luo City with a million soldiers, and their forces included the Hand that Protects the Nation, whichprised the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, and the Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion. Their main forces on the battlefield consisted of eighteen soul engineer legions.

    The Sun Moon Empire had already established many soul tool fronts, and there were eight miniature high-energypression array soul tools among them. They had been charging and storing sunlight over the past two weeks, and they were preparing to deal the heaviest possible blow to Star Luo City.

    Inside Star Luo City¡¯s royal pce.

    The great hall was deathly quiet.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor sat on the throne, but his face was ghastly pale, and his eyes were vacant. Everyone could see the kind of burden and pressure he was under from his dry, cracked lips, and the dark circles under his eyes.

    There were people who were seated beneath him, and one of them was Shrek Academy¡¯s Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s expression was calm, but his eyes were very dim and gloomy. Shrek Academy¡¯s individuals were seated beneath him, and the elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion all had a seat.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s strongest individuals stood behind these elders. Bei Bei took the lead as Tang Ya, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Ye Guyi, Ji Juechen, Nan Qiuqiu, Jing Ziyan, and even Xuan Ziwen and Gao Dalou, along with the Soul Tool Hall¡¯s other individuals, were all present. Shrek Academy¡¯s elites were almost all gathered in this ce.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s subjects and officials sat on the other side, and the White Tiger Duke sat at the helm. Princess Jiujiu was d in armor as she sat beneath him.

    Princess Jiujiu¡¯s expression was equally pale, and she was overwhelmed with fatigue. The war had continued for almost two years, and she had witnessed her enemies assimte her country¡¯s territory continuously. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the pressure she was feeling.

    The White Tiger Duke was evidently a lot older and frailer than before, and his hair and beard had turned white. He was only a little over fifty years old, and he was also a Titled Douluo. ording to normal circumstances, he should be in his prime!

    ¡°Haih¡­¡± The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor heaved a long sigh as he slowly stood up from his throne.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The various subjects and officials bowed, and their voices quivered as they spoke.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor, Xu Jiawei, waved his hand and said, ¡°Let us not kid ourselves anymore. Star Luo City¡¯s defeat is but a matter of time. My beloved subjects, you have contributed much to the empire beside me over the years. Our defeat in this war is a result of the changing times. I consider myself industrious, but there is a gap which has resulted because of our stubbornness and refusal to advance with the times over a few thousand years. We have discovered this problem, but we are no longer able to change the situation. I am Emperor to a nation, so let me take responsibility for these mistakes. At ease, my dear subjects. Take as many family members as you can, leave the Star Luo Empire, and submit to the Sun Moon Empire. I will never fault you for that.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± An elderly white-haired official howled agonizingly as he went onto his knees with tears rolling down his face. ¡°Your Majesty, I swear to live and die with the country!¡±

    Many subjects and officials went down on their knees, but the White Tiger Duke wasn¡¯t among them. There were some others who didn¡¯t kneel with sparkles in their eyes.

    Dai Hao¡¯s expression was solemn and serious. ¡°Your Majesty, we should only boost our army¡¯s morale, not reduce it. We will protect Your Majesty¡¯s safety, even if ites to sacrificing everyst soldier.¡±

    Xu Jiawei shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that we shouldn¡¯t lie to ourselves anymore. I am very aware of how dire our situation is, and everyone else is equally aware. Pass my order, Dai Hao, to open the eastern and southern gates so that our citizens may leave. We will not hold those who wish to surrender.¡±

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor had relinquished hisst hope with those words.

 Chapter 612.1 - Pressure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 612.1: Pressure</h4>

    Elder Xuan was silent, and didn¡¯t say anything at all. In his heart, he was even a little in awe of the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor. He was very clear. He was right. Given the current circumstances, even Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t do anything, even though he was an Ultimate Douluo. The city¡¯s fate was sealed, and couldn¡¯t be reversed.

    Dai Hao was a hero, but he was born in the wrong time. He couldn¡¯t fully unleash his abilities as amander, as he was suppressed by soul tool technology. He could only watch as the Sun Moon Empire suppressed the Star Luo Empire through their absolute advantage in terms of soul tool technology.

    Although the Tang Sect and Xuan Ziwen were in Shrek City, Xuan Ziwen was only one man! How could he challenge an entire empire and its thousands of years of history? He had also grown much older over the past few years. Even though he was already a Titled Douluo, he was simply drained too much everyday.

    The Tang Sect¡¯s soul tool technology had been growing. It was already close to mainstream soul tool technology. However, whether it was in terms of resources, production ability, scale or research capabilities, it was still inferior to the Sun Moon Empire. These were irreversible.

    Should I really let the Sun Moon Empire rule the continent?Elder Xuan shut his eyes painfully.

    Although the Sun Moon Empire didn¡¯t attack Shrek City eventually, there still seemed to be a huge rock on Elder Xuan¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ll leave first. I¡¯ll serve you in my next life.¡± One official turned around and left. Tears were streaming down his face.

    One person was fine. However, there couldn¡¯t just be one official standing here! If they didn¡¯t think for themselves, they still had to think for their families.

    With the first came the second.

    In just a little while, more than half the court was already gone.

    Xu Jiaweiughed mockingly and slowly came in front of Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Elder Xuan!¡± He bent down and bowed to Elder Xuan.

    Elder Xuan raised his hands and lifted him up with gentle soul power. At the same time, Xu Jiawei also stood up. It wasn¡¯t just his respect for an Emperor. It was his respect for an Emperor who treasured life.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±

    Xu Jiawei sighed and said, ¡°I represent the Star Luo Empire. Thank you, Shrek Academy. Thank you, Tang Sect. Without both of you, the Star Luo Empire would have been destroyed. Thanks. However, things have finallye to an end. Elder Xuan, you and the others from the academy and the sect should leave too. After all, the academy is independent. It doesn¡¯t belong to any empire. You¡¯ve already gone to such lengths for the Star Luo Empire. We are grateful for that. But you can¡¯t continue. It might enrage the Sun Moon Empire. The Star Luo Empire can die, but Shrek Academy can¡¯t. Shrek is where the true legacy of the Douluo empires lie.¡±

    Elder Xuan furrowed his brow and sighed heavily. He knew Xu Jiawei was right. Just like the officials who had left, Elder Xuan could ignore his own plight, but he was still the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion. He had to think for the million people in Shrek City! Moreover, there were still troops from the Dou Ling Empire in Shrek City. The remaining royal family members of the Dou Ling Empire were all in Shrek.

    ¡°Your Majesty, even though Shrek isn¡¯t capable of protecting the Star Luo Empire, we can still lead the royal family back to Shrek if you are willing to do so. You can find an opportunity to rise again in the future. How about that?¡±

    Xu Jiaweiughed and shook his head. He replied, ¡°No. The Sun Moon Empire has upied too muchnd. Shrek City is only a city. If the empire wants to exert pressure, it doesn¡¯t even need to attack. It just has to cut off all supply routes, so that Shrek City bes helpless. Elder Xuan, let me give you a word of advice. After you return, ask the Dou Ling and Heavenly Soul Empire¡¯s royal families to dismiss their troops. In that way, Shrek can still survive. Otherwise, even Shrek City can¡¯t protect them.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Xu Jiawei suddenly kneeled down in front of Elder Xuan.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what are you doing?¡± Elder Xuan gave way and was astonished as he looked at the Emperor. From his earlier words, Elder Xuan could tell that he was superior to the Emperors of both the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires. This was probably also why the Star Luo Empire was thest to be destroyed.

    ¡°Elder Xuan, I have a request.¡± Xu Jiawei could no longer call himself the Emperor now.

    As he said this, not only was his expression serious, but it was also filled with an indescribable sense of persistence.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please tell me.¡± Elder Xuan replied respectfully.

    Xu Jiawei said, ¡°After the Sun Moon Empire conquers the continent and changes it to the Sun Moon Continent, I hope that you nt a seed of revenge for the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. In the future, our future generations will change the name back one day.¡±

    When he said this, everyone¡¯s expressions changed.

    The name of the Douluo Continent had already been around for thousands of years. Was it really going to change now?

    The few officials that had walked out of the hall stopped in their tracks. They unwittingly clenched their fists.

    Elder Xuan¡¯s body shook. His eyes brightened.

    ¡°If the Sun Moon Empire really changes the name of the continent, I swear that I¡¯ll make sure the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s royal lineage will never carry on. This is even if it catalyzes widespread chaos!¡±

    The name of the Douluo Continent had been around for thousands of years. It carried the desire of every soul master too. How could it be tarnished just like this?

    An empire could fall, but the name of the continent must never change.

    Suddenly, the crowd in the hall were all very agitated. They all kneeled down in front of Elder Xuan.

    At this moment, a majestic voice sounded.

    ¡°Message from the War God Empress ¨C hand over the White Tiger Duke in three days. The Star Luo Empire can surrender, and deaths can be avoided. No looting will ur, no invasion will be carried out, and everything will remain as it is in Star Luo City. Otherwise, I¡¯ll wreak havoc!¡±

    When she mentioned the words ¡®wreak havoc¡±, huge soundwaves shook the entire city.

    The city could surrender only if the White Tiger Duke was surrendered?

    Why was this the condition? Even though the White Tiger Duke had been fighting the Sun Moon Empire these past few years, did they really have to fear him considering the absolute advantage they possessed?

    ¡°Report¡ª¡±

    A messenger ran in from the outside. ¡°Your Majesty, Star Luo City has been surrounded, and the northern and southern city gates have been sealed. The officials and their families who nned to defect to the Sun Moon Empire, as well as civilians, were all chased back into the city. No surrender is allowed. No one is allowed to leave the city.¡±

    When they heard these words, everyone around was horrified. Surrendering wasn¡¯t even an option?

    The White Tiger Duke gritted his teeth until they almost broke. He clenched his fists tightly. ¡°Bastard!¡±

    Xu Jiawei¡¯s facial muscles were also contorting. No matter what, he hadn¡¯t expected to be in such a state; he couldn¡¯t even surrender.

    Soundwaves were heard once again, just like before. Through the sound amplifiers carried by surveince soul tools, all of Star Luo City could hear this voice.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The White Tiger Duke kneeled on one knee. ¡°Please allow me to fight them myself. I won¡¯t surrender, but I¡¯m willing to fight until I die.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Xu Jiawei shouted at the top of his voice. ¡°You are a loyal official of this court. Without you, this empire will cease to exist. I can hand myself over, but I won¡¯t hand you over.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we aren¡¯t doomed yet.¡± At this moment, a slightly low-pitched and hoarse voice sounded.

    ¡°What?¡± Xu Jiawei subconsciously turned back. Someone walked out from the crowd behind Elder Xuan.

    When he walked out, both Xu Jiawei and the White Tiger Duke were stunned.

    They wouldn¡¯t be very bothered if it was someone else who said those words earlier. However, because it came from this person, it felt as if they had a glimmer of hope.

    ¡°Hallmaster Xuan, what good idea do you have?¡± Xu Jiawei asked anxiously.

    Yes, the person who had walked out from the crowd was the Hallmaster of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall.

    Xuan Ziwen looked much more elderly than before. He had been tirelessly researching over the past few years, but he was rarely involved with soul tool production now, especially over the past year or so. He was researching almost day in and day out. He only left hisboratory after the Star Luo Empire came under serious threat. He also brought the elites from the Soul Tool Hall out with him. However, he didn¡¯t cease his research. But no one knew what he had been researching.

    Xuan Ziwen was abnormally red. However, there was an excited look in his eyes. He said, ¡°Let those who have left leave. It¡¯s best to let go of the officials who can¡¯t weather the storm with you. Your Majesty, my research has seeded. The Sun Moon Empire won¡¯t be able to take advantage so easily.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The White Tiger Duke immediately stood up. His eyes brightened. There was a look of desire as he stared at Xuan Ziwen. He knew that this was perhaps thest hope for the Star Luo Empire.

    Sun Moon Empire base.

    Ju Zi was wearing fiery-red armor, and standing silently in front of themander¡¯s tent. She was looking at the Star Luo City¡¯s walls.

    Three years had passed. Time didn¡¯t have any effect on her. She was still as beautiful as ever.

    Thest ultimatum has been issued. I¡¯m only waiting for their reply now. From the current situation in the Star Luo Empire, they have no choice. The White Tiger Duke will most certainly surrender, given how loyal he is. In this way, I can kill fewer people when the city surrenders. In that case¡­

    As she thought until here, Ju Zi¡¯s body shuddered. An indescribable fear spread in her heart. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh.It¡¯s been three years. He has indeed not returned. However, I still feel very terrified when I think of him as I take down cities.

 Chapter 612.2 - Pressure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 612.2: Pressure</h4>

    Everything was about to be over. Once Star Luo City surrendered, thest remaining empire in the Douluo Continent would fall into her hands. Once she upied the Star Luo Empire, her mission would be done; the entire continent would be unified. When that happened, even if he returned, at most she would lose her life to him.

    When she thought until here, Ju Zi revealed a mncholic look in her eyes.Yuhao, did you know? I fear your return, but I also hope for you to return. Are you fine?

    Three dayster.

    The Sun Moon Empire Commander¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Has there been no response from Star Luo City?¡±Ju Zi sat in her seat, and appeared almighty.

    ¡°No.¡±The general who was kneeling in front of her answered respectfully.

    Over the past three years of war, Ju Zi¡¯s authority only became stronger and stronger. The entire Sun Moon Empire, whether it was civilians, schrs or officials, were all in admiration of the War God Empress. Under her rule, the Sun Moon Empire became very stable. Everything was in order, and the military was extremely effective. Most of the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires had be part of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Ju Zi slowly stood up, and a cold look shed across her eyes.¡°Wow, this White Tiger Duke is impressive. I¡¯ve judged you wrongly. Send my order¨Cassault from the northern city gates. I really want to see what they¡¯ll use to resist the onught of my army.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±Everyone shouted in unison. They were all excited. They were already out of patience. This was a good opportunity for them to achieve their goal! Star Luo City was just a ughterhouse in their eyes.

    The military signal echoed. A deep humming sound resonated across all of Star Luo City. The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s ten-plus soul engineer legions attacked at the same time. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion led the charge. The five soul engineer legions in the Hand that Protects the Nation rose into the sky. They formed a neat formation in the sky, coldly watching Star Luo City. On the ground, the various soul engineer legions were also prepared to unleash an all-out attack. All types of linked soul tools had already started to circte soul power. In other words, they were ready for a linked attack.

    After all the changes over the past few years, there was no longer any need to use ordinary soldiers at the frontline anymore. Cities were nothing in front of powerful soul tools. This was even applicable for a city like Star Luo City. No matter how tough and resilient it was, how could it possibly resist an attack from linked soul tools?

    At the top of Star Luo City¡¯s walls, soul tools were seen charging. The top and bottom of the city walls were quickly filled with Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and various other types of soul tools.

    The three soul engineer legions from Shrek were ready to attack. The Heavy Artillery Engineer Legion now had more than five hundred Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. It was also the main force resisting the Sun Moon Empire during the war. If not for the heavy artillery, they would have long since caved in.

    The linked defensive barriers in Star Luo City were also ready to be activated. In terms of soul tool technology, the Star Luo Empire was undoubtedly inferior to the Sun Moon Empire by a lot. However, when it came to the number of soul masters, the Star Luo Empire had the advantage. Its advantage was even veryrge.

    It wasn¡¯t just the soul masters of the Star Luo Empire that were gathered here. There were also some soul masters from the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires.

    Among the soul masters from the two empires, there was indeed a portion of them who had defected to the Sun Moon Empire. However, more of them ran to the Star Luo Empire, the only remaining haven in the Douluo Continent.

    As a result, the linked defensive barriers could be supported. This was also why Star Luo City could hang on until now.

    Of course, this was also because the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s high-energypressive array soul tools needed more time to be charged. Although light was unlimited, absorbing, transforming, filtering andpressing it required a long process. This was especially so because this technology was new.

    The various soul engineer legions in the Sun Moon Empire were already very experienced. Just as they closed in, balls of intense light were already starting to form in the sky.

    Star Luo City felt a little silent and lonely now. To the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, it was the city¡¯sst struggle. But it was a futile one.

    All five soul engineer legions of the Hand that Protects the Nation were high up in the sky. They were divided into five regions. They were usually not needed for the first strike. Their main purpose was to monitor the entire battlefield, and their role was to replenish a sector whenever there was a shortfall.

    Ju Zi was inside themander¡¯s tent. There were different types of soul tools at the side of the tent. These soul tools¡¯screens were connected to various aerial surveince soul tools, broadcasting the live situation on the battlefield. Ju Zi was thus able to analyze the fight and deploy her troops better.

    ¡°Weird. Why has the city not attacked using stationary shells, given how close we are?¡±Ju Zi was a little puzzled as she muttered.

    Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were the most important weapons to Star Luo City. They fired stationary shells. Their greatest advantage was their effective range. Because of this advantage, the gap between the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions and Star Luo City was controlled. While linked attacks were very strong, their effective range was not as farpared to stationary soul cannons. Even high-energypressive array soul tools were not as impressive. After all, these technologies were only developed in recent years, and had not been perfected yet.

    Right now, the various soul engineer legions were already around two and a half kilometers from Star Luo City. This was the best distance for stationary soul cannons. At the same time, it was also the maximum distance linked attacks could travel. The closer the soul engineer legions got, the more powerful their linked attacks would be.

    At this moment, the situation changed.

    Balls of dark green light rose into the sky from Star Luo City. After they rose into the air, they shone with a jade-green glow.

    There were not many balls of light, only slightly more than ten. They were also greatly scattered, and their soul power undtions weren¡¯t very strong.

    The strength of soul power undtions was determined by oscition detectors. No matter how strong the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were, it was still very dangerous for them to face ss 9 soul tools. This was why the various soul engineer legions immediately intercepted from afar using their linked soul tools the moment the oscition detectors determined whether there were ss 9 soul tools. Their strength was restrained as much as possible. In the previous fights, the advantage of these ss 9 soul tools had been properly demonstrated.

    However, it seemed to be different this time. The soul power undtions that came from those glowing balls weren¡¯t too strong. The strongest ones only came from ss 7 stationary soul cannons. Given the tier of this lineup of offensive soul tools, even the most ordinary of soul engineer legions could rely on their linked defensive barriers for protection.

    The linked offensive soul tools had already finished charging. The soul engineer legions were waiting to deal Star Luo City a heavy blow. After making a judgment, the various soul engineer legionmanders naturally gave the order not to intercept. They only opened up their defensive barriers. This was already enough for them.

    However, Ju Zi seemed to sense something. She suddenly shouted,¡°Quick, give the order to intercept¡­¡±

    She only managed to say this much before she turned much more serious as she looked at the screens in front of her. This was because her order came toote.

    Those balls of jade-green light exploded the moment they got close to the various soul engineer legions.

    Green lights scattered in the air. After this, Ju Zi was astonished to find that the several screens in front of her started to show distorted images.

    What was going on? Ju Zi was astonished. The rest of the generals were also stunned. This was their first time seeing something like this.

    The soul engineer legions on the battlefield were even more astonished.

    As the jade-green lights shone in the sky, the defensive barriers erected by the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were quickly dismantled. The linked attacks that they umted earlier were jumbled up. Streaks of light rose into the sky, but they were very chaotic.

    They were still not at an optimal distance to attack yet. Even if they fired one or two attacks, they couldn¡¯t pose any threat.

    When these linked attacks were jumbled up, the soul engineer legions were shocked to find that they could no longer form any linked attacks or defenses.

    Suddenly, the normally formidable Sun Moon Empire soul engineer legions were confused.

    Xuan Ziwen was standing arrogantly at the top of the city walls. There was a cold grin on his face.

    ¡°Linked soul tools are special because they are linked. Soul tools with simr frequencies are linked to attack or defend. However, what if I disrupt the frequencies? What if everything bes messy? I would like to see if you can still unleash linked attacks or defenses. This was your greatest advantage. And you are about to lose it.¡±

    Yes, this was Xuan Ziwen¡¯s newest research. It was something that was capable of changing the oue of a war.

    As the Hallmaster of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall and the strongest ss 9 soul engineer on the Douluo Continent, Xuan Ziwen was well-aware that he could notpare to the Sun Moon Empire. Under such a circumstance, how was the situation supposed to be changed?

    He was looking in this direction.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s greatest advantage came from linked soul tools. Once they were linked and there were sufficiently strong soul engineer legions operating them, they weren¡¯t even afraid of Ultimate Douluo.

 Chapter 612.3 - Pressure

    <h4 ss>Chapter 612.3: Pressure</h4>

    However, what would happen if there was no link? Could these soul engineers pool their strength? Their fighting strength would fall significantly. A soul engineer, unless he was ss 9, couldn¡¯t possibly fight a Titled Douluo.

    The Sun Moon Empire had quite a number of ss 9 soul engineers. However, this number was still smaller than the number of Titled Douluo in the three empires.

    Furthermore, without any linked attacks or defenses, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were no longer invincible.

    Because of this, Xuan Ziwen had decided to research the destruction of linked soul tools.

    He had finally seeded not long ago, and even turned his idea into reality. All the advanced-tier soul engineers in the Tang Sect were now involved in the production of such special soul tools.

    He had decided to call them stationary interference shells.

    It possessed the long-range characteristic of stationary shells. At the same time, it could cover a huge region, andst for a long time.

    Stationary interference shells were all-round devices. They generated strong yet chaotic undtions which were sufficient to interfere with the aerial surveince soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire. Most importantly, all linked soul tools would be disrupted through the undtions that were generated.

    The only thing that Xuan Ziwen was regretful about was that his research hade toote. If he had seeded when the war had just begun, the Sun Moon Empire would not have destroyed the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires. With the fighting strength of the soul master armies of the three empires, they would have been able to restrain the soul engineers.

    It was war-defining research! Linked soul tools were weak in the face of stationary interference shells. Of course, the Sun Moon Empire might be able toe up with interference-resistant soul tools in the future, if given enough time. However, that wasn¡¯t something that could bepleted in a day or two.

    Interfering was easy. Resisting the interference was much more difficult.

    ¡°Fire!¡± The White Tiger Duke had not been so excited for a long time. When he saw the linked attacks being fired in all directions, and that chaos had descended upon the soul engineer legions, he grew excited.

    All this while, the Star Luo Empire had been under the restraint of the Sun Moon Empire. As Marshal of the army, he felt helpless because of this. Today, he finally got to raise his fist because of this stationary interference shell. He could finallybat his enemies.

    Beams of light rose from Star Luo City. There were more than ten of them, and they were all headed towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions.

    Every beam of ring light was very powerful. Almost every soul engineer legion had to face the attack of one such beam of light.

    All the aerial surveince soul tools were a mess now. This was why they couldn¡¯t possibly judge how strong these beams of light were. The Star Luo Empire¡¯s counterattack had finally begun.

    These beams of light were thest remaining ss 9 stationary shells that were left in Shrek City, the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire!

    The White Tiger Duke had decided to use hisst trump card in this first wave of attack.

    He had no choice. The stationary interference shells would be very effective at the start. This time was also when the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army was at its messiest. ss 9 stationary shells were able to unleash their greatest strength without any linked defenses around. If they seeded, the entire situation of the war would change.

    Ju Zi had already rushed out from her tent by now. With the help of her guards and advanced-tier soul engineers, she quickly rose into the sky. She watched as the ring lights shot towards them.

    It was toote to stop them now. She couldn¡¯t even use sound transmission soul tools to give orders to the soul engineer legions.

    Right now, she was even panicking, although she was always one to stayposed. She hadn¡¯t expected the Star Luo Empire toe up with such a powerful soul tool to interfere with the linked and surveince soul tools. She was a little frantic. Now, the Sun Moon Empire could only rely on the responses of their various soul engineer legions.

    After all, the Sun Moon Empire had a strong foundation. The strength of soul tools and themand abilities of the various legionmanders had been well-demonstrated within the short amount of time they had.

    First, the five soul engineer legions of the Hand that Protects the Nation made a move. Beams of light fired from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    These beams of lights were indeed not a part of any linked attack. However, they still congregated together in the air and transformed into an attack. They weren¡¯t a linked attack, but the beams of light were still very close to one another as they fired at the ss 9 shelling towards them.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer was undoubtedly one of the strongest forces in the world now. Every soul engineer had a cultivation equivalent to a ss 8 soul engineer, and they were strengthened by human-shaped soul tools. Although there were only three hundred of them, theirbined attack still managed to detonate the ss 9 shell. At the same time, these soul engineers all activated their individual protective barriers. They let the shockwaves hit them and remained firm in their positions.

    The other four beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions used the same method. They were all located in different directions, and were each facing a ss 9 shell too.

    The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion managed to sessfully down one ss 9 shell. However, their overall abilities were still rather inferiorpared to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. Some of the soul engineers were flung away from the resulting shockwaves. Close to a hundred people fell from the sky. These people had been all standing at the front of the soul engineer legion.

    The Terrorw Soul Engineer Legion fared about as well as the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion. They had always been known for their defense. About fifty or sixty of them fell from the sky.

    But the Evileye Tyrant and Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legions were in a worse state.

    The Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion was known for their speed. Furthermore, it was once battered by Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. Although their members were quickly reced, the new members weren¡¯t as good as the ones before!

    The Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion was in a simr situation as the Evil Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion. It was under themand of the royal family. After Ju Zi gained authority, she suppressed the royal family. Along with the huge losses sustained by the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion many years ago, as well as the death of their legionmander, it was no longer as strong as it had been.

    This was why both soul engineer legions suffered heavily as they were caught off-guard. Only a third of their soul engineers survived.

    The situation on the ground was even more tragic.

    The ordinary soul engineers were much weakerpared to those from the Hand that Protects the Nation. Even though some of them tried to resist, it was very difficult for them to aim under the effect of the stationary interference shells.

    Balls of ring light blew apart in the air. A terrifying energy storm instantly raged.

    However, just as this round of explosions detonated, eight beams of light also shot from afar. They formed a barrier in the air that managed to protect some of the soul engineers.

    Stationary interference shells could disrupt linked soul tools, but they couldn¡¯t affect the attack and defense of a single soul tool.

    These eight beams of light came from the high-energypression array soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army had brought.

    These soul tools were directly operated by Kong Deming. Once he discovered the frightening effects of the stationary interference shells, he immediately reacted.

    Although he couldn¡¯t determine their exact positions through the aerial surveince soul tools, he relied on his own experience and memory to quickly fire thepression array soul tools.

    They were capable of attacking and defending, and he now used them to defend. This was because any attack would be futile right now, since Star Luo City was still far away. Intercepting the stationary shells required uracy, but the aerial surveince soul tools weren¡¯t working. As a result, using thepression array soul tools to defend now was the best option.

    Kong Deming¡¯s timely use of the soul tools was a blessing for the Sun Moon Empire.

    Terrifying explosions shook the entire sky. Lights of different colors shed all around Star Luo City. The booms that resonated caused the soldiers to temporarily lose their hearing. Even the sky was painted with all types of colors as the sunlight dimmed.

    This series of explosionssted for fifteen minutes before they slowly stopped.

    Ever since this war had started, this was probably the most intense moment. More than a dozen ss 9 stationary shells had been fired at the same time! How terrifying was that? Even the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t afford to attack so luxuriously.

    The battlefield became clear again after fifteen minutes.

    The defensive strength of thepression array soul tools was rather impressive. Although the protective barriers didn¡¯tpletely shield the soul engineers in the face of so many ss 9 shells, they still helped to arge extent.

    Four protective barriers were left intact. The other four werepletely crushed. On the ground, five out of the original twelve soul engineer legions had been wiped out. The other seven soul engineer legions had also sustained heavy losses.

    This round of attacks had caused the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions to lose a third of their fighting strength! This was the heaviest loss they had sustained since the war had begun.

    Ju Zi clenched her fists tightly as she drifted in mid-air. Even when the energy storm was at its most intense, she didn¡¯t descend to avoid it. She hadn¡¯t expected something like this at all.

 Chapter 613.1 - Submission

    <h4 ss>Chapter 613.1: Submission</h4>

    The Star Luo Empire relied on a single soul tool to change the entire situation. They brought massive losses to Ju Zi.

    Not only did her soul engineer legions lose a third of their fighting strength, but even the eightpression array soul tools were drained in the process of protecting them. That was also why they managed to minimize their losses.

    The generals that flew to Ju Zi¡¯s side were all pale-green right now.

    Ju Zi gritted her teeth as she said, ¡°Retreat!¡± Although she knew that Star Luo City would never be able to replicate such an attack, she had no choice right now.

    Although she had only seen them for a short time, she could urately tell that the green shells¡¯interference couldn¡¯tst forever. After the energy storm, they were already much weaker. They would disappear after some more time.

    More importantly, her troops¡¯morale was very low due to what had happened. They were in no state to fight right now. If the city had a backup n, it would be very difficult to deal with.

    A signal re was set off into the sky. However, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons also lit up at the same time.

    The stationary shells that Ju Zi was once eagerly waiting for rained down. They quickly engulfed the entire region.

    The five beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions, especially the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, yed a very big role at this point.

    The three hundred soul engineers in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion quickly dispersed under Ju Zi¡¯s orders. They turned into shes of light and charged towards the ground. Every one of them shone brightly with more than ten beams of light. They were using their individual strength to intercept the shells.

    Dazzling fireworks were set off in the sky. Bright lights shed. Every time there was an explosion of light, one would feel very mesmerized.

    The other beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions also reacted. They couldn¡¯t be bothered to mourn the death of theirpatriots now. They all joined in, and helped to intercept the stationary shells.

    The war had gone on for a few years. Star Luo City¡¯s reserves were limited too. After this attack, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions were finally out of their offensive range. However, they left behind more than four hundred corpses too.

    Seeing that the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers had retreated, everyone at the top of the city walls cheered.

    To the Sun Moon Empire, this was unprecedented. As for the Star Luo Empire, this was an unprecedented victory too.

    Victory left everyone excited. Xuan Ziwen¡¯s face was even flushing. His stationary interference shells had proven to be effective after a live experience!

    The White Tiger Duke was also excited. The losses that they had caused the Sun Moon Empire were beyond his expectations. If only the protective barriers erected by the high-energypression array soul tools weren¡¯t there! In that case, the soul engineer legions on the ground would have been wiped out.

    However, this was already good enough. Although Star Luo City¡¯s reserves in terms of soul tools had been greatly depleted, it was important to know that there were many soul masters here! As long as there were stationary interference shells, they were still very significant.

    Terrifying explosions ensued in the sky. Every beam of light formed streaks of dazzling glow. The fight entered a stalemate.

    However, the battlefield was already a mess.

    The soul engineers who were caught in the energy storm wouldn¡¯t have survived. Not even their corpses were left. This was the brutality of a fight involving soul tools.

    Sun Moon Empiremander¡¯s tent.

    Ju Zi was pale-green and silent for fifteen minutes. After this, she gave out a series of orders.

    All the ss 9 soul engineers gathered in themander¡¯s tent, including Kong Deming.

    ¡°We were unprepared this time. It must not happen again. Worshipped, we¡¯ll fight again tomorrow. Please be responsible for dealing with those interference shells. Tomorrow must not be like today.¡± Ju Zi said to the ss 9 soul engineers.

    Kong Deming furrowed his brow and said,¡°I hadn¡¯t expected the Star Luo Empire toe up with such a soul tool. With those interference shells, our strength has indeed been greatly weakened. I¡¯ve checked it out. Those interference undtions canst for more than thirty minutes. Even though it¡¯s not cheap to produce them, they are as powerful as ss 7 stationary shells. Given the Star Luo Empire¡¯s ability, they can still produce them in batches. These shells are also able to cover a huge region. That¡¯s why we saw what happened earlier. If we want to avoid any interference, it¡¯s impossible as of now. Our linked soul tools will still be affected. The best option we have now is to use stationary soul tools.¡±

    Ju Zi shook her head and replied,¡°No, we have no time. Our research on stationary soul tools has dropped over the past few years. We won¡¯t have time to deploy enough stationary shells. We can only rely on our current strength. White Tiger Duke, I would really like to see if you can resist the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army with those interference shells. Elder Kong, I¡¯ll need you to personally lead the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. What do you think?¡±

    Kong Deming nodded silently.

    The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was indeed very strong. However, there were still hidden problems behind this strength. Human-shaped soul tools had to be controlled using immense spiritual power. Given the current members of the legion, this was impossible. How did the legion possess such great strength then? It was because Kong Deming had invented a secret method, whereby life energy was drained as the price to pay. This helped to increase the soul engineers¡¯spiritual power greatly.

    This was why the individual abilities of those soul engineers in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were in fact only about five or six rings. They were able to be as strong as eight-ringed soul masters through human-shaped soul tools. However, the sacrifice was that their lives were much shorter than ordinary soul masters. None of them could live past fifty. At the same time, they were also very arrogant because they were powerful, and their spiritual power had been overly enhanced. Unless one was powerful enough, he couldn¡¯t control this legion. The true fighting strength of the legion could only be unleashed under Kong Deming¡¯s control. This was even more important after the Sun Moon Empire lost their linked soul tools.

    Without linked soul tools, they had to fight with their absolute strength. Ju Zi didn¡¯t think that Star Luo City could resist the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army with those interference shells.

    After all, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s overall abilities had grown too much over the past few years. The empire had also greatly unted its military strength. It had more than three million soldiers now. More than a million of them had been thrown into this war. This was at least twice the number the Star Luo Empire had. Furthermore, it had many soul engineer legions, soul tools and soul formations. Star Luo City didn¡¯t stand any chance at all. Unless the city had many more ss 9 shells, but that was impossible. ss 9 shells weren¡¯t so readily avable.

    The night was silent. The excitement in Star Luo City had long faded. Things were very busy in the city.

    Today marked an unprecedented victory for the Star Luo Empire. However, everyone also knew what a victorious fight like this meant. It meant that the empire now shared a deep enmity with the Sun Moon Empire. Once the war ended, no one would be spared.

    Given the circumstances they were in, everyone from the Star Luo Empire was united. It was only by fighting to the death, along with interference shells, that they could possibly survive.

    This was their only chance.

    Xu Jiawei couldn¡¯t sleep for the entire night. Dai Hao couldn¡¯t sleep. Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t sleep¡­

    When the first ray of sunlight shone from the east and bore down on Star Luo City, the city was covered by ayer of gold. A signal from the Sun Moon Empire also sounded.

    After one afternoon and night of rest, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s base was like a lion that had just awoken. That signal was like a lion¡¯s roar. It meant that the Sun Moon Empire was about to bare its sharp ws at Star Luo City.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army didn¡¯t charge at Star Luo City instantly. However, the entire base was moving.

    Looking over from Star Luo City, it was clear that the army was tearing down their soul tool formations.

    This only meant two things. Either they were retreating, or they were going to attack!

    Standing at the top of the city wall, the White Tiger Duke appeared very grim. The Sun Moon Empire was obviously going to go all-out. It was not going to retreat. The soul formations were being torn down so that they could be shifted forward. Star Luo City was going to be attacked, and the soul formations were there to protect their soul engineer legions.

    Undoubtedly, the Sun Moon Empire was not going to show mercy. If all the soul formations were destroyed, the Sun Moon Empire would be in a disastrous situation. However, was that possible?

    A million-man army was moving together towards Star Luo City. It was like a huge millstone was slowly turning, faster and faster. This millstone was about to grind Star Luo City into powder.

    Now, the people in Star Luo City had no choice. They could only prepare to fight. If they won, they might survive. However, if they lost, they were doomed.

 Chapter 613.2 - Submission

    <h4 ss>Chapter 613.2: Submission</h4>

    The powerful individuals from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect were all at the top of the city wall by now. They were all at the northern side. This was the main battlefield. The five soul engineer legions from the Hand that Protects the Nation were all gathered here.

    Without defeating these five soul engineer legions, they stood no chance at all. Originally, they didn¡¯t stand a chance anyway. However, the chance seemed to havee after the appearance of stationary interference shells.

    The low-pitched signals became louder and louder. As the sun shone brighter, and after the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army left behind some troops, they began to slowly but steadily inch their way closer to Star Luo City.

    Xu Jiawei personally came to the top of the city wall. He stood beside the White Tiger Duke.

    Xu Jiawei smiled and asked,¡°Dai Hao, did you know? I once feared you.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke smiled,¡°Of course I know that. Otherwise, why do you think I was always at the western border? Given my contributions, I should have been the marshal of the three armies. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±

    Xu Jiawei sighed and said,¡°Yes! I was jealous of you. I¡¯m not fit to be the leader of an empire.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke shook his head and retorted,¡°You can¡¯t say that. It¡¯s just a psychological thing. Whenever an emperor meets an official like me, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll usually be the reaction.¡±

    Xu Jiaweiughed.¡°Perhaps. I didn¡¯t expect to have the chance to fight alongside you. Do you know how I feel now? I feel honored.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke couldn¡¯t help butughed heartily.¡°Me too.¡±

    Xu Jiawei¡¯s eyes brightened.¡°Let those Sun Moon Empire bastardse. I really want to see if my city falls first, or if the Sun Moon soldiers¡¯blood will run dry.¡±

    The five soul engineer legions slowly separated. In the sky, all types of aerial surveince soul tools were slowly moving forward. On the ground, the remaining soul engineer legions re-organized themselves. They managed to form six full soul engineer legions. Of course, this was only on the northern side. In the other three directions, there were still other soul engineer legions moving along with the soldiers. They were ready to construct soul formations.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s strategy was very simple. It was to construct soul formations that were within the effective range of Star Luo City. However, it was such a simple strategy that was the most deadly at this point. This was because the destructiveness of those soul formations could be relied on once they were fully built. While Star Luo City could disrupt the linked attacks and defenses of the Sun Moon Empire, it might still be unable to handle the strength of the soul formations.

    The only thing worth celebrating was that the high-energypression array soul tools were drained the previous day. At least they couldn¡¯t be used in the short-term.

    ¡°Prepare the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons and stationary interference shells.¡±

    ¡°Fire the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons!¡± As the White Tiger Duke shouted, Star Luo City seemed to have be a huge porcupine that shot out all its spikes. Suddenly, an uncountable number of shells was flung towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    This time, the White Tiger Duke didn¡¯t use the stationary interference shells immediately. They were very limited. After knowing that they had these shells, the enemy would most certainly try to intercept them if they used them again. Dai Hao was well-aware that the ss 9 soul engineers among those soul engineer legions were surely well-prepared. They were going to be responsible for dealing with the stationary interference shells. This was why he needed to be invested in the fight right from the beginning.

    The soul engineers immediately erected linked defensive barriers. Without the presence of stationary interference shells, these linked defensive barriers were imprable on the battlefield.

    It was a pity that they onlysted for an instant.

    Green halos silently spread, and quickly engulfed the entire battlefield.

    Kong Deming, who was at the front of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, revealed an astonished look on his face. ¡°What a cunning fellow.¡± As the godfather of all ss 9 soul engineers, he immediately knew that he had been tricked.

    Thest time the stationary interference shells were fired, they had released jade-green light. They were very obvious on the battlefield, as if they were fireworks. This time, these shells were fired without any warning.

    Obviously, those shells didn¡¯t have to release jade-green light. Clearly, they only appeared that way the other time because it was an intentional ploy by the Star Luo Empire. This time, the empire had exploited the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s intention to intercept their interferences shell, misleading the Sun Moon Empire. The stationary interference shells were nted among the other stationary shells and fired with the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. Immediately, an unexpected effect was achieved. The aerial surveince and linked soul tools immediately became useless.

    Whether it was Ju Zi or Kong Deming, they couldn¡¯t help but be impressed.

    On the Tang Sect¡¯s side, Bei Bei, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi were gathered. Theyughed sinisterly. This idea didn¡¯te from the White Tiger Duke, but the three of them. As Xuan Ziwen was the one who had researched stationary interference shells, the person who was truly responsible for the production and use of these shells was the current vice-hallmaster of the Tang Sect¡¯s Soul Tool Hall, He Caitou.

    The White Tiger Duke smiled before turning around and giving a thumbs-up to He Caitou.

    If Star Luo City wanted to resist the Sun Moon Empire, its interference shells had to be effective first. If the linked soul tools couldn¡¯t be stopped, everything else was useless.

    ¡°First, second, third and fourth soul engineer legions, attack!¡± The White Tiger Duke shouted. After this, he drew a long sword from his waist, and pointed his sharp sword in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    Figure after figure rose. They turned into flowing lights and charged towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    Exploiting one¡¯s strength was an important element in war. The only strength that the Star Luo Empire possessed was their soul masters.

    When these figures flew out, a low-pitched roar sounded in the air. It was so loud that it seemed as if thunder was booming.

    A giant yellow projection appeared.

    This projection was almost a thousand meters long. It was huge, as if it were a giant bull. It was Elder Xuan¡¯s Martial Soul True Body, the Taotie Godly Bull.

    The figures all steadilynded on the Taotie Godly Bull¡¯s body. There were a few thousand of them. The Godly Bull¡¯s figure shed in the sky as he charged towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions.

    It was a life-and-death fight. There was no retreat for either party. This was the same for Shrek Academy. To win this fight, both parties didn¡¯t just need tobine their abilities. They also had tobine their strategies. The White Tiger Duke was relying on ¡®miracle soldiers¡¯ today.

    This wasn¡¯t his usual style. He was normally very honest and open with his strategy. However, he had no choice but to rely on these ¡®miracle soldiers¡¯ now, considering that the Star Luo Empire couldn¡¯t challenge the Sun Moon Empire openly. As an ingenious militarymander, he was equally as strong even if he used ¡®miracle soldiers¡¯.

    The first wave of¡®miracle soldiers¡¯were the stationary interference shells. In that case, the second wave of¡®miracle soldiers¡¯were these four soul master legions.

    These four soul engineer legions were led by powerful individuals from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. They were here to defeat the five soul engineer legions from the Hand that Protects the Nation. The Star Luo Empire only stood a chance of victory if it defeated these five soul engineer legions.

    Ju Zi was no longer in themander¡¯s tent by now. Although she had set up measures to prevent the stationary interference shells fromnding, Star Luo City would most certainly resort to any method to maximize their effects. Otherwise, there would be no fight to speak of.

    However, Ju Zi didn¡¯t expect their soul tools to be disrupted so easily. However, all this wasn¡¯t important anymore. The important thing was the head-on sh that was about to ur.

    Seeing that the Taotie Godly Bull was close to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, a ball of intense silver light was suddenly unleashed.

    Silver light suddenly shone, forming a huge light barrier. This barrier engulfed the Taotie Godly Bull.

    It was important to realize the size of the Taotie Godly Bull. There were even a few thousand soul masters on top of him! He was actually contained by that ball of silver light. Even linked soul tools didn¡¯t seem to be so strong. Elder Xuan was an Ultimate Douluo!

    A silver moon suddenly rose into the sky. Suddenly, sunlight disappeared from the sky. As the silver moon rose, the barrier shone along with it. Elder Xuan¡¯s ferocious charge was stopped just like that.

    Xuan Ziwen lost his voice as he shouted from the top of the city wall,¡°Silver Moon Douluo. It¡¯s Elder Kong! It¡¯s Elder Kong!¡±

    As he mentioned the words ¡®Elder Kong¡¯, his expression greatly changed. His face was actually filled with fear right now. Yes, it was fear. Xuan Ziwen, who was normally so fearless, was actually terrified now.

    Suddenly, countless rays of light shot towards the Taotie Godly Bull. Although it wasn¡¯t a linked attack, thebined strength of an attack by more than a thousand soul engineers was still terrifying.

    As an Ultimate Douluo, Elder Xuan¡¯s horns shone brightly with yellow light. He was struggling to break free from the silver barrier. However, the silver light was like sticky candy. He could stretch the light as much as he could, but he still couldn¡¯t break out from it.

    All the soul masters also demonstrated their powers within the barrier. They were attacking the barrier furiously, but none of them escaped.

    On Star Luo City¡¯s walls, Xuan Ziwen was dazed as he looked at this scene.¡°He has seeded. He has actually seeded. Elder Kong is now a ss 10 soul engineer! He has fused his Transcendent Douluo abilities into his soul tools. This was the natal soul tool that he mentioned once before? That is, he has fused his most powerful soul tool with his own martial soul, by tapping into the power of heaven and earth. Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier. The Death God Pagoda is like a joke in front of this Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier.¡±

 Chapter 613.3 - Submission

    <h4 ss>Chapter 613.3: Submission</h4>

    They could only defend, but couldn¡¯t attack. The Taotie Godly Bull and the thousands of soul masters were now target boards for the Sun Moon Empire.

    With the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion leading them, the five soul engineer legions from the Hand that Protects the Nation quickly gathered. They unleashed an all-out attack. On the ground, the soul engineers that were charging forward also quickly constructed soul formations. They then used the powerful attacks from their soul formations against the Godly Taotie Bull.

    The soul masters on the Godly Taotie Bull could only rely on their own individual strength to resist the attacks. However, they couldn¡¯t retaliate. Suddenly, they were all in a disadvantageous position.

    This was even after their linked soul tools were disrupted. Otherwise, the Star Luo Empire would have incurred huge casualties by now if the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineer legions used their linked attacks.

    The White Tiger Duke was very grim now. This silver barrier had never appeared on the battlefield before. The Star Luo Empire wasn¡¯t the only one who had a trump card. The Sun Moon Empire had a trump card too. It was thousands of years of soul tool technology! This was finally demonstrated now.

    Elder Xuan couldn¡¯t protect everyone by himself. Some of the weaker soul masters were already starting to die.

    This was also Elder Xuan¡¯s first time facing such a situation. He roared furiously, and the yellow light emanating from his body became more and more intense.

    To the others, it was only a silver barrier. However, as an Ultimate Douluo, he fully understood that this silver light tapped into spatial power. It didn¡¯t tap into the strength of the moon. Most of the attacks unleashed by him and the other soul masters were hitting nothing. Otherwise, even a ss 12 soul tool would have copsed, given the magnitude of their attacks.

    Spatial power?

    Elder Xuan roared, and his horns slowly turned silver. Above him, a ball of ring silver light slowly surfaced. Around this ball of silver light was a ck halo. It was obviously space that had been torn open.

    When Kong Deming saw this, he sighed in his heart.It¡¯s a pity that he discovered it so soon. It¡¯s really a pity. If there wasn¡¯t an Ultimate Douluo who could control spatial power, I could have killed many more soul masters using my Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier.

    As Elder Kong waved his hand, the sky shone brightly. The barrier slowly dissipated just before Elder Xuan attacked. However, the external attacks didn¡¯t cease.

    Elder Kong didn¡¯t intend to use his barrier to trap them all. He just needed to build momentum.

    Beam after beam of light shot out from the Taotie Godly Bull.

    A huge golden dragon charged into the sky. Countless beams of light bore down, and the closest soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion had no choice but to raise protective barriers and cease their attacks temporarily.

    Radiant Holy Dragon True Body. It was Bei Bei!

    Countless turtle shells opened up, forming a massive shield in the sky that blocked the oing attacks. Many beams of light were also refracted away. The surface of the turtle shell was shining bright gold. A giant snake was moving around on it. Its blood-red eyes were ring at its enemies, as if it was choosing who to devour.

    It was the Xuanwu Shield of the Eternal Defense, Xu Sanshi!

    Balls of light exploded in the sky, urately intercepting all types of attacks within a hundred meter radius. It was a man that waspletely hidden in thick armor. His entire body was covered in all types of soul tools, including barrels that fired soul rays. Destructive rays were being shot everywhere.

    All the heavy attacks were blocked.

    Origin of Destruction, He Caitou!

    A pinkish-red snake revealed itself in the sky. A dim golden halo was supporting it, and covering some of the weaker soul masters.

    An Invincible Golden Body was unleashed by a Soft Tendon Python. It was the Wilddemon Soft Rabbit, Jiang Nannan!

    The sound of a flute resonated in the air. Nine phoenixes rose into the sky, all shing with different colors. Whatever attack struck them instantly prated them. Wherever they passed, all the attacks deviated from their original trajectories.

    It was the Flute Cauldron Douluo, Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, Xiao Xiao!

    Twelve wings fluttered over. A huge angel descended, andyers of holy light surfaced. Whenever they were on a soul master¡¯s body, they offered them a golden ring of protection.

    It was the Angel Douluo, Ye Guyi!

    A giant, pinkish dragon opened up in the sky. Pinkish halos spread from its body. Any attack that touched these pinkish halos was instantly destroyed.

    It was the Ruby Dragon True Body of the Ruby Douluo, Nan Qiuqiu!

    A long beam of sword light shot up, and a hundred meter-long de appeared. A member of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was killed by this beam of sword light.

    It was the Sword Fanatic Douluo, Ji Juechen, and his Judgment Sword!

    Yes, they came from the Tang Sect.

    They were the current eight Titled Douluo of the Tang Sect. In three years, they all became Titled Douluo as they cultivated tirelessly, and after they consumed the spiritual pill. All of them were very strong now.

    Right now, they were the pirs of the Tang Sect. They were also the faces of the younger generation of Shrek. However, the strongest two weren¡¯t here. Otherwise, if all ten powerful Douluo were here, the Tang Sect¡¯s ultimate strength would be fully demonstrated!

    Apart from them, the Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire, the Dou Ling Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire all demonstrated their abilities too. They flew in all directions from the Taotie Godly Bull¡¯s back. Figure after figure emanated dazzling lights from their bodies. Not only did they resist the attacks that were fired at them, but they even leaped towards the soul engineers.

    The biggest advantage that soul engineers possessed were linked soul tools. After that, it was distance! If they could close the distance, soul masters would surely be unafraid of soul engineers.

    However, that was easier said than done. Even with Titled Douluo in front, many soul masters still perished from the attacks.

    The four thousand who went with Elder Xuan were all elites among soul masters. They each had to possess at least five rings. Those with less than seven rings relied on flying-type soul tools. Some of those above seven rings did so too. Only those who were adept at flying relied on their own strength to remain in the air.

    Given this circumstance, falling from the sky meant death.

    The fight in the sky immediately became unprecedentedly intense.

    From Star Luo City, Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons were furiously making sounds. Beams of light were continuously being fired. At the same time, the city gates at the front of Star Luo City opened. Giant figures started to appear on the city wall. They were climbing out using their long legs as rapidly as possible.

    It was Shrek City¡¯s Fort Soul Engineer Legion.

    After many years of strengthening, the Fort Soul Engineer Legion was much stronger than before. Every all-terrain self-driving fort was as strong as a ss 7 soul tool. Three soul engineers drove one fort. Now, the entire legion had a total of five hundred self-driving forts. They coordinated with the cannons on the city walls and quickly ventured out. They were charging towards the soul formations on the ground; their job was to destroy them.

    Otherwise, it would be a catastrophic disaster if the soul formations were allowed to be fully constructed.

    Not only was the Fort Soul Engineer Legion unleashed, but the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion joined in too.

    Three hundred figures rose above the city wall. The reason why they didn¡¯t appear at the start was because they currently formed the greatest fighting strength out of all the soul engineer legions.

    After three years of training, the individual fighting strength of each soul engineer in the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion had greatly increased. They were all equipped with the best soul tools in the Tang Sect. In the Star Luo Empire, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion was the only force capable of challenging the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s five soul engineers in the Hand that Protects the Nation.

    Of course, this referred to the beast lord-ranked soul engineer legions. Compared to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legions, they were still some ways off.

    Ordinary soldiers were already useless on the battlefield. They were only assisting the soul formations on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s side. As for Star Luo City, the ordinary soldiers were responsible for moving supplies.

    Everyone knew that this fight was critical to the final oue of the war. Nothing else mattered.

    The White Tiger Duke kept givingmands. At the top of the city walls, all types of soul tools were raining as much fire down as they could.

    The fight in the other three directions of Star Luo City had already begun. However, at this moment, the White Tiger Duke could only be bothered with the front.

    It was the most important direction. The other three directions were more misceneous. There were only a few stationary interference shells and linked defensive barriers used in those three directions.

    At the front, many stationary interference shells were used to keep their enemies from using linked soul tools. This was why the Star Luo Empire didn¡¯t use its own linked soul tools either. As for the other three directions, there weren¡¯t enough people tounch linked attacks. However, linked defenses were still used to stabilize the situation.

    The White Tiger Duke was taking a gamble. He had no choice. He had too few trump cards in hand. He could only choose toy all of them out on the battlefield now. This was the only way he could win.

    The situation on the battlefield was very tragic. Ju Zi was watching from behind. Of course, she knew that all of them came from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. She was even more conflicted now.

    It was important to know that there were still two more people who had yet to appear on the battlefield. With stationary interference shells, they were capable of changing the situation of the entire fight

 Chapter 614.1 - You Dare!

    Chapter 614.1: You Dare!

    She did not expect to see both of them here at this moment. After all, they had already disappeared for a good three years. However, she was still very worried that they would reappear!

    If the powerful soul masters from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were to die in battle before her, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would never forgive her.

    Ju Zi was torn between the options before her. She was usually very decisive when it came to making such decisions. However, she had suddenly be very hesitant.

    ¡°Marshal, please give us your orders.¡± Amander who was by her side begged her.

    Ju Zi sighed before whispering some instructions to themander by her side.

    Right now, both sides were now engaged in a battle. Because the battle had only just begun, the soul masters and soul engineers on both sides were in their best possible state. They could still go all-out on each other. It was only when they had expended a good amount of their energy that the casualties would start to pile up.

    At the end of the day, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was still the most powerful group on the battlefield. Several people would fall from the sky with every attack theyunched. However, under themand of Kong Deming, they would always retreat afterunching an attack to extend the distance between their foes and themselves. Kong Deming¡¯s body was constantly radiating a powerful silver light as he kept Elder Xuan away from the soul engineer legion.

    At this moment, the soul masters from Shrek Academy were able to showcase their individual brilliance. The Elders from the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, as well as the powerful soul masters from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, rushed towards the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers. The entire battlefield was illuminated by the different-colored lights which were being radiated and released by their soul skills.

    Suddenly, a mysterious light surged from the back of the Sun Moon Empire. This beam of light was very unexpected as it appeared without any warning. It swept across the battlefield in an indiscriminating way as every soul master and soul engineer on the battlefield was illuminated by it.

    In addition, the main target of the beam of light was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.

    The people going up against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were the most powerful soul masters from the Star Luo Empire. Hence, they were instantly enveloped by the beam of light.

    An intense sense of weakness instantly spread throughout their bodies. Even though their soul power was not affected by it, the cirction of their blood within their bodies became very slow and weak. The movement of these soul masters seemed to have be very sluggish.

    Their intense attacks became a lot weaker under these circumstances.

    At this instant, Ma Xiaotao was unleashing her Phoenix Meteor Shower. After being hit by the beam, her body started to sway left and right as the sense of enfeeblement weakened her battle intent. Because of this, her Phoenix Meteor Shower was terminated.

    Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers¡¯ bodies released a thin membrane which protected their bodies from the beam, and they managed to emerge unscathed from it.

    Enfeeblement rays? Enfeeblement rays at this scale? This must be a ss 9 soul tool. In fact, it¡¯s definitely more powerful than the average ss 9 soul tool.

    Everyone had trump cards, and the Sun Moon Empire was no exception. There was no reason for them to be less well-equipped than the Star Luo Empire. However, they did not possess things like interference shells, which could directly influence the oue of the battle.

    This enfeeblement ray was, in fact, a ss 9 soul tool. The only reason why it was able to cover such a huge range was because it was a single-use soul tool.

    It was very simr to a stationary soul cannon shell, but it possessed certain key differences. It was a lot more controble even though it was not as powerful as a stationary soul cannon shell. In addition, it unleashed more than just one enfeeblement soul ray.

    Streaks of enfeeblement rays swept across the sky as more than half of the four thousand Star Luo soul masters were hit by them. Under such circumstances, their fighting power plunged tremendously.

    This was not the end of it. Following which, a different-colored ray shone on the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul engineers.

    At that instant, the soul engineers became a lot more powerful. Not only was their soul power enhanced, but their entire aura was also changed by the light. It was a ray which helped to buff up one¡¯s troops. The soul engineers¡¯ soul power was enhanced by ten percent, and their spiritual concentration was also improved. On top of that, the ray also had a bloodthirst effect. This was also a single-use ss 9 soul tool.

    These two ss 9 soul rays were able to change the situation on the battlefield by weakening their opponents and enhancing their soul engineers. After they were released, it was clear that the Sun Moon Empire was gaining the upper hand.

    The exact same situation was being replicated on the ground. It was obvious now that the Sun Moon Empire hade prepared. They started to trade attacks and blows with the soul engineer legions within Shrek City now that they had finished installing their soul tools. Even though they were still at a slight disadvantage, their situation had improved tremendously. On top of that, they were installing several other soul tool deployment areas. If the battle were to continue to drag on, the Sun Moon Empire would definitely seize the upper hand.

    It was now clear that the Star Luo Empire had lost the aerial battle. In the meantime, the tables were now slowly being turned by the Sun Moon Empire as they started to seize the upper hand on the ground as well. The White Tiger Duke saw all of this from the city walls of the Star Luo City. He closed his eyes as a grimace formed on his face.

    Surprise attacks no longer had any effect if your opponent had an absolute edge over you. He let out a long sigh as he thought to himself how fate had tricked him once again. If we had figured out the stationary interference shells earlier, the oue would have been a lot different. Even if we were only able to produce them after Dou Ling Empire had been wiped out, it would still not be toote. Back then, the Star Luo Empire was still at its most powerful state.

    Right now, the Star Luo Empire was no longer the same as before. They no longer had enough power to defend themselves against the powerful Sun Moon Empire. Without reinforcements and support from Shrek Academy, they would never have been able to hold onto their remainingnd.

    It¡¯s toote. It¡¯s probably over. We¡¯re done.

    At this instant, someone ced his hand on the White Tiger Duke¡¯s shoulder. The White Tiger Duke opened his eyes and turned around to face Xu Jiawei, the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

    For some strange reason, Xu Jiawei was actually smiling right now.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t manage to protect ourst chance of defending the Star Luo Empire.¡± Tears started to well up in the White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes.

    Xu Jiawei shook his head and sighed. ¡°I knew this day woulde eventually. I am already grateful to you for giving me hope¡ªeven if it was for only a day. From the look of things, there is no way the Sun Moon Empire would let either of us go. Let¡¯s get our troops to retreat. Regardless of the oue, we should not let the blood of the talents from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect flow because of this battle. After all, they are the future hope of our continent. Do you still remember what I said yesterday?¡±

    The White Tiger Duke nodded silently. He knew that Xu Jiawei was right. The most important thing they should be doing now was to preserve whatever fighting power they had. From the beginning of the war until now, the Sun Moon Empire had never attacked Shrek City. In addition, they had neverunched an all-out attack on anyone from Shrek Academy. As long as the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were still around, the three original empires of the Douluo Continent would still have hope.

    The White Tiger Duke gritted his teeth and shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    The signal to retreat was immediately released above Star Luo City. As the signal lit up the sky above the city, the hearts of the soldiers and soul masters who were fighting at the front line sank.

    Everyone knew what retreating meant. It seemed like this war was really about to end. This meant that the continent was finally going to be united by a single empire.

    Elder Xuan sighed as he transformed back into his human form. He red at Kong Deming, who was not too far away from him, as he spoke. ¡°We did not manage to decide who is the stronger one between us. If not for the Academy, I would really want to know what other powers a ss 10 soul engineer possesses.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time for that in the future,¡± Kong Deming replied inly, ¡°you can tell your people to stop fighting now.¡±

    Elder Xuan nodded.

    Very soon, the fights and battles that were going on on the battlefield stopped. The Sun Moon Empire also stopped attacking the soul engineers from Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, and the other empires.

    Now that the war had progressed to this stage, it was no longer possible for the Star Luo Empire to turn the tables. It was all over. The only thing everyone could do was wait for the consequences to hit them.

    Elder Xuan naturally stopped fighting because he also wanted to preserve the power of the Academy! There was no longer any meaning in continuing the battle. At the end of the day, Shrek Academy was still a very powerful entity. There was no reason for the Sun Moon Empire to challenge the academy.

    Even if they were to conquer the entire continent, it was not possible for them to overlook the power of the academy. At the end of the day, even if Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were missing, they had to ount for the powerful soul masters which had once graduated from Shrek. In fact, there were many powerful soul masters who had once studied at the prestigious Shrek Academy in thend that had been conquered by the Sun Moon Empire. After all, Shrek Academy was a ce which was revered by all soul masters. It would be political suicide for the Sun Moon Empire to attack the Academy and y their members.

    On top of that, there was no longer a need for the Sun Moon Empire to do so. In fact, they already had the entire continent under their control. No matter how powerful Shrek City was, they would never be able to influence the oue. It would be wise for them to keep Shrek City around so as to appease the powerful soul masters who had graduated from the Academy.

    After all, they would only trigger a violent response from what was left of the three empires by destroying theirst remaining hope.

    Hence, Kong Deming also instructed the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to cease fire after Elder Xuanmanded his people to stand down. They allowed the soul masters from Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, and the Star Luo Empire to retreat safely.

    Ju Zi flew to the front line under the protection of her personal guards and stopped next to Kong Deming. There was a mixture of anticipation and relief in her facial expression. She had been waiting for this moment for far too long. She not only wanted to conquer the entire continent, but she also wanted to exact the revenge she had been looking forward to for a long time!

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath before turning around to look at the Star Luo Empire. ¡°Pass my orders. I want Star Luo City to hand us the White Tiger Duke. Get the Star Luo Empire to surrender to us.¡±

    Kong Deming looked at Ju Zi as he revealed a faint smile before nodding.

 Chapter 614.2 - You Dare!

    Chapter 614.2: You Dare!

    Themanders, especially the legionmanders from the different soul engineer legions, had originally wanted to question Ju Zi¡¯s orders. After all, the soul engineer legions had lost many soul engineers in yesterday¡¯s battle.

    However, after seeing how Elder Kong had nodded in agreement with her proposal, no one dared to raise any objections.

    Because the War God Empress had the support of Elder Kong, no one dared to challenge Ju Zi¡¯s decision. It was also precisely because of Kong Deming that Ju Zi was able to rule the entire Sun Moon Empirefortably.

    ¡°Spread the War God Empress¡¯ orders! The great Sun Moon Empire has decided to show mercy on the innocent lives within the Star Luo Empire. As long as the Star Luo Empire surrenders the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, the Sun Moon Empire will allow the Star Luo Empire to surrender. If the Star Luo Empire dares to show any form of resistance, we will massacre every single person within the city!¡±

    The orders were projected by a sound amplifying soul tool in the direction of Star Luo City. Very quickly, the entire city learned what the Sun Moon Empire had proposed.

    Xu Jiawei, who was standing above the city walls, lowered his head and remained silent. He clenched his fists before speaking softly, ¡°Brother Dai, I will definitely apany you when I join you in hell.¡±

    At this very instant, there were no longer any other options. He knew that even he would not be able to stop Dai Hao from saving the millions of lives within Star Luo City. This was a fact of life that everyone understood.

    A heavy silence fell upon the people above Star Luo City¡¯s walls.

    All themanders suddenly dropped to their knees. Very soon, the soldiers and then the civilians followed suit. Everyone from above the city walls and within the city were all kneeling at that instant.

    The White Tiger Duke slowly turned around as he revealed a faint smile on his rugged face. He eximed with his deep voice, ¡°I, Dai Hao, have spent my life on the battlefield fighting loyally for our empire. Today, there¡¯s no reason why I wouldn¡¯t give my life for the millions of lives of our Star Luo Empire. Take care, everyone! I, Dai Hao, shall take my leave!¡±

    After finishing his sentence, he turned around and leaped into the air.

    At this instant, a figure suddenly pounced onto him and hugged him tightly around his waist. ¡°No, Father! You can¡¯t go!¡±

    The person who had pounced onto him was his personal guard, who was also none other than his youngest son¡ªDai Luoli.

    Because of his bravery and a multitude of military achievements, Dai Luoli had already be amander. Hemanded the personal guards who protected the White Tiger Duke. Right now, tears were already streaming down his face as he tried to keep his father from leaving.

    Dai Hao sighed gently and stroked his head. ¡°My dumb son, there¡¯s no need for you to stop me. Let¡¯s not make our family look bad. Yaoheng, pull him away.¡±

    Yaoheng immediately strode over as he dragged Dai Luoli away from his father. Dai Huabin had alsoe over to help Yaoheng control his brother.

    ¡°Let go of me! Let go of me! Do you all really want to see Father die just like this?¡± Dai Luoli¡¯s eyes were now red as he tried his best to break free from his brothers. However, his cultivation was not as high as that of his brothers. No matter how hard he struggled, Dai Luoli simply could not free himself.

    Dai Yaoheng suddenly pped Dai Luoli. His eyes were also equally red. ¡°Dumbass, do you think I want Father to die? Huabin, take care of him. Both of you will have to make sure our Dai family doesn¡¯t die out. We must never forget what the Sun Moon Empire has done to us.¡±

    Following which, he suddenly turned around to face Dai Hao and said, ¡°Father, I am the eldest son in our family. Please allow me to join you to demonstrate the loyalty we have for our empire.¡±

    As he spoke, he suddenly moved his palms and nted them on Dai Huabin¡¯s and Dai Luoli¡¯s necks. Because of this, both his brothers fell unconscious, and copsed to the ground.

    Following which, Dai Yaoheng turned around and bowed to Elder Xuan. Without saying anything, he strode towards Dai Hao.

    His bow was simply a gesture to thank Elder Xuan in advance for taking care of his family, since he would not be returning to Star Luo City with his father.

    Dai Hao stared at his son and spoke, ¡°You are truly a man from our Dai family. You are a good child!¡± Following which, he raised his hand and brought Dai Yaoheng into his embrace. It was clear that he was very proud of his son.

    However, his hand suddenly moved towards Dai Yaoheng¡¯s neck. Simrly, Dai Yaoheng froze before he fell unconscious. He would never have expected his father to use the same method on him.

    Dai Hao turned around to face Elder Xuan and pleaded, ¡°Elder Xuan, I will need you to take care of my sons for me.¡±

    Elder Xuan sighed and replied, ¡°White Tiger Duke, you can rest assured that as long as Shrek City is still around, I will not let anyone hurt them.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± After hearing Elder Xuan¡¯s promise, the White Tiger Duke seemed to have no more worries. He leaped upwards and released a deafening howl. ¡°The White Tiger Duke is here. Come and take my life if you dare! Hahahahaha!¡±

    He suddenly ripped apart the armor and shirt he was wearing to reveal his muscr physique. His body seemed to possess a perfect bnce between strength and aesthetics. His powerful aura infected all of Star Luo City.

    Themanders who were already kneeling on the ground could not help but lower their heads and bawl. No one wanted to see how the war god of their generation was about to fall.

    In the meantime, Xu Jiawei appeared to be a lot calmer. He stuck his hand into his sleeve and withdrew a short dagger. He had long thought ofmitting suicide after failing to protect his people as the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire. Now that Dai Hao had chosen to give up his life for the empire, Xu Jiawei thought of doing the same too. Even though they could not be born on the same day, Xu Jiawei wanted to die on the same day as his brother-in-arms. The moment the White Tiger died for the empire would be the same moment when he would die for his empire.

    The sky above was dark and cold. The clouds were like a huge b of stone on everyone¡¯s minds. Everyone, including the powerful soul masters from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, had their fists clenched tightly.

    Everyone present knew that there was no other option. However, no one was happy to give up just like this.

    They could only stare and watch as the White Tiger Duke went forward to give up his life. It was a shameful moment for everyone! Everyone would owe the White Tiger Duke a favor they would never be able to return.

    Even though the White Tiger Duke was flying against the wind, his muscr body, straight back, and the proud look in his eyes made him look formidable. At this instant, he looked like a leader among mankind descending from the sky. He did not resemble someone who had just failed to defend his city.

    Under the protection of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion, Ju Zi slowly flew forward. She was very excited as her body started to tremble in anticipation.

    Kong Deming, who was standing by her side, was also equally excited by how close they were to sess. After all, it had always been his dream to see his empire unite the entire continent.

    However, the main reason why he was willing to help Ju Zi was because she was a lot easier to control than Xu Tianran. In addition, he no longer cared about power and status now that he had be a ss 10 soul engineer. Instead, he wanted to see the Sun Moon Empire conquer the entire continent so that he could spread the soul tools he had developed to the whole continent. He knew that Ju Zi would definitely support his aspirations.

    Because both parties weren¡¯t too far apart, it didn¡¯t take long before Dai Hao arrived before the Sun Moon Empire army.

    A beam of silver light was projected forward as it enveloped the White Tiger Duke. Dai Hao did not try to resist it as he allowed the silver light to restrict his movements. The white light pulled Dai Hao towards Ju Zi.

    It was the first time he was seeing the War God Empress at such close proximity. He was shocked to see how he had been defeated by such a youngdy.

    ¡°You are the War God Empress of the Sun Moon Empire?¡± Dai Hao asked coldly.

    Ju Zi nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Are you Dai Hao, the White Tiger Duke?¡±

    ¡°There would be no other Dai Hao in this world!¡± Dai Hao replied coldly.

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath and asked, ¡°Do you still remember how you brought your troops to attack the cities near the border of the Sun Moon Empire? Do you remember how you killed our people?¡±

    Dai Hao spoke inly. ¡°I have spent my entire life on the battlefield, and have killed countless enemies. How am I supposed to remember who I have killed? There are always bound to be casualties on the battlefield.¡±

    Tears started to stream down Ju Zi¡¯s face as she said, ¡°However, you were the person who killed by father back then. My father was but a civilian¡ªa chef. Our family used to lead a happy life. I loved to eat my father¡¯s food. However, he never returned after that fateful day. My mother cried herself to death not long after my father died. And I became an orphan.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke froze, then asked, ¡°So you havee all the way here to exact revenge on me?¡±

    Ju Zi nodded and replied hatefully, ¡°That¡¯s right. I have buried this hatred for you in my heart for twenty years. Twenty long years. During these twenty years, I have wanted to skin you alive to avenge my parents. It is because of this hatred that I have managed to put up with everything in my life until now.¡±

    ¡°It would be too easy for you if I were to kill you directly. I want to destroy everything that is a source of your pride. Didn¡¯t you take pride in being called the War God? Then, let me destroy your army and conquer your empire. Today, you shall lose everything you owned. I want to use your blood and soul to bless my parents¡¯ spirits.¡±

    After hearing Ju Zi¡¯s angry words, the White Tiger Duke broke out into a burst of unexpectedughter.

    ¡°There are always bound to be casualties in war. Even though I don¡¯t quite remember what happened back then, isn¡¯t it very hypocritical of you to me me for what I have done when the Sun Moon Empire had been doing exactly the same for the past few years? You are but one of the millions of people who want to kill me. In the future, you can simrly expect millions of people who want to seek revenge on you. Go ahead and take your revenge. What are you waiting for? My head is right in front of you. Take it as you wish.¡±

    Even though the White Tiger Duke was their enemy, themanders of the Sun Moon Empire could not help but marvel at the spirit and courage he was exhibiting. He was truly amander worthy of respect. Even under such circumstances, the pride and confidence in him was not battered by Ju Zi¡¯s threats.

    Ju Zi became very ufortable after seeing and hearing his reaction. She suddenly felt that she had not managed to defeat the White Tiger Duke. Compared to what she had expected, he did not seem to be in any pain.

    Ju Zi threatened him, ¡°White Tiger Duke, do you believe that I will give orders to ughter everyone within Star Luo City right now?¡±

    ¡°How dare you?!¡± The White Tiger Duke was visibly enraged by her words. ¡°Are you not afraid that karma will strike back at you?¡±

    Ju Zi stared coldly at him and said, ¡°I have spent my whole life with a single aim¡ªto exact revenge on you. Why would I be afraid of karma? It is beyond my consideration.¡±

 Chapter 614.3 - You Dare!

    <h4 ss>Chapter 614.3: You Dare!</h4>

    ¡°Marshal, I¡¯d urge you to think twice before doing that.¡± Elder Kong whispered to her.

    Ju Zi gazed into the distance in the direction of Star Luo City. If there were no one from Shrek Academy or the Tang Sect in Star Luo City, she might really have gone on to ughter everyone in there. However, that was not the case. She could only try and scare the White Tiger Duke.

    Ju Zi unsheathed the long sword by her side as she pointed it at the White Tiger Duke. ¡°Dai Hao, I shall dig our your heart and bless my parents with your blood today.¡±

    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Dai Hao eximed angrily.

    Ju Zi red coldly at Dai Hao. Even though she did not dare to kill everyone within the city, she must exact her revenge on Dai Hao. This was the bare minimum she had to do to avenge her parents. She had decided to disappoint Huo Yuhao by breaking the promise they had made, and was willing to ept the consequences for that.<span>

    She pointed her sword at the White Tiger Duke¡¯s chest. She started to move the tip of the sword closer to his chest as the de of the sword released a powerful sword light. She wanted to see the White Tiger Duke crumble under the pressure of impending death.

    However, she was destined to be disappointed. The White Tiger Duke¡¯s eyes were full of arrogance and determination. There was not a single bit or cowardice or fear.

    Screw it! I should just kill him and end this once and for all.

    Suddenly, an intense murderous intent formed in Ju Zi¡¯s eyes as she retracted her sword and prepared herself to make the final stab to end this hatred in her heart.

    Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed across the sky. It was as loud as the thunder one would hear in an incrediblyrge thunderstorm.

    ¡°I dare you to do that!¡±

    Those simple six words were enough to cause the entire area to tremble. The powerful sound wave was infused with an overwhelming amount of spiritual power as it echoed across a fifty-kilometer radius.

    Normal soldiers would only hear an unbelievably loud voice. However, soul masters and soul engineers felt the impact of the voice. It was almost as though their heads had been hit by a hammer. The more powerful their cultivation was, the greater the impact on them. Ju Zi felt dizzy after hearing the voice, and was unable to stab the White Tiger Duke.

    The dark and gloomy sky suddenly lit up as a radiant golden sun started to illuminate thend beneath it. Its intense glow was cast across the entire sky as it caused ripples in the air whenever it flickered.

    Even Elder Kong was startled by the overwhelming spiritual suppression released by the sun. He gasped, ¡°An Ultimate Douluo? Who is this powerful Ultimate Douluo?¡±

    It was the first time he had seen someone use their voice to spiritually suppress everyone within a fifty-kilometer radius. In fact, this was unprecedented in the history of soul masters. But now, it was happening right before his eyes.

    Even though Elder Kong could hear the rage in the person¡¯s voice, it was a bright voice. It was definitely not Elder Xuan¡¯s voice.Elder Xuan is not the only Ultimate Douluo?

    It was important to note that Kong Deming was only able to fend off Elder Xuan¡¯s attacks with his ss 10 soul engineer powers. It was almost impossible for them to conclude who was more powerful. The Sun Moon Empire had only gained the upper hand because of their soul tools. Because of them, their individual fighting power was enhanced, while their enemies¡¯bat ability was reduced. If Star Luo City was to gain the help of another Ultimate Douluo, it would be a very difficult victory for the Sun Moon Empire. They would have to sustain a heavy cost to take down Star Luo City! How could Elder Kong not be worried about the appearance of this mysterious Ultimate Douluo?

    In addition, as a ss 10 soul engineer, he was able to tell that this neer was probably more powerful than Elder Xuan. He or she was not just an ordinary Ultimate Douluo. Even Elder Kong was not confident of defeating this person.

    However, there was one person who was even more shocked than Elder Kong. The person was none other than the War God Empress who was standing behind him.

    After hearing the loud exmation from the sky, Ju Zi might have been momentarily overwhelmed by a dizzying sensation. However, after sheposed herself, her body started to tremble uncontrobly. She was not trembling in excitement this time around. On the contrary, she was trembling with fear!

    That was right! She was trembling with fear! The reason was that she knew whose voice that was. That was precisely why she was so scared of his sudden appearance. He was the person whom she really did not want to see at this very instant!

    Even though the golden sun was irradiating thend with its brilliant, intense glow, the air started to be incredibly cold. Snowkes started to fall from the sky as they enveloped the entire battlefield.

    It was important to note that it was only the start of autumn at Star Luo City. However, the ambient temperature was plunging at an insane speed. In fact, it was so cold that the snowkes were just drifting about in the sky. For some strange reason, they could notnd on the ground.

    A silver light flickered from the distant sky. During its first flicker, it appeared to be at the furthest end of the sky. However, when it flickered again, it was already right before Ju Zi and Kong Deming.

    Two figures appeared in the air right before the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army.

    Is that him? Is it really him?

    Ju Zi almost stumbled as her mind turnedpletely nk.

    Kong Deming immediately raised his hand and dragged the White Tiger Duke towards him. He used his soul tool to control and suppress him.

    At this instant, it was apparent that the people who had eximed earlier were a man and a woman.

    The man was wearing a long pale blue robe. His long hair was swaying in the wind behind his back. While he was undeniably handsome, he had an aura which seemed to give off the impression that he was no longer affected by worldly concerns. Snowkes spiraled around his body in a continuous fashion. Whenever the snowkes were about to disappear, they would give off a faint silver glow which was almost indiscernible to the eye.

    The female who was standing by his side was even more radiant. Her long violet hair draped from her head to her toes. Her breathtaking looks were definitely more than enough to bring shame to the moon. Her violet eyes were absolutely mesmerizing. A gentle and warm golden glow flickered around her body, and there was a faint dragon roar every time the golden light flickered.

    Audible gasps could already be heard around Ju Zi.

    ¡°Is that Huo Yuhao? The Spirit Ice Douluo who challenged ten of our people. The person who is standing beside him must be the Dragon Butterfly Douluo, Tang Wutong.¡±

    Yes, the pair who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield was Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong!

    After cultivating for three long years, they had finallypleted their closed-door cultivation.

    Those three years went by very quickly for them because both of them were in a deep meditative state. Huo Yuhao had finallypleted his absorption of the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s spiritual power. He was able to use his powerful spiritual power¡ªwhich was already beyond that of an Ultimate Douluo, and at borderline demi-god level¡ªtoplete his third soul core and fuse all of the soul power in his body. At the same time, he was finally able to master his control of spatial power. His third soul core was a spatial soul core.

    Huo Yuhao was already done with his cultivation about half a year ago. However, Tang Wutong had needed some help because she did not possess an equally powerful spiritual power. She was stuck at a bottleneck, and needed Huo Yuhao to use his soul power and spiritual power to guard her. She was only able to make her breakthrough andplete her third soul core a day ago.

    Hence, they were able to build on their achievements as the first people to possess Yin Yang Complement soul cores and form their third soul core. They had created another miracle in this world.

    Even though they were ultimately still Ultimate Douluo, they were definitely the most powerful Ultimate Douluo in the history of the Douluo Continent.

    Afterpleting their closed-door cultivation, Huo Yuhao had a deeper appreciation and sensitivity towards destiny. He immediately sensed that something was amiss. Hence, they flew to a neighboring city to understand what had happened while they were away. They were utterly shocked by what they had heard.

    They learned that Ju Zi did not keep the promise they had made previously, but had gone on to start another war, and had already destroyed the Dou Ling Empire.

    After hearing this news, Huo Yuhao could not help but fly into a rage. At this instant, he could sense his heart contracting as he felt an inexplicable sense of fear. Led by his sense of destiny, he ripped apart the space before him and tried to rush to Star Luo City with Tang Wutong.

    At that instant when Ju Zi was about to stab the White Tiger Duke, Huo Yuhao was actually about two hundred and fifty kilometers away. However, he could sense the fear in his heart reaching an unprecedented peak. Hence, he used his voice to rip apart space to stop her. Following which, within the blink of an eye, he was able to use his mastery of spatial power to transport himself and Tang Wutong to where Ju Zi and Kong Deming were.

    Huo Yuhao was instantly overwhelmed by several emotions after seeing her and the White Tiger Duke, who was no longer wearing any armor or a shirt.

    Simrly, Ju Zi was also overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions. As they stared at one another, her eyes reddened.

    ¡°Why? Why must you return now? Why?¡± Ju Zi raised the longsword in her hand and stabbed the White Tiger Duke without any warning.

    She knew if she didn¡¯t make her move now, she would probably not have a chance to avenge her parents again. This time, she used all her effort and soul power to attempt to kill the White Tiger Duke. As long as she was able to kill him, her revenge would beplete.

    ¡°Cling!¡± A bright metallic sound could be heard. Even though the longsword hade into contact with skin, it was unable to prate into the person¡¯s body.

    Ju Zi¡¯s jaw dropped when she saw that the White Tiger Duke had been reced by the person she had missed all this while.

    Xuanwu Discement! This was one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s favorite skills, and it now saved his father¡¯s life.

    He was able to use his powerful spiritual power and soul power to rip apart Kong Deming¡¯s Silvermoon Divine Barrier andplete his Xuanwu Discement.

    The White Tiger Duke had been disced to where Huo Yuhao was.

    After emitting that bright metallic sound, the longsword immediately disintegrated.

    Kong Deming was shocked as he tried his best to contract his Silvermoon Divine Barrier to contain Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Huo Yuhao eximed furiously. At that instant, his entire body turned a brilliant red-gold color. An intense golden light was released into his surroundings as a spiritual tempest formed around him.

    The Silvermoon Divine Barrier which had managed to contain Elder Xuan was instantly shredded to pieces. The golden light released by Huo Yuhao immediately became silver. Following which, the Silvermoon Divine Barrier returned to Kong Deming¡¯s side, and tried to envelop him.

 Chapter 615.1 - Invincible

    <h4 ss>Chapter 615.1: Invincible</h4>

    Kong Deming couldn¡¯t just be described as astonished now. He waspletely horrified as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He retreated almost instantly, and widened the gap between them.

    This, this person¡¯s control of spatial power has actually reached such a standard? He managed to seal all the surrounding space in just an instant earlier.

    The Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier taps into spatial power. No matter how strong an attack is, it can be directed into space.

    However, this person managed to seal all the surrounding space and prevented the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier from escaping. After this, he relied on his unprecedentedly strong spiritual power to tear the barrier apart.

    If Kong Deming wasn¡¯t quick enough, his natal soul tool would have beenpletely destroyed. If that had happened, he would have been critically hurt.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even take a look at Kong Deming. His attention was all on Ju Zi.

    ¡°I should be asking you why instead. Why? Ju Zi, tell me why? I trusted you, but you betrayed my trust. You started a war just as I was in closed-door cultivation!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice was very low-pitched. However, every word that came from his mouth generated a weird spiritual undtion.

    Right now, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion had gathered. They encircled him, Tang Wutong and Dai Hao.

    When those in Star Luo City saw Huo Yuhao appearing, they were all extremely delighted after a momentary shock.

    Perhaps the others couldn¡¯t sense Huo Yuhao¡¯s condition. However, Elder Xuan could tell that his abilities were already way above his. This meant that Huo Yuhao was already an Ultimate Douluo! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao definitely had a third soul core. This was because he couldn¡¯t have be an Ultimate Douluo without one. Eve though Elder Xuan didn¡¯t know how he had done it, he saw hope right now.

    Xuan Ziwen, fire stationary interference shells. Those from Shrek and the Tang Sect, follow me to receive Yuhao and Wutong.¡± Elder Xuan instructed. Everyone from the Tang Sect was already very eager. They immediately flew out from Star Luo City towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Ju Zi was in a daze as she looked at Huo Yuhao. However, she didn¡¯t step back. ¡°Why? Why did you tell me you¡¯d be in closed-door cultivation for a long time? Did you know that I didn¡¯t dare to start a war with you around? Why? Alright, I¡¯ll tell you why. You should know why I chose to marry Xu Tianran. I did it for revenge. I did it to avenge my parents. It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him!¡±

    As she spoke, she pointed at Dai Hao. ¡°He¡¯s the person who killed my father. It¡¯s him. He led his troops and upied ournd. It was his soldiers who killed my father. My mother died of sorrow. My family was broken up because of him. He made me an orphan. I only lived for revenge. I lived to kill him. If you didn¡¯t let me start a war, I¡¯d need to wait for ten years. I can¡¯t wait for ten years. Did you know? I¡¯m afraid of you. You¡¯re too strong.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t afraid of how strong the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires would be in ten years. How can soul tool technology be caught up to so easily? But I was afraid of you. I was afraid that you¡¯d be stronger. You were already so strong. I¡¯ve personally seen you reach the abilities of an Ultimate Douluo. How much more powerful will you be in ten years? I can¡¯t judge. When that happens, won¡¯t you stop me if I try to start a war? How can I take revenge if you intervene? How can I kill my enemy? This was why I went back on my word. If I can kill him, so what if you kill me? Yuhao, let me do it. Let me kill him. If you do so, I won¡¯t touch Star Luo City anymore. Since you¡¯re back, I can give up on Star Luo City. However, Dai Hao must die. He has to die!¡±

    When she finished, Ju Zi was already hysterical. Her entire body was shaking tremendously. There was only boundless hate in her eyes.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her coldly. ¡°Ju Zi, I didn¡¯t expect you to be like this. For your own selfish reasons, you started a war in the continent. You went back on your promise. There¡¯s no need to say anything else. Pull your troops back immediately and lead them back to the Sun Moon Empire. Return the territories that belong to the Heavenly Soul Empire, Dou Ling Empire and Star Luo Empire. Otherwise, I¡¯ll spare no one. So what if I massacre your empire? That¡¯s right, you¡¯re right to be afraid. I¡¯m back. I won¡¯t let the Sun Moon Empire rule the continent!¡±

    ¡°Joke!¡± Kong Deming was so furious that he startedughing. ¡°Ignorant kid, do you think you can change the entire war just by yourself? Even if we have to pay a price, you¡¯ll die here today.¡± As he spoke, he lifted his right hand, and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion immediately dispersed. They formed an arc and surrounded Huo Yuhao.

    However, Huo Yuhao seemed to ignore them. He turned around and shouted at everyone from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯te over. Let me settle it.¡±

    Bei Bei was anxious, and was about to speak. However, Elder Xuan stopped. He even opened his arms wide and stopped the rest from moving forward.

    ¡°Everyone, stop. Let Yuhao settle this.¡±

    Bei Bei was anxious as he said, ¡°Elder Xuan, there are only two of them. The Sun Moon Empire¡­¡±

    Elder Xuan shook his head and replied, ¡°If numbers were the most critical factor, the three empires wouldn¡¯t have lost to the Sun Moon Empire. Don¡¯t forget that Huo Yuhao is an Ultimate Soldier the academy nurtured. Now, he¡¯s really an invincible Ultimate Soldier! Trust him.¡±

    After listening to Elder Xuan, everyone calmed down. However, they all turned to Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    Huo Yuhao looked coldly at Ju Zi. Silver lights shed before he was already back at Tang Wutong¡¯s side. Simrly, he was beside Dai Hao.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao!¡± Dai Hao was a little astonished as he looked at him. He wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Ever since the war began, Huo Yuhao had vanished. Even those from Shrek Academy didn¡¯t know where he had disappeared to. When they saw him again, he was already so strong. This left the White Tiger Dukepletely astonished. He had been resigned to his fate. However, who knew that Huo Yuhao woulde to save him at such a critical moment? Furthermore, he felt very strange now. It felt as if Huo Yuhao was a little different from how he was before.

    Huo Yuhao looked calmly at the White Tiger Duke and nodded. He said, ¡°Retreat first. I¡¯ll deal with things over here. There are some things we need to settle between us too.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was stunned. However, he still nodded. He didn¡¯t say anything further. He turned around and flew towards those from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.

    Ju Zi suddenly shouted, ¡°No, no, he can¡¯t go. He¡¯s not allowed to go!¡± She knew that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were already back. If she missed this opportunity, she would probably not have a chance at revenge anymore.

    Just as Ju Zi roared furiously, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer¡¯s attacks began!

    Blinding lights instantly shot at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. There were close to three hundred ss 8 soul engineers, guided andmanded by Elder Kong.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong werepletely drowned in the ring lights.

    Ju Zi shook. Although she wanted to exact revenge, her heart still skipped a beat when she saw Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong engulfed by the lights. It was as if something terrifying was going to happen.

    Are they going to¡­

    Her worry onlysted for an instant. As the lights shed, they silently vanished. A silver door quietly appeared in front of Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong, and all the attacks were devoured.

    No matter how strong the attacks were, what was the point if they struck nothing? Huo Yuhao reacted in the same way as Kong Deming when facing the Star Luo Empire soul masters.

    It was just that Huo Yuhao¡¯s control of spatial power was clearly on a higher tier.

    Kong Deming seemed to have sensed this. He ferociously lifted his right hand. This time, his Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier covered arger area as it engulfed Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.

    The silver door from earlier disappeared within the barrier.

    As a ss 10 soul tool, how could the concept behind it be so simple? Kong Deming could also seal space. Furthermore, he could seal arge region of space.

    Kong Deming was the most brilliant when it came to soul tool technology. He had always believed that one could control his own destiny. No matter how strong one was, he couldn¡¯t resist an attack that was too overwhelming. One could control space, but what if he lost that control? How could they possibly direct the attacks of three hundred ss 8 soul engineers away? It was impossible.

    This was why he only had a simple goal, which was to kill Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong with the strongest attack while sealing the space around them.

 Chapter 615.2 - Invincible

    <h4 ss>Chapter 615.2: Invincible</h4>

    Close to three hundred beams of light shone once again. However, they weren¡¯t aimed at Huo Yuhao or Tang Wutong this time. Instead, they were aimed at Kong Deming.

    A strange silver armor suddenly shone on Kong Deming¡¯s body. This armor was like a mirror. On his chest, there was a huge gem which extended all the way from his chest to his belly. This gem was bright silver. After the lights behind Kong Deming surged into his body, they were quickly guided to that huge gem by the massive Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier. The bright silver lights made Kong Deming seem as if he were a small silver sun.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s soul tool technology was so advanced. How could it possibly only have one simple trump card?

    Right now, Kong Deming was using another trump card.

    Yes, ordinary linked attacks were now useless after they were affected by the interference shells. However, Kong Deming didn¡¯t just unleash a simple linkage. It was a guided linkage.

    He was like an intermediary. He guided,pressed and fused the soul rays that the soul engineers fired before unleashing an extremely powerful attack. This involved veryplicated knowledge of spatial control.

    Such an attack couldn¡¯t be replicated by anyone else. This was because it wasn¡¯t just enough for one to possess immense soul power and spiritual power. It was also critical for one to understand these powers.

    The human-shaped soul tools that the soul engineers wore were designed by Kong Deming. Along with his control of spatial power through his Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier, Kong Deming believed that his attack was already stronger than an Ultimate Douluo. It wasn¡¯t even far-fetched that it was at the tier of gods.

    This was the strongest strike he could unleash. He had wanted to use it to deal with the Ultimate Douluo in Star Luo City. He didn¡¯t use it against Elder Xuan earlier because he didn¡¯t want to kill him, and develop a deep enmity with Shrek Academy as a result of it. However, Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong both threatened the Sun Moon Empire now. Without any hesitation, Kong Deming immediately resorted to his final and most powerful trump card. A powerful attack was instantly unleashed.

    Huo Yuhao was expressionless as he watched everything unfold in front of him. He was holding hands with Tang Wutong as they stood there. His left hand was lifted slightly in front of him.

    A strangeyer of light appeared on his body.

    A jade-green halo mixed with an icy-blue light projection. In the distance, the golden sun which was originally there turned into a blue, circr moon. Yes, it was a full moon instead of a crescent.

    Unprecedently bright light shot out from Kong Deming¡¯s chest. It couldn¡¯t be described using colors anymore. When it appeared, heaven and earth dimmed. A terrifying force caused Ju Zi to exim. Even she didn¡¯t know about this trump card that Kong Deming possessed.

    It was so powerful that everyone was shocked.

    The sky instantly turned dark. It was as if nothing could challenge the brightness of this light. Kong Deming was already grinning.

    If this were ssified as a soul tool, it had to be a ss 11 soul tool. Yes, it was an unprecedented ss 11 soul tool.

    In fact, Kong Deming could only unleash this strike once. This was because there was no material capable of containing such immense strength currently. It was not possible even if spatial power was used as a guide. Right now, when this beam of light was fired, the gem at the front of his chest was already crushed. Once it was fired, the gem ¡®expired¡¯. It waspletely wrecked.

    However, Kong Deming¡¯s smile immediately froze. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    What did he see?

    It was as if the ice ins of the Extreme North had appeared in front of him. Thick snow fell, and the ground was icy.

    There was a huge ice mirror. The mirror was dim-blue, and emanated a gentle glow. In the sky, a full moon fell. It shone on this mirror, making it seem like a sparkling sapphire.

    The surface of the mirror was very smooth. The gentle glow was in contrast with the bright light that was approaching from afar.

    When the light shone on the mirror, it was reflected at a forty-five degree angle. It was reflected away just like that.

    The reflected light was like a huge pir that could support heaven and earth. It was reflected far away, and appeared boundless.

    Huo Yuhao turned slightly pale. Behind him, two figures, one white and one green, silently appeared. They both stretched out their palms and ced them on his back.

    The temperature fell dramatically. Silver-white frost started appearing on the body of every soul engineer from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. They started to lose control of their bodies, and weren¡¯t able to fly steadily in the air.

    ¡°This, this is impossible¡­¡± Kong Deming lost his voice as he eximed. He had lost control of his emotions even given his status. He was notposed at all.

    The attack of a ss 11 soul tool had been neutralized just like that. The other party had used very simple logic, that all light could be reflected.

    ¡°Bang, Bang!¡± Two loud explosions rang out.

    The gem in front of Kong Deming¡¯s chest and the ice mirror were crushed at almost the same time. They broke into smithereens

    ¡°Happiness¡ª-!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted. Following this, the blue moon turned back into a golden sun. The sky was shining bright with golden light.

    At the same time, a sonorous dragon roar was heard from Tang Wutong¡¯s mouth.

    She turned around and transformed into a giant purplish-gold Radiant Dragon Butterfly. This Dragon Butterfly supported Huo Yuhao. After this, strong spiritual pressure was exerted from both her and Huo Yuhao¡¯s bodies.

    A strange spiritual intent immediately engulfed the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. Their supposedly relentless attacks were halted just like this. Their bodies shone with blinding light, which obviously came from spiritual defensive soul tools.

    To build an invincible soul engineer legion, the Sun Moon Empire had invested a lot of resources and effort into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. Every soul engineer from the legion was equipped with a spiritual defensive soul tool. This was even proposed by Ju Zi. Right now, they indeed yed a very critical role.

    However, while they could block the spiritual attack, they couldn¡¯t block out the emotional undtions that came with the spiritual attack.

    ¡°Anger!¡± Another scream sounded. The three hundred soul engineer legions all shuddered at the same time. As they were influenced by emotions, they were struck by happiness and anger at the same time. Their soul power also became messy. They didn¡¯t even know what to do now. Their hands turned soft.

    ¡°Spiritual st!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s cold voice echoed.

    The sky copsed.

    Yes, it really felt as if the sky had copsed when he shouted. A terrifying shockwave immediately spread. It was no longer just at the spiritual level. It was on a spatial level.

    The sky turned dark within the region of the Spiritual st. After this, the barrier started shaking. Not only this, but another golden sun shone behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. It belonged to Tang Wutong.

    A singing voice echoed in front of the golden sun. after this, a second Spiritual st was unleashed.

    Two Spiritual sts were unleashed just like that. If Huo Yuhao was the one unleashing both, there should at least be a gap between both Spiritual sts. Even the Merfolk¡¯s Duet couldn¡¯t achieve an ovepping effect on the second strike.

    However, things were different with Tang Wutong¡¯s spiritual power. Her spiritual power also came from three soul cores. Furthermore, it was even close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. The Spiritual sts generated by the Merfolk¡¯s Duet achieved an unprecedentedly magical effect.

    The second st was generated immediately after the first st. Before the first wave passed, the second wave had already arrived. They ovepped, and their effects were enhanced!

    A deafening crushing sound was heard. The spiritual defensive soul tools that belonged to the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion were crushed. After this, their helmets and human-shaped soul tools were crushed.

    Of course, there was still the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier!

    Kong Deming wanted to stop Huo Yuhao, but he couldn¡¯t do so. When he was prepared to control his Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier, a blinding beam of ck light had already lit up in front of him.

    It wasn¡¯t overly huge, and was only thirty centimeters long. It was shaped like a ck hammer. However, there was a weird ck glowing from this ck hammer.

    When he saw this hammer, Kong Deming immediately sensed a potentially fatal pressureing from it. This caused him to shudder.

    After this, the hammer struck the air not far away from him. The terrifying pressure caused him to lose his bnce. He even lost control of his barrier as his body shook. At that instant, he only felt as if he had fallen into copsed space. He could no longer control his body.

    His eyes were filled with horror. At this moment, he could only act to save himself.

    He retracted the cracked barrier again. It appeared in front of him and stabilized the space around him. Even though he was bleeding, he still managed to escape from the region engulfed by the Clear Sky Hammer.

    Three hundred corpses fell from the sky.

    The battlefield was silent.

    Whether it was the Sun Moon Empire or those from the three empires, they believed that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion no longer stood any chance of victory.

 Chapter 615.3 - Invincible

    <h4 ss>Chapter 615.3: Invincible</h4>

    Earlier, it was because of their involvement that the Dou Ling Empire fell so quickly. In the world of soul masters, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion was legendary. However, this legend was taken down right now. It was as if it had ceased to exist.

    It was all because of two people!

    The Sun Moon Empire had lost its strongest pir. The fate of this fight was sealed.

    Ju Zi waspletely in a daze. Although she knew that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong would be terrifyingly strong if they returned, she was stillforted by the fact that she had the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. At least the soul engineer legion shouldn¡¯t have any problem resisting them.

    However, her hopes were dashed now. Resist? How could they? Without linked soul tools, how could they possibly resist two Ultimate Douluo? These two were even extraordinary Ultimate Douluo!

    ¡°How? How did you manage to reflect my light? It¡¯s impossible! The strength of my Silvermoon Divine Light Ray has already transcended this world. It¡¯s already close to the strength of gods!¡± Kong Deming was unconvinced. He was a little hysterical as he screamed at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked coldly at him, ¡°This is because my ice mirror is at absolute zero!¡±

    ¡°Absolute zero?¡± Kong Deming was dazed. He had heard of such a concept, but didn¡¯t it only exist in myths? Even Ultimate Ice couldn¡¯t possibly reach such a temperature!

    Forming an ice mirror at absolute zero before using it to reflect the ray.

    He was a little unconvinced as he asked again, ¡°If you resist it directly, you can¡¯t block it off even if you can reach absolute zero.¡±

    ¡°Childish!¡± Huo Yuhao snorted scornfully. ¡°Why do I have to resist it directly? Don¡¯t tell me you are willing to resist my all-out attack directly? You have three hundred people, but we only have two. Our small tactic was enough to down all of them. If you can unleash that sort of attack a hundred times, perhaps you can resist us. But for now, it¡¯s over!¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao looked into the sky. Tang Wutong, who was below him, also shone brightly with golden light.

    In the sky, two golden suns shone at the same time. They shed alternately in the sky, turning the entire battlefield golden. Immense spiritual undtions engulfed the entire Sun Moon Empire army. Any slight movement was recorded.

    ¡°Sorrow!¡± Huo Yuhao called.

    Something strange happened. On the ground, all the soul tools in the soul formations started to melt. They turned into a golden metal fluid that spread on the ground.

    The feeling of sorrow didn¡¯t just affect people. It affected everything. This was the power of emotions.

    It was simple sorrow, but the entire world shook because of this. The soul formations that had been constructed seemed to vanish instantly.

    Huo Yuhao looked coldly at Ju Zi, ¡°Now, you shouldn¡¯t doubt my words, right? You should know that I can destroy your entire army. Return all the territories that the Sun Moon Empire has invaded and scram back to the Sun Moon Empire. If you do that, I¡¯ll spare their lives. Otherwise, prepare to witness their deaths.¡±

    Ju Zi turned pale. When she saw the White Tiger Duke, who had already retreated far away, she knew that she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to avenge her parents¡¯ deaths.

    All her sacrifices and hard work over the years was wasted just like that.

    ¡°No, no, no! I want to take revenge. I want to take revenge!¡± Ju Zi raged at Huo Yuhao. ¡°That¡¯s right, you can kill all of us. So what if you can? I¡¯ve already given the order. If the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army is taken down here, the troops stationed in all the cities of the three empires will start a massacre of the civilians in those cities. We¡¯ll kill as many as possible.¡±

    ¡°You are brilliant! However, can you save the entire continent? Can you? Thousands and thousands of people will have died because of you. If you kill millions from the Sun Moon Empire, I¡¯ll kill even more from the three empires. They¡¯ll die with us. If you don¡¯t let me take revenge, I¡¯ll vent all my anger and hatred on the entire continent.¡±

    After hearing Ju Zi¡¯s hysterical words, Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t the only one whose expression changed significantly. The people from Shrek Academy, Star Luo City, the Dou Ling Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire were also all shocked.

    If Ju Zi really did that, the entire continent would be stained with blood! How terrifying would that be?

    Such a disaster was unimaginable. At least, no one here was willing to imagine it.

    Huo Yuhao was furious. ¡°What are you talking about? Will you dare to do that?¡±

    Ju Zi red at him coldly. ¡°I can do anything for revenge. Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve won. Hand the White Tiger Duke over. As long as I kill him, I¡¯ll recall my troops. Star Luo City can remain. I won¡¯t attack the city as long as you are alive. I¡¯ve already gained control of the entire continent. I can do whatever I want. No matter how strong you are, you can¡¯t save the entire continent.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was already pale-green by now. That¡¯s right, he had managed to reverse the situation with his and Tang Wutong¡¯s immense abilities. Even though there were millions in front of him now, they were just cannon fodder to the two of them. However, Ju Zi was right. The Sun Moon Empire controlled most of the continent. Given this, Huo Yuhao might be able to protect a few cities if she ordered a genocide. However, he wouldn¡¯t be able to protect the entire continent! It couldn¡¯t happen.

    ¡°Ju Zi!¡± Huo Yuhao shouted coldly.

    Ju Zi looked up and red coldly back at him.

    At this moment, a figure flew out from Huo Yuhao¡¯s back and came beside him. It was the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao.

    ¡°If she wants to kill me, let her do it. As long as I can protect the countless lives on the continent, what¡¯s my life worth?¡± Dai Hao said. Right now, there was aforted look in his eyes. As the Marshal, he had never expected someone to be able to change the entire course of a battle with his individual ability.

    Furthermore, he saw hope in Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. He saw hope for the Star Luo Empire. He still recalled Huo Yuhao once telling him that he was from the Star Luo Empire. Since this was the case, the Star Luo Empire had a future!

    In the future, how could the empire not restore its glory under Huo Yuhao¡¯s leadership? Ju Zi was very big with her words. She wanted to massacre everyone on the continent, but she might not be able to do it. Once he was dead, she mightck the motivation to do it too. Didn¡¯t she just want revenge? She could kill him. For the future of the empire and for the continent, he believed that his death was worth it.

    ¡°No.¡± Huo Yuhao shouted and grabbed the White Tiger Duke by the shoulder. He refused to let him fly over.

    After this, Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze turned deeper. His spiritual undtions engulfed the entire Sun Moon Empire army. After this, there seemed to be something else appearing in his eyes. He appeared to struggle a little, but soon made up his mind.

    ¡°Ju Zi, don¡¯t me me since you¡¯re so brazen.¡± Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. He swept his right hand in front of his body. A streak of silver light shed across the sky and revealed a silver door.

    Ju Zi was stunned. When she looked into his eyes, an indescribable fear surfaced in her heart. This was because she immediately knew what he was up to.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡±Ju Zi shouted.

    However, Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand was already in the door. At the next moment, a boy who looked like he was six or seven appeared in his hand.

    This boy¡¯s appearance was very sudden. However, the soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire were very astonished now.

    This boy was also lost. He looked at Huo Yuhao before looking at his mother. He appeared confused.

    However, he still managed to remain calm. He was puzzled as he looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°Who are you? Why did you grab me?¡± His train of thought was very clear.

    ¡°Huo Yuhao, you must not hurt him. No, no!¡± Ju Zi¡¯s persistence was broken because of this boy. She was almost on the verge of crying as she screamed at Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked coldly at her, ¡°If you can kill all life on the continent, why can¡¯t I do the same? I don¡¯t wish to use a boy to threaten you. However, don¡¯t me me if you¡¯re using the entire continent to threaten me.¡±

    As he spoke, he pulled the boy into his embrace. The boy¡¯s face was very close to Huo Yuhao. He was in a daze, but he wasn¡¯t afraid. He even stretched out his hand to touch Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Huo Yuhao dodged, but the boy still managed to touch him.

    ¡°Why, why do I find you so familiar?¡± The boy asked curiously. He didn¡¯t seem to be afraid at all. After this, he turned to his mother. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t cry! This uncle smells very familiar. He won¡¯t harm me!¡±

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was holding the current Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Yunhan!

    He had easily managed to find where Xu Yunhan was using his Spiritual Detection. After that, he used his control of spatial power to capture him. This was something that Ju Zi didn¡¯t expect.

 Chapter 616 - Son

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 616: Son</h4>

    Very few in the Sun Moon Empire knew that Xu Yunhan had tagged along with them. The reason why Ju Zi brought him with her was because she couldn¡¯t leave him alone in the empire. After all, she had left with the strongest fighting force in the empire. Furthermore, something had happened to her son before. She was afraid of a repeat of the incident, which prompted her to bring him along with her. In her opinion, he was very safe with such a powerful soul engineer legion led by Elder Kong personally. However, who knew that the situation would be like this now?

    Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment after listening to Xu Yunhan¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the time when he first met him. He lowered his head and saw the beautiful, ck short hair that Xu Yunhan had. His big ck eyes were very bright, and his skin was just like his mother¡¯s ¨C very smooth and delicate. He looked elegant in his outfit. The smile on his face was even more captivating. He was only six or seven, but he was not frantic at all. Rather, he was curious as he lifted his head to look at Huo Yuhao.

    Could Huo Yuhao reallyy his hands on this kid? It was a certain no. It was impossible. However, he had no choice after being forced by Ju Zi.

    Ju Zi shuddered as she screamed, ¡°Huo Yuhao, you must not touch Yunhan!¡±

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and calmed himself down. ¡°Then agree to my conditions. Leave with your people and return to the Sun Moon Empire.¡±

    Ju Zi¡¯s eyes shed and she gritted her teeth. She was already a little speechless as she looked at Huo Yuhao. Revenge had been her life¡¯s goal. However, there were only two important people in her life. One was this man, who had disappeared for three years. The other was the little kid in his arms!

    Huo Yuhao was still less important. After all, she didn¡¯t belong to him. However, Xu Yunhan was her only son. He was her only reason to live. Ju Zi didn¡¯t even dare to imagine what would happen if something happened to him. Perhaps she would really use the blood of the continent to pay respects to her son.

    Even though she knew that Huo Yuhao had always been very soft-hearted and wouldn¡¯t do anything to her son, she didn¡¯t dare to take the gamble. It was too scary.

    ¡°Why? Why must you protect the White Tiger Duke? Why don¡¯t you let me kill him? You should know that it¡¯s better for my empire to rule the continentpared to what¡¯s going on now. I¡¯m no longer the one who can make the decision anymore. Even if you threaten me, I¡­ I¡­¡±

    Ju Zi could not carry on any further as she spoke until this point. This was because she was terrified to see Huo Yuhao caressing her son¡¯s head. Given his abilities, he just needed an instant to kill him!

    ¡°No, Yuhao, don¡¯t do it! Don¡¯t harm Yunhan.¡± Ju Zi begged.

    Kong Deming was already very grim now. Xu Yunhan wasn¡¯t just the Emperor. He was also his disciple. Although he was only six, his potential was already recognized and well-loved by Kong Deming. He believed that he could nurture a great Emperor for the empire.

    Now that he was in the enemy¡¯s hands, the circumstances had changedpletely. Moreover, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion had been wiped out. It was aplete turnaround!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s abilities were simply too terrifying. No one from the Sun Moon Empire could fight him. Under this circumstance, no one could possibly save Xu Yunhan.

    After listening to Ju Zi¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at the White Tiger Duke. The White Tiger Duke was also staring back at him. He revealed a gentle gaze in his eyes, whereas Huo Yuhao appeared very conflicted.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m protecting him? Why won¡¯t I let you kill him? I¡¯ll tell you in front of everyone.¡± Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath.

    Xu Yunhan was very obedient in his arms. He didn¡¯t struggle at all.

    ¡°Because!¡± Huo Yuhao turned around again and red at Ju Zi. ¡°He is my biological father!¡±

    When he said this, it was like a bomb that was dropped on two people.

    Although he wasn¡¯t very loud, it was very clear in every part of the battlefield because of the conduction of his immense spiritual power.

    On the city walls, Dai Yueheng, Dai Huabin and Dai Luoli were all jolted awake. They also heard everything Huo Yuhao said. Apart from Dai Luoli, Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin were both stunned.

    This was especially so for Dai Huabin. Ever since he had entered Shrek Academy, he had been chasing and challenging one person. No matter what, he wouldn¡¯t have expected this. He didn¡¯t expect Huo Yuhao to be his brother. In terms of age, Huo Yuhao should be his younger brother.

    Ju Zi was in a daze. She looked at Huo Yuhao, and her mouth was already subconsciously wide open. There were many thoughts in her mind, but she didn¡¯t expect this to be the case. How could this be the case? The White Tiger Duke, the person she hated to the core, was actually Huo Yuhao¡¯s father. Didn¡¯t that mean that Dai Hao was¡­

    Ju Zi felt as if cold water had been poured on her head when she developed this thought. She staggered in the air and almost couldn¡¯t control her body. She fell just like that.

    The White Tiger Duke was equally as astonished as he drifted to Huo Yuhao¡¯s side.

    ¡°What, what are you talking about?¡± The White Tiger Duke¡¯s voice hadpletely changed.

    In his heart, this young man was one of the most powerful individuals in the younger generation of soul masters. He was the most outstanding person in Shrek. Because of him, the Star Luo Empire had managed to avert a few disasters.Did, did he actually mention that he¡¯s my son?

    ¡°That¡¯s right! You are my father.¡± Huo Yuhao turned to look at Dai Hao. He was no longer calm, and his voice was shaking a little. Due to his emotional undtions, an indescribable sense of sorrow also influenced everyone around him.

    ¡°However, you are also my enemy at the same time!¡± Huo Yuhao was already very pale when he said this.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s voice cracked as he asked, ¡°No, this is impossible. How could you possibly be my son?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath and tried to suppress his emotions. ¡°In that case, let me remind you that my mom¡¯s surname is Huo. You should recognize that.¡± As he spoke, Huo Yuhao lifted his hand and retrieved a dagger from his storage-type soul tool before passing it to the White Tiger Duke.

    ¡°This is a gift of love that you gave my mom. I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke paused for a moment. He was fixated on the White Tiger Dagger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. He took it subconsciously, but his hands were shaking.

    ¡°You, you¡¯re Yun¡¯er¡¯s kid. Yun¡¯er, she actually bore me a child. Didn¡¯t she die of sickness when I went out for an expedition? How, how did this happen?¡±

    ¡°The person who told you about my mom¡¯s death must be your wife,¡± Huo Yuhao said coldly, ¡°in your heart, my mom must have had died some twenty-odd years ago.¡±

    Dai Hao was in a daze as he looked at the dagger. ¡°I was busy with war. I couldn¡¯t return even after learning Yun¡¯er was dead. Things were very tense at the front line. I didn¡¯t return to the Duke¡¯s Mansion for ten years. When I returned, she was already in ashes. The only thing I could do was refurbish her tomb. You, you¡¯re actually Yun¡¯er¡¯s son. You shouldn¡¯t be called Huo Yuhao then. You should be called Dai Yuhao!¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head with force and raged, ¡°No, I¡¯m not Dai Hao. I¡¯m Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m only Huo Yuhao. I¡¯m my mother¡¯s son, not your son. Have you taken care of me for a single day? Did you even know I existed? When I was young, I had to watch you from afar. You even returned then, but why didn¡¯t you go and see my mom? Why did you let your wife bully her?¡±

    ¡°I returned? Every time I did so, I had to leave hastily. Things were simply too hectic in the military. Yes, I neglected Yun¡¯er.¡± Dai Hao turned pale. Even when he faced Ju Zi¡¯s sword, he didn¡¯t look as lost as he was right now.

    Huo Yuhao turned his head suddenly and tried to hold back his tears. ¡°After we deal with this matter, I will get back everything you owe my mother from the Duke¡¯s Mansion, you and your wife.¡±

    As he spoke, Huo Yuhao turned to Ju Zi.

    ¡°Do you understand? You should! No matter how much I¡¯m unwilling to admit it, his blood flows in me. Although he harmed my mother, he¡¯s still a hero of the Star Luo Empire. I¡¯m not ashamed because his blood flows in me. No matter what, I won¡¯t let him die by your hands. Now you should understand why I¡¯m protecting him, right?¡±

    After he finally vented everything he had kept in his heart for so many years, Huo Yuhao felt relieved. Everything was about to be over. After he defeated the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s army, he would return to the Duke¡¯s Mansion.

    Tang Wutong was close to Huo Yuhao, and grabbed onto his arm. She grabbed his arm and used the warmth of her palms tofort him. She was the only one who wasn¡¯t astonished by his words. This was because she already knew.

    He still deeply recalled the vow he had made before he left the Duke¡¯s Mansion more than ten years ago. If not for that vow, he wouldn¡¯t have trained so tirelessly.

    Although his hatred had diminished, he still believed he needed to deal with his mother¡¯s matter.

    A bitter look surfaced on Ju Zi¡¯s face. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this. I really didn¡¯t expect this. You are actually his son. Yuhao, I have to thank you. You are right, I really shouldn¡¯t kill him. No matter how much I hate him, I can¡¯t kill him. Return my son to me. Return Yunhan to me. I¡¯ll promise you anything. I¡¯ll pull the army back. We¡¯ll return thend we¡¯ve taken from the Star Luo Empire to them. However, both the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires have long been upied. We can¡¯t return them. They are already more than half the Sun Moon Empire¡¯snd. I have no right to return them. What I can do is to return the Star Luo Empire. It¡¯s already the most I can do.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke was slightly shocked when he heard Ju Zi¡¯s words. It was already a surprise that the Sun Moon Empire was willing to return their territories.

    As for the Dou Ling and Heavenly Soul Empires, their royal families werepletely powerless. Even if their empires were returned to them, they were no longer capable of running them. Undoubtedly, this was the best that could be achieved.

    After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll follow your idea. Retreat with your army and leave the Star Luo Empire. However, since you betrayed our promise, I¡¯ll need you to pay for it a hundred times more. Within the next thousand years, the Sun Moon Empire must not invade the Star Luo Empire.¡±

    Ju Zi sighed, ¡°Alright, I can promise that. However, we¡¯ll counterattack if the Star Luo Empire attacks us. Return my child to me. We¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±

    She finallypromised. It had to do with Elder Kong. This was their bottom line that Elder Kong had suggested to her. As Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were simply too strong and there were stationary interference shells, the entire Sun Moon Empire army might actually be wiped out if Huo Yuhao decided to attack! They could only leave this ce first before finding a way to invent a soul tool strong enough to deal with him.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Leave first. As for Yunhan, I¡¯ll take care of him. You¡¯ve already betrayed your promise once. How do you expect me to trust you again? After ten years, I¡¯ll return him to you as long as the Sun Moon Empire remains obedient.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ju Zi eximed. ¡°You¡¯re going to take Yunhan away for ten years? No, impossible. Impossible!¡±

    After hearing that Huo Yuhao wanted to leave with Xu Yunhan, Ju Zi panicked.

    Huo Yuhao dealt with this in aposed manner. ¡°You betrayed our trust and started a war. We can¡¯t trust you anymore. Xu Yunhan will follow me for the next ten years, and we¡¯ll see what happens next. You can leave now.¡±

 Chapter 617.1 - Godly Seat

    <h4 ss>Chapter 617.1: Godly Seat</h4>

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. Return my son. Return my son!¡± As she screamed, Ju Zi immediately increased her speed and rushed out.

    She was already not too far from Huo Yuhao. She also acted very suddenly. Her human-shaped soul tool was the best she could wear. Once its soul thrusters were activated, she almost instantly teleported in front of Huo Yuhao. She reached out for Xu Yunhan.

    Huo Yuhao lifted his hand, and a strong force restrained Ju Zi. She waspletely restricted. Right now, Kong Deming knew that it was toote to save her.

    Huo Yuhao spoke coldly as he looked at Ju Zi from close-range. ¡°Leave with your people. I won¡¯t retract my decision after I¡¯ve made it. You must pay the price for your mistake. I trusted you so much before, and even told you about my closed-door cultivation. How did you treat me in return? Now, I can¡¯t bring myself to trust you again. I won¡¯t harm you. Leave.¡±

    ¡°Return my son. Return my son to me. I can¡¯t let him leave with you. In your eyes, he¡¯s the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. You won¡¯t guide him properly. He is myst hope in life. Yuhao, I beg you. Return my son to me. Return him!¡± Ju Zi begged.

    If this were the past, Huo Yuhao would have gone soft-hearted. However, the entire Dou Ling Empire had been crushed because of her betrayal. Even the Star Luo Empire was almost annihted, and the White Tiger Duke had almost died at her hands.

    Huo Yuhao hardened his stance and forcibly shook his head. ¡°Leave! There¡¯s nothing more to say.¡±

    ¡°No¨C!¡± Ju Zi shouted. ¡°Huo Yuhao, you can¡¯t do this. You can¡¯t do this. Yunhan, Yunhan is your son!¡±

    Space seemed to copse. Just when Ju Zi said this, space within a region spanning a hundred meters in diameter copsed. Her voice waspletely drowned in that space. Only those within this region heard what she said.

    Time and space seemed to stop at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were both astonished. So was the White Tiger Duke. Their expressions froze. Ju Zi was still sobbing. Little Yunhan was stunned. He lifted his head and looked at Huo Yuhao.

    This strange scene just paused in the sky like that.

    A dignified voice sounded all of a sudden and echoed in their ears.

    ¡°I told you before ¨C never reveal this secret. If you reveal it, I¡¯ll take your son¡¯s life. It seems like you¡¯ve forgotten my words. In that case¡­¡±

    A bright beam of golden light shone. Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, Dai Hao, Ju Zi and Xu Yunhan only felt as if everything was spinning in front of them. In the next instant, they came to another ce.

    When everything became clear once again, they were astonished to discover that they were above a golden patch of clouds.

    Even with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong¡¯s cultivations, they couldn¡¯t sense where they were right now.

    It was just that they weren¡¯t thinking of this at the moment. Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze was fixated on Ju Zi. He lost his voice as he asked, ¡°What, what did you say? Whose son is this?¡±

    Ju Zi was already pale-white by now. The dignified voice left her horrified. She quickly grabbed Xu Yunhan. After this, she kneeled down. ¡°No, please, I beg of you. Don¡¯t harm my son. It wasn¡¯t intentional. I was just afraid that he would harm my son! Please, please don¡¯t hurt my son.¡±

    Huo Yuhao only managed to turn around right now. He also unleashed his Spiritual Detection. However, he was stunned to realize that he couldn¡¯t sense any changes around him, even with his immense spiritual power.

    What¡¯s going on? Where is this ce?Huo Yuhao was stupefied as he tried to make sense of everything around him. He couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    At this moment, a beam of golden light shone in front of everyone. That dignified voice spoke once again.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of harming someone else¡¯s kid if you are so afraid of harming your own? I¡¯ve already tolerated this fellow for a long time. But heaven is benevolent. However, you still blurted it out. Hatred has blinded you and caused you to lose control of your emotions. You¡¯re walking towards destruction. I¡¯ll grant you your wish since that¡¯s the case.¡±

    A golden figure slowly became clearer and clearer. A handsome man who seemed to be only twenty years old appeared in front of everyone.

    He had long flowing blue hair that drooped all the way down to his feet. If not for his burly figure and broad shoulders, one might mistake him for ady.

    There were ripples on his long blue robe. Upon closer look, one would be captivated by the ocean-blue on his robe. His entire soul might even be absorbed into this ocean.

    While the guy seemed to be only twenty, the look in his eyes was very deep. It looked very hollow, but it seemed to contain everything at the same time. At times, there would be a purplish, moving sh that felt as if he could kill with a blink of an eye.

    He was carrying a huge golden trident with his right hand. This trident was very familiar to Huo Yuhao.

    He, he was¡­

    ¡°Daddy!¡± Tang Wutong suddenly shouted. Her figure shed, and she leapt into the embrace of that young man.

    The blue-haired youth opened his arms wide and hugged her. There was a benevolent look on his face. He gently caressed Tang Wutong¡¯s pinkish-blue hair. ¡°My dear daughter, don¡¯t worry. Daddy won¡¯t let you suffer.¡±

    Tang Wutong turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao. Right now, the look in her eyes was already different. She was intelligent. From Ju Zi¡¯s words and her father¡¯s rage, she knew that her im was probably true.

    ¡°Daddy, does this kid really belong to Yuhao and Ju Zi?¡± Her voice was trembling when she said this.

    The blue-haired youth nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Tang Wutong started to tear up. She looked at Huo Yuhao and seemed to be shaking. She spoke as if she was heartbroken. ¡°Why?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth was already wide open as he tried to exin himself, ¡°Wutong, listen to me. I don¡¯t know either! It¡¯s impossible that he belongs to me. Impossible! I¡¯ve never done it with Ju Zi. I¡¯ve never! I admit to liking her before knowing you were a girl. However, we¡¯ve only been friends. We¡¯ve never been together at all. It¡¯s not real. This kid isn¡¯t mine.¡±

    The blue-haired youthughed coldly, ¡°Not yours? Xu Yunhan, do you know why he¡¯s called Xu Yunhan? It¡¯s because his name ispatible with yours. Do you really think it¡¯s a coincidence? Ju Zi, tell him. Is this his child?¡±

    Ju Zi hugged Xu Yunhan tightly. When she looked at Huo Yuhao before turning to Tang Wutong and that blue-haired youth, she was already so dazed until she couldn¡¯t speak.

    The person with the dignified voice was actually Tang Wutong¡¯s father. No wonder he forced her not to speak. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to know anything!

    ¡°I beg you, please don¡¯t hurt my child. I beg you. I¡¯m only a poor mother. I¡¯m only afraid of my son being hurt! Please, I beg you.¡± Ju Zi didn¡¯t exin, and only kowtowed towards the blue-haired youth while hugging Xu Yunhan.

    Tears flowed down Tang Wutong¡¯s face. Her eyes were already red when she looked at Huo Yuhao.

    No woman could forgive her man for having a child with another woman! No matter how much she liked him, she could only feel sorrowful and enraged right now.

    The blue-haired youth looked coldly at Ju Zi. ¡°You turned a deaf ear to my words. You shall pay the price!¡± As he spoke, he lifted his hand. A streak of blue light shed, and Xu Yunhan disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in his hands.

    Ju Zi frantically tried to leap over. However, space had been frozen. The blue-haired youth looked coldly at her. He already had his hand around Xu Yunhan¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Let go of him!¡± A furious scream sounded. A figure charged forward and smacked a pair of tiger palms towards the blue-haired youth.

    It was the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao.

    From the earlier conversation, he knew that the kid probably belonged to Huo Yuhao. Although he didn¡¯t know why Huo Yuhao suddenly became his son, he knew that if Huo Yuhao was his son, Xu Yunhan was his biological grandson!No wonder the War God Empress said that she can¡¯t kill me earlier.

    Right now, there was no longer the Sun Moon or Star Luo Empire in his mind. There was only his biological grandson. How could he watch as his grandson was captured by someone else and was about to be killed?

 Chapter 617.2 - Godly Seat

    Chapter 617.2: Godly Seat

    That blue-haired youth focused his gaze, and the White Tiger Duke froze in ce. At the same time, Tang Wutong suddenly hugged him tightly. ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t do it. The kid is innocent. Don¡¯t harm him.¡±

    When the blue-haired youth heard her words, the look in his eyes turned gentler. He sighed, ¡°But, my daughter is innocent too! Who¡¯s taking pity on you? My poor Little Seven.¡±

    Tang Wutong bit her lower lip, ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s go home. I¡¯ve missed you, and I¡¯ve missed mommy.¡± As she spoke, she started to cry out loud.

    ¡°Wutong, Wutong!¡± Huo Yuhao only reacted from his astonishment at this moment. He wanted to leap forward, but the blue-haired youth red at him, and he froze in ce too.

    After this, blue lights shed, and the blue-haired youth and Tang Wutong turned into two projections before they vanished into the golden clouds.

    A dignified voice echoed in the sky. ¡°The Star Luo Empire must be returned, and the Sun Moon Empire must be remained the Heaven Dou Empire. Otherwise, hmph!¡±

    Xu Yunhan drifted in the sky, and was immediately caught by Ju Zi, who regained her mobility.

    Little Yunhan wasn¡¯t afraid. His eyes were still open wide. He was looking at this and that; he was curious. Of course he wasn¡¯t afraid. He didn¡¯t sense any killing intent from that blue-haired youth earlier.

    Huo Yuhao suddenly turned to Ju Zi and roared furiously, ¡°Why? Why did you say he¡¯s my son? How can it be? How?¡±

    Ju Zi hugged Xu Yunhan and stood up. She coldly looked at Huo Yuhao. ¡°No matter what you believe, he¡¯s your child. Do you really think I¡¯d give birth for just anyone? Back then, I knew Xu Tianran wanted me to inseminate myself with someone else¡¯s sperm. That was why I was already prepared. Do you remember when we were in the Extreme North? Just when you fell unconscious in my arms. I¡¯m not so despicable as to take advantage of you. I only use a soul tool to steal a ¡®seedling¡¯ from you. After that, I inseminated myself with your ¡®seedling¡¯ when Xu Tianran forced me. That¡¯s right. Yunhan is your flesh and blood. However, I have nothing to do with you. Neither does he. He¡¯s just a product of your genes. What have you done for him?¡±

    Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Ju Zi. He also took a look at Xu Yunhan. Suddenly, he was very conflicted and emotional. No matter what, he hadn¡¯t expected things to turn out this way.

    Everything that had happened before reyed in his mind right now. He quickly recalled what had happened. Yes! He had been unconscious in Ju Zi¡¯s arms for quite a while back then. It must have happened then. No wonder he felt so drawn to Xu Yunhan the first time he saw him.

    When he thought of the moment when Xu Yunhan called him ¡®Daddy¡¯ for the first time, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what to say anymore.

    Ju Zi hugged her son tightly and let her tears flow. She said coldly, ¡°I only took your ¡®seedling¡¯. As for the harm I¡¯ve caused to you, I can only apologize. However, what I want to tell you is this. This kid has nothing to do with you. He¡¯s my son, and the future Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. He¡¯ll take the surname ¡®Xu¡¯, not yours. You should know why I was afraid that you would hurt him. If you really hurt him, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life.¡±

    The White Tiger Duke looked at Huo Yuhao before turning to Ju Zi. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t know what to say. Everything that had happened today waspletely out of his imagination!

    Huo Yuhao shut his eyes in pain. Right now, he waspletely confused.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for him to undergo closed-door cultivation for three years and be an Ultimate Douluo. He even turned the situation around and prevented the Star Luo Empire from being wiped out. However, his lover had left him for something like this.

    Before Tang Wutong left, the sadness that she portrayed made him feel as if someone had cut his heart out. He couldn¡¯t even exin because he didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    Was he supposed to me Ju Zi? He had no energy to do so anymore. He had a son, but he was still a virgin.

    ¡°Yunhan, unleash your martial soul.¡± Ju Zi suddenly said to Little Yunhan.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xu Yunhan unleashed a gentle streak of soul power. This caused Huo Yuhao to reopen his eyes. The White Tiger Duke also turned his attention to him.

    A white glow shone from Xu Yunhan¡¯s body. His eyes turned brighter. What was strange was that he had two pupils in his eyes. He ballooned slightly in size, and a vertical eye silently opened on his forehead. His hair also turned half ck and half white, and looked just like the patterns on a tiger¡¯s skin.

    This was¡­

    Three-Eyed White Tiger? What kind of martial soul was this?

    The White Tiger Duke was astonished when he saw the double pupils in his eyes. At this instant, he was astonished to discover that the heroism in his heart had ceased to exist. He was certain that this kid was his descendant!

    Huo Yuhao also shook a little. He hadn¡¯t inherited the White Tiger, but there were sunray patterns around the vertical eye! The aura that belonged to his Spirit Eyes and the Eye of Asura couldn¡¯t be faked.

    This kid only had one martial soul, but it contained the strength of the White Tiger and the spiritual undtions of his Spirit Eyes. It was a powerful mutated martial soul.

    The surrounding golden lights slowly dimmed, and space distorted.

    Xu Yunhan regained his original look and remained in his mother¡¯s arms. He had allowed space to change, but was mostly fixated on Huo Yuhao. He was a little curious, but was also a little weirded out as he looked at him.

    It was still outside Star Luo City, and it was still above the Sun Moon Empire army, but everything was frozen. Time and space hade to aplete standstill.

    No matter how confused Huo Yuhao was, he could still guess the identity of his father-inw. He had to be a god. Apart from a god, who could possibly control time and space? Originally, he had thought that he was the peak of this world. However, he was still too far offpared to his father-inw.

    So Wutong is the daughter of a god. No wonder she¡¯s so talented.

    Right now, he couldn¡¯t think of anything more. This was because the sealed time and space were reactivated at the next instant.

    No matter whether it was the army, those from Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect or the three empires, they didn¡¯t notice anything amiss. To them, they only lost their awareness for a bit earlier. After that, everything returned to normal.

    Only those who were sharp noticed that Tang Wutong was missing.

    Ju Zi looked a little pale. Her son was already back in her arms. She shed and widened the gap between her and Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao looked at her weirdly. Right now, he didn¡¯t know how to deal with the current situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my promise. I will. This time, a god is the witness.¡± Ju Zi muttered.

    Huo Yuhao nodded forcefully.

    Ju Zi took in a deep breath and turned to the generals of the Sun Moon Empire. She shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    The words of the blue-haired youth were deeply imprinted in her mind. Huo Yuhao also believed that she wouldn¡¯t dare to go back on her word now that a god was their witness.

    In fact, both he and Ju Zi didn¡¯t know that the god was only saying it for the sake of saying it. As a god, he couldn¡¯t intervene in the lower realm. Unless it involved his daughter, he couldn¡¯t easily reveal himself.

    The Sun Moon Empire army slowly retreated. After a momentary silence, cheers burst out in Star Luo City.

    It was over. The war was finally over. Earlier, they still thought that they were doomed. But now, they had regained control of their destiny. They had even attained the final victory. It was a miraculous change!

    Huo Yuhao drifted in mid-air and turned to the White Tiger Duke. The White Tiger Duke was also looking back at him. This iron-blooded marshal was no longer as tough as he was before. The look in his eyes was both gentle andplex. As for the Sun Moon Empire, his hatred towards them had diminished. This was because the Emperor of that empire was his own grandson! His grandson was actually in control of the biggest empire in the continent. How magical was that?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded at Dai Hao.

    He was already a grown-up, and a leading figure of his generation. Tang Wutong¡¯s departure left him heartbroken. However, he had many things to deal with right now. He could only search for her after dealing with them.

    A son, he actually had a son. Apart from Tang Wutong, he was also thinking about Xu Yunhan.

    As he sighed, Huo Yuhao flew towards the others from the Tang Sect.

    Under Bei Bei¡¯s leadership, those from the Tang Sect quickly came up to receive Huo Yuhao. Bei Bei opened his arms wide and gave Huo Yuhao a big hug. Apart from Tang Ya, who was holding the fort in the Tang Sect, the rest were almost all here.

    ¡°Little junior, where¡¯s Wutong? Where has Wutong gone to?¡± Bei Bei couldn¡¯t help but ask after he hugged Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong had disappeared for three years. They had many questions to ask.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head dejectedly and said, ¡°Something happened earlier. Once we settle things here, I¡¯ll look for her. Eldest senior, Elder Xuan, let¡¯s return to Star Luo City first.¡±

    As everyone clustered around them, Huo Yuhao and the White Tiger Duke returned to Star Luo City.

 Chapter 617.3 - Godly Seat

    Chapter 617.3: Godly Seat

    When hended on the city walls, he received a hero¡¯s wee. Yes, he was the Star Luo Empire¡¯s hero right now!

    He was a hero who turned the situation around. Because of him, the Star Luo Empire was preserved. There was even a thousand year pact that the Sun Moon Empire couldn¡¯t attack them. This gave the Star Luo Empire enough time to catch up to the Sun Moon Empire. Moreover, the Sun Moon Empire was unlikely to try to renege on this pact with such an invincible Ultimate Douluo around.

    Xu Jiawei came over to receive him. He looked at Huo Yuhao before looking at Dai Hao. He had clearly heard Huo Yuhao¡¯s words earlier.

    ¡°Brother Dai, I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a son.¡± Xu Jiaweiplimented.

    The White Tiger Dukeughed bitterly. ¡°I only found out about it today! It¡¯s just that¡­¡± He thought to himself. I just wonder whether he¡¯s willing to ept me as his father. However, he didn¡¯t say this out loud.

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°Your Majesty, this matter is ended. We still have other things to deal with. If you have anything else to say to the White Tiger Duke, please do so quickly. After this, we have some personal matters to settle.¡±

    It was time to deal with personal matters now that they had settled ¡®work¡¯ matters.

    After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao turned to Elder Xuan, kneeled down on both knees, and kowtowed towards him.

    Elder Xuan was astonished. ¡°Yuhao, what are you doing?¡±

    Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, ¡°Elder Xuan, I don¡¯t think I can remain in Shrek City or the Tang Sect. I have some things to do. I need to find Wutong.¡±

    Elder Xuan revealed a smile on his face. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    ¡°Get up, kid.¡± Elder Xuan pulled him up himself and patted his shoulder. ¡°If Elder Mu could see how you are right now, he¡¯d be delighted. Go and do what you want to. You¡¯ve already contributed so much to the academy and the continent. Although I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on between you and Wutong, I¡¯ll still encourage you to do whatever you want. As for the academy, don¡¯t worry. The others from the Tang Sect are still around. Furthermore, there¡¯s a new member of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Huo Yuhao was stunned as he looked at Elder Xuan.

    A fiery-red figure walked out from behind Elder Xuan. She jumped into Huo Yuhao¡¯s embrace and tightly hugged him.

    ¡°Younger brother, you¡¯re finally back. I¡¯ve not heard from you for so long. Do you know how hard we¡¯ve been searching for you?¡± The person who came out and hugged Huo Yuhao was Ma Xiaotao.

    Her fiery-red hair was brighter than before. Compared to the past, she was much more genial. However, the fiery undtions that came from her body were much stronger than before as well.

    She had been assimting what she had learned when she was an evil soul master with her own cultivation and everything she now understood. She was now the strongest among the younger generation of soul masters in Shrek Academy. She was an Ultimate Fire Transcendent Douluo. She could possibly be an Ultimate Douluo in the future.

    Huo Yuhao hugged Ma Xiaotao and became very emotional. He then recounted what had happened after he and Tang Wutong left.

    When Elder Xuan heard about Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao¡¯s deaths, there was a heavy look on his face. He was the only elderly Ultimate Douluo left. Both the Twin Holy Dragons of ck and White and the Death God Douluo were gone.

    ¡°¡­the situation was very critical then. I couldn¡¯t inform the academy first. Also, I only went into closed-door cultivation with Wutong after Ju Zi promised not to start a war in the next ten years. However, who knew that something like this would happen? It¡¯s all my fault. I caused this disaster.¡± The more Huo Yuhao spoke, the more depressed he became.

    ¡°Fate is making a fool out of everyone!¡± Bei Bei said, ¡°How can you be med for something like this? You¡¯ve already done exceedingly well. You killed Xu Tianran, watched two Ultimate Douluo die, killed the Evileye Tyrant King and did whatever you did just now. You are a hero of this continent. You protected thest hope of the original Douluo Continent with your own strength. You couldn¡¯t have done better.¡±

    Huo Yuhao revealed a grin on his face when he mentioned the Sun Moon Empire. ¡°The Sun Moon Empire will cease to exist soon. It¡¯ll be renamed the Heaven Dou Empire. Ten thousand years ago, the Heaven Dou Empire was in conflict with the Star Luo Empire. Ten thousand yearster, it¡¯ll still be the case. While the Sun Moon Empire used soul tool technology to influence people from the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, the legacy of these two empires could also be said to have influenced those from the Sun Moon Empire. As for who will assimte who in the end, it¡¯s difficult to tell. As long as the Sun Moon Empire ceases to exist, they might not be the final victor.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say anything about being a god. After all, that would be taboo. However, he revealed the truth about his meeting with a god.

    ¡°Younger brother, what do you n to do next?¡± Ma Xiaotao asked.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of a way to find Wutong. Although I don¡¯t know where she is, I believe I can find her somewhere.¡± As he spoke, he looked into the sky.

    Since Wutong¡¯s father is a god, she must have returned with him to the godly realm. I must go to the godly realm if I want to find her.

    To others, the godly realm was ethereal. However, Huo Yuhao was already at the gate to the godly realm.

    Ma Xiaotao looked a little dejected. ¡°When are you going toe back?¡±

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as he shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    After a momentary loss of concentration, Ma Xiaotao said with determination, ¡°Younger brother, go. Don¡¯t worry about the academy. Your teammates are in the Tang Sect and I¡¯m in the academy. I¡¯ve already decided to remain in the academy forever. I¡¯ll be the next Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion.¡± As she spoke, she couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    Not only would she possess authority and status as the Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion, but she would also have heavy responsibilities on her shoulders.

    ¡°Elder sister, thanks.¡± Huo Yuhao hugged her tightly.

    Ma Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°I can only do this much for you. Go and find Wutong. You must find her. If possible, you must return with her in the future.¡±

    Although it was only conjecture, she knew where Huo Yuhao was headed in the future. How could she not aim for the same target? However, she didn¡¯t do so in the end. She believed that she might not reach such a tier, given her abilities.

    An exmation was suddenly heard at this moment.

    ¡°No, Your Majesty!¡± It was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s voice.

    Huo Yuhao turned around to take a look. He only saw the White Tiger Duke kneeling on one knee in front of Xu Jiawei, who was holding a sharp de to his own throat.

    ¡°Dai Hao, get up. Don¡¯t force me. If you don¡¯t agree to my request, I¡¯ll immediately die in front of you.¡± Right now, this Emperor of the Star Luo Empire appeared a little crazy.

    The White Tiger Duke was already very frantic now. It wasn¡¯t just him. Dai Yueheng, Dai Huabin and Dai Luoli were all here now. They were kneeling down behind him.

    Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and walked over.

    Xu Jiawei smiled even more when he saw him. ¡°Yuhao, quickly convince your father.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Dai Hao. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Dai Hao sighed and said, ¡°His Majesty wants to relinquish his throne to me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect Xu Jiawei to resort to this.

    Xu Jiawei looked very honest as he said to Huo Yuhao, ¡°As an Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, I¡¯ve been useless. I¡¯m also very jaded after all these years. There¡¯s no one outstanding in the Xu bloodline. But the Dai n is only getting stronger. Honestly speaking, the empire will be very stable if you are the one on the throne. Moreover, the throne belongs to your n. I¡¯m only returning it.¡±

    After this ordeal, Xu Jiawei finally knew what he thought about power and authority. This was especially so after Huo Yuhao¡¯s arrival.

    Seeing Huo Yuhao destroy the formidable Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion on his own, Xu Jiawei secretly swore to himself that he would rather relinquish the throne to Huo Yuhao than remain on it if the Star Luo Empire survived the crisis.

    Everything that happened next was even more dramatic. Huo Yuhao was actually the White Tiger Duke¡¯s son. Xu Jiawei immediately thought of a brilliant idea.

    Giving the throne to Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t as convenient as giving it to Dai Hao. Dai Hao was more influential in the Star Luo Empire. Also, the Dai n was part of the royal family. Although there was a conflict between Huo Yuhao and Dai Hao, Xu Jiawei knew that Huo Yuhao would protect the Dai n from how he had saved his father earlier. If the Star Luo Empire was controlled by the Dai n, it might actually continue to prosper in the future.

    This was why he made such a certain decision.

    How was the White Tiger Duke going to respond? Xu Jiawei was putting his life on the line just for this.

    Huo Yuhao was a little speechless. This Xu Jiawei was too intelligent!

    ¡°Dai Hao, cut the crap. Do you agree to my demand or not?¡± Xu Jiawei tightened his grip on the de and shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be a Duke who killed the Emperor!¡±

    The White Tiger Duke let out a long sigh. ¡°Your Majesty, why do you have to do this? I have no choice but to agree.¡±

 Chapter 618.1 - Challenging the Beast God

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 618.1: Challenging the Beast God</h4>

    The White Tiger Duke agreed, and became the Star Luo Empire¡¯s new ruler.

    Xu Jiawei put down the de in his hands as he helped the White Tiger Duke to his feet. He heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I can finally rest a little. I will immediately issue a royal decree and announce this to the world. What happens next is up to you. But you have to make me a Duke. Our little exchange is quite interesting, is it not?¡±

    Dai Hao stared at Xu Jiawei, whose face was brimming with chirpiness. Xu Jiawei was truly happy because he had sustained too much pressure over the years as the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor. Their enemy had retreated, and he was relinquishing all his responsibility, so he felt a lot younger than before.

    ¡°We need to settle things between us before you deal with other matters.¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice rang out.

    Dai Hao turned around and stared at Huo Yuhao with aplicated look, and his three sons did the same.

    Dai Luoli took a few quick steps forward and came before Huo Yuhao as he eximed, ¡°Brother!¡±

    A faint smile finally appeared on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face. Dai Luoli was much taller and bigger than before, and his soul power undtions weren¡¯t weak. He was a Soul Emperor now, close to bing a Soul Sage. Huo Yuhao could see Dai Luoli¡¯s growth over the years.

    Huo Yuhao gave him a hug and said, ¡°You have to continue working hard.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Dai Luoli nodded excitedly.

    Dai Hao nced at Dai Luoli suspiciously. ¡°Luoli, you knew that he¡­¡±

    Dai Luoli no longer needed to hide anything anymore as he nodded and answered, ¡°Father, the teacher I have been talking about is my elder brother!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Dai Hao¡¯s eyes widened with astonishment. He could clearly remember that the person that Dai Luoli had referred to as his teacher had saved his own life more than once.So, so he¡¯s always been trying to protect me. And I, as his father, didn¡¯t even know about such an outstanding son.

    ¡°Yuhao¡­¡± Dai Hao closed his eyes painfully. He knew that he owed this son of his far too much.

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin¡¯s wore strange expressions on their faces. Dai Yueheng¡¯s expression was a little better because he didn¡¯t belong to Huo Yuhao¡¯s generation in the first ce, but Dai Huabin¡¯s expression was incredibly strange as he seemed to recall something from his past, especially about how things were like when he was still a child.

    Huo Yuhao said inly, ¡°Follow me, everyone.¡± He waved his hand as he spoke, and ayer of golden light rose up that epassed all four of them. Golden light surged into the sky and travelled out of Star Luo City into the distance.

    ¡°Where are you taking us, brother?¡± Dai Luoli could tell that there was something wrong in the atmosphere as he whispered to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°The Duke¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    Dai Luoli was momentarily stunned. Right at this moment, Dai Huabin suddenly hollered from the back, ¡°If you wish to seek revenge, Huo Yuhao, seek revenge on me!¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body froze as he spun around and stared at Dai Huabin.

    Dai Huabin wasn¡¯t afraid at all as he gazed into Huo Yuhao¡¯s shocked but icy eyes.

    ¡°I remember now. You¡¯re that little fellow from all those years ago. So, you¡¯re still alive.¡± Dai Huabin said coldly.

    ¡°Smack!¡± Dai Hao suddenly turned around and pped Dai Huabin across the face. Dai Hao was furious as he roared, ¡°You knew? You knew that he existed. Does this mean that I¡¯m the only one in the Mansion who didn¡¯t know about this son of mine?¡±

    Dai Huabin fell to the ground, and he no longer stood up as he knelt on the ground. He lowered his head and said nothing.

    Dai Hao looked up and turned towards Dai Yueheng as he roared once more, ¡°Speak! Did you know?¡±

    Dai Yueheng forced augh as he went down on his knees. Of course he knew, since even Dai Huabin, who was a lot younger than he was, knew. How could he not know? ¡°Back then, he went missing not long after Aunt Yun¡¯s death. Father, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Say no more.¡± Dai Hao kicked him to the ground. Dai Hao was such a strong and resilient individual, but tears flowed uncontrobly down his face in this moment.

    ¡°Yun¡¯er, I¡¯ve let you down! I¡¯ve let our son down, too. I am amander and a hero in others¡¯ eyes, but I am an unforgivable asshole and a jerk before you.¡±

    Huo Yuhao turned back around and said nothing, and neither did he look at Dai Hao as he quietly controlled the golden light and continued flying.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion was located close to Star Luo City, but Huo Yuhao was stunned when he arrived.

    The White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion had always been so magnificent and grand! But it had be a pile of rubble now.

    Huo Yuhao extended his Spiritual Detection. The vast White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion had be nothing but rubble, not even a singleplete brick remained.

    Dai Hao forced augh and said, ¡°I was the War God Empress¡¯ number-one enemy. She has vented her fury onto this ce a long time ago, so nothing remains.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body trembled vigorously as he suddenly looked up.

    The golden light elerated, and suddenly descended towards a certain direction. They were moving very quickly, and everything around them became a blur.

    Fear! Dai Hao could feel fearing from his son at a time like this.He¡¯s afraid? What is he afraid of?Dai Hao stared at Huo Yuhao in surprise.

    Yes, Huo Yuhao was afraid, because he thought of a possibility, something that would make him live with regret for the rest of his life.

    That ce finally came into view. Huo Yuhao swept over it with his Spiritual Detection, and his body swayed a little before his tensed emotions finally rxed.

    They descended from the sky onto that ce.

    They were at a grave that had been renovated very well. It was lonely, but fiercely independent.

    Huo Yuhao was afraid because he was afraid that his mother¡¯s grave had been destroyed like the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion was! Dai Hao¡¯s name was on this gravestone after all, and Huo Yuhao would never forgive Ju Zi if that happened.

    But he could see that this gravestone was fortunate. There were no traces of armies or soldiers, like there was a force in theher protecting this ce.

    Huo Yuhao went down on his knees before the gravestone as he spoke with a quivering voice, ¡°I¡¯m here to see you, mother. I¡¯m here.¡±

    Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin were on their knees in the first ce, and they both looked up subconsciously at the gravestone. Dai Yueheng heaved a sigh, but Dai Huabin¡¯s lips were tightly pursed as his body continued trembling while tears flowed from his eyes.

    Dai Luoli knelt down next to Huo Yuhao and kowtowed towards the gravestone.

    The White Tiger Duke was the only one who was still standing, but he was sobbing uncontrobly at this point.

    ¡°I¡¯ve let you down, Yun¡¯er. I didn¡¯t even know that you¡¯d given me a son.¡±

    Huo Yuhao continued kneeling as his voice turned incredibly cold. ¡°There are still many things that you don¡¯t know about. The duchess mistreated my mother, and the two of us were treated worse than servants. I¡¯ve asked my mother before, when can I stop being hungry? I can still deeply remember the pain on my mother¡¯s face. My mother ced baked biscuits into her clothes for me so that I could enjoy a warm baked biscuit. But she burned herself in the process.¡±

    ¡°My mother has passed away, but even in the moment right before her death, I never saw a thread of regret in her eyes. I don¡¯t understand what it is about you that is worthy of her love. You were the one who had brought all the pain in my mother¡¯s life. You¡¯re a goodmander to Star Luo City, but you¡¯re a horrible husband.¡±

    There was no anger in Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice, there was only iciness. However, his body still trembled continuously.

    He had been waiting for this day for far too long.

    Huo Yuhao had returned. Even though he wasn¡¯t a Duke, and he didn¡¯t have that exalted and noble title, he was entirely worthy of realizing the promise that he had made all those years ago.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been very resentful. I hated the duchess, and I hated Dai Huabin, who had hurt my mother. But my hate gradually dampened afterwards, because my mother didn¡¯t have to take the pain that they had given her. At the bottom of it all, she suffered all that because she fell in love with you. My mother had to go through all that pain because of you.¡±

    Dai Hao seemed a little lost as he stepped before the gravestone. His stiff knees gradually started bending as he finally went down on his knees. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Everything is my fault. I couldn¡¯t give her happiness, but I still chose to be together with her, and I ended up giving her a difficult life. Yes, everything is my fault. Yuhao, I know you are resentful, and I am too embarrassed for you to call me your father. But can you allow me to live for another year so that I can arrange matters and affairs within the empire before I¡¯ll retire, build a house, and live in this ce. I will finally be free when that happens, and I can apany your mother every day so that I can speak to her and repent. And when I die, if you allow it, and if you believe that I am worthy, I will bury myself here to apany her. If there is a next life, I will give everything I have to love her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were no longer cold. Dai Hao¡¯s words touched his tenderest heartstrings. Of course he knew what his mother had hoped for the most back then. She didn¡¯t wish for any title or whatnot. She had just hoped for her husband to return, so that she could apany her lover!

    Didn¡¯t Huo Yuhao wish for Dai Hao to repent before his mother¡¯s grave in the first ce? Huo Yuhao¡¯s persistence finally dampened as he listened to Dai Hao¡¯s words.

    With his cultivation, and in addition to his control over the power of emotions, he was no longer like the child that he had been back then when he was blinded by the thought of revenge.

    Huo Yuhao stood up, came beside Dai Hao and helped him to his feet.

    ¡°I hope that you will keep your promise and do everything that you¡¯ve said today,¡± He paused and contemted momentarily as he continued, ¡°When I left back then, I vowed that I would avenge my mother, so that I could give her the most exalted and noble title and status. I knew that what my mother hoped for most was to be your wife. Now, since the Star Luo Empire¡¯s Emperor has abdicated the throne to you, I want you to appoint my mother as Empress. You are not allowed to find another Empress in the future, and you absolutely cannot let the duchess be Empress. I will not seek my revenge against her on the grounds of your repentance.¡±

 Chapter 618.2 - Challenging the Beast God

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 618.2: Challenging the Beast God</h4>

    The White Tiger Duke stared at Huo Yuhao¡¯s much gentler expression as he forced augh and said, ¡°You can¡¯t take your revenge against her even if you wanted to.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Yuhao was momentarily taken aback.

    Dai Huabin gritted his teeth as tears continued flowing down his face. ¡°My mother passed away a long time ago. She passed away five years ago. Come at me if you want to take your revenge!¡±

    The duchess is dead?

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned.Yes! Everyone has to die at some point.He suddenly felt very rxed in this moment, and he felt it deep in his heart as the heavy stone that had weighed on his heart for all these years crumbled just like that.It¡¯s over. Yes, everything is over. My hatred and revenge have been resolved.

    Dai Hao stared at Huo Yuhao with aplicated look in his eyes. ¡°What do you n to do next, child?¡±

    Huo Yuhao replied, ¡°Our matters here have been settled, and I have aplished everything that I wanted to. The Sun Moon Empire will definitely not go back on their word this time. Furthermore, we still have that level of connection between us. Xu Jiawei has abdicated his throne to you, and that is an absolutely excellent move. Even though I can¡¯t say that the Star Luo Empire won¡¯t run into any trouble within a thousand years, there shouldn¡¯t be a war within a hundred years. The Star Luo Empire will be fine if it continues developing steadily. There are still some things I have to do.¡±

    ¡°Will you return?¡± The White Tiger Duke asked.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m going to a faraway ce.¡±

    Dai Hao heaved a sigh. ¡°I know that I¡¯m not worthy of you calling me your father. But I still have to say: take care, my son. If someday you find yourself too tired and fatigued outside, thene home.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body shook as Dai Hao addressed him as ¡°son¡±, and thest thread of hate in his eyes disappeared. Huo Yuhao stared at his mother¡¯s gravestone, and his mother¡¯s smile suddenly surfaced in his mind, like his mother was staring at him with hope brimming in her eyes.

    ¡°Father¡­¡± The gentle word emerged from Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth.

    The White Tiger Duke quivered. He stared at Huo Yuhao in disbelief, then he suddenly opened his arms as he took Huo Yuhao into his embrace.

    Yes! This is my son!

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t address Dai Hao as ¡°father¡± because of him, but because he knew that that was what his mother wanted most. He would do anything so that his mother could be happy.

    ¡°You can leave. I wish to apany my mother for a few moments more.¡± Huo Yuhao muttered softly.

    The Duke let go of Huo Yuhao and turned towards the gravestone as he said gently, ¡°Wait for me, Yun¡¯er. I will be back soon to apany you. I¡¯ll return everything that I owe you for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Brother!¡± Dai Luoli eximed.

    Dai Yueheng stood up as he pulled Dai Huabin to his feet.

    Dai Yueheng walked up to Huo Yuhao and patted him on the shoulder.

    Dai Huabin walked over as he gazed at Huo Yuhao with aplicated look for a long while. He was struggling as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    A forced smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao¡¯s mouth. ¡°My mother cannot be revived no matter what, and neither can your mother. Let bygones be bygones. Forget it!¡±

    Forget it!It was so difficult for Huo Yuhao utter those two words, but he finally said them in the end. He finally andpletely liberated himself of all his hate and resentment.

    The Star Luo Empire¡¯s new Emperor, Dai Hao, left with his three sons. Huo Yuhao was the only one left in front of the gravestone.

    Huo Yuhao knelt down in front of his mother¡¯s grave, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you want to see, don¡¯t you, mother? You¡¯re so kindhearted, and I¡¯ve done it. I¡¯ve finally brought him back to your side. He will be here to apany you in the future, and you no longer have to feel so lonely. I really miss you, mother! If only you had still been alive.¡±

    Huo Yuhao muttered as he knelt in front of his mother¡¯s gravestone like that. Time continued to pass, and he remained on his knees for a day and a night, which passed in the blink of an eye.

    Faint golden light condensed behind him and gradually took shape.

    ¡°Have you dealt with everything?¡± A gentle voice jolted Huo Yuhao awake from his memories of his mother. He looked up, and what he saw was a familiar face.

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± Huo Yuhao stood up and bowed respectfully at the golden-haired youth behind him.

    The God of Emotions, Rong Nianbing, smiled faintly as he said, ¡°I have found out about your affairs. Seems like you¡¯re not in a particrly good mood!¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve done everything that I ought to. But I suddenly have a son out of nowhere, and Wutong has left my side. I don¡¯t even know where she is.¡±

    Rong Nianbing asked, ¡°Then what ns do you have?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes suddenly grew resolute. ¡°I have to search for her, and I have to bring her back to my side no matter what price I have to pay. Please take me to the God Realm, because she must be there. Do you know where she is? Who exactly is Wutong¡¯s father?¡±

    Rong Nianbing answered, ¡°Nobody can take you to the God Realm, not even I can. You¡¯ll have to rely on your own strength if you wish to go to the God Realm, not some external aid. There¡¯s one more test that you haven¡¯tpleted if you wish to inherit my spot. You have to be the strongest individual in the Douluo Continent. As for your future father-inw, I will tell you when you officially take over my seat in the God Realm.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes moved. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the Beast God?¡±

    Rong Nianbing tilted his head slightly, and his body slowly became faint and illusory as he disappeared into a million golden specks of light.

    ¡°Go, you can inherit my seat in the moment when you defeat the Beast God.¡±

    Thoughts spun in Huo Yuhao¡¯s head as he remained rooted to the ground, and a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

    Rong Nianbing didn¡¯t mention it, but Huo Yuhao could tell that he was acquainted with his future father-inw from his words. That meant that as long as he could reach the God Realm, searching for Wutong wouldn¡¯t be that difficult.

    The Beast God, Di Tian! Is it finally time for us to fight?

    Intense belligerence and fighting spirit radiated from Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes. He could only find Tang Wutong if he defeated the Beast God, and nobody would stop his passage to the God Realm!

    Huo Yuhao turned back around and knelt down in front of his mother¡¯s grave once more.

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going to find your daughter-inw. I will bring her to see you once I find her.¡±

    Huo Yuhao kowtowed a few more times before he got to his feet and flew toward Star Luo City.

    Celebratory spirits permeated the city.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Detection easily covered the entire city, and he searched for the people that he wanted to find. He quickly found where the Tang Sect¡¯s individuals were located.

    Huo Yuhao broke through space as he appeared in front of hispanions.

    Huo Yuhao was about to leave, and he had to bid his farewells to hispanions, and to Elder Xuan.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao, and his eyes were filled with yearning and longing. They hadn¡¯t seen each other for three years, and Huo Yuhao was finally back, yet he was going to leave once more.

    Huo Yuhao wore a gentle smile on his face as he stared at Bei Bei. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eldest senior brother. We will return when I find Wutong. I want to conduct our marriage at the Tang Sect, inside Shrek City. Our happiness cannot beplete without your blessings.¡±

    Bei Bei, He Caitou, and Xu Sanshiughed heartily as they heard his words.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Hurry and bring her back. Otherwise, don¡¯te back.¡± Jiang Nannan chimed in as sheughed.

    ¡°Yes, definitely!¡±

    Huo Yuhao left Star Luo City once more as he said goodbye to hispanions. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t leave right away as he rose into the sky and he turned around and gazed in the Sun Moon Empire¡¯s direction.

    They should be on their way back. Yunhan, little Yunhan.A thread ofmentation flowed through his heart.Ju Zi, oh Ju Zi. I don¡¯t know how to face you anymore. Perhaps fate and destiny have yed us after all. You¡¯re right, I am not worthy of being Yunhan¡¯s father. He belongs to you. He¡¯s your son.

    Huo Yuhao shook his head forcefully as he tossed away all the distracting thoughts at the back of his mind as he soared into the sky and raced towards the Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡­¡­

    The rubble that was the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Mansion outside Star Luo City was cleared, and a ceremonial altar was erected.

    Xu Jiawei announced to the world that he would abdicate his throne to the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao. Xu Jiawei was appointed as a Crown Duke, and he began building his own residence where the White Tiger Duke¡¯s Manion used to be after the ceremony.

    Dai Hao took over as Emperor, and he made Dai Luoli crown prince as Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin also became princes. He made his beloved wife, Huo Yun, who had passed away, Empress, while he appointed the Spirit Ice Douluo, Huo Yuhao, as the Imperial Tutor.

    Shrek City removed their lockdown, and Shrek Academy started enrolling students once more. The Tang Sect expanded their Soul Tool Hall¡¯s research structure, while He Caitou took over as the Soul Tool Hall¡¯s master. Xuan Ziwen entered Shrek Academy and became the Soul Tool Department¡¯s Dean, while Ma Xiaotao took over as the Martial Soul Department¡¯s Dean.

    Elder Xuan passed his position as Master of the Sea God¡¯s Pavilion to Yan Shaozhe, and he went back to his wonderful days of enjoying beautiful wine and delicious chicken thighs.

    The Spirit Ice Douluo, Huo Yuhao, was named the Sea God Pavilion¡¯s Honorary Master.

    Three monthster.

    The Sun Moon Empire¡¯s armies hadpletely retreated from the Star Luo Empire¡¯s territory, and they returned the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

    Six more months went by.

    The War God Empress stood her ground against the opinion of the masses, as the Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming and the military supported her while she announced that the Sun Moon Empire would be renamed as the Heaven Dou Empire.

    The Douluo Continent regained the standoff between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire from ten thousand years ago in the North and the South from this moment onwards.

    Peace returned to the continent, and the damage wrought by the war was slowly remedied as soul tool technology continued advancing rapidly.

    ¡­¡­

    Huo Yuhao covered hundreds of kilometers in the blink of an eye.

    Only a few moments seemed to pass as the Great Star Dou Forest appeared within his sight.

    Silver light flickered as Huo Yuhao broke through space and reappeared in midair. He was high above the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s skies at this moment.

    The Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s skies were known as a forbidden region, but not a single flying soul beast dared toe close when Huo Yuhao appeared.

    The skies were clear, and the weather was excellent. Gentle sunlight shone upon the Great Star Dou Forest, and the vast forest radiated with thick life energy.

 Chapter 618.3 - Challenging the Beast God

    <h4 ss>Chapter 618.3: Challenging the Beast God</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body glowed with ayer of faint light as he hovered in midair. Immense spiritual power expanded with his body at the center like an enormous pool of water that stretched over the entire Great Star Dou Forest.

    ¡°I¡¯ming, Di Tian!¡± Four simple words became like tidal waves of consciousness as they travelled into the Great Star Dou Forest. Huo Yuhao¡¯s consciousness traversed the entire forest, and that frightening spiritual will caused all the soul beasts to tremble fearfully, including the hundred thousand year soul beasts.

    Inside the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s core region, at the Lake of Life.

    An enormous head suddenly emerged from the bluish-greenke water as water rippled and sshed in all directions, and dense life energy permeated the air.

    The creature¡¯srge golden eyes gradually opened, and a gigantic frame gradually rose through the air.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here? I¡¯ve waited for you for a long, long time.¡± A deep voice resonated in the heavens, and waves of sound rolled through the air as the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s skies began to contort. The sky¡¯s color slowly changed, as the originally radiant sunlight was immediately covered by dark clouds.

    Huo Yuhao hovered in midair, and he was unmovable against the dark clouds¡¯ overbearingness.

    ¡°I have also waited for this day for a long, long time.¡± Huo Yuhao stared towards a certain direction calmly.

    A pir of smoke and mist rose from that direction. It was just a tiny sphere in the beginning, but the smoke swiftly magnified like an enormous smoke dragon rising into the sky.

    The lively Great Star Dou Forest becamepletely quiet in this moment, and not a single sound could be heard.

    Clouds and smoke condensed as the Beast God, Di Tian appeared. Di Tian¡¯s long hair was draped over his shoulders, and he ced his hands behind his back as he appeared before Huo Yuhao just like that.

    Di Tian¡¯s deep eyes were trained on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. He stared at this unassuming youth, and he nodded slightly. ¡°I knew that this day woulde when I didn¡¯t capture you on that fateful day. I just didn¡¯t expect it toe so quickly. The power of destiny has covered everything about you. I searched for you for over a year, but wasn¡¯t able to find a single trace. You dare to seek me out today, so you must have some level of confidence?¡±

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly as he stared back at the Beast God. They were like old friends who hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time, and Huo Yuhao answered, ¡°You¡¯re like a towering mountain before me, and I will never reach the pinnacle if I don¡¯t cross it.¡±

    Di Tian smiled coldly and said, ¡°Then we shall see if I¡¯ll keep the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s destiny behind, or if you¡¯ll step over me to search for your God Realm.¡±

    Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t surprised that Di Tian knew about his pursuit of the God Realm. The Beast God wouldn¡¯t be known as such if he couldn¡¯t feel Huo Yuhao¡¯s intentions.

    ¡°Up.¡± Di Tian growled as he took a step forward. Silver light flickered, and he disappeared into the air.

    Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, and he also stepped into space with a single step.

    Battles between individuals of their level were a lot simpler, but more dangerous than anything else.

    The originally clear skies darkened almost instantaneously. Dim light rays portrayed a strangely beautiful picture, and there wasn¡¯t any pressure at all. Instead, the skies appeared to be sublimating in some exalted fashion.

    Two beams of silver light emerged through these dark clouds almost at the same time as Huo Yuhao and Di Tian appeared ten thousand meters above the ground at the same time.

    Not even Titled Douluo could reach such an altitude. The air at this altitude was at extremely low temperatures, and also extremely thin. There were also vigorous gales billowing through the skies.

    Normal living beings appearing at this altitude would immediately be ground to dust and obliterated.

    However, Huo Yuhao and Di Tian looked like they were stepping on level ground as they appeared, and nothing seemed to change. Furthermore, the distance between them was identical to back when they had first met each other above the Great Star Dou Forest.

    Di Tian nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. ¡°I haven¡¯t had such fighting spirit like I am feeling today, and nobody has challenged me for many years. The truth is, I¡¯m very lonely.¡±

    Huo Yuhao said, ¡°I can feel that your yearning towards life isn¡¯t that strong. Why?¡±

    Di Tian smiled faintly and replied, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t ask me that question if you¡¯ve lived for a few hundred thousand years. I¡¯m familiar with every speck of dust within the Great Star Dou Forest, and I¡¯ve seen every detail that has happened in the world. I am already sick and tired of this ce. It is duty that has kept me here so that I cannot leave. Otherwise, I would rather use my future life to pursue new and mystical things.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is considered new and mystical to the Beast God?¡± Huo Yuhao asked a little curiously.

    A look of yearning appeared in Di Tian¡¯s eyes. ¡°I wish to pursue worlds outside the Douluo Continent. I travelled the world when I was younger, and did you know that our world is a giant sphere? If you fly in a single direction, you will ultimately circle back to where you started. The ocean takes up most of our world, and there are barely a few patches ofnd. The Douluo Continent is the most advanced one, in addition to the Sun Moon Continent that came afterwards. Of course, only the Douluo Continent remains, and the Sun Moon Continent is no more. I was born in the Douluo Continent, so I am happy to see this result.¡±

    Huo Yuhao stared at him in astonishment. ¡°Our world is round?¡±

    Di Tian nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Furthermore, all the stars that we can see every night are all spheres, including the sun and the moon.¡± Di Tian was like an intellectual who had umted his knowledge over a hundred thousand years in this moment.

    ¡°Therefore, I wish to see others and stars aside from our own. I¡¯ve already attempted to fly even higher. The pressure and restrictions in the air decrease after you breach a certain altitude, but there is a barrier in ce. You can only search for other worlds if you break through that barrier. I don¡¯t know if I can aplish that in my lifetime, but I do wish to try. Perhaps, that barrier is what the God Realm has restricted our world with. If I can break through that barrier, perhaps I will have a chance to enter the God Realm. I can almost feel that the God Realm is likely to exist on another star, perhaps one that exists above and superior to us. That ce can master more powers and mystical things.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you try?¡± Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

    Di Tian shook his head and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t. Life and death are terrifying things, but death is nothing to me. However, I¡¯m not just living for myself. I have to protect the Great Star Dou Forest, and I have to protect the dragons¡¯st pure bloodlines. Therefore, I cannot take that risk because I have to stay alive. Even if I have to stay alive, alone and lonely.¡±

    ¡°Frankly speaking, your appearance has given me a pleasant surprise. I have seen what other humans do not have on you, and there hasn¡¯t been anyone across tens of thousands of years who has been able to break through into the God Realm by relying on his own strength, and to ultimately obtain the God Realm¡¯s approval. And you finally have this opportunity. If not for the fact that you carry the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s destiny, I would almost be willing to help you, in the hopes that you can return in the future and tell me what you¡¯ve seen on the other side. That would be most meaningful for me.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, you have fused with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and this means that we can only be on opposite ends. I will not kill you, and if I can defeat you today, I will seal you away and keep you in the Great Star Dou Forest. With your current cultivation rank and physical strength, you will have no problem surviving for a thousand years. Furthermore, I will use the Lake of Life¡¯s water to nourish your body, and find some way for you to reproduce. Then, I will use your descendants to pass on the power of destiny.¡±

    ¡°I will find a hundred thousand year soul beast to be your wife, so that your descendants will possess a soul beast¡¯s characteristics, and your descendants can live even longer, while your power of destiny will always be passed on to your descendants. I will kill you when that happens, and I will fuse your Skull of Destiny into your descendants who possess a soul beast¡¯s characteristics. His long life and fusion with the power of destiny will undoubtedly guarantee the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s peace and safety. I¡¯ve contemted this for a long time, and I feel that dealing with this in this fashion will achieve the best result.¡±

    Di Tian was speaking very seriously, like he had already dealt with this matter.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, and he listened quietly to Di Tian¡¯s speech.

    ¡°The stronger you be, the lonelier you get. The Beast God is living an unhappy life after all, and he can¡¯t even pursue the things he wishes to. However, I have a lot of respect for you. You hold onto this life because you¡¯re bound by duty, and that is enough to earn my respect.¡± Huo Yuhao bowed faintly in Di Tian¡¯s direction as he spoke to show his respect.

    Huo Yuhao gradually straightened his body after his bow, and his eyes began to change along with his posture. His calm eyes suddenly grew bright, and they were filled with incredibly sharp luster.

    ¡°But everything you¡¯ve nned is based on a single prerequisite: you have to defeat me!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice travelled far into the distance, and those soundwaves tore a gap through the dark clouds. Radiant sunlight shone upon the great earth once more, and onto Huo Yuhao¡¯s body such that his entire frame turned golden.

    Di Tian nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I have to defeat you. Then, let¡¯s begin.¡± Di Tian slowly raised his right hand as he spoke and pointed his palm in Huo Yuaho¡¯s direction.

    Huo Yuhao made the same action and raised his right hand. He radiated with incredibly strong light at the same time.

    A golden sun glowed from behind his back, and this sun¡¯s light was so intense that it surpassed the sunlight from the sky. The golden backdrop made Huo Yuhao seem like a God descending from the heavens.

    A sun shone from behind Di Tian¡¯s body as well. Di Tian¡¯s sun was ck as ink inparison to Huo Yuhao¡¯s ring gold. There was a purple circle on the edges of his ck sun.

    Purplish light flickered faintly, and rippled with patterns that resembled mes.

    A golden sun and a ck sun faced off against each other in the sky, and the dark clouds were immediately divided into two colors. One side was golden, while the other was ck, but the clouds were no longer above their heads. They descended to beneath their feet.

 Chapter 619.1 - Third Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 619.1: Third Soul Core</h4>

    Di Tian had an eight hundred thousand year cultivation! His abilities were unparalleled. Their palms shone at the same time. Golden and ck lights shed instantly.

    They were originally only a hundred meters apart from each other. However, after they shed, the gap between them immediately widened significantly, as if they had sparked each other.

    A strong ball of light formed at the center of where they were earlier. After this, a terrifying energy storm caused space to shake tremendously.

    A huge ck hole instantly appeared at that position. It was more than three thousand meters in diameter, and it was devouring everything furiously, such that the clouds below were rising towards that ck hole.

    Some strange also happened. Below the ck hole, there seemed to be a ck and golden tornado. It onlysted for ten seconds, but it was an abnormal phenomenon.

    Huo Yuhao and Di Tian were several thousands of meters apart now. Di Tian appeared very surprised.¡°You¡¯ve formed your third soul core? It¡¯s spatial type?¡±

    Huo Yuaho nodded slightly.¡°Yes. Otherwise, why do you think I dared to challenge you?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The breakthrough was already at its most critical moment. The strength of the Ice and Snow Empresses were almost fully drained. Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul core had already taken form in his dantian, but it was circting on its own.

    Sitting in the cave, Huo Yuhao could sense a lot right now. He knew that the next fusion was going to be the most critical one. If it seeded, he would improve by leaps and bounds. If he failed, both he and Tang Wutong were doomed.

    If he had a choice, Huo Yuhao would rather not choose to cultivate his third soul core forever. He wasn¡¯t willing to take the risk with Tang Wutong.

    However, the Dragon Emperor Douluo and Death God Douluo had poured too much soul power into their bodies. If they didn¡¯t absorb the soul power, they were mostly likely going to die. If they couldn¡¯t control the soul power, they would die even faster.

    This was why they were in closed-door cultivation.

    What he had to do now was let his third soul core fuse with his other two soul cores. A new chain was also to be formed during the collision.

    If he hadn¡¯t absorbed the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s spiritual power and raised his spiritual power to a new tier, Huo Yuhao would really becking confidence. Right now, he had some confidence.

    He immediately relied on his spiritual intent to slow down the cirction speed of his three soul cores. The slower they were, the less likely it was for mistakes to ur during the fusionter on. This was undoubtedly the best choice.

    After he slowed down his three soul cores, Huo Yuhao started to adjust them slightly again. He increased the cirction speed of his first soul core, which was his spiritual soul core, whereas he slowed his other two soul cores down even further.

    In this way, things became a little messy between his intersecting first and second soul cores.

    Their fusion was built on a foundation of bnce. This was how Huo Yuhao hadpleted the Yin-Yang Complement ,method. Right now, the bnce was affected when their speeds were altered.

    His soul power undtions became a little unsteady. However, Huo Yuhao made a strange choice. He silently drew out the spiritual power in his spiritual sea.

    His spiritual soul core was at the core of his spiritual sea. As he drew out his spiritual power, a part of his spiritual soul core slowly separated itself from his spiritual sea.

    The immense spiritual power in his spiritual sea was the origin of his spiritual soul core. Without the support of his spiritual sea, his spiritual soul core couldn¡¯t possibly stay stable. Only someone like Huo Yuhao with such immense spiritual control could do something like this. If a Titled Douluo tried this, he would most likely have died by now.

    His soul power bulged a little. After this, Huo Yuhao started to struggle.

    Under his control, the spiritual power which he drew from his spiritual soul core started to sink towards his chest, whereas his second soul core rose as it was pushed by his soul power.

    Yes, he was trying to switch their positions!

    This was the best method if he wanted to cultivate his third soul core.

    After absorbing the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s immense spiritual power, Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul cores were already a little unbnced. This was because his spiritual soul core was too strong, and his Ultimate Ice soul core paled inparison. This was why the strength of his spiritual soul core would devour that of his Ultimate Ice soul core just as they collided to form his whirlpool-like soul power.

    Due to this, Huo Yuhao was forced to separate a part of his spiritual sea from his spiritual soul core. Right now, he was relying on the strength of his spiritual soul core toplete this fusion.

    His two soul cores shifted positions. The pain made him feel as if his organs were being torn apart before being put back into ce.

    Even though Huo Yuhao was already prepared, he still felt excruciating pain when he got to doing it.

    His two soul cores passed each other. At that instant, blood streamed out from all his pores. Given his physical strength, he was still unable to bear such excruciating pain. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny had already uncontrobly opened. However, it was dim inside.

    His Eye of Destiny had fused with his spiritual soul core! Now that his spiritual soul core was being moved away, it greatly influenced his Eye of Destiny.

    However, he still persisted.

    His two soul cores were finally separated. His Ultimate Ice soul core was heading up, and his spiritual soul core was heading down. The energies that shed generated unstable soul power. A low-pitched st could be hearding from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. This was because his soul power wasn¡¯t stable, leading to minor ¡®explosions¡¯ in his body.

    Finally, his Ultimate Ice soul core was pushed to where his spiritual soul core had been, and his spiritual soul core was also moved to his chest. Both soul cores were guiding each other. They wanted to return to their original positions. The chain between them was like a taut rubber band. Once it was released, it would immediately catapult both soul cores back to where they were originally.

    Huo Yuhao actually opened his eyes right now.

    If anyone could see the look in his eyes, he would discover that distorted lights were shining inside of them.

    He was shaking as he lifted his right hand. He pressed it against his Eye of Destiny.

    It was normally a very simple action, but it appeared very difficult for him now.

    Finally, Huo Yuhao¡¯s right hand was high enough. He used force and pressed his right hand against his Eye of Destiny.

    A weird ball of light shone. Huo Yuhao groaned slightly. He already sounded like a wild beast. At the same time, he removed thestyer of protection around his third soul core. The force generated from the cirction of his third soul core instantly appeared. Strong traction was immediately unleashed. The spatial whirlpool-like soul power it generated immediately shed with the spiritual soul core at his chest.

    It was also at this moment that unprecedently strong spiritual power was unleashed from Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny. There was a strong suction force. At the same time, Huo Yuhao released control of his first and second soul cores.

    Both soul cores immediately sprung back to where they had been .

    Right now, the strength of his third soul core was guiding his spiritual soul core. The strong suction force caused his third soul core to be wrenched out from his dantian. It left its original position.

    If there was one word to describe the situation in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body right now, that word was ¡®messy¡¯.

    His three soul cores had shifted positions. Whether it was his spiritual power, Ultimate Ice soul power or spatial-type energy, everything was a mess.

    However, there was one thing that was in order as his three soul cores circted, and that was his spiritual soul core, which was trying to return to his brow, and his Ultimate Ice soul core, which wanted to return to its original position too.

    This was even elerated because of the great suction force that was suddenly generated by his Eye of Destiny, such that his spiritual soul core instantly sprang back into its original position. It stuck closely to his Eye of Destiny, and unprecedentedly strong spiritual power was unleashed. At that instant, Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core and Eye of Destiny fusedpletely with his spiritual sea. His spiritual power was enhanced even further.

    Then, the mountain peak that Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong were on turned pure gold because of this terrifying spiritual power.

    However, that traction was simply too strong, such that his Ultimate Ice soul core immediately sprung away again. His third soul core also sprung up once again this time. The energy between both soul cores caused them to sh with each other.

    These two soul cores were obviously circting in different directions. Something strange urred. Under Huo Yuhao¡¯s precise control, they instantly fused through the Yin-Yang Complement method. However, they weren¡¯t where they were supposed to be. Rather, they were close to Huo Yuhao¡¯s shoulders.

    The three soul cores formed a strange triangr shape.

 Chapter 619.2 - Third Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 619.2: Third Soul Core</h4>

    The control that Huo Yuhao had relinquished earlier now returned.

    The two soul cores that hadpleted the Yin-Yang Complement sank. Huo Yuhao¡¯s third soul core returned to his dantian, where it was supposed to be. What about his second soul core? It returned to his chest.

    Due to the Yin-Yang Complement method, both his soul cores were already shining extremely brightly. The immense spiritual power that came from his first soul core also sank at this moment.

    When it came, it didn¡¯t just sh with one other soul core. It directly collided against the chain between the second and third soul cores. Immense spiritual power was directly poured into that rapidly spinning whirlpool-like soul power.

    The Ultimate Ice and spiritual soul cores were originally fused through the Yin-Yang Complement method. Naturally, theyplemented each other. And his Ultimate Ice and third soul cores had undergone the same fusion right now. Due to this, the fusion of the third soul core was unprecedentedly harmonious.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual soul core was the strongest out of the three. Its strength sank down to the Ultimate Ice soul core. After it fused with his Ultimate Ice soul core, it continued to sink down to his third soul core before it fused and assimted. The strength of Huo Yuhao¡¯s second and third soul cores helped to neutralize the strength of the spiritual soul core, which was much stronger than either of the other two.

    A strange bnce was formed as a result. It was like a link that was moving up and down in Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. After Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power fused many times, it gathered in his dantian. It then entered his passageways through his Mysterious Heaven Technique.

    The earlier mess and chaos vanished. The result was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was mainly gathered in his head, whereas his dantian was where his soul power gathered. At the same time, he possessed three different elements ¨C spiritual, Ultimate Ice and space.

    The fusion of the third soul core wasplete!

    The entire process sounded veryplicated, and it was even moreplex in real life. The reason why Huo Yuhao was able toplete the most important part was because his spiritual power was strong enough, and his spiritual control was precise enough.

    Huo Yuhao slowly put down his right hand. Thorn-shaped halos were silently shing around Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny.

    Yes, there was something special there.

    When the Evileye Tyrant King was killed by Huo Yuhao, he didn¡¯t just leave behind a seven hundred thousand year soul core. He also left a small eye. That eye was in the shape of a vertical eye. It wasn¡¯t a decoration; it was the soul bone that the Evileye Tyrant King had left behind. It was an unprecedented external soul bone, an Evileye!

    Under normal conditions, no human could absorb this Evileye. First, it was because it contained too much spiritual power. Next, it was also a vertical eye. It couldn¡¯t even be said to be a soul bone. It was just a manifestation of a strange form of energy, but it was superior to soul bones.

    It contained the purest spiritual power, as well as some of the memories of the Evileye Tyrant King with regards to his abilities.

    When he tried to take over Huo Yuhao, he actually paid a huge price. After all, his main body was gone, and he couldn¡¯t possibly pour in all his strength into his soul rings to fuse with Huo Yuhao. Given this, he left some of his soul skills in his eye.

    However, he had failed. The control left behind in this eye naturally disappeared. Huo Yuhao managed to unleash his spiritual power by fusing with this Evileye at thest moment. This increased his spiritual control to the maximum, which led to the fusion process earlier. Otherwise, it couldn¡¯t have beenpleted.

    He only fully recovered after a long rest after hepleted his fusion. Next, it was time to help Tang Wutong. Given his spiritual cultivation and control, he was Tang Wutong¡¯s Evileye. No, rather, he was the Eye of Asura.

    ¡­¡­

    After listening to Di Tian¡¯s astonished voice, he was reminded of the torment he went through to cultivate his third soul core. His sess was tightly rted to luck. If not for the Dragon Emperor Douluo¡¯s immense soul power and the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring and eye, he wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance at all.

    It was only through trying that he knew that forming a third soul core was actually so difficult.

    He was the first in history toplete it. While Tang Wutong was the second, she only seeded with his help. Of course, that was also because their martial souls wereplementary. It wasn¡¯t impossible for Huo Yuhao to help someone else form a third soul core.

    In terms of the volume of soul power, Huo Yuhao was still inferior to Di Tian. However, Di Tian was still shocked because of the immense soul power generated from his three soul cores. This was because Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul power was superior to his quality-wise. They were inseparable after their first confrontation!

    They were separated by that ck hole. Even with their cultivations, they didn¡¯t dare to get close to it. The suction forceing from that ck hole was simply too terrifying. It was a phenomenon of space being torn apart. Once they were sucked in, there was no turning back. They also didn¡¯t know where they would be transported to.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s gaze suddenly shifted. After this, he shifted lightning-quick.

    This was because neither of them could use spatial power given this huge crack in space. This was why he could only rely on his speed.

    Once he moved, the Beast God also moved. He shifted at the same time. Undoubtedly, he was trying to make his way around the ck hole.

    The ck hole slowly shut. However, both Huo Yuhao and Di Tian both knew that space had beenpletely crushed. It would take a long time for it to bepletely healed.

    They both moved hundreds of kilometers instantly and stopped at the same time, as if they were telepathic. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of Destiny opened. He pointed his right hand at Di Tian. Before his soul rings even appeared, a whirlpool and a skull appeared behind Di Tian.

    Spiritual Confusion and Spiritual Enfeeblement.

    Di Tian revealed a cold smile on his face. ¡°Useless. Your soul skills won¡¯t have any effect on me. No matter how strong your spiritual power is, they won¡¯t work. Unless you are much more powerful than me, dragons are immune to most spiritual attacks.¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed at Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, the space around Huo Yuhao seemed to bubble. Purplish air bubbles suddenly appeared before they blew apart, turning into countless purple billows that moved towards the giant dragon in the center. After this, they surrounded the dragon as it shot into the sky.

    The corrosiveness of the darkness element was properly demonstrated right now.

    However, that purple region soon stopped. It slowly turned white and smooth, and transparent snowkes fell from the top. After this, the purple whirlpool from before slowly dissipated. It turned into countless snowkes before scattering.

    The air temperature, which was extremely chilly, fell even more dramatically. The entire sky was covered in a hazy fog, which Huo Yuhao used to conceal himself.

    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve understood the true meaning behind Ultimate Ice.¡± Di Tian nodded as heplimented Huo Yuhao. He waved his right hand, and the snowkes that came in front of him naturally dispersed. He didn¡¯t retract his right hand. It transformed instead. His joints became huge and thick. After this, scales started to surface and form a dragon w.

    It was the Dragon God¡¯s w. Di Tian was actually prepared to use his Dragon God¡¯s w against Huo Yuhao in this fight?

    When it appeared, it felt as if something mighty and terrifying had appeared in heaven and earth, even though Di Tian didn¡¯t attack. The snowkes that Huo Yuhao had formed were crushed at this instant. They turned into powder and instantly disappeared. Huo Yuhao was even revealed from the fog, and his body shook slightly.

    Di Tian¡¯s expression also turned serious as he faced his Dragon God¡¯s w towards Huo Yuhao. Behind him, a projection of a huge ck dragon surfaced. Above this projection was a ball of rainbow light, shining brightly.

    Huo Yuhao had never seen Di Tian in this form before. He only felt helpless, like an irresistible force was restraining his body and soul. The pressure on him kept mounting, as if it wanted to crush him just like that.

    Although the Dragon God¡¯s w was only tapping into the strength of the Dragon God, it was still left behind by the Dragon God for Di Tian. Di Tian was also able to make breakthrough after breakthrough with it, eventually bing the Beast God.

    This wasn¡¯t the strength of gods, but it was beyond the strength of an Ultimate Douluo. It was like it came from a demigod!

    The biggest problem with Huo Yuhao was that he hadn¡¯t expected Di Tian to use his greatest strength the moment the fight started. From this earlier interaction, he knew that he had lost. He had lost to the Beast God¡¯s experience and slyness.

    In his heart, Di Tian¡¯s superiority influenced his judgment. He didn¡¯t demonstrate any arrogance at all. Instead, he revealed his greatest strength to pressure Huo Yuhao. He didn¡¯t give him any chance at all.

    Huo Yuhao felt very strange. He had done this himself before, which was to limit his opponent beforepletely defeating him. This was undoubtedly the best strategy in any fight.

    Right now, he was on the opposite end. And it didn¡¯t feel good at all.

    The entire sky distorted because of the immense pressure. A low-pitched dragon roar rang in Huo Yuhao¡¯s ears and shook him greatly.

    Di Tian¡¯s w was slowly turning golden. In his eyes, a rainbow re had already started burning.

 Chapter 619.3 - Third Soul Core

    <h4 ss>Chapter 619.3: Third Soul Core</h4>

    A smile appeared on Di Tian¡¯s lips.Young man, you must not have expected this. I¡¯ve already treated you as my nemesis the moment you dared to challenge me. How could I have survived until now without giving my all every time?

    Di Tian used to be invincible in the past. Indeed, he was very arrogant. However, he was really hurt after he was attacked by evil soul masters not long ago. Although his injury wasn¡¯t very serious and he managed to retaliate, he was still left with a deep impression then. This also reminded him of how powerful humans could be. They could already threaten him.

    This was why he didn¡¯t hesitate to unleash his strongest attack after he felt that Huo Yuhao already had an unprecedented third soul core.

    Although Di Tian didn¡¯t know how strong a third soul core would be, he must have possessed twin soul cores for hundreds of thousands of years longer than Huo Yuhao. How could he not have any understanding of third soul cores? This was why he didn¡¯t want to give Huo Yuhao a chance to unleash his full strength. He used his greatest power the moment he attacked.

    The Dragon¡¯s w didn¡¯t belong to him, but the Dragon God. This demigod-like power had threatened many of his enemies who were once stronger than him. It had helped him to be the Beast God.

    Right now, when he used it again, Huo Yuhao waspletely suppressed.

    The lightsing from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body kept on transforming. In Di Tian¡¯s eyes, he seemed to see Huo Yuhao¡¯s three soul cores shining non-stop. Every time they shone, his soul power would spread with stronger momentum.

    However, what was the point of this? Even if he had three soul cores, his power was still at the human tier. It still couldn¡¯tpare to the power of a god. Regarding this, Di Tian was extremely clear.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression seemed to turn cold. Behind him, the projections of his Spirits kept on shing. However, they only shed for a short period of time before they changed.

    He couldn¡¯t sense the changesing from Di Tian¡¯s body. However, Di Tian could sense that he was using different types of soul power to break out from this restraint.

    The Dragon God¡¯s w had already turned golden. The tip of his w was already shining with a rainbow glow.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. You don¡¯t have to attempt to break out of this restraint. What you can only do is drain your own soul power in the face of the power of a demigod. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t kill you. I want toplete my perfect n, which I mentioned to you earlier. When your soul power is drained, I¡¯ll take you back to the Great Star Dou Forest.¡±

    Huo Yuhao looked at Di Tian calmly. The soul power undtionsing from his body suddenly weakened. When they weakened, Di Tian¡¯s rainbow glow suddenly shone brighter. The entire sky started to distort, and Huo Yuhao¡¯s body started to tighten, as if it could possibly be crushed.

    Di Tian was stunned for a moment. An Ultimate Douluo was not supposed to cave in so easily!

    It was also at this moment that an icy-blue light shed before it disappeared instantly. Di Tian only felt that everything in front of him was empty. After this, that icy-blue light was in front of him.

    ¡°Ding!¡± Di Tian raised his Dragon God¡¯s w and blocked the invasion of that icy-blue light.

    However, that icy-blue light instantly bloomed like a flower, forming countless streaks of icy-blue light. Di Tian¡¯s body waspletely engulfed.

    Di Tian wasn¡¯t the only one with demigod-like abilities.

    Huo Yuhao had beencent, but so was Di Tian. He didn¡¯t dare to kill Huo Yuhao. If he had attacked with all his might earlier, Huo Yuhao would most likely have been severely hurt. However, he only wanted to assume control over him.

    Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, Morning Dew Dagger! It was a powerful weapon of the God of Emotions. When Huo Yuhaopleted the formation of his third soul core, he was finally able to unleash demigod-like abilities.

    At his tier, his Icy War God Armor was no longer as effective as it used to be. However, the Morning Dew Dagger was different. Even if he became a god, it would still be a very useful weapon for him.

    Rain Dragon¡¯s Dance.

    Two figures suddenly shed past after a short few seconds. Di Tian broke open space and appeared a thousand meters away. His Dragon God¡¯s w was already rainbow-colored. However, there were seven wounds on his body. None of them were very big, and no blood was seeping out. However, there was ayer of frost on top of each of them.

    However, did it really look as simple as it was on the surface?

    Huo Yuhao was panting a thousand meters away. His Morning Dew Dagger was shing with a bluish glow. Light fog drifted around the bluish glow, making it seem extremely divine.

    Di Tian was watching him, and was already looking very serious.Demigod-like abilities. He actually possesses demigod-like abilities.

    Although Di Tian could tell that Huo Yuhao was hugely drained with every attack he unleashed, he also knew that he was hurt from the previous attack. The strength of Ultimate Ice was quickly invading his body.

    No, it wasn¡¯t just Ultimate Ice. There was also Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual intent and spatial power.

    Spatial power could be neutralized, but Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual intent and Ultimate Ice were already causing destruction. If not for his immense physical strength, he would have been greatly hurt.

    He was hurt. He was really hurt again.

    Di Tian slowly lifted his Dragon God¡¯s w. Suddenly, he looked into the sky, and a dragon¡¯s roar turned into countless echoing sounds. The huge ck dragon projection behind him exploded and turned into a ck fog that surged into that rainbow dragon projection.

    Suddenly, rainbow lights shone brightly, and turned Di Tian into the same colors. He stretched his Dragon¡¯s God w out towards Huo Yuhao. A huge dragon w suddenly appeared out of thin air before it reached out towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao was tightly holding onto his Morning Dew Dagger, and he suddenly took in a deep breath. Thick icy fog suddenly rose at an rming speed, turning into rings of icy fog.

    Huo Yuhao then raised his dagger high above his head. At this instant, Huo Yuhao waspletely covered in a holy aura. It gave him an indescribable feeling. It was as if he hadpletely fused with the dagger at this instant.

    His facial expression turned gentler. As ice and fog gathered, Huo Yuhao disappeared. He was reced by a graceful figure.

    It wasn¡¯t the Ice or Snow Empress. It was also not the Goddess of Light. It was just an icy-blue figure.

    She was more than a hundred meters tall, and she released an icy, foggy aura from her body. Her appearance wasn¡¯t very clear, but she was wearing an icy-blue dress.

    ¡°Ai¡ª¡± A voice started to ring out.

    Following this, a ball of icy-blue fog surfaced from her head and received the Dragon God¡¯s w.

    The rainbow projection stopped instantly, and turned icy-blue.

    Di Tian was stunned.What¡¯s this? It¡¯s already stronger than Ultimate Ice!The strength of the Dragon God¡¯s w was actually quickly being drained, as it were being frozen by the icy-blue fog.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t know that this was Huo Yuhao¡¯s unused ninth soul skill. It was the ninth soul skill of his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

    When he attained nine rings, Huo Yuhao originally believed that he could obtain a ninth soul ring from the Ice Bear King. However, he experienced a mutation then. His ninth soul skill didn¡¯t appear directly. Instead, it was very ambiguous, as if it were just a haze. Although his ninth soul ring was red, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what his soul skill was going to be.

    It was only when the Ice and Snow Empresses burned their spiritual sense and fusedpletely with him that his ninth soul skill presented itself.

    With a hundred thousand year soul ring, he naturally had two ninth soul skills. These two soul skills didn¡¯t just belong to any Spirit. All of his ice-type Spirits had them. They also fused with the strength of his Morning Dew Dagger. They were two extreme soul skills of Ultimate Ice.

    Right now, Huo Yuhao was using one of them. By using the Morning Dew Dagger as a guide, he was able to unleash the immense power of this soul skill.

    Huo Yuhao named this soul skill the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess!

    ¡°Blow!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s cold voice resonated in the sky. Di Tian¡¯s body shook, and a strong ck glow was released from his body. Even so, a series of explosive sounds were still heard from his body. It was characteristic of the Ice Explosion Technique, after Ultimate Ice was introduced into Di Tian¡¯s body.

    The frozen Dragon God¡¯s w started shuddering. After all, the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess was Huo Yuhao¡¯s soul skill, and not really the power of the Icesky Snow Goddess, whereas the Dragon God¡¯s w was extremely close to the power of the Dragon God.

    At this point, Huo Yuhao suddenly moved. He didn¡¯t advance, but retreated instead. He was already in front of the frozen Dragon God¡¯s w, and he smacked it.

    ¡°Piak¡ª¡± Di Tian¡¯s body shook. Due to the Ice Explosion Technique, he wasn¡¯t able to control his w or intercept Huo Yuhao. He could only watch blindly.

    At the next moment, Di Tian¡¯s pupils shrank. This was because he was astonished to find out that his connection with the Dragon God¡¯s w had been cut off.

    This Huo Yuhao actually possesses such a power?

    It was his second ultimate ninth soul skill, Absolute Zero! It wasbined with the Snowless cier.

    First, Absolute Zero was used to consolidate the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess, before it was poured into Di Tian¡¯s body using the Snowless cier. The terrifyingly low temperature and god-like strength of the Morning Dew Dagger finally blocked off Di Tian¡¯s lethal strike.

 Chapter 620.1 - Flying Dagger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 620.1: Flying Dagger</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s face had be pale after releasing a series of explosive attacks. The three soul cores in his body were operating already operating at maximum capacity. Even though he made it seem easy, Huo Yuhao had already expended more than fifty percent of his soul power. This was something he had not experienced after bing an Ultimate Douluo.

    ¡°Good!¡± Di Tian eximed loudly. He swung his left fist forward as he released a wave of spatial power.

    An almighty intent was released at that instant. A gigantic ck dragon appeared right behind Huo Yuhao as it opened its mouth to devour him.

    Once again, Di Tian ripped apart space as he transformed into a streak of silver before vanishing.

    Powerful binding and corrosive forces started to infiltrate Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. However, they were ineffective, as they were instantly frozen due to the effects of his Absolute Zero.

    Just when Huo Yuhao was about to break out from the head of the dragon, he suddenly spun himself in mid-air as multi-colored light grazed past his body.

    Huo Yuhao felt that side of his body turn numb. The insane energy within the light was actually able to spin his entire body around. The absolute zero temperature was somehow unable to affect Di Tian¡¯s attack.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao finally learned how powerful the Dragon God¡¯s w was.

    There seemed to be some sort of extremely frightening absolute power within it, in addition, to pulses of elemental energy.

    Huo Yuhao specialized in ice-type elemental energy. However, the Dragon God¡¯s w seemed to possess energy from all elements.

    Water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, and spatial-type energy fluctuations appeared at the same time. In fact, they were released in an extremely chaotic and explosive manner.

    Di Tian was not trying tond a heavy blow on Huo Yuhao. Instead, he focused on the speed of his attack. In addition, he was able to fuse spatial power and the power of darkness perfectly. Di Tian managed to time his attack such that he struck Huo Yuhao when he had just expended a lot of energy, and was catching his breath. There was no lock-on, or any sort of warning. Hence, Huo Yuhao was ultimately unable to evade the attack.

    Because of how half of his body was numb, Huo Yuhao had to activate the three soul cores in his body to fend off the frightening power of the Dragon God.

    The dragon head, which had consumed him, had already disintegrated. Huo Yuhao took a step forward as he entered a crack in the space before him. He was able to avoid the subsequent attacksing his way.

    Space flickered as two individuals continually appeared and collided with one another. shes of light illuminated the surrounding air as both Di Tian and Huo Yuhao separated from one another every time after they collided.

    If one were to look up at the sky above the Great Star Dou Forest, one would see a sky which waspletely contorted. The colors in the sky were rapidly changing as they flickered between radiant golden, intense ck, and rainbow colors. Even though they could have been separated by tens of thousands of meters, every single soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest did not dare move at this moment.

    Within the Core Region of the Great Star Dou Forest.

    The Emerald Swan, the Myriad Demon King, the Bear Lord, and the Scarlet King were all gathered here. They all seemed to be reacting to themotion above them differently.

    The Bear Lord continually released and retracted its Darkgolden Terrorws as it red ferociously.

    On the other hand, the Myriad Demon King seemed to be thinking about something.

    Meanwhile, the Scarlet King and the Emerald Swan were very worried about Di Tian.

    After all, they were separated by ten thousand meters, and the four of them were extremely powerful soul beasts. Even though they were heavily suppressed by the effects of Huo Yuhao and Di Tian¡¯s battle, they were still capable of moving.

    The Scarlet King bellowed, ¡°Who is that? I don¡¯t know of anyone who is able to fight with the Beast God for such a long period of time.¡±

    The Emerald Swan¡¯s eyes seemed to be sparkling as it replied, ¡°I think Di Tian is fighting with a human. I just don¡¯t know who he is. I only realized that when I saw Di Tian ascending into the sky with a human.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. How is a human able to possess enough power to rival Di Tian?¡± The Scarlet King did not believe what the Emerald Swan had just said.

    The Bear Lord sniggered, ¡°Is it the Evileye Tyrant again?¡±

    The Myriad Demon King scolded him, ¡°Can you please use your brain? There¡¯s no way he cane here right now. He¡¯s probably busy trying to prepare himself for the catastrophe which is about to hit him. Unless he has reached the eight-hundred-thousand-year cultivation level, he would have no chance against Di Tian.¡±

    The Bear Lord grunted, ¡°So what if he has managed to make a breakthrough?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit¡­¡± The Myriad Demon King replied. However, at the very next instant, its body started to tremble. All four Savage Beasts looked up into the sky at the same time as an expression of disbelief formed on their faces.

    The originally warped sky suddenly became clear as a mystical streak of light shed before their eyes.

    ¡°Is that really the Evil Emperor?¡± The Emerald Swan gasped.

    The Myriad Demon King¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°T-That¡¯s Space-Time Light?¡±

    The sky above them had already transformed into a different world. The Eye of the Asura above Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead was radiating a deep and frightening glow. At that instant, it seemed as though it hade alive.

    Di Tian, who was not too far away from Huo Yuhao, seemed to be moving very slowly. The surrounding space and time seemed to have be frozen.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power exploded like a geyser as Di Tian¡¯s human form started to give way. Scales started to appear on his human skin.

    Initially, those scales still seemed to be radiant and shiny. However, very soon, the light on their surfaces started to fade away as they started to fall off of his body.

    At this instant, Di Tian¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. His body started to tremble as it stared at Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Space-Time Light! H-How are you able to use Space-Time Light?¡± Di Tian could not believe what he was seeing.

    As the two of them continued to collide in the air and unleash their demi-god abilities¡ªthe Dragon God¡¯s w and the Morning Dew Dagger¡ªDi Tian had managed tond another blow on Huo Yuhao. However, his attack was blocked by Huo Yuhao¡¯s Absolute Zero. Following which, Di Tian saw Huo Yuhao¡¯s Eye of the Asura release a dark blue light.

    A powerful streak of dark blue light was suddenly released from the depth of his pupils.

    When this streak of dark blue light appeared, it was almost as if time had been frozen. Di Tian, who was about to go after Huo Yuhao, was practically immobilized in mid-air. The surrounding space-time was contracting at an incredible rate. The dark blue light seemed to be moving very slowly. However, during its movement, the sky and earth had be dark blue. At that very instant, everything seemed to have be dark blue.

    Space-Time Light!

    This was the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s biggest trump card. Back then, it was only able to escape from Di Tian with this powerful ability.

    This was effectively space-time power which originated from one¡¯s source of spiritual power! Space-time power was able to strip the source of spiritual power from all living things. This would cause their source of spiritual power to deteriorate, and eventually be destroyed.

    Back then, even though Di Tian was able to severely injure the Evileye Tyrant, he was also hit by the Space-Time Light. The Beast God took close to a thousand years before finally recovering from that blow. It was apparent how powerful Space-Time Light was.

    This time, the Space-Time Light had reappeared. However, Huo Yuhao was now the person releasing this ability. Di Tian could sense that Huo Yuhao¡¯s Space-Time Light was, in fact, a lot more powerful than the Evileye Tyrant¡¯s. The reason was that Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was stronger than that of the Evileye Tyrant.

    After all, Huo Yuhao possessed spiritual power which could rival that of a demi-god! His spiritual soul core was already at the demi-god level¡ªa level which even Di Tian could not attain after cultivating for seven hundred thousand years. Di Tian finally learned that Huo Yuhao¡¯s power did not onlye from the Morning Dew Dagger!

    Di Tian finally understood everything. He realized that there was only one possible reason why Huo Yuhao was able to acquire the Space-Time Light power. Huo Yuhao must have gone to look for the Evileye Tyrant before finding Di Tian. In addition, he must have made the Evileye Tyrant his soul ring.

    No wonder he¡¯s so confident of defeating me. That¡¯s right! With three soul cores, a demi-god level spiritual soul core, a demi-god level Morning Dew Dagger, his Absolute Zero aura, and the Sigh of the Frozen Goddess¡­ There¡¯s no way he would not be confident of defeating me.

    Di Tian¡¯s pupils had already taken on several colors at this instant. He was mustering all the energy his Dragon God¡¯s w could give him. He was trying to stop his source of spiritual power from deteriorating in the Space-Time Light.

    However, at this instant, Di Tian saw a small blue light in Huo Yuhao¡¯s hand. The light was not very intense. In fact, it was wedged under his finger nail. However, Di Tian revealed a look of despair after seeing it.

    Following which, Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils took on a dark color. He closed his eyes, including his Eye of the Asura. The blue light in his hand suddenly became very intense as it became even brighter than the glow from the Space-Time Light.

    Because Di Tian was pinned down by the Space-Time Light, there was no way he could stop Huo Yuhao. Right now, Huo Yuhao was practically one with heaven and earth.

    Suddenly, Huo Yuhao waved his arm as the blue light instantly retracted to form a crystalline blue dagger. The dagger was released into the air as it formed a beautiful blue parabolic path which flickered across the sky.

    The fear in Di Tian¡¯s eyes was apparent. As it watched theyers of space that were crushed and prated by the dagger, his eyes widened in disbelief. The dagger seemed to contain all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power. Di Tian could sense the demi-god aura from the little dagger.

    Di Tian lowered its head in despair. He knew that there was no point in watching the dagger, since he was unable to avoid the dagger. The Beast God looked at the forest beneath it longingly. He really did not want to leave the forest in such a manner.

    Dragon God, it seems like I won¡¯t be able toplete the task which you have given me¡­A bitter smile formed on Di Tian¡¯s face. Perhaps, this was the look one would give after one was liberated from his or her responsibilities.

    Di Tian¡¯s body started to tremble lightly. At the very next instant, he felt as though its body was flying. The dagger was sending his body backward as Di Tian smashed throughyers of space. The other world seemed to be beckoning him.

    The four Savage Beasts could not believe what they were seeing.

    Is the number one soul beast in the world really going to depart from this world? Is this the end for the Beast God who ruled the Great Star Dou Forest for hundreds of thousands of years?

    At this instant, the sky was no longer in its warped and contorted state. The Emerald Swan was now able to tell who Di Tian was fighting.

 Chapter 620.2 - Flying Dagger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 620.2: Flying Dagger</h4>

    Huo Yuhao? The person who created the Spirit Pagoda?

    Why is it him? Why does he want to kill Di Tian? When did he be so powerful?

    The Emerald Swan could not understand what was happening. At the same time, she was very saddened to see what had happened.

    Di Tian¡­

    After releasing that dagger, Huo Yuhao had to stay where he was for a couple of seconds. The blow itself had expended too much of his energy.

    Crying Guanyin: Guanyin¡¯s Tear! This was the Tang Sect¡¯s most powerful hidden weapon technique. Huo Yuhao did not try to form Guanyin¡¯s Tears, because he knew that a normal Guanyin¡¯s Tear would never be able to destroy Di Tian. Instead, he used his Ghostcarving de¡ªthe second de Rong Nianbing had given him.

    I don¡¯t remember being prated by any weapon or attack¡­Hundreds of thousands of years of memories started to stream through Di Tian¡¯s head. Right now, everything seemed to have lost its meaning after he had been defeated by Huo YUhao.

    When Di Tian was still young, he had been doted by the Dragon God. Afterward, the Dragon God had fallen and transformed into two Dragon Kings. Following which, Dragons started to fall as a race. Everything until now was running through his head like a tape recording.

    As his life energy started to flow away, Di Tian simply closed his eyes. The sensation of being liberated was extremely calming. Even though it was a little disappointing to end just like this, it was ultimately the end!

    ¡°Beast God.¡± Suddenly, Huo Yuhao¡¯s voice entered Di Tian¡¯s head. Huo Yuhao¡¯s chilling voice woke him up from his dreamy state.

    Di Tian opened his eyes, and was shocked to realize that his life energy was not fading away at a very fast rate.

    Why is that?

    Di Tian immediately looked down at the wound in his chest.

    This isn¡¯t a fatal wound!

    Everyone at Di Tian¡¯s level knew that attacking the head was the easiest way to take someone¡¯s life. However, Huo Yuhao, for some strange reason, had not chosen to attack his head. This was something which was hard toprehend. Even though the de intent and the Space-Time Light were ravaging his body, Di Tian should still be able to survive the blow.

    Di Tian did not believe that Huo Yuhao had made a mistake. This was something which would never happen.

    ¡°Why?¡± Di Tian asked Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao smiled. ¡°I only want to defeat you, and never wanted to kill you. Have you forgotten? I have made a promise to never voluntarily kill another soul beast.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the Evil Emperor?¡± Di Tian replied condescendingly.

    Huo Yuhao answered regretfully, ¡°It wanted to kill me. I had no choice but to retaliate.¡±

    Di Tian revealed a bitter expression and said, ¡°What a lucky retaliation that was. In the end, you have won.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded. At this moment, he was very rxed. He nodded at Di Tian and said, ¡°Goodbye, Beast God. Perhaps this will be thest time we see each other. However, I still want to thank you for saving my life back then. Without understanding some of your abilities, I would never be able to possess the power I have today. Goodbye, and take care.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Huo Yuhao waved his hand and disappeared into the space before him.

    As he watched Huo Yuhao disappear, the bitter expression on Di Tian¡¯s face intensified. The Beast God had realized how wonderful the sense of liberation was. Without liberation, it meant that he still had to fulfill its duties.

    Di Tian slowlynded back in the Great Star Dou Forest from the sky.

    The four Savage Beasts stared nkly at him as they watched himnd. They had no idea what had happened up there. Even though Di Tian was injured, his aura was still powerful and intimidating.

    The Bear King, who was starting to harbor some selfish intentions, immediately lowered his head in fear. He was worried that Di Tian was might learn about his disloyal thoughts.

    Di Tian waved his hand at them as he moved to the side of the Lake of Life.

    The four Savage Beasts stared at each other before retreating.

    ¡°He did not want to kill me. Haha. He did not want to kill me.¡± Di Tian was overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions. He wasughing and crying at the same time.

    At this instant, silver light started to form and move around Di Tian.

    ¡°He did not kill you. Even if he wanted to kill you, there is no way that you would die just like this. You still have a responsibility you have to shoulder.¡± An authoritative voice rang beside Di Tian.

    Di Tian was instantly awakened by the voice as he kneeled down on the ground.

    ¡°It was precisely because he had no intention to kill you that I had chosen not to intervene. If not, I would risk ending my closed-door cultivation prematurely to kill him.¡±

    Di Tian seemed to have regained itsposure as he asked, ¡°But, Master, why did you not stop him from leaving? He possesses the power of destiny! That is something our entire Great Star Dou Forest needs. You also need this power.¡±

    That mysterious voice replied inly, ¡°The power of destiny belongs to the Douluo Continent. It is not something that anyone can just take away as they please. He is going to leave this world very soon. When he leaves, the power of destiny will naturally be returned to the Great Star Dou Forest. Di Tian, I know you have been very lonely. It must have been very hard for you all these years.¡±

    ¡°Master.¡± Di Tian continued to kneel on the ground.

    ¡°Just bear with it for another ten thousand years. By then, I will have finished my cultivation and recovered from all of my injuries. When I return to this world, you can go and travel around as you please.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, Master.¡±

    The silver light slowly faded as everything became normal again.

    Ten thousand years might be an infinitely long time for a human; however, it was nothing for Di Tian, who had already spent eight hundred thousand years cultivating. In fact, there was now a clear deadline for him to anticipate.

    He could not help but reveal a look of genuine excitement and anticipation.

    ¡­¡­

    A streak of silver light flickered across the sky as Huo Yuhao appeared out of nowhere.

    The sky and earth had seemed to bepletely different at this instant.

    Huo Yuhao could sense how his Spiritual Sea was bubbling and bing stronger. The six Spirits in his body were also cheering in excitement.

    He could also sense how the soul power in his body was transforming and taking on a special aura. These changes were starting to surface from his body.

    Di Tian was like a mountain and a barrier for him.

    Now that the barrier was no longer able to restrain him, Huo Yuhao had made his final breakthrough.

    Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky as he opened his arms wide. At this moment, he felt that heaven and earth had be different. His spirit seemed to be rising and ascending into a different world.

    ¡°You have seeded. Congrattions, Yuhao.¡± A gentle voice rang in his ear. A faint golden glow started to descend from the sky as it took form before Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes.

    Rong Nianbing was still wearing the same outfit, and was happy to see that Huo Yuhao had finally done it. He was clear how difficult the path he had taken was! Huo Yuhao had conquered more difficult challenges than he had.

    ¡°Teacher.¡± Huo Yuhao respectfully kowtowed to Rong Nianbing. It was only now that he felt that he was sufficiently qualified to call the person before him teacher.

    Rong Nianbing smiled and said, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not well-suited to be your teacher. Your teacher should be someone else. I am just someone who took advantage of the situation and found a treasure. If not for me, you might not have had to suffer so many tribtions. Nheless, you have managed to pull through all of them. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao nodded fervently. Of course he was ready. He was going to find his beloved wife! There was no longer anything that could stop his heart. He was raring to fly to the other world.Wutong, I wonder if you are doing fine in that world.

    Rong Nianbing nodded as he revealed a serious and solemn expression. He spoke, ¡°I am the God of Emotions. Humans possess a multitude of emotions: happiness, anger, sorrow, and bliss. There is an abundance of unification and separation in a human¡¯s world. There are always positive and negative emotions. What you have to control is the power of emotions. It is now appropriate for me to share more details about our world with you.¡±

    ¡°The Douluo Continent¡ªthe ce where you have lived for your entire life¡ªis a. Other than the Douluo Continent, there are several others in this world. All living things on these differents possess some form of psychokic energy. When this energy rises above their bodies, they collectively form a special ce. While this ce is beyond the realm ofs, it is still intimately tied to them. It is like a space carved out independently by humans. Hence, humans are usually the only entity allowed to enter this realm. This ce is called the God Realm.¡±

    ¡°The God Realm houses all the individuals who have exceeded the limitations imposed by theirs. Hence, they can be called Gods. I am an example of a God. Tang Wutong¡¯s father is also another example.¡±

    ¡°To be more precise, I don¡¯t belong to your¡ªthe Douluo Continent. On the other hand, Tang Wutong¡¯s father came from the Douluo Continent. In fact, you should have heard his name before. He is called Tang San.¡±

    After hearing Tang San¡¯s name, Huo Yuhao could not help but shudder. He never would have expected the woman he loved to be the daughter of the Founder of the Tang Sect.

    After seeing how Huo Yuhao¡¯s jaw had dropped, Rong Nianbing could not help but chuckle. ¡°Tang San came from the Douluo Continent. He has always been concerned about it. Tang Wutong is his daughter. Tang San loves his daughter a lot, and hence allowed her toe to the Douluo Continent to train.¡±

    ¡°A God is not allowed to intervene with what happens in the world of the humans. This is true for alls. Hence, even Tang San can only send his daughter to the continent and seal the part of her memory about the God Realm. This was the reason why both of you were able to meet each other. Tang San had always been observing you. That was why he ced a seal on Tang Wutong. In fact, he has been able to positively influence your development through the little bit of divine sense he has ced in his daughter.¡±

 Chapter 620.3 - Flying Dagger

    <h4 ss>Chapter 620.3: Flying Dagger</h4>

    ¡°Some of the tribtions you went through were actually evaluative measures Tang San had put in ce on behalf of the God Realm. If not, you would have had a much easier time. Do you remember the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley? That was one of the tests which was used to evaluate your suitability to be a God. It was then when I saw the potential in you, and decided that I wanted you to take over my Godly Seat. Because Tang San was bogged down by some things which were happening in the God Realm and was unable to monitor you closely, I was able to sneak in and get you to inherit my Godly Seat.¡±

    ¡°Hence, you shouldn¡¯t me him for what he has done to you. Without the challenges heid in your way, you would not have been able to achieve what you have today. In fact, he was a much more influential figure in your development than me.¡±

    Huo Yuhao listened to Rong Nianbing¡¯s exnation as he allowed past events to stream through his head. Some of the things which used to be unclear started to make a lot more sense now.

    No wonder I was attacked by the powerful golden figure back at the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.

    No wonder Wutong has a seal on her which stops me from being intimate with her.

    No wonder Wutong disappeared after returning to the Clear Sky Sect.

    Legend had it that the Clear Sky Sect was also started by Tang San¡ªthe founder of the Tang Sect.

    Now that everything was falling into ce, Huo Yuhao finally understood everything! Tang Wutong was actually Tang San¡¯s daughter. Tang San, his future father-inw, had been testing him all this while.

    Rong Nianbing continued, ¡°Even within the God Realm, Gods are divided into different tiers. The five most powerful Gods within the God Realm form the Judicial Committee. Among them are two Godkings¡ªthe God of Kindness and the God of Evil. There are also three Enforcers¡ªthe God of Asura, the God of Annihtion, and the God of Life. Tang San happens to be one of the Enforcers¡ªthe God of Asura. As of now, the two Godkings have gone to another to be reborn. They wanted to experience the ever-changing human life. Right now, the new Godkings are still in their development stage. Hence, Tang San could be said to be the most powerful God in the God Realm. He is essentially the one managing the God Realm now. Beyond the Judicial Committee, the most powerful Gods are Tier One Gods. I am one of the Tier One Gods. Because of how my power of emotions is intertwined with the abilities of the God of Kindness and the God of Evil, I am stronger than the average Tier One God. However, I still pale inparison to Tang San.¡±

    ¡°After the Tier One Gods, we have Tier Two Gods and Tier Three Gods. There is also a group of individuals called the God Realm Patrol Hunters. All of theme together to form the God Realm. Because of the space limitation within the God Realm, only individuals who possess a Godly Seat can enter the God Realm. A person can only be given a Godly Seat after he or she has sessfully passed the evaluation set by the Judicial Committee, and when a Godly Seat is avable. He or she would then have to make a breakthrough and ascend into the God Realm. This is precisely what you have to do now.¡±

    After finishing his sentence, Rong Nianbing paused for a while. He knew that Huo Yuhao would take some time to digest what he had just said.

    Huo Yuhao seemed to understand what he said in no time. After all, he had always been an intelligent person. Before long, a clear picture of the God Realm started to form in his head.

    So the God Realm is basically a world that is built above the Douluo Continent! It is a world which houses individuals who have exceeded the limitations of our world!

    Rong Nianbing smiled and asked, ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded.

    Rong Nianbing continued, ¡°I¡¯m only telling you all this because I want to give you one more chance to make a decision. After all, I have taken advantage of Tang San¡¯s situation, and not done as much as what he has done for you. You can now make a decision whether you still want to inherit my Godly Seat. Of course, you are also allowed to choose to inherit Tang San¡¯s Godly Seat. He really wants someone to help him share his workload. I can also pass what you feel about his Godly Seat to him. I¡¯m sure he would be very happy to hear that. Besides, I¡¯m sure it will help you get back your wife.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I still wish to inherit your Godly Seat. As a man of my word, I ought to keep my word. Besides, I also should not rely on my father-inw to find Wutong. Wouldn¡¯t that make me seem useless? Can I ask you to pass your Godly Seat to me?¡±

    Rong Nianbing revealed a pleased smile. ¡°Alright. But I still want to remind you about one thing. Life in the God Realm is extremely lonely and boring. Even Tier One Gods like me can¡¯t leave the God Realm whenever I please. In fact, we can never stay in the world of humans for an extended period of time. Unless we have passed our Godly Seat to another suitable individual, we can never leave the God Realm after entering it. The main reason why both Tang San and I want to pass our Godly Seat to you is that both of us want to travel around the world. Both of us want to see if there are any other God Realms in distants and worlds.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s determination did not seem to waver after hearing Rong Nianbing¡¯s rification. He spoke resolutely, ¡°I am willing to inherit your Godly Seat.¡± No matter what the price was, he wanted to go and find Tang Wutong. This was something that would never change.

    Rong Nianbing eximed, ¡°Alright! I have alreadyid out all the things you should know. Since you are still willing to take up my Godly Seat, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    Following which, he raised his hands as two lights¡ªone blue and one red¡ªsurged and rose around him.

    Huo Yuhao could sense how his Ultimate Ice soul power was activated by the lights released by Rong Nianbing. At this instant, Huo Yuhao felt the familiar sensation of bing one with heaven and earth when he had released the Ghostcarving de earlier.

    Rong Nianbing waved his hand as the scenery around him started to fade and be illusory. In the blink of an eye, both of them were transported to a sky full of stars.

    Rong Nianbing continued to release icy blue and fiery red light into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body.

    At this instant, Huo Yuhao could sense how his entire body was being enhanced. The three soul cores in his body were rotating at an unprecedented speed. Every time a cirction waspleted, an immense soul power fluctuation would be released.

    Streaks of light started to fly through the air as a mysterious intent started to form on Huo Yuhao¡¯s face.

    Streaks of starry light began to descend from above as theynded on his body.

    His surroundings started to be warped as Huo Yuhao¡¯s past started to run itself like a tape recording within his spiritual world.

    It started from how he was ill-treated within the residence of the White Tiger Duke. Following which, it moved on to the part when he met the Skydream Iceworm and absorbed a million-year soul ring. Then, it showed him how he met Tang Wutong at Shrek Academy. Everything that had happened to him in the Douluo Continent was appearing before his eyes again. He was able to experience his entire life in this short moment.

    After a short while, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, only to see a smiling Rong Nianbing.

    As he stared at Rong Nianbing, the color in Huo Yuhao¡¯s pupils seemed to have be fainter. It was almost as though he had aged, and hadprehended more about thews of the universe. The energy and power in his body were undergoing aplete transformation.

    His three soul cores started to melt as the Ultimate Ice, spiritual power, and spatial power in his body started to fuse together. A brand new power was forming.

    His Spiritual Sea started to take on a pure golden color. His spiritual sense was bing illusory as the divine sense he had once detected from Electrolux started to expand from his Spiritual Sea. Everything about him was being enhanced at this instant.

    Rong Nianbing raised his hands as a mystical crown appeared at the top of his head. The crown had two colors¡ªicy blue and fiery red. There seemed to be some mystical fluctuations radiating from the top of the crown.

    Huo Yuhao immediately felt the emotions within him¡ªhappiness, anger, sorrow, bliss, love, hate, and disgust¡ªchanging and activating.

    The Morning Dew Dagger on Huo Yuhao¡¯s body transformed into a streak of blue light and returned to Rong Nianbing. Rong Nianbing¡¯s seven daggers represented the seven different kinds of emotions.

    In order to hand his Godly Seat over to Huo Yuhao, Rong Nianbing had to first take his power back from him.

    The seven different daggers represented the water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, and spatial elements. These were the seven daggers that belonged to Rong Nianbing¡ªthe God of Emotions.

    Sigh of the Frozen Goddess¡ªMorning Dew Dagger.

    Roar of the ming God¡ªPositive Yang Dagger.

    Whisper of the Free Wind¡ªArrogant Sky Dagger.

    Melody of the Awakening Earth¡ªImmortality Dagger.

    The Brilliant Six Lights¡ªJade Pearl Dagger

    The All-Prating Dawn¡ªHoly Radiance Dagger.

    Curse of Eternal Damnation¡ªDevildevouring Dagger.

    These seven godly daggers were radiating seven different colors¡ªwhich also happened to represent the seven different kinds of emotions.

    Suddenly, the Morning Dew Dagger transformed into an icy blue light image as it shot towards Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao felt his body shudder as the blue light shed before him. A mncholic emotion was stirred within his heart. This was sorrow¡ªone of the seven emotions.

    Following which, the fiery red Positive Yang Dagger carried its burning mes and flew towards Huo Yuhao.

    An intense rage appeared in Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart. This was anger!

    Next, the green de flew towards Huo Yuhao. This was the Arrogant Sky Dagger, the Whisper of the Free Wind. Huo Yuhao could sense the happiness in his heart.

    Following which, a long yellow dagger shot towards Huo Yuhao. It was the Immortality Dagger¡ªa dagger which contained the power of earth. The yellow light fused into Huo Yuhao¡¯s body and gave him bliss.

    A ray of silver light was emitted from the Jade Pearl Dagger. The Brilliant Six Lights was not only a dagger which contained mere hatred. It was also filled with rejection and exclusion.

    Next, there was the Curse of Eternal Damnation¡ªthe Devildevouring Dagger. This was the embodiment of true hatred. Its ck glow seemed to be drawing strength from all sorts of negative emotions within Huo Yuhao.

    Lastly, there was a brilliant golden light. This almighty light entered from the top of his head as it prated through his entire body.

    It was the All-Prating Dawn¡ªthe Holy Radiance Dagger. It embodied the power of radiant light. At that instant, everything seemed toe to life as all negative emotions were embraced and converted by the power of love. Yes, it was love¡ªthe most powerful emotion among the seven.

    All seven emotions were now interconnected as the seven legendary daggers returned to Rong Nianbing. It was evident that Rong Nianbing was sad to part ways with his beloved daggers. However, he decisively waved his hand as all of thembined to form a ball of light. The ball of light was then released into the starry sky above them.

 Chapter 621.1 - Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 621.1: Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing</h4>

    Nobody knew what their destination was, but they disappeared into the air in that moment.

    Rong Nianbing came before Huo Yuhao, and gradually ced the crown in his hands on Huo Yuhao¡¯s head.

    The seven emotions flickered in Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes, and everything finally returned to peace and tranquility as a glossy luster appeared on his body.

    The crown fused into Huo Yuhao, and the seven emotions receded at the same time.

    Suddenly, an indescribable light erupted from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as his six great Spirits glimmered into view one after another.

    The Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, the Ice Bear King, and the Mermaid Princess appeared one after another behind him.

    The seven emotions were immediately divided. The Snow Empress inherited the emotion of sorrow, the Ice Empress inherited the emotion of anger, the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass inherited the emotion of happiness, and the Ice Bear King inherited the emotion of bliss. The Mermaid Princess, Li Ya, inherited evil, while the Skydream Iceworm¡¯s entire body was covered with ayer of radiant golden light, and that allowed Huo Yuhao to experience drastic transformations. The one million year soul beast who now had a future had inherited the power of love.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s six Spirits had each inherited an emotion.

    Rong Nianbing¡¯s eyebrows lowered. ¡°There¡¯s one left: hate. Are you going to inherit the power of hate by yourself?¡±

    The vertical eye on Huo Yuhao¡¯s forehead gradually opened in this moment, and a ck beam of light surged out from within it. There was something hovering in front of him, and this thing had an aura of hate that immediately swelled. Wasn¡¯t the entity that inherited the seventh and final emotion the Evileye Tyrant King?

    The Evileye Tyrant King wasn¡¯t one of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits, but his degree of fusion with Huo Yuhao wasn¡¯t inferior to any of Huo Yuhao¡¯s Spirits.

    The Evil Emperor seemed to understand some things as he sensed his surroundings, and the intense hatred gradually receded as he finally transformed into a minimized version of himself and floated next to Huo Yuhao. The Evileye Tyrant King was still emanating hate, but there was only calmness deep within his eyes.

    ¡°Good.¡± Rong Nianbing nodded in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction. A powerful beam of white light erupted from his body and swept up Huo Yuhao and himself.

    Huo Yuhao and his seven Spirits closed their eyes at the same time. Seven emotions flowed continuously, and everything about them was transforming and sublimating.

    An unknown period of time passed, and when Huo Yuhao reopened his eyes, his seven great Spirits were gone. He realized to his surprise that he was standing on a small mountain.

    But there were only clouds and mist around this tiny mountain. The clouds rolled through the air, and all kinds of dense elements permeated the air as they rippled and undted mystically.

    Huo Yuhao looked down at himself as his emotions changed.

    Nothing seemed to have changed, but there seemed to be something else in his mind.

    The clouds around were suddenly tainted with gentle golden colors that gave off a strange but unique quality.

    Several figures gradually emerged from the clouds and flew in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction.

    They were all good-looking and wearing yellow, unassuming clothes. They took but the time needed for a few breaths to appear in front of Huo Yuhao.

    There were twelve people, and they all bent down and greeted Huo Yuhao respectfully.

    The man in the lead opened his mouth, ¡°Greetings, God of Emotion.¡±

    ¡°You are?¡± Huo Yuhao asked confusedly.

    The man replied, ¡°We are the God Realm¡¯s God Officers. You are new to the God Realm, and we are here to guide you to the Godking and the Enforcer.¡±

    Huo Yuhao nodded and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± He would follow along since he was here. Huo Yuhao could still remember Rong Nianbing¡¯s words, that his father-inw was the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer!

    The God Officers made a gesture to invite him forward, and the man in front took the lead, while the other God Officers separated to both sides. Their expressions were very reverent and respectful.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s body floated forward on a whim. Everything seemed different after he became a God, and his spiritual power and soul power had both transformed drastically.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea was filled with strange golden colors, and its quality seemed to belong to another realm. Huo Yuhao could make anything happen as long as he willed it.

    This made Huo Yuhao think of his teacher, Electrolux¡¯s spectral demine. Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual power was like an entirely different ne, and it felt like a true ne rather than a demine. Huo Yuhao was the dictator over everything in that ce. Perhaps that was what it felt like to be a true God.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s spiritual sea should be known as his godly sea, and the golden soul power flowing within his body should also be known as his god power.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s god power could change elements ording to his thoughts, and he could control all the elemental ripples and undtions within the God Realm. Of course, his elemental transformations were limited to those that he originally possessed, but his elements were no longer distinct, and they were purer. Furthermore, he could switch between them on a whim, and very swiftly.

    Light and mist separated as the scenes before his eyes changed continuously, and Huo Yuhao released his consciousness amid his variegated surroundings.

    Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that the God Realm didn¡¯t seem to transcend human boundaries. There was stillnd, mountains, and rivers. However, there was dense vital energy of heaven and earth in every corner, and its volume was at least several hundred times that of the Douluo Continent. Even breathing in this ce would improve one¡¯s cultivation more than cultivating and meditating down on the Douluo Continent.

    However, there seemed to be some kind of strange unique force in theher restricting something in this peculiar world.

    Huo Yuhao had to slowly sense and figure out all these things in the future. Rong Nianbing¡¯s introduction was only foundational after all, and there were so many more mystical and magical things in the vast God Realm.

    Huo Yuhao flew for an unknown period of time when the area before him glowed, and the golden colors around him grew denser. Gentle light resembled a mother¡¯s hand that caressed the clouds¡¯ delicate skin, and the illusory space gave off a peculiarly touching concreteness. There appeared to a majestic hall somewhere in the distance, and it appeared both illusory and real against the tender light.

    A single figure stood quietly among the clouds, gazing across the boundless horizons. Nobody knew what he was looking at.

    This person had long blue hair that resembled a waterfall that fell all the way to his feet. If he didn¡¯t have an upright and tall stature and broad shoulders, one would probably think this person was ady by looking at his back.

    Water seemed to ripple on his luxurious blue robe, and upon closer inspection, one¡¯s eyes would be immediately drawn by the deep blue hues, like one¡¯s spirit would be sucked into those blue colors that were vast, profound, and endless like the great oceans.

    This man looked but a little more than twenty, and he had handsome features along with a pair of deep and profound eyes. His eyes seemed empty, yet also seemed to contain every single cosmological phenomenon in existence. Purplish hues flickered by from time to time, which was even more touching and alluring. There was a quality of youth and wonder in one moment, and the vicissitudes of life and death in the next.

    The God Officers guided Huo Yuhao before this man and stopped. They bowed respectfully and said, ¡°God of the Sea.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± The blue-haired youth turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao. His originally calm eyes suddenly turned cold.

    The God Officers retreated quietly and gave them space.

    The blue-haired you appeared even more intimidating and dignified from thest time they had met. Huo Yuhao could particrly feel that pressure from his aloofness, and it stifled him until his breathing became irregr.

    ¡°Greetings, uh, God of the Sea.¡± Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t really know how to address him. He was afraid to anger this man by addressing him as his father-inw, but he couldn¡¯t address him by his name, either. Huo Yuhao could only follow how the God Officers had addressed him.

    Tang San scrutinized Huo Yuhao, who was both a little uneasy and anxious. He asked inly, ¡°You¡¯ve inherited Rong Nianbing¡¯s Godly Seat. From today onward, you¡¯re a member of the God Realm. There are many rules in the God Realm, and the God Officers will guide you in the future. You will have somend within the God Realm. The two Godkings and the other two Enforcers are cultivating on their own, but you will have a chance to see them during the Assembly of the Gods. As long as you adhere to the God Realm¡¯s rules, the God Realm¡¯s council members will not interfere with anything else you do.¡±

    Tang San growled, ¡°Come.¡±

    A shadow swiftly appeared beside Tang San. This person was d in a long golden robe, and his godly power undtions were conspicuously stronger than the God Officers who hade before. ¡°Enforcer, sir.¡±

    Tang San waved his hand and said, ¡°Take the new God of Emotions to his residence.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The golden-robed God Officer answered respectfully.

    Tang San nced coldly at Huo Yuhao before he turned to fly towards the great hall in the distance.

    Huo Yuhao was terrified as he hurriedly eximed, ¡°Please wait, God of the Sea!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s most important goal ining to the God Realm was to find Tang Wutong! He had finally met with his father-inw, but how was he to find her again in the unfamiliar God Realm if his father-inw was leaving?

    Tang San paused. He didn¡¯t even turn back as he asked, ¡°What else do you want?¡±

    Huo Yuhao clenched his fists. He struggled to hold on before Tang San¡¯s overbearing pressure as he said, ¡°Please let me see Wutong. I wish to exin things to her.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Tang San suddenly roared as he spun around. Fury radiated from his face as he retorted, ¡°Have you not harmed my daughter enough? She has suffered so much in the lower world because she became acquainted with you. And you still wish to see her?¡±

    Huo Yuhao answered shamelessly, ¡°Yes, everything is my fault. But I just want to see her. Can you give me a chance?¡±

    Tang Sanughed coldly and nced at the golden-robed God Officer beside him. The God Officer understood his meaning, and drifted away discreetly as he disappeared with a golden sh.

    ¡°You wish to see her? Yes, you may.¡± Tang San lowered his voice as he spoke.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart skipped with joy. However, his joyous mood immediately sunk when he saw Tang San¡¯s expression.

    Indeed, Tang San continued, ¡°You can see her if you can defeat me.¡±

 Chapter 621.2 - Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing

    <h4 ss="text-spoiler">Chapter 621.2: Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing</h4>

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned.Defeat him? Defeat the God Realm¡¯s strongest Enforcer? Defeat Tang San, who even Rong Nianbing, whose God¡¯s Seat I have inherited, has admitted that he¡¯s inferior to?Defeat this formidable individual who became a God ten thousand years ago? I have to defeat my future father-inw? How¡­ how is that possible?

    ¡°I¡­ How can I fight you?¡± Huo Yuhao uttered a little breathlessly.

    Tang San smiled inly and said, ¡°Then you can leave.¡±

    Huo Yuhao forced augh. ¡°You¡¯re the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor, and you¡¯re the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer. How can I fight you? And how can I defeat you?¡±

    Tang San grunted coldly and retorted, ¡°Right now, I¡¯m not an Enforcer, and I¡¯m not the Tang Sect¡¯s founder. I¡¯m the father of a daughter who has been bullied and treated unfairly. You¡¯ve told Wutong so many times before that you¡¯ll protect her and defend her, that you wouldn¡¯t let here to even a little bit of harm. But have you done that? You have hurt her again and again, and you¡¯ve sent her down an abyss of pain and agony. You already have a child, so why are you still trying to stick to my daughter?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Listen to me, God of the Sea,¡± Huo Yuhao answered worriedly, ¡°I had no idea about that child. I¡¯m not pushing my responsibility away, but I¡¯m not even sure how that happened! I¡­ I¡¯m still a virgin!¡± Huo Yuhao¡¯s face shed red and white when he said ¡®virgin¡¯.

    An amused smile flickered across Tang San¡¯s face, but Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t see that because he was blocked by the illusory mists before him.

    Tang Sa¡¯s voice was still ice-cold. ¡°Whatever you say to me is useless. You have only one choice if you wish to see Wutong. You have to defeat me!¡± Tang San waved hisrge hand as he spoke, and sted a forceful air flow that pushed Huo Yuhao several hundred meters away.

    ¡°Wutong, Wutong, I¡¯m here! It¡¯s me, Huo Yuhao! Where are you? Where are you?¡± Huo Yuhao shouted at the top of his lungs directly at the great hall in the distance.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Tang San lowered his voice as he growled.

    The environment suddenly changed drastically. The mountains, rivers, and paradise disappeared as a dense forest reced everything, while Huo Yuhao¡¯s surroundings turned green.

    Huo Yuhao stopped shouting as he stared at his surroundings in astonishment. Why did everything around him seem to familiar, like he had returned to the Great Star Dou Forest?

    An unspeakably terrifying murderousness suddenly pounced right at him, a murderousness so thick and vigorous that it almost seemed material.

    Huo Yuhao followed his instincts and nced into the distance, where he fearfully witnessed a figure slowly pacing toward him.

    Is that¡­ is that still the Tang Sect¡¯s ancestor?

    In this moment, Tang San was no longer the God who was filled with spirituality and magic from before. Tang San¡¯s long hair and luxurious robe had be blood-red.

    What was even more frightening was the fact that the dense forest behind him also turned red as he walked. Dense murderousness rushed continuously in Huo Yuhao¡¯s direction almost like it was material, and all the nts around him gradually withered before the vigorous murderousness. The forest behind Tang San had be an ocean of blood, and Huo Yuhao seemed to hear countless vengeful spirits crying out agonizingly behind him. He had never felt such formidable and overbearing murderousness, not even from an evil soul master.

    How can this be? Isn¡¯t he the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer? Why does he look like an evil demon?

    The blood-red colors rippling from Tang San¡¯s body almost seemed viscous as his icy voice resonated through the air.

    ¡°Since you wish to die, then I will fulfill your wish. I am the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer, and I have the authority to punish all Gods who disobey the rules. I¡¯ve wanted to kill you for a long time, so that my daughter can escape all that pain. The only thing that has stopped me is the fact that the God Realm cannot influence the human world. That¡¯s the reason why I haven¡¯t done so. Now that you¡¯re in the God Realm, you¡¯ve presented yourself to me. I did want to give you a chance, but since you dare to shout and holler before me, I¡¯ll kill you where you stand.¡±

    Tang San waved his right hand as he spoke. The grass and leaves on the ground suddenly magnified and transformed into thick vines that encircled Huo Yuhao. Every vine was blood-red, and there seemed to be veins pulsing on every surface, like they were enormous red snakes that hade alive.

    He wants to kill me?Huo Yuhao felt intense fear run through his heart. That murderousness was definitely not fake; it was the strongest one he had ever encountered.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t want to fight Wutong¡¯s father, but he had to protect himself right now!

    Huo Yuhao glowed with ayer of gentle golden light, and the golden color immediately transformed into icy-blue colors that stretched outwards.

    Extreme chills permeated the air, and the red vines immediately slowed when they touched the extreme cold. Huo Yuhao soared into the sky in a sh as he evaded the vines¡¯ entanglement.

    But his surroundings changed once more right at this moment. The skies suddenly became the ground, and the ground suddenly transformed into the sky as Huo Yuhao nted his head heavily into the ground while he was flying upwards.

    This was the first time Huo Yuhao had encountered something like this. He had just touched the ground when those blood-red vines wrapped themselves around him and immobilized him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s Ultimate Ice godly power could slow these vines, but it couldn¡¯t truly affect their power.

    Small spikes began appearing on those vines once they wrapped themselves around him, and started piercing him. Huo Yuhao¡¯s body couldn¡¯tpletely block those spikes despite his formidable physique, and intense piercing pain coursed through his body.

    But Huo Yuhao was a man who had been through endless pain and suffering, and he had experienced pain much stronger than this. Therefore, even though his body tensed up because of the acute pain, the pain actually allowed him to clear his mind.

    He had to live if he wanted to find Wutong. He couldn¡¯t die here, no matter what.

    An enormous figure appeared behind Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. It was the Ice Bear King. A joyous sensation immediately radiated from the Ice Bear King; Bliss, of the Seven Emotions.

    The blood-red vines that were wrapped tightly around Huo Yuhao froze before they started swaying faintly like they had been given life, and were dancing happily.

    Huo Yuhao felt the tension rx as he immediately used Instant Teleportation to escape the vines¡¯ iron grip. However, he didn¡¯t dare to fly upward. Tang San could actually reverse the heavens and the earth, and escaping from his grasp was far too difficult.

    An enormous red web descended from the sky at this moment and bore down on Huo Yuhao.

    Dense murderousness exploded through the air, and Huo Yuhao realized in fearful shock that he couldn¡¯t seem to evade the enormous web no matter what he did. The web seemed to be an entire space in that moment, and it was about to consume him.

    Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t dodge it, so he could only fight it head-on.

    Huo Yuhao took a deep breath as light sparkled in his eyes.I have to bear all the pain I need to so that I can see Wutong again.

    Enormous ice cones swiftly took shape with his body in the center and erupted in all directions as countless ice cones surged into the sky like giant pirs.

    Huo Yuhao himself was astonished.Has my Star Anise Omnithrust be so formidable after I¡¯ve be a God?

    Circles of white light rippled from his body: Absolute Zero!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s Absolute Zero could be considered a godly skill, and its most salient characteristic was that it amplified all of Huo Yuhao¡¯s ice-type abilities, which had extraordinary significance in battle.

    Those ice pirs immediately rose from the ground to more than three hundred meters tall.

    The gigantic red web bore down and shed with the ice cones. The ice cones were gradually crumbling, but it greatly stalled the web¡¯s descent, and bought Huo Yuhao several moments of time.

    Huo Yuhao bolted backwards. He had never considered defeating Tang San, because he was clear that that was entirely impossible. Therefore, he could only run, and he would escape before thinking about anything else.

    Tang San was the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer, but he wasn¡¯t the only Enforcer in the God Realm. Huo Yuhao had to escape Tang San¡¯s grasp before finding some other way to find his wife.

    Huo Yuhao raced backwards as he raised his speed as high as possible, and detonated those ice pirs at the same time.

    The Ice Empress¡¯ shadow appeared behind Huo Yuhao: Anger of the Seven Emotions.

    The Ice Explosion¡¯s force was immediately maximized because of the emotion of anger. The explosion resembled nature herself heaving a deep sigh as searing fury mixed with countless icy explosions transformed into uncountable pieces of ice that danced through the air.

    Circles of light rippled from Huo Yuhao¡¯s body. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t just use Ice Explosion along with the emotion of anger; he immediately used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice and the Ice Bear King¡¯s Blizzard afterwards. Huo Yuhao unleashed his domain control abilities to their highest possible standard.

    The entire forest seemed to be an icy-blue world as the terrifyingly low temperatures because of Absolute Zero and the Blizzard were so formidable that even Tang San, who was the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer, paused in his tracks.

    A look of surprise appeared in his blood-red eyes. He muttered under his breath, ¡°He¡¯s just entered the God Realm, and he has already fused Rong Nianbing¡¯s power of emotions so seamlessly with his own abilities. He¡¯s a very adaptable individual after all, and his potential is unleashed the more he is pressured.¡±

    Huo Yuhao ran away hurriedly. He could feel that the murderousness became weaker when he unleashed Blizzard, and he heaved a sigh of relief. Huo Yuhao had a feeling that he was controlling heaven and earth. Was this what it was like to be a God?

 Chapter 621.3 - Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing

    <h4 ss>Chapter 621.3: Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing</h4>

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s surroundings gradually became illusory, but everything around him was a vast forest from beginning to end, like there was no end at all. Huo Yuhao was confident that he would have traversed even the Great Star Dou Forest at his current maximum speed, but this forest he was in seemed endless. He released his divine sense, but all he could feel were endless trees and vegetation.

    Huo Yuhao stopped only when he couldn¡¯t feel the murderousness from behind him anymore. He dropped to the ground, and when he turned around, he was still stuck in the vast forest, but his father-inw¡¯s terrifying aura was no longer there.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s life was temporarily safe, but he could onlyugh bitterly at his predicament. He had such a powerful and overbearing father-inw, so how could he search for Tang Wutong? Furthermore, his father-inw was the God Realm¡¯s Enforcer, while he had just entered the God Realm. He was still unfamiliar with everything around him, and there was hardly anything he could do.

    What should I do next?He was in apletely unfamiliar ce. Furthermore, he could be in danger at any moment. Huo Yuhao had gone through so much trouble to be a God, but even now, he felt a thread of helplessness.

    Huo Yuhaoughed bitterly as he walked forward. No matter what, he had to leave this forest before anything else. He didn¡¯t dare to fly above it, because that would expose him too easily. There seemed to be some mystical force within this forest, and not even his divine sense could reach ces further away.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know how long he had walked when the area before him emptied and grew spacious as a smallke appeared in front of him.

    Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned when he saw thiske, because he realized to his surprise that thiske was too simr to the Great Star Dou Forest¡¯s Lake of Life!

    Wait!

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes flowed with astonishment, because he suddenly realized that there was a small courtyard by thekeside. There were three wooden houses inside the courtyard, and they weren¡¯t veryrge. However, they were intricate and exquisite, and their location by thekeside in a forest seemed especially scenic and poetic.

    There were houses, and that meant there were people. Huo Yuhao hurriedly stepped towards those wooden houses. Even though he didn¡¯t know which God stayed here, asking someone about the God Realm was better than trying to figure things out on his own. That was especially so because he had offended the Enforcer.

    Huo Yuhao raised his voice and asked as he came to the courtyard, ¡°Hello, is anyone here?¡±

    Huo Yuhao asked three times before the door to the wooden house in the middle opened, and someone walked out.

    This man had golden hair and a burly, muscr frame. He had mundane and unassuming facial features, and he looked a little more than thirty. An indescribably old and ancient aura emanated from this man as he stood there, and he was like a towering and majestic mountain that would intimidate any onlooker.

    For some reason, Huo Yuhao seemed to find this person a little familiar. He felt like he had just seen the White Tiger Duke. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes were incredibly sharp, and he focused and realized to his surprise that this golden-haired man also had two pupils in each of his eyes.

    ¡°Come in.¡± The golden-haired man¡¯s voice was deep and thick, but it carried a tinge of nging sounds.

    The courtyard door opened as Huo Yuhao stepped in subconsciously. However, his eyes were fixated on the golden-haired man¡¯s face from the beginning to the end, and he seemed to guess something in his heart, but he couldn¡¯t really confirm his theory.

    ¡°He¡¯s here?¡± Another voice could be heard in this moment. This voice was a little cold, but extremely touching and melodious. There was also tenderness mixed with the voice¡¯s coldness.

    Another person stepped out from the wooden hut. Flowing ck hair draped behind her, and her simple ck dress brought out her beauty and elegance. She seemed like she was around twenty-eight or twenty-nine, and her body was very mature, while her features were gorgeous. Coldness radiated from her beautiful eyes, but her eyes were very gentle as she trained them on Huo Yuhao. They even had a tinge of benevolence.

    ¡°You must be Yuhao.¡± The ck-haireddy smiled as she spoke.

    Huo Yuhao nodded, but his eyes seemed a little lost.

    Thedy turned and nced at the golden-haired man as she giggled, ¡°He must be stronger than you are. He¡¯s a Tier One God.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still my descendant, ¡± the golden-haired youth said proudly.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes froze as he immediately confirmed his spection. ¡°You¡­ who are you?¡±

    The golden-haired youth stared at him with passionate, sparkling eyes. ¡°My name is Dai Mubai, and this my wife, Zhu Zhuqing.¡±

    Dai Mubai? Zhu Zhuqing?

    Even though Huo Yuhao already had his own spections, he could still feel his blood stirring in his veins when he heard their names.

    Huo Yuhao had just entered the God Realm, but the Enforcer wasing after his skin. And when he was nk and helpless, he suddenly met his ancestors!

    Yes, his ancestors. Back when Shrek Academy was still a small academy with a concept ten thousand years ago, they had only enrolled monsters, and not normal individuals.

    Back then, that generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was born, and shook the entire continent. Only then was Shrek Academy born, and only then did the Tang Secte into existence.

    The leader of that generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was undoubtedly Tang San, whoter became both the God of the Sea and the Asura God. However, the other six individuals were equally outstanding.

    The person who was most senior in that generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, the person that even Tang San had to call his elder brother, was called Dai Mubai. People knew him as the Evileye White Tiger, and he was the first of the White Tiger Douluo. The White Tiger was inherited by the Dai family, and the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, who was Huo Yuhao¡¯s father, was one of them. This also meant that if this man was truly the Evileye White Tiger, Dai Mubai, then he was Huo Yuhao¡¯s ancestor!

    Zhu Zhuqing was number six in that generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters, and people knew her as the Netherworld Spirit Cat. The strongest individual with the most formidable individual fighting strength besides Tang San in that generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was undoubtedly Dai Mubai. Legend held that Dai Mubai had also be a God, and that he disappeared without a trace after having sons and daughters. Huo Yuhao had undoubtedly confirmed this legend at this moment.

    Huo Yuhao ran into his kin in his most difficult moment, and that feeling was just so wonderful. Huo Yuhao subconsciously released his divine sense and stretched it over to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

    Dai Mubai frowned a little, but said nothing.

    Huo Yuhao was brimming with emotions, but he couldn¡¯t proceed blindly. He would truly embarrass himself if he recognized the wrong ancestor, so he had to feel for himself.

    Inherited bloodlines wouldn¡¯t change through the passage of time, and Huo Yuhao fell to his knees and kowtowed in the next moment. His voice was so excited that it trembled as he said, ¡°Greetings, my two grand ancestors. I am Huo Yuhao.¡±

    ¡°You should be called Dai Yuhao! Otherwise, how can you call me your ancestor?¡± Dai Mubai chided.

    Dai Yuhao?That name cracked into Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart and momentarily stunned him.Yes, I should be called Dai Yuhao. But can I really call myself that?

    Old memories shed through his mind, about how his mother had brought him up through pain and suffering when he was young, and how she had passed away and eventually been buried in the end. Intense pain erupted from the bottom of his heart, and no matter what rationality told him, and that he couldn¡¯t offend his ancestors at a time like this, he still couldn¡¯t help but raise his head and retort, ¡°No, my surname is Huo, not Dai.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Dai Mubai¡¯s facial hair red, and an incredibly fearsome aura erupted from his body.

    Dai Mubai was a Tier Two God, and Huo Yuhao was a Tier One God, but he was so stifled that he almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath. He felt like he was facing Tang San again.

    Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and held on painfully, but said nothing. However, there was only stubbornness in his eyes, and that was his answer.

    Dai Mubai¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Are you not recognizing your ancestors?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression also turned cold. He had made up his mind in those few moments. There were some things that could be changed, but some couldn¡¯t be changed even across eternity.

    ¡°That is not what I am doing. However, my surname can only follow my mother. My mother raised me through much pain and suffering since my birth. As long as there was some delicious food in the house, she would give it to me, and she quietly ate food that humans shouldn¡¯t be eating. I would be dead a long time ago without my mother, so what¡¯s the point of recognizing my ancestors if that were the case? I am capable of detaching myself from hate and vengeance, but my mother is no longer around when I have be powerful, so the only thing I can do for her is to continue living, and pass down her surname. Therefore, my surname is Huo, and this surname will never change. Not unless my motheres back to life and tells me to change it herself!¡±

    Huo Yuhao struggled to speak in the beginning, but his own aura flourished increasingly as he spoke, and he stood up from the ground towards the end as he bore the brunt of Dai Mubai¡¯s immense pressure. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t mince his words, and his attitude was decisive.

    Dai Mubai said coldly, ¡°I know what has happened to you. You have offended Tang San, and he will not give you a single chance without us. He might even kill you. If your surname is Huo, then you can scram. You¡¯re not part of the Dai family, and I will not help you at all. You will find yourself with nowhere to go in the God Realm, and you will suffer Tang San¡¯s judgment.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s heart had turned cold. Heughed at himself mockingly, and he took two steps back before he went on his knees again and kowtowed toward Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

    Right when Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing thought he was about to change his mind, Huo Yuhao suddenly stood up straight as he turned and stepped out of the courtyard.

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t hesitate at all, and neither did he dally. He was willing to be an enemy to the whole world rather than change his filial piety and love for his mother.

    ¡°Yuhao!¡± A voice suddenly rang out from behind him. This voice was filled with passion and sniffles, and it was also filled with endless love and warmth.

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s entire body shook when he heard this voice. His eyes were ovee with fear, and he felt like he had been immobilized as he just stood there, motionless. He was still in a daze as he slowly turned around, and his body was quivering continuously despite his determined attitude.

 Chapter 622.1 - Conclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 622.1: Conclusion</h4>

    The door to the leftmost wooden house had opened. There was ady at the door. She was simply dressed, and she was sobbing. She was holding onto the door as if she might fall down at the next moment. Her beauty was gentle and fragile, but it was one to be admired. She appeared old, but she was still ravishing.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted. He leapt forward, and it felt as if he hadpletely lost control. He hugged thedy¡¯s leg tightly and started bawling.

    Yes, thisdy was his pitiful mother, Huo Yun¡¯er!

    Zhu Zhuqing red at Dai Mubai and her eyes turned slightly red. ¡°You¡¯re so bad. Why do you have to be so extra?¡±

    Dai Mubai chuckled. ¡°No wonder he¡¯s my descendant. He has a backbone. I like kids like this. At least he didn¡¯t waste my efforts. Good kid. Very good, very good. This time, Oscar was so envious that his eyes turned red! Hahahaha!¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t expect topletely lose control of his emotions when he saw his mother. The emotions that he had been suppressing for years were now released. Even Tang Wutong¡¯s departure and the repeated tortures that he was subjected to never once made him cry like this.

    Huo Yun¡¯er gently caressed her son¡¯s head. Her tears were also flowing down her cheeks. She wanted to pull Huo Yuhao up, but how would she have the strength to?

    Dai Mubai came to his side and pulled him up from the ground after he had cried for some time.

    ¡°You¡¯re a big man. Just vent for a moment and everything will be fine. This is a joyous asion. You should be happy.¡± As he spoke, he even patted Huo Yuhao¡¯s back. His vigorous divine power surged into his body and calmed him down.

    ¡°Elder, thanks for fulfilling my wish.¡± If Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what was going on now, he would be a fool. He fell to the ground and kowtowed three times.

    Dai Mubai let him do this. There was a grin on his face, and he felt slightly proud. He was so delighted that there was no way anything could beat this. Yes! Anyone would be delighted to have a descendant like Huo Yuhao.

    ¡°Get up.¡± Dai Mubai waved his hand. This time, it was Zhu Zhuqing who lifted Huo Yuhao up from the ground.

    Dai Mubai said, ¡°Now that you and your mother have been reunited, are you still called Huo Yuhao? Yun¡¯er, I shall hand this matter over to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, elder.¡± Huo Yun¡¯er acknowledged as she sobbed. There was a look of gratitude in her eyes.

    Zhu Zhuqing smiled and said, ¡°You and your mom have been separated for so long. Both of you must have a lot to talk about. Go into the house and chat. Go on.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Huo Yuhao hurriedly acknowledged her words. He only felt as if there was something stuck in his throat. His mind was also a mess. To him, this was too much. He didn¡¯t think anything else was important now. He only wanted to stay by his mother¡¯s side.

    Huo Yuhao squatted down to hug his mother after they entered the house. However, he stopped his tears from flowing any further.

    Huo Yun¡¯er gently caressed his hair and said in a daze, ¡°My Yuhao has grown up. He has really grown up! My son, you must have suffered a lot over these years.¡±

    Huo Yuhao shook his head. Of course he had been through a lot. However, that wasn¡¯t important now. What were they consideredpared to the revival of his mother?

    He had a lot of things to say to his mother. However, he didn¡¯t know what to say right now. He had been an orphan for so many years, but he was a son once again. It was such a precious feeling.

    Both of them just hugged each other like this. Gradually, they calmed down. Huo Yun¡¯er told Huo Yuhao everything about her.

    It seemed like Huo Yun¡¯er had indeed died more than ten years ago. However, Huo Yuhao possessed abilities that normal gods didn¡¯t have as a Tier One God. One was that he could bring a limited number of family members to the godly realm.

    Even Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing couldn¡¯t do this.

    After all, Tang San was an enforcer in the godly realm. Although he couldn¡¯t interfere in human affairs, he was still afforded some flexibility when it came to gods. As a result, they found Huo Yun¡¯er¡¯s spirit after Dai Mubai and Tang San discussed it. They resurrected her, and brought her to the godly realm. Although she wasn¡¯t even a Tier Three God, she was still resurrected.

    Huo Yuhao was Dai Mubai¡¯s descendant. After Tang San tested Huo Yuhao and trained him, why would he hide anything from Dai Mubai? This was why Dai Mubai was cognizant of everything regarding Huo Yuhao. He was also aware that Huo Yun¡¯er was the biggest knot in his heart. It was only by untying this knot that he could really be a god. This was why this happened.

    However, Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t bring too many more people into the godly realm. He only had two spots left. One was for Huo Yun¡¯er, and another one was for Dai Hao. The godly realm was very lonely. Huo Yun¡¯er had to be rewarded.

    Huo Yun¡¯er couldn¡¯t see what happened in the Douluo Continent, but she could sense what was happening within a few hundred square kilometers from her grave. These past few days were her happiest days. This was because she heard the voice of the man she loved. The sorrow and hostility in her heart gradually disappeared because of his voice and the good news that Huo Yuhao brought. How could she not be relieved after seeing Huo Yuhao today?

    Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what had urred. However, he was filled with gratitude after learning that Dai Mubai had resurrected Huo Yun¡¯er. What was more important than his mother¡¯s life?

    After Huo Yuhao¡¯s emotions had more or less stabilized, he recounted everything that had happened to his mother. Of course, he skipped the parts where he faced a lot of trouble and difficulties. He only told her about the happier things.

    The godly realm didn¡¯t seem to have a day and night cycle. After some time had passed, the doorbell rang.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly stood up and opened the door. He only saw Dai Mubai standing outside.

    ¡°Elder.¡± Huo Yuhao immediately kneeled down, but he was stopped by Dai Mubai.

    ¡°Alright, there aren¡¯t so many formalities in the godly realm. How is it? Has Yun¡¯er convinced you? Are you willing to be a Dai now? Don¡¯t worry, when your dades to the godly realm, I¡¯ll punish him on behalf of your mother. That rascal. He gave his all to his empire, but why did he neglect his family?¡±

    From the start until the end, Huo Yun¡¯er didn¡¯t mention anything about changing surnames. However, Huo Yuhao was clever. There were things that didn¡¯t need further exnation. After his mother¡¯s resurrection, all his hate and indignation had disappeared.

    ¡°Elder, I¡¯m willing to recognize my ancestry.¡± As he spoke, he kneeled down again. This time, Dai Mubai didn¡¯t stop him. He onlyughed. ¡°Alright, alright. In the future, you will be called Dai Yuhao.¡±

    Dai Mubai was rather pleased with this name. He dragged Huo Yuhao out of the house into the courtyard.

    A plethora of scrumptious dishes had already been prepared around a table. Dai Mubai picked up a wine vat and poured himself a bowl before passing it to Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao hurriedly received it. He also poured some wine for Zhu Zhuqing and his mother. After that, he poured for himself.

    Dai Mubai picked up his bowl and said, ¡°This meal shall be a celebration of your promotion to a god.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, elder.¡± Huo Yuhao was overjoyed after seeing his mother. He downed his bowl of wine.

    Dai Mubai also gulped down his wine andughed heartily. ¡°Fantastic. Fantastic.¡±

    Dai Mubai changed the topic and asked Huo Yuhao, ¡°Have you seen Tang San since you came to the godly realm?¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression turned bitter. He recounted everything he had encountered since he came to the godly realm.

    Dai Mubai was also stunned after hearing his words. Huo Yun¡¯er appeared very worried.

    Zhu Zhuqing snorted and said, ¡°He¡¯s rebelled! Let¡¯s find him when we return, and see what he can do to you.¡±

    Dai Mubai red at Zhu Zhuqing and shot her a look. He said, ¡°I heard Tang San mention this matter before. He¡¯s quite unhappy with you. He only has a daughter, and he dotes on her a lot. No wonder he acted like this after what happened. The godly realm ces a lot of emphasis on power. You¡¯re a Tier One God. Defeating him is not possible. However, you must show him that you¡¯re strong enough. Only that will appease him and make him think that you can protect his daughter. In fact, you don¡¯t have to worry. If he proposes that you must beat him, just do your best. Try to hold on for some time. As for the rest, leave it to us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, thanks elder.¡± After listening to Dai Mubai¡¯s words, Huo Yuhao felt much more relieved. When he thought of his rtionship with Bei Bei and the others, he naturally understood why the previous generation of Shrek¡¯s Seven Monsters was so close. With two elders on his side, it made his job much easier.

    After a sumptuous feast, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing allowed Huo Yun¡¯er to remain in the wooden house. Both of them then brought Huo Yuhao to the sky.

    In the godly realm, the clouds were very low. Undtions of origin energy of heaven and earth could be felt in the clouds. When one breathed, his divine energy would surge in his body.

    Huo Yuhao calmed himself after listening to Dai Mubai¡¯s instructions. He adjusted the cirction of his divine energy. At the same time, he sensed the changes to his own body.

 Chapter 622.2 - Conclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 622.2: Conclusion</h4>

    Yes! He was already a Tier One God. He was the God of Emotions. Dai Mubai seemed to know what he was thinking, and said, ¡°If you really just want to resist him, you¡¯ve already lost this fight before you even fight him. You don¡¯t even stand a chance. Whether it¡¯s a person or a god, how can he possibly unleash his potential to the maximum if he has no will to win? Since you¡¯ve already be a god, it¡¯s not possible that you don¡¯t understand this logic.¡±

    Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard him say this. Yes! If he didn¡¯t even have the will to win, how much of his fighting strength would he be able to unleash? ¡°However, he¡¯s Wutong¡¯s father!¡± Huo Yuhao said a little bitterly.

    Dai Mubai was scornful, and replied, ¡°Do you really think you can hurt him given your powers? Believe me. Just give it your all. Let¡¯s not even talk about whether you can do it. Even if you can, it¡¯s a good thing for the godly realm.¡±

    Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t continue. However, he was less fearful than he was before.

    When he first entered the godly realm, the unfamiliarity left him a little afraid. Fortunately, he met Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing at this critical moment, which settled him down. His confidence was also slowlying back. After all, he was the strongest creature in the entire Douluo Continent, and he had even defeated the invincible Di Tian. Yes, the godly realm brought him pressure. However, he slowly turned it into motivation after he calmed down.

    Not long afterward, that pavilion hall was already within sight. When he saw it, Huo Yuhao was immediately excited. This was because Tang Wutong was there! No matter what, he had to see her today. He had to exin himself to her.

    More than ten golden figures blocked him before he even got close. When they saw Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, they immediately bowed to them and greeted them.

    While Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were both Tier Two Gods, they were very close to Tang San. Naturally, they held higher statuses in the godly realm.

    Dai Mubai said, ¡°Please invite the Sea God out. We have things to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please wait a minute.¡± One of the men dressed in gold immediately went to report.

    Very soon, a beam of blue light descended from the sky. It was Tang San. However, he was no longer dressed in red like he was when he had pursued Huo Yuhao.

    He focused his gaze when he saw Huo Yuhao. His cold killing intent was immediately revealed. However, it dissipated slightly when he saw Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

    ¡°Mubai, why are the two of you here?¡± Tang San asked. He appeared a little indifferent.

    Dai Mubai said, ¡°Because of this guy. Little San, you¡¯re already so old. Why are you still holding grudges against this guy? I know you dote on Wutong, but you should give him a chance to exin.¡±

    Tang San snorted and replied, ¡°Given our ties, we can agree on anything else. However, there¡¯s no resolution for this matter. I only have one daughter, but she was hurt so badly in the mortal world. I won¡¯t let him harm Wutong again, unless he can beat me.¡±

    Dai Mubai groaned furiously. ¡°So what if he beats you? Do you really think you¡¯re invincible? Yuhao, show him your Tier One God abilities.¡±

    Huo Yuhao¡¯s expression changed slightly. Originally, he had thought that he might really get to see Tang Wutong given Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing¡¯s ties with Tang San. However, who knew that they were going to fight after just a few exchanges? He was really put in a spot.

    Tang San coldly looked at him. ¡°Do you dare to challenge me?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath, then took a step forward. He drifted forward and bowed to Tang San. ¡°I only want to see Wutong once. If you are intent on testing me, I¡¯m willing to give it a go.¡±

    Tang San suddenlyughed. It was a little disdainful. ¡°Alright, I really want to see what you¡¯ve got.¡±

    A mighty aura was suddenly unleashed. Itpletely engulfed Huo Yuhao. Tang San¡¯s cold voice rang in his ears. ¡°You only have one chance. I won¡¯t kill you on Mubai¡¯s ount. However, I¡¯ll wipe away your memories if you dare toe here again. I¡¯ll make you forget Wutong forever.¡±

    Huo Yuhao suddenly opened his eyes wide. Everyone had their trigger. He was the same. Ever since he came to the godly realm, he was constantly pressured by Tang San. He tried his best to adjust his own mentality and didn¡¯t dare to disobey him. However, hispetitive streak was triggered the moment he heard Tang San¡¯s words. To see Wutong, he couldn¡¯t care about anything else right now.

    A strange glow suddenly shone from his body. His entire aura changed. A jade-green projection shone behind his back. It was the Ice Empress.

    The Ice Empress represented fury!

    A strong intent rose. Huo Yuhao¡¯s eyes brightened, and his Eye of Destiny opened. A strange glow was shining inside his Eye of Destiny. Suddenly, a thorny wheel of light appeared behind him.

    It was the ninth soul ring of his Spirit Eyes, Thorny Halo.

    Although he was a god now, his soul skills remained. They were even enhanced. Under the effect of his divine sense, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing could sense the aura that came from his Thorny Halo. They were both shocked.Immense undtions of divine sense! No wonder he¡¯s a Tier One God.

    This Thorny Halo came from the Evileye Tyrant King. Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t even use it when he faced Di Tian. This was because he was worried that Di Tian would find out that he had absorbed the Evileye Tyrant King¡¯s soul ring, and be more cautious. When he finally used the Space-Time Light, Di Tian was indeed unable to handle it. This was because he waspletely unaware in the first ce.

    Now that he was facing Tang San, how could he dare to hide his powers?

    Tang San had already made his move. He lifted his right hand while pointing at Huo Yuhao. Everything around him turned blue, and a terrifying pressure immediately surfaced. As he retracted his right hand, he flicked his finger. Suddenly, a ball of greenish-jade light flew towards Huo Yuhao.

    Although Huo Yuhao didn¡¯t know what skill Tang San was using, he didn¡¯t dare to becent either.

    He immediately switched his soul power to Ultimate Ice. A streak of deep-blue light shed out. It was the Unparalleled Cold, Emperor¡¯s Sword.

    ¡°Ding!¡± The Unparalleled Cold, Emperor¡¯s Sword was instantly crushed and scattered in the air, while that ball of green light still flew towards Huo Yuhao. It wasn¡¯t quick, but it was terrifying.

    Tang San was scornful. ¡°How dare you try to resist my Divine Skygreen Annihtion Lightning?¡±

    Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath. He knew that no soul skill would work on Tang San.

    He focused, and the Ice Empress¡¯ projection also became clearer behind him. The Ice Empress was looking at Tang San coldly. She didn¡¯t care who her opponent was. Her fury surfaced. With Huo Yuhao¡¯s body as the center, a beam of jade-green light shot into the sky and tore a slit in the bluish space around Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao took a step forward with his left foot and unleashed his yearning intent. On his forehead, his Eye of Destiny suddenly turned ck and white. After this, two beams of light shot out.

    The blue in the sky dimmed instantly. Following this, the world of blue turned ck and white.

    A huge vertical eye seemed to support the entire sky. It was drifting behind Huo Yuhao. The ck and white lights had also filled the entire area.

    Whether it was Tang San, Dai Mubai or Zhu Zhuqing, they were all astonished. It was just that their degree of astonishment varied. It wasn¡¯t only them. Even Huo Yuhao couldn¡¯t believe it. His Eye of Destiny was actually so strong?

    Spiritual Reaving and Destiny¡¯s Demise. These two divine skills finally revealed their effectiveness in the godly realm.

    When the two streaks of light hit Tang San, his body started to shine with bright blue light. However, the bright blue light didn¡¯t manage to block the two streaks of light. Instead, Tang San¡¯s body turned ck and white.

    Meanwhile, the Divine Skygreen Annihtion Lightning arrived in front of Huo Yuhao.

    Huo Yuhao waved his right fist, and Tang Wutong¡¯s figure appeared in his eyes.

    It was his Fist of Remembrance, packed with anger.

    Anything that tries to stop me from reaching Wutong shall die in the face of my anger.This was his intent.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The ck and white in the sky started to dim after Huo Yuhao unleashed his two divine skills. However, jade-green light instantly filled the area soon afterward.

    Huo Yuhao only felt a huge green dragon surrounding his body. After this, an unprecedently terrifying explosive force was unleashed. That explosive force struck his body and soul, and the excruciating pain made him feel as if he was about to be torn apart.

    The jade-green figure turned into the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. Happiness quickly engulfed Huo Yuhao. The origin energy from the clouds was quickly surging into his body.

    Star Anise Ice Origin.

    Immense origin energy of heaven and earth cleansed Huo Yuhao¡¯s body, restoring the damage done to him.

    In the distance, Tang San¡¯s body shook. He only let out a groan and shuddered at the same time. The ck and white undtions on his body also became more intense.

 Chapter 622.3 - Conclusion

    <h4 ss>Chapter 622.3: Conclusion</h4>

    However, the ck and white disappeared in the next instant. It was just that Tang San appeared a little paler.

    He¡¯s hurt?,was Dai Yuhao¡¯s first reaction.

    Yes, Tang San was hurt. Even Tang San didn¡¯t expect that Dai Yuhao¡¯s Thorny Halo would be so strong. He understood him well enough, but it was Yuhao¡¯s first time using this Thorny Halo!

    The effect of the Thorny Halo was that fifty percent of the harm done to him would be reflected onto his opponent as spiritual harm.

    If this were normal circumstances, this wouldn¡¯t have hurt Tang San. However, Tang San had been struck by Dai Yuhao¡¯s Spiritual Reaving! His spiritual defense had been weakened considerably.

    ¡°Good, well done!¡± Tang San said coldly.

    Dai Yuhao anxiously said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional. I didn¡¯t think this would happen, either¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin anything.¡± Tang San lifted his hand, and a very familiar beam of light appeared in his palm. The bright gold light shot out. It was the Golden Trident!

    Dai Yuhao had been struck by the Divine Skygreen Annihtion Lightning. Although he had been healed slightly through the Star Anise Ice Origin, he still felt excruciating pain running through his body. When he saw the Golden Trident, his expression greatly changed. Just in terms of intent, he could sense the terror radiating from the Golden Trident.

    Tang San¡¯s expression suddenly turned hollow. The surrounding clouds turned blue. However, they sky was a blue ocean now.

    Tang San¡¯s Golden Trident moved in a circr motion, creating halos that flew towards Dai Yuhao.

    Dai Yuhao¡¯s senses were very acute. He knew that what he had to do now was to continue maintaining his Thorny Halo before unleashing his power of destiny. It was only through this that Tang San would be afraid.

    However, he didn¡¯t do so. After all , Tang San was his father-inw. He was Tang Wutong¡¯s father! How could he hurt him?

    Dai Yuhao quickly retreated backward. However, the golden halos were getting increasingly closer to him.

    Dai Yuhao was horrified to discover that all his abilities seemed to have been sealed when the golden halos arrived above his head. He couldn¡¯t use any soul skills!

    After that, the halos fell and trapped his body. They restrained him so tightly that he couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Tang San, don¡¯t go overboard. How dare you use your Unpredictable Storm on a kid? What are you thinking?¡± an angry voice sounded. Following this, lights shed, and a figure appeared not far in front of Tang San. He grabbed the Golden Trident. Wasn¡¯t he the God of Emotions, Nian Rongbing?

    Tang San scanned him coldly. Suddenly, his Golden Trident moved again. Another round of golden halos was unleashed. Nian Rongbing was very close, but he didn¡¯t expect Tang San toy his hands on him. He was immediately restrained and couldn¡¯t move.

    Not only this, but more golden halos also started to rise not far away. They trapped Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

    Tang San looked at Nian Rongbing sinisterly and said, ¡°What do I want? I want to kill this rascal. What¡¯s the timing now? How dare you to shirk your responsibilities! After I kill him, I¡¯ll remove my daughter¡¯s yearning and wipe away her memories. As for you, you¡¯ll regain your position as the God of Emotions. You¡¯ll remain in the godly realm to aid me. Wait and see how he dies!¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Nian Rongbing was infuriated. He didn¡¯t expect Tang San to be like this. His body shone brightly, and he immediately turned to his divine power, trying to escape from the entrapment of the golden halos.

    However, how could it be easy to escape from the Unpredictable Storm that Tang San had unleashed using his Golden Trident? It was the number one control skill in the godly realm! If Nian Rongbing was still a god and prepared, he might have been able to resist it. However, he couldn¡¯t escape now, no matter how much he struggled.

    Tang San was watching Nian Rongbing. Dai Yuhao only felt the halos slowly tightening. They weren¡¯t quick, but they were tightening steadily. He had already tapped into whatever divine power he had, but he still couldn¡¯t resist the halos.

    As the pressure increased, Dai Yuhao felt his bones slowly cracking.

    He, he actually wants to wipe away Wutong¡¯s memories!

    He¡¯s really going to kill me!

    Wutong, Wutong!

    Dai Yuhao was shouting frantically in his heart. The divine energy and sense inside his body were beingbusted.

    However, the golden halos were simply too strong. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn¡¯t slow them down at all.

    Dai Yuhao was starting to feel a little breathless as the pressure grew heavier and heavier. He even felt his body changing shape.

    Nian Rongbing seemed to be shouting something at Tang San, but Tang San ignored him. He stabbed his Golden Trident into the ground and just looked back coldly at Nian Rongbing.

    Am I about to die?

    As he was restrained by the golden halos, even his divine sense couldn¡¯t escape. He could only wait as he came closer and closer to death.

    Wutong, Wutong!,Dai Yuhao screamed frantically inside.

    He didn¡¯t want to die, but he was even more unwilling for Tang Wutong to forget him. The two elders were restrained. So was Nian Rongbing. If he really died, Tang Wutong would forget him forever. He wouldn¡¯t be able to see her again.

    If I can¡¯t be with Wutong, what¡¯s the point of being a god?

    If he wasn¡¯t going to die in silence, he was going to unleash everything he had!

    Suddenly, Dai Yuhao suddenly lifted his head. An indescribable glow shone from his body.

    Happiness! The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass¡¯ projection suddenly appeared. Happiness was suddenly unleashed. That immense emotional undtion instantly fused with his divine sense and power. Instantly, it expanded and alleviated the pressure on him.

    Anger! Feelings of anger were unleashed next. Right now, Dai Yuhao was filled with intense anger! He couldn¡¯t be with Tang Wutong, and the man that he viewed as his father-inw was about to kill him!

    Sorrow! Snowkes danced, and boundless sorrow spread. Right now, Dai Yuhao seemed to have returned to the time when he created his Three Ultimate Haodong Skills.

    Bliss! Happy memories were always so beautiful. The roommate he had once had, the beautiful pinkish-blue fairy during the Sea God¡¯s Fated Blind Date, and everything they went through were all beautiful memories in his mind.

    Hate! Hate was an emotion projecting pain. The day he left the Duke¡¯s Mansion, he was filled with pain. When he lost Wang Dong¡¯er and Wang Qiu¡¯er, he was filled with hatred. Hate drove one crazy.

    Evil! Dai Yuhao didn¡¯t possess evil and craftiness, but he had sensed the evil of evil soul masters. It was a dark world. Right now, the dirtiest things in his heart were being burned up by evil.

    Six emotions meant six different outbursts! As his emotions were unleashed, his divine soul was enhanced!

    The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass represented happiness, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion represented anger, the Icesky Snow Lady represented sorrow, the Ice Bear King represented bliss, Li Ya represented hate, and the Evileye Tyrant King represented evil!

    Six light projections appeared separately behind Dai Yuhao. At times, they fused together. At times, they separated. Just as they did that, a six-colored glow was released. This glow was unbelievably strong, and it managed to force the halos away. Dai Yuhao¡¯s body also shone with a six-colored aura.

    A huge golden projection suddenly appeared. A golden glow engulfed all six Spirits and their six emotions. An indescribable gentleness, wildness and sense of love surged forth.

    This was¡­ the power of love!

    ¡°Wutong! I¨C love¨C you¨C!¡± Dai Yuhao shouted. At this moment, his soundwaves turned into a rainbow light that struck toward the mighty pavilion in the distance.

    Dense fog transformed and formed rows in the sky. As he screamed, the halos around his body started to crack.

    Happiness, anger, sorrow, bliss, love, hate, evil! Finally, the power of love defeated all other emotions and fused with all of them.

    At this moment, Dai Yuhao¡¯s divine power and sense, as well as his own spirit, were enhanced.

    In his heart, Tang San was no longer a barrier. He was also freed of worries and anger. He was only filled with love and yearning for Tang Wutong.

    Tang San waved his Golden Trident, and streaks of golden light were released. However, they weren¡¯t used to attack Dai Yuhao, but to remove the restraints on Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

    A smile appeared on Tang San¡¯s face. He lifted his hand and grabbed Nian Rongbing¡¯s shoulder. Nian Rongbing was very grim. He was filled with anger and sorrow!

    Bang!The golden halos that had restrained Dai Yuhao werepletely crushed. He broke out, and his rainbow glow turned into seven halos that formed a miraculous wheel behind him. His aura was much stronger than it was before. The undtions of the seven emotions kept on surging, fusing with Dai Yuhao¡¯s divine sense and power. This was the first time he had this sense of control ever since he came to the godly realm.

    Tang San smiled and nodded as he looked at Yuhao. He said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. You¡¯re looking more and more like my son-inw.¡±

    Dai Yuhao was still immersed in his own emotions. After he heard Tang San¡¯s words, he was dazed for a moment.

    ¡°Silly kid, why aren¡¯t you greeting your father-inw?¡± Dai Mubai spoke up from behind him.

    Dai Yuhao kneeled subconsciously and bowed to Tang San. ¡°Greetings, father-inw.¡±

 Chapter 622.4 - Conclusion

    <h4 ss>Volume 45, Chapter 622.4: Conclusion</h4>

    Tang San waved his hand and said, ¡°Get up.¡± Right now, he was smiling. His long blue hair flowed. His charming looks were captivating.

    Dai Yuhao felt as if he was in a dream when he saw that genial smile.Is he really the father-inw who just made things difficult for me?Everything seemed to be very different at this instant.

    Dai Mubai smiled as he said, ¡°Silly kid. If Tang San really wanted to make things difficult for you, do you really think you would be alive now?¡±

    Zhu Zhuqing was a little indignant as she said, ¡°Brother San, weren¡¯t you a little too overboard?¡±

    Tang San smiled and said, ¡°Let me exin.¡±

    He looked at Dai Yuhao and said, ¡°I already knew about your matter with Ju Zi. You weren¡¯t wrong. You were just yed by destiny. Although we are gods, we can¡¯t interfere with human affairs. Let bygones be bygones. Everything¡¯s good as long as you are true to Wutong.

    ¡°I made things difficult for you for a reason. I chose you. I also performed many tests on you. Even for Wang Qiu¡¯er, I separated a streak of Wutong¡¯s divine sense and nted it on that Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Otherwise, even a Destiny God Beast wouldn¡¯t be so intelligent. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t have to be too upset over Wang Qiu¡¯er. She¡¯s a part of Wutong. It was only after she sacrificed herself that the spiritual sense returned to Wutong, and transformed Wang Dong¡¯erpletely into Wutong.

    ¡°After that, someone cut in and tried to make you inherit his godly seat. However, you went through my tests. Although it was not a problem for you to inherit his godly seat, there was still some shortfall when it came to the fusion of skills. It was difficult for you topletely fuse with the God of Emotions¡¯ abilities after you had just entered the godly realm. I used this method to put pressure on you, which would aid your fusion. It seems like it was effective. In the future, you should be able to do better than a certain someone.¡±

    Rong Nianbing was furious as he retorted, ¡°So you nned all this! It¡¯s your scheme! Tang San, you are despicable! You even tricked me into swearing earlier!¡±

    Tang San appeared very calm as he said, ¡°You think it¡¯s so easy to snatch my sessor? Don¡¯t you have to pay a price?¡±

    Dai Yuhao lowered his voice as he asked Nian Ronbing, ¡°Teacher, what vow did you make?¡±

    Rong Nianbing snapped, ¡°I vowed to remain in the godly realm for thirty more years if he agreed not to hurt you. Who knew that I was tricked? He didn¡¯t just do this to you. He did this to me too. Dai Mubai, did you and your wife know about it too?¡±

    Dai Mubai imed innocence. ¡°Eh, I didn¡¯t! How would I? I¡¯m only a Tier Two God.¡±

    Rong Nianbing was furious. ¡°Bullshit! Given your hot temper, how would you remain so calm if Tang San really treated your descendant like this? How would you not do anything?¡±

    Zhu Zhuqing snorted. ¡°If you knew it, why were you tricked? I really doubt your intelligence.¡±

    ¡°You, you guys¡­ hmph! I¡¯m furious!¡± Rong Nianbing was panting heavily.

    Tang San grabbed his shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be mad. Stay and help me, alright? You should know that the godly realm hasn¡¯t been so peaceful recently. However, you want to leave now. Are you still a brother? Moreover, you stole my sessor and implicated my daughter. What¡¯s there to be dissatisfied with? Yuhao is such a talent. How can I easily find someone else like him?¡±

    Dai Yuhao understood now. It turned out that he was under Tang San¡¯s control right from the beginning. Perhaps that woond, so like the Great Star Dou Forest, was invented by him, and he was baited to meet the two elders and his mother¡­

    Dai Mubaiughed. ¡°You should see where he inherited his talent from. Little San, quickly let your daughter out. Can¡¯t you see that this kid is too anxious?¡±

    Tang Sanughed and said, ¡°Go, Yuhao. Wutong is in the pavilion. Follow this path to find her. I don¡¯t me you. As for whether she does, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Yes, thank you, father-inw.¡± No matter how indignant he felt now, there was nothing more important than finding Tang Wutong!

    A beam of golden light spread towards the pavilion in the direction that Tang San pointed. Dai Yuhao quickly charged off in that direction.

    ¡ª

    Tang San revealed a heavy look on his face when he saw Dai Yuhao disappearing into the clouds, ¡°A grown up daughter won¡¯t remain by my side!¡±

    Rong Nianbing was scoffed scornfully, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t act like you¡¯ve suffered after you¡¯ve taken advantage! Don¡¯t I know you well enough? The godly realm is full of problems. Your precious son-inw will help you greatly after he inherits my godly seat. Is there even anywhere else in the godly realm to go? Your daughter won¡¯t leave you at all. What¡¯s there to whine about?¡±

    Tang San sighed and said, ¡°Nianbing, do you know why I want to keep you here for another thirty years?¡±

    Rong Nianbing was stunned for a moment. ¡°Aren¡¯t those guys unconvinced and want to cause trouble when the two Godkings aren¡¯t around? Do we have to be scared of them?¡±

    Tang San shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not too worried about them. No matter what, it¡¯s all internal matters in the godly realm. I¡¯m worried about something else. I hold power in the godly realm after the two Godkings left. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the only one who can sense changes in the godly realm. Within thirty years, I¡¯m afraid there will be massive changes. As for what they¡¯ll be, I¡¯m not sure. However, I¡¯m afraid ithere¡¯s going to be a catastrophe that will destroy the godly realm.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rong Nianbing was stunned. He knew that Tang San wasn¡¯t one to spout nonsense.

    Dai Mubai said, ¡°Little San, we can ovee any obstacle as long as wee together.¡±

    Tang Sanughed bitterly. ¡°I hope so. It¡¯s just that this catastrophe won¡¯t be that simple. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t cede my godly seat to Yuhao. Nianbing, do you really think I didn¡¯t know that you secretly went to see Yuhao? No matter how busy I am, I still monitored my sessor. I gave up the opportunity intentionally. I need to maintain my full strength to deal with the future crisis.¡±

    Rong Nianbing asked, ¡°Can the crisis be averted?¡±

    Tang San squinted and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. It¡¯ll be difficult. However, there¡¯s a chance. We just need to try our best.¡±

    Rong Nianbing said, ¡°Alright. However, there¡¯s something I need to advise you first. If you want to deal with the crisis, you need to stabilize things internally first.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    Dai Yuhao followed the golden light and went deep into the clouds. Everything in front of him became clear. A majestic pavilion was soon in front of him.

    As he moved in the direction of the golden light, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with the majesty of the pavilion. He quickly entered.

    He immediately saw a guy and ady sitting in the main hall. They were ying chess.

    They didn¡¯t look very old. The guy was decked out in ck, and was quite handsome. Thedy was also ravishing, and she dressed in white. She appeared very pure.

    Dai Yuhao seemed to have startled them when he entered. They turned their attention to him immediately.

    The guy stood up and nodded at Dai Yuhao. He stepped forward. ¡°Hi, my name is Ji Dong. You must be Yuhao. Wee to the Judicial Committee.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Nice to meet you. This is the Judicial Committee?¡± Dai Yuhao was a little astonished.

    Thatdy in white also stood up. Ji Dong said, ¡°This is Zhuojing Lieyan.¡±

    ¡°Greetings.¡± Dai Yuhao immediately greeted her. Even though he didn¡¯t know who either of them were, he knew that their statuses weren¡¯t low if this was the Judicial Committee.

    Lieyan smiled and said, ¡°Quickly, go and find Wutong.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Dai Yuhao bowed to both of them and went along with the golden light.

    As she watched him leave, Lieyan said, ¡°Yuhao is a loyal man. He was just like you then.¡±

    Ji Dong chortled and said, ¡°I suspect Brother Tang San used me as a benchmark to recruit his son-inw!¡±

    Lieyan chortled and said, ¡°You wish.¡±

    Ji Dong hugged her and said, ¡°In fact, tasting sweetness after experiencing bitterness is the best. I believe he¡¯ll experience that soon.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª

    The golden light extended all the way to the top level before it disappeared. There was a door, which Dai Yuhao knocked on.

    ¡°Come in,¡± a gentle female voice responded. It sounded extremely captivating. However, Dai Yuhao¡¯s expression changed. He knew that it wasn¡¯t Tang Wutong¡¯s voice.

    Dai Yuhao squinted when he entered.

    There were two people in the room. One of them was standing, while the other one was seated. The standingdy was in a pink dress, her long hair braided up. From the side, her slender and smooth neck could be seen. Her dress also entuated her captivating figure.

    At this point, she had already turned around. Her ravishing looks left Dai Yuhao in shock.

    As for thedy on the bed, Dai Yuhao could see that it was the person he had been yearning for all this while, even though he only saw her profile.

    ¡°Hi, hi.¡± Dai Yuhao subconsciously greeted thedy, but his attention was all on Tang Wutong.

    Thedy walked in front of him and carefully sized him up. However, Dai Yuhao was still distracted.

    Thedy smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Wu.¡± However, she appeared very pleased. It was the look a mother-inw gave when she approved of her son-inw. After that, she gently patted his shoulder before walking past him and closing the door.

    ¡°Wutong!¡± There wasn¡¯t anyone else. Dai Yuhao couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. He eximed and leapt in front of Tang Wutong.

    Tang Wutong was seated there, but she was expressionless. It was as if someone had frozen her in ce. She waspletely motionless.

    ¡°Wutong, it¡¯s my fault. It¡¯s all my fault. Let me exin, okay?¡± Dai Yuhao knelt down in front of her and held her slightly cold hands.

    Tang Wutong appeared more intrigued. She turned to look at him, but there was a lost look in her eyes.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    These three words hammered Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, he was very pale. An indescribable sense of fear rose in his heart. He subconsciously let go of Tang Wutong¡¯s hands and fell uncontrobly to the floor.

    He would rather that she scolded or chased him away than to hear her say something like that.

    Has she lost her memory? Has she lost her memory of me? Does she not know me anymore? Does she not recognize me anymore?

    The extreme fear left Dai Yuhao in chaos.

    ¡°Who are you? Tang Wutong tilted her head and asked again as she looked at him.

    When she saw the fear in his eyes, Tang Wutongughed. ¡°I remember. You are Huo Yuhao and Dai Yuhao. You are my man, my husband, and the father to my kids in the future. You were the fool outside screaming that you loved me! You are my fool!¡±

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